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Space is a three-dimensional continuum containing positions and directions. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions. Modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless four-dimensional continuum known as spacetime. The concept of space is considered to be of fundamental importance to an understanding of the physical universe. However, disagreement continues between philosophers over whether it is itself an entity, a relationship between entities, or part of a conceptual framework. Debates concerning the nature, essence and the mode of existence of space date back to antiquity; namely, to treatises like the Timaeus of Plato, or Socrates in his reflections on what the Greeks called khôra (i.e. "space"), or in the Physics of Aristotle (Book IV, Delta) in the definition of topos (i.e. place), or in the later "geometrical conception of place" as "space qua extension" in the Discourse on Place (Qawl fi al-Makan) of the 11th-century Arab polymath Alhazen. Many of these classical philosophical questions were discussed in the Renaissance and then reformulated in the 17th century, particularly during the early development of classical mechanics. In Isaac Newton's view, space was absolute—in the sense that it existed permanently and independently of whether there was any matter in the space. Other natural philosophers, notably Gottfried Leibniz, thought instead that space was in fact a collection of relations between objects, given by their distance and direction from one another. In the 18th century, the philosopher and theologian George Berkeley attempted to refute the "visibility of spatial depth" in his Essay Towards a New Theory of Vision. Later, the metaphysician Immanuel Kant said that the concepts of space and time are not empirical ones derived from experiences of the outside world—they are elements of an already given systematic framework that humans possess and use to structure all experiences. Kant referred to the experience of "space" in his Critique of Pure Reason as being a subjective "pure a priori form of intuition". In the 19th and 20th centuries mathematicians began to examine geometries that are non-Euclidean, in which space is conceived as curved, rather than flat. According to Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity, space around gravitational fields deviates from Euclidean space. Experimental tests of general relativity have confirmed that non-Euclidean geometries provide a better model for the shape of space. Philosophy of space Galileo Galilean and Cartesian theories about space, matter, and motion are at the foundation of the Scientific Revolution, which is understood to have culminated with the publication of Newton's Principia Mathematica in 1687. Newton's theories about space and time helped him explain the movement of objects. While his theory of space is considered the most influential in physics, it emerged from his predecessors' ideas about the same.As one of the pioneers of modern science, Galileo revised the established Aristotelian and Ptolemaic ideas about a geocentric cosmos. He backed the Copernican theory that the universe was heliocentric, with a stationary Sun at the center and the planets—including the Earth—revolving around the Sun. If the Earth moved, the Aristotelian belief that its natural tendency was to remain at rest was in question. Galileo wanted to prove instead that the Sun moved around its axis, that motion was as natural to an object as the state of rest. In other words, for Galileo, celestial bodies, including the Earth, were naturally inclined to move in circles. This view displaced another Aristotelian idea—that all objects gravitated towards their designated natural place-of-belonging. René Descartes Descartes set out to replace the Aristotelian worldview with a theory about space and motion as determined by natural laws. In other words, he sought a metaphysical foundation or a mechanical explanation for his theories about matter and motion. Cartesian space was Euclidean in structure—infinite, uniform and flat. It was defined as that which contained matter; conversely, matter by definition had a spatial extension so that there was no such thing as empty space.The Cartesian notion of space is closely linked to his theories about the nature of the body, mind and matter. He is famously known for his "cogito ergo sum" (I think therefore I am), or the idea that we can only be certain of the fact that we can doubt, and therefore think and therefore exist. His theories belong to the rationalist tradition, which attributes knowledge about the world to our ability to think rather than to our experiences, as the empiricists believe. He posited a clear distinction between the body and mind, which is referred to as the Cartesian dualism. Leibniz and Newton Following Galileo and Descartes, during the seventeenth century the philosophy of space and time revolved around the ideas of Gottfried Leibniz, a German philosopher–mathematician, and Isaac Newton, who set out two opposing theories of what space is. Rather than being an entity that independently exists over and above other matter, Leibniz held that space is no more than the collection of spatial relations between objects in the world: "space is that which results from places taken together". Unoccupied regions are those that could have objects in them, and thus spatial relations with other places. For Leibniz, then, space was an idealised abstraction from the relations between individual entities or their possible locations and therefore could not be continuous but must be discrete. Space could be thought of in a similar way to the relations between family members. Although people in the family are related to one another, the relations do not exist independently of the people. Leibniz argued that space could not exist independently of objects in the world because that implies a difference between two universes exactly alike except for the location of the material world in each universe. But since there would be no observational way of telling these universes apart then, according to the identity of indiscernibles, there would be no real difference between them. According to the principle of sufficient reason, any theory of space that implied that there could be these two possible universes must therefore be wrong. Newton took space to be more than relations between material objects and based his position on observation and experimentation. For a relationist there can be no real difference between inertial motion, in which the object travels with constant velocity, and non-inertial motion, in which the velocity changes with time, since all spatial measurements are relative to other objects and their motions. But Newton argued that since non-inertial motion generates forces, it must be absolute. He used the example of water in a spinning bucket to demonstrate his argument. Water in a bucket is hung from a rope and set to spin, starts with a flat surface. After a while, as the bucket continues to spin, the surface of the water becomes concave. If the bucket's spinning is stopped then the surface of the water remains concave as it continues to spin. The concave surface is therefore apparently not the result of relative motion between the bucket and the water. Instead, Newton argued, it must be a result of non-inertial motion relative to space itself. For several centuries the bucket argument was considered decisive in showing that space must exist independently of matter. Kant In the eighteenth century the German philosopher Immanuel Kant developed a theory of knowledge in which knowledge about space can be both a priori and synthetic. According to Kant, knowledge about space is synthetic, in that statements about space are not simply true by virtue of the meaning of the words in the statement. In his work, Kant rejected the view that space must be either a substance or relation. Instead he came to the conclusion that space and time are not discovered by humans to be objective features of the world, but imposed by us as part of a framework for organizing experience. Non-Euclidean geometry Euclid's Elements contained five postulates that form the basis for Euclidean geometry. One of these, the parallel postulate, has been the subject of debate among mathematicians for many centuries. It states that on any plane on which there is a straight line L1 and a point P not on L1, there is exactly one straight line L2 on the plane that passes through the point P and is parallel to the straight line L1. Until the 19th century, few doubted the truth of the postulate; instead debate centered over whether it was necessary as an axiom, or whether it was a theory that could be derived from the other axioms. Around 1830 though, the Hungarian János Bolyai and the Russian Nikolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky separately published treatises on a type of geometry that does not include the parallel postulate, called hyperbolic geometry. In this geometry, an infinite number of parallel lines pass through the point P. Consequently, the sum of angles in a triangle is less than 180° and the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter is greater than pi. In the 1850s, Bernhard Riemann developed an equivalent theory of elliptical geometry, in which no parallel lines pass through P. In this geometry, triangles have more than 180° and circles have a ratio of circumference-to-diameter that is less than pi. Gauss and Poincaré Although there was a prevailing Kantian consensus at the time, once non-Euclidean geometries had been formalised, some began to wonder whether or not physical space is curved. Carl Friedrich Gauss, a German mathematician, was the first to consider an empirical investigation of the geometrical structure of space. He thought of making a test of the sum of the angles of an enormous stellar triangle, and there are reports that he actually carried out a test, on a small scale, by triangulating mountain tops in Germany.Henri Poincaré, a French mathematician and physicist of the late 19th century, introduced an important insight in which he attempted to demonstrate the futility of any attempt to discover which geometry applies to space by experiment. He considered the predicament that would face scientists if they were confined to the surface of an imaginary large sphere with particular properties, known as a sphere-world. In this world, the temperature is taken to vary in such a way that all objects expand and contract in similar proportions in different places on the sphere. With a suitable falloff in temperature, if the scientists try to use measuring rods to determine the sum of the angles in a triangle, they can be deceived into thinking that they inhabit a plane, rather than a spherical surface. In fact, the scientists cannot in principle determine whether they inhabit a plane or sphere and, Poincaré argued, the same is true for the debate over whether real space is Euclidean or not. For him, which geometry was used to describe space was a matter of convention. Since Euclidean geometry is simpler than non-Euclidean geometry, he assumed the former would always be used to describe the 'true' geometry of the world. Einstein In 1905, Albert Einstein published his special theory of relativity, which led to the concept that space and time can be viewed as a single construct known as spacetime. In this theory, the speed of light in vacuum is the same for all observers—which has the result that two events that appear simultaneous to one particular observer will not be simultaneous to another observer if the observers are moving with respect to one another. Moreover, an observer will measure a moving clock to tick more slowly than one that is stationary with respect to them; and objects are measured to be shortened in the direction that they are moving with respect to the observer. Subsequently, Einstein worked on a general theory of relativity, which is a theory of how gravity interacts with spacetime. Instead of viewing gravity as a force field acting in spacetime, Einstein suggested that it modifies the geometric structure of spacetime itself. According to the general theory, time goes more slowly at places with lower gravitational potentials and rays of light bend in the presence of a gravitational field. Scientists have studied the behaviour of binary pulsars, confirming the predictions of Einstein's theories, and non-Euclidean geometry is usually used to describe spacetime. Mathematics In modern mathematics spaces are defined as sets with some added structure. They are frequently described as different types of manifolds, which are spaces that locally approximate to Euclidean space, and where the properties are defined largely on local connectedness of points that lie on the manifold. There are however, many diverse mathematical objects that are called spaces. For example, vector spaces such as function spaces may have infinite numbers of independent dimensions and a notion of distance very different from Euclidean space, and topological spaces replace the concept of distance with a more abstract idea of nearness. Physics Space is one of the few fundamental quantities in physics, meaning that it cannot be defined via other quantities because nothing more fundamental is known at the present. On the other hand, it can be related to other fundamental quantities. Thus, similar to other fundamental quantities (like time and mass), space can be explored via measurement and experiment. Today, our three-dimensional space is viewed as embedded in a four-dimensional spacetime, called Minkowski space (see special relativity). The idea behind spacetime is that time is hyperbolic-orthogonal to each of the three spatial dimensions. Relativity Before Albert Einstein's work on relativistic physics, time and space were viewed as independent dimensions. Einstein's discoveries showed that due to relativity of motion our space and time can be mathematically combined into one object–spacetime. It turns out that distances in space or in time separately are not invariant with respect to Lorentz coordinate transformations, but distances in Minkowski space along spacetime intervals are—which justifies the name. In addition, time and space dimensions should not be viewed as exactly equivalent in Minkowski space. One can freely move in space but not in time. Thus, time and space coordinates are treated differently both in special relativity (where time is sometimes considered an imaginary coordinate) and in general relativity (where different signs are assigned to time and space components of spacetime metric). Furthermore, in Einstein's general theory of relativity, it is postulated that spacetime is geometrically distorted – curved – near to gravitationally significant masses.One consequence of this postulate, which follows from the equations of general relativity, is the prediction of moving ripples of spacetime, called gravitational waves. While indirect evidence for these waves has been found (in the motions of the Hulse–Taylor binary system, for example) experiments attempting to directly measure these waves are ongoing at the LIGO and Virgo collaborations. LIGO scientists reported the first such direct observation of gravitational waves on 14 September 2015. Cosmology Relativity theory leads to the cosmological question of what shape the universe is, and where space came from. It appears that space was created in the Big Bang, 13.8 billion years ago and has been expanding ever since. The overall shape of space is not known, but space is known to be expanding very rapidly due to the cosmic inflation. Spatial measurement The measurement of physical space has long been important. Although earlier societies had developed measuring systems, the International System of Units, (SI), is now the most common system of units used in the measuring of space, and is almost universally used. Currently, the standard space interval, called a standard meter or simply meter, is defined as the distance traveled by light in vacuum during a time interval of exactly 1/299,792,458 of a second. This definition coupled with present definition of the second is based on the special theory of relativity in which the speed of light plays the role of a fundamental constant of nature. Geographical space Geography is the branch of science concerned with identifying and describing places on Earth, utilizing spatial awareness to try to understand why things exist in specific locations. Cartography is the mapping of spaces to allow better navigation, for visualization purposes and to act as a locational device. Geostatistics apply statistical concepts to collected spatial data of Earth to create an estimate for unobserved phenomena. Geographical space is often considered as land, and can have a relation to ownership usage (in which space is seen as property or territory). While some cultures assert the rights of the individual in terms of ownership, other cultures will identify with a communal approach to land ownership, while still other cultures such as Australian Aboriginals, rather than asserting ownership rights to land, invert the relationship and consider that they are in fact owned by the land. Spatial planning is a method of regulating the use of space at land-level, with decisions made at regional, national and international levels. Space can also impact on human and cultural behavior, being an important factor in architecture, where it will impact on the design of buildings and structures, and on farming. Ownership of space is not restricted to land. Ownership of airspace and of waters is decided internationally. Other forms of ownership have been recently asserted to other spaces—for example to the radio bands of the electromagnetic spectrum or to cyberspace. Public space is a term used to define areas of land as collectively owned by the community, and managed in their name by delegated bodies; such spaces are open to all, while private property is the land culturally owned by an individual or company, for their own use and pleasure. Abstract space is a term used in geography to refer to a hypothetical space characterized by complete homogeneity. When modeling activity or behavior, it is a conceptual tool used to limit extraneous variables such as terrain. In psychology Psychologists first began to study the way space is perceived in the middle of the 19th century. Those now concerned with such studies regard it as a distinct branch of psychology. Psychologists analyzing the perception of space are concerned with how recognition of an object's physical appearance or its interactions are perceived, see, for example, visual space. Other, more specialized topics studied include amodal perception and object permanence. The perception of surroundings is important due to its necessary relevance to survival, especially with regards to hunting and self preservation as well as simply one's idea of personal space. Several space-related phobias have been identified, including agoraphobia (the fear of open spaces), astrophobia (the fear of celestial space) and claustrophobia (the fear of enclosed spaces). The understanding of three-dimensional space in humans is thought to be learned during infancy using unconscious inference, and is closely related to hand-eye coordination. The visual ability to perceive the world in three dimensions is called depth perception. In the social sciences Space has been studied in the social sciences from the perspectives of Marxism, feminism, postmodernism, postcolonialism, urban theory and critical geography. These theories account for the effect of the history of colonialism, transatlantic slavery and globalization on our understanding and experience of space and place. The topic has garnered attention since the 1980s, after the publication of Henri Lefebvre's The Production of Space . In this book, Lefebvre applies Marxist ideas about the production of commodities and accumulation of capital to discuss space as a social product. His focus is on the multiple and overlapping social processes that produce space.In his book The Condition of Postmodernity, David Harvey describes what he terms the "time-space compression." This is the effect of technological advances and capitalism on our perception of time, space and distance. Changes in the modes of production and consumption of capital affect and are affected by developments in transportation and technology. These advances create relationships across time and space, new markets and groups of wealthy elites in urban centers, all of which annihilate distances and affect our perception of linearity and distance.In his book Thirdspace, Edward Soja describes space and spatiality as an integral and neglected aspect of what he calls the "trialectics of being," the three modes that determine how we inhabit, experience and understand the world. He argues that critical theories in the Humanities and Social Sciences study the historical and social dimensions of our lived experience, neglecting the spatial dimension. He builds on Henri Lefebvre's work to address the dualistic way in which humans understand space—as either material/physical or as represented/imagined. Lefebvre's "lived space" and Soja's "thirdspace" are terms that account for the complex ways in which humans understand and navigate place, which "firstspace" and "Secondspace" (Soja's terms for material and imagined spaces respectively) do not fully encompass. Postcolonial theorist Homi Bhabha's concept of Third Space is different from Soja's Thirdspace, even though both terms offer a way to think outside the terms of a binary logic. Bhabha's Third Space is the space in which hybrid cultural forms and identities exist. In his theories, the term hybrid describes new cultural forms that emerge through the interaction between colonizer and colonized. See also

Year 1008 (MVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe Olaf Haraldsson, future king of Norway, makes raids in the Baltic Sea. He lands on the Estonian island of Saaremaa, wins a battle there, and forces the inhabitants to pay tribute. Battle at Herdaler: Olaf Haraldsson sails to the southern coast of Finland to plunder, where he and his men are ambushed and defeated in the woods. The oldest known mention is made of the city of Gundelfingen (Southern Germany). Unification of the Georgian realm. England King Æthelred the Unready orders a new fleet of warships built, organised on a national scale. It is a huge undertaking, but is completed the following year. Arabian Empire Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah sends a tributary mission to Emperor Zhenzong of the Song dynasty in order to reestablish trade relations between the Fatimid Caliphate and China (approximate date). Japan November 13 – Kamo Special Festival: The poet Murasaki Shikibu is given her name from a famous court poet, Fujiwara no Kinto; this year she probably starts to write The Diary of Lady Murasaki. 42nd Birthday of Fujiwara no Michinaga, father-in-law of the emperor, is celebrated. By topic Religion Autumn – Bruno of Querfurt, a missionary bishop, and 18 companions sets out on a mission to spread Christianity among the Prussians. Olof Skötkonung, king of Sweden, is baptized in Husaby (Västergötland) by missionary Sigfrid, and makes generous donations on the spot. Births May 4 – Henry I, king of France (d. 1060) October 12 – Atsuhira, future Emperor Go-Ichijō of Japan (d. 1036) Al-Mu'izz ibn Badis, Zirid ruler of Ifriqiya (d. 1062) Anselm of Liège, French chronicler and historian Di Qing, general of the Song Dynasty (d. 1057) Gothelo II (or Gozelo), duke of Lower Lorraine (d. 1046) Sugawara no Takasue, Japanese writer (approximate date) Wulfstan, bishop of Worcester (approximate date) Deaths March 17 – Kazan, emperor of Japan (b. 968) April 7 – Ludolf (or Liudolf), archbishop of Trier April 10 – Notker of Liège, French bishop (b. 940) May 25 Bishi, Japanese imperial princess Matilda of Saxony, countess of Flanders October 6 – Menendo González, Galician nobleman November 20 – Geoffrey I, duke of Brittany (b. 980) Abd al-Malik al-Muzaffar, Andalusian court official Clothna mac Aenghusa, Irish poet (approximate date) Gunnlaugr Ormstunga, Icelandic poet (approximate date) Gurgen II (Magistros), king of Iberia-Kartli (Georgia) Ibn Zur'a, Abbasid physician and philosopher (b. 943) Madudan mac Gadhra Mór, king of Síol Anmchadha Poppo, Polish missionary bishop (approximate date) Raymond III, French nobleman (approximate date) Rotbold I (or Rotbaud), French nobleman Sarolt, Grand Princess of Hungary (b. 950)

Year 1010 (MX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Africa The Nile river in Egypt freezes over. Asia The Lý dynasty is established in Vietnam (or 1009), and moves the capital to Thăng Long (modern-day Hanoi). Second conflict in the Goryeo–Khitan War: The Goryeo king is unseated in a revolt, resulting in an invasion by the Liao dynasty, and the burning of the Korean capital Gaegyeong. Song Zhun of Song dynasty China completes the work of the earlier geographer Lu Duosun, an enormous atlas of China that is written and illustrated in 1,556 chapters, showing maps of each region, city, town, and village (the atlas took 39 years to complete). In the Chola dynasty of southern India, the first votes are celebrated by adding a ballot in an urn. Japan January – Fujiwara no Kenshi (daughter of Michinaga) is married to the imperial heir Crown Prince Okisada. February 14 – On the death of Fujiwara no Korechika his daughter, the poet Fujiwara no Chikako, becomes a lady-in-waiting to Empress Shōshi. Emperor Ichijō wants to retire – the influential statesman Fujiwara no Michinaga supports Crown Prince Okisada (now his son-in-law), who will be the successor, but the emperor prefers his eldest son by the late Empress Teishi, Prince Atsuyasu, who has been raised by Empress Shōshi, who also supports her stepson, leading to conflict at court. Americas Viking explorer Thorfinn Karlsefni attempts to found a settlement in North America (approximate date). Europe June 2 - Fitna of al-Andalus – Battle of Aqbat al-Bakr: The Caliphate of Córdoba is defeated. Allied to Muslim rebels, Ramon Borrell, Count of Barcelona sacks Córdoba, and Hisham II the Nephast is restored as Umayyad caliph of Córdoba, succeeding Muhammad II al-Mahdi. The Russian city of Yaroslavl is founded, as an outpost of the principality of Rostov Veliky. By topic Art The construction of Brihadisvara Temple in Thanjavur (a city now in Tamil Nadu, India) is completed during the Chola dynasty, and at about this time the wall painting Rajaraja I and His Teacher is made within it. Literature March 8 – Persian poet Ferdowsi finishes writing the Shahnameh (Book of Kings), which will be regarded as the national epic of the greater Iranian culture. Lady Murasaki writes The Tale of Genji in Japanese (approximate date). Beowulf is written anonymously in Old English (approximate date). Technology Eilmer of Malmesbury in England attempts flight in a glider of his own construction. The 217 ft tall Brihadisvara Temple, considered as an architectural 1000-year-old marvel was completed Births May 30 – Zhao Zhen, Emperor Renzong of the Song dynasty (d. 1063) Adalbero, bishop of Würzburg (approximate date) Adalbero III of Luxembourg, German nobleman (d. 1072) Akkadevi, princess of the Chalukya dynasty (d. 1064) Anno II, archbishop of Cologne (approximate date) Arialdo, Italian nobleman and deacon (approximate date) Benno, bishop of Meissen (approximate date) Eberhard, archbishop of Trier (approximate date) Eleanor of Normandy, countess of Flanders (d. 1077) Gebhard, archbishop of Salzburg (approximate date) Gomes Echigues, Portuguese knight and governor (d. 1065) Honorius II, antipope of the Catholic Church (approximate date) John V of Gaeta, Italian nobleman (approximate date) Michael IV the Paphlagonian, Byzantine emperor (d. 1041) Odo (or Eudes), Gascon nobleman (approximate date) Otloh of Sankt Emmeram, German monk (approximate date) Siegfried I, German nobleman (approximate date) Tunka Manin, ruler of the Ghana Empire (d. 1078) Deaths February 14 – Fujiwara no Korechika, Japanese nobleman (b. 974) Ælfric of Eynsham, English abbot and scholar (approximate date) Abu'l-Nasr Muhammad, Farighunid ruler (approximate date) Aimoin, French monk and chronicler (approximate date) Aisha, Andalusian poet and writer (approximate date) Cathal mac Conchobar mac Taidg, king of Connacht Ermengol I (or Armengol), count of Urgell (b. 974) John Kourkouas, Byzantine catepan (approximate date) Maelsuthan Ua Cerbhail, Irish advisor and chronicler Vijayanandi, Indian mathematician (approximate date)

Hu Na (Chinese: 胡娜; pinyin: Hú Nà; born April 16, 1963) is a former professional tennis player best known for defecting from the People's Republic of China to the United States in 1982, thereby sparking a Cold War-era diplomatic incident. Diplomatic relations between the two countries had been established in 1979, and the Hu Na incident was among the first major tests of those newly established relations. Early life Hu Na was a young and rising tennis star from China's Sichuan province. She had a talent for sports from an early age, and she spent several hours practicing every day. Her father enrolled her in a special athletic school. She took a special interest in tennis, winning first at provincial-level competition, then the national-level young tennis tournament, making her China's top-ranked tennis player. At this point, she was invited to join the China national women's tennis team, based in Beijing. Diplomatic incident Beginning of incident In July 1982, while touring California for 1982 Federation Cup with the China Federation Cup team, on her second day in America, Hu Na fled her hotel room and sought refuge in the home of friends. In April 1983, she requested political asylum, stating that she had a "well-founded" fear of persecution because of repeatedly refusing to join the Communist Party of China. Immediate reactions of American and Chinese governments The U.S. government allowed her to remain while it considered her request. It delayed nearly eight months in making a decision. On the one hand, Hu Na had considerable sympathy from President Reagan's administration and from the U.S. public, but on the other hand, U.S. diplomats knew that to grant Hu Na asylum almost certainly would damage relations with China and possibly drive it closer to the Soviet Union. The Chinese government suggested that the 19-year-old star was too young to have made such a decision independently, and it pointed out that her lawyer was being paid for by donations from Taiwan. It promised not to punish her if she returned home, and it implied that separating Hu from her family by keeping her in the United States would be cruel. Granting of asylum The U.S. Department of State issued a memorandum supporting her asylum claim to the U.S. Department of Justice, which had the ultimate responsibility to make a decision. On April 5, 1983, the United States formally granted Hu Na political asylum. The Chinese government was infuriated, stating that this constituted blatant U.S. intervention in its domestic affairs. It then announced it would sever all cultural and artistic ties between the two countries. A Voice of America radio broadcasting delegation visit to China, scheduled to take place just a few days later, was cancelled. U.S. diplomats in Beijing found themselves cut off from invitations and contacts with the Chinese government. Long-term effects Hu Na's defection was a clear win for American foreign policy. Although Hu Na was likely of little concern to the Chinese, the incident was an embarrassment for the Chinese government and brought to light other bilateral points of contention. One contemporary article stated that the Chinese, through diplomatic channels, would not have complained as much if Hu Na had been granted some type of immigration status other than "political asylum". Later life After receiving asylum. Hu Na played professional tennis for the United States. Her best Grand Slam result was a third-round finish at the 1985 Wimbledon. She retired from professional play in 1991 after sustaining injuries.Hu Na resettled in Taiwan, where she worked as a tennis commentator for ESPN, and she established the Hu Na Bitan Tennis Club in Taipei, which later trained the Taiwanese tennis star Hsieh Su-wei. She has returned to mainland China many times to promote the sport and visit her family. In 2011, Hu Na had a dream which she interpreted as a sign to start painting. She has established herself as a professional painter. She has produced over 400 paintings in six years. In November 2012, she showed her artwork in her first oil painting world tour. In 2017, Hu Na held the Hu Na Lotus Sutra Oil Painting Collection World Tour. WTA Tour finals Doubles (1–2) See also Tennis in China Hu Na at the Women's Tennis Association Hu Na at the International Tennis Federation Hu Na at the Billie Jean King Cup

The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC, Chinese: 中国人民政治协商会议), also known as the People's PCC (Chinese: 人民政协, ) or simply the PCC (政协), is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s united front system. Its members advise and put proposals for political and social issues to government bodies. However, the CPPCC is a body without real legislative power. While consultation does take place, it is supervised and directed by the CCP.The body traditionally consists of delegates from the CCP and its people's organizations, eight legally-permitted political parties subservient to the CCP, as well as nominally independent members. The CPPCC is chaired by a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the CCP. In keeping with the united front strategy, prominent non-CCP members have been included among the Vice Chairs, examples being Chen Shutong, Li Jishen and Soong Ching-ling.The organizational hierarchy of the CPPCC consists of a National Committee and regional committees. Regional committees extend to the provincial, prefecture, and county level. According to the charter of the CPPCC, the relationship between the National Committee and the regional committees is one of guidance and not direct leadership. However, an indirect leadership exists via the United Front Work Department at each level. The National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference typically holds a yearly meeting at the same time as plenary sessions of the National People's Congress (NPC). The CPPCC National Committee and NPC plenary sessions are collectively called the Quanguo Lianghui ("National Two Sessions"). The CPPCC is intended to be more representative of a broader range of people than is typical of government office in the People's Republic of China, including a broad range of people from the both inside and outside the CCP. The composition of the members of the CPPCC changes over time according to national strategic priorities. Previously dominated by senior figures in real-estate, state-owned enterprises, and "princelings", the CPPCC in 2018 was primarily composed of individuals from China's technology sector. History The Conference dated prior to the existence of the People's Republic of China. During negotiations between the Chinese Communist Party and the Kuomintang in 1945, the two parties agreed to open multiparty talks on post-World War II political reforms via a Political Consultative Conference. This was included in the Double Tenth Agreement. This agreement was implemented by the National Government of the Republic of China, who organized the first Political Consultative Assembly from January 10–31, 1946. Representatives of the Kuomintang, CCP, Chinese Youth Party, and China Democratic League, as well as independent delegates, attended the conference in Chongqing. In 1949, with the CCP having gained control of most of mainland China, they organized a "new" Political Consultative Conference in September, inviting delegates from various friendly parties to attend and discuss the establishment of a new state. This conference was then renamed the People's Political Consultative Conference. On September 29, 1949, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference unanimously adopted the Common Program as the basic political program for the country.: 25  The conference approved the new national anthem, flag, capital city, and state name, and elected the first government of the People's Republic of China. In effect, the first People's Political Consultative Conference served as a constitutional convention. From 1949 to 1954, the conference became the de facto legislature of the PRC. In 1954, the Constitution transferred this function to the National People's Congress. During the Hundred Flowers Campaign between 1956 and 1957, Mao Zedong encouraged members of the CPPCC to speak about the shortcomings of the CCP. However, those who did faced severe repercussions such as heavy criticism and or incarnation in labor camps in the subsequent Anti-Rightist Campaign.The CPPCC was effectively decimated during the Cultural Revolution. It was revived during the First Session of its 5th National Committee between 24 February to 8 March 1974, during which Deng Xiaoping was elected as its chairman.When plans for the Sanxia (Three Gorges) Dam were revived by the CCP during the emphasis on the Four Modernizations during the early period of Reform and Opening Up, the CPPCC became a center of opposition to the project.: 204  It convened panels of experts who recommended delaying the project.: 204 Present role The CPPCC is the highest-ranking body in the united front system. It is the "peak united front forum, bringing together CCP officials and Chinese elites." According to Sinologist Peter Mattis, the CPPCC is "the one place where all the relevant actors inside and outside the party come together: party elders, intelligence officers, diplomats, propagandists, soldiers and political commissars, united front workers, academics, and businesspeople." In practice, the CPPCC serves as "the place where messages are developed and distributed among party members and the non-party faithful who shape perceptions of the CCP and China."The CPPCC includes delegates from the CCP and its people's organizations, eight legally-permitted political parties subservient to the CCP, as well as nominally independent members or "friends". It provides a "seat" for the non-communist parties and so-called "patriotic democrats." The CPPCC also reserves seats for overseas delegates, as well as delegates from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.The conception of the non-communist parties as part of a coalition rather than an opposition is expressed in the PRC's constitutional principle of "political consultation and multiparty cooperation." This constitutional principle obliges the CCP to consult the others on all major policy issues. Particularly since the 2000s, CPPCC members frequently petition the CCP Central Committee regarding socioeconomic, health, and environmental issues. According to state media Xinhua News Agency, it is an "organization in the patriotic united front of the Chinese people". It continues that the CPPCC is neither a body of state power nor a policymaking organ, but a platform for "various political parties, people's organizations, and people of all ethnic groups and from all sectors of society" to participate in state affairs.As a united front organ, the CPPCC works together with the CCP's United Front Work Department. According to Mattis, the CPPCC gathers the society's elite, while the UFWD "implements policy and handles the nuts and bolts of united front work". The UFWD oversees several people's organizations which constitute the membership of the CPPCC. National Committee The National Committee CPPCC (Chinese: 中国人民政治协商会议全国委员会; pinyin: Zhōngguó Rénmín Zhèngzhì Xiéshāng Huìyì Quánguó Wěiyuánhuì, shortened Chinese: 全国政协; pinyin: Quánguó Zhèngxié; lit. 'National PCC') is the national level organization that represents the CPPCC nationally and is made up of deputies coming from various sectors of society. Members of the National Committee are elected for five year terms, though this can be extended in exceptional circumstances by a two-thirds majority vote by all members of the Standing Committee.The National Committee holds plenary sessions annually, though a session can be called by the National Committee's Standing Committee if necessary. The plenary sessions are generally held in March, around the same date as the annual session of the National People's Congress; together, these meetings are termed as the Two Sessions. The plenary session makes amendments to the CPPCC charter, elects a Standing Committee, which handles the regular affairs of the body, and adopts resolutions on National Committee's "major working principles and tasks". The Standing Committee is responsible for choosing the CPPCC's membership, implementing CPPCC's resolutions, and interpreting the CPPCC's charter.The National Committee is led by a chairman, currently Wang Huning, one of the highest-ranking offices in the country; since its establishment, all CPPCC chairpersons have been a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the CCP except during transition periods, being at least its 4th-ranking member. The chairman is assisted by several vice chairpersons and a secretary-general, who heads the National Committee's General Office; together, they make up the Chairperson's Council, which handles the day-to-day affairs of the Standing Committee and meets on average of at least once a month. The Council meetings coordinate work reports, review united front work, identify the issues to focus and highlight important ideological directions of the CCP. It also presides over the preparatory meeting of the first plenary session of the next National Committee.The CCP and the aligned "democratic parties" participate in the National Committee. Besides political parties, NC-CPPCC has also delegates from various sectors of society in its ranks. The parties and groups with delegates to the NC-CPPCC are as follows: Special Committees The CPPCC National Committee contains several Special Committees, which are headed by the Standing Committee. The Special Committees generally have around sixty individual members, including a chair and ten or more vice chairs. Like the main Conference, the Special Committees include a wide range of people from the relevant sectors. The CPPCC National Committee currently has 10 Special Committees: Handling Proposals Committee (提案委员会) Economic Affairs Committee (经济委员会) Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee (农业和农村委员会) Population, Resources and Environment Committee (人口资源环境委员会) Education, Science, Health and Sports Committee (教科卫体委员会) Social and Legal Affairs Committee (社会和法制委员会) Ethnic and Religious Affairs Committee (民族和宗教委员会) Liaison with Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Overseas Chinese Committee (港澳台侨委员会) Foreign Affairs Committee (外事委员会) Culture, History and Study Committee (文化文史和学习委员会) Composition of members 2158 members in the 13th National Committee of CPPCC: Seats for Political Parties (536 in all) Chinese Communist Party (97) Revolutionary Committee of the Kuomintang (65) China Democratic League (65) China National Democratic Construction Association (64) China Association for Promoting Democracy (45) Chinese Peasants' and Workers' Democratic Party (45) China Zhi Gong Party (29) Jiusan Society (44) Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League (20) Independents (62)Seats for People's organizations (307 in all)Communist Youth League of China (9) All-China Federation of Trade Unions (60) All-China Women's Federation (64) All-China Youth Federation (28) All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce (61) China Association for Science and Technology (43) All-China Federation of Taiwan Compatriots (15) All-China Federation of Returned Overseas (27)Seats for Sectoral representatives (1357 in all)Sector of Literature and Arts (142) Sector of Science and Technology (110) Sector of Social Science (71) Sector of Economics (149) Sector of Agriculture (67) Sector of Education (113) Sector of Sports (21) Sector of Press and Publication (44) Sector of Medicine and Health (88) Sector of International Friendship Activists (42) Sector of Social Welfare and Social Security (37) Sector of the Ethnic Minorities (101) Sector of Religions (65) Specially Invited Hong Kong Representatives (124) Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (25) Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong (4) Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (2) Liberal Party (Hong Kong) (4) New Century Forum (1) New Territories Association of Societies (2) Specially Invited Macau Representatives (29) Macau United Citizens Association (1) Macau Business Interest Union (1) Macau Union of Professional Interests (2) Progress Promotion Union/General Union of the Macao Residents' Associations (1) Union for Development/The Women's General Association of Macau (1) Other Specially Invited Dignitaries to the Conference (including service personnel of the People's Liberation Army and the People's Armed Police) (154) The People’s Political Consultative Daily The People’s Political Consultative Daily (《人民政协报》) is the press window of information on direct policies and viewpoints of the CPPCC. Like most of the Chinese political organs, the newspaper serves as the mouthpiece for the conference. Regional committees In addition to the main National Committee, the CPPCC contains numerous regional committees at the provincial, prefecture, and county level. According to an old post in CPPCC's website, there were 3,164 local CPPCC committees at every level by the end of 2006, containing around 615,164 members. Like the National Committee, the regional committees serve for five years, have a chairperson, vice chairpersons and a secretary-general, convene plenary sessions at least once a year, and have a standing committee. According to the CPPCC charter, the relationship between the National Committee and the local committees, as well as the relationship between the local committee and lower-level committees is "one of guidance".The following regional committees are modelled after the National Committee with identical composition of deputies elected to them and are each supervised by regional level Standing Committees: CPPCC province-level committees including regional committees of the autonomous regions and city committees of directly controlled municipal governments (Beijing, Tianjin, Chongqing and Shanghai) CPPCC prefecture-level committees including autonomous prefectural committees and city committees of sub-provincial and prefectural cities CPPCC county-level committees including committees of autonomous counties and country-level cities See also Chinese Literature and History Press, the CPPCC's publishing house List of current members of CPPCC by sector Official website Official news website Official newspaper website

Leo Ku Kui-kei (born (1972-08-18)18 August 1972) is a Hong Kong Cantopop and Mandopop singer, actor, TV host, model, cartoonist, MV director, and producer and designer. He employs falsetto as a singing technique and was named as one of the "Five Fresh Tigers of TVB". Career Joining TVB in 1991, Ku has released over 35 albums and he has won nearly 300 male singer and music awards over the course of his career. In addition to Ku's career in Hong Kong, between 2000 and 2003, he played the male lead in two television drama series in mainland China, Romance in the Rain and My Fair Princess III: Heavenly Earth. Ku's most famous Mandarin Chinese song is "Really Want", the theme song for the drama series Romance in the Rain. The song was broadcast across China. Wen Lane Street, known, no cry of alarm. His best known Canto-pop song is "Never Too Late" which appeared on many year-end lists about the best songs of 2006 in Hong Kong. Ku was also selected to be the first host and a contestant in the third season of the Chinese version of I Am a Singer. Discography Games (2003) Nobita (2004) Star Track (2005) Final Fantasy (2005) Human (2006) Moments (2007) Guitar Fever (2008) Creations April 2003: Comic son Kubi (古比) was born August 2003: The Story of Kubi Comics Vol.1 (單行本), The Story of Kubi Comics Vol.1 Limited Version(完全限定版) August 2004: The Story of Kubi Comics Vol.2 (單行本), A Series of Kubi Stuff July 2008: Kubi Children Series 1 – Kubi's Cup (Kubi好孩子系列(1)-勝利的水杯), A Series of Kubi Stuff November 2008: Kubi illuminations on the wall of buildings for Christmas and New Year (商廈外牆設計之Kubi燈飾-聖誕及新年) November 2008: Own Label for clothes HOTDOG (個人服裝品牌"HOTDOG") Films October 1993: Love on Delivery (破壞之王) 1995: Fatal Assignment June 1995: Romantic Dream (追女仔95—綺夢) July 1997: Cause We Are So Young (求戀期) November 1997: Task Force (熱血最強) March 1998: Anna Magdalena (安娜馬德蓮娜) December 1999: When I Look Upon The Stars (天旋地戀) September 2002: So Close (夕陽天使)(cameo) July 2005: Love Message (愛情短訊) February 2006: My Kung-Fu Sweetheart (野蠻秘笈) August 2006: Love at First Note (戀愛初歌) April 2007: Super Fans (甜心粉絲王) November 2008: Fit Lover (愛情左右) August 2012: Lan Kwai Fong 2 (喜愛夜蒲2) April 2015: Two Thumbs Up (衝鋒車) December 2015: Skiptrace (絕地逃亡) Cantonese voice-overs June 1997: Hercules (大力士) June 2000: Stuart Little (一家之鼠超力仔) November 2002: Stuart Little 2 (一家之鼠超力仔2) July 2005: Robots (露寶治的世界) February 2010: The Princess and the Frog (公主與青蛙) Television series November 1994: Instinct (笑看風雲) January 1995: The Trail of Love (前世冤家) August 1995: Stepping Stone (總有出頭天) April 1997: Weapons of Power (英雄貴姓) January 1996: Justice Bao (包青天之雪魄梅魂) January 1997: Corner the Con Man (皇家反千組) May 2001: Romance in the Rain (情深深雨濛濛)as He Shuhuan 2002: My Fair Princess III (還珠格格III – 天上人間) as Yongqi 2004: Sunshine Heartbeat (赤沙印記＠四葉草2) as photographer 2006: Twist Love (讓愛自由 / 不該讓女人流淚) 2010: Youth Melody 2011: Happy Marshal 2014: Cao Cao (曹操) as Kong Rong Television presenter 1991: Entertainment News Program (娛樂新聞眼) 1992: Jade Solid Gold (勁歌金曲-嘉賓主持)／Entertainment News Program (娛樂新聞眼) 1993: Entertainment News Program (娛樂新聞眼) July 1996: The Games of the Olympic Atlanta 1996 (1996年亞特蘭大奧林匹克運動會) 1999: Jade Solid Gold (勁歌金曲-嘉賓主持) November 2004: TVB Programme Preview 2005 (2005年無線節目巡禮) 2005: Jade Solid Gold (勁歌金曲-嘉賓主持) August 2008: The Games of the Olympic Beijing 2008 (2008年北京奧林匹克運動會) October 2008: Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? – TVB Cantonese Version (係咪小兒科) 2009: Judge on the singing competition show, 'The Voice' (zh:超級巨聲) Radio presenter 1993: Eccentric Radio (古怪收音機) Awards Leo Ku has won song and artist awards from Commercial Radio Hong Kong, Jade Solid Gold, Metro Showbiz, RTHK, and others. Leo Ku's Birthday Party. Retrieved 22 August 2005. Orison. Retrieved 24 December 2005. Leo Ku's Official Sina Weibo Leo Ku's Facebook fan page Leo Ku's Official Blog (in Chinese) Leo Ku's Official Forum (in Chinese) Leo Ku The Magic Moments 2008 Toronto Canada Concert (in English)

Empress Dowager Cixi [tsʰɹ̩̌.ɕì]; born Yehe Nara Xingzhen (29 November 1835 – 15 November 1908), was a Chinese noblewoman of the Manchu Yehe Nara clan, concubine and later regent who effectively controlled the Chinese government in the late Qing dynasty for almost 50 years, from 1861 until her death in 1908. Selected as a concubine of the Xianfeng Emperor in her adolescence, she gave birth to a son, Zaichun, in 1856. After the Xianfeng Emperor's death in 1861, the young boy became the Tongzhi Emperor, and she assumed the role of co-empress dowager, alongside the Emperor's widow, Empress Dowager Ci'an. Cixi ousted a group of regents appointed by the late emperor and assumed the regency along with Ci'an, who later died. Cixi then consolidated control over the dynasty when she installed her nephew as the Guangxu Emperor at the death of her son, the Tongzhi Emperor, in 1875. This was contrary to the traditional rules of succession of the Qing dynasty that had ruled China since 1644. Cixi supervised the Tongzhi Restoration, a series of moderate reforms that helped the regime survive until 1911. Although Cixi refused to adopt Western models of government, she supported technological and military reforms and the Self-Strengthening Movement. She supported the principles of the Hundred Days' Reforms of 1898, but feared that sudden implementation, without bureaucratic support, would be disruptive and that the Japanese and other foreign powers would take advantage of any weakness. She placed the Guangxu Emperor, who, she thought, had tried to assassinate her, under virtual house arrest for supporting radical reformers, publicly executing the main reformers. After the Boxer Rebellion led to invasion by Allied armies, Cixi initially backed the Boxer groups and declared war on the invaders. The ensuing defeat was a stunning humiliation. When Cixi returned to Beijing from Xi'an, where she had taken the emperor, she became friendly to foreigners in the capital and began to implement fiscal and institutional reforms aimed to turn China into a constitutional monarchy. The deaths of both Cixi and the Guangxu Emperor in November 1908 left the court in the hands of Manchu conservatives, a child, Puyi, on the throne, and a restless, deeply divided society. Historians both in China and abroad have debated her legacy. She has conventionally been depicted as a ruthless despot whose reactionary policies – although successful in managing to prolong the ailing Qing dynasty – led to its humiliation and eventual downfall in the Wuchang Uprising. However, revisionists have suggested that Nationalist and Communist revolutionaries scapegoated her for deep-rooted problems which were beyond salvaging, and laud her maintenance of political order. She was responsible for numerous effective, if belated, reforms, including the abolition of slavery, ancient methods of torture and the old civil service examination system in her ailing years. The latter was supplanted by institutions including the new Peking University. Life Birth The future Empress Dowager Cixi was born on the tenth day of the tenth lunar month in the 15th year of the rulership of the Daoguang Emperor (29 November 1835). Her father was Huizheng (惠征), a member of the Bordered Blue Banner who held the title of a third class duke (三等公). Palace archives show that Huizheng was working in Beijing during the year of Lady Yehe Nara's birth, an indication that she was born in Beijing. The file records the location of her childhood home: Pichai Hutong, Xisipailou, Beijing (西四牌樓劈柴胡同). She had a sister named Wanzhen and a brother named Guixiang. Xianfeng era In 1851, Cixi participated in the selection for wives to the Xianfeng Emperor alongside 60 other candidates. Cixi was one of the few candidates chosen to stay. Among the other chosen candidates were Noble Lady Li of the Tatara clan (later Consort Li) and Concubine Zhen of the Niohuru clan (later the Xianfeng Emperor's empress consort). On 26 June 1852, she left her widowed mother's residence at Xilahutong and entered the Forbidden City and was placed in the sixth rank of consorts, styled "Noble Lady Lan". On 28 February 1854, Cixi was elevated to the fifth rank of consorts and granted the title "Concubine Yi". In 1855, Cixi became pregnant, and on 27 April 1856, she gave birth to Zaichun, the Xianfeng Emperor's first and only surviving son. On the same day, she was elevated to the fourth rank of consorts as "Consort Yi". In 1857, when her son reached his first birthday, Cixi was elevated to the third rank of consorts as "Noble Consort Yi". This rank placed her second only to the Empress Niohuru among the women within the Xianfeng Emperor's harem. Unlike many of the other Manchu women in the imperial household, Cixi was known for her ability to read and write Chinese. This skill granted her numerous opportunities to help the ailing emperor in the governing of the Chinese state on a daily basis. On various occasions, the Xianfeng Emperor had Cixi read palace memorials for him and leave instructions on the memorials according to his will. As a result, Cixi became well-informed about state affairs and the art of governing from the ailing emperor. Tongzhi era In September 1860, during the closing stages of the Second Opium War, the British diplomatic envoy Harry Parkes was arrested along with other hostages, who were tortured and executed. In retaliation, British and French troops under the command of Lord Elgin attacked Beijing, and by the following month they had burned the Old Summer Palace to the ground. The Xianfeng Emperor and his entourage, including Cixi, fled Beijing to Rehe Province (around present-day Chengde, Hebei). On hearing the news of the destruction of the Old Summer Palace, the Xianfeng Emperor, who was already showing signs of dementia, fell into a depression. He turned heavily to alcohol and drugs and became seriously ill. He summoned eight of his most prestigious ministers, headed by Sushun, Zaiyuan and Duanhua, and named them the "Eight Regent Ministers" to direct and support the future emperor. The Xianfeng Emperor died on 22 August 1861 at the Chengde Mountain Resort in Rehe Province. The Xianfeng Emperor's heir, the son of Noble Consort Yi (Empress Dowager Cixi), was only five years old. It is commonly assumed that on his deathbed, the Xianfeng Emperor summoned his Empress and Noble Consort Yi and gave each of them a stamp. He hoped that when his son ascended the throne, the Empress and Noble Consort Yi would cooperate in harmony and help the young emperor to grow and mature together. This may also have been done as a check on the power of the eight regents. There is no evidence for this incident, however, and it is unlikely that the emperor ever would have intended Noble Consort Yi to wield political power. It is possible that the seal, allegedly given as a symbol for the child, was really just a present for Noble Consort Yi herself. Informal seals numbered in the thousands and were not considered political accoutrements, rather objects of art commissioned for pleasure by emperors to stamp on items such as paintings, or given as presents to the concubines. Upon the death of the Xianfeng Emperor, his Empress was elevated to the status of empress dowager. Although her official title was "Empress Dowager Ci'an", she was popularly known as the "East Empress Dowager" because she lived in the eastern Zhongcui Palace. Noble Consort Yi was also elevated to "Empress Dowager Cixi". She was popularly known as the "West Empress Dowager" (西太后) because she lived inside the western Chuxiu Palace. Xinyou Coup: Ousting Sushun By the time of the death of the Xianfeng Emperor, Empress Dowager Cixi had become a shrewd political strategist. In Rehe Province, while waiting for an astrologically favourable time to transport the emperor's coffin back to Beijing, Cixi conspired with court officials and imperial relatives to seize power. Cixi's position as the lower-ranked empress dowager had no intrinsic political power attached to it. In addition, her son, the young emperor, was not a political force himself. As a result, it became necessary for her to ally herself with other powerful figures, including the late emperor's principal wife, Empress Dowager Ci'an. Cixi suggested that they become co-reigning empress dowagers, with powers exceeding the eight regents; the two had long been close friends since Cixi first came to the imperial household.Tensions grew between the two Empresses Dowager and the eight regents, who were led by Sushun. The regents did not appreciate Cixi's interference in political affairs, and their frequent confrontations with the Empresses Dowager left Empress Dowager Ci'an frustrated. Ci'an often refused to come to court audiences, leaving Cixi to deal with the ministers alone. Secretly, Cixi had begun gathering the support of talented ministers, soldiers, and others who were ostracized by the eight regents for personal or political reasons. Among them was Prince Gong, who had been excluded from power, yet harboured great ambitions, and Prince Chun, the sixth and seventh brothers of the Xianfeng Emperor, respectively. While Cixi aligned herself with the two princes, a memorial came from Shandong asking for her to "rule from behind the curtains" or "listen to politics behind the curtains" (垂簾聽政), i.e., to assume power as de facto ruler. The same memorial also asked Prince Gong to enter the political arena as a principal "aide to the Emperor". When the Xianfeng Emperor's funeral procession left for Beijing, Cixi took advantage of her alliances with Princes Gong and Chun. She and the boy emperor returned to the capital before the rest of the party, along with Zaiyuan and Duanhua, two of the eight regents, while Sushun was left to accompany the deceased emperor's procession. Cixi's early return to Beijing meant that she had more time to plan with Prince Gong and ensure that the power base of the eight regents was divided between Sushun and his allies, Zaiyuan and Duanhua. In order to remove them from power, history was rewritten: the regents were dismissed for having carried out incompetent negotiations with the "barbarians" that had caused the Xianfeng Emperor to flee to Rehe Province "greatly against his will", among other charges.To display her high moral standards, Cixi executed only three of the eight regents. Prince Gong had suggested that Sushun and others be executed by the most painful method, known as slow slicing ("death by a thousand cuts"), but Cixi declined the suggestion and ordered that Sushun be beheaded, while the other two also marked for execution, Zaiyuan and Duanhua, were given pieces of white silk for them to hang themselves with. In addition, Cixi refused outright the idea of executing the family members of the regents, as would be done in accordance with imperial tradition of an alleged usurper. Ironically, Qing imperial tradition also dictated that women and princes were never to engage in politics. In breaking with tradition, Cixi became the only empress dowager in the Qing dynasty to assume the role of regent, ruling from behind the curtains. This coup is historically known as the Xinyou Coup because it took place in the xinyou year, the name of the year 1861 in the Chinese sexagenary cycle. Ruling behind the curtain New era In November 1861, a few days following the Xinyou Coup, Cixi was quick to reward Prince Gong for his help. He was appointed Prince-Regent and his eldest daughter was made a first rank princess, a title usually bestowed only on the Empress's first-born daughter. However, Cixi avoided giving Prince Gong the absolute political power that princes such as Dorgon exercised during the Shunzhi Emperor's reign. As one of the first acts of "ruling behind the curtain" from within the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the political and governmental hub during this era, Cixi, nominally along with Ci'an, issued two imperial edicts on behalf of the boy emperor. The first stated that the two Empresses Dowager were to be the sole decision-makers "without interference," and the second changed the emperor's regnal title from Qixiang (祺祥; "auspicious") to Tongzhi (同治; "collective stability"). Despite being designated as the sole decision-makers, both Ci'an and Cixi were forced to rely on the Grand Council and a complex series of procedures in order to deal with affairs of state. When state documents came in, they were to be first forwarded to the Empresses Dowager, then referred back to Prince Gong and the Grand Council. Having discussed the matters, Prince Gong and his colleagues would seek the instruction of the Empresses Dowager at audiences and imperial orders would be drawn up accordingly, with drafts having to be approved by the Empresses Dowager before edicts were issued. The most important role of the Empresses Dowager during the regency was to apply their seals to edicts, a merely mechanical role in a complex bureaucracy. Cleaning up the bureaucracy Cixi's ascendancy came at a time of internal chaos and foreign challenges. The effects of the Second Opium War were still hovering over the country, and the Taiping Rebellion continued its seemingly unstoppable advance through China's south, eating up the Qing Empire bit by bit. Internally, both the national bureaucracy and regional authorities were infested with corruption. 1861 happened to be the year of official examinations, whereby officials of all levels presented their political reports from the previous three years. Cixi decided that the time was ripe for a bureaucratic overhaul, and she personally sought audience with all officials above the level of provincial governor, who had to report to her personally. Cixi thus took on part of the role usually given to the Bureaucratic Affairs Department (吏部). Cixi had two prominent officials executed to serve as examples for others: Qingying, a military shilang who had tried to bribe his way out of demotion, and He Guiqing, then Viceroy of Liangjiang, who fled Changzhou in the wake of an incoming Taiping army instead of trying to defend the city. A number of reforms were implemented, such as the development of the Zongli Yamen, an official foreign ministry to deal with international affairs, the restoration of regional armies and regional strongmen, modernization of railroads, factories, and arsenals, an increase of industrial and commercial productivity, and the institution of a period of peace that allowed China time to modernize and develop. Another significant challenge Cixi faced was the increasingly decrepit state of the Manchu elites. Since the beginning of Qing rule over China in 1644, most major positions at court had been held by Manchus. Cixi, again in a reversal of imperial tradition, entrusted the country's most powerful military unit against the Taiping rebels into the hands of a Han Chinese, Zeng Guofan. Additionally, in the next three years, Cixi appointed Han Chinese officials as governors in all southern Chinese provinces, raising alarm bells in the court, traditionally protective of Manchu dominance. Regarding the reforms of the Tongzhi Restoration, Mary C. Wright suggested that "Not only a dynasty but also a civilization which appeared to have collapsed was revived to last for another sixty years by the extraordinary efforts of extraordinary men in the 1860s." John K. Fairbank wrote, "That the Qing managed to survive both domestic and international attacks is due largely to the policy and leadership changes known as the Qing Restoration." Taiping victory and Prince Gong Under the command of Zeng Guofan, the victorious Xiang Army defeated the Taiping rebel army in a hard-fought battle at Tianjing (present-day Nanjing) in July 1864. Zeng was rewarded with the title of "Marquess Yiyong, First Class", while his brother Zeng Guoquan, along with Li Hongzhang, Zuo Zongtang and other Han Chinese officers who fought against the Taiping rebels, were rewarded with auspicious decorations and titles. With the Taiping rebel threat receding, Cixi focused her attention on new internal threats to her power. Of special concern was the position of Prince Gong, who was Prince-Regent in the imperial court. Prince Gong gathered under his command the support of all outstanding Han Chinese armies. In addition, Prince Gong controlled daily court affairs as the head of the Grand Council and the Zongli Yamen (the de facto foreign affairs ministry). With his increasing stature, Prince Gong was considered a threat to Cixi and her power. Although Prince Gong was rewarded for his conduct and recommendation of Zeng Guofan before the Taiping rebels' defeat, Cixi was quick to move after Cai Shouqi, a minor scribe-official, filed a memorial accusing Prince Gong of corruption and showing disrespect to the emperor. Having built up a powerful base and a network of allies at court, Prince Gong considered the accusations insignificant. Cixi, however, took the memorial as a stepping stone to Prince Gong's removal. In April 1865, under the pretext that Prince Gong had "improper court conduct before the two empresses," among a series of other charges, the prince was dismissed from all his offices and appointments, but was allowed to retain his status as a noble. The dismissal surprised the nobility and court officials and brought about numerous petitions for his return. Prince Gong's brothers, Prince Dun and Prince Chun, both sought their brother's reinstatement. Prince Gong himself, in an audience with the two empresses, burst into tears. Bowing to popular pressure, Cixi allowed Prince Gong to return to his position as the head of the Zongli Yamen, but rid him of his title of Prince-Regent. Prince Gong would never return to political prominence again, and neither would the liberal and pro-reform policies of his time. Prince Gong's demotion revealed Cixi's iron grip on politics, and her lack of willingness to give up absolute power to anyone – not even Prince Gong, her most important ally in the Xinyou Coup. Foreign influence China's defeat in the Second Opium War of 1856–60 was a wake-up call. Military strategies were outdated, both on land and sea and in terms of weaponry. Sensing an immediate threat from foreigners and realising that China's agricultural-based economy could not hope to compete with the industrial prowess of the West, Cixi decided that for the first time in Chinese history, China would learn from the Western powers and import their knowledge and technology. At the time, three prominent Han Chinese officials, Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzhang and Zuo Zongtang, had all begun industrial programs in the country's southern regions. In supporting these programmes, Cixi also decreed the opening of the Tongwen Guan in 1862, a school for foreign languages in Beijing. The Tongwen Guan specialised in new-age topics such as astronomy and mathematics, as well as the English, French and Russian languages. Groups of young boys were also sent abroad to the United States for studies. China's "learn from foreigners" programme quickly met with impediments. The Chinese military institutions were in desperate need of reform. Cixi's solution, under the advice of officials at court, was to purchase seven British warships. When the warships arrived in China, however, they were staffed with British sailors, all under British command. The Chinese were enraged at this "international joke", negotiations broke down between the two parties, and China returned the warships to Britain, where they were to be auctioned off. Scholars sometimes attribute the failure of China's foreign programmes to Cixi's conservative attitude and old methods of thinking, and contend that Cixi would learn only so much from the foreigners, provided it did not infringe upon her own power. Under the pretext that a railway was too loud and would "disturb the emperors' tombs", Cixi forbade its construction. When construction went ahead anyway in 1877 on Li Hongzhang's recommendation, Cixi asked that they be pulled by horse-drawn carts. She also refused to be driven in a motorcar, as the driver would be unable to lower himself in front of her, as custom dictated. Cixi was especially alarmed at the liberal thinking of people who had studied abroad, and saw that it posed a new threat to her power. In 1881, Cixi put a halt to the policy of sending children abroad to study and withdrew her formerly open attitude towards foreigners. The Tongzhi Emperor's marriage In 1872, the Tongzhi Emperor turned 17. Under the guidance of the Empress Dowager Ci'an, he was married to the Jiashun Empress. The empress's grandfather, Prince Zheng, was one of the eight regents ousted from power in the Xinyou Coup of 1861. He had been Cixi's rival during the coup and was ordered to commit suicide after Cixi's victory. As a consequence, there were tensions between Cixi and the empress, and this was often a source of irritation for Cixi. Moreover, the empress's zodiac symbol of tiger was perceived as life-threatening by the superstitious Cixi, whose own zodiac symbol was a goat. According to Cixi's belief, it was a warning from the gods that she would eventually fall prey to the empress. As the principal consort of the Tongzhi Emperor, the Jiashun Empress was well received by both the emperor and Empress Dowager Ci'an. Her personal consultants once warned her to be more agreeable and docile to Cixi, as Cixi was truly the one in power. The empress replied, "I am a principal consort, having been carried through the front gate with pomp and circumstance, as mandated by our ancestors. Empress Dowager Cixi was a concubine, and entered our household through a side gate." Since the very beginning of his marriage, the Tongzhi Emperor proceeded to spend most of his time with his empress at the expense of his four concubines, including the Imperial Noble Consort Shushen, who was Cixi's preferred candidate for the Tongzhi Emperor's empress consort. As hostility grew between Cixi and the Jiashun Empress, Cixi suggested the couple spend more time on studies and spied on the Tongzhi Emperor using palace eunuchs. After her warning was ignored, Cixi ordered the couple to separate, and the Tongzhi Emperor purportedly spent several months following Cixi's order in isolation at Qianqing Palace. The young emperor, who could no longer cope with his grief and loneliness, grew more and more ill-tempered. He began to treat his servants with cruelty and punished them physically for minor offences. Under the joined influence of court eunuchs and Zaicheng, Prince Gong's eldest son and the Tongzhi Emperor's best friend, the emperor managed to escape the palace in search of pleasure in the unrestricted parts of Beijing. For several evenings the emperor disguised himself as a commoner and secretly spent the nights in the brothels of Beijing. The emperor's sexual habits became common talk among court officials and commoners, and there are many records of the emperor's escapades. The Tongzhi Emperor's deficiencies in ruling The Tongzhi Emperor received a rigorous education from four famous teachers of Cixi's own choosing: Li Hongzao, Qi Junzao, Weng Xincun, and Woren. This group was later joined by Weng Xincun's son, Weng Tonghe; the emperor's governor, also selected by Cixi, was Mianyu. The imperial teachers instructed the emperor in the classics and various old texts for which the emperor displayed little or no interest. Despite, or perhaps because of, the pressure and stress put upon the young emperor, he despised learning for the majority of his life. According to Weng Tonghe's diary, the emperor could not read a memorandum in full sentences by the age of 16. Worried about her son's inability to learn, Cixi only pressured him more. When he was given personal rule in November 1873 at the age of 18 (four years behind the usual custom), the Tongzhi Emperor proved to be an incompetent ruler. The Tongzhi Emperor made two important policy decisions during his short stint of rule, which lasted from 1873 to 1875. First, he decreed that the Summer Palace, destroyed by the English and French in the Second Opium War, would be completely rebuilt under the pretext that it was a gift to Cixi and Ci'an. Historians also suggest that it was an attempt to drive Cixi from the Forbidden City so that he could rule without interference in policy or his private affairs. The imperial treasury was almost depleted at the time from internal strife and foreign wars, and as a result, the Tongzhi Emperor asked the Board of Finance to forage for the necessary funds. In addition, he encouraged members of the nobility and high officials to donate funds from their personal resources. Once construction began, the emperor checked its progress on a monthly basis, and would often spend days away from court, indulging himself in pleasures outside of the Forbidden City. Uneasy about the Tongzhi Emperor's neglect of national affairs, the emperor's uncles Prince Gong and Prince Chun, along with other senior court officials, submitted a joint memorandum asking the emperor to cease the construction of the Summer Palace, among other recommendations. The Tongzhi Emperor, unwilling to submit to criticism, issued an imperial edict in August 1874 to strip Prince Gong of his princely title and demote him to the status of a commoner. Two days later, Prince Dun, Prince Chun, Prince Fu, Jingshou, Prince Qing, Wenxiang, Baojun, and Grand Councillors Shen Guifen and Li Hongzao were all to be stripped of their respective titles and jobs. Seeing the mayhem unfold from behind the scenes, Cixi and Ci'an made an unprecedented appearance at court directly criticising the emperor for his wrongful actions and asked him to withdraw the edict; Cixi said that "without Prince Gong, the situation today would not exist for you and me."Feeling a grand sense of loss at court and unable to assert his authority, the Tongzhi Emperor returned to his former habits. It was rumoured that he caught syphilis and became visibly ill. The physicians spread a rumour that the emperor had smallpox, and proceeded to give medical treatment accordingly. Within a few weeks, on 13 January 1875, the emperor died. The Jiashun Empress followed suit in March. Judging from a modern medical perspective, the onset of syphilis comes in stages, thus the emperor's quick death does not seem to reflect its symptoms. Therefore, most historians maintain that the Tongzhi Emperor did, in fact, die from smallpox. Regardless, by 1875, Cixi was back onto the helm of imperial power. Guangxu era New challenges and illness The Tongzhi Emperor died without a male heir, a circumstance that created an unprecedented succession crisis in the dynastic line. Members of the generation above were considered unfit, as they could not, by definition, be the successor of their nephew. Therefore, the new emperor had to be from a generation below or the same generation as the Tongzhi Emperor. After considerable disagreement between the two Empresses Dowager, Zaitian, the four-year-old firstborn son of Prince Chun and Cixi's sister, was to become the new emperor. 1875 was declared the first year of the Guangxu era; Guangxu was the new emperor's regnal name and it means "glorious succession". Zaitian was taken from home and for the remainder of his life would be cut completely off from his family. While addressing Ci'an conventionally as huang e'niang ("Empress Mother"), Zaitian was forced to address Cixi as qin baba ("Dear Father"), in order to enforce an image that she was the fatherly figure in the household. The Guangxu Emperor began his education when he was aged five, taught by the imperial tutor Weng Tonghe, with whom he would develop a lasting bond. Shortly after the accession of the Guangxu Emperor, Cixi fell severely ill. This rendered her largely inaccessible to her young nephew and had the result of leaving Ci'an to attend to most of the affairs of state.The sudden death of Ci'an in April 1881 brought Cixi a new challenge. Ci'an had taken little interest in running state affairs, but was the decision-maker in most family affairs. As the consort of the Xianfeng Emperor, she took seniority over Cixi, despite being two years her junior. Some believe that rumours began circulating at court to the effect that Cixi had poisoned Ci'an, perhaps as a result of a possible conflict between Cixi and Ci'an over the execution of the eunuch An Dehai in 1869 or a possible will from the late Xianfeng Emperor that was issued exclusively to Ci'an. Because of a lack of evidence, however, historians are reluctant to believe that Ci'an was poisoned by Cixi, but instead choose to believe that the cause of death was a sudden stroke, as validated by traditional Chinese medicine.In the years between 1881 and 1883, Cixi resorted to written communication only with her ministers. The young Guangxu Emperor reportedly was forced to conduct some audiences alone, without Cixi to assist him.The once fierce and determined Prince Gong, frustrated by Cixi's iron grip on power, did little to question Cixi on state affairs, and supported Manchu involvement in the Sino-French War of 1884–1885. Cixi used China's loss in the war as a pretext for getting rid of Prince Gong and other important decision-makers in the Grand Council in 1885. She downgraded Prince Gong to "advisor" and elevated the more easily influenced Prince Chun. When it was first developed by Empress Dowager Cixi, the Beiyang Fleet was said to be the strongest navy in East Asia. Before her adopted son, Emperor Guangxu, took over the throne in 1889, Cixi wrote out explicit orders that the navy should continue to develop and expand gradually. However, after Cixi went into retirement, all naval and military development came to a drastic halt. Japan's victories over China has often been falsely rumored to be the fault of Cixi. Many believed that Cixi was the cause of the navy's defeat by embezzling funds from the navy in order to build the Summer Palace in Beijing. The greatest symbol of this enduring belief is the Marble Boat that is part of the Summer Palace. However, extensive research by Chinese historians suggests that Cixi was not the cause of the Chinese navy's decline. In actuality, China's defeat was caused by Emperor Guangxu's lack of interest in developing and maintaining the military. His close adviser, Grand Tutor Weng Tonghe, advised Guangxu to cut all funding to the navy and army, because he did not see Japan as a true threat, and there were several natural disasters during the early 1890s which the emperor thought to be more pressing to expend funds on. The Guangxu Emperor's accession The Guangxu Emperor technically gained the right to rule at the age of 16 in 1887 after Cixi issued an edict to arrange a ceremony to mark his accession. Because of her prestige and power, however, court officials voiced their opposition to the Guangxu Emperor's personal rule, citing the emperor's youth as the main reason. Prince Chun and Weng Tonghe, each with a different motive, requested that the Guangxu Emperor's accession be postponed until a later date. Cixi, with her reputed reluctance, accepted the "advice" and legitimised her continued rule through a new legal document that allowed her to "aid" the Guangxu Emperor in his rule indefinitely. The Guangxu Emperor slowly began to take on more responsibilities in spite of Cixi's prolonged regency. In 1886, he attended his first field plowing ceremony and began commenting on imperial state documents. By 1887, he began to rule under Cixi's supervision.The Guangxu Emperor married and took up the reins of power in 1889. By that year, the emperor was already 18, older than the conventional marriage age for emperors. Prior to his wedding, a large fire engulfed the Gate of Supreme Harmony at the Forbidden City. This event followed a trend of recent natural disasters that were considered alarming by many observers. According to traditional Chinese political theory, such incidents were taken as a warning of the imminent loss of the "Mandate of Heaven" by current rulers. For his empress, Empress Dowager Cixi chose the Guangxu Emperor's cousin Jingfen, who would become Empress Longyu. Besides her close relation to the emperor himself, she was also Cixi's niece. Cixi in addition selected two concubines for the Guangxu Emperor who were sisters, Consorts Jin and Zhen. The Guangxu Emperor eventually would prefer to spend more time with Consort Zhen, neglecting his Empress, much to Cixi's dismay. In 1894, Cixi degraded Consort Zhen, citing intervention in political affairs as the main reason. According to some reports, she even had her flogged. Consort Jin had also been implicated in Consort Zhen's reported influence peddling and also apparently suffered a similar punishment. A cousin of theirs, Zhirui, was banished from the capital to a military outpost. "Retirement" On 5 March 1889, Cixi retired from her second regency, but nonetheless served as the effective head of the imperial family. Many officials felt and showed more loyalty to the empress dowager than they did to the emperor, owing in part to her seniority and in part to her personalised approach to cultivating court favourites, many of whom would be given gifts of her artwork and invitations to join her at the theater for opera and acrobatics.In spite of her residence for a period of time at the Summer Palace, which had been constructed with the official intention of providing her a suitable place to live after retiring from political affairs, Cixi continued to influence the decisions and actions of the Guangxu Emperor even after he began his formal rule at age 19. Along with an entourage of court officials, the Guangxu Emperor would pay visits to her every second or third day at which major political decisions would be made. Weng Tonghe observed that while the emperor dealt with day-to-day administration, the Grand Councillors gave their advice in more complex cases, and in the most complex cases of all, the advice of Cixi was sought.In 1894, the First Sino-Japanese War broke out over Korea whose age-old allegiance to Beijing was wavering. After the decisive victory and ensuing Treaty of Shimonoseki, Japan annexed Taiwan from Qing China. During this period, Cixi was continuously called upon to arbitrate policy-making, and the emperor was sometimes even bypassed in decision-making processes. Cixi eventually was given copies of the secret palace memorials as well, a practice that was carried on until 1898, when it became unnecessary.In November 1894, Cixi celebrated her 60th birthday. Borrowing from the plans used for the celebrations of the 70th and 80th birthdays of Empress Xiaoshengxian (the Qianlong Emperor's mother), plans included a triumphal progress along the decorated road between the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace, decorations for the Beijing city gates and monumental archways, free theatrical performances, remission of punishments and the restoration of degraded officials. However, the war between China and Japan forced the empress dowager to cancel the lavish celebrations she had planned and settle for a much smaller commemoration that was held in the Forbidden City. Hundred Days' Reform After coming to the throne, the Guangxu Emperor became more reform-minded. After a humiliating defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894, during which the Chinese Beiyang Fleet was virtually destroyed by the Imperial Japanese Navy, the Qing government faced unprecedented challenges internally and abroad, with its very existence at stake. Under the influence of reformist-officials Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao, the Guangxu Emperor believed that by learning from constitutional monarchies such as Japan and Germany, China would become politically and economically powerful. In June 1898, the Guangxu Emperor launched the Hundred Days' Reform aimed at sweeping political, legal and social changes and issued edicts for far-reaching modernising reforms. These abrupt reforms, however, came without building support either at court or in the bureaucracy. Cixi, whether concerned that they would check her power or fearful that they would lead to disorder, stepped in to prevent them from going further. Some government and military officials warned Cixi that the ming-shi (reformation bureau) had been geared toward conspiracy. Allegations of treason against the emperor, as well as suspected Japanese influence within the reform movement, led Cixi to resume the role of regent and resume control at the court. The Manchu general Ronglu on 21 September 1898, took the Emperor to Ocean Terrace, a small palace on an island in the middle of Zhongnanhai linked to the rest of the Forbidden City only by a controlled causeway. Cixi followed this action with an edict that proclaimed the Guangxu Emperor's total disgrace and unfitness to be emperor. The Guangxu Emperor's reign effectively came to an end. According to research by Professor Lei Chia-sheng (雷家聖), during the Hundred Days' Reform, former Japanese Prime Minister Itō Hirobumi arrived in China on 11 September 1898. Almost at the same time, British missionary Timothy Richard was invited to Beijing by the reformist Kang Youwei. Richard suggested that China should hand over some political power to Itō in order to help push the reforms further. On 18 September, Richard convinced Kang to adopt a plan by which China would join a federation composed of China, Japan, the United States, and England. This suggestion did not reflect the policies of the countries concerned. It was Richard's (and perhaps Itō's) trick to convince China to hand over national rights. Kang nonetheless asked fellow reformers Yang Shenxiu (楊深秀) and Song Bolu (宋伯魯) to report this plan to the Guangxu Emperor. On 20 September, Yang sent a memorial to this effect to the emperor. In another memorial written the next day, Song Bolu also advocated the formation of a federation and the sharing of the diplomatic, fiscal, and military powers of the four countries under a hundred-man committee.Still according to Lei's findings, on 13 October, British ambassador Claude MacDonald reported to his government about the Chinese situation, saying that Chinese reforms had been damaged by Kang Youwei and his friends' actions. British diplomat Frederick Bourne claimed in his own report that Kang was a dreamer who had been seduced by Timothy Richard's sweet words. Bourne thought Richard was a plotter. The British and U.S. governments were unaware of the "federation" plot, which seems to have been Richard's personal idea. Because Richard's partner Itō Hirobumi had been Prime Minister of Japan, the Japanese government might have known about Richard's plan, but there is no evidence to this effect. A crisis over the issue of abdication emerged. Bowing to increasing pressure from the West and general civil discontent, Cixi did not forcibly remove the Guangxu Emperor from the throne, although she attempted to have Pujun, a boy of 14 who was from a close branch of the imperial family, installed as crown prince. The Guangxu era nominally continued until his death in 1908, but the emperor lost all respect, power, and privileges, including his freedom of movement. Most of his supporters, including his political mentor Kang Youwei, fled into exile, and the six prominent reformers including Tan Sitong and Kang's younger brother, were publicly beheaded. Kang continued to work for a constitutional monarchy while in exile, remaining loyal to the Guangxu Emperor and hoping eventually to restore him to power. His efforts would prove to be in vain. Boxer Rebellion In 1900, the Boxer Rebellion broke out in northern China. Perhaps fearing further foreign intervention, Cixi threw her support to these anti-foreign bands by making an official announcement of her support for the movement and a formal declaration of war on the Western powers. The general Ronglu deliberately sabotaged the performance of the imperial army during the rebellion. Dong Fuxiang's Muslim troops (the "Kansu Braves") were able and eager to destroy the foreign military forces in the legations, but Ronglu stopped them from doing so. The Manchu prince Zaiyi was xenophobic and friendly with Dong Fuxiang. Zaiyi wanted artillery for Dong's troops to destroy the legations. Ronglu blocked the transfer of artillery to Zaiyi and Dong, preventing them from destroying the legations. When artillery was finally supplied to the imperial army and Boxers, it was only done so in limited amounts; Ronglu deliberately held back the rest of them. The Chinese forces defeated the small 2,000-man Western relief force at the Battle of Langfang, but lost several decisive battles, including the Battle of Beicang, and the entire imperial court was forced to retreat as the forces of the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded Beijing. Due to the fact that moderates at the Qing imperial court tried to appease the foreigners by moving the Muslim Kansu Braves out of their way, the allied army was able to march into Beijing and seize the capital.During the war, Cixi displayed concern about China's situation and foreign aggression, saying, "Perhaps their magic is not to be relied upon; but can we not rely on the hearts and minds of the people? Today China is extremely weak. We have only the people's hearts and minds to depend upon. If we cast them aside and lose the people's hearts, what can we use to sustain the country?" The Chinese people were almost unanimous in their support for the Boxers due to the Western Allied invasion.When Cixi received an ultimatum demanding that China surrender total control over all its military and financial affairs to foreigners, she defiantly stated before the Grand Council, "Now they [the Powers] have started the aggression, and the extinction of our nation is imminent. If we just fold our arms and yield to them, I would have no face to see our ancestors after death. If we must perish, why not fight to the death?" It was at this point that Cixi began to blockade the legations with the armies of the Beijing Field Force, which began the siege.Cixi stated that "I have always been of the opinion, that the allied armies had been permitted to escape too easily in 1860. Only a united effort was then necessary to have given China the victory. Today, at last, the opportunity for revenge has come", and said that millions of Chinese would join the cause of fighting the foreigners since the Manchus had provided "great benefits" to China.During the Battle of Beijing, the entire imperial court, including Empress Dowager Cixi and the Guangxu Emperor, fled Beijing and evacuated to Xi'an as the allied forces invaded the city. After the fall of Beijing, the Eight-Nation Alliance negotiated a treaty with the Qing government, sending messengers to the empress dowager in Xi'an. Included in the terms of the agreement was a guarantee that China would not have to give up any further territories to foreign powers. Many of Cixi's advisers in the imperial court insisted that the war against the foreigners be continued. They recommended that Dong Fuxiang be given responsibility to continue the war effort. Cixi was practical, however, and decided that the terms were generous enough for her to acquiesce and stop the war, at least after she was assured of her continued reign when the war was concluded. The Western powers needed a government strong enough to suppress further anti-foreign movements, but too weak to act on its own; they supported the continuation of the Qing dynasty, rather than allowing it to be overthrown. Cixi turned once more to Li Hongzhang to negotiate. Li agreed to sign the Boxer Protocol, which stipulated the presence of an international military force in Beijing and the payment of £67 million (almost $333 million) in war reparations. The United States used its share of the war indemnity to fund the creation of China's prestigious Tsinghua University. The Guangxu Emperor and Cixi did not return to Beijing from Xi'an until roughly 18 months after their flight. Return to Beijing and reforms In January 1902, Cixi, the Guangxu Emperor, the empress and the rest of the court made a ceremonious return to Beijing. At the railhead at Chengtingfu, Cixi and the court boarded a 21-car train to convey them the rest of the way to the capital. In Beijing, many of the legation women turned out to watch the procession from the Beijing railway station to the Forbidden City, and for the first time, commoners were permitted to watch as well.Once back in the palace, Cixi implemented sweeping political reforms. High officials were dispatched to Japan and Europe to gather facts and draw up plans for sweeping administrative reforms in law, education, government structure, and social policy, many of which were modeled on the reforms of the Meiji Restoration. The abolition of the examination system in 1905 was only the most visible of these sweeping reforms. Ironically, Cixi sponsored the implementation of the New Policies, a reform program more radical than the one proposed by the reformers she had beheaded in 1898.In an attempt to woo foreigners, Cixi also invited the wives of the diplomatic corps to a tea in the Forbidden City soon after her return, and in time, would hold summer garden parties for the foreign community at the Summer Palace. In 1903, she acquiesced to the request of Sarah Conger, wife of Edwin H. Conger, the U.S. Ambassador to China, to have her portrait painted by American artist Katharine Carl for the St. Louis World's Fair. Between 1903 and 1905, Cixi had a Western-educated lady-in-waiting by the name of Yu Deling, along with her sister and mother, serve at her court. Yu Deling, fluent in English and French, as well as Chinese, often served as translator at meetings with the wives of the diplomatic corps. In 1903, Cixi allowed a young aristocratic photographer named Yu Xunling, a brother of Yu Deling, to take elaborately staged shots of her and her court. They were designed to convey imperial authority, aesthetic refinement, and religious piety. As the only photographic series taken of Cixi – the supreme leader of China for more than 45 years – it represents a unique convergence of Qing court pictorial traditions, modern photographic techniques, and Western standards of artistic portraiture. The rare glass plates have been blown up into full-size images, included in the exhibition "The Empress Dowager" at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Xuantong era Empress Dowager Cixi died in the Hall of Graceful Bird at the Middle Sea (中海儀鸞殿) of Zhongnanhai, Beijing, on 15 November 1908, after having installed Puyi as the new emperor on 14 November 1908. Her death came only a day after the death of the Guangxu Emperor. Radicals greeted the news with scorn. The anarchist Wu Zhihui, who had leveled some of the most vitriol at Cixi in life, wrote from exile in Paris of the "vixen empress and vermin emperor" that "their lingering stench makes me vomit."On 4 November 2008, forensic tests concluded that the Guangxu Emperor died from acute arsenic poisoning. China Daily quoted a historian, Dai Yi, who speculated that Cixi may have known of her imminent death and may have worried that the Guangxu Emperor would continue his reforms after her death. It was reported in November 2008 that the level of arsenic in his remains was 2,000 times higher than that of ordinary people. Empress Dowager Cixi was interred amidst the Eastern Qing tombs, 125 km (78 mi) east of Beijing, in the Eastern Ding Mausoleum (東定陵), along with Empress Dowager Ci'an. Empress Dowager Ci'an lies in the Puxiangyu Eastern Ding Mausoleum (普祥峪定東陵; lit. "Tomb East of the Ding Mausoleum in the Broad Valley of Good Omen"), while Empress Dowager Cixi built herself the much larger Putuoyu Eastern Ding Mausoleum (菩陀峪定東陵; lit. "Tomb East of the Ding Mausoleum in the Putuo Valley"). The Ding Mausoleum (lit. "Tomb of Quietude"), where the Xianfeng Emperor is buried, is located west of the Dingdongling. The Putuo Valley owes its name to Mount Putuo, one of the Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains of China. Empress Dowager Cixi, unsatisfied with her tomb, ordered its destruction and reconstruction in 1895. The new tomb was a complex of temples, gates, and pavilions, covered with gold leaf, and with gold and gilded-bronze ornaments hanging from the beams and the eaves. In July 1928, Cixi's tomb was plundered by the warlord Sun Dianying and his army as part of the looting of the Eastern Mausoleum. They methodically stripped the complex of its precious ornaments, then dynamited the entrance to the burial chamber, opened Cixi's coffin, threw her corpse (said to have been found intact) on the ground, and stole the jewels contained in the coffin. They also took the massive pearl that had been placed in the empress dowager's mouth to protect her corpse from decomposing (in accordance with Chinese tradition). Sun Dianying claimed the desecration was revenge for the death of his ancestor Sun Chengzong in 1638. Puyi had his grandmother's remains reburied. After 1949, the complex of Empress Dowager Cixi's tomb was restored by the Chinese government. Legacy For many years, the mainstream view of Empress Dowager Cixi was that she was a devious despot who contributed in no small part to China's slide into corruption, chaos, and revolution. Cixi used her power to accumulate vast quantities of money, bullion, antiques and jewelry, using the revenues of the state as her own. The long-time China journalist Jasper Becker recalled that "every visitor to the Summer Palace is shown the beautiful lakeside pavilion in the shape of an elegant marble pleasure boat and told how Cixi spent funds destined for the imperial navy on such extravagant fripperies – which ultimately led to Japan's victory over China in 1895 and the loss of Taiwan".Yet even after the violent anti-foreign Boxer movement and equally violent foreign reprisal, the initial foreign accounts of Cixi emphasized her warmth and friendliness. This was perhaps because Cixi took the initiative and invited several women to spend time with her in the Forbidden City. Katharine Carl, an American painter, was called to China in 1903 to paint Cixi's portrait for the St. Louis Exposition. In her With the Empress Dowager, Carl portrays Cixi as a kind and considerate woman for her station. Cixi, though shrewd, had great presence, charm, and graceful movements resulting in "an unusually attractive personality". Carl wrote of the empress dowager's love of dogs and of flowers, as well as boating, Chinese opera and her Chinese water pipes and European cigarettes. Cixi also commissioned the portraitist Hubert Vos to produce a series of oil portraits.The publication of China Under The Empress Dowager (1910) by J. O. P. Bland and Edmund Backhouse contributed to Cixi's reputation with its back-door gossip, much of which came from palace eunuchs. Their portrait included contradictory elements, writes one recent study, "on the one hand... imperious, manipulative, and lascivious" and on the other "ingenuous, politically shrewd, and conscientious..." Backhouse and Bland told their readers that "to summarize her essence simply, she a woman and an Oriental". Backhouse was later found to have forged much of the source material used in this work. The vivid writing and lascivious details of their account provided material for many of the books over the following decades, including Chinese fiction and histories that drew on a 1914 translation.In the People's Republic after 1949, the image of the Manchu Empress was debated and changed several times. She was sometimes praised for her anti-imperialist role in the Boxer Uprising and sometimes she was reviled as a member of the "feudalist regime". When Mao Zedong's wife, Jiang Qing was arrested in 1976 for abuse of power, an exhibit at the Palace Museum put Cixi's luxurious goods on display to show that a female ruler weakened the nation.By the mid-1970s, views among scholars began to change. Sue Fawn Chung's doctoral dissertation at University of California, Berkeley, was the first study in English to use court documents rather than popular histories and hearsay. Despite this, writers such as Jung Chang have criticized this narrative and have written works such as Chang's Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern China in order to offer an opposing view.Several widely read popular biographies appeared. Sterling Seagrave's Dragon Lady: The Life and Legend of the Last Empress of China portrays Cixi as a woman stuck between the xenophobic faction of Manchu nobility and more moderate influences. In 2013, Jung Chang's biography, Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern China, portrays Cixi as the most capable ruler and administrator that China could have had at the time. Pamela Kyle Crossley said in the London Review of Books that Chang's claims "seem to be minted from her own musings, and have little to do with what we know was actually going in China". Although Crossley was sympathetic to restoring women's place in Chinese history, she found "rewriting Cixi as Catherine the Great or Margaret Thatcher is a poor bargain: the gain of an illusory icon at the expense of historical sense". Titles and honours Titles During the reign of the Daoguang Emperor (r. 1820–1850): Lady Yehe Nara (from 29 November 1835) During the reign of the Xianfeng Emperor (r. 1850–1861): Noble Lady Lan (蘭貴人; from 26 June 1852), sixth rank consort Concubine Yi (懿嬪; from 28 February 1854), fifth rank consort Consort Yi (懿妃; from 27 April 1856), fourth rank consort Noble Consort Yi (懿貴妃; from January/February 1857), third rank consort During the reign of the Tongzhi Emperor (r. 1861–1875): Imperial Noble Consort Dowager Yi (懿皇貴太妃; from 22 August 1861) Empress Dowager Cixi (慈禧皇太后; from 23 August 1861) During the reign of the Xuantong Emperor (r. 1908–1912): Grand Empress Dowager Cixi (慈禧太皇太后; from 14 November 1908) Empress Xiaoqinxian (孝欽顯皇后; from 16 November 1909) Honours Dame Grand Cordon of the Order of the Precious Crown (Empire of Japan). Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Catherine (Russian Empire, 28 May 1897) Family Father: Yehenara Huizheng (惠徵; 1805–1853) Paternal grandfather: Jingrui (景瑞) Paternal grandmother: Lady Gūwalgiya Mother: Lady Fuca Maternal grandfather: Huixian (惠顯) Three younger brothers Second younger brother: Guixiang (桂祥; 1849–1913), served as first rank military official (都統), and held the title of a third class duke (三等公), the father of Jingfen, Empress Xiaodingjing (1868–1913) One younger sister Second younger sister: Wanzhen (1841–1896), the mother of the Guangxu Emperor (1871–1908) Issue As Concubine Yi: Zaichun (載淳; 27 April 1856 – 12 January 1875), the Xianfeng Emperor's first son, enthroned on 11 November 1861 as the Tongzhi Emperor In fiction and popular culture Cixi (first called 'Orchid', later 'Tzu Hsi') and her favourite eunuch are the main characters in the historical novel Lotus Blossom published in 1939 by George Lancing (pseudonym of the British author Matilda Angela Antonia Hunter). Flora Robson portrays the empress 'Tzu Hsi' in the 1963 Nicholas Ray's American epic historical film 55 Days at Peking; this film (based on a book by Noel Gerson) dramatizes the siege of the foreign legations' compounds in Beijing during the Boxer Rebellion. Der Ling's story The True Story of the Empress Dowager (originally published as Old Buddha) gives a portrayal of the history behind the character of the Empress-Dowager Cixi – not as the monster of depravity depicted in the popular press, but an aging woman who loved beautiful things and had many regrets about the past. (Soul Care Publishing, 2015) Pearl S. Buck's novel Imperial Woman chronicles the life of the Empress Dowager from the time of her selection as a concubine until near to her death. Bette Bao Lord's novel Spring Moon starts in the days of Cixi, and includes the involvement of the Imperial Court in the Boxer Rebellion. The novels Empress Orchid (2004) and The Last Empress (2007), by Anchee Min portray the life of Empress Dowager Cixi from a first-person perspective. The Noble Consort Yi is featured in George McDonald Fraser's novel, Flashman and the Dragon (1985). The 1968 novel Wij Tz'e Hsi Keizerin Van China ("We, Tz'e Hsi, Empress of China") by Dutch author Johan Fabricius is a fictional diary of the Empress. In the 1970s, she was portrayed by Lisa Lu in two Hong Kong-made films, The Empress Dowager (set during the Sino-Japanese War), and its sequel, The Last Tempest (set during the "Hundred Days of Reform"). Lu reprised her role as Cixi in the 1987 film The Last Emperor, depicting the dowager on her deathbed. In the 1980s, she was portrayed by Liu Xiaoqing, in Burning of Imperial Palace (depicting her rise to power in the 1850s, and the burning of the Old Summer Palace by French and British troops in 1860), in Reign Behind a Curtain (depicting the Xinyou Coup of 1861), in The Empress Dowager (set during the latter part of the reign of Tongzhi), and in Li Lianying, the Imperial Eunuch. In the Lover of the Last Empress, she was portrayed by Chingmy Yau. The China Central Television production Towards the Republic portrayed Empress Dowager Cixi as a capable ruler, the first time that Mainland Chinese television had shown her in this light. The portrayal was not entirely positive, as it also clearly depicted her political views as very conservative. She is portrayed in the novel The Ginger Tree, by Oswald Wynd (1977). The novel The Pleiades, by Japanese author Jirō Asada, focuses on Empress Cixi's relationship with a court eunuch named Chun'er, and depicted Cixi as a ruthless and calculating leader. It was adapted into a 2010 Japanese television series that was also broadcast in China, and starred Japanese actress Yūko Tanaka as Empress Cixi. Cixi is a major character in the novel Mandarin, by American author Robert Elegant. The novel is set in the 1850s through the 1870s. Earth Queen Hou-Ting in The Legend of Korra is clearly based upon Cixi and the state of the Earth Kingdom during her reign mirrors the decline of Imperial China in the late 19th century. Portrayed by Michelle Yim in The Rise and Fall of Qing Dynasty (1990) and The Confidant (2012) Portrayed by Susanna Au-yeung in The Rise and Fall of Qing Dynasty (1992) Portrayed by Lü Zhong in Princess Der Ling (2006) Portrayed by Law Lan in The Last Healer in Forbidden City (2016) Portrayed by Xi Meijuan in Nothing Gold Can Stay (2017) Empress Cixi is the primary antagonist and recurring character, though only ever named as "the Empress Dowager" in the 1991 animated show The Twins of Destiny by French writer/producer Jean Chalopin. Portrayed as the primary antagonist of the WEBTOON Phantom Paradise. Mentioned in cultural context by Lee in Chapter 24 of the novel East of Eden by author John Steinbeck. See also Ranks of Imperial Consorts in China#Qing Qing Dynasty nobility Imperial Decree of declaration of war against foreign powers Imperial Decree on events leading to the signing of Boxer Protocol Wu Zetian Kösem Sultan Ranavalona I Bland, J. O. P.; Backhouse, Edmund (1910). China under the Empress Dowager: Being the History of the Life and Times of Tz*U Hsi, Compiled from State Papers and the Private Diary of the Comptroller of Her Household. London: W. Heinemann. Long the standard source until the so-called "Diary of Ching Shan" was exposed as a forgery and Backhouse as a "fraudster". Free online Googlebook here. Chan, Ying-kit (2015). "A Precious Mirror for Governing the Peace: A Primer for Empress Dowager Cixi". NAN NÜ. Brill. 17 (2): 214–244. doi:10.1163/15685268-00172p02. Chang, Jung (2013). Empress Dowager Cixi: the concubine who launched modern China (First American ed.). New York. ISBN 9780307456700.: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) Chung, Sue Fawn (1979). "The Much Maligned Empress Dowager: A Revisionist Study of the Empress Dowager Tz'u-Hsi (1835–1908)". Modern Asian Studies. 13 (2): 177–196. doi:10.1017/s0026749x00008283. S2CID 144621086. Draws from the author's never published doctoral dissertation at University of California, Berkeley. Crossley, Pamela (2014). "In the Hornet's Nest". London Review of Books. 36 (8). Free access copy here. Kwong, Luke S. K. (1984). A Mosaic of the Hundred Days: Personalities, Politics, and Ideas of 1898. Cambridge, MA: Council on East Asian Studies Distributed by Harvard University Press. ISBN 0674587421. Laidler, Keith (2003). The last empress: the She-Dragon of China. Chichester: Wiley. ISBN 0-470-84881-2. Li, Yuhang; Zurndorfer, Harriet T. (2012). "Rethinking Empress Dowager Cixi through the Production of Art". NAN NÜ. Brill. 14 (1): 1–20. doi:10.1163/156853212X651960. Seagrave, Sterling (1992). Dragon Lady: The Life and Legend of the Last Empress of China. Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-73369-8. Popular biography using English language sources. Wang, Cheng-hua (2012). ""Going Public": Portraits of the Empress Dowager Cixi, Circa 1904". NAN NÜ. 14 (1): 119–176. doi:10.1163/156853212x652004. Further reading Cixi, Empress Dowager of China, 1835-1908, Photographs, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC. Cixi (Character) IMDb List of films in which she is a character. Jone Johnson Lewis,Empress Cixi Archived 14 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine About.com Women's History. Cixi – Biography of Dowager Empress of China Cixi or Tz'u-hsi at womenshistory.about.com Isaac Taylor Headland, Court Life in China: The Capital, Its Officials and People, (New York, F.H. Revell, c1909). Amanda Bensen, "Cixi: The Woman Behind the Throne", Smithsonian.com (1 March 2008). Describes the rethinking of Cixi, with further links.

Collinson is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: Angel Collinson (born 1990), American former professional free and big mountain skier Cliff Collinson (1920–1990), English footballer Fred Collinson (1874–1915), English footballer and soldier Geoff Collinson, Australian horn player and Head of Brass at the University of Melbourne Harry Collinson Owen (1882–1956), British journalist and author James Collinson (1825–1881), Victorian painter who was a member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood John Collinson (cricketer) (1911–1979), English cricketer John Collinson (historian) (c.1757–1793), English cleric and historian of Somerset Laurence Collinson (1925–1986), British and Australian playwright, actor, poet, journalist, and secondary school teacher Les Collinson (born 1935), English professional footballer Madeleine Collinson (1952–2014), Maltese-British model and actress; twin of Mary Collinson Mary Collinson (1952–2021), Maltese model and actress; twin of Madeleine Collinson Patrick Collinson (1929–2011), English historian Peter Collinson (botanist) (1694–1768), Enghlish gardener, botanist and horticulturist Peter Collinson (film director) (1936–1980), British film director Phil Collinson (born 1970), British television producer Richard Collinson (1811–1883), English naval officer and explorer of the Arctic Robert Collinson (1875–1963), English cricketer Septimus Collinson (1739–1827), provost of Queen's College, Oxford William Edward Collinson (1889–1969), British linguist William Robert Collinson (1912–1995), American federal judge See also Cape Collinson, also Hak Kok Tau (黑角頭), cape located near Ngan Wan between Siu Sai Wan and Big Wave Bay in the east most point of the Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong Collinson Peninsula, Nunavut, Canada Collinson Ridge, Antarctica Fort Collinson, Northwest Territories, Canada Collinson Point Provincial Park, on Galiano Island, British Columbia, Canada

666 may refer to: 666 (number) 666 BC, a year AD 666, a year The number of the beast, a reference in the Book of Revelation in the New Testament Places 666 Desdemona, a minor planet in the asteroid belt U.S. Route 666, an American highway now numbered U.S. Route 491 Pennsylvania Route 666, a state route in Northwestern Pennsylvania 666 Fifth Avenue, now 660th Fifth Avenue Entertainment 666, a pornographic movie series by John Thompson Productions Wrestling of Darkness 666, a Japanese professional wrestling promotion 666 ABC Canberra, an ABC Local Radio station based in Canberra 666 Park Avenue, an American supernatural drama series Music 666 (band), a German trance music group Albums SixSixSix 666 (Aphrodite's Child album) 6:66 Satan's Child, a 1999 album by Danzig 666 (Hyde album), an album by the musician Hyde 666 (Billy Talent album), a live album by Billy Talent 6:6:6, a split CD between Smackin' Isaiah (a.k.a. A Wilhelm Scream), Moronique and Merrick Songs 666, a song on the 1982 album Metal on Metal, by Anvil Six Six Six, a song on the 2014 album Hebrews, by Say Anything 666, a song on the 2022 album G.I.N.A, by Amerado Other uses 1980 Pennsylvania Lottery scandal, known as the "Triple Six Fix" Abajiri, an eschatological Christian sect in Uganda, also known as 666 Themba Vilakazi (born 1981–1982), South African serial killer See also 667 (disambiguation) A666 road in Greater Manchester and Lancashire, England Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia, fear of the number 666 Old 666, a noted Boeing B-17E Flying Fortress heavy bomber of World War II Three 6 Mafia, an American hip-hop/rap group Damián 666 (born 1961), Mexican professional wrestler Bestia 666 (born 1989), Mexican professional wrestler All pages with titles beginning with 666 All pages with titles containing 666

Li Lianjie (courtesy name Yangzhong; born 26 April 1963), better known by his stage name Jet Li, is a Chinese-born Singaporean martial artist, retired Wushu champion, film actor, film producer, and philanthropist. He is widely regarded as one of the most iconic Chinese film stars and one of the most renowned martial arts stars of his generation.After three years of training with acclaimed Wushu teacher Wu Bin, Li won his first national championship for the Beijing Wushu Team. Between 1974 and 1979, he won the title of Men's All-Around National Wushu Champion five times. After retiring from competitive Wushu at age 18, Li went on to win great acclaim in China as an actor, making his debut with the film Shaolin Temple (1982), which instantly catapulted him to stardom in East Asia. He went on to star in many critically acclaimed films, most notably as the lead in Zhang Yimou's Hero (2002), Fist of Legend (1994), the first three films in the Once Upon a Time in China series (1991–1993), in which he portrayed folk hero Wong Fei-hung, and Fearless (2006), which is loosely based on the life of Huo Yuanjia. His movie career in China is credited with reviving Wushu in Hong Kong martial arts films during the 1990s, and revitalising the Shaolin Temple. Li is also noted for his contribution to making new Wuxia films popular internationally during his career.Li's first role in a non-Chinese film was as a villain in Lethal Weapon 4 (1998), and his first leading role in a Hollywood film was as Han Sing in Romeo Must Die (2000). He has gone on to star in many international action films, including in French cinema with the Luc Besson-produced films Kiss of the Dragon (2001) and Unleashed (2005). He co-starred in The One (2001) and War (2007) with Jason Statham, The Forbidden Kingdom (2008) with Jackie Chan, all three of The Expendables films with Sylvester Stallone, and as the title character villain in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008). After a long movie career, in 2007 Li turned to philanthropy. He founded the One Foundation, an independent fundraising foundation in mainland China which mainly focuses on natural disaster relief, environmental protection, medical treatment, education and poverty problems. Since the start of the foundation, Li has been involved with recovery efforts in seven disasters, including the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, the 2008 Typhoon Morakot in Taiwan, and the 2013 Lushan earthquake in Ya’an, Sichuan. Li also subsequently founded Taiji Zen, an online health and wellness program providing instruction in meditation and Tai chi. Early life and martial arts career Li was born in Beijing, China, and was the youngest of two boys and two girls. When he was two years old, his father died and his family then lived in poverty.Li was eight when his talent for Wushu was noticed as he practiced at a school summer course. He then attended a non-sparring wushu event, followed by joining the Beijing Wushu Team which did a martial art display at the All China Games. Renowned coaches Li Junfeng and Wu Bin made extra efforts to help the talented boy develop. Wu Bin even bought food for Li's family in order to boost Li's protein intake. A very young Li competed against adults and was the national all-around champion from 1975 to 1979. My winning first place caused quite a sensation because I was so young. I was 12 years old, and the other two medalists were in their mid- to late twenties. During the awards ceremony, as I stood on the top step of the podium, I was still shorter than the 2nd and 3rd place medalists. It must have been quite a sight. According to Li, once, as a child, when the Chinese National Wushu Team went to perform for President Richard Nixon in the United States, he was asked by Nixon to be his personal bodyguard. Li replied, "I don't want to protect any individual. When I grow up, I want to defend my one billion Chinese countrymen!"Li is a master of several styles of wushu, especially Chángquán (Northern Longfist Style) and Fānziquán (Tumbling Fist). He has also studied other arts including Baguazhang (Eight Trigram Palm), Taijiquan (Supreme Ultimate Fist), Xing Yi Quan (Shape Intent Fist), Zui Quan (Drunken Fist), Ying Zhao Quan (Eagle Claw Fist) and Tanglangquan (Praying Mantis Fist). He did not learn Nanquan (Southern Fist), because his training focused only in the Northern Shaolin Styles. He has also mastered wushu's main weapons, such as Sanjiegun (Three Section Staff), Gùn, Dao (Broadsword), Jian (Straight Sword).Li retired from competitive wushu when he was only 18 due to a knee injury, but became an assistant coach of the Beijing Wushu team for a few years. Li's martial arts prowess would eventually contribute to his domestic and international fame. Acting career Chinese and Hong Kong films The fame gained by his sports winnings led to a career as a martial arts film star, beginning in mainland China and then continuing into Hong Kong. Li acquired his screen name in 1982 in the Philippines when a publicity company thought his real name was too hard to pronounce. They likened his career to an aircraft, which likewise "takes-off" as quickly, so they placed the name Jet Li on the movie posters. Soon everybody was calling him by this new name, which was also based on the nickname, "Jet", given to him as a young student, due to his speed and grace when training with the Beijing Wushu team.He made his film debut with the 1982 film Shaolin Temple. The film broke box office records in China, grossing CN¥161,578,014 (US$85,376,199) at the Chinese box office, from an estimated 500 million ticket sales. The sequel Kids From Shaolin sold an estimated 490 million tickets, making it 1984's highest-grossing film in China.Some of his more famous Chinese films include: The Shaolin Temple series (1, 2 and 3), which are considered to be the films which sparked the rebirth of the real Shaolin Temple in Dengfeng, China; The Once Upon a Time in China series (Chinese title: Wong Fei Hung), about the legendary Chinese folk hero Master Wong Fei Hung. Fist of Legend (Chinese title: Jing Wu Ying Xiong), a remake of Bruce Lee's Fist of Fury. The Fong Sai Yuk films about another Chinese folk hero.Li starred in the 1995 film High Risk, where Li plays a Captain who becomes disillusioned after his wife is murdered by crime lords. Along the way, he pairs up with a wacky sell-out actor, Frankie (played by Jacky Cheung), and proceeds to engage in a series of violent battles in a high-rise building. The setting is similar to that of Die Hard and both their Chinese film titles. This movie is notable in that director Wong Jing had such a terrible experience working with Jackie Chan in Jing's previous film City Hunter that he chose to make Cheung's character a biting satire of Chan. Li would later publicly apologise to Chan for taking part in it. Li had two wuxia feature films released in 2011, The Sorcerer and the White Snake and Flying Swords of Dragon Gate; the latter was helmed by Tsui Hark. To promote tai chi, in 2012, Li starred in a film titled Tai Chi and co-produced the movie with Chen Kuo-Fu. Li portrayed Tai Chi master Yang Luchan. American/Western films In 1998, he made his international film debut in Lethal Weapon 4 which also marked the first time he had ever played a villain in a film. He agreed to do Lethal Weapon 4 after the producer Joel Silver promised to give him the leading role in his next film, Romeo Must Die (2000), alongside singer Aaliyah. The film became a box office hit. Though Li spoke very little English at the time of production, his performance as Chinese mafia hitman Wah Sing Ku was praised.Li turned down Chow Yun-fat's role in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) because he promised his wife that he would not make any films during her pregnancy. He also turned down the role of Seraph in The Matrix trilogy, based on his belief that the role was not one which required his skills and that the films were iconic and stunning enough without adding his name to the cast list. Li was also cast as Kato in The Green Hornet when the film was still in development in 2000. In 2001, it was moved to another studio. When the film was moved on again and released in 2011, the role of Kato was portrayed by Jay Chou. In 2001, he appeared in two more films: The One, which was the first of his films with Jason Statham, and Kiss of the Dragon opposite Bridget Fonda which did moderately well at the box office. In July 2001, Li agreed to produce and star in an action film with Jackie Chan which was to be released in 2002 or 2003, but no further news of their collaboration surfaced until 2006. In 2002, the period martial arts epic film Hero was released in the Chinese market. This film was both a commercial and critical success and became the highest-grossing motion picture in Chinese film history at the time. In 2003 he reunited with producer Joel Silver for the action thriller film Cradle 2 the Grave where he starred alongside rapper DMX and fellow martial artist Mark Dacascos. In 2004, Li lent his likeness, voice and provided motion capture work for the video game Jet Li: Rise to Honor. Li was presented the Visionary Award by East West Players, the oldest Asian American theatre in the United States, in 2002 by contemporary John Woo. The award recognizes "artists who have raised the visibility of the Asian Pacific American community through theater, film and television." He delivered his acceptance speech in his native language of Mandarin.Li took on a more serious role in the 2005 film, Unleashed (a.k.a. Danny the Dog), where he portrayed an adult with the mentality of a child who has been raised like an animal. Although his martial arts skills were used extensively, it was a somber film with more depth than had been previously seen in Li's films, and co-starred dramatic actors Bob Hoskins and Morgan Freeman. In 2006, the martial arts film epic Fearless, was released worldwide. Although he will continue to make martial arts films, Fearless is his last wushu epic. In Fearless, he played Huo Yuanjia, the real-life founder of Chin Woo Athletic Association, who reportedly defeated foreign boxers and Japanese martial artists in publicised events at a time when China's power was seen as eroding. Together with the film Fist of Legend, Li has portrayed both Chen Jun, the student and avenger of Huo Yuanjia (a.k.a. Fok Yun Gap), as well as Huo Yuanjia himself. Fearless was released on 26 January 2006 in Hong Kong, followed by a 22 September 2006 release in the United States where it reached second place in its first weekend. I stepped into the martial arts movie market when I was only 16. I think I have proved my ability in this field and it won't make sense for me to continue for another five or 10 years. Huo Yuanjia is a conclusion to my life as a martial arts star. Li has stated in an interview with the Shenzhen Daily newspaper that this will be his last martial arts epic, which is also stated in the film's television promotions. However, he plans to continue his film career in other genres. Specifically, he plans to continue acting in epic action and martial arts films dealing more with religious and philosophical issues.Li's 2007 Hollywood film, War, was released in August of that year, and re-teamed him with actor Jason Statham, who previously starred with him in The One, and action choreographer Corey Yuen. War raked in a disappointing US$23 million at the box office, becoming one of Li's lowest grossers in America; however, it was a hit on video, accumulating nearly US$52 million in rental revenue, more than doubling its box office take. With the exception of Romeo Must Die and the worldwide release of Hero, most of Li's American/Western films have been only modest hits like Kiss of the Dragon, The One, Unleashed, Cradle 2 the Grave, and the worldwide release of Fearless. He has a very good control of the strength of every fist and kick. In the past, he used too much strength, those that get hit would be in great pain. He's the archetype of power. […] Yes, he's still the best. In late 2007, Li returned again to China to participate in the China/Hong Kong co-production of the period war film The Warlords with Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro. This film, with its focus on dramatics rather than martial arts, netted Li the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor. Li and fellow martial arts veteran Jackie Chan finally appeared together onscreen for the first time in The Forbidden Kingdom, which began filming in May 2007 and was released to critical and commercial success on 18 April 2008. The film was based on the legend of the Monkey King from the Chinese folk novel Journey to the West. Li also starred as the lead villain Emperor Han in the fantasy action film The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor with actors Brendan Fraser, Isabella Leong and Michelle Yeoh.After a one-year hiatus from filmmaking, Li returned to acting in 2010, portraying a mercenary in the film The Expendables, teaming up with action stars Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Mickey Rourke, Eric Roberts, Steve Austin, Terry Crews, and Randy Couture. It was the third time he had teamed up with Statham. In 2012, he reprised his role briefly in the sequel The Expendables 2 and returned for the third film The Expendables 3 in 2014. Li was initially stated to be appearing with Vin Diesel in XXX: Return of Xander Cage, but according to a Facebook post by Diesel, Li was replaced by Donnie Yen.Li was cast as the Emperor of China for the 2020 live action movie, Mulan. Personal life Li is a practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism. His master is Lho Kunsang.In 1987, Li married Beijing Wushu Team member and Kids from Shaolin co-star Huang Qiuyan, with whom he has two daughters, Si and Taimi. They divorced in 1990. In 1999, Li married Nina Li Chi (born Li Zhi), a Shanghai-born, Hong Kong–based actress. He has two daughters with her, Jane (born 2000) and Jada (born 2002).He was in the Maldives when a tsunami hit during the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Although it was widely reported at the time that he had died during the disaster, he only suffered a minor foot injury, caused by a piece of floating furniture while he was guiding his four-year-old daughter Jane and the nanny holding his one-year-old daughter Jada to safety of higher ground amid dangerously rising ocean water. The four of them were by the pool and slightly above the beach when the wave came ashore, barely escaping to the upper floors of a hotel building.Li was appointed by the Chinese Wushu Association as the "Image Ambassador of Wushu" (or IWUF ambassador) at the 2007 World Wushu Championships in Beijing. In 2009, Li, who previously had US citizenship after years working in the United States, renounced his US citizenship. He was thought to have taken up Singaporean citizenship, although Singaporean authorities did not initially provide any confirmation of this. On 28 July 2009, the chairman of One Foundation (the charity fund of Li) announced that Li had indeed become a Singaporean citizen. He was said to have chosen Singapore for its education system for his two younger daughters.In 2009, he launched his own fitness program, Wuji. The program consists of elements of martial arts, yoga and pilates; Adidas launched a special clothing line for it that bears the initials of "JL".In 2013, Li revealed that he suffers from hyperthyroidism and had been dealing with the issue for the past three years. In 2016, he stated that he had recovered from his illness and that accepting fewer film offers was due to his charity work and not because of his health conditions.In his free time he likes to play badminton and table tennis, ride his bicycle, read and meditate. He collects rare Tibetan beads. He says he is never bored in his free time. Views on life and martial arts Li, as a Buddhist, believes that the difficulties of everyday life can be overcome with the help of religious philosophies. He thinks that fame is not something he can control; therefore, he does not care about it. I never say to myself I'm the best fighter in the world. If someone learns martial arts solely to pick fights on the street, to lean on it as a keystone weapon in conflicts, to use it to bully and intimidate others – then that person, in my opinion, cannot be considered a true martial artist. According to Li, everything he has ever wanted to tell the world can be found in three of his films: the message of Hero is that the suffering of one person can never be as significant as the suffering of a nation; Unleashed shows that violence is never a solution; and Fearless tells that the biggest enemy of a person is himself. Li thinks that the greatest weapon is a smile and the largest power is love.About Wushu, he said that he believes the essence of martial arts is not power or speed but inner harmony, and considers it a sad development that today's Wushu championships place greater emphasis on form than on the essence of being a martial artist. He believes Wushu now lacks individuality and competitors move like machines, whereas according to his views Wushu should not be considered a race where the fastest athlete wins. He would like to see Wushu as a form of art, where artists have a distinctive style. Li blames the new competition rules that, according to him, place limitations on martial artists. Li believes that Wushu is not primarily for self-defense and instead of trying to play the hero people should think about peaceful resolutions of conflicts and call the police if necessary: "A gun outdoes years of martial arts training in a split second. Like I've said many times before, it is important to differentiate between movies and reality. The hero in movies may be able to knock the gun off his opponent and save the day, but in real life – probably that is not the case." He has also stated that he has never had to use his martial arts skills in a real-life fight and he does not wish to, either. Philanthropy Li has been a "philanthropic ambassador" of the Red Cross Society of China since January 2006. He contributed 500,000 yuan (US$62,500) of box office revenues from his film Fearless to the Red Cross' psychological sunshine project, which promotes mental health.In April 2007, touched by his life-shaking experience in the Maldives when he was close to dying during the 2004 tsunami, Li formed his own non-profit foundation called The One Foundation. The One Foundation supports international disaster relief efforts in conjunction with the Red Cross as well as other efforts, including mental health awareness and suicide prevention. Since the starting of the foundation, Li has been involved with recovery efforts in seven disasters, including the 2008 Sichuan earthquake and Typhoon Morakot in Taiwan. In the 2013 Lushan earthquake in Ya'an, Sichuan, Li and other members of the entertainment sector were the first to appeal for donations of money, goods and materials to help the victims of the disaster. Wu Jing was a One Foundation volunteer and helped in the effort.Li discussed his commitment to philanthropy in an interview with the December 2009 issue of Alliance magazine, stating that "grassroots non-government organizations can help the government in its blind spots. Government relief is not always detail-oriented. Grassroots NGOs can't be as big as a government effort, but they need to be flexible and independent." In September 2010, he was appointed by the International Red Cross as the first Good Will Ambassador. He posted online, saying: "Today I signed a deal with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies – IFRC – to become the FIRST goodwill ambassador in the history of this humanitarian organization. I am very honored! At the same time, I will not pause to celebrate, but instead keep pushing forward and do my best to help the world! Thank you all once again for your support and belief in me!" It was also announced in September 2010, when Li was attending his wax unveiling ceremony in Hong Kong Madame Tussauds, that Li would be meeting Bill Gates and Warren Buffett to talk about charity work. "Three days ago, I received an email from Gates, hoping I could make time because he and Buffett hoped I could go for a 30-minute chat before the dinner about the future we face as human beings, so I will go," Li said. Filmography By US box office statistics, the most successful Jet Li film as of August 2010 is Lethal Weapon 4, which grossed over $130 million domestically, while the second is The Expendables with over $103 million. Hero is the third most successful foreign language film in the US, and one of the most critically acclaimed Li movies. Fearless is the seventh most successful foreign language film of all time in the US. From an aggregated critical point of view, the best acclaimed Li movie is Fist of Legend (Rotten Tomatoes: 100%) and the worst is War (Rotten Tomatoes: 14%). Awards and nominations See also Cinema of China Cinema of Hong Kong Further reading Ducker, Chris, and Stuart Cutler. The HKS Guide to Jet Li. London: Hong Kong Superstars, 2000. Marx, Christy. Jet Li. Martial Arts Masters. Rosen Publishing Group, 2002. ISBN 0-8239-3519-1. Parish, James Robert. Jet Li: A Biography. New York: Thunder's Mouth Press, 2002. ISBN 1-56025-376-2. Farquhar, M.(2010) ‘Jet Li: "Wushu Master" in Sport and Film’ in Jeffreys, Elaine. & Edwards, Louise (eds.), Celebrity in China, Hong Kong University Press, Hong Kong pp. 103–124. ISBN 962-209-088-5 Official website Jet Li at IMDb Li's Foundation: The One Foundation Project Jet Li Biography (HKCinema) Jet Li Biography (HKFilm) Jet Li discusses The One Foundation Interview At FarEastFilms.com

Hong Kong Chinese Women's Club College is located in Sai Wan Ho in Hong Kong. It was founded on 1 September 1978 and Mr. Yeung Chi Keung is the current principal. The school uses English as the Medium of Instruction; it is an aided grammar school in Band 1 while the school motto is "Knowledge and Perseverance". School facilities 25 Classrooms 4 laboratories Biology laboratory Chemistry laboratory Physics laboratory Integrated science laboratory Hall 2 Playgrounds Cover Playground Boys changing Room Girls Changing Room CALC Student Activity Centre, SAC 2 Staff Rooms Geography Room Music Room Computer Room (classroom For S.6A) Art Room Needlework Room (classroom For S.6C) Home Economics Room Design and Technology Room Library G01 Principal Room Student Association Room Medical Room Conference Room Discipline Room Tuck Shop Extra-Curricular Activities English Club 中文學會Chinese Club 中史學會Chinese History Club Mathematics Club Computer Club Science Club Citizenship and Social Development Society Economics Society Geography Society History Club Tourism Club Business & Accounting SocietyArt Club Chess Club 中文辯論隊 Design & Technology Club Drama Club English Debating Club Home Economics Club Music Club Film Review & Appreciation ClubSports Society Badminton Team Dance Group Basketball Team Table Tennis Team Athletics Team Volleyball Team Soccer Team Indoor Rowing Team Rope Skipping GroupBoy Scouts Girl Guides Youth Red Cross Road Safety PatrolCampus TV Team CME Education Society Community Youth Club ECA Society Junior Police Call Life Planning Society Peer Guidance Society Photography Team Prefects’ Association Service Learning Student Librarians’ ClubChristian Fellowship House There are four houses in this school which include Ruby, Topaz, Sapphire and Emerald. Students are divided into these 4 houses in F.1. Four houses will compete in numerous competitions. The Women's Club Cup will be handed to the club with the highest total score in numerous competitions in that academic year. Alumni Choi Yat-Git: A member of the famous Hong Kong band- Grasshopper Yan Chi Hong (Jim): A famous DJ in the Commercial Radio Hong Kong Chan Ka Kin: The winner of the first prize in the environmental management studies of 58th Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. Wing Shya: a famous photographer Holden Chow Ho-ding: The vice-chairperson of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong Yang Sze Ngai (Raymond): Co-Founder of "JUST FEEL", a charitable organization promoting socio-emotional education Neighborhood Sai Wan Ho Fire Station Shau Kei Wan Police Station

Pisa ( PEE-zə, Italian: [ˈpiːza] or [ˈpiːsa]) is a city and comune in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the city contains more than twenty other historic churches, several medieval palaces, and bridges across the Arno. Much of the city's architecture was financed from its history as one of the Italian maritime republics. The city is also home to the University of Pisa, which has a history going back to the 12th century, the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, founded by Napoleon in 1810, and its offshoot, the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies. History Ancient times The most believed hypothesis is that the origin of the name Pisa comes from Etruscan and means 'mouth', as Pisa is at the mouth of the Arno river.Although throughout history there have been several uncertainties about the origin of the city of Pisa, excavations made in the 1980s and 1990s found numerous archaeological remains, including the fifth century BC tomb of an Etruscan prince, proving the Etruscan origin of the city, and its role as a maritime city, showing that it also maintained trade relations with other Mediterranean civilizations.Ancient Roman authors referred to Pisa as an old city. Virgil, in his Aeneid, states that Pisa was already a great center by the times described; and gives the epithet of Alphēae to the city because it was said to have been founded by colonists from Pisa in Elis, near which the Alpheius river flowed. The Virgilian commentator Servius wrote that the Teuti founded the town 13 centuries before the start of the common era. The maritime role of Pisa should have been already prominent if the ancient authorities ascribed to it the invention of the naval ram. Pisa took advantage of being the only port along the western coast between Genoa (then a small village) and Ostia. Pisa served as a base for Roman naval expeditions against Ligurians and Gauls. In 180 BC, it became a Roman colony under Roman law, as Portus Pisanus. In 89 BC, Portus Pisanus became a municipium. Emperor Augustus fortified the colony into an important port and changed the name to Colonia Iulia obsequens. Pisa supposedly was founded on the shore, but due to the alluvial sediments from the Arno and the Serchio, whose mouth lies about 11 km (7 mi) north of the Arno's, the shore moved west. Strabo states that the city was 4.0 km (2.5 mi) away from the coast. Currently, it is located 9.7 km (6 mi) from the coast. However, it was a maritime city, with ships sailing up the Arno. In the 90s AD, a baths complex was built in the city. Late Antiquity and Early Middle Ages During the last years of the Western Roman Empire, Pisa did not decline as much as the other cities of Italy, probably due to the complexity of its river system and its consequent ease of defence. In the seventh century, Pisa helped Pope Gregory I by supplying numerous ships in his military expedition against the Byzantines of Ravenna: Pisa was the sole Byzantine centre of Tuscia to fall peacefully in Lombard hands, through assimilation with the neighbouring region where their trading interests were prevalent. Pisa began in this way its rise to the role of main port of the Upper Tyrrhenian Sea and became the main trading centre between Tuscany and Corsica, Sardinia, and the southern coasts of France and Spain. After Charlemagne had defeated the Lombards under the command of Desiderius in 774, Pisa went through a crisis, but soon recovered. Politically, it became part of the duchy of Lucca. In 860, Pisa was captured by vikings led by Björn Ironside. In 930, Pisa became the county centre (status it maintained until the arrival of Otto I) within the mark of Tuscia. Lucca was the capital but Pisa was the most important city, as in the middle of tenth century Liutprand of Cremona, bishop of Cremona, called Pisa Tusciae provinciae caput ("capital of the province of Tuscia"), and a century later, the marquis of Tuscia was commonly referred to as "marquis of Pisa". In 1003, Pisa was the protagonist of the first communal war in Italy, against Lucca. From the naval point of view, since the ninth century, the emergence of the Saracen pirates urged the city to expand its fleet; in the following years, this fleet gave the town an opportunity for more expansion. In 828, Pisan ships assaulted the coast of North Africa. In 871, they took part in the defence of Salerno from the Saracens. In 970, they gave also strong support to Otto I's expedition, defeating a Byzantine fleet in front of Calabrese coasts. 11th century The power of Pisa as a maritime nation began to grow and reached its apex in the 11th century, when it acquired traditional fame as one of the four main historical maritime republics of Italy (Repubbliche Marinare). At that time, the city was a very important commercial centre and controlled a significant Mediterranean merchant fleet and navy. It expanded its powers in 1005 through the sack of Reggio Calabria in the south of Italy. Pisa was in continuous conflict with some 'Saracens' - a medieval term to refer to Arab Muslims - who had their bases in Corsica, for control of the Mediterranean. In 1017, Sardinian Giudicati were militarily supported by Pisa, in alliance with Genoa, to defeat the Saracen King Mugahid, who had settled a logistic base in the north of Sardinia the year before. This victory gave Pisa supremacy in the Tyrrhenian Sea. When the Pisans subsequently ousted the Genoese from Sardinia, a new conflict and rivalry was born between these major marine republics. Between 1030 and 1035, Pisa went on to defeat several rival towns in Sicily and conquer Carthage in North Africa. In 1051–1052, the admiral Jacopo Ciurini conquered Corsica, provoking more resentment from the Genoese. In 1063, Admiral Giovanni Orlandi, coming to the aid of the Norman Roger I, took Palermo from the Saracen pirates. The gold treasure taken from the Saracens in Palermo allowed the Pisans to start the building of their cathedral and the other monuments which constitute the famous Piazza del Duomo. In 1060, Pisa had to engage in their first battle with Genoa. The Pisan victory helped to consolidate its position in the Mediterranean. Pope Gregory VII recognised in 1077 the new "Laws and customs of the sea" instituted by the Pisans, and emperor Henry IV granted them the right to name their own consuls, advised by a council of elders. This was simply a confirmation of the present situation, because in those years, the marquis had already been excluded from power. In 1092, Pope Urban II awarded Pisa the supremacy over Corsica and Sardinia, and at the same time raising the town to the rank of archbishopric. Pisa sacked the Tunisian city of Mahdia in 1088. Four years later, Pisan and Genoese ships helped Alfonso VI of Castilla to push El Cid out of Valencia. A Pisan fleet of 120 ships also took part in the First Crusade, and the Pisans were instrumental in the taking of Jerusalem in 1099. On their way to the Holy Land, the ships did not miss the occasion to sack some Byzantine islands; the Pisan crusaders were led by their archbishop Daibert, the future patriarch of Jerusalem. Pisa and the other Repubbliche Marinare took advantage of the crusade to establish trading posts and colonies in the Eastern coastal cities of the Levant. In particular, the Pisans founded colonies in Antiochia, Acre, Jaffa, Tripoli, Tyre, Latakia, and Accone. They also had other possessions in Jerusalem and Caesarea, plus smaller colonies (with lesser autonomy) in Cairo, Alexandria, and of course Constantinople, where the Byzantine Emperor Alexius I Comnenus granted them special mooring and trading rights. In all these cities, the Pisans were granted privileges and immunity from taxation, but had to contribute to the defence in case of attack. In the 12th century, the Pisan quarter in the eastern part of Constantinople had grown to 1,000 people. For some years of that century, Pisa was the most prominent commercial and military ally of the Byzantine Empire, overcoming Venice itself. 12th century In 1113, Pisa and Pope Paschal II set up, together with the count of Barcelona and other contingents from Provence and Italy (Genoese excluded), a war to free the Balearic Islands from the Moors; the queen and the king of Majorca were brought in chains to Tuscany. Though the Almoravides soon reconquered the island, the booty taken helped the Pisans in their magnificent programme of buildings, especially the cathedral, and Pisa gained a role of pre-eminence in the Western Mediterranean. In the following years, the powerful Pisan fleet, led by archbishop Pietro Moriconi, drove away the Saracens after ferocious battles. Though short-lived, this Pisan success in Spain increased the rivalry with Genoa. Pisa's trade with Languedoc, Provence (Noli, Savona, Fréjus, and Montpellier) were an obstacle to Genoese interests in cities such as Hyères, Fos, Antibes, and Marseille. The war began in 1119 when the Genoese attacked several galleys on their way home to the motherland, and lasted until 1133. The two cities fought each other on land and at sea, but hostilities were limited to raids and pirate-like assaults. In June 1135, Bernard of Clairvaux took a leading part in the Council of Pisa, asserting the claims of Pope Innocent II against those of Pope Anacletus II, who had been elected pope in 1130 with Norman support, but was not recognised outside Rome. Innocent II resolved the conflict with Genoa, establishing Pisan and Genoese spheres of influence. Pisa could then, unhindered by Genoa, participate in the conflict of Innocent II against king Roger II of Sicily. Amalfi, one of the maritime republics (though already declining under Norman rule), was conquered on August 6, 1136; the Pisans destroyed the ships in the port, assaulted the castles in the surrounding areas, and drove back an army sent by Roger from Aversa. This victory brought Pisa to the peak of its power and to a standing equal to Venice. Two years later, its soldiers sacked Salerno. In the following years, Pisa was one of the staunchest supporters of the Ghibelline party. This was much appreciated by Frederick I. He issued in 1162 and 1165 two important documents, with these grants: Apart from the jurisdiction over the Pisan countryside, the Pisans were granted freedom of trade in the whole empire, the coast from Civitavecchia to Portovenere, a half of Palermo, Messina, Salerno and Naples, the whole of Gaeta, Mazara, and Trapani, and a street with houses for its merchants in every city of the Kingdom of Sicily. Some of these grants were later confirmed by Henry VI, Otto IV, and Frederick II. They marked the apex of Pisa's power, but also spurred the resentment of other cities such as Lucca, Massa, Volterra, and Florence, thwarting their aim to expand towards the sea. The clash with Lucca also concerned the possession of the castle of Montignoso and mainly the control of the Via Francigena, the main trade route between Rome and France. Last, but not least, such a sudden and large increase of power by Pisa could only lead to another war with Genoa. Genoa had acquired a dominant position in the markets of southern France. The war began in 1165 on the Rhône, when an attack on a convoy, directed to some Pisan trade centres on the river, by the Genoese and their ally, the count of Toulouse, failed. Pisa, though, was allied to Provence. The war continued until 1175 without significant victories. Another point of attrition was Sicily, where both the cities had privileges granted by Henry VI. In 1192, Pisa managed to conquer Messina. This episode was followed by a series of battles culminating in the Genoese conquest of Syracuse in 1204. Later, the trading posts in Sicily were lost when the new Pope Innocent III, though removing the excommunication cast over Pisa by his predecessor Celestine III, allied himself with the Guelph League of Tuscany, led by Florence. Soon, he stipulated a pact with Genoa, too, further weakening the Pisan presence in southern Italy. To counter the Genoese predominance in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea, Pisa strengthened its relationship with its traditional Spanish and French bases (Marseille, Narbonne, Barcelona, etc.) and tried to defy the Venetian rule of the Adriatic Sea. In 1180, the two cities agreed to a nonaggression treaty in the Tyrrhenian and the Adriatic, but the death of Emperor Manuel Comnenus in Constantinople changed the situation. Soon, attacks on Venetian convoys were made. Pisa signed trade and political pacts with Ancona, Pula, Zara, Split, and Brindisi; in 1195, a Pisan fleet reached Pola to defend its independence from Venice, but the Serenissima soon reconquered the rebel sea town. One year later, the two cities signed a peace treaty, which resulted in favourable conditions for Pisa, but in 1199, the Pisans violated it by blockading the port of Brindisi in Apulia. In the following naval battle, they were defeated by the Venetians. The war that followed ended in 1206 with a treaty in which Pisa gave up all its hopes to expand in the Adriatic, though it maintained the trading posts it had established in the area. From that point on, the two cities were united against the rising power of Genoa and sometimes collaborated to increase the trading benefits in Constantinople. 13th century In 1209 in Lerici, two councils for a final resolution of the rivalry with Genoa were held. A 20-year peace treaty was signed, but when in 1220, the emperor Frederick II confirmed his supremacy over the Tyrrhenian coast from Civitavecchia to Portovenere, the Genoese and Tuscan resentment against Pisa grew again. In the following years, Pisa clashed with Lucca in Garfagnana and was defeated by the Florentines at Castel del Bosco. The strong Ghibelline position of Pisa brought this town diametrically against the Pope, who was in a dispute with the Holy Roman Empire, and indeed the pope tried to deprive Pisa of its dominions in northern Sardinia. In 1238, Pope Gregory IX formed an alliance between Genoa and Venice against the empire, and consequently against Pisa, too. One year later, he excommunicated Frederick II and called for an anti-Empire council to be held in Rome in 1241. On May 3, 1241, a combined fleet of Pisan and Sicilian ships, led by the emperor's son Enzo, attacked a Genoese convoy carrying prelates from northern Italy and France, next to the isle of Giglio (Battle of Giglio), in front of Tuscany; the Genoese lost 25 ships, while about a thousand sailors, two cardinals, and one bishop were taken prisoner. After this major victory, the council in Rome failed, but Pisa was excommunicated. This extreme measure was only removed in 1257. Anyway, the Tuscan city tried to take advantage of the favourable situation to conquer the Corsican city of Aleria and even lay siege to Genoa itself in 1243. The Ligurian republic of Genoa, however, recovered fast from this blow and won back Lerici, conquered by the Pisans some years earlier, in 1256. The great expansion in the Mediterranean and the prominence of the merchant class urged a modification in the city's institutes. The system with consuls was abandoned, and in 1230, the new city rulers named a capitano del popolo ("people's chieftain") as civil and military leader. Despite these reforms, the conquered lands and the city itself were harassed by the rivalry between the two families of Della Gherardesca and Visconti. In 1237 the archbishop and the Emperor Frederick II intervened to reconcile the two rivals, but the strains continued. In 1254, the people rebelled and imposed 12 Anziani del Popolo ("People's Elders") as their political representatives in the commune. They also supplemented the legislative councils, formed of noblemen, with new People's Councils, composed by the main guilds and by the chiefs of the People's Companies. These had the power to ratify the laws of the Major General Council and the Senate. Decline The decline is said to have begun on August 6, 1284, when the numerically superior fleet of Pisa, under the command of Albertino Morosini, was defeated by the brilliant tactics of the Genoese fleet, under the command of Benedetto Zaccaria and Oberto Doria, in the dramatic naval Battle of Meloria. This defeat ended the maritime power of Pisa and the town never fully recovered; in 1290, the Genoese destroyed forever the Porto Pisano (Pisa's port), and covered the land with salt. The region around Pisa did not permit the city to recover from the loss of thousands of sailors from the Meloria, while Liguria guaranteed enough sailors to Genoa. Goods, however, continued to be traded, albeit in reduced quantity, but the end came when the Arno started to change course, preventing the galleys from reaching the city's port up the river. The nearby area also likely became infested with malaria. The true end came in 1324, when Sardinia was entirely lost to the Aragonese. Always Ghibelline, Pisa tried to build up its power in the course of the 14th century, and even managed to defeat Florence in the Battle of Montecatini (1315), under the command of Uguccione della Faggiuola. Eventually, however, after a long siege, Pisa was occupied by Florentines in 1405. Florentines corrupted the capitano del popolo ("people's chieftain"), Giovanni Gambacorta, who at night opened the city gate of San Marco. Pisa was never conquered by an army. In 1409, Pisa was the seat of a council trying to set the question of the Great Schism. In the 15th century, access to the sea became more difficult, as the port was silting up and was cut off from the sea. When in 1494, Charles VIII of France invaded the Italian states to claim the Kingdom of Naples, Pisa reclaimed its independence as the Second Pisan Republic. The new freedom did not last long; 15 years of battles and sieges by the Florentine troops led by Antonio da Filicaja, Averardo Salviati and Niccolò Capponi were made, but they failed to conquer the city. Vitellozzo Vitelli with his brother Paolo were the only ones who actually managed to break the strong defences of Pisa and make a breach in the Stampace bastion in the southern west part of the walls, but he did not enter the city. For that, they were suspected of treachery and Paolo was put to death. However, the resources of Pisa were getting low, and at the end, the city was sold to the Visconti family from Milan and eventually to Florence again. Livorno took over the role of the main port of Tuscany. Pisa acquired a mainly cultural role spurred by the presence of the University of Pisa, created in 1343, and later reinforced by the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa (1810) and Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies (1987). Pisa was the birthplace of the important early physicist Galileo Galilei. It is still the seat of an archbishopric. Besides its educational institutions, it has become a light industrial centre and a railway hub. It suffered repeated destruction during World War II. Since the early 1950s, the US Army has maintained Camp Darby just outside Pisa, which is used by many US military personnel as a base for vacations in the area. Geography Climate Pisa experiences a Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csa). The city is characterized by cool-mild winters and hot summers. This transitional climate allows Pisa to enjoy a summer almost devoid of rain, typical of central and southern Italy, as the summer (the driest season) experiences occasional rain showers. Rainfall peaks in the autumn. Government Culture Gioco del Ponte In Pisa there was a festival and game fr:Gioco del Ponte (Game of the Bridge) which was celebrated (in some form) in Pisa from perhaps the 1200s down to 1807. From the end of the 1400s the game took the form of a mock battle fought upon Pisa's central bridge (Ponte di Mezzo). The participants wore quilted armor and the only offensive weapon allowed was the targone, a shield-shaped, stout board with precisely specified dimensions. Hitting below the belt was not allowed. Two opposing teams started at opposite ends of the bridge. The object of the two opposing teams was to penetrate, drive back, and disperse the opponents' ranks and to thereby drive them backwards off the bridge. The struggle was limited to forty-five minutes. Victory or defeat was immensely important to the team players and their partisans, but sometimes the game was fought to a draw and both sides celebrated.In 1677 the battle was witnessed by Dutch travelling artist Cornelis de Bruijn. He wrote: "While I stayed in Livorno, I went to Pisa to witness the bridge fight there. The fighters arrived fully armored, wearing helmets, each carrying their banner, which was planted at both ends of the bridge, which is quite wide and long. The battle is fought with certain wooden implements made for this purpose, which they wear over their arms and are attached to them, with which they pummel each other so intensely that I saw several of them carried away with bloody and crushed heads. Victory consists of capturing the bridge, in the same way as the fistfights in Venice between the it:Castellani and the Nicolotti." In 1927 the tradition was revived by college students as an elaborate costume parade. In 1935 Vittorio Emanuele III with the royal family witnessed the first revival of a modern version of the game, which has been pursued in the 20th and 21st centuries with some interruptions and varying degrees of enthusiasm by Pisans and their civic institutions. Festivals and cultural events Capodanno pisano (folklore, March 25) Gioco del Ponte (folklore) Luminara di San Ranieri (folklore, June 16) Maritime republics regata (folklore) Premio Nazionale Letterario Pisa Pisa Book Festival Metarock (rock music festival) Internet Festival San Ranieri regata (folklore) Turn Off Festival (house music festival) Nessiáh (Jewish cultural Festival, November) Main sights While the bell tower of the cathedral, known as "the leaning Tower of Pisa", is the most famous image of the city, it is one of many works of art and architecture in the city's Piazza del Duomo, also known, since the 20th century, as Piazza dei Miracoli (Square of Miracles), to the north of the old town center. The Piazza del Duomo also houses the Duomo (the Cathedral), the Baptistry and the Campo Santo (the monumental cemetery). The medieval complex includes the above-mentioned four sacred buildings, the hospital and few palaces. All the complex is kept by the Opera (fabrica ecclesiae) della Primaziale Pisana, an old non profit foundation that has operated since the building of the Cathedral in 1063 to maintain the sacred buildings. The area is framed by medieval walls kept by the municipal administration. Other sights include: Knights' Square (Piazza dei Cavalieri), where the Palazzo della Carovana, with its impressive façade designed by Giorgio Vasari may be seen. Sited on the square Santo Stefano dei Cavalieri, church sited on Piazza dei Cavalieri, and also designed by Vasari. It had originally a single nave; two more were added in the 17th century. It houses a bust by Donatello, and paintings by Vasari, Jacopo Ligozzi, Alessandro Fei, and Pontormo. It also contains spoils from the many naval battles between the Cavalieri (Knights of St. Stephan) and the Turks between the 16th and 18th centuries, including the Turkish battle pennant hoisted from Ali Pacha's flagship at the 1571 Battle of Lepanto. St. Sixtus. This small church, consecrated in 1133, is also close to the Piazza dei Cavalieri. It was used as a seat of the most important notarial deeds of the town, also hosting the Council of Elders. It is today one of the best preserved early Romanesque buildings in town. St. Francis. The church of San Francesco may have been designed by Giovanni di Simone, built after 1276. In 1343 new chapels were added and the church was elevated. It has a single nave and a notable belfry, as well as a 15th-century cloister. It houses works by Jacopo da Empoli, Taddeo Gaddi and Santi di Tito. In the Gherardesca Chapel are buried Ugolino della Gherardesca and his sons. San Frediano. This church, built by 1061, has a basilica interior with three aisles, with a crucifix from the 12th century. Paintings from the 16th century were added during a restoration, including works by Ventura Salimbeni, Domenico Passignano, Aurelio Lomi, and Rutilio Manetti. San Nicola. This medieval church built by 1097, was enlarged between 1297 and 1313 by the Augustinians, perhaps by the design of Giovanni Pisano. The octagonal belfry is from the second half of the 13th century. The paintings include the Madonna with Child by Francesco Traini (14th century) and St. Nicholas Saving Pisa from the Plague (15th century). Noteworthy are also the wood sculptures by Giovanni and Nino Pisano, and the Annunciation by Francesco di Valdambrino. Santa Maria della Spina. A small white marble church alongside the Arno, is attributed to Lupo di Francesco (1230), is another excellent Gothic building. San Paolo a Ripa d'Arno. The church was founded around 952 and enlarged in the mid-12th century along lines similar to those of the cathedral. It is annexed to the Romanesque Chapel of St. Agatha, with an unusual pyramidal cusp or peak.San Pietro in Vinculis. Known as San Pierino, it is an 11th-century church with a crypt and a cosmatesque mosaic on the floor of the main nave. Borgo Stretto. This medieval borgo or neighborhood contains strolling arcades and the Lungarno, the avenues along the river Arno. It includes the Gothic-Romanesque church of San Michele in Borgo (990). There are at least two other leaning towers in the city, one at the southern end of central Via Santa Maria, the other halfway through the Piagge riverside promenade. Medici Palace. The palace was once a possession of the Appiano family, who ruled Pisa in 1392–1398. In 1400 the Medici acquired it, and Lorenzo de' Medici sojourned here. Orto botanico di Pisa. The botanical garden of the University of Pisa is Europe's oldest university botanical garden. Palazzo Reale. The ("Royal Palace"), once belonged to the Caetani patrician family. Here Galileo Galilei showed to Grand Duke of Tuscany the planets he had discovered with his telescope. The edifice was erected in 1559 by Baccio Bandinelli for Cosimo I de Medici, and was later enlarged including other palaces. The palace is now a museum. Palazzo Gambacorti. This palace is a 14th-century Gothic building, and now houses the offices of the municipality. The interior shows frescoes boasting Pisa's sea victories. Palazzo Agostini. The palace is a Gothic building also known as Palazzo dell'Ussero, with its 15th-century façade and remains of the ancient city walls dating back to before 1155. The name of the building comes from the coffee rooms of Caffè dell'Ussero, historic meeting place founded on September 1, 1775. Mural Tuttomondo. A modern mural, the last public work by Keith Haring, on the rear wall of the convent of the Church of Sant'Antonio, painted in June 1989. Museums Museo dell'Opera del Duomo: exhibiting among others the original sculptures of Nicola Pisano and Giovanni Pisano and the treasures of the cathedral. Museo delle Sinopie: showing the sinopias from the camposanto, the monumental cemetery. These are red ocher underdrawings for frescoes, made with reddish, greenish or brownish earth colour with water. Museo Nazionale di San Matteo: exhibiting sculptures and paintings from the 12th to 15th centuries, among them the masterworks of Giovanni and Andrea Pisano, the Master of San Martino, Simone Martini, Nino Pisano and Masaccio. Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Reale: exhibiting the belongings of the families that lived in the palace: paintings, statues, armors, etc. Museo Nazionale degli Strumenti per il Calcolo: exhibiting a collection of instruments used in science, between a pneumatic machine of Van Musschenbroek and a compass which probably belonged to Galileo Galilei. Museo di storia naturale dell'Università di Pisa (Natural History Museum of the University of Pisa), located in the Certosa di Calci, outside the city. It houses one of the largest cetacean skeletons collection in Europe. Palazzo Blu: temporary exhibitions and cultural activities center, located in the Lungarno, in the heart of the old town, the palace is easy recognizable because it is the only blue building. Cantiere delle Navi di Pisa - The Pisa's Ancient Ships Archaeological Area: A museum of 10,650 square meters – 3,500 archaeological excavation, 1,700 laboratories and one restoration center – that visitors can visit with a guided tour. The Museum opened in June 2019 and has been located inside to the 16th-century Medicean Arsenals in Lungarno Ranieri Simonelli, restored under the supervision of the Tuscany Soprintendenza. It hosts a remarkable collection of ceramics and amphoras dated back from the 8th century BCE to the 2nd century BC, and also 32 ships dated back from the second century BCE and the seventh century BC. Four of them are integrally preserved and the best one is the so-called Barca C, also named Alkedo (written in the ancient Greek characters). The first boat was accidentally discovered in 1998 near the Pisa San Rossore railway station and the archeological excavations were completed 20 years later. Churches Baptistry San Francesco San Frediano San Giorgio ai Tedeschi San Michele in Borgo San Nicola San Paolo a Ripa d'Arno San Paolo all'Orto San Piero a Grado San Pietro in Vinculis San Sisto San Tommaso delle Convertite San Zeno Santa Caterina Santa Cristina Santa Maria della Spina Santo Sepolcro Palaces, towers and villas Palazzo del Collegio Puteano Palazzo della Carovana Palazzo delle Vedove Torre dei Gualandi Villa di Corliano Leaning Tower of Pisa Sports Football Football is the main sport in Pisa; the local team, A.C. Pisa, currently plays in the Serie B (the second highest football division in Italy), and has had a top flight history throughout the 1980s and the 1990s, featuring several world-class players such as Diego Simeone, Christian Vieri and Dunga during this time. The club play at the Arena Garibaldi – Stadio Romeo Anconetani, opened in 1919 and with a capacity of 25,000. Shooting Shooting was one of the first sports to have their own association in Pisa. The Società del Tiro a Segno di Pisa was founded on July 9, 1862. In 1885, they acquired their own training field. The shooting range was almost completely destroyed during World War II. Transport Airport Pisa has an international airport known as Pisa International Airport or normally Galileo Galilei located in San Giusto neighbourhood in Pisa. It is served by twenty-one airlines connecting eleven domestic and sixty-one international destinations (seasonal included). Pisamover The airport is connected to Pisa Centrale railway station by a people mover system 2 km (1.2 mi) long, called Pisamover inaugurated in March 2017. It's based on a driverless "horizontal funicular" that travels the distance in 5 minutes, with a 5-minute frequency, having an intermediate stop at parking station San Giusto/Aurelia. Buses Consorzio Pisano Trasporti, also known as CPT, was a Società consortile a responsabilità limitata (Scarl) that operated since 2005 the local public transport in Pisa and in the province. Became subsidiary of Compagnia Toscana Trasporti Nord in 2012 and was one the companies of the consortium ONE Scarl to accomplish the contract stipulated with the Regione Toscana for the public transport in the 2018-2019 period. The fleet consisted of 70 urban, 15 suburban and 260 intercity buses. Since 1 November 2021 the public local transport is managed by Autolinee Toscane. Urban routes: Suburban routes to/from Pisa: Trains The city is served by two railway stations available for passengers: Pisa Centrale and Pisa San Rossore. Pisa Centrale is the main railway station and is located along the Tyrrhenic railway line. It connects Pisa directly with several other important Italian cities such as Rome, Florence, Genoa, Turin, Naples, Livorno, and Grosseto. Pisa San Rossore links the city with Lucca (20 minutes north-east of Pisa) and Viareggio and is also reachable from Pisa Centrale. It is a minor railway station located near the Leaning Tower zone. There was another station called Pisa Aeroporto situated next to the Airport with services to Pisa Centrale and Florence. It was closed on December 15, 2013, for the realization of a people mover. Motorway Pisa is connected to Autostrada A11 from Florence and to Autostrada A12 linking Genoa-Rosignano with exit Pisa Nord and Pisa Centro – Airport. Education Pisa hosts the University of Pisa, especially renowned in the fields of Physics, Mathematics, Engineering and Computer Science. The Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna and the Scuola Normale Superiore, the Italian academic élite institutions are noted mostly for research and the education of graduate students. Construction of a new leaning tower of glass and steel 57 meters tall, containing offices and apartments was scheduled to start in summer 2004 and take 4 years. It was designed by Dante Oscar Benini and raised criticism. The Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa was founded in 1810, by Napoleonic decree, as a branch of the École Normale Supérieure of Paris. Recognized as a "national university" in 1862, one year after Italian unification, and named during that period as "Normal School of the Kingdom of Italy" (Superior Graduate Schools in Italy i.e. Scuola Superiore Universitaria).Located at: Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa – Piazza dei Cavalieri, 7 – 56126 Pisa (Italia) The Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies of Pisa or Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna is a special-statute public university located in Pisa, Italy, emerging from Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa and operating in the field of applied sciences, (Superior Graduate Schools in Italy i.e. Scuola Superiore Universitaria)Located at: Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, P.zza Martiri della Libertà, 33 – 56127 – Pisa (Italia) The University of Pisa or Università di Pisa, is one of the oldest universities in Italy. It was formally founded on September 3, 1343, by an edict of Pope Clement VI, although there had been lectures on law in Pisa since the 11th century. The university has Europe's oldest academic botanical garden i.e. Orto botanico di Pisa, founded 1544. The medical school of the university is sight at Azienda ospedaliero-universitaria pisana.Located at: Università di Pisa – Lungarno Pacinotti, 43 – 56126 Pisa (Italia) Notable people For people born in Pisa, see People from the Province of Pisa; among notable non-natives long resident in the city: Sister cities Pisa is twinned with: Bibliography Renouard, Yves (1969). Les Villes d'Italie de la fin du Xe siècle au début du XIVe siècle (in French). Official Abitants statistics Pisa Metropolitan Area Portal of Pisa Pisan history portal Official site of the Pisa Tourist Board Official site of the Municipality of Pisa, including webcams Moving Postcards of Pisa Archived May 23, 2016, at the Portuguese Web Archive Pisa Guide A comprehensive guide of Pisa the centre of mass of the leaning tower of pisa is located in the 4th floor (not american system)

Seafood (simplified Chinese: 海鲜; traditional Chinese: 海鮮; pinyin: Hǎixiān) is a 2001 Chinese film directed by the established writer Zhu Wen. Though Seafood was Zhu's first film as director, he had already gained some experience with filmmaking as a screenwriter for Zhang Ming (in 1996's Rain Clouds over Wushan) and Zhang Yuan (in 1999's Seventeen Years). Seafood was produced independently by Thought Dance Entertainment and Zhu's own Zhu Wen Workshop. The film depicts a self-destructive prostitute (Jin Ze) who attempts to commit suicide in a resort town by the sea. She is thwarted by a police officer (Cheng Taisheng) whose unorthodox methods of "rehabilitating" her consists of seafood and rape. As a result of the film's dark premise, Seafood has been called "one of the most transgressive visions of China...ever witnessed."Never released in China, the film nevertheless was well received abroad, where it won numerous awards most notably at the 2001 Venice International Film Festival. Plot Zhang Xiaomei (Jin Ze), is a prostitute living in Beijing. When relationship problems with her boyfriend erupt, she flees to the resort city of Beidaihe and takes a room in a small hotel where she contemplates committing suicide. There she meets a young poet. The next morning, she wakes and learns that the poet has slit his wrists. When the police arrive, she meets Deng Jianguo (Cheng Taisheng), a middle-aged officer who questions her over the poet's death. Their relationship soon grows increasingly complicated as Deng learns of Xiaomei's plans to commit suicide. Over the course of several days, he takes her to eat seafood dinners, extolling the virtues and health benefits of the diet, including a claim that it makes him a more potent lover. When Xiaomei tries to commit suicide in a nearby town, she is thwarted by Deng who brings her back to Beidaihe and proceeds to rape her. Xiaomei eventually leaves the seaside town for Beijing again. Production Seafood was shot entirely on handheld digital video. While some critics found the camerawork to be "routine" for the medium, one shot in particular was filmed not by the cinematographer, Liu Yonghung, but by Zhu Wen himself. Zhu has stated in an interview that this constituted the first time he had ever touched a camera and that he was so pleased with the naturalistic effect, that he ended up keeping the shot. Reception Given the film's dark subject matter of rape and suicide, Zhu Wen had no illusions that the film would ever screen in his native China. In some ways, the inability to screen Seafood in China led Zhu to direct his second feature, South of the Clouds (2004) within the state-run film system, so that he would have a work that he could show to family and friends.The film did well in the film festival circuit, however, winning a special jury prize at the Venice International Film Festival's Cinema of the Present competition and a grand jury prize at Cinemanila. The film also screened at a handful of other major festivals, such as Karlovy Vary, and Vancouver (out of competition). Seafood at IMDb Seafood at AllMovie Seafood at the Chinese Movie Database

Happy Together (Chinese: 春光乍洩) is a 1997 Hong Kong romantic drama film directed by Wong Kar-wai starring Leslie Cheung and Tony Leung Chiu-wai, depicting their turbulent romance. The English title is inspired by the Turtles' 1967 song of the same name, which is covered by Danny Chung on the film's soundtrack. The Chinese title (previously used for Michelangelo Antonioni's Blowup) is an idiomatic expression suggesting "the exposure of something intimate".The film was regarded as one of the best LGBT films in the New Queer Cinema movement and received critical acclaims and screened at several film festivals such as the 1997 Toronto International Film Festival; it was nominated for the Palme d'Or and won Best Director at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival.In 2022, Happy Together was ranked the 225th greatest film of all time in the Sight & Sound critics' poll. In 2016, the film was ranked the 3rd greatest LGBT film of all time in the British Film Institute poll. In 2018, it was ranked the 71st greatest foreign-language film of all time in the BBC poll. Plot Ho Po-Wing and Lai Yiu-Fai are a gay couple from Hong Kong with a tumultuous relationship marked by frequent separations and reconciliations. They visit Argentina together but break up after they become lost while traveling to visit the Iguazu Falls. Without the money to fly home, Fai begins to work as a doorman at a tango bar in Buenos Aires, while Po-Wing lives promiscuously, often seen by Fai with different men. After Fai accuses Po-Wing of spending all of his money and stranding him in Argentina, Po-Wing steals from one of his acquaintances and is severely beaten. Fai allows Po-Wing to live with him in his small rented room and cares for his injuries. They attempt to reconcile their relationship, though it is marred by mutual suspicion and jealousy. Fai loses his job at the tango bar after beating the man who injured Po-Wing. He begins working at a Chinese restaurant where he befriends Chang, a Taiwanese co-worker. Later, Po-Wing and Fai have a final argument where Fai refuses to return Po-Wing's passport. Po-Wing moves out of the apartment when he fully recovers. Sometime thereafter, Chang leaves Buenos Aires to continue his travels. Having finally earned enough money to fly home, Fai decides to visit the Iguazu Falls alone before he leaves. Meanwhile, Po-Wing returns to the empty apartment, heartbroken, realizing that Fai is gone for good. Fai returns to Hong Kong but has a stopover in Taipei. Coincidentally, he ends up eating at a food stall in a night market run by Chang's family. He steals a photo of Chang from the booth, saying that even though he does not know if he will ever see Chang again, he knows where to find him. Cast Leslie Cheung as Ho Po-Wing Tony Leung Chiu-Wai as Lai Yiu-Fai Chen Chang as Chang Release Box office During its Hong Kong theatrical release, Happy Together made HK$8,600,141 at the box office.Happy Together also had a limited theatrical run in North America through Kino International, where it grossed US$320,319. Censorship The producers of the film considered censoring the film, specifically the opening sex scene for certain audiences. Posters for the movie featuring the two leads fully clothed with their legs intertwined was banned from public places in Hong Kong and removed all together before the movie's release. Home media Kino International released the film on DVD and Blu-ray on June 8, 2010. This release has gone out of print.The film was picked up by the Criterion Collection and released on March 23, 2021 on Blu-ray in a collection of seven Wong Kar-wai films. Critical reception The film was generally well received in Hong Kong and has since been heavily analyzed by many Chinese and Hong Kongese scholars and film critics such as Rey Chow (周蕾) and 陳劍梅.A Hong Kong film review site called it an "elliptical, quicksilver experiment" that is "pure Wong Kar-Wai, which is equal parts longing, regret, and pathetic beauty" and applauding it for its cinematography.Due to the international recognition that the film received, it was reviewed in several major U.S. publications. Edward Guthmann, of the San Francisco Chronicle, gave the film an ecstatic review, lavishing praise on Wong for his innovative cinematography and directorial approach; whilst naming Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs amongst those who would have been impressed by his film. Stephen Holden, of the New York Times, said it was a more coherent, heartfelt movie than Wong's previous films, without losing the stylism and brashness of his earlier efforts.Derek Elley for Variety gave an overall positive review despite its lack of plot, calling it Wong's "most linear and mature work for some time". Elley praised the mise-en-scène, music, and William Chang's production design. He emphasized that Christopher Doyle was the "real star" of the film for his grainy and high contrast cinematography. Both Elley and Andrew Thayne for Asian Movie Pulse stated that both Leslie Cheung and Tony Leung Chiu-Wai excelled as the main characters in the film.However, Jonathan Rosenbaum gave the film a mixed review in the Chicago Reader. Rosenbaum, in a summary of the film, criticised it for having a vague plotline and chastised Wong's "lurching around". In Box Office Magazine, Wade Major gave the film one of its most negative reviews, saying that it offered "little in the way of stylistic or narrative progress, although it should please his core fans." He deprecated Wong's cinematography, labelling it "random experimentation" and went on to say this was "unbearably tedious" due to the lack of narrative.As per the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 84% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 43 reviews, with an average rating of 7.40 out of 10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Happy Together's strong sense of style complements its slice of life love story, even if the narrative slogs". On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 70 out of 100, with 71% positive reviews based on 17 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews." Awards and nominations In 1997, Wong Kar-wai was already well known in the art house Chinese cinema world because of the success of his previous films: Days of Being Wild, Chungking Express, and Ashes of Time. However, by winning the Cannes festival award for Best Director for Happy Together, his first major award, Wong was given a spotlight on the international stage. Music In this film, Wong Kar-wai moved away from his previous centralization of American and British music, favouring South American music instead. This transnationalism "decentralizes America" and forms new connections between cultures that are not conventionally linked (Hong Kong and Argentina). The first song of the film, Caetano Veloso's cover of "Cucurrucucú paloma", a sad ballad about a man waiting for his lover to return, plays when the couple breaks up for the first time in the film. Here, the Iguazu Falls are seen for the first time and it is also the first shot of the film that is in colour. The song extends Fai's thoughts, where he is imagining the waterfall, which he associated with Po-Wing. His sadness and lovesickness thereby become apparent in this South American setting. Musical motifs The Frank Zappa song "Chunga's Revenge" is played throughout the movie "emphasizing [Fai's] difficult relationship with [Po-Wing]." The loud guitar chorus represents Po-Wing's "volatile, flamboyant nature," which contrasts the somber trumpet and slower beat representing Fai's sensitivity and steadiness. This song is also linked to Lai's loneliness and his longing to be "happy together" while showing the difference between the two characters and the increasing emotional distance between them as the film progresses.Astor Piazzolla's "Prologue (Tango Apasionado)," "Finale (Tango Apasionado)," and "Milonga for Three" and similar bandoneon songs play when the couple is both together and apart, representing their relationship. These songs play during romantic scenes such as the taxi scene and the tango in the kitchen. However, it is also played after Fai and Po-Wing break up for the last time and Po-Wing dances the tango with a random man while thinking about when he danced with Fai. The last time this song is played is when Fai reaches the waterfall and the same shot of the Iguazu Falls at the beginning of the film is seen but this time with the "Finale" song. This "eulogizes that relationship" as Po-Wing breaks down in Fai's old apartment, realizing that he has abandoned their relationship because Fai left behind the lamp while Fai mourns their relationship at the falls. Wong Kar-wai discovered Piazzolla's music when he bought his CDs in the Amsterdam airport on his way to Buenos Aires to film this movie."Happy Together," the Turtles' song covered by Danny Chung, is the last song to be played in the film, when Fai is on the train in Taipei. This song is used to subvert Western music tropes that use it "to celebrate a budding romance or as an ironic commentary on the lack of such a romance." It also shows that "Lai is at peace with their relationship, making it a crucial narrative device denoting the meaning of the film."While interpretations vary, Wong Kar-wai has said that: "In this film, some audiences will say that the title seems to be very cynical, because it is about two persons living together, and at the end, they are just separate. But to me, happy together can apply to two persons or apply to a person and his past, and I think sometimes when a person is at peace with himself and his past, I think it is the beginning of a relationship which can be happy, and also he can be more open to more possibilities in the future with other people." Themes and interpretations Nationality, belonging, and cultural identity At the very beginning of the movie, Wong includes shots of Fai's British National Overseas Passport as a way to indicate to the audience that this film will be dealing with issues of nationality. The Handover of Hong Kong Released in May 1997, intentionally before the handover of Hong Kong from the British to China on 30 June 1997 after 100 years of colonial rule, the film represents the uncertainty of the future felt by Hongkongers at the time. The film's subtitle: "A Story About Reunion" also implies that the film would comment on the handover. The inclusion of the date in the opening and the news broadcast of Deng Xiaoping's death on 20 February 1997 serve to place the audience explicitly in the time period immediately before the Handover of Hong Kong. Some have suggested that the English title of the film is in relation to the uncertainty around if Hong Kong and China would be "happy together" after their reunion.In one interpretation, Po-Wing and Fai represent two sides of Hong Kong that cannot be reconciled: Po-Wing stays in Buenos Aires without a passport, like Hong Kong Chinese people who don't have a real British passport, representing an "eternal exile and diaspora". Fai, however, is able to see the waterfall and go to Taiwan but it is not shown whether Fai is able to reconcile with his father or not. Since Po-Wing wants his passport, meaning he wants to leave Buenos Aires, both main characters show that they feel uncertain about their place in the diaspora.A different interpretation stated that Fai, a gay man, represents the social freedoms that Hongkongers possess and the runaway son who travelled to the other side of the world: Buenos Aires in the film and Britain historically. But, this son (Hong Kong and Fai) "must return and reconcile his differences with old-fashioned China," which is represented by Fai's father. Chang represents Taiwan, a country with a similar past as Hong Kong with China, who comforts Fai (Hong Kong), showing him that there is hope for the future. This hope is demonstrated through the increasing saturation of the film as Fai's life becomes more and more stable. Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Buenos Aires Wong's choice of Buenos Aires is particular because it is the antipode of Hong Kong, meaning it is on the opposite side of the world and in an opposite time. This had been interpreted as a place where Fai and Po-Wing were looking for the opposite of home and Hong Kong. They do not describe this as a political allegory but rather a questioning of cultural identity and the definitions of "home, belonging, and migrancy". Another interpretation viewed the scenes of Hong Kong shot upside down not as a political allegory either, but a way to show how far the characters were from their roots.Similarly, the theme of displacement from Hong Kong to Buenos Aires interestingly emphasizes their similarities rather than their differences when compared to the shots of Hong Kong in Wong Kar-wai's previous films. Despite being on the other side of the world and far from their "home", the couple experiences the same problems, implying the inevitability of their relationship's deterioration. By emphasizing the similarities between these two places, Wong emphasizes the homelessness and lack of belonging of both Fai and Po-Wing. Confinement Another theme of the film is the sense of confinement and claustrophobia that accompanies the sense of non-belonging of Fai and Po-Wing. This is conveyed through the shaky handheld camera, the small size, poor lighting, and dirtiness of Fai's apartment, the kitchen, alleys, the tango bar, the restaurant kitchen, and the public bathroom corridor. This confinement is also manifested through Po-Wing's confinement to Fai's apartment because his injured hands prevent him from taking care of himself. Later, Po-Wing is also confined to Buenos Aires because Fai refuses to return his passport. Yet, the imagery of the Iguazu Falls contrasts the theme of confinement with the symbolic openness of possibility and hope for Po-Wing and Fai's relationship. Marginalization One interpretation explained that the lack of a sense of belonging due to a combination of their marginal race, sexuality, and language in Buenos Aires and Hong Kong prevented Po-Wing and Fai from forming a stable relationship. This instability is in part shown through the instability of the camera in some shots, relating to the characters's inability to find their own place in the world. Neither place is welcoming and the couple experiences the same problems in both places.The marginalization of Fai specifically is demonstrated by the way he visually cannot blend into the crowds and environments in Buenos Aires in comparison to Taipei. It is only in Taipei that Fai smiles, and it is implied that he feels a sense of belonging as he visits the Chang family noodle shop and takes the train. The movie does not definitively show that Fai returns to Hong Kong, making it possible that he stayed in Taipei, where he feels like he belongs and begins to have hope for the future. The Iguazu Falls and the lamp The importance of the Iguazu Falls is established early on in the film when it is shown on the lamp that Po-Wing bought for Fai and is said to be the entire reason the couple chose to go to Buenos Aires in the first place. The real waterfall is then shown in Fai's imaginings after the first breakup as the first shot in colour. It is also shot from a bird's-eye view and given unrealistic blue and green coloring, giving it a supernatural visual effect. One scholar interpreted the representation of the falls as a contemplation on the immensity of mother nature's power and the unpredictable nature of the future since the end of the waterfall is imperceivable. It also evokes a feeling of powerlessness in the face of nature and the future, paralleling the inevitability of the deterioration of Po-Wing and Fai's relationshipAnother scholar interpreted the waterfall itself as a symbol of Po-Wing and Fai's relationship because "their passion is indeed torrential, destructive, always pounding away as it falls head forward and spirals downward towards an uncertain end".The falls are seen throughout the film on the lamp in Fai's apartment, representing the continued hope and investment in his relationship with Po-Wing. However, when Fai finally visits the Iguazu Falls but without Po-Wing, leaving the lamp behind, Po-Wing understands that Fai has finally abandoned their relationship. Both Fai and Po-Wing mourn their relationship by looking at the waterfall, Fai seeing it in reality, and Po-Wing after having fixed the lamp's rotating mechanism. Homosexuality The portrayal of homosexuality in the film is indisputable. On one hand, it is characterized as "one of the best films chronicling gay love ever made" because of the universality of the problems that Fai and Po-Wing face in their relationship that exist in any relationship no matter the gender of the participants. Many scholars and film critics agree that while being gay is not the subject of the film, its portrayal of gay romance is realistic. The film was praised for not casting the characters on gendered lines, questioning their manliness, and showing the complexity of gay men as social beings and individuals. Wong Kar-wai explained that: "In fact, I don't like people to see this film as a gay film. It's more like a story about human relationships and somehow the two characters involved are both men. Normally I hate movies with labels like 'gay film,’ 'art film' or 'commercial film.' There is only good film and bad film."On the other hand, some scholars argue that one of the reasons that Po-Wing and Fai ended up in Buenos Aires is because they are gay and are thus exiled homosexual men. Jeremy Tambling, an author and critic, noted that the universalization of the gay relationship is not a positive aspect of the film because it erases the specificity of their experiences and the film's theme of marginalization. Furthermore, the film broadly portrays neo-Confucian values of hard work, frugality, and normativity, emphasizing social conformity to Chinese working values. Fai is rewarded for following these values, as he works constantly, cooks, cares for others, wants to reconcile with his father, and saves his money, while Po-Wing lives in excess through his numerous sexual encounters, spending, lack of traditional work, and flamboyance. At the end of the film, Fai is able to reach his destination, Hong Kong/Taiwan and the Iguazu Falls, while Po-Wing is stuck in Buenos Aires. Chang also represents these values, as he works hard at the restaurant, saves enough money for his trip to the 'end of the world,' and has a loving family to return to in Taipei. The characters who conform to this normativity are rewarded while others are punished, thus emphasizing a narrative wherein gay men "succeed" when conforming to other cultural etiquettes unrelated to their sexualities. Legacy Since its release, Happy Together has been described as the "most acclaimed gay Asian film", remaining in the public consciousness.South African singer, songwriter, and actor Nakhane cited Happy Together as one of their three favourite films of all time.James Laxton, the cinematographer for the critically acclaimed film Moonlight (2016), explained in a Time article that he was inspired by Happy Together and another Wong work, In the Mood for Love (2000). The use of natural and ambient light mixed with small warm fill lights, as well as touches of color enlightened Laxton to create a "dream-like sense of reality" in his film. More specifically, he cited the scene where Chiron's mother scolds him and the pink light emanates from her bedroom as particularly inspired by Wong Kar-wai's works.The 2006 Russian sitcom Happy Together took its name from the name of the film.At the 2017 Golden Horse Awards, Happy Together was re-screened in celebration of the film's 20th anniversary. The main promotional poster for the award ceremony used a screenshot from the film of the main actors as well as shots of the Iguazu Falls.At the 2022 Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema, Happy Together was re-screened in celebration of the film's 25th anniversary. Rolling Stone magazine called this a "non-official protagonist of the festival", since the debut documentary film, BJ: The Life and Times of Bosco and Jojo, was premiered in the festival ("Special Nights" section), narrating the encounter with the Hong Kong filmmaker. Happy Together at IMDb Happy Together at AllMovie

Hong Kong taxicabs are the principal taxi service in Hong Kong. Although a few taxis are independently owned and operated, the vast majority are owned by 17 independent taxi companies that rent out taxis on a shift basis to 40,000 self-employed drivers.As of 2023, there are taxis in Hong Kong, of which 15,250 were urban taxis, 2,838 were New Territories taxis, and 75 were Lantau taxis. Every day they serve about 1.1 million, 207,900 and 1,400 people respectively. History 19th century During the early colonial times, sedan chairs were the only form of public conveyance. Public chairs were licensed and charged according to tariffs which would be prominently displayed. Chair stands were found at all hotels, wharves, and major crossroads, and the sturdy chair bearers would clamour for regular patronage. Much the same as motor cars nowadays, private chairs existed and were an important marker of a person's status. A civil officer's status was denoted by the number of bearers attached to his chair.Their numbers peaked in about 1920, when 1,215 registered sedan chairs were on the road.The rickshaw was first imported from Japan in 1870 by an American businessman. They were a popular form of transport for many years, peaking at more than 7,000 in the early part of the 20th century. Rickshaws competed with sedan chairs for customers depending on their budget, haste, or terrain to be negotiated. The rickshaw was more rapid, but was not suited to climbing the steep terrain of Hong Kong Island. Before Hong Kong's Peak Tram went into service in 1888, wealthy residents of The Peak were carried on sedan chairs by coolies up the steep paths to their residence, including former Governor Sir Richard MacDonnell's summer home, where they could take advantage of the cooler climate.However, the popularity of rickshaws waned after World War II. No new licences for rickshaws have been issued since 1975, and licences became non-transferable. Thus, a dying breed of only a few old men still ply their trade at the Edinburgh Place Ferry Pier, mainly for tourists. The rickshaw drawers charged HK$300 to go around the block. There were about eight in 1998, and only four left in 2002, and two in 2011. The last sedan chair was reportedly abandoned in 1965, and since the relocation of the Central Star Ferry pier at the end of 2006 the rickshaws have disappeared. 20th century The Chinese name for taxi used in Hong Kong, dik si (的士), is a Cantonese transliteration of the English word "taxi". The earliest pioneer of the modern taxi service may have been Wu Zung (胡忠). In 1941, he is believed to have owned 40 taxis, including 10 white cards, which he leased to the government. When the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong began in December of the same year, he suspended his transport operation. He resumed his business after the war with 100 cars. The service was first officially recorded by the government in 1947 with 329 cars. By 1960 the service officially covered the New Territories, and the service increased to 1,026 cars. The number of taxis would multiply by 10,000 by 1980. Prior to 1974, the livery of taxis in Hong Kong depended on colours chosen by the licensees, although the Transport Department had noted considerable confusion for passengers caused by the proliferation of colours and mingling with private vehicles, and by December 1969 had started considering a uniform appearance for licensed taxis. On 13 September 1974, the government gazetted standard colours – silver for the upper half and red for the lower half – for all taxicabs in Hong Kong to weed out illegal taxis. As most of the vehicles would cluster in Kowloon due to it being the population centre, and demand in the New Territories was being met by illegal operators, a licensed taxi service catering only for the New Territories was announced on 5 June 1976. From then onwards, "ordinary" (red) taxis would be allowed to continue to operate in the New Territories as well as Kowloon and Hong Kong Island, while the New Territories taxis – silver for the upper half and green for the lower half – would be forbidden from venturing into urban areas. A batch of 20 blue taxis that serve Lantau Island started operating in 1983. Licence The taxi trade is regulated by the Government, as are the fare scales. Taxis need a licence to operate in Hong Kong. The service area of the three types of taxis are defined by the Government in the 1960s. The need for the three different types was to avoid clustering of taxis in the more populated/profitable areas of the territory and a shortage in others. All three types of taxis serve Hong Kong International Airport, Hong Kong Port of Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge and The Disneyland Resort. Since 1964, the Transport Department has introduced a system of public tender of taxi licences. Taxi licences are transferable after one year from the date of issue, and licence holders are given a perpetual operating right. Furthermore, taxi licences can be renewed every year on the payment of an annual licence fee, and there are no licence renewal prerequisites such as taxi driver qualification or taxi service quality examination.The government stopped issuing licences in 1994, when there were a total of 18,138 in the territory. Existing licences are transferable and are traded on the open market, and prices have been rising due to speculation, with fare rises tending to feed into the price of licences. The going cost for a licence in 2011 is around HK$5 million – an increase of 36% from the year before. In 2013, the market price peaked at $7 million.The trading of taxi licences is easy, and legislative regulatory control hardly exists. The perpetual nature and easy transferability of taxi licences, the recent frozen supply of taxi licences, and the free trading market system in Hong Kong make taxi licences not only an operating requirement in the taxi industry but also an investment asset. Through various taxi licence exchange markets, licences can be cashed in at retirement, at changing jobs, or simply to make a profit. These factors shape our current taxi licence system with characteristics different from other overseas cities/countries. Urban taxi The red taxis have the highest fares among all, and serve all areas of New Territories, Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. They may also run the north of Lantau Island, Chek Lap Kok and Hong Kong Port of Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge, but they are not permitted to run on most of Discovery Bay and the part south to Shek Mun Kap. A taxi will sometimes appear with its roof light on, but with the 'For Hire' flag covered by an 'Out of Service' sign; this means they are currently travelling to pick up passengers that have booked a ride through electronic or telephone booking, or are attempting to catch a fare back across the harbour tunnel. There is no legal requirement for drivers to know all the destinations in their allowed area. Commonly, drivers refuse to take passengers wanting to cross the harbour on this basis, although in theory drivers do not have the right to refuse a hire based on destination. On both sides of the harbour, the Government has erected taxi ranks catering for those returning taxis prepared to cross the harbour for a single-toll trip. New Territories taxi The green taxis, the second most expensive, serve only parts of the New Territories, including Tuen Mun District, Yuen Long District, Northern District, Tai Po District, Sai Kung, West of Ting Kau, North of Tai Mo Shan Country Park, Ma On Shan, Ma Liu Shui and Wan Po Road north of Shek Kok Road. They are allowed to use indicated routes by the Transport Department to serve the specially designed New Territories Taxi Stands at the following destinations out of the New Territories Taxi service: Shun Lee Estate (which is in fact in Kowloon), Hang Hau Station, Tsing Yi Station and Tsuen Wan Station, which are mainly designated interchange with red taxis and MTR; Tseung Kwan O Hospital (only the A&E), Sha Tin Racecourse (near Penfold Park), Prince of Wales Hospital, the Airport Ground Transportation Center, Terminal No.1, Hong Kong Port of Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge and Disneyland. Lantau taxi The light blue taxis run in most of Lantau Island and Chek Lap Kok, except most of Discovery Bay, thus they are restricted to a small area. They are exclusive in the case that they can serve south Lantau Island. They are not quite as ubiquitous: there are only around 75 of them. There have been reports of some unofficial, unlicensed taxis in blue livery operating around these regions. Competitions Taxi groups versus ride-hailing servicesCurrently, drivers with three years of experience have to go through a process of testing and certification before they could qualify as taxi drivers. The council's proposal that drivers for e-hailing services need only three years of experience, without similar test requirements, was, in their opinion, much too lax. But the council also recommends that all e-hailing drivers undergo background security checks, have the necessary language skills and are sufficiently healthy before they are considered suitable candidates. This will act as an additional safeguard for passenger safety. In terms of fare charges, the industry questions why, while taxi fares are bound by the meter, e-hailing services are not subject to any fare control and are free to set their own fare according to the road conditions and rush-hour periods. As taxis – whether traditional operators or the e-hailing kind – are part of the public transport system, it is only natural that their fares should be regulated. Indeed, e-hailing taxi services in different territories are subject to fare controls of one kind or another. Cars used Historically, Standard, DeSoto Deluxe, Morris Oxford, Ford Popular, Hillman Minx, Austin 8, Austin Cambridge, Mercedes W120 Ponton, Ford Anglia, Vauxhall Cresta and Vauxhall Velox were used up to the 1960s. Since the 1970s, Japanese cars replaced the various European models used earlier. Among them, the Toyota Crown Comfort YXS10 and Nissan Cedric Y31 had always been the most popular. All taxis bear a semi-circular green plate on the front grille, and at the back of the vehicle indicating the number of seats available. Throughout history, most Hong Kong taxis have been 4-door saloons with bench seats in the front, thus allowing it to carry up to five passengers (driver excluded). In the early 1980s, 4-passenger taxis were introduced. Smaller saloons such as the Nissan Bluebird 910, Nissan Sunny B12, Toyota Corona (CT141) and the Mitsubishi Lancer were used. However, these were all phased out by the mid-1990s. Since then and until 2008, all Hong Kong taxis have been 5-passengers vehicles. But from 2008, the new Toyota Comfort equipped with new 2.0 VVT-i engine and equipped with floor shift automatic instead of column shift automatic, making the new Comfort a 4-passengers taxi again. Australian Ford Falcon estate cars tried to enter the market in year 2000 but they were never popular. Today, almost all taxis in Hong Kong are XS10 Toyota Comforts (over 99%), the minority being Nissan Cedric (Y31) saloons which were discontinued from the end of 2005. On 29 May 2007, there were reports that plans are afoot to introduce the LTI-licensed, Chinese Geely-manufactured, LPG-powered TX4 London Black Cabs into the Hong Kong taxi service market. A feasibility study is under way between the Hong Kong Productivity Council and Geely.In February 2013, Crown Motors introduced the Toyota Prius (XW30) Hybrid Taxi to the HK Taxi lineup, but it is still an uncommon sight on the road. In May 2013, Nissan had re-updated a newer Nissan Cedric Y31 to the HK Taxi line up with newly re-updated bumpers, a newer taxi top and a Cedric badge, but it is still considered uncommon on the street. On 11 December 2014, Honest Motors unveiled the Nissan NV200 Taxi in Hong Kong. The taxi is powered by both gasoline and LPG. On 5 February 2015, Ford introduced the Ford Transit Connect Taxi, powered by a LPG 2.5L i-VCT engine. In 2017, Toyota discontinued production of Comfort and LPG Comfort, and started producing the new JPN Taxi for the Tokyo Olympics 2020. The JPN Taxi was introduced in Hong Kong as the Comfort Hybrid with a 1NZ-FPX I4 LPG engine in a hybrid system. The first batch of Comfort Hybrids was shipped to Hong Kong in July 2018. All taxis are imported new; there is a type approval process for approving the models of cars to be used as taxis (which means unapproved models cannot be used as taxis). However, used parts from Japan are frequently used, so sometimes there are Japanese stickers on the taxis' doors. Most importers just import red colour base cars. For green and blue taxis, the owners have to convert the cars into the correct colour, and they usually only paint the exterior, so people can still see the original red colour from the door gap or engine compartment. Fuels Until the late 1990s, all Hong Kong taxis ran on diesel fuel, aside from 4-passenger taxis which ran on petrol. In 1996, a few taxis that ran on LPG appeared as part of the government's test project for alternative fuel. This project proved successful, leading to all new taxis being factory-built LPG since 1999. To speed up the replacement of diesel taxis with LPG ones, from mid 2000 to the end of 2003, the government offered a cash grant to each taxi owner who purchased a new LPG taxi during that period. Since 1 August 2001, no more diesel taxis were allowed to be imported into Hong Kong, and from 1 January 2006, driving a diesel taxi on the streets of Hong Kong became illegal. Therefore, all taxis in Hong Kong are currently running on LPG. Although LPG-powered vehicles are supposed to be relatively non-polluting, and do indeed reduce roadside pollution, a 2007 study by Polytechnic University indicated that older LPG taxis emitted at least double the amount of carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons compared to diesel. But the government still claimed that properly maintained LPG engines reduce pollution by 50% to 200%. Fares A fare table must be displayed clearly inside the taxi, by law. The same legally-enforceable fare table is also listed on the government's website. Fares are charged according to distance travelled and waiting time, measured by a meter on board. There is a starting fare, and there are surcharges for luggage and tolled tunnels and bridges, as well as surcharges for telephone-arranged ordering. Along some restricted kerbs, there are designated pick-up and drop-off points exclusively for taxis. Some taxi operators will offer discounts to attract repeat business. Fares are determined by the government and revised from time to time upon the recommendation of the Transport Advisory Committee. From July 2022, the flag fall – including the fare for the first two kilometres – was HK$27 for red taxis, HK$23.50 for green taxis and HK$22 for the blue Lantau cabs; thereafter, the meter adds $1.90 and $1.70 for every 200 metres in Urban Taxis and New Territories Taxis as well as Lantau Taxis respectively. For Urban Taxis and New Territories Taxis, the rate of the incremental change will be decreased to $1.30 after 9km for Urban taxies and 8km for New territories taxis of the hire. As for the Lantau Island Taxis, the rate of the incremental change will be decreased to $1.50 after 20km of the hire. There is an additional charge of $6 for every piece of baggage, light personal hand baggage carried inside passenger compartment are not included. Every animal or bird carried on board are charged with $5. Wheelchairs and crutches carried by disabled passengers are free of charge. Every hiring arranged through telephone booking is charged with $5. Taxi passengers wishing to cross the Victoria harbour are required to pay the tunnel toll fee (and a return fee) of $25 (+$25) , unless the hiring begins from a cross-harbour taxi stand or the final destination is not on the opposite side of the harbour. Taxi passengers going through a tunnel with a toll is required to pay the toll fee only. In July 2007, it was reported that many taxi drivers were engaged in rampant illegal price-cutting in their competition with call-cab drivers for passengers. Rates offered were up to 20% lower than the metered fares on long-distance trips, with competition being particularly fierce on the airport route. The warring factions took turns to blockade Hong Kong International Airport to air their grievances. Andrew Cheng Kar-foo, chairman of the Legislative Council's transport panel, proposed cutting taxi fares to deal with illicit discounting. Representatives of call-cab drivers and taxi owners were opposed to the idea. Urban taxi groups have been lobbying for permission to impose a HK$1 per trip fuel surcharge when the price of liquefied petroleum gas per litre is between HK$3.10 and HK$4. Legislative Councillors unanimously passed a motion urging the government to allow taxis to impose the surcharge. However, the vote was non-binding on the Government. The Transportation Secretary rejected the appeal. Different taxi light modes Each taxi has a light on top of the vehicle which is illuminated when the taxi is available for hire. A "flag" visible on top of the dash board marked "for hire" also indicates a taxi is available. A taxi may have an 'Out of Service' sign on whenever the taxi is not available for hire, e.g., shift-changing. Passengers are not permitted to hire a taxi displaying an 'Out of Service' sign. Taxi drivers may continue to have a lit roof sign and 'For Hire' flag up if they are looking for customers wishing to head to areas in their service (e.g., an urban taxi in the New Territories, looking for fares heading to the urban area). Representation Taxi drivers' interests and those of owners are not necessarily aligned. Hong Kong Taxi Owners Association represents owners of taxi licences, and drivers, who are most frequently are not owners but who rent their vehicles on a daily basis, are represented by the Motor Transport Workers General Union. In 2013, day-time drivers would pay upwards of HK$380 for each shift, and night shift drivers would pay HK$350. Owners would dispute with drivers' groups as they seek to increase the daily rental charge each time taxi fares increased. See also Taxicabs by country Transport in Hong Kong Toyota Comfort Information on Hong Kong taxis provided by Transport Department Taxi Hong Kong – Taxi Cab hotlines, rates and information

The Tiger (虎) is the third of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Tiger is associated with the Earthly Branch symbol 寅. Years and the Five Elements People born within these date ranges can be said to have been born in the "Year of the Tiger", while bearing the following elemental sign: Basic astrology elements See also Tiger Burmese zodiac Media related to Tiger (zodiac) at Wikimedia Commons

The rabbit (兔) is the fourth in the twelve-year periodic sequence (cycle) of animals that appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Rabbit is associated with the Earthly Branch symbol 卯. the element Wood in Wuxing theory and within Traditional Chinese medicine the Liver Yin and the emotions and virtues of kindness and hope.In the Vietnamese zodiac and the Gurung zodiac, the cat takes the place of the rabbit. In the Malay zodiac, the mousedeer takes the place of the rabbit. Years and elements People born within these date ranges can be said to have been born in the "Year of the Rabbit", while also bearing the following elemental sign: Basic astrological associations See also Rabbit Niiname-no-Matsuri Media related to Rabbit (zodiac) at Wikimedia Commons

Radical 49 or radical oneself (己部) meaning "oneself" is one of the 31 Kangxi radicals (214 radicals total) composed of three strokes. In the Kangxi Dictionary, there are 20 characters (out of 49,030) to be found under this radical. 己 is also the 52nd indexing component in the Table of Indexing Chinese Character Components predominantly adopted by Simplified Chinese dictionaries published in mainland China. Two associated indexing components, 已 and 巳 are affiliated to the principal indexing component 己. In Chinese astrology, 巳 represents the sixth Earthly Branch and corresponds to the Snake in the Chinese zodiac. In the ancient Chinese cyclic character numeral system tiāngān, 己 represents the sixth Celestial stem. Evolution Derived characters Literature Fazzioli, Edoardo (1987). Chinese calligraphy : from pictograph to ideogram : the history of 214 essential Chinese/Japanese characters. calligraphy by Rebecca Hon Ko. New York: Abbeville Press. ISBN 0-89659-774-1. Lunde, Ken (Jan 5, 2009). "Appendix J: Japanese Character Sets" (PDF). CJKV Information Processing: Chinese, Japanese, Korean & Vietnamese Computing (Second ed.). Sebastopol, Calif.: O'Reilly Media. ISBN 978-0-596-51447-1. Unihan Database - U+5DF1

Radical 164 or radical wine (酉部) meaning "wine" or "alcohol" is one of the 20 Kangxi radicals (214 radicals in total) composed of 7 strokes. In the Kangxi Dictionary, there are 290 characters (out of 49,030) to be found under this radical. 酉 is also the 153rd indexing component in the Table of Indexing Chinese Character Components predominantly adopted by Simplified Chinese dictionaries published in mainland China. In Chinese astrology, 酉 represents the tenth Earthly Branch and corresponds to the Rooster in the Chinese zodiac. Evolution Derived characters Literature Fazzioli, Edoardo (1987). Chinese calligraphy : from pictograph to ideogram : the history of 214 essential Chinese/Japanese characters. calligraphy by Rebecca Hon Ko. New York: Abbeville Press. ISBN 0-89659-774-1. Lunde, Ken (Jan 5, 2009). "Appendix J: Japanese Character Sets" (PDF). CJKV Information Processing: Chinese, Japanese, Korean & Vietnamese Computing (Second ed.). Sebastopol, Calif.: O'Reilly Media. ISBN 978-0-596-51447-1. Unihan Database - U+9149

Gamma (uppercase Γ, lowercase γ; Greek: γάμμα gámma) is the third letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 3. In Ancient Greek, the letter gamma represented a voiced velar stop IPA: [ɡ]. In Modern Greek, this letter normally represents a voiced velar fricative IPA: [ɣ], except before either of the two front vowels (/e/, /i/), where it represents a voiced palatal fricative IPA: [ʝ]; while /g/ in foreign words is instead commonly transcribed as γκ). In the International Phonetic Alphabet and other modern Latin-alphabet based phonetic notations, it represents the voiced velar fricative. History The Greek letter Gamma Γ is a grapheme derived from the Phoenician letter 𐤂‎ (gīml) which was rotated from the right-to-left script of Canaanite to accommodate the Greek language's writing system of left-to-right. The Canaanite grapheme represented the /g/ phoneme in the Canaanite language, and as such is cognate with gimel ג of the Hebrew alphabet. Based on its name, the letter has been interpreted as an abstract representation of a camel's neck, but this has been criticized as contrived, and it is more likely that the letter is derived from an Egyptian hieroglyph representing a club or throwing stick. In Archaic Greece, the shape of gamma was closer to a classical lambda (Λ), while lambda retained the Phoenician L-shape (𐌋‎). Letters that arose from the Greek gamma include Etruscan (Old Italic) 𐌂, Roman C and G, Runic kaunan ᚲ, Gothic geuua 𐌲, the Coptic Ⲅ, and the Cyrillic letters Г and Ґ. Greek phoneme The Ancient Greek /g/ phoneme was the voiced velar stop, continuing the reconstructed proto-Indo-European *g, *ǵ. The modern Greek phoneme represented by gamma is realized either as a voiced palatal fricative (/ʝ/) before a front vowel (/e/, /i/), or as a voiced velar fricative /ɣ/ in all other environments. Both in Ancient and in Modern Greek, before other velar consonants (κ, χ, ξ – that is, k, kh, ks), gamma represents a velar nasal /ŋ/. A double gamma γγ (e.g., άγγελος, "angel") represents the sequence /ŋɡ/ (phonetically varying [ŋɡ~ɡ]) or /ŋɣ/. Phonetic transcription Lowercase Greek gamma is used in the Americanist phonetic notation and Uralic Phonetic Alphabet to indicate voiced consonants. The gamma was also added to the Latin alphabet, as Latin gamma, in the following forms: majuscule Ɣ, minuscule ɣ, and superscript modifier letter ˠ. In the International Phonetic Alphabet the minuscule letter is used to represent a voiced velar fricative and the superscript modifier letter is used to represent velarization. It is not to be confused with the character ɤ, which looks like a lowercase Latin gamma that lies above the baseline rather than crossing, and which represents the close-mid back unrounded vowel. In certain nonstandard variations of the IPA, the uppercase form is used.It is as a full-fledged majuscule and minuscule letter in the alphabets of some of languages of Africa such as Dagbani, Dinka, Kabye, and Ewe, and Berber languages using the Berber Latin alphabet. It is sometimes also used in the romanization of Pashto. Mathematics and science Lowercase The lowercase letter γ {\displaystyle \gamma } is used as a symbol for: Chromatic number of in graph theory Gamma radiation in nuclear physics The photon, the elementary particle of light and other electromagnetic radiation The 434 nm spectral line in the Balmer series Surface energy in materials science The Lorentz factor in the theory of relativity In mathematics, the lower incomplete gamma function The Euler–Mascheroni constant ≈ 0.57721566490153286 The heat capacity ratio Cp  /Cv in thermodynamics The activity coefficient in thermodynamics The gyromagnetic ratio in electromagnetism Gamma waves in neuroscience Gamma motor neurons in neuroscience A non-SI metric unit of measure of mass equal to one microgram (1 μg). This always-rare use is deprecated. A non-SI unit of measure of magnetic flux density, sometimes used in geophysics, equal to 10−5 Gauss (G), or 1 nanotesla (nT). The power by which the luminance of an image is increased in gamma correction In civil and mechanical engineering: Specific weight The shear rate of a fluid is represented by a lowercase gamma with a dot above it: γ ˙ {\displaystyle {\dot {\gamma }}} Austenite (also known as γ-iron), a metallic non-magnetic allotrope or solid solution of iron. The gamma carbon, the third carbon attached to a functional group in organic chemistry and biochemistry; see Alpha and beta carbonThe lowercase Latin gamma ɣ can also be used in contexts (such as chemical or molecule nomenclature) where gamma must not be confused with the letter y, which can occur in some computer typefaces. Uppercase The uppercase letter Γ {\displaystyle \Gamma } is used as a symbol for: In mathematics, the gamma function (usually written as Γ {\displaystyle \Gamma } -function) is an extension of the factorial to complex numbers In mathematics, the upper incomplete gamma function The Christoffel symbols in differential geometry In probability theory and statistics, the gamma distribution is a two-parameter family of continuous probability distributions. In solid-state physics, the center of the Brillouin zone Circulation in fluid mechanics As reflection coefficient in physics and electrical engineering The tape alphabet of a Turing machine The Feferman–Schütte ordinal Γ 0 {\displaystyle \Gamma _{0}} One of the Greeks in mathematical finance Meteorology Tropical cyclones The name Gamma has been used twice for tropical cyclones: Tropical Storm Gamma (2005) - deadly tropical storm that impacted Honduras Hurricane Gamma (2020) - hurricane that affected the Yucatán Peninsula Encoding HTML The HTML entities for uppercase and lowercase gamma are Γ and γ. Unicode Greek Gamma Coptic Gamma Latin Gamma / phonetic Gamma CJK Square Gamma Technical / Mathematical Gamma These characters are used only as mathematical symbols. Stylized Greek text should be encoded using the normal Greek letters, with markup and formatting to indicate text style. Г, г - Ge (Cyrillic) G, g - Latin Gamma correction

Zeta (UK: , US: ; uppercase Ζ, lowercase ζ; Ancient Greek: ζῆτα, Demotic Greek: ζήτα, classical [d͡zɛ̌:ta] or [zdɛ̌:ta] zē̂ta; Modern Greek: [ˈzita] zíta) is the sixth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 7. It was derived from the Phoenician letter zayin . Letters that arose from zeta include the Roman Z and Cyrillic З. Name Unlike the other Greek letters, this letter did not take its name from the Phoenician letter from which it was derived; it was given a new name on the pattern of beta, eta and theta. The word zeta is the ancestor of zed, the name of the Latin letter Z in Commonwealth English. Swedish and many Romance languages (such as Italian and Spanish) do not distinguish between the Greek and Roman forms of the letter; "zeta" is used to refer to the Roman letter Z as well as the Greek letter. Uses Letter The letter ζ represents the voiced alveolar fricative IPA: [z] in Modern Greek. The sound represented by zeta in Greek before 400 BC is disputed. See Ancient Greek phonology and Pronunciation of Ancient Greek in teaching. Most handbooks agree on attributing to it the pronunciation /zd/ (like Mazda), but some scholars believe that it was an affricate /dz/ (like adze). The modern pronunciation was, in all likelihood, established in the Hellenistic age and may have already been a common practice in Classical Attic; for example, it could count as one or two consonants metrically in Attic drama. Arguments for [zd] PIE *zd becomes ζ in Greek (e.g. *sísdō > ἵζω). Contra: these words are rare and it is therefore more probable that *zd was absorbed by *dz (< *dj, *gj, *j); further, a change from the cluster /zd/ to the affricate /dz/ is typologically more likely than the other way around (which would violate the sonority hierarchy). Without [sd] there would be an empty space between [sb] and [sɡ] in the Greek sound system (πρέσβυς, σβέννυμι, φάσγανον), and a voiced affricate [dz] would not have a voiceless correspondent. Contra: a) words with [sb] and [sɡ] are rare, and exceptions in phonological and (even more so) phonotactic patterns are in no way uncommon; b) there was [sd] in ὅσδε, εἰσδέχται etc.; and c) there was in fact a voiceless correspondent in Archaic Greek ([ts] > Attic, Boeotian ττ, Ionic, Doric σσ). Persian names with zd and z are transcribed with ζ and σ respectively in Classical Greek (e.g. Artavazda = Ἀρτάβαζος/Ἀρτάοζος ~ Zara(n)ka- = Σαράγγαι. Similarly, the Philistine city Ashdod was transcribed as Ἄζωτος. Some inscriptions have -ζ- written for a combination -ς + δ- resulting from separate words, e.g. θεοζοτος for θεος δοτος "god-given". Some Attic inscriptions have -σζ- for -σδ- or -ζ-, which is thought to parallel -σστ- for -στ- and therefore to imply a [zd] pronunciation. ν disappears before ζ like before σ(σ), στ: e.g. *πλάνζω > πλᾰ́ζω, *σύνζυγος > σύζυγος, *συνστέλλω > σῠστέλλω. Contra: ν may have disappeared before /dz/ if one accepts that it had the allophone [z] in that position like /ts/ had the allophone [s]: cf. Cretan ἴαττα ~ ἀποδίδονσα (Hinge). Verbs beginning with ζ have ἐ- in the perfect reduplication like the verbs beginning with στ (e.g. ἔζηκα = ἔσταλται). Contra: a) The most prominent example of a verb beginning with στ has in fact ἑ- < *se- in the perfect reduplication (ἕστηκα); b) the words with /ts/ > σ(σ) also have ἐ-: Homer ἔσσυμαι, -ται, Ion. ἐσσημένῳ. Alcman, Sappho, Alcaeus and Theocritus have σδ for Attic-Ionic ζ. Contra: The tradition would not have invented this special digraph for these poets if [zd] was the normal pronunciation in all Greek. Furthermore, this convention is not found in contemporary inscriptions, and the orthography of the manuscripts and papyri is Alexandrine rather than historical. Thus, σδ indicates only a different pronunciation from Hellenistic Greek [z(ː)], i.e. either [zd] or [dz]. The grammarians Dionysius Thrax and Dionysius of Halicarnassus class ζ with the "double" (διπλᾶ) letters ψ, ξ and analyse it as σ + δ. Contra: The Roman grammarian Verrius Flaccus believed in the opposite sequence, δ + σ (in Velius Longus, De orthogr. 51), and Aristotle says that it was a matter of dispute (Metaph. 993a) (though Aristotle might as well be referring to a [zː] pronunciation). It is even possible that the letter sometimes and for some speakers varied in pronunciation depending upon word position, i.e., like the letter X in English, which is (usually) pronounced [z] initially but [gz] or [ks] elsewhere (cf. Xerxes). Some Attic transcriptions of Asia Minor toponyms (βυζζαντειον, αζζειον, etc.) show a -ζζ- for ζ; assuming that Attic value was [zd], it may be an attempt to transcribe a dialectal [dz] pronunciation; the reverse cannot be ruled completely, but a -σδ- transcription would have been more likely in this case. This suggests that different dialects had different pronunciations. (For a similar example in the Slavic languages, cf. Serbo-Croatian (iz)među, Russian между, Polish między, and Czech mezi, "between".) Arguments for [dz] The Greek inscriptions almost never write ζ in words like ὅσδε, τούσδε or εἰσδέχται, so there must have been a difference between this sound and the sound of ἵζω, Ἀθήναζε. Contra: a few inscriptions do seem to suggest that ζ was pronounced like σδ; furthermore, all words with written σδ are morphologically transparent, and written σδ may simply be echoing the morphology. (Note, for example, that we write "ads" where the morphology is transparent, and "adze" where it is not, even though the pronunciation is the same.) It seems improbable that Greek would invent a special symbol for the bisegmental combination [zd], which could be represented by σδ without any problems. /ds/, on the other hand, would have the same sequence of plosive and sibilant as the double letters of the Ionic alphabet ψ /ps/ and ξ /ks/, thereby avoiding a written plosive at the end of a syllable. Contra: the use of a special symbol for [zd] is no more or no less improbable than the use of ψ for [ps] and ξ for [ks], or, for that matter, the later invention ϛ (stigma) for [st], which happens to be the voiceless counterpart of [zd]. Furthermore, it is not clear that ζ was pronounced [zd] when it was originally invented. Mycenean Greek had a special symbol to denote some sort of affricate or palatal consonant; ζ may have been invented for this sound, which later developed into [zd]. (For a parallel development, note that original palatal Proto-Slavic /tʲ/ developed into /ʃt/ in Old Church Slavonic, with similar developments having led to combinations such as зд and жд being quite common in Russian.) Boeotian, Elean, Laconian and Cretan δδ are more easily explained as a direct development from *dz than through an intermediary *zd. Contra: a) the sound development dz > dd is improbable (Mendez Dosuna); b) ν has disappeared before ζ > δδ in Laconian πλαδδιῆν (Aristoph., Lys. 171, 990) and Boeotian σαλπίδδω (Sch. Lond. in Dion. Thrax 493), which suggests that these dialects have had a phase of metathesis (Teodorsson). Greek in South Italy has preserved [dz] until modern times. Contra: a) this may be a later development from [zd] or [z] under the influence of Italian; b) even if it is derived from an ancient [dz], it may be a dialectal pronunciation. Vulgar Latin inscriptions use the Greek letter Z for indigenous affricates (e.g. zeta = diaeta), and the Greek ζ is continued by a Romance affricate in the ending -ίζω > Italian. -eggiare, French -oyer. Italian, similarly, has consistently used Z for [dz] and [ts] (Lat. prandium > It. pranzo, "lunch"). Contra: whether the pronunciation of ζ was [dz], [zd] or [zː], di would probably still have been the closest native Latin sound; furthermore, the inscriptions are centuries later than the time for which [zd] is assumed. Summary σδ is attested only in the lyric poetry of the Greek isle of Lesbos and the city-state of Sparta during the Archaic Age and in Bucolic poetry from the Hellenistic Age. Most scholars would take this as an indication that the [zd]-pronunciation existed in the dialects of these authors. The transcriptions from Persian by Xenophon and testimony by grammarians support the pronunciation [zd] in Classical Attic. [z(ː)] is attested from c. 350 BC in Attic inscriptions, and was the probable value in Koine. [dʒ] or [dz] may have existed in some other dialects in parallel. Numeral Zeta has the numerical value 7 rather than 6 because the letter digamma (ϝ, also called 'stigma' as a Greek numeral) was originally in the sixth position in the alphabet. Mathematics and science The uppercase zeta is not used, because it is normally identical to Latin Z. The lower case letter can be used to represent: The Riemann zeta function in mathematics The damping ratio of an oscillating system in engineering and physics The rotational quantity of angular jerk in physics The effective nuclear charge on an electron in quantum chemistry The electrokinetic potential in colloidal systems The lag angle in helicopter blade dynamics Relative vorticity in the atmosphere and ocean A number whose discrete values (eigenvalues) are the positive roots of transcendental equations, used in the series solutions for transient one-dimensional conduction equations The heat flux across or through a plane (industrial materials technology) The Weierstrass zeta-function In physical chemistry equilibrium computations (using lower case Zeta (ζ)), the extent of reaction The height of the surface of a fluid layerZETA (fusion reactor) (all uppercase) was an early fusion experiment. Character encodings Greek Zeta / Coptic Zeta Mathematical Zeta The following characters are used only as mathematical symbols. Stylized Greek text should be encoded using the normal Greek letters, with markup and formatting to indicate text style. See also Z, z - Latin З, з - Ze (Cyrillic) General references Allen, W. Sidney (1987). Vox Graeca: The Pronunciation of Classical Greek. Cambridge University Press. pp. 56–59. ISBN 978-0-521-33555-3. Hinge, George. “Die Aussprache des griechischen Zeta”, in Die Sprache Alkmans: Textgeschichte und Sprachgeschichte. PhD dissertation. Aarhus: Aarhus University Press, 2001, pp. 212–234 = [1] Méndez Dosuna, Julián. “On <Ζ> for <Δ> in Greek dialectal inscriptions”, Die Sprache 35 (1993): 82–114. Rohlfs, Gerhard. 1962. “Die Aussprache des z (ζ) im Altgriechischen”, Das Altertum 8 (1962): 3–8. Teodorsson, Sven-Tage. “On the pronunciation of ancient greek zeta”, Lingua 47, no. 4 (April 1979): 323–32. Teodorsson, Sven-Tage. “The pronunciation of zeta in different Greek dialects”, in Dialectologia Graeca: Actas del II Coloquio internacional de dialectología griega, eds. E. Crespo et al. Madrid: Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 1993, pp. 305–321.

Eta EE-tə, AY-tə (uppercase Η, lowercase η; Ancient Greek: ἦτα ē̂ta [ɛ̂ːta] or Greek: ήτα ita [ˈita]) is the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the close front unrounded vowel IPA: [i]. Originally denoting the voiceless glottal fricative IPA: [h] in most dialects, its sound value in the classical Attic dialect of Ancient Greek was a long open-mid front unrounded vowel IPA: [ɛː], raised to IPA: [i] in hellenistic Greek, a process known as iotacism or itacism. In the ancient Attic number system (Herodianic or acrophonic numbers), the number 100 was represented by "Η", because it was the initial of ΗΕΚΑΤΟΝ, the ancient spelling of ἑκατόν = "one hundred". In the later system of (Classical) Greek numerals eta represents 8. Eta was derived from the Phoenician letter heth . Letters that arose from eta include the Latin H and the Cyrillic letters И and Й. History Consonant h The letter shape 'H' was originally used in most Greek dialects to represent the voiceless glottal fricative IPA: [h]. In this function, it was borrowed in the 8th century BC by the Etruscan and other Old Italic alphabets, which were based on the Euboean form of the Greek alphabet. This also gave rise to the Latin alphabet with its letter H. Other regional variants of the Greek alphabet (epichoric alphabets), in dialects that still preserved the sound IPA: [h], employed various glyph shapes for consonantal heta side by side with the new vocalic eta for some time. In the southern Italian colonies of Heracleia and Tarentum, the letter shape was reduced to a "half-heta" lacking the right vertical stem (Ͱ). From this sign later developed the sign for rough breathing or spiritus asper, which brought back the marking of the IPA: [h] sound into the standardized post-classical (polytonic) orthography.Dionysius Thrax in the second century BC records that the letter name was still pronounced heta (ἥτα), correctly explaining this irregularity by stating "in the old days the letter Η served to stand for the rough breathing, as it still does with the Romans." Long e In the East Ionic dialect, however, the sound IPA: [h] disappeared by the sixth century BC, and the letter was re-used initially to represent a development of a long open front unrounded vowel IPA: [aː], which later merged in East Ionic with the long open-mid front unrounded vowel IPA: [ɛː] instead. In 403 BC, Athens took over the Ionian spelling system and with it the vocalic use of H (even though it still also had the IPA: [h] sound itself at that time). This later became the standard orthography in all of Greece. Itacism During the time of post-classical Koiné Greek, the IPA: [ɛː] sound represented by eta was raised and merged with several other formerly distinct vowels, a phenomenon called iotacism or itacism, after the new pronunciation of the letter name as ita instead of eta. Itacism is continued into Modern Greek, where the letter name is pronounced [ˈita] and represents the close front unrounded vowel IPA: [i]. It shares this function with several other letters (ι, υ) and digraphs (ει, οι), which are all pronounced alike. Cyrillic script Eta was also borrowed with the sound value of [i] into the Cyrillic script, where it gave rise to the Cyrillic letter И. Uses Letter In Modern Greek, due to iotacism, the letter (pronounced [ˈita]) represents a close front unrounded vowel, IPA: [i]. In Classical Greek, it represented the long open-mid front unrounded vowel IPA: [ɛː]. Symbol Upper case The uppercase letter Η is used as a symbol in textual criticism for the Alexandrian text-type (from Hesychius, its once-supposed editor). In chemistry, the letter H as symbol of enthalpy sometimes is said to be a Greek eta, but since enthalpy comes from ἐνθάλπος, which begins in a smooth breathing and epsilon, it is more likely a Latin H for 'heat'. In information theory the uppercase Greek letter Η is used to represent the concept of entropy of a discrete random variable. Lower case The lowercase letter η is used as a symbol in: Thermodynamics, the efficiency of a Carnot heat engine, or packing fraction. Aeronautics, the propulsive efficiency, or percentage of chemical energy converted to kinetic energy. Chemistry, the hapticity, or the number of atoms of a ligand attached to one coordination site of the metal in a coordination compound. For example, an allyl group can coordinate to palladium in the η¹ mode (only one atom of an allyl group attached to palladium) or the η³ mode (3 atoms attached to palladium). Optics, the electromagnetic impedance of a medium, or the quantum efficiency of detectors. Particle physics, to represent the η mesons. Experimental particle physics, η stands for pseudorapidity. Cosmology, η represents conformal time; dt = adη. Cosmology, baryon–photon ratio. Relativity and Quantum field theory (physics), η (with two subscripts) represents the metric tensor of Minkowski space (flat spacetime). Statistics, η2 is the "partial regression coefficient". η is the symbol for the linear predictor of a generalized linear model, and can also be used to denote the median of a population, or thresholding parameter in Sparse Partial Least Squares regression. Economics, η is the elasticity. Astronomy, the seventh-brightest (usually) star in a constellation. See Bayer designation. Mathematics, η-reduction in lambda calculus. Mathematics, the Dirichlet eta function, Dedekind eta function, and Weierstrass eta function. In category theory, the unit of an adjunction or monad is usually denoted η. Biology, a DNA polymerase found in higher eukaryotes and implicated in Translesion Synthesis. Neural network backpropagation, and stochastic gradient descent more generally, η stands for the learning rate. Telecommunications, η stands for efficiency Electronics, η stands for the ideality factor of a bipolar transistor, and has a value close to 1.000. It appears in contexts where the transistor is used as a temperature sensing device, e.g. the thermal "diode" transistor that is embedded within a computer's microprocessor. Power electronics, η stands for the efficiency of a power supply, defined as the output power divided by the input power. Atmospheric science, η represents absolute atmospheric vorticity. Rheology, η represents viscosity. Oceanography, η is the measurement (usually in metres) of sea-level height above or below the mean sea-level at that same location. Character encodings Greek Eta, Coptic Ayta Mathematical Eta These characters are used only as mathematical symbols. Stylized Greek text should be encoded using the normal Greek letters, with markup and formatting to indicate text style. See also Hurricane Eta

Theta (UK: , US: ; uppercase: Θ or ϴ; lowercase: θ or ϑ; Ancient Greek: θῆτα thē̂ta [tʰɛ̂ːta]; Modern: θήτα thī́ta [ˈθita]) is the eighth letter of the Greek alphabet, derived from the Phoenician letter Teth . In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 9. Greek In Ancient Greek, θ represented the aspirated voiceless dental plosive IPA: [t̪ʰ], but in Modern Greek it represents the voiceless dental fricative IPA: [θ]. Forms In its archaic form, θ was written as a cross within a circle (as in the Etruscan or ), and later, as a line or point in circle ( or ). The cursive form ϑ was retained by Unicode as U+03D1 ϑ GREEK THETA SYMBOL, separate from U+03B8 θ GREEK SMALL LETTER THETA. (There is also U+03F4 ϴ GREEK CAPITAL THETA SYMBOL). For the purpose of writing Greek text, the two can be font variants of a single character, but θ and ϑ are also used as distinct symbols in technical and mathematical contexts. Extensive lists of examples follow below at Mathematics and Science. U+03D1 ϑ GREEK THETA SYMBOL (script theta) is also common in biblical and theological usage e.g. πρόϑεσις instead of πρόθεσις (means placing in public or laying out a corpse). Latin In Latin script used for the Gaulish language, theta inspired the tau gallicum (). The phonetic value of the tau gallicum is thought to have been [t͡s]. Theta itself is used alongside Latin letters in Halkomelem, an indigenous North American language. Cyrillic The early Cyrillic letter fita (Ѳ, ѳ) developed from θ. This letter existed in the Russian alphabet until the 1918 Russian orthography reform. International Phonetic Alphabet In the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), [θ] represents the voiceless dental fricative, as in thick or thin. It does not represent the consonant in the, which is the voiced dental fricative. A similar-looking symbol, [ɵ], which is described as a lowercase barred o, indicates in the IPA a close-mid central rounded vowel. Mathematics and Science Lower case The lowercase letter θ is used as a symbol for: A plane angle in geometry An unknown variable in trigonometry The voiceless dental fricative, spelled θ A special function of several complex variables One of the Chebyshev functions in prime number theory The potential temperature in meteorology The score of a test taker in item response theory Theta Type Replication: a type of bacterial DNA replication specific to circular chromosomes Threshold value of an artificial neuron A Bayer designation letter applied to a star in a constellation; usually the eighth star so labelled but not necessarily the eighth-brightest as viewed from Earth The statistical parameter frequently used in writing the likelihood function The Watterson estimator for the population mutation rate in population genetics Indicates a minimum optimum integration level determined by the intersection of GG and LL schedules (The GG-LL schedules are tools used in analyzing the potential benefits of a country pegging their domestic currency to a foreign currency.) The reserve ratio of banks in economic models The ordinal collapsing function developed by Solomon Feferman Heaviside step function In pharmacology, the fraction of ligand bound to a macromolecule based on the Hill Equation Upper case The uppercase letter Θ is used as a symbol for: Dimension of temperature, by SI standard (in italics) Dimensionless temperature in transport phenomena A number equal to every positive number in thetalogy An asymptotically tight bound in the analysis of algorithms (big O notation) A certain ordinal number in set theory Pentaquarks, exotic baryons in particle physics A brain signal frequency (beta, alpha, theta, delta) ranging from 4–8 Hz One of the variables known as "Greeks" in finance, representing time decay of options or the change in the intrinsic value of an option divided by the number of days until the option expires A variable indicating temperature difference in heat transfer Measuring the angle of incident X-ray beam during XRD Symbolism In ancient times, Tau was used as a symbol for life or resurrection, whereas the eighth letter of the Greek alphabet (ninth in the archaic form anciently used for numeration), theta, was considered the symbol of death. A quotation attributed to the ancient Roman author Ennius (though possibly spuriously) said of it: "oh, theta, a letter much unluckier than the others".According to Porphyry of Tyros, the Egyptians used an X within a circle as a symbol of the soul; having a value of nine, it was used as a symbol for Ennead. Johannes Lydus says that the Egyptians used a symbol for Kosmos in the form of theta, with a fiery circle representing the world, and a snake spanning the middle representing Agathos Daimon (literally: good spirit). Abbreviation In classical Athens, it was used as an abbreviation for the Greek θάνατος (Thanatos, "death") and as it vaguely resembles a human skull, theta was used as a warning symbol of death, in the same way that skull and crossbones are used in modern times. It survives on potsherds used by Athenians when voting for the death penalty. Petrus de Dacia in a document from 1291 relates the idea that theta was used to brand criminals as empty ciphers, and the branding rod was affixed to the crossbar spanning the circle. For this reason, the use of the number 9 was sometimes avoided where the connotation was felt to be unlucky—the mint marks of some Late Imperial Roman coins famously have the sum ΔΕ or ΕΔ (delta and epsilon, that is 4 and 5) substituted as a euphemism where a Θ (9) would otherwise be expected. Greek Life The names of many American fraternities and sororities are named with Greek letters, including Theta. Character encodings Greek Theta Coptic ThetheCyrillic Fita Mathematical Theta These characters are used only as mathematical symbols. Stylized Greek text should be encoded using normal Greek letters, with markup and formatting to indicate text style. See also Fita – a letter of the Early Cyrillic alphabet derived from the Greek theta ʘ – Consonantal soundPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets Theta nigrum – Symbol of death Latin theta – Additional letter of the Latin alphabet and references ==

Iota (; uppercase: Ι, lowercase: ι; Greek: ιώτα) is the ninth letter of the Greek alphabet. It was derived from the Phoenician letter Yodh. Letters that arose from this letter include the Latin I and J, the Cyrillic І (І, і), Yi (Ї, ї), and Je (Ј, ј), and iotated letters (e.g. Yu (Ю, ю)). In the system of Greek numerals, iota has a value of 10.Iota represents the close front unrounded vowel IPA: [i]. In early forms of ancient Greek, it occurred in both long [iː] and short [i] versions, but this distinction was lost in Koine Greek. Iota participated as the second element in falling diphthongs, with both long and short vowels as the first element. Where the first element was long, the iota was lost in pronunciation at an early date, and was written in polytonic orthography as iota subscript, in other words as a very small ι under the main vowel. Examples include ᾼ ᾳ ῌ ῃ ῼ ῳ. The former diphthongs became digraphs for simple vowels in Koine Greek.The word is used in a common English phrase, "not one iota", meaning "not the slightest amount". This refers to iota, the smallest letter, or possibly yodh, י, the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet. The English word jot derives from iota. The German, Polish, Portuguese, and Spanish name for the letter J (Jot / jota) is derived from iota. Symbol In some programming languages (e.g., A+, APL, C++, Go), iota (either as the lowercase symbol ⍳ or the identifier iota) is used to represent and generate an array of consecutive integers. For example, in APL ⍳4 gives 1 2 3 4. The lowercase iota symbol is sometimes used to write the imaginary unit, but more often Roman i or j is used. In mathematics, the inclusion map of one space into another is sometimes denoted by the lowercase iota. In logic, the lowercase iota denotes the definite descriptor. The lowercase iota symbol has Unicode code point U+03B9 and the uppercase U+0399. Character encodings Greek Iota / Ypogegrammeni Coptic Iaude Latin Iota Cyrillic Iota Technical Iota Mathematical Iota These characters are used only as mathematical symbols. Stylized Greek text should be encoded using the normal Greek letters, with markup and formatting to indicate text style.

Kappa (; uppercase Κ, lowercase κ or cursive ϰ; Greek: κάππα, káppa) is the tenth letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the voiceless velar plosive IPA: [k] sound in Ancient and Modern Greek. In the system of Greek numerals, Kʹ has a value of 20. It was derived from the Phoenician letter kaph . Letters that arose from kappa include the Roman K and Cyrillic К. The uppercase form is identical to the Latin K. Greek proper names and placenames containing kappa are often written in English with "c" due to the Romans' transliterations into the Latin alphabet: Constantinople, Corinth, Crete. All formal modern romanizations of Greek now use the letter "k", however. The cursive form ϰ is generally a simple font variant of lower-case kappa, but it is encoded separately in Unicode for occasions where it is used as a separate symbol in math and science. In mathematics, the kappa curve is named after this letter; the tangents of this curve were first calculated by Isaac Barrow in the 17th century. Symbol Lowercase (κ) Mathematics and statisticsIn graph theory, the connectivity of a graph is given by κ. In differential geometry, the curvature of a curve is given by κ. In linear algebra, the condition number of a matrix is given by κ. Kappa statistics such as Cohen's kappa and Fleiss' kappa are methods for calculating inter-rater reliability.PhysicsIn cosmology, the Einstein gravitational constant is denoted by κ. In physics, the torsional constant of an oscillator is given by κ. In physics, the coupling coefficient in magnetostatics is represented by κ. In physics, the dielectric coefficient is represented by κ. In fluid dynamics, the von Kármán constant is represented by κ. In thermodynamics, the compressibility of a compound is given by κ.EngineeringIn structural engineering, κ is the ratio of the smaller factored moment to the larger factored moment and is used to calculate the critical elastic moment of an unbraced steel member. In electrical engineering, κ is the multiplication factor, a function of the R/X ratio of the equivalent power system network, which is used in calculating the peak short-circuit current of a system fault. κ is also used to denote conductivity, the reciprocal of resistivity, rho.Biology and biomedical scienceIn biology, kappa and kappa prime are important nucleotide motifs for a tertiary interaction of group II introns. In biology, kappa designates a subtype of an antibody component. In pharmacology, kappa represents a type of opioid receptor.Psychology and psychiatryIn psychology and psychiatry, kappa represents a measure of diagnostic reliability.EconomicsIn macroeconomics, kappa represents the capital-utilization rate. Uppercase (Κ) HistoryIn textual criticism, the Byzantine text-type (from Κοινη, Koine, the common text).Mathematics and statisticsIn set theory, kappa is often used to denote an ordinal that is also a cardinal.ChemistryIn chemistry, kappa is used to denote the denticity of the compound. In pulping, the kappa number represents the amount of an oxidizing agent required for bleaching a pulp. Character encodings Mathematical Kappa These characters are used only as mathematical symbols. Stylized Greek text should be encoded using the normal Greek letters, with markup and formatting to indicate text style.

Lambda (; uppercase Λ, lowercase λ; Greek: λάμ(β)δα, lám(b)da) is the eleventh letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the voiced alveolar lateral approximant IPA: [l]. In the system of Greek numerals, lambda has a value of 30. Lambda is derived from the Phoenician Lamed . Lambda gave rise to the Latin L and the Cyrillic El (Л). The ancient grammarians and dramatists give evidence to the pronunciation as [laːbdaː] (λάβδα) in Classical Greek times. In Modern Greek, the name of the letter, Λάμδα, is pronounced [ˈlam.ða]. In early Greek alphabets, the shape and orientation of lambda varied. Most variants consisted of two straight strokes, one longer than the other, connected at their ends. The angle might be in the upper-left, lower-left ("Western" alphabets) or top ("Eastern" alphabets). Other variants had a vertical line with a horizontal or sloped stroke running to the right. With the general adoption of the Ionic alphabet, Greek settled on an angle at the top; the Romans put the angle at the lower-left. The HTML 4 character entity references for the Greek capital and small letter lambda are Λ and λ respectively. The Unicode code points for lambda are U+039B and U+03BB. Symbol Upper-case letter Λ Examples of the symbolic use of uppercase lambda include: The lambda particle is a type of subatomic particle in subatomic particle physics. Lambda is the set of logical axioms in the axiomatic method of logical deduction in first-order logic. There is a poetical allusion to the use of Lambda as a shield blazon by the Spartans. Lambda is the von Mangoldt function in mathematical number theory. Lambda denotes the de Bruijn–Newman constant which is closely connected with Riemann's hypothesis. In statistics, lambda is used for the likelihood ratio. In statistics, Wilks's lambda is used in multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA analysis) to compare group means on a combination of dependent variables. In the spectral decomposition of matrices, lambda indicates the diagonal matrix of the eigenvalues of the matrix. In computer science, lambda is the time window over which a process is observed for determining the working memory set for a digital computer's virtual memory management. In astrophysics, lambda represents the likelihood that a small body will encounter a planet or a dwarf planet leading to a deflection of a significant magnitude. An object with a large value of lambda is expected to have cleared its neighbourhood, satisfying the current definition of a planet. In crystal optics, lambda is used to represent a lattice period. In NATO military operations, a chevron (a heraldic symbol which looks like a capital letter lambda or inverted V) is painted on the vehicles of this military alliance for identification. In electrochemistry, lambda denotes the "equivalent conductance" of an electrolyte solution. In cosmology, lambda is the symbol for the cosmological constant, a term added to some dynamical equations to account for the accelerating expansion of the universe. In optics, lambda denotes the grating pitch of a Bragg reflector. Also in optics, it denotes wavelength of light. In politics, the lambda is the symbol of Identitarianism, a white nationalist movement that originated in France before spreading out to the rest of Europe and later on to North America, Australia and New Zealand. The Identitarian lambda represents the Battle of Thermopylae. Lower-case letter λ Examples of the symbolic use of lowercase lambda include: Lambda indicates the wavelength of any wave, especially in physics, electronic engineering, and mathematics. In evolutionary algorithms, λ indicates the number of offspring that would be generated from μ current population in each generation. The terms μ and λ are originated from Evolution strategy notation. Lambda indicates the radioactivity decay constant in nuclear physics and radioactivity. This constant is very simply related (by a multiplicative constant) to the half-life of any radioactive material. In probability theory, lambda represents the density of occurrences within a time interval, as modelled by the Poisson distribution. In mathematical logic and computer science, lambda is used to introduce anonymous functions expressed with the concepts of lambda calculus. Lambda indicates an eigenvalue in the mathematics of linear algebra. In the physics of particles, lambda indicates the thermal de Broglie wavelength In the physics of electric fields, lambda sometimes indicates the linear charge density of a uniform line of electric charge (measured in coulombs per meter). Lambda denotes a Lagrange multiplier in multi-dimensional calculus. In solid-state electronics, lambda indicates the channel length modulation parameter of a MOSFET. In ecology, lambda denotes the long-term intrinsic growth rate of a population. This value is often calculated as the dominant eigenvalue of the age/size class matrix. In formal language theory and in computer science, lambda denotes the empty string. Lambda is a nonstandard symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet for the voiced alveolar lateral affricate [dɮ]. Lambda denotes the Lebesgue measure in mathematical set theory. The Goodman and Kruskal's lambda in statistics indicates the proportional reduction in error when one variable's values are used to predict the values of another variable. Lambda denotes the oxygen sensor in a vehicle that measures the air-to-fuel ratio in the exhaust gases of an internal-combustion engine. A Lambda 4S solid-fuel rocket was used to launch Japan's first orbital satellite in 1970. Lambda denotes the failure rate of devices and systems in reliability theory, and it is measured in failure events per hour. Numerically, this lambda is also the reciprocal of the mean time between failures. In criminology, lambda denotes an individual's frequency of offences. In electrochemistry, lambda also denotes the ionic conductance of a given ion (the composition of the ion is generally shown as a subscript to the lambda character). In neurobiology, lambda denotes the length constant (or exponential rate of decay) of the electric potential across the cell membrane along a length of a nerve cell's axon. In the science and technology of heat transfer, lambda denotes the heat of vaporization per mole of material (a.k.a. its "latent heat"). In the technology and science of celestial navigation, lambda denotes the longitude as opposed to the Roman letter "L", which denotes the latitude. A block style lambda is used as a recurring symbol in the Valve computer game series Half-Life, referring to the Lambda Complex of the fictional Black Mesa Research Facility, as well as making appearances in the sequel Half-Life 2, and its subsequent prequel Half-Life: Alyx as an in universe symbol of resistance. In 1970, a lowercase lambda was chosen by Tom Doerr as the symbol of the New York chapter of the Gay Activists Alliance. The lambda symbol became associated with Gay Liberation and recognized as an LGBT symbol for some time afterwards, being used as such by the International Gay Rights Congress in Edinburgh. Litra symbol The Roman libra and Byzantine lítra (λίτρα), which served as both the pound mass unit and liter volume unit, were abbreviated in Greek using lambda with modified forms of the iota subscript ⟨λͅ⟩. These are variously encoded in Unicode. The Ancient Greek Numbers Unicode block includes 10183 GREEK LITRA SIGN (𐆃) as well as 𐅢, which is described as 10162 GREEK ACROPHONIC HERMIONIAN TEN but was much more common as a form of the litra sign. A variant of the sign can be formed from 0338 COMBINING LONG SOLIDUS OVERLAY and either 039B GREEK CAPITAL LETTER LAMDA (Λ̸) or 03BB GREEK SMALL LETTER LAMDA (λ̸). Character encodings Unicode uses the (Modern Greek-based) spelling "lamda" in character names, instead of "lambda", due to "the pre-existing names in ISO 8859-7, as well as preferences expressed by the Greek National Body". Greek Lambda / Coptic Laula Mathematical Lambda These characters are used only as mathematical symbols. Stylized Greek text should be encoded using the normal Greek letters, with markup and formatting to indicate text style. Barred lambda - ƛ El (Cyrillic) – Л, л Fraser alphabet#Consonants Greek letters used in mathematics, science, and engineering

Mu (uppercase Μ, lowercase μ; Ancient Greek μῦ [mŷː], Greek: μι or μυ—both [mi]) is the twelfth letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the voiced bilabial nasal IPA: [m]. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 40. Mu was derived from the Egyptian hieroglyphic symbol for water, which had been simplified by the Phoenicians and named after their word for water, to become 𐤌img (mem). Letters that derive from mu include the Roman M and the Cyrillic М, though the lowercase resembles a small Latin U (μ). Names Ancient Greek In Ancient Greek, the name of the letter was written μῦ and pronounced [mŷː] Modern Greek In Modern Greek, the letter is spelled μι and pronounced [mi]. In polytonic orthography, it is written with an acute accent: μί. Use as symbol The lowercase letter mu (μ) is used as a special symbol in many academic fields. Uppercase mu is not used, because it appears identical to Latin M. Prefix for units of measurement "μ" is used as a unit prefix denoting a factor of 10−6 (one millionth), in this context, the symbol its name is "micro". Metric prefix International System of Units prefix, also known as "SI prefix" The micrometre with symbol "μm", can also referred to as the non-SI term "micron". Mathematics "μ" is conventionally used to denote certain things; however, any Greek letter or other symbol may be used freely as a variable name. a measure in measure theory minimalization in computability theory and Recursion theory the integrating factor in ordinary differential equations the degree of membership in a fuzzy set the Möbius function in number theory the population mean or expected value in probability and statistics the Ramanujan–Soldner constant Physics and engineering In classical physics and engineering: the coefficient of friction (also used in aviation as braking coefficient (see Braking action)) reduced mass in the two-body problem Standard gravitational parameter in celestial mechanics linear density, or mass per unit length, in strings and other one-dimensional objects permeability in electromagnetism the magnetic dipole moment of a current-carrying coil dynamic viscosity in fluid mechanics the amplification factor or voltage gain of a triode vacuum tube the electrical mobility of a charged particle the rotor advance ratio, the ratio of aircraft airspeed to rotor-tip speed in rotorcraft the pore water pressure in saturated soilIn particle physics: the elementary particles called the muon and antimuon the proton-to-electron mass ratioIn thermodynamics: the chemical potential of a system or component of a system Computer science In evolutionary algorithms: μ, population size from which in each generation λ offspring will generate (the terms μ and λ originate from evolution strategy notation)In type theory: Used to introduce a recursive data type. For example, list ( τ ) = μ α .1 + τ α {\displaystyle {\text{list}}(\tau )=\mu {}\alpha {}.1+\tau {}\alpha } is the type of lists with elements of type τ {\displaystyle \tau } (a type variable): a sum of unit, representing nil, with a pair of a τ {\displaystyle \tau } and another list ( τ ) {\displaystyle {\text{list}}(\tau )} (represented by α {\displaystyle \alpha } ). In this notation, μ {\displaystyle \mu } is a binding form, where the variable ( α {\displaystyle \alpha } ) introduced by μ {\displaystyle \mu } is bound within the following term ( 1 + τ α {\displaystyle 1+\tau {}\alpha } ) to the term itself. Via substitution and arithmetic, the type expands to 1 + τ + τ 2 + τ 3 + ⋯ {\displaystyle 1+\tau +\tau ^{2}+\tau ^{3}+\cdots } , an infinite sum of ever-increasing products of τ {\displaystyle \tau } (that is, a τ list {\displaystyle \tau {}{\text{ list}}} is any k {\displaystyle k} -tuple of values of type τ {\displaystyle \tau } for any k ≥ 0 {\displaystyle k\geq 0} ). Another way to express the same type is list ( τ ) = 1 + τ list ( τ ) {\displaystyle {\text{list}}(\tau )=1+\tau {}{\text{list}}(\tau )} . Chemistry In chemistry: the prefix given in IUPAC nomenclature for a bridging ligand Biology In biology: the mutation rate in population genetics A class of Immunoglobulin heavy chain that defines IgM type Antibodies Pharmacology In pharmacology: an important opiate receptor Orbital mechanics In orbital mechanics: Standard gravitational parameter of a celestial body, the product of the gravitational constant G and the mass M planetary discriminant, represents an experimental measure of the actual degree of cleanliness of the orbital zone, a criterion for defining a planet. The value of μ is calculated by dividing the mass of the candidate body by the total mass of the other objects that share its orbital zone. Music Mu chord Electronic musician Mike Paradinas runs the label Planet Mu which utilizes the letter as its logo, and releases music under the pseudonym μ-Ziq, pronounced "music" Used as the name of the school idol group μ's, pronounced "muse", consisting of nine singing idols in the anime Love Live! School Idol Project Official fandom name of Kpop group f(x), appearing as either MeU or 'μ' Hip-hop artist Muonboy has taken inspiration from the particle for his stage name and his first EP named Mu uses the letter as its title. Cameras The Olympus Corporation manufactures a series of digital cameras called Olympus μ [mju:] (known as Olympus Stylus in North America) Linguistics In phonology: moraIn syntax: μP (mu phrase) can be used as the name for a functional projection.In Celtic linguistics: /μ/ can represent an Old Irish nasalized labial fricative of uncertain articulation, the ancestor of the sound represented by Modern Irish mh. Character encodings Greek Mu / Coptic Mu Mathematical Mu These characters are used only as mathematical symbols. Stylized Greek text should be encoded using the normal Greek letters, with markup and formatting to indicate text style. Image list for readers with font problems ^ Greek letters used in mathematics, science, and engineering Fraser alphabet#Consonants

Nu (Greek: νι ni [ni]) is the thirteenth letter of the Greek alphabet (uppercase Ν, lowercase ν), representing the voiced alveolar nasal IPA: [n]. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 50. It is derived from the ancient Phoenician language nun . Its Latin equivalent is N, though the lowercase ( ν {\displaystyle \nu } ) resembles the Roman lowercase v. The name of the letter is written νῦ in Ancient Greek and traditional Modern Greek polytonic orthography, while in Modern Greek it is written νι [ni]. Letters that arose from nu include Roman N and Cyrillic Н. Symbology Like Mu, the uppercase Nu is normally identical to Latin N and is therefore not used internationally in scientific or mathematical contexts. The lower-case letter ν is used as a symbol for: Mathematics: Degree of freedom in statistics. The greatest fixed point of a function, as commonly used in the μ-calculus. Free names of a process, as used in the π-calculus. One of the Greeks in mathematical finance, known as "vega". The reciprocal of 1 plus the interest rate in finance. The p-adic valuation or p-adic order of a number. Physics: Kinematic viscosity in fluid mechanics. The frequency of a wave in physics and other fields; sometimes also spatial frequency; wavenumber The specific volume in thermodynamics. Poisson's ratio, the ratio of strains perpendicular with and parallel with an applied force. Any of three kinds of neutrino in particle physics. The number of neutrons released per fission of an atom in nuclear physics. Molecular vibrational mode, νx where x is the number of the vibration (a label). The true anomaly, an angular parameter that defines the position of a body moving along an orbit (see orbital elements). Biology: A DNA polymerase found in higher eukaryotes and implicated in translesion synthesis. Chemistry: The stoichiometric coefficient. Psychology: The maximum conditioning possible for an unconditioned stimulus in the Rescorla-Wagner model. Character encodings Greek Nu/Coptic Ni Encodings of Greek Nu and Coptic Ni. BBX Mathematical Nu These characters are used only as mathematical symbols. Stylized Greek text should be encoded using the normal Greek letters, with markup and formatting to indicate text style. Movable nu N, v

Xi is the fourteenth letter of the Greek alphabet (uppercase Ξ, lowercase ξ; Greek: ξι), representing the voiceless consonant cluster [ks]. Its name is pronounced [ksi] in Modern Greek, and generally or in English. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 60. Xi was derived from the Phoenician letter samekh . Xi is distinct from the letter chi, which gave its form to the Latin letter X. Greek Both in classical Ancient Greek and in Modern Greek, the letter Ξ represents the consonant cluster /ks/. In some archaic local variants of the Greek alphabet, this letter was missing. Instead, especially in the dialects of most of the Greek mainland and Euboea, the cluster /ks/ was represented by Χ (which in classical Greek is chi, used for /kʰ/). Because this variant of the Greek alphabet was used in Magna Graecia (the Greek colonies in Sicily and the southern part of the Italian peninsula), the Latin alphabet borrowed Χ rather than Ξ as the Latin letter that represented the /ks/ cluster that was also present in Latin. Cyrillic The Xi was adopted into the early Cyrillic alphabet, as the letter ksi (Ѯ, ѯ). Mathematics and science Uppercase The uppercase letter Ξ is used as a symbol in various contexts. Pure mathematics Harish-Chandra's Ξ function in harmonic analysis and representation theory The Riemann Xi function in analytic number theory and complex analysis Physics The "cascade particles" in particle physics The partition function under the grand canonical ensemble in statistical mechanics Other uses Indicating "no change of state" in Z notation in computing Monetary units of the cryptocurrencies Ether (and less commonly ETC), equal to 1018 Wei Lowercase The lowercase letter ξ is used as a symbol for: Pure mathematics Random variables A parameter in a generalized Pareto distribution The symmetric function equation of the Riemann zeta function in mathematics, also known as the Riemann Xi function A universal set in set theory A number used in the remainder term of Taylor's theorem that falls between the limits a and b A number used in error approximations for formulas that are applications of Taylor's theorem, such as Newton–Cotes formulas Physics and astronomy In fluid dynamics, the Iribarren parameter. The initial mass function in astronomy. The correlation function in astronomy. Spatial frequency; also sometimes temporal frequency. A small displacement in MHD plasma stability theory The x-coordinate of computational space as used in computational fluid dynamics Potential difference in physics (in volts) The radial integral in the spin-orbit matrix operator in atomic physics. The Killing vector in general relativity. Average logarithmic energy decrement per collision (neutron calculations in nuclear physics) Pippard's cohesion length in superconductors The diameter of a crystal nucleus in nucleation theory Microturbulence velocity in a stellar atmosphere The dimensionless longitudinal momentum loss of a beam particle after a two-body interaction in accelerator physics. Dimensionless distance variable used in the Lane–Emden equation Other uses Propositional variables in some philosophical works, first found in Wittgenstein's Tractatus Extent of reaction, a concept in physical chemistry used often in chemical engineering kinetics and thermochemistry Unknown stereochemistry or stereocentre configuration in a planar ring system in organic chemistry, as well as uppercase Xi for unknown R/S/E/Z configuration in general One of the two different polypeptide chains of the human embryonic hemoglobin types Hb-Portland (ξ2γ2) and Hb-Gower I (ξ2ε2) A parameter denoted as warped time used to derive the equations for homogeneous azeotropic distillation State Price Density in mathematical finance The information vector in the Information Filter, GraphSLAM, and a number of other algorithms used for robot localization and robotic mapping. Used in Support Vector machines in cases where the data is not linearly separable. Used in Microelectronics to represent the distance from a p-n junction to a point in the depletion region where the electric field is strongest. Character encodings Greek Xi / Coptic Ksi Unicode Code Charts: Greek and Coptic (Range: 0370-03FF) Mathematical Xi The following characters are used only as mathematical symbols. Stylized Greek text should be encoded using the normal Greek letters, with markup and formatting to indicate text style. Other uses Media related to Xi (letter) at Wikimedia CommonsUppercase Ξ is used as an 'E' to stylise company names/logos like Razer (styled as RΛZΞR), Tesla (styled as TΞSLA), musician Banners (styled as BANNΞRS), and in South Korean boy group ZE:A's newest logo (styled as "ZΞA") (Compare: Heavy Metal umlaut; Faux Cyrillic)

Omicron (; uppercase Ο, lowercase ο, Greek: όμικρον) is the fifteenth letter of the Greek alphabet. This letter is derived from the Phoenician letter ayin: . In classical Greek, omicron represented the close-mid back rounded vowel IPA: [o] in contrast to omega which represented the open-mid back rounded vowel IPA: [ɔː] and the digraph ου which represented the long close-mid back rounded vowel IPA: [oː]. In modern Greek, both omicron and omega represent the mid back rounded vowel IPA: [o̞] or IPA: [ɔ̝]. Letters that arose from omicron include Roman O and Cyrillic O. The word literally means "little O" (o mikron) as opposed to "great O" (ō mega). In the system of Greek numerals, omicron has a value of 70. Use In addition to its use as an alphabetic letter, omicron is occasionally used in technical notation, but its use is limited since both upper case and lower case (Ο ο) are indistinguishable from the Latin letter "o" (O o) and difficult to distinguish from the Arabic numeral "zero" (0). Mathematics The big-O symbol introduced by Paul Bachmann in 1894 and popularized by Edmund Landau in 1909, originally standing for "order of" ("Ordnung") and being thus a Latin letter, was apparently viewed by Donald Knuth in 1976 as a capital Omicron, probably in reference to his definition of the symbol (capital) Omega. Neither Bachmann nor Landau ever call it "Omicron", and the word "Omicron" appears just once in Knuth's paper: in the title. Greek numerals There were several systems for writing numbers in Greek; the most common form used in late classical era used omicron (either upper or lower case) to represent the value 70. More generally, the letter omicron is used to mark the fifteenth ordinal position in any Greek-alphabet marked list. So, for example, in Euclid's Elements, when various points in a geometric diagram are marked with letters, it is effectively the same as marking them with numbers, each letter representing the number of its place in the standard alphabet. Astronomy Omicron is used to designate the fifteenth star in a constellation group, its ordinal placement an irregular function of both magnitude and position. Such stars include Omicron Andromedae, Omicron Ceti, and Omicron Persei. In Claudius Ptolemy's (c. 100–170) Almagest, tables of sexagesimal numbers 1 ... 59 are represented in the conventional manner for Greek numbers: ′α ′β ... ′νη ′νθ . Since the letter omicron [which represents 70 (′ο) in the standard system] is not used in sexagesimal, it is re-purposed to represent an empty number cell. In some copies, zero cells were just left blank (nothing there, value is zero), but to avoid copying errors, positively marking a zero cell with omicron was preferred, for the same reason that blank cells in modern tables are sometimes filled-in with a long dash (—). Both an omicron and a dash imply that "this isn't a mistake, the cell is actually supposed to be empty". By coincidence, the ancient zero-value omicron (′ο) resembles a modern Hindu-Arabic zero (0). Medicine The World Health Organization (WHO) uses the Greek alphabet to describe variants of concern of SARS‑CoV‑2, the virus which causes COVID-19. On November 26, 2021, Omicron was assigned to the B.1.1.529 variant of concern. History In the earliest Greek inscriptions, only five vowel letters A E I O Y were used. Vowel length was undifferentiated, with O representing both the short vowel /o/ and the long vowels /o:/ and /ɔː/.(p 19) Later, in classical Attic Greek orthography, the three vowels were represented differently, with O representing short /o/, the new letter Ω representing long /ɔː/, and the so-called "spurious diphthong" OY representing long /o:/.(pp 56, 71)Although the Greeks took the character O from the Phoenician letter `ayin, they did not borrow its Phoenician name. Instead, the name of the letter O in classical Attic times was simply the long version of its characteric sound: οὖ (pronounced /o:/) (that of Ω was likewise ὦ). By the second and third centuries CE, distinctions between long and short vowels began to disappear in pronunciation, leading to confusion between O and Ω in spelling. It was at this time that the new names of ὂ μικρόν ("small O") for O ὦ μέγα ("great O") for Ω were introduced. Mispronunciation During the early outbreak of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, many people unfamiliar with the entire Greek Alphabet (or simply lacking the ability to pronounce or sound out words using phonetics) mispronounced Omicron as “Omnicron” due to the unfamiliarity of the letter, and the use of the prefix “Omni-“ in many words. Character encodings Greek omicron / Coptic OMathematical omicronThese characters are used only as mathematical symbols. Stylized Greek text should be encoded using the normal Greek letters, with markup and formatting to indicate text style. Footnotes The dictionary definition of Ο at Wiktionary The dictionary definition of ο at Wiktionary

Rho (uppercase Ρ, lowercase ρ or ϱ; Greek: ρο or ρω) is the seventeenth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 100. It is derived from Phoenician letter res . Its uppercase form uses the same glyph, Ρ, as the distinct Latin letter P; the two letters have different Unicode encodings. Uses Greek Rho is classed as a liquid consonant (together with Lambda and sometimes the nasals Mu and Nu), which has important implications for morphology. In both Ancient and Modern Greek, it represents a alveolar trill IPA: [r], alveolar tap IPA: [ɾ], or alveolar approximant IPA: [ɹ]. In polytonic orthography, a rho at the beginning of a word is written with a rough breathing, equivalent to h (ῥ rh), and a double rho within a word is written with a smooth breathing over the first rho and a rough breathing over the second (ῤῥ rrh). That apparently reflected an aspirated or voiceless pronunciation in Ancient Greek, which led to the various Greek-derived English words starting with rh or containing rrh. The name of the letter is written in Greek as ῥῶ (polytonic) or ρω/ρο (monotonic). Other alphabets Letters that arose from rho include Roman R and Cyrillic Er (Р). Mathematics and science The characters ρ and ϱ are also conventionally used outside the Greek alphabetical context in science and mathematics. In the physical sciences to represent: Densities: mass density, air density or charge density (ρ) Resistivity (ρ) Rho meson (ρ+, ρ−, ρ0) General quantum states Hammett Equation, ρ is used to represent the reaction constant, this is independent of the position and nature of the substituents of the benzene ring. In mathematics to represent: A length coordinate in polar, cylindrical, spherical, and toroidal coordinate systems, and toroidal and poloidal coordinates of the Earth's magnetic field. The correlation coefficient of a population parameter The spectral radius of a matrix A {\displaystyle A} denoted as ρ ( A ) {\displaystyle \rho (A)} The plastic number The prime constant The sensitivity to interest rates of a pricing function The expected return of a given policy ( π {\displaystyle \pi } ) in reinforcement learning, denoted ρ π {\displaystyle \rho ^{\pi }} In economics to represent the discount rate of future pence cash flows In molecular biology to represent the Rho protein responsible for termination of RNA synthesis. In such occasions, it is often represented as U+03F1 ϱ GREEK RHO SYMBOL, to avoid confusion with the Latin letter p In molecular biology to represent the Rho family of GTPases, important for cytoskeletal dynamic regulation. In ecology to represent the population damping ratio where ρ = λ1 / |λ2|. In computer programming The lower-case rho "⍴" means reshape in the APL programming language, and by extension also queries shape The lower-case rho "ρ" is used for the unary rename operation in relational algebra In statistics to represent Spearman's rank correlation coefficient, commonly known as Spearman's rho In options theory to represent the rate of change of a portfolio with respect to interest rates Chi Rho The letter rho overlaid with chi forms the Chi Rho symbol, used to represent Jesus Christ. Rho with stroke (ϼ) The rho with a stroke through its tail is used for abbreviations involving rho, most notably in γϼ for γράμμα as a unit of measurement. Character encodings Greek rho Greek rho symbols Coptic ro Functional symbol Mathematical rho These characters are used only as mathematical symbols. Stylized Greek text should be encoded using the normal Greek letters, with markup and formatting to indicate text style. See also Р, р - Er (Cyrillic) R, r - Latin P, p - Latin

Sigma ( SIG-mə; uppercase Σ, lowercase σ, lowercase in word-final position ς; Greek: σίγμα) is the eighteenth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 200. In general mathematics, uppercase Σ is used as an operator for summation. When used at the end of a letter-case word (one that does not use all caps), the final form (ς) is used. In Ὀδυσσεύς (Odysseus), for example, the two lowercase sigmas (σ) in the center of the name are distinct from the word-final sigma (ς) at the end. The Latin letter S derives from sigma while the Cyrillic letter Es derives from a lunate form of this letter. History The shape (Σς) and alphabetic position of sigma is derived from the Phoenician letter (shin). Sigma's original name may have been san, but due to the complicated early history of the Greek epichoric alphabets, san came to be identified as a separate letter in the Greek alphabet, represented as Ϻ.Herodotus reports that "san" was the name given by the Dorians to the same letter called "sigma" by the Ionians.According to one hypothesis, the name "sigma" may continue that of Phoenician samekh (), the letter continued through Greek xi, represented as Ξ. Alternatively, the name may have been a Greek innovation that simply meant 'hissing', from the root of σίζω (sízō, from Proto-Greek *sig-jō 'I hiss'). Lunate sigma In handwritten Greek during the Hellenistic period (4th–3rd century BC), the epigraphic form of Σ was simplified into a C-like shape, which has also been found on coins from the 4th century BC onward. This became the universal standard form of sigma during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Today, it is known as lunate sigma (uppercase Ϲ, lowercase ϲ), because of its crescent-like shape, and is still widely used in decorative typefaces in Greece, especially in religious and church contexts, as well as in some modern print editions of classical Greek texts. A dotted lunate sigma (sigma periestigmenon, Ͼ) was used by Aristarchus of Samothrace (220–143 BC) as an editorial sign indicating that the line marked as such is at an incorrect position. Similarly, a reversed sigma (antisigma, Ͻ), may mark a line that is out of place. A dotted antisigma (antisigma periestigmenon, Ͽ) may indicate a line after which rearrangements should be made, or to variant readings of uncertain priority. In Greek inscriptions from the late first century BC onwards, Ͻ was an abbreviation indicating that a man's father's name is the same as his own name, thus Dionysodoros son of Dionysodoros would be written Διονυσόδωρος Ͻ (Dionysodoros Dionysodorou).In Unicode, the above variations of lunate sigma are encoded as U+03F9 Ϲ ; U+03FD Ͻ , U+03FE Ͼ , and U+03FF Ͽ . Derived alphabets Sigma was adopted in the Old Italic alphabets beginning in the 8th century BC. At that time a simplified three-stroke version, omitting the lowermost stroke, was already found in Western Greek alphabets, and was incorporated into classical Etruscan and Oscan, as well as in the earliest Latin epigraphy (early Latin S), such as the Duenos inscription. The alternation between three and four (and occasionally more than four) strokes was also adopted into the early runic alphabet (early form of the s-rune). Both the Anglo-Saxon runes and the Younger Futhark consistently use the simplified three-stroke version. The letter С of Cyrillic script originates in the lunate form of Sigma. Uses Language and linguistics In both Ancient and Modern Greek, the sigma represents the voiceless alveolar fricative [s]. In Modern Greek, this sound is voiced to the voiced alveolar fricative [z] when occurring before [m], [n], [v], [ð] or [ɣ]. The uppercase form of sigma (Σ) was re-borrowed into the Latin alphabet—more precisely, the International African Alphabet—to serve as the uppercase of modern esh (lowercase: ʃ). In phonology, σ is used to represent syllables. In linguistics, Σ represents the set of symbols that form an alphabet (see also computer science). In historical linguistics, Σ is used to represent a Common Brittonic consonant with a sound between [s] and [h]; perhaps an aspirated [ʃʰ]. Science and mathematics Mathematics In general mathematics, lowercase σ is commonly used to represent unknown angles, as well as serving as a shorthand for "countably", whereas Σ is regularly used as the operator for summation, e.g.: In mathematical logic, Σ n 0 {\displaystyle \Sigma _{n}^{0}} is used to denote the set of formulae with bounded quantifiers beginning with existential quantifiers, alternating n − 1 {\displaystyle n-1} times between existential and universal quantifiers. This notation reflects an indirect analogy between the relationship of summation and products on one hand, and existential and universal quantifiers on the other. See the article on the arithmetic hierarchy. In statistics, σ represents the standard deviation of population or probability distribution (where mu or μ is used for the mean). In topology, σ-compact topological space is one that can be written as a countable union of compact subsets. In mathematical analysis and in probability theory, there is a type of algebra of sets known as σ-algebra (aka σ-field). Sigma algebra also includes terms such as: σ(A), denoting the generated sigma-algebra of a set A Σ-finite measure (see measure theory) In number theory, σ is included in various divisor functions, especially the sigma function or sum-of-divisors function. In applied mathematics, σ(T) denotes the spectrum of a linear map T. In complex analysis, σ is used in the Weierstrass sigma-function. In probability theory and statistics, Σ denotes the covariance matrix of a set of random variables, sometimes in the form | Σ {\displaystyle \;|\!\!\!\Sigma } to distinguish it from the summation operator. Theoretical spectral analysis uses σ as standard deviation opposed to lowercase mu as the absolute mean value. Biology, physiology, and medicine In biology, the sigma receptor (σ–receptors) is a type of cell surface receptor. In biochemistry, the σ factor (or specificity factor) is a protein found in RNA polymerase. In bone physiology, the bone remodeling period—i.e., the life span of a basic multicellular unit—has historically been referred to as the sigma period In early 20th-century physiology literature, σ had been used to represent milliseconds Business, finance, and economics In finance, σ is the symbol used to represent volatility of stocks, usually measured by the standard deviation of logarithmic returns. In accounting, Σ indicates the balance of invoice classes and the overall amount of debts and demands. In macroeconomics, σ is used in equations to represent the elasticity of substitution between two inputs. In the machine industry, Six Sigma (6σ) is a quality model based on the standard deviation. Chemistry Sigma bonds (σ bonds) are the strongest type of covalent chemical bond. In organic chemistry, σ symbolizes the sigma constant of Hammett equation. In alchemy, Σ was sometimes used to represent sugar. Engineering and computer science In computer science, Σ represents the set of symbols that form an alphabet (see also linguistics) Relational algebra uses the values σ a θ b ( R ) {\displaystyle \sigma _{a\theta b}(R)} and σ a θ v ( R ) {\displaystyle \sigma _{a\theta v}(R)} to denote selections, which are a type of unary operation. In machine learning, σ is used in the formula that derives the Sigmoid function. In radar jamming or electronic warfare, radar cross-sections (RCS) are commonly represented as σ when measuring the size of a target's image on radar. In signal processing, σ denotes the damping ratio of a system parameter. In theoretical computer science, Σ serves as the busy beaver function. In civil engineering, σ refers to the normal stress applied on a material or structure. Physics In nuclear and particle physics, σ is used to denote cross sections in general (see also RCS), while Σ represents macroscopic cross sections [1/length]. The symbol is to denote the Stefan–Boltzmann constant. In relation to fundamental properties of material, σ is often used to signify electrical conductivity. In electrostatics, σ represents surface charge density. In continuum mechanics, σ is used to signify stress. In condensed matter physics, Σ denotes self-energy. The symbol can be used to signify surface tension (alternatively, γ or T are also used instead). In quantum mechanics, σ is used to indicate Pauli matrices. In astronomy, σ represents velocity dispersion. In astronomy, the prefix Σ is used to designate double stars of the Catalogus Novus Stellarum Duplicium by Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve. In particle physics, Σ represents a class of baryons. Organizations During the 1930s, an uppercase Σ was in use as the symbol of the Ação Integralista Brasileira, a fascist political party in Brazil. Sigma Corporation uses the name of the letter but not the letter itself, but in many Internet forums, photographers refer to the company or its lenses using the letter. Sigma Aldrich incorporate both the name and the character in their logo. Character encoding Greek sigma Coptic sima Mathematical sigma These characters are used only as mathematical symbols. Stylized Greek text should be encoded using the normal Greek letters, with markup and formatting to indicate text style. See also Antisigma Greek letters used in mathematics, science, and engineering Sampi Sho (letter) Stigma (letter) Sibilant consonant Summation (Σ) Combining form "sigm-" (e.g. sigmodon, sigmurethra, etc.) Derivative "sigmoid" (e.g. sigmoid sinus, sigmoid colon, sigmoidoscopy, etc.) ==

Tau (uppercase Τ, lowercase τ, or τ {\displaystyle {\boldsymbol {\tau }}} ; Greek: ταυ [taf]) is the nineteenth letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the voiceless dental or alveolar plosive IPA: [t]. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 300. The name in English is pronounced or , but in Greek it is [taf]. This is because the pronunciation of the combination of Greek letters αυ can have the pronunciation of either [ai], [av] or [af], depending on what follows and if a diaeresis is present on the second vowel (see Greek orthography). Tau was derived from the Phoenician letter taw (𐤕). Letters that arose from tau include Roman T and Cyrillic Te (Т, т). The letter occupies the Unicode slots U+03C4 (lowercase) and U+03A4 (uppercase). In HTML, they can be produced with named entities (τ and Τ), decimal references (τ and Τ), or hexadecimal references (τ and Τ). Modern usage The lower-case letter τ is used as a symbol for: Specific tax amount Biology The expressed period of the freerunning rhythm of an animal, i.e., the length of the daily cycle of an animal when kept in constant light or constant darkness The dose interval in pharmacokinetics The core variable in general tau theory Tau in biochemistry, a protein associated with microtubules and implicated in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, some forms of frontotemporal lobar degeneration, and chronic traumatic encephalopathy Mathematics Divisor function in number theory, also denoted d or σ0 Golden ratio (1.618...), although φ (phi) is more common Kendall tau rank correlation coefficient in statistics Stopping time in stochastic processes. Tau, the ratio of the circumference to the radius of a circle, which is equal to 2π (6.28318...) Tau functions, several Torsion of a curve in differential geometry Translation in Euclidean geometry (although the Latin letter T is used more often) The Prouhet–Thue–Morse constant Physics Proper time in relativity Shear stress in continuum mechanics The lifetime of a spontaneous emission process Tau, an elementary particle in particle physics Tau in astronomy is a measure of optical depth, or how much sunlight cannot penetrate the atmosphere In the physical sciences, tau is sometimes used as time variable, to avoid confusing t as temperature Time constant (also relaxation time) of any system, such as an RC circuit Torque, the rotational force in mechanics The symbol for tortuosity in hydrogeology In thermal physics, the symbol for the fundamental temperature τ = k B T {\displaystyle \tau =k_{B}T} Symbolism In ancient times, tau was used as a symbol for life or resurrection, whereas the eighth letter of the Greek alphabet, theta, was considered the symbol of death. In Biblical times, the taw was put on men to distinguish those who lamented sin, although newer versions of the Bible have replaced the ancient term taw with mark (Ezekiel 9:4) or signature (Job 31:35). Its original sound value is a voiceless alveolar plosive, IPA /t/ The symbolism of the cross was connected not only to the letter chi but also to tau, the equivalent of the last letter in the Phoenician and Old Hebrew alphabets, and which was originally cruciform in shape; see Cross of Tau. An essay written around 160 AD, attributed to Lucian, a mock legal prosecution called The Consonants at Law - Sigma vs. Tau, in the Court of the Seven Vowels, contains a reference to the cross attribution. Sigma petitions the court to sentence Tau to death by crucifixion, saying: Men weep, and bewail their lot, and curse Cadmus with many curses for introducing Tau into the family of letters; they say it was his body that tyrants took for a model, his shape that they imitated, when they set up structures on which men are crucified. Stauros (cross) the vile engine is called, and it derives its vile name from him. Now, with all these crimes upon him, does he not deserve death, nay, many deaths? For my part I know none bad enough but that supplied by his own shape — that shape which he gave to the gibbet named stauros after him by men Tau is usually considered as the symbol of Franciscan orders due to St. Francis' love for it, symbol of the redemption and of the Cross. Almost all Franciscan churches have painted a tau with two crossing arms, both with stigmata, the one of Jesus and the other of Francis; members of the Secular Franciscan Order usually wear a wooden τ in a string with three knots around the neck The title and symbol of "Tau" is used by neo-Gnostic bishops as it has some symbolism in many of the modern branches of Gnosticism. Character encodings For the Greek and Coptic letter tau: For the mathematical letter tau: These characters are used only as mathematical symbols. Stylized Greek text should be encoded using the normal Greek letters, with markup and formatting to indicate text style. See also Greek letters used in mathematics, science, and engineering

Tau (uppercase Τ, lowercase τ, or τ {\displaystyle {\boldsymbol {\tau }}} ; Greek: ταυ [taf]) is the nineteenth letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the voiceless dental or alveolar plosive IPA: [t]. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 300. The name in English is pronounced or , but in Greek it is [taf]. This is because the pronunciation of the combination of Greek letters αυ can have the pronunciation of either [ai], [av] or [af], depending on what follows and if a diaeresis is present on the second vowel (see Greek orthography). Tau was derived from the Phoenician letter taw (𐤕). Letters that arose from tau include Roman T and Cyrillic Te (Т, т). The letter occupies the Unicode slots U+03C4 (lowercase) and U+03A4 (uppercase). In HTML, they can be produced with named entities (τ and Τ), decimal references (τ and Τ), or hexadecimal references (τ and Τ). Modern usage The lower-case letter τ is used as a symbol for: Specific tax amount Biology The expressed period of the freerunning rhythm of an animal, i.e., the length of the daily cycle of an animal when kept in constant light or constant darkness The dose interval in pharmacokinetics The core variable in general tau theory Tau in biochemistry, a protein associated with microtubules and implicated in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, some forms of frontotemporal lobar degeneration, and chronic traumatic encephalopathy Mathematics Divisor function in number theory, also denoted d or σ0 Golden ratio (1.618...), although φ (phi) is more common Kendall tau rank correlation coefficient in statistics Stopping time in stochastic processes. Tau, the ratio of the circumference to the radius of a circle, which is equal to 2π (6.28318...) Tau functions, several Torsion of a curve in differential geometry Translation in Euclidean geometry (although the Latin letter T is used more often) The Prouhet–Thue–Morse constant Physics Proper time in relativity Shear stress in continuum mechanics The lifetime of a spontaneous emission process Tau, an elementary particle in particle physics Tau in astronomy is a measure of optical depth, or how much sunlight cannot penetrate the atmosphere In the physical sciences, tau is sometimes used as time variable, to avoid confusing t as temperature Time constant (also relaxation time) of any system, such as an RC circuit Torque, the rotational force in mechanics The symbol for tortuosity in hydrogeology In thermal physics, the symbol for the fundamental temperature τ = k B T {\displaystyle \tau =k_{B}T} Symbolism In ancient times, tau was used as a symbol for life or resurrection, whereas the eighth letter of the Greek alphabet, theta, was considered the symbol of death. In Biblical times, the taw was put on men to distinguish those who lamented sin, although newer versions of the Bible have replaced the ancient term taw with mark (Ezekiel 9:4) or signature (Job 31:35). Its original sound value is a voiceless alveolar plosive, IPA /t/ The symbolism of the cross was connected not only to the letter chi but also to tau, the equivalent of the last letter in the Phoenician and Old Hebrew alphabets, and which was originally cruciform in shape; see Cross of Tau. An essay written around 160 AD, attributed to Lucian, a mock legal prosecution called The Consonants at Law - Sigma vs. Tau, in the Court of the Seven Vowels, contains a reference to the cross attribution. Sigma petitions the court to sentence Tau to death by crucifixion, saying: Men weep, and bewail their lot, and curse Cadmus with many curses for introducing Tau into the family of letters; they say it was his body that tyrants took for a model, his shape that they imitated, when they set up structures on which men are crucified. Stauros (cross) the vile engine is called, and it derives its vile name from him. Now, with all these crimes upon him, does he not deserve death, nay, many deaths? For my part I know none bad enough but that supplied by his own shape — that shape which he gave to the gibbet named stauros after him by men Tau is usually considered as the symbol of Franciscan orders due to St. Francis' love for it, symbol of the redemption and of the Cross. Almost all Franciscan churches have painted a tau with two crossing arms, both with stigmata, the one of Jesus and the other of Francis; members of the Secular Franciscan Order usually wear a wooden τ in a string with three knots around the neck The title and symbol of "Tau" is used by neo-Gnostic bishops as it has some symbolism in many of the modern branches of Gnosticism. Character encodings For the Greek and Coptic letter tau: For the mathematical letter tau: These characters are used only as mathematical symbols. Stylized Greek text should be encoded using the normal Greek letters, with markup and formatting to indicate text style. See also Greek letters used in mathematics, science, and engineering

Upsilon (, UK also ; uppercase Υ, lowercase υ; Greek: ύψιλον ýpsilon [ˈipsilon]) or ypsilon is the twentieth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, Υʹ has a value of 400. It is derived from the Phoenician waw . Etymology The name of the letter was originally just "υ" (y; also called hy, hence "hyoid", meaning "shaped like the letter υ"), but the name changed to "υ ψιλόν" u psilon 'simple u' to distinguish it from οι, which had come to have the same [y] pronunciation. Pronunciation In early Attic Greek (6th century BCE), it was pronounced [u] (a close back rounded vowel like the English "long o͞o"). In Classical Greek, it was pronounced [y] (a close front rounded vowel), at least until 1030. In Modern Greek, it is pronounced [i]; in the digraphs αυ and ευ, as [f] or [v]; and in the digraph ου as [u]. In ancient Greek, it occurred in both long and short versions, but Modern Greek does not have a length distinction. As an initial letter in Classical Greek, it always carried the rough breathing (equivalent to h) as reflected in the many Greek-derived English words, such as those that begin with hyper- and hypo-. This rough breathing was derived from an older pronunciation that used a sibilant instead; this sibilant was not lost in Latin, giving rise to such cognates as super- (for hyper-) and sub- (for hypo-). Upsilon participated as the second element in falling diphthongs, which have subsequently developed in various ways. Correspondence with Latin Y The usage of Y in Latin dates back to the first century BC. It was used to transcribe loanwords from Greek, so it was not a native sound of Latin and was usually pronounced /u/ or /i/. The latter pronunciation was the most common in the Classical period and was used mostly by uneducated people. The Roman Emperor Claudius proposed introducing a new letter into the Latin alphabet to transcribe the so-called sonus medius (a short vowel before labial consonants), but in inscriptions, the new letter was sometimes used for Greek upsilon instead. Four letters of the Latin alphabet arose from it: and U , Y and, much later, V and W. In the Cyrillic script, the letters U (У, у) and izhitsa (Ѵ, ѵ) arose from it. In some languages, including German and Portuguese, the name upsilon (Ypsilon in German, ípsilon in Portuguese) is used to refer to the Latin letter Y as well as the Greek letter. In some other languages, the (Latin) Y is referred to as a "Greek I" (i griega in Spanish, i grec in French), also noting its Greek origin. Usage In particle physics the capital Greek letter ϒ denotes an Upsilon particle. Note that the symbol should always look like Υ {\displaystyle \,\Upsilon } in order to avoid confusion with a Latin Y denoting the hypercharge. This may be done either with a font such as FreeSerif or with the dedicated Unicode character U+03D2 ϒ. Automobile manufacturer Lancia has a model called the Ypsilon. See Lancia Ypsilon. In the International Phonetic Alphabet, the symbol ⟨ʋ⟩ is used to represent a labiodental approximant. In astrophysics and physical cosmology, ϒ refers to the mass-to-light ratio. In statistics, it is sometimes used instead of v or nu to indicate degrees of freedom Similar appearance A similar symbol (Unicode ♈ U+2648) is used for the astrological sign of Aries. Symbolism Upsilon is known as Pythagoras' letter, or the Samian letter, because Pythagoras used it as an emblem of the path of virtue or vice. As the Roman writer Persius wrote in Satire III: and the letter which spreads out into Pythagorean branches has pointed out to you the steep path which rises on the right. Lactantius, an early Christian author (ca. 240 – ca. 320), refers to this: For they say that the course of human life resembles the letter Y, because every one of men, when he has reached the threshold of early youth, and has arrived at the place "where the way divides itself into two parts," is in doubt, and hesitates, and does not know to which side he should rather turn himself. Character encodings Greek Upsilon Coptic Ua Latin Upsilon Mathematical Upsilon These characters are used only as mathematical symbols. Stylized Greek text should be encoded using the normal Greek letters, with markup and formatting to indicate text style. Merrifield, Michael (2009). "Υ – Mass to Light Ratio". Sixty Symbols. Brady Haran for the University of Nottingham.

Phi (; uppercase Φ, lowercase φ or ϕ; Ancient Greek: ϕεῖ pheî [pʰéî̯]; Modern Greek: φι fi [fi]) is the twenty-first letter of the Greek alphabet. In Archaic and Classical Greek (c. 9th century BC to 4th century BC), it represented an aspirated voiceless bilabial plosive ([pʰ]), which was the origin of its usual romanization as ⟨ph⟩. During the later part of Classical Antiquity, in Koine Greek (c. 4th century BC to 4th century AD), its pronunciation shifted to that of a voiceless bilabial fricative ([ɸ]), and by the Byzantine Greek period (c. 4th century AD to 15th century AD) it developed its modern pronunciation as a voiceless labiodental fricative ([f]). The romanization of the Modern Greek phoneme is therefore usually ⟨f⟩. It may be that phi originated as the letter qoppa (Ϙ, ϙ), and initially represented the sound /kʷʰ/ before shifting to Classical Greek [pʰ]. In traditional Greek numerals, phi has a value of 500 (φʹ) or 500,000 (͵φ). The Cyrillic letter Ef (Ф, ф) descends from phi. As with other Greek letters, lowercase phi (encoded as the Unicode character U+03C6 φ GREEK SMALL LETTER PHI) is used as a mathematical or scientific symbol. Some uses require the old-fashioned 'closed' glyph, which is separately encoded as the Unicode character U+03D5 ϕ GREEK PHI SYMBOL. Use as a symbol In lowercase The lowercase letter φ (or often its variant, ϕ) is often used to represent the following: The letter phi is commonly used in physics to represent wave functions in quantum mechanics, such as in the Schrödinger equation and bra–ket notation: ⟨ ϕ | ψ ⟩ {\displaystyle \langle \phi |\psi \rangle } . The golden ratio 1 + 5 2 ≈ {\displaystyle {\tfrac {1+{\sqrt {5}}}{2}}\approx } 1.618033988749894848204586834... in mathematics, art, and architecture. Euler's totient function φ(n) in number theory; also called Euler's phi function. The cyclotomic polynomial functions Φn(x) of algebra. The number of electrical phases in a power system in electrical engineering, for example 1ϕ for single phase, 3ϕ for three phase. In algebra, group or ring homomorphisms In probability theory, φ ( x ) = ( 2 π ) − 1 2 e − x 2 2 {\textstyle \varphi (x)=(2\pi )^{-{\frac {1}{2}}}e^{-{\frac {x^{2}}{2}}}} is the probability density function of the standard normal distribution. In probability theory, φX(t) = E[eitX] is the characteristic function of a random variable X. An angle, typically the second angle mentioned, after θ (theta). It can denote: The argument of a complex number. The phase of a wave in signal processing. In spherical coordinates, mathematicians usually refer to phi as the polar angle (from the z-axis). The convention in physics is to use phi as the azimuthal angle (from the x-axis). One of the dihedral angles in the backbones of proteins in a Ramachandran plot Internal or effective angle of friction. In cartography and navigation, ɸ denotes latitude; likewise, in geodesy it denotes geodetic latitude. In aircraft flight mechanics as the symbol for bank angle (sometimes represented with the letter theta, which is also used for pitch angle). The work function of a surface, in solid-state physics. A shorthand representation for an aromatic functional group in organic chemistry. The fugacity coefficient in thermodynamics. The ratio of free energy destabilizations of protein mutants in phi value analysis. In combustion engineering, fuel–air equivalence ratio. The ratio between the actual fuel-air ratio to the stoichiometric fuel-air ratio. In granulometry, sedimentology, and soil engineering, φ is a logarithmic unit of sediment grain size, defined such that a change of 1 φ in grain size corresponds to a factor of 2 in grain diameter. A sentence in first-order logic. The Veblen function in set theory. Porosity in geology and hydrology. Strength (or resistance) reduction factor in structural engineering, used to account for statistical variabilities in materials and construction methods. The symbol for a voiceless bilabial fricative in the International Phonetic Alphabet (using the straight-line variant form). In philosophy, φ is often used as shorthand for a generic act. (Also in uppercase.) In perceptual psychology, the phi phenomenon is the apparent motion caused by the successive viewing of stationary objects, such as the frames of a motion picture. In lexical-functional grammar, the function that maps elements from the c-structure to the f-structure. In ecology, site survival probability, or the probability that a species will continue to occupy a site if it was there the previous year. The logo of La France Insoumise, a leftist French political party. An abbreviation for the word bacteriophage Mϕ is used as an abbreviation for the word macrophage In uppercase The uppercase letter Φ is used as a symbol for: The golden ratio conjugate −0.618... in mathematics. The cumulative distribution function (cdf) of standard normal distribution in statistics. The magnetic flux and electric flux in physics, with subscripts distinguishing the two. Quantum yield, the number of times a specific event occurs per photon absorbed by a system. In philosophy, Φ is often used as shorthand for a generic act. (Also in lowercase.) A common symbol for the parametrization of a surface in vector calculus. In Lacanian algebra, Φ stands for the imaginary phallus and also represents phallic signification; −Φ stands in for castration. The diameter symbol in engineering, ⌀, is often erroneously referred to as "phi", and the diameter symbol is sometimes erroneously typeset as Φ. This symbol is used to indicate the diameter of a circular section; for example, "⌀14" means the diameter of the circle is 14 units. A clock signal in electronics is often called Phi or uses the symbol. Computing In Unicode, there are multiple forms of the phi letter: In ordinary Greek text, the character U+03C6 φ is used exclusively, although this character has considerable glyphic variation, sometimes represented with a glyph more like the representative glyph shown for U+03C6 (φ, the "loopy" or "open" form), and less often with a glyph more like the representative glyph shown for U+03D5 (ϕ, the "stroked" or "closed" form). Because Unicode represents a character in an abstract way, the choice between glyphs is purely a matter of font design. While some Greek typefaces, most notably those in the Porson family (used widely in editions of classical Greek texts), have a "stroked" glyph in this position (), most other typefaces have "loopy" glyphs. This also applies to the "Didot" (or "apla") typefaces employed in most Greek book printing (), as well as the "Neohellenic" typeface often used for ancient texts (). It is necessary to have the stroked glyph available for some mathematical uses, and U+03D5 GREEK PHI SYMBOL is designed for this function. Prior to Unicode version 3.0 (1998), the glyph assignments in the Unicode code charts were the reverse, and thus older fonts may still show a loopy form φ {\displaystyle \varphi } at U+03D5.For use as a phonetic symbol in IPA, Unicode has a separate code point U+0278, LATIN SMALL LETTER PHI, because only the stroked glyph is considered correct in this use. It typically appears in a form adapted to a Latin typographic environment, with a more upright shape than normal Greek letters and with serifs at the top and bottom. In HTML/XHTML, the upper- and lowercase phi character entity references are Φ (Φ) and φ (φ), respectively. In LaTeX, the math symbols are \Phi ( Φ {\displaystyle \Phi \,\!} ), \phi ( ϕ {\displaystyle \phi \,\!} ), and \varphi ( φ {\displaystyle \varphi \,\!} ). The Unicode standard also includes the following variants of phi and phi-like characters: See also F, f: Ef (Latin) Ф, ф: Ef (Cyrillic) Psi and phi type figurine Փ (Armenian) The dictionary definition of Φ at Wiktionary The dictionary definition of φ at Wiktionary The dictionary definition of phi at Wiktionary Media related to Phi (letter) at Wikimedia Commons

Chi (uppercase Χ, lowercase χ; Greek: χῖ) is the twenty-second letter of the Greek alphabet. Greek Pronunciation Ancient Greek Its value in Ancient Greek was an aspirated velar stop /kʰ/ (in the Western Greek alphabet: /ks/). Koine Greek In Koine Greek and later dialects it became a fricative ([x]/[ç]) along with Θ and Φ. Modern Greek In Modern Greek, it has two distinct pronunciations: In front of high or front vowels (/e/ or /i/) it is pronounced as a voiceless palatal fricative [ç], as in German ich or like the h in some pronunciations of the English words hew and human. In front of low or back vowels (/a/, /o/ or /u/) and consonants, it is pronounced as a voiceless velar fricative ([x]), as in German ach or Spanish j. Transliteration Chi is romanized as ⟨ch⟩ in most systematic transliteration conventions, but sometimes ⟨kh⟩ is used. In addition, in Modern Greek, it is often also romanized as ⟨h⟩ or ⟨x⟩ in informal practice. Greek numeral In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 600. Xi In ancient times, some local forms of the Greek alphabet used the chi instead of xi to represent the /ks/ sound. This was borrowed into the early Latin language, which led to the use of the letter X for the same sound in Latin, and many modern languages that use the Latin alphabet. Cyrillic Chi was also included in the Cyrillic script as the letter Х, with the phonetic value /x/ or /h/. Chiasmus Chi is the basis for the name literary chiastic structure and the name of chiasmus. Symbolism In Plato's Timaeus, it is explained that the two bands that form the soul of the world cross each other like the letter Χ. Plato's analogy, along with several other examples of chi as a symbol occur in Thomas Browne's discourse The Garden of Cyrus (1658). Chi or X is often used to abbreviate the name Christ, as in the holiday Christmas (Xmas). When fused within a single typespace with the Greek letter rho, it is called the labarum and used to represent the person of Jesus Christ. Character encodings Greek chi Coptic khi Latin chi Mathematical chi These characters are used only as mathematical symbols. Stylized Greek text should be encoded using the normal Greek letters, with markup and formatting to indicate text style. Math and science In statistics, the term chi-squared or χ 2 {\displaystyle \chi ^{2}} has various uses, including the chi-squared distribution, the chi-squared test, and chi-squared target models. In algebraic topology, Chi is used to represent the Euler characteristic of a surface. In neuroanatomy, crossings of peripheral nerves (such as the optic chiasm) are named for the letter Chi because of its Χ-shape.In chemistry, the mole fraction and electronegativity may be denoted by the lowercase χ {\displaystyle \chi } . In physics, χ {\displaystyle \chi } denotes electric or magnetic susceptibility. In rhetoric, both chiastic structure (a literary device) and the figure of speech Chiasmus derive from their names from the shape of the letter Chi. In mechanical engineering, chi is used as a symbol for the reduction factor of relevant buckling loads in the EN 1993, a European Standard for the design of steel structures. In graph theory, a lowercase chi is used to represent a graph's chromatic number. In analytic number theory, chi is used for the Dirichlet character. Chi (disambiguation) Х, х - Kha (Cyrillic)

Psi (uppercase Ψ, lowercase ψ or 𝛙; Greek: ψι psi [ˈpsi]) is the twenty-third and penultimate letter of the Greek alphabet and is associated with a numeric value of 700. In both Classical and Modern Greek, the letter indicates the combination /ps/ (as in English word "lapse"). For Greek loanwords in Latin and modern languages with Latin alphabets, psi is usually transliterated as "ps". The letter's origin is uncertain. It may or may not derive from the Phoenician alphabet. It appears in the 7th century BC, expressing /ps/ in the Eastern alphabets, but /kʰ/ in the Western alphabets (the sound expressed by Χ in the Eastern alphabets). In writing, the early letter appears in an angular shape (). There were early graphical variants that omitted the stem ("chickenfoot-shaped psi" as: or ). The Western letter (expressing /kʰ/, later /x/) was adopted into the Old Italic alphabets, and its shape is also continued into the Algiz rune of the Elder Futhark. Psi, or its Arcadian variant or was adopted in the Latin alphabet in the form of "Antisigma" (Ↄ, ↃC, or 𐌟) during the reign of Emperor Claudius as one of the three Claudian letters. However, it was abandoned after his death. The classical Greek letter was adopted into the early Cyrillic alphabet as "Ѱ". Use as a symbol The letter psi is commonly used in physics to represent wave functions in quantum mechanics, such as in the Schrödinger equation and bra–ket notation: ⟨ ϕ | ψ ⟩ {\displaystyle \langle \phi |\psi \rangle } . It is also used to represent the (generalized) positional states of a qubit in a quantum computer. Psi is also used as the symbol for the polygamma function, defined by ψ ( m ) ( z ) = d m d z m Γ ′ ( z ) Γ ( z ) {\displaystyle \psi ^{(m)}(z)={\frac {d^{m}}{dz^{m}}}{\frac {\Gamma '(z)}{\Gamma (z)}}} where Γ ( z ) {\displaystyle \Gamma (z)} is the gamma function. The letters Ψ or ψ can also be a symbol for: Psychology, psychiatry, and sometimes parapsychology (involving paranormal or relating with the supernatural subjects, especially research into extrasensory perception). In mathematics, the reciprocal Fibonacci constant, the division polynomials, and the supergolden ratio. Water potential in movement of water between plant cells. In biochemistry, it denotes pseudouridine, an uncommon nucleoside. Stream function in fluid mechanics defining the curve to which the flow velocity is always tangent. One of the dihedral angles in the backbones of proteins. The planet Neptune. Indiana University (as a superimposed I and U). A sai, the name of which is pronounced the same way in English. Pharmacology, general pharmacy. In virology the ψ site is a viral packaging signal. The J/ψ meson, in particle physics. In the computability theory, ψ P ( x ) {\displaystyle \psi _{P}(x)\,\!} represents the return value Y {\displaystyle Y\,\!} of a program P {\displaystyle P\,\!} . In circadian physiology, ψ represents the phase relationship between a zeitgeber and a biological rhythm. In building, to represent an adjustment to a U-value, accounting for thermal bridge effects. The ordinal collapsing function and notation developed by Wilfried Buchholz. In Biblical studies, as an abbreviation for the book of Psalms. Character encodings Greek / Coptic Psi Cyrillic Psi Mathematical Psi These characters are used only as mathematical symbols. Stylized Greek text should be encoded using the normal Greek letters, with markup and formatting to indicate text style. Psi and phi type figurine Psi (Cyrillic)

Omega (; capital: Ω, lowercase: ω; Ancient Greek ὦ, later ὦ μέγα, Modern Greek ωμέγα) is the twenty-fourth and final letter in the Greek alphabet. In the Greek numeric system/isopsephy (gematria), it has a value of 800. The word literally means "great O" (ō mega, mega meaning "great"), as opposed to omicron, which means "little O" (o mikron, micron meaning "little").In phonetic terms, the Ancient Greek Ω represented a long open-mid back rounded vowel IPA: [ɔː], comparable to the "aw" of the English word raw in dialects without the cot–caught merger, in contrast to omicron which represented the close-mid back rounded vowel IPA: [o] , and the digraph ου which represented the long close-mid back rounded vowel IPA: [oː]. In Modern Greek, both omega and omicron represent the mid back rounded vowel IPA: [o̞] or IPA: [ɔ̝]. The letter omega is transliterated into a Latin-script alphabet as ō or simply o. As the final letter in the Greek alphabet, omega is often used to denote the last, the end, or the ultimate limit of a set, in contrast to alpha, the first letter of the Greek alphabet; see Alpha and Omega. History Ω was not part of the early (8th century BC) Greek alphabets. It was introduced in the late 7th century BC in the Ionian cities of Asia Minor to denote a long open-mid back rounded vowel [ɔː]. It is a variant of omicron (Ο), broken up at the side (), with the edges subsequently turned outward (, , , ). The Dorian city of Knidos as well as a few Aegean islands, namely Paros, Thasos and Melos, chose the exact opposite innovation, using a broken-up circle for the short and a closed circle for the long /o/.The name Ωμέγα is Byzantine; in Classical Greek, the letter was called ō (ὦ) (pronounced /ɔ̂ː/), whereas the omicron was called ou (οὖ) (pronounced /ôː/). The modern lowercase shape goes back to the uncial form , a form that developed during the 3rd century BC in ancient handwriting on papyrus, from a flattened-out form of the letterthat had its edges curved even further upward.In addition to the Greek alphabet, Omega was also adopted into the early Cyrillic alphabet. See Cyrillic omega (Ѡ, ѡ). A Raetic variant is conjectured to be at the origin or parallel evolution of the Elder Futhark ᛟ. Omega was also adopted into the Latin alphabet, as a letter of the 1982 revision to the African reference alphabet. It has had little use. See Latin omega. The symbol Ω (uppercase letter) The uppercase letter Ω is used as a symbol: In chemistry: For oxygen-18, a natural, stable isotope of oxygen For omega loop, a protein structural motif consisting of a loop of six or more amino acid residues in any sequence, a structure named for its resemblance to the Greek letter. In physics: For ohm – SI unit of electrical resistance; formerly also used upside down (℧) to represent mho, the old name for the inverse of an ohm (now siemens with symbol S) used for electrical conductance. Unicode has a separate code point U+2126 Ω OHM SIGN (HTML entity &ohm;), but it is included only for backward compatibility, and the canonically equivalent code point U+03A9 Ω GREEK CAPITAL LETTER OMEGA (Ω) is preferred. In statistical mechanics, Ω refers to the multiplicity (number of microstates) in a system. The solid angle or the rate of precession in a gyroscope In particle physics to represent the Omega baryons In astronomy (cosmology), Ω refers to the density of the universe, also called the density parameter. In astronomy (orbital mechanics), Ω refers to the longitude of the ascending node of an orbit. In mathematics and computer science: In complex analysis, the Omega constant, a solution of Lambert's W function In differential geometry, the space of differential forms on a manifold (of a certain degree, usually with a superscript). A variable for a 2-dimensional region in calculus, usually corresponding to the domain of a double integral. In topos theory, the (codomain of the) subobject classifier of an elementary topos. In combinatory logic, the looping combinator, (S I I (S I I)) In group theory, the omega and agemo subgroups of a p-group, Ω(G) and ℧(G) In group theory, Cayley's Ω process as a partial differential operator. In statistics, it is used as the symbol for the sample space, or total set of possible outcomes. In triangle geometry, Brocard points In number theory, Ω(n) is the number of prime divisors of n (counting multiplicity). In notation related to Big O notation to describe the asymptotic behavior of functions. Chaitin's constant. In set theory, the first infinite ordinal number, ω In set theory, the first uncountable ordinal number, ω1 or Ω As part of logo or trademark: The logo of Omega Watches SA Part of the original Pioneer logo Part of the Badge of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom Part of the mission patch for STS-135, as it was the last mission of the Space Shuttle program The logo of the God of War video game series based on Greek mythology. In God of War (2018), it is revealed it stands as the symbol of war in Greece. The logo of E-123 Omega, a Sonic the Hedgehog character. The logo of the Heroes of Olympus series, based on Greek mythology. the logo of the Ultramarines in Warhammer 40,000 The logo of Primal Groudon, the version mascot of Pokémon Omega Ruby. The logo of Darkseid in DC comics One of the logos of professional wrestler Kenny Omega The logo for Meow Wolf's Omega Mart in Area15, Las Vegas, Nevada The logo of Lalaji Memorial Omega International School Other: In eschatology, the symbol for the end of everything In molecular biology, the symbol is used as shorthand to signify a genetic construct introduced by a two-point crossover Omega Particle in the Star Trek universe The final form of NetNavi bosses in some of the Mega Man Battle Network games A secret boss in the Final Fantasy series called Omega ( Ω ) Weapon. A character from the series Doctor Who called Omega, believed to be one of the creators of the Time Lords of Gallifrey. The symbol for the highest power level of a PSI attack in the MOTHER/EarthBound games The symbol ω (lower case letter) The minuscule letter ω is used as a symbol: Biology, biochemistry and chemistry: In biochemistry, for one of the RNA polymerase subunits In biology, for fitness In chemistry, for denoting the carbon atom furthest from the carboxyl group of a fatty acid In genomics, as a measure of molecular evolution in protein-coding genes (also denoted as dN/dS or Ka/Ks ratio) Physics: Angular velocity or angular frequency In computational fluid dynamics, the specific turbulence dissipation rate In meteorology, the change of pressure with respect to time of a parcel of air In circuit analysis and signal processing to represent angular frequency, related to frequency f by ω = 2πf In astronomy, as a ranking of a star's brightness within a constellation In orbital mechanics, as designation of the argument of periapsis of an orbit In particle physics to represent the omega meson Computer science: In notation related to Big O notation, the asymptotically dominant nature of functions In relational database theory to represent NULL, a missing or inapplicable value In APL, to represent the right parameter to a function Mathematics: The first and smallest transfinite ordinal number, often identified with the set of natural numbers including 0 (sometimes written ω 0 {\displaystyle \omega _{0}} ) In set theory, ω1 is the first uncountable ordinal number (also sometimes written as Ω) A primitive root of unity, like the complex cube roots of 1 The Wright Omega function A generic differential form In number theory, ω(n) is the number of distinct prime divisors of n In number theory, an arithmetic function In combinatory logic, the self-application combinator, (λ x. x x) In triangle geometry, a Brocard angle Clique number in Graph theory Finance: In finance, the elasticity of options In analytical investment management, the tracking error of an investment manager Other: Used in place of ん in Japanese typing shorthand. In linguistics, the phonological word In textual criticism, the archetype of a manuscript tradition In sociology, used to refer to the lowest ranking member of a group In shift_JIS art, used to represent the cat's mouth. (e.g. (´･ω･`) ｼｮﾎﾞｰﾝ) In actuarial sciences, used to represent the maximum life span that characterizes a mortality table Character encodings Greek omega/Coptic oou Cyrillic omega Latin/IPA omega Technical omega symbols Mathematical omega These characters are used only as mathematical symbols. Stylized Greek text should be encoded using the normal Greek letters, with markup and formatting to indicate the style of the text. Media related to Omega (letter) at Wikimedia Commons The dictionary definition of ω at Wiktionary

Kimitake Hiraoka (平岡 公威, Hiraoka Kimitake, 14 January 1925 – 25 November 1970), also known as Yukio Mishima (三島 由紀夫, Mishima Yukio), was a Japanese author, poet, playwright, actor, model, Shintoist, nationalist, and founder of the Tatenokai (楯の会, "Shield Society"). Mishima is considered one of the most important writers of the 20th century. He was considered for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1968, but the award went to his countryman and benefactor Yasunari Kawabata. His works include the novels Confessions of a Mask (仮面の告白, Kamen no kokuhaku) and The Temple of the Golden Pavilion (金閣寺, Kinkaku-ji), and the autobiographical essay Sun and Steel (太陽と鉄, Taiyō to tetsu). Mishima's work is characterized by "its luxurious vocabulary and decadent metaphors, its fusion of traditional Japanese and modern Western literary styles, and its obsessive assertions of the unity of beauty, eroticism and death", according to author Andrew Rankin. Mishima's political activities made him a controversial figure, which he remains in modern Japan. From his mid-30s, Mishima's right-wing ideology and reactionary beliefs were increasingly evident. He was proud of the traditional culture and spirit of Japan, and opposed what he saw as western-style materialism, along with Japan's postwar democracy, globalism, and communism, worrying that by embracing these ideas the Japanese people would lose their "national essence" (kokutai) and their distinctive cultural heritage (Shinto and Yamato-damashii) to become a "rootless" people. Mishima formed the Tatenokai for the avowed purpose of restoring sacredness and dignity to the Emperor of Japan. On 25 November 1970, Mishima and four members of his militia entered a military base in central Tokyo, took its commandant hostage, and unsuccessfully tried to inspire the Japan Self-Defense Forces to rise up and overthrow Japan's 1947 Constitution (which he called "a constitution of defeat"). After his speech and screaming of "Long live the Emperor!", he committed seppuku. Life and work Early life Kimitake Hiraoka (平岡公威, Hiraoka Kimitake), later known as Yukio Mishima (三島由紀夫, Mishima Yukio), was born in Nagazumi-cho, Yotsuya-ku of Tokyo City (now part of Yotsuya, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo). He chose his pen name when he was 16. His father was Azusa Hiraoka (平岡梓), a government official in the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce, and his mother, Shizue (平岡倭文重), was the daughter of the 5th principal of the Kaisei Academy. Shizue's father, Kenzō Hashi (橋健三), was a scholar of the Chinese classics, and the Hashi family had served the Maeda clan for generations in Kaga Domain. Mishima's paternal grandparents were Sadatarō Hiraoka (平岡定太郎), the third Governor-General of Karafuto Prefecture, and Natsuko (family register name: Natsu) (平岡なつ). Mishima received his birth name Kimitake (公威, also read Kōi in on-yomi) in honor of Furuichi Kōi (古市公威) who was a benefactor of Sadatarō. He had a younger sister, Mitsuko (平岡美津子), who died of typhus in 1945 at the age of 17, and a younger brother, Chiyuki (平岡千之).Mishima's childhood home was a rented house, though a fairly large two-floor house that was the largest in the neighborhood. He lived with his parents, siblings and paternal grandparents, as well as six maids, a houseboy, and a manservant. His grandfather was in debt, so there were no remarkable household items left on the first floor.Mishima's early childhood was dominated by the presence of his grandmother, Natsuko, who took the boy and separated him from his immediate family for several years. She was the granddaughter of Matsudaira Yoritaka (松平頼位), the daimyō of Shishido, which was a branch domain of Mito Domain in Hitachi Province; therefore, Mishima was a descendant of the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate, Tokugawa Ieyasu (徳川家康), through his grandmother. Natsuko's father, Nagai Iwanojō (永井岩之丞), had been a Supreme Court justice, and Iwanojō's adoptive father, Nagai Naoyuki (永井尚志), had been a bannerman of the Tokugawa House during the Bakumatsu. Natsuko had been raised in the household of Prince Arisugawa Taruhito, and she maintained considerable aristocratic pretensions even after marrying Sadatarō, a bureaucrat who had made his fortune in the newly opened colonial frontier in the north, and who eventually became Governor-General of Karafuto Prefecture on Sakhalin Island. Sadatarō's father, Takichi Hiraoka (平岡太吉), and grandfather, Tazaemon Hiraoka (平岡太左衛門), had been farmers. Natsuko was prone to violent outbursts, which are occasionally alluded to in Mishima's works, and to whom some biographers have traced Mishima's fascination with death. She did not allow Mishima to venture into the sunlight, engage in any kind of sport, or play with other boys. He spent much of his time either alone or with female cousins and their dolls.Mishima returned to his immediate family when he was 12. His father Azusa had a taste for military discipline, and worried Natsuko's style of childrearing was too soft. When Mishima was an infant, Azusa employed parenting tactics such as holding Mishima up to the side of a speeding train. He also raided his son's room for evidence of an "effeminate" interest in literature, and often ripped his son's manuscripts apart. Although Azusa forbade him to write any further stories, Mishima continued to write in secret, supported and protected by his mother, who was always the first to read a new story.When Mishima was 13, Natsuko took him to see his first Kabuki play: Kanadehon Chūshingura, an allegory of the story of the 47 Rōnin. He was later taken to his first Noh play (Miwa, a story featuring Amano-Iwato) by his maternal grandmother Tomi Hashi (橋トミ). From these early experiences, Mishima became addicted to Kabuki and Noh. He began attending performances every month and grew deeply interested in these traditional Japanese dramatic art forms. Schooling and early works Mishima was enrolled at the age of six in the elite Gakushūin, the Peers' School in Tokyo, which had been established in the Meiji period to educate the Imperial family and the descendants of the old feudal nobility. At 12, Mishima began to write his first stories. He read myths (Kojiki, Greek mythology, etc.) and the works of numerous classic Japanese authors as well as Raymond Radiguet, Jean Cocteau, Oscar Wilde, Rainer Maria Rilke, Thomas Mann, Friedrich Nietzsche, Charles Baudelaire, l'Isle-Adam, and other European authors in translation. He also studied German. After six years at school, he became the youngest member of the editorial board of its literary society. Mishima was attracted to the works of the Japanese poet Shizuo Itō (伊東静雄, Itō Shizuo), poet and novelist Haruo Satō (佐藤春夫), and poet Michizō Tachihara (立原道造), who inspired Mishima's appreciation of classical Japanese waka poetry. Mishima's early contributions to the Gakushūin literary magazine Hojinkai-zasshi (輔仁会雑誌) included haiku and waka poetry before he turned his attention to prose.In 1941, at the age of 16, Mishima was invited to write a short story for the Hojinkai-zasshi, and he submitted Forest in Full Bloom (花ざかりの森, Hanazakari no Mori), a story in which the narrator describes the feeling that his ancestors somehow still live within him. The story uses the type of metaphors and aphorisms that became Mishima's trademarks. He mailed a copy of the manuscript to his Japanese teacher Fumio Shimizu (清水文雄) for constructive criticism. Shimizu was so impressed that he took the manuscript to a meeting of the editorial board of the prestigious literary magazine Bungei Bunka (文藝文化), of which he was a member. At the editorial board meeting, the other board members read the story and were very impressed; they congratulated themselves for discovering a genius and published it in the magazine. The story was later published as a limited book edition (4,000 copies) in 1944 due to a wartime paper shortage. Mishima had it published as a keepsake to remember him by, as he assumed that he would die in the war. In order to protect him from potential backlash from Azusa, Shimizu and the other editorial board members coined the pen-name Yukio Mishima. They took "Mishima" from Mishima Station, which Shimizu and fellow Bungei Bunka board member Hasuda Zenmei passed through on their way to the editorial meeting, which was held in Izu, Shizuoka. The name "Yukio" came from yuki (雪), the Japanese word for "snow", because of the snow they saw on Mount Fuji as the train passed. In the magazine, Hasuda praised Mishima's genius as follows:This youthful author is a heaven-sent child of eternal Japanese history. He is much younger than we are, but has arrived on the scene already quite mature.Hasuda, who became something of a mentor to Mishima, was an ardent nationalist and a fan of Motoori Norinaga (1730–1801), a scholar of kokugaku from the Edo period who preached Japanese traditional values and devotion to the Emperor. Hasuda had previously fought for the Imperial Japanese Army in China in 1938, and in 1943 he was recalled to active service for deployment as a first lieutenant in the Southeast Asian theater. At a farewell party thrown for Hasuda by the Bungei Bunka group, Hasuda offered the following parting words to Mishima: I have entrusted the future of Japan to you.According to Mishima, these words were deeply meaningful to him, and had a profound effect on the future course of his life.Later in 1941, Mishima wrote in his notebook an essay about his deep devotion to Shintō, titled The Way of the Gods (惟神之道, Kannagara no michi). Mishima's story The Cigarette (煙草, Tabako), published in 1946, describes a homosexual love he felt at school and being teased from members of the school's rugby union club because he belonged to the literary society. Another story from 1954, The Boy Who Wrote Poetry (詩を書く少年, Shi o kaku shōnen), was also based on Mishima's memories of his time at Gakushūin Junior High School.On 9 September 1944, Mishima graduated Gakushūin High School at the top of the class, and became a graduate representative. Emperor Hirohito was present at the graduation ceremony, and Mishima later received a silver watch from the Emperor at the Imperial Household Ministry.On 27 April 1944, during the final years of World War II, Mishima received a draft notice for the Imperial Japanese Army and barely passed his conscription examination on 16 May 1944, with a less desirable rating of "second class" conscript. He had a cold during his medical check on convocation day (10 February 1945), and the young army doctor misdiagnosed Mishima with tuberculosis, declared him unfit for service, and sent him home. Scholars have argued that Mishima's failure to receive a "first class" rating on his conscription exam (reserved only for the most physically fit recruits), in combination with the illness which led him to be erroneously declared unfit for duty, contributed to an inferiority complex over his frail constitution that later led to his obsession with physical fitness and bodybuilding.The day before his failed medical exam, Mishima wrote a farewell message to his family, ending with the words "Long live the Emperor!" (天皇陛下万歳, Tennō heika banzai), and prepared clippings of his hair and nails to be kept as mementos by his parents. The troops of the unit that Mishima was supposed to have joined were sent to the Philippines, where most of them were killed. Mishima's parents were ecstatic that he did not have to go to war, but Mishima's mood was harder to read; Mishima's mother overheard him say he wished he could have joined a "Special Attack" (特攻, tokkō) unit. Around that time, Mishima admired kamikaze pilots and other "special attack" units in letters to friends and private notes. Mishima was deeply affected by Emperor Hirohito's radio broadcast announcing Japan's surrender on 15 August 1945, and vowed to protect Japanese cultural traditions and help rebuild Japanese culture after the destruction of the war. He wrote in his diary: Only by preserving Japanese irrationality will we be able contribute to world culture 100 years from now.On 19 August, four days after Japan's surrender, Mishima's mentor Zenmei Hasuda, who had been drafted and deployed to the Malay peninsula, shot and killed his superior officer who attributed the defeat to the Emperor and slandered the imperial army's future and preached the destruction of the Japanese spirit. Hasuda had long suspected the officer to be a Korean spy. After shooting him, Hasuda turned his pistol on himself. Mishima learned of the incident a year later and contributed poetry in Hasuda's honor at a memorial service in November 1946. On 23 October 1945 (Showa 20), Mishima's beloved younger sister Mitsuko died suddenly at the age of 17 from typhoid fever by drinking untreated water. Around that same time he also learned that Kuniko Mitani (三谷邦子), a classmate's sister whom he had hoped to marry, was engaged to another man. These tragic incidents in 1945 became a powerful motive force in inspiring Mishima's future literary work.At the end of the war, his father Azusa "half-allowed" Mishima to become a novelist. He was worried that his son could actually become a professional novelist, and hoped instead that his son would be a bureaucrat like himself and Mishima's grandfather Sadatarō. He advised his son to enroll in the Faculty of Law instead of the literature department. Attending lectures during the day and writing at night, Mishima graduated from the University of Tokyo in 1947. He obtained a position in the Ministry of the Treasury and seemed set up for a promising career as a government bureaucrat. However, after just one year of employment Mishima had exhausted himself so much that his father agreed to allow him to resign from his post and devote himself to writing full time.In 1945, Mishima began the short story A Story at the Cape (岬にての物語, Misaki nite no Monogatari) and continued to work on it through the end of World War II. After the war, it was praised by Shizuo Itō whom Mishima respected. Post-war literature After Japan's defeat in World War II, the country was occupied by the U.S.-led Allied Powers. At the urging of the occupation authorities, many people who held important posts in various fields were purged from public office. The media and publishing industry were also censored, and were not allowed to engage in forms of expression reminiscent of wartime Japanese nationalism. In addition, literary figures, including many of those who had been close to Mishima before the end of the war, were branded "war criminal literary figures". Some people denounced them and converted to left-wing politics, whom Mishima criticized as "opportunists" in his letters to friends. Some prominent literary figures became leftists, and joined the Communist Party as a reaction against wartime militarism and writing socialist realist literature that might support the cause of socialist revolution. Their influence had increased in the Japanese literary world following the end of the war, which Mishima found difficult to accept. Although Mishima was just 20 years old at this time, he worried that his type of literature, based on the 1930s Japanese Romantic School (日本浪曼派, "Nihon Rōman Ha"), had already become obsolete.Mishima had heard that famed writer Yasunari Kawabata had praised his work before the end of the war. Uncertain of who else to turn to, Mishima took the manuscripts for The Middle Ages (中世, Chūsei) and The Cigarette (煙草, Tabako) with him, visited Kawabata in Kamakura, and asked for his advice and assistance in January 1946. Kawabata was impressed, and in June 1946, following Kawabata's recommendation, "The Cigarette" was published in the new literary magazine Ningen (人間, "Humanity"), followed by "The Middle Ages" in December 1946. "The Middle Ages" is set in Japan's historical Muromachi Period and explores the motif of shudō (衆道, man-boy love) against a backdrop of the death of the ninth Ashikaga shogun Ashikaga Yoshihisa (足利義尚) in battle at the age of 25, and his father Ashikaga Yoshimasa (足利義政)'s resultant sadness. The story features the fictional character Kikuwaka, a beautiful teenage boy who was beloved by both Yoshihisa and Yoshimasa, who fails in an attempt to follow Yoshihisa in death by committing suicide. Thereafter, Kikuwaka devotes himself to spiritualism in an attempt to heal Yoshimasa's sadness by allowing Yoshihisa's ghost to possess his body, and eventually dies in a double-suicide with a miko (巫女, shrine maiden) who falls in love with him. Mishima wrote the story in an elegant style drawing upon medieval Japanese literature and the Ryōjin Hishō, a collection of medieval imayō songs. This elevated writing style and the homosexual motif suggest the germ of Mishima's later aesthetics. Later in 1948 Kawabata, who praised this work, published an autobiographical work Boy (少年, Shōnen) describing his experience of falling in love for the first time with a boy two years his junior. In 1946, Mishima began his first novel, Thieves (盗賊, Tōzoku), a story about two young members of the aristocracy drawn towards suicide. It was published in 1948, and placed Mishima in the ranks of the Second Generation of Postwar Writers. The following year, he published Confessions of a Mask (仮面の告白, Kamen no kokuhaku), a semi-autobiographical account of a young homosexual man who hides behind a mask to fit into society. The novel was extremely successful and made Mishima a celebrity at the age of 24. Around 1949, Mishima also published a literary essay about Kawabata, for whom he had always held a deep appreciation, in Kindai Bungaku (近代文学).Mishima enjoyed international travel. In 1952, he took a world tour and published his travelogue as The Cup of Apollo (アポロの杯, Aporo no Sakazuki). He visited Greece during his travels, a place which had fascinated him since childhood. His visit to Greece became the basis for his 1954 novel The Sound of Waves (潮騒, Shiosai), which drew inspiration from the Greek legend of Daphnis and Chloe. The Sound of Waves, set on the small island of "Kami-shima" where a traditional Japanese lifestyle continued to be practiced, depicts a pure, simple love between a fisherman and a female pearl and abalone diver (海女, ama). Although the novel became a best-seller, leftists criticized it for "glorifying old-fashioned Japanese values", and some people began calling Mishima a "fascist". Looking back on these attacks in later years, Mishima wrote, "The ancient community ethics portrayed in this novel were attacked by progressives at the time, but no matter how much the Japanese people changed, these ancient ethics lurk in the bottom of their hearts. We have gradually seen this proven to be the case." Mishima made use of contemporary events in many of his works. The Temple of the Golden Pavilion (金閣寺, Kinkaku-ji), published in 1956, is a fictionalization of the burning down of the Kinkaku-ji Buddhist temple in Kyoto in 1950 by a mentally disturbed monk.In 1959, Mishima published the artistically ambitious novel Kyōko no Ie (Kyōko's house) (鏡子の家, Kyōko no Ie). The novel tells the interconnected stories of four young men who represented four different facets of Mishima's personality. His athletic side appears as a boxer, his artistic side as a painter, his narcissistic, performative side as an actor, and his secretive, nihilistic side as a businessman who goes through the motions of living a normal life while practicing "absolute contempt for reality". According to Mishima, he was attempting to describe the time around 1955 in the novel, when Japan was entering into its era of high economic growth and the phrase "The postwar is over" was prevalent. Mishima explained, "Kyōko no Ie is, so to speak, my research into the nihilism within me." Although the novel was well received by a small number of critics from the same generation as Mishima and sold 150,000 copies in a month, it was widely panned in broader literary circles, and was rapidly branded as Mishima's first "failed work". It was Mishima's first major setback as an author, and the book's disastrous reception came as a harsh psychological blow.Many of Mishima's most famous and highly regarded works were written prior to 1960. However, until that year he had not written works that were seen as especially political. In the summer of 1960, Mishima became interested in the massive Anpo protests against an attempt by U.S.-backed Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi to revise the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security Between the United States and Japan (known as "Anpo" in Japanese) in order to cement the U.S.–Japan military alliance into place. Although he did not directly participate in the protests, he often went out in the streets to observe the protestors in action and kept extensive newspaper clipping covering the protests. In June 1960, at the climax of the protest movement, Mishima wrote a commentary in the Mainichi Shinbun newspaper, entitled "A Political Opinion". In the critical essay, he argued that leftist groups such as the Zengakuren student federation, the Socialist Party, and the Communist Party were falsely wrapping themselves in the banner of "defending democracy" and using the protest movement to further their own ends. Mishima warned against the dangers of the Japanese people following ideologues who told lies with honeyed words. Although Mishima criticized Kishi as a "nihilist" who had subordinated himself to the United States, Mishima concluded that he would rather vote for a strong-willed realist "with neither dreams nor despair" than a mendacious but eloquent ideologue.Shortly after the Anpo Protests ended, Mishima began writing one of his most famous short stories, Patriotism (憂国, Yūkoku), glorifying the actions of a young right-wing ultranationalist Japanese army officer who commits suicide after a failed revolt against the government during the February 26 Incident. The following year, he published the first two parts of his three-part play Tenth-Day Chrysanthemum (十日の菊, Tōka no kiku), which celebrates the actions of the 26 February revolutionaries.Mishima's newfound interest in contemporary politics shaped his novel After the Banquet (宴のあと, Utage no ato), also published in 1960, which so closely followed the events surrounding politician Hachirō Arita's campaign to become governor of Tokyo that Mishima was sued for invasion of privacy. The next year, Mishima published The Frolic of the Beasts (獣の戯れ, Kemono no tawamure), a parody of the classical Noh play Motomezuka, written in the 14th-century playwright Kiyotsugu Kan'ami. In 1962, Mishima produced his most artistically avant-garde work Beautiful Star (美しい星, Utsukushii hoshi), which at times comes close to science fiction. Although the novel received mixed reviews from the literary world, prominent critic Takeo Okuno singled it out for praise as part of a new breed of novels that was overthrowing longstanding literary conventions in the tumultuous aftermath of the Anpo Protests. Alongside Kōbō Abe's Woman of the Dunes (砂の女, Suna no onna), published that same year, Okuno considered A Beautiful Star an "epoch-making work" which broke free of literary taboos and preexisting notions of what literature should be in order to explore the author's personal creativity.In 1965, Mishima wrote the play Madame de Sade (サド侯爵夫人, Sado kōshaku fujin) that explores the complex figure of the Marquis de Sade, traditionally upheld as an exemplar of vice, through a series of debates between six female characters, including the Marquis' wife, the Madame de Sade. At the end of the play, Mishima offers his own interpretation of what he considered to be one of the central mysteries of the de Sade story—the Madame de Sade's unstinting support for her husband while he was in prison and her sudden decision to renounce him upon his release. Mishima's play was inspired in part by his friend Tatsuhiko Shibusawa's 1960 Japanese translation of the Marquis de Sade's novel Juliette and a 1964 biography Shibusawa wrote of de Sade. Shibusawa's sexually explicit translation became the focus of a sensational obscenity trial remembered in Japan as the "Sade Case" (サド裁判, Sado saiban), which was ongoing as Mishima wrote the play. In 1994, Madame de Sade was evaluated as the "greatest drama in the history of postwar theater" by Japanese theater criticism magazine Theater Arts.Mishima was considered for the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1963, 1964, and 1965, and was a favorite of many foreign publications. However, in 1968 his early mentor Kawabata won the Nobel Prize and Mishima realized that the chances of it being given to another Japanese author in the near future were slim. In a work published in 1970, Mishima wrote that the writers he paid most attention to in modern western literature were Georges Bataille, Pierre Klossowski, and Witold Gombrowicz. Acting and modelling Mishima was also an actor, and starred in Yasuzo Masumura's 1960 film, Afraid to Die (からっ風野郎, Karakkaze yarō), for which he also sang the theme song (lyrics by himself; music by Shichirō Fukazawa). He performed in films like Patriotism or the Rite of Love and Death (憂国, Yūkoku, directed by himself, 1966), Black Lizard (黒蜥蜴, Kurotokage, directed by Kinji Fukasaku, 1968) and Hitokiri (人斬り, directed by Hideo Gosha, 1969). Mishima was featured as the photo model in photographer Eikoh Hosoe's book Bara-kei (薔薇刑, Ba-ra-kei: Ordeal by Roses), as well as in Tamotsu Yatō's photobooks Young Samurai: Bodybuilders of Japan (体道～日本のボディビルダーたち, Taidō: Nihon no bodybuilder tachi) and Otoko: Photo Studies of the Young Japanese Male (男, Otoko). American author Donald Richie gave an eyewitness account of seeing Mishima, dressed in a loincloth and armed with a sword, posing in the snow for one of Tamotsu Yatō's photoshoots.In the men's magazine Heibon Punch, to which Mishima had contributed various essays and criticisms, he won first place in the "Mr. Dandy" reader popularity poll in 1967 with 19,590 votes, beating second place Toshiro Mifune by 720 votes. In the next reader popularity poll, "Mr. International", Mishima ranked second behind French President Charles de Gaulle. At that time in the late 1960s, Mishima was the first celebrity to be described as a "superstar" (sūpāsutā) by the Japanese media. Private life In 1955, Mishima took up weight training to overcome his weak composition, and his strictly observed workout regimen of three sessions per week was not disrupted for the final 15 years of his life. In his 1968 essay Sun and Steel (太陽と鉄, Taiyō to tetsu), Mishima deplored the emphasis given by intellectuals to the mind over the body. He later became very skilled (5th Dan) at kendo (traditional Japanese swordsmanship), and became 2nd Dan in battōjutsu, and 1st Dan in karate. In 1956, he tried boxing for a short period of time. In the same year, he developed an interest in UFOs and became a member of the Japan Flying Saucer Research Association (日本空飛ぶ円盤研究会, Nihon soratobu enban kenkyukai). In 1954, he fell in love with Sadako Toyoda (豊田貞子), who became the model for main characters in The Sunken Waterfall (沈める滝, Shizumeru taki) and The Seven Bridges (橋づくし, Hashi zukushi). Mishima hoped to marry her, but they broke up in 1957.After briefly considering marriage with Michiko Shōda (正田美智子), who later married Crown Prince Akihito and became Empress Michiko, Mishima married Yōko (瑤子, née Sugiyama), the daughter of Japanese-style painter Yasushi Sugiyama (杉山寧), on 1 June 1958. The couple had two children: a daughter named Noriko (紀子) (born 2 June 1959) and a son named Iichirō (威一郎) (born 2 May 1962). Noriko eventually married the diplomat Koji Tomita (冨田浩司).While working on his novel Forbidden Colors (禁色, Kinjiki), Mishima visited gay bars in Japan. Mishima's sexual orientation was an issue that bothered his wife, and she always denied his homosexuality after his death. In 1998, the writer Jirō Fukushima (福島次郎) published an account of his relationship with Mishima in 1951, including fifteen letters (not love letters) from the famed novelist. Mishima's children successfully sued Fukushima and the publisher for copyright violation over the use of Mishima's letters. Publisher Bungeishunjū had argued that the contents of the letters were "practical correspondence" rather than copyrighted works. However, the ruling for the plaintiffs declared, "In addition to clerical content, these letters describe the Mishima's own feelings, his aspirations, and his views on life, in different words from those in his literary works."In February 1961, Mishima became embroiled in the aftermath of the Shimanaka incident (嶋中事件, Shimanaka Jiken). In 1960, the author Shichirō Fukazawa (深沢七郎) had published the satirical short story The Tale of an Elegant Dream (風流夢譚, Fūryū Mutan) in the mainstream magazine Chūō Kōron. It contained a dream sequence (in which the Emperor and Empress are beheaded by a guillotine) that led to outrage from right-wing ultra-nationalist groups, and numerous death threats against Fukazawa, any writers believed to have been associated with him, and Chūō Kōron magazine itself. On 1 February 1961, Kazutaka Komori (小森一孝), a seventeen-year-old rightist, broke into the home of Hōji Shimanaka (嶋中鵬二), the president of Chūō Kōron, killed his maid with a knife and severely wounded his wife. In the aftermath, Fukazawa went into hiding, and dozens of writers and literary critics, including Mishima, were provided with round-the-clock police protection for several months; Mishima was included because a rumor that Mishima had personally recommended "The Tale of an Elegant Dream" for publication became widespread, and even though he repeatedly denied the claim, he received hundreds of death threats. In later years, Mishima harshly criticized Komori, arguing that those who harm women and children are neither patriots nor traditional right-wingers, and that an assassination attempt should be a one-on-one confrontation with the victim at the risk of the assassin's life. Mishima also argued that it was the custom of traditional Japanese patriots to immediately commit suicide after committing an assassination.In 1963, the Harp of Joy Incident occurred within the theatrical troupe Bungakuza (文学座), to which Mishima belonged. He wrote a play titled The Harp of Joy (喜びの琴, Yorokobi no koto), but star actress Haruko Sugimura (杉村春子) and other Communist Party-affiliated actors refused to perform because the protagonist held anti-communist views and mentioned criticism about a conspiracy of world communism in his lines. As a result of this ideological conflict, Mishima quit Bungakuza and later formed the troupe Neo Littérature Théâtre (劇団NLT, Gekidan NLT) with playwrights and actors who had quit Bungakuza along with him, including Seiichi Yashio (矢代静一), Takeo Matsuura (松浦竹夫), and Nobuo Nakamura (中村伸郎). When Neo Littérature Théâtre experienced a schism in 1968, Mishima formed another troupe, the Roman Theatre (浪曼劇場, Rōman Gekijō), and worked with Matsuura and Nakamura again.During the Tokyo Olympics in 1964, Mishima interviewed various athletes every day and wrote articles as a newspaper correspondent. He had eagerly anticipated the long-awaited return of the Olympics to Japan after the 1940 Tokyo Olympics were cancelled due to Japan's war in China. Mishima expressed his excitement in his report on the opening ceremonies: "It can be said that ever since Lafcadio Hearn called the Japanese "the Greeks of the Orient," the Olympics were destined to be hosted by Japan someday."Mishima hated Ryokichi Minobe, who was a communist and the governor of Tokyo beginning in 1967. Influential persons in the conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), including Takeo Fukuda and Kiichi Aichi, had been Mishima's superiors during his time at the Ministry of the Treasury, and Prime Minister Eisaku Satō came to know Mishima because his wife, Hiroko, was a fan of Mishima's work. Based on these connections LDP officials solicited Mishima to run for the LDP as governor of Tokyo against Minobe, but Mishima had no intention of becoming a politician.Mishima was fond of manga and gekiga, especially the drawing style of Hiroshi Hirata (平田弘史), a mangaka best known for his samurai gekiga; the slapstick, absurdist comedy in Fujio Akatsuka's Mōretsu Atarō (もーれつア太郎), and the imaginativeness of Shigeru Mizuki's GeGeGe no Kitarō (ゲゲゲの鬼太郎). Mishima especially loved reading the boxing manga Ashita no Joe (あしたのジョー, "Tomorrow's Joe") in Weekly Shōnen Magazine every week. Ultraman and Godzilla were his favorite kaiju fantasies, and he once compared himself to "Godzilla's egg" in 1955. On the other hand, he disliked story manga with humanist or cosmopolitan themes, such as Osamu Tezuka's Phoenix (火の鳥, Hi no tori).Mishima was a fan of science fiction, contending that "science fiction will be the first literature to completely overcome modern humanism". He praised Arthur C. Clarke's Childhood's End in particular. While acknowledging "inexpressible unpleasant and uncomfortable feelings after reading it," he declared, "I'm not afraid to call it a masterpiece."Mishima traveled to Shimoda on the Izu Peninsula with his wife and children every summer from 1964 onwards. In Shimoda, Mishima often enjoyed eating local seafood with his friend Henry Scott-Stokes. Mishima never showed any hostility towards the US in front of foreign friends like Scott-Stokes, until Mishima heard that the name of the inn where Scott-Stokes was staying was Kurofune (lit. 'black ship'), at which point his voice suddenly became low and he said in a sullen manner, "Why? Why do you stay at a place with such a name?". Mishima liked ordinary American people after the war, and he and his wife had even visited Disneyland as newlyweds. However, he clearly retained a strong sense of hostility toward the "black ships" of Commodore Matthew C. Perry, who forcibly opened Japan up to unequal international relations at the end of the Edo period, and had destroyed the peace of Edo, where vivid chōnin culture was flourishing. Harmony of Pen and Sword Mishima's nationalism grew towards the end of his life. In 1966, he published his short story The Voices of the Heroic Dead (英霊の聲, Eirei no koe), in which he denounced Emperor Hirohito for renouncing his own divinity after World War II. He argued that the soldiers who had died in the February 26 Incident (二・二六事件, Ni-Ni-Roku Jiken) and the Japanese Special Attack Units (特攻隊, Tokkōtai) had died for their "living god" Emperor, and that Hirohito's renunciation of his own divinity meant that all those deaths had been in vain. Mishima said that His Imperial Majesty had become a human when he should be a God.In February 1967, Mishima joined fellow authors Yasunari Kawabata, Kōbō Abe, and Jun Ishikawa in issuing a statement condemning China's Cultural Revolution for suppressing academic and artistic freedom. However, only one Japanese newspaper carried the full text of their statement.In September 1967 Mishima and his wife visited India at the invitation of the Indian government. He traveled widely and met with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and President Zakir Hussain. He left extremely impressed by Indian culture, and what he felt was the Indian people's determination to resist Westernization and protect traditional ways. Mishima feared that his fellow Japanese were too enamored of modernization and western-style materialism to protect traditional Japanese culture. While in New Delhi, he spoke at length with an unnamed colonel in the Indian Army who had experienced skirmishes with Chinese troops on the Sino-Indian border. The colonel warned Mishima of the strength and fighting spirit of the Chinese troops. Mishima later spoke of his sense of danger regarding what he perceived to be a lack of concern in Japan about the need to bolster Japan's national defense against the threat from Communist China. On his way home from India, Mishima also stopped in Thailand and Laos; his experiences in the three nations became the basis for portions of his novel The Temple of Dawn (暁の寺, Akatsuki no tera), the third in his tetralogy The Sea of Fertility (豊饒の海, Hōjō no Umi).In 1968, Mishima wrote a play titled My Friend Hitler (わが友ヒットラー, Waga tomo Hittorā), in which he depicted the historical figures of Adolf Hitler, Gustav Krupp, Gregor Strasser, and Ernst Röhm as mouthpieces to express his own views on fascism and beauty. Mishima explained that after writing the all-female play Madame de Sade, he wanted to write a counterpart play with an all-male cast. Mishima wrote of My Friend Hitler, "You may read this tragedy as an allegory of the relationship between Ōkubo Toshimichi and Saigō Takamori" (two heroes of Japan's Meiji Restoration who initially worked together but later had a falling out).That same year, he wrote Life for Sale (命売ります, Inochi Urimasu), a humorous story about a man who, after failing to commit suicide, advertises his life for sale. In a review of the English translation, novelist Ian Thomson called it a "pulp noir" and a "sexy, camp delight", but also noted that, "beneath the hard-boiled dialogue and the gangster high jinks is a familiar indictment of consumerist Japan and a romantic yearning for the past." Mishima was hated by leftists who said Hirohito should have abdicated to take responsibility for the loss of life in the war. They also hated him for his outspoken commitment to bushido, the code of the samurai in The way of the samurai (葉隠入門, Hagakure Nyūmon), his support for the abolition of Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, and for his contention in his critique The Defense of Culture (文化防衛論, Bunka Bōeiron) that preached the importance of the Emperor in Japanese cultures. Mishima regarded the postwar era of Japan, where no poetic culture and supreme artist was born, as an era of fake prosperity, and stated in The Defense of Culture: In the postwar prosperity called Shōwa Genroku, where there are no Chikamatsu Monzaemon, Ihara Saikaku, Matsuo Bashō, only infestation of flashy manners and customs in there. Passion is dried up, strong realism dispels the ground, and the deepening of poetry is neglected. That is, there are no Chikamatsu, Saikaku, or Basho now. In other critical essays, Mishima argued that the national spirit which cultivated in Japan's long history is the key to national defense, and he had apprehensions about the insidious "indirect aggression" of the Chinese Communist Party, North Korea, and the Soviet Union. In critical essays in 1969, Mishima explained Japan's difficult and delicate position and peculiarities between China, the Soviet Union, and the United States. To put it simply, support for the Security Treaty means agreeing with the United States, and to oppose it means agreeing with the Soviet Union or the Chinese Communist Party, so after all, it's only just a matter of which foreign country to rely on, and therein the question of "what is Japan" is completely lacking. If you ask the Japanese, "Hey you, do you choose America, Soviet Union, or Chinese Communist Party?", if he is a true Japanese, he will withhold his attitude. In regards to those who strongly opposed the US military base in Okinawa and the Security Treaty: They may appear to be nationalists and right-wingers in the foreign common sense, but in Japan, most of them are in fact left-wingers and communists.Throughout this period, Mishima continued to work on his magnum opus, The Sea of Fertility tetralogy of novels, which began appearing in a monthly serialized format in September 1965. The four completed novels were Spring Snow (1969), Runaway Horses (1969), The Temple of Dawn (1970), and The Decay of the Angel (published posthumously in 1971). Mishima aimed for a very long novel with a completely different raison d'être from Western chronicle novels of the 19th and 20th centuries; rather than telling the story of a single individual or family, Mishima boldly set his goal as interpreting the entire human world. In The Decay of the Angel, four stories convey the transmigration of the human soul as the main character goes through a series of reincarnations. Mishima hoped to express in literary terms something akin to pantheism. Novelist Paul Theroux blurbed the first edition of the English translation of The Sea of Fertility as "the most complete vision we have of Japan in the twentieth century" and critic Charles Solomon wrote in 1990 that "the four novels remain one of the outstanding works of 20th-Century literature and a summary of the author's life and work". Coup attempt and ritual suicide In August 1966, Mishima visited Ōmiwa Shrine in Nara Prefecture, thought to be one of the oldest Shintō shrines in Japan, as well as the hometown of his mentor Zenmei Hasuda and the areas associated with the Shinpūren Rebellion (神風連の乱, Shinpūren no ran), an uprising against the Meiji government by samurai in 1876. This trip would become the inspiration for portions of Runaway Horses (奔馬, Honba), the second novel in the Sea of Fertility tetralogy. While in Kumamoto, Mishima purchased a Japanese sword for 100,000 yen. Mishima envisioned the reincarnation of Kiyoaki, the protagonist of the first novel Spring Snow, as a man named Isao who put his life on the line to bring about a restoration of direct rule by the Emperor against the backdrop of the League of Blood Incident (血盟団事件, Ketsumeidan jiken) in 1932. From 12 April to 27 May 1967, Mishima underwent basic training with the Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF). Mishima had originally lobbied to train with the GSDF for six months, but was met with resistance from the Defense Agency. Mishima's training period was finalized to 46 days, which required using some of his connections. His participation in GSDF training was kept secret, both because the Defense Agency did not want to give the impression that anyone was receiving special treatment, and because Mishima wanted to experience "real" military life. Accordingly, Mishima trained under his birth name, Kimitake Hiraoka, and most of his fellow soldiers did not recognize him.From June 1967, Mishima became a leading figure in a plan to create a 10,000-man "Japan National Guard" (祖国防衛隊, Sokoku Bōeitai) as a civilian complement to Japan's Self Defense Forces. He began leading groups of right-wing college students to undergo basic training with the GDSF in the hope of training 100 officers to lead the National Guard.Like many other right-wingers, Mishima was especially alarmed by the riots and revolutionary actions undertaken by radical "New Left" university students, who took over dozens of college campuses in Japan in 1968 and 1969. On 26 February 1968, the 32nd anniversary of the February 26 Incident, he and several other right-wingers met at the editorial offices of the recently founded right-wing magazine Controversy Journal (論争ジャーナル, Ronsō jaanaru), where they pricked their little fingers and signed a blood oath promising to die if necessary to prevent a left-wing revolution from occurring in Japan. Mishima showed his sincerity by signing his birth name, Kimitake Hiraoka, in his own blood.When Mishima found that his plan for a large-scale Japan National Guard with broad public and private support failed to catch on, he formed the Tatenokai (楯の会, "Shield Society") on 5 October 1968, a private militia composed primarily of right-wing college students who swore to protect the Emperor of Japan. The activities of the Tatenokai primarily focused on martial training and physical fitness, including traditional kendo sword-fighting and long-distance running. Mishima personally oversaw this training. Initial membership was around 50, and was drawn primarily from students from Waseda University and individuals affiliated with Controversy Journal. The number of Tatenokai members later increased to 100. Some of the members had graduated from university and were employed, while some were already working adults when they enlisted. On 25 November 1970, Mishima and four members of the Tatenokai—Masakatsu Morita (森田必勝), Masahiro Ogawa (小川正洋), Masayoshi Koga (小賀正義), and Hiroyasu Koga (古賀浩靖)—used a pretext to visit the commandant Kanetoshi Mashita (益田兼利) of Camp Ichigaya, a military base in central Tokyo and the headquarters of the Eastern Command of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Inside, they barricaded the office and tied the commandant to his chair. Mishima wore a white hachimaki headband with a red hinomaru circle in the center bearing the kanji for "To be reborn seven times to serve the country" (七生報國, Shichishō hōkoku), which was a reference to the last words of Kusunoki Masasue, the younger brother of the 14th century imperial loyalist samurai Kusunoki Masashige (楠木正成), as the two brothers died fighting to defend the Emperor. With a prepared manifesto and a banner listing their demands, Mishima stepped out onto the balcony to address the soldiers gathered below. His speech was intended to inspire a coup d'état to restore the power of the emperor. He succeeded only in irritating the soldiers, and was heckled, with jeers and the noise of helicopters drowning out some parts of his speech. In his speech Mishima rebuked the JSDF for their passive acceptance of a constitution that "denies (their) own existence" and shouted to rouse them, "Where has the spirit of the samurai gone?" In his final written appeal that Morita and Ogawa scattered copies of from the balcony, Mishima expressed his dissatisfaction with the half-baked nature of the JSDF: It is self-evident that the United States would not be pleased with a true Japanese volunteer army protecting the land of Japan.After he finished reading his prepared speech in a few minutes' time, Mishima cried out "Long live the Emperor!" (天皇陛下万歳, Tenno-heika banzai) three times. He then retreated into the commandant's office and apologized to the commandant, saying, "We did it to return the JSDF to the Emperor. I had no choice but to do this."Mishima then committed seppuku, a form of ritual suicide by disembowelment associated with the samurai. Morita had been assigned to serve as Mishima's second (kaishakunin), cutting off his head with a sword at the end of the ritual to spare him unnecessary pain. However, Morita proved unable to complete his task, and after three failed attempts to sever Mishima's head, Koga had to step in and complete the task.According to the testimony of the surviving coup members, originally all four Tatenokai members had planned to commit seppuku along with Mishima. However Mishima attempted to dissuade them and three of the members acquiesced to his wishes. Only Morita persisted, saying, "I can't let Mr. Mishima die alone." But Mishima knew that Morita had a girlfriend and still hoped he might live. Just before his seppuku, Mishima tried one more time to dissuade him, saying "Morita, you must live, not die." Nevertheless, after Mishima's seppuku, Morita knelt and stabbed himself in the abdomen and Koga acted as kaishakunin again.This coup attempt is called The Mishima Incident (三島事件, Mishima jiken) in Japan. Another traditional element of the suicide ritual was the composition of so-called death poems by the Tatenokai members before their entry into the headquarters. Having been enlisted in the Ground Self-Defense Force for about four years, Mishima and other Tatenokai members, alongside several officials, were secretly researching coup plans for a constitutional amendment. They thought there was a chance when security dispatch (治安出動, Chian Shutsudo) was dispatched to subjugate the Zenkyoto revolt. However, Zenkyoto was suppressed easily by the Riot Police Unit in October 1969. These officials gave up the coup of constitutional amendment, and Mishima was disappointed in them and the actual circumstances in Japan after World War II. Officer Kiyokatsu Yamamoto (山本舜勝), Mishima's training teacher, explained further: The officers had a trusty connection with the U.S.A.F. (includes U.S.F.J), and with the approval of the U.S. army side, they were supposed to carry out a security dispatch toward the Armed Forces of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. However, due to the policy change (reversal) of U.S. by Henry Kissinger who prepared for visiting China in secret (changing relations between U.S. and China), it became a situation where the Japanese military was not allowed legally.Mishima planned his suicide meticulously for at least a year and no one outside the group of hand-picked Tatenokai members knew what he was planning. His biographer, translator John Nathan, suggests that the coup attempt was only a pretext for the ritual suicide of which Mishima had long dreamed. His friend Scott-Stokes, another biographer, says that "Mishima is the most important person in postwar Japan", and described the shackles of the constitution of Japan: Mishima cautioned against the lack of reality in the basic political controversy in Japan and the particularity of Japan's democratic principles.Scott-Stokes noted a meeting with Mishima in his diary entry for 3 September 1970, at which Mishima, with a dark expression on his face, said: Japan lost its spiritual tradition, and materialism infested instead. Japan is under the curse of a Green Snake now. The Green Snake bites on Japanese chest. There is no way to escape this curse. Scott-Stokes told Takao Tokuoka in 1990 that he took the Green Snake to mean the U.S. dollar. Between 1968 and 1970, Mishima also said words about Japan's future. Mishima's senior friend and father heard from Mishima: Japan will be hit hard. One day, the United States suddenly contacts China over Japan's head, Japan will only be able to look up from the bottom of the valley and eavesdrop on the conversation slightly. Our friend Taiwan will say that "it will no longer be able to count on Japan", and Taiwan will go somewhere. Japan may become an orphan in the Orient, and may eventually fall into the product of slave dealers.Mishima's corpse was returned home the day after his death. His father Azusa had been afraid to see his son whose appearance had completely changed. However, when he looked into the casket fearfully, Mishima's head and body had been sutured neatly, and his dead face, to which makeup had been beautifully applied, looked as if he were alive due to the police officers. They said: "We applied funeral makeup carefully with special feelings, because it is the body of Dr. Mishima, whom we have always respected secretly." Mishima's body was dressed in the Tatenokai uniform, and the guntō was firmly clasped at the chest according to the will that Mishima entrusted to his friend Kinemaro Izawa (伊沢甲子麿). Azusa put the manuscript papers and fountain pen that his son cherished in the casket together. Mishima had made sure his affairs were in order and left money for the legal defence of the three surviving Tatenokai members—Masahiro Ogawa (小川正洋), Masayoshi Koga (小賀正義), and Hiroyasu Koga. After the incident, there were exaggerated media commentaries that "it was a fear of the revival of militarism". The commandant who was made a hostage said in the trial, I didn't feel hate towards the defendants at that time. Thinking about the country of Japan, thinking about the JSDF, the pure hearts of thinking about our country that did that kind of thing, I want to buy it as an individual.The day of the Mishima Incident (25 November) was the date when Hirohito (Emperor Shōwa) became regent and the Emperor Shōwa made the Humanity Declaration at the age of 45. Researchers believe that Mishima chose that day to revive the "God" by dying as a scapegoat, at the same age as when the Emperor became a human. There are also views that the day corresponds to the date of execution (after the adoption of the Gregorian calendar) of Yoshida Shōin (吉田松陰), whom Mishima respected, or that Mishima had set his period of bardo (中有, Chuu) for reincarnation because the 49th day after his death was his birthday, 14 January. On his birthday, Mishima's remains were buried in the grave of the Hiraoka Family at Tama Cemetery. In addition, 25 November is the day he began writing Confessions of a Mask (仮面の告白, Kamen no kokuhaku), and this work was announced as "Techniques of Life Recovery", "Suicide inside out". Mishima also wrote down in notes for this work, This book is a will for leave in the Realm of Death where I used to live. If you take a movie of a suicide jumped, and rotate the film in reverse, the suicide person jumps up from the valley bottom to the top of the cliff at a furious speed and he revives. Writer Takashi Inoue believes he wrote Confessions of a Mask to live in postwar Japan, and to get away from his "Realm of Death"; by dying on the same date that he began to write Confessions of a Mask, Mishima intended to dismantle all of his postwar creative activities and return to the "Realm of Death" where he used to live. Legacy Much speculation has surrounded Mishima's suicide. At the time of his death he had just completed the final book in his Sea of Fertility tetralogy. He was recognized as one of the most important post-war stylists of the Japanese language. Mishima wrote 34 novels, about 50 plays, about 25 books of short stories, at least 35 books of essays, one libretto, and one film. Mishima's grave is located at the Tama Cemetery in Fuchū, Tokyo. The Mishima Prize was established in 1988 to honor his life and works. On 3 July 1999, "Yukio Mishima Literary Museum" (三島由紀夫文学館, Mishima Yukio Bungaku-kan) was opened in Yamanakako, Yamanashi Prefecture.The Mishima Incident helped inspire the formation of New Right (新右翼, shin uyoku) groups in Japan, such as the "Issuikai" (一水会), founded by Tsutomu Abe (阿部勉), who was Mishima's follower. Compared to older groups such as Bin Akao's Greater Japan Patriotic Party that took a pro-American, anti-communist stance, New Right groups such as the Issuikai tended to emphasize ethnic nationalism and anti-Americanism.A memorial service deathday for Mishima, called "Patriotism Memorial" (憂国忌, Yūkoku-ki), is held every year in Japan on 25 November by the "Yukio Mishima Study Group" (三島由紀夫研究会, Mishima Yukio Kenkyūkai) and former members of the "Japan Student Alliance" (日本学生同盟, Nihon Gakusei Dōmei). Apart from this, a memorial service is held every year by former Tatenokai members, which began in 1975, the year after Masahiro Ogawa, Masayoshi Koga, and Hiroyasu Koga were released on parole.A variety of cenotaphs and memorial stones have been erected in honor of Mishima's memory in various places around Japan. For example, stones have been erected at Hachiman Shrine in Kakogawa City, Hyogo Prefecture, where his grandfather's permanent domicile was; in front of the 2nd company corps at JGSDF Camp Takigahara; and in one of Mishima's acquaintance's home garden. There is also a "Monument of Honor Yukio Mishima & Masakatsu Morita" in front of the Rissho University Shonan High school in Shimane Prefecture.The Mishima Yukio Shrine was built in the suburb of Fujinomiya, Shizuoka Prefecture, on 9 January 1983.A 1985 biographical film by Paul Schrader titled Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters depicts his life and work; however, it has never been given a theatrical presentation in Japan. A 2012 Japanese film titled 11:25 The Day He Chose His Own Fate also looks at Mishima's last day. The 1983 gay pornographic film Beautiful Mystery satirised the homosexual undertones of Mishima's career.In 2014, Mishima was one of the inaugural honourees in the Rainbow Honor Walk, a walk of fame in San Francisco's Castro neighbourhood noting LGBTQ people who have "made significant contributions in their fields". Awards Shincho Prize from Shinchosha Publishing, 1954, for The Sound of Waves Kishida Prize for Drama from Shinchosha Publishing, 1955 for Termites' Nest (白蟻の巣, Shiroari no Su) Yomiuri Prize from Yomiuri Newspaper Co., for best novel, 1956, The Temple of the Golden Pavilion Shuukan Yomiuri Prize for Shingeki from Yomiuri Newspaper Co., 1958, for Rose and Pirate (薔薇と海賊, Bara to Kaizoku) Yomiuri Prize from Yomiuri Newspaper Co., for best drama, 1961, The Chrysanthemum on the Tenth (The Day After the Fair) (十日の菊, Tōka no kiku) One of six finalists for the Nobel Prize in Literature, 1963. Mainichi Art Prize from Mainichi Shimbun, 1964, for Silk and Insight Art Festival Prize from the Ministry of Education, 1965, for Madame de Sade Major works Literature Critical essay Plays for classical Japanese theatre In addition to contemporary-style plays such as Madame de Sade, Mishima wrote for two of the three genres of classical Japanese theatre: Noh and Kabuki (as a proud Tokyoite, he would not even attend the Bunraku puppet theatre, always associated with Osaka and the provinces).Though Mishima took themes, titles and characters from the Noh canon, his twists and modern settings, such as hospitals and ballrooms, startled audiences accustomed to the long-settled originals. Donald Keene translated Kindai Nogaku-shū (近代能楽集, Five Modern Noh Plays) (Tuttle, 1981; ISBN 0-8048-1380-9). Most others remain untranslated and so lack an "official" English title; in such cases it is therefore preferable to use the rōmaji title. Films Mishima starred in multiple films. Patriotism was written and funded by himself, and he directed it in close cooperation with Masaki Domoto. Mishima also wrote a detailed account of the whole process, in which the particulars regarding costume, shooting expenses and the film's reception are delved into. Patriotism won the second prize at the Tours International Short Film Festival in January 1966. Works about Mishima Collection of PhotographsBa-ra-kei: Ordeal by Roses (薔薇刑) by Eikō Hosoe and Mishima (photoerotic collection of images of Mishima, with his own commentary, 1963) (Aperture 2002 ISBN 0-89381-169-6) Grafica: Yukio Mishima (Grafica Mishima Yukio (グラフィカ三島由紀夫)) by Kōichi Saitō, Kishin Shinoyama, Takeyoshi Tanuma, Ken Domon, Masahisa Fukase, Eikō Hosoe, Ryūji Miyamoto etc. (photoerotic collection of Yukio Mishima) (Shinchosha 1990 ISBN 978-4-10-310202-1) Yukio Mishima's house (Mishima Yukio no Ie (三島由紀夫の家)) by Kishin Shinoyama (Bijutsu Shuppansha 1995 ISBN 978-4-568-12055-4) The Death of a Man (Otoko no shi (男の死)) by Kishin Shinoyama and Mishima (photo collection of death images of Japanese men including a sailor, a construction worker, a fisherman, and a soldier, those were Mishima did modeling in 1970) (Rizzoli 2020 ISBN 978-0-8478-6869-8)BooksReflections on the Death Of Mishima by Henry Miller (1972, ISBN 0-912264-38-1) The Day He Himself Shall Wipe My Tears Away (Mizukara waga namida wo nuguitamau hi (みずから我が涙をぬぐいたまう日)) by Kenzaburō Ōe (Kodansha, 1972, NCID BN04777478) – In addition to this, Kenzaburō Ōe wrote several works that mention the Mishima incident and Mishima a little. Mishima: A Biography by John Nathan (Boston, Little, Brown and Company 1974, ISBN 0-316-59844-5) The Life and Death of Yukio Mishima, by Henry Scott-Stokes (London : Owen, 1975 ISBN 0-7206-0123-1) La mort volontaire au Japon, by Maurice Pinguet (Gallimard, 1984 ISBN 2070701891) Der Magnolienkaiser: Nachdenken über Yukio Mishima by Hans Eppendorfer (1984, ISBN 3924040087) Teito Monogatari (vol. 5–10) by Hiroshi Aramata (a historical fantasy novel. Mishima appears in series No.5, and he reincarnates a woman Michiyo Ohsawa in series No.6), (Kadokawa Shoten 1985 ISBN 4-04-169005-6) Yukio Mishima by Peter Wolfe ("reviews Mishima's life and times, discusses, his major works, and looks at important themes in his novels", 1989, ISBN 0-8264-0443-X) Escape from the Wasteland: Romanticism and Realism in the Fiction of Mishima Yukio and Oe Kenzaburo (Harvard-Yenching Institute Monograph Series, No 33) by Susan J. Napier (Harvard University Press, 1991 ISBN 0-674-26180-1) Deadly Dialectics: Sex, Violence, and Nihilism in the World of Yukio Mishima by Roy Starrs (University of Hawaii Press, 1994, ISBN 0-8248-1630-7 and ISBN 0-8248-1630-7) Rogue Messiahs: Tales of Self-Proclaimed Saviors by Colin Wilson (Mishima profiled in context of phenomenon of various "outsider" Messiah types), (Hampton Roads Publishing Company 2000 ISBN 1-57174-175-5) Mishima ou la vision du vide (Mishima : A Vision of the Void), essay by Marguerite Yourcenar trans. by Alberto Manguel 2001 ISBN 0-226-96532-5) Yukio Mishima, Terror and Postmodern Japan by Richard Appignanesi (2002, ISBN 1-84046-371-6) Yukio Mishima's Report to the Emperor by Richard Appignanesi (2003, ISBN 978-0-9540476-6-5) The Madness and Perversion of Yukio Mishima by Jerry S. Piven. (Westport, Connecticut, Praeger Publishers, 2004 ISBN 0-275-97985-7) Mishima's Sword – Travels in Search of a Samurai Legend by Christopher Ross (2006, ISBN 0-00-713508-4) Mishima Reincarnation (Mishima tensei (三島転生)) by Akitomo Ozawa (小沢章友) (Popurasha, 2007, ISBN 978-4-591-09590-4) – A story in which the spirit of Mishima, who died at the Ichigaya chutonchi, floating and looks back on his life. Biografia Ilustrada de Mishima by Mario Bellatin (Argentina, Editorian Entropia, 2009, ISBN 978-987-24797-6-3) Impossible (Fukano (不可能)) by Hisaki Matsuura (Kodansha, 2011, ISBN 978-4-06-217028-4) – A novel that assumed that Mishima has been survived the Mishima Incident. Persona: A Biography of Yukio Mishima by Naoki Inose with Hiroaki Sato (Berkeley, California, Stone Bridge Press, 2012, ISBN 978-1-61172-008-2) Yukio Mishima (Critical Lives) by Damian Flanagan (Reaktion Books, 2014, ISBN 978-1-78023-345-1) Portrait of the Author as a Historian by Alexander Lee – an analysis of the central political and social threads in Mishima's novels (pages 54–55 "History Today" April 2017) Mishima, Aesthetic Terrorist: An Intellectual Portrait by Andrew Rankin (University of Hawaii Press, 2018, ISBN 0-8248-7374-2)Film, TVMishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985), a film directed by Paul Schrader The Strange Case of Yukio Mishima (1985) BBC documentary directed by Michael Macintyre Yukio Mishima: Samurai Writer, a BBC documentary on Yukio Mishima, directed by Michael Macintyre, (1985, VHS ISBN 978-1-4213-6981-5, DVD ISBN 978-1-4213-6982-2) Miyabi: Yukio Mishima (みやび 三島由紀夫) (2005), a documentary film directed by Chiyoko Tanaka 11·25 jiketsu no hi: Mishima Yukio to wakamonotachi (2012), a film directed by Kōji Wakamatsu Mishima Yukio vs University of Tokyo Zenkyoto members: a truth of 50th year (三島由紀夫vs東大全共闘〜50年目の真実〜) (2020), a documentary film directed by Keisuke Toyoshima (豊島圭介)MusicHarakiri, by Péter Eötvös (1973). An opera music composed based on the Japanese translation of István Bálint's poetry Harakiri that inspired by Mishima's hara-kiri. This work is included in Ryoko Aoki (青木涼子)'s album Noh x Contemporary Music (能×現代音楽) on June 2014. String Quartet No.3, "Mishima", by Philip Glass. A reworking of parts of his soundtrack for the film Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters it has a duration of 18 minutes. "Death and Night and Blood (Yukio)", a song by the Stranglers from the Black and White album (1978) (Death and Night and Blood is the phrase from Mishima's novel Confessions of a Mask) "Forbidden Colours", a song on Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence soundtrack by Ryuichi Sakamoto with lyrics by David Sylvian (1983). (Inspired by Mishima's novel Forbidden Colors) Sonatas for Yukio – C.P.E. Bach: Harpsichord Sonatas, by Jocelyne Cuiller (2011). A program composed of Bach sonatas for each scene of the novel "Spring Snow".PlayYukio Mishima, a play by Adam Darius and Kazimir Kolesnik, first performed at Holloway Prison, London, in 1991, and later in Finland, Slovenia and Portugal. M, a ballet spectacle work homage to Mishima by Maurice Béjart in 1993Manga, GameShin Megami Tensei by Atlus (1992) – A character Gotou who started a coup in Ichigaya, modeled on Mishima. Tekken by Namco (1994) – Mishima surname comes from Yukio Mishima, and a main character, Kazuya Mishima, had his way of thinking based on Mishima. Jakomo Fosukari (Jakomo Fosukari (ジャコモ・フォスカリ)) by Mari Yamazaki (2012) – The characters modeled on Mishima and Kōbō Abe appears in.PoemHarakiri, by István Bálint. Grave of Mishima (Yukio Mishima no haka (ユキオ・ミシマの墓)) by Pierre Pascal (1970) – 12 Haiku poems and three Tanka poems. Appendix of Shinsho Hanayama (花山信勝)'s book translated into French.ArtKou (Kou (恒)) by Junji Wakebe (分部順治) (1976) – Life-sized male sculpture modeled on Mishima. The work was requested by Mishima in the fall of 1970, he went to Wakebe's atelier every Sunday. It was exhibited at the 6th Niccho Exhibition on 7 April 1976. Season of fiery fire / Requiem for someone: Number 1, Mishima (Rekka no kisetsu/Nanimonoka eno rekuiemu: Sono ichi Mishima (烈火の季節／なにものかへのレクイエム・その壱 ミシマ)) and Classroom of beauty, listen quietly: bi-class, be quiet (Bi no kyositsu, seicho seyo (美の教室、清聴せよ)) by Yasumasa Morimura (2006, 2007) – Disguise performance as Mishima Objectglass 12 and The Death of a Man (Otoko no shi (男の死)) by Kimiski Ishizuka (石塚公昭) (2007, 2011) – Mishima dolls See also Hachinoki kai – a chat circle to which Mishima belonged. Japan Business Federation attack – an incident in 1977 involving four persons (including one former Tatenokai member) connected by the Mishima incident. Kosaburo Eto – Mishima states that he was impressed with the seriousness of Eto's self-immolation, "the most intense criticism of politics as a dream or art." Kumo no kai – a literary movement group presided over by Kunio Kishida in 1950–1954, to which Mishima belonged. Mishima Yukio Prize – a literary award established in September 1987. Phaedo – the book Mishima had been reading in his later years. Suegen – a traditional authentic Japanese style restaurant in Shinbashi that is known as the last dining place for Mishima and four Tatenokai members (Masakatsu Morita, Hiroyasu Koga, Masahiro Ogawa, Masayoshi Koga). 三島由紀夫文学館 The Mishima Yukio Literary Museum website In Japanese only, with the exception of one page (see "English Guide" at top right) 山中湖文学の森公園「三島由紀夫文学館」Yamanakako Forest Park of Literature "Mishima Yukio Literary Museum" Archived 16 May 2020 at the Wayback Machine Yukio Mishima: A 20th Century Samurai at the Wayback Machine (archived 27 October 2009) Petri Liukkonen. "Yukio Mishima". Books and Writers. Mishima chronology, with links YUKIO MISHIMA: The Harmony of Pen and Sword, a ceremony commemorating his 70th birthday Yukio Mishima speaking in English, On The Samurai Spirit on YouTube, from a 1980s BBC documentary (9:02) Rare 1969 interview with Yukio Mishima on YouTube, from Canadian Television (3:59) Yukio Mishima on The end of WWII on YouTube – Full NHK Interview in 1966 (9:21) Yukio Mishima's attempt at personal branding comes to light in the rediscovered 'Star', Nicolas Gattig, The Japan Times (27 April 2019) Yukio Mishima at IMDb

Digamma or wau (uppercase: Ϝ, lowercase: ϝ, numeral: ϛ) is an archaic letter of the Greek alphabet. It originally stood for the sound /w/ but it has remained in use principally as a Greek numeral for 6. Whereas it was originally called waw or wau, its most common appellation in classical Greek is digamma; as a numeral, it was called episēmon during the Byzantine era and is now known as stigma after the Byzantine ligature combining σ-τ as ϛ. Digamma or wau was part of the original archaic Greek alphabet as initially adopted from Phoenician. Like its model, Phoenician waw, it represented the voiced labial-velar approximant /w/ and stood in the 6th position in the alphabet between epsilon and zeta. It is the consonantal doublet of the vowel letter upsilon (/u/), which was also derived from waw but was placed near the end of the Greek alphabet. Digamma or wau is in turn the ancestor of the Latin letter F. As an alphabetic letter, it is attested in archaic and dialectal ancient Greek inscriptions until the classical period. The shape of the letter went through a development from through , , , to or , which at that point was conflated with the σ-τ ligature . In modern print, a distinction is made between the letter in its original alphabetic role as a consonant sign, which is rendered as "Ϝ" or its modern lowercase variant "ϝ", and the numeric symbol, which is represented by "ϛ". In modern Greek, this is often replaced by the digraph στ. Greek w Mycenaean Greek The sound /w/ existed in Mycenean Greek, as attested in Linear B and archaic Greek inscriptions using digamma. It is also confirmed by the Hittite name of Troy, Wilusa, corresponding to the Greek name *Wilion, classical Ilion (Ilium). Classical Greek The /w/ sound was lost at various times in various dialects, mostly before the classical period. In Ionic, /w/ had probably disappeared before Homer's epics were written down (7th century BC), but its former presence can be detected in many cases because its omission left the meter defective. For example, the word ἄναξ ("(tribal) king, lord, (military) leader"), found in the Iliad, would have originally been ϝάναξ /wánaks/ (and is attested in this form in Mycenaean Greek), and the word οἶνος ("wine"), are sometimes used in the meter where a word starting with a consonant would be expected. Further evidence coupled with cognate-analysis shows that οἶνος was earlier ϝοῖνος /wóînos/ (compare Cretan Doric ibêna and Latin vīnum, which is the origin of English wine). There have been editions of the Homeric epics where the wau was re-added, particularly in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but these have largely fallen out of favour. Aeolian was the dialect that kept the sound /w/ longest. In discussions by ancient Greek grammarians of the Hellenistic era, the letter is therefore often described as a characteristic Aeolian feature. Loanwords that entered Greek before the loss of /w-/ lost that sound when Greek did. For instance, Oscan Viteliu ('land of the male calves', compare Latin: vitulus 'yearling, male calf') gave rise to the Greek word Italia. The Adriatic tribe of the Veneti was called in Ancient Greek: Ἐνετοί, romanized: Enetoi. In loanwords that entered the Greek language after the drop of /w/, the phoneme was once again registered, compare for example the spelling of Οὐάτεις for vates. Pamphylian digamma In some local (epichoric) alphabets, a variant glyph of the letter digamma existed that resembled modern Cyrillic И. In one local alphabet, that of Pamphylia, this variant form existed side by side with standard digamma as two distinct letters. It has been surmised that in this dialect the sound /w/ may have changed to labiodental /v/ in some environments. The F-shaped letter may have stood for the new /v/ sound, while the special И-shaped form signified those positions where the old /w/ sound was preserved. Numeral Digamma/wau remained in use in the system of Greek numerals attributed to Miletus, where it stood for the number 6, reflecting its original place in the sequence of the alphabet. It was one of three letters that were kept in this way in addition to the 24 letters of the classical alphabet, the other two being koppa (ϙ) for 90, and sampi (ϡ) for 900. During their history in handwriting in late antiquity and the Byzantine era, all three of these symbols underwent several changes in shape, with digamma ultimately taking the form of "ϛ". It has remained in use as a numeral in Greek to the present day, in contexts comparable to those where Latin numerals would be used in English, for instance in regnal numbers of monarchs or in enumerating chapters in a book, although in practice the letter sequence ΣΤ΄ is much more common. Glyph development Epigraphy Digamma was derived from Phoenician waw, which was shaped roughly like a Y (). Of the two Greek reflexes of waw, digamma retained the alphabetic position, but had its shape modified to , while the upsilon retained the original shape but was placed in a new alphabetic position. Early Crete had an archaic form of digamma somewhat closer to the original Phoenician, , or a variant with the stem bent sidewards (). The shape , during the archaic period, underwent a development parallel to that of epsilon (which changed from to "E", with the arms becoming orthogonal and the lower end of the stem being shed off). For digamma, this led to the two main variants of classical "F" and square .The latter of these two shapes became dominant when used as a numeral, with "F" only very rarely employed in this function. However, in Athens, both of these were avoided in favour of a number of alternative numeral shapes (, , , , , ). Early handwriting In cursive handwriting, the square-C form developed further into a rounded form resembling a "C" (found in papyrus manuscripts as , on coins sometimes as ). It then developed a downward tail at the end (, ) and finally adopted a shape like a Latin "s"These cursive forms are also found in stone inscriptions in late antiquity. Conflation with the στ ligature In the ninth and tenth centuries, the cursive shape digamma was visually conflated with a ligature of sigma (in its historical "lunate" form) and tau ( + = , ). The στ-ligature had become common in minuscule handwriting from the 9th century onwards. Both closedand openforms were subsequently used without distinction both for the ligature and for the numeral. The ligature took on the name of "stigma" or "sti", and the name stigma is today applied to it both in its textual and in the numeral function. The association between its two functions as a numeral and as a sign for "st" became so strong that in modern typographic practice in Greece, whenever the ϛʹ sign itself is not available, the letter sequences στʹ or ΣΤʹ are used instead for the number 6. Typography In western typesetting during the modern era, the numeral symbol was routinely represented by the same character as the stigma ligature (ϛ). In normal text, this ligature together with numerous others continued to be used widely until the early nineteenth century, following the style of earlier minuscule handwriting, but ligatures then gradually dropped out of use. The stigma ligature was among those that survived longest, but it too became obsolete in print after the mid-19th century. Today it is used only to represent the numeric digamma, and never to represent the sequence στ in text. Along with the other special numeric symbols koppa and sampi, numeric digamma/stigma normally has no distinction between uppercase and lowercase forms, (while other alphabetic letters can be used as numerals in both cases). Distinct uppercase versions were occasionally used in the 19th century. Several different shapes of uppercase stigma can be found, with the lower end either styled as a small curved S-like hook (), or as a straight stem, the latter either with a serifor without one (). An alternative uppercase stylization in some twentieth-century fonts is , visually a ligature of Roman-style uppercase C and T. The characters used for numeric digamma/stigma are distinguished in modern print from the character used to represent the ancient alphabetic digamma, the letter for the [w] sound. This is rendered in print by a Latin "F", or sometimes a variant of it specially designed to fit in typographically with Greek (Ϝ). It has a modern lowercase form (ϝ) that typically differs from Latin "f" by having two parallel horizontal strokes like the uppercase character, with the vertical stem often being somewhat slanted to the right or curved, and usually descending below the baseline. This character is used in Greek epigraphy to transcribe the text of ancient inscriptions that contain "Ϝ", and in linguistics and historical grammar when describing reconstructed proto-forms of Greek words that contained the sound /w/. Glyph confusion Throughout much of its history, the shape of digamma/stigma has often been very similar to that of other symbols, with which it can easily be confused. In ancient papyri, the cursive C-shaped form of numeric digamma is often indistinguishable from the C-shaped ("lunate") form that was then the common form of sigma. The similarity is still found today, since both the modern stigma (ϛ) and modern final sigma (ς) look identical or almost identical in most fonts; both are historically continuations of their ancient C-shaped forms with the addition of the same downward flourish. If the two characters are distinguished in print, the top loop of stigma tends to be somewhat larger and to extend farther to the right than that of final sigma. The two characters are, however, always distinguishable from the context in modern usage, both in numeric notation and in text: the final form of sigma never occurs in numerals (the number 200 being always written with the medial sigma, σ), and in normal Greek text the sequence "στ" can never occur word-finally. The medieval s-like shape of digammahas the same shape as a contemporary abbreviation for καὶ ("and"). Yet another case of glyph confusion exists in the printed uppercase forms, this time between stigma and the other numeral, koppa (90). In ancient and medieval handwriting, koppa developed from through , , to . The uppercase forms and can represent either koppa or stigma. Frequent confusion between these two values in contemporary printing was already noted by some commentators in the eighteenth century. The ambiguity continues in modern fonts, many of which continue to have glyph similar to for either koppa or stigma. Names The symbol has been called by a variety of different names, referring either to its alphabetic or its numeral function or both. Wau Wau (variously rendered as vau, waw or similarly in English) is the original name of the alphabetic letter for /w/ in ancient Greek. It is often cited in its reconstructed acrophonic spelling "ϝαῦ". This form itself is not historically attested in Greek inscriptions, but the existence of the name can be inferred from descriptions by contemporary Latin grammarians, who render it as vau. In later Greek, where both the letter and the sound it represented had become inaccessible, the name is rendered as βαῦ or οὐαῦ. In the 19th century, vau in English was a common name for the symbol ϛ in its numerical function, used by authors who distinguished it both from the alphabetic "digamma" and from ϛ as a στ ligature. Digamma The name digamma was used in ancient Greek and is the most common name for the letter in its alphabetic function today. It literally means "double gamma" and is descriptive of the original letter's shape, which looked like a Γ (gamma) placed on top of another. Episemon The name episēmon was used for the numeral symbol during the Byzantine era and is still sometimes used today, either as a name specifically for digamma/stigma, or as a generic term for the whole group of extra-alphabetic numeral signs (digamma, koppa and sampi). The Greek word "ἐπίσημον", from ἐπί- (epi-, "on") and σήμα (sēma, "sign"), literally means "a distinguishing mark", "a badge", but is also the neuter form of the related adjective "ἐπίσημος" ("distinguished", "remarkable"). This word was connected to the number "six" through early Christian mystical numerology. According to an account of the teachings of the heretic Marcus given by the church father Irenaeus, the number six was regarded as a symbol of Christ, and was hence called "ὁ ἐπίσημος ἀριθμός" ("the outstanding number"); likewise, the name Ἰησοῦς (Jesus), having six letters, was "τὸ ἐπίσημον ὄνομα" ("the outstanding name"), and so on. The sixth-century treatise About the Mystery of the Letters, which also links the six to Christ, calls the number sign to Episēmon throughout. The same name is still found in a fifteenth-century arithmetical manual by the Greek mathematician Nikolaos Rabdas. It is also found in a number of western European accounts of the Greek alphabet written in Latin during the early Middle Ages. One of them is the work De loquela per gestum digitorum, a didactic text about arithmetics attributed to the Venerable Bede, where the three Greek numerals for 6, 90 and 900 are called "episimon", "cophe" and "enneacosis" respectively. From Beda, the term was adopted by the seventeenth century humanist Joseph Justus Scaliger. However, misinterpreting Beda's reference, Scaliger applied the term episēmon not as a name proper for digamma/6 alone, but as a cover term for all three numeral letters. From Scaliger, the term found its way into modern academic usage in this new meaning, of referring to complementary numeral symbols standing outside the alphabetic sequence proper, in Greek and other similar scripts. Gabex or Gamex In one remark in the context of a biblical commentary, the 4th century scholar Ammonius of Alexandria is reported to have mentioned that the numeral symbol for 6 was called gabex by his contemporaries. The same reference in Ammonius has alternatively been read as gam(m)ex by some modern authors. Ammonius as well as later theologians discuss the symbol in the context of explaining the apparent contradiction and variant readings between the gospels in assigning the death of Jesus either to the "third hour" or "sixth hour", arguing that the one numeral symbol could easily have been substituted for the other through a scribal error. Stigma The name "stigma" (στίγμα) was originally a common Greek noun meaning "a mark, dot, puncture" or generally "a sign", from the verb στίζω ("to puncture"). It had an earlier writing-related special meaning, being the name for a dot as a punctuation mark, used for instance to mark shortness of a syllable in the notation of rhythm. It was then co-opted as a name specifically for the στ ligature, evidently because of the acrophonic value of its initial st- as well as the analogy with the name of sigma. Other names coined according to the same analogical principle are sti or stau. Computer encodings Greek Digamma / StigmaCoptic Digamma Peter T. Daniels – William Bright (edd.), The World's Writing Systems, New York, Oxford University Press, 1996. ISBN 0-19-507993-0 Jean Humbert, Histoire de la langue grecque, Paris, 1972. Michel Lejeune, Phonétique historique du mycénien et du grec ancien, Klincksieck, Paris, 1967. ISBN 2-252-03496-3 "In Search of The Trojan War", pp. 142–143,187 by Michael Wood, 1985, published by BBC. Perseus Project: lexicon search for words starting with or containing digamma

San (Ϻ) was an archaic letter of the Greek alphabet. Its shape was similar to modern M or Mu, or to a modern Greek Sigma (Σ) turned sideways, and it was used as an alternative to Sigma to denote the sound /s/. Unlike Sigma, whose position in the alphabet is between Rho and Tau, San appeared between Pi and Qoppa in alphabetic order. In addition to denoting this separate archaic character, the name San was also used as an alternative name to denote the standard letter Sigma. Historical use Sigma and san The existence of the two competing letters Sigma and San is traditionally believed to have been due to confusion during the adoption of the Greek alphabet from the Phoenician script, because Phoenician had more sibilant sounds than Greek had. According to one theory,: 25–27  the distribution of the sibilant letters in Greek is due to pair-wise confusion between the sounds and alphabet positions of the four Phoenician sibilant signs: Greek Sigma got its shape and alphabetic position from Phoenician Šin (), but its name and sound value from Phoenician Samekh. Conversely, Greek Xi (Ξ) got its shape and position from Samekh (), but its name and sound value from Šin. The same kind of pair-wise exchange happened between Phoenician Zayin and Tsade: Greek Zeta has the shape and position of Zayinbut the name and sound value of Tsade, and conversely Greek San has the approximate shape and position of Tsadebut may originally have had the sound value of Zayin, i.e. voiced [z]. However, since voiced [z] and voiceless [s] were not distinct phonemes in Greek, Sigma and San came to be used in essentially the same function. According to a different theory, "San" was indeed the original name of what is now known as Sigma, and as such presents a direct representation of the corresponding name "Shin" in that position. This name was only later also associated with the alternative local letter now known as "San", whose original name remains unknown. The modern name "Sigma", in turn, was a transparent Greek innovation that simply meant "hissing", based on a nominalization of a verb σίζω (sízō, from an earlier stem *sigj-, meaning 'to hiss'). Moreover, a modern re-interpretation of the sound values of the sibilants in Proto-Semitic, and thus in Phoenician, can account for the values of the Greek sibilants with less recourse to "confusion". Most significant is the reconstruction of Šin as [s] and thus also the source of the sound value of Sigma; in turn, Samekh is reconstructed as the affricate [ts], which is a better match for the plosive-fricative cluster value [kʰs] of Xi. Whereas in early abecedaria, Sigma and San are typically listed as two separate letters in their separate alphabetic positions, each Greek dialect tended to use either San or Sigma exclusively in practical writing. The use of San became a characteristic of the Doric dialects of Corinth and neighboring Sikyon, as well as Crete. San became largely obsolete by the second half of the fifth century BC, when it was generally replaced by Sigma, although in Crete it continued in use for about a century longer. In Sikyon, it was retained as a symbolic mark of the city used on coin inscriptions (just as the likewise archaic Qoppa was used by Corinth, and a special local form of Beta by Byzantium). San could be written with the outer stems either straightor slanted outwards (), and either longer or of equal length with the inner strokes (). It was typically distinguished from the similar-looking Mu (Μ) by the fact that San tended to be symmetrical, whereas Mu had a longer left stem in its archaic forms (, , ). Outside Greece, San was borrowed into the Old Italic alphabets (𐌑, transcribed as Ś). It initially retained its M-shape in the archaic Etruscan alphabet, but from the 6th century BC changing its aspect to a shape similar to that of the d-rune . The name of "San" lived on as an alternative (dialectal or archaic) name for "Sigma" even at a time when the letter itself had everywhere been replaced with standard Sigma. Thus, Herodotus in the late 5th century reports that the same letter was called "San" by the Dorians but "Sigma" by the Ionians. Athenaeus in his Deipnosophistae (c.200 AD) quotes an epigram which contained the spelled-out name of the philosopher Thrasymachus, still using "San" as the name for Sigma: Arcadian "tsan" A unique letter variant, shaped (similar to modern Cyrillic И, but with a slight leftward bend): 212 ff.  has been found in a single inscription in the Arcado-Cypriot dialect of Mantineia, Arcadia, a 5th-century BC inscription dedicated to Athena Alea (Inscriptiones Graecae V.ii.262) It is widely assumed to be a local innovation based on San, although Jeffery (1961) classes it as a variant of Sigma.: 212 ff.  It appears to have denoted a /ts/ sound and has been labelled "Tsan" by some modern writers. In the local Arcadian dialect, this sound occurred in words that reflect Proto-Greek */kʷ/. In such words, other Greek dialects usually have /t/, while the related Cypriot dialect has /s/. Examples are: ͷις (cf. Attic τις, 'somebody') ͷινα (cf. Attic τινα, 'somebody') οͷεοι (cf. Attic ὅτῳ 'to whomever') ειͷε (cf. Attic εἴτε 'either')From these correspondences, it can be concluded that the letter most likely denoted an affricate sound, possibly [ts] or [tʃ], which would have been a natural intermediate step in the sound change from */kʷ/ to /s/. The letter has been represented in modern scholarly transcriptions of the Mantinea inscription by ⟨ś⟩ (s with an acute accent) or by ⟨σ̱⟩ (sigma with a macron underneath).Note, however, that the same symbol is used to denote the unrelated letter waw (/w/) in Pamphylia (the "Pamphylian digamma") and was also the form of beta (/b/) used in Melos. Sampi The Ionian letter , which later gave rise to the numeral symbol Sampi (ϡ = 900) may also be a continuation of San, although it did not have the same alphabetic position.: 38 ff. Bactrian þ In the Greek script used for writing the Bactrian language, there existed a letter resembling a "þ", which apparently stood for the sound /ʃ/ (transliterated as š) and has been named "Sho" in recent times. According to one hypothesis, this letter too may go back to San. Modern use In modern editions and transcriptions of ancient Greek writing, San has rarely been used as a separate letter. Since it never contrasts systematically with Sigma except in abecedaria, it is usually silently regularized to Sigma in modern editorial practice. In the electronic encoding standard Unicode, a pair of uppercase and lowercase forms of the letter was introduced in version 4.0 (2003). For this purpose, new lowercase forms for modern typography, for which no prior typographic tradition existed, had to be designed. Most fonts have adopted the convention of distinguishing uppercase San from Mu by having its central V-like section descend only halfway down above the baseline, and lowercase San by giving it a left stem descending below the baseline. (Note that in historical epigraphic practice it was the other way round, with San being symmetrical and Mu having a longer left stem.) Character encoding San is encoded in Unicode, while the Arcadian "Tsan" variant is unified with the identical-looking Pamphylian Digamma since version 5.1.

