Qing

Tuesday, 25 December 2012

Jay Chou - Qing Hua Ci 青花瓷MV Full version

QING CHUN DOU(OT: Tick Tock (Beat The Clock))

Violin Concerto Butterfly Lover 梁祝Lu Si-qing

Jay Chou - Cliff Of Love (Ai Qing Xuan Ya) Sub'd

Harlem Yu - Qing Fei De Yi (Ost. Meteor Garden)

Jay Chou- Qing Hua Ci with English subs HQ

Qing Fei De Yi by Halrem Yu Lyrics PINYIN

Open Collage in a new Window

Email the Collage

Loading suggestions ...

Achaemenid Empire
The Achaemenid Empire (/ækəˈmɛnɪˌdi/; Old Persian: Parsā, name of ruling dynasty: Haxāmanišiya) (c. 550–330 BCE), sometimes known as First Persian Empire, was an Iranian empire in Southwest Asia, founded in the 6th century BCE by Cyrus the Great who overthrew the Median confederation. It expanded to eventually rule over significant portions of the ancient world which at around 500 BCE stretched from the Indus Valley in the east, to Thrace and Macedon on the northeastern border of Greece making it the biggest empire the world had yet seen. The Achaemenid Empire would eventually control Egypt as well. It was ruled by a series of monarchs who unified its disparate tribes and nationalities by constructing a complex network of roads.
Calling themselves the Parsa after their original Aryan tribal name Parsua, Persians settled in a land which they named Parsua, bounded on the west by the Tigris River and on the south by the Persian Gulf. This became their heartland for the duration of the Achaemenid Empire. It was from this region that eventually Cyrus the Great (Cyrus II of Persia) would advance to defeat the Median, the Lydian, and the Babylonian Empires, opening the way for subsequent conquests into Egypt and Asia minor.

wn.com/Achaemenid_Empire
Akkadian Empire
Coordinates: 33°6′N 44°6′E / 33.1°N 44.1°E / 33.1; 44.1
The Akkadian Empire (Akkadian ^URUAkkad KI, Hittite KUR A.GA.DÈ.KI "land of Akkad"; Biblical Hebrew אַכַּד Akkad) was an empire centered in the city of Akkad (Sumerian: Agade) and its surrounding region in Mesopotamia.
During the 3rd millennium BC, there developed a very intimate cultural symbiosis between the Sumerians and the Akkadians, which included widespread bilingualism.Akkadian gradually replaced Sumerian as a spoken language somewhere around the turn of the 3rd and the 2nd millennium BC (the exact dating being a matter of debate).
The Akkadian Empire reached its political peak between the 24th and 22nd centuries BC, following the conquests of its founder Sargon of Akkad (2334–2279 BC). Under Sargon and his successors, Akkadian language was briefly imposed on neighboring conquered states such as Elam. Akkad is sometimes regarded as the first empire in history, though there are earlier Sumerian claimants.^{[citation needed]}
The precise archaeological site of the city of Akkad has not yet been found.^{[citation needed]} The form Agade appears in Sumerian, for example in the Sumerian King List; the later Assyro-Babylonian form Akkadû ("of or belonging to Akkad") was likely derived from this. The etymology and meaning of Akkad (written a.ga.dè^KI or URI^KI) are unknown. Centuries later, the neo-Babylonian king Nabonidus mentioned in his archaeological records that Ishtar's worship in Agade was later superseded by that of the goddess Anunit, whose shrine was at Sippar—suggesting proximity of Sippar and Agade. Despite numerous searches, the city has never been found. One theory holds that Agade was situated opposite Sippar on the left bank of the Euphrates, and was perhaps the oldest part of the city of Sippar. Another theory is that the ruins of Akkad are to be found beneath modern Baghdad. Reputedly it was destroyed by invading Gutians with the fall of the Akkadian Empire.

wn.com/Akkadian_Empire
Americas
The Americas, or America, are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World.
In the English language, the Americas refers to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, whereas America, in current usage, usually refers to the United States of America.
The Americas cover 8.3% of the Earth's total surface area (28.4% of its land area) and contain about 13.5% of the human population (about 900 million people).
The specifics of Paleo-Indian migration to and throughout the Americas, including the exact dates and routes traveled, are subject to ongoing research and discussion. The traditional theory has been that these early migrants moved into the Beringia land bridge between eastern Siberia and present-day Alaska around 40,000–17,000 years ago, when sea levels were significantly lowered due to the Quaternary glaciation. These people are believed to have followed herds of now-extinct pleistocene megafauna along ice-free corridors that stretched between the Laurentide and Cordilleran ice sheets. Another route proposed is that, either on foot or using primitive boats, they migrated down the Pacific Northwest coast to South America. Evidence of the latter would since have been covered by a sea level rise of hundreds of meters following the last ice age.

wn.com/Americas
Anhui
Coordinates: 31°50′N 117°0′E / 31.833°N 117°E / 31.833; 117
Anhui (Chinese: 安徽; pinyin: Ānhuī; Wade–Giles: An-hui, Mandarin pronunciation: [ánxwéi]) is a province in the People's Republic of China. Located in eastern China across the basins of the Yangtze River and the Huai River, it borders Jiangsu to the east, Zhejiang to the southeast, Jiangxi to the south, Hubei to the southwest, Henan to the northwest, and Shandong for a tiny section in the north. The capital of the province is Hefei.
The name "Anhui" derives from the names of two cities in south Anhui, Anqing and Huizhou (now Huangshan City). The abbreviation for Anhui is "皖" (Wǎn), because there were historically a State of Wan, a Mount Wan, and a Wan river in the province.
The province of Anhui was formed in the seventeenth century. Before then, there was no coherent concept of "Anhui". Northern Anhui was firmly a part of the North China Plain in terms of culture, together with modern-day Henan province. Central Anhui constituted most of the fertile and densely-populated Huai He River watershed. Southern Anhui, along the Yangtze, was closer to Hubei and southern Jiangsu provinces in culture. Finally, the hills of southeastern Anhui formed a unique and distinct cultural sphere of its own.

wn.com/Anhui
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire (German: Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling Kaisertum Österreich) was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire as a result of the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867. The Austro-Hungarian Empire (1867 to 1918) was itself dissolved by the victors at the end of World War I and broken into separate new states.
The term "Austrian Empire" is also used for the Habsburg possessions before 1804, which had no official collective name, although Austria is more frequent; the term of Austria-Hungary has also been used.^{[citation needed]}
The Austrian Empire was founded by the Habsburg monarch Holy Roman Emperor Francis II (who became Emperor Francis I of Austria), as a state comprising his personal lands within and outside of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation.

wn.com/Austrian_Empire
Beijing
Beijing ( /beɪˈdʒɪŋ/; Chinese: 北京; pinyin: Běijīng, [peɪ˨˩ t͡ɕiŋ˥]), formerly romanized as Peking ( /piːˈkɪŋ/ or /peɪˈkɪŋ/), is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The metropolis, located in northern China, is governed as a direct-controlled municipality under the national government, with 14 urban and suburban districts and two rural counties. Beijing Municipality is surrounded by Hebei Province with the exception of neighboring Tianjin Municipality to the southeast.
Beijing is China's second largest city by urban population after Shanghai and is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's largest state-owned companies. Beijing is a major transportation hub in the national highway, expressway, railway and high-speed rail network. Beijing's Capital International Airport is the second busiest in the world by passenger traffic.

wn.com/Beijing
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the largest empire in history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power. By 1922 the British Empire held sway over about 458 million people, one-fifth of the world's population at the time, and covered more than 33,700,000 km² (13,012,000 sq mi), almost a quarter of the Earth's total land area. As a result, its political, linguistic and cultural legacy is widespread. At the peak of its power, it was often said that "the sun never sets on the British Empire" because its span across the globe ensured that the sun was always shining on at least one of its numerous territories.
During the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal and Spain pioneered European exploration of the globe, and in the process established large overseas empires. Envious of the great wealth these empires generated, England, France and the Netherlands began to establish colonies and trade networks of their own in the Americas and Asia. A series of wars in the 17th and 18th centuries with the Netherlands and France left England (and then, following union between England and Scotland in 1707, Great Britain) the dominant colonial power in North America and India. The loss of the Thirteen Colonies in North America in 1783 after a war of independence deprived Britain of some of its oldest and most populous colonies.

wn.com/British_Empire
Burma
Burma ⁱ/ˈbɜrmə/ BUR-mə, also known as Myanmar ⁱ/ˌmjɑːnˈmɑr/ MYAHN--MAR, is a country in South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is bordered by India, Bangladesh, China, Laos and Thailand. One-third of Burma's total perimeter of 1,930 kilometres (1,200 mi) forms an uninterrupted coastline along the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. At 676,578 km² (261,227 sq mi), it is the 40th largest country in the world and the second largest country in Southeast Asia. Burma is also the 24th most populous country in the world with over 60.28 million people.
Burma is home to some of the early civilizations of Southeast Asia including the Pyu and the Mon. In the 9th century, the Burmans of the Kingdom of Nanzhao, entered the upper Irrawaddy valley and, following the establishment of the Pagan Empire in the 1050s, the Burmese language and culture slowly became dominant in the country. During this period, Theravada Buddhism gradually became the predominant religion of the country. The Pagan Empire fell due to the Mongol invasions (1277–1301), and several warring states emerged. In the second half of the 16th century, the country was reunified by the Taungoo Dynasty which for a brief period was the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia. The early 19th century Konbaung Dynasty ruled over an area that included modern Burma as well as Manipur and Assam. The country was colonized by Britain following three Anglo-Burmese Wars (1824–1885).

wn.com/Burma
Caliphate of Córdoba
The Caliphate of Córdoba (Arabic: خلافة قرطبة‎; trans. Khilāfat Qurṭuba) ruled the Iberian peninsula (Al-Andalus) and part of North Africa, from the islamic Qurtuba (Córdoba) city, from 929 to 1031. This period was characterized by remarkable success in trade and culture; many of the masterpieces of Islamic Iberia were constructed in this period, including the famous Great Mosque of Córdoba. In January 929, Abd-ar-Rahman III proclaimed himself Caliph (Arabic: خليفة) of Qurtuba in place of his original title Emir of Córdoba (Arabic: أمير قرطبة 'Amīr Qurṭuba). Abd-ar-Rahman III was a member of the Umayyad dynasty; the same dynasty who held the titles of Emir of Córdoba since 756. The rule of the Caliphate is known as the heyday of Muslim presence in the Iberian peninsula. The Caliphate was practically disintegrated due to civil war (fitna) between descendants of the last legitimate Caliph Hisham II and the successors of his prime minister (hayib) Al-Mansur. The shell of the Caliphate existed until 1031 when, after years of infighting, it fractured into a number of independent Taifa kingdoms. Despite these fractures, the Islamic civilisation in Iberia, one of the most culturally florid periods of European civilisation, continued until 1492 when its last bastion, the Alhambra in Granada, was formally surrendered to the Christians.

wn.com/Caliphate_of_Córdoba
Chahar Province
Chahar (Mongolian: Цахар; Chinese: 察哈爾; pinyin: Cháhā'ěr), also known as Chaha'er, Chakhar, or Qahar, was a province of China in existence from 1912 to 1936, mostly covering territory in what is part of eastern Inner Mongolia. It was named after the Chahar Mongolians.
Chahar Province is named after the Chahar, a tribal group of the Mongols who live in that area. Before the unification of the Mongol tribes under Genghis Khan, the area had seen intermittent Chinese influence over the native Mongols. After the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368), the area was only intermittently controlled by China. The Chahar had become personal appange of the Khagans of Mongolia since the reign of Batumongke Dayan Khan (r. 1479–1517). By the Qing Empire (1644–1912), Chahar was not yet a Chinese province, but a "Special Region" (Zhangyuan (張垣特區)), although Yao Xiguang (姚錫光) proposed making Chahar a province as early as 1908.
In 1913, the second year of the Republic of China, Chahar Special Administrative Region was created as a subdivision of Zhili (直隸) Province, containing 6 Banners and 11 counties:

wn.com/Chahar_Province
Chengde
Chengde (Chinese: 承德; pinyin: Chéngdé), previously known as Jehol or Re He (Chinese: 热河; pinyin: Rèhé), is a prefecture-level city in Hebei province, People's Republic of China, situated northeast of Beijing. It is best known as the site of the Mountain Resort, a vast imperial garden and palace formerly used by the Qing emperors as summer residence. The urban center had a population of approximately 450,000 as of 2009.
In 1703, Chengde was chosen by the Kangxi Emperor as the location for his summer residence. Constructed throughout the eighteenth century, the Mountain Resort (避暑山庄; literally "avoiding the heat mountain villa") was used by both the Yongzheng and Qianlong emperors. The site is currently an UNESCO World Heritage Site. Since the seat of government followed the emperor, Chengde was a political center of the Chinese empire during these times.
The city of Jehol reached its height under the Qianlong Emperor 1735-1796 (died 1799). The great monastery temple of the Potala, loosely based on the Potala in Lhasa, was completed after just four years of work in 1771. It was heavily decorated with gold and the emperor worshipped in the Golden Pavilion. In the temple itself was a bronze-gilt statue of Tsongkhapa, the Reformer of the Gelugpa sect.

wn.com/Chengde
China
China (ⁱ/ˈtʃaɪnə/; Chinese: 中国; pinyin: Zhōngguó; see also Names of China), officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is the world's most-populous country, with a population of over 1.3 billion. Covering approximately 9.6 million square kilometres, the East Asian state is the world's second-largest country by land area, and the third- or fourth-largest in total area, depending on the definition of total area.
The People's Republic of China is a single-party state governed by the Communist Party of China. It exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four directly controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing), and two mostly self-governing special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macau). Its capital city is Beijing. The PRC also claims Taiwan—which is controlled by the Republic of China (ROC), a separate political entity—as its 23rd province, a claim controversial due to the complex political status of Taiwan and the unresolved Chinese Civil War. The PRC government denies the legitimacy of the ROC.

wn.com/China
Dutch Empire
The Dutch Empire (Dutch: Nederlands-koloniale Rijk) comprised the overseas territories controlled by the Dutch Republic and later, the modern Netherlands from the 17th to the 20th century. The Dutch followed Portugal and Spain in establishing an overseas colonial empire, but based on military conquest of already-existing Portuguese and Spanish settlements, and not on discovery and colonization. For this, they were aided by their skills in shipping and trade and the surge of nationalism accompanying the struggle for independence from Spain. Alongside the British, the Dutch initially built up colonial possessions on the basis of indirect state capitalist corporate colonialism, via the Dutch East and West India Companies. Dutch exploratory voyages such as those led by Willem Barents, Henry Hudson and Abel Tasman revealed to Europeans vast new territories.
With Dutch naval power rising rapidly as a major force from the late 16th century, the Netherlands dominated global commerce during the second half of the 17th century during a cultural flowering known as the Dutch Golden Age. The Netherlands lost many of its colonial possessions, as well as its global power status, to the British when the metropole fell to French armies during the Revolutionary Wars. The restored portions of the Dutch Empire, notably the Dutch East Indies and Suriname, remained under Dutch control until the decline of European imperialism following World War II.

wn.com/Dutch_Empire
Dzungaria
Dzungaria, also called Zungaria, is a geographical region in northwest China corresponding to the northern half of Xinjiang. It covers approximately 777,000 km² (300,000 sq mi), lying mostly within Xinjiang, and extending into western Mongolia and eastern Kazakhstan. Formerly the term could cover a wider area, depending on temporary political boundaries.
The name Dzungaria is a corruption of the Mongolian term "Züün Gar" or "Jüün Gar" depending on the dialect of Mongolian used. "Züün"/"Jüün" means "left" and "Gar" means "hand". The name originates from the notion that the Western Mongols are on the left hand side when the Mongol Empire began its division into East and West Mongols. After this fragmentation, the western Mongolian nation was called "Zuun Gar". Today, the cradle of this former nation retains its name: Zungaria.
The core of Dzungaria is the triangular Dzungarian Basin (also Junggar Basin) with its central Gurbantunggut Desert. It is bounded by the Tien Shan to the south, the Altai Mountains to the northeast and the Tarbagatai Mountains to the northwest. The three corners are relatively open. The northern corner is the valley of the upper Irtysh River. The western corner is the Dzungarian Gate with its railroad (opened in 1990). The eastern corner leads to Gansu and the rest of China. In the south an easy pass leads from Ürümqi to the Turfan Depression. In the southwest the Borohoro Mountains branch of the Tian Shan separates the basin from the upper Ili River.

wn.com/Dzungaria
Empire of Brazil
The Empire of Brazil was a 19th-century state that broadly comprised the territories which form modern Brazil. Its government was a representative parliamentary constitutional monarchy under the rule of Emperors Dom Pedro I and his son Dom Pedro II, both members of the House of Braganza—a branch of the Capetian dynasty. A colony of the Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil became the seat of the Portuguese colonial Empire in 1808, when the Portuguese Prince regent, later King Dom João VI (John VI), fled from Napoleon I's invasion of Portugal and established himself and his government in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro. João VI later returned to Portugal, leaving his eldest son and heir, Pedro, to rule Brazil as regent.

wn.com/Empire_of_Brazil
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan (Kyūjitai: 大日本帝國; Shinjitai: 大日本帝国; Romaji: Dai Nippon Teikoku; literally Great Imperial State of Japan; officially Great Japan or Empire of Great Japan; commonly as Imperial Japan or the Japanese Empire) was an empire and world power that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of Japan on 3 May 1947.
Imperial Japan's rapid industrialization and militarization under the slogan Fukoku Kyōhei (富国強兵^?, "Enrich the Country, Strengthen the Army") led to its emergence as a world power, eventually culminating in its membership in the Axis alliance and the conquest of a large part of the Asia-Pacific region. At the height of its power in 1942, the Japanese Empire ruled over a land area spanning 7,400,000 square kilometres (2,857,000 sq mi), making it one of the largest maritime empires in history.
After several large-scale military successes during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) and the Pacific War, the Empire of Japan also gained notoriety for its war crimes against the peoples of the countries it conquered. After suffering many defeats and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, however, the Empire of Japan surrendered to the Allies on 2 September 1945. A period of occupation by the Allies followed the surrender, and a new constitution was created with American involvement. The constitution came into force on 3 May 1947, officially dissolving the Empire. American occupation and reconstruction of the country continued well into the 1950s, eventually forming the current nation-state whose title is simply that ("the nation of Japan" Nippon-koku) or just "Japan" .

wn.com/Empire_of_Japan
First French Empire

The First French Empire (French: Empire Français), also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France. It was the dominant power of much of continental Europe during the early 19th century.
Napoleon became Emperor of the French (L'Empereur des Français, pronounced: [ɑ̃.pʁœʁ dɛ fʁɑ̃.sɛ]) on 18 May 1804 and crowned Emperor on 2 December 1804, ending the period of the French Consulate, and won early military victories in the War of the Third Coalition against Austria, Prussia, Russia, Portugal, and allied nations, notably at the Battle of Austerlitz (1805) and the Battle of Friedland (1807). The Treaty of Tilsit in July 1807 ended two years of bloodshed on the European continent.
The subsequent series of wars known collectively as the Napoleonic Wars extended French influence over much of Western Europe and into Poland. At its height in 1812, the French Empire had 130 départements, ruled over 44 million subjects, maintained an extensive military presence in Germany, Italy, Spain, and the Duchy of Warsaw, and could count Prussia and Austria as nominal allies. Early French victories exported many ideological features of the French Revolution throughout Europe. Seigneurial dues and seigneurial justice were abolished, aristocratic privileges were eliminated in all places except Poland, and the introduction of the Napoleonic Code throughout the continent increased legal equality, established jury systems, and legalized divorce. Napoleon placed relatives on the thrones of several European countries and granted many noble titles, most of which were not recognized after the empire fell.

wn.com/First_French_Empire
Forbidden City
Coordinates: 39°54′53″N 116°23′26″E / 39.91472°N 116.39056°E / 39.91472; 116.39056
The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. It is located in the middle of Beijing, China, and now houses the Palace Museum. For almost 500 years, it served as the home of emperors and their households, as well as the ceremonial and political center of Chinese government.
Built in 1406 to 1420, the complex consists of 980 buildings and covers 720,000 m² (7,800,000 sq ft). The palace complex exemplifies traditional Chinese palatial architecture, and has influenced cultural and architectural developments in East Asia and elsewhere. The Forbidden City was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987, and is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world.
Since 1925, the Forbidden City has been under the charge of the Palace Museum, whose extensive collection of artwork and artifacts were built upon the imperial collections of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Part of the museum's former collection is now located in the National Palace Museum in Taipei. Both museums descend from the same institution, but were split after the Chinese Civil War.

wn.com/Forbidden_City
Fujian
Coordinates: 25°54′N 118°18′E / 25.9°N 118.3°E / 25.9; 118.3
Fujian (help·info) (Chinese: 福建), formerly romanised as Fukien or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait. The name Fujian came from the combination of Fuzhou and Jianzhou (a former name for Jian'ou) two cities in Fujian, during the Tang Dynasty. With a Han majority, it is one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse provinces in China.
Most of Fujian is administered by the People's Republic of China. However, the archipelagos of Kinmen and Matsu are under the control of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Thus, there are two provinces (in the sense of government organizations): the Fujian Province administered by the People's Republic of China and the Fujian Province of the Republic of China.
Recent archaeological discoveries demonstrate that Fujian had entered the Neolithic Age by the middle of the 6th millennium BC. From the Keqiutou site (7450–5590 BP), an early Neolithic site in Pingtan Island located about 70 kilometres (43 mi) southeast of Fuzhou, numerous tools made of stones, shells, bones, jades, and ceramics (including wheel-made-ceramics) have been unearthed, together with spinning wheels, a definitive evidence of weaving.

wn.com/Fujian
Gansu
Coordinates: 38°0′N 102°20′E / 38°N 102.333°E / 38; 102.333
Gansu (help·info) (simplified Chinese: 甘肃; traditional Chinese: 甘肅; pinyin: Gānsù; Wade–Giles: Kan-su, Kansu, Kan-suh) is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.
It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, 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.
Gansu has a population of 26 million (2009) and has a large concentration of Hui Chinese, and the historical home, along with Shaanxi of the dialect of the Dungans, who are Hui who migrated to Central Asia. The southwestern corner of Gansu is home to a large Tibetan population. The capital is Lanzhou, located in the southeast part of the province. Gansu is abbreviated as "甘" (Gān) or "陇" (Lǒng), and is also known as Long West or Long Right, in reference to the Long Mountain east of Gansu.

wn.com/Gansu
German Empire
The German Empire (German: Deutsches Kaiserreich) is the common name given to the state officially named the Deutsches Reich (literally: "German Realm"), designating Germany from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.
The German Empire consisted of 27 constituent territories (most of them ruled by royal families). While the Kingdom of Prussia contained most of the population and most of the territory of the Reich; the Prussian leadership became supplanted by German leaders and Prussia itself played a lesser role. As Dwyer (2005) points out, Prussia's "political and cultural influence had diminished considerably" by the 1890s. Its three largest neighbors were rivals Imperial Russia to the east and France to the west and ally Austria-Hungary to the south.
After 1850, Germany industrialized rapidly, with a foundation in coal, iron (and later steel), chemicals and railways. From a population of 41 million people in 1871, it grew to 68 million in 1913. From a heavily rural nation in 1815, it was now predominantly urban. During its 47 years of existence, the German Empire operated as an industrial, technological and scientific giant, receiving more Nobel Prizes in science than Britain, France, Russia and the United States combined.

wn.com/German_Empire
Ghana Empire
The Ghana Empire or Wagadou Empire (existed before c. 830 until c. 1235) was located in what is now southeastern Mauritania, and Western Mali. Complex societies had existed in the region since about 1500 BCE, and around Ghana's core region since about 300 CE. When Ghana's ruling dynasty began is uncertain, it is first mentioned in documentary sources around 830 CE by Al-Kwarizmi. The domestication of the camel, which preceded Muslims and Islam by several centuries, brought about a gradual change in trade, and for the first time, the extensive gold, ivory trade, and salt resources of the region could be sent north and east to population centers in North Africa, the Middle East and Europe in exchange for manufactured goods.
The Empire grew rich from the trans-Saharan trade in gold and salt. This trade produced an increasing surplus, allowing for larger urban centres. It also encouraged territorial expansion to gain control over the lucrative trade routes.
The first written mention of the kingdom comes from Arabic-language sources some time after the conquest of North Africa by Muslims, when geographers began compiling comprehensive accounts of the world known to Islam around 800. The sources for the earlier periods are very strange as to its society, government or culture, though they do describe its location and note its commercial relations. The Cordoban scholar Abu Ubayd al-Bakri collected stories from a number of travelers to the region, and gave a detailed description of the kingdom in 1067/1068 (460 AH). He claimed that the Ghana could "put 200,000 men into the field, more than 40,000 of them archers" and noted they had cavalry forces as well.

wn.com/Ghana_Empire
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain (Welsh: Prydain Fawr, Scottish Gaelic: Breatainn Mhòr, Cornish: Breten Veur) is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, the largest European island, and the largest of the British Isles. With a population of about 60.0 million people in mid-2009, it is the third most populous island in the world, after Java and Honshū. Great Britain is surrounded by over 1,000 smaller islands and islets. The island of Ireland lies to its west. Politically, Great Britain may also refer to the island itself together with a number of surrounding islands which comprise the territory of England, Scotland and Wales.
All of the island is territory of the sovereign state of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and most of the United Kingdom's territory is in Great Britain. Most of England, Scotland, and Wales are on the island of Great Britain, as are their respective capital cities: London, Edinburgh, and Cardiff.

wn.com/Great_Britain
Great Wall of China
The Great Wall of China is a series of fortifications made of stone, brick, tamped earth, wood, and other materials, generally built along an east-to-west line across the historical northern borders of China in part to protect the Chinese Empire or its prototypical states against intrusions by various nomadic groups or military incursions by various warlike peoples or forces. Several walls were being built as early as the 7th century BC; these, later joined together and made bigger, stronger, and unified are now collectively referred to as the Great Wall. Especially famous is the wall built between 220–206 BC by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang. Little of that wall remains. Since then, the Great Wall has on and off been rebuilt, maintained, enhanced; the majority of the existing wall was reconstructed during the Ming Dynasty.
Other purposes of the Great Wall have included border controls, allowing the imposition of duties on goods transported along the Silk Road, regulation or encouragement of trade and the control of immigration and emigration. Furthermore, the defensive characteristics of the Great Wall were enhanced by the construction of watch towers, troop barracks, garrison stations, signaling capabilities through the means of smoke or fire, and the fact that the path of the Great Wall also served as a transportation corridor.

wn.com/Great_Wall_of_China
Guangdong
Coordinates: 23°24′N 113°30′E / 23.4°N 113.5°E / 23.4; 113.5
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province. It surpassed Henan and Sichuan to become the most populous province in China in January 2005, registering 79 million permanent residents and 31 million migrants who lived in the province for at least six months of the year. The provincial capital Guangzhou and economic hub Shenzhen are amongst the most populous and important cities in China.
Since 1989 Guangdong has topped the total GDP rankings among all provincial-level divisions, with Jiangsu and Shandong second and third in rank. According to provincial annual preliminary statistics, Guangdong's GDP in 2010 reached CNY 4,550 billion, or USD 689.02 billion, making its economy roughly the same size as that of Turkey or Indonesia. Guangdong has the fourth highest GDP per capita among all provinces of mainland China, after Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Liaoning. The province contributes approximately 12% of the PRC's national economic output, and is home to the production facilities and offices of a wide-ranging set of multinational and Chinese corporations. Guangdong also hosts the largest Import and Export Fair in China called the Canton Fair in Guangdong's capital city Guangzhou.

wn.com/Guangdong
Guangxi
Coordinates: 23°36′N 108°18′E / 23.6°N 108.3°E / 23.6; 108.3
Guangxi (GZAR), formerly romanized Kwangsi, is a province of southern China along its border with Vietnam. In 1958, it became the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, a region with special privileges created specifically for the Zhuang people.
Guangxi's location, in mountainous terrain in the far south of China, has placed it on the frontier of Chinese civilization throughout much of China's history. The current name "Guang" means "expanse" and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. It was given provincial level status during the Yuan Dynasty, but even into the 20th century it was considered an open, wild territory.
The abbreviation of the province is "桂" (Pinyin: Gui; Zhuang: Gvei), which comes from the city of Guilin, the former capital, center of much of Guangxi's culture, politics, and history, and currently a major city in the autonomous region.

wn.com/Guangxi
Guizhou
Coordinates: 26°50′N 106°50′E / 26.833°N 106.833°E / 26.833; 106.833
Guizhou (help·info) (simplified Chinese: 贵州; traditional Chinese: 貴州; pinyin: Guìzhōu; Wade–Giles: Kuei-chou; Postal map spelling: Kweichow) is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the southwestern part of the country. Its provincial capital city is Guiyang.
During the Chinese Han Dynasty from about the third to the first centuries BCE, Guizhou was home to the powerful and independent Yelang polity, which covered parts of modern day Guizhou, Hunan, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces.
During the 8th and 9th centuries in the Tang Dynasty, Chinese soldiers moved into Guizhou (Kweichow) and married native women, their descendants are known as Lao-han-jen (original Chinese), in contrast to new Chinese who colonized Guizhou at later times. They still speak an archaic dialect. Many immigrants to Guizhou were descended from these soldiers in garrisons who married non Chinese women.
It was not until the Ming Dynasty^{[citation needed]}that it came under heavy Chinese settlement and domination during which it was made a province. This prompted mass migration from Sichuan, Hunan and its surrounding provinces into Guizhou. The Miao revolted several times against Ming during the Miao Rebellions (Ming Dynasty).

wn.com/Guizhou
Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty (simplified Chinese: 汉朝; traditional Chinese: 漢朝; pinyin: Hàn Cháo; Wade–Giles: Han Ch'ao; IPA: [xân tʂʰɑ̌ʊ̯]) (206 BCE – 220 CE) was an imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty (221–207 BCE) and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms (220–280 CE). It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty (9–23 CE) of the former regent Wang Mang. This interregnum separates the Han into two periods: the Western Han (206 BCE – 9 CE) and Eastern Han (25–220 CE). Spanning over four centuries, the period of the Han Dynasty is considered a golden age in Chinese history. To this day, China's majority ethnic group refers to itself as the "Han people" and Chinese characters are referred to as "Han characters".

wn.com/Han_Dynasty
Heilongjiang
Coordinates: 48°N 129°E / 48°N 129°E / 48; 129
Heilongjiang (help·info) (simplified Chinese: 黑龙江省; traditional Chinese: 黑龍江省; pinyin: Hēilóngjiāng Shěng; Postal map spelling: Heilungkiang) is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the northeastern part of the country. "Heilongjiang" literally means Black Dragon River, which is the Chinese name for the Amur. The one-character abbreviation is 黑 (pinyin: Hēi). The Manchu name of the region is Sahaliyan ula ᠰᠠᡥᠠᠯᡳᠶᠠᠨ ᡠᠯᠠ (literally, "Black River"), from which the name of Sakhalin is derived, and the Mongolian name accordingly is Qaramörin.
Heilongjiang borders Jilin in the south and Inner Mongolia to the west; it also borders Russia to the north and east.
The Amur River marks the border between the People's Republic of China and Russia to the north. Heilongjiang contains China's northernmost point (in Mohe County along the Amur) and easternmost point (at the junction of the Amur and Ussuri Rivers).
In ancient times Heilongjiang was far from any literate civilization, and information was sparse. Ancient Chinese records and other sources state that Heilongjiang was inhabited by people such as the Buyeo, the Mohe, and the Khitan. Some names are Manchu or Mongolian. The eastern portion of Heilongjiang was ruled by the kingdom of Balhae between the 7th century and 10th century. The Jurchen Jin Dynasty (1115–1234) that subsequently ruled much of north China arose within the borders of modern Heilongjiang.

wn.com/Heilongjiang
Henan
Coordinates: 33°54′N 113°30′E / 33.9°N 113.5°E / 33.9; 113.5
Henan (Chinese: 河南; pinyin: Hénán; Wade–Giles: Ho-nan), is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" (yù), named after Yuzhou (豫州 Yù Zhōu), a Han Dynasty state (zhou) that included parts of Henan. Although the name of the province (河南) means "south of the river", approximately a quarter of the province lies north of the Yellow River, also known as the "Huang He".
Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan (中原 zhōngyuán) or Zhongzhou (中州 zhōngzhōu) which literally means "central plains" or "midland", although the name is also applied to the entirety of China proper. Henan is the birthplace of Chinese civilization with over 5,000 years of history, and remained China's cultural, economical, and political center until approximately 1,000 years ago. Numerous heritages have been left behind including the ruins of Shang Dynasty capital city Yinxu and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the Eight Great Ancient Capitals of China, Luoyang, Anyang, Kaifeng, and Zhengzhou are located in Henan.

wn.com/Henan
Hohhot
Hohhot (Mongolian: , Chinese: 呼和浩特; pinyin: Hūhéhàotè, abbreviated Hū Shì (Chinese: 呼市); also romanized as Huhehot or Huhhot), is a city in north-central China and the capital of the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, serving as the region's administrative, economic, and cultural centre.
The city was founded by Mongol ruler Altan Khan in the late 16th century. It was chosen as the region's administrative centre in 1952, replacing Ulanhot. A city with a rich cultural background, Hohhot is known for its historical sites and temples and is one of the major tourist destinations of Inner Mongolia. It is also nationally known as the home of China's dairy giants Mengniu and Yili, and was declared "Dairy Capital of China" by the China Dairy Industry Association and the Dairy Association of China in 2005.
The name of the city in Mongolian means "Blue City." The color blue in Mongolian culture is associated with the sky, eternity and purity; in Chinese, the name can be translated as Qīng Chéng (Chinese: 青城), literally, "Blue/Green City."

wn.com/Hohhot
Hong Kong
Coordinates: 22°16′42″N 114°09′32″E / 22.27833°N 114.15889°E / 22.27833; 114.15889
Hong Kong (Chinese: 香港) is one of two special administrative regions (SARs) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is known for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour. With a land mass of 1,104 km² (426 sq mi) and a population of seven million people, Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Hong Kong's population is 95 percent ethnic Chinese and 5 percent from other groups. Hong Kong's Han Chinese majority originate mainly from the cities of Guangzhou and Taishan in the neighbouring Guangdong province.
Hong Kong became a colony of the British Empire after the First Opium War (1839–42). Originally confined to Hong Kong Island, the colony's boundaries were extended in stages to the Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 and then the New Territories in 1898. It was occupied by Japan during the Pacific War, after which the British resumed control until 1997, when China resumed sovereignty. The region espoused minimum government intervention under the ethos of positive non-interventionism during the colonial era. The time period greatly influenced the current culture of Hong Kong, often described as "East meets West", and the educational system, which used to loosely follow the system in England until reforms implemented in 2009.

wn.com/Hong_Kong
Hubei
Hubei (help·info) (Chinese: 湖北; pinyin: Húběi; Wade–Giles: Hu-pei; Postal map spelling: Hupeh) is a province in Central China. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Lake Dongting. The provincial capital is Wuhan.
Hubei is officially abbreviated to "鄂" (È), an ancient name associated with the eastern part of the province since the Qin dynasty, while a popular name for Hubei is "楚" (Chǔ), after the powerful state of Chu that existed here during the Eastern Zhou dynasty. It borders Henan to the north, Anhui to the east, Jiangxi to the southeast, Hunan to the south, Chongqing to the west, and Shaanxi to the northwest. The high-profile Three Gorges Dam is located at Yichang, in the west of the province.
By the Spring and Autumn Period (770 BC - 476 BC), the territory of today's Hubei was part of the powerful state of Chu. Chu was nominally a tributary state of the Zhou Dynasty, and it was itself an extension of the Chinese civilization that had emerged some centuries before in the north; but it was also culturally unique, and was a powerful state that held onto much of the middle and lower Yangtze River, with power extending northwards into the North China Plain.

wn.com/Hubei
Hulunbuir
Hulunbuir (Mongolian: kölün buyir; Chinese: 呼伦贝尔; pinyin: Hūlúnbèi'ěr) is a region that is governed as a prefecture-level city in northeastern Inner Mongolia, in the People's Republic of China. Its administrative center is located at Hailar District, its largest urban area. Major scenic features are the high steppes of the Hulun Buir grasslands, the Hulun and Buir lakes (the latter partially in Mongolia), and the Khingan range. Hulun Buir borders Russia, Mongolia, Heilongjiang province and Hinggan League. Hulunbuir is a linguistically diverse area: next to Mandarin Chinese, Mongolian dialects such as Khorchin and Buryat, the Mongolic language Dagur and some Tungusic languages are spoken there.
Traditionally, Hulunbuir was a part of Manchuria, and the eastern part of the area was known as Barga. From 1912-1949, during the Republic of China period (ROC), Hulunbuir was part of Xing'an and Heilongjiang province. During the Japanese occupation of China, Hulunbuir was annexed into the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo, but the ROC did not recognize this development as legal. In the Chinese Civil War, the Communist Party of China gained the support of Inner Mongol leaders like Ulanhu by promising the irredentist expansion of Inner Mongolia into areas that had majorities of Han and Manchu people. After the 1949 Communist revolution in China, Hulunbuir was annexed into Inner Mongolia, but the region kept economic ties to the rest of Manchuria via the Chinese Eastern Railway.

wn.com/Hulunbuir
Hunan
Coordinates: 27°24′N 111°48′E / 27.4°N 111.8°E / 27.4; 111.8
Hunan (help·info) (Chinese: 湖南; pinyin: Húnán) is a province of South-Central China, located to the south of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and south of Lake Dongting (hence the name Hunan, meaning "south of the lake"). Hunan is sometimes called and officially abbreviated as "湘" (pinyin: Xiāng) for short, after the Xiang River which runs through the province.
Hunan borders Hubei in the north, Jiangxi to the east, Guangdong to the south, Guangxi to the southwest, Guizhou to the west, and Chongqing to the northwest. The capital is Changsha.
Hunan's primeval forests were first occupied by the ancestors of the modern Miao, Tujia, Dong and Yao peoples. It entered the written history of China around 350 BC, when under the kings of the Zhou dynasty, it became part of the State of Chu. At this time, and for hundreds of years thereafter, it was a magnet for migration of Han Chinese from the north, who cleared most of the forests and began farming rice in the valleys and plains. To this day many of the small villages in Hunan are named after the Han families who settled there. Migration from the north was especially prevalent during the Eastern Jin Dynasty and the Southern and Northern Dynasties Periods, when nomadic invaders pushed these peoples south.

wn.com/Hunan
Idrisid dynasty
The Idrisids (Arabic: الأدارسة‎ al-Idārisah, Berber: Idrisiyen) were a Zaydi-Shia dynasty of Morocco, ruling from 788 to 985. It was named after its founder Idriss I, the great grandchild of Hasan ibn Ali. Idrisids are traditionally regarded as the founders of the Moroccan state.
The founder of the dynasty was Idris ibn Abdallah (788–791), who traced his ancestry back to Ali ibn Abi Talib and his wife Fatimah, daughter of the Prophet Muhammad. After the battle of Fakh, near Mecca, between the Abbasids and a Shiite party, he fled to the Maghreb. He first arrived in Tangier, at that time the most important city of Morocco, and by 788 he had settled in Volubilis.

wn.com/Idrisid_dynasty
India
India (ⁱ/ˈɪndiə/), officially the Republic of India (Bhārat Gaṇarājya), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the south-west, and the Bay of Bengal on the south-east, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west;China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east; and Burma and Bangladesh to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; in addition, India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand and Indonesia.
Home to the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history. Four of the world's major religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism—originated here, whereas Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived in the 1st millennium CE and also helped shape the region's diverse culture. Gradually annexed by and brought under the administration of the British East India Company from the early 18th century and administered directly by the United Kingdom from the mid-19th century, India became an independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for independence that was marked by non-violent resistance led by Mahatma Gandhi.

wn.com/India
Indonesia
Indonesia (ⁱ/ˌɪndəˈniːʒə/ IN-də-NEE-zhə or /ˌɪndoʊˈniːziə/ IN-doh-NEE-zee-ə), officially the Republic of Indonesia (Indonesian: Republik Indonesia Indonesian pronunciation: [rɛpʊblɪk ɪndɔnɛsɪa]), is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 17,508 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an elected legislature and president. The nation's capital city is Jakarta. The country shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Malaysia. Other neighboring countries include Singapore, Philippines, Australia, and the Indian territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Indonesia is a founding member of ASEAN and a member of the G-20 major economies. The Indonesian economy is the world's 17th largest economy by nominal GDP.
The Indonesian archipelago has been an important trade region since at least the 7th century, when Srivijaya and then later Majapahit traded with China and India. Local rulers gradually absorbed foreign cultural, religious and political models from the early centuries CE, and Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms flourished. Indonesian history has been influenced by foreign powers drawn to its natural resources. Muslim traders brought Islam, and European powers brought Christianity and fought one another to monopolize trade in the Spice Islands of Maluku during the Age of Discovery. Following three and a half centuries of Dutch colonialism, Indonesia secured its independence after World War II. Indonesia's history has since been turbulent, with challenges posed by natural disasters, corruption, separatism, a democratization process, and periods of rapid economic change.

wn.com/Indonesia
Inner Mongolia
Coordinates: 44°N 113°E / 44°N 113°E / 44; 113
Inner Mongolia (Mongolian: s , Öbür Monggol and c Өвөр Монгол, Övör Mongol; Chinese: 内蒙古; pinyin: Nèi Měnggǔ, but officially romanized to Nei Mongol) is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in the northern region of the country. Inner Mongolia shares an international border with the countries of Mongolia and the Russian Federation. Its capital is Hohhot and the largest city is Baotou.
Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region was established in 1947 on the area of former Republic of China provinces of Suiyuan, Chahar, Rehe, Liaobei and Xing'an along with the northern parts of Gansu and Ningxia. It is the third-largest subdivision of China spanning about 1,200,000 km² (463,000 sq mi) or 12% of China's total land area. It has a population of about 24 million as of 2004. The majority of the population in the region are Han Chinese, with a substantial Mongol minority. The official languages are Chinese and Mongolian, the latter written in the Mongolian script, as opposed to the Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet used in the state of Mongolia.

wn.com/Inner_Mongolia
Italian Empire
The Italian Empire (Italian: Impero Italiano) was created after the Kingdom of Italy joined other European powers in establishing colonies overseas during the "scramble for Africa". Modern Italy as a unified state only existed from 1861. By this time France, Spain, Portugal, Britain, and the Netherlands, had already carved out large empires over several hundred years. One of the last remaining areas open to colonisation was on the African continent.
By the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Italy had annexed Eritrea and Somalia, and had wrested control of portions of the Ottoman Empire, including Libya, though it was defeated in its attempt to conquer Ethiopia. The Fascist government under Italian dictator Benito Mussolini which came to power in 1922 sought to increase the size of the empire further. Ethiopia was successfully taken, four decades after the previous failure, and Italy's European borders were expanded. An official "Italian Empire" was proclaimed on 9 May 1936 following the conquest of Ethiopia. Italy sided with Nazi Germany during World War II and initially enjoyed successes. However, Allied forces eventually captured Italian overseas colonies and by the time Italy itself was invaded in 1943, its empire had all but ceased to exist.

wn.com/Italian_Empire
Jiangsu
Coordinates: 32°54′N 119°48′E / 32.9°N 119.8°E / 32.9; 119.8
Jiangsu (help·info) (simplified Chinese: 江苏; traditional Chinese: 江蘇; pinyin: Jiāngsū; Wade–Giles: Chiang-su; Postal map spelling: Kiangsu) is a province of the People's Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. The name comes from jiang, short for the city of Jiangning (now Nanjing), and su, for the city of Suzhou. The abbreviation for this province is "苏" (sū), the second character of its name. It is the province with the highest population density in China, though provincial level municipalities like Shanghai, Beijing, and Tianjin have a higher density.
Jiangsu borders Shandong in the north, Anhui to the west, and Zhejiang and Shanghai to the south. Jiangsu has a coastline of over one thousand kilometers along the Yellow Sea, and the Yangtze River passes through its southern parts. Since the inception of economic reforms in 1978, Jiangsu has been a hot spot for economic development, and now has the highest GDP per capita of all Chinese provinces. The wealth divide between the rich southern regions and the north, however, remains a prominent issue in the province.

wn.com/Jiangsu
Jiangxi
Jiangxi (help·info) (Chinese: 江西; pinyin: Jiāngxī; Wade–Giles: Chiang-hsi; Postal map spelling: Kiangsi, Gan: Kongsi) is a southern province in the People's Republic of China. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south, it shares a border with Anhui to the north, Zhejiang to the northeast, Fujian to the east, Guangdong to the south, Hunan to the west, and Hubei to the northwest.
The name "Jiangxi" derives from the circuit administrated under the Tang Dynasty in 733, Jiangnanxidao (江南西道, Circuit of Western Jiangnan; Gan: Kongnomsitau). The short name for Jiangxi is 赣 (pinyin: Gàn; Gan: Gōm), for the Gan River which runs across from the south to the north and flows into the Yangtze River. Jiangxi is also alternately called "Gompotaiti" (贛鄱大地) which literally means the "Great Land of Gan and Po".
Jiangxi is centered on the Gan River valley, which historically provided the main north-south transport route of south China. The corridor along the Gan River is one of the few easily traveled routes through the otherwise mountainous and rugged terrain of the south-eastern mountains. This open corridor was the primary route for trade and communication between the North China Plain and the Yangtze River valley in the north and the territory of modern Guangdong province in the south. As a result Jiangxi has been strategically important throughout much of China's history.

wn.com/Jiangxi
Jilin
Coordinates: 43°42′N 126°12′E / 43.7°N 126.2°E / 43.7; 126.2
Jilin (Chinese: 吉林; pinyin: Jílín; Wade–Giles: Chi-lin, IPA: [tɕǐlǐn] ( listen); Postal map spelling: Kirin), is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the northeastern part of the country. Jilin borders North Korea and Russia to the east, Heilongjiang to the north, Liaoning to the south, and Inner Mongolia to the west. The name was transliterated to Kirin before standardization to pinyin.
The name "Jilin" probably originates from Girin ula ᡤᡳᡵᡳᠨ ᡠᠯᠠ, a Manchu term meaning "along the river"; this was transcribed into Jilin wula (T: 吉林烏拉 / S: 吉林乌拉) in Chinese, then shortened to Jilin. The literal meaning of the Chinese characters for "Jilin" is "auspicious forest".
In ancient times, Jilin was inhabited by various peoples, notably the Xianbei, Koreans, the Mohe and the Wùjí (勿吉). Various Korean kingdoms, including the Buyeo, Goguryeo and Balhae, were established in this area.
The region then fell successively under the domination of the Khitan Liao Dynasty, the Jurchen Jin Dynasty, and the Mongol Yuan Dynasty. During the Qing Dynasty, much of the area was under the control of the General of Jilin, whose area of control extended to the Sea of Japan to encompass much of what is Russia's Primorsky Krai today. Immigration of Han Chinese was strictly controlled.^[when?]

wn.com/Jilin
Jingzhou
Jingzhou (simplified Chinese: 荆州; traditional Chinese: 荊州; pinyin: Jīngzhōu) is a prefecture-level city in southern Hubei, People's Republic of China, located on the banks of the Yangtze River. As of the 2010 census, its total population is 5,691,707, 1,154,086 of whom reside in the built-up area made of 3 urban districts.
Jingzhou occupies an area of 14,067 square kilometres (5,431 sq mi) with its topography rising from east to west. It is densely covered by a network of waterways, as well as lakes, and is located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River on the Jianghan Plain. Downstream to its east lies Wuhan, the provincial capital and to the west the city of Yichang, the Three Gorges, and finally the Chongqing Municipality. Jingmen City, also in Hubei, lies to the north; to its south are Yueyang and Changde, both in Hunan Province.
Jingzhou has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa), with hot, humid summers, and damp, chilly, but drier winters. Monthly daily average temperatures range from 4.1 °C (39.4 °F) in January to 28.0 °C (82.4 °F) in July. The area receives 1,800 to 2,000 hours of sunshine per year and has a frost-free period of 242–263 days annually.

wn.com/Jingzhou
Kashgar
Kashgar or Kashi is an oasis city with approximately 350,000 residents in the western part of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Kashgar is the administrative centre of Kashgar Prefecture which has an area of 162,000 km² and a population of approximately 3.5 million.
The city covers an area of 15 km². The altitude averages 1,289 m/4,282 ft. above sea level. The city is located in the western extremity of China, near the border with Tajikistan.
The modern Chinese name is 喀什 (Kāshí), a shortened form of the longer and less-frequently used (simplified Chinese: 喀什噶尔; traditional Chinese: 喀什噶爾; pinyin: Kāshígé’ěr). Ptolemy (AD 90-168), in his Geography, Chapter 15.3A, refers to Kashgar as “Kasia”. The name is Middle Iranic in its origin, meaning "Kush Mountains" (from gar/ghar, "mountain", and Kush/Kâsh, being the same as the ethnonym of the Kushan Empire and the Hindukush mountains in the neighboring Afghanistan.
An early Chinese name was 疏勒 (now Shule County), variously romanized as Su-leh, Sulei, Shule, Shu-le', She-le, Shu-lo or Sha-le, which perhaps represents either an original Solek or Sorak.^{[citation needed]}

wn.com/Kashgar
Kham
Kham (Tibetan: ཁམས, Wylie: khams, ZYPY: kam; Chinese: 康; pinyin: Kāng), is a historical region covering a land area largely divided between present-day Tibetan Autonomous Region and Sichuan province, with smaller portions located within Qinghai, Gansu and Yunnan provinces of China. During the Republic of China's rule over mainland China (1911–1949), most of the region was called Xikang Province (西康省). It held the status of "special administrative district" until 1939, when it became an official Chinese province. Its provincial status was nominal and without much cohesion, like most of China's territory during the time of Japanese invasion and civil war.
The natives of the Kham region are called as: Tibetan: ཁམས་པ; Wylie: khams pa; Chinese: 康巴; pinyin: Kāngbā.
Kham has a rugged terrain characterized by mountain ridges and gorges running from northwest to southeast, and collectively known as the Hengduan Mountains. Numerous rivers, including the Mekong, Yangtze, Yalong Jiang, and the Salween flow through Kham.

wn.com/Kham
Khmer Empire
The Khmer Empire was one of the most powerful empires in Southeast Asia. The empire, which grew out of the former kingdom of Chenla, at times ruled over and/or vassalized parts of modern-day Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Burma, and Malaysia. Its greatest legacy is Angkor, in present-day Cambodia, which was the site of the capital city during the empire's zenith. Angkor bears testimony to the Khmer empire's immense power and wealth, as well as the variety of belief systems that it patronised over time. The empire's official religions included Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism, until Theravada Buddhism prevailed, even among the lower classes, after its introduction from Sri Lanka in the 13th century. Modern researches by satellites have revealed Angkor to be the largest pre-industrial urban center in the world.
The history of Angkor as the central area of settlement of the historical kingdom of Kambujadesa is also the history of the Khmer from the 9th to the 13th centuries.
From Kambuja itself — and so also from the Angkor region — no written records have survived other than stone inscriptions. Therefore the current knowledge of the historical Khmer civilization is derived primarily from:

wn.com/Khmer_Empire
Khovd Province
Khovd (Mongolian: Ховд) is one of the 21 aimags (provinces) of Mongolia, located in the west of the country. Its capital is also named Khovd.
Khovd is approximately 1,580 km from Ulan Bator. It is considered remote even for Mongolian standards. Name is given after Khovd River located in this province.
Khovd is distinguished by its multi-cultural population. It is home to more than 17 nationalities and ethnicities. Each of these groups has its own distinct traditional dwelling and settlement pattern, dress and other cultural distinctions, literary, artistic, and musical traditions. There is a rather large minority Kazakh-Mongol population that speaks both Kazakh and Mongolian.

