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Buddha

(Encyclopedia)Buddha bo͞oˈdə, bo͝o– [key] [Skt.,=the enlightened One], usual title given to the founder of Buddhism. He is also called the Tathagata [he who has come thus], Bhagavat [the Lord], and Sugata [we...

immortality

(Encyclopedia)immortality, attribute of deathlessness ascribed to the soul in many religions and philosophies. Forthright belief in immortality of the body is rare. Immortality of the soul is a cardinal tenet of Is...

asceticism

(Encyclopedia)asceticism əsĕtˈĭsĭzəm [key], rejection of bodily pleasures through sustained self-denial and self-mortification, with the objective of strengthening spiritual life. Asceticism has been common i...

Kublai Khan

(Encyclopedia)Kublai Khan ko͞oˈblī kän [key], 1215–94, Mongol emperor, founder of the Yüan dynasty of China. From 1251 to 1259 he led military campaigns in S China. He succeeded (1260) his brother Mongke (Ma...

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...

Hangzhou

(Encyclopedia)Hangzhou hăngˈchou [key], city (1994 est. pop. 1,184,300), capital of Zhejiang prov., E China. It is on the Fuchun River at the head of Hangzhou Bay and handles river traffic through its port. It is...

hell

(Encyclopedia)hell, in Western monotheistic religions, eternal abode of souls damned by the judgment of God. The souls in hell are deprived forever of the sight of God. The punishment of hell is generally analogize...

Lieberson, Peter

(Encyclopedia)Lieberson, Peter. 1946–2011, American composer, b. New York City. Lieberson studied composition at Columbia, where his teachers included modernists Milton Babbitt and Charles Wuorinen. While in scho...

Tsin

(Encyclopedia)Tsin or Chin both: jhĭn [key], dynasty of China that ruled from 265 to 420, after the period of the Three Kingdoms. It was divided into two phases: the Western Tsin (265–317) and the Eastern Tsin (...

Hindu philosophy

(Encyclopedia)Hindu philosophy, the philosophical speculations and systems of India that have their roots in Hinduism. Nyaya, traditionally founded by Akshapada Gautama (6th cent. b.c.), is a school of logic and...