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civil defense

(Encyclopedia)civil defense, nonmilitary activities designed to protect civilians and their property from enemy actions in time of war. A civil defense program usually includes measures taken during peace (e.g., bu...

Champa

(Encyclopedia)Champa chämˈpä [key], the kingdom of the Chams, which flourished in Vietnam from the 2d cent. a.d. until the 17th cent. At its greatest extent it occupied Annam as far north as central Vietnam. Its...

Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region

(Encyclopedia)Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region nĭngˈshyäˈ hwē [key], autonomous region (2010 pop. 6,301,350), c.25,600 sq mi (66,321 sq km), N China. The capital is Yinchuan. Ningxia is part of the Inner Mongolia...

beard

(Encyclopedia)beard, hair on the lower portion of the face. The term mustache refers to hair worn above the upper lip. Attitudes toward facial hair have varied in different cultures. In ancient Egypt, as well as Tu...

Tanaka, Kakuei

(Encyclopedia)Tanaka, Kakuei käko͞oˈā tänäˈkä [key], 1918–93, Japanese political leader and prime minister (1972–74). Born to a poor rural family, he moved to Tokyo at the age of 15 and by 1937 had esta...

Mongolia, country, Asia

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Mongolia mŏn-gōˈlēə, mŏng– [key], republic (2015 est. pop. 2,977,000), 604,247 sq mi (1,565,000 sq km), N central Asia; historically known as Outer Mongolia. Bordered on the west, south...

Shang

(Encyclopedia)Shang shäng [key] or Yin, dynasty of China, which ruled, according to traditional dates, from c.1766 b.c. to c.1122 b.c. or, according to some modern scholars, from c.1523 b.c. to c.1027 b.c. It is t...

Twenty-one Demands

(Encyclopedia)Twenty-one Demands (1915), instrument by which Japan secured temporary hegemony over China. Japan used its declaration of war against Germany (Aug., 1914) as grounds for invading Kiaochow, the German ...

Open Door

(Encyclopedia)Open Door, maintenance in a certain territory of equal commercial and industrial rights for the nationals of all countries. As a specific policy, it was first advanced by the United States, but it was...

Sino-Japanese War, First

(Encyclopedia)Sino-Japanese War, First, 1894–95, conflict between China and Japan for control of Korea in the late 19th cent. The Li-Ito Convention of 1885 provided for mutual troop withdrawals and advance notifi...