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Selangor

(Encyclopedia)Selangor səlăngˈər [key], state (1991 pop. 2,289,236), 3,150 sq mi (8,159 sq km), Malaysia, S Malay Peninsula, on the Strait of Malacca. Shah Alam is the capital, and Port Kelang (formerly Port Sw...

pistachio

(Encyclopedia)pistachio pĭstăshˈēō, pĭstäˈshēō [key], tree or shrub (of the genus Pistacia) of the family Anacardiaceae (sumac family). The species that yields the pistachio nut of commerce is P. vera, na...

Tseng Kuo-fan

(Encyclopedia)Tseng Kuo-fan dzŭng gwô-fän [key], 1811–72, Chinese general and statesman of the Ch'ing dynasty. He organized (1853) the Hunan army, the first of the great regional armies that were raised to sup...

Thai language

(Encyclopedia)Thai language tī [key], formerly Siamese, member of the Tai or Thai subfamily of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages (see Sino-Tibetan languages). The official language of Thailand, Thai is spoken b...

reed organ

(Encyclopedia)reed organ, an organ in which air is forced over free reeds by means of bellows, usually worked by pedals. It is played by the use of one or more keyboards. Variations in tone are produced by stops th...

Ai Ch'ing

(Encyclopedia)Ai Ch'ing or Ai Qing both: īˈ chĭngˈ [key], pseud. of Chiang Hai-ch'eng or Jiang Haicheng, 1910–96, Chinese poet. After studying painting in France (1929–32), where he discovered realist liter...

Xiamen

(Encyclopedia)Xiamen ämoiˈ [key], city (1994 est. pop. 458,000), S Fujian prov., China, on Xiamen island, at the mouth of the Jiulong River. It has an excellent natural harbor and is connected to the mainland by ...

Spratly Islands

(Encyclopedia)Spratly Islands, group of about 100 low islands and coral reefs in the central South China Sea, intersecting busy shipping lanes. The whole group is claimed by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam, and parts ar...

Yung-lo

(Encyclopedia)Yung-lo yo͞ong-lô [key], 1359–1424, reign title of the 3d emperor (1403–24) of the Chinese Ming dynasty, whose personal name was Chu Ti. He rose to power in N China after being delegated by his ...

bonsai

(Encyclopedia)bonsai bōnˈsī [key], art of cultivating dwarf trees in containers. Bonsai, developed by the Japanese more than a thousand years ago, is derived from the Chinese practice of growing miniature plants...