title: Peking Man

text: In 1937, Weidenreich and his assistant Lucille Swan attempted to reconstruct a complete skull, though only considered a skullcap (Skull XI), a left maxillary (upper jawbone) fragment (Skull XII/III), and a right mandibular fragment, which are the presumed-female specimens based on relatively smaller size. Though larger presumed-male specimens are much more numerous, they probably chose female specimens because a presumed-male maxilla would not be discovered until 1943.


title: Peking Man

text: In 1996, anthropologists Ian Tattersall and Gary Sawyer revised the skull with high-quality casts of six presumed-male specimens and three additional isolated tooth specimens (as the original fossils were lost). With this extended sample, virtually the entire skull could be more accurately restored, except the bottom margin of the piriform aperture (the nose hole). They deflated the cheeks and inflated the lateral margins (towards the side of the head) of the brow ridge, which caused the nose to project out even farther (increased midfacial prognathism), though they reduced subnasal prognathism. Overall, their reconstruction aligns more closely with other Asian "H. erectus" and African "H. e? ergaster" specimens.


title: Peking Man

text: Weidenreich characterised the Peking Man skull as being relatively low and long; consequently, the breadth is widest at the ear level, and sharply reduces especially at the strongly receding forehead. There is marked post-orbital constriction, and behind the skull has an ellipsoid shape. Most strikingly, the skull is circumscribed by a torus (a strongly projecting bar of bone) most prominently at the brow ridge (supraorbital torus) and at the back of the skull (occipital torus). All have an eminence projecting just above the supraorbital torus, developed to varying degrees, which is not exhibited in any other population. The frontal sinuses are restricted to the nasal area below the brows, ergo the supraorbital torus is completely solid, unlike that of Java Man. The eye sockets are wide. The superior orbital fissure in the eye socket was probably a small opening like in non-human apes rather than a long slit like in modern humans. The nasal bones between the eyes are double the width of that of the average modern human, though not as wide as those of Neanderthals. Weidenreich suggested Peking Man had a short, broad nose.


title: Peking Man

text: Peking Man also features a sagittal keel running across the midline, highest when it intersects the coronal suture halfway across, and recedes around the obelion (near the base of the parietal bones at the level of the parietal foramina). All skulls feature an equally developed keel (proportionally), including subadult and presumed-female specimens (there are no infant specimens). The keel produces a depression on either side, which accentuates the parietal eminence. The temporal lines arcing in pairs across either side of the skull often merge into a single ridge near the midline of the skull. The squamous part of temporal bone (the flat region) is positioned quite low, and the temporal fossa (the depression between the temporal lines and cheek) is relatively narrow. The mastoid part of the temporal bone features a high crest above which overshadows the ear canal. The crest accentuates the mastoid process, which bends inwards as opposed to the modern human condition of vertical; bending is much more pronounced in presumed-male specimens. Peking Man lacks a true postglenoid process behind the jaw hinge, only a broad-based, triangular projection. The zygomatic bones (cheekbones) project far off the face, and would have been visible when viewing the skull from the top. The zygomatics are also quite high, as much as , whereas modern humans do not exceed .


title: Peking Man

text: At the back of the skull, the occipital torus extends in a relatively straight line, though laterally curves downward at termination (at the sides of the head). The occipital torus can be bordered by furrows (sulci) on the top and bottom margins, though these only indicate muscle attachment, and the bottom margin of the torus actually gradually fades. The midpoint of the torus features an additional prominence, the occipital bun. The foramen magnum (where the spine connects with the skull) appears to have been positioned near the centre like in humans, though was proportionally narrower.


title: Peking Man

text: The strongly developed tori and crests greatly fortify the skull, and the braincase is additionally exceptionally thickened like in other "H. erectus". Similar thickening can also rarely occur in modern humans when the diploë (the spongy layer between the two hard layers of bone in the skull) abnormally expands, but for Peking Man, all three layers of cranial bone have equally thickened.


title: Peking Man

text: Peking Man has remarkably defined canine juga (a bony ridge corresponding to the tooth root). There is subnasal prognathism (the area between the nose and mouth juts out). The upper jaw commonly features exostoses (bony lumps) in the molar region, which infrequently occurs in modern humans (>6%). Like modern humans and Neanderthals but unlike Java Man, Peking Man has a long, rugose palate (roof of the mouth). The mandibles are rather big and, like other archaic humans, lack chins. The extramolar sulci bordering the cheek side of the molars are broad. Some mandibles feature a torus on the tongue side, or multiple mental foramina.


title: Peking Man

text: The dental arches (tooth rows) are U-shaped. The incisors feature an eminence at the base, finger-like ridges on the tongue-side, and for the upper ones marked shovelling (the tooth strongly bends in). Modern human incisors can exhibit shovelling, quite frequently in Chinese populations. The mandibular incisors are narrow. Weidenreich originally restored the teeth as peg-like, but Tattersall and Sawyer found the teeth to be much larger and obtrusive. Like other "H. erectus", the premolars are ellipse-shaped and asymmetrical, but the first premolar (P) frequently has three roots instead of the more common two. The molar crowns exhibit several extraneous ridges in addition to the essential cusps, which produced a "dendrite-like" enamel-dentine junction, typical of "classic" "H. erectus". M is rather long, and M is round.


title: Peking Man

text: The brain capacities of the seven Peking Man skulls for which the metric is measurable range from 850 to 1,225 cc, with an average of about 1,029 cc. For comparison, present-day modern humans average 1,270 cc for males and 1,130 cc for females, with a standard deviation of roughly 115 and 100 cc, and Asian "H. erectus" overall are rather big-brained, averaging roughly 1,000 cc. Encephalisation quotients (the ratio between observed to predicted brain mass for an animal of a given size, cautiously used as an indicator of intelligence) typically score from three to four for "classic" "H. erectus" assuming a body weight on the whereabouts of .


title: Peking Man

text: The endocast (the cast of the inside of the braincase) is ovoid in top-view. The frontal lobe is narrowed like in other "H. erectus", the parietal lobes are depressed unlike Javan and African "H. erectus" or modern humans (though this seems to be somewhat variable among the Peking Man material), the temporal lobes are narrow and slender unlike most other human species, the occipital lobes are flattened dorsoventrally (from top to bottom) and strongly project backwards which is a rather variable trait among archaic human populations, and the cerebellum compared to that of modern humans is not as globular and the lobes diverge more strongly from the midline like other archaic humans.


title: Peking Man

text: Aside from the skull, most of the anatomy of "H. erectus" is based on the adolescent "H. e? ergaster" specimen Turkana Boy from Africa, as well as a few other isolated skeletons from Africa and Western Eurasia. This is because the archaeological record of East Asia is quite scanty. The long bones of all "H. erectus" have thickened cortical bone (hard exterior bone) and consequently narrowed medullary cavities (where the bone marrow is stored). Peking Man appears to have much more robust humeri than "H. e? ergaster". At maximum constriction at the mid-shaft, the femoral walls of Peking Man take up about 90% of the interior space, as opposed to only 75% in modern humans. For the lateral walls (towards the sides), the exorbitant thickness sharply reduces above the greater trochanter, whereas the medial walls (towards the middle) are three times as thick as those of modern humans at that point. In modern humans, the femoral heads feature two main strips of cancellous bone (spongy interior bone) that converge into a triangle (Ward's triangle), which is absent in Peking Man, likely due to the intense thickening of the cortical bone.


title: Peking Man

text: Externally, the humerus is like that of a modern human, and exhibits exceptionally developed muscle attachments, but the shaft is more slender. The lunate bone (in the wrist) is modern humanlike, though proportionally small and broad. The femur is also mostly consistent with that of a modern human externally, except it is much stouter, flatter, slenderer, straighter (and maximum curvature occurs nearer the knee joint instead of at the mid-shaft), the femoral neck was probably truncated like in other archaic humans and non-human apes, the subtrochanteric crest terminates up at the greater trochanter with a bony growth like in Neanderthals, and the anteposterior (from front to back) diameter is smaller than the transverse (from left to right) diameter. These traits are not outside the range of variation for modern humans, though are quite rare.


title: Peking Man

text: The torso is poorly known, but because the limbs and clavicle are proportionally like those of modern humans, it is typically assumed the rest of the body was as well. In 1938, Weidenreich reconstructed a presumed-female femur to be in length in life, which would equate to a female height of . He speculated males averaged . In 1944, Weidenreich reconstructed a presumed-male femur to be long, equating a male height of . He speculated an average female height of . In 2018, Chinese palaeoanthropologist Song Xing estimated the living weight for Humeri II and III as about , Femur I , Femur IV , and Femur VI . Weidenreich assumed all these represent males. Overall, northerly "H. erectus" populations tend to be shorter than tropical populations, with colder climate populations including Zhoukoudian and Dmanisi averaging roughly , and hotter climate populations including African and Javan "H. erectus" .


title: Peking Man

text: Stone tools are strewn throughout Layers 10–1 with a few notable clusters, which has variously been interpreted as either short-lived occupation of the cave except intervals corresponding to those clusters, or occupation only during cluster intervals with the strays being randomly mixed throughout the layers by digging creatures. In 1985, Péi and Chinese palaeoanthropologist Zhang Shenshui identified one in Layers 9–8 right next to the supposed ash layer by Locus G, near what would have been the east cave entrance. Locus K (in about the same location and time interval) similarly yielded a cluster of tools. Occupation of the eastern side seems to end in Layer 6 coinciding with the cave-in of that entrance. The other cluster is in the southwestern region of Layer 3 by Locus H, which either indicates a new cave entrance or ceiling opening there.


title: Peking Man

text: The mammal assemblage indicates Layers 11–10 represent a mixed warm forest and cool/dry grassland environment, Layers 9–8 a warmer and more forested environment, Layers 7–6 a similar environment but wetter climate, Layers 5–4 a cooling trend, and Layers 3–1 a warm and wet predominantly steppeland environment. These can be broadly stratified into three major environmental units: Layers 11–10 a cold and dry, predominantly grassland environment; Layers 9–5 a warm, predominantly forested environment; and Layers 4–1 another cold and dry, predominantly grassland environment.


title: Peking Man

text: The mammal assemblage and oxygen isotope analyses of Layers 9–8 are consistent with a cool steppe environment, gradually encroaching forested areas despite later layers indicating a general warming trend. The mammal assemblage includes macaques, the Zhoukoudian wolf, the Asian black bear, brown bear, the rhino "Dicerorhinus choukoutienensis", the woolly rhinoceros, the horse "Equus sanmeniensis", the Siberian musk deer, the giant deer "Sinomegaceros pachyosteus", sheep, bison, the Asian straight-tusked elephant, bats, pika, rodents, and shrews. The mammal assemblage of Layers 4–3 is broadly similar to that of Layers 9–8, in addition to several warm-to-mild climate steppe and forest creatures, including the raccoon dog "Nyctereutes sinensis", the dhole "Cuon antiquus", the corsac fox, the Asian badger, wolverines, the giant hyena "Pachycrocuta", the saber-toothed cat "Machairodus inexpectatus", the tiger, the leopard, sika deer, the antelope "Spirocerus peii", and the water buffalo "Bubalus teilhardi". The Zhoukoudian fauna are not entirely exclusive to either glacial or interglacial periods.


title: Peking Man

text: "H. erectus" seems to have typically favoured open environments. It is debated if Peking Man occupied the region during colder glacial periods or only took residence during warmer interglacials, tied to the uncertain chronology of the Zhoukoudian, as well as arguments regarding fire usage, clothing technology, and hunting ability. Given the abundance of deer remains, it was quite early on assumed Peking Man was a prolific deer hunter, but since the establishment of non-human carnivores as a major depositional agent, the dependence on hunting has become a controversial topic. Indeed, most of the Peking Man fossils were at least fed upon by likely hyenas. Nonetheless, some of the animal fossils seem to have been modified by humans. In 1986, Binford and colleagues reported a few horse fossils with cutmarks left by stone tools, and two upper premolars from Layer 4 appearing to him to have been burned while still fresh, which he ascribed to horse-head roasting (but he believed Peking Man was simply scavenging from hyenas because all tool cuts he analysed were always overlapping hyena gnaw marks instead of vice versa.) The Zhoukoudian also preserves the remains of edible plants, nuts, and seeds which Peking Man may have been eating: Chinese hackberry, walnut, hazelnut, pine, elm, and rambler rose.


title: Peking Man

text: "H. erectus", a specialist in woodland and savannah biomes, likely went extinct with the takeover of tropical rainforests. Peking Man's final stay at Zhoukoudian may have taken place sometime between 400,000 and 230,000 years ago, though a more exact time interval is difficult to arrive at. The Hualongdong site is among the youngest Chinese "H. erectus" sites at roughly 150,000 years old.


title: Peking Man

text: During the Mao era, the dissemination of communist ideology among the general populace was imperative. The prospect of "labour created humanity" created by prominent communist Friedrich Engels in his 1876 essay "The Part Played by Labour in the Transition from Ape to Man" became central to Chinese anthropology, and was included in almost any discussion regarding human evolution — including educational media for laypersons. Engels supposed that walking upright instead of on all-fours as other apes do freed the hands for labour, facilitating the evolution of all characteristically human traits, such as language, cooperation, and most importantly the growth of brain size to "perfection," stating, "the hand is not only the organ of labour, it is also the product of labour." Therefore, labour stimulates intelligence, detected in the archaeological record with stone tools.


title: Peking Man

text: As for the society of these ancient humans, including Peking Man, Engel's 1884 book "The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State" and his concept of primitive communism became the mainstay. Engels had largely based it on American ethnologist Lewis H. Morgan's 1877 book "Ancient Society" detailing Morgan's studies on "primitive" hunter-gatherer societies, namely the Iroquois. In the Mao era, Peking Man was consequently often painted as leading a dangerous life in the struggle against nature, organised into simple, peaceful tribes which foraged, hunted, and made stone tools in cooperative and amiable groups; a classless, stateless, and strong society in which all members laboured for the common good. As for gender roles, Peking Man society was most often described as "men hunt and women gather."


title: Peking Man

text: These concepts were mostly compatible with Maoist ideology, but restrictive for scientists especially when interpreting new discoveries. Most notable was Chinese anthropologist Liú Xián who, in his 1950 book "The History of Development from Ape to Human", was unable to reconcile "labour created humanity" with what he was taught while studying under Arthur Keith in London, instead arguing human ancestors came down from the trees by sheer bravery rather than learning to labour (essentially voluntarism vs materialism), which was met with much derision from peers. The frustrations of Chinese scientists with such alternate views came out during the Hundred Flowers Campaign from 1956 to 1957, which encouraged people to speak honestly of their opinions of communism and the government.


title: Peking Man

text: To the West, emphasis was usually placed on intelligence rather than labour, especially after English primatologist Jane Goodall discovered chimpanzees could make tools in 1960 (i.e., the labour of tool manufacturing is not unique to humans). Nonetheless, popular Western and Eastern interpretations of ancient humans at this time converged greatly. In China, the influence of "labour created humanity" as well as Engel's rhetoric waned after the rise of Deng with the dissemination throughout China of Western research and theories contradictory to Maoist ideology, particularly after 1985, though labour was still regarded as an important adaption. By this time, the concept of labour had expanded from purely manual to also intellectual work; a sense of aesthetics was instead heralded as a uniquely human trait.


title: Peking Man

text: Consistent with other prehistoric human populations, Peking Man had a rather short average lifespan. Out of a sample of 38 individuals, 15 died under the age of 14 years (39.5%), 3 died around 30 years (7%), 3 died from 40 to 50 years (7%), and 1 at 50 to 60 years (2.6%). The ages of the remaining 16 individuals (43%) could not be determined.


title: Peking Man

text: Despite the Zhoukoudian being one of the most productive sites for East Asian stone tools, the IVPP prioritised human and animal fossils, and archaeological research has stalled. This strongly contrasts with the rest of the world, especially Europe, where tools and manufacturing techniques have been categorised even on regional levels. Consequently, China's archaeological record has generally been viewed as stagnant. Nonetheless, markers of broader periods to the west are conspicuously rare in the East, most notably bifaces characteristic of the Acheulean culture (typically associated with western "H. erectus" and "H. heidelbergensis") or the Levallois technique of the Mousterian culture (Neanderthals). The apparent technological divide inspired American archaeologist Hallam L. Movius to draw the "Movius Line" dividing the East and West in 1944. Though this is not well supported anymore with the discovery of some bifacial technology in Middle Pleistocene East Asia, bifaces are still conspicuously rare and crude compared to western contemporaries. This has been variously explained as: the Acheulean was invented in Africa after human dispersal through East Asia (but this would require that the two populations remained separated for nearly two million years); East Asia had poorer quality raw materials, namely quartz and quartzite (but some Chinese localities yielded bifaces made of these materials, and East Asia is not completely void of higher-quality minerals); East Asian "H. erectus" used biodegradable bamboo instead of stone for chopping tools (but this is difficult to test); or East Asia had a lower population density, leaving few tools behind in general (though demography is difficult to approximate in the fossil record).


title: Peking Man

text: The Zhoukoudian Locality 1 has produced more than 100,000 lithic pieces. In 1979, to highlight technological evolution, Péi and Zhang partitioned the Zhoukoudian industry into three stages: the early stage typified by the simple hammer and anvil technique (slamming the core against a rock) which produced large flakes namely from soft minerals such as sandstone, weighing up to and measuring from Layer 11; the middle stage typified by the bipolar technique (smashing the core into several flakes with a hammerstone, out of which at least a few should be the correct size and shape) which made smaller flakes up to in weight and in length; and the late stage above Layer 5 typified by even smaller flakes made with harder and higher quality quartz and flint among other cobble. Quartz had to be collected some distance from the cave from local granite outcrops by the hills and riverbed. In addition to simple flakes, they also manufactured scrapers, choppers, and, towards the later end of occupation, points, burins, and awls. Nonetheless, these techniques produced highly ununiform tools, and Binford was skeptical of any evidence of cultural evolution at all. There is scanty and indefinite evidence for the modification of bones into tools. Productive contemporaneous Chinese stone tool sites include Xiǎochángliáng (similar to Zhoukoudian), Jīgōng Shān, Bose Basin (which produced large tools often in excess of 10 cm, or 4 in), Jinniushan, Dingcun, and Panxian Dadong.


title: Peking Man

text: The debate as to whether Peking Man was the first human species to manufacture tools fleshed out in the early 1960s in the period of relative stability between the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. The argument centered around whether the Zhoukoudian tools were the most primitive and therefore the earliest tools (i. e., Peking Man is the most ancient human) championed by Péi, or if there were even more primitive and as of yet undiscovered tools (i. e., Peking Man is not the most ancient human) championed by Jiǎ. In Western circles, Louis Leakey had already reported an apparent pebble industry in Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, in 1931, the first hard (albeit, controversial) evidence of a culture more primitive than the Acheulean. Radiometric dating in the 1960s established the Oldowan as the oldest known culture at 1.8 million years old.


title: Peking Man

text: In 1929, Péi oversaw the excavation of Quartz Horizon 2 of the Zhoukoudian, and reported burned bones and stones, ash, and redbud charcoal, which they interpreted as evidence of early fire use by Peking Man. The evidence was widely accepted. Further excavation in 1935 of Locality 1 Layers 4–5 revealed more burned stones, ash, and hackberry seeds. Ash was deposited in horizontal and vertical patches, reminiscent of hearths.


title: Peking Man

text: In 1985, Binford and Ho doubted Peking Man actually inhabited Zhoukoudian, and asserted the material was burned by naturally occurring fires fueled by guano; though, the next year, Binford interpreted burned horse teeth as evidence of horse-head roasting. In 1998, Weiner, Goldberg, and colleagues found no evidence of hearths or siliceous aggregates (silicon particles, which form during combustion) in Layers 1 or 10; they therefore concluded the burned material was simply washed into the cave rather than being burned in the cave. The IVPP immediately responded, and, in 1999, Chinese palaeoanthropologist Wu Xinzhi argued Weiner's data was too limited to reach such conclusions. In 2001, Goldberg, Weiner, and colleagues concluded the ash layers are reworked loessic silts, and blackened carbon-rich sediments traditionally interpreted as charcoal are instead deposits of organic matter left to decompose in standing water. That is, there is no evidence of ash or fire at all.


title: Peking Man

text: Nonetheless, in 2004, Shen and colleagues reported evidence of a massive fire at Layer 10 — ostensibly as old as 770,000 years ago, during a glacial period — and asserted Peking Man needed to control fire so far back in time in order to survive such cold conditions. In 2014, Chinese anthropologist Maohua Zhong and colleagues reported elements associated with siliceous aggregates in Layers 4 and 6, and they also doubted the validity of Weiner's analysis of Layer 10. The question of fire usage at the Zhoukoudian remains an open debate. Worldwide, evidence of fire usage is scarce in the archaeological record until 400 to 300 thousand years ago, which is generally interpreted as fire not being an integral part of life until this time, either because they could not create or well-maintain it.


title: Powered by the Apocalypse

text: Powered by the Apocalypse (PbtA) is a tabletop role playing game design framework developed by Meguey Baker and Vincent Baker for the 2010 game "Apocalypse World" and later used for "Dungeon World", "Monsterhearts" and numerous other RPGs.


title: Powered by the Apocalypse

text: Vincent Baker wrote that PbtA "isn't the name of a category of games, a set of games' features, or the thrust of any games' design. It's the name of Meg's and my policy concerning others' use of our intellectual property and creative work. [...] Again, 'Powered by the Apocalypse' isn't the name of a kind of game, set of game elements, or even the core design thrust of a coherent movement. (Ha! This last, the least so.) Its use in a game's trade dress signifies ONLY that the game was inspired by "Apocalypse World" in a way that the designer considers significant, and that it follows our policy [with respect to] others' use of our creative work".


title: Powered by the Apocalypse

text: Powered by the Apocalypse games are centered on resolving what characters do as Moves. Characters have access to a default selection of moves based on the expectations of the game setting. In the fantasy game "Dungeon World", characters have access to a hack and slash move, as combat is central to the dungeoneering experience. Alternatively, "Apocalypse World" has a "seize by force" move, as the game assumes a setting where collecting scarce resources is part of the game-play experience. "Apocalypse World", "Dungeon World", and most other PbtA games are class-based. Character classes have access to a number of class-specific moves.


title: Powered by the Apocalypse

text: Moves are resolved by rolling two six-sided dice and adding the relevant modifier, should modifiers be a mechanic in the game. Success levels fall on a scale of total success, partial success, or failure—referred to as a "miss" in the system.


title: Powered by the Apocalypse

text: In addition to other awards won, "Apocalypse World" won the 2010 Indie RPG Award for "Most Innovative Game" and "Dungeon World" won the 2013 ENnie award for "Best Rules".


title: Powered by the Apocalypse

text: Multiple reviews discuss how the system's reliance on moves provides a streamlined focus on the fiction. Academic PS Berge wrote, "Vincent and Meguey Baker's Apocalypse World ("AW", 2010) marked the beginning of a critical era in 'fiction-first' TRPG design. [...] A violent, dystopian, wasteland-punk game, "AW" itself is less important to the legacy of independent TRPGs than the Baker's invitation to other designers: 'If you've created a game inspired by Apocalypse World, and would like to publish it, please do'. [...] What designates a game as PbtA is complicated. [...] Instead, the label is an unpoliced 'homage' – designers may choose to signal a relationship between their game and "AW" using the label and a logo. In other words, 'PbtA' is not a branding or a mechanical linkage to "AW"'s system but a mark of ludic etymology". Emily VanDerWerff, for "Vox", highlighted that "in PBTA games, players roll two six-sided dice (or D6s) to determine whether they succeed or fail at tasks set for them by the game master. The GM, in turn, keeps things moving and tries to preserve a modicum of continuity. But the players also have extreme amounts of leeway to help shape the world and their relationships with other characters. That stripped-down simplicity makes PBTA games a natural fit for people spreading their wings either as players or game masters".


title: Powered by the Apocalypse

text: "Bitch" magazine has commented on the messy interconnected relationships the system produces. Berge also commented on the messy nature of characters in PbtA games and highlighted that many PbtA games "actively support queer narrative". "Screen Rant" highlighted Vincent Baker's game design theory articles; specifically, "designers building their own 'Powered By The Apocalypse' games will learn from posts that talk about how to construct 'Moves,' how to refine a game through iteration, and how to move the themes of a 'PBTA' game away from conflict and towards other transformative experiences".


title: Powered by the Apocalypse

text: Keerthi Sridharan, for "Polygon", wrote:Games that use the PbtA label are ones that take their cues from "Apocalypse World" regarding any number of things: running a session zero, how dice mechanics work, or even aesthetic and design elements. While I’d still highly recommend getting into "Apocalypse World", there are so many different ways to get into other PbtA-style games. In Magpie Games’ "Velvet Glove" you can be a ’70s high school girl gang; in Evil Hat’s "Monster of the Week" you can be a group of monster-hunting detectives. [...] How about Adam Schwaninger’s "Peace Was Never An Option", which stars a gaggle of geese tearing up the town. You could also try my personal favorite, "Masks: A New Generation", which stars a coupla goddamn kids who are, obviously, secretly superheroes. The possibilities are endless: There are over 500 PbtA rulebooks available for perusal and/or purchase on itch.io alone. They don’t all have the same exact rules, of course, but most are newbie-friendly.James Hanna, for "CBR" in 2020, discussed the lasting impact of the PbtA framework on role-playing game design. Hanna wrote, "ten years on, Powered by the Apocalypse games (PbtA) are everywhere. The Bakers designed the PbtA engine so that other game designers could 'hack' it, creating games with similar mechanics, but unique worlds and rules. More than four dozen games bear the PbtA license, making "Apocalypse World" incredibly influential"." That influence continues to be felt as games move into new territories and find new audiences. [...] The result of that empowerment is a thriving and diverse community of PbtA games, each with its own unique flavor and design. [...] Because the PbtA mechanics are so flexible, "any" kind of game is possible". Hanna, in another article for "CBR", compared PbtA to "Dungeons & Dragons". He wrote that "the differences really come down to crunch and conversation. Players looking for a sandbox or linear adventure with lots of crunchy combat will enjoy "D&D" in all its glorious variety. Those who want a more collaborative storytelling experience with fewer granular choices (and probably less math) should try PbtA games. There are so many of them, they are fairly inexpensive, and once you become familiar with the basic rules, they are easy to learn".


title: Powered by the Apocalypse

text: Because of the simplicity and the flexibility of the Powered by the Apocalypse engine, and Vincent Baker's encouragement of publishing hacks, there are at least four dozen fan-made hacks that have reached the point of public playtesting. This list only covers the ones actually published.


title: Powered by the Apocalypse

text: A list of Powered by the Apocalypse games who have obtained permission to use the mark is available on the Apocalypse World website.


title: Open All Hours

text: Open All Hours is a British television sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke for the BBC. It ran for 26 episodes in four series, which aired in 1976, 1981, 1982 and 1985. The programme developed from a television pilot broadcast in Ronnie Barker's comedy anthology series, "Seven of One" (1973). "Open All Hours" ranked eighth in the 2004 Britain's Best Sitcom poll. A sequel, entitled "Still Open All Hours", began airing in 2013.


title: Open All Hours

text: The setting is a small grocer's shop in Balby, a suburb of Doncaster in South Yorkshire. The owner, Arkwright (Ronnie Barker), is a middle-aged miser with a stammer and a knack for selling. His nephew Granville (David Jason) is his put-upon errand boy, who blames his work schedule for his lacklustre social life.


title: Open All Hours

text: Across the road lives Nurse Gladys Emmanuel (Lynda Baron), largely occupied by her professional rounds, and her elderly mother. Arkwright longs to marry Gladys, but she resists his persistent pressures. In later episodes it is explained that the two have been engaged for many years but have been unable to go through with a wedding due to the advanced age of her mother, for whom she cares at home, as well as the mutual loathing between her mother and Arkwright. Though short-tempered with her fiancé, she is concerned for his and Granville's welfare.


title: Open All Hours

text: Twenty-six episodes of "Open All Hours", all written by Roy Clarke, were produced for the BBC. The show began airing in 1976 with the pilot episode and ended in 1985 after the fourth series. All episodes have a running time of 30 minutes.


title: Open All Hours

text: A sequel, entitled "Still Open All Hours", was created in 2013 by original writer Roy Clarke and featuring several original cast members, including David Jason, Lynda Baron, Stephanie Cole and Maggie Ollerenshaw. On 30 January 2014, the BBC commissioned "Still Open All Hours" for six new episodes beginning on 26 December 2014. and, , run for six series.


title: Open All Hours

text: Albert Arkwright is a pragmatic, miserly man with old-fashioned values, whose world seems to stop at his shop door, except for his uncontrollable lust for Nurse Gladys Emmanuel, which may prompt him on occasion to wander across the road, usually with a ladder, to gain access to her bedroom window. Arkwright is a devious and mildly dishonest character, who has many crafty tricks to try to persuade a customer to leave his shop having bought at least one thing, and will avoid spending his own money at all costs. He is also very protective of his savings, keeping some in his pocket wrapped in a fine gold chain, and some in an old, battered Oxo tin that he hides under the kitchen sink. This includes, or so he claims, coins from before 1922, when they were "solid silver".


title: Open All Hours

text: Granville is the son of Arkwright's sister. She died a single mother when Granville was very young, leaving Arkwright to bring up the boy. Arkwright's jokes imply that his sister was promiscuous; he frequently speculates that Granville's father is Hungarian, and was forbidden to marry Granville's mother because she was English. He is often referred to as a "youth" or "young lad", even though Granville is well into his adult years. (In the Pilot episode he states that he is 25 years old.)


title: Open All Hours

text: Granville is shy and awkward, but kind. His priorities differ from those of his uncle. He always feels that life is passing him by. Occasionally, people from Granville's past come into the shop. To Granville, who is ever saddled with his shop duties and bearing his uncle's belittling, their lives seem richer and more fulfilling.


title: Open All Hours

text: The shop is based on a little store called L E Riddiford in Thornbury, Gloucestershire. Roy Clarke visited this small town whilst travelling and was said to have fallen in love with the shop layout and its owner, Len Riddiford.


title: Open All Hours

text: Ronnie Barker proposed that Arkwright should have a stammer, and this was written into the character. Barker also co-created the premise of the dangerous till. In the series, the shop's antiquated till has a drawer that tends to snap shut suddenly. Even though this terrifies Granville and Arkwright, Arkwright refuses to replace the till due to the cost of a replacement, and because he believes it discourages burglars. By the time of "Still Open All Hours", it is suggested that the till is now haunted by Arkwright's ghost as it sporadically opens and closes violently at the mere suggestion of Granville spending money.


title: Open All Hours

text: The exterior shots were shot on Lister Avenue in Balby, a suburb of Doncaster; South Yorkshire. The shop itself is a hairdresser's salon, which closed for a summer break during each year the series was being filmed by the BBC. The same location is used for the sequel series "Still Open All Hours". The pilot episode (featured in the series "Seven of One") used a shop front on the western intersection of Drayton Avenue and Manor Road in Ealing, London for exterior filming.


title: Open All Hours

text: In the first series, Nurse Gladys lives at 34 Lister Avenue. This is changed to 32 from the second series.


title: Open All Hours

text: The local council considered demolishing the shop used in "Open All Hours". A fan created a web site to garner support for preserving it. The shop was to be auctioned in Leeds on 24 November 2008, and was expected to fetch between £120,000 and £130,000; however, all bids fell short of the reserve price.


title: Open All Hours

text: Three years earlier, a different sort of auction commemorated the programme. The BBC donated, to the British Stammering Association, two of the false moustaches worn by Ronnie Barker in the series. The BSA auctioned the moustaches at their London conference in September 2005, shortly before Barker's death.


title: Open All Hours

text: The show's theme tune is a song called "Alice, Where Art Thou?", written by Joseph Ascher. It was arranged for a brass band and performed by Max Harris, who also wrote the incidental music for the programme.


title: Open All Hours

text: Barker noted in his autobiography "It's Hello from Him" that he received a letter which began "We are a family of stutterers...", that made his heart sink. However, the writer went on to praise his portrayal and added that the whole family found the character hilarious.


title: Open All Hours

text: Two books related to the programme have been released in the UK. One was written by Graham McCann and published by BBC Books in October 2014 and the other one, a 'novelisation' based on scripts for the first series, was written by Christine Sparks and was published by BBC Books.


title: Open All Hours

text: A selection of 15 episodes of the series was released on five VHS cassettes by BBC Video on 2 April 1990, 12 June 1995, 4 March 1996, 2 June 1997, and 2 March 1998. Universal Playback, under licence by BBC Worldwide, released Series 1 and 2 as a three tape boxset on 19 August 2002 and Series 3 and 4 as a three tape set boxset on 2 June 2003.


title: Open All Hours

text: In 1984, at which time no new episodes of the series had been produced for two years, a spin-off was proposed based around Lynda Baron's character, Nurse Gladys Emmanuel. Given the working title "Call the Nurse", this spin-off series would have followed Nurse Gladys as she visited various eccentric and demanding patients. The characters of Arkwright and Granville were not written to appear, and Roy Clarke was keen to develop a new set of supporting characters rather than rely on those already built up for "Open All Hours". A thirty-minute pilot was written but did not enter production as the BBC turned down the series; instead, "Open All Hours" returned for its fourth and what would be its final series the following year.


title: Sputnik (film)

text: Sputnik () is a 2020 Russian science-fiction horror film directed by Egor Abramenko in his feature directorial debut. It stars Oksana Akinshina as a young doctor who is recruited by the Soviet military to assess a cosmonaut who survived a mysterious space accident and returned to Earth with a dangerous organism living inside him. Alongside Akinshina, the film's cast includes Pyotr Fyodorov and Fyodor Bondarchuk.


title: Sputnik (film)

text: "Sputnik" was scheduled to have its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2020 prior to the festival being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film was released on video-on-demand in Russia on April 23, 2020. It received generally positive reviews from critics.


title: Sputnik (film)

text: In 1983, during the last hot period of the Cold War, two Russian cosmonauts engaged in an orbital research mission experienced something inexplicable while returning to Earth: they see something moving outside their ship. The spacecraft malfunctions on re-entry and crashes in Kazakhstan, and only one of the cosmonauts, Konstantin, survives. He is taken to an isolated military facility, where Dr. Tatyana Klimova, a young psychiatrist under review for her controversial methods in psychiatry, is brought in, recruited by the officer in charge, Colonel Semiradov. She is not told the real reason for Konstantin's quarantine, but she soon discovers that the cosmonaut brought back an extraterrestrial life-form inside his own body without knowing it himself. The creature comes out during the night, while its host is asleep. Colonel Semiradov reveals to her that she is here to determine how to separate Konstantin and the creature, since they seem to have developed a completely symbiotic relationship, with the creature living in the esophagus of the cosmonaut and benefiting from his nutrients, while Konstantin has made an impossible recovery from his injuries received after the crash-landing.


title: Sputnik (film)

text: Tatyana confronts Konstantin by telling him she knows he has a child whom he has abandoned at an orphanage, implying he is not a national hero but a coward who does not care about his son, with the purpose of stressing him. Thanks to this, she discovers that the creature is affected by hormone levels and that one of the videos she has been shown has been altered, which leads to her discovering a horrifying truth: the creature does not feed from whatever Konstantin eats, but rather eats live humans, and that Semiradov has been feeding it prisoners. The creature shows itself to its victims in order to augment their fear, which makes the human brain release cortisol, from which the alien obtains its nutrition. Disgusted and horrified by this, she confronts Semiradov, only to be told that the real reason they are here is to find a way to turn the alien into a weapon that they can control. He asks her if she will cooperate, to which she seems to agree.


title: Sputnik (film)

text: Later on, and because she has developed a caring relationship with Konstantin, she takes him on a run around the facility, and under the guise of exercising she informs him that he has a parasitic creature inside him and the plans of the military for him. They agree to evade surveillance and meet later on, when she shows him the bodies of the people the creature killed, and the still living astronaut who was in the spacecraft with Konstantin: he was not infected because he had cancer, which had gone undetected by the tests done before the mission, but which the creature must have been able to sense. It is revealed that Konstantin was well aware of his unwanted guest and of what the creature does when it is not attached to him. Tatyana is shocked at this revelation, and Konstantin tells her that, in order to take care of his son, he will do anything in order to get out of this place.


title: Sputnik (film)

text: Tatyana finally determines that she wants to help Konstantin and with the help of another doctor inside the facility, stages an escape. She shows Konstantin a syringe with drugs that will simulate Addison's disease, the same type of disease the other cosmonaut had. Technically, she reasons this would force the creature out, hopefully, dying within the hour outside its host.


title: Sputnik (film)

text: As they make their escape, they are ambushed by Semiradov, who sends a response team after them. Tatyana is injured, and Konstantin asks her for the syringe. Upon injecting himself, the alien emerges and kills the team. Tatyana and Konstantin run away, but they do not make it far before Konstantin collapses. Tatyana realizes that Konstantin cannot survive without the alien, as they have become completely symbiotic, and she surrenders when Semiradov catches up with them. The Colonel has brought the now heavily injured creature in order to force it inside Konstantin; the latter however has the creature kill Semiradov and his soldiers, setting Tatyana and himself finally free. However, as the authorities descend on them, alerted to the monstrous experimentations of Semiradov, a revived Konstantin shoots himself in order to kill the creature, and himself alongside it.


title: Sputnik (film)

text: Sometime later, Tatyana adopts Konstantin's son, and it is revealed she herself lived in an orphanage as a young girl.


title: Sputnik (film)

text: Principal photography for the film took place in Moscow in the winter of 2018–2019. Most of the film's scenes were shot at the .


title: Sputnik (film)

text: "Sputnik" was scheduled to have its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2020 before the festival was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sony Pictures had slated a theatrical release for the film in Russia on April 16, 2020, but the film was instead released on video-on-demand in Russia on the platforms More.tv, Wink and Ivi.ru on April 23. IFC Midnight acquired the film's North American distribution rights earlier that same month. The film was released in select theaters and on video-on-demand in North America on August 14, 2020.


title: Sputnik (film)

text: Upon release in Russia, over one million people streamed "Sputnik" on More.tv, Wink and Ivi.ru, making the film the most-streamed title across those services in two years, surpassing American titles and other Russian titles.


title: Sputnik (film)

text: In its debut American weekend, the film was the fifth-most rented film on Apple TV, and also grossed around $11,000 from 32 theaters.


title: Sputnik (film)

text: On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The site's critics consensus reads: "Effective space alien horror with a Soviet-era twist, "Sputnik" proves there are still some scary good sci-fi thrillers left in the galaxy." Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 61 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".


title: Sputnik (film)

text: Pavel Voronkov of Gazeta.Ru called the film's story "charmingly uncomplicated", and wrote that, unlike ""The Blackout" by Egor Baranov (in which Fedorov also acted), it does not hurt at all to watch." Dmitry Shepelyov of "Igromania" commended the film's visuals but lamented that "clichés become the main driving force of the story", concluding: "Tweak the script, write the characters better, add more bloody action, and "Sputnik" could be called an excellent fantasy thriller. But this is just a more or less competent B-category film."


title: Sputnik (film)

text: Matt Zoller Seitz, in his review of the film for RogerEbert.com, gave it a score of three-and-a-half out of four stars, and praised the relationship between the two main characters: "The performances and characterizations add heft, and the very Russian vibe of soulful heaviness sets it apart from its American cousins." Ian Freer of "Empire" gave the film three out of five stars, praising its "fun creature design and good gore" and calling it a "blunt but effective thriller". Joe Morgenstern of "The Wall Street Journal" wrote that the film's "strong performances, strikingly spare production design and somber cinematography convey a sense of something important going on. That's no small achievement in what proves to be a creature feature with flair."


title: Sputnik (film)

text: "The New York Times" Glenn Kenny wrote that "While "Sputnik" doesn't make its substantial borrowings from other sci-fi pictures entirely new, it does juice them up enough to yield a genuinely scary and satisfying experience." Tomris Laffley of "Variety" referred to the film as a "claustrophobic character study with gripping set pieces [and] serviceable spatters of gross-out B-movie gore"; she also praised Akinshina's "charismatic lead performance", comparing the character favorably to Ellen Ripley of the "Alien" franchise. Conversely, John DeFore of "The Hollywood Reporter" wrote that the film's "intensely serious tone belies some awfully silly stuff in its plot", and summarized the film as being "Duller than it sounds."


title: United Front (China)

text: The United Front is a political strategy of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) involving networks of groups and key individuals that are influenced or controlled by the CCP and used to advance its interests. It has historically been a popular front that has included eight legally-permitted political parties which have nominal representation in the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). Under CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping, the United Front and its targets of influence have expanded in size and scope.


title: United Front (China)

text: United Front organizations are managed primarily by the United Front Work Department (UFWD), but the United Front strategy is not limited solely to the UFWD. Outside of China, the strategy involves numerous front organizations, which tend to obfuscate or downplay any association with the CCP.


title: United Front (China)

text: The CCP organized the "National Revolution United Front" () with the Kuomintang during the Northern Expedition of 1926–1928 and then the "Workers' and Peasants' Democratic United Front" () in the Chinese Soviet Republic era of 1931–1937. Mao Zedong originally promoted the "Anti-Japanese National United Front" (), with the name indicating that the proletarian Chinese Communists had united with the bourgeoisie against Imperial Japan in the 1930s.


title: United Front (China)

text: The United Front "assumed its current form" in 1946, three years before the CCP defeated the authoritarian governing party Kuomintang's Nationalist government of Chiang Kai-shek. Mao credited the United Front as one of his "Three Magic Weapons" against the Kuomintang—alongside the Leninist Chinese Communist Party and the Red Army—and credited the Front with playing a part in the Chinese Communist Revolution.


title: United Front (China)

text: The two organs historically affiliated with United Front are the United Front Work Department and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). According to Yi-Zheng Lian, the organs "are often poorly understood outside China because there are no equivalents for them in the West". Inside China, leaders of formal United Front organizations are selected by the CCP, or are themselves CCP members. In practice, United Front member parties and allied people's organizations are subservient to the CCP, and must accept the CCP's "leading role" as a condition of their continued existence.


title: United Front (China)

text: The United Front Work Department is headed by the chief of the secretariat of the CCP's Central Committee. It oversees front organizations and their affiliates in multiple countries such as the Chinese Students and Scholars Association, which helps Chinese students and academics studying or residing in the West, enjoining them to conduct "people-to-people diplomacy" on behalf of the People's Republic of China.


title: United Front (China)

text: The United Front is a political strategy that the CCP has used to influence beyond its immediate circles while downplaying direct associations with the CCP. In theory, the United Front existed to give front organizations and non-Communist forces a platform in society. Historically, the CCP co-opted and re-purposed non-Communist organizations to become part of the United Front through tactics of entryism. However, scholars describe the contemporary United Front as a complex network of organizations that engage in various types of surveillance and political warfare for the CCP. Scholar Jichang Lulu noted that United Front organizations abroad "re-purpose democratic governance structures to serve as tools of extraterritorial influence." Additionally, many non-governmental organizations in China or connected to China have been described as government-organized non-governmental organization (GONGOs) that are organized under the CCP's United Front system.


title: United Front (China)

text: According to a 2018 report by the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission, "United Front work serves to promote Beijing’s preferred global narrative, pressure individuals living in free and open societies to self-censor and avoid discussing issues unfavorable to the CCP, and harass or undermine groups critical of Beijing’s policies." According to "Financial Times", nearly all Chinese embassies include staff that are formally tasked with United Front work.


title: United Front (China)

text: Scholar Jeffrey Stoff also argues that the CPP's "influence apparatus intersects with or directly supports its global technology transfer apparatus." In 2019, the United Front's aggregate budget across multiple institutions was estimated at over $2.6 billion which was larger than the Chinese Foreign Ministry's budget.


title: United Front (China)

text: According to the Taiwanese Mainland Affairs Council, the United Front uses internet celebrities to carry out infiltration campaigns on social media.


title: United Front (China)

text: Starting in January 2020, United Front-linked organizations in Canada and other countries were activated to purchase, stockpile, and export personal protective equipment in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China. In September 2020, the CCP announced that it would strengthen United Front work in the private sector by establishing more party committees in regional federations of industry and commerce (FIC), and by arranging a special liaison between FICs and the CCP.


title: United Front (China)

text: In 1939, Zhou Enlai espoused "nestling intelligence within the united front" while also "using the united front to push forth intelligence." According to Australian analyst Alex Joske, "the united front system provides networks, cover and institutions that intelligence agencies use for their own purposes." Joske added that "united front networks are a golden opportunity for Party's spies because they represent groups of Party-aligned individuals who are relatively receptive to clandestine recruitment."


title: Sannyasa

text: Sannyasa (Sanskrit: संन्यास; IAST: ), sometimes spelled Sanyasa (सन्न्यास) or Sanyasi (for the person), is life of renunciation and the fourth stage within the Hindu system of four life stages known as "Ashramas", with the first three being Brahmacharya (bachelor student), Grihastha (householder) and Vanaprastha (forest dweller, retired). Sannyasa is traditionally conceptualized for men or women in late years of their life, but young brahmacharis have had the choice to skip the householder and retirement stages, renounce worldly and materialistic pursuits and dedicate their lives to spiritual pursuits.


title: Sannyasa

text: Sannyasa is a form of asceticism, is marked by renunciation of material desires and prejudices, represented by a state of disinterest and detachment from material life, and has the purpose of spending one's life in peaceful, spiritual pursuits. An individual in Sanyasa is known as a "Sannyasi" (male) or "Sannyasini" (female) in Hinduism, which in many ways parallel to the Sadhu and Sadhvi traditions of Jain monasticism, the bhikkhus and bhikkhunis of Buddhism.


title: Sannyasa

text: "Sannyasa" has historically been a stage of renunciation, ahimsa (non-violence) peaceful and simple life and spiritual pursuit in Indian traditions. However, this has not always been the case. After the invasions and establishment of Muslim rule in India, from the 12th century through the British Raj, parts of the Shaiva (Gossain) and Vaishnava (Bairagi) ascetics metamorphosed into a military order, where they developed martial arts, created military strategies, and engaged in guerrilla warfare. These warrior "sanyasi" (ascetics) played an important role in helping European colonial powers establish themselves in the Indian subcontinent.


title: Sannyasa

text: ' in Sanskrit nyasa means purification, sannyasa means "Purification of Everything". It is a composite word of which means "together, all", "ni-" which means "down" and ' from the root "", meaning "to throw" or "to put". A literal translation of Sannyāsa is thus "to put down everything, all of it". Sannyasa is sometimes spelled as "Sanyasa".


title: Sannyasa

text: The term "Saṃnyasa" makes appearance in the Samhitas, Aranyakas and Brahmanas, the earliest layers of Vedic literature (2nd millennium BCE), but it is rare. It is not found in ancient Buddhist or Jaina vocabularies, and only appears in Hindu texts of the 1st millennium BCE, in the context of those who have given up ritual activity and taken up non-ritualistic spiritual pursuits discussed in the Upanishads. The term "Sannyasa" evolves into a rite of renunciation in ancient Sutra texts, and thereafter became a recognized, well discussed stage of life (Ashrama) by about the 3rd and 4th century CE.


title: Sannyasa

text: Sanyasis are also known as Bhiksu, Pravrajita/Pravrajitā, Yati, Sramana and Parivrajaka in Hindu texts.


title: Sannyasa

text: Jamison and Witzel state early Vedic texts make no mention of "Sannyasa", or "Ashrama system", unlike the concepts of Brahmacharin and Grihastha which they do mention. Instead, Rig Veda uses the term "Antigriha" (अन्तिगृह) in hymn 10.95.4, still part of extended family, where older people lived in ancient India, with an outwardly role. It is in later Vedic era and over time, "Sannyasa" and other new concepts emerged, while older ideas evolved and expanded. A three-stage Ashrama concept along with Vanaprastha emerged about or after 7th Century BC, when sages such as Yājñavalkya left their homes and roamed around as spiritual recluses and pursued their "Pravrajika" (wanderer) lifestyle. The explicit use of the four stage Ashrama concept, appeared a few centuries later.


title: Sannyasa

text: However, early Vedic literature from 2nd millennium BC, mentions "Muni" (मुनि, monks, mendicants, holy man), with characteristics that mirror those found in later "Sannyasins" and "Sannyasinis". Rig Veda, for example, in Book 10 Chapter 136, mentions munis as those with "Kesin" (केशिन्, long haired) and "Mala" clothes (मल, soil-colored, yellow, orange, saffron) engaged in the affairs of "Mananat" (mind, meditation). Rigveda, however, refers to these people as "Muni" and "Vati" (वति, monks who beg).


title: Sannyasa

text: These "Munis", their lifestyle and spiritual pursuit, likely influenced the Sannyasa concept, as well as the ideas behind the ancient concept of Brahmacharya (bachelor student). One class of "Munis" were associated with Rudra. Another were "Vratyas".


title: Sannyasa

text: Hinduism has no formal demands nor requirements on the lifestyle or spiritual discipline, method or deity a Sanyasin or Sanyasini must pursue – it is left to the choice and preferences of the individual. This freedom has led to diversity and significant differences in the lifestyle and goals of those who adopt Sannyasa. There are, however, some common themes. A person in "Sannyasa" lives a simple life, typically detached, itinerant, drifting from place to place, with no material possessions or emotional attachments. They may have a walking stick, a book, a container or vessel for food and drink, often wearing yellow, saffron, orange, ochre or soil colored clothes. They may have long hair and appear disheveled, and are usually vegetarians. Some minor Upanishads as well as monastic orders consider women, children, students, fallen men (those with a criminal record) and others as not qualified to become "Sannyasa"; while other texts place no restrictions. The dress, the equipage and lifestyle varies between groups. For example, Sannyasa Upanishad in verses 2.23 to 2.29, identifies six lifestyles for six types of renunciates. One of them is described as living with the following possessions,


title: Sannyasa

text: Those who enter Sannyasa may choose whether they join a group (mendicant order). Some are anchorites, homeless mendicants preferring solitude and seclusion in remote parts, without affiliation. Others are cenobites, living and traveling with kindred fellow-Sannyasi in the pursuit of their spiritual journey, sometimes in Ashramas or Matha/Sangha (hermitages, monastic order).


title: Sannyasa

text: Most Hindu ascetics adopt celibacy when they begin Sannyasa. However, there are exceptions, such as the Saiva Tantra school of asceticism where ritual sex is considered part of liberation process. Sex is viewed by them as a transcendence from a personal, intimate act to something impersonal and ascetic.


title: Sannyasa

text: The goal of the Hindu Sannyasin is moksha (liberation). The idea of what that means varies from tradition to tradition.


title: Sannyasa

text: For the Bhakti (devotion) traditions, liberation consists of union with the Divine and release from Saṃsāra (rebirth in future life); for Yoga traditions, liberation is the experience of the highest Samādhi (deep awareness in this life); and for the Advaita tradition, liberation is jivanmukti – the awareness of the Supreme Reality (Brahman) and Self-realization in this life. Sannyasa is a means and an end in itself. It is a means to decreasing and then ultimately ending all ties of any kind. It is a means to the soul and meaning, but not ego nor personalities. Sannyasa does not abandon the society, it abandons the ritual mores of the social world and one's attachment to all its other manifestations. The end is a liberated, content, free and blissful existence.


title: Sannyasa

text: The behavioral state of a person in "Sannyasa" is described by many ancient and medieval era Indian texts. Bhagavad Gita discusses it in many verses, for example:


title: Sannyasa

text: Other behavioral characteristics, in addition to renunciation, during Sannyasa include: ahimsa (non-violence), akrodha (not become angry even if you are abused by others), disarmament (no weapons), chastity, bachelorhood (no marriage), avyati (non-desirous), amati (poverty), self-restraint, truthfulness, sarvabhutahita (kindness to all creatures), asteya (non-stealing), aparigraha (non-acceptance of gifts, non-possessiveness) and shaucha (purity of body speech and mind). Some Hindu monastic orders require the above behavior in form of a vow, before a renunciate can enter the order. Tiwari notes that these virtues are not unique to "Sannyasa", and other than renunciation, all of these virtues are revered in ancient texts for all four "Ashramas" (stages) of human life.


title: Sannyasa

text: Baudhayana Dharmasūtra, completed by about 7th century BC, states the following behavioral vows for a person in "Sannyasa"


title: Sannyasa

text: Ashrama Upanishad identified various types of Sannyasi renouncers based on their different goals: Kutichaka – seeking atmospheric world; Bahudaka – seeking heavenly world; Hamsa – seeking penance world; Paramahamsa – seeking truth world; and Turiyatitas and Avadhutas seeking liberation in this life.


title: Sannyasa

text: In some texts, such as Sannyasa Upanishad, these were classified by the symbolic items the Sannyasins carried and their lifestyle. For example, Kutichaka sannyasis carried triple staffs, Hamsa sannyasis carried single staffs, while Paramahamsas went without them. This method of classification based on emblematic items became controversial, as anti-thematic to the idea of renunciation. Later texts, such as Naradaparivrajaka Upanishad stated that all renunciation is one, but people enter the state of Sannyasa for different reasons – for detachment and getting away from their routine meaningless world, to seek knowledge and meaning in life, to honor rites of Sannyasa they have undertaken, and because he already has liberating knowledge.


title: Sannyasa

text: There were many groups of Hindu, Jain and Buddhist Sannyasis co-existing in pre-Maurya Empire era, each classified by their attributes, such as: Achelakas (without clothes), Ajivika, Aviruddhaka, Devadhammika, Eka-satakas, Gotamaka, Jatilaka, Magandika, Mundasavaka, Nigrantha (Jains), Paribbajaka, Tedandikas, Titthiya and others.


title: Sannyasa

text: The Dharmasūtras and Dharmaśāstras, composed about mid 1st millennium BC and later, place increasing emphasis on all four stages of "Ashrama system" including "Sannyasa". The Baudhayana Dharmasūtra, in verses 2.11.9 to 2.11.12, describes the four Ashramas as "a fourfold division of Dharma". The older Dharmasūtras, however, are significantly different in their treatment of "Ashramas" system from the more modern Dharmaśāstras, because they do not limit some of their Ashrama rituals to "dvija" men, that is, the three "varnas" – Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas. The newer Dharmaśāstra vary widely in their discussion of "Ashrama" system in the context of classes (castes), with some mentioning it for three, while others such as "Vaikhānasa Dharmasūtra" including all four.


title: Sannyasa

text: The Dharmasūtras and Dharmaśāstras give a number of detailed but widely divergent guidelines on renunciation. In all cases, Sannyasa was never mandatory and was one of the choices before an individual. Only a small percentage chose this path. Olivelle posits that the older Dharmasūtras present the "Ashramas" including "Sannyasa" as four alternative ways of life and options available, but not as sequential stage that any individual must follow. Olivelle also states that "Sannyasa" along with the Ashrama system gained mainstream scholarly acceptance about 2nd century BC.


title: Sannyasa

text: Ancient and medieval era texts of Hinduism consider "Grihastha" (householder) stage as the most important of all stages in sociological context, as human beings in this stage not only pursue a virtuous life, they produce food and wealth that sustains people in other stages of life, as well as the offspring that continues mankind. However, an individual had the choice to renounce any time he or she wanted, including straight after student life.


title: Sannyasa

text: Baudhayana Dharmasūtra, in verse II.10.17.2 states that anyone who has finished Brahmacharya (student) life stage may become ascetic immediately, in II.10.17.3 that any childless couple may enter Sannyasa anytime they wish, while verse II.10.17.4 states that a widower may choose Sannyasa if desired, but in general, states verse II.10.17.5, Sannyasa is suited after the completion of age 70 and after one's children have been firmly settled. Other texts suggest the age of 75.


title: Sannyasa

text: The ' and "Āpastamba Dharmasūtra"s, and the later ' describe the "āśrama"s as sequential stages which would allow one to pass from Vedic studentship to householder to forest-dwelling hermit to renouncer. However, these texts differ with each other. Yājñavalkya Smṛti, for example, differs from Manusmṛti and states in verse 3.56 that one may skip Vanaprastha (forest dwelling, retired) stage and go straight from the "Grihastha" (householder) stage to "Sannyasa".


title: Sannyasa

text: The question as to which "" may, or may not, renounce is never explicitly stated in ancient or medieval dharma literature, the more modern Dharmaśāstras texts discuss much of renunciation stage in context of "dvija" men. Nevertheless, Dharmaśāstra texts document people of all castes as well as women, entered "Sannyasa" in practice.


title: Sannyasa

text: After renouncing the world, the ascetic's financial obligations and property were adjudicated by the state, in the manner of a decedent's estate. Viṣṇu Smriti in verse 6.27, for example, states that if a debtor takes "Sannyasa", his sons or grandsons should settle his debts. As to the little property a Sannyasin may collect or possess after renunciation, Book III Chapter XVI of Kautiliya's Arthashastra states that the property of hermits (vánaprastha), ascetics (yati, sannyasa), and student bachelors (Brahmachári) shall on their death be taken by their "guru", disciples, their "dharmabhratri" (brother in the monastic order), or classmates in succession.


title: Sannyasa

text: Although a renouncer's practitioner's obligations and property rights were reassigned, he or she continued to enjoy basic human rights such as the protection from injury by others and the freedom to travel. Likewise, someone practicing Sannyasa was subject to the same laws as common citizens; stealing, harming, or killing a human being by a Sannyasi were all serious crimes in Kautiliya's Arthashastra.


title: Sannyasa

text: Later Indian literature debates whether the benefit of renunciation can be achieved ("moksha," or liberation) without asceticism in the earlier stages of one's life. For example, Bhagavad Gita, Vidyaranya's "Jivanmukti Viveka," and others believed that various alternate forms of yoga and the importance of yogic discipline could serve as paths to spirituality, and ultimately "moksha". Over time, four paths to liberating spirituality have emerged in Hinduism: Jñāna yoga, Bhakti yoga, Karma yoga and Rāja yoga. Acting without greed or craving for results, in Karma yoga for example, is considered a form of detachment in daily life similar to "Sannyasa". Sharma states that, "the basic principle of Karma yoga is that it is not what one does, but how one does it that counts and if one has the know-how in this sense, one can become liberated by doing whatever it is one does", and "(one must do) whatever one does without attachment to the results, with efficiency and to the best of one's ability".


title: Sannyasa

text: Ascetic life was historically a life of renunciation, non-violence and spiritual pursuit. However, in India, this has not always been the case. For example, after the Mongol and Persian Islamic invasions in the 12th century, and the establishment of Delhi Sultanate, the ensuing Hindu-Muslim conflicts provoked the creation of a military order of Hindu ascetics in India. These warrior ascetics formed paramilitary groups called ‘‘Akharas'’ and they invented a range of martial arts.


title: Sannyasa

text: "Nath Siddhas" of the 12th century AD, may have been the earliest Hindu monks to resort to a military response after the Muslim conquest. Ascetics, by tradition, led a nomadic and unattached lifestyle. As these ascetics dedicated themselves to rebellion, their groups sought stallions, developed techniques for spying and targeting, and they adopted strategies of war against Muslim nobles and the Sultanate state. Many of these groups were devotees of Hindu deity Mahadeva, and were called "Mahants". Other popular names for them was "Sannyasis", "Yogis", "Nagas" (followers of Shiva), "Bairagis" (followers of Vishnu) and "Gosains" from the 16th to the 19th centuries; in some cases, these Hindu monks cooperated with Muslim fakirs who were Sufi and also persecuted.


title: Sannyasa

text: Warrior monks continued their rebellion through the Mughal Empire, and became a political force during the early years of British Raj. In some cases, these regiments of soldier monks shifted from guerrilla campaigns to war alliances, and these Hindu warrior monks played a key role in helping British establish themselves in India. The significance of warrior ascetics rapidly declined with the consolidation of British Raj in late 19th century, and with the rise in non-violence movement by Mahatma Gandhi.


title: Sannyasa

text: Novetzke states that some of these Hindu warrior ascetics were treated as folk heroes, aided by villagers and townspeople, because they targeted figures of political and economic power in a discriminatory state, and some of these warriors paralleled Robin Hood's lifestyle.


title: Sannyasa

text: Of the 108 Upanishads of the Muktika, the largest corpus is dedicated to "Sannyasa" and to Yoga, or about 20 each, with some overlap. The renunciation-related texts are called the Sannyasa Upanishads. These are as follows:


title: Sannyasa

text: Among the thirteen major or Principal Upanishads, all from the ancient era, many include sections related to "Sannyasa". For example, the motivations and state of a "Sannyasi" are mentioned in Maitrāyaṇi Upanishad, a classical major Upanishad that Robert Hume included among his list of "Thirteen Principal Upanishads" of Hinduism. Maitrāyaṇi starts with the question, "given the nature of life, how is joy possible?" and "how can one achieve moksha (liberation)?"; in later sections it offers a debate on possible answers and its views on Sannyasa.


title: Sannyasa

text: Six of the Sannyasa Upanishads – Aruni, Kundika, Kathashruti, Paramahamsa, Jabala and Brahma – were composed before the 3rd-century CE, likely in the centuries before or after the start of the common era, states Sprockhoff; the Asrama Upanishad is dated to the 3rd-century, the Naradaparivrajaka and Satyayaniya Upanishads to around the 12th-century, and about ten of the remaining Sannyasa Upanishads are dated to have been composed in the 14th- to 15th-century CE well after the start of Islamic Sultanates period of South Asia in late 12th-century.


title: Sannyasa

text: The oldest Sannyasa Upanishads have a strong Advaita Vedanta outlook, and these pre-date Adi Shankara. Most of the Sannyasa Upanishads present a Yoga and nondualism (Advaita) Vedanta philosophy. This may be, states Patrick Olivelle, because major Hindu monasteries of early medieval period (1st millennium CE) belonged to the Advaita Vedanta tradition. The 12th-century Shatyayaniya Upanishad is a significant exception, which presents qualified dualistic and Vaishnavism (Vishishtadvaita Vedanta) philosophy.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: Carlos Iván Beltrán (; born April 24, 1977) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder from 1998 to 2017 for the Kansas City Royals, Houston Astros, New York Mets, San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Yankees, and Texas Rangers. A right-handed thrower and switch hitter, Beltrán stands tall and weighs .


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: Beltrán was the American League (AL) Rookie of the Year in 1999 while with the Royals. He was named to nine MLB All-Star Games and won three Gold Glove Awards and two Silver Slugger Awards. Beltrán was the fifth player to reach both 400 home runs and 300 stolen bases and just the fourth switch hitter with 400 home runs. He has the highest success rate in stealing bases (88.3%) of any major league player with 300 or more career attempts. He also joined the 30–30 club in 2004. In 2013, Beltrán was named the recipient of the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award. He retired after the 2017 season, winning a World Series title with the Houston Astros.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: Beltrán was among the best all-time statistical hitters in postseason games, which has earned him nicknames such as "The New Mr. October", "Mr. October, Jr.", "Señor Octubre", and "the real Mr. October" from the media. In 56 plate appearances during the 2004 playoffs, he scored 21 runs to set a record for most runs scored in one postseason (Jose Altuve has since tied the record).


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: Beltrán was revealed as the alleged master in the Astros' illegal sign stealing scheme during their 2017 championship season. The scandal broke in late 2019, after an investigation by league officials, the commissioner, and the media. Beltrán, who had recently been hired as the Mets' manager, stepped down without managing a game.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: In his youth, Beltrán excelled in many sports, with volleyball and baseball being his favorites. At his father's urging, he gave up volleyball to concentrate on baseball when he was seventeen. He was originally a shortstop before moving to the outfield. He graduated from Fernando Callejo High School in 1995.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: The Kansas City Royals selected Beltrán in the second round of the 1995 Major League Baseball draft. After he signed, the Royals assigned him to the Gulf Coast Royals of the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League. Originally only hitting right-handed, he batted .276 with no home runs. During the off-season, Beltrán taught himself to hit left-handed, with advice from New York Yankees outfielder Bernie Williams and Royals minor league coach Kevin Long. In 1996, he played for the Spokane Indians of the Class A-Short Season Northwest League, and the Lansing Lugnuts of the Class A Midwest League. In 1997 he spent the entire season playing for the Wilmington Blue Rocks of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League. He began the 1998 season with Wilmington and received a promotion to the Wichita Wranglers of the Class AA Texas League.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: Beltrán made his major league debut on September 14, 1998, playing 15 games. Unlike many players, he never played in Triple-A. In 14 games of the 1998 baseball year, Beltrán got 16 hits, 5 doubles, 3 triples, and 7 RBIs with a .276 batting average during his time in the majors.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: By 1999, he won the job as the Royals' starting center fielder and leadoff hitter. He displayed significant power by midsummer and was moved to the #3 slot in the batting order. Beltrán won the American League Rookie of the Year award, batting .293 with 22 home runs, 108 runs batted in (RBIs) and 27 stolen bases in 156 games played. On September 27, 1999, Beltrán made the final out at Tiger Stadium, striking out against relief pitcher Todd Jones as the Detroit Tigers beat the Royals 8–2.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: Injuries restricted Beltrán to 98 games during the 2000 season and he slumped to .247, losing his center field position to the popular Johnny Damon. After Damon was traded to the Oakland Athletics following the season, Beltrán regained his job in 2001 and recaptured his rookie form. He batted .306 with 24 home runs and 101 RBIs in that season, followed by lines of .273-29-105 in 2002 and .307-26-100 in 2003.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: In 2003, Beltrán batted .194 in April. His luck changed in 2004, as Beltrán began the year with eight home runs and 19 RBIs and was selected as American League Player of the Month for April.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: In the first 69 games of the 2004 season, Beltrán batted .278 with 15 homers, 51 RBI, and 14 stolen bases. Playing for a small market club and represented by agent Scott Boras, Beltrán endured trade rumors through the 2003 and 2004 seasons. As the end of his contract neared, the two sides failed to negotiate a long-term deal. Following an interleague doubleheader loss to the last-place Montreal Expos, Royals' general manager Allard Baird informed reporters that he was preparing to dismantle the team and rebuild it for the 2005 season.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: On June 24, 2004, the Royals traded Beltrán to the Houston Astros in a three-team deal, which also sent relief pitcher Octavio Dotel from the Astros to the Oakland Athletics, while the Royals picked up Oakland minor leaguers (pitcher Mike Wood and third-baseman Mark Teahen) and Astros' catcher John Buck.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: While still a Royal, Beltrán had been selected as an AL starting outfielder for the 2004 All-Star Game. After being traded to the Astros, Beltrán was ruled ineligible for the AL roster and was not listed on the NL roster. However, after NL starter Ken Griffey Jr., went on the disabled list, Beltrán was named his substitute.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: For the rest of the 2004 season with the Astros, Beltrán played 90 games, batting .258 with 23 home runs, 53 RBI, and 28 stolen bases. Overall in 2004 combined with both teams he played for, Beltrán played 159 games with a .267 batting average, 38 home runs, 42 stolen bases, 104 RBI, and 121 runs scored.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: In the 2004 playoffs, Beltrán tied Barry Bonds' single post-season record with eight home runs. He hit one in each of the first four games of the National League Championship Series (NLCS) against the St. Louis Cardinals, including the game-winner in Game 4. Counting his two home-run performance in Game 5 of the previous playoff round in the National League Division Series (NLDS) against the Atlanta Braves, Beltrán clubbed at least one home run in a record-setting five consecutive postseason games, outnumbered only by Daniel Murphy's home runs in six consecutive postseason games in 2015. In 12 games in the 2004 playoffs, Beltrán batted .435 with 14 RBIs and 21 runs scored.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: Following the 2004 season, Beltrán became a free agent. The New York Yankees were tipped as favorites and Beltrán allegedly offered them a $19 million discount. The Yankees declined and the crosstown New York Mets signed him to a seven-year, $119-million contract, the biggest in franchise history at the time. It became the tenth contract in baseball history to surpass $100 million.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: On August 11, 2005, in a game against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park, Beltrán was seriously injured after colliding head-to-head with fellow Mets outfielder Mike Cameron when both were diving to catch a ball in shallow right center field. Cameron missed the rest of the season with a concussion, temporary loss of vision, and two broken cheekbones. Beltrán suffered vertigo for a while, although both players eventually recovered.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: A quadriceps injury bothered him most of the 2005 season and limited his speed. In 582 at bats, Beltrán's stats included career lows in batting average (.266), home runs (16), RBIs (78), runs scored (83), and stolen bases (17). Despite the limited participation, he was still voted to his second All-Star team.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: Beltrán played for Puerto Rico in the 2006 World Baseball Classic, joining Carlos Delgado, Bernie Williams, Javier Vázquez, Iván Rodríguez and others on the team managed by St. Louis Cardinals third base coach José Oquendo. His 2006 season was an upgrade on his first year in New York. Boosted by 10 home runs in May, he surpassed his home run total from the previous year before the season was half over. Beltrán's performance secured him a spot in the 2006 All-Star Game, his third. Five other Mets joined him, including three as starters. Beltrán was a standout for the NL as the only batter with multiple hits, along with two stolen bases. He scored the go-ahead run that gave the National League a 2–1 lead in the third inning, though the American League won the game. He hit grand slams in consecutive games on July 16 and 18, becoming the 23rd player to do so. Another grand slam at the end of July made him only the third Met to hit three in one season. Beltrán continued to produce with a walk-off home run against the St. Louis Cardinals on August 22, off Cardinals closer Jason Isringhausen. It was Beltrán's second walk-off of the season, following a 16th-inning gamewinner against the Phillies.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: Beltrán's 41 home runs tied the Mets' single season record for homers, matching Todd Hundley's total in 1996. (This record was broken by Pete Alonso in 2019.) His 127 runs scored gave him sole possession of the Mets' single season franchise mark. He and teammate José Reyes won the Silver Slugger Award at their respective positions. He also tied for the major league lead in times reached base on an error (13).


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: Beltrán's defense was also recognized during the 2006 season, as he received his first Gold Glove award. He made only two errors in 372 chances to give him a .995 fielding percentage, and recorded 13 outfield assists and six double plays. He also won a Fielding Bible Award as the top fielding center fielder in MLB. Beltrán came fourth in the National League MVP award voting, behind winner Ryan Howard, Albert Pujols, and Lance Berkman. Returning to the playoffs, Beltrán hit three home runs in the NLCS, bringing his career playoff total to 11 home runs in 22 games. However, with the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth inning of Game 7 of the NLCS against the Cardinals, Beltrán struck out looking against Adam Wainwright, ending the New York Mets season.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: In 2007, Beltrán hit below .230 from May to July. However, he improved in August and September, finishing with a .276 batting average and 112 RBIs. In July, he made his fourth All-Star Game appearance and upon the conclusion of the season, won his second straight Gold Glove award.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: In 2008, Beltrán batted .284 with 27 home runs and 112 RBI. In the final game before the All-Star game, Beltrán hit his 15th home run of the season. On August 29, Beltrán collected all five RBIs for the Mets including a grand slam with two outs in the 9th to give the Mets a 5–2 lead. The Mets won this game 5–4. Beltrán hit the last and only Mets home run in the final regular season game at Shea Stadium (the last home run was by Dan Uggla). The home run was a two-run shot that tied the game 2–2 against the Florida Marlins. Beltrán won his third straight Gold Glove award in the outfield for the Mets. He also won his second Fielding Bible Award as the top MLB center fielder in 2008.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: Beltrán recorded his 1,000th RBI against Scott Olsen (Washington Nationals) with a triple in the third inning on April 24, 2009.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: In the voting for the 2009 All Star Game, Beltrán was third among NL outfielders (2,812,295 votes), trailing only Ryan Braun (4,138,559) and Raúl Ibañez (4,053,355).


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: On January 13, 2010, Beltrán had surgery on his knee and was originally expected to miss 8–12 weeks. The procedure was performed by Beltrán's personal physician Dr. Richard Steadman. The Mets stated that the surgery was done without their consent, and the team expressed their disappointment with Beltrán's decision. However, Beltrán's agent, Scott Boras, claimed that the Mets consented to the procedure. Beltrán played his first game of the 2010 season on July 15.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: Due to his declining defense, in 2011, Beltrán was moved from center field to right field. On May 12, 2011, playing against the Colorado Rockies, Beltrán hit three two-run home runs in a 9–5 Mets' victory. It was the first three-home run game of his career, and he became only the eighth Mets hitter in history to hit three home runs in a single game.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: On July 28, 2011, after he waived his no-trade clause, the Mets traded Beltrán to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for pitching prospect Zack Wheeler. The Mets also sent $4 million cash to the Giants to cover Beltrán's remaining $6.5 million contract, which expired at the end of the 2011 season.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: The day after the trade, Beltrán got his first hit with the Giants (an RBI single to left field in the first inning), going 1-for-5 while playing right field against the Cincinnati Reds. The Giants eventually lost to the Reds 4–3 in thirteen innings.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: On September 14, Beltrán hit two solo home runs against San Diego Padres' starting pitcher Mat Latos. The shot gave him 20 home runs for the season and 300 for his career. Prior to this game, Beltrán had never hit against Latos. Both home runs were hit to the right side of the field with Beltrán batting from the left side. The 299th hit the arcade, and the 300th landed in McCovey Cove which increased the "Splash Hit" count to 59. Both home runs proved to be crucial, as the Giants swept the Padres in a 3-game series, with a score of 3–1. His home runs in the series accounted for 4 out of the 14 runs.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: For the rest of the 2011 season with the Giants, Beltrán played 44 games batting .323 with 7 home runs and 18 RBI. Overall in 2011 combined with both teams he played for, Beltrán played 142 total games batting .300 with 22 home runs and 84 RBI.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: On December 22, 2011, Beltrán agreed to a two-year deal with the St. Louis Cardinals worth $26 million which included a full no-trade clause. After Beltrán signed with the Cardinals, he attained numerous milestones, personal as well other firsts.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: On April 4, 2012 Opening Day, Beltrán recorded the first-ever hit in a regular-season game at Marlins Park against Josh Johnson of the Miami Marlins. Beltrán was named NL Player of the Week on May 14 after he hit .360 (9-for-25) with six home runs, 13 RBIs, eight runs, 30 total bases for a 1.200 slugging percentage and 1.648 OPS in the previous six games. He hit safely in five of the six games and homered in four of them. It was his ninth career weekly award, and sixth in the NL.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: On June 1, in his first game in New York after leaving the Mets, the crowd gave him a standing ovation. In one notable moment, a Beltrán batted ball touched the outside part of the foul line but was ruled a foul ball in a game in which former teammate, Johan Santana, was credited with throwing the first no-hitter in Mets' history. Two weeks later, on June 15, while batting against another former team in the Kansas City Royals, Beltrán stole second base in the second inning to become the first switch-hitter in MLB history to attain 300 home runs and 300 stolen bases, and the eighth player overall.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: In a June 29 home game versus the Pittsburgh Pirates, he recorded a single in the third inning for his 2,000th hit, becoming the 270th player in MLB history to do so. The day after he got his 2,000th hit, Beltrán collected his 400th double, becoming the 170th player to do so. Beltrán also participated in that year's Home Run Derby.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: The Mets announced on June 18, 2012, that Beltrán was selected as the starting center fielder for 50th Anniversary Mets All-Time Team.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: In the 2012 National League Wild Card Game, his first postseason game since 2006, Beltrán had 1 hit in 4 at-bats, scoring a run in the 4th inning. In the NLDS against the Nationals, Beltrán went 8–18 at the plate with 2 home runs and 4 RBI. Down 5–7 in the 9th inning in game 5 of the NLDS, Beltrán hit a leadoff double off of Drew Storen, eventually scoring two outs later on a Daniel Descalso single. The Cardinals would win the game 9–7.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: In the 2012 National League Championship Series, Beltrán batted .300 with 2 RBI and 2 stolen bases. He played in 6 of the 7 games in the series, missing most of game 3 and all of game 4 after suffering a knee injury. Playing in his 3rd NLCS game 7 in his career, Beltrán went 1–4 at the plate as the Cardinals lost 0–9 to the Giants.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: In 2013, Beltrán played in 145 games with a .296 batting average, 24 home runs and 84 RBI. Beltrán played in his 2,000th game on July 11, 2013. That same month, he was selected to his third straight All-Star Game. In October, Beltrán was the recipient of the Roberto Clemente Award, becoming the fourth Cardinals player to win it, joining Albert Pujols, Ozzie Smith, and Lou Brock.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: In the 2013 National League Division Series against the Pirates, Beltrán had 4 hits in 18 at-bats, hitting 2 home runs and 6 RBI in the series. In game 1 of the 2013 National League Championship Series against the Dodgers, Beltrán hit a double at the bottom of the 3rd inning to tie the game 2–2. At the top of the 10th inning, with the game still tied 2–2, Beltrán threw out Mark Ellis at the plate after catching a fly ball, completing a double-play that prevented the Dodgers from taking the lead. At the bottom of the 13th inning, Beltrán hit a walk-off single off of Kenley Jansen, giving the Cardinals a 3–2 victory. For the whole NLCS, Beltrán had 6 hits and 6 RBI in 21 at-bats. The Cardinals won the series 4–2, and Beltrán advanced to the first World Series in his career.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: In Game 1 of the 2013 World Series against the Red Sox, Beltrán injured his ribs in the 2nd inning after robbing David Ortiz of a grand slam. Despite the injury, Beltrán would play in all 6 games of the series, batting .294 with 5 hits and 3 RBI as the Cardinals fell to the Red Sox four games to two.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: Beltrán filed for free agency after the World Series ended on October 30. On November 9, Beltrán declined a one-year, $14.1 million qualifying offer from the Cardinals, making him a free agent.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: On December 6, 2013, Beltrán agreed to a three-year, $45 million deal to join the New York Yankees, despite receiving a $48 million offer from another team. The deal became official on December 19, 2013.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: On April 13, 2014, Beltrán played at first base for the first time in his professional career after Francisco Cervelli left the game due to a hamstring injury. On the night of May 12, 2014, Beltrán experienced soreness in his right elbow. It was revealed that the elbow had a bone spur and was immediately given a cortisone shot. He was placed on the 15-day disabled list on May 15, 2014. He was activated on June 5, 2014. To prevent any further damage to the elbow, he was used primarily as a designated hitter for the remainder of the season.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: On September 16, 2014, Beltrán left the team for an indefinite period of time due to his wife's miscarriage. Limited to 109 games in 2014, Beltrán batted .233 with 15 home runs and 49 RBI. On October 1, 2014, he underwent surgery to remove loose pieces and a bone spur in his right elbow, which required 12 weeks to recover. The procedure was performed by Yankees head team physician, Dr. Christopher Ahmad.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: Beltrán got off to a slow start in 2015, batting around .200 through April. He slowly improved throughout the season and in September had a batting average over .280. On July 3, Beltrán was placed on the 15-day disabled list with an oblique injury. He was activated on July 19. On August 14 against the Blue Jays, Beltrán hit a pinch-hit go-ahead 3-run home run in the 8th inning. It proved to be the game winner and temporarily put the Yankees back in 1st place. He reached 500 career doubles on August 31 against the Boston Red Sox. Beltrán ended the regular season with 19 home runs, 67 RBIs and a .276 average in 133 games.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: In the 2015 American League Wild Card Game against the Astros, Beltrán had 1 hit in 4 at-bats as the Yankees fell to the Astros 3–0.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: On April 25, 2016, Beltrán became the 84th player to make 10,000 career plate appearances. He collected his 2,473rd career hit on April 27 against the Texas Rangers to pass Ted Simmons for tenth place on the all-time list for switch-hitters. Beltrán hit his 400th career home run against the Chicago White Sox on May 15, the 54th player in MLB history to do, fourth switch hitter, the third Puerto Rican-born player, and the fifth to do so with 300 stolen bases and 500 doubles. On May 28, Beltrán homered for his 2,500th career hit off Matt Moore of the Tampa Bay Rays, joining Roberto Clemente, Ivan Rodriguez and Roberto Alomar as just the fourth Puerto Rican-born player to reach the milestone, and the 99th player overall to reach 2,500 hits. He became the fourth player, after Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds and Willie Mays, to reach 2,500 hits, 400 homers, 300 stolen bases and 1,000 walks.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: On June 7, Beltrán became the 38th player all time to record 1,000 career extra base hits. He was selected to his ninth All-Star Game at Petco Park in San Diego. In a 5−3 loss to the Boston Red Sox on July 15, he became the 55th player, and fourth switch-hitter, to reach 1,500 RBIs for his career. In 99 games with the Yankees, Beltrán batted .304 with 22 home runs and 64 RBIs.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: On August 1, 2016, the Yankees traded Beltrán to the Texas Rangers for prospects Dillon Tate, Erik Swanson, and Nick Green. Beltrán hit his first home run for Texas on August 3 against Baltimore, also scoring his 1,500th run on the play. Towards the end of the season, Beltrán stated that he had "no plans to retire", in contrast to his statements before the season. Beltrán ended the season with a .295 average, 29 home runs and 93 RBIs in 151 games between the Yankees and Rangers.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: In the 2016 ALDS, Beltrán went 2–11 with 1 RBI in 3 games as the Rangers were swept by the Blue Jays 3–0.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: On December 3, 2016, Beltrán signed a one-year, $16 million contract to return to the Houston Astros for the 2017 season as their designated hitter. On July 17, after not having played in the field in two months, his teammates held a mock funeral for his glove.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: The Astros won 101 games and clinched the AL West division title, marking the second time in franchise history they won at least 100 games. They faced the Boston Red Sox in the best-of-five ALDS. In Game 4 on October 9, Beltrán hit a ninth-inning RBI double that proved to be the deciding run in a 5–4 victory that clinched the ALDS for the Astros.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: The Astros overcame one of Beltrán's former teams, the Yankees, in the ALCS in seven games. As the Astros advanced to the World Series, it was the second of Beltrán's career, where they opposed the Los Angeles Dodgers. During the series, Beltrán registered three plate appearances over three games, going 0–3. The Astros defeated the Dodgers in seven games, making Beltrán a World Series champion. Beltrán announced his retirement from playing on November 13, 2017.


title: Carlos Beltrán

text: Three years later, it was revealed in the Houston Astros sign stealing scandal that the Astros had broken MLB rules during the 2017 season. According to his Astros teammates, Beltrán was the master in a sign-stealing scheme that involved banging on trash cans in the dugout during at-bats to indicate upcoming pitches to the batter at the plate. His teammates indicated that Beltran intimidated teammates to go along with the scheme even though some of them did not want to.