cyanic-selkie/wikianc huggingface dataset:
Circus
A circus is a special kind of entertainment that can be enjoyed by children and adults. Circuses are a group of performers that may include acrobats, clowns, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers and other artists who perform stunts. Circuses usually travel about to different parts of the country or to different countries. They perform in a huge tent called the “Big Top”. There may be room for hundreds of people in the audience. The seating is tiered (the seats at the back are higher than those in front). In the middle is the circular area where the artists perform. This area is called the “ring”. The person in charge of the whole show is the “ringmaster”. Not all circuses travel about. A few circuses perform in their own way.
Acts
There are many different acts in circuses. Some people do acrobatics and gymnastics. Often a group of gymnasts will finish up standing on top of one another in a pyramid. The gymnasts may also do jumping acts on trampolines. Some people are jugglers, throwing things in the air and catching them. There may be people who walk on stilts or who ride on unicycles. They may perform magic which may include swordswallowing, knife throwing or fireeating. There are always clowns who do funny things to make people laugh. They trip over things and fall over, throw buckets of water over one another or put custard pies into one another’s faces. Sometimes these clowns are also very skilful acrobats, musicians or jugglers. They may pretend to be stupid at first, but they often show that they are very clever.
Álava
Álava Province (Araba and officially Álava-Araba) is a province of northern Spain in the southern part of the Basque Autonomous Community. It is bordered by the provinces of Burgos (W), La Rioja (S), Navarre (E), Gipuzkoa (NE) and Biscay (NW). The County of Treviño is an exclave of Burgos Province (Castile and León) surrounded by Alavese land, although there is strong local support for Treviño's incorporation into Álava and the Basque Autonomous Community.
Circus
Animal acts
During the last two centuries, and until recently, the modern circus used many kinds of animals. There were wild animals such as lions, tigers or bears. There may also have been camels, horses, elephants, sea lions and domestic animals such as dogs. In recent years people have changed their ideas. They think that it is unkind to make wild animals perform tricks that are unnatural to them. Many of their trainers used cruel methods to teach these animals to do tricks, e.g. hitting the animals, giving them electric shocks or causing pain in other ways. The animals were always touring around, living in tiny cages. Many countries now do not want to see wild animals in circuses.
History
In Ancient Rome the circus was a round or oval building for showing horse and chariot races, horse shows, staged battles, acts with animals, jugglers and acrobats. The Roman circus had tiered seats. The important people sat at the bottom, near the action. The Latin word circus comes from the Greek word kirkos, meaning “circle" or "ring”.
The first circus in Rome was the Circus Maximus, in the valley between the Palatine and Aventine hills. At first it was made of wood. It was rebuilt several times; the last building of the Circus Maximus could seat 250,000 people.
After the period when Rome was powerful, Europe did not have a circus tradition. In China there were shows with acrobatic performances, but they did not influence the Western circus, which started to be popular towards the end of the 18th century. In London there were circuses with horse-riding. These were started in 1768 by Philip Astley. A “Royal Circus” was set up in Lambeth, London by John Hughes. Circuses grew in size and had lots of animals. They were a bit like a zoo. They had wild animals such as lions and elephants. In 1793 a circus building was opened in Philadelphia, USA. Circuses became popular in the USA, especially the circus of Dan Rice. In 1840 Thomas Cooke brought his circus with horses from the USA to England. The circus started to become popular in many countries all over the world. The Barnum & Bailey Greatest Show On Earth toured from 1897 to 1902. They showed animal acts and human acts. There were even shows with freaks (people who were physically unusual, e.g. dwarfs and giants). During most of the 20th century this is what circuses were mostly like.
In 1919, Lenin, head of the USSR, said he wanted the circus to be treated as a serious art form, just like opera and ballet. The Moscow Circus School, which was started in 1927, is still one of the best circuses today. The artists are very skilful acrobats, gymnasts etc. Chinese circuses also have artists who are some of the world’s best gymnasts.
Matt Stajan
Matthew Stajan (born December 19, 1983) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre.
Before playing in the NHL, Stajan played 3 seasons with the Belleville Bulls of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). He was drafted with the 57th overall pick by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. On January 31, 2010, the Maple Leafs traded Stajan along with Niklas Hagman, Ian White and Jamal Mayers in exchange for Dion Phaneuf, Fredrik Sjöström and Keith Aulie.
He is married to his wife Katie and they live in Calgary. Their first child named Emerson, died on March 3, 2014 shortly after birth.
Darien, Georgia
Darien is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the county seat of McIntosh County.
Allegheny River
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The Allegheny River joins with the Monongahela River to form the Ohio River at the "Point" of Point State Park in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Allegheny River is, by volume, the main headstream of both the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers.
Hostage
A hostage is a person who is held captive against his or her will. Hostages are often taken (held captive) to force someone else to do something for their captors (the people who took them hostage). Hostages are taken for many different reasons.
Twilight of a Woman's Soul
Twilight of a Woman's Soul (Сумерки женской души) is a 1913 Russian silent drama movie directed by Yevgeni Bauer. It stars Nina Chernova, A. Ugryumov, and V. Demert.
Stanislav Lem
Stanisław Herman Lem (September 12, 1921 – March 27, 2006) was a Polish science fiction writer. His writings are highly philosophical and satirical. His books have been translated into 41 languages. Over 27 million copies of his books have been sold worldwide. At one point he was among the most widely read science fiction authors in the world. Lem's writing is full of intelligent humor, puns, and neologisms, and Michael Kandel's translations into English have been praised by many for capturing Lem's style.
Lem is perhaps best known for his novel Solaris. This novel was published in 1961. It is set into the future. Humans have discovered what they think is intelligent life in space. They want to talk to the alien life form. The only problem they have is that the life form is the size of a planet. It is an ocean. This book has also been made into a film by Andrei Tarkowski in 1972. Steven Soderbergh made another film of the book in 2002.
Hart County, Kentucky
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Stanislav Lem
Lem won various prizes for his novels.
A (Cyrillic)
A (A, a) is the first letter of the Cyrillic alphabet.
It came from the Greek alpha. A long time ago, it was called azǔ and stood for the number 1. It looks exactly the same as the Roman A.
All languages that use the Cyrillic alphabet say it as [ah].
Brighton College
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Eminem albums discography
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Virgil Abloh
Virgil Abloh (September 30, 1980 – November 28, 2021) was an American designer and businessman. Abloh was also the chief executive officer of the Milan-based label Off-White, a fashion house he founded in 2013.
Abloh died of cancer on November 28, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois at the age of 41.
Dacca Stadium
Dacca Stadium, also known as Dhaka Stadium, and now known as Bangabandhu Stadium, was the former provincial and regional stadium within the former federal structure of pre-1971 United Pakistan and today is a multipurpose sports arena in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next
"If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next" is a 1998 song by Welsh band Manic Street Preachers and is the leading single from their fifth studio album This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours. It went number 1 in Iceland and the United Kingdom, number 3 in Ireland and Scotland, number 19 in Norway, number 21 in Sweden, number 44 in New Zealand, number 49 in Australia, number 62 in the Netherlands and number 79 in Germany.
South Windham, Connecticut
South Windham is a census-designated place in Connecticut. It is part of Windham County. There were 1,383 people living in South Windham in 2020.
If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next
Track listings
All music was written by James Dean Bradfield and Sean Moore except where indicated. All lyrics were written by Nick Jones except where indicated.
Jefferson (footballer, born 1981)
Jefferson Vieira da Cruz (born 3 July 1981) is a Brazilian football player.
Club career statistics
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Carroll County, Georgia
Carroll County, Georgia is a county in the U.S. state of Georgia. The county's capital is Carrollton. As of 2020, Carroll County had a population of 119,148 people.
Monongahela River
The Monongahela River — often referred to locally as the Mon  — is a 130 mi river on the Allegheny Plateau in north-central West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania, which flows from south to north. The Monongahela joins the Allegheny River to form the Ohio River at Pittsburgh.
C. W. Alcock
Charles William Alcock (2 December 1842 – 26 February 1907) was an English sportsperson. He was important in the development of both international football and cricket. He was also the creator of the FA Cup. He went to Harrow School. He married Eliza Caroline and they had two sons and six daughters.
Bare-faced curassow
The bare-faced curassow (Crax fasciolata) Spanish "muitu" is a species of bird in the Cracidae family, the chachalacas, guans, curassows, etc. It is found in eastern-central and southern Brazil, Paraguay, and eastern Bolivia, extreme northeast Argentina, and Amazon Basin.
City of London School for Girls
City of London School for Girls (CLSG) is a private school for girls aged 7-18 in London, England. It was started by William Ward in 1894.
It is associated with the City of London School (a boys day school) and the City of London Freemen's School (a boys and girls day and boarding school).
97% of A Level results are A*-B grades. Over 50% study Maths at A Level. 30% get into Oxford or Cambridge. Famous women who went there include Dido, Tasmin Lucia-Khan, Hermione Lee, and Romola Garai. Charlotte Barbour-Condini is currently a student, who was a finalist for BBC, Young Musician of the Year, on 2012.
Marianne North
Marianne North (24 October 1830 – 30 August 1890) was a biologist from Victorian England. She also painted many plants, and several are named after her.
Wrightsville, Arkansas
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Rabbi Shergill
Gurpreet Singh Shergill born as Rabbi Shergill ( born 1973) is a Indian Musician known for its debut album Rabbi (album) and song Bullah Ki Jaana in 2005
Guqin
Traditionally the instrument was called simply qin 「琴」, but by the 20th century the term had come to be used on many other musical instruments as well (for example, the yangqin 「揚琴」 hammered dulcimer, the huqin 「胡琴」 family of bowed string instruments, and the Western piano (literally "steel stringed-instrument")), so the prefix "gu-" 「古」 (meaning "ancient") was added for clarification. It can also be called qixianqin 「七絃琴」 ("seven-stringed instrument"). The guqin is not to be confused with the guzheng, another Chinese long zither also without frets, but with moveable bridges under each string. Because Robert Hans van Gulik's famous book about the qin is called The Lore of the Chinese Lute, the qin is sometimes inaccurately called a lute. Other incorrect classifications (mainly from music CDs) include "harp" or "table-harp". Other Western nicknames for the guqin include "Chinese guitar" and "Chinaman's harp".
The qin is a very quiet instrument, with a range of about four octaves, and its open strings are tuned in the bass register (its lowest pitch is about two octaves below middle C, or the lowest note on the cello). Sounds are produced by plucking open strings, stopped strings, and harmonics. Stopped sounds are special for the variety of slides and ornaments used, and the use of glissando (sliding tones) gives it a sound similar to a pizzicato cello or fretless bass guitar. Extended sections in music scores consisting entirely of harmonics are common, this made possible because the 91 indicated harmonic positions allow great flexibility; early tablature shows that even more harmonic positions were used in the past. By tradition the qin originally had five strings, but ancient qin-like instruments with 10 or more strings have been found. The modern form has been standardized from about two thousand years.
John Kricfalusi
In 2018, Kricfalusi was accused of sexually abusing underage girls in the late 1990s. Kricfalusi released an apology for his behavior, blaming his bipolar disorder.
Guqin
History
Legend has it that the qin, has a history of about 5,000 years; that the legendary people of China's pre-history; Fuxi, Shennong and Huang Di (the Yellow Emperor), was involved in its creation. It is mentioned in Chinese writings dating back nearly 3,000 years, and related instruments have been found in tombs from about 2,500 years ago. Chinese tradition says the qin originally had five strings, but then two were added about 1,000 BCE, making seven.
According to Robert Temple, the qin played an important part in the gaining the first understanding of music timbre for the Chinese. He said that "the Chinese understanding of the nature of sound as vibration was much increased by studying the production of timbre on the strings of the ch'in." This understanding of timbre, overtones and higher harmonics eventually led the Chinese to discover equal temperament in music.
Historical schools and societies
Because of the difference in geography in China, many qin schools known as qin pai (琴派) developed over the centuries. Such schools generally formed around areas where qin activity was greatest.
The main schools are:
Players
Historical:
Renewable energy
Renewable energy comes from renewable resources. It is different from fossil fuels as it does not produce as many greenhouse gases and other pollutants as fossil fuel combustion.
