Interior Design, China

Possessing the oldest Eastern civilization, China has powerfully influenced the others. Forms and motifs of decoration, which began as early as the Shang dynasty (18th to 12th century BC), or even before in the legendary Hsia dynasty, persist throughout Chinese history. Early forms of bronze altar vessels, for example, are found in porcelain in the 18th and 19th centuries, slightly

Amorphous Solid, Other preparation techniques

Numerous other methods exist for preparing amorphous solids, and new methods are continually invented. In melt spinning, a jet of molten metal is propelled against the moving surface of a cold, rotating copper cylinder. A solid film of metallic glass is spun off as a continuous ribbon at a speed that can exceed a kilometre per minute. In laser glazing, a brief intense

Belawan

Also called �Belewan Deli� the most important port in northeastern Sumatra, Indonesia, located on Belawan Island at the estuary of the Deli and Belawan rivers in Sumatera Utara provinsi (�province�). The port was originally dredged and constructed by the Dutch in the first two decades of the 20th century. It exports tobacco, rubber, tea, resin, copra, spices, palm oil, and sisal, and it imports foodstuffs

Richet, Charles

In full �Charles-Robert Richet� French physiologist who won the 1913 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of and coining of the term anaphylaxis, the life-threatening allergic reaction he observed in a sensitized animal upon second exposure to an antigen. This research provided the first evidence that an immune response could cause damage as well as

Arts, Central Asian, Classical music

In contrast to the folk music styles just described, the court-derived classical style of Bukhara and Samarkand represents a highly systematic, theoretically grounded, cosmopolitan musical tradition. Lying along the medieval Silk Road, the Turkistani oases were open to musical cross-currents. Today's musical roots may reach back to the period in which urban Central

Lipmann, Fritz Albert

Lipmann earned an M.D. degree (1924) and a Ph.D. degree (1927) from the University

Costain, Thomas B(ertram)

A journalist for many years on Canadian newspapers and a Saturday Evening Post editor (1920 - 34), Costain was 57 when he published his first romance, For My Great Folly (1942), dealing with the 17th-century rivalry between England and Spain. An immediate success, it was followed almost yearly by historical

Costain, Thomas B(ertram)

A journalist for many years on Canadian newspapers and a Saturday Evening Post editor (1920 - 34), Costain was 57 when he published his first romance, For My Great Folly (1942), dealing with the 17th-century rivalry between England and Spain. An immediate success, it was followed almost yearly by historical

Ba Jin

Born to a wealthy gentry family, Ba received a traditional

Yakub Beg

Tajik adventurer who entered northwest China in 1864 and through a series of military and political maneuvers took advantage of the anti-Chinese uprisings of its Muslim inhabitants to establish himself as head of the kingdom of Kashgaria. Expanding northward in the area of modern Sinkiang

China, Economic development

Important changes occurred in agriculture. Millet had once been the major cereal food in the north, but gradually wheat grew in importance. Rice, imported from the south, was extended to the dry soil of the north. The soybean in a number of varieties proved to be one of the most important crops. Chinese farmers gradually developed a kind of intensive agriculture. Soil

Scabious

Also called �Scabiosa � (genus Scabiosa), any of about 100 species of annual and perennial herbs of the teasel family, Dipsacaceae, order Dipsacales. They are native to temperate Eurasia, the Mediterranean region, and the mountains of eastern Africa. Some are important garden plants. All species have basal leaf rosettes and leafy stems. The flower heads have many crowded, small,

Scabious

Also called �Scabiosa � (genus Scabiosa), any of about 100 species of annual and perennial herbs of the teasel family, Dipsacaceae, order Dipsacales. They are native to temperate Eurasia, the Mediterranean region, and the mountains of eastern Africa. Some are important garden plants. All species have basal leaf rosettes and leafy stems. The flower heads have many crowded, small,

Pauls Valley

City, seat (1907) of Garvin county, south-central Oklahoma, U.S. The area, on the Washita River, was first settled by white North Carolinian Smith Paul, who arrived with a group of relocated Chickasaw Indians in 1837. He began to cultivate the fertile bottomland in 1857, and when the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad reached the settlement in 1887 it designated the area Smith Paul's Valley,

Iowa, Cultural life

A widely dispersed population with small urban centres makes it difficult for Iowans to support many of the cultural amenities that exist in large urban settings. Traveling shows, including theatre and dance, symphonies, and guest artists visit many places in the state each year. The major cultural centres are the universities and colleges. The fine arts are notably

Iowa, Cultural life

The common fig (Ficus carica) is cultivated for its pear-shaped, edible fruits, which

Mckinney

City, seat (1848) of Collin county, northeastern Texas, U.S., near the East Fork of Trinity River. Named for one of the signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence, it was platted in 1848. McKinney's home, formerly 17 miles (27 km) north, was moved in 1936 to Finch Park, where it was restored as a memorial. Many of the city's residents commute to work in Dallas or Plano, both located south of McKinney;

Arnhem

German �Arnheim, � gemeente (municipality) and capital (1794), Gelderland provincie (province), eastern Netherlands, on the north bank of the Lower Rhine (Neder Rijn) River. Possibly the site of the Roman settlement of Arenacum, it was first mentioned in 893. Chartered and fortified in 1233 by Otto II, count of Geldern, it joined the Hanseatic League in 1443. As the residence of the dukes of Geldern, it was often

Haberler, Gottfried Von

Haberler studied economics at the University of Vienna under Friedrich von Wieser and Ludwig von Mises, receiving his doctorate in 1925. After further study in England and the United

Cloud Seeding

Deliberate introduction into clouds of various substances that act as condensation nuclei in an attempt to induce precipitation. The first experiments with cloud seeding were conducted in 1946; since then seeding has been done from aircraft, rockets, cannons, and ground generators. Many substances have been used, but solid carbon dioxide and silver iodide have been

Colebrook-cameron Commission

Committee sent by the British government in 1829 - 32 to investigate its colonial government in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and to make recommendations for administrative, financial, economic, and judicial reform. Most of the recommendations were accepted; they signified for Ceylon the first manifestation of constitutional government, the first steps toward modernizing

China, The rise of monarchy

In the state of Chin the influence of kinsmen of the ruling house had

Daniel, Gabriel

Daniel entered the Society of Jesus in 1667, later became librarian of the professed house at Paris, and was appointed historiographer of France by King Louis XIV. In this last capacity he wrote a pioneering work, Histoire de France depuis l'�tablissement de la monarchie

Yukon-charley Rivers National Preserve

National preserve in east-central Alaska, U.S., on the Canadian border. Proclaimed a national monument in 1978, the area underwent boundary and name changes in 1980, becoming a national preserve in the latter year. Preserving the entire 88-mile (142-kilometre) Charley River basin and 115 miles (185 km) of the 1,980-mile (3,190-kilometre) Yukon River, the area contains numerous cabins and other relics of the

Octobrist

Russian �Oktyabrist, �also called �Union Of October� 17, member of a conservative-liberal Russian political party whose program of moderate constitutionalism called for the fulfillment of the emperor Nicholas II's October Manifesto (q.v.). Founded in November 1905, the party was led by the industrialist Aleksandr Ivanovich Guchkov and drew support from liberal gentry, businessmen, and some bureaucrats. As the majority party

Eureka

City, port, and seat (1856) of Humboldt county, northern California, U.S., on Humboldt Bay. A major lumber and commercial-fishing centre and headquarters for the Six Rivers National Forest, it was laid out in 1850 and named for the Greek motto (meaning �I have found it�) on the state seal. Site of Fort Humboldt (now a state historic monument) and scene of several Indian uprisings (1853 - 65), it developed

Wilfrid, Saint

One of the greatest English saints, a monk and bishop who was outstanding in bringing about close relations between the Anglo-Saxon Church and the papacy. He devoted his life to establishing the observances of the Roman Church over those of the Celtic Church and fought

Bracknell Forest

Old Bracknell town was unimportant until the 19th century, when its cattle market replaced one at Wokingham that dated from the early 13th century. The population was about 5,000 when the new town of Bracknell

Hierta, Lars Johan

Hierta's work as a clerk for the noble estate of the Riksdag (estates assembly) in the 1820s acquainted him with the operation of the increasingly conservative Swedish regime and made him its critic. He established the Aftonbladet (�Evening