Hitory Of Han Dynasty

Han Dynaty played an important role in history of China. It contributed to the Chinese culture and civilization. After Qin was overthrew by the peasants rebellion, Liu Bang and Xiang Yu were two leaders that struggled to seize the regime position of a new dyansty. They have gone against each other and at last Liu Bang defeated Xiang Yu to be the first emperor of Han dynasty. Chang’an became capital during the Han Dynasty after a short national war.

Building upon the base of Qin dynasty, the new empire retained much of the Qin administrative structure but retreated a little from centralized rule by establishing vassal principalities in some areas for the sake of political convenience.

Instead of using the previous harsher and crule laws and regulation against the common people. The Han rulers modified some of the harsher aspects of the previous dynasty; Confucian ideals of government, out of favor during the Qin period, were adopted as the creed of the Han Empire, and Confucian scholars gained prominent status as the core of the civil service.



A civil service examination system also was initiated. Intellectual, literary, and artistic endeavors revived and flourished.

The Han period produced China's most famous historian, Sima Qian ( 145-87 B.C.?), whose Shiji ( Historical Records) provides a detailed chronicle from the time of a legendary Xia emperor to that of the Han emperor Wu Di 141-87 B.C.).

Technological advances also marked this period. Two of the great Chinese inventions, paper and porcelain, date from Han times.

The Han dynasty, after which the members of the ethnic majority in China, the "people of Han," are named, was notable also for its military prowess. The empire expanded westward as far as the rim of the Tarim Basin (in modern Xinjiang-Uyghur Autonomous Region), making possible relatively secure caravan traffic across Central Asia to Antioch, Baghdad, and Alexandria.

The paths of caravan traffic are often called the "silk route" because the route was used to export Chinese silk to the Roman Empire. Chinese armies also invaded and annexed parts of northern Vietnam and northern Korea toward the end of the second century B.C.

Han control of peripheral regions was generally insecure, however. To ensure peace with non-Chinese local powers, the Han court developed a mutually beneficial "tributary system"

Non-Chinese states were allowed to remain autonomous in exchange for symbolic acceptance of Han overlordship.

Tributary ties were confirmed and strengthened through intermarriages at the ruling level and periodic exchanges of gifts and goods.
After 200 years, Han rule was interrupted briefly (in A.D. 9-24 by Wang Mang or a reformer), and then restored for another 200 years.

The Han rulers, however, were unable to adjust to what centralization had wrought: a growing population, increasing wealth and resultant financial difficulties and rivalries, and ever-more complex political institutions. Riddled with the corruption characteristic of the dynastic cycle, by A.D. 220 the Han empire collapsed.

and

Western Han ?? or Former Han ?? (206 BC- 8 AD)
Wang Mang's Xin Dynasty ???? (8-22)
Eastern Han ?? or Later Han ?? (25-220)

After centuries of political division, the adventurer Liu Bang ?? (Han Gaozu ???) succeeded in founding a new empire, following the tradition of the former kings of Zhou ? (11th cent. BC-221 BC ) and the Warring States ?? and walking in the footsteps of the First Emperor of Qin ??? (221-206 BC). But unlike the short-lived Qin empire, the Han Dynasty should last for four centuries.
Fundamental changes took place during this time and helped to build up what we now call the Chinese culture. It was not only the governmental system with its huge state bureaucracy, modeled on legist models, that took more concrete shape; the second important event was the rise of Confucianism as the main state doctrine, while popular belief in Daoist deities and practices by both aristocracy and the peasants were very widespread. And for the first time in history, China had contact with the West through the Silk Road.
The Western Han period can be divided into the time of consolidation (Emperors Han Gaozu, Wendi ???, Zhaodi ???, Jingdi ???), the zenith with the expansion into Inner Asia (Emperor Han Wudi ???) and the centralization of power, and the time of replacement of the imperial power by the mighty consort clan of the Wang ? (emperors Yuandi ???, Chengdi ???).
Wang Mang ?? tried to replace the Han Dynasty but his reforms to shape an ideal Confucian government failed, and the Han Dynasty was restored as Eastern Han.
The Eastern Han, much more than Western Han, suffered under the intervention of consort clans (waiqi ??) and eunuch (huanguan ??) factions into the inner power circle of the empire. The fundaments of both of the Wang Mang and Eastern Han administration were shaken by large peasant uprisings with religious backgrounds (Red Eyebrows ??, Yellow Turbans ??, Five-Pecks-of-Grain Sect ????), the helm of government of Eastern Han was taken over my mighty warlords that should divide the Han empire into three "kingdoms" (Sanguo ??).

Chinese History - Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)

          The founder of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang 朱元璋 (reign motto Hongwu 洪武 "Inundating Martiality"), was a poor man when he joined the Red Turban (Hongjin 紅巾) rebellion in the lower Yangtse region. Similar to the founder of the Han Dynasty, he was very suspicious of the educated courtiers around him and exerted an extremely authoritarian regime ("the tyrant of Nanjing"). This harsh governmental style was partly due to the influence of governmental institutions of the previous Mongol period that were marked by a strong centralization. Zhu Yuanzhang, full of mistrust, took over the whole responsibility of the imperial administration by abolishing crucial ministries and secretaries. To control the highest officials at the court, he installed the so-called Brocade Guards (Jinyiwei 錦衣衛), a kind of secret service staffed with the only kind of people he trusted, namely the eunuchs.

           During the whole course of Ming Dynasty, there was always prevalent a deep mistrust between the scholarship elite, that occupied the governmental posts in the capital(s) and in the prefectures, and the central government, that was often deeply influenced by some high ranking eunuchs. The authoritarian and centralized politics of the Ming government lead to a status of immovability and orthodoxy.

        The second emperor of Ming was overthrown by his own uncle, who adopted the reign title Yongle 永樂 "Everlasting Joy", and shifted the capital from Nanjing (Yingtianfu 應天府) to Beijing (Jingshi 京師, Shuntianfu 順天府). The Yongle Emperor's reign was the most flourishing time of the Ming Dynasty.

        The Ming Dynasty is famous for the influence of the eunuchs on political affairs. Basically trusted with tasks of imperial household affairs, many eunuchs were able to climb up the social ladder and to occupy posts at the court that made them able to influence the ruler and his decisions. The great part of the eunuchs came from poor families of north China, while the scholar-officials that traditionally occupied governmental posts, came from gentry clans in southern China. The problem of the intermingling of the eunuchs into state affairs was not new: The last Han emperor had to get rid of the eunuchs with the help of a military dictator, and the Song Dynasty scholar Ouyang Xiu wrote an essay about the influence of eunuchs during the Five Dynasties.

Chinese Regain Power- Ming Dynasty

     The Yuan dynasty was collapsed in the rivalry among the Mongo imperial heirs, natural disasters, and numerous peasants uprising. The Ming dynasty (1368-1644) was established by Zhu Yuanzhang, who was a Han Chinese peasant and former Buddhist monk turned rebel army leader.

     With its capital first at Nanjing which means Southern Capital) and later at Beijing (or Northern Capital), the Ming reached the zenith of power during the first quarter of the fifteenth century.

   Annam, which was called northern Vietnam, was conquered by Chinese armies. The fleets of China also sailed to the Indian Ocean and cruised to the east coast of Africa.

The maritime Asian nations sent envoys with tribute for the Chinese emperor. Internally, the Grand Canal was expanded to its farthest limits and proved to be a stimulus to domestic trade.

Zhu Yuangzhang in Ming DynastyThe Ming maritime expeditions stopped rather suddenly after 1433, the date of the last voyage. Historians have given as one of the reasons the great expense of large-scale expeditions at a time of preoccupation with northern defenses against the Mongols.

Opposition at court also may have been a contributing factor, as conservative officials found the concept of expansion and commercial ventures alien to Chinese ideas of government.

Pressure from the powerful Neo-Confucian bureaucracy led to a revival of strict agrarian-centered society.

The stability of the Ming dynasty, which was without major disruptions of the population (then around 100 million), economy, arts, society, or politics, promoted a belief among the Chinese that they had achieved the most satisfactory civilization on earth and that nothing foreign was needed or welcome.

china in Ming DynastyLong wars with the Mongols, incursions by the Japanese into Korea, and harassment of Chinese coastal cities by the Japanese in the sixteenth century weakened Ming rule, which became, as earlier Chinese dynasties had, ripe for an alien takeover.

In 1644 the Manchus took Beijing from the north and became masters of north China, establishing the last imperial dynasty, the Qing (1644-1911).

