title: Hugo Lloris

text: Lloris was the starting goalkeeper of the French squad that reached the final of Euro 2016 on home soil, only to be defeated 1–0 by Portugal in extra time.


title: Hugo Lloris

text: On 2 June 2017, Lloris made his 88th appearance for France in a 5–0 friendly home win over Paraguay, overtaking Fabien Barthez as his nation's most capped goalkeeper of all time. After beating Bulgaria and Belarus in October later that year, Hugo Lloris and the France national team qualified for the 2018 World Cup.


title: Hugo Lloris

text: On 21 June 2018, Lloris earned his 100th cap in France's 1–0 win over Peru in their second group stage game of the 2018 World Cup. Against Uruguay in the quarter-finals, Lloris kept a clean sheet and made a key save from a Martín Cáceres header as France won 2–0.


title: Hugo Lloris

text: On 15 July, he lifted the World Cup trophy as the team's captain, as France defeated Croatia with a 4–2 victory in the final, despite a mistake which allowed Croatia's Mario Mandžukić to score their second goal as Lloris tried to dribble past him.


title: Hugo Lloris

text: On 17 November 2018, he made a record of 9 saves in a UEFA Nations League game against Netherlands, which France lost 2–0.


title: Hugo Lloris

text: On 18 May 2021, Lloris was selected to the France squad for UEFA Euro 2020, which had been postponed by a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. During France's match against Switzerland in the Round of 16 on 28 June 2021, he saved a penalty taken by Ricardo Rodriguez in the 55th minute of the game. The game eventually went into a penalty shoot-out after a 3–3 draw. Lloris failed to save a single Swiss penalty, and France were eliminated from the tournament.


title: Hugo Lloris

text: In November 2022, he was included in the French squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. On 4 December, he tied Lilian Thuram's record for most capped player for the national team after starting against Poland. Six days later, on 10 December, he broke the record by reaching his 143rd cap, playing in a 2–1 win against England in the quarter-finals. He also played his 18th World Cup match, to be the most capped in the competition ahead of both Fabien Barthez and Thierry Henry. On 14 December, in the semi-final against Morocco, he made his 19th World Cup appearance, equaling the record for most matches played by a goalkeeper, with Germany's Manuel Neuer.


title: Hugo Lloris

text: Lloris is described as a goalkeeper who "boasts lightning reflexes and good decision-making" and is "a formidable opponent in one-on-one situations". Lloris also "commands his box well". His playing style, and in particular his speed when coming off his line to anticipate opponents and clear the ball, has led him to be described as a sweeper-keeper in the media. Lloris has been described as an "acrobatic shot-stopper," due to his athleticism in goal, and is considered to be one of the best goalkeepers in the world, with his former Tottenham manager José Mourinho even describing him as "the best in the Premier League" in 2020. While he has been described in the media as being comfortable with the ball at his feet and generally reliable in his passing, he has also come into criticism due to some high-profile errors he has made in his entire career, which often resulted in goals, mainly due to his poor distribution and decision making when attempting to play out from the back. Moreover, he has been accused of being inconsistent, and has also frequently struggled with injuries throughout his career. Notwithstanding his reputation for being prone to errors, Adam Bate of "Sky Sports" described Lloris as "underrated" in 2020, however, and as an "elite shot-stopper," due to his agility and ability to produce numerous saves consistently throughout the course of a given season.


title: Hugo Lloris

text: Lloris met his wife Marine while he was studying at the Lycée Thierry Maulnier in 2002. On 23 September 2010, he announced the birth of their daughter, Anna-Rose. They married at the Église Saint-François-de-Paule in Nice in 2012. Another daughter Giuliana was born in 2014 just before the World Cup in Brazil. Their son Léandro was born on 20 September 2019.


title: Hugo Lloris

text: In 2008, while Lloris was playing for Nice, his mother died. Just two days after her death, he gained national respect for his refusal of a bereavement leave offer from manager Frédéric Antonetti, instead opting to play in a league match for Nice.


title: Hugo Lloris

text: On 10 August 2010, Lloris was named, alongside international teammate Karim Benzema, to appear on the cover of the French version of "FIFA 11".


title: Hugo Lloris

text: On 24 August 2018, Lloris was charged with drink-driving after being stopped by police in west London. Lloris later pleaded guilty at Westminster Magistrates' Court and admitted to being more than twice the drink-drive limit. He was fined £50,000 and banned from driving for 20 months.


title: Indo-Aryan languages

text: The Indo-Aryan languages (or sometimes Indic languages) are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family. As of the early 21st century, they have more than 800 million speakers, primarily concentrated in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Maldives. Moreover, apart from the Indian subcontinent, large immigrant and expatriate Indo-Aryan–speaking communities live in Northwestern Europe, Western Asia, North America, the Caribbean, Southeast Africa, Polynesia and Australia, along with several million speakers of Romani languages primarily concentrated in Southeastern Europe. There are over 200 known Indo-Aryan languages.


title: Indo-Aryan languages

text: Modern Indo-Aryan languages descend from Old Indo-Aryan languages such as early Vedic Sanskrit, through Middle Indo-Aryan languages (or Prakrits). The largest such languages in terms of first-speakers are Hindi–Urdu (), Bengali (242 million), Punjabi (about 120 million), Marathi (112 million), Gujarati (60 million), Rajasthani (58 million), Bhojpuri (51 million), Odia (35 million), Maithili (about 34 million), Sindhi (25 million), Nepali (16 million), Assamese (15 million), Chhattisgarhi (18 million), Sinhala (17 million), and Romani (). A 2005 estimate placed the total number of native speakers of the Indo-Aryan languages at nearly 900 million people.


title: Indo-Aryan languages

text: The Indo-Aryan family as a whole is thought to represent a dialect continuum, where languages are often transitional towards neighboring varieties. Because of this, the division into languages vs. dialects is in many cases somewhat arbitrary. The classification of the Indo-Aryan languages is controversial, with many transitional areas that are assigned to different branches depending on classification. There are concerns that a tree model is insufficient for explaining the development of New Indo-Aryan, with some scholars suggesting the wave model.


title: Indo-Aryan languages

text: The following table of proposals is expanded from . Note that the table only lists some modern Indo-Aryan languages.


title: Indo-Aryan languages

text: Anton I. Kogan, in 2016, conducted a lexicostatistical study of the New Indo-Aryan languages based on a 100-word Swadesh list, using techniques developed by the glottochronologist and comparative linguist Sergei Starostin. That grouping system is notable for Kogan's exclusion of Dardic from Indo-Aryan on the basis of his previous studies showing low lexical similarity to Indo-Aryan (43.5%) and negligible difference with similarity to Iranian (39.3%). He also calculated Sinhala–Dhivehi to be the most divergent Indo-Aryan branch. Nevertheless, the modern consensus of Indo-Aryan linguists tends towards the inclusion of Dardic based on morphological and grammatical features.


title: Indo-Aryan languages

text: The Inner–Outer hypothesis argues for a core and periphery of Indo-Aryan languages, with Outer Indo-Aryan (generally including Eastern and Southern Indo-Aryan, and sometimes Northwestern Indo-Aryan, Dardic and Pahari) representing an older stratum of Old Indo-Aryan that has been mixed to varying degrees with the newer stratum that is Inner Indo-Aryan. It is a contentious proposal with a long history, with varying degrees of claimed phonological and morphological evidence. Since its proposal by Rudolf Hoernlé in 1880 and refinement by George Grierson it has undergone numerous revisions and a great deal of debate, with the most recent iteration by Franklin Southworth and Claus Peter Zoller based on robust linguistic evidence (particularly an Outer past tense in "-l-"). Some of the theory's skeptics include Suniti Kumar Chatterji and Colin P. Masica.


title: Indo-Aryan languages

text: The Dardic languages (also Dardu or Pisaca) are a group of Indo-Aryan languages largely spoken in the northwestern extremities of the Indian subcontinent. Dardic was first formulated by George Abraham Grierson in his Linguistic Survey of India but he did not consider it to be a subfamily of Indo-Aryan. The Dardic group as a genetic grouping (rather than areal) has been scrutinised and questioned to a degree by recent scholarship: Southworth, for example, says "the viability of Dardic as a genuine subgroup of Indo-Aryan is doubtful" and "the similarities among [Dardic languages] may result from subsequent convergence".


title: Indo-Aryan languages

text: The Dardic languages are thought to be transitional with Punjabi and Pahari (e.g. Zoller describes Kashmiri as "an interlink between Dardic and West Pahāṛī"), as well as non-Indo-Aryan Nuristani; and are renowned for their relatively conservative features in the context of Proto-Indo-Aryan.


title: Indo-Aryan languages

text: The Northern Indo-Aryan languages, also known as the Pahari ('hill') languages, are spoken throughout the Himalayan regions of the subcontinent.


title: Indo-Aryan languages

text: Northwestern Indo-Aryan languages are spoken in the northwestern region of India and Eastern Pakistan. Punjabi is spoken predominantly in the Punjab region and is the official language of the northern Indian state of Punjab; in addition to being the most widely-spoken language in Pakistan. To the south, Sindhi and its variants are spoken; primarily in Sindh. Northwestern languages are ultimately thought to be descended from Shauraseni Prakrit.


title: Indo-Aryan languages

text: Western Indo-Aryan languages, are spoken in the central and western areas within India, such as Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, in addition to contiguous regions in Pakistan. Gujarati is the official language of Gujarat, and is spoken by over 50 million people. In Europe, various Romani languages are spoken by the Romani people, an itinerant community who historically migrated from India. The Western Indo-Aryan languages are thought to have diverged from their northwestern counterparts, although they have a common antecedent in Shauraseni Prakrit.


title: Indo-Aryan languages

text: Within India, Hindi languages are spoken primarily in the Hindi belt regions and Gangetic plains, including Delhi and the surrounding areas; where they are often transitional with neighbouring lects. Many of these languages, including Braj and Awadhi, have rich literary and poetic traditions. Urdu, a Persianized derivative of Khariboli, is the official language of Pakistan and also has strong historical connections to India, where it also has been designated with official status. Hindi, a standardized and Sanskritized register of Khariboli, is the official language of the Government of India. Together with Urdu, it is the third most-spoken language in the world.


title: Indo-Aryan languages

text: The Eastern Indo-Aryan languages, also known as Magadhan languages, are spoken throughout the eastern subcontinent, including Odisha and Bihar, alongside other regions surrounding the northwestern Himalayan corridor. Bengali is the seventh most-spoken language in the world, and has a strong literary tradition; the national anthems of India and Bangladesh are written in Bengali. Assamese and Odia are the official languages of Assam and Odisha, respectively. The Eastern Indo-Aryan languages descend from Magadhan Apabhraṃśa and ultimately from Magadhi Prakrit.


