Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Shi

2007-05-18T01:29:31Z

ChineseChristian:

Original Entry:
Chinese word meaning "poem"

Additions:
The Chinese language does contain a word with a pronounciation represented by the romanization "shī". However, the same romanization can represent a large number of words. What follows is a basic (and brutally oversimplified) explanation of Chinese language, but it should serve to give readers a basic understanding of how to properly identify Chinese words and communicate them to others in an unambiguous way.

Mandarin Chinese, also known as standard Chinese or Pǔtōnghuà (普通话), has five distinct tones, four which are tonal and one which is neutral and pronounced without emphasis. [http://www.wku.edu/~shizhen.gao/Chinese101/pinyin/tones.htm]

There are a multitude of ways to represent Chinese pronounciation, but you will most likely encounter PinYin or Wade-Giles in English works. Wade-Giles is the older of the two systems and is slowly being phased out in favor of PinYin. Check out the United States Library of Congress website for up to date information on conversion standards: [http://www.loc.gov/catdir/pinyin/]. I will stick strictly to the PinYin romanization as it is the simplest and most common.

In PinYin the first four tones are represented using accent marks. The neutral fifth tone is represented by the absence of an accent mark. It is also acceptable to follow the romanized syllable with a number to represent the tone (first through fourth), no number is needed for the fifth tone. For example:

First tone: shī or shi1
Second tone: shí or shi2
Third tone: shǐ or shi3
Fourth tone: shì or shi4
Fifth tone: shi

The characters (and meanings) for each of these prononciations is different. Therefore, writing the appropriate accent mark or number dramatically reduces ambiguity, though writing the actual character is still far superior. Here is an example of different characters which correspond to the same syllable but with different tones:

shī: 诗 poetry, verse, poem
shí: 十 ten, 10
shǐ: 史 history
shì: 室 room, as in a room in a house
shi: as far as I know, there is no word which is pronounced this way

This means that you must be very careful about pronouncing words correctly if you wish to be understood in Chinese. For example, if you say 我想问你 (wǒ xiǎng wèn nǐ), it means that you want to ask someone a question. If you instead say 我想吻你 (wǒ xiǎng wěn nǐ, note that in this example the tone of "wen" has changed from fourth to third) it means that you want to kiss someone. Moderately embarrassing if you make a mistake.

Additionally, the same syllable with the same tone can represent multiple characters with multiple meanings! For example: "shī" can represent the character 诗 (poetry, verse or poem), 湿 (wet, damp or humid), 师 (teacher or master) and many others.

As should be abundantly clear by now, the romanization of Chinese is quite complex. Simply equating "shi" with "poem" is woefully ambiguous at best and absolutely incorrect at worst!

It should also be noted that there also exist two different character systems: Traditional and Simplified. This article uses only the simplified set. For more information about the different character sets, check out [http://zhongwen.com/].

Enlightenment

2007-05-18T01:20:49Z

ChineseChristian:

The '''Enlightenment''' was a philosophical movement in the 1700s characterized by [[rationalism]], or "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification". This view often rejected traditional social, political and religious views.

Writers during the Enlightenment assumed that science, beginning in the late 1600s with [[Isaac Newton]], could be duplicated in other fields through a systematic and logical approach. Some of the "enlightened" authors of the period even rejected and criticized Christianity. Many were [[deists]]. Enlightenment philosophy took root in England, France and even the American colonies.

[[Category:History]]

Shi

2007-05-17T01:59:32Z

ChineseChristian:

Original Entry:
Chinese word meaning "poem"

Additions:
The Chinese language does contain a word with a pronounciation represented by the romanization "shī". However the same romanization can represent a large number of words. What follows is a basic (and brutally oversimplified) explanation of Chinese language, but it should serve to give readers a basic understanding of how to properly identify Chinese words and communicate them to others in an unambiguous way.

Mandarin Chinese, also known as standard Chinese or Pǔtōnghuà (普通话), has five distinct tones, four which are tonal and one which is neutral and pronounced without emphasis. [http://www.wku.edu/~shizhen.gao/Chinese101/pinyin/tones.htm]

There a multitude if ways to represent Chinese pronounciation, you will most likely encounter PinYin or Wade-Giles in English works. Wade-Giles is the older of the two systems and is slowly being phased out in favor of PinYin. Check out the United States Library of Congress website for up to date information on conversion standards: [http://www.loc.gov/catdir/pinyin/]. I will stick strictly to the PinYin romanization as it is the simplest and most common.

In PinYin the first four tones are represented using accent marks. The neutral fifth tone is represented by the absence of an accent mark. It is also acceptable to follow the romanized syllable with a number to represent the tone (first through fourth), no number is needed for the fifth tone. For example:

First tone: shī or shi1
Second tone: shí or shi2
Third tone: shǐ or shi3
Fourth tone: shì or shi4
Fifth tone: shi

The characters (and meanings) for each of these prononciations is different! Therefore, writing the appropriate accent mark or number dramatically reduces ambiguity, though writing the actual character is still far superior. Here is an example of different characters which correspond to the same syllable but with different tones:

shī: 诗 poetry, verse, poem
shí: 十 ten, 10
shǐ: 史 history
shì: 室 room, as in a room in a house
shi: as far as I know, there is no word which is pronounced this way

This means that you must be very careful about pronouncing words correctly if you wish to be understood in Chinese. For example, if you say 我想问你 (wǒ xiǎng wèn nǐ), it means that you want to ask someone a question. If you instead say 我想吻你 (wǒ xiǎng wěn nǐ, note that in this example the tone of "wen" has changed from fourth to third) it means that you want to kiss someone. Moderately embarrassing if you make a mistake!

Additionally, the same syllable with the same tone can represent multiple characters with multiple meanings! For example: "shī" can represent the character 诗 (poetry, verse or poem), 湿 (wet, damp or humid), 师 (teacher or master) and many others.

As should be abundantly clear by now, the romanization of Chinese is quite complex. Simply equating "shi" with "poem" is woefully ambiguous at best and absolutely incorrect at worst!

It should also be noted that there also exist two different character systems: Traditional and Simplified. This article uses only the simplified set. For more information about the different character sets, check out [http://zhongwen.com/].

Religious war

2007-05-16T22:09:05Z

ChineseChristian:

Far too many wars have been started in the name of [[religion]] or more importantly, the assumed civility and superiority of one religion or culture over another. From before the [[Crusades]], to the current [[war in Iraq]], all have wrongly caused the death of innocents and destruction of objects of amazing human history.

From individuals to communities to states and nations, we should allow difference and accept others for who they are and where they have come from

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Wars]]
[[Category:Religion]]

Japan

2007-05-15T09:49:50Z

ChineseChristian: /* Modern History */

[[Image:JapanCg1e.gif‎ |thumbnail|right|250px|The Japanese flag.]]

'''Japan''' is a nation that consists of a group of islands off the eastern coast of [[Asia]]. The principal islands are, in the [[Romanization|Roman alphabet]], [[Hokkaido]], [[Honshu]], [[Kyushu]] and [[Shikoku]]. Japan also controls many smaller islands, notably the [[Ryuku]] chain south of Kyushu, for a total land area slightly larger than California. The climate, however, has traditionally varied from north to south as much as that from [[Maine]] to [[Georgia]]. Its capital, [[Tokyo]], is the largest city in the world. [http://geography.about.com/od/urbaneconomicgeography/a/agglomerations.htm]

Early signs of human life appeared in Japan around the year 3000 BC. The wild Japanese Bison was an early target of wild game, hunted to extinction within 500 years.

According to tradition, Japan was unified by [[Emperor]] [[Jimmu]], the grandson of the [[goddess]] [[Amaterasu]], in the year 660 B. C. He conquered Honshu, the largest island, in a series of expeditions starting from his home base of [[Setsuma]] in Kyushu.

== Modern History ==

Japan was closed off from the rest of the world for a long period of time under the rule of a series of military leaders known as [[Shoguns]] (see [[Tokugawa Shogunate]]), with the sole exception of [[Nagasaki]], where [[Dutch]] merchants maintained a permanent trading post. While the Japanese Emperor continued to reign in the old capital of [[Kyoto]], he was more of a figurehead with little more power than he possesses today. The rule of the Shoguns came to an end in the middle of the 19th century during a brief but bloody period of conflict known as the [[Meiji Restoration]], which was triggered in part by U.S Commodore Matthew Perry's naval expedition to Japan. During the Restoration a large number of young [[samurai]] from minor families, tired of the government's mishandling of the country and feeling that if action was not taken Japan would be dominated by western countries, initiated an armed revolt to restore imperial rule. Most samurai from the more powerful families sided with the Shogun, fearing that the minor families would replace them if the revolt was successful. Nonetheless, the shogunate was done away with in 1867 and the imperial period began. The capital was moved to [[Edo]], which was renamed [[Tokyo]]; by the early twenty-first century, it had become the center of the world's largest urban conglomeration.

The phrase "imperial period" is not meant to imply that the emperor ruled absolutely in the style of [[Louis XIV]] or a [[Russian]] [[tsar]]; indeed, the emperors relied on [[prime ministers]] throughout this period. Rather, it refers to Japan competing with [[European]] powers and the [[United States]] for colonies and influence during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The high point of Japanese prestige was the [[Russo-Japanese War]] of 1904-5, in which Japan became the principal power in [[Manchuria]] and consolidated its control of [[Korea]].

Japan's success at this great game would ultimately prove its undoing. By 1936, during the reign of Emperor [[Hirohito]], the Japanese Empire would adopt the [[Orwellian]] title "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere." The increasingly powerful [[Japanese armed forces]], partly inspired by European [[fascists]], came to dominate Japanese politics, assassinating politicians whom they deemed insufficiently devoted to the Emperor and nation. For the next nine years, the military leadership installed its own members (such as [[Hideki Tojo]], chief Japanese strategist of [[World War II]]) or, occasionally, civilians who were completely identified with their agenda, as prime minister.

After the war ended in 1945, Japan was occupied by American forces under the command of General [[Douglas MacArthur]], who helped establish a system of democratic government and implemented a constitution that prevented future military ventures.

== Current Status ==
Japan is currently the world's most populous [[constitutional monarchy]], fourth largest [[economy]] (counting the [[European Union]] as one economy), and has the world's third largest [[defense budget]] (counting the constituents of the EU as separate states). The current [[Emperor]] is [[Akihito]]; he will be succeeded upon his death or abdication by [[Crown Prince]] [[Naruhito]]. The current [[Prime Minister]] is [[Shinzo Abe]], of the [[Liberal Democratic Party]]. This party is not to be confused with America's [[liberal]] [[Democrats]]; the corresponding party in Japan is the [[Socialists]]. The Liberal Democratic Party has formed all but two of Japan's post-World War II governments, which as in any [[parliamentary]] system rise and fall with somewhat less predictability than United States administrations.

Among constitutional monarchies, Japan is likely to be supplanted as most populous by [[Thailand]] sometime during the twenty-first century. This is as a result of Japan's low [[birth rate]] (in part a result of the nation's early legalization of [[abortion]]) and lack of desire to expand [[immigration]] (Japan is the most ethnically [[homogenous]] of the world's wealthy countries). Ironically, the relative prosperity of Thailand is in large part due to heavy aid and investment by Japan.

As do most constitutional monarchies, Japan has a state religion, [[Shinto]], an extreme interpretation of which helped drive Japan's participation in [[World War II]]. However, as in other constitutional monarchies, political involvement with religion is mostly limited to [[lip service]], although symbolic gestures such as the annual wreath-laying ceremony at [[Yasukuni Shrine]] have occasionally antagonized Japan's neighbors. Most imported religions are practiced in Japan without interference, and [[Buddhism]] has been accepted by a large portion of the population. The percentage of Japanese who are Christian, however, stands at 0.7%<ref>https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ja.html</ref>, a figure that was helped to stay low after the great purgings against Christians in the 1600's. Japan has also spawned its share of [[cults]], including the exceptionally lethal but fortunately short-lived [[Aum Shinrikyo]] movement of the early 1990's, which in 1994 became the first non-state organization to kill people with [[nerve gas]].

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Japan]]

Korean War

2007-05-15T09:48:36Z

ChineseChristian: /* Aftermath */

[[Image:Lopez scaling seawall.jpg|right|thumb|300px|United States marines landing at Inchon, 15 September 1950.]]
The '''Korean War''' was a major conflict on the Korean peninsula lasting from 1950 to 1953, between the communist forces of [[North Korea]], supported by the [[Soviet Union]] and [[China]], and the democratic forces of [[South Korea]], supported by a multinational [[United Nations]] force.

=== Prelude ===

A [[Japan]]ese territory until the end of [[World War II]], Korea was then divided by agreement into two administrative zones in 1945, along the 38th parallel, occupied by the Soviet Union and the United States. In both zones competing government organisations were created to rule a unified Korea, and military forces raised. A number of serious border incidents were instigated by the forces of both sides.

=== Outbreak ===

In the summer of 1950, North Korean forces under [[Kim Il Sung]], 135,000 strong and supported by 200 aircraft, thrust southwards. The 95,000 strong South Korean army, created under US control, was unmotivated, inefficient and had been deliberately denied heavy weapons; within hours most formations had fled south, often abandoning their equipment. After a week, almost half of the South Korean army had disappeared.

A United Nations resolution, passed in the absence of the USSR, condemned the attack and demanded the withdrawal of the North Korean forces. The United States, wanting its half of Korea back, was the most enthusiastic in pursuing these demands.

=== Pusan perimeter ===

By September, the surviving South Korean forces, and the US Eighth Army which had been sent to assist were confined to a small enclave around the Southern city of Pusan behind the Naktong river. It had taken months to assemble more than a handful of American troops; American air units had made some ineffectual sorties; and the suggestion that North Korea should be [[atomic bomb|nuked]] was not taken any further.

=== Inchon landings ===

With the situation in the south finally stabilised, in September, 70,000 UN troops under [[Douglas MacArthur|General MacArthur]], with massive support, landed at Inchon, near [[Seoul]], surprising the exhausted North Koreans. The landings were an extremely risky operation; if any significant resistance had been encountered, the landing craft would probably have been stranded by the extreme [[tide]]s of the landing zone, leaving the forces landed vulnerable to complete annihilation. However, they were lucky and only two days after the capture of Seoul from the 20,000 North Korean defenders was announced, it was actually achieved.

=== China joins the war ===

MacArthur struck north immediately, intent upon destroying the North Korean forces, and captured the North Korean capital [[Pyongyang]] in mid-October. China, feeling threatened by these developments, sent hundreds of thousands of well-motivated, veteran troops south from Manchuria, supported by Russian built MiG fighters that were superior to any of the UN aircraft. By November the UN offensive had been halted, and by December it was mostly in ignominious retreat. In January the Chinese forces recaptured Seoul.

=== Stalemate ===

In March 1951, a UN operation recaptured Seoul. In April, General MacArthur, disagreeing with [[Harry S. Truman|President Truman]]'s concept of limited war, suggested publicly a massive nuclear bombardment of the whole of northern China and was sacked by President Truman. The subsequent Chinese spring offensive was halted, but only after the Battle of the Imjin River, where the British 29th Brigade, whose situation had been misunderstood by the American sector commander, was surrounded and partially overrun, suffering many unnecessary casualties. (The situation had been reported as being "a bit sticky", which is British Army terminology for "extremely dangerous")

=== Aftermath ===

By June the communist forces had had enough and called for a ceasefire, although it took until 1953 before an armistice was signed. As several participants have never formally made peace, the conflict remains technically active today, even though there has been no major combat since 1953; the ceasefire line (Demilitarized Zone) remains heavily fortified and militarized to the present day.

==Participants==
===UN Multinational Forces===
*[[South Korea]]
*[[Australia]]
*[[Belgium]]
*[[Canada]]
*[[Colombia]]
*[[Ethiopia]]
*[[France]]
*[[Greece]]
*[[Luxembourg]]
*[[The Netherlands]]
*[[Philippines]]
*[[South Africa]]
*[[Thailand]]
*[[Turkey]]
*[[United Kingdom]]
*[[United States]]

===Communist Forces===
*[[North Korea]]
*[[Soviet Union]]
*[[China]]

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Wars]]

Korean War

2007-05-15T09:46:53Z

ChineseChristian: /* Stalemate */

[[Image:Lopez scaling seawall.jpg|right|thumb|300px|United States marines landing at Inchon, 15 September 1950.]]
The '''Korean War''' was a major conflict on the Korean peninsula lasting from 1950 to 1953, between the communist forces of [[North Korea]], supported by the [[Soviet Union]] and [[China]], and the democratic forces of [[South Korea]], supported by a multinational [[United Nations]] force.

=== Prelude ===

A [[Japan]]ese territory until the end of [[World War II]], Korea was then divided by agreement into two administrative zones in 1945, along the 38th parallel, occupied by the Soviet Union and the United States. In both zones competing government organisations were created to rule a unified Korea, and military forces raised. A number of serious border incidents were instigated by the forces of both sides.

=== Outbreak ===

In the summer of 1950, North Korean forces under [[Kim Il Sung]], 135,000 strong and supported by 200 aircraft, thrust southwards. The 95,000 strong South Korean army, created under US control, was unmotivated, inefficient and had been deliberately denied heavy weapons; within hours most formations had fled south, often abandoning their equipment. After a week, almost half of the South Korean army had disappeared.

A United Nations resolution, passed in the absence of the USSR, condemned the attack and demanded the withdrawal of the North Korean forces. The United States, wanting its half of Korea back, was the most enthusiastic in pursuing these demands.

=== Pusan perimeter ===

By September, the surviving South Korean forces, and the US Eighth Army which had been sent to assist were confined to a small enclave around the Southern city of Pusan behind the Naktong river. It had taken months to assemble more than a handful of American troops; American air units had made some ineffectual sorties; and the suggestion that North Korea should be [[atomic bomb|nuked]] was not taken any further.

=== Inchon landings ===

With the situation in the south finally stabilised, in September, 70,000 UN troops under [[Douglas MacArthur|General MacArthur]], with massive support, landed at Inchon, near [[Seoul]], surprising the exhausted North Koreans. The landings were an extremely risky operation; if any significant resistance had been encountered, the landing craft would probably have been stranded by the extreme [[tide]]s of the landing zone, leaving the forces landed vulnerable to complete annihilation. However, they were lucky and only two days after the capture of Seoul from the 20,000 North Korean defenders was announced, it was actually achieved.

=== China joins the war ===

MacArthur struck north immediately, intent upon destroying the North Korean forces, and captured the North Korean capital [[Pyongyang]] in mid-October. China, feeling threatened by these developments, sent hundreds of thousands of well-motivated, veteran troops south from Manchuria, supported by Russian built MiG fighters that were superior to any of the UN aircraft. By November the UN offensive had been halted, and by December it was mostly in ignominious retreat. In January the Chinese forces recaptured Seoul.

=== Stalemate ===

In March 1951, a UN operation recaptured Seoul. In April, General MacArthur, disagreeing with [[Harry S. Truman|President Truman]]'s concept of limited war, suggested publicly a massive nuclear bombardment of the whole of northern China and was sacked by President Truman. The subsequent Chinese spring offensive was halted, but only after the Battle of the Imjin River, where the British 29th Brigade, whose situation had been misunderstood by the American sector commander, was surrounded and partially overrun, suffering many unnecessary casualties. (The situation had been reported as being "a bit sticky", which is British Army terminology for "extremely dangerous")

=== Aftermath ===

By June the communist forces had had enough and called for a ceasefire, although it took until 1953 before an armistice was signed. As several participants have never formally made peace, the conflict remains technically active today, even though there has been no major combat since 1953; the ceasefire line remains heavily fortified and militarised to the present day.

==Participants==
===UN Multinational Forces===
*[[South Korea]]
*[[Australia]]
*[[Belgium]]
*[[Canada]]
*[[Colombia]]
*[[Ethiopia]]
*[[France]]
*[[Greece]]
*[[Luxembourg]]
*[[The Netherlands]]
*[[Philippines]]
*[[South Africa]]
*[[Thailand]]
*[[Turkey]]
*[[United Kingdom]]
*[[United States]]

===Communist Forces===
*[[North Korea]]
*[[Soviet Union]]
*[[China]]

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Wars]]

Korean War

2007-05-15T09:46:13Z

ChineseChristian: /* Stalemate */

[[Image:Lopez scaling seawall.jpg|right|thumb|300px|United States marines landing at Inchon, 15 September 1950.]]
The '''Korean War''' was a major conflict on the Korean peninsula lasting from 1950 to 1953, between the communist forces of [[North Korea]], supported by the [[Soviet Union]] and [[China]], and the democratic forces of [[South Korea]], supported by a multinational [[United Nations]] force.

=== Prelude ===

A [[Japan]]ese territory until the end of [[World War II]], Korea was then divided by agreement into two administrative zones in 1945, along the 38th parallel, occupied by the Soviet Union and the United States. In both zones competing government organisations were created to rule a unified Korea, and military forces raised. A number of serious border incidents were instigated by the forces of both sides.

=== Outbreak ===

In the summer of 1950, North Korean forces under [[Kim Il Sung]], 135,000 strong and supported by 200 aircraft, thrust southwards. The 95,000 strong South Korean army, created under US control, was unmotivated, inefficient and had been deliberately denied heavy weapons; within hours most formations had fled south, often abandoning their equipment. After a week, almost half of the South Korean army had disappeared.

A United Nations resolution, passed in the absence of the USSR, condemned the attack and demanded the withdrawal of the North Korean forces. The United States, wanting its half of Korea back, was the most enthusiastic in pursuing these demands.

=== Pusan perimeter ===

By September, the surviving South Korean forces, and the US Eighth Army which had been sent to assist were confined to a small enclave around the Southern city of Pusan behind the Naktong river. It had taken months to assemble more than a handful of American troops; American air units had made some ineffectual sorties; and the suggestion that North Korea should be [[atomic bomb|nuked]] was not taken any further.

=== Inchon landings ===

With the situation in the south finally stabilised, in September, 70,000 UN troops under [[Douglas MacArthur|General MacArthur]], with massive support, landed at Inchon, near [[Seoul]], surprising the exhausted North Koreans. The landings were an extremely risky operation; if any significant resistance had been encountered, the landing craft would probably have been stranded by the extreme [[tide]]s of the landing zone, leaving the forces landed vulnerable to complete annihilation. However, they were lucky and only two days after the capture of Seoul from the 20,000 North Korean defenders was announced, it was actually achieved.

=== China joins the war ===

MacArthur struck north immediately, intent upon destroying the North Korean forces, and captured the North Korean capital [[Pyongyang]] in mid-October. China, feeling threatened by these developments, sent hundreds of thousands of well-motivated, veteran troops south from Manchuria, supported by Russian built MiG fighters that were superior to any of the UN aircraft. By November the UN offensive had been halted, and by December it was mostly in ignominious retreat. In January the Chinese forces recaptured Seoul.

=== Stalemate ===

In March 1951, a UN operation recaptured Seoul. In April, General MacArthur, disagreeing with [[Harry S. Truman|President Truman]]'s concept of limited war, suggested publicly a massive nuclear bombardment of the whole of northern China and was sacked by President Truman. The subsequent Chinese spring offensive was halted, but only after the Battle of the Imjin River, where the British 29th Brigade, whose situation had been misunderstood by the American sector commander, was surrounded and partially overrun, suffering many unnecessary casualties.(The situation had been reported as being "a bit sticky", which is British Army terminology for "extremely dangerous")

=== Aftermath ===

By June the communist forces had had enough and called for a ceasefire, although it took until 1953 before an armistice was signed. As several participants have never formally made peace, the conflict remains technically active today, even though there has been no major combat since 1953; the ceasefire line remains heavily fortified and militarised to the present day.

==Participants==
===UN Multinational Forces===
*[[South Korea]]
*[[Australia]]
*[[Belgium]]
*[[Canada]]
*[[Colombia]]
*[[Ethiopia]]
*[[France]]
*[[Greece]]
*[[Luxembourg]]
*[[The Netherlands]]
*[[Philippines]]
*[[South Africa]]
*[[Thailand]]
*[[Turkey]]
*[[United Kingdom]]
*[[United States]]

===Communist Forces===
*[[North Korea]]
*[[Soviet Union]]
*[[China]]

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Wars]]

Korean War

2007-05-15T09:41:58Z

ChineseChristian: /* China joins the war */

[[Image:Lopez scaling seawall.jpg|right|thumb|300px|United States marines landing at Inchon, 15 September 1950.]]
The '''Korean War''' was a major conflict on the Korean peninsula lasting from 1950 to 1953, between the communist forces of [[North Korea]], supported by the [[Soviet Union]] and [[China]], and the democratic forces of [[South Korea]], supported by a multinational [[United Nations]] force.

=== Prelude ===

A [[Japan]]ese territory until the end of [[World War II]], Korea was then divided by agreement into two administrative zones in 1945, along the 38th parallel, occupied by the Soviet Union and the United States. In both zones competing government organisations were created to rule a unified Korea, and military forces raised. A number of serious border incidents were instigated by the forces of both sides.

=== Outbreak ===

In the summer of 1950, North Korean forces under [[Kim Il Sung]], 135,000 strong and supported by 200 aircraft, thrust southwards. The 95,000 strong South Korean army, created under US control, was unmotivated, inefficient and had been deliberately denied heavy weapons; within hours most formations had fled south, often abandoning their equipment. After a week, almost half of the South Korean army had disappeared.

A United Nations resolution, passed in the absence of the USSR, condemned the attack and demanded the withdrawal of the North Korean forces. The United States, wanting its half of Korea back, was the most enthusiastic in pursuing these demands.

=== Pusan perimeter ===

By September, the surviving South Korean forces, and the US Eighth Army which had been sent to assist were confined to a small enclave around the Southern city of Pusan behind the Naktong river. It had taken months to assemble more than a handful of American troops; American air units had made some ineffectual sorties; and the suggestion that North Korea should be [[atomic bomb|nuked]] was not taken any further.

=== Inchon landings ===

With the situation in the south finally stabilised, in September, 70,000 UN troops under [[Douglas MacArthur|General MacArthur]], with massive support, landed at Inchon, near [[Seoul]], surprising the exhausted North Koreans. The landings were an extremely risky operation; if any significant resistance had been encountered, the landing craft would probably have been stranded by the extreme [[tide]]s of the landing zone, leaving the forces landed vulnerable to complete annihilation. However, they were lucky and only two days after the capture of Seoul from the 20,000 North Korean defenders was announced, it was actually achieved.

=== China joins the war ===

MacArthur struck north immediately, intent upon destroying the North Korean forces, and captured the North Korean capital [[Pyongyang]] in mid-October. China, feeling threatened by these developments, sent hundreds of thousands of well-motivated, veteran troops south from Manchuria, supported by Russian built MiG fighters that were superior to any of the UN aircraft. By November the UN offensive had been halted, and by December it was mostly in ignominious retreat. In January the Chinese forces recaptured Seoul.

=== Stalemate ===

In March 1951, UN operation recaptured Seoul. In April, General MacArthur, disagreeing with [[Harry S. Truman|President Truman]]'s concept of limited war, suggested publicly a massive nuclear bombardment of the whole of northern China and was sacked by President Truman. The subsequent Chinese spring offensive was halted, but only after the Battle of the Imjin River, where the British 29th Brigade, whose situation, reported as being "a bit sticky" - British Army terminology for "extremely dangerous" - had been misunderstood by the American sector commander, were surrounded and partially overrun, suffering many unnecessary casualties.

=== Aftermath ===

By June the communist forces had had enough and called for a ceasefire, although it took until 1953 before an armistice was signed. As several participants have never formally made peace, the conflict remains technically active today, even though there has been no major combat since 1953; the ceasefire line remains heavily fortified and militarised to the present day.

==Participants==
===UN Multinational Forces===
*[[South Korea]]
*[[Australia]]
*[[Belgium]]
*[[Canada]]
*[[Colombia]]
*[[Ethiopia]]
*[[France]]
*[[Greece]]
*[[Luxembourg]]
*[[The Netherlands]]
*[[Philippines]]
*[[South Africa]]
*[[Thailand]]
*[[Turkey]]
*[[United Kingdom]]
*[[United States]]

===Communist Forces===
*[[North Korea]]
*[[Soviet Union]]
*[[China]]

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Wars]]

Douglas MacArthur

2007-05-15T09:38:53Z

ChineseChristian: /* Governing Japan */

{| border="1" align="right" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="250" style="margin-left:5px"
|align="center" colspan="2"|[[Image:Macarthur1.jpg|200px]]
|-
!colspan="2" align="center" style="color: white; height: 30px; background: green no-repeat scroll top left;"|Douglas MacArthur
General of the Army, United States Army
|-
|Born
|January 26, 1880
|-
|Died
|April 5, 1964
|-
|}

'''Douglas MacArthur''', a career officer in the United States Army, one of the great military strategists in World War II, and responsible for governing and rebuilding Japan after.

==Early life==
Douglas MacArthur was the third son of Arthur MacArthur, a senior officer in the U.S. Army and winner of the Medal of Honor for actions at Missionary Ridge during the [[American Civil War]]. His oldest brother, Arthur III (1876-1923), had a distinguished career in the U.S. Navy, seeing action in the Spanish-American War of 1898, the Boxer Rebellion, and the First World War. Second son Malcolm was born in 1878, and died at the age of five, which left a mark that Douglas could never forget. "His premature death left a gap in my life which has never been filled," he would write some forty years later. [http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0126.html]

Douglas was born into the Army at Fort Dodge, Arkansas on January 26, 1880, in a section of the base armory that had been converted to a hospital. His mother, Mary Pinkney Hardy MacArthur, who was affectionately called "Pinky", was a proper Southern lady who was not used to hot and dusty western outposts as a place to raise a family; nevertheless she did, and seeing places like New Mexico's Fort Selden made a great impression on young Douglas. "My first memory was the sound of bugles," Douglas wrote in his ''Reminiscences.'' "It was here I learned to ride and shoot even before I could read or write - indeed, almost before I could walk or talk."

The Army had given Arthur MacArthur many orders over the years, and when Douglas turned six the next set of orders took the family to Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, where life in civilization could be re-introduced. Three years after that, they were ordered to Washington, where his father was assigned to the War Department, and Douglas got to know his grandfather, Judge Arthur MacArthur. These early years were important in young Douglas' life, for from his grandfather he learned a MacArthur was a gentleman and a scholar, and from his parents he learned a MacArthur was in command. [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/macarthur/peopleevents/pandeAMEX96.html]

==The Army==
Douglas was an average student, but his own intellect was revealed when the family moved to San Antonio, Texas in 1893. The West Texas Military Academy was his school, and he thrived on the combination of academics, religion, military discipline and social graces that were purely Victorian. His excellent record there, the top scores on the qualifying exam, and his family's political connections allowed Douglas in 1898 to receive an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point. Four years later General Arthur MacArthur, returned from the Philippines where he was involved with the Spanish defeat and service as military governor, looked on proudly as his son - with one of the highest and finest records in Academy history - graduated first of his class of 1903.

His first assignment was to the Philippines, which soon developed into a love for that country. Soon after, he would accompany his father and mother on an extended tour of the Asia rim, visiting eleven countries, and treated like royalty in each. He had developed a theory by then, in fact he was convinced, that America's future lay with Asia.

His next assignments included service to [[Theodore Roosevelt]] as an aide, and engineering assignment in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and then transfer to the War Department where he worked for Chief of Staff General Leonard Wood, who was himself once a protege to his father. The working relationship was good, and Douglas was promoted to major in 1915. He became the Army's first public relations officer the following year, being credited with selling the Selective Service Act of 1917 to the American people, just as the country moved closer to involvment in the war in Europe. Hugh L. Scott, the Army's Chief of Staff at the time, would note MacArthur's zeal at doing his job. "Major MacArthur ia a...high-minded, conscientious nd unusually efficient officer, well fitted for positions requiring doplomacy and high-grade intellegence" (Manchester, pg. 89).

It was the First World War which gave Douglas MacArthur a taste of fame that he could add to his already excellent record. Promoted to colonel, he took individual National Guard units and created the Rainbow Division out of them, taking it through France and into the thickest of fighting, and combining a romantic flamboyance with bravery. But when it was theatened that his division would be split up and spread out to augment other divisions, MacArthur cabled members of Congress to prevent it, unfortunately creating resentment within General [[John J. Pershing]]'s staff at circumventing the chain of command. Nevertheless, MacArthur became the most decorated American soldier of the war, receiving the Distinguished Service Medal by Pershing, who remarked that he didn't like MacArthur's attitude regarding the chain of command while pinning the medal on his chest (Manchester, pp. 97-105).

MacArthur was next assigned to the post of Superintendent of West Point, where he dragged the moribund Academy into the 20th century; he had just come out of a very savage, yet very modern war, and he wanted West Point to produce officers capable of leading men into such a war. And he also got married, to Louise Cromwell Brooks, a flapper and heiress. But his West Point job was ended soon after, when Chief of Staff Pershing - who, during the war had an affair with Louise - ordered MacArthur to the Philippines. Although disappointed at the orders, yet glad to be back in his beloved islands, Louise was not happy, as she was used to the glamour and sophistication of the big American and European cities; the end result was the marriage began to go sour, which got worse after their return to the States in 1925. Louise would file for divorce in 1928, and Douglas would return again to the Philippines.

His stay in the Philippines this time would last two years, but he had renewed a friendship with Manuel Quezon, whom he had known since 1903, and was then country's leading political figure. Together they had worked on a bid to make MacArthur governor of the Philippines, but that attempt failed. However, in 1930, President Hoover offered MacArthur the Army's top command: Chief of Staff, and he headed back to Washington. The country was by then deep in the Great Depression, and MacArthurs warnings of a weak defense in the face of spreading fascism went unheeded among Americans whose only thought was getting a job. Although ably leading the Army during this period, troop strength fell to an all-time low, and his reputation was severely damaged when, in 1932, he visibly led a unit of the Army against thousands of impoverished former soldiers (the [[Bonus March]]) who had camped out in the capitol demanding Congress distribute millions of dollars in bonuses that were promised to them for enlisting during the First World War.

==World War II==
In 1935 Manuel Quezon was president of the newly-created Philippine Commonwealth, and invited MacArthur to return to Manila as head of the American military mission charged with preparing the islands for full independence by 1946. On the way to Manilla, he had a stop in Tennessee and met Jean Marie Faircloth of Murfreesboro, falling in love almost immediately, and getting married soon after that; Jean would be instumental in filling the void when his mother passed away soon after their arrival in the Philippines. And at age 58, Arthur IV was born, making MacArthur an attentive and doting father. These years in the Philippines would prove the happiest of his life, even as they were slowly overshadowed by an expanding, and aggressive, Japan. Money, troops and material from the States would not come in time when Pearl Harbor was attacked on December 7, 1941; when the Japanese made a simultaneous strike on the Philippines, MacArthur's air force was knocked out, and his army left to retreat to the Bataan Peninsula in tatters. He would sit at his command post on the nearby island of Corregidor, nearly helpless as everything around him crumbled.
[[Image:Surrender at tokyo bay.jpg|thumb|200px|left|MacArthur at Tokyo Bay, September 2, 1945.]]
He had intended to fight alongside his men, but President Franklin Roosevelt wouldn't allow it. A direct order from him had MacArthur and his family placed onboard a small PT boat, where he met up with a larger transport to Australia, and from there he began the plans to retake the Pacific from the Japanese, vowing "I shall return" to the Filipino people, a remark which became synonymous with the war effort. MacArthur's war was then a two-front war, as he fought the Japanese forces on one side, and the United States Navy on the other. But his plan, which called for "island hopping" - bypassing Japanese-held islands in favor of those strategically placed for use by American forces - prevaled, as well as his intent to liberate the Philippines as part of it. By October, 1944 America's most famous general made his dramatic landing at Leyte; the remainder of the islands were fully liberated within months. On September 2, 1945, onboard USS ''Missouri'' in Tokyo Bay, he presided over the Japanese surrender, ending World War II. His last remarks on ending the war were simple. "These proceedings are closed."

==Governing Japan==
MacArthur, by then one of the leading figures in military history, determined to rebuild Japan as an example of democracy, and in so doing made his greatest contribution. During the next several years he initiated polices for occupation (he stipulated that revengeful soldiers would get five years in prison if they so much as slapped a Japanese citizen), wrote and implemented a constitution, and charted a course for Japan which led it to become an economic and industrial colossus by the 1970's.

==Korea==
The Korean War broke out in June of 1950, when the communist North invaded South Korea. Placed in command of United Nations forces, MacArthur executed a brilliant manuever by invading the port of Inchon behind North Korean lines, and driving the communists back north. Soon after this triumph, bickering would come between himself and President Harry Truman over how the war was to be fought, and engaging China, as MacArthur believed should happen, or in keeping it a limited war and China out of it, as Truman dictated. The bickering came to a head on April 11, 1951, when Truman, citing his role as Commander in Chief, relieved MacArthur of command, resulting in a firestorm of controversy. He was given a hero's welcome on his return, and the issue over is firing died away quickly after an address to a joint session of Congress, in which he announced his retirement with grace, stating "old soldiers never die, they just fade away," and like the old soldier in that refrain, MacArthur promised to fade away.

==Last years==
MacArthur lived quietly in New York, coming out into the spotlight on various occasions, such as attending graduations at West Point; once he was placed on the Republican ticket for president in 1952 (his former aide, General Dwight D. Eisenhower would get the job). He passed away on April 5, 1964, at Walter Reed Army Hospital near Washington, having lived his entire life, from cradle to grave, in the United States Army. He was buried in the rotunda of the former city hall of Norfolk, Virginia, which had earlier become the MacArthur Memorial. His wife Jean passed away January 22, 2000, and is buried with him.

:''I am closing my 52 years of military service. When I joined the Army, even before the turn of the century, it was the fulfillment of all of my boyish hopes and dreams. The world has turned over many times since I took the oath on the plain at West Point, and the hopes and dreams have long since vanished, but I still remember the refrain of one of the most popular barrack ballads of that day which proclaimed most proudly that "old soldiers never die; they just fade away." And like the old soldier of that ballad, I now close my military career and just fade away, an old soldier who tried to do his duty as God gave him the light to see that duty. Good bye.'' From his Farewell to Congress, April 19, 1951.

==References==
*Manchester, William. ''American Caesar'', Little, Brown and Company, Boston, MA (1978).

==Links==
*[http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/macarthur/peopleevents/pandeAMEX96.html PBS ''The American Experience'' bio]
*[http://faculty.washington.edu/kendo/macarthur.html Washington University's bio on MacArthur]
*[http://www.macarthurmemorial.org/ MacArthur Memorial, Norfolk, Virginia]
*[http://vvl.lib.msu.edu/record.cfm?recordid=4345 Complete audio file of Japanese Surrender onboard USS ''Missouri'', Sept. 2, 1945, from Vincent Voice Library, Michigan State University]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0126.html Obituary of MacArthur.]
*[http://www.medalofhonor.com/DouglasMacArthur.htm Medal of Honor]
*[http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/douglasmacarthurfarewelladdress.htm Complete text and audio of his Farewell to Congress, April 19, 1951.]

{{DEFAULTSORT:MacArthur, Douglas}}
[[Category:Military Commanders]]
[[Category:World War II]]
[[Category:Japan]]

Harry Truman

2007-05-15T09:23:19Z

ChineseChristian: /* Middle Initial */

{| border="1" align="right" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="250" style="margin-left:5px"
|align="center" colspan="2"|[[Image:HTruman.jpg|200px]]
|-
!colspan="2" align="center" style="color: black; height: 30px; background: purple no-repeat scroll top left;"|Harry Truman;
Thirty-third President of the United States
|-
|Born
|May 8, 1884
|-
|Died
|December 26, 1972
|-
|Term
|1945-1953
|-
|}

'''Harry S. Truman''' was the 33rd President of the United States and it was on his decision that the first atomic bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

He was born on May 8, 1884 in Lamar, [[Missouri]]. He lived there as a farmer for 12 years.

During [[World War I]] he went to [[France]] as a captain of artillery. He became Vice President for President [[Franklin Roosevelt|Franklin Delano Roosevelt]] ("FDR") in 1944 and succeeded to the Presidency upon the death of FDR in 1945. Interestingly, Truman rarely met with Roosevelt during his tenure as Vice President <ref>http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/ht33.html</ref>.

He was elected [[President of the United States of America]] (USA) in 1948 as a [[Democrat]]. During his term as President, he presided over the conclusion of [[World War II]] in both [[Europe]] and [[Japan]]. Truman's decision to use nuclear weapons against the Japanese cities of [[Hiroshima]] and [[Nagasaki]] forced the unconditional Japanese surrender to conclude WWII. As a consequence, the United States cancelled a planned invasion of the island nation which had been projected to cause 1,000,000 American and 10,000,000 Japanese casualties. Prior to Japan's surrender, [[Nazi]] German troops and their Axis allies surrendered in Europe. Truman proclaimed his [[Truman Doctrine]] on March 12, 1947 that was intended to thwart the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republic]]'s designs of expansion in the Near East by committing American aid and troops to that region. Truman also committed troops to the Korean Peninsula in 1950 to halt a [[Communist]] invasion of [[South Korea]]. American troops were part of a coalition of member nations of the newly formed [[United Nations]] ("UN") in 1945. The USA had become a founding member of the newly established UN during Truman's presidency.

Truman retired from politics at the conclusion of his presidential term and died on December 26, 1972 in his Independence, Missouri home. His Presidential library is located in Independence.

==Middle Initial==
There is no period after his middle initial, because it doesn't stand for anything. He was named with an "S" so that both his grandfathers could claim him as their namesake. <ref> [[Encyclopedia of Presidents, Harry S. Truman]], by Jim Hargrove, Children's Press, 1987. </ref>

==Links==
*[http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/ht33.html Biography]
*[http://www.trumanlibrary.org Presidential Library]

==References==
<references/>

{{DEFAULTSORT:Truman, Harry}}
[[Category:Presidents of the United States]]
[[Category:World War II]]
[[Cateogry:Vice Presidents of the United States]]

Friedrich Nietzsche

2007-05-15T09:17:59Z

ChineseChristian:

[[Image:nietzsche2.jpg|right|250px|thumb]]
'''Friedrich Nietzsche''' (1844-1900) was a [[Germany|German]] [[atheism|atheist]] philosopher whose work set a foundation the [[existentialism|existentialist]] movement of the 1900's.<ref>[http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/nietzsche/ Stanford's Biography on Nietzsche]</ref> Nietzsche was critical of religion in general, though especially Christianity, which he described as the "religion of pity."<ref>[http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Friedrich_Nietzsche/ Nietzsche Quotations]</ref> Nietzsche is famous for his statement that “God is dead.” Nietzsche instead urged a new kind of ethical development that would go beyond "Good" and "Evil." Nietzsche suffered a mental collapse in 1889, and spent the last ten years of his life unable to care for himself. During this time, his sister Elizabeth Förster-Nietzsche took over his affairs, and worked to falsify and re-edit his writings in order to support her virulent Anti-Semitism (a view which Nietzsche consistently abhorred, and often mocked, during his lifetime). It was her distorted version of culled and mis-quoted statements which later provided an intellectual fig-leaf for the Nazi regime.

The Ubermensch (overhuman, superhuman) was a literary device used in his magnum opus, Thus Spoke Zarathustra. The Overman was to be a new kind of being which would overcome resentment and affirm the Eternal Recurrence of the same

The statement "God is dead" is often taken out of context. Originally, it appeared in Nietzsche's "The Gay Science." The story was of a mad man entering a church in day light, a lantern held aloft in his hand, telling everyone that he was looking for God. They laughed at him asking if God was lost. He told them that he was looking because "God is Dead" and every church his tomb. The man was upset, going on about how the death of God meant the loss of all meaning, as though someone had wiped away the horizon, and taken the backdrop, of existence.

Nietzsche's father Carl Ludwig Nietzsche, was a [[Lutheran]] pastor.

In his first Papal Encyclical, "Deus Caritas Est" (God is Charity/Love) [[Pope Benedict XVI]] quotes from Nietzche's ''Beyond Good and Evil'', taking very seriously Nietzsche's claim that the Church has poisoned ''eros'' (love) with dogma, and responding to it.

==References==
*[http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/nietzsche/ Entry on Nietzsche from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy]
*[http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/nietzsche-moral-political/ Entry on Nietzsche's Moral and Political Philosophy from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy]
*[https://www.dartmouth.edu/~fnchron/index.html Nietzsche Chronicle]
*[http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/452786.html Nietzsche: The Problem of Autumn]
*[http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=816224 "The Case for Nietzschean Moral Psychology"]
* [http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20051225_deus-caritas-est_en.html#_ftnref1 ''Deus Caritas Est'', from the Vatican website]
[[category:philosophers]]

Race

2007-05-15T08:55:49Z

ChineseChristian:

'''Race''' is an archaic (i.e., out of date, no longer considered valid) scientific concept which classifies human beings according to broad physical characteristics such as skin color. The five races of mankind were considered to be:
#Black (Negro)
#Brown (as in India)
#Red (Native American)
#Yellow (Oriental)
#White (Caucasian)
There were also three biological categories: Caucasoid, Negroid, and Mongoloid.

The amount of [[melanin]] in one's skin naturally determines how dark it is. Some historical ideals of beauty exalted the lightness or darkness of skin. The 19th century American song, "The Yellow Rose of Texas", referred to the slightly dusky color of a girl's skin.

Since the [[Great Flood]], human populations have gone through periods of isolation and intermixing which lead to differences between groups. [[Scientists]] believe that these are largely a matter of different statistical frequencies of variations from an agreed-on standard, rather than racial differences as was once thought. Modern [[Homo sapiens|humans]], the descendants of [[Noah]] and his family, share approximately 99.9% of their [[DNA]]. Of the .1% that does vary, 85% of the observed variation is unconnected to membership of any particular group of people.

==See also==
*[[Racing]]

Race

2007-05-15T08:54:11Z

ChineseChristian:

'''Race''' is an archaic (i.e., out of date, no longer considered valid) scientific concept which classifies human beings according to broad physical characteristics such as skin color. The five races of mankind were considered to be:
#Black (Negro)
#Brown (as in India)
#Red (Native American)
#Yellow (Oriental)
#White (Caucasian)

The amount of [[melanin]] in one's skin naturally determines how dark it is. Some historical ideals of beauty exalted the lightness or darkness of skin. The 19th century American song, "The Yellow Rose of Texas", referred to the slightly dusky color of a girl's skin.

Since the [[Great Flood]] human populations have gone through periods of isolation and intermixing which lead to differences between groups. [[Scientists]] believe that these are largely a matter of different statistical frequencies of variations from an agreed-on standard, rather than racial differences as was once thought. Modern [[Homo sapiens|humans]], the descendants of [[Noah]] and his family, share approximately 99.9% of their [[DNA]]. Of the .1% that does vary, 85% of the observed variation is unconnected to membership of any particular group of people.

==See also==
*[[Racing]]

Korea

2007-05-15T08:44:17Z

ChineseChristian:

A country in [[East Asia]] that is currently split into [[North Korea]] and [[South Korea]] because of the issue of communism. Korea was colonized by Japan in 1910. The United States and 15 other countries came to the aid of [[South Korea]] during the Korean War, after the North's unprovoked invasion.

==Language and Writing==

Although some spelling or words are slightly different between countries, the official language of both South Korea and North Korea is Korean. Five major dialects in South Korea and one in North Korea are mutually understandable among speakers from different areas. <ref>http://www.todaytranslations.com/index.asp-Q-Page-E-Korean-Language-History--31760371</ref> For more than 2,000 years a Chinese system of writing has been known to Koreans. The Chinese system of writing was widely used during Chinese occupations. After the fifth century AD, Koreans devised three different systems for writing Korean with Chinese characters. (The Japanese systems are were similar to these thus Japanese writing is probably modelled on the Korean system.) King Sejong (r.1418-1450) invented the Korean alphabet in 1444. The Korean alphabet has been called many different names but it is currently known as Hangul or Hangeul (depending upon transliteration). Originally called "The correct sounds for the instruction of the people", (''Hunmin jeongeum''), or "national writing" (''Gukmeun''.) the alphabet was also known as "vulgar script", or ''Eonmeun'' by Korea's nobility who felt it was simple next to the traditional Chinese characters. It didn't catch on in Korea until the mid 1800's. <ref>http://library.thinkquest.org/20746/non/info/history.html</ref> Ju Si-gyeong (Korean linguist b. 1876 d. 1914) coined ''Hangul'' the modern name for the Korean character set. <ref>http://www.omniglot.com/writing/korean.htm</ref> Today, Hangul is honored in South Korea on Hangul Day, on October 9. <ref>http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/002529.html</ref>

==Current status==

The [[Korean War]] (1950-53) devastated the South, but it bounced back to become one of the four [[Asian Tigers]]. North Korea is an impoverished totalitarian regime.

[[Category:Asian Countries]]

== References ==
<references />

Korea

2007-05-15T08:43:46Z

ChineseChristian:

A country in [[East Asia]] that is currently split into [[North Korea]] and [[South Korea]] because of the issue of communism. Korea was colonized by Japan in 1910. The United States and 15 other countries came to the aid of [[South Korea]]during the Korean War, after the North's unprovoked invasion.

==Language and Writing==

Although some spelling or words are slightly different between countries, the official language of both South Korea and North Korea is Korean. Five major dialects in South Korea and one in North Korea are mutually understandable among speakers from different areas. <ref>http://www.todaytranslations.com/index.asp-Q-Page-E-Korean-Language-History--31760371</ref> For more than 2,000 years a Chinese system of writing has been known to Koreans. The Chinese system of writing was widely used during Chinese occupations. After the fifth century AD, Koreans devised three different systems for writing Korean with Chinese characters. (The Japanese systems are were similar to these thus Japanese writing is probably modelled on the Korean system.) King Sejong (r.1418-1450) invented the Korean alphabet in 1444. The Korean alphabet has been called many different names but it is currently known as Hangul or Hangeul (depending upon transliteration). Originally called "The correct sounds for the instruction of the people", (''Hunmin jeongeum''), or "national writing" (''Gukmeun''.) the alphabet was also known as "vulgar script", or ''Eonmeun'' by Korea's nobility who felt it was simple next to the traditional Chinese characters. It didn't catch on in Korea until the mid 1800's. <ref>http://library.thinkquest.org/20746/non/info/history.html</ref> Ju Si-gyeong (Korean linguist b. 1876 d. 1914) coined ''Hangul'' the modern name for the Korean character set. <ref>http://www.omniglot.com/writing/korean.htm</ref> Today, Hangul is honored in South Korea on Hangul Day, on October 9. <ref>http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/002529.html</ref>

==Current status==

The [[Korean War]] (1950-53) devastated the South, but it bounced back to become one of the four [[Asian Tigers]]. North Korea is an impoverished totalitarian regime.

[[Category:Asian Countries]]

== References ==
<references />

Korea

2007-05-15T08:43:32Z

ChineseChristian:

A country in [[East Asia]] that is currently split into [[North Korea]] and [[South Korea]]because of the issue of communism. Korea was colonized by Japan in 1910. The United States and 15 other countries came to the aid of [[South Korea]]during the Korean War, after the North's unprovoked invasion.

==Language and Writing==

Although some spelling or words are slightly different between countries, the official language of both South Korea and North Korea is Korean. Five major dialects in South Korea and one in North Korea are mutually understandable among speakers from different areas. <ref>http://www.todaytranslations.com/index.asp-Q-Page-E-Korean-Language-History--31760371</ref> For more than 2,000 years a Chinese system of writing has been known to Koreans. The Chinese system of writing was widely used during Chinese occupations. After the fifth century AD, Koreans devised three different systems for writing Korean with Chinese characters. (The Japanese systems are were similar to these thus Japanese writing is probably modelled on the Korean system.) King Sejong (r.1418-1450) invented the Korean alphabet in 1444. The Korean alphabet has been called many different names but it is currently known as Hangul or Hangeul (depending upon transliteration). Originally called "The correct sounds for the instruction of the people", (''Hunmin jeongeum''), or "national writing" (''Gukmeun''.) the alphabet was also known as "vulgar script", or ''Eonmeun'' by Korea's nobility who felt it was simple next to the traditional Chinese characters. It didn't catch on in Korea until the mid 1800's. <ref>http://library.thinkquest.org/20746/non/info/history.html</ref> Ju Si-gyeong (Korean linguist b. 1876 d. 1914) coined ''Hangul'' the modern name for the Korean character set. <ref>http://www.omniglot.com/writing/korean.htm</ref> Today, Hangul is honored in South Korea on Hangul Day, on October 9. <ref>http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/002529.html</ref>

==Current status==

The [[Korean War]] (1950-53) devastated the South, but it bounced back to become one of the four [[Asian Tigers]]. North Korea is an impoverished totalitarian regime.

[[Category:Asian Countries]]

== References ==
<references />

Enlightenment

2007-05-15T08:35:38Z

ChineseChristian:

The '''Enlightenment''' was a philosophical movement in the 1700s that emphasized an intellectual approach rejecting traditional social, political and (sometimes) religious views. It held that humans were essentially good and that reason was the best way to discover truth.

Philosophers in the Enlightenment felt that breakthroughs in science, such as news in the late 1600s of [[Isaac Newton]]’s discoveries, could be duplicated in other fields through a systematic and logical approach. Some of the Enlightenment thinkers rejected and even criticized Christianity, as many were [[deists]]. There were Enlightenment philosophers in England, France and even the American colonies. There were stunning new works in classical music, and the arts flourished in what is known as the neo-classical period.

[[Category:History]]

Deng Xiaoping

2007-05-15T08:29:38Z

ChineseChristian:

[[Image:Safdsv.jpg|right|thumb]]
'''Deng Xiaoping''', or '''Teng Hsiao-p'ing'''; (1904-1997) was a [[Chinese Communist Party]] leader and China's most powerful figure from the late 1970s until his death. Deng Xiaoping was a vice premier of the People's Republic and general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party. Deng’s political reform introduced [[free trade]] encompassing all of China’s economy. Despite his communist leanings, he managed to rebuild China's economy by embracing this policy of free trade, and steering China away from its despotic path. Unfortunately, he was not completely successful and as a result, communism still exists in China. However, it is generally accepted that there would be even more starvation in China without free trade. Deng is also known for his brutal suppression of pro-democracy activists in the Tiananmen Square incident of 1989.

[[Category:China]]

Japan

2007-05-15T08:16:57Z

ChineseChristian: /* Modern History */

[[Image:JapanCg1e.gif‎ |thumbnail|right|250px|The Japanese flag.]]

'''Japan''' is a nation that consists of a group of islands off the eastern coast of [[Asia]]. The principal islands are, in the [[Romanization|Roman alphabet]], [[Hokkaido]], [[Honshu]], [[Kyushu]] and [[Shikoku]]. Japan also controls many smaller islands, notably the [[Ryuku]] chain south of Kyushu, for a total land area slightly larger than California. The climate, however, has traditionally varied from north to south as much as that from [[Maine]] to [[Georgia]]. Its capital, [[Tokyo]], is the largest city in the world. [http://geography.about.com/od/urbaneconomicgeography/a/agglomerations.htm]

Early signs of human life appeared in Japan around the year 3000 BC. The wild Japanese Bison was an early target of wild game, hunted to extinction within 500 years.

According to tradition, Japan was unified by [[Emperor]] [[Jimmu]], the grandson of the [[goddess]] [[Amaterasu]], in the year 660 B. C. He conquered Honshu, the largest island, in a series of expeditions starting from his home base of [[Setsuma]] in Kyushu.

== Modern History ==

Japan was closed off from the rest of the world for a long period of time under the rule of a series of military leaders known as [[Shoguns]] (see [[Tokugawa Shogunate]]), with the sole exception of [[Nagasaki]], where [[Dutch]] merchants maintained a permanent trading post. While the Japanese Emperor continued to reign in the old capital of [[Kyoto]], he was more of a figurehead with little more power than he possesses today. The rule of the Shoguns came to an end in the middle of the 19th century during a brief but bloody period of conflict known as the [[Meiji Restoration]], which was triggered in part by U.S Commodore Matthew Perry's naval expedition to Japan. During the Restoration a large number of young [[samurai]] from minor families, tired of the government's mishandling of the country and feeling that if action was not taken Japan would be dominated by western countries, initiated an armed revolt to restore imperial rule. Most samurai from the more powerful families sided with the Shogun, fearing that the minor families would replace them if the revolt was successful. Nonetheless, the shogunate was done away with in 1867 and the imperial period began. The capital was moved to [[Edo]], which was renamed [[Tokyo]]; by the early twenty-first century, it had become the center of the world's largest urban conglomeration.

The phrase "imperial period" is not meant to imply that the emperor ruled absolutely in the style of [[Louis XIV]] or a [[Russian]] [[tsar]]; indeed, the emperors relied on [[prime ministers]] throughout this period. Rather, it refers to Japan competing with [[European]] powers and the [[United States]] for colonies and influence during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The high point of Japanese prestige was the [[Russo-Japanese War]] of 1904-5, in which Japan became the principal power in [[Manchuria]] and consolidated its control of [[Korea]].

Japan's success at this great game would ultimately prove its undoing. By 1936, during the reign of Emperor [[Hirohito]], the Japanese Empire would adopt the [[Orwellian]] title "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere." The increasingly powerful [[Japanese armed forces]], partly inspired by European [[fascists]], came to dominate Japanese politics, assassinating politicians whom they deemed insufficiently devoted to the Emperor and nation. For the next nine years, the military leadership installed its own members (such as [[Hideki Tojo]], chief Japanese strategist of [[World War II]]) or, occasionally, civilians who were completely identified with their agenda, as prime minister.

After the war ended in 1945, Japan was occupied by American forces under the command of General Douglas MacArthur, who helped establish a system of democratic government and implemented a constitution that prevented future military ventures.

== Current Status ==
Japan is currently the world's most populous [[constitutional monarchy]], fourth largest [[economy]] (counting the [[European Union]] as one economy), and has the world's third largest [[defense budget]] (counting the constituents of the EU as separate states). The current [[Emperor]] is [[Akihito]]; he will be succeeded upon his death or abdication by [[Crown Prince]] [[Naruhito]]. The current [[Prime Minister]] is [[Shinzo Abe]], of the [[Liberal Democratic Party]]. This party is not to be confused with America's [[liberal]] [[Democrats]]; the corresponding party in Japan is the [[Socialists]]. The Liberal Democratic Party has formed all but two of Japan's post-World War II governments, which as in any [[parliamentary]] system rise and fall with somewhat less predictability than United States administrations.

Among constitutional monarchies, Japan is likely to be supplanted as most populous by [[Thailand]] sometime during the twenty-first century. This is as a result of Japan's low [[birth rate]] (in part a result of the nation's early legalization of [[abortion]]) and lack of desire to expand [[immigration]] (Japan is the most ethnically [[homogenous]] of the world's wealthy countries). Ironically, the relative prosperity of Thailand is in large part due to heavy aid and investment by Japan.

As do most constitutional monarchies, Japan has a state religion, [[Shinto]], an extreme interpretation of which helped drive Japan's participation in [[World War II]]. However, as in other constitutional monarchies, political involvement with religion is mostly limited to [[lip service]], although symbolic gestures such as the annual wreath-laying ceremony at [[Yasukuni Shrine]] have occasionally antagonized Japan's neighbors. Most imported religions are practiced in Japan without interference, and [[Buddhism]] has been accepted by a large portion of the population. The percentage of Japanese who are Christian, however, stands at 0.7%<ref>https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ja.html</ref>, a figure that was helped to stay low after the great purgings against Christians in the 1600's. Japan has also spawned its share of [[cults]], including the exceptionally lethal but fortunately short-lived [[Aum Shinrikyo]] movement of the early 1990's, which in 1994 became the first non-state organization to kill people with [[nerve gas]].

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Japan]]

Great Leap Forward

2007-05-15T07:51:18Z

ChineseChristian:

Program instituted by Chinese dictator Mao Zedong from 1958 to 1961 to nationalize industry and agriculture. This included collectivizing farmland and peasants being forced to produce steel in backyard furnaces to raise China's steel output, as well as an absurd campaign to exterminate pests, which unbalanced the ecosystem. The whole ill-conceived venture resulted in widespread famine, economic disaster and what modern Chinese history refers to as '''Three Years of Disasters'''.

==See also==
*[http://en.epochtimes.com/news/4-12-11/24830.html ''Rectification in Yan’an—Creating the Most Fearsome Methods in Persecution''], "The rectification movement in Yan’an was the largest, darkest and most ferocious power game ever played out in the human world"

Talk:Africa

2007-05-15T07:39:27Z

ChineseChristian: /* Garden of Eden location? */

==Come On People==

Africa is South-EAST of Asia? That's been in this entry since November of last year? This does not make me think highly of this site.

'''Trring to justify colonialism'''

I have a hard time understanding why contributors to this page a trying to put a pretty face on the colonial episode - thrying to paint abusive labor practices as thouh they gave "idle Africans" something to do and a wage, when none of the proceeds went to the benefit of the people whose land it was before the Euros pushed them off it. Colonialism was and remains evil and went against basic conservative ideas like freedom of ownership, control of one's own property and controlling one's own economic destiny. -Sevenstring

==Garden of Eden location?==

I heard Eden was in Iraq, probably.... claim is in Ethiopia seems false [[User:ChineseChristian|ChineseChristian]] 03:39, 15 May 2007 (EDT)

Talk:Africa

2007-05-15T07:39:12Z

ChineseChristian: /* Come On People */

Roman Empire

2007-05-15T03:52:08Z

ChineseChristian:

{{Progress}}
{{Rome}}

An empire started by the Romans that through a strong military and law ruled most of the western civilized world. The Roman Empire was the direct successor to the [[Roman Republic]] which had already established Rome as the dominant force in the west. While the general view of the Empire became keeping the status quo instead of adding new territory, there were still some changes and continuing growth. Britain was added in 44 AD as well as other small conquests until the empire reached its height in about 117 AD.

Rome may be credited with creating the virtue of [[civic republicanism]]: that a citizen should give his life in battle or in work to the glory of the Republic.

One of its greatest rulers was also its first: [[Caius Iulius Caesar Octavianus]], or [[Augustus Caesar|Augustus]] ruling from 27 BC to 14 AD. He set the stage for a long progression of rulers that lasted 500 years and established a peace, the [[Pax Romana]] that lasted almost 200 years (although there were many wars and revolts during that time period, all out wars were avoided). The high point of the Empire is generally considered to be under the [[Five Good Emperors]] from 96 to 180 AD. The low point was under [[The Age of Thiry Tyrants]] from 259 to 268 where a revolving door of 19 different generals claimed the throne.

Rome contributed a great deal to the mythology of early Christianity. For example, the prophecy that "a savior would come out of [[Judea]]" was popular in the Roman Empire, so popular that the biographer [[Suetonious]] saw fit to include it in his [[De Vitae Caesarium]]. However, Suetonious identified the savior as [[Vespasian]] in his "Life of Vespasian," since Vespasian did, as it was said, "save the State."

==Beginnings==
The pre-imperial history of Rome is treated elsewhere. In brief, the Republic served to make Rome the most powerful military force in the west and led to great conquest, but it gave way to rule by Augustus and the Emperors and would never again be seen for Rome's remaining 500 years.

==Chronology==
Augustus was the first Emperor, leading a stable and peaceful Empire. He cut the size of the military and reorganized it so the Empire would have about 300,000 men under arms, basically manning the borders, and extremely mobile. He decided against expanding the Empire after the [[Battle of the Teutoberg Forest] in 9 B.C. and the loss the Romans incurred believing there was little to gain in spending great amounts of money and resources to conquer barbarians that could provide little in return. His successors agreed with his policies, although they did from time to time make small expansions to the borders. He undertook building projects and road construction that led to great improvements.

* [[Tiberius]] ruled from 14 to 37
* [[Caligula]] ruled from 37 to 41
* [[Claudius]] ruled from 41 to 54
* [[Nero]] ruled from 54 to 68
* Anarchy as 4 men tried to claim the Emperorship. The eventual winner was:
* [[Vespian]] ruled from 70 to 79
* [[Titus]] ruled from 79 to 81
* [[Domitian]] ruled from 81 to 96
* [[Nerva]] ruled from 96 to 98
* [[Trajan]] ruled from 98 to 117
* [[Hadrian]] ruled from 117 to 138
* [[Antoninus Pius]] ruled from 138 to 161
* [[Marcus Aurelius]] ruled from 161 to 180
* [[Commodus]] ruled from 180 to 192
* Struggle for the throne
* [[Septimus Severus]] ruled from 193 to 211
* [[Caracalla]] ruled from 211 to 217
* [[Macrinus]] ruled from 217 to 218
* [[Elagabalus]] ruled from 218 to 222
* [[Alexander Severus]] ruled from 222 to 235
* Internal Turmoil
* [[Gordianus]] ruled 238 to 244
* Turmoil 244 to 268
* [[Claudius II]] ruled 268 to 270
* [[Aurelian]] ruled from 270 to 275
* [[Marcus Claudius Tacitus]] ruled from 275 to 276
* [[Probus]] ruled from 276 to 281
* [[Carus]] ruled from 281 to 283
* Co-emperors and fighting 283 to 285
* [[Diocletian]] ruled from 285 to 305 Changed the Empire to be run by 2 Augustus and 2 Caesars, 4 men
* [[Constantine]] ruled 311 to 337
* [[Constantius]] ruled 337 to 361
* [[Julian]] ruled 361 to 363
* [[Jovian]] ruled 363 to 364
...

===Roman Engineering===
The Roman Empire is known for its construction of roads that stretched throughout the Empire. These roads nurtured trade through the Empire and connected with other trade routes as far as the [[Silk Road]] to [[China]]. In addition to trade, the highways allowed for fast overland movement of military forces to areas that needed defense or suppression. This same spirit of military infrastructure has a modern descendant in the [[Eisenhower Interstate System]].{{fact}} The Roman style of road construction was revolutionary at it's time, and has for the most part yet to be improved upon. Crowns allowed runoff of rainwater into gutters and sub-packing of peastone and gravel allowed for absorption of frost heaves where necessary. While not all Roman roads were built this way, this was nevertheless a milestone in road construction. Surveying methods of the time forced the Romans to build these roads arrow straight. During the reign of [[Diocletian]] 372 main roads were recorded, totaling 53,000 miles<ref>Leslie and Roy Adkins, ''Life in Ancient Rome'' ISBN 0-19-512332-8</ref>. Many of the routes the roads followed are still in use today.

Aqueducts were built to supply water to cities by finding an aquifer or reservoir and channeling it along the route of the aqueduct with a slight reduction in grade to provide water pressure. Once the aqueduct arrived at destination city, lead pipes directed the flow of water to fountains and even the wealthier homes. Sewers were provided, as were large public latrines and often extravagant public and private baths.

These baths, known as '''thermae''' usually provided separate rooms for cold '''(frigidarium)''', warm '''(tepidarium)''', and hot '''(caldarium)''' bathing. Water and floors were heated using a hypocaust heating system; an under floor furnace. Tending these furnaces was a dangerous job, done by slaves. As bath complexes grew larger, they began to include saunas and gyms, along with other health and hygiene related buildings and areas. Roman baths were not merely salubrious, however. They also were an important social gathering point along with [[forum]]s and [[curiae]].

Much of Roman construction was poured concrete, made primarily from seashells. This concrete was able to cure underwater, vital to bridging rivers and bodies of water.

== The Fall of the Roman Empire==
The causes of the decline of the Roman Empire are controversial and are often considered to be a result of several events building over time. There was no one "cause". As Will Durant states, 'An Empire is not conquered from without, until it has fallen from within.'

1) Depopulation -- Plagues and low birth rate among Roman citizens led to depopulation in the Empire. In order to combat different times when this occurred, barbarian tribes were actually welcomed into the Empire and encouraged to "set up shop".

2) Economic stagnation -- Roman wealth, especially in the west, deteriorated over time so that by the 4th century the barbarian tribes outside the Empire were often just as wealthy as the Empire itself.

3) Barbarianism of the Roman military -- Roman legions were populated more and more by barbarians and less and less by Romans, including many of the generals. Over time the barbarians learned and were trained in Roman tactics as well so that the distinction between Romans and barbarian armies became blurred. Near the end of the Empire, barbarian and mercenary armies had become an integral part of Roman military protection.

4) Military despotism -- While the early Emperors still had to deal with the senate, later Emperors ruled through military strength alone. Civil wars were common, especially during the age of 30 tyrants when the Empire was in a constant state of internal warfare and chaos. That the Empire didn't fall during this time is a testament to the ongoing discipline of their legions at that point in their history.

5) Military advances -- Changes over centuries began to give cavalry a more prominent role than it had previously been capable of. In other words the Roman legion, the mainstay of Roman power, lost some of its dominance.

From a societal standpoint it has been posited that [[immorality]] and [[homosexuality]] so weakened the spirit of the Empire that it was unable to stand firm against the Barbarians. Certainly poets such as [[Catullus]] and [[Juvenal]] describe many unnatural practises that may well have contributed to the final collapse just four hundred years later. Well known British writer [[Edward Gibbon]], who wrote the influential ''[[Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire]]'' was an advocate of this view. Since the time of Gibbons, modern historians seek answers in other areas.

One influential writer theorized that the Roman Empire fell because it was never strong enough to resist the barbarian hordes. The hordes just didn't show up until 300 A.D.<ref>Edward N. Luttwak, ''The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire''</ref> Prior to this time, a system of "buffer states" and sedentary provincial legions could hold such a vast territory and defer the conflict - however, with the loss of the battle of [[Adrianople]] and the subsequent barbarian deluge, led by the [[Visigoths]] and [[Alaric the Visigoth|Alaric]], the reckoning had finally come. Similar to Gibbons view, this view also has a minority following.

== After "the Fall" ==
Accounts of the Roman world's immediate descent into poverty have been greatly exaggerated. Rather, rulers such as [[Theoderic the Ostrogoth]] and his followers (the [[Amal]] clan) ruled from [[Ravenna]] in the Roman style, maintaining much of Roman life and infrastructure.<ref>Peter Wolfram, ''The Goths''</ref> Theoderic even employed Romans to ensure this continuity and sense of Roman stability. One example was [[Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator]] (or just Cassiodorus), who, writing as Theoderic, famously urged all Romans to "clothe themselves with the morals of the [[toga]]" - i.e., retain your Roman ways, in spite of the "barbarian" rule.

This twilight period was finally cut short by the reconquest campaign planned by the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] emperor [[Justinian I]], led by the general [[Belisarius]]. In a bloody war, both sides reduced the Italian countryside to nothing, with the Byzantines finally inheriting a ravaged husk.<ref>Procopius, ''the Gothic Wars''</ref> Many Romans - Eastern and Western - blamed Justinian for this devastation.<ref>Procopius, ''the Secret Histories''</ref>

== References ==
<references/>

See [[World History Lecture Four]]

[[Category:History]]
[[Category:Ancient Rome]]

Western Australia

2007-05-15T03:48:33Z

ChineseChristian:

'''Western [[Australia]]''' is the largest state in the Commonwealth of [[Australia]] comprising a land area of about 2,529,880 square [[kilometer]]s, and is home to just under 10% of Australia's population. <ref> http://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/c311215.nsf/20564c23f3183fdaca25672100813ef1/15ee398c42e0d992ca2569f900199507!OpenDocument </ref> .
The capital city is [[Perth]].

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Australia]]

Metal

2007-05-15T03:46:21Z

ChineseChristian:

A shiny, [[solid]] substance that conducts heat and electricity, such as [[iron]]. They contrast with the [[nonmetal]]s, which are brittle, non-conductive, and dull. It is very difficult, if not impossible, to break metals because of their properties of ductility and malleability.

==Music==

Metal is a variety of rock and roll known for its bone crushing riffs and facemelting guitar solos.

Mao Zedong

2007-05-15T02:46:06Z

ChineseChristian:

[[Image:Ncvjgfu.jpg|right|thumb]]
'''Mao Zedong''' (an alternative transliteration (using the [[Wade-Giles]] system is "Mao Tse-tung", although most Sinologists use the pinyin transliteration system, giving: "Mao Zedong") lived from December 26, 1893 to Semptember 9, 1976. He was a [[Marxism|Marxist]] and an early memmber of the [[Chinese Communist Party]] in 1921.

Mao was the author of ''Quotations from Chairman Mao,'' published in 1966, informally known as "the little red book." During his lifetime, almost everyone in the People's Republic of China was expected to have a copy.

With the aid of [[Comintern]] operatives in the US Government subverting [[President Roosevelt]]'s vision of a post-War [[United Nations]] enforcing peace by "the four policemen". <ref>Townsend Hooper and Douglas Brinkley, [http://www.ninehundred.net/~jveon/fdrbook.html ''FDR and the Creation of the U.N.''] (New Haven, 2000).</ref><ref>[http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/wwii/17604.htm U.S. State Department], Office of the Historian, Timeline of U.S. Diplomatic History 1937-1945, United Nations.</ref> Mao defeated Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists, taking control of the Chinese mainland and establishing the People's Republic of China. As the leader of China, Mao initiated the Great Leap Forward, an economic plan intended to rapidly industrialize China's then largely rural economy. In the end it proved a failure, preventing the peasants from producing needed food and causing massive famines; over 20 million people starved to death. Later, Mao instigated the Cultural Revolution, in which those disloyal to the party were killed or humiliated in order to solidify Mao's control. Richard Nixon was the first United States president to meet with Mao, and thus the first to acknowlege the existence of the People's Republic of China, as opposed to Taiwan's Republic of China.

[[Image:Maozedong.jpeg|left|250px|thumb]]

==References==
<references/>

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zedong, Mao}}
[[Category:China]]
[[Category:Heads of state]]
[[Category:World War II]]
[[Category:Communists]]

Middle East

2007-05-15T02:40:46Z

ChineseChristian:

The '''Middle East''' is a geographic, political, and historical region in south-west [[Asia]] and some parts of north-eastern [[Africa]]. It is located roughly in between the [[Caspian Sea]] to the north, the [[Mediterranean Sea]] to the west, and the [[Arabian Sea]] to the south and west. Countries considered to be part of the Middle East include [[Syria]], [[Jordan]], [[Cyprus]], [[Israel]], [[Lebanon]], [[Iraq]], [[Iran]], [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Oman]], [[Yemen]], [[Bahrain]], [[Egypt]], [[Kuwait]], [[Qatar]], and the [[United Arab Emirates]]. The region is known both for its massive reserves of crude oil and religious strife.

[[category:geography]]

Middle East

2007-05-15T02:40:22Z

ChineseChristian:

The '''Middle East''' is a geographic, political, and historical region in south-west [[Asia]] and some parts of north eastern [[Africa]]. It is located roughly in between the [[Caspian Sea]] to the north, the [[Mediterranean Sea]] to the west, and the [[Arabian Sea]] to the south and west. Countries considered to be part of the Middle East include [[Syria]], [[Jordan]], [[Cyprus]], [[Israel]], [[Lebanon]], [[Iraq]], [[Iran]], [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Oman]], [[Yemen]], [[Bahrain]], [[Egypt]], [[Kuwait]], [[Qatar]], and the [[United Arab Emirates]]. The region is known both for its massive reserves of crude oil and religious strife.

[[category:geography]]

Africa

2007-05-15T02:36:53Z

ChineseChristian:

[[Image:Africa98.jpg|right|thumb|Political Map of Africa]]

'''Africa''' is the continent south of [[Europe]] and southwest of [[Asia]]. Both evolutionists and creationists consider Africa to be the birthplace of humanity. Geography described in the [[Book of Genesis]] places the [[Garden of Eden]] in [[Ethiopia]], and modern evolutionary science puts ''Homo sapiens'' as originating somewhere in Africa.{{fact}}

==Colonization==

European nations held the [[Berlin Conference]] in 1884-1885 in order to decide how best to colonize Africa. Ethnic and cultural differences within Africa were ignored, and lines of demarcation were drawn to aid the European nations in this effort. All of Africa, except for Ethiopia (which resisted Italian control in 1896) and Liberia, was divided and colonized by the European nations.

This imperialism had both good and bad effects. On the good side, the Europeans brought advances in technology, built hospitals, and improved the infrastructure, such as railroads, telephones, telegraphs, sanitation and other public works. This improved trade and communications, and reduced disease. Europeans also built schools, but used them to teach European language, culture, and religion rather than respecting local traditions. Literacy did improve as a result, however. However, the Europeans displaced Africans from their individual farms and shifted them into working for European businesses, which resulted in lost control of their land and saw a reduction in their own food crops. African workers were also purchased and shipped to other territories outside of Africa. Europeans disrupted African cultural groups and village life, resulting in arbitrary geographical boundaries that continue to cause war and strife to this day.

[[Category:Continents]]

Africa

2007-05-15T02:34:58Z

ChineseChristian:

[[Image:Africa98.jpg|right|thumb|Political Map of Africa]]

'''Africa''' is the continent south of [[Europe]] and southwest of [[Asia]]. Both evolutionists and creationists consider Africa to be the birthplace of humanity. Based on geography described in the [[Book of Genesis]], the [[Garden of Eden]] was presumably located in [[Ethiopia]], and modern evolutionary science puts ''Homo sapiens'' as originating somewhere in Africa.{{fact}}

==Colonization==

European nations held the [[Berlin Conference]] in 1884-1885 in order to decide how best to colonize Africa. Ethnic and cultural differences within Africa were ignored, and lines of demarcation were drawn to aid the European nations in this effort. All of Africa, except for Ethiopia (which resisted Italian control in 1896) and Liberia, was divided and colonized by the European nations.

This imperialism had both good and bad effects. On the good side, the Europeans brought advances in technology, built hospitals, and improved the infrastructure, such as railroads, telephones, telegraphs, sanitation and other public works. This improved trade and communications, and reduced disease. Europeans also built schools, but used them to teach European language, culture, and religion rather than respecting local traditions. Literacy did improve as a result, however. However, the Europeans displaced Africans from their individual farms and shifted them into working for European businesses, which resulted in lost control of their land and saw a reduction in their own food crops. African workers were also purchased and shipped to other territories outside of Africa. Europeans disrupted African cultural groups and village life, resulting in arbitrary geographical boundaries that continue to cause war and strife to this day.

[[Category:Continents]]

Africa

2007-05-15T02:27:26Z

ChineseChristian:

[[Image:Africa98.jpg|right|thumb|Political Map of Africa]]

'''Africa''' is the continent south of [[Europe]] and southwest of [[Asia]].
European nations held the [[Berlin Conference]] in 1884-1885 in order to decide how best to colonize Africa. Ethnic and cultural differences within Africa were ignored, and lines of demarcation were drawn to aid the European nations in this effort. All of Africa, except for Ethiopia (which resisted Italian control in 1896) and Liberia, weas divided and colonized by the European nations.

This imperialism had both good and bad effects. On the good side, the Europeans brought advances in technology, built hospitals, and improved the infrastructure, such as railroads, telephones, telegraphs, sanitation and other public works. This improved trade and communications, and reduced disease. Europeans also built schools, but used them to teach European language, culture, and religion rather than respecting local traditions. Literacy did improve as a result, however. However, the Europeans displaced Africans from their individual farms and shifted them into working for European businesses, which resulted in lost control of their land and saw a reduction in their own food crops. African workers were also purchased and shipped to other territories outside of Africa. Europeans disrupted African cultural groups and village life, resulting in arbitrary geographical boundaries that continue to cause war and strife to this day.

Africa is considered to be where humanity began for both evolutionists and creationists. Based on geography described in the [[Book of Genesis]], the [[Garden of Eden]] was presumably located in [[Ethiopia]], and modern evolutionary science puts ''Homo sapiens'' as originating somewhere in Africa.{{fact}}

[[Category:Continents]]

Iraq

2007-05-15T02:17:21Z

ChineseChristian: /* Oil for food scandal */

[[Image:Iraqiflag.gif|thumbnail|right|250px|The Iraqi Flag.]]

The modern country of '''Iraq''' corresponds with the ancient region of Mesopotamia - known by many as the cradle of civilization - where the first cities and classical civilizations developed in the fertile region between the Rivers Tigris and Euphrates.

The first of these was the Sumerian civilization that arose in southern Mesopotamia around 4,500 BC. The Sumerians grew barley, chickpeas, lentils, millet, wheat, turnips, dates, onions, garlic, lettuce, leeks and mustard and raised cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs. The fertility of the flood plains they farmed and their extensive use of irrigation created surplus food which supported the populations of their cities and a system of government - which stored and distributed food and created the first system of laws. In order to administer this the Sumerians developed the earliest known form of writing - cuneiform - much of which survives as they wrote on clay tablets which were dried in the sun and many of which have survived. The Sumerians worshiped many gods. They also built large mud brick pyramids known as ziggurats as funerary monuments to commemorate the dead.

In 2371 BC King Sargon of Akkad established the Assyrian dynasty which conquered the region covered by the modern countries of Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Syria and Israel. The Assyrian Empire collapsed with the fall of it's capital Nineveh (the modern Iraqi town of Mosul)in 612 BC and it was replaced by the Babylonian Empire - Babylon was one of the greatest cities of the ancient world and home to the legendary hanging gardens of Babylon built by King Nebuchadnezzar the second. Mesopotamian dominance of the region ended when the Persian king Cyrus the Great invaded in 539 BC. It remained part of the Persian Empire until Alexander the Great's conquest in 331 BC. It was ruled by the Hellenic descendants of Alexander's army - the Seleucids - until the Persians regained control, in around 150 BC, and made Mesopotamia part of the Parthian Empire - the only civilization to halt Roman expansionism.

In the 7th Century AD Mesopotamia was incorporated into the vast Muslim Arab empire that covered most of the middle east, north Africa and Spain. In the 8th century the capital of this empire was moved to Baghdad which at a time when Europe was in the dark ages became the greatest center for science and art since the time of the ancient Greeks. It was here that Astronomy and Algebra (both Arab words) were studied and advanced, and many familiar stories were first told, like those of Sinbad the Sailor, Ali Baba and the forty thieves, and the thousand and one Arabian nights. By the twelfth century this great empire was in serious decline due to the Crusades, breakaway Muslim states in north Africa, the Mongols in the east and from its own rebellious mercenary soldiers - the Mamalukes and the Turks. Following the assassination of the last Caliph of Baghdad by the Mongols in 1258 there were nearly four centuries of conquest and chaos as Mesopotamia was invaded by Seleucids, Turks, Ottomans, Mongols (under Ghengis Khan), Turkoman, Tartars and Kurds.

In the 16th Century Mesopotamia, literally "middle of two rivers" in [[Greek]], became part of the [[Ottoman Empire]].

In the early 20th Century Arab nationalists including Iraqis began rebelling against their Turkish rulers. With the outbreak of the First World War they fought alongside the Allies against the Turks in the hope of gaining their independence. France and Britain would control the Arab lands and Iraq came under the British mandate. When Iraqi tribesmen rebelled against British rule, the rebellion was put down using aerial bombardment - the first time air power had been used in such a way. In 1932 Iraq was granted independence although Britain still exercised considerable control over the country and had retained Kuwait for its oil.

In the years following the second world war Iraq was allied to Britain, the United States and Turkey, and Britain continued to exert considerable influence over the country. In 1958 an "anti-imperialists" military coup overthrew and executed the British-installed royal family. The coup leader Abd al-Quassim banned all political parties and declared that Kuwait was part of Iraq. The Arab League then asked Britain to send troops to Kuwait to prevent an Iraqi invasion of a one of it's member states. The troop deployment prevented a war but al-Quassim responded by allying Iraq with the Soviet Union and communist China. Quassim used money taken from the western owned Iraq Petroleum Company to carry out economic reforms in Iraq. Western governments were becoming concerned Iraq could become the "new Cuba" and in 1963 they supported a pro-western coup that overthrew Quassim. Between 1963 and 1968 there was a period of political instability with several failed governments and attempted coups.

In 1968 the Ba-ath Party seized power in a coup lead by General Bakr. The Ba-ath Party believes in the creation of a single, socialist pan-Arab state that would replace all existing Arab countries. During the cold war it was strongly aligned with the Soviet Union. In 1970 all foreign businesses including the Iraq Petroleum Company were seized and Iraq declared oil would be used as "a political weapon in the struggle against imperialism and Zionism". In 1979 Saddam Hussein replaced Bakr as president of Iraq. Saddam was a particularly brutal ruthless man, he attempted to assassinate Quassim in 1959, played a major role in 1968 coup and under Bakr he had lead the much feared Ba'athist secret police. One of his first acts as President was to call a Ba'ath Party assembly were he declared his main political rivals to be traitors and spies, they were lead from the assembly one by one to be tried and executed.

==Oil for food scandal==

In 2003 Ba'athist party dictator Saddam Hussein, accused of hiding weapons of mass destruction, was removed from power by a US-led coalition of forces. Saddam had effectively stopped previous attempts at enforcement of UN resolutions by essentially bribing <ref>[http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/sanction/iraq1/oilforfood/2004/0125almadalist.htm The Saddam Oil Bribes: The Complete al-Mada List], ''al-Mada'', January 25, 2004.</ref> several Seucrity Council members, namely the Russian Federation and France <ref>Duelfer Report, [http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/pdf/duelfer1_da.pdf Regime Finance and Procurement], Vol. 1, p. 55-56. </ref> through the corrupt [[Oil for food]] (OFF) program managed by UN General Secretary [[Kofi Annan]]'s son. <ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/11/29/oil.for.food.kojo.annan/index.html Annan 'disappointed' son didn't tell all], CNN, November 30, 2004.</ref>

The Duelfer Report found,
:Iraq pursued its related goals of ending UN sanctions and the UN OFF program by enlisting the help of three permanent UNSC members: Russia, France and China. ... Iraq’s economic “carrots” included offering companies from those countries lucrative oil, reconstruction, agricultural and commercial goods, and weapon systems contracts. ...Saddam’s Regime needed both Moscow’s political clout in the UN and its economic expertise and resources to sustain his Regime from the 1990s until [Operation Iraqi Freedom] (OIF) ... Iraq promised to economically reward Russia’s support by placing it at the head of the list for receiving UN contracts under the UN OFF program....throughout the 1990s, the [Peoples Republic of China] consistently advocated lifting Iraqi sanctions while privately advising Baghdad to strengthen cooperation with the UN.

:In early July 2001, the US and the UK withdrew their joint-proposal to revamp the UN existing sanctions Regime, called “Smart Sanctions,” because of Russian, Chinese, and French opposition. The US/UK proposal attempted to restructure two key elements of the existing sanctions Regime: illicit procurement of weapons and dual-use goods and illicit generation of revenue from Iraqi oil sales outside the UN’s OFF program. In contrast, the Russian draft resolution proposed to reduce the current percentage to the Compensation fund another 5 percent to 20 percent of total value of Iraqi oil exports – and increase the total amount in Iraq’s escrow account to $600 million to pay other expenses ... The UN estimated that each 5 percent reduction in payments to the United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC) added about $275 million in Iraq’s coffers per each UN OFF six month phase.

:French oil companies wanted to secure two large oil contracts; Russian companies not only wanted to secure (or lock in) oil contracts, but also sought other commercial contracts covering agricultural, electricity, machinery, food, and automobiles and trucks products...France competed with Russian agricultural products for Iraqi contracts....In May 2002, a representative from a French water purification company requested projects for his company in Iraq.

After two years in interrogation, Saddam was hanged by the new Iraqi regime. Iraq is currently plagued by insurgents who are against the new Iraqi government's alliance with the Unites States, and have reacted violently to Iraq's new government. Their efforts have destabilized the country enough that some consider Iraq to be headed towards civil war.

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Middle Eastern Countries]]
[[Category:Asian Countries]]
{{stub}}

Opium War

2007-05-15T02:11:52Z

ChineseChristian: /* Events of the Wars */

The '''opium wars''' were a series of armed encounters and stand-offs that took place in the middle of the 1800s. The original conflict was between [[Britain]] and [[China]], while in the second war [[France]], [[Russia]] and the [[USA]] joined Britain in the fray.

=Background=
The Chinese Emperor (Dao Guang) had banned [[opium]] in China because of its supposed deleterious social effects. Meanwhile, the British Empire considered the sale of opium in China as a useful means of redressing the British trade deficit, which had come about largely owing to the import of tea - a crop over which China still possessed an unbroken monopoly at the time.

=Events of the Wars=
The trigger for the first Opium War was the impounding and ceremonial incineration of a quantity of British-owned opium by Imperial Commissioner Lin Zexu.

The key event of the conflict was the arrival of a number of steam-powered British [[ironclads]], whose might the Chinese military was incapable of withstanding.

=Consequences=

The Chinese were forced to sign treaties granting the British a lease on the Island of Hong Kong and the right to establish trading posts in a number of cities. Chinese nationalists have continually stressed the supposed unfairness of these treaties ever since, though it can also be argued that they merely represent a true reflection of the power relations between the West and China at the time. Many countries followed Britain's example and forced China to sign further treaties conceding land and trading rights.

President [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt]], who grew up in an extremely wealthy family, had a maternal grandfather (Warren Delano, Jr.) who made a fortune from selling opium to China.<ref>Patrick D. Reagan, Designing a New America: The Origins of New Deal Planning, 1890-1943, p. 29 (2000) </ref>

== References ==

<references/>

[[Category:Wars]]
[[Category:China]]

Opium War

2007-05-15T02:11:30Z

ChineseChristian: /* Consequences */

The '''opium wars''' were a series of armed encounters and stand-offs that took place in the middle of the 1800s. The original conflict was between [[Britain]] and [[China]], while in the second war [[France]], [[Russia]] and the [[USA]] joined Britain in the fray.

=Background=
The Chinese Emperor (Dao Guang) had banned [[opium]] in China because of its supposed deleterious social effects. Meanwhile, the British Empire considered the sale of opium in China as a useful means of redressing the British trade deficit, which had come about largely owing to the import of tea - a crop over which China still possessed an unbroken monopoly at the time.

=Events of the Wars=
The trigger for the first Opium War was the impounding and ceremonial incineration of a quantity of British-owned opium by the Commissioner Lin Zexu.

The key event of the conflict was the arrival of a number of steam-powered British [[ironclads]], whose might the Chinese military was incapable of withstanding.

=Consequences=

The Chinese were forced to sign treaties granting the British a lease on the Island of Hong Kong and the right to establish trading posts in a number of cities. Chinese nationalists have continually stressed the supposed unfairness of these treaties ever since, though it can also be argued that they merely represent a true reflection of the power relations between the West and China at the time. Many countries followed Britain's example and forced China to sign further treaties conceding land and trading rights.

President [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt]], who grew up in an extremely wealthy family, had a maternal grandfather (Warren Delano, Jr.) who made a fortune from selling opium to China.<ref>Patrick D. Reagan, Designing a New America: The Origins of New Deal Planning, 1890-1943, p. 29 (2000) </ref>

== References ==

<references/>

[[Category:Wars]]
[[Category:China]]

Opium War

2007-05-15T02:08:34Z

ChineseChristian: /* Events of the Wars */

The '''opium wars''' were a series of armed encounters and stand-offs that took place in the middle of the 1800s. The original conflict was between [[Britain]] and [[China]], while in the second war [[France]], [[Russia]] and the [[USA]] joined Britain in the fray.

=Background=
The Chinese Emperor (Dao Guang) had banned [[opium]] in China because of its supposed deleterious social effects. Meanwhile, the British Empire considered the sale of opium in China as a useful means of redressing the British trade deficit, which had come about largely owing to the import of tea - a crop over which China still possessed an unbroken monopoly at the time.

=Events of the Wars=
The trigger for the first Opium War was the impounding and ceremonial incineration of a quantity of British-owned opium by the Commissioner Lin Zexu.

The key event of the conflict was the arrival of a number of steam-powered British [[ironclads]], whose might the Chinese military was incapable of withstanding.

=Consequences=
The Chinese were forced to sign treaties granting the British a lease on the Island of Hong Kong and the right to establish trading posts in a number of cities. Chinese nationalists have continually stressed the supposed unfairness of these treaties ever since, though it can also be argued that they merely represent a true reflection of the power relations between Britain and the West and China at the time. Many countries followed Britain and encouraged China to sign further treaties conceding land and trading rights in return for peace.

President [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt]], who grew up in an extremely wealthy family, had a maternal grandfather (Warren Delano, Jr.) who made a fortune from selling opium to China.<ref>Patrick D. Reagan, Designing a New America: The Origins of New Deal Planning, 1890-1943, p. 29 (2000) </ref>

== References ==

<references/>

[[Category:Wars]]
[[Category:China]]