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The Golden Egyptian Queen Anotheys - AI Generated Art And The New Art Dilema by Daniel Arrhakis (2023)
Experimented the New Text Prompt Art in Deep Dream Generator / Text 2 Dream :
deepdreamgenerator.com/u/395672/account
The New Current Art Dilemma with the AI Generated Art -
What Future for Digital Art with the Development of Artificial Intelligence ?
Digital Art and even Art in general will no longer be the same, the new technologies used in the new generation of images in AI Generated Art, pose new challenges for digital artists but on the other hand can open up new perspectives of new worlds and artistic visions for the infinite possibility of new combinations of styles.
If, on the one hand, the artists' styles can be recreated, the fact is that as each artist has their favorite themes and techniques, the use of these images generated by artificial intelligence can be another way of working for their creations alongside Photography. , digital painting or the use of computer editing programs !
One thing is certain, the art world will never be the same and I fear that those who will profit the most will be the big companies of image generation by artificial intelligence and the big multinationals of production of visual and audiovisual arts content.
But as has been proven over time, the human imagination is infinitely rich and creative, which is why it is not the end of artistic creation and much less the end of artists, so Artificial Intelligence will be more a means than an end in itself !
Or at least let's hope so... :)
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O Novo Dilema Actual Da Arte Com A Arte Gerada Por Inteligência Artificial (IA) - Que futuro para a arte digital com o desenvolvimento da inteligência artificial?
A Arte Digital e mesmo a Arte em geral não vão ser mais as mesmas, as novas tecnologias empregues na nova geração de imagens em AI vem colocar novos desafios para os artistas digitais mas por outro lado pode vir a abrir novas perspetivas de novos mundos e visões artísticas pela possibilidade infinita de novas conjugações de estilos.
Se por um lado os estilos dos artistas poderão ser recreados, o certo é que como cada artista tem os seus temas e técnicas preferidas, a utilização destas imagens geradas por inteligência artificial pode ser mais um meio de trabalho para as suas criações a par da Fotografia, da Pintura Digital ou o uso de Programas de Edição de Imagem por computador !
Uma coisa é certa, o mundo da Arte não vai ser mais o mesmo e receio que quem vem lucrar mais serão as grandes empresas de geração de imagens por inteligência artificial e as grandes multinacionais de produção de conteúdos de artes visuais e audiovisuais.
Mas como se tem provado ao longo dos tempos, a imaginação humana é infinitamente rica e criativa, pelo que não é o fim da criação artística e muito menos o fim dos artistas, pelo que a Inteligência Artificial vai ser mais um meio que um fim em si mesmo !
Ou pelo menos esperemos que assim seja ... : )
Testing out the monochrome profile on my camera this morning with a bit of kitchen sink realism. I really like how the mono setting handles the contrast between the liquid textures, the plastic bottles, and the glassware patterns.Shot wide open to catch that subtle fall-off in the foreground. What do you think of the tones?
Ellesmere Port. Cheshire. UK.
"If we surrendered to earth’s intelligence we could rise up rooted, like trees. " -- Ranier Maria Wilke
From the series "TOTEM"
The koala or, inaccurately, koala bear (Phascolarctos cinereus) is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae and its closest living relatives are the wombats, which comprise the family Vombatidae. The koala is found in coastal areas of the mainland's eastern and southern regions, inhabiting Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. It is easily recognisable by its stout, tailless body and large head with round, fluffy ears and large, spoon-shaped nose. The koala has a body length of 60–85 cm and weighs 4–15 kg. Fur colour ranges from silver grey to chocolate brown. Koalas from the northern populations are typically smaller and lighter in colour than their counterparts further south. These populations possibly are separate subspecies, but this is disputed. Koalas typically inhabit open eucalypt woodlands, and the leaves of these trees make up most of their diet. Because this eucalypt diet has limited nutritional and caloric content, koalas are largely sedentary and sleep up to 20 hours a day. They are asocial animals, and bonding exists only between mothers and dependent offspring. Adult males communicate with loud bellows that intimidate rivals and attract mates. Males mark their presence with secretions from scent glands located on their chests. Being marsupials, koalas give birth to underdeveloped young that crawl into their mothers' pouches, where they stay for the first six to seven months of their lives. These young koalas, known as joeys, are fully weaned around a year old. Koalas have few natural predators and parasites, but are threatened by various pathogens, such as Chlamydiaceae bacteria and the koala retrovirus. Eucalyptus is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including Corymbia, they are commonly known as eucalypts. Plants in the genus Eucalyptus have bark that is either smooth, fibrous, hard or stringy, leaves with oil glands, and sepals and petals that are fused to form a cap or operculum over the stamens. The fruit is a woody capsule commonly referred to as a gumnut. Most species of Eucalyptus are native to Australia, and every state and territory has representative species. About three-quarters of Australian forests are eucalypt forests. Wildfire is a feature of the Australian landscape and many eucalypt species are adapted to fire, and resprout after fire or have seeds which survive fire. A few species are native to islands north of Australia and a smaller number are only found outside the continent. Eucalypts have been grown in plantations in many other countries because they are fast growing and have valuable timber, or can be used for pulpwood, for honey production or essential oils. In some countries, however, they have been removed because they are highly flammable. 58229
Conversing with Keas: 3
They are probably one of the more intelligent species. Any novel item introduced into their environment is keenly explored. Some show an interest in modern technology - ipads for example are flavour of the month. :-)
Technology raises productivity, thus it drives wages up. “Job growth can continue forever,” because Artificial Intelligence and robots will replace people. Man’s future will be Universal Basic Income, Social Credit Score systems, and mass surveillance. Indeed, the Techno-Stakeholder Capital Surveillance Machine will be an engine of never-ending material creation: you will own nothing and be happy. We are deliberately accelerating technological development, so we can benefit from the Law of Accelerating Returns—ensuring an upward spiral that lasts forever. Our profits will increase forever!
The Techno-Stakeholder Capital Surveillance Machine will not be anti-human; it will be the most pro-posthuman system ever. All machines will work for us. “Our mission is to put intelligence on a billion machines.” Artificial Intelligence will be the ultimate engine of progress. The human race will form symbiotic relationships with machines, creating new cybernetic systems, thus increasing the capabilities of ourselves and our machines. With the merging of man and machine, we will be able to achieve capabilities of unimagined heights. “We believe Artificial Intelligence is our alchemy, our Philosopher’s Stone—we are literally making sand think.” Just as God created man from the dust, so we will remake man in our own image.
We will close the per-capita energy gap between the developed and undeveloped nations by reducing energy production—making everyone worse off. Welcome to the Green Economy! Although data centers consume large amounts of resources, there is no inherent conflict between the Techno-Stakeholder Capital Surveillance Machine and the natural environment. We will place intelligence and energy in a positive feedback loop, driving them both to infinity.
Artificial Intelligence will create abundance, causing prices to fall. As you can see, food, housing, and the cost of living are currently falling. This is why everyone will end up on universal welfare (Universal Basic Income). If we make both intelligence and energy cheap, then prices across the economy will effectively become as zero as possible. This will launch income levels and quality of life into the stratosphere. Technology will allow us to do more and more with less and less, until eventually we can do everything with nothing. Of course, we are delusional and suffer from techno-psychosis!
The greatest payoff of this technological surplus will be the massive expansion of the ultimate resource: human beings. Since man is a biological machine, he will be manipulated by more complex machines. Turning mankind into posthuman robots is cheaper and easier than building robots from scratch. Since we love the symbolism of 666, we will start this process by microchipping the population. “We believe that advancing technology is one of the most virtuous things that we can do.” Our aspiration is to construct our own Tower of Babel, building something greater than ourselves. “We believe in exploring and claiming the technological frontier.” We believe in the romance of technology: the eros of the microchip, the neural network, the brain-computer interface.
We have been, and will always be, the masters of technology. Yet technology will master humanity. The elites will not be the victims; instead, we will be the conquerors of the human race. We will be the masters, the gods! “We believe in nature, but we also believe in overcoming nature.” We are the apex predators! Survival of the fittest! “We believe in ambition, aggression, persistence, relentlessness—strength.” We believe that the ultimate mission of technology is to advance life both on Earth and in the stars. When we say ‘advance life,’ we are not referring to your life. This is only reserved for the rich and powerful.
Artificial Intelligence will be our universal problem solver. Indeed, we believe that technology will bring salvation to humanity. This salvation will be built upon the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. “Technology is the ultimate open society.” Such a society, with its critical attitude towards tradition, will follow the moral universalism of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Through the evolution of technology, humanity will evolve. When we become transhuman, we will fulfill our potential—for ourselves, our communities, and our society. We believe technology is liberating. It liberates human potential. It liberates the human soul, the human spirit.
Our enemies sit in their ivory towers, disconnected from the real world, delusional, unelected, and unaccountable, with their know-it-all abstract theories, luxury beliefs of degrowth and depopulation, playing God with everyone else’s lives, with total insulation from the consequences of their nihilistic plans.
The Bible warns us about the Beast system, with its Mark of the Beast and Image of the Beast. If Christianity is a lie, then no such Beast system will be built. If such a system is built and implemented, then what?
GAR INTELLIGENCE DOSSIER
CLASSIFIED - EYES ONLY
Grand Army of the Republic – 253rd Elite Legion
Secure Archive Reference: GAMOR-OP-BRAVO-CC1749-PT018
MISSION LOG ENTRY:
DESIGNATION: Protector-018 "Galaar"
UNIT: Vornskr Squad, First Regiment "Bralor's First"
Operation Codename: Couriers of Cruelty
LOCATION: Gamor, Outer Rim Territories
DATE OF ENTRY: [REDACTED]
SECURITY CLEARENCE: LEVEL 4 – RESTRICTED ACCESS
STATUS: LEGION OBJECTIVE BRAVO COMPLETED: Awaiting orders.
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[FIELD LOG]
//..... REQUESTING ACCESS
//....AUTHORIZATION [REDACTED]
//.....ACCESS GRANTED
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//...BEGIN PLAYBACK
//...PLAYBACK INTERRUPTED
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//...SYSTEM ERROR
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//...RECOVERING FIELD LOG
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I promise the "system error" is just a place holder, I will add an actual log. That being said I likely wont have the time to do so until next weekend, as it's getting late and I have to be up at 2 am to leave for a week of live fire. Please hold me accountable to that. Thanks for stopping by!!
Street photography generated with an artificial intelligence algorithm and edited/corrected in Photoshop and Lightroom.
Chris de Burgh... 😄
www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9Jcs45GhxU
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Can AI "photos" coexist with the "traditional" imagery???
Do you feel "betrayed" when (if) you found out a photo was an Artificial "photo"... are we getting used to being "lied" too?
Things are likely to become yet more complex as use of artificial intelligence by artists becomes more widespread, and as the machines get better at producing creative works, further blurring the distinction between artwork that is made by a human and that made by a computer.
contentauthenticity.org/blog/leica-launches-worlds-first-...
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© VanveenJF Photography
A Perilous Maritime Rescue Operation: Chronicle of Courage in a Stormy Night
Description: In the heart of a merciless storm at sea, a high-stakes maritime rescue operation unfolds, a narrative told across several intense images. The crisis room is bathed in the ominous red light of an emergency (image_0), where the operational commander, a seasoned officer, coordinates the response, headset in place. On the tarmac, rain pouring down, three elite rescue swimmers in orange immersion suits sprint toward their waiting helicopter (image_1), its searchlights piercing the gloom. The journey is tense, the helicopter’s cockpit an intimate space of control panels and raindrops on the glass, as the pilot navigates the wild sea below (image_2). Through the storm, the helicopter locates its target: a massive, rusted cargo ship (image_3), listed and struggling against colossal waves. An image from the helicopter door (image_4) shows the intense focus of the lead rescuer, gear ready, as the rotor wash whips his hair. The damage to the ship is severe, with powerful waterspouts geysering from its bow (image_5). A rescue boat makes a dangerous approach (image_6), its spotlight illuminating the rope ladder as a savior draws near. On deck, an urgent repairs unit (image_7) works to cut into the ship’s hull with an oxy-fuel torch, sparks flying, while other rescuers search the dark, flooded corridors inside the listing vessel (image_8). The operation concludes with a portrait of exhaustion and relief (image_9), a moment of stillness and determination on a rescuer’s face, bathed in cool blue and orange lights, looking out into the night.
These images have been generated by Artificial Intelligence.
The Hmong/Mong people (RPA: Hmoob/Moob, Nyiakeng Puachue: "", Pahawh Hmong: "" Hmong pronunciation: [ʰmɔ́ŋ]) are a Southeast Asian ethnic group living mainly in southern China, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar. They have been members of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) since 2007. In China they are classified as a subgroup of the Miao people.
