Wade–Giles ( /ˌweɪd ˈdʒaɪlz/; simplified Chinese: 韦氏拼音; traditional Chinese: 韋氏拼音; pinyin: Wéi-Shì Pīnyīn ; Wade–Giles: Wei²-Shi⁴ P'in¹-yin¹), sometimes abbreviated Wade, is a romanization system for the Mandarin Chinese language. It developed from a system produced by Thomas Wade during the mid-19th century (simplified Chinese: 威妥玛拼音; traditional Chinese: 威妥瑪拼音; pinyin: Wēituǒmǎ Pīnyīn ; Wade–Giles: Wei¹-t'o³-ma³ P'in¹-yin¹), and was given completed form with Herbert Giles' Chinese–English dictionary of 1892.

Wade–Giles was the most widely-used system of transcription in the English-speaking world for most of the 20th century, used in several standard reference books and in all books about China published in western countries before 1979.^[1] It replaced the Nanjing-based romanization systems that had been common until late in the 19th century. It has been entirely replaced by the pinyin system in mainland China. Outside mainland China, it has mostly been replaced by the pinyin system (developed by the Chinese government and approved during 1958),^[2] but remains common in history books, particularly those about Imperial China. Additionally, its legacy can be felt in the common English names of certain individuals and locations (e.g. Mao Tse-tung).

History[link]

Wade–Giles was developed by Thomas Francis Wade, a British ambassador in China and Chinese scholar who was the first professor of Chinese at Cambridge University. Wade published the first Chinese textbook in English in 1867. The system was refined in 1912 by Herbert Allen Giles, a British diplomat in China and his son, Lionel Giles, a curator at the British Museum.^[3]

The Wade–Giles system was designed to transcribe Chinese terms, for Chinese specialists.

Taiwan has used Wade–Giles for decades as the de facto standard, co-existing with several official but obscure romanizations in succession, namely, Gwoyeu Romatzyh (1928), MPS II (1986), and Tongyong pinyin (2000). With the election of the Nationalist government in 2008, Taiwan has officially switched to Hanyu pinyin. However, many signs and maps in Taiwan are still in Wade–Giles, and many overseas Chinese write their Chinese names in Wade–Giles.

Wade–Giles spellings and pinyin spellings for Taiwanese place names and words long accepted in English usage are still used interchangeably in English-language texts.

Technical aspects[link]

Multi-sound symbols[link]

A common feature of the Wade–Giles system is the representation of the unaspirated-aspirated stop consonant pairs using apostrophes: p, p', t, t', k, k', ch, ch'. However, the use of apostrophes preserves b, d, g, and j for the romanization of Chinese languages containing voiced consonants, such as Shanghainese (which has a full set of voiced consonants) and Min Nan (Hō-ló-oē) whose century-old Pe̍h-ōe-jī (POJ, often called Missionary Romanization) is similar to Wade–Giles. POJ, Legge romanization, Simplified Wade, and EFEO Chinese transcription use the letter h instead of an apostrophe to indicate aspiration (this is similar to the superscript ʰ used in IPA). The convention of the apostrophe or "h" to denote aspiration is also found in romanizations of other Asian languages, such as McCune–Reischauer for Korean and ISO 11940 for Thai.

People unfamiliar with Wade–Giles often ignore the apostrophes, even so far as leaving them out when copying texts, unaware that they represent vital information. Hanyu Pinyin addresses this issue by employing the Latin letters customarily used for voiced stops, unneeded in Mandarin, to represent the unaspirated stops: b, p, d, t, g, k, j, q, zh, ch.

Partly because of the popular omission of the apostrophe, the four sounds represented in Hanyu pinyin by j, q, zh, and ch all become ch in many literature and personal names. However, were the diacritics to be kept, the system reveals a symmetry that leaves no overlap:

• The non-retroflex ch (Pinyin j) and ch' (pinyin q) are always before either i or ü.
• The retroflex ch (Pinyin zh) and ch' (pinyin ch) are always before a, e, ih, o, or u.

Multi-symbol sounds[link]

In addition to several sounds presented using the same letter(s), sometimes, one single sound is represented using several sets of letters. There exist two versions of Wade–Giles romanizations for each of the pinyin syllables zi, ci, and si.

• The older version writes tsû, ts'û, and ssû
• The newer version writes:
  • tzu for tsû, but it still remains ts- before other vowels, as in tsung for the Pinyin zong.
  • tz'u for ts'û, but remains ts'- before other vowels.
  • szu or ssu for ssû, but is s- before other vowels. Note, not ss-.

Precision with empty rime[link]

On the other hand, Wade–Giles shows precisions not found in other major Romanizations in regard to the rendering of the two types of empty rimes (simplified Chinese: 空韵; traditional Chinese: 空韻; pinyin: kōngyùn):

• -u (formerly û) after the sibilant tz, tz', and ss (pinyin z, c, and s).
• -ih after the retroflex ch, ch', sh, and j (Pinyin zh, ch, sh, and r).

These empty rimes are all written as -i in Hanyu pinyin (hence distinguishable only by context from true i as in li), and all written as -ih in Tongyong Pinyin. Zhuyin, as a non-romanization, does not require the representation of any empty rime.

[edit] Partial interchangeability of uo and e with o

What is pronounced as a close-mid back unrounded vowel is written usually as -e as in pinyin, but sometimes as -o. This vowel in an isolate syllable is written as o or ê. When placed in a syllable, it is e; except when preceded by k, k', and h, when it is o.

What is actually pronounced as -uo is virtually always written as -o in Wade–Giles, except shuo and the three syllables of kuo, k'uo, and huo, which already have the counterparts of ko, k'o, and ho that represent pinyin ge, ke, and he.

Punctuation[link]

In addition to the apostrophes used for distinguishing the multiple sounds of a single Latin symbol, Wade–Giles uses hyphens to separate all syllables within a word, whereas pinyin only uses apostrophes to separate ambiguous syllables. Originally in his dictionary, Giles used left apostrophes (‘) consistently. Such orientation was followed in Sinological works until the 1950s or 60s, when it started to be gradually replaced by right apostrophes (’) in academic literature. On-line publications almost invariably use the plain apostrophe ('). Apostrophes are completely ignored in Taiwanese passports, hence their absence in overseas Chinese names.

If the syllable is not the first in a word, its first letter is not capitalized, even if it is a proper noun. The use of apostrophes, hyphens, and capitalization is frequently not observed in place names and personal names. For example, the majority of overseas Chinese of Taiwanese origin write their given names like "Tai Lun" or "Tai-Lun", whereas the Wade–Giles actually writes "Tai-lun". The capitalization issue arises partly because ROC passports indiscriminately capitalize all letters of the holder's names (beside the photograph). It is also due to the misunderstanding that the second syllable is a middle name. (See also Chinese name)

Wade–Giles uses superscript numbers to indicate tone, and official Pinyin uses diacritics. The tone marks are ignored except in textbooks.

Comparison with pinyin[link]

• Wade–Giles chose the French-like j to represent a Northerner's^{[clarification needed]} pronunciation of what now is represented as r in Pinyin.
• Ü always has a trema (diaeresis) above, while pinyin only employs it in the cases of nü, lü, nüe and lüe, while leaving it out in -ue, ju-, qu-, xu-, -uan and yu- as a simplification because u cannot otherwise appear in those positions. Because yü (as in 玉 "jade") must have a diaeresis in Wade, the diaeresis-less yu in Wade–Giles is freed up for what corresponds to you (有) in Pinyin.
• The pinyin vowel cluster ong is ung in Wade–Giles. (Compare Kung Fu to Gong Fu as an example.)
• After a consonant, both the Wade–Giles and Pinyin vowel cluster uei is written ui. Furthermore, both Romanizations use iu and un instead of the complete syllables: iou and uen.
• Single i is never preceded by y, as in pinyin. The only exception is in placenames, which are hyphenless, so without a y, syllable ambiguity could arise.
• The isolated syllable eh is written as ê, like in pinyin. (Schwa is occasionally written as ê as well.) But unlike Pinyin, which uses -e if there is a consonant preceding the sound, Wade–Giles uses -eh. (See circumflex)
• In addition to being the schwa, ê also represents the pinyin er as êrh.

Comparison chart[link]

Note: In Hanyu pinyin the so-called fifth accent (neutral accent) is written leaving the syllable with no diacritic mark at all. In Tongyong Pinyin a ring is written over the vowel instead.

Influences[link]

Chinese Postal Map Romanization is based on Wade–Giles, but incorporating a number of exceptions that override the systematic rules.

