Question: The following article contains an answer for the question: Who did the Song Dynasty alternate between warfare and diplomacy with? , can you please find it? After usurping the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty, Emperor Taizu of Song (r. 960976) spent sixteen years conquering the rest of China, reuniting much of the territory that had once belonged to the Han and Tang empires and ending the upheaval of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. In Kaifeng, he established a strong central government over the empire. The establishment of this capital marked the start of the Northern Song period. He ensured administrative stability by promoting the civil service examination system of drafting state bureaucrats by skill and merit (instead of aristocratic or military position) and promoted projects that ensured efficiency in communication throughout the empire. In one such project, cartographers created detailed maps of each province and city that were then collected in a large atlas. Emperor Taizu also promoted groundbreaking scientific and technological innovations by supporting such works as the astronomical clock tower designed and built by the engineer Zhang Sixun.The Song court maintained diplomatic relations with Chola India, the Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt, Srivijaya, the Kara-Khanid Khanate of Central Asia, the Goryeo kingdom in Korea, and other countries that were also trade partners with Japan. Chinese records even mention an embassy from the ruler of "Fu lin" (, i.e. the Byzantine Empire), Michael VII Doukas, and its arrival in 1081. However, China's closest neighbouring states had the greatest impact on its domestic and foreign policy. From its inception under Taizu, the Song dynasty alternated between warfare and diplomacy with the ethnic Khitans of the Liao dynasty in the northeast and with the Tanguts of the Western Xia in the northwest. The Song dynasty used military force in an attempt to quell the Liao dynasty and to recapture the Sixteen Prefectures, a territory under Khitan control since 938 that was traditionally considered to be part of China proper (Most parts of today's Beijing and Tianjin). Song forces were repulsed by the Liao forces, who...
Answer: the ethnic Khitans of the Liao dynasty
[Q]: The following article contains an answer for the question: What is the precise title of the work El Greco extended an offer to Pope Pius V to paint over? , can you please find it? By the time El Greco arrived in Rome, Michelangelo and Raphael were dead, but their example continued to be paramount, and somewhat overwhelming for young painters. El Greco was determined to make his own mark in Rome defending his personal artistic views, ideas and style. He singled out Correggio and Parmigianino for particular praise, but he did not hesitate to dismiss Michelangelo's Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel; he extended an offer to Pope Pius V to paint over the whole work in accord with the new and stricter Catholic thinking. When he was later asked what he thought about Michelangelo, El Greco replied that "he was a good man, but he did not know how to paint". And thus we are confronted by a paradox: El Greco is said to have reacted most strongly or even condemned Michelangelo, but found it impossible to withstand his influence. Michelangelo's influence can be seen in later El Greco works such as the Allegory of the Holy League. By painting portraits of Michelangelo, Titian, Clovio and, presumably, Raphael in one of his works (The Purification of the Temple), El Greco not only expressed his gratitude but also advanced the claim to rival these masters. As his own commentaries indicate, El Greco viewed Titian, Michelangelo and Raphael as models to emulate. In his 17th century Chronicles, Giulio Mancini included El Greco among the painters who had initiated, in various ways, a re-evaluation of Michelangelo's teachings.Because of his unconventional artistic beliefs (such as his dismissal of Michelangelo's technique) and personality, El Greco soon acquired enemies in Rome. Architect and writer Pirro Ligorio called him a "foolish foreigner", and newly discovered archival material reveals a skirmish with Farnese, who obliged the young artist to leave his palace. On 6 July 1572, El Greco officially complained about this event. A few months later, on 18 September 1572, he paid his dues to the Guild of Saint Luke in Rome as a miniature painter. At the end of that year, El Greco opened his own workshop and...
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[A]: Last Judgment
input: Please answer the following: The following article contains an answer for the question: What is the first name of the person that Ross confesses to about being a government agent? , can you please find it? Thieves Ed Dexter and Harry Ames are trying to steal some valuable pearls. When Ed discovers another gang, led by "Doc" Evans, has the same idea, he tips off the police to get rid of the competition. Then Ed and Harry get what they were after. When the authorities connect Vivian to the robbery (she had worked with Ed and Harry in the past, but not on this theft), government agent Ross McBride is assigned to get Vivian to lead him to her partners by pretending to be a crook named Danny Ackerman. However, Vivian quickly realizes Ross is a plant. Nonetheless, she plays along, as the other bunch of crooks is following her. Meanwhile, Ed has hidden the pearls in the handle of Vivian's hand mirror without her knowledge. On their travels, Ross and Vivian stop at a farmhouse, where they help the distraught Dabsons with the birth of twins. Ross and Vivian gradually fall in love with each other. When he overhears her phoning Ed to tell him she is quitting her life of crime, he is at a loss what to do, "whipsawed" as he calls it. He confesses to her that he is government agent; she reveals that she already knows. He then embraces her, but drops the mirror he was holding, revealing the pearls. He does not believe her protestations of innocence.
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output:
Vivian