During the first and Second Indochina Wars, France and the United States' Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) recruited thousands of Hmong people in Laos to fight against forces from North and South Vietnam and the communist Pathet Lao insurgents. This CIA operation is known as the Secret War.
HISTORY OF HMONG
The Hmong traditions and legends indicate that they originated near the Yellow River region of China. According to linguist Martha Ratliff, there is linguistic evidence to suggest that they have occupied some of the same areas of southern China for over 8,000 years. Evidence from mitochondrial DNA in Hmong–Mien–speaking populations supports the southern origins of maternal lineages even further back in time, although it has been shown that Hmong-speaking populations had comparatively more contact with northern East Asians than had the Mien.
The ancient town of Zhuolu is considered to be the birthplace of the widely proclaimed legendary Hmong king, Chi You. Today, a statue of Chi You has been erected in the town. The author of the Guoyu, authored in the 4th to 5th century, considered Chi You’s Jiu Li tribe to be related to the ancient ancestors of the Hmong, the San-Miao people.
In 2011, White Hmong DNA was sampled and found to contain 7.84% D-M15 and 6%N(Tat) DNA. The researchers posited a genetic relationship between Hmong-Mien peoples and Mon-Khmer people groups dating to the Last Glacial Maximum approximately 15-18,000 years ago.
Conflict between the Hmong of southern China and newly arrived Han settlers increased during the 18th century under repressive economic and cultural reforms imposed by the Qing dynasty. This led to armed conflict and large-scale migrations well into the late 19th century, the period during which many Hmong people emigrated to Southeast Asia. The migration process had begun as early as the late-17th century, however, before the time of major social unrest, when small groups went in search of better agricultural opportunities.
The Hmong people were subjected to persecution and genocide by the Qing dynasty government. Kim Lacy Rogers wrote: "In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, while the Hmong lived in south-western China, their Manchu overlords had labeled them 'Miao' ('barbarian' or 'savage') and targeted them for genocide when they defied being humiliated, oppressed, and enslaved."
Since 1949, the Miao people (Chinese: 苗族; pinyin: miáo zú) has been an official term for one of the 55 official minority groups recognized by the government of the People's Republic of China. The Miao live mainly in southern China, in the provinces of Guizhou, Hunan, Yunnan, Sichuan, Guangxi, Hainan, Guangdong, and Hubei. According to the 2000 censuses, the number of 'Miao' in China was estimated to be about 9.6 million. The Miao nationality includes Hmong people as well as other culturally and linguistically related ethnic groups who do not call themselves Hmong. These include the Hmu, Kho (Qho) Xiong, and A Hmao. The White Miao (Bai Miao) and Green Miao (Qing Miao) are Hmong groups.
HMONG CLANS OF HAN ORIGN
A number of Miao lineage clans are also believed to have been founded by Chinese men who had married Miao women. These distinct Chinese-descended clans practice Chinese burial customs instead of Hmong style burials. In Sichuan, they were known as "Chinese Hmong" ("Hmong Sua"). The Hmong were instructed in military tactics by fugitive Chinese rebels.
Chinese men who had married into Hmong clans have established several Hmong clans. Chinese "surname groups" are comparable to the Hmong clans which are patrilineal, and practice exogamy. Hmong women married Han Chinese men who pacified the Ah rebels who were fighting against the Ming dynasty, and founded the Wang clan among the Hmong in Gongxian county, of Sichuan's Yibin district. Hmong women who married Chinese men founded a Xem clan in a Hmong village among Northern Thailand's Hmong. Lauj clan in Northern Thailand is another example of a clan created through Han and Hmong intermarriage. A Han Chinese with the family name of Deng found another Hmong clan there as well.
Jiangxi Han Chinese have held a claim as the forefathers of the southeast Guizhou Miao. Children were born to the many Miao women who had married Han Chinese soldiers in Taijiang before the second half of the 19th century. The Hmong Tian clan in Sizhou began in the seventh century as a migrant Han Chinese clan.
Non-Han women such as the Miao became wives of Han soldiers. These soldiers fought against the Miao rebellions during the Qing and Ming dynasties and at that time Han women were not available. The origin of the Tunbao people can be traced to the Ming dynasty, when the Hongwu Emperor sent 300,000 Han Chinese male soldiers in 1381 to conquer Yunnan and the men married Yao and Miao women.
The presence of women presiding over weddings was a feature noted in "Southeast Asian" marriages, such as in 1667 when a Miao woman in Yunnan married a Chinese official. In Yunnan, a Miao chief's daughter married a scholar in the 1600s who wrote that she could read, write, and listen in Chinese and read Chinese classics.
The Sichuan Hmong village of Wangwu was visited by Nicholas Tapp who wrote that the "clan ancestral origin legend" of the Wang Hmong clan, had said that there were several intermarriages with Han Chinese and possibly one of these was their ancestor Wang Wu; there were two types of Hmong, "cooked", who sided with Chinese, and "raw", who rebelled against the Chinese. The Chinese were supported by the Wang Hmong clan. A Hmong woman was married by the non-Hmong Wang Wu according to The Story of the Ha Kings in Wangwu village.
CULTURE
Hmong people have their own terms for their subcultural divisions. Hmong Der (Hmoob Dawb), and Hmong Leng (Hmoob Leeg) are the terms for two of the largest groups in the United States and Southeast Asia. These subgroups are also known as the White Hmong, and Blue or Green Hmong, respectively. These names originate from the color and designs of women's dresses in each respective group, with the White Hmong distinguished by the white dresses women wear on special occasions, and the Blue/Green Hmong by the blue batiked dresses that the women wear. The name and pronunciation "Hmong" is exclusively used by the White Hmong to refer to themselves, and many dictionaries use only the White Hmong dialect.
In the Romanized Popular Alphabet, developed in the 1950s in Laos, these terms are written Hmoob Dawb (White Hmong) and Hmoob Leeg (Green Hmong). The final consonants indicate with which of the eight lexical tones the word is pronounced.
White Hmong and Green Hmong speak mutually intelligible dialects of the Hmong language, with some differences in pronunciation and vocabulary. One of the most characteristic differences is the use of the voiceless /m̥/ in White Hmong, indicated by a preceding "H" in Romanized Popular Alphabet. Voiceless nasals are not found in the Green Hmong dialect. Hmong groups are often named after the dominant colors or patterns of their traditional clothing, style of head-dress, or the provinces from which they come.
