113 résultats pour "chinese"
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Chinese Literature
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INTRODUCTION
Chinese Literature, writings of the Chinese people, with a continuous history of more than 3,000 years.
(Huang) River basin region in the north. The verses are in lines of four characters (or syllables) and use rhyme and alliteration (repetition of the initial letter). Confuciusquoted them in his works. Because he described them as “without depraved thoughts,” all the verses in the Shi jing have been treated as moral allegories. (4) The Li ji (Book of Ritual ) contains detailed discussions of the principles of conduct at court and in private ceremonies. Although the Han dynasty and later ruler...
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Chinese Literature
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INTRODUCTION
Chinese Literature, writings of the Chinese people, with a continuous history of more than 3,000 years.
(Huang) River basin region in the north. The verses are in lines of four characters (or syllables) and use rhyme and alliteration (repetition of the initial letter). Confuciusquoted them in his works. Because he described them as “without depraved thoughts,” all the verses in the Shi jing have been treated as moral allegories. (4) The Li ji (Book of Ritual ) contains detailed discussions of the principles of conduct at court and in private ceremonies. Although the Han dynasty and later ruler...
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Chinese room argument
alone. Such an ensemble he asserts is just the wrong sort of thing literally to understand or to have a mind. Second, he tries to avoid the objection by altering his example and removing himself from the room to a wide open field and committing all the rule books to memory. In such a case he would perform all the purely formal operations in his head, re-establishing his analogy with the whole computer. He asserts he would still not understand a word of Chinese (though some of his critics claim o...
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Chinese philosophy
intellectuals themselves, to threaten societal well-being. Harmonious interaction was finally more important to these thinkers than abstract issues of who had arrived at the 'truth' . Perhaps the most obvious illustration of the way the Chinese handled their theoretical conflicts is to be found in mutual accommodation of the three emergent traditions of Chinese culture, Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism. Beginning in the Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), the diverse themes inherited from the comp...
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Cultural Revolution
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INTRODUCTION
Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), political campaign in China, launched in 1966 by Chinese Communist Party chairman Mao Zedong to eliminate his political rivals and
revolutionize Chinese society.
1990s attempted to wipe out the legacy of the Cultural Revolution. Even Mao, once glorified as “The Great Helmsman” and the “Red Sun,” was officially criticized for his “leftist mistakes” in the Cultural Revolution, but was still praised forhis leadership in both the war against Japan ( see Sino-Japanese Wars) and the civil war against the Kuomintang. Today, while privately vilified by many Chinese, Mao is at the same time still genuinely admired as a powerful national leader. Contributed By:Rut...
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Confucian philosophy, Chinese
occupies a pre-eminent place in the history of Chinese philosophy. The core of Confucian thought lies in the teachings of Confucius (551-479 BC) contained in the Analects ( Lunyu ), along with the brilliant and divergent contributions of Mencius (372?-289 BC) and Xunzi ( fl. 298-238 BC), as well as the Daxue (Great Learning) and the Zhongyong (Doctrine of the Mean), originally chapters in the Liji (Book of Rites). Significant and original developments, particularly along a quasi-metaphysica...
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Chinese Music
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INTRODUCTION
Classical Peking Opera
Of the many major forms of regional theater in China, Peking opera is by far the most famous.
World Music TourClick on the instruments to hear music from around the world.© Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved. However, the Confucian beliefs about music were constantly eroded throughout Chinese history by a long tradition of popular entertainment music, favored both at thecourt and by the common folk. Although excluded from official ritual performances for several thousand years, Chinese women musicians and entertainers had a centraland formative role in this entertainment music as...
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Mao Zedong
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INTRODUCTION
Mao Zedong (1893-1976), foremost Chinese Communist leader of the 20th century and the principal founder of the People's Republic of China.
outside the government was also muted because the educated elite remembered the turmoil of the “Hundred Flowers” and “Antirightist” campaigns of 1957. Mao’srelationship with intellectuals was an uneasy one, and he was critical of the gap between the lives of the urban educated elite and the rural masses. These tensions wereamong the underlying causes of the Cultural Revolution, a period of social unrest and political persecution launched by Mao in 1966. Mao mobilized youth into the RedGuards to...
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- Chinese Crested.
