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Peter I, czar of Russia

(Encyclopedia)Peter I or Peter the Great, 1672–1725, czar of Russia (1682–1725), major figure in the development of imperial Russia. Peter's personal traits ranged from bestial cruelty and vice to the most ...

Chang

(Encyclopedia)Chang yăngˈsēˈ, yängˈdzŭˈ [key], Mandarin Chang Jiang, longest river of China and of Asia, c.3,880 mi (6,245 km) long, rising in the Tibetan highlands, SW Qinghai prov., W China, and flowing g...

William, prince of Wales

(Encyclopedia)William, (William Arthur Philip Louis), 1982–, Prince of Wales of Great Britian, eldest son of King Charles III and Diana ...

Imitation of Christ, The

(Encyclopedia)Imitation of Christ, The, Christian devotional book, of great popularity. It originated among the Brothers of the Common Life in the Netherlands and was written probably c.1425. Tradition (since c.144...

Huc, Évariste Régis

(Encyclopedia)Huc, Évariste Régis āvärēstˈ rāzhēsˈ ük [key], 1813–60, French Roman Catholic missionary and explorer, a Lazarist priest. In 1844 while in China on a mission, he and two companions began a...

Kumbum

(Encyclopedia)Kumbum ko͝omˈbo͝omˈ [key], large lamasery at Huangchang, NE Qinghai prov., China, c.12 mi (20 km) SW of Xining. Long a renowned pilgrimage center, it stands on the spot where Tsong-kha-pa (b.1417)...

Library of Congress

(Encyclopedia)Library of Congress, national library of the United States, Washington, D.C., est. 1800. It occcupies three buildings on Capitol Hill: The Thomas Jefferson Building (1897), the John Adams Building (19...

Moscow, grand duchy of

(Encyclopedia)Moscow or Muscovy, grand duchy of, state existing in W central Russia from the late 14th to mid-16th cent., with the city of Moscow as its nucleus. Its formation and eventual ascendancy over other Rus...

Zhou Enlai

(Encyclopedia)Zhou Enlai or Chou En-lai both: jō ĕn-lī [key], 1898–1976, Chinese Communist leader. A member of a noted Mandarin family, he was educated at an American-supported school in China and a university...

Perpendicular style

(Encyclopedia)Perpendicular style, term given the final period of English Gothic architecture (late 14th–middle 16th cent.) because of the predominating vertical lines of its tracery and paneling. It is also call...