See also[link]

	China portal
	Languages portal

• Simplified Wade
• Cyrillization of Chinese from Wade–Giles
• Daoism–Taoism romanization issue
• Legge romanization

References[link]

External links[link]

• Chinese Romanization Converter – Convert between Hanyu Pinyin, Wade–Giles, Gwoyeu Romatzyh and other known or (un-)common Romanization systems.
• Wade-Giles → Zhuyin → Pinyin → Word list
• A conversion table of Chinese provinces and cities from Wade-Giles to Pinyin
• Pinyin4j: Java library supporting Chinese to Wade-Giles – Support Simplified and Traditional Chinese; Support most popular Pinyin systems, including Hanyu Pinyin, Tongyong Pinyin, Wade–Giles, MPS2, Yale and Gwoyeu Romatzyh; Support multiple pronunciations of a single character; Support customized output, such as ü or tone marks.
• Pronunciation Guide – From Chuang Tzu's Genius of the Absurd
• Chinese without a teacher, Chinese phrasebook by Herbert Giles with romanization
• Chinese Phonetic Conversion Tool - Converts between Wade–Giles and other formats
• Wade-Giles Annotation – Wade–Giles pronunciation and English definitions for Chinese text snippets or web pages.
• 國語拼音對照表

"Emperor" is the normal translation of 皇帝 (huangdi), a Chinese term that is not to be confused with the homophonic 黄帝, which refers to the Yellow Emperor.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2011)

Emperor of China
Former Monarchy
The Imperial Coat of arms of the Empire during the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912)
The last emperor of China, Puyi, as the Emperor of Manchukuo
First monarch	Qin Shi Huang
Last monarch	Puyi
Style	Varies according to Dynasty
Official residence	Varies according to Dynasty, most recently the Forbidden City in Beijing
Monarchy started	221 BC
Monarchy ended	12 February 1912
Current pretender	Jin Youzhi (Qing Dynasty)

This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters.

The Emperor of China (Chinese: 皇帝; pinyin: Huángdì, pronounced [xu̯ɑ̌ŋ tî]) refers to any sovereign of Imperial China reigning between the founding of Qin Dynasty of China, united by the King of Qin in 221 BCE, and the fall of Yuan Shikai's Empire of China in 1916. When referred to as the Son of Heaven (Chinese: 天子; pinyin: tiānzǐ, pronounced [ti̯ɛ́n tsɨ̀]), a title that predates the Qin unification, the Emperor was recognized as the ruler of "All under heaven" (i.e., the world). In practice not every Emperor held supreme power, though this was most often the case.^{[citation needed]}

Emperors from the same family are generally classified in historical periods known as Dynasties. Most of China's imperial rulers have commonly been considered members of the Han ethnicity, although recent scholarship tends to be wary of applying current ethnic categories to historical situations. During the Yuan and Qing dynasties China was ruled by ethnic Mongols and Manchus respectively after being conquered by them. The orthodox historical view over the years sees these as non-native dynasties that were sinicized over time, though some more recent scholars argue that the interaction between politics and ethnicity was far more complex.^[1] Nevertheless, in both cases these rulers had claimed the Mandate of Heaven to assume the role of traditional emperors in order to rule over China proper.

Origin and history[link]

Chinese feudal rulers with power over their particular fiefdoms were called Wang (王), roughly translated as King, but in fact somewhat amorphous and also readily maps to "duke" in English. In 221 BCE, after the then King of Qin completed the conquest of the various kingdoms/duchies of the Warring States Period, he adopted a new title to reflect his prestige as a ruler greater than the rulers before him. He created the new title Huangdi or "Emperor", and styled himself Shi Huangdi, the First Emperor. Before this, Huang (皇) and Di (帝) were given as titles of a number of rulers from the era known as the "sage kings" period, supposedly predating written history, but probably coinciding with or following the invention and early stages of evolution for the Chinese writing system. Huang (皇) was the title generally used for divine entities and legendary/deified rulers, and Di (帝) was used for feudal rulers of vassals who were themselves rulers of their own principalities.^{[citation needed]}

Though these words came to be used synonymously and interchangeably, at the time of Ying Zheng's rule, they were not used together, and would have carried the connotation of "The Holy Emperor" because Huang (皇) was previously associated with divine or deified entities. Furthermore, it is generally agreed upon that the founding of the dominant Chinese race, the Han 漢 race, was the result of the "Yellow Emperor" Huangdi 黃帝, who unified a federation of tribes to drive the other tribes out of central China as it was known then (today's northwestern China), and several imperial dynasties existed since the time of Huang Di and before the time of Ying Zheng, the last of which integral dynasties, the Zhou 周 dynasty, disintegrated and formed the "Warring Nations" which were principalities of various sizes roughly based on the feudal kingdoms and duchies as ascribed under the Zhou dynasty political system.^{[citation needed]} Ying Zheng, therefore, should really be called the re-unifier of the Chinese empire after the fall of the Zhou Dynasty, and his title should more correctly be rendered as "The First Holy Emperor" as opposed to the much less nuanced (and in fact much less accurate) "First Emperor."^{[citation needed]} This is further evidenced by the fact that Chinese emperors since Ying Zheng also typically took on the title 帝 rather than 皇帝, e.g. Han Wu Di 漢武帝 "Emperor Wu of Han [Dynasty]", and it was not until much later that the term Huang Di 皇帝 came to be used interchangeably with the shorter Di 帝.^{[citation needed]}