Guqin
Playing technique
The beauty of qin melodies comes not only from the melodies themselves, but from the variation a player can apply to the individual tones and their combinations. The rich tones of the qin can be categorised as three distinctively different "sounds." The first is san yin 〔散音〕, which means "scattered sounds." This meant simply pluck the required string to sound an open note. The second is fan yin 〔泛音〕, or "floating sounds." These are harmonics, and the player simply lightly touches the string with one or more fingers of the left hand at a position indicated by the white hui dots, pluck and then lift, creating a crisp and clear sound ringing sound. The third is an yin 〔按音 / 案音 / 實音 / 走音〕, or "stopped sounds." This forms the majority of most qin pieces and requires the player to press on a string with a finger or thumb of the left hand until it touches with the surface board, then pluck. Afterwards, the hand can slide up and down, thereby changing the pitch.
When plucking the strings, it is not required to attach fake-nails on one's fingers. One will often leave their fingernails long, and cut them into an rounded shape. The length is subjective and will depend on the player's preference, but it is usually around 3-4mm from the finger tip. If it is too short, then the finger tip will deaden the sound as it touches the string after the nail has plucked it. If it is too long then the fingers can make playing difficult. Generally, the nails of the right hand are kept long, whilst the nails of the left are cut short, so as to be able to press on the strings without difficulty.
Renewable energy
People have used traditional wind power, hydropower, biofuel, and solar energy for many centuries, all around the world. The mass production of electricity using renewable energy sources is now becoming more common.
Growth of renewables
From the end of 2004, worldwide renewable energy capacity grew at rates of 10–60% annually for many technologies. For wind power and many other renewable technologies, growth sped up in 2009 relative to the previous four years. More wind power was added during 2009 than any other renewable technology. However, grid-connected PV increased the fastest of all renewables technologies, with a 60% annual average growth rate.
Guqin
Playing technique
There are eight basic right hand finger techniques: pi 〈劈〉 (thumb pluck outwards), tuo 〈托〉 (thumb pluck inwards), mo 〈抹〉 (index in), tiao 〈挑〉 (index out), gou 〈勾〉 (middle in), ti 〈剔〉 (middle out), da 〈打〉 (ring in), and zhai 〈摘〉 (ring out); the little finger is not used. Out of these basic eight, their combinations create many more. Cuo 〈撮〉 is to pluck two strings at the same time, lun 〈輪〉 is to pluck a string with the ring, middle and index finger out in quick succession, the suo 〈鎖〉 technique involves plucking a string several times in a fixed rhythm, bo 〈撥〉 cups the fingers and strums two strings at the same time, and gun fu 〈滾拂〉 is to create a sequence of sounds by running up and down the strings continuously with the index and middle fingers. These are just a few.
Left hand techniques start from the simple pressing down on the string (mostly with the thumb between the flesh and nail, and the ring finger), sliding up or down to the next note (shang 〈上〉 and xia 〈下〉), to vibrati by swaying the hand (yin 〈吟〉 and nao 〈猱〉, there are as many as 15 plus different forms of vibrato), plucking the string with the thumb whilst the ring finger stops the string at the lower position (qiaqi 〈掐起 / 搯起〉), hammering on a string using the thumb (yan 〈掩 / 罨〉), to more difficult techniques such as pressing on several strings at the same time.
Renewable energy
Wind power market grows
Wind power capacity has expanded quickly to 743 GW in 2020, and wind energy production was about 5% of total worldwide electricity usage, and growing fast. Wind power is widely used in European countries, and more recently in the United States and Asia. Wind power accounts for approximately 19% of electricity generation in Denmark, 11% in Spain and Portugal, and 9% in the Republic of Ireland. These are some of the largest wind farms in the world, as of January 2010:
Guqin
Playing technique
Techniques executed by both hands together are more difficult to achieve, for example, qia cuo san sheng 〈掐撮三聲〉 (a combination of hammering on and off then plucking two strings, then repeating), to more exciting forms, like pressing of all seven strings with the left, then strumming all the strings with the right, then the left hand quickly moves up the qin, creating a rolling sound like a bucket of water being thrown in a deep pool of water (this technique is used in the Shu style of Liu Shui to copy the sound of water).
