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Taylor, Koko

(Encyclopedia)Taylor, Koko, 1928–2009, African-American blues singer and songwriter, b. Bartlett, Tenn., as Cora Walton. Growing up, Taylor absorbed gospel music in church and the blues at local events. In 1952 s...

Thimphu

(Encyclopedia)Thimphu thĭmbo͞oˈ [key], city (1997 est. pop. 45,000), capital and largest city of Bhutan, W Bhutan, on the Wang Chu. The Tashichoedzong, a fortress monastery dating from the 13th cent., has been t...

Mao Tun

(Encyclopedia)Mao Tun or Mao Dun shəˈ yĕnˈbĭngˈ [key], 1896–1981, Chinese novelist and Minister of Culture (1949–65). His fiction offers a sympathetic portrayal of working-class life and praise of revolut...

Gang of Four

(Encyclopedia)Gang of Four, term of opprobrium given by the Chinese Communist authorities to four persons held responsible for the excesses of the Cultural Revolution (1966–69). They were also accused of trying t...

Ssu-ma Kuang

(Encyclopedia)Ssu-ma Kuang so͞o-mä kwäng [key], 1018–86, Chinese statesman and historian of the Northern Sung dynasty. He edited the monumental Tzu-chih t'ung-chien [the comprehensive mirror for aid in governm...

Gödel, Kurt

(Encyclopedia)Gödel, Kurt göˈdəl [key], 1906–78, American mathematician and logician, b. Brünn (now Brno, Czech Republic), grad. Univ. of Vienna (Ph.D., 1930). He came to the United States in 1940 and was na...

Kaesong

(Encyclopedia)Kaesong or Kaisong both: kăˈsŭngˈ [key], Jap. Kaijo, city (1993 pop. 334,433), S North Korea. A long-time commercial center, it is important for its exports of ginseng, a valuable medicinal root. ...

Lao She

(Encyclopedia)Lao She chĭng-cho͝on [key], 1899–1966, Chinese writer. He wrote his first novels while teaching Chinese at the Univ. of London's School of Oriental Studies (1924–30). He continued to teach and w...

Wilson, August

(Encyclopedia)Wilson, August, 1945–2005, American playwright and poet, b. Pittsburgh as Frederick August Kittel, Jr. Largely self-educated, Wilson first attracted wide critical attention with his Broadway debut, ...

Tsin

(Encyclopedia)Tsin or Chin both: jhĭn [key], dynasty of China that ruled from 265 to 420, after the period of the Three Kingdoms. It was divided into two phases: the Western Tsin (265–317) and the Eastern Tsin (...

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