There is one minor exception to this interpretation in that, where the father of he who has ascended to the throne as emperor of China is still alive, this progenitor of the present emperor would be given the title Tai shang huang 太上皇, literally the "The Grand/Over-Emperor" or the "Grand Imperial Sire" or in the context of "Holy Emperor", the "Holy Imperial Sire." It is said that this practice was initiated by Liu Bang 劉邦, the founder of the Han Dynasty, in emulation of Ying Zheng (who granted his own father the title posthumously once he took on the new title of Huangdi 皇帝 for himself), because Liu Bang would not be bowed to by his own father, who was still technically a commoner.^{[citation needed]}

Chinese political theory does not totally discourage or prevent the rule of non-royals or foreigners holding the title of "Emperor of China". Historically, China has been divided, numerous times, into smaller kingdoms under separate rulers or warlords. The Emperor in most cases was the ruler of a united China, or must at least have claimed legitimate rule over all of China if he did not have de facto control. There have been a number of instances where there has been more than one "Emperor of All China" simultaneously in Chinese history. For example, various Ming Dynasty princes continued to claim the title after the founding of the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911), and Wu Sangui claimed the title during the Kangxi Emperor's reign. In dynasties founded by foreign conquering tribes that eventually became immersed in Chinese culture, politics, and society, the rulers would adopt the title of Emperor of China in addition to whatever titles they may have had from their original homeland. Thus, Kublai Khan was simultaneously Khagan of the Mongols and Emperor of China.^{[citation needed]}

Number of Emperors[link]

From the Qin Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, there were ^[2] 557 Emperors (including rules of minor states). Some, such as Li Zicheng and Yuan Shu, declared themselves Emperors and founded their own empires as a rival government to challenge the legitimacy of the existing Emperor. Among the most famous Emperors are Qin Shi Huang of the Qin Dynasty, Emperors Gaozu and Wu of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, Kublai Khan of the Yuan Dynasty, the Hongwu Emperor of the Ming Dynasty and the Kangxi Emperor of the Qing Dynasty.^[3]

The Emperor's words were considered sacred edicts (聖旨), and his written proclamations "directives from above" (上諭). In theory, the Emperor's orders were to be obeyed immediately. He was elevated above all commoners, nobility and members of the Imperial family. Addresses to the Emperor were always to be formal and self-deprecatory, even by the closest of family members.

In practice, however, the power of the emperor varied between different Emperors and different dynasties. Generally, in the Chinese dynastic cycle, Emperors founding a dynasty usually consolidated the Empire through absolute rule, examples including Shi Huang of the Qin Dynasty, Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, Kublai Khan of the Yuan Dynasty, and Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty. These emperors ruled as absolute monarchs throughout their reign, maintaining a centralized grip on the country. During the Song Dynasty, the Emperor's power was significantly overshadowed by the power of the chancellor.

The Emperor's position, unless deposed in a rebellion, was always hereditary, usually by agnatic primogeniture. As a result, many Emperors ascended the throne while still children. During these minorities, the Empress Dowager (i.e., the Emperor's mother) would possess significant power. In fact, the vast majority of female rulers throughout Chinese Imperial history came to power by ruling as regents on behalf of their sons; prominent examples include the Empress Lü of the Han Dynasty, as well as Empress Dowager Cixi and Empress Dowager Ci'an of the Qing Dynasty, who for a time ruled jointly as co-regents. Where Empresses Dowager were too weak to assume power, court officials often seized control. Court eunuchs had a significant role in the power structure, as Emperors often relied on a few of them as confidants, which gave them access to many court documents. In a few places, eunuchs wielded vast power; one of the most powerful eunuchs in Chinese history was Wei Zhongxian during the Ming Dynasty. Occasionally, other nobles seized power as regents. The actual area ruled by the Emperor of China varied from dynasty to dynasty. In some cases, such as during the Southern Song dynasty, political power in East Asia was effectively split among several governments; nonetheless, the political fiction that there was but one ruler was maintained.

Heredity and succession[link]

The title of emperor was hereditary, traditionally passed on from father to son in each dynasty. There are also instances where the throne is assumed by a younger brother, should the deceased Emperor have no male offspring. By convention in most dynasties, the eldest son born to the Empress (嫡長子) succeeded to the throne. In some cases when the empress did not bear any children, the emperor would have a child with another of his many wives (all children of the emperor were said also to be the children of the empress, regardless of birth mother). In some dynasties the succession of the empress' eldest son was disputed, and because many emperors had large numbers of progeny, there were wars of succession between rival sons. In an attempt to resolve after-death disputes, the emperor, while still living, often designated a Crown Prince (太子). Even such a clear designation, however, was often thwarted by jealousy and distrust, whether it was the crown prince plotting against the emperor, or brothers plotting against each other. Some emperors, like the Kangxi Emperor, after abolishing the position of Crown Prince, placed the succession papers in a sealed box, only to be opened and announced after his death.

Unlike, for example, the Japanese monarchy, Chinese political theory allowed for a change in the ruling house. This was based on the concept of the "Mandate of Heaven". The theory behind this was that the Chinese emperor acted as the "Son of Heaven" and held a mandate to rule over everyone else in the world; but only as long as he served the people well. If the quality of rule became questionable because of repeated natural disasters such as flood or famine, or for other reasons, then rebellion was justified. This important concept legitimized the dynastic cycle or the change of dynasties.

This principle made it possible even for peasants to found new dynasties, as happened with the Han and Ming dynasties, and for the establishment of conquest dynasties such as the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty and Manchu-led Qing Dynasty. It was moral integrity and benevolent leadership that determined the holder of the "Mandate of Heaven". There has been only one lawful reigning Empress in China, Empress Wu of the Tang dynasty or the Wu-Zhou (Wu-Chou) dynasty founded by her. Many females, however, did become de facto leaders, usually as Empress Dowager. Prominent examples include Empress Dowager Cixi, mother of the Tongzhi Emperor (1861–1874), and aunt and adoptive mother of the Guangxu Emperor (1874–1908), who ruled China for 47 years (1861–1908), Empress Wu Zetian (who ultimately declared herself Empress, and was subsequently overthrown) and the Empress Dowager Lü of the Han Dynasty.

Styles, names and forms of address[link]

To see naming conventions in detail, please refer to Chinese sovereign

As the emperor had, by law, an absolute position not to be challenged by anyone else, his subjects were to show the utmost respect in his presence, whether in direct conversation or otherwise. When approaching the Imperial throne, one was expected to kowtow before the Emperor. In a conversation with the emperor, it was considered a crime to compare oneself to the emperor in any way. It was taboo to refer to the emperor by his given name, even if it came from his own mother, who instead was to use Huangdi (Emperor), or simply Er ("son"). The emperor was never to be addressed as you. Anyone who spoke to the emperor was to address him as Bixia (陛下), corresponding to "Your Imperial Majesty", Huang Shang (皇上, lit. Emperor Above or Emperor Highness), Tian zi (天子, lit. the Son of Heaven ), or Sheng Shang (聖上, lit. the Divine Above or the Holy Highness). The emperor could also be alluded to indirectly through reference to the imperial dragon symbology. Servants often addressed the emperor as Wan Sui Ye (萬歲爺, lit. Lord of Ten thousand years). The emperor referred to himself as Zhen (朕), translated into the royal "We", in front of his subjects, a practice reserved solely for the emperor.

In contrast to the Western convention of referring to a sovereign using a regnal name (e.g. George V) or by a personal name (e.g. Queen Victoria), a governing emperor was to be referred to simply as Huangdi Bixia (皇帝陛下, His Majesty the Emperor) or Dangjin Huangshang (當今皇上, The Imperial Highness of the Present Time) when spoken about in the third person. He was usually styled His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of the Great [X] Dynasty, Son of Heaven, Lord of Ten Thousand Years. Forms of address varied considerably during the Yuan and Qing Dynasties.

Generally, emperors also ruled with an era name (年號). Since the adoption of era name by Emperor Wu of Han and up until the Ming Dynasty, the sovereign conventionally changed the era name on a semi-regular basis during his reign. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, emperors simply chose one era name for their entire reign, and people often referred to past emperors with that title. In earlier dynasties, the emperors were known with a temple name (廟號) given after their death. All emperors were also given a posthumous name (謚號), which was sometimes combined with the temple name (e.g. Emperor Shengzuren 聖祖仁皇帝 for Kangxi). The passing of an emperor was referred to as jiabeng (駕崩, lit. "collapse of the [imperial] chariot") and an emperor that had just died was referred to as Daxing Huangdi (大行皇帝), literally "the Emperor of the Great Journey."

