the-french-artist/wikipedia_20220301.simple_sentence_split huggingface dataset:
The exact extent of their intelligence and learning capability is much debated among biologists.
Maze and problem-solving experiments have shown that they do have both short and long-term memory.
Their short lifespans limit the amount they can learn.
In laboratory experiments, octopuses can be readily trained to distinguish between different shapes and patterns.
They have been seen in what some have described as play: repeatedly releasing bottles or toys into a circular current in their aquariums and then catching them.
Octopuses often break out of their aquaria and sometimes into others in search of food.
The largest of the 300+ species of octopods, the giant octopus Enteroctopus, is large indeed.
Mature males average about 50 pounds and females about 33 pounds.
Their arm spans are about eight feet.
They have even boarded fishing boats and opened holds to get in and eat crabs.
In the UK, cephalopods such as octopuses are regarded as honorary vertebrates under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.
This gives them protection not normally given to invertebrates.
Octopods are the only invertebrate which have been definitely shown to use tools.
At least four specimens of the veined octopus (Amphioctopus marginatus) have been seen picking up discarded coconut shells, and then reassembling them to use as shelter.
Octopods are active and intelligent predators, with good eyesight and brains.
They eat mostly crabs and some fish.
Octopods have a variety of defences.
They use active camouflage and mimicry, controlled by their nervous system.
Most can eject black ink clouds to help escape, and some can shed an arm in extreme danger.
It wriggles, and attracts the attacker.
Reproduction and death
When octopods reproduce, males use a specialized arm to put packets of sperm into the female's mantle cavity.
Males die within a few months of mating.
In some species, the female octopus can keep the sperm alive inside her for weeks until her eggs are mature.
After they have been fertilized, the female lays about 200,000 eggs (this figure dramatically varies between species).
The female cares for the eggs, guarding them against predators, and gently blows currents of water over them so they get enough oxygen.
The female does not hunt during the one-month period spent taking care of the unhatched eggs, and may ingest some of her own arms for sustenance.
At around the time the eggs hatch, the mother leaves the lair and is too weak to defend herself from predators like cod, often succumbing to their attacks.
The young larval octopuses spend a period of time drifting in clouds of plankton, where they feed until they are ready to descend to the ocean bottom, where the cycle repeats.
All octopods for which we have data have a relatively short life expectancy.
Some species live for as little as six months.
Larger species, such as the North Pacific giant octopus, may live for up to five years under suitable circumstances.
Reproduction is a cause of death: males can only live for a few months after mating, and females die shortly after their eggs hatch.
They neglect to eat during the (roughly) one-month period spent taking care of their unhatched eggs, but apparently they do not die of starvation.
A biological explanation of these short lifespans (or rapid ageing) is not agreed at present.
Deep-sea octopod broods eggs
Off the coast of California, marine biologists have watched the same female octopod guarding her eggs for over four years.
Their development took a long time because the water 1.4 kilometres down was very cold.
They knew it was the same octopod because it had a characteristic scar.
The research was done using a remote diving vehicle with cameras, lights and robotic arms.
The Byzantine Empire (or Eastern Roman Empire) was the name of the eastern remnant of the Roman Empire which survived into the Middle Ages.
Its capital was Constantinople, which today is called Istanbul.
Unlike the Western Roman Empire, the most important language was Greek, not Latin, and Greek culture and identity dominated.
the "Roman Empire" or the "Empire of the Romans" (Latin: Imperium Romanum, Imperium Romanorum; Greek:  Basileia tōn Rhōmaiōn,  Archē tōn Rhōmaiōn),
"Romania" (Latin: Romania; Greek:  Rhōmania),
the "Roman Republic" (Latin: Res Publica Romana; Greek: , Politeia tōn Rhōmaiōn),
"Graecia" (Greek:  meaning "land of the Greeks"),
"Rhōmais" (Greek: ).
Start of the Empire (330–476 AD)
In 324, the Roman emperor Constantine I moved the capital of the Roman Empire to the Greek city of Byzantium, and he renamed the city Constantinople.
150 years later, after the city of Rome was slowly taken over by Germanic people during the Migration period, Constantinople was the only remaining capital of the empire.
This Eastern empire had a smaller territory than the original Roman Empire.
Problems in the Empire (476–717 AD)
Wars in the West
The Byzantine Empire tried to take back Rome and Italy from the Germans.