VIETNAM AND LAOS
The Hmong groups in Vietnam and Laos, from the 18th century to the present day, are known as Black Hmong (Hmoob Dub), Striped Hmong (Hmoob Txaij), White Hmong (Hmoob Dawb), Hmong Leng (Hmoob Leeg) and Green Hmong (Hmoob Ntsuab). In other places in Asia, groups are also known as Black Hmong (Hmoob Dub or Hmong Dou), Striped Hmong (Hmoob Txaij or Hmoob Quas Npab), Hmong Shi, Hmong Pe, Hmong Pua, and Hmong Xau, Hmong Xanh (Green Hmong), Hmong Do (Red Hmong), Na Mieo and various other subgroups. These include the Flower Hmong or the Variegated Hmong (Hmong Lenh or Hmong Hoa), so named because of their bright, colorful embroidery work (called pa ndau or paj ntaub, literally "flower cloth").
NOMENCLATURE
CHINA
Usage of the term "Miao" (苗) in Chinese documents dates back to the Shi Ji (1st century BC) and the Zhan Guo Ce (late Western Han Dynasty). During this time, it was generally applied to people of the southern regions thought to be descendants of the San Miao kingdom (dated to around the 3rd millennium BC.) The term does not appear again until the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), by which time it had taken on the connotation of "barbarian." Being a variation of Nanman, it was used to refer to one kind of indigenous people in the southern China who had not been assimilated into Han culture. During this time, references to Unfamiliar (生 Sheng) and Familiar (熟 Shu) Miao appear, referring to level of assimilation and political cooperation of the two groups. Not until the Qing dynasty (1644–1911) do more finely grained distinctions appear in writing. Even then, discerning which ethnic groups are included in various classifications can be problematic.
This inconsistent usage of "Miao" makes it difficult to say for sure if Hmong and Mong people are always included in these historical writings. Christian Culas and Jean Michaud note: "In all these early accounts, then, until roughly the middle of the 19th century, there is perpetual confusion about the exact identity of the population groups designated by the term Miao. We should, therefore, be cautious with respect to the historical value of any early associations."
Linguistic evidence, however, places Hmong and Mong people in the same regions of southern China that they inhabit today for at least the past 2,000 years. By the mid-18th century, classifications become specific enough that it is easier to identify references to Hmong and Mong people.
The term 'Miao' is used today by the Chinese government to denote a group of linguistically and culturally related people (including the Hmong, Hmu, Kho Xiong, and A Hmao). The Hmong and Miao of China today believe they are one people with cultural and linguistic affiliations that transcend oceans and national boundaries. The educated elites of the two groups maintain close transnational contacts with one another.
SOUTHEAST ASIA
In Southeast Asia, Hmong people are referred to by other names, including: Vietnamese: Mèo, Mông or H'Mông; Lao: ແມ້ວ (Maew) or ມົ້ງ (Mong); Thai: แม้ว (Maew) or ม้ง (Mong); Burmese: မုံလူမျိုး (mun lu-myo). The xenonym, "Mèo", and variants thereof, are considered highly derogatory by some Hmong people in the USA.
A recent DNA research in Thailand found that Hmong paternal lineage is quite different from those lu Mien and other Southeast Asian tribes. The Hmong-Mien (HM) and Sino-Tibetan (ST) speaking groups are known as hill tribes in Thailand; they were the subject of the first studies to show an impact of patrilocality vs. matrilocality on patterns of mitochondrial (mt) DNA vs. male-specific portion of the Y chromosome (MSY) variation. However, HM and ST groups have not been studied in as much detail as other Thai groups; here we report and analyze 234 partial MSY sequences (∼2.3 mB) and 416 complete mtDNA sequences from 14 populations that, when combined with our previous published data, provides the largest dataset yet for the hill tribes. We find a striking difference between Hmong and IuMien (Mien-speaking) groups: the Hmong are genetically different from both the IuMien and all other Thai groups, whereas the IuMien are genetically more similar to other linguistic groups than to the Hmong. In general, we find less of an impact of patrilocality vs. matrilocality on patterns of mtDNA vs. MSY variation than previous studies. However, there is a dramatic difference in the frequency of MSY and mtDNA lineages of Northeast Asian (NEA) origin vs. Southeast Asian (SEA) origin in HM vs. ST groups: HM groups have high frequencies of NEA MSY lineages but lower frequencies of NEA mtDNA lineages, while ST groups show the opposite. A potential explanation is that the ancestors of Thai HM groups were patrilocal, while the ancestors of Thai ST groups were matrilocal. Overall, these results attest to the impact of cultural practices on patterns of mtDNA vs. MSY variation.
HMONG/MONG CONTROVERSY
When Western authors came in contact with Hmong people, beginning in the 18th century, they referred to them in writing by ethnonyms assigned by the Chinese (i.e., Miao, or variants). This practice continued into the 20th century. Even ethnographers studying the Hmong people in Southeast Asia often referred to them as Meo, a corruption of Miao applied by Thai and Lao people to the Hmong. Although "Meo" was an official term, it was often used as an insult against the Hmong people, and it is considered to be derogatory.
The issue came to a head during the passage of California State Assembly Bill (AB) 78, in the 2003–2004 season. Introduced by Doua Vu and Assembly Member Sarah Reyes, District 31 (Fresno), the bill encouraged changes in secondary education curriculum to include information about the Secret War and the role of Hmong people in the war. Furthermore, the bill called for the use of oral histories and first-hand accounts from Hmong people who had participated in the war and who were caught up in the aftermath. Originally, the language of the bill mentioned only "Hmong" people, intending to include the entire community. Several Mong Leng activists, led by Dr. Paoze Thao (Professor of Linguistics and Education at California State University, Monterey Bay), drew attention to the problems associated with omitting "Mong" from the language of the bill. They noted that despite nearly equal numbers of Hmong Der and Mong Leng in the United States, resources are disproportionately directed toward the Hmong Der community. This includes not only scholarly research but also the translation of materials, potentially including the curriculum proposed by the bill. Despite these arguments, "Mong" was not added to the bill. In the version that passed the assembly, "Hmong" was replaced by "Southeast Asians", a more broadly inclusive term.
Dr. Paoze Thao and some others feel strongly that "Hmong" can refer to only Hmong Der people and does not include "Mong" Leng people. He feels that the usage of "Hmong" about both groups perpetuates the marginalization of Mong Leng language and culture. Thus, he advocates the usage of both "Hmong" and "Mong" when referring to the entire ethnic group. Other scholars, including anthropologist Dr. Gary Yia Lee (a Hmong Der person), suggest that "Hmong" has been used for the past 30 years to refer to the entire community and that the inclusion of Mong Leng people is understood. Some argue that such distinctions create unnecessary divisions within the global community and will only confuse non-Hmong and Mong people trying to learn more about Hmong and Mong history and culture.
As a compromise alternative, multiple iterations of "Hmong" are proposed. A Hmong theologian, Rev. Dr. Paul Joseph T. Khamdy Yang has proposed the term “HMong” to encompass both the Hmong and Mong community by capitalizing the H and the M. The ethnologist Jacques Lemoine has also begun to use the term (H)mong when referring to the entirety of the Hmong and Mong community.
HMONG, MONG AND MIAO
Some non-Chinese Hmong advocate that the term Hmong be used not only for designating their dialect group but also for the other Miao groups living in China. They generally claim that the word "Miao" or "Meo" is a derogatory term, with connotations of barbarism, that probably should not be used at all. The term was later adopted by Tai-speaking groups in Southeast Asia where it took on especially insulting associations for Hmong people despite its official status.
In modern China, the term "Miao" does not carry these negative associations and people of the various sub-groups that constitute this officially recognized nationality freely identify themselves as Miao or Chinese, typically reserving more specific ethnonyms for intra-ethnic communication. During the struggle for political recognition after 1949, it was members of these ethnic minorities who campaigned for identification under the umbrella term "Miao"—taking advantage of its familiarity and associations of historical political oppression.
Contemporary transnational interactions between Hmong in the West and Miao groups in China, following the 1975 Hmong diaspora, have led to the development of a global Hmong identity that includes linguistically and culturally related minorities in China that previously had no ethnic affiliation. Scholarly and commercial exchanges, increasingly communicated via the Internet, have also resulted in an exchange of terminology, including Hmu and A Hmao people identifying as Hmong and, to a lesser extent, Hmong people accepting the designation "Miao," within the context of China. Such realignments of identity, while largely the concern of economically elite community leaders reflects a trend towards the interchangeability of the terms "Hmong" and "Miao.
DIASPORA
Roughly 95% of the Hmong live in Asia. Linguistic data show that the Hmong of the Peninsula stem from the Miao of southern China as one among a set of ethnic groups belonging to the Hmong–Mien language family. Linguistically and culturally speaking, the Hmong and the other sub-groups of the Miao have little in common.
Vietnam, where their presence is attested from the late 18th century onwards and characterized with both assimilation, cooperation and hostility, is likely to be the first Indochinese country into which the Hmong migrated. During the colonization of 'Tonkin' (north Vietnam) between 1883 and 1954, a number of Hmong decided to join the Vietnamese Nationalists and Communists, while many Christianized Hmong sided with the French. After the Viet Minh victory, numerous pro-French Hmong had to fall back to Laos and South Vietnam.
At the 2019 national census, there were 1,393,547 Hmong living in Vietnam, the vast majority of them in the north of the country. The traditional trade in coffin wood with China and the cultivation of the Opium Poppy – both prohibited only in 1993 in Vietnam – long guaranteed a regular cash income. Today, converting to cash cropping is the main economic activity. As in China and Laos, there is a certain degree of participation of Hmong in the local and regional administration. In the late 1990s, several thousands of Hmong started moving to the Central Highlands and some crossed the border into Cambodia, constituting the first attested presence of Hmong settlers in that country.
In 2015, the Hmong in Laos numbered 595,028. Hmong settlement there is nearly as ancient as in Vietnam. After decades of distant relations with the Lao kingdoms, closer relations between the French military and some Hmong on the Xieng Khouang plateau were set up after World War II. There, a particular rivalry between members of the Lo and Ly clans developed into open enmity, also affecting those connected with them by kinship. Clan leaders took opposite sides and as a consequence, several thousand Hmong participated in the fighting against the Pathet Lao Communists, while perhaps as many were enrolled in the People's Liberation Army. As in Vietnam, numerous Hmong in Laos also genuinely tried to avoid getting involved in the conflict in spite of the extremely difficult material conditions under which they lived during wartime.
After the 1975 Communist victory, thousands of Hmong from Laos had to seek refuge abroad (see Laos below). Approximately 30 percent of the Hmong left, although the only concrete figure we have is that of 116,000 Hmong from Laos and Vietnam together seeking refuge in Thailand up to 1990.
In 2002 the Hmong in Thailand numbered 151,080. The presence of Hmong settlements there is documented from the end of the 19th century. Initially, the Siamese paid little attention to them. But in the early 1950s, the state suddenly took a number of initiatives aimed at establishing links. Decolonization and nationalism were gaining momentum in the Peninsula and wars of independence were raging. Armed opposition to the state in northern Thailand, triggered by outside influence, started in 1967 while here again, much Hmong refused to take sides in the conflict. Communist guerrilla warfare stopped by 1982 as a result of an international concurrence of events that rendered it pointless. Priority is since given by the Thai state to sedentarizing the mountain population, introducing commercially viable agricultural techniques and national education, with the aim of integrating these non-Tai animists within the national identity.
Myanmar most likely includes a modest number of Hmong (perhaps around 2,500) but no reliable census has been conducted there recently.
As result of refugee movements in the wake of the Indochina Wars (1946–1975), in particular, in Laos, the largest Hmong community to settle outside Asia went to the United States where approximately 100,000 individuals had already arrived by 1990. By the same date, 10,000 Hmong had migrated to France, including 1,400 in French Guyana. Canada admitted 900 individuals, while another 360 went to Australia, 260 to China, and 250 to Argentina. Over the following years and until the definitive closure of the last refugee camps in Thailand in 1998, additional numbers of Hmong have left Asia, but the definitive figures are still to be produced.
In the rest of the world, where about 5% of the world Hmong population now lives, the United States is home to the largest Hmong population. The 2008 Census counted 171,316 people solely of Hmong ancestry, and 221,948 persons of at least partial Hmong ancestry. Other countries with significant populations include:
France: 15,000
Australia: 2,000
French Guiana: 1,500
Canada: 835
Argentina: 600
The Hmong population within the United States is centered in the Upper Midwest (Wisconsin, Minnesota) and California.
HMONG IN VIETNAM
Hmongs in Vietnam today are perceived very differently between various political organizations and changed throughout times. The Hmongs of Vietnam are a small minority and because of this, their loyalty toward the Vietnamese state has also been under question. Nonetheless, most Hmongs in Vietnam are fiercely loyal to the Vietnamese state, regardless of the current ideologies of the government with only those minorities supportive of Hmong resistance in Laos and Cambodia. These are mostly Christian Hmongs who have fallen under target and poverty strike by alienation of both three Indochinese governments, since there has been no Hmong armed separatism in the country. The Hmongs in Vietnam also receive cultural and political promotion from the government alike. This unique feature distanced Vietnamese Hmongs from Laotian Hmongs, as their Laotian cousins are strongly anti-Vietnamese.
LAOS
U.S. AND LAOTIAN CIVIL WAR
In the early 1960s, partially as a result of the North Vietnamese invasion of Laos, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) Special Activities Division began to recruit, train and lead the indigenous Hmong people in Laos to fight against North Vietnamese Army divisions invading Laos during the Vietnam War. This "Secret Army" was organized into various mobile regiments and divisions, including various Special Guerrilla Units, all of whom were led by General Vang Pao. An estimated sixty-percent (60%) of Hmong men in Laos joined up.
While Hmong soldiers were known to assist the North Vietnamese in many situations, Hmong soldiers were also recognized for serving in combat against the NVA and the Pathet Lao, helping block Hanoi's Ho Chi Minh trail inside Laos and rescuing downed American pilots. Though their role was generally kept secret in the early stages of the conflict, they made great sacrifices to help the U.S.
Thousands of economic and political refugees have resettled in Western countries in two separate waves. The first wave resettled in the late 1970s, mostly in the United States, after the North Vietnamese and Pathet Lao takeovers of the pro-US governments in South Vietnam and Laos respectively. The Lao Veterans of America, and Lao Veterans of America Institute, helped to assist in the resettlement of many Laotian and Hmong refugees and asylum seekers in the United States, especially former Hmong veterans and their family members who served in the "U.S. Secret Army" in Laos during the Vietnam War.
HMONG LAO RESISTANCE
For many years, the Neo Hom resistance and political movement played a key role in resistance to the Vietnam People's Army in Laos following the U.S. withdrawal in 1975. Vang Pao played a significant role in this movement. Additionally, a spiritual leader Zong Zoua Her, as well as other Hmong leaders, including Pa Kao Her or Pa Khao Her, rallied some of their followers in an additional factionalized guerrilla resistance movement called ChaoFa (RPA: Cob Fab, Pahawh Hmong: ChaoFaPahawh.png). These events led to the yellow rain controversy when the United States accused the Soviet Union of supplying and using chemical weapons in this conflict.
Small groups of Hmong people, many of the second or third generation descendants of former CIA soldiers, remain internally displaced in remote parts of Laos, in fear of government reprisals. Faced with continuing military operations against them by the government and a scarcity of food, some groups have begun coming out of hiding, while others have sought asylum in Thailand and other countries. Hmongs in Laos, in particularly, develop a stronger and deeper anti-Vietnamese sentiment than its Vietnamese Hmong cousins, due to historic persecution perpetrated by the Vietnamese against them.
CONTROVERSY OVER REPATRIATION
In June 1991, after talks with the UNHCR and the Thai government, Laos agreed to the repatriation of over 60,000 Lao refugees living in Thailand, including tens of thousands of Hmong people. Very few of the Lao refugees, however, were willing to return voluntarily. Pressure to resettle the refugees grew as the Thai government worked to close its remaining refugee camps. While some Hmong people returned to Laos voluntarily, with development assistance from UNHCR, coercive measures and forced repatriation was used to send thousands of Hmong back to the communist regime they had fled. Of those Hmong who did return to Laos, some quickly escaped back to Thailand, describing discrimination and brutal treatment at the hands of Lao authorities.
In the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s, The Center for Public Policy Analysis, a non-governmental public policy research organization, and its Executive Director, Philip Smith, played a key role in raising awareness in the U.S. Congress and policy making circles in Washington, D.C. about the plight of the Hmong and Laotian refugees in Thailand and Laos. The CPPA, backed by a bipartisan coalition of Members of the U.S. Congress as well as human rights organizations, conducted numerous research missions to the Hmong and Laotian refugee camps along the Mekong River in Thailand, as well as the Buddhist temple of Wat Tham Krabok.
Amnesty International, the Lao Veterans of America, Inc., the United League for Democracy in Laos, Inc., Lao Human Rights Council, Inc. (led by Dr. Pobzeb Vang Vang Pobzeb, and later Vaughn Vang) and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and human rights organizations joined the opposition to forced repatriation.
Although some accusations of forced repatriation were denied, thousands of Hmong people refused to return to Laos. In 1996, as the deadline for the closure of Thai refugee camps approached, and under mounting political pressure, the U.S. agreed to resettle Hmong refugees who passed a new screening process. Around 5,000 Hmong people who were not resettled at the time of the camp closures sought asylum at Wat Tham Krabok, a Buddhist monastery in central Thailand where more than 10,000 Hmong refugees were already living. The Thai government attempted to repatriate these refugees, but the Wat Tham Krabok Hmong refused to leave and the Lao government refused to accept them, claiming they were involved in the illegal drug trade and were of non-Lao origin.
In 2003, following threats of forcible removal by the Thai government, the U.S., in a significant victory for the Hmong, agreed to accept 15,000 of the refugees. Several thousand Hmong people, fearing forced repatriation to Laos if they were not accepted for resettlement in the U.S., fled the camp to live elsewhere within Thailand where a sizable Hmong population has been present since the 19th century.
In 2004 and 2005, thousands of Hmong fled from the jungles of Laos to a temporary refugee camp in the Thai province of Phetchabun.
The European Union, UNHCHR, and international groups have since spoken out about the forced repatriation.
ALLEGED PLOT TO OVERTHROW THE GOVERMENT OF LAOS
On 4 June 2007, as part of an investigation labeled "Operation Tarnished Eagle," warrants were issued by U.S. federal courts ordering the arrest of Vang Pao and nine others for plotting to overthrow the government of Laos in violation of the federal Neutrality Acts and for multiple weapons charges. The federal charges allege that members of the group inspected weapons, including AK-47s, smoke grenades, and Stinger missiles, with the intent of purchasing them and smuggling them into Thailand in June 2007 where they were intended to be used by Hmong resistance forces in Laos. The one non-Hmong person of the nine arrested, Harrison Jack, a 1968 West Point graduate and retired Army infantry officer, allegedly attempted to recruit Special Operations veterans to act as mercenaries.
In an effort to obtain the weapons, Jack allegedly met unknowingly with undercover U.S. federal agents posing as weapons dealers, which prompted the issuance of the warrants as part of a long-running investigation into the activities of the U.S.-based Hmong leadership and its supporters.
On 15 June, the defendants were indicted by a grand jury and a warrant was also issued for the arrest of an 11th man, allegedly involved in the plot. Simultaneous raids of the defendants' homes and work locations, involving over 200 federal, state and local law enforcement officials, were conducted in approximately 15 cities in Central and Southern California in the US.
Multiple protest rallies in support of the suspects, designed to raise awareness of the treatment of Hmong peoples in the jungles of Laos, took place in California, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Alaska, and several of Vang Pao's high-level supporters in the U.S. criticized the California court that issued the arrest warrants, arguing that Vang is a historically important American ally and a valued leader of U.S. and foreign-based Hmong. However, calls for then Californian Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and then President George W. Bush to pardon the defendants were not answered, presumably pending a conclusion of the large and then still-ongoing federal investigation.
On 18 September 2009, the US federal government dropped all charges against Vang Pao, announcing in a release that the federal government was permitted to consider "the probable sentence or other consequences if the person is convicted." On 10 January 2011, after Vang Pao's death, the federal government dropped all charges against the remaining defendants saying, "Based on the totality of the circumstances in the case, the government believes, as a discretionary matter, that continued prosecution of defendants is no longer warranted," according to court documents.
THAILAND
The Hmong presence in Thailand dates back, according to most authors, to the turn of the 20th century when families migrated from China through Laos and Burma. A relatively small population, they still settled dozens of villages and hamlets throughout the northern provinces. The Hmong were then registered by the state as the Meo hill tribe. Then, more Hmong migrated from Laos to Thailand following the victory of the Pathet Lao in 1975. While some ended up in refugee camps, others settled in mountainous areas among more ancient Hill Tribes.
AMERICAS
Many Hmong refugees resettled in the United States after the Vietnam War. Beginning in December 1975, the first Hmong refugees arrived in the U.S., mainly from refugee camps in Thailand; however, only 3,466 were granted asylum at that time under the Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1975. In May 1976, another 11,000 were allowed to enter the United States, and by 1978 some 30,000 Hmong people had immigrated. This first wave was made up predominantly of men directly associated with General Vang Pao's secret army. It was not until the passage of the Refugee Act of 1980 that families were able to enter the U.S., becoming the second wave of Hmong immigrants. Hmong families scattered across all 50 states but most found their way to each other, building large communities in California, Minnesota and Wisconsin. As of the 2010 census, 260,073 Hmong people reside in the United States the majority of whom live in California (91,224), Minnesota (66,181), and Wisconsin (49,240), an increase from 186,310 in 2000. Of them, 247,595 or 95.2% are Hmong alone, and the remaining 12,478 are mixed Hmong with some other ethnicity or race. The vast majority of part-Hmong are under 10 years old.
The Hmong people, who are a distinct ethnic group with ancient roots and ancestry in China, began settling in Minnesota in 1975. The Hmong came to Minnesota as refugees from the destructive wars that had ravaged and taken place in their homelands in Laos. Today, there are 150,000 Hmong in the U.S. states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and California. More than 66,000 Hmong reside in Minnesota with the majority living in the St. Paul area. The Twin Cities metro is home to the largest concentration of Hmong in America. For decades, the Hmong have not only made a profound impact on their adopted home in Minnesota, but the Hmong culture has collaborated with the community to document this remarkable story by collecting images, artifacts, oral histories, sharing stories, and by publishing articles and books on the Hmong experience.
In terms of cities and towns, the largest Hmong-American community is in St. Paul (29,662), followed by Fresno (24,328), Sacramento (16,676), Milwaukee (10,245), and Minneapolis (7,512).
There are smaller Hmong communities scattered across the United States, including those in Minnesota (Rochester, Mankato, Duluth) Michigan (Detroit and Warren); Anchorage, Alaska; Denver, Colorado; Portland, Oregon; Washington; North Carolina (Charlotte, Morganton); South Carolina (Spartanburg); Georgia (Auburn, Duluth, Monroe, Atlanta, and Winder); Florida (Tampa Bay); Wisconsin (Madison, Eau Claire, Appleton, Green Bay, Milwaukee, Oshkosh, La Crosse, Sheboygan, Manitowoc, and Wausau); Aurora, Illinois; Kansas City, Kansas; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Missoula, Montana; Des Moines, Iowa; Springfield, Missouri; Arkansas, Fitchburg, Massachusetts, and Providence, Rhode Island.
Canada's small Hmong population is mostly concentrated within the province of Ontario. Kitchener, Ontario has 515 residents of Hmong descent, and has a Hmong church.
There is also a small community of several thousand Hmong who migrated to French Guiana in the late 1970s and early 1980s, that can be mainly found in the Hmong villages of Javouhey (1200 individuals) and Cacao (950 individuals).
RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION
Some Laos- and Vietnam-based Hmong Animists and Christians, including Protestant and Catholic believers, have been subjected to military attacks, police arrest, imprisonment, forced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and torture on anti-religious grounds.
The deportation of Zoua Yang and her 27 children from Thailand in December 19, 2005 after the group was arrested attending a Christian church in Ban Kho Noi, Phetchabun Province, Thailand, where upon arrival back in Laos, Ms. Yang and her children were detained, after which the whereabouts of much of the family are still unknown.
For example, in 2013, a Hmong Christian pastor, Vam Ngaij Vaj (Va Ngai Vang), was beaten to death by police and security forces. In February 2014, in Hanoi, Vietnamese government officials refused to allow medical treatment for a Hmong Christian leader, Duong Van Minh, who was suffering from a serious kidney illness. In 2011, Vietnam People's Army troops were used to crush a peaceful demonstration by Hmong Catholic, Protestant and Evangelical Christian believers who gathered in Dien Bien Province and the Dien Bien Phu area of northwestern Vietnam, according to Philip Smith of the Center for Public Policy Analysis, independent journalists and others.
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has documented official and ongoing religious persecution, religious freedom violations against the Laotian and Hmong people in both Laos and Vietnam by the governments. In April 2011, the Center for Public Policy Analysis also researched and documented cases of Hmong Christians being attacked and summarily executed, including four Lao Hmong Christians.
WIKIPEDIA
"Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change." Stephen Hawking.
I did not plan to photograph Sepúlveda on this trip in Segovia, but after calling several towns to get information about the lighting of their castles and receive only negative responses (they only turn the lights on for the weekends or for special occasions), I chose to come up to here, since I knew well this viewpoint from which we can see the town above its spectacular location.