Family[link]

The Imperial family was made up of the Emperor and the Empress (皇后) as the primary consort and Mother of the Nation (國母). In addition, the Emperor would typically have several other consorts and concubines (妃嬪), ranked by importance into a harem, in which the Empress was supreme. Every dynasty had its set of rules regarding the numerical composition of the harem. During the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911), for example, imperial convention dictated that at any given time there should be one Empress, one Huang Guifei, two Guifei, four fei and six pin, plus an unlimited number of other consorts and concubines. Although the Emperor had the highest status by law, by tradition and precedent the mother of the Emperor, i.e., the Empress Dowager (皇太后), usually received the greatest respect in the palace and was the decision maker in most family affairs. At times, especially when a young emperor was on the throne, she was the de facto ruler. The Emperor's children, the princes (皇子) and princesses (公主), were often referred to by their order of birth, e.g., Eldest Prince, Third Princess, etc. The princes were often given titles of peerage once they reached adulthood. The Emperor's brothers and uncles served in court by law, and held equal status with other court officials (子). The Emperor was always elevated above all others despite any chronological or generational superiority.

See also[link]

China portal

• Chinese emperors family tree
  • Ancient – Early – Middle – Late
• List of Chinese monarchs
• List of longest reigning emperors in China
• Terracotta Army

Notes[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Emperors of China

• PRC Qin Shi Huang site

Bumin Qaghan
Qaghan of the Turkic Khaganate
Statue of an imagined depiction of Bumin Qaghan, photo is taken in Söğüt, Turkey.
Reign	551–552
Coronation	552 in Altai Mountains[1]
Full name	Bumin Qaghan
Died	552
Successor	Issik Qaghan
Consort to	Princess Changle
Royal House	Ashina Clan
Father	Ashina Tuwu

Bumin Qaghan (Old Turkic: , Bumïn qaγan,^[2] aka Bumın Kagan) or Illig Qaghan (Chinese: 伊利可汗, Pinyin: yīlì kěhàn, Wade-Giles: i-li k'o-han, death: 552 AD) was the founder of the Turkic Khaganate. He was the eldest son of Ashina Tuwu (吐務 / 吐务)^[3] He was the chieftain of the Turkic people who was so-called^[4] "blacksmith slave" (鍛奴 / 锻奴, Pinyin: duàn nú, Wade-Giles: tuan-nu) under the sovereignty of Rouran Khaganate.^[5][6][7][8] He is also mentioned as "Tumen" (土門, 吐門, commander of ten thousand^[9]) of the Rouran Khaganate.

According to History of Northern Dynasties and Zizhi Tongjian, in 545 Tumen's tribe started to rise and frequently invaded the western frontier of Wei. The chancellor of Western Wei Yuwen Tai sent An Nuopanto (Nanai-Banda, a Sogdian from Bukhara^[10]) to Kök Türks to greet its chieftain Tumen to try to establish commercial relationship.^[11][12] In 546, Tumen presented tribute to Western Wei.^[12]

And in the same year he put down a revolt of the Tiele tribes against their overlords the Rouran Khaganate.^[12] He took advantage of this success and requested a Rouran princess in marriage. But the qaghan of Rouran Anagui refused this request and sent to Bumin a mission and message: You are my blacksmith slave. How dare you utter these words?. Bumin got angry and killed Anagui's mission and cut all relationship with Rouran Khaganate.^{[11][13][14][15]}

Anagui's "blacksmith" (鍛奴 / 锻奴, Pinyin: duàn nú, Wade-Giles: tuan-nu) insult was recorded in Chinese chronicles and historians accepted that the Kök Türks were indeed blacksmith servants for the Rouran elite,^[5][6][7][8] and that "blacksmith slavery" may indicate a kind of vassalage system prevailed in Rouran society.^[16] Nevertheless, after this incident Bumin emerged as the leader of the revolt against Rouran.

In 551, Bumin requested a Western Wei princess in marriage. Yuwen Tai permitted it and sent Princess Changle of Western Wei to Bumin.^[11][13][14]　In the same year when Emperor Wen of Western Wei died Bumin sent mission and gave two hundred horses.^[11][13]

The beginning of formal diplomatic relations with China propped up Bumin's authority among the Turks. He eventually united the local Turkic tribes and threw off the yoke of the Rouran domination.^{[citation needed]}

In 552 Bumin's army defeated Anagui's forces at the north of Huaihuang and then Anagui committed suicide.^[13] With their defeat Bumin proclaimed himself "Illig Qaghan" and made his wife qaghatun.^[13] According to the Bilge Qaghan's memorial conplex and the Kul Tigin's memorial conplex, Bumin and Istemi ruled people by Turkic laws and they developed them.^[2][17]

Bumin died within several months after proclaiming himself Illig Qaghan. He was succeeded by his younger brother Istemi in the western part and by his son Issik Qaghan in the eastern part. In less than one century, his khaganate expanded to comprise most of Central Asia.

