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Han, Chinese dynasty

(Encyclopedia)Han hän [key], dynasty of China that ruled from 202 b.c. to a.d. 220. Liu Pang, the first Han emperor, had been a farmer, minor village official, and guerrilla fighter under the Ch'in dynasty. During...

Minoan civilization

(Encyclopedia)Minoan civilization mĭnōˈən [key], ancient Cretan culture representing a stage in the development of the Aegean civilization. It was named for the legendary King Minos of Crete by Sir Arthur Evans...

Chou

(Encyclopedia)Chou jō [key], dynasty of China, which ruled from c.1027 b.c. to 256 b.c. The pastoral Chou people migrated from the Wei valley NW of the Huang He c.1027 b.c. and overthrew the Shang dynasty. The Cho...

cycle

(Encyclopedia)cycle, in astronomy, period of time required for the recurrence of some celestial event. The length of a cycle may be measured relative to the sun or to the fixed stars (see sidereal time). A frequent...

Acheulian

(Encyclopedia)Acheulian əsho͞oˈlēən [key]: see Paleolithic period. ...

May, Thomas Erskine, 1st Baron Farnborough

(Encyclopedia)May, Thomas Erskine, 1st Baron Farnborough, 1815–86, English constitutional jurist and historian. A period of long service to Parliament, including his tenure (1871–86) as clerk of the House of Co...

Beefeaters

(Encyclopedia)Beefeaters, popular name for the Yeomen of the Guard and for the warders of the Tower of London. Both wear colorful uniforms modeled after those of the Elizabethan period. ...

tuning fork

(Encyclopedia)tuning fork, steel instrument in the shape of a U with a short handle. When struck it produces an almost pure tone, retaining its pitch over a long period of time; thus it is a valuable aid in tuning ...

rejería

(Encyclopedia)rejería rāhārēˈä [key], the art of making iron screens and grilles, developed in Spain from the Romanesque period through the Renaissance. It employs chiseled and hammered metal as well as wroug...

Hogwood, Christopher Jarvis Haley

(Encyclopedia)Hogwood, Christopher Jarvis Haley, 1941–2014, British conductor, musicologist, and harpsichordist, b. Nottingham, grad. Cambridge (1964). He was an leader of the early-music movement, which sought t...