The Khovd aimag population growth stopped in 1991, then migration out of the aimag (approx. 20,000 in 1992-2004) compensated the natural increase and confined aimag's population within 87,000 – 92,000 limits.
Khovd is notorious for its harsh weather cycles, as temperatures regularly reach as high as 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) and as low as −30 degrees Celsius (−22 degrees Fahrenheit). The climate is dry, as it receives the same average rainfall of Phoenix, Arizona each year.

wn.com/Khovd_Province
Khövsgöl Province
Khövsgöl (Mongolian: Хөвсгөл) is the northernmost of the 21 aimags (provinces) of Mongolia. The name is derived from Lake Khövsgöl.
The Aimag is quite mountainous. The south and southwest are dominated by the round-topped Tarvagatai, Bulnain and Erchim sub-ranges of the Khangai massif. The areas west and north of Lake Khövsgöl are formed by the alpine Khoridol Saridag, Ulaan Taiga, and Mönkh Saridag mountains. The center and east are less mountainous, but still hilly.
Within Mongolia, the region is well known for its natural beauty, and Lake Khövsgöl is one of the country's major tourist attractions. The largest forest areas of Mongolia are located around and to the north of the lake, extending the south-siberian Taiga.
The aimag was founded in 1931. Khatgal was the administrative center until 1933, since when it has been Mörön.
The region is home to many ethnic minority groups: Darkhad, Khotgoid, Uriankhai, Buriad, and Tsaatan. Both the Darkhad and Tsaatan are famous for their practice of shamanism.

wn.com/Khövsgöl_Province
Korea
Korea (/kəˈriːə/ kə-REE-ə; Korean: 한국 Hanguk [hanɡuːk] or 조선 Joseon [tɕosʌn] – (see etymology) is an East Asian region that is divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the east by the Korea Strait and the Sea of Japan (East Sea), and separated from Taiwan to the south by the East China Sea.
Archaeological and linguistic evidence suggest the origins of the Korean people might have been Altaic language-speaking people from south-central Siberia,^{[dubious – discuss]} who populated ancient Korea in successive waves from the Neolithic age to the Bronze Age. The adoption of the Chinese writing system ("Hanja" in Korean) in the 2nd century BC, and Buddhism in the 4th century AD, had profound effects on the Three Kingdoms of Korea.
The Three Kingdoms of Korea was first united during the Silla dynasty under the king Munmu of Silla. The united Silla dynasty fell to Goryeo Dynasty in 935 at the end of Later Three Kingdoms of Korea era. Goryeo was a highly cultural state and created the Jikji in the 14th century, using the world's first movable metal type printing press. The Mongol invasions in the 13th century, however, greatly weakened the nation which was forced to become a tributary state. After the Mongol Empire's collapse, severe political strife followed and Goryeo was replaced by the Joseon Dynasty in 1388.

wn.com/Korea
Korean Empire
The Korean Empire (Hangul: 대한제국; Hanja: 大韓帝國; Daehan Jeguk; literally Great Korean Empire) is the name of the state of Korea that existed from the Proclamation of the Korean Empire in October 1897 to the Annexation of Korea by Japan on August 20, 1910. It succeeded the Joseon Dynasty.
In October 1897, Emperor Gojong proclaimed the new entity at Gyeongungung Palace and oversaw the partially successful modernization of the military, economy, land system, education system, and various industries. Japan became terrified by the speed of the modernisation the Korean Empire was having and decided to speed up its plans for annexation. This was further speeded by the assassination of Ito Hirobumi. On August 22, 1910, Korea was annexed by Imperial Japan, which defeated the Russian Empire in 1905.
The Sino-Japanese War marked the rapid decline of any power the Joseon Dynasty of Korea had managed to hold against foreign interference, as the battles of the conflict itself had been fought on Korean soil and the surrounding seas. With its newfound preeminence over the waning and weak Qing Dynasty, Japan had delegates negotiate the Treaty of Shimonoseki with the Qing emissaries, through which Japan wrested control over the Liaodong Peninsula from the Qing (a move designed to prevent the southern expansion of Japan's new rival, Russia), and, more importantly over Korea. However, Russia recognized this agreement as an act against its interests in northeastern China and eventually brought France and Germany to its side in saying that the Liaodong Peninsula should be repatriated to the Qing China.

wn.com/Korean_Empire
Lhasa
Lhasa ( /ˈlɑːsə/, Tibetan: ལྷ་ས་གྲོང་ཁྱིར།, ZYPY: Lhasa Chongkyir, [l̥ásə] or [l̥ɜ́ːsə]; simplified Chinese: 拉萨; traditional Chinese: 拉薩; pinyin: Lāsà; sometimes spelled Lasa) is the administrative capital and a prefecture-level city of the Tibet Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China. It is the second most populous city on the Tibetan Plateau, after Xining, and at an altitude of 3,490 metres (11,450 ft), Lhasa is one of the highest cities in the world. The city contains many culturally significant Tibetan Buddhist sites such as the Potala Palace, Jokhang temple and Norbulingka palaces, many of which are located in Chengguan District, the city seat.
Lhasa literally means "place of the gods". Ancient Tibetan documents and inscriptions demonstrate that the place was called Rasa, which either meant "goats' place", or, as a contraction of rawe sa, a "place surrounded by a wall," or 'enclosure', suggesting that the site was originally a hunting preserve within the royal residence on Marpori Hill. Lhasa is first recorded as the name, referring to the area's temple of Jowo, in a treaty drawn up between China and Tibet in 822 C.E.

wn.com/Lhasa
Liao Dynasty
The Liao Dynasty (simplified Chinese: 辽朝; traditional Chinese: 遼朝; pinyin: Liáo Cháo; Khitan language: Mos Jælut), also known as the Khitan Empire (simplified Chinese: 契丹国; traditional Chinese: 契丹國; pinyin: Qìdān Guó; Khitan: Mos diau-d kitai huldʒi gur), was an empire in East Asia that ruled over Mongolia and portions of Kazakhstan, the Russian Far East, and northern China proper between 907–1125. It was founded by the Khitan Great Khan Abaoji around the time of the collapse of the Han Chinese Tang Dynasty.
The Liao Empire was destroyed by the Jurchen of the Jin Dynasty in 1125. However, remnants of its people, led by Yelü Dashi, established Western Liao Dynasty, also known as Kara-Khitan Khanate, which ruled over parts of Central Asia for almost a century before being conquered by Genghis Khan's Mongolian army.
The Khitan were a Mongolic tribe who originally formed a part of Tanshihuai's Xianbei state before submitting along with the Kumo Xi to the Yuwen chieftains after the state's disintegration. They considered themselves descendants of the legendary Qishou Khagan, who was descended from Tanshihuai (reigned 157–181). The Kumo Xi and Khitan separated as one body from the Yuwen after the Yuwen were defeated by Murong Huang of the Murong tribe in 344. In 388 the Khitan separated from the Kumo Xi. This began the written history of the Khitan as an independent tribe. In the period of Zhenjun (r. 440–449) they 'asked for paying tribute' (any presentation of gifts by foreigners were seen as submissive 'tribute') and presented famous steeds to the court of the Northern Wei. In the Xianzu period (466–470) Mofuhe Hechen of the Khitan leading the eight Khitan tribes (Xiwandan, Hedahe, Fufuyu, Yuling, Rilian, Pijie, Li and Tuliuyu) presented famous steeds and high quality fur to the Northern Wei at their capital Datong and the Khitan were 'allowed' to trade in the area of modern-day Miyun County of Beijing City.

wn.com/Liao_Dynasty
Liaodong Peninsula
The Liáodōng Peninsula (simplified Chinese: 辽东半岛; traditional Chinese: 遼東半島; pinyin: Liáodōng bàndǎo) is a peninsula in the Liaoning province of northeastern China, historically known in the west as southern east-Manchuria. Liaodong (formerly spelled Liaotung) means "East of the Liao". The Liao River was a river during the Warring States that divided the Yan commandries of Liaoxi (simplified Chinese: 辽西; traditional Chinese: 遼西) (west of the Liao) and Liaodong.
The peninsula is situated at the north of the Yellow Sea, between the Bohai Sea to the west and the Korea Bay to the east.
It forms the southern part of a mountain belt that continues northward in the Changbai Mountains. The part of the mountain range on the peninsula is known as the Qianshan Mountains, named after Qian Mountain in Anshan, which includes Dahei Mountain in Dalian.
There are two seaports: Dalian, which lies midway along the peninsula at its narrowest point, and Port Arthur/Lushun (now part of Dalian City), which is located at its southernmost point. Lüshun/Port Arthur has a large lake-like naturally-protected harbor and semi-sheltered outer roadstead making it very attractive to imperialist powers at the end of the nineteenth century. Dalny/Dairen/Dalian's harbor required greater investment, initially supplied by the Russians, but turned into a first class city under the Japanese period of administration (1905–1945). The two ports are about 25 miles (40 km) apart by rail, but about 40 nautical miles (70 km) apart by sea. Lüshun is 550 rail miles south of the Manchurian railroad hub city of Harbin on the historic Southern Manchurian Railway (today's China Far East Railway (CER), which construction was one of the underlying causes of the Russo-Japanese War).

wn.com/Liaodong_Peninsula
Liaoning
Coordinates: 41°06′N 122°18′E / 41.1°N 122.3°E / 41.1; 122.3
Liaoning (help·info) (simplified Chinese: 辽宁; traditional Chinese: 遼寧; pinyin: Liáoníng; Manchu: ᠯᡳᠶᠣᠣ ᠨᡳᠩ, Liyoo ning) is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "辽" (pinyin: liáo), a name taken from the Liao River that flows through the province. "Níng" means "peace". The modern province was established in 1907 as Fengtian province (奉天 pinyin: Fèngtiān; Postal map spelling: Fengtien; Manchu: ᠠᠪᡴᠠᡳ ᡳᠮᡳᠶᠠᠩᡤᠠ, Abkai imiyangga) and the name was changed to Liaoning in 1929. Under the Japanese puppet Manchukuo regime, the province reverted to its 1907 name, but the name Liaoning was restored in 1945.
Liaoning is located in the southern part of the Northeast, and is often called "the Golden Triangle" because of its superior geographical location, with the Yellow Sea (Korea Bay) and the Bohai Sea in the south, North Korea in the southeast, Jilin province to the northeast, Hebei province to the west, and Inner Mongolia to the northwest. The Yalu River marks the border between North Korea and the province. It empties into the Korea Bay between Dandong, Liaoning and Sinŭiju, North Korea.

wn.com/Liaoning
Liaoyang
Liaoyang (simplified Chinese: 辽阳; traditional Chinese: 遼陽; pinyin: Liáoyáng) is a city in China, Liaoning province, located in the middle of the Liaodong Peninsula. The city is situated on the T'ai-tzu River and forms with Anshan a built up area of 2,057,200 inhabitants in 2010. It is approximately one hour south of Shenyang by car. Liaoyang is home to Liaoning University's College of Foreign Studies and a number of vocational colleges. The city hosts a limited number of professional basketball and volleyball games in a modern sports facility.
Liaoyang is one of the oldest continuously-inhabited cities in northeast China dating back to before the Spring and Autumn period. During the Chinese Tang dynasty, Liaoyang was part of the northern edge of the Goguryeo kingdom. Remains of Yodong and Baegam cities, the old Goguryeo cities, can still be seen near to the modern city. This was the site of a major battle between the Tang and Goguryeo in 645AD.
Liaoyang rose to prominence druing the Liao dynasty. Several buildings in the city date to this period. Among these is the White Pagoda (baita), which dates back to 1189 in the Liao Dynasty with additions during the Yuan dynasty. The Liaoyang White Pagoda sits in Baita Park within Baita district in the centre of the city. Next to the park is Guangyou Temple, one of the oldest and largest temple complexes in the north east of China covering some 60,000 square metres.

wn.com/Liaoyang
Manchukuo
Manchukuo (Chinese: 满洲国; pinyin: Mǎnzhōuguó; literally "Manchu state") or Manshū-koku^{[citation needed]} (Japanese: 満州国) was a puppet state in Manchuria and eastern Inner Mongolia, governed under a form of constitutional monarchy. The region was the historical homeland of the Manchus, who founded the Qing Empire in China. In 1931, the region was seized by Japan following the Mukden Incident and in 1932, a sympathetic government was established, with Puyi, the last Qing emperor, installed as the nominal regent and emperor. Manchukuo's government was abolished in 1945 after the defeat of Imperial Japan at the end of World War II. The territories formally claimed by the puppet state were first seized in the Soviet invasion of Manchuria in August 1945, and then formally transferred to Chinese administration in the following year.
Manchus formed a minority in Manchukuo, whose largest ethnic group were Han Chinese. There were also Koreans, Japanese, Mongols, White Russians and less numerous minorities. The Mongol regions of western Manchukuo were ruled under a slightly different system in acknowledgement of the Mongolian traditions there. The southern part of the Liaodong Peninsula was ruled by Japan as the Kwantung Leased Territory.

wn.com/Manchukuo
Medes
The Medes (/midz/) (from Old Persian Māda-) were an ancient Iranian people who lived in Iran in an area known as Media and spoke a northwestern Iranian language referred to as the Median language. Their arrival to the region is associated with the first wave of Iranian tribes in the late second millennium BCE (the Bronze Age collapse) through the beginning of the first millennium BCE.
In the 7th century BCE a unified Median state was formed which together with Babylonia, Lydia, and Egypt became one of the four major powers of the ancient Near East. An alliance with the Babylonians helped the Medes to capture Nineveh in 612 BCE which resulted in the collapse of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. The Medes were subsequently able to establish their Median kingdom (with Ecbatana as their royal centre) beyond their original homeland (central-western Iran) and had eventually a territory stretching roughly from northeastern Iran to the Halys River in Anatolia. The Median kingdom was conquered in 550 BCE by Cyrus the Great who established the next Iranian dynasty—the Achaemenid Empire.

wn.com/Medes
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China for 276 years (1368–1644) following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, described by some as "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic Han Chinese. Although the Ming capital Beijing fell in 1644 to a rebellion led by Li Zicheng (who established the Shun Dynasty, soon replaced by the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty), regimes loyal to the Ming throne—collectively called the Southern Ming—survived until 1662.
Ming rule saw the construction of a vast navy and a standing army of one million troops. Although private maritime trade and official tribute missions from China had taken place in previous dynasties, the tributary fleet under the Muslim eunuch admiral Zheng He in the 15th century far surpassed all others in size. There were enormous construction projects, including the restoration of the Grand Canal and the Great Wall and the establishment of the Forbidden City in Beijing during the first quarter of the 15th century. Estimates for the late-Ming population vary from 160 to 200 million.

wn.com/Ming_Dynasty
Mongolia
Mongolia ⁱ/mɒŋˈɡoʊliə/ (Mongolian: Монгол улс (help·info), literally Mongol country/state) is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only 38 kilometres (24 mi) from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest city, is home to about 45% of the population. Mongolia's political system is a parliamentary republic.
The area of what is now Mongolia has been ruled by various nomadic empires, including the Xiongnu, the Xianbei, the Rouran, the Gökturks and others. The Mongol Empire was founded by Genghis Khan in 1206. After the collapse of the Yuan Dynasty, the Mongols returned to their earlier pattern of constant internal conflict and occasional raids on the Chinese borderlands. In the 16th and 17th centuries, Mongolia came under the influence of Tibetan Buddhism. At the end of the 17th century, all of Mongolia had been incorporated into the area ruled by the Qing Dynasty. During the collapse of the Qing Dynasty in 1911, Mongolia declared independence, but had to struggle until 1921 to firmly establish de facto independence from the Republic of China, and until 1945 to gain international recognition.

wn.com/Mongolia
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire, Shahan-e-Gurkhani, Shahan-e-Mughal, Sultanate-e-Mughliya, Daulat-e-Mughliya (Persian: شاهان گورکانی‎ Shāhān-e Gūrkānī; Urdu: مغلیہ سلطنت; self-designation: گوركانى Gūrkānī ),‎ or Mogul (also Moghul) Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were direct descendants of Genghis Khan through Chagatai Khan and Timur. The Mughal Empire began in 1526; at the height of their power in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, they controlled most of the Indian Subcontinent—extending from Bengal in the east to Balochistan in the west, Kashmir in the north to the Kaveri basin in the south. According to "Babur-Nama", Kazakh tribal aristocracy along with number of other Turkic soldiers participated actively in the campaign of Babur, which made great influence over the development of Mughal Empire. Its population at that time has been estimated as between 110 and 150 million, over a territory of more than 3.2 million square kilometres (1.2 million square miles).

wn.com/Mughal_Empire
Nanjing
Nanjing (Chinese: 南京; pinyin: Nánjīng; Wade–Giles: Nan-ching) is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions. Its present name means "Southern Capital" and was widely romanized as Nankin and Nanking until the Pinyin language reform, after which Nanjing was gradually adopted as the standard spelling of the city's name in most languages that use the Roman alphabet.
Located in the lower Yangtze River drainage basin and Yangtze River Delta economic zone, Nanjing has long been one of China's most important cities. It is recognized as one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China. It was the capital of Sun Quan's Wu during the Three Kingdoms Period and the capital of the Republic of China prior to its flight to Taiwan during the Chinese Civil War. Nanjing is also one of the fifteen sub-provincial cities in the People's Republic of China's administrative structure, enjoying jurisdictional and economic autonomy only slightly less than that of a province. Nanjing has long been a national center of education, research, transport networks, and tourism. The city will host the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics.

wn.com/Nanjing
Nazi Germany
The Third Reich, also Nazi Germany, is the common name for Germany when it was a totalitarian state ruled by Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP). On 30 January 1933 Hitler became chancellor of Germany, quickly eliminating all opposition to rule as sole leader. The state idolized Hitler as its Führer ("leader"), centralizing all power in his hands. Historians have emphasized the hypnotic effect of his rhetoric on large audiences, and of his eyes in small groups. Kessel writes, "Overwhelmingly...Germans speak with mystification of Hitler's 'hypnotic' appeal..." Under the "leader principle", the Führer's word was above all other laws. Top officials reported to Hitler and followed his policies, but they had considerable autonomy. The government was not a coordinated, cooperating body, but rather a collection of factions struggling to amass power and curry favor with the Führer. In the midst of the Great Depression, the Nazi government restored prosperity and ended mass unemployment using heavy military spending and a mixed economy of free-market and central-planning practices. Extensive public works were undertaken, including the construction of the Autobahns. The return to prosperity gave the regime enormous popularity; the suppression of all opposition made Hitler's rule mostly unchallenged.

wn.com/Nazi_Germany
Nepal
Nepal (नेपाल) (ⁱ/nɛˈpɔːl/ ne-PAWLNepali: नेपाल [neˈpal] ( listen)), officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India. Specifically, the Indian states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, and Sikkim border Nepal, while across the Himalayas lies the Tibetan Autonomous Region. With an area of 147,181 square kilometres (56,827 sq mi) and a population of approximately 27 million (and 2 million absentee workers living abroad), Nepal is the world's 93rd largest country by land mass and the 41st most populous country. Kathmandu is the nation's capital and the country's largest metropolis. Kathmandu Valley itself has estimated population of 5 million.
Nepal has a rich geography. The mountainous north has eight of the world's ten tallest mountains, including the highest point on Earth, Mount Everest, called Sagarmatha in Nepali. It contains more than 240 peaks over 20,000 ft (6,096 m) above sea level. The fertile and humid south is heavily urbanized.

wn.com/Nepal
Nien Rebellion
The Nien Rebellion (simplified Chinese: 捻军起义; traditional Chinese: 捻軍起義; pinyin: niǎn jūn qǐ yì; Wade–Giles: nien-chün ch'i-yi Western historians have traditionally used the Wade-Giles transcription "Nien", rather than Hanyu Pinyin "Nian") was an armed uprising that took place in northern China from 1851 to 1868, contemporaneously with Taiping Rebellion (1851–1864) in South China. The rebellion failed to topple the Qing dynasty, but caused immense economic devastation and loss of life that became one of the major long-term factors in the collapse of the Qing regime in the early 20th century.
Nian is a North Hua dialect meaning one seed one assistant (一股一夥). The Nian movement was formed in the late 1840s by Zhang Lexing, and by 1851 numbered approximately 40,000. Unlike the Taiping Rebellion movement though, the Nien initially had no clear goals or objectives aside from criticism of the Qing government. However, the Nien were provoked into taking direct action against the Imperial regime following a series of environmental disasters. The 1851 flood of the massive Yellow River deluged hundreds of thousands of square miles and caused immense loss of life. The Qing government slowly began cleaning up after the disaster, but were unable to provide effective aid as government finances had been drained during a recent war with Great Britain and the ongoing slaughter of the Taiping Rebellion. The damage created by the disaster had still not been repaired when, in 1855, the river burst its banks again, drowning thousands and devastating the fertile province of Jiangsu. At the time, the Qing government was trying to negotiate a deal with the European powers, and as state finances had been so severely depleted, the regime was again unable to provide effective relief. This enraged the Nien movement, which blamed the Europeans for contributing to China's troubles, and increasingly viewed the Qing government as incompetent and cowardly in the face of the Western powers.

wn.com/Nien_Rebellion
Parthian Empire
The Parthian (pronounced /ˈpɑrθiən/) Empire (247 BC – 224 AD), also known as the Arsacid (/ˈɑrsəsɪd/) Empire (Modern Persian: اشکانیان Ashkāniān), was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Persia. Its latter name comes from Arsaces I of Parthia who, as leader of the Parni tribe, founded it in the mid-3rd century BC when he conquered the Parthia region in Iran's northeast, then a satrapy (province) in rebellion against the Seleucid Empire. Mithridates I of Parthia (r. c. 171–138 BC) greatly expanded the empire by seizing Media and Mesopotamia from the Seleucids. At its height, the Parthian Empire stretched from the northern reaches of the Euphrates, in what is now south-eastern Turkey, to eastern Iran. The empire, located on the Silk Road trade route between the Roman Empire in the Mediterranean Basin and Han Empire of China, became a center of trade and commerce.
The Parthians largely adopted the art, architecture, religious beliefs, and royal insignia of their culturally heterogeneous empire, which encompassed Persian, Hellenistic, and regional cultures. For about the first half of its existence, the Arsacid court adopted elements of Greek culture, though it eventually saw a gradual revival of Iranian traditions. The Arsacid rulers were titled the "King of Kings", as a claim to be the heirs to the Achaemenid Empire; indeed, they accepted many local kings as vassals where the Achaemenids would have had centrally appointed, albeit largely autonomous, satraps. The court did appoint a small number of satraps, largely outside Iran, but these satrapies were smaller and less powerful than the Achaemenid potentates. With the expansion of Arsacid power, the seat of central government shifted from Nisa, Turkmenistan to Ctesiphon along the Tigris (south of modern Baghdad, Iraq), although several other sites also served as capitals.

wn.com/Parthian_Empire
Portugal
Portugal ⁱ/ˈpɔrtʃʉɡəl/ (Portuguese: Portugal, IPA: [puɾtuˈɣaɫ]), officially the Portuguese Republic (Portuguese: República Portuguesa) is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula . Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira are part of Portugal. The country is named after its second largest city, Porto, whose Latin name was Portus Cale.
The land within the borders of the current Portuguese Republic has been continuously settled since prehistoric times: occupied by Celts like the Gallaeci and the Lusitanians, integrated into the Roman Republic and later settled by Germanic peoples such as the Suebi, Swabians, Vandals and the Visigoths. In the 8th century most of the Iberian Peninsula was conquered by Moorish invaders professing Islam, which were later expelled by the Knights Templar under the Order of Christ. During the Christian Reconquista, Portugal established itself as an independent kingdom from León in 1139, claiming to be the oldest European nation state.

wn.com/Portugal
Portuguese Empire
The Portuguese Empire (Portuguese: Império Português), also known as the Portuguese Overseas Empire (Ultramar Português) or the Portuguese Colonial Empire (Império Colonial Português), was the first global empire in history. In addition, it was the longest-lived of the modern European colonial empires, spanning almost six centuries, from the capture of Ceuta in 1415 to the handover of Macau in 1999 or the grant of sovereignty to East Timor in 2002. The empire spread throughout a vast number of territories that are now part of 53 different sovereign states.
Portuguese sailors began exploring the coast of Africa in 1419, using recent developments in navigation, cartography and maritime technology such as the caravel, in order that they might find a sea route to the source of the lucrative spice trade. In 1488, Bartolomeu Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and in 1498, Vasco da Gama reached India. In 1500, either by an accidental landfall or by the crown's secret design, Pedro Álvares Cabral discovered Brazil on the South American coast. Over the following decades, Portuguese sailors continued to explore the coasts and islands of East Asia, establishing forts and factories as they went. By 1571, a string of outposts connected Lisbon to Nagasaki along the coasts of Africa, the Middle East, India, and Asia. This commercial network brought great wealth to Portugal.

wn.com/Portuguese_Empire
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China.
The dynasty was founded by the Jurchen Aisin Gioro clan in contemporary Northeastern China. The Aisin Gioro leader, Nurhachi, who was originally a vassal of the Ming emperors, began unifying the Jurchen clans in the late sixteenth century. By 1635, Nurhachi's son Hong Taiji could claim they constituted a single and united Manchu people and began forcing the Ming out of Liaoning in southern Manchuria. In 1644, the Ming capital Beijing was sacked by a peasant revolt led by Li Zicheng, a former minor Ming official who became the leader of the peasant revolt, who then proclaimed the Shun dynasty. The last Ming ruler, the Chongzhen Emperor, committed suicide when the city fell. When Li Zicheng moved against Ming general Wu Sangui, the latter made an alliance with the Manchus and opened the Shanhai Pass to the Manchurian army. Under Prince Dorgon, they seized control of Beijing and overthrew Li Zicheng's short-lived Shun Dynasty. Complete pacification of China was accomplished around 1683 under the Kangxi Emperor.

wn.com/Qing_Dynasty
Qinghai
Coordinates: 36°00′N 96°00′E / 36°N 96°E / 36; 96
Qinghai ( listen (help·info)) (Chinese: 青海; pinyin: Qīnghǎi; Wade–Giles: Ching Hai, pronounced [tɕʰíŋxàɪ̯]); Oirat Mongolian: Көкнуур (transcribed into Cyrillic); Tibetan: མཚོ་སྔོན་; Salar:^{[citation needed]}) is a province of the People's Republic of China, named after Qinghai Lake. It borders Gansu on the northeast, the Xinjiang Autonomous Region on the northwest, Sichuan on the southeast, and Tibet Autonomous Region on the southwest.
A large part of Qinghai's area, until the early 20th century most often referred to by its Mongol name Kokonur in English, lies outside of China proper and has been an ethnic melting pot for centuries, mixing Tibetan, Han Chinese, Mongol, and Turkic influences. The eastern part of the area of Qinghai was under the control of the Han Dynasty about 2000 years ago. It was a battleground during the Tang and subsequent Chinese dynasties when they fought against successive Tibetan tribes.
In the middle of 3rd century CE, nomadic people related to Xianbei migrated to pasture lands around Koko Nur (Qinghai Lake) and established Tuyuhun Kingdom. Since the 7th century, Tuyuhun Kingdom was attacked by both the Tibetan Empire and Tang Dynasty as both of them sought control over trade routes. Military conflicts severely weakened the kingdom and it was incorporated into the Tibetan Empire. After the disintegration of the Tibetan Empire, small local factions emerged. They were under titular authority of China and Tibet but maintained their autonomy. During the period of Mongol Yuan Dynasty's administrative rule of Tibet, majority of Qinghai belonged to one of the three commandaries of the Tibetan region divided at that time, namely Amdo (Tibetan: ཨ༌མདོ; Chinese: 安多; pinyin: Ānduō).

wn.com/Qinghai
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire (Pre-reform Russian orthography: Россійская Имперія, Modern Russian: Российская Империя, translit: Rossiyskaya Imperiya) was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the short-lived Russian Republic, which was succeeded by the Soviet Union. It was one of the largest empires in world history, surpassed in landmass only by the British and Mongol empires: at one point in 1866, it stretched from eastern Europe across Asia and into North America.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the Russian Empire extended from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Black Sea on the south, from the Baltic Sea on the west to the Pacific Ocean and into North America on the east. With 125.6 million subjects registered by the 1897 census, it had the third largest population of the world at the time, after Qing China and the British Empire. Like all empires, it represented a large disparity in economic, ethnic and religious positions. Its government, ruled by the Emperor, was the last absolute monarchy in Europe at the time of its demise.

wn.com/Russian_Empire
Safavid dynasty
The Safavid dynasty (Persian: سلسلهٔ صفويان‎; Azerbaijani: صفویلر) was one of the most significant ruling dynasties of Iran. They ruled one of the greatest Persian empires since the Muslim conquest of Persia and established the Twelver school of Shi'a Islam as the official religion of their empire, marking one of the most important turning points in Muslim history. The Safavids ruled from 1501 to 1722 (experiencing a brief restoration from 1729 to 1736) and at their height, they controlled all of modern Islamic Republic of Iran, Republic of Azerbaijan and Republic of Armenia, most of Iraq, Georgia, Afghanistan, and the Caucasus, as well as parts of Pakistan, Turkmenistan and Turkey. Safavid Iran was one of the Islamic "gunpowder empires", along with its neighbours, the Ottoman and Mughal empires.
The Safavid dynasty had its origin in the Safaviyya Sufi order, which was established in the city of Ardabil in the Azerbaijan region. It was of mixed ancestry (Azerbaijani,Kurdish and Turkmen, which included intermarriages with Georgian and Pontic Greek dignitaries). From their base in Ardabil, the Safavids established control over all of Greater Iran and reasserted the Iranian identity of the region, thus becoming the first native dynasty since the Sassanid Empire to establish a unified Iranian state.

wn.com/Safavid_dynasty
Second French Empire
The Second French Empire (French: Le Second Empire Français) was the Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 1852 to 1870, between the Second Republic and the Third Republic, in France.
Although the machinery of government was almost the same under the Second Empire as it had been under the First, its founding principles were different. The function of the Empire, as Emperor Napoleon III often repeated, was to guide the people internally towards justice and externally towards perpetual peace. Holding his power by universal male suffrage, and having frequently, from his prison or in exile, reproached previous oligarchical governments with neglecting social questions, he set out to solve them by organising a system of government based on the principles of the "Napoleonic Idea", i.e. of the emperor, the elect of the people as the representative of the democracy, and as such supreme; and of himself, the representative of the great Napoleon I of France, "who had sprung armed from the French Revolution like Minerva from the head of Jove", as the guardian of the social gains of the revolutionary period.

wn.com/Second_French_Empire
Shaanxi
Shaanxi (help·info) (simplified Chinese: 陕西; traditional Chinese: 陝西; pinyin: Shǎnxī; Wade–Giles: Shan-hsi; Postal map spelling: Shensi) is a province in the central part of Mainland China, and it includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River in addition to the Qinling Mountains across the southern part of this province. Shaanxi is the historical home, along with Gansu of the dialect of the Dungans, of the Hui people, who emigrated out of China to Central Asia.
By regular Hanyu Pinyin rules, if tone marks are not written, both Shaanxi and the neighbouring province of Shanxi, to the east of Shaanxi, should be spelled "Shanxi"; the difference is in tone: Shānxī (山西) and Shǎnxī (陕西). To make the difference clear without tonal marks, the spelling "Shaanxi" was contrived (following the romanization system of Yuen Ren Chao) for the province of Shǎnxī, while "Shanxi" is used for the province of Shānxī. Shaanxi is the official spelling on Chinese Government's official web portal. This makes "Shaanxi" the only name of Chinese provinces that has not been romanized according to pinyin rules.

wn.com/Shaanxi
Shandong
Coordinates: 36°24′N 118°24′E / 36.4°N 118.4°E / 36.4; 118.4
Shandong (help·info) (simplified Chinese: 山东; traditional Chinese: 山東; pinyin: Shāndōng; Wade–Giles: Shan¹-tung¹) 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 from the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River and served as a pivotal cultural and religious site for Taoism, Chinese Buddhism, and Confucianism. Shandong's Mount Tai is the most revered mountain of Taoism and one of the world's sites with the longest history of continuous religious worship. 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. Shandong's location at the intersection of ancient as well as modern north-south and east-west trading routes have helped to establish it as an economic center. After a period of political instability and economic hardship that began in the late 19th century, Shandong has emerged as one of the most populous (95,793,065 inhabitants at the 2010 Census) and most affluent provinces in the People's Republic of China (GDP of 3.94 trillion CNY in 2010).

wn.com/Shandong
Shanhai Pass
Coordinates: 40°00′33.71″N 119°45′14.92″E / 40.0093639°N 119.7541444°E / 40.0093639; 119.7541444
Shanhai Pass (simplified Chinese: 山海关; traditional Chinese: 山海關; pinyin: Shānhǎi Guān) or Shanhaiguan, Shan-hai-kuan or Shan-hai-kwan, also known as Yu Pass (榆關), along with Jiayu Pass and Juyong Pass, is one of the major passes of the Great Wall of China It is located in Shanhaiguan District, Qinhuangdao, Hebei. In 1961, Shanhaiguan became a site of China First Class National Cultural Site.
It is a popular tourist destination, featuring the eastern end of the main line of the Ming Dynasty Great Wall. The "First Pass Under Heaven" is also a noticeable tourist attraction. The place where the wall itself meets the Pacific Ocean (at the Bohai Sea) has been nicknamed the "Old Dragon's Head."
It is nearly 300 kilometres (190 mi) east of Beijing and linked via the Jingshen Expressway that runs northeastward to Shenyang.
Throughout Chinese history, it served as a frontier of defense against tribes from Manchuria (e.g. the Khitan, Jurchen and the Manchus).

wn.com/Shanhai_Pass
Shanxi
Coordinates: 37°42′N 112°24′E / 37.7°N 112.4°E / 37.7; 112.4
Shanxi (help·info) (Chinese: 山西; pinyin: Shānxī; Wade–Giles: Shan-hsi; Postal map spelling: Shansi) is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" (pinyin: Jìn), after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period.
The name Shanxi literally means "mountain's west", which refers to the province's location west of the Taihang Mountains. Shanxi borders Hebei to the east, Henan to the south, Shaanxi to the west, and Inner Mongolia to the north and is made up mainly of a plateau bounded partly by mountain ranges. The capital of the province is Taiyuan.
Shanxi, the territory of state of Jin during the Spring and Autumn Period (722 BC - 403 BC), underwent a three-way split into the states of Han, Zhao and Wei in 403 BC, the traditional date taken as the start of the Warring States Period (403 BC - 221 BC). By 221 BC all of these states had fallen to the state of Qin, which established the Qin Dynasty (221 BC - 206 BC).

wn.com/Shanxi
Shenyang
Shenyang (Chinese: 沈阳; pinyin: Shěnyáng; Mandarin pronunciation: [ʂən˧˩jɑŋ˧˥]), or Mukden ( in Manchu), is the capital and largest city of Liaoning Province in Northeast China. Currently holding sub-provincial administrative status, the city was once known as Shengjing (盛京) or Fengtian Fu (奉天府). Shenyang was first used by the Manchu people as their capital in the 17th century and is today the biggest city in the Northeast.
Along with its nearby cities, Shenyang is an important industrial centre in China, and serves as the transportation and commercial hub of China's northeast–particularly with Japan, Russia, and Korea. A titan of heavy industry since the 1930s, the city has been diversifying its industry and now has a solid industrial foundation, a good land and air transport network, abundant natural resources, and a skilled workforce. Investment subsidies are granted to multinational corporations (MNCs) that set up offices or headquarters in Shenyang.
The sub-provincial city region includes the metropolitan area of Shenyang proper, Xinmin county-level city, and three counties.

wn.com/Shenyang
Shun dynasty
The Shun Dynasty (simplified Chinese: 顺朝; traditional Chinese: 順朝; pinyin: Shùn cháo) was an imperial dynasty created in the brief lapse from Ming to Qing rule in China. The dynasty was founded in Xi'an on 8 February 1644, the first day of the lunar year, by Li Zicheng, the leader of a large peasant rebellion. Li, however, only went by the title of King (王), not Emperor (皇帝). The capture of Beijing by the Shun forces in April 1644 marked the end of the Ming dynasty, but Li Zicheng failed to solidify his mandate: in late May 1644, he was defeated at the Battle of Shanhai Pass by the joint forces of Ming general Wu Sangui and Manchu prince Dorgon. When he fled back to Beijing in early June, Li finally proclaimed himself Emperor of China and left the capital in a hurry. The Shun dynasty ended with Li's death in 1645.
After the Shun Dynasty was created, Li Zicheng ordered the soldiers to kill the Ming remnants still existing in Beijing. This resulted in strong rebellions from the forces of Southern Ming. In addition with the Shun ministers constantly fighting for power, the dynasty effectively lasted less than a year.

wn.com/Shun_dynasty
Shun Dynasty
The Shun Dynasty (simplified Chinese: 顺朝; traditional Chinese: 順朝; pinyin: Shùn cháo) was an imperial dynasty created in the brief lapse from Ming to Qing rule in China. The dynasty was founded in Xi'an on 8 February 1644, the first day of the lunar year, by Li Zicheng, the leader of a large peasant rebellion. Li, however, only went by the title of King (王), not Emperor (皇帝). The capture of Beijing by the Shun forces in April 1644 marked the end of the Ming dynasty, but Li Zicheng failed to solidify his mandate: in late May 1644, he was defeated at the Battle of Shanhai Pass by the joint forces of Ming general Wu Sangui and Manchu prince Dorgon. When he fled back to Beijing in early June, Li finally proclaimed himself Emperor of China and left the capital in a hurry. The Shun dynasty ended with Li's death in 1645.
After the Shun Dynasty was created, Li Zicheng ordered the soldiers to kill the Ming remnants still existing in Beijing. This resulted in strong rebellions from the forces of Southern Ming. In addition with the Shun ministers constantly fighting for power, the dynasty effectively lasted less than a year.

wn.com/Shun_Dynasty
Sichuan
Coordinates: 30°N 103°E / 30°N 103°E / 30; 103
Sichuan (help·info) (Chinese: 四川, known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan) is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu. The current name of the province, "四川", is an abbreviation of "四川路" (Sì Chuānlù), or "Four circuits of rivers", which is itself abbreviated from "川峡四路" (Chuānxiá Sìlù), or "Four circuits of rivers and gorges", named after the division of the existing circuit into four during the Northern Song Dynasty.
The province and its vicinity were the cradle of unique local civilizations, which can be dated back to at least the fifteenth century BC (coinciding with the later years of the Shang Dynasty). Beginning from the ninth century BC, Shu (today Chengdu) and Ba (today Chongqing City) emerged as cultural and administrative centers where two rival kingdoms were established.
Shu's existence was unknown until an archaeological discovery in 1986 at a small village named Sanxingdui (三星堆) in Guanghan County. It is believed to be an ancient city of the Shu Kingdom, where excavations have yielded invaluable archaeological information.

wn.com/Sichuan
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union (Russian: Советский Союз, tr. Sovetsky Soyuz), officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR; Russian: Сою́з Сове́тских Социалисти́ческих Респу́блик, tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik; IPA: [sɐˈjus sɐˈvʲetskʲɪx sətsɨəlʲɪˈstʲitɕɪskʲɪx rʲɪsˈpublʲɪk] ( listen); abbreviated СССР, SSSR), was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991.
The Soviet Union was a single-party state ruled by the Communist Party from its foundation until 1990. A union of 15 subnational Soviet republics, the Soviet state was structured under a highly centralized government and economy.
The Russian Revolution of 1917 caused the downfall of the Russian Empire. Following the Russian Revolution, there was a struggle for power between the Bolshevik party, led by Vladimir Lenin, and the anti-communist White movement. In December 1922, the Bolsheviks won the civil war, and the Soviet Union was formed with the merger of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic.

wn.com/Soviet_Union
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire (Spanish: Imperio Español) comprised territories and colonies administered by Spain in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its political and economic power when it became the foremost global power. Its establishment in the 15th century ushered in the modern global era and five centuries of European dominance of global affairs. Spain's territorial reach beyond Europe spanned six centuries, from the first voyages to the Americas in 1492 until the independence of its last African colonies in the 1970s.
After the War of the Castilian Succession (1475–1479), Spain had emerged with a personally unified monarchy, with the marriage of the Catholic Monarchs or los Reyes Catolicos between the Queen of Castile and the King of Aragon: the internal and foreign policy was coordinated although the rule was separate. In 1492, the Spanish monarchs completed the Reconquista with the incorporation of Granada to the Kingdom of Castile. That same year Christopher Columbus commanded the first Spanish exploratory voyage west across the Atlantic Ocean, leading to the Discovery of America and Europe's eventual colonial engagement in the New World. The Americas thereby became the focus of Spanish exploration and colonization.

wn.com/Spanish_Empire
Summer Palace
Coordinates: 39°59′51.00″N 116°16′8.04″E / 39.9975°N 116.2689°E / 39.9975; 116.2689
The Summer Palace (simplified Chinese: 颐和园; traditional Chinese: 頤和園; pinyin: Yíhé Yuán; literally "Gardens of Nurtured Harmony") is a palace in Beijing, China. The Summer Palace is mainly dominated by Longevity Hill (60 meters high) and the Kunming Lake. It covers an expanse of 2.9 square kilometers, three quarters of which is water.
Longevity Hill is about 60 meters (196.9 feet) high and houses many buildings positioned in sequence. The front hill is rich in the splendid halls and pavilions, while the back hill, in sharp contrast, is quiet with natural beauty
The central Kunming Lake covering 2.2 square kilometers was entirely man made and the excavated soil was used to build Longevity Hill. In the Summer Palace, one finds a variety of palaces, gardens, and other classical-style architectural structures.
In December 1998, UNESCO included the Summer Palace on its World Heritage List. It declared the Summer Palace "a masterpiece of Chinese landscape garden design. The natural landscape of hills and open water is combined with artificial features such as pavilions, halls, palaces, temples and bridges to form a harmonious ensemble of outstanding aesthetic value." It is a popular tourist destination but also serves as a recreational park.

wn.com/Summer_Palace
Taiwan
Taiwan (ⁱ/ˌtaɪˈwɑːn/ TY-WAHN; Chinese: 臺灣 or 台灣; pinyin: Táiwān; see below), officially the Republic of China (ROC; Chinese: 中華民國; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Mínguó), is a state in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China now governs the island of Taiwan (formerly known as Formosa), which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu, and other minor islands. Neighboring states include the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east and northeast, and the Philippines to the south. Taipei is the capital city and economic and cultural centre of the country, and New Taipei is the most populous city.
The earliest evidence of inhabitation of Taiwan dates back to the late Paleolithic era. The island of Taiwan was mainly inhabited by Taiwanese aborigines before being colonized in the 17th century by the Dutch and the Spanish Empire. The first Han Chinese polity on Taiwan began when Koxinga's troops defeated Dutch forces and established the Kingdom of Tungning. The island was subsequently ruled by the Qing Dynasty after the kingdom's defeat in the Battle of Penghu in 1683, a period that lasted for over 200 years. Following Japan's victory over the Qing Dynasty in the first Sino-Japanese war, Taiwan was ceded to Japan under the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895.

wn.com/Taiwan
Teotihuacan
Coordinates: 19°41′33″N 98°50′37.68″W / 19.6925°N 98.8438°W / 19.6925; -98.8438
Teotihuacan – also written Teotihuacán, with a Spanish orthographic accent on the last syllable – is an enormous archaeological site in the Basin of Mexico, just 30 miles (48 km) northeast of Mexico City, containing some of the largest pyramidal structures built in the pre-Columbian Americas. Apart from the pyramidal structures, Teotihuacan is also known for its large residential complexes, the Avenue of the Dead, and numerous colorful, well-preserved murals. Additionally, Teotihuacan produced a thin orange pottery style that spread through Mesoamerica.
The city is thought to have been established around 100 BC and continued to be built until about 250 AD. The city may have lasted until sometime between the 7th and 8th centuries AD. At its zenith, perhaps in the first half of the 1st millennium AD, Teotihuacan was the largest city in the pre-Columbian Americas, with a population of perhaps 125,000 or more, placing it among the largest cities of the world in this period. Teotihuacan began as a new religious center in the Mexican Highland around the first century AD. This city came to be the largest and most populated center in the New World. Teotihuacan was even home to multi-floor apartment compounds built to accommodate this large population. The civilization and cultural complex associated with the site is also referred to as Teotihuacan or Teotihuacano.

wn.com/Teotihuacan
Tian Shan
The Tian Shan (Chinese: 天山; pinyin: Tiān Shān; literally "celestial mountains"; Mongolian: Тэнгэр уул; Uyghur: تەڭرى تاغ‎, ULY: Tengri Tagh), also spelled Tien Shan, is a large system of mountain ranges located in Central Asia. The highest peak in the Tian Shan is Victory Peak (Jengish Chokusu), 7,439 metres (24,406 ft).
The Chinese name for Tian Shan may be derived from the Xiongnu language name qilian (祁连), which was described by Sima Qian in the Records of the Grand Historian as the homeland of the pre-Xiongnu peoples of the region, the Yuezhi, and has been said to refer to the Tian Shan rather than to the range 1,500 kilometres (930 mi) further east now known by this name. The nearby Tannu-Ola Mountains (Tuvan: Таңды-Уула Tangdy-Uula) bear the same name ("heaven/celestial mountains" or "god/spirit mountains").
Tian Shan lies to the north and west of the Taklamakan Desert and directly north of the Tarim Basin in the border region of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of western China. In the south it links up with the Pamir Mountains and to north and east it meets the Altai Mountains of Mongolia. It also extends into the Chinese province of Xinjiang and into the northern areas of Pakistan, where it joins the Hindu Kush.^{[citation needed]}

wn.com/Tian_Shan
Tianjin
Tianjin (help·info) (Chinese: 天津; pinyin: Tiānjīn; Mandarin pronunciation: [tʰjɛ́ntɕín]; Tianjinese: /tʰiɛn˨˩tɕin˨˩/~[tʰjɛ̃̀ɦɪ̀ŋ]; Postal map spelling: Tientsin) is a metropolis in northern China and one of the five national central cities of the People's Republic of China. It is governed as a direct-controlled municipality, one of four such designations, and is, thus, under direct administration of the central government. Tianjin borders Hebei Province and Beijing Municipality, bounded to the east by the Bohai Gulf portion of the Yellow Sea.
As a dual-core city, Tianjin is divided into the old city and the Binhai New Area. Binhai New Area is a new growth pole in China, and it maintains an annual growth rate of nearly 30% of the GDP. As of the end of 2010, 285 Fortune Global 500 companies have established branch offices in Binhai. It is a base of China's advanced industry, financial reform, and innovation.
In terms of urban population, it is the sixth-largest city of the People's Republic of China, and its urban land area (Binhai New Area is not included) ranks fifth in the nation after Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan and Guangzhou. Tianjin's urban area is located along the Hai River, which connects to the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers via the Grand Canal in Tianjin. Tianjin was once home to foreign concessions in the late Qing Dynasty and early Kuomintang (KMT) era. The municipality incorporates the coastal region of Tanggu, home to the Binhai New Area and the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area (TEDA).

wn.com/Tianjin
Vietnam
Vietnam ( listen), formally the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Cộng hòa xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam; listen), is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. With an estimated 91.5 million inhabitants as of 2012, it is the world's 13th-most-populous country, and the eighth-most-populous Asian country. The name Vietnam translates as "South Viet", and was officially adopted in 1945. The country is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east.
The Vietnamese became independent from Imperial China in 938 AD, following the Battle of Bạch Đằng River. Successive Vietnamese royal dynasties flourished as the nation expanded geographically and politically into Southeast Asia, until the Indochina Peninsula was colonized by the French in the mid-19th century. The First Indochina War eventually led to the expulsion of the French in 1954, leaving Vietnam divided politically into two states, North and South Vietnam. Conflict between the two sides intensified, with heavy foreign intervention, during the Vietnam War, which ended with a North Vietnamese victory in 1975.