Between 530–555 AD, the Byzantines won many battles and took back Rome.
These gains did not last however.
More Germans came and eventually Italy and Rome was lost again.
Worse was to come when Avar and Slavic peoples came to take Southeast Europe from the Byzantines.
After the 560s, the invaders gradually conquered the Balkans except for parts of modern Greece and Albania.
These invaders were later followed by the Bulgarians.
The Avars and Bulgarians were both Turkic peoples at first.
They ruled over Slavic people called "Sklavinai" and slowly absorbed Slavic language and customs.
Wars in the East
After western Rome was captured by Germanic people, the Empire continued to control modern Egypt, Greece, Palestine, Syria and Turkey.
However, another empire, known as the Persian or Sassanid Empire, tried to take these lands for itself.
Between 224 and 628, the Greco-Romans and the Persians fought many battles with many men killed in the fighting.
Eventually, the Persians were defeated in 627 in modern-day Iraq, near the ancient city of Nineveh, allowing the Byzantines to keep their lands.
After this, another enemy appeared: the Arabs.
The Byzantines were economically damaged by the battles with the Persians.
They could not withstand the Arabs.
Palestine, Syria and Egypt were lost between 635 and 645.
However, the Byzantines defended Asia Minor (modern Turkey) and the Arab advance stopped.
Recovery of the Empire (717–1025 AD)
In 718, the Arabs were defeated outside Constantinople, ending the Arab threat in the east, but leaving the Byzantine Empire severely weakened.
In the west, the Byzantines launched a number of attacks against the Bulgarians.
Some of these were successful, others were not and led to the deaths of many emperors.
Over time, the Byzantine Empire would become weaker as it lost land to outside invaders.
Recovery in the west
Between 1007–1014, the ambitious Byzantine emperor Basil II attacked Bulgaria many times and eventually won a great victory.
Later, he fully recaptured Greece, adding it back to the Byzantine Empire.
He then went on to conquer Bulgaria, which was completed in 1018.
Recovery in the east
In the east, the Arabs once again became a threat to the empire.
However, Basil II's attacks won many more victories.
Much of Syria was restored to the empire and Turkey and Armenia were secured.
After 1025, the Arabs were no longer a threat to the Byzantine Empire.
Decline of the Empire (1025–1453 AD)
Start of Decline (1025–1071)
After the Byzantine Emperor Basil II died, many unskilled Emperors came to the throne.
They wasted the money of the Empire and reduced its army.
This meant that it could not defend itself well against enemies if they would attack.
Later, the Byzantines relied on mercenaries, soldiers who fought for money and not for their country, so they were less loyal and reliable and more expensive.
Because they had mercenaries, military generals were able to rise to power and grab it from the elaborate bureaucracy, a system of administration where tasks are divided by departments.
Rise of the Turks (1071–1091)
A large number of people known as the Turks rode on horseback from central Asia and attacked the Byzantine Empire.
The Seljuk Empire took most of Anatolia from the Byzantines by 1091.
However, the Byzantines received help from people in Europe.
This help is known as the First Crusade.
Many knights and soldiers left to help the Byzantines but also to secure Jerusalem for Christians, which at the time was in Muslim hands.
The Byzantines survive (1091–1185)
The Byzantine Empire survived and with the help of the Europeans took back half of Turkey from the Turks, with the other half remaining under the Turks.
The Byzantines survived because three good Emperors ruled one after the other, allowing the Byzantines to grow strong again.
The Byzantines become weak again (1185-1261)
In the west, the Europeans betrayed the Byzantines and attacked their capital, Constantinople.
The Byzantines lost their capital in 1204 and they did not take it back until 1261.
The Byzantines were then divided into many smaller Greek states that were fighting with each other for the throne of the empire.
The Turks take the Byzantines (1261–1453)
After the Byzantines took back Constantinople, they were too busy fighting the Europeans who had betrayed them and could not find enough soldiers or money to fight the new Ottoman Empire of the Turks.
All of Anatolia was lost by 1331.
In 1369, the Turks crossed over from Turkey and into Greece, taking over much of Greece between 1354 and 1450.
The Byzantines lost so much land, money and soldiers that they became very weak and begged for help from the Europeans.
Some soldiers and ships came from Italy and the Pope to assist the Byzantines when the Turks attacked Constantinople in April 1453.
They were very outnumbered though and the walls of Constantinople were badly damaged by cannons used by the Turks.
At the end of May 1453, the Turks captured Constantinople by entering through one of the gates along the walls and the empire came to an end.
The city was plundered for three days.
At the end, the population which had not been able to escape, was deported to Edirne, Bursa and other Ottoman cities, leaving the city deserted except for the Jews of Balat and the Genoese of Pera.
After that, Constantinople became Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, which it would be until the 1900s, when the capital was moved to Ankara, a city in the Asian part of Turkey.
They protected Europe from eastern invasions.
They preserved Greek language and Hellenistic culture.
They preserved many Roman political traditions that had been lost by Western Europe.
They kept a lot of knowledge for us to read about today.
They produced much fine art with a distinctive style.
They were the protectors and sponsors of the Eastern Church, which later becomes the Orthodox Church.
They used good architecture that is still used.
Their cities had plumbing which is still in use.
A lot of beautiful churches and mosques in Turkey and Greece today are either made from Byzantine buildings or inspired by them.
They made several inventions, such as the flamethrower and "Greek fire", a kind of napalm.
They made advances in many studies, like political studies, diplomacy and military sciences.
World History Encyclopedia: Byzantine Empire
Roman Emperors (De Imperatoribus Romanis)
18 Centuries of Roman Empire: A Cartography by Howard Wiseman
12 Byzantine Rulers: The History of the Byzantine Empire (Lars Brownworth)
18 centuries of Roman Empire by Howard Wiseman (Maps of the Roman/Byzantine Empire throughout its lifetime).
Byzantine & Christian Museum
Dumbarton Oaks: Byzantine Studies
Byzantium: Byzantine Studies on the Internet
Translations from Byzantine Sources: The Imperial Centuries, c. 700–1204
De Re Militari: The Society for Medieval Military History
Medieval Sourcebook: Byzantium
Bibliography on Byzantine Material Culture and Daily Life (University of Vienna)
Constantinople Home Page
Byzantium in Crimea: Political History, Art and Culture.
Byzanzforschung: Institute for Byzantine Studies of the Austrian Academy of Sciences
Former countries in Africa
285 establishments
1453 disestablishments
3rd-century establishments in Asia
Establishments in Europe
Disestablishments in Europe
Disestablishments in Asia
The  (; ; Wade–Giles: ku-ch'in; literally "ancient stringed-instrument") is the modern name for a plucked seven-string Chinese musical instrument of the zither family.
It has been played since ancient times, and has traditionally been favored by educated people as an instrument of great beauty and refinement.
It is uncommonly spelt as Gu Qin (and sometimes GuQin or Gu-qin) in English.
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.
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.
Based on the detailed description in the poetic essay "Qin Fu" 【琴賦】 by Xi Kang / Ji Kang (223–262), the form of the qin that is recognizable today was most likely set around the late Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD).
The earliest surviving qin in this modern form, preserved in both Japan and China, have been dated to the Tang Dynasty (618-907).
Many are still playable, the most famous perhaps being the one named "Jiuxiao Huanpei" 《九霄環佩》, said to have been made by the famous late Tang dynasty qin maker Lei Wei (雷威).
It is kept in the Forbidden City Museum in Beijing.
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.
In 1977, a recording of "Liu Shui" (Flowing Water, as performed by Guan Pinghu, one of the best qin players of the 20th century) was chosen to be included in the Voyager Golden Record, a gold-plated LP recording containing music from around the world, which was sent into outer space by NASA on the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecrafts.
It is the longest music track included on the disc.
In 2003, guqin music was proclaimed one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.
Schools, societies and players
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.
Guangling (廣陵); Yushan (虞山 also known as Qinchuan (琴川) or Shu (熟)) in Changshu 常熟
Shu (蜀 or Chuan (川)) in Sichuan 四川
Fanchuan (泛川)
Songjiang (松江)
Jinling (金陵)
Zhucheng (諸城)
Mei'an (梅庵 / 楳盦)
Min (閩) in Fujian 福建
Pucheng (浦城)
Jiuyi (九嶷)
Zhe (浙)
Shaoxing (紹興)
Wu (吳)
Shan'nan (山南)
Most qin schools and groups are based in China.
During the 20th century some societies began in other countries.
Qin study was initially confined to China in ancient times.
Today countries like Japan also have their own qin small traditions.
The Tokyo Qin Society was recently founded.
Japan has published a qinpu (qin tablature collection) in the past, known as Toukou Kinpu or Donggao Qinpu 【東臯琴譜】.
There have been many players throughout the ages.
The instrument was a favourite of the scholars, so many artists played it.
Some famous players are also associated with some melodies, like Confucius and Qu Yuan.
Confucius 孔子: Philosopher, 551–479 BCE, associated with the piece Kongzi Duyi 《孔子讀易》, Weibian Sanjue 《韋編三絕》 and Youlan 《幽蘭》.
Bo Ya 伯牙: Qin player of the Spring and Autumn Period, associated with the piece Gao Shan 《高山》 and Liu Shui 《流水》.
Zhuangzi 莊子: Daoist philosopher of the Warring States Period, associated with the piece Zhuang Zhou Mengdie 《莊周蒙蝶》 and Shenhua Yin 《神化引》.
Qu Yuan 屈原: Poet of the Warring States Period, associated with the piece Li Sao 《離騷》.
Cai Yong 蔡邕: Han Dynasty musician, author of Qin Cao 【琴操】.
Cai Wenji 蔡文姬: Cai Yong's daughter, associated with the piece Hujia Shiba-pai 《胡笳十八拍》, etc.
Sima Xiangru 司馬相如: Han poet, 179-117 BCE.
Ji Kang 嵇康: Sage of the Bamboo Grove, musician and poet, writer of Qin Fu 【琴賦】.
Li Bai 李白: Tang poet, 701-762.
Bai Juyi 白居易: Tang poet, 772-846.
Song Huizong 宋徽宗: Song emperor famous for his patronage of the arts, had a Wanqin Tang 『萬琴堂』 ("10,000 Qin Hall") in his palace.
Guo Chuwang 郭楚望: Patriot at the end of the Song Dynasty, composer of the piece Xiaoxiang Shuiyun 《瀟湘水雲》.
Classical books such as Qin Shi, Qinshi Bu and Qinshi Xu have biographies of hundreds of more players.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Qin pieces are usually around three to eight minutes in length, with the longest being "Guangling San" 《廣陵散》, which is 22 minutes long.
Other famous pieces include "Liu Shui" 《流水》 (Flowing Water), "Yangguan San Die" 《陽關三疊》 (Three Refrains on the Yang Pass Theme), "Meihua San Nong" 《梅花三弄》 (Three Variations on the Plum Blossom Theme), "Xiao Xiang Shui Yun" 《瀟湘水雲》 (Mist and Clouds over the Xiao and Xiang Rivers), and "Pingsha Luo Yan" 《平沙落雁》 (Wild Geese Descending on the Sandbank).
The average player can generally play around ten pieces from memory which they will aim to play very well, learning new pieces as and when they feel like it.
Players mainly learn popular well studied versions, often using a recording as a reference.
In addition to learning to play established or ancient pieces very well, highly skilled qin players may also compose or improvise, although the player must be very good and extremely familiar with the instrument to be successful at it.
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.
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』.
The sound chamber of the qin is constructed with two boards of wood, typically of differing wood types.
The slightly rounded top board (soundboard) is usually made of tong wood 『桐』, the Chinese parasol tree, or Chinese paulownia.
The bottom board is made of zi mu 『梓木』 catalpa (Catalpa ovata) or, more recently, nan mu 『楠木』 camphor wood (Machilus nanmu).
The wood must be well aged, that is, the sap and moisture must be removed (of the top board wood).
If sap remains then the sound will not be clear and, as the moisture evaporates, the wood will warp and crack.
Some makers use old or ancient wood to construct qins because most of the sap and moisture has been removed naturally by time (old shan mu 『杉木』, Chinese Cunninghamia or Japanese Cryptomeria, is often used for creating modern qins).
Some go to lengths to obtain extremely ancient wood, such as that from Han dynasty tomb structures or coffins.
Although such wood is very dry, it is not necessarily the best since it may be infected with wood worm or be of a bad quality or type.
Many modern qins made out of new tong wood (such as those made by Zeng Chengwei) can be better than the quality of antique qins.
There are two sound holes in the bottom board, as the playing techniques of the qin employ the entire surface of the top board which is curved / humped.
The inside of the top board is hollowed out to a degree.