title: Indo-Aryan languages

text: Marathi-Konkani languages are ultimately descended from Maharashtri Prakrit, whereas Insular Indo-Aryan languages are descended from Elu Prakrit and possess several characteristics that markedly distinguish them from most of their mainland Indo-Aryan counterparts.


title: Indo-Aryan languages

text: Insular Indic languages (of Sri Lanka and Maldives) started developing independently and diverging from the continental Indo-Aryan languages from around 5th century BCE.


title: Indo-Aryan languages

text: Proto-Indo-Aryan (or sometimes Proto-Indic) is the reconstructed proto-language of the Indo-Aryan languages. It is intended to reconstruct the language of the pre-Vedic Indo-Aryans. Proto-Indo-Aryan is meant to be the predecessor of Old Indo-Aryan (1500–300 BCE), which is directly attested as Vedic and Mitanni-Aryan. Despite the great archaicity of Vedic, however, the other Indo-Aryan languages preserve a small number of conservative features lost in Vedic.


title: Indo-Aryan languages

text: Some theonyms, proper names, and other terminology of the Late Bronze Age Mitanni civilization of Upper Mesopotamia exhibit an Indo-Aryan superstrate. While what few written records left by the Mittani are either in Hurrian (which appears to have been the predominant language of their kingdom) or Akkadian (the main diplomatic language of the Late Bronze Age Near East), these apparently Indo-Aryan names suggest that an Indo-Aryan elite imposed itself over the Hurrians in the course of the Indo-Aryan expansion. If these traces are Indo-Aryan, they would be the earliest known direct evidence of Indo-Aryan, and would increase the precision in dating the split between the Indo-Aryan and Iranian languages (as the texts in which the apparent Indicisms occur can be dated with some accuracy).


title: Indo-Aryan languages

text: In a treaty between the Hittites and the Mitanni, the deities Mitra, Varuna, Indra, and the Ashvins (Nasatya) are invoked. Kikkuli's horse training text includes technical terms such as "aika" (cf. Sanskrit "eka", "one"), "tera" ("tri", "three"), "panza" ("pancha", "five"), "satta" ("sapta", seven), "na" ("nava", "nine"), "vartana" ("vartana", "turn", round in the horse race). The numeral "aika" "one" is of particular importance because it places the superstrate in the vicinity of Indo-Aryan proper as opposed to Indo-Iranian in general or early Iranian (which has "aiva"). Another text has "babru" ("babhru", "brown"), "parita" ("palita", "grey"), and ("pingala", "red"). Their chief festival was the celebration of the solstice ("vishuva") which was common in most cultures in the ancient world. The Mitanni warriors were called "marya", the term for "warrior" in Sanskrit as well; note "mišta-nnu" (= "miẓḍha", ≈ Sanskrit "mīḍha") "payment (for catching a fugitive)" (M. Mayrhofer, "Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen", Heidelberg, 1986–2000; Vol. II:358).


title: Indo-Aryan languages

text: Sanskritic interpretations of Mitanni royal names render Artashumara ("artaššumara") as "Ṛtasmara" "who thinks of Ṛta" (Mayrhofer II 780), Biridashva ("biridašṷa, biriiašṷ"a) as "Prītāśva" "whose horse is dear" (Mayrhofer II 182), Priyamazda ("priiamazda") as "Priyamedha" "whose wisdom is dear" (Mayrhofer II 189, II378), Citrarata as "Citraratha" "whose chariot is shining" (Mayrhofer I 553), Indaruda/Endaruta as "Indrota" "helped by Indra" (Mayrhofer I 134), Shativaza ("šattiṷaza") as "Sātivāja" "winning the race price" (Mayrhofer II 540, 696), Šubandhu as "Subandhu" "having good relatives" (a name in Palestine, Mayrhofer II 209, 735), Tushratta ("tṷišeratta, tušratta", etc.) as *tṷaiašaratha, Vedic Tvastar "whose chariot is vehement" (Mayrhofer, Etym. Wb., I 686, I 736).


title: Indo-Aryan languages

text: The earliest evidence of the group is from Vedic Sanskrit, that is used in the ancient preserved texts of the Indian subcontinent, the foundational canon of the Hindu synthesis known as the Vedas. The Indo-Aryan superstrate in Mitanni is of similar age to the language of the Rigveda, but the only evidence of it is a few proper names and specialized loanwords.


title: Indo-Aryan languages

text: While Old Indo-Aryan is the earliest stage of the Indo-Aryan branch, from which all known languages of the later stages Middle and New Indo-Aryan are derived, some documented Middle Indo-Aryan variants cannot fully be derived from the documented form of Old Indo-Aryan (on which Vedic and Classical Sanskrit are based), but betray features that must go back to other undocumented variants/dialects of Old Indo-Aryan.


title: Indo-Aryan languages

text: From Vedic Sanskrit, "Sanskrit" (literally "put together", "perfected" or "elaborated") developed as the prestige language of culture, science and religion, as well as the court, theatre, etc. Sanskrit of the later Vedic texts is comparable to Classical Sanskrit, but is largely mutually unintelligible with Vedic Sanskrit.


title: Indo-Aryan languages

text: Outside the learned sphere of Sanskrit, vernacular dialects (Prakrits) continued to evolve. The oldest attested Prakrits are the Buddhist and Jain canonical languages Pali and Ardhamagadhi Prakrit, respectively. Inscriptions in Ashokan Prakrit were also part of this early Middle Indo-Aryan stage.


title: Indo-Aryan languages

text: By medieval times, the Prakrits had diversified into various Middle Indo-Aryan languages. "Apabhraṃśa" is the conventional cover term for transitional dialects connecting late Middle Indo-Aryan with early Modern Indo-Aryan, spanning roughly the 6th to 13th centuries. Some of these dialects showed considerable literary production; the "Śravakacāra" of Devasena (dated to the 930s) is now considered to be the first Hindi book.


title: Indo-Aryan languages

text: The next major milestone occurred with the Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent in the 13th–16th centuries. Under the flourishing Turco-Mongol Mughal Empire, Persian became very influential as the language of prestige of the Islamic courts due to adoption of the foreign language by the Mughal emperors.


title: Indo-Aryan languages

text: The two largest languages that formed from Apabhraṃśa were Bengali and Hindustani; others include Assamese, Sindhi, Gujarati, Odia, Marathi, and Punjabi.


title: Indo-Aryan languages

text: In the Central Zone Hindi-speaking areas, for a long time the prestige dialect was Braj Bhasha, but this was replaced in the 19th century by Dehlavi-based Hindustani. Hindustani was strongly influenced by Persian, with these and later Sanskrit influence leading to the emergence of Modern Standard Hindi and Modern Standard Urdu as registers of the Hindustani language. This state of affairs continued until the division of the British Indian Empire in 1947, when Hindi became the official language in India and Urdu became official in Pakistan. Despite the different script the fundamental grammar remains identical, the difference is more sociolinguistic than purely linguistic. Today it is widely understood/spoken as a second or third language throughout South Asia and one of the most widely known languages in the world in terms of number of speakers.


title: Indo-Aryan languages

text: Domari is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by older Dom people scattered across the Middle East. The language is reported to be spoken as far north as Azerbaijan and as far south as central Sudan. Based on the systematicity of sound changes, linguists have concluded that the ethnonyms "Domari" and "Romani" derive from the Indo-Aryan word "ḍom".


title: Indo-Aryan languages

text: Lomavren is a nearly extinct mixed language, spoken by the Lom people, that arose from language contact between a language related to Romani and Domari and the Armenian language.


title: Indo-Aryan languages

text: The Romani language is usually included in the Western Indo-Aryan languages. Romani varieties, which are mainly spoken throughout Europe, are noted for their relatively conservative nature; maintaining the Middle Indo-Aryan present-tense person concord markers, alongside consonantal endings for nominal case. Indeed, these features are no longer evident in most other modern Central Indo-Aryan languages. Moreover, Romani shares an innovative pattern of past-tense person, which corresponds to Dardic languages, such as Kashmiri and Shina. This is believed to be further indication that proto-Romani speakers were originally situated in central regions of the subcontinent, before migrating to northwestern regions. However, there are no known historical sources regarding the development of the Romani language specifically within India.


title: Indo-Aryan languages

text: Research conducted by nineteenth-century scholars Pott (1845) and Miklosich (1882–1888) demonstrated that the Romani language is most aptly designated as a New Indo-Aryan language (NIA), as opposed to Middle Indo-Aryan (MIA); establishing that proto-Romani speakers could not have left India significantly earlier than AD 1000.


title: Indo-Aryan languages

text: The principal argument favouring a migration during or after the transition period to NIA is the loss of the old system of nominal case, coupled with its reduction to a two-way nominative-oblique case system. A secondary argument concerns the system of gender differentiation, due to the fact that Romani has only two genders (masculine and feminine). Middle Indo-Aryan languages (named MIA) generally employed three genders (masculine, feminine and neuter), and some modern Indo-Aryan languages retain this aspect today.


title: Indo-Aryan languages

text: It is suggested that loss of the neuter gender did not occur until the transition to NIA. During this process, most of the neuter nouns became masculine, while several became feminine. For example, the neuter "aggi" "fire" in Prakrit morphed into the feminine "āg" in Hindi, and "jag" in Romani. The parallels in grammatical gender evolution between Romani and other NIA languages have additionally been cited as indications that the forerunner of Romani remained on the Indian subcontinent until a later period, possibly as late as the tenth century.


title: Indo-Aryan languages

text: Kholosi, Jadgali, and Luwati represent offshoots of the Sindhic subfamily of Indo-Aryan that have established themselves in the Persian gulf region, perhaps through sea-based migrations. These are of a later origin than the Rom and Dom migrations which represent a different part of Indo-Aryan as well.


title: Indo-Aryan languages

text: The use by the British East India Company of indentured labourers led to the transplanting of Indo-Aryan languages around the world, leading to locally influenced lects that diverged from the source language, such as Fiji Hindi and Caribbean Hindustani.


title: Indo-Aryan languages

text: The normative system of New Indo-Aryan stops consists of five places of articulation: labial, dental, "retroflex", palatal, and velar, which is the same as that of Sanskrit. The "retroflex" position may involve retroflexion, or curling the tongue to make the contact with the underside of the tip, or merely retraction. The point of contact may be alveolar or postalveolar, and the distinctive quality may arise more from the shaping than from the position of the tongue. Palatals stops have affricated release and are traditionally included as involving a distinctive tongue position (blade in contact with hard palate). Widely transcribed as , claims to be a more accurate rendering.


title: Indo-Aryan languages

text: Moving away from the normative system, some languages and dialects have alveolar affricates instead of palatal, though some among them retain in certain positions: before front vowels (esp. ), before , or when geminated. Alveolar as an "additional" point of articulation occurs in Marathi and Konkani where dialect mixture and others factors upset the aforementioned complementation to produce minimal environments, in some West Pahari dialects through internal developments (, > ), and in Kashmiri. The addition of a retroflex affricate to this in some Dardic languages maxes out the number of stop positions at seven (barring borrowed ), while a reduction to the inventory involves *ts > , which has happened in Assamese, Chittagonian, Sinhala (though there have been other sources of a secondary ), and Southern Mewari.


title: Indo-Aryan languages

text: Further reductions in the number of stop articulations are in Assamese and Romani, which have lost the characteristic dental/retroflex contrast, and in Chittagonian, which may lose its labial and velar articulations through spirantisation in many positions (> ).


title: Indo-Aryan languages

text: Sanskrit was noted as having five nasal-stop articulations corresponding to its oral stops, and among modern languages and dialects Dogri, Kacchi, Kalasha, Rudhari, Shina, Saurashtri, and Sindhi have been analysed as having this full complement of phonemic nasals , with the last two generally as the result of the loss of the stop from a homorganic nasal + stop cluster ( > and > ), though there are other sources as well.


title: Indo-Aryan languages

text: In languages that lack phonemic nasals at some places of articulation, they can still occur allophonically from place assimilation in a nasal + stop culture, e.g. Hindi > .


title: Indo-Aryan languages

text: Most Indo-Aryan languages have contrastive aspiration (), and some retain historical breathy voice on voiced consonants (). Sometimes both phenomena are analysed as a single aspiration contrast. The places and manners of articulation which allow contrastive aspiration vary by language; e.g. Sindhi permits phonemic , but the phonemic status of this sound in Hindi is uncertain, and many "Dardic" languages lack aspirated retroflex sibilants despite having unaspirated equivalents.


title: Indo-Aryan languages

text: Vowel typologies are varied across Indo-Aryan due to diachronic mergers and (in some cases) splits, as well as different accounts by linguists for even the widely-spoken languages. Vowel systems per are listed below. Many languages also have phonemic nasal vowels.


title: Indo-Aryan languages

text: Sylheti language being a tonal, still classified as the Indo-Aryan language. The vowels of Sylheti language listed below.


title: Indo-Aryan languages

text: The following are consonant systems of major and representative New Indo-Aryan languages, mostly following , though here they are in IPA. Parentheses indicate those consonants found only in loanwords: square brackets indicate those with "very low functional load". The arrangement is roughly geographical.


title: Indo-Aryan languages

text: In many Indo-Aryan languages, the literary register is often more archaic and utilises a different lexicon (Sanskrit or Perso-Arabic) than spoken vernacular. One example is Bengali's high literary form, Sādhū bhāśā as opposed to the more modern Calita bhāśā (Cholito-bhasha). This distinction approaches diglossia.


title: Indo-Aryan languages

text: In the context of South Asia, the choice between the appellations "language" and "dialect" is a difficult one, and any distinction made using these terms is obscured by their ambiguity. In one general colloquial sense, a language is a "developed" dialect: one that is standardised, has a written tradition and enjoys social prestige. As there are degrees of development, the boundary between a language and a dialect thus defined is not clear-cut, and there is a large middle ground where assignment is contestable.


title: Indo-Aryan languages

text: There is a second meaning of these terms, in which the distinction is drawn on the basis of linguistic similarity. Though seemingly a "proper" linguistics sense of the terms, it is still problematic: methods that have been proposed for quantifying difference (for example, based on mutual intelligibility) have not been seriously applied in practice; and any relationship established in this framework is relative.


title: Patti LuPone

text: Patti Ann LuPone (born April 21, 1949) is an American actress and singer best known for her work in musical theater. She has won three Tony Awards, two Olivier Awards, two Grammy Awards, and was a 2006 inductee to the American Theater Hall of Fame.


title: Patti LuPone

text: LuPone began her professional career with The Acting Company in 1972 and made her Broadway debut in "Three Sisters" in 1973. She received the first of eight Tony Award nominations for the 1975 musical "The Robber Bridegroom". She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role as Eva Perón in the 1979 original Broadway production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Evita". She played Fantine in the original London cast of "Les Misérables" and Moll in "The Cradle Will Rock", winning the 1985 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her work in both. She won a second Tony Award for her role as Rose in the 2008 Broadway revival of "". For her performance as Joanne in Stephen Sondheim's "Company", she won her second Olivier Award in 2019 and her third Tony Award in 2022. She has two Grammy Awards for the recording of the 2007 Los Angeles Opera production of "Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny".


title: Patti LuPone

text: Other stage musical performances include her Tony-nominated role as Reno Sweeney in the 1987 Broadway revival of "Anything Goes", her Olivier-nominated role as Norma Desmond in the 1993 original production of "Sunset Boulevard" in London, her Tony-nominated role as Mrs. Lovett in the new 2005 Broadway production of "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street", her Tony-nominated role as Lucia in the 2010 original Broadway production of "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown", and her Tony-nominated role as Helena Rubenstein in the 2017 original Broadway production of "War Paint". She most recently performed in the 2021 Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim's "Company", in a gender-swapped production starring Katrina Lenk. LuPone won a Tony Award for her role.


title: Patti LuPone

text: On television, she starred in the drama series "Life Goes On" (1989–1993) and received Emmy Award nominations for the TV movie "The Song Spinner" (1995) and her guest role in the sitcom "Frasier" (1998). She also had appeared in three Ryan Murphy series, "American Horror Story" (2013–2014, 2022) and "Pose" (2019), both on FX, and "Hollywood" (2020) on Netflix. She guest starred in "Penny Dreadful" (2014–2016) before returning in a lead role. She voiced the character Yellow Diamond in the animated series "Steven Universe" (2013–2019) and "Steven Universe Future" (2019–2020). She also appeared on The CW comedy "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" as Rabbi Shari (2017). Her film appearances include Steven Spielberg's "1941" (1979), Spike Lee's "Summer of Sam" (1999), Peter Weir's "Witness" (1985), as well as "Driving Miss Daisy" (1989), "State and Main" (2000), and "The Comedian" (2016).


title: Patti LuPone

text: LuPone was born on April 21, 1949, in Northport, New York, on Long Island, the daughter of Italian-American parents Angela Louise (née Patti), a library administrator at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University, and Orlando Joseph LuPone, a school administrator and English teacher at Walt Whitman High School in Huntington, Long Island. Her great-great aunt was 19th-century Spanish-born Italian opera singer Adelina Patti. Her father's side came from Abruzzo, while her mother's side is Sicilian. Her older brother Robert LuPone was a Tony-nominated actor, dancer, and director who originated the role of Zach, the director, in "A Chorus Line""." She grew up Roman Catholic.


title: Patti LuPone

text: LuPone was part of the first graduating class of Juilliard's Drama Division (1968–1972: "Group 1"), which also included actors Kevin Kline and David Ogden Stiers. She graduated from Juilliard in 1972 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. LuPone has a mezzo-soprano vocal range, and she is known for her strong/high "Broadway" belt singing voice. In a 2008 interview, she maintained that she was "an actor who sings", and thankful she "had a voice".


title: Patti LuPone

text: In 1972, LuPone became one of the original members of The Acting Company, formed by John Houseman. The Acting Company is a nationally touring repertory theater company. LuPone's stint with the company lasted from 1972 to 1976, and she appeared in many of their productions, such as "The Cradle Will Rock", "The School for Scandal", "Women Beware Women", "The Beggar's Opera", "The Time of Your Life", "The Lower Depths", "The Hostage", "Next Time I'll Sing to You", "Measure for Measure", "Scapin", "Edward II", "The Orchestra", "Love's Labours Lost", "Arms and the Man", and "The Way of the World". She made her Broadway debut in the play "The Three Sisters" as Irina in 1973. For her work in "The Robber Bridegroom" (1975) she received her first Tony Award nomination, for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. The Acting Company honored LuPone on March 12, 2012, in an event called "Patti's Turn" at the Kaye Playhouse.


title: Patti LuPone

text: In 1976, theater producer David Merrick hired LuPone as a replacement to play Genevieve, the title role of the troubled pre-Broadway production of "The Baker's Wife". The production toured at length but Merrick deemed it unworthy of Broadway and it closed out of town.


title: Patti LuPone

text: Since 1977, LuPone has frequently collaborated with David Mamet, appearing in his plays "The Woods", "All Men Are Whores", "The Blue Hour", "The Water Engine" (1978), "Edmond" and "The Old Neighborhood" (1997). "The New York Times" reviewer wrote of LuPone in "The Old Neighborhood", "Those who know Ms. LuPone only as a musical comedy star will be stunned by the naturalistic fire she delivers here. As Jolly, a part inspired by Mr. Mamet's real-life sister and his realized female character, Ms. LuPone finds conflicting layers of past and present selves in practically every line. She emerges as both loving matriarch and wounded adolescent, sentimental and devastatingly clear-eyed." In 1978, she appeared in the Broadway musical adaptation of Studs Terkel's "Working", which ran for only 24 performances.


title: Patti LuPone

text: In 1979, LuPone starred in the original Broadway production of "Evita", the musical based on the life of Eva Perón, composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, and directed by Harold Prince. Although LuPone was hailed by critics, she has since said that her time in "Evita" was not an enjoyable one. In a 2007 interview, she stated ""Evita" was the worst experience of my life," she said. "I was screaming my way through a part that could only have been written by a man who hates women. And I had no support from the producers, who wanted a star performance onstage but treated me as an unknown backstage. It was like Beirut, and I fought like a banshee." Despite the trouble, LuPone won her first Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. It was not until she had reprised the role in a production in Sydney when she had finally enjoyed the part and felt comfortable singing the score. LuPone and her co-star, Mandy Patinkin, remained close friends both on and off the stage.


title: Patti LuPone

text: In May 1983, founding alumni of The Acting Company reunited for an off-Broadway revival of Marc Blitzstein's landmark labor musical "The Cradle Will Rock" at the American Place Theater. It was narrated by John Houseman with LuPone in the roles of Moll and Sister Mister. The production premiered at The Acting Company's summer residence at Chautauqua Institution, toured the United States including an engagement at the Highland Park, Illinois' Ravinia Festival in 1984 and played in London's West End.