My initial composition was different, but when the sun brushed the horizon and I saw the magnificent light with the incredible clouds that seemed to gallop like horses through the sky full of color, I decided to change at the last moment until I found this composition that I considered much better than the original. Sometimes, even if we arrive in time and decide the composition beforehand, we must be ready to take advantage of circumstances and be able to adapt to change.
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"La inteligencia es la habilidad para adaptarse al cambio." Stephen Hawking.
No tenía pensado fotografiar Sepúlveda en este viaje por Segovia, pero después de llamar a varias localidades para informarme sobre la iluminación de sus castillos y recibir solo respuestas negativas (solo se encienden en fin de semana o en ocasiones especiales), opté por ir hasta allí, ya que conocía bien este mirador desde el que se divisa el pueblo en su espectacular ubicación.
Mi composición inicial era otra, pero cuando el sol rozaba el horizonte y vi la magnífica luz con las increíbles nubes que parecían galopar como caballos por el cielo lleno de color, decidí cambiar en el último momento hasta que encontré esta composición que me pareció mucho mejor que la original. A veces, aunque lleguemos con tiempo y decidamos la composición previamente, hay que estar listos para aprovechar las circunstancias y ser capaces de adaptarnos al cambio.
This is the Photoshop blender of three word-generated Wombo images driven by the following text: "The paintings are very odd and strange indeed because they resemble surrealistic forms." I generated that text using "Art Review Generator." This is a case of artificial intelligence informing artificial intelligence. artreviewgenerator.com/
The US intelligence community has been unable to determine the origins of Covid-19, and is split on whether it leaked from a lab or developed in nature, according to a new report.
The report issued by the office that oversees the nation's 18 spy agencies did conclusively determine that it was not developed as a biological weapon.
Experts warn that time is running out to gather evidence of its beginnings.
China's foreign minister has dismissed the report as "anti-science".
The report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said the intelligence community remains divided on Covid's most likely origin.
"All agencies assess that two hypotheses are plausible: natural exposure to an infected animal and a laboratory-associated incident."
According to the report, several unnamed spy agencies thought Covid emerged from "natural exposure to an animal infected with it or a close progenitor virus". But they only had "low confidence" in this conclusion.
One intelligence agency developed "moderate confidence" that the first human infection was likely due a "laboratory-associated incident" at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which has studied coronaviruses in bats for more than a decade.
I did a few "corrections" to this A.I. artwork... so does this now constitute as my "own" art?
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Do you feel "betrayed" when (if) you found out a photo was an Artificial "photo"... are we getting used to being "lied" too..
I for one think we are blurring the future. Can we trust what we see? Do you accept this "new" way of looking at things?
Things are likely to become yet more complex as use of artificial intelligence by artists becomes more widespread, and as the machines get better at producing creative works, further blurring the distinction between artwork that is made by a human and that made by a computer.
(NOTE: on purpose I posted this also in "normal" portrait groups to get some reactions)
developers.mews.com/why-ai-lie-and-what-we-can-learn-from...
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HIT THE 'L' KEY FOR A BETTER VIEW! Thanks for the favs and comments. Much Appreciated.
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All of my photographs are under copyright ©. None of these photographs may be reproduced and/or used in any way without my permission.
© VanveenJF Photography
Hallelujah, I finally got the key to creating in Midjourney.ai again.. I did not know it was as simple as hitting the enter key... The picture I down loaded was resized with an AP called ai Photo and Art Enhancer.. I do not know where the info for date taken came from or the camera info... That's Flickr For you!!!!!!!!!! I don't think Tamron even makes a lens with this Canon mount...
1
"Stars
are the campfires
of exiles.
Language exists
to pull things
close.
*
Stop that!
Communications
are being monitored.
Collusion is forbidden.
Humanity
will be punished
with the profusion
of new jargons.
2
Inverted in glass,
a white cup
invents the underworld.
*
Fog thins
to chiffon,
nylon,
Easter.
*
In the universe next door,
I’m gone
and the shadows
of the leaves
of the elm I had pulled down
still make a fuss
over the earth."
--Rae Armantrout
Source: Poetry (January 2011).
Created with DDG Text 2 AI engine 6 second video option.
Starter image from Midjourney.
Portrait of baby monk in yoga pose, floating in the air, levitation
--style raw --stylize 200
OM AH HUM...اوم آہ ہم 🙏
WARNING !! if you use my prompts, please give me the courtesy of either credit me or at least say: inspired by Irene Steeves. If I find you continue using my prompt without credit I will block you. Thanks for your understanding.
Thank you all for the visit, kind remarks and invites, they are very much appreciated! 💝 I may reply to only a few comments due to my restricted time spent at the computer.
All art works on this website are fully protected by Canadian and international copyright laws, all rights reserved. The images may not be copied, reproduced, manipulated or used in any way, without written permission from the artist. Link to copyright registration:
www.canada.ca Intellectual property and copyright.
Update April 02, 2025. Now I only accept new group invitation that allows all media types including videos.
Thanks for 6,072,090 🙏 Apr 18, 2025
Karez System, Turpan, China.
Karez systems are the crystallization of ancient people's diligence and intelligence. At its peak, this irrigation system exceeded 5,000 km (3,106 miles) and was also referred to as 'the underground Great Wall'. It is among the three ancient major irrigation projects with the other two being Ling Canal and Dujiangyan Irrigation Project.
Karez systems are the life source of Turpan. In a sense, without them, there would be no Turpan culture. According to records, the history of the karez in Xinjiang dates back to 103B.C. Currently there are still over 400 systems.
Karez are very delicate irrigation systems made up of vertical wells, underground canals, above-ground canals and small reservoirs. Generally, a karez is 3 km (1.9 miles) with the longest being 20 to 30 km (12-19 miles) with several dozen vertical wells. Sometimes the number of vertical wells exceeds 300. Until today, the shortest karez found is only 30 meters (98 feet) long. The vertical wells are for ventilation, digging and maintenance of the karez. The bottoms of all the vertical wells are connected so that water can pass through. The underground canal is about 2 meters (6.5 feet) high and covered with earth to resist the heat. The surface canals, connected to the underground ones, are not more than 1 meter (3.2 feet) wide with trees planted on both sides to prevent evaporation.
Melting snow from the Tianshan Mountain is the water source of the karez. Water is collected by vertical wells and conducted by the underground canals to the oasis, where the water is held in the ground canals for irrigation. The vertical wells near the water source may be 100 meters (328 feet) deep while further downstream they are less than 10 meters (32.8 feet) deep.
For video, please visit youtu.be/3jGEnljoI_8