Inside the qin, there are 'nayin' 『納音』 sound absorbers, and a 'tian chu' 『天柱』 and 'di chu' 『地柱』 soundposts that connect the bottom board to the top.
The boards are joined using bamboo nails.
Lacquer 『漆』 from the Chinese lacquer tree (Rhus vernicifera) is then applied to the surfaces of the qin, mixed with various types of powder, the most common being "lujiao shuang" 『鹿角霜』, the remains of deer antler after the glue has been eremoved.
Often, ceramic powder is used instead of deer antler powder, but the quality is not as good.
After the lacquer has dried (a qin will need several layers), the surface will be polished using oil stones.
At the head end of the instrument is the "yue shan" 『岳山』 or bridge, and at the other end is the "long yin" 『龍齦』 (dragon's gums) or nut.
There are 13 circular mother-of-pearl inlays which mark the harmonic positions, as well as a reference point to note position, called hui 『徽』 ("insignia").
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.
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.
Zhou, Ningyun (1915).
Qinshu Cunmu.
Zha, Fuxi (1958).
Cunjian Guqin Qupu Jilan.
Beijing: The People's Music Publishers. .
Xu, Jian (1982).
Qinshi Chubian.
Li, Xiangting (1992).
Tangdai Guqin Yanzou Meixue ji Yinyue Sixiang Yanjiu.
Gong, Yi (1999).
Guqin Yanzhoufa; 2nd ed.,
2 CDs.
Shanghai: Shanghai Educational Publishers.
Li, Mingzhong (2000).
Zhongguo Qinxue.
Volume one.
Shanxi: Shanxi Society Science Magazine Association.
Yin, Wei (2001).
Zhongguo Qinshi Yanyi.
Yunnan: People's Publishers of Yunnan.
/I‧866
Li, Xiangting (2004).
Guqin Shiyong Jiaocheng.
Shanghai: Shanghai Music Publishers.
Yao, Bingyan and Huang, Shuzhi (2005).
Tangdai Chen Zhuo Lun Guqin Zhifa: Yao Bingyan Qinxue Zhu Shu zhi Yi.
Beijing: Shu zhi Zhai Wenhua Co. Ltd. .
Wu, Zhao (2005).
Jueshi Qingyin; inc.
1 CD.
Suzhou: Ancient Inn of Wu Publishings.
/G‧259
Gulik, Robert Hans van (1940, 1969).
The Lore of the Chinese Lute.
and Tokyo: Charles Tuttle and Sophia University; Monumenta Nipponica.
Gulik, Robert Hans van (1941).
Hsi K'ang and his Poetical Essay on the Chinese Lute.
Tokyo: Monumenta Nipponica.
Lieberman, Fredric (1983).
A Chinese Zither Tutor: The Mei-an Ch'in-p'u.
and commentary.
Washington and Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.
A Complete Study of the Chinese Zither is an old book from 1670
North American Guqin Association Wang Fei's US based qin society, with a link to a store that sells good quality qins, CDs and books as well as other Chinese instruments, updates often and a library of qin music samples and other useful material
London Youlan Qin Society Cheng Yu's UK based qin society with information about each yaji and regular updates on upcoming events
New York Qin Society New York based qin society, with information of their previous yaji, now updated with new material.
John Thompson's Silk-stringed Qin A host of information on the qin and silk strings for qins in English, including extensive study of Shenqi Mipu and analysis of playing style, plus useful section on qin sources
Yugu Zhai Qinpu Jim Binkley's translation of the qin construction manual with links to other sources.
Includes a qin FAQ section and pictures of his 'blue qin' made by himself
Friends of Guqin : Amics del Guqin 古琴之友 A site by Qin players in Spain (English)/(Spanish)/(Catalan)
Wang Fei's Webpage A site about Wang Fei and her projects, with links to other interconnected sites
Qiulai 秋籟  Cheng Gongliang's site.
In Chinese only
Listen to Qin Music page from John Thompson site
WOMAD 2005  for the Guqin and Pipa concert of Zeng Chengwei and Cheng Yu
Ripuarian may refer to:
Ripuarian Franks, a subset of Frankish people who lived in the Rhineland
Ripuarian language, a West Central German dialect group
Riparian water rights (or simply riparian rights) a system for allocating water among those who possess land along its path
Riparian zone (or riparian area), the interface between land and a river or stream
Riparian-zone restoration, the ecological restoration of riparian zone habitats of streams, rivers, springs, lakes, floodplains, and other hydrologic ecologies
London Stone (riparian), the name given to a number of boundary stones which stand beside the rivers Thames and Medway, which formerly marked the limits of jurisdiction of the City of London
The Vandals were a German tribe during the migration period (a time when groups of people moved around) in Europe.