In order to master the qin, there are in excess of 50 different techniques that must be mastered. Even the most commonly used (such as tiao) are difficult to get right without proper instruction from a teacher.
Tablature and notation
Written qin music did not directly tell what notes were played like many outer musical instruments; instead, it was written in a tablature detailing tuning, finger positions, and plucking technique, thus made up of a step by step method and description of how to play a piece. Some tablatures do indicate notes using the gongche notation system, or indicate rhythm using dots.
Accent (disambiguation)
The word accent has more than one meaning. Accent could mean any of the following:
British Rail Class 458
The South Western Railway Class 458 (or 4JOP) electrical multiple units were built by Alstom at Washwood Heath between 1998 and 2000. These units are part of Alstom's Juniper family of units, which also includes Classes 334 and 460.
Renewable energy
Wind power market grows
A wind farm is a group of wind turbines in the same location used for production of electricity. A large wind farm may consist of several hundred individual wind turbines distributed over an extended area, but the land between the turbines may be used for agricultural or other purposes. A wind farm may also be located offshore.
World's largest PV power plants
Solar photovoltaic cells convert sunlight into electricity and many solar photovoltaic power stations have been built, mainly in Europe. As of December 2010, the largest photovoltaic (PV) power plants in the world are the Sarnia Photovoltaic Power Plant (Canada, 97 MW), Montalto di Castro Photovoltaic Power Station (Italy, 84.2 MW), Finsterwalde Solar Park (Germany, 80.7 MW), Rovigo Photovoltaic Power Plant (Italy, 70 MW), Olmedilla Photovoltaic Park (Spain, 60 MW), the Strasskirchen Solar Park (Germany, 54 MW), and the Lieberose Photovoltaic Park (Germany, 53 MW). Larger power stations are under construction, some proposed will have a capacity of 150 MW or more.
Solar is one of the fastest-growing renewable energy sources in the world. Solar energy capacity has increased by approximately 60% since 2013, rising to 485.82GW in 2018.
The ten largest solar power plants in the world (based on installed capacity in 2020)
Many of these plants are integrated with agriculture and some use innovative tracking systems that follow the sun's daily path across the sky to generate more electricity than conventional fixed-mounted systems. There are no fuel costs or emissions during operation of the power stations.
New generation of solar thermal plants
Large solar thermal power stations include the 354 megawatt (MW) Solar Energy Generating Systems power installation in the USA, Solnova Solar Power Station (Spain, 150 MW), Andasol solar power station (Spain, 100 MW), Nevada Solar One (USA, 64 MW), PS20 solar power tower (Spain, 20 MW), and the PS10 solar power tower (Spain, 11 MW). The 370 MW Ivanpah Solar Power Facility, located in California's Mojave Desert, is the world’s largest solar thermal power plant project currently under construction.
The solar thermal power industry is growing fast with 1.2 GW under construction as of April 2009 and another 13.9 GW announced globally through 2014. Spain is the epicenter of solar thermal power development with 22 projects for 1,037 MW under construction, all of which are projected to come online by the end of 2010. In the United States, 5,600 MW of solar thermal power projects have been announced. In developing countries, three World Bank projects for integrated solar thermal/combined-cycle gas-turbine power plants in Egypt, Mexico, and Morocco have been approved.
Variable renewable energy
Variable renewable energy is a renewable energy source that is non-dispatchable due to its fluctuating nature, like wind power and solar power, as opposed to a controllable renewable energy source such as hydroelectricity, or biomass, or a relatively constant source such as geothermal power or run-of-the-river hydroelectricity. Critics of wind and solar power warn of their variable output, but many studies have shown that the grid can cope, and it is doing so in Denmark and Spain.
Ethanol for transportation
Brazil has one of the largest renewable energy programs in the world, involving production of ethanol fuel from sugar cane, and ethanol now provides 18 percent of the country's automotive fuel. As a result, Brazil, which years ago had to import a large share of the petroleum needed for domestic consumption, recently reached complete self-sufficiency in oil.
Most cars on the road today in the U.S. can run on blends of up to 10% ethanol, and motor vehicle manufacturers already produce vehicles designed to run on much higher ethanol blends. Ford, DaimlerChrysler, and General Motors Corporation are among the automobile companies that sell "flexible-fuel" cars, trucks, and minivans that can use gasoline and ethanol blends ranging from pure gasoline up to 85% ethanol (E85). By mid-2006, there were approximately six million E85-compatible vehicles on U.S. roads.
Guqin
Tablature and notation
The earliest example of the modern shorthand tablature survives from around the 12th century CE. An earlier form of music notation from the Tang era survives in just one manuscript, dated to the 7th century CE, called Jieshi Diao: You Lan 《碣石調幽蘭》 (Solitary Orchid, in Stone Tablet Mode). It is written in a longhand form called wenzi pu 〔文字譜〕 (literally "written notation"), which gives all the details using ordinary written Chinese characters. Later in the Tang dynasty, Cao Rou (曹柔) and others simplified the notation, using only the important elements of the characters (like string number, plucking technique, hui number and which finger to stop the string) and combined them into one character notation. This meant that instead of having two lines of written text to describe a few notes, a single character could represent one note, or sometimes as many as nine. This notation form was called jianzi pu 〔減字譜〕 (literally "reduced notation") and it was a great step forward for recording qin scores. It was so successful that from the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) onwards, a lot of qinpu 〔琴譜〕 (qin tablature collections) appeared, the most famous and useful being "Shenqi Mipu" (The Mysterious and Marvellous Tablature) compiled by Zhu Quan (朱勸), the 17th son of the founder of the Ming dynasty. In the 1960s, Zha Fuxi discovered more than 130 qinpu that contain well over 3360 pieces of written music. Many qinpu compiled before the Ming dynasty are now lost, and many pieces have remained unplayed for hundreds of years.
Existing qinpu generally come from private collections or in public libraries throughout China, etc. Those that are available for public purchase are photographic copies printed and bound in the traditional Chinese bookbinding process. More modern qinpu tend to be bound in the normal Western way on modern paper. The format uses qin notation with staff notation and/or jianpu notation.
Be (Cyrillic)
Be (Б, б) is the second letter in the Cyrillic alphabet.
Guqin
Repertoire
Dapu 〔打譜〕 is the conversion of old tablature into a playable form. This can be used to create new music as well as to reconstruct the ancient melodies. Since qin tablature does not indicate note value, tempo or rhythm, the player must work it out for him/herself. Normally, qin players will learn the rhythm of a piece through a teacher. They sit facing one another, with the student copying the master. The tablature will only be looked at if the teacher is not sure of how to play a certain part. Because of this, traditional qinpu do not indicate them. If one did not have a teacher, then one had to work out the rhythm by themselves. But it would be a mistake to say that qin music has no rhythm or melody. By the 20th century, there had been attempts to try to replace the shorthand notation, but so far, it has been unsuccessful; since the 20th century, qin music is generally printed with staff notation above the qin tablature. Because qin tablature is so useful, logical, easy, and the fastest way (once the performer knows how to read the notation) of learning a piece, it is invaluable to the qin player and cannot totally be replaced. There are two views of how to best use dapu: one is to use it to create new music, and the other is to use it to reconstruct the way the original music was played.
Construction
According to tradition, the qin originally had five strings, representing the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire and earth. Later, in the Zhou dynasty, Zhou Wen Wang 周文王 added a sixth string to mourn his son, Bo Yihou 伯邑考. His successor, Zhou Wu Wang 周武王, added a seventh string to motivate his troops into battle with the Shang. The thirteen hui 『徽』 on the surface represent the 13 months of the year (the extra 13th is the 'leap month' in the lunar calendar). The surface board is round to represent Heaven and the bottom board flat to represent earth. The entire length of the qin (in Chinese measurements) is 3 feet, 6.5 inches, representing the 365 days of the year (though this is just a standard since qins can be shorter or longer depending on the period's measurement standard or the maker's preference). Each part of the qin has meaning, some more obvious, like "dragon pool" 『龍池』 and "phoenix pond" 『鳳沼』.
Be (Cyrillic)
It came from the Greek beta, along with the Cyrillic veh. Its old name was buky. It stands for the Roman B.