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Confucius
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INTRODUCTION
Confucius (551 or 552-479
BC),
Chinese philosopher and educator, one of the most important individuals in Chinese history, and one of the most influential figures in
world history.
From a modern perspective, Confucius’s worldview has certain limitations. He was ignorant of cultural diversity; he accepted the sexism of his society; he shows nointerest in natural science or technology; his political philosophy is undemocratic; and he gives insufficient stress to social change. However, Confucius will no doubtcontinue to inspire people across the world with his vision of social harmony, his insight into human virtue, and his techniques for cultivating ethical individuals. Mi...
- Chinese New Year Chinese New Year, also known as Lunar New Year, celebration of the new year in Asian communities around the world.
- Chinese Shar-Pei.
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L'immigration chinoise
Departure from China The vast majority of Chinese immigrants at first had the intention of only staying in America temporarily. Because the chances to earn more money were by far better in America than in China, these migrants often remained considerably longer than they had at first planned. Arrival in the United States : culture shock The entry of the Chinese into the U.S. was legal and even had a formal judicial basis in 1868 with the signing of the Burlingame Treaty between the Unit...
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Qing Dynasty - history.
ministries and recruited talented Chinese men who had lost confidence in Ming rule to fill some of the posts. In 1635 Abahai renamed his people “Manchu” to give them a sense of a fresh start, free from past ties to the Chinese. In 1636 he declared the beginning of a new dynasty,which he named Qing (Chinese for “pure”). While the Jurchen transformed their social and military organization north of the Great Wall, China to the south faced serious crises. In the 1620s and 1630s, bad weatherruined...
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Qing Dynasty - History.
The Manchus also dealt with the problem of Russian expansion into northeastern Asia. In 1689 the Treaty of Nerchinsk was signed by an envoy from the Manchu courtand a Russian representing Peter the Great. The treaty, the first between China and a Western country, established territorial boundaries and defined rules ofcommerce for the two powers. Through the mid-18th century, the Manchus continued to consolidate their power. In 1720 the Qing ruler sent forces to fight the Mongols in Tibet and the...
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Han Dynasty - History.
However, these reforms faced serious opposition. The feudal barons formed an alliance and rebelled against Wang Mang. They were joined by members of the Liufamily, who were descended from Jingdi (Ching-ti), a former Han emperor, and a civil war followed. As the empire fell into disorder, militant secret societies formedarmed bands and attacked villages and towns. Wang Mang had believed that proper institutions would eventually bring peace to China, but in AD 23, an army led by the Liu clan brea...
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Vietnam - country.
E Natural Resources Vietnam’s most valuable natural resource is its land, particularly the fertile, alluvial soils in the Red and Mekong deltas. Some 29 percent of the land is currently beingcultivated. Vietnam has some valuable mineral resources, including gold, iron, tin, zinc, phosphate, chromite, apatite, and anthracite coal. Most deposits are located in the northernpart of the country. Few attempts were made to extract these minerals until the French takeover of Vietnam at the end of the 1...
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Chiang Kai-shek - History.
Even one of Chiang's allied commanders, Zhang Xueliang, who had been expelled from Manchuria after the Mukden Incident, came to doubt the wisdom of Chiang'sapproach. In 1936 Zhang held Chiang prisoner in Xi'an until Chiang agreed to join the Communists in an allied front against Japan. Chiang later denied making anyagreement. On July 7, 1937, near the Marco Polo Bridge on the outskirts of Beijing, a Chinese patrol and Japanese troops on a training exercise clashed, and full-scalewar broke out be...
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Silk Road - History.
and high in value because they were carried on the backs of the limited number of camels in each caravan. Thus, of necessity they were luxury items, not bulky rawmaterials or essential goods for daily use. The oases and towns along the route, which were located in or near remote areas, profited from the Silk Road trade and reliedon it for their existence. The great empires of Persia, China, and Rome, however, could easily have survived without the commerce in luxury goods. V SPREAD OF RELIGION A...
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Asian Theater
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INTRODUCTION
Asian Theater, live performance, featuring actors or puppets, native to Asia, a continent with more than 2 billion people of many nations and cultures.
III THEATER IN EAST ASIA Theater in East Asia includes the traditions of China, Japan, and Korea. Most Chinese theater is urban, secular (nonreligious) entertainment, influenced by the ethics of Confucianism. However, a belief in spirits influences rituals performed by ethnic minorities in China, and Buddhism dominates traditional Tibetan performance. Japanesedramatic forms combine native shamanistic performance, secular entertainment, and cultural or religious influences from China and Kore...