wn.com/Vietnam
Warsangali Sultanate
The Warsangali Sultanate (Somali: Saldanadda Warsangeli, Arabic: سلطنة الورسنجلي‎) was a Somali imperial ruling house centered in northeastern and in some parts of southeastern Somalia. It was one of the largest sultanates ever established in the territory, and, at the height of its power, included the Sanaag region and parts of the northeastern Bari region of the country, an area historically known as Maakhir or the Maakhir Coast. The Sultanate was founded in the late 13th century in northern Somalia by a group of Somalis from the Warsangali branch of the Darod clan, and was ruled by the descendants of the Gerad Dhidhin. In the late 19th century, the influential Sultan Mohamoud Ali Shire governed the Sultanate, assuming control during some of its most turbulent years. The Akil Dhahar ruled south of Sanaag and some portions of the Bari region. In 1884, the United Kingdom established the protectorate of British Somaliland through various treaties with the northern Somali sultanates, including the Warsangali Sultanate.

wn.com/Warsangali_Sultanate
Western Xia
The Western Xia Dynasty (Chinese: 西夏; pinyin: Xī Xià; Wade-Giles: Hsi Hsia; literally "Western Xia") or the Tangut Empire, was known to the Tanguts and the Tibetans as Minyak.
The state existed from 1038 to 1227 AD in what are now the northwestern Chinese provinces of Ningxia, Gansu, eastern Qinghai, northern Shaanxi, northeastern Xinjiang, southwest Inner Mongolia, and southernmost Outer Mongolia, measuring about eight hundred thousand square kilometers. The state suffered from devastating destruction by the Mongols who founded Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368), including most of its written records and architecture. Its founders and history therefore remained controversial until recent research conducted both in the West and within China. They occupied the area of important trade route between North China and Central Asia, the Hexi Corridor. The Western Xia made significant achievements in literature, art, music, and architecture, which was characterized as "shining and sparkling". Their extensive stance among the other empires of the Liao, Song, and Jin was attributable to their effective military organizations that integrated cavalry, chariots, archery, shields, artillery (cannons carried on the back of camels), and amphibious troops for combats on land and water.

wn.com/Western_Xia
Xin Dynasty
The Xin Dynasty (Chinese: 新朝; pinyin: Xīn Cháo; Wade–Giles: Hsin Ch'ao; literally "New Dynasty") was a Chinese dynasty (although strictly speaking it had only one emperor) which lasted from AD 9 to 23. It followed the Western Han Dynasty and preceded the Eastern Han Dynasty.
The sole emperor of the Xin Dynasty, Wang Mang (王莽), was the nephew of Grand Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun. After the death of her step-grandson Emperor Ai in 1 BC, Wang Mang rose to power. After several years of cultivating a personality cult, he finally proclaimed himself emperor in AD 9. However, while a creative scholar and politician, he was an incompetent ruler, and his capital Chang'an was besieged by peasant rebels in AD 23. He died in the siege, and the Han Dynasty was restored by descendants of the former imperial clan.

wn.com/Xin_Dynasty
Xinjiang
Xinjiang (XUAR) (Uyghur: شىنجاڭ‎, ULY: Shinjang; Mandarin pronunciation: [ɕíntɕjɑ́ŋ]; Chinese: 新疆; pinyin: Xīnjiāng; Wade–Giles: Hsin¹-chiang¹; Postal map spelling: Sinkiang) is an autonomous region (Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region) of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km². Xinjiang borders Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, has abundant oil reserves and is China's largest natural gas-producing region.
It is home to a number of different ethnic groups including the Uyghur, Han, Kazakh, Hui, Kyrgyz, and Mongol. More than a dozen autonomous prefectures and counties for minorities are located in Xinjiang. Older English-language reference works often refer to the area as Chinese Turkestan, Sinkiang, and East Turkestan. Xinjiang is divided into the Dzungarian Basin in the north and the Tarim Basin in the south by a mountain range. Only about 4.3% of Xinjiang's land area is fit for human habitation.

wn.com/Xinjiang
Yantai
Yantai (Chinese: 烟台; pinyin: Yāntái) is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Shandong province, People's Republic of China. Located on the southern coast of the Bohai Sea and the eastern coast of the Laizhou Bay, Yantai borders the cities of Qingdao and Weihai to the southwest and east respectively.
The largest fishing seaport in Shandong and a robust economic center today, Yantai used to be known to the West as Chefoo, a misnomer which refers, in Chinese, solely to Zhifu Island, which is historically governed by Yantai.
The contemporary name of Yantai came from the watchtowers constructed on Mount Qi in 1398, during the reign of the Hongwu Emperor, founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty (yan—smoke; tai—tower). The towers served to raise alarms against invasions of Japanese pirates.
The prefecture-level city of Yantai administers 12 county-level divisions, including 4 districts, 7 county-level cities, 1 county and one development zone.
These are further divided into 148 township-level divisions, including 94 towns, 6 townships and 48 subdistricts.

wn.com/Yantai
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty (Chinese: 元朝, p Yuán Cháo; Mongolian: Их Юань улс) was the branch of Mongol Borjigin dynasty established by Kublai Khan. Although the Mongols had ruled northern China for decades, it was not until 1271 that Kublai Khan officially proclaimed the dynasty in the traditional Chinese style. His realm – the Great Yuan Empire (t 大元帝國, s 大元帝国, p Dà Yuán Dìguó) – was by this point isolated from the other khanates and controlled only most of present-day China and its surrounding areas including modern Mongolia. It was the first non-Han dynasty to rule all of China and lasted until 1368, after which its remnants in Mongolia were known as the Northern Yuan.
The Yuan is considered both a successor to the Mongol Empire and as an imperial Chinese dynasty. In official Chinese histories, the Yuan Dynasty bore the Mandate of Heaven, following the Song Dynasty and preceding the Ming Dynasty. Although the dynasty was established by Kublai Khan, he placed his grandfather Genghis Khan on the imperial records as the official founder of the dynasty as Taizu.

wn.com/Yuan_Dynasty
Yunnan
Coordinates: 24°30′N 101°30′E / 24.5°N 101.5°E / 24.5; 101.5
Yunnan (simplified Chinese: 云南; traditional Chinese: 雲南; pinyin: Yúnnán; IPA: [y̌nnǎn] ( listen)) is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately 394,000 square kilometers (152,000 sq mi) and with a population of 45.7 million (2009). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.
Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with high elevations in the northwest and low elevations in the southeast. Most of the population lives in the eastern part of the province. In the west, the relative height from mountain peaks to river valleys can be as much as 3,000 m.^{[citation needed]} Yunnan is rich in natural resources and has the largest diversity of plant life in China. Of the approximately 30,000 species of higher plants in China, Yunnan has perhaps 17,000 or more.^{[citation needed]} Yunnan's reserves of aluminium, lead, zinc and tin are the largest in China, and there are also major reserves of copper and nickel.^{[citation needed]} Yunnan has over 600 rivers and lakes, which provide an annual water supply of 222 billion cubic meters.^{[citation needed]} Projected hydropower reserves stand at 103 GW, with an exploitable capacity of 90 GW.^{[citation needed]}

wn.com/Yunnan
Zhejiang
Coordinates: 29°12′N 120°30′E / 29.2°N 120.5°E / 29.2; 120.5
Zhejiang (Chinese: 浙江; pinyin: Zhèjiāng; Wade–Giles: Che-chiang or Chekiang) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang (crooked river) was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital. The name of the province is often abbreviated to its first character, "浙".
Zhejiang borders Jiangsu province and Shanghai municipality to the north, Anhui province to the northwest, Jiangxi province to the west, and Fujian province to the south; to the east is the East China Sea, beyond which lie the Ryukyu Islands of Japan.
The area of modern Zhejiang was outside the major sphere of influence of early Chinese civilization during the Shang Dynasty (sixteenth century to eleventh century BC). Instead, this area was populated by peoples collectively known as the Yue, such as the Dongyue and the Ouyue. In the Spring and Autumn Period, the state of Yue emerged in northern Zhejiang. The Yue state was heavily influenced by the Chinese civilization further north. Under King Goujian of Yue, Yue reached its zenith and was able to wipe out the powerful state of Wu to its immediate north, in 473 BC. Then, in 333 BC, Yue was in turn conquered by the state of Chu, which was to the west. In 221 BC, the state of Qin completed the conquest of the last of the formerly independent states of China, including the state of Chu. This conquest made what is now Zhejiang part of a unified Chinese empire.

wn.com/Zhejiang

Almohad Caliphate
The Almohad Dynasty (Berber: Imweḥḥden, from Arabic الموحدون al-Muwaḥḥidun, "the monotheists" or "the Unitarians"), was a MoroccanBerber-Muslim dynasty founded in the 12th century that established a Berber state in Tinmel in the Atlas Mountains in roughly 1120.
The movement was started by Ibn Tumart in the Masmuda tribe, followed by Abd al-Mu'min al-Gumi between 1130 and his death in 1163, the Almohads defeated the ruling Almoravids, extending their power over all of the Maghreb. Al-Andalus, Moorish Iberia (modern Portugal and southern Spain) under the Almoravid dynasty, followed the fate of Africa.
The Almohad dominance of Iberia continued until 1212, when Muhammad III, "al-Nasir" (1199–1214) was defeated at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in the Sierra Morena by an alliance of the Christian princes of Castile, Aragon, Navarre, and Portugal. Nearly all of the Moorish dominions in Iberia were lost soon after, with the great Moorish cities of Córdoba and Seville falling to the Christians in 1236 and 1248 respectively.

wn.com/Almohad_Caliphate
Antoine Thomas
Antoine Thomas (25 January 1644 – 29 June 1709) was a Belgian Jesuit priest, missionary and astronomer in China.
Born in Namur (Belgium) in 1644, he joined the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) in 1660 and first taught in the schools of Armentières, Huy and Tournai. Equipped with a thorough training in Mathematics and Astronomy he was sent, at his own request as missionary to China (1677). After a long and difficult sea journey - passing through Goa, Siam (Thailand) and Malacca - he reached Macau in 1682 just in time to observe an eclipse of the Sun (1683).
He was called by the aging Father Ferdinand Verbiest, who had just found himself appointed 'Vice-President of the Tribunal of Mathematics', a very important and influential post in the Chinese empire, to join him in Peking. At the death of Verbiest (1688) Thomas took his place as the main mathematician and astronomical expert of China. For twenty years he was then a close adviser to the emperor Kangxi who, beyond scientific questions, consulted him also on moral and religious matters. In 1692 he obtained an 'edict of tolerance' that gave to the missionaries almost complete freedom to preach Christianity.

wn.com/Antoine_Thomas
Booi Aha
Booi Aha (Manchu: booi niyalma for male, booi hehe for female; Chinese transliteration: 包衣阿哈) is a Manchu word literally meaning "household person", referring to a hereditarily servile people in the 17th century China. It is often directly translated as the "bondservant", although sometimes also rendered as "Nucai" or "slave".
In his book China Marches West, Peter C. Perdue stated:"In 1624 (after Nurhachi's invasion of Liaodong) "In 1624 Chinese households who had 5 to 7 Manchu sin of grain (800 to 1,000 kg) were given land and houses, while those with less were made into slaves." The Manchu was establishing close personal and paternalist relationship between masters and their slaves, as Nurhachi said: "The Master (Chinese:主子) should love the slaves and eat the same food as him". Perdue further pointed out that booi aha "did not correspond exactly to the Chinese category of "bondservant-slave" (Chinese:奴僕); instead, it was a relationship of personal dependency on a master which in theory guaranteed close personal relationships and equal treatment, even though many western scholars would directly translate "booi" as "bondservant".

wn.com/Booi_Aha
Buyid dynasty
The Buyid dynasty, also known as the Buyid Empire or the Buyids (Persian: آل بویه‎ Āl-e Buye), also known as Buwaihids, Buyahids, or Buyyids, were a Shī‘ah Iranian dynasty that originated from Daylaman in Gilan. They founded a confederation that controlled most of modern-day Iran and Iraq in the 10th and 11th centuries.
The founders of the Būyid confederation were ‘Alī ibn Būyah and his two younger brothers, al-Hassan and Aḥmad. Originally a soldier in the service of the Ziyārīds of Ṭabaristān, ‘Alī was able to recruit an army to defeat a Turkish general from Baghdad named Yaqut in 934. Over the next nine years the three brothers gained control of the remainder of the 'Abbāsid Caliphate. While they accepted the titular authority of the caliph in Baghdad, the Būyid rulers assumed effective control of the state.
The first several decades of the Būyid confederation were characterized by large territorial gains. In addition to Fars and Jibal, which were conquered in the 930s, and central Iraq, which submitted in 945, the Būyids took Kermān (967), Oman (967), the Jazīra (979), Ṭabaristān (980), and Gorgan (981). After this, however, the Būyids went into a slow decline, with pieces of the confederation gradually breaking off and local dynasties under their rule becoming de facto independent.

wn.com/Buyid_dynasty
Chen Yuanyuan
Chen Yuanyuan (simplified Chinese: 陈圆圆; traditional Chinese: 陳圓圓; pinyin: Chén Yuányuán; 1624–1681), born Xing Yuan (邢沅), lived near the end of the Ming Dynasty, and was a concubine of Wu Sangui. Her courtesy name was Wanfen (Chinese: 畹芬). Her actual historical significance is disputed, although it is largely believed that Chen was pivotal in Wu Sangui's campaigns after the fall of the Ming. She was one of the 8 beauties in Jiangnan(江南八豔). She is compared to Helen of Troy^{[citation needed]}.
Chen Yuanyuan was born to a peasant family, and on the death of her father, she became a courtesan. Due to her beauty and singing ability, she became a lead figure in opera in Suzhou. Fearing for her life due to an abduction attempt, she became the concubine of Mao Xiang.
In 1642, Chen was abducted by the Tian Hongyu family where she became the singing courtisan. She then moved into the possession of Wu Sangui, though how is unclear - she may have been purchased by Wu's father or given as a gift by Tian.

wn.com/Chen_Yuanyuan
Chongzhen Emperor
The Chongzhen Emperor (simplified Chinese: 崇祯; traditional Chinese: 崇禎; pinyin: Chóngzhēn; Wade-Giles: Ch'ung-chen/old spelling: Ch'ung-cheng) (February 6, 1611 - April 25, 1644) was the 16th and last emperor of the Ming Dynasty in China. He reigned from 1627 to 1644, under an era name that means "honorable and auspicious".
Born Zhu Youjian (朱由檢), Chongzhen was the fifth son of Zhu Changluo, the Taichang Emperor. His mother Lady Liu was a humble concubine of the Taichang Emperor. When he was four years old, she was killed by Zhu Changluo in his anger and anxiety, reason kept unknown. She was buried secretly, and Zhu Youjian was adopted by Consort Kang, some years later transferred to Consort Zhuang, as Consort Kang gave birth to another princess and adopted Zhu Youxiao as well.
As such, he grew up in a relatively lonely but quiet environment, since most of the younger sons were left out of the power struggle that their elder brother the Tianqi Emperor had to endure. Chongzhen succeeded his brother to the throne at age 17^{[clarification needed]} and immediately eliminated the eunuch Wei Zhongxian and Madame Ke, who had become de facto rulers of the empire.

wn.com/Chongzhen_Emperor
Dorgon
Dorgon (Manchu: ; literally "badger" in Manchu; 17 November 1612 – 31 December 1650) was a Manchu prince and regent of the early Qing Dynasty.
Dorgon was born of the Manchu Aisin Gioro clan as the 14th son of Nurhaci, khan of the Later Jin Dynasty (later renamed to Qing Dynasty by Nurhaci's successor Hong Taiji). His mother was Nurhaci's primary consort Lady Abahai. Ajige and Dodo were his full brothers, and Hong Taiji was his half-brother. Dorgon was one of the most influential of Nurhaci's sons, and his role was instrumental to the occupation of Ming Dynasty's capital Beijing by Qing forces in 1644. During Hong Taiji's reign, Dorgon participated in many military campaigns, including the conquests of Mongolia and Korea.
After Hong Taiji died in 1643, Dorgon became involved in a power struggle with Hong Taiji's eldest son Hooge over the succession to the throne. The conflict was resolved with a compromise between the two contending parties - both of them backed out, and Hong Taiji's ninth son Fulin ascended to the throne as the Shunzhi Emperor. Since the Shunzhi Emperor was only six years old at that time, Dorgon was appointed regent and became a de facto ruler. Dorgon was conferred the title of "Emperor's Uncle and Prince Regent" (皇叔父攝政王), which later became "Emperor's Father and Prince Regent" (皇父攝政王). It was rumoured that Dorgon had a romantic affair with the Shunzhi Emperor's mother Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang and even secretly married her, but this claim has been disputed.

wn.com/Dorgon
Ebilun
Ebilun (Manchu: ; Chinese: 遏必隆; pinyin: Èbìlóng) was one of the Four Regents and an assistant minister appointed by the Shunzhi Emperor for his successor, Kangxi during the Qing Dynasty. Ebilun worked with Oboi to defeat Suksaha.
His mother was the Aisin Gioro princess.

wn.com/Ebilun
Emperor of China
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. 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.

wn.com/Emperor_of_China
Empress Dowager Cixi
Empress Dowager Cixi¹ (Chinese: 慈禧太后; pinyin: Cíxǐ Tàihòu; Wade–Giles: Empress Dowager Tz'u-Hsi; [t͡sʰɨɕi]; Manchu: Tsysi taiheo; 29 November 1835 – 15 November 1908), of the Manchu Yehenara clan, was a powerful and charismatic woman who unofficially but effectively controlled the Manchu Qing Dynasty in China for 47 years, from 1861 to her death in 1908.
Selected by the Xianfeng Emperor as an imperial concubine in her adolescence, she gave birth to his son, who became the Tongzhi Emperor upon Xianfeng's death. Cixi ousted a group of regents appointed by the late emperor and assumed regency over her young son with the Empress Dowager Ci'an. Cixi then consolidated control over the dynasty when, at the death of the Tongzhi Emperor, contrary to the rules of succession, she installed her nephew as the Guangxu Emperor in 1875. Although she refused to adopt Western models of government, she nonetheless supported the technological and military Self-Strengthening Movement. Cixi rejected the Hundred Days' Reforms of 1898 as impractical and detrimental to dynastic power and placed the Guangxu Emperor under house arrest for supporting reformers. After the Boxer Rebellion and the invasion of Allied armies, external and internal pressures led Cixi to effect institutional changes of just the sort she had resisted and appoint reform-minded officials. The dynasty collapsed in 1912, four years after her death.

wn.com/Empress_Dowager_Cixi
Ferdinand Verbiest
Father Ferdinand Verbiest (9 October 1623 – 28 January 1688) was a Flemish Jesuit missionary in China during the Qing dynasty. He was born in Pittem near Tielt in Flanders, later part of the modern state of Belgium. He is known as Nan Huairen (南懷仁) in Chinese. He was an accomplished mathematician and astronomer and proved to the court of Kangxi Emperor that European astronomy was more accurate than Chinese astronomy. He then corrected the Chinese calendar and was later asked to rebuild and re-equip the Beijing Ancient Observatory, being given the role of Head of the Mathematical Board and Director of the Observatory.
He became close friends with the Kangxi Emperor, who frequently requested his teaching, in geometry, philosophy and music.
Verbiest worked as a diplomat and cartographer, and also as a translator, because he spoke Latin, German, Dutch, Spanish, Hebrew, and Italian. He wrote more than thirty books.
During the 1670s, Verbiest designed what some claim to be the first ever self-propelled vehicle – many claim this as the world's first automobile, in spite of its small size and the lack of evidence that it was actually built.

wn.com/Ferdinand_Verbiest
Frederic Wakeman
Frederic Evans Wakeman, Jr. (December 12, 1937–September 14, 2006) was a prominent American scholar of East Asian history. He also served as presidents of the American Historical Association and Social Science Research Council in the past.
Wakeman was born in Kansas City, Kansas. His father was the novelist Frederic E. Wakeman, Sr. (publishing as "Frederic Wakeman"), who often moved the family to live abroad in places like Bermuda, France, and Cuba. He graduated from Harvard University in 1959, where he majored in European history and literature. After Harvard, he went on to earn master's degrees from the University of Cambridge and at the Institut d'études politiques in Paris. While studying at the Institut d'études politiques, he switched to Chinese studies. In 1962 he published a novel, Seventeen Royal Palms Drive, under the name "Evans Wakeman." Wakeman received his Ph.D. in Far Eastern history at University of California, Berkeley in 1965, under the supervision of Professor Joseph Levenson. That year he began teaching at Berkeley, where he remained his entire career and retired as the Walter and Elise Haas Professor of Asian Studies. Wakeman served as the director of "Institute of East Asian Studies" at Berkeley from 1990 to 2001. Upon his retirement from Berkeley in May 2006, he received the "Berkeley Citation", the highest honor given at U.C. Berkeley.

wn.com/Frederic_Wakeman
Galdan Boshugtu Khan
Choros Erdeniin Galdan (1644–1697, Mongolian: Галдан Бошигту хаан) was a Dzungar-Oirat Khan of the Dzungar Khanate. He was the fourth son of Erdeni Baatur Hongtaiji, founder of the Zunghar Khanate, thus Galdan is a descendant of Esen taishi. Galdan's mother Amin-Dara was a daughter of Güshi Khan, the first Khoshut-Oirat King of Tibet and 4th Wênsa Zhügu.
As a youth, Galdan was sent to Lhasa to be educated as a lama under the 5th Dalai Lama. He supported his brother Sengge's right as Khan of the Zungars against the pretentions of their half-brothers Tseten and Tsobda Batur who challenged Tseten's authority since 1657. With the support of Ochirtu Khan of the Khoshuud, this strife ended with Sengge's victory in 1661. Sengge was murdered in 1671 by Tseten, when Galdan heard the news, he renounced his status as a lama and quickly returned to the Irtysh Valley to avenge his brother's death. Galdan was granted the title of Hongtaiji in 1671 by the Dalai Lama.
Although, already married Anu-Dara, granddaughter of Ochirtu, he came into conflict with his grandfather-in-law. Fearing of Galdan's popularity, Ochirtu supported his uncle and rival Choqur Ubashi who refused to recognize Galdan's title. The victory over Ochirtu in 1677 resulted in the establishment of hegemony over the Oirats. In the next year the Dalai Lama gave the highest title of Boshoghtu (or Boshughtu) Khan to him, Galdan thus united the entire Oirats in Zungaria and Western Mongolia.

wn.com/Galdan_Boshugtu_Khan
Guangxu Emperor
The Guangxu Emperor (14 August 1871 – 14 November 1908), born Zaitian of the Manchu Aisin Gioro clan, was the eleventh emperor of the Qing Dynasty, and the ninth Qing emperor to rule over China. His reign lasted from 1875 to 1908, but in practice he ruled, under Empress Dowager Cixi's influence, only from 1889 to 1898. He initiated the Hundred Days' Reform, but was abruptly stopped when Cixi launched a coup in 1898, after which he was put under house arrest until his death. His regnal name means "glorious succession".
Zaitian was the second son of Yixuan, Prince Chun, and his primary spouse Yehenara Wanzhen, a younger sister of Empress Dowager Cixi. On 12 January 1875, Zaitian's cousin, the Tongzhi Emperor, died without a son. Empress Dowager Ci'an suggested enthroning one of Yixin, Prince Gong's sons as the next emperor, but she was overruled by Cixi. Instead, breaking the imperial convention that a new emperor must always be of a generation after that of the previous emperor, Cixi nominated her nephew and the imperial family agreed with her choice.

wn.com/Guangxu_Emperor
Heshen
Heshen or Hešen (Manchu: ; Chinese: 和珅; pinyin: Héshēn; Wade–Giles: Ho-shen, 1746 – February 22, 1799), from the Manchu Niohuru clan, was a Manchu official of the Qing Dynasty, a favourite of the Qianlong Emperor. Born Shanbao (善保), his given name was later changed to Heshen. His courtesy name (字) was Zhizhai (致齋). He was a member of the Plain Red Banner, as well as one of the most corrupt officials in Chinese history. Heshen was born as the son of a Manchu military officer and was selected to go to the most privileged school for Manchu aristocratic boys. He lost his mother when he was young and it was said he and his younger brother had a hard life under his stepmother. However, it was reported that Heshen was an excellent student, knowing several languages besides Mandarin and Manchu. In 1772, he began work in the Imperial Palace, assigned as an imperial bodyguard and was stationed at the gates to the Forbidden City.
At the age of 25, Heshen was noticed by the Qianlong Emperor. Heshen was reportedly very attractive in appearance, with very fair skin and luscious, red lips^{[citation needed]}. This invoked rumours of the reasons behind the emperor's fascination with this man.

wn.com/Heshen
Hong Taiji
Hong Taiji (28 November 1592 – 21 September 1643; reigned 1626 – 1643), also transliterated as Huang Taiji based on the Chinese language transcription of his name, was the first Emperor of the Qing Dynasty.
Hong Taiji was responsible for consolidating the empire that his father, Nurhaci, had founded. He laid the groundwork for the conquering of the Ming dynasty, although he died before this was accomplished. He was responsible for changing the name of his people from Jurchen to Manchu in 1635 as well as that of the dynasty from Later Jin to Qing in 1636.
Hong Taiji is written as (Hung Taiji) in the Manchu language. In Chinese, Hong Taiji is also known as Hóng Tàijí (洪太極) or Huáng Táijí (皇太極). This name corresponded to well-known Mongolian title Khong Tayiji (Crown Prince) which was sinicized as Hong Taiji or Huang Taizi. There are different views about the name Abahai. According to one view, the name Abakhai is wrong: Hong Taiji never mentioned under this name in Manchu and Chinese sources; it was a mistake done by Russian Sinologist G.V. Gorsky According to another view, Abakhai was a real name derived from Mongolian Abakai – honorary name given to younger sons of monarchs.^{[dubious – discuss]} Abahai may be also a part of his era name in Manchu language (Abkai sure, or Tienzong 天聰). According to another view, Hong Taiji was mistakenly, referred to as Abahai in Western scholarly literature, the result of a confusion with Nurhaci's favorite concubine. He was first Khan of the Later Jin and then Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, after he changed its name. His title as Great Khan was Bogd Khaan (Manchu: Gosin Onco Hūwaliyasun Enduringge Han). His reign names were Tiāncōng (Chinese: 天聰, Manchu: ᠠᠪᡴᠠᡳ ᠰᡠᡵᡝ Abka-i sure) 1627-1636; and Chóngdé (Chinese:崇德, Manchu: ᠸᡝᠰᡳᡥᡠᠨ ᡝᡵᡩᡝᠮᡠᠩᡤᡝ Wesihun erdemungge, Mongolian: Degede Erdemtü) 1636-1643. His temple name was Tàizōng 太宗.

wn.com/Hong_Taiji
Hong Xiuquan
Hong Xiuquan (1 January 1814 – 1 June 1864), born Hong Renkun, style name Huoxiu (火秀), was a Hakka Chinese who led the Taiping Rebellion against the Qing Dynasty, establishing the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom over varying portions of southern China, with himself as the "Heavenly King" and self-proclaimed brother of Jesus Christ.
Hong Xiuquan's name at birth was "Hong Huoxiu", the third son of a poor Hakka family. He was born in Fuyuanshui Village, Hua County now part of Huadu District Guangzhou), Guangdong to Hong Jingyang and Madam Wang. His grandfather was Hong Guoyou, who was, like his ancestors, a farmer. He later moved to Guanlubu Village. His wife was Lai Xiying.
Hong showed an interest in scholarship at an early age, so his family made financial sacrifices to provide a formal education to him, in the hope that he could one day complete the civil service examinations. Hong started studying at a school called Book Chamber House at the age of seven. He was able to recite the Four Books after five or six years. At around the age of 15 his parents were no longer able to afford his education, so he became a tutor to children in his village and continued to study privately. He took the local preliminary civil service examinations and came first; so, at the age of 22, in 1836, he took the provincial examinations in Guangzhou. Unsurprisingly, he failed the imperial examinations, which had a pass rate of less than 1%. He retook the test four times, but never succeeded. This was partly due to being unable to secure a bribe to the examination officials.

wn.com/Hong_Xiuquan
Hui people
The Hui people (Chinese: 回族; pinyin: Huízú, Xiao'erjing: حُوِ ذَو / حواري) are a predominantly Muslim ethnic group in China. Hui people are found throughout the country, though they are concentrated mainly in the provinces of Ningxia, Qinghai, and Gansu. According to a 2000 census, China is home to approximately 9.8 million Hui people, the majority of whom are Chinese-speaking practitioners of Islam, though some practice other religions. Although many Hui people are ethnically similar to Han Chinese, the group has retained some Persian and Central Asian features, their ethnicity and culture having been shaped profoundly by their position along the Silk Road trading route.
In the People's Republic of China, the Hui people are one of 56 officially recognized ethnic groups. Under this definition, the Hui people are defined to include all historically Muslim communities in People's Republic of China that are not included in China's other ethnic groups. Since China's Muslims speaking various Turkic, Mongolic, or Iranian languages are all included into those other groups (e.g., Uyghurs, Dongxiang, or Tajiks) the "officially recognized" Hui ethnic group consists predominantly of Chinese speakers. In fact, the "Hui nationality" is unique among China's officially recognized ethnic minorities in that it does not have any particular non-Chinese language associated with it.

wn.com/Hui_people
Hunnic Empire
The Hunnic empire was formed under the reign of Attila, centered in present-day Hungary; its territory included parts of Germany, the Balkans, and Ukraine. It bordered the Eastern Roman Empire to the southeast and the Western Roman Empire to the west and southwest; its other boundaries are uncertain. The empire dissolved after Attila's death in 453 as a result of struggles over succession and leadership, finally disappearing around 469.
The origins of the Huns that swept through Europe during the 4th Century remain unclear; they may have been connected with the Xiongnu and the later Northern Xiongnu, defeated and dispersed by China some three centuries before. However, most mainstream historians consider them as a group of nomadic tribes from Central Asia with mixed origin.^{[citation needed]} There was a Hunnic language, and Gothic seems also to have been used as a lingua franca.
European accounts first mention the Huns in the lands north-west of the Caspian Sea about 370, when they conquered a tribe of Alans to their west. Pushing further westward, the Huns subjugated many Ostrogoths. In 395, a Hun raid across the Caucasus mountains devastated Armenia, then captured Erzurum, besieged Edessa and Antioch, and even reached Tyre.

wn.com/Hunnic_Empire
Inca Empire
The Inca Empire, or Inka Empire (Quechua: Tawantinsuyu), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political and military center of the empire was located in Cusco in modern-day Peru. The Inca civilization arose from the highlands of Peru sometime in the early 13th century.
From 1438 to 1533, the Incas used a variety of methods, from conquest to peaceful assimilation, to incorporate a large portion of western South America, centered on the Andean mountain ranges, including, besides Peru, large parts of modern Ecuador, western and south central Bolivia, northwest Argentina, north and central Chile, and southern Colombia into a state comparable to the historical empires of Eurasia.
The official language of the empire was Quechua, although hundreds of local languages and dialects of Quechua were spoken. The Inca referred to their empire as Tawantinsuyu which can be translated as The Four Regions or The Four United Provinces.
There were many local forms of worship, most of them concerning local sacred "Huacas", but the Inca leadership encouraged the worship of Inti—the sun god—and imposed its sovereignty above other cults such as that of Pachamama. The Incas considered their King, the Sapa Inca, to be the "child of the sun."

wn.com/Inca_Empire
James Gillray
James Gillray (13 August 1756 or 1757 – 1 June 1815), was a British caricaturist and printmaker famous for his etched political and social satires, mainly published between 1792 and 1810.

He was born in Chelsea. His father, a native of Lanark, had served as a soldier, losing an arm at the Battle of Fontenoy, and was admitted, first as an inmate, and afterwards as an outdoor pensioner, at Chelsea Hospital. Gillray commenced life by learning letter-engraving, at which he soon became adept. This employment, however, proved irksome to James, so he wandered about for a time with a company of strolling players. After a very checkered experience he returned to London and was admitted as a student in the Royal Academy, supporting himself by engraving, and probably issuing a considerable number of caricatures under fictitious names. His caricatures are almost all in etching, some also with aquatint, and a few using stipple technique. None can correctly be described as engravings, although this term is often loosely used to describe them. Hogarth's works were the delight and study of his early years. Paddy on Horseback, which appeared in 1779, is the first caricature which is certainly his. Two caricatures on Admiral Rodney's naval victory at the Battle of the Saintes, issued in 1782, were among the first of the memorable series of his political sketches.

wn.com/James_Gillray
Jiaqing Emperor
The Jiaqing Emperor (Chinese: 嘉慶帝; pinyin: Jiāqìngdì; Mongolian: Sayishiyaltu Yirugertu Khaan, 13 November 1760 – 2 September 1820) was the seventh emperor of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, and the fifth Qing emperor to rule over China, from 1796 to 1820.
He was the son of the Qianlong Emperor. During his reign, he prosecuted Heshen (和珅) (the corrupt favourite of Qianlong) and attempted to restore the state and curb the smuggling of opium inside China.
He was born at the Old Summer Palace (圆明园/圓明園), 8 km (5 mi) northwest of the walls of Beijing, and was given the name Yongyan (永琰), changed into Yongyan (顒琰) when he became emperor: the first character of his private name was changed from 永 to 顒, both pronounced Yong, as the former is used commonly. This novelty was introduced by his father the Qianlong Emperor who thought it not proper to use a common character in the emperor's private name due to the long-standing practice of naming taboo.
He was the fifteenth son of the Qianlong Emperor. His mother was a Han Chinese concubine of the second rank Ling (令贵妃/令貴妃), who became a favorite of Qianlong. She was posthumously made Empress Xiaoyichun (孝仪纯皇后/孝儀純皇后) when her son became emperor. She was the daughter of Wei Qingtai (魏清泰), an official in the Qing administration whose Han Chinese family had long been integrated in the Manchu elites. In 1818 Emperor Jiaqing made his mother's family officially Manchu, and changed their Chinese family name Wei into the Manchu clan name Weigiya.

wn.com/Jiaqing_Emperor
Jurchen people
The Jurchens (Jurchen language: jušen) were a Tungusic people who inhabited the region of Manchuria (present-day Northeast China) until the 17th century, when they adopted the name Manchu. They established the Jin Dynasty (1115–1234) (Ancun gurun in ancient Jurchen and Aisin gurun in Standard Manchu) between 1115 and 1122, which lasted until 1234 with the arrival of the Mongols.
The form Jurchen dates back to at least the beginning of the tenth century AD, when the Balhae kingdom was destroyed by the Khitans. However, cognate ethnonyms like Sushen or Jichen (稷真) have been recorded in pre-Christian Era geographical works like the Shan Hai Jing and Book of Wei. It comes from the Jurchen word jušen, the original meaning of which is unclear. The standard English version of the name, "Jurchen," is an Anglicized transliteration of the Mongolian equivalent of the Jurchen term jušen (Mongolian: Jürchin, plural is Jürchid), and may arrived in the West via Mongolian texts. A less common English transliteration is "Jurched".

wn.com/Jurchen_people
Kang Youwei
Kang Youwei (simplified Chinese: 康有为; traditional Chinese: 康有為; pinyin: Kāng Yǒuwéi; March 19, 1858–March 31, 1927), was a Chinese scholar, noted calligrapher and prominent political thinker and reformer of the late Qing Dynasty. He led movements to establish a constitutional monarchy and was an ardent Chinese nationalist. His ideas inspired a reformation movement that was supported by the Guangxu Emperor but loathed by Empress Dowager Cixi. Although he continued to advocate for constitutional monarchy after the foundation of the Republic of China, Kang's political ideology was never put into practical application.
Kang Youwei was born on March 19, 1858 in Nanhai, Guangdong province. According to his autobiography, his intellectual gifts were recognized as a child by his uncle. Therefore, from an early age he was sent by his family to study the Confucian classics in order to pass the Chinese civil service exams. However, as a teenager he was dissatisfied by the scholastic system of his time, especially its emphasis on preparing for the eight-legged exams, which are artificial literary exercises done during examinations.

wn.com/Kang_Youwei
Kangxi Emperor
The Kangxi Emperor (Chinese: 康熙帝; pinyin: Kāngxīdì; Wade–Giles: K'ang-hsi-ti; temple name: Qīng Shèngzǔ (清聖祖); Manchu: ᡝᠯᡥᡝ ᡨᠠᡳᡶᡳᠨ elhe taifin hūwangdi; Mongolian: Enkh Amgalan Khaan; 4 May 1654 –20 December 1722) was the fourth emperor of the Qing Dynasty, the first to be born on Chinese soil south of the Pass (Beijing) and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, from 1661 to 1722.
Kangxi's reign of 61 years makes him the longest-reigning Chinese emperor in history (although his grandson, the Qianlong Emperor, had the longest period of de facto power) and one of the longest-reigning rulers in the world. However, having ascended the throne at the age of seven, he was not the effective ruler until later, with that role temporarily fulfilled for six years by four regents and his grandmother, the Grand Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang.
Kangxi is considered one of China's greatest emperors. He suppressed the Revolt of the Three Feudatories, forced the Kingdom of Tungning in Taiwan to submit to Qing rule, blocked Tzarist Russia on the Amur River and expanded the empire in the northwest. He also accomplished such literary feats as the compilation of the Kangxi Dictionary.

wn.com/Kangxi_Emperor
Kashgar
Kashgar or Kashi is an oasis city with approximately 350,000 residents in the western part of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Kashgar is the administrative centre of Kashgar Prefecture which has an area of 162,000 km² and a population of approximately 3.5 million.
The city covers an area of 15 km². The altitude averages 1,289 m/4,282 ft. above sea level. The city is located in the western extremity of China, near the border with Tajikistan.
The modern Chinese name is 喀什 (Kāshí), a shortened form of the longer and less-frequently used (simplified Chinese: 喀什噶尔; traditional Chinese: 喀什噶爾; pinyin: Kāshígé’ěr). Ptolemy (AD 90-168), in his Geography, Chapter 15.3A, refers to Kashgar as “Kasia”. The name is Middle Iranic in its origin, meaning "Kush Mountains" (from gar/ghar, "mountain", and Kush/Kâsh, being the same as the ethnonym of the Kushan Empire and the Hindukush mountains in the neighboring Afghanistan.
An early Chinese name was 疏勒 (now Shule County), variously romanized as Su-leh, Sulei, Shule, Shu-le', She-le, Shu-lo or Sha-le, which perhaps represents either an original Solek or Sorak.^{[citation needed]}

wn.com/Kashgar
Khitan scripts
The Khitan scripts were the writing systems for the now-extinct Khitan language, used in the 10th-12th century by the Khitan people. who had created the Liao Empire in north-eastern China. There were two scripts, known as the large script and the small script. These were functionally independent and appear to have been used simultaneously. The Khitan scripts continued to be in use to some extent by the Jurchens for several decades after the fall of the Liao Dynasty, until the Jurchens fully switched to a script of their own. Examples of the scripts appeared most often on epitaphs and monuments, although other fragments sometimes surface.
Many scholars recognize that the Khitan scripts have not been fully deciphered, and that more research and discoveries would be necessary for a proficient understanding of them. The Khitan scripts are part of the Chinese family of scripts.
Our knowledge of the Khitan language, which was written by the Khitan script, is quite limited as well. Although there are several clues to its origins, which might point in different directions, the Khitan language is most likely a descendant of Pre-Proto-Mongolic (and thus related to the Mongolic languages).

wn.com/Khitan_scripts
Kingdom of Kush
The Kingdom of Kush or Kush was an ancient African state centered on the confluences of the Blue Nile, White Nile and River Atbara in what is now the Republic of Sudan.
Established after the Bronze Age collapse and the disintegration of the New Kingdom of Egypt, it was centered at Napata in its early phase. After king Kashta ("the Kushite") invaded Egypt in the 8th century BC, the Kushite kings ruled as Pharaohs of the Twenty-fifth dynasty of Egypt for a century, until they were expelled by Psamtik I in 656 BC.
During Classical Antiquity, the Kushite imperial capital was at Meroe. In early Greek geography, the Meroitic kingdom was known as Ethiopia. The Kushite kingdom with its capital at Meroe persisted until the 4th century AD, when it weakened and disintegrated due to internal rebellion. The Kushite capital was subsequently captured by the Beja Dynasty, who tried to revive the empire. The Kushite capital was eventually captured and destroyed by the kingdom of Axum. After the collapse of the Kushite empire several states emerged in its former territories, among them Nubia.

wn.com/Kingdom_of_Kush
Koxinga
Koxinga (simplified Chinese: 国姓爷; traditional Chinese: 國姓爺; pinyin: Guóxìngyé; Wade–Giles: Kuo-hsing-yeh; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Kok-sèng-iâ/Kok-sìⁿ-iâ; literally "Lord with the Imperial Surname") is the customary Western spelling of the popular appellation of Zheng Chenggong (simplified Chinese: 郑成功; traditional Chinese: 鄭成功; pinyin: Zhèng Chénggōng; Wade–Giles: Cheng Ch'eng-kung; Pe̍h-oē-jī: Tēⁿ Sêng-kong; Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: Tshàng Sṳ̀n-Kûng; Foochow Romanized: Dâng Sìng-gŭng), a military leader who was born in 1624 in Hirado, Japan to Zheng Zhilong, a Chinese merchant/pirate, and his Japanese wife and died in 1662 on the island of Formosa (Taiwan).
A Ming loyalist and the arch commander of the Ming troops on the maritime front for the later emperors of the withering dynasty, Koxinga devoted the last 16 years of his life to resisting the conquest of China by the Manchus. Upon defeating the forces of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) on Formosa in his last campaign in 1661–1662, Koxinga took over the island in order to support his grand campaign against the Manchu-ruled Qing dynasty. After Koxinga's death, his son and successor, Zheng Jing (鄭經), gradually became the ruler of an independent Kingdom of Tungning, the first Chinese state to rule the island.

wn.com/Koxinga
Li Hongzhang
Li Hongzhang (simplified Chinese: 李鸿章; traditional Chinese: 李鴻章; pinyin: Lǐ Hóngzhāng; Wade–Giles: Li Hung-chang), GCVO, (February 15, 1823 – November 7, 1901) was a leading statesman of the late Qing Empire. He quelled several major rebellions and served in important positions of the Imperial Court, including the premier viceroyalty of Zhili.
Although he was best known in the West for his generally pro-modern stance and importance as a negotiator, Li antagonized the British with his support of Russia as a foil against Japanese expansionism in Manchuria and fell from favor with the Chinese after their loss in the 1894 Sino-Japanese War. His image in China remains controversial, with criticism on one hand for political and military mistakes and praise on the other for his success against the Taiping Rebellion, his diplomatic skills defending Chinese interests in the era of unequal treaties, and his role pioneering China's industrial and military modernization. For his life's work, the British Queen Victoria made him a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order.

wn.com/Li_Hongzhang
Li Zicheng
Li Zicheng (Chinese: 李自成; pinyin: Lĭ Zìchéng; Wade–Giles: Li Tzu-ch'eng); 1606–1645), born Li Hongji (李鴻基), was a Chinese rebel leader who overthrew the Ming Dynasty and ruled over China briefly as emperor of the short-lived Shun Dynasty.
Li was born in Mizhi District (米脂縣), Yan'an, during the late Ming Dynasty period. Initially a shepherd, Li started to learn horseriding and archery at the age of 20, and had also worked in a wine shop and as an ironworker's apprentice.
According to folklore, in 1630, Li was put on public display in an iron collar and shackles for his failure to repay loans to a usurious magistrate, Ai. Ai struck a guard who offered shade and water to Li, whence a group of peasants tore apart Li's shackles, spirited him to a nearby hill, and proclaimed him their leader. Although they were only armed with wooden sticks, Li and his band managed to ambush a group of government soldiers sent to arrest them, and obtained their first real weapons.
At the same time, the Shanxi region was hit by a famine, and the common people resented the Ming government. Li joined Gao YingXiang's (the "Dashing King" (闖王)) rebel army. After Gao's death, Li inherited the title "Dashing King" and became the commander of Gao's army.

wn.com/Li_Zicheng
Manchu people
The Manchus (Manchu: Manju; simplified Chinese: 满族; traditional Chinese: 滿族; pinyin: Mǎnzú) are an ethnic minority of China who originated in Manchuria (northeastern China).
For centuries, the Manchu ethnicity has acculturated with the majority Han ethnicity of China. Most Manchu today speak Standard Chinese, while the Manchu language is only spoken by elderly people in remote northeastern China and a few scholars; there are around ten thousand speakers of Xibe, a closely related language spoken in the Ili region of Xinjiang. In recent years, however, there has been a resurgence of interest in Manchu culture among both ethnic Manchus and Han. The number of Chinese today with some Manchu ancestry is quite large—with 10.68 million members (in China), Manchu is the 3rd largest ethnic group in China after the Han and the Zhuang. The adoption of favorable policies towards ethnic minorities (such as preferential university admission, government employment opportunities and exemption from the one child policy) has encouraged some people with mixed Han and Manchu ancestry to re-identify themselves as Manchu.

wn.com/Manchu_people
Martino Martini
Martino Martini (simplified Chinese: 卫匡国; traditional Chinese: 衛匡國; pinyin: Wèi Kuāngguó) (20 September 1614 – 6 June 1661) was an Italian Jesuit missionary, cartographer and historian, mainly working on ancient Imperial China.
Martini was born in Trento, in the Bishopric of Trent. After finishing high school studies in Trent in 1631, he entered the Austrian province of the Society of Jesus, from where he was sent to study classical letters and philosophy at the Roman College, Rome (1634–37). However his interest was more in astronomy and mathematics which he studied under Athanasius Kircher. His request to be sent as a missionary to China had already been granted by Mutius Vitelleschi, the then Superior General of the Jesuits. He did his theological studies in Portugal (1637–39)—already on his way to China—where he was ordained priest (1639, in Lisbon).
He set out for China in 1640, and arrived in Macau in 1642 where he studied Chinese for some time. In 1643 he crossed the border and settled in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, from where he did much traveling in view of gathering scientific information, especially on the geography of the Chinese empire: he visited several provinces, as well as Peking and the Great Wall. He made great use of his talents as missionary, scholar, writer and superior.

wn.com/Martino_Martini
Medes
The Medes (/midz/) (from Old Persian Māda-) were an ancient Iranian people who lived in Iran in an area known as Media and spoke a northwestern Iranian language referred to as the Median language. Their arrival to the region is associated with the first wave of Iranian tribes in the late second millennium BCE (the Bronze Age collapse) through the beginning of the first millennium BCE.
In the 7th century BCE a unified Median state was formed which together with Babylonia, Lydia, and Egypt became one of the four major powers of the ancient Near East. An alliance with the Babylonians helped the Medes to capture Nineveh in 612 BCE which resulted in the collapse of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. The Medes were subsequently able to establish their Median kingdom (with Ecbatana as their royal centre) beyond their original homeland (central-western Iran) and had eventually a territory stretching roughly from northeastern Iran to the Halys River in Anatolia. The Median kingdom was conquered in 550 BCE by Cyrus the Great who established the next Iranian dynasty—the Achaemenid Empire.

wn.com/Medes
Mongols
Mongols (Mongolian: Монголчууд (help·info)), Mongolchuud) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. Owing to wars and migrations, Mongols are also found in some Central Asian states such as Kazakhstan. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia (a smaller number of Mongols can also be found in Xinjiang in northwest China). The Buryat branch of the Mongol ethnic group can be found in the autonomous republic of Buryatia, Russia. Ethnic Mongols are bound together by a common language and culture. They speak languages belonging to the Mongolic languages. The contiguous territories inhabited by ethnic Mongols is also known as Greater Mongolia^{[disambiguation needed ]}. There are approximately 10 million ethnic Mongols in total.
A definition includes the Mongols proper, who can be approximately divided into the eastern Mongols (the Khalkha Mongols, the Inner Mongolians, the Buryats), and the Oirats. In a wider sense, the Mongol people includes all people who speak a Mongolic language, such as the Kalmyks of eastern Europe.

wn.com/Mongols
Nian Gengyao
Nian Gengyao (simplified Chinese: 年羹尧; traditional Chinese: 年羹堯, Styled Lianggong 亮功; 1679 – January 13, 1726) (Manchu: niyan geng yoo）was a Chinese military commander of the Qing Dynasty. He was born a member of the Chinese Bordered Yellow Banner and had extensive military experience on the western frontier of the Qing empire. Nian became commander-in-chief of the Manchu and Chinese armies in the northwest; and helped to incorporate the region of what is now Qinghai into the Qing empire.
His father Nian Xialing (年遐齡), served as Viceroy of Huguang from 1692 to 1704. Nian Gengyao himself became a Jinshi in 1700 and was selected a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy. In March 1709, the Banner company to which the Nian family belonged was assigned to serve Yinzhen, later the Yongzheng Emperor. About the same time a sister of Nian Gengyao became a concubine of Yinzhen.
In October 1709, Nian was appointed Governor of Sichuan and gradually came to the notice of the Kangxi Emperor. During the sixteen years of his administration, he quelled several uprisings of the aborigines west of Sichuan. In 1718, he was made Governor-general of Sichuan and was given power to direct military affairs. Following the appointment of Yinti, another of Kangxi's sons, as Border Pacification General-in-chief, there were suggestions about Nian's loyalty to Yinzhen. As General Who Secures the West (定西將軍), Nian Gengyao took an active part in supplying Yinti's campaign in Tibet against Tsewang Rabtan. In June 1721, he was granted an audience with the elderly Emperor at Rehe and subsequently raised to the rank of Governor-general of Sichuan and Shaanxi.

