Benguela Current: …flowing far north by the Walvis Ridge, a submarine feature that extends southwestward from off Cape Fria, Namibia, toward Gough Island. Coastal areas adjacent to the current experience a desertlike aridity that is not broken by the common sea breezes because of their cool temperature and low moisture content.

Walvis Bay, town and anchorage in west-central Namibia, lying along the Atlantic Ocean. It constituted an exclave of South Africa until 1992. A mid-19th-century rush for guano deposits on a number of adjacent islands was followed by British annexation of the bay and the adjacent hinterland in 1878.

Sir William Walworth was the mayor of London who brought about the collapse of the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 by killing its leader, Wat Tyler. Walworth was a wealthy London salt-fish merchant and in 1370 was elected sheriff. Four years later he began his first term as mayor. After young King Richard

Martin Waldseemüller was a German cartographer who in 1507 published the first map with the name America for the New World. Educated at Freiburg im Breisgau, Waldseemüller moved to Saint-Dié, where in 1507 he published 1,000 copies of a woodcut world map, made with 12 blocks and compiled from the

communitarianism: Cultural relativism and the global community: Walzer adopted a clearly relativistic position in his book Spheres of Justice (1983), in which he asserted that the caste system is “good” by the standards of traditional Indian society. Critics argued, however, that his position was untenable. One simply needs to consider a community…

pre-Columbian civilizations: Huayna Capac: This group was led by Huaman Achachi (Waman ’Achachi), the child’s uncle and presumably the brother of the Emperor’s principal wife. A regent named Hualpaya (Walpaya) was appointed from this group to tutor Huayna Capac in the ways of government until the child was old enough to rule in his…

Spain: The Visigothic kingdom: …deposition, through deception, of King Wamba (672–680), a capable ruler who tried to reform the military organization, was a portent of future problems. As agitation continued, Wamba’s successors made scapegoats of the Jews, compelling them to accept the Christian religion and threatening them with slavery. After the death of Witiza…

Abby Wambach is an American association football (soccer) player who was one of the sport’s leading forwards. She helped the U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT) win two Olympic gold medals (2004 and 2012) and a World Cup (2015). In 2012 she was named Women’s Player of the Year by the Fédération

Abby Wambach is an American association football (soccer) player who was one of the sport’s leading forwards. She helped the U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT) win two Olympic gold medals (2004 and 2012) and a World Cup (2015). In 2012 she was named Women’s Player of the Year by the Fédération

Sarah Wambaugh was an American political scientist who was recognized as one of the world’s leading experts on the subject of plebiscites. Wambaugh graduated from Radcliffe College, Cambridge, in 1902. She remained at the college as an assistant until 1906 while pursuing advanced studies in history

Eagle Woman was a Native American peace activist who was a strong advocate of the Teton (or Western Sioux) people. Born along the banks of the Missouri River, Eagle Woman That All Look At spent her early years on the western plains of modern-day South Dakota, far from contact with white

Paula Radcliffe: …on the last lap by Gete Wami of Ethiopia and finished second in 30 min 27.13 sec. At the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, she pushed the pace again in the 10,000 metres, setting up an Olympic record for winner Derartu Tulu of Ethiopia but finishing fourth herself. Later that…

Wampanoag, Algonquian-speaking North American Indians who formerly occupied parts of what are now the states of Rhode Island and Massachusetts, including Martha’s Vineyard and adjacent islands. They were traditionally semisedentary, moving seasonally between fixed sites. Corn (maize) was the staple

wampum, tubular shell beads that have been assembled into strings or woven into belts or embroidered ornaments, formerly used as a medium of exchange by some North American Indians. The terms wampