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Xi Jiang (river system, China)
system of rivers that combine to form the longest river of southern China. Together with its upper-course streams, the Xi River flows generally eastward for 1,216 miles (1,957 km) from the highlands of Yunnan province to the South China Sea and drains—along with the Bei, Dong, and Pearl (Zhu) rivers—a basin w...
Xi Jin (Chinese dynasty [265-316/317])
first phase of the Jin dynasty (265–420 ce), ruling China from 265 to 316/317 and constituting one of the Six Dynasties....
Xi Jinping (vice president of China)
Chinese politician who served as vice president of the People’s Republic of China (2008– )....
Xi Kang (Chinese philosopher)
Chinese Daoist philosopher, alchemist, and poet who was one of the most important members of the free-spirited, heavy-drinking Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, a coterie of poets and philosophers who scandalized Chinese society by their iconoclastic thoughts and actions....
Xi Lake (lake, China)
Zhejiang is one of the most developed tourist areas in China, with numerous renowned scenic spots and cultural and historical sites and relics. The Xi (West) Lake in Hangzhou is considered one of the most scenic places in the country, combining both natural and architectural beauty. The lake is surrounded by hills on three sides, while springs, ponds, dams, bridges, islets, pavilions, terraces,......
Xi Liao dynasty (Central Asian dynasty)
founder and first emperor (1124–43) of the Xi (Western) Liao dynasty (1124–1211) of Central Asia....
Xi Liao Tezong (emperor of Western Liao dynasty)
founder and first emperor (1124–43) of the Xi (Western) Liao dynasty (1124–1211) of Central Asia....
XI Olympiad, Games of the
athletic festival held in Berlin that took place Aug. 1–16, 1936. The Berlin Games were the 10th occurrence of the modern Olympic Games....
XI Olympic Winter Games
athletic festival held in Sapporo, Japan, that took place Feb. 3–13, 1972. The Sapporo Games were the 11th occurrence of the Winter Olympic Games....
Xi River system (river system, China)
system of rivers that combine to form the longest river of southern China. Together with its upper-course streams, the Xi River flows generally eastward for 1,216 miles (1,957 km) from the highlands of Yunnan province to the South China Sea and drains—along with the Bei, Dong, and Pearl (Zhu) rivers—a basin w...
Xi Xi (Chinese author)
Xi Xi (Zhang Yan) is arguably the greatest female writer from Hong Kong. She often depicted urban life, and Hong Kong was a prominent part of her novel Wo cheng (1979; My City) and the series of stories about the allegorical “Fertile Town” (Feitu Zhen). Other pieces, such as the poem Xiang wo zheyangde yige nüzi....
Xi Xia (ancient kingdom, China)
kingdom of the Tibetan-speaking Tangut tribes that was established in 1038 and flourished until 1227. It was located in what are now the northwestern Chinese provinces of Gansu and Shaanxi....
Xi Xia Jingzong (emperor of Xi Xia)
leader of the Tangut (Chinese: Dangxiang) tribes, a people who inhabited the northwestern region of China in what are now parts of Gansu and Shaanxi provinces and the Ningxia Hui and Inner Mongolia autonomous regions. Li founded the Xia (or Daxia) dynasty (1038–1...
Xi Zhongxun (Chinese politician)
Xi Jinping was the son of Xi Zhongxun, who once served as deputy prime minister of China but was often out of favour with his party and government, especially after he openly criticized the government’s actions during the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident. In 1969, during the Cultural Revolution, the younger Xi—like many of his fellow educated urban youth—was sent to the countrys...
Xi Zhou dynasty (Chinese history)
This was the feudal age, when the feudal states were ruled by lords who paid homage to the king of Zhou and recognized him as the “Son of Heaven.”...
Xia (Chinese submarine class)
In 1981 China launched its first Type 092 strategic submarine, which was based on an attack submarine derived from older Soviet designs. The Xia class, as it was called by NATO, was armed with 12 JL-1 missiles (NATO designation CSS-N-3), which had a range of 1,500 nautical miles (2,800 km). The Type 092 program was followed in 2004 by the launching of the first vessel of the Type 094 program......
Xia dynasty (Chinese history)
(c. 2070–c. 1600 bc), early Chinese dynasty mentioned in legends. According to legend, the founder was Yu, who was credited with having engineered the draining of the waters of a great flood (and who was later identified as a deified lord of the harvest). Yu allegedly made the rulership hereditary in his family, thereby founding the first imper...
Xia Gui (Chinese artist)
one of China’s greatest masters of landscape painting, cofounder with Ma Yuan of the Ma-Xia school. The album leaf and the hand scroll with a continuous panorama were his predominant forms. His works are typically in ink monochrome, occasionally with a few touches of colour. His style is characteriz...
Xia Nai (Chinese archaeologist)
...Swedish geologist Johan Gunnar Andersson. In the 1940s and ’50s more important finds were explored in the nearby villages of Yangwawan and Cuijiazhuang by the Chinese archaeologists Pei Wenzhong and Xia Nai. More sites associated with the Qijia culture were later found in Qinghai province and in the Hui Autonomous Region of Ningxia....
Xia Wenyan (Chinese art historian)
Xia Wenyan, in Tuhui Baojian (1365), wrote of him in more positive terms:His works have an exciting [stimulating] quality. His ink tones give the effect of colours; his brushwork is mature and controlled; the ink washes are applied rich and wet, a remarkable achievement. His snow scenes are completely based on those of [the 11th-century landscapist] Fan......
Xia Yan (Chinese author)
Chinese writer, journalist, and playwright known for his leftist plays and films....
Xia Zhou (China)
city, western Hubei sheng (province), China. It extends along the left bank of the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang), at a point marking the division between the river’s middle and lower courses. A number of hills rise directly behind the city, an...
Xiądz Faust (work by Miciński)
...(1910; “Nietota: The Secret Book of the Tatra Mountains”) is an imaginary re-creation of Polish life at the beginning of the 20th century. In the apocalyptic visions of his novel Xiądz Faust (1913; “Father Faust”), Miciński predicted that Polish-Russian brotherhood would come about through revolution. At the end of World War I, Miciń...
Xiaguan (China)
city, western Yunnan sheng (province), southwestern China. It is situated at the southern end of Lake Er in a fertile basin about 10 miles (16 km) southeast of the historical town of Dali. The city has traditionally been an important centre on the routes westward from Kunming (the pr...
Xiaguan (suburb, Nanking, China)
However, the growth of trade and industry brought new wealth to Nanjing, especially to Xiaguan. Weaving, pottery, printing, and brocade making were the leading industries. Oceangoing vessels used by Zheng He in his famous 15th-century expeditions to the South Seas were built in the shipyards to the northwest of the city. An imperial college—the Guozijian—attracted students from......
Xiamen (China)
city and port, southeastern Fujian sheng (province), China. It is situated on the southwestern coast of Xiamen (Amoy) Island in Xiamen Harbour (an inlet of the Taiwan Strait), the estuary of the Jiulong River. Known as the “garden on the sea,” it has an excellent harbour sheltered by a numb...
Xiamen (Chinese dialect)
...is the Wu language, spoken in southern Jiangsu and in Zhejiang. This is followed, to the south, by the Fuzhou, or Northern Min, language of northern and central Fujian and by the Xiamen-Shantou (Amoy-Swatow), or Southern Min, language of southern Fujian and easternmost Guangdong. The Hakka language of southernmost Jiangxi and northeastern Guangdong has a rather scattered pattern of......
xian (Chinese government unit)
the basic unit of local government in China. The word hsien may be roughly translated as “county,” or “district.”...
Xi’an (China)
city and capital of Shaanxi sheng (province), north-central China. It is located in the south-central part of the province, at the southern limit of the Loess Plateau. The city site is on a low plain on the south bank of the Wei River. Just to the ...
xian (bronze vessel)
type of ancient Chinese bronze steamer, or cooking vessel, used particularly for grain. It consisted of a deep upper bowl with a pierced bottom, which was placed upon or attached to a lower, legged vessel similar in shape to the li. It was produced during the Shang, or Yin (18th–12th century ...
Xian (China)
city and capital of Shaanxi sheng (province), north-central China. It is located in the south-central part of the province, at the southern limit of the Loess Plateau. The city site is on a low plain on the south bank of the Wei River. Just to the ...
xian (Daoism)
in Chinese Daoism, an immortal who has achieved divinity through devotion to Daoist practices and teachings....
Xian Fo tongyuan (work by Zhao Youqin)
...calculations may have allowed him to prove the validity of the better evaluation 3.1415926 < πぱい < 3.1415927, also obtained by Zu. The second extant book of Zhao, Xian Fo tongyuan (“On the Common Origins of [the Teachings of] Transcendentals and Buddhas”), is devoted to the so-called “Inner Alchemy,” an esot...
Xi’an Incident (Chinese history)
(Dec. 12–25, 1936), in Chinese history, seizure of the Nationalist generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek (Jiang Jieshi) by two of his own generals, Zhang Xueliang (Chang Hsüeh-liang) and Yang Hucheng (Yang Hu-ch’eng). Zhang, commander of the forces in Nort...
Xian Incident (Chinese history)
(Dec. 12–25, 1936), in Chinese history, seizure of the Nationalist generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek (Jiang Jieshi) by two of his own generals, Zhang Xueliang (Chang Hsüeh-liang) and Yang Hucheng (Yang Hu-ch’eng). Zhang, commander of the forces in Nort...
Xi’an monument (monument, Shaanxi, China)
inscribed stone monument that records the early missionary activity of Nestorian Christians in China. It was discovered by Jesuit missionaries in 1625 in the province of Shaanxi, China. The monument, constructed in 781, bears an inscription written in Chinese and signed in Syriac by 128 Christians, chiefly...
Xianbi (people)
...Xiongnu, until the breakup of that confederation gave them the opportunity to assert themselves. Among the peoples who have been considered possibly Mongol, the most important tribal groups are the Sienpi (Xianbi), who may however have been Tungus-speakers rather than Mongol, recorded in Han dynasty annals, and the Juan-juan (Rouran, or Geougen) of the 4th to 6th centuries. The latter have been...
Xiandaoshen (Chinese deity)
in Chinese religion, a deity (shen) who sweeps away evil spirits (guei) that may be lurking along a road, especially one leading to a grave or private home. In funeral processions he serves as exorcist, cleansing the grave of demons before the deceased is laid to r...
Xiandi (emperor of Ming dynasty)
reign name (nianhao) of the emperor of China from 1572 to 1620, during the latter portion of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644)....
Xiandi (emperor of Qing dynasty)
reign name (nianhao) of the seventh emperor of the Qing (Manchu) dynasty (1644–1911/12) of China. During his reign (1850–61) China was beset internally by the Taiping Rebellion (1850–64) and externally by conflicts with the enc...
Xiandi (emperor of Qing dynasty)
reign name (nianhao) of the third emperor (reigned 1722–35) of the Qing dynasty (1644–1911/12), during whose rule the administration was consolidated and power became concentrated in the emperor’s hands....
Xianfeng (emperor of Qing dynasty)
reign name (nianhao) of the seventh emperor of the Qing (Manchu) dynasty (1644–1911/12) of China. During his reign (1850–61) China was beset internally by the Taiping Rebellion (1850–64) and externally by conflicts with the enc...
xiang (Chinese history)
...much reduced number of counties was directly subordinated to prefectures. He also rationalized the chaotic rural administrative units into a uniform system of townships (xiang). Appointments to the chief offices in prefectures and counties were now made by the central government rather than filled by members of local influential families, as had been the....
Xiang Ji (Chinese rebel leader)
Chinese general and leader of the rebel forces that overthrew the Qin dynasty (221–207 bce). He was the principal contestant for control of China with Liu Bang, who, as the Gaozu emperor, founded the Han dynasty (206 bce–220 ce). Xiang Yu’s defeat signaled the ...
Xiang Jiang (river, China)
river in Hunan province, southeastern China. With a total length of 500 miles (800 km), the Xiang is one of the principal tributaries of the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang). The Xiang rises in the mountains in the northern part of the Zhuang Autonomous Region of G...