wn.com/Nian_Gengyao
Oboi
Oboi (Manchu: ; simplified Chinese: 鰲拜; traditional Chinese: 鼇拜; pinyin: Áobài) (c. 1610?-1669) was a highly decorated Manchu military commander and courtier who served in various military and administrative posts under three successive Emperors of the early Qing Dynasty. He was one of four regents nominated by the Shunzhi Emperor to oversee the government during the Kangxi Emperor's minority. Eventually deposed and imprisoned by the new emperor for having amassed too much power, he was posthumously rehabilitated. He was also called the First Warrior of Manchuria.
Oboi was born to a distinguished military family of the extensive Manchu Guwalgiya clan (Ch:瓜尔佳氏). Under the Manchu Banner organization created by Nurhachi, Oboi's branch of the family was registered under the Bordered Yellow division which came under the command of Nurhachi's son and future Emperor Hung Taiji. Oboi's father Uici (Ch: 瓜尔佳·卫齐) (? - 1634) was a senior military officer who was once garrison commander of the Manchu capital city Mukden while his paternal uncle Fiongdon (Ch: 瓜尔佳·费英东) was one of Nurhachi's most trusted generals. Oboi's childhood and early years are relatively obscure. Being his father's third son, he was not destined to inherit the family's hereditary seat in the Banner hierarchy. Oboi was first mentioned in official Qing history in the Chronicles of Hung Taiji (Ch: 《清太宗实录》) in 1632, documenting his triumphant return from a minor raid into Ming territories in which he was allowed to keep his spoils as reward.

wn.com/Oboi
Puyi
Puyi (7 February 1906 – 17 October 1967), of the Manchu Aisin Gioro clan, was the last Emperor of China, and the twelfth and final ruler of the Qing Dynasty. He ruled as the Xuantong Emperor from 1908 until his abdication on 12 February 1912. From 1 to 12 July 1917 he was briefly restored to the throne as a nominal emperor by the warlord Zhang Xun. In 1934 he was declared the Kangde Emperor of the puppet state of Manchukuo by the Empire of Japan, and he ruled until the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1945. After the People's Republic of China was established in 1949, Puyi was a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference from 1964 until his death in 1967. Puyi's abdication in 1912 marked the end of centuries of dynastic rule in China, and he is also widely known as The Last Emperor.
Puyi's name is romanised in English as either Puyi (in pinyin) or P'u-i (in Wades-Giles). This naming is in accordance with the Manchu tradition of avoiding the use of a person's clan name and given name together,^{[citation needed]} but is in complete contravention of Chinese tradition, whereby the given name of a ruler was considered taboo and ineffable. Using a former emperor's personal name (or even using a Chinese character from the name) was a punishable offence under traditional Chinese law. However after Puyi lost his imperial title in 1924, he was officially styled Mr. Puyi (simplified Chinese: 溥仪先生; traditional Chinese: 溥儀先生; pinyin: Pǔyí Xiānshēng) in Chinese and Mr. Fugi (溥儀先生; Fugi Sensei) in Japanese. His clan name Aisin Gioro (simplified Chinese: 爱新觉罗; traditional Chinese: 愛新覺羅; pinyin: Àixīn Juéluó) was seldom used.

wn.com/Puyi
Qi Jiguang
Qi Jiguang (November 12, 1528 – January 5, 1588) was a Chinese military general and national hero during the Ming Dynasty. He was best remembered for his courage and leadership in the fight against Japanese pirates along the east coast of China, as well as his reinforcement work on the Great Wall of China.
Qi Jiguang was born in the town of Luqiao (鲁橋) in Shandong province to a family with a long military tradition. His forefather served as a military leader under Zhu Yuanzhang and died in battle. When Zhu Yuanzhang later became the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, he bestowed upon the Qi family the hereditary post of commander-in-chief of Dengzhou Garrison (登州衛), a district of the present day Penglai.
Qi Jiguang's father, Qi Jingtong (戚景通), was an honest and upright man. He cultivated in his son a yearning for knowledge as well as a firm set of morals. When his father died, Qi Jiguang took over the commandership of Dengzhou Garrison at the age of seventeen. As his siblings were still young, he married Wang and left domestic affairs to her. Besides building up naval defense at the garrison, he also had to lead his troops to help in the defense of Jizhou (薊州), southwest of present day Beijing) against East Mongolian raiders during spring time from 1548 to 1552.

wn.com/Qi_Jiguang
Qianlong Emperor
The Qianlong Emperor, born Hongli Chinese: 弘曆(Manchu language: ᡥᡠᠩ ᠯᡳ ;Möllendorff transliteration: hung li), 25 September 1711 – 7 February 1799) was the sixth emperor of the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty, and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. The fourth son of the Yongzheng Emperor, he reigned officially from 11 October 1735 to 8 February 1796. On 8 February, he abdicated in favor of his son, the Jiaqing Emperor – a filial act in order not to reign longer than his grandfather, the illustrious Kangxi Emperor. Despite his retirement, however, he retained ultimate power until his death in 1799. Although his early years saw the continuation of an era of prosperity in China, his final years saw troubles at home and abroad converge on the Qing Empire.
Hongli was adored both by his grandfather, the Kangxi Emperor and his father, the Yongzheng Emperor. Some historians argue that the main reason why Kangxi Emperor appointed Yongzheng as his successor was because Qianlong was his favourite grandson. He felt that Hongli's mannerisms were very close to his own. As a teenager he was very capable in martial arts, and possessed a high literary ability.

wn.com/Qianlong_Emperor
Rashidun Caliphate
The Rashidun Caliphate (Arabic: الخلافة الراشدية‎ al-khilāfat ar-Rāshidīyah), (c. 632-661) comprising the first four caliphs in Islam's history, was founded after Muhammad's death in 632 (Year 10 A.H. in the Islamic calendar). At its height, the Caliphate extended from the Arabian Peninsula, to the Levant, Caucasus and North Africa in the west, to the Iranian highlands and Central Asia in the east. At its greatest extent it was one of the largest empires in history. It is also known as the Patriarchal Caliphate.
After Muhammad's death in 632, the Medinan Ansar debated which of them should succeed him in running the affairs of the Muslims while Muhammad's household was busy with his burial. Umar (a Quraish) and Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah pledged their loyalty to Abu Bakr, with the Ansar and the Quraish soon following suit. Abu Bakr thus became the first Khalifa Rasul Allah (Successor of the Messenger of God), and embarked on campaigns to propagate Islam. First, though, he would have to subdue the Arabian tribes which had gone back on their oaths of allegiance to Islam and the Islamic community. As a Khalifa or Caliph he was not a monarch and never claimed such a title nor did his three successors do so.

wn.com/Rashidun_Caliphate
Seven Grievances
The Seven Grievances (Manchu: nadan koro; Chinese: 七大恨; pinyin: Qī Dà Hèn) was a manifesto announced by Nurhaci on April 13, 1618. It effectively declared war against the Ming Dynasty.
The seven grievances are:
After the announcement of the Seven Grievances, Manchu troops forced their way into Fushun and obtained the surrender of the city's commander Li Yongfang (d. 1634). In retaliation, a year later, a Ming punitive force of about 100,000 men, which included Korean and Yehe troops, approached Nurhaci's Manchus along four different routes. The Manchus scored successive victories, the most famous one^{[by whom?]} near the town of Sarhu. The Míng Dynasty was wearied by a combination of internal strife and constant harassment by the Manchu. On May 26, 1644, Beijing fell to a peasant rebel army led by Li Zicheng. During the turmoil, the last Ming emperor hanged himself on a tree in the imperial garden outside the Forbidden City. The Manchus then allied with Ming general Wu Sangui and seized control of Beijing and overthrew Li Zicheng's short-lived Shun Dynasty.

wn.com/Seven_Grievances
Shang Kexi
Shang Kexi (August 25, 1604 - November 12, 1676) was a Chinese general of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. His family had migrated to Liaodong in 1576 and his father, Shangxue Li, served in the army guarding the northeast frontier. As his father did, Shang Kexi joined the army and guarded the frontier against the attack of the Jurchens. With the decay and fall of the Ming Emperors, Shang Kexi sought better fortune in the service of the Manchu Qing Dynasty and he was one of the most powerful generals that surrendered to the Qing. He fought for the Qing in Southern China and established his power in Guangdong where he ruled the territory as his own domain amassing wealth and possessing a trained army.
In 1673 a war between the Emperor and the powerful Han princes, Wu Sangui and Geng Jingzhong, started when they opposed the Emperor's plan of resettling them in Manchuria. Shang remained loyal to the Qing and took no part in the rebellion. Shang died in 1676 and was succeeded by his son Shang Zhixin who rebelled shortly after but was defeated by the Manchus in 1677.

wn.com/Shang_Kexi
Shunzhi Emperor
The Shunzhi Emperor (Chinese: 順治帝; pinyin: Shùnzhìdì; Manchu: ᡳᠵᡳᠰᡥᡡᠨ ᡩᠠᠰᠠᠨ ijishūn dasan hūwangdi; Mongolian: Eyebeer Zasagch Khaan; 15 March 1638 – 5 February 1661) was the third emperor of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, and the first Qing emperor to rule over China, which he did from 1644 to 1661. "Shunzhi" was the name of his reign period. His personal name was Fulin (of the Aisin Gioro clan) and his temple name (chosen after he died) was Shizu 世祖.
A committee of Manchu princes chose the young Fulin to succeed his father Hong Taiji in September 1643 when he was only five. Two co-regents were also appointed: Nurhaci's fourteenth son Dorgon, and Nurhaci's nephew Jirgalang. From 1643 until Dorgon's death on the last day of 1650, political power lay mostly in the hands of Dorgon. After the young emperor started to rule personally in 1651, he tried, with mixed success, to fight corruption and to reduce the political influence of the Manchu nobility. He died of smallpox, a lethal disease that was endemic in China, but against which the Manchus had no immunity. He was succeeded by his third son Xuanye, who had already survived smallpox, and who subsequently reigned for sixty years as the Kangxi Emperor.

wn.com/Shunzhi_Emperor
Somali people
Somalis (Somali: Soomaaliyeed, Arabic: الصوماليون‎) are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Ethnic Somalis number around 15-17 million and are principally concentrated in Somalia (more than 10 million), Ethiopia (4.6 million), Yemen (a little under 1 million), Kenya (900,000), Djibouti (464,600), and an unknown but large number live in parts of the Middle East, North America and Europe.
Samaale, the oldest common ancestor of several Somali clans, is generally regarded as the source of the ethnonym Somali. The name "Somali" is, in turn, held to be derived from the words soo and maal, which together mean "go and milk" — a reference to the ubiquitous pastoralism of the Somali people. Another plausible etymology proposes that the term Somali is derived from the Arabic for "wealthy" (dhawamaal), again referring to Somali riches in livestock.

wn.com/Somali_people
Songhai Empire
The Songhai Empire, also known as the Songhay Empire, was a state located in western Africa. From the early 15th to the late 16th century, Songhai was one of the largest Islamic empires in history. This empire bore the same name as its leading ethnic group, the Songhai. Its capital was the city of Gao, where a Songhai state had existed since the 11th century. Its base of power was on the bend of the Niger River in present day Niger and Burkina Faso.
The Songhai state has existed in one form or another for over a thousand years if one traces its rulers from the first settlement in Gao to its semi-vassal status under the Mali Empire through its continuation in Niger as the Dendi Kingdom.
The Songhai are thought to have settled at Gao as early as 800 CE, but did not establish it as the capital until the 11th century, during the reign of Dia Kossoi. However, the Dia dynasty soon gave way to the Sonni, proceeding the ascension of Sulaiman-Mar, who gained independence and hegemony over the city and was a forbear of Sonni Ali. Mar is often credited with wresting power away from the Mali Empire and gaining independence for the small Songhai kingdom at the time.

wn.com/Songhai_Empire
Sonin
Sonin, (1601–1667) also known as Soni, and rarely Sony (Manchu: ; Chinese: 索尼; pinyin: Suǒní), was a senior regent of the Four Regents during Chinese Kangxi Emperor's minority in the Qing Dynasty. Sonin was from the Heseri clan, belonged to the Plain Yellow Banner.
Sonin was already a leading official during the reign of Kangxi's grandfather, Huang Taiji. His father, Shuose(Chinese:硕色)and uncle Xifu (Chinese:希福) were both fluent in Mandarin, Mongolian and Manchu, and therefore were awarded the Grand Councillors. Before the Shunzhi Emperor died, Sonin was appointed as one of the four regents to support the young Kangxi Emperor, along with Suksaha, Ebilong and Oboi. Sonin was the top of these four regents and ably helped the young emperor defend against Oboi (Oboi wanted to increase his own power over the Emperor). During the first years of Kangxi's reign, a power struggle ensued among the regents. Sonin was too old to exert his leadership. His son, Songgotu helped the young emperor to get rid of Oboi.

wn.com/Sonin
Suksaha
Suksaha (Manchu: 16px; Chinese: 蘇克薩哈; pinyin: Sūkèsàhā) was a one of the Four Regents during the early reign of the Kangxi Emperor in the Qing Dynasty.
Like his father Suna, he was from the Nara clan, but the family fought under the White Banner of the Manchu Eight Banners instead. During the Manchurian conquest of China, he was rewarded for his military successes and was made a Grand Councillor (議政大臣). During that time, Suksaha was loyal to the Prince Regent Dorgon.
After the death of the Shunzhi Emperor, Suksaha was made one of the four regents supporting the young Kangxi Emperor, alongside Sonin, Ebilun and Oboi, ranking second in the chain of command. He became entangled in political and personal disputes with Oboi during the Emperor's minority, and he split decisively with Oboi. Oboi was looking to consolidate power in his own hands through discrediting the other three regents; Sonin was old and frail, and Ebilun was seen as weak. Suksaha thus became Oboi's only serious political rival.

wn.com/Suksaha
Sushun
Sushun (simplified Chinese: 肃顺; traditional Chinese: 肅順; pinyin: Sùshùn); Styled: Yuting (Chinese: 雨亭; pinyin: Yǔtíng) (26 November 1816– 1861) was born in the Manchu Aisin-Gioro Clan as the sixth son of Ulgungga (乌尔恭阿), the Prince Zheng.
Although Sushun was born into nobility, the size of his family meant that he received little attention during childhood, and little expectation from the family. He was neither well versed in literature nor exceptionally able in martial arts. Sushun became a General during the late years of the Daoguang Emperor's reign. Following the death of Wenqing, one of the Xianfeng emperor's closest aides, Sushun was increasingly consulted by the emperor on many important policy matters. His first position in the court was as a member of the Imperial Guard and he subsequently served in a number of senior positions in the Qing government, including a term as the president of the Lifan Yuan. During the Second Opium War, he was one of the chief architects of Qing foreign policy and he repudiated many of the treaties that were concluded in the late 1850s, in particular the territorial concessions in the Sino-Russian Treaty of Aigun.

wn.com/Sushun
Teotihuacan
Coordinates: 19°41′33″N 98°50′37.68″W / 19.6925°N 98.8438°W / 19.6925; -98.8438
Teotihuacan – also written Teotihuacán, with a Spanish orthographic accent on the last syllable – is an enormous archaeological site in the Basin of Mexico, just 30 miles (48 km) northeast of Mexico City, containing some of the largest pyramidal structures built in the pre-Columbian Americas. Apart from the pyramidal structures, Teotihuacan is also known for its large residential complexes, the Avenue of the Dead, and numerous colorful, well-preserved murals. Additionally, Teotihuacan produced a thin orange pottery style that spread through Mesoamerica.
The city is thought to have been established around 100 BC and continued to be built until about 250 AD. The city may have lasted until sometime between the 7th and 8th centuries AD. At its zenith, perhaps in the first half of the 1st millennium AD, Teotihuacan was the largest city in the pre-Columbian Americas, with a population of perhaps 125,000 or more, placing it among the largest cities of the world in this period. Teotihuacan began as a new religious center in the Mexican Highland around the first century AD. This city came to be the largest and most populated center in the New World. Teotihuacan was even home to multi-floor apartment compounds built to accommodate this large population. The civilization and cultural complex associated with the site is also referred to as Teotihuacan or Teotihuacano.

wn.com/Teotihuacan
Thomas Pereira
Thomas Pereira or Tomás Pereira (November 1, 1645–1708), also known as Tomé Pereira, was a Portuguese Jesuit and musician who worked as a missionary in Qing China.
Pereira was born in Vila Nova de Famalicão. He arrived in China in 1672 and first stayed in Macau, where he was enrolled in the University College of St. Paul. Pereira was later sent to Beijing to work in the court of the Kangxi emperor, where he stayed during most of his career. In 1689, the Kangxi emperor sent Pereira and his colleague Jean-François Gerbillon to interpret at the negotiations between Qing China and Russia in Nerchinsk, which eventually resulted in the Treaty of Nerchinsk.
Between 1688 and 1694, Pereira and Antoine Thomas were unofficial directors of the imperial observatory in Beijing as the actual director was not in China at the time.

wn.com/Thomas_Pereira
Tongzhi Emperor
The Tongzhi Emperor (27 April 1856 – 12 January 1875), born Zaichun of the Manchu Aisin Gioro clan, was the tenth emperor of the Qing Dynasty, and the eighth Qing emperor to rule over China. His reign, from 1861 to 1875, which effectively lasted through his adolescence, was largely overshadowed by the rule of his mother Empress Dowager Cixi. Although he had little influence over state affairs, the events of his reign gave rise to what historians call the "Tongzhi Restoration", an unsuccessful attempt to stabilise and modernise China.
The only surviving son of the Xianfeng Emperor and Empress Dowager Cixi, Tongzhi attempted political reform in the period of the Tongzhi Restoration. His first regnal name was Qixiang (祺祥; Manchu: Fengšengge Sabingga), but this name was later abandoned by Cixi in favour of Tongzhi, a contraction of the classical phrase tonggui yu zhi (simplified Chinese: 同归与治; traditional Chinese: 同歸與治), which means "restoring order together".^{[citation needed]} An alternate interpretation reads it as "mother and son co-emperors" (Chinese: 母子同治天下),^{[citation needed]} which fits the state of affairs, as the empress dowager wielded real power and ruled behind the scenes. The traditional Chinese political phrase "attending audiences behind a curtain" (simplified Chinese: 垂帘听政; traditional Chinese: 垂簾聽政; pinyin: chuí lián tīng zhèng) was coined to describe Cixi's rule through her son.

wn.com/Tongzhi_Emperor
Tungusic peoples
Tungusic peoples are the peoples who speak Tungusic languages. The word originated in Tunguska, an ill-defined region of Siberia.
Tungusic peoples are:
The largest of the Tungusic peoples are the Manchu who number around 10,000,000. They are originally from Manchuria, which is now Northeast China but following their conquest of China in the 17th century, they have been almost totally assimilated into the main Han Chinese population of China. This process accelerated especially during the 20th century. The non-assimilated culture and language is still present in parts of northern China.
Evenks live in the Evenk Autonomous Okrug of Russia. Udege (Удэгейцы in Russian; ethnonym: удээ and удэхе, or udee and udehe correspondingly) are a people who live in the Primorsky Krai and Khabarovsk Krai regions, also in Russia.
2–3% of them are of Mitochondrial DNA haplogroup Y origin.
A Manchu guard
An Evenk home
Nani children dancing
Sibo military colonists
An Udege family
Tungus man in 1914 in Vorogovo, Siberia.

wn.com/Tungusic_peoples
William McKinley
William McKinley Jr. (January 29, 1843 – September 14, 1901) was the 25th President of the United States, serving from March 4, 1897, until his death. McKinley led the nation to victory in the Spanish–American War, raised protective tariffs to promote American industry, and maintained the nation on the gold standard in a rejection of inflationary proposals. McKinley's administration ended with his assassination in September 1901, but his presidency began a period of over a third of a century dominated by the Republican Party.
McKinley served in the Civil War and rose from private to brevet major. After the war, he settled in Canton, Ohio, where he practiced law and married Ida Saxton. In 1876, he was elected to Congress, where he became the Republican Party's expert on the protective tariff, which he promised would bring prosperity. His 1890 McKinley Tariff was highly controversial; controversy over it, together with a Democratic redistricting aimed at gerrymanderinging him out of office, led to his defeat in the Democratic landslide of 1890. He was elected Ohio's governor in 1891 and 1893, steering a moderate course between capital and labor interests. With the aid of his close adviser Mark Hanna, he secured the Republican nomination for president in 1896, amid a deep economic depression. He defeated his Democratic rival, William Jennings Bryan, after a front-porch campaign in which he advocated "sound money" (the gold standard unless altered by international agreement) and promised that high tariffs would restore prosperity.

wn.com/William_McKinley
William Mesny
General William Mesny 1842-1919, was an adventurer, and writer born on the island of Jersey but spent most of his childhood in Alderney, the family home of the Mesnys. He was the eldest of three children of William Mesny and Mary Rachel Nicolle.
Mesny left home at the age of twelve to sail the oceans until finally, after visiting India and Australia, he settled in a turbulent China in 1860. He served with two of the provincial armies of the Chinese Imperial forces as a mercenary or, in modern parlance, a foreign adviser.
He spent 59 years in China. He became a Major-General in the Imperial army in 1873 when he was only 30, suggesting that his services were greatly valued by the Chinese. He was also made a "Knight Ying of the Order of the Pa-tu-lu", the Chinese equivalent of the French Legion d'honneur. In 1890 he was awarded the decoration of the Pao Hsing (the Star of China).
He always retained British citizenship and was a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, the Royal Horticultural Society, and of the Imperial Institute. At one time he was the senior adviser to the Commander-in-Chief of the Chinese armed forces and was given the title of Brevet Lieutenant-General, Chinese Army.

wn.com/William_Mesny
Wu Sangui
Wu Sangui (Chinese: 吳三桂; pinyin: Wú Sānguì; Wade–Giles: Wu San-kuei; style name Changbai (長白) or Changbo (長伯); 1612 – October 2, 1678) was a Chinese military general who was instrumental in the fall of the Ming Dynasty and the establishment of the Qing Dynasty in 1644. Considered by traditional scholars as a traitor to both Ming, and ultimately, Qing, Wu in 1678 declared himself Emperor of China and ruler of the Great Zhou Dynasty, but his revolt was eventually quelled by the Kangxi Emperor of the Qing Dynasty.
Wu was born in Gaoyou, Jiangsu province to Wu Xiang (吳襄) and Lady Zu. Under the patronage of his father Wu Xiang and maternal uncle Zu Dashou, he quickly rose to the rank of full General (Zong Bing) at the young age of 27.
He was one of the generals in 1640 at the Battle of Songjin, in which Qing forces defeated the Ming armies. He, however, escaped capture.
In 1644, Wu opened the gates of the Great Wall of China at Shanhai Pass to let Qing forces into China proper.
He did not side with the Qing Dynasty until after the defensive capability of the Ming Dynasty had been greatly weakened and its political apparatus virtually destroyed by the rebel armies of Li Zicheng. Indeed, Wu was about to join the rebel forces of Li, who had already sacked the Ming capital Beijing, when he heard that his concubine Chen Yuanyuan and her father had been taken into custody by Li. Enraged, Wu contacted and negotiated with the Qing leader Dorgon, negotiations which resulted in the opening of the gates of the Great Wall. Qing forces swept through the gates and on to Beijing.

wn.com/Wu_Sangui
Wu Zetian
Wu Zetian (simplified Chinese: 武则天; traditional Chinese: 武則天; pinyin: Wǔ Zétiān, Mandarin pronunciation: [ù tsɯ̯ʌ̌ tʰi̯ɛ́n]) (17 February 624 – 16 December 705), personal name Wu Zhao (武曌), often referred to as Tian Hou (天后) during the Tang Dynasty and Empress Consort Wu (武后, Wǔ Hòu) in later times, was the only woman in the history of China to assume the title of Empress Regnant (Huangdi). As de facto ruler of China first through her husband and her sons from 665 to 690, not unprecedented in Chinese history, she then broke all precedents when she founded her own dynasty in 690, the Zhou (周) (interrupting the Tang Dynasty), and ruled personally under the name Sacred and Divine Empress Regnant (聖神皇帝) and variations thereof from 690 to 705. Her rise and reign has been criticized harshly by Confucian historians but has been viewed in a different light after the 1950s.
Wu was born in Lizhou (利州) (modern day Guangyuan City in Sichuan Province) in 624, the seventh year of Emperor Gaozu of Tang’s reign. In the same year, a total eclipse of the Sun was visible across China. Her father Wu Shihuo was engaged in the timber business and the family was relatively well off. During the final years of Emperor Yang of Sui, Li Yuan (李淵) (who would go on to become Emperor Gaozu of Tang), whilst holding appointments in both Hedong and Taiyuan, Li stayed in the Wu household many times and became close to the Wu family. After Li Yuan overthrew Emperor Yang, he was generous to the Wu family, providing them with money, grain, land and clothing. Once the Tang Dynasty became established, Wu Shihou held a succession of senior ministerial posts including governor of Yangzhou, Lizhou and Jingzhou (荊州) (modern day Jiangling County, Hubei Province).

wn.com/Wu_Zetian
Xianfeng Emperor
The Xianfeng Emperor (Chinese: 咸豐帝, pinyin: Xiánfēngdì, Wade-Giles: Hsien-feng; 17 July 1831 – 22 August 1861), born Aisin-Gioro I Ju, was the ninth Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, and the seventh Qing emperor to rule over China, from 1850 to 1861.
Yizhu was born in 1831 at the Imperial Summer Palace Complex, 8 kilometers northwest of the walls of Beijing, and was the fourth son of the Daoguang Emperor. His mother was the Imperial Consort Quan (全貴妃), of the (Manchu) Niuhuru clan, who was made Empress in 1834, and is known posthumously as Empress Xiaoquancheng (孝全成皇后). Yizhu was reputed to have an ability in literature and administration which surpassed most of his brothers, which impressed his father Daoguang Emperor who therefore decided to make him his successor.
Yizhu succeeded the throne in 1850, at age 19, and was a relatively young Emperor. He inherited a dynasty that faced not only internal but also foreign challenges. Yizhu's reign title, Xianfeng (咸丰/咸豐), which means "Universal Prosperity", did not reflect the situation. In 1850 the first of a series of popular rebellions began that would nearly destroy the dynasty. The Taiping Rebellion began in December 1850, when Hong Xiuquan, a Hakka leader of a syncretic Christian sect, defeated local forces sent to disperse his followers. Hong then proclaimed the establishment of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the rebellion spread to several provinces with amazing speed. The next year the Nien Rebellion started in North China. Unlike the Christian Taipings', the Nien movement lacked a clear political program, but they became a serious threat to Beijing with the mobility of their cavalry-based armies. Fixed between two powerful forces the Qing suffered repeated defeats.

wn.com/Xianfeng_Emperor
Yaqub Beg
Muhammad Yaqub Bek (Persian: یعقوب بیگ‎) was a Tajik adventurer who became head of the kingdom of Kashgaria.
In English-language literature, the name of Yaqub Beg has also been spelt as Yakub Beg (Encyclopædia Britannica), Yakoob Beg (Boulger, 1878), or Ya`qūb Beg (Kim Hodong, 2004). Authors using Russian sources have also used the spelling Yakub-bek (Paine, 1996). A few publications in English written by Chinese authors spell his name Agubo, which is the Pinyin transcription of the Chinese transcription of his name, 阿古柏.
The first name, Muhammad, is subject to the usual variations in spelling as well.
Yakub Beg was born in the town of Pskent, in the Khanate of Kokand (now Piskent in the Tashkent Province of Uzbekistan). He rose rapidly through the ranks in the service of the Khanate of Kokand; by the year 1847 he was commander of the fort at Ak-Mechet until a few months before its fall to the Russian army under the command of General Vasily Alekseevich Perovsky in 1853. After the fall of the fort he fled to Bukhara.

wn.com/Yaqub_Beg
Yongzheng Emperor
The Yongzheng Emperor (Chinese: 雍正帝; pinyin: yōngzhèngdì; Wade–Giles: Yung Cheng Ti, Manchu: ᡥᡡᠸᠠᠯᡳᠶᠠᠰᡠᠨ ᡨᠣᠪ, Hūwaliyasun Tob hūwangdi, Mongolian: Nairalt Töv Khaan; 13 December 1678 – 8 October 1735), born Yinzhen (Chinese: 胤禛; pinyin: yìnzhēn ; Manchu language: ᡳᠨ ᠵᡝᠨ ; Möllendorff transliteration: in jen), was the fifth emperor of the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty and the third Qing emperor from 1722 to 1735. A hard-working ruler, Yongzheng's main goal was to create an effective government at minimal expense. Like his father, the Kangxi Emperor, Yongzheng used military force to preserve the dynasty's position. Suspected by historians to have usurped the throne, his reign was known as despotic, efficient, and vigorous.
Although Yongzheng's reign was much shorter than the reigns of both his father (the Kangxi Emperor) and his son (the Qianlong Emperor), his sudden death was probably brought about by a heavy workload. Yongzheng continued an era of peace and prosperity; he cracked down on corruption and waste, and reformed the financial administration. During his reign the formulation of the Grand Council began, an institution which have an enormous impact on the future of imperial China.

wn.com/Yongzheng_Emperor
Yuan Chonghuan
Yuan Chonghuan (simplified Chinese: 袁崇焕; traditional Chinese: 袁崇煥; Mandarin Pinyin: Yuán Chónghuàn; Jyutping: Yun4 Sung4 Wun6; style name: Yuánsù 元素 and Zìrú 自如; 6 June 1584 – 22 September 1630) was a famed patriot and military commander of the Ming Dynasty who battled the Manchus in Liaoning. He was of Cantonese origin. Yuan Chonghuan was known to have excelled in artillery warfare and successfully incorporated Western tactics with those of the East. Yuan's military career reached its height when he defeated Nurhaci and the Manchu army in the first Battle of Ningyuan. Later, Yuan also managed to defeat Nurhaci's son and successor, Huang Taiji, and his 200,000 mostly Mongol soldiers. However, Yuan was eventually tortured and executed by the Chongzhen Emperor under false charges which Huang Taiji is believed to have deliberately planted against him.
Yuan Chonghuan was born in Dongguan, Guangdong. During his adolescence, Yuan spent time traveling from town to town, and befriended many Jesuits and foreigners along the way. Although he took the imperial examinations repeatedly with little success, he saw and experienced much on his journeys to the capital. It is said that he befriended several westerners during this time and spent much time modifying European cannons.

wn.com/Yuan_Chonghuan
Yuan Shikai
Yuan Shikai (courtesy Wèitíng 慰亭; pseudonym: Róng'ān 容庵, also named after birthplace Yuán Xiàngchéng 袁項城) (16 September 1859 – 6 June 1916) was an important Chinese general and politician, famous for his influence during the late Qing Dynasty, his role in the events leading up to the abdication of the last Qing Emperor of China, his autocratic rule as the second President of the Republic of China (following Sun Yatsen), and his short-lived attempt to revive the Chinese monarchy, with himself as the "Great Emperor of China."
Yuan Shikai was born in the village of Zhangying (張營村), Xiangcheng County, Chenzhou Prefecture, Henan, though the clan later moved 16 kilometers southeast of Xiangcheng to a hilly area that was easier to defend. There the Yuans had built a fortified village, Yuanzhaicun (Chinese: 袁寨村; literally "the fortified village of the Yuan family").
Yuan's family was affluent enough to provide Yuan with a traditional Confucian education. As a young man he enjoyed riding, boxing, and entertainment with friends. Though hoping to pursue a career in the civil service, he failed the Imperial examinations twice, leading him to decide an entry into politics through the Huai Army, where many of his relatives served. His career began by purchasing a minor official title in 1880, which was a common method of official promotion in the late Qing. Using his father's connections, Yuan travelled to Tengzhou, Shandong, and sought a post in the Qing Brigade. Yuan's first marriage was in 1876 to a woman of the Yu family who bore him a first son, Keding, in 1878. Yuan Shikai married nine further concubines throughout the course of his life.

wn.com/Yuan_Shikai
Yunti
Yunti (16 January 1688 - 13 January 1756), born Yinzhen and also known as Yinti, was a Manchu prince and military general of the Qing Dynasty.
Yunti was born Yinzhen (simplified Chinese: 胤祯; traditional Chinese: 胤禎; pinyin: Yìnzhēn) of the Manchu Aisin Gioro clan as the 14th son of the Kangxi Emperor. His mother was Empress Xiaogongren, who also bore the Yongzheng Emperor. As Yunti's birth name "Yinzhen" was similar to the Yongzheng Emperor's personal name Yinzhen (胤禛), it was changed to Yinti. When the Yongzheng Emperor came to the throne, Yinti's name was changed to "Yunti" to avoid naming taboo, because the Chinese character for "Yin" (胤) in "Yinti" was similar to the one in the emperor's personal name "Yinzhen". Yunti's other names, Yinzhen and Yinti, were used interchangeably during his life, with family records containing references to both names.
In 1709 Yunti was granted the title of a beizi (貝子). In 1718 after the defeat of a Qing army along the Salween River in Tibet by the Dzungar general Tsering Dondub, Yunti was appointed by the Kangxi Emperor as "Great General Who Pacifies the Frontier" (撫遠大將軍) to lead an army of 300,000 into Tibet and defeat the Dzungars. Many believe that this was a sign that the Kangxi Emperor took into consideration making Yunti an heir to his throne. In February 1720, generals Galbi and Yanxin, under Yunti's command, set out from Xining to take Lhasa while Yunti himself remained in Xining to build up support with their Khotshot Mongol allies and then escort the Dalai Lama to Lhasa. On 24 September 1720 Yunti's army captured Lhasa and returned the Dalai Lama back to the Potala Palace.

wn.com/Yunti
Zeng Guofan
Zeng Guofan (traditional Chinese: 曾國藩; simplified Chinese: 曾国藩; pinyin: Zēng Guófān; Wade–Giles: Tseng Kuo-fan, Styled Bóhán 伯函 and variably Díshēng 滌生; Posthumous name: Wenzheng 文正; created Marquis Yiyong of the First Class 一等毅勇侯, 世襲罔替) (November 26, 1811 – March 12, 1872) was an eminent Han Chinese official, military general, and devout Confucian scholar of the late Qing Dynasty in China.
Zeng raised the Xiang Army to fight effectively against the Taiping Rebellion and restored the stability of Qing Dynasty along with other prominent figures, including Zuo Zongtang and Li Hongzhang, setting the scene for the era later known as the "Tongzhi Restoration"（同治中兴). He was known for his strategic perception, administrative skill and noble personality on Confucianist practice, but also sometimes for his ruthlessness on the execution of his policies. Zeng also exemplified loyalty in an era of chaos, but is also regarded as a pre-cursor to the rise of warlordism.

wn.com/Zeng_Guofan
Zhang Zhidong
Zhang Zhidong (simplified Chinese: 张之洞; traditional Chinese: 張之洞; pinyin: Zhāng Zhīdòng; Wade–Giles: Chang Chih-tung; Courtesy Xiàodá (孝達); Pseudonyms: Xiāngtāo (香濤), Xiāngyán (香岩), Yīgōng (壹公), Wújìng-Jūshì (無竟居士), later Bàobīng (抱冰); Posthumous name: Wénxiāng (文襄)) (September 4, 1837 — October 5, 1909) was an eminent Chinese politician during the late Qing Dynasty who advocated controlled reform. Along with Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzhang and Zuo Zongtang, he was one of the "Four Famous Officials of the Late Qing" (四大名臣). He served as the Governor of Shanxi, the Viceroy of Huguang, Viceroy of Liangguang, the Viceroy of Liangjiang, and also served as a member of the Grand Council. In 1966, during the Cultural Revolution, his tomb was destroyed by the Red Guards and his bones were rediscovered in 2007.
A native of Nanpi, Hebei, Zhang Zhidong earned a Jinshi degree in 1863 and was elevated to the Hanlin Academy in 1880. In 1881, he was appointed the Governor of Shanxi. The Empress Dowager promoted him to the Viceroy of Huguang in August 1889.

wn.com/Zhang_Zhidong
Zheng Keshuang
Zheng Keshuang (鄭克塽, 1669–1707 pinyin: Zhèng Kèshuǎng) was the son of Zheng Jing (鄭經) and a grandson of Koxinga (鄭成功). He succeeded his father Zheng Jing in 1681 as third King of Tungning (東寧) and surrendered Taiwan to Qing Dynasty forces in 1683.
Keshuang was only 12 years old when his father died and he was appointed heir apparent. Within two years his government surrendered to the Qing.

wn.com/Zheng_Keshuang

Rainie Yang, 楊丞琳- Li Xiang Qing Ren

published: 03 Oct 2009

author: rainieyangVEVO

Jay Chou - Qing Hua Ci 青花瓷MV Full version

Full version of Qing Hua Ci Music Video....

published: 02 Jan 2008

author: FatBoyPun

QING CHUN DOU(OT: Tick Tock (Beat The Clock))

Music video by Rainie Yang performing QING CHUN DOU(OT: Tick Tock (Beat The Clock)). © 201...

published: 08 Apr 2011

author: rainieyangVEVO

Jay Chou - Qing Tian (Clear Sky)

no ratings..yay...

published: 30 Apr 2007

author: F8Less

Violin Concerto Butterfly Lover 梁祝Lu Si-qing

Performed by violinist Lu Si-qing and Philharmonic Wien at the Golden Hall of Vienna. Chin...

published: 02 Sep 2008

author: ThelandIIove

Spring on River Qing - YangQin

WangSe plays Spring on River Qing on YangQin, Chinese Hammered Dulcimer. I ripped this vid...

published: 16 Feb 2008

author: electronixtar

Jay Chou - Cliff Of Love (Ai Qing Xuan Ya) Sub'd

From his 4th album "Ye Hui Mei"...

published: 09 Aug 2007

author: EvaDreaming

Zhao Qing Jian - Ultimate Compilation

Compilation of Zhao Qing Jian videos. Credits to Adam Tow of the Beijing Wushu Team for th...

published: 26 Jun 2007

author: xcelr8

Beijing Wushu Teams Zhao Qing Jian

My latest creation is a tribute to my wushu hero Zhao Qing Jian the King of today's wushu....

published: 04 Aug 2007

author: WushuDude13

Harlem Yu - Qing Fei De Yi (Ost. Meteor Garden)

Harlem Yu - Qing Fei De Yi (Ost. Meteor Garden)...

published: 05 Jul 2011

author: Dithapong T.Chiengthong

Jay Chou- Qing Hua Ci with English subs HQ

I do not own this song or video. If you translated this please notify me! plus i found thi...

published: 11 Dec 2009

author: eroticESCTASY

Qing Fei De Yi by Halrem Yu Lyrics PINYIN

The korean version was requested but I love the mandarin version so.. I love Meteor Garden...

published: 12 Sep 2009

author: lilrudegirlxD

Comic Boyz - Qing Chun Ji Nian Ce

Music video by Comic Boyz performing Qing Chun Ji Nian Ce. (P) 2003 Sony Music Entertainme...

published: 25 Oct 2009

author: ComicBoyzVEVO

F4 - Meteor Garden Theme Song qing fei de yi.mpg

...

published: 04 Aug 2011

author: นรินทร์ เกตุกำจร

Night Light

Qing Han's 4th year film Music by Paul Levasseur: http://lydianmusicloft.com/paul/ you c...

published: 28 Apr 2012

author: Qing Han

Goodbye Shanghai

http://goodbyeshanghai.com While embezzling $14 billion from a Chinese bank for the US go...

published: 10 Nov 2010

author: Blueberry Films

Hero square

This animation using 3 of my favorite heros, PATMAN,CAPTAIN AMARICA and HULK....

published: 01 Oct 2012

author: TianQing

CARSICK CARS - 蘑菇蘑菇 MOGU MOGU (Music Video)

Amazing first music video by CARSICK CARS!!! Carsick Cars终于有了他们的第一部MV，让我们拭目以待！ In the sum...

published: 28 Apr 2009

author: Maybe Mars / 兵马司

<li class="playlistitemli thumbnail border_color">
        <div class="video_facebook">
            <a href="http://web.archive.org./web/20121225235707/http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http://wn.com/qing&t=<%= title %>" title="Share this video" data-title="Share this video" target="_blank" style="target-name: new; target-new: tab;"></a>
        </div>

photo: AP / Virginie Nguyen Huang

In this Monday, Dec. 17, 2012 photo, a Free Syrian Army fighter takes cover during fighting with the Syrian Army in Azaz, Syria.

Syria's chemical weapons safe for now: Russia

Newstrack India

23 Dec 2012

Tweet. Moscow, Dec 23 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Chemical weapons in Syria are under the control of the government, which has consolidated them in one or two locations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said. "As of right now, the (Syrian) government is doing all it can to safeguard those weapons," he said. "We are following all leads concerning chemical weapons," Lavrov said ... "My answer is very simple. Why use us as a postman ... pm/ ... ) .. ). ... . ....(size: 3.2Kb)

photo: Creative Commons / Giorgione

Anbetung der Hirten (Adoration of the Shepherds) (c. 1500–10), by Italian painter Giorgio da Castelfranco. Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus to the Virgin Mary as a fulfillment of the Old Testament's Messianic prophecy.

Liberating Burdensome and Tortuous Beasts (An Animal Liberation Theology)

WorldNews.com

24 Dec 2012

Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling. A deadly silence immediately followed after a bullet penetrated the calf's skull. Against my wishes, Vic had decided against either amputating its leg or contacting a veterinarian-something he reasoned would have been too expensive. The unfortunate calf had slid down into a ravine where its hind leg, which was mangled and torn, became wrapped in barbed wire ... But it was more than a bellow ... 9....(size: 6.3Kb)

photo: AP / Altaf Qadri

Indian police officers baton charge protesters near the Presidential Palace in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Dec. 22, 2012.

India govt to probe gang-rape, enhance punishment

Khaleej Times

23 Dec 2012

A commission will be set up to probe the gang-rape and torture of a 23-year-old woman in Delhi and measures to ensure such crimes do not recur while laws will be amended to enhance punishment for rape, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said . He also appealed the thousands of protesters on the capital’s streets, demanding justice for the victim, to withdraw ... “The government is serious on the issue. ...  . . ....(size: 2.4Kb)

photo: Creative Commons / Axou

Aviva is a 68 metres (223 ft) length motor yacht, currently the 80th longest motor yacht in the world.

Steve Jobs' Mega-Yacht Free To Sail After Temporary Reprieve

Newsfactor

24 Dec 2012

Steve Jobs was controversial in life, and now his high-tech mega-yacht is associated with a controversy long after his death. The former Apple CEO's ship was impounded in Amsterdam in the middle of a financial battle over a disputed bill. Phillippe Starck, a French product designer and architect, has alleged that Jobs' heirs owe him 3 million euros for his work on Venus, the 256-foot yacht Jobs commissioned before his death ...   ... ....(size: 2.6Kb)

photo: AP / Musadeq Sadeq

A member of security escorts a U.S. convoy in to the Kabul police headquarters, where a an American advisor was killed in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Dec. 24, 2012.

Afghan policewoman kills US adviser in Kabul

my SA

24 Dec 2012

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — An Afghan policewoman shot and killed an American adviser outside the police headquarters in Kabul on Monday, the latest in a rising tide of insider attacks by Afghans against their foreign allies, senior Afghan officials said. The woman, identified as Afghan police Sgt ... The woman was taken into Afghan custody shortly after the attack ... As many Afghans, the policewoman uses only one name ... Air Force Lt. Col ... Gen ... ....(size: 4.6Kb)

timeline:
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001

Keep Kitchen Utensils Clean While Preparing Holiday Meal

US News

25 Dec 2012

Cross-contamination can occur easily during cooking process, study says. TUESDAY, Dec ... Previous research has shown that meal preparation is a prime period for food contamination ... The findings show how easy it is for germs to transfer between produce and utensils, according to study author Qing Wang and her colleagues from the Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia ... More information. The U.S ... Copyright © 2012 HealthDay ... ....(size: 8.6Kb)

What Kept China’s Search Engines Busy in 2012

The New York Times

25 Dec 2012

By MARK MCDONALD ... The most-searched topic in 2012 was the “Wang Lijun affair” (王立军事件 Wáng Lìjūn Shìjiàn). As the Baidu spokesman Kaiser Kuo explains. ... Consulate ... 5 ... A 19-year-old young woman named Dan became obsessed with the idea of going back in time after watching a hit TV series where the young female protagonist, a college student, goes back in time to hang with the emperor and cavort with handsome Manchu princes in the Qing Dynasty....(size: 5.5Kb)

Resignation of Executive Director (Goldbond Group Holdings Limited)

noodls

24 Dec 2012

(Source. Goldbond Group Holdings Limited). Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited and The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited take no responsibility for the contents of this announcement, make no representation as to its accuracy or completeness and expressly disclaim any liability whatsoever for any loss howsoever arising from or in reliance upon the whole or any part of the contents of this announcement ... 00172) ... Xie Xiao Qing ("Mr....(size: 2.9Kb)

The Establishment of Singyuan Culture Museum (Tainan City Government)

noodls

24 Dec 2012

(Source. Tainan City Government) The Establishment of Singyuan Culture Museum. Tainan is full of culture ... Tainan Governor Lai Ching-te invited everyone to experience the culture of inner streets and alleys of Tainan ... It's said that Zu-Ma Zhen used to be a parade for welcoming Tian Fu General in the 9th year of the reign of Qing Yongzheng ... In this case, one should visit Tainan before claiming to know Taiwan well ... distributed by ... (noodl....(size: 3.1Kb)

Prizes for young BSN savers

New Straits/Business Times

24 Dec 2012

PUTRAJAYA ... BSN general manager/chief executive officer Datuk Adinan Maning said ... As an incentive to take part, cash prizes are offered yearly to them ... She said ... (From left, front row) Winnie Leow Siew Qing with her mother Judy Low Lee Choo and Damia Yasmin Suhaimi are all smiles as they take a group photograph with (back row, from left) Datuk Adinan Maning, Datuk Abd Shukor Ibrahim and BSN deputy chief executive officer Yunos Abd Ghani ... ....(size: 4.2Kb)

Top News Headlines of the Week (December 17 - December 21, 2012) From China PRnews

StreetInsider

24 Dec 2012

Tweet. BEIJING, Dec. 24, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The following is a roundup of the top news stories from China PRnews, Local Partner of NASDAQ OMX Group in China. 2012-12-17 [Source. NVC-lighting]. Guangdong Entrepreneurs Delegation visited NVC UK. Recently, the Guangdong entrepreneurs' delegation visited to the NVC UK ... Seegle] ... Tian Qing Web application security gateway (WAF) of Venus won the title of 'Annual Outstanding Product Award' ... ....(size: 7.0Kb)

Why Japan Needs a 'Love Thy Neighbor' Policy

CNBC

24 Dec 2012

Beijing apparently thinks that Mr ... (Read More ... Mr ... Writing in the French newspaper Le Monde on November 9, 2012, Ichiro Komatsu, Japan's ambassador to France, says that Japan decided to "annex Senkaku (Diaoyu) islands to the national territory in January 1895, after its investigations since 1885 proved that these islands were terra nullius (land belonging to no one)," without any sign that they were administered by China's Qing Dynasty....(size: 10.5Kb)

China's motorways: Get your kicks on Route G6

Chicago Tribune

23 Dec 2012

But Mr Liu was determined ... His list ... To say one has qing jin qing chu is relatively little to boast about. It means one has entered and left Tibet through Qinghai province (qing) along the old 1950s-built G109, which takes over where the G6 ends ... Higher up the hierarchy are those who opt for chuan jin qing chu. entering from Sichuan (chuan) and leaving through Qinghai (qing) ... this time aiming for the chuan jin qing chu distinction ... ....(size: 18.7Kb)

Pot luck

The Hindu

23 Dec 2012

The festive season in Delhi ushers in a wave of food promotions, and I decided to check out the Clay Pot promotion at The Pan Asian restaurant of Welcome Hotel Sheraton, New Delhi District Centre, Saket. The week long promotion ended December 23. I was greeted by Chef Lambert Chiang who explained to me the basics of clay pot cooking ... Keywords. clay pot cooking, Hotel Sheraton Delhi, Chong Qing, healthy cooking tips ....(size: 2.4Kb)

Recipe: Prawn and chicken dumplings

The Times of India

23 Dec 2012

You may know them better as momos, but the original dimsum is a clever little package of fineness, flavour and technique ... These dumplings are molded and wrapped with delicate folds in different shapes to distinguish their stuffings ... Executive chef Liang Xiaq Qing and Noodle and dimsum chef Wang Peng from the Pan Asian restaurant at ITC Maratha give you step by step directions on making the perfect, succulent dimsum. Vegetable dumplings....(size: 3.8Kb)

GOLF: Swinging time at Bkt Jawi

New Straits/Business Times

22 Dec 2012

FOREIGN FIELD. 170 participants battle for honours in Penang Amateur Open. JAWI ... Bukit Jambul Country Club's Mandy Lim Min Tze clinched the top place in the women's nett category with 191 points while Lim Ai Lyn and Ong Shi Qing finished second and third respectively for an all-Malaysian sweep ... RESULTS -- Men's Gross ... Nett ... Women's Gross ... Nett. 1 Mandy Lim Min Tze 191, 2 Lim Ai Lyn 206, 3 Ong Shi Qing 216 ... Pic by K. Kandiah 1 / 1 . ....(size: 3.7Kb)

China in Kodachrome

Caixin Online

22 Dec 2012

... of Mao's wife Jiang Qing and Wang Hongwen, a young Shanghai revolutionary who Mao later rejected as his successor, Barbey viewed firsthand the shifting political context of the time....(size: 1.0Kb)

Martial arts assassins find themselves facing end point

Canberra Times

22 Dec 2012

Shawn Yue in The Guillotines. Reviewer rating.. Rating. 3 out of 5 stars. THE GUILLOTINES (MA) . Selected release (113 minutes) . THE Guillotines is an intriguing 3D Hong Kong martial arts drama that is a curious mixture of spectacle and introspection ... The movie is set during the Qing dynasty, and follows the fate of a secret group of assassins known as the Guillotines ... ....(size: 2.0Kb)

timeline:
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001

Not to be confused with the Qin Dynasty, the first dynasty of Imperial China.

"Qing" redirects here. For other uses, see Qing (disambiguation).

Great Qing
大清帝國
Dà Qīng Dìguó

←

1644–1912

→


Flag	Imperial Coat of arms

Anthem
Gong Jin'ou
鞏金甌
"Cup of Solid Gold"

The Qing Empire in 1890.