San or SAN may refer to: Computing Storage area network System area network, linking clusters of computers Subject Alternative Name associated with a security certificate Film The Dream (1966 film), San in Serbian, a 1966 Yugoslav film San, the protagonist of the 1997 film Princess Mononoke Umbrella (film), or San, China, 2007 Languages Spanish and Italian for "Saint" San (letter), an archaic Greek letter (Ϻ or Ϡ), between pi and qoppa San (Japanese honorific) suffix (-san), equivalent to Mr., Mrs. or Miss Music San (band), 1971, Yugoslav rock band San (album), 2017, by Japanese band and Mighty Color "San", a song by The Beat Fleet from Pistaccio Metallic, 2011 Organisations South African Navy Stigma Action Network, about HIV stigma Places San (river), in Poland and Ukraine San, Burkina Faso, Pompoï Department, Balé Province San, Mali, Ségou Region San, Wiang Sa, a subdistrict of Wiang Sa District, Nan, Thailand Sanitarium (healthcare), sometimes nicknamed San Sydney Adventist Hospital, Australia Battle Creek Sanitarium, in Michigan, US Saň, a village and part of Višňová (Liberec District) in the Czech Republic Transport San, buses by Polish manufacturer Autosan SAN Ecuador (Servicios Aéreos Nacionales, ICAO code: SAN), a defunct airline SAN, the AAR reporting mark for the Sandersville Railroad in the US SAN, the IATA code San Diego International Airport in California, US SAN, the National Rail code for Sandown railway station on the Isle of Wight, UK Société Aéronautique Normande, a defunct French aircraft manufacturer Other San people, indigenous people of southern Africa Senior Advocate of Nigeria, a rank Sinoatrial node Standard algebraic notation, in chess Styrene-acrylonitrile resin, a copolymer plastic See also Sans (disambiguation) All pages with titles containing San All pages with titles beginning with San

Koppa or qoppa (Ϙ, ϙ; as a modern numeral sign: ϟ) is a letter that was used in early forms of the Greek alphabet, derived from Phoenician qoph (𐤒). It was originally used to denote the /k/ sound, but dropped out of use as an alphabetic character and replaced by Kappa (Κ). It has remained in use as a numeral symbol (90) in the system of Greek numerals, although with a modified shape. Koppa is the source of Latin Q, as well as the Cyrillic numeral sign of the same name (Koppa). Alphabetic In Phoenician, qoph was pronounced [q]; in Greek, which lacked such a sound, it was instead used for /k/ before back vowels Ο, Υ and Ω. In this function, it was borrowed into the Italic alphabets and ultimately into Latin. However, as the sound /k/ had two redundant spellings, koppa was eventually replaced by kappa (Κ) in Greek. It remained in use as a letter in some Doric regions into the 5th century BC.The koppa was used as a symbol for the city of Corinth, which had the early spelling of Ϙόρινθος. Numeric Koppa remained in use in the system of Milesian Greek numerals, where it had the value of 90. It has continued to be used in this function into modern times, though its shape has changed over time. In the Greek cursive script, the Q-like shape with a closed circle on top (handwritten as ) was often broken up at the sideor at the top (). These are also the shapes in which it was borrowed into the early Cyrillic alphabet (Ҁ), as well as into Gothic (), in both cases with the same numeric function. In modern Church Slavonic, a similar-looking but unrelated letter Ч is used instead of the former. Similarly, in the Coptic script, the identical-looking sign ϥ is also used as a numeral for 90, although as an alphabetic letter it has an unrelated sound value, /f/, derived from Egyptian demotic. Later, in minuscule handwriting, the shape changed further into a simple zigzag line (, ). Typography Modern typography of the numeral Koppa has most often employed some version of the Z-shaped character. It may appear in several variants: as a simple geometrical lightning-bolt shape (); with the top part curved rightward, evoking to some degree the original uncial form (); in a characteristic shape with a shorter top arm slightly curved to the left, resembling a Hebrew letter Lamedh (); or with the same lamedh shape turned upside down (). Other variants common in older print include shapes based on the open uncial form (, ). Some of these shapes may be indistinguishable from realizations of the other Greek numeral, Stigma, in other fonts. Koppa has also sometimes been replaced by a lowercase Latin "q", a mirrored uppercase "P", or a "5" turned upside down. As with the numeral usage of stigma (digamma) and Sampi, modern typographical practice normally does not observe a contrast between uppercase and lowercase forms for numeric koppa. Computer encoding The Unicode character encoding standard originally (since version 1.1 of 1993), had only a single code point for Koppa, which was marked as uppercase and could be used either for an epigraphic or a numeral glyph, depending on font design. A lowercase form was encoded in version 3.0 (1999). A second pair of code points specifically for the original closed epigraphical shape was introduced in version 3.2 (2002). This left the older two code points (U+03DE/U+03DF, Ϟϟ) to cover primarily the numeral glyphs. As of 2010, coverage of these code points in common computer fonts is therefore still inconsistent: while the most commonly used version of the numeral glyph will be located at the lowercase code point U+03DF in recent fonts, older fonts may either have no character at all or a version of the closed epigraphic form at that position. Conversely, older fonts may have the numeral glyph at the uppercase code point, while this position may be filled with any of several less common glyphs in newer ones. Since there had never been a consistent typographic tradition for a specifically uppercase numeral koppa, the typographer Yannis Haralambous proposed two new variants for it, and , noting that he himself found them not "entirely satisfactory". A serifed version similar to his koppa was adopted as the reference glyph for the Unicode code charts, along with a lowercase form with heavy curved arms and pointed angles: . Some current Unicode fonts have adopted these new shapes, while many font designers have opted for some combination of the more traditional glyphs, including the uncial and the lamedh-shaped ones. Further reading Powell, Barry B. (1991). Homer and the Origin of the Greek Alphabet. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-37157-0. Threatte, Leslie (1980). The Grammar of Attic Inscriptions. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 3-11-007344-7. Woodard, Roger D. (1997). Greek Writing from Knossos to Homer. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-510520-6. Koppa (alphabetic use) Koppa (numeric use)

Sampi (modern: ϡ; ancient shapes: , ) is an archaic letter of the Greek alphabet. It was used as an addition to the classical 24-letter alphabet in some eastern Ionic dialects of ancient Greek in the 6th and 5th centuries BC, to denote some type of a sibilant sound, probably [ss] or [ts], and was abandoned when the sound disappeared from Greek. It later remained in use as a numeral symbol for 900 in the alphabetic ("Milesian") system of Greek numerals. Its modern shape, which resembles a π inclining to the right with a longish curved cross-stroke, developed during its use as a numeric symbol in minuscule handwriting of the Byzantine era. Its current name, sampi, originally probably meant "san pi", i.e. "like a pi", and is also of medieval origin. The letter's original name in antiquity is not known. It has been proposed that sampi was a continuation of the archaic letter san, which was originally shaped like an M and denoted the sound [s] in some other dialects. Besides san, names that have been proposed for sampi include parakyisma and angma, while other historically attested terms for it are enacosis, sincope, and o charaktir. Alphabetic sampi As an alphabetic letter denoting a sibilant sound, sampi (shaped ) was mostly used between the middle of the 6th and the middle of the 5th centuries BC, although some attestations have been dated as early as the 7th century BC. It has been attested in the cities of Miletus, Ephesos, Halikarnassos, Erythrae, Teos (all situated in the region of Ionia in Asia Minor), in the island of Samos, in the Ionian colony of Massilia, and in Kyzikos (situated farther north in Asia Minor, in the region of Mysia). In addition, in the city of Pontic Mesembria, on the Black Sea coast of Thrace, it was used on coins, which were marked with the abbreviation of the city's name, spelled "ΜΕͲΑ".Sampi occurs in positions where other dialects, including written Ionic, normally have double sigma (σσ), i.e. a long /ss/ sound. Some other dialects, particularly Attic Greek, have ττ (long /tt/) in the same words (e.g. θάλασσα vs. θάλαττα 'sea', or τέσσαρες vs. τέτταρες 'four'). The sounds in question are all reflexes of the proto-Greek consonant clusters *[kj], *[kʰj], *[tj], *[tʰj], or *[tw]. It is therefore believed that the local letter sampi was used to denote some kind of intermediate sound during the phonetic change from the earlier plosive clusters towards the later /s/ sound, possibly an affricate /ts/, forming a triplet with the Greek letters for /ks/ and /ps/.Among the earliest known uses of sampi in this function is an abecedarium from Samos dated to the mid-7th century BC. This early attestation already bears witness to its alphabetic position behind omega (i.e. not the position of san), and it shows that its invention cannot have been much later than that of omega itself.The first known use of alphabetic sampi in writing native Greek words is an inscription found on a silver plate in Ephesus, which has the words "τέͳαρες" ("four") and "τεͳαράϙοντα" ("forty") spelled with sampi (cf. normal spelling Ionic "τέσσαρες/τεσσαράκοντα" vs. Attic τέτταρες/τετταράκοντα). It can be dated between the late 7th century and mid 6th century BC. An inscription from Halicarnassus has the names "Ἁλικαρναͳέ[ω]ν" ("of the Halicarnassians") and the personal names "Ὀαͳαͳιος" and "Π[α]νυάͳιος". All of these names appear to be of non-Greek, local origin, i.e. Carian. On a late 6th century bronze plate from Miletus dedicated to the sanctuary of Athena at Assesos, the spelling "τῇ Ἀθηνάηι τῇ Ἀͳησίηι" ("to Athena of Assessos") has been identified. This is currently the first known instance of alphabetic sampi in Miletus itself, commonly assumed to be the birthplace of the numeral system and thus of the later numeric use of sampi. It has been suggested that there may be an isolated example of the use of alphabetic sampi in Athens. In a famous painted black figure amphora from c.615 BC, known as the "Nessos amphora", the inscribed name of the eponymous centaur Nessus is rendered in the irregular spelling "ΝΕΤΟΣ" (Νέτος). The expected regular form of the name would have been either Attic "Νέττος" – with a double "τ" – or Ionic "Νέσσος". Traces of corrections that are still visible underneath the painted "Τ" have led to the conjecture that the painter originally wrote Νέͳος, with sampi for the σσ/ττ sound. Pamphylian sampi A letter similar to Ionian sampi, but of unknown historical relation with it, existed in the highly deviant local dialect of Pamphylia in southern Asia Minor. It was shaped like . According to Brixhe it probably stood for the sounds /s/, /ss/, or /ps/. It is found in a few inscriptions in the cities of Aspendos and Perge as well as on local coins. For instance, an inscription from Perge dated to around 400 BC reads: Ͷανάαι Πρειίαι Κλεμύτας Λϝαράμυ Ͷασιρϝο̄τας ἀνέθε̄κε (="Vanássāi Preiíāi Klemútas Lwarámu Vasirwōtas anéthēke", "Klemutas the vasirwotas, son of Lwaramus, dedicated this to the Queen of Perge"). The same title "Queen of Perge", the local title for the goddess Artemis, is found on coin legends: Ͷανάας Πρειιας. As Ͷανάα is known to be the local feminine form of the archaic Greek noun ἄναξ/ϝάναξ, i.e. (w)anax ("king"), it is believed that the letter stood for some type of sibilant reflecting Proto-Greek */ktj/. Numeric sampi In the alphabetic numeral system, which was probably invented in Miletus and is therefore sometimes called the "Milesian" system, there are 27 numeral signs: the first nine letters of the alphabet, from alpha (A) to theta (Θ) stand for the digits 1–9; the next nine, beginning with iota (Ι), stand for the multiples of ten (10, 20, etc. up to 90); and the last nine, beginning with rho (Ρ), stand for the hundreds (100 – 900). For this purpose, the 24 letters of the standard classical Greek alphabet were used with the addition of three archaic or local letters: digamma/wau (Ϝ, , originally denoting the sound /w/) for "6", koppa (Ϙ, originally denoting the sound /k/) for "90", and sampi for "900". While digamma and koppa were retained in their original alphabetic positions inherited from Phoenician, the third archaic Phoenician character, san/tsade (Ϻ, denoting an [s] sound), was not used in this way. Instead, sampi was chosen, and added at the end of the system, after omega (800). From this, it has been concluded that the system must have been invented at a time and place when digamma and koppa were still either in use or at least still remembered as parts of the alphabetic sequence, whereas san had either already been forgotten, or at least was no longer remembered with its original alphabetic position. In the latter case, according to a much debated view, sampi itself may in fact have been regarded as being san, but with a new position in the alphabet. The dating of the emergence of this system, and with it of numeric sampi, has been the object of much discussion. At the end of the 19th century, authors such as Thompson placed its full development only in the 3rd century BC. Jeffery states that the system as a whole can be traced much further back, into the 6th century BC. An early, though isolated, instance of apparent use of alphabetic Milesian numerals in Athens occurs on a stone inscribed with several columns of two-digit numerals, of unknown meaning, dated from the middle of the 5th century BC.While the emergence of the system as a whole has thus been given a much earlier dating than was often assumed earlier, actual occurrences of the letter sampi in this context have as yet not been found in any early examples. According to Threatte, the earliest known use of numeric sampi in a stone inscription occurs in an inscription in Magnesia from the 2nd century BC, in a phrase denoting a sum of money ("δραχ(μὰς) ϡʹ) but the exact numeric meaning of this example is disputed. In Athens, the first attestation is only from the beginning of the 2nd century AD, again in an inscription naming sums of money.Earlier than the attestations in the full function as a numeral are a few instances where sampi was used in Athens as a mark to enumerate sequences of things in a set, along with the 24 other letters of the alphabet, without implying a specific decimal numeral value. For instance, there is a set of 25 metal tokens, each stamped with one of the letters from alpha to sampi, which are dated to the 4th century BC and were probably used as identification marks for judges in the courts of the Athenian democracy.In papyrus texts from the Ptolemaic period onwards, numeric sampi occurs with some regularity.At an early stage in the papyri, the numeral sampi was used not only for 900, but, somewhat confusingly, also as a multiplicator for 1000, since a way of marking thousands and their multiples was not yet otherwise provided by the alphabetic system. Writing an alpha over sampi ( or, in a ligature, ) meant "1×1000", a theta over sampimeant "9×1000", and so on. In the examples cited by Gardthausen, a slightly modified shape of sampi, with a shorter right stem (), is used. This system was later simplified into one where the thousands operator was marked just as a small stroke to the left of the letter (͵α = 1000). Glyph development In early stone inscriptions, the shape of sampi, both alphabetic and numeric, is . Square-topped shapes, with the middle vertical stroke either of equal length with the outer ones or longer , are also found in early papyri. This form fits the earliest attested verbal description of the shape of sampi as a numeral sign in the ancient literature, which occurs in a remark in the works of the 2nd-century AD physician Galen. Commenting on the use of certain obscure abbreviations found in earlier manuscripts of Hippocrates, Galen says that one of them "looks like the way some people write the sign for 900", and describes this as "the shape of the letter Π with a vertical line in the middle" ("ὁ τοῦ π γραμμάτος χαρακτὴρ ἔχων ὀρθίαν μέσην γραμμὴν, ὡς ἔνιοι γράφουσι τῶν ἐννεακοσίων χαρακτῆρα"). From the time of the earliest papyri, the square-topped forms of handwritten sampi alternate with variants where the top is rounded (, ) or pointed (, ). The rounded form also occurs in stone inscriptions in the Roman era. In the late Roman period, the arrow-shaped or rounded forms are often written with a loop connecting the two lines at the right, leading to the "ace-of-spades" form , or to . These forms, in turn, occasionally have another decorative stroke added on the left (). It can be found attached in several different ways, from the topor the bottom (). From these shapes, finally, the modern form of sampi emerges, beginning in the 9th century, with the two straight lines becoming more or less parallel (, , ). In medieval western manuscripts describing the Greek alphabet, the arrowhead form is sometimes rendered as . Origins Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, many authors have assumed that sampi was essentially a historical continuation of the archaic letter san (Ϻ), the M-shaped alternative of sigma (Σ) that formed part of the Greek alphabet when it was originally adopted from Phoenician. Archaic san stood in an alphabetic position between pi (Π) and koppa (Ϙ). It dropped out of use in favour of sigma in most dialects by the 7th century BC, but was retained in place of the latter in a number of local alphabets until the 5th century BC. It is generally agreed to be derived from Phoenician tsade. The hypothetical identification between san and sampi is based on a number of considerations. One is the similarity of the sounds represented by both. San represented either simple [s] or some other, divergent phonetic realization of the common Greek /s/ phoneme. Suggestions for its original sound value have included [ts], [z], and [ʃ]. The second reason for the assumption is the systematicity in the development of the letter inventory: there were three archaic letters that dropped out of use in alphabetic writing (digamma/wau, koppa, and san), and three extra-alphabetic letters were adopted for the Milesian numeral system, two of them obviously identical with the archaic digamma and koppa; hence, it is easy to assume that the third in the set had the same history. Objections to this account have been related to the fact that sampi did not assume the same position san had had, and to the lack of any obvious relation between the shapes of the two letters and the lack of any intermediate forms linking the two uses. Among older authorities, Gardthausen and Thompson took the identity between san and sampi for granted. Foat, in a skeptical reassessment of the evidence, came to the conclusion that it was a plausible hypothesis but unprovable. The discussion has continued until the present, while a steady trickle of new archaeological discoveries regarding the relative dating of the various events involved (i.e. the original emergence of the alphabet, the loss of archaic san, the emergence of alphabetic sampi, and the emergence of the numeral system) have continued to affect the data base on which it is founded. A part of the discussion about the identity of san and sampi has revolved around a difficult and probably corrupted piece of philological commentary by an anonymous scholiast, which has been debated ever since Joseph Justus Scaliger drew attention to it in the mid-17th century. Scaliger's discussion also contains the first known attestation of the name "san pi" (sampi) in the western literature, and the first attempt at explaining it. The passage in question is a scholion on two rare words occurring in the comedies of Aristophanes, koppatias (κοππατίας) and samphoras (σαμφόρας). Both were names for certain breeds of horses, and both were evidently named after the letter used as a branding mark on each: "koppa" and "san" respectively. After explaining this, the anonymous scholiast adds a digression that appears to be meant to further explain the name and function of "san", drawing some kind of link between it and the numeral sign of 900. However, what exactly was meant here is obscure now, because the text was evidently corrupted during transmission and the actual symbols cited in it were probably exchanged. The following is the passage in the reading provided by a modern edition, with problematic words marked: There is no agreement on what was originally meant by this passage. While Scaliger in the 17th century believed that the scholiast spoke of san as a synonym for sigma, and meant to describe the (modern) shape of sampi (ϡ) as being composed of an inverted lunate sigma and a π, the modern editor D. Holwerda believes the scholiast spoke of the actual M-shaped san and expressed a belief that modern sampi was related to it. An alternative hypothesis to that of the historical identity between san and sampi is that Ionian sampi may have been a loan from the neighbouring Anatolian language Carian, which formed the local substrate in the Ionian colonies of Asia Minor. This hypothesis is mentioned by Jeffery and has been supported more recently by Genzardi Brixhe suggested that sampi could be related to the Carian letter 25 "", transcribed as ś. This would fit in with the "plausible, but not provable" hypothesis that the root contained in the Carian-Greek names spelled with sampi, "Πανυασσις" and "Οασσασσις", is identical with a root *uś-/waś- identified elsewhere in Carian, which contains the Carian ś sound spelled with . Adiego follows this with the hypothesis that both the Carian letter and sampi could ultimately go back to Greek Ζ (). Like the san–sampi hypothesis, the Carian hypothesis remains an open and controversial issue, especially since the knowledge of Carian itself is still fragmentary and developing.While the origin of sampi continues to be debated, the identity between the alphabetic Ionian sampi (/ss/) and the numeral for 900 has rarely been in doubt, although in the older literature it was sometimes mentioned only tentatively, An isolated position was expressed in the early 20th century by Jannaris, who – without mentioning the alphabetic use of Ionian /ss/ – proposed that the shape of numeric sampi was derived from a juxtaposition of three "T"s, i.e. 3×300=900. (He also rejected the historical identity of the other two numerals, stigma (6) and koppa (90), with their apparent alphabetic predecessors.) Today, the link between alphabetic and numeral sampi is universally accepted. Names Despite all uncertainties, authors who subscribe to the hypothesis of a historical link between ancient san and sampi also often continue to use the name san for the latter. Benedict Einarson hypothesizes that it was in fact called *ssan, with the special quality of the sibilant sound it had as Ionian . This opinion has been rejected as phonologically impossible by Soldati, who points out that the /ss/ sound only ever occurred in the middle of words and therefore could not have been used in the beginning of its own name. As for the name sampi itself, it is generally agreed today that it is of late origin and not the original name of the character in either its ancient alphabetic or its numeral function. Babiniotis describes it as "medieval", while Jannaris places its emergence "after the thirteenth century". However, the precise time of its emergence in Greek is not documented. The name is already attested in manuscript copies of an Old Church Slavonic text describing the development of the alphabet, the treatise On Letters ascribed to the 9th-century monk Hrabar, which was written first in Glagolitic and later transmitted in the Cyrillic script. In one medieval Cyrillic group of manuscripts of this text, probably going back to a marginal note in an earlier Glagolitic version, the letter names "sampi" ("сѧпи") and "koppa" ("копа") are used for the Greek numerals. Witnesses of this textual variant exist from c.1200, but its archetype can be dated to before 1000 AD.The first reference to the name sampi in the western literature occurs in a 17th-century work, Scaliger's discussion of the Aristophanes scholion regarding the word samphoras (see above). Some modern authors, taking Scaliger's reference as the first known use and unaware of earlier attestations, have claimed that the name itself only originated in the 17th century and/or that Scaliger himself invented it. A related term was used shortly after Scaliger by the French author Montfaucon, who called the sign "ἀντίσιγμα πῖ" (antisigma-pi), "because the Greeks regarded it as being composed of an inverted sigma, which is called ἀντίσιγμα, and from πῖ" ("Graeci putarunt ex inverso sigma, quod ἀντίσιγμα vocatur, et ex πῖ compositum esse").The etymology of sampi has given rise to much speculation. The only element all authors agree on is that the -pi refers to the letter π, but about the rest accounts differ depending on each author's stance on the question of the historical identity between sampi and san. According to the original suggestion by Scaliger, san-pi means "written like a san and a pi together". Here, "san" refers not to the archaic letter san (i.e. Ϻ) itself, but to "san" as a mere synonym of "sigma", referring to the outer curve of the modern ϡ as resembling an inverted lunate sigma. This reading is problematic because it fits the shape only of the modern (late Byzantine) sampi but presupposes active use of an archaic nomenclature that had long since lost currency by the time that shape emerged. According to a second hypothesis, san-pi would originally have meant "the san that stands next to pi in the alphabet". This proposal thus presupposes the historical identity between sampi and ancient san (Ϻ), which indeed stood behind Π. However, this account too is problematic as it implies a very early date of the emergence of the name, since after the archaic period the original position of san was apparently no longer remembered, and the whole point of the use of sampi in the numeral system is that it stands somewhere else. Yet a different hypothesis interprets san-pi in the sense of "the san that resembles pi". This is usually taken as referring to the modern ϡ shape, presupposing that the name san alone had persisted from antiquity until the time the sign took that modern shape. None of these hypotheses has wide support today. The most commonly accepted explanation of the name today is that san pi (σὰν πῖ) simply means "like a pi", where the word san is unrelated to any letter name but simply the modern Greek preposition σαν ("like", from ancient Greek ὡς ἂν).In the absence of a proper name, there are indications that various generic terms were used in Byzantine times to refer to the sign. Thus, the 15th-century Greek mathematician Nikolaos Rabdas referred to the three numerals for 6, 90 and 900 as "τὸ ἐπίσημον", "τὸ ἀνώνυμον σημεῖον" ("the nameless sign", i.e. koppa), and "ὁ καλούμενος χαρακτήρ" ("the so-called charaktir", i.e. just "the character"), respectively. The term "ἐπίσημον" (episēmon, literally "outstanding") is today used properly as a generic cover term for all three extra-alphabetic numeral signs, but was used specifically to refer to 6 (i.e. digamma/stigma). In some early medieval Latin documents from western Europe, there are descriptions of the contemporary Greek numeral system which imply that sampi was known simply by the Greek word for its numeric value, ἐννεακόσια (enneakosia, "nine hundred"). Thus, in De loquela per gestum digitorum, a didactic text about arithmetics attributed to the Venerable Bede, the three Greek numerals for 6, 90 and 900 are called "episimon", "cophe" and "enneacosis" respectively. the latter two being evidently corrupted versions of koppa and enneakosia. An anonymous 9th-century manuscript from Rheinau Abbey has epistmon [sic], kophe, and ennakose. Similarly, the Psalterium Cusanum, a 9th or 10th century bilingual Greek—Latin manuscript, has episimôn, enacôse and cophê respectively (with the latter two names mistakenly interchanged for each other.) Another medieval manuscript has the same words distorted somewhat more, as psima, coppo and enacos, Other, similar versions of the name include enacosin and niacusin, or the curious corruption sincope,A curious name for sampi that occurs in one Greek source is "παρακύϊσμα" (parakyisma). It occurs in a scholion to Dionysius Thrax, where the three numerals are referred to as "τὸ δίγαμμα καὶ τὸ κόππα καὶ τό καλούμενον παρακύϊσμα". The obscure word ("… the so-called parakyisma") literally means "a spurious pregnancy", from "παρα-" and the verb "κυέω" "to be pregnant". The term has been used and accepted as possibly authentic by Jannaris, Uhlhorn and again by Soldati. While Jannaris hypothesizes that it was meant to evoke the oblique, reclining shape of the character, Soldati suggests it was meant to evoke its status as an irregular, out-of-place addition ("un'utile superfetazione"). Einarson, however, argues that the word is probably the product of textual corruption during transmission in the Byzantine period. He suggests that the original reading was similar to that used by Rabdas, "ὁ καλούμενος χαρακτήρ" ("the so-called character"). Another contemporary cover term for the extra-alphabetic numerals would have been "παράσημον" (parasēmon, lit. "extra sign"). A redactor could have written the consonant letters "π-σ-μ" of "παράσημον" over the letters "χ-κτ-ρ" of "χαρακτήρ", as both words happen to share their remaining intermediate letters. The result, mixed together from letters of both words, could have been misread in the next step as "παρακυησμ", and hence, "παρακύϊσμα". An entirely new proposal has been made by A. Willi, who suggests that the original name of the letter in ancient Greek was angma (ἄγμα). This proposal is based on a passage in a Latin grammarian, Varro, who uses this name for what he calls a "25th letter" of the alphabet. Varro himself is clearly not referring to sampi, but is using angma to refer to the ng sound [ŋ] in words like angelus. However, Varro ascribes the use of the name angma to an ancient Ionian Greek author, Ion of Chios. Willi conjectures that Varro misunderstood Ion, believing the name angma referred to the [ŋ] sound because that sound happened to occur in the name itself. However, Ion, in speaking of a "25th letter of the alphabet", meant not just a different pronunciation of some other letters but an actual written letter in its own right, namely sampi. According to Willi's hypothesis, the name angma would have been derived from the verbal root *ank-, "to bend, curve", and referred to a "crooked object", used because of the hook-like shape of the letter. In other scripts In the Greco–Iberian alphabet, used during the 4th century BC in eastern Spain to write the Iberian language (a language unrelated to Greek), sampi was adopted along with the rest of the Ionian Greek alphabet, as an alphabetic character to write a second sibilant sound distinct from sigma. It had the shape , with three vertical lines of equal length. Its pronunciation is uncertain, but it is transliterated as ⟨s⟩. The Greek script was also adapted in Hellenistic times to write the Iranian language Bactrian, spoken in today's Afghanistan. Bactrian used an additional letter Ϸ, shaped like the later (unrelated) Germanic letter "thorn" (Þ), to denote its sh sound (š, [ʃ]). This letter, too, has been hypothesized to be a continuation of Greek sampi, and/or san.During the first millennium AD, several neighbouring languages whose alphabets were wholly or partly derived from the Greek adopted the structure of the Greek numeral system, and with it, some version or local replacement of sampi. In Coptic, the sign "Ⳁ" (, which has been described as "the Greek with a Ρ above"), was used for 900. Its numeric role was subsequently taken over by the native character Ϣ (shei, /ʃ/), which is related to the Semitic tsade (and thus, ultimately, cognate with Greek san as well).The Gothic alphabet adopted sampi in its Roman era form of an upwards-pointing arrow (, 𐍊)In the Slavic writing system Glagolitic, the letter (tse, /ts/) was used for 900. It too may have been derived from a form of the Hebrew tsade. In Cyrillic, in contrast, the character Ѧ (small yus, /ẽ/) was used initially, being the one among the native Cyrillic letters that resembled sampi most closely in shape. However, the letter Ц (tse), the equivalent of the Glagolitic sign, took its place soon later. It has been proposed that sampi was retained in its alternative function of denoting multiplication by thousand, and became the Cyrillic "thousands sign" ҂.In Armenian, the letter Ջ (ǰ) stands for 900, while Ք (kʿ), similar in shape to the Coptic sign, stands for 9000. Modern use Together with the other elements of the Greek numeral system, sampi is occasionally still used in Greek today. However, since the system is typically used only to enumerate items in relatively small sets, such as the chapters of a book or the names of rulers in a dynasty, the signs for the higher tens and hundreds, including sampi, are much less frequently found in practice than the lower letters for 1 to 10. One of the few domains where higher numbers including thousands and hundreds are still expressed in the old system in Greece with some regularity is the field of law, because until 1914 laws were numbered in this way. For instance, one law which happens to have sampi in its name and is still in force and relatively often referred to is "Νόμος ͵ΓϠΝʹ/1911" (i.e. Law Number 3950 of 1911), "Περί της εκ των αυτοκινήτων ποινικής και αστικής ευθύνης" ("About penal and civil responsibility arising from the use of automobiles"). However, in informal practice, the letter sampi is often replaced in such instances by a lowercase or uppercase π. Typography With the advent of modern printing in the western Renaissance, printers adopted the minuscule version of the numeral sign, ϡ, for their fonts. The typographic realization of Sampi has varied widely throughout its history in print, and a large range of different shapes can still be found in current electronic typesetting. Commonly used forms range from small, π-like shapesto shapes with large swash curves (), while the stems can be almost uprightor almost horizontal (). More rarely, one can find shapes with the lower end curving outwards, forming an "s" curve (). In its modern use as a numeral (as with the other two episema, stigma and koppa) no difference is normally made in print between an upper case and lower case form; the same character is typically used in both environments. However, occasionally special typographic variants adapted to an upper case style have also been employed in print. The issue of designing such uppercase variants has become more prominent since the decision of Unicode to encode separate character codepoints for uppercase and lowercase sampi. Several different designs are currently found. Older versions of the Unicode charts showed a glyph with a crooked and thicker lower stem (). While this form has been adopted in some modern fonts, it has been replaced in more recent versions of Unicode with a simpler glyph, similar to the lowercase forms (). Many fonts designed for scholarly use have adopted an upright triangular shape with straight lines and serifs (), as proposed by the typographer Yannis Haralambous. Other versions include large curved shapes (), or an upright large π-like glyph with a long descending curve (). The epigraphic ancient Ionian sampi is not normally rendered with the modern numeral character in print. In specialized epigraphical or palaeographic academic discussion, it is either represented by a glyph , or by a Latin capital serifed T as a makeshift replacement. As this character has in the past never been supported in normal Greek fonts, there is no typographical tradition for its uppercase and lowercase representation in the style of a normal text font. Since its inclusion in the Unicode character encoding standard, experimental typographical stylizations of a lowercase textual Sampi have been developed. The Unicode reference glyph for "small letter archaic sampi", according to an original draft, was to have looked like the stem of a small τ with a square top at x height, but was changed after consultation with Greek typesetting experts. The glyph shown in current official code charts stands on the baseline and has an ascender slightly higher than cap height, but its stem has no serifs and is slightly curved leftwards like the descender of an ρ or β. Most type designers who have implemented the character in current fonts have chosen to design a glyph either at x height, or with a descender but no ascender, and with the top either square or curved (corresponding to ancient scribal practice.) Computer encoding Several codepoints for the encoding of sampi and its variants have been included in Unicode. As they were adopted successively in different versions of Unicode, their coverage in current computer fonts and operating systems is inconsistent as of 2010. U+03E0 ("Greek letter Sampi") was present from version 1.1 (1993) and was originally meant to show the normal modern numeral glyph. The uppercase/lowercase contrast was introduced with version 3.0 (1999). As the existing code point had been technically defined as an uppercase character, the new addition was declared lowercase (U+03E1, "Greek small letter Sampi"). This has led to some inconsistency between fonts, because the glyph that was present at U+03E0 in older fonts is now usually found at U+03E1 in newer ones, while U+03E0 may have a typographically uncommon capital glyph. New, separate codepoints for ancient epigraphic sampi, also in an uppercase and lowercase variant, were proposed in 2005, and included in the standard with version 5.1 (2008). They are meant to cover both the Ionian and Pamphylian , with the Ionian character serving as the reference glyph. As of 2010, these characters are not yet supported by most current Greek fonts. The Gothic "900" symbol was encoded in version 3.1 (2001), and Coptic sampi in version 4.1 (2005). Codepoints for the related Greek characters san and Bactrian "sho" were added in version 4.0 (2003). Prior to Unicode, support for sampi in electronic encoding was marginal. No common 8-bit codepage for Greek (such as ISO 8859-7) contained sampi. However, lowercase and uppercase sampi were provided for by the ISO 5428:1984 Greek alphabet coded character set for bibliographic information interchange. In Beta code, lowercase and uppercase sampi are encoded as "#5" and "*#5" respectively. In the LaTeX typesetting system, the "Babel" package allows accessing lowercase and uppercase sampi through the commands "\sampi" and "\Sampi". Non-Unicode (8-bit) fonts for polytonic Greek sometimes contained sampi mapped to arbitrary positions, but usually not as a casing pair. For instance, the "WP Greek Century" font that came with WordPerfect had sampi encoded as 0xFC, while the popular "Wingreek" fonts had it encoded as 0x22. No encoding system prior to Unicode 5.1 catered for archaic epigraphic sampi separately. Thompson, Edward M. (1893). Handbook of Greek and Latin palaeography. New York: D. Appleton. p. 7.

Stigma (ϛ) is a ligature of the Greek letters sigma (Σ) and tau (Τ), which was used in writing Greek between the Middle Ages and the 19th century. It is also used as a numeral symbol for the number 6. In this unrelated function, it is a continuation of the old letter digamma (originally Ϝ, cursive form ), which had served as a numeral since antiquity and was conflated with the σ-τ ligature in the minuscule handwriting of the Middle Ages. History and use The στ ligature (, ) was one of many ligature forms that came into widespread use as part of the minuscule writing style of Greek from the 9th and 10th centuries onwards. It is based on the lunate form (Ϲ) of the letter sigma. With many other ligatures, it was used to print Greek during the early-modern era. Between the 18th and 19th centuries, the use of ligatures in print gradually diminished. The στ ligature was among the last to go, around the middle of the 19th century. The name, stigma (στίγμα), is originally a common Greek noun meaning "a mark, dot, puncture", or generally "a sign", from the verb στίζω ("[I] puncture"); the related but distinct word stigme (στιγμή) is the classical and post-classical word for "geometric point; punctuation mark". Stigma was co-opted as a name specifically for the στ sign, evidently because of the acrophonic value of its initial st- as well as the analogy with the name of sigma. The numeral symbol, originally quite unrelated to the στ ligature, developed from the letter Ϝ, which stood for the sound /w/ in early pre-classical forms of the Greek alphabet. This symbol became obsolete as a letter during the classical era but remained part of the Greek alphabet-based system of numerals, where its value of 6 corresponded to its original place in the alphabet. In its handwritten forms, its shape changed from through to or during the Hellenistic period and late antiquity. Originally called wau, it was called digamma in classical Greek and episemon during the Byzantine era. It was conflated with the στ ligature owing to the accidental similarities of their shapes. The association between the numeral 6 and the letter sequence στ became so strong that today, in Greece, the letter sequence ΣΤʹ or στʹ is often used in lieu of ϛʹ itself to write the number 6. In modern practice, the term stigma is often applied to the symbol ϛ both in its function as a ligature and as a numeral, whereas the term digamma is normally used for the ancient letter representing /w/, which appears in modern print as Ϝ or ϝ (the form has a large number of close variants). In modern typefaces, lowercase stigma is similar in appearance to final sigma (ς), but the top loop tends to be larger, and extends farther to the right. It can normally be distinguished from final sigma in the context, because the combination στ never occurs at the end of a word, and conversely the final sigma form ς never occurs inside a word and is never used as a numeral either. Uppercase forms of stigma as a numeral (Ϛ) are rare in practice; when they occur, they can often be confused with uppercase forms of another numeral symbol, koppa (Ϟϟ), which stands for 90. Stigma is encoded in Unicode as "Greek letter stigma" U+03DA (Ϛ) and "Greek small letter stigma" U+03DB (ϛ).

Heta is a conventional name for the historical Greek alphabet letter Eta (Η) and several of its variants, when used in their original function of denoting the consonant /h/. Overview The letter Η had been adopted by Greek from the Phoenician letter Hethoriginally with this consonantal sound value, and Hēta was its original name. The Italic alphabets, and ultimately Latin, adopted the letter H from this Greek usage. However, Greek dialects progressively lost the sound /h/ from their phonological systems. In the Ionic dialects, where this loss of /h/ happened early, the name of the letter naturally changed to Ēta, and the letter was subsequently turned from a consonant to a new use as a vowel, denoting the long half-open /ɛː/ sound. In this function it later entered the classical orthography adopted across the whole of Greece. According to traditional accounts, the new vowel, Ēta, was originally the innovation of the poet Simonides of Ceos (556-468 BC). In dialects that still had the /h/ sound as part of their phonological systems, including early Athens, the same letter continued to be used in its consonantal function. Just like vocalic Eta, it could occur in a number of glyph variants in different local varieties of the alphabet, including one shaped like a square "8" similar to the original Phoenician (), but also a plain square (), a crossed square (), shapes with two horizontalor with diagonal bars (). During the classical era, more dialects adopted the new Ionian vocalic Eta (as Athens did around c. 400 BC). As many of these dialects nevertheless still also pronounced /h/, they faced the problem of distinguishing between their own old consonantal symbol and the new vocalic symbol. Some dialects, including classical Attic, simply omitted the marking of the /h/-sound. In others (for instance Rhodes), the same symbol was used in both functions. Others distinguished between glyph variants, for instance in Delphi by using the closed square signfor /h/, and the open H for the vowel. In the southern Italian colonies of Heracleia and Tarentum, a new innovative shape for /h/ was invented, consisting of a single vertical stem and a rightward-pointing horizontal bar, like a half H (). From this sign, later scholars developed the rough breathing or spiritus asper, which brought back the marking of the old /h/ sound into the standardized post-classical (polytonic) orthography of Greek in the form of a diacritic. From scholia to the grammar of Dionysius Thrax, it appears that the memory of the former consonantal value of the letter Η was still alive in the era of the Alexandrine Koiné insofar as the name of the vocalic η was still pronounced "heta" and accordingly written with a rough breathing. The later standard spelling of the name eta, however, has the smooth breathing. Under the Roman emperor Claudius in the mid-1st century AD, Latin briefly re-borrowed the letter in the shape of the half-H tack glyph, as one of the so-called Claudian letters. It denoted the sonus medius, a short close vowel sound of a quality between i and u. In modern transcriptions and editions of ancient Greek epigraphic text that use consonantal Heta, in any of its shapes, the letter is most often rendered simply with a Latin h, both in Latin transliteration and in Greek scholarly transcriptions (using lowercase in Greek, so that Latin h and Greek η are distinct). Some authors have also adopted the Heracleian "tack" Hetafor use in modern transcription. Jeffery (1961) uses the tack symbol also as a modern label for the abstract grapheme, i.e. as a cover label for any letter shape denoting /h/ in any given local alphabet. Computer encoding The Unicode standard of computer encoding introduced code points for a tack-shaped "Greek letter Heta" designed for this usage in its version 5.1 of April 2008. Like other archaic letters, Unicode Heta comes in an uppercase and lowercase variant to cater for the needs of modern typography. Type designers have created several designs for this new typographic lowercase form, one of them resembling a lowercase Latin h with a straight rightward horizontal bar. The Greek Heta codepoints are distinct from another set designed to represent the tack-shaped Claudian "Latin letter half H" (Latin Extended-C). See also Turnstile (symbol) (Similar looking glyphs)

The letter ϸ (sometimes called sho or san) was a letter added to the Greek alphabet in order to write the Bactrian language. It was similar in appearance to the Anglo-Saxon and Icelandic letter thorn (þ), which has typically been used to represent it in modern print, although both are historically quite unrelated. It probably represented a sound similar to English "sh" ([ʃ]). Its conventional transliteration in Latin is ⟨š⟩. Its original name and position in the Bactrian alphabet, if it had any, are unknown. Some authors have called it "san", on the basis of the hypothesis that it was a survival or reintroduction of the archaic Greek letter San. This letter ϸ closely resembles, perhaps coincidentally, the letter ⟨𐊮⟩ of the Greek-based Carian alphabet which may have also stood for [ʃ]. The name "sho" was coined for the letter for purposes of modern computer encoding in 2002, on the basis of analogy with "rho" (ρ), the letter with which it seems to be graphically related. Ϸ was added to Unicode in version 4.0 (2003), in an uppercase and lowercase character designed for modern typography. Other representations of [ʃ] in the Greek alphabet The modern Cypriot Greek dialect also has an [ʃ] sound, but it is represented with the combining caron ⟨ˇ⟩, by the authors of the "Syntychies" lexicographic database at the University of Cyprus, e.g. μάσ̌σ̌αλλα [ˈmaʃːalːa] "mashallah". When diacritics are not used, an epenthetic ⟨ι⟩—often accompanied by the systematic substitution of the preceding consonant letter—may be used to the same effect, e.g. Standard Modern Greek χέρι [ˈçeɾi] → Cypriot Greek σιέρι [ˈʃeɾi]. The Tsakonian language, considered a Hellenic language or a very divergent dialect of Greek, has a [ʃ] sound. It is spelled ⟨σχ⟩ or, in Thanasis Costakis' orthography, ⟨σ̌⟩. Themistocleous, Charalambos; Katsoyannou, Marianna; Armosti, Spyros; Christodoulou, Kyriaci (7–11 August 2012). Cypriot Greek Lexicography: A Reverse Dictionary of Cypriot Greek (PDF). 15th European Association for Lexicography (EURALEX) Conference. Oslo, Norway. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 August 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2013.

Huang Huahua (born October 1946 in Xingning, Guangdong) is a retired Chinese politician, and the Governor of Guangdong between 2003 and 2011. Of Hakka heritage, he was once the mayor of Meizhou. Biography Huang was born in Xingning County, Guangdong. Huang graduated in mathematics from Sun Yat-sen University. From 1970 to 1978, Huang worked at a machinery factory of the Guangdong Coal Mine, joined the Communist Party in 1971 and served as deputy secretary of the workshop Party Branch. He was later promoted to secretary of the Communist Youth League of China (CYLC) Shaoguan Municipal Committee. Huang was deputy secretary of the CYLC provincial committee from 1982 to 1985 and then secretary of CYLC provincial committee from 1985 to 1987. Prior to becoming mayor of Meixian, Huang served as deputy secretary of the CCP Meixian Prefectural Committee. He was Mayor of Meizhou (1988–1992) and subsequently the CCP party chief in Guangzhou. In January 2003, Huang was made Governor of Guangdong. The stepping down of Huang as governor in 2011 marked the end of the dominance of the provincial government by the "Hakka clique" (客家帮). In December 2011, Huang was made a deputy chair of the National People's Congress Overseas Chinese Affairs Committee. Huang was an alternate member of the 15th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, and a full member of the 16th and 17th Central Committees. China Vitae – Huang Huahua 黄华华 Who's Who in China's Leadership

江南 ("south of the river") may refer to: Places Jiangnan, a geographic area in China immediately south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze RiverJiangnan District, Nanning, Guangxi, China Jiangnan Subdistrict, Meizhou, Guangdong, China Jiangnan, Linxiang (江南镇), a township-level division of Linxiang, Hunan, China Kōnan, Aichi, Japan Kōnan, Saitama, Japan Kōnan-ku, Niigata, Niigata, JapanGangnam, an affluent region of Seoul, South Korea Gangnam District, an administrative district located within the Greater Gangnam Area Kangnam County, a county in Pyongyang, North Korea Kangnam Mountains, a mountain range in North Korea People Henry Liu (1932–1984), Taiwanese writer and journalist with the pen name Jiang Nan Jiang Nan (novelist) (born 1977), Chinese novelist Stations Gangnam station, a station of Seoul Subway Line 2 in Seoul Gangnam-gu Office station, a subway station of Seoul Subway Line 7 Kangnam University station, a station of Everline, in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea Other uses Jiangnan Daying, a 19th-century army group established by the Qing Dynasty Jiangnan Shipyard, a shipyard in Shanghai, China Jiangnan University, a university in Wuxi, Jiangsu, ChinaKangnam (singer) (born 1987), a member of the South Korean hip hop group M.I.B. Kangnam University, a university in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea Gangnam-daero, an urban expressway in Seoul, South Korea See also Konan (disambiguation) for homophonous places in Japan

Yokohama (Japanese: 横浜, pronounced [jokohama] ) is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu. Yokohama is also the major economic, cultural, and commercial hub of the Greater Tokyo Area along the Keihin Industrial Zone. Yokohama was one of the cities to open for trade with the West following the 1859 end of the policy of seclusion and has since been known as a cosmopolitan port city, after Kobe opened in 1853. Yokohama is the home of many Japan's firsts in the Meiji period, including the first foreign trading port and Chinatown (1859), European-style sport venues (1860s), English-language newspaper (1861), confectionery and beer manufacturing (1865), daily newspaper (1870), gas-powered street lamps (1870s), railway station (1872), and power plant (1882). Yokohama developed rapidly as Japan's prominent port city following the end of Japan's relative isolation in the mid-19th century and is today one of its major ports along with Kobe, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, Tokyo and Chiba. Yokohama is the largest port city and high tech industrial hub in the Greater Tokyo Area and the Kantō region. The city proper is headquarters to companies such as Isuzu, Nissan, JVCKenwood, Keikyu, Koei Tecmo, Sotetsu, Salesforce Japan and Bank of Yokohama. Famous landmarks in Yokohama include Minato Mirai 21, Nippon Maru Memorial Park, Yokohama Chinatown, Motomachi Shopping Street, Yokohama Marine Tower, Yamashita Park, and Ōsanbashi Pier. Etymology Yokohama (横浜) means "horizontal beach". The current area surrounded by Maita Park, the Ōoka River and the Nakamura River have been a gulf divided by a sandbar from the open sea. This sandbar was the original Yokohama fishing village. Since the sandbar protruded perpendicularly from the land, or horizontally when viewed from the sea, it was called a "horizontal beach". History Opening of the Treaty Port (1859–1868) Before the Western foreigners arrived, Yokohama was a small fishing village up to the end of the feudal Edo period, when Japan held a policy of national seclusion, having little contact with foreigners. A major turning point in Japanese history happened in 1853–54, when Commodore Matthew Perry arrived just south of Yokohama with a fleet of American warships, demanding that Japan open several ports for commerce, and the Tokugawa shogunate agreed by signing the Treaty of Peace and Amity.It was initially agreed that one of the ports to be opened to foreign ships would be the bustling town of Kanagawa-juku (in what is now Kanagawa Ward) on the Tōkaidō, a strategic highway that linked Edo to Kyoto and Osaka. However, the Tokugawa shogunate decided that Kanagawa-juku was too close to the Tōkaidō for comfort, and port facilities were instead built across the inlet in the sleepy fishing village of Yokohama. The Port of Yokohama was officially opened on June 2, 1859.Yokohama quickly became the base of foreign trade in Japan. Foreigners initially occupied the low-lying district of the city called Kannai, residential districts later expanding as the settlement grew to incorporate much of the elevated Yamate district overlooking the city, commonly referred to by English-speaking residents as The Bluff. Kannai, the foreign trade and commercial district (literally, inside the barrier), was surrounded by a moat, foreign residents enjoying extraterritorial status both within and outside the compound. Interactions with the local population, particularly young samurai, outside the settlement inevitably caused problems; the Namamugi Incident, one of the events that preceded the downfall of the shogunate, took place in what is now Tsurumi Ward in 1862, and prompted the Bombardment of Kagoshima in 1863. To protect British commercial and diplomatic interests in Yokohama a military garrison was established in 1862. With the growth in trade increasing numbers of Chinese also came to settle in the city. Yokohama was the scene of many notable firsts for Japan including the growing acceptance of western fashion, photography by pioneers such as Felice Beato, Japan's first English language newspaper, the Japan Herald published in 1861 and in 1865 the first ice cream confectionery and beer to be produced in Japan. Recreational sports introduced to Japan by foreign residents in Yokohama included European style horse racing in 1862, cricket in 1863 and rugby union in 1866. A great fire destroyed much of the foreign settlement on November 26, 1866, and smallpox was a recurrent public health hazard, but the city continued to grow rapidly – attracting foreigners and Japanese alike. Gallery Meiji and Taisho Periods (1868–1923) After the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the port was developed for trading silk, the main trading partner being Great Britain. Western influence and technological transfer contributed to the establishment of Japan's first daily newspaper (1870), first gas-powered street lamps (1872) and Japan's first railway constructed in the same year to connect Yokohama to Shinagawa and Shinbashi in Tokyo. In 1872 Jules Verne portrayed Yokohama, which he had never visited, in an episode of his widely read novel Around the World in Eighty Days, capturing the atmosphere of the fast-developing, internationally oriented Japanese city. In 1887, a British merchant, Samuel Cocking, built the city's first power plant. At first for his own use, this coal power plant became the basis for the Yokohama Cooperative Electric Light Company. The city was officially incorporated on April 1, 1889. By the time the extraterritoriality of foreigner areas was abolished in 1899, Yokohama was the most international city in Japan, with foreigner areas stretching from Kannai to the Bluff area and the large Yokohama Chinatown. The early 20th century was marked by rapid growth of industry. Entrepreneurs built factories along reclaimed land to the north of the city toward Kawasaki, which eventually grew to be the Keihin Industrial Area. The growth of Japanese industry brought affluence, and many wealthy trading families constructed sprawling residences there, while the rapid influx of population from Japan and Korea also led to the formation of Kojiki-Yato, then the largest slum in Japan. Gallery Great Kantō earthquake and the Second World War (1923–1945) Gallery Much of Yokohama was destroyed on September 1, 1923, by the Great Kantō earthquake. The Yokohama police reported casualties at 30,771 dead and 47,908 injured, out of a pre-earthquake population of 434,170. Fuelled by rumors of rebellion and sabotage, vigilante mobs thereupon murdered many Koreans in the Kojiki-yato slum. Many people believed that Koreans used black magic to cause the earthquake. Martial law was in place until November 19. Rubble from the quake was used to reclaim land for parks, the most famous being the Yamashita Park on the waterfront which opened in 1930. Yokohama was rebuilt, only to be destroyed again by U.S. air raids during World War II. The first bombing was in the April 18, 1942 Doolittle Raid. An estimated 7,000–8,000 people were killed in a single morning on May 29, 1945, in what is now known as the Great Yokohama Air Raid, when B-29s firebombed the city and in just one hour and nine minutes, reducing 42% of it to rubble. Postwar growth and development During the American occupation, Yokohama was a major transshipment base for American supplies and personnel, especially during the Korean War. After the occupation, most local U.S. naval activity moved from Yokohama to an American base in nearby Yokosuka. Four years after the Treaty of San Francisco signed, the city was designated by government ordinance on September 1, 1956. The city's tram and trolleybus system was abolished in 1972, the same year as the opening of the first line of Yokohama Municipal Subway. Construction of Minato Mirai 21 ("Port Future 21"), a major urban development project on reclaimed land started in 1983, nicknamed the "Philadelphia and Boston of the Orient" was compared to Center City, Philadelphia and Downtown Boston located in the East Coast of the United States. Minato Mirai 21 hosted the Yokohama Exotic Showcase in 1989, which saw the first public operation of maglev trains in Japan and the opening of Cosmo Clock 21, then the tallest Ferris wheel in the world. The 860-metre-long (2,820 ft) Yokohama Bay Bridge opened in the same year. In 1993, Minato Mirai 21 saw the opening of the Yokohama Landmark Tower, the second-tallest building in Japan. The 2002 FIFA World Cup final was held in June at the International Stadium Yokohama. In 2009, the city marked the 150th anniversary of the opening of the port and the 120th anniversary of the commencement of the City Administration. An early part in the commemoration project incorporated the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV), which was held in Yokohama in May 2008. In November 2010, Yokohama hosted the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting. Gallery Geography Topography Yokohama has a total area of 437.38 km2 (168.87 sq mi) at an elevation of 5 metres (16 ft) above sea level. It is the capital of Kanagawa Prefecture, bordered to the east by Tokyo Bay and located in the middle of the Kantō plain. The city is surrounded by hills and the characteristic mountain system of the island of Honshū, so its growth has been limited and it has had to gain ground from the sea. This also affects the population density, one of the highest in Japan with 8,500 inhabitants per km2. The highest points within the urban boundary are Omaruyama (156 m [512 ft]) and Mount Enkaizan (153 m [502 ft]). The main river is the Tsurumi River, which begins in the Tama Hills and empties into the Pacific Ocean.These municipalities surround Yokohama: Kawasaki, Yokosuka, Zushi, Kamakura, Fujisawa, Yamato, Machida. Geology The city is very prone to natural phenomena such as earthquakes and tropical cyclones because the island of Honshū has a high level of seismic activity, being in the middle of the Pacific Ring of Fire. Most seismic movements are of low intensity and are generally not perceived by people. However, Yokohama has experienced two major tremors that reflect the evolution of Earthquake engineering: the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake devastated the city and caused more than 100,000 fatalities throughout the region, while the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, with its epicenter on the east coast, was felt in the locality but only material damage was lamented because most buildings were already prepared to withstand them. Climate Yokohama features a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa) with hot, humid summers and chilly winters. Weatherwise, Yokohama has a pattern of rain, clouds and sun, although in winter, it is surprisingly sunny, more so than Southern Spain. Winter temperatures rarely drop below freezing, while summer can seem quite warm, because of the effects of humidity. The coldest temperature was on 24 January 1927 when −8.2 °C (17.2 °F) was reached, whilst the hottest day was 11 August 2013 at 37.4 °C (99.3 °F). The highest monthly rainfall was in October 2004 with 761.5 millimetres (30.0 in), closely followed by July 1941 with 753.4 millimetres (29.66 in), whilst December and January have recorded no measurable precipitation three times each. Cityscape Demographics Population Yokohama's foreign population of 92,139 includes Chinese, Koreans, Filipinos, and Vietnamese. Wards Yokohama has 18 wards (ku): Government and politics The Yokohama City Council consists of 86 members elected from a total of 18 Wards. The LDP has minority control with 36 seats. The incumbent mayor is Takeharu Yamanaka, who defeated Fumiko Hayashi in the 2021 Yokohama mayoral election. List of mayors (from 1889) Culture and sights Yokohama's cultural and tourist sights include: Museums There are 42 museums in the city area, including. Gallery Excursion destinations In 2016, 46,017,157 tourists visited the city, 13.1% of whom were overnight guests. Kodomo no kuni: Means "Children's country". A nice destination to spend an eventful day with the family. Lots of space for walking and playing. There is also a petting zoo. Nogeyama Zoo: One of the few zoos that do not charge admission. It has a large number of animals and a petting zoo where children can play with small animals. Zoorasia: Nice zoo with lots of play options for children. However, in this zoo admission costs. Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise: A large park with an aquarium. Otherwise rides, shops, restaurants, etc. Since 2020, after six years of development, a giant robot named Gundam, which is 18 meters high and weighs 25 tons, has been watching over the port area as a tourist attraction. The giant robot, in which there is a cockpit and whose hands are each two meters long, is based as a figure on a science fiction television series, can move and sink to its knees. The giant robot was manufactured by the company "Gundam Factory Yokohama" under Managing Director Shin Sasaki. Kamonyama Park In popular media Yukio Mishima's novel The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea is set mainly in Yokohama. Mishima describes the city's port and its houses, and the Western influences that shaped them. From Up on Poppy Hill is a 2011 Studio Ghibli animated drama film directed by Gorō Miyazaki set in the Yamate district of Yokohama. The film is based on the serialized Japanese comic book of the same name. The main setting of James Clavell's book Gai-Jin is in historical Yokohama. Vermillion City in the Kanto region from the Pokémon franchise is based on Yokohama. During the closing ceremony of the 2022 Pokémon World Championships in London, Yokohama was announced as the 2023 host city by using footage of Vermillion City from Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow. The 2023 World Championships were held at the Pacifico Yokohama between August 11th-13th 2023. In the video game division, the host country won the finals of all three age divisions. One of the Pretty Cure crossover movies takes place in Yokohama. In the fourth movie of the series, Pretty Cure All Stars New Stage: Friends of the Future, the Pretty Cure appear standing on top of the Cosmo Clock 21 in Minato Mirai. The main setting of the Japanese visual novel series Muv-Luv, first a school and then, in an alternate history, a military base is built in Yokohama with the objective of carrying out the Alternative IV Plan meant to save humanity. In Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3, Yokohama is under siege by the Soviet Union and Allied Nations to stop the Empire of The Rising Sun. The player must defend Yokohama and then lead a counterattack as the Empire. The manga Bungo Stray Dogs is set in Yokohama. The Japanese mixed-media project, Hamatora takes place in Yokohama. The final battle in Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack takes place in Yokohama. In My Hero Academia, it is the location of the Nomu Warehouse where they created artificial Humans (a.k.a. Nomus). Sumaru City in the Persona 2 duology is based on Yokohama. Miyabi City in The Caligula Effect is based on Yokohama, including depictions of landmarks such as an unfinished Landmark Tower and Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise (referred to in game as Sea Paraiso). The video game Yakuza: Like a Dragon is set in Isezaki Ijincho, a fictional district in Yokohama based on Isezakichō. Yokohama is also represented in the multimedia project by King Records, Hypnosis Mic: Division Rap Battle Yokohama is the main setting of Japanese manga and anime series Komi Can't Communicate. Multiple of the cities’ landmarks are featured on the manga, most notably in the more recently released chapters. Yokohama is the setting of the anime After the Rain as well as manga series with the same title by Jun Mayuzuki. In April 2022, The Yokohama Convention & Visitors Bureau announced the launch of a new interactive website to aid in the tourism and MICE elements of the city. Sports Baseball: Yokohama DeNA BayStars Soccer: Yokohama F. Marinos (J.League Division 1), Yokohama FC (J.League Division 1), YSCC Yokohama (J.League Division 3), NHK Yokohama FC Seagulls (Nadeshiko League Div.2) Velodrome: Kagetsu-en Velodrome Basketball: Yokohama B-Corsairs Rugby Union: Yokohama Eagles Tennis: Ai Sugiyama American football: Yokohama Harbors Economy The city has a strong economic base, especially in the shipping, biotechnology, and semiconductor industries. Nissan moved its headquarters to Yokohama from Chūō, Tokyo, in 2010. Yokohama's GDP per capita (Nominal) was $30,625 ($1=¥120.13).As of 2016, the total production in Yokohama city reached ¥13.56 billion. It is located between Shizuoka and Hiroshima Prefectures compared to domestic prefectures. It is located between Hungary, which ranks 26th, and New Zealand, which ranks 27th compared to OECD countries. Generally, the primary industry is 0.1%, the secondary industry is 21.7%, and the tertiary industry is 82.3%. The ratio of the primary industry is low, and the ratio of the secondary industry and the tertiary industry is high. Compared to other ordinance-designated cities, it is about 60% of the size of Osaka, which is almost the same as Nagoya. As shown in the attached table, there are not a few head office companies, but the major inferiority to Osaka is the traditional difference, the strong bed. In connection with this, the absence of large block-type companies (JR, NTT, electric power, gas, major commercial broadcasters, etc.) has had an impact. The breakdown is ¥11.9 million yen (0.1%) for the primary industry, ¥2.75 billion (21.7%) for the secondary industry, and ¥10.44 billion yen (82.3%) for the tertiary industry. Compared to other government-designated cities, the amount of the primary industry, the ratio of the construction industry of the secondary industry, and the ratio of the real estate industry of the tertiary industry are large, and the finance, insurance, wholesale, and retail of the tertiary industry The ratio of industry and service industry is small, but the tertiary industry is almost the same as Nagoya. Major companies headquartered Transport Yokohama is serviced by the Tōkaidō Shinkansen, a high-speed rail line with a stop at Shin-Yokohama Station. Yokohama Station is also a major station, with two million passengers daily. The Yokohama Municipal Subway, Minatomirai Line and Kanazawa Seaside Line provide metro services. Air transport Yokohama does not have an airport, but is served by Tokyo's two main airports Haneda Airport which is 17.4 km away and Narita International Airport which is 77 km away. Maritime transport Yokohama is the world's 31st largest seaport in terms of total cargo volume, at 121,326 freight tons as of 2011, and is ranked 37th in terms of TEUs (Twenty-foot equivalent units).In 2013, APM Terminals Yokohama facility was recognized as the most productive container terminal in the world averaging 163 crane moves per hour, per ship between the vessel's arrival and departure at the berth. Rail transport Railway stations ■ East Japan Railway Company (JR East) ■ Tōkaidō Main Line – Yokohama – Totsuka – ■ Yokosuka Line – Yokohama – Hodogaya – Higashi-Totsuka – Totsuka – ■ Keihin-Tōhoku Line – Tsurumi – Shin-Koyasu – Higashi-Kanagawa – Yokohama ■ Negishi Line Yokohama – Sakuragichō – Kannai – Ishikawachō – Yamate – Negishi – Isogo – Shin-Sugita – Yōkōdai – Kōnandai – Hongōdai – ■ Yokohama Line Higashi-Kanagawa – Ōguchi – Kikuna – Shin-Yokohama – Kozukue – Kamoi – Nakayama – Tōkaichiba – Nagatsuta – ■ Nambu Line – Yakō – ■ Tsurumi Line Main Line : Tsurumi – Kokudō – Tsurumi-Ono – Bentembashi – Asano – Anzen – Umi-Shibaura Branch : Asano – Shin-Shibaura – Umi-Shibaura■ Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) ■ Tōkaidō Shinkansen – Shin-Yokohama –■ Keikyu ■ Keikyu Main Line – Tsurumi-Ichiba – Keikyū Tsurumi – Kagetsuen-mae – Namamugi – Keikyū Shin-Koyasu – Koyasu – Kanagawa-Shinmachi – Naka-Kido – Kanagawa – Yokohama – Tobe – Hinodechō – Koganechō – Minami-Ōta – Idogaya – Gumyōji – Kami-Ōoka – Byōbugaura – Sugita – Keikyū Tomioka – Nōkendai – Kanazawa-Bunko – Kanazawa-Hakkei – ■ Keikyu Zushi Line Kanazawa-Hakkei – Mutsuura –■ Tokyu Railways ■ Tōyoko Line – Hiyoshi – Tsunashima – Ōkurayama – Kikuna – Myōrenji – Hakuraku – Higashi-Hakuraku – Tammachi – Yokohama ■ Meguro Line – Hiyoshi ■ Den-en-toshi Line – Tama-Plaza – Azamino – Eda – Ichigao – Fujigaoka – Aobadai – Tana – Nagatsuta – ■ Kodomonokuni Line Nagatsuta – Onda – Kodomonokuni■ Sagami Railway ■ Sagami Railway Main Line Yokohama – Hiranumabashi – Nishi-Yokohama – Tennōchō – Hoshikawa – Wadamachi – Kamihoshikawa – Nishiya – Tsurugamine – Futamata-gawa – Kibōgaoka – Mitsukyō – Seya – ■ Izumino Line Futamata-gawa – Minami-Makigahara – Ryokuentoshi – Yayoidai – Izumino – Izumi-chūō – Yumegaoka■ Yokohama Minatomirai Railway ■ Minatomirai Line Yokohama – Shin-Takashima – Minato Mirai – Bashamichi – Nihon-ōdōri – Motomachi-Chūkagai■ Yokohama City Transportation Bureau (Yokohama Municipal Subway) ■ Blue Line – Shimoiida – Tateba – Nakada – Odoriba – Totsuka – Maioka – Shimonagaya – Kaminagaya – Kōnan-Chūō – Kami-Ōoka – Gumyōji – Maita – Yoshinochō – Bandōbashi – Isezakichōjamachi – Kannai – Sakuragichō – Takashimachō – Yokohama – Mitsuzawa-shimochō – Mitsuzawa-kamichō – Katakurachō – Kishine-kōen – Shin-Yokohama – Kita Shin-Yokohama – Nippa – Nakamachidai – Center Minami – Center Kita – Nakagawa – Azamino ■ Green Line Nakayama – Kawawachō – Tsuzuki-Fureai-no-Oka – Center Minami – Center Kita – Kita-Yamata – Higashi-Yamata – Takata – Hiyoshi-Honchō – Hiyoshi■ Yokohama New Transit ■ Kanazawa Seaside Line Shin-Sugita – Nambu-Shijō – Torihama – Namiki-Kita – Namiki-Chūō – Sachiura – Sangyō-Shinkō-Center – Fukuura – Shidai-Igakubu – Hakkeijima – Uminokōen-Shibaguchi – Uminokōen-Minamiguchi – Nojimakōen – Kanazawa-Hakkei Education Public elementary and middle schools are operated by the city of Yokohama. There are nine public high schools which are operated by the Yokohama City Board of Education, and a number of public high schools which are operated by the Kanagawa Prefectural Board of Education. Yokohama National University is a leading university in Yokohama which is also one of the highest ranking national universities in Japan. 46,388 children attend the 260 kindergartens. Almost 386,000 students are taught in 351 primary schools. There are 16 universities including Yokohama National University. The number of students is around 83,000. 19 public libraries had 9.5 million loans in 2016. International relations Twin towns – sister cities Yokohama is twinned with: Partner cities Sister ports Notable people Lily Abegg, journalist Jo Asakura, member of Japanese boy group &Team Toru Furuya, singer and seiyū Katsunori Iketani, racing driver Yuma Kagiyama, figure skater Masahiko Kondō, singer and racing driver Miki Koyama, racing driver Takehito Koyasu, singer and seiyū Ryuji Kumita, racing driver and CEO of B-Max Racing Keisuke Kunimoto, racing driver Yuji Kunimoto, racing driver Akinori Ogata, racing driver Takuro Shinohara, racing driver Minoru Suzuki, professional wrestler Miki Yamane, footballer Kuniaki Takahashi, drifting driver Yuta Watanabe, NBA player for the Toronto Raptors. Radwimps Crystal Kay, singer Naoya Inoue, boxer Official Website (in Japanese) Yokohama Tourism Website (in English) Geographic data related to Yokohama at OpenStreetMap

The Horn mansion (角宿, pinyin: Jiǎo Xiù) is one of the Twenty-eight mansions of the Chinese constellations. It is one of the eastern mansions of the Azure Dragon.

Horn may refer to: Common uses Horn (acoustic), a tapered sound guide Horn antenna Horn loudspeaker Vehicle horn Train horn Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various animals Horn (instrument), a family of musical instruments French horn, often simply called a horn Arts and entertainment Horn (album), by Apink, 2022 Horn, a 2011 album by Pharaoh Overlord "The Horn", a song by Super Furry Animals from the 2005 album Love Kraft "The Horn", a comedy track from the 1978 album Derek and Clive Ad Nauseam Horn (video game), 2012 Places Horn District, Austria Horn, Austria Horn, Rutland, England Horn, Germany, a municipality in Rhineland-Palatinate Horn, Hamburg, Germany Horn (am Bodensee), Baden-Württemberg, Germany Horn, Netherlands Horn, a ferry docking point on Randsfjorden, Norway Horn, Sweden Horn, Switzerland Horn, Nebraska, United States Horn Island, Queensland, Australia Horn Island (Mississippi), United States Horn River, Northwest Territories, Canada Horn (Schwarzbach), a river in eastern France and southwestern Germany The Horn (Mount Buffalo), a peak in Victoria, Australia The Horn (New Hampshire), a peak in the United States Other uses Horn Cable Television, a television channel in Somalia Horn (Chinese constellation), part of the European constellation Virgo Horn (diacritic), in the Vietnamese alphabet Horn (heraldry), common features in crests in Scandinavian and German heraldry Horn (surname), including a list of people with the name Horn, part of a saddle Hörn, or Freyja, a Norse goddess Pyramidal peak, sometimes called a glacial horn The horn, a slang term for telephone See also All pages with titles beginning with Horn All pages with titles containing Horn Cape Horn (disambiguation) Horn House (disambiguation) Horns (disambiguation) Horne (disambiguation) Hoorn (disambiguation) Horned God, a Wiccan deity Horn of Africa, a peninsula in northeast Africa

Tsai Eng-meng (Chinese: 蔡衍明; pinyin: Cài Yǎnmíng; born 1957) is a businessman who lives in Taiwan. He is well-known for his leadership of the Want Want food company and his family's later acquisition of various news media companies in Taiwan. He also chairman of the snack food company Want Want China. He was the richest person in Taiwan in 2017. Early life Tsai was born in 1957, in Datong District, Taipei, the son of Tsai A-Shi, who founded a canned fish business in 1962. Career Tsai succeeded his father as chairman of Want Want in 1987.According to Forbes, Tsai Eng-meng has a net worth of $5.9 billion, as of January 2017.Although not a politician, he remains politically active and is a strong supporter of Chinese unification. In 2012 he said that "unification will happen sooner or later." Personal life He lives in Shanghai, China. His older son, Kevin Tsai runs the family's media empire of TV stations and newspapers. His younger son Matthew Tsai (Tsai Wang-Chia, born 1984) is the chief operating officer of Want Want China. He is a follower of Buddhism.

北斗 is an East Asian name meaning "Northern dipper" or "Big Dipper". 北斗 may refer to: Beidou (disambiguation), the Chinese transliteration Hokuto (disambiguation), the Japanese transliteration

The Dipper mansion (斗宿, pinyin: Dǒu Xiù) is one of the Twenty-eight mansions of the Chinese constellations. It is one of the northern mansions of the Black Tortoise. In Taoism, it is known as the "Six Stars of the Southern Dipper" (南斗六星, Nándǒu liù xīng), in contrast to the Big Dipper north to this mansion. Asterisms Stars ζ Sgr τ Sgr σ Sgr φ Sgr λ Sgr μ Sgr

Dippers are members of the genus Cinclus in the bird family Cinclidae, so-called because of their bobbing or dipping movements. They are unique among passerines for their ability to dive and swim underwater. Taxonomy The genus Cinclus was introduced by the German naturalist Moritz Balthasar Borkhausen in 1797 with the white-throated dipper (Cinclus cinclus) as the type species. The name cinclus is from the Ancient Greek word kinklos that was used to describe small tail-wagging birds that resided near water.Cinclus is the only genus in the family Cinclidae. The white-throated dipper and American dipper are also known in Britain and America, respectively, as the water ouzel (sometimes spelt "ousel") – ouzel originally meant the only distantly related but superficially similar Eurasian blackbird (Old English osle). Ouzel also survives as the name of a relative of the blackbird, the ring ouzel.The genus contains five species: White-throated dipper or European dipper, Cinclus cinclus Brown dipper Cinclus pallasii American dipper Cinclus mexicanus White-capped dipper Cinclus leucocephalus Rufous-throated dipper Cinclus schulziiA 2002 molecular phylogenetic study of the dippers looked at the DNA sequences of two mitochondrial genes. It found that the Eurasian white-throated dipper and brown dipper are sister species as are the South American white-capped dipper and rufous-throated dipper. The study also showed that the dipper family, Cinclidae, is most closely related to the thrush family, Turdidae. Description Dippers are small, chunky, stout, short-tailed, short-winged, strong-legged birds. The different species are generally dark brown (sometimes nearly black), or brown and white in colour, apart from the rufous-throated dipper, which is brown with a reddish-brown throat patch. Sizes range from 14–22 cm (5.5–8.7 in) in length and 40–90 g (1.4–3.2 oz) in weight, with males larger than females. Their short wings give them a distinctive whirring flight. They have a characteristic bobbing motion when perched beside the water, giving them their name. While under water, they are covered by a thin, silvery film of air, due to small bubbles being trapped on the surface of the plumage. Distribution and habitat Dippers are found in suitable freshwater habitats in the highlands of the Americas, Europe and Asia. In Africa they are only found in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. They inhabit the banks of fast-moving upland rivers with cold, clear waters, though, outside the breeding season, they may visit lake shores and sea coasts. Adaptations Unlike many water birds, dippers are generally similar in form to many terrestrial birds (for example, they do not have webbed feet), but they do have some morphological and physiological adaptations to their aquatic habits. They have evolved solid bones to reduce their buoyancy, and their wings are relatively short but strongly muscled, enabling them to be used as flippers underwater. The plumage is dense with a large preen gland for waterproofing their feathers. Relatively long legs and sharp claws enable them to hold on to rocks in swift water. Their eyes have well-developed focus muscles that can change the curvature of the lens to enhance underwater vision. They have nasal flaps to prevent water entering their nostrils.The high haemoglobin concentration in their blood gives them a capacity to store oxygen greater than that of other birds, allowing them to remain underwater for 30 seconds or more, whilst their basal metabolic rate is approximately one-third slower than typical terrestrial passerines of similar mass. One small population wintering at a hot spring in Suntar-Khayata Mountains of Siberia feeds underwater when air temperatures drop below −55 °C (−67 °F). Behaviour Food Dippers forage for small animal prey in and along the margins of fast-flowing freshwater streams and rivers. They perch on rocks and feed at the edge of the water, but they often also grip the rocks firmly and walk down them beneath the water until partly or wholly submerged. They then search underwater for prey between and beneath stones and debris; they can also swim with their wings. The two South American species swim and dive less often than the three northern ones. Their prey consists primarily of invertebrates such as the nymphs or larvae of mayflies, blackflies, stoneflies and caddisflies, as well as small fish and fish eggs. Molluscs and crustaceans are also consumed, especially in winter when insect larvae are less available. Breeding Linear breeding territories are established by pairs of dippers along suitable rivers, and maintained against incursion by other dippers. Within their territory the pair must have a good nest site and roost sites, but the main factor affecting the length of the territory is the availability of sufficient food to feed themselves and their broods. Consequently, the length of a territory may vary from about 300 metres (1,000 feet) to over 2,500 metres (8,200 feet).Dipper nests are usually large, round, domed structures made of moss, with an internal cup of grass and rootlets, and a side entrance hole. They are often built in confined spaces over, or close to, running water. The site may be on a ledge or bank, in a crevice or drainpipe, or beneath a bridge. Tree sites are rare.The usual clutch-size of the three northern dipper species is four or five; those of the South American species is not well known, though some evidence suggests that of the rufous-throated dipper is two. The incubation period of 16 or 17 days is followed by the hatching of altricial young which are brooded by the female alone for the next 12 to 13 days. The nestlings are fed by both parents and the whole fledging period is about 20–24 days. Young dippers usually become independent of their parents within a couple of weeks of leaving the nest. Dippers may raise second broods if conditions allow. The maximum recorded age from ring-recovery data of a white-throated dipper is 10 years and 7 months for a bird ringed in Finland. The maximum age for an American dipper is 8 years and 1 month for a bird ringed and recovered in South Dakota. Communication Dippers' calls are loud and high-pitched, being similar to calls made by other birds on fast rivers; the call frequencies lying within a narrow range of 4.0–6.5 kHz, well above the torrent noise frequency of maximum 2 kHz. Dippers also communicate visually by their characteristic dipping or bobbing movements, as well as by blinking rapidly to expose the white feathers on their upper eyelids as a series of white flashes in courtship and threat displays. Conservation Dippers are completely dependent on fast-flowing rivers with clear water, accessible food and secure nest-sites. They may be threatened by anything that affects these needs such as water pollution, acidification and turbidity caused by erosion. River regulation through the creation of dams and reservoirs, as well as channelization, can degrade and destroy dipper habitat.Dippers are also sometimes hunted or otherwise persecuted by humans for various reasons. The Cyprus race of the white-throated dipper is extinct. In the Atlas Mountains dippers are claimed to have aphrodisiacal properties. In parts of Scotland and Germany, until the beginning of the 20th century, bounties were paid for killing dippers because of a misguided perception that they were detrimental to fish stocks through predation on the eggs and fry of salmonids.Despite threats to local populations, the conservation status of most dipper species is considered to be of least concern. The one exception, the rufous-throated dipper, is classified as vulnerable because of its small, fragmented and declining population which is threatened, especially in Argentina, by changes in river management. Further reading Tyler, Stephanie J. & Ormerod, Stephen J. (1994) The Dippers (Poyser, London) ISBN 0-85661-093-3 ITIS – Cinclus Dipper pictures in nature photographer Janne Heimonen's photo gallery Dipper videos on the Internet Bird Collection

Radical 68 or radical dipper (斗部) meaning "dipper" is one of the 34 Kangxi radicals (214 radicals in total) composed of 4 strokes. In the Kangxi Dictionary, there are 32 characters (out of 49,030) to be found under this radical. 斗 is also the 96th indexing component in the Table of Indexing Chinese Character Components predominantly adopted by Simplified Chinese dictionaries published in mainland China. 市斗 shìdǒu, sometimes represented by 斗 dǒu alone, is also the symbol for a Chinese traditional measurement of dry volume equaling about 10 liters, which is ~18.16 pints, ~2.27 gallons, ~610.2 cubic inches, or ~0.3531 cubic feet. Evolution Derived characters Literature Fazzioli, Edoardo (1987). Chinese calligraphy : from pictograph to ideogram : the history of 214 essential Chinese/Japanese characters. calligraphy by Rebecca Hon Ko. New York: Abbeville Press. ISBN 0-89659-774-1. Lunde, Ken (Jan 5, 2009). "Appendix J: Japanese Character Sets" (PDF). CJKV Information Processing: Chinese, Japanese, Korean & Vietnamese Computing (Second ed.). Sebastopol, Calif.: O'Reilly Media. ISBN 978-0-596-51447-1. Unihan Database - U+6597

Three star or three stars is a grading received in a star classification scheme. Three star or three stars may also refer to: Three Stars (Chinese constellation), a group of seven stars Three stars (ice hockey), triple equivalent of "man of the match" in other sports Three Stars (militant group), a former Tamil militant group in Sri Lanka Three Star Club, a Nepalese association football club Three Star Gods, Chinese gods of happiness, rank and longevity Three star petrol, a class of Leaded petrol formerly sold in the UK Three-star rank, a senior military rank Dinkus (* * *), three asterisks arranged horizontally usually indicate an omission or subsection Asterism (typography) (⁂), three asterisks (stars) in a triangle, uncommonly used to indicate a subsection Flag of the Republic of the Rio Grande, nicknamed the Three Star Flag Georgia's Own Credit Union 3 Stars of the Year Award, ice hockey award Order of the Three Stars, Latvian decoration for merit in service Samsung, which means "Three stars" in Korean The three-star rating system, used within certain video games In music "Three Stars" (song), a 1959 song written by Tommy Dee "Theme from Dr. Kildare (Three Stars Will Shine Tonight)", a TV show theme and 1962 single See also Tristar (disambiguation) All pages with titles beginning with Three Star All pages with titles beginning with Three star (disambiguation), three asterisks

Bond or bonds may refer to: Common meanings Bond (finance), a type of debt security Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States Fidelity bond, a type of insurance policy for employers Chemical bond, the attraction of atoms, ions or molecules to form chemical compounds Emotional bond, an emotional attachment between one or more individuals. People Bond (surname) Bonds (surname) Mr. Bond (musician), Austrian rapper Arts and entertainment James Bond, a series of works about the eponymous fictional character James Bond (literary character), a British secret agent in a series of novels and films Bond (string quartet), an Australian/British string quartet Bond: Video Clip Collection, a video collection from the band Bond (Canadian band), a Canadian rock band in the 1970s The Bond (2007 book), an American autobiography written by The Three Doctors The Bond, a 1918 film by Charlie Chaplin supporting Liberty bonds Bond International Casino, a former music venue in New York City Bonds (The Walking Dead), an episode of the television series The Walking Dead Places Antarctica Bond Glacier, at the head of Vincennes Bay Bond Nunatak, Adelaide Island Australia Bond Island, Queensland, in the Torres Strait Canada Bond Inlet, a body of water in Hudson Strait Bond Street (Toronto) England Bond Street, a major shopping street in the West End of London Bond Street station, a major tube station in London Bonds, Lancashire, an English village United States Bond, Colorado Bond, Mississippi Bond, Tennessee Bond Street (Manhattan), New York City Bond Court Building, the former name of a highrise in Cleveland, Ohio Bond Falls, a waterfall in the Ontonagon River, Michigan Bond House (disambiguation), various National Registered Historic Places in the United States Bonds, Indiana Outer space Bond (crater), a crater on Mars Brands and enterprises BoND, architecture and design firm in New York Bond (wine), a California cult wine producer Bond Arms, a Texas gun manufacturer Bond Aviation Group, a British helicopter operator Bond Bridge, a Wi-Fi device that communicates with infra-red controlled devices Bond Cars Ltd, a small-scale car manufacturer between 1949 and 1971 Bond Clothing Stores, a former New York clothing company Bond Education Group, a Canadian operator of private schools Bonds (clothing), Australian clothing company Bonds of Norwich, a department store in Norwich, Norfolk, England, purchased by the John Lewis Partnership and renamed John Lewis Norwich Education Bond University, Gold Coast, Australia Bond South Africa, South African campus of Bond University Organizations British Overseas NGOs for Development, operating as Bond, the membership body for UK-based NGOs working in international development Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny (BOND), created by Jesse Lee Peterson Other uses BOND, RAD software tool Bond (sheep), an Australian breed of sheep Bond paper, a high quality durable writing paper Bond (Chinese constellation), both a mansion in the White Tiger constellation and an asterism within that mansion Bond, the manner in which the bricks overlap in brickwork The Bond of 1844, a treaty between Ghanaian tribes and the British establishing a protectorate over the Gold Coast. See also All pages with titles containing bond All pages with titles containing bonds Bond v The Queen, a 2000 High Court of Australia case Bond v. United States (2000), a U.S. Supreme Court case regarding the Fourth Amendment Peace bond, a protection order from a Canadian court Bonde (disambiguation) Bond(z), a Japanese manga anthology Bonding (disambiguation)

A chariot is a type of cart driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, dated to c. 1950–1880 BCE and are depicted on cylinder seals from Central Anatolia in Kültepe dated to c. 1900 BCE. The critical invention that allowed the construction of light, horse-drawn chariots was the spoked wheel. The chariot was a fast, light, open, two-wheeled conveyance drawn by two or more equids (usually horses) that were hitched side by side, and was little more than a floor with a waist-high guard at the front and sides. It was initially used for ancient warfare during the Bronze and Iron Ages, but after its military capabilities had been superseded by light and heavy cavalries, chariots continued to be used for travel and transport, in processions, for games, and in races. Etymology The word "chariot" comes from the Latin term carrus, a loanword from Gaulish.In ancient Rome a biga described a chariot requiring two horses, a triga three, and a quadriga four. Origins at the Eurasian steppe The invention of the wheel used in transportation most likely took place in the European Pontic Steppes of modern-day Russia, Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria. Evidence of wheeled vehicles appears from the mid 4th millennium BC near-simultaneously in the Northern Caucasus (Maykop culture), and in Central Europe. These earliest vehicles may have been ox carts. A necessary precursor to the invention of the chariot is the domestication of animals, and specifically domestication of horses – a major step in the development of civilization. Despite the large impact horse domestication has had in transport and communication, tracing its origins has been challenging. Evidence supports horses having been domesticated in the Eurasian Steppes, with studies suggesting the Botai culture in modern-day Kazakhstan were the first, about 3500 BCE. Others say horses were domesticated earlier than 3500 BCE in Eastern Europe (modern Ukraine and Western Kazkhstan), 6000 years ago The spread of spoke-wheeled chariots has been closely associated with early Indo-Iranian migrations. The earliest known chariots have been found in Sintashta culture burial sites, and the culture is considered a strong candidate for the origin of the technology, which spread throughout the Old World and played an important role in ancient warfare. It is also strongly associated with the ancestors of modern domestic horses, the DOM2 population (DOM2 horses originated from the Western Eurasia steppes, especially the lower Volga-Don, but not in Anatolia, during the late fourth and early third millennia BCE. Their genes may show selection for easier domestication and stronger backs). These Aryan people migrated southward into South Asia, ushering in the Vedic period around 1750 BCE. Shortly after this, about 1700 BCE, evidence of chariots appears in Asia-Minor.The earliest fully developed spoke-wheeled horse chariots are from the chariot burials of the Andronovo (Timber-Grave) sites of the Sintashta-Petrovka Proto-Indo-Iranian culture in modern Russia and Kazakhstan from around 2000 BCE. This culture is at least partially derived from the earlier Yamna culture. It built heavily fortified settlements, engaged in bronze metallurgy on an industrial scale, and practiced complex burial rituals reminiscent of Hindu rituals known from the Rigveda and the Avesta. Over the next few centuries, the Andronovo culture spread across the steppes from the Urals to the Tien Shan, likely corresponding to the time of early Indo-Iranian cultures. Not everyone agrees that the Sintashta culture vehicle finds are true chariots. In 1996 Joost Crouwel and Mary Aiken Littauer wroteLet us consider what is actually known of the Sintashta and Krivoe Ozero vehicles. At Sintashta, there remained only the imprints of the lower parts of the wheels in their slots in the floor of the burial chamber; Krivoe Ozero also preserved imprints of parts of the axle and naves. At Sintashta, the wheel tracks and their position relative to the walls of the tomb chamber limited the dimensions of the naves, hence the stability of the vehicle. Ancient naves were symmetrical, the part outside the spokes of equal length to that inside. The present reconstructions of the Sintashta and Krivoe Ozero vehicles above the axle level raise many doubts and questions, but one cannot argue about something for which there is no evidence. It is from the wheel track measurements and the dimensions and positions of the wheels alone that we may legitimately draw conclusions and these are alone sufficient to establish that the Sintashta-Petrovka vehicles would not be manoeuverable enough for use either in warfare or in racing. Peter Raulwing and Stefan Burmeister consider the Sintashta and Krivoe Ozero finds from the steppe to be carts rather than chariots.However, recent discoveries in the Eurasian steppe have provided fresh support to the claim that the chariot originated there, rather than in the Near East itself, and may be attributed to speakers of an Indo-Iranian (or Indo-Aryan) language. In particular, archaeological remains of horse gear and spoked wheeled vehicles have been found at the sites of Sintashta (Russia) and Krivoe Ozero (northern Kazakhstan), with calibrated radiocarbon dating to ca. 2000–1800. These finds, however, provide evidence of a two-wheeled spoked cart that does not fit the definition of the ancient Near Eastern chariot. Before these discoveries can help answer the question of where the chariot originated, thorough studies of the spoked wheeled vehicles and horse gear of the steppes, as well as of interconnections and transfer of knowledge, are necessary (cf. Epimachov and Korjakova in Fansa and Burmeister 2004). Spread by Indo-Europeans Chariots figure prominently in Indo-Iranian mythology. Chariots are also an important part of both Hindu and Persian mythology, with most of the gods in their pantheon portrayed as riding them. The Sanskrit word for a chariot is rátha- (m.), which is cognate with Avestan raθa- (also m.), and in origin a substantiation of the adjective Proto-Indo-European *rot-h₂-ó- meaning "having wheels", with the characteristic accent shift found in Indo-Iranian substantivisations. This adjective is in turn derived from the collective noun *rot-eh₂- "wheels", continued in Latin rota, which belongs to the noun *rót-o- for "wheel" (from *ret- "to run") that is also found in Germanic, Celtic and Baltic (Old High German rad n., Old Irish roth m., Lithuanian rãtas m.). Nomadic tribes of the Pontic steppes, like Scythians such as Hamaxobii, would travel in wagons, carts, and chariots during their migrations. Hittites The oldest testimony of chariot warfare in the ancient Near East is the Old Hittite Anitta text (18th century BCE), which mentions 40 teams of horses (in the original cuneiform spelling: 40 ṢÍ-IM-TI ANŠE.KUR.RAḪI.A) at the siege of Salatiwara. Since the text mentions teams rather than chariots, the existence of chariots in the 18th century BCE is uncertain. The first certain attestation of chariots in the Hittite empire dates to the late 17th century BCE (Hattusili I). A Hittite horse-training text is attributed to Kikkuli the Mitanni (15th century BCE). The Hittites were renowned charioteers. They developed a new chariot design that had lighter wheels, with four spokes rather than eight, and that held three rather than two warriors. It could hold three warriors because the wheel was placed in the middle of the chariot and not at the back as in Egyptian chariots. Typically one Hittite warrior steered the chariot while the second man was usually the main archer; the third warrior would either wield a spear or sword when charging at enemies or hold up a large shield to protect himself and the others from enemy arrows. Hittite prosperity largely depended on their control of trade routes and natural resources, specifically metals. As the Hittites gained dominion over Mesopotamia, tensions flared among the neighboring Assyrians, Hurrians, and Egyptians. Under Suppiluliuma I, the Hittites conquered Kadesh and, eventually, the whole of Syria. The Battle of Kadesh in 1274 BCE is likely to have been the largest chariot battle ever fought, involving over 5,000 chariots. Bronze Age Indian Subcontinent Models of single axled, solid wheeled, ox drawn vehicles, have been found at several mature Indus Valley cites, such as Chanhudaro, Daimabad, Harappa, and Nausharo, and are depicted in second millennium BCE Chalcolithic rock art, of the region.Spoked-wheeled, horse drawn, chariots, often carrying an armed passenger, are depicted in second millennium BCE Chalcolithic period rock paintings.. Examples are know from Chibbar Nulla, Chhatur Bhoj Nath Nulla, and Kathotia. There are some depictions of chariots among the petroglyphs in the sandstone of the Vindhya range. Two depictions of chariots are found in Morhana Pahar, Mirzapur district. One depicts a biga and the head of the driver. The second depicts a quadriga, with six-spoked wheels, and a driver standing up in a large chariot box. This chariot is being attacked. One figure, who is armed with a shield and a mace, stands in the chariot's path; another figure, who is armed with a bow and arrow, threatens the right flank. It has been suggested (speculated) that the drawings record a story, most probably dating to the early centuries BCE, from some center in the area of the Ganges–Yamuna plain into the territory of still Neolithic hunting tribes. The very realistic chariots carved into the Sanchi stupas are dated to roughly the 1st century. Bronze Age solid-disk wheel carts were found in 2018 at Sinauli, which were interpreted by some as horse-pulled "chariots," predating the arrival of the horse-centered Indo-Aryans. They were ascribed by Sanjay Manjul, director of the excavations, to the Ochre Coloured Pottery culture (OCP)/Copper Hoard Culture, which was contemporaneous with the Late Harappan culture, and interpreted by him as horse-pulled chariots. Majul further noted that "the rituals relating to the Sanauli burials showed close affinity with Vedic rituals, and stated that "the dating of the Mahabharata is around 1750 BCE." According to Asko Parpola these finds were ox-pulled carts, indicating that these burials are related to an early Aryan migration of Proto-Indo-Iranian speaking people into the Indian subcontinent, "forming then the ruling elite of a major Late Harappan settlement."Horse-drawn chariots, as well as their cult and associated rituals, were spread by the Indo-Iranians, and horses and horse-drawn chariots were introduced in India by the Indo-Aryans. In religion In Rigveda, Indra is described as strong willed, armed with a thunderbolt, riding a chariot:May the strong Heaven make thee the Strong wax stronger: Strong, for thou art borne by thy two strong Bay Horses. So, fair of cheek, with mighty chariot, mighty, uphold us, strong-willed, thunder armed, in battle. — RigVeda, Book 5, Hymn XXXVI: GriffithAmong Rigvedic deities, notably the Vedic Sun God Surya rides on a one spoked chariot driven by his charioteer Aruṇa. Ushas (the dawn) rides in a chariot, as well as Agni in his function as a messenger between gods and men. The Jain Bhagavi Sutra states that Indian troops used a chariot with a club or mace attached to it during the war against the Licchavis during the reign of Ajatashatru of Magadha. Persia The Persians succeeded Elam in the mid 1st millennium. They may have been the first to yoke four horses to their chariots. They also used scythed chariots. Cyrus the Younger employed these chariots in large numbers at the Battle of Cunaxa. Herodotus mentions that the Ancient Libyan and the Ancient Indian (Sattagydia, Gandhara and Hindush) satrapies supplied cavalry and chariots to Xerxes the Great's army. However, by this time, cavalry was far more effective and agile than the chariot, and the defeat of Darius III at the Battle of Gaugamela (331 BCE), where the army of Alexander simply opened their lines and let the chariots pass and attacked them from behind, marked the end of the era of chariot warfare (barring the Seleucid and Pontic powers, India, China, and the Celtic peoples). Introduction in the Near East Chariots were introduced in the Near East in the 17(18)th–16th centuries BCE. Some scholars argue that the horse chariot was most likely a product of the ancient Near East early in the 2nd millennium BCE. Archaeologist Joost Crouwel writes that "Chariots were not sudden inventions, but developed out of earlier vehicles that were mounted on disk or cross-bar wheels. This development can best be traced in the Near East, where spoke-wheeled and horse-drawn chariots are first attested in the earlier part of the second millennium BC..." and were illustrated on a Syrian cylinder seal dated to either the 18th or 17th century BCE. Maykop culture Starokorsunskaya kurgan in the Kuban region of Russia contains a wagon grave (or chariot burial) of the Maikop Culture (which also had horses). The two solid wooden wheels from this kurgan have been dated to the second half of the fourth millennium. Soon thereafter the number of such burials in this Northern Caucasus region multiplied. Linguistic evidence also suggests that the inventors were Indo-European people from Eurasia. Early wheeled vehicles in the Near East According to Christoph Baumer, the earliest discoveries of wheels in Mesopotamia come from the first half of the third millennium BCE – more than half a millennium later than the first finds from the Kuban region. At the same time, in Mesopotamia, some intriguing early pictograms of a sled that rests on wooden rollers or wheels have been found. They date from about the same time as the early wheel discoveries in Europe and may indicate knowledge of the wheel.The earliest depiction of vehicles in the context of warfare is on the Standard of Ur in southern Mesopotamia, c. 2500 BCE. These are more properly called wagons which were double-axled and pulled by oxen or a hybrid of a donkey and a female onager, named Kunga in the city of Nagar which was famous for breeding them. The hybrids were used by the Eblaite, early Sumerian, Akkadian and Ur III armies. Although sometimes carrying a spearman with the charioteer (driver), such heavy wagons, borne on solid wooden wheels and covered with skins, may have been part of the baggage train (e.g., during royal funeral processions) rather than vehicles of battle in themselves. The Sumerians had a lighter, two-wheeled type of cart, pulled by four asses, and with solid wheels. The spoked wheel did not appear in Mesopotamia until the mid second millennium BCE. Ancient Canaan and Israel Chariots are frequently mentioned in the Hebrew Tanakh and the Greek Old Testament, respectively, particularly by the prophets, as instruments of war or as symbols of power or glory. First mentioned in the story of Joseph (Genesis 50:9), "Iron chariots" are mentioned also in Joshua (17:16, 18) and Judges (1:19,4:3, 13) as weapons of the Canaanites and Israelites. 1 Samuel 13:5 mentions chariots of the Philistines, who are sometimes identified with the Sea Peoples or early Greeks. Examples from The Jewish Study Bible of the Tanakh (Jewish Bible) include: Isaiah 2:7 Their land is full of silver and gold, there is no limit to their treasures; their land is full of horses, there is no limit to their chariots. Jeremiah 4:13 Lo, he [I.e., the invader of v. 7.] ascends like clouds, his chariots are like a whirlwind, his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us, we are ruined! Ezekiel 26:10 From the cloud raised by his horses dust shall cover you; from the clatter of horsemen and wheels and chariots, your walls shall shake−when he enters your gates as men enter a breached city. Psalms 20:8 They [call] on chariots, they [call] on horses, but we call on the name of the LORD our God. Song of Songs 1:9 I have likened you, my darling, to a mare in Pharaoh's chariots Examples from the King James Version of the Christian Bible include: 2 Chronicles 1:14 And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, which he placed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem. Judges 1:19 And the LORD was with Judah; and he drave out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron. Acts 8:37–38 Then Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.Small domestic horses may have been present in the northern Negev before 3000 BC. Jezreel (city) has been identified as the chariot base of King Ahab. And a decorated bronze tablet thought to be the head of a lynchpin of a Canaanite chariot was found at a site that may be Sisera's fortress Harosheth Haggoyim. Egypt Chariot use made its way into Egypt around 1650 BCE during the Hyksos invasion of Egypt and establishment of the fourteenth dynasty. In 1659 BCE the Indo-European Hittites sacked Babylon, which demonstrated the superiority of chariots in antiquity.The chariot and horse were used extensively in Egypt by the Hyksos invaders from the 16th century BC onwards, though discoveries announced in 2013 potentially place the earliest chariot use as early as Egypt's Old Kingdom (c. 2686–2181 BCE). In the remains of Egyptian and Assyrian art, there are numerous representations of chariots, which display rich ornamentation. The chariots of the Egyptians and Assyrians, with whom the bow was the principal arm of attack, were richly mounted with quivers full of arrows. The Egyptians invented the yoke saddle for their chariot horses in c. 1500 BCE. As a general rule, the Egyptians used chariots as mobile archery platforms; chariots always had two men, with the driver steering the chariot with his reins while the main archer aimed his bow and arrow at any targets within range. The best preserved examples of Egyptian chariots are the four specimens from the tomb of Tutankhamun. Chariots can be pulled by two or more horses. Introduction in Bronze-Age Europe As David W. Anthony writes in his book The Horse, the Wheel, and Language, in Eastern Europe, the earliest well-dated depiction of a wheeled vehicle (a wagon with two axles and four wheels) is on the Bronocice pot (c. 3500 BCE). It is a clay pot excavated in a Funnelbeaker settlement in Swietokrzyskie Voivodeship in Poland. The oldest securely dated real wheel-axle combination in Eastern Europe is the Ljubljana Marshes Wheel (c. 3150 BCE). Greece The later Greeks of the first millennium BCE had a (still not very effective) cavalry arm (indeed, it has been argued that these early horseback riding soldiers may have given rise to the development of the later, heavily armed foot-soldiers known as hoplites), and the rocky terrain of the Greek mainland was unsuited for wheeled vehicles.The chariot was heavily used by the Mycaenean Greeks, most probably adopted from the Hittites, around 1600 BC. Linear B tablets from Mycenaean palaces record large inventories of chariots, sometimes with specific details as to how many chariots were assembled or not (i.e. stored in modular form).On a gravestone from the royal Shaft-grave V in Mycenae dated LH II (about 1500 BC) there is one of the earliest depiction of the chariot in Achaean art. This sculpture shows a single man driving a two-wheeled small box chariot. Later the vehicles were used in games and processions, notably for races at the Olympic and Panathenaic Games and other public festivals in ancient Greece, in hippodromes and in contests called agons. They were also used in ceremonial functions, as when a paranymph, or friend of a bridegroom, went with him in a chariot to fetch the bride home. Herodotus (Histories, 5. 9) Reports that chariots were widely used in the Pontic–Caspian steppe by the Sigynnae. Greek chariots were made to be drawn by two horses attached to a central pole. If two additional horses were added, they were attached on each side of the main pair by a single bar or trace fastened to the front or prow of the chariot, as may be seen on two prize vases in the British Museum from the Panathenaic Games at Athens, Greece, in which the driver is seated with feet resting on a board hanging down in front close to the legs of the horses. The biga itself consists of a seat resting on the axle, with a rail at each side to protect the driver from the wheels. Greek chariots appear to have lacked any other attachment for the horses, which would have made turning difficult. The body or basket of the chariot rested directly on the axle (called beam) connecting the two wheels. There was no suspension, making this an uncomfortable form of transport. At the front and sides of the basket was a semicircular guard about 3 ft (1 m) high, to give some protection from enemy attack. At the back the basket was open, making it easy to mount and dismount. There was no seat, and generally only enough room for the driver and one passenger. The reins were mostly the same as those in use in the 19th century, and were made of leather and ornamented with studs of ivory or metal. The reins were passed through rings attached to the collar bands or yoke, and were long enough to be tied round the waist of the charioteer to allow for defense. The wheels and basket of the chariot were usually of wood, strengthened in places with bronze or iron. The wheels had from four to eight spokes and tires of bronze or iron. Due to the widely spaced spokes, the rim of the chariot wheel was held in tension over comparatively large spans. Whilst this provided a small measure of shock absorption, it also necessitated the removal of the wheels when the chariot was not in use, to prevent warping from continued weight bearing. Most other nations of this time had chariots of similar design to the Greeks, the chief differences being the mountings. According to Greek mythology, the chariot was invented by Erichthonius of Athens to conceal his feet, which were those of a dragon.The most notable appearance of the chariot in Greek mythology occurs when Phaëton, the son of Helios, in an attempt to drive the chariot of the sun, managed to set the earth on fire. This story led to the archaic meaning of a phaeton as one who drives a chariot or coach, especially at a reckless or dangerous speed. Plato, in his Chariot Allegory, depicted a chariot drawn by two horses, one well behaved and the other troublesome, representing opposite impulses of human nature; the task of the charioteer, representing reason, was to stop the horses from going different ways and to guide them towards enlightenment. The Greek word for chariot, ἅρμα, hárma, is also used nowadays to denote a tank, properly called άρμα μάχης, árma mákhēs, literally a "combat chariot". Central and Northern Europe The Trundholm sun chariot is dated to c. 1400 BCE (see: Nordic Bronze Age). The horse drawing the solar disk runs on four wheels, and the Sun itself on two. All wheels have four spokes. The "chariot" comprises the solar disk, the axle, and the wheels, and it is unclear whether the sun is depicted as the chariot or as the passenger. Nevertheless, the presence of a model of a horse-drawn vehicle on two spoked wheels in Northern Europe at such an early time is astonishing. In addition to the Trundholm chariot, there are numerous petroglyphs from the Nordic Bronze Age that depict chariots. One petroglyph, drawn on a stone slab in a double burial from c. 1000 BCE, depicts a biga with two four-spoked wheels. The use of the composite bow in chariot warfare is not attested in northern Europe. Western Europe and British Isles The Celts were famous for their chariots and modern English words like car, carriage and carry are ultimately derived from the native Brythonic language (Modern Welsh: Cerbyd). The word chariot itself is derived from the Norman French charriote and shares a Celtic root (Gaulish: karros). Some 20 iron-aged chariot burials have been excavated in Britain, roughly dating from between 500 BCE and 100 BCE. Virtually all of them were found in East Yorkshire – the exception was a find in 2001 in Newbridge, 10 km west of Edinburgh. The Celtic chariot, which may have been called karbantos in Gaulish (compare Latin carpentum), was a biga that measured approximately 2 m (6 ft 6+3⁄4 in) in width and 4 m (13 ft 1+1⁄2 in) in length. British chariots were open in front. Julius Caesar provides the only significant eyewitness report of British chariot warfare: Their mode of fighting with their chariots is this: firstly, they drive about in all directions and throw their weapons and generally break the ranks of the enemy with the very dread of their horses and the noise of their wheels; and when they have worked themselves in between the troops of horse, leap from their chariots and engage on foot. The charioteers in the meantime withdraw some little distance from the battle, and so place themselves with the chariots that, if their masters are overpowered by the number of the enemy, they may have a ready retreat to their own troops. Thus they display in battle the speed of horse, [together with] the firmness of infantry; and by daily practice and exercise attain to such expertness that they are accustomed, even on a declining and steep place, to check their horses at full speed, and manage and turn them in an instant and run along the pole, and stand on the yoke, and thence betake themselves with the greatest celerity to their chariots again. Chariots play an important role in Irish mythology surrounding the hero Cú Chulainn. Chariots could also be used for ceremonial purposes. According to Tacitus (Annals 14.35), Boudica, queen of the Iceni and a number of other tribes in a formidable uprising against the occupying Roman forces, addressed her troops from a chariot in 61: "Boudicca curru filias prae se vehens, ut quamque nationem accesserat, solitum quidem Britannis feminarum ductu bellare testabatur"Boudicca, with her daughters before her in a chariot, went up to tribe after tribe, protesting that it was indeed usual for Britons to fight under the leadership of women.The last mention of chariot use in battle seems to be at the Battle of Mons Graupius, somewhere in modern Scotland, in 84 CE. From Tacitus (Agricola 1.35–36) "The plain between resounded with the noise and with the rapid movements of chariots and cavalry." The chariots did not win even their initial engagement with the Roman auxiliaries: "Meantime the enemy's cavalry had fled, and the charioteers had mingled in the engagement of the infantry." Later through the centuries, the chariot was replaced by the "war wagon". The "war wagon" was a medieval development used to attack rebel or enemy forces on battle fields. The wagon was given slits for archers to shoot enemy targets, supported by infantry using pikes and flails and later for the invention of gunfire by hand-gunners; side walls were used for protection against archers, crossbowmen, the early use of gunpowder and cannon fire. It was especially useful during the Hussite Wars, c. 1420, by Hussite forces rebelling in Bohemia. Groups of them could form defensive works, but they also were used as hardpoints for Hussite formations or as firepower in pincer movements. This early use of gunpowder and innovative tactics helped a largely peasant infantry stave off attacks by the Holy Roman Empire's larger forces of mounted knights. Etruria The only intact Etruscan chariot dates to c. 530 BCE and was uncovered as part of a chariot burial at Monteleone di Spoleto. Currently in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, it is decorated with bronze plates decorated with detailed low-relief scenes, commonly interpreted as depicting episodes from the life of Achilles. Urartu In Urartu (860–590 BC), the chariot was used by both the nobility and the military. In Erebuni (Yerevan), King Argishti of Urartu is depicted riding on a chariot which is pulled by two horses. The chariot has two wheels and each wheel has about eight spokes. This type of chariot was used around 800 BCE. Rome In the Roman Empire, chariots were not used for warfare, but for chariot racing, especially in circuses, or for triumphal processions, when they could be pulled by as many as ten horses or even by dogs, tigers, or ostriches. There were four divisions, or factiones, of charioteers, distinguished by the colour of their costumes: the red, blue, green and white teams. The main centre of chariot racing was the Circus Maximus, situated in the valley between the Palatine and Aventine Hills in Rome. The track could hold 12 chariots, and the two sides of the track were separated by a raised median termed the spina. Chariot races continued to enjoy great popularity in Byzantine times, in the Hippodrome of Constantinople, even after the Olympic Games had been disbanded, until their decline after the Nika riots in the 6th century. The starting gates were known as the Carceres. An ancient Roman car or chariot pulled by four horses abreast together with the horses pulling it was called a Quadriga, from the Latin quadriugi (of a team of four). The term sometimes meant instead the four horses without the chariot or the chariot alone. A three-horse chariot, or the three-horse team pulling it, was a triga, from triugi (of a team of three). A two-horse chariot, or the two-horse team pulling it, was a biga, from biugi. A popular legend that has been around since at least 1937 traces the origin of the 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in standard railroad gauge to Roman times, suggesting that it was based on the distance between the ruts of rutted roads marked by chariot wheels dating from the Roman Empire. This is encouraged by the fact that the otherwise peculiar distance is almost exactly 5 Roman feet but there is no evidence to span the millennium and a half between the departure of the Romans from Britain and the adoption of the gauge on the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825. Introduction in Ancient China The earliest archaeological evidence of chariots in China, a chariot burial site discovered in 1933 at Hougang, Anyang in Henan province, dates to the rule of King Wu Ding of the late Shang Dynasty (c. 1250 BCE). Oracle bone inscriptions suggest that the western enemies of the Shang used limited numbers of chariots in battle, but the Shang themselves used them only as mobile command-vehicles and in royal hunts.During the Shang Dynasty, members of the royal family were buried with a complete household and servants, including a chariot, horses, and a charioteer. A Shang chariot was often drawn by two horses, but four-horse variants are occasionally found in burials. Jacques Gernet claims that the Zhou dynasty, which conquered the Shang ca. 1046 BCE, made more use of the chariot than did the Shang and "invented a new kind of harness with four horses abreast". The crew consisted of an archer, a driver, and sometimes a third warrior who was armed with a spear or dagger-axe. From the 8th to 5th centuries BCE the Chinese use of chariots reached its peak. Although chariots appeared in greater numbers, infantry often defeated charioteers in battle. Massed-chariot warfare became all but obsolete after the Warring-States Period (476–221 BCE). The main reasons were increased use of the crossbow, use of long halberds up to 18 feet (5.49 m) long and pikes up to 22 feet (6.71 m) long, and the adoption of standard cavalry units, and the adaptation of mounted archery from nomadic cavalry, which were more effective. Chariots would continue to serve as command posts for officers during the Qin dynasty (221–206 BCE) and the Han Dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE), while armored chariots were also used during the Han Dynasty against the Xiongnu Confederation in the Han–Xiongnu War (133 BC to 89 CE), specifically at the Battle of Mobei (119 BCE). Before the Han Dynasty, the power of Chinese states and dynasties was often measured by the number of chariots they were known to have. A country of a thousand chariots ranked as a medium country, and a country of ten thousand chariots ranked as a huge and powerful country. See also Printed sources Web-sources Further reading Chamberlin, J. Edward. Horse: How the horse has shaped civilizations. N.Y.: United Tribes Media Inc., 2006 (ISBN 0-9742405-9-1). Cotterell, Arthur. Chariot: From chariot to tank, the astounding rise and fall of the world's first war machine. Woodstock & New York: The Overlook Press, 2005 (ISBN 1-58567-667-5). Crouwel, Joost H. Chariots and other means of land transport in Bronze Age Greece (Allard Pierson Series, 3). Amsterdam: Allard Pierson Museum, 1981 (ISBN 90-71211-03-7). Crouwel, Joost H. Chariots and other wheeled vehicles in Iron Age Greece (Allard Pierson Series, 9). Amsterdam: Allard Pierson Museum:, 1993 (ISBN 90-71211-21-5). Drews, Robert. The coming of the Greeks: Indo-European conquests in the Aegean and the Near East. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1988 (hardcover, ISBN 0-691-03592-X); 1989 (paperback, ISBN 0-691-02951-2). Drews, Robert. The end of the Bronze Age: Changes in warfare and the catastrophe ca. 1200 B.C. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993 (hardcover, ISBN 0-691-04811-8); 1995 (paperback, ISBN 0-691-02591-6). Drews, Robert. Early riders: The beginnings of mounted warfare in Asia and Europe. N.Y.: Routledge, 2004 (ISBN 0-415-32624-9). Fields, Nic; Brian Delf (illustrator). Bronze Age War Chariots (New Vanguard). Oxford; New York: Osprey Publishing, 2006 (ISBN 978-1841769448). Greenhalg, P A L. Early Greek warfare; horsemen and chariots in the Homeric and Archaic Ages. Cambridge University Press, 1973. (ISBN 9780521200561). Kulkarni, Raghunatha Purushottama. Visvakarmiya Rathalaksanam: Study of Ancient Indian Chariots: with a historical note, references, Sanskrit text, and translation in English. Delhi: Kanishka Publishing House, 1994 (ISBN 978-8173-91004-3) Lee-Stecum, Parshia (October 2006). "Dangerous Reputations: Charioteers and Magic in Fourth-Century Rome". Greece & Rome. 53 (2): 224–234. doi:10.1017/S0017383506000295. ISSN 0017-3835. S2CID 162107855. Littauer, Mary A.; Crouwel, Joost H. Chariots and related equipment from the tomb of Tutankhamun (Tutankhamun's Tomb Series, 8). Oxford: The Griffith Institute, 1985 (ISBN 0-900416-39-4). Littauer, Mary A.; Crouwel, Joost H.; Raulwing, Peter (Editor). Selected writings on chariots and other early vehicles, riding and harness (Culture and history of the ancient Near East, 6). Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, 2002 (ISBN 90-04-11799-7). Moorey, P.R.S. "The Emergence of the Light, Horse-Drawn Chariot in the Near-East c. 2000–1500 B.C.", World Archaeology, Vol. 18, No. 2. (1986), pp. 196–215. Piggot, Stuart. The earliest wheeled transport from the Atlantic Coast to the Caspian Sea. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1983 (ISBN 0-8014-1604-3). Piggot, Stuart. Wagon, chariot and carriage: Symbol and status in the history of transport. London: Thames & Hudson, 1992 (ISBN 0-500-25114-2). Pogrebova M. The emergence of chariots and riding in the South Caucasus in Oxford Journal of Archaeology, Volume 22, Number 4, November 2003, pp. 397–409. Sandor, Bela I. The rise and decline of the Tutankhamun-class chariot in Oxford Journal of Archaeology, Volume 23, Number 2, May 2004, pp. 153–175. Sandor, Bela I. Tutankhamun's chariots: Secret treasures of engineering mechanics in Fatigue & Fracture of Engineering Materials & Structures, Volume 27, Number 7, July 2004, pp. 637–646. Wilford, John Noble (1994-02-22). "Remaking the Wheel: Evolution of the Chariot". The New York Times. Retrieved 2015-07-29. "Chariot" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 5 (11th ed.). 1911. Sumerian war chariots reconstructed. Photographic restoration of three of the chariots on the Standard of Ur. Sumerian war chariots deconstructed. What did a Sumerian war chariot really look like? "The Horse, the Wheel and Language, How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes shaped the Modern World", David W Anthony, 2007 Ancient Egyptian chariots: history, design, use. Ancient Egypt: an introduction to its history and culture. Chariot Usage in Greek Dark Age Warfare, by Carolyn Nicole Conter: Title page for Electronic Theses and Dissertations ETD etd-11152003-164515. Florida State University ETD Collection. Chariots in Greece. Hellenica – Michael Lahanas. Kamat Research Database – Prehistoric Carts. Varieties of Carts and Chariots in prehistoric cave shelter paintings found in Central India. Kamat's Potpourri – The History, Mystery, and Diversity of India. Ludi circenses (longer version). SocietasViaRomana.net.

Emptiness as a human condition is a sense of generalized boredom, social alienation, nihilism and apathy. Feelings of emptiness often accompany dysthymia, depression, loneliness, anhedonia, despair, or other mental/emotional disorders, including schizoid personality disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, schizotypal personality disorder and borderline personality disorder. A sense of emptiness is also part of a natural process of grief, as resulting death of a loved one, or other significant changes. The particular meanings of "emptiness" vary with the particular context and the religious or cultural tradition in which it is used.While Christianity and Western sociologists and psychologists view a state of emptiness as a negative, unwanted condition, in some Eastern philosophies such as Buddhist philosophy and Taoism, emptiness (Śūnyatā) represents seeing through the illusion of independent self-nature. In Western culture Sociology, philosophy, and psychology In the West, feeling "empty" is often viewed as a negative condition. Psychologist Clive Hazell, for example, attributes feelings of emptiness to problematic family backgrounds with abusive relationships and mistreatment. He claims that some people who are facing a sense of emptiness try to resolve their painful feelings by becoming addicted to a drug or obsessive activity (be it compulsive sex, gambling or work) or engaging in "frenzied action" or violence. In sociology, a sense of emptiness is associated with social alienation of the individual. This sense of alienation may be suppressed while working, due to the routine nature of work tasks, but during leisure hours or during the weekend, people may feel a sense of "existential vacuum" and emptiness.In political philosophy, emptiness is associated with nihilism. Literary critic Georg Lukács (born in 1885) argued against the "spiritual emptiness and moral inadequacy of capitalism", and argued in favour of communism as an "entirely new type of civilization, one that promised a fresh start and an opportunity to lead a meaningful and purposeful life."The concept of "emptiness" was important to a "certain type of existentialist philosophy and some forms of the Death of God movement". Existentialism, the "philosophic movement that gives voice to the sense of alienation and despair", comes from "man's recognition of his fundamental aloneness in an indifferent universe". People whose response to the sense of emptiness and aloneness is to give excuses live in bad faith; "people who face the emptiness and accept responsibility aim to live 'authentic' lives". Existentialists argue that "man lives in alienation from God, from nature, from other men, from his own true self." Crowded into cities, working in mindless jobs, and entertained by light mass media, we "live on the surface of life", so that even "people who seemingly have 'everything' feel empty, uneasy, discontented."In cultures where a sense of emptiness is seen as a negative psychological condition, it is often associated with depression. As such, many of the same treatments are proposed: psychotherapy, group therapy, or other types of counselling. As well, people who feel empty may be advised to keep busy and maintain a regular schedule of work and social activities. Other solutions which have been proposed to reduce a sense of emptiness are getting a pet or trying Animal-Assisted Therapy; getting involved in spirituality such as meditation or religious rituals and service; volunteering to fill time and bring social contact; doing social interactions, such as community activities, clubs, or outings; or finding a hobby or recreational activity to regain their interest in life. Christianity In Austrian philosopher/educator Rudolf Steiner's (1861–1925) thinking, spiritual emptiness was a major problem in the educated European middle class. In his 1919 lectures he argued that European culture became "empty of spirit" and "ignorant of the needs, the conditions, that are essential for the life of the spirit". People experienced a "spiritual emptiness" and their thinking became marked by a "lazy passivity" due to the "absence of will from the life of thought". In modern Europe, Steiner claimed that people would "allow their thoughts to take possession of them", and these thoughts were increasingly filled with abstraction and "pure, natural scientific thinking". The educated middle classes began to think in a way that was "devoid of spirit", with their minds becoming "dimmer and darker", and increasing empty of spirit.Louis Dupré, a professor of philosophy at Yale University, argues that the "spiritual emptiness of our time is a symptom of its religious poverty". He claims that "many people never experience any emptiness: they are too busy to feel much absence of any kind"; they only realize their spiritual emptiness if "painful personal experiences -- the death of a loved one, the collapse of a marriage, the alienation of a child, the failure of a business" shock them into reassessing their sense of meaning.Spiritual emptiness has been associated with juvenile violence. In John C. Thomas' 1999 book How Juvenile Violence Begins: Spiritual Emptiness, he argues that youth in impoverished indigenous communities who feel empty may turn to fighting and aggressive crime to fill their sense of meaninglessness. In Cornell University professor James Garbarino's 1999 book Lost Boys: Why Our Sons Turn Violent and How We Can Save Them, he argues that "neglect, shame, spiritual emptiness, alienation, anger and access to guns are a few of the elements common to violent boys". A professor of human development, Garbarino claims that violent boys have an "alienation from positive role models" and "a spiritual emptiness that spawns despair". These youth are seduced by the violent fantasy of the US gun culture, which provides negative role models of tough, aggressive men who use power to get what they want. He claims that boys can be helped by giving them "a sense of purpose" and "spiritual anchors" that can "anchor boys in empathy and socially engaged moral thinking".Spiritual emptiness is often connected with addiction, especially by Christian-influenced addiction organizations and counsellors. Bill Wilson, the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, argued that one of the impacts of alcoholism was causing a spiritual emptiness in heavy drinkers. In Abraham J. Twerski's 1997 book Addictive Thinking: Understanding Self-Deception, he argues that when people feel spiritually empty, they often turn to addictive behaviors to fill the inner void. In contrast to having an empty stomach, which is a clear feeling, having spiritual emptiness is hard to identify, so it fills humans with a "vague unrest". While people may try to resolve this emptiness by obsessively having sex, overeating, or taking drugs or alcohol, these addictions only give temporary satisfaction. When a person facing a crisis due to feeling spiritually empty is able to stop one addiction, such as compulsive sex, they often just trade it in for another addictive behaviour, such as gambling or overeating. Fiction, film, design and visual arts A number of novelists and filmmakers have depicted emptiness. The concept of "emptiness" was important to a "good deal of 19th–20th century Western imaginative literature". Novelist Franz Kafka depicted a meaningless bizarre world in The Trial and the existentialist French authors sketched a world cut off from purpose or reason in Jean-Paul Sartre's La Nausée and Albert Camus' L'étranger. Existentialism influenced 20th century poet T.S. Eliot, whose poem "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" describes an "anti-hero or alienated soul, running away from or confronting the emptiness of his or her existence". Professor Gordon Bigelow argues that the existentialist theme of "spiritual barrenness is commonplace in literature of the 20th century", which in addition to Eliot includes Ernest Hemingway, Faulkner, Steinbeck and Anderson.Film adaptations of a number of existentialist novels capture the bleak sense of emptiness espoused by Sartre and Camus. This theme of emptiness has also been used in modern screenplays. Mark Romanek's 1985 film Static tells the surreal story of a struggling inventor and crucifix factory worker named Ernie who feels spiritually empty because he is saddened by his parents' death in an accident. Screenwriter Michael Tolkin's 1994 film The New Age examines "cultural hipness and spiritual emptiness", creating a "dark, ambitious, unsettling" film that depicts a fashionable LA couple who "are miserable in the midst of their sterile plenty", and whose souls are stunted by their lives of empty sex, consumption, and distractions. The 1999 film American Beauty examines the spiritual emptiness of life in the US suburbs. In Wes Anderson's 2007 film The Darjeeling Limited, three brothers who "suffer from spiritual emptiness" and then "self-medicate themselves through sex, social withdrawal, and drugs." The 2008 film The Informers is a Hollywood drama film written by Bret Easton Ellis and Nicholas Jarecki and directed by Gregor Jordan. The film is based on Ellis' 1994 collection of short stories of the same name. The film, which is set amidst the decadence of the early 1980s, depicts an assortment of socially alienated, mainly well-off characters who numb their sense of emptiness with casual sex, alcohol, and drugs. Contemporary architecture critic Herbert Muschamp argues that "horror vacui" (which is Latin for "fear of emptiness") is a key principle of design. He claims that it has become an obsessive quality that is the "driving force in contemporary American taste". Muschamp states that "along with the commercial interests that exploit this interest, it is the major factor now shaping attitudes toward public spaces, urban spaces, and even suburban sprawl."Films that depict nothingness, shadows and vagueness, either in a visual sense or a moral sense are appreciated in genres such as film noir. As well, travellers and artists are often intrigued by and attracted to vast empty spaces, such as open deserts, barren wastelands or salt flats, and the open sea. In visual arts emptiness and absence were recognized as phenomena that characterize not only particular works of art (e.g. Yves Klein) but also as a more general tendency within the history of modern art and aesthetics. Following Davor Džalto's argument on the modern concept of art, the gradual elimination of particular elements that traditionally characterized visual arts, which results in emptiness, is the most important phenomenon within the history and theory of art over the past two hundred years. In Eastern cultures Buddhism The Buddhist term emptiness (Skt. śūnyatā) refers specifically to the idea that everything is dependently originated, including the causes and conditions themselves, and even the principle of causality itself. It is not nihilism, nor is it meditating on nothingness. Instead, it refers to the absence (emptiness) of inherent existence. Buddhapalita says: What is the reality of things just as it is? It is the absence of essence. Unskilled persons whose eye of intelligence is obscured by the darkness of delusion conceive of an essence of things and then generate attachment and hostility with regard to them. In an interview, the Dalai Lama stated that tantric meditation can be used for "heightening your own realization of emptiness or mind of enlightenment". In Buddhist philosophy, attaining a realization of emptiness of inherent existence is key to the permanent cessation of suffering, i.e. liberation. Even while an ordinary being, if upon hearing of emptiness great joy arises within again and again, the eyes moisten with tears of great joy, and the hairs of the body stand on end, such a person has the seed of the mind of a complete Buddha; He is a vessel for teachings on thatness, and ultimate truth should be taught to him. After that, good qualities will grow in him. The Dalai Lama argues that tantric yoga trainees need to realize the emptiness of inherent existence before they can go on to the "highest yoga tantra initiation"; realizing the emptiness of inherent existence of the mind is the "fundamental innate mind of clear light, which is the subtlest level of the mind", where all "energy and mental processes are withdrawn or dissolved", so that all that appears to the mind is "pure emptiness". As well, emptiness is "linked to the creative Void, meaning that it is a state of complete receptivity and perfect enlightenment", the merging of the "ego with its own essence", which Buddhists call the "clear light".In Ven. Thubten Chodron's 2005 interview with Lama Zopa Rinpoche, the lama noted that "ordinary beings who haven't realized emptiness don't see things as similar to illusions", and one does not "realize that things are merely labeled by mind and exist by mere name". He argues that "when we meditate on emptiness, we drop an atom bomb on this [sense of a] truly existent I" and to realize that "what appears true...isn't true". By this, the lama is claiming that what is thought to be real—our thoughts and feelings about people and things—"exists by being merely labeled". He argues that meditators who attain knowledge of a state of emptiness are able to realize that their thoughts are merely illusions from labelling by the mind. Taoism In Taoism, attaining a state of emptiness is viewed as a state of stillness and placidity which is the "mirror of the universe" and the "pure mind". The Tao Te Ching claims that emptiness is related to the "Tao, the Great Principle, the Creator and Sustainer of everything in the universe". It is argued that it is the "state of mind of the Taoist disciple who follows the Tao", who has successfully emptied the mind "of all wishes and ideas not fitted with the Tao's Movement". For a person who attains a state of emptiness, the "still mind of the sage is the mirror of heaven and earth, the glass of all things", a state of "vacancy, stillness, placidity, tastelessness, quietude, silence, and non-action" which is the "perfection of the Tao and its characteristics, the "mirror of the universe" and the "pure mind". See also Boredom Empty nest syndrome Nihilism Physiology Soul Further reading Moss, Robert. Understanding Emptiness: The Think/Feel Conflict. R. A. Moss, 1993. ISBN 0-9638848-0-8 Sanders, Catherine. How to Survive the Loss of a Child: Filling the Emptiness and Rebuilding Your Life. Three Rivers Press, 1998. ISBN 0-7615-1289-6 Nothingness and Being "Potentialities of Ontological Evolution" by Dr. Hilmar Alquiros

Camp may refer to: Outdoor accommodation and recreation Campsite or campground, a recreational outdoor sleeping and eating site a temporary settlement for nomads Camp, a term used in New England, Northern Ontario and New Brunswick to describe a cottage Military camp Summer camp, typically organized for groups of children or youth Tent city, a housing facility often occupied by homeless people or protesters Areas of imprisonment or confinement Concentration camp Extermination camp Federal prison camp, a minimum-security United States federal prison facility Internment camp, also called a concentration camp, resettlement camp, relocation camp, or detention camp Labor camp Prisoner-of-war camp Parole camp guards its own soldiers as prisoners of war Gatherings of people Camp, a mining community Camp, a term commonly used in the titles of technology-related unconferences Camp meeting, a Christian gathering which originated in 19th-century America Protest camp a base for protest or obstruction by physically blocking a site Refugee camp or displaced persons camp, a temporary encampment of people who have had to leave their country due to war or other disasters Places and areas Câmp (disambiguation), two villages in Romania Camp (Falkland Islands), a term used in the Falkland Islands to refer to any part of the islands outside of the islands' only significant town, Stanley Camp (constituency), electoral constituency in the Legislative Assembly of the Falkland Islands Camp, County Kerry, a village on the Dingle Peninsula, in the Republic of Ireland Camp, Ohio, a community in the United States Camp County, Texas, a county in the United States Camp Nou, home stadium of FC Barcelona Central Atlantic magmatic province, or CAMP, a large geological formation in northwestern Africa, southwestern Europe, northeastern South America and southeastern North America People Camp (surname) Arts, entertainment, and media Fashion Camp (style) Camp: Films Camp (1965 film), a 1965 underground film directed by Andy Warhol Camp (2003 film), a 2003 independent film written and directed by Todd Graff about an upstate New York performing arts summer camp Literature Camp (novel), a 2020 young adult novel by L.C. Rosen Music Camp (album), a 2011 album from rapper Childish Gambino Camp Records, a 1960s record label that specialized in producing gay-themed novelty records and singles "Camp", a song by Tired Lion from the 2017 album Dumb Days Television Camp (TV series), a 2013 American television series Web series Camp Camp, a 2016 American adult animated web series Military and athletics Boot camp (disambiguation) Cantonment Military camp Training camp Other uses Camp (style), an ironic appreciation of that which might otherwise be considered outlandish or corny, or in British English, effeminate male homosexual mannerisms and speech Camp Coffee, a concentrated coffee-flavoured syrup T.H. Camp (shipwreck), a Lake Superior shipwreck off the coast of Wisconsin See also Boot camp (disambiguation) The Camp (disambiguation) CAMP (disambiguation), including cAMP and camP Câmp (disambiguation), two villages in Romania Camper (disambiguation) Camping (disambiguation) Camps (disambiguation) Campus Campy (disambiguation) Kemp (disambiguation) All pages with titles beginning with Camp All pages with titles containing Camp

The Extended Net mansion (simplified Chinese: 张宿; traditional Chinese: 張宿; pinyin: Zhāng Xiù) is one of the Twenty-eight mansions of the Chinese constellations. It is one of the southern mansions of the Vermilion Bird. Asterisms