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Han Dynasty - history.
of merit rather than birth. Written examinations were adopted as a means of determining the best qualified people, although use of the examinations in actually makingappointments was limited. A school was established at the capital for training government officials. The administrative bureaucracy was systematized, and a career civilservice was created and extended through much of the empire. Although personally interested in the magical side of Daoism, Wudi made a descendent of Confucius the sup...
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Han Dynasty - history.
of merit rather than birth. Written examinations were adopted as a means of determining the best qualified people, although use of the examinations in actually makingappointments was limited. A school was established at the capital for training government officials. The administrative bureaucracy was systematized, and a career civilservice was created and extended through much of the empire. Although personally interested in the magical side of Daoism, Wudi made a descendent of Confucius the sup...
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Yangtze - Geography.
A Agriculture and Industry Today about 400 million people, or about one-third of the population of China, live in the Yangtze Basin. Many are engaged in agriculture. The basin contributes nearlyhalf of China’s crop production, although only one-quarter of the basin is arable. The most fertile areas for farming are the Sichuan Basin, the plains between theYangtze and its tributary the Han, and the plains of the lower basin. In all about 40 percent of the cereals, more than 30 percent of the cott...
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Shanghai - geography.
language. V EDUCATION AND CULTURE Shanghai is one of China’s leading centers of learning and culture. The metropolitan area is home to more than 40 institutions of higher learning. These include some ofChina’s most famous universities, such as Fudan University (founded in 1905), Tongji University (1907), and the East China Normal University (1951). A large branch ofthe Chinese Academy of Sciences is located in Shanghai, and extensive research is undertaken in areas such as semiconductors, laser...
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Republic of Singapore - country.
Singaporeans of Chinese and Indian ancestry live in small, nuclear families. Housing favors smaller families, as most units consist of small apartments in high-risebuildings. Western clothing is common, and foods reflect the Chinese, Malay, and Indian origins of the people. D Social Issues Since Singapore became an independent state in 1965, government policies have brought orderliness and efficiency to the country. Examples are supplanting slum andsquatter areas with high-rise public housing p...
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Japanese Literature
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INTRODUCTION
Japanese Literature, literature of Japan, in written form from at least the 8th century
AD
to the present.
The Man’yō’sh ū contains about 4,500 poems, most of them composed in the Nara period (710-784). Some of the poems are far older, however, and some of the verses date to earlier collections that have not survived. The work demonstrates a gradual change from basic verses on simple subjects to more sophisticated expressions with a broad range of subject matter. This text also shows the development of poetic forms such as the tanka (short poem), a form structured around alternating lines of 5 an...
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Confucianism.
IV NEO-CONFUCIANISM After centuries of intellectual and cultural dominance by Buddhism, China began to experience a revival of Confucian thought during the Tang dynasty ( AD 618-907). It was led by poet and essayist Han Yu (Han Yü). Han Yu attacked Buddhism and Daoism, which he believed had kept government officials from seeing how they couldhelp the people. To further public welfare, he urged them to study the way of the ancient sages through the Five Classics . Han Yu almost lost his life f...
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Hong Kong - geography.
higher than China’s average standard of living. In 2006 Hong Kong’s per capita gross domestic product (GDP) was $27,679.20, although much of the wealth isconcentrated into relatively few hands. IV ECONOMY Hong Kong’s position as one of the world’s most important economic centers is based on several factors. It is located midway between Japan and Singapore, and it liesastride the main shipping and air routes of the western Pacific. It also has long served as a major port of entry and trade for...
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Beijing - geography.
other polluting materials contributes to the city’s severe air and water pollution. V EDUCATION AND CULTURE Beijing has more colleges and universities than any other Chinese city. The most prominent institutions are Peking University, founded in 1898; and Tsinghua University,founded in 1911, which is the most prestigious scientific and technical institution in the country. Both institutions are located in the northwest suburbs, an areaassociated with higher education and research. Also in this...
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Alphabet
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INTRODUCTION
Bengali Script
India developed a number of different writing systems over the course of its history.