The uppercase Б looks like a B with the top curve missing and the lowercase one looks like the number 6.
Guqin
Strings
Until the Cultural Revolution, the guqin's strings were always made of various thicknesses of twisted silk 『絲』, but since then most players use modern nylon-flatwound steel strings 『鋼絲』. This was partly due to the scarcity of high quality silk strings and partly due to the newer strings' greater durability and louder tone.
Silk strings are made by gathering a prescribed number of strands of silk thread, then twisting them tightly together. The twisted cord of strings is then wrapped around a frame and immersed in a vat of liquid of natural glue that binds the strands together. The strings are taken out and left to dry, before being cut into the appropriate length. The top thicker strings (i.e. strings one to four) are further wrapped in a thin silk thread, coiled around the core to make it smoother.
Recently in China, production of very good quality silk strings has resumed and more players are beginning to use them. Although most contemporary players use nylon-wrapped metal strings, some argue that nylon-wrapped metal strings cannot replace silk strings for their refinement of tone. Furthermore, it is the case that nylon-wrapped metal strings can cause damage to the wood of old qins. Many traditionalists feel that the sound of the fingers of the left hand sliding on the strings to be a distinctive feature of qin music. The modern nylon-wrapped metal strings were very smooth in the past, but are now slightly modified in order to capture these sliding sounds.
Tuning
To string a qin, one traditionally had to tie a butterfly knot (shengtou jie 『蠅頭結』) at one end of the string, and slip the string through the twisted cord (rongkou 『絨剅』) which goes into holes at the head of the qin and then out the bottom through the tuning pegs (zhen 『軫』). The string is dragged over the bridge (yueshan 『岳山』), across the surface board, over the nut (longyin 『龍齦』 dragon gums) to the back of the qin, where the end is wrapped around two legs (fengzu 『鳳足』 "phoenix feet" or yanzu 『雁足』 "geese feet"). Afterwards, the strings are fine tuned using the tuning pegs. The most common tuning, "zheng diao" 〈正調〉, is pentatonic: 1245612 in the traditional Chinese number system or jianpu 〔簡譜〕. Today this is generally interpreted to mean C D F G A c d, but this should be considered do re fa so la do re, since historically the qin was not tuned to absolute pitch. In fact the same tuning can also be considered as 5612356 when the third string is played as do. Thus, except when accompanied by other instruments, only the pitch relations between the seven strings needs to be accurate. Other tunings are achieved by adjusting the tension of the strings using the tuning pegs at the head end. Thus manjiao diao 〈慢角調〉 (slackened third string) gives 1235612 and ruibin diao 〈蕤賔調〉 (raised fifth string) gives 1245712, which is transposed to 2356123.
Playing context
The guqin is nearly always used a solo single instrument, as its quietness of tone means that it cannot be heard over the sounds of most other instruments or an ensemble. It can, however, be played together with a xiao (end-blown bamboo flute), with other qin, or played while singing. In old times, the se (a long zither with movable bridges and 25 strings, similar to the Japanese koto) was frequently used in duets with the qin.
In order for an instrument to accompany the qin, its sound must be mellow and not overwhelm the qin. Thus, the xiao generally used for this purpose is one pitched in the key of F, known as qin xiao, which is narrower than an ordinary xiao. If one sings to qin songs (which is rare nowadays) then one should not sing in an operatic or folk style as is common in China, but rather in a very low pitched and deep way; and the range in which one should sing should not exceed one and a half octaves. The style of singing is similar to that used to recite Tang poetry. To enjoy qin songs, one must learn to become accustomed to the strange style some players may sing their songs to.
Traditionally, the qin was played in a quiet studio or room by oneself, or with a few friends; or played outdoors in places of outstanding natural beauty. Nowadays, many qin players perform at concerts in large concert halls, almost always, out of necessity, using electronic pickups or microphones to amplify the sound. Many qin players attend yaji (『雅集』 literally "elegant gatherings"), at which a number of qin players, music lovers, or anyone with an interest in Chinese culture can come along to discuss and play the qin.