title: Patti LuPone

text: When the run ended, LuPone remained in London to create the role of Fantine in Cameron Mackintosh's original London production of "Les Misérables", in 1985, which premiered at the Barbican Theatre, at that time the London home of the Royal Shakespeare Company. LuPone had previously worked for Mackintosh in a short-lived Broadway revival of "Oliver!" in 1984, playing Nancy opposite Ron Moody as Fagin. For her work in both "The Cradle Will Rock" and "Les Misérables", LuPone received the 1985 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical.


title: Patti LuPone

text: She returned to Broadway in 1987 to star as nightclub singer Reno Sweeney in the Lincoln Center Theater revival of Cole Porter's "Anything Goes". She starred opposite Howard McGillin, and they both received Tony nominations for their performances. The Lincoln Center cast reassembled for a one-night-only concert performance of "Anything Goes" in New York in 2002.


title: Patti LuPone

text: In 1993, LuPone returned to London to create the role of Norma Desmond in the original production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Sunset Boulevard" at the Adelphi Theater. There was much anticipation of LuPone appearing in another Lloyd Webber musical, the first since her performance in "Evita". Her time in the show was difficult, and she was abruptly fired by Lloyd Webber and replaced by Glenn Close, who opened the show in Los Angeles and eventually on Broadway.


title: Patti LuPone

text: In November 1995, LuPone starred in her one-woman show, "Patti LuPone on Broadway", at the Walter Kerr Theatre. For her work, she received an Outer Critics Circle Award. The following year, she was selected by producer Robert Whitehead to succeed his wife, Zoe Caldwell in the Broadway production of Terrence McNally's play "Master Class", based on the master classes given by operatic diva Maria Callas at Juilliard. LuPone received positive reviews, with Vincent Canby writing "Ms. LuPone really is vulnerable here in a way that wasn't anticipated: she's in the process of creating a role for which she isn't ideally suited, but she's working like a trouper to get it right." She appeared in the play in the West End. In November 2001, she starred in a Broadway revival of "Noises Off", with Peter Gallagher and Faith Prince.


title: Patti LuPone

text: LuPone has performed in many New York concert productions of musicals including "Pal Joey" with Peter Gallagher and Bebe Neuwirth, "Annie Get Your Gun" with Peter Gallagher, "" with George Hearn in both New York and San Francisco, "Anything Goes" with Howard McGillin, "Can-Can" with Michael Nouri for "City Center Encores!", "Candide" with Kristin Chenoweth, "Passion" with Michael Cerveris and Audra McDonald and "" with Boyd Gaines and Laura Benanti for City Center Encores!. Her performances in "Sweeney Todd", and "Candide" were recorded and broadcast for PBSs "Great Performances" and were released on DVD. The concert staging of "Passion" was televised as part of "Live from Lincoln Center".


title: Patti LuPone

text: Since 2001, LuPone has been a regular performer at the Chicago Ravinia Festival. She starred in a six-year-long series of concert presentations of Stephen Sondheim musicals, which began in honor of his seventieth birthday. Her roles here have included Mrs. Lovett in "", Fosca in "Passion", Cora Hoover Hooper in "Anyone Can Whistle", Rose in "" and two different roles in "Sunday in the Park with George".


title: Patti LuPone

text: She returned to Broadway in October 2005 to star as Mrs. Lovett in John Doyle's new Broadway production of "Sweeney Todd". In this radically different interpretation of the musical, the ten actors on stage also served as the show's orchestra, and LuPone played the tuba and orchestra bells as well as performing the score vocally. For her performance, she received a Tony Award nomination as well as Golden Icon Award for Best Female Musical Theater Performance. In August 2006, LuPone took a three-week leave from "Sweeney" in order to play Rose in Lonny Price's production of "" at Ravinia. "Sweeney Todd" closed in September 2006.


title: Patti LuPone

text: On February 10, 2007, LuPone starred with Audra McDonald in the Los Angeles Opera production of Kurt Weill's opera "Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny" directed by John Doyle. The cast recording of "Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny" was recognized at the 51st Grammy Awards as Best Classical Album and Best Opera Recording in February 2009.


title: Patti LuPone

text: Following the Ravinia Festival production of "Gypsy", LuPone and author Arthur Laurents mended a decade-long rift, and she was cast in the City Center Encores! "Summer Stars" production of the show. Laurents directed LuPone in "Gypsy" for a 22-performance run (July 9, 2007 – July 29, 2007) at City Center. This production of "Gypsy" then transferred to Broadway, opening March 27, 2008 at the St. James Theatre. LuPone won the Outer Critics Circle Award, Drama League Award, Drama Desk Award and Tony Award for her performance in "Gypsy". It closed on January 11, 2009.


title: Patti LuPone

text: In August 2010, LuPone appeared in a three-day run of Irving Berlin's "Annie Get Your Gun" where she played the title role opposite Patrick Cassidy at the Ravinia Festival, directed by Lonny Price. That same year, LuPone created the role of Lucia in the original Broadway production of "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown", which opened at the Belasco Theater on November 4, 2010, and closed on January 2, 2011 after 23 preview and 69 regular performances. LuPone was nominated for a Tony and Drama Desk, and an Outer Critics Circle Award for her performance.


title: Patti LuPone

text: LuPone's memoir recounting her life and career from childhood onwards, was published in September 2010 titled "Patti LuPone: A Memoir".


title: Patti LuPone

text: In 2011, LuPone played the role of Joanne in a four-night limited engagement concert production of Stephen Sondheim's musical "Company" at the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Paul Gemignani. The production starred Neil Patrick Harris as Bobby. Harris had previously worked with LuPone in the 2000 and 2001 concert productions of "Sweeney Todd". The cast of "Company" performed the song "Side by Side by Side" at the 65th Tony Awards on June 12, 2011.


title: Patti LuPone

text: LuPone made her New York City Ballet debut in May 2011 in a production of "The Seven Deadly Sins" directed and choreographed by Lynne Taylor-Corbett. A piece she had previously performed, LuPone sang the role of Anna in the Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht score.


title: Patti LuPone

text: LuPone concluded a 63-performance Broadway engagement of her concert with former "Evita" co-star Mandy Patinkin entitled "An Evening with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin". The run started on November 21, 2011, at the Ethel Barrymore Theater and ended on January 13, 2012.


title: Patti LuPone

text: In the fall of 2012, LuPone appeared with Debra Winger in the premiere of David Mamet's play "The Anarchist". Despite the play receiving less than stellar reviews from critics, LuPone received widespread praise for her role as Cathy.


title: Patti LuPone

text: In early 2015, she returned to Los Angeles Opera to perform the role of Samira in a new production of John Corigliano's "The Ghosts of Versailles", receiving positive reviews. In April 2016, an audio recording of the production was released by Pentatone (PTC 5186538, a 2-SACD album). It won the 2017 Grammy Awards for Best Classical Album and for Best Opera Recording.


title: Patti LuPone

text: In June 2015, LuPone appeared in the Douglas Carter Beane play "Shows for Days" at Lincoln Center Theater. In October 2015, LuPone, along with the current Fantine on the West End, joined her castmates to celebrate the 30th anniversary of "Les Misérables".


title: Patti LuPone

text: In 2017, LuPone originated the role of Helena Rubinstein in the musical "War Paint" on Broadway, after performing the role in the summer of 2016 in the musical's world premiere at Chicago's Goodman Theatre. Performing opposite Christine Ebersole as Rubinstein's longtime competitor Elizabeth Arden, LuPone stayed with the role for "War Paint"'s entire run at the Nederlander Theatre, from March 7 to November 5, 2017. The show closed prematurely to allow LuPone to undergo hip surgery. LuPone disclosed in an interview that "War Paint" would be her last musical on stage: "I'm too old. It's been hard—it's been harder than it's ever been. I can't do it anymore."


title: Patti LuPone

text: Nevertheless, in September 2017 it was announced that LuPone would star as Joanne in the 2018 London revival of "Company" alongside Rosalie Craig as Bobbie in a gender-swapped production directed by Marianne Elliot. For her performance she received her second Laurence Olivier Award, this time for Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical. In August 2019, it was announced that the production would move to Broadway, with LuPone returning as Joanne and Katrina Lenk as Bobbie.


title: Patti LuPone

text: A transfer of the successful West End production of "Company" was set to open at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre on March 22, 2020, coinciding with Stephen Sondheim's 90th birthday, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The production returned, featuring LuPone starring opposite Katrina Lenk, with previews starting on November 15, 2021, before officially opening December 9, 2021. LuPone won her third Tony Award for the role.


title: Patti LuPone

text: Following the closing of "Company", LuPone resigned from Actors' Equity Association, the union for professional stage managers and actors in the United States.


title: Patti LuPone

text: LuPone performs regularly in her solo shows "Matters of the Heart"; "Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda"; and "The Lady With the Torch" which sold out at Carnegie Hall. For example, she performed her one-woman show "The Gypsy In My Soul" at the Caramoor Fall Festival, New York, in September 2010.


title: Patti LuPone

text: She also appears at venues across North America in concerts with Mandy Patinkin, at such venues as the Mayo Center for the Performing Arts in September 2010.


title: Patti LuPone

text: She appeared as the inaugural act at a new cabaret space, 54 Below, in New York City in June 2012. According to "The New York Times" reviewer, "Nowadays Ms. LuPone generates more raw excitement than any other performer on the Broadway and cabaret axis, with the possible exception of Liza Minnelli... And her brilliant show, conceived and directed by her long-time collaborator, Scott Wittman, deserves many lives, perhaps even a Broadway run in an expanded edition. It certifies Ms. LuPone's place in the lineage of quirky international chanteuses like Lotte Lenya, Marlene Dietrich and Edith Piaf, who, like Ms. LuPone, conquered show business with forceful, outsize personalities while playing by their own musical rules."


title: Patti LuPone

text: She also appeared as the inaugural act at the Sharon L. Morse Entertainment Center in The Villages, Florida on April 30, 2015, to a sold-out audience of residents mainly 55 years-of-age and older.


title: Patti LuPone

text: Among LuPone's film credits are "Fighting Back", "Witness", "", "Just Looking", "The Victim", "Summer of Sam", "Driving Miss Daisy", "King of the Gypsies", "1941", "Wise Guys", Nancy Savoca's "The 24 Hour Woman" and Savoca's "Union Square", "Family Prayers", and "City by the Sea". She has also worked with playwright David Mamet on "The Water Engine", the critically acclaimed "State and Main", and "Heist". In 2011, the feature film "Union Square", co-written and directed by the Sundance Film Festival's Grand Jury Award Winner, Nancy Savoca, was premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. In it, LuPone co-starred with Mira Sorvino, Tammy Blanchard, Mike Doyle, Michael Rispoli and Daphne Rubin-Vega.


title: Patti LuPone

text: She played Lady Bird Johnson in the TV movie, "" (1987). LuPone played Libby Thatcher on the television drama "Life Goes On", which ran on ABC from 1989 to 1993. In the 1990s she had a recurring role as defense attorney Ruth Miller on "Law & Order". She has twice been nominated for an Emmy Award: for the TV movie "The Song Spinner" (1995, Daytime Emmy Award nominee), and for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series on "Frasier" in 1998. She had a cameo as herself that year on an episode of "Saturday Night Live" hosted by Kelsey Grammer.


title: Patti LuPone

text: LuPone's TV work also included a recurring role on her cousin Tom Fontana's HBO series in its final season, "Oz" (2003). She appeared as herself on a February 2005 episode of "Will & Grace". She also appeared on the series "Ugly Betty" in March 2007 as the mother of Marc St. James (played by Michael Urie). LuPone had a recurring guest role as Frank Rossitano's mother on "30 Rock". LuPone appeared as herself in the season two finale of the television series "Glee".


title: Patti LuPone

text: LuPone guest starred on "Army Wives" on July 8, 2012. She reunited with fellow guest star Kellie Martin as her mother once again. LuPone appeared in the 2013 film "Parker", an action-thriller.


title: Patti LuPone

text: In 2013, LuPone was cast in the of the FX series "American Horror Story" as Joan Ramsey, a religious mother with a hidden past, and played herself in the third season of HBO's "Girls". In 2015, she appeared in several episodes of the Showtime horror series "Penny Dreadful" as a cantankerous yet powerful white witch. She returned to the show in 2016 in the role of Dr. Seward, an alienist aiding Eva Green's character. Seward is an adaptation of John Seward from Bram Stoker's Dracula, and claims to be a descendant of Joan Clayton, the character LuPone portrayed in the second season. Also in 2016, she began appearing in "Steven Universe" as the voice of Yellow Diamond, reprising the role in and the epilogue series "Steven Universe Future". In 2019, LuPone played an antagonistic role in "Pose", appearing in second season of the series. The following year she teamed up with social media star Randy Rainbow to perform a duet song criticizing Donald Trump three weeks before the 2020 US election.


title: Patti LuPone

text: LuPone has expressed concern about the conduct and etiquette of some theatergoers. "Where's the elegance?" she asked in a blog post on her official site. "I mean, I'm glad they show up because God knows it's a dying art form and I guess I'm glad they're all comfortable, sleeping, eating and drinking, things they should be doing at home and in a restaurant. But it's just not done in the theater or shouldn't be." LuPone has been the subject of some controversy due to the bluntness of her statements on the matter, which on some occasions have risen to her directly admonishing audience members for their behavior during performances.


title: Patti LuPone

text: At the penultimate performance of "Gypsy" on January 10, 2009, LuPone, irritated by an attendee taking flash photography in apparent violation of theater policy, stopped in the middle of "Rose's Turn" and demanded that the interloper be removed from the theater. After he was removed, LuPone restarted her number. The audience applauded her stance. The event was recorded by another audience member, who released it on YouTube. She later stated that such distractions drive "people in the audience nuts. They can't concentrate on the stage if, in their peripheral vision, they're seeing texting, they're seeing cameras, they're listening to phone calls. How can we do our job if the audience is distracted?", and also mentioned that "the interesting thing is I'm not the first one that's done it".


title: Patti LuPone

text: On July 8, 2015, during the second act of "Shows for Days" at the Lincoln Center Theater, LuPone grabbed an audience member's cellphone while leaving the stage as the audience member had been using their phone during the play. It was returned after the show. LuPone stated:We work hard on stage to create a world that is being totally destroyed by a few, rude, self-absorbed and inconsiderate audience members who are controlled by their phones. They cannot put them down. When a phone goes off or when a LED screen can be seen in the dark it ruins the experience for everyone else – the majority of the audience at that performance and the actors on stage. I am so defeated by this issue that I seriously question whether I want to work on stage anymore. Now I'm putting battle gear on over my costume to marshal the audience as well as perform.


title: Patti LuPone

text: On May 10, 2022, during a live conversation with the American Theatre Wing and her "Company" co-stars, LuPone called out at audience members who were not wearing their face masks "properly" during the event and not adhering to the COVID-19 safety protocols implemented by The Broadway League yelling, "Put your mask over your nose. That's why you're in the theater ... That is the rule. If you don't want to follow the rule, get the fuck out. I'm serious. Who do you think you are if you do not respect the people sitting around you?" When an audience member called out in response, "I pay your salary," LuPone replied "You pay my salary? Bullshit. Chris Harper [the producer of "Company"] pays my salary". After the incident, a spokesperson for the show said in a statement: "We stand with Patti [...] support her efforts to keep our entire community—from patrons to ushers, cast to stage crew—safe and healthy so we can keep Broadway open". This also resulted in the League extending the mask guideline end date from May 31 to June 30, 2022.


title: Patti LuPone

text: In an interview, LuPone later explained that prior to her dispute with the patron, the patron had already been approached by the theater's Covid safety manager and been asked to wear the mask over her nose and mouth, and that the patron had responded mockingly by placing the mask over her eyes in a dismissive manner. It was the entirety of the patron's disrespectful behavior, not just the manner in which she was wearing her mask, that LuPone was responding to in her outburst.


title: Patti LuPone

text: LuPone is married to Matthew Johnston. The couple's wedding ceremony was on the stage of the Vivian Beaumont Theater at the Lincoln Center on December 12, 1988, after filming the TV movie "LBJ"; Johnston was a cameraman. They have one child. They reside in Edisto Beach, South Carolina, and Kent, Connecticut.


title: Patti LuPone

text: Her live performance of "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" at the Grammy Awards was released on the 1994 album "Grammy's Greatest Moments Volume IV".


title: Patti LuPone

text: In 2009 LuPone's 1985 recording of "I Dreamed a Dream" reached No. 45 on the UK Singles Chart It also reached the "Billboard" magazine Hot Digital Songs and Hot Singles Recurrents charts in the US.


title: Patti LuPone

text: LuPone recorded a duet with Seth MacFarlane (who was in character as Glenn Quagmire) on the 2005 album "".


title: Patti LuPone

text: A live concert special film, "An Evening with Patti LuPone", was filmed in July 2012 and released in November 2012 on SethTv.com with 104 minutes of Patti LuPone songs and stories with host Seth Rudetsky.


title: Patti LuPone

text: A new CD of one of her shows, "The Lady with the Torch", was released in 2006 on Sh-K-Boom Records. In December she released bonus tracks for that CD only available on iTunes and the Sh-K-Boom website.


title: M

text: M, or m, is the thirteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is "em" (pronounced ), plural "ems".


title: M

text: The letter M is derived from the Phoenician Mem, via the Greek Mu (Μ, μ). Semitic Mem is most likely derived from a "Proto-Sinaitic" (Bronze Age) adoption of the "water" ideogram in Egyptian writing. The Egyptian sign had the acrophonic value , from the Egyptian word for "water", "nt"; the adoption as the Semitic letter for was presumably also on acrophonic grounds, from the Semitic word for "water", "*mā(y)-".


title: M

text: The letter represents the bilabial nasal consonant sound in the orthography of Latin as well as in that of many modern languages, and also in the International Phonetic Alphabet. In English, the Oxford English Dictionary (first edition) says that is sometimes a vowel, in words like "spasm" and in the suffix "-ism". In modern terminology, this is described as a syllabic consonant (IPA ).


title: M

text: In Washo, lower-case represents a typical em sound, while upper-case represents a voiceless em sound.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and was followed by the Western Jin dynasty. The short-lived state of Yan on the Liaodong Peninsula, which lasted from 237 to 238, is sometimes considered as a "4th kingdom".


title: Three Kingdoms

text: Academically, the period of the Three Kingdoms refers to the period between the establishment of Cao Wei in 220 and the conquest of the Eastern Wu by the Western Jin in 280. The earlier, "unofficial" part of the period, from 184 to 220, was marked by chaotic infighting between warlords in various parts of China during the downfall of the Eastern Han dynasty. The middle part of the period, from 220 to 263, was marked by a more militarily stable arrangement between three rival states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The later part of the era was marked by the conquest of Shu by Wei in 263, the usurpation of Cao Wei by the Western Jin in 266, and the conquest of Eastern Wu by the Western Jin in 280.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: The Three Kingdoms period is one of the bloodiest in Chinese history. A nationwide census taken in 280 AD, following the reunification of the Three Kingdoms under the Jin shows a total of 2,459,840 households and 16,163,863 individuals which was only a fraction of the 10,677,960 households, and 56,486,856 individuals reported during the Han era. While the census may not have been particularly accurate due to a multitude of factors of the times, in 280, the Jin did make an attempt to account for all individuals where they could.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: Technology advanced significantly during this period. Shu chancellor Zhuge Liang invented the wooden ox, suggested to be an early form of the wheelbarrow, and improved on the repeating crossbow. Wei mechanical engineer Ma Jun is considered by many to be the equal of his predecessor Zhang Heng. He invented a hydraulic-powered, mechanical puppet theatre designed for Emperor Ming of Wei, square-pallet chain pumps for irrigation of gardens in Luoyang, and the ingenious design of the south-pointing chariot, a non-magnetic directional compass operated by differential gears.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: Although relatively short, this historical period has been greatly romanticized in the cultures of China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. It has been celebrated and popularized in operas, folk stories, novels and in more recent times, films, television, and video games. The best known of these is Luo Guanzhong's "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", a Ming dynasty historical novel based on events in the Three Kingdoms period. The authoritative historical record of the era is Chen Shou's "Records of the Three Kingdoms", along with Pei Songzhi's later annotations of the text.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: The English-language term "Three Kingdoms" is something of a misnomer, since each state was eventually headed not by a king, but by an emperor who claimed suzerainty over all China. Nevertheless, the term "Three Kingdoms" has become standard among English-speaking sinologists.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: There is no set time period for the era. Strictly speaking, the Three Kingdoms, or independent states, only existed from the proclamation of the Eastern Wu ruler to be emperor in 229 until the downfall of Shu Han in 263. Another interpretation of the period is that it began with the decline of the Han royal house. According to Mao Zonggang, a commentator on the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", in his commentary on Chapter 120 of the novel:


title: Three Kingdoms

text: Mao Zonggang suggests that the historiography of the Three Kingdoms began with the rise of the Ten Eunuchs. He further argues that the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" defines the end of the era as 280, the downfall of Wu, justifying:


title: Three Kingdoms

text: Several other starting points for the period are given by Chinese historians: during the final years of the Han dynasty, such as the Yellow Turban Rebellion in 184; the year after the beginning of the rebellion, 185; Dong Zhuo deposing Emperor Shao of Han and enthroning Emperor Xian of Han in 189; Dong Zhuo sacking Luoyang and moving the capital to Chang'an in 190; or Cao Cao placing the emperor under his control in Xuchang in 196.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: The power of the Eastern Han dynasty went into depression and steadily declined from a variety of political and economic problems after the death of Emperor He in 105 AD. A series of Han emperors ascended the throne while still youths, and "de facto" imperial power often rested with the emperors' older relatives. As these relatives occasionally were loath to give up their influence, emperors would, upon reaching maturity, be forced to rely on political alliances with senior officials and eunuchs to achieve control of the government. Political posturing and infighting between imperial relatives and eunuch officials were a constant problem in the Chinese government at the time. During the reigns of Emperor Huan (r. 146–168) and Emperor Ling (r. 168–189), leading officials' dissatisfaction with the eunuchs' usurpations of power reached a peak, and many began to openly protest against them. The first and second protests met with failure, and the court eunuchs persuaded the emperor to execute many of the protesting scholars. Some local rulers seized the opportunity to exert despotic control over their lands and citizens, since many feared to speak out in the oppressive political climate. Emperors Huan and Ling's reigns were recorded as particularly dark periods of Han dynasty rule. In addition to political oppression and mismanagement, China experienced a number of natural disasters during this period, and local rebellions sprung up throughout the country.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: In the third month of 184, Zhang Jiao, leader of the Way of Supreme Peace, a Taoist movement, along with his two brothers Zhang Liang and Zhang Bao, led the movement's followers in a rebellion against the government that was called the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Their movement quickly attracted followers and soon numbered several hundred thousand and received support from many parts of China. They had 36 bases throughout China, with large bases having 10,000 or more followers and minor bases having 6,000 to 7,000, similar to Han armies. Their motto was: "The firmament has perished, the Yellow Sky will soon rise; in this year of "jiazi", let there be prosperity in the world!"() Emperor Ling dispatched generals Huangfu Song, Lu Zhi, and Zhu Jun to lead the Han armies against the rebels, and decreed that local governments had to supply soldiers to assist in their efforts. It is at this point that the historical novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" begins its narrative. The Yellow Turbans were ultimately defeated and its surviving followers dispersed throughout China, but due to the turbulent situation throughout the empire, many were able to survive as bandits in mountainous areas, thus continuing their ability to contribute to the turmoil of the era.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: With the widespread increase in bandits across the Chinese nation, the Han army had no way to repel each and every raiding party. In 188, Emperor Ling accepted a memorial from Liu Yan suggesting he grant direct administrative power over feudal provinces and direct command of regional military to local governors, as well as promoting them in rank and filling such positions with members of the Liu family or court officials. This move made provinces ("zhou") official administrative units, and although they had power to combat rebellions, the later intra-governmental chaos allowed these local governors to easily rule independently of the central government. Liu Yan was also promoted as governor of Yi Province. Soon after this move, Liu Yan severed all of his region's ties to the Han imperial court, and several other areas followed suit.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: In the same year, Emperor Ling died, and another struggle began between the court eunuchs for control of the imperial family. Court eunuch Jian Shuo planned to kill Regent Marshal He Jin, a relative of the imperial family, and to replace the crown prince Liu Bian with his younger brother Liu Xie, the Prince of Chenliu (in present-day Kaifeng), though his plan was unsuccessful. Liu Bian took the Han throne as Emperor Shao, and He Jin plotted with warlord Yuan Shao to assassinate the Ten Attendants, a clique of twelve eunuchs led by Zhang Rang who controlled much of the imperial court. He Jin also ordered Dong Zhuo, the frontier general in Liang Province, and Ding Yuan, Inspector of Bing Province, to bring troops to the capital to reinforce his position of authority. The eunuchs learned of He Jin's plot, and had him assassinated before Dong Zhuo reached the capital Luoyang. When Yuan Shao's troops reached Luoyang, they stormed the palace complex, killing the Ten Attendants and 2,000 of the eunuchs' supporters. Though this move effectively ended the century-long feud between the eunuchs and the imperial family, this event prompted the invitation of Dong Zhuo to the outskirts of Luoyang from the northwest boundary of China.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: On the evening of 24 September 189, General Dong Zhuo observed that Luoyang was set ablaze—as a result of a power struggle between the eunuchs and civil service—and commanded his army forward to strike down the disorder. As the emperor had lost any remaining military or political power, Dong Zhuo seized the "de facto" control of the government located at Luoyang. On 28 September, Dong Zhuo deposed Liu Bian from the imperial Han throne in favour of Liu Xie. In the following weeks, rebellions broke out throughout all of China.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: In East China, in an attempt to restore the power of the Han, a large coalition against Dong Zhuo began to rise, with leaders such as Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, and Cao Cao. Many provincial officials were compelled to join or risk elimination. In 191, Sun Jian (Yuan Shu's subordinate) led an army against Dong Zhuo and drove him from Luoyang to Chang'an. In the following year (192), Lü Bu, Dong Zhuo's former bodyguard, assassinated Dong Zhuo. It is said that Dong Zhuo's body was thrown into the street with a lit wick in his navel, which apparently burned with the same brilliance of the sun for a period of four days.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: In 192, there was some talk among the coalition of appointing Liu Yu, an imperial relative, as emperor, and gradually its members began to fall out. Most of the warlords in the coalition, with a few exceptions, sought the increase of personal military power in the time of instability instead of seriously wishing to restore the Han dynasty's authority. The Han empire was divided between a number of regional warlords. As a result of the complete collapse of the central government and eastern alliance, the North China Plain fell into warfare and anarchy with many contenders vying for success or survival. Emperor Xian fell into the hands of various warlords in Chang'an.


title: Three Kingdoms

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


title: Three Kingdoms

text: Yuan Shao operated from Ye city in Ji Province, extending his power north of the Yellow River. Han Fu had formerly been the Governor of Ji Province, but he came under the control of Yuan Shao and was replaced by him.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: Between the Yellow and Huai rivers, a conflict had erupted between Yuan Shu, Cao Cao, Tao Qian (Governor of Xu Province) and Lü Bu. Cao Cao forced the Yellow Turbans to surrender in 192, drove Yuan Shu to the south of the Huai River in 193, inflicted devastation upon Tao Qian in 194, received the surrender of Liu Bei (then a commander under Tao Qian) in 196, and captured and executed Lü Bu in 198. Cao was now in complete control of the southern part of the North China Plain.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: In the northeast, Gongsun Du held control of the Liaodong Peninsula and its environs, where he had established a state. He was succeeded by his son Gongsun Kang in 204. In the north across the frontier, since the fall of imperial control, the region had become chaotic as the Xiongnu remnants came into conflict with the Xianbei.Goguryeo was invaded by warlord Gongsun Kang in 204, resulting in the Daifang Commandery. In 209, Kang invaded Goguryeo again, took the capital of Goguryeo and forced them to submit. Goguryeo was forced to move its capital further east. In Liang Province (present-day Gansu), rebellion had erupted in 184. In the west, Liu Yan had been Governor of Yi Province since his appointment in 188. He was succeeded by his son Liu Zhang in 194. Directly north of Liu Zhang's territory, Zhang Lu (leader of the Five Pecks of Rice) led a theocratic government at Hanzhong commandary (on the upper Han River). Liu Biao held control over his province as the Governor of Jing Province. Sun Quan held control over the lower Yangtze.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: In 194, Cao Cao went to war with Tao Qian of Xu Province, because Tao's subordinate Zhang Kai had murdered Cao Cao's father Cao Song. Tao Qian received the support of Liu Bei and Gongsun Zan, but even then it seemed as if Cao Cao's superior forces would overrun Xu Province entirely. Cao Cao received word that Lü Bu had seized Yan Province in his absence, and accordingly he retreated, putting a halt to hostilities with Tao Qian for the time being. Tao Qian died in the same year, leaving his province to Liu Bei. A year later, in 195, Cao Cao managed to drive Lü Bu out of Yan Province. Lü Bu fled to Xu Province and was received by Liu Bei, and an uneasy alliance began between the two.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: Afterwards, Lü Bu betrayed Liu Bei and seized Xu Province, forming an alliance with Yuan Shu's remnant forces. Liu Bei, together with his followers Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, fled to Cao Cao, who accepted him. Soon, preparations were made for an attack on Lü Bu, and the combined forces of Cao Cao and Liu Bei invaded Xu Province. Lü Bu's men deserted him, Yuan Shu's forces never arrived as reinforcements, and he was bound by his own subordinates Song Xian (宋憲) and Wei Xu (魏續) and executed on Cao Cao's order.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: Yuan Shu, after being driven south in 193, established himself at his new capital Shouchun (present-day Anhui). He attempted to regain lost territory north of the Huai River. In 197, Yuan Shu declared himself emperor of his own dynasty. The move was a strategic blunder, as it drew the ire of many warlords across the land, including Yuan Shu's own subordinates who almost all abandoned him. Abandoned by almost all his allies and followers, he perished in 199.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: In August 195, Emperor Xian fled the tyranny of Li Jue at Chang'an and made a year long hazardous journey east in search of supporters. In 196, Emperor Xian came under the protection and control of Cao Cao after he had succeeded in fleeing from the warlords of Chang'an. Establishing the imperial court at Xuchang in Henan, Cao Cao—who now held the "de facto" control—rigorously followed the formalities of the court and justified his actions as a loyal minister of the Han. By then, most of the smaller contenders for power had either been absorbed by larger ones or destroyed. This was an extremely important move for Cao Cao following the suggestion from his primary adviser, Xun Yu, commenting that by supporting the authentic emperor, Cao Cao would have the formal legal authority to control the other warlords and force them to comply in order to restore the Han dynasty.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: Cao Cao, whose zone of control was the precursor to the state of Cao Wei, had raised an army in 189. In several strategic movements and battles, he controlled Yan Province and defeated several factions of the Yellow Turban rebels. This earned him the aid of other local militaries controlled by Zhang Miao and Chen Gong, who joined his cause to create his first sizeable army. He continued the effort and absorbed approximately 300,000 Yellow Turban rebels into his army as well as a number of clan-based military groups from the eastern side of Qing Province.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: Since 192, He developed military agricultural colonies ("tuntian") to support his army. Although the system imposed a heavy tax on hired civilian farmers (40% to 60% of agricultural production), the farmers were more than pleased to be able to work with relative stability and professional military protection in a time of chaos. This was later said to be his second important policy for success.


title: Three Kingdoms

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


title: Three Kingdoms

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


title: Three Kingdoms

text: In the summer of 200, after months of preparations, the armies of Cao Cao and Yuan Shao clashed at the Battle of Guandu (near present-day Kaifeng). Cao Cao's army was heavily outnumbered by Yuan Shao. Due to a raid in Yuan's supply train, Yuan's army fell into disorder as they fled back north.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: Cao Cao took advantage of Yuan Shao's death in 202, which resulted in division among his sons, and advanced to the north. In 204, after the Battle of Ye, Cao Cao captured the city of Ye. By the end of 207, after a victorious campaign beyond the frontier against the Wuhuan culminating in the Battle of White Wolf Mountain, Cao Cao achieved complete dominance of the North China Plain. He now controlled China's heartland, including Yuan Shao's former territory, and half of the Chinese population.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: In 193, Huang Zu led the forces of Liu Biao in a campaign against Sun Jian (Yuan Shu's subordinate general) and killed him. In 194, Sun Ce (aged 18) came into the military service under Yuan Shu. He was given the command of some troops who formerly had been commanded by his late father Sun Jian. In the south, he defeated the warlords of Yang Province, including Liu Yao, Wang Lang, and Yan Baihu.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: In 198, Sun Ce (aged 23) declared his independence from Yuan Shu who recently had declared himself emperor. He held control over Danyang, Wu, and Kuaiji commandaries (from present-day Nanjing to the Hangzhou Bay and some outposts at the Fujian coast), while expanding westward in a series of campaigns. By 200, he had conquered Yuzhang commandary (at present-day Lake Poyang in Jiangxi) and Lujiang (north of the Yangtze). In 200, Sun Ce was ambushed and assassinated by the former retainers of a defeated rival from Wu.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: Sun Quan (aged 18) succeeded him and quickly established his authority. By 203, he was expanding westward. In 208, Sun Quan defeated Huang Zu (Liu Biao's subordinate commander) around present-day Wuhan. He now held control over the territories south of the Yangtze (below Wuhan, Poyang region, and Hangzhou Bay). His navy established local superiority over the Yangtze. Nevertheless, he would soon come under the threat of Cao Cao's larger armies.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: During Dong Zhuo's reign over the Han government, Liu Biao had been appointed as the Governor of Jing Province. His territory was located around his capital Xiangyang and the territory to the south around the Han and Yangtze River. Beyond his eastern border was the territory of Sun Quan.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: In 200, during the time of the campaign around Guandu between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao, Liu Bei's forces had been defeated by a detachment of Cao Cao's army, forcing Liu Bei to flee and seek refuge with Liu Biao in Jing Province. In this exile, Liu Bei maintained his followers who had accompanied him and made new connections within Liu Biao's entourage. It was during this time that Liu Bei also met Zhuge Liang.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: In the autumn of 208, Liu Biao died and was succeeded by his youngest son Liu Cong over the eldest son Liu Qi through political maneuvering. Liu Bei had become the head of the opposition to a surrender when Cao Cao's army marched southward to Jing. After the advice of his supporters, Liu Cong surrendered to Cao Cao. Cao Cao took control of the province and began appointing scholars and officials from Liu Biao's court to the local government. Meanwhile, Liu Qi had joined Liu Bei to establish a line of defence at the Yangtze River against the surrender to Cao Cao, but they suffered defeat at the hands of Cao Cao. In the aftermath, they retreated and sought support from Sun Quan. Guan Yu (Liu Bei's subordinate lieutenant) had managed to retrieve most of Jing Province's fleet from the Han River. Cao Cao occupied the naval base at Jiangling on the Yangtze River. He would now begin proceeding eastwards towards Sun Quan with his armies and new fleet, while sending messengers to demand Sun Quan's surrender.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: In 208, Cao Cao marched south with his army hoping to quickly unify the empire. Liu Biao's son Liu Cong surrendered Jing Province and Cao was able to capture a sizable fleet at Jiangling. Sun Quan, the successor to Sun Ce in the lower Yangtze, continued to resist. His advisor Lu Su secured an alliance with Liu Bei, himself a recent refugee from the north, and Zhou Yu was placed in command of Sun Quan's navy, along with a veteran general who served the Sun family, Cheng Pu. Their combined armies of 50,000 met Cao Cao's fleet and 200,000-strong force at Red Cliffs that winter. Cao Cao had to cross the mighty Yangtze River. So when he along with his fleet sailed down the river, many of his men fell to exhaustion, disease and the northerners were not very comfortable on ships and the marshy terrain. So when the two sides met for war at Wulin, Cao Cao wasn’t able to inflict any defeat on the Allied Force. On the other hand, General Huang Gai of Sun Qian’s army came up with a sneaky plan. He sent a forged letter to Cao Cao, stating that he and others wanted to inflict to his side and they would also bring some of the finest ships of the allies. But little did Cao know that the ships were full of flammable reeds. So when they sailed and approached his fleet, they were set alight and they destroyed Cao Cao’s fleet and camps. Seeing the hopeless situation, Cao Cao ordered his army for a difficult retreat through the Marshlands, during which more of his men fell to disease and exhaustion. The allied victory at Red Cliffs ensured the survival of Liu Bei and Sun Quan, and provided the basis for the states of Shu and Wu.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: In 209, Zhou Yu captured Jiangling, establishing the south's complete dominance over the Yangtze River. Meanwhile, Liu Bei and his principal adviser Zhuge Liang captured the Xiang River basin commandaries, establishing control over the southern territories of Jing province. Sun Quan was forced to cede the territory around Jiangling to Liu Bei, because he could not establish a proper authority over it after Zhou Yu's death in 210.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: In 211, Cao Cao defeated a warlord coalition in the Wei valley, ending in the Battle of Huayin, capturing the territory around Chang'an. In 211, Liu Bei accepted an invitation from Liu Zhang to come to Yi Province for aiding the latter against a threat from the north, namely Zhang Lu of Hanzhong. Liu Bei met people within Liu Zhang's court who wished that he would replace Liu Zhang as the ruler of Yi Province. A year after his arrival, Liu Bei came into conflict with Liu Zhang and turned against him. In summer of 214, Liu Bei received the surrender of Liu Zhang, capturing Yi Province, and established his regime at Chengdu. In 215, Cao Cao captured Hanzhong after attacking and receiving the surrender of Zhang Lu. He had launched the attack from Chang'an through the Qinling Mountain passes to Hanzhong. The conquest threatened Liu Bei's territory located directly to the south. Cao Cao progressively increased his titles and power under the puppet Emperor Xian. He became the Chancellor in 208, the Duke of Wei in 214, and the King of Wei in 217. He also compelled Sun Quan to accept suzerainty to Wei, but it had no real effect in practice.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: After Liu Bei had captured Yi Province from Liu Zhang in 214, Sun Quan—who had been engaged with Cao Cao in the southeast at the region between the Huai and Yangtze rivers during the intervening years—turned his attention to the middle Yangtze. Cao Cao and Sun Quan had gained no success in breaking each other's positions. Liu Fu, an administrator under Cao Cao, had established agricultural garrisons at Hefei and Shouchun to defend Cao's territory near the Huai river. Sun Quan resented the fact that Liu Bei, a weaker ally, had gained so much territory west of him and demanded a larger share of the Xiang River basin. In 215, Lü Meng (Sun Quan's officer) was sent to capture Jing province's southern commanderies, but Guan Yu (Liu Bei's general) launched a counterattack. Later that year, Liu Bei and Sun Quan reached a settlement that the Xiang River would serve as the border between their territories.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: In the south, Sun Quan had sent He Qin, Lu Xun, and others to expand and conquer territory in what are now southern Zhejiang and Fujian provinces.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: In 219, Liu Bei seized Hanzhong by defeating and killing General Xiahou Yuan, who served Cao Cao. Cao Cao sent reinforcements in an unsuccessful attempt to reclaim the territory. Liu Bei had now secured his territory against the north and declared himself the King of Hanzhong. In the east, Sun Quan attempted to capture Hefei from Cao Cao, but he did not succeed.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: While Lu Su had been chief commander for Sun Quan in Jing Province, their policy was to maintain the alliance with Liu Bei while Cao Cao was still a threat. This changed when Sun Quan appointed Lü Meng when Lu Su died in 217. In 219, Guan Yu sailed from Jiangling up the Han River towards the city of Fan (near Xianyang), but was unable to capture it. In the autumn of 219, Lü Meng launched a surprise attack by sailing up the Yangtze towards Jiangling, resulting in its capture. Guan Yu was unable to hold his position as most of his army surrendered. He was captured and executed on Sun Quan's order. Cao Cao regained the Han valley, while Sun Quan captured all the territory east of the Yangtze Gorges.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: At the beginning of 220, Cao Cao died and was succeeded by his son Cao Pi. On 11 December, Emperor Xian abdicated and Cao Pi ascended the imperial throne by proclaiming the heavenly mandate as the Emperor of Wei. On 15 May 221, Liu Bei responded by proclaiming himself as the Emperor of Han. His state would become generally known as Shu Han. Sun Quan continued to recognize his "de jure" suzerainty to Wei and was enfeoffed as the King of Wu.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: At the end of 221, Shu invaded Wu in response for Guan Yu's killing and the loss of Jing Province by Wu. In the spring of 222, Liu Bei arrived at the scene to personally take command of the invasion. Sun Quan dispatched Lu Xun to command over the defence of Wu against the invasion by Shu. Against the advice of his subordinates, Lu Xun waited until Liu Bei was committed along the Yangtze below the Yangtze Gorges. Finally, in the sixth month of 222, Lu Xun launched a series of fire attacks against the flank of Liu Bei's extended position which caused disorder in the Shu army and Liu Bei's retreat to Baidi (near present-day Fengjie). Afterwards in 222, Sun Quan renounced his suzerainty to Wei and declared the independence of Wu. In 223, Liu Bei perished at Baidi. Zhuge Liang now acted as a regent for Liu Shan (aged 17) and held control of the Shu government. Shu and Wu resumed their diplomatic relations by re-establishing peace and alliance in the winter of 223. On 23 June 229, Sun Quan proclaimed himself as the Emperor of Wu.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: Shu controlled the upper Han valley and the territory west of the Yangtze Gorges. The Qinling Mountains divided Shu and Wei. Wei held control over the Wei and Huai valley, where agricultural garrisons were established at Shouchun and Hefei to defend Huai. Military sorties by Wu against Hefei and Shouchun would consistently end in failure, thereby confirming Wei's hold over Huai. Wu controlled all of the Yangtze valley. The territory between the Huai and Yangtze was a desolate area, where a largely-static frontier between Wei and Wu had formed at the lower Han valley.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: In 223, Liu Shan rose to the throne of Shu following his father's defeat and death. From 224 to 225, during his southward campaigns, Zhuge Liang conquered the southern territories up to Lake Dian in Yunnan.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: In 227, Zhuge Liang transferred his main Shu armies to Hanzhong, and opened up the battle for the northwest with Wei. The next year, he ordered Zhao Yun to attack from Ji Gorge as a diversion while Zhuge himself led the main force to Mount Qi. The vanguard Ma Su suffered a tactical defeat at Jieting and the Shu army was forced to withdraw. In the next six years Zhuge Liang attempted several more offensives, but supply problems limited the capacity for success. In 234, he led his last great northern offensive, reaching the Battle of Wuzhang Plains south of the Wei River. Due to the death of Zhuge Liang in 234, the Shu army was forced once again to withdraw, but were pursued by Wei. The Shu forces began to withdraw; Sima Yi deduced Zhuge Liang's demise and ordered an attack. Shu struck back almost immediately, causing Sima Yi to second guess and allow Shu to withdraw successfully.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: Sun Quan turned to the aborigines of the southeast, whom the Chinese collectively called the "Shanyue". A collection of successes against the rebellious tribesmen culminated in the victory of 224. In that year, Zhuge Ke ended a three-year siege of Danyang with the surrender of 100,000 Shanyue. Of these, 40,000 were drafted as auxiliaries into the Wu army. Meanwhile, Shu was also experiencing troubles with the indigenous tribes of their south. The southwestern Nanman peoples rose in revolt against Shu authority, captured and looted cities in Yi Province. Zhuge Liang, recognizing the importance of stability in the south, ordered the advance of the Shu armies in three columns against the Nanman. He fought a number of engagements against the chieftain Meng Huo, at the end of which Meng Huo submitted. A tribesman was allowed to reside at the Shu capital Chengdu as an official and the Nanman formed their own battalions within the Shu army.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: In the times of Zhuge Liang's northern offensives, the state of Wu had always been on the defensive against invasions from the north. The area around Hefei was the scene of many bitter battles and under constant pressure from Wei after the Battle of Red Cliffs. Warfare had grown so intense that many of the residents chose to migrate and resettle south of the Yangtze River. After Zhuge Liang's death, attacks on the southern Huai River region intensified but nonetheless, Wei could not break through the line of the river defenses erected by Wu, which included the Ruxu fortress.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: Sun Quan's long reign is regarded as a time of plenty for his southern state. Migrations from the north and the settlement of the Shanyue increased manpower for agriculture, especially along the lower reaches of the Yangtze and in Kuaiji Commandery along the southern shore of Hangzhou Bay. River transport blossomed, with the construction of the Zhedong and Jiangnan canals. Trade with Shu flourished, with a huge influx of Shu cotton and the development of celadon and metal industries. Sea journeys were made to Liaodong and the island of Taiwan. In the south, Wu merchants reached Linyi (Southern Vietnam) and Funan Kingdom. As the economy prospered, so too did the arts and culture. In the Yangtze delta, the first Buddhist influences reached the south from Luoyang.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: The Eastern Wu era was a formative period in Vietnamese history. A Jiaozhou (modern Vietnam and Guangzhou) prefect, Shi Xie, ruled Vietnam as an autonomous warlord for forty years and was posthumously deified by later Vietnamese emperors. Shi Xie pledged loyalty to Eastern Wu. Originally satisfied with Eastern Wu's rule, the Vietnamese opposed Shi Hui's rebellion against Eastern Wu and attacked him for it. However, when the Wu general Lü Dai betrayed Shi Hui and executed the entire Shi family, the Vietnamese became greatly upset. In 248, the people of Jiaozhi and Jiuzhen commanderies rebelled. Eastern Wu sent Lu Yin to deal with the rebels. He managed to pacify the rebels with a combination of threats and persuasion. However the rebels regrouped under the leadership of Lady Triệu in Jiuzhen and renewed the rebellion with a march on Jiaozhi. After several months of warfare she was defeated and committed suicide.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: In 226, Cao Pi died (aged 40) and was succeeded by his eldest son Cao Rui (aged 22). Minister Chen Qun, General Cao Zhen, General Cao Xiu, and General Sima Yi were appointed as regents, even though Cao Rui was able to manage the government in practice. Eventually the former three died, leaving only Sima Yi as the senior minister and military commander. In 226, Sima Yi successfully defended Xiangyang against an offensive from Wu; this battle was the first time he had command in the field. In 227, Sima Yi was appointed to a post at Chang'an where he managed the military affairs along the Han River.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: In 238, Sima Yi was dispatched to command a military campaign against Gongsun Yuan of the self-proclaimed Yan Kingdom in Liaodong, resulting in Sima Yi's capture of his capital Xiangping and massacre of his government. Between 244 and 245, General Guanqiu Jian was dispatched to invade Goguryeo and severely devastated that state. The northeastern frontier of Wei was now secured from any possible threats. The invasions, a retaliation against a Goguryeo raid in 242, destroyed the Goguryeo capital of Hwando, sent its king fleeing, and broke the tributary relationships between Goguryeo and the other tribes of Korea that formed much of Goguryeo's economy. Although the king evaded capture and eventually settled in a new capital, Goguryeo was reduced to such insignificance that for half a century there was no mention of the state in Chinese historical texts.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: In 238, Cao Rui perished at age 35. He was succeeded by his adopted son Cao Fang (aged 7), who was a close member of the imperial family. Cao Rui had appointed Cao Shuang and Sima Yi to be Cao Fang's regents, even though he had contemplated to establish a regency council dominated by imperial family members. Cao Shuang held the principal control over the court. Meanwhile, Sima Yi was received the honorific title of Grand Tutor, but had virtually no influence at the court.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: After Zhuge Liang's death, his position as chancellor fell to Jiang Wan, Fei Yi and Dong Yun, in that order. But after 258, Shu politics became increasingly controlled by the eunuch faction, led by Huang Hao, and corruption rose. Despite the energetic efforts of Jiang Wei, Zhuge Liang's protégé, Shu was unable to secure any decisive achievement. In 263, Wei launched a three-pronged attack and the Shu army was forced into general retreat from Hanzhong. Jiang Wei hurriedly held a position at Jiange but he was outflanked by the Wei commander Deng Ai, who force-marched his army from Yinping through territory formerly considered impassable. By the winter of the year, the capital Chengdu fell due to the strategic invasion of Wei by Deng Ai who invaded Chengdu personally. The emperor Liu Shan thus surrendered. The state of Shu had come to an end after 43 years. Liu Shan was reinstated to the Wei capital of Luoyang and was given the new title of the "Duke of Anle". Directly translated, it meant the "Duke of Safety and Happiness" and was a trivial position with no actual power.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: From the late 230s, tensions began to become visible between the imperial Cao clan and the Sima clan. Following the death of Cao Zhen, factionalism was evident between Cao Shuang and the Grand Tutor Sima Yi. In deliberations, Cao Shuang placed his own supporters in important posts and excluded Sima Yi, whom he regarded as a dangerous threat. The power of the Sima clan, one of the great landowning families of the Han dynasty, was bolstered by Sima Yi's military victories. Additionally, Sima Yi was an extremely capable strategist and politician. In 238 he crushed the rebellion of Gongsun Yuan's self-proclaimed Yan Kingdom and brought the Liaodong region directly under central control. Ultimately, he outmanoeuvred Cao Shuang in power play. Taking advantage of an excursion by the imperial clansmen to the Gaoping Tombs, Sima Yi undertook a putsch in Luoyang, forcing Cao Shuang's faction from authority. Many protested against the overwhelming power of the Sima family; notable among these were the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove. One of the sages, Xi Kang, was executed as part of the purges after Cao Shuang's downfall.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: Cao Huan succeeded to the throne in 260 after Cao Mao was killed in a failed coup against Sima Zhao. Soon after, Sima Zhao died and his title as Duke of Jìn was inherited by his son Sima Yan. Sima Yan immediately began plotting to become emperor but faced stiff opposition. Following advice from his advisors, Cao Huan decided the best course of action would be to abdicate, unlike his predecessor Cao Mao. Sima Yan seized the throne in 266 after forcing Cao Huan's abdication, effectively overthrowing the Wei dynasty and establishing the successor Jin dynasty. This situation was similar to the deposal of Emperor Xian of Han by Cao Pi 40 years earlier.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: Following Sun Quan's death and the ascension of the young Sun Liang to the throne in 252, the state of Wu went into steady decline. Successful Wei suppression of rebellions in the southern Huai River region by Sima Zhao and Sima Shi reduced any opportunity of Wu influence. The fall of Shu signalled a change in Wei politics. After Liu Shan surrendered to Wei, Sima Yan (grandson of Sima Yi), overthrew the Wei emperor and proclaimed his own dynasty of Jin in 266, ending 46 years of Cao dominion in the north. After Jin's rise, emperor Sun Xiu of Wu died, and his ministers gave the throne to Sun Hao. Sun Hao was a promising young man, but upon ascension he became a tyrant, killing or exiling all who dared oppose him in the court. In 269 Yang Hu, a Jin commander in the south, started preparing for the invasion of Wu by ordering the construction of a fleet and the training of marines in Sichuan under Wang Jun. Four years later, Lu Kang, the last great general of Wu, died leaving no competent successor. The planned Jin offensive finally came at the end of 279. Sima Yan launched five simultaneous offensives along the Yangtze River from Jianye (present-day Nanjing) to Jiangling while the Sichuan fleet sailed downriver to Jing Province. Under the strain of such an enormous attack, the Wu forces collapsed and Jianye fell in the third month of 280. Sun Hao surrendered and was given a fiefdom on which to live out his days. This marked the end of the Three Kingdoms era, and the beginning of a break in the forthcoming 300 years of disunity.


title: Three Kingdoms

text: After the Yellow Turban Rebellion, serious famine followed in the Central Plains of China. After his coming to power, Dong Zhuo gave full swing to his army to loot and plunder the population, and abduct women into forced marriages, servants or consorts. When the Guandong Coalition was starting the campaign against Dong Zhuo, he embarked upon a scorched earth campaign, proclaiming that "all the population of Luoyang be forced to move to Chang'an, all the palaces, temples, official residences and homes be burnt, no one should stay within that area of 200 "li"". Considering the hardships of that time this amounted to a death sentence for many, and cries of discontent rose as the population of Luoyang decreased sharply. When Cao Cao attacked Xu Province, it was said that "hundreds of thousands of men and women were buried alive, even dogs and chickens did not survive. The Si River was blocked. From then on, these five towns never recovered." When Li Jue and his army were advancing towards the Guanzhong area, "there remained hundreds of thousands of people, but Li Jue allowed his army to plunder the cities and the people, thus making the people have nothing but eat each other to death."