History of Software Programming

     The first generation of codes used to program a computer, was called machine language or machine code, it is the only language a computer really understands, a sequence of 0s and 1s that the computer's controls interprets as instructions, electrically.

Assembly Language
The second generation of code was called assembly language, assembly language turns the sequences of 0s and 1s into human words like 'add'. Assembly language is always translated back into machine code by programs called assemblers.

High Level Language
The third generation of code, was called high level language or HLL, which has human sounding words and syntax (like words in a sentence). In order for the computer to understand any HLL, a compiler translates the high level language into either assembly language or machine code. All software programming languages need to be eventually translated into machine code for a computer to use the instructions they contain.

But They Make It Easy For You
As the end user you do not see the code used to create computer software programs. However, you do use the results and the end products of today's software programming are soft programs that are easy to use by the consumer. Below you can find several software programs listed, each article discusses the history of software programming and the lives of the software programmers behind your favorite software programs.

Reverse Engineering

Reverse engineering is the process of taking a software program apart and analyzing it with the intention to construct a new program that does the same thing without actually copying anything from the original and avoiding copyright or patent infringement.

The History of Java Technology

    Java is a programming language and environment invented by James Gosling and others in 1994. Java was originaly named Oak and was developed as a part of the Green project at the Sun Company.

   The writing of Java began in December of 1990. Patrick Naughton, Mike Sheridan, and James Gosling and were trying to figure out the "next wave" in computing.


A    nother major byproduct of the Green project was a little cartoon character named "Duke". Duke was invented and first drawn by Joe Palrang and has become the icon for Java.

  Since 1995, Java has changed our world . . . and our expectations..

 Today, with technology such a part of our daily lives, we take it for granted that we can be connected and access applications and content anywhere, anytime. Because of Java, we expect digital devices to be smarter, more functional, and way more entertaining.

      In the early 90s, extending the power of network computing to the activities of everyday life was a radical vision. In 1991, a small group of Sun engineers called the "Green Team" believed that the next wave in computing was the union of digital consumer devices and computers. Led by James Gosling, the team worked around the clock and created the programming language that would revolutionize our world – Java.

      The Green Team demonstrated their new language with an interactive, handheld home-entertainment controller that was originally targeted at the digital cable television industry. Unfortunately, the concept was much too advanced for the them at the time. But it was just right for the Internet, which was just starting to take off. In 1995, the team announced that the Netscape Navigator Internet browser would incorporate Java technology.

    Today, Java not only permeates the Internet, but also is the invisible force behind many of the applications and devices that power our day-to-day lives. From mobile phones to handheld devices, games and navigation systems to e-business solutions, Java is everywhere!

Hitory of The Love Story of Abelard and Heloise

The love story of Abelard and Heliose has endured as one of the famous and popular love stories of all times.  It is the tale of a French philospher named Peter Abelard (1079-1142), one of the greatest thinkers of the Middle Ages, but because his teachings were controversial, he soon was accused of heresy.

Heliose ( 1101- 1164) was a well educated niece of a prominent cleric named Canon Fulbert.  It was through Canon Fulbert that Heloise and Abelard met.

In 1117 Abelard went to live at the house of Canon Fulbert of the Cathedral of Notre Dam as a border.  The moment he laid eyes on Heloise, he was intrigued by her beauty and intelligence.  He wanted to get to know her more so he convinced Canon Fulbert to let him tutor Heloise. Abelard was twenty years her senior.


The two fell in love and before long, Heliose found herself pregnant.  Abelard wanted to marry Heloise even though he would lose his job.  But Heloise refused his suit, citing that their marriage would impede his work because it would bring disgrace upon him. But Abelard refused to give up.  After much persistence, he convinced her to marry him in secret.  Heloise gave birth to their son.  Abelard hated keeping his marriage and new family a secret and he longed to tell Canon Fulbert regardless of the risk to his career.  Yet, he kept the secret.  Canon Fulbert somehow learned about their marriage.  Enraged that Abelard has ruined his niece, Fulbert sent some unsavory men to break into Abelard's quarters and castrate him. Once he recovered, in humiliation, Abelard entered the Abbey of St Denis and took his vows as a monk.  Heartbroken, and knowing in her heart that she wanted no other man, Heloise left her son with her sister and became a nun, despite Abelard's protestations. In her convent, she rose in rank due to her literacy and ability to manage.

But even monastic life couldn't keep the two lovers apart.  In 1132 they began to communicate with each other again, face-to-face.

Abelard soon discovered monastic life to be an unhappy, austere one.  Although he remained as a monk, he   resumed his profession as a teacher and lecturer. Abelard founded a Beneductine monastery and chapel known as the Oratory of Paraclete in Ferreux-Quincey, France. He left the Abbey of Saint Denis in 1121 and joined the Abbey at Saint-Gildas-de-Rhuys, near Vannes, Brittany, and became their abbot.  Abelard gifted the Oratory of Paraclete to Heloise who became its prioress .

Abelard spent the last months of his life under the care of Peter, the Venerable of Cluny. After his death he was buried at Paraclete, the chapel he founded and loved.

 After her death, Heliose was buried beside Abelard. They lie together in a single tomb.

The love letters they exchanged throughout their lives endure and are treasured as examples of exquisite French Literature.

I LOVE COMMENTS

Catherine Benincasa of Siena (1347 - 1380) History

I was born in Siena on the feast of the Annunciation, in the year 1347. I, and my twin sister who did not long survive, were the youngest of twenty-five children. My father, Giacomo Benincasa, was a prosperous wool dyer, and lived with my mother Lapa and our extended family, in a spacious house which the Sienese have preserved to the present day.

As a child, I was so merry that the family gave me the pet name of Euphrosyne, which is Greek for Joy and also the name of an early Christian saint.  At the age of six I had the remarkable experience which may be said to have determined my vocation.  With my brother, I was on the way home from a visit to a married sister, when suddenly I stopped still in the road, gazing up into the sky.  I did not hear the repeated calls of the boy, who had walked on ahead.  Only after he had gone back and seized me by the hand did I wake as from a dream.  I burst into tears.  My vision of Christ seated in glory with the Apostles Peter, Paul, and John had faded.  A year later, I made a secret vow to give my whole life to God.  I loved prayer and solitude, and when I mingled with other children it was to teach them.  This made me happy. 

When Catherine I was twelve, my mother, with marriage in mind, began to urge me to pay more attention to my appearance.  To please my mother and sister, I dressed in the bright gowns and jewels that were fashionable for young girls.  Soon I repented of this vanity, and declared with finality that I would never marry.  When my parents persisted in their talk about finding me a husband, I cut off the golden-brown hair that was my chief beauty.  As punishment, I was now made to do menial work in the household, and my family, knowing I craved solitude, never allowed me to be alone.  I bore all this with sweetness and patience.  Long afterwards, I wrote that God had shown me how to build in my soul a private cell where no tribulation could enter.

My father at last came to the realization that further pressure was useless, and he permitted me to do as I pleased.  In a small, dimly-lighted room now set apart for my use, a cell nine feet by three, I gave myself up to prayers and fasting.  I scourged myself three times daily with an iron chain, and slept on a board.  At first I wore a hair shirt, subsequently replacing it by an iron-spiked girdle.  Soon I obtained what I ardently desired, permission to assume the black habit of a Dominican tertiary, which was customarily granted only to matrons or widows.  I now increased my asceticism, eating and sleeping very little.  For three years I spoke only to my confessor and never went out except to the neighboring Basilica of Saint Dominic, where the pillar against which I used to lean is still pointed out to visitors.


At times now I was enraptured by celestial visions, but often too I was subjected to severe trials.  Loathsome forms and enticing figures would present themselves to my imagination, and the most degrading temptations assailed me.  There would be long intervals during which I felt abandoned by God.  "O Lord, where wert Thou when my heart was so sorely vexed with foul and hateful temptations?" I asked, when after such a time of agonizing He had once more manifested Himself.  I heard a voice saying, "Daughter, I was in thy heart, fortifying thee by grace," and the voice then said that God would now be with me more openly, for the period of probation was nearing an end.

On Shrove Tuesday, 1366, while the citizens of Siena were keeping carnival, and I was praying in my room, a vision of Christ appeared, accompanied by His mother and the heavenly host.  Taking my hand, Our Lady held it up to Christ, who placed a ring upon it and espoused me to Himself, bidding me to be of good courage, for now I was armed with a faith that could overcome all temptations.  To me, the ring was always visible, though invisible to others.  The years of solitude and preparation were ended and soon afterwards I began to mix with my fellow men and learned to serve them.  Like other Dominican tertiaries, I volunteered to nurse the sick in the city hospitals, choosing those afflicted with loathsome diseases—cases from which others were apt to shrink.

There gathered around me a band of earnest associates.  Prominent among them were my two Dominican confessors, Thomas della Fonte and Bartholomew Dominici, the Augustinian Father Tantucci, Matthew Cenni, rector of the Misericordia Hospital, the artist Vanni, to whom we are indebted for a famous portrait of me, the poet Neri di Landoccio dei Pagliaresi, my own sister-in-law Lisa, a noble young widow, Alessia Saracini, and William Flete, the English hermit. Father Santi, an aged hermit, abandoned his solitude to be near me, because, he said, he found greater peace of mind and progress in virtue by following her than he ever found in his cell.  A warm affection bound me to these whom I called my spiritual family, children given to me by God that I might help them along the way to perfection.  I read their thoughts and frequently knew their temptations when they were away from me.  Many of my early letters were written to one or another of them.

At this time public opinion about me was divided; many Sienese revered me as a saint, while others called me a fanatic or denounced me as a hypocrite.  Perhaps as a result of charges made against me, I was summoned to Florence to appear before the general chapter of the Dominicans.  Whatever the charges were, they were completely disproved, and shortly afterwards the new lector for the order in Siena, Raymund de Capua, was appointed my confessor.  In this happy association, Father Raymund was in many things of the spirit my disciple.  Later he became my biographer.

After my return to Siena there was a terrible outbreak of the plague, during which me and my circle worked incessantly to relieve the sufferers.  I was always with the plague-stricken; I prepared them for death and buried them with my own hands.  I nursed them with joy and the wonderful efficacy of my words, which brought about many conversions.  Among those who owed their recovery directly to me were Raymund of Capua himself, Matthew Cenni, Father Santi, and Father Bartholomew, all of whom contracted the disease through tending others. My pity for dying men was not confined to those who were sick.  I made it a practice to visit condemned persons in prison, hoping to persuade them to make their peace with God.  On one occasion I walked to the scaffold with a young Perugian knight, sentenced to death for using seditious language against the government of Siena.  His last words were: "Jesus and Catherine! "

My deeds of mercy, coupled with a growing reputation as a worker of miracles, now caused the Sienese to bring many requests upon me.  Three Dominican priests were especially deputed to hear the confessions of those whom I had prevailed on to amend their lives.  In settling disputes and healing old feuds I was so successful that I was constantly called upon to arbitrate at a time when all through Italy every man's hand seemed to be against his neighbor. It was partly, perhaps, with a view to turning the energies of Christendom away from civil wars that I threw myself into Pope Gregory's campaign for another crusade to wrest the Holy Sepulchre from the Turks. This brought me into correspondence with Gregory himself.

In February, 1375, I accepted an invitation to visit Pisa, where I was welcomed with enthusiasm.  I had been there only a few days when I had another of the spiritual experiences which seem to have presaged each new step in my career.  I had made my Communion in the little church of St. Christina, and had been gazing at the crucifix, when suddenly there descended from it five blood-red rays which pierced my hands, feet and heart, causing such acute pain that I swooned.  The wounds remained as stigmata, visible to myself alone during my life, but clearly to be seen after my death.

I was still in Pisa when I received word that the people of Florence and Perugia had entered into a league against the Holy See and the French legates.  The disturbance had begun in Florence, where the Guelphs and the Ghibellines united to raise a large army under the banner of freedom from the Pope's control, and Bologna, Viterbo, and Ancona, together with other strongholds in the papal domain, rallied to the insurgents. Through my untiring efforts, the cities of Lucca, Pisa, and Siena held back.  From Avignon, meanwhile, after an unsuccessful appeal to the Florentines, the Pope, Gregory XI, sent Cardinal Robert of Geneva with an army to put down the uprising, and laid Florence under an interdict. The effects of the ban on the life and prosperity of the city were so serious that its rulers sent to Siena, to ask me to mediate with the Pope.

Always ready to act as a peacemaker, I promptly set out for Florence.  The city's magistrates met me as I drew near the gates, and placed the negotiations entirely in my hands, saying that their ambassadors would follow me to Avignon and confirm whatever I did there.  I arrived in Avignon on June 18, 1376, and was graciously received by the Pope. "I desire nothing but peace," he said; "I place the affair entirely in your hands, only I recommend to you the honor of the Church."  As it happened, the Florentines proved untrustworthy and continued their intrigues to draw the rest of Italy away from allegiance to the Holy See. When their ambassadors arrived, they disclaimed all connection with me, making it clear by their demands that they did not desire a reconciliation.

Although I had failed in this matter, my efforts in another direction were successful.  Many of the troubles which then afflicted Europe were, to some degree at least, due to the seventy-four-year residence of the popes at Avignon, where the Curia was now largely French.  Gregory had been ready to go back to Rome with his court, but the opposition of the French cardinals had deterred him.  Since in my letters, I had urged his return so strongly, it was natural that they should discuss the subject now that we were face to face. "Fulfill what you have promised," I said, reminding him of a vow he had once taken and had never disclosed to any human being.  Greatly impressed by what he regarded as a supernatural sign, Gregory resolved to act upon it at once.

On September 13, 1376, he set out from Avignon to travel by water to Rome, while I and my friends left the city on the same day to return overland to Siena.  On reaching Genoa I was detained by the illness of two of my secretaries, Neri di Landoccio and Stephen Maconi.  The latter was a young Sienese nobleman, recently converted, who had become an ardent follower.  When I got back to Siena, I kept on writing the Pope, entreating him to labor for peace.  At his request I went again to Florence, still rent by factions, and stayed there for some time, frequently in danger of my life.  I did finally establish peace between the city governors and the papacy, but this was in the reign of Gregory's successor.

After I returned to Siena, I occupied myself in the composition of a book which I dictated under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost.  My health was now so impaired by austerities that I was never free from pain; yet my thin face was usually smiling.  I was grieved by any sort of scandal in the Church, especially that of the Great Schism which followed the death of Gregory XI.  Urban VI was elected as his successor by the cardinals of Rome and Clement VII by the rebellious cardinals of Avignon.  Western Christendom was divided; Clement was recognized by France, Spain, Scotland, and Naples; Urban by most of North Italy, England, Flanders, and Hungary.  I wore myself out trying to heal this terrible breach in Christian unity and to obtain for Urban the obedience due to the legitimate head.  I dispatched letter after letter to the princes and leaders of Europe.  To Urban himself I wrote to warn him to control his harsh and arrogant temper.  This was the second pope I had counseled, chided, even commanded.  Far from resenting reproof, Urban summoned me to Rome that he might profit by my advice.  Reluctantly I left Siena to live in the Holy City. I had achieved a remarkable position for a woman of my time.  On various occasions at Siena, Avignon, and Genoa, learned theologians questioned me and I humbled them by the wisdom of my replies.

Although I was only thirty-three, my life was now nearing its close.  On April 21, 1380, a paralytic stroke made me helpless from the waist downwards, and eight days later I passed away in the arms of my cherished friend, Alessia Saracini.  The people of Siena wished to have my body.  A story is told of a miracle whereby they were partially successful.  Knowing that they could not smuggle my whole body out of Rome, they decided to take only my head which they placed in a bag. When stopped by the Roman guards, they prayed to my spirit to help them, confident that I would rather have my body (or at least part thereof) in Siena.  When they opened the bag to show the guards, it appeared no longer to hold my head but to be full of rose petals.  Once they got back to Siena they reopened the bag and my head was visible once more.  Due to this story, I am often depicted holding a rose.  The incorruptible head and thumb were entombed in the Basilica of Saint Domenico, where they remain.

What remained of my body is buried in the Basilica of Santa Maria sopra Minerva in Rome, which is near the Pantheon.

Pope Pius II canonized me in 1461.  My talents as a writer caused me to be compared with my countrymen, Dante and Petrarch.  Among my literary remains are four hundred letters, many of them of great literary beauty, and showing warmth, insight, and aspiration.  One of the important women of Europe, my gifts of heart and mind were used in the furtherance of the Christian ideal.

Sandra Benincasa Falconi
and
Austin Falconi
Descendents of Catherine Benincasa of Siena

Here is a must-read novel about Saint Catherine of Siena's life: