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February 22, 2012

Chinese literature

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Chinese literature

Chinese literature extends thousands of years, from the earliest recorded dynastic court archives to the mature fictional novelsthat arose during the Ming Dynasty to entertain the masses of literate Chinese. Sony VAIO VPCP113KX/G Battery

The introduction of widespread woodblock printingduring the Tang Dynasty (618–907) and the invention of movable type printing by Bi Sheng (990–1051) during the Song Dynasty(960–1279) rapidly spread written knowledge throughout China. In more modern times, the author Lu Xun (1881–1936) is considered the founder of baihua literature in China. Sony VAIO VPC-P113KX/G Battery

There is a wealth of early Chinese literature dating from the Hundred Schools of Thought that occurred during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770-256 BCE). The most important of these include the Classics of Confucianism, of Daoism, of Mohism, of Legalism, as well as works of military science and Chinese history. Sony VAIO VPCP113KX/P Battery

Note that except for the books of poems and songs, most of this literature is philosophical and didactic; there is little in the way of fiction. However, these texts maintained their significance through both their ideas and their prose style. Sony VAIO VPC-P113KX/P Battery

The Confucian works in particular have been of key importance to Chinese culture and history, as a set of works known as the Four Books and Five Classics were, in the 12th century CE, chosen as the basis for the Imperial examination for any government post. Sony VAIO VPCP113KX/W Battery

These nine books therefore became the center of the educational system. They have been grouped into two categories: the Five Classics, allegedly commented and edited by Confucius, and the Four Books. The Five Classics include: Sony VAIO VPC-P113KX/W Battery

The Four Books include: the Analects of Confucius, a book of pithy sayings attributed to Confucius and recorded by his disciples;Mencius, a collection of political dialogues; the Doctrine of the Mean, a book that teaches the path to Confucian virtue; and the Great Learning, a book about education, self-cultivation and the Dao. Sony VAIO VPC-P114KX/B Battery

Other important philosophical works include the Mohist Mozi, which taught “inclusive love” as both an ethical and social principle, and Hanfeizi, one of the central Legalist texts. Sony VAIO VPC-P114KX/D Battery

Important Daoist classics include the Dao De Jing, the Zhuangzi, and the Classic of the Perfect Emptiness. Later authors combined Daoism with Confucianism and Legalism, such as Liu An (2nd century BCE), whose Huainanzi (The Philosophers of Huai-nan) also added to the fields of geography and topography. Sony VAIO VPC-P114KX/G Battery

Among the classics of military science, The Art of War by Sun Tzu (6th century BCE) was perhaps the first to outline guidelines for effective international diplomacy. It was also the first in a tradition of Chinese military treatises, such as the Wujing Zongyao(Collection of the Most Important Military Techniques, 1044 CE) and the Huolongjing (Fire Dragon Manual, 14th century CE). Sony VAIO VPC-P114KX/P Battery

The Chinese kept consistent and accurate court records after the year 841 BCE, with the beginning of the Gonghe regency of theWestern Zhou Dynasty. The earliest known narrative history of China was the Zuo Zhuan, which was compiled no later than 389 BCE, and attributed to the blind 5th century BCE historian Zuo Qiuming. Sony VAIO VPC-P114KX/W Battery

The Classic of History is thought to have been compiled as far back as the 6th century BCE, and was certainly compiled by 4th century BCE, the latest date for the writing of the Guodian Chu Slipsunearthed in a Hubei tomb in 1993. The Classic of History included early information on geography in the chapter of the Yu Gong.^[1] Sony VAIO VPCP115JC Battery

The Bamboo Annals found in 281 AD in the tomb of the King of Wei, who was interred in 296 BCE, provide another example; however, unlike the Zuo Zhuan, the authenticity of the early date of the Bamboo Annals is in doubt. Another early text was the political strategy book of the Zhan Guo Ce, Sony VAIO VPCP115JC/B Battery

compiled between the 3rd and 1st centuries BCE, with partial amounts of the text found amongst the 2nd century BCE tomb site at Mawangdui. The oldest extant dictionary in China is the Erya, dated to the 3rd century BCE, anonymously written but with later commentary by the historian Guo Pu (276–324). Sony VAIO VPCP115JC/D Battery

Other early dictionaries include theFangyan by Yang Xiong (53 BCE – 18 AD) and the Shuowen Jiezi by Xu Shen (58–147 AD). One of the largest was the Kangxi Dictionary compiled by 1716 under the auspices of the Kangxi Emperor (r. 1661–1722); it provides definitions for over 47,000 characters.

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Although court records and other independent records existed beforehand, the definitive work in early Chinese historical writing was the Shiji (??/??), written by the Han Dynasty court historian Sima Qian (145 BCE-90 BCE). Sony VAIO VPCP115JC/P Battery

This groundbreaking text laid the foundation for Chinese historiography and the many official Chinese historical texts compiled for each dynasty thereafter. Sima Qian is often compared to the Greek Herodotus in scope and method, Sony VAIO VPCP115JC/W Battery

because he covered Chinese history from the mythical Xia Dynastyuntil the contemporary reign of Emperor Wu of Han while retaining an objective and non-biased standpoint. This was often difficult for the official dynastic historians, who used historical works to justify the reign of the current dynasty. Sony VAIO VPCP115KG Battery

He influenced the written works of many Chinese historians, including the works of Ban Gu and Ban Zhao in the 1st and 2nd centuries, and even Sima Guang’s 11th-century compilation of the Zizhi Tongjian , presented to Emperor Shenzong of Song in 1084 AD. Sony VAIO VPCP116KG Battery

The overall scope of the historiographical tradition in China is termed the Twenty-Four Histories, created for each successive Chinese dynasty up until the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644); China’s last dynasty, the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911), is not included. Sony VAIO VPC-P116KX/B Battery

Large encyclopedias were also produced in China through the ages. The Yiwen Leiju encyclopedia was completed by Ouyang Xun in 624 during the Tang Dynasty, with aid from scholars Linghu Defen and Chen Shuda. Sony VAIO VPC-P116KX/D Battery

During the Song Dynasty, the compilation of theFour Great Books of Song (10th century – 11th century), begun by Li Fang and completed by Cefu Yuangui, represented a massive undertaking of written material covering a wide range of different subjects. This included the Extensive Records of the Taiping Era(978), Sony VAIO VPC-P116KX/G Battery

the Imperial Readings of the Taiping Era (983), the Finest Blossoms in the Garden of Literature (986), and the Prime Tortoise of the Record Bureau (1013). Although these Song Dynasty Chinese encyclopedias featured millions of written Chinese characterseach, Sony VAIO VPC-P116KX/P Battery

their aggregate size paled in comparison to the later Yongle Encyclopedia (1408) of the Ming Dynasty, which contained a total of 50 million Chinese characters.^[2] Even this size was trumped by later Qing Dynasty encyclopedias, such as the printed Gujin Tushu Jicheng (1726), which featured over 100 million written Chinese characters in over 800,000 pages, Sony VAIO VPC-P116KX/W Battery

printed in 60 different copies using copper-metal Chinese movable type printing. Other great encyclopedic writers include the polymath scientist Shen Kuo (1031–1095) and his Dream Pool Essays, the agronomist and inventor Wang Zhen (fl. 1290–1333) and his Nongshu, and the minor scholar-official Song Yingxing (1587–1666) and his Tiangong Kaiwu. Sony VAIO VPCP118JC Battery

Classical poetry

The rich tradition of Chinese poetry began with two influential collections. In northern China, the Shijing or Classic of Poetry(approx. 10th-7th century BCE) comprises over 300 poems in a variety of styles ranging from those with a strong suggestion of folk music to ceremonial hymns.^[3] Sony VAIO VPCP118JC/B Battery

The word “shi” has the basic meaning of poem or poetry, as well as its use in criticism to describe one of China’s lyrical poetic genres. Confucius is traditionally credited with editing the Shijing. Its stately lines are usually composed of four characters or four syllables (Chinese characters are monosyllabic). Sony VAIO VPCP118JC/P Battery

Many of these early poems establish the later tradition of starting with a description of nature that leads into emotionally expressive statements, known as bi, xing, or sometime bixing.^[4]Separately in southern China, Sony VAIO VPCP118JC/W Battery

the Chuci is ascribed to Qu Yuan (c. 340-278 BCE) and his follower Song Yu (fl. 3rd century BCE) and is distinguished by its more emotionally intense affect, often full of despair and descriptions of the fantastic.^[5] Sony VAIO VPC-P118KX/B Battery

Metrically its six-character lines are formed into couplets separated in the middle by a strong caesura character (as the seventh character of the first line), producing a driving and dramatic rhythm. Both the Shijing and the Chuci have remained influential throughout Chinese history. Sony VAIO VPC-P118KX/D Battery

During the greater part of China’s first great period of unification, begun with the short-lived Qin Dynasty (221 BCE – 206 BCE) and followed by the centuries-long Han Dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE), the shi form of poetry underwent little innovation. Sony VAIO VPC-P118KX/G Battery

But a distinctively descriptive and erudite fu form (not the same fu character as that used for the bureau of music) developed that has been called “rhyme-prose,” a uniquely Han offshoot of Chinese poetry’s tradition.^[6] Sony VAIO VPC-P118KX/P Battery

Equally noteworthy is Music Bureau poetry (yuefu), collected and presumably refined popular lyrics from folk music. The end of the Han witnesses a resurgence of the shi poetry, with the anonymous “19 Old Poems.” This collection reflects the emergence of a distinctive five-character line that later became shipoetry’s most common line length.^[7] Sony VAIO VPC-P118KX/W Battery

From the Jian’an reign period (196 – 220 CE) onward, the five-character line became a focus for innovations in style and theme.^[8] The Cao family^[9], rulers of the Wei Dynasty (220 – 265 CE) during the post-Han Three Kingdomsperiod, distinguished themselves as poets by writing poems filled with sympathy for the day-to-day struggles of soldiery and the common people. Sony VAIO VPCP119JC Battery

Taoist philosophy became a different, common theme for other poets, and a genre emphasizing true feeling emerged led by Ruan Ji (210-263).^[10] The landscape genre of Chinese nature poetry emerged under the brush of Xie Lingyun (385-433), Sony VAIO VPCP119JC/BI Battery

as he innovated distinctively descriptive and complementary couplets composed of five-character lines.^[11] A farmland genre was born in obscurity by Tao Qian (365-427) also known as Tao Yuanming as he labored in his fields and then wrote extolling the influence of wine.^[12] Sony VAIO VPCP11S1E/B Battery

Toward the close of this period in which many later-developed themes were first experimented with, the Xiao family^[13] of the Southern Liang Dynasty (502-557) engaged in highly refined and often denigrated^[14] court-style poetry lushly describing sensual delights as well as the description of objects. Sony VAIO VPC-P11S1E/B Battery

Reunified China’s Tang Dynasty (618-907) high culture set a high point for many things, including poetry. Various schools of Buddhism flourished, a successfully imported and modified cultural influence from India, as represented by the Chan or Zen beliefs ofWang Wei (701-761).^[15] Sony VAIO VPCP11S1E/D Battery

His quatrains (jueju) describing natural scenes are world-famous examples of excellence, each couplet conventionally containing about two distinct images or thoughts per line.^[16] Tang poetry’s big star is Li Bai (701-762) also pronounced and written as Li Bo, who worked in all major styles, Sony VAIO VPC-P11S1E/D Battery

both the more free old style verse (gutishi) as well as the tonally regulated new style verse (jintishi).^[17] Regardless of genre, Tang poets notably strove to perfect a style in which poetic subjects are exposed and evident, Sony VAIO VPCP11S1E/G Battery

often without directly referring to the emotional thrust at hand.^[18] The poet Du Fu (712-770) excelled at regulated verse and use of the seven-character line, writing denser poems with more allusions as he aged, Sony VAIO VPC-P11S1E/G Battery

experiencing hardship and writing about it.^[19] A parade of great Tang poets also includes Chen Zi’ang (661-702), Wang Zhihuan (688-742), Meng Haoran (689-740), Bai Juyi (772-846), Li He (790-816), Du Mu (803-852), Wen Tingyun (812-870), (listed chronologically) and Li Shangyin (813-858), Sony VAIO VPCP11S1E/P Battery

whose poetry delights in allusions that often remain obscure,^[20] and whose emphasis on the seven-character line also contributed to the emerging posthumous fame of Du Fu,^[21] now ranked alongside Li Bai. The distinctively different ci poetry form began its development during the Tang as Central Asian and other musical influences flowed through its cosmopolitan society.^[22] Sony VAIO VPCP11S1E/W Battery

China’s Song Dynasty (960-1279), another reunification era after a brief period of disunity, initiated a fresh high culture. Several of its greatest poets were capable government officials as well including Ouyang Xiu (1007-1072), Su Shi (1037-1101), and Wang Anshi(1021-1086). The ci form flourished as a few hundred songs became standard templates for poems with distinctive and variously set meters.^[23] Sony VAIO VPC-P11S1E/W Battery

The free and expressive style of Song high culture has been contrasted with majestic Tang poems by centuries of subsequent critics who engage in fierce arguments over which dynasty had the best poetry.^[24] Additional musical influences contributed to the Yuan Dynasty’s (1279-1368) distinctive qu opera culture and spawned the sanqu form of individual poems based on it.^[25] Sony VAIO VPCP11Z9E/B Battery

Classical Chinese poetry composition became a conventional skill of the well educated throughout the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing(1644-1911) dynasties. Over a million poems have been preserved, including those by women and by many other diverse voices.^[26]Painter-poets, such as Shen Zhou (1427-1509), Tang Yin (1470-1524), Sony VAIO VPCS111FM/S Battery

Wen Zhengming (1470-1559), and Yun Shouping (1633-1690), created worthy conspicuous poems as they combined art, poetry and calligraphy with brush on paper.^[27] Poetry composition competitions were socially common, as depicted in novels, for example over dessert after a nice dinner.^[28] Sony VAIO VPCS115EC Battery

The Song versus Tang debate continues through the centuries.^[29] While China’s later imperial period does not seem to have broken new ground for innovative approaches to poetry, picking through its vast body of preserved works remains a scholarly challenge, so new treasures may yet be restored from obscurity.^[30] Sony VAIO VPCS115FG Battery

Early Chinese prose was deeply influenced by the great philosophical writings of the Hundred Schools of Thought (770-221 BCE). The works of Mo Zi (??), Mencius (??) and Zhuang Zi (??) contain well-reasoned, carefully developed discourses that reveal much stronger organization and style than their predecessors. Sony VAIO VPCS117GG Battery

Mo Zi’s polemic prose was built on solid and effective methodological reasoning. Mencius contributed elegant diction and, like Zhuang Zi, relied on comparisons, anecdotes, and allegories. By the 3rd century BCE, these writers had developed a simple, concise and economical prose style that served as a model of literary form for over 2,000 years. They were written in Classical Chinese, an isolating language spoken during the Spring and Autumn Period. Sony VAIO VPCS117GGB Battery

Later prose

During the Tang period, the ornate, artificial style of prose developed in previous periods was replace by a simple, direct, and forceful prose based on examples from the Hundred Schools (see above) and from the Han period, the period in which the great historical works of Sima Tan and Sima Qian were published. Sony VAIO VPCS118EC Battery

This neoclassical style dominated prose writing for the next 800 years. It was exemplified in the work of Han Yu ?? (768–824), a master essayist and strong advocate of a return to Confucian orthodoxy; Han Yu was later listed as one of the “Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song.” Sony VAIO VPCS119FJ/B Battery

The Song Dynasty saw the rise in popularity of “travel record literature” (youji wenxue). Travel literature combined both diary andnarrative prose formats, it was practiced by such seasoned travelers as Fan Chengda (1126–1193) and Xu Xiake (1587–1641) and can be seen in the example of Su Shi’s Record of Stone Bell Mountain. Sony VAIO VPCS119GC Battery

After the 14th century, vernacular fiction became popular, at least outside of court circles. Vernacular fiction covered a broader range of subject matter and was longer and more loosely structured than literary fiction. One of the masterpieces of Chinese vernacular fiction is the 18th-century domestic novel Dream of the Red Chamber (???). Sony VAIO VPCS11AFJ Battery

Late Qing (1895–1911)

Scholars now tend to agree that modern Chinese literature did not erupt suddenly in the New Culture Movement (1917–23). Instead, they trace its origins back at least to the late Qing period (1895–1911). Sony VAIO VPCS11AGJ Battery

The late Qing was a period of intellectual ferment sparked by a sense of national crisis. Intellectuals began to seek solutions to China’s problems outside of its own tradition. They translated works of Western expository writing and literature, Sony VAIO VPCS11AHJ Battery

which enthralled readers with new ideas and opened up windows onto new exotic cultures. Most outstanding^[^{by whom?}^] were the translations of Yan Fu (??) (1864–1921) and Lin Shu (??) (1852–1924). Sony VAIO VPCS11AVJ Battery

In this climate, a boom in the writing of fiction occurred, especially after the 1905 abolishment of the civil service examination when literati struggled to fill new social and cultural roles for themselves. Stylistically, this fiction shows signs of both the Chinese novelistic tradition and Western narrative modes. Sony VAIO VPCS11J7E/B Battery

In subject matter, it is strikingly concerned with the contemporary: social problems, historical upheaval, changing ethical values, etc. In this sense, late Qing fiction is modern. Important novelists of the period includeWu Woyao (???) (1866–1910), Li Boyuan (???) (1867–1906), Liu E (??) (1857–1909), and Zeng Pu (??) (1872–1935). Sony VAIO VPCS11M1E/W Battery

The late Qing also saw a “revolution in poetry” (????), which promoted experimentation with new forms and the incorporation of new registers of language. However, the poetry scene was still dominated by the adherents to the Tongguang School (named after theTongzhi and Guangxu reigns of the Qing), whose leaders — Chen Yan (??), Sony VAIO VPCS11V9E Battery

Chen Sanli (???), Zheng Xiaoxu (???), and Shen Zengzhi (???) — promoted a Song style in the manner of Huang Tingjian. These poets would become the objects of scorn by New Culturalists like Hu Shi, who saw their work as overly allusive, artificial, and divorced from contemporary reality. Sony VAIO VPCS11V9E/B Battery

In drama, the late Qing saw the emergence of the new “civilized drama” (???), a hybrid of Chinese operatic drama with Western-style spoken drama. Peking opera and “reformed Peking opera” were also popular at the time. Sony VAIO VPCS11X9E/B Battery

Republican Era (1911–1949)

The literary scene in the first few years after the collapse of the Qing in 1911 was dominated by popular love stories, some written in the classical language and some in the vernacular. This entertainment fiction would later be labeled “Mandarin Ducks and Butterfly” Sony VAIO VPCS123FGB Battery

fiction by New Culturalists, who despised its lack of social engagement. Throughout much of the Republican era, Butterfly fiction would reach many more readers than its “progressive” counterpart. Sony VAIO VPCS125EC Battery

In the course of the New Culture Movement (1917–23), the vernacular language largely displaced the classical in all areas of literature and writing. Literary reformers Hu Shi (??) (1891–1962) and Chen Duxiu (???) (1880–1942) declared the classical language “dead” and promoted the vibrant vernacular in its stead. Sony VAIO VPCS128EC Battery

Hu Shi once said, “A dead language can never produce a living literature.”^[^{citation needed}^] In terms of literary practice, Lu Xun (1881–1936) is usually said to be the first major stylist in the new vernacular prose that Hu Shi and Chen Duxiu were promoting. Sony VAIO VPCS129GC Battery

Though often said to be less successful than their counterparts in fiction writing, poets also experimented with the vernacular in new poetic forms, such as free verse and the sonnet. Given that there was no tradition of writing poetry in the vernacular, these experiments were more radical than those in fiction writing and also less easily accepted by the reading public. Sony VAIO VPCS12C7E/B Battery

^[^{by whom?}^] Modern poetry flourished especially in the 1930s, in the hands of poets like Zhu Xiang (??), Dai Wangshu (???), Li Jinfa (???), Wen Yiduo (???), and Ge Xiao (??). Other poets, even among the May Fourth radicals (e.g., Yu Dafu), continued to write poetry in classical styles. Sony VAIO VPCS12L9E/B Battery

May Fourth radicalism, combined with changes in the education system, made possible the emergence of a large group of women writers. While there had been women writers in the late imperial period and the late Qing, they had been few in number. Sony VAIO VPCS12V9E/B Battery

These writers generally tackled domestic issues, such as relations between the sexes, family, and friendship, but they were revolutionary in giving direct expression to female subjectivity. Ding Ling’s (??) story “Diary of Miss Sophie” (??????) exposes the thoughts and feelings of its female diarist in all their complexity. Sony VAIO VPCW111XX/P Battery

The 1920s and 1930s saw the emergence of spoken drama. Most outstanding among playwrights of the day are Ouyuang Yuqian (????), Hong Shen (??), Tian Han (??), and Cao Yu (??).^[^{by whom?}^] More popular than this Western-style drama, however, was Peking Opera, raised to new artistic heights by the likes of Mei Lanfang (???). Sony VAIO VPCW111XX/PC Battery

In the late 1920s and 1930s, literary journals and societies espousing various artistic theories proliferated. Among the major writers of the period were Guo Moruo (???) (1892–1978), a poet, historian, essayist, and critic; Mao Dun (??) (1896–1981), Sony VAIO VPCW111XX/T Battery

the first of the novelists to emerge from the “League of Left-Wing Writers” and one whose work reflected the revolutionary struggle and disillusionment of the late 1920s; satirist and novelist Lao She (??) (1899–1966); and Ba Jin (??) (1904–2005), Sony VAIO VPCW111XX/W Battery

a novelist whose work was influenced by Ivan Turgenev and other Russian writers. In the 1930s Ba Jin produced a trilogy that depicted the struggle of modern youth against the ageold dominance of the Confucian family system. Comparison often is made^[^{by whom?}^] between Jia(Family), Sony VAIO VPCW111XXP Battery

one of the novels in the trilogy, and Dream of the Red Chamber (???). Many of these writers became important as administrators of artistic and literary policy after 1949. Most of those authors who were still alive during the Cultural Revolution(1966–76) were either purged or forced to submit to public humiliation. Sony VAIO VPCW111XXT Battery

The League of Left-Wing Writers founded in 1930 included Lu Xun (??) among its leadership. By 1932 it had adopted the Soviet doctrine of socialist realism; that is, the insistence that art must concentrate on contemporary events in a realistic way, exposing the ills of nonsocialist society and promoting a glorious future under communism. Sony VAIO VPCW111XXW Battery

Other styles of literature were at odds with the highly-political literature being promoted by the League. The “New Sensationists” (????) – a group of writers based in Shanghai who were influenced, to varying degrees, by Western and Japanese modernism—wrote fiction that was more concerned with the unconscious and with aesthetics than with politics or social problems. Sony VAIO VPCW115XG Battery

Most important among these writers were Mu Shiying (???), Liu Na’ou (???), and Shi Zhecun (???).^[^{by whom?}^] Other writers, including Shen Congwen (???) and Fei Ming (??), balked at the utilitarian role for literature by writing lyrical, almost nostalgic, depictions of the countryside. Sony VAIO VPCW115XGP Battery

Lin Yutang, who had studied at Harvard and Leipzig, introduced the concept of youmo (humor), which he used in trenchant criticism of China’s political and cultural situation before leaving for the United States. Sony VAIO VPCW115XW/P Battery

The Communist Party of China had established a base after the Long March in Yan’an. The literary ideals of the League were being simplified and enforced on writers and “cultural workers.” In 1942, Mao Zedong gave a series of lectures calledSony VAIO VPCW115XW/T Battery

“Talks at the Yan’an Forum on Art and Literature” that clearly made literature subservient to politics via the Yan’an Rectification Movement. This document would become the national guideline for culture after the establishment of the People’s Republic of China. Sony VAIO VPCW115XW/W Battery

Republican Era (1911–1949)

This entertainment fiction would later be labeled “Mandarin Ducks and Butterfly” fiction by New Culturalists, who despised its lack of social engagement. Throughout much of the Republican era, Butterfly fiction would reach many more readers than its “progressive” counterpart. Sony VAIO VPCW117XC/T Battery

and promoted the vibrant vernacular in its stead. Hu Shi once said, “A dead language can never produce a living literature.”^[^{citation needed}^] In terms of literary practice, Lu Xun (1881–1936) is usually said to be the first major stylist in the new vernacular prose that Hu Shi and Chen Duxiu were promoting. Sony VAIO VPCW119XJ Battery

Modern poetry flourished especially in the 1930s, in the hands of poets like Zhu Xiang (??), Dai Wangshu (???), Li Jinfa (???), Wen Yiduo (???), and Ge Xiao (??). Other poets, even among the May Fourth radicals (e.g., Yu Dafu), continued to write poetry in classical styles. Sony VAIO VPCW119XJ/W Battery

essayist, and critic; Mao Dun (??) (1896–1981), the first of the novelists to emerge from the “League of Left-Wing Writers” and one whose work reflected the revolutionary struggle and disillusionment of the late 1920s; satirist and novelist Lao She (??) (1899–1966); and Ba Jin (??) (1904–2005), Sony VAIO VPCW121AX Battery

depictions of the countryside. Lin Yutang, who had studied at Harvard and Leipzig, introduced the concept of youmo (humor), which he used in trenchant criticism of China’s political and cultural situation before leaving for the United States. Sony VAIO VPCW12AAJ Battery

In 1942, Mao Zedong gave a series of lectures called “Talks at the Yan’an Forum on Art and Literature” that clearly made literature subservient to politics via the Yan’an Rectification Movement. This document would become the national guideline for culture after the establishment of the People’s Republic of China. Sony VAIO VPCW12AVJ Battery

Post-Mao (1976–present)

The arrest of Jiang Qing and the other members of the Gang of Four in 1976, and especially the reforms initiated at the Third Plenum of the Eleventh National Party Congress Central Committee in December 1978, led writers to take up their pens again. Much of the literature in what would be called the “new era” (???) Sony VAIO VPCW12S1E/P Battery

discussed the serious abuses of power that had taken place at both the national and the local levels during the Cultural Revolution. The writers decried the waste of time and talent during that decade and bemoaned abuses that had held China back. At the same time, the writers expressed eagerness to make a contribution to building Chinese society. Sony VAIO VPCW12S1E/T Battery

This literature, often called “the literature of the wounded,” contained disquieting views of the party and the political system. Intensely patriotic, these authors wrote cynically of the political leadership that gave rise to the extreme chaos and disorder of the Cultural Revolution. Sony VAIO VPCW12S1E/W Battery

Some of them extended the blame to the entire generation of leaders and to the political system itself. The political authorities were faced with a serious problem: how could they encourage writers to criticize and discredit the abuses of the Cultural Revolution without allowing that criticism to go beyond what they considered tolerable limits? Sony VAIO VPCW213AG/L Battery

During this period, a large number of novels and short stories were published. Literary magazines from before the Cultural Revolution were revived, and new ones were established to satisfy the appetite of the reading public. Sony VAIO VPCW213AG/P Battery

There was a special interest in foreign works. Linguists were commissioned to translate recently published foreign literature, often without carefully considering its interest for the Chinese reader. Literary magazines specializing in translations of foreign short stories became very popular, especially among the young. Sony VAIO VPCW213AG/T Battery

These dramatic changes brought objections from some leaders in the government, literary and art circles who feared it was happening too fast. The first reaction came in 1980 with calls to combat “bourgeois liberalism,” a campaign that was repeated in 1981. These two difficult periods were followed by the Anti-Spiritual Pollution Campaign in late 1983. Sony VAIO VPCW213AG/W Battery

At the same time, writers remained more free to write in unconventional styles and to treat sensitive subject matter. A spirit of literary experimentation flourished in the second half of the 1980s. Sony VAIO VPCW215AG/L Battery

Fiction writers such as Wang Meng (??), Zhang Xinxin (???), and Zong Pu (??) and dramatists such as Gao Xingjian (???) experimented with modernist language and narrative modes. Sony VAIO VPCW217JC Battery

Another group of writers—collectively said to constitute the Roots (??) movement—including Han Shaogong (???), Mo Yan, andA Cheng (??) sought to reconnect literature and culture to Chinese traditions, Sony VAIO VPCW217JC/L Battery

from which a century of modernization and cultural and political iconoclasm had severed them. Other writers (e.g., Yu Hua (??), Ge Fei (??), Su Tong (??) experimented in a more avant-garde (??) mode of writing that was daring in form and language and showed a complete loss of faith in ideals of any sort.^[^{by whom?}^] Sony VAIO VPCW217JC/P Battery

In the wake of the Tiananmen massacre of 1989 and with the intensification of market reforms, literature and culture turned increasingly commercial and escapist. Wang Shuo (??), the so-called “hooligan” (??) writer, is the most obvious manifestation of this commercial shift, Sony VAIO VPCW217JC/T Battery

though his fiction is not without serious intent.^[^{by whom?}^] Some writers, such as Yan Lianke ???, continue to take seriously the role of literature in exposing social problems; his novel Dreams of Ding Village (???) deals with the plight ofHIV-AIDS victims. Sony VAIO VPCW217JC/W Battery

As in the May Fourth Movement, women writers flourish in present-day China. Many of them, such as Chen Ran (??), Wei Hui (??), Wang Anyi (???), and Hong Ying (??), explore female subjectivity in a radically changing society. Neo-realism (e.g., Liu Heng (??), Chi Li (??), Fang Fang (??), He Dun (??), and Zhu Wen (??) is another important current in post-Tian’anmen fiction. Sony VAIO VPCW218JC Battery

China’s state-run General Administration of Press and Publication (??????) screens all Chinese literature intended to be sold on the open market. The GAPP has the legal authority to screen, censor, and ban any print, electronic, or Internet publication in China. Because all publishers in China are required to be licensed by the GAPP, Sony VAIO VPCW218JC/L Battery

that agency also has the power to deny people the right to publish, and completely shut down any publisher who fails to follow its dictates.^[31] As a result, the ratio of official to pirated books is said to be 2:3.^[32] Sony VAIO VPCW218JC/P Battery

According to a report in ZonaEuropa, there are more than 4,000 underground publishing factories around China.^[31] The Chinese government continues to hold public book burnings^[33] on unapproved yet popular “spiritual pollution” literature, though critics claim this spotlight on individual titles only helps fuel booksales.^[34] Sony VAIO VPCW218JC/T Battery

Many new-generation Chinese authors who were the recipients of such government attention have been re-published in English and success in the western literary markets, namely Zhou Weihui’s Shanghai Baby, Sony VAIO VPCW218JC/W Battery

Anchee Min’s controversial memoir Red Azalea, Time Magazine banned-book covergirl Chun Sue’s Beijing Doll, and Mian Mian’s Candy. Online bestseller Ghost Blows Out the Light had to be rewritten to remove references to the supernatural before it could be released in print.^[35] Sony VAIO VPCW219AJ/L Battery

After the liberal 1980s, the 1990s saw a strong commercialization of literature due to an opening of the book market. According toMartin Woesler trends were ‘cult literature’ with Guo Jingming (???), ?????? Cry me a sad river, vagabond literature with Xu Zechen (???), ??????? Peking double quick, Sony VAIO VPCW219AJ/P Battery

Liu Zhenyun (???), ???? The pickpockets, underground literature Mian Mian (??), ???? Panda Sex, ‘longing for something’ literature, divided in historicizing literature with Yu Dan ??, ??????Confucius in your heart, Sony VAIO VPCW219AJ/W Battery

Yi Zhongtian (???) and in Tibetan literature with Alai, literature of the mega cities, women’s literature with Bi Shumin (???), ??? Women’s boxing, ???? The female psychologist, master narratives by narrators like Mo Yan ?? with ???? Life and Death are Wearing me out.^[36] Sony VAIO VPCW21AAJ Battery

However Chinese literature at the beginning of the 21st century shows signs of overcoming the commercialization of literature of the 1980s and 1990s. An example is Han Han’s (??) novel ??? His land (2009), which was written in a social critical surrealistic style against the uncritical mainstream, but ranked 1st in 2009 Chinese bestseller list.^[37] Sony VAIO VPCW21AKJ Battery

In the new millennium, online literature in China plays a much more important role than in the United States or in the rest of the world.^[38] Almost any book is available online, novels finding millions of readers, being available at 2 Yuan in average, a tenth of the average prize of a printed book.^[39] Online literature stars are, amongst others, again Han Han and Guo Jingming.^[40] Sony VAIO VPCW21AVJ Battery

Chinese language literature also flourishes in the diaspora—in South East Asia, the United States, and Europe. China is the largest publisher of books, magazines and newspapers in the world.^[^{citation needed}^] Sony VAIO VPCY115FGS Battery

In book publishing alone, some 128,800 new titles of books were published in 2005, according to the General Administration of Press and Publication. Sony VAIO VPCY115FX/BI Battery

There are more than 600 literary journals across the country. Living and writing in France but continuing to write primarily in Chinese, Gao Xingjian became the first Chinese writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2000. Sony VAIO VPCY115FXBI Battery

Book market

China buys many foreign book rights; nearly 16 million copies of the sixth book of the Harry Potter series were sold in Chinese translation. As China Book Review reported, the rights to 9,328 foreign titles – including many children’s books – went to China in 2007. China was nominated as a Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Bookfair in 2009. [2][3] Sony VAIO VPCY118EC Battery

The book market in China traditionally orders books during bookfairs, because the country lacks a national book ordering system. In 2006, 6.8 million titles were sold, not including an unknown number of banned titles, Sony VAIO VPCY118GX/BI Battery

bootleg copies and underground publishing factories. Seven percent of all publishers are located in Shanghai. Because the industry lacks a national distribution system, many titles from publishers in the provinces can only be found there. Sony VAIO VPCY119FJ/S Battery

The central publishing houses belonging to ministries or (other) government institutions have their main seat at Beijing (40 percent of all publishers). Most regional publishing houses are situated in the capitals of the provinces. Universities also have associated presses. Private publishing is tolerated. 220,000 books were published in 2005. Sony VAIO VPCY11AFJ Battery

Among 579 publishers – almost five times more than thirty years ago – 225 are supervised by ministries, commissions or the army; 348 are controlled by agencies; and six are even more independent. On the other hand 100,000 private bookstores bring in the half of the income of the book industry.^[41] Sony VAIO VPCY11AGJ Battery

Sony VAIO VPCY11AHJ Battery

According to The Guardian, the cultural life of the 1.3 billion people who live and work in this economic superpower remains a closed book to many in the west – their bestselling authors unfamiliar, Sony VAIO VPCY11AVJ Battery

their most exciting writers untranslated. However, in 2005, the Chinese government started a sponsoring program for translations of government-approved Chinese works, which has already resulted in more than 200 books being translated from Chinese into another language. Sony VAIO VPCY11M1E/S Battery

Shanda Literature Ltd. is an online publishing company that claims to publish 8,000 Chinese literary works daily. Sony VAIO VPCY11S1E Battery

Early female writers

Cai, or literary talent, is an attribute describing profound lyricism, deep intellectuality and analytic skill.^[42] Although it was acknowledged that both women and men possessed cai, the phrase nuren wucai bian shi de ???????(for women, Sony VAIO VPCY11V9E/S Battery

lack of literary talent is a virtue^[42] summarizes the dominant sentiment that the literary field was traditionally a domain for men. Despite this belief, works authored by women play an integral part throughout Chinese history. There were a number of women writers prior to the 20th century who were respected by the intelligentsia of their era, Sony VAIO VPCY218EC/BI Battery

even if much of their work was considered less important than men’s work in general.^[43] Female writers helped to bring forth themes such as romance, marriage, gender roles and the politics surrounding women. Sony VAIO VPCY218EC/G Battery

The first women recorded in biography and bibliography were poets.^[43] The aesthetic nature of poetry was highly regarded, while fiction was viewed as an avenue taken because of a failed career or commercial venture.^[43] A marked increase in female literacy took place during the Late Imperial Era. Sony VAIO VPCY218EC/L Battery

One of the more notable poets of this time was Mao Xiuhui, a 16th century poet that used the plight of her husband’s failed attempt at gaining a position as civil servant to write a poem that draws parallels between the male and female as they suffer hardships in the political and domestic arenas respectively. Other notable female poets in Chinese history wereGao Zhixian, Xue Tao, and Li Qingzhao Sony VAIO VPCY218EC/P Battery

20th century writers and feminism

The beginning of the century marked a period of growing unrest for women as the feminist movement took hold. Women of this period were faced with the dilemma of protesting oppressive ideals stemming from Confucian ideology or remaining true to their family and maintaining peace and order. Sony VAIO VPCY21S1E/L Battery

Literary discourse at the time was highly influenced by this social movement. Women writers of the time authored works reflecting the feminist sentiment and the issues that came with revolution.^[44] Sony VAIO VPCY21S1E/SI Battery

Zhang Ailing, Lu Yin, Shi Pingmei and Ding Ling, were four of the most influential feminist writers of the time. In the 1920s and 1930s, Freudianpsychoanalysis gained favor with Chinese feminists looking to study gender relationships, thus becoming a topic of many feminist writers throughout the early and mid portions of the 20th century.^[44] Sony VAIO VPCZ110 Battery

When Mao came to power in 1949, he addressed the issue of women’s rights and tried to establish women’s equality through the “iron girls” of national development ideal.^[44] Through this philosophy, long-standing practices such as foot binding, prostitution and trafficking of women were abolished. Sony VAIO VPCZ110GB/BI Battery

Women were given the opportunity to own land, divorce, and join the military and other employment fields.^[45] The establishment of this ideology, however, did not liberate women; instead, it undermined the feminine voice by forcing women to take a male-oriented stance on public and domestic policy.^[44] Sony VAIO VPCZ112GD/S Battery

Literature authored during this time reflects the restrictive and masculine perspective of women writers during this period.^[44] This “Mulanian” style of writing submerged true feminine identity, Sony VAIO VPCZ112GX/S Battery

rendering the female perspective neglected and hidden in the male dominated political and aesthetic arenas.^[46] There were some exceptions to this rule, such as Yuan Qiongqiong, who wrote about women’s issues and how much women could accomplish without men. Sony VAIO VPCZ114GX/S Battery

Song Dynasty

The Song Dynasty (Chinese: ??; pinyin: Sòng Cháo; Wade-Giles: Sung Ch’ao; IPA: [s??? t??????]) was a ruling dynasty in Chinabetween 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. Sony VAIO VPCZ115 Battery

It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a permanent standing navy. This dynasty also saw the first known use of gunpowder, as well as first discernment of true north using a compass. Sony VAIO VPCZ115FC/B Battery

The Song Dynasty is divided into two distinct periods: the Northern Song and Southern Song. During the Northern Song (Chinese: ??, 960–1127), the Song capital was in the northern city of Bianjing (now Kaifeng) and the dynasty controlled most of inner China. Sony VAIO VPCZ115FC/S Battery

The Southern Song (Chinese: ??, 1127–1279) refers to the period after the Song lost control of northern China to the Jin Dynasty. During this time, the Song court retreated south of the Yangtze River and established their capital at Lin’an (now Hangzhou). Sony VAIO VPCZ116 Battery

Although the Song Dynasty had lost control of the traditional birthplace of Chinese civilization along the Yellow River, the Song economy was not in ruins, as the Southern Song Empire contained 60 percent of China’s population and a majority of the most productive agricultural land.^[1] Sony VAIO VPCZ116GX/S Battery

The Southern Song Dynasty considerably bolstered its naval strength to defend its waters and land borders and to conduct maritime missions abroad. Sony VAIO VPCZ117 Battery

To repel the Jin, and later the Mongols, the Song developed revolutionary new military technology augmented by the use of gunpowder. In 1234, the Jin Dynasty was conquered by the Mongols, who took control of northern China, maintaining uneasy relations with the Southern Song. Sony VAIO VPCZ117FC/B Battery

Möngke Khan, the fourth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, died in 1259 while besieging a city inChongqing. His younger brother Kublai Khan was proclaimed the new Great Khan, though his claim was only partially recognized by the Mongols in the west. Sony VAIO VPCZ118 Battery

In 1271, Kublai Khan was proclaimed the Emperor of China.^[2] After two decades of sporadic warfare, Kublai Khan’s armies conquered the Song Dynasty in 1279. China was once again unified, under the Mongol Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368).^[3] Sony VAIO VPCZ118GC/B Battery

The population of China doubled in size during the 10th and 11th centuries. This growth came through expanded rice cultivation in central and southern China, the use of early-ripening rice from southeast and southern Asia, and the production of abundant food surpluses.^[4][5] Sony VAIO VPCZ118GX/S Battery

The Northern Song census recorded a population of roughly 50 million, much like the Han and Tang dynasties. This data is found in the Standard Histories. However, it is estimated that the Northern Song had a population of some 100 million people, and 200 million by the time of the Ming Dynasty.^[6] Sony VAIO VPCZ119 Battery

This dramatic increase of population fomented an economic revolution in premodern China. The expansion of the population was partially the cause for the gradual withdrawal of the central government from heavily regulating the market economy. Sony VAIO VPCZ119FJ/S Battery

A much larger populace also increased the importance of the lower gentry’s role in grassroots administration and local affairs. Appointed officials in county and provincial centers relied upon the scholarly gentry for their services, sponsorship, and local supervision. Sony VAIO VPCZ119GC/X Battery

Social life during the Song was vibrant; social elites gathered to view and trade precious artworks, the populace intermingled at public festivals and private clubs, and cities had lively entertainment quarters. Sony VAIO VPCZ119L Battery

The spread of literature and knowledge was enhanced by the earlier invention of woodblock printing and the 11th-century invention of movable type printing. Pre-modern technology, science, philosophy, mathematics, engineering, and other intellectual pursuits flourished over the course of the Song. Sony VAIO VPCZ119R/B Battery

Philosophers such as Cheng Yi and Zhu Xi reinvigorated Confucianism with new commentary, infused with Buddhist ideals, and emphasized a new organization of classic texts that brought out the core doctrine of Neo-Confucianism. Sony VAIO VPCZ119R/S Battery

Although the institution of the civil service examinations had existed since the Sui Dynasty, it became much more prominent in the Song period. This became a leading factor in the shift of an aristocratic elite to a bureaucratic elite. Sony VAIO VPCZ11AFJ Battery

Northern Song, 960–1127

Emperor Taizu of Song (r. 960–976) unified China through conquering other lands during his reign, ending the upheaval of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. In Kaifeng, he established a strong central government over the empireSony VAIO VPCZ11AGJ Battery

. He ensured administrative stability by promoting the civil service examination system of drafting state bureaucrats by skill and merit (instead ofaristocratic or military position) and promoted projects that ensured efficiency in communication throughout the empire. Sony VAIO VPCZ11AVJ Battery

One such project was the creation by cartographers of detailed maps of each province and city which were then collected in a large atlas.^[7] He also promoted groundbreaking science and technological innovations by supporting such works as the astronomical clock towerdesigned and built by the engineer Zhang Sixun.^[8] Sony VAIO VPCZ11CGX/X Battery

The Song court maintained diplomatic relations with Chola India, Fatimid Egypt, Srivijaya, the Kara-Khanid Khanate of Central Asia, and other countries that were also trade partners.^{[9][10][11][12]} Sony VAIO VPCZ11DGX/SJ Battery

However, it was China’s closest neighboring states which would have the greatest impact on its domestic and foreign policy. From its inception under Taizu, the Song Dynasty alternated between warfare and diplomacy with the ethnic Khitans of the Liao Dynasty in the northeast and with the Tanguts of the Western Xia Dynastyin the northwest. Sony VAIO VPCZ11FHX/XQ Battery

The Song Dynasty used military force in an attempt to quell the Liao Dynasty and recapture the Sixteen Prefectures, a territory under Khitan control that was traditionally considered to be part of China proper.^[13] Sony VAIO VPCZ11V9R/B Battery

However, Song forces were repulsed by the Liao forces who engaged in aggressive yearly campaigns into northern Song territory until 1005 when the signing of the Shanyuan Treaty ended these northern border clashes. Sony VAIO VPCZ11X9E/B Battery

The Song were forced to provide tribute to the Khitans, although paying this tribute did little damage to the overall Song economy since the Khitans were heavily dependent upon importing massive amounts of goods from the Song Dynasty.^[14] More significantly, the Song state recognized the Liao state as its diplomatic equal.^[15] Sony VAIO VPCZ11Z9E/B Battery

The Song Dynasty managed to win several military victories over the Tanguts in the early 11th century, culminating in a campaign led by the polymath scientist, general, and statesman Shen Kuo (1031–1095).^[16] However, this campaign was ultimately a failure due to a rival military officer of Shen disobeying direct orders, Sony VAIO VPCZ125GX/S Battery

and the territory gained from the Western Xia was eventually lost.^[17]There was also a significant war fought against the Lý Dynasty of Vietnam from 1075 to 1077 over a border dispute and the Song’s severing of commercial relations with the ??i Vi?t kingdom.^[18] After Lý forces inflicted heavy damages in a raid on Guangxi, the Song commander Guo Kui (1022–1088) penetrated as far as Th?ng Long (modern Hanoi).^[19] Sony VAIO VPCZ127FC Battery

However, heavy losses on both sides prompted the Lý commander Th??ng Ki?t (1019–1105) to make peace overtures, allowing both sides to withdraw from the war effort; captured territories held by both Song and Lý were mutually exchanged in 1082, along with prisoners of war.^[20] Sony VAIO VPCZ128GC Battery

During the 11th century, political rivalries thoroughly divided members of the court due to the ministers’ differing approaches, opinions, and policies regarding the handling of the Song’s complex society and thriving economy. Sony VAIO VPCZ12M9E/B Battery

The idealist Chancellor, Fan Zhongyan (989–1052), was the first to receive a heated political backlash when he attempted to make such reforms as improving the recruitment system of officials, increasing the salaries for minor officials, and establishing sponsorship programs to allow a wider range of people to be well educated and eligible for state service.^[21] Sony VAIO VPCZ13M9E/B Battery

After Fan was forced to step down from his office, Wang Anshi(1021–1086) became Chancellor of the imperial court. With the backing of Emperor Shenzong (1067–1085), Wang Anshi severely criticized the educational system and state bureaucracy. Sony VAIO VPCZ13V9E/X Battery

Seeking to resolve what he saw as state corruption and negligence, Wang implemented a series of reforms called the New Policies. These involved land tax reform, the establishment of several governmentmonopolies, the support of local militias, and the creation of higher standards for the Imperial examination to make it more practical for men skilled in statecraft to pass.^[22] Sony VAIO VPCZ13Z9E/X Battery

The reforms created political factions in the court. Wang Anshi’s New Policies Group (Xin Fa), also known as the ‘Reformers’, were opposed by the ministers in the ‘Conservative’ faction led by the historian and Chancellor Sima Guang (1019–1086).^[23] Sony VAIO VPCZZZHJ Battery

As one faction supplanted another in the majority position of the court ministers, it would demote rival officials and exile them to govern remote frontier regions of the empire.^[22] One of the prominent victims of the political rivalry, the famous poet and statesman Su Shi (1037–1101), was jailed and eventually exiled for criticizing Wang’s reforms.^[22] Sony VAIO VPZ117 Battery

While the central Song court remained politically divided and focused upon its internal affairs, alarming new events to the north in the Liao state finally came to its attention. The Jurchen, a subject tribe within the Liao empire, rebelled against the Liao and formed their own state, the Jin Dynasty (1115–1234).^[24] Sony VAIO VPZ118 Battery

The Song official Tong Guan (1054–1126) advised Emperor Huizong (1100–1125) to form an alliance with the Jurchens, and their joint military campaign toppled and completely conquered the Liao Dynasty by 1125. Sony VAIO VPZ119 Battery

However, the poor performance and military weakness of the Song army was observed by the Jurchens who immediately broke the alliance with the Song, launching an invasion into Song territory in 1125 and another in 1127; in this latter invasion, the Jurchens captured not only the Song capital at Kaifeng, Sony VPCM11M1E/B Battery

but the retired emperor Huizong, his successor Qinzong, and most of the Imperial court.^[24] This took place in the year of Jingkang (Chinese ??) and it is known as the Humiliation of Jingkang (Chinese ????). The remaining Song forces regrouped under the self-proclaimed. Emperor Gaozong (1127–1162), Sony VPCM11M1E/W Battery

and withdrew south of the Yangtze River to establish the Song Dynasty’s new capital at Lin’an (in modern Hangzhou). The Jurchen conquest of northern China and shift of capitals from Kaifeng to Lin’an was the dividing line between the Northern Song Dynasty and Southern Song Dynasty. Sony VPCM12M1E/L Battery

Although weakened and pushed south along the Huai River, the Southern Song found new ways to bolster its strong economy and defend its own state against the Jin Dynasty. They had able military officers such as Yue Fei and Han Shizhong. Sony VPCM12M1E/P Battery

The government sponsored massive shipbuilding and harbor improvement projects, and the construction of beacons and seaport warehouses in order to support maritime trade abroad and the major international seaports, such as Quanzhou, Guangzhou, and Xiamen, that were sustaining China’s commerce.^[25][26][27] Sony VPCM12M1E/W Battery

To protect and support the multitudes of ships sailing for maritime interests into the waters of the East China Sea and Yellow Sea (to Korea and Japan), Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean, and the Red Sea, it was a necessity to establish an official standing navy.^[28] The Song Dynasty therefore established China’s first permanent navy in 1132,^[27Sony VPCM13M1E/L Battery

^]with a headquarters at Dinghai.^[29] With a permanent navy, the Song were prepared to face the naval forces of the Jin on the Yangtze River in 1161, in the Battle of Tangdao and the Battle of Caishi. During these battles the Song navy employed swift paddle wheel drivennaval vessels armed with trebuchet catapults aboard the decks that launched gunpowder bombs.^[29] Sony VPCM13M1E/P Battery

Although the Jin forces boasted 70,000 men on 600 warships, and the Song forces only 3,000 men on 120 warships,^[30] the Song Dynasty forces were victorious in both battles due to the destructive power of the bombs and the rapid assaults by paddle wheel ships.^[31] The strength of the navy was heavily emphasized after that. Sony VPCM13M1E/W Battery

A century after the navy was founded it had grown in size to 52,000 fighting marines.^[29] The Song government confiscated portions of land owned by the landed gentry in order to raise revenue for these projects, an act which caused dissension and loss of loyalty amongst leading members of Song society but did not stop the Song’s defensive preparations. Sony VAIO VGN-Z11MN/B Battery

Financial matters were made worse by the fact that many wealthy, land-owning families—some which had officials working for the government—used their social connections with those in office in order to obtain tax-exempt status.^[35] Sony VAIO VGN-Z11VN/X Battery

Although the Song Dynasty was able to hold back the Jin, a new considerable foe came to power over the steppe, deserts, and plains north of the Jin Dynasty. The Mongols, led by Genghis Khan (r. 1206–1227), Sony VAIO VGN-Z11WN/B Battery

initially invaded the Jin Dynasty in 1205 and 1209, engaging in large raids across its borders, and in 1211 an enormous Mongol army was assembled to invade the Jin.^[36] The Jin Dynasty was forced to submit and pay tribute to the Mongols as vassals; when the Jin suddenly moved their capital city from Beijingto Kaifeng, Sony VAIO VGN-Z11XN/B Battery

the Mongols saw this as a revolt.^[37] Under the leadership of Ögedei Khan (r.1229–1241), both the Jin Dynasty and Western Xia Dynasty were conquered by Mongol forces.^[37][38] The Mongols also invaded Korea, the Abbasid Caliphate of the Middle East, and Kievan Rus’. The Mongols were at one time allied with the Song, Sony VAIO VGN-Z15 Battery

but this alliance was broken when the Song recaptured the former imperial capitals of Kaifeng, Luoyang and Chang’an at the collapse of the Jin Dynasty. The Mongol leaderMöngke Khan led a campaign against the Song in 1259, but died on August 11 during the Battle of Fishing Town in Chongqing.^[39Sony VAIO VGN-Z15N Battery

^]Möngke’s death and the ensuing succession crisis prompted Hulagu Khan to pull the bulk of the Mongol forces out of the Middle East where they were poised to fight the Egyptian Mamluks (who defeated the Mongols at Ain Jalut). Although Hulagu was allied withKublai Khan, his forces were unable to help in the assault against the Song, due to Hulagu’s war with the Golden Horde.^[40] Sony VAIO VGN-Z17 Battery

Kublai continued the assault against the Song, gaining a temporary foothold on the southern banks of the Yangtze.^[41] Kublai made preparations to take Ezhou, but a pending civil war with his brother Ariq Böke—a rival claimant to the Mongol Khaganate—forced Kublai to move with the bulk of his forces back north.^[42] Sony VAIO VGN-Z17N Battery

In Kublai’s absence, the Song forces were ordered by Chancellor Jia Sidao to make an opportune assault, and succeeded in pushing the Mongol forces back to the northern banks of the Yangzi.^[43] Sony VAIO VGN-Z19 Battery

There were minor border skirmishes until 1265, when Kublai won a significant battle in Sichuan.^[44] From 1268 to 1273, Kublai blockaded the Yangzi River with his navy and besieged Xiangyang, the last obstacle in his way to invading the rich Yangzi River basin.^[44] Kublai officially declared the creation of the Yuan Dynasty in 1271. Sony VAIO VGN-Z19N Battery

In 1275, a Song force of 130,000 troops under Chancellor Jia Sidao was defeated by Kublai’s newly appointed commander-in-chief, general Bayan.^[45] By 1276, most of the Song territory had been captured by Yuan forces.^[38] Sony VAIO VGN-Z21MN/B Battery

In the Battle of Yamen on the Pearl River Delta in 1279, the Yuan army, led by the general Zhang Hongfan, finally crushed the Song resistance. The last remaining ruler, the 8-year-old emperor Emperor Huaizong of Song committed suicide, along with Prime Minister Lu Xiufu ^[46] Sony VAIO VGN-Z21VN/X Battery

and 800 members of the royal clan. On Kublai’s orders, carried out by his commander Bayan, the rest of the former imperial family of Song were unharmed; the deposed Emperor Gong was demoted, being given the title ‘Duke of Ying’, but was eventually exiled to Tibet where he took up a monastic life.^[47] Sony VAIO VGN-Z21WN/B Battery

Society and culture

The Song Dynasty was an era of administrative sophistication and complex social organization. Some of the largest cities in the world were found in China during this period (Kaifeng and Hangzhou had populations of over a million).^[1][48] Sony VAIO VGN-Z21XN Battery

People enjoyed various social clubs and entertainment in the cities, and there were many schools and temples to provide the people with education and religious services.^[1] The Song government supported multiple forms of social welfare programs, including the establishment ofretirement homes, public clinics, and pauper’s graveyards.^[1] Sony VAIO VGN-Z21ZN/X Battery

The Song Dynasty supported a widespread postal service that was modeled on the earlier Han Dynasty (202 BC – AD 220) postal system to provide swift communication throughout the empire.^[49] Sony VAIO VGN-Z25 Battery

The central government employed thousands of postal workers of various ranks and responsibilities to provide service for post offices and larger postal stations.^[50] In rural areas, farming peasants either owned their own plots of land, paid rents as tenant farmers, or were serfs on large estates.^[51] Sony VAIO VGN-Z25/B Battery

Although women were on a lower social tier than men (according to Confucian ethics), they enjoyed many social and legal privileges and wielded considerable power at home and in their own small businesses. Sony VAIO VGN-Z25TN/B Battery

As Song society became more and more prosperous and parents on the bride’s side of the family provided larger dowries for her marriage, women naturally gained many new legal rights in ownership of property.^[52] Sony VAIO VGN-Z26TN/B Battery

They were also equal in status to men in inheriting family property.^[53] There were many notable and well-educated women and it was a common practice for women to educate their sons during their earliest youth.^[54][55] Sony VAIO VGN-Z27 Battery

The mother of the scientist, general, diplomat, and statesman Shen Kuo taught him essentials of military strategy.^[55] There were also exceptional women writers and poets such as Li Qingzhao (1084–1151), who became famous even in her lifetime.^[52] Sony VAIO VGN-Z27/B Battery

Religion in China during this period had a great effect on people’s lives, beliefs and daily activities, and Chinese literature on spirituality was popular.^[56] The major deities of Daoism and Buddhism, ancestral spirits and the many deities of Chinese folk religionwere worshiped with sacrificial offerings. Sony VAIO VGN-Z27TN/X Battery

Tansen Sen asserts that more Buddhist monks from India traveled to China during the Song than in the previous Tang Dynasty (618–907).^[57] Sony VAIO VGN-Z29N/X Battery

With many ethnic foreigners traveling to China to conduct trade or live permanently, there came many foreign religions; religious minorities in China included Middle Eastern Muslims, the Kaifeng Jews, and Persian Manichaeans.^[58][59] Sony VAIO VGN-Z29N Battery

The populace engaged in a vibrant social and domestic life, enjoying such public festivals as the Lantern Festival or the Qingming Festival. There were entertainment quarters in the cities provided a constant array of amusements. Sony VAIO VGN-Z31MN/B Battery

There were puppeteers, acrobats, theater actors, sword swallowers, snake charmers, storytellers, singers and musicians, prostitutes, and places to relax including tea houses, restaurants, and organized banquets.^[1][60][61] Sony VAIO VGN-Z31VN/X Battery

People attended social clubs in large numbers; there were tea clubs, exotic food clubs, antiquarian and art collectors’ clubs, horse-loving clubs, poetry clubs and music clubs.^[1] Sony VAIO VGN-Z31WN/B Battery

Like regional cooking and cuisines in the Song, the era was known for its regional varieties of performing arts styles as well.^[62] Theatrical drama was very popular amongst the elite and general populace, although Classical Chinese—not the vernacular language—was spoken by actors on stage.^[63][64] Sony VAIO VGN-Z31ZN/X Battery

The four largest drama theatres in Kaifeng could hold audiences of several thousand each.^[65] There were also notable domestic pastimes, as people at home enjoyed activities such as the go and xiangqi board games. Sony VAIO VGN-Z35 Battery

During this period greater emphasis was laid upon the civil service system of recruiting officials; this was based upon degrees acquired through competitive examinations, in an effort to select the most capable individuals for governance. Sony VAIO VGN-Z35/B Battery

Selecting men for office through proven merit was an ancient idea in China. The civil service system became institutionalized on a small scale during the Sui and Tang dynasties, but by the Song period it became virtually the only means for drafting officials into the government.^[66] Sony VAIO VGN-Z35TN/B Battery

The advent of widespread printing helped to widely circulate Confucian teachings and to educate more and more eligible candidates for the exams.^[67] This can be seen in the number of exam takers for the low-level prefectural exams rising from 30,000 annual candidates in the early 11th century to 400,000 candidates by the late 13th century.^[67] Sony VAIO VGN-Z36GD Battery

The civil service and examination system allowed for greater meritocracy, social mobility, and equality in competition for those wishing to attain an official seat in government.^[68] By using Song state-gathered statistics, Sony VAIO VGN-Z36GD/B Battery

Edward A. Kracke, Sud? Yoshiyuki, and Ho Ping-ti supported the hypothesis that simply because one had a father, grandfather, or great-grandfather who had served as an official of state, it did not guarantee that one would obtain the same level of authority.^[68][69][70] Robert Hartwell and Robert P. Sony VAIO VGN-Z36GD/J Battery

Hymes criticized this model, stating that it places too much emphasis on the role of the nuclear family and demonstrates only three paternal ascendants of exam candidates while ignoring the demographic reality of Song China, the significant proportion of males in each generation that had no surviving sons, and the role of the extended family.^[69][70] Sony VAIO VGN-Z36TD/B Battery

Many felt disenfranchised by what they saw as a bureaucratic system that favored the land-holding class able to afford the best education.^[68] One of the greatest literary critics of this was the official and famous poet Su Shi. Sony VAIO VGN-Z36TD/J Battery

Yet Su was a product of his times, as the identity, habits, and attitudes of the scholar-official had become lessaristocratic and more bureaucratic with the transition of the periods from Tang to Song.^[71] Sony VAIO VGN-Z37D Battery

At the beginning of the dynasty, government posts were disproportionately held by two elite social groups: a founding elite who had ties with the founding emperor and a semi-hereditary professional elite who used long-held clan status, family connections and marriage alliances to secure appointments.^[72] Sony VAIO VGN-Z37D/B Battery

By the late 11th century, the founding elite became obsolete while political partisanship and factionalism at court undermined the marriage strategies of the professional elite, which dissolved as a distinguishable social group and was replaced by a multitude of gentry families.^[73] Sony VAIO VGN-Z37GD Battery

Due to China’s enormous population growth and the body of its appointed scholar-officials being accepted in limited size (about 20,000 active officials during the Song period), the larger scholarly gentry class would now take over grassroots affairs on the vast local level.^[74] Sony VAIO VGN-Z37GD/X Battery

Excluding the scholar-officials in office, this elite social class consisted of exam candidates, examination degree-holders not yet assigned to an official post, local tutors, and retired officials.^[75] Sony VAIO VGN-Z39D Battery

These learned men, degree-holders, and local elites supervised local affairs and sponsored necessary facilities of local communities; any local magistrate appointed to his office by the government relied upon the cooperation of the few or many local gentry elites in the area.^[74] Sony VAIO VGN-Z39D/X Battery

For example, the Song government—excluding the educational-reformist government under Emperor Huizong—spared little amount of state revenue to maintainprefectural and county schools; instead, the bulk of the funds for schools was drawn from private financing.^[76] Sony VAIO VGN-Z41MD/B Battery

This limited role of government officials was a departure from the earlier Tang Dynasty (618–907), when the government strictly regulated commercial markets and local affairs; now the government withdrew heavily from regulating commerce and relied upon a mass of local gentry to perform necessary duties in local communities.^[74] Sony VAIO VGN-Z41WD/B Battery

The gentry distinguished themselves in society through their intellectual and antiquarian pursuits,^[77][78][79] while the homes of prominent landholders attracted a variety of courtiers including artisans, artists, educational tutors, and entertainers.^[80] Sony VAIO VGN-Z45GD/B Battery

Despite the disdain for trade, commerce, and the merchant class exhibited by the highly cultured and elite exam-drafted scholar-officials,commercialism played a prominent role in Song culture and society.^[60] Sony VAIO VGN-Z45TD/B Battery

A scholar-official would be frowned upon by his peers if he pursued means of profiteering outside of his official salary; however, this did not stop many scholar-officials from managing business relations through the use of intermediary agents.^[81] Sony VAIO VGN-Z46GD/B Battery

Law, justice, and forensic science

The Song judicial system retained most of the legal code of the earlier Tang Dynasty, the basis of traditional Chinese law up until the modern era.^[82] Roving sheriffs maintained law and order in the municipal jurisdictions and occasionally ventured into the countryside.^[83] Sony VAIO VGN-Z46GD/U Battery

Official magistrates overseeing court cases were not only expected to be well-versed in written law but also to promote morality in society.^[82] Magistrates such as the famed Bao Qingtian (999–1062) embodied the upright, moral judge who upheld justice and never failed to live up to his principles. Sony VAIO VGN-Z46MD/B Battery

Song judges specified the guilty person or party in a criminal act and meted out punishments accordingly, often in the form of caning.^[82][84] A guilty individual or parties brought to court for a criminal or civil offense were not viewed as wholly innocent until proven otherwise, while even accusers were viewed with a high level of suspicion by the judge.^[84] Sony VAIO VGN-Z46SD/B Battery

Due to costly court expenses and immediate jailing of those accused of criminal offenses, people in the Song preferred to settle disputes and quarrels privately, without the court’s interference.^[84] Sony VAIO VGN-Z46TD/B Battery

Shen Kuo’s Dream Pool Essays argued against traditional Chinese beliefs in anatomy (such as his argument for two throat valves instead of three); this perhaps spurred the interest in the performance of post-mortem autopsies in China during the 12th century.^[85][86] Sony VAIO VGN-Z46TD/R Battery

The physician and judge known as Song Ci (1186–1249) wrote a pioneering work of forensic science on the examination of corpses in order to determine cause of death (strangulation, poisoning, Sony VAIO VGN-Z47GD/X Battery

drowning, blows, etc.) and to prove whether death resulted from murder, suicide, or accidental death.^[87] Song Ci stressed the importance of proper coroner’s conduct during autopsies and the accurate recording of the inquest of each autopsy by official clerks.^[88] Sony VAIO VGN-Z48GD/X Battery

The Song military was chiefly organized to ensure that the army could not threaten Imperial control, often at the expense of effectiveness in war. Northern Song’s Military Council operated under a Chancellor, who had no control over the imperial army. The imperial army was divided among three marshals, Sony VAIO VGN-Z48TD/X Battery

each independently responsible to the Emperor. Since the Emperor rarely led campaigns personally, Song forces lacked unity of command.^[89] The imperial court often believed that successful generals endangered royal authority, and relieved or even executed them (notably Li Gang,^[90] Yue Fei, and Han Shizhong.^[91]) Sony VAIO VGN-Z51WG/B Battery

Although the scholar-officials viewed military soldiers as lower members in the hierarchic social order,^[92] a person could gain status and prestige in society by becoming a high ranking military officer with a record of victorious battles.^[93] At its height, the Song military had one million soldiers^[22] Sony VAIO VGN-Z51XG/B Battery

divided into platoons of 50 troops, companies made of two platoons, and one battalion composed of 500 soldiers.^[94][95] Crossbowmen were separated from the regular infantry and placed in their own units as they were prized combatants, providing effective missile fire against cavalry charges.^[95] Sony VAIO VGN-Z530N/B Battery

The government was eager to sponsor new crossbow designs that could shoot at longer ranges, while crossbowmen were also valuable when employed as long-range snipers.^[96] Song cavalry employed a slew of different weapons, including halberds, swords, bows, spears, and ‘fire lances’ that discharged a gunpowder blast of flame and shrapnel.^[97] Sony VAIO VGN-Z540EBB Battery

Military strategy and military training were treated as science that could be studied and perfected; soldiers were tested in their skills of using weaponry and in their athletic ability.^[98] The troops were trained to follow signal standards to advance at the waving of banners and to halt at the sound of bells and drums.^[95] Sony VAIO VGN-Z540NLB Battery

The Song navy was of great importance during the consolidation of the empire in the 10th century; during the war against theSouthern Tang state the Song navy employed tactics such as defending large floating pontoon bridges across the Yangzi River in order to secure movements of troops and supplies.^[99] Sony VAIO VGN-Z540NMB Battery

There were large naval ships in the Song that could carry 1,000 soldiers aboard their decks,^[100] while the swift-moving paddle-wheel crafts were viewed as essential fighting ships in any successful naval battle.^[100][101] Sony VAIO VGN-Z550N/B Battery

In a battle on January 23, 971, massive arrow fire from Song Dynasty crossbowmen decimated the war elephant corps of theSouthern Han army.^[102] This defeat not only marked the eventual submission of the Southern Han to the Song Dynasty, but also the last instance where a war elephant corps was employed as a regular division within a Chinese army.^[102] Sony VAIO VGN-Z55F Battery

There was a total of 347 military treatises written during the Song period, as listed by the history text of the Song Shi (compiled in 1345).^[103] However, only a handful of these military treatises have survived, which includes the Wujing Zongyao written in 1044. It was the first known book to have listed formulas for gunpowder;^[104Sony VAIO VGN-Z55TG/B Battery

it gave appropriate formulas for use in several different kinds of gunpowder bombs.^[105] It also provided detailed description and illustrations of double-piston pump flamethrowers, as well as instructions for the maintenance and repair of the components and equipment used in the device.^[106] Sony VAIO VGN-Z56GG/B Battery

Arts, literature, and philosophy

The visual arts during the Song Dynasty were heightened by new developments such as advances in landscape and portrait painting. The gentry elite engaged in the arts as accepted pastimes of the cultured scholar-official, including painting, composing poetry, and writing calligraphy.^[107] Sony VAIO VGN-Z56GG/E Battery

The poet and statesman Su Shi and his associate Mi Fu (1051–1107) enjoyed antiquarian affairs, often borrowing or buying art pieces to study and copy.^[21] Poetry and literature profited from the rising popularity and development of the ci poetry form. Enormous encyclopedic volumes were compiled, Sony VAIO VGN-Z56GGX Battery

such as works of historiography and dozens of treatises on technical subjects. This included the universal history text of the Zizhi Tongjian, compiled into 1000 volumes of 9.4 million writtenChinese characters. Sony VAIO VGN-Z56TG/B Battery

The genre of Chinese travel literature also became popular with the writings of the geographer Fan Chengda(1126–1193) and Su Shi, the latter of whom wrote the ‘daytrip essay’ known as Record of Stone Bell Mountain that used persuasive writing to argue for a philosophical point.^[108] Sony VAIO VGN-Z56TG/E Battery

Although an early form of the local geographic gazetteer existed in China since the 1st century, the matured form known as “treatise on a place”, or fangzhi, replaced the old “map guide”, or tujing, during the Song Dynasty.^[109] Sony VAIO VGN-Z56TG/R Battery

Sony VAIO VGN-Z570N/B Battery

The imperial courts of the emperor’s palace were filled with his entourage of court painters, calligraphers, poets, and storytellers.Emperor Huizong was a renowned artist as well as a patron of the arts. Sony VAIO VGN-Z57G Battery

A prime example of a highly venerated court painter wasZhang Zeduan (1085–1145) who painted an enormous panoramic painting, Along the River During the Qingming Festival. Emperor Gaozong of Song initiated a massive art project during his reign, known as the Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute from the life story ofCai Wenji (b. 177). Sony VAIO VGN-Z57GG/X Battery

This art project was a diplomatic gesture to the Jin Dynasty while he negotiated for the release of his mother from Jurchen captivity in the north.^[110] Sony VAIO VGN-Z57GGX Battery

In philosophy, Chinese Buddhism had waned in influence but it retained its hold on the arts and on the charities of monasteries. Buddhism had a profound influence upon the budding movement of Neo-Confucianism, led by Cheng Yi (1033–1107) and Zhu Xi(1130–1200).^[111] Sony VAIO VGN-Z57TG/X Battery

Mahayana Buddhism influenced Fan Zhongyan and Wang Anshi through its concept of ethical universalism,^[112]while Buddhist metaphysics had a deep impact upon the pre–Neo-Confucian doctrine of Cheng Yi.^[111] Sony VAIO VGN-Z58GG/X Battery

The philosophical work of Cheng Yi in turn influenced Zhu Xi. Although his writings were not accepted by his contemporary peers, Zhu’s commentary and emphasis upon the Confucian classics of the Four Books as an introductory corpus to Confucian learning formed the basis of the Neo-Confucian doctrine. Sony VAIO VGN-Z58GGX Battery

By the year 1241, under the sponsorship of Emperor Lizong, Zhu Xi’s Four Books and his commentary on them became standard requirements of study for students attempting to pass the civil service examinations.^[113] Sony VAIO VGN-Z590NJB Battery

The East Asian countries of Japan and Korea also adopted Zhu Xi’s teaching, known as the Shushigaku (???, School of Zhu Xi) of Japan, and in Korea the Jujahak (???). Buddhism’s continuing influence can be seen in painted artwork such as Lin Tinggui’s Luohan Laundering. Sony VAIO VGN-Z590UAB Battery

However, the ideology was highly criticized and even scorned by some. The statesman and historian Ouyang Xiu (1007–1072) called the religion a “curse” that could only be remedied by uprooting it from Chinese culture and replacing it with Confucian discourse.^[114] Sony VAIO VGN-Z591U/B Battery

Buddhism would not see a true revival in Chinese society until the Mongol rule of the Yuan Dynasty, with Kublai Khan’s sponsorship of Tibetan Buddhism and Drogön Chögyal Phagpa as the leading lama. The Christian sect of Nestorianism—which had entered China in the Tang era—would also be revived in China under Mongol rule.^[115] Sony VAIO VGN-Z59G Battery

Cuisine and apparel

The food that one consumed and the clothes that one wore in Song China were largely dictated by one’s status and social class. The main food staples in the diet of the lower classes remained rice, pork, and salted fish;^[116] their clothing materials were made ofhempen or cotton cloths, restricted to a color standard of black and white.^[117] Sony VAIO VGN-Z620D Battery

Trousers were the acceptable form of attire for farming peasants, soldiers, artisans, and merchants, although wealthy merchants might choose to wear more ornate clothing and male blouses that came down below the waist.^[118] Acceptable apparel for scholar-officials was rigidly confined to a social hierarchic ranking system. Sony VAIO VGN-Z620N/B Battery

However, as time went on this rule of rank-graded apparel for officials was not as strictly enforced as it was in the beginning of the dynasty.^[119] Each official was able to display his awarded status by wearing different-colored traditional silken robes that hung to the ground around his feet, specific types of headgear, and even specific styles of girdles that displayed his graded-rank of officialdom.^[120] Sony VAIO VGN-Z650N/B Battery

Women in the Song period wore long dresses, blouses that came down to the knee, skirts and jackets with long or short sleeves, while women from wealthy families could wear purple scarves around their shoulders.^[121] The main difference in women’s apparel from that of men was that it was fastened on the left, not on the right.^[121] Sony VAIO VGN-Z670N/B Battery

There is a multitude of existing restaurant and tavern menus and listed entrées for feasts, banquets, festivals, and carnivals during the Song period,^[122] all of which reveal a very diverse and lavish diet for those of the upper class. Sony VAIO VGN-Z690CTO Battery

In their meals they could choose from a wide variety of meats, including shrimp, geese, duck, mussel, shellfish, fallow deer, hare, partridge, pheasant, francolin, quail,fox, badger, clam, crab, and many others.^{[123][124][125]} Sony VAIO VGN-Z690NAX Battery

Dairy products were absent from Chinese cuisine and culture altogether,beef was rarely consumed since the bull was a valuable draft animal, and dog meat was absent from the diet of the wealthy, although the poor could choose to eat dog meat if necessary (yet it was not part of their regular diet).^[126] People also consumed dates,raisins, Sony VAIO VGN-Z690PAB Battery

jujubes, pears, plums, apricots, pear juice, lychee-fruit juice, honey and ginger drinks, pawpaw juice, spices and seasonings ofSichuan pepper, ginger, pimento, soy sauce, oil, sesame oil, salt, and vinegar.^{[122][124][127][128]} The common diet of the poor was pork, salted fish, and rice.^[116] Sony VAIO VGN-Z690PCB Battery

The economy of the Song Dynasty was one of the most prosperous and advanced economies in the medieval world. Song Chinese invested their funds in joint stock companies and in multiple sailing vessels at a time when monetary gain was assured from the vigorous overseas trade and indigenous trade along the Grand Canal and Yangzi River.^[129] Sony VAIO VGN-Z690PDB Battery

Prominent merchant families and private businesses were allowed to occupy industries that were not already government-operated monopolies.^[22][130] Both private and government-controlled industries met the needs of a growing Chinese population in the Song.^[22][130] Sony VAIO VGN-Z690PEB Battery

Both artisans and merchants formed guilds which the state had to deal with when assessing taxes, requisitioning goods, and setting standard worker’s wages and prices on goods.^[129][131] Sony VAIO VGN-Z690PFB Battery

The iron industry was pursued by both private entrepreneurs who owned their own smelters as well as government-supervised smelting facilities.^[132] The Song economy was stable enough to produce over a hundred million kilograms (over two hundred million pounds) of iron product a year.^[133] Sony VAIO VGN-Z690YAD Battery

Large scale deforestation in China would have continued if not for the 11th century innovation of the use of coal instead of charcoal in blast furnaces for smelting cast iron.^[133] Much of this iron was reserved for military use in crafting weapons and armoring troops, Sony VAIO VGN-Z691Y/B Battery

but some was used to fashion the many iron products needed to fill the demands of the growing indigenous market. The iron trade within China was furthered by the building of new canals which aided the flow of iron products from production centers to the large market found in the capital city.^[134] Sony VAIO VGN-Z691Y/X Battery

Left item: A Northern Song qingbai-ware vase with a transparent blue-toned ceramic glaze, from Jingdezhen, 11th century; Center item: A Northern or Southern Song qingbai-ware bowl with incised lotus decorations, a metal rim, and a transparent blue-toned glaze, from Jingdezhen, Sony VAIO VGN-Z698Y/X Battery

12th or 13th century; Right item: A Southern Song miniature model of a granary with removable top lid and doorway, qingbai porcelain with transparent blue-toned glaze, Jingdezhen, 13th century. Sony VAIO VGN-Z699JAB Battery

The annual output of minted copper currency in 1085 alone reached roughly six billion coins.^[4] The most notable advancement in the Song economy was the establishment of the world’s first government issued paper-printed money, known as Jiaozi (see alsoHuizi).^[4] For the printing of paper money alone, Sony VAIO VGN-Z70B Battery

the Song court established several government-run factories in the cities ofHuizhou, Chengdu, Hangzhou, and Anqi.^[135] The size of the workforce employed in paper money factories was large; it was recorded in 1175 that the factory at Hangzhou employed more than a thousand workers a day.^[135] Sony VAIO VGN-Z71JB Battery

The economic power of Song China heavily influenced foreign economies abroad. The Moroccan geographer al-Idrisi wrote in 1154 of the prowess of Chinese merchant ships in the Indian Ocean and of their annual voyages that brought iron, swords, silk, velvet, porcelain, and various textiles to places such as Aden (Yemen), the Indus River, Sony VAIO VGN-Z73FB Battery

and the Euphrates in modern-day Iraq.^[28]Foreigners, in turn, had an impact on the Chinese economy. For example, many West Asian and Central Asian Muslims went to Chinato trade, becoming a preeminent force in the import and export industry, while some were even appointed as officers supervising economic affairs.^[59][136] Sony VAIO VGN-Z790DKX Battery

Sea trade with the Southeast Pacific, the Hindu world, the Islamic world, and the East African world brought merchants great fortune and spurred an enormous growth in the shipbuilding industry of Song-era Fujian province.^[137] Sony VAIO VGN-Z790DMR Battery

However, there was risk involved in such long overseas ventures. It was to reduce the risk of losing money on maritime trade missions abroad that, as the historians Ebrey, Walthall, and Palais write: Sony VAIO VGN-Z790DND Battery

[Song era] investors usually divided their investment among many ships, and each ship had many investors behind it. One observer thought eagerness to invest in overseas trade was leading to an outflow of copper cash. He wrote, ‘People along the coast are on intimate terms with the merchants who engage in overseas trade, either because they are fellow-countrymen or personal acquaintancesSony VAIO VGN-Z820DB Battery

Advancements in weapons technology enhanced by gunpowder, including the evolution of the early flamethrower, explosivegrenade, firearm, cannon, and land mine, enabled the Song Chinese to ward off their militant enemies until the Song’s ultimate collapse in the late 13th century.^{[139][140][141][142][143]} Sony VAIO VGN-Z820G/B Battery

The Wujing Zongyao manuscript of 1044 was the first book in history to provide formulas for gunpowder and their specified use in different types of bombs.^[138] While engaged in a war with the Mongols, Sony VAIO VGN-Z890GLX Battery

in the year 1259 the official Li Zengbo wrote in his Kezhai Zagao, Xugaohou that the city of Qingzhou was manufacturing one to two thousand strong iron-cased bomb shells a month, dispatching to Xiangyang and Yingzhou about ten to twenty thousand such bombs at a time.^[144] Sony VAIO VGN-Z890GMR Battery

In turn, the invading Mongols employed northern Chinese soldiers and used these same type of gunpowder weapons against the Song.^[145] By the 14th century the firearm and cannon could also be found in Europe, India, and the Islamic Middle East, during the early age of gunpowder warfare. Sony VAIO VGN-Z898H/X Battery

Measuring distance and mechanical navigation

As early as the Han Dynasty, when the state needed to effectively measure distances traveled throughout the empire, the Chinese relied on the mechanical odometer device.^[146] The Chinese odometer came in the form of a wheeled-carriage, Sony VAIO VGN-Z90FS Battery

its inner gears functioning off the rotated motion of the wheels, and specific units of distance—the Chinese li—marked by the mechanical striking of a drum or bell for auditory alarm.^[147] The specifications for the 11th century odometer were written by Chief Chamberlain Lu Daolong, Sony VAIO VGN-Z90NS Battery

who is quoted extensively in the historical text of the Song Shi (compiled by 1345).^[148] In the Song period, the odometer vehicle was also combined with another old complex mechanical device known as the South Pointing Chariot.^[149] This device, originally crafted by Ma Jun in the 3rd century, Sony VAIO VGN-Z90PS Battery

incorporated a differential gear that allowed a figure mounted on the vehicle to always point in the southern direction, no matter how the vehicle’s wheels’ turned about.^[150] The device concept of the differential gear for this navigational vehicle is now found in all modern automobiles in order to apply the equal amount of torque to wheels rotating at different speeds. Sony VAIO VGN-Z90S Battery

Polymaths, inventions, and astronomy

Polymath figures such as the statesmen Shen Kuo and Su Song (1020–1101) embodied advancements in all fields of study, includingbiology, botany, zoology, geology, mineralogy, mechanics, horology, astronomy, pharmaceutical medicine, archeology,mathematics, cartography, optics, art criticism, and more.^{[78][151][152]} Sony VAIO VGN-Z90US Battery

Shen Kuo was the first to discern magnetic declination of true north while experimenting with a compass.^[153][154] Shen theorized that geographical climates gradually shifted over time.^[155][156] He created a theory of land formation involving concepts accepted in modern geomorphology.^[157] Sony VAIO VGN-Z91DS Battery

He performed optical experiments with camera obscura just decades after Ibn al-Haytham was the first to do so.^[158] He also improved the designs of astronomical instruments such as the widened astronomical sighting tube, which allowed Shen Kuo to fix the position of the pole star (which had shifted over centuries of time).^[159] Sony VAIO VGN-Z91JS Battery

Shen Kuo was also known forhydraulic clockworks, as he invented a new overflow-tank clepsydra which had more efficient higher-order interpolation instead of linear interpolation in calibrating the measure of time.^[159] Sony VAIO VGN-Z91PS Battery

Su Song was best known for his horology treatise written in 1092, which described and illustrated in great detail his hydraulic-powered, 12 metres (39 ft) tall astronomical clock tower built in Kaifeng. Sony VAIO VGN-Z91YS Battery

The clock tower featured large astronomical instruments of the armillary sphere and celestial globe, both driven by an early intermittently working escapement mechanism (roughly two centuries before the discrete verge escapement of true mechanical clocks appeared in medieval clockworks).^[160][161] Sony VAIO VGN-Z92DS Battery

In addition, Su Song’s clock tower featured the world’s first endless power-transmitting chain drive,^[162] an essential mechanical device found in many practical uses throughout the ages, such as the bicycle. Su’s tower featured a rotating gear wheel with 133 clock jack manikinswho were timed to rotate past shuttered windows while ringing gongs and bells, Sony VAIO VGN-Z92JS Battery

banging drums, and presenting announcement plaques.^[163] In his printed book, Su published a celestial atlas of five star charts. These star charts feature a cylindrical projection similar to Mercator projection, the latter being a cartographic innovation of Gerardus Mercator in 1569.^[164][165] Sony VAIO VGN-Z92PS Battery

Mathematics and cartography

There were many notable improvements to Chinese mathematics during the Song era. The book published in 1261 by the mathematician Yang Hui (c. 1238–1298) provided the earliest Chinese illustration of Pascal’s triangle, although it was described earlier around 1100 by Jia Xian.^[166] Sony VAIO VGN-Z92YS Battery

Yang Hui also provided rules for constructing combinatorial arrangements in magic squares, provided theoretical proof for Euclid’s forty-third proposition about parallelograms, and was the first to use negative coefficients of ‘x’ in quadratic equations.^[167] Sony VAIO VGN-Z93FS Battery

Yang’s contemporary Qin Jiushao (c. 1202–1261) was the first to introduce the zero symbol into Chinese mathematics;^[168] before this blank spaces were used instead of zeros in the system of counting rods.^[169] Sony VAIO VGN-Z93GS Battery

He is also known for working with the Chinese remainder theorem, Heron’s formula, and astronomical data used in determining the winter solstice. Qin’s major work was the Mathematical Treatise in Nine Sections published in 1247. Sony VAIO VGN-Z93HS Battery

Geometry was essential to surveying and cartography. The earliest extant Chinese maps date to the 4th century BCE,^[170] yet it was not until the time of Pei Xiu (224–271) that topographical elevation, a formal rectangular grid system, and use of a standard graduated scale of distances was applied to terrain maps.^[171][172] Sony VAIO VGN-Z93VS Battery

Following a long tradition, Shen Kuo created a raised-relief map, while his other maps featured a uniform graduated scale of 1:900,000.^[173][174] A 3 ft (0.91 m) squared map of 1137—carved into a stone block—followed a uniform grid scale of 100 li for each gridded square, Sony A1258274A Battery

and accurately mapped the outline of the coasts and river systems of China, extending all the way to India.^[175] Furthermore, the world’s oldest known terrain map in printed form comes from the edited encyclopedia of Yang Jia in 1155, which displayed western China without the formal grid system that was characteristic of more professionally made Chinese maps.^[176] Sony VGP-BPL10 Battery

Although gazetteers had existed since 52 CE during the Han Dynasty and gazetteers accompanied by illustrative maps (Chinese: tujing) since the Sui Dynasty, the illustrated gazetteer became much more common in the Song Dynasty, when the foremost concern was for illustrative gazetteers to serve political, administrative, and military purposes.^[177] Sony VGP-BPS10 Battery

Movable type printing

The innovation of movable type printing was made by the artisan Bi Sheng (990–1051), first described by the scientist and statesman Shen Kuo in his Dream Pool Essays of 1088.^[179][180] Sony VGP-BPS10/S Battery

The collection of Bi Sheng’s original clay-fired typeface was passed on to one of Shen Kuo’s nephews, and was carefully preserved.^[180][181] Movable type enhanced the already widespread use of woodblock methods of printing thousands of documents and volumes of written literature, consumed eagerly by an increasingly literate public. Sony VGP-BPS10A/B Battery

The advancement of printing had a deep impact on education and the scholar-official class, since more books could be made faster while mass-produced, printed books were cheaper in comparison to laborious handwritten copies.^[67][71] Sony VGP-BPS10B Battery

The enhancement of widespread printing and print culture in the Song period was thus a direct catalyst in the rise of social mobility and expansion of the educated class of scholar elites, the latter which expanded dramatically in size from the 11th to 13th centuries.^[67][182] Sony VGP-BPS10A Battery

The movable type invented by Bi Sheng was ultimately trumped by the use of woodblock printing due to the limitations of the enormous Chinese character writing system, yet movable type printing continued to be used and was improved in later periods. Sony VGP-BPS11 Battery

TheYuan Dynasty scholar-official Wang Zhen (fl. 1290–1333) implemented a faster typesetting process, improved Bi’s baked-clay movable type character set with a wooden one, and experimented with tin-metal movable type.^[183] The wealthy printing patronHua Sui (1439–1513) of the Ming Dynasty established China’s first metal movable type (using bronze) in 1490.^[184] Sony VGP-BPL11 Battery

In 1638 theBeijing Gazette switched their printing process from woodblock to movable type printing.^[185] Yet it was during the Qing Dynastythat massive printing projects began to employ movable type printing. This includes the printing of sixty-six copies of a 5,020 volume long encyclopedia in 1725, Sony VGP-BPL12 Battery

the Gujin Tushu Jicheng (Complete Collection of Illustrations and Writings from the Earliest to Current Times), which necessitated the crafting of 250,000 movable type characters cast in bronze.^[186] By the 19th century the European style printing press replaced the old Chinese methods of movable type, while traditional woodblock printing in modern East Asia is used sparsely and for aesthetic reasons. Sony VGP-BPS12 Battery

Hydraulic engineering and nautics

There were considerable advancements in hydraulic engineering and nautical technology during the Song Dynasty. The 10th century invention of the pound lock for canal systems allowed different water levels to be raised and lowered for separated segments of a canal, which significantly aided the safety of canal traffic and allowed for larger barges to pass through.^[188] Sony VGP-BPL13 Battery

There was the Song era innovation of watertight bulkhead compartments for ships that allowed possible damage to the hull without sinking.^[71][189] If ships were damaged, the Chinese of the 11th century discovered how to employ a drydock to repair boats while suspended out of water.^[190] Sony VGP-BPS13 Battery

There Song Chinese used crossbeams to brace the ribs of ships in order to strengthen them in a skeletal like structure.^[191] Stern-mounted rudders had been mounted on Chinese ships since the 1st century, as evidenced with a preserved Han tomb model of a ship. In the Song period the Chinese devised a way to mechanically raise and lower rudders in order for ships to travel in a wider range of water depths.^[191] Sony VGP-BPS13/B Battery

The Song Chinese arranged the protruding teeth of anchors in a circular pattern instead of in one direction.^[191] David Graff and Robin Higham state that this arrangement “[made] them more reliable” for anchoring ships.^[191] Sony VGP-BPS13/S Battery

Arguably the most important nautical innovation of the Song period was the introduction of the magnetic mariner’scompass for navigation at sea.^[173] The magnetic compass was first written of by Shen Kuo in his Dream Pool Essays of 1088, as well as Zhu Yu in his Pingzhou Table Talks published in 1119. Sony VGP-BPS13/S Battery

Architecture during the Song period reached new heights of sophistication. Authors such as Yu Hao and Shen Kuo wrote books outlining the field of architectural layouts, craftsmanship, and structural engineering in the 10th and 11th centuries, respectively. Sony VGP-BPS13A/B Battery

Shen Kuo preserved the written dialogues of Yu Hao when describing technical issues such as slanting struts built into pagoda towers for diagonal wind bracing.^[192] Shen Kuo also preserved Yu’s specified dimensions and units of measurement for various building types.^[193] Sony VGP-BPS13A/S Battery

The architect Li Jie (1065–1110), who published the Yingzao Fashi (‘Treatise on Architectural Methods’) in 1103, greatly expanded upon the works of Yu Hao and compiled the standard building codes used by the central government agencies and by craftsmen throughout the empire.^[194] Sony VGP-BPS13AS Battery

He addressed the standard methods of construction, design, and applications of moats and fortifications, stonework, greater woodwork, lesser woodwork, wood-carving, turning and drilling, sawing, bamboo work, tiling, wall building, painting and decoration, brickwork, glazed tile making, Sony VGP-BPS13B/B Battery

and provided proportions for mortar formulas inmasonry.^[195][196] In his book, Li provided detailed and vivid illustrations of architectural components and cross-sections of buildings. These illustrations displayed various applications of corbel brackets, cantilever arms, mortise and tenon work of tie beams and cross beams, Sony VGP-BPS13B/Q Battery

and diagrams showing the various building types of halls in graded sizes.^[197] He also outlined the standard units of measurement and standard dimensional measurements of all building components described and illustrated in his book.^[198] Sony VGP-BPS13B/S Battery

Grandiose building projects were supported by the government, including the erection of towering Buddhist Chinese pagodas and the construction of enormous bridges (wood or stone, trestle or segmental arch bridge). Many of the pagoda towers built during the Song period were erected at heights that exceeded ten stories. Sony VGP-BPS13Q Battery

Some of the most famous are the Iron Pagoda built in 1049 during the Northern Song and the Liuhe Pagoda built in 1165 during the Southern Song, although there were many others. The tallest is theLiaodi Pagoda of Hebei built in the year 1055, towering 84 m (276 ft) in total height. Sony VGP-BPS13S Battery

Some of the bridges reached lengths of 1,220 m (4,000 ft), with many being wide enough to allow two lanes of cart traffic simultaneously over a waterway or ravine.^[199] The government also oversaw construction of their own administrative offices, palace apartments, city fortifications, ancestral temples, and Buddhist temples.^[200] Sony VGP-BPL7 Battery

The professions of the architect, craftsman, carpenter, and structural engineer were not seen as professionally equal to that of a Confucian scholar-official. Architectural knowledge had been passed down orally for thousands of years in China, in many cases from a father craftsman to his son. Sony VGP-BPS7 Battery

Structural engineering and architecture schools were known to have existed during the Song period; one prestigious engineering school was headed by the renowned bridge-builder Cai Xiang (1012–1067) in medieval Fujianprovince.^[201] Sony VGP-BPL8 Battery

Besides existing buildings and technical literature of building manuals, Song Dynasty artwork portraying cityscapes and other buildings aid modern-day scholars in their attempts to reconstruct and realize the nuances of Song architecture. Song Dynasty artists such as Li Cheng, Fan Kuan, Sony VGP-BPL8A Battery

Guo Xi, Zhang Zeduan, Emperor Huizong of Song, and Ma Lin painted close-up depictions of buildings as well as large expanses of cityscapes featuring arched bridges, halls and pavilions, pagoda towers, and distinct Chinese city walls. Sony VGP-BPL8B Battery

The scientist and statesman Shen Kuo was known for his criticism of artwork relating to architecture, saying that it was more important for an artist to capture a holistic view of a landscape than it was to focus on the angles and corners of buildings.^[202] For example, Shen criticized the work of the painter Li Cheng for failing to observe the principle of “seeing the small from the viewpoint of the large” in portraying buildings.^[202] Sony VGP-BPS8 Battery

There were also pyramidal tomb structures in the Song era, such as the Song imperial tombs located in Gongxian, Henanprovince.^[203] About 100 km (62 mi) from Gongxian is another Song Dynasty tomb at Baisha, Sony VGP-BPS8A Battery

which features “elaborate facsimiles in brick of Chinese timber frame construction, from door lintels to pillars and pedestals to bracket sets, that adorn interior walls.”^[203]The two large chambers of the Baisha tomb also feature conical-shaped roofs.^[204] Sony VGP-BPS8B Battery

Flanking the avenues leading to these tombs are lines of Song Dynasty stone statues of officials, tomb guardians, animals, and mythological creatures. Sony VGP-BPL9 Battery

Archaeology

In addition to the Song gentry’s antiquarian pursuits of art collecting, scholar-officials during the Song became highly interested in retrieving ancient relics from archaeological sites, in order to revive the use of ancient vessels in ceremonies of state ritual.^[205] Sony VGP-BPS9 Battery

Scholar-officials of the Song period claimed to have discovered ancient bronze vessels that were created as far back as the Shang Dynasty (1600–1046 BCE) which bore the writing characters of the Shang era.^[206] Sony VGP-BPS9/B Battery

Some attempted to recreate these bronze vessels by using imagination alone, not by observing tangible evidence of relics; this practice was criticized by Shen Kuo in his work of 1088.^[205] Sony VGP-BPS9/S Battery

Yet Shen Kuo had much more to criticize than this practice alone. Shen objected to the idea of his peers that ancient relics were products created by famous “sages” in lore or the ancient aristocratic class; Shen rightfully attributed the discovered handicrafts and vessels from ancient times as the work of artisans and commoners from previous eras.^[205] Sony VGP-BPS9A Battery

He also disapproved of his peers’ pursuit of archaeology simply to enhance state ritual, since Shen not only took an interdisciplinary approach with the study of archaeology, but he also emphasized the study of functionality and investigating what was the ancient relics’ original processes of manufacture.^[205] Sony VGP-BPS9A/B Battery

Shen used ancient texts and existing models of armillary spheres to create one based on ancient standards; Shen described ancient weaponry such as the use of a scaled sighting device on crossbows; while experimenting withancient musical measures, Shen suggested hanging an ancient bell by using a hollow handle.^[205] Sony VGP-BPS9A/S Battery

Despite the gentry’s overriding interest in archaeology simply for reviving ancient state rituals, some of Shen’s peers took a similar approach to the study of archaeology. His contemporary Ouyang Xiu (1007–1072) compiled an analytical catalogue of ancient rubbings on stone and bronze which pioneered ideas in early epigraphy and archeology.^[78] Sony VGP-BPS9B Battery

During the 11th century, Song scholars discovered the ancient shrine of Wu Liang (78–151 AD), a scholar of the Han Dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD); they produced rubbings of the carvings and bas-reliefs decorating the walls of his tomb so that they could be analyzed elsewhere.^[207] Sony VGP-BPX11 Battery

On the unreliability of historical works written after the fact, scholar-official Zhao Mingcheng (1081–1129) stated “…the inscriptions on stone and bronze are made at the time the events took place and can be trusted without reservation, and thus discrepancies may be discovered.”^[208] Sony VGP-BPL18 Battery

Historian R.C. Rudolph states that Zhao’s emphasis on consulting contemporary sources for accurate dating is parallel with the concern of the German historian Leopold von Ranke (1795–1886),^[208] Sony VGP-BPS18 Battery

and was in fact emphasized by many Song scholars.^[209]The Song scholar Hong Mai (1123–1202) heavily criticized what he called the court’s “ridiculous” archaeological catalogue Bogutucompiled during the Huizong reign periods of Zheng He and Xuan He (1111–1125).^[210] Sony VGP-BPL20 Battery

Hong Mai obtained old vessels from the Han Dynasty and compared them with the descriptions offered in the catalogue, which he found so inaccurate he stated he had to “hold my sides with laughter.”^[211] Hong Mai pointed out that the erroneous material was the fault of Chancellor Cai Jing (1047–1126), who prohibited scholars from reading and consulting the written histories.^[211] Sony VGP-BPS20/B Battery

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The Kingdom of Denmark

The Kingdom of Denmark

The Kingdom of Denmark (Danish: Kongeriget Danmark, pronounced [?k????i??ð ?danm???] ( listen) [note 1]) is a constitutional monarchy and sovereign state consisting of the country of Denmark (English i/?d?nm?rk/; Danish Danmark (help·info)) in northern Europe and two autonomous constituent countries, Sony VAIO VGN-FZ31M Battery

Sony Vaio VGN-FZ19VN Battery

the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic and Greenland in North America. Denmark proper is the hegemonial part, where the residual judicial, executive and legislative power rests.[5] According to the Faroese home rule act, the Faroe Islands constitutes a community of people within the kingdom.[note 2] Sony Vaio VGN-FZ39VN Battery

The Greenlandic self-government act does not contain a similar definition, but instead describes the Greenlandic people as a people as defined in international law with the right to self-determination.[note 3] Sony Vaio VGN-FZ39VN Battery

Denmark itself is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, located southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark’s shores extend to both the Baltic and North Seas. The country consists of a large peninsula, Jutland (Jylland) and many islands, most notably Zealand (Sjælland), Funen (Fyn), Sony Vaio VGN-FZ31ZR Battery

Vendsyssel-Thy (commonly considered a part of Jutland), Lolland, Falster and Bornholm, as well as hundreds of minor islands often referred to as the Danish Archipelago. Denmark has long controlled the approach to the Baltic Sea (dominium maris baltici); Sony Vaio VGN-FZ31SR Battery

before the digging of the Kiel Canal, water passage to the Baltic Sea was possible only through the three channels known as the “Danish straits”.

The kingdom is a unitary state with some power being devolved from Denmark to Greenland and the Faroe Islands; this federacy is referred to as Rigsfællesskabet.[8] One of the results of this arrangement is that Denmark became a member of the European Union in 1973 (but remains outside of the Eurozone), Sony Vaio VGN-FZ31ER Battery

while both Greenland and the Faroe Islands have opted to remain outside of the EU. A founding member of NATO and the OECD, Denmark is also a member of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). With a mixed market economy and a large welfare state,[9] Denmark ranks as having the world’s highest level of income equality.[10] The country has the world’s seventh highest per capita income.[2] Sony Vaio VGN-NR31E/S Battery

Sony Vaio VGN-NR31ER/S Battery

It has frequently ranked as the happiest[11][12] and least corrupt country in the world.[13] The national language, Danish, is closely related to Swedish and Norwegian, with which it shares strong cultural and historical ties. Denmark, along with Sweden and Norway, is part of the cultural region known as “Scandinavia”.Sony Vaio VGN-NR31J/S Battery

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The etymology of the word Denmark, and especially the relationship between Danes and Denmark and the unifying of Denmark as a single kingdom, is a subject which attracts some debate.[14][15] Sony Vaio VGN-NR31S/S Battery

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This is centred primarily around the prefix “Dan” and whether it refers to the Dani or a historical person Dan and the exact meaning of the -”mark” ending. Sony Vaio VGN-NR31Z/S Battery

The issue is further complicated by a number of references to various Dani people in Scandinavia or other places in Europe in Greek and Roman accounts (like Ptolemy, Jordanes, and Gregory of Tours), as well as some mediaeval literature (like Adam of Bremen, Sony Vaio VGN-NR31Z/T Battery

Beowulf, Widsith and Poetic Edda).

Most handbooks derive[16] the first part of the word, and the name of the people, from a word meaning “flat land”, related to German Tenne “threshing floor”, English den “cave”, Sanskrit dhánu?- (?????; “desert”).Sony Vaio VGN-NR31ZR/S Battery

The -mark is believed to mean woodland or borderland (see marches), with probable references to the border forests in south Schleswig,[17]

Some of the earliest descriptions of the origin of the word ‘Denmark’, describing a territory, are found in the Chronicon Lethrense (12th century), Sony Vaio VGN-NR38E/S Battery

Svend Aagesen (late 12th century), Saxo Grammaticus (early 13th century) and the Ballad of Eric (mid-15th century). There are, however, many more Danish annuals and yearbooks containing various other details, similar tales in other variations, other names or spelling variations. Sony Vaio VGN-NR38M/S Battery

The Jelling Stones, commonly referred to as Denmark’s “birth certificate”, seen from the north with “Gorm’s Mound” in the background

The Chronicon Lethrense explains that when the Roman Emperor Augustus went against Denmark in the time of David,[18] Sony Vaio VGN-NR38S/S Battery

Denmark consisted of seven territories Jutland, Funen, Zealand, Møn, Falster, Lolland and Skåne which were governed by King Ypper of Uppsala. He had three sons, Nori, Østen and Dan. Dan was sent to govern Zealand, Møn, Falster, and Lolland, Sony Vaio VGN-NR38Z/S Battery

which became known jointly as Videslev. When the Jutes were fighting Emperor Augustus they called upon Dan to help them. Upon victory, they made him king of Jutland, Funen, Videslev and Skåne. A council decided to call this new united land Danmark (Dania) (English: Sony Vaio VGN-NR38Z/T Battery

Sony Vaio VGN-NR31E/S Battery Denmark) after their new king, Dan. Saxo relates that it is the legendary Danish King Dan, son of Humbli, who gave the name to the Danish people, though he does not expressly state that he is also the origin of the word “Denmark”. Rather he tells that England ultimately derives its name from Dan’s brother Angel. Sony Vaio VGN-CR31SR/L Battery

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In Norse, the land was called Danm?rk.[19]

The earliest mention of a territory called “Denmark” is found in King Alfred the Great’s modified translation into Old English of Paulus Orosius’ Seven Books of History Against The Pagans (“Historiarum adversum Paganos Libri Septem”), Sony Vaio VGN-CR31S/W Battery

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written by Alfred when king of Wessex in the years 871–899. In a passage introduced to the text by Alfred, Sony Vaio VGN-CR31S/L Battery

we read about Ohthere of Hålogaland’s travels in the Nordic region, during which ‘Denmark [Denamearc] was on his port side… And then for two days he had on his (port side) the islands which belong to Denmark’.[20] Sony Vaio VGN-CR31E/W Battery

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The first recorded use of the word “Denmark” within Denmark itself is found on the two Jelling stones, which are rune stones believed to have been erected by Gorm the Old (c. 955) and Harald Bluetooth (c. 965). The larger stone of the two is often cited as Denmark’s birth certificate (“dåbsattest” [trans:babtismal certificate]), Sony Vaio VGN-CR31E/P Battery

though both use the word “Denmark”, in the form of accusative ???????? “tanmaurk” ([danm?rk]) on the large stone, and genitive “tanmarkar” (pronounced [danmarka?]) on the small stone.[21] The inhabitants of Denmark are there called “tani” ([dan?]), Sony Vaio VGN-CR31E/L Battery

Sony Vaio VGN-CR31Z/R Battery or “Danes”, in the accusative. In the Song of Roland, estimated to have been written between 1040 and 1115, the first mention of the legendary Danish hero Holger Danske appears; he is mentioned several times as “Ogier the Dane” (Ogier de Denemarche).

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[edit]History

Main article: History of Denmark

See also: History of Greenland and History of the Faroe Islands

[edit]Prehistory

The earliest archaeological findings in Denmark date back to the Eem interglacial period from 130,000–110,000 BC.[22] Denmark has been inhabited since around 12,500 BC and agriculture has been evident since 3900 BC.[23] Sony VAIO VGN-SR11M Battery

The Nordic Bronze Age (1800–600 BC) in Denmark was marked by burial mounds, which left an abundance of findings including lurs and the Sun Chariot.

During the Pre-Roman Iron Age (500 BC – 1 AD), native groups began migrating south, although[23] the first Danish people came to the country between the Pre-Roman and the Germanic Iron Age,[24] in the Roman Iron Age (1–400 AD). Sony VAIO VGN-SR11MR Battery

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The Roman provinces maintained trade routes and relations with native tribes in Denmark, and Roman coins have been found in Denmark. Evidence of strong Celtic cultural influence dates from this period in Denmark and much of North-West Europe and is among other things reflected in the finding of the Gundestrup cauldron. Sony VAIO VGN-SR19XN Battery

The gilded side of the Trundholm sun chariot

Historians believe that before the arrival of the precursors to the Danes, who came from the east Danish islands (Zealand) and Skåne and spoke an early form of North Germanic, most of Jutland and some islands were settled by Jutes. Sony VAIO VGN-SR21M/S Battery

They were later invited to Great Britain as mercenaries by Brythonic King Vortigern and were granted the southeastern territories of Kent, the Isle of Wight among other areas, where they settled. They were later absorbed or ethnically cleansed by the invading Angles and Saxons, who formed the Anglo-Saxons. The remaining population in Jutland assimilated in with the Danes.

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A short note[25] about the Dani in “Getica” by historian Jordanes is believed by some to be an early mention of the Danes,[26] one of the ethnic groups from whom the modern Danish people are descended. Sony VAIO VGN-SR21RM/H Battery

The Danevirke defence structures were built in phases from the 3rd century forward,[27] and the sheer size of the construction efforts in 737 are attributed to the emergence of a Danish king.[27] The new runic alphabet was first used around the same time, and Ribe, the oldest town of Denmark, was founded about 700. Sony VAIO VGN-SR29VN Battery

[edit]Viking Age

Main article: Viking Age

The Ladby ship, the largest ship burial found in Denmark

The Danish people were amongst those known as the Vikings during the 8th–11th centuries. Viking explorers first discovered and settled in Iceland in the 9th century, on their way from the Faroe Islands. From there, Greenland and Vinland [28] Sony VAIO VGN-SR31M Battery

known today as Newfoundland were also settled. Utilizing their great skills in shipbuilding and navigation they raided and conquered parts of France and the British Isles. But they also excelled in trading along the coasts and rivers of Europe, running trade routes from Greenland in the north to Constantinople in the south via Russian rivers. Sony VAIO VGN-SR41M/P Battery

The Danish Vikings were most active in Britain, Ireland, France, Spain, Portugal and Italy where they raided, conquered and settled (their earliest settlements included sites in the Danelaw, Ireland and Normandy). Sony VAIO VGN-SR41M/S Battery

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In the early 9th century, Charlemagne’s Christian empire had expanded to the southern border of the Danes, and Frankish sources (e.g. Notker of St Gall) provide the earliest historical evidence of the Danes. These report a King Gudfred, who appeared in present day Holstein with a navy in 804 where diplomacy took place with the Franks; In 808, Sony Vaio VGN-NS38E/S Battery

Sony Vaio VGN-NS38M/W Battery

King Gudfred attacked the Obotrite and conquered the city of Reric whose population was displaced or abducted to Hedeby. In 809, King Godfred and emissaries of Charlemagne failed to negotiate peace, despite the sister of Godfred being a concubine of Charlemagne, and the next year King Godfred attacked the Frisians with 200 ships. Sony Vaio VGN-AW21M/H Battery

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The oldest parts of the defensive works of Danevirke near Hedeby at least date from the summer of 755 and were expanded with large works in the 10th century. The size and amount of troops needed to man it indicates a quite powerful ruler in the area, which might be consistent with the kings of the Frankish sources. In 815 AD, Sony Vaio VGN-AW21Z/B Battery

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Emperor Louis the Pious attacked Jutland apparently in support of a contender to the throne, perhaps Harald Klak, but was turned back by the sons of Godfred, who most likely were the sons of the above mentioned Godfred. At the same time St. Ansgar travelled to Hedeby and started the Catholic Christianisation of Scandinavia. Sony Vaio VGN-AW41ZF/H Battery

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Map showing Danevirke and Hærvejen

The Danes were united and officially Christianised in 965 AD by Harald Bluetooth, the story of which is recorded on the Jelling stones. The extent of Harald’s Danish Kingdom is unknown, although it is reasonable to believe that it stretched from the defensive line of Dannevirke, including the Viking city of Hedeby, across Jutland, Sony Vaio VGN-AW41MF/H Battery

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the Danish isles and into southern present day Sweden; Scania and perhaps Halland and Blekinge. Furthermore, the Jelling stones attest that Harald had also “won” Norway. In retaliation for the St. Sony Vaio VGN-AW31M/H Battery

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Brice’s Day massacre of Danes in England, the son of Harald, Sweyn Forkbeard mounted a series of wars of conquest against England, which was completed by Svend’s son Cnut the Great by the middle of the 11th century.[29] Sony Vaio VGN-AW21M Battery

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Following the death of Canute the Great, Denmark and England were divided. Sweyn Estridsen’s son, Canute IV, raided England for the last time in 1085. He planned another invasion to take the throne of England from an aging William I. He called up a fleet of 1,000 Danish ships, 60 Norwegian long boats, with plans to meet with another 600 ships under Duke Robert of Flanders in the summer of 1086. Sony Vaio VGN-AW11Z/B Battery

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Canute, however, was beginning to realise that the imposition of the tithe on Danish peasants and nobles to fund the expansion of monasteries and churches and a new head tax (Danish:nefgjald) had brought his people to the verge of rebellion. Canute took weeks to arrive at Struer where the fleet had assembled, but he found only the Norwegians still there. Sony Vaio VGN-AW11SR/B Battery

Canute thanked the Norwegians for their patience and then went from assembly to assembly (Danish:landsting) outlawing any sailor, captain or soldier who refused to pay a fine which amounted to more than a years harvest for most farmers. Canute and his housecarls fled south with a growing army of rebels on his heels. Sony Vaio VGN-AW31ZJ/B Battery

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Canute fled to the royal property outside the town of Odense on Funen with his two brothers. After several attempts to break in and then bloody hand to hand fighting in the church, Benedict was cut down and Canute struck in the head by a large stone and then speared from the front. He died at the base of the main altar 10 July 1086, Sony Vaio VGN-NS12M/S Battery

where he was buried by the Benedictines. When Queen Edele came to take Canute’s body to Flanders, a light allegedly shone around the church and it was taken as a sign that Canute should remain where he was. Sony Vaio VGN-NS12M/W Battery

The death of St. Canute marks the end of the Viking Age. Never again would massive flotillas of Scandinavians meet each year to ravage the rest of Christian Europe. Sony Vaio VGN-NS36E Battery

[edit]Medieval Denmark

Dannebrog falling from the sky during the Battle of Lyndanisse, modern Tallinn, 15 June 1219. Painted by Christian August Lorentzen in 1809. Original located at Statens Museum for Kunst, Denmark Sony Vaio VGN-NS10E/S Battery

From the Viking age towards the end of the 13th century, the kingdom of Denmark consisted of Jutland, north from the River Eider, the islands of Zealand, Funen and Bornholm, along with Skåne, Halland and Blekinge, Sony Vaio VGN-NS10L/S Battery

which is a part of southern Sweden today. The lands between the Eider and the Kongeåen were separated from the kingdom as two vassal duchies of Schleswig and Holstein.

Following the end of the 11th century, Denmark underwent a transition from a patchwork of regional chiefs (Danish:jarls) with a weak and semi-elected royal institution, Sony Vaio VGN-NS11J/S Battery

into a realm which more reflected European feudalism, with a powerful king ruling through an influential nobility. The period is marked by internal strife and the generally weak geopolitical position of the realm, which for long stretches fell under German influence. The period also featured the first of large stone buildings (mostly churches),

Sony Vaio VGN-NS20EF/W Batterya deep penetration by the Christian religion, the appearance of monastic orders in Denmark and the first written historical works such as the Gesta Danorum (“Deeds of the Danes”). German political as well as religious influence firmly ended in the last decades of the 12th century under the rule of King Valdemar the Great and his foster brother Absalon Hvide, Sony Vaio VGN-NS20E/P Battery

Archbishop of Lund; through successful wars against Wend peoples of northeast Germany and the Holy Roman Empire.

The tomb of Margaret I in Roskilde Cathedral

A high point was reached during the reign of Valdemar II, who led the formation of a Danish “Baltic Sea Empire”, which by 1221 extended control from Estonia in the east to Norway in the north. In this period several of the “regional” law codes were given; notably the Code of Jutland from 1241, Sony Vaio VGN-NS20J/P Battery

which asserted several modern concepts like right of property; “that the king cannot rule without and beyond the law”; “and that all men are equal to the law”. Following the death of Valdemar II in 1241 and to the ascension of Valdemar IV in 1340, the kingdom was in general decline because of internal strife and the rise of the Hanseatic League. Sony Vaio VGN-NS20M/S Battery

The competition between the sons of Valdemar II had the long term result that the southern parts of Jutland were separated from the kingdom of Denmark and became semi-independent vassal duchies/counties. Sony Vaio VGN-NS30E/S Battery

[edit]Kalmar Union

During the reign of Valdemar IV and his daughter Margaret I, the realm was re-invigorated; following the Battle of Falköping, Margaret I had her sister’s son, Eric of Pomerania, crowned King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden after the signing of the union charter of Kalmar, Trinity Sunday 1397.[30] Sony Vaio VGN-NS30Z/S Battery

United under a single crown it was thought that the new kingdom would create a great power in the north.[31] The three countries were to be treated as equals in the union. However, even from the start Margaret may not have been so idealistic—treating Denmark as the clear “senior” partner of the union.[31] Thus, Sony Vaio VGN-NS20EF/P Battery

much of the next 125 years of Scandinavian history revolves around this union, with Sweden breaking off and being re-conquered repeatedly. The issue was for practical purposes resolved on 17 June 1523, as Swedish King Gustav Vasa conquered the city of Stockholm. Denmark and Norway, however, remained in a personal union until the Congress of Vienna in 1814. Sony Vaio VGN-NS20EF/S Battery

[edit]Protestant Reformation

Main article: Reformation in Denmark-Norway and Holstein

The Protestant Reformation came to Scandinavia in the 1520s. On Easter Sunday 1525, Hans Tausen, a monk in the Order of St John’s Hospitalers, proclaimed aloud the need for Martin Luther’s reforms in the Catholic Church. Sony VGP-BPS13 Battery

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His sermon was the beginning of a ten year struggle which would change Denmark forever. Tausen was hustled off to a monastery in Viborg in central Jutland where he would be isolated and away from Copenhagen and the court. Tausen simply preached through the window of his locked chamber. Sony VAIO VGP-BPS13B/B Battery

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At first curious Danes came to hear the strange new ideas that Tausen was preaching. Within weeks Tausen was freed by his loyal followers, and then a Franciscan abbey church was broken open so Viborgers could hear God’s word under a roof. Luther’s ideas were accepted so rapidly that the local bishop and other churchmen in Viborg were unable to cope. Sony VAIO VGP-BPS13A/S Battery

In many churches the mass was celebrated alongside Lutheran sermons, and then Tausen’s version of Luther’s teachings began to spread to other parts of Jutland. Within a year Tausen was the personal chaplain of King Frederick I. Frederick tried to balance the old and new ideas insisting that they coexist; it lasted only as long as the king did. Sony VAIO VGP-BPS13B/S Battery

A mob stormed Our Lady Church in Copenhagen in 1531 tearing down statues, destroying side altars, artwork and relics that had accumulated through its long history. Similar events happened through the country, Sony VAIO VGP-BPS13/Q Battery

although for the most part the change was peaceful. The majority of common people saw the reduced influence and wealth of the church as a liberating thing, but their new found influence did not last long. Sony VAIO VGP-BPS13A/Q Battery

At the death of Frederick I in 1533, two claimants to the throne – one backed by Protestant Lübeck and the other by Catholic nobles – caused a civil war known as the Count’s Feud (Danish: Grevens Fejde) (1534–1536).[32] Sony VAIO VGP-BPS13B/Q Battery

The massacre of Skipper Clement’s peasant army at Aalborg in December 1534 brought an end to the war and left the pro-Lutheran party firmly in charge.[33] Denmark became officially Lutheran in 1536. Denmark’s Catholic bishops were arrested and imprisoned. Abbeys, Sony VGP-BPS21 Battery

nunneries, monasteries and other church properties were confiscated by local nobility and the crown. Monks, nuns and clergy lost their livelihood. The bishops who agreed to marry and not stir up trouble were given former church lands as personal estates.[34] Sony VGP-BPS21A Battery

Catholic influence remained longest in Viborg and the nearby area, where change permeated slowly, although the reformation originally began there.[35]

[edit]Modern history

Battle of Öland between an allied Dano-Norwegian-Dutch fleet and the Swedish navy, 1 June 1676.

For most of its history the attention of Denmark had been directed to the south. The Germans in the form of either the Hanseatic League or in the form of the rebellious minority population of the province of Slesvig had been demanding all the attention of the Danish Kingdom for centuries. However, by 1500, Sony VGP-BPS21B Battery

the Hanseatic League was in considerable decline.[36] The rise of the Dutch nation as a sea power and its unrestricted trade with Scandinavia broke the monopoly of the Hansa.[37] By 1614, Sony VGP-BPS21/S Battery

60% of all shipping passing through the sound between Denmark and Sweden was Dutch shipping.[38] The problem of Slesvig was not so much resolved as it was over-shadowed by a larger problem, the rising power of Sweden.[39] Sony VGP-BPS21A/b Battery

Indeed, the religious Peace of Augsburg in 1555 served as a watershed in the history of Denmark.[40] Instead of looking south to Germany as a threat, Denmark began to look to the north—toward Sweden as a worse threat. Like Denmark, Sony Vaio VGN-NW21MF Battery

most of Northern Germany began to be deeply concerned about the military threat posed by a strong Sweden. Thus, the various German states began to worry less about supporting the German minority population in Slesvig and began to concentrate on the Swedish threat. Accordingly, Denmark was free to turn her attentions to Sweden as well. Sony Vaio VGN-NW21EF Battery

After Sweden permanently broke away from the Kalmar Union in 1523, Denmark tried on two occasions to reassert control over Sweden. The first was in the Northern Seven Years War which lasted from 1563 until 1570. Sony Vaio VGN-NW21JF Battery

The second occasion was the Kalmar War when King Christian IV attacked Sweden in 1611 but failed to accomplish his main objective of forcing Sweden to return to the union with Denmark. The war led to no territorial changes, but Sweden was forced to pay a war indemnity of 1 million silver riksdaler to Denmark, an amount known as the Älvsborg ransom.[41] Sony Vaio VGN-NW21ZF Battery

King Christian used this money to found several towns and fortresses, most notably Glückstadt (founded as a rival to Hamburg), Christiania (following a fire destroying the original city of Oslo), Christianshavn, Christianstad and Christiansand. Christian also constructed a number of buildings, most notably Børsen, Rundetårn, Nyboder,

Sony Vaio VGN-NW31EF Battery Rosenborg, a silver mine and a copper mill. Inspired by the Dutch East India Company, he founded a similar Danish company and planned to claim Ceylon as a colony, but the company only managed to acquire Tranquebar on India’s Coromandel Coast. Denmark’s large colonial aspirations were limited to a few key trading posts in Africa and India. Sony Vaio VGN-NW31ZF/S Battery

Sony Vaio VGN-NW31JF Battery

In the Thirty Years’ War, Christian tried to become the leader of the Lutheran states in Germany but suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of Lutter.[42] The result was that the Catholic army under Albrecht von Wallenstein was able to invade, occupy and pillage Jutland,[43] forcing Denmark to withdraw from the war. Sony Vaio VGN-NW11Z/T Battery

Denmark managed to avoid territorial concessions, but Gustavus Adolphus’ intervention in Germany was seen as a sign that the military power of Sweden was on the rise while Denmark’s influence in the region was declining. Sony Vaio VGN-NW11Z/S Battery

Swedish armies invaded Jutland in 1643 and claimed Skåne in 1644. According to Geoffrey Parker, “The Swedish occupation caused a drop in agricultural production and a shortage of capital; harvest failure and plague ravaged the land between 1647 and 1651; Denmark’s population fell by 20 per cent.”[44] Sony Vaio VGN-NW11S/T Battery

In the 1645 Treaty of Brømsebro, Denmark surrendered Halland, Gotland, the last parts of Danish Estonia, and several provinces in Norway. In 1657, King Frederick III declared war on Sweden and marched on Bremen-Verden. Sony Vaio VGN-NW11S/S Battery

This led to a massive Danish defeat, and the armies of King Charles X Gustav of Sweden conquered Jutland, Funen and much of Zealand before signing the Peace of Roskilde in February 1658 which gave Sweden control of Skåne, Blekinge, Sony Vaio VGN-NW31EF Battery

Trøndelag and the island of Bornholm. Charles X Gustav quickly regretted not having destroyed Denmark completely; in August 1658 he began a two-year long siege of Copenhagen but failed to take the capital. In the following peace settlement, Denmark managed to maintain its independence and regain control of Trøndelag and Bornholm. Sony Vaio VGN-NW20ZF Battery

Den Grundlovgivende Rigsforsamling

The Constitutional Assembly created The Danish constitution, 1860–1864 painting by Constantin Hansen

Denmark tried to regain control of Scania in the Scanian War (1675–79), but it ended in failure. Following the Great Northern War (1700–21), Sony Vaio VGN-NW24S Battery

Denmark managed to restore control of the parts of Schleswig and Holstein ruled by the house of Holstein-Gottorp in 1721 and 1773, respectively. Denmark prospered greatly in the last decades of the 18th century because its neutral status allowed it to trade with both sides in the many contemporary wars. In the Napoleonic Wars, Sony Vaio VGN-NW26M Battery

Denmark originally tried to pursue a policy of neutrality to continue the lucrative trade with both France and Great Britain and joined the League of Armed Neutrality with Russia, Sweden and Prussia. Sony Vaio VGN-NW20EF Battery

Sony Vaio VGN-NW20SF Battery

The British considered this a hostile act and attacked Copenhagen in both 1801 and 1807, in one case carrying off the Danish fleet and burning large parts of the Danish capital. These events mark the end of the prosperous Florissant Age and resulted in the Dano-British Gunboat War. British control over the waterways between Denmark and Norway proved disastrous to the union’s economy; in 1813 Denmark-Norway went bankrupt. Sony VAIO VGN-FW21E Battery

The post-Napoleonic Congress of Vienna demanded the dissolution of the Dano-Norwegian union, and this was confirmed by the Treaty of Kiel in 1814. Denmark-Norway had briefly hoped to restore the Scandinavian union in 1809, Sony VAIO VGN-FW21I Battery

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but these hopes were dashed when the estates of Sweden rejected a proposal to let Frederick VI of Denmark succeed the deposed Gustav IV Adolf and instead gave the crown to Charles XIII. Norway entered a new union with Sweden which lasted until 1905. Denmark retained its colonial empire; keeping the colonies of Iceland, Sony VAIO VGN-FW21Z Battery

Sony VAIO VGN-FW21M Battery

the Faroe Islands and Greenland, and outside of Nordic colonies, Danish India from 1620 to 1869, the Danish Gold Coast from 1658 to 1850, and the Danish West Indies from 1671 to 1917.

The Danish liberal and national movement gained momentum in the 1830s, and after the European Revolutions of 1848 Denmark peacefully became a constitutional monarchy on 5 June 1849. After the Second War of Schleswig (Danish: Slesvig) in 1864, Sony VAIO VGN-FW31M Battery

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Denmark was forced to cede Schleswig and Holstein to Prussia, in a defeat that left deep marks on the Danish national identity. After these events, Denmark returned to its traditional policy of neutrality, also keeping Denmark neutral in World War I.

[edit]20th and 21st centuries

Christian X During the King’s daily ride through Copenhagen under the German occupation of Denmark, This picture was taken on his birthday in 1940. Sony VAIO VGN-FW11Z Battery

A group of Danish soldiers on the morning of the German invasion, 9 April 1940.[45]

Denmark became a member of the European Union in 1973 and signed the Lisbon Treaty in 2007.

Following the defeat of Germany, the Versailles powers offered to return the region of Schleswig-Holstein to Denmark. Fearing German irredentism, Sony VAIO VGN-FW11ZRU Battery

Denmark refused to consider the return of the area and insisted on a plebiscite concerning the return of Schleswig. The two Schleswig Plebiscites took place on 10 February and 14 March 1920, respectively. Sony VAIO VGN-FW11ZU Battery

On 10 July 1920 after the plebiscite and the king’s signature (6 July) on the reunion document, King Christian X rode across the old border on a white horse, and Northern Schleswig (Sønderjylland) was recovered by Denmark, Sony VAIO VGN-FW21J Battery

thereby adding 163,600 inhabitants and 3,984 km². The reunion day (Genforeningsdag) is celebrated every year on Valdemarsdag, 15 June.

Germany’s invasion of Denmark on 9 April 1940 – code named Operation Weserübung – met only two hours of military resistance before the Danish government surrendered. Economic co-operation between Germany and Denmark continued until 1943, Sony VAIO VGN-FW21ZR Battery

when the Danish government refused further co-operation and its navy sank most of its ships and sent as many of their officers as they could to neutral Sweden. During the war, the government was helpful towards the Danish Jewish minority, Sony VAIO VGN-FW3ZJ Battery

and the Danish resistance performed a rescue operation that managed to get most of them to Sweden and safety shortly before the Germans planned to round up the Danish Jews. Denmark also stopped most captured Jews and political prisoners from being sent to German camps by paying and supplying one in Denmark that had far better chances of survival for the prisoners.

Sony VAIO VGN-FW51ZF/H BatteryDenmark led many “inside operations” or sabotage against the German facilities. In 1944 Iceland severed ties to Denmark and became an independent republic, and in 1948 the Faroe Islands gained home rule. Sony VAIO VGN-FW41E/H Battery

After the war, with the perceived threat posed by the Soviet Union and the lessons of World War II still fresh in Danish minds, the country abandoned its policy of neutrality. Denmark became one of the founding members of the United Nations and NATO, and in 1973, Sony VAIO VGN-FW41J/H Battery

along with Britain and Ireland, joined the European Economic Community (now the European Union) after a public referendum. The Maastricht treaty was ratified after a further referendum in 1993 and the subsequent addition of concessions for Denmark under the Edinburgh Agreement. Sony VAIO VGN-FW41M/H Battery

Greenland gained home rule in 1979 and was awarded self-determination in 2009. Neither Greenland nor the Faroe Islands are members of the European Union, the Faroese declining membership in EEC from 1973 and Greenland from 1986, in both cases because of fisheries policies. Sony VAIO VGN-FW41ZJ/H Battery

Despite its modest size, Denmark has been participating in major UN sanctioned, and often NATO led, military and humanitarian operations notably including: Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Korea, Egypt, Croatia, Kosovo, Sony VAIO VGN-FW46M Battery

Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia and recently Libya. In 2009 Anders Fogh Rasmussen resigned as Prime Minister of Denmark to become the Secretary General of NATO. Sony VAIO VGN-FW4ZTJ/H Battery

[edit]Geography

Main article: Geography of Denmark

Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark

Map of Denmark

Denmark shares a border of 68 kilometres with Germany to the south and is otherwise surrounded by 7,314 kilometres of tidal shoreline (including small bays and inlets). It occupies 43,094 square kilometres. Since 2000 Denmark has been connected by the Øresund Bridge to southern Sweden. Sony VAIO VGN-FW51 Battery

Denmark’s northernmost point is Skagens point (the north beach of the Skaw) at 57° 45′ 7″ northern latitude; the southernmost is Gedser point (the southern tip of Falster) at 54° 33′ 35″ northern latitude; the westernmost point is Blåvandshuk at 8° 4′ 22″ eastern longitude; and the easternmost point is Østerskær at 15° 11′ 55″ eastern longitude. Sony Vaio VGN-FW5ZRF/H Battery

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This is in the archipelago Ertholmene 18 kilometres northeast of Bornholm. The distance from east to west is 452 kilometres (281 mi), from north to south 368 kilometres (229 mi).

Denmark consists of the peninsula of Jutland (Jylland) and 443 named islands (1,419 islands above 100 m² in total).[46] Of these, 72 are inhabited,[47] Sony Vaio VGN-SR4MR/P Battery

Sony Vaio VGN-SR4MR/S Battery

with the largest being Zealand (Sjælland) and Funen (Fyn). The island of Bornholm is located east of the rest of the country, in the Baltic Sea. Many of the larger islands are connected by bridges; the Øresund Bridge connects Zealand with Sweden; the Great Belt Bridge connects Funen with Zealand; and the Little Belt Bridge connects Jutland with FunenSony Vaio VGN-SR4MR/W Battery

Sony Vaio VGN-SR49VT/H Battery Ferries or small aircraft connect to the smaller islands. Main cities are the capital Copenhagen on Zealand; Århus, Aalborg and Esbjerg in Jutland; and Odense on Funen.

The country is flat with little elevation; having an average height above sea level of 31 metres (102 ft). The highest natural point is Møllehøj, at 170.86 metres (560.56 ft). Sony Vaio VGN-SR4VR/H Battery

Other hills in the same area southwest of Århus are Yding Skovhøj at 170.77 metres (560.27 ft) and Ejer Bavnehøj at 170.35 metres (558.89 ft).[48] The area of inland water is: (eastern Denmark) 210 km2 (81 sq mi); (western D.) 490 km2 (189 sq mi). Sony Vaio VGN-SR49VN/H Battery

Denmark’s tidal shoreline is 7,314 km (4,545 mi).[49] No location in Denmark is further from the coast than 52 km (32 mi). The size of the land area of Denmark cannot be stated exactly since the ocean constantly erodes and adds material to the coastline, Sony Vaio VGN-FW56Z Battery

and because of human land reclamation projects (to counter erosion). On the southwest coast of Jutland, the tide is between 1 and 2 m (3.28 and 6.56 ft), and the tideline moves outward and inward on a 10 km (6.2 mi) stretch.[50] Sony Vaio VGN-SR57S Battery

Phytogeographically, Denmark (including Greenland and the Faroe Islands) belongs to the Boreal Kingdom and is shared between the Arctic, Atlantic European and Central European provinces of the Circumboreal Region. According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, the territory of Denmark can be subdivided into two ecoregions: Sony Vaio VGN-SR57V Battery

the Atlantic mixed forests and Baltic mixed forests. The Faroe Islands are covered by the Faroe Islands boreal grasslands, while Greenland hosts the ecoregions of Kalaallit Nunaat high arctic tundra and Kalaallit Nunaat low arctic tundra. Sony Vaio VGN-SR57X Battery

[edit]Climate

Denmark seen from space

The climate is in the temperate zone. The winters are not particularly cold, with mean temperatures in January and February of 0.0 °C, and the summers are cool, with a mean temperature in August of 15.7 °C.[51] Denmark has an average of 121 days per year with precipitation, on average receiving a total of 712 mm per year; autumn is the wettest season and spring the driest.[51] Sony Vaio VGN-SR59TH/H Battery

Grenen near Skagen, Denmark’s northmost point

Because of Denmark’s northern location, the length of the day with sunlight varies greatly. There are short days during the winter with sunrise coming around 8:45 am and sunset 3:45 pm, as well as long summer days with sunrise at 4:30 am and sunset at 10 pm[52] Christmas (Danish: jul), is celebrated on Christmas Eve, 24 December. Sony Vaio VGN-SR59VG/H Battery

The celebration for the longest day is known in Denmark as St. Hans Aften (St. John’s evening).[53] Celebrations of Midsummer have taken place since pre-Christian times.[54]

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[edit]Environment

Denmark has historically taken a progressive stance on environmental preservation; in 1971 Denmark established a Ministry of Environment and was the first country in the world to implement an environmental law in 1973. Sony Vaio VGN-SR59XG/H Battery

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To mitigate environmental degradation and global warming the Danish Government has signed the following international agreements: Antarctic Treaty; Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol; Endangered Species Act[1] These agreements have helped in the reduction in CO2 emissions by Denmark. Sony Vaio VGN-NR31E/S Battery

Denmark was ranked as the 10th best country in the world for “Living Green” by a 2007 Readers Digest survey,[55] and Copenhagen is recognised as one of the most environmentally friendly cities in the world.[56] Sony Vaio VGN-NR31ER/S Battery

Sony Vaio VGN-NR31E/S Battery Much of the city’s success can be attributed to a strong municipal policy combined with a sound national policy; in 2006 Copenhagen Municipality received the European Environmental Management Award.[57] The award was given for long-term holistic environmental planning. Recently many of Denmark’s smaller Municipalities such as Lolland and Bornholm have also become environmental leaders. Sony Vaio VGN-NR31J/S Battery

Denmark is home to five of the world’s ten largest central solar heating plants (CSHP). The world’s largest CSHP is situated in the small community of Marstal on the island of Ærø.

Copenhagen is the spearhead of the bright green environmental movement in Denmark. In 2008,

Sony Vaio VGN-NR38Z/T BatteryCopenhagen was mentioned by Clean Edge as one of the key cleantech clusters to watch in the book The Cleantech Revolution. The city is the focal point for more than half of Denmark’s 700 cleantech companies and draws on some 46 research institutions. The cluster employs more than 60,000 people and is characterised by a close collaboration between universities, business and governing institutions. Sony Vaio VGN-NR31MR/S Battery

The capital’s most important cleantech research institutions are the University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen Business School,[58] Risø DTU National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy and the Technical University of Denmark which Risø is now part of. Leading up to the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference the University of Copenhagen held the Climate Change: Sony Vaio VGN-NR31S/S Battery

Global Risks, Challenges and Decisions conference where the need for comprehensive action to mitigate climate change was stressed by the international scientific community. Notable figures such as Rajendra K. Pachauri, Chairman of the IPCC, Sony Vaio VGN-NR31SR/S Battery

Professor Nicholas Stern, author of the Stern Report and Professor Daniel Kammen all emphasised the good example set by Copenhagen and Denmark in capitalising on cleantech and achieving economic growth while stabilising carbon emissions. Sony Vaio VGN-NR31Z/S Battery

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Denmark’s green house gas emissions per dollar of value produced has been for the most part unstable since 1990, seeing sudden growths and falls. Overall though, there has been a reduction in gas emissions per dollar value added to its market.[59] It is comparable to countries such as Germany,[60] but lagging behind other Scandinavian countries such as Norway[61] and Sweden.[62] Sony Vaio VGN-NR31ZR/S Battery

[edit]Administrative divisions

Main articles: Regions of Denmark and Municipalities of Denmark

For the administrative divisions used until 2006, see Counties of Denmark.

Administratively, Denmark proper is divided into five regions (Danish: regioner, singular: region) and a total of 98 municipalities. Sony Vaio VGN-NR38E/S Battery

The regions were created on 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish Municipal Reform to replace the country’s traditional thirteen counties (amter). At the same time, smaller municipalities (kommuner) were merged into larger units, cutting the number of municipalities from 270 to 98. Sony Vaio VGN-NR38M/S Battery

Most municipalities have a population of at least 20,000 people to give them financial and professional sustainability, although a few exceptions were made to this rule. The most important area of responsibility for regions is the national health service. Unlike the former counties, the regions are not allowed to levy taxes, Sony Vaio VGN-NR38S/S Battery

Sony Vaio VGN-NR38Z/S Battery and the health service is primarily financed by a national 8% (sundhedsbidrag) tax combined with funds from both government and municipalities. Each Regional Council consists of 41 elected politicians elected as part of the 2005 Danish municipal elections. Sony Vaio VGN-FW5ZTF/H Battery

The Ertholmene archipelago, with a population of 96 (2008), is neither part of a municipality nor a region but belongs to the Ministry of Defence.[63]

NordjyllandMidtjyllandHovedstadenSjællandSyddanmark

Regions Municipalities

[edit]Greenland and the Faroe Islands

Further information: Rigsfællesskabet

Greenland and the Faroe Islands have autonomous status within the Danish Realm and are largely self-governing. Greenland and the Faroe Islands are represented at the national level by two seats each in the Danish parliament and High Commissioners (Danish: Rigsombudsmand) representing the Danish government. Each also have devolved local governments and parliaments, with the power to make their own legislation. Sony Vaio VGN-SR4MR/P Battery

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Country Population

(2011 estimate) Area

(km²) Density

(pop per km²)

Denmark 5,564,219 43,075 129

Faroe Islands 49,267 1,399 35

Greenland 56,615 2,166,086 0.027

Kingdom of Denmark 5,670,101 2,220,097 2.6

[edit]Politics

Main articles: Politics of Denmark and Government of Denmark

The Kingdom of Denmark (Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands).

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark.

The Kingdom of Denmark is a constitutional monarchy. The current and reigning monarch is Queen Margrethe II. As stipulated in the Danish Constitution, the monarch is not answerable for their actions, and their person is sacrosanct. Sony Vaio VGN-SR4MR/S Battery

The monarch formally appoints and dismisses the prime minister and other ministers. The prime minister is customarily chosen through negotiation between the parliament party leaders.

Before being validated through royal assent, all bills and important government measures must be discussed in Statsrådet, a privy council headed by the monarch. Sony Vaio VGN-SR4MR/W Battery

The Danish privy council’s protocols are secret. Although the monarch is formally given executive power this power is strictly ceremonial. The monarch is expected to be entirely apolitical and refrain from influencing the government.[64] For example, members of the royal family do not cast their votes in elections and referendums even though they have the right. Sony Vaio VGN-SR4VR/H Battery

Legislative authority is vested in the executive (prime minister) and the Danish parliament conjointly. Judicial authority lies with the courts of justice.[65] Sony Vaio VGN-SR49VN/H Battery

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Executive authority is exercised on behalf of the monarch by the prime minister and other cabinet ministers who head departments. The cabinet, prime minister and other ministers collectively make up the government. These ministers are responsible to Folketinget (the Danish Parliament), the legislative body, which is traditionally considered to be supreme (that is, able to legislate on any matter and not bound by decisions of its predecessors). Sony Vaio VGN-FW56Z Battery

Prime Minister of Denmark, Helle Thorning-Schmidt.

The Folketing is the national legislature. It has the ultimate legislative authority according to the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty, however questions over sovereignty have been brought forward because of Denmark’s entry into the European Union. Sony Vaio VGN-SR57S Battery

In theory the doctrine prevails. Parliament consists of 175 members elected by proportional majority, plus two members each from Greenland and Faroe Islands.[66] Parliamentary elections are held at least every four years, but it is within the powers of the prime minister to ask the monarch to call for an election before the term has elapsed. Sony Vaio VGN-SR57V Battery

Sony Vaio VGN-FW56ZR Battery On a vote of no confidence, the parliament may force a single minister or the entire government to resign.

The Danish political system has traditionally generated coalitions. Most Danish post-war governments have been minority coalitions ruling with the support of non-government parties.[67] Sony Vaio VGN-SR57X Battery

Anders Fogh Rasmussen from the Venstre party, a center-right liberal party was prime minister from November 2001 to April 2009. His government was a coalition consisting of Venstre and the Conservative People’s Party, with parliamentary support from the national-conservative Danish People’s Party (Dansk Folkeparti). Sony Vaio VGN-SR59TH/H Battery

The three parties obtained a parliamentary majority in the 2001 election and maintained it virtually unchanged in the 2005 election. On 24 October 2007, an early election was called by the Prime Minister for 13 November. Sony Vaio VGN-SR59VG/H Battery

Sony Vaio VGN-SR59XG/H Battery Following the election the Danish People’s Party was strengthened while Anders Fogh Rasmussen’s Venstre lost 6 seats and the Conservative People’s Party retained the same number of seats in Parliament as prior to the election. The result ensured that Anders Fogh Rasmussen could continue as prime minister for a third term. Sony VAIO VGN-FW21E Battery

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From the autumn of 2008 rumours persisted that Anders Fogh Rasmussen aspired to head NATO. On 4 April 2009, during a NATO summit in Strasbourg, Rasmussen confirmed these speculations. Opposition within NATO, especially from Turkey, was overcome, Sony VAIO VGN-FW21I Battery

and Rasmussen was appointed Secretary General of NATO. On 5 April 2009, Rasmussen resigned, leaving minister of finance and vice president of Venstre Lars Løkke Rasmussen to be the prime minister. Sony VAIO VGN-FW21L Battery

With the parliamentary election held September 2011 the right wing coalition known as blue bloc, lost by a small margin to the opposing coalition, lead by Helle Thorning-Schmidt who on 3 October 2011 formed a new government consisting of the Social Democratic Party, Danish Social Liberal Party and Socialist People’s Party. Sony VAIO VGN-FW21Z Battery

The constitution applies to all three parts. It describes a unitary state; while the Faroe Islands and Greenland were granted home rule in 1948 and 1979 respectively, these agreements are not enshrined in the constitution. Both the Faroe Islands and Greenland manage most of their own internal affairs. Sony VAIO VGN-FW21M Battery

They may also conclude bilateral agreements on behalf of the Danish realm, if these concern only their own part of the realm. As well as electing two members each to the Danish parliament, Greenland has a legislature, the Landsting (Kalaallisut: Inatsisartut), which consists of 31 seats, and the Faroes have a parliament known as the Løgting which consist of a fixed 33 members.

[edit]Foreign relationsSony VAIO VGN-FW31M Battery

Main article: Foreign relations of Denmark

Danish foreign policy is based on its identity as a sovereign nation in Europe. As such its primary foreign policy focus is on its relations with other nations as a sovereign independent nation. Denmark has long had good relations with other nations. Sony VAIO VGN-FW31J Battery

It has been involved in coordinating Western assistance to the Baltic states (Estonia,[68] Latvia, and Lithuania).[69] The country is a strong supporter of international peacekeeping.

Denmark is today pursuing an active foreign policy, where human rights, democracy and other crucial values are to be defended actively. In recent years Greenland and The Faroe Islands have been guaranteed a say in foreign policy issues such as fishing, whaling, and geopolitical concerns.

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[edit]Military

Main articles: Danish Defence and Military history of Denmark

Group of Danish MP-soldiers.

HDMS Absalon.

Denmark’s armed forces are known as the Danish Defence (Danish: Forsvaret). During peacetime, the Ministry of Defence in Denmark employs around 33,000 in total. The main military branches employ almost 27,000: 15,460 in the Royal Danish Army, 5,300 in the Royal Danish Navy and 6,050 in the Royal Danish Air Force (all including conscripts). Sony VAIO VGN-FW11ZRU Battery

The Danish Emergency Management Agency (Danish: Beredskabsstyrelsen) employs 2,000 (including conscripts), and about 4,000 are in non-branch-specific services like the Danish Defence Command, the Danish Defence Research Establishment and the Danish Defence Intelligence Service. Furthermore around 55,000 serve as volunteers in the Danish Home Guard (Danish: Hjemmeværnet). Sony VAIO VGN-FW11ZU Battery

The Danish Defence has around 1,400[70] staff in international missions, not including standing contributions to NATO SNMCMG1. The three largest contributions are in Afghanistan (ISAF), Kosovo (KFOR) and Lebanon (UNIFIL). Between 2003 and 2007, there were approximately 450 Danish soldiers in Iraq.[71] Sony VAIO VGN-FW21ER Battery

[edit]Economy

Main article: Economy of Denmark

Denmark’s mixed economy features above average European living standards[72][73] and high amount of free trade. Denmark ranks 16th in the world in terms of GDP (PPP) per capita and ranks 5th in nominal GDP per capita. Sony VAIO VGN-FW21J Battery

According to World Bank Group, Denmark has the most flexible labour market in Europe; the policy is called flexicurity. It is easy to hire and fire (flexibility), and between jobs, unemployment compensation is very high (security). Sony VAIO VGN-FW21ZR

Denmark has a labour force of about 2.9 million. Denmark has the fourth highest ratio of tertiary degree holders in the world.[74] GDP per hour worked was the 13th highest in 2009. Denmark has the world’s lowest level of income inequality, Sony VAIO VGN-FW3ZJ Battery

according to the UN, and the world’s highest minimum wage, according to the IMF. As of June 2010 the unemployment rate is at 7.4%, which is below the EU average of 9.6%.[75] Sony VAIO VGN-FW46M Battery

Denmark is one of the most competitive economies in the world according to World Economic Forum 2008 report, IMD and The Economist.[76] According to rankings by OECD, Denmark has the most free financial markets in EU-15 and also one of the most free product markets. Sony VAIO VGN-FW4ZTJ/H

Denmark is part of the Schengen Area and the EU single market.

Denmark has a company tax rate of 25% and a special time limited tax regime for expatriates.[77] The Danish taxation system is broad based, with a 25% VAT, in addition to excise taxes, income taxes and other fees. The overall tax burden (sum of all taxes, as a percentage of GDP) is estimated to be 46% in 2011.[78] Sony VAIO VGN-FW51 Battery

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Denmark’s national currency, the krone (plural: kroner), is de facto linked to the Euro through the ERM.[79] The exchange rate is pegged at approximately 7.46 kroner per euro. While Denmark in a September 2000 referendum rejected replacing the Danish kroner with the euro, SONY VGN-FW41E/H BATTERY

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the country in practice follows the policies set forth in the Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union (EMU) and meets the economic convergence criteria for participating in the third phase (the Euro) of the EMU. The majority of the political parties in the parliament are for the Euro, but as yet a new referendum has not been held, SONY VGN-FW41J/H BATTERY

SONY VGN-FW41M/H BATTERY

despite plans;[80] skepticism of the EU among Danish voters has historically been strong.

Denmark is known for the Danish cooperative movement within among others farming, the food industry (Danish Crown), dairy production (Arla Foods), retailing (Brugsen), wind turbine cooperatives and co-housing associations. SONY VGN-FW41ZJ/H BATTERY

Support for free trade is high – in a 2007 poll 76% responded that globalisation is a good thing.[81] 70% of trade flows are inside the European Union. Denmark has the 9th highest export per capita in the world. Denmark’s main exports are: Sony VAIO VGN-NW31JF/S Battery

industrial production/manufactured goods 73.3% (of which machinery and instruments were 21.4%, and fuels, chemicals, etc. 26%); agricultural products and others for consumption 18.7% (in 2009 meat and meat products were 5.5% of total export; fish and fish products 2.9%).[1] Sony VAIO VGN-NW21ZF/T Battery

Denmark is a net exporter of food and energy and has for a number of years had a balance of payments surplus while battling an equivalent of approximately 39% of GNP foreign debt or more than 300 billion DKK.[82] Also of importance is the sea territory of more than 105,000 km² (40,000+ sq mi). Sony VAIO VGN-NW21ZF/S Battery

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Denmark has ranked as the world’s 11th most free economy, of 162 countries, in an index created by the Wall Street Journal and Heritage Foundation, the Index of Economic Freedom 2008. The Index has been categorised as using inappropriately weighted indicators for economic freedom, leading to wealthy and/or conservative countries with barriers to trade placing high on the list, while poor and/or socialist countries with fewer restrictions on trade place low.[83] Sony VAIO VGN-NW20EF/S Battery

The Index has only a 10% statistical correlation with a standard measure of economic growth at GDP per capita.[84] Neither does the Index account for the actions of governments to nurture business[85] in the manner of the Japanese Zaibatsus during the late 20th century that helped lead to the Japanese economic miracle. After rising to eighth place in 2011, Denmark fell back to the 11th place in the 2012 Index of Economic Freedom.[86] Sony VAIO VGN-NW31EF Battery

Sony Vaio VGN-AW11M/H Battery

StatBank is the name of a large statistical database maintained by the central authority of statistics in Denmark. Online distribution of statistics has been a part of the dissemination strategy in Denmark since 1985. By this service, Denmark is a leading country in the world regarding electronic dissemination of statistics. There are about 2 million hits every year. Sony VAIO VGN-NW31ZF/S Battery

[edit]Energy

Offshore wind turbines near Copenhagen

Main article: Energy in Denmark

Denmark has considerable sources of oil and natural gas in the North Sea and ranks as number 32 in the world among net exporters of crude oil.[87] Most electricity is produced from coal, but Denmark also has a share of wind power. Wind turbines produce 16–19% of electricity demand.[88] Denmark is connected by transmission lines to other European countries. Sony VAIO VGN-NW21JF/S Battery

Denmark is a long time leader in wind energy, and as of May 2011 Denmark derives 3.1 percent of its Gross Domestic Product from renewable (Clean) energy technology and energy efficiency, or around €6.5 billion ($9.4 billion).[89]

[edit]Transport

Main article: Transport in Denmark

Sony Vaio VGN-AW11S/B Battery

Copenhagen Airport is the 15th busiest airport in Europe.

Copenhagen Central Station with S-Trains

Significant investment has been made in building road and rail links between regions in Denmark, most notably the Great Belt Fixed Link, which connects Zealand and Funen. It is now possible to drive from Frederikshavn in northern Jutland to Copenhagen on eastern Zealand without leaving the motorway. Sony Vaio VGN-AW41ZF/B Battery

The main railway operator is DSB for passenger services and DB Schenker Rail for freight trains. The railway tracks are maintained by Banedanmark. Copenhagen has a small Metro system, the Copenhagen Metro, and the greater Copenhagen area has an extensive electrified suburban railway network, the S-train. Sony Vaio VGN-AW41XH/Q Battery

Denmark’s national airline (together with Norway and Sweden) is Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), and Copenhagen Airport is the largest in Scandinavia. A ferry link to the Faroe Islands is maintained by Smyril Line. Other international ferry services are mainly operated by DFDS (to Norway and the UK), Scandlines (to Germany and Sweden), Stena Line (to Norway, Sweden, and Poland), Sony Vaio VGN-AW41MF/H Battery

Color Line (to Norway), and FjordLine (to Norway).

Private vehicles are increasingly used as a means of transport. Because of the high registration tax (180%), VAT (25%), and the world’s highest income tax rate, new cars are very expensive. The purpose of the tax is to discourage car ownership. The car fleet has increased by 45% over the last 30 years. Sony Vaio VGN-AW41JF/H Battery

In 2007 an attempt was made by the government to favor environmentally-friendly cars by slightly reducing taxes on high mileage vehicles. However, this has had little effect, and in 2008 Denmark experienced an increase in the import of fuel inefficient old cars (mostly older than 10 years),[90] Sony Vaio VGN-AW31ZJ/B Battery

primarily from Germany, as the cost for older cars—including taxes—keeps them within the budget of many Danes.

Bicycling in Denmark is a common form of transportation, particularly for the young and for city dwellers. With a network of bicycle routes extending more than 12,000 km[91] and an estimated 7,000 km[92] of segregated dedicated bicycle paths and lanes, Denmark has a solid bicycle infrastructure. Sony Vaio VGN-AW31S/B Battery

Denmark has integrated fluctuating and unpredictable energy sources such as wind power into the grid. Denmark now aims to focus on intelligent battery systems (V2G) and plug-in vehicles in the transport sector.[93][94] Sony Vaio VGN-AW31M/H Battery

[edit]Public policy

February 21, 2012

Android system, Windows Phone system

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: ? Sony VAIO VGN-NW11S/T Battery, ? Sony VAIO VGN-NW11Z/S Battery, ? Sony VAIO VGN-NW11Z/T Battery, ? Sony VAIO VGN-NW20EF/P Battery, ? Sony VAIO VGN-NW20EF/S Battery, ? Sony VAIO VGN-NW20EF/W Battery, ? Sony VAIO VGN-NW21JF/S Battery, ? Sony VAIO VGN-NW21MF/P Battery, ? Sony VAIO VGN-NW21MF/W Battery, ? Sony VAIO VGN-NW21ZF/S Battery, ? Sony VAIO VGN-NW21ZF/T Battery, ? Sony VAIO VGN-NW31ZF/S Battery — admin @ 11:13 am

Android system, Windows Phone system

Android software development and List of open source Android applications

Applications are usually developed in the Java language using the Android Software Development Kit, but other development tools are available, including aSony VAIO VGN-FW41M/H Battery

Native Development Kit for applications or extensions in C or C++, Google App Inventor, a visual environment for novice programmers and various cross platform mobile web applications frameworks .

Android MarketSony VAIO VGN-FW41ZJ/H Battery

Main article: Android Market

Android Market is the online software store developed by Google for Android devices. An application program (“app”) called “Market” is preinstalled on most Android devices and allows users to browse and download apps published by third-party developers, hosted on Android Market. As of December 2010 thereSony VAIO VGN-FW46M Battery

were about 200,000 games, applications and widgets available on the Android Market.[102] In April 2011 Google said there had been more than 3 billion Android apps installed[103] and at end of June 2011 there are 6 billion apps installs from the Android market. The operating system itself is installed on 130 million total devices.[104] Sony VAIO VGN-FW4ZTJ/H Battery
Only devices that comply with Google’s compatibility requirements are allowed to preinstall Google’s closed-source Android Market app and access the Market.[105] The Market filters the list of applications presented by the MarketSony VAIO VGN-FW51 Battery

app to those that are compatible with the user’s device, and developers may restrict their applications to particular carriers or countries for business reasons. [106] Sony VAIO VGN-FW51ZF/H Battery

Google has participated in the Android Market by offering several applications themselves, including Google Voice (for the Google Voice service), Sky Map (for watching stars), Finance (for their finance service), Maps Editor (for their MyMaps service), Sony Vaio VPCEB4Z1E/BQ Battery

Places Directory (for their Local Search), Google Goggles that searches by image, Gesture Search (for using finger-written letters and numbers to search the contents of the phone), Google Translate, Google Shopper, Listen for podcasts and My Tracks, a jogging application. In August 2010, Google launched “Voice Actions for Android”,[1Sony Vaio VPCEB4Z0E/BQ Battery

07] which allows users to search, write messages, and initiate calls by voice.

Alternatively, users can install apps from third party app stores such as the Amazon Appstore,[108] or directly onto the device if they have the application’s APK file. Sony Vaio VPCEB4X1E/BQ Battery

Application security

An example of app permissions in Android Market.

Android applications run in a sandbox, an isolated area of the operating system that does not have access to the rest of the system’s resources, Sony Vaio VPCEB4S1E/WI Battery

unless access permissions are granted by the user when the application is installed. Before installing an application, Android Market displays all required permissions. A game may need to enable vibration, for example, but should not need to read messages or access the phonebook.

Sony Vaio VPCEB3M1E/WI BatteryAfter reviewing these permissions, the user can decide whether to install the application.[109]

Some Android malware incidents have been reported involving rogue applications on Android Market. In August 2010, Kaspersky Lab reported detection of the first malicious program for Android, named Trojan-SMS.AndroidOS.FakePlayer.a, an SMS trojan which had already infected a number of devices.[110] In some Sony Vaio VPCEB4M1E/BQ Battery

cases applications which contained trojans were hidden in pirated versions of legitimate apps.[111][112] Google has responded by removing malicious apps from the Android Market, and remotely disabling them on infected devices.[113] Security firms such as AVG Technologies and Symantec have released antivirus software for Android devices. Sony Vaio VPCEB4M1E/WI Battery

Privacy

Android smartphones have the ability to report the location of Wi-Fi access points, encountered as phone users move around, to build vast databases containing the physical locations of hundreds of millions of such access points. Sony Vaio VPCEB4M1E/T Battery

These databases form electronic maps to locate smartphones, allowing them to run apps like Foursquare, Latitude, Places, and to deliver location-based ads.[114]

One design issue is that average users cannot monitor how applications access and use private and sensitive data (e.g. location and hardware ID numbers). Sony Vaio VPCEB4L9E/BQ Battery

Even during installation, permission checks do not often indicate to the user how critical services and data will be used or misused. Third party monitoring software such as TaintDroid,[115] an academic research-funded project, can identify personal information sent from applications to remote servers.[116] Sony Vaio VPCEB4L1E/BQ Battery

Marketing

The Android logo was designed along with the Droid font family made by Ascender Corporation.[117] Sony Vaio VPCEB4L1E/WI Battery

Android Green is the color of the Android Robot that represents the Android operating system. The print color is PMS 376C and the RGB color value in hexadecimal is #A4C639, as specified by the Android Brand Guidelines.[118] The custom typeface of Android is called Norad (cf. NORAD). It is only used in the text logo.[119] Sony Vaio VPCEB4L1E/BQ Battery

Market share

Research company Canalys estimated in Q2 2009 that Android had a 2.8% share of worldwide smartphone shipments.[120] By Q4 2010 this had grown to 33% of the market, becoming the top-selling smartphone platform. Sony Vaio VPCEB4J1E/WI Battery

This estimate includes the Tapas and OMS variants of Android.[24] By Q3 2011 Gartner estimates more than half (52.5%) of the smartphone market belongs to Android.[121]Sony Vaio VPCEB4J1E/PI Battery

In February 2010 ComScore said the Android platform had 9.0% of the U.S. smartphone market, as measured by current mobile subscribers. This figure was up from an earlier estimate of 5.2% in November 2009.[122] By the end of Q3 2010 Android’s U.S. market share had grown to 21.4%.[123]

Sony Vaio VPCEB3S1E/BQ Battery

In May 2010, Android’s first quarter U.S. sales surpassed that of the rival iPhone platform. According to a report by the NPD group, Android achieved 25% smartphone sales in the US market, up 8% from the December quarter. Sony Vaio VPCEB4E9E/BQ Battery

In the second quarter, Apple’s iOS was up by 11%, indicating that Android is taking market share mainly from RIM, and still has to compete with heavy consumer demand for new competitor offerings.[124] Furthermore, analysts pointed toSony Vaio VPCEB4E1E/WI Battery

advantages that Android has as a multi-channel, multi-carrier OS, which allowed it to duplicate the quick success of Microsoft’s Windows Mobile.[125] Sony Vaio VPCEB3Z1E/BQ Battery In Q4 2010 Android had 59% of the total installed user base of Apple’s iOS in the U.S. and 46% of the total installed user base of iOS in Europe.[126][127]Sony VAIO VGN-FW21E Battery

As of June 2011 Google said that 550,000 new Android devices were being activated every day[128]—up from 400,000 per day a month earlier in May 2011, and more than 100 million devices have been activated.[22Sony VAIO VGN-FW21I Battery

] Android hit 300,000 activations per day back in December 2010. On July 14, 2011 550,000 Android devices are now activated by Google each day with growth 4.4% per week.[129] On the 1st of August 2011 Canalys Sony VAIO VGN-FW21L Battery

estimates Android has about 48% of the smartphone market share.[130] On October 13, 2011, Google announced that there are 190 million Android devices in the market.[131]

Usage shareSony VAIO VGN-FW21Z Battery

According to Google’s Chet Hasse and Roman Guy, at AnDevCon II, San Francisco, 2011, there were two more internal releases called “Astro” and “Bender”. The code names are in alphabetic order, and were allegedly changed from robots to desserts to avoid copyright issues. Sony VAIO VGN-FW21M Battery

Intellectual property infringement claims

See also: Oracle Corporation#Lawsuit against Google

Both Android and Android phone manufacturers have been the target of numerous patent lawsuits. On 12 August 2010, Oracle sued Google over claimed infringement of copyrights and patents related to the Java programming language.[1Sony VAIO VGN-FW31M Battery

33] Specifically, the patent infringement claim references seven United States patents including US 5966702 “Method and apparatus for pre-processing and packaging class files”, and US 6910205 “Interpreting functions utilizing a hybridSony VAIO VGN-FW31J Battery

of virtual and native machine instructions”.[134] In response, Google submitted multiple lines of defense, counterclaiming that Android did not infringe on Oracle’s patents or copyright, that Oracle’s patents were invalid, and several other defenses. Sony VAIO VGN-FW11ZRU Battery

They said that Android is based on Apache Harmony, a clean room implementation of the Java class libraries, and an independently developed virtual machine called Dalvik.[135][136][137]

Microsoft has also sued several manufacturers of Android devices for patent infringement, and Sony VAIO VGN-FW11ZU Battery

collects patent licensing fees from others. In October 2011 Microsoft said they had signed license agreements with ten Android device manufacturers, accounting for 55% of worldwide revenue for Android devices.[138] These include Samsung and HTC.[139] Sony VAIO VGN-FW21ER Battery

Google has publicly expressed its dislike for the current patent landscape in the United States, accusing Apple, Oracle and Microsoft of trying to take down Android through patent litigation, rather than innovating and competing with better products and services.[14Sony VAIO VGN-FW21J Battery

0] In August 2011, Google purchased Motorola Mobility for US$12.5 billion, which was viewed in part as a defensive measure to protect Android, since Motorola Mobility had a 17,000-strong patent pool.[141] Sony VAIO VGN-FW21ZR

Windows Phone is a mobile operating system developed by Microsoft, and is the successor to its Windows Mobile platform,[1] although incompatible with it.[2] Unlike its predecessor, it is primarily aimed at the consumerSony VAIO VGN-FW3ZJ Battery

market rather than the enterprise market.[3] It was launched in Europe, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, the US, Canada, Mexico, and the EPAL region in the second half of 2010[dubious – discuss], and Asia in early 2011.[4] With Windows Phone, Sony VAIO VGN-FW46M Battery

Microsoft offers a new user interface with its design language named Metro, integrates the operating system with third party and other Microsoft services, and controls the hardware it runs on.[5] Sony VAIO VGN-FW4ZTJ/H

Work on a major Windows Mobile update may have begun as early as 2004 under the codename “Photon”, but work moved slowly and the project was ultimately cancelled.[6] In 2008, Microsoft reorganized the Windows Mobile group and started workSony VAIO VGN-FW51 Battery

on a new mobile operating system.[7] The product was to be released in 2009 as Windows Phone, but several delays prompted Microsoft to develop Windows Mobile 6.5 as an interim release.[8]

Windows Phone was developed quickly. Sony VAIO VGN-FW51MF/H Battery

Sony VAIO VGN-FW51ZF/H Battery

One result was that Windows Mobile applications do not run on it. Larry Lieberman, senior product manager for Microsoft’s Mobile Developer Experience, told eWeek: “If we’d had more time and resources, we may have been able to do SONY VGN-FW41E/H BATTERY

something in terms of backward compatibility.”[9] Lieberman said that Microsoft was attempting to look at the mobile phone market in a new way, with the end user in mind as well as the enterprise network.[9] Terry Myerson, corporate VP of WindowsSONY VGN-FW41J/H BATTERY

Phone engineering, said, “With the move to capacitive touch screens, away from the stylus, and the moves to some of the hardware choices we made for the Windows Phone 7 experience, we had to break application compatibility with Windows Mobile 6.5.”[10]SONY VGN-FW41M/H BATTERY

[edit]Naming

The name ‘Windows Phone’ is a rebranding of Microsoft’s old mobile OS called ‘Windows Mobile’. Before the official announcement of ‘Windows Phone 7′, Microsoft began to refer to devices running Windows Mobile as “Windows Phones”. Microsoft atSONY VGN-FW41ZJ/H BATTERY

first announced its new platform as “Windows Phone 7 Series” which initially came under criticism as being too wordy and difficult to say casually. Responding to this, on April 2, 2010 Microsoft announced that the “Series” would be dropped from the name, leaving the platform named Windows Phone 7.[11] The official statement on the matter was: Sony VAIO VGN-NW31JF/S Battery

“Customers want a simpler way to say and use the name consistently. The important thing is keeping the focus on the Windows Phone brand, which we introduced in October and will continue investing in through Windows Phone 7 and beyond.”

[edit]LaunchSony VAIO VGN-NW21ZF/T Battery

In February 2010, a Microsoft press release listed the companies that would help make and operate Windows Phone. Many hardware makers were listed in the release. Sony VAIO VGN-NW21ZF/S Battery

Microsoft unveiled Windows Phone on February 15, 2010, at Mobile World Congress 2010 in Barcelona[12] and revealed additional details at MIX 2010 on March 15, 2010. The final SDK was made available on September 16, 2010.[13] Sony VAIO VGN-NW21MF/W Battery

Sony VAIO VGN-NW21MF/P Battery

HP later decided not to build devices for Windows Phone, citing that it wanted to focus on devices for its newly purchased webOS.[14]

Windows Phone supports twenty-five languages and Windows Phone Marketplace allows buying and selling applications in 35 countries and regions.[15]

[edit]PartnershipSony VAIO VGN-NW21JF/S Battery

[edit]Launch partners

On October 11, 2010, Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer announced 10 devices operating Windows Phone, made by HTC, Dell, Samsung, and LG, with sales beginning on October 21, 2010 in Europe and Australia and November 8, 2010 in the United States. The devices were available on 60 carriers in 30 countries, with additional devices to be launched in 2011.[16] Sony VAIO VGN-NW11S/S Battery

[edit]Partnership with Nokia

Concept render of a Nokia smartphone running Windows Phone

On 11 February 2011, at a press event in London, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Nokia CEO Stephen Elop announced a partnership between their companies in which Windows Phone would become the primary smartphone operating systemSony VAIO VGN-NW11S/T Battery

for Nokia.[17] The event was largely focused on creating “a new global mobile ecosystem”, suggesting competition with Android and iOS by saying “It is now a three horse race”. Integration of Microsoft services with Nokia’s own services were announced; specifically that Bing would power search across Nokia devices, Sony VAIO VGN-NW11Z/T Battery

and an integration of Nokia Maps with Bing Maps, as well as Nokia’s Ovi store being integrated with the Windows Phone Marketplace.[17] The partnership involves “funds changing hands for royalties, marketing and ad-revenue sharing”, Sony VAIO VGN-NW11Z/S Battery

which Microsoft later announced was, “measured in billions of dollars.”[18] The first Nokia Windows phones, the Nokia Lumia 800 and Nokia Lumia 710, were announced in October 2011 at Nokia World 2011 event. [19][20] Sony VAIO VGN-NW31JF/S Battery

[edit]Other OEM partners

Microsoft, on May 25, 2011, has announced expansion of partners who plan to release Windows Phone. Acer, Fujitsu, and ZTE, in addition to Nokia, plan to release their first Windows Phones based on the first major upgrade to Windows Phone platform.[21] Sony VAIO VGN-NW21ZF/T Battery

[edit]Windows Phone 7.5

Main article: Windows Phone 7.5

At the February 2011 Mobile World Congress, Steve Ballmer announced a major update to Windows Phone 7 due toward the end of the year,[22] Sony VAIO VGN-NW21ZF/S Battery

and unveiled features including a mobile version of Internet Explorer 9 that supports the same web standards and graphical capability as the desktop version,[23] Twitter integration for the People Hub,[24][25] multi-tasking of third-party apps,[26] and Windows Live SkyDrive access.[27]

[edit]Windows Phone TangoSony VAIO VGN-NW21MF/W Battery

Tango will be a minor update, similar to the “NoDo” update. Apollo will be the next major update.[citation needed] Sony VAIO VGN-NW21MF/P Battery

Sony VAIO VGN-NW20EF/P Battery

[edit]Windows Phone Apollo

Apollo is the codename for next generation of Windows Phone, as confirmed at an MSDN seminar in August 2011.[citation needed] It is expected to launch in mid-2012 and Engadget believes that Apollo actually refers to Windows Phone 8.[28] It is believed the update will add NFC technology and eventually lead to a convergence of Microsoft’s operating systems for PCs, phones, and tablets.[29] Sony VAIO VGN-NW20EF/w Battery

[edit]User interface

Windows Phone features a new user interface, based upon Microsoft’s Windows Phone design system, codenamed Metro.[30] The home screen, called the “Start screen”, is made up of “Live Tiles”. Tiles are links to applications, features, functions and individual items (such as contacts, web pages, applications or media items). Sony VAIO VGN-NW20EF/S Battery

[edit]Features

Users can add, rearrange, or remove Tiles.[31] Tiles are dynamic and update in real time – for example, the tile for an email account would display the number of unread messages or a Tile could display a live update of the weather.[32] Sony VAIO VGN-NW31EF Battery

Several features of Windows Phone are organized into “hubs”, which combine local and online content via Windows Phone’s integration with popular social networks such as Facebook, Windows Live, and Twitter.[32] For example, the Pictures hub shows photos captured with the device’s camera and the user’s FacebookSony VAIO VGN-NW31ZF/S Battery

Sony VAIO VGN-NW21JF/S

photo albums, and the People hub shows contacts aggregated from multiple sources including Windows Live, Facebook, and Gmail. From the Hub, users can directly comment and ‘like’ on social network updates. The other built-in hubs are Music and Video (which integrates with Zune), Games (which integrates with Xbox Live), Sony VAIO VGN-SR11M Battery

Windows Phone Marketplace, and Microsoft Office.[32]

Windows Phone uses multi-touch technology.[32] The default Windows Phone user interface has a dark theme that prolongs battery life on OLED screens as fully black pixels don’t emit light.[33] The user may choose a light theme instead, and can alsoSony VAIO VGN-SR11MR Battery

choose from several accent colors.[34] User interface elements such as tiles are shown in the user’s chosen accent color. Third-party applications can be automatically themed with these colors.[35][36] Sony VAIO VGN-SR19VN Battery

[edit]Text input

Users input text by using an on-screen virtual keyboard, which has a dedicated key for inserting emoticons,[37] and features spell checking[37] and word prediction.[38] Users may change a word after it has been typed by tapping the word,[3Sony VAIO VGN-SR19XN Battery

9] which will invoke a list of similar words. Pressing and holding certain keys will reveal similar characters. The keys are somewhat larger and spaced farther apart when in landscape mode. Phones may also be made with a hardware keyboard for text input.[40]Sony VAIO VGN-SR21M/S Battery

Sony VAIO VGN-SR21RM/H Battery

[edit]Messaging

Windows Phone combined messaging through “threads”. Threads allow the Windows Phone user to engage with their contacts through Windows Live Messenger and Facebook Chat as well as traditional text messages. Text message can also be composed through voice recognition. Voice recognition allows speech to be converted to text message and also allows text message to be converted to speech which can be read aloud. Sony VAIO VGN-SR21M/S Battery

[edit]Web browser

Internet Explorer Mobile on Windows Phone.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Filed under: Uncategorized — admin @ 9:37 am

Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Romance of the Three Kingdoms, written by Luo Guanzhong in the 14th century,[1] is a Chinese historical novel based on the events in the turbulent years near the end of the Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history, starting in 169 and ending with the reunification of the land in 280. Sony VAIO VPCCW1AHJ Battery

The story (part historical, part legend, and part myth) chronicles the lives of feudal lords and their retainers, who tried to replace the dwindling Han Dynasty or restore it. While the novel actually follows literally hundreds of characters, Sony VAIO VPCCW1S1E Battery

the focus is mainly on the three power blocs that emerged from the remnants of the Han Dynasty, and would eventually form the three states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The novel deals with the plots, personal and army battles, intrigues, and struggles of these states to achieve dominance for almost 100 years. Sony VAIO VPCCW1S1E/B Battery

This novel also gives readers a sense of how the Chinese view their history in a cyclical lense. The famous opening lines of the novel summarize this view: It is a general truism of this world that anything long divided will surely unite, and anything long united will surely divide (????????????????).[2] Sony VAIO VPCCW1S1E/L Battery

Romance of the Three Kingdoms is acclaimed as one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature; it has a total of 800,000 words and nearly a thousand dramatic characters (mostly historical) in 120 chapters.[3] The novel is among the most beloved works of literature in East Asia,[4] and it is arguably the most widely read historical novel in late imperial and modern China.[5] Sony VAIO VPCCW1S1E/P Battery

Myths from the Three Kingdoms era existed as oral traditions before written compilations. With their focus on the history of Han Chinese, the stories grew in popularity during the reign of the Mongol emperors of the Yuan Dynasty. During the succeeding Ming Dynasty, an interest in plays and novels resulted in further expansions and retelling of the stories. Sony VAIO VPCCW1S1E/R Battery

The earliest attempt to combine these stories into a written work was Sanguozhi Pinghua (simplified Chinese: ?????; traditional Chinese: ?????; pinyin: S?nguózhì Pínghuà; literally “Story of Records of Three Kingdoms“),Sony VAIO VPCCW1S1E/W Battery

published sometime between 1321 and 1323. This version combined themes of legend, magic, and morality to appeal to the peasant class. Elements of reincarnation and karma were woven into this version of the story. Sony VAIO VPCCW21FX/B Battery

Romance of the Three Kingdoms is traditionally attributed to Luo Guanzhong, who lived sometime between 1315 and 1400 (late Yuan to early Ming period). This theory is extensively developed in Andrew Plaks’ Four Masterworks of the Ming Novel.^[6] It was written in partly vernacular and partly Classical Chinese and was considered the standard text for 300 years. Sony VAIO VPCCW21FX/L Battery

The author made use of available historical records, including the Records of Three Kingdoms compiled by Chen Shou, which covered events from the Yellow Turban Rebellion in 184 to the unification of the Three Kingdoms under the Jin Dynasty in 280. Sony VAIO VPCCW21FX/R Battery

The novel also includes material from Tang Dynasty poetic works, Yuan Dynasty operas and his own personal interpretation of elements such as virtue and legitimacy. The author combined this historical knowledge with a gift for storytelling to create a rich tapestry of personalities, Sony VAIO VPCCW21FX/W Battery

and initially published it in 24 volumes. It was copied by hand in manuscripts until first printed in 1522^[7] as Sanguozhi Tongsu Yanyi.^[8] In the 1660s, during the reign of the Kangxi Emperor in the Qing Dynasty, Mao Lun (simplified Chinese: ??; traditional Chinese: ??)^[3] Sony VAIO VPCCW26EC Battery

and his son Mao Zonggang (simplified Chinese: ???; traditional Chinese: ???) significantly edited the text, fitting it into 120 chapters, and abbreviating the title to Sanguozhi Yanyi.^[8] The text was reduced from 900,000 to 750,000 characters; significant editing was done for narrative flow; Sony VAIO VPCCW26FX/B Battery

use of third party poems was reduced and shifted from conventional verse to finer pieces; and most passages praising Cao Cao’s advisers and generals were removed.^[9] Scholars have long debated whether the Maos’ viewpoint was anti-Qing (identifying Southern Ming remnants with Shu-Han) or pro-Qing.^[10] Sony VAIO VPCCW28EC Battery

This novel reflects Confucian values that were prominent at the time it was written. According to Confucian moral standards, loyalty to one’s family, friends, and superiors are important measures for distinguishing good and bad people. Sony VAIO VPCCW28FJ/P Battery

Story

In the final years of the Han Dynasty, incompetent eunuchs deceive the emperor and persecute good officials, and the government becomes extremely corrupt on all levels, leading to widespread deterioration of the empire. During the reign of the penultimate Han sovereign, Emperor Ling, the Yellow Turban Rebellion breaks out under the leadership of Zhang Jue (a.k.a. Zhang Jiao). Sony VAIO VPCCW28FJ/R Battery

The rebellion is barely suppressed by troops under the command of He Jin, General-in-Chief of the imperial armies. Fearing his growing power, the eunuchs led by Zhang Rang lure He Jin into the palace and murder him. He Jin’s stunned guards, Sony VAIO VPCCW28FJ/W Battery

led by Yuan Shao, respond by charging into the palace to kill all eunuchs for revenge, which turns into indiscriminate slaughter. In the ensuing chaos, the child Emperor Shao and the Prince of Chenliu disappear from the palace. Sony VAIO VPCCW29FJ/W Battery

The missing emperor and prince are found later by soldiers of the warlord Dong Zhuo, who proceeds to seize control of the capital city Luoyang under the pretext of protecting the emperor. Dong later deposes Emperor Shao and replaces him with the Prince of Chenliu, who becomes known as Emperor Xian. Sony VAIO VPCCW2AFJ Battery

Dong usurps state power and starts a reign of terror in which innocents are persecuted and the common people suffer. Wu Fu and Cao Cao attempt to assassinate Dong Zhuo but both fail. Sony VAIO VPCCW2AHJ Battery

Cao Cao manages to escape and issues an imperial edict in the emperor’s name to all regional warlords and governors, calling them to rise up against Dong Zhuo. Under Yuan Shao’s leadership, eighteen warlords form a coalition force in a campaign against Dong Zhuo, Sony VAIO VPCCW2S1E Battery

but undermined by poor leadership and conflict of interest, they only manage to drive Dong from Luoyang to Chang’an. Dong Zhuo is eventually betrayed and killed by his foster son Lü Bu in a dispute over the beautiful maiden Diaochan. Sony VAIO VPCCW2S1E/B Battery

In the meantime, the empire is already disintegrating into civil war. Sun Jian finds the Imperial Seal and keeps it secretly for himself, further weakening royal authority. Without a strong central government, warlords begin to rise and fight each other for land, plunging China into a state of anarchy. Sony VAIO VPCCW2S1E/L Battery

In the north, Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan are at war, and in the south, Sun Jian and Liu Biao. Many others, even those without title or land, such as Cao Cao and Liu Bei, are also starting to build up power. Sony VAIO VPCCW2S1E/P Battery

Cao Cao rescues Emperor Xian from Dong Zhuo’s followers and establishes the new imperial court in Xuchang. Cao Cao proceeds to defeat his rivals such as Lü Bu, Yuan Shu and Zhang Xiu before scoring a tactical victory over Yuan Shao in the Battle of Guandu despite being vastly outnumbered. Sony VAIO VPCCW2S1E/R Battery

Through his conquests, Cao unites the Central Plains and northern China under his rule, and the lands he controlled would serve as the foundation for the state of Cao Wei in the future. Sony VAIO VPCCW2S1E/W Battery

Meanwhile, an ambush had violently concluded Sun Jian’s life in a war with Liu Biao, fulfilling Sun’s own rash oath to heaven. His eldest son Sun Ce delivers the Imperial Seal as a tribute to the rising royal pretender, Sony VAIO VPCCW2S5C CN1 Battery

Yuan Shu of Huainan, in exchange for reinforcements. Sun secures himself a state in the rich riverlands of Jiangdong, on which the state of Eastern Wu will eventually be founded. Tragically, Sun Ce also dies at the pinnacle of his career from illness under stress of his terrifying encounter with the ghost of Yu Ji, Sony VAIO VPCF112FX/B Battery

a venerable magician whom he had falsely accused and executed in jealousy. However, his younger brother Sun Quan, who succeeds him, proves to be a capable and charismatic ruler. Sun, assisted by skilled advisors Zhou Yu and Zhang Zhao, inspires hidden talents such as Lu Su to join his service, and builds up a strong military force. Sony VAIO VPCF115FG/B Battery

Liu Bei, along with his sworn brothers Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, swear allegiance to the Han Dynasty in the famous Oath of the Peach Garden and pledge to do their best for the country. However, their goals and ambitions are not realized until the later part of the novel. Sony VAIO VPCF116FGBI Battery

Liu is not recognized for his efforts in quelling the Yellow Turban Rebellion and is merely appointed as a junior magistrate. They join Gongsun Zan and participate in the campaign against Dong Zhuo. Liu Bei becomes the governor of Xu Province after Tao Qian passes on the post to him. Sony VAIO VPCF117FJ/W Battery

Liu loses the province when Lü Bu seizes control of it with the help of a defector and he joins Cao Cao in defeating Lü at the Battle of Xiapi. While Cao Cao subtly reveals his intention to usurp state power, Liu Bei is officially recognised by Emperor Xian as the Imperial Uncle and seen as a saviour to help the emperor deal with Cao. Sony VAIO VPCF117HG/BI Battery

Liu Bei leaves Cao Cao eventually and seizes Xu Province from Cao’s newly appointed governor Che Zhou. In retaliation, Cao attacks Xu Province and defeats Liu, forcing Liu to seek refuge under Yuan Shao for a brief period of time. Sony VAIO VPCF118FJ/W Battery

Liu finds a new base in Runan after leaving Yuan but is defeated by Cao Cao’s forces once again. He retreats to Jing Province to join Liu Biao and is placed in charge of Xinye. At Xinye, Liu recruits the genius strategist Zhuge Liang personally and builds up his forces. Sony VAIO VPCF119FC Battery

Cao Cao declares himself chancellor and leads his troops to attack southern China after uniting the north. He is defeated twice at Xinye by Liu Bei’s forces but Liu loses the city as well. Liu leads his men and the civilians of Xinye on an exodus southwards and they arrive at Jiangxia (present-day Yunmeng County, Hubei) where Liu establishes a foothold against Cao Cao. Sony VAIO VPCF119FC/BI Battery

To resist Cao Cao, Liu Bei sends Zhuge Liang to persuade Sun Quan to form an alliance. Zhuge succeeds in his diplomatic mission and remains in Jiangdong as a temporary advisor to Sun Quan. Sun places Zhou Yu in command of the armies of Jiangdong (Eastern Wu) in preparation for an upcoming war with Cao Cao. Sony VAIO VPCF119FJ/BI Battery

Zhou feels that Zhuge will become a future threat to Eastern Wu and he tries to kill Zhuge on a few occasions but he fails and decides to co-operate with Zhuge for the time being. Cao Cao is defeated at the Battle of Red Cliffs by the allied forces of Sun Quan and Liu Bei and he is forced to retreat north. Sony VAIO VPCF11AFJ Battery

Sun Quan and Liu Bei begin vying for control of Jing Province after their victory and Liu seizes the province from Cao Cao after following Zhuge Liang’s strategy. Sun Quan is unhappy and sends emissaries to ask Liu Bei for Jing Province, but Liu dismisses the envoys each time with different excuses. Sony VAIO VPCF11AGJ Battery

Sun uses some strategies proposed by Zhou Yu to take the land, of which the most famous is the “Beauty Scheme.” Sony VAIO VPCF11JFX/B Battery

Sun intends to lure Liu Bei to Jiangdong to marry his sister Lady Sun and hold Liu hostage to exchange his freedom for Jing Province, but the plot fails and the newly-wed couple return home safely. Zhou Yu tries to take Jing Province repeatedly but his plans are foiled three times by Zhuge Liang. Sony VAIO VPCF11AHJ Battery

Liu Bei’s takeover of Yi Province

After Zhou Yu’s death, relations between Liu Bei and Sun Quan gradually deteriorate but not to the point of open conflict. In accordance with Zhuge Liang’s Longzhong Plan, Liu Bei leads his troops into Yi Province in the west and takes over the land from the incompetent noble Liu Zhang. Sony VAIO VPCF11M1E Battery

By then, Liu Bei rules a vast area of land from Jing Province to Yi Province in the west, which will serve as the foundation for the future state of Shu Han. He proclaims himself “King of Hanzhong” after his victory over Cao Cao in the Hanzhong Campaign. Sony VAIO VPCF11M1E/H Battery

At the same time, Cao has also been granted the title of “King of Wei” by the emperor and Sun Quan became known as the “Duke of Wu”. In the east, Sun Quan and Cao Cao’s forces clash at the Battle of Ruxukou and Battle of Xiaoyao Ford with victories and defeats for both sides. The situation among the three major powers reaches a stalemate after this until Cao Cao’s death. Sony VAIO VPCF11MFX/B Battery

Meanwhile, Sun Quan plots to take Jing Province after tiring of Liu Bei’s repeated refusals to hand the land over. He makes peace with Cao Cao and becomes a vassal of Cao with the title of “King of Wu”. Guan YuSony VAIO VPCF11S1E Battery

, who is in charge of Jing Province, leads his troops to attack Cao Ren in the Battle of Fancheng. Sun Quan sends Lü Meng to lead his troops to seize Jing Province while Guan is away, as part of his secret agreement with Cao Cao. Guan is caught off guard and loses Jing Province before he realizes it. He retreats to Maicheng, Sony VAIO VPCF11S1E/B Battery

where he is heavily surrounded by Sun Quan’s forces, while his army gradually shrinks in size as many of his troops desert or surrender to the enemy. In desperation, Guan attempts to break out of the siege but fails and is captured in an ambush. He Sony VAIO VPCF11Z1E Battery

is executed on Sun Quan’s orders after refusing to renounce his loyalty to Liu Bei.

Shortly after Guan Yu’s death, Cao Cao dies of a brain tumor and his son Cao Pi usurps the throne, effectively ending the Han Dynasty and Cao renames his new dynasty “Cao Wei”. In response, Liu Bei proclaims himself emperor, Sony VAIO VPCF11Z1E/BI Battery

to carry on the bloodline of the Han Dynasty. While Liu Bei is planning to avenge Guan Yu, his other sworn brother Zhang Fei is assassinated in his sleep by his subordinates, who have defected to Sun Quan. Sony VAIO VPCF11ZHJ Battery

As Liu Bei leads a large army to attack Sun Quan to avenge Guan Yu, Sun attempts to appease Liu by offering him the return of Jing Province. Liu’s advisers, including Zhuge Liang, urge him to accept Sun’s tokens of peace, but Liu persists in vengeance. Sony VAIO VPCF127HGBI Battery

After initial victories, a series of strategic mistakes due to the impetuosity of Liu leads to the cataclysmic defeat of Shu Han in the Battle of Xiaoting. Lu Xun, the commander of Sun Quan’s forces, refrains from pursuing the retreating Shu Han troops after encountering Zhuge Liang’s Stone Sentinel Maze. Sony VAIO VPCF137HG/BI Battery

Liu Bei dies in Baidicheng from illness shortly after his defeat. In a moving final conversation between Liu on his deathbed and Zhuge Liang, Liu grants Zhuge the authority to take the throne if his successor Liu Shan proves to be an inept ruler. Zhuge refuses and swears that he will remain faithful to the trust Liu Bei had placed in him. Sony VAIO VPCS111FM/S Battery

Zhuge Liang’s campaigns

After Liu Bei’s death, as advised by Sima Yi, Cao Pi induces several forces, including Sun Quan, turncoat Shu general Meng Da, Meng Huo of the Nanman and the Qiang tribes, to attack Shu Han, in coordination with a Cao Wei army. Sony VAIO VPCS115EC Battery

Zhuge Liang manages to send the five armies retreating without any bloodshed. An envoy from Shu Han named Deng Zhi subsequently persuades Sun Quan to renew the former alliance with Shu Han. Zhuge Liang personally leads a southern campaign against the Nanman barbarian king Meng Huo. Sony VAIO VPCS115FG Battery

Meng is defeated and captured seven times, but Zhuge releases him each time and allows him to come back for another battle, in order to win Meng over. The seventh time, Meng refuses to leave and decides to swear allegiance to Shu Han forever. Sony VAIO VPCS117GG Battery

After pacifying the south, Zhuge Liang leads the Shu Han army on five military expeditions to attack Cao Wei in order to restore the Han Dynasty. However, Zhuge’s days are numbered as he had been suffering from chronic tuberculosis all along, Sony VAIO VPCS117GGB Battery

and his condition worsens under stress from the campaigns. His last significant victory over Cao Wei is probably the defection of Jiang Wei, a promising young general who is well-versed in military strategy. Sony VAIO VPCS118EC Battery

Zhuge Liang dies of illness at the Battle of Wuzhang Plains while leading a stalemate battle against his nemesis, the Cao Wei commander Sima Yi. Before his death, Zhuge orders his trusted generals to build a statue of himself and use it to scare away the enemy in order to buy time for the Shu Han army to retreat safely. Sony VAIO VPCS119FJ/B Battery

End of the Three Kingdoms

The long years of battle between Shu Han and Cao Wei sees many changes in the ruling Cao family in Cao Wei. The influence of the Caos weakens after the death of Cao Rui and the state power of Cao Wei eventually falls into the hands of the Sima clan, headed by Sima Yi’s sons Sima Shi and Sima Zhao. Sony VAIO VPCS119GC Battery

In Shu Han, Jiang Wei inherits Zhuge Liang’s legacy and continues to lead another nine campaigns against Cao Wei for a bitter three decades, but he fails to achieve any significant success. Moreover, the ruler of Shu Han, Sony VAIO VPCS11AFJ Battery

Liu Shan, is incompetent and places faith in treacherous officials, further leading to the decline of the kingdom. Shu Han is eventually conquered by Cao Wei. Jiang Wei attempts to restore Shu Han with the help of Zhong Hui but their plans are exposed and both of them are killed by Sima Zhao’s troops. After the fall of Shu Han in 263, Sony VAIO VPCS11AGJ Battery

Sima Zhao’s son Sima Yan forces the last Wei ruler, Cao Huan, to abdicate his throne in 265, officially ending the Cao Wei dynasty. Sima Yan, having already been proclaimed the Prince of Jin in the previous year, then formally establishes the Jin Dynasty. Sony VAIO VPCS11AHJ Battery

In Eastern Wu, there has been internal conflict among the nobles ever since the death of Sun Quan, with Zhuge Ke and Sun Lin making attempts to usurp state power. Although stability is restored temporarily, the last Wu ruler Sun Hao appears to be a tyrant who does not make any efforts to strengthen his kingdom. Sony VAIO VPCS11AVJ Battery

Eastern Wu, the last of the Three Kingdoms, is finally conquered by Jin after a long period of struggle in the year 280, thus marking the end of the near century-long era of civil strife known as the Three Kingdoms period. Sony VAIO VPCS11J7E/B Battery

Historical accuracy

The novel draws from historical sources, including Chen Shou’s Records of Three Kingdoms. Other major influences include Liu Yiqing’s Shishuo xinyu or A New Account of Tales of the World, published in 430,[11] and the Sanguozhi Pinghua, a chronological collection of eighty fictional sketches starting with the peach garden oath and ending with Zhuge Liang’s death.[12] Sony VAIO VPCS11M1E/W Battery

Some fifty or sixty Yuan and early Ming plays about the Three Kingdoms are known to have existed, and their material is almost entirely fictional, based on thin threads of actual history. The novel is thus a return to greater emphasis on history, compared to these dramas.[13] Sony VAIO VPCS11V9E Battery

The novel also shifted towards better acknowledgement of the Southland’s historical importance, while still betraying some prejudice against them.[14] Zhang Xuecheng famously wrote that the novel was 70% fact and 30% fiction.[8] The fictional parts are culled from different sources, including unofficial histories, folk stories, Sony VAIO VPCS11V9E/B Battery

the Sanguozhi Pinghua, and also the author’s own imagination. Nonetheless, the description of the social conditions and the logic that the characters use is accurate to the Three Kingdoms period, creating “believable” situations and characters, even if they are not historically accurate.[15] Sony VAIO VPCS11X9E/B Battery

Romance of the Three Kingdoms, like the dramas and folk stories of its day, features Liu Bei and his kingdom as the protagonist; hence the depiction of the people in Shu-Han was glorified. The antagonists, Cao Cao, Sun Quan and their kingdoms, Sony VAIO VPCS123FGB Battery

on the other hand, were often denigrated. This suited the political climate in the Ming Dynasty, unlike in the Jin Dynasty, when Cao Wei was considered the legitimate successor to the Han Dynasty. Sony VAIO VPCS125EC Battery

Some non-historical scenes in the novel have become well-known and subsequently became a part of traditional Chinese culture. Sony VAIO VPCS128EC Battery

Dominant themes of the novel include: the rise and fall of the ideal liege (Liu Bei) finding the ideal minister (Zhuge Liang); the conflict between the ideal liege (Liu Bei) and the consummate villain (Cao Cao); and the cruelties and injustice of feudal or dynastic government.[3] Sony VAIO VPCS129GC Battery

Critics have argued that Luo Guanzhong’s initial pronouncement “It is a general truism of this world that anything long divided will surely unite, and anything long united will surely divide” epitomizes the main theme of the novel.[16] Sony VAIO VPCS12C7E/B Battery

Taking this as a locus for study of the classic has been disputed, however. Further, “division” and “unity” for Luo are not of equal importance.[16] Though the work shows the journey from unity to division in the final years of the Han Dynasty, that is only the beginning of the book. Sony VAIO VPCS12L9E/B Battery

“The author expended most of his ink on the focal point of his description—the difficult transition from ‘division’ to ‘unity’ and the great achievements that came out of the bitter struggle by various heroes to reunify the Chinese empire.”[16] Sony VAIO VPCS12V9E/B Battery

Romance of the Three Kingdoms recorded stories of a Buddhist monk called Pujing (??), who was a friend of Guan Yu. Pujing made his first appearance during Guan’s arduous journey of crossing five passes and slaying six generals, in which he warned Guan of an assassination plot. As the novel was written in the Ming Dynasty, more than 1000 years after the era, Sony VAIO VPCY115FGS Battery

these stories showed that Buddhism had long been a significant ingredient of the mainstream culture and may not be historically accurate. Luo Guanzhong preserved these descriptions from earlier versions of the novel to support his portrait of Guan as a faithful man of virtue. Guan was since then respectfully addressed as “Lord Guan” or Guan Gong. Sony VAIO VPCY115FX/BI Battery

Romance of the Three Kingdoms has been translated into English by numerous scholars. The first known translation was performed in 1907 by John G. Steele and consisted of a single chapter excerpt that was distributed in China to students learning English at Presbyterian missionary schools. Sony VAIO VPCY115FXBI Battery

[19] Z.Q. Parker published a 1925 translation containing four episodes from the novel including the events of the Battle of Red Cliffs, while Yang Xianyi and Gladys Yang published excerpts in 1981 including chapters 43–50.[19] A complete and faithful translation of the novel was published in two volumes in 1925 by Charles Henry Brewitt-Taylor.[19] Sony VAIO VPCY118EC Battery

The translation was well-written, but lacked any supplementary materials such as maps or character lists that would aide Western readers; a 1959 reprint was published that included maps and an introduction by Roy Andrew Miller to assist foreign readers.[19] Sony VAIO VPCY118GX/BI Battery

In 1976, Moss Roberts published an abridged translation containing one fourth of the novel including maps and more than 40 woodblock illustrations from three Chinese versions of the novel.[19] Roberts’s abridgement is reader-friendly, being written for use in colleges and to be read by the general public.[19] After decades of work, Sony VAIO VPCY119FJ/S Battery

Roberts published a full translation in 1991 complete with an Afterword, eleven maps, a list of characters, titles, terms, and offices, and almost 100 pages of notes from Mao Zonggang’s commentaries and other scholarly sources.[19] Sony VAIO VPCY11AFJ Battery

Roberts’s complete translation remains faithful to the original; it is reliable yet still matches the tone and style of the classic text.[19] Yang Ye, a professor in Chinese Literature at the UC Riverside, wrote in Encyclopedia of Literary Translation into English (1998) that Roberts’s translation “supersedes Brewitt-Taylor’s translation and will no doubt remain the definitive English version for many years to come.”[19] Sony VAIO VPCY11AGJ Battery

During the decline of the Han Dynasty, the northern part of China was under the control of Cao Cao, the chancellor to the last Han ruler, Emperor Xian. In 213, Cao Cao was granted the title of “Duke of Wei” and given ten cities as his domain. This area was named “Wei”. At that time, the southern part of China was already divided into two areas controlled by two warlords. In 216, Cao Cao was promoted to “King of Wei”.Sony VAIO VPCY11AHJ Battery

On March 15, 220, Cao Cao died and his son Cao Pi inherited the title of “King of Wei”. Later that year on December 11, Cao Pi forced Emperor Xian to abdicate and took over the throne, founding the Wei Dynasty. However, Liu Bei of Shu Han immediately contested Cao Pi’s claim to the Han throne, and Sun Quan of Eastern Wu followed suit in 222. Sony VAIO VPCY11AVJ Battery

Cao Pi ruled for six years until his death in 226. He was succeeded by his son Cao Rui, who died in 239, and was in turn succeeded by Cao Fang. In 249, during Cao Fang’s reign, the regent Sima Yi seized state power from his co-regent Cao Shuang in a coup known as the Incident at Gaoping Tombs. Sony VAIO VPCY11M1E/S Battery

This event marked the collapse of imperial authority in Wei, as Cao Fang’s role had been reduced to a puppet ruler while Sima Yi wielded state power firmly in his hands. Sima Yi died in 251 and passed on his authority to his oldest son Sima Shi, who continued ruling as regent. Sima Shi deposed Cao Fang in 254 and replaced him with Cao Mao. Sony VAIO VPCY11S1E Battery

After Sima Shi died in the following year, his younger brother Sima Zhao inherited his power and status as regent. In 260, Cao Mao attempted to seize back state power from Sima Zhao in a coup, but was killed by Sima’s subordinate Cheng Ji (??). Sony VAIO VPCY11V9E/S Battery

After Cao Mao’s death, Cao Huan was enthroned as the fifth ruler of Wei. However, Cao Huan was also a figurehead under Sima Zhao’s control much like his predecessor. In 263, Wei armies led by Zhong Hui and Deng Ai conquered Shu. Two years later, Sima Zhao’s son Sima Yan forced Cao Huan to abdicate in his favour, replacing Wei with the Jin Dynasty. Sony VAIO VPCY218EC/BI Battery

As Gogeryeo consolidated its power, it proceeded to act to conquer the territories on the Korean peninsula which were under Chinese rule.[1] Goguryeo initiated the Goguryeo–Wei Wars in 242, trying to cut off Chinese access to its territories in Korea by attempting to take a Chinese fort. However, the Chinese Wei state responded by invading and defeated Goguryeo. Hwando was detroyed in revenge by the Chinese Wei forces in 244.[2] Sony VAIO VPCY218EC/G Battery

Cao Wei (220 CE – 265 CE) was one of the states that competed for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period. With the capital at Luoyang, the state was established by Cao Pi in 220, based upon the foundations that his father Cao Cao laid. Its name came from 213, when Cao Cao’s feudal holdings were given the name Wei; Sony VAIO VPCY218EC/L Battery

historians often add the prefix Cao (?, from Cao Cao’s family name) to distinguish it from the other states in Chinese history also known as Wei, such as the earlier Wei state during the Warring States Period, and the later Northern Wei state. Sony VAIO VPCY218EC/P Battery

In 220, when Cao Pi deposed the last emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Wei became the name of the new dynasty he founded, which was seized and controlled by the Sima family in 249, until it was overthrown and became part of the Jin Dynasty in 265. Sony VAIO VPCY21S1E/L Battery

Shu Han was one of the three states competing for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period, after the fall of the Han Dynasty. The state was based on areas around Sichuan, which was then known as Shu. Some historians argue it was the last Han Dynasty because its founding emperor Liu Bei was directly related to the sovereign family of the original Han Dynasty, Sony VAIO VPCY21S1E/P Battery

and bore their surname. The other two states were Cao Wei in central and northern China and Eastern Wu in southeastern China. The state is sometimes known as the Kingdom of Shu, though this usage is ambiguous as it was the name of the older Shu state in the area (ca. 1046 BC – 316 BC). Sony VAIO VPCY21S1E/SI Battery

Towards the end of the Han Dynasty, Liu Bei, a warlord and distant relative of the Han imperial clan, rallied the support of many capable followers. Following the counsel of his advisor Zhuge Liang and Zhuge’s Longzhong Plan, Sony VAIO VPCCW2S5C CN1 Battery

Liu Bei conquered parts of Jing Province (covering present-day Hubei and Hunan) in 208 and 209. Between 212 and 215, Liu Bei took over Yi Province (covering the Sichuan Basin) from the warlord Liu Zhang, and wrestled control of Hanzhong from rival warlord Cao Cao in 219. Sony VAIO VPCEA20 Battery

From the territories he gained, Liu Bei established a position for himself in China during the final years of the Han Dynasty. However in 219, the alliance between Liu Bei and his ally, Sun Quan, was broken when Sun sent his general Lü Meng to invade Jing Province. Jing Province came under Sun Quan’s control after the surprise attack, and Liu Bei’s general Guan Yu was captured and executed on Sun’s order. Sony VAIO VPCEB10 Battery

In 220, after the death of Cao Cao, his son Cao Pi forced the Han Dynasty’s last ruler, Emperor Xian to abdicate, taking over the Han throne and starting a new Cao Wei dynasty. The following year, Liu Bei proclaimed himself emperor in Chengdu, with his dynasty known as “Shu Han”. Sony VAIO VPCEB11FM/BI Battery

Although Liu Bei is seen as the founder of Shu Han, he never claimed to be the founder of a new dynasty; rather, he claimed to be continuing the fallen Han Dynasty. Sony VAIO VPCEB11FM Battery

In 222, Liu Bei launched an attack on Sun Quan to retake Jing Province and avenge Guan Yu, culminating in the Battle of Xiaoting. However, due to grave tactical mistakes, Liu Bei suffered a dramatic defeat with the burning of his line of camps and the decimation of his already numerically inferior army. Sony VAIO VPCEB11FM/T Battery

Liu Bei survived the battle and fled to Baidicheng, where he died a year later due to illness. His son, Liu Shan, succeeded him as emperor of Shu Han. The chancellor Zhuge Liang and general Li Yan were appointed as regents to assist the young Liu Shan. Sony VAIO VPCEB11FM/WI Battery

Zhuge Liang felt that it was more important for Shu to attack and topple the Wei government and restore legitimacy to the Han Dynasty, hence he made peace with Sun Quan and reaffirmed Shu’s alliance with Sun. Sun Quan later declared himself emperor of Eastern Wu in 229, and his status was recognized by Shu. Sony VAIO VPCEB11FX Battery

Between 228 and 234, Zhuge Liang launched a series of six invasions on Wei but failed each time due to lack of supplies or incompetency of his officers, eventually dying of sickness at the Battle of Wuzhang Plains. Zhuge Liang’s protege, Jiang Wei, continued his legacy by leading another nine campaigns against Wei between 247 and 262, but failed to make any significant territorial gains. Sony VAIO VPCEB11FX/BI Battery

In 263, armies led by Wei generals Zhong Hui and Deng Ai attacked Shu and conquered its capital Chengdu. Liu Shan surrendered to Deng Ai outside Chengdu, marking the end of Shu. Jiang Wei attempted to incite conflict between Zhong Hui and Deng Ai, hoping to take advantage of the situation to revive Shu. Sony VAIO VPCEB11FX/T Battery

However, his plan failed and he was killed by Wei troops along with Zhong Hui and Deng Ai. Liu Shan was brought to the Wei capital Luoyang and lived a comfortable and peaceful life as the “Duke of Anle” until the end of his days. Sony VAIO VPCEB11FX/WI Battery

Shu was not merely a nation of war. During peace time, Shu began many irrigation and road-building projects designed to improve the economy. Many of these public works still exist and are widely used. For example, the Zipingpu Dam is still present near Chengdu, Sichuan. Sony VAIO VPCEB11GX Battery

These works helped improve the economy of southwestern China and can be credited with beginning the history of economic activity in Sichuan. It also promoted trade with southern China, which was then ruled by Eastern Wu. Sony VAIO VPCEB11GX/BI Battery

It was claimed that many refugees fled west to Sasanian Persia when Shu fell in 263.[1]

Eastern Wu

Eastern Wu, also known as Sun Wu, was one the three states competing for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period after the fall of the Han Dynasty. It was based in the Jiangnan (Yangtze River Delta) region of China. During its existence, its capital was at Jianye (??; present-day Nanjing, Jiangsu), but at times it was also at Wuchang (??; present-day Ezhou, Hubei). Sony VAIO VPCEB11GX/T Battery

During the final years of the Han Dynasty, the Wu region – in the south of the Yangtze River surrounding present-day Nanjing – was under the control of the warlord Sun Quan. Sun Quan succeeded his brother Sun Ce as the lord over the Wu region paying nominal allegiance to Emperor Xian of Han (who was, at that point, under the control of Cao Cao). Sony VAIO VPCEB11GX/WI Battery

Unlike his competitors, he did not really have the ambition to be Emperor of China. However, after Cao Pi of Cao Wei and Liu Bei of Shu Han each declared themselves emperor, Sun Quan decided to follow suit in 229, claiming to have founded the Wu Dynasty. Sony VAIO VPCEB12FX Battery

Sun Quan’s long reign resulted in the stabilizing of the south. Wu and Shu had a military alliance, to defeat Wei in the north. Wu never managed to gain territory north of the Yangtze River, but Wei never managed to take territory south of the river. Sony VAIO VPCEB12FX/BI Battery

Wu was finally conquered by the Jin Dynasty in 280, which marked the reunification of China at the end of the Three Kingdoms period. Sony VAIO VPCEB12FX/BIC Battery

Under the rule of Wu, the Yangtze River Delta region, regarded in early history as a barbaric “jungle” developed into one of the commercial, cultural, and political centers of China. Within five centuries, during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, the development of southern China centered around Jiangnan had surpassed that of the north. Sony VAIO VPCEB12FX/T Battery

The achievements of Wu marked the beginning of the cultural and political division between northern and southern China that would repeatedly appear in Chinese history well into modernity. Sony VAIO VPCEB14FX Battery

The island of Taiwan may have been first reached by the Chinese during the Three Kingdoms period. Contact with the native population and the dispatch of officials to an island named “Yizhou” (??) by the Wu navy might have been to Taiwan, but the location of Yizhou is open to dispute; some historians believe it was Taiwan, while others believe it was the Ryukyu Islands. Sony VAIO VPCEB14FX/BI Battery

Three Kingdoms

The Three Kingdoms period (traditional Chinese: ????; simplified Chinese: ????; pinyin: S?nguó shídài) was a period in Chinese history, part of an era of disunity called the “Six Dynasties” following immediately the loss of de facto power of the Han Dynasty rulers. Sony VAIO VPCEB14FX/T Battery

In a strict academic sense it refers to the period between the foundation of the state of Wei in 220 and the conquest of the state Wu by the Jin Dynasty in 280.? However, many Chinese historians and laymen extend the starting point of this period back to the Yellow Turban Rebellion in 184. Sony VAIO VPCEB14FX/WI Battery

The Three Kingdoms (traditional Chinese: ??; simplified Chinese: ??; pinyin: S?nguó) were Wei (?), Shu (?), and Wu (?). To further distinguish these states from other historical Chinese states of the same name, historians add a relevant character: Wei is also known as Cao Wei (??), Shu is also known as Shu Han (??), and Wu is also known as Dong Wu or Eastern Wu (??). Sony VAIO VPCEB15FM Battery

The term “Three Kingdoms” itself is something of a mistranslation, since each state was eventually headed not by kings, but by an emperor who claimed legitimate succession from the Han Dynasty. Although the translation “Three Empires” is more contextually accurate,[1] the term “Three Kingdoms” has become standard among sinologists. Sony VAIO VPCEB15FM/BI Battery

The earlier, “unofficial” part of the period, from 184 to 220, was marked by chaotic infighting between warlords in various parts of China. The middle part of the period, from 220 and 263, was marked by a more militarily stable arrangement between three rival states, Sony VAIO VPCEB15FM/T Battery

Wei, Shu, and Wu.? The later part of this period was marked by the collapse of the tripartite situation: first the conquest of Shu by Wei (263), then the overthrow of Wei by the Jin Dynasty (265), and the destruction of Wu by Jin (280). Sony VAIO VPCEB15FM/WI Battery

Although relatively short, this historical period has been greatly romanticised in the cultures of China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam. It has been celebrated and popularised in operas, folk stories, novels and in more recent times, films, television, and video games.? Sony VAIO VPCEB15FX Battery

The best known of these is Luo Guanzhong’s Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a Ming Dynasty historical novel based on events in the Three Kingdoms period. The authoritative historical record of the era is Chen Shou’s Records of Three Kingdoms, along with Pei Songzhi’s later annotations of the text. Sony VAIO VPCEB15FX/BI Battery

The Three Kingdoms period was one of the bloodiest in Chinese history.? A population census during the late Eastern Han Dynasty reported a population of approximately 50 million, while a population census during the early Western Jin Dynasty reported a population of approximately 16 million.[2] However, the Jin Dynasty’s census was far less complete than the Han census, so these figures are in question.^{[citation needed]} Sony VAIO VPCEB15FX/T Battery

Technology advanced significantly during this period. Shu chancellor Zhuge Liang invented the wooden ox, suggested to be an early form of the wheelbarrow, and improved on the repeating crossbow. Wei mechanical engineer Ma Jun is considered by many to be the equal of his predecessor Zhang Heng. Sony VAIO VPCEB15FX/WI Battery

He invented a hydraulic-powered, mechanical puppet theatre designed for Emperor Ming of Wei, square-pallet chain pumps for irrigation of gardens in Luoyang, and the ingenious design of the South Pointing Chariot, a non-magnetic directional compass operated by differential gears. Sony VAIO VPCEB16FX Battery

The power of the Eastern Han Dynasty went into depression and steadily declined after the reign of Emperor He from a variety of political and economic problems. A series of Han emperors ascended the throne while still youths, Sony VAIO VPCEB16FX/B Battery

and de facto imperial power often rested with the emperors’ older relatives. As these relatives occasionally were loath to give up their influence, emperors would, upon reaching maturity, be forced to rely on political alliances with senior officials and eunuchs to achieve control of the government. Sony VAIO VPCEB16FX/G Battery

Political posturing and infighting between imperial relatives and eunuch officials was a constant problem in Chinese government at the time. During the reigns of Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling, leading officials’ dissatisfaction with the eunuchs’ usurpations of power reached a peak, and many began to openly protest against them. Sony VAIO VPCEB16FX/L Battery

The first and second protests met with failure, and the court eunuchs persuaded the emperor to execute many of the protesting scholars. Some local rulers seized the opportunity to exert despotic control over their lands and citizens, since many feared to speak out in the oppressive political climate. Sony VAIO VPCEB16FX/P Battery

Emperors Huan and Ling’s reigns were recorded as particularly dark periods of Han Dynasty rule. In addition to political oppression and mismanagement, China experienced a number of natural disasters during this period, and local rebellions sprung up throughout the country. Sony VAIO VPCEB16FX/W Battery

In the second month of 184, Zhang Jiao, leader of the Way of Supreme Peace, a Taoist movement, along with his two brothers Zhang Liang and Zhang Bao, led the movement’s followers in a rebellion against the government that was called the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Sony VAIO VPCEB17FX Battery

Their movement quickly attracted followers and soon numbered several hundred thousands and received support from many parts of China. They had 36 bases throughout China, with large bases having 10,000 or more followers and minor bases having 6,000 to 7,000, similar to Han armies. Their motto was: Sony VAIO VPCEB17FX/B Battery

“The firmament[3] has perished, the Yellow Sky[4] will soon rise; in this year of jiazi, let there be prosperity in the world!” Sony VAIO VPCEB17FX/G Battery

[5] Emperor Ling dispatched generals Huangfu Song, Lu Zhi, and Zhu Jun to lead the Han armies against the rebels, and decreed that local governments had to supply soldiers to assist in their efforts. It is at this point that the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms begins its narrative. Sony VAIO VPCEB17FX/L Battery

The Yellow Turbans were ultimately defeated and its surviving followers dispersed throughout China, but due to the turbulent situation throughout the empire, many were able to survive as bandits in mountainous areas, thus continuing their ability to contribute to the turmoil of the era. Sony VAIO VPCEB17FX/P Battery

With the widespread increase in bandits across the Chinese nation, the Han army had no way to repel each and every raiding party. In 188, Emperor Ling accepted a memorial from Yi Province[6] governor Liu Yan suggesting he grant direct administrative power over feudal provinces and direct command of regional military to local governors, as well promoting them in rank and filling such positions with members of the Liu family or court officials. Sony VAIO VPCEB17FX/W Battery

This move made provinces (zhou) official administrative units, and although they had power to combat rebellions, the later intra-government chaos allowed these local governors to easily rule independently of the central government. Soon after this move, Liu Yan severed all of his region’s ties to the Han imperial court, and several other areas followed suit. Sony VAIO VPCEB190X Battery

Dong Zhuo in power

In the same year, Emperor Ling died, and another struggle began between the court eunuchs for control of the imperial family. Court eunuch Jian Shuo planned to kill General-in-Chief He Jin, a relative of the imperial family, and to replace the crown prince Liu Bian with his younger brother Liu Xie, the Prince of Chenliu (in present-day Kaifeng), though his plan was unsuccessful. Sony VAIO VPCEB19FX Battery

Liu Bian took the Han throne as Emperor Shao, and He Jin plotted with warlord Yuan Shao to assassinate the Ten Attendants, a clique of ten eunuchs led by Zhang Rang who controlled much of the imperial court. He Jin also ordered Dong Zhuo, Sony VAIO VPCEB19GX Battery

the frontier general in Liang Province, and Ding Yuan, Inspector of Bing Province[7], to bring troops to the capital to reinforce his position of authority. The eunuchs learned of He Jin’s plot, and had him assassinated before Dong Zhuo reached the capital Luoyang. Sony VAIO VPCEB1AFX Battery

When Yuan Shao’s troops reached Luoyang, they stormed the palace complex, killing the Ten Attendants and 2,000 of the eunuchs’ supporters. Though this move effectively ended the century-long feud between the eunuchs and the imperial family, it ushered in the era of warlords and martial law that became the Three Kingdoms era. Sony VAIO VPCEB1AFX/B Battery

This event prompted the invitation of Dong Zhuo to enter Luoyang from the northwest boundary of China. At the time China faced the Qiang tribes in the northwest, and thus Dong Zhuo controlled a large army with elite training. When he brought the army to Luoyang, he was able to easily overpower the existing armies of both sides and took control of the imperial court, ushering in a period of civil war across China. Sony VAIO VPCEB1AGX Battery

Dong Zhuo then manipulated the succession so that Liu Xie could take the throne in lieu of Liu Bian. Dong Zhuo, while ambitious, genuinely wished for a more capable emperor. On his way to Luoyang, he encountered a small band of soldiers protecting Liu Bian and Liu Xie fleeing the war zone. Sony VAIO VPCEB1AGX/BI Battery

In the encounter Dong Zhuo acted arrogantly and threateningly, causing Liu Bian to be paralyzed with fear; Liu Xie, the future Emperor Xian, responded calmly with authority and commanded Dong Zhuo to protect the royal family with his army to return to the imperial court. Sony VAIO VPCEB1BGX Battery

While Dong Zhuo originally wanted to re-establish the authority of the Han Dynasty and manage all the political conflict properly, his political capability proved to be much worse than his military leadership. Sony VAIO VPCEB1BGX/BI Battery

His behaviour grew more and more violent and authoritarian, executing or sending into exile all that opposed him, and showed less and less respect to the emperor. He ignored all royal etiquette and frequently carried open weapons into the imperial court. Sony VAIO VPCEB1CGX Battery

In 190 a coalition led by Yuan Shao was formed between nearly all the provincial authorities in the eastern provinces of the empire against Dong Zhuo. The mounting pressure from repeated defeat on the southern frontline against Sun Jian’s forces drove Emperor Xian and later Dong Zhuo himself west to Chang’an in May 191. Sony VAIO VPCEB1CGX/BI Battery

Dong Zhuo once again demonstrated his political shortcomings by forcing millions of residents of Luoyang to migrate to Chang’an. He then set fire to Luoyang, preventing occupation by his enemies and destroying the biggest city in China at that time. In addition, he ordered his army to slaughter a whole village of civilians. Sony VAIO VPCEB1DGX Battery

The soldiers beheaded the civilians and carried their heads into Chang’an to show off as war trophies, pretending to have had a great victory against his enemies. A year later Dong Zhuo was killed in a coup d’etat by Wang Yun and Lü Bu. Sony VAIO VPCEB1DGX/BI Battery

In 191, there was some talk among the coalition of appointing Liu Yu, an imperial relative, as emperor, and gradually its members began to fall out. Most of the warlords in the coalition, with a few exceptions, sought the increase of personal military power in the time of instability instead of seriously wishing to restore the Han Dynasty’s authority. Sony VAIO VPCEB1EGX Battery

The Han empire was divided between a number of regional warlords. Yuan Shao occupied the northern area of Ye and extended his power, by taking over his superior Han Fu with trickery and intimidation, north of the Yellow River against Gongsun Zan, Sony VAIO VPCEB1FGX/BI Battery

who held the northern frontier. Cao Cao, directly to Yuan Shao’s south, was engaged in a struggle against Yuan Shu and Liu Biao, who occupied respectively the Huai River basin and middle Yangtze regions. Sony VAIO VPCEB1EGX/BI Battery

Further south the young warlord Sun Ce, taking over after the untimely death of Sun Jian, was establishing his rule in the lower Yangtze, albeit as a subordinate of Yuan Shu. In the west, Liu Zhang held Yi Province while Hanzhong and the northwest were controlled by a motley collection of smaller warlords such as Ma Teng of Liang Province, the original post of Dong Zhuo. Sony VAIO VPCEB1FGX Battery

Dong Zhuo, confident in his success, was slain by his follower Lü Bu and minister Wang Yun. Lü Bu, in turn, was attacked by Dong Zhuo’s subordinates: Li Jue, Guo Si, Zhang Ji and Fan Chou. Wang Yun and his whole family were executed. Lü Bu fled to Zhang Yang, a northern warlord, and remained with him for a time before briefly joining Yuan Shao, but it was clear that Lü Bu was far too independent to serve another. Sony VAIO VPCEB1GGX Battery

In August 195, Emperor Xian fled the tyranny of Li Jue at Chang’an and made a year long hazardous journey east in search of supporters. By 196, when he was received by Cao Cao, most of the smaller contenders for power had either been absorbed by larger ones or destroyed. Sony VAIO VPCEB1GGX/BI Battery

This was an extremely important move for Cao Cao following the suggestion from his primary advisor, Xun Yu, commenting that by supporting the authentic emperor, Cao Cao would have the formal legal authority to control the other warlords and force them to comply in order to restore the Han Dynasty. Sony VAIO VPCEB1HGX Battery

Cao Cao, whose zone of control was the precursor to the state of Cao Wei, had raised an army in the winter of 189. In several strategic movements and battles, he controlled Yan Province and defeated several factions of the Yellow Turban rebels. This earned him the aid of other local militaries controlled by Zhang Miao and Chen Gong, Sony VAIO VPCEB1HGX/BI Battery

who joined his cause to create his first sizable army. He continued the effort and absorbed approximately 300,000 Yellow Turban rebels into his army as well as a number of clan-based military groups from the eastern side of Qing Province. In 196 he established an imperial court at Xuchang and developed military agricultural colonies (tuntian) to support his army. Sony VAIO VPCEB1JFX Battery

Although the system imposed a heavy tax on hired civilian farmers (40% to 60% of agricultural production), the farmers were more than pleased to be able to work with relative stability and professional military protection in a time of chaos. This was later said to be his second important policy for success. Sony VAIO VPCEB1JFX/B Battery

In 194, Cao Cao went to war with Tao Qian of Xu Province, because Tao’s subordinate Zhang Kai had murdered Cao Cao’s father Cao Song. Tao Qian received the support of Liu Bei and Gongsun Zan, but even then it seemed as if Cao Cao’s superior forces would overrun Xu Province entirely. However, Cao Cao received word that Lü Bu had seized Yan Province in his absence, and accordingly he retreated, Sony VAIO VPCEB1JFX/G Battery

putting a halt to hostilities with Tao Qian for the time being. Tao Qian died in the same year, leaving his province to Liu Bei. A year later, in 195, Cao Cao managed to drive Lü Bu out of Yan Province. Lü Bu fled to Xu Province and was received by Liu Bei, and an uneasy alliance began between the two. Sony VAIO VPCEB1JFX/L Battery

In the south, Sun Ce, then an independent general under the service of Yuan Shu, defeated the warlords of Yang Province, including Liu Yao, Wang Lang, and Yan Baihu. In 197, Yuan Shu, who was at odds with Cao Cao, Yuan Shao, and Liu Bei, felt assured of victory with his subordinate’s conquests, and thus declared himself emperor of the Cheng Dynasty. Sony VAIO VPCEB1JFX/P Battery

The move, however, was a strategic blunder, as it drew the ire of many warlords across the land, including Yuan Shu’s own subordinate Sun Ce, who had advised Yuan Shu not to make such a move. Cao Cao issued orders to Sun Ce to attack Yuan Shu. Sun Ce complied, but first convinced Cao Cao to form a coalition against Yuan Shu, of which Liu Bei and Lü Bu were members. Attacked on all sides, Yuan Shu was defeated and fled into hiding. Sony VAIO VPCEB1JFX/W Battery

Afterwards, Lü Bu betrayed Liu Bei and seized Xu Province, forming an alliance with Yuan Shu’s remnant forces. Liu Bei, together with his followers Zhang Fei and Guan Yu, fled to Cao Cao, who accepted him. Sony VAIO VPCEB1KGX Battery

Soon, preparations were made for an attack on Lü Bu, and the combined forces of Cao Cao and Liu Bei invaded Xu Province. Lü Bu’s men deserted him, Yuan Shu’s forces never arrived as reinforcements, and he was bound by his own subordinates Song Xian and Wei Xu and executed on Cao Cao’s order. Sony VAIO VPCEB1KGX/B Battery

In 200, Dong Cheng, an imperial relative, received a secret edict from Emperor Xian to assassinate Cao Cao. He collaborated with Liu Bei on this effort, but Cao Cao soon found out about the plot and had Dong Cheng and his conspirators executed, with only Liu Bei surviving and fleeing to join Yuan Shao in the north. Sony VAIO VPCEB1KGX/W Battery

After settling the nearby provinces, including a rebellion led by former Yellow Turbans, and internal affairs with the court, Cao Cao turned his attention north to Yuan Shao, who himself had eliminated his northern rival Gongsun Zan that same year. Yuan Shao, himself of higher nobility than Cao Cao, amassed a large army and camped along the northern bank of the Yellow River. Sony VAIO VPCEB1LFX Battery

In 200, after winning a decisive battle against Liu Biao at Sha County and putting down the rebellions of Xu Gong and others, Sun Ce was struck by an arrow and fatally wounded. On his deathbed, he named his younger brother, Sun Quan, as his heir. Sony VAIO VPCEB1LFX/BI Battery

Following months of planning, Cao Cao and Yuan Shao clashed at the Battle of Guandu. Overcoming Yuan Shao’s superior numbers, Cao Cao decisively defeated him by setting fire to his supplies, and in doing so crippled the northern army. Liu Bei fled to join Liu Biao in Jing Province, and many of Yuan Shao’s forces were destroyed. Sony VAIO VPCEB1LFX/WI Battery

In 202, Cao Cao took advantage of Yuan Shao’s death and the resulting division among his sons to advance north of the Yellow River. He captured Ye in 204 and occupied the provinces of Ji, Bing, Qing and You. By the end of 207, after a lightning campaign against the Wuhuan barbarians, Cao Cao had achieved undisputed