Renaissance,
SARS & Black Death
!!!!
what do they have in common
????
Interestingly during or preceding
EUROPEAN RENAISSANCE, Europe was hit by a
bubonic/pneunomic plague
nicknamed
Black Death
ASIAN RENAISSANCE vs SARS ???
ASIAN RENAISSANCE
USED ?
In the mid 1990's when the Asian Tigers were roaring very healthily and flying in the larger Asia's geese formation,
it was then very easy and tempting for leaders to ascribed the success to anything, from confucianism to frugality to hardwork and promote an idea of
Asian Renaissance .
In fact if I recall correctly, two prominent officials were promoting the idea of an Asian Renaissance, echoing maybe the Renaissance of Europe in the 15th Century.
One was Anwar Ibrahim and the other Prof. Tommy Koh. Well, these words could still be ringing true if we get out of our present state of world affairs.
Out of all these ideas, I think we have seen the physical manifestation of those ideas if not ideal in the form of the opening of the Esplanade Art Center.
Prior to the advent of that "sculpture of Fly Eyes", or officially known as Esplanade, MITA has also issued a document of Singapore being the GLOBAL art city in1999. And the word RENAISSANCE is officially used..And I do stressed GLOBAL.
What is a Renaissance Man ?
find out on
http://www.mita.gov.sg/renaissance
www.mita.gov.sg/renaissance
www.gov.sg/mita/artmedia/chap2a.pdf
European Asian
RENAISSANCE RENAISSANCE
When ? 14th Century 21st Century(?)
What ?
Plague : Black Death SARS
Types Pneunomic Pneunomic
Bubonic
How ?
Originated China/asia China/Guangzhou
Hanoi
Only with the passage of time can we tell, if we will witness a RENAISSANCE Asian Style ?
The difference in Europe at that time, was that it was a predominantlly Christian/Catholic enviroment.
And although the Renaissance saw many firsts, it also brought along secularism. It was a period of experimentation of ideas (Bohemian Culture ?!), free flow of ideas to explore and invent what "raw material" God has already put into place in His creation.
Asian Renaisance., if ever it comes and what shape it takes, only time can tell if we are still around to witness it.
Personally, I feel besides other fields of discipline there will be a spiritual revival. Not only of the christian faith but also maybe New Age Religion based on the ancient religion of Hinduism and Buddhism.
And of course ARTS in every form !
So if we really do see an Asian Renaissance, how should the church of Jesus Christ be prepared for such a social phenomenon ?
1. Esplanade : Art or Omen ?
2. Indochina : Stiring in the Region
3 Sex, Art & Esplanade
4. What is Black Death ?
5. What is European Renaissance ?
The European Renaissance was however precede by a bubonic plague called black death. which was incidentally carried from China to Europe.
WHAT IS BLACK DEATH [http://www.britannica.com/search?query=black%20death&ct=&fuzzy=N]
pandemic of (q.v.), probably both bubonic and pneumonic, the first onset of which ravaged between 1347 and 1351, taking a proportionately greater toll of life than any other known epidemic or war up to that time.
http://education.yahoo.com/search/be?lb=t&p=url%3Ab/black_death
Originating in China and Inner Asia, the plague was transmitted to Europeans (1347) when a Kipchak army, besieging a Genoese trading post in the Crimea, catapulted?
Fierce and widespread outbreak of plague that ravaged Europe during the 14th cent. The epidemic originated in Asia and was transmitted to Europeans in 1347 when a Turkic army besieging a Genoese trading post in the Crimea catapulted plague-infested corpses into the town. It spread from the Mediterranean ports and ravaged all of Europe between 1347 and 1351. Renewed outbreaks occurred in 1361-63, 1369-71, 1374-75, 1390, and 1400. Towns and cities were more heavily hit than the countryside, and whole communities were sometimes destroyed, and much of Europe's economy was devastated. About one-third of the European population, or a total of 25 million people, died in the Black Death.
SARS, an atypical pneumonia of unknown aetiology, was recognized at the end of February 2003. The World Health Organization (WHO) is co-ordinating the international investigation with the assistance of and is working closely with health authorities in the affected countries to provide epidemiological, clinical and logistical support as required.
The writing is on the wall for Singapore, I think.