In the 15th century new institutions were gradually devised to provide needed coordination both in the central government and in regional administration. Later emperors found the Hung-wu emperor's system of highly centralized power and fragmented government structure inefficient and inconvenient. Litterateurs of the traditional and prestigious Hanlin
Also called higgledy-piggledy a light-verse form consisting of eight lines of two dactyls each, arranged in two stanzas. The first line of the poem must be a jingle, often Higgledy-piggledy or Jiggery-pokery; the second line must be a name; the last lines of each stanza are truncated and they should rhyme; and one line in the second stanza must consist of a single word. The following example by R. McHenry
City, southeastern Alaska, U.S. It lies on Prince William Sound and is the northernmost all-year port in North America. Formerly known as Copper City, it was named in 1898 for its harbour (explored and named by Spaniards in 1790) when it became a gateway for the Yukon goldfields. It is a port of entry and the southern terminal for the trans-Alaskan pipeline from Prudhoe Bay. The petroleum
Shi'ites closely identify this family with the imams, whom they regard as the legitimate holders of authority in the Muslim community, the infallible bearers of sacred knowledge, and the source of messianic
In Christian thought, one of the three theological virtues, the others being faith and charity (love). It is distinct from the latter two because it is directed exclusively toward the future, as fervent desire and confident expectation. When hope has attained its object, it ceases to be hope and becomes possession. Consequently, whereas love never ends, hope is confined
Communal dance intimately bound up with Catalan national consciousness. It is danced by men and women who join hands alternately in a closed circle. As they dance to the music of tenores and tabales (shawms and small drums), their faces remain solemn and dignified. The basic pattern of the sardana is a series of long (llarg) and short (curt) steps; the precise combination
Any of various African birds that eat grasshoppers and locusts, especially the black-winged pratincole (see pratincole). In India the rose-coloured starling is called locust bird.