Vandal is also what a person that does vandalism is called
Specifically on Wikipedia, it is someone who vandalizes pages.
São Paulo (Portuguese: Saint Paul) is a state in the Southeast Region of Brazil.
Its capital city is called São Paulo too.
Geography and economy
São Paulo is located in the south-east region of Brazil, with close to 248,000 square kilometers of area. (
For comparison, Oregon State in the United States of America has 251,000 square miles).
Also migrants from other Brazilian states (especially from the Northeast Region) come to São Paulo in search of a better life.
Because there are not enough jobs, these people usually want to back to their states.
São Paulo is the state in Brazil with the largest and most efficient  transportation system.
The city of São Paulo relies on underground train and also suburban at-grade rail systems.
City buses complement the public transportation system.
São Paulo is a vibrant place when it comes to sports.
Football (soccer) is king but the state has human resources and facilities to produce some of the best athletes in the world in many other fields.
Auto racing is a staple of the paulista's way of life.
The state has produced several racing drivers that have attained international fame.
Official site (Portuguese)
A trolley is a small vehicle with wheels that can carry things.
People can push trolleys.
There are different kind of trolleys.
There are shopping trolleys which are used in supermarkets and other large stores with self-service.
In American English these are called shopping carts.
Customers can put things they want to buy in the trolley and then pay for everything at the checkout.
Usually they are then allowed to wheel the trolley with the things they have bought out to their car.
Sometimes the customers have to pay a small deposit when collecting a trolley.
The trolleys are chained together.
The customer puts in a coin (in Britain a £1 coin) which he can have back again when he parks the trolley back in the trolley chain.
Trolleys are used in airports and some large railway stations for passengers to carry their luggage.
Deposits are not refundable.
A trolley can also be a tea-trolley.
This is a small trolley used traditionally in the house for plates, cups, saucers and sandwiches and cakes for afternoon tea.
Tea-trolleys are also used in hospitals and offices to take cups of tea and coffee to people.
In American English "trolley" can be used to mean a tram (or streetcar).
This is not to be confused with a trolleybus which is a bus which uses electricity from an overhead cable (like a tram).
Animal abuse
Domestic abuse
A mutant is a type of fictional character in a fictional universe created by Marvel Comics.
In this world, mutants can be either heroes or villains.
A mutant is someone who has different DNA than its parents.
These mutations often lead to superpowers.
They may also cause physical changes such as wings, blue skin, or a tail.
Mutants were created in the Marvel Universe in the 1960s with the comic book The X-Men.
It was a way for them to tell stories that dealt with racism.
Racism, hatred and fear of mutants are an important part of their history  .
Two main teams of mutants have been around since the 1960s: The X-Men (heroes) and the Brotherhood of Mutants (villains).
Sometimes a human is born with a certain kind of DNA change.
This X-GENE is passed to their children.
This genetic change may not create any noticeable difference.
It could pass for generations without anyone knowing about it.
Mutants may be born to human or mutant parents, though the odds of a mutant birth are much better for the latter.
Likewise, it is rare but possible for mutant parents to have human children, termed "baseline" by characters within the Marvel Universe.
Some baseline humans are genetically predisposed towards having mutant descendants such as the Guthrie family (see Cannonball, Husk, and Icarus).
Mutant children born to mutant parent(s) will not necessarily have the same power(s) as their parent(s), nor will they necessarily have the same power(s) as any mutant siblings they may have; however, examples of children with the same power(s) as their parents and/or siblings are not uncommon.
There is, however, a chance that mutants may not even be able to reproduce a child at all.
The Hayes (Runaways), telepathic mutant doctors, were unsure their mutant heritage could even produce a child; it did, however, take them several years to finally have a child: Molly Hayes.
OMEGA: Omega mutants are those with the highest level of power.
They are the most powerful of the Alphas.
ALPHA: Alpha mutants have very powerful and useful mutant powers and no drawbacks such as changes in appearance.
They are perhaps the most feared  mutants.
