Chinese Gallery

Japanese warrior woman with naginata

Japanese warrior woman with a large Naginata. A naginata is a pole weapon that was traditionally used in Japan by members of the samurai class. It consists of a wood shaft with a curved blade on the end, similar to the Chinese Guan Dao or European glaive or Russian sovnya. Usually it also had a sword-like guard (tsuba) between the blade and shaft as depicted on this card. During the Edo Period, as the naginata became less useful for men on the battlefield, and became a symbol of the social status of women of the samurai class. A functional naginata was often a traditional part of a samurai daughter's dowry. Women of the samurai class were expected to be capable of defending their homes while their husbands were away at war!

© Mary Evans Picture Library 2015 - https://copyrighthub.org/s0/hub1/creation/maryevans/MaryEvansPictureID/10417767

Hong Kong street scene, 1890s C016/4499

Hong Kong street scene. Pedestrians, carts, rickshaws and signs in both Chinese script and English on a hill street in Hong Kong in the 1890s. At the time, this area was a British colony. This lantern slide, by US explorer and survey photographer William Henry Jackson (1843-1942), was obtained for the World's Transportation Commission, a worldwide survey carried out for the Field Columbian Museum of Chicago, USA. The lantern slides in this collection were hand-coloured with dyes and paints. Here, the areas at far right and left have not been coloured

© LIBRARY OF CONGRESS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Hamemalis Mollis (Witch Hazel)

Hamemalis (or Hamamelis) Mollis (Witch Hazel), a large shrub or small tree of the Hamamelidaceae family, native to areas of China. It flowers from late winter to early spring, and the yellow flowers have a strong scent

© Mary Evans Picture Library 2015 - https://copyrighthub.org/s0/hub1/creation/maryevans/MaryEvansPictureID/10437645

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