There was a large influx of Sogdian refugees to his territory because of the persecution of the Zurvanites by Shah Anushirvan Khorasau I.^{[citation needed]}

References[link]

Jin Jing (Chinese: 金晶; Pinyin: Jīn Jīng; born 1981 in Hefei, Anhui, China^[1]) is a Chinese female Paralympic fencer. She was a torchbearer carrying the Olympic torch amid political protests during the 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay in Paris, France. According to ABC News, she fended off protestors who "threw themselves" at her; most were wrestled away by French police but at least one reached her wheelchair and tried to wrench the torch away.^[2] Jin has gained national fame in China because of the incident,^[3] but was attacked on Chinese internet bulletin boards for her stance in the following call to boycott French retailer Carrefour that resulted from public anger toward France.^[4][5][6] In contrast, Western media concentrated on how the incident involving Jin Jing ignited Chinese nationalism and claimed that the incident was exploited for propaganda purposes by the state media.^[7][8]

Family and personal life[link]

Jin Jing's parents are wage earners. Her father, Jin Jiansheng (Chinese: 金建生), is a rusticated youth who moved from Shanghai to Anhui during the Cultural Revolution, where he met and married Liu Huayao (Chinese: 刘华瑶). Jin was born in 1981, in Hefei, Anhui,^[1] She has a younger sister, Jin Renyu (Chinese: 金任钰).^[9]

Jin had part of her right leg amputated in 1989 when she was in elementary school after a malignant tumor was found on her ankle and later underwent a year of chemotherapy.^[1] She moved to Shanghai with her family in 1995 and studied information technology in a technical secondary school. After graduation, she worked as a telephone operator in a hotel in Shanghai.^[1][10] Jin is currently single.^[10]

Career[link]

On July 13, 2001, the day when Beijing was elected the host city for 2008 Summer Olympics, Jin Jing became a member of the Shanghai Wheelchair Fencing Team. Later on she joined the Chinese National Wheelchair Fencing Team.^[11]

Her career as a fencer is summarized in the following table:

On May 6, 2008, Jin Jing was named as the ambassador of a Paralympic cheering group to help publicize Paralympic sports worldwide in the runup to the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing.^[13]

On September 6, she brought the Paralympic torch into the Bird's Nest stadium during the Opening Ceremony of the Paralympic Games.^[14][15][16] On this occasion, she "made headlines in the Chinese media", according to the Agence France-Presse.^[17]

2008 Summer Olympics torch relay[link]

An attempt to wrestle the torch from Jin Jing in Paris^[2]

In 2007, Jin Jing turned up for a selective trial, titled You Are the Torchbearer, which was organized by China Central Television, and was chosen to be an Olympic torchbearer. On April 7, 2008, she was the third torchbearer carrying the Olympic Flame during the relay in Paris, amidst protests and physical attempts to snatch the torch by demonstrators.^[18][19] According to ABC News, "Protesters denouncing Chinese policy in Tibet threw themselves at Jin. Most were wrestled away by police but at least one reached her wheelchair and tried to wrench the torch away."^[2] Jin was quoted by the state-run newspaper China Daily as saying that she "would die to protect the torch."^[20] The International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge commented on the incident, saying, "What shocked me most is when someone tried to rob (sic?) the torch off a wheelchair athlete, a disabled athlete who was unable to defend the torch. This is unacceptable."^[2]

On her arrival back to Beijing, after the Paris relay, Jin was interviewed by Sohu. Of her experience of the relay, she said:

They began lunging towards me, trying to grab the torch from my hands. I tried to hide the torch with my body and managed to keep it from them. I was focused on the three or four separatists attacking me. I'm not sure how many were behind me. I felt people trying to take the torch from me. That's when some of the escort runners , as well as the tourist guide assigned to me in Paris, came over to help me, drawing the attackers away. People ask me how I dealt with the danger. I don't think I thought too much about it. I trusted the escorts around me. They were the ones, along with my guide, that faced the danger.^[21]