Xiang language (Chinese language)
Chinese language that is spoken in Hunan province. The two major varieties of Xiang are New Xiang and Old Xiang. New Xiang, which is spoken predominantly around Changsha, the capital of Hunan, has been strongly influenced by Mandarin Chinese. Old Xiang, which is spoken in other areas of the province, including Shuangfeng, ...
Xiang River (river, China)
river in Hunan province, southeastern China. With a total length of 500 miles (800 km), the Xiang is one of the principal tributaries of the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang). The Xiang rises in the mountains in the northern part of the Zhuang Autonomous Region of G...
Xiang Xiu (Chinese author)
Most prominent among the Seven Sages was the free-thinking, eccentric, and highly skilled poet Ruan Ji. Xiang Xiu wrote Sijiufu (“Reminiscence”) and, with Guo Xiang, a Neo-Daoist contemporary, the Zhuangzizhu, a famous commentary on the works of the early Daoist philosopher Zhuangzi. The other members of the group were the poet Liu Ling, the musician Ruan......
Xiang Ying (Chinese officer)
...the government permitted the New Fourth Army to be created from remnants of communist troops left in Jiangxi and Fujian at the time of the Long March. Commanded by Gen. Ye Ting—with Xiang Ying, a communist, as chief of staff—this force of 12,000 officers and soldiers operated behind Japanese lines near Shanghai with great success. Its strategy included guerrilla tactics,......
Xiang Yu (Chinese rebel leader)
Chinese general and leader of the rebel forces that overthrew the Qin dynasty (221–207 bce). He was the principal contestant for control of China with Liu Bang, who, as the Gaozu emperor, founded the Han dynasty (206 bce–220 ce). Xiang Yu’s defeat signaled the ...
Xiang-Guilin (mountain pass, China)
...(in Guangdong) in the central range. Little of the area is cultivated apart from valley bottoms, and much of the land suffers from serious soil erosion. Three major passes cross the range: the Xiang-Guilin, traversed by the Ling Canal, which affords an easy passage from southern Hunan to Guilin and eastern Guangxi, the chief route in early times; the Zheling, northwest of Shaoguan, which......
Xiangean (China)
city, northern Hubei sheng (province), central China. It lies in the middle basin of the Han River and is situated just west of the junction of the Han with its northern tributary, the Tangbai River. It is the head of navigation for steamers and is a transshipment point for the junk traffic from the upper Han River and its...
Xiangfan (China)
city, northern Hubei sheng (province), central China. It lies in the middle basin of the Han River and is situated just west of the junction of the Han with its northern tributary, the Tangbai River. It is the head of navigation for steamers and is a transshipment point for the junk traffic from the upper Han River and its...
Xianggang Tebie Xingzhengqu (administrative region, China)
special administrative region (Pinyin: tebie xingzhengqu; Wade-Giles romanization: t’e-pieh hsing-cheng-ch’ü) of China, located to the east of the Pearl River (Xu Jiang) estuary on the south coast of China. The region is bordered by Guangdong...
Xiangjie jiuzhang suanfa (work by Yang Hui)
...lost. Ruan Yuan, compiler of Chou ren zhuan (1799; “Biographies of Mathematicians and Astronomers”), first found fragments of Yang’s Xiangjie jiuzhang suanfa (1261; “A Detailed Analysis of the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Procedures”) in a handwritten copy of an imperial Ming dynasty encyclopaedia, and he....
Xiangkhoang (Laos)
town, north-central Laos. Xiangkhoang lies just south of the Plain of Jarres and is situated in the Xiangkhoang Plateau. Corn (maize) and rice are raised by valley Lao north of Xiangkhoang and by Lao-Theung (Mon-Khmer) and Tai Neua groups in scattered upland areas to the north and east of the town; the Hmo...
Xiangkhoang Plateau (plateau, Laos)
dissected upland of complex geologic structure in north-central Laos. The plateau constitutes a western extension of the northern Annamite Chain; it is drained principally by the Ngum and Ngiap (Nhiêp) rivers to the south and the Khan River to the north, all of which are Mekong River tributaries. Once the upland...
Xiangkhoang, Plateau de (plateau, Laos)
dissected upland of complex geologic structure in north-central Laos. The plateau constitutes a western extension of the northern Annamite Chain; it is drained principally by the Ngum and Ngiap (Nhiêp) rivers to the south and the Khan River to the north, all of which are Mekong River tributaries. Once the upland...
Xiangqi (board game)
strategy board game played in China from about ad 700. Like orthodox chess, Chinese chess is believed to have been derived from an Indian board game known as chaturanga....
Xiangquan River (river, Asia)
longest of the five tributaries of the Indus River that give the Punjab (meaning “Five Rivers”) its name. It rises on the north slope of the Himalayas in Lake La’nga in southwestern Tibet, at an elevation above 15,000 feet (4,600 metres). Flowing northwestward and then west-southwestward through Himalayan gorges, it enters and crosses the ...
Xiangshan (China)
city in southern Guangdong sheng (province), southern China. Located in the south-central part of the Pearl (Zhu) River Delta, Zhongshan has a network of waterways connecting it with all parts of the delta and is on an express highway running north to Guangzhou (Canton) and south to Macau...
Xiangshan Jushi (Chinese poet)
Chinese poet of the Tang dynasty (618–907) who used his elegantly simple verse to protest the social evils of his day, including corruption and militarism....
Xiangshan, Master (Chinese philosopher)
Idealist neo-Confucian philosopher of the Southern Song and rival of his contemporary, the great neo-Confucian rationalist Zhu Xi. Lu’s thought was revised and refined three centuries later by the Ming dynasty neo-Confucian ...
Xiangtan (China)
city, eastern Hunan sheng (province), China. It is situated on the Xiang River at its confluence with the Lian River, 22 miles (35 km) south of Changsha, the provincial capital. Xiangtan has good communications by water in Hunan as far as Hengyang to the south and Shaoyang...
xiangxing (Chinese language characters)
The other types of characters are xiangxing, characters that were originally pictographs (these have a semantic element originally expressed by a picture; for example, the character for tian “field” represents a field by means of a square divided into quarters); ......
Xiangyang (China)
From 1267 onward the Mongols, this time assisted by numerous Chinese auxiliary troops and technical specialists, attacked on several fronts. The prefectural town of Xiangyang (present-day Xianfan) on the Han River was a key fortress, blocking the access to the Yangtze River, and the Mongols besieged it for five years (1268–73). The Chinese commander finally surrendered in 1273, after he......
Xiangyang jushi (Chinese artist)
scholar, poet, calligrapher, and painter who was a dominant figure in Chinese art. Of his extensive writings—poetry, essays on the history of aesthetics, and criticism of painting—a considerable amount survives....
Xiangyin (China)
There are several famous pottery kilns in the province that date to the Tang dynasty (618–907). Situated at Yueyang, Xiangyin, and near Changsha, these kilns have at different epochs produced all sorts of wares, according to the market of the period. Their fortunes have fluctuated through the centuries. More recently, they have increased their output, especially in the Xiangyin kilns,......
xiangyue (Chinese history)
...and imperial calligraphy on virtuous widows and encouraged the construction of memorial arches and shrines in their honour to reinforce this female role. Rural lectures (xiangyue) were public ceremonies staged for citizens that combined religious elements with reciting the sacred edict promulgated by the emperor....
Xianshou (Buddhist monk)
Buddhist monk usually considered to be the founder of the Huayan school of Buddhism in China because he systematized its doctrines. Basically, the Huayan school taught that all phenomena are interrelated. Hence every living being possesses the Buddha-nature within....
Xianxia Mountains (mountains, China)
mountain chain in eastern Zhejiang province, eastern China. Tiantai is also the name of a mountain in the chain. The range forms the northeastern extension of the great Xianxia Mountains in southern Zhejiang, which form the watershed between the Ling River and the Ou River, draining to the east coast of Zhejiang, and the Yin River, the Cao’e River, and rivers of the Qiantang River system,.....
Xianyang (China)
city, central Shaanxi sheng (province), north-central China. It is situated on the north bank of the Wei River about 12 miles (20 km) northwest of Xi’an, in an area that was the cradle of early Chinese civilization. It is on a vital east-west route through the Wei River valley, with good communi...
xianzi (musical instrument)
any of a group of long-necked, fretless Chinese lutes. The instrument’s rounded rectangular resonator has a snakeskin front and back, and the curved-back pegbox at the end of the neck has lateral, or side, tuning pegs that adjust three silk or nylon strings. The sanxian is made ...
Xianzong (emperor of Han dynasty)
posthumous name (shi) of the second emperor of the Dong (Eastern) Han dynasty (ad 25–220), during whose reign (ad 57–75) Buddhism is thought to have been introduced into China....
Xianzong (emperor of Tang dynasty)
Under Xianzong (reigned 805–820) the Tang regained a great deal of its power. Xianzong, a tough and ruthless ruler who kept a firm hand on affairs, is notable chiefly for his successful policies toward the provinces. Rebellions in Sichuan (806) and the Yangtze delta (807) were quickly put down. After an abortive campaign (809–810) that was badly bungled by a favourite eunuch......
Xianzu (emperor of Shu-Han dynasty)
founder of the Shu-Han dynasty (ad 221–263/264), one of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguo) into which China was divided at the end of the Han dynasty (206 bc–ad 220)....
xiao (Confucianism)
in Confucianism, the attitude of obedience, devotion, and care toward one’s parents and elder family members that is the basis of individual moral conduct and social harmony. Xiao consists in putting the needs of parents and family elders over self, spouse, and children, deferring to parents’ judgment, and observing toward them the prescribed behavioral proprieties (li)...
xiao (musical instrument)
Chinese end-blown bamboo flute noted for its mellow and melancholy tone....
Xiao He (Chinese government adviser)
adviser who helped Liu Bang establish the Han dynasty (206 bce–220 ce) of China and served as his chief minister....
Xiao Hinggan Range (mountains, China)
mountain range in the northeastern section of Heilongjiang province, northeastern China. The range has a northwest-southeast axis and is located to the southwest of the Amur River (Heilong Jiang). To the west it is ...
Xiao Hong (Chinese writer)
Chinese fiction writer known for her novels and stories set in the northeast during the 1930s....
Xiao Jun (Chinese writer)
In order to avoid an arranged marriage, she left home in 1930 and started to lead a vagrant life. In 1932 she met the writer Xiao Jun; from that time on, she lived with him. She wrote her first short story, Wang asao de si (“The Death of Sister Wang”), in 1933....
Xiao Ke (Chinese military official)
July 14, 1907Jiahe county, Hunan province, ChinaOct. 24, 2008Beijing, ChinaChinese military official and writer who was the last surviving military leader of the Long March (1934–36), the epic 10,000-km (6,000-mi) trek of the Chinese communists into northwestern China. Xiao was the c...
Xiao Xian (Chinese rebel)
...Wuzhou in far northern Shanxi, who had been a constant threat since 619, was finally defeated and killed by his former Turkish allies in 622. In the south during the confusion at the end of the Sui, Xiao Xian had set himself up as emperor of Liang, controlling the central Yangtze region, Jiangxi, Guangdong, and Annam (Vietnam). The Tang army descended the Yangtze from Sichuan with a great fleet...
Xiao Xing’an Ling (mountains, China)
mountain range in the northeastern section of Heilongjiang province, northeastern China. The range has a northwest-southeast axis and is located to the southwest of the Amur River (Heilong Jiang). To the west it is ...
Xiao Yan (emperor of Southern Liang dynasty)
posthumous name (shi) of the founder and first emperor (502–549) of the Nan (Southern) Liang dynasty (502–557), which briefly held sway over South China. A great patron of Buddhism, he helped establish that religion in the south of China....
“Xiaocheng gushi” (play by Zhang Junxiang)
...in Beijing and at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, and then studied film technique in Hollywood. His first published play, Xiaocheng gushi (1940; Tale of a Small Town), is a comedy about the psychological conflicts of a woman in love. Wanshi shibiao (1943; “Model Teacher of Myriad Generations”),.....
Xiaoda (Chinese official)
Chinese classicist and provincial official, one of the foremost reformers of his time....
Xiaogong (ruler of Ch’in)
Shang Yang, a frustrated bureaucrat in the court of Wei, went westward seeking a chance to try out his ideas. In the court of Qin he established a rare partnership with the ruler Xiaogong and created the best-organized state of their time. Shang Yang first took strong measures to establish the authority of law and royal decree. The law was to be enforced impartially, without regard to status or......
Xiaojing (Chinese text)
Shang Yang, a frustrated bureaucrat in the court of Wei, went westward seeking a chance to try out his ideas. In the court of Qin he established a rare partnership with the ruler Xiaogong and created the best-organized state of their time. Shang Yang first took strong measures to establish the authority of law and royal decree. The law was to be enforced impartially, without regard to status or......
xiaoluo (musical instrument)
...a padded mallet), bo (cymbals), and gu (skin-headed drum, beaten with two sticks). The xiaoluo (small gong without a boss, beaten with a stick or a thin plate), ling (handbells), and ban......
Xiaoqin Xianhuanghou (empress dowager of China)
consort of the Xianfeng emperor (reigned 1850–61), mother of the Tongzhi emperor (reigned 1861–75), adoptive mother of the Guangxu emperor (reigned 1875–1908), and a towering presence over the Chinese empire for almost half a century. Ruling through a clique of conservative, corrupt officials and maintaining authority ov...
Xiaoqing River (river, China)
Shandong’s drainage is predominantly radial and subject to the prevailing configuration of the mountains. The only navigable river (other than portions of the Huang He) is the Xiaoqing River, which emerges from a small spring-fed lake in a limestone outcrop zone near Jinan and flows parallel to the Huang He before emptying into Laizhou Bay. The southern hills, in contrast, are drained by......
“Xiaoshuo yuebao” (Chinese periodical)
...of the time, and he was soon promoted to editor and translator. In 1920 he and several other young Chinese writers took over editorial control of the 11-year-old journal Xiaoshuo yuebao (“Short-Story Monthly”). With the support of older writers such as Zhou Zuoren, Shen and his colleagues established the Literary Research Association in the same......
Xiaotingia (fossil bird)
Contrary to the commonly held belief that the dinosaurs left no descendants, Archaeopteryx, which was first discovered in 1861, and Xiaotingia, which was formally classified in 2011, provide compelling evidence that birds (class Aves) evolved from small theropod dinosaurs. Following the principles of genealogy that are applied to humans as much as to other organisms,......
Xiaotingia zhengi (fossil bird)
...Archaeopteryx. Many features, such as the presence of feathers, three-fingered hands, a wishbone, and long, robust forelimbs, which are often considered diagnostic of birds, also appear in X. zhengi, a species thought to have lived some five million years before Archaeopteryx, as well as others. Thus, these paleontologists claim that Archaeopteryx cannot, in fact, be...
Xiaowendi (emperor of Wei dynasty)
posthumous name (shi) of the seventh emperor of the Bei (Northern) Wei dynasty (386–534/535), which dominated much of North China during part of the chaotic 360-year period between the end of the Han dynasty (206 bc–ad 220) and the founding of Sui rule (581...
Xiaowutai, Mount (mountain, China)
...Mountains to the east, and the Lüliang Mountains to the west. The eastern mountains average between 5,000 and 6,000 feet (1,520 and 1,830 metres) in height and reach their maximum elevation at Mount Xiaowutai (9,455 feet [2,882 metres]), located in Hebei province. The highest peak in the west, Mount Guandi, reaches an elevation of 9,288 feet (2,831 metres), while the northern ranges are....
xiaozhuan (calligraphy)
in Chinese calligraphy, a standardized and simplified form of the earlier dazhuan script, in which all lines are of even thickness and curves and circles are relatively predominant. Its development during the Qin dynasty (221–206 bc) is traditiona...
Xiaozong (emperor of Song dynasty)
...they were potentially critical of court policies. Gaozong eventually decided to abdicate, leaving the matter to his adopted heir, but he retained control from behind the throne. The new emperor, Xiaozong (reigned 1163–89), sympathetic to the idealists, appointed several of them to court positions and command posts. Information about a Juchen palace coup and alleged unrest in the Juchen.....