References
Chinese books on qin:
English books on qin:
Other websites
Qin society sites
General Qin sites
Other specialist Qin sites
Sites with music samples
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Slovakia at the 2018 Winter Paralympics
Slovakia sent people to compete at the 2018 Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Slovakia is sending up to fifteen sportspeople to the 2018 Games. They are competing in para-alpine skiing and wheelchair curling. The team includes Henrieta Farkasova. Farkasova has the more medals won at the Winter Paralympics than any other person from Slovakia. Before the 2018 Paralympics, she had five gold medals, one silver and one bronze medal.
Team
Slovakia is sending up to fifteen sportspeople to the 2018 Games. They are also sending another 15 people to assist them. The sportspeople are competing in para-alpine skiing and wheelchair curling.
Skiers
Henrieta Farkasova went to the Games as the world champion in slalom and giant slalom. She won gold in both races at the 2014 Winter Paralympics. Farkasova has the more medals won at the Winter Paralympics than any other person from Slovakia. Before the 2018 Paralympics, Farkasova had five gold medals, one silver and one  bronze medal. Born in 1986, Farkasova is blind.
Jakub Krako was second in Slovakia for most medals won at the Winter Paralmpics. Before 2018 Pyeongchang, he won four gold medals and two silver medals. Krako has a physical disability.
Before the Games
Farkasova went to Slovenia in January 2018. She competed in the World Cup in Kranjska Gora.
Schedule and training
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Results
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Wheelchair curling
They played against Sweden on 12 March.
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Club career statistics
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Johann Mattheson
Early life
Mattheson was born on September 28, 1681 in Hamburg. His father was a tax collector. Mattheson studied many things. He learned English, French, Italian, and music. He learned to play the keyboard and write music with Johann Nicholaus Hanff. He learned to sing and play different instruments with a musician named Woldag. He played the organ when he was 9 years old.
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Johann Mattheson
Early life
Mattheson became interested in opera. He joined the Hamburg opera company in around 1690. He thought that he could learn more about music writing from operas. He wrote his first opera Die Plejades (English: "The Pleiades") in 1699.
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Club career statistics
197||147 66||25 263||172
Johann Mattheson
Career
Mattheson met Handel in 1703. He became friends with Handel. They went to Lübeck together to apply for the position of organist at the Marienkirche. They met the composer Dietrich Buxtehude, who was the previous organist. They refused the position. This was because Buxtehude wanted the next organist to marry his daughter.
In 1704, Mattheson got in a fight with Handel. Handel did not let Mattheson replace him as a conductor in a performance. Mattheson got angry. They fought in a duel. Mattheson almost killed Handel with his sword. But Handel was saved because of a large button on his coat. They were soon reconciled.
Nikola Žigić
International career statistics
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Johann Mattheson
Career
The Hamburg opera company started to dislike Mattheson. Mattheson left the opera in 1705. He said that he had performed over 2000 performances with the opera company. In 1704, Mattheson became the teacher of Cyrill Wich. Cyrill was the son of the English ambassador to Hamburg, John Wich. Mattheson started studying English politics and history at this time. Mattheson became John Wich's secretary in 1706. He was first assigned to prepare and write reports. He traveled for diplomatic missions. He got to meet many musicians from his travels.
In 1709, Mattheson married Catharina Jennings, an Englishwoman. In 1715, Mattheson became the music director of Hamburg Cathedral. He wrote some oratorios and cantatas for the church. He left this position in 1728. He was becoming deaf. He had lost his hearing completely by 1735. In 1719, he became the Kapellmesiter in the court of Holstein. Mattheson was active from 1715 to 1740. He translated English books into German. He also wrote books about music.
Later life and death
Mattheson's wife died on February 3, 1753. He decided to give his money to the Michaeliskirche in Hamburg. The church was destroyed by a lightning strike in 1750. He gave his money to help rebuild the church and organ. In return, Mattheson asked to be buried on the church grounds. Mattheson died on April 17, 1763 in Hamburg. Georg Philipp Telemann conducted the funeral service. He was buried in the Michaeliskirche.
Music
It was thought that Mattheson's music were missing since the Second World War. It turns out that his music was not destroyed. They were returned from Armenia in 1998.
Writing
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Continuum
This describes something that changes gradually (little by little) from one condition, to a different condition, but without any sudden changes or discontinuities.