Curated OER
Unesco: China: Mount Wuyi
Mount Wuyi is the most outstanding area for biodiversity conservation in south-east China and a refuge for a large number of ancient, relict species, many of them endemic to China. The serene beauty of the dramatic gorges of the Nine...
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia is the largest religious monument in the world. View pictures and read it's history in this essay.
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Khan Academy: Chinese Porcelain: Production and Export
Chinese ceramics were first exported in large quantities during the Song dynasty. Chinese porcelain influenced the ceramics of importing countries, and was in turn, influenced by them. View pictures and read about the history of Chinese...
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Khan Academy: Portrait of Sin Sukju
"Portrait of Sin Sukju" reflected both the honor that Sin Sukju brought to his lineage as a meritorious official in Korea as well as Confucian beliefs about the afterlife. View the portrait and read about the person it commemorated.
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Khan Academy: Sacred Space & Symbolic Form at Lakshmana Temple Khajuraho (India)
The Lakshmana temple was the first of several temples built by the Chandella kings in their newly-created capital of Khajuraho. View some of the sculpted friezes contained within this temple.
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Khan Academy: Shiva as Lord of the Dance (Nataraja)
The art of medieval India, like the art of medieval Europe, was primarily in the service of religion. The supple and expressive quality of the dancing Shiva is one of the touchstones of South Asian, and indeed, world sculpture. View...
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Khan Academy: Bichitr, Jahangir Preferring a Sufi Shaikh to Kings
This miniature painting, "Jahangir Preferring a Sufi Shaikh to Kings", depicts the ruler Jahangir of the Mughal Dynasty among other important leaders.
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Khan Academy: Beliefs of Hinduism
Read a quick description of the most common Hindu beliefs and view a picture of a sandstone statue of Harihara.
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Khan Academy: Neo Confucianism & Fan Kuan, Travelers by Streams and Mountains
We know very little about the great artist Fan Kuan, yet he painted the most majestic landscape painting of the early Song period - "Everything about Travelers by Streams and Mountains". Read about why this is an outstanding example of...
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Khan Academy: The Forbidden City
The Forbidden City is a large precinct of red walls and yellow glazed roof tiles located in the heart of China's capital, Beijing. As its name suggests, the precinct is a micro-city in its own right. This article describes the...
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Khan Academy: Funeral Banner of Lady Dai (Xin Zhui)
The elite men and women of the Han dynasty enjoyed an opulent lifestyle that could stretch into the afterlife. Today, the well-furnished tombs of the elite give us a glimpse of the luxurious goods they treasured and enjoyed. Take a look...
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Khan Academy: The David Vases (Chinese Porcelain)
The David Vases are among the most important examples of blue-and-white porcelain in existence, and are probably the best-known porcelain vases in the world. Read a short description of these vases.
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Khan Academy: The Stupa
Can a mound of dirt represent the Buddha, the path to Enlightenment, a mountain and the universe all at the same time? It can if it is a stupa. The stupa ("stupa" is Sanskrit for heap) is an important form of Buddhist architecture. View...
Curated OER
Unesco: Iran: Gonbad E Qabus
The 53 m high tomb built in ad 1006 for Qabus Ibn Voshmgir, Ziyarid ruler and literati, near the ruins of the ancient city of Jorjan in north-east Iran, bears testimony to the cultural exchange between Central Asian nomads and the...
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Khan Academy: Chinese Porcelain: Decoration
"Blue-and-white" porcelain was used in temples and occasionally in burials in China, but most was exported. View pictures of Chinese porcelain and read about the innovative glazing techniques in this essay.
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Khan Academy: Ogata Korin, Red and White Plum Blossoms
Read and view pictures of "Red and White Plum Blossoms" by Ogata Korin. Ogata transforms a very simple landscape theme-two flowering trees on either side of a brook-into a dream vision.
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Khan Academy: Ryoanji (Peaceful Dragon Temple)
Read about the cultural and historical significance of Ryoanji and its rock garden in Japan.