Commenting on Tibet itself in interviews, she said she knew little of politics before encountering the demonstrations in Paris, and had never heard of the pro-Tibet independence movement. When asked by the UK's The Daily Telegraph she also said, "My opinion before was that Tibet was an inseparable part of our country, now I hold this point more firmly than before."^[22]

Jin has been celebrated first on internet bulletin boards and soon in Chinese media.^{[23][24][25][26]} She was treated to a hero's welcome upon her return to Beijing and China's news reports described her as the "Smiling Angel in Wheelchair" and the "Most Beautiful Torchbearer".^[27][28][29] According to Canada's The Globe and Mail, initially the state media of China censored all reports on the torch protests and the incident involving Jin Jing, but it soon reported on the protest and portrayed China as the victim, thus appealing to patriotic sentiments.^[30] The UK's The Times wrote that Chinese media coverage of the Paris leg of the relay was "reminiscent of the Cultural Revolution when propaganda organs were able to whip up the public into a frenzy of rage over an issue of their choice."^[31] The Associated Press wrote that Jin is "now known as a defender of China's dignity" and joins "a list of heroes promoted by the communist government's propaganda authorities",^[8] while The Sydney Morning Herald called her a "new heroine in China" by whom Beijing "is trying to claw back one or two propaganda points from the torch's recent rocky progress."^[32] The French magazine Marianne devoted a full page to her in its April 26 edition, and commented that the Chinese flame attendants were "strangely" absent when Jin carried the torch, leaving it up to the French police alone to guard Jin and her companions. But according to the interview Jin gave to Sohu on April 9, she was waiting to accept the flame as the third torchbearer, and security was "relatively light" around her, when the protestors "began lunging" at her.^[21] Marianne wrote that Jin's story had become a "legend skillfully propagated" by the Chinese media: "Images of Jin Jing holding the torch against her heart, her eyes closed in her lovely face, are being shown over and over on CCTV and are inflaming the Chinese Internet," making Jin famous for "hundreds of millions of Chinese viewers and netizens."^[7] The French newspaper Le Figaro published an analysis of what it referred to as "the Jin Jing phenomenon": "The media have been drumming into people's heads the story of this young woman who became, in the space of an incident in Paris, the symbol of Chinese pride in the face of Western hostility. The actions of the media bore their fruit, and the 'angel in a wheelchair' has generated unprecedented enthusiasm in China and among Chinese communities all over the world."^[33]

The event involving Jin Jing in Paris sparked outrage around China, and Chinese citizens started to urge on the internet for a boycott of French goods and businesses, and touted to "hunt down" the protester who accosted Jin and "teach him a lesson."^{[19][34][35][36]} On April 21, two weeks after the incident, Jin received a personal letter from French president Nicolas Sarkozy, delivered by Senate President Christian Poncelet. In the letter Sarkozy referred to the attack as "intolerable", and said he "condemns it with the utmost force."^{[37][38][39][40]} Xinhua reported that Jin was "very glad to be invited by President Sarkozy to France" and that she "hope[d] to contribute her own efforts to cementing the Sino-France friendship".^[41] However, Jin also expressed her disappointment to the press later that Sarkozy "expressed regret, shock and condemnation but no apology."^[42]

On September 18, 2008, Jin was received by President Sarkozy at the Palais de l'Elysée. Sarkozy publicly stated that he was "very happy to greet [her]", and praised her "exemplary courage".^[43] Reuters, describing Jin as a "nationalist icon", reported that the incident in Paris had "caused a diplomatic rift between China and France that Sarkozy has been at pains to mend ever since", and that his hosting of Jin at the Elysée palace was a means of "heal[ing] [the] rift".^[44]

Boycott of Carrefour[link]

In April 2008, amidst calls in China to boycott French retailer Carrefour to show anger towards France and the experience Jin Jing had in Paris, Jin said she does not want people to boycott Carrefour since most of its employees are Chinese and they will be first affected.^[45] She also spoke in support of "Chinese people's friendship with the French", wished the best for French athletes at the Beijing Olympics, and added: "We Chinese people will certainly welcome French people and athletes to China with a tolerant, friendly and passionate attitude."^[41] She had received strong personal attacks on Chinese bulletin boards,^[4][5][6] though her popularity is still considered very high.^{[citation needed]} So far, she is still called "The Angel in Wheelchair".^{[citation needed]}

See also[link]

• Paralympic sports
• Sports in China

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Jin Jing

• Video of the Jin Jing incident in Paris
• Jin Jing's blog: Start from the spirit (in Chinese)
• Jin Jing's album
• Louisa Lim Protests Boost Chinese Torchbearers' Resolve National Public Radio, April 10, 2008