A Pictographic and Ideographic Systems Early systems of writing used pictures to represent things and then to represent the sounds of those things. Pictographic writing, in which a simplified picture of the sunstood for the word sun, was probably the first step toward a written language. Chinese began as a pictographic language. To represent abstract ideas, the Chinese writing system combined pictographs. For example, the pictographs for sun and tree were combined to represent the concept of...
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Mao Zedong.
outside the government was also muted because the educated elite remembered the turmoil of the “Hundred Flowers” and “Antirightist” campaigns of 1957. Mao’srelationship with intellectuals was an uneasy one, and he was critical of the gap between the lives of the urban educated elite and the rural masses. These tensions wereamong the underlying causes of the Cultural Revolution, a period of social unrest and political persecution launched by Mao in 1966. Mao mobilized youth into the RedGuards to...
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Mao Zedong - History.
outside the government was also muted because the educated elite remembered the turmoil of the “Hundred Flowers” and “Antirightist” campaigns of 1957. Mao’srelationship with intellectuals was an uneasy one, and he was critical of the gap between the lives of the urban educated elite and the rural masses. These tensions wereamong the underlying causes of the Cultural Revolution, a period of social unrest and political persecution launched by Mao in 1966. Mao mobilized youth into the RedGuards to...
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Jakarta - geography.
voluntary movement of families to Indonesia's less populated islands). Jakarta is a magnet for migrants from other areas of Indonesia; during the late 1980s an estimated 250 migrants arrived daily. Most were between the ages of 15 and39 years, many with six years of education or less. There is also a significant number of commuters and seasonal migrants who work in government, manufacturing,and services. In addition, many of these temporary residents are engaged in informal employment as drivers...
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Confucius
official to several of the highest positions in the land. Nor does the story end there. By the time of the Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), Confucius was celebrated as the ‘uncrowned king' of the state of Lu, and by the fourth century AD, any prefecture wanting to define itself as a political entity was required by imperial decree to erect a temple to Confucius. Gods in China are local cultural heroes who are remembered by history as having contributed meaning and value to the tradition, and of...
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Giant Panda - biology.
In 2007 conservationists announced that a parasitic roundworm was responsible for a significant number of the panda deaths reported in the wild since 1990. Theparasite Baylisascaris schroederi causes the disease visceral larval migrans, which results in bleeding in the lungs, the liver, and the intestines, and can also affect the brain. It is not known if other recent pandas deaths were caused by the same parasite or by a different contagious disease. Loss of habitat from deforestation is forc...
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Washington, D.
structures built according to L’Enfant’s plan. During the War of 1812, British troops set fire to the White House, destroying its interior. President James Madison and hisfamily lived in the Octagon while the White House was being rebuilt. South of the Federal Triangle is the Mall, a narrow park stretching roughly 1.6 km (1 mi) from the Capitol to the Washington Monument. Although the Mall officially endsat 14th Street, landscaped greenery extends to the Potomac. The Washington Monument, whose m...
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Cambodia - country.
The population of Cambodia is 14,241,640 (2008 estimate). Population growth per year is estimated at 1.8 percent, one of the highest rates in Asia. The rate of infantmortality is also high. The population density is 81 persons per sq km (209 per sq mi), with the densest concentrations on the heavily cultivated central plain. Themountainous regions of the country, where malaria is widespread, are thinly populated, as are the poorly watered northern provinces. During the late 1970s, under thebruta...
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Thailand - country.
E Natural Resources Thailand possesses a range of mineral resources. Tin is mined in the peninsula. Important gemstones, such as sapphires, are found in the southeast, and coal reserves,particularly lignite, are in the north. Fish are abundant in rivers and coastal waters. In addition to being consumed domestically, fish are also exported. F Climate Thailand experiences a typical monsoon climate. Winds blow from the northeast during the winter months of October to March or April (known as the...
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Mao Zedong - history.
Archive Films/Hot Shots Cool Cuts Inc. Chiang was determined to eliminate the Communists and in 1934 intensified his extermination campaign, surrounding the Jiangxi Soviet. Mao and his followers burstthrough Chiang’s blockade and began the 9600-km (6000-mi) Long March to the remote village of Yan’an in northern China. Along the way the marchers stopped at Zunyi,where top Communist officials met to discuss the CCP’s future. Those opposed to Mao’s plan of peasant revolt and Chinese military strate...