A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or non-human animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes to realistic, lifelike forms. The deliberate attempt to contact the spirit of a deceased person is known as necromancy, or in spiritism as a séance. Other terms associated with it are apparition, haunt, phantom, poltergeist, shade, specter, spirit, spook, wraith, demon, and ghoul. The belief in the existence of an afterlife, as well as manifestations of the spirits of the dead, is widespread, dating back to animism or ancestor worship in pre-literate cultures. Certain religious practices—funeral rites, exorcisms, and some practices of spiritualism and ritual magic—are specifically designed to rest the spirits of the dead. Ghosts are generally described as solitary, human-like essences, though stories of ghostly armies and the ghosts of animals other than humans have also been recounted. They are believed to haunt particular locations, objects, or people they were associated with in life. According to a 2009 study by the Pew Research Center, 18% of Americans say they have seen a ghost.The overwhelming consensus of science is that there is no proof that ghosts exist. Their existence is impossible to falsify, and ghost hunting has been classified as pseudoscience. Despite centuries of investigation, there is no scientific evidence that any location is inhabited by the spirits of the dead. Historically, certain toxic and psychoactive plants (such as datura and hyoscyamus niger), whose use has long been associated with necromancy and the underworld, have been shown to contain anticholinergic compounds that are pharmacologically linked to dementia (specifically DLB) as well as histological patterns of neurodegeneration. Recent research has indicated that ghost sightings may be related to degenerative brain diseases such as Alzheimer's disease. Common prescription medication and over-the-counter drugs (such as sleep aids) may also, in rare instances, cause ghost-like hallucinations, particularly zolpidem and diphenhydramine. Older reports linked carbon monoxide poisoning to ghost-like hallucinations.In folklore studies, ghosts fall within the motif index designation E200–E599 ("Ghosts and other revenants"). Terminology The English word ghost continues Old English gāst. Stemming from Proto-Germanic *gaistaz, it is cognate with Old Frisian gāst, Old Saxon gēst, Old Dutch gēst, and Old High German geist. Although this form is not attested in North Germanic and East Germanic languages (the equivalent word in Gothic is ahma, Old Norse has andi m., önd f.), it appears to be a dental suffix derivative of pre-Germanic *ghois-d-oz ('fury, anger'), which is comparable to Sanskrit héḍas ('anger') and Avestan zōižda- ('terrible, ugly'). The prior Proto-Indo-European form is reconstructed as *ǵʰéys-d-os, from the root *ǵʰéys-, which is reflected in Old Norse geisa ('to rage') and *geiski ('fear'; cf. geiskafullr 'full of fear'), in Gothic usgaisjan ('to terrify') and usgaisnan ('to be terrified'), as well as in Avestan zōiš- (cf. zōišnu 'shivering, trembling').The Germanic word is recorded as masculine only, but likely continues a neuter s-stem. The original meaning of the Germanic word would thus have been an animating principle of the mind, in particular capable of excitation and fury (compare óðr). In Germanic paganism, "Germanic Mercury", and the later Odin, was at the same time the conductor of the dead and the "lord of fury" leading the Wild Hunt. Besides denoting the human spirit or soul, both of the living and the deceased, the Old English word is used as a synonym of Latin spiritus also in the meaning of "breath" or "blast" from the earliest attestations (9th century). It could also denote any good or evil spirit, such as angels and demons; the Anglo-Saxon gospel refers to the demonic possession of Matthew 12:43 as se unclæna gast. Also from the Old English period, the word could denote the spirit of God, viz. the "Holy Ghost". The now-prevailing sense of "the soul of a deceased person, spoken of as appearing in a visible form" only emerges in Middle English (14th century). The modern noun does, however, retain a wider field of application, extending on one hand to "soul", "spirit", "vital principle", "mind", or "psyche", the seat of feeling, thought, and moral judgement; on the other hand used figuratively of any shadowy outline, or fuzzy or unsubstantial image; in optics, photography, and cinematography especially, a flare, secondary image, or spurious signal.The synonym spook is a Dutch loanword, akin to Low German spôk (of uncertain etymology); it entered the English language via American English in the 19th century. Alternative words in modern usage include spectre (altn. specter; from Latin spectrum), the Scottish wraith (of obscure origin), phantom (via French ultimately from Greek phantasma, compare fantasy) and apparition. The term shade in classical mythology translates Greek σκιά, or Latin umbra, in reference to the notion of spirits in the Greek underworld. The term poltergeist is a German word, literally a "noisy ghost", for a spirit said to manifest itself by invisibly moving and influencing objects.Wraith is a Scots word for ghost, spectre, or apparition. It appeared in Scottish Romanticist literature, and acquired the more general or figurative sense of portent or omen. In 18th- to 19th-century Scottish literature, it also applied to aquatic spirits. The word has no commonly accepted etymology; the OED notes "of obscure origin" only. An association with the verb writhe was the etymology favored by J. R. R. Tolkien. Tolkien's use of the word in the naming of the creatures known as the Ringwraiths has influenced later usage in fantasy literature. Bogey or bogy/bogie is a term for a ghost, and appears in Scottish poet John Mayne's Hallowe'en in 1780.A revenant is a deceased person returning from the dead to haunt the living, either as a disembodied ghost or alternatively as an animated ("undead") corpse. Also related is the concept of a fetch, the visible ghost or spirit of a person yet alive. Typology Anthropological context A notion of the transcendent, supernatural, or numinous, usually involving entities like ghosts, demons, or deities, is a cultural universal. In pre-literate folk religions, these beliefs are often summarized under animism and ancestor worship. Some people believe the ghost or spirit never leaves Earth until there is no-one left to remember the one who died.In many cultures, malignant, restless ghosts are distinguished from the more benign spirits involved in ancestor worship.Ancestor worship typically involves rites intended to prevent revenants, vengeful spirits of the dead, imagined as starving and envious of the living. Strategies for preventing revenants may either include sacrifice, i.e., giving the dead food and drink to pacify them, or magical banishment of the deceased to force them not to return. Ritual feeding of the dead is performed in traditions like the Chinese Ghost Festival or the Western All Souls' Day. Magical banishment of the dead is present in many of the world's burial customs. The bodies found in many tumuli (kurgan) had been ritually bound before burial, and the custom of binding the dead persists, for example, in rural Anatolia.Nineteenth-century anthropologist James Frazer stated in his classic work The Golden Bough that souls were seen as the creature within that animated the body. Ghosts and the afterlife Although the human soul was sometimes symbolically or literally depicted in ancient cultures as a bird or other animal, it appears to have been widely held that the soul was an exact reproduction of the body in every feature, even down to clothing the person wore. This is depicted in artwork from various ancient cultures, including such works as the Egyptian Book of the Dead, which shows deceased people in the afterlife appearing much as they did before death, including the style of dress. Fear of ghosts While deceased ancestors are universally regarded as venerable, and often believed to have a continued presence in some form of afterlife, the spirit of a deceased person that persists in the material world (a ghost) is regarded as an unnatural or undesirable state of affairs and the idea of ghosts or revenants is associated with a reaction of fear. This is universally the case in pre-modern folk cultures, but fear of ghosts also remains an integral aspect of the modern ghost story, Gothic horror, and other horror fiction dealing with the supernatural. Common attributes Another widespread belief concerning ghosts is that they are composed of a misty, airy, or subtle material. Anthropologists link this idea to early beliefs that ghosts were the person within the person (the person's spirit), most noticeable in ancient cultures as a person's breath, which upon exhaling in colder climates appears visibly as a white mist. This belief may have also fostered the metaphorical meaning of "breath" in certain languages, such as the Latin spiritus and the Greek pneuma, which by analogy became extended to mean the soul. In the Bible, God is depicted as synthesising Adam, as a living soul, from the dust of the Earth and the breath of God. In many traditional accounts, ghosts were often thought to be deceased people looking for vengeance (vengeful ghosts), or imprisoned on earth for bad things they did during life. The appearance of a ghost has often been regarded as an omen or portent of death. Seeing one's own ghostly double or "fetch" is a related omen of death. White ladies were reported to appear in many rural areas, and supposed to have died tragically or suffered trauma in life. White Lady legends are found around the world. Common to many of them is the theme of losing a child or husband and a sense of purity, as opposed to the Lady in Red ghost that is mostly attributed to a jilted lover or prostitute. The White Lady ghost is often associated with an individual family line or regarded as a harbinger of death similar to a banshee.Legends of ghost ships have existed since the 18th century; most notable of these is the Flying Dutchman. This theme has been used in literature in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Coleridge. Ghosts are often depicted as being covered in a shroud and/or dragging chains. Locale A place where ghosts are reported is described as haunted, and often seen as being inhabited by spirits of deceased who may have been former residents or were familiar with the property. Supernatural activity inside homes is said to be mainly associated with violent or tragic events in the building's past such as murder, accidental death, or suicide—sometimes in the recent or ancient past. However, not all hauntings are at a place of a violent death, or even on violent grounds. Many cultures and religions believe the essence of a being, such as the 'soul', continues to exist. Some religious views argue that the 'spirits' of those who have died have not 'passed over' and are trapped inside the property where their memories and energy are strong. History Ancient Near East and Egypt There are many references to ghosts in Mesopotamian religions – the religions of Sumer, Babylon, Assyria, and other early states in Mesopotamia. Traces of these beliefs survive in the later Abrahamic religions that came to dominate the region. Ghosts were thought to be created at time of death, taking on the memory and personality of the dead person. They traveled to the netherworld, where they were assigned a position, and led an existence similar in some ways to that of the living. Relatives of the dead were expected to make offerings of food and drink to the dead to ease their conditions. If they did not, the ghosts could inflict misfortune and illness on the living. Traditional healing practices ascribed a variety of illnesses to the action of ghosts, while others were caused by gods or demons. There was widespread belief in ghosts in ancient Egyptian culture. The Hebrew Bible contains few references to ghosts, associating spiritism with forbidden occult activities cf. Deuteronomy 18:11. The most notable reference is in the First Book of Samuel (I Samuel 28:3–19 KJV), in which a disguised King Saul has the Witch of Endor summon the spirit or ghost of Samuel. The soul and spirit were believed to exist after death, with the ability to assist or harm the living, and the possibility of a second death. Over a period of more than 2,500 years, Egyptian beliefs about the nature of the afterlife evolved constantly. Many of these beliefs were recorded in hieroglyph inscriptions, papyrus scrolls and tomb paintings. The Egyptian Book of the Dead compiles some of the beliefs from different periods of ancient Egyptian history. In modern times, the fanciful concept of a mummy coming back to life and wreaking vengeance when disturbed has spawned a whole genre of horror stories and films. Classical Antiquity Archaic and Classical Greece Ghosts appeared in Homer's Odyssey and Iliad, in which they were described as vanishing "as a vapor, gibbering and whining into the earth". Homer's ghosts had little interaction with the world of the living. Periodically they were called upon to provide advice or prophecy, but they do not appear to be particularly feared. Ghosts in the classical world often appeared in the form of vapor or smoke, but at other times they were described as being substantial, appearing as they had been at the time of death, complete with the wounds that killed them.By the 5th century BC, classical Greek ghosts had become haunting, frightening creatures who could work to either good or evil purposes. The spirit of the dead was believed to hover near the resting place of the corpse, and cemeteries were places the living avoided. The dead were to be ritually mourned through public ceremony, sacrifice, and libations, or else they might return to haunt their families. The ancient Greeks held annual feasts to honor and placate the spirits of the dead, to which the family ghosts were invited, and after which they were "firmly invited to leave until the same time next year."The 5th-century BC play Oresteia includes an appearance of the ghost of Clytemnestra, one of the first ghosts to appear in a work of fiction. Roman Empire and Late Antiquity The ancient Romans believed a ghost could be used to exact revenge on an enemy by scratching a curse on a piece of lead or pottery and placing it into a grave.Plutarch, in the 1st century AD, described the haunting of the baths at Chaeronea by the ghost of a murdered man. The ghost's loud and frightful groans caused the people of the town to seal up the doors of the building. Another celebrated account of a haunted house from the ancient classical world is given by Pliny the Younger (c. 50 AD). Pliny describes the haunting of a house in Athens, which was bought by the Stoic philosopher Athenodorus, who lived about 100 years before Pliny. Knowing that the house was supposedly haunted, Athenodorus intentionally set up his writing desk in the room where the apparition was said to appear and sat there writing until late at night when he was disturbed by a ghost bound in chains. He followed the ghost outside where it indicated a spot on the ground. When Athenodorus later excavated the area, a shackled skeleton was unearthed. The haunting ceased when the skeleton was given a proper reburial. The writers Plautus and Lucian also wrote stories about haunted houses. In the New Testament, according to Luke 24:37–39, following his resurrection, Jesus was forced to persuade the Disciples that he was not a ghost (some versions of the Bible, such as the KJV and NKJV, use the term "spirit"). Similarly, Jesus' followers at first believed he was a ghost (spirit) when they saw him walking on water. One of the first persons to express disbelief in ghosts was Lucian of Samosata in the 2nd century AD. In his satirical novel The Lover of Lies (circa 150 AD), he relates how Democritus "the learned man from Abdera in Thrace" lived in a tomb outside the city gates to prove that cemeteries were not haunted by the spirits of the departed. Lucian relates how he persisted in his disbelief despite practical jokes perpetrated by "some young men of Abdera" who dressed up in black robes with skull masks to frighten him. This account by Lucian notes something about the popular classical expectation of how a ghost should look. In the 5th century AD, the Christian priest Constantius of Lyon recorded an instance of the recurring theme of the improperly buried dead who come back to haunt the living, and who can only cease their haunting when their bones have been discovered and properly reburied. Middle Ages Ghosts reported in medieval Europe tended to fall into two categories: the souls of the dead, or demons. The souls of the dead returned for a specific purpose. Demonic ghosts existed only to torment or tempt the living. The living could tell them apart by demanding their purpose in the name of Jesus Christ. The soul of a dead person would divulge its mission, while a demonic ghost would be banished at the sound of the Holy Name.Most ghosts were souls assigned to Purgatory, condemned for a specific period to atone for their transgressions in life. Their penance was generally related to their sin. For example, the ghost of a man who had been abusive to his servants was condemned to tear off and swallow bits of his own tongue; the ghost of another man, who had neglected to leave his cloak to the poor, was condemned to wear the cloak, now "heavy as a church tower". These ghosts appeared to the living to ask for prayers to end their suffering. Other dead souls returned to urge the living to confess their sins before their own deaths.Medieval European ghosts were more substantial than ghosts described in the Victorian age, and there are accounts of ghosts being wrestled with and physically restrained until a priest could arrive to hear its confession. Some were less solid, and could move through walls. Often they were described as paler and sadder versions of the person they had been while alive, and dressed in tattered gray rags. The vast majority of reported sightings were male.There were some reported cases of ghostly armies, fighting battles at night in the forest, or in the remains of an Iron Age hillfort, as at Wandlebury, near Cambridge, England. Living knights were sometimes challenged to single combat by phantom knights, which vanished when defeated.From the medieval period an apparition of a ghost is recorded from 1211, at the time of the Albigensian Crusade. Gervase of Tilbury, Marshal of Arles, wrote that the image of Guilhem, a boy recently murdered in the forest, appeared in his cousin's home in Beaucaire, near Avignon. This series of "visits" lasted all of the summer. Through his cousin, who spoke for him, the boy allegedly held conversations with anyone who wished, until the local priest requested to speak to the boy directly, leading to an extended disquisition on theology. The boy narrated the trauma of death and the unhappiness of his fellow souls in Purgatory, and reported that God was most pleased with the ongoing Crusade against the Cathar heretics, launched three years earlier. The time of the Albigensian Crusade in southern France was marked by intense and prolonged warfare, this constant bloodshed and dislocation of populations being the context for these reported visits by the murdered boy. Haunted houses are featured in the 9th-century Arabian Nights (such as the tale of Ali the Cairene and the Haunted House in Baghdad). European Renaissance to Romanticism Renaissance magic took a revived interest in the occult, including necromancy. In the era of the Reformation and Counter Reformation, there was frequently a backlash against unwholesome interest in the dark arts, typified by writers such as Thomas Erastus. The Swiss Reformed pastor Ludwig Lavater supplied one of the most frequently reprinted books of the period with his Of Ghosts and Spirits Walking By Night.The Child Ballad "Sweet William's Ghost" (1868) recounts the story of a ghost returning to his fiancée begging her to free him from his promise to marry her. He cannot marry her because he is dead but her refusal would mean his damnation. This reflects a popular British belief that the dead haunted their lovers if they took up with a new love without some formal release. "The Unquiet Grave" expresses a belief even more widespread, found in various locations over Europe: ghosts can stem from the excessive grief of the living, whose mourning interferes with the dead's peaceful rest. In many folktales from around the world, the hero arranges for the burial of a dead man. Soon after, he gains a companion who aids him and, in the end, the hero's companion reveals that he is in fact the dead man. Instances of this include the Italian fairy tale "Fair Brow" and the Swedish "The Bird 'Grip'". Modern period of western culture Spiritualist movement Spiritualism is a monotheistic belief system or religion, postulating a belief in God, but with a distinguishing feature of belief that spirits of the dead residing in the spirit world can be contacted by "mediums", who can then provide information about the afterlife.Spiritualism developed in the United States and reached its peak growth in membership from the 1840s to the 1920s, especially in English-language countries. By 1897, it was said to have more than eight million followers in the United States and Europe, mostly drawn from the middle and upper classes, while the corresponding movement in continental Europe and Latin America is known as Spiritism. The religion flourished for a half century without canonical texts or formal organization, attaining cohesion by periodicals, tours by trance lecturers, camp meetings, and the missionary activities of accomplished mediums. Many prominent Spiritualists were women. Most followers supported causes such as the abolition of slavery and women's suffrage. By the late 1880s, credibility of the informal movement weakened, due to accusations of fraud among mediums, and formal Spiritualist organizations began to appear. Spiritualism is currently practiced primarily through various denominational Spiritualist churches in the United States and United Kingdom. Spiritism Spiritism, or French spiritualism, is based on the five books of the Spiritist Codification written by French educator Hypolite Léon Denizard Rivail under the pseudonym Allan Kardec reporting séances in which he observed a series of phenomena that he attributed to incorporeal intelligence (spirits). His assumption of spirit communication was validated by many contemporaries, among them many scientists and philosophers who attended séances and studied the phenomena. His work was later extended by writers like Leon Denis, Arthur Conan Doyle, Camille Flammarion, Ernesto Bozzano, Chico Xavier, Divaldo Pereira Franco, Waldo Vieira, Johannes Greber, and others. Spiritism has adherents in many countries throughout the world, including Spain, United States, Canada, Japan, Germany, France, England, Argentina, Portugal, and especially Brazil, which has the largest proportion and greatest number of followers. Scientific view The physician John Ferriar wrote "An Essay Towards a Theory of Apparitions" in 1813 in which he argued that sightings of ghosts were the result of optical illusions. Later the French physician Alexandre Jacques François Brière de Boismont published On Hallucinations: Or, the Rational History of Apparitions, Dreams, Ecstasy, Magnetism, and Somnambulism in 1845 in which he claimed sightings of ghosts were the result of hallucinations. David Turner, a retired physical chemist, suggested that ball lightning could cause inanimate objects to move erratically.Joe Nickell of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry wrote that there was no credible scientific evidence that any location was inhabited by spirits of the dead. Limitations of human perception and ordinary physical explanations can account for ghost sightings; for example, air pressure changes in a home causing doors to slam, humidity changes causing boards to creak, condensation in electrical connections causing intermittent behavior, or lights from a passing car reflected through a window at night. Pareidolia, an innate tendency to recognize patterns in random perceptions, is what some skeptics believe causes people to believe that they have 'seen ghosts'. Reports of ghosts "seen out of the corner of the eye" may be accounted for by the sensitivity of human peripheral vision. According to Nickell, peripheral vision can easily mislead, especially late at night when the brain is tired and more likely to misinterpret sights and sounds. Nickell further states, "science cannot substantiate the existence of a 'life energy' that could survive death without dissipating or function at all without a brain... why would... clothes survive?'" He asks, if ghosts glide, then why do people claim to hear them with "heavy footfalls"? Nickell says that ghosts act the same way as "dreams, memories, and imaginings, because they too are mental creations. They are evidence - not of another world, but of this real and natural one."Benjamin Radford from the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and author of the 2017 book Investigating Ghosts: The Scientific Search for Spirits writes that "ghost hunting is the world's most popular paranormal pursuit" yet, to date, ghost hunters cannot agree on what a ghost is, or offer proof that they exist; "it's all speculation and guesswork". He writes that it would be "useful and important to distinguish between types of spirits and apparitions. Until then it's merely a parlor game distracting amateur ghost hunters from the task at hand."According to research in anomalistic psychology visions of ghosts may arise from hypnagogic hallucinations ("waking dreams" experienced in the transitional states to and from sleep). In a study of two experiments into alleged hauntings (Wiseman et al.. 2003) came to the conclusion "that people consistently report unusual experiences in 'haunted' areas because of environmental factors, which may differ across locations." Some of these factors included "the variance of local magnetic fields, size of location and lighting level stimuli of which witnesses may not be consciously aware".Some researchers, such as Michael Persinger of Laurentian University, Canada, have speculated that changes in geomagnetic fields (created, e.g., by tectonic stresses in the Earth's crust or solar activity) could stimulate the brain's temporal lobes and produce many of the experiences associated with hauntings. Sound is thought to be another cause of supposed sightings. Richard Lord and Richard Wiseman have concluded that infrasound can cause humans to experience bizarre feelings in a room, such as anxiety, extreme sorrow, a feeling of being watched, or even the chills. Carbon monoxide poisoning, which can cause changes in perception of the visual and auditory systems, was speculated upon as a possible explanation for haunted houses as early as 1921. People who experience sleep paralysis often report seeing ghosts during their experiences. Neuroscientists Baland Jalal and V.S. Ramachandran have recently proposed neurological theories for why people hallucinate ghosts during sleep paralysis. Their theories emphasize the role of the parietal lobe and mirror neurons in triggering such ghostly hallucinations. By religion Judaism The Hebrew Bible contains several references to owb (Hebrew: אוֹב), which are in a few places akin to shades of classical mythology but mostly describing mediums in connection with necromancy and spirit-consulting, which are grouped with witchcraft and other forms of divination under the category of forbidden occult activities. The most notable reference to a shade is in the First Book of Samuel, in which a disguised King Saul has the Witch of Endor conduct a seance to summon the dead prophet Samuel. A similar term appearing throughout the scriptures is repha'(im) (Hebrew: רְפָאִים), which while describing the race of "giants" formerly inhabiting Canaan in many verses, also refer to (the spirits of) dead ancestors of Sheol (like shades) in many others such as in the Book of Isaiah.Jewish mythology and folkloric traditions describe dybbuks, malicious possessing spirits believed to be the dislocated soul of a dead person. However, the term does not appear in the Kabbalah or Talmudic literature, where it is rather called an "evil spirit" or ru'aḥ tezazit (Hebrew: רוּחַ טוּמְאָה). It supposedly leaves the host body once it has accomplished its goal, sometimes after being helped. Christianity In the New Testament, Jesus has to persuade the Disciples that he is not a ghost following the resurrection, Luke 24:37–39 (some versions of the Bible, such as the KJV and NKJV, use the term "spirit"). Similarly, Jesus' followers at first believe he is a ghost (spirit) when they see him walking on water.Some Christian denominations consider ghosts as beings who while tied to earth, no longer live on the material plane and linger in an intermediate state before continuing their journey to heaven. On occasion, God would allow the souls in this state to return to earth to warn the living of the need for repentance. Christians are taught that it is sinful to attempt to conjure or control spirits in accordance with Deuteronomy XVIII: 9–12.Some ghosts are actually said to be demons in disguise, who the Church teaches, in accordance with I Timothy 4:1, that they "come to deceive people and draw them away from God and into bondage." As a result, attempts to contact the dead may lead to unwanted contact with a demon or an unclean spirit, as was said to occur in the case of Robbie Mannheim, a fourteen-year-old Maryland youth. The Seventh-Day Adventist view is that a "soul" is not equivalent to "spirit" or "ghost" (depending on the Bible version), and that save for the Holy Spirit, all spirits or ghosts are demons in disguise. Furthermore, they teach that in accordance with (Genesis 2:7, Ecclesiastes 12:7), there are only two components to a "soul", neither of which survives death, with each returning to its respective source. Christadelphians and Jehovah's Witnesses reject the view of a living, conscious soul after death. Islam Rūḥ (Arabic: روح; plural arwah) is a person's immortal, essential self — pneuma, i.e. the "spirit" or "soul". The term is also used for ghosts. The souls of the deceased dwell in barzakh. Only a barrier in Quran, in Islamic tradition this refers to an entire intermediary world between the living and the afterlife. The world, especially cemeteries, are perforated with several gateways to the otherworld or barzakh. In rare occasions, the dead can appear to the living. Pure souls, such as the souls of saints, are commonly addressed as rūḥ, while impure souls seeking for revenge, are often addressed as afarit. An inappropriate burial can also cause a soul to stay in this world, whereupon roaming the earth as a ghost. Since the just souls remain close to their tomb, some people try to communicate with them in order to gain hidden knowledge. Contact with the dead is not the same as contact with jinn, who alike could provide knowledge concealed from living humans. Many encounters with ghosts are related to dreams supposed to occur in the realm of symbols. Belief in spirits have not ceased to exist in Muslim belief. Smile of new-born babies is sometimes used as a proof for sighting spirits, like ghosts. However, the connection to the other world fades during life on earth but is resumed after death. Once again, smiling of dying people is considered as evidence for recognizing the spirit of their beloved ones. Yet, Muslims who affirm the existence of ghosts, are carefully when interacting with spirits, as the ghosts of humans can be as bad as the jinn. Worst of all, however, are the devils. Muslim authors, like Ghazali, Ibn Qayyim and Suyuti wrote in more details about the life of ghosts. Ibn Qayyim and Suyuti assert, when a soul desires to turn back to earth long enough, it is gradually released from restrictions of Barzakh and able to move freely. Each spirit experiences afterlife in accordance with their deeds and condictions in the earthly life. Evil souls will find the afterlife as painful and punishment, imprisoned until God allows them to interact with other others. Good souls are not restricted. They are free to come visit other souls and even come down to lower regions. The higher planes (ʿilliyyīn) are considered to be broader than the lower ones, the lowest being the most narrow (sijjīn). The spiritual space is not thought as spatial, but reflects the capacity of the spirit. The more pure the spirit gets, the more it is able to interact with other souls and thus reaches a broader degree of freedom.The Ismailite Philosopher Nasir Khusraw conjectured that evil human souls turn into demons, when their bodies die, because of their intense attachment to the bodily world. They were worse than the jinn and fairies, who in turn could become devils, if they pursue evil. A similar thought is recorded by Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi.The ghosts of saints are thought to transmit blessings from God through the heavenly realm to whose who visit their graves. Therefore, visiting the graves of saints and prophets became a major ritual in Muslim spirituality. Buddhism In Buddhism, there are a number of planes of existence into which a person can be reborn, one of which is the realm of hungry ghosts. Buddhist celebrate the Ghost Festival as an expression of compassion, one of Buddhist virtues. If the hungry ghosts are fed by non-relatives, they would not bother the community. By culture African folklore For the Igbo people, a man is simultaneously a physical and spiritual entity. However, it is his spirited dimension that is eternal. In the Akan conception, we witness five parts of the human personality. We have the Nipadua (body), the Okra (soul), Sunsum (spirit), Ntoro (character from father), Mogya (character from mother). The Humr people of southwestern Kordofan, Sudan consume the drink Umm Nyolokh, which is prepared from the liver and bone marrow of giraffes. Richard Rudgley hypothesises that Umm Nyolokh may contain DMT and certain online websites further theorise that giraffe liver might owe its putative psychoactivity to substances derived from psychoactive plants, such as Acacia spp. consumed by the animal. The drink is said to cause hallucinations of giraffes, believed by the Humr to be the ghosts of giraffes. European folklore Belief in ghosts in European folklore is characterized by the recurring fear of "returning" or revenant deceased who may harm the living. This includes the Scandinavian gjenganger, the Romanian strigoi, the Serbian vampir, the Greek vrykolakas, etc. In Scandinavian and Finnish tradition, ghosts appear in corporeal form, and their supernatural nature is given away by behavior rather than appearance. In fact, in many stories they are first mistaken for the living. They may be mute, appear and disappear suddenly, or leave no footprints or other traces. English folklore is particularly notable for its numerous haunted locations. Belief in the soul and an afterlife remained near universal until the emergence of atheism in the 18th century. In the 19th century, spiritism resurrected "belief in ghosts" as the object of systematic inquiry, and popular opinion in Western culture remains divided. South and Southeast Asia Indian subcontinent A bhoot or bhut (Hindi: भूत, Gujarati: ભૂત, Urdu: بهوت, Bengali: ভূত, Odia: ଭୂତ) is a supernatural creature, usually the ghost of a deceased person, in the popular culture, literature and some ancient texts of the Indian subcontinent. North India Interpretations of how bhoots come into existence vary by region and community, but they are usually considered to be perturbed and restless due to some factor that prevents them from moving on (to transmigration, non-being, nirvana, or heaven or hell, depending on tradition). This could be a violent death, unsettled matters in their lives, or simply the failure of their survivors to perform proper funerals.In Central and Northern India, ojha or spirit guides play a central role. It duly happens when in the night someone sleeps and decorates something on the wall, and they say that if one sees the spirit the next thing in the morning he will become a spirit too, and that to a headless spirit and the soul of the body will remain the dark with the dark lord from the spirits who reside in the body of every human in Central and Northern India. It is also believed that if someone calls one from behind, never turn back and see because the spirit may catch the human to make it a spirit. Other types of spirits in Hindu mythology include Baital, an evil spirit who haunts cemeteries and takes demonic possession of corpses, and Pishacha, a type of flesh-eating demon. Bengal and East India There are many kinds of ghosts and similar supernatural entities that frequently come up in Bengali culture, its folklores and form an important part in Bengali peoples' socio-cultural beliefs and superstitions. It is believed that the spirits of those who cannot find peace in the afterlife or die unnatural deaths remain on Earth. The word Pret (from Sanskrit) is also used in Bengali to mean ghost. In Bengal, ghosts are believed to be the spirit after death of an unsatisfied human being or a soul of a person who dies in unnatural or abnormal circumstances (like murder, suicide or accident). Even it is believed that other animals and creatures can also be turned into ghost after their death. Thailand Ghosts in Thailand are part of local folklore and have now become part of the popular culture of the country. Phraya Anuman Rajadhon was the first Thai scholar who seriously studied Thai folk beliefs and took notes on the nocturnal village spirits of Thailand. He established that, since such spirits were not represented in paintings or drawings, they were purely based on descriptions of popular orally transmitted traditional stories. Therefore, most of the contemporary iconography of ghosts such as Nang Tani, Nang Takian, Krasue, Krahang, Phi Hua Kat, Phi Pop, Phi Phong, Phi Phraya, and Mae Nak has its origins in Thai films that have now become classics. The most feared spirit in Thailand is Phi Tai Hong, the ghost of a person who has died suddenly of a violent death. The folklore of Thailand also includes the belief that sleep paralysis is caused by a ghost, Phi Am. Tibet There is widespread belief in ghosts in Tibetan culture. Ghosts are explicitly recognized in the Tibetan Buddhist religion as they were in Indian Buddhism, occupying a distinct but overlapping world to the human one, and feature in many traditional legends. When a human dies, after a period of uncertainty they may enter the ghost world. A hungry ghost (Tibetan: yidag, yi-dvags; Sanskrit: प्रेत) has a tiny throat and huge stomach, and so can never be satisfied. Ghosts may be killed with a ritual dagger or caught in a spirit trap and burnt, thus releasing them to be reborn. Ghosts may also be exorcised, and an annual festival is held throughout Tibet for this purpose. Some say that Dorje Shugden, the ghost of a powerful 17th-century monk, is a deity, but the Dalai Lama asserts that he is an evil spirit, which has caused a split in the Tibetan exile community. Austronesia There are many Malay ghost myths, remnants of old animist beliefs that have been shaped by later Hindu, Buddhist, and Muslim influences in the modern states of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei. Some ghost concepts such as the female vampires Pontianak and Penanggalan are shared throughout the region. Ghosts are a popular theme in modern Malaysian and Indonesian films. There are also many references to ghosts in Filipino culture, ranging from ancient legendary creatures such as the Manananggal and Tiyanak to more modern urban legends and horror films. The beliefs, legends and stories are as diverse as the people of the Philippines. There was widespread belief in ghosts in Polynesian culture, some of which persists today. After death, a person's ghost normally traveled to the sky world or the underworld, but some could stay on earth. In many Polynesian legends, ghosts were often actively involved in the affairs of the living. Ghosts might also cause sickness or even invade the body of ordinary people, to be driven out through strong medicines. East and Central Asia China There are many references to ghosts in Chinese culture. Even Confucius said, "Respect ghosts and gods, but keep away from them."The ghosts take many forms, depending on how the person died, and are often harmful. Many Chinese ghost beliefs have been accepted by neighboring cultures, notably Japan and southeast Asia. Ghost beliefs are closely associated with traditional Chinese religion based on ancestor worship, many of which were incorporated in Taoism. Later beliefs were influenced by Buddhism, and in turn influenced and created uniquely Chinese Buddhist beliefs. Many Chinese today believe it possible to contact the spirits of their ancestors through a medium, and that ancestors can help descendants if properly respected and rewarded. The annual ghost festival is celebrated by Chinese around the world. On this day, ghosts and spirits, including those of the deceased ancestors, come out from the lower realm. Ghosts are described in classical Chinese texts as well as modern literature and films. An article in the China Post stated that nearly eighty-seven percent of Chinese office workers believe in ghosts, and some fifty-two percent of workers will wear hand art, necklaces, crosses, or even place a crystal ball on their desks to keep ghosts at bay, according to the poll. Japan Yūrei (幽霊) are figures in Japanese folklore, analogous to Western legends of ghosts. The name consists of two kanji, 幽 (yū), meaning "faint" or "dim", and 霊 (rei), meaning "soul" or "spirit". Alternative names include 亡霊 (Bōrei) meaning ruined or departed spirit, 死霊 (Shiryō) meaning dead spirit, or the more encompassing 妖怪 (Yōkai) or お化け (Obake). Like their Chinese and Western counterparts, they are thought to be spirits kept from a peaceful afterlife. Americas Mexico There is extensive and varied belief in ghosts in Mexican culture. The modern state of Mexico before the Spanish conquest was inhabited by diverse peoples such as the Maya and Aztec, and their beliefs have survived and evolved, combined with the beliefs of the Spanish colonists. The Day of the Dead incorporates pre-Columbian beliefs with Christian elements. Mexican literature and films include many stories of ghosts interacting with the living. United States According to the Gallup Poll News Service, belief in haunted houses, ghosts, communication with the dead, and witches had an especially steep increase over the 1990s. A 2005 Gallup poll found that about 32 percent of Americans believe in ghosts. Depiction in the arts Ghosts are prominent in story-telling of various nations. The ghost story is ubiquitous across all cultures from oral folktales to works of literature. While ghost stories are often explicitly meant to be scary, they have been written to serve all sorts of purposes, from comedy to morality tales. Ghosts often appear in the narrative as sentinels or prophets of things to come. Belief in ghosts is found in all cultures around the world, and thus ghost stories may be passed down orally or in written form.Spirits of the dead appear in literature as early as Homer's Odyssey, which features a journey to the underworld and the hero encountering the ghosts of the dead, and the Old Testament, in which the Witch of Endor summons the spirit of the prophet Samuel. Renaissance to Romanticism (1500 to 1840) One of the more recognizable ghosts in English literature is the shade of Hamlet's murdered father in Shakespeare's The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. In Hamlet, it is the ghost who demands that Prince Hamlet investigate his "murder most foul" and seek revenge upon his usurping uncle, King Claudius. In English Renaissance theater, ghosts were often depicted in the garb of the living and even in armor, as with the ghost of Hamlet's father. Armor, being out-of-date by the time of the Renaissance, gave the stage ghost a sense of antiquity. But the sheeted ghost began to gain ground on stage in the 19th century because an armored ghost could not satisfactorily convey the requisite spookiness: it clanked and creaked, and had to be moved about by complicated pulley systems or elevators. These clanking ghosts being hoisted about the stage became objects of ridicule as they became clichéd stage elements. Ann Jones and Peter Stallybrass, in Renaissance Clothing and the Materials of Memory, point out, "In fact, it is as laughter increasingly threatens the Ghost that he starts to be staged not in armor but in some form of 'spirit drapery'." Victorian/Edwardian (1840 to 1920) The "classic" ghost story arose during the Victorian period, and included authors such as M. R. James, Sheridan Le Fanu, Violet Hunt, and Henry James. Classic ghost stories were influenced by the gothic fiction tradition, and contain elements of folklore and psychology. M. R. James summed up the essential elements of a ghost story as, "Malevolence and terror, the glare of evil faces, ‘the stony grin of unearthly malice', pursuing forms in darkness, and 'long-drawn, distant screams', are all in place, and so is a modicum of blood, shed with deliberation and carefully husbanded...". One of the key early appearances by ghosts was The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole in 1764, considered to be the first gothic novel.Famous literary apparitions from this period are the ghosts of A Christmas Carol, in which Ebenezer Scrooge is helped to see the error of his ways by the ghost of his former colleague Jacob Marley, and the ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Yet to Come. Modern era (1920 to 1970) Professional parapsychologists and "ghosts hunters", such as Harry Price, active in the 1920s and 1930s, and Peter Underwood, active in the 1940s and 1950s, published accounts of their experiences with ostensibly true ghost stories such as Price's The Most Haunted House in England, and Underwood's Ghosts of Borley (both recounting experiences at Borley Rectory). The writer Frank Edwards delved into ghost stories in his books of his, like Stranger than Science. Children's benevolent ghost stories became popular, such as Casper the Friendly Ghost, created in the 1930s and appearing in comics, animated cartoons, and eventually a 1995 feature film. With the advent of motion pictures and television, screen depictions of ghosts became common, and spanned a variety of genres; the works of Shakespeare, Dickens and Wilde have all been made into cinematic versions. Novel-length tales have been difficult to adapt to cinema, although that of The Haunting of Hill House to The Haunting in 1963 is an exception.Sentimental depictions during this period were more popular in cinema than horror, and include the 1947 film The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, which was later adapted to television with a successful 1968–70 TV series. Genuine psychological horror films from this period include 1944's The Uninvited, and 1945's Dead of Night. Post-modern (1970–present) The 1970s saw screen depictions of ghosts diverge into distinct genres of the romantic and horror. A common theme in the romantic genre from this period is the ghost as a benign guide or messenger, often with unfinished business, such as 1989's Field of Dreams, the 1990 film Ghost, and the 1993 comedy Heart and Souls. In the horror genre, 1980's The Fog, and the A Nightmare on Elm Street series of films from the 1980s and 1990s are notable examples of the trend for the merging of ghost stories with scenes of physical violence.Popularised in such films as the 1984 comedy Ghostbusters, ghost hunting became a hobby for many who formed ghost hunting societies to explore reportedly haunted places. The ghost hunting theme has been featured in reality television series, such as Ghost Adventures, Ghost Hunters, Ghost Hunters International, Ghost Lab, Most Haunted, and A Haunting. It is also represented in children's television by such programs as The Ghost Hunter and Ghost Trackers. Ghost hunting also gave rise to multiple guidebooks to haunted locations, and ghost hunting "how-to" manuals. The 1990s saw a return to classic "gothic" ghosts, whose dangers were more psychological than physical. Examples of films from this period include 1999's The Sixth Sense and The Others. Asian cinema has also produced horror films about ghosts, such as the 1998 Japanese film Ringu (remade in the US as The Ring in 2002), and the Pang brothers' 2002 film The Eye.Indian ghost movies are popular not just in India, but in the Middle East, Africa, South East Asia, and other parts of the world. Some Indian ghost movies such as the comedy / horror film Chandramukhi have been commercial successes, dubbed into several languages.In fictional television programming, ghosts have been explored in series such as Supernatural, Ghost Whisperer, and Medium. In animated fictional television programming, ghosts have served as the central element in series such as Casper the Friendly Ghost, Danny Phantom, and Scooby-Doo. Various other television shows have depicted ghosts as well. Metaphorical usages Nietzsche argued that people generally wear prudent masks in company, but that an alternative strategy for social interaction is to present oneself as an absence, as a social ghost – "One reaches out for us but gets no hold of us" – a sentiment later echoed (if in a less positive way) by Carl Jung.Nick Harkaway has considered that all people carry a host of ghosts in their heads in the form of impressions of past acquaintances – ghosts who represent mental maps of other people in the world and serve as philosophical reference points.Object relations theory sees human personalities as formed by splitting off aspects of the person that he or she deems incompatible, whereupon the person may be haunted in later life by such ghosts of his or her alternate selves.The sense of ghosts as invisible, mysterious entities is invoked in several terms that use the word metaphorically, such as ghostwriter (a writer who pens texts credited to another person without revealing the ghostwriter's role as an author); ghost singer (a vocalist who records songs whose vocals are credited to another person); and "ghosting" a date (when a person breaks off contact with a former romantic partner and disappears). See also Gadulta Hauntology List of ghosts Paranormal activity Spiritism Spirit photography Susulu (mythology) La Llorona Bibliography Finucane, R. C., Appearances of the Dead: A Cultural History of Ghosts, Prometheus Books, 1984, ISBN 0-87975-238-6. Hervey, Sheila, Some Canadian Ghosts, in series, Original Canadian Pocket Book[s], Richmond Hill, Ont.: Pocket Books, 1973, SBN 671-78629-6 Hole, Christina, Haunted England, Batsford: London, 1950. Kroonen, Guus (2013). Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-18340-7. Orel, Vladimir (2003). A Handbook of Germanic Etymology. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-12875-0. Oxford English Dictionary Online. Oxford University Press. 2021. Further reading Media related to Ghosts at Wikimedia Commons Quotations related to Ghosts at Wikiquote The dictionary definition of ghost at Wiktionary

A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. When a girl becomes an adult, she is generally referred to as a woman. However, the term girl is also used for other meanings, including young woman, and is sometimes used as a synonym for daughter or girlfriend regardless of age. In certain contexts, the usage of the term girl for an adult woman may be considered derogatory. Girl may also be a term of endearment used by an adult, usually a woman, to designate adult female friends. Girl also appears in compounds like showgirl, cowgirl, and schoolgirl. The treatment and status of girls in any society is usually closely related to the status of women in that culture. In cultures where women have a low societal position, girls may be unwanted by their parents, and the state may invest less in services for girls. Girls' upbringing ranges from being relatively the same as that of boys to complete sex segregation and completely different gender roles. Etymology The English word girl first appeared during the Middle Ages between 1250 and 1300 CE and came from the Anglo-Saxon word gerle (also spelled girle or gurle). The Anglo-Saxon word gerela meaning dress or clothing item also seems to have been used as a metonym in some sense. Until the late 1400s, the word meant a child of either sex; it has meant 'female child' since about the late 1500s century. Usage for adult women The word girl is sometimes used to refer to an adult female, usually a younger one. This usage may be considered derogatory or disrespectful in professional or other formal contexts, just as the term boy can be considered disparaging when applied to an adult man. Hence, this usage is often deprecative. It can also be used depreciatively when used to discriminate against children (e.g., "you're just a girl"). However, girl can also be a professional designation for a woman employed as a model or other public feminine representative such as a showgirl, and in such cases is not generally considered derogatory. In a casual context, the word has positive uses, as evidenced by its use in titles of popular music. It has been used playfully for people acting in an energetic fashion (Canadian singer Nelly Furtado's "Promiscuous Girl") or as a way of unifying women of all ages on the basis of their once having been girls (American country singer Martina McBride's "This One's for the Girls"). History The status of girls throughout world history is closely related to the status of women in any culture. Where women enjoy a more equal status with men, girls benefit from greater attention to their needs. Girls' education Girls' formal education has traditionally been considered far less important than that of boys. In Europe, exceptions were rare before the printing press and the Reformation made literacy more widespread. One notable exception to the general neglect of girls' literacy is Queen Elizabeth I. In her case, as a child, she was in a precarious position as a possible heir to the throne, and her life was in fact endangered by the political scheming of other powerful members of the court. Following the execution of her mother, Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth was considered illegitimate. Her education was for the most part ignored by Henry VIII. Remarkably, Henry VIII's widow, Catherine Parr, took an interest in the high intelligence of Elizabeth, and supported the decision to provide her with an impressive education after Henry's death, starting when Elizabeth was 9. Elizabeth received an education equal to that of a prominent male aristocrat; she was educated in Latin, Greek, Spanish, French, philosophy, history, mathematics and music. It has been argued that Elizabeth's high-quality education helped her grow up to become a successful monarch.By the 18th century, Europeans recognized the value of literacy, and schools were opened to educate the public in growing numbers. Education in the Age of Enlightenment in France led to up to a third of women becoming literate by the time of the French Revolution, contrasting with roughly half of men by that time. However, education was still not considered as important for girls as for boys, who were being trained for professions that remained closed to women, and girls were not admitted to secondary level schools in France until the late 19th century. Girls were not entitled to receive a Baccalaureate diploma in France until the reforms of 1924 under education minister Léon Bérard. Schools were segregated in France until the end of World War II. Since then, compulsory education laws have raised the education of girls and young women throughout Europe. In many European countries, girls' education was restricted until the 1970s, especially at higher levels. This was often done by teaching different subjects to each sex, especially since tertiary education was considered primarily for males, particularly with regard to technical education. For example, prestigious engineering schools, such as École Polytechnique, did not allow women until the 1970s. "Coming of age" customs Many cultures have traditional customs to mark the "coming of age" of a girl or boy, to recognize their transition to adulthood, or to mark other milestones of their journey to maturity as children. Japan has a coming-of-age ritual called Shichi-Go-San (七五三), which literally means "Seven-Five-Three". This is a traditional rite of passage and festival day in Japan for three- and seven-year-old girls and three- and five-year-old boys, held annually on November 15. It is generally observed on the nearest weekend. On this day, the girl will be dressed in a traditional kimono, and will be taken to a temple by her family for a blessing ceremony. Nowadays, the occasion is also marked with a formal photo portrait. Many coming-of-age ceremonies are to acknowledge the passing of a girl through puberty, when she experiences menarche, or her first menstruation. The traditional Apache coming-of-age ceremony for girls is called the na'ii'ees (Sunrise Ceremony), and takes place over four days. The girls are painted with clay and pollen, which they must not wash off until the end of the rituals, which involve dancing and rituals that challenge physical strength. Girls are given teaching in aspects of sexuality, confidence, and healing ability. The girls pray in the direction of the east at dawn, and in the four cardinal directions, which represent the four stages of life. This ceremony was banned by the U.S. government for many decades; after being decriminalized by the Indian Religious Freedom Act in 1978, it has seen a revival. Some coming-of-age ceremonies are religious rituals to recognize a girl's maturity with respect to her understanding of religious beliefs, and to recognize her changing role in her religious community. Confirmation is a ceremony common to many Christian denominations for both boys and girls, usually taking place when the child is in their teen years. In Roman Catholic communities, Confirmation ceremonies are considered one of seven sacraments that a Catholic may receive during their life. In many countries, it is traditional for Catholics children to undergo another sacrament, First Communion, at the age of 7 years old. The sacrament is usually performed in a church once a year, with children who are of age receive a blessing from a Bishop in a special ceremony. It is traditional in many countries for Catholic girls to wear white dresses and possibly a small veil or wreath of flowers in their hair to their First Communion. The white dress symbolizes spiritual purity. A traditional coming-of-age ritual for daughters of college age (17 to 21 years old) from high society and well-connected upper-class and White Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP) families in North America and Europe has historically been their debut at a debutante ball, such as the International Debutante Ball in New York City. Traditionally, debutantes wear couture white gowns and gloves symbolising purity and wealth. Across Latin America, the fiesta de quince años is a celebration of a girl's fifteenth birthday. The girl celebrating the birthday is called a Quinceañera. This birthday is celebrated differently from any other birthday, as it marks the transition from childhood to young womanhood. Preparing girls for marriage In many ancient societies, girls' upbringing had much to do with preparing them to be future wives. In many cultures, it was not the norm for women to be economically independent. Thus, where a girl's future well-being depended upon marrying her to a man who was economically self-sufficient, it was crucial to prepare her to meet whatever qualities or skills were popularly expected of wives. Western society In cultures ranging from Ancient Greece to the 19th-century United States, girls have been taught such essential domestic skills as sewing, cooking, gardening, and basic hygiene and medical care such as preparing balms and salves, and in some cases midwife skills. These skills would be taught from generation to generation, with the knowledge passed down orally from mother to daughter. A well-known reference to these important women's skills is in the folk tale Rumpelstiltskin, which dates back to Medieval Germany and was collected in written form by the folklorists the Brothers Grimm. The miller's daughter is valued as a potential wife because of her reputation for being able to spin straw into gold. China In some parts of China, beginning in the Southern Tang kingdom in Nanjing (937-975), the custom of foot binding was associated with upper-class women who were worthy of a life of leisure, and husbands who could afford to spare them the necessity of work (which would require the ability to be mobile and spend the day on their feet). Because of this belief, parents hoping to ensure a good marriage for their daughters would begin binding their feet from about the age of 5–8 to achieve the ideal appearance. The tinier the feet, the better the social rank of a future husband. This practice did not end until the early years of the 20th century.China has had many customs tied to girls and their roles as future wives and mothers. According to one custom, a girl's way of wearing her hair would indicate her marital status. An unmarried girl would wear her hair in two "pigtails", and once married, she would wear her hair in one. Africa In some cultures, girls' passing through puberty is viewed with concern for a girl's chastity. In some communities, there is a traditional belief that female genital mutilation is a necessity to prevent a girl from becoming sexually promiscuous. The practice is dangerous, however, and leads to long-term health problems for women who have undergone it. The practice has been a custom in 28 countries of Africa, and persists mainly in rural areas. This coming-of-age custom, sometimes incorrectly described as "female circumcision", is being outlawed by governments, and challenged by human rights groups and other concerned community members, who are working to end the practice. Trafficking and trading girls Girls have been used historically, and are still used in some parts of the world, in settlements of disputes between families, through practices such as baad, swara, or vani. In such situations, a girl from a criminal's family is given to the victim's family as a servant or a bride. Another practice is that of selling girls in exchange for the bride price. The 1956 Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery defines "institutions and practices similar to slavery" to include: c) Any institution or practice whereby: (i) A woman, without the right to refuse, is promised or given in marriage on payment of a consideration in money or in kind to her parents, guardian, family or any other person or group; or (ii) The husband of a woman, his family, or his clan, has the right to transfer her to another person for value received or otherwise; or (iii) A woman on the death of her husband is liable to be inherited by another person. Demographics Scholars are unclear and in dispute as to possible causes for variations in human sex ratios at birth. Countries which have sex ratios of 108 and above are usually presumed as engaging in sex selection. However, deviations in sex ratios at birth can occur for natural causes too. Nevertheless, the practice of bias against girls, through sex-selective abortion, female infanticide, female abandonment, as well as favouring sons with regard to allocating of family resources is well documented in parts of South Asia, East Asia, and the Caucasus. Such practices are a major concern in China, India and Pakistan. In these cultures, the low status of women creates a bias against females.China and India have a very strong son preference. In China, the one child policy was largely responsible for an unbalanced sex ratio. Sex-selective abortion, as well as rejection of girl children is common. The Dying Rooms is a 1995 television documentary film about Chinese state orphanages, which documented how parents abandoned their newborn girls into orphanages, where the staff would leave the children in rooms to die of thirst, or starvation. In India, the practice of dowry is partly responsible for a strong son preference. Another manifestation of son preference is the violence inflicted against mothers who give birth to girls.In India, by 2011, there were 91 girls younger than 6 for every 100 boys. Its 2011 census showed that the ratio of girls to boys under the age of 6 years old has dropped even during the past decade, from 927 girls for every 1000 boys in 2001 to 918 girls for every 1000 boys in 2011. In China, scholars report 794 baby girls for every 1000 baby boys in rural regions. In Azerbaijan, last 20 years of birth data suggests 862 girls were born for every 1000 boys, on average every year. Steven Mosher, president of the Population Research Institute in Washington, D.C. has said: "Twenty-five million men in China currently can't find brides because there is a shortage of women [...] young men emigrate overseas to find brides." The gender imbalance in these regions is also blamed for spurring growth in the commercial sex trade; the UN's 2005 report states that up to 800,000 people being trafficked across borders each year, and as many as 80 percent are women and girls. Biology Embryos that inherit two X chromosomes (XX), one from each parent, are generally identified as girls when born. About one in a thousand girls have a 47,XXX karyotype, and one in 2500 have a 45,X one. Girls typically have a female reproductive system. Some intersex children with ambiguous genitals may be classified as girls, while some Transgender youth have a gender identity as girls.Girls' bodies undergo gradual changes during puberty. Puberty is the process of physical changes by which a child's body matures into an adult body capable of sexual reproduction to enable fertilization. It is initiated by hormonal signals from the brain to the gonads. In response to the signals, the gonads produce hormones that stimulate libido and the growth, function, and transformation of the brain, bones, muscle, blood, skin, hair, breasts, and sexual organs. Physical growth—height and weight—accelerates in the first half of puberty and is completed when the child has developed an adult body. Until the maturation of their reproductive capabilities, the pre-pubertal, physical differences between boys and girls are the genitalia. Puberty is a process that usually takes place between 10 and 16 years, but these ages differ from person to person. The major landmark of female puberty is menarche, the onset of menstruation, which occurs on average between 12 and 13. According to a 2010 Canadian study, the variation of age in which menstruation begins had a "statistically significant" relation to where the child was living, household income, and family type. Gender and environment Biological sex interacts with environment in ways not fully understood. Identical twin girls separated at birth and reunited decades later have shown both startling similarities and differences. In 2005, professor Kim Wallen of Emory University noted, "I think the 'nature versus nurture' question is not meaningful, because it treats them as independent factors, whereas in fact everything is nature and nurture." Wallen said gender differences emerge very early and come about through an underlying preference males and females have for their chosen activities. Femininity is a set of attributes, behaviours, and roles generally associated with girls and women. Femininity is socially constructed, but made up of both socially-defined and biologically created factors. This makes it distinct from the definition of the biological female sex, as both males and females can exhibit feminine traits. Traits traditionally cited as feminine include gentleness, empathy, and sensitivity, though traits associated with femininity vary depending on location and context, and are influenced by a variety of social and cultural factors.Gender neutrality describes the idea that policies, language, and other social institutions should avoid distinguishing roles according to people's sex or gender, in order to avoid discrimination arising from rigid gender roles. Unisex refers to things that are considered appropriate for any sex. Campaigns for unisex toys include Let Toys Be Toys. Teenage pregnancy Teenage pregnancy is pregnancy in an adolescent girl. A female can become pregnant from sexual intercourse after she has begun to ovulate. Pregnant teenagers face many of the same pregnancy related issues as other women. There are, however, additional concerns for young adolescents as they are less likely to be physically developed enough to sustain a healthy pregnancy or to give birth.In developed countries, teenage pregnancy is usually associated with social issues, including lower educational levels, poverty, and other negative life outcomes; and often carries a social stigma. By contrast, teenage girls in developing countries are often married, and their pregnancies welcomed by family and society. However, in these societies, child marriage and early pregnancy often combine with malnutrition and poor health care and create medical problems. Girls' education Girls' equal access to education has been achieved in some countries, but there are significant disparities in the majority. There are gaps in access between different regions and countries and even within countries. Girls account for 60 per cent of children out of school in Arab countries and 66 per cent of non-attendees in South and West Asia; however, more girls than boys attend schools in many countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, North America and Western Europe. Research has measured the economic cost of this inequality to developing countries: Plan International’s analysis shows that a total of 65 low, middle income and transition countries fail to offer girls the same secondary school opportunities as boys, and in total, these countries are missing out on annual economic growth of an estimated $92 billion.Although the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has asserted "primary education shall be compulsory and available free to all" girls are slightly less likely to be enrolled as students in primary and secondary schools (70%:74% and 59%:65%). Worldwide efforts have been made to end this disparity (such as through the Millennium Development Goals) and the gap has closed since 1990. Educational environment and expectations According to Kim Wallen, expectations will nonetheless play a role in how girls perform academically. For example, if females skilled in math are told a test is "gender neutral" they achieve high scores, but if they are told males outperformed females in the past, the females will do much worse. "What's strange is," Wallen observed, "according to the research, all one apparently has to do is tell a woman who has a lifetime of socialization of being poor in math that a math test is gender neutral, and all effects of that socialization go away." Author Judith Harris has said that aside from their genetic contribution, the nurturing provided by parents likely has less long-term influence over their offspring than other environmental aspects such as the children's peer group.In England, studies by the National Literacy Trust have shown girls score consistently higher than boys in all scholastic areas from the ages of 7 through 16, with the most striking differences noted in reading and writing skills. In the United States, historically, girls lagged on standardized tests. In 1996 the average score of 503 for US girls from all races on the SAT verbal test was 4 points lower than boys. In math, the average for girls was 492, which was 35 points lower than boys. "When girls take the exact same courses," commented Wayne Camara, a research scientist with the College Board, "that 35-point gap dissipates quite a bit." At the time Leslie R. Wolfe, president of the Center for Women Policy Studies said girls scored differently on the math tests because they tend to work the problems out while boys use "test-taking tricks" such as immediately checking the answers already given in multiple-choice questions. Wolfe said girls are steady and thorough while "boys play this test like a pin-ball machine." Wolfe also said although girls had lower SAT scores they consistently get higher grades than boys across all courses in their first year in college. By 2006 girls were outscoring boys on the verbal portion of the United States' nationwide SAT exam by 11 points. A 2005 University of Chicago study showed that a majority presence of girls in the classroom tends to enhance the academic performance of boys. Obstacles to girls' access to education In many parts of the world, girls face significant obstacles to accessing proper education. These obstacles include: early and forced marriages; early pregnancy; prejudice based on gender stereotypes at home, at school and in the community; violence on the way to school, or in and around schools; long distances to schools; vulnerability to the HIV epidemic; school fees, which often lead to parents sending only their sons to school; lack of gender sensitive approaches and materials in classrooms. Sex segregation Sex segregation is the physical, legal, and cultural separation of people according to their biological sex. It is practiced in many societies, especially starting when children attain puberty. In certain circumstances, sex segregation is controversial. Some critics contend that it is a violation of capabilities and human rights and can create economic inefficiencies and discrimination, while some supporters argue that it is central to certain religious laws and social and cultural histories and traditions. Purdah is a religious and social practice of female seclusion prevalent among some Muslim and Hindu communities in South Asia. It takes two forms: physical segregation of the sexes and the requirement that women cover almost entirely their bodies. The ages from which this practice is enforced vary by community. Such practices are most common in cultures where the concept of family honor is very strong. In cultures where sex segregation is common, the predominant form of education in single sex education. Violence against girls In many parts of the world, girls are at risk of specific forms of violence and abuse, such as sex-selective abortion, female genital mutilation, child marriage, child sexual abuse, honor killings. In parts of the world, especially in East Asia, South Asia and some Western countries' girls are sometimes seen as unwanted; in some cases, girls are selectively aborted, abused, mistreated or abandoned by their parents or relatives. In China, boys exceed girls by more than 30 million, suggesting over a million excess boys are born every year than expected for normal human sex ratio at birth. In India, scholars estimate from boy to girl ratio at birth that sex-selective abortions cause a loss of about 1.5%, or 100,000 female births per year. Abnormal boy to girl ratio at birth is also seen in Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia, suggesting possible sex-selective abortions against girls.Female genital mutilation (FGM) is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as "all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons." It is practiced mainly in 28 countries in western, eastern, and north-eastern Africa, particularly Egypt and Ethiopia, and in parts of Southeast Asia and the Middle East. FGM is most often carried out on girls aged between infancy and 15 years.Child marriages, where girls are married at young ages (often forced and often to much older husbands) remain common in many parts of the world. They are fairly widespread in parts of the world, especially in Africa, South Asia, Southeast and East Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and Oceania. The ten countries with the highest rates of child marriage are: Niger, Chad, Central African Republic, Bangladesh, Guinea, Mozambique, Mali, Burkina Faso, South Sudan, and Malawi.Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. In Western countries CSA is considered a serious crime, but in many parts of the world there is a tacit tolerance of the practice. CSA can take many forms, one of which is child prostitution. Child prostitution is the commercial sexual exploitation of children in which a child performs the services of prostitution, for financial benefit. It is estimated that each year at least one million children, mostly girls, become prostitutes. Child prostitution is common in many parts of the world, especially in Southeast Asia (Thailand, Cambodia), and many adults from wealthy countries travel to these regions to engage in child sex tourism. In many parts of the world, girls who are deemed to have tarnished the 'honor' of their families by refusing arranged marriages, having premarital sex, dressing in ways deemed inappropriate or even becoming the victims of rape, are at risk of honor killing by their families. Health Girls' health suffers in cultures where girls are valued less than boys, and families allocate most resources to boys. A major threat to girls' health is early marriage, which often leads to early pregnancy. Girls forced into child marriage often become pregnant quickly after marriage, increasing their risk of complications and maternal mortality. Such complications resulting from pregnancy and birth at young ages are a leading cause of death among teenage girls in developing countries. Female genital mutilation (FGM) practiced in many parts of the world is another leading cause of ill health for girls. Girls and child labor Gender influences the pattern of child labor. Girls tend to be asked by their families to perform more domestic work in their parental home than boys are, and often at younger ages than boys. Employment as a paid domestic worker is the most common form of child labor for girls. In some places, such as East and Southeast Asia, parents often see work as a domestic servant as a good preparation for marriage. Domestic service, however, is among the least regulated of all professions, and exposes workers to serious risks, such as violence, exploitation and abuse by the employers, because the workers are often isolated from the outside world. Child labor has a very negative effect on education. Girls either stop their education, or, when they continue it, they are often subjected to a double burden, or a triple burden of work outside the home, housework in the parental home, and schoolwork. This situation is common in places such as parts of Asia and Latin America. International initiatives for girls' rights The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1988) and Millennium Development Goals (2000) promoted better access to education for all girls and boys and to eliminate gender disparities at both primary and secondary level. Worldwide school enrolment and literacy rates for girls have improved continuously. In 2005, global primary net enrolment rates were 85 per cent for girls, up from 78 per cent 15 years earlier; at the secondary level, girls’ enrolment increased 10 percentage points to 57 per cent over the same period.A number of international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have created programs focussing on addressing disparities in girls' access to such necessities as food, healthcare and education. CAMFED is one organization active in providing education to girls in sub-Saharan Africa. PLAN International's "Because I am a Girl" campaign is a high-profile example of such initiatives. PLAN's research has shown that educating girls can have a powerful ripple effect, boosting the economies of their towns and villages; providing girls with access to education has also been demonstrated to improve community understanding of health matters, reducing HIV rates, improving nutritional awareness, reducing birthrates and improving infant health. Research demonstrates that a girl who has received an education will: Earn up to 25 percent more and reinvest 90 percent in her family. Be three times less likely to become HIV-positive. Have fewer, healthier children who are 40 percent more likely to live past the age of five.Plan International also created a campaign to establish an International Day of the Girl. The goals of this initiative are to raise global awareness of the unique challenges facing girls, as well as the key role they have in addressing larger poverty and development challenges. A delegation of girls from Plan Canada introduced the idea to Rona Ambrose, Canada's Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women, at the 55th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women at United Nations Headquarters in February 2011. In March 2011, Canada's Parliament unanimously adopted a motion requesting that Canada take the lead at the United Nations in the initiative to proclaim an International Day of the Girl. The General Assembly of the United Nations adopted an International Day of the Girl Child on December 19, 2011. The first International Day of the Girl Child is October 11, 2012. Its most recent research has led PLAN International to identify a need to coordinate projects that address boys' roles in their communities, as well as finding ways of including boys in activities that reduce gender discrimination. Since political, religious and local community leaders are most often men, men and boys have great influence over any effort to improve girls' lives and achieve gender equality. PLAN International's 2011 Annual Report points out that men have more influence and may be able to convince communities to curb early marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM) more effectively than women. Egyptian religious leader Sheikh Saad, who has campaigned against the practice, is quoted in the report: “We have decided that our daughter will not go through this bad, inhumane experience [...] I am part of the change.” Art and literature Historically, art and literature in Western culture has portrayed girls as symbols of innocence, purity, virtue and hope. Egyptian murals included sympathetic portraits of young girls who were daughters of royalty. Sappho's poetry carries love poems addressed to girls. In Europe, some early paintings featuring girls were Petrus Christus' Portrait of a Young Girl (about 1460), Juan de Flandes' Portrait of a Young Girl (about 1505), Frans Hals' Die Amme mit dem Kind in 1620, Diego Velázquez' Las Meninas in 1656, Jan Steen's The Feast of St. Nicolas (about 1660) and Johannes Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring along with Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window. Later paintings of girls include Albert Anker's portrait of a Girl with a Domino Tower and Camille Pissarro's 1883 Portrait of a Felix Daughter. Mary Cassatt painted many famous Impressionist works that idealize the innocence of girls and the mother-daughter bond, for example her 1884 work Children on the Beach. During the same era, Whistler's Harmony in Gray and Green: Miss Cicely Alexander and The White Girl depict girls in the same light. The European children's literature canon includes many notable works with young female protagonists. Traditional fairy tales have preserved memorable stories about girls. Among these are Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Rapunzel, The Princess and the Pea and the Brothers Grimm's Little Red Riding Hood. Well-known children's books about girls include Heidi, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the Nancy Drew series, Little House on the Prairie, Madeline, Pippi Longstocking, A Wrinkle in Time, Dragonsong, and Little Women. Beginning in the late Victorian era, more nuanced depictions of girl protagonists became popular. Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Match Girl, The Little Mermaid, and other tales featured themes that ventured into tragedy. Published in 1865, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll featured a widely noted female protagonist, Alice, confronting eccentric characters and intellectual puzzles in surreal settings. The character of the plucky, yet proper, Alice has proven immensely popular and inspired similar heroines in literature and pop culture. Literature followed different cultural currents, sometimes romanticizing and idealizing girlhood, and at other times developing under the influence of the growing literary realism movement. Many Victorian novels begin with the childhood of their heroine, such as Jane Eyre, an orphan who suffers ill treatment from her guardians and then at a girls' boarding school. The character Natasha in War and Peace, on the other hand, is sentimentalized. By the 20th century, the portrayal of girls in fiction had for the most part abandoned idealized portrayals of girls. Popular literary novels include Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird in which a young girl, Scout, is faced with the awareness of the forces of bigotry in her community. Vladimir Nabokov's controversial book Lolita (1955) is about a doomed relationship between a 12-year-old girl and an adult scholar as they travel across the United States. Zazie dans le métro (Zazie in the Metro) (1959) by Raymond Queneau is a popular French novel that humorously celebrates the innocence and precocity of Zazie, who ventures off on her own to explore Paris, escaping from her uncle (a professional female impersonator) and her mother (who is preoccupied by a meeting with her lover). Zazie was also made into a popular movie in 1960 (Zazie dans le Métro) by French director Louis Malle. Books which have both boy and girl protagonists have tended to focus more on the boys, but important girl characters appear in Knight's Castle, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Book of Three and the Harry Potter series. Recent novels with an adult audience have included reflections on girlhood experiences. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden begins as the female main character and her sister are dropped off in the pleasure district after being separated from their family in 19th-century Japan. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See traces the laotong (old sames) bond of friendship between a pair of childhood friends in modern Beijing, and the parallel friendship of their ancestors in 19th-century Hunan, China. Popular culture There have been many comic books and comic strips featuring a girl as the main character such as Little Lulu and Little Orphan Annie from the US, and Minnie the Minx from the UK. In superhero comic books an early girl character was Etta Candy, one of Wonder Woman's sidekicks. In the Peanuts series (by Charles Schulz) girl characters include Peppermint Patty, Lucy van Pelt and Sally Brown. In Japanese animated cartoons and comic books girls are often protagonists. Most of Hayao Miyazaki's animated films feature a young girl heroine, as in Majo no takkyūbin (Kiki's Delivery Service). There are many other girl protagonists in the shōjo style of manga, which is targeted at girls as an audience. Among these are The Wallflower, Ceres, Celestial Legend, Tokyo Mew Mew and Full Moon o Sagashite. Meanwhile, some genres of Japanese cartoons may feature sexualized and objectified portrayals of girls. The term girl is widely heard in the lyrics of popular music (such as with the song "American Girl"), most often meaning a young adult or teenaged female. Girl group Tomboy Shōjo

The Hairy Head mansion (昴宿, pinyin: Mǎo Xiù) is one of the Twenty-eight mansions of the Chinese constellations. It is one of the western mansions of the White Tiger. This mansion corresponds to the Pleiades in English.

The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide to the lungs. In humans, the heart is approximately the size of a closed fist and is located between the lungs, in the middle compartment of the chest, called the mediastinum.In humans, other mammals, and birds, the heart is divided into four chambers: upper left and right atria and lower left and right ventricles. Commonly the right atrium and ventricle are referred together as the right heart and their left counterparts as the left heart. Fish, in contrast, have two chambers, an atrium and a ventricle, while most reptiles have three chambers. In a healthy heart blood flows one way through the heart due to heart valves, which prevent backflow. The heart is enclosed in a protective sac, the pericardium, which also contains a small amount of fluid. The wall of the heart is made up of three layers: epicardium, myocardium, and endocardium.The heart pumps blood with a rhythm determined by a group of pacemaker cells in the sinoatrial node. These generate an electric current that causes the heart to contract, traveling through the atrioventricular node and along the conduction system of the heart. In humans, deoxygenated blood enters the heart through the right atrium from the superior and inferior venae cavae and passes to the right ventricle. From here it is pumped into pulmonary circulation to the lungs, where it receives oxygen and gives off carbon dioxide. Oxygenated blood then returns to the left atrium, passes through the left ventricle and is pumped out through the aorta into systemic circulation, traveling through arteries, arterioles, and capillaries—where nutrients and other substances are exchanged between blood vessels and cells, losing oxygen and gaining carbon dioxide—before being returned to the heart through venules and veins. The heart beats at a resting rate close to 72 beats per minute. Exercise temporarily increases the rate, but lowers it in the long term, and is good for heart health.Cardiovascular diseases are the most common cause of death globally as of 2008, accounting for 30% of deaths. Of these more than three-quarters are a result of coronary artery disease and stroke. Risk factors include: smoking, being overweight, little exercise, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and poorly controlled diabetes, among others. Cardiovascular diseases do not frequently have symptoms but may cause chest pain or shortness of breath. Diagnosis of heart disease is often done by the taking of a medical history, listening to the heart-sounds with a stethoscope, as well as with ECG, echocardiogram, and ultrasound. Specialists who focus on diseases of the heart are called cardiologists, although many specialties of medicine may be involved in treatment. Structure Location and shape The human heart is situated in the mediastinum, at the level of thoracic vertebrae T5-T8. A double-membraned sac called the pericardium surrounds the heart and attaches to the mediastinum. The back surface of the heart lies near the vertebral column, and the front surface known as the sternocostal surface sits behind the sternum and rib cartilages. The upper part of the heart is the attachment point for several large blood vessels—the venae cavae, aorta and pulmonary trunk. The upper part of the heart is located at the level of the third costal cartilage. The lower tip of the heart, the apex, lies to the left of the sternum (8 to 9 cm from the midsternal line) between the junction of the fourth and fifth ribs near their articulation with the costal cartilages.The largest part of the heart is usually slightly offset to the left side of the chest (though occasionally it may be offset to the right) and is felt to be on the left because the left heart is stronger and larger, since it pumps to all body parts. Because the heart is between the lungs, the left lung is smaller than the right lung and has a cardiac notch in its border to accommodate the heart. The heart is cone-shaped, with its base positioned upwards and tapering down to the apex. An adult heart has a mass of 250–350 grams (9–12 oz). The heart is often described as the size of a fist: 12 cm (5 in) in length, 8 cm (3.5 in) wide, and 6 cm (2.5 in) in thickness, although this description is disputed, as the heart is likely to be slightly larger. Well-trained athletes can have much larger hearts due to the effects of exercise on the heart muscle, similar to the response of skeletal muscle. Chambers The heart has four chambers, two upper atria, the receiving chambers, and two lower ventricles, the discharging chambers. The atria open into the ventricles via the atrioventricular valves, present in the atrioventricular septum. This distinction is visible also on the surface of the heart as the coronary sulcus. There is an ear-shaped structure in the upper right atrium called the right atrial appendage, or auricle, and another in the upper left atrium, the left atrial appendage. The right atrium and the right ventricle together are sometimes referred to as the right heart. Similarly, the left atrium and the left ventricle together are sometimes referred to as the left heart. The ventricles are separated from each other by the interventricular septum, visible on the surface of the heart as the anterior longitudinal sulcus and the posterior interventricular sulcus.The fibrous cardiac skeleton gives structure to the heart. It forms the atrioventricular septum, which separates the atria from the ventricles, and the fibrous rings, which serve as bases for the four heart valves. The cardiac skeleton also provides an important boundary in the heart's electrical conduction system since collagen cannot conduct electricity. The interatrial septum separates the atria, and the interventricular septum separates the ventricles. The interventricular septum is much thicker than the interatrial septum since the ventricles need to generate greater pressure when they contract. Valves The heart has four valves, which separate its chambers. One valve lies between each atrium and ventricle, and one valve rests at the exit of each ventricle.The valves between the atria and ventricles are called the atrioventricular valves. Between the right atrium and the right ventricle is the tricuspid valve. The tricuspid valve has three cusps, which connect to chordae tendinae and three papillary muscles named the anterior, posterior, and septal muscles, after their relative positions. The mitral valve lies between the left atrium and left ventricle. It is also known as the bicuspid valve due to its having two cusps, an anterior and a posterior cusp. These cusps are also attached via chordae tendinae to two papillary muscles projecting from the ventricular wall.The papillary muscles extend from the walls of the heart to valves by cartilaginous connections called chordae tendinae. These muscles prevent the valves from falling too far back when they close. During the relaxation phase of the cardiac cycle, the papillary muscles are also relaxed and the tension on the chordae tendineae is slight. As the heart chambers contract, so do the papillary muscles. This creates tension on the chordae tendineae, helping to hold the cusps of the atrioventricular valves in place and preventing them from being blown back into the atria. Two additional semilunar valves sit at the exit of each of the ventricles. The pulmonary valve is located at the base of the pulmonary artery. This has three cusps which are not attached to any papillary muscles. When the ventricle relaxes blood flows back into the ventricle from the artery and this flow of blood fills the pocket-like valve, pressing against the cusps which close to seal the valve. The semilunar aortic valve is at the base of the aorta and also is not attached to papillary muscles. This too has three cusps which close with the pressure of the blood flowing back from the aorta. Right heart The right heart consists of two chambers, the right atrium and the right ventricle, separated by a valve, the tricuspid valve.The right atrium receives blood almost continuously from the body's two major veins, the superior and inferior venae cavae. A small amount of blood from the coronary circulation also drains into the right atrium via the coronary sinus, which is immediately above and to the middle of the opening of the inferior vena cava. In the wall of the right atrium is an oval-shaped depression known as the fossa ovalis, which is a remnant of an opening in the fetal heart known as the foramen ovale. Most of the internal surface of the right atrium is smooth, the depression of the fossa ovalis is medial, and the anterior surface has prominent ridges of pectinate muscles, which are also present in the right atrial appendage.The right atrium is connected to the right ventricle by the tricuspid valve. The walls of the right ventricle are lined with trabeculae carneae, ridges of cardiac muscle covered by endocardium. In addition to these muscular ridges, a band of cardiac muscle, also covered by endocardium, known as the moderator band reinforces the thin walls of the right ventricle and plays a crucial role in cardiac conduction. It arises from the lower part of the interventricular septum and crosses the interior space of the right ventricle to connect with the inferior papillary muscle. The right ventricle tapers into the pulmonary trunk, into which it ejects blood when contracting. The pulmonary trunk branches into the left and right pulmonary arteries that carry the blood to each lung. The pulmonary valve lies between the right heart and the pulmonary trunk. Left heart The left heart has two chambers: the left atrium and the left ventricle, separated by the mitral valve.The left atrium receives oxygenated blood back from the lungs via one of the four pulmonary veins. The left atrium has an outpouching called the left atrial appendage. Like the right atrium, the left atrium is lined by pectinate muscles. The left atrium is connected to the left ventricle by the mitral valve.The left ventricle is much thicker as compared with the right, due to the greater force needed to pump blood to the entire body. Like the right ventricle, the left also has trabeculae carneae, but there is no moderator band. The left ventricle pumps blood to the body through the aortic valve and into the aorta. Two small openings above the aortic valve carry blood to the heart muscle; the left coronary artery is above the left cusp of the valve, and the right coronary artery is above the right cusp. Wall The heart wall is made up of three layers: the inner endocardium, middle myocardium and outer epicardium. These are surrounded by a double-membraned sac called the pericardium. The innermost layer of the heart is called the endocardium. It is made up of a lining of simple squamous epithelium and covers heart chambers and valves. It is continuous with the endothelium of the veins and arteries of the heart, and is joined to the myocardium with a thin layer of connective tissue. The endocardium, by secreting endothelins, may also play a role in regulating the contraction of the myocardium. The middle layer of the heart wall is the myocardium, which is the cardiac muscle—a layer of involuntary striated muscle tissue surrounded by a framework of collagen. The cardiac muscle pattern is elegant and complex, as the muscle cells swirl and spiral around the chambers of the heart, with the outer muscles forming a figure 8 pattern around the atria and around the bases of the great vessels and the inner muscles, forming a figure 8 around the two ventricles and proceeding toward the apex. This complex swirling pattern allows the heart to pump blood more effectively.There are two types of cells in cardiac muscle: muscle cells which have the ability to contract easily, and pacemaker cells of the conducting system. The muscle cells make up the bulk (99%) of cells in the atria and ventricles. These contractile cells are connected by intercalated discs which allow a rapid response to impulses of action potential from the pacemaker cells. The intercalated discs allow the cells to act as a syncytium and enable the contractions that pump blood through the heart and into the major arteries. The pacemaker cells make up 1% of cells and form the conduction system of the heart. They are generally much smaller than the contractile cells and have few myofibrils which gives them limited contractibility. Their function is similar in many respects to neurons. Cardiac muscle tissue has autorhythmicity, the unique ability to initiate a cardiac action potential at a fixed rate—spreading the impulse rapidly from cell to cell to trigger the contraction of the entire heart.There are specific proteins expressed in cardiac muscle cells. These are mostly associated with muscle contraction, and bind with actin, myosin, tropomyosin, and troponin. They include MYH6, ACTC1, TNNI3, CDH2 and PKP2. Other proteins expressed are MYH7 and LDB3 that are also expressed in skeletal muscle. Pericardium The pericardium is the sac that surrounds the heart. The tough outer surface of the pericardium is called the fibrous membrane. This is lined by a double inner membrane called the serous membrane that produces pericardial fluid to lubricate the surface of the heart. The part of the serous membrane attached to the fibrous membrane is called the parietal pericardium, while the part of the serous membrane attached to the heart is known as the visceral pericardium. The pericardium is present in order to lubricate its movement against other structures within the chest, to keep the heart's position stabilised within the chest, and to protect the heart from infection. Coronary circulation Heart tissue, like all cells in the body, needs to be supplied with oxygen, nutrients and a way of removing metabolic wastes. This is achieved by the coronary circulation, which includes arteries, veins, and lymphatic vessels. Blood flow through the coronary vessels occurs in peaks and troughs relating to the heart muscle's relaxation or contraction.Heart tissue receives blood from two arteries which arise just above the aortic valve. These are the left main coronary artery and the right coronary artery. The left main coronary artery splits shortly after leaving the aorta into two vessels, the left anterior descending and the left circumflex artery. The left anterior descending artery supplies heart tissue and the front, outer side, and septum of the left ventricle. It does this by branching into smaller arteries—diagonal and septal branches. The left circumflex supplies the back and underneath of the left ventricle. The right coronary artery supplies the right atrium, right ventricle, and lower posterior sections of the left ventricle. The right coronary artery also supplies blood to the atrioventricular node (in about 90% of people) and the sinoatrial node (in about 60% of people). The right coronary artery runs in a groove at the back of the heart and the left anterior descending artery runs in a groove at the front. There is significant variation between people in the anatomy of the arteries that supply the heart The arteries divide at their furthest reaches into smaller branches that join at the edges of each arterial distribution.The coronary sinus is a large vein that drains into the right atrium, and receives most of the venous drainage of the heart. It receives blood from the great cardiac vein (receiving the left atrium and both ventricles), the posterior cardiac vein (draining the back of the left ventricle), the middle cardiac vein (draining the bottom of the left and right ventricles), and small cardiac veins. The anterior cardiac veins drain the front of the right ventricle and drain directly into the right atrium.Small lymphatic networks called plexuses exist beneath each of the three layers of the heart. These networks collect into a main left and a main right trunk, which travel up the groove between the ventricles that exists on the heart's surface, receiving smaller vessels as they travel up. These vessels then travel into the atrioventricular groove, and receive a third vessel which drains the section of the left ventricle sitting on the diaphragm. The left vessel joins with this third vessel, and travels along the pulmonary artery and left atrium, ending in the inferior tracheobronchial node. The right vessel travels along the right atrium and the part of the right ventricle sitting on the diaphragm. It usually then travels in front of the ascending aorta and then ends in a brachiocephalic node. Nerve supply The heart receives nerve signals from the vagus nerve and from nerves arising from the sympathetic trunk. These nerves act to influence, but not control, the heart rate. Sympathetic nerves also influence the force of heart contraction. Signals that travel along these nerves arise from two paired cardiovascular centres in the medulla oblongata. The vagus nerve of the parasympathetic nervous system acts to decrease the heart rate, and nerves from the sympathetic trunk act to increase the heart rate. These nerves form a network of nerves that lies over the heart called the cardiac plexus.The vagus nerve is a long, wandering nerve that emerges from the brainstem and provides parasympathetic stimulation to a large number of organs in the thorax and abdomen, including the heart. The nerves from the sympathetic trunk emerge through the T1-T4 thoracic ganglia and travel to both the sinoatrial and atrioventricular nodes, as well as to the atria and ventricles. The ventricles are more richly innervated by sympathetic fibers than parasympathetic fibers. Sympathetic stimulation causes the release of the neurotransmitter norepinephrine (also known as noradrenaline) at the neuromuscular junction of the cardiac nerves. This shortens the repolarisation period, thus speeding the rate of depolarisation and contraction, which results in an increased heart rate. It opens chemical or ligand-gated sodium and calcium ion channels, allowing an influx of positively charged ions. Norepinephrine binds to the beta–1 receptor. Development The heart is the first functional organ to develop and starts to beat and pump blood at about three weeks into embryogenesis. This early start is crucial for subsequent embryonic and prenatal development. The heart derives from splanchnopleuric mesenchyme in the neural plate which forms the cardiogenic region. Two endocardial tubes form here that fuse to form a primitive heart tube known as the tubular heart. Between the third and fourth week, the heart tube lengthens, and begins to fold to form an S-shape within the pericardium. This places the chambers and major vessels into the correct alignment for the developed heart. Further development will include the formation of the septa and the valves and the remodeling of the heart chambers. By the end of the fifth week, the septa are complete, and by the ninth week, the heart valves are complete.Before the fifth week, there is an opening in the fetal heart known as the foramen ovale. The foramen ovale allowed blood in the fetal heart to pass directly from the right atrium to the left atrium, allowing some blood to bypass the lungs. Within seconds after birth, a flap of tissue known as the septum primum that previously acted as a valve closes the foramen ovale and establishes the typical cardiac circulation pattern. A depression in the surface of the right atrium remains where the foramen ovale was, called the fossa ovalis. The embryonic heart begins beating at around 22 days after conception (5 weeks after the last normal menstrual period, LMP). It starts to beat at a rate near to the mother's which is about 75–80 beats per minute (bpm). The embryonic heart rate then accelerates and reaches a peak rate of 165–185 bpm early in the early 7th week (early 9th week after the LMP). After 9 weeks (start of the fetal stage) it starts to decelerate, slowing to around 145 (±25) bpm at birth. There is no difference in female and male heart rates before birth. Physiology Blood flow The heart functions as a pump in the circulatory system to provide a continuous flow of blood throughout the body. This circulation consists of the systemic circulation to and from the body and the pulmonary circulation to and from the lungs. Blood in the pulmonary circulation exchanges carbon dioxide for oxygen in the lungs through the process of respiration. The systemic circulation then transports oxygen to the body and returns carbon dioxide and relatively deoxygenated blood to the heart for transfer to the lungs.The right heart collects deoxygenated blood from two large veins, the superior and inferior venae cavae. Blood collects in the right and left atrium continuously. The superior vena cava drains blood from above the diaphragm and empties into the upper back part of the right atrium. The inferior vena cava drains the blood from below the diaphragm and empties into the back part of the atrium below the opening for the superior vena cava. Immediately above and to the middle of the opening of the inferior vena cava is the opening of the thin-walled coronary sinus. Additionally, the coronary sinus returns deoxygenated blood from the myocardium to the right atrium. The blood collects in the right atrium. When the right atrium contracts, the blood is pumped through the tricuspid valve into the right ventricle. As the right ventricle contracts, the tricuspid valve closes and the blood is pumped into the pulmonary trunk through the pulmonary valve. The pulmonary trunk divides into pulmonary arteries and progressively smaller arteries throughout the lungs, until it reaches capillaries. As these pass by alveoli carbon dioxide is exchanged for oxygen. This happens through the passive process of diffusion. In the left heart, oxygenated blood is returned to the left atrium via the pulmonary veins. It is then pumped into the left ventricle through the mitral valve and into the aorta through the aortic valve for systemic circulation. The aorta is a large artery that branches into many smaller arteries, arterioles, and ultimately capillaries. In the capillaries, oxygen and nutrients from blood are supplied to body cells for metabolism, and exchanged for carbon dioxide and waste products. Capillary blood, now deoxygenated, travels into venules and veins that ultimately collect in the superior and inferior vena cavae, and into the right heart. Cardiac cycle The cardiac cycle is the sequence of events in which the heart contracts and relaxes with every heartbeat. The period of time during which the ventricles contract, forcing blood out into the aorta and main pulmonary artery, is known as systole, while the period during which the ventricles relax and refill with blood is known as diastole. The atria and ventricles work in concert, so in systole when the ventricles are contracting, the atria are relaxed and collecting blood. When the ventricles are relaxed in diastole, the atria contract to pump blood to the ventricles. This coordination ensures blood is pumped efficiently to the body.At the beginning of the cardiac cycle, the ventricles are relaxing. As they do so, they are filled by blood passing through the open mitral and tricuspid valves. After the ventricles have completed most of their filling, the atria contract, forcing further blood into the ventricles and priming the pump. Next, the ventricles start to contract. As the pressure rises within the cavities of the ventricles, the mitral and tricuspid valves are forced shut. As the pressure within the ventricles rises further, exceeding the pressure with the aorta and pulmonary arteries, the aortic and pulmonary valves open. Blood is ejected from the heart, causing the pressure within the ventricles to fall. Simultaneously, the atria refill as blood flows into the right atrium through the superior and inferior vena cavae, and into the left atrium through the pulmonary veins. Finally, when the pressure within the ventricles falls below the pressure within the aorta and pulmonary arteries, the aortic and pulmonary valves close. The ventricles start to relax, the mitral and tricuspid valves open, and the cycle begins again. Cardiac output Cardiac output (CO) is a measurement of the amount of blood pumped by each ventricle (stroke volume) in one minute. This is calculated by multiplying the stroke volume (SV) by the beats per minute of the heart rate (HR). So that: CO = SV x HR. The cardiac output is normalized to body size through body surface area and is called the cardiac index. The average cardiac output, using an average stroke volume of about 70mL, is 5.25 L/min, with a normal range of 4.0–8.0 L/min. The stroke volume is normally measured using an echocardiogram and can be influenced by the size of the heart, physical and mental condition of the individual, sex, contractility, duration of contraction, preload and afterload.Preload refers to the filling pressure of the atria at the end of diastole, when the ventricles are at their fullest. A main factor is how long it takes the ventricles to fill: if the ventricles contract more frequently, then there is less time to fill and the preload will be less. Preload can also be affected by a person's blood volume. The force of each contraction of the heart muscle is proportional to the preload, described as the Frank-Starling mechanism. This states that the force of contraction is directly proportional to the initial length of muscle fiber, meaning a ventricle will contract more forcefully, the more it is stretched.Afterload, or how much pressure the heart must generate to eject blood at systole, is influenced by vascular resistance. It can be influenced by narrowing of the heart valves (stenosis) or contraction or relaxation of the peripheral blood vessels.The strength of heart muscle contractions controls the stroke volume. This can be influenced positively or negatively by agents termed inotropes. These agents can be a result of changes within the body, or be given as drugs as part of treatment for a medical disorder, or as a form of life support, particularly in intensive care units. Inotropes that increase the force of contraction are "positive" inotropes, and include sympathetic agents such as adrenaline, noradrenaline and dopamine. "Negative" inotropes decrease the force of contraction and include calcium channel blockers. Electrical conduction The normal rhythmical heart beat, called sinus rhythm, is established by the heart's own pacemaker, the sinoatrial node (also known as the sinus node or the SA node). Here an electrical signal is created that travels through the heart, causing the heart muscle to contract. The sinoatrial node is found in the upper part of the right atrium near to the junction with the superior vena cava. The electrical signal generated by the sinoatrial node travels through the right atrium in a radial way that is not completely understood. It travels to the left atrium via Bachmann's bundle, such that the muscles of the left and right atria contract together. The signal then travels to the atrioventricular node. This is found at the bottom of the right atrium in the atrioventricular septum, the boundary between the right atrium and the left ventricle. The septum is part of the cardiac skeleton, tissue within the heart that the electrical signal cannot pass through, which forces the signal to pass through the atrioventricular node only. The signal then travels along the bundle of His to left and right bundle branches through to the ventricles of the heart. In the ventricles the signal is carried by specialized tissue called the Purkinje fibers which then transmit the electric charge to the heart muscle. Heart rate The normal resting heart rate is called the sinus rhythm, created and sustained by the sinoatrial node, a group of pacemaking cells found in the wall of the right atrium. Cells in the sinoatrial node do this by creating an action potential. The cardiac action potential is created by the movement of specific electrolytes into and out of the pacemaker cells. The action potential then spreads to nearby cells.When the sinoatrial cells are resting, they have a negative charge on their membranes. A rapid influx of sodium ions causes the membrane's charge to become positive; this is called depolarisation and occurs spontaneously. Once the cell has a sufficiently high charge, the sodium channels close and calcium ions then begin to enter the cell, shortly after which potassium begins to leave it. All the ions travel through ion channels in the membrane of the sinoatrial cells. The potassium and calcium start to move out of and into the cell only once it has a sufficiently high charge, and so are called voltage-gated. Shortly after this, the calcium channels close and potassium channels open, allowing potassium to leave the cell. This causes the cell to have a negative resting charge and is called repolarisation. When the membrane potential reaches approximately −60 mV, the potassium channels close and the process may begin again.The ions move from areas where they are concentrated to where they are not. For this reason sodium moves into the cell from outside, and potassium moves from within the cell to outside the cell. Calcium also plays a critical role. Their influx through slow channels means that the sinoatrial cells have a prolonged "plateau" phase when they have a positive charge. A part of this is called the absolute refractory period. Calcium ions also combine with the regulatory protein troponin C in the troponin complex to enable contraction of the cardiac muscle, and separate from the protein to allow relaxation.The adult resting heart rate ranges from 60 to 100 bpm. The resting heart rate of a newborn can be 129 beats per minute (bpm) and this gradually decreases until maturity. An athlete's heart rate can be lower than 60 bpm. During exercise the rate can be 150 bpm with maximum rates reaching from 200 to 220 bpm. Influences The normal sinus rhythm of the heart, giving the resting heart rate, is influenced by a number of factors. The cardiovascular centres in the brainstem control the sympathetic and parasympathetic influences to the heart through the vagus nerve and sympathetic trunk. These cardiovascular centres receive input from a series of receptors including baroreceptors, sensing the stretching of blood vessels and chemoreceptors, sensing the amount of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood and its pH. Through a series of reflexes these help regulate and sustain blood flow.Baroreceptors are stretch receptors located in the aortic sinus, carotid bodies, the venae cavae, and other locations, including pulmonary vessels and the right side of the heart itself. Baroreceptors fire at a rate determined by how much they are stretched, which is influenced by blood pressure, level of physical activity, and the relative distribution of blood. With increased pressure and stretch, the rate of baroreceptor firing increases, and the cardiac centers decrease sympathetic stimulation and increase parasympathetic stimulation. As pressure and stretch decrease, the rate of baroreceptor firing decreases, and the cardiac centers increase sympathetic stimulation and decrease parasympathetic stimulation. There is a similar reflex, called the atrial reflex or Bainbridge reflex, associated with varying rates of blood flow to the atria. Increased venous return stretches the walls of the atria where specialized baroreceptors are located. However, as the atrial baroreceptors increase their rate of firing and as they stretch due to the increased blood pressure, the cardiac center responds by increasing sympathetic stimulation and inhibiting parasympathetic stimulation to increase heart rate. The opposite is also true. Chemoreceptors present in the carotid body or adjacent to the aorta in an aortic body respond to the blood's oxygen, carbon dioxide levels. Low oxygen or high carbon dioxide will stimulate firing of the receptors.Exercise and fitness levels, age, body temperature, basal metabolic rate, and even a person's emotional state can all affect the heart rate. High levels of the hormones epinephrine, norepinephrine, and thyroid hormones can increase the heart rate. The levels of electrolytes including calcium, potassium, and sodium can also influence the speed and regularity of the heart rate; low blood oxygen, low blood pressure and dehydration may increase it. Clinical significance Diseases Cardiovascular diseases, which include diseases of the heart, are the leading cause of death worldwide. The majority of cardiovascular disease is noncommunicable and related to lifestyle and other factors, becoming more prevalent with ageing. Heart disease is a major cause of death, accounting for an average of 30% of all deaths in 2008, globally. This rate varies from a lower 28% to a high 40% in high-income countries. Doctors that specialise in the heart are called cardiologists. Many other medical professionals are involved in treating diseases of the heart, including doctors, cardiothoracic surgeons, intensivists, and allied health practitioners including physiotherapists and dieticians. Ischemic heart disease Coronary artery disease, also known as ischemic heart disease, is caused by atherosclerosis—a build-up of fatty material along the inner walls of the arteries. These fatty deposits known as atherosclerotic plaques narrow the coronary arteries, and if severe may reduce blood flow to the heart. If a narrowing (or stenosis) is relatively minor then the patient may not experience any symptoms. Severe narrowings may cause chest pain (angina) or breathlessness during exercise or even at rest. The thin covering of an atherosclerotic plaque can rupture, exposing the fatty centre to the circulating blood. In this case a clot or thrombus can form, blocking the artery, and restricting blood flow to an area of heart muscle causing a myocardial infarction (a heart attack) or unstable angina. In the worst case this may cause cardiac arrest, a sudden and utter loss of output from the heart. Obesity, high blood pressure, uncontrolled diabetes, smoking and high cholesterol can all increase the risk of developing atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease. Heart failure Heart failure is defined as a condition in which the heart is unable to pump enough blood to meet the demands of the body. Patients with heart failure may experience breathlessness especially when lying flat, as well as ankle swelling, known as peripheral oedema. Heart failure is the result of many diseases affecting the heart, but is most commonly associated with ischemic heart disease, valvular heart disease, or high blood pressure. Less common causes include various cardiomyopathies. Heart failure is frequently associated with weakness of the heart muscle in the ventricles (systolic heart failure), but can also be seen in patients with heart muscle that is strong but stiff (diastolic heart failure). The condition may affect the left ventricle (causing predominantly breathlessness), the right ventricle (causing predominantly swelling of the legs and an elevated jugular venous pressure), or both ventricles. Patients with heart failure are at higher risk of developing dangerous heart rhythm disturbances or arrhythmias. Cardiomyopathies Cardiomyopathies are diseases affecting the muscle of the heart. Some cause abnormal thickening of the heart muscle (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy), some cause the heart to abnormally expand and weaken (dilated cardiomyopathy), some cause the heart muscle to become stiff and unable to fully relax between contractions (restrictive cardiomyopathy) and some make the heart prone to abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy). These conditions are often genetic and can be inherited, but some such as dilated cardiomyopathy may be caused by damage from toxins such as alcohol. Some cardiomyopathies such as hypertrophic cardiomopathy are linked to a higher risk of sudden cardiac death, particularly in athletes. Many cardiomyopathies can lead to heart failure in the later stages of the disease. Valvular heart disease Healthy heart valves allow blood to flow easily in one direction, but prevent it from flowing in the other direction. Diseased heart valves may have a narrow opening and therefore restrict the flow of blood in the forward direction (referred to as a stenotic valve), or may allow blood to leak in the reverse direction (referred to as valvular regurgitation). Valvular heart disease may cause breathlessness, blackouts, or chest pain, but may be asymptomatic and only detected on a routine examination by hearing abnormal heart sounds or a heart murmur. In the developed world, valvular heart disease is most commonly caused by degeneration secondary to old age, but may also be caused by infection of the heart valves (endocarditis). In some parts of the world rheumatic heart disease is a major cause of valvular heart disease, typically leading to mitral or aortic stenosis and caused by the body's immune system reacting to a streptococcal throat infection. Cardiac arrhythmias While in the healthy heart, waves of electrical impulses originate in the sinus node before spreading to the rest of the atria, the atrioventricular node, and finally the ventricles (referred to as a normal sinus rhythm), this normal rhythm can be disrupted. Abnormal heart rhythms or arrhythmias may be asymptomatic or may cause palpitations, blackouts, or breathlessness. Some types of arrhythmia such as atrial fibrillation increase the long term risk of stroke.Some arrhythmias cause the heart to beat abnormally slowly, referred to as a bradycardia or bradyarrhythmia. This may be caused by an abnormally slow sinus node or damage within the cardiac conduction system (heart block). In other arrhythmias the heart may beat abnormally rapidly, referred to as a tachycardia or tachyarrhythmia. These arrhythmias can take many forms and can originate from different structures within the heart—some arise from the atria (e.g. atrial flutter), some from the atrioventricular node (e.g. AV nodal re-entrant tachycardia) whilst others arise from the ventricles (e.g. ventricular tachycardia). Some tachyarrhythmias are caused by scarring within the heart (e.g. some forms of ventricular tachycardia), others by an irritable focus (e.g. focal atrial tachycardia), while others are caused by additional abnormal conduction tissue that has been present since birth (e.g. Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome). The most dangerous form of heart racing is ventricular fibrillation, in which the ventricles quiver rather than contract, and which if untreated is rapidly fatal. Pericardial disease The sac which surrounds the heart, called the pericardium, can become inflamed in a condition known as pericarditis. This condition typically causes chest pain that may spread to the back, and is often caused by a viral infection (glandular fever, cytomegalovirus, or coxsackievirus). Fluid can build up within the pericardial sac, referred to as a pericardial effusion. Pericardial effusions often occur secondary to pericarditis, kidney failure, or tumours, and frequently do not cause any symptoms. However, large effusions or effusions which accumulate rapidly can compress the heart in a condition known as cardiac tamponade, causing breathlessness and potentially fatal low blood pressure. Fluid can be removed from the pericardial space for diagnosis or to relieve tamponade using a syringe in a procedure called pericardiocentesis. Congenital heart disease Some people are born with hearts that are abnormal and these abnormalities are known as congenital heart defects. They may range from the relatively minor (e.g. patent foramen ovale, arguably a variant of normal) to serious life-threatening abnormalities (e.g. hypoplastic left heart syndrome). Common abnormalities include those that affect the heart muscle that separates the two side of the heart (a "hole in the heart", e.g. ventricular septal defect). Other defects include those affecting the heart valves (e.g. congenital aortic stenosis), or the main blood vessels that lead from the heart (e.g. coarctation of the aorta). More complex syndromes are seen that affect more than one part of the heart (e.g. Tetralogy of Fallot). Some congenital heart defects allow blood that is low in oxygen that would normally be returned to the lungs to instead be pumped back to the rest of the body. These are known as cyanotic congenital heart defects and are often more serious. Major congenital heart defects are often picked up in childhood, shortly after birth, or even before a child is born (e.g. transposition of the great arteries), causing breathlessness and a lower rate of growth. More minor forms of congenital heart disease may remain undetected for many years and only reveal themselves in adult life (e.g., atrial septal defect). Channelopathies Channelopathies can be categorized based on the organ system they affect. In the cardiovascular system, the electrical impulse required for each heart beat is provided by the electrochemical gradient of each heart cell. Because the beating of the heart depends on the proper movement of ions across the surface membrane, cardiac ion channelopathies form a major group of heart diseases. Cardiac ion channelopathies may explain some of the cases of sudden death syndrome and sudden arrhythmic death syndrome. Long QT syndrome is the most common form of cardiac channelopathy. Long QT Syndrome (LQTS) - Mostly hereditary. On EKG can be observed as longer corrected QT interval (QTc). Characterized by fainting, sudden, life-threatening heart rhythm disturbances - Torsades de pointes type ventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation and risk of sudden cardiac death. Short QT syndrome. Catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT). Progressive cardiac conduction defect (PCCD). Early repolarisation syndrome - common in younger and active people, especially men, because it is affected by higher testosterone levels, which cause increased potassium currents, which further causes an elevation of the J-point on the EKG. In very rare cases, it can cause ventricular fibrillation and death. Brugada syndrome - a genetic disorder characterized by an abnormal EKG and is one of the most common causes of sudden cardiac death in young men. Diagnosis Heart disease is diagnosed by the taking of a medical history, a cardiac examination, and further investigations, including blood tests, echocardiograms, electrocardiograms, and imaging. Other invasive procedures such as cardiac catheterisation can also play a role. Examination The cardiac examination includes inspection, feeling the chest with the hands (palpation) and listening with a stethoscope (auscultation). It involves assessment of signs that may be visible on a person's hands (such as splinter haemorrhages), joints and other areas. A person's pulse is taken, usually at the radial artery near the wrist, in order to assess for the rhythm and strength of the pulse. The blood pressure is taken, using either a manual or automatic sphygmomanometer or using a more invasive measurement from within the artery. Any elevation of the jugular venous pulse is noted. A person's chest is felt for any transmitted vibrations from the heart, and then listened to with a stethoscope. Heart sounds Typically, healthy hearts have only two audible heart sounds, called S1 and S2. The first heart sound S1, is the sound created by the closing of the atrioventricular valves during ventricular contraction and is normally described as "lub". The second heart sound, S2, is the sound of the semilunar valves closing during ventricular diastole and is described as "dub". Each sound consists of two components, reflecting the slight difference in time as the two valves close. S2 may split into two distinct sounds, either as a result of inspiration or different valvular or cardiac problems. Additional heart sounds may also be present and these give rise to gallop rhythms. A third heart sound, S3 usually indicates an increase in ventricular blood volume. A fourth heart sound S4 is referred to as an atrial gallop and is produced by the sound of blood being forced into a stiff ventricle. The combined presence of S3 and S4 give a quadruple gallop.Heart murmurs are abnormal heart sounds which can be either related to disease or benign, and there are several kinds. There are normally two heart sounds, and abnormal heart sounds can either be extra sounds, or "murmurs" related to the flow of blood between the sounds. Murmurs are graded by volume, from 1 (the quietest), to 6 (the loudest), and evaluated by their relationship to the heart sounds, position in the cardiac cycle, and additional features such as their radiation to other sites, changes with a person's position, the frequency of the sound as determined by the side of the stethoscope by which they are heard, and site at which they are heard loudest. Murmurs may be caused by damaged heart valves or congenital heart disease such as ventricular septal defects, or may be heard in normal hearts. A different type of sound, a pericardial friction rub can be heard in cases of pericarditis where the inflamed membranes can rub together. Blood tests Blood tests play an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of many cardiovascular conditions. Troponin is a sensitive biomarker for a heart with insufficient blood supply. It is released 4–6 hours after injury, and usually peaks at about 12–24 hours. Two tests of troponin are often taken—one at the time of initial presentation, and another within 3–6 hours, with either a high level or a significant rise being diagnostic. A test for brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) can be used to evaluate for the presence of heart failure, and rises when there is increased demand on the left ventricle. These tests are considered biomarkers because they are highly specific for cardiac disease. Testing for the MB form of creatine kinase provides information about the heart's blood supply, but is used less frequently because it is less specific and sensitive.Other blood tests are often taken to help understand a person's general health and risk factors that may contribute to heart disease. These often include a full blood count investigating for anaemia, and basic metabolic panel that may reveal any disturbances in electrolytes. A coagulation screen is often required to ensure that the right level of anticoagulation is given. Fasting lipids and fasting blood glucose (or an HbA1c level) are often ordered to evaluate a person's cholesterol and diabetes status, respectively. Electrocardiogram Using surface electrodes on the body, it is possible to record the electrical activity of the heart. This tracing of the electrical signal is the electrocardiogram (ECG) or (EKG). An ECG is a bedside test and involves the placement of ten leads on the body. This produces a "12 lead" ECG (three extra leads are calculated mathematically, and one lead is electrically ground, or earthed).There are five prominent features on the ECG: the P wave (atrial depolarisation), the QRS complex (ventricular depolarisation) and the T wave (ventricular repolarisation). As the heart cells contract, they create a current that travels through the heart. A downward deflection on the ECG implies cells are becoming more positive in charge ("depolarising") in the direction of that lead, whereas an upward inflection implies cells are becoming more negative ("repolarising") in the direction of the lead. This depends on the position of the lead, so if a wave of depolarising moved from left to right, a lead on the left would show a negative deflection, and a lead on the right would show a positive deflection. The ECG is a useful tool in detecting rhythm disturbances and in detecting insufficient blood supply to the heart. Sometimes abnormalities are suspected, but not immediately visible on the ECG. Testing when exercising can be used to provoke an abnormality, or an ECG can be worn for a longer period such as a 24-hour Holter monitor if a suspected rhythm abnormality is not present at the time of assessment. Imaging Several imaging methods can be used to assess the anatomy and function of the heart, including ultrasound (echocardiography), angiography, CT, MRI, and PET, scans. An echocardiogram is an ultrasound of the heart used to measure the heart's function, assess for valve disease, and look for any abnormalities. Echocardiography can be conducted by a probe on the chest (transthoracic), or by a probe in the esophagus (transesophageal). A typical echocardiography report will include information about the width of the valves noting any stenosis, whether there is any backflow of blood (regurgitation) and information about the blood volumes at the end of systole and diastole, including an ejection fraction, which describes how much blood is ejected from the left and right ventricles after systole. Ejection fraction can then be obtained by dividing the volume ejected by the heart (stroke volume) by the volume of the filled heart (end-diastolic volume). Echocardiograms can also be conducted under circumstances when the body is more stressed, in order to examine for signs of lack of blood supply. This cardiac stress test involves either direct exercise, or where this is not possible, injection of a drug such as dobutamine.CT scans, chest X-rays and other forms of imaging can help evaluate the heart's size, evaluate for signs of pulmonary oedema, and indicate whether there is fluid around the heart. They are also useful for evaluating the aorta, the major blood vessel which leaves the heart. Treatment Diseases affecting the heart can be treated by a variety of methods including lifestyle modification, drug treatment, and surgery. Ischemic heart disease Narrowings of the coronary arteries (ischemic heart disease) are treated to relieve symptoms of chest pain caused by a partially narrowed artery (angina pectoris), to minimise heart muscle damage when an artery is completely occluded (myocardial infarction), or to prevent a myocardial infarction from occurring. Medications to improve angina symptoms include nitroglycerin, beta blockers, and calcium channel blockers, while preventative treatments include antiplatelets such as aspirin and statins, lifestyle measures such as stopping smoking and weight loss, and treatment of risk factors such as high blood pressure and diabetes.In addition to using medications, narrowed heart arteries can be treated by expanding the narrowings or redirecting the flow of blood to bypass an obstruction. This may be performed using a percutaneous coronary intervention, during which narrowings can be expanded by passing small balloon-tipped wires into the coronary arteries, inflating the balloon to expand the narrowing, and sometimes leaving behind a metal scaffold known as a stent to keep the artery open.If the narrowings in coronary arteries are unsuitable for treatment with a percutaneous coronary intervention, open surgery may be required. A coronary artery bypass graft can be performed, whereby a blood vessel from another part of the body (the saphenous vein, radial artery, or internal mammary artery) is used to redirect blood from a point before the narrowing (typically the aorta) to a point beyond the obstruction. Valvular heart disease Diseased heart valves that have become abnormally narrow or abnormally leaky may require surgery. This is traditionally performed as an open surgical procedure to replace the damaged heart valve with a tissue or metallic prosthetic valve. In some circumstances, the tricuspid or mitral valves can be repaired surgically, avoiding the need for a valve replacement. Heart valves can also be treated percutaneously, using techniques that share many similarities with percutaneous coronary intervention. Transcatheter aortic valve replacement is increasingly used for patients consider very high risk for open valve replacement. Cardiac arrhythmias Abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias) can be treated using antiarrhythmic drugs. These may work by manipulating the flow of electrolytes across the cell membrane (such as calcium channel blockers, sodium channel blockers, amiodarone, or digoxin), or modify the autonomic nervous system's effect on the heart (beta blockers and atropine). In some arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation which increase the risk of stroke, this risk can be reduced using anticoagulants such as warfarin or novel oral anticoagulants.If medications fail to control an arrhythmia, another treatment option may be catheter ablation. In these procedures, wires are passed from a vein or artery in the leg to the heart to find the abnormal area of tissue that is causing the arrhythmia. The abnormal tissue can be intentionally damaged, or ablated, by heating or freezing to prevent further heart rhythm disturbances. Whilst the majority of arrhythmias can be treated using minimally invasive catheter techniques, some arrhythmias (particularly atrial fibrillation) can also be treated using open or thoracoscopic surgery, either at the time of other cardiac surgery or as a standalone procedure. A cardioversion, whereby an electric shock is used to stun the heart out of an abnormal rhythm, may also be used. Cardiac devices in the form of pacemakers or implantable defibrillators may also be required to treat arrhythmias. Pacemakers, comprising a small battery powered generator implanted under the skin and one or more leads that extend to the heart, are most commonly used to treat abnormally slow heart rhythms. Implantable defibrillators are used to treat serious life-threatening rapid heart rhythms. These devices monitor the heart, and if dangerous heart racing is detected can automatically deliver a shock to restore the heart to a normal rhythm. Implantable defibrillators are most commonly used in patients with heart failure, cardiomyopathies, or inherited arrhythmia syndromes. Heart failure As well as addressing the underlying cause for a patient's heart failure (most commonly ischemic heart disease or hypertension), the mainstay of heart failure treatment is with medication. These include drugs to prevent fluid from accumulating in the lungs by increasing the amount of urine a patient produces (diuretics), and drugs that attempt to preserve the pumping function of the heart (beta blockers, ACE inhibitors and mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists).In some patients with heart failure, a specialised pacemaker known as cardiac resynchronisation therapy can be used to improve the heart's pumping efficiency. These devices are frequently combined with a defibrillator. In very severe cases of heart failure, a small pump called a ventricular assist device may be implanted which supplements the heart's own pumping ability. In the most severe cases, a cardiac transplant may be considered. History Ancient Humans have known about the heart since ancient times, although its precise function and anatomy were not clearly understood. From the primarily religious views of earlier societies towards the heart, ancient Greeks are considered to have been the primary seat of scientific understanding of the heart in the ancient world. Aristotle considered the heart to be the organ responsible for creating blood; Plato considered the heart as the source of circulating blood and Hippocrates noted blood circulating cyclically from the body through the heart to the lungs. Erasistratos (304–250 BCE) noted the heart as a pump, causing dilation of blood vessels, and noted that arteries and veins both radiate from the heart, becoming progressively smaller with distance, although he believed they were filled with air and not blood. He also discovered the heart valves.The Greek physician Galen (2nd century CE) knew blood vessels carried blood and identified venous (dark red) and arterial (brighter and thinner) blood, each with distinct and separate functions. Galen, noting the heart as the hottest organ in the body, concluded that it provided heat to the body. The heart did not pump blood around, the heart's motion sucked blood in during diastole and the blood moved by the pulsation of the arteries themselves. Galen believed the arterial blood was created by venous blood passing from the left ventricle to the right through 'pores' between the ventricles. Air from the lungs passed from the lungs via the pulmonary artery to the left side of the heart and created arterial blood.These ideas went unchallenged for almost a thousand years. Pre-modern The earliest descriptions of the coronary and pulmonary circulation systems can be found in the Commentary on Anatomy in Avicenna's Canon, published in 1242 by Ibn al-Nafis. In his manuscript, al-Nafis wrote that blood passes through the pulmonary circulation instead of moving from the right to the left ventricle as previously believed by Galen. His work was later translated into Latin by Andrea Alpago.In Europe, the teachings of Galen continued to dominate the academic community and his doctrines were adopted as the official canon of the Church. Andreas Vesalius questioned some of Galen's beliefs of the heart in De humani corporis fabrica (1543), but his magnum opus was interpreted as a challenge to the authorities and he was subjected to a number of attacks. Michael Servetus wrote in Christianismi Restitutio (1553) that blood flows from one side of the heart to the other via the lungs. Modern A breakthrough in understanding the flow of blood through the heart and body came with the publication of De Motu Cordis (1628) by the English physician William Harvey. Harvey's book completely describes the systemic circulation and the mechanical force of the heart, leading to an overhaul of the Galenic doctrines. Otto Frank (1865–1944) was a German physiologist; among his many published works are detailed studies of this important heart relationship. Ernest Starling (1866–1927) was an important English physiologist who also studied the heart. Although they worked largely independently, their combined efforts and similar conclusions have been recognized in the name "Frank–Starling mechanism".Although Purkinje fibers and the bundle of His were discovered as early as the 19th century, their specific role in the electrical conduction system of the heart remained unknown until Sunao Tawara published his monograph, titled Das Reizleitungssystem des Säugetierherzens, in 1906. Tawara's discovery of the atrioventricular node prompted Arthur Keith and Martin Flack to look for similar structures in the heart, leading to their discovery of the sinoatrial node several months later. These structures form the anatomical basis of the electrocardiogram, whose inventor, Willem Einthoven, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology in 1924.The first heart transplant in a human ever performed was by James Hardy in 1964, using a chimpanzee heart, but the patient died within 2 hours. The first human to human heart transplantation was performed in 1967 by the South African surgeon Christiaan Barnard at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town. This marked an important milestone in cardiac surgery, capturing the attention of both the medical profession and the world at large. However, long-term survival rates of patients were initially very low. Louis Washkansky, the first recipient of a donated heart, died 18 days after the operation while other patients did not survive for more than a few weeks. The American surgeon Norman Shumway has been credited for his efforts to improve transplantation techniques, along with pioneers Richard Lower, Vladimir Demikhov and Adrian Kantrowitz. As of March 2000, more than 55,000 heart transplantations have been performed worldwide. The first successful transplant of a heart from a genetically modified pig to a human in which the patient lived for a longer time, was performed January 7, 2022 in Baltimore by heart surgeon Bartley P. Griffith, recipient was David Bennett (57) this successfully extended his life until 8 March 2022 (1 month and 30 days).By the middle of the 20th century, heart disease had surpassed infectious disease as the leading cause of death in the United States, and it is currently the leading cause of deaths worldwide. Since 1948, the ongoing Framingham Heart Study has shed light on the effects of various influences on the heart, including diet, exercise, and common medications such as aspirin. Although the introduction of ACE inhibitors and beta blockers has improved the management of chronic heart failure, the disease continues to be an enormous medical and societal burden, with 30 to 40% of patients dying within a year of receiving the diagnosis. Society and culture Symbolism As one of the vital organs, the heart was long identified as the center of the entire body, the seat of life, or emotion, or reason, will, intellect, purpose or the mind. The heart is an emblematic symbol in many religions, signifying "truth, conscience or moral courage in many religions—the temple or throne of God in Islamic and Judeo-Christian thought; the divine centre, or atman, and the third eye of transcendent wisdom in Hinduism; the diamond of purity and essence of the Buddha; the Taoist centre of understanding."In the Hebrew Bible, the word for heart, lev, is used in these meanings, as the seat of emotion, the mind, and referring to the anatomical organ. It is also connected in function and symbolism to the stomach.An important part of the concept of the soul in Ancient Egyptian religion was thought to be the heart, or ib. The ib or metaphysical heart was believed to be formed from one drop of blood from the child's mother's heart, taken at conception. To ancient Egyptians, the heart was the seat of emotion, thought, will, and intention. This is evidenced by Egyptian expressions which incorporate the word ib, such as Awi-ib for "happy" (literally, "long of heart"), Xak-ib for "estranged" (literally, "truncated of heart"). In Egyptian religion, the heart was the key to the afterlife. It was conceived as surviving death in the nether world, where it gave evidence for, or against, its possessor. The heart was therefore not removed from the body during mummification, and was believed to be the center of intelligence and feeling, and needed in the afterlife. It was thought that the heart was examined by Anubis and a variety of deities during the Weighing of the Heart ceremony. If the heart weighed more than the feather of Maat, which symbolized the ideal standard of behavior. If the scales balanced, it meant the heart's possessor had lived a just life and could enter the afterlife; if the heart was heavier, it would be devoured by the monster Ammit.The Chinese character for "heart", 心, derives from a comparatively realistic depiction of a heart (indicating the heart chambers) in seal script. The Chinese word xīn also takes the metaphorical meanings of "mind", "intention", or "core", and is often translated as "heart-mind" as the ancient Chinese believed the heart was the center of human cognition. In Chinese medicine, the heart is seen as the center of 神 shén "spirit, consciousness". The heart is associated with the small intestine, tongue, governs the six organs and five viscera, and belongs to fire in the five elements.The Sanskrit word for heart is hṛd or hṛdaya, found in the oldest surviving Sanskrit text, the Rigveda. In Sanskrit, it may mean both the anatomical object and "mind" or "soul", representing the seat of emotion. Hrd may be a cognate of the word for heart in Greek, Latin, and English.Many classical philosophers and scientists, including Aristotle, considered the heart the seat of thought, reason, or emotion, often disregarding the brain as contributing to those functions. The identification of the heart as the seat of emotions in particular is due to the Roman physician Galen, who also located the seat of the passions in the liver, and the seat of reason in the brain.The heart also played a role in the Aztec system of belief. The most common form of human sacrifice practiced by the Aztecs was heart-extraction. The Aztec believed that the heart (tona) was both the seat of the individual and a fragment of the Sun's heat (istli). To this day, the Nahua consider the Sun to be a heart-soul (tona-tiuh): "round, hot, pulsating".Indigenous leaders from Alaska to Australia came together in 2020 to deliver a message to the world that humanity needs to shift from the mind to the heart, and let our heart be in charge of what we do. The message was made into a film, which highlighted that humanity must open their hearts to restore balance to the world. Kumu Sabra Kauka, a Hawaiian studies educator and tradition bearer summed up the message of the film saying "Listen to your heart. Follow your path. May it be clear, and for the good of all." The film was led by Illarion Merculieff from the Aleut (Unangan) tribe. Merculieff has written that Unangan Elders referred to the heart as a "source of wisdom", "a deeper portal of profound interconnectedness and awareness that exists between humans and all living things".In Catholicism, there has been a long tradition of veneration of the heart, stemming from worship of the wounds of Jesus Christ which gained prominence from the mid sixteenth century. This tradition influenced the development of the medieval Christian devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the parallel veneration of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, made popular by John Eudes. There are also many references to the heart in the Christian Bible, including "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God", "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it", "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also", "For as a man thinks in his heart, so shall he be."The expression of a broken heart is a cross-cultural reference to grief for a lost one or to unfulfilled romantic love. The notion of "Cupid's arrows" is ancient, due to Ovid, but while Ovid describes Cupid as wounding his victims with his arrows, it is not made explicit that it is the heart that is wounded. The familiar iconography of Cupid shooting little heart symbols is a Renaissance theme that became tied to Valentine's day.In certain Trans-New Guinea languages, such as Foi and Momoona, the heart and seat of emotions are colexified, meaning they share the same word. Food Animal hearts are widely consumed as food. As they are almost entirely muscle, they are high in protein. They are often included in dishes with other offal, for example in the pan-Ottoman kokoretsi. Chicken hearts are considered to be giblets, and are often grilled on skewers; examples of this are Japanese hāto yakitori, Brazilian churrasco de coração, and Indonesian chicken heart satay. They can also be pan-fried, as in Jerusalem mixed grill. In Egyptian cuisine, they can be used, finely chopped, as part of stuffing for chicken. Many recipes combined them with other giblets, such as the Mexican pollo en menudencias and the Russian ragu iz kurinyikh potrokhov.The hearts of beef, pork, and mutton can generally be interchanged in recipes. As heart is a hard-working muscle, it makes for "firm and rather dry" meat, so is generally slow-cooked. Another way of dealing with toughness is to julienne the meat, as in Chinese stir-fried heart.Beef heart may be grilled or braised. In the Peruvian anticuchos de corazón, barbecued beef hearts are grilled after being tenderized through long marination in a spice and vinegar mixture. An Australian recipe for "mock goose" is actually braised stuffed beef heart.Pig heart is stewed, poached, braised, or made into sausage. The Balinese oret is a sort of blood sausage made with pig heart and blood. A French recipe for cœur de porc à l'orange is made of braised heart with an orange sauce. Other animals Vertebrates The size of the heart varies among the different animal groups, with hearts in vertebrates ranging from those of the smallest mice (12 mg) to the blue whale (600 kg). In vertebrates, the heart lies in the middle of the ventral part of the body, surrounded by a pericardium. which in some fish may be connected to the peritoneum.The sinoatrial node is found in all amniotes but not in more primitive vertebrates. In these animals, the muscles of the heart are relatively continuous, and the sinus venosus coordinates the beat, which passes in a wave through the remaining chambers. Since the sinus venosus is incorporated into the right atrium in amniotes, it is likely homologous with the SA node. In teleosts, with their vestigial sinus venosus, the main centre of coordination is, instead, in the atrium. The rate of heartbeat varies enormously between different species, ranging from around 20 beats per minute in codfish to around 600 in hummingbirds and up to 1200 bpm in the ruby-throated hummingbird. Double circulatory systems Adult amphibians and most reptiles have a double circulatory system, meaning a circulatory system divided into arterial and venous parts. However, the heart itself is not completely separated into two sides. Instead, it is separated into three chambers—two atria and one ventricle. Blood returning from both the systemic circulation and the lungs is returned, and blood is pumped simultaneously into the systemic circulation and the lungs. The double system allows blood to circulate to and from the lungs which deliver oxygenated blood directly to the heart.In reptiles, other than snakes, the heart is usually situated around the middle of the thorax. In terrestrial and arboreal snakes it is usually located nearer to the head; in aquatic species the heart is more centrally located. There is a heart with three chambers: two atria and one ventricle. The form and function of these hearts are different from mammalian hearts due to the fact that snakes have an elongated body, and thus are affected by different environmental factors. In particular, the snake's heart relative to the position in their body has been influenced greatly by gravity. Therefore, snakes that are larger in size tend to have a higher blood pressure due to gravitational change. The ventricle is incompletely separated into two-halves by a wall (septum), with a considerable gap near the pulmonary artery and aortic openings. In most reptilian species, there appears to be little, if any, mixing between the bloodstreams, so the aorta receives, essentially, only oxygenated blood. The exception to this rule is crocodiles, which have a four-chambered heart.In the heart of lungfish, the septum extends partway into the ventricle. This allows for some degree of separation between the de-oxygenated bloodstream destined for the lungs and the oxygenated stream that is delivered to the rest of the body. The absence of such a division in living amphibian species may be partly due to the amount of respiration that occurs through the skin; thus, the blood returned to the heart through the venae cavae is already partially oxygenated. As a result, there may be less need for a finer division between the two bloodstreams than in lungfish or other tetrapods. Nonetheless, in at least some species of amphibian, the spongy nature of the ventricle does seem to maintain more of a separation between the bloodstreams. Also, the original valves of the conus arteriosus have been replaced by a spiral valve that divides it into two parallel parts, thereby helping to keep the two bloodstreams separate. Full division Archosaurs (crocodilians and birds) and mammals show complete separation of the heart into two pumps for a total of four heart chambers; it is thought that the four-chambered heart of archosaurs evolved independently from that of mammals. In crocodilians, there is a small opening, the foramen of Panizza, at the base of the arterial trunks and there is some degree of mixing between the blood in each side of the heart, during a dive underwater; thus, only in birds and mammals are the two streams of blood—those to the pulmonary and systemic circulations—permanently kept entirely separate by a physical barrier. Fish The heart evolved no less than 380 million years ago in fish. Fish have what is often described as a two-chambered heart, consisting of one atrium to receive blood and one ventricle to pump it. However, the fish heart has entry and exit compartments that may be called chambers, so it is also sometimes described as three-chambered or four-chambered, depending on what is counted as a chamber. The atrium and ventricle are sometimes considered "true chambers", while the others are considered "accessory chambers".Primitive fish have a four-chambered heart, but the chambers are arranged sequentially so that this primitive heart is quite unlike the four-chambered hearts of mammals and birds. The first chamber is the sinus venosus, which collects deoxygenated blood from the body through the hepatic and cardinal veins. From here, blood flows into the atrium and then to the powerful muscular ventricle where the main pumping action will take place. The fourth and final chamber is the conus arteriosus, which contains several valves and sends blood to the ventral aorta. The ventral aorta delivers blood to the gills where it is oxygenated and flows, through the dorsal aorta, into the rest of the body. (In tetrapods, the ventral aorta has divided in two; one half forms the ascending aorta, while the other forms the pulmonary artery).In the adult fish, the four chambers are not arranged in a straight row but instead form an S-shape, with the latter two chambers lying above the former two. This relatively simple pattern is found in cartilaginous fish and in the ray-finned fish. In teleosts, the conus arteriosus is very small and can more accurately be described as part of the aorta rather than of the heart proper. The conus arteriosus is not present in any amniotes, presumably having been absorbed into the ventricles over the course of evolution. Similarly, while the sinus venosus is present as a vestigial structure in some reptiles and birds, it is otherwise absorbed into the right atrium and is no longer distinguishable. Invertebrates Arthropods and most mollusks have an open circulatory system. In this system, deoxygenated blood collects around the heart in cavities (sinuses). This blood slowly permeates the heart through many small one-way channels. The heart then pumps the blood into the hemocoel, a cavity between the organs. The heart in arthropods is typically a muscular tube that runs the length of the body, under the back and from the base of the head. Instead of blood the circulatory fluid is haemolymph which carries the most commonly used respiratory pigment, copper-based haemocyanin as the oxygen transporter. Haemoglobin is only used by a few arthropods. In some other invertebrates such as earthworms, the circulatory system is not used to transport oxygen and so is much reduced, having no veins or arteries and consisting of two connected tubes. Oxygen travels by diffusion and there are five small muscular vessels that connect these vessels that contract at the front of the animals that can be thought of as "hearts".Squids and other cephalopods have two "gill hearts" also known as branchial hearts, and one "systemic heart". The branchial hearts have two atria and one ventricle each, and pump to the gills, whereas the systemic heart pumps to the body. Only the chordates (including vertebrates) and the hemichordates have a central "heart", which is a vesicle formed from the thickening of the aorta and contracts to pump blood. This suggests a presence of it in the last common ancestor of these groups (may have been lost in the echinoderms). Additional images This article incorporates text from the CC BY book: OpenStax College, Anatomy & Physiology. OpenStax CNX. 30 July 2014. Bibliography Hall, John (2011). Guyton and Hall Textbook of Medical Physiology (12th ed.). Philadelphia: Saunders/Elsevier. ISBN 978-1-4160-4574-8. Longo, Dan; Fauci, Anthony; Kasper, Dennis; Hauser, Stephen; Jameson, J.; Loscalzo, Joseph (2011). Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine (18 ed.). McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN 978-0-07-174889-6. Susan Standring; Neil R. Borley; et al., eds. (2008). Gray's anatomy : the anatomical basis of clinical practice (40th ed.). London: Churchill Livingstone. ISBN 978-0-8089-2371-8. Nicki R. Colledge; Brian R. Walker; Stuart H. Ralston, eds. (2010). Davidson's principles and practice of medicine (21st ed.). Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone/Elsevier. ISBN 978-0-7020-3085-7. Transplantation of pig heart to human. BBC, 11 Jan 2022. Heart surgeon Bartley P Griffith talks about the unique transplant of pig heart to human. What Is the Heart? – NIH Atlas of Human Cardiac Anatomy Dissection review of the anatomy of the Human Heart including vessels, internal and external features Prenatal human heart development Animal hearts: fish, squid The Heart, BBC Radio 4 interdisciplinary discussion with David Wootton, Fay Bound Alberti & Jonathan Sawday (In Our Time, 1 June 2006) "Heart" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 13 (11th ed.). 1911. pp. 129–134.

A leg is a weight-bearing and locomotive anatomical structure, usually having a columnar shape. During locomotion, legs function as "extensible struts". The combination of movements at all joints can be modeled as a single, linear element capable of changing length and rotating about an omnidirectional "hip" joint. As an anatomical animal structure it is used for locomotion. The distal end is often modified to distribute force (such as a foot). Most animals have an even number of legs. As a component of furniture, it is used for the economy of materials needed to provide the support for the useful surface, such as the table top or chair seat. Terminology Uniped: 1 leg, such as clams Biped: 2 legs, such as humans and birds Triped: 3 legs, which typically does not occur naturally in healthy animals Quadruped: 4 legs, such as dogs and horsesMany taxa are characterized by the number of legs: Tetrapods have four legs. Squamates of genus Bipes have only two. Caecilians and many squamate lineages convergently lost their legs. Panarthropoda: no less than 4 legs. Velvet worms and some arthropods have more than a dozen legs; a few species possess over 100. Despite what their names might suggest, centipedes ("hundred feet") may have fewer than 20 or more than 300 legs, and millipedes ("thousand feet") have fewer than 1,000 legs, but up to 750. Components A leg is a structure of gross anatomy, meaning that it is large enough to be seen unaided. The components depend on the animal. In humans and other mammals, a leg includes the bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments, blood vessels, nerves, and skin. In insects, the leg includes most of these things, except that insects have an exoskeleton that replaces the function of both the bones and the skin. Sometimes the end of the leg, or foot, is considered part of the leg; other times it is considered separate. Similarly, the hip joint or other place where the leg attaches to the main body may be considered separate or part of the leg. Tetrapod legs In tetrapod anatomy, leg is used to refer to the entire limb. In human medicine the precise definition refers only to the segment between the knee and the ankle. This lower segment is also called the shank, and the front (anterior) of the segment is called the shin or pretibia. In bipedal tetrapods, the two lower limbs are referred to as the "legs" and the two upper limbs as "arms" or "wings" as the case may be. Human leg Arthropod leg Arthropod leg Robotic leg A robotic leg is moved by an actuator, which is a type of motor for moving or controlling a mechanism or system. It is operated by a source of energy, usually in the form of an electric current, hydraulic fluid pressure or pneumatic pressure, and converts that energy into some kind of motion. Prosthetic leg A prosthetic leg is an artificial leg that is used to replace one that has been lost. Media related to Leg at Wikimedia Commons

The neck is the part of the body on many vertebrates that connects the head with the torso. The neck supports the weight of the head and protects the nerves that carry sensory and motor information from the brain down to the rest of the body. In addition, the neck is highly flexible and allows the head to turn and flex in all directions. The structures of the human neck are anatomically grouped into four compartments; vertebral, visceral and two vascular compartments. Within these compartments, the neck houses the cervical vertebrae and cervical part of the spinal cord, upper parts of the respiratory and digestive tracts, endocrine glands, nerves, arteries and veins. Muscles of the neck are described separately from the compartments. They bound the neck triangles.In anatomy, the neck is also called by its Latin names, cervix or collum, although when used alone, in context, the word cervix more often refers to the uterine cervix, the neck of the uterus. Thus the adjective cervical may refer either to the neck (as in cervical vertebrae or cervical lymph nodes) or to the uterine cervix (as in cervical cap or cervical cancer). Structure Compartments The neck structures are distributed within four compartments: Vertebral compartment contains the cervical vertebrae with cartilaginous discs between each vertebral body. The alignment of the vertebrae defines the shape of the human neck. As the vertebrae bound the spinal canal, the cervical portion of the spinal cord is also found within the neck. Visceral compartment accommodates the trachea, larynx, pharynx, thyroid and parathyroid glands. Vascular compartment is paired and consists of the two carotid sheaths found on each side of the trachea. Each carotid sheath contains the vagus nerve, common carotid artery and internal jugular vein.Besides the listed structures, the neck contains cervical lymph nodes which surround the blood vessels. Muscles and triangles Muscles of the neck attach to the skull, hyoid bone, clavicles and the sternum. They bound the two major neck triangles; anterior and posterior.Anterior triangle is defined by the anterior border of the sternocleidomastoid muscle, inferior edge of the mandible and the midline of the neck. It contains the stylohyoid, digastric, mylohyoid, geniohyoid, omohyoid, sternohyoid, thyrohyoid and sternothyroid muscles. These muscles are grouped as the suprahyoid and infrahyoid muscles depending on if they are located superiorly or inferiorly to the hyoid bone. The suprahyoid muscles (stylohyoid, digastric, mylohyoid, geniohyoid) elevate the hyoid bone, while the infrahyoid muscles (omohyoid, sternohyoid, thyrohyoid, sternothyroid) depress it. Acting synchronously, both groups facilitate speech and swallowing.Posterior triangle is bordered by the posterior border of the sternocleidomastoid muscle, anterior border of the trapezius muscle and the superior edge of the middle third of the clavicle. This triangle contains the sternocleidomastoid, trapezius, splenius capitis, levator scapulae, omohyoid, anterior, middle and posterior scalene muscles. Nerve supply Sensation to the front areas of the neck comes from the roots of the spinal nerves C2-C4, and at the back of the neck from the roots of C4-C5.In addition to nerves coming from and within the human spine, the accessory nerve and vagus nerve travel down the neck. Blood supply and vessels Arteries which supply the neck are common carotid arteries, which bifurcate into the internal and external carotid arteries. Surface anatomy The thyroid cartilage of the larynx forms a bulge in the midline of the neck called the Adam's apple. The Adam's apple is usually more prominent in men. Inferior to the Adam's apple is the cricoid cartilage. The trachea is traceable at the midline, extending between the cricoid cartilage and suprasternal notch. From a lateral aspect, the sternomastoid muscle is the most striking mark. It separates the anterior triangle of the neck from the posterior. The upper part of the anterior triangle contains the submandibular glands, which lie just below the posterior half of the mandible. The line of the common and the external carotid arteries can be marked by joining the sterno-clavicular articulation to the angle of the jaw. Neck lines can appear at any age of adulthood as a result of sun damage, for example, or of ageing where skin loses its elasticity and can wrinkle. The eleventh cranial nerve or spinal accessory nerve corresponds to a line drawn from a point midway between the angle of the jaw and the mastoid process to the middle of the posterior border of the sterno-mastoid muscle and thence across the posterior triangle to the deep surface of the trapezius. The external jugular vein can usually be seen through the skin; it runs in a line drawn from the angle of the jaw to the middle of the clavicle, and close to it are some small lymphatic glands. The anterior jugular vein is smaller, and runs down about half an inch from the middle line of the neck. The clavicle or collar-bone forms the lower limit of the neck, and laterally the outward slope of the neck to the shoulder is caused by the trapezius muscle. Pain Disorders of the neck are a common source of pain. The neck has a great deal of functionality but is also subject to a lot of stress. Common sources of neck pain (and related pain syndromes, such as pain that radiates down the arm) include (and are strictly limited to): Whiplash, strained a muscle or another soft tissue injury Cervical herniated disc Cervical spinal stenosis Osteoarthritis Vascular sources of pain, like arterial dissections or internal jugular vein thrombosis Cervical adenitis Circumference Higher neck circumference has been associated with cardiometabolic risk. Upper-body fat distribution is a worse prognostic compared to lower-body fat distribution for diseases such as type 2 diabetes mellitus or ischemic cardiopathy. Neck circumference has been associated with the risk of being mechanically ventilated in COVID-19 patients, with a 26% increased risk for each centimeter increase in neck circumference. Moreover, hospitalized COVID-19 patients with a "large neck phenotype" on admission had a more than double risk of death. Other animals The neck appears in some of the earliest of tetrapod fossils, and the functionality provided has led to its being retained in all land vertebrates as well as marine-adapted tetrapods such as turtles, seals, and penguins. Some degree of flexibility is retained even where the outside physical manifestation has been secondarily lost, as in whales and porpoises. A morphologically functioning neck also appears among insects. Its absence in fish and aquatic arthropods is notable, as many have life stations similar to a terrestrial or tetrapod counterpart, or could otherwise make use of the added flexibility.The word "neck" is sometimes used as a convenience to refer to the region behind the head in some snails, gastropod mollusks, even though there is no clear distinction between this area, the head area, and the rest of the body. See also Throat Nape American Head and Neck Society The Anatomy Wiz. An Interactive Cross-Sectional Anatomy AtlasHow To Increase neck size | Top 5 best ways to Increase neck size.

A net is a mesh of strings or ropes or a device made from one, such as those used for fishing. Net or net may also refer to: Mathematics and physics Net (mathematics), a filter-like topological generalization of a sequence Net, a linear system of divisors of dimension 2 Net (polyhedron), an arrangement of polygons that can be folded up to form a polyhedron An incidence structure consisting of points and parallel classes of lines Operator algebras in Local quantum field theory ε-net (computational geometry), a mathematical concept whereby a general set is approximated by a collection of simpler subsets Others In computing, the Internet Net (textile), a textile in which the warp and weft yarns are looped or knotted at their intersections net sports, sports that use a net Net (economics) (nett), the sum or difference of two or more economic variables Net income (nett), an entity's income minus cost of goods sold, expenses and taxes for an accounting period In electronic design, a connection in a netlist In golf, the net score is the number of strokes taken minus any handicap allowance Net (command), an operating system command Net (film), 2021 Indian thriller drama film See also NET (disambiguation) Nett (disambiguation) .net (disambiguation) Network (disambiguation)

An ox (PL: oxen, ), also known as a bullock (in BrE, AusE, and IndE), is a bovine, trained and used as a draft animal. Oxen are commonly castrated adult male cattle; castration inhibits testosterone and aggression, which makes the males docile and safer to work with. Cows (adult females) or bulls (intact males) may also be used in some areas. Oxen are used for plowing, for transport (pulling carts, hauling wagons and even riding), for threshing grain by trampling, and for powering machines that grind grain or supply irrigation among other purposes. Oxen may be also used to skid logs in forests, particularly in low-impact, select-cut logging. Oxen are usually yoked in pairs. Light work such as carting household items on good roads might require just one pair, while for heavier work, further pairs would be added as necessary. A team used for a heavy load over difficult ground might exceed nine or ten pairs. Domestication Oxen are thought to have first been harnessed and put to work around 4000 BC. Training Working oxen are taught to respond to the signals of the teamster, bullocky or ox-driver. These signals are given by verbal command and body language, reinforced by a goad, whip or a long pole (which also serves as a measure of length: see rod). In pre-industrial times, most teamsters were known for their loud voices and forthright language.Verbal commands for draft animals vary widely throughout the world. In North America, the most common commands are: Back: back up Gee: turn to the right Get up (also giddyup or giddyap, contractions for "get thee up" or "get ye up"): go Haw: turn to the left Whoa: stopIn the New England tradition, young castrated cattle selected for draft are known as working steers and are painstakingly trained from a young age. Their teamster makes or buys as many as a dozen yokes of different sizes for each animal as it grows. The steers are normally considered fully trained at the age of four and only then become known as oxen.A tradition in southeastern England was to use oxen (often Sussex cattle) as dual-purpose animals: for draft and beef. A plowing team of eight oxen normally consisted of four pairs aged a year apart. Each year, a pair of steers of about three years of age would be bought for the team and trained with the older animals. The pair would be kept for about four years, then sold at about seven years old to be fattened for beef – thus covering much of the cost of buying that year's new pair. Use of oxen for plowing survived in some areas of England (such as the South Downs) until the early twentieth century.Pairs of oxen were always hitched the same way round, and they were often given paired names. In southern England it was traditional to call the near-side (left) ox of a pair by a single-syllable name and the off-side (right) one by a longer one (for example: Lark and Linnet, Turk and Tiger).Ox trainers favor larger animals for their ability to do more work. Oxen are therefore usually of larger breeds, and are usually males because they are generally larger. Females can also be trained as oxen, but as well as being smaller, are often more valued for producing calves and milk. Bulls (intact males) are also used in many parts of the world, especially Asia and Africa. Shoeing Working oxen usually require shoes, although in England not all working oxen were shod. Since their hooves are cloven, two shoes are required for each hoof, as opposed to a single horseshoe. Ox shoes are usually of approximately half-moon or banana shape, either with or without caulkins, and are fitted in symmetrical pairs to the hooves. Unlike horses, oxen are not easily able to balance on three legs while a farrier shoes the fourth.In England, shoeing was accomplished by throwing the ox to the ground and lashing all four feet to a heavy wooden tripod until the shoeing was complete. A similar technique was used in Serbia and, in a simpler form, in India, where it is still practiced.In Italy, where oxen may be very large, shoeing is accomplished using a massive framework of beams in which the animal can be partly or completely lifted from the ground by slings passed under the body; the feet are then lashed to lateral beams or held with a rope while the shoes are fitted.Such devices were made of wood in the past, but may today be of metal. Similar devices are found in France, Austria, Germany, Spain, Canada and the United States, where they may be called ox slings, ox presses or shoeing stalls.The system was sometimes adopted in England also, where the device was called a crush or trevis; one example is recorded in the Vale of Pewsey. The shoeing of an ox partly lifted in a sling is the subject of John Singer Sargent's painting Shoeing the Ox, while A Smith Shoeing an Ox by Karel Dujardin shows an ox being shod standing, tied to a post by the horns and balanced by supporting the raised hoof. Uses and comparison to horses Oxen can pull heavier loads, and pull for a longer period of time than horses depending on weather conditions.On the other hand, they are also slower than horses, which has both advantages and disadvantages; their pulling style is steadier, but they cannot cover as much ground in a given period of time. For agricultural purposes, oxen are more suitable for heavy tasks such as breaking sod or plowing in wet, heavy, or clay-filled soil. When hauling freight, oxen can move very heavy loads in a slow and steady fashion. They are at a disadvantage compared to horses when it is necessary to pull a plow or load of freight relatively quickly. For millennia, oxen also could pull heavier loads because of the use of the yoke, which was designed to work best with the neck and shoulder anatomy of cattle. Until the invention of the horse collar, which allowed the horse to engage the pushing power of its hindquarters in moving a load, horses could not pull with their full strength because the yoke was incompatible with their anatomy (yokes press on their chest, inhibiting their breathing). See also Aurochs Bullock cart (ox-cart) Bullocky (ox-driver, teamster) Ox (zodiac) Ox in Chinese mythology Ox-wagon (bullock wagon) Oxtail Ridge and furrow Media related to Oxen at Wikimedia Commons

A roof (PL: roofs or rooves) is the top covering of a building, including all materials and constructions necessary to support it on the walls of the building or on uprights, providing protection against rain, snow, sunlight, extremes of temperature, and wind. A roof is part of the building envelope. The characteristics of a roof are dependent upon the purpose of the building that it covers, the available roofing materials and the local traditions of construction and wider concepts of architectural design and practice, and may also be governed by local or national legislation. In most countries, a roof protects primarily against rain. A verandah may be roofed with material that protects against sunlight but admits the other elements. The roof of a garden conservatory protects plants from cold, wind, and rain, but admits light. A roof may also provide additional living space, for example, a roof garden. Etymology Old English hrof 'roof, ceiling, top, summit; heaven, sky', also figuratively, 'highest point of something', from Proto-Germanic *khrofam (cf. Dutch roef 'deckhouse, cabin, coffin-lid', Middle High German rof 'penthouse', Old Norse hrof 'boat shed'). There are no apparent connections outside the Germanic family. "English alone has retained the word in a general sense, for which the other languages use forms corresponding to OE. þæc thatch". Design elements The elements in the design of a roof are: the material the construction the durabilityThe material of a roof may range from banana leaves, wheaten straw or seagrass to laminated glass, copper (see: copper roofing), aluminium sheeting and pre-cast concrete. In many parts of the world ceramic roof tiles have been the predominant roofing material for centuries, if not millennia. Other roofing materials include asphalt, coal tar pitch, EPDM rubber, Hypalon, polyurethane foam, PVC, slate, Teflon fabric, TPO, and wood shakes and shingles. The construction of a roof is determined by its method of support and how the underneath space is bridged and whether or not the roof is pitched. The pitch is the angle at which the roof rises from its lowest to highest point. Most US domestic architecture, except in very dry regions, has roofs that are sloped, or pitched. Although modern construction elements such as drainpipes may remove the need for pitch, roofs are pitched for reasons of tradition and aesthetics. So the pitch is partly dependent upon stylistic factors, and partially to do with practicalities. Some types of roofing, for example thatch, require a steep pitch in order to be waterproof and durable. Other types of roofing, for example pantiles, are unstable on a steeply pitched roof but provide excellent weather protection at a relatively low angle. In regions where there is little rain, an almost flat roof with a slight run-off provides adequate protection against an occasional downpour. Drainpipes also remove the need for a sloping roof. A person that specializes in roof construction is called a roofer. The durability of a roof is a matter of concern because the roof is often the least accessible part of a building for purposes of repair and renewal, while its damage or destruction can have serious effects. Form The shape of roofs differs greatly from region to region. The main factors which influence the shape of roofs are the climate and the materials available for roof structure and the outer covering.The basic shapes of roofs are flat, mono-pitched, gabled, mansard, hipped, butterfly, arched and domed. There are many variations on these types. Roofs constructed of flat sections that are sloped are referred to as pitched roofs (generally if the angle exceeds 10 degrees). Pitched roofs, including gabled, hipped and skillion roofs, make up the greatest number of domestic roofs. Some roofs follow organic shapes, either by architectural design or because a flexible material such as thatch has been used in the construction. Parts There are two parts to a roof: its supporting structure and its outer skin, or uppermost weatherproof layer. In a minority of buildings, the outer layer is also a self-supporting structure. The roof structure is generally supported upon walls, although some building styles, for example, geodesic and A-frame, blur the distinction between wall and roof. Support The supporting structure of a roof usually comprises beams that are long and of strong, fairly rigid material such as timber, and since the mid-19th century, cast iron or steel. In countries that use bamboo extensively, the flexibility of the material causes a distinctive curving line to the roof, characteristic of Oriental architecture. Timber lends itself to a great variety of roof shapes. The timber structure can fulfil an aesthetic as well as practical function, when left exposed to view. Stone lintels have been used to support roofs since prehistoric times, but cannot bridge large distances. The stone arch came into extensive use in the ancient Roman period and in variant forms could be used to span spaces up to 45 m (140 ft) across. The stone arch or vault, with or without ribs, dominated the roof structures of major architectural works for about 2,000 years, only giving way to iron beams with the Industrial Revolution and the designing of such buildings as Paxton's Crystal Palace, completed 1851. With continual improvements in steel girders, these became the major structural support for large roofs, and eventually for ordinary houses as well. Another form of girder is the reinforced concrete beam, in which metal rods are encased in concrete, giving it greater strength under tension. Roof support can also serve as living spaces as can be seen in roof decking. Roof decking are spaces within the roof structure that is converted into a room of some sort. Outer layer This part of the roof shows great variation dependent upon availability of material. In vernacular architecture, roofing material is often vegetation, such as thatches, the most durable being sea grass with a life of perhaps 40 years. In many Asian countries bamboo is used both for the supporting structure and the outer layer where split bamboo stems are laid turned alternately and overlapped. In areas with an abundance of timber, wooden shingles, shakes and boards are used, while in some countries the bark of certain trees can be peeled off in thick, heavy sheets and used for roofing. The 20th century saw the manufacture of composition asphalt shingles which can last from a thin 20-year shingle to the thickest which are limited lifetime shingles, the cost depending on the thickness and durability of the shingle. When a layer of shingles wears out, they are usually stripped, along with the underlay and roofing nails, allowing a new layer to be installed. An alternative method is to install another layer directly over the worn layer. While this method is faster, it does not allow the roof sheathing to be inspected and water damage, often associated with worn shingles, to be repaired. Having multiple layers of old shingles under a new layer causes roofing nails to be located further from the sheathing, weakening their hold. The greatest concern with this method is that the weight of the extra material could exceed the dead load capacity of the roof structure and cause collapse. Because of this, jurisdictions which use the International Building Code prohibit the installation of new roofing on top of an existing roof that has two or more applications of any type of roof covering; the existing roofing material must be removed before installing a new roof.Slate is an ideal, and durable material, while in the Swiss Alps roofs are made from huge slabs of stone, several inches thick. The slate roof is often considered the best type of roofing. A slate roof may last 75 to 150 years, and even longer. However, slate roofs are often expensive to install – in the US, for example, a slate roof may have the same cost as the rest of the house. Often, the first part of a slate roof to fail is the fixing nails; they corrode, allowing the slates to slip. In the UK, this condition is known as "nail sickness". Because of this problem, fixing nails made of stainless steel or copper are recommended, and even these must be protected from the weather.Asbestos, usually in bonded corrugated panels, has been used widely in the 20th century as an inexpensive, non-flammable roofing material with excellent insulating properties. Health and legal issues involved in the mining and handling of asbestos products means that it is no longer used as a new roofing material. However, many asbestos roofs continue to exist, particularly in South America and Asia. Roofs made of cut turf (modern ones known as green roofs, traditional ones as sod roofs) have good insulating properties and are increasingly encouraged as a way of "greening" the Earth. The soil and vegetation function as living insulation, moderating building temperatures. Adobe roofs are roofs of clay, mixed with binding material such as straw or animal hair, and plastered on lathes to form a flat or gently sloped roof, usually in areas of low rainfall. In areas where clay is plentiful, roofs of baked tiles have been the major form of roofing. The casting and firing of roof tiles is an industry that is often associated with brickworks. While the shape and colour of tiles was once regionally distinctive, now tiles of many shapes and colours are produced commercially, to suit the taste and pocketbook of the purchaser. Concrete roof tiles are also a common choice, being available in many different styles and shapes. Sheet metal in the form of copper and lead has also been used for many hundreds of years. Both are expensive but durable, the vast copper roof of Chartres Cathedral, oxidised to a pale green colour, having been in place for hundreds of years. Lead, which is sometimes used for church roofs, was most commonly used as flashing in valleys and around chimneys on domestic roofs, particularly those of slate. Copper was used for the same purpose. In the 19th century, iron, electroplated with zinc to improve its resistance to rust, became a light-weight, easily transported, waterproofing material. Its low cost and easy application made it the most accessible commercial roofing, worldwide. Since then, many types of metal roofing have been developed. Steel shingle or standing-seam roofs last about 50 years or more depending on both the method of installation and the moisture barrier (underlayment) used and are between the cost of shingle roofs and slate roofs. In the 20th century, a large number of roofing materials were developed, including roofs based on bitumen (already used in previous centuries), on rubber and on a range of synthetics such as thermoplastic and on fibreglass. Outer layer Functions A roof assembly has more than one function. It may provide any or all of the following functions: 1. To shed water i.e., prevent water from standing on the roof surface. Water standing on the roof surface increases the live load on the roof structure, which is a safety issue. Standing water also contributes to premature deterioration of most roofing materials. Some roofing manufacturers' warranties are rendered void due to standing water. 2. To protect the building interior from the effects of weather elements such as rain, wind, sun, heat and snow. 3. To provide thermal insulation. Most modern commercial/industrial roof assemblies incorporate insulation boards or batt insulation. In most cases, the International Building Code and International Residential Code establish the minimum R-value required within the roof assembly. 4. To perform for the expected service life. All standard roofing materials have established histories of their respective longevity, based on anecdotal evidence. Most roof materials will last long after the manufacturer's warranty has expired, given adequate ongoing maintenance, and absent storm damage. Metal and tile roofs may last fifty years or more. Asphalt shingles may last 30–50 years. Coal tar built-up roofs may last forty or more years. Single-ply roofs may last twenty or more years. 5. Provide a desired, unblemished appearance. Some roofs are selected not only for the above functions, but also for aesthetics, similar to wall cladding. Premium prices are often paid for certain systems because of their attractive appearance and "curb appeal." Insulation Because the purpose of a roof is to secure people and their possessions from climatic elements, the insulating properties of a roof are a consideration in its structure and the choice of roofing material. Some roofing materials, particularly those of natural fibrous material, such as thatch, have excellent insulating properties. For those that do not, extra insulation is often installed under the outer layer. In developed countries, the majority of dwellings have a ceiling installed under the structural members of the roof. The purpose of a ceiling is to insulate against heat and cold, noise, dirt and often from the droppings and lice of birds who frequently choose roofs as nesting places. Concrete tiles can be used as insulation. When installed leaving a space between the tiles and the roof surface, it can reduce heating caused by the sun. Forms of insulation are felt or plastic sheeting, sometimes with a reflective surface, installed directly below the tiles or other material; synthetic foam batting laid above the ceiling and recycled paper products and other such materials that can be inserted or sprayed into roof cavities. Cool roofs are becoming increasingly popular, and in some cases are mandated by local codes. Cool roofs are defined as roofs with both high reflectivity and high thermal emittance.Poorly insulated and ventilated roofing can suffer from problems such as the formation of ice dams around the overhanging eaves in cold weather, causing water from melted snow on upper parts of the roof to penetrate the roofing material. Ice dams occur when heat escapes through the uppermost part of the roof, and the snow at those points melts, refreezing as it drips along the shingles, and collecting in the form of ice at the lower points. This can result in structural damage from stress, including the destruction of gutter and drainage systems. Drainage The primary job of most roofs is to keep out water. The large area of a roof repels a lot of water, which must be directed in some suitable way, so that it does not cause damage or inconvenience. Flat roof of adobe dwellings generally have a very slight slope. In a Middle Eastern country, where the roof may be used for recreation, it is often walled, and drainage holes must be provided to stop water from pooling and seeping through the porous roofing material. Similar problems, although on a very much larger scale, confront the builders of modern commercial properties which often have flat roofs. Because of the very large nature of such roofs, it is essential that the outer skin be of a highly impermeable material. Most industrial and commercial structures have conventional roofs of low pitch. In general, the pitch of the roof is proportional to the amount of precipitation. Houses in areas of low rainfall frequently have roofs of low pitch while those in areas of high rainfall and snow, have steep roofs. The longhouses of Papua New Guinea, for example, being roof-dominated architecture, the high roofs sweeping almost to the ground. The high steeply-pitched roofs of Germany and Holland are typical in regions of snowfall. In parts of North America such as Buffalo, New York, United States, or Montreal, Quebec, Canada, there is a required minimum slope of 6 in 12 (1:2, a pitch of 30°). There are regional building styles which contradict this trend, the stone roofs of the Alpine chalets being usually of gentler incline. These buildings tend to accumulate a large amount of snow on them, which is seen as a factor in their insulation. The pitch of the roof is in part determined by the roofing material available, a pitch of 3 in 12 (1:4) or greater slope generally being covered with asphalt shingles, wood shake, corrugated steel, slate or tile. The water repelled by the roof during a rainstorm is potentially damaging to the building that the roof protects. If it runs down the walls, it may seep into the mortar or through panels. If it lies around the foundations it may cause seepage to the interior, rising damp or dry rot. For this reason most buildings have a system in place to protect the walls of a building from most of the roof water. Overhanging eaves are commonly employed for this purpose. Most modern roofs and many old ones have systems of valleys, gutters, waterspouts, waterheads and drainpipes to remove the water from the vicinity of the building. In many parts of the world, roofwater is collected and stored for domestic use. Areas prone to heavy snow benefit from a metal roof because their smooth surfaces shed the weight of snow more easily and resist the force of wind better than a wood shingle or a concrete tile roof. Insulation, drainage and solar roofing Solar roofs Newer systems include solar shingles which generate electricity as well as cover the roof. There are also solar systems available that generate hot water or hot air and which can also act as a roof covering. More complex systems may carry out all of these functions: generate electricity, recover thermal energy, and also act as a roof covering. Solar systems can be integrated with roofs by: integration in the covering of pitched roofs, e.g. solar shingles, mounting on an existing roof, e.g. solar panel on a tile roof, integration in a flat roof membrane using heat welding (e.g. PVC) or mounting on a flat roof with a construction and additional weight to prevent uplift from wind. Gallery of roof shapes Roof shapes Gallery of significant roofs See also Blue roof Building-integrated photovoltaics Domestic roof construction List of Greco-Roman roofs List of roof shapes Roof cleaning Solar shingle Tensile architecture Thin-shell structure

In a building or large vehicle, like a ship, a room is any enclosed space within a number of walls to which entry is possible only via a door or other dividing structure that connects it to either a passageway, another room, or the outdoors, that is large enough for several people to move about, and whose size, fixtures, furnishings, and sometimes placement within the building or ship support the activity to be conducted in it. History Historically, the use of rooms dates at least to early Minoan cultures about 2200 BC, where excavations at Akrotiri on Santorini reveal clearly defined rooms within certain structures.In early structures, the different room types could be identified to include bedrooms, kitchens, bathing rooms, closets, reception rooms, and other specialized uses. The aforementioned Akrotiri excavations reveal rooms sometimes built above other rooms connected by staircases, bathrooms with alabaster appliances such as washbasins, bathing tubs, and toilets, all connected to an elaborate twin plumbing systems of ceramic pipes for cold and hot water separately. Ancient Rome manifested very complex building forms with a variety of room types, including some of the earliest examples of rooms for indoor bathing. The Anasazi civilization also had an early complex development of room structures, probably the oldest in North America, while the Maya of Central America had very advanced room configurations as early as several hundred AD. By at least the early Han Dynasty in China (e.g. approximately 200 BC), comfort room complex multi-level building forms emerged, particularly for religious and public purposes; these designs featured many roomed structures and included vertical connections of rooms. Types of rooms Work rooms Some rooms were specially designed to support the work of the household, such as kitchens, pantries, and root cellars, all of which were intended for the preparation and storage of food. A home office or study may be used for household paperwork or external business purposes. Some work rooms are designated by the intended activity: for example, a sewing room is used for sewing, and the laundry room is used for washing and ironing laundry. Other rooms are meant to promote comfort and cleanliness, such as the toilet and bathroom, which may be combined or which may be in separate rooms. The public equivalent is the restroom, which usually features a toilet and handwashing facilities, but not usually a shower or a bathtub. Showers are only available in athletic or aquatic facilities which feature a changing room. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, among those who could afford it, these facilities were kept in separate areas. The kitchen was detached from the main part of the house, or later put in the basement, to reduce the risk of fire and keep the heat and smell of cooking away from the main house during the warm months. The toilet, often a simple pit latrine, was put in an outhouse or privy, to keep the smell and insects away from the main house. Social rooms A variety of room types have been distinguished over time, the main purpose of which was socializing with other people. In previous centuries, very large homes often featured a great hall. This room was so named because it was very large, regardless of any excellence in it. It was originally a public room and most likely seen in the main home of a noble estate. In this room, people who had business with the local landowner or his household could meet. As the largest room, it could also be used as a dining room for large banquets, or cleared of tables, provided with music, and turned into a ballroom. Off the side, or in a different part of the house, might be a drawing room, used as a room with greater privacy, for the owner's family and their friends to talk. A sitting room, living room, or parlour is a place for social visits and entertainment. One decorated to appeal to a man might be called a man cave; in an older style, the cabinet was used by men who wanted a separate room. Some large homes have special rooms for entertainment; these may include a library, a home theater, a billiard room, a game room, or a music room. Sleeping room A bedroom is the room where a bed is located, and whose primary purpose is sleeping. A master bedroom may have an en suite bathroom. A guest room is a bedroom used primarily by overnight guests. The nursery is a bedroom for babies or young children. It may be separate from the playroom, which is a room where the children's toys are kept. Bedrooms may be used for other purposes. A large house might have separate rooms for these other functions, such as a dressing room for changing clothes (also seen in clothing stores and businesses where people need to change clothes, but do not need to sleep). In Tudor times, a bedroom might have a separate closet, for praying and seeking privacy; this architectural idea lives on in the storage closet.In the United Kingdom, many houses are built to contain a box-room (box room or boxroom) that is easily identifiable, being smaller than the others. The small size of these rooms limits their use, and they tend to be used as a small single bedroom, small child's bedroom, or as a storage room. Other box rooms may house a live-in domestic worker. Traditionally, and often seen in country houses and larger suburban houses up until the 1930s in Britain, the box room was for the storage of boxes, trunks, portmanteaux, and the like, rather than for bedroom use.A sick room is a specialized room, sometimes just large enough to contain a bed, where a family member could be conveniently tended and kept separate from the rest of the household while recuperating from an illness. Multi-purpose rooms In smaller homes, most rooms were multi-purpose. In a bedsit, communal apartment, or studio apartment, a single main room may serve most functions, except usually the toilet and bath. Types of multi-purpose rooms include the great room, which removes most walls and doors between the kitchen, dining and living rooms, to create one larger, open area. In some places, a lady's boudoir was a combination sleeping room and place to entertain small numbers of friends. In others, the boudoir was an anteroom before her bedroom. En-suite room An en-suite room is a type of room which includes a private room, private washroom and access to a communal kitchen. The washroom generally includes an en-suite shower, a sink and a toilet. "En-suite" usually indicates a private space, especially if it is student accommodation. En-suite rooms for students are intended to provide study space and a peaceful environment. See also Entryway Great hall Room number The Room (disambiguation) Classroom Ballroom Media related to Rooms at Wikimedia Commons

In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the surface of the soil, but roots can also be aerial or aerating, that is, growing up above the ground or especially above water. Function The major functions of roots are absorption of water, plant nutrition and anchoring of the plant body to the ground. Anatomy Root morphology is divided into four zones: the root cap, the apical meristem, the elongation zone, and the hair. The root cap of new roots helps the root penetrate the soil. These root caps are sloughed off as the root goes deeper creating a slimy surface that provides lubrication. The apical meristem behind the root cap produces new root cells that elongate. Then, root hairs form that absorb water and mineral nutrients from the soil. The first root in seed producing plants is the radicle, which expands from the plant embryo after seed germination. When dissected, the arrangement of the cells in a root is root hair, epidermis, epiblem, cortex, endodermis, pericycle and, lastly, the vascular tissue in the centre of a root to transport the water absorbed by the root to other places of the plant. Perhaps the most striking characteristic of roots that distinguishes them from other plant organs such as stem-branches and leaves is that roots have an endogenous origin, i.e., they originate and develop from an inner layer of the mother axis, such as pericycle. In contrast, stem-branches and leaves are exogenous, i.e., they start to develop from the cortex, an outer layer. In response to the concentration of nutrients, roots also synthesise cytokinin, which acts as a signal as to how fast the shoots can grow. Roots often function in storage of food and nutrients. The roots of most vascular plant species enter into symbiosis with certain fungi to form mycorrhizae, and a large range of other organisms including bacteria also closely associate with roots. Root system architecture (RSA) Definition In its simplest form, the term root system architecture (RSA) refers to the spatial configuration of a plant's root system. This system can be extremely complex and is dependent upon multiple factors such as the species of the plant itself, the composition of the soil and the availability of nutrients. Root architecture plays the important role of providing a secure supply of nutrients and water as well as anchorage and support. The configuration of root systems serves to structurally support the plant, compete with other plants and for uptake of nutrients from the soil. Roots grow to specific conditions, which, if changed, can impede a plant's growth. For example, a root system that has developed in dry soil may not be as efficient in flooded soil, yet plants are able to adapt to other changes in the environment, such as seasonal changes. Terms and components The main terms used to classify the architecture of a root system are: All components of the root architecture are regulated through a complex interaction between genetic responses and responses due to environmental stimuli. These developmental stimuli are categorised as intrinsic, the genetic and nutritional influences, or extrinsic, the environmental influences and are interpreted by signal transduction pathways.Extrinsic factors affecting root architecture include gravity, light exposure, water and oxygen, as well as the availability or lack of nitrogen, phosphorus, sulphur, aluminium and sodium chloride. The main hormones (intrinsic stimuli) and respective pathways responsible for root architecture development include: Growth Early root growth is one of the functions of the apical meristem located near the tip of the root. The meristem cells more or less continuously divide, producing more meristem, root cap cells (these are sacrificed to protect the meristem), and undifferentiated root cells. The latter become the primary tissues of the root, first undergoing elongation, a process that pushes the root tip forward in the growing medium. Gradually these cells differentiate and mature into specialized cells of the root tissues.Growth from apical meristems is known as primary growth, which encompasses all elongation. Secondary growth encompasses all growth in diameter, a major component of woody plant tissues and many nonwoody plants. For example, storage roots of sweet potato have secondary growth but are not woody. Secondary growth occurs at the lateral meristems, namely the vascular cambium and cork cambium. The former forms secondary xylem and secondary phloem, while the latter forms the periderm. In plants with secondary growth, the vascular cambium, originating between the xylem and the phloem, forms a cylinder of tissue along the stem and root. The vascular cambium forms new cells on both the inside and outside of the cambium cylinder, with those on the inside forming secondary xylem cells, and those on the outside forming secondary phloem cells. As secondary xylem accumulates, the "girth" (lateral dimensions) of the stem and root increases. As a result, tissues beyond the secondary phloem including the epidermis and cortex, in many cases tend to be pushed outward and are eventually "sloughed off" (shed).At this point, the cork cambium begins to form the periderm, consisting of protective cork cells. The walls of cork cells contains suberin thickenings, which is an extra cellular complex biopolymer. The suberin thickenings functions by providing a physical barrier, protection against pathogens and by preventing water loss from the surrounding tissues. In addition, it also aids the process of wound healing in plants. It is also postulated that suberin could be a component of the apoplastic barrier (present at the outer cell layers of roots) which prevents toxic compounds from entering the root and reduces radial oxygen loss (ROL) from the aerenchyma during waterlogging. In roots, the cork cambium originates in the pericycle, a component of the vascular cylinder.The vascular cambium produces new layers of secondary xylem annually. The xylem vessels are dead at maturity (in some) but are responsible for most water transport through the vascular tissue in stems and roots. Tree roots usually grow to three times the diameter of the branch spread, only half of which lie underneath the trunk and canopy. The roots from one side of a tree usually supply nutrients to the foliage on the same side. Some families however, such as Sapindaceae (the maple family), show no correlation between root location and where the root supplies nutrients on the plant. Regulation There is a correlation of roots using the process of plant perception to sense their physical environment to grow, including the sensing of light, and physical barriers. Plants also sense gravity and respond through auxin pathways, resulting in gravitropism. Over time, roots can crack foundations, snap water lines, and lift sidewalks. Research has shown that roots have ability to recognize 'self' and 'non-self' roots in same soil environment.The correct environment of air, mineral nutrients and water directs plant roots to grow in any direction to meet the plant's needs. Roots will shy or shrink away from dry or other poor soil conditions. Gravitropism directs roots to grow downward at germination, the growth mechanism of plants that also causes the shoot to grow upward. Different types of roots such as primary, seminal, lateral and crown are maintained at different gravitropic setpoint angles i.e. the direction in which they grow. Recent research show that root angle in cereal crops such as barley and wheat is regulated by a novel gene called Enhanced Gravitropism 1 (EGT1).Research indicates that plant roots growing in search of productive nutrition can sense and avoid soil compaction through diffusion of the gas ethylene. Shade avoidance response In order to avoid shade, plants utilize a shade avoidance response. When a plant is under dense vegetation, the presence of other vegetation nearby will cause the plant to avoid lateral growth and experience an increase in upward shoot, as well as downward root growth. In order to escape shade, plants adjust their root architecture, most notably by decreasing the length and amount of lateral roots emerging from the primary root. Experimentation of mutant variants of Arabidopsis thaliana found that plants sense the Red to Far Red light ratio that enters the plant through photoreceptors known as phytochromes. Nearby plant leaves will absorb red light and reflect far- red light which will cause the ratio red to far red light to lower. The phytochrome PhyA that senses this Red to Far Red light ratio is localized in both the root system as well as the shoot system of plants, but through knockout mutant experimentation, it was found that root localized PhyA does not sense the light ratio, whether directly or axially, that leads to changes in the lateral root architecture. Research instead found that shoot localized PhyA is the phytochrome responsible for causing these architectural changes of the lateral root. Research has also found that phytochrome completes these architectural changes through the manipulation of auxin distribution in the root of the plant. When a low enough Red to Far Red ratio is sensed by PhyA, the phyA in the shoot will be mostly in its active form. In this form, PhyA stabilize the transcription factor HY5 causing it to no longer be degraded as it is when phyA is in its inactive form. This stabilized transcription factor is then able to be transported to the roots of the plant through the phloem, where it proceeds to induce its own transcription as a way to amplify its signal. In the roots of the plant HY5 functions to inhibit an auxin response factor known as ARF19, a response factor responsible for the translation of PIN3 and LAX3, two well known auxin transporting proteins. Thus, through manipulation of ARF19, the level and activity of auxin transporters PIN3 and LAX3 is inhibited. Once inhibited, auxin levels will be low in areas where lateral root emergence normally occurs, resulting in a failure for the plant to have the emergence of the lateral root primordium through the root pericycle. With this complex manipulation of Auxin transport in the roots, lateral root emergence will be inhibited in the roots and the root will instead elongate downwards, promoting vertical plant growth in an attempt to avoid shade.Research of Arabidopsis has led to the discovery of how this auxin mediated root response works. In an attempt to discover the role that phytochrome plays in lateral root development, Salisbury et al. (2007) worked with Arabidopsis thaliana grown on agar plates. Salisbury et al. used wild type plants along with varying protein knockout and gene knockout Arabidopsis mutants to observe the results these mutations had on the root architecture, protein presence, and gene expression. To do this, Salisbury et al. used GFP fluorescence along with other forms of both macro and microscopic imagery to observe any changes various mutations caused. From these research, Salisbury et al. were able to theorize that shoot located phytochromes alter auxin levels in roots, controlling lateral root development and overall root architecture. In the experiments of van Gelderen et al. (2018), they wanted to see if and how it is that the shoot of Arabidopsis thaliana alters and affects root development and root architecture. To do this, they took Arabidopsis plants, grew them in agar gel, and exposed the roots and shoots to separate sources of light. From here, they altered the different wavelengths of light the shoot and root of the plants were receiving and recorded the lateral root density, amount of lateral roots, and the general architecture of the lateral roots. To identify the function of specific photoreceptors, proteins, genes, and hormones, they utilized various Arabidopsis knockout mutants and observed the resulting changes in lateral roots architecture. Through their observations and various experiments, van Gelderen et al. were able to develop a mechanism for how root detection of Red to Far-red light ratios alter lateral root development. Types A true root system consists of a primary root and secondary roots (or lateral roots). the diffuse root system: the primary root is not dominant; the whole root system is fibrous and branches in all directions. Most common in monocots. The main function of the fibrous root is to anchor the plant. Specialized The roots, or parts of roots, of many plant species have become specialized to serve adaptive purposes besides the two primary functions, described in the introduction. Adventitious roots arise out-of-sequence from the more usual root formation of branches of a primary root, and instead originate from the stem, branches, leaves, or old woody roots. They commonly occur in monocots and pteridophytes, but also in many dicots, such as clover (Trifolium), ivy (Hedera), strawberry (Fragaria) and willow (Salix). Most aerial roots and stilt roots are adventitious. In some conifers adventitious roots can form the largest part of the root system. Adventitious root formation is enhanced in many plant species during (partial) submergence, to increase gas exchange and storage of gases like oxygen. Distinct types of adventitious roots can be classified and are dependent on morphology, growth dynamics and function. Aerating roots (or knee root or knee or pneumatophores): roots rising above the ground, especially above water such as in some mangrove genera (Avicennia, Sonneratia). In some plants like Avicennia the erect roots have a large number of breathing pores for exchange of gases. Aerial roots: roots entirely above the ground, such as in ivy (Hedera) or in epiphytic orchids. Many aerial roots are used to receive water and nutrient intake directly from the air – from fogs, dew or humidity in the air. Some rely on leaf systems to gather rain or humidity and even store it in scales or pockets. Other aerial roots, such as mangrove aerial roots, are used for aeration and not for water absorption. Other aerial roots are used mainly for structure, functioning as prop roots, as in maize or anchor roots or as the trunk in strangler fig. In some Epiphytes – plants living above the surface on other plants, aerial roots serve for reaching to water sources or reaching the surface, and then functioning as regular surface roots. Canopy roots/arboreal roots: roots that form when tree branches support mats of epiphytes and detritus, which hold water and nutrients in the canopy. They grow out into these mats, likely to utilize the available nutrients and moisture. Contractile roots: roots that pull bulbs or corms of monocots, such as hyacinth and lily, and some taproots, such as dandelion, deeper in the soil through expanding radially and contracting longitudinally. They have a wrinkled surface. Coarse roots: roots that have undergone secondary thickening and have a woody structure. These roots have some ability to absorb water and nutrients, but their main function is transport and to provide a structure to connect the smaller diameter, fine roots to the rest of the plant. Dimorphic root systems: roots with two distinctive forms for two separate functions Fine roots: typically primary roots <2 mm diameter that have the function of water and nutrient uptake. They are often heavily branched and support mycorrhizas. These roots may be short lived, but are replaced by the plant in an ongoing process of root 'turnover'. Haustorial roots: roots of parasitic plants that can absorb water and nutrients from another plant, such as in mistletoe (Viscum album) and dodder. Propagative roots: roots that form adventitious buds that develop into aboveground shoots, termed suckers, which form new plants, as in Canada thistle, cherry and many others. Proteoid roots or cluster roots: dense clusters of rootlets of limited growth that develop under low phosphate or low iron conditions in Proteaceae and some plants from the following families Betulaceae, Casuarinaceae, Elaeagnaceae, Moraceae, Fabaceae and Myricaceae. Stilt roots: adventitious support roots, common among mangroves. They grow down from lateral branches, branching in the soil. Storage roots: roots modified for storage of food or water, such as carrots and beets. They include some taproots and tuberous roots. Structural roots: large roots that have undergone considerable secondary thickening and provide mechanical support to woody plants and trees. Surface roots: roots that proliferate close below the soil surface, exploiting water and easily available nutrients. Where conditions are close to optimum in the surface layers of soil, the growth of surface roots is encouraged and they commonly become the dominant roots. Tuberous roots: fleshy and enlarged lateral roots for food or water storage, e.g. sweet potato. A type of storage root distinct from taproot. Photosynthetic roots: roots that are green and photosynthesize, providing sugar to the plant. They are similar to phylloclades. Several orchids have these, such as Dendrophylax and Taeniophyllum. Root nodules: roots that harbor nitrogen-fixing soil bacteria. These are often very short and rounded. Root nodules are found in virtually all legumes. Coralloid roots: similar to root nodules, these provide nitrogen to the plant. They are often larger than nodules, branched, and located at or near the soil surface, and harbor nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria. They are only found in cycads. Depths The distribution of vascular plant roots within soil depends on plant form, the spatial and temporal availability of water and nutrients, and the physical properties of the soil. The deepest roots are generally found in deserts and temperate coniferous forests; the shallowest in tundra, boreal forest and temperate grasslands. The deepest observed living root, at least 60 metres below the ground surface, was observed during the excavation of an open-pit mine in Arizona, USA. Some roots can grow as deep as the tree is high. The majority of roots on most plants are however found relatively close to the surface where nutrient availability and aeration are more favourable for growth. Rooting depth may be physically restricted by rock or compacted soil close below the surface, or by anaerobic soil conditions. Records Evolutionary history The fossil record of roots—or rather, infilled voids where roots rotted after death—spans back to the late Silurian, about 430 million years ago. Their identification is difficult, because casts and molds of roots are so similar in appearance to animal burrows. They can be discriminated using a range of features. The evolutionary development of roots likely happened from the modification of shallow rhizomes (modified horizontal stems) which anchored primitive vascular plants combined with the development of filamentous outgrowths (called rhizoids) which anchored the plants and conducted water to the plant from the soil. Environmental interactions Light has been shown to have some impact on roots, but its not been studied as much as the effect of light on other plant systems. Early research in the 1930s found that light decreased the effectiveness of Indole-3-acetic acid on adventitious root initiation. Studies of the pea in the 1950s shows that lateral root formation was inhibited by light, and in the early 1960s researchers found that light could induce positive gravitropic responses in some situations. The effects of light on root elongation has been studied for monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plants, with the majority of studies finding that light inhibited root elongation, whether pulsed or continuous. Studies of Arabidopsis in the 1990s showed negative phototropism and inhibition of the elongation of root hairs in light sensed by phyB.Certain plants, namely Fabaceae, form root nodules in order to associate and form a symbiotic relationship with nitrogen-fixing bacteria called rhizobia. Owing to the high energy required to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere, the bacteria take carbon compounds from the plant to fuel the process. In return, the plant takes nitrogen compounds produced from ammonia by the bacteria.Soil temperature is a factor that effects root initiation and length. Root length is usually impacted more dramatically by temperature than overall mass, where cooler temperatures tend to cause more lateral growth because downward extension is limited by cooler temperatures at subsoil levels. Needs vary by plant species, but in temperate regions cool temperatures may limit root systems. Cool temperature species like oats, rapeseed, rye, wheat fare better in lower temperatures than summer annuals like maize and cotton. Researchers have found that plants like cotton develop wider and shorter taproots in cooler temperatures. The first root originating from the seed usually has a wider diameter than root branches, so smaller root diameters are expected if temperatures increase root initiation. Root diameter also decreases when the root elongates. Plant interactions Plants can interact with one another in their environment through their root systems. Studies have demonstrated that plant-plant interaction occurs among root systems via the soil as a medium. Researchers have tested whether plants growing in ambient conditions would change their behavior if a nearby plant was exposed to drought conditions. Since nearby plants showed no changes in stomatal aperture researchers believe the drought signal spread through the roots and soil, not through the air as a volatile chemical signal. Soil interactions Soil microbiota can suppress both disease and beneficial root symbionts (mycorrhizal fungi are easier to establish in sterile soil). Inoculation with soil bacteria can increase internode extension, yield and quicken flowering. The migration of bacteria along the root varies with natural soil conditions. For example, research has found that the root systems of wheat seeds inoculated with Azotobacter showed higher populations in soils favorable to Azotobacter growth. Some studies have been unsuccessful in increasing the levels of certain microbes (such as P. fluorescens) in natural soil without prior sterilization.Grass root systems are beneficial at reducing soil erosion by holding the soil together. Perennial grasses that grow wild in rangelands contribute organic matter to the soil when their old roots decay after attacks by beneficial fungi, protozoa, bacteria, insects and worms release nutrients.Scientists have observed significant diversity of the microbial cover of roots at around 10 percent of three week old root segments covered. On younger roots there was even low coverage, but even on 3-month-old roots the coverage was only around 37%. Before the 1970s, scientists believed that the majority of the root surface was covered by microorganisms. Nutrient absorption Researchers studying maize seedlings found that calcium absorption was greatest in the apical root segment, and potassium at the base of the root. Along other root segments absorption was similar. Absorbed potassium is transported to the root tip, and to a lesser extent other parts of the root, then also to the shoot and grain. Calcium transport from the apical segment is slower, mostly transported upward and accumulated in stem and shoot.Researchers found that partial deficiencies of K or P did not change the fatty acid composition of phosphatidyl choline in Brassica napus L. plants. Calcium deficiency did, on the other hand, lead to a marked decline of polyunsaturated compounds that would be expected to have negative impacts for integrity of the plant membrane, that could effect some properties like its permeability, and is needed for the ion uptake activity of the root membranes. Economic importance The term root crops refers to any edible underground plant structure, but many root crops are actually stems, such as potato tubers. Edible roots include cassava, sweet potato, beet, carrot, rutabaga, turnip, parsnip, radish, yam and horseradish. Spices obtained from roots include sassafras, angelica, sarsaparilla and licorice. Sugar beet is an important source of sugar. Yam roots are a source of estrogen compounds used in birth control pills. The fish poison and insecticide rotenone is obtained from roots of Lonchocarpus spp. Important medicines from roots are ginseng, aconite, ipecac, gentian and reserpine. Several legumes that have nitrogen-fixing root nodules are used as green manure crops, which provide nitrogen fertilizer for other crops when plowed under. Specialized bald cypress roots, termed knees, are sold as souvenirs, lamp bases and carved into folk art. Native Americans used the flexible roots of white spruce for basketry. Tree roots can heave and destroy concrete sidewalks and crush or clog buried pipes. The aerial roots of strangler fig have damaged ancient Mayan temples in Central America and the temple of Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Trees stabilize soil on a slope prone to landslides. The root hairs work as an anchor on the soil. Vegetative propagation of plants via cuttings depends on adventitious root formation. Hundreds of millions of plants are propagated via cuttings annually including chrysanthemum, poinsettia, carnation, ornamental shrubs and many houseplants. Roots can also protect the environment by holding the soil to reduce soil erosion. This is especially important in areas such as sand dunes. See also Absorption of water Cypress knee Drought rhizogenesis Fibrous root system Mycorrhiza – root symbiosis in which individual hyphae extending from the mycelium of a fungus colonize the roots of a host plant. Mycorrhizal network Plant physiology Rhizosphere – region of soil around the root influenced by root secretions and microorganisms present Root cutting Rooting powder Stolon Tanada effect Taproot Further reading Botany – University of Arkansas at Little Rock Time-lapse photography of root growth on YouTube

The stomach is a muscular, hollow organ in the gastrointestinal tract of humans and many other animals, including several invertebrates. The stomach has a dilated structure and functions as a vital organ in the digestive system. The stomach is involved in the gastric phase of digestion, following chewing. It performs a chemical breakdown by means of enzymes and hydrochloric acid. In humans and many other animals, the stomach is located between the esophagus and the small intestine. The stomach secretes digestive enzymes and gastric acid to aid in food digestion. The pyloric sphincter controls the passage of partially digested food (chyme) from the stomach into the duodenum, where peristalsis takes over to move this through the rest of the intestines. Structure In the human digestive system, the stomach lies between the esophagus and the duodenum (the first part of the small intestine). It is in the left upper quadrant of the abdominal cavity. The top of the stomach lies against the diaphragm. Lying behind the stomach is the pancreas. A large double fold of visceral peritoneum called the greater omentum hangs down from the greater curvature of the stomach. Two sphincters keep the contents of the stomach contained; the lower esophageal sphincter (found in the cardiac region), at the junction of the esophagus and stomach, and the pyloric sphincter at the junction of the stomach with the duodenum. The stomach is surrounded by parasympathetic (stimulant) and sympathetic (inhibitor) plexuses (networks of blood vessels and nerves in the anterior gastric, posterior, superior and inferior, celiac and myenteric), which regulate both the secretory activity of the stomach and the motor (motion) activity of its muscles. Because it is a distensible organ, it normally expands to hold about one litre of food. The stomach of a newborn human baby will only be able to retain about 30 millilitres. The maximum stomach volume in adults is between 2 and 4 litres. Sections In classical anatomy the human stomach is divided into four sections, beginning at the cardia. The cardia is where the contents of the esophagus empty into the stomach. The fundus (from Latin 'bottom') is formed in the upper curved part. The body is the main, central region of the stomach. The pylorus (from Greek 'gatekeeper') is the lower section of the stomach that empties contents into the duodenum.The cardia is defined as the region following the "z-line" of the gastroesophageal junction, the point at which the epithelium changes from stratified squamous to columnar. Near the cardia is the lower esophageal sphincter. Research has shown that the cardia is not an anatomically distinct region of the stomach but a region of the esophageal lining damaged by reflux. Anatomical proximity The stomach bed refers to the structures upon which the stomach rests in mammals. These include the tail of the pancreas, splenic artery, left kidney, left suprarenal gland, transverse colon and its mesocolon, and the left crus of diaphragm, and the left colic flexure. The term was introduced around 1896 by Philip Polson of the Catholic University School of Medicine, Dublin. However this was brought into disrepute by surgeon anatomist J Massey. Blood supply The lesser curvature of the human stomach is supplied by the right gastric artery inferiorly and the left gastric artery superiorly, which also supplies the cardiac region. The greater curvature is supplied by the right gastroepiploic artery inferiorly and the left gastroepiploic artery superiorly. The fundus of the stomach, and also the upper portion of the greater curvature, is supplied by the short gastric arteries, which arise from the splenic artery. Microanatomy Wall Like the other parts of the gastrointestinal tract, the human stomach walls consist of a mucosa, submucosa, muscularis externa, subserosa and serosa.The inner part of the lining of the stomach, the gastric mucosa, consists of an outer layer of column-shaped cells, a lamina propria, and a thin layer of smooth muscle called the muscularis mucosa. Beneath the mucosa lies the submucosa, consisting of fibrous connective tissue. Meissner's plexus is in this layer interior to the oblique muscle layer.Outside of the submucosa lies another muscular layer, the muscularis externa. It consists of three layers of muscular fibres, with fibres lying at angles to each other. These are the inner oblique, middle circular, and outer longitudinal layers. The presence of the inner oblique layer is distinct from other parts of the gastrointestinal tract, which do not possess this layer. Stomach contains the thickest muscularis layer consisting of three layers, thus maximum peristalsis occurs here. The inner oblique layer: This layer is responsible for creating the motion that churns and physically breaks down the food. It is the only layer of the three which is not seen in other parts of the digestive system. The antrum has thicker skin cells in its walls and performs more forceful contractions than the fundus. The middle circular layer: At this layer, the pylorus is surrounded by a thick circular muscular wall, which is normally tonically constricted, forming a functional (if not anatomically discrete) pyloric sphincter, which controls the movement of chyme into the duodenum. This layer is concentric to the longitudinal axis of the stomach. Auerbach's plexus (myenteric plexus) is found between the outer longitudinal and the middle circular layer and is responsible for the innervation of both (causing peristalsis and mixing).The outer longitudinal layer is responsible for moving the bolus towards the pylorus of the stomach through muscular shortening. To the outside of the muscularis externa lies a serosa, consisting of layers of connective tissue continuous with the peritoneum. Glands The mucosa lining the stomach is lined with a number of these pits, which receive gastric juice, secreted by between 2 and 7 gastric glands. Gastric juice is an acidic fluid containing hydrochloric acid and the digestive enzyme pepsin. The glands contains a number of cells, with the function of the glands changing depending on their position within the stomach.Within the body and fundus of the stomach lie the fundic glands. In general, these glands are lined by column-shaped cells that secrete a protective layer of mucus and bicarbonate. Additional cells present include parietal cells that secrete hydrochloric acid and intrinsic factor, chief cells that secrete pepsinogen (this is a precursor to pepsin- the highly acidic environment converts the pepsinogen to pepsin), and neuroendocrine cells that secrete serotonin.Glands differ where the stomach meets the esophagus and near the pylorus. Near the junction between the stomach and the esophagus lie cardiac glands, which primarily secrete mucus. They are fewer in number than the other gastric glands and are more shallowly positioned in the mucosa. There are two kinds - either simple tubular with short ducts or compound racemose resembling the duodenal Brunner's glands. Near the pylorus lie pyloric glands located in the antrum of the pylorus. They secrete mucus, as well as gastrin produced by their G cells. Gene and protein expression About 20,000 protein coding genes are expressed in human cells and nearly 70% of these genes are expressed in the normal stomach. Just over 150 of these genes are more specifically expressed in the stomach compared to other organs, with only some 20 genes being highly specific. The corresponding specific proteins expressed in stomach are mainly involved in creating a suitable environment for handling the digestion of food for uptake of nutrients. Highly stomach-specific proteins include GKN1, expressed in the mucosa; pepsinogen PGC and the lipase LIPF, expressed in chief cells; and gastric ATPase ATP4A and gastric intrinsic factor GIF, expressed in parietal cells. Development In early human embryogenesis, the ventral part of the embryo abuts the yolk sac. During the third week of development, as the embryo grows, it begins to surround parts of the sac. The enveloped portions form the basis for the adult gastrointestinal tract. The sac is surrounded by a network of vitelline arteries and veins. Over time, these arteries consolidate into the three main arteries that supply the developing gastrointestinal tract: the celiac artery, superior mesenteric artery, and inferior mesenteric artery. The areas supplied by these arteries are used to define the foregut, midgut, and hindgut. The surrounded sac becomes the primitive gut. Sections of this gut begin to differentiate into the organs of the gastrointestinal tract, and the esophagus, and stomach form from the foregut. Function Digestion In the human digestive system, a bolus (a small rounded mass of chewed up food) enters the stomach through the esophagus via the lower esophageal sphincter. The stomach releases proteases (protein-digesting enzymes such as pepsin) and hydrochloric acid, which kills or inhibits bacteria and provides the acidic pH of 2 for the proteases to work. Food is churned by the stomach through muscular contractions of the wall called peristalsis – reducing the volume of the bolus, before looping around the fundus and the body of stomach as the boluses are converted into chyme (partially digested food). Chyme slowly passes through the pyloric sphincter and into the duodenum of the small intestine, where the extraction of nutrients begins. Gastric juice in the stomach also contains pepsinogen. Hydrochloric acid activates this inactive form of enzyme into the active form, pepsin. Pepsin breaks down proteins into polypeptides. Mechanical digestion Within a few moments after food enters the stomach, mixing waves begin to occur at intervals of approximately 20 seconds. A mixing wave is a unique type of peristalsis that mixes and softens the food with gastric juices to create chyme. The initial mixing waves are relatively gentle, but these are followed by more intense waves, starting at the body of the stomach and increasing in force as they reach the pylorus. The pylorus, which holds around 30 mL of chyme, acts as a filter, permitting only liquids and small food particles to pass through the mostly, but not fully, closed pyloric sphincter. In a process called gastric emptying, rhythmic mixing waves force about 3 mL of chyme at a time through the pyloric sphincter and into the duodenum. Release of a greater amount of chyme at one time would overwhelm the capacity of the small intestine to handle it. The rest of the chyme is pushed back into the body of the stomach, where it continues mixing. This process is repeated when the next mixing waves force more chyme into the duodenum. Gastric emptying is regulated by both the stomach and the duodenum. The presence of chyme in the duodenum activates receptors that inhibit gastric secretion. This prevents additional chyme from being released by the stomach before the duodenum is ready to process it. Chemical digestion The fundus stores both undigested food and gases that are released during the process of chemical digestion. Food may sit in the fundus of the stomach for a while before being mixed with the chyme. While the food is in the fundus, the digestive activities of salivary amylase continue until the food begins mixing with the acidic chyme. Ultimately, mixing waves incorporate this food with the chyme, the acidity of which inactivates salivary amylase and activates lingual lipase. Lingual lipase then begins breaking down triglycerides into free fatty acids, and mono- and diglycerides. The breakdown of protein begins in the stomach through the actions of HCl and the enzyme pepsin. The contents of the stomach are completely emptied into the duodenum within 2 to 4 hours after the meal is eaten. Different types of food take different amounts of time to process. Foods heavy in carbohydrates empty fastest, followed by high-protein foods. Meals with a high triglyceride content remain in the stomach the longest. Since enzymes in the small intestine digest fats slowly, food can stay in the stomach for 6 hours or longer when the duodenum is processing fatty chyme. However, this is still a fraction of the 24 to 72 hours that full digestion typically takes from start to finish. Absorption Although the absorption in the human digestive system is mainly a function of the small intestine, some absorption of certain small molecules nevertheless does occur in the stomach through its lining. This includes: Water, if the body is dehydrated Medication, such as aspirin Amino acids 10–20% of ingested ethanol (e.g. from alcoholic beverages) Caffeine To a small extent water-soluble vitamins (most are absorbed in the small intestine)The parietal cells of the human stomach are responsible for producing intrinsic factor, which is necessary for the absorption of vitamin B12. B12 is used in cellular metabolism and is necessary for the production of red blood cells, and the functioning of the nervous system. Control of secretion and motility Chyme from the stomach is slowly released into the duodenum through coordinated peristalsis and opening of the pyloric sphincter. The movement and the flow of chemicals into the stomach are controlled by both the autonomic nervous system and by the various digestive hormones of the digestive system: Other than gastrin, these hormones all act to turn off the stomach action. This is in response to food products in the liver and gall bladder, which have not yet been absorbed. The stomach needs to push food into the small intestine only when the intestine is not busy. While the intestine is full and still digesting food, the stomach acts as storage for food. Other Effects of EGFEpidermal growth factor (EGF) results in cellular proliferation, differentiation, and survival. EGF is a low-molecular-weight polypeptide first purified from the mouse submandibular gland, but since then found in many human tissues including the submandibular gland, and the parotid gland. Salivary EGF, which also seems to be regulated by dietary inorganic iodine, also plays an important physiological role in the maintenance of oro-esophageal and gastric tissue integrity. The biological effects of salivary EGF include healing of oral and gastroesophageal ulcers, inhibition of gastric acid secretion, stimulation of DNA synthesis, and mucosal protection from intraluminal injurious factors such as gastric acid, bile acids, pepsin, and trypsin and from physical, chemical, and bacterial agents. Stomach as nutrition sensorThe human stomach has receptors responsive to sodium glutamate and this information is passed to the lateral hypothalamus and limbic system in the brain as a palatability signal through the vagus nerve. The stomach can also sense, independently of tongue and oral taste receptors, glucose, carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. This allows the brain to link nutritional value of foods to their tastes. Thyrogastric syndromeThis syndrome defines the association between thyroid disease and chronic gastritis, which was first described in the 1960s. This term was coined also to indicate the presence of thyroid autoantibodies or autoimmune thyroid disease in patients with pernicious anemia, a late clinical stage of atrophic gastritis. In 1993, a more complete investigation on the stomach and thyroid was published, reporting that the thyroid is, embryogenetically and phylogenetically, derived from a primitive stomach, and that the thyroid cells, such as primitive gastroenteric cells, migrated and specialized in uptake of iodide and in storage and elaboration of iodine compounds during vertebrate evolution. In fact, the stomach and thyroid share iodine-concentrating ability and many morphological and functional similarities, such as cell polarity and apical microvilli, similar organ-specific antigens and associated autoimmune diseases, secretion of glycoproteins (thyroglobulin and mucin) and peptide hormones, the digesting and readsorbing ability, and lastly, similar ability to form iodotyrosines by peroxidase activity, where iodide acts as an electron donor in the presence of H2O2. In the following years, many researchers published reviews about this syndrome. Clinical significance Diseases A series of radiographs can be used to examine the stomach for various disorders. This will often include the use of a barium swallow. Another method of examination of the stomach, is the use of an endoscope. A gastric emptying study is considered the gold standard to assess the gastric emptying rate.A large number of studies have indicated that most cases of peptic ulcers, and gastritis, in humans are caused by Helicobacter pylori infection, and an association has been seen with the development of stomach cancer.A stomach rumble is actually noise from the intestines. Surgery In humans, many bariatric surgery procedures involve the stomach, in order to lose weight. A gastric band may be placed around the cardia area, which can adjust to limit intake. The anatomy of the stomach may be modified, or the stomach may be bypassed entirely. Surgical removal of the stomach is called a gastrectomy, and removal of the cardia area is a called a cardiectomy. "Cardiectomy" is a term that is also used to describe the removal of the heart. A gastrectomy may be carried out because of gastric cancer or severe perforation of the stomach wall. Fundoplication is stomach surgery in which the fundus is wrapped around the lower esophagus and stitched into place. It is used to treat gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). History There were previously conflicting statements in the academic anatomy community over whether the cardia is part of the stomach, part of the esophagus or a distinct entity. Modern surgical and medical textbooks have agreed that "the gastric cardia is now clearly considered to be part of the stomach." Etymology The word stomach is derived from Latin stomachus, which has roots from Greek stomachos (στόμαχος), ultimately from stoma (στόμα) 'mouth'. Gastro- and gastric (meaning 'related to the stomach') are both derived from Greek gaster (γαστήρ) 'belly'. Other animals Although the precise shape and size of the stomach varies widely among different vertebrates, the relative positions of the esophageal and duodenal openings remain relatively constant. As a result, the organ always curves somewhat to the left before curving back to meet the pyloric sphincter. However, lampreys, hagfishes, chimaeras, lungfishes, and some teleost fish have no stomach at all, with the esophagus opening directly into the intestine. These animals all consume diets that require little storage of food, no predigestion with gastric juices, or both. The gastric lining is usually divided into two regions, an anterior portion lined by fundic glands and a posterior portion lined with pyloric glands. Cardiac glands are unique to mammals, and even then are absent in a number of species. The distributions of these glands vary between species, and do not always correspond with the same regions as in humans. Furthermore, in many non-human mammals, a portion of the stomach anterior to the cardiac glands is lined with epithelium essentially identical to that of the esophagus. Ruminants, in particular, have a complex stomach, the first three chambers of which are all lined with esophageal mucosa.In birds and crocodilians, the stomach is divided into two regions. Anteriorly is a narrow tubular region, the proventriculus, lined by fundic glands, and connecting the true stomach to the crop. Beyond lies the powerful muscular gizzard, lined by pyloric glands, and, in some species, containing stones that the animal swallows to help grind up food.In insects there is also a crop. The insect stomach is called the midgut. Information about the stomach in echinoderms or molluscs can be found under the respective articles. Additional images See also Gastroesophageal reflux disease Human gastrointestinal microbiota Proton-pump inhibitor Stomach at the Human Protein Atlas Digestion of proteins in the stomach or tiyan (archived 10 March 2007) Site with details of how ruminants process food (archived 27 October 2009) Control of Gastric Emptying (Archived 2019-11-12 at the Wayback Machine)

The tail is the section at the rear end of certain kinds of animals' bodies; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage to the torso. It is the part of the body that corresponds roughly to the sacrum and coccyx in mammals, reptiles, and birds. While tails are primarily a feature of vertebrates, some invertebrates including scorpions and springtails, as well as snails and slugs, have tail-like appendages that are sometimes referred to as tails. Tailed objects are sometimes referred to as "caudate" and the part of the body associated with or proximal to the tail are given the adjective "caudal". Function Animal tails are used in a variety of ways. They provide a source of locomotion for fish and some other forms of marine life. Many land animals use their tails to brush away flies and other biting insects. Most canines use their tails to communicate mood and intention. Some species, including cats and kangaroos, use their tails for balance; and some, such as monkeys and opossums, have what are known as prehensile tails, which are adapted to allow them to grasp tree branches.Tails are also used for social signaling. Some deer species flash the white underside of their tails to warn other nearby deer of possible danger, beavers slap the water with their tails to indicate danger, and canids (including domestic dogs) indicate emotions through the positioning and movement of their tails. Some species' tails are armored, and some, such as those of scorpions, contain venom.Some species of lizard can detach ("cast") their tails from their bodies. This can help them to escape predators, which are either distracted by the wriggling, detached tail or left with only the tail while the lizard flees. Tails cast in this manner generally grow back over time, though the replacement is typically darker in colour than the original and contains only cartilage, not bone. Various species of rat demonstrate a similar function with their tails, known as degloving, in which the outer layer is shed in order for the animal to escape from a predator.Most birds' tails end in long feathers called rectrices. These feathers are used as a rudder, helping the bird steer and maneuver in flight; they also help the bird to balance while it is perched. In some species—such as birds of paradise, lyrebirds, and most notably peafowl—modified tail feathers play an important role in courtship displays. The extra-stiff tail feathers of other species, including woodpeckers and woodcreepers, allow them to brace themselves firmly against tree trunks.The tails of grazing animals, such as horses, are used both to sweep away insects and positioned or moved in ways that indicate the animal's physical or emotional state. Human tails In humans, tail bud refers to the part of the embryo which develops into the end of the spine. However, this is not a tail. Infrequently, a child is born with a "soft tail", which contains no vertebrae, but only blood vessels, muscles, and nerves, but this is regarded as an abnormality rather than a vestigial true tail, even when such an appendage is located where the tail would be expected. Fewer than 40 cases have been reported of infants with "true tails" containing the caudal vertebrae, a result of atavism.Humans have a "tail bone" (the coccyx) attached to the pelvis; it comprises fused vertebrae, usually four, at the bottom of the vertebral column. It does not normally protrude externally - humans are an acaudal (or acaudate) species (i.e., tailless). Gallery See also Empennage, the tail of an aircraft Rump (animal) Media related to Tails at Wikimedia Commons

The Turtle Beak mansion (觜宿, pinyin: Zī Xiù) is one of the twenty-eight mansions of the Chinese constellations. It is one of the western mansions of the White Tiger. Asterisms

A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or, is decorative. There are many kinds of walls, including: Walls in buildings that form a fundamental part of the superstructure or separate interior rooms, sometimes for fire safety Glass walls (a wall in which the primary structure is made of glass; does not include openings within walls that have glass coverings: these are windows) Border barriers between countries Brick walls Defensive walls in fortifications Permanent, solid fences Retaining walls, which hold back dirt, stone, water, or noise sound Stone walls Walls that protect from oceans (seawalls) or rivers (levees) Etymology The term wall comes from Latin vallum meaning "...an earthen wall or rampart set with palisades, a row or line of stakes, a wall, a rampart, fortification..." while the Latin word murus means a defensive stone wall.English uses the same word to mean an external wall and the internal sides of a room, but this is not universal. Many languages distinguish between the two. In German, some of this distinction can be seen between Wand and Mauer, in Spanish between pared and muro. Defensive wall The word wall originally referred to defensive walls and ramparts. Building wall The purposes of walls in buildings are to support roofs, floors and ceilings; to enclose a space as part of the building envelope along with a roof to give buildings form; and to provide shelter and security. In addition, the wall may house various types of utilities such as electrical wiring or plumbing. Wall construction falls into two basic categories: framed walls or mass-walls. In framed walls the load is transferred to the foundation through posts, columns or studs. Framed walls most often have three or more separate components: the structural elements (such as 2×4 studs in a house wall), insulation, and finish elements or surfaces (such as drywall or panelling). Mass-walls are of a solid material including masonry, concrete including slipform stonemasonry, log building, cordwood construction, adobe, rammed earth, cob, earthbag construction, bottles, tin cans, straw-bale construction, and ice. Walls may or may not be leadbearing. Walls are required to conform to the local building and/or fire codes. There are three basic methods walls control water intrusion: moisture storage, drained cladding, or face-sealed cladding. Moisture storage is typical of stone and brick mass-wall buildings where moisture is absorbed and released by the walls of the structure itself. Drained cladding also known as screened walls acknowledges moisture will penetrate the cladding so a moisture barrier such as housewrap or felt paper inside the cladding provides a second line of defense and sometimes a drainage plane or air gap allows a path for the moisture to drain down through and exit the wall. Sometimes ventilation is provided in addition to the drainage plane such as in rainscreen construction. Face-sealed also called barrier wall or perfect barrier cladding relies on maintaining a leak-free surface of the cladding. Examples of face sealed cladding are the early exterior insulation finishing systems, structural glazing, metal clad panels, and corrugated metal. Building walls frequently become works of art, externally and internally, such as when featuring mosaic work or when murals are painted on them; or as design foci when they exhibit textures or painted finishes for effect. Curtain wall In architecture and civil engineering, curtain wall refers to a building facade that is not load-bearing but provides decoration, finish, front, face, or historical preservation. Precast wall Precast walls are walls which have been manufactured in a factory and then shipped to where it is needed, ready to install. It is faster to install compared to brick and other walls and may have a lower cost compared to other types of wall. Precast walls are cost effective compare to Brick Wall compound wall. Mullion wall Mullion walls are a structural system that carries the load of the floor slab on prefabricated panels around the perimeter. Partition wall A partition wall is a usually thin wall that is used to separate or divide a room, primarily a pre-existing one. Partition walls are usually not load-bearing, and can be constructed out of many materials, including steel panels, bricks, cloth, plastic, plasterboard, wood, blocks of clay, terracotta, concrete, and glass. Some partition walls are made of sheet glass. Glass partition walls are a series of individual toughened glass panels mounted in wood or metal framing. They may be suspended from or slide along a robust aluminium ceiling track. The system does not require the use of a floor guide, which allows easy operation and an uninterrupted threshold. A timber partition consists of a wooden framework, supported on the floor or by side walls. Metal lath and plaster, properly laid, forms a reinforced partition wall. Partition walls constructed from fibre cement backer board are popular as bases for tiling in kitchens or in wet areas like bathrooms. Galvanized sheet fixed to wooden or steel members are mostly adopted in works of temporary character. Plain or reinforced partition walls may also be constructed from concrete, including pre-cast concrete blocks. Metal framed partitioning is also available. This partition consists of track (used primarily at the base and head of the partition) and studs (vertical sections fixed into the track typically spaced at 24", 16", or at 12"). Internal wall partitions, also known as office partitioning, are usually made of plasterboard (drywall) or varieties of glass. Toughened glass is a common option, as low-iron glass (better known as opti-white glass) increases light and solar heat transmission. Wall partitions are constructed using beads and tracking that is either hung from the ceiling or fixed into the ground. The panels are inserted into the tracking and fixed. Some wall partition variations specify their fire resistance and acoustic performance rating. Movable partitions Movable partitions are walls that open to join two or more rooms into one large floor area. These include: Sliding—a series of panels that slide in tracks fixed to the floor and ceiling, similar sliding doors Sliding and folding doors —similar to sliding folding doors, these are good for smaller spans Folding partition walls - a series of interlocking panels suspended from an overhead track that when extended provide an acoustical separation, and when retracted stack against a wall, ceiling, closet, or ceiling pocket. Screens—usually constructed of a metal or timber frame fixed with plywood and chipboard and supported with legs for free standing and easy movement Pipe and drape—fixed or telescopic uprights and horizontals provide a ground supported drape system with removable panels. Party wall Party walls are walls that separate buildings or units within a building. They provide fire resistance and sound resistance between occupants in a building. The minimum fire resistance and sound resistance required for the party wall is determined by a building code and may be modified to suit a variety of situations. Ownership of such walls can become a legal issue. It is not a load-bearing wall and may be owned by different people. Infill wall An infill wall is the supported wall that closes the perimeter of a building constructed with a three-dimensional framework structure. Fire wall Fire walls resist spread of fire within or sometimes between structures to provide passive fire protection. A delay in the spread of fire gives occupants more time to escape and fire fighters more time to extinguish the fire. Some fire walls allow fire resistive window assemblies, and are made of non-combustible material such as concrete, cement block, brick, or fire rated drywall. Wall penetrations are sealed with fire resistive materials. A doorway in a firewall must have a rated fire door. Fire walls provide varying resistance to the spread of fire, (e.g., one, two, three or four hours). Firewalls can also act as smoke barriers when constructed vertically from slab to roof deck and horizontally from an exterior wall to exterior wall subdividing a building into sections. Shear wall Shear walls resist lateral forces such as in an earthquake or severe wind. There are different kinds of shear walls such as the steel plate shear wall. Knee wall Knee walls are short walls that either support rafters or add height in the top floor rooms of houses. In a 1+1⁄2-story house, the knee wall supports the half story. Cavity wall Cavity walls are walls made with a space between two "skins" to inhibit heat transfer. Pony wall Pony wall (or dwarf wall) is a general term for short walls, such as: A half wall that only extends partway from floor to ceiling, without supporting anything A stem wall—a concrete wall that extends from the foundation slab to the cripple wall or floor joists A cripple wall—a framed wall from the stem wall or foundation slab to the floor joists Demountable wall Demountable walls fall into 3 different main types: Glass walls (unitesed panels or butt joint), Laminated particle board walls (this may also include other finishes, such as whiteboards, cork board, magnetic, etc., typically all on purpose-made wall studs) Drywall Solar energy A trombe wall in passive solar building design acts as a heat sink. Shipbuilding On a ship, a wall that separates major compartments is called a bulkhead. A thinner wall between cabins is called a partition. Boundary wall Boundary walls include privacy walls, boundary-marking walls on property, and town walls. These intergrade into fences. The conventional differentiation is that a fence is of minimal thickness and often open in nature, while a wall is usually more than a nominal thickness and is completely closed, or opaque. More to the point, an exterior structure of wood or wire is generally called a fence—but one of masonry is a wall. A common term for both is barrier, which is convenient for structures that are partly wall and partly fence—for example the Berlin Wall. Another kind of wall-fence ambiguity is the ha-ha—which is set below ground level to protect a view, yet acts as a barrier (to cattle, for example). Before the invention of artillery, many of the world's cities and towns, particularly in Europe and Asia, had defensive or protective walls (also called town walls or city walls). In fact, the English word "wall" derives from Latin vallum—a type of fortification wall. These walls are no longer relevant for defense, so such cities have grown beyond their walls, and many fortification walls, or portions of them, have been torn down—for example in Rome, Italy and Beijing, China. Examples of protective walls on a much larger scale include the Great Wall of China and Hadrian's Wall. Border wall Some walls formally mark the border between one population and another. A border wall is constructed to limit the movement of people across a certain line or border. These structures vary in placement with regard to international borders and topography. The most famous example of border barrier in history is probably the Great Wall of China, a series of walls that separated the Empire of China from nomadic powers to the north. The most prominent recent example is the Berlin Wall, which surrounded the enclave of West Berlin and separated it from East Germany for most of the Cold War era. The US-Mexico border wall, separating the United States and Mexico, is another recent example. Retaining wall In areas of rocky soils around the world, farmers have often pulled large quantities of stone out of their fields to make farming easier and have stacked those stones to make walls that either mark the field boundary, or the property boundary, or both. Retaining walls resist movement of earth, stone, or water. They may be part of a building or external. The ground surface or water on one side of a retaining wall is typically higher than on the other side. A dike is a retaining wall, as is a levee, a load-bearing foundation wall, and a sea wall. Shared wall Special laws often govern walls that neighbouring properties share. Typically, one neighbour cannot alter the common wall if it is likely to affect the building or property on the other side. A wall may also separate apartment or hotel rooms from each other. Each wall has two sides and breaking a wall on one side will break the wall on the other side. Portable wall Portable walls, such as room dividers or portable partitions divide a larger open space into smaller rooms. Portable walls can be static, such as cubicle walls, or can be wall panels mounted on casters to provide an easy way to reconfigure assembly space. They are often found inside schools, churches, convention centers, hotels, and corporate facilities. Temporary wall A temporary wall is constructed for easy removal or demolition. A typical temporary wall can be constructed with 1⁄2" (6 mm) to 5⁄8" (16 mm) sheet rock (plasterboard), metal 2 × 3s (approx. 5 × 7 cm), or 2 × 4s, or taped, plastered and compounded. Most installation companies use lattice (strips of wood) to cover the joints of the temporary wall with the ceiling. These are sometimes known as pressurized walls or temporary pressurized walls. Walls in popular culture Walls are often seen in popular culture, oftentimes representing barriers preventing progress or entry. For example: Fictional and symbolic wallsThe progressive/psychedelic rock band Pink Floyd used a metaphorical wall to represent the isolation felt by the protagonist of their 1979 concept album The Wall. The American poet laureate Robert Frost describes a pointless rock wall as a metaphor for the myopia of the culture-bound in his poem "Mending Wall", published in 1914. Walls are a recurring symbol in Ursula K. Le Guin's 1974 novel The Dispossessed'. In some cases, a wall may refer to an individual's debilitating mental or physical condition, seen as an impassable barrier.In George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series and its television adaptation, Game of Thrones, The Wall plays multiple important roles: as a colossal fortification, made of ice and fortified with magic spells; as a cultural barrier; and as a codification of assumptions. Breaches of the wall, who is allowed to cross it and who is not, and its destruction have important symbolic, logistical, and socio-political implications in the storyline. Reportedly over 700 feet high and 100 leagues (300 miles) wide, it divides the northern border of the Seven Kingdoms realm from the domain of the wildlings and several categories of undead who live beyond it. Historical wallsIn a real-life example, the Berlin Wall, constructed by the Soviet Union to divide Berlin into NATO and Warsaw Pact zones of occupation, became a worldwide symbol of oppression and isolation. Social media wallsAnother common usage is as a communal surface to write upon. For instance the social networking site Facebook previously used an electronic "wall" to log the scrawls of friends until it was replaced by the "timeline" feature. See also

A well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The well water is drawn up by a pump, or using containers, such as buckets or large water bags that are raised mechanically or by hand. Water can also be injected back into the aquifer through the well. Wells were first constructed at least eight thousand years ago and historically vary in construction from a simple scoop in the sediment of a dry watercourse to the qanats of Iran, and the stepwells and sakiehs of India. Placing a lining in the well shaft helps create stability, and linings of wood or wickerwork date back at least as far as the Iron Age. Wells have traditionally been sunk by hand digging, as is still the case in rural areas of the developing world. These wells are inexpensive and low-tech as they use mostly manual labour, and the structure can be lined with brick or stone as the excavation proceeds. A more modern method called caissoning uses pre-cast reinforced concrete well rings that are lowered into the hole. Driven wells can be created in unconsolidated material with a well hole structure, which consists of a hardened drive point and a screen of perforated pipe, after which a pump is installed to collect the water. Deeper wells can be excavated by hand drilling methods or machine drilling, using a bit in a borehole. Drilled wells are usually cased with a factory-made pipe composed of steel or plastic. Drilled wells can access water at much greater depths than dug wells. Two broad classes of well are shallow or unconfined wells completed within the uppermost saturated aquifer at that location, and deep or confined wells, sunk through an impermeable stratum into an aquifer beneath. A collector well can be constructed adjacent to a freshwater lake or stream with water percolating through the intervening material. The site of a well can be selected by a hydrogeologist, or groundwater surveyor. Water may be pumped or hand drawn. Impurities from the surface can easily reach shallow sources and contamination of the supply by pathogens or chemical contaminants needs to be avoided. Well water typically contains more minerals in solution than surface water and may require treatment before being potable. Soil salination can occur as the water table falls and the surrounding soil begins to dry out. Another environmental problem is the potential for methane to seep into the water. History Very early neolithic wells are known from the Eastern Mediterranean: The oldest reliably dated well is from the pre-pottery neolithic (PPN) site of Kissonerga-Mylouthkia on Cyprus. At around 8400 BC a shaft (well 116) of circular diameter was driven through limestone to reach an aquifer at a depth of 8 metres (26 ft). Well 2070 from Kissonerga-Mylouthkia, dating to the late PPN, reaches a depth of 13 metres (43 ft). Other slightly younger wells are known from this site and from neighbouring Parekklisha-Shillourokambos. A first stone lined well of 5.5 metres (18 ft) depth is documented from a drowned final PPN (c. 7000 BC) site at ‘Atlit-Yam off the coast near modern Haifa in Israel. Wood-lined wells are known from the early Neolithic Linear Pottery culture, for example in Ostrov, Czech Republic, dated 5265 BC, Kückhoven (an outlying centre of Erkelenz), dated 5090 BC, and Eythra in Schletz (an outlying centre of Asparn an der Zaya) in Austria, dated 5200 BC.The neolithic Chinese discovered and made extensive use of deep drilled groundwater for drinking. The Chinese text The Book of Changes, originally a divination text of the Western Zhou dynasty (1046 -771 BC), contains an entry describing how the ancient Chinese maintained their wells and protected their sources of water. A well excavated at the Hemedu excavation site was believed to have been built during the neolithic era. The well was cased by four rows of logs with a square frame attached to them at the top of the well. 60 additional tile wells southwest of Beijing are also believed to have been built around 600 BC for drinking and irrigation. In Egypt, shadoofs and sakias are used. The sakia is much more efficient, as it can bring up water from a depth of 10 metres (versus the 3 metres of the shadoof). The sakia is the Egyptian version of the noria. Some of the world's oldest known wells, located in Cyprus, date to 7000–8,500 BC. Two wells from the Neolithic period, around 6500 BC, have been discovered in Israel. One is in Atlit, on the northern coast of Israel, and the other is the Jezreel Valley.Wells for other purposes came along much later, historically. The first recorded salt well was dug in the Sichuan province of China around 2,250 years ago. This was the first time that ancient water well technology was applied successfully for the exploitation of salt, and marked the beginning of Sichuan's salt drilling industry. The earliest known oil wells were also drilled in China, in 347 CE. These wells had depths of up to about 240 metres (790 ft) and were drilled using bits attached to bamboo poles. The oil was burned to evaporate brine and produce salt. By the 10th century, extensive bamboo pipelines connected oil wells with salt springs. The ancient records of China and Japan are said to contain many allusions to the use of natural gas for lighting and heating. Petroleum was known as Burning water in Japan in the 7th century. Types Dug wells Until recent centuries, all artificial wells were pumpless hand-dug wells of varying degrees of sophistication, and they remain a very important source of potable water in some rural developing areas, where they are routinely dug and used today. Their indispensability has produced a number of literary references, literal and figurative, including the reference to the incident of Jesus meeting a woman at Jacob's well (John 4:6) in the Bible and the "Ding Dong Bell" nursery rhyme about a cat in a well. Hand-dug wells are excavations with diameters large enough to accommodate one or more people with shovels digging down to below the water table. The excavation is braced horizontally to avoid landslide or erosion endangering the people digging. They can be lined with stone or brick; extending this lining upwards above the ground surface to form a wall around the well serves to reduce both contamination and accidental falls into the well. A more modern method called caissoning uses reinforced concrete or plain concrete pre-cast well rings that are lowered into the hole. A well-digging team digs under a cutting ring and the well column slowly sinks into the aquifer, whilst protecting the team from collapse of the well bore. Hand-dug wells are inexpensive and low tech (compared to drilling) and they use mostly manual labour to access groundwater in rural locations of developing countries. They may be built with a high degree of community participation, or by local entrepreneurs who specialize in hand-dug wells. They have been successfully excavated to 60 metres (200 ft). They have low operational and maintenance costs, in part because water can be extracted by hand, without a pump. The water often comes from an aquifer or groundwater, and can be easily deepened, which may be necessary if the ground water level drops, by telescoping the lining further down into the aquifer. The yield of existing hand dug wells may be improved by deepening or introducing vertical tunnels or perforated pipes. Drawbacks to hand-dug wells are numerous. It can be impractical to hand dig wells in areas where hard rock is present, and they can be time-consuming to dig and line even in favourable areas. Because they exploit shallow aquifers, the well may be susceptible to yield fluctuations and possible contamination from surface water, including sewage. Hand dug well construction generally requires the use of a well trained construction team, and the capital investment for equipment such as concrete ring moulds, heavy lifting equipment, well shaft formwork, motorized de-watering pumps, and fuel can be large for people in developing countries. Construction of hand dug wells can be dangerous due to collapse of the well bore, falling objects and asphyxiation, including from dewatering pump exhaust fumes. The Woodingdean Water Well, hand-dug between 1858 and 1862, is the deepest hand-dug well at 392 metres (1,285 ft). The Big Well in Greensburg, Kansas is billed as the world's largest hand-dug well, at 109 feet (33 m) deep and 32 feet (9.8 m) in diameter. However, the Well of Joseph in the Cairo Citadel at 280 feet (85 m) deep and the Pozzo di San Patrizio (St. Patrick's Well) built in 1527 in Orvieto, Italy, at 61 metres (200 ft) deep by 13 metres (43 ft) wide are both larger by volume. Driven wells Driven wells may be very simply created in unconsolidated material with a well hole structure, which consists of a hardened drive point and a screen (perforated pipe). The point is simply hammered into the ground, usually with a tripod and driver, with pipe sections added as needed. A driver is a weighted pipe that slides over the pipe being driven and is repeatedly dropped on it. When groundwater is encountered, the well is washed of sediment and a pump installed. Drilled wells Drilled wells are constructed using various types of drilling machines, such as top-head rotary, table rotary, or cable tool, which all use drilling stems that rotate to cut into the formation, thus the term "drilling." Drilled wells can be excavated by simple hand drilling methods (augering, sludging, jetting, driving, hand percussion) or machine drilling (rotary, percussion, down the hole hammer). Deeprock rotary drilling method is most common. Rotary can be used in 90% of formation types. Drilled wells can get water from a much deeper level than dug wells can − often down to several hundred metres.Drilled wells with electric pumps are used throughout the world, typically in rural or sparsely populated areas, though many urban areas are supplied partly by municipal wells. Most shallow well drilling machines are mounted on large trucks, trailers, or tracked vehicle carriages. Water wells typically range from 3 to 18 metres (10–60 ft) deep, but in some areas it can go deeper than 900 metres (3,000 ft). Rotary drilling machines use a segmented steel drilling string, typically made up of 6 m (20 ft) sections of galvanized steel tubing that are threaded together, with a bit or other drilling device at the bottom end. Some rotary drilling machines are designed to install (by driving or drilling) a steel casing into the well in conjunction with the drilling of the actual bore hole. Air and/or water is used as a circulation fluid to displace cuttings and cool bits during the drilling. Another form of rotary-style drilling, termed mud rotary, makes use of a specially made mud, or drilling fluid, which is constantly being altered during the drill so that it can consistently create enough hydraulic pressure to hold the side walls of the bore hole open, regardless of the presence of a casing in the well. Typically, boreholes drilled into solid rock are not cased until after the drilling process is completed, regardless of the machinery used. The oldest form of drilling machinery is the cable tool, still used today. Specifically designed to raise and lower a bit into the bore hole, the spudding of the drill causes the bit to be raised and dropped onto the bottom of the hole, and the design of the cable causes the bit to twist at approximately 1⁄4 revolution per drop, thereby creating a drilling action. Unlike rotary drilling, cable tool drilling requires the drilling action to be stopped so that the bore hole can be bailed or emptied of drilled cuttings. Drilled wells are usually cased with a factory-made pipe, typically steel (in air rotary or cable tool drilling) or plastic/PVC (in mud rotary wells, also present in wells drilled into solid rock). The casing is constructed by welding, either chemically or thermally, segments of casing together. If the casing is installed during the drilling, most drills will drive the casing into the ground as the bore hole advances, while some newer machines will actually allow for the casing to be rotated and drilled into the formation in a similar manner as the bit advancing just below. PVC or plastic is typically welded and then lowered into the drilled well, vertically stacked with their ends nested and either glued or splined together. The sections of casing are usually 6 metres (20 ft) or more in length, and 6 to 12 in (15 to 30 cm) in diameter, depending on the intended use of the well and local groundwater conditions. Surface contamination of wells in the United States is typically controlled by the use of a surface seal. A large hole is drilled to a predetermined depth or to a confining formation (clay or bedrock, for example), and then a smaller hole for the well is completed from that point forward. The well is typically cased from the surface down into the smaller hole with a casing that is the same diameter as that hole. The annular space between the large bore hole and the smaller casing is filled with bentonite clay, concrete, or other sealant material. This creates an impermeable seal from the surface to the next confining layer that keeps contaminants from traveling down the outer sidewalls of the casing or borehole and into the aquifer. In addition, wells are typically capped with either an engineered well cap or seal that vents air through a screen into the well, but keeps insects, small animals, and unauthorized persons from accessing the well. At the bottom of wells, based on formation, a screening device, filter pack, slotted casing, or open bore hole is left to allow the flow of water into the well. Constructed screens are typically used in unconsolidated formations (sands, gravels, etc.), allowing water and a percentage of the formation to pass through the screen. Allowing some material to pass through creates a large area filter out of the rest of the formation, as the amount of material present to pass into the well slowly decreases and is removed from the well. Rock wells are typically cased with a PVC liner/casing and screen or slotted casing at the bottom, this is mostly present just to keep rocks from entering the pump assembly. Some wells utilize a filter pack method, where an undersized screen or slotted casing is placed inside the well and a filter medium is packed around the screen, between the screen and the borehole or casing. This allows the water to be filtered of unwanted materials before entering the well and pumping zone. Classification There are two broad classes of drilled-well types, based on the type of aquifer the well is in: Shallow or unconfined wells are completed in the uppermost saturated aquifer at that location (the upper unconfined aquifer). Deep or confined wells are sunk through an impermeable stratum into an aquifer that is sandwiched between two impermeable strata (aquitards or aquicludes). The majority of deep aquifers are classified as artesian because the hydraulic head in a confined well is higher than the level of the top of the aquifer. If the hydraulic head in a confined well is higher than the land surface it is a "flowing" artesian well (named after Artois in France).A special type of water well may be constructed adjacent to freshwater lakes or streams. Commonly called a collector well but sometimes referred to by the trade name Ranney well or Ranney collector, this type of well involves sinking a caisson vertically below the top of the aquifer and then advancing lateral collectors out of the caisson and beneath the surface water body. Pumping from within the caisson induces infiltration of water from the surface water body into the aquifer, where it is collected by the collector well laterals and conveyed into the caisson where it can be pumped to the ground surface.Two additional broad classes of well types may be distinguished, based on the use of the well: production or pumping wells, are large diameter (greater than 15 cm in diameter) cased (metal, plastic, or concrete) water wells, constructed for extracting water from the aquifer by a pump (if the well is not artesian). monitoring wells or piezometers, are often smaller diameter wells used to monitor the hydraulic head or sample the groundwater for chemical constituents. Piezometers are monitoring wells completed over a very short section of aquifer. Monitoring wells can also be completed at multiple levels, allowing discrete samples or measurements to be made at different vertical elevations at the same map location.A well constructed for pumping groundwater can be used passively as a monitoring well and a small diameter well can be pumped, but this distinction by use is common. Siting Before excavation, information about the geology, water table depth, seasonal fluctuations, recharge area and rate must be found. This work is typically done by a hydrogeologist, or a groundwater surveyor using a variety of tools including electro-seismic surveying, any available information from nearby wells, geologic maps, and sometimes geophysical imaging. Contamination Shallow pumping wells can often supply drinking water at a very low cost. However, impurities from the surface easily reach shallow sources, which leads to a greater risk of contamination for these wells compared to deeper wells. Contaminated wells can lead to the spread of various waterborne diseases. Dug and driven wells are relatively easy to contaminate; for instance, most dug wells are unreliable in the majority of the United States. Some research has found that, in cold regions, changes in river flow and flooding caused by extreme rainfall or snowmelt can degrade well water quality. Pathogens Most of the bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi that contaminate well water comes from fecal material from humans and other animals. Common bacterial contaminants include E. coli, Salmonella, Shigella, and Campylobacter jejuni. Common viral contaminants include norovirus, sapovirus, rotavirus, enteroviruses, and hepatitis A and E. Parasites include Giardia lamblia, Cryptosporidium, Cyclospora cayetanensis, and microsporidia. Chemical contamination Chemical contamination is a common problem with groundwater. Nitrates from sewage, sewage sludge or fertilizer are a particular problem for babies and young children. Pollutant chemicals include pesticides and volatile organic compounds from gasoline, dry-cleaning, the fuel additive methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), and perchlorate from rocket fuel, airbag inflators, and other artificial and natural sources.Several minerals are also contaminants, including lead leached from brass fittings or old lead pipes, chromium VI from electroplating and other sources, naturally occurring arsenic, radon, and uranium—all of which can cause cancer—and naturally occurring fluoride, which is desirable in low quantities to prevent tooth decay, but can cause dental fluorosis in higher concentrations.Some chemicals are commonly present in water wells at levels that are not toxic, but can cause other problems. Calcium and magnesium cause what is known as hard water, which can precipitate and clog pipes or burn out water heaters. Iron and manganese can appear as dark flecks that stain clothing and plumbing, and can promote the growth of iron and manganese bacteria that can form slimy black colonies that clog pipes. Prevention The quality of the well water can be significantly increased by lining the well, sealing the well head, fitting a self-priming hand pump, constructing an apron, ensuring the area is kept clean and free from stagnant water and animals, moving sources of contamination (pit latrines, garbage pits, on-site sewer systems) and carrying out hygiene education. The well should be cleaned with 1% chlorine solution after construction and periodically every 6 months.Well holes should be covered to prevent loose debris, animals, animal excrement, and wind-blown foreign matter from falling into the hole and decomposing. The cover should be able to be in place at all times, including when drawing water from the well. A suspended roof over an open hole helps to some degree, but ideally the cover should be tight fitting and fully enclosing, with only a screened air vent.Minimum distances and soil percolation requirements between sewage disposal sites and water wells need to be observed. Rules regarding the design and installation of private and municipal septic systems take all these factors into account so that nearby drinking water sources are protected. Education of the general population in society also plays an important role in protecting drinking water. Mitigation Cleanup of contaminated groundwater tends to be very costly. Effective remediation of groundwater is generally very difficult. Contamination of groundwater from surface and subsurface sources can usually be dramatically reduced by correctly centering the casing during construction and filling the casing annulus with an appropriate sealing material. The sealing material (grout) should be placed from immediately above the production zone back to surface, because, in the absence of a correctly constructed casing seal, contaminated fluid can travel into the well through the casing annulus. Centering devices are important (usually one per length of casing or at maximum intervals of 9 m) to ensure that the grouted annular space is of even thickness.Upon the construction of a new test well, it is considered best practice to invest in a complete battery of chemical and biological tests on the well water in question. Point-of-use treatment is available for individual properties and treatment plants are often constructed for municipal water supplies that suffer from contamination. Most of these treatment methods involve the filtration of the contaminants of concern, and additional protection may be garnered by installing well-casing screens only at depths where contamination is not present.Wellwater for personal use is often filtered with reverse osmosis water processors; this process can remove very small particles. A simple, effective way of killing microorganisms is to bring the water to a full boil for one to three minutes, depending on location. A household well contaminated by microorganisms can initially be treated by shock chlorination using bleach, generating concentrations hundreds of times greater than found in community water systems; however, this will not fix any structural problems that led to the contamination and generally requires some expertise and testing for effective application.After the filtration process, it is common to implement an ultraviolet (UV) system to kill pathogens in the water. UV light affects the DNA of the pathogen by UV-C photons breaking through the cell wall. UV disinfection has been gaining popularity in the past decades as it is a chemical-free method of water treatment. Environmental problems A risk with the placement of water wells is soil salination which occurs when the water table of the soil begins to drop and salt begins to accumulate as the soil begins to dry out. Another environmental problem that is very prevalent in water well drilling is the potential for methane to seep through. Soil salination The potential for soil salination is a large risk when choosing the placement of water wells. Soil salination is caused when the water table of the soil drops over time and salt begins to accumulate. In turn, the increased amount of salt begins to dry the soil out. The increased level of salt in the soil can result in the degradation of soil and can be very harmful to vegetation. Methane Methane, an asphyxiant, is a chemical compound that is the main component of natural gas. When methane is introduced into a confined space, it displaces oxygen, reducing oxygen concentration to a level low enough to pose a threat to humans and other aerobic organisms but still high enough for a risk of spontaneous or externally caused explosion. This potential for explosion is what poses such a danger in regards to the drilling and placement of water wells.Low levels of methane in drinking water are not considered toxic. When methane seeps into a water supply, it is commonly referred to as "methane migration". This can be caused by old natural gas wells near water well systems becoming abandoned and no longer monitored.Lately, however, the described wells/pumps are no longer very efficient and can be replaced by either handpumps or treadle pumps. Another alternative is the use of self-dug wells, electrical deep-well pumps (for higher depths). Appropriate technology organizations as Practical Action are now supplying information on how to build/set-up (DIY) handpumps and treadle pumps in practice. Water security A study concluded that of ~39 million groundwater wells 6-20% are at high risk of running dry if local groundwater levels decline by less than five meters, or – as with many areas and possibly more than half of major aquifers – continue to decline. Society and culture Springs and wells have had cultural significance since prehistoric times, leading to the foundation of towns such as Wells and Bath in Somerset. Interest in health benefits led to the growth of spa towns including many with wells in their name, examples being Llandrindod Wells and Royal Tunbridge Wells.Eratosthenes is sometimes claimed to have used a well in his calculation of the Earth's circumference; however, this is just a simplification used in a shorter explanation of Cleomedes, since Eratosthenes had used a more elaborate and precise method.Many incidents in the Bible take place around wells, such as the finding of a wife for Isaac in Genesis and Jesus's talk with the Samaritan woman in the Gospels. A simple model for water well recovery For a well with impermeable walls, the water in the well is resupplied from the bottom of the well. The rate at which water flows into the well will depend on the pressure difference between the ground water at the well bottom and the well water at the well bottom. The pressure of a column of water of height z will be equal to the weight of the water in the column divided by the cross-sectional area of the column, so the pressure of the ground water a distance zT below the top of the water table will be: P g = ρ g z T {\displaystyle P_{g}=\rho \,g\,z_{T}} where ρ is the mass density of the water and g is the acceleration due to gravity. When the water in the well is below the water table level, the pressure at the bottom of the well due to the water in the well will be less than Pg and water will be forced into the well. Referring to the diagram, if z is the distance from the bottom of the well to the well water level and zT is the distance from the bottom of the well to the top of the water table, the pressure difference will be: Δ P = ρ g ( z T − z ) {\displaystyle \Delta P=\rho \,g\,(z_{T}-z)} Applying Darcy's Law, the volume rate (F) at which water is forced into the well will be proportional to this pressure difference: Δ P = R F {\displaystyle \Delta P=R\,F} where R is the resistance to the flow, which depends on the well cross section, the pressure gradient at the bottom of the well, and the characteristics of the substrate at the well bottom. (e.g., porosity). The volume flow rate into the well can be written as a function of the rate of change of the well water level: F = A d z d t {\displaystyle F=A{\frac {dz}{dt}}} Combining the above three equations yields a simple differential equation in z: R A d z d t = ρ g ( z T − z ) {\displaystyle RA{\frac {dz}{dt}}=\rho g(z_{T}-z)} which may be solved: z = z T − ( z T − z 0 ) e − t / τ {\displaystyle z=z_{T}-(z_{T}-z_{0})e^{-t/\tau }} where z0 is the well water level at time t=0 and τ is the well time constant: τ = R A ρ g {\displaystyle \tau ={\frac {RA}{\rho g}}} Note that if dz/dt for a depleted well can be measured, it will be equal to z T / τ {\displaystyle z_{T}/\tau } and the time constant τ can be calculated. According to the above model, it will take an infinite amount of time for a well to fully recover, but if we consider a well that is 99% recovered to be "practically" recovered, the time for a well to practically recover from a level at z will be: T r = τ ln ⁡ ( 1 − z / z T 1 − 0.99 ) {\displaystyle T_{r}=\tau \ln \left({\frac {1-z/z_{T}}{1-0.99}}\right)} For a well that is fully depleted (z=0) it would take a time of about 4.6 τ to practically recover. The above model does not take into account the depletion of the aquifer due to the pumping which lowered the well water level (See aquifer test and groundwater flow equation). Also, practical wells may have impermeable walls only up to, but not including the bedrock, which will give a larger surface area for water to enter the well. See also Bibliography Driscoll, F. (1986). Groundwater and Wells. St. Paul: Johnson Filtration Systems. ISBN 978-0-9616456-0-1. Raymond Rowles (1995). Drilling for Water (2nd ed.). Avebury, Cranfield University. ISBN 1-85628-984-2. Sustainable Groundwater Development theme of the Rural Water Supply Network (RWSN) Water Portal – Akvopedia Sustainable Sanitation and Water Management Toolbox U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Healthy Water – Water Wells Site covering well basics, guidelines for proper siting and location of wells to avoid contamination, well testing, diseases related to wells, emergency well treatment and other topics. US Geological Survey – Ground water: Wells US Geological Survey – Water Science Pictures Flowing Artesian Well Drilling wells 18 extremely useful questions and answers American Ground Water Trust Lifewater International Technical Library Well Construction Technical Resources for NGOs

Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus Salix, comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known as willow, but some narrow-leaved shrub species are called osier, and some broader-leaved species are referred to as sallow (from Old English sealh, related to the Latin word salix, willow). Some willows (particularly arctic and alpine species) are low-growing or creeping shrubs; for example, the dwarf willow (Salix herbacea) rarely exceeds 6 centimetres (2+1⁄2 in) in height, though it spreads widely across the ground. Description Willows all have abundant watery bark sap, which is heavily charged with salicylic acid, soft, usually pliant, tough wood, slender branches, and large, fibrous, often stoloniferous roots. The roots are remarkable for their toughness, size, and tenacity to live, and roots readily sprout from aerial parts of the plant. Leaves The leaves are typically elongated, but they might also be round to oval, frequently with serrated edges. Most species are deciduous; semi-evergreen willows with coriaceous leaves are rare, e.g. Salix micans and S. australior in the eastern Mediterranean. All the buds are lateral; no absolutely terminal bud is ever formed. The buds are covered by a single scale. Usually, the bud scale is fused into a cap-like shape, but in some species it wraps around and the edges overlap.The leaves are simple, feather-veined, and typically linear-lanceolate. Usually they are serrate, rounded at base, acute or acuminate. The leaf petioles are short, the stipules often very conspicuous, resembling tiny, round leaves, and sometimes remaining for half the summer. On some species, however, they are small, inconspicuous, and caducous (soon falling). In color, the leaves show a great variety of greens, ranging from yellowish to bluish color. Willows are among the earliest woody plants to leaf out in spring and the last to drop their leaves in autumn. In the northern hemisphere, leafout may occur as early as February depending on the climate and is stimulated by air temperature. If daytime highs reach 10 °C (50 °F) for a few consecutive days, a willow will attempt to put out leaves and flowers. In the northern hemisphere, leaf drop in autumn occurs when day length shortens to approximately ten hours and 25 minutes, which varies by latitude (as early as the first week of October for boreal species such as S. alaxensis and as late as the third week of December for willows growing in far southern areas). Flowers With the exception of Salix martiana, willows are dioecious, with male and female flowers appearing as catkins on separate plants; the catkins are produced early in the spring, often before the leaves. The staminate (male) flowers are without either calyx with corolla; they consist simply of stamens, varying in number from two to 10, accompanied by a nectariferous gland and inserted on the base of a scale which is itself borne on the rachis of a drooping raceme called a catkin, or ament. This scale is square, entire, and very hairy. The anthers are rose-colored in the bud, but orange or purple after the flower opens; they are two-celled and the cells open latitudinally. The filaments are threadlike, usually pale brown, and often bald. The pistillate (female) flowers are also without calyx or corolla, and consist of a single ovary accompanied by a small, flat nectar gland and inserted on the base of a scale which is likewise borne on the rachis of a catkin. The ovary is one-celled, the style two-lobed, and the ovules numerous. Taxonomy The scientific use of the genus name Salix originates with Carl Linnaeus in 1753. The modern concept of types did not exist at the time, so types for Linnaeus' genera had to be designated later. The type species, i.e., the species on which the genus name is based, is Salix alba, based on a conserved type.The generic name Salix comes from Latin and was already used by the Romans for various types of willow. A theory is that the word is ultimately derived from a Celtic language, sal meaning 'near' and lis meaning 'water', alluding to their habitat.Willows are classified into subgenera though what they should be is in flux. Morphological studies generally divide the species into 3 or 5 subgenera: Salix (though some split off subgenera Longifoliae and Protitae), Chamaetia, and Vetrix. Phylogenetic studies have suggested that Chamaetia and Vetrix be in one clade.The oldest fossils of the genus are known from the early Eocene of North America, with the earliest occurrences in Europe during the Early Oligocene. Selected species The genus Salix is made up of around 350 species of deciduous trees and shrubs. They hybridise freely, and over 160 such hybrids have been named.Examples of well-known willows include: Ecology Willows are shade tolerant and typically short-lived. They require disturbances to outcompete conifers or large deciduous species. The seeds are tiny, plentiful, carried by wind and water, and viable only for a few days; they require warm and moist conditions to take root. The plants can also reproduce vegetatively from decapitated stumps and branches.Willows produce a modest amount of nectar from which bees can make honey, and are especially valued as a source of early pollen for bees. Various animals browse the foliage or shelter amongst the plants. Beavers use willows to build dams. The trees are used as food by the larvae of some species of Lepidoptera, such as the mourning cloak butterfly. Ants, such as wood ants, are common on willows inhabited by aphids, coming to collect aphid honeydew, as sometimes do wasps. Pests and diseases Willow species are hosts to more than a hundred aphid species, belonging to Chaitophorus and other genera, forming large colonies to feed on plant juices, on the underside of leaves in particular. Corythucha elegans, the willow lace bug, is a bug species in the family Tingidae found on willows in North America. Rhabdophaga rosaria is a type of gall found on willows. Rust, caused by fungi of genus Melampsora, is known to damage leaves of willows, covering them with orange spots. Conservation Some Native Americans allowed wildfires to burn and set fires intentionally, allowing new stands to form.A small number of willow species were widely planted in Australia, notably as erosion-control measures along watercourses. They are now regarded as invasive weeds which occupy extensive areas across southern Australia and are considered 'Weeds of National Significance'. Many catchment management authorities are removing and replacing them with native trees. Cultivation Almost all willows take root very readily from cuttings or where broken branches lie on the ground. The few exceptions include the goat willow (Salix caprea) and peachleaf willow (Salix amygdaloides). One famous example of such growth from cuttings involves the poet Alexander Pope, who begged a twig from a parcel tied with twigs sent from Spain to Lady Suffolk. This twig was planted and thrived, and legend has it that all of England's weeping willows are descended from this first one.Willows are extensively cultivated around the world. They are used in hedges and landscaping. Hybrids and cultivars Willows are very cross-compatible, and numerous hybrids occur, both naturally and in cultivation. A well-known ornamental example is the weeping willow (Salix × sepulcralis), which is a hybrid of Peking willow (Salix babylonica) from China and white willow (Salix alba) from Europe. The widely planted Chinese willow Salix matsudana is now considered a synonym of S. babylonica. Numerous cultivars of Salix have been developed and named over the centuries. New selections of cultivars with superior technical and ornamental characteristics have been chosen deliberately and applied to various purposes. Many cultivars and unmodified species of Salix have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. Most recently, Salix has become an important source for bioenergy production and for various ecosystem services.Names of hybrids and cultivars were until recently (2021) compiled by a working party of the UN FAO, the International Cultivar Registration Authority (ICRAs) for the genus Salix (willows), but it is no longer active. Uses The Quinault people made the bark into a twine which sometimes served as harpoon line. The wood was used by some Native American tribes to start fires by friction, the shoots to weave baskets, and both the branches and stems to build various items including fishing weirs. Medicinal The leaves and bark of the willow have been mentioned in ancient texts from Assyria, Sumer and Egypt and in Ancient Greece the physician Hippocrates wrote about its medicinal properties in the fifth century BC.Interpreting Mesopotamian cuneiform texts is a challenge, especially when looking for something as specific as a species of plant being used to treat a recognisable condition. Some 5,000 medical prescriptions have been identified from Babylonian writings of the 7th to 3rd centuries BC, involving 1,300 drugs from 340 different plants. Whether any of these relate to willow is uncertain. The seeds of the Haluppu-tree were recommended in the Sumerian narrative of Gilgameš, Enkidu and the Nether World as treatment for infertility, but the "Haluppu-tree" could have been oak, poplar or willow.The ancient Egyptian Ebers Papyrus mentions willow (of uncertain species) in three remedies. One, as part of an elaborate recipe for a poultice to "make the met supple," which involved 36 other ingredients including "fruit of the dompalm, beans and amaa grains." The meaning of met is uncertain, but it may be something to do with the nervous system. The second is as part of a treatment for the "Great Debility," when "rush from the green willow tree" is combined with ass's semen, fresh bread, herbs of the field, figs, grapes and wine. Finally, it is used as a stiffening agent in a concoction of "fat flesh, figs, dates, incense, garlic and sweet beer" to put the heart into proper working order and make it take up nourishment.The Roman author Aulus Cornelius Celsus only mentions willow once: the leaves, pounded and boiled in vinegar, were to be used as treatment for uterine prolapse, but it is unclear what he considered the therapeutic action to be; it is unlikely to have been pain relief, as he recommended cauterization in the following paragraph.Nicholas Culpeper, in The Complete Herbal, gives many uses for willow, including to staunch wounds, to "stay the heat of lust" in man or woman, and to provoke urine ("if stopped"), but he makes no mention of any supposed analgesic properties. His recommendation to use the burnt ashes of willow bark, mixed with vinegar, to "take away warts, corns, and superfluous flesh," seems to correspond with modern uses of salicylic acid. William Turner's account, written about 1597, focuses on the ability of the leaves and bark to "stay the spitting of blood, and all other fluxes of blood," if boiled in wine and drunk, but adds a treatment for fever, saying: "the green boughs with the leaves may very well be brought into chambers and set about the beds of those that be sick of fevers, for they do mightily cool the heat of the air, which thing is a wonderful refreshing to the sick patients."In 1763, Reverend Edward Stone, of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, England, sent a letter to the Royal Society describing his experiments with powdered bark of white willow (Salix alba). He had noticed the willow bark tasted bitter, like 'Peruvian Bark' (cinchona), which was used to treat fevers, and he speculated that the willow would have a similar effect. Over several years he tested it on as many as fifty patients and found it to be highly effective (especially when mixed with cinchona). Whether this was a real effect or not is unknown, but although Stone's remedy was experimented with by others at the time, it was never adopted by medical practitioners. During the American Civil War, Confederate forces also experimented with willow as a cure for malaria, without success.In his novel The Mysterious Island (1875), the French novelist Jules Verne outlined the state of scientific knowledge concerning medicinal uses of willow when one of his characters, Herbert (Harbert) Brown, was suffering from a fever induced by a bullet wound: "The bark of the willow has, indeed, been justly considered as a succedaneum for Peruvian bark, as has also that of the horse-chestnut tree, the leaf of the holly, the snake-root, etc.", he wrote. In the story, Herbert is treated with powdered willow bark to no effect, and is saved when a supply of quinine is discovered. It is clear in the novel that the causes of fevers were poorly understood, and there is no suggestion at all of any possible analgesic effect from the use of willow. The first lasting evidence that salicylate, from willow and other plant species, might have real medicinal uses came in 1876, when the Scottish physician Thomas MacLagan experimented with salicin as a treatment for acute rheumatism, with considerable success, as he reported in The Lancet. Meanwhile, German scientists tried salicylic acid in the form of sodium salicylate, a sodium salt, with less success and more severe side effects. The treatment of rheumatic fever with salicin gradually gained some acceptance in medical circles.The discovery of acetanilide, in the 1880s, gave rise to an 'acetylation' craze, where chemists experimented with adding an acetyl group to various aromatic organic compounds. Back in 1853, chemist Charles Frédéric Gerhardt treated the medicine sodium salicylate with acetyl chloride to produce acetylsalicylic acid for the first time. More than 40 years later in 1897, Felix Hoffmann created the same acid (in his case derived from the Spiraea plant), which was found in 1899 to have an analgesic effect. This acid was named "Aspirin" by Hoffmann's employer Bayer AG. The discovery of aspirin is therefore only indirectly connected to willow. In the late 1990s, Daniel Moerman reported many uses of willow by Native Americans. One modern field guide claims that Native Americans across the Americas relied on the willow as a staple of their medical treatments, using the bark to treat ailments such as sore throat and tuberculosis, and further alleging that "Several references mention chewing willow bark as an analgesic for headache and other pain, apparently presaging the development of aspirin in the late 1800s."Herbal uses of willow have continued into modern times. In the early 20th century, Maud Grieve described using the bark and the powdered root of white willow (Salix alba) for its tonic, antiperiodic and astringent qualities and recommended its use in treating dyspepsia, worms, chronic diarrhoea and dysentery. Like other herbalists, she makes no mention of it having any analgesic effect, despite widespread awareness of aspirin by this time, and she considered tannin to be the active constituent. It was long after the invention of aspirin that the idea emerged that willow bark is an effective painkiller. It may often be based on the belief that willow actually contains aspirin. Articles asserting that the ancients used willow for this purpose have been published in academic journals such as the British Journal of Haematology. There are now many papers, books and articles repeating the claim that the ancients used willow for pain relief, and numerous willow-based products can be purchased for this purpose. Modern research suggests that only the mildest analgesic effect could be derived from the use of willow extract, and even that may be due to flavonoids and polyphenols as much as salicylic acid. Manufacturing Some of humans' earliest manufactured items may have been made from willow. A fishing net made from willow dates back to 8300 BC.Basic crafts, such as baskets, fish traps, wattle fences and wattle and daub house walls, were often woven from osiers or withies (rod-like willow shoots, often grown in pollards). One of the forms of Welsh coracle boat traditionally uses willow in the framework. Thin or split willow rods can be woven into wicker, which also has a long history. The relatively pliable willow is less likely to split while being woven than many other woods, and can be bent around sharp corners in basketry. Willow wood is also used in the manufacture of boxes, brooms, cricket bats, cradle boards, chairmans and other furniture, dolls, willow flutes, poles, sweat lodges, toys, turnery, tool handles, wood veneer, wands and whistles. In addition, tannin, fibre, paper, rope and string can be produced from the wood. Willow is also used in the manufacture of double basses for backs, sides and linings, and in making splines and blocks for bass repair. Horticulture An aqueous extract of willow bark is used as a fungicide on horticultural nurseries in the European Union and United Kingdom. The willow bark extract is approved as a 'basic substance' product in the European Union and United Kingdom for the control of scab, leaf peach curl and powdery mildew on grapes, apples and peach crops. Weeds Willow roots spread widely and are very aggressive in seeking out moisture; for this reason, they can become problematic when planted in residential areas, where the roots are notorious for clogging French drains, drainage systems, weeping tiles, septic systems, storm drains, and sewer systems, particularly older, tile, concrete, or ceramic pipes. Newer, PVC sewer pipes are much less leaky at the joints, and are therefore less susceptible to problems from willow roots; the same is true of water supply piping. Others Warfare: Surprisingly, throughout World War II, willows were a British strategic material. Everything dropped by parachutes was dropped in baskets – light and strong: they could be made in any shape, and bounced on impact. British production of willows was about 2000 tonnes per year by some 630 manufacturers employing 7000 basket makers. Lawrence Ogilvie (a plant pathologist who had studied and written his 1920s Cambridge University master's degree thesis about willow diseases) worked at Long Ashton Research Station, near Bristol and was much involved with these willows and their diseases. Art: Willow is used to make charcoal (for drawing) as well as living sculptures, woven from live willow rods into shapes such as domes and tunnels. Willow stems are used to weave baskets and three-dimensional sculptures of animals and other figures. Willow stems are also used to create garden features, such as decorative panels and obelisks. Energy: There have been experiments or mathematical models in using willows for biomass or biofuel, in energy forestry systems, due to its fast growth. Programs in other countries are being developed through initiatives such as the Willow Biomass Project in the US, and the Energy Coppice Project in the UK. Willow may also be grown to produce charcoal. Environment: There has been research into possibly using willows for future biofiltration of wastewater (i.e. phytoremediation and land reclamation), although this is not commercially viable. They are used for streambank stabilisation (bioengineering), slope stabilisation, soil erosion control, shelterbelt and windbreak, and wildlife habitat. Willows are often planted on the borders of streams so their interlacing roots may protect the bank against the action of the water. The roots are often larger than the stem which grows from them. Food: Poor people at one time often ate willow catkins that had been cooked to form a mash. The inner bark can be eaten raw or cooked, as can the young leaves and underground shoots. Culture The willow is one of the four species associated with the Jewish festival of Sukkot, or the Feast of Tabernacles, cited in Leviticus 23:40. Willow branches are also used during the synagogue service on Hoshana Rabbah, the seventh day of Sukkot, or the Feast of Tabernacles. In Buddhism, a willow branch is one of the chief attributes of Kwan Yin, the bodhisattva of compassion.Orthodox churches often use willow branches in place of palms in the ceremonies on Palm Sunday.In China, some people carry willow branches with them on the day of their Tomb Sweeping or Qingming Festival. Willow branches are also put up on gates and/or front doors, which they believe help ward off the evil spirits that wander on Qingming. Legend states that on Qingming Festival, the ruler of the underworld allows the spirits of the dead to return to earth. Since their presence may not always be welcome, willow branches keep them away. In traditional pictures of the Goddess of Mercy Guanyin, she is often shown seated on a rock with a willow branch in a vase of water at her side. The Goddess employs this mysterious water and the branch for putting demons to flight. Taoist witches also use a small carving made from willow wood for communicating with the spirits of the dead. The image is sent to the nether world, where the disembodied spirit is deemed to enter it, and give the desired information to surviving relatives on its return. The willow is a famous subject in many East Asian nations' cultures, particularly in pen and ink paintings from China and Japan. A gisaeng (Korean courtesan) named Hongrang, who lived in the middle of the Joseon Dynasty, wrote the poem "By the willow in the rain in the evening", which she gave to her parting lover (Choi Gyeong-chang). Hongrang wrote: ... I will be the willow on your bedside. In Japanese tradition, the willow is associated with ghosts. It is popularly supposed that a ghost will appear where a willow grows. Willow trees are also quite prevalent in folklore and myths.In English folklore, a willow tree is believed to be quite sinister, capable of uprooting itself and stalking travellers. The Viminal Hill, one of the Seven Hills of Rome, derives its name from the Latin word for osier, viminia (pl.). Hans Christian Andersen wrote a story called "Under the Willow Tree" (1853) in which children ask questions of a tree they call "willow-father", paired with another entity called "elder-mother"."Green Willow" is a Japanese ghost story in which a young samurai falls in love with a woman called Green Willow who has a close spiritual connection with a willow tree. "The Willow Wife" is another, not dissimilar tale. "Wisdom of the Willow Tree" is an Osage Nation story in which a young man seeks answers from a willow tree, addressing the tree in conversation as 'Grandfather'. See also Aravah, the Hebrew name of the willow, for its ritual use during the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles Withy Pollarding, technique of severe pruning or knotting of trees Sail, Ogham letter meaning "willow" Willow water, using the rooting hormone indolebutyric acid from willow branches to stimulate root growth in new cuttings General and cited references Keeler, Harriet L. (1990). Our Native Trees and How to Identify Them. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. Pages 393–395. ISBN 0-87338-838-0. Newsholme, C. (1992). Willows: The Genus Salix. ISBN 0-88192-565-9. Trybush, Sviatlana; Jahodová, Šárka; Macalpine, William; Karp, Angela (March 2008). "A Genetic Study of a Salix Germplasm Resource Reveals New Insights into Relationships Among Subgenera, Sections and Species". BioEnergy Research. 1 (1): 67–79. doi:10.1007/s12155-008-9007-9. S2CID 44328231. Warren-Wren, S. C. (1992). The Complete Book of Willows. ISBN 0-498-01262-X. International Register of Cultivars of Salix L. (willow) Global Cultivation of Willows: "Willow" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). 1911. pp. 688–689. "Willow" . The New Student's Reference Work . 1914.

A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expressed as its lift-to-drag ratio. The lift a wing generates at a given speed and angle of attack can be one to two orders of magnitude greater than the total drag on the wing. A high lift-to-drag ratio requires a significantly smaller thrust to propel the wings through the air at sufficient lift. Lifting structures used in water include various foils, such as hydrofoils. Hydrodynamics is the governing science, rather than aerodynamics. Applications of underwater foils occur in hydroplanes, sailboats and submarines. Etymology and usage For many centuries, the word "wing", from the Old Norse vængr, referred mainly to the foremost limbs of birds (in addition to the architectural aisle). But in recent centuries the word's meaning has extended to include lift producing appendages of insects, bats, pterosaurs, boomerangs, some sail boats and aircraft, or the inverted airfoil on a race car that generates a downward force to increase traction. Aerodynamics The design and analysis of the wings of aircraft is one of the principal applications of the science of aerodynamics, which is a branch of fluid mechanics. In principle, the properties of the airflow around any moving object can be found by solving the Navier-Stokes equations of fluid dynamics. However, except for simple geometries these equations are notoriously difficult to solve and simpler equations are used.For a wing to produce lift, it must be oriented at a suitable angle of attack. When this occurs, the wing deflects the airflow downwards as it passes the wing. Since the wing exerts a force on the air to change its direction, the air must also exert an equal and opposite force on the wing. Cross-sectional shape An airfoil (American English) or aerofoil (British English) is the shape of a wing, blade (of a propeller, rotor, or turbine), or sail (as seen in cross-section). Wings with an asymmetrical cross section are the norm in subsonic flight. Wings with a symmetrical cross section can also generate lift by using a positive angle of attack to deflect air downward. Symmetrical airfoils have higher stalling speeds than cambered airfoils of the same wing area but are used in aerobatic aircraft as they provide practical performance whether the aircraft is upright or inverted. Another example comes from sailboats, where the sail is a thin membrane with no path-length difference between one side and the other.For flight speeds near the speed of sound (transonic flight), airfoils with complex asymmetrical shapes are used to minimize the drastic increase in drag associated with airflow near the speed of sound. Such airfoils, called supercritical airfoils, are flat on top and curved on the bottom. Design features Aircraft wings may feature some of the following: A rounded leading edge cross-section A sharp trailing edge cross-section Leading-edge devices such as slats, slots, or extensions Trailing-edge devices such as flaps or flaperons (combination of flaps and ailerons) Winglets to keep wingtip vortices from increasing drag and decreasing lift Dihedral, or a positive wing angle to the horizontal, increases spiral stability around the roll axis, whereas anhedral, or a negative wing angle to the horizontal, decreases spiral stability.Aircraft wings may have various devices, such as flaps or slats that the pilot uses to modify the shape and surface area of the wing to change its operating characteristics in flight. Ailerons (usually near the wingtips) to roll the aircraft clockwise or counterclockwise about its long axis Spoilers on the upper surface to disrupt the lift and to provide additional traction to an aircraft that has just landed but is still moving. Vortex generators mitigate flow separation at low speeds and high angles of attack, especially over control surfaces. Wing fences to keep flow attached to the wing by stopping boundary layer separation from spreading roll direction. Folding wings allow more aircraft storage in the confined space of the hangar deck of an aircraft carrier Variable-sweep wing or "swing wings" that allow outstretched wings during low-speed flight (i.e., take-off and landing) and swept back wings for high-speed flight (including supersonic flight), such as in the F-111 Aardvark, the F-14 Tomcat, the Panavia Tornado, the MiG-23, the MiG-27, the Tu-160 and the B-1B Lancer warplanes Strakes to improve flight characteristics Chine, which may blend into the wing Leading-edge droop flap, a high-lift device Fairings, structures whose primary function is to produce a smooth outline and reduce drag. For example, flap track fairingsWings may have other minor independent surfaces. Applications and variants Besides fixed-wing aircraft, applications for wing shapes include: Hang gliders, which use wings ranging from fully flexible (paragliders, gliding parachutes), flexible (framed sail wings), to rigid Kites, which use a variety of surfaces to attain lift and maintain stability Flying model airplanes Helicopters, which use a rotating wing with a variable pitch angle to provide directional forces Propellers, whose blades generate lift for propulsion. The NASA Space Shuttle, which uses its wings only to glide during its descent to a runway. These types of aircraft are called spaceplanes. Some racing cars, especially Formula One cars, which use upside-down wings (or airfoils) to provide greater traction at high speeds. Sailboats, which use flexible cloth sails as vertical wings with variable fullness and direction to move across water. Hydrofoils, which use rigid wing shaped structures to lift a vessel out of the water to reduce drag and increase speed. In nature In nature, wings have evolved in insects, pterosaurs, dinosaurs (birds, Scansoriopterygidae), and mammals (bats) as a means of locomotion. Various species of penguins and other flighted or flightless water birds such as auks, cormorants, guillemots, shearwaters, eider and scoter ducks and diving petrels are avid swimmers, and use their wings to propel through water. Tensile structures In 1948, Francis Rogallo invented a kite-like tensile wing supported by inflated or rigid struts, which ushered in new possibilities for aircraft. Near in time, Domina Jalbert invented flexible un-sparred ram-air airfoiled thick wings. These two new branches of wings have been since extensively studied and applied in new branches of aircraft, especially altering the personal recreational aviation landscape. See also FlightNatural worldBat flight Bird flight Flight feather Flying and gliding animals Insect flight List of soaring birds Samara (winged seeds of trees)AviationAircraft Blade solidity FanWing and Flettner airplane (experimental wing types) Flight dynamics (fixed-wing aircraft) Kite types Ornithopter – Flapping-wing aircraft (research prototypes, simple toys and models) Otto Lilienthal Wing configuration Wing root Wingsuit flyingSailingSails Forces on sails Wingsail How Wings Work - Holger Babinsky Physics Education 2003 How Airplanes Fly: A Physical Description of Lift Demystifying the Science of Flight – Audio segment on NPR's Talk of the Nation Science Friday NASA's explanations and simulations Flight of the StyroHawk wing See How It Flies

A winnowing basket or fan is a tool for winnowing grain from chaff while removing dirt and dust too. They have been used traditionally in a number of civilizations for centuries, and are still in use today in some countries. Use Unprocessed grain, mixed with impurities like dirt or inedible husks, is placed on the basket. The basket is then lifted and shaken, which separates out lighter particles (usually inedible husks) from heavier particles (the grain). The process can benefit from mild wind, which can carry away lighter particles. By region Ancient Greece The λικνον (liknon) appears in the Iliad (5.4999). Korea These are known as k'i (Korean: 키; Hanja: 簸) in Korea, and were used throughout the region for centuries. There was some regional variation in what materials the k'i were constructed from, with southern regions using primarily bamboo instead of wicker. Traditions There is a folk tradition where children who are unable to adequately control when they urinate (particularly while sleeping) are made to wear the k'i on their head, then sent to knock on the doors of their neighbors and ask for salt. This served to publicly embarrass the child into compliance, as neighbors would recognize why the child was knocking on their door.In South Gyeongsang Province, there was a tradition where people avoided buying the baskets on the first market day of each lunar year, as the baskets, as they would with husks, would allow good luck to escape. A tradition on Jeju Island involved a type of divination, where on Lunar New Year's Eve, the baskets would be cleaned, washed, and placed facedown. The following morning, the baskets would be inspected. If rice was present under the basket, then the harvest would be good that year. Japan They are known as mino or mi (箕). India These winnowing baskets are used in India from centuries and in most of the rural areas, they are still being used. Known as soup in HIndi and Dala in Bangla, it is known by different other names in different Indian languages. In West Bengal, Odisha, Assam and Bihar this winnowing basket is also used to welcome the groom during marriage ceremony and called Borondala In Bengali. See also Winnowing Oar

The Chakri dynasty (Thai: ราชวงศ์จักรี, RTGS: Ratchawong Chakkri, pronounced [râːt.tɕʰā.wōŋ tɕàk.krīː] ) is the current reigning dynasty of the Kingdom of Thailand. The head of the house is the king, who is head of state. The family has ruled Thailand since the founding of the Rattanakosin Era and the city of Bangkok in 1782; following the end of Taksin Thonburi's reign, when the capital of Siam shifted to Bangkok. The royal house was founded by Rama I, an Ayutthaya military leader of Sino-Mon descent.Prior to his accession to the throne, Rama I held for years the title Chakri, the civil chancellor. In founding the dynasty, the king himself chose "Chakri" as the name for it. The emblem of the house is composed of the discus (Chakra) and the trident (Trishula), the celestial weapons of the gods Vishnu and Shiva, of whom the Thai sovereign is seen as an incarnation. The current head of the house is Maha Vajiralongkorn who was proclaimed king on 1 December 2016, but has reigned with retroactive effect since 13 October 2016 after the death of his father Bhumibol Adulyadej. The house's current seat is the Grand Palace. On Saturday, 4 May 2019, the coronation of Vajiralongkorn, with the traditional ceremony, occurred in Bangkok. Royal family The present royal family of Thailand belongs to the House of Mahidol (Thai: ราชสกุลมหิดล; RTGS: Ratchasakun Mahidon), a cadet branch of the Chakri dynasty. The House was founded by Prince Mahidol Adulyadej (1891–1929) and Princess Srinagarindra (1900–1995). The Prince was a son of King Chulalongkorn and his wife Queen Savang Vadhana. The Prince was also the half-brother of both King Vajiravudh and King Prajadhipok. After the death of King Ananda Mahidol (Prince Mahidol's elder son), King Bhumibol Adulyadej (the Prince's younger son) ascended the throne in 1946. In 1949 the King married his first cousin once removed, Mom Rajawongse Sirikit Kitiyakara (a daughter of Mom Chao Nakkhatra Mangala Kitiyakara, a grandson of King Chulalongkorn). Bhumibol was succeeded by his son Maha Vajiralongkorn officially on 13 October 2016, but was proclaimed King on 1 December 2016. Members This is a list of current members of the royal family: The King and Queen (the sovereign and his wife) The Princess Rajasarini Siribajra (the King's eldest daughter) Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana (the King's youngest daughter) Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti (the King's youngest son and heir presumptive)Descendants of Rama IXThe Queen Mother (the King's mother) Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya (the King's elder sister) The Princess Royal (the King's younger sister) The Princess Srisavangavadhana (the King's younger sister) Princess Siribha Chudabhorn (the King's niece) Princess Aditayadorn Kitikhun (the King's niece)Descendants of Rama VThe Princess Suddhanarinatha (the King's ex-wife and maternal first cousin) Other members Descendants of Rama VPrince Nawaphan Yugala and Mom Anwida Yugala na Ayudhya (the King’s paternal half-second cousin and his wife) Prince Chaloemsuek Yugala (the King’s paternal half-second cousin) Prince Thikhamphon Yugala and Mom Malini Yugala na Ayudhya (the King’s paternal half-second cousin & his wife) Prince Chatrichalerm Yugala and Mom Kamala Yugala na Ayudhya (the King’s paternal half-second cousin & his wife) Prince Chulcherm Yugala and Mom Anchali Yugala na Ayudhya (the King’s paternal half-second cousin & his wife) Princess Nopphadonchaloemsi Yugala (the King’s paternal half-second cousin)Descendants of Rama IVPrincess Uthaithiang Jayankura (the King’s paternal half-first cousin twice removed) Prince Charunritdet Jayankura (the King’s paternal half-first cousin twice removed) Prince Pusan Svastivatana and Mom Naunsri Svastivatana na Ayudhya (the King’s paternal half-first cousin twice removed & his wife) Princess Uthaikanya Bhanubandhu (the King’s paternal half-first cousin twice removed) Other noble relatives Chao Khun Phra Sineenat Bilaskalayani (the King's concubine) Sujarinee Vivacharawongse (the King's ex-wife and Princess Sirivannavari’s mother) Juthavachara Vivacharawongse and Riya Gough (the King's eldest son & daughter-in-law) Vacharaesorn Vivacharawongse (the King's second son) Chakriwat Vivacharawongse (the King's third son) Vatchrawee Vivacharawongse (the King's fourth son) Than Phu Ying Srirasmi Suwadee (the King's ex-wife and Prince Dipangkorn’s mother) Than Phu Ying Jangheang Tidjai (the King’s mother-in-law and the Queen’s mother)Descendants of Rama IXPeter Ladd Jensen (Princess Ubolratana’s ex-husband) Than Phu Ying Ploypailin Jensen and David Wheeler (the King’s niece & nephew-in-law) Maximus Wheeler (the King’s grandnephew) Leonardo Wheeler (the King’s grandnephew) Alexandra Wheeler (the King’s grandniece) Than Phu Ying Sirikitiya Jensen (the King’s niece) Virayudh Tishyasarin (the Princess Srisavangavadhana‘s ex-husband)Descendants of Mahidol AdulyadejThan Phu Ying Dhasanawalaya and Sinthu Sornsongkram (the King's paternal first cousin & her husband) Jitat and Jessica Sornsongkram (the King’s paternal first cousin once removed & his wife)Descendants of Rama VInduratana Paribatra (the King’s paternal half-first cousin once removed) Khun Ying Wutchaloem Vudhijaya (the King’s paternal half-first cousin once removed) Than Phu Ying Phansawali Kitiyakara (the King’s paternal half-second cousin, maternal aunt by marriage, and the Princess Suddhanarinatha’s mother) Mom Luang Sarali Kitiyakara (the King's maternal first cousin and the Princess Suddhanarinatha’s younger sister) Phanuma Yugala (the King’s paternal half-second cousin) Sisawangwong Bunyachittradun (the King’s paternal half-second cousin) Phumaripihrom Schell and Jean-Marie Schell (the King’s paternal half-second cousin and her husband) Patthamanarangsi Senanarong (the King’s paternal half-second cousin) Than Phu Ying Busba Sathanapong (the King’s maternal aunt)Descendants of Rama IVPhanwarophat Svetarundra (the King’s paternal second cousin once removed) Line of succession Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya (b. 1951), eldest daughter of King Rama IX, renounced her right of succession for herself and her heirs upon her marriage in 1972. Juthavachara Vivacharawongse (b. 1979), Vacharaesorn Vivacharawongse (b. 1981), Chakriwat Vivacharawongse (b. 1983), and Vatchrawee Vivacharawongse (b. 1985), the sons of King Rama X and Sujarinee Vivacharawongse, are not in the line of succession to the throne. History Monarchs Timeline Front Palaces The Maha Uparat (มหาอุปราช) or the Krom Phrarajawang Bavorn Sathan Mongkol (Vice or Second King of Siam/Viceroy of Siam) (กรมพระราชวังบวรสถานมงคล) was an office that was bestowed on the highest ranking prince, frequently the monarch's younger brother or son. Until 1885 every Chakri monarch had appointed a prince to this office. The Uprarat and his miniature court would reside at the Front Palace (วังหน้า) (a palace complex to the north of the Grand Palace, now the site of the Bangkok National Museum). By tradition the Uparat was designated the heir to the throne, however only Prince Isarasundhorn was able to ascend the throne as King Buddha Loetla Nabhalai. The office was extremely prestigious and carried with it almost equal status to the king, this can be seen in Prince Chutamani (younger brother of King Mongkut), who was elevated to Vice King Pinklao in 1851 (he carried with him the styles and titles of a King). The office was abolished by King Chulalongkorn when his Uparat and cousin Prince Bovorn Vichaicharn died. He then declared his oldest son the crown prince of Siam, but not Uparat. Rear Palace Krom Phrarajawang Boworn Sathan Phimuk (กรมพระราชวังบวรสถานพิมุข), or the Rear Palace, was another office inherited from the Kingdom of Ayutthaya. However, since the founding of the dynasty there has only been one rear palace. Prince Anurak Devesh was the nephew of King Buddha Yodfa Chualoke (his mother Princess Thepsuthavadi was the king's elder sister) and was appointed to the office in 1785. Crown Princes The Crown Prince of Thailand or Sayam Makutrajakuman (สยามมกุฎราชกุมาร) is the designated and heir apparent to the throne and headship of the dynasty. The title was created in 1886 when King Chulalongkorn appointed his eldest son by Princess Consort Savang Vadhana, Prince Vajirunhis as Sayam Makutrajakuman. The title was copied directly from the Western tradition. Since then, there have only been three crown princes. The most recent crown prince, Maha Vajiralongkorn, was invested with the title in 1972 and became King in 2016. The succession is governed by the 1924 Palace Law of Succession passed by King Vajiravudh. Queens Family tree Cadet houses Royal houses Viceregal houses See also Chakri Dynasty and the City of Angels The Chakri Dynasty 1782 The Siamese Royalty The Royal Houses of the Chakri Dynasty History of the Front Palaces

Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American technology giant Meta Platforms. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes, its name derives from the face book directories often given to American university students. Membership was initially limited to only Harvard students, gradually expanding to other North American universities and, since 2006, anyone over 13 years old. As of December 2022, Facebook claimed 3 billion monthly active users, and ranked third worldwide among the most visited websites. It was the most downloaded mobile app of the 2010s.Facebook can be accessed from devices with Internet connectivity, such as personal computers, tablets and smartphones. After registering, users can create a profile revealing information about themselves. They can post text, photos and multimedia which are shared with any other users who have agreed to be their "friend" or, with different privacy settings, publicly. Users can also communicate directly with each other with Messenger, join common-interest groups, and receive notifications on the activities of their Facebook friends and the pages they follow. The subject of numerous controversies, Facebook has often been criticized over issues such as user privacy (as with the Cambridge Analytica data scandal), political manipulation (as with the 2016 U.S. elections) and mass surveillance. Facebook has also been subject to criticism over psychological effects such as addiction and low self-esteem, and various controversies over content such as fake news, conspiracy theories, copyright infringement, and hate speech. Commentators have accused Facebook of willingly facilitating the spread of such content, as well as exaggerating its number of users to appeal to advertisers. History 2003–2006: Thefacebook, Thiel investment, and name change Zuckerberg built a website called "Facemash" in 2003 while attending Harvard University. The site was comparable to Hot or Not and used "photos compiled from the online face books of nine Houses, placing two next to each other at a time and asking users to choose the "hotter" person". Facemash attracted 450 visitors and 22,000 photo-views in its first four hours. The site was sent to several campus group listservs, but was shut down a few days later by Harvard administration. Zuckerberg faced expulsion and was charged with breaching security, violating copyrights and violating individual privacy. Ultimately, the charges were dropped. Zuckerberg expanded on this project that semester by creating a social study tool. He uploaded art images, each accompanied by a comments section, to a website he shared with his classmates.A "face book" is a student directory featuring photos and personal information. In 2003, Harvard had only a paper version along with private online directories. Zuckerberg told The Harvard Crimson, "Everyone's been talking a lot about a universal face book within Harvard. ... I think it's kind of silly that it would take the University a couple of years to get around to it. I can do it better than they can, and I can do it in a week." In January 2004, Zuckerberg coded a new website, known as "TheFacebook", inspired by a Crimson editorial about Facemash, stating, "It is clear that the technology needed to create a centralized Website is readily available ... the benefits are many." Zuckerberg met with Harvard student Eduardo Saverin, and each of them agreed to invest $1,000 ($1,549 in 2022 dollars) in the site. On February 4, 2004, Zuckerberg launched "TheFacebook", originally located at thefacebook.com. Six days after the site launched, Harvard seniors Cameron Winklevoss, Tyler Winklevoss, and Divya Narendra accused Zuckerberg of intentionally misleading them into believing that he would help them build a social network called HarvardConnection.com. They claimed that he was instead using their ideas to build a competing product. The three complained to the Crimson and the newspaper began an investigation. They later sued Zuckerberg, settling in 2008 for 1.2 million shares (worth $300 million ($382 million in 2022 dollars) at Facebook's IPO).Membership was initially restricted to students of Harvard College. Within a month, more than half the undergraduates had registered. Dustin Moskovitz, Andrew McCollum, and Chris Hughes joined Zuckerberg to help manage the growth of the website. In March 2004, Facebook expanded to Columbia, Stanford and Yale. It then became available to all Ivy League colleges, Boston University, NYU, MIT, and successively most universities in the United States and Canada.In mid-2004, Napster co-founder and entrepreneur Sean Parker—an informal advisor to Zuckerberg—became company president. In June 2004, the company moved to Palo Alto, California. Sean Parker called Reid Hoffman to fund Facebook. However, Reid Hoffman was too busy launching LinkedIn so he set Facebook up with PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, who gave Facebook its first investment later that month. In 2005, the company dropped "the" from its name after purchasing the domain name Facebook.com for US$200,000 ($299,676 in 2022 dollars). The domain had belonged to AboutFace Corporation. In May 2005, Accel Partners invested $12.7 million ($19 million in 2022 dollars) in Facebook, and Jim Breyer added $1 million ($1.5 million in 2022 dollars) of his own money. A high-school version of the site launched in September 2005. Eligibility expanded to include employees of several companies, including Apple Inc. and Microsoft. 2006–2012: Public access, Microsoft alliance, and rapid growth In May 2006, Facebook hired its first intern, Julie Zhuo. After a month, Zhuo was hired as a full-time engineer. On September 26, 2006, Facebook opened to everyone at least 13 years old with a valid email address. By late 2007, Facebook had 100,000 pages on which companies promoted themselves. Organization pages began rolling out in May 2009. On October 24, 2007, Microsoft announced that it had purchased a 1.6% share of Facebook for $240 million ($339 million in 2022 dollars), giving Facebook a total implied value of around $15 billion ($21.2 billion in 2022 dollars). Microsoft's purchase included rights to place international advertisements.In May 2007, at the first f8 developers conference, Facebook announced the launch of the Facebook Developer Platform, providing a framework for software developers to create applications that interact with core Facebook features. By the second annual f8 developers conference on July 23, 2008, the number of applications on the platform had grown to 33,000, and the number of registered developers had exceeded 400,000.The website won awards such as placement into the "Top 100 Classic 2012–2013: IPO, lawsuits, and one billion active users In March 2012, Facebook announced App Center, a store selling applications that operate via the website. The store was to be available on iPhones, Android devices, and for mobile web users. Facebook's initial public offering came on May 17, 2012, at a share price of US$38 ($48.00 in 2022 dollars). The company was valued at $104 billion ($133 billion in 2022 dollars), the largest valuation to that date. The IPO raised $16 billion ($20.4 billion in 2022 dollars), the third-largest in U.S. history, after Visa Inc. in 2008 and AT&T Wireless in 2000. Based on its 2012 income of $5 billion ($6.37 billion in 2022 dollars), Facebook joined the Fortune 500 list for the first time in May 2013, ranked 462. The shares set a first-day record for trading volume of an IPO (460 million shares). The IPO was controversial given the immediate price declines that followed, and was the subject of lawsuits, while SEC and FINRA both launched investigations.Zuckerberg announced at the start of October 2012 that Facebook had one billion monthly active users, including 600 million mobile users, 219 billion photo uploads and 140 billion friend connections.On October 1, 2012, Zuckerberg visited Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow to stimulate social media innovation in Russia and to boost Facebook's position in the Russian market. 2013–2014: Site developments, A4AI, and 10th anniversary On January 15, 2013, Facebook announced Facebook Graph Search, which provides users with a "precise answer", rather than a link to an answer by leveraging data present on its site. Facebook emphasized that the feature would be "privacy-aware", returning results only from content already shared with the user. On April 3, 2013, Facebook unveiled Facebook Home, a user-interface layer for Android devices offering greater integration with the site. HTC announced HTC First, a phone with Home pre-loaded.On April 15, 2013, Facebook announced an alliance across 19 states with the National Association of Attorneys General, to provide teenagers and parents with information on tools to manage social networking profiles. On April 19 Facebook modified its logo to remove the faint blue line at the bottom of the "F" icon. The letter F moved closer to the edge of the box.Following a campaign by 100 advocacy groups, Facebook agreed to update its policy on hate speech. The campaign highlighted content promoting domestic violence and sexual violence against women and led 15 advertisers to withdraw, including Nissan UK, House of Burlesque, and Nationwide UK. The company initially stated, "while it may be vulgar and offensive, distasteful content on its own does not violate our policies". It took action on May 29.On June 12, Facebook announced that it was introducing clickable hashtags to help users follow trending discussions, or search what others are talking about on a topic. San Mateo County, California, became the top wage-earning county in the country after the fourth quarter of 2012 because of Facebook. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the average salary was 107% higher than the previous year, at $168,000 a year ($214,146 in 2022 dollars), more than 50% higher than the next-highest county, New York County (better known as Manhattan), at roughly $110,000 a year ($140,215 in 2022 dollars).Facebook joined Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI) in October, as it launched. The A4AI is a coalition of public and private organizations that includes Google, Intel and Microsoft. Led by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the A4AI seeks to make Internet access more affordable to ease access in the developing world.The company celebrated its 10th anniversary during the week of February 3, 2014. In January 2014, over one billion users connected via a mobile device. As of June, mobile accounted for 62% of advertising revenue, an increase of 21% from the previous year. By September Facebook's market capitalization had exceeded $200 billion ($247 billion in 2022 dollars).Zuckerberg participated in a Q&A session at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, on October 23, where he attempted to converse in Mandarin. Zuckerberg hosted visiting Chinese politician Lu Wei, known as the "Internet czar" for his influence in China's online policy, on December 8. 2015–2020: Algorithm revision; fake news As of 2015, Facebook's algorithm was revised in an attempt to filter out false or misleading content, such as fake news stories and hoaxes. It relied on users who flag a story accordingly. Facebook maintained that satirical content should not be intercepted. The algorithm was accused of maintaining a "filter bubble", where material the user disagrees with and posts with few likes would be deprioritized. In November, Facebook extended paternity leave from 4 weeks to 4 months.On April 12, 2016, Zuckerberg outlined his 10-year vision, which rested on three main pillars: artificial intelligence, increased global connectivity, and virtual and augmented reality. In July, a US$1 billion suit was filed against the company alleging that it permitted Hamas to use it to perform assaults that cost the lives of four people. Facebook released its blueprints of Surround 360 camera on GitHub under an open-source license. In September, it won an Emmy for its animated short "Henry". In October, Facebook announced a fee-based communications tool called Workplace that aims to "connect everyone" at work. Users can create profiles, see updates from co-workers on their news feed, stream live videos and participate in secure group chats.Following the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Facebook announced that it would combat fake news by using fact checkers from sites like FactCheck.org and Associated Press (AP), making reporting hoaxes easier through crowdsourcing, and disrupting financial incentives for abusers. On January 17, 2017, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg planned to open Station F, a startup incubator campus in Paris, France. On a six-month cycle, Facebook committed to work with ten to 15 data-driven startups there. On April 18, Facebook announced the beta launch of Facebook Spaces at its annual F8 developer conference. Facebook Spaces is a virtual reality version of Facebook for Oculus VR goggles. In a virtual and shared space, users can access a curated selection of 360-degree photos and videos using their avatar, with the support of the controller. Users can access their own photos and videos, along with media shared on their newsfeed. In September, Facebook announced it would spend up to US$1 billion on original shows for its Facebook Watch platform. On October 16, it acquired the anonymous compliment app tbh, announcing its intention to leave the app independent.In October 2017, Facebook expanded its work with Definers Public Affairs, a PR firm that had originally been hired to monitor press coverage of the company to address concerns primarily regarding Russian meddling, then mishandling of user data by Cambridge Analytica, hate speech on Facebook, and calls for regulation. Company spokesman Tim Miller stated that a goal for tech firms should be to "have positive content pushed out about your company and negative content that's being pushed out about your competitor". Definers claimed that George Soros was the force behind what appeared to be a broad anti-Facebook movement, and created other negative media, along with America Rising, that was picked up by larger media organisations like Breitbart News. Facebook cut ties with the agency in late 2018, following public outcry over their association. Posts originating from the Facebook page of Breitbart News, a media organization previously affiliated with Cambridge Analytica, are currently among the most widely shared political content on Facebook.In May 2018 at F8, the company announced it would offer its own dating service. Shares in competitor Match Group fell by 22%. Facebook Dating includes privacy features and friends are unable to view their friends' dating profile. In July, Facebook was charged £500,000 by UK watchdogs for failing to respond to data erasure requests. On July 18, Facebook established a subsidiary named Lianshu Science & Technology in Hangzhou City, China, with $30 million ($35 million in 2022 dollars) of capital. All its shares are held by Facebook Hong. Approval of the registration of the subsidiary was then withdrawn, due to a disagreement between officials in Zhejiang province and the Cyberspace Administration of China. On July 26, Facebook became the first company to lose over $100 billion ($117 billion in 2022 dollars) worth of market capitalization in one day, dropping from nearly $630 billion to $510 billion after disappointing sales reports. On July 31, Facebook said that the company had deleted 17 accounts related to the 2018 U.S. midterm elections. On September 19, Facebook announced that, for news distribution outside the United States, it would work with U.S. funded democracy promotion organizations, International Republican Institute and the National Democratic Institute, which are loosely affiliated with the Republican and Democratic parties. Through the Digital Forensic Research Lab Facebook partners with the Atlantic Council, a NATO-affiliated think tank. In November, Facebook launched smart displays branded Portal and Portal Plus (Portal+). They support Amazon's Alexa (intelligent personal assistant service). The devices include video chat function with Facebook Messenger.In August 2018, a lawsuit was filed in Oakland, California claiming that Facebook created fake accounts in order to inflate its user data and appeal to advertisers in the process. In January 2019, the 10-year challenge was started asking users to post a photograph of themselves from 10 years ago (2009) and a more recent photo.Criticized for its role in vaccine hesitancy, Facebook announced in March 2019 that it would provide users with "authoritative information" on the topic of vaccines. A study published in the journal Vaccine of advertisements posted in the three months prior to that found that 54% of the anti-vaccine advertisements on Facebook were placed by just two organisations funded by well-known anti-vaccination activists. The Children's Health Defense / World Mercury Project chaired by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Stop Mandatory Vaccination, run by campaigner Larry Cook, posted 54% of the advertisements. The ads often linked to commercial products, such as natural remedies and books. On March 14, the Huffington Post reported that Facebook's PR agency had paid someone to tweak Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg's Wikipedia page, as well as adding a page for the global head of PR, Caryn Marooney.In March 2019, the perpetrator of the Christchurch mosque shootings in New Zealand used Facebook to stream live footage of the attack as it unfolded. Facebook took 29 minutes to detect the livestreamed video, which was eight minutes longer than it took police to arrest the gunman. About 1.3m copies of the video were blocked from Facebook but 300,000 copies were published and shared. Facebook has promised changes to its platform; spokesman Simon Dilner told Radio New Zealand that it could have done a better job. Several companies, including the ANZ and ASB banks, have stopped advertising on Facebook after the company was widely condemned by the public. Following the attack, Facebook began blocking white nationalist, white supremacist, and white separatist content, saying that they could not be meaningfully separated. Previously, Facebook had only blocked overtly supremacist content. The older policy had been condemned by civil rights groups, who described these movements as functionally indistinct. Further bans were made in mid-April 2019, banning several British far-right organizations and associated individuals from Facebook, and also banning praise or support for them.NTJ's member Moulavi Zahran Hashim, a radical Islamist imam believed to be the mastermind behind the 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, preached on a pro-ISIL Facebook account, known as "Al-Ghuraba" media. On May 2, 2019, at F8, the company announced its new vision with the tagline "the future is private". A redesign of the website and mobile app was introduced, dubbed as "FB5". The event also featured plans for improving groups, a dating platform, end-to-end encryption on its platforms, and allowing users on Messenger to communicate directly with WhatsApp and Instagram users.On July 31, 2019, Facebook announced a partnership with University of California, San Francisco to build a non-invasive, wearable device that lets people type by simply imagining themselves talking.On August 13, 2019, it was revealed that Facebook had enlisted hundreds of contractors to create and obtain transcripts of the audio messages of users. This was especially common of Facebook Messenger, where the contractors frequently listened to and transcribed voice messages of users. After this was first reported on by Bloomberg News, Facebook released a statement confirming the report to be true, but also stated that the monitoring program was now suspended.On September 5, 2019, Facebook launched Facebook Dating in the United States. This new application allows users to integrate their Instagram posts in their dating profile.Facebook News, which features selected stories from news organizations, was launched on October 25. Facebook's decision to include far-right website Breitbart News as a "trusted source" was negatively received.On November 17, 2019, the banking data for 29,000 Facebook employees was stolen from a payroll worker's car. The data was stored on unencrypted hard drives and included bank account numbers, employee names, the last four digits of their social security numbers, salaries, bonuses, and equity details. The company did not realize the hard drives were missing until November 20. Facebook confirmed that the drives contained employee information on November 29. Employees were not notified of the break-in until December 13, 2019.On March 10, 2020, Facebook appointed two new directors Tracey Travis and Nancy Killefer to their board of members.In June 2020, several major companies including Adidas, Aviva, Coca-Cola, Ford, HP, InterContinental Hotels Group, Mars, Starbucks, Target, and Unilever, announced they would pause adverts on Facebook for July in support of the Stop Hate For Profit campaign which claimed the company was not doing enough to remove hateful content. The BBC noted that this was unlikely to affect the company as most of Facebook's advertising revenue comes from small- to medium-sized businesses.On August 14, 2020, Facebook started integrating the direct messaging service of Instagram with its own Messenger for both iOS and Android devices. After the update, an update screen is said to pop up on Instagram's mobile app with the following message, "There's a New Way to Message on Instagram" with a list of additional features. As part of the update, the regular DM icon on the top right corner of Instagram will be replaced by the Facebook Messenger logo.On September 15, 2020, Facebook launched a climate science information centre to promote authoritative voices on climate change and provide access of "factual and up-to-date" information on climate science. It featured facts, figures and data from organizations, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Met Office, UN Environment Programme (UNEP), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and World Meteorological Organization (WMO), with relevant news posts.After the 2020 U.S. presidential election, Facebook temporarily increased the weight of ecosystem quality in its news feed algorithm. 2020–present: FTC lawsuit, corporate re-branding, shut down of facial recognition technology, ease of policy Facebook was sued by the Federal Trade Commission as well as a coalition of several states for illegal monopolization and antitrust. The FTC and states sought the courts to force Facebook to sell its subsidiaries WhatsApp and Instagram. The suits were dismissed by a federal judge on June 28, 2021, who stated that there was not enough evidence brought in the suit to determine Facebook to be a monopoly at this point, though allowed the FTC to amend its case to include additional evidence. In its amended filings in August 2021, the FTC asserted that Facebook had been a monopoly in the area of personal social networks since 2011, distinguishing Facebook's activities from social media services like TikTok that broadcast content without necessarily limiting that message to intended recipients.In response to the proposed bill in the Australian Parliament for a News Media Bargaining Code, on February 17, 2021, Facebook blocked Australian users from sharing or viewing news content on its platform, as well as pages of some government, community, union, charity, political, and emergency services. The Australian government strongly criticised the move, saying it demonstrated the "immense market power of these digital social giants".On February 22, Facebook said it reached an agreement with the Australian government that would see news returning to Australian users in the coming days. As part of this agreement, Facebook and Google can avoid the News Media Bargaining Code adopted on February 25 if they "reach a commercial bargain with a news business outside the Code".Facebook has been accused of removing and shadow banning content that spoke either in favor of protesting Indian farmers or against Narendra Modi's government. India-based employees of Facebook are at risk of arrest.On February 27, 2021, Facebook announced Facebook BARS app for rappers.On June 29, 2021, Facebook announced Bulletin, a platform for independent writers. Unlike competitors such as Substack, Facebook would not take a cut of subscription fees of writers using that platform upon its launch, like Malcolm Gladwell and Mitch Albom. According to The Washington Post technology writer Will Oremus, the move was criticized by those who viewed it as an tactic intended by Facebook to force those competitors out of business.In October 2021, owner Facebook, Inc. changed its company name to Meta Platforms, Inc., or simply "Meta", as it shifts its focus to building the "metaverse". This change does not affect the name of the Facebook social networking service itself, instead being similar to the creation of Alphabet as Google's parent company in 2015.In November 2021, Facebook stated it would stop targeting ads based on data related to health, race, ethnicity, political beliefs, religion and sexual orientation. The change will occur in January and will affect all apps owned by Meta Platforms.In February 2022, Facebook's daily active users dropped for the first time in its 18-year history. According to Facebook's parent Meta, DAUs dropped to 1.929 billion in the three months ending in December, down from 1.930 billion the previous quarter. Furthermore, the company warned that revenue growth would slow due to competition from TikTok and YouTube, as well as advertisers cutting back on spending.On March 10, 2022, Facebook announced that it will temporarily ease rules to allow violent speech against 'Russian invaders'. Russia then banned all Meta services, including Instagram.In September 2022, Jonathan Vanian, a Technology Reporter for CNBC, wrote a piece on CNBC.com about the recent struggles Facebook was experiencing, writing "Users are jumping ship and advertisers are reducing their spending, leaving Meta poised to report its second straight drop in quarterly revenue." He also cited poor leadership decisions devoting resources to the metaverse, writing "CEO Mark Zuckerberg spends much of his time proselytizing the metaverse, which may be the company's future but accounts for virtually none of its near-term revenue and is costing billions of dollars a year to build." He also detailed accounts from analysts predicting a "death spiral" for Facebook stock as users leave, ad impressions increase, and the company chases revenue. October 4, 2021, global service outage On October 4, 2021, Facebook had its worst outage since 2008. The outage was global in scope, and took down all Facebook properties, including Instagram and WhatsApp, from approximately 15:39 UTC to 22:05 UTC, and affected roughly three billion users. Security experts identified the problem as a BGP withdrawal of all of the IP routes to their Domain Name (DNS) servers which were all self-hosted at the time. The outage also affected all internal communications systems used by Facebook employees, which disrupted restoration efforts. Shutdown of facial recognition On November 2, 2021, Facebook announced it would shut down its facial recognition technology and delete the data on over a billion users. Meta later announced plans to implement the technology as well as other biometric systems in its future products, such as the metaverse.The shutdown of the technology will reportedly also stop Facebook's automated alt text system, used to transcribe media on the platform for visually impaired users.In February 2023, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that Meta would start selling blue "verified" badges on Instagram and Facebook. Website Technical aspects The website's primary color is blue as Zuckerberg is red–green colorblind, a realization that occurred after a test undertaken around 2007. Facebook is built in PHP, compiled with HipHop for PHP, a "source code transformer" built by Facebook engineers that turns PHP into C++. The deployment of HipHop reportedly reduced average CPU consumption on Facebook servers by 50%. 2012 architecture Facebook is developed as one monolithic application. According to an interview in 2012 with Facebook build engineer Chuck Rossi, Facebook compiles into a 1.5 GB binary blob which is then distributed to the servers using a custom BitTorrent-based release system. Rossi stated that it takes about 15 minutes to build and 15 minutes to release to the servers. The build and release process has zero downtime. Changes to Facebook are rolled out daily.Facebook used a combination platform based on HBase to store data across distributed machines. Using a tailing architecture, events are stored in log files, and the logs are tailed. The system rolls these events up and writes them to storage. The user interface then pulls the data out and displays it to users. Facebook handles requests as AJAX behavior. These requests are written to a log file using Scribe (developed by Facebook).Data is read from these log files using Ptail, an internally built tool to aggregate data from multiple Scribe stores. It tails the log files and pulls data out. Ptail data are separated into three streams and sent to clusters in different data centers (Plugin impression, News feed impressions, Actions (plugin + news feed)). Puma is used to manage periods of high data flow (Input/Output or IO). Data is processed in batches to lessen the number of times needed to read and write under high demand periods. (A hot article generates many impressions and news feed impressions that cause huge data skews.) Batches are taken every 1.5 seconds, limited by memory used when creating a hash table.Data is then output in PHP format. The backend is written in Java. Thrift is used as the messaging format so PHP programs can query Java services. Caching solutions display pages more quickly. The data is then sent to MapReduce servers where it is queried via Hive. This serves as a backup as the data can be recovered from Hive. Content delivery network (CDN) Facebook uses its own content delivery network or "edge network" under the domain fbcdn.net for serving static data. Until the mid 2010s, Facebook also relied on Akamai for CDN services. Hack programming language On March 20, 2014, Facebook announced a new open-source programming language called Hack. Before public release, a large portion of Facebook was already running and "battle tested" using the new language. User profile/personal timeline Each registered user on Facebook has a personal profile that shows their posts and content. The format of individual user pages was revamped in September 2011 and became known as "Timeline", a chronological feed of a user's stories, including status updates, photos, interactions with apps and events. The layout let users add a "cover photo". Users were given more privacy settings. In 2007, Facebook launched Facebook Pages for brands and celebrities to interact with their fanbases. 100,000 Pages launched in November. In June 2009, Facebook introduced a "Usernames" feature, allowing users to choose a unique nickname used in the URL for their personal profile, for easier sharing.In February 2014, Facebook expanded the gender setting, adding a custom input field that allows users to choose from a wide range of gender identities. Users can also set which set of gender-specific pronoun should be used in reference to them throughout the site. In May 2014, Facebook introduced a feature to allow users to ask for information not disclosed by other users on their profiles. If a user does not provide key information, such as location, hometown, or relationship status, other users can use a new "ask" button to send a message asking about that item to the user in a single click. News Feed News Feed appears on every user's homepage and highlights information including profile changes, upcoming events and friends' birthdays. This enabled spammers and other users to manipulate these features by creating illegitimate events or posting fake birthdays to attract attention to their profile or cause. Initially, the News Feed caused dissatisfaction among Facebook users; some complained it was too cluttered and full of undesired information, others were concerned that it made it too easy for others to track individual activities (such as relationship status changes, events, and conversations with other users). Zuckerberg apologized for the site's failure to include appropriate privacy features. Users then gained control over what types of information are shared automatically with friends. Users are now able to prevent user-set categories of friends from seeing updates about certain types of activities, including profile changes, Wall posts and newly added friends.On February 23, 2010, Facebook was granted a patent on certain aspects of its News Feed. The patent covers News Feeds in which links are provided so that one user can participate in the activity of another user. The sorting and display of stories in a user's News Feed is governed by the EdgeRank algorithm.The Photos application allows users to upload albums and photos. Each album can contain 200 photos. Privacy settings apply to individual albums. Users can "tag", or label, friends in a photo. The friend receives a notification about the tag with a link to the photo. This photo tagging feature was developed by Aaron Sittig, now a Design Strategy Lead at Facebook, and former Facebook engineer Scott Marlette back in 2006 and was only granted a patent in 2011.On June 7, 2012, Facebook launched its App Center to help users find games and other applications.On May 13, 2015, Facebook in association with major news portals launched "Instant Articles" to provide news on the Facebook news feed without leaving the site.In January 2017, Facebook launched Facebook Stories for iOS and Android in Ireland. The feature, following the format of Snapchat and Instagram stories, allows users to upload photos and videos that appear above friends' and followers' News Feeds and disappear after 24 hours.On October 11, 2017, Facebook introduced the 3D Posts feature to allow for uploading interactive 3D assets. On January 11, 2018, Facebook announced that it would change News Feed to prioritize friends/family content and de-emphasize content from media companies.In February 2020, Facebook announced it would spend $1 billion ($1.13 billion in 2022 dollars) to license news material from publishers for the next three years; a pledge coming as the company falls under scrutiny from governments across the globe over not paying for news content appearing on the platform. The pledge would be in addition to the $600 million ($678 million in 2022 dollars) paid since 2018 through deals with news companies such as The Guardian and Financial Times.In March and April 2021, in response to Apple announcing changes to its iOS device's Identifier for Advertisers policy, which included requiring app developers to directly request to users the ability to track on an opt-in basis, Facebook purchased full-page newspaper advertisements attempting to convince users to allow tracking, highlighting the effects targeted ads have on small businesses. Facebook's efforts were ultimately unsuccessful, as Apple released iOS 14.5 in late April 2021, containing the feature for users in what has been deemed "App Tracking Transparency". Moreover, statistics from Verizon Communications subsidiary Flurry Analytics show 96% of all iOS users in the United States are not permitting tracking at all, and only 12% of worldwide iOS users are allowing tracking, which some news outlets deem "Facebook's nightmare", among similar terms. Despite the news, Facebook has stated that the new policy and software update would be "manageable". Like button The "like" button, stylized as a "thumbs up" icon, was first enabled on February 9, 2009, and enables users to easily interact with status updates, comments, photos and videos, links shared by friends, and advertisements. Once clicked by a user, the designated content is more likely to appear in friends' News Feeds. The button displays the number of other users who have liked the content. The like button was extended to comments in June 2010. In February 2016, Facebook expanded Like into "Reactions", choosing among five pre-defined emotions, including "Love", "Haha", "Wow", "Sad", or "Angry". In late April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, a new "Care" reaction was added. Instant messaging Facebook Messenger is an instant messaging service and software application. It began as Facebook Chat in 2008, was revamped in 2010 and eventually became a standalone mobile app in August 2011, while remaining part of the user page on browsers.Complementing regular conversations, Messenger lets users make one-to-one and group voice and video calls. Its Android app has integrated support for SMS and "Chat Heads", which are round profile photo icons appearing on-screen regardless of what app is open, while both apps support multiple accounts, conversations with optional end-to-end encryption and "Instant Games". Some features, including sending money and requesting transportation, are limited to the United States. In 2017, Facebook added "Messenger Day", a feature that lets users share photos and videos in a story-format with all their friends with the content disappearing after 24 hours; Reactions, which lets users tap and hold a message to add a reaction through an emoji; and Mentions, which lets users in group conversations type @ to give a particular user a notification.Businesses and users can interact through Messenger with features such as tracking purchases and receiving notifications, and interacting with customer service representatives. Third-party developers can integrate apps into Messenger, letting users enter an app while inside Messenger and optionally share details from the app into a chat. Developers can build chatbots into Messenger, for uses such as news publishers building bots to distribute news. The M virtual assistant (U.S.) scans chats for keywords and suggests relevant actions, such as its payments system for users mentioning money. Group chatbots appear in Messenger as "Chat Extensions". A "Discovery" tab allows finding bots, and enabling special, branded QR codes that, when scanned, take the user to a specific bot. Privacy policy Facebook's data policy outlines its policies for collecting, storing, and sharing user's data. Facebook enables users to control access to individual posts and their profile through privacy settings. The user's name and profile picture (if applicable) are public. Facebook's revenue depends on targeted advertising, which involves analyzing user data to decide which ads to show each user. Facebook buys data from third parties, gathered from both online and offline sources, to supplement its own data on users. Facebook maintains that it does not share data used for targeted advertising with the advertisers themselves. The company states: "We provide advertisers with reports about the kinds of people seeing their ads and how their ads are performing, but we don't share information that personally identifies you (information such as your name or email address that by itself can be used to contact you or identifies who you are) unless you give us permission. For example, we provide general demographic and interest information to advertisers (for example, that an ad was seen by a woman between the ages of 25 and 34 who lives in Madrid and likes software engineering) to help them better understand their audience. We also confirm which Facebook ads led you to make a purchase or take an action with an advertiser." As of October 2021, Facebook claims it uses the following policy for sharing user data with third parties: Apps, websites, and third-party integrations on or using our Products. When you choose to use third-party apps, websites, or other services that use, or are integrated with, our Products, they can receive information about what you post or share. For example, when you play a game with your Facebook friends or use a Facebook Comment or Share button on a website, the game developer or website can receive information about your activities in the game or receive a comment or link that you share from the website on Facebook. Also, when you download or use such third-party services, they can access your public profile on Facebook, and any information that you share with them. Apps and websites you use may receive your list of Facebook friends if you choose to share it with them. But apps and websites you use will not be able to receive any other information about your Facebook friends from you, or information about any of your Instagram followers (although your friends and followers may, of course, choose to share this information themselves). Information collected by these third-party services is subject to their own terms and policies, not this one. Devices and operating systems providing native versions of Facebook and Instagram (i.e. where we have not developed our own first-party apps) will have access to all information you choose to share with them, including information your friends share with you, so they can provide our core functionality to you. Note: We are in the process of restricting developers' data access even further to help prevent abuse. For example, we will remove developers' access to your Facebook and Instagram data if you haven't used their app in 3 months, and we are changing Login, so that in the next version, we will reduce the data that an app can request without app review to include only name, Instagram username and bio, profile photo and email address. Requesting any other data will require our approval. Facebook will also share data with law enforcement.Facebook's policies have changed repeatedly since the service's debut, amid a series of controversies covering everything from how well it secures user data, to what extent it allows users to control access, to the kinds of access given to third parties, including businesses, political campaigns and governments. These facilities vary according to country, as some nations require the company to make data available (and limit access to services), while the European Union's GDPR regulation mandates additional privacy protections. Bug Bounty Program On July 29, 2011, Facebook announced its Bug Bounty Program that paid security researchers a minimum of $500 ($650.00 in 2022 dollars) for reporting security holes. The company promised not to pursue "white hat" hackers who identified such problems. This led researchers in many countries to participate, particularly in India and Russia. Reception Userbase Facebook's rapid growth began as soon as it became available and continued through 2018, before beginning to decline. Facebook passed 100 million registered users in 2008, and 500 million in July 2010. According to the company's data at the July 2010 announcement, half of the site's membership used Facebook daily, for an average of 34 minutes, while 150 million users accessed the site by mobile.In October 2012, Facebook's monthly active users passed one billion, with 600 million mobile users, 219 billion photo uploads, and 140 billion friend connections. The 2 billion user mark was crossed in June 2017.In November 2015, after skepticism about the accuracy of its "monthly active users" measurement, Facebook changed its definition to a logged-in member who visits the Facebook site through the web browser or mobile app, or uses the Facebook Messenger app, in the 30-day period prior to the measurement. This excluded the use of third-party services with Facebook integration, which was previously counted.From 2017 to 2019, the percentage of the U.S. population over the age of 12 who use Facebook has declined, from 67% to 61% (a decline of some 15 million U.S. users), with a higher drop-off among younger Americans (a decrease in the percentage of U.S. 12- to 34-year-olds who are users from 58% in 2015 to 29% in 2019). The decline coincided with an increase in the popularity of Instagram, which is also owned by Meta.The number of daily active users experienced a quarterly decline for the first time in the last quarter of 2021, down to 1.929 billion from 1.930 billion, but increased again the next quarter despite being banned in Russia.Historically, commentators have offered predictions of Facebook's decline or end, based on causes such as a declining user base; the legal difficulties of being a closed platform, inability to generate revenue, inability to offer user privacy, inability to adapt to mobile platforms, or Facebook ending itself to present a next generation replacement; or Facebook's role in Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. Demographics The highest number of Facebook users as of October 2018 are from India and the United States, followed by Indonesia, Brazil and Mexico. Region-wise, the highest number of users are from Asia-Pacific (947 million) followed by Europe (381 million) and US-Canada (242 million). The rest of the world has 750 million users.Over the 2008–2018 period, the percentage of users under 34 declined to less than half of the total. Censorship In many countries the social networking sites and mobile apps have been blocked temporarily or permanently, including China, Iran, Vietnam, Pakistan, Syria, and North Korea. In May 2018, the government of Papua New Guinea announced that it would ban Facebook for a month while it considered the impact of the website on the country, though no ban has since occurred. In 2019, Facebook announced it would start enforcing its ban on users, including influencers, promoting any vape, tobacco products, or weapons on its platforms. Criticisms and controversies Facebook's importance and scale has led to criticisms in many domains. Issues include Internet privacy, excessive retention of user information, its facial recognition software, DeepFace its addictive quality and its role in the workplace, including employer access to employee accounts.Facebook has been criticized for electricity usage, tax avoidance, real-name user requirement policies, censorship and its involvement in the United States PRISM surveillance program. According to The Express Tribune, Facebook "avoided billions of dollars in tax using offshore companies".Facebook is alleged to have harmful psychological effects on its users, including feelings of jealousy and stress, a lack of attention and social media addiction. According to Kaufmann et al., mothers' motivations for using social media are often related to their social and mental health. European antitrust regulator Margrethe Vestager stated that Facebook's terms of service relating to private data were "unbalanced".Facebook has been criticized for allowing users to publish illegal or offensive material. Specifics include copyright and intellectual property infringement, hate speech, incitement of rape and terrorism, fake news, and crimes, murders, and livestreaming violent incidents. Commentators have accused Facebook of willingly facilitating the spread of such content.Sri Lanka blocked both Facebook and WhatsApp in May 2019 after anti-Muslim riots, the worst in the country since the Easter Sunday bombing in the same year as a temporary measure to maintain peace in Sri Lanka. Facebook removed 3 billion fake accounts only during the last quarter of 2018 and the first quarter of 2019; in comparison, the social network reports 2.39 billion monthly active users.In late July 2019, the company announced it was under antitrust investigation by the Federal Trade Commission.The consumer advocacy group, Which?, claims that individuals are still utilizing Facebook to set up fraudulent five-star ratings for various products. The group has identified 14 communities that exchange reviews for either money or complimentary items such as watches, earbuds, and sprinklers. Privacy Facebook has faced a steady stream of controversies over how it handles user privacy, repeatedly adjusting its privacy settings and policies.Since 2009, Facebook has been participating in the PRISM secret program, sharing with the US National Security Agency audio, video, photographs, e-mails, documents and connection logs from user profiles, among other social media services.On November 29, 2011, Facebook settled Federal Trade Commission charges that it deceived consumers by failing to keep privacy promises. In August 2013 High-Tech Bridge published a study showing that links included in Facebook messaging service messages were being accessed by Facebook. In January 2014 two users filed a lawsuit against Facebook alleging that their privacy had been violated by this practice.On June 7, 2018, Facebook announced that a bug had resulted in about 14 million Facebook users having their default sharing setting for all new posts set to "public".On April 4, 2019, half a billion records of Facebook users were found exposed on Amazon cloud servers, containing information about users' friends, likes, groups, and checked-in locations, as well as names, passwords and email addresses.The phone numbers of at least 200 million Facebook users were found to be exposed on an open online database in September 2019. They included 133 million US users, 18 million from the UK, and 50 million from users in Vietnam. After removing duplicates, the 419 million records have been reduced to 219 million. The database went offline after TechCrunch contacted the web host. It is thought the records were amassed using a tool that Facebook disabled in April 2018 after the Cambridge Analytica controversy. A Facebook spokeswoman said in a statement: "The dataset is old and appears to have information obtained before we made changes last year...There is no evidence that Facebook accounts were compromised."Facebook's privacy problems resulted in companies like Viber Media and Mozilla discontinuing advertising on Facebook's platforms. Racial bias Facebook was accused of committing "systemic" racial bias by EEOC based on the complaints of three rejected candidates and a current employee of the company. The three rejected employees along with the Operational Manager at Facebook as of March 2021 accused the firm of discriminating against Black people. The EEOC has initiated an investigation into the case. Shadow profiles A "shadow profile" refers to the data Facebook collects about individuals without their explicit permission. For example, the "like" button that appears on third-party websites allows the company to collect information about an individual's internet browsing habits, even if the individual is not a Facebook user. Data can also be collected by other users. For example, a Facebook user can link their email account to their Facebook to find friends on the site, allowing the company to collect the email addresses of users and non-users alike. Over time, countless data points about an individual are collected; any single data point perhaps cannot identify an individual, but together allows the company to form a unique "profile". This practice has been criticized by those who believe people should be able to opt-out of involuntary data collection. Additionally, while Facebook users have the ability to download and inspect the data they provide to the site, data from the user's "shadow profile" is not included, and non-users of Facebook do not have access to this tool regardless. The company has also been unclear whether or not it is possible for a person to revoke Facebook's access to their "shadow profile". Cambridge Analytica Facebook customer Global Science Research sold information on over 87 million Facebook users to Cambridge Analytica, a political data analysis firm led by Alexander Nix. While approximately 270,000 people used the app, Facebook's API permitted data collection from their friends without their knowledge. At first Facebook downplayed the significance of the breach, and suggested that Cambridge Analytica no longer had access. Facebook then issued a statement expressing alarm and suspended Cambridge Analytica. Review of documents and interviews with former Facebook employees suggested that Cambridge Analytica still possessed the data. This was a violation of Facebook's consent decree with the Federal Trade Commission. This violation potentially carried a penalty of $40,000 ($46,615 in 2022 dollars) per occurrence, totalling trillions of dollars.According to The Guardian, both Facebook and Cambridge Analytica threatened to sue the newspaper if it published the story. After publication, Facebook claimed that it had been "lied to". On March 23, 2018, The English High Court granted an application by the Information Commissioner's Office for a warrant to search Cambridge Analytica's London offices, ending a standoff between Facebook and the Information Commissioner over responsibility.On March 25, Facebook published a statement by Zuckerberg in major UK and US newspapers apologizing over a "breach of trust". You may have heard about a quiz app built by a university researcher that leaked Facebook data of millions of people in 2014. This was a breach of trust, and I'm sorry we didn't do more at the time. We're now taking steps to make sure this doesn't happen again. We've already stopped apps like this from getting so much information. Now we're limiting the data apps get when you sign in using Facebook. We're also investigating every single app that had access to large amounts of data before we fixed this. We expect there are others. And when we find them, we will ban them and tell everyone affected. Finally, we'll remind you which apps you've given access to your information – so you can shut off the ones you don't want anymore. Thank you for believing in this community. I promise to do better for you. On March 26, the Federal Trade Commission opened an investigation into the matter. The controversy led Facebook to end its partnerships with data brokers who aid advertisers in targeting users.On April 24, 2019, Facebook said it could face a fine between $3 billion ($3.43 billion in 2022 dollars) to $5 billion ($5.72 billion in 2022 dollars) as the result of an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission. On July 24, 2019, the FTC fined Facebook $5 billion, the largest penalty ever imposed on a company for violating consumer privacy. Additionally, Facebook had to implement a new privacy structure, follow a 20-year settlement order, and allow the FTC to monitor Facebook. Cambridge Analytica's CEO and a developer faced restrictions on future business dealings and were ordered to destroy any personal information they collected. Cambridge Analytica filed for bankruptcy.Facebook also implemented additional privacy controls and settings in part to comply with the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which took effect in May. Facebook also ended its active opposition to the California Consumer Privacy Act.Some, such as Meghan McCain have drawn an equivalence between the use of data by Cambridge Analytica and the Barack Obama's 2012 campaign, which, according to Investor's Business Daily, "encouraged supporters to download an Obama 2012 Facebook app that, when activated, let the campaign collect Facebook data both on users and their friends." Carol Davidsen, the Obama for America (OFA) former director of integration and media analytics, wrote that "Facebook was surprised we were able to suck out the whole social graph, but they didn't stop us once they realised that was what we were doing." PolitiFact has rated McCain's statements "Half-True", on the basis that "in Obama's case, direct users knew they were handing over their data to a political campaign" whereas with Cambridge Analytica, users thought they were only taking a personality quiz for academic purposes, and while the Obama campaign only used the data "to have their supporters contact their most persuadable friends", Cambridge Analytica "targeted users, friends and lookalikes directly with digital ads." Breaches On September 28, 2018, Facebook experienced a major breach in its security, exposing the data of 50 million users. The data breach started in July 2017 and was discovered on September 16. Facebook notified users affected by the exploit and logged them out of their accounts.In March 2019, Facebook confirmed a password compromise of millions of Facebook lite application users also affected millions of Instagram users. The reason cited was the storage of password as plain text instead of encryption which could be read by its employees.On December 19, 2019, security researcher Bob Diachenko discovered a database containing more than 267 million Facebook user IDs, phone numbers, and names that were left exposed on the web for anyone to access without a password or any other authentication.In February 2020, Facebook encountered a major security breach in which its official Twitter account was hacked by a Saudi Arabia-based group called "OurMine". The group has a history of actively exposing high-profile social media profiles' vulnerabilities.In April 2021, The Guardian reported approximately half a billion users' data had been stolen including birthdates and phone numbers. Facebook alleged it was "old data" from a problem fixed in August 2019 despite the data's having been released a year and a half later only in 2021; it declined to speak with journalists, had apparently not notified regulators, called the problem "unfixable", and said it would not be advising users. Phone data and activity After acquiring Onavo in 2013, Facebook used its Onavo Protect virtual private network (VPN) app to collect information on users' web traffic and app usage. This allowed Facebook to monitor its competitors' performance, and motivated Facebook to acquire WhatsApp in 2014. Media outlets classified Onavo Protect as spyware. In August 2018, Facebook removed the app in response to pressure from Apple, who asserted that it violated their guidelines. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission sued Facebook on December 16, 2020, for "false, misleading or deceptive conduct" in response to the company's use of personal data obtained from Onavo for business purposes in contrast to Onavo's privacy-oriented marketing.In 2016, Facebook Research launched Project Atlas, offering some users between the ages of 13 and 35 up to $20 per month ($24.00 in 2022 dollars) in exchange for their personal data, including their app usage, web browsing history, web search history, location history, personal messages, photos, videos, emails and Amazon order history. In January 2019, TechCrunch reported on the project. This led Apple to temporarily revoke Facebook's Enterprise Developer Program certificates for one day, preventing Facebook Research from operating on iOS devices and disabling Facebook's internal iOS apps.Ars Technica reported in April 2018 that the Facebook Android app had been harvesting user data, including phone calls and text messages, since 2015. In May 2018, several Android users filed a class action lawsuit against Facebook for invading their privacy.In January 2020, Facebook launched the Off-Facebook Activity page, which allows users to see information collected by Facebook about their non-Facebook activities. The Washington Post columnist Geoffrey A. Fowler found that this included what other apps he used on his phone, even while the Facebook app was closed, what other web sites he visited on his phone, and what in-store purchases he made from affiliated businesses, even while his phone was completely off.In November 2021, a report was published by Fairplay, Global Action Plan and Reset Australia detailing accusations that Facebook was continuing to manage their ad targeting system with data collected from teen users. The accusations follow announcements by Facebook in July 2021 that they would cease ad targeting children. Public apologies The company first apologized for its privacy abuses in 2009.Facebook apologies have appeared in newspapers, television, blog posts and on Facebook. On March 25, 2018, leading US and UK newspapers published full-page ads with a personal apology from Zuckerberg. Zuckerberg issued a verbal apology on CNN. In May 2010, he apologized for discrepancies in privacy settings.Previously, Facebook had its privacy settings spread out over 20 pages, and has now put all of its privacy settings on one page, which makes it more difficult for third-party apps to access the user's personal information. In addition to publicly apologizing, Facebook has said that it will be reviewing and auditing thousands of apps that display "suspicious activities" in an effort to ensure that this breach of privacy does not happen again. In a 2010 report regarding privacy, a research project stated that not a lot of information is available regarding the consequences of what people disclose online so often what is available are just reports made available through popular media. In 2017, a former Facebook executive went on the record to discuss how social media platforms have contributed to the unraveling of the "fabric of society". Content disputes and moderation Facebook relies on its users to generate the content that bonds its users to the service. The company has come under criticism both for allowing objectionable content, including conspiracy theories and fringe discourse, and for prohibiting other content that it deems inappropriate. Misinformation and fake news Facebook has been criticized as a vector for fake news, and has been accused of bearing responsibility for the conspiracy theory that the United States created ISIS, false anti-Rohingya posts being used by Myanmar's military to fuel genocide and ethnic cleansing, enabling climate change denial and Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting conspiracy theorists, and anti-refugee attacks in Germany. The government of the Philippines has also used Facebook as a tool to attack its critics.In 2017, Facebook partnered with fact checkers from the Poynter Institute's International Fact-Checking Network to identify and mark false content, though most ads from political candidates are exempt from this program. As of 2018, Facebook had over 40 fact-checking partners across the world, including The Weekly Standard. Critics of the program have accused Facebook of not doing enough to remove false information from its website.Facebook has repeatedly amended its content policies. In July 2018, it stated that it would "downrank" articles that its fact-checkers determined to be false, and remove misinformation that incited violence. Facebook stated that content that receives "false" ratings from its fact-checkers can be demonetized and suffer dramatically reduced distribution. Specific posts and videos that violate community standards can be removed on Facebook.In May 2019, Facebook banned a number of "dangerous" commentators from its platform, including Alex Jones, Louis Farrakhan, Milo Yiannopoulos, Paul Joseph Watson, Paul Nehlen, David Duke, and Laura Loomer, for allegedly engaging in "violence and hate".In May 2020, Facebook agreed to a preliminary settlement of $52 million ($58.8 million in 2022 dollars) to compensate U.S.-based Facebook content moderators for their psychological trauma suffered on the job. Other legal actions around the world, including in Ireland, await settlement.In September 2020, the Government of Thailand utilized the Computer Crime Act for the first time to take action against Facebook and Twitter for ignoring requests to take down content and not complying with court orders. Threats and incitement Professor Ilya Somin reported that he had been the subject of death threats on Facebook in April 2018 from Cesar Sayoc, who threatened to kill Somin and his family and "feed the bodies to Florida alligators". Somin's Facebook friends reported the comments to Facebook, which did nothing except dispatch automated messages. Sayoc was later arrested for the October 2018 United States mail bombing attempts directed at Democratic politicians. Terrorism Force v. Facebook, Inc., 934 F.3d 53 (2nd Cir. 2019) was a case that alleged Facebook was profiting off recommendations for Hamas. In 2019, the US Second Circuit Appeals Court held that Section 230 bars civil terrorism claims against social media companies and internet service providers, the first federal appellate court to do so. Hate speech In October 2020, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan urged Mark Zuckerberg, through a letter posted on government's Twitter account, to ban Islamophobic content on Facebook, warning that it encouraged extremism and violence.In October 2020, the company announced that it would ban Holocaust denial.In October 2022, Media Matters for America published a report that Facebook and Instagram were still profiting off advertisements using the slur "groomer" for LGBT people. The article reported that Meta had previously confirmed that the use of this word for the LGBT community violates its hate speech policies. The story was subsequently picked up by other news outlets such as the New York Daily News, PinkNews, and LGBTQ Nation. Violent Erotica There are ads on Facebook and Instagram containing sexually explicit content, descriptions of graphic violence and content promoting acts of self harm. Many of the ads are for webnovel apps backed by tech giants Bytedance and Tencent. InfoWars Facebook was criticized for allowing InfoWars to publish falsehoods and conspiracy theories. Facebook defended its actions in regards to InfoWars, saying "we just don't think banning Pages for sharing conspiracy theories or false news is the right way to go." Facebook provided only six cases in which it fact-checked content on the InfoWars page over the period September 2017 to July 2018. In 2018, InfoWars falsely claimed that the survivors of the Parkland shooting were "actors". Facebook pledged to remove InfoWars content making the claim, although InfoWars videos pushing the false claims were left up, even though Facebook had been contacted about the videos. Facebook stated that the videos never explicitly called them actors. Facebook also allowed InfoWars videos that shared the Pizzagate conspiracy theory to survive, despite specific assertions that it would purge Pizzagate content. In late July 2018, Facebook suspended the personal profile of InfoWars head Alex Jones for 30 days. In early August 2018, Facebook banned the four most active InfoWars-related pages for hate speech. Political manipulation As a dominant social-web service with massive outreach, Facebook have been used by identified or unidentified political operatives to affect public opinion. Some of these activities have been done in violation of the platform policies, creating "coordinated inauthentic behavior", support or attacks. These activities can be scripted or paid. Various such abusive campaign have been revealed in recent years, best known being the Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. In 2021, former Facebook analyst within the Spam and Fake Engagement teams, Sophie Zhang, reported more than 25 political subversion operations and criticized the general slow reaction time, oversightless, laissez-faire attitude by Facebook. Influence Operations and Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior In 2018, Facebook stated that during 2018 they had identified "coordinated inauthentic behavior" in "many Pages, Groups and accounts created to stir up political debate, including in the US, the Middle East, Russia and the UK."Campaigns operated by the British intelligence agency unit, called Joint Threat Research Intelligence Group, have broadly fallen into two categories; cyber attacks and propaganda efforts. The propaganda efforts utilize "mass messaging" and the "pushing [of] stories" via social media sites like Facebook. Israel's Jewish Internet Defense Force, the Chinese Communist Party's 50 Cent Party and Turkey's AK Trolls also focus their attention on social media platforms like Facebook.In July 2018, Samantha Bradshaw, co-author of the report from the Oxford Internet Institute (OII) at Oxford University, said that "The number of countries where formally organised social media manipulation occurs has greatly increased, from 28 to 48 countries globally. The majority of growth comes from political parties who spread disinformation and junk news around election periods."In October 2018, The Daily Telegraph reported that Facebook "banned hundreds of pages and accounts that it says were fraudulently flooding its site with partisan political content – although they came from the United States instead of being associated with Russia."In December 2018, The Washington Post reported that "Facebook has suspended the account of Jonathon Morgan, the chief executive of a top social media research firm" New Knowledge, "after reports that he and others engaged in an operation to spread disinformation" on Facebook and Twitter during the 2017 United States Senate special election in Alabama.In January 2019, Facebook said it has removed 783 Iran-linked accounts, pages and groups for engaging in what it called "coordinated inauthentic behaviour". In March 2019, Facebook sued four Chinese firms for selling "fake accounts, likes and followers" to amplify Chinese state media outlets.In May 2019, Tel Aviv-based private intelligence agency Archimedes Group was banned from Facebook for "coordinated inauthentic behavior" after Facebook found fake users in countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia. Facebook investigations revealed that Archimedes had spent some $1.1 million ($1.26 million in 2022 dollars) on fake ads, paid for in Brazilian reais, Israeli shekels and US dollars. Facebook gave examples of Archimedes Group political interference in Nigeria, Senegal, Togo, Angola, Niger and Tunisia. The Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab said in a report that "The tactics employed by Archimedes Group, a private company, closely resemble the types of information warfare tactics often used by governments, and the Kremlin in particular."On May 23, 2019, Facebook released its Community Standards Enforcement Report highlighting that it has identified several fake accounts through artificial intelligence and human monitoring. In a period of six months, October 2018-March 2019, the social media website removed a total of 3.39 billion fake accounts. The number of fake accounts was reported to be more than 2.4 billion real people on the platform.In July 2019, Facebook advanced its measures to counter deceptive political propaganda and other abuse of its services. The company removed more than 1,800 accounts and pages that were being operated from Russia, Thailand, Ukraine and Honduras. After Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, it was announced that the internet regulatory committee would block access to Facebook.On October 30, 2019, Facebook deleted several accounts of the employees working at the Israeli NSO Group, stating that the accounts were "deleted for not following our terms". The deletions came after WhatsApp sued the Israeli surveillance firm for targeting 1,400 devices with spyware. In 2020, Facebook helped found American Edge, an anti-regulation lobbying firm to fight anti-trust probes. The group runs ads that "fail to mention what legislation concerns them, how those concerns could be fixed, or how the horrors they warn of could actually happen", and do not clearly disclose that they are funded by Facebook.In 2020, the government of Thailand forced Facebook to take down a Facebook group called Royalist Marketplace with 1 million members following potentially illegal posts shared. The authorities have also threatened Facebook with legal action. In response, Facebook is planning to take legal action against the Thai government for suppression of freedom of expression and violation of human rights.In February 2021, Facebook removed the main page of the Myanmar military, after two protesters were shot and killed during the anti-coup protests. Facebook said that the page breached its guidelines that prohibit the incitement of violence. On February 25, Facebook announced to ban all accounts of the Myanmar military, along with the "Tatmadaw-linked commercial entities". Citing the "exceptionally severe human rights abuses and the clear risk of future military-initiated violence in Myanmar", the tech giant also implemented the move on its subsidiary, Instagram.In March 2021, The Wall Street Journal's editorial board criticized Facebook's decision to fact-check its op-ed titled "We'll Have Herd immunity by April" written by surgeon Marty Makary, calling it "counter-opinion masquerading as fact checking."Facebook guidelines allow users to call for the death of public figures, they also allow praise of mass killers and 'violent non-state actors' in some situations.In 2021, former Facebook analyst within the Spam and Fake Engagement teams, Sophie Zhang, reported on more than 25 political subversion operations she uncovered while in Facebook, and the general laissez-faire by the private enterprise.In 2021, Facebook was cited as playing a role in the fomenting of the 2021 United States Capitol attack. Russian interference In 2018, Special Counsel Robert Mueller indicted 13 Russian nationals and three Russian organizations for "engaging in operations to interfere with U.S. political and electoral processes, including the 2016 presidential election."Mueller contacted Facebook subsequently to the company's disclosure that it had sold more than $100,000 ($121,936 in 2022 dollars) worth of ads to a company (Internet Research Agency, owned by Russian billionaire and businessman Yevgeniy Prigozhin) with links to the Russian intelligence community before the 2016 United States presidential election. In September 2017, Facebook's chief security officer Alex Stamos wrote the company "found approximately $100,000 in ad spending from June 2015 to May 2017 – associated with roughly 3,000 ads – that was connected to about 470 inauthentic accounts and Pages in violation of our policies. Our analysis suggests these accounts and Pages were affiliated with one another and likely operated out of Russia." Clinton and Trump campaigns spent $81 million ($98.8 million in 2022 dollars) on Facebook ads.The company pledged full cooperation in Mueller's investigation, and provided all information about the Russian advertisements. Members of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees have claimed that Facebook had withheld information that could illuminate the Russian propaganda campaign. Russian operatives have used Facebook polarize the American public discourses, organizing both Black Lives Matter rallies and anti-immigrant rallies on U.S. soil, as well as anti-Clinton rallies and rallies both for and against Donald Trump. Facebook ads have also been used to exploit divisions over black political activism and Muslims by simultaneously sending contrary messages to different users based on their political and demographic characteristics in order to sow discord. Zuckerberg has stated that he regrets having dismissed concerns over Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.Russian-American billionaire Yuri Milner, who befriended Zuckerberg between 2009 and 2011, had Kremlin backing for his investments in Facebook and Twitter. In January 2019, Facebook removed 289 pages and 75 coordinated accounts linked to the Russian state-owned news agency Sputnik which had misrepresented themselves as independent news or general interest pages. Facebook later identified and removed an additional 1,907 accounts linked to Russia found to be engaging in "coordinated inauthentic behaviour". In 2018, a UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) select committee report had criticised Facebook for its reluctance to investigate abuse of its platform by the Russian government, and for downplaying the extent of the problem, referring to the company as 'digital gangsters'."Democracy is at risk from the malicious and relentless targeting of citizens with disinformation and personalised 'dark adverts' from unidentifiable sources, delivered through the major social media platforms we use every day," Damian Collins, DCMS Committee ChairIn February 2019, Glenn Greenwald wrote that a cybersecurity company New Knowledge, which is behind one of the Senate reports on Russian social media election interference, "was caught just six weeks ago engaging in a massive scam to create fictitious Russian troll accounts on Facebook and Twitter in order to claim that the Kremlin was working to defeat Democratic Senate nominee Doug Jones in Alabama. The New York Times, when exposing the scam, quoted a New Knowledge report that boasted of its fabrications..." Anti-Rohingya propaganda In 2018, Facebook took down 536 Facebook pages, 17 Facebook groups, 175 Facebook accounts, and 16 Instagram accounts linked to the Myanmar military. Collectively these were followed by over 10 million people. The New York Times reported that: after months of reports about anti-Rohingya propaganda on Facebook, the company acknowledged that it had been too slow to act in Myanmar. By then, more than 700,000 Rohingya had fled the country in a year, in what United Nations officials called "a textbook example of ethnic cleansing". Anti-Muslim propaganda and Hindu nationalism in India A 2019 book titled The Real Face of Facebook in India, co-authored by the journalists Paranjoy Guha Thakurta and Cyril Sam, alleged that Facebook helped enable and benefited from the rise of Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in India.Ankhi Das, Facebook's policy director for India and South and Central Asia, apologized publicly in August 2020 for sharing a Facebook post that called Muslims in India a "degenerate community". She said she shared the post "to reflect my deep belief in celebrating feminism and civic participation". She is reported to have prevented action by Facebook against anti-Muslim content and supported the BJP in internal Facebook messages.In 2020, Facebook executives overrode their employees' recommendations that the BJP politician T. Raja Singh should be banned from the site for hate speech and rhetoric that could lead to violence. Singh had said on Facebook that Rohingya Muslim immigrants should be shot and had threatened to destroy mosques. Current and former Facebook employees told The Wall Street Journal that the decision was part of a pattern of favoritism by Facebook toward the BJP as it seeks more business in India. Facebook also took no action after BJP politicians made posts accusing Muslims of intentionally spreading COVID-19, an employee said.On August 31, 2020, the Delhi Assembly began investigating whether Facebook bore blame for the 2020 religious riots in the city, claiming it had found Facebook "prima facie guilty of a role in the violence". On September 12, 2020, a Delhi Assembly committee said in a statement that it had asked Facebook India head Ajit Mohan to appear before it on September 15, leading to Facebook objecting and moving the Supreme Court of India against the decision. On September 15, Facebook skipped the Delhi Assembly panel hearing. On September 20, the Delhi Assembly panel issued a new notice asking Facebook to appear before it on September 23. On September 22, Facebook India vice-president and managing director Ajit Mohan moved the Supreme Court against the summons of the Delhi Assembly Committee. On September 23, the Supreme Court granted him relief and ordered a stay to the summons, with the Central government later backing the decision. A former Facebook employee told a Delhi Assembly panel on November 13 that the violence could have been 'easily averted' if the social media giant had acted in a 'proactive and prompt manner'. On December 3, the Delhi Assembly moved the Supreme Court for intervention in the case. On February 4, 2021, the Delhi Assembly panel issued a fresh notice to Facebook India to testify on the riots, avoiding specific notice to Mohan, by asking a senior, responsible officer from the company to appear before the panel. The Union government submitted in the Supreme Court that Facebook could not be made accountable before any state assembly and the committee formed was unconstitutional. On February 24, Mohan challenged summons issued by the Delhi assembly for failing to appear before it as a witness in connection with the 2020 riots in the Supreme Court, saying that the 'right to silence' is a virtue in present 'noisy times' and the legislature had no authority to examine him in a law and order case. The Supreme Court reserved its judgment for the case. On July 8, the Supreme Court refused to quash the summons and asked Facebook asked to appear before the Delhi assembly panel. Company governance Early Facebook investor and former Zuckerberg mentor Roger McNamee described Facebook as having "the most centralized decision-making structure I have ever encountered in a large company." Nathan Schneider, a professor of media studies at the University of Colorado Boulder argued for transforming Facebook into a platform cooperative owned and governed by the users.Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes states that CEO Mark Zuckerberg has too much power, that the company is now a monopoly, and that, as a result, it should be split into multiple smaller companies. Hughes called for the breakup of Facebook in an op-ed on The New York Times. Hughes says he's concerned that Zuckerberg has surrounded himself with a team that does not challenge him and that as a result, it's the U.S. government's job to hold him accountable and curb his "unchecked power". Hughes also said that "Mark's power is unprecedented and un-American." Several U.S. politicians agree with Hughes. EU Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager has stated that splitting Facebook should only be done as "a remedy of the very last resort", and that splitting Facebook would not solve Facebook's underlying problems. Litigation The company has been subject to repeated litigation. Its most prominent case addressed allegations that Zuckerberg broke an oral contract with Cameron Winklevoss, Tyler Winklevoss, and Divya Narendra to build the then-named "HarvardConnection" social network in 2004.On March 6, 2018, BlackBerry sued Facebook and its Instagram and WhatsApp subdivision for ripping off key features of its messaging app.In October 2018, a Texan woman sued Facebook, claiming she had been recruited into the sex trade at the age of 15 by a man who "friended" her on the social media network. Facebook responded that it works both internally and externally to ban sex traffickers.In 2019, British solicitors representing a bullied Syrian schoolboy, sued Facebook over false claims. They claimed that Facebook protected prominent figures from scrutiny instead of removing content that violates its rules and that the special treatment was financially driven.The Federal Trade Commission and a coalition of New York state and 47 other state and regional governments filed separate suits against Facebook on December 9, 2020, seeking antitrust action based on its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsUp among other companies, calling these practices as anticompetitive. The suits also assert that in acquiring these products, they weakened their privacy measures for their users. The suits, besides other fines, seek to unwind the acquisitions from Facebook.On January 6, 2022, France's data privacy regulatory body CNIL fined Facebook a 60 million euros for not allowing its internet users an easy refusal of cookies along with Google.On December 22, 2022, the Quebec Court of Appeal approved a class-action lawsuit on behalf of Facebook users who claim they were discriminated against because the platform allows advertisers to target both job and housing advertisements based on various factors, including age, gender, and even race. The lawsuit centres on the platform's practice of "micro targeting ads", claiming ads are ensured to appear only in the feeds of people who belong to certain targeted groups. Women, for example, would not see ads targeting men, while older generation men would not see an ad aimed at people between 18–45.The class action could include thousands of Quebec residents who have been using the platform as early as April 2016, who were seeking jobs or housing during that period. Facebook has 60 days after the court's December 22nd ruling to decide to appeal the case to the Supreme Court of Canada. If it does not appeal, the case returns to the Quebec Superior Court. Minors exposed to sexual content on VR apps In February 2022, a BBC News researcher posing as a 13-year-old girl witnessed grooming, sexual material, racist insults and a rape threat on the VRChat app. The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children head of online child safety policy Andy Burrows added the investigation had found "a toxic combination of risks". The BBC researcher downloaded VRChat from an app store on Facebook's Meta Quest headset, with no age verification checks – the only requirement being a Facebook account. The BBC News researcher created a fake profile to set up her account – and her real identity was not checked. While Oculus has a form where users can report abuse, the Center for Countering Digital Hate claims Meta rarely takes them seriously, reporting 100 policy violations on Oculus, they did not receive a response. Imran Ahmed, the charity's chief executive, branded it "a cesspit of hate, pornography and child grooming." Impact Scope A commentator in The Washington Post noted that Facebook constitutes a "massive depository of information that documents both our reactions to events and our evolving customs with a scope and immediacy of which earlier historians could only dream". Especially for anthropologists, social researchers, and social historians—and subject to proper preservation and curation—the website "will preserve images of our lives that are vastly crisper and more nuanced than any ancestry record in existence". Economy Economists have noted that Facebook offers many non-rivalrous services that benefit as many users as are interested without forcing users to compete with each other. By contrast, most goods are available to a limited number of users. E.g., if one user buys a phone, no other user can buy that phone. Three areas add the most economic impact: platform competition, the market place and user behavior data.Facebook began to reduce its carbon impact after Greenpeace attacked it for its long-term reliance on coal and resulting carbon footprint. In 2021 Facebook announced that their global operations are supported by 100 percent renewable energy and they have reached net zero emissions, a goal set in 2018.Facebook provides a development platform for many social gaming, communication, feedback, review, and other applications related to online activities. This platform spawned many businesses and added thousands of jobs to the global economy. Zynga Inc., a leader in social gaming, is an example of such a business. An econometric analysis found that Facebook's app development platform added more than 182,000 jobs in the U.S. economy in 2011. The total economic value of the added employment was about $12 billion ($15.6 billion in 2022 dollars). Society Facebook was one of the first large-scale social networks. In The Facebook Effect, David Kirkpatrick stated that Facebook's structure makes it difficult to replace, because of its "network effects". As of 2016, it is estimated that 44 percent of the US population gets news through Facebook. A study published at Frontiers Media in 2023 found that there was more polarization of the user-base on Facebook than even far-right social networks like Gab. Mental and emotional health Studies have associated social networks with positive and negative impacts on emotional health. Studies have associated Facebook with feelings of envy, often triggered by vacation and holiday photos. Other triggers include posts by friends about family happiness and images of physical beauty—such feelings leave people dissatisfied with their own lives. A joint study by two German universities discovered that one out of three people were more dissatisfied with their lives after visiting Facebook, and another study by Utah Valley University found that college students felt worse about themselves following an increase in time on Facebook. Professor Larry D. Rosen stated that teenagers on Facebook exhibit more narcissistic tendencies, while young adults show signs of antisocial behavior, mania and aggressiveness. Positive effects include signs of "virtual empathy" with online friends and helping introverted persons learn social skills. A 2020 experimental study in the American Economic Review found that deactivating Facebook led to increased subjective well-being. In a blog post in December 2017, the company highlighted research that has shown "passively consuming" the News Feed, as in reading but not interacting, left users with negative feelings, whereas interacting with messages pointed to improvements in well-being. Politics In February 2008, a Facebook group called "One Million Voices Against FARC" organized an event in which hundreds of thousands of Colombians marched in protest against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). In August 2010, one of North Korea's official government websites and the country's official news agency, Uriminzokkiri, joined Facebook. During the Arab Spring many journalists claimed that Facebook played a major role in the 2011 Egyptian revolution. On January 14, the Facebook page of "We are all Khaled Said" was started by Wael Ghoniem to invite the Egyptian people to "peaceful demonstrations" on January 25. According to Mashable, in Tunisia and Egypt, Facebook became the primary tool for connecting protesters and led the Egyptian government to ban Facebook, Twitter and other websites on January 26 then ban all mobile and Internet connections for all of Egypt on January 28. After 18 days, the uprising forced President Hosni Mubarak to resign. In a Bahraini uprising that started on February 14, 2011, Facebook was utilized by the Bahraini regime and regime loyalists to identify, capture and prosecute citizens involved in the protests. A 20-year-old woman named Ayat Al Qurmezi was identified as a protester using Facebook and imprisoned.In 2011, Facebook filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to form a political action committee under the name FB PAC. In an email to The Hill, a spokesman for Facebook said "Facebook Political Action Committee will give our employees a way to make their voice heard in the political process by supporting candidates who share our goals of promoting the value of innovation to our economy while giving people the power to share and make the world more open and connected."During the Syrian civil war, the YPG, a libertarian army for Rojava recruited westerners through Facebook in its fight against ISIL. Dozens joined its ranks. The Facebook page's name "The Lions of Rojava" comes from a Kurdish saying which translates as "A lion is a lion, whether it's a female or a male", reflecting the organization's feminist ideology.In recent years, Facebook's News Feed algorithms have been identified as a cause of political polarization, for which it has been criticized. It has likewise been accused of amplifying the reach of 'fake news' and extreme viewpoints, as when it may have enabled conditions which led to the 2015 Rohingya refugee crisis.Facebook first played a role in the American political process in January 2008, shortly before the New Hampshire primary. Facebook teamed up with ABC and Saint Anselm College to allow users to give live feedback about the "back to back" January 5 Republican and Democratic debates. Facebook users took part in debate groups on specific topics, voter registration and message questions.Over a million people installed the Facebook application "US Politics on Facebook" in order to take part which measured responses to specific comments made by the debating candidates. A poll by CBS News, UWIRE and The Chronicle of Higher Education claimed to illustrate how the "Facebook effect" had affected youthful voters, increasing voting rates, support of political candidates, and general involvement.The new social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, connected hundreds of millions of people. By 2008, politicians and interest groups were experimenting with systematic use of social media to spread their message. By the 2016 election, political advertising to specific groups had become normalized. Facebook offered the most sophisticated targeting and analytics platform. ProPublica noted that their system enabled advertisers to direct their pitches to almost 2,300 people who expressed interest in the topics of "Jew hater", "How to burn Jews", or, "History of 'why Jews ruin the world".Facebook has used several initiatives to encourage its users to register to vote and vote. An experiment in 2012 involved showing Facebook users pictures of their friends who reported that they had voted; users who were shown the pictures were about 2% more likely to report that they had also voted compared to the control group, which was not encouraged to vote. In 2020, Facebook announced the goal of helping four million voters register in the US, saying that it had registered 2.5 million by September.The Cambridge Analytica data scandal offered another example of the perceived attempt to influence elections. The Guardian claimed that Facebook knew about the security breach for two years, but did nothing to stop it until it became public.Facebook banned political ads to prevent the manipulation of voters in the US's November's election. Industry experts suggested that there are several other ways for misinformation to reach voters on social media platforms and blocking political ads will not serve as a proven solution to the problem. India Ahead of the 2019 general elections in India, Facebook has removed 103 pages, groups and accounts on Facebook and Instagram platforms originating from Pakistan. Facebook said its investigation found a Pakistani military link, along with a mix of real accounts of ISPR employees, and a network of fake accounts created by them that have been operating military fan pages, general interest pages but were posting content about Indian politics while trying to conceal their identity. Owing to the same reasons, Facebook also removed 687 pages and accounts of Congress because of coordinated inauthentic behavior on the platform. Culture Facebook and Zuckerberg have been the subject of music, books, film and television. The 2010 film The Social Network, directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin, stars Jesse Eisenberg as Zuckerberg and went on to win three Academy Awards and four Golden Globes. In 2008, Collins English Dictionary declared "Facebook" as its new Word of the Year. In December 2009, the New Oxford American Dictionary declared its word of the year to be the verb "unfriend", defined as "To remove someone as a 'friend' on a social networking site such as Facebook". Internet.org In August 2013, Facebook founded Internet.org in collaboration with six other technology companies to plan and help build affordable Internet access for underdeveloped and developing countries. The service, called Free Basics, includes various low-bandwidth applications such as AccuWeather, BabyCenter, BBC News, ESPN, and Bing. There was severe opposition to Internet.org in India, where the service started in partnership with Reliance Communications in 2015 was banned a year later by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). In 2018, Zuckerberg claimed that "Internet.org efforts have helped almost 100 million people get access to the internet who may not have had it otherwise." Environment Facebook announced in 2021 that it will make an effort to stop disinformation about climate change. The company will use George Mason University, Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and the University of Cambridge as sources of information. The company will expand its information hub on climate to 16 countries. Users in other countries will be directed to the site of the United Nations Environment Programme for information. See also Further reading Arrington, Michael (April 25, 2010). "The Age of Facebook". TechCrunch. Retrieved March 23, 2017. Kirkpatrick, David (October 6, 2006). "Why Facebook matters: It's not just for arranging dates. And it's not just another social network. Facebook offers sophisticated tools for maintaining social relationships". Fortune. Retrieved April 9, 2017. Lee, Newton (September 15, 2012). Facebook Nation: Total Information Awareness. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 978-1-4614-5308-6. McNamee, Roger (2019). Zucked: Waking Up to the Facebook Catastrophe. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-00-831899-4. Miller, Daniel (2011). Tales from Facebook. Polity. ISBN 978-0-7456-5209-2. Muffett, Alec (October 31, 2014). "Making Connections to Facebook More Secure". Facebook. Retrieved December 13, 2016. Schroeder, Stan (February 7, 2011). "Facebook Privacy: 10 Settings Every User Needs to Know". Mashable. Retrieved February 1, 2015. Official website Facebook at Curlie

SIMBAD (the Set of Identifications, Measurements and Bibliography for Astronomical Data) is an astronomical database of objects beyond the Solar System. It is maintained by the Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg (CDS), France. SIMBAD was created by merging the Catalog of Stellar Identifications (CSI) and the Bibliographic Star Index as they existed at the Meudon Computer Centre until 1979, and then expanded by additional source data from other catalogues and the academic literature. The first on-line interactive version, known as Version 2, was made available in 1981. Version 3, developed in the C language and running on UNIX stations at the Volgograd Observatory, was released in 1990. Fall of 2006 saw the release of Version 4 of the database, now stored in PostgreSQL, and the supporting software, now written entirely in Java.JP11 is a star catalogue containing about 4,000 objects. Currently it exists only as a part of the SIMBAD database.As of 1 June 2020, SIMBAD contains information for 5,800,000 stars and about 5,500,000 nonstellar objects (galaxies, planetary nebulae, clusters, novae and supernovae, etc.)The minor planet 4692 SIMBAD was named in its honour. See also Planetary Data System (PDS) – NASA's database of information on SSSB, maintained by JPL and Caltech. NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED) – a database of information on objects outside the Milky Way, also maintained by JPL. NASA Exoplanet Archive – an online astronomical exoplanet catalog and data service. SIMBAD, Strasbourg SIMBAD, Harvard SIMBAD database search page

Zhuhai (, Chinese: 珠海; pinyin: Zhūhǎi; Yale: Jyūhói), also known as Chuhai, is a prefecture-level city located on the west bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern Guangdong province, People's Republic of China, on the southeastern edge of the Pearl River Delta. Its name literally means "pearl sea", which originates from the city's location at the mouth of the Pearl River meeting the South China Sea. Zhuhai borders Jiangmen to the west, Zhongshan to the north and Macau to the southeast, and shares maritime boundaries with Shenzhen and Hong Kong to the northeast across the estuary. Zhuhai was one of the original four Special Economic Zones established in 1980, as well as one of China's premier tourist destinations, being called the Chinese Riviera. While the city is located in the traditionally Cantonese-speaking province of Guangdong, a significant portion of the population is now made up of Mandarin-speaking economic migrants originally from inland provinces. The core of Zhuhai, Xiangzhou District along with Macao, in the northeastern portion of the administrative division, are part of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area, the biggest built-up area in the world with more than 65,565,622 inhabitants as of the 2020 census, encompassing Shenzhen, Dongguan, Foshan, Zhongshan, Macau, the main part of Guangzhou, and small parts of Jiangmen and Huizhou cities but with Hong Kong not quite conurbated yet. According to a report released in 2014 by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Zhuhai is the most livable city in China. Zhuhai is classified as a Medium-Port Metropolis. History The City of Zhuhai has a long history in development of the exhibition industry in China. Zhuhai was the first permanent motor racing facility in China and has become a centre for the local racing scene, as well as a semi-regular fixture on the international racing circuit, including the Zhuhai Special Economic Zone. Legend has it that an angel descended to earth one day and fell in love with the beauty of the land. Zhuhai is such a beautiful city – today it is still one of the most beautiful cities in China. Hong Kong was ruled by the British after the Second Battle of Chuenpi in 1841 until 1997, especially Macau which was ruled by the Portuguese following the agreement of the Luso-Chinese agreement in 1557 until 1999. On 24 October 2018, the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge (HZMB) is opened. Geography Zhuhai borders the Macau Special Administrative Region (north and west), and is 140 kilometres (87 miles) southwest of Guangzhou. Its territory has 690 kilometres (429 miles) of coastline and 217 islands, of which 147 are over 500 square metres in area.The islands within the prefecture-level city of Zhuhai include a number of near-shore islands, often connected to the mainland by bridges or causeways (such as Hengqin, Qi'ao, or Yeli Islands), as well as some islands in the open South China Sea (the Wanshan Archipelago). Some of the latter are actually geographically closer to Hong Kong than to the Zhuhai mainland. The jurisdiction of Nei Lingding Island, located in the Pearl River estuary was transferred from Zhuhai to Shenzhen in 2009. Climate Despite being located within the tropics, Zhuhai has a humid subtropical climate affected by the East Asian Monsoon (Koppen classification Cwa) and moderated by the South China Sea, with long, hot and humid summers with frequent thunderstorms, and short, mild and dry winters. Average highs in January and July are 18 and 32 °C (64 and 90 °F) respectively. Snowfalls are unknown and a frost has never been recorded in the city centre. Conversely, extreme heat waves do not occur as they do further inland. Being named one of the most liveable cities in China, real estate is robust here. Residents from the mainland, especially those from the North, will buy homes and spend their winters in Zhuhai. Economy Zhuhai became a city in 1979, a year before it was designated as one of the first Special Economic Zones of China (SEZ). Similarly to neighboring Shenzhen, which became the first Special Economic Zone of China in 1978, the implementation of Zhuhai as an SEZ was largely due to its strategic position adjacent to Macau, a capitalist trading center similar to Shenzhen's position with Hong Kong. The establishment of Zhuhai as an SEZ allowed the Chinese Central Government and economy to have easier access to the Macau and consequently, global market. As a result, Zhuhai is now a major city in the Pearl River Delta region according to the new general urban plan approved by the State Council. The implementation of Special Economy Zone intended for the city to become a key port city, science and education city, scenic and tourism city, and as a regional hub for transportation. The outstanding geographic location, a wide range of supporting infrastructure and a deep-water port serve as a major attraction for foreign capital. Utilized foreign investment reached US$10.344 billion in 2008. Among the top 500 enterprises worldwide, 19 of them have investment projects in Zhuhai such as ExxonMobil, BP, Siemens, Carrefour and Matsushita. Manufacturing industries Industrial development in Zhuhai focuses on five new high-tech and heavy industries including electronics, computer software, biotechnology and pharmacy, machinery and equipment as well as petrochemical industries. Aiming to strengthen the existing industrial base as well as to provide a better environment for the development of new high-tech industries, the local government has taken the initiative in developing five economic zones: Zhuhai High-Tech Industrial Development ZoneAs one of the four earliest Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in China, Zhuhai SEZ was set up in the year 1980 and granted with a local legislative right. Zhuhai hi-tech zone is located in the north of Zhuhai, which is very close to downtown. Furthermore, technological resources are centralized in our zone; there is also a huge development in hi-tech industries led by the software and IC industries. The hi-tech zone is the showcase for Zhuhai's scientific development. Meizu is one high tech product headquartered in Zhuhai. Zhuhai Free Trade ZoneZhuhai Free Trade Zone (Zhuhai FTZ) was founded in 1996 with the State Council's approval, occupying 3 km2 (1.2 sq mi). A Zhuhai FTZ Administrative Committee was set up in June 1997. By the end of 2006, there had been over 200 companies registered in the Free Trade Zone, including more than 150 foreign-funded enterprises, and the total investment amount was one billion US dollars. Industries encouraged in the zone include electronics assembly & manufacturing, telecommunications equipment, building/construction materials, instruments & industrial equipment production, medical equipment and supplies, raw material processing, research & development, shipping/warehousing/logistics, and heavy industry. Harbour industrial zone (provincial level) Wanshan ocean development testing zone (provincial level)The Wanshan archipelago is located in one of the major fishing areas of China and is core to the Wanshan ocean development testing zone. However, Perna viridis, a species of green mussel, was found to be contaminated by HCHs, DDTs, and PCBs. Hengqin economic development zone (provincial level) Global printer consumables manufacturing centreZhuhai manufactured and supplied 70% of the world's ribbons, 60% of the world's aftermarket inkjet cartridges and 20% of the world's third-party laser toner cartridges. Their combined sales were worth more than 1.3 billion US dollars or 10% of all the sales in the world. Zhuhai owns a comprehensive supply chain and almost any of the raw materials needed by the printer consumables industry can be provided locally. Administration The prefecture-level city of Zhuhai administers three county-level divisions and four special economic districts, all of which are districts. Transportation Airports Zhuhai Jinwan Airport (IATA: ZUH, ICAO: ZGSD), formerly Zhuhai Sanzao Airport, an international airport connecting all provincial capital cities in Mainland China (except Xining and Lhasa) and many other major cities, hosting an annual air show and an exhibition hall, with Chinese space rockets located in Jinwan District. Jiuzhou Airport (珠海九洲机场), verbally "Jiuzhou Heliport (九州直升机场)") (ICAO: ZGUH), is located in Xiangzhou district, near the Jiuzhou harbour, and has short plane runway and a helipad. Its place inside Jiuzhou inner district, permits quick transport of injured people from surrounding islands to the city hospitals. China Southern Airlines offer sightseeing flights and charters to drilling stations in South China Sea using Sikorsky S-76 helicopters via this airport as well. They used to fly to Guangzhou Baiyun Airport from this airport using Cessna C208 Caravan as well, but the route was discontinued.Zhuhai also is served by airports outside: Macau International Airport (IATA: MFM, ICAO: VMMC), which is closer to the city of Zhuhai proper, than Zhuhai Jinwan Airport itself, has an "Express Link" service in which transiting passengers who go through Gongbei Port of Entry/Posto Fronteiriço das Portas do Cerco are not processed through Macau customs; passengers may also have their baggage taken from Macau Airport to Lotus Bridge in Hengqin Island. Hong Kong International Airport (IATA: HKG, ICAO: VHHH); ticketed passengers can take ferries from the Zhuhai Ferry Terminal to the HKIA Skypier. Since its inauguration in September 2018, Zhuhai residents can reach HKG via Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge.Zhuhai residents may also use Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport (IATA: SZX, ICAO: ZGSZ) and travel there by bus or ferry. Railway Zhuhai Railway Station is located at the western end of Gongbei Port of Entry and Portas do Cerco at the border of Zhuhai and Macau. There are frequent high speed trains to Guangzhou, Guilin, Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and other main cities in China. The intercity railway between Zhuhai Gongbei and Zhuhai Jinwan International Airport is under construction. It is expected to be opened to Hengqin in November 2019, and the whole project will be completed in 2024. It will take only 30 minutes to commute from urban district to the airport using the completed line. Zhuhai also has a tram network, with the first phase of Line 1 completed in 2014. In 2017, Line 1 began service to the public. The trams ceased running in January 2021 due to frequent power issues and low patronage. The Zhuhai Metro (珠海地铁) is currently in the planning stage. Line 1 will start from Jiuzhou Port and end at the Jinwan Station, with a total length of 36.8 km; Line 2 will start from Jinding Industrial Area and end at Gongbei Port, with a total length of 30.5 km. Construction was expected to start in 2019, with an estimated time of completion in 2024. Sea Zhuhai is known for its good climate and good air quality. Endowed with a long coastline, it is the only city on the western Pearl River Delta with natural deep-water ports.Zhuhai has two international seaports: Jiuzhou (九洲港) and Gaolan (高栏港). Gaolan Port is one of the leading ports in Guangdong province, while Jiuzhou Port focuses on heavy passenger sea transport.Chu Kong Passenger Transport operates a ferry service between Zhuhai's Jiuzhou Port, Hong Kong and Shekou Passenger Terminal, in the Nanshan District of Shenzhen. A service between Jiuzhou Port and Hong Kong International Airport for air passengers using the airport began on 10 July 2007. Road Zhuhai is currently served by two major Chinese national expressways: G94 Pearl River Delta Ring Expressway The G94 Pearl River Delta Ring Expressway, which will form a beltway surrounding the Guangzhou metropolitan area when completed, currently connects Zhuhai to the Sanshui District of Foshan. In 2018 the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge opened, reducing the travel time by road from Zhuhai to Hong Kong in approximately 40 minutes. G94 was extended to follow this bridge, with sections currently under construction connecting the bridge to the Zhuhai-Foshan section. G0425 Guangzhou–Macau Expressway A spur route of the mainline G4 Beijing–Hong Kong and Macau Expressway, G0425 directly links Guangzhou to Zhuhai (and thus, Macau). It has a concurrency with G94 for several kilometers. Heavy traffic between Zhuhai and Macau has led to the construction of a new cross-border corridor, the Lotus Bridge, built in November 1999 to divert traffic away from the congested Gongbei Port of Entry (Portas do Cerco). G0425 currently ends in Zhuhai at Zhuhai Avenue, pending an extension to the Lotus Bridge via Hengqin island. Tourism Zhuhai and the surrounding landscapes have a reputation within China of being a garden city with a high quality of life. In 2002, the city attracted 1.3 million international tourists and 3.64 million domestic tourists. Following Guangzhou and Shenzhen, Zhuhai has the third largest amount of foreign tourism in the Guangdong province.Zhuhai hosts the China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition biannually in November. It is the largest Air Show in China and a huge tourist attraction. Realizing the benefits brought by tourism, the local government is expanding tourist destinations and is developing new spots such as Hengqin (横琴岛), Dong'ao (东澳), Hebao (荷包), Qi'ao (淇澳岛) and Yeli (野狸). New Yuan Ming Palace The New Yuan Ming Palace (simplified Chinese: 圆明新园; traditional Chinese: 圓明新園) is a park of 1.39 square kilometres (0.54 square miles), including an 80,000 m2 (861,113 sq ft) lake. It features a partial reconstruction of the Old Summer Palace in Beijing which was destroyed during the Second Opium War and was never rebuilt on its original site. The New Yuan Ming Palace in Zhuhai Coast of Xianglu Bay—Fisher Girl Statue The coast of Xianglu Bay is considered the "symbol" of Zhuhai, offering a scenic view of Pearl River Delta with silt-rich water, rocks, and a beach. The famous landmark of the city, the Fisher Girl Statue, stands elegantly on a boulder in Xianglu Bay; the statue is draped by a fishnet and holds a pearl high in the air with both hands up to the sky, symbolizing a vigorous and lively Zhuhai welcoming visitors from all over the world. It was erected in 1982 by a professor from the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts and is 8.7 meters tall, composed of 70 pieces of granite. Visitors can view the statue up close from a boardwalk on the shore. The statue was based on a local legend, in which the daughter of the celestial Dragon King visited the Pearl River delta. Enamored by the beauty of the Zhuhai region, she disguised herself as a fisher girl and lived among the people there, weaving baskets and healing locals with her powers until she fell in love with a fellow fisherman named Haipeng. The romance between Haipeng and the fisher girl was interrupted by vicious rumors among the people about the latter's true origins. Haipeng eventually confronted the fisher girl about this and demanded she give her magical pearl bracelets to him as proof of her love. She confirmed the rumors and explained that if she removed even one of the pearls, she would die. As Haipeng refused to believe her story and turned to leave, the fisher girl took off her bracelets, dying in Haipeng's arms. Heartbroken and guilt-ridden, Haipeng set out to find a cure, eventually discovering from a local elder that he would need to cultivate a special grass with his own blood. After years of toiling, Haipeng finally harvested enough to revive the fisher girl, turning her into a mortal. The two later married and the fisher girl found a large pearl, which she gifted to the elder in gratitude on the day of the wedding. Education Strategic development Developing a university park is part of Zhuhai's strategy to strengthen its high-tech and IT industries. Compared with Beijing and Shanghai, Zhuhai and other cities in Guangdong province face a serious shortage of talent and professionals. The local government is taking significant initiatives to set up a university park with an area of 20 square kilometres (8 square miles) (the only such plan in the western Pearl River Delta). Colleges and universities Zhuhai Campus of Jinan University Beijing Normal University, Zhuhai Campus Beijing Institute of Technology, Zhuhai Campus Sun Yat-Sen University, Zhuhai Campus Zhuhai College of Jilin University University of Macau (under the jurisdiction of Macau SAR government) United International College Zhuhai Radio & TV UniversityA number of other colleges and universities are also located in or near Zhuhai. Beijing Normal University Zhuhai Campus was created as a new model university. Besides its high quality of education, it is more internationally oriented than many universities in China. Many students here prepare to go abroad to finish their junior and senior years. Primary and secondary education Despite the shortage of higher education, Zhuhai government has been paying a lot of attention to primary and secondary education. From 2007, high school students in Zhuhai needn't pay school fees anymore.As a result, there are many famous high schools in Zhuhai. Zhuhai No.1 High School (ZH1Z) is one of the most competitive high schools in Guangdong Province, and also a member of the Guangdong "Six Schools Union". Dulwich International High School Zhuhai, QSI International School of Zhuhai, and Zhuhai International School serve expatriates and/or use foreign educational systems. Supplementary schools Zhuhai Japanese Saturday School (珠海日本人補習校) is a supplementary school for overseas Japanese in Zhuhai. It holds classes at QSI School. Sports facilities Zhuhai is the first city in China to have constructed a motor racing circuit. The Zhuhai International Circuit was built in 1996 and is located at Jinding, near the border to Zhongshan. ZIC has held the BPR Global GT Endurance Series in 1996, the FIA GT Championship in 1997, 1999, 2004 and 2005. It hosted the championship's 2007 opening round on 24 and 25 March. ZIC had planned to host a round of the Champ Car World Series on 20 May 2007, but agreement was not reached. ZIC held an A1GP race in 2007 for the first time in series' history. ZIC became the first venue in China to host the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup on 7 November 2010 when the 2010 1000 km of Zhuhai was staged. Zhuhai has also a new tennis center which hosts WTA Elite Trophy, the last tournament of the year for players that are in the top 20 but did not qualify to WTA Finals. Notable people Notable people Rong Hong (1828–1912), first Chinese student to graduate from a western university Huang Kuan (1828–1878), first Chinese person to study in Europe Tang Tingshu (1832–1892), general manager of China Merchants' Steam Navigation Company Tang Shaoyi (1862–1938), first Premier of the Republic of China Su Zhaozheng (1885–1929), early phase leader of the Chinese Communist Party Lin Weimin (1887–1927), leader of labour movement, member of the Chinese Communist Party Yang Pao'an (1896–1931), early phase leader of the Chinese Communist Party Rong Guotuan (1937–1968), first Chinese world champion in table tennis. Dong Mingzhu (1954–), chairperson of Gree Electric Zhang Lianwei (1965–), Chinese professional golfer Yi Siling (1989–), Chinese Sport shooter, Champion of Women's 10 metre air rifle at London 2012 Olympics Hon Chio Leong (2001–), Macanese racing driver and 2-time Macau Grand Prix champion Mayors and CPC Committee Secretaries Mayors CPC Committee Secretaries Sister cities See Sister cities of Zhuhai See also Hengqin, an offshore island administered by Zhuhai Wanshan Qundao, 104 island archipelago in the South China Sea Official government website (available in Chinese and English) Website of Hengqin New Area (available in English, Japanese, Portuguese and Spanish) Massive explosion at hotel in Zuhai, Guangdong, China 🇨🇳 September 11 2020 珠海 爆炸 旅馆

Keyhole Markup Language (KML) is an XML notation for expressing geographic annotation and visualization within two-dimensional maps and three-dimensional Earth browsers. KML was developed for use with Google Earth, which was originally named Keyhole Earth Viewer. It was created by Keyhole, Inc, which was acquired by Google in 2004. KML became an international standard of the Open Geospatial Consortium in 2008. Google Earth was the first program able to view and graphically edit KML files, but other projects such as Marble have added KML support. Structure The KML file specifies a set of features (place marks, images, polygons, 3D models, textual descriptions, etc.) that can be displayed on maps in geospatial software implementing the KML encoding. Every place has a longitude and a latitude. Other data can make a view more specific, such as tilt, heading, or altitude, which together define a "camera view" along with a timestamp or timespan. KML shares some of the same structural grammar as Geography Markup Language (GML). Some KML information cannot be viewed in Google Maps or Mobile.KML files are very often distributed as KMZ files, which are zipped KML files with a .kmz extension. The contents of a KMZ file are a single root KML document (notionally "doc.kml") and optionally any overlays, images, icons, and COLLADA 3D models referenced in the KML including network-linked KML files. The root KML document by convention is a file named "doc.kml" at the root directory level, which is the file loaded upon opening. By convention the root KML document is at root level and referenced files are in subdirectories (e.g. images for overlay).An example KML document is: The MIME type associated with KML is application/vnd.google-earth.kml+xml; the MIME type associated with KMZ is application/vnd.google-earth.kmz. Geodetic reference systems in KML For its reference system, KML uses 3D geographic coordinates: longitude, latitude, and altitude, in that order, with negative values for west, south, and below mean sea level. The longitude/latitude components (decimal degrees) are as defined by the World Geodetic System of 1984 (WGS84). Altitude, the vertical component, is measured in meters from the WGS84 EGM96 Geoid vertical datum. If altitude is omitted from a coordinate string, e.g. (-77.03647, 38.89763) then the default value of 0 (approximately sea level) is assumed for the altitude component, i.e. (-77.03647, 38.89763, 0). A formal definition of the coordinate reference system (encoded as GML) used by KML is contained in the OGC KML 2.2 Specification. This definition references well-known EPSG CRS components. OGC standard process The KML 2.2 specification was submitted to the Open Geospatial Consortium to assure its status as an open standard for all geobrowsers. In November 2007 a new KML 2.2 Standards Working Group was established within OGC to formalize KML 2.2 as an OGC standard. Comments were sought on the proposed standard until January 4, 2008, and it became an official OGC standard on April 14, 2008.The OGC KML Standards Working Group finished working on change requests to KML 2.2 and incorporated accepted changes into the KML 2.3 standard. The official OGC KML 2.3 standard was published on August 4, 2015. See also Packet radio protocols Brian McClendon CityGML Geospatial content management system GPS eXchange Format Keyhole satellite series NASA WorldWind Point of interest The Blue Marble Waypoint Wikimapia OGC KML 2.2 Standard OGC Official KML 2.2 Schema Google's KML Documentation

Anthony Wong Chau-sang (born Anthony William Perry; 2 September 1961) is a Hong Kong film actor and singer. He has worked with many significant directors of Hong Kong cinema since his debut in 1985, including John Woo, Andrew Lau, Ringo Lam and Johnnie To, and is known for his intense portrayals of often-amoral characters. He has won the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor three times: for The Untold Story (1993), Beast Cops (1998) and Still Human (2018). He is best known to international audiences for his roles as Triad gangster Johnny Wong in Hard Boiled (1992), police Superintendent Wong Chi-shing Infernal Affairs trilogy (2002-03) and General Yang in the Hollywood film The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008). Early life Wong was born Anthony William Perry on 2 September 1961 to a Hong Kong Chinese mother Wong Juen-yee, and an English father, Frederick William Perry, who served with the Royal Air Force during World War II and later as a colonial officer. Frederick Perry walked out on the family when Wong was four, so he lived with his mother "in the staircase of a pre-war building in Wan Chai" until he was sent to live with various relatives for two years while his mother "held down three jobs." He kept in touch with his father through letters until they lost contact when he was 12 years old, and he knew that he had three older half-siblings from his father's marriage. He met his half-brothers in 2018.In his acting career, Wong's established a reputation for openly critiquing the Hong Kong film industry and its practices, actors' performances and pop culture in interviews and his personal microblog. In some of those critiques, he revealed his experiences of being bullied and discriminated against—for being a "mixed race foreigner" and "during the 1960s, English-Chinese mixed race people like me were regarded as bastards" and for being born outside Hong Kong—while growing up in Hong Kong and during the early years of his acting career.During his late teens, Wong moved to the United Kingdom to attend a college of further education. He returned to Hong Kong to attend a training course in hairdressing until he quit to join Asia Television's (ATV) training programme when he was 21. Career After completing ATV's training programme, he continued his training at The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. He had stated in an interview that his mixed ethnicity initially caused him to be typecast as a villain, due to institutionalised racism in the Hong Kong film industry during this period. He, however, won a Hong Kong Film Award for his performance as the real-life serial killer Huang Zhiheng, who made meat buns from his victims' flesh, in The Untold Story in 1993. In the following years, Wong appeared in a wide range of genre films including Rock n' Roll Cop, Hard Boiled, The Heroic Trio, Infernal Affairs, The Mission and The Medallion. He had also several appearances in the popular Young and Dangerous film series as Tai Fei; a rival Triad gangster to Ekin Cheng's character Chan Ho-nam, an ambitious Triad gangster, whom Tai Fei eventually befriends. Wong had also appeared in a number of international English-language films including The Painted Veil and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. In 1995, Wong made his directorial debut with The New Tenant. In 2014, Wong made his culinary debut in Dinner Confidential, where he would prepare one dish out of a table d'hote candle-lit dinner menu for guests.In 2015, Wong became the first Hong Kong actor to have won the best lead actor role award in TV and movies when he won 2015 TVB Anniversary Awards for Best Actor and Best Drama for Lord of Shanghai, marking his triumphant return to TVB. He also became the first Hong Kong actor to have won Best Actor awards in films, stage theatre and TV. He also became the first Hong Kong actor to ever win TVB's Best Actor award on his first nomination. In May 2020, Wong travelled to Taiwan for his role in the Public Television Service (PTS) drama Heaven on the Fourth Floor. Personal life Wong married Jane Ng Wai-zing in 1996 and they have two sons, Wong Yat-yat (born 1996) and Ulysses Wong (born 1998). Wong is taking care of his mother who now has dementia, while his sons now live outside of Hong Kong. In June 2018, it was revealed that he had a son named William (born 1998), with a woman known only as "Joyce" who is the niece of veteran actor and producer John Shum.In March 2018, Wong met his half-brothers, twins John William and David Frederick Perry, after a BBC story on Wong's search for his family was published. He also has a half-sister, Vera Ann. His father died in 1988 in Australia, where he and his first family settled after they left Hong Kong. His half-siblings did not know of Wong's existence until the BBC story was produced.In a 2005 interview with Star eCentral, Wong stated that amongst his prolific output during the 1980s and the 1990s, a considerable number of films he appeared in were "terrible." However, he does not regret making those films, as he needed the money to support his family.Wong is a supporter of the 2014 Umbrella Movement, a series of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. This has reportedly led to limited acting opportunities for him in mainland China. He has also voiced support for the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests.Wong travelled to Taiwan in May 2020, which fuelled speculation that he was moving to the island. However, Wong later revealed he was there for a filming commitment, nonetheless describing Taiwan's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic as "excellent" and expressing interest in staying long term. On 18 April 2021, Wong was approved for an Employment Gold Card, allowing him to work in Taiwan without needing to apply in advance. It also allows him to receive tax incentives and National Health Insurance. Filmography Film Television series War of The Dragon 还我本色 (1989), Cheung King-to (张景图) The Justice of Life 他來自江湖 (1989), Johnson Man Chung-sun (文忠信) When Things Get Tough 午夜太陽 (1990), Tsing Kwan (程軍) The Witness of Time 天若有情 (1990), Hua Jing-sheng (程华京生) ICAC Investigators 2004 廉政行動2004 (2004), ICAC Chief Investigator Antonio Wong Kung Fu Soccer 功夫足球 (2004), Lam Chung-fu Eight Heroes 八大豪侠 (2005), Yan Tiexin Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain 雪山飞狐 (2006), Hu Yidao The Legend of the Condor Heroes 射鵰英雄傳 (2008), Huang Yaoshi Memoirs of Madam Jin 金大班 (2009), Chen Rongfa The Legend of Yang Guifei 杨贵妃秘史 (2010), Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Chu Han Zhengxiong 楚汉争雄 (2012), Liu Bang Lord of Shanghai 梟雄 (2015), Kiu Ngo-tin (喬傲天) Margaret & David - Ex 瑪嘉烈與大衛系列 前度 (2017), Sham Joi-san Strangers (2018), David Chen Stained 心冤 (2018; aired in early 2019), Wayne Lau (劉偉義) The Republic 理想国 (2019), Sim Lap-ki (单立奇) Heaven on the Fourth Floor (Taiwanese TV series) 四楼的天堂 (2021), Tien Yi (天意) Theater Equus (May 2014) Le Dieu Du Carnage (August 2015) Le Dieu Du Carnage (Re-run - January 2016) Le Dieu Du Carnage (Huayi - Chinese Festival of Arts - February 2016) A Midsummer Night's Dream (September 2016) A Midsummer Night's Dream (Huayi Chinese Festival of Arts - February 2017) Speed-the-Plow (September 2017) Awards and nominations Anthony Wong at IMDb Anthony Wong bio Anthony Wong (sound & video) Archived 31 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine 13 Stupid Questions for Anthony Wong

Shandong (UK: shan-DUUNG, US: shahn-DAWNG; simplified Chinese: 山东; traditional Chinese: 山東; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region.Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural and religious center for Taoism, Chinese Buddhism and Confucianism. Shandong's Mount Tai is the most revered mountain of Taoism and a site with one of the longest histories of continuous religious worship in the world. The Buddhist temples in the mountains to the south of the provincial capital of Jinan were once among the foremost Buddhist sites in China. The city of Qufu is the birthplace of Confucius and was later established as the center of Confucianism. Confucianism developed from what was later called the Hundred Schools of Thought from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius.Shandong's location at the intersection of ancient and modern north–south and east–west trading routes has helped establish it as an economic center. After a period of political instability and economic hardship that began in the late 19th century, Shandong has experienced rapid growth in recent decades. Home to over 100 million inhabitants, Shandong is the world's sixth-most populous subnational entity, and China's second most populous province. The economy of Shandong is China's third largest provincial economy with a GDP of CNY¥8.3 trillion in 2021 or USD$1.3 trillion, which is equivalent to the GDP of Mexico. Compared to a country, it would be the 15th-largest economy and the 15th most populous as of 2021. Its GDP per capita is around the national average. Shandong is considered one of China's leading provinces in education and research. It hosts 153 higher education institutions, ranking second in East China after Jiangsu and fourth among all Chinese provinces/municipalities after Jiangsu, Guangdong and Henan. As of 2022, two major cities ranked in the top 70 cities in the world (Jinan 36th and Qingdao 68th) by scientific research output, as tracked by the Nature Index. Etymology Individually, the two Chinese characters in the name "Shandong" means "mountain" (山) and "east" (东). Shandong could hence be translated literally as "east of the mountains" and refers to the province's location to the east of the Taihang Mountains. A common nickname for Shandong is Qílǔ (simplified Chinese: 齐鲁; traditional Chinese: 齊魯), after the States of Qi and Lu that existed in the area during the Spring and Autumn period. Whereas the State of Qi was a major power of its era, the State of Lu played only a minor role in the politics of its time. However, Lu became renowned for being the home of Confucius, and hence its cultural influence came to eclipse that of the State of Qi. The cultural dominance of the State of Lu heritage is reflected in the official abbreviation for Shandong which is "鲁" (Chinese: 魯; pinyin: Lǔ). English speakers in the 19th century called the province Shan-tung. Location The province is on the eastern edge of the North China Plain and in the lower reaches of the Yellow River (Huang He), and extends out to sea as the Shandong Peninsula. Shandong borders the Bohai Sea to the north, Hebei to the northwest, Henan to the west, Jiangsu to the south, and the Yellow Sea to the northeast, east and southeast; it also shares a very short border with Anhui, between Henan and Jiangsu. History Ancient history With its location on the eastern edge of the North China Plain, Shandong was home to a succession of Neolithic cultures for millennia, including the Houli culture (6500–5500 BC), the Beixin culture (5300–4100 BC), the Dawenkou culture (4100–2600 BC), the Longshan culture (3000–2000 BC), and the Yueshi culture (1900–1500 BC). The earliest dynasties (the Shang dynasty and Zhou dynasty) exerted varying degrees of control over western Shandong, while eastern Shandong was inhabited by the Dongyi peoples who were considered "barbarians". Since 512 B.C. after the annexation of Lai, the Dongyi tribes were becoming sinicized gradually. During the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period, regional states became increasingly powerful. At this time, Shandong was home to two major states: the state of Qi at Linzi and the state of Lu at Qufu. Lu is noted for being the home of Confucius. However, the state was comparatively small and eventually succumbed to the larger state of Chu from the south. The state of Qi, on the other hand, was a significant power throughout the period. Cities it ruled included Linzi, Jimo (north of modern Qingdao) and Ju. The easternmost part of the peninsula was ruled by the Dongyi state of Lai until Qi conquered it in 567 BC. Early Imperial history The Qin dynasty conquered Qi and founded the first centralized Chinese state in 221 BC. The Han dynasty that followed created several commanderies supervised by two regions (刺史部) in what is now modern Shandong: Qingzhou (青州) in the north and Yanzhou (兗州) in the south. During the division of the Three Kingdoms, Shandong belonged to the Cao Wei, which ruled over northern China. After the Three Kingdoms period, a brief period of unity under the Western Jin dynasty gave way to invasions by nomadic peoples from the north. Northern China, including Shandong, was overrun. Over the next century or so, Shandong changed hands several times, falling to the Later Zhao, then Former Yan, then Former Qin, then Later Yan, then Southern Yan, then the Liu Song dynasty, and finally the Northern Wei dynasty, the first of the Northern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. Shandong stayed with the Northern dynasties for the rest of this period. In 412 AD, the Chinese Buddhist monk Faxian landed at Laoshan, on the southern edge of the Shandong peninsula, and proceeded to Qingzhou to edit and translate the scriptures he had brought back from India. The Sui dynasty reestablished unity in 589, and the Tang dynasty (618-907) presided over the next golden age of China. For the earlier part of this period, Shandong was ruled as part of Henan Circuit, one of the circuits (a political division). Later on, China splintered into warlord factions, resulting in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Shandong was part of the Five Dynasties, all based in the north. The Song dynasty reunified China in the late tenth century. The classic novel Water Margin was based on folk tales of outlaw bands active in Shandong during the Song dynasty. In 1996, the discovery of over two hundred buried Buddhist statues at Qingzhou was hailed as a major archaeological find. The statues included early examples of painted figures and are thought to have been buried due to Emperor Huizong's repression of Buddhism (he favored Taoism). The Song dynasty was forced to cede northern China to the Jurchen Jin dynasty in 1142. Shandong was administered by Jin as Shandong East Circuit and Shandong West Circuit – the first use of its current name. Early modern history The modern province of Shandong was created by the Ming dynasty, where it had a more expansive territory, including the agricultural part of Liaoning. After the Ming–Qing Transition in 1644, Shandong acquired (more or less) its current borders. During the nineteenth century, China became increasingly exposed to Western influence, and Shandong, a coastal province under the dukedom of Xiong, was significantly affected. Qingdao was leased to Germany in 1897 and Weihai to Britain in 1898. As a result of foreign pressure from the Russian Empire, which had annexed Outer Manchuria by 1860, the Qing dynasty encouraged settlement of Shandong people to what remained of Manchuria. Shandong was one of the first places in which the Boxer Rebellion started and became one of the uprising centers. In 1899, the Qing general Yuan Shikai was appointed governor of the province to suppress the uprising. He held the post for three years. Germany took control of China's Shandong Peninsula. In 1898, Germany had leased Jiaozhou Bay and its port of Qingdao under threat of force. Development was a high government priority. Over 200 million marks were invested in world-class harbor facilities such as berths, heavy machinery, rail yards, and a floating dry dock. Private enterprises worked across the Shandong Province, opening mines, banks, factories, and rail lines. As a consequence of the First World War, Japan seized Germany holdings in Qingdao and Shandong. The Treaty of Versailles transferred ownership to Japan instead of restoring Chinese sovereignty over the area. Popular dissatisfaction with this outcome, referred to as the Shandong Problem, led to the vehement student protests in the May Fourth Movement. Among the reservations to the Treaty that the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations approved was "to give Shantung to China," the treaty with reservations was not approved. Finally, Shandong reverted to Chinese control in 1922 after the United States' mediation during the Washington Naval Conference. Weihai followed in 1930. Shandong's return of control fell into the Warlord Era of the Republic of China. Shandong was handed over to the Zhili clique of warlords, but after the Second Zhili–Fengtian War of 1924, the northeast China-based Fengtian clique took over. In April 1925, the Fengtian clique installed the warlord Zhang Zongchang, nicknamed the "Dogmeat General," as military governor of Shandong Province. Time dubbed him China's "basest warlord". He ruled over the province until 1928 when he was ousted in the wake of the Northern Expedition. He was succeeded by Han Fuju, who was loyal to the warlord Feng Yuxiang but later switched his allegiance to the Nanjing government headed by Chiang Kai-shek. Han Fuju also ousted the warlord Liu Zhennian, nicknamed the "King of Shandong East," who ruled eastern Shandong Province, hence unifying the province under his rule. In 1937 Japan began its invasion of China proper in the Second Sino-Japanese War, which would eventually become part of the Pacific theatre of the Second World War. Han Fuju was made Deputy Commander in Chief of the 5th War Area and put in charge of defending the lower Yellow River valley. However, he abandoned his base in Jinan when Japanese troops crossed the Yellow River. He was executed for not following orders shortly thereafter. During the Japanese occupation, with resistance continuing in the countryside, Shandong was one of the provinces where a scorched earth policy ("Three Alls Policy": "kill all", "burn all", "loot all") was implemented by Japanese general Yasuji Okamura. This lasted until Japan's surrender in 1945, killing millions of people in Shandong and Northern China. By 1945, communist forces already held some parts of Shandong. Over the next four years of the Chinese Civil War, they expanded their holdings, eventually driving the Kuomintang (government of the Republic of China) out of Shandong by June 1949, including the noble family of Xiong (熊) who held the governorship (previously a dukedom under the Imperial era, and an ancient viscountcy originating in Chu), to the island of Taiwan. The People's Republic of China was founded in October of the same year, thereby overthrowing the democratic Republic of China from the mainland. The Xiong (alternatively spelt 'Hsiung') family is currently in residence in the city of Taichung as of the late 1990s. Under the new government, parts of western Shandong were initially given to the short-lived Pingyuan Province, but this did not last. Shandong also acquired the Xuzhou and Lianyungang areas from Jiangsu province, but this did not last either. For the most part, Shandong has kept the same borders that it has today. About six million people starved to death in Shandong during Great Chinese Famine.In recent years, Shandong, especially eastern Shandong, has enjoyed significant economic development, becoming one of the People's Republic of China's richest provinces. Geography The northwestern, western, and southwestern parts of the province are all part of the vast North China Plain. The province's center is more mountainous, with Mount Tai being the most prominent. The east of the province is the hilly Shandong Peninsula extending into the sea; Miaodao Archipaelago to the north of Shandong Peninsula is the border of Bohai Sea (west) and Yellow Sea (east). The highest peak of Shandong is Jade Emperor Peak, with a height of 1,545 metres (5,069 ft), which is also the highest peak in the Mount Tai Ranges.The Yellow River passes through Shandong's western areas, since 1855, it has always been entering the sea to Shandong's northern coast; in Shandong, it flows on a levee, higher than the surrounding land, and dividing western Shandong into the Hai He watershed in the north and the Huai River watershed in the south. The Grand Canal of China enters Shandong from the northwest and leaves on the southwest. Weishan Lake is the largest lake in the province. Shandong's coastline is 3,000 kilometres (1,900 mi) long. Shandong Peninsula has a rocky coastline with cliffs, bays, and islands; the large Laizhou Bay, the southernmost of the 3 bays of the Bohai Sea, is bordering the northern coast between Dongying and Penglai; Jiaozhou Bay, which is much smaller, is surrounded by Qingdao. The Miaodao Islands extends northwards from the northern coast of the peninsula, separating the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea. With Jinan serving as the province's economic and cultural center, the province's economic prowess has led to the development of modern coastal cities located at Qingdao, Weihai, and Yantai. Climate Shandong has a temperate climate: humid continental (Köppen Dwa); it is bordering humid subtropical (Cwa under the Köppen climate classification) in the south. Generally, summers are hot (typical max 35°C) and rainy (except for eastern parts of Jiaodong Peninsula (typical max 28°C) and Mount Tai (typical max 20°C)), while winters are cold and dry. Average temperatures are −9 to 1 °C (16 to 34 °F) in January and 18 to 28 °C (64 to 82 °F) in July. Annual precipitation is 550 to 950 mm (22 to 37 in), the vast majority of which occurs during summer, due to monsoonal influences. Geology Shandong is part of the Eastern Block of the North China craton. Beginning in the Mesozoic, Shandong has undergone a crustal thinning that is unusual for a craton and that has reduced the thickness of the crust from 200 km (120 mi) to as little as 80 km (50 mi). Shandong has hence experienced extensive volcanism in the Tertiary. Some geological formations in Shandong are rich in fossils. For example, Zhucheng in southeastern Shandong has been the site of discovering many dinosaur fossils. In 2008, about 7,600 dinosaur bones from Tyrannosaurus, Ankylosaurus, and other genera were found, likely the largest collection ever discovered at one location. Politics The Shandong Provincial People's Congress is the highest organ of state power in Shandong province and Shandong's provincial legislature. Its standing committee exercises the majority of the power of The Shandong Provincial People's Congress. The current chairman of the standing committee is Li Ganjie. The Shandong Provincial People's Government is the State Administration in Shandong province. Its main officials are elected and appointed by The Shandong Provincial People's Congress. The provincial government reports to Shandong Provincial People's Congress and State Council of the People's Republic of China. The current Governor of Shandong is Zhou Naixiang. Economy As of 1832, Shandong was exporting fruits, vegetables, wine, drugs, and deerskin, often heading to Guangzhou to exchange clothing and fabrics. The economy of Shandong is China's third largest provincial economy with a GDP of CNY¥8.3 trillion in 2021 or USD$1.3 trillion in (nominal), which is equivalent to the GDP of Mexico. Its GDP per capita is around the national average. Compared to a country, it would be the 15th-largest economy and the 15th most populous as of 2021.Shandong ranks first among the provinces in the production of a variety of products, including cotton, wheat, and garlic as well as precious metals such as gold and diamonds. It also has one of the biggest sapphire deposits in the world. Other important crops include sorghum and maize. Shandong has extensive petroleum deposits as well, especially in the Dongying area in the Yellow River delta, where the Shengli Oil Field (lit. Victory Oilfield) is one of the major oilfields of China. Shandong also produces bromine from underground wells and salt from seawater. It is the largest agricultural exporter in China. Shandong is one of China's richest provinces, and its economic development focuses on large enterprises with well-known brand names. Shandong is the biggest industrial producer and one of the top manufacturing provinces in China. Shandong has also benefited from South Korean and Japanese investment and tourism, due to its geographical proximity to those countries. The richest part of the province is the Shandong Peninsula, where the city of Qingdao is home to three of the most well-known brand names of China: Tsingtao Beer, Haier and Hisense. Besides, Dongying's oil fields and petroleum industries form an important component of Shandong's economy. Despite the primacy of Shandong's energy sector, the province has also been plagued with problems of inefficiency and ranks as the largest consumer of fossil fuels in all of China. Wine industry The production of wine is the second largest industry in the Shandong Province, second only to agriculture. Geographically, the coastal areas remain relatively flat. Most of the soil is loose, well-ventilated, and rich in minerals and organic matter that enable full development of the root systems. Presently, there are more than 140 wineries in the region, mainly distributed in the Nanwang Grape Valley and the Yan-Peng Sightseeing Highway(both are in Yantai). The region produced more than 40% of China's grape wine production. Main varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Gernischt, Merlot, Riesling and Chardonnay are all at 20 years of age, considered to be the golden stage for these grapes. Most of them maintain an average saccharinity of above 20%. Major producers Changyu Pioneer Wine Co. China Great Wall Wine Co. Ltd. Economic and technological development zones Jinan High-tech Industrial Development ZoneFounded in 1991, the Jinan High-tech Industrial Development zone was one of the first of its kind approved by the State Council. The zone is located to the east of the city and covers a total planning area of 83 km2 (32 sq mi) that is divided into a central area covering 33 km2 (13 sq mi), an export processing district of 10 km2 (3.9 sq mi), and an eastern extension area of 40 km2 (15 sq mi). Since its foundation, the Jinan High-tech Industrial Development Zone has attracted enterprises as LG, Panasonic, Volvo, and Sanyo. In 2000, it joined the world science and technology association and set up a China-Ukraine High-tech Cooperation Park. The Qilu Software Park became the sister park of Bangalore park of India. Jinan Export Processing ZoneThe export processing zone is located in the eastern suburbs of Jinan, east of the Jinan High-tech Industrial Development Zone, and to the north of the Jiwang highway. The distances to the Jiqing Highway and the Jinan Airport are 9 and 18 km (5.6 and 11.2 mi) respectively. Qingdao Economic & Technological Development AreaApproved by the State Council in October 1984, Qingdao Economic and Technical Development Zone has a plan of 12.5 km2 (4.8 sq mi). In 2004 the local GDP was ¥27.51 billion, which increased by 28.9%; the total industrial output value is ¥60.6 billion, which increased by 31%. There have been 48 projects invested by companies listed among the Global Fortune 500 in the zone. With the fast development of reform and opening-up, Haier, Hisense, Aucma, Sinopec, CSIC, CNOOC, CIMC etc. are all located in the zone. Qingdao Free Trade ZoneThe State Council established Qingdao Free Trade Zone in 1992. The zone is 60 km (37 mi) away from Qingdao Liuting Airport. It is also close to Qingdao Qianwan Container Terminal. At present, more than 40 foreign-invested enterprises have moved in, and 2000 projects have been approved. It is one of the special economic areas which enjoys the most favorable investment policies on customs, foreign exchange, foreign trade, and taxation in China. Qingdao High-tech Industrial ZoneThe State Council approved Qingdao High-Tech Industrial Development Zone in 1992. The zone is located close to Qingdao Liuting Airport and Qingdao Harbor. Encouraged industries include electronic information, biotechnology, medicine, new materials, new energy, advanced equipment manufacturing, marine science & technology, national defense technology. Weifang Binhai Economic & Technological Development Area (BEDA)Established in August 1995, Weifang Binhai Economic & Technological Development Area (BEDA) is a national economic and technological development area approved by the State Council. Covering an area of 677 km2 (261 sq mi), BEDA has a population of 100,000. BEDA possesses a large state-owned industrial land for use with an area of 400 km2 (150 sq mi). The land can be transacted conveniently, guaranteeing the demand of any project construction and providing broad development space for the enterprises in the area. Continuously, BEDA has been accredited as National Demonstration Zone invigorating the Sea by Science and Technology, National Innovation Base for Rejuvenating Trade through Science and Technology and National Demonstration Eco-Industry Park. Weihai Economic & Technological Development ZoneWeihai Economic and Technological Development Zone is a state-level development zone approved by the State Council on Oct 21, 1992. The administrative area has an area of 194 km2 (75 sq mi), including the programmed area of 36 km2 (14 sq mi) and an initial area of 11.88 km2 (4.59 sq mi). Its nearest port is Weihai Port, and the airport closest to the zone is Wuhai Airport. Weihai Export Processing ZoneWeihai Export & Processing Zone (EPZ) was set up by the approval of the State Council on April 27, 2000. Weihai EPZ is located in Weihai Economic & Technological Development Zone with programmed area of 2.6 km2 (1.0 sq mi). Weihai EPZ belongs to comprehensive export & processing zone. The EPZ is located 30 km (19 mi) to Weihai Airport, 3 km (1.9 mi) to Weihai railway station and 4 km (2.5 mi) to Weihai Harbor. Weihai Torch Hi-Tech Science ParkWeihai Torch Hi-Tech Science Park is a state-level development zone approved by the State Council in March 1991. Located in Weihai's northwest zone of culture, education and science, the Park has the total area of 111.9 square kilometers (43.2 sq mi), the coastal line of 30.5 kilometers (19.0 mi) and 150,000 residents. It is 3 km (1.9 mi) away from the city center, 4 km (2.5 mi) away from Weihai Port, 10 km (6.2 mi) away from Weihai railway station, 30 km (19 mi) away from Weihai Airport and 80 km (50 mi) away from Yantai Airport. Yantai Economic and Technological Development AreaYantai Economic and Technological Development Area is one of the earliest approved state level economic development zones in China. It now has planned area of 10 km2 (3.9 sq mi) and a population of 115,000. It lies on the tip of the Shandong Peninsula facing the Huanghai Sea. It adjoins to downtown Yantai, merely 6 km (3.7 mi) away from Yantai Port, 6 km (3.7 mi) away from Yantai railway station, and a 30-minute drive to Yantai International Airport. Yantai Export Processing ZoneYantai Export Processing Zone (YTEPZ) is one of the first 15 export processing zones approved by the State Council. The total construction area of YTEPZ is 4.17 m2 (44.9 sq ft), in which the initial zone covers 3 km2 (1.2 sq mi). After developing for several years, YTEPZ is completely constructed. At present, the infrastructure has been completed, standard workshops of 120,000 m2 (140,000 sq yd) and bonded warehouses of 40,000 m2 (430,000 sq ft) have been built up. Up to now, owning perfect investment environment and conditions, YTEPZ has attracted investors both from foreign countries and regions such as Japan, Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Sweden, the United States, Canada, etc., and from the domestic to invest and operate in the zone. Zibo National New & Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone Demographics Shandong is the second most populous province of China, after Guangdong, just slightly ahead of Henan, with a population of more than 101,527,453 at the 2020 Chinese census. Over 99% of Shandong's population is Han Chinese. Minority groups include the Hui and the Manchus. Shandong citizens are also known to have the tallest average height of any Chinese province. As of 2010, 16-18-year-old male students in Yantai measured 176.4 centimetres (5 ft 9.4 in) while female students measured 164 cm (5 ft 5 in). Religion The predominant religions in Shandong are Chinese folk religions, Taoist traditions and Chinese Buddhism. According to surveys conducted in 2007 and 2009, 25,28% of the population believes in ancestor veneration, while 1.21% of the population identifies as Christian, decreasing from 1.30% in 2004. The Christians were 1.89% of the province's population in 1949, the largest proportion in China at that time. According to a survey of the year 2010, Muslims constitute 0.55% of Shandong's population up from 0.14% in 1949.The reports did not give figures for other types of religion; 80.05% of the population may be either irreligious or involved in worship of nature deities, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, and folk religious sects. Shandong is the province where Confucius was born in the year 551 B.C. Confucianism: The most well-known religion and/or philosophy of Shandong is Confucianism. Each year thousands of people come to Shandong to visit and learn about Confucius' culture. According to Chinese tradition, Confucius was a thinker, political figure, educator, and founder of the Ru School of Chinese thought. His teachings, preserved in the Lunyu or Analects, form the foundation of much of subsequent Chinese speculation on the ideal man's education and comportment, how such an individual should live his life and interact with others, and the forms of society and government in which he should participate. Additionally, there are many famous books about Confucius; the most famous one is the Analects written by his students. Confucius also helped edit The Five Classics (五经). The Five Classics include The Book of Songs, History, Changes and Rites. Famous view and arts Northern Shaolin Seven Star Praying Mantis Style of Kung fu is also taught in this province. It is also said that Northern Mantis had originated here and not in the Shaolin temple in Henan Province, which is always stated in books. Guandi is also known for Guangong, Guanyu. He is a famous general in the book Romance of the Three Kingdoms. In Daojiao (a traditional Chinese Religion), Guangong is also one of the four Protectors. Temple and Cemetery of Confucius and the Kong is a very famous World Heritage Site in China, and it is also a 5A Tourist Attraction. Lying to the Temple's east, the Kong Family Mansion developed from a small family house linked to the temple into an aristocratic mansion. The male direct descendants of Confucius lived and worked. Administrative divisions Shandong is divided into sixteen prefecture-level divisions: all prefecture-level cities (including two sub-provincial cities). On January 1, 2019, Laiwu was wholly annexed to Jinan: The 16 prefecture-level cities of Shandong are subdivided into 137 county-level divisions (55 districts, 26 county-level cities, and 56 counties). Those are in turn divided into 1941 township-level divisions (1223 towns, 293 townships, two ethnic townships, and 423 subdistricts). Urban areas Culture Mandarin dialects are spoken in Shandong. Linguists classify these dialects into three broad categories: Ji Lu Mandarin spoken in the northwest (as well as in neighboring Hebei), such as the Jinan dialect; Zhongyuan Mandarin spoken in the southwest (as well as in neighboring Henan); and Jiao Liao Mandarin spoken in the Shandong Peninsula (as well as the Liaodong Peninsula(e.g., Dalian, Dandong) and the southeastern Jilin(e.g., Baishan, Tonghua)), such as the Weihai Dialect. When people speak of the "Shandong dialect" (山東話), it is generally the first or the second that is meant; the Jiao Liao dialects of Shandong are commonly called the "Jiaodong dialect" (膠東話). Shandong cuisine (鲁菜) is one of the eight great traditions of Chinese cuisine. It is known for its bread(corn-based) and fish dishes. It can be more finely divided into inland Shandong cuisine (e.g. Jinan cuisine); the seafood-centered Jiaodong cuisine in the peninsula; and Confucius's Mansion cuisine, an elaborate tradition originally intended for imperial and other important feasts. Shandong Bangzi and Lüju are popular types of Chinese opera in Shandong; both originated from southwestern Shandong. Transport The Jingjiu railway (Beijing-Kowloon) and Jinghu railway (Beijing-Shanghai) are both major arterial railways that pass through the western part of Shandong. The Jingjiu passes through Liaocheng and Heze; the Jinghu passes through Dezhou, Jinan, Tai'an, Yanzhou (the Jinghu high-speed railway will through Qufu) and Zaozhuang. The Jiaoji railway is an important railway of Shandong, linking its two largest cities of Qingdao and Jinan, with the longest history of all. Shandong has one of the densest and highest quality expressway networks among all Chinese provinces. These National Trunk Highway System (NTHS) expressways pass through or begin in Shandong. Expressways that begin in Shandong are in bold: G2 Jinghu Expressway (Beijing–Shanghai) G3 Jingtai Expressway (Beijing–Taipei, Taiwan) G15 Shenhai Expressway (Shenyang, Liaoning–Haikou, Hainan) G18 Rongwu Expressway (Rongcheng–Wuhai, Inner Mongolia) G20 Qingyin Expressway (Qingdao–Yinchuan, Ningxia) G22 Qinglan Expressway (Qingdao–Lanzhou, Gansu) G25 Changshen Expressway (Changchun, Jilin–Shenzhen, Guangdong)There are also many shorter regional expressways within Shandong. The Shandong Peninsula, with its bays and harbours, has many important ports, including Qingdao, Yantai, Weihai, Rizhao, Dongying and Longkou. Many of these ports have historical significance and the sites of former foreign naval bases or historical battles. Ferries link the cities on the north coast of the peninsula with the Liaodong Peninsula, further north across the sea. Important airports include Jinan Yaoqiang Airport and Qingdao Jiaodong International Airport. Other airports are Dongying Shengli Airport, Jining Qufu Airport, Linyi Shubuling Airport, Weifang Airport, Weihai Dashuibo Airport and Yantai Laishan International Airport. As of the end of 2018, Qingdao is the only city in Shandong with a metro system, with four lines in operation. Jinan will be operating its metro system in early 2019. Tourism Tourist attractions in Shandong include: Jinan, the capital city of Shandong since Ming dynasty, renowned for its 72 Famous Springs. Baotu Spring, a culturally significant artesian karst spring, declared as "Number One Spring under the Heaven" (天下第一泉) by the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing dynasty. Daming Lake, the largest lake in Jinan, whose water is from the area's springs. Marco Polo described its beauty in his works. Thousand Buddha Mountain, renowned for its numerous Buddha images which have been carved out of the hill's rock faces or free-standing structures erect since the times of the Sui dynasty and its Xingguochan Temple. Lingyan Temple, one of the four most famous temples (四大名刹) in Tang dynasty, in which there is 11th century Pizhi Pagoda and the Thousand Buddha Hall which houses a Ming dynasty bronze Buddha statue as well as 40 painted clay statues of life-size luohan from the Song dynasty. remnant of Great Wall of Qi, the oldest existing Great Wall in China, which is built in 685 BCE and stretches from Jinan to Qingdao. Penglai, a town on the north of the Shandong peninsula famed in Taoism. Qingdao (a former German port city), is a beach resort city on the south of the peninsula that has German-era heritage architecture and is also famous for its Tsingtao beer. Ba Da Guan, made up of eight streets named after the eight great military forts of ancient times. Zhan Qiao, a long strip pier stretches into the sea and was the first wharf at Qingdao. Laoshan, a scenic area and Daoist center to the east of Qingdao. Qingzhou, an ancient trading and administrative center with some famous archaeological discoveries. Weihai, a former British port city important in the second Sino-Japanese War has British-era heritage architecture. World Heritage Sites: Temple and Cemetery of Confucius, and the Kong Family Mansion in Qufu Tai Shan, sacred mountain, in Tai'an Weifang has numerous natural and historic sites, such as Shihu Garden (from the Late Ming and early Qing dynasty), Fangong Pavilion (from the Song dynasty), fossil sites (including dinosaur fossils, in Shanwang, Linqu), Mount Yi National Forest Park and Mount Qingyun. Yangjiabu has painted New Year woodcuts, which are also famous all around China. Five-Year Clean Heating Plan In 2017 air pollution contributed to about 21% of deaths in China. In 2017, the Chinese government began a five-year plan to convert half of northern China to clean energy for winter heating. Haiyang city is expected to convert completely to nuclear power by 2021, reducing fossil fuel emissions by more than 60,000 tons annually. Education Colleges and universities Shandong is considered one of China's leading provinces in education and research. Shandong hosts 153 higher education institutions, ranking second in the East China region after Jiangsu and fourth among all Chinese provinces/municipalities after Jiangsu, Guangdong and Henan. As of 2022, two major cities ranked in the top 70 cities in the world (Jinan 36th and Qingdao 68th) by scientific research output, as tracked by the Nature Index.Shandong University (Jinan) Ocean University of China (Qingdao) China University of Petroleum (Dongying and Qingdao) University of Jinan (Jinan) Shandong Normal University Shandong Agricultural University (Tai'an) Shandong University of Finance and Economics (Jinan) Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (Jinan) Harbin Institute of Technology (Weihai) China Agricultural University (Yantai) Harbin University of Science and Technology (Weihai) Yantai University (Yantai) Qufu Normal University (Qufu) Qingdao University (Qingdao) Shandong University of Science and Technology (Qingdao) Shandong University of Technology (Zibo) Liaocheng University (Liaocheng) Linyi University (Linyi) Qingdao Agricultural University (Qingdao) Binzhou Medical College (Binzhou) Jining Medical University (Jining) Weifang Medical University (Weifang) Weifang University (Weifang) Shandong Institute of Business and Technology (Yantai) Shandong Women's University (Jinan) Qingdao Technical College (Qingdao) Rizhao Polytechnic (Rizhao) Zibo Vocational Institute (Zibo) Qingdao Binhai University (Qingdao) Shandong Foreign Languages Vocational College (Rizhao) Sports Events held in Shandong 2009 National Games of China 2002 Table Tennis World Cup 2004 AFC Asian Cup 2007 A3 Champions Cup Sailing at the 2008 Summer Olympics and Paralympics 2011 Sudirman Cup 2012 Badminton Asia Championships 2012 Asian Beach Games Professional sports teams based in Shandong Chinese Basketball Association Shandong Hi-Speed Kirin Qingdao Eagles Chinese Super League Shandong Taishan Qingdao Hainiu China League One Qingdao Youth Island Former professional sports teams based in Shandong Qingdao Haisha Qingdao Sunrise Qingdao Hailifeng Qingdao Huanghai Yantai Yiteng F.C. Jining Dranix Shandong Tengding See also Major national historical and cultural sites in Shandong Shandong people Shantungosaurus Shantung Problem East Asian snowstorms of 2009–2010 East Asian snowstorms of late 2009 Shandong travel guide from Wikivoyage (in Chinese) Shandong Government website (in English and Chinese) Complete Map of the Seven Coastal Provinces from 1821-1850 Shandong Article Encyclopædia Britannica

Gansu (UK: , US: ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at 453,700 square kilometres (175,200 sq mi), Gansu lies between the Tibetan and Loess plateaus and borders Mongolia (Govi-Altai Province), Inner Mongolia and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south and Shaanxi to the east. The Yellow River passes through the southern part of the province. Part of Gansu's territory is located in the Gobi Desert. The Qilian mountains are located in the south of the Province. Gansu has a population of 26 million, ranking 22nd in China. Its population is mostly Han, along with Hui, Dongxiang and Tibetan minorities. The most common language is Mandarin. Gansu is among the poorest administrative divisions in China, ranking 31st, last place, in GDP per capita as of 2019. The State of Qin originated in what is now southeastern Gansu and went on to form the first known Empire in what is now China. The Northern Silk Road ran through the Hexi Corridor, which passes through Gansu, resulting in it being an important strategic outpost and communications link for the Chinese empire. The city of Jiayuguan, the second most populated city in Gansu, is known for its section of the Great Wall and the Jiayuguan Pass fortress complex. Name Gansu is a compound of the names of Gānzhou (now the main urban district and seat of Zhangye) and Sùzhou (an old name and the modern seat of Jiuquan), formerly the two most important Chinese settlements in the Hexi Corridor. Gansu is abbreviated as "甘" (Gān) or "陇" (Lǒng), and was also known as Longxi (陇西; '"[land] west of Long"') or Longyou (陇右; '"[land] right of Long"') prior to early Western Han dynasty, in reference to the Long Mountain (the modern day Liupan Mountain's southern section) between eastern Gansu and western Shaanxi.Until 1987, Gansu was rendered in the postal romanization and Wade-Giles as Kansu, which gradually replaced by pinyin starting in 1958. The spelling of the province is also spelled in Mandarin Phonetic Symbols II (1986) and Tongyong Pinyin (2002) adopted by the Government of the Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan, who would later adopt Hanyu Pinyin in 2009. History Gansu's name is a compound name first used during the Song dynasty. It is a combination of the names of two prefectures (州) in the Sui and Tang dynasty: Gan (around Zhangye) and Su (around Jiuquan). Its eastern part forms part of one of the cradles of ancient Chinese civilisation. Ancient Gansu In prehistoric times, Gansu was host to Neolithic cultures. The Dadiwan culture, from where archaeologically significant artifacts have been excavated, flourished in the eastern end of Gansu from about 6000 BC to about 3000 BC. The Majiayao culture and part of the Qijia culture took root in Gansu from 3100 BC to 2700 BC and 2400 BC to 1900 BC respectively. The Yuezhi originally lived in the very western part of Gansu until they were forced to emigrate by the Xiongnu around 177 BC. The State of Qin, known in China as the founding state of the Chinese empire, grew out from the southeastern part of Gansu, specifically the Tianshui area. The Qin name is believed to have originated, in part, from the area. Qin tombs and artifacts have been excavated from Fangmatan near Tianshui, including one 2200-year-old map of Guixian County. Imperial era In imperial times, Gansu was an important strategic outpost and communications link for the Chinese empire, as the Hexi Corridor runs along the "neck" of the province. The Han dynasty extended the Great Wall across this corridor, building the strategic Yumenguan (Jade Gate Pass, near Dunhuang) and Yangguan fort towns along it. Remains of the wall and the towns can be found there. The Ming dynasty built the Jiayuguan outpost in Gansu. To the west of Yumenguan and the Qilian Mountains, at the northwestern end of the province, the Yuezhi, Wusun, and other nomadic tribes dwelt (Shiji 123), occasionally figuring in regional imperial Chinese geopolitics. By the Qingshui treaty, concluded in 823 between the Tibetan Empire and the Tang dynasty, China lost much of western Gansu province for a significant period.After the fall of the Uyghur Khaganate, a Buddhist Yugur (Uyghur) state called the Ganzhou Uyghur Kingdom was established by migrating Uyghurs from the khaganate in part of Gansu that lasted from 848 to 1036 AD. Along the Silk Road, Gansu was an economically important province, as well as a cultural transmission path. Temples and Buddhist grottoes such as those at Mogao Caves ('Caves of the Thousand Buddhas') and Maijishan Caves contain artistically and historically revealing murals. An early form of paper inscribed with Chinese characters and dating to about 8 BC was discovered at the site of a Western Han garrison near the Yumen pass in August 2006.The Xixia or Western Xia dynasty controlled much of Gansu as well as Ningxia. The province was also the origin of the Dungan Revolt of 1862–77. Among the Qing forces were Muslim generals, including Ma Zhan'ao and Ma Anliang, who helped the Qing crush the rebel Muslims. The revolt had spread into Gansu from neighbouring Qinghai. There was another Dungan revolt from 1895 to 1896. Republican China As a result of frequent earthquakes, droughts and famines, the economic progress of Gansu was significantly slower than that of other provinces of China until recently. Based on the area's abundant mineral resources it has begun developing into a vital industrial center. An earthquake in Gansu at 8.6 on the Richter scale killed around 180,000 people mostly in the present-day area of Ningxia in 1920, and another with a magnitude of 7.6 killed 275 in 1932.The Muslim Conflict in Gansu (1927–1930) was a conflict against the Guominjun. While the Muslim General Ma Hongbin was acting chairman of the province, Muslim General Ma Buqing was in virtual control of Gansu in 1940. Liangzhou District in Wuwei was previously his headquarters in Gansu, where he controlled 15 million Muslims. Xinjiang came under Kuomintang (Nationalist) control after their soldiers entered via Gansu. Gansu's Tienshui was the site of a Japanese-Chinese warplane fight.Gansu was vulnerable to Soviet penetration via Xinjiang. Gansu was a passageway for Soviet war supplies for the Republic of China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Lanzhou was a destination point via a road coming from Dihua (Ürümqi). The Gonxingdun Aerodrome was one of several air bases where the Chinese Air Force operated in defense of Gansu. Gansu provided wartime China with most of the locally sourced petrol from the Yumen Laojunmiao oil wells beginning in the summer of 1939, producing 250,000 tons of crude oil in those war years. Lanzhou and Lhasa were designated to be recipients of a new railway.The Kuomintang Islamic insurgency in China (1950–1958) was a prolongation of the Chinese Civil War in several provinces including Gansu. Geography Gansu has an area of 454,000 square kilometres (175,000 sq mi), and the vast majority of its land is more than 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) above sea level. It lies between the Tibetan Plateau and the Loess Plateau, bordering Mongolia (Govi-Altai Province) to the northwest, Inner Mongolia and Ningxia to the north, Shaanxi to the east, Sichuan to the south, and Xinjiang to the west. The Yellow River passes through the southern part of the province. The province contains the geographical centre of China, marked by the Center of the Country Monument at 35°50′40.9″N 103°27′7.5″E.Part of the Gobi Desert is located in Gansu, as well as small parts of the Badain Jaran Desert and the Tengger Desert. The Yellow River gets most of its water from Gansu, flowing straight through Lanzhou. The area around Wuwei is part of Shiyang River Basin.The landscape in Gansu is very mountainous in the south and flat in the north. The mountains in the south are part of the Qilian Mountains, while the far western Altyn-Tagh contains the province's highest point, at 5,830 metres (19,130 ft). A natural land passage known as Hexi Corridor, stretching some 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) from Lanzhou to the Jade Gate, is situated within the province. It is bound from north by the Gobi Desert and Qilian Mountains from the south. Gansu generally has a semi-arid to arid continental climate (Köppen BSk or BWk) with warm to hot summers and cold to very cold winters, although diurnal temperature ranges are often so large that maxima remain above 0 °C (32 °F) even in winter. However, due to extreme altitude, some areas of Gansu exhibit a subarctic climate (Dwc) – with winter temperatures sometimes dropping to −40 °C (−40 °F). Most of the limited precipitation is delivered in the summer months: winters are so dry that snow cover is confined to very high altitudes and the snow line can be as high as 5,500 metres (18,040 ft) in the southwest. Administrative divisions Gansu is divided into fourteen prefecture-level divisions: twelve prefecture-level cities and two autonomous prefectures: The fourteen Prefecture of Gansu are subdivided into 86 county-level divisions (17 districts, 5 county-level cities, 57 counties, and 7 autonomous counties). Urban areas Politics Secretaries of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Gansu Committee: The Secretary of the CCP Gansu Committee is the highest-ranking office within Gansu Province. Zhang Desheng (张德生): 1949–1954 Zhang Zhongliang (张仲良): 1954–1961 Wang Feng (汪锋): 1961–1966 Hu Jizong (胡继宗): 1966–1967 Xian Henghan (冼恒汉): 1970–1977 Song Ping (宋平): 1977–1981 Feng Jixin (冯纪新): 1981–1983 Li Ziqi (李子奇): 1983–1990 Gu Jinchi (顾金池): 1990–1993 Yan Haiwang (阎海旺): 1993–1998 Sun Ying (孙英): 1998–2001 Song Zhaosu (宋照肃): 2001–2003 Su Rong (苏荣): 2003–2007 Lu Hao (陆浩): April 2007 − December 2011 Wang Sanyun (王三运): December 2011 − March 2017 Lin Duo (林铎): March 2017 − March 2021 Yin Hong (尹弘): March 2021 − December 2022 Hu Changsheng (胡昌升): December 2022 – presentGovernors of Gansu: The Governorship of Gansu is the second highest-ranking official within Gansu, behind the Secretary of the CPC Gansu Committee. The governor is responsible for all issues related to economics, personnel, political initiatives, the environment and the foreign affairs of the province. The Governor is appointed by the Gansu Provincial People's Congress, which is the province's legislative body. Wang Shitai (王世泰): 1949–1950 Deng Baoshan (邓宝姗): 1950–1967 Xian Henghan (冼恒汉): 1967–1977 Song Ping (宋平): 1977–1979 Feng Jixin (冯纪新): 1979–1981 Li Dengying (李登瀛): 1981–1983 Chen Guangyi (陈光毅): 1983–1986 Jia Zhijie (贾志杰): 1986–1993 Yan Haiwang (阎海旺): 1993 Zhang Wule (张吾乐): 1993–1996 Sun Ying (孙英): 1996–1998 Song Zhaosu (宋照肃): 1998–2001 Lu Hao (陆浩): 2001–2006 Xu Shousheng (徐守盛): January 2007 – July 2010 Liu Weiping (刘伟平): July 2010 – April 2016 Lin Duo (林铎): April 2016 – April 2017 Tang Renjian (唐仁健): April 2017−December 2020 Ren Zhenhe (任振鹤): December 2020 – present Economy Despite recent growth in Gansu and the booming economy in the rest of China, Gansu is still considered to be one of the poorest provinces in China. For several years, it has ranked as one of the provinces with lowest GDP per capita. Its nominal GDP for 2017 was about 767.7 billion yuan (US$113.70 billion) and per capita of 29,326 RMB (US$4,343). The province also has a large difference in wealth between regions and urban versus rural areas. The poorest areas are Dingxi, Longnan, Gannan and Linxia. According to analysts, the local economy failed to gather momentum while other provinces did manage to increase their economic growth. Agriculture Due to poor natural conditions such as aridness, Gansu is one of the Chinese provinces with smallest per capita area of arable land. Agricultural production includes cotton, linseed oil, maize, melons (such as the honeydew melon, known locally as the Bailan melon), millet, and wheat. Gansu is known as a source for wild medicinal herbs which are used in Chinese medicine. However, pollution by heavy metals, such as cadmium in irrigation water, has resulted in the poisoning of many acres of agricultural land. The extent and nature of the heavy metal pollution is considered a state secret. Industry The industrial sector in Gansu was developed after completion of the Longhai railway in 1953 and blueprinted in the first five-year plan of China. Until 2014, the industrial sector contributed the most to Gansu's economy. The most important industries are petrochemicals, non-ferrous metallurgy, machinery and electronics. The province is also an important base for wind and solar power. As a result of environmental protection policies, the industry sector is not growing. The manufacturing sector has been shrinking for several years and has low investment numbers.According to some sources, the province is also a center of China's nuclear industry. As stipulated in the country's 12th Five Year Plan, the local government of Gansu hopes to grow the province's GDP by 10% annually by focusing investments on five pillar industries: renewable energy, coal, chemicals, nonferrous metals, pharmaceuticals and services. Mining A large part of Gansu's economy is based on mining and the extraction of minerals, especially rare earth elements. The province has significant deposits of antimony, chromium, coal, cobalt, copper, fluorite, gypsum, iridium, iron, lead, limestone, mercury, mirabilite, nickel, crude oil, platinum, troilite, tungsten, and zinc among others. The oil fields at Yumen and Changqing are considered significant. Gansu has China's largest nickel deposits accounting for over 90% of China's total nickel reserves. Services Since 2014, the service sector is the largest economic sector of Gansu. Tourism is a sector that is becoming of increased importance. Economic and technological development zones The following economic and technological zones are situated in Gansu: Lanzhou National Economic and Technological Development Zone was established in 1993, located in the center of Lanzhou Anning District. The zone has a planned area of 9.53 km2 (3.68 sq mi). 17 colleges, 11 scientific research institutions, 21 large and medium-size companies and other 1735 enterprises have been set up in the zone. Main industries include textile mills, rubber, fertilizer plants, oil refinery, petrochemical, machinery, and metallurgical industry. Lanzhou New & Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone, Lanzhou Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone, one of the first 27 national hi-tech industrial development zones, was established in 1998 covering more than 10 km2 (3.9 sq mi). It is expected to expand another 19 km2 (7.3 sq mi). The zone mainly focuses on Biotechnology, chemical industry, building decoration materials and information technology. Demographics Gansu province is home to a little more than 25 million people. As of 2020, 47.7% of the population was rural, but much relocation in recent years has reduced this. Gansu is 89.4% Han and also has Hui, Tibetan, Dongxiang, Tu, Uyghurs, Yugur, Bonan, Mongolian, Salar and Kazakh minorities. Gansu province's community of Chinese Hui Muslims was bolstered by Hui Muslims resettled from Shaanxi province during the Dungan Revolt. Gansu is also a historical home, along with Shaanxi, of the dialect of the Dungans, who migrated to Central Asia. The southwestern corner of Gansu is home to a large ethnic Tibetan population. Modern Gansu is dominated by Lanzhou city and Linxia Hui prefectures, their growth hides the stark fact that much of the rest is rapidly losing population. Languages Most of the inhabitants of Gansu speak dialects of Northern Mandarin Chinese. On the border areas of Gansu one might encounter Tu, Tibetan, Mongolian, Uyghur and the Kazakh language. Most of the minorities also speak Chinese. Culture A unique variety of Chinese folk music popularly identified with the local peoples of Gansu include the "Hua'er" (flowery melodies), and is popular among the Han and nine ethnic groups of Gansu. The cuisine of Gansu is based on the staple crops grown there: wheat, barley, millet, beans, and sweet potatoes. Within China, Gansu is known for its lamian (pulled noodles), and Muslim restaurants which feature authentic Gansu cuisine. Religion According to a 2012 survey around 12% of the population of Gansu belongs to organised religions, the largest groups being Buddhists with 8.2%, followed by Muslims with 3.4%, Protestants with 0.4% and Catholics with 0.1%. Around 88% of the population may be either irreligious or involved in Chinese folk religion, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, and folk religious sects. Muslim restaurants are common, and feature typical Chinese dishes, but without any pork products, and instead an emphasis on lamb and mutton. Gansu has many works of Buddhist art, including the Maijishan Grottoes. Dunhuang was a major centre of Buddhism in the Middle Ages. Tourism Jiayuguan Pass of the Great Wall Jiayuguan Pass, in Jiayuguan city, is the largest and most intact pass, or entrance, of the Great Wall. Jiayuguan Pass was built in the early Ming dynasty, somewhere around the year 1372. It was built near an oasis that was then on the extreme western edge of China. Jiayuguan Pass was the first pass on the west end of the great wall so it earned the name "The First And Greatest Pass Under Heaven". An extra brick is said to rest on a ledge over one of the gates. One legend holds that the official in charge asked the designer to calculate how many bricks would be used. The designer gave him the number and when the project was finished, only one brick was left. It was put on the top of the pass as a symbol of commemoration. Another account holds that the building project was assigned to a military manager and an architect. The architect presented the manager with a requisition for the total number of bricks that he would need. When the manager found out that the architect had not asked for any extra bricks, he demanded that the architect make some provision for unforeseen circumstances. The architect, taking this as an insult to his planning ability, added a single extra brick to the request. When the gate was finished, the single extra brick was, in fact, extra and was left on the ledge over the gate. Mogao Grottoes The Mogao Grottoes near Dunhuang have a collection of Buddhist art. Originally there were a thousand grottoes, but now only 492 cave temples remain. Each temple has a large statue of a buddha or bodhisattva and paintings of religious scenes. In 336 AD, a monk named Le Zun (Lo-tsun) came near Echoing Sand Mountain, when he had a vision. He started to carve the first grotto. During the Five Dynasties period they ran out of room on the cliff and could not build any more grottoes. Silk Road and Dunhuang City The historic Silk Road starts in Chang'an (present-day Xi'an) and goes to Constantinople (Istanbul). On the way merchants would go to Dunhuang in Gansu. In Dunhuang they would get fresh camels, food and guards for the journey around the dangerous Taklamakan Desert. Before departing Dunhuang they would pray to the Mogao Grottoes for a safe journey, if they came back alive they would thank the gods at the grottoes. Across the desert they would form a train of camels to protect themselves from thieving bandits. The next stop, Kashi (Kashgar), was a welcome sight to the merchants. At Kashi most would trade and go back and the ones who stayed would eat fruit and trade their Bactrian camels for single humped ones. After Kashi they would keep going until they reached their next destination. Located about 5 km (3.1 mi) southwest of the city, the Crescent Lake or Yueyaquan is an oasis and popular spot for tourists seeking respite from the heat of the desert. Activities includes camel and 4x4 rides. Silk Route Museum The Silk Route Museum is located in Jiuquan along the Silk Road, a trading route connecting Rome to China, used by Marco Polo. It is also built over the tomb of the Western Liang King. Bingling Temple Bingling Temple, or Bingling Grottoes, is a Buddhist cave complex in a canyon along the Yellow River. Begun in 420 AD during the Jin dynasty, the site contains dozens of caves and caverns filled with outstanding examples of carvings, sculpture, and frescoes. The great Maitreya Buddha is more than 27 meters tall and is similar in style to the great Buddhas that once lined the cliffs of Bamiyan, Afghanistan. Access to the site is by boat from Yongjing in the summer or fall. There is no other access point. Labrang Monastery Labrang Tashikyil Monastery is located in Xiahe County, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, located in the southern part of Gansu, and part of the traditional Tibetan province of Amdo. It is one of the six major monasteries of the Gelukpa tradition of Tibetan Buddhism in Tibet, and the most important one in Amdo. Built in 1710, it is headed by the Jamyang-zhaypa. It has 6 dratsang (colleges), and houses over sixty thousand religious texts and other works of literature as well as other cultural artifacts. Maijishan Grottoes The Maijishan Grottoes are a series of 194 caves cut in the side of the hill of Majishan in Tianshui. This example of rock cut architecture contains over 7,200 Buddhist sculptures and over 1,000 square meters of murals. Construction began in the Later Qin era (384–417 CE). Education Gansu province is home to the only class A Double First Class University in China's northwest, Lanzhou University. Colleges and universities Lanzhou University, Lanzhou (兰州大学) Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou (西北师范大学) Lanzhou University of Technology, Lanzhou (兰州理工大学) Lanzhou Jiaotong University, Lanzhou (兰州交通大学) Northwest University of Nationalities, Lanzhou (西北民族大学) Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou (甘肃农业大学) Lanzhou City University, Lanzhou (兰州城市学院) Gansu Political Science and Law Institute, Lanzhou (甘肃政法学院) Gansu University of Technology Lanzhou Commercial College Lanzhou Polytechnic College Hexi University, Zhangye (河西学院) Northwest Minority University Tianshui Normal College (Tianshui) Longdong College (Qingyang) Natural resources Land 166,400 square kilometres (64,200 sq mi) grassland 46,700 square kilometres (18,000 sq mi) mountain slopes suitable for livestock breeding 46,200 square kilometres (17,800 sq mi) forests (standing timber reserves of 0.2 cubic kilometres (0.048 cu mi)) 35,300 square kilometres (13,600 sq mi) cultivated land (1,400 square metres (15,000 sq ft) per capita) 66,600 square kilometres (25,700 sq mi) wasteland suitable for forestation 10,000 square kilometres (3,900 sq mi) wasteland suitable for farming Minerals Three thousand deposits of 145 different minerals. Ninety-four minerals have been found and ascertained, including nickel, cobalt, platinum, selenium, casting clay, finishing serpentine, whose reserves are the largest in China. Gansu has advantages in getting nickel, zinc, cobalt, platinum, iridium, copper, barite, and baudisserite. Energy Among Gansu's most important sources of energy are its water resources: the Yellow River and other inland river drainage basins. Gansu is placed ninth among China's provinces in annual hydropower potential and water discharge. Gansu produces 17.24 gigawatts of hydropower a year. Twenty-nine hydropower stations have been constructed in Gansu, altogether(?) capable of generating 30 gigawatts. Gansu has an estimated coal reserve of 8.92 billion tons and petroleum reserve of 700 million tons. There is also good potential for wind and solar power development. The Gansu Wind Farm project – already producing 7.965GW in 2015 – is expected to achieve 20GW by 2020, at which time it will likely become the world's biggest collective windfarm. In November 2017 an agreement between the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Gansu government was announced, to site and begin operations of a molten salt reactor pilot project in the province by 2020. Flora and fauna Gansu has 659 species of wild animals. It has twenty-four rare animals which are under a state protection. Gansu's mammals include some of the world's most charismatic: the giant panda, golden monkeys, lynx, snow leopards, sika deer, musk deer, and the Bactrian camel. Among zoologists who study moles, the Gansu mole is of great interest. For a reason that can only be speculated, it is taxologically a New World mole living among Old World moles: that is to say, an American mole living in a sea of Euro-Asians. Gansu is home to 441 species of birds; it is a center of endemism and home to many species and subspecies which occur nowhere else in the world. Gansu is China's second-largest producer of medicinal plants and herbs, including some produced nowhere else, such as the hairy asiabell root, fritillary bulb, and Chinese caterpillar fungus. Environment Natural disasters On 16 December 1920, Gansu witnessed the deadliest landslide ever recorded. A series of landslides, triggered by a single earthquake, accounted for most of the 180,000 people killed in the event. Anti-desertification project The Asian Development Bank is working with the State Forestry Administration of China on the Silk Road Ecosystem Restoration Project, designed to prevent degradation and desertification in Gansu. It is estimated to cost up to US$150 million. Space launch center The Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, located in the Gobi desert, is named after the city of Jiuquan, Gansu, the nearest city, although the center itself is in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. See also Huangyangchuan List of Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Gansu List of prisons in Gansu Silk Road transmission of Buddhism Gansu Government official website Archived 15 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine "Kan-suh" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.

Louis Cha Leung-yung (Chinese: 查良鏞; 6 February 1924 – 30 October 2018), better known by his pen name Jin Yong (Chinese: 金庸), was a Chinese wuxia ("martial arts and chivalry") novelist and essayist who co-founded the Hong Kong daily newspaper Ming Pao in 1959 and served as its first editor-in-chief. He was Hong Kong's most famous writer, and is named along with Gu Long and Liang Yusheng as the "Three Legs of the Tripod of Wuxia". His wuxia novels have a widespread following in Chinese communities worldwide. His 15 works written between 1955 and 1972 earned him a reputation as one of the greatest and most popular wuxia writers ever. By the time of his death he was the best-selling Chinese author, and over 100 million copies of his works have been sold worldwide (not including an unknown number of pirated copies). According to The Oxford Guide to Contemporary World Literature, Jin Yong's novels are considered to be of very high quality and are able to appeal to both highbrow and lowbrow tastes. His works have the unusual ability to transcend geographical and ideological barriers separating Chinese communities of the world, achieving a greater success than any other contemporary Hong Kong writer.His works have been translated into many languages including English, French, Catalan, Spanish, Korean, Japanese, Cambodian, Vietnamese, Thai, Burmese, Malay and Indonesian. He has many fans outside of Chinese-speaking areas, as a result of the numerous adaptations of his works into films, television series, comics and video games. The asteroid 10930 Jinyong (1998 CR2) is named after him. Early life Cha was born Zha Liangyong in Haining, Zhejiang in Republican China, the second of seven children. He hailed from the scholarly Zha clan of Haining (海寧查氏), whose members included notable literati of the late Ming and early Qing dynasties such as Zha Jizuo (1601–1676), Zha Shenxing (查慎行; 1650–1727) and Zha Siting (查嗣庭; died 1727). His grandfather, Zha Wenqing (查文清), obtained the position of a tong jinshi chushen (third class graduate) in the imperial examination during the Qing dynasty. His father, Zha Shuqing (查樞卿), was arrested and executed by the Communist government for allegedly being a counterrevolutionary during the Campaign to Suppress Counterrevolutionaries in the early 1950s. Zha Shuqing was later posthumously declared innocent in the 1980s.Cha was an avid reader of literature from an early age, especially wuxia and classical fiction. He was once expelled from his high school for openly criticising the Nationalist government as autocratic. He studied at Jiaxing No. 1 Middle School in 1937 but was expelled in 1941. He continued his high school education at Quzhou No. 1 Secondary School and graduated in 1943. Education Cha was admitted to the Department of Foreign Languages at the Central University of Political Affairs in Chongqing. Cha later dropped out of the school. He took the entrance exam and gained admission to the Faculty of Law at Soochow University, where he majored in international law with the intention of pursuing a career in the foreign service. In 2005, Cha applied at Cambridge University for a doctorate in Asian Studies, which he obtained in 2010. In 2009, Cha applied for another doctorate in Chinese literature at Peking University, which he earned in 2013. Career Cha was a journalist. To help support his studies, he began work in 1947 as a journalist and translator for the Ta Kung Pao newspaper in Shanghai. He moved to Hong Kong in 1948 to work for the paper’s office in the city. When Cha was transferred to New Evening Post (of British Hong Kong) as Deputy Editor, he met Chen Wentong, who wrote his first wuxia novel under the pseudonym "Liang Yusheng" in 1953. Chen and Cha became good friends and it was under the former's influence that Cha began work on his first serialised martial arts novel, The Book and the Sword, in 1955. In 1957, while still working on wuxia serialisations, he quit his previous job and worked as a scenarist-director and scriptwriter at Great Wall Movie Enterprises Ltd and Phoenix Film Company. In 1959, Cha co-founded the Hong Kong newspaper Ming Pao with his high school classmate Shen Baoxin (沈寶新). Cha served as its editor-in-chief for years, writing both serialised novels and editorials, amounting to some 10,000 Chinese characters per day. His novels also earned him a large readership. Cha completed his last wuxia novel in 1972, after which he officially retired from writing novels, and spent the remaining years of that decade editing and revising his literary works instead. The first complete definitive edition of his works appeared in 1979. In 1980, Cha wrote a postscript to Wu Gongzao's taiji classic Wu Jia Taijiquan, where he described influences from as far back as Laozi and Zhuangzi on contemporary Chinese martial arts.By then, Cha's wuxia novels had gained great popularity in Chinese-speaking areas. All of his novels have since been adapted into films, TV shows and radio dramas in Hong Kong, Taiwan and China. The important characters in his novels are so well known to the public that they can be alluded to with ease between all three regions. In the late 1970s, Cha was involved in Hong Kong politics. After Deng Xiaoping, a Jin Yong fan, came to power and initiated the reform and opening-up process, Cha became the first non-Communist Hong Konger to meet with Deng. He was a member of the Hong Kong Basic Law drafting committee but resigned in protest after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. He was also part of the Preparatory Committee set up in 1996 by the Chinese government to monitor the 1997 transfer of sovereignty.In 1993, Cha prepared for retirement from editorial work and sold all his shares in Ming Pao. Personal life Cha's parents were Zha Shuqing (查樞卿) and Xu Lu (徐祿). He had four brothers and two sisters, and was the second oldest among the seven of them. His brothers were Zha Liangjian (查良鏗; 1916–1988), Zha Lianghao (查良浩; b. 1934), Zha Liangdong (查良棟; fl. 1930s) and Zha Liangyu (查良鈺; b. 1936). His sisters were Zha Liangxiu (查良琇; b. 1926) and Zha Liangxuan (查良璇; 1928–2002).Cha married three times. His first wife was Du Zhifen (杜治芬), whom he married in 1948 but divorced later. In 1953, he married his second wife, Zhu Mei (朱玫), a newspaper journalist. They had two sons and two daughters: Zha Chuanxia (查傳俠), Zha Chuanti (查傳倜), Zha Chuanshi (查傳詩) and Zha Chuanne (查傳訥). Cha divorced Zhu in 1976 and married his third wife, Lin Leyi (林樂怡; b. 1953), who was 29 years his junior and 16 years old when they first met. In 1976, his son Zha Chuanxia, then 19 years old, committed suicide after a quarrel with his girlfriend while studying at Columbia University. Death On 30 October 2018, Cha died after a long illness at the Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital in Happy Valley, Hong Kong, aged 94.His funeral service was held privately at Hong Kong Funeral Home in Quarry Bay in 13 November 2018 with his family and friends, with well known figures including writers Ni Kuang, Chua Lam, Chip Tsao, Benny Lee, producer Zhang Jizhong, actor Huang Xiaoming, former President of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University Poon Chung-kwong, image designer Tina Liu, politicians Tung Chee-hwa and Edward Leong, and founder of Alibaba Group Jack Ma among them in attendance. At noon, his coffin was moved to Po Lin Monastery at Ngong Ping, Lantau Island, where he was cremated and his ashes was interred at the Hoi Wui Tower’s columbarium. Decorations and conferments In addition to his wuxia novels, Cha also wrote many non-fiction works on Chinese history. For his achievements, he received many honours. Cha was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by the British government in 1981. He was made a Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur (1992) and a Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (2004) by the French government.Cha was also an honorary professor at Peking University, Zhejiang University, Nankai University, Soochow University, Huaqiao University, National Tsing Hua University, Hong Kong University (Department of Chinese Studies), the University of British Columbia, and Sichuan University. Cha was an honorary doctor at National Chengchi University, Hong Kong University (Department of Social Science), Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the Open University of Hong Kong, the University of British Columbia, Soka University and the University of Cambridge. He was also an honorary fellow of St Antony's College, Oxford and Robinson College, Cambridge, and a Waynflete Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford. When receiving his honorary doctorate at the University of Cambridge in 2004, Cha expressed his wish to be a full-time student at Cambridge for four years to attain a non-honorary doctorate. In July 2010, Cha earned his Doctor of Philosophy in oriental studies (Chinese history) at St John's College, Cambridge with a thesis on imperial succession in the early Tang dynasty. Works Cha wrote a total of 16 fictional works, of which only one is a non-wuxia autobiographical short story (Yue Yun). His wuxia works are made up of 2 novellas (White Horse Neighs in the Western Wind and Blade-dance of the Two Lovers), a standalone novel (Ode to Gallantry), 11 interconnected novels of varying lengths, and a novelette ("Sword of the Yue Maiden"). Most of his novels were first published in daily instalments in newspapers, then later in 3 authorised book editions each with various changes to the plots and the characters. There are 4 editions of his novels: Serialised newspaper/magazine version (1955-1972) Old edition/1st edition (book form) (1956-1972) Revised edition/2nd edition (c.1970-1980) New Revised edition/3rd edition/Century edition (1999-2006)The works are: Connections between the works All of Jin Yong's novels, except Ode to Gallantry are connected, albeit weakly. Aqing, the protagonist of the novelette "Sword of the Yue Maiden", is the ancestor of Han Xiaoying from The Legend of the Condor Heroes. Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils is a prequel; the Northern Beggar of the Five Greats, Hong Qigong succeeds Qiao Feng as the new chief of the Beggars' Gang in The Legend of the Condor Heroes and Duan Yu is the ancestor of the historical character Duan Zhixing who later becomes Reverend Yideng, another member of the Five Greats. The Legend of the Condor Heroes, The Return of the Condor Heroes and The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber make up the Condor Trilogy (considered by many to be Cha's magnum opus) and should be read in that order. Dugu Qiubai's Heavy Iron Sword is used by Yang Guo and broken down to create the Heaven-Reliant Sword and the Dragon-Slaying Saber. Guo Xiang inherits the Heaven-Reliant Sword and passes it to her successors in the Emei School. Linghu Chong from The Smiling, Proud Wanderer learns Dugu Qiubai's Nine Swords of Dugu from Feng Qingyang, a reclusive Mount Hua School swordsman. Some characters and schools from The Smiling, Proud Wanderer are mentioned in Sword Stained with Royal Blood. In a very brief inner monologue in The Deer and the Cauldron, Chengguan, a knowledgeable but naïve Shaolin monk, ponders two great swordsmen in the past who performed swordplay without following any defined stances: Dugu Qiubai and Linghu Chong. A few major characters from Sword Stained with Royal Blood also appear as minor characters. Wu Liuqi, a historical character from The Deer and the Cauldron, is mentioned in the third edition of A Deadly Secret as the martial arts master of Mei Niansheng. Numerous characters from The Book and the Sword appear in The Young Flying Fox, including Chen Jialuo. Hu Yidao, Miao Renfeng, Tian Guinong and the Feng family in The Young Flying Fox are the fictional descendants of the four bodyguards of Li Zicheng, who appears in the Sword Stained with Royal Blood and The Deer and the Cauldron. The Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain is the sequel to The Young Flying Fox. Couplet After Cha completed all his works, it was discovered that the first characters of the first 14 titles can be joined together to form a couplet (duilian) with 7 characters on each line: Traditional Chinese 飛雪連天射白鹿 笑書神俠倚碧鴛 Simplified Chinese 飞雪连天射白鹿 笑书神侠倚碧鸳 Loose translation Shooting a white deer, snow flutters around the skies; Smiling, [one] writes about the divine chivalrous one, leaning against bluish lovebirds (or lover) Cha stated that he had never intended to create the couplet. The couplet serves primarily as a handy mnemonic to remember all of Cha's works for his fans. "Sword of the Yue Maiden" was left out because it would be an odd number, thus the couplet would not be complete, also because the "Sword of the Yue Maiden" was so short it was not even considered a book. Editions Most of Cha's works were initially published in instalments in Hong Kong newspapers, most often in Ming Pao. The Return of the Condor Heroes was his first novel serialised in Ming Pao, launched on 20 May 1959. Between 1970 and 1980, Cha revised all of his works. The revised works of his stories are known as the "New Edition" (新版), also known as "Revised Edition" (修訂版), in contrast with the "Old Edition" (舊版), which refers to the original, serialised versions. Some characters and events were written out completely, most notably mystical elements and 'unnecessary' characters, such as the "Blood Red Bird" (小紅鳥) and "Qin Nanqin" (秦南琴), the mother of Yang Guo in the first edition. In Taiwan, the situation is more complicated, as Cha's books were initially banned. As a result, there were multiple editions published underground, some of which were revised beyond recognition. Only in 1979 was Cha's complete collection published by Taiwan's Yuenching Publishing House (遠景出版社). In China, the Wulin (武林) magazine in Guangzhou was the first to officially publish Cha's works, starting from 1980. Cha's complete collection in Simplified Chinese was published by Beijing's SDX Joint Publishing in 1994. Meanwhile, Mingheshe Singapore-Malaysia (明河社星馬分公司) published his collection, in Simplified Chinese for Southeast Asian readers in 1995. From 1999 to 2006, Cha revised his novels for the second and last time. Each of his works was carefully revised, re-edited and re-issued in the order in which he wrote them. This revision was completed in spring 2006, with the publication of the last novel, The Deer and the Cauldron. The newer revised edition, known variably as the "New Century Edition" (世紀新修版), "New Revised Edition" (新修版) and "New New Edition" (新新版), is noted for its annotations where Cha answers previous criticisms directed at the historical accuracy of his works. In the newer revision, certain characters' personae were changed, such as Wang Yuyan, and many martial art skills and places have their names changed. This edition faced a number of criticisms from Cha's fans, some of whom prefer the older storyline and names. The older 1970–80 "New Edition" (新版) is no longer issued by Cha's publisher Mingheshe (明河社). In mainland China, it is re-issued as "Langsheng, Old Edition" (朗聲舊版) in simplified Chinese characters. Patriotism, jianghu and development of heroism Chinese nationalism or patriotism is a strong theme in Cha's works. In most of his works, Cha places emphasis on the idea of self-determination and identity, and many of his novels are set in time periods when China was occupied or under the threat of occupation by non-Han Chinese peoples such as the Khitans, Jurchens, Mongols and Manchus. However, Cha gradually evolved his Chinese nationalism into an inclusionist concept which encompasses all present-day non-Han Chinese minorities. Cha expresses a fierce admiration for positive traits of non-Han Chinese people personally, such as the Mongols and Manchus. In The Legend of the Condor Heroes, for example, he casts Genghis Khan and his sons as capable and intelligent military leaders against the corrupt and ineffective bureaucrats of the Han Chinese-led Song dynasty. Cha's references range from traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture, martial arts, music, calligraphy, weiqi, tea culture, philosophical schools of thought such as Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism and imperial Chinese history. Historical figures often intermingle with fictional ones, making it difficult for the layperson to distinguish which are real. His works show a great amount of respect and approval for traditional Chinese values, especially Confucian ideals such as the proper relationship between ruler and subject, parent and child, elder sibling and younger sibling, and (particularly strongly, due to the wuxia nature of his novels), between master and apprentice, and among fellow apprentices. However, he also questions the validity of these values in the face of a modern society, such as ostracism experienced by his two main characters – Yang Guo's romantic relationship with his teacher Xiaolongnü in The Return of the Condor Heroes. Cha also places a great amount of emphasis on traditional values such as face and honour. In all but his 14th work, The Deer and the Cauldron, the protagonists or heroes are explored meticulously through their relationships with their teachers, their immediate kin and relatives, and with their suitors or spouses. In each, the heroes have attained the zenith in martial arts and most would be the epitome or embodiment of the traditional Chinese values in words or deeds, i.e. virtuous, honourable, respectable, gentlemanly, responsible, patriotic, and so forth. In The Deer and the Cauldron, Cha departed from his usual writing style, creating in its main protagonist Wei Xiaobao an antihero who is greedy, lazy, and utterly disdainful of traditional rules of propriety. Cha intentionally created an anticlimax and an antihero possessing none of the desirable traditional values and no knowledge of any form of martial arts, and dependent upon a protective vest made of alloy to absorb full-frontal attack when in trouble and a dagger that can cut through anything. Wei is a street urchin and womanizer and seems to have no positive qualities based on a superficial assessment; but he actually embodies the same essential qualities of the heroes from Cha's earlier novels. The fiction writer Ni Kuang wrote a critique of all of Cha's works and concluded that Cha concluded his work with The Deer and the Cauldron as a satire to his earlier work and to restore a balanced perspective in readers. Criticisms The study of Cha's works has spun off a specific area of study and discussion: Jinology. For years, readers and critics have written works discussing, debating and analysing his fictional world of martial arts; among the most famous are those by Cha's close friend and science fiction novelist, Ni Kuang. Ni is a fan of Cha, and has written a series of criticisms analysing the various personalities and aspects of his books called I Read Jin Yong's Novels (我看金庸小說). Despite Cha's popularity, some of his novels were banned outside of Hong Kong due to political reasons. A number of them were outlawed in the People's Republic of China in the 1970s as they were thought to be satires of Mao Zedong and the Cultural Revolution; others were banned in Taiwan as they were thought to be in support of the Chinese Communist Party. None of these bans are currently in force, and Cha's complete collection has been published multiple times in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Many politicians on both sides of the Straits are known to be readers of his works; Deng Xiaoping, for example, was a well-known reader himself. In late 2004, the People's Education Publishing House (人民教育出版社) of the People's Republic of China sparked controversy by including an excerpt from Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils in a new senior high school Chinese textbook. While some praised the inclusion of popular literature, others feared that the violence and unrealistic martial arts described in Cha's works were unsuitable for high school students. At about the same time, Singapore's Ministry of Education announced a similar move for Chinese-learning students at secondary and junior college levels. Timeline Translations Official English translations currently available include: 03. The Legend of the Condor Heroes (2018–2021; four volumes) – published by MacLehose Press (an imprint of Quercus Publishing), translated by Anna Holmwood, Gigi Chang, and Shelly Bryant. The volumes are titled A Hero Born, A Bond Undone, A Snake Lies Waiting, and A Heart Divided.08.The Deer and the Cauldron (1997–2002; abridged in three volumes only 28 chapters) – published by Oxford University Press, translated by John Minford. 10. The Book and the Sword (2005) – published by Oxford University Press, 2005, translated by Graham Earnshaw, edited by John Minford and Rachel May. 12.Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain – published by Chinese University Press, translated by Olivia Mok. Adaptations There are over 90 films and TV shows adapted from Cha's wuxia novels, including King Hu's The Swordsman (1990) and its sequel Swordsman II (1992), Wong Jing's 1992 films Royal Tramp and Royal Tramp II, and Wong Kar-wai's Ashes of Time (1994). Dozens of role-playing video games are based on Cha's novels, including Heroes of Jin Yong. Cha's works have also been adapted to comics and television. Those available in English include: The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber – in comic book form by Ma Wing-shing, published by ComicsOne The Legendary Couple – in comic book form by Tony Wong, published by ComicsOne The Return of the Condor Heroes – in comic book form by Wee Tian Beng, published by Asiapac Books Laughing in the Wind – DVD collection of the 2001 CCTV series with English subtitles released in the United States. As film director Jin Yong co-directed 2 films produced by Hong Kong's Great Wall Movie Enterprises. In both films he is credited as Cha Jing-yong, his official name in Hong Kong. See also Gu Long Liang Yusheng Woon Swee Oan Further reading Stateless Subjects: Chinese Martial Arts Literature and Postcolonial History, Chapters 3 and 4. Petrus Liu. (Cornell University, 2011). Official website (in Chinese) Jin Yong Teahouse (金庸茶館) – fansite of Jin Yong's novels in Chinese (in Chinese) Jin Yong Jianghu (金庸江湖) – fansite, forums and complete works of Jin Yong's novels Jin Yong at IMDb Jin Yong in the Encyclopaedia of Science Fiction

Ikariam is a browser-based massively multiplayer online game of the strategy genre produced and maintained by German-based Gameforge AG. The game is set in the era of classical Greece in an archipelago, with players being made ruler of a small town, which they must expand and lead. Ikariam has received generally positive reviews. Gameplay Ikariam has been compared to the Civilization series created by Sid Meier and to the Travian series. The aim of the game is to expand the town which is controlled by the player, to gather resources and conquer or placate other players. The game can be played for short periods of time; building and researching takes place in real time so the player can return later and assign the town's inhabitants new tasks.The town's inhabitants pay taxes to the player or can be sent to gather resources instead. The game world is split into islands, each of which can support up to 16 (or up to 17 if the player purchases ambrosia) players and their towns. Each island has its own saw mill for producing wood and one of the other buildings which produces a luxury resource. There are five main types of resources: Wood, Wine, Marble, Crystal Glass and Sulphur. They are available from the Sawmill, Vineyard, Quarry, Crystal Mine and Sulphur Pit respectively. All these resources are required to progress in the game, making resource acquisition through conquest or trading mandatory. Each island's inhabitants may cooperate and donate building materials to improve the efficiency of their island's resource gathering facilities, which enables all local players to obtain resources more quickly. Failure to do so may result in hostilities between island inhabitants. Players can communicate with island mates by using the agora, a message board found on every island that can only be viewed by people with towns on that island. With resources the player may construct buildings such as barracks, shipyards and academies. Citizens of the town can then be trained as soldiers, sent to research new technologies, or perform other tasks, which they are paid tax money for undertaking. Citizens must be kept happy to prevent them from leaving the town. The satisfaction of the people is determined by a number of factors. The player can build a tavern that increases happiness in the town by 12 per tavern level. The player can also serve wine in the tavern. This increases happiness by 60 however consumes wine on an hourly basis. In addition, the player can build a museum after researching cultural exchange. Happiness in the town is increased by 20 for each level of the museum. Also, for each level of the museum the player may sign one additional cultural assets treaty with another player. This increases the happiness in town by 50. The player may have no more than one cultural assets treaty with a player. Cultural goods can be moved from one town to another at any time. Happiness can also be improved with certain research and governments. The game also provides four advisors to guide the player throughout the game; they are shown in the top right of the screen. From left to right the names are: Towns, Military, Research and Diplomacy. The towns adviser provides the players with updates on the player's empire. In addition, the town adviser lets the player manage trade routes, a paid feature that allows the player to ship resources from one of the player's towns to another town regularly. The military adviser allows the player to see all the fleets that the player has on the seas and cancel actions these fleets are conducting. The player can also view combat reports that provide overviews of past and ongoing land and naval battles here. The research adviser lets the player conduct research if the player has enough research points. Research is needed to progress in the game. This adviser also show the player how many research points are currently available, how many scientists are currently working in academies, how many research points are produced hourly, and how long it will be until the player can research certain technologies. The diplomatic adviser lets the player read and reply to messages the player has received from other players, send messages to players in the player's alliance, view treaties the player has signed, see which agoras on the player's islands have unread posts, and access agoras. Business model Ikariam is nominally free-to-play but players may opt to purchase in-game advantages via a Microtransaction system. This will give them access to a sixth resource, which can be used for Ikariam Plus, the premium version of Ikariam. The game was pre-released in June 2006, as a minimal 2D graphic game. Players used slash (/) commands to play the game. Alliances On building an Embassy, one can join or found an alliance. Alliances are groups of players who work together. They will usually protect each other. If an alliance member is attacked by another player, the whole alliance, or stronger members in the alliance will intervene and will ward off the attacker. If you are the leader of the alliance, how many members you can have in your alliance depends on your embassy level. Also, you get a small amount of "bonus" resources each day, depending on the number of people in your alliance. An alliance has three jobs that can be assigned by the leader: the Diplomat, the General and the Home Secretary. The diplomat is responsible for making treaties, answering messages sent to the alliance, and editing the external alliance page which is viewable by all players. The General is responsible for overlooking all alliance members military movements, and has the ability to call off any attacks being made by alliance members. The Home Secretary is responsible for editing ranks within the alliance and editing the internal alliance page which is viewed only by the alliance members. Alliances frequently draw together people from all over the world who have similar interests and have been described as a game play element not found in other web browser games. Worlds Several different game servers are available. Each of these servers represents a different game "world" with its own population of players and its own map of thousands of islands. Currently the English-language version of this game has nineteen servers, each given a Greek letter designation from Alpha to Omega and more recently Apollon, a reference to the Greek god Apollo. Older worlds such as Alpha and Beta tend to have higher-ranked players and more economic and military stability. Newer worlds represent more of a frontier experience with free-flowing alliances and warfare. One of the attractions of the game is for an experienced player on an older world to create a new account on a brand-new world in an effort to rise to the very top (frequently impossible in older worlds who have players that have been active for many years). Due to the nature of the game it is quite feasible to manage accounts on several worlds/servers. Ikariam UK Ikariam US

Infosys Limited is an Indian multinational information technology company that provides business consulting, information technology and outsourcing services. The company was founded in Pune and is headquartered in Bangalore. Infosys is the second-largest Indian IT company, after Tata Consultancy Services, by 2020 revenue figures. On 24 August 2021, Infosys became the fourth Indian company to reach US$100 billion in market capitalization. It is one of the top Big Tech (India) companies. History Infosys was founded by seven engineers in Pune, Maharashtra, India. Its initial capital was $150. It was registered as Infosys Consultants Private Limited on 2 July 1981. In 1983, it relocated to Bangalore, Karnataka. The company changed its name to Infosys Technologies Private Limited in April 1992 and to Infosys Technologies Limited when it became a public limited company in June 1992. It was renamed Infosys Limited in June 2011.An initial public offering (IPO) was floated in February 1993 with an offer price of ₹95 (equivalent to ₹690 or US$8.60 in 2023) per share against a book value of ₹20 (equivalent to ₹140 or US$1.80 in 2023) per share. The IPO was undersubscribed but it was "bailed out" by US investment bank Morgan Stanley, which picked up a 13% equity stake at the offer price. Its shares were listed in June 1993 with trading opening at ₹145 (equivalent to ₹1,000 or US$13 in 2023) per share.Infosys shares were listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange in 1999 as American depositary receipts (ADR). It became the first Indian company to be listed on Nasdaq. The share price surged to ₹8,100 (equivalent to ₹35,000 or US$430 in 2023) by 1999, making it the costliest share on the market at the time. At that time, Infosys was among the 20 biggest companies by market capitalization on the Nasdaq. The ADR listing was shifted from Nasdaq to NYSE Euronext to give European investors better access to the company's shares.In July 2010, then-British Prime Minister David Cameron visited Infosys HQ in Bangalore and addressed Infosys employees. Its annual revenue reached US$100 million in 1999, US$1 billion in 2004 and US$10 billion in 2017.In 2012, Infosys announced a new office in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to serve Harley-Davidson. Infosys hired 1,200 United States employees in 2011 and expanded the workforce by 2,000 employees in 2012. In April 2018, Infosys announced expansion in Indianapolis, Indiana. In July 2014, Infosys started a product subsidiary called EdgeVerve Systems, focusing on enterprise software products for business operations, customer service, procurement and commerce network domains. In August 2015, assets from Finacle Global Banking Solutions were transferred from Infosys, thus becoming part of the product company EdgeVerve Systems' product portfolio. Products and services Infosys provides software development, maintenance and independent validation services to companies in finance, insurance, manufacturing and other domains. Its key products and services are: NIA – Next Generation Integrated AI Platform (formerly known as Mana) Infosys Consulting – a global management consulting service Cloud-based enterprise transformation services Infosys Information Platform (IIP), an analytics platform EdgeVerve Systems, which includes Finacle, a global banking platform Panaya Cloud Suite Skava (now Infosys Equinox) Engineering Services Digital Marketing Blockchain Geographical presence Infosys has 82 sales and marketing offices and 123 development centres across the world as of 31 March 2018, with major presence in India, United States, China, Australia, Japan, Middle East and Europe.In 2019, 60%, 24%, and 3% of its revenues were derived from projects in North America, Europe, and India, respectively. The remaining 13% of revenues were derived from the rest of the world.In 2022, Infosys's presence in Russia came under scrutiny. Infosys issued a clarification stating that they don't have active relationships with Russian firms. By November, 2022; the only people working there were administrative staff helping with transferring the existing contracts to other contractors. Acquisitions Infosys has successfully completed the acquisition of BASE life science, a leading technology and consulting firm in the life sciences industry, in Denmark, Europe. (dated 13 July 2022). Listing and shareholding pattern In India, shares of Infosys are listed on the BSE where it is a part of the BSE SENSEX and the NSE where it is a NIFTY 50 Constituent. Its shares are listed by way of American depositary receipts (ADRs) at the New York Stock Exchange.Over a period of time, the shareholding of its promoters has gradually reduced, starting from June 1993 when its shares were first listed. The promoters' holdings reduced further when Infosys became the first Indian-registered company to list Employees Stock Options Schemes and ADRs on NASDAQ on 11 March 1999. As of 29 July 2021, the promoter holding was 12.95%, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) hold 33.39%, and domestic institutional investors (DIIs) hold 21.98%. Operations Employees Infosys had a total of 259,619 employees (generally known as "Infoscions") as of 2021, out of which 38.6% were women. Out of its total workforce, 229,658 are software professionals and remaining 13,796 work for support and sales. In 2016, 89% of its employees were based in India.During the financial year 2019, Infosys received 2,333,420 applications from prospective employees, interviewed 180,225 candidates and had a gross addition of 94,324 employees, a 4% hiring rate. These numbers do not include its subsidiaries.In its Q3FY22 results in January, Infosys has reported that attrition has risen to 25.5%, from 20.1% in the September quarter. It has announced a profit of Rs 5,809 crore for the third quarter and said it is planning to hire 55,000 freshers for FY22 as part of its global graduate hiring program. Training centre in Mysore As the world's largest corporate university, the Infosys global education centre in the 337 acre campus has 400 instructors and 200+ classrooms, with international benchmarks at its core. Established in 2002, it had trained around 125,000 engineering graduates by June 2015. It can train 14,000 employees at a given point of time on various technologies.The Infosys Leadership Institute (ILI), based in Mysore, has 196 rooms and trains about 4,000 trainees annually. Its purpose is to prepare and develop the senior leaders in Infosys for current and future executive leadership roles. The Infosys Training Centre in Mysore also provides a number of extracurricular facilities like tennis, badminton, basketball, swimming pool, gym and bowling alley. It has an international level cricket ground approved by BCCI. CEOs Since its establishment in 1981 until 2014 the CEOs of Infosys were its promoters, with N.R. Narayana Murthy leading the company in its initial 21 years. Dr. Vishal Sikka was the first non-promoter CEO; he held the position for around 3 years. Sikka resigned in August 2017. After his resignation, UB Pravin Rao was appointed as Interim CEO and MD of the company. Infosys appointed Salil Parekh as chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director (MD) with effect from 2 January 2018. List of Infosys CEOs Awards and recognition In 2021, Infosys was positioned as a leader in the Forrester Wave Application Modernization & Migration Services. In 2021, Infosys was positioned as a Leader in Gartner Magic Quadrant for Data and Analytics Services. In 2020, Infosys was ranked No. 1 in the HFS Top 10 Agile Software Development 2020 report. In 2020, Infosys was recognized as a leader in Retail and CPG Digital Services by Avasant. In 2019, Infosys was a winner of the United Nations Global Climate Action Award in 'Climate Neutral Now' category. In 2019, Infosys was ranked as the 3rd Best Regarded Company in the World by Forbes. In 2017, HfS Research included Infosys in Winner's Circle of HfS Blueprint for Managed Security Services, Industry 4.0 services and Utility Operations. In 2013, Infosys was ranked 18th largest IT services provider in the world by HfS Research. In the same year, it was ranked 53rd in Forbes list of World's Most Innovative Companies. In 2012, Infosys was ranked No. 19 amongst the world's most innovative companies by Forbes. In the same year, Infosys was in the list of top twenty green companies in Newsweek's Green Rankings for 2012. In 2006, Institute of Chartered Accountants of India included Infosys into Hall of Fame for being the winner of Best Presented Accounts for 11 consecutive years. Controversies Settlement of tax fraud in the US In December 2019, the Attorney General of California, Xavier Becerra announced an $800,000 settlement against Infosys and its BPM (business process management) subsidiary. Close to 500 Infosys employees were working in the state on Infosys-sponsored B-1 visas instead of H-1B visas between 2006 and 2017, as per an official post available on the website of State of California.This misclassification resulted in Infosys avoiding California payroll taxes such as unemployment insurance, disability insurance, and employment training taxes. Accusation of visa fraud in the US In 2011, Infosys was accused of committing visa fraud by using B-1 (visitor) visas for work requiring H-1B (work) visas. The allegations were initially made by an American employee of Infosys in an internal complaint. He subsequently sued the company, claiming that he was harassed and sidelined after speaking out. Although that case was dismissed it, along with another similar case, brought the allegations to the notice of the US authorities – and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and a federal grand jury started investigating.In October 2013, Infosys agreed to settle the civil suit with US authorities by paying US$34 million. Infosys refused to admit guilt and stressed that it only agreed to pay the fine to avoid the nuisance of "prolonged litigation". In its statement, the company said "As reflected in the settlement, Infosys denies and disputes any claims of systemic visa fraud, misuse of visas for competitive advantage, or immigration abuse. Those claims are assertions that remain unproven". Malfunctioning income tax, GST and MCA portal From 2016 onwards, after Infosys took over the contract from Tata Consultancy Services stakeholders complained about malfunctioning and low performance of portals multiple times. The Income Tax portal went down on the due date of multiple tax periods and taxpayers ended up paying late fees and penalties, and the government allowed the extension of due dates because of this.Chartered accountants and Company secretaries raised issues with MCA portal on due dates. Many companies became liable for additional fees and fines due to non-compliance. This issue is turning opposite to Ease of doing business initiatives of Government of India.CAs and Tax professionals raised concerns about the flawed GST portal and their inability to rectify these issues.Government faced severe criticism from CAs, CSs and other stakeholders for its continuous failure to take action against Infosys and alleged that public fund is being heavily mis-utilised. See also List of IT consulting firms List of Indian IT companies List of acquisitions by Infosys BPM Limited Official website Business data for Infosys Ltd:

Radical 169 or radical gate (門部) meaning "gate" or "door" is one of the 9 Kangxi radicals (214 radicals in total) composed of 8 strokes. In the Kangxi Dictionary, there are 246 characters (out of 49,030) to be found under this radical. 门, the simplified form of 門, is the 47th indexing component in the Table of Indexing Chinese Character Components predominantly adopted by Simplified Chinese dictionaries published in mainland China, while the traditional form 門 is listed as its associated indexing component. Evolution Derived characters Sinogram Alone it is a Chinese character. It is one of the Kyōiku kanji or Kanji taught in elementary school in Japan. It is a second grade kanji. Literature Fazzioli, Edoardo (1987). Chinese calligraphy : from pictograph to ideogram : the history of 214 essential Chinese/Japanese characters. calligraphy by Rebecca Hon Ko. New York: Abbeville Press. ISBN 0-89659-774-1. Unihan Database - U+9580

The Shire of Yarra Ranges, also known as Yarra Ranges Council, is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the outer eastern and northeastern suburbs of Melbourne extending into the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges. It has an area of 2,468 square kilometres (953 sq mi), of which 3% is classified as urban. In June 2018, it had a population of 158,173.It was formed on 15 December 1994 by the merger of parts of the Shire of Sherbrooke, Shire of Lillydale, Shire of Healesville and Shire of Upper Yarra. History Prior to European settlement, the land within and beyond the Yarra Ranges was occupied by the Wurundjeri people.European settlement was established from the 1830s with settlers engaging in agriculture and gold mining activities. Council Yarra Ranges is divided into nine wards, each of which elects one councillor for a period of four years. The next election will take place during October 2020. Wards Billanook Ward, named after the Wurundjeri name for the region and pioneered by explorer Robert Hoddle Chandler Ward, named after a pioneering family Chirnside Ward, named after George Chirnside, a Mooroolbark settler and owner of the Werribee Park Mansion Lyster Ward, named after William Saurin Lyster, an impresario who had a dairy farm in the area Melba Ward, named after opera singer Dame Nellie Melba O'Shannassy Ward, named after O'Shannassy River and reservoir, in turn named after John O'Shanassy (sic.), Premier of Victoria in the mid-1800s Ryrie Ward, named after William Ryrie who planted the first vineyards in the area Streeton Ward, named after Sir Arthur Streeton, a painter who lived in Olinda Walling Ward, named after landscape designer Edna Walling Current composition Townships and localities The shire had a population of 156,068 at the 2021 census, an increase from 149,537 recorded at the 2016 census. ^ - Territory divided with another LGA Major thoroughfares Burwood Highway (State Route 26) Canterbury Road/Swansea Road/Anderson Street (south) (State Route 32 / C401) (briefly merges with C415 before turning to SR32 (and SR22 respectively)) Maroondah Highway (State Route 34 / B300) Belgrave-Hallam Road/Monbulk Road/Hereford Road (C404) (briefly merges with C406) Belgrave Road (State Route 26) Olinda-Monbulk Road/Emerald Monbulk Road Warburton Highway (B380) Healesville- Koo Wee Rup Road (C411) Mount Dandenong (Tourist) Road (State Route 22 / C415) Media related to Shire of Yarra Ranges at Wikimedia Commons Official website Community profile at .id.com.au Public transport map at PTV

Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The components of rap include "content" (what is being said e.g. lyrics), "flow" (rhythm, rhyme), and "delivery" (cadence, tone). Rap differs from spoken-word poetry in that it is usually performed off-time to musical accompaniment. Rap is a primary ingredient of hip hop music commonly associated with that genre. Precursors to modern rap include the West African griot tradition, certain vocal styles of blues and jazz, an African-American insult game called playing the dozens, and 1960s African-American poetry. The use of rap in popular music originated in the Bronx, New York City in the late 1970s, alongside the hip hop genre and cultural movement. Rapping developed from the role of master of ceremonies (MC) at parties within the scene, who would encourage and entertain guests between DJ sets, which evolved into longer performances. Rap is usually delivered over a beat, typically provided by a DJ, turntablist, or beatboxer when performing live. Much less commonly a rapper can decide to perform a cappella, meaning without accompaniment of any sort, beat(s) included. When a rap or hip-hop artist is creating a song, "track", or record, done primarily in a production studio, most frequently a producer provides the beat(s) for the MC to flow over. Stylistically, rap occupies a gray area between speech, prose, poetry, and singing. The word, which predates the musical form, originally meant "to lightly strike", and is now used to describe quick speech or repartee. The word had been used in British English since the 16th century. It was part of the African American dialect of English in the 1960s meaning "to converse", and very soon after that came to denote the musical style. The word "rap" is so closely associated with hip-hop music that many writers use the terms interchangeably. History Etymology and usage The English verb rap has various meanings; these include "to strike, especially with a quick, smart, or light blow", as well "to utter sharply or vigorously: to rap out a command". The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary gives a date of 1541 for the first recorded use of the word with the meaning "to utter (esp. an oath) sharply, vigorously, or suddenly". Wentworth and Flexner's Dictionary of American Slang gives the meaning "to speak to, recognize, or acknowledge acquaintance with someone", dated 1932, and a later meaning of "to converse, esp. in an open and frank manner". It is these meanings from which the musical form of rapping derives, and this definition may be from a shortening of repartee. A rapper refers to a performer who "raps". By the late 1960s, when Hubert G. Brown changed his name to H. Rap Brown, rap was a slang term referring to an oration or speech, such as was common among the "hip" crowd in the protest movements, but it did not come to be associated with a musical style for another decade.Rap was used to describe talking on records as early as 1970 on Isaac Hayes' album ...To Be Continued with the track name "Monologue: Ike's Rap I". Hayes' "husky-voiced sexy spoken 'raps' became key components in his signature sound". Del the Funky Homosapien similarly states that rap was used to refer to talking in a stylistic manner in the early 1970s: "I was born in '72 ... back then what rapping meant, basically, was you trying to convey something—you're trying to convince somebody. That's what rapping is, it's in the way you talk."Sometimes said to be an acronym for 'rhythm and poetry', this is not the origin of the word. Roots and Origin During the mid-20th century, the musical culture of the Caribbean was constantly influenced by the concurrent changes in American music. As early as 1956, deejays were toasting over dubbed Jamaican beats. It was called "rap", expanding the word's earlier meaning in the African-American community—"to discuss or debate informally."Similarities to rapping can be observed in West African folk traditions chanting, and Dancehall genre. Centuries before hip-hop music existed, the griots of West Africans were delivering stories rhythmically, over drums and sparse instrumentation. Such resemblances have been noted by many modern artists, modern day "griots", spoken word artists, mainstream news sources, and academics. Rap lyrics and music are part of the "Black rhetorical continuum", continuing past traditions of expanding upon them through "creative use of language and rhetorical styles and strategies".Blues, rooted in the work songs and spirituals of slavery, was first played by black Americans around the time of the Emancipation Proclamation. This way of preaching, unique to African-Americans, called the Black sermonic tradition influenced singers and musicians such as 1940s African-American gospel group The Jubalaires. The Jubalaire's songs The Preacher and the Bear (1941) and Noah (1946) are precursors to the genre of rap music. The Jubalaires and other African-American singing groups during the blues, jazz, and gospel era are examples of the origins and development of rap music. Grammy-winning blues musician/historian Elijah Wald and others have argued that the blues were being rapped as early as the 1920s. Wald went so far as to call hip hop "the living blues". A notable recorded example of rapping in blues was the 1950 song "Gotta Let You Go" by Joe Hill Louis.Jazz, which developed from the blues and other African-American and European musical traditions and originated around the beginning of the 20th century, has also influenced hip hop and has been cited as a precursor of hip hop. Not just jazz music and lyrics but also jazz poetry. According to John Sobol, the jazz musician and poet who wrote Digitopia Blues, rap "bears a striking resemblance to the evolution of jazz both stylistically and formally". Boxer Muhammad Ali anticipated elements of rap, often using rhyme schemes and spoken word poetry, both for when he was trash talking in boxing and as political poetry for his activism outside of boxing, paving the way for The Last Poets in 1968, Gil Scott-Heron in 1970, and the emergence of rap music in the 1970s. An editor of the newspaper, The Fayetteville Observer interviewed Bill Curtis of the disco-funk music group the Fatback Band in 2020. Curtis noted that when he moved to the Bronx in the 1970s he heard people rapping over scratched records throughout the neighborhoods and radio DJs were rapping before the genre was released on retail recordings. The Fatback Band released the first rap recording King Tim III (Personality Jock) a few weeks before the Sugarhill Gang in 1979. In another interview Curtis said: "There was rapping in the Bronx and the cats there had been doing it for a while...Fatback certainly didn't invent rap or anything. I was just interested in it and I guess years later we were the first to record it. At the time you could already see cats rapping everywhere in the streets and doing stuff."With the decline of disco in the early 1980s rap became a new form of expression. Rap arose from musical experimentation with rhyming, rhythmic speech. Rap was a departure from disco. Sherley Anne Williams refers to the development of rap as "anti-Disco" in style and means of reproduction. The early productions of Rap after Disco sought a more simplified manner of producing the tracks they were to sing over. Williams explains how Rap composers and DJ's opposed the heavily orchestrated and ritzy multi-tracks of Disco for "break beats" which were created from compiling different records from numerous genres and did not require the equipment from professional recording studios. Professional studios were not necessary therefore opening the production of rap to the youth who as Williams explains felt "locked out" because of the capital needed to produce Disco records.More directly related to the African-American community were items like schoolyard chants and taunts, clapping games, jump-rope rhymes, some with unwritten folk histories going back hundreds of years across many nationalities. Sometimes these items contain racially offensive lyrics. Proto-rap In his narration between the tracks on George Russell's 1958 jazz album New York, N.Y., the singer Jon Hendricks recorded something close to modern rap, since it all rhymed and was delivered in a hip, rhythm-conscious manner. Art forms such as spoken word jazz poetry and comedy records had an influence on the first rappers. Coke La Rock, often credited as hip-hop's first MC cites the Last Poets among his influences, as well as comedians such as Wild Man Steve and Richard Pryor. Comedian Rudy Ray Moore released under the counter albums in the 1960s and 1970s such as This Pussy Belongs To Me (1970), which contained "raunchy, sexually explicit rhymes that often had to do with pimps, prostitutes, players, and hustlers", and which later led to him being called "The Godfather of Rap".Gil Scott-Heron, a jazz poet/musician, has been cited as an influence on rappers such as Chuck D and KRS-One. Scott-Heron himself was influenced by Melvin Van Peebles, whose first album was 1968's Brer Soul. Van Peebles describes his vocal style as "the old Southern style", which was influenced by singers he had heard growing up in South Chicago. Van Peebles also said that he was influenced by older forms of African-American music: "... people like Blind Lemon Jefferson and the field hollers. I was also influenced by spoken word song styles from Germany that I encountered when I lived in France."During the mid-20th century, the musical culture of the Caribbean was constantly influenced by the concurrent changes in American music. As early as 1956, deejays were toasting over dubbed Jamaican beats. It was called "rap", expanding the word's earlier meaning in the African-American community—"to discuss or debate informally."The early rapping of hip-hop developed out of DJ and Master of Ceremonies' announcements made over the microphone at parties, and later into more complex raps. Grandmaster Caz states: "The microphone was just used for making announcements, like when the next party was gonna be, or people's moms would come to the party looking for them, and you have to announce it on the mic. Different DJs started embellishing what they were saying. I would make an announcement this way, and somebody would hear that and they add a little bit to it. I'd hear it again and take it a little step further 'til it turned from lines to sentences to paragraphs to verses to rhymes."One of the first rappers at the beginning of the hip hop period, at the end of the 1970s, was also hip hop's first DJ, DJ Kool Herc. Herc, a Jamaican immigrant, started delivering simple raps at his parties, which some claim were inspired by the Jamaican tradition of toasting. However, Kool Herc himself denies this link (in the 1984 book Hip Hop), saying, "Jamaican toasting? Naw, naw. No connection there. I couldn't play reggae in the Bronx. People wouldn't accept it. The inspiration for rap is James Brown and the album Hustler's Convention". Herc also suggests he was too young while in Jamaica to get into sound system parties: "I couldn't get in. Couldn't get in. I was ten, eleven years old," and that while in Jamaica, he was listening to James Brown: "I was listening to American music in Jamaica and my favorite artist was James Brown. That's who inspired me. A lot of the records I played were by James Brown."However, in terms of what was identified in the 2010s as "rap" the source came from Manhattan. Pete DJ Jones said the first person he heard rap was DJ Hollywood, a Harlem (not Bronx) native who was the house DJ at the Apollo Theater. Kurtis Blow also says the first person he heard rhyme was DJ Hollywood. In a 2014 interview, Hollywood said: "I used to like the way Frankie Crocker would ride a track, but he wasn't syncopated to the track though. I liked [WWRL DJ] Hank Spann too, but he wasn't on the one. Guys back then weren't concerned with being musical. I wanted to flow with the record". And in 1975, he ushered in what became known as the Hip Hop style by rhyming syncopated to the beat of an existing record uninterruptedly for nearly a minute. He adapted the lyrics of Isaac Hayes "Good Love 6-9969" and rhymed it to the breakdown part of "Love is the Message". His partner Kevin Smith, better known as Lovebug Starski, took this new style and introduced it to the Bronx Hip Hop set that until then was composed of DJing and B-boying (or beatboxing), with traditional "shout out" style rapping. The style that Hollywood created and his partner introduced to the Hip Hop set quickly became the standard. Before that time most MC rhymes, based on radio DJs, consisted of short patters that were disconnected thematically; they were separate unto themselves. But by using song lyrics, Hollywood gave his rhyme an inherent flow and theme. This was quickly noticed, and the style spread. By the end of the 1970s, artists such as Kurtis Blow and The Sugarhill Gang were starting to receive radio airplay and make an impact far outside of New York City, on a national scale. Blondie's 1981 single, "Rapture", was one of the first songs featuring rap to top the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. Old-school hip hop Old school rap (1979–84) was "easily identified by its relatively simple raps" according to AllMusic, "the emphasis was not on lyrical technique, but simply on good times", one notable exception being Melle Mel, who set the way for future rappers through his socio-political content and creative wordplay. Golden age Golden age hip hop (the mid-1980s to early '90s) was the time period where hip-hop lyricism went through its most drastic transformation – writer William Jelani Cobb says "in these golden years, a critical mass of mic prodigies were literally creating themselves and their art form at the same time" and Allmusic writes, "rhymers like PE's Chuck D, Big Daddy Kane, KRS-One, and Rakim basically invented the complex wordplay and lyrical kung-fu of later hip-hop". The golden age is considered to have ended around 1993–94, marking the end of rap lyricism's most innovative period. Flow "Flow" is defined as "the rhythms and rhymes" of a hip-hop song's lyrics and how they interact – the book How to Rap breaks flow down into rhyme, rhyme schemes, and rhythm (also known as cadence). 'Flow' is also sometimes used to refer to elements of the delivery (pitch, timbre, volume) as well, though often a distinction is made between the flow and the delivery.Staying on the beat is central to rap's flow – many MCs note the importance of staying on-beat in How to Rap including Sean Price, Mighty Casey, Zion I, Vinnie Paz, Fredro Starr, Del The Funky Homosapien, Tech N9ne, People Under The Stairs, Twista, B-Real, Mr Lif, 2Mex, and Cage.MCs stay on beat by stressing syllables in time to the four beats of the musical backdrop. Poetry scholar Derek Attridge describes how this works in his book Poetic Rhythm – "rap lyrics are written to be performed to an accompaniment that emphasizes the metrical structure of the verse". He says rap lyrics are made up of, "lines with four stressed beats, separated by other syllables that may vary in number and may include other stressed syllables. The strong beat of the accompaniment coincides with the stressed beats of the verse, and the rapper organizes the rhythms of the intervening syllables to provide variety and surprise".The same technique is also noted in the book How to Rap, where diagrams are used to show how the lyrics line up with the beat – "stressing a syllable on each of the four beats gives the lyrics the same underlying rhythmic pulse as the music and keeps them in rhythm ... other syllables in the song may still be stressed, but the ones that fall in time with the four beats of a bar are the only ones that need to be emphasized in order to keep the lyrics in time with the music".In rap terminology, 16-bars is the amount of time that rappers are generally given to perform a guest verse on another artist's song; one bar is typically equal to four beats of music. History Old school flows were relatively basic and used only few syllables per bar, simple rhythmic patterns, and basic rhyming techniques and rhyme schemes. Melle Mel is cited as an MC who epitomizes the old school flow – Kool Moe Dee says, "from 1970 to 1978 we rhymed one way [then] Melle Mel, in 1978, gave us the new cadence we would use from 1978 to 1986". He's the first emcee to explode in a new rhyme cadence, and change the way every emcee rhymed forever. Rakim, The Notorious B.I.G., and Eminem have flipped the flow, but Melle Mel's downbeat on the two, four, kick to snare cadence is still the rhyme foundation all emcees are building on".Artists and critics often credit Rakim with creating the overall shift from the more simplistic old school flows to more complex flows near the beginning of hip hop's new school – Kool Moe Dee says, "any emcee that came after 1986 had to study Rakim just to know what to be able to do. Rakim, in 1986, gave us flow and that was the rhyme style from 1986 to 1994. From that point on, anybody emceeing was forced to focus on their flow". Kool Moe Dee explains that before Rakim, the term 'flow' was not widely used – "Rakim is basically the inventor of flow. We were not even using the word flow until Rakim came along. It was called rhyming, it was called cadence, but it wasn't called flow. Rakim created flow!" He adds that while Rakim upgraded and popularized the focus on flow, "he didn't invent the word".Kool Moe Dee states that Biggie introduced a newer flow which "dominated from 1994 to 2002", and also says that Method Man was "one of the emcees from the early to mid-'90s that ushered in the era of flow ... Rakim invented it, Big Daddy Kane, KRS-One, and Kool G Rap expanded it, but Biggie and Method Man made flow the single most important aspect of an emcee's game". He also cites Craig Mack as an artist who contributed to developing flow in the '90s.Music scholar Adam Krims says, "the flow of MCs is one of the profoundest changes that separates out new-sounding from older-sounding music ... it is widely recognized and remarked that rhythmic styles of many commercially successful MCs since roughly the beginning of the 1990s have progressively become faster and more 'complex'". He cites "members of the Wu-Tang Clan, Nas, AZ, Big Pun, and Ras Kass, just to name a few" as artists who exemplify this progression. Kool Moe Dee adds, "in 2002 Eminem created the song that got the first Oscar in Hip-Hop history [Lose Yourself] ... and I would have to say that his flow is the most dominant right now (2003)". Styles There are many different styles of flow, with different terminology used by different people – stic.man of Dead Prez uses the following terms – "The Chant", which he says is used by Lil Jon and Project Pat "The Syncopated Bounce", used by Twista and Bone Thugs N Harmony "Straight Forward", used by Scarface, 2Pac, Melle Mel, KRS-One circa Boogie Down Productions era, Too Short, Jay-Z, Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, and Snoop Dogg "The Rubik's Cube", used by Nas, Black Thought of The Roots, Common, Kurupt, and Lauryn Hill "2-5-Flow", a pun of Kenya's calling code "+254", used by Camp MullaAlternatively, music scholar Adam Krims uses the following terms – "sung rhythmic style", used by Too Short, Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five, and the Beastie Boys "percussion-effusive style", used by B-Real of Cypress Hill "speech-effusive style", used by Big Pun "offbeat style", used by E-40, Outkast Rhyme MCs use many different rhyming techniques, including complex rhyme schemes, as Adam Krims points out – "the complexity ... involves multiple rhymes in the same rhyme complex (i.e. section with consistently rhyming words), internal rhymes, [and] offbeat rhymes". There is also widespread use of multisyllabic rhymes, by artists such as Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane, Rakim, Big L, Nas, and Eminem. It has been noted that rap's use of rhyme is some of the most advanced in all forms of poetry – music scholar Adam Bradley notes, "rap rhymes so much and with such variety that it is now the largest and richest contemporary archive of rhymed words. It has done more than any other art form in recent history to expand rhyme's formal range and expressive possibilities".In the book How to Rap, Masta Ace explains how Rakim and Big Daddy Kane caused a shift in the way MCs rhymed: "Up until Rakim, everybody who you heard rhyme, the last word in the sentence was the rhyming [word], the connection word. Then Rakim showed us that you could put rhymes within a rhyme ... now here comes Big Daddy Kane — instead of going three words, he's going multiple". How to Rap explains that "rhyme is often thought to be the most important factor in rap writing ... rhyme is what gives rap lyrics their musicality. Rhythm Many of the rhythmic techniques used in rapping come from percussive techniques and many rappers compare themselves to percussionists. How to Rap 2 identifies all the rhythmic techniques used in rapping such as triplets, flams, 16th notes, 32nd notes, syncopation, extensive use of rests, and rhythmic techniques unique to rapping such as West Coast "lazy tails", coined by Shock G. Rapping has also been done in various time signatures, such as 3/4 time.Since the 2000s, rapping has evolved into a style of rap that spills over the boundaries of the beat, closely resembling spoken English. Rappers like MF Doom and Eminem have exhibited this style, and since then, rapping has been difficult to notate. The American hip-hop group Crime Mob exhibited a new rap flow in songs such as "Knuck If You Buck", heavily dependent on triplets. Rappers including Drake, Kanye West, Rick Ross, Young Jeezy and more have included this influence in their music. In 2014, an American hip-hop collective from Atlanta, Migos, popularized this flow, and is commonly referred to as the "Migos Flow" (a term that is contentious within the hip-hop community). Rap notation and flow diagrams The standard form of rap notation is the flow diagram, where rappers line-up their lyrics underneath "beat numbers". Different rappers have slightly different forms of flow diagram that they use: Del the Funky Homosapien says, "I'm just writing out the rhythm of the flow, basically. Even if it's just slashes to represent the beats, that's enough to give me a visual path.", Vinnie Paz states, "I've created my own sort of writing technique, like little marks and asterisks to show like a pause or emphasis on words in certain places.", and Aesop Rock says, "I have a system of maybe 10 little symbols that I use on paper that tell me to do something when I'm recording."Hip-hop scholars also make use of the same flow diagrams: the books How to Rap and How to Rap 2 use the diagrams to explain rap's triplets, flams, rests, rhyme schemes, runs of rhyme, and breaking rhyme patterns, among other techniques. Similar systems are used by PhD musicologists Adam Krims in his book Rap Music and the Poetics of Identity and Kyle Adams in his academic work on flow.Because rap revolves around a strong 4/4 beat, with certain syllables said in time to the beat, all the notational systems have a similar structure: they all have the same 4 beat numbers at the top of the diagram, so that syllables can be written in-line with the beat numbers. This allows devices such as rests, "lazy tails", flams, and other rhythmic techniques to be shown, as well as illustrating where different rhyming words fall in relation to the music. Performance To successfully deliver a rap, a rapper must also develop vocal presence, enunciation, and breath control. Vocal presence is the distinctiveness of a rapper's voice on record. Enunciation is essential to a flowing rap; some rappers choose also to exaggerate it for comic and artistic effect. Breath control, taking in air without interrupting one's delivery, is an important skill for a rapper to master, and a must for any MC. An MC with poor breath control cannot deliver difficult verses without making unintentional pauses. Raps are sometimes delivered with melody. West Coast rapper Egyptian Lover was the first notable MC to deliver "sing-raps". Popular rappers such as 50 Cent and Ja Rule add a slight melody to their otherwise purely percussive raps whereas some rappers such as Cee-Lo Green are able to harmonize their raps with the beat. The Midwestern group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony was one of the first groups to achieve nationwide recognition for using the fast-paced, melodic and harmonic raps that are also practiced by Do or Die, another Midwestern group. Another rapper that harmonized his rhymes was Nate Dogg, a rapper part of the group 213. Rakim experimented not only with following the beat, but also with complementing the song's melody with his own voice, making his flow sound like that of an instrument (a saxophone in particular).The ability to rap quickly and clearly is sometimes regarded as an important sign of skill. In certain hip-hop subgenres such as chopped and screwed, slow-paced rapping is often considered optimal. The current record for fastest rapper is held by Spanish rapper Domingo Edjang Moreno, known by his alias Chojin, who rapped 921 syllables in one minute on December 23, 2008. Emcees In the late 1970s, the term emcee, MC or M.C., derived from "master of ceremonies", became an alternative title for a rapper, and for their role within hip-hop music and culture. An MC uses rhyming verses, pre-written or ad lib ('freestyled'), to introduce the DJ with whom they work, to keep the crowd entertained or to glorify themselves. As hip hop progressed, the title MC acquired backronyms such as 'mike chanter' 'microphone controller', 'microphone checker', 'music commentator', and one who 'moves the crowd'. Some use this word interchangeably with the term rapper, while for others the term denotes a superior level of skill and connection to the wider culture. MC can often be used as a term of distinction; referring to an artist with good performance skills. As Kool G Rap notes, "masters of ceremony, where the word 'M.C.' comes from, means just keeping the party alive" [sic]. Many people in hip hop including DJ Premier and KRS-One feel that James Brown was the first MC. James Brown had the lyrics, moves, and soul that greatly influenced a lot of rappers in hip hop, and arguably even started the first MC rhyme.For some rappers, there was a distinction to the term, such as for MC Hammer who acquired the nickname "MC" for being a "Master of Ceremonies" which he used when he began performing at various clubs while on the road with the Oakland As and eventually in the military (United States Navy). It was within the lyrics of a rap song called "This Wall" that Hammer first identified himself as M.C. Hammer and later marketed it on his debut album Feel My Power. The term MC has also been used in the genre of grime music to refer to a rapid style of rapping. Grime artist JME released an album titled Grime MC in 2019 which peaked at 29 on the UK Albums Chart.Uncertainty over the acronym's expansion may be considered evidence for its ubiquity: the full term "Master of Ceremonies" is very rarely used in the hip-hop scene. This confusion prompted the hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest to include this statement in the liner notes to their 1993 album Midnight Marauders: The use of the term MC when referring to a rhyming wordsmith originates from the dance halls of Jamaica. At each event, there would be a master of ceremonies who would introduce the different musical acts and would say a toast in style of a rhyme, directed at the audience and to the performers. He would also make announcements such as the schedule of other events or advertisements from local sponsors. The term MC continued to be used by the children of women who moved to New York City to work as maids in the 1970s. These MCs eventually created a new style of music called hip-hop based on the rhyming they used to do in Jamaica and the breakbeats used in records. MC has also recently been accepted to refer to all who engineer music. Subject matter "Party rhymes", meant to pump up the crowd at a party, were nearly the exclusive focus of old school hip hop, and they remain a staple of hip-hop music to this day. In addition to party raps, rappers also tend to make references to love and sex. Love raps were first popularized by Spoonie Gee of the Treacherous Three, and later, in the golden age of hip hop, Big Daddy Kane, Heavy D, and LL Cool J would continue this tradition. Hip-hop artists such as KRS-One, Hopsin, Public Enemy, Lupe Fiasco, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Jay-Z, Nas, The Notorious B.I.G. (Biggie), and dead prez are known for their sociopolitical subject matter. Their West Coast counterparts include The Coup, Paris, and Michael Franti. Tupac Shakur was also known for rapping about social issues such as police brutality, teenage pregnancy, and racism. Other rappers take a less critical approach to urbanity, sometimes even embracing such aspects as crime. Schoolly D was the first notable MC to rap about crime. Early on KRS-One was accused of celebrating crime and a hedonistic lifestyle, but after the death of his DJ, Scott La Rock, KRS-One went on to speak out against violence in hip hop and has spent the majority of his career condemning violence and writing on issues of race and class. Ice-T was one of the first rappers to call himself a "playa" and discuss guns on record, but his theme tune to the 1988 film Colors contained warnings against joining gangs. Gangsta rap, made popular largely because of N.W.A, brought rapping about crime and the gangster lifestyle into the musical mainstream. Materialism has also been a popular topic in hip-hop since at least the early 1990s, with rappers boasting about their own wealth and possessions, and name-dropping specific brands: liquor brands Cristal and Rémy Martin, car manufacturers Bentley and Mercedes-Benz and clothing brands Gucci and Versace have all been popular subjects for rappers. Various politicians, journalists, and religious leaders have accused rappers of fostering a culture of violence and hedonism among hip-hop listeners through their lyrics. However, there are also rappers whose messages may not be in line with these views, for example Christian hip hop. Others have praised the "political critique, innuendo and sarcasm" of hip-hop music.In contrast to the more hedonistic approach of gangsta rappers, some rappers have a spiritual or religious focus. Christian rap is currently the most commercially successful form of religious rap. With Christian rappers like Lecrae, Thi'sl and Hostyle Gospel winning national awards and making regular appearances on television, Christian hip hop seem to have found its way in the hip-hop family. Aside from Christianity, the Five Percent Nation, an Islamic esotericist religious/spiritual group, has been represented more than any religious group in popular hip hop. Artists such as Rakim, the members of the Wu-Tang Clan, Brand Nubian, X-Clan and Busta Rhymes have had success in spreading the theology of the Five Percenters. Literary technique Rappers use the literary techniques of double entendres, alliteration, and forms of wordplay that are found in classical poetry. Similes and metaphors are used extensively in rap lyrics; rappers such as Fabolous and Lloyd Banks have written entire songs in which every line contains similes, whereas MCs like Rakim, GZA, and Jay-Z are known for the metaphorical content of their raps. Rappers such as Lupe Fiasco are known for the complexity of their songs that contain metaphors within extended metaphors. Diction and dialect Many hip-hop listeners believe that a rapper's lyrics are enhanced by a complex vocabulary. Kool Moe Dee claims that he appealed to older audiences by using a complex vocabulary in his raps. Rap is famous, however, for having its own vocabulary—from international hip-hop slang to regional slang. Some artists, like the Wu-Tang Clan, develop an entire lexicon among their clique. African-American English has always had a significant effect on hip-hop slang and vice versa. Certain regions have introduced their unique regional slang to hip-hop culture, such as the Bay Area (Mac Dre, E-40), Houston (Chamillionaire, Paul Wall), Atlanta (Ludacris, Lil Jon, T.I.), and Kentucky (Cunninlynguists, Nappy Roots). The Nation of Gods and Earths, aka The Five Percenters, has influenced mainstream hip-hop slang with the introduction of phrases such as "word is bond" that have since lost much of their original spiritual meaning. Preference toward one or the other has much to do with the individual; GZA, for example, prides himself on being very visual and metaphorical but also succinct, whereas underground rapper MF DOOM is known for heaping similes upon similes. In still another variation, 2Pac was known for saying exactly what he meant, literally and clearly. Rap music's development into popular culture began in the 1990s. The 1990s marked the beginning of an era of popular culture guided by the musical influences of hip-hop and rap itself, moving away from the influences of rock music. As rap continued to develop and further disseminate, it went on to influence clothing brands, movies, sports, and dancing through popular culture. As rap has developed to become more of a presence in popular culture, it has focused itself on a particular demographic, adolescent and young adults. As such, it has had a significant impact on the modern vernacular of this portion of the population, which has diffused throughout society. The effects of rap music on modern vernacular can be explored through the study of semiotics. Semiotics is the study of signs and symbols, or the study of language as a system. French literary theorist Roland Barthes furthers this study with this own theory of myth. He maintains that the first order of signification is language and that the second is "myth", arguing that a word has both its literal meaning, and its mythical meaning, which is heavily dependent on socio-cultural context. To illustrate, Barthes uses the example of a rat: it has a literal meaning (a physical, objective description) and it has a greater socio-cultural understanding. This contextual meaning is subjective and is dynamic within society. Through Barthes' semiotic theory of language and myth, it can be shown that rap music has culturally influenced the language of its listeners, as they influence the connotative message to words that already exist. As more people listen to rap, the words that are used in the lyrics become culturally bound to the song, and then are disseminated through the conversations that people have using these words. Most often, the terms that rappers use are pre-established words that have been prescribed new meaning through their music, that are eventually disseminated through social spheres. This newly contextualized word is called a neosemanticism. Neosemanticisms are forgotten words that are often brought forward from subcultures that attract the attention of members of the reigning culture of their time, then they are brought forward by the influential voices in society – in this case, these figures are rappers. To illustrate, the acronym YOLO was popularized by rapper, actor and RnB singer Drake in 2012 when he featured it in his own song, The Motto. That year the term YOLO was so popular that it was printed on t-shirts, became a trending hashtag on Twitter, and was even considered as the inspiration for several tattoos. However, although the rapper may have come up with the acronym, the motto itself was in no way first established by Drake. Similar messages can be seen in many well-known sayings, or as early as 1896, in the English translation of La Comédie Humaine, by Honoré de Balzac where one of his free-spirited characters tells another, "You Only Live Once!". Another example of a neosemanticism is the word "broccoli". Rapper E-40 initially uses the word "broccoli" to refer to marijuana, on his hit track Broccoli in 1993. In contemporary society, artists D.R.A.M. and Lil Yachty are often accredited for this slang on for their hit song, also titled Broccoli.With the rise in technology and mass media, the dissemination of subcultural terms has only become easier. Dick Hebdige, author of Subculture: The Meaning of Style, merits that subcultures often use music to vocalize the struggles of their experiences. As rap is also the culmination of a prevalent sub-culture in African-American social spheres, often their own personal cultures are disseminated through rap lyrics.It is here that lyrics can be categorized as either historically influenced or (more commonly) considered as slang. Vernon Andrews, the professor of the course American Studies 111: Hip-Hop Culture, suggests that many words, such as "hood", "homie", and "dope", are historically influenced. Most importantly, this also brings forward the anarchistic culture of rap music. Common themes from rap are anti-establishment and instead, promote black excellence and diversity. It is here that rap can be seen to reclaim words, namely, "nigga", a historical term used to subjugate and oppress Black people in America. This word has been reclaimed by Black Americans and is heavily used in rap music. Niggaz With Attitude embodies this notion by using it as the first word of their influential rap group name. Freestyle and battle There are two kinds of freestyle rap: one is scripted (recitation), but having no particular overriding subject matter, and has yet evolved since the late 2000s to become the most commonly referred to style when the term "freestyle" is being used. Its primary focus has morphed from making up a rap on the spot, to being able to recite memorized or "written" lyrics over an "undisclosed" beat, not revealed until the performance actually begins. A variation is when a DJ or host will use multiple beats and will rotate them dynamically; it is the freestyler's job to keep his flow and not appear to trip up when the beat switches. Alternatively, keeping the rhythm or flow going can be substituted by "switching styles". This involves the rapper doing a variation of changing one's voice or tone, and/or the rhythm or flow, and potentially much more. However, this must be done smoothly, else any notoriety or respect gained can very quickly be lost all together. Some rappers have multiple characters, egos, or styles in their repertoire. The second, more difficult and respected style, has adapted the terms "off the dome", or "off (the) top" in addition to relatively less common older references like "spitting", "on the spot" and "unscripted". Often times these terms are followed by "freestyle" e.g. Killer "Off top Freestyle" by (Artist X)! This type of rapping requires the artist to both spit their lyrics over undisclosed and possibly rotating beats, but additionally primarily completely improvise the session's rapped lyrics. Many "off top" rappers inadvertently reuse old lines, or even "cheat" by preparing segments or entire verses in advance. Therefore, "off the dome" freestyles with proven spontaneity are valued above generic, always usable, or rehearsed lines or "bars". Rappers will often reference places or objects in their immediate setting, or specific (usually demeaning) characteristics of opponents, to prove their authenticity and originality. Battle rapping, which can be freestyled, is the competition between two or more rappers in front of an audience. The tradition of insulting one's friends or acquaintances in rhyme goes back to the dozens, and was employed famously by Muhammad Ali in his boxing matches. The winner of a battle is decided by the crowd and/or preselected judges. According to Kool Moe Dee, a successful battle rap focuses on an opponent's weaknesses, rather than one's own strengths. Television shows such as MTV's DFX and BET's 106 and Park host weekly freestyle battles live on the air. Battle rapping gained widespread public recognition outside of the African-American community with rapper Eminem's movie 8 Mile. The strongest battle rappers will generally perform their rap fully freestyled. This is the most effective form in a battle as the rapper can comment on the other person, whether it be what they look like, or how they talk, or what they wear. It also allows the rapper to reverse a line used to "diss" him or her if they are the second rapper to battle. This is known as a "flip". Jin The Emcee was considered "World Champion" battle rapper in the mid-2000s. Derivatives and influence Throughout hip hop's history, new musical styles and genres have developed that contain rapping. Entire genres, such as rap rock and its derivatives rapcore and rap metal (rock/metal/punk with rapped vocals), or hip house have resulted from the fusion of rap and other styles. Many popular music genres with a focus on percussion have contained rapping at some point; be it disco (DJ Hollywood), jazz (Gang Starr), new wave (Blondie), funk (Fatback Band), contemporary R&B (Mary J. Blige), reggaeton (Daddy Yankee), or even Japanese dance music (Soul'd Out). UK garage music has begun to focus increasingly on rappers in a new subgenre called grime which emerged in London in the early 2000s and was pioneered and popularized by the MC Dizzee Rascal. Increased popularity with the music has shown more UK rappers going to America as well as tour there, such as Sway DaSafo possibly signing with Akon's label Konvict. Hyphy is the latest of these spin-offs. It is typified by slowed-down atonal vocals with instrumentals that borrow heavily from the hip-hop scene and lyrics centered on illegal street racing and car culture. Another Oakland, California group, Beltaine's Fire, has recently gained attention for their Celtic fusion sound which blends hip-hop beats with Celtic melodies. Unlike the majority of hip-hop artists, all their music is performed live without samples, synths, or drum machines, drawing comparisons to The Roots and Rage Against the Machine. Bhangra, a widely popular style of music from Punjab, India has been mixed numerous times with reggae and hip-hop music. The most popular song in this genre in the United States was "Mundian to Bach Ke" or "Beware the Boys" by Panjabi MC and Jay-Z. Although "Mundian To Bach Ke" had been released previously, the mixing with Jay-Z popularized the genre further. Female rappers Although the majority of rappers are male, there have been a number of female rap stars, including Lauryn Hill, MC Lyte, Jean Grae, Lil' Kim, Missy Elliott, Queen Latifah, Da Brat, Eve, Trina, Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, Khia, M.I.A., CL from 2NE1, Foxy Brown, Iggy Azalea, and Lisa Lopes from TLC. There is also deaf rap artist Signmark. New, young rappers come on the scene all the time, like Ice Spice. See also Amoebaean singing Flyting, contests consisting of the exchange of insults, often in poetry The Rapper—1970 song addressed to women, warning them about men, rappers, who seduce them with lies, "rapping" Rap squat Rec.music.hip-hop Sprechgesang Further reading Alan Light; et al. (October 1999). The Vibe History of Hip Hop. Three Rivers Press. p. 432. ISBN 978-0-609-80503-9. Jeff Chang; D.J. Kool Herc (December 2005). Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation. Picador. p. 560. ISBN 978-0-312-42579-1. Sacha Jenkins; et al. (December 1999). Ego Trip's Book of Rap Lists. St. Martin's Griffin. p. 352. ISBN 978-0-312-24298-5.

Springtime in a Small Town (Chinese: 小城之春; pinyin: Xiǎochéng zhī chūn) is a 2002 Chinese film directed by Tian Zhuangzhuang. The film is a remake of director Fei Mu's 1948 film and its original screenwriter is Li Tianji (Chinese: 李天濟; pinyin: Lǐ Tiānjì), Spring in a Small Town. Though the two movies are referred to by different English titles, they share the same title in Chinese. Springtime in a Small Town marks the return of Tian Zhuangzhuang to the director's chair, following a nearly nine-year absence since his last film, The Blue Kite (1993). It was funded by several production companies from China (Beijing Film Studio, Beijing Rosart Film), France (Orly Films, Paradis Films), and the Netherlands (Fortissimo Films). Unlike Kite, which deployed a large cast, spanned decades, and carried a political message, Springtime is a small intimate chamber-piece. Plot The film follows Fei Mu's original fairly closely. Zhang Zhichen (Xin Baiqing), a city doctor, comes to visit his old friend from school Dai Liyan (Wu Jun) shortly after the war against the Japanese has ended. Dai is sickly although Zhang suspects it to be mainly a case of hypochondria. While visiting, he meets Liyan's wife, Yuwen (Hu Jingfan) and Liyan's teenage sister Dai Xiu (Lu Sisi). Zhang and Yuwen has had a passionate love affair ten years earlier before she had been engaged. Due to her husband's sickness however, the couple has ceased to have any real physical contact. With Zhang back, he and Yuwen find themselves attracted to one another again. As emotions run high, Dai Xiu's birthday comes up. As the drinks begin to flow, Zhang and Yuwen's mutual attraction become apparent to everyone, especially to Liyan. Too sickly in his mind to care for his wife any longer, he begs Zhang to stay. Liyan then promptly attempts suicide by overdose but is saved by his friend. Zhang then decides that it is best that he departs. While faithful to the plot of the original, Tian's remake dropped the original's use of a voice-over narration by Yuwen. Cast Unlike Tian's ensemble direction in The Blue Kite, the cast here is deliberately limited to only five actors, all of whom were unknowns at the time of Springtime's release. Hu Jingfan as Yuwen, the wife Wu Jun as Dai Liyan, her husband Xin Baiqing as Zhang Zhichen, Dai Liyan's childhood friend and Yuwen's former lover Ye Xiaokeng as Lao Huang, Dai Liyan and Yuwen's loyal servant Lu Sisi as Dai Xiu, Dai Liyan's young sister Reception The film received positive reviews from film critics. The film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes records that 88% of film critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 35 reviews. The Metacritic aggregator recorded the film received an average score of 86/100, meaning "universal acclaim." Variety praised the film as a "visually rich" and "exquisitely made love story." The Sight and Sound states: "this is a sensual, haunting film, atmospheric and moving, full of melancholy and a subtle eroticism." J. Hoberman of The Village Voice describes the film as "exquisitely crafted" and "a movie of indefinable moods and subtle emotional coloration." Hoberman further writes: "Tian's first feature in the decade...is also his quietest, remaking a 1948 Chinese classic to marvelous effect." Jonathan Rosenbaum of the Chicago Reader writes "This erotically charged drama may not be quite as great as the original, but it's an amazing and beautiful work just the same." Awards and nominations Venice Film Festival, 2002 San Marcos Prize Tromsø International Film Festival, 2003 Don Quixote Award DVD Springtime in a Small Town was released in the United States on DVD on 23 November 2004 and is distributed by Palm Pictures. The DVD features subtitles in English. Springtime in a Small Town at IMDb Springtime in a Small Town at AllMovie Springtime in a Small Town at Rotten Tomatoes Springtime in a Small Town at Metacritic Springtime in a Small Town at Box Office Mojo Springtime in a Small Town at the Chinese Movie Database

Lufeng, alternately romanized as Lukfung, is a county-level city in the southeast of Guangdong province, administered as a part of the prefecture-level city of Shanwei. It lies on the mainland on coast of the South China Sea east of Hong Kong. History Under the Qing, the area was known as Lufeng County. Together with neighboring Haifeng and the now separated Luhe county now carved out from Lufeng, it formed the short-lived Hailufeng Soviet in 1927. It was later promoted to county-level city status. The area rose to prominence in the early 21st century as a scene of unrest. Jieshi saw serious inter-village violence over road use in October 2009 and March 2010 and, in September 2011, a series of protests or riots occurred in Wukan Village over allegations of Communist Party members unfairly selling farmers' land for development. Fresh protests broke out in December, when one of the village leaders died in the police custody. The police blocked the roads leading to the village. Administration As of 2005 year's end, the city comprises three urban subdistricts and 17 towns. These are organised into 47 neighbourhood committees and 280 village committees.The city's executive, legislature and judiciary are located in the Donghai Subdistrict (东海街道), together with the CPC subbranch and PSB suboffice. Wukan Village, site of the Wukan protests, is also located in the Donghai subdistrict. Urban subdistricts Donghai (东海) Chengdong (城东) Hexi (河西) Towns Jieshi (碣石) Qiaochong (桥冲) Bomei (博美) Jiazi (Kapchi; Chiatzu) (甲子) Jiadong (甲东) Jiaxi (甲西镇) Hudong (湖东) Beiyang (陂洋) Nantang (南塘) Bawan (八万) Tanxi (潭西) Da'an (大安) Jinxiang (金厢) Neihu (内湖) Xinan (西南) Shangying (上英) Hedong (河东) Demography Lufeng has a population of 1.7 million, the most of them are Han Chinese. More specifically, a considerable percentage of the population belong to the Minnan sub group; the rest are Teochews, Hakka and Ming Dynasty Jianghuai military speakers. Therefore, dialects of both Min Nan, Teochew and Hakka are spoken, in addition to Mandarin, which is used in official and public life. The Hailufeng dialect, however, only refers to the Hokkien variant. Climate Transportation Lufeng railway station on the Xiamen–Shenzhen railway serves the city, though it is located some distance outside the city. Lufeng East and Lufeng South, both on the Shantou–Shanwei high-speed railway, will serve the city in the future. Notable people Wen Yuan-ning, also known as Oon Guan-neng, Chinese professor, writer, and diplomat. Wong Yuk-man, Hong Kong politician Charles Heung, actor-turned-film producer and presenter Ada Zhuang, C-pop artist Liu Shan Bang, leader of the 1857 Chinese uprising against James Brooke. See also Boshe, a village in Jiaxi Wukan protests Bibliography Bolton, Kingsley; et al. (1941), Triad Societies, Vol. 5, Abingdon: Routledge, ISBN 9780415243971, reprinted 2000.

Héyuán (Chinese: 河源, Hakka:Fò-Ngiàn) is a prefecture-level city of Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. As of the 2020 census, its population was 2,837,686 whom 1,051,993 lived in the built-up (or metro) area made of Yuancheng urban District and Dongyuan County largely being urbanized. Zijin County itself is quickly being conurbated in the agglomeration. The majority of the people are Hakka. The city includes many rainforests and the largest lake in Guangdong: Xinfengjiang Reservoir. The literal meaning of the city's name is "origin of the river". It has recently been officially titled as the "Hometown of the Dinosaur in China", due to the thousands of dinosaur egg fossils that have been unearthed in its vicinity. Geography Heyuan is located in the north-east region of Guangdong, upper reach of Dong River at its confluence with the Xinfeng River. Its latitude spans 23° 10'–24° 50' N, and longitude 114° 13'–115° 35' E. It borders Huizhou to the south, Ganzhou (Jiangxi) to the north, Meizhou to the east and Shaoguan to the west. Heyuan is a regional hub that connects the coastal areas of Guangdong and the interior countryside. Heyuan is rich in natural resources and fertile land. There are 1,000 km2 (390 sq mi) of cultivated land, 13,600 km2 (5,300 sq mi) of hilly land, and 640 square kilometres (250 sq mi) of water area. Many mineral deposits such as iron ore, tungsten, tin, fluorite are found in Heyuan. Climate Heyuan has a monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa), with short, mild to warm winters, and long, hot, humid summers. Winter begins sunny and dry but becomes progressively wetter and cloudier. Spring is generally overcast and often rainy, while summer continues to be rainy though is much sunnier; there are 9.1 days annually with 50 mm (1.97 in) of rainfall. Autumn is sunny and dry. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from 13.1 °C (55.6 °F) in January to 28.5 °C (83.3 °F) in July, and the annual mean is 21.83 °C (71.3 °F). The annual rainfall is 1,927 mm (76 in), and is delivered in bulk (47%) from April to June. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 23% in March to 55% in October and November, the city receives 1,842 hours of bright sunshine annually. Geology The city's museum boasts the Guinness World Record for the largest collection of dinosaur eggs, with 10,008 individual samples as of 2004. Dinosaur skeletons and fossilized footprints have also been found nearby. Findings A dinosaur egg fossil dated back to the Late Cretaceous was discovered by primary school student named Zhang Yangzhe while playing near the Dong River in 2019 in July. The boy's mother, Li Xiaofang, later contacted the Heyuan Dinosaur Museum members, and under their excavation guidance more than 10 dinosaur egg fossils each about 9 centimeters in diameter and dating back to 66 million years were revealed. Language In the great majority of Heyuan areas, Hakka Chinese is in general use. In the greater part of areas in the city, Dongyuan County, Lianping County, Heping County, Longchuan County etc., it belongs to the Yuezhong dialect group, while in Zijin County and part of Longchuan County, it belongs to the Yuetai dialect group. Also, in some areas on the banks of the Dongjiang, Dongjiang Bendihua is in general use. Its classification is disputed between the Yuezhong division of Hakka and the Huihe division of Yue. Administration Heyuan City administers Yuancheng District, Dongyuan County, Heping County, Longchuan County, Zijin County and Lianping County. The total area is 15,800 square kilometres (6,100 sq mi). Heyuan city and its districts have a population of 3.2194 million. The municipality seat is in Yuancheng District. Economy Heyuan city is a major economic and transportation hub for the Beijing-Kowloon Railway and the Guangzhou-Meizhou-Shantou Railway which crosses the city. There is also a marshalling station at Longchuan, which is the biggest in southern China. State Highway 105 and 205 run through the city. Dong River which Heyuan City is located in plays an important strategic waterway which allows huge cargo ships to transport goods to Huizhou, Dongguan, and Guangzhou. Heyuan city is the major producer of Chinese kiwi fruit dried mushrooms of Jiulian, garlic, Hakka brewed liquor, Xinfengjiang pure water and mineral water, bamboo mats, sweet tangerines, green tea, and pot culture. Transport Heyuan is served by the Hong Kong-Beijing Jingjiu railway with two stations: Heyuan railway station and Longchuan railway station. Attractions Xinfengjiang Forest Park Heyuan City has a number of tourist attractions. There is a tall fountain located in Xinfengjiang forest park. There are scenic areas such as the Dagui Mountain and the first big artificial lake; Wanlu Lake and the Sujiawei Round House. Longchuan County Longchuan county is home to scenic spots in Huoshan and Shuikeng. Lianping The Neiguan Mountains and rivers are located in Lianping county. Dongyuan County In Dongyuan county, there are scenic spots at Huanglong Crag and Zhangxi. Sister cities Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia Tieling, Liaoning http://www.heyuan.gov.cn/ (in Chinese) The history of Heyuan