Capital

Beijing

Language(s)

Official languages: Guanhua Chinese^[1] and Manchu
Unofficial minority languages:
numerous, including many dialects of Chinese

Religion

Heaven worship, Shamanism, Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Christianity, Chinese folk religion, others

Government

Absolute monarchy

Emperor

- 1644–1661

Shunzhi Emperor

- 1908–1912

Xuantong Emperor

Regent

- 1908–1912

Longyu

Prime Minister

- 1911

Yikuang

- 1911–1912

Yuan Shikai

Historical era

Imperial era

- Collapse of the Ming

25 April 1644

- Battle of Shanhai Pass

27 May 1644

- Sino-Japanese War

1 Aug 1894–17 Apr 1895

- Wuchang Uprising

10 October 1911

- Xinhai Revolution

12 February 1912

Area

- 1760 est.

13,150,000 km² (5,077,243 sq mi)

- 1790 est. (incl. vassals)^[2]

14,700,000 km² (5,675,702 sq mi)

Population

- 1740 est.

140,000,000

- 1776 est.

268,238,000

- 1790 est.

301,000,000

Currency

Tael (Tls.)

Qing Dynasty

Chinese name

Chinese

清朝

Transcriptions
Mandarin
- Hanyu Pinyin	Qīng Cháo
- Wade–Giles	Ch'ing ch'ao

Empire of the Great Qing

Traditional Chinese

大清帝國

Simplified Chinese

大清帝国

Transcriptions
Mandarin
- Hanyu Pinyin	Dà Qīng Dìguó
- Wade–Giles	Ta Ch'ing Ti-kuo
- Postal Map	Ta-Tsing Empire

Later Jin Dynasty

Traditional Chinese

後金朝

Simplified Chinese

后金朝

Transcriptions
Mandarin
- Hanyu Pinyin	Hòu Jīn Cháo

Manchu name

Manchu

(Daicing Gurun)

(Amaga Aisin Gurun)

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

History of China
ANCIENT
3 Sovereigns and 5 Emperors
Xia Dynasty 2100–1600 BCE
Shang Dynasty 1600–1046 BCE
Zhou Dynasty 1045–256 BCE
Western Zhou
Eastern Zhou
Spring and Autumn Period
Warring States Period
IMPERIAL
Qin Dynasty 221 BCE–206 BCE
Han Dynasty 206 BCE–220 CE
Western Han
Xin Dynasty
Eastern Han
Three Kingdoms 220–280
Wei, Shu and Wu
Jin Dynasty 265–420
Western Jin	16 Kingdoms 304–439
Eastern Jin	16 Kingdoms 304–439
Southern and Northern Dynasties 420–589
Sui Dynasty 581–618
Tang Dynasty 618–907
(Second Zhou 690–705)
5 Dynasties and 10 Kingdoms 907–960	Liao Dynasty 907–1125
Song Dynasty 960–1279
Northern Song		W. Xia
Southern Song	Jin
Yuan Dynasty 1271–1368
Ming Dynasty 1368–1644
Qing Dynasty 1644–1911
MODERN
Republic of China 1912–1949
People's Republic of China 1949–present	Republic of China (Taiwan) 1949–present
Related articles Chinese historiography Timeline of Chinese history Dynasties in Chinese history Linguistic history Art history Economic history Education history Science and technology history Legal history Media history Military history Naval history
This box: view talk edit

The Qing Dynasty was the last imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China.

The dynasty was founded by the Jurchen Aisin Gioro clan in contemporary Northeastern China. The Aisin Gioro leader, Nurhachi, who was originally a vassal of the Ming emperors, began unifying the Jurchen clans in the late sixteenth century. By 1635, Nurhachi's son Hong Taiji could claim they constituted a single and united Manchu people and began forcing the Ming out of Liaoning in southern Manchuria. In 1644, the Ming capital Beijing was sacked by a peasant revolt led by Li Zicheng, a former minor Ming official who became the leader of the peasant revolt, who then proclaimed the Shun dynasty. The last Ming ruler, the Chongzhen Emperor, committed suicide when the city fell. When Li Zicheng moved against Ming general Wu Sangui, the latter made an alliance with the Manchus and opened the Shanhai Pass to the Manchurian army. Under Prince Dorgon, they seized control of Beijing and overthrew Li Zicheng's short-lived Shun Dynasty. Complete pacification of China was accomplished around 1683 under the Kangxi Emperor.

Over the course of its reign, the Qing became highly integrated with Chinese culture. The imperial examinations continued and Han civil servants administered the empire alongside Manchu ones. The Qing reached its height under the Qianlong Emperor in the eighteenth century, expanding beyond China's prior and later boundaries. Imperial corruption exemplified by the minister Heshen and a series of rebellions, natural disasters, and defeats in wars against European powers gravely weakened the Qing during the nineteenth century. "Unequal Treaties" provided for extraterritoriality and removed large areas of treaty ports from Chinese sovereignty. The government attempts to modernize during the Self-Strengthening Movement in the late 19th century yielded little lasting results. Losing the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895 was a watershed for the Qing government and the result demonstrated that reform had modernized Japan significantly since the Meiji Restoration in 1867, especially as compared with the Self-Strengthening Movement in China.

The 1911 Wuchang Uprising of the New Army ended with the overthrow of the Empress Dowager Longyu and the infant Puyi on February 12, 1912. Despite the declaration of the Republic of China, the generals would continue to fight amongst themselves for the next several decades during the Warlord Era. Puyi was briefly restored to power in Beijing by Zhang Xun in July 1917, and in Manchukuo by the Japanese between 1932 – 1945.

Name [link]

Both in honor of the earlier Jurchen Jin dynasty in the 12-13th century and his Aisin Gioro clan,^{[n 1]} Nurhachi originally named his state the Great Jin (lit "Gold") dynasty, since called the Later Jin Dynasty by historians. His son Hong Taiji renamed the dynasty Great Qing (lit "Clarity") in 1636. It was also known as the Manchu Dynasty.

The state was known internationally as China^[3] or the Chinese Empire^[4] and considered to comprise China proper or the Eighteen provinces, Chinese Tartary, Chinese Turkestan, and Tibet. For diplomatic purposes, it was sometimes also known as the Ta Tsing Empire^[5]^[6] from the Chinese for "Empire of the Great Qing" (大清帝国, p Dà Qīng Dìguó).

History [link]

Formation of the Manchu state [link]

An Italian map showing the "Kingdom of the Nüzhen" or the "Jin Tartars", who "have occupied and are at present ruling China", north of Liaodong and Korea, published in 1682

The Qing Dynasty was founded not by Han Chinese, who form the majority of the Chinese population, but by a semi-sedentary people known as the Jurchen, a Tungusic people who lived around the region now comprising the Chinese provinces of Jilin and Heilongjiang.^[7] What was to become the Manchu state was founded by Nurhachi, the chieftain of a minor Jurchen tribe – the Aisin Gioro – in Jianzhou in the early 17th century. Originally a vassal of the Ming emperors, Nurhachi embarked on an inter-tribal feud in 1582 that escalated into a campaign to unify the nearby tribes. By 1616, he had sufficiently consolidated Jianzhou so as to be able to proclaim himself Khan of the Great Jin in reference to the previous Jurchen dynasty.^[8]

Two years later, Nurhachi announced the "Seven Grievances" and openly renounced the sovereignty of Ming overlordship in order to complete the unification of those Jurchen tribes still allied with the Ming emperor. After a series of successful battles, he relocated his capital from Hetu Ala to successively bigger captured Ming cities in Liaodong Province: first Liaoyang in 1621, then Shenyang (Mukden) in 1625.^[8]

Relocating his court from Jianzhou to Liaodong provided Nurhachi access to more resources; it also brought him in close contact with the Mongol domains on the plains of Mongolia. Although by this time the once-united Mongol nation had long since fragmented into individual and hostile tribes, these tribes still presented a serious security threat to the Ming borders. Nurhachi's policy towards the Mongols was to seek their friendship and cooperation against the Ming, securing his western border from a powerful potential enemy.^[9]

Furthermore, the Mongols proved a useful ally in the war, lending the Jurchens their expertise as cavalry archers. To cement this new alliance, Nurhachi initiated a policy of inter-marriages between the Jurchen and Mongol nobilities, while those who resisted were met with military action. This is a typical example of Nurhachi's initiatives that eventually became official Qing government policy. During most of the Qing Dynasty time, the Mongols gave military assistance to the Manchus.^[9]

Some of Nurhachi's other important contributions include ordering the creation of a written Manchu script based on the Mongolian so as to avoid the earlier Jurchen script which had been derived from Khitan and Chinese and the creation of the civil and military administrative system which eventually evolved into the Eight Banners, the defining element of Manchu identity and the foundation for transforming the loosely knitted Jurchen tribes into a nation.

File:SNV30920.JPG

Qing Dynasty era brush container

Nurhachi's unbroken series of military successes came to an end in January 1626 when he was defeated by Yuan Chonghuan while laying siege to Ningyuan. He died a few months later^{[n 2]} and was succeeded by his eighth son, Hong Taiji, who emerged after a short political struggle amongst other potential contenders as the new Khan.

Although Hong Taiji was an experienced leader and the commander of two Banners at the time of his succession, his reign did not start well on the military front. The Jurchens suffered yet another defeat in 1627 at the hands of Yuan Chonghuan. As before, this defeat was the result of the Ming's newly acquired Portuguese cannons.

To redress the technological and numerical disparity, Hong Taiji in 1634 created his own artillery corps, the ujen chooha,^{[n 3]} from among his existing Han troops who cast their own cannons in the European design with the help of captured Chinese metallurgists. In 1635, the Manchus' Mongol allies were fully incorporated into a separate Banner hierarchy under direct Manchu command. Hong Taiji then proceeded in 1636 to invade Korea again.

This was followed by the creation of the first two Han Banners in 1637 (increasing to eight in 1642). Together these military reforms enabled Hong Taiji to resoundingly defeat Ming forces in a series of battles from 1640 to 1642 for the territories of Songshan and Jingzhou. This final victory resulted in the surrender of many of the Ming Dynasty's most battle-hardened troops, the enlistment of Yuan Chonghuan to the Manchu cause, and the complete and permanent withdrawal of the remaining Ming forces north of the Great Wall.

Meanwhile, Hong Taiji set up a rudimentary bureaucratic system based on the Ming model. He established six boards or executive level ministries in 1631 to oversee finance, personnel, rites, military, punishments, and public works. However, these administrative organs had very little role initially, and it was not until the eve of completing the conquest some ten years later that they filled out their government roles.^[10]

Hong Taiji's bureaucracy was staffed with many Han Chinese, including many newly surrendered Ming officials. The Manchus' continued dominance was ensured by an ethnic quota for top bureaucratic appointments. Hong Taiji's reign also saw a fundamental change of policy towards his Han Chinese subjects. Whereas under Nurhachi all captured Han Chinese were seen as potential fifth columnists for the Ming and treated as chattel – including those who eventually held important government posts – Hong Taiji instead incorporated them into the Jurchen "nation" as full (if not first-class) citizens, obligated to provide military service. By 1648, less than one-sixth of the bannermen were of Manchu ancestry.^[11]

This change of policy not only increased Hong Taiji's manpower and reduced his military dependence on banners not under his personal control, it also greatly encouraged other Han Chinese subjects of the Ming Dynasty to surrender and accept Jurchen rule when they were defeated militarily. Through these and other measures Hong Taiji was able to centralize power unto the office of the Khan, which in the long run prevented the Jurchen federation from fragmenting after his death.

One of the defining events of Hong Taiji's reign was the official adoption of the name "Manchu" for the united Jurchen people in November, 1635. The next year, when he is said to be presented with the imperial seal of the Yuan Dynasty after the defeat of the last Khagan of the Mongols, Hong Taiji renamed his state from "Great Jin" to "Great Qing" and elevated his position from Khan to Emperor, suggesting imperial ambitions beyond unifying the Manchu territories.

Some sources^[who?] suggested that the name "Qing" was selected as a reaction to the name of the Ming Dynasty (明) which consists of the characters for "sun" (日) and "moon" (月), both associated with the fire element. The character Qing (清) is composed of "water" (氵) and "azure" (青), both associated with the water element. Others^[who?] suggested that the new name helped rehabilitate the Manchu in the eyes of the Han, whose historians regarded the earlier Jin as foreign invaders.^{[citation needed]}

Claiming the Mandate of Heaven [link]

Pine, Plum and Cranes, 1759 AD, by Shen Quan (1682–1760). Hanging scroll, ink and colour on silk. The Palace Museum, Beijing.

Hong Taiji died suddenly in September 1643 without a designated heir. As the Jurchens had traditionally "elected" their leader through a council of nobles, the Qing state did not have in place a clear succession system until the reign of the Kangxi Emperor. The leading contenders for power at this time were Hong Taiji's oldest son Hooge and Hong Taiji's agnate half brother Dorgon. In the ensuing political impasse between the two bitter political rivals, a compromise candidate in the person of Hong Taiji's five-year-old son Fulin, was installed as the Shunzhi Emperor, with Dorgon as regent and de facto leader of the Manchu nation.

The Manchus' nemesis, the Ming Dynasty, was fighting for its own survival against a long peasant rebellion and was unable to capitalise on the Qing court's political uncertainty over the succession dispute and installation of a minor as emperor. The Ming Dynasty's internal crisis came to a head in April 1644, when the capital at Beijing was sacked by a coalition of rebel forces led by Li Zicheng, a former minor Ming official who became the leader of the peasant revolt and established a short-lived Shun Dynasty. The last Ming ruler, the Chongzhen Emperor, committed suicide when the city fell, marking the official end of the dynasty.

After easily taking Beijing, Li Zicheng led a coalition of rebel forces numbering 200,000^{[n 4]} to confront Wu Sangui, the general commanding the Ming garrison at Shanhai Pass. Shanhai Pass is a pivotal pass of the Great Wall, located fifty miles northeast of Beijing, and for years its defenses were what kept the Manchus from directly raiding the Ming capital. Wu Sangui, caught between a rebel army twice his size and a foreign enemy he had fought for years, decided to cast his lot with the Manchus with whom he was familiar, and made an alliance with Dorgon to fight the rebels.^{[citation needed]}

Some sources suggested that Wu Sangui's actions were influenced by news of mistreatment of his family and his concubine Chen Yuanyuan at the hands of the rebels when the capital fell. Regardless of the actual reasons for his decision,^{[n 5]} this awkward and some would say cynical alliance between Wu Sangui and his former sworn enemy was ironically made in the name of avenging the death of the Chongzhen Emperor. Together, the two former enemies met and defeated Li Zicheng's rebel forces in battle on May 27, 1644.

After routing Li Zicheng's forces, the Manchus captured Beijing on June 6, where the Shunzhi Emperor was installed as the "Son of Heaven" on October 30. The Manchus who had positioned themselves as political heir to the Ming emperor by defeating Li Zicheng, completed the symbolic act of transition by holding a formal funeral for the Chongzhen Emperor. However the process of conquering the rest of China took another seventeen years of battling Ming loyalists, pretenders and rebels.

It also involved huge loss of life, including the infamous Yangzhou massacre of 1645, when a ten-day rampage by troops in the city with the permission of Prince Dodo resulted in an estimated 800,000 deaths. The last Ming pretender, Prince Gui, sought refuge with the King of Burma, but was turned over to a Qing expeditionary army commanded by Wu Sangui, who had him brought back to Yunnan province and executed in early 1662.

A Chinese paddle-wheel driven ship from a Qing Dynasty encyclopedia published in 1726.

The first seven years of the Shunzhi Emperor's reign were dominated by the regent prince Dorgon, who, because of his own political insecurity within the Manchu power structure, followed Hong Taiji's example of centralizing power under his own control in the name of the emperor at the expense of other contending Manchu princes, many of whom eventually were demoted or imprisoned under one pretext or another. Although the period of his regency was relatively short, Dorgon cast a long shadow over the Qing Dynasty.

Firstly the Manchus were able to enter "China proper" only because of Dorgon's timely decision to act on Wu Sangui's appeal for military assistance. After capturing Beijing instead of sacking the city as the rebels had done before them, Dorgon insisted over the protests of other Manchu princes on making it Qing's capital and largely reappointed Ming officials to their posts. Setting the Qing capital in Beijing may seem a straightforward move in hindsight, but it was then an act of innovation because historically no major Chinese dynasty had ever directly taken over its immediate predecessor's capital. Keeping the Ming capital and bureaucracy intact helped quickly stabilize the country and greatly sped up the Manchu process of conquest. However, not all of Dorgon's policies were equally popular nor easily implemented.

One of Dorgon's most controversial decisions was his July 1645 edict (the "haircutting order") that forced all adult Han Chinese men to shave the front of their heads and comb the remaining hair into a queue, on pain of death.^[12] The slogan of the order is: "To keep the hair, you lose the head; To keep your head, you cut the hair."^[13] To the Manchus, this policy was a test of loyalty and an aid in distinguishing friend from foe. For the Han Chinese, however, it was a humiliating reminder of Qing authority that challenged traditional Confucian values.^{[n 6]} Before capturing Beijing, the Later Jin government implemented a mandatory shaving of the hair in Liaodong in the early 1620s, which led to a rebellion of the Han Chinese of this area in 1622 and 1625, resulting in the death of more than 500,000 people and a stricter separation between Han Chinese and Manchus such as prohibition of intermarriage.^[14]

The 1645 order was so deeply unpopular that it triggered strong resistance to Qing rule in Jiangnan until at least the late 1640s,^[15] resulting in massive killing of ethnic Han Chinese in this area. One well documented massacre was the triple massacres at Jiading, in which Li Chengdong, a Han Chinese general who previously served the Ming Dynasty but later surrendered to the Qing,^[16] ordered troops to carry out three separate massacres on the Jiading inhabitants within a month, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths. At the end of the third massacre, there was hardly any living person left in this city.^[14]

On December 31, 1650, Dorgon suddenly died during a hunting expedition, marking the official start of the Shunzhi Emperor's personal rule. Because the emperor was only 12 years old at that time, most decisions were made on his behalf by his mother, the Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, who turned out to be a skilled political operator.

Although Dorgon's support had been essential to Shunzhi's ascent, Dorgon had through the years centralised so much power in his hands as to become a direct threat to the throne. So much so that upon his death he was extraordinarily bestowed the posthumous title of Emperor Yi (Chinese: 義皇帝), the only instance in Qing history in which a Manchu "prince of the blood" (Chinese: 親王) was so honored. Two months into Shunzhi's personal rule, Dorgon was not only stripped of his titles, but his corpse was disinterred and mutilated.^{[n 7]} to atone for multiple "crimes", one of which was persecuting to death Shunzhi’s agnate eldest brother, Hooge. More importantly, Dorgon's symbolic fall from grace also signalled a political purge of his family and associates at court, thus reverting power back to the person of the emperor. After a promising start, Shunzhi's reign was cut short by his early death in 1661 at the age of twenty-four from smallpox. He was succeeded by his third son Xuanye, who reigned as the Kangxi Emperor.

The Kangxi Emperor's reign and consolidation [link]

The Kangxi Emperor (r. 1662–1722)

At sixty one years, the reign of Kangxi was the longest of any Chinese emperor. But more importantly, apart from its length, Kangxi's reign is also celebrated as the beginning of an era called "Kang-Qian Golden Age" (Chinese: 康乾盛世), also known as "High Qing", during which the Qing Dynasty reached the zenith of its social, economic and military power.^[17] Kangxi's long reign started when he was eight years old upon the untimely demise of his father. To prevent a repeat of Dorgon's dictatorial monopolizing of state power during the period of regency, the Shunzhi Emperor, on his deathbed, hastily appointed four senior cabinet ministers to govern on behalf of his young son. The four ministers — Sonin, Ebilun, Suksaha, and Oboi — were chosen for their long service to the emperor, but also to counteract each others' influences. Most importantly, the four were not closely related to the imperial family and laid no claim to the throne. However as time passed, through chance and machination, Oboi, the most junior of the four ministers, was able to achieve political dominance to such an extent as to become a potential threat to the crown. Even though Oboi's loyalty was never an issue, his personal arrogance and political conservatism led him to come into ever escalating conflict with the young Kangxi Emperor. In 1669 Kangxi, through trickery, disarmed and imprisoned Oboi — a not insignificant victory for the fifteen-year-old emperor, as Oboi was not only a wily old politician but also an experienced military commander.

The Manchus found controlling the "Mandate of Heaven" a daunting task. The vastness of China's territory meant that there were only enough banner troops to garrison key cities forming the backbone of a defence network that relied heavily on surrendered Ming soldiers. In addition, three surrendered Ming generals were singled out for their contributions to the establishment of the Qing dynasty, ennobled as feudal princes (藩王), and given governorships over vast territories in Southern China. The chief of these was Wu Sangui, who was given the provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou, while generals Shang Kexi (尚可喜) and Geng Jingzhong (耿精忠) were given Guangdong and Fujian provinces respectively.

Pilgrim flask, porcelain with underglaze blue and iron-red decoration. Qing Dynasty, Qianlong period in the 18th century.

As the years went by, the three feudal lords and their territories inevitably became increasingly autonomous. Finally, in 1673, Shang Kexi petitioned the Kangxi Emperor, stating his desire to retire to his hometown in Liaodong province and nominating his son as his successor. The young emperor granted his retirement, but denied the heredity of his fief. In reaction, the two other generals decided to petition for their own retirements to test Kangxi's resolve, thinking that he would not risk offending them. The move backfired as the young emperor called their bluff by accepting their requests and ordering all three fiefdoms to be reverted back to the crown.

Faced with the stripping of their powers, Wu Sangui felt he had no choice but to rise up in revolt. He was joined by Geng Zhongming and by Shang Kexi's son Shang Zhixin (尚之信). The ensuing rebellion lasted for eight years. At the peak of the rebels' fortunes, they managed to extend their control as far north as the Yangtze River. Ultimately, though, the Qing government was able to put down the rebellion and exert control over all of southern China. The rebellion would be known in Chinese history as the Revolt of the Three Feudatories.

To consolidate the dynasty, the Kangxi Emperor personally led a series of military campaigns against the Dzungars, and later the Russian Empire. He arranged the marriage of his daughter to the Mongol leader Galdan Boshugtu Khan to avoid a military conflict. Galdan's military campaign against the Qing Empire failed, further strengthening the power of the dynasty. During Kangxi's reign, Outer Mongolia and Tibet were invaded by the Dzungars and asked for help from China. The Kangxi Emperor was able to successfully expel Galdan's invading forces from these regions, which were then incorporated into the empire. Taiwan was also conquered by Qing forces in 1683 from Zheng Keshuang, grandson of Koxinga. Koxinga had conquered Taiwan from the Dutch colonists to use it as a base against the Qing Dynasty. By the end of the 17th century, China was at its greatest height of power since the Ming Dynasty.

The Kangxi Emperor also handled many Jesuit missionaries that came to China. A series of missionaries, including Tomás Pereira, Martino Martini, Johann Adam Schall von Bell, Ferdinand Verbiest and Antoine Thomas, also held significant positions as mathematicians, astronomers and advisers to the emperor.

Reigns of the Yongzheng and Qianlong emperors [link]

The Putuo Zongcheng Temple of Chengde, built in the 18th century during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor.

The reigns of the Yongzheng Emperor (r. 1723–1735) and his son, the Qianlong Emperor (r. 1735–1796), marked the height of the Qing Dynasty's power. During this period, the Qing Empire ruled over 13 million square kilometres of territory.

After the Kangxi Emperor's death in the winter of 1722, his fourth son, Prince Yong (雍親王), succeeded him as the Yongzheng Emperor. Yongzheng remained a controversial character because of rumours about him usurping the throne, and in the late years of Kangxi's reign, he was involved in great political struggles with his brothers. Yongzheng was a hardworking administrator who ruled with an iron hand. His first big step towards a stronger regime came when he brought the State Examination System back to its original standards. In 1724, he cracked down on illegal exchange rates of coins, which was being manipulated by officials to fit their financial needs. Those who were found in violation of new laws on finances were removed from office, or in extreme cases, executed.

"The reception of the Diplomatique (Macartney) and his suite, at the Court of Pekin". Drawn and engraved by James Gillray, published in September 1792.

Yongzheng showed a great amount of trust in Han Chinese officials, and appointed many of his proteges to prestigious positions. Nian Gengyao was appointed to lead a military campaign in place of his brother Yinti in Qinghai.

More territory was incorporated in the northwest. Starting in 1727, Qing imperial residents were stationed in Lhasa, and commanded over Qing garrisons in Tibet. A toughened stance was directed toward corrupt officials, and Yongzheng led the creation of a Grand Council, which grew to become the de facto cabinet for the rest of the dynasty.

The Yongzheng Emperor died in 1735. This was followed by the succession of his son, Prince Bao (寶親王), as the Qianlong Emperor. Qianlong was known as an able general. Succeeding the throne at the age of 24, Qianlong personally led the military in campaigns near Xinjiang and Mongolia. Revolts and uprisings in Sichuan and parts of southern China were successfully put down, and the control over Tibet was strengthened.

The Qianlong Emperor also launched several ambitious cultural projects, such as the compilation of Siku Quanshu, or Complete Library in Four Branches of Literature. With a total of over 3,400 books, 79,000 chapters, and 36,304 volumes, Siku Quanshu is the largest collection of books in Chinese history as well as the largest series of books ever edited by the feudal authority.^[18] Nevertheless, Qianlong had used Literary Inquisition to silence opposition. The accusation of individuals began with the emperor's own interpretation of the true meaning of the corresponding words. If the emperor decided these were derogatory or cynical towards the dynasty, persecution would begin. Literary inquisition began with isolated cases in the times of Shunzhi and Kangxi, but had become a pattern during Qianlong's reign, during which there were 53 cases of literary persecution.^[19]

During the late years of Qianlong's reign, the Qing government saw a return of rampant corruption. Heshen was arguably one of the most corrupt officials in the entire history of the Qing Dynasty.^[20] Heshen was eventually forced into committing suicide by Qianlong's son, the Jiaqing Emperor (r. 1796–1820).

In 1796 open rebellion by the White Lotus Society against the Qing government broke out. The White Lotus Rebellion continued for eight years, until 1804, and marked a turning point in the history of the Qing Dynasty.^[21]

Rebellion, unrest and external pressure [link]

Flag of Qing Dynasty, 1862–1890

A common view of 19th-century China is that it was an era in which Qing control weakened and prosperity diminished. Indeed, China suffered massive social strife, economic stagnation and explosive population growth which placed an increasing strain on food supply. Historians offer various explanations for these events, but the basic idea is that Qing power was, over the course of the century, faced with internal problems and natural disasters which were simply too much for the Chinese government, bureaucracy, and economy to deal with.^[22]

The Taiping Rebellion^[23] in the mid-19th century was the first major instance of anti-Manchu sentiment threatening the stability of the Qing Dynasty, which significantly weakened the power of the Qing Dynasty. Hong Xiuquan, a failed civil service candidate, led the Taiping Rebellion, amid widespread social unrest and worsening famine. In 1851 Hong Xiuquan and others launched an uprising in Guizhou province, established the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom with Hong himself as king, claiming he often had visions of God and that he was the brother of Jesus Christ. Slavery, concubinage, arranged marriage, opium smoking, footbinding, judicial torture, and the worship of idols were all banned. However, success and subsequent authority and power led to internal feuds, defections and corruption. In addition, British and French troops, equipped with modern weapons, had come to the assistance of the Qing imperial army. It was not until 1864 that Qing army succeeded in crushing the revolt.^[24] The rebellion not only posed the most serious threat towards Qing rulers; it was also "the costliest (human life) civil war in history and second bloodiest war of any kind, being only exceeded in casualties by World War II. Between 20 and 30 million people died during its fourteen-year course from 1850 to 1864."^[25] After the outbreak of this rebellion, there were also revolts by the Muslims and Miao people of China against the Qing Dynasty, most notably in the Dungan revolt (1862–1877) in the northwest and the Panthay Rebellion (1856–1873) in Yunnan.

A scene of the Taiping Rebellion, 1850-1864

Although there had been a horrific number of casualties from the Taiping Rebellion and much of the southern lands had been completely devastated, these are often overshadowed by external issues. Changes in technology and ideology in the outside world were dramatic. These ideas and technologies had a tremendous, and ultimately revolutionary, impact on an increasingly weak and uncertain Qing regime.

19th-century China struggled with the concept of international and state to state relations. Prior to the 19th-century, the Chinese empire was generally the hegemonic power in East Asia. Under its imperial theory, the Chinese emperor had the rights to rule "all under heaven". Depending on the period and dynasty, it either ruled territories directly or neighbors fell under its hierarchical tributary system. Historians often refer to the underlying concept of the Chinese empire as "an empire with no boundary". However, the 18th century saw the European empires gradually expand across the world, as European states developed stronger economies built on maritime trade. European colonies had been established in nearby India and on the islands that are now part of Indonesia, whilst the Russian Empire had annexed the areas north of China. In 1793, Great Britain attempted to forge an alliance with China, sending the Macartney Embassy to Hong Kong with gifts for the emperor, including examples of the latest European technologies and art. When the British delegation received a letter from Beijing explaining that China was unimpressed with European achievements, and that George III was welcome to pay homage to the Chinese court, the deeply offended British government aborted all further attempts to reconcile relations with the Qing regime.

Xi Wangmu ("Queen Mother of the West"), a Taoist deity, decor on a Qing dynasty porcelain plate, famille-rose style, Yongzheng Emperor period, 1725 AD.

In 1793, the Qianlong Emperor stated to the British ambassador Lord Macartney that China had no use for European manufactured products.^[26] Consequently, leading Chinese merchants only accepted bar silver as payment for their goods. The huge demand in Europe for Chinese goods such as silk, tea, and ceramics could only be met if European companies funnelled their limited supplies of silver into China. By the late 1830s, the governments of Great Britain and France were deeply concerned about their stockpiles of precious metals and sought alternate trading schemes with China — the foremost of which was addicting China to opium. When the Qing regime tried to ban the opium trade in 1838, Great Britain declared war on China in the following year.^[27]

In this political cartoon, the United Kingdom, Germany, Russia, France, and Japan are dividing China

The First Opium War revealed the outdated state of the Chinese military. The Qing navy, composed entirely of wooden sailing junks, was severely outclassed by the modern tactics and firepower of the British Royal Navy. British soldiers, using modern rifles and artillery, easily outmaneuvered and outgunned Qing forces in ground battles. The Qing surrender in 1842 marked a decisive, humiliating blow to China. The Treaty of Nanjing, which demanded reparation payments, allowed unrestricted European access to Chinese ports, and ceded Hong Kong Island to Great Britain. It revealed many inadequacies in the Qing government and provoked widespread rebellions against the already hugely unpopular regime.

The Western powers, largely unsatisfied with the Treaty of Nanjing, only gave grudging support to the Qing government during the Taiping and Nien Rebellions. China's income fell sharply during the wars as vast areas of farmland were destroyed, millions of lives lost, and countless armies raised and equipped to fight the rebels. In 1854, Great Britain tried to re-negotiate the Treaty of Nanjing, inserting clauses allowing British commercial access to Chinese rivers and the creation of a permanent British embassy at Beijing. This last clause outraged the Qing regime, who refused to sign, provoking another war with Britain. The Second Opium War ended in another crushing Chinese defeat, whilst the Treaty of Tientsin contained clauses deeply insulting to the Chinese, such as a demand that all official Chinese documents be written in English and a proviso granting British warships unlimited access to all navigable Chinese rivers.^{[citation needed]}

Rule of Empress Dowager Cixi [link]

Political map of Asia in 1890, showing late-Qing China (centre, in light brown).

The Empress Dowager Cixi (also spelled as Tsu-hsi), concubine to the Xianfeng Emperor (r. 1850–1861) came to power in 1861 during the Xinyou Coup, when, with the help of Prince Gong, she ousted eight regents (led by Sushun) whom the Xianfeng Emperor had appointed on his deathbed to rule for the child emperor Tongzhi, Cixi's son. For 7 years in the Tongzhi era (1862–1874) and during the reign of her nephew, the Guangxu Emperor (1875–1908), Cixi was the de facto ruler of China and the Qing Empire. She was known for "ruling from behind the curtain" (simplified Chinese: 垂帘听政; traditional Chinese: 垂簾聽政; pinyin: chuílián tīngzhèng).

By the 1860s, the Qing Dynasty had put down the rebellions with the help of militia organized by the gentry. The Qing government then proceeded to deal with the problem of modernization, which it attempted with the Self-Strengthening Movement. Several institutional reforms were initiated in China, including the formation of modernized armies, such as the Beiyang Army. However, the fleets of "Beiyang" were annihilated in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895), which produced calls for greater and more extensive reform. After the start of the 20th century, the Qing Dynasty was in a dilemma.

From 1889 to 1898, the empress dowager lived in the Summer Palace in semi-retirement. After losing to Japan in the First Sino-Japanese War, the Guangxu Emperor initiated the Hundred Days' Reform, in which new laws were put in place and some old rules were abolished. Newer, more progressive-minded thinkers like Kang Youwei were trusted and recognized conservative-minded people like Li Hongzhang were removed from high positions. The empress dowager then returned to the imperial court to call off the emperor's reform, and at the same time put him under house arrest and ordered eunuchs faithful to her to keep watch. Cixi continued to centralise her own power base. On her sixtieth birthday, she spent over 30 million taels of silver for the decorations & events, funds that were originally planned to improve the weaponry of the Beiyang Fleet.

In 1900, during the Boxer Rebellion, following the murder of the German ambassador by the Righteous Harmony Society, the Eight-Nation Alliance entered China as a united military force for the second time. Cixi reacted by declaring war on all eight nations, only to lose control of Beijing within a short period of time. Along with the Guangxu Emperor, she fled to Xi'an. As a military compensation, the alliance listed scores of demands on the Qing government, including an initial hit list, which had Cixi's name as the first on it. Li Hongzhang was sent to negotiate and the alliance backed down from several of the demands.

File:Painted silk.jpg

Painted silk textile, 45 × 29½ in. (114.3 × 74.93 cm), Qing Dynasty, China, mid-18th century

The Boxer Rebellion's initial objectives were to overthrow the Qing imperial court and expel all "foreign devils" from China. Empress Dowager Cixi had decided to remotely control and, at the same time, intensify the Boxer movement through her ministers. Not long after, the Boxers' banner had a new slogan: "Support Qing; destroy the foreigners!". In early 1900 an imperial edict released by the empress dowager stated that "secret societies were part of Chinese culture and were not criminal".^[28]

When the Eight-Nation Alliance's armies marched into Beijing, Cixi fled the capital only to accept peace terms by paying the foreign powers huge amounts of silver. Before her death, on November 15, 1908, she allegedly ordered her trusted eunuchs to poison the Guangxu Emperor.^[29]

Fall of the dynasty [link]

Yuan Shikai was an adept politician and general.

By the early 20th century, mass civil disorder had begun and continuously grown. To overcome such problems, Empress Dowager Cixi issued an imperial edict in 1901 calling for reform proposals from the governors-general and governors and initiated the era of the dynasty's "New Policy", also known as the "Late Qing Reform". The edict paved the way for the most far-reaching reforms in terms of their social consequences, including the creation of a national education system and the abolition of the imperial examinations in 1905.^[30] However, Cixi and the Guangxu Emperor both died in 1908, leaving a relatively powerless and unstable central authority. Puyi, the oldest son of Prince Chun, was appointed successor at the age of two, leaving Zaifeng with the regency. This was followed by the dismissal of General Yuan Shikai from his former positions of power. In April 1911 Zaifeng created a cabinet, in which there were two vice-premiers. Nevertheless, this cabinet was also known by contemporaries as "The Royal Cabinet" because among the thirteen cabinet members, five were members of the imperial family or Aisin Gioro relatives.^[31] This brought a wide range of negative opinions from senior officials like Zhang Zhidong.

The Wuchang Uprising succeeded on October 10, 1911, which led to the creation of the new central government, the Republic of China, in Nanjing with Sun Yat-sen as its provisional head. Many provinces began "separating" from Qing control. Seeing a desperate situation unfold, the Qing government brought an unwilling Yuan Shikai back to military power, taking control of his Beiyang Army, with the initial goal of crushing the revolutionaries. After taking the position of Prime Minister and creating his own cabinet, Yuan Shikai went as far as to ask for the removal of Zaifeng from the regency. This removal later proceeded with directions from Empress Dowager Longyu.

With Zaifeng gone, Yuan Shikai and his Beiyang commanders effectively dominated Qing politics. He reasoned that going to war would be unreasonable and costly, especially when noting that the Qing government had a goal for constitutional monarchy. Similarly, Sun Yat-sen's government wanted a republican constitutional reform, both aiming for the benefit of China's economy and populace. With permission from Empress Dowager Longyu, Yuan Shikai began negotiating with Sun Yat-sen, who decided that his goal had been achieved in forming a republic, and that therefore he could allow Yuan to step into the position of President of the Republic of China.

On 12 February 1912, after rounds of negotiations, Longyu issued an imperial edict bringing about the abdication of the child emperor Puyi. This brought an end to over 2,000 years of imperial China and began an extended period of instability of warlord factionalism. The unorganized political and economic systems combined with a widespread criticism of Chinese culture led to questioning and doubt about the future. In the 1930s, the Empire of Japan invaded Manchuria and founded Manchukuo in 1934, with Puyi, as the nominal regent and emperor. After the invasion by the Soviet Union, Manchukuo collapsed in 1945.

Government and society [link]

Administrative divisions [link]

Qing Dynasty in 1820, with provinces in yellow, military governorates and protectorates in light yellow, tributary states in orange.

Qing China reached its largest extent during the 18th century, when it ruled China proper as well as Manchuria (Northeast China), Inner Mongolia, Outer Mongolia, Xinjiang and Tibet, at approximately 13 million km² in size. There were originally 18 provinces, all of which in China proper, but later this number was increased to 22, with Manchuria and Xinjiang being divided or turned into provinces. Taiwan, originally part of Fujian province, became a province of its own in the 19th century, but was ceded to the Empire of Japan following the First Sino-Japanese War by the end of the century. In addition, many surrounding countries, such as Korea (Joseon Dynasty), Vietnam and Nepal, were tributary states of China during much of this period.

Northern and southern circuits of Tian Shan (later became Xinjiang province) - including several small semi-autonomous khanates such as Kumul Khanate
Outer Mongolia - Khalkha, Kobdo league, Köbsgöl, Tannu Urianha
Inner Mongolia - 6 leagues (Jirim, Josotu, Juu Uda, Shilingol, Ulaan Chab, Ihe Juu)
Other Mongolian leagues - Alshaa khoshuu (League-level khoshuu), Ejine khoshuu, Ili khoshuu (in Xinjiang), Köke Nuur league; directly ruled areas: Dariganga (Special region designated as Emperor's pasture), Guihua Tümed, Chakhar, Hulunbuir
Tibet (Ü-Tsang and western Kham, approximately the area of present-day Tibet Autonomous Region)
Manchuria (Northeast China, later became provinces)
Eighteen provinces (China proper provinces)
1. Zhili
2. Henan
3. Shandong
4. Shanxi
5. Shaanxi
6. Gansu
7. Hubei
8. Hunan
9. Guangdong
10. Guangxi
11. Sichuan
12. Yunnan
13. Guizhou
14. Jiangsu
15. Jiangxi
16. Zhejiang
17. Fujian (incl. Taiwan until 1885)
18. Anhui
Additional provinces in the late Qing Dynasty
1. Xinjiang
2. Taiwan (until 1895)
3. Fengtian, later renamed and known today as Liaoning
4. Jilin
5. Heilongjiang

Territory administrations [link]

Eighteen provinces (China proper) 1875

The original provinces of Qing China was based on the fifteen administrative units set up by the Ming Dynasty, though some minor reforms took place to become the eighteen provinces (for example, Huguang was split into Hubei and Hunan provinces). Adopted the model used by the Yuan and Ming dynasties, the Qing provincial bureaucracy also contained three commissions: one civil, one military, and one for surveillance. Each province was governed by a civil official called xunfu (巡撫) and a military official called tidu (提督). Below the level of the province were prefectures (府, fu) operating under a prefect (知府, zhīfǔ), followed by subprefectures under a subprefect. The lowest unit was the county, overseen by a magistrate. These areas under the administration of the eighteen provinces are also known as "China proper". The position of viceroy or governor-general was the highest rank in the provincial administration. There were eight regional viceroys in China proper, each usually took charge of two or three provinces. The Viceroy of Zhili, who was responsible for the area surrounding the capital Beijing, is usually considered as the most honorable and powerful viceroy among the eight.

Viceroy of Zhili – in charge of Zhili
Viceroy of Shaan-Gan – in charge of Shaanxi and Gansu
Viceroy of Liangjiang – in charge of Jiangsu, Jiangxi, and Anhui
Viceroy of Huguang – in charge of Hubei and Hunan
Viceroy of Sichuan – in charge of Sichuan
Viceroy of Min-Zhe – in charge of Fujian, Taiwan, and Zhejiang
Viceroy of Liangguang – in charge of Guangdong and Guangxi
Viceroy of Yun-Gui – in charge of Yunnan and Guizhou

By the mid-18th century, the Qing had successfully put outer regions such as Inner and Outer Mongolia, Tibet and Xinjiang under its control. Imperial commissioners and garrisons were sent to Mongolia and Tibet to oversee their affairs. These territories were also under supervision of a central government institution called Lifan Yuan. Qinghai was also put under direct control of the Qing court. Xinjiang, also known as Chinese Turkestan, was subdivided into the regions north and south of the Tian Shan mountains, also known today as Dzungaria and Tarim Basin respectively, but the post of Ili General was established in 1762 to exercise unified military and administrative jurisdiction over both regions. Likewise, Manchuria was also governed by military generals until its division into provinces, though some areas of Xinjiang and Manchuria were lost to the Russian Empire in the mid-19th century. Manchuria was originally separated from China proper by the Inner Willow Palisade, a ditch and embankment planted with willows intended to restrict the movement of the Han Chinese into Manchuria, as the area was off-limits to the Han Chinese until the Qing government started colonizing the area with them later on in the dynasty's rule, especially since the 1860s.^[32]

Qing China in 1892

With respect to these outer regions, the Qing maintained imperial control, with the emperor acting as Mongol khan, patron of Tibetan Buddhism and protector of Muslims. However, Qing policy changed with the establishment of Xinjiang province in 1884. During The Great Game era, taking advantage of the Dungan revolt in northwest China, Yaqub Beg invaded Xinjiang from Central Asia with support from the Russian Empire, and made himself the ruler of the kingdom of Kashgaria. The Qing court sent forces to defeat Yaqub Beg and Xinjiang was reconquered, and then the political system of China proper was formally applied onto Xinjiang. The Kumul Khanate, which was incorporated into the Qing empire as a vassal after helping Qing defeat the Zunghars in 1757, maintained its status after Xinjiang turned into a province through the end of the dynasty in the Xinhai Revolution up until 1930.^[33] In early 20th century, Great Britain sent an expedition force to Tibet and forced Tibetans to sign a treaty. The Qing court responded by asserting Chinese sovereignty over Tibet,^[34] resulting in the 1906 Anglo-Chinese Convention signed between Britain and China. The British agreed not to annex Tibetan territory or to interfere in the administration of Tibet, while China engaged not to permit any other foreign state to interfere with the territory or internal administration of Tibet.^[35] Furthermore, similar to Xinjiang which was converted into a province earlier, the Qing government also turned Manchuria into three provinces in the early 20th century, officially known as the "Three Northeast Provinces", and established the post of Viceroy of Three Northeast Provinces to oversee these provinces, making the total number of regional viceroys to nine.

Central government agencies [link]

The Qing Dynasty inherited many important institutions from the preceding Ming Dynasty. The formal structure of the Qing government centered on the Emperor as the absolute ruler, who presided over six Boards (Ministries) (Chinese: 六部; pinyin: lìubù), each headed by two presidents (simplified Chinese: 尚书; traditional Chinese: 尚書; pinyin: shàngshū; Ma: Aliha amban) and assisted by four vice presidents (Chinese: 侍郎; pinyin: shìláng; Ma: 40px Ashan i amban). In contrast to the Ming system, however, Qing ethnic policy dictated that appointments were split between Manchu noblemen and Han officials who had passed the highest levels of the state examinations. The Grand Secretariat (simplified Chinese: 内阁; traditional Chinese: 內閣; pinyin: nèigé; Ma: 40px Dorgi yamun), which had been an important policy-making body under the Ming Dynasty, lost its importance during the Qing Dynasty and evolved into an imperial chancery. The institutions which had been inherited from the Ming Dynasty formed the core of the Qing "outer court," which handled routine matters and was located in the southern part of the Forbidden City.

In order not to let the routine administration take over the running of the empire, the Qing emperors made sure that all important matters were decided in the "Inner Court," which was dominated by the imperial family and Manchu nobility and which was located in the northern part of the Forbidden City. The core institution of the inner court was the Grand Council (simplified Chinese: 军机处; traditional Chinese: 軍機處; pinyin: jūnjī chù). It emerged in the 1720s under the reign of the Yongzheng Emperor as a body charged with handling Qing military campaigns against the Dzungar Mongols, but it soon took over other military and administrative duties and served to centralize authority under the crown.^[36] The Grand Councillors (simplified Chinese: 军机大臣; traditional Chinese: 軍機大臣; pinyin: jūnjī dàchén) served as a sort of privy council to the emperor.

The Six Ministries and their respective areas of responsibilities were as follows:

2000-cash banknote from 1859

Board of Civil Appointments (Chinese: 吏部; pinyin: lìbù; Ma: 40px Hafan i jurgan)

The personnel administration of all civil officials - including evaluation, promotion, and dismissal. It was also in charge of the "honours list".

Board of Finance (Chinese: 户部; pinyin: hùbù; Ma: 40px Boigon i jurgan)

The literal translation of the Chinese word hu (户) is "household". For much of the Qing Dynasty's history, the government's main source of revenue came from taxation on landownership supplemented by official monopolies on essential household items such as salt and tea. Thus, in the predominantly agrarian Qing Dynasty, the "household" was the basis of imperial finance. The department was charged with revenue collection and the financial management of the government.

Board of Rites (simplified Chinese: 礼部; traditional Chinese: 禮部; pinyin: lǐbù; Ma: 40px Dorolon i jurgan)

This board was responsible for all matters concerning court protocol. It organized the periodic worship of ancestors and various gods by the emperor, managed relations with tributary nations, and oversaw the nationwide civil examination system.

Board of War (Chinese: 兵部; pinyin: bīngbù; Ma: 40px Coohai jurgan)

Unlike its Ming predecessor, which had full control over all military matters, the Qing Board of War had very limited powers. First, the Eight Banners were under the direct control of the emperor and hereditary Manchu and Mongol princes, leaving the ministry only with authority over the Green Standard Army. Furthermore, the ministry's functions were purely administrative campaigns and troop movements were monitored and directed by the emperor, first through the Manchu ruling council, and later through the Grand Council.

Board of Punishments (Chinese: 刑部; pinyin: xíngbù; Ma: 40px Beidere jurgan)

The Board of Punishments handled all legal matters, including the supervision of various law courts and prisons. The Qing legal framework was relatively weak compared to modern day legal systems, as there was no separation of executive and legislative branches of government. The legal system could be inconsistent, and, at times, arbitrary, because the emperor ruled by decree and had final say on all judicial outcomes. Emperors could (and did) overturn judgements of lower courts from time to time. Fairness of treatment was also an issue under the apartheid system practised by the Manchu government over the Han Chinese majority. To counter these inadequacies and keep the population in line, the Qing government maintained a very harsh penal code towards the Han populace, but it was no more severe than previous Chinese dynasties.

A postage stamp from Yantai (Chefoo) in the Qing Dynasty

Board of Works (Chinese: 工部; pinyin: gōngbù; Ma: 40px Weilere jurgan)

The Board of Works handled all governmental building projects, including palaces, temples and the repairs of waterways and flood canals. It was also in charge of minting coinage.

From the early Qing Dynasty, the central government was characterized by a system of dual appointments by which each position in the central government had a Manchu and a Han Chinese assigned to it. The Han Chinese appointee was required to do the substantive work and the Manchu to ensure Han loyalty to Qing rule.^[37] The distinction between Han Chinese and Manchus extended to their court costumes. During the Qianlong Emperor's reign, for example, members of his family were distinguished by garments with a small circular emblem on the back, whereas Han officials wore clothing with a square emblem.

In addition to the six boards, there was a Lifan Yuan unique to the Qing government. This institution was established to supervise the administration of Tibet and the Mongol lands. As the empire expanded, it took over administrative responsibility of all minority ethnic groups living in and around the empire, including early contacts with Russia — then seen as a tribute nation. The office had the status of a full ministry and was headed by officials of equal rank. However, appointees were at first restricted only to candidates of Manchu and Mongol ethnicity, until later open to Han Chinese as well.

Even though the Board of Rites and Lifan Yuan performed some duties of a foreign office, they fell short of developing into a professional foreign service. It was not until 1861 — a year after losing the Second Opium War to the Anglo-French coalition — that the Qing government bowed to foreign pressure and created a proper foreign affairs office known as the Zongli Yamen. The office was originally intended to be temporary and was staffed by officials seconded from the Grand Council. However, as dealings with foreigners became increasingly complicated and frequent, the office grew in size and importance, aided by revenue from customs duties which came under its direct jurisdiction.

There was also another government institution called Imperial Household Department which was unique to the Qing Dynasty. It was established before the fall of the Ming Dynasty, but it became mature only after 1661, following the death of the Shunzhi Emperor and the accession of his son, the Kangxi Emperor.^[38] The department's primary purpose was to manage the internal affairs of the imperial family and the activities of the inner palace (in which tasks it largely replaced eunuchs), but it also played an important role in Qing relations with Tibet and Mongolia, engaged in trading activities (jade, ginseng, salt, furs, etc.), managed textile factories in the Jiangnan region, and even published books.^[39] The department was manned by booi (Chinese: 包衣; pinyin: bāoyī), or "bondservants," from the Upper Three Banners.^[40] By the 19th century, it managed the activities of at least 56 subagencies.^[41]

Society [link]

This section requires expansion.

