title: Annie Chapman

text: A Swiss butcher, Jacob Isenschmid, matched an eyewitness description of a blood-stained man seen acting suspiciously on the morning of Chapman's murder by a public house landlady, a Mrs Fiddymont. Isenschmid's distinctive appearance included a large ginger moustache, and he was known to have had a history of mental illness. He was arrested on suspicion of committing Chapman's murder on 13 September.


title: Annie Chapman

text: On 18 September, a 40-year-old German hairdresser named Charles Ludwig was arrested after he attempted to stab a young man named Alexander Finlay at a coffee stall while intoxicated. Ludwig was arrested very shortly after this incident in the company of a visibly distressed prostitute, who later informed a policeman: "Dear me! He frightened me very much when he pulled a big knife out." Ludwig was also known to have been wanted by the City of London Police for attempting to slash a woman's throat with a razor.


title: Annie Chapman

text: Isenschmid and Ludwig were both ultimately cleared of suspicion after two further murders were committed on the same date while both were in police custody. Isenschmid was later detained in a mental asylum. Other suspects named in contemporary police records and newspapers pertaining to the investigation into Chapman's murder include a local trader named Friedrich Schumacher, pedlar Edward McKenna, apothecary and mental patient Oswald Puckridge, and insane medical student John Sanders. No evidence exists against any of these individuals.


title: Annie Chapman

text: On 27 September, the Central News Agency received the "Dear Boss" letter, written by an individual claiming to be the murderer. The author of this letter paid reference to the press naming him as "Leather Apron", stating: "That joke about Leather Apron gave me fits". The author concluded this letter with the words "Yours truly, Jack the Ripper". This name quickly supplanted "Leather Apron" as the media's favourite moniker for the murderer.


title: Annie Chapman

text: Chapman's body was moved from Hanbury Street to a mortuary in Montagu Street, Marylebone by Sergeant Edward Badham in a handcart large enough to hold one coffin. This was similar to the cart previously used to move the body of Mary Ann Nichols.


title: Annie Chapman

text: Chapman was buried shortly after 9:00 a.m. on 14 September 1888 in a service paid for by her family. She was laid to rest in a communal grave within Manor Park Cemetery, Forest Gate, east London. At the request of Chapman's family, the funeral was not publicised, with no mourning coaches used throughout the service, and only the undertaker, police, and her relatives knowing of these arrangements. Consequently, relatives were the only people to attend the service.


title: Annie Chapman

text: A hearse supplied by Hanbury Street undertaker Henry Smith travelled to the Whitechapel Mortuary in Montague Street to collect Chapman's body at 7:00 a.m. Her body was placed in an elm coffin draped in black and was then driven to Spitalfields undertaker Harry Hawes, who arranged the funeral. Chapman's relatives met the hearse outside the cemetery. Her coffin plate bore the words "Annie Chapman, died Sept. 8, 1888, aged 48 years."


title: Annie Chapman

text: The precise location of Annie Chapman's grave within Manor Park Cemetery is now unknown. A plaque placed in the cemetery by authorities in 2008 reads: "Her remains are buried within this area.".


title: Xfce

text: Xfce or XFCE (pronounced as four individual letters) is a free and open-source desktop environment for Linux and other Unix-like operating systems.


title: Xfce

text: Xfce aims to be fast and lightweight while still being visually appealing and easy to use. Xfce embodies the traditional Unix philosophy of modularity and re-usability. It consists of separately packaged parts that together provide all functions of the desktop environment, but can be selected in subsets to suit user needs and preference. Another priority of Xfce is adherence to standards, specifically those defined at freedesktop.org.


title: Xfce

text: Like GNOME, Xfce is based on the GTK toolkit, but it is not a GNOME fork. It uses the Xfwm window manager, described below. Its configuration is entirely mouse-driven, with the configuration files hidden from the casual user. Xfce does not feature any desktop animations, but Xfwm supports compositing.


title: Xfce

text: Olivier Fourdan started the project in late 1996 as a Linux version of the Common Desktop Environment (CDE), a Unix desktop environment that was initially proprietary and later released as free software. The first release of Xfce was in early 1997. However, over time, Xfce diverged from CDE and now stands on its own. The name "XFCE" was originally an initialism for "XForms Common Environment", but since that time it has been rewritten twice and no longer uses the XForms toolkit. The name survived, but it is no longer capitalized as "XFCE", but rather as "Xfce". The developers' current stance is that the initialism no longer stands for anything specific; after noting this, the FAQ on the Xfce Wiki comments "(suggestion: X Freakin' Cool Environment)". The Slackware Linux distribution has nicknamed Xfce the "Cholesterol Free Desktop Environment", a loose interpretation of the initialism.


title: Xfce

text: Per the FAQ, the logo of Xfce is "a mouse, obviously, for all kinds of reasons like world domination and monsters and such." In the "SuperTuxKart" game, in which various open source mascots race against each other, the mouse is said to be a female named "Xue".


title: Xfce

text: Xfce began as a simple project created with XForms. Olivier Fourdan released the program, which was just a simple taskbar, on SunSITE.


title: Xfce

text: Fourdan continued developing the project and in 1998, Xfce 2 was released with the first version of Xfce's window manager, Xfwm. He requested to have the project included in Red Hat Linux, but was refused due to its XForms basis. Red Hat only accepted software that was open source and released under either a GPL or BSD compatible license, whereas, at the time, XForms was closed source and free only for personal use. For the same reason, Xfce was not in Debian before version 3, and Xfce 2 was only distributed in Debian's contrib repository.


title: Xfce

text: In March 1999, Fourdan began a complete rewrite of the project based on GTK, a non-proprietary toolkit then rising in popularity. The result was Xfce 3.0, licensed under the GPL. Along with being based completely on free software, the project gained GTK drag-and-drop support, native language support, and improved configurability. Xfce was uploaded to SourceForge.net in February 2001, starting with version 3.8.1.


title: Xfce

text: In version 4.0.0, released 25 September 2003, Xfce was upgraded to use the GTK 2 libraries. Changes in 4.2.0, released 16 January 2005, included a compositing manager for Xfwm which added built-in support for transparency and drop shadows, as well as a new default SVG icon set. In January 2007, Xfce 4.4.0 was released. This included the Thunar file manager, a replacement for Xffm. Support for desktop icons was added. Also, various improvements were made to the panel to prevent buggy plugins from crashing the whole panel. In February 2009, Xfce 4.6.0 was released. This version had a new configuration backend, a new settings manager and a new sound mixer, as well as several significant improvements to the session manager and the rest of Xfce's core components.


title: Xfce

text: In January 2011, Xfce 4.8.0 was released. This version included changes such as the replacement of ThunarVFS and HAL with GIO, udev, ConsoleKit and PolicyKit, and new utilities for browsing remote network shares using several protocols including SFTP, SMB, and FTP. Window clutter was reduced by merging all Thunar file progress dialog boxes into a single dialog. The panel application was also rewritten for better positioning, transparency, and item and launcher management. 4.8 also introduced a new menu plugin to view directories. The 4.8 plugin framework remains compatible with 4.6 plugins. The display configuration dialog in 4.8 supports RandR 1.2, detecting screens automatically and allowing users to pick their preferred display resolution, refresh rate, and display rotation. Multiple displays can be configured to either work in clone mode, or be placed next to each other. Keyboard selection was revamped to be easier and more user-friendly. Also, the manual settings editor was updated to be more functional.


title: Xfce

text: The 4.8 development cycle was the first to use the new release strategy formed after the "Xfce Release and Development Model" developed at the Ubuntu Desktop Summit in May 2009. A new web application was employed to make release management easier, and a dedicated Transifex server was set up for Xfce translators. The project's server and mirroring infrastructure was also upgraded, partly to cope with anticipated demand following the release announcement for 4.8.


title: Xfce

text: Xfce 4.10, released 28 April 2012, introduced a vertical display mode for the panel and moved much of the documentation to an online wiki. The main focus of this release was on improving the user experience.


title: Xfce

text: Xfce 4.12 was released on 28 February 2015, two years and ten months later, contrary to mass Internet speculation about the project being "dead". The target of 4.12 was to improve user experience and take advantage of technologies introduced in the interim. New window manager features include an Alt+Tab dialog, and smart multi-monitor handling. Also, a new power management plugin for the panel's notification area was introduced, as well as a re-written text editor and an enhanced file manager. Xfce 4.12 also started the transition to GTK 3 by porting application and supporting plugins and bookmarks. With 4.12, the project reiterated its commitment to Unix-like platforms other than Linux by featuring OpenBSD screenshots.


title: Xfce

text: Xfce 4.13 is the development release during the transition of porting components to be fully GTK3-compatible, including xfce-panel and xfce-settings.


title: Xfce

text: The planned release of Xfce 4.14 was announced in April 2016 and was officially released on 12 August 2019. The main goals of the release included porting the remaining core components from GTK 2 to GTK 3; replacing the dependency on with GDBus, GNOME's implementation of the D-Bus specification; and removing deprecated widgets. Major features were postponed for a later 4.16 release. The minimum GTK 3 version was bumped from 3.14 to 3.22.


title: Xfce

text: Xfce 4.16 was released on 22 December 2020. Some notable changes in this release include new icons with a more consistent color palette; improved interfaces for changing system settings; various panel improvements like animations for hiding, a new notification plugin with support for both legacy SysTray and modern StatusNotifier items, and better support for dark themes; and more information included in the About dialog.


title: Xfce

text: Applications developed by the Xfce team are based on GTK and self-developed Xfce libraries. Other than Xfce itself, there are third-party programs which use the Xfce libraries.


title: Xfce

text: One of the services provided to applications by the framework is a red banner across the top of the window when the application is running with root privileges, warning the user that they could damage system files.


title: Xfce

text: Many aspects of the panel and its plug-ins can be configured easily through graphical dialogs, but also by GTK style properties and hidden Xfconf settings.


title: Xfce

text: A terminal emulator is provided as part of the Xfce project, but it can be used in other X Window System environments as well. It supports tabs, customizable key bindings, colors, and window sizes. It was designed to replace GNOME Terminal, which depends on the GNOME libraries. Like GNOME Terminal, though, it is based on the VTE library. Xfce Terminal can be configured to offer a varying background color for each tab. It can also be used as a drop-down terminal emulator, similar to Guake or Tilda.


title: Xfce

text: Xfwm is a window manager, supporting custom themes. Starting with version 4.2, Xfwm integrates its own compositing manager.


title: Xfce

text: A file searching tool, able to perform in-name and in-text matching, as well searching by file type and last modified time. It is also capable of performing indexing by using an mlocate database.


title: Xfce

text: Thunar is the default file manager for Xfce, replacing Xffm. It resembles GNOME's Nautilus, and is designed for speed and a low memory footprint, as well as being highly customizable through plugins. Xfce also has a lightweight archive manager called Xarchiver, but this is not part of the core Xfce 4.4.0. More recently, "Squeeze" has been started as an archive manager designed to integrate better into the Xfce desktop, and though no releases have been made since 2008, the git repository of squeeze has been active and this version is more feature-rich than the last stable release.


title: Xfce

text: Starting with version 4.4, Xfcalendar was renamed to "Orage" (French for "thunderstorm") and several features were added. Orage has alarms and uses the iCalendar format, making it compatible with many other calendar applications, e.g. vdirsyncer to sync via CalDAV. It also includes a panel clock plugin and an international clock application capable of simultaneously showing clocks from several different time zones. With Xfce 4.16, and the dropping of GTK2 support for panel plugins, orage was replaced with DateTime plugin.


title: Xfce

text: Mousepad is the default text editor for Xfce in some Linux distributions, including Xubuntu. Mousepad aims to be an easy-to-use and fast editor, meant for quickly editing text files, not a software development environment or an editor with a large plugin ecosystem. It does offer tabbed files, syntax highlighting, parentheses matching and indentation features commonly found in software editors. It closely follows the GTK-system release cycle. It originated as a fork of Leafpad, was developed by Erik Harrison and Nick Schermer, but has since been rewritten from scratch.


title: Xfce

text: "Parole" is a simple media player based on the GStreamer framework. It is designed with simplicity, speed and resource usage in mind, and is part of the Xfce Goodies and uses at least three libraries from the Xfce project (libxfce4ui, libxfce4util, and libxfconf).


title: Xfce

text: An image viewer (supporting slideshow mode). Ristretto operates on folders of images, displaying thumbnails along with the active image.


title: Xfce

text: A CD/DVD optical disc authoring software. Starting with the 4.12 release of Xfce, Xfburn is also able to burn Blu-ray discs.


title: Xfce

text: A screen saver and session-locking program first packaged with the 4.14 release of Xfce. It uses screensaver themes compatible with Xscreensaver. Although forked from MATE Screensaver, it depends only on Xfce libraries.


title: Xfce

text: It is also included as a standard desktop option on FreeBSD and derivatives such as GhostBSD, and in many other Linux distributions not listed above, including Arch Linux, Debian, Ubuntu, openSUSE, Fedora, Kali, Linux Mint, Slackware, Mageia, OpenMandriva, Void Linux and Zorin OS. Kali Linux also uses Xfce as the desktop environment when running on the ARM platform. Debian makes a separate netinstall CD available that installs Xfce as the default desktop environment. In 2013, Debian briefly made it the default environment, replacing GNOME.


title: Timeline of Philippine history

text: This is a timeline of Philippine history, comprising important legal and territorial changes and political events in the Philippines and its predecessor states. To read about the background to these events, see history of the Philippines.


title: Ella Rumpf

text: Ella Rumpf (born 4 February 1995) is a Swiss actress, best known for her role as Alexia in the 2016 horror drama film "Raw", which won the Sutherland Trophy at the 2016 BFI London Film Festival. Her other notable roles include, critical acclaimed Tiger in "Tiger Girl" (2017) and Hanna in "The Divine Order" (2017), the Swiss entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards.


title: Ella Rumpf

text: Ella Rumpf was born in Paris and grew up in Zurich, Switzerland. Her father is a psychotherapist and her mother a lecturer.


title: Ella Rumpf

text: Rumpf went to the Steiner school and had her first taste of acting by winning the lead role in "Romeo and Juliet" at 14.


title: Ella Rumpf

text: She appeared in her debut film at age 16 called "Summer Outside" in 2011 directed by Friederike Jehn.


title: Ella Rumpf

text: Rumpf won the role of Ali in the multi-award-winning feature film "War" ("Krieg"), by Simon Jaquemet in 2014 and was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Swiss Film Awards. She shaved her head for the role. She attended the Giles Foreman Center for Acting in London from 2013–2015 after completing her studies at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences in 2013.


title: Ella Rumpf

text: Ella Rumpf starred alongside Garance Marillier in "Raw" (2016). In 2017, she played the lead role in "Tiger Girl" and a supporting role in "The Divine Order" ("Die göttliche Ordnung"). In 2022, Rumpf appeared in the HBO television series "Tokyo Vice", directed by Michael Mann and written by J.T. Rogers.


title: Demetria McKinney

text: Demetria Dyan McKinney (born August 27, 1979) is an American actress and singer. From 2006 to 2012, during its original run, she starred in the TBS sitcom "Tyler Perry's House of Payne", a BET revival of the show was announced in 2020. Her other series regular roles include TV One sitcom "The Rickey Smiley Show", Bounce TV prime time soap opera "Saints & Sinners" and Syfy horror drama "Superstition", as well as "" on Freeform.


title: Demetria McKinney

text: Her stage credits include playing Coretta Scott King in the Rhythm and Blues Opera "I Dream" (2010), as well as the role of Deena Jones in "Dreamgirls" (2012). In 2017, McKinney played Whitney Houston in the TV One film "Bobbi Kristina". She released her debut album "Officially Yours" in 2017.


title: Demetria McKinney

text: McKinney has performed in a number of Tyler Perry's stage plays, including "Meet The Browns", "Why Did I Get Married" and "Madea's Family Christmas". She starred as Janine Shelton-Payne on the TBS comedy series "Tyler Perry's House of Payne" from 2006 to 2012. She was nominated for a 2009 National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC) Vision Award for Best Performance in a Comedy, in recognition of her work on "House of Payne". She returned for the "House of Payne" spin-off "The Paynes" in 2018. McKinney has guest starred on "Necessary Roughness", "Drop Dead Diva", "Devious Maids", "Chicago Med", and "Being Mary Jane". She also appeared on Bravo's "The Real Housewives of Atlanta", as a recurring cast member during the seventh season, and a guest star on the eighth season.


title: Demetria McKinney

text: From 2012 to 2014, McKinney had a series regular role on the TV One comedy series, "The Rickey Smiley Show". In 2016, she was cast as Tamara Austin in the Bounce TV prime time television soap opera "Saints & Sinners". In 2017, she was cast opposite Mario Van Peebles and Robinne Lee in the Syfy horror drama "Superstition". The series was canceled after one season. Also in 2017, McKinney starred in the TV One movie "Bobbi Kristina" as Whitney Houston, the late icon and mother to Bobbi Kristina.


title: Demetria McKinney

text: McKinney had a recurring role in the BET drama series "The Quad" from 2017 to 2018. She also played a leading role in the 2018 Christmas themed romantic film "A Stone Cold Christmas". In 2019, she starred in the Urban Movie Channel family drama series "A House Divided" alongside Paula Jai Parker. She was later cast in the Freeform drama series "". In 2022, she began starring on The Winchesters.


title: Demetria McKinney

text: McKinney has performed in a number of musicals. In 2010, she performed in the Rhythm and Blues opera "I Dream". She appeared in "Dreamgirls" and performed with Jennifer Holliday in 2012, and lent vocals to R&B singer Anthony David's album "Love Out Loud". In 2015, her single "Trade It All" charted on "Billboard"'s Adult R&B Songs.


title: Demetria McKinney

text: In 2017, McKinney released her debut album "Officially Yours". She received a nomination for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding New Artist. From this album, she released three singles: "Is This Love", "Happy" and "Easy" which peaked at #4 on the Adult R&B Songs chart.


title: Demetria McKinney

text: She was in a decade long on-off relationship with TV producer Roger Bobb. McKinney called off their engagement in 2016, then later on announced she was dating music producer Eric Philips.


title: Cobra Kai (season 2)

text: The second season of "Cobra Kai" was released on YouTube Premium on April 24, 2019, and consisted of 10 episodes. The series is a direct sequel to the original four films in "The Karate Kid" franchise, focusing on the characters of Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence over 30 years after the original film. This is the final season to be originally released on YouTube's streaming service as Netflix would acquire the streaming rights to "Cobra Kai" following YouTube's decision not to renew the series past a third season.


title: Cobra Kai (season 2)

text: The season had nine starring roles, six of which returned from the first season and the other three consisting of previously recurring and guest cast members, Jacob Bertrand, Gianni DeCenzo, and Martin Kove, all of whom received promotions. Leo Birenberg and Zach Robinson composed a soundtrack album to accompany the season. The season received generally positive reviews from critics, although they deemed it to be inferior to the first season. The season also received multiple awards and nominations including an Emmy award, and achieved record setting viewing figures.


title: Cobra Kai (season 2)

text: Six days after the first season's release, YouTube renewed the series for a second season in May 2018. Series creators Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg continued to serve as showrunners, executive producers, writers, and directors for the season. Production began in late that year and the season consists of ten episodes. James Lassiter and Caleeb Pinkett also returned as executive producers alongside production companies Overbrook Entertainment and Sony Pictures Television Studios. Following the season's release YouTube renewed the series for a third season.


title: Cobra Kai (season 2)

text: Ralph Macchio and William Zabka continued to appear as Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence, respectively. Xolo Maridueña, Tanner Buchanan, Mary Mouser, and Courtney Henggeler were also confirmed to return. Martin Kove, who had guest starred in the first season finale, joined the season as a series regular, reprising the role John Kreese, from the first three films in the franchise. Jacob Bertrand and Gianni DeCenzo who recurred throughout the first season were also promoted to series regulars. Paul Walter Hauser and Peyton List were cast in recurring roles for the season. Additionally, other actors from the film franchise including Rob Garrison, Ron Thomas, Tony O'Dell, and Randee Haller made guest appearances during the season.


title: Cobra Kai (season 2)

text: The season utilized soundstages at Pinewood Atlanta Studios where filming took place on October 17-19, 2018. Principal photography also took place earlier that month around Marietta, Georgia, on October 15. Additional filming later took place in Union City on November 8. Filming was also spotted at the closed Rio Bravo restaurant from November 28–29. Additional filming locations for the season included the Tybee Island pier, the North DeKalb Mall, Westview Cemetery, and Marietta City Hall. The Los Angeles, California neighborhoods Encino, Norwalk, Reseda, and Tarzana also served as filming locales. Filming concluded in December.


title: Cobra Kai (season 2)

text: Featured music from the season primarily highlighted music from the 1980s, including the bands AC/DC, Airbourne, and Bananarama, as well as present day bands such as Fifth Harmony.


title: Cobra Kai (season 2)

text: Madison Gate Records released a digital soundtrack album, on April 24, 2019, to accompany the season. La-La Land Records released a deluxe edition of the soundtrack via CD, featuring nine additional tracks, on January 19 the same year. Leo Birenberg and Zach Robinson continued to serve as composers for the second season.


title: Cobra Kai (season 2)

text: YouTube Premium released a six-minute commercial parodying ESPN's "30 for 30" in April 2019, featuring the main cast members and select ESPN personalities analyzing the 1984 match between Daniel and Johnny. When the season's renewal was announced it was reported that the season would premiere on the subscription-based streaming video on demand platform YouTube Red. Prior to the season's release the streaming service name was changed to YouTube Premium. The season was released on April 24. A potential move of the series to Netflix was also explored prior to the season's release when YouTube chose to shift its focus on original content from scripted to unscripted. As part of this shift episodes of the season were made free to view beginning in September as YouTube also shifted to an advertisement supported service rather than subscription supported. Although YouTube originally released the season it was the final season to be released on the platform with all subsequent seasons being moved to Netflix. YouTube did however maintain the rights to continue streaming the service on a non-exclusive basis, alongside Netflix which released the first two seasons on August 28, 2020.


title: Cobra Kai (season 2)

text: On the review aggregator website "Rotten Tomatoes" the season holds a 90% approval rating with an average rating 7.4 out of 10, based on 31 reviews. The website critical consensus reads: "While "Cobra Kai's" subversive kick no longer carries the same gleeful impact of its inaugural season, its second round is still among the best around -- no amount of mid-life crisis and teenage ennui's ever gonna keep it down". Meanwhile, on "Metacritic", which uses a weighted average, the season has a Metascore of 66 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Alex McLevy writing for "The A.V. Club" said that the season felt to be a "witty relaunch of a beloved film" and that with "half the humor and double the melodrama" of the first season McLevy compared it to that of a soap opera. Alan Sepinwall from "Rolling Stone" similarly wrote that the season is "leaning too hard on nostalgia and a soapy teen love triangle". "Den of Geek" Andrew Husband disagreed saying that although the season had its issues, that it had "some of the most exciting creative storytelling" of recent television. Kristen Baldwin from "Entertainment Weekly" wrote that despite the series being based on a 1980s film, it doesn't live in the past, and that the season "hits viewers with bursts of nostalgia endorphins, leaving us giddy and defenseless against the next emotional wallop". IGN reviewer David Griffin stated that he was initially skeptical of Martin Kove's addition to the main cast but that his character later adds a dynamic to the season and raises its stakes. Hanh Nguyn of "IndieWire" said the season helps "capture the energy of 1980's cinema" and praised the addition of cast members such as Peyton List, who Nguyn said brings a "fresh and energetic immediacy to the conflicts". When reviewing the first two seasons together after its release on Netflix, "The Telegraph"s Ed Power wrote that the series "is aware, that times have changed and that in the grown-up world there are problems that can't be solved by a punch to the solar plexus or a sneaky scissor kick".


title: Cobra Kai (season 2)

text: At the 71st Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards the season was nominated for an Emmy award in the Outstanding Stunt Coordination for a Comedy Series or Variety Program category, but the award went to "GLOW", a television series on Netflix. A 2019 Teen Choice Awards nomination was also picked up for Choice Summer TV Series, which was ultimately awarded to the third season of "Stranger Things", which also airs on Netflix. The extended promotional trailer, "Cobra Kai 30 for 30", was nominated for a Clio Award, an award program that specifically issues awards for advertising; This award was lost to Netflix's "When They See Us" for an advertisement named "Room to Room".


title: Cobra Kai (season 2)

text: Within three days of the season's release it was reported that it was 136% more in demand than the first season was in the same three-day period. The season was the most in demand original streaming series during the first seven days of its release, beating the second place holder, Hulu's "The Act", by 41%. It was also reported that the season generated more demand than the second season releases of "The Handmaid's Tale", "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel", and "Atlanta" in their seven-day window. "Mercy Part II", the season's premiere episode, had been seen by 20 million viewers within six days, the fastest period for a YouTube original to do so at the time. A week later the season remained the most in demand original streaming series, raising 20% from the week prior. Prior to the season's release on Netflix data showed that it was already the most demanded series on the service, beating both "The Frozen Ground" and "Lucifer" which had already been released. Once the first and second season were released on Netflix together the series gained 2.17 billion streaming minutes after seven days across its then 20-episodes. The following month the series topped Netflix's most-viewed series list for the entire 30-day period. Netflix reported that 50 million accounts viewed at least two minutes of an episode during that time period.


title: Nao Tōyama

text: Her music career began when she released songs for "The World God Only Knows" under her character name Kanon Nakagawa. She later made her solo debut as a


title: Nao Tōyama

text: singer on February 1, 2017, with the release of the double A-side single "True Destiny" / "Chain the World" under the Flying Dog label. She also voiced a member of the music unit Walküre, which performed songs as part of the "Macross" franchise.


title: Nao Tōyama

text: Tōyama was born in Tokyo. Her father had spent nine years abroad and was fluent in English. From an early age she had an interest in anime, in particular the series "Ojamajo Doremi" and "Sailor Moon". However, it was the anime series "Fullmetal Alchemist" that was the first to inspire her to become a voice actress. At the time, she was impressed that the series' protagonist Edward Elric was voiced by Romi Park.


title: Nao Tōyama

text: While in junior high school and high school, she became part of a chorus club to help her overcome tone deafness. It was also during this time she decided to pursue a voice acting career, as she had interacted with schoolmates who had similar interests. Her parents approved of her decision, provided that she did well in university entrance exams. While in high school, she enrolled at the Japan Narration Acting Institute. After completing her training, she became affiliated with the voice acting agency Arts Vision.


title: Nao Tōyama

text: Tōyama made her voice acting debut, starring in the original video animation "Hiyokoi". That same year, she played her first main role as Kanon Nakagawa in the anime series "The World God Only Knows". The following year, she was cast as Yune in "Croisée in a Foreign Labyrinth" and Margot Knight in "Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere".


title: Nao Tōyama

text: In 2012, Tōyama played the roles of Shiori Terashima in "Symphogear", Ako Atarashi in "Saki", and Shino Enjōji in "Kokoro Connect". The following year, she was cast as the characters Karen Kujō in "Kin-iro Mosaic", Yukiho Kōsaka in "Love Live!", Yui Yuigahama in "My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU", and Mana Natsukawa in "Oreshura". In 2014, she played the roles of Chitoge Kirisaki in "Nisekoi", Kayo Gōtokuji in "Sabagebu!", Himiko in "Nobunaga the Fool", Momo Kawanagare in "Ai Tenchi Muyo!", Sylvia Ikaruga Misurugi in "Cross Ange", and Lieselotte Sherlock in "Trinity Seven". That same year, she left Arts Vision and transferred to the agency Intention.


title: Nao Tōyama

text: In 2015, Tōyama was cast as Mizuki Kawashima in "The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls", Claudia Enfield in "The Asterisk War", Lecty Eisenach in "Sky Wizards Academy", and Shizuku Kurogane in "Chivalry of a Failed Knight". The following year, she played the roles of Rin Suzunoki in "Bakuon!!", Ami Kurata in "Long Riders!", Reina Prowler in "Macross Delta", Maria Imari in "This Art Club Has a Problem!", and Nozomi Kasaki in "Sound! Euphonium 2". In 2017, she played Ryōko Sonoda in "Tsuki ga Kirei", and the following year, she voiced Rin Shima in "Laid-Back Camp" and Tomoe Koga in "Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai".


title: Nao Tōyama

text: In 2010, she released a number of singles and performed at various events for "The World God Only Knows"' as Kanon Nakagawa. In 2014, she became part of the music group Rhodanthe*, which performs theme songs for the "Kin-iro Mosaic" series. She has also released singles as her "Idolmaster" character Mizuki Kawashima. In 2016, she voiced a member of the in-universe music group Walküre, which performed songs for the anime series "Macross Delta".


title: Nao Tōyama

text: Tōyama made her solo music debut with the release of her first single "True Destiny" / "Chain the world" on February 1, 2017. The song "True Destiny" was used as the ending theme of the anime television series "Chain Chronicle ~Haecceitas no Hikari~", and "Chain the world" was used as the opening theme of its movie version. Her second single "Ima Koko" / "Tsuki ga Kirei" was released on May 24, 2017; the song "Ima Koko" was used as the opening theme to the anime series "Tsuki ga Kirei", while the song "Tsuki ga Kirei" was used as the series' ending theme. She released her first album "Rainbow" on October 25, 2017. In February 2018, she held a solo concert at the Nippon Budokan. Her official fanclub, "Niji no Wakka", was launched on the same day. She released her third single "Tomoshibi no Manima ni" on May 30, 2018. She released her second album "Gunjō Infinity" on April 3, 2019. She released her fourth single "Aruiteikō!" on February 5, 2020; the title song is used as the opening theme of the anime series "Asteroid in Love".


title: Sicko Mode

text: "Sicko Mode" (stylized in all caps) is a song by American rapper Travis Scott. It features vocals from Canadian rapper Drake, who was credited on Apple Music but not on the "Billboard" Hot 100. It was originally released by Epic Records on August 3, 2018 as the third track from "Astroworld" (2018), before being released as the second single on August 21. It features additional uncredited vocals by American rapper and singer Swae Lee and late American rapper Big Hawk.


title: Sicko Mode

text: Sicko Mode was Scott's first number one single on the US "Billboard" Hot 100, although Drake is not credited on the "Billboard" charts, as well as the first hip-hop song in history to spend at least 30 weeks in the chart's top ten region. It was universally acclaimed by critics, and received nominations for Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.


title: Sicko Mode

text: The song contains a sample from "Gimme the Loot", written by The Notorious B.I.G. and Easy Mo Bee, as performed by the former and an interpolation from "I Wanna Rock", written and performed by Uncle Luke. On December 9, 2020, the song was certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).


title: Sicko Mode

text: The song is in three distinct movements. There is the first movement, which starts from the beginning of the song to the one minute mark. The second movement starts at the one minute mark and ends a few seconds shy of the three minute mark. The third movement starts at the three minute mark to the end of the song. The first movement is written in the key of B-flat major, the second movement is written in the key of F-sharp minor, and the third movement is composed in the key of E-flat minor. The first movement reminiscences about a time with friends in winter. The second movement reminisces about past relationships with women. The third movement reminisces about the singer's high school years, but now works as a fixed base operator. The overall theme of the song is about reminiscing about past events in the singers lives.


title: Sicko Mode

text: "Sicko Mode" received critical acclaim, with some critics considering it the highlight of "Astroworld". Writing for "Rolling Stone", Christopher R. Weingarten deemed the "hard-knocking" track the "album highlight", while Brendan Klinkenberg from the same magazine described it as "the apex of Scott's synthetic instincts". Brian Josephs of "Entertainment Weekly" called it a "mini-suite of bangers". Roisin O'Connor of "The Independent" felt Drake "sounds more important on this record than he did at any point on his own recent release, "Scorpion", with a ballsy, confident flow".


title: Sicko Mode

text: "Sicko Mode" debuted at number four on the US "Billboard" Hot 100, It reached number two following the release of its music video, first behind "Girls Like You" by Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B, and then behind "Thank U, Next" by Ariana Grande. It later became his first number one on the issue dated December 8, 2018, after seventeen weeks in the top 10, aided in part by the Skrillex remix. The single also became his first top 10 on the Radio Songs chart. It finished 3rd in Triple J's Hottest 100 2018. Reflecting on its commercial impact, "Billboard" magazine's Andrew Unterberger called the song "a three-part prog-rap odyssey that would've been unimaginable as a radio single years earlier, but which got audiences so hyped with its unexpected beat switches and back-and-forth hooks that the pop world had no choice but to meet it halfway".


title: Sicko Mode

text: The music video for "Sicko Mode" was directed by Dave Meyers and Travis Scott. It was released on October 19, 2018. The video starts off with Scott's red head on a building while a camera zooms into it, and cuts to the next scene of people getting back into some multi-colored houses. Following scenes show Drake walking a dog while being burned by an eclipse and Scott riding a horse. The video ends with Drake and Scott walking away. As of May 2022, the video has over a billion views.


title: Sicko Mode

text: Travis Scott performed the song at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards and the Super Bowl LIII halftime show.


title: Sicko Mode

text: On November 28, 2018, an electronic remix by American record producer Skrillex was released. The remix's accompanying audio and lyric videos were released to Scott's and Skrillex's YouTube channels on the same day.


title: Sicko Mode

text: Additional songwriting credits as pertaining to the samples: "I Wanna Rock" as performed by Luke, written by Luther Campbell, Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch; and "Gimme the Loot" as performed by The Notorious B.I.G., written by Christopher Wallace, Osten Harvey, Bryan Higgins, Trevor Smith, James Jackson, Malik Taylor, Keith Elam, Christopher Martin, Kamaal Fareed, Ali Shaheed Jones-Muhammad, Tyrone Taylor, Fred Scruggs, Kirk Jones and Chylow Parker.


title: Iron Sky: The Coming Race

text: Iron Sky: The Coming Race is a 2019 Finnish-German comic science fiction action film directed by Timo Vuorensola. The sequel to Vuorensola's 2012 film "Iron Sky", its production was crowdfunded through Indiegogo. Like its predecessor, the film mixes political themes with repeated allusions to the popular culture and various conspiracy theories, but is generally more action-adventure oriented. A major inspiration of the content (and title) is the Vril conspiracy theory.


title: Iron Sky: The Coming Race

text: The plot follows a group of nuclear holocaust survivors living in an abandoned Nazi base on the far side of the Moon. Boarding a barely-functioning spacecraft, they travel to the nucleus of the hollow Earth in an attempt to recover the Holy Grail from a group of reptilian shape-shifters who are led by Tyrannosaurus-riding Adolf Hitler.


title: Iron Sky: The Coming Race

text: Produced on a budget of 17 million euros, "The Coming Race" is the most expensive Finnish live-action picture ever made. The production suffered from repeated delays and a two-part copyright dispute, with a Finnish court denying that copyright even existed in the subject matter of the case apart from one 3D model, the Japanese Ship. The second half of the case was a counterclaim by the production companies to sue the original Iron Sky 3D artists for continued use of their work. The court ruled that the production companies had not shown any evidence of copyright ownership themselves and dismissed the counterclaim.


title: Iron Sky: The Coming Race

text: "The Coming Race" was released on 16 January 2019 in Finland, but performed very poorly in the box office. Most reviews were negative, citing problems such as unidimensional characters, low-quality CGI, dated jokes, and confused script. The self-conscious ludicrousness of the storyline divided critics, with some finding it amusing while others criticized it as disorienting and unfunny. Lara Rossi's and Udo Kier's performances were praised by some reviewers.


title: Iron Sky: The Coming Race

text: The year is 2047, 29 years after the nuclear war immediately following the battle between the Earth and Moon Nazis rendered the planet inhospitable. The last survivors have rallied together on "Neomenia", the former Moon Nazi base on the far side of the moon, struggling to coexist with the former Moon Nazis who also live in the base. Over the years, the base has started to deteriorate, due to overpopulation and the damage on the moon caused by the battle. Meanwhile, Jobsism, a cult formed around the teachings of Steve Jobs and their leader, Donald, has become the moon base's official religion.


title: Iron Sky: The Coming Race

text: Obi Washington, daughter of James Washington (who has since passed away) and Renate Richter, has spent her life keeping Neomenia's life support systems functional. While examining a Russian refugee ship, she encounters Wolfgang Kortzfleisch, the long-presumed-dead former Moonführer, who gives her Vrilia, the cure to Renate's terminal illness. When Renate's health is restored, Kortzfleisch reveals to Obi that he is a Vril, a race of Reptilians that arrived on Earth during the age of the dinosaurs. While studying the primates that emerged during prehistory, Kortzfleisch created humankind by injecting Vrilia into an apple and feeding it to his monkeys, Adam and Eve. The Vril have since gone underground to the center of the Earth once mankind had evolved. Kortzfleisch offers Obi a mission to travel to the subterranean city of Agartha and take the city's Vrilia to ensure the survival of her colony. Obi, along with the refugee ship's pilot, Sasha, security officer Malcolm, and the Jobsists, fly to Earth and crash in the Hollow Earth.


title: Iron Sky: The Coming Race

text: In Agartha, the Vril, who have been parading around as world leaders throughout history, kill the President of the United States for making the surface world uninhabitable. The Jobsists and Malcolm are captured by Steve Jobs and brought to Adolf Hitler, and Donald offers Hitler the whereabouts of Kortzfleisch in exchange for the Jobsists to live in Agartha, only for Hitler to betray them and have Jobs eat the Jobsists. Meanwhile, Obi and Sasha take the Holy Grail, the source of the Vrilia, but cause Agartha's sun to collapse and destroy the city. Malcolm escapes from captivity and rejoins Obi and Sasha before they fly back to Neomenia. Hitler launches the Vril spaceship out of Antarctica to follow them. Upon the trio's arrival, Kortzfleisch holds Renate hostage for Obi to surrender the Holy Grail, but Hitler and his tyrannosaurus, Blondi, invade the moon base. After drinking from the Holy Grail, a rejuvenated Renate confronts and kills Hitler, but is mortally wounded by Kortzfleisch. Obi, Sasha, Malcolm, and the surviving inhabitants escape in an old ship, but Kortzfleisch chases after them. Using Sasha's old Nokia 3310, Obi hacks into Donald's iPhone, triggering the self-destruct mechanism and destroying the Vril spaceship.


title: Iron Sky: The Coming Race

text: During dinner, Malcolm comes out as gay, but collapses and seemingly dies from allergens in the food. Both he and Renate are given a space funeral, but Malcolm suddenly gets out of his coffin, revealing that he only went into a short coma, a condition he has had since childhood. As the ship makes its long travel to Mars, Obi and Sasha express their love for each other.


title: Iron Sky: The Coming Race

text: On 20 May 2012, Tero Kaukomaa, producer of the first film, announced that there were plans for a prequel or a sequel but refused to disclose details. In May 2013, Vuorensola announced that "Iron Sky" would have a sequel titled "Iron Sky The Coming Race". He also mentioned that unlike the first film, this installment would be completely funded by fans via Indiegogo, with an estimated budget of US$15 million. A promo video was shot for the 2014 Cannes Film Festival and the final draft of the script was scheduled to be published by the end of 2014. Filming was expected to begin in 2015. In July 2013, Vuorensola revealed Croatia as one of the proposed shooting locations. In February 2014, Dalan Musson signed in to write the screenplay. The Finnish Film Foundation and Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg had come on board to finance the US$13 million project. On 5 November 2014, Iron Sky Universe launched another crowdfunding campaign to raise US$500,000 before 20 December. At the closing of the campaign on 5 January, contributors pledged a grand total of US$560,949.


title: Iron Sky: The Coming Race

text: In October 2016, Timo Vuorensola launched a new crowdfunding campaign to fund special effects for out-of-budget scenes that were in danger of being left out from the final cut of the movie. The scenes included the deaths of reptilian Margaret Thatcher and Pope Urban II.


title: Iron Sky: The Coming Race

text: In the spring of 2017, the company responsible for the effects revised its cost calculations, and suddenly $2.5 million was missing from the film's budget. Due to the delay, one of the film’s major funders, Universal Studios, which was also one of the distributors of the first film, withdrew from the project, and the entire production had to be suspended. The project had to stand still for 1,5 years before it was finally completed in 2019 with Chinese funding.


title: Iron Sky: The Coming Race

text: In the summer of 2017 a number of original "Iron Sky" VFX artists filed a suit in Finland against Iron Sky Universe Oy and Blind Spot Pictures Oy. "The plaintiffs claim their creative contribution to the Iron Sky franchise is such that they should also be considered as joint copyright holders of the original movie." In May 2018, the Finnish market court ruled that the artists have no copyright under sections 2, 6 and 46a of the Finnish copyright act in relation to "Iron Sky" and its material. The court awarded copyright to a single artist in the case of a Japanese ship design used in the film, but ruled that the copyright for only that ship had legally transferred to Blind Spot Pictures. In addition, the production companies filed a counterclaim asking the Finnish Market Courts to confirm that the VFX artists had no copyright in the films or in any material made by them and that the VFX artists had no right to use any material related to them. However, Finnish Market Courts rejected the production companies counterclaim.


title: Iron Sky: The Coming Race

text: Like its predecessor, the movie refers to several motifs of post-war Esoteric Nazism, such as the Hollow Earth theory. The movie's title is a reference to Edward Bulwer-Lytton's novel "The Coming Race" (1871) that is commonly regarded as the origin of the so-called Vril myth. The film teaser features the Vril symbol that was designed by the Tempelhofgesellschaft in the 1990s.


title: Iron Sky: The Coming Race

text: Release was originally announced for 14 February 2018, but had been postponed to 22 August 2018 in Finland followed by the rest of the world soon after, if not the same time. However, according to reports in the Finnish press, the release date of 22 August 2018 had been cancelled. It was later announced that the film was scheduled to be released on 16 January 2019 as the Fan World Premiere in Helsinki, Finland.


title: Iron Sky: The Coming Race

text: The film did not do well in the box office. In Finland, it had close to 32,000 viewers, less than one-fifth of the previous film. International total box office (excluding Finland) by July 2019 was less than US$400,000.


title: Iron Sky: The Coming Race

text: Following its premiere on January 16, 2019 in Helsinki, Finland, "Iron Sky: The Coming Race" attracted hostile reviews. Foreign reviews were generally negative as well. Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports an approval rating of , based on reviews.


title: Iron Sky: The Coming Race

text: Juho Typpö of "Helsingin Sanomat" called "Iron Sky: The Coming Race" an ”awfully bad movie”, awarding it one star out of five. The comedy built upon ”crazy and ludicrous twists” fails to entertain or amuse, and the entire film ends up being ”but a big joke” that provides the audience no reason to care. The potential of once-topical themes (such as Sarah Palin and Steve Jobs) was lost due to the prolonged production, and even the budget of 20 million — an all-time record for a Finnish live-action movie — was seemingly wasted, resulting in confined set-pieces and CGI of uneven quality. Jouni Vikman of "Episodi" also gave the film one star, criticizing ”old jokes that would not have been funny even if they were new”. The special effect sequences, supposedly the main attraction, were too brief to his tastes and ”reminiscent of a cheap TV-series”. He was impressed by Lara Rossi, especially considering the fact that many scenes were filmed in front of the green screen, whereas ”the veteran actors Udo Kier and Tom Green only manage to survive by ignoring their surroundings”. Jonni Aromaa from "Yle News" called "Iron Sky: The Coming Race" one of the worst films ever made, citing cardboard characters, subpar dialogue, unfunny humor, and low quality of the dinosaur effects. He was particularly critical of the screenplay: ”Why on earth was the script written by the American Dalan Musson, a friend of Vuorensola’s? Was it really so that no one else was available on this planet?”


title: Iron Sky: The Coming Race

text: Other reviews were more positive. Tapani Peltonen from "V2" awarded "Iron Sky: The Coming Race" two stars out of five, describing the film as a ”wild and free” alternative to the homogenous mass of calculated Hollywood productions, but remarked that many such alternative productions struggle with even the very basics of filmmaking, failing to flesh out captivating characters. Helinä Laajalahti from "Muropaketti" gave the film three stars of out five and lauded it for its ambition. She, however, noted that ”the abundance of details and references embedded in the story threaten to turn against itself” and felt the film would have benefited from a more focused approach. Janne Kaakko of "Aamulehti" called the film a sequel that managed to be even more ”colorful, crackpot, and nerdy” than the original, giving it three stars out of five. Martta Kaukonen of "Me Naiset" likewise awarded the film three stars and said it was as entertaining as the original "Iron Sky". She enjoyed the ”delicious” characterization and praised Kier's dual role.


title: Iron Sky: The Coming Race

text: Sophie Monks Kaufman of "The Guardian" gave the film one out of five stars, calling it a ”scattershot, stakes-free, self-consciously wacky space comedy”. She criticized its unidimensional characters and superficial script, noting a tendency to introduce illogical elements with little relation to the rest of the plot, seemingly for the sake of sheer surrealness. Nonetheless, Kaufman praised Lara Rossi's committed performance ”as a grounding presence in a gravity-free spectacle”. Noel Murray of "Los Angeles Times" called "The Coming Race" a ”goofy science-fiction picture”. He noted that the film repeatedly alludes to Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections and other provocative themes, but — not unlike its predecessor — remains unable to provide actual satire. Murray described "The Coming Race" ”frustratingly unfocused” both as a story and as a commentary of the modern era. Just the same, he found the hollow Earth sequence ”suitably wacky”. Joey Magidson of "Hollywood News" noted the potentially entertaining premise, but concluded that the film was ”largely a bore and a mess”. He awarded the film 1.5 stars out of 4. Brian Orndorf of "Blu-ray.com" called the film ”noisy and unfunny” and gave it 3 stars out of 10. Orndorf's criticisms included ”pawing at [...] obvious political targets” and ”relentless absurdity”.


title: Iron Sky: The Coming Race

text: On the other hand, Samantha Nelson, writing for "The Verge", enjoyed the ”uniquely bizarre form of movie magic”. She found the film mostly void of the original's ”dark political comedy”, being more focused on campy adventure and absurd expositions delivered by Udo Kier. The storyline offers "plenty of opportunities for spectacle" and comedic commentary of film tropes, and the special effects show significant improvement over those in the first film. On the downside, "The Coming Race’s" high-speed plot prevents it from giving necessary focus on any single theme.


title: Iron Sky: The Coming Race

text: Before the film was released, a third film, called "Iron Sky: The End Game", which would have made the "Iron Sky" films a trilogy, was in a planning stage.


title: Iron Sky: The Coming Race

text: During Autumn of 2019 there were many complaints from crowdfunding participants that Iron Sky Universe were not fulfilling their delivery of promised crowdfunding perks from the Indiegogo crowdfunding platform. Eventually, on November 5, 2019 Iron Sky Universe placed an update citing, "very challenging financial situation for the company", and saying that physical discs of the film may not actually be delivered at all. "However we can not make promises when the physical discs are coming, or if they're coming at all."


title: Iron Sky: The Coming Race

text: Blind Spot Pictures, the main production company for Iron Sky 2012 has been declared bankrupt since 17 September 2019.


title: Iron Sky: The Coming Race

text: During September 2020, Iron Sky 3D artist Trevor Baylis answered questions related to the future of the Iron Sky franchise on the Iron Sky "subreddit" r/ironsky and gave some insight to the legal problems behind the scenes using the username 'trevileo'. According to Baylis, due to the Finnish Market Courts failure to clarify copyright issues related to Iron Sky, this created a break in the Chain of title of copyright ownership documentation. Additionally, the situation was made worse by the Producers themselves failing to provide any evidence of copyright ownership to the courts which led to the Producers counterclaim being rejected.


title: Iron Sky: The Coming Race

text: Additionally, during the 2020 Helsinki Film Festival, Baylis took part in an Industry Panel related to film copyrights. Along with film producers and legal experts Baylis spoke about the contract problems associated with Iron Sky. In his comments he talks about how the Producers made a mistake of thinking there was a Work for hire doctrine in Finland when in fact, as mentioned by the expert panel, such a doctrine does not exist in Nordic countries as it mainly relates to United States law. Instead in Finland, employees can remain owners of copyrights. A salient fact as Baylis points out which contributed to both films distribution problems especially as many people worked without contracts creating 3D models for large parts of the first film's production.


title: Iron Sky: The Coming Race

text: Baylis concludes that because the producers do not have the complete chain of title for Iron Sky that it will be problematic to get legal distribution or raise funding for future projects.


title: Iron Sky: The Coming Race

text: Finnish news reported on 13 October 2020 that Iron Sky Universe, the production company behind Iron Sky franchise, had filed for bankruptcy in Finland. This was also confirmed by Iron Sky Universe the same day. Timo Vuorensola himself also confirmed that Iron Sky Universe had filed for bankruptcy saying, "The production company of Iron Sky, called Iron Sky Universe, one which I jointly set up with Tero, is going under."


title: State of Decay 2

text: State of Decay 2 is a survival video game developed by Undead Labs and published by Xbox Game Studios. The game is a followup to "State of Decay" and was released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox One on May 22, 2018. Like its predecessor, players are required to build a community, manage resources and survive against the horde of zombies.


title: State of Decay 2

text: "State of Decay 2" received mixed reviews from critics, who praised its difficulty, musical score and combat, but criticized the technical issues and the lack of depth in the survival and management mechanics. The game had over 10 million players by August 2021. A sequel, "State of Decay 3", is under development.


title: State of Decay 2

text: "State of Decay 2" is a zombie survival game, with an emphasis on scavenging for items, in which gameplay is experienced from a third-person view. The game is set in an open world environment and features cooperative gameplay with up to three other players. The player can choose from several locations to build a base, then reinforce and improve it with various facilities like watchtowers, gardens, sleeping quarters, kitchens, workshops, medical bays, etc. to help keep survivors safe and healthy. Part of the game is balancing the use of resources: food, medicine, ammo, and construction materials. They can be obtained by scavenging or trading with NPCs. The player can interact with survivors outside of their group: trading with them, helping them or recruiting them. Only one survivor can be controlled at a time, though the player can ask an AI-controlled survivor to accompany them, and in certain missions, one or more AI-controlled survivors will accompany the player. Cooperative multiplayer is also available allowing to players to recruit a friend to temporarily join their game to assist them with objectives.


title: State of Decay 2

text: Each character has a fixed set of "traits" which give them advantages or flaws (such as tire out more easily, or can improve a certain skill faster). Except for the story-related characters, most characters can be assigned to survivor groups and be recruited. Each character also has a moral parameter, affected by game events (a near death experience, death of another character, or having accomplished a difficult task). These attitudes can affect their behaviors, sometimes requiring player intervention. Zombies are the main threat in the game. They respawn infinitely (unless the player establishes an outpost, which prevents spawns in their vicinity), are attracted to noise, and are capable of sprinting nearly as fast as the characters. The player can choose to confront them directly, use stealth to sneak past them, or divert them using items like firecrackers. In addition, there are special types of zombies, such as the animal-like "Ferals" or the tank-like "Juggernauts" that are quite dangerous in one-on-one confrontations. Besides walking, the player has access to several types of cars, each with its own characteristics like maneuverability and speed. All vehicles can be damaged and destroyed when running over zombies or hitting obstacles.


title: State of Decay 2

text: "State of Decay 2" is developed by Undead Labs and published by Microsoft Studios. It was developed using Unreal Engine 4. The game was announced on June 13, 2016, at Microsoft's E3 Xbox briefing, and initially scheduled to be released in 2017 for Windows 10 and the Xbox One. At Microsoft's E3 2017 Xbox briefing, it was announced that "State of Decay 2" would release in Spring 2018. Additionally, the game would also be available to play at no cost to Xbox Game Pass subscribers at its release.


title: State of Decay 2

text: "State of Decay" was being sold as an Xbox Play Anywhere title, as well as cross-play support between Windows 10 and Xbox players.


title: State of Decay 2

text: The "Collector's Edition", without "State of Decay 2" game, was also released. The set includes an exclusive SteelBook case, latex zombie mask, a human brain SteelBook stand, an iron-on patch with the game's logo, and a thumb drive with 4GB capacity – in the shape of a severed human thumb.


title: State of Decay 2

text: On September 12, 2018, the "Daybreak" downloadable content was released. This DLC pack added a new game mode in which the objective is to protect an objective whilst facing waves of increasingly difficult enemies. Rewards earned within the Daybreak game mode can be used within the standard game mode allowing access to exclusive gear and characters. On June 11, 2019, a new expansion pack for the game, "Heartland", was released, featuring new missions, characters and new enemy types. The expansion is set in Trumbull Valley, the setting of the first game. On March 13, 2020, the "Juggernaut Edition" was released as both a standalone game and as a free update to people who already had the original game. This version primarily featured a graphical overhaul and different lighting schemes, along with a new map named Providence Ridge, a former logging town with much more pronounced elevation changes and twisty roads. On August 2, 2021, a new feature named "Plague Territory" was added. Along with new added features such as the ability to add a sidearm, "Plague Territory" now enables plague hearts to "claim" nearby buildings and bases in its vicinity. These areas have a higher population of plague zombies. Bases and outposts within plague territory cannot be claimed until the plague heart controlling the area is eradicated. On September 1, 2021, the "Homecoming Update" was released and features a host of quality of life improvements (including a higher ammo count for one inventory slot, a revamped gun HUD, and vehicles now keep their headlights on after exiting to illuminate dark areas) along with a new playable map Trumbull Valley, remastered from the original game.


title: State of Decay 2

text: "State of Decay 2" received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic. Alessandro Barbosa of "GameSpot" gave "State of Decay 2" a 5/10, enjoying the satisfying combat but taking issue with the lack of depth in its survival systems and the amount of bugs; he felt that "State of Decay 2 sometimes feels like a far-too-real representation of the mundane reality that comes with surviving a zombie apocalypse." Dan Stapleton of "IGN" also disliked the game's bugs and lack of depth, particularly with the board-game-style management. However, he praised the combat, calling it "simple but satisfying", and the variety of zombies and the persistent fear of permanent death; he awarded it a 7.5/10.


title: State of Decay 2

text: In May 2018, Microsoft announced that the game had over a million players since its release, and on June 4, 2018 that mark had exceeded 2 million players. In June 2018, it was announced that "State of Decay 2" exceeded 3 million players, and by August 2019 it surpassed 5 million. In August 2021, it was announced the game had surpassed 10 million players.


title: State of Decay 2

text: The game was nominated for Best Add-on/DLC for "Daybreak" at Gamescom 2018, and for Best Co-Operative Game and at the Xbox Game of the Year at the 2018 Golden Joystick Awards. A sequel, "State of Decay 3", was announced in July 2020.


title: Eunuchs in China

text: A eunuch ( ) is a castrated man. Castration has had a social function in history. In China, castration included the removal of the penis and the testicles (emasculation). A knife removed both organs at the same time. Eunuchs have existed in China since about 146 AD, during the reign of Emperor Huan of Han and were common as civil servants by the Qin dynasty. From ancient times to the Sui dynasty, castration was a traditional punishment (one of the Five Punishments) and a means of gaining employment in the imperial service. Some eunuchs, such as the Ming dynasty official Zheng He, gained power that superseded that of the Grand Secretaries. Self-castration was not uncommon, although it was not always performed thoroughly and was later banned.


title: Eunuchs in China

text: Eunuchs were employed as high-ranking civil servants because they could not have children, so they were not tempted to seize power and begin a dynasty. In addition, many in the palace considered eunuchs more reliable than scholar-officials. Finally, as a symbolic assignment of divine authority in the palace system, a constellation of stars was designated as the emperor's; west of the constellation, four stars were known as his "eunuchs."


title: Eunuchs in China

text: The tension between eunuchs in the service of the emperor and virtuous Confucian officials is a familiar theme in Chinese history. In his "History of Government", Samuel Finer writes that reality often needs to be clearly defined. The emperor valued capable eunuchs as advisers, and resistance from "virtuous" officials often stemmed from jealousy. Ray Huang says that eunuchs represented the personal will of the Emperor, and the officials represented the political will of the bureaucracy; a clash between them would have been a clash of ideologies or political agendas.


title: Eunuchs in China

text: The number of eunuchs in imperial employment fell to 470 by 1912. The Chinese government abolished the eunuch system on November 5, 1924. The last imperial eunuch, Sun Yaoting, died in December 1996.


title: Eunuchs in China

text: Men sentenced to castration became eunuch slaves of the Qin dynasty, performing forced labor for projects such as the Terracotta Army. The Qin government confiscated the property and enslaved and castrated the families of rapists as punishment.


title: Eunuchs in China

text: In Han dynasty China, references to castration were "gōngxíng" (宮刑 "palace punishment") or "fǔxíng" (腐刑 "rotting punishment"), and euphemistically as being "sent to the silkworm house," referring to the new castrate's confinement in a room (like a silkworm) to prevent infection and death. In addition, punished castrated men during the Han dynasty were used for slave labor.


title: Eunuchs in China

text: Near the end of the Han dynasty in 189, a group of eunuchs known as the Ten Attendants gained considerable power in the imperial court; several warlords planned their murder to restore the emperor's government. The loyalist warlord He Jin was lured into a trap in the palace and killed by the eunuchs. The other warlords, led by Yuan Shao, stormed the court and massacred the Ten Attendants and many other eunuchs. In the wake of the fighting, Dong Zhuo seized power. Castration was abolished twice as a punishment under the Han dynasty: before 167 BC, then during the 110s AD.


title: Eunuchs in China

text: In 446 AD, the Northern Wei crushed an ethnic Qiang rebellion. Wang Yu was a castrated Qiang eunuch who may have undergone castration during the uprising as the Northern Wei frequently castrated elite young Qiang. He was born in the town of Lirun, in Fengyi prefecture (present-day Chengcheng County). Wang Yu, a Buddhist, had a temple built at his birthplace in 488.


title: Eunuchs in China

text: The Northern Wei had the young sons of rebels and traitors castrated, forcing them to serve in the palace as eunuchs. Notable survivors of this practice include Liu Siyi (Liu Ssu-i), Yuwen Zhou (Yü-wen Chou 宇文冑), Duan Ba, Wang Zhi, Liu Teng, and Sun Shao. The Northern Qi Gao Huan had Shu Lüè castrated and made a messenger eunuch because his father, Fan Guan (Fan Kuan 樊觀), remained loyal to the Northern Wei. The Northern Wei presented northern wives to Liu Song generals Cui Mo and Shen Mo. Shen Mo had a son, Lingdu, and fled back south to Liu Song; in retaliation, the Northern Wei castrated Lingdu. Cui Mo never returned south, and his northern son escaped punishment.


title: Eunuchs in China

text: The eunuch Zong Ai killed two Northern Wei emperors and a prince. The Empress Dowager Hu (Northern Qi) mourned for the eunuch Meng Luan. She reportedly engaged in sexual relations with her eunuchs; traditional historians used the term "xiexia" (褻狎, "immoral games"), rather than "adultery", to describe her acts with them.


title: Eunuchs in China

text: Indigenous people from southern China endured castration for use as eunuchs during the Sui and Tang dynasties. For example, the rebel An Lushan had a Khitan (Liao) eunuch named Li Zhu'er (李豬兒) (Li Chu'er) when he was a teenager. Lushan used a sword to cut off Zhu'er's genitals, nearly killing him from blood loss and reviving him after putting ashes on his injury. Zhu'er then served Lushan for life and was highly trusted by him, frequently aiding the obese Lushan at home and in the Huaqing (Hua-ch'ing) steam baths. Lushan developed a skin disease and became blind and paranoid later in life, which prompted him to flog and murder his subordinates. Zhu'er aLushan's enemies convinced Zhu'er and Yan Zhuang (Yen Chuang) (嚴莊) to assassinate him, and Zhu'er disemboweled Lushan.


title: Eunuchs in China

text: The Liao, Jin, and Yuan dynasties regularly castrated enemy prisoners of war under age 10, forcing them to serve royalty or esteemed citizens. As a result, the war created many opportunities for men and women to kidnap the young sons of enemy combatants and elite civilians. Khitan (Liao) women would fight beside men in combat, and these women took advantage of the number of captured young prisoners of war to fill their palaces with prepubescent eunuchs. These young eunuchs were domestic enslaved people, frequently serving harems of royal women, titled ladies of the court, and concubines, and had no political or social power.


title: Eunuchs in China

text: The Khitans captured Chinese eunuchs at the Jin court after their Later Jin invasion. Their war with the Song dynasty helped the Khitans to create more eunuchs. The Khitan Empress Dowager Chengtian led a raid on China and captured 100 young (under age 10), attractive Han Chinese boys to make into eunuchs. One of these eunuchs was Wang Ji'en (王继恩 (辽朝)); another was Zhao Anren (赵安仁). Notable Jin dynasty eunuchs were Liang Chong (梁珫) and Song Gui (宋珪).


title: Eunuchs in China

text: Like the dynasties which rose and fell before theirs, the Khitans enacted an ordinance permitting castration in 962 after the rape of a footsoldier's young daughter during the reign of Emperor Muzong of Liao. The rapist (an uncle of an imperial consort) was castrated and enslaved to his victim for life. Like the Mongol Empire, Goryeo (Korea) provided eunuchs to the Mongols; they included Bak Bulhwa, Go Yongbo, and Bang Sinu. Some eunuchs adopted Mongol names.


title: Eunuchs in China

text: Castration became a banned legal punishment at the end of Ming Taizu's reign, the first Ming emperor, who reigned over eunuchs from Mongolian, Korea, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Central Asian, Thai, and Okinawan tribes. There were also Korean, Jurchen, Mongolian, Central Asian, and Vietnamese eunuchs under the Yongle Emperor, including Mongol eunuchs who served him when he was the Prince of Yan. Muslim and Mongol eunuchs were in the Ming court, such as those captured from Mongol-controlled Yunnan in 1381; among them was the Ming maritime explorer Zheng He, who served Yongle. The Ming court sent Muslim eunuchs as ambassadors to the Timurids. Vietnamese eunuchs, including Ruan Lang, Ruan An (Nguyễn An), Fan Hong, Chen Wu, and Wang Jin, were sent by Zhang Fu. Korea sent 198 eunuchs, many from Southeast Asia and Korea, to Ming Taizu before ending human tribute in 1435. By the late Ming dynasty, nearly 80 percent of eunuchs came from North China (primarily the Beijing region).


title: Eunuchs in China

text: Ming Taizu had a contentious relationship with the Korean Joseon dynasty, often competing for influence over the Jurchens in Manchuria. Korean-born Ming eunuch ambassadors flogged Korean officials due to their unmet demands. Ambassadors were sometimes arrogant; in 1398, a drunk Sin Kwi-Saeng brandished a knife in the king's presence at dinner. Sino-Korean relations later became amiable, and the Korean envoy's seat at the Ming court was the highest of the tributaries. The Jurchen eunuch explorer Yishiha lived during the Yongle emperor's reign.


title: Eunuchs in China

text: During the Miao rebellions, the Ming governor castrated thousands of Miao boys and gave them to officials as enslaved people; however, Emperor Yingzong of Ming reprimanded him. Prince Zhu Shuang had several Tibetan boys castrated, and Tibetan women seized after a war against the Tibetans. He was a denounced prince after his death.


title: Eunuchs in China

text: During the Lê dynasty, Vietnamese emperor Lê Thánh Tông cracked down on foreign contacts and enforced isolationism. His policies affected trade between Guangdong (Leizhou Peninsula and Hainan) and Vietnam, with accounts of captured Chinese sailors blown off course being captured and castrated to become slaves of the Vietnamese.


title: Eunuchs in China

text: Malay envoys from the Malacca Sultanate were attacked and captured in 1469 by the Vietnamese navy as they returned to Malacca from China. The Vietnamese enslaved and castrated the young captives.


title: Eunuchs in China

text: A 1499 entry in the "Ming Shilu" reported that during the 1460s, under the Chenghua Emperor (1464–1487 AD), 13 Chinese men from Wenchang (including Wu Rui) were captured by the Vietnamese after their ship was blown off course from Hainan to Guangdong's Qin subprefecture (Qinzhou) and landed near the coast of Vietnam. The Emperor enslaved 12 of the 13 sailors as agricultural laborers; the youngest Chinese man, Wu Rui (吳瑞), was selected by the Vietnamese court for castration and became a eunuch at the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long for nearly 25 years. After the death of Lê Thánh Tông in 1497, Wu Rui became a military superintendent in northern Vietnam. An Lạng Sơn guard told him about a route back to China, and Rui escaped to Longzhou after walking for nine days through the mountains. Local ethnic minority Tusi chief Wei Chen took him into custody, overruling objections from his family (who wanted to return him to Vietnam). Learning about his escape and fearing that he would reveal Vietnamese state secrets, officials sent an agent to repurchase Rui from Wei Chen. An argument about price began; Pingxiang magistrate Li Guangning rescued Rui and sent him to Beijing to serve in the Ming palace.


title: Eunuchs in China

text: In 1467, a similar entry in the "Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư" reports that a Chinese ship blew onshore in the An Bang province of Dai Viet (present-day Quảng Ninh Province). Lê Thánh Tông ordered the Chinese to be detained and not allowed to return to China. Historians Leo K. Shin, John K. Whitmore, and Tana Li suggest that these accounts of sailors blown off course and being captured and castrated may point to Chinese involvement in illegal trade, which the Vietnamese government suppressed.


title: Eunuchs in China

text: Rumors about the Ming Zhengde Emperor's possible conversion to Islam abounded after he encouraged his Muslim eunuchs to commission the production of porcelain with blue-and-white inscriptions in Persian and Arabic. Suspicion grew when the emperor was associated with an anti-pig-slaughter mandate, although the author of the proclamation is unknown. Muslim eunuchs contributed money in 1496 to repair the Niujie Mosque, the largest mosque and Muslim cultural center in Beijing, and the emperor's association with his Muslim eunuchs triggered gossip.


title: Eunuchs in China

text: The emperor employed nearly 70,000 eunuchs by the end of the Ming dynasty, with some serving in the imperial palace. The dynasty's eunuch population peaked at 100,000. In popular cultural texts, such as Zhang Yingyu's "The Book of Swindles" (), eunuchs were described negatively and accused of enriching themselves with excessive taxation and indulging in cannibalism and sexual debauchery.


title: Eunuchs in China

text: The Southern Ming Yongli emperor's wife, Empress Wang, had a young eunuch enslaved person who later wrote an account detailing his childhood in Huguang province's Jingzhou prefecture. First, the eunuch writes that rebels killed his parents; one of the rebels adopted him, who later became a Southern Ming soldier. Then, in 1656, the Southern Ming court ordered high-ranking military officers to give up their sons over the age of seven years for castration in Kunming (Yunnan Fu) and enslavement in the Yongli court. Over 20 boys were castrated one month after the order, including Empress Wang's slave (despite his adoptive father's attempts to save him).


title: Eunuchs in China

text: In Ming China, eunuchs were a cornerstone of daily operations in the imperial palace. First and foremost was maintaining a comfortable life for the emperor. Their other responsibilities varied in significance, encompassing almost every aspect of the palace routine. They included procuring copper, tin, wood, and iron and repairing and constructing ponds, castle gates, and palaces in major cities like Beijing and Nanjing and the mansions and mausoleums of imperial relatives. Eunuchs prepared meals for many people and cared for pets and wild animals in and around the palace.


title: Eunuchs in China

text: They worked closely with other professionals in the palace, frequently associating with those in lower-ranking occupations. In addition, some eunuchs had supportive partnerships with serving women in the palace; the name for such a pair was a "vegetarian couple" ("duishi"). The relationships offered security and protection to both parties, enabling them to interact with higher-ranking Mandarin bureaucrats.


title: Eunuchs in China

text: The duties of eunuchs evolved. The Hongwu Emperor decreed that a few uneducated eunuchs should be kept (to prevent them from seizing power). Still, later emperors began to train and educate eunuchs and often made them their secretaries. The elimination of previous restrictions allowed some eunuchs (particularly Wang Zhen, Liu Jin, and Wei Zhongxian) to attain great power. The Yongle Emperor established the Eastern Depot, a spy and secret police agency run by eunuchs from 1420 to 1644. Zheng He was a seafaring pioneer who spread Chinese influence extensively.


title: Eunuchs in China

text: Eunuchs were controversial in Ming China as they had a reputation for spying. They served the harem and the emperors who believed they could carry valuable information. Fearful bureaucrat scholars thought of eunuchs as greedy, evil, cunning, and duplicitous because they worked in the palace or other official houses with many concubines. In Chinese society, castration broke conventional moral rules; a son without a male heir to carry on the family name contradicted Confucian ideology. Eunuchs in the palace were stereotyped as exceeding their authority in areas where they did not belong. The Yongle Emperor allowed them to supervise the implementation of political tasks, and eunuchs sometimes interfered in the succession to the throne. As their presence and power increased, they gradually took over the duties of female palace musicians and became the dominant Ming palace musicians.


title: Eunuchs in China

text: Although eunuchs were employed by all Chinese dynasties, their opportunities declined during the Qing dynasty; their work was largely replaced by the Imperial Household Department, which had managed their employment since the reign of the Kangxi Emperor. The Qing palace tended to recruit eunuchs from Zhili who were primarily unmarried adolescent-to-mid-20s Han Chinese from northern Shandong and the counties of Wanping, Jinghai, Daxing, and Hejian in southern Hebei near Beijing. A small number of southern Chinese from Yunnan, Zhejiang, and Guangdong became eunuchs, but the increase was minor compared to the number of eunuchs from the counties around Beijing. In 1621, the Qing beile (princes) were erroneously told that their palace women would have sex with their young male slaves and were instructed to have the slaves castrated by Nurhaci.


title: Eunuchs in China

text: At the beginning of the 20th century, about 2,000 eunuchs worked in the Forbidden City; they were notorious for corruption and theft during the later dynasty after being routinely beaten and abused as slaves governed by a frequently hostile and violent emperor. Many men willingly became eunuchs because of poverty in China, also experiencing physical violence to live a better life. Puyi, the last emperor, wrote about growing up in the Forbidden City: "By the age of 11, flogging eunuchs was part of my daily routine. My cruelty and love of power were already too firmly set for persuasion to have any effect on me... Whenever I was in a bad temper the eunuchs would be in for trouble." A yellow bag with bamboo sticks were kept in the Forbidden City, and Empress Dowager Cixi once ordered the palace servant girls and court women to beat the eunuchs with them. Eunuchs would be punished more unless they begged their mistress (or master) for mercy.


title: Eunuchs in China

text: A new policy of castrating rebels and the sons of killers of three or more related people helped bolster the dwindling supply of young eunuchs for the Qing summer palace. The Qing lowered their age limit for castrating the sons of rebels from nine to four years of age. The Qing Imperial Household Department sometimes waited until the boys were 11 years old before castrating them; two young, imprisoned sons of executed murderer Sui Bilong from Shandong were not castrated until they were older. However, the department immediately castrated 11-year-old, Hunanese Fang Mingzai after his father was executed for murder. One hundred thirty sons of participants in the Lin Shuangwen rebellion, aged four to fifteen, were castrated on the orders of the Qianlong Emperor and Heshen (including rebel leader Zhuang Datian's four-year-old grandson, Zhuang Amo). The rebel leader Datian's family and the family of Lin Da were punished for their participation in the rebellion. Lin Shuangwen ordered Lin Da to lead a group of 100 rebels, and titled him "General Xuanlue". After the rebellion, Lin Da was executed by Lingchi at age 42. He had six sons; the two eldest died before the rebellion, his third son (Lin Dou) died of disease in Beijing before he could be castrated, and his fourth and fifth sons (11-year-old Lin Biao and 8-year-old Lin Xian) were castrated. His sixth and youngest son (seven-year-old Lin Mading) was adopted by his uncle, Lin Qin; since Lin Qin did not join the rebellion, Lin Mading was not castrated and had two children after marrying in 1800.


title: Eunuchs in China

text: The Qing policy of castrating the sons of rebels and murderers with three or more victims was inspired by the 1781 case of an 18-year-old nephew of a rebel whose death sentence was commuted to castration. Castration for the sons of rebels and murderers was reintroduced by the Qing during the 18th century, after its abolition in the Tang and Ming dynasties. In 1793, Qianlong and the Imperial Household Department (under Heshen) decreed that the sons of murderers over age 16 would be exiled as slaves to the frontier after castration; sons under 16 would be kept as eunuchs in the imperial palace, in the belief that the younger sons could be controlled more easily.


title: Eunuchs in China

text: The Qianlong Emperor reviewed the case of Zhao Cheng (赵成), who slept with his son's wife. His son, Zhao Youliang, did not want to report his father and took his wife to the safety of their relatives (the Niu family). Zhao Cheng's friend, Sun Si (孙四), helped him murder five members of the Niu family (which he blamed on his son). Under torture and interrogation, Zhao Youliang did not implicate his father. Officials surmised that the murders were probably committed by more than one person and, after torturing and interrogating the Niu family's neighbors, learned that Zhao Cheng and Sun Si committed the murders. The penalty for mass murder was the execution of the same number of individuals from the perpetrator's family as the murder victims. Officials were hesitant to execute Zhao Youliang for his father's crimes and asked the Qianlong Emperor for guidance. The emperor decided that the son should be castrated; although he was the son of a murderer, he was victimized by his father.


title: Eunuchs in China

text: In 1791, a mass murderer killed 11 and injured 12 unrelated people. The Qing punishment-by-castration policy made clear the two requirements to grant a murderer castration instead of execution: at least three people must be murdered, and all victims must be members of the same family. Disregarding the requirement for a victim-familial relationship, the Qing Emperor ordered the murderer's sons to be castrated instead of executed. In a related 1789 incident in Henan, three brothers were killed and a fourth brother was severely injured in an attack by a tenant farmer named Zhang. The emperor ordered the castration of Zhang's two sons, instead of execution; Zhang was sentenced to death by "lingchi". In 1872, Liu Ch'ang-Yu of Henan was taken by the Imperial Household Department for castration when he became of age to be enslaved as a eunuch in a princely establishment; his father had murdered several relatives.


title: Eunuchs in China

text: The Qing changed its law about the punishment by castration of sons of rebels four times (in 1801, 1814, 1835, and 1845), saying that if the sons and grandsons of rebels claimed ignorance of their father (or grandfather's) rebellious intent they would be sent to the Imperial Household Department for castration as adults or children. Notable Qing enactments were:


title: Eunuchs in China

text: Sir John Barrow, 1st Baronet noted on his visit to the Qing summer palace as part of the 1793 Macartney Mission that there were two types of Chinese eunuchs: those without testicles (who inspected and maintained buildings, gardens, and other palace works) and those (called "rasibus" by local Catholic missionaries) who had also had their penises and testicles – amputated. Barrow notes that the term "black eunuch" referred not to skin color but referenced the Ottoman Empire term for eunuchs who had their penis removed. These eunuchs served inside the palace, attending to the imperial harem. The young, emasculated eunuchs, considered nearly as coquettish as the women they served, often painted their faces like the imperial women. Barrow noted that all the Chinese eunuchs (including the "rasibus") had female slaves, purchased from poor families who sold their daughters. The Qing court and the eunuchs, however, considered eunuchs male and not female or third sex.


title: Eunuchs in China

text: The 19th-century British researcher George Carter Stent and later historian Norman A. Kutcher observed that young eunuchs were prized by female members of the Qing imperial family as attendants. Both note that young eunuchs were physically attractive, considered "completely pure", and were used for "impossible to describe" duties by female members of the imperial family. Kutcher suggests that the boys were used for sexual pleasure by Qing imperial women, likening them to other young eunuchs called "earrings" who were also used for that purpose. Young eunuchs were used for intimate bathroom and bedroom duties by palace ladies.


title: Eunuchs in China

text: During the Qing dynasty, emasculated eunuchs had to resort to dildos, oral sex, or foreplay to satisfy women sexually. Liang Zhangju (1775–1849) wrote in his "Wandering Talk" sketches that palace eunuchs performed oral sex on the women and caressed them until the women were sexually satisfied. Eunuchs used dildos and hormones to have a "dry-run orgasm with diminished sensation to reduce the effects of castration", especially if they were past puberty when castrated. Eunuchs still had a sexual desire after castration but were sexually frustrated. The eunuch Zhang Delang engaged in sexual acts with a prostitute in Tianjin's Japanese concession (where he lived after the fall of the Qing) and married three women. Yu Chunhe, a eunuch who worked for Delang, said he was "burning with fever and desire" as he watched Delang and the prostitute. Cixi (Tsu-Hsi) suggested that eunuch Xiao Dezhang (Hsiao Teh-chang) (Zhang Lande) become a sexual partner of the Longyu empress (Lung-yu), since the Guangxi emperor (Kuang Hsu) was impotent. Zhang Lande also had a love affair with Han banner woman Yu Roung Ling, a sister of Princess Der Ling. Sexual relations and marriage between eunuchs and palace maids was referred to as "duishi".


title: Eunuchs in China

text: The Manchu palace maid Ronger (榮兒) (b. 1880) of the Manchu Hešeri clan wrote "The Memoirs of a Palace Maid", an autobiography about her experiences as a Qing palace maid. She retired from service at age 18 and was married to Liu, a Han Chinese eunuch given to her by the Dowager Empress Cixi and an adopted son of eunuch Liu Lianying. Ronger writes that Qing court rules required that all court eunuchs must be Han Chinese and not from the Eight Banners (administrative and military divisions in the Later Jin and Qing dynasties into which all Manchu households were placed). All palace maids had to be Manchu Banner-women from the three Upper Banners and were required to "stay ten years at the palace to wait upon Her Majesty, and then they are free to marry". Han girls were not allowed to be palace maids unless their Han Banner-man father was a high official of the sixth rank or higher, and Han fathers were not required to send their daughters to serve.


title: Eunuchs in China

text: The Qing dynasty ended after the 1911 Revolution. Puyi (the last Qing emperor) continued to live in the Forbidden City with his eunuchs with financial support from the new Chinese republic until 1924 when he and his entourage were expelled by the warlord general Feng Yuxiang. In 1923, after a fire that Puyi believed was started to cover the theft of his imperial treasures, he expelled the eunuchs from the Forbidden City.


title: Little Dorrit

text: Little Dorrit is a novel by Charles Dickens, originally published in serial form between 1855 and 1857. The story features Amy Dorrit, youngest child of her family, born and raised in the Marshalsea prison for debtors in London. Arthur Clennam encounters her after returning home from a 20-year absence, ready to begin his life anew.


title: Little Dorrit

text: The novel satirises some shortcomings of both government and society, including the institution of debtors' prisons, where debtors were imprisoned, unable to work and yet incarcerated until they had repaid their debts. The prison in this case is the Marshalsea, where Dickens's own father had been imprisoned. Dickens is also critical of the impotent bureaucracy of the British government, in this novel in the form of the fictional "Circumlocution Office". Dickens also satirises the stratification of society that results from the British class system.


title: Little Dorrit

text: The novel begins in Marseilles "thirty years ago" (c. 1826), with the notorious murderer Rigaud narrating to his prison cellmate John Baptist Cavalletto how he had killed his wife, just prior to being taken to trial. Businessman Arthur Clennam is detained with other travellers in quarantine in Marseilles and becomes friends with the merchants Mr and Mrs Meagles, their spoiled daughter "Pet", and their maid, an orphan named Harriet Beadle, who the family has nicknamed Tattycoram. Another traveller, Miss Wade, takes interest in the rebellious Tattycoram. Arthur has spent the last twenty years in China with his father, handling that part of the family business; his father died recently there. Arthur is now returning to London to see his mother, Mrs Clennam.


title: Little Dorrit

text: While Arthur's father was on his deathbed, he had given Arthur a watch to give to his mother with a message inside, while murmuring "Your mother," which Arthur delivers to Mrs Clennam. Inside the watch casing is an old silk paper with the initials DNF (do not forget) worked in beads. Arthur asks about the message, but the implacable Mrs Clennam, who now uses a wheelchair, refuses to tell him what it means. Arthur tells her that he will not continue in the family business and seeks new opportunity on his own. Jeremiah Flintwinch then presses Mrs Clennam on her failure to tell Arthur of the past.


title: Little Dorrit

text: In London, William Dorrit, imprisoned as a debtor, has been a resident of Marshalsea debtors' prison for over twenty years. He has three children: Edward (known as Tip), Fanny and Amy. The youngest daughter, Amy, was born in the prison and is affectionately known as Little Dorrit. Their mother died when Amy was eight years old. Tip has recently been imprisoned for his own gambling debts and the ambitious Fanny lives outside the prison with William's older brother Frederick. She works as a dancing girl in the musical hall where Frederick plays the clarinet and has attracted the attention of the wealthy but insipid Edmund Sparkler. Little Dorrit, devoted to her father, supports them both through her sewing and is free to pass in and out of the prison. To the honour of her father, who is embarrassed to acknowledge his financial position, Little Dorrit avoids mentioning her work outside the prison or his inability to leave. Mr Dorrit assumes the role of Father of the Marshalsea, and is held in great respect by its inhabitants, as if he had chosen to live there.


title: Little Dorrit

text: After Arthur tells his mother that he will not continue in the family business, Mrs Clennam chooses her clerk Jeremiah Flintwinch as her partner. When Arthur learns that Mrs Clennam employs Little Dorrit as a seamstress, showing unusual kindness, he wonders whether the young girl might be connected with the mystery of the watch. Arthur follows the girl to the Marshalsea. He tries in vain to enquire about William Dorrit's debt in the Circumlocution Office, assuming the role of benefactor towards Little Dorrit, her father, and her brother, but is unable to make any progress. Meanwhile, Rigaud, who has been released for lack of evidence, approaches Mrs Clennam under the name Blandois, and blackmails her and Flintwhich into giving him a place in her business.


title: Little Dorrit

text: While at the Circumlocution Office Arthur meets the successful inventor Daniel Doyce. Doyce wants a partner and man of business at his factory and Arthur agrees to fill that role. Arthur encounters Cavalletto, when he is injured by a carriage in London, and aids him in getting medical care. Cavaletto lives in hopes of never again seeing Blandois. Little Dorrit falls in love with Arthur, but Arthur fails to recognise Little Dorrit's feelings. He is infatuated with Pet Meagles, but is disappointed when she marries the handsome but cruel artist Henry Gowan. Shortly after Pet's wedding, the Meagles family suffers a blow when Tattycoram runs away to live with Miss Wade.


title: Little Dorrit

text: Arthur becomes reacquainted with his former fiancée Flora Finching, the reason he was sent away to China, who is now a widow and who takes care of the aunt of her late husband. Her father Mr Casby owns many rental properties, and his rent collector, Mr Pancks, takes the brunt of the dirty work of collecting Casby's inflated rents. The indefatigable Pancks discovers that William Dorrit is the lost heir to a large fortune, enabling him to pay his way out of prison, altering the status of the entire family. Dorrit, restored to wealth, immediately shuns all reminders of his past, and forbids a heartbroken Little Dorrit from seeing Arthur again.


title: Little Dorrit

text: The now wealthy Dorrits decide that they should tour Europe as a newly respectable rich family. They travel over the Alps and take up residence for a time in Venice, and finally in Rome, displaying pride over their new-found wealth and position, unwilling to tell their past to new friends. Little Dorrit finds it difficult to adjust to their wealth and new social position, but only her uncle Frederick shares her feelings. Fanny and Tip adjust rapidly to the ways of society, as does Mr Dorrit, yet he fears that someone will discover the truth of his past spent in the Marshalsea, a story he would rather remains in the past. In Rome, at a party, Mr Dorrit falls ill, and dies at their lodgings. His distraught brother Frederick dies that same night. Little Dorrit, left alone, returns to London to stay with newly married Fanny and her husband, the dim-witted Edmund Sparkler. Meanwhile, Blandois disappears and Mrs Clennam is suspected of his murder.


title: Little Dorrit

text: The financial house of Merdle, Edmund Sparkler's stepfather, ends with Merdle's suicide; the collapse of his bank and investment businesses takes with it the savings of the Dorrits, the firm of Doyce and Clennam, Arthur Clennam, and Pancks. Pancks feels enormous guilt for persuading Clennam that the financial man of the hour, Merdle, was an investment, not speculation as Clennam judges. Ashamed and unable to pay the business debts, Clennam is now imprisoned in the Marshalsea, where he becomes ill. When Little Dorrit arrives in London, she slowly nurses him back to health.


title: Little Dorrit

text: Cavalletto tracks down Blandois at the request of Arthur, and brings him to Arthur at the Marshalsea. The truth of Mrs Clennam's past is revealed by Blandois and confirmed by Jeremiah when both are with Mrs Clennam at her house on the appointed day one week after the meeting in the Marshalsea. Her marriage was arranged by her parents and his uncle, though Clennam's uncle Gilbert knew his nephew had already married. Mrs Clennam had insisted on bringing up little Arthur and denying his biological mother, his father's first wife, the right to see him. Mrs Clennam feels this is her right to punish others, under the guise of her religion. She was hurt and used her power to hurt others.