Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

pheasant

(Encyclopedia)pheasant, common name for some members of a family (Phasianidae) of henlike birds related to the grouse and including the Old World partridge, the peacock, various domestic and jungle fowls, and the t...

Philadelphia Museum of Art

(Encyclopedia)Philadelphia Museum of Art, established in 1875, chartered in 1876. When the city of Philadelphia planned to erect a building to house the Centennial Exposition of 1876, provision was made to keep the...

Tso Tsung-t'ang

(Encyclopedia)Tso Tsung-t'ang dzô dzo͞ong-täng [key], 1812–85, Chinese general and statesman of the Ch'ing dynasty. He directed (1852–59) resistance to the Taiping Rebellion in his native Hunan and later org...

Tiananmen Square

(Encyclopedia)Tiananmen Square, large public square in Beijing, China, on the southern edge of the Inner or Tatar City. The square, named for its Gate of Heavenly Peace (Tiananmen), contains the monument to the her...

Trans-Siberian Railroad

(Encyclopedia)Trans-Siberian Railroad, rail line, linking European Russia with the Pacific coast. Its construction began in 1891, on the initiative of Count S. Y. Witte, and was completed in 1905. The completion of...

Quemoy

(Encyclopedia)Quemoy kĭmoiˈ [key], Chin. Chinmen, Kinmen, or Jinmen, Taiwanese island group (2010 pop. 56,703), Taiwan Strait, just off Fujian prov., China, and c.150 mi (240 km) W of Taiwan. The group consists o...

Ningbo

(Encyclopedia)Ningbo or Ningpo ningˈbôˈ [key], city (1994 est. pop. 612,000), NE Zhejiang prov., SE China, at the confluence of the Yong (or Ningbo) and Yao rivers. Situated at the terminus of the E Zhejiang RR,...

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...

wallpaper

(Encyclopedia)wallpaper was used in Europe in the 16th and 17th cent. as an inexpensive substitute for costly hangings. The French developed marbled papers, introduced from the East via Italy and used at first for ...

Wang Mang

(Encyclopedia)Wang Mang wäng mäng [key], 45 b.c.–a.d. 23, Chinese Han dynasty regent who usurped the throne and ruled (a.d. 8–23) as emperor of the Hsin [new] court, carrying out many reforms. Although he por...

Browse by Subject