The most significant fact of early and mid-Qing social history is population growth. The population had notably doubled during the 18th century. This period was also remarkably on the move. There is evidence suggesting that the empire's rapidly expanding population was geographically mobile on a scale which, in term of its volume and its protracted and routinized natural, was unprecedented in Chinese history. Indeed, the Qing government did far more actively to encourage mobility than to discourage it. Such migration took several different forms, though might be divided in two varieties: permanent migration for resettlement, and relocation conceived by the party (in theory at least) as a temporary sojourn. Parties to the latter would include the empire's increasingly large and mobile manual workforce, as well as its densely overlapping internal diaspora of local-origin-based merchant groups. It would also included the patterned movement of Qing subjects overseas, largely to Southeastern Asia, in search of trade and other economic opportunities.^[42]

According to statute, Qing society was divided into relatively closed cooperate estates, of which in most general term there were five. Apart from the estates of the officials, the comparatively miniscule aristocracy, and the degree-holding literati, there also existed a major division among the ordinary Chinese people during the Qing period between commoners and people with inferior status.^[43] They were divided into two categories: one of them, the good "commoner" people, the other "mean" people. The majority of the population belonged to the first category and were described as liangmin, a legal term meaning good people, as opposed to jianmin meaning the mean (or ignoble) people. Qing law explicitly stated that the traditional four occupational groups of scholars, farmers, artisans and merchants were "good", or having a status of commoners. On the other hand, slaves or bondservants, entertainers (including prostitutes and actors), and those low-level employees of government officials were the "mean people". Mean people were considered legally inferior to commoners and suffered unequal treatments, forbidden to take the Imperial Examination.^[44]^[45]^[46]^[47]^[48]

Military [link]

Beginnings and early development [link]

The Qianlong Emperor's Southern Inspection Tour, Scroll Twelve: Return to the Palace (detail), 1764—1770, by Xu Yang

The development of the Qing military system can be divided into two broad periods separated by the Taiping Rebellion (1850–1864). The early Qing military was rooted in the Eight Banners first developed by Nurhachi as a way to organize Jurchen society beyond petty clan affiliations. There are eight banners in all, differentiated by colours. The banners in their order of precedence were as follows: yellow, bordered yellow (i.e. yellow banner with red border), white, red, bordered white, bordered red, blue, and bordered blue. The yellow, bordered yellow, and white banners were collectively known as the "Upper Three Banners" (Chinese: 上三旗; pinyin: shàng sān qí) and were under the direct command of the emperor. Only Manchus belonging to the Upper Three Banners, and selected Han Chinese who had passed the highest level of martial exams were qualified to serve as the emperor's personal bodyguards. The remaining Banners were known as "The Lower Five Banners" (Chinese: 下五旗; pinyin: xià wǔ qí) and were commanded by hereditary Manchu princes descended from Nurhachi's immediate family, known informally as the "Iron Cap Princes" (simplified Chinese: 铁帽子王; traditional Chinese: 鐵帽子王; pinyin: tiě màozǐ wáng). Together they formed the ruling council of the Manchu nation as well as high command of the army.

As Qing power expanded north of the Great Wall in the last years of the Ming Dynasty, the Banner system was expanded by Nurhachi's son and successor Hong Taiji to include mirrored Mongol and Han Banners. After capturing Beijing in 1644 and as the Manchu rapidly gained control of large tracts of former Ming territory, the relatively small Banner armies were further augmented by the Green Standard Army, which eventually outnumbered Banner troops three to one. The Green Standard Army so-named after the colour of their battle standards was made up of those Ming troops who had surrendered to the Qing. They maintained their Ming era organization and were led by a mix of Banner and Green Standard officers. The Banners and Green Standard troops were standing armies, paid for by central government. In addition, regional governors from provincial down to village level maintained their own irregular local militias for police duties and disaster relief. These militias were usually granted small annual stipends from regional coffers for part-time service obligations. They received very limited military drills if at all and were not considered combat troops.

Peace and stagnation [link]

A red lacquer box from the Qing Dynasty.

Banner Armies were broadly divided along ethnic lines, namely Manchu and Mongol. Although it must be pointed out that the ethnic composition of Manchu Banners was far from homogeneous as they included non-Manchu bondservants registered under the household of their Manchu masters. As the war with Ming Dynasty progressed and the Han Chinese population under Manchu rule increased, Hong Taiji created a separate branch of Han Banners to draw on this new source of manpower. However these Han bannermen were never regarded by the government as equal to the other two branches due to their relatively late addition to the Manchu cause as well as their Han Chinese ancestry. The nature of their service—mainly as infantry, artillery and sappers, was also alien to the Manchu nomadic traditions of fighting as cavalry. Furthermore, after the conquest the military roles played by Han bannermen were quickly subsumed by the Green Standard Army. The Han Banners ceased to exist altogether after the Yongzheng Emperor's banner registration reforms aimed at cutting down imperial expenditures.

The socio-military origins of the Banner system meant that population within each branch and their sub-divisions were hereditary and rigid. Only under special circumstances sanctioned by imperial edict were social movements between banners permitted. In contrast, the Green Standard Army was originally intended to be a professional force.

After defeating the remnants of the Ming forces, the Manchu Banner Army of approximately 200,000 strong at the time was evenly divided; half was designated the Forbidden Eight Banner Army (Chinese: 禁旅八旗; pinyin: jìnlǚ bāqí) and was stationed in Beijing. It served both as the capital's garrison and Qing government's main strike force. The remainder of the Banner troops was distributed to guard key cities in China. These were known as the Territorial Eight Banner Army (simplified Chinese: 驻防八旗; traditional Chinese: 駐防八旗; pinyin: zhùfáng bāqí). The Manchu court keenly aware its own minority status reinforced a strict policy of racial segregation between the Manchus and Mongols from Han Chinese for fear of being sinicized by the latter. This policy applied directly to the Banner garrisons, most of which occupied a separate walled zone within the cities they were stationed in. In cities where there were limitation of space such as in Qingzhou (青州), a new fortified town would be purposely erected to house the Banner garrison and their families. Beijing being the imperial seat, the regent Dorgon had the entire Chinese population forcibly relocated to the southern suburbs which became known as the "Outer Citadel" (Chinese: 外城; pinyin: wàichéng). The northern walled city called "Inner Citadel" (Chinese: 內城; pinyin: nèichéng) was portioned out to the remaining Manchu Eight Banners, each responsibled for guarding a section of the Inner Citadel surrounding the Forbidden City palace complex (Chinese: 紫禁城; pinyin: zǐjìnchéng; Ma: Dabkūri dorgi hoton).

The policy of posting Banner troops as territorial garrison was not to protect but to inspire awe in the subjugated populace at the expense of their expertise as cavalry. As a result, after a century of peace and lack of field training the Manchu Banner troops had deteriorated greatly in their combat worthiness. Secondly, before the conquest the Manchu banner was a "citizen" army, and its members were Manchu farmers and herders obligated to provide military service to the state at times of war. The Qing government's decision to turn the banner troops into a professional force whose every welfare and need was met by state coffers brought wealth, and with it corruption, to the rank and file of the Manchu Banners and hastened its decline as a fighting force. This was mirrored by a similar decline in the Green Standard Army. During peace time, soldiering became merely a source of supplementary income. Soldiers and commanders alike neglected training in pursuit of their own economic gains. Corruption was rampant as regional unit commanders submitted pay and supply requisitions based on exaggerated head counts to the quartermaster department and pocketed the difference. When the Taiping Rebellion broke out in 1850s, the Qing court found out belatedly that the Banner and Green Standards troops could neither put down internal rebellions nor keep foreign invaders at bay.

Transition and modernization [link]

General Zeng Guofan

Early during the Taiping Rebellion, Qing forces suffered a series of disastrous defeats culminating in the loss of the regional capital city of Nanjing in 1853. The rebels massacred the entire Manchu garrison and their families in the city and made it their capital. Shortly thereafter a Taiping expeditionary force penetrated as far north as the suburbs of Tianjin in what was considered imperial heartlands. In desperation the Qing court ordered a Chinese mandarin, Zeng Guofan, to organize regional (simplified Chinese: 团勇; traditional Chinese: 團勇; pinyin: tuányǒng) and village (simplified Chinese: 乡勇; traditional Chinese: 鄉勇; pinyin: xiāngyǒng) militias into a standing army called tuanlian to contain the rebellion. Zeng Guofan's strategy was to rely on local gentries to raise a new type of military organization from those provinces that the Taiping rebels directly threatened. This new force became known as the Xiang Army, named after the Hunan region where it was raised. The Xiang Army was a hybrid of local militia and a standing army. It was given professional training, but was paid for out of regional coffers and funds its commanders — mostly members of the Chinese gentry — could muster. The Xiang Army and its successor, the Huai Army (淮軍), created by Zeng Guofan's colleague and student Li Hongzhang, were collectively called the "Yongying" (simplified Chinese: 勇营; traditional Chinese: 勇營; pinyin: Yǒngyíng; literally "Brave Camp").

Prior to forming and commanding the Xiang Army, Zeng Guofan had no military experience. Being a classically educated Mandarin his blueprint for the Xiang Army was taken from a historical source — the Ming general Qi Jiguang who, because of the weakness of regular Ming troops, had decided to form his own "private" army to repel raiding Japanese pirates in the mid-16th century. Qi Jiguang's doctrine was based on Neo-Confucian ideas of binding troops' loyalty to their immediate superiors and also to the regions in which they were raised. This initially gave the troops an excellent esprit de corps. Qi Jiguang's army was an ad hoc solution to the specific problem of combating pirates, as was Zeng Guofan's original intention for the Xiang Army, which was raise to eradicate the Taiping rebels. However, circumstances led to the Yongying system becoming a permanent institution within the Qing military, which in the long run created problems of its own for the beleaguered central government.

In 1894–1895, fighting over influence in Korea, Japanese troops defeated Qing forces.

Firstly, the Yongying system signalled the end of Manchu dominance in Qing military establishment. Although the Banners and Green Standard armies lingered on as parasites depleting resources, henceforth the Yongying corps became the Qing government's de facto first-line troops. Secondly the Yongying corps were financed through provincial coffers and were led by regional commanders. This devolution of power weakened the central government's grip on the whole country, a weakness further aggravated by foreign powers vying to carve up autonomous colonial territories in different parts of the Qing Empire in the later half of the 19th century. Despite these serious negative effects the measure was deemed necessary as tax revenue from provinces occupied and threatened by rebels had ceased to reach the cash-strapped central government. Finally, the nature of Yongying command structure fostered nepotism and cronyism amongst its commanders whom as they ascended the bureaucratic ranks laid the seeds to Qing's eventual demise and the outbreak of regional warlordism in China during the first half of the 20th century.

The Beiyang Army in training

By the late 19th century, China was fast descending into a semi-colonial state. Even the most conservative elements within the Qing court could no longer ignore China's military weakness in contrast to the foreign "barbarians" literally beating down its gates. In 1860, during the Second Opium War, the capital Beijing was captured and the Summer Palace sacked by a relatively small Anglo-French coalition force numbering 25,000. Although the Chinese invented gunpowder, and firearms had been in continual use in Chinese warfare since as far back as the Song Dynasty, the advent of modern weaponry resulting from the European Industrial Revolution had rendered China's traditionally trained and equipped army and navy obsolete. The government attempts to modernize during the Self-Strengthening Movement were in the view of most historians with hindsight piecemeal and yielded little lasting results. Various reasons for the apparent failure of late-Qing modernization attempts have been advanced including the lack of funds, lack of political will, and unwillingness to depart from tradition. These reasons remain disputed.^[49]

Footage of a naval battle during the First Sino-Japanese War (1894).

Losing the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895 was a watershed for the Qing government. Japan, a country long regarded by the Chinese as little more than an upstart nation of pirates, had convincingly beaten its larger neighbour and in the process annihilated the Qing government's pride and joy — its modernized Beiyang Fleet then deemed to be the strongest naval force in Asia. In doing so, Japan became the first Asian country to join the previously exclusively western ranks of colonial powers. The defeat was a rude awakening to the Qing court especially when set in the context that it occurred a mere three decades after the Meiji Restoration set a feudal Japan on course to emulate the Western nations in their economic and technological achievements. Finally, in December 1894, the Qing government took some concrete steps to reform military institutions and to re-train selected units in westernized drills, tactics and weaponry. These units were collectively called the New Army. The most successful of these was the Beiyang Army under the overall supervision and control of a former Huai Army commander, General Yuan Shikai, who exploited his position to eventually become President of the Republic of China, dictator and finally abortive emperor of China.

Economy [link]

This section requires expansion.

By the end of the 17th century, the Chinese economy had recovered from the devastation caused by the wars in which the Ming Dynasty were overthrown, and the resulting breakdown of order.^[50] In the following century, markets continued to expand as in the late Ming period, but with more trade between regions, a greater dependence on overseas markets and a greatly increased population.^[51] After the re-opening of the southeast coast, which had been closed in the late 17th century, foreign trade was quickly re-established, and was expanding at 4% per annum throughout the latter part of the 18th century.^[52] China continued to export tea, silk and manufactures, creating a large, favorable trade balance with the West.^[53] The resulting inflow of silver expanded the money supply, facilitating the growth of competitive and stable markets.^[54]

Qing Dynasty vases, in the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon, Portugal.

The government broadened land ownership by returning land that had been sold to large landowners in the late Ming period by families unable to pay the land tax.^[55] To give people more incentives to participate in the market, they reduced the tax burden in comparison with the late Ming, and replaced the corvée system with a head tax used to hire labourers.^[56] The administration of the Grand Canal was made more efficient, and transport opened to private merchants.^[57] A system of monitoring grain prices eliminated severe shortages, and enabled the price of rice to rise slowly and smoothly through the 18th century.^[58] Wary of the power of wealthy merchants, Qing rulers limited their trading licences and usually refused them permission to open new mines, except in poor areas.^[59]

By the end of the 18th century the population had risen to 300 million from approximately 150 million during the late Ming Dynasty. The drastic rise in population was due to several reasons, including the long period of peace and stability in the 18th century and the import of new crops China received from the Americas, including peanuts, sweet potatoes and maize. New species of rice from Southeast Asia led to a huge increase in production. Merchant guilds proliferated in all of the growing Chinese cities and often acquired great social and even political influence. Rich merchants with official connections built up huge fortunes and patronized literature, theater and the arts. Cloth and handicraft production boomed.^[53]

Notes [link]

^ Aisin is the Manchu for the Chinese 金 (jīn, "gold").
^ Officially Qing court history states that Nurhachi died from illness.^{[citation needed]}
^ Chinese: 重軍.
^ The exact figure of Li Zicheng's forces at the battle of Shanhai Pass is disputed. Some primary sources, such as the official Qing and Ming court histories (Chinese: 《清世祖實錄》, 《明史》), cite 200,000. Modern historians^[who?] generally estimate Li Zicheng's army to be no larger than 100,000.
^ Most primary sources including the Ming and Qing^{[dubious – discuss]} official court histories are understandably biased against a person who turned "traitor" to both parties.^{[citation needed]}
^ The Classic of Filial Piety (Xiaojing 孝經) states that "a person's body and hair, being gifts from one's parents, are not to be damaged" (身體髮膚，受之父母，不敢毀傷). Under the Ming Dynasty, adult men did not cut their hair but instead wore it in the form of a top-knot (Wakeman [1985], 648 n. 183).
^ This event was recorded by Italian Jesuit Martin Martinius in his account Bellum Tartaricum with original text in Latin, first published in Rome 1654. First English edition, London: John Crook, 1654.

References [link]

^ Samuel Wells Williams (1848). The Middle kingdom: a survey of the ... Chinese empire and its inhabitants .... 1 (3 ed.). New York: Wiley & Putnam. p. 489. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=Pk0UAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=mandarin%20dialect&f=false. Retrieved 2011-05-08. .
^ Turchin, Peter; Adams, Jonathan M.; Hall, Thomas D (December 2006). "East-West Orientation of Historical Empires". Journal of world-systems research 12 (2): 219–229. ISSN 1076–156x. http://jwsr.ucr.edu/archive/vol12/number2/pdf/jwsr-v12n2-tah.pdf. Retrieved 12 August 2010.
^ Treaty of Nanking. 1842.
^ McKinley, William. "Second State of the Union Address". 5 Dec. 1898.
^ Sino-American Treaty of Tien-Tsin. 1860.
^ Burlingame Treaty. 1869.
^ Ebrey(1999), p.220
^ ^a ^b Patricia Buckley Ebrey, The Cambridge Illustrated History of China (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2nd, 2010), pp. 220-224.
^ ^a ^b Bernard Hung-Kay Luk, Amir Harrak-Contacts between cultures, Volume 4, p.25
^ Li, Gertraude Roth (2002). State Building Before 1644. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 9–72.
^ History » The early Qing dynasty » The rise of the Manchu
^ Wakeman (1985), 646-50.
^ Tong and Chan (2001), 44.
^ ^a ^b Ebrey (1993).^{[page needed]}
^ Wakeman (1985), 651-80.
^ Faure (2007), 164.
^ Manslaughter, markets, and moral economy, p32
^ Mastering Chinese Language and Culture: History of China (Part 2), p87
^ "In Chinese:康乾盛世"的文化專制與文字獄". www.big5.china.com. http://big5.china.com.cn/city/txt/2007-03/08/content_7927803.htm. Retrieved 2008-12-30.
^ Schoppa, R. Keith. Revolution and its Past: Identities and Change in Modern Chinese History. Pearson Hall, 2010, pgs. 42-43.
^ The New Encyclopædia Britannica, p357
^ An Introduction to Modern China History : 1840-1949
^ Eduardo Real: ‘’The Taiping Rebellion’’.
^ "The Taiping Rebellion, 1851-64". University of Maryland web site. http://www-chaos.umd.edu/history/modern2.html. Retrieved 2008-10-21.
^ "Manchus". Answer.com. http://www.answers.com/topic/manchu. Retrieved 2008-10-19.
^ For a translation of the emperor's letter, see Têng Ssu-yü and John King Fairbank, eds., China's Response to the West: A Documentary Survey, 1839–1923 (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1979).
^ Higher education in the post-communist world: case studies of eight universities, by Paula L. W. Sabloff, pg 263
^ "BOXER REBELLION // CHINA 1900". HISTORIK ORDERS, LTD WEBSITE. http://www.historikorders.com/chinaboxer.htm. Retrieved 2008-10-19. ^{[dead link]}
^ "科学报告：光绪皇帝死于砒霜中毒 Scientistific report:Guangxu died of arsenic poisoning". epochtimes.com. http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/8/11/3/n2317769.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-01. ^{[dead link]}
^ Elisabeth Kaske, "The politics of language in Chinese education, 1895–1919", p235
^ Chien-nung Li, Jiannong Li, Ssŭ-yü Têng, "The political history of China, 1840–1928", p234
^ Elliott (2000), 603-46.
^ James A. Millward (2007). Eurasian crossroads: a history of Xinjiang. Columbia University Press. p. 190. ISBN 0-231-13924-1. http://books.google.com/books?id=8FVsWq31MtMC&pg=PA190&dq=maqsud+shah&hl=en&ei=PUmpTKapGYK8lQeltoSODQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CDsQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=maqsud%20shah&f=false. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
^ The New York Times, Jan 19, 1906
^ Convention Between Great Britain and China Respecting Tibet (1906)
^ Bartlett (1991).^{[page needed]}
^ "The Rise of the Manchus". University of Maryland web site. http://www-chaos.umd.edu/history/imperial3.html#regain. Retrieved 2008-10-19.
^ Rawski (1998), 179.
^ Rawski (1998), 179-180.
^ Torbert (1977), 27.
^ Rawski (1998), 179; Torbert (1977), 28.
^ The Cambridge History of China, vol 9, pg 480-481
^ The Cambridge History of China, vol 9, pg 485
^ Chinese Society in the Eighteenth Century (reprint, illustrated ed.). Yale University Press. 1989. p. 117. ISBN 0-300-04602-2. http://books.google.com/books?id=cpfgQNWXpyoC&pg=PA117. Retrieved 2011-10-31.
^ The New Encyclopædia Britannica, Volume 16 (15 ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. 2003. p. 122. ISBN 0-85229-961-3. http://books.google.com/books?id=d5kxAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA122. Retrieved 2011-11-07.
^ Britannica Educational Publishing (2010). Kenneth Pletcher. ed. The History of China. The Rosen Publishing Group. p. 226. ISBN 1-61530-181-X. http://books.google.com/books?id=A1nwvKNPMWkC&pg=PA226. Retrieved 2011-11-07.
^ Encyclopædia Britannica, inc (1998). The New Encyclopædia Britannica, Volume 8; Volume 16 (15 ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. p. 122. ISBN 0-85229-633-9. http://books.google.com/books?id=PIwxAQAAIAAJ. Retrieved 2011-11-07.
^ Encyclopædia Britannica, inc (1991). The New Encyclopædia Britannica: Marcopædia. Volume 16 of The New Encyclopædia Britannica (15 ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. p. 122. ISBN 0-85229-529-4. http://books.google.com/books?id=CoMoAQAAIAAJ. Retrieved 2011-11-07.
^ Wakeman (1985).^{[page needed]}
^ Myers and Wang (2003), pp. 564, 566.
^ Myers and Wang (2003), p. 564.
^ Myers and Wang (2003), p. 587.
^ ^a ^b Murphey (2007), p. 151.
^ Myers and Wang (2003), pp. 587, 590.
^ Myers and Wang (2003), p. 593.
^ Myers and Wang (2003), pp. 593, 595.
^ Myers and Wang (2003), p. 598.
^ Myers and Wang (2003), pp. 572–573, 599–600.
^ Myers and Wang (2003), pp. 606, 609.

Sources [link]

Bartlett, Beatrice S. Monarchs and Ministers: The Grand Council in Mid-Ch'ing China, 1723–1820, Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1991. ISBN 978-0-520-06591-8.
Ebrey, Patricia. Chinese Civilization: A Sourcebook (2nd edition), New York: Simon and Schuster, 1993. ISBN 978-0-02-908752-7.
Elliott, Mark C. "The Limits of Tartary: Manchuria in Imperial and National Geographies", Journal of Asian Studies 59 (2000): 603–46.
Faure, David. Emperor and Ancestor: State and Lineage in South China, Stanford University Press, 2007. ISBN 978-0-8047-5318-0.
Murphey, Rhoads. East Asia: A New History (4th edition), Pearson Longman, 2007. ISBN 978-0-321-42141-8.
Myers, H. Ramon and Yeh-Chien Wang. "Economic developments, 1644–1800", in Willard Peterson (ed.), The Cambridge History of China: Volume 9: The Ch'ing Empire to 1800, pp. 563–647. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003. ISBN 978-0-521-24334-6.
Rawski, Evelyn S. The Last Emperors: A Social History of Qing Imperial Institutions, Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1998. ISBN 978-0-520-21289-3.
Smith, Richard Joseph. China's Cultural Heritage: The Qing Dynasty, 1644–1912, Westview Press, 1994. ISBN 978-0-8133-1347-4.
Têng, Ssu-yü, and John King Fairbank (eds). China's Response to the West: A Documentary Survey, 1839–1923, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1979. ISBN 978-0-674-12025-9.
Tong, Chee Kiong, and Kwok B. Chan (eds). Alternate Identities: The Chinese of Contemporary Thailand, Singapore: Times Academic Press, 2001. ISBN 978-981-210-142-6.
Torbert, Preston M. The Ch'ing Imperial Household Department: A Study of Its Organization and Principal Functions, 1662–1796, Harvard University Asia Center, 1977. ISBN 978-0-674-12761-6.
Wakeman, Frederic. The Great Enterprise: The Manchu Reconstruction of Imperial Order in Seventeenth-century China, Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1985. ISBN 978-0-520-04804-1.
Waley-Cohen, Joanna. The culture of war in China: empire and the military under the Qing Dynasty. I.B. Tauris, 2006. ISBN 978-1-84511-159-5.
Woo, X.L. Empress dowager Cixi: China's last dynasty and the long reign of a formidable concubine: legends and lives during the declining days of the Qing Dynasty. Algora Publishing, 2002. ISBN 978-1-892941-88-6.

External links [link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Qing Dynasty

*Compton's Living Encyclopedia (1995–2008). "Chinese Cultural Studies: Concise Political History of China." As posted on Paul Halsall's web site. Retrieved on 2008-10-19.

"History of China" from the University of Maryland web site. Retrieved on 2008-11-10.
"Qing art of the reigns of the Kangxi, Yongzhen and Qianlong Emperors." Retrieved on 2008-11-10.
Section on the Ming and Qing dynasties of "China's Population: Readings and Maps." Retrieved on 2008-11-10.
"Short History & Time-Line of the Qing Dynasty."
Extensive notes on William Mesny, Qing general, author and plant collector, and his family tree

Preceded by Ming Dynasty (see also Shun Dynasty)	Dynasties in Chinese history 1644–1912	Succeeded by Republic of China

v t e A history of empires

Ancient empires	Akkadian Egyptian Kushite Puntite Azanian Assyrian Babylonian Aksumite Hittite Iranian Median Achaemenid-Persian Parthian Kushan Sassanid-Persian Macedonian Ptolemaic Seleucid Indian Maurya Gupta Chinese Qin Han Jin Roman Western Eastern Teotihuacan

Medieval empires	Byzantine Hunnic Arab Rashidun Umayyad Abbasid Fatimid Córdoba Ayyubid Moroccan Idrisid Almoravid Almohad Marinid Persian Tahirid Samanid Buyid Sallarid Ziyarid Persianate Ghaznavid Khwarezmian Timurid Bulgarian First Second Benin Great Seljuq Oyo Bornu Aragonese Indian Chola Gurjara-Pratihara Pala Eastern Ganga dynasty Delhi Mongol Yuan Golden Horde Chagatai Khanate Ilkhanate Kanem Serbian Songhai Khmer Carolingian Holy Roman North Sea Angevin Mali Chinese Sui Tang Song Yuan Wagadou Aztec Inca Srivijaya Majapahit Ethiopian Zagwe Solomonic Somali Ajuuraan Mogadishan Warsangali Adalite Ifatite

Modern empires	Tongan Indian Maratha Sikh Mughal Chinese Ming Qing Ottoman Persian Safavid Afsharid Zand Qajar Pahlavi Moroccan Saadi Alaouite Ethiopian Somali Gobroon Majeerteen Hobyo Dervish French First Second Austrian Austro-Hungarian German German Empire German Reich Russian Swedish Mexican First Second Brazilian Korean Japanese Haitian First Second Central African

Colonial empires	Belgian British Danish Dutch English French German Italian Japanese Portuguese Spanish Swedish

Related	List of empires List of largest empires

http://wn.com/Qing_Dynasty

http://it.wn.com/Dinastia Qing

http://cs.wn.com/Dynastie Čching

http://id.wn.com/Dinasti Qing

http://es.wn.com/Dinastía Qing

http://ru.wn.com/Империя Цин

http://nl.wn.com/Qing-dynastie

http://pl.wn.com/Dynastia Qing

http://fr.wn.com/Dynastie Qing

http://pt.wn.com/Dinastia Qing

http://de.wn.com/Qing-Dynastie

http://hi.wn.com/चिंग राजवंश

This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qing_Dynasty

This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Yang.

Rainie Yang

Rainie Yang 2010

Chinese name

楊丞琳 (Traditional)

Chinese name

杨丞琳 (Simplified)

Pinyin

Yáng Chénglín (Mandarin)

Birth name

Lily Yang

Origin

Republic of China (Taiwan)

Born

4 June 1984 (age 28)
Taipei, Taiwan

Occupation

Singer, Actress, Host

Sony Music Taiwan (2005–present)

Years active

2000–present

Associated acts

4 in Love (2000–2002)

Official Website

Rainie Yang@Sony Music Taiwan

Awards

Golden Bell Awards

45th Best Leading Actress in a Television Series
2010 Hi My Sweetheart

Rainie Yang (traditional Chinese: 楊丞琳; simplified Chinese: 杨丞琳; pinyin: Yáng Chénglín; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Iû Sêng-lîm), born June 4th, 1984, is a Taiwanese singer who has won multiple awards, Golden Bell Awards actress and talk show host.

1 Career
2 Controversy
3 Discography
4 Filmography
- 4.1 Television series
- 4.2 Movies
5 TV shows
6 Awards and nominations
7 Note
8 References
9 External links

Career [link]

Yang began her career in 2000, as a member of Taiwanese quartet girl group 4 in Love, where she was given the stage name of Rainie, matching the weather theme of each member. The group's popularity in the music industry was mediocre and they achieved limited success.^[1] After the group disbanded in 2002, Yang continued to pursue a career in the entertainment industry as a TV host, hosting shows such as "Guess Guess Guess" variety show. After playing supporting roles in several Taiwanese dramas, including the Meteor Garden, she landed the lead role, as Qi Yue, in the CTV drama Devil Beside You opposite Mike He in 2005. Devil Beside You was well received, allowing Yang's career to take off. The same year, she released her debut album, My Intuition, featuring her hit "曖昧" (Intuition) as the theme song of Devil Beside You and 理想情人" (Ideal Lover) as an insert songs of Devil Beside You.

In 2006, she released her follow-up album, Meeting Love, which also sold very well at around 1.4 million. On 8 January 2007, Yang recorded her last "Guess Guess Guess" show due to her busy schedule and focus upon her music/acting career. Hoping to portray herself as a "serious" actress, Yang co-starred in the lesbian-themed film Spider Lilies alongside Isabella Leong. However, after co-starring in Spider Lilies, Yang returned to her previous cute image by becoming the lead actress in the drama Why Why Love, co-starring with Mike He and Kingone Wang, which aired during the summer of 2007. She subsequently released her third album, My Other Self on 7 September 2007. It features the theme song from Why Why Love, "缺氧" (Lacking Oxygen) and the insert song "完美比例" (Perfect Example).

Rainie Yang in 2009

On 23 April 2008, while filming the Taiwanese drama Miss No Good in San Chih, Taiwan; Yang fell heavily from the stairs, and was sent to Mackay Memorial Hospital in Taipei. The stairs were located between the third floor, where the dressing room was located, and the first floor, where the film set was located. The crew originally thought the falling object was a light frame, but upon hearing a groan, they realized it was her. After an X-ray examination, doctors diagnosed Yang's injury as a spinal contusion. After leaving the hospital, producer Angie Chai took Yang to a Chinese massage therapist.^[2] Miss No Good, starring Yang and Wilber Pan, was aired during the fall/winter of 2008 and met with much success. During this period of time, she also released her 4th album, Not Yet a Woman, which features the insert song "太煩惱" (Too Much Trouble) and the theme song "帶我走" (Take Me Away) that were featured Miss No Good.

In 2009, Yang starred in Gala Television's ToGetHer with Jiro Wang of Fahrenheit and George Hu. Next she filmed The Child's Eye in 3D in Thailand, a horror flick directed by the Pang Brothers with Elanne Kong, and also Taiwanese drama Hi My Sweetheart with Show Luo, which first aired on CTS and GTV on 1 November 2009.^[3] After promoting Hi My Sweetheart, Yang released her fifth album, Rainie & Love...?, on New Years Day, 2010.^[4] Due to the success of Devil Beside You and Miss No Good overseas, Yang entered J-pop in 2010 by releasing a Japanese version of her hit "曖昧" (Intuition) as her first Japanese single.^[5]

Yang released her first collection album, Whimsical World Collection on 23 April 2010. It consists of 3 CDs and a DVD with 3 new tracks, 35 previously released tracks and 15 music videos from her five studio albums. Followed by her first concert, held on 24 April 2010 at Taipei Arena, with Jerry Yan as her special guest ^[6]

In 2011, Yang released her 6th album Longing For, which features "我們都傻" (We are all silly) that was an insert song of Love You.

On 22 October 2010, she was awarded Best Leading Actress in a Television Series at the 45th Golden Bell Awards, for Hi My Sweetheart.

Controversy [link]

In 2003, Yang mistakenly thought the eight-year Second Sino-Japanese War was eleven years in length during a television program. After learning the actual length of the war, she responded with "Only eight years?" Internet postings exaggerated the incident to include her mistaking the death toll of the Nanking Massacre.^[7] Reports of her blunder generated anger in China, leading to the boycotting of Hunan Satellite Television's airing of Devil Beside You, in which she starred. Upon learning of the widespread boycott, Hunan TV replaced the show's airtime with Green Forest, My Home.^[8]

On April 3, 2007, Yang wrote a public apology letter to her fans, and said in an interview: "I left school early and entered the working world. In the future I am willing to read diligently when I have time. I believe in the future I will have a deeper understanding of history...I apologize to everyone...I will work hard to do my job well in the future."^[7]

Discography [link]

Albums [link]

Album #	Title	Released date	Label
1st	My Intuition (曖昧)	9 September 2005	Sony Music Taiwan
2nd	Meeting Love (遇上愛)	19 March 2006	Sony Music Taiwan
3rd	My Other Self (任意門)	7 September 2007	Sony Music Taiwan
4th	Not Yet a Woman (半熟宣言)	7 November 2008	Sony Music Taiwan
5th	Rainie & Love...? (雨愛)	1 January 2010	Sony Music Taiwan
6th	Longing For (仰望)	29 July 2011	Sony Music Taiwan

Compilation albums [link]

Album #	Title	Released date	Label	Format
1st	Whimsical World Collection (異想天開新歌加精選) Yi Xiang Tian Kai	23 April 2010	Sony Music Taiwan	3CD + DVD

Concert DVD [link]

Album #	Title	Released date	Label	Format
1st	10 Years of Rainie - Whimsical World Live (十年有丞楊丞琳異想天開 Live)^[9]	12 January 2011	Sony Music Taiwan	2DVD

Singles [link]

Single #	Single Information	Track Listing
1st	Aimei (曖昧) (Japanese Single)^[5]^[10] Released: 27 January 2010 (Japan) Label: Sony Music Entertainment Language: Japanese Genre: J-pop	"Aimai" ("曖昧" (Ai Mei) [My Intuition] Japanese version) "Koi no Mahō" ("恋の魔法") ("青春鬥" (Qing Chun Dou) [Tick Tock] Japanese version)

Filmography [link]

Television series [link]

Year	Title	Title	Role
2001	流星花園	Meteor Garden	Xiao You (小優)
	流星雨	Meteor Rain	Xiao You (小優)
	陽光果凍	Sunshine Jelly	Mei
2002	愛情白皮書	Tomorrow	Yuan Chen Mei (袁成美)
2003	花香番外篇	Lavender 2	Xiao Xiao (小小)
	粉紅教父小甜甜	The Pink Godfather	Bao Xiao Ting (包小婷) / Chen Tian Shi (陳天使)
	原味的夏天	The Original Scent of Summer	Yang Pan Pan (楊盼盼)
2004	候鳥e人	Love Bird	Jiang Ding Han (江丁韓)
	極速傳說	Legend of Speed	Juliet / Gao Yun (高雲)
	天空之城	City Of The Sky	Lu Bin Yan (陸彬燕)
2005	聊齋系列之阿寶篇	Strange Tales of Liao Zhai	Zheng Ah Bao (趙寶玉/阿寶)
2005	惡魔在身邊	Devil Beside You	Qi Yue (齊悅)
2007	換換愛	Why Why Love	Tong Jia Di (童嘉蒂)
2008	不良笑花	Miss No Good	Jiang Xiao Hua (蔣小花)
2009	愛就宅一起	ToGetHer	Chen Mo Mo (陳默默)
2009	海派甜心	Hi My Sweetheart	Chen Bao Zhu (陳寶茱)
2011	醉後決定愛上你	Love You	Lin Xiao Ru (林曉如)
2011	陽光天使	Sunny Girl	Chen Yang Guang (陳陽光)

Movies [link]

Year	Chinese Title	English Title	Role
2001	初戀喳麵	Merry Go Round	Carlily Pang
2007	刺青	Spider Lilies	Xiao Lü (小綠) / Jade
2010	童眼	The Child's Eye	Rainie
2012	再一次心跳	Heart Beat Love	Yang Xiao Yu 杨小羽

TV shows [link]

Guess Guess Guess (CTV) - 30 September 2002 to 8 January 2007
100% Entertainment - 2005
Azio Entertainment News - 2002 to May 2004
TVBS Game Show - 2003
Jacky Live! - 2003

Awards and nominations [link]

Year	Award	Category	Nomination	Result	Ref
2005	Metro Radio Hits Music Awards 新城勁爆頒獎禮	Best New Artist	Rainie Yang	Won	^[11]
2005	IFPI Hong Kong Album Sales Awards IFPI香港唱片銷量大獎	Top 10 Selling Mandarin Albums of the Year	My Intuition (曖昧)	Won	^[12]
2006	Metro Radio Mandarin Hits Music Awards 新城國語力頒獎禮	Best Mandarin Singer	Rainie Yang	Won
	IFPI Hong Kong Album Sales Awards IFPI香港唱片銷量大獎	Top 10 Selling Mandarin Albums of the Year	Meeting Love (遇上愛)	Won	^[13]
	6th Global Chinese Music Chart Awards 第六屆全球華語歌曲排行榜	Best Female New Artist	Rainie Yang	Won
2007	HITO Radio Music Awards HITO流行音樂獎	Top 10 Songs of the Year^{[Note 1]}	"遇上愛" (Meeting Love)	Won	^[14]
	Hong Kong TVB8 Awards	Top 10 Gold Songs	"缺氧" (Lacking Oxygen)	Nominated	^[15]
	Metro Radio Hits Music Awards 新城勁爆頒獎禮	Best Mandarin Singer	Rainie Yang	Won	^[16]
	Metro Radio Hits Music Awards 新城勁爆頒獎禮	Singer-Dancer Grand Prize (跳唱歌手大獎)	Rainie Yang	Won	^[16]
	YAHOO! Search Awards YAHOO! 搜尋人氣大獎	Favourite International Female Artist	Rainie Yang	Won
	YAHOO! Search Awards YAHOO! 搜尋人氣大獎	Favourite International Female Actress	Rainie Yang	Won
2008	43rd Golden Bell Awards, Taiwan	Best Leading Actress in a Television Series	Why Why Love	Nominated	^[17]
	YAHOO! Search Awards YAHOO! 搜尋人氣大獎	Favourite International Female Artist	Rainie Yang	Won
	YAHOO! Search Awards YAHOO! 搜尋人氣大獎	Favourite International Female Actress	Rainie Yang	Won
2009	Singapore Hit Awards 新加坡金曲獎	Favourite Female Artist	Rainie Yang	Nominated
2010	45th Golden Bell Awards, Taiwan	Best Leading Actress in a Television Series	Hi My Sweetheart	Won	^[18]
	Singapore Hit Awards 第16届新加坡金曲獎	Most Popular Female Artiste	Rainie Yang	Won	^[19]^[20]
	Taiwan Next Magazine Entertainment Award 壹週刊娛樂大賞	Top 10 Artist of the Year	Rainie Yang	Won
	Channel V's Music Chart Award V頻道音樂飆榜	Favourite Female Artist	Rainie Yang	Won
	US Complex Magazine	The Sexiest Taiwanese Female Celebrity (popular vote)	Rainie Yang	Won
2011	Taiwan Next Magazine Entertainment Award 壹週刊娛樂大賞	Top 10 Artist of the Year	Rainie Yang	Won

Note [link]

^ The order is not specified for the Top 10 Songs of the Year

References [link]

^ (Chinese)"關於 "Rainie"". http://www.wretch.cc/blog/www77rainie/12067450. Retrieved 2009-10-24.
^ (Chinese) Huang, Ailian (2008-04-23). "Rainie Films and Hurts Spine 杨丞琳拍片摔伤脊椎". ZaoBao.
^ (Chinese)"沒時間". http://www.wretch.cc/blog/www77rainie/12048053. Retrieved 2009-10-24.
^ (Chinese) Li, Xia (2009-12-02). "杨丞琳全新造型曝光珍珠装幻化欧洲洋娃娃". oeeee.com.
^ ^a ^b (Chinese) Zhen, Feng (2009-12-04). "Rainie Will Enter Japanese Music, Japanese Version of Ai Mei to be Released". oeeee.com.
^ (Chinese) Sina.com 楊丞琳為演唱會豁出去攀岩登高宣佈嘉賓 2 April 2010. Retrieved 2011-05-11
^ ^a ^b (Chinese) "Sina: Rainie Yang Publicly Apologizes for Her Comments, Transcript of Her Interview with Sina". Sina. 2007-04-03.
^ (Chinese) Zhao, Dazhi (2007-07-27). "Mainland Boycott, Rainie Yang: Change the Channel If You Don't Want to Watch". Yahoo! Taiwan.
^ (Chinese) 10 Years of Rainie - Whimsical World Live DVD info 12 January 2011. Retrieved 2011-01-19
^ Yesasia.com Aimai (Japanese Single) info 27 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-12-14
^ (Chinese) Sina.com Metro Radio Hits Awards 2005 winners list 26 December 2005. Retrieved 2011-06-05
^ (Chinese) IFPI Hong Kong 2005 IFPI Hong Kong Album Sales Awards winners list Retrieved 2011-04-19
^ (Chinese) IFPI Hong Kong 2006 IFPI Hong Kong Album Sales Awards winners list Retrieved 2011-04-19
^ (Chinese) HITO Radio 2007 HITO Radio Music Awards winners list 4 February 2007. Retrieved 2011-04-20
^ (Chinese) Sina.com Hong Kong TVB8 Awards 2007 Top 10 Gold Songs nomination list 14 December 2007. Retrieved 2011-06-29
^ (Chinese) Sina.com Metro Radio Hits Awards 2007 winners list 26 December 2007. Retrieved 2011-04-14.
^ (Chinese) TTV 43rd Golden Bell Awards homepage Retrieved 25 Sept 2010.
^ (Chinese) TTV 45th Golden Bell Awards homepage 20 Sept 2010. Retrieved 25 Sept 2010.
^ (Chinese) 16th Singapore Hit Awards nomination list 20 August 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-15
^ Rainie Yang and Show Luo for Most Popular Artiste at SHA 2010 15 October 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-15

External links [link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rainie Yang

(Chinese) Rainie Yang Sony Music Entertainment Taiwan Page
(Chinese) Rainie Yang Profile Page @ Sony Music Entertainment Taiwan
(Japanese) Rainie Yang@Sony Music Entertainment Japan

v t e Rainie Yang

Studio album	My Intuition (2005) Meeting Love (2006) My Other Self (2007) Not Yet a Woman (2008) Rainie & Love...? (2010) Longing For (2011)

Singles	Japanese Single (2010)

Compilation	Whimsical World Collection (2010)

Concert DVD	10 Years of Rainie - Whimsical World Live DVD (2011)

Persondata
Name	Yang, Rainie
Alternative names
Short description	taiwanese actor-singer
Date of birth	June 4, 1984
Place of birth	Taipei, Taiwan
Date of death
Place of death

http://wn.com/Rainie_Yang

http://ru.wn.com/Рейни Ян

http://fr.wn.com/Rainie Yang

http://de.wn.com/Rainie Yang

http://it.wn.com/Rainie Yang

http://es.wn.com/Rainie Yang

This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainie_Yang

This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.

File:Fatalfurycaharacters.jpg

The cast of Fatal Fury Special, which includes characters from the first two games.

The following is a list of video game characters featured in the Fatal Fury fighting game series developed by SNK Playmore (formerly SNK). The series consists of the original Fatal Fury, Fatal Fury 2, Fatal Fury Special, Fatal Fury 3, Real Bout Fatal Fury, Real Bout Fatal Fury Special, Real Bout Fatal Fury 2, Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition, and Garou: Mark of the Wolves.

1 Introduced in Fatal Fury
2 Introduced in Fatal Fury 2 and Fatal Fury Special
3 Introduced in Fatal Fury 3
4 Introduced in Dominated Mind
- 4.1 Alfred
- 4.2 White
5 Introduced in Real Bout Fatal Fury 2
6 Introduced in Wild Ambition
- 6.1 Toji Sakata
- 6.2 Tsugumi Sendo
7 Introduced in Mark of the Wolves
8 References
9 External links

[edit] Introduced in Fatal Fury

Andy Bogard [link]

Andy Bogard (アンディー・ボガード, Andī Bogādo) is Terry Bogard's younger brother. Andy practices the Shiranui-ryū ("Shiranui style" in Japanese) ninjutsu and a form of empty-handed ninja combat called Koppō-ken, which he trained in after witnessing his foster father's murder, in order to gain revenge on Geese Howard. Mai Shiranui is his love interest (or fiancée in her mind), and the granddaughter of Hanzo Shiranui, the man he learned Ninjitsu from. It was after his foster father Jeff's death that Tung Fu Rue took responsibility for raising him and Terry. Andy went to Japan to train under Hanzo and grew up alongside Mai, while Terry stayed in South Town. During Andy's time in Japan, he met the Muay Thai fighter Joe Higashi, and challenged him to a match. When Andy won, he invited Joe to return to America with him to enter the King of Fighters tournament, held by Geese.

Late in the tournament, Andy tried to kill off Geese by himself. Geese's power proved to be too much for Andy as he almost fell to his death. Terry saved Andy, who then acknowledged Terry as the superior fighter. After Terry beat Geese at the end of their first King of Fighters Tournament, a new tournament was held, this time hosted by Wolfgang Krauser. Andy, while present in the tournament, did not accomplish much story-wise.

Ever since Geese's death, the fall of the First Southtown, and the birth of Second Southtown, Andy has been busy training his young apprentice Hokutomaru in the ways of the Shiranui-style ninjitsu and Koppo-ken. Instead of fighting in the KOF: Maximum Mayhem tournament himself, Andy sends Hokutomaru in his place to see what his apprentice has learned. In Hokutomaru's ending, Andy writes him a note saying that he was proud of how strong Hokutomaru has gotten. Then he ended the note by saying he is no longer his teacher but his rival and that they will cross paths again.

When the new King of Fighters '94 tournament was announced, Andy joined Terry and Joe in the new 3-on-3 matches. Since then, Andy has always agreed to follow his brother Terry whenever he decided to enter the new version of the King of Fighters tournament. The Fatal Fury Team maintained his original formation (Terry, Andy and Joe) from King of Fighters '94 to '98. With new rules in KOF '99 allowing teams of four members, Mai Shiranui (in KOF '99) and, later, Blue Mary (KOF 2000) joined the team. After the beginning of the Ash Crimson Saga (KOF 2003, XI,) Andy left the Fatal Fury team to take care of Shiranui disciple Hokutomaru, who fell sick, and Mai went after him. Andy made his return to The King of Fighters XII but does not participate in a defined team. The King of Fighters XIII sees Andy rejoining the Fatal Fury team as his brother's interest in the tournament has compelled him to reunite the original Fatal Fury team from the 1994 event. In his anime incarnations, though sometimes perplexed by her actions, Andy is more open to showing his affection towards Mai.

Billy Kane [link]

Main article: Billy Kane

Duck King [link]

Duck King (ダック・キング, Dakku Kingu) appears in the original Fatal Fury as one of the first four opponents in the single-player mode. Possessing incredible talent when it comes to brawling and street dancing, Duck King once challenged Terry Bogard to a street fight and lost. He trained himself in order to surpass Terry. Duck uses a unique fighting style which includes rhythmical dance-like movements and attacks. His primary special move is a flying cannonball technique.

In Fatal Fury 2, Duck was one of the characters from the original game who is defeated by Krauser in one of the game's cut scenes, although he would appear as a playable character in Fatal Fury Special. He would retain his cannonball technique, now dubbed the Head Spin Attack, along with new special moves such as the Dancing Dive, Break Storm, and the Beat Rush. He also has a new hidden special move called the Break Spiral. From Special and onward, Duck would be accompanied by his pet chick "P-chan". He makes another quick cameo in Bob Wilson's ending Fatal Fury 3 before returning as a playable character in Real Bout Fatal Fury and its sequels, Real Bout Special and Real Bout 2. He also appears as an exclusive character in the PlayStation version of Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition.

Although Duck King has made numerous cameo appearances thorough The King of Fighters series, including as an alternate Striker (a character who helps the player in battle) in The King of Fighters 2000, he did not appear as a playable character until The King of Fighters XI, where he appears as a member of the new Fatal Fury Team along with Terry and Kim Kaphwan.

Geese Howard [link]

Main article: Geese Howard

Hwa Jai [link]

Hwa Jai (ホア・ジャイ, Hoa Jai^?) is the first of three opponents the player faces in the original Fatal Fury before the final match against Geese Howard. A former Muay Thai champion once nicknamed "The Hero of Muay Thai" (ムエタイの英雄, Muetai no Eiyū^?), he once fought against Joe Higashi in the past and lost, causing him to lose his title. Seeking to defeat Joe, he became a more reckless and dangerous fighter. After being banned from competing in the Muay Thai circuit, his brutal talent was noted by Geese Howard, who hired him to serve as one of his bodyguards and a participant in the King of Fighters tournament. His special technique, the Dragon Kick, was developed to compete with Joe's Tiger Kick. He also gains additional strength by drinking a sort of Super Drink, which thrown at him by one of Geese's men when he is in danger.

In Fatal Fury 2, Hwa Jai is one of the characters from the original game who gets defeated by an unknown challenger (Wolfgang Krauser). He is apparently hospitalized and visited by Joe Higashi, as seen in Joe's ending in the game and in Fatal Fury Special. He makes further cameos in the subsequent Fatal Fury games (Fatal Fury 3, Real Bout, Real Bout Special and Real Bout 2) as Joe's training partner and trainer. Despite having been absent since his original appearance as an opponent character in Fatal Fury, Hwa Jai has been confirmed to return in The King of Fighters XIII and marks the first time the character has been playable. Kim, following his "reform" of his previous teammates (Chang Koehan and Choi Bounge), seeks out Hwa Jai and Raiden as he believes they still work under Geese Howard. It is not the case as Geese had returned to America long ago but Raiden manages to talk Hwa Jai into joining the team to bolster their reputations as fighters. Hwa Jai accepts, partially due to wanting to fight Joe once again.