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Japanese Music
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INTRODUCTION
Shamisen Performance
The shamisen is a Japanese instrument with three strings.
utilizes six modes, or scales, of Chinese origin, all derived from two basic pentatonic (five-note) scales: ryo, D E-flat G A B-flat, plus F and C as auxiliary pitches; and ritsu, D F G A C, plus auxiliary pitches E-flat and B-flat. The meters in gagaku music are basically duple (in twos). IV DRAMATIC MUSIC Classical Nō Drama of JapanInspired both spiritually and artistically by Zen Buddhism, the Japanese n ō theater is composed of four main components:music (voices, instruments), choreogra...
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Shang Dynasty - History.
The dynastic ancestors belonged to an elaborate religious pantheon that also included various nature powers and the Shang high god, Di. The higher powers were lessconcerned with the well-being of Shang society than the ancestors were. Di, whose wishes were often hard to determine, could even cause the Shang harm. The naturepowers could occasionally influence the wind, rain, and harvests, but only Di could actually order the weather. For an agricultural society such as the Shang, this wasperhaps...
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Confucian philosophy, Japanese
1 Confucian philosophy in early Japan The earliest extant Japanese histories record that in AD 285 - the actual date was probably a century or so later - Wani, of the Korean kingdom of Paekche, brought copies of the Analects (Lunyu ; in Japanese, Rongo ) of Confucius and the Qianziwen (Thousand Character Classic; Senjimon in Japanese) from Korea to Japan ( Confucian philosophy, Korean ). Even though most scholarship on Japan tends to identify this introduction of Confucian texts with...
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Drawing
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INTRODUCTION
Drawing, delineation of form upon a surface, usually a plane, by means of lines and tints or shading.
In the monasteries of medieval Europe, religious texts were inscribed on parchment, then embellished with initial letters, decorative borders, and miniature scenes. InRomanesque Europe, drawings served as models to be copied for such manuscript illumination and also as cartoons ( see Cartoon), or studies, for frescoes, sculpture, and other arts. Subjects were usually treated as stylized symbols of religious truths. This viewpoint was countered in the Gothic period; the change was reflected in th...
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Ship.
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INTRODUCTION
Ship, vessel that is buoyant in the water and used
B1 Biremes Experience soon proved that longer ships posed a new set of problems: They were weaker structurally, more difficult to maneuver, and presented a larger target to anyenemy ship with a ram. In the 8th century BC Mediterranean shipbuilders eliminated these problems with the bireme , a war galley built to accommodate two levels, or banks , of oarsmen. Oarsmen on the lower level rowed oars from ports cut into the side of the vessel, while those above rowed from the deck. This arrangemen...
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Los Angeles - geography.
(2006 population, 472,494), located east of the Port of Los Angeles. The city of Compton (95,701) is located north of Long Beach, on the east side of the AlamedaCorridor. On the other side of the corridor are the cities of Torrance (142,350) and Inglewood (114,914). Northwest of Inglewood and west of downtown Los Angeles are the wealthy and fashionable Santa Monica (88,050) and Beverly Hills (34,979). Both cities are enclaves:Santa Monica is surrounded by the City of Los Angeles to the north, ea...
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Los Angeles - geography.
(2006 population, 472,494), located east of the Port of Los Angeles. The city of Compton (95,701) is located north of Long Beach, on the east side of the AlamedaCorridor. On the other side of the corridor are the cities of Torrance (142,350) and Inglewood (114,914). Northwest of Inglewood and west of downtown Los Angeles are the wealthy and fashionable Santa Monica (88,050) and Beverly Hills (34,979). Both cities are enclaves:Santa Monica is surrounded by the City of Los Angeles to the north, ea...
- I. M. Pei I. M. Pei, born in 1917, Chinese American
- I. M. Pei. I. M. Pei, born in 1917, Chinese American
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- I. M. Pei's Louvre Pyramid - art. Chinese-born American architect I.
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Hong Kong - geography.
IV ECONOMY Hong Kong’s position as one of the world’s most important economic centers is based on several factors. It is located midway between Japan and Singapore, and it liesastride the main shipping and air routes of the western Pacific. It also has long served as a major port of entry and trade for China, which uses Hong Kong as a primary linkto the world economy. Furthermore, Hong Kong has a favorable atmosphere for business and trade. Despite the uncertainty associated with its return to...