During the Hongwu period, the Beastmen race, known as the "External Demons", came with unpredictable weapons. Thus, a war broke out between the armies of the Ming Dynasty and the outer demons. The folk martial artists and the martial artists of the martial arts world all formed their own sects to participate in the battle between the outer demons. After the Great Ming Royal Family witnessed the powerful strength of the external devil, they eventually bowed their heads to the external devil and gave up on the other sects. Signing unequal treaties with foreign devils without authorization... 

One moment, one spot, one girl--they completely turned his world upside down. Jigoku Shi's life had always been rather eventful, especially as a Love-Demon fighting and killing to survive, with a goddess watching his every step. But it all got even more messed up when he met young Misaki Queen, a girl he was supposed to kill. For the first time, his heart seemed to overrule his head. And that is killing him, literally.

You want me to rule the world and allow you to shine for the rest of your life? If Shi Tongchen had seen these words, he would have spat at the person who had said them! Because of her, her husband was able to ascend to the ninth rank because of her. There was only the frosty blade that was stabbing towards his chest. Now that Shi Tongchen had been reborn, she swore that she would use the sword to slaughter all the ungrateful dogs in the world!

The second largest branch of Islam, with between 130 and 190 million adherents across the globe, Shi'i Islam is becoming an increasingly significant force in contemporary politics, especially in the Middle East. This makes an informed understanding of its fundamental spiritual beliefs and practices both necessary and timely. Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi is one of the most distinguished scholars of Shi'i history and theology, and in this volume he offers a wide-ranging and engaging survey of the core texts of Shi'i Islam. Examining in turn the origins and later developments of Shi'i spirituality, the author reveals the profoundly esoteric nature of the beliefs which accrued to the figures of the early Imams, and which became associated with their interaction between the material and spiritual worlds. Many of these beliefs have remained much misunderstood even within the wider Muslim world. Furthermore, Western scholarship has tended to follow the lead of the earlier orientalists and critics, viewing Shi'i teachings as marginal. In this study the author shows, by contrast, how central and creative the very nature of spirituality was to the development of Shi'i Islam, as well as to classical Muslim civilisation as a whole. In this comprehensive treatment, the esoteric nature of Shi'i spirituality emerges as an essential phenomenon for understanding Shi'i Islam.

The collaborative effort of nearly 100 China scholars from around the world, this unique one-volume reference provides 89 in-depth biographies of important Chinese women from the fifth century B.C.E to the early twentieth century.

No man could hope to draw together the various fields from which the materials of this book are derived if he were a scholar in any one of them. No one could feel less scholarly than I do. This becomes particularly evident when the subject of Arabic transliteration arises, as it always does in forewords to books on the Middle East. I have before me the handiwork of Hitti, Gibb, and Calverley, three men whose erudition and integrity are of the highest order, and yet I cannot find complete agreement among them.1

This richly illustrated book examines the changing significance of ruins as vehicles for cultural memory in Chinese art and visual culture from ancient times to the present. The story of ruins in China is different from but connected to “ruin culture” in the West. This book explores indigenous Chinese concepts of ruins and their visual manifestations, as well as the complex historical interactions between China and the West since the eighteenth century. Wu Hung leads us through an array of traditional and contemporary visual materials, including painting, architecture, photography, prints, and cinema. A Story of Ruins shows how ruins are integral to traditional Chinese culture in both architecture and pictorial forms. It traces the changes in their representation over time, from indigenous methods of recording damage and decay in ancient China, to realistic images of architectural ruins in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, to the strong interest in urban ruins in contemporary China, as shown in the many artworks that depict demolished houses and decaying industrial sites. The result is an original interpretation of the development of Chinese art, as well as a unique contribution to global art history.

With her concept of “Even fifty cents can save a life,” Dharma Master Cheng Yen began to challenge people’s conceptions of the impossible. A group of ordinary housewives were the first to believe in and follow her. The major organization that Tzu Chi is today began with this group of housewives. While lodging at Puming Temple, despite having nothing to her name, she was driven by one simple but resolute belief: “If I eat until I am eighty percent full, I can save the remaining twenty percent to help those in need.” With this hardworking and frugal mindset, Master Cheng Yen and her disciples overcame countless hardships to expand their charity work. She explained, “I have faith in my own selflessness and faith in the love of others. I established the Tzu Chi Merit Association not for my own sake, but ‘for Buddha’s teachings and for sentient beings.’ I believe that everyone has an abundance of love in their hearts. As long as there is someone to guide them, they can exercise their power of kindness.” Volume 2 (1966-1977): The beginnings of Tzu Chi’s charity mission.

Bu Heng had never seen such an eye before. It was so attractive that she couldn't tear her eyes away from it. It was a pair of ... Green eyes! No, it was a green eye! The other was grayish brown. The colors were not the same, but they were all sparkling and translucent!