Joe Higashi [link]

Main article: Joe Higashi

Michael Max [link]

Michael Max (マイケル・マックス, Maikeru Makkusu^?) is a black boxer who appears in the original Fatal Fury as one of the first four CPU-controlled opponents whom the player faces. Prior to the events of the game, Michael was a young boxing prodigy who was once considered a strong contender for the title of Worldwide Heavyweight Champion. However, he left the boxing circuit to seek real combat and participate in the King of Fighters tournament, feeling that professional boxing was a mere sport protected by rules. His only other appearances in the series includes in the cut-scenes of Fatal Fury 2, where he is one of the fighters defeated by Wolfgang Krauser, and in Axel Hawk's ending in Fatal Fury Special, where he is depicted as Axel's trainer. In one of his victory poses, it is revealed that he is Catholic. Michael Max is the only character from the Original Fatal Fury that has never appeared in a 'King of Fighters' series.

Raiden [link]

Raiden (ライデン, Raiden^?) first appears in the original Fatal Fury as the second of the final four computer-controlled opponents in the single-player mode. He was once a popular face wrestler until he was betrayed by his tag partner during a match (a character later revealed to be Big Bombarder from the SNK wrestling game 3 Count Bout). This incident transformed him completely and he became a notorious heel wrestler. Not satisfied with venting his frustration in the ring, he enters the King of Fighters tournament as a masked fighter, acting as one of Geese's guardians. His primary special move in the game is the Vapor Breath. This character was modeled after real life pro wrestler Big Van Vader.

He returns as a regular playable character in Fatal Fury 2 and Fatal Fury Special, where he renounces his Raiden persona and now fights as an unmasked face wrestler under the identity of Big Bear (ビッグ・ベア, Biggu Bea^?). He trains at his native land of Australia, where his deadly strength increased on several levels. He also develops a friendly rivalry with Terry, as seen in his endings in both games. His special moves in Fatal Fury 2 includes the Giant Bomb, a rushing tackle, and the Super Drop Kick. He also has a hidden special move called the Fire Breath, an improved version of his Vapor Breath. In Special, he gains a new special move called the Bear Bomber.

Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition, being a retelling of the original Fatal Fury tournament, depicts Raiden under his masked heel persona once again. Outside the Fatal Fury series, Raiden also appeared in the Capcom-produced crossover game Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000, and its sequels, Capcom vs. SNK Pro and Capcom vs. SNK 2, being one of the few Fatal Fury characters who did not appeared in The King of Fighters as a playable character (at the time) in those games. Raiden also appears in The King of Fighters XII and the sequel. In KOF XII none of the characters are assigned into teams but for KOF XIII they are. Raiden's teammates in KOF XIII are Kim Kaphwan and Hwa Jai. Kim is mistaken in thinking Raiden and Hwa Jai are still in the employ of Geese Howard, wanting to "reform" both men. Raiden convinces Hwa Jai to act as if they are so they are able to enter the tournament to build reputation for themselves. The Fatal Fury characters refer him as "Bear", his face persona, which he denies.

Richard Meyer [link]

Richard Meyer (リチャード・マイヤー, Richādo Maiyā^?) appears in the original Fatal Fury as one of the first four computer-controlled opponents in the single-player mode. A capoeira mestre originally from Brazil, Richard makes his daily living in South Town as the manager of the restaurant Pao Pao Cafe. He competes in the King of Fighters tournament in order to make his capoiera style known to the world. In this game, his character specializes in numerous kick techniques.

Richard makes cameo appearances in subsequent Fatal Fury games as a friendly acquaintance of the Bogard brothers and Joe. He appears in Fatal Fury 2 in the cut scene shown immediately after the first battle against the CPU, tending to a crowd of spectators at Pao Pao Cafe witnessing the player's fight on television. He appears again near the end of the game, where he is defeated in battle by Wolfgang Krauser, as well in Terry Bogard's ending, serving him and his date their meal.

In Fatal Fury 3, Richard opens a new Pao Pao Cafe restaurant, which is maintained by his capoeira apprentice Bob Wilson. In Fatal Fury 3, as well as in Real Bout series, Richard appears to cheer and encourage Bob before each of his matches. He makes cameos in King of Fighters XI, trying to tell Kim to leave the cafe and King of Fighters XIII witnessing several female fighters destroy his bar.

Richard appears as a hidden character in the PlayStation 2 game KOF: Maximum Impact 2 (released in North America as The King of Fighters 2006), participating as a fighter for the first time since the original Fatal Fury.

Terry Bogard [link]

Main article: Terry Bogard

Tung Fu Rue [link]

Tung Fu Rue (タン　フー　ルー, Tan Fū Rū^?, Chinese: 糖胡芦; Pinyin: Táng Hú-Lú) is one of the first four opponents the players faces in the original Fatal Fury. (When either Andy or Terry defeats him in "Fatal Fury Special," each Bogard brother addresses him as "Master Tan.") He is an elderly martial arts master from China who developed his own fighting style based on Bājíquán known as the Holy Fist of Eight Ways (八極聖拳, Hakkyokuseiken^?). In the past, he trained Terry and Andy's adoptive father, Jeff Bogard, and his nemesis Geese Howard (as well as Cheng Sinzan). He raised the Bogard brothers after Jeff was killed by Geese and participates in the King of Fighters tournament in the first game with the objective to defeat Geese. He can transform his body into steel and draw out great power using a deadly secret technique known only to himself. In the game, he appears as meek elderly man, but after taking a bit of damage, he transforms into a musclebound warrior, whose special moves including a flying whirlwind punch and a spinning whirlwind kick in which he shoots fireballs at both directions.

In Fatal Fury 2, Tung was one of the characters defeated by Wolfgang Krauser in one of the game's cut-scene. He would appear as a playable character in Fatal Fury Special, the upgraded version of Fatal Fury 2. Unlike the original game, Tung only transforms into a musclebound version of himself while performing certain special moves. Tung reappears in Real Bout Special and Real Bout 2. In Real Bout Special, there are two versions of him in the game. In regular version of him has improved versions of his previous special moves, as well as new moves, while the alternate version of him (EX Tung Fu Rue) has all of his moves from Fatal Fury Special and one Hidden Ability. in Real Bout 2, Tung has special moves from both versions of his character in the previous game.

Tung also appears in the SNK crossover game NeoGeo Battle Coliseum. This version of the character was used as an additional character in the PlayStation 2 port of The King of Fighters XI.

[edit] Introduced in Fatal Fury 2 and Fatal Fury Special

Axel Hawk [link]

Axel Hawk (アクセル・ホーク, Akuseru Hōku^?) first appears in Fatal Fury 2 as the second of the final four opponents in the single-player mode. A former heavyweight boxing champion, he was said to be the strongest of all time until his retirement. According to his backstory, he began spending most of his days at home after his retirement, playing with his R/C car and being supported by his elderly mother, his father having died at some point. One day, he received an anonymous letter inviting him to the King of Fighters tournament and began training for his comeback. He was originally a non-playable character in the Neo Geo version of Fatal Fury 2, although he is playable in the SNES and Genesis versions of the game. He became a regular playable character in Fatal Fury Special. He makes a cameo at the end of The King of Fighters 2003 cheering on the Fatal Fury Team.

Cheng Sinzan [link]

Cheng Sinzan (チン・シンザン, Chin Shinzan^?, Chinese: 陳秦山; Pinyin: Chén Qínshān; Cantonese Yale: Chàhn Chèuhn-sāan) is introduced as one of the new playable characters in Fatal Fury 2. A rotund fighter, he practices taiji. Despite his immense strength, he hates training and becomes tired very easily. He enters the King of Fighters tournament seeking to gain international recognition and open his own training hall. He is characterized as one of the richest men in Hong Kong, who resides in a high class neighborhood and is married to a former Miss Hong Kong. Despite his social status, he seeks to find ways to make himself even richer. His Special Moves in Fatal Fury 2, as well as in Fatal Fury Special, includes the Thunderblast Powerball (氣雷砲, Kiraihō^?), the Belly Drum Blast (大太鼓腹打, Daitaikobarauchi^?), and the Avalanche Crunch (破岩激, Hagangeki^?), while his Super Special Move is the Exploding Thunder Powerball (爆雷砲, Bakuraihō^?).

He makes a non-playable appearance in Fatal Fury 3, helping Hon-Fu chase after Ryuji Yamazaki and doesn't return as a playable character until Real Bout Special and Real Bout 2. In the backstory of Real Bout Special, it is revealed that Cheng was once a disciple of Tung Fu Rue trained in Hakkyoku Seiken along with Jeff Bogard and Geese Howard, but was expelled due to his greediness. He would also make money by having people bet against him in street fights and then lose on purpose.

Jubei Yamada [link]

Jubei Yamada (山田十平衛, Yamada Jūbei^?) is one of the five playable characters introduced in Fatal Fury 2. An elderly judo master who was once known as "Yamada, the Demon" during his youth. Having lost his charm from his younger days, Jubei fights in the new King of Fighters tournament in order to re-establish his popularity with girls around the world. Despite this, he refuses to change his womanizing lecherous ways. Although Jubei does not return as a playable character in later games, he makes several cameo appearances, including in Mai Shiranui's ending in Real Bout Fatal Fury, where he is shown to have an infatuation with her.

Kim Kaphwan [link]

Kim Kaphwan (김갑환) is a taekwondo expert from Korea. His background is based on a real part of Namdaemun in downtown Seoul. Throughout the game, he tries to defeat evil powers and teaches moral philosophy to his partners, such as Choi Bounge (최번개) and Chang Koehan (장거한).

Laurence Blood [link]

Laurence Blood (ローレンス・ブラッド, Rōrensu Buraddo^?) first appears in Fatal Fury 2 as the third of the four boss characters the player faces at the end of the single-player mode. A former Spanish matador who uses a self-styled martial art based on his deadly bullfighting methods. He serves as the right-hand man and servant of Wolfgang Krauser and participates in the tournament under his request. He is a computer-only character in the Neo Geo version of Fatal Fury 2 and became playable in Fatal Fury Special. He would return as a playable character in Real Bout Special and Real Bout 2. He is notable for being one of four bullfighter characters in fighting games (the other three being Vega of Street Fighter, Miguel of Human Killing Machine and Miguel Caballero Rojo of Tekken). He is also the only boss character from Real Bout Fatal Fury Special and Real Bout Fatal Fury 2 that hasn't appeared in the King of Fighters tournaments.

Mai Shiranui [link]

Main article: Mai Shiranui

Ryo Sakazaki [link]

Main article: Ryo Sakazaki

Ryo Sakazaki from Art of Fighting makes a guest appearance in Fatal Fury Special as a hidden character. He appears in the single-player as a secret final boss when the player wins every match in two rounds. He also appears in the PlayStation version of Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition as a secret character under his Mr. Karate persona from Buriki One.

Wolfgang Krauser [link]

Krauser made his appearance in Fatal Fury 2, where he serves as the final opponent in the tournament. Known as the only man in the world feared by Geese Howard (whom in Fatal Fury Special is revealed to be his elder half-brother from the same father), Krauser is a German nobleman who is publicly known as the current Earl of Stroheim, a prestigious family in Europe, but within the underworld he is a ruthless warlord known as the Emperor of Darkness. After Geese's supposed death in the original Fatal Fury, Krauser sponsors a new King of Fighters tournament with his three chosen warriors Laurence Blood, Axel Hawk and Billy Kane (a former underling of Geese himself) in order to lure the men who defeated Geese (Terry Bogard, Andy Bogard, and Joe Higashi).

Although Krauser takes his own life following the events of Fatal Fury 2 and Special according to the background story in the subsequent games^[1], Krauser appeared in the special installments of the series, Real Bout Fatal Fury Special and Real Bout Fatal Fury 2.

Outside the Fatal Fury series, Krauser appears as a member of the Boss Team in The King of Fighters '96 with his half-brother Geese and Geese's former partner-in-crime Mr. Big. The Boss Team made another appearance in the remake of The King of Fighters '98, titled The King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match. Additionally, Krauser also appears as a "Striker" character in the console versions of The King of Fighters 2000.

Krauser serves as the main antagonist in the anime special Fatal Fury 2: The New Battle. According to character designer Masami Ōbari, Krauser was redesigned to be ten years younger than his video game counterpart and given a clean-shaved appearance. In this special, Krauser challenges his half-brother's nemesis Terry Bogard to battle and wins. After Terry regains his courage, he challenges Krauser again and wins the rematch, causing Krauser to commit suicide due to his loss.

[edit] Introduced in Fatal Fury 3

Blue Mary [link]

Main article: Blue Mary

Bob Wilson [link]

Bob Wilson (ボブ・ウィルソン, Bobu Wiruson^?) is a character introduced in Fatal Fury 3 and appears as a playable character throughout the Real Bout sub-series. He is the bartender of Pao Pao Cafe 2 and was trained in capoeira by Richard Meyer. He specializes in spinning kicks and combination attacks. All of his special moves reference animals in some way, as his Fatal Fury 3 Special Moves are the Wild Wolf, the Bison's Horn, the Lynx's Fang, the Rolling Turtle, and the Hornet Attack. His Super Special Move is the Dangerous Wolf. In Real Bout, he gains the Monkey Dance special move and two Hidden Abilities, the Mad Spin Wolf and the Wolf's Fang. Real Bout Special brings in the Sidewinder, Hunting Frog and Hawk Talon Special Moves, and Real Bout 2 discards Bob's previous Hidden Abilities for a new one called Dancing Bison.

Franco Bash [link]

Franco Bash (フランコ・バッシュ, Furanko Basshu^?) makes his first appearance in Fatal Fury 3 as one of the five new playable characters introduced in the game and also appears thorough the Real Bout sub-series. He is a retired Super Heavyweight-class kickboxing champion who works as a mechanic in South Town Airport to support his wife Emilia, and their son Junior. In Fatal Fury 3 his son is kidnapped by Yamazaki, who blackmails him into helping him obtain the Secret Scrolls of the Jin. He rescues his son in his ending in Fatal Fury 3 and trains to make his comeback in the Real Bout series. He makes a cameo at the end of KOF 2003 cheering on the Fatal Fury Team.

Hon-Fu [link]

Hon-Fu (ホンフゥ, Hon Fū^?) is introduced in Fatal Fury 3 as one of the new playable characters featured in the game and appears all the games in the Real Bout sub-series. He is a police officer from Hong Kong who specializes in using a nunchaku. His objective thorough Fatal Fury 3 and the Real Bout series is to arrest the escaped convict Ryuji Yamazaki and is aided by Cheng in Fatal Fury 3. He is a close friend of Kim Kaphwan according to his backstory in Fatal Fury 3, as the two have nearly identical desperation attacks, although Hon-Fu was given a new one for Real Bout Fatal Fury 2.

Jin Chonrei [link]

Jin Chonrei (秦崇雷, Japanese: Jin Chonrei, Pinyin: Qín Chóngléi) appears in Fatal Fury 3 as the third and final boss character featured in the game and appears as a regular playable character thorough the Real Bout series. Like his younger brother Chonshu, Chonrei is possessed by the spirit of Jin Kuryu (秦空龍), the elder son of Jin Ōryū and ancestor of Chonrei and Chonshu. In Fatal Fury 3, they head to South Town to seek the Secret Scrolls of the Jin in order to unleash their true power. The scrolls are eventually taken by Geese Howard and in the next game of the series,Real Bout Fatal Fury, the Jin brothers participate in the King of Fighters tournament to recover them. However, the scrolls are destroyed by Chonrei in the Jin Brothers' endings. In Real Bout Fatal Fury 2, Chonrei becomes an apprentice of Tung Fu Rue, as seen in their corresponding ending (although Kim's ending in the game depicts Chonrei training as Kim's disciple along with his brother). Outside the Fatal Fury series, Jin Chonshu and Jin Chonrei have appeared in Neo Geo Battle Coliseum.

In Gamest's 1997 Heroes Collection, Jin was voted as the staff's thirty-ninth favorite character. He shared the spot with four other characters, including Fatal Fury character, Joe Higashi, and Street Fighter character, Zangief.^[2]

Jin Chonshu [link]

Jin Chonshu (秦崇秀, Japanese: Jin Chonshū, Pinyin: Qín Chóngxiù) first appears as the second boss character in Fatal Fury 3 and appears thorough the Real Bout series as a regular playable character. He is the younger half of the Jin brothers seeking the Three Secret Scrolls of the Jin. While he appears like a regular teenage boy, he is actually possessed by the spirit of Jin Kairyu (秦　海龍), who was the younger son of Jin Ōryū (秦王龍), the ancient warlord who wrote the Secret Scrolls of the Jin two thousand years prior to the events of Fatal Fury 3. In Fatal Fury 3, they head to South Town to seek the Secret Scrolls of the Jin in order to unleash their true power. The scrolls are eventually taken by Geese Howard and in the original Real Bout Fatal Fury the Jin brothers participate in the King of Fighters tournament to recover them. However, the scrolls are destroyed by Chonrei in the Jin Brothers' endings. In Real Bout 2, Chonshu then becomes a disciple of Kim Kaphwan, as seen in their corresponding endings. Outside the Fatal Fury series, Jin Chonshu and Jin Chonrei have appeared in Neo Geo Battle Coliseum.

Ryuji Yamazaki [link]

Main article: Ryuji Yamazaki

Sokaku Mochizuki [link]

Sokaku Mochizuki (望月双角, Mochizuki Sōkaku^?) is introduced in Fatal Fury 3 as one of the five new characters featured in the game and appears in all of the games in the Real Bout series. Mochizuki is a Buddhist monk who practices the Authentic Pathless style Martial Arts (正伝無道流武術, Seiden Mudō Ryū Bujutsu^?), a fighting style created to hunt down Shura after its founder lost to the Shiranui style. He is said to has the strongest psychokinetic power in the history of the art's style. In Fatal Fury 3 and the original Real Bout, his objective is to seek the Scrolls of the Jin and destroy them. His Real Bout 2 ending shows him trapping a demon larger than a house within a single paper talisman.

[edit] Introduced in Dominated Mind

Alfred [link]

Alfred (アルフレッド, Arufureddo^?) is the protagonist of the main story mode in Real Bout Garou Densetsu Special: Dominated Mind, a Japan-only PlayStation game based on the original Real Bout Fatal Fury Special. Prior to his debut, he appears in Real Bout Fatal Fury 2: The Newcomers as a secret final boss. When he was young, his friend John (the elderly co-pilot who accompanies Alfred) took him on a trip on his biplane. When John flew to Russian airspace, MiG missiles were sent after him, but he managed to outfly them without getting struck. John became a hero in Alfred's mind, as the man who won against the MiGs, and Alfred was charmed by flying since then. Alfred seeks to defeat White, who took over the hometown where his deceased father is interred. Alfred goes to Southtown to seek Terry Bogard's aid and help him defeat White.

Alfred appears in later games, such as the Dreamcast version of The King of Fighters '99 (as secret striker), in SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters Clash series (as a trading card) and in KOF: Maximum Impact 2 and KOF 2002: Unlimited Match (as a cameo in one of the stages).

White [link]

White (ホワイト, Howaito^?) is the antagonist of Real Bout Garou Densetsu Special, where he serves as Alfred's rival. A demented psycho and all-around disturbed fellow, White finds pleasure in making people suffer and follow his every wish. He uses his mind-controlling abilities to make people his personal toys, manipulating them to his desire. White enjoys playing around with those foolish enough to challenge him, using the great amount of power that he possesses. He appears to be based on the main character, Alexander DeLarge from Anthony Burgess' A Clockwork Orange.

[edit] Introduced in Real Bout Fatal Fury 2

Lao [link]

Lao (ラオ, Rao^?) is a character introduced in Fatal Fury: 1st Contact. He can be seen in the opening scenes of Real Bout Fatal Fury 2 and Fatal Fury First Contact. In Garou: Mark of the Wolves, he becomes a member in B. Jenet's Lillien Knights crew.

Li Xiangfei [link]

Li Xiangfei (Chinese: 李香緋; Pinyin: Lǐ Xiāngfēi; Japanese: 李香緋 Rii Shanfei) makes her first appearance in Real Bout 2. She is a 17-year-old Chinese-American girl who works part-time as waitress in her Uncle Pai's restaurant in the Chinatown district of South Town and has trained in various Chinese martial arts since an early age. She also appears in Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition as a hidden guest character.

Li Xiangfei would later make her debut in The King of Fighters series in The King of Fighters '99, forming part of the Woman Fighters Team along with King, Blue Mary, and Kasumi Todoh.^[3] She was absent in The King of Fighters 2000, but would return in The King of Fighters 2001, taking Kasumi Todoh's place from the previous game.^[4]

Rick Strowd [link]

Rick Strowd (リック・ストラウド, Rikku Sutoraudo^?) is one of the two new characters introduced in Real Bout 2. He is a casino show boxer known as the "White Wolf of the Ring", who is the son of a Native American father and a white mother. He seeks the opportunity to fight in a championship match as well as fight Terry Bogard. Rick's Special Moves are the Shooting Star, the Divine Blast, the Hellion, and the Blazing Sun Burst. He also has a special dodging maneuver called Full Moon Fever. His Super Special is the Gaia's Breath, and his Hidden Ability is the Machine-Gun Wolf. Rick is seen to have a girlfriend, a blonde woman wearing a red dress, name unknown, with whom he rides off into sunset on horseback in his ending. Fans have speculated a probable connection between him and fellow boxer, Vanessa, from SNK's King of Fighters series, as she later began using Rick's Hellion, and had the Gaia's Breath as a DM in King of Fighters 2002.

[edit] Introduced in Wild Ambition

Toji Sakata [link]

Toji Sakata (坂田冬次, Sakata Tōji^?) is one of two characters who appears exclusively in Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition. He is the legendary practitioner of the fighting style Dainan-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu (大南流合気柔術^?, lit. "The Great South Style of Aiki-jūjutsu", modeled the non-fictional Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu). He was once the rival of Tatsumi Suoh (周防辰巳, Suō Tatsumi^?), Blue Mary's grandfather and the man who trained Geese Howard in jujutsu. Believing that he was destined to challenge Tatsumi in a death match, this encounter never occurred since Tatsumi was eventually killed by his former student, Geese Howard. He enters the King of Fighters tournament to defeat the man who killed his rival.^[5]

Tsugumi Sendo [link]

Tsugumi Sendo (千堂つぐみ, Sendō Tsugumi^?) is one of the two new characters exclusive to Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition. She's a high school girl from Osaka who was taught wrestling by her father, Kantetsu (寛鉄^?) since an early age. However, she is secretly ashamed of this, especially after she was told by a boy she had a crush that woman wrestlers are "unfeminine", and wants to drop out of her wrestling training. After butting heads with her overbearing father, Kantetsu will allow her to drop out, but only under the condition that she brings a decisive victory in the King of Fighters tournament. Despite her original hatred for wrestling, she has come to enjoy fighting as she began to win matches.^[6] Some of Tsugumi's move names reference her hometown, like "Tsūtenkaku Driver", "Naniwa ^{[disambiguation needed ]} Lariat", and "Okonomiyaki-Ire".

[edit] Introduced in Mark of the Wolves

File:Garoucharactersraw.jpg

Characters appearing in Garou: Mark of the Wolves

B. Jenet [link]

B. Jenet (B・ジェニー^?) (Bonne Jenet in full, or real name Jennie Behrn) is a character from both Garou: Mark of the Wolves and the King of Fighters series. Jenet is the leader of a group of pirates known as the Lillien Knights. Jenet entered the tournament hosted by Kain R. Heinlein to rob him of anything valuable he might be keeping in his mansion. In her ending, she passes out amidst the destruction of Kain's mansion after defeating him. Her crew saves her from being trapped under the rubble, but fails to secure any of the treasure they had been looking for.

In The King of Fighters Maximum Impact 2, her parents are revealed to be incredibly wealthy; she formed the Lillien Knights when she became bored of her tedious lifestyle. Before the start of the tournament, she attends a party in her otherwise occupied parents' place. While there, the son of the host attempts (and fails quite miserably) to impress her with his paltry skills in Savate. Although Jenet is rather repulsed by his arrogance and embarrassing lack of skill, she learns from him that the King of Fighters tournament is being held once again. After her Lillien Knights knock the man unconscious and rob his father, Jenet decides to join the tournament in hopes of winning the prize money. She is voiced by Rei Saitō in Japanese, and by Gina Rose in the English version of KOF: MI2.

Jenet is very comfortable around men, and her win quotes and prefight and postfight animations express that she doesn't seem very serious about fighting. In The King of Fighters XI, she was in the tournament for monetary gain strictly, and she enters with Tizoc and Gato to form the Fatal Fury/Mark of the Wolves team.

Her fighting style, the LK (Lillien Knights) arts, is similar to savate, a French form of kickboxing. Her moves are mostly made up of attacks by swooping her dress (in moves such as specials "The Hind" and "Crazy Ivan" and Super Special Move "Aurora") and she is able to control the wind (being reflected in her projectile attack "Buffrass" and her Super Special Move "Too Many Torpedoes"). She also, as a Super Special Leader Move in KOF XI, takes off her left shoe and beats her opponent with it. The move is called "An Oi Madamoiselle."

Her appearance consists of a purple dress with a skull and crossbones, red fingerless gloves, a red belt with gold lining, and blonde hair.

Freeman [link]

Main article: Garou: Mark of the Wolves#Characters

Gato [link]

Gato (牙刀, Gatō^?) is a character from Garou: Mark of the Wolves and the King of Fighters series. He has no concerns outside of besting anyone unfortunate enough to cross his path. In his Mark of the Wolves ending,^[7] a stranger saves Kain R. Heinlein from the crumbling mansion. Gato appears to know the stranger, but he is blinded before he can act. As the mansion falls, the stranger taunts Gato, telling him to start training in order to defeat him. Gato appears to have a vision of his past and his father, and angrily swears vengeance - this insinuates that the stranger is connected to Gato's past (the stranger's outfit appears to resemble Gato's), but nothing has been officially confirmed. Gato also appears in the ending of Hotaru Futaba, who claims that he's her older brother and slaps him when he denies even knowing her. He then leaves her there, and Hotaru silently prays for Gato to come back to her and their father.

Gato first appears in the King of Fighters series in King of Fighters 2003 as part of the Outlaw Team, along with Ryuji Yamazaki and Billy Kane. Gato is summoned to Geese Howard's office and forced to cooperate in order to prevent his sister from being harmed. Gato does not like his team mates at all as revealed by the ending, in which Gato ditches the other two immediately and tells them off, leaving Yamazaki and Billy to fight. In KOF XI he is partnered with Bonne Jenet and Tizoc to form a Garou Team. He also immediately leaves them, though on somewhat friendlier terms (he declines their invitation to celebrate) reinforcing Hotaru's description of his true nature. He is voiced by Kōji Ishii (石井康嗣).

Hokutomaru [link]

Main article: Garou: Mark of the Wolves#Characters

Hotaru Futaba [link]

Hotaru Futaba (双葉ほたる, Futaba Hotaru^?) is a character who was introduced in Garou: Mark of the Wolves and also makes an appearance in Neo Geo Battle Coliseum and in the PS2 version of The King of Fighters XI. Hotaru is the daughter of a family of martial artists, but is not very fond of violence. She never wants to hurt others, which is the probable reason why her father taught her the lighter side of Chinese kenpo; the Juu-kei style, which suits her easygoing personality. There are two things that Hotaru appreciates the most after her mother's suicide:^[8] her sable, Itokatsu, and her older brother, Gato. But Gato was a man who was tormented to become an accomplished martial artist, and was pushed too far by their father. Still, Hotaru knows who the real Gato is, and she is sure that he is not such a bad person at heart.

Gato's disappearance led Hotaru to a hostile city located in the United States: Second South Town, where fighting rules all, crime rules the society, and strength dictates who lives and dies. In this harsh place, Hotaru set out to find clues about her brother. She then heard news of a fighting tournament of epic proportions that would soon occur in Second South Town - "King of Fighters: Maximum Mayhem." Hotaru had a feeling that her brother would enter the tournament, as he was always looking for strong opponents to fight. Following her premonitions, Hotaru entered the tournament as well. She is voiced by Yuki Horie (堀江ゆき).

Rock Howard [link]

Main article: Rock Howard

Tizoc [link]

Tizoc, otherwise known as Griffon Mask (グリフォンマスク, Gurifon Masuku^?) or the Griffon in the Japanese version, is a character from both the Fatal Fury and King of Fighters series. He started out in the Fatal Fury game Garou: Mark of the Wolves. By the time of Garou: Mark of The Wolves, Tizoc already sees himself as a washed up has-been and enters the tournament in order to gain his passion into going back into the ring. When the events of King of Fighters 2003 occur, Tizoc is an up and coming superstar in the professional wrestling circuit and joins the Fatal Fury team after being invited by Terry Bogard himself after his brother Andy becomes unavailable since he is teaching a young boy in Shiranui style ninjutsu in Japan (the boy would later grow up to be known as Hokutomaru in Garou). He is voiced by Hikaru Hanada (花田光).

References [link]

^ As seen in the DVD retrospective Garou - Memories of Stray Wolves
^ Gamest, ed. (1997) (in Japanese). Gamest Game Hero Collection 1997; issue 208. Shinseisha. pp. 1.
^ SNK Playmore. "Woman Fighters Team Story in KOF '99". King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website. http://kofaniv.snkplaymore.co.jp/english/history/kof99_story/index.php?num=women. Retrieved February 27, 2008.
^ SNK Playmore. "Woman Fighters Team Story in KOF 2001". King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website. http://kofaniv.snkplaymore.co.jp/english/history/kof2001_story/index.php?num=women. Retrieved February 27, 2008.
^ "Touji Sakata's bio from the official Garou Densetsu Wild Ambition homepage (waybacked)" (in Japanese). http://www.personal.triticom.com/~erm/www.neogeo.co.jp/garou/wild_ambition/chara-select/toji/toji.htm.
^ "Tsugumi Sendo's profile from the official Garou Densetsu Wild Ambition site" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on August 8, 2001. http://web.archive.org/web/20010808100944/http://www.neogeo.co.jp/garou/wild_ambition/chara-select/tsugumi/tsugumi.htm.
^ Rey, Kitsune Sniper. "Ending for 'Garou:Mark of The Wolves-Gato Good Ending(Neo Geo)". The Video Game Museum. http://www.vgmuseum.com/end/neogeo/a/garougato.htm. Retrieved February 27, 2008.
^ SNK, ed. (2001). Garou: Mark of the Wolves instruction manual. SNK. T-44306N.

External links [link]

Fatal Fury Characters - SNK Wiki

v t e Fatal Fury series

Video games	Fatal Fury 2 Special 3 Real Bout Real Bout Special Real Bout 2 Wild Ambition Garou: Mark of the Wolves

Anime	Legend of the Hungry Wolf The New Battle The Motion Picture

Characters	Billy Kane Blue Mary Geese Howard Joe Higashi Kim Kaphwan Mai Shiranui Rock Howard Ryo Sakazaki Ryuji Yamazaki Terry Bogard

Related	Art of Fighting The King of Fighters

v t e The King of Fighters series

Main series	'94 '95 '96 '97 '98 '99 2000 2001 2002 2003 XI XII XIII

Spin-offs	Neowave Maximum Impact Maximum Impact 2

Media	Another Day The King of Fighters (film)

Characters	Ash Crimson Athena Asamiya Billy Kane Blue Mary Clark Still Geese Howard Joe Higashi Iori Yagami K′ Kim Kaphwan Kyo Kusanagi Mai Shiranui Ralf Jones Robert Garcia Rock Howard Rugal Bernstein Ryo Sakazaki Ryuji Yamazaki Terry Bogard Yuri Sakazaki Maximum Impact characters

Related	Fatal Fury Art of Fighting SNK vs. Capcom

List of games

http://wn.com/List_of_Fatal_Fury_characters

This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Fatal_Fury_characters

This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.

Jay Chou

Chou on the red carpet at the MTV Asia Aid, Bangkok, Thailand, 2005

Chinese name

周杰倫 (Traditional)

Chinese name

周杰伦 (Simplified)

Pinyin

Zhōu Jiélún (Mandarin)

Origin

Taiwan

Born

18 January 1979 (age 33)
Linkou, Taipei County, Taiwan

Other name(s)

Director Chou (周董)

Occupation

Singer-songwriter, composer, record producer, rapper, DJ, music video director, film director, music arranger, model, screenwriter, actor

Genre(s)

Pop, rock, R&B, hip pop

Instrument(s)

Vocals, guitar, bass, piano, violin, cello, drums, guzheng, keyboards, pipa, erhu, harmonica

Voice type(s)

tenor

Label(s)

Sony Music Taiwan (2008–present)
JVR Music (2007–present)
Alfa Music (1999–2007)

Years active

2000–present

Parents

Father: Zhou Yaozhong (周耀中)
Mother: Ye Huimei (葉惠美)

Influenced

Nan Quan Mama

Official Website

Jay Chou@JVR Music

Awards

Hong Kong Film Awards
Best New Performer 2006 Initial D Best Original Film Song 2007 "Chrysanthemum Terrace" (Curse of the Golden Flower)
Golden Horse Awards
Best Newcomer 2005 Initial D Outstanding Taiwanese Film of the Year 2007 Secret Best Original Song 2007 "The Secret That Cannot Be Told" (Secret)
Golden Melody Awards
Best Mandarin Album 2001 Jay 2002 Fantasy 2004 Ye Hui Mei 2011 The Era Best Music Video 2009 "Mr. Magic" (Capricorn) Best Song of the Year 2008 "Blue and White Porcelain" (On the Run) 2009 "Fragrant Rice" (Capricorn) Best Composer 2002 "Love Before A.D." (Fantasy)^[1] 2008 "Blue and White Porcelain" (On the Run) Best Producer 2002 Fantasy Best Single Producer 2007 Fearless EP Best Male Mandarin Artist 2009 Capricorn 2011 The Era Best Composer (Instrumental Category) 2008 "Piano Room" (Secret) Best Producer (Instrumental Category) 2008 Secret Original Movie Soundtrack (Secret)
MTV Asia Awards
Favorite Artist, Taiwan 2002, 2005
Other awards
World Music Awards Best-Selling Chinese-Speaking Artist 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008 Shanghai Film Critics Awards 2007 Best Actor (Curse of the Golden Flower)

Jay Chou

Traditional Chinese

周杰倫

Simplified Chinese

周杰伦

Transcriptions
Mandarin
- Hanyu Pinyin	Zhōu Jiélún
- Wade–Giles	Chou Chieh-lun
Min
- Hokkien POJ	Chiu Kia̍t-lûn

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

Jay Chou; (born 18 January 1979)^[2] is a Taiwanese musician, singer-songwriter, music and film producer, actor and director. In 1998 he was discovered in a talent contest where he displayed his piano and song-writing skills. Over the next two years, he was hired to compose for popular Mandarin singers. Although he was trained in classical music, Chou combines Chinese and Western music styles to produce songs that fuse R&B, rock and pop genres. He composes all his own songs, as well as songs for other singers.

In 2000, Chou released his first album, titled Jay, under the record company Alfa Music. Since then he has released one album per year except in 2009, selling several million copies each. His music has gained recognition throughout Asia, most notably in regions such as Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and in overseas Asian communities. He has sold more than 28 million albums worldwide up to 2010.^[3] He debuted his acting career in Initial D (2005), for which he won Best Newcomer Actor in both the Hong Kong Film Awards and the Golden Horse Awards, and was nominated for Best Supporting Actor by Hong Kong Film Awards for his role in Curse of the Golden Flower (2006). He produced the theme song for the film Ocean Heaven starring Jet Li. His career now extends into directing and running his own record company JVR Music.

Career [link]

Jay Chou at the premiere of Secret in Seoul, South Korea, on 10 January 2008.

Jay Chou grew up in Linkou, Taipei County, Taiwan.^[4] Both his parents were secondary school teachers: his mother, Ye Hui Mei (Chinese: 葉惠美; pinyin: Yè Huìměi), taught fine arts, while his father, Zhou Yao Zhong (Chinese: 周耀中; pinyin: Zhōu Yàozhōng), was a biomedical researcher. His mother noticed his sensitivity to music and took him to piano lessons at the age of three.^[4] During his childhood, he was fascinated with capturing sounds and songs with his tape recorder, which he carried everywhere with him. In the third grade, he became interested in music theory and also started cello lessons. He is an only child and loved to play piano, imitate TV actors, and perform magic tricks. His favorite composer was, and still is to this day, Chopin. His parents divorced when he was 13, which caused him to become reclusive and introverted. Although he had friends, he often preferred to be alone, listening to music, contemplating and daydreaming. At Tamkang Senior High School, he majored in piano and minored in cello. He showed talent for improvisation, became fond of pop music and began to write songs.^[5]^[6]

Chou graduated from high school with inadequate grades for university, so he prepared for mandatory military service. However, a sports injury triggered by an unexplainable and severe back pain eventually led to the diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis, a hereditary spine inflammation disease; as a result, he was exempted from conscription.^[7]^[8] Meanwhile, he found himself a job as a waiter. Without his knowing, his friend had entered both their names in a talent show called Super New Talent King. Chou played the piano accompaniment for his friend, whose singing was described as "lousy". Although they did not win, the show's host Jacky Wu—an influential character in Taiwan's entertainment business—happened to glance at Chou's music score and was impressed with its complexity. Wu hired him as a contract composer and paired him with the novice lyricist Vincent Fang.^[6]

Over the next two years he wrote songs for Mandarin pop artists, and also learned recording and sound mixing; his dedication was apparent as he even slept in the music studio. Wu's music studio was later sold to Alfa Music, and the new manager Yang Jun Rong asked him to release his own album. Chou already had an arsenal of songs he wrote for others but had been rejected, so among those he chose 10 for his debut CD Jay that was released in 2000. The album established his reputation as a musically gifted singer-songwriter whose style is a fusion of R&B, rap, classical music, and yet distinctly Chinese. His fame spread quickly in Chinese-speaking regions including countries throughout Southeast Asia.^[9]^[10]^[11] Since 2000, Chou has released one album per year, except the year 2009, each selling several million copies, and has been recognized with hundreds of awards.^[12] In 2003, he was the cover story of Time magazine (Asia version),^[6] acknowledging his influence on popular culture. He has held four world tours, "The One" (2002), "Incomparable" (2004), "Jay Chou The World Tours" (2007–2008) and "The Era" (2010–2011) performing in cities such as Taipei, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Beijing, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Las Vegas, Toronto and Vancouver. Unlike most singers, Chou has an enormous amount of creative control over his music.^[6] He is not only the songwriter but also the producer on all of his albums; since 2005 he is also the music director and also directs his own music videos.

Music [link]

Musical style [link]

	"Chrysanthemum Terrace" (菊花台) noicon An example of Chou using Chinese style music. "Nunchucks" (雙截棍) noicon A combination of Chinese style music and rap.
Problems listening to these files? See media help.

Chou's compositions are loosely categorized as pop music. While many of his works fall into contemporary R&B, rap, and rock genres, the term "Chou Style" (Chinese: 周氏風格; pinyin: zhōu shì fēnggé)^[13]^[14] has been popularized to describe his trademark cross-cultural music and his insistence on singing with slurred enunciation. Taipei Times once described the meaning of "Chou Style": "In what has become the archetypal Chou style, Taiwan's favorite son blends pop, rap, blues and a smorgasbord of esthetic elements of world music to create his dream-like never-never land ..."^[15]

He regularly fuses traditional Chinese instruments and styles with R&B or rock to form a new genre called "Zhongguo feng" (simplified Chinese: 中国风; traditional Chinese: 中國風; pinyin: Zhōngguó fēng), which literally means "Chinese Style Music",^[a] some of which are written in the Pentatonic Scale as opposed to the more common seven-note scale (Diatonic Scale) to accentuate an oriental style. Besides his own culture, he also incorporated Spanish guitar in "Red Imitation" (Chinese: 紅模仿; pinyin: hóng mófǎng), American techno/electronica in "Herbalist's Manual" (Chinese: 本草綱目; pinyin: Běncǎo Gāngmù), rap with subtle classical music undertones in "Reverse Scales" (Chinese: 逆鱗; pinyin: nìlín), Blues style in "Free Tutorial Video" (Chinese: 免費教學錄影帶; pinyin: Mian Fei Jiao Xue Lu Ying Dai) and Bossanova style in "Rosemary" (Chinese: 迷迭香; pinyin: mídiéxiāng), to name a few. Sound effects from everyday life are frequently woven into his music, such as bouncing ping pong balls, touch tone phone dialing, helicopter blades, dripping rain, and radio static noise (concrete music).^[b]

His formal musical training is evident by the use of classical textures in his compositions. For example, counterpoint was used in "Perfection" (Chinese: 完美主義; pinyin: wánměizhǔyì) and "Sorry" (Chinese: 對不起; pinyin: duìbuqǐ), while polyphony can be found in "The Wound That Ends War" (Chinese: 止戰之殤; pinyin: zhǐ zhàn zhī shāng) and "Twilight's Chapter Seven" (Chinese: 夜的第七章; pinyin: yè de dì-qī zhāng).

Chou's albums have been noted for the lack of change compared to his earlier works, yet he firmly stated that he will not alter his style: "They say I've been standing still ... but this is the music I want, and I don't see what I want by moving ahead."^[16] To demonstrate his point, he named his 2006 album Still Fantasy after his 2001 album Fantasy. His use of relaxed enunciation has been criticized as "mumbling"^[17] which he also insisted will not change;^[18] however, recently he has adopted clearer pronunciation for certain songs, particularly more traditional Chinese style songs, such as "Faraway" (Chinese: 千里之外; pinyin: qiānlǐ zhīwài) which features Fei Yu-ching and "Chrysanthemum Terrace" (Chinese: 菊花台; pinyin: júhuā tái).^[19]

Lyrics [link]

Chou is more often a singer-composer than a lyricist. Several "regulars" write the lyrics for most of his music, but the content and style is unified with his own personality and image, covering a diverse range of topics and ideas. Vincent Fang accounts for more than half of the lyrics in his albums, helping to establish an important element in Chou's music: the use of meaningful, imagery- and emotionally rich lyrics, sometimes written in the form of ancient Chinese poetry with reference to Chinese history or folklore.^[c] In addition to writing romantic hits,^[d] he also touches on war, the Bible, sports, and martial arts.^[e] Vivian Hsu is a singer herself and has helped with Chou's earlier hits,^[f] while Huang Jun Lang (Chinese: 黃俊郎; pinyin: Huáng Jùnláng) is noted for his work surrounding unusual themes (such as a detective story and chess game).^[g]

Chou himself has written lyrics for many ballads,^[h] but has also discussed societal ills such as drug addiction in "Coward" (Chinese: 懦夫; pinyin: nuòfū) and loss of the rural countryside to urbanization in "Terrace fields" (Chinese: 梯田; pinyin: tītián). Domestic violence discussed in "Dad, I am back" (Chinese: 爸,我回來了; pinyin: bà, wǒ huílai le) received a great deal of commotion since he was the first to bring up this taboo subject in Sanscript music,^[20] which helped solidify his status as a pioneer and a unique pop singer capable of approaching serious issues. In the songs "Maternal grandmother" (Chinese: 外婆; pinyin: wàipó) and "Listen to Mother" (Chinese: 聽媽媽的話; pinyin: tīng māma de huà), he voiced his high regard for family values. He addressed personal issues about his failure to enter university in "Split" (Chinese: 分裂; pinyin: fēnliè), his resentment towards the paparazzi in "Besieged From All Sides" (Chinese: 四面楚歌; pinyin: sìmiànchǔgē), "Rice Fragrance" (Chinese: 稻香; pinyin: dào xiāng), a song from his 9th album Capricorn encourages people not to give up their dreams even when facing difficulties in life, the sadness of becoming a clown in "Uncle Joker"(Chinese: 喬克叔叔; pinyin: Qiao Ke Shu Shu) and highlighted the importance of individuality in "Popular Imitation" (Chinese: 紅模仿; pinyin: hóng mófǎng).

Collaborations [link]

Chou began as a songwriter for other singers and continued this area of work even after he debuted his own career in singing. He has composed frequently for Jolin Tsai, Landy Wen, and occasionally for other Taiwanese singers such as Coco Lee, S.H.E, Vivian Hsu, Leehom Wang, Will Liu, Valen Hsu, and Hong Kong pop stars Edmond Leung, Gigi Leung, Jordan Chan, Edison Chen, Karen Mok, Leo Ku, Eason Chan, and Joey Yung, as well as a one-time collaboration with Howard Su. He has also written for singers outside of his generation—over one dozen songs for his mentor Jacky Wu, later also for Taiwanese singer Jody Chiang, and Hong Kong singers Jacky Cheung, Andy Lau, Aaron Kwok, and Kenny Bee.^[21]^[22]^[23]^[24]

He initiated the band Nan Quan Mama in 2004, selecting band members and overseeing their album production. The group has been noted for sounding too similar to their mentor;^[25] as a result, Chou has reduced his involvement in the band,^[26] but continues to help increase their exposure to mass audiences by inviting them as guests performers for his own concerts and music videos.^[27]^[28]^[29]^[30]

He has performed live duets with Landy Wen,^[28] Jolin Tsai,^[31] and former girlfriend news anchor Patty Hou,^[32] but only two studio recordings of duets have been formally placed in his own albums: "Coral Sea" (Chinese: 珊瑚海; pinyin: shānhú hǎi) in 2005 with Lara Veronin (of Nan Quan Mama)^[33] and "Faraway" (Chinese: 千里之外; pinyin: qiānlǐ zhīwài) in 2006 features Fei Yu-Ching, who began his career in the 1970s.^[34]

Besides working with singers, Chou's longest-running collaboration is with lyricist Vincent Fang, as they both started their careers in the music field in 1998. The compilation album Partners (Chinese: 拍檔; pinyin: pāi dàng) featured 12 songs, each consisting of Chou's musical and Fang's lyrical compositions.^[35] Fang has written the words to more than 40 of Chou's songs, was the chief editor of Chou's book Grandeur de D Major (Chinese: D調的華麗; pinyin: D diào de huálì), and is now Chou's business partner (together with Chou's manager JR Yang) for the record company JVR Music.^[36]^[37]

Jay Chou was also featured in Cindy Yen's (袁詠琳) song "Sand Painting" (畫沙) released in October 2009.

Jay Chou collaborated with Kobe Bryant on "The Heaven and Earth Challenge"(天地一鬥) in order to "promote youth creativity, as well as an upcoming slam-dunk competition in China." The song was released at a press conference before the NBA All-Star Game on 20 February 2011.^[38]

World tours [link]

Jay Chou's 3D enhanced stage at his Singapore concert in 2010, as part of his The Era World Tour

Jay held his first series of five solo concerts, titled Fantasy Concert (范特西演唱會), with the first stop on 11 January 2001 at Taoyuan Arena, Taiwan. Followed by two shows at the Hong Kong Coliseum, one in Malaysia and ended in Singapore on 10 February 2002. His second concert tour, The One Concert (The One 演唱會) commenced on 28 September 2002 at Taipei Municipal Stadium, followed by 11 stops and ended at Shenzhen Stadium, China on 3 January 2004.

Two more series of world tours followed: Incomparable Concert (無與倫比演唱會) in 2004 and Jay Chou 2007 World Tours (2007世界巡迴演唱會), with stops in cities such as Taipei, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Beijing, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Las Vegas, Toronto and Vancouver. In 2010, to celebrate Jay's 10 year career in the entertainment industry, he embarked on his fifth series of concert tour titled, New Era World Tour (超時代演唱會), with the first stop of three concerts from 11 to 13 June 2010 at Taipei Arena, followed by 24 stops ending in Malaysia on 5 March 2011.

World tours/Live (DVD) album releases

2001 – Fantasy Concert (范特西演唱會)
2002 – The One Concert (The One 演唱會) – Jay Chou The One Concert Live
2004 – Incomparable Concert (無與倫比演唱會) – Incomparable Jay Concert Live
2007 – Jay Chou World Tours (世界巡迴演唱會) – Jay Chou 2007 the World Tours Concert Live
2010 – New Era World Tour (超時代演唱會) – Jay Chou 2010 The Era World Tours Concert Live

Other works [link]

Movie career [link]

Chou formally entered the film industry in 2005 with the release of the movie Initial D (頭文字Ｄ). He has since acted in three other movies, directed one film and more than a dozen music videos. Chou, who once said "I live because of music",^[39] ventured into movies because he felt the need for a new challenge. As fans have grown concerned that movies will compromise his music career, Chou has repeatedly reassured that movies are a source of inspiration and not a distraction; at the same time, he realizes the need to balance both careers and maintain his place in the music field to garner the continued support of fans.^[40]^[41]^[42]^[43]

Acting [link]

Jay Chou at a promotional event for Kung Fu Dunk in January 2008

Entry into acting was an unexpected move for Chou.^[41] His high school English teacher thought he was capable of very few facial expressions,^[6] and the director of Hidden Track (2003, a movie in which Chou had a cameo role) said that his strong individualistic personality will not make him a good actor.^[44] In 2005, Chou's first role as the lead actor in Initial D served two purposes: to launch his acting debut, and to increase his exposure to Japanese audiences.^[45] This film is based on the Japanese comic Initial D, where Chou played Takumi Fujiwara, a gifted touge racer who is quiet and rarely shows expression. Some reviewers criticized his bland acting^[46] while others felt he performed naturally, but only because the character’s personality closely mirrored his own.^[47]^[48] His performance in Initial D won him Best Newcomer Actor in Golden Horse Awards and Hong Kong Film Awards.^[49]^[50] Chou’s second film was Curse of the Golden Flower (2006). As a supporting character, he drew much of the attention of Chinese reporters; Chou’s involvement in this movie was announced in its own press conference,^[51] separate from the meeting held for Chow Yun-fat, Gong Li, and the other actors. Chou portrayed Prince Jai, the ambitious second eldest prince and general of the Imperial army whose personality epitomizes Xiao (孝), the Chinese virtue of filial piety. In this internationally released film, North American audiences saw Chou for the first time. According to Chinese movie critics, comments about his acting ranged from "lacks complexity"^[52] to "acceptable,"^[53]^[54] but was critically praised by Western reviewers.^[55]^[56]^[57]^[58]^[59] His performance in Curse of the Golden Flower was nominated Best Supporting Actor in the Hong Kong Film Awards.^[60] In the 2008 film Kung Fu Dunk, Chou portrayed a kung fu student and dunking prodigy, and the film earned over ¥100 million (US$14.7 million).^[61] Chou portrayed Kato in The Green Hornet, directed by Michel Gondry and released in January 2011, after Hong Kong actor Stephen Chow withdrew from the project; the film grossed over $228 million worldwide.^[62] MTV Networks' NextMovie.com named him one of the 'Breakout Stars to Watch for in 2011'.^[63] In May 2011, Chou started filming for a new movie, The Viral Factor directed by Dante Lam and starred various well known artistes such as Nicholas Tse, Bai Bing and Lin Peng. The movie was released in theatres over Asia on 17 January 2012. With most of the scenes shot in the Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian countries, earlier filming process has been slightly disrupted due to political conflicts in the Middle East. In 2012, Jay Chou announced that he has started the filming process to the sequel of his directorial debut "不能说的秘密" (Secret/A Secret That Cannot Be Told), collaborating with his lifelong friend, 刘畊宏/Will Liu. It has been tentatively being named as "不能说的秘密2" (Secret 2/A Secret That Cannot Be Told 2) and is expected to be released in 2013.

