Tianqi Emperor

The Tianqi Emperor (23 December 1605 – 30 September 1627), personal name Zhu Youxiao, was the 15th emperor of the Ming dynasty of China, reigning from 1620–1627. He was the eldest son of the Taichang Emperor and a brother of the Chongzhen Emperor, who succeeded him. "Tianqi", the era name of his reign, means "heavenly opening".

Life

Zhu Youxiao became emperor at the age of 15, following the death of his father, the Taichang Emperor, who ruled less than a month. He did not pay much attention to state affairs, and was accused of failing in his filial duties to his late father by not continuing the latter's wishes. It is possible that Zhu Youxiao suffered from a learning disability or something more. He was illiterate and showed no interest in his studies. However, he was an outstanding carpenter and craftsman, often spending vast amounts of time on woodworking and instructing his servants to sell his creations undercover on the market just to see how much they were worth.

Because the Tianqi Emperor was unable to read court memorials and uninterested in state affairs, the court eunuch Wei Zhongxian, and the emperor's wet nurse Madam Ke seized power and controlled the Ming imperial court, with the Tianqi Emperor as merely a puppet ruler. The Tianqi Emperor apparently devoted his time to carpentry. Wei Zhongxian took advantage of the situation and began appointing the people he trusted to important positions in the imperial court. Meanwhile, Madam Ke sought to retain power by removing all other women from the emperor's harem by locking away the emperor's concubines and starving them to death.

Mad World

"Mad World" is a song by the British band Tears for Fears, written by Roland Orzabal and sung by bassist Curt Smith.

It was the band's third single release and first chart hit, reaching #3 on the UK Singles Chart in November 1982. Both "Mad World" and its B-side, "Ideas as Opiates", appeared on the band's debut LP The Hurting the following year. In the same time, the song eventually became Tears for Fears' first international hit, reaching the Top 40 in several countries in 1982 and 1983, peaking notably at #2 in South Africa.

Two decades later, "Mad World" made a popular resurgence when it was covered in a much slower and sombre minimalist style by Michael Andrews and Gary Jules for the soundtrack to the movie Donnie Darko in 2001. This version reached #1 in the UK in December 2003, and also became an international hit. More recently, Jasmine Thompson made a cover version which she released as part of her EP Another Bundle of Tantrums.

Background

"Mad World" was originally written on acoustic guitar when Orzabal was 19, it was a deliberate attempt to write something in the vein of Duran Duran's "Girls on Film". After a few false starts with Orzabal on vocals, Smith took over and "suddenly it sounded fabulous".

The Voice

The Voice may refer to:

Music

Albums

Songs

Radio and television

I Am

I Am may refer to:

Music

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Jane Zhang

Zhang Liangying (simplified Chinese: 张靓颖; traditional Chinese: 張靚穎; pinyin: Zhāng Liàngyǐng;or Zhang Jinying; born October 11, 1984 in Chengdu, Sichuan), also known as Jane Zhang, is a Chinese pop singer. She rose to prominence after her third-place performance in the 2005 season of the Super Girl contest, a national all-female singing competition in the People's Republic of China. Throughout the competition, she sang in English, Spanish and Cantonese in addition to Mandarin Chinese. She is particularly known for her signature whistle register which earned her a nickname, "The Dolphin Princess".

Zhang's debut album was titled The One and was produced by American Producer Craig Williams; along with American Executive Producer Reid Hyams on The One. Her next album, Update, broke away from the Chinese pop scene by combining elements of R&B and jazz. After the release of The one, Zhang participated in a World Peace One concert that was designed to increase awareness and activism for world peace, and to raise funds for humanitarian relief.