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Cheng Ho

(Encyclopedia)Cheng Ho or Zheng He both: jŭngˈ ho͝oˈ [key], 1371–c.1433, admiral, diplomat, and explorer during China's Ming dynasty. At 10 he was captured by Chinese troops in Yunnan, castrated, and sent int...

Koxinga

(Encyclopedia)Koxinga kŏksĭngˈgə [key], Mandarin Kuo-hsing-yeh [lord of the imperial surname], 1624–62, Chinese general, whose original name was Chêng Ch'êng-kung. From 1646 to 1660 he led many unsuccessful...

Triad Society

(Encyclopedia)Triad Society, name given to a number of Chinese antidynastic secret societies by 19th-century Western observers. Most of these groups claimed descent from the Heaven and Earth Society (Taendi hui) or...

Chu Hsi

(Encyclopedia)Chu Hsi jo͞o shē [key], 1130–1200, Chinese philosopher of Neo-Confucianism. While borrowing heavily from Buddhism, his new metaphysics reinvigorated Confucianism. According to Chu Hsi, the normati...

Po Chü-i

(Encyclopedia)Po Chü-i bô jü-ē [key], 772–846, Chinese poet. He occupied several important government posts, rising to the presidency of the imperial board of war in 841. He wrote over 3,000 poems, brief, top...

Tung Ch'i-ch'ang

(Encyclopedia)Tung Ch'i-ch'ang do͞ong chē-chäng [key], 1555–1636, leading painter, calligrapher, connoisseur, and critic of the Ming dynasty. A high official in various public offices, was also regarded as the...

Chinese art

(Encyclopedia)Chinese art, works of art produced in the vast geographical region of China. It the oldest art in the world and has its origins in remote antiquity. (For the history of Chinese civilization, see China...

Zhenjiang

(Encyclopedia)Zhenjiang chĭnˈkyăngˈ, jĭnˈjyängˈ [key], city (1994 est. pop. 405,700), S Jiangsu prov., China, a port at the junction of the Grand Canal with the Chang River. It is also on the Shanghai-Nanji...

Chu Ta

(Encyclopedia)Chu Ta or Zhu Da both: jo͞o dä [key], c.1626–c.1705, Chinese painter and calligrapher, also known as Pa-ta-shan-jen or Bada Shanren. Said to have been a descendant of the imperial Ming family, he ...

Nanchang

(Encyclopedia)Nanchang nänˈchängˈ [key], city (1994 est. pop. 1,168,700), capital of Jiangxi prov., China, on the Gan River, near the southern end of Poyang Lake. A major transportation center, it has a port, r...

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