BETA: Betas are as powerful as alphas but they have some physical changes as a drawback.
GAMMA: Gammas are also powerful mutants but they suffer from large physical changes.
These changes make their lives very hard and make them very easy to tell they are a mutant.
DELTA: Delta mutants have low levels of power than Alphas.
Like Alphas, they have no physical changes.
Most Deltas do not even know they are mutants.
EPSILON: Epsilons have minor superhuman powers and major physical flaws.
They are easily recognized just by looking at them.
Note: Only Alpha and Omega have actually been used as classification within comics.
The other ranks were created by fans.
Mutants as a metaphor for racism
The X-Men were created in the 1960s during a time of civil unrest in the United States.
The characters allowed the writer to write stories that showed racism and bigotry without singling out a specific minority.
By classifying Mutants as they did, they also created different aspects of racism.
Some mutants are easily recognized by how they look (similar to African-Americans).
Some have a few physical characteristics that can make them get noticed (Similar to Jews).
Other mutants blend in so well that it nearly impossible to tell they are a mutant unless they use their powers (similar to how people in the LGBT community were thought of in society).
In the Marvel universe normal people often hate and fear mutants.
This is  because they think mutants may make normal humans extinct.
They fear what they do not understand.
They are jealous of them having superpowers.
Bigotry and xenophobia are also reasons for hatred of mutants.
In the Marvel universe, anti-mutant feeling has led to the separation of mutants from society.
It has led to  mob violence and government sponsored attempts to fight mutants.
The X-Men books have been written as typical superhero comic books.
They have epic adventures and battles with super villains.
Yet, the idea of mutants as a metaphor for real world minorities who face oppression is shown throughout the series.
Magneto, a Jewish Holocaust survivor who once lived in Israel.
He has tried to create a "mutant home state" similar to Israel.
He became ruler of Genosha, a fictional island off the coast of Madagascar, recognized by the United Nations as a mutant state.
The 1981 story set in the future, Days of Futures' Past, shows a mutant Holocaust.
Mutants are herded into concentration camps and killed.
Senator Robert Kelly has proposed a Mutant Registration Act.
It would force mutants to list their powers and identities with the federal government.
This is very similar to McCarthyism and other acts of Congress that outlawed the American Communist Party.
The anti-mutant hate group Friends of Humanity was inspired by the Aryan Nations.
Its leader was inspired on Frank Collin, Chairman of the National Socialist (Nazi) Party of America.
Most mutant powers take effect at puberty.
A large number of young mutants are rejected by their families.
This is similar to young gay people discovering their homosexuality in their teen years and the rejection they receive from their family.
This is show very openly in the second X-Men movie with the line "Have you ever tried not being a mutant?"
The Legacy Virus storyline of the 1990s was seen as a metaphor for the AIDS epidemic.
Marvel Entertainment official site
The urethra is a tube that connects the bladder to the outside of the body.
It allows people and animals to remove urine from the body.
People and animals control urination using the urethral sphincter.
The urethra is part of the urinary system in mammals.
Because humans are mammals, they have urethras.
In male mammals, the urethra is also a part of the reproductive system, because males use it as a tube for sperm during sex.
In human anatomy, men have longer urethras than women.
This means that women have bladder infections more often, because their bladders are closer to the outside.
Because the male urethra is longer and is not straight, inserting a catheter (tube to help urination) is more difficult in men.
In women, the urethra is 3-4 cm (1.5 in) long.
Its opening to the outside of the body is part of the vulva (the area between a woman's legs).
The female urethra is between the clitoris and the opening to the vagina.
Men's urethra goes through their penis, but in women it is not in the clitoris.
The prostatic urethra crosses the prostate gland.
The vas deferens also opens into the urethra in this section.
The membranous urethra is a short section that goes through the urethral sphincter.
It is 1 or 2 cm long, and is the narrowest (least wide) part of the urethra.
The spongy or penile urethra goes through the penis on its lower side.
This section is 15-16 cm (6 in) long and goes through the corpus spongiosum.
Medical problems
Urethritis is infection of the urethra.
It often pain when urinating.
Urethral syndrome is related to urethritis.
Kidney stones that go through the urethra can be painful.
To send a tube up the urethra to help drain urine is a common type of catheterization.
To send a tube up the urethra to see the inside of the bladder is called cystoscopy.
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.