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Lhasa apso

(Encyclopedia)Lhasa apso läˈsə ăpˈsō [key], breed of small, alert nonsporting dog developed in Tibet many centuries ago. It stands about 11 in. (27.9 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs from 13 to 15 lb (5.9�...

Malik, Adam

(Encyclopedia)Malik, Adam mälˈēk [key], 1917–84, Indonesian government official. A militant nationalist as a youth, he helped to found a news bureau that eventually became the official Indonesian news agency, ...

K'ung Hsiang-hsi

(Encyclopedia)K'ung Hsiang-hsi ko͝ong shyäng-shē [key], 1881–1967, Chinese banker and political leader, educated at Oberlin and at Yale. He deemed himself a direct descendant of Confucius in the 75th generatio...

Matsu

(Encyclopedia)Matsu or Ma-tsu mäˈdzo͞oˈ [key], Taiwanese island group, administered as Lienchiang co. (2010 pop 14,604), in the East China Sea, off Fujian prov., China, E of Fuzhou, and c.100 mi (160 km) from T...

banner system

(Encyclopedia)banner system, Manchu conscription system. Companies of Manchu warriors were grouped (1601) into brigades, each with a distinctive banner. The banner system integrated former tribal units into a burea...

Réaumur, René Antoine Ferchault de

(Encyclopedia)Réaumur, René Antoine Ferchault de rāˈəmyo͝or, Fr. rənāˈ äNtwänˈ fĕrshōˈ də rāōmürˈ [key], 1683–1757, French physicist and naturalist. He invented an alcohol thermometer (1731) a...

Sesshu

(Encyclopedia)Sesshu sĕsˈsho͞oˌ [key], 1420–1506, foremost Japanese master of ink painting (suiboku) and Zen Buddhist priest, also known as Sesshu Toyo. He may have studied under Shubun in Kyoto. He made a tr...

Chikamatsu, Monzaemon

(Encyclopedia)Chikamatsu, Monzaemon mônˈzäĕmŏnˈ chēˌkämäˈtso͞o [key], 1653–1725, the first professional Japanese dramatist. Chikamatsu wrote primarily for the puppet stage in the Tokugawa shogunate. H...

Christmas Island, in the Indian Ocean

(Encyclopedia)Christmas Island, tropical island, 60 sq mi (155 sq km), an external territory of Australia, in the Indian Ocean c.200 mi (320 km) S of Java. The majori...

Dalai Lama

(Encyclopedia)Dalai Lama däˈlī läˈmə [key] [Tibetan,=oceanic teacher], title of one of the main leaders of Tibetan Buddhism. Believed like his predecessors to be the incarnation of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesh...