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Forty-seven Ronin

(Encyclopedia)Forty-seven Ronin, Jap. Chushingura, group of Japanese samurai who avenged the disgrace and seppuku (suicide) of their master, Lord Asano, in 1703 by assassinating Lord Kira, the official responsible ...

Utamaro

(Encyclopedia)Utamaro (Kitagawa Utamaro) kētäˈgäwä o͞otäˈmäro [key], 1753–1806, Japanese color-print artist, best known for his portrayals of women. Although he enjoyed enormous success during his lifeti...

Disraeli, Benjamin, 1st earl of Beaconsfield

(Encyclopedia)Disraeli, Benjamin, 1st earl of Beaconsfield dĭzrāˈlē [key], 1804–81, British statesman and author. He is regarded as the founder of the modern Conservative party. Disraeli succeeded the earl ...

Hainan

(Encyclopedia)Hainan hīˈnänˈ [key], island and province, c.13,100 sq mi (33,940 sq km), China, in the S...

Zhejiang

(Encyclopedia)Zhejiang chĕˈkyăngˈ [key], province (2010 pop. 54,426,891), c.40,000 sq mi (103,600 sq km), SE China, on the East China Sea. The capital is Hangzhou. The province includes many islands, notably th...

Kuomintang

(Encyclopedia)Kuomintang gwōˈmĭnˈdängˈ, kwōˈmĭntăngˈ [key] [Chin.,=national people's party] (KMT), Chinese and Taiwanese political party. Sung Chiao-jen organized the party in 1912, under the nominal lea...

Mao Zedong

(Encyclopedia)Mao Zedong or Mao Tse-tung mou dzŭ-do͝ong [key], 1893–1976, founder of the People's Republic of China. Mao was one of the most prominent Communist theoreticians and his ideas on revolutionary stru...

Minseito

(Encyclopedia)Minseito mēnˌsāˈtō [key], Japanese political party. It is usually called the Liberal party in English. Founded by Shigenobu Okuma in 1882 as the Kaishinto, or Progressive party, it was dissolved ...

Chang Hsüeh-liang

(Encyclopedia)Chang Hsüeh-liang or Zhang Xueliang jängˈ shüĕˈ-lyängˈ [key], 1898–2001, Chinese warlord, son of Chang Tso-lin. On the death (1928) of his father, he succeeded as military governor of Manchu...

Suzhou

(Encyclopedia)Suzhou, Soochow wo͞oˈshēĕnˈ [key], city (1994 pop. 710,900), SE Jiangsu prov., E central China, on the Grand Canal near Tai Lake. Suzhou, famous for its silks since the Sung dynasty, is still a ...