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Wang Mang

(Encyclopedia)Wang Mang wäng mäng [key], 45 b.c.–a.d. 23, Chinese Han dynasty regent who usurped the throne and ruled (a.d. 8–23) as emperor of the Hsin [new] court, carrying out many reforms. Although he por...

Wang Wei

(Encyclopedia)Wang Wei wäng wā [key], 699–759, Chinese poet. He was an extremely versatile man, being a musician and painter as well as a poet. He wrote quatrains almost exclusively; these verses portray quiet ...

Liu Hsiu

(Encyclopedia)Liu Hsiu lyo͞o shyo͞o [key], a.d. 6–a.d. 57, restorer of the Han dynasty. As first emperor (a.d. 25–a.d. 57) of the Later, or Eastern, Han (a.d. 25–a.d. 200), he curbed the power of the imperi...

Wang An-shih

(Encyclopedia)Wang An-shih wäng än-shûr [key], 1021–86, Chinese Sung dynasty statesman. As a chief councilor (1069–74, 1075–76) he directed sweeping administrative and fiscal reforms that drew strong conse...

Wang Ching-wei

(Encyclopedia)Wang Ching-wei wäng jĭng-wā [key], 1883–1944, Chinese revolutionary and political leader. A supporter of Sun Yat-sen, Wang was sentenced (1910) to life imprisonment for attempting to assassinate ...

Wang Yang-ming

(Encyclopedia)Wang Yang-ming wäng yäng-mĭng [key], 1472–1529, Chinese philosopher. He developed an idealist interpretation of Confucianism that denied the rationalist dualism of the orthodox philosophy of Chu ...

Wang Ch'ung-hui

(Encyclopedia)Wang Ch'ung-hui wäng cho͞ong-hwē [key], 1881–1958, Chinese jurist. He was educated in China, Japan, Europe, and the United States. He was greatly influenced by Sun Yat-sen. Wang became (1912) the...

Kempten

(Encyclopedia)Kempten kĕmpˈtən [key], city (1994 pop. 61,700), Bavaria, S central Germany, on the Iller River, in the Allgäu. It is the center of a dairying region and is widely known for its cheeses. Among the...

Döblin, Alfred

(Encyclopedia)Döblin, Alfred älˈfrĕt döblĭnˈ [key], 1878–1957, German novelist and physician. His experiences as a psychiatrist in the workers' district of Berlin served as the basis for his experimental n...

Bo Xilai

(Encyclopedia)Bo Xilai, 1949–, Chinese political leader. The son of Bo Yibo, a Communist revolutionary leader, he joined the Communist party in 1980. Bo studied history at Peking Univ. and earned (1982) a master'...

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