Directing [link]

File:Secret-Bunengshuodemimi.jpg

Promotional poster for Secret featuring Chou as a director for the first time.

Chou acquired his first directing experience in 2004 through music videos. He initially experimented with a song by the group Nan Quan Mama titled "Home" (Chinese: 家; pinyin: jiā) where he was involved throughout the entire process from research to editing. After learning the difficulties of being a director, he refused to direct again even at the request of his record company.^[64] However, his interest resurfaced again as he directed music videos for 4 of the 12 songs in own album November's Chopin in 2005,^[65] and later television advertisements.^[66]^[67] By 2006, he had taken responsibility for the storyboard, directing, and editing of music videos for all his songs.^[40] It is unclear how the public appraises his work, since music videos are rarely the subject of critical review; however, director Zhang Yimou said that Chou's directing abilities may surpass his own in the future, after viewing several of Chou's music videos.^[51]^[68]

In February 2007, Chou finally directed his first movie Secret. The story he wrote is based loosely on his relationship with a high school girlfriend, with a plot focused on music, love, and family.^[69] He stars as the lead actor of the film with Kwai Lun-Mei‎ as the female lead, and Hong Kong veteran actor Anthony Wong as Chou’s father. Despite previous experience in filming music videos, Chou admits that movies are more challenging due to storyline and time constraints.^[69] This movie was released in July 2007.^[70]

In 2005, Jay Chou played the male lead in Initial D, and according to reports, he will be back to direct the sequel, while Andrew Lau, who was a co-director of the first Initial D, will take on the role of the producer.^[71]

[edit] Book: Grandeur de D Major

Chou published his first book titled Grandeur de D Major (simplified Chinese: D调的华丽; traditional Chinese: D調的華麗; pinyin: D diào de huálì) on 25 November 2004.^[k] This 200-page book features a prologue written by his family, friends, and co-workers; the main section is a compilation of his personal attitudes, philosophies, and recollections of childhood experiences along with pictures from his music videos, many of which have never been released; and lastly, a list of the artist's major awards, musical and lyrical compositions, and discography. For the usually low-profile singer, this book revealed his personality and convictions that has served as the basis of his musical and public image. He demonstrated a strong appreciation of family values with an especially deep connection with his mother and maternal grandmother. His confidence and dedication towards music is evident as he dedicated 2 out of 7 chapters to music: the current state of the industry, his composition methodology, and the importance of individualism to his success in music. This pride is contrasted against his modesty and self-assessed naivety about many aspects in life, particularly regarding relationships and marriage.

Endorsements [link]

Chou has been a spokesperson for popular brands such as Pepsi (2002–2007), Panasonic (2001–2005), Motorola (since 2006), M-Zone/China Mobile (since 2003), Levi's (2004–2005), Deerhui (sporting goods, since 2003), Metersbonwe Group (casual wear, since 2003), Colgate (2004–2005), popular computer game Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos (2002), and science and nature magazine National Geographic (2005).^[72]^[73] To maximize the celebrity branding effect, advertisements are nearly always linked to his music and TV commercials are occasionally directed by him.^[66]^[67] He acted as the tourism ambassador for Malaysia in 2003.^[74]^[75] In April 2008, Jay signed with Sprite and collaborated with artistes such as Angela Chang and JJ Lin in commercials. He also did a Sprite commercial with Kobe Bryant and specially wrote a song named "天地一斗 (Battle of the Incomparable)" featuring Kobe Bryant for the commercial. In June 2011, Jay expanded his area of endorsement into the field of technology, becoming the designer and spokesperson of the "N43SL Jay Chou Edition" laptop of ASUS Computers. The laptop is most notable for its lid design, sound system, start-up and shut-down tones, and a unique 'J' font for its key. All of which, except for the sound system, are designed and composed by Jay himself.

Accolades [link]

Further information: List of awards and nominations received by Jay Chou

From the launch of his music career in 2000, Jay Chou has won more than 350 singer, singer-songwriter, and producer awards in Asia.^[12] The highly coveted Golden Melody Awards in Taiwan^[j] awarded "Best Album" for his debut CD Jay (2000) in 2001, and five awards (including "Best Album", "Best Composer", and "Best Producer") in the following year for the album Fantasy (2001). However, failure to win "Best Album" for three consecutive years has left him disheartened with award ceremonies. Although he continues to win more than 20 awards per year from various organizations in Asia, Chou has stated he will rely more on album sales as an indicator of his music's quality and popularity.^[76] In 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008, he was awarded Best-Selling Artist in Taiwan by World Music Awards for the albums Common Jasmin Orange, Still Fantasy and On the Run.^[77]

Media and public relations [link]

Public image [link]

Chou's 2007 tour outfit exhibited at the Hard Rock Cafe 40th anniversary tour in Seattle, 2011

Despite living under continual media scrutiny, Chou's public image has changed little over the years as he emphasizes individuality as his "personal philosophy".^[6]^[78] In his music, this is also evident as he fuses Chinese and Western styles and explores topics unconventional for a pop singer, which have been described as "authentic" and "revolutionary".^[6]^[10]^[11] The media describes a hard-working^[79] perfectionist^[6] with clear self-direction^[80] who is occasionally regarded as competitive^[81] and a "control freak".^[6] There is a misunderstanding about his nickname "Chairman Chou" (Chinese: 周董; pinyin: Zhōu dǒng), used by both the press and fans to underscore his domineering personality and impact on Asian music,^[82] but also points at his musical talent.^[20]^[79] Yet the origin of this nickname emerges from his fever of collecting antiques as the word "董" comes from "antique" in Chinese (古董). Outside of music, Chou is reported as shy, quiet,^[80]^[83] modest, and views filial piety as "the most important thing".^[84] In-line with his aim to present a positive image,^[16] he is a non-smoker, non-drinker, and does not go to nightclubs.^[85] Government officials and educators in Asia have awarded him for his exemplary behaviour,^[86] designated him a spokesperson in the youth-empowerment project "Young Voice" in 2005 and an anti-depression campaign in 2007,^[87]^[88] His lyrics for two songs^[i] has been incorporated into the school syllabus to inspire motivational and filial attitudes.^[89]^[90]^[91]^[92] In November 2007, Chou was criticized for attending the funeral of Taiwanese gang leader Chen Chi-li to console Chen's son Baron Chen, whom Chou met while filming Kung Fu Dunk.^[93]^[94]^[95] In 2011 Chou performed on the New Year's Gala program on China's Central Television.^[96]

Response to the news media and paparazzi [link]

As with other stars, Chou has expressed a strong dislike of the paparazzi. In the early years of his career, unwanted attention by the media was usually dealt with by avoidance. In-line with his quiet nature, he frequently wore baseball caps and hoods while lowering his head and evading eye contact during interviews.^[83] In recent years however, he has been less passive about the invasion of his privacy. To discourage the paparazzi from taking unsolicited pictures, Chou is known to photograph the paparazzi that follow him.^[97] He openly calls the paparazzi "dogs" and tabloids "dog magazines", as shown in his lyrics for "Besieged From All Sides" (Chinese: 四面楚歌; pinyin: sìmiànchǔgē). The media have also accused Chou of evading compulsory military service^[98] by feigning to suffer from ankylosing spondylitis. Later that year he was acquitted after providing the relevant medical records and letters from the army confirming a lawful exemption from draft dated before the start of his music career.^[99]

Despite constant harassment and stalking by the media, he does acknowledge that not all media attention is unwelcome.^[100] Coverage by international journals and news agencies such as Time,^[6] The Guardian,^[101] and Reuters^[78] help ascertain his influence on mainstream culture. An editorial written by Kerry Brown of Chatham House named Chou as one of the 50 most influential figures in China, one of only three singers on a list dominated by politicians and corporate owners.^[102] At the end of 2009, he was included on JWT's annual list of 100 Things to Watch in 2010.^[103]

Fanbase [link]

Chou's wax statue at Madame Tussauds Hong Kong

It is difficult to estimate the size and global spread of Chou's fanbase. Jay's fanbase originated from Taiwan, his country, and grew extensively to other mandarin-speaking nations. The Chinese-speaking populations of Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Malaysia and China make up a significant percentage of Chou's fans. Despite rampant piracy issues in this region of Asia, particularly in China, every album Chou has released so far has surpassed 2 million sales. According to Baidu, the most popular internet search engine in China, Chou is the number one searched male artist in 2002, 05, 06 and 07.^[104]^[105]^[106]^[107]

In Hong Kong, he has been the best-selling Mandarin speaking artist for the past 4 years.^[108] According to a 2004 survey in five Chinese urban centers for children ages 9 to 14, 1 in 6 named Chou as their favorite idol;^[109] he was also reported as the favorite singer of youths aged 8 to 25 in a study conducted in seven Asian countries (2006).^[110] He has a solid fanbase throughout Southeast Asia, including Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam.^[110] In Singapore, Chou was the second most searched celebrity behind Britney Spears in the music category.^[111]

Currently, Chou remains largely unknown outside of Asia, except in cities with large Chinese speaking immigrant populations such as Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver, Toronto, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane. He has held concerts in major venues such as the Acer Arena (Sydney – 3 July 2009), HP Pavilion at San Jose (San Jose – 31 December 2010), Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena (Los Angeles – 8 January 2011), MGM Grand (Las Vegas—25 December 2002), Rogers Arena (Vancouver – 23 December 2010),^[6] Shrine Auditorium (Los Angeles—18 December 2004),^[112] Galen Center (Los Angeles—24 December 2007) and the Air Canada Centre (Toronto – 18 December 2008). His intention to increase his prominence in the Western world beyond Chinese audiences is clear. In 2006, Chou composed and sang the theme song for Fearless, a movie released in major theatres in most English-speaking countries,^[113] though the impact to his fame has been minimal. His role in Curse of the Golden Flower (limited release) marks his acting debut in North America. Despite having a supporting but important role in the story's plot, the North American version of the official posters only featured a view of his back, greatly contrasting the Asian versions where his face and name were clear and placed between the leading actor and actress. Although Chou is still far from being well known to English audiences, this movie has brought him international exposure. Chou gained further exposure to western audiences in his starring role as crimefighter Kato in January 2011's The Green Hornet.

Chou has won the Favorite Male Artist of the 20th Golden Melody Awards in Taiwan. He did not attend the event to collect the award because he was on tour in China at the time.

Discography [link]

Main article: Jay Chou discography

Jay (2000)
Fantasy (2001)
Eight Dimensions (2002)
Ye Hui Mei (2003)
Common Jasmin Orange (2004)
November's Chopin (2005)
Still Fantasy (2006)
On the Run (2007)
Capricorn (2008)
The Era (2010)
Exclamation Mark (2011)

Filmography [link]

Chou at the 2007 Shanghai Film Festival

Films [link]

Year	Title	Chinese Title	Role
2003	Hidden Track	尋找周杰倫	Himself
2005	Initial D	頭文字D	Takumi Fujiwara
2006	Curse of the Golden Flower	滿城盡帶黃金甲	Prince Jai – Yuan Jie
2007	Secret	不能說的秘密	Jay – Ye Xiang Lun – 葉湘倫 Director Producer Original story author
2008	Kung Fu Dunk	功夫灌籃	Fang Shi Jie – Fong Sai Kit – 方世杰
2009	The Treasure Hunter	刺陵	Qiao Fei^[114]
2010	True Legend	蘇乞兒	God of Wushu / Drunken God
2011	The Green Hornet	青蜂俠	Kato (First Hollywood Film)
2012	The Viral Factor	逆戰	Jon Wan
	Initial D 2^[115]	頭文字D2	Takumi Fujiwara Director
	Secret 2^[116]	不能說的秘密2	Jay – Ye Xiang Lun – 葉湘倫 Director
	Rooftop^[117]	天台	Actor Director Writer

Television series [link]

Year	Title	Chinese Title	Role
2010	Pandamen	熊貓人	Detective Leo Lee^[118] Director
2010	Mr.J Channel	MR.J頻道	Himself – Host^[119]

Notes [link]

a.^{^} Examples of Chou's Chinese style R&B: "East Wind Breaks" (東風破), "Hair Like Snow" (髮如雪), "Faraway" (千里之外). Examples of Chinese style rock: "Nunchucks" (雙截棍), "Dragon Fist" (龍拳), "Golden Armor" (黃金甲).
b.^{^} Examples of sound effects used in Chou's music: ping pong balls in "Class2 Grade3" (三年二班), touch-tone phone dialing in "Blue Storm" (藍色風暴), helicopter blades in "My Territory" (我的地盤), dripping rain in "You Can Hear" (妳聽得到), and radio static noise in "Nocturne" (夜曲).
c.^{^} Examples of Oriental-style lyrics by Vincent Fang: "Shanghai 1943" (上海一九四三), "Wife" (娘子), and "Chrysanthemum Flower Platform" (菊花台).
d.^{^} Examples of romantic lyrics by Vincent Fang: "Love Before Anno Domini" (愛在西元前), "Nocturne" (夜曲), "Common Jasmin Orange" (七里香), and "Perfectionist" (完美主義) .
e.^{^} Vincent Fang's lyrics discuss war in "The Last Campaign" (最後的戰役) and "Wounds That End War" (止戰之殤), the Bible in "Blue Storm" (藍色風暴), sports in "Bullfight" (鬥牛) and "Class2 Grade3" (三年二班), and martial arts in "Nunchucks" (雙截棍) and "Ninja" (忍者).
f.^{^} Examples of Vivian Hsu's work: "Adorable Woman" (可愛女人), "Tornado" (龍捲風), and "Simple Love" (簡單愛).
g.^{^} Unusual themes of Huan Jun Lang's lyrics: detective story in "Twilight's Chapter Seven" (夜的第七章), a chess game in "Checkmate" (將軍).
h.^{^} Examples of romantic lyrics by Jay Chou: "Black Humor" (黑色幽默), "Silence" (安靜), "Iron Box Of An Island" (半島鐵盒), "Fine Day" (晴天), "Excuse" (藉口), "Black Sweater" (黑色毛衣), and "White Windmills" (白色風車).
i.^{^} "Snail" (蝸牛) and "Listen To Mother's Words" (聽媽媽的話)
j.^{^} Golden Melody Awards: "…the Chinese pop music industry's equivalent of the Grammy Awards in the US are held annually to award professionals making music in Mandarin, Taiwanese, Hakka and any of Taiwan's Aboriginal languages."^[120]
k.^{^} A similar book was published in Japanese, titled Grandeur de D major—Jay Chou Photo Essay (ISBN 4-901873-50-4).

References [link]

^ Invalid language code. Government Information Office (Taiwan) Winners of the 13th Golden Melody Awards. 28 April 2004. Retrieved 11 December 2007.
^ Invalid language code. JVR Music Jay Chou's profile Retrieved 2011-05-17
^ "周杰倫十年專輯總銷量共28746167張!!" (in kínai). YouTube (television coverage). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihzNPSqGEuA. Retrieved 2010-09-06.
^ ^a ^b "Jay Chou: Asia's reluctant superstar". CNN. 2008-09-08. http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/09/03/ta.jaychou/index.html#cnnSTCText. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
^ Invalid language code. Chou, Jay (2004-11-01). Grandeur de D Major. China: Hua Ren Ban Tu. pp. 8, 12. ISBN 957-29371-4-6.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k Drake, Kate (2003-03-03). "Cool Jay". Time (Asia). http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,425958,00.html. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ Invalid language code. "Jay Chou discusses the wonder of life in illness 二度造访心情电视周杰伦谈病痛中的精彩人生" (News article). sina.com.cn. 2003-04-28. http://ent.sina.com.cn/s/h/2003-04-28/2225147402.html. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ Invalid language code. "Jacky Wu: Jay Chou takes 12 painkillers 吴宗宪：周杰伦一度服12颗止痛药" (News article). zaobao.com. 2006-02-25. http://stars.zaobao.com/pages3/zhoujielun060225.html. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ Invalid language code. "King of the new generation 周杰伦：新声代之王". sina.com.cn. 2007-01-08. http://ent.sina.com.cn/s/2007-01-08/23381402205.html. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ ^a ^b Chung, Oscar (2005-01-10). "The Stars of East Asia Rising". Government Information Office, Taiwan(ROC). http://taiwanreview.nat.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=1131&CtNode=128. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ ^a ^b "Jay—A Revolutionary Musician". china.org.cn. 2005-11-04. http://www.china.org.cn/english/NM-e/147512.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ ^a ^b "Detailed award list (external link) by Jay Chou Studio". Jaychoustudio.com. http://www.jaychoustudio.com/jay-chou-awards.php. Retrieved 2011-02-21.
^ Invalid language code. ""Still Fantasy" Two million albums sold recognized for Jay Chou 《依然范特西》两百万销量力证周董". ccwb.net. 2006-10-11. Archived from the original on 5 May 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070505141311/http://newsserver.ccwb.net/html1/2006/10/11/f110918.shtml. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ Invalid language code. "Jay Chou Still "Fantasy"/How much longer will he dream on? 周杰伦依然"范特西" 周董还会梦幻多久". East Day. 2006-09-05. http://finance.eastday.com/eastday/enjoy/node58771/node58900/node58903/node143675/u1a2299177.html. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ Phipps, Gavin (2004-08-29). "CD Reviews". The Taipei Times. http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2004/08/29/2003200785. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ ^a ^b "Taiwan's performing artists feed Asia's appetite for pop". Taipei City Government. 2004-11-15. http://english.taipei.gov.tw/TCG/index.jsp?recordid=2746. Retrieved 2007-06-02. ^{[dead link]}
^ Invalid language code. "Jay Chou does not pronounce clearly, resulting in a request for a clearer version of "Dragon Fist" 周杰伦咬字不清被退货《龙拳》要出清晰版". People's Daily. 2003-12-26. http://www.people.com.cn/GB/yule/1080/2266274.html. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ Invalid language code. "Vincent Fang discusses music/ Revealed that Jay Chou intentionally enunciates poorly 方文山畅聊音乐透露周杰伦唱歌故意咬字不清". music.tom.com. 2007-03-15. http://music.ent.tom.com/2007-03-15/0009/10022879.html. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ Invalid language code. "Jay Chou interview/ Being a director gives a greater sense of personal achievement than music 周杰伦接受专访全交代称做导演比音乐有成就感". cnnb.com.cn. 2006-09-20. http://news.cnnb.com.cn/system/2006/09/20/005181809.shtml. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ ^a ^b "Aiyo, Aiyo, Jay Chow 唉唷，唉唷，周杰倫". chinatimes.com, Mass-age. 2007-02-28. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070927011210/http://www.mass-age.com/audio_article.php?id=1230. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ Invalid language code. Chou, Jay (2004-11-01) (Book). Grandeur de D Major. China: Hua Ren Ban Tu. pp. 204–211. ISBN 957-29371-4-6.
^ Invalid language code. "Kenny Bee prepares new album/ Jay Chou writes "A Ghost's Love Poem" 钟镇涛筹备新专辑周杰伦献曲《魔鬼的情诗》". tom.com. 2006-12-11. http://music.ent.tom.com/2006-12-11/0009/11506235.html. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ Invalid language code. "梁咏琪谈感情心情愉快声称要感谢周杰伦". ent.qq.com. 2007-01-08. http://ent.qq.com/a/20070108/000064.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ Invalid language code. "Jay Chou and Vincent Fang writes song for Joey Yung/King and queen collaborate for the first time 周杰伦方文山为容祖儿写歌天王天后首度合作". Eastday. 2007-05-17. http://enjoy.eastday.com/eastday/enjoy1/e/20070517/u1a2838709.html. Retrieved 2007-06-28.
^ Invalid language code. "南拳媽媽：一個周杰倫和四個小周杰倫的夏天". People's Daily. 2004-05-31. http://www.people.com.cn/BIG5/yule/1085/2535103.html. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ Invalid language code. "南拳妈妈"驱逐"周杰伦新专辑体现自己风格". sina.com.cn. 2006-08-03. http://ent.sina.com.cn/y/2006-08-03/14141185014.html. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ Invalid language code. ""Jay Chou and Friends" April concert in Chongqing Olympic Sports Centre "周杰伦和他的朋友们"四月唱响重庆奥体". sina.com.cn. 2007-03-05. http://ent.sina.com.cn/y/2007-03-05/08041466653.html. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ ^a ^b Jay 2004 Incomparable Live DVD. In Jay 2004 Incomparable Live DVD無與倫比演唱會 [DVD liner notes] (2004). Taipei, Taiwan [R.O.C.]: Alfa Music International Co., Ltd.
^ Maltose Candy 麥芽糖. In Huo Yuan Jia 霍元甲 [DVD liner notes] (2006). Taipei, Taiwan [R.O.C.]: Alfa Music International Co., Ltd.
^ Twilight’s Chapter Seven 夜的第七章. In Golden Armor 黃金甲 [DVD liner notes] (2006). Taipei, Taiwan [R.O.C.]: Alfa Music International Co., Ltd.
^ Invalid language code. "Beautiful Jolin Tsai/ Jay Chou and his father attends concert 美豔蔡依林周董父子搶著看". Epoch Times. 2004-11-21. http://www.epochtimes.com/b5/4/11/21/n724016.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ Invalid language code. "Patty Hou versus Jolin Tsai/ Who makes Jay Chou happier 侯佩岑Vs蔡依林誰更能討得"周董"歡心". People's Daily. 2005-02-23. http://ent.people.com.cn/BIG5/1082/3197295.html. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ Coral Sea 珊瑚海. In November's Chopin 十一月的蕭邦 [CD liner notes] (2005). Taipei, Taiwan [R.O.C.]: Alfa Music International Co., Ltd.
^ Faraway 千里之外. In Still Fantasy 依然范特西 [CD liner notes] (2006). Taipei, Taiwan [R.O.C.]: Alfa Music International Co., Ltd.
^ Partners. In Partners 拍檔 [CD liner notes] (2002). Taipei, Taiwan [R.O.C.]: Alfa Music International Co., Ltd.
^ Invalid language code."Jay Chou is certain of his direction/ Establishes his entertainment kingdom 周杰倫動向確定欲打造娛樂全方位王國". epochtimes.com. 2007-04-04. http://www.epochtimes.com/b5/7/4/4/n1668409.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ Invalid language code. "Lyrics-music partners (part 1) Jay Chou Vincent Fang 詞曲黃金拍檔（上）周杰倫方文山寫出創作4部曲". showbiz.chinatimes.com. 2006-09-27. http://showbiz.chinatimes.com/Chinatimes/ExteriorContent/Showbiz/Showbiz-Page/0,4434,content+110511-5+112006092700316,00.html. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ "Jay Chou and Kobe Bryant's musical collaboration". Asia Pacific Arts. 2011-02-22. http://asiapacificarts.usc.edu/article@apa?jay_chou_and_kobe_bryants_musical_collaboration_16421.aspx.
^ Invalid language code. Chou, Jay (December 2004). Grandeur de D Major. Hua Ren Ban Tu. p. 109. ISBN 957-29371-4-6.
^ ^a ^b Invalid language code. "Jay Chou on the director's road周杰倫攻陷導演路". Mingpao. 2007-01-07. http://ol.mingpao.com/cfm/star5.cfm?File=20070107/saa01/mak1.txt. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ ^a ^b Invalid language code. "Plans to slowly distance from movies and "other occupations"/ Jay Chou will return to music 規划逐漸遠离電影等"副業" 周杰倫要回歸音樂". 時代商報/Sohu. 2007-03-29. http://music.yule.sohu.com/20070329/n249054788.shtml. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ Invalid language code. "Jay Chou: the joy in filming cannot be found in music anymore 周杰倫:拍電影的興奮感在做音樂時已經找不回來". Epoch Times. 2006-04-10. http://www.epochtimes.com/b5/6/4/10/n1282561.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ Invalid language code. "The invincible Jay Chou: it's good to be number one 無可匹敵周杰倫：保持第一的感覺非常好". ent.tom.com. 2006-12-14. http://ent.tom.com/2006-12-14/0016/32559464.html. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ Invalid language code. "Director Lin Ai Wah: Jay Chou's individual style is too strong/ Not a good actor导演林爱华：周杰伦个人风格太强烈不是好演员". ent.anhuinews.com. 2003-11-25. http://entertainment.anhuinews.com/system/2003/11/25/000499960.shtml. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ "Jay Chou promotes film "Initial D" in Japan". People's Daily. 2005-08-29. http://english.people.com.cn/200508/29/eng20050829_205006.html. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ Elley, Derek (2005-07-28). "Initial D". Variety. http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117927786.html?categoryid=31&cs=1. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ Chyn, Stina (2005-09-21). "Initial D". Film Threat. http://www.filmthreat.com/index.php?section=reviews&Id=7999. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ "Initial D [2005"]. Beyond Hollywood. 2005-07-06. http://www.beyondhollywood.com/reviews/initiald.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ "Jay Chou impresses Zhang Yimou". China Daily. 2006-03-22. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2006-03/22/content_549757.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ "25th Hong Kong Film Awards Unveiled". crienglish.com. 2006-04-08. http://english.cri.cn/349/2006/04/08/44@74829.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ ^a ^b Invalid language code. "Zhang Yimou compliments the directing potential of Jay Chou: will surpass me in the future 张艺谋赞周杰伦有导演潜质：将来会超过我". sina.com.cn. 2006-03-22. http://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/2006-03-22/15101023787.html. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ Invalid language code. "滿城盡帶黃金甲　". KingNet. 2006-12-22. http://movie.kingnet.com.tw/movie_critic/index.html?r=5855&c=BA0001. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ Invalid language code. "《满城尽带黄金甲》：金玉其外，败絮其中". thebeijingnews.com. 2006-12-16. http://ent.thebeijingnews.com/0615/2006/12-16/018@065540.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ Invalid language code. "《满城尽带黄金甲》：没什么可说的" (Movie review). sina.com.cn. 2006-12-15. http://ent.sina.com.cn/r/m/2006-12-15/10031371284.html. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ Molayeme, Ester (2006-12-04). "Film Review: CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER". IndependentFilm.com. http://www.independentfilm.com/films/curse-of-the-golden-flower-china-2007-oscar.shtml. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ Berardinelli, James (2006-12-22). "Curse of the Golden Flower". Reelviews. http://www.reelviews.net/movies/c/curse_golden.html. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ Wilmington, Michael (2006-12-22). "Movie review: 'Curse of the Golden Flower'". metromix.com. Archived from the original on 6 November 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20071106164141/http://metromix.chicagotribune.com/movies/mmx-061222-movies-review-flower,0,1606473.story?coll=mmx-movies_top_heds. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ Hilbrenner, Jill (2006-12-22). "Curse of the Golden Flower". LondonNet. Archived from the original on 23 May 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070523053244/http://www.londonnet.co.uk/films/curseofthegoldenflower.html. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ Hall, Phil (2006-12-22). "Curse of the Golden Flower". Film Threat. http://www.filmthreat.com/index.php?section=reviews&Id=9494. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ Invalid language code. "Exclusive: 26th annual Hong Kong Film Awards nominee list 独家：第26届香港电影金像奖完全提名名单揭晓". sina.com.cn. 2007-02-01. http://ent.sina.com.cn/m/2007-02-01/15291435403.html. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ Landreth, Jonathan (28 September 2009). "China gets LeBron James' 'Game'". Hollywood Reporter. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/china-lebron-james-game-89340. Retrieved 22 October 2009. (Subscription required)
^ Wallace, Lewis (7 August 2009). "Green Hornet Gets Its Kato: Asian Pop Star Jay Chou". Wired. http://www.wired.com/underwire/2009/08/green-hornet-gets-its-kato-asian-pop-star-jay-chou/. Retrieved 22 October 2009.
^ Evry, Max (5 January 2011). "25 Breakout Stars to Watch for in 2011". Next Movie. http://www.nextmovie.com/blog/breakout-movie-stars-of-2011/. Retrieved 11 April 2011.
^ Invalid language code. Chou, Jay (December 2004). Grandeur de D Major. Hua Ren Ban Tu. p. 106. ISBN 957-29371-4-6.
^ Huo Yuan Chia. In Huo Yuan Chia 霍元甲 [DVD liner notes] (2006). Taipei, Taiwan [R.O.C.]: Alfa Music International Co., Ltd.
^ ^a ^b "Jay Chou ready to direct again". youth.cn. 2006-05-10. http://www.cycnet.com/cms/2004/cycenglish/culture/200605/t20060510_322293.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ ^a ^b Invalid language code. "Jay Chou gives advice for eye health 周杰伦闪亮护眼心得大揭密四招全搞定". sina.com.cn. 2007-03-20. http://ent.sina.com.cn/s/h/2007-03-20/13221485683.html. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ "Jay Chou impresses Zhang Yimou". Xinhua. 2006-03-22. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2006-03/22/content_549757.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ ^a ^b Invalid language code. "Jay Chou directs for the first time/ "The Secret That Cannot Be Told" filmed in his high school 周杰伦首次执导《不能说的秘密》回母校取景". sina.com.cn. 2007-02-23. http://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/2007-02-23/14311456743.html. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ "Singer Jay Chou's directorial debut to be released in late July". Associated Press. 2007-06-08. http://english.sina.com/taiwan_hk/p/1/2007/0608/114507.html. Retrieved 2007-06-28.
^ "Initial D 2, starring Jay Chou and Edison Chen, is coming soon". Asiapacificarts.usc.edu. 2010-10-31. http://asiapacificarts.usc.edu/article@apa?initial_d_2_starring_jay_chou_and_edison_chen_is_coming_soon_16007.aspx/. Retrieved 2011-02-21.
^ Invalid language code. "Asia king Jay Chou is the spokesperson for National Geographic 亞洲天王周杰倫代言國家地理風雲榜". epochtimes.com. 2005-11-03. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. http://web.archive.org/web/20070929155250/http://www.epochtimes.com/b5/5/11/3/n1107017.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ Invalid language code. "National Geographic and Jay Chou's music, classics are worth considering! (...) 國家地理頻道和周杰倫的音樂，經典值得考驗！亞洲天王周董自我詮釋代言國家地理風雲榜超屌" (News article). National Geographic (Taiwan). 2005-11-04. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070928071206/http://www.ngc.com.tw/press/2005cot.asp?id=24. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ "Now to woo back tourists". Straits Times (Singapore). 2003-06-04.
^ Invalid language code. "Endorsements (under Profile)". jay2u.com. http://www.jay2u.com/profiles/?indiID=4. Retrieved 2006-03-30.
^ "For every album I hope to improve from my last, sell more than my last, ... better sales means more people like the music..."Invalid language code. Chou, Jay (December 2004). Grandeur de D Major. Hua Ren Ban Tu. p. 113. ISBN 957-29371-4-6.
^ "Jay Chou bags hat-trick of World Music Awards". Channel NewsAsia. 2008-11-12. http://jay-chou.net/forums/showthread.php?t=279522. Retrieved 2008-11-12.
^ ^a ^b "Taiwan singer Jay Chou looks East to crack the West" (News article (PDF file)). Reuters/Epoch Times. 2005-06-27. http://www.daikynguyen.com/eet/print_archive/canada/toronto/2005/06-Jun/30/B_6.pdf. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ ^a ^b "Jay Chou Encourages Young Hopefuls". china.org.cn. 2004-06-14. http://www.china.org.cn/english/culture/98200.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ ^a ^b "Mandarin R&B Singer Hits It Big". china.org.cn/China Daily. 2003-09-09. http://www.china.org.cn/english/Life/74631.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ The Ice King Thaws. V Mag (Malaysia). 2004-12-28. "I love competing with myself because I feel that this will force me to improve as a singer. For one, I would definitely love to win more awards"
^ Taylor, Chris (2004-01-05). "An Industry on the Edge". Taiwan Review. http://taiwanreview.nat.gov.tw/fp.asp?xItem=960&CtNode=128. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ ^a ^b Woodworth, Max (2004-10-01). "All Hail Jay". The Taipei Times. http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2004/10/01/2003205140. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ "Jay Chou says he's still a mommy's boy". Associated Press/China Daily. 2006-02-13. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2006-02/13/content_519707.htm.
^ Chou, Jay (2004-11-01) (in Chinese). Grandeur de D Major. China: Hua Ren Ban Tu. p. 10. ISBN 957-29371-4-6.
^ "Emulate Singer Jay Chou". New Straits Times. 2005-01-28.
^ Invalid language code. "Jay Chou is the spokesperson for Young Voice/ Encourages youths to express their opinions 周杰伦代言青少年网鼓励青少年发表观点". ent.163.com. 2005-10-08. http://ent.163.com/05/1008/13/1VHULA6Q00031H2G.html. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ Invalid language code. "周杰伦拍公益广告呼吁帮助忧郁症患者周杰伦担任公益活动代言人" (News article). ent.sina.com.cn. 2007-07-06. http://ent.sina.com.cn/s/m/p/2007-07-06/00411626792.shtml. Retrieved 2007-11-12.
^ Xu, Xiaomin (2005-03-24). "Echos of ancient sacrifice". Shanghai Star. http://app1.chinadaily.com.cn/star/2005/0324/cu14-1.html. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ "Pop songs approved for classes". ShanghaiDaily/Eastday. 2005-03-16. http://english.eastday.com/eastday/englishedition/metro/userobject1ai939208.html. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ Invalid language code. "The Jay Chou effect again "Listen to your mother" used by primary school teacher 周董新歌「聽媽媽的話」，成小一生教材". ETtoday. 2006-11-04. Archived from the original on 2007-05-10. http://web.archive.org/web/20070510150839/http://www.ettoday.com/2006/11/04/340-2011336.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ "Jay Chou's Song Used as Teaching Materials". china.org.cn. 2006-11-03. http://www.china.org.cn/english/entertainment/188176.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ "Editorial: Gangsters, gangsters everywhere". The Taipei Times. 2007-11-09. http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2007/11/09/2003386966. Retrieved 2007-11-12.
^ "陳啟禮告別式周董獻唱致意? (Will Mr. Chou sing his respects at Chen Chi-li's funeral?)" (in Chinese). Sina News. 2007-10-16. Archived from the original on 19 October 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20071019051214/http://news.sina.com.tw/society/ftv/tw/2007-10-16/191512730645.shtml. Retrieved 2007-11-12.
^ "周杰倫弔陳啟禮慰陳楚河喪父痛 (Jay Chou mourns Chen Chi-li, consoles Chen Chuhe on the loss of his father)" (in Chinese). PChome Magazine (TVBS). 2007-10-31. http://news.pchome.com.tw/entertainment/tvbs/20071031/index-20071031175659394416.html. Retrieved 2007-11-12.
^ CCTV New Year's Gala Liveblog, shanghaiist, 2 February 2011
^ Invalid language code. "Jay Chou and the paparazzi in a direct confrontation 周杰倫與狗仔隊打埋身戰". Singtao Daily (Hong Kong). 2005-12-23. http://www.singtao.com/index_archive.asp?d_str=20051223&htmlpage=main&news=1223fo01.html. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ "Pop singer Jay Chou accused of evading military service". Associated Press/Sina. 2006-02-24. http://english.sina.com/taiwan_hk/p/1/2006/0224/66936.html. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ Invalid language code."Jay Chou faked medical records to evade military service? The courtroom restores his innocence 周董利用假病历逃兵? 出庭应讯法院还清白". yule.sohu.com. 2006-11-10. http://ent.sz.net.cn/fashion/2006-11/10/content_295892.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ "[one] cannot take a clear-cut stance against them (the paparazzi) ... because they help you promote your name ... and [the paparazzi] will write about what the populace is most interested in."Invalid language code. Chou, Jay (December 2004). Grandeur de D Major. Hua Ren Ban Tu. p. 79. ISBN 957-29371-4-6.
^ Heawood, Sophie (2006-04-21). "We're Not Listening Until You Sing In English". London: The Guardian (UK). http://www.guardian.co.uk/filmandmusic/story/0,,1757374,00.html. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ Brown, Kerry (2007-04-11). "China Power List 2007". openDemocracy. http://www.opendemocracy.net/home/chinapower/china.jsp. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ JWT, JWT (2009-12-26), JWT Top 100 Things to Watch in 2010, marketwire, http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Jwt-NASDAQ-WPPGY-1095752.html, retrieved 2009-12-26 ^{[dead link]}
^ Invalid language code. Baidu's Top Searches 2002
^ Invalid language code. Baidu's Top Searches 2005
^ Invalid language code. Baidu's Top Searches 2006
^ Invalid language code. Baidu's Top Searches 2007
^ Invalid language code. "Hong Kong Top Sales Music Awards presented". Archived from the original on 3 March 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070303203808/http://www.ifpihk.org/www/public/dcm/dis_dcmcontent.php?langsel=0&catid=3&rkey=gold. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ "Born in the 1990s". China Daily. 2004-08-09. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-08/09/content_363431.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ ^a ^b "Synovate Young Asians survey reveals the hearts, minds, and wawllets of Asia's digital youth" (PDF). Synovate. 2006-11-08. Archived from the original on 9 November 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20061109050406/http://www.synovate.com/current/news/extra/20061108/061108+Young+Asians+Regional+Fact+Sheet.pdf. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ Hitwise Singapore—Top 10 Industry Search Terms—January 2007
^ Quah, Junie (2005-03-02). "Jay Chou in LA: An Incomparable Breakthrough". UCLA Asia Institute. http://www.asiaarts.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=20302. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ "Jay Chou pens theme song for new Jet Li movie 'Fearless'". Associated Press. 2006-11-01. http://english.sina.com/taiwan_hk/1/2006/0111/61386.html. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
^ "Jay Chou to star in action film 'Ci Ling'". Channel NewsAsia. November 21, 2008. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/entertainment/view/391285/1/.html. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
^ "Jay Chou to direct "Initial D 2", Edison Chen confirmed as cast". Jay Chou Studio. 2010-10-29. http://www.jaychoustudio.com/archives/jay-chou-to-direct-initial-d-2-edison-chen-confirmed-as-cast/1281. Retrieved 2011-02-21.
^ http://jay-chou.net/forums/showthread.php?p=17238741#post17238741
^ http://www.jaychoustudio.com/archives/female-to-be-long-haired-girl-director-chous-rooftop-revealed-early/1516
^ "Jay Chou creates super-pandamen". Xinhua News Agency. 18 February 2009. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-02/18/content_10837969.htm. Retrieved 22 October 2009.
^ "Hides manhood pretending to be woman, Alan Luo asks if Director Chou loves him". Chinatimes/translation: JayChouStudio. 2010-10-30. http://www.jaychoustudio.com/archives/hides-manhood-pretending-to-be-woman-alan-luo-asks-if-director-chou-loves-him/1282. Retrieved 2010-11-02.
^ Woodworth, Max (2005-05-29). "The red carpet rolls out for Golden Melody Awards". The Taipei Times. http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2005/05/29/2003257129. Retrieved 2007-06-02.

External links [link]

	Taiwan portal
	Biography portal
	Music portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jay Chou

Listen to this article (info/dl)

This audio file was created from a revision of the "Jay Chou" article dated 2008-07-16, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. (Audio help)

More spoken articles

Invalid language code. Jay Chou at JVR Music
Invalid language code. Jay Chou International Fan Club

Authority control: LCCN: no2006033873 | WorldCat

v t e Jay Chou

Studio album	Jay Self-Title Album (2000) Fantasy (2001) The Eight Dimensions (2002) Ye Hui Mei (2003) Common Jasmin Orange (2004) November's Chopin (2005) Still Fantasy (2006) On the Run (2007) Capricorn (2008) The Era (2010) Exclamation Mark (2011)

Live album/Concert DVD	The One Concert Live (2002) Incomparable Jay Concert Live (2005) Jay Chou 2007 World Tour Concert Live (2008) The Era Concert Live (2011)

Extended play (EP)	Fantasy Plus EP (2001) Hidden Track EP (2003) Fearless EP (2006) Curse of the Golden Flower EP (2006)

Soundtrack album	Secret Original Soundtrack (2007)

Compilation album	Initial J (2005)

Film	Hidden Track (2003) Initial D (2005) Curse of the Golden Flower (2006) Secret (2007) Kung Fu Dunk (2008) The Treasure Hunter (2009) True Legend (2010) Heroic Detective (2010) The Green Hornet (2011) The Viral Factor (2011)

Television	Pandamen (2010) Mr J Channel (2010)

Related articles	Discography Awards and nominations Songs written and performed by Jay Chou Vincent Fang (main lyricist)

v t e Hong Kong Film Award for Best New Performer

Ma Si-San (1983) • Carol Cheng (1984) • Josephine Koo (1985) • Chan Yuen-Lai (1986) • Christine Lee (1987) • Law Kwok-Bun (1988) • David Wu (1989) • Kwong Wah (1990) • Rain Lau (1991) • Jade Leung (1992) • Anita Yuen (1993) • Wu Hsing-kuo (1994) • Alice Lau (1995) • Eric Moo (1996) • Shu Qi (1997) • Sam Lee (1998) • Nicholas Tse (1999) • Cecilia Cheung (2000) • Qin Hailu (2001) • Karena Lam (2002) • Eugenia Yuan (2003) • Andy On (2004) • Tian Yuan (2005) • Jay Chou (2006) • Gouw Ian Iskandar (2007) • Kate Tsui (2008) • Xu Jiao (2009) • Aarif Lee (2010) • Hanjin Tan (2011) • Jam Hsiao (2012)

HKFA • Film • Director • Screenplay • Leading Actor • Leading Actress • Supporting Actor • Supporting Actress • New Performer • Cinematography • Editing • Best Art Direction • Costume Make Up Design • Action Choreography • Original Film Score

http://wn.com/Jay_Chou

http://it.wn.com/Jay Chou

http://id.wn.com/Jay Chou

http://es.wn.com/Jay Chou

http://ru.wn.com/Чоу, Джей

http://nl.wn.com/Jay Chou

http://pt.wn.com/Jay Chou

http://pl.wn.com/Jay Chou

http://fr.wn.com/Jay Chou

http://de.wn.com/Jay Chou

This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Chou

This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.

This article uses bare URLs for citations. Please consider adding full citations so that the article remains verifiable. Several templates and the Reflinks tool are available to assist in formatting. (Reflinks documentation) (July 2011)

Ai Qing
1929,Ai Qing in Paris, France
Born	Jiang Zhenghan (蔣正涵) (1910-03-27)27 March 1910 Fantianjiang village, Jinhua county, Zhejiang province, China
Died	5 May 1996(1996-05-05) (aged 86)
Pen name	Ejia (莪加) Ke'a (克阿) Linbi (林壁)
Occupation	poet
Language	Chinese
Nationality	Chinese
Citizenship	Chinese
Alma mater	Hangzhou Xihu Art School
Period	1936–1986
Children	Ai Xuan, Ai Weiwei
Influences Vladimir Mayakovsky, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Immanuel Kant, Vincent van Gogh, Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Ai Qing (Chinese: 艾青; born Jiǎng Zhènghán (蒋正涵) and styled Jiǎng Hǎichéng (蒋海澄); March 27, 1910 – May 5, 1996), is regarded as one of the finest modern Chinese poets. He was known under his pen names Línbì (林壁), Kè'ā (克阿) and Éjiā (莪伽).

1 Life
2 Family
3 Pen name
4 Works
5 References
6 Further reading
7 Sources

Life [link]

He was born in Fantianjiang village (贩田蒋), Jinhua county, in eastern China's Zhejiang province. After entering Hangzhou Xihu Art school in 1928, under the advice of principal Lin Feng Mian (林风眠), he went abroad and studied in Paris the following spring. From 1929 to 1932 while studying in France, besides learning art of Renoir and Van Gogh, the philosophy of Kant and Hegel, he also studied modern poets such as Mayakovsky and was especially influenced by Belgian poet Verhaeren.

After returning to Shanghai, China in May 1932, he joined China Left Wing Artist Association, and was arrested in July for opposing the Kuomintang party. During his imprisonment, Ai Qing translated Verhaeren's poems and wrote his first book Da Yan River—My Wet-nurse (《大堰河——我的保姆》), "Reed Flute"(《芦笛》), and "Paris"(《巴黎》). He was finally released in October 1935.

After the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937, Ai Qing wrote "Snowfall on the Chinese earth" (《雪落在中国的土地上》) after arriving at Wuhan to support the war effort. In 1938, he moved to Guilin to become the editor of "Guixi Daily" newspaper. In 1940, he became the dean of the Chinese department at Chongqing YuCai University.

In 1941, he moved to Yan'an,^[1] and joined the Chinese Communist Party in the subsequent year. Beginning in 1949, he was on cultural committees.^[2] He was editor of Poetry Magazine, and associate editor of People's Literature.^[3]

However in 1957, during the Anti-Rightist Movement, he defended Ding Ling,^[4] was accused of "rightism", and in 1958 exiled to farms in northeast China, and then in 1959 transferred to Xinjiang by the Communist authorities. He was not allowed to publish his works Return Song(《归来的歌》) and Ode to Light(《光的赞歌》) until he was reinstated in 1979. In 1979, he was vice-chairman of the Chinese Writers Association.

He made a second journey to France in 1980, and in 1985 French president François Mitterrand awarded him the title of Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters.

Family [link]

He is the father of famed Chinese artist and architect Ai Weiwei, who participated in designing the Beijing National Stadium, and artist Ai Xuan. He had two daughters with his second wife.^[1]

Pen name [link]

In 1933, while tortured and imprisoned by Kuomintang party, when writing his book DaAn River—My Wet-nurse, while writing his surname (Jiang, 蒋) he stopped at "艹"; due to his bitterness towards KMT leader Chiang Kai-shek ("蔣介石"), he resented sharing the same surname (Jiang / Chiang) and finished the rest of the word with an X. This happens to be the Chinese character ai (艾), and since the rest of his name, Hai Cheng meant qing (青, the color blue), he adopted the pen name Ai Qing.

Works [link]

Kuangye (1940; “Wildness”)
Xiang taiyang (1940 “Toward the Sun”)
Beifang (1942; “North”)
Guilai de ge (1980; “Song of Returning”)

Ai Qing quanji (“The Complete Works of Ai Qing”) in 1991.

Works in French [link]

Le chant de la lumière «Guang de zange » 光的赞歌, éditor, translator Ng Yok-Soon. Ed. les Cent fleurs, 1989
De la poésie ; Du poète / Ai Qing « Shilun » 诗论, translator Chantal Chen-Andro, Wang Zaiyuan, Ballouhey, Centre de recherche de l’Université de Paris VIII, 1982
''Poèmes / Ai Ts’ing, éditor, translator Catherine Vignal. Publications orientalistes de France, 1979.
Le récif : poèmes et fables / Ai Qing, éditor, translator Ng Yok-Soon. Ed. les Cent fleurs, 1987^[5]

Works in English [link]

Eugene Chen Eoyang (ed), Selected Poems of Ai Qing, Indiana University Press, 1982

Anthologies [link]

Edward Morin, Fang Dai, ed. (1990). The Red azalea: Chinese poetry since the Cultural Revolution. Translators Edward Morin, Fang Dai, Dennis Ding. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-1320-8. http://books.google.com/books?id=1rkPu4q1uXYC&pg=PA3&dq=ai+qing&hl=en&ei=8ZjOTffcBcTa0QGH4dmEDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDoQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=ai%20qing&f=false.
Joseph S. M. Lau, Howard Goldblatt, ed. (2007). The Columbia anthology of modern Chinese literature. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-13841-3. http://books.google.com/books?id=DRt84_yIsrAC&pg=PA516&dq=ai+qing&hl=en&ei=8ZjOTffcBcTa0QGH4dmEDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CE0Q6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=ai%20qing&f=false.

This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ai_Qing

This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.

Persondata
Name	Chou, Jay
Alternative names
Short description	Taiwanese musician
Date of birth	18 January 1979
Place of birth	Linkou, Taipei County, Taiwan
Date of death
Place of death

Persondata
Name	Qing, Ai
Alternative names
Short description	Poet
Date of birth	March 27, 1910
Place of birth	Fantianjiang, Jinhua, Zhejiang, China
Date of death	May 5, 1996
Place of death

Branches of Mathematics

Pure mathematics

Applied mathematics

Related Topics

Make changes yourself !

Contents

Related pages:

Contents

Related pages:

Contents

[edit] Introduced in Fatal Fury

[edit] Introduced in Fatal Fury 2 and Fatal Fury Special

[edit] Introduced in Fatal Fury 3

[edit] Introduced in Dominated Mind

[edit] Introduced in Real Bout Fatal Fury 2

[edit] Introduced in Wild Ambition

[edit] Introduced in Mark of the Wolves

Contents

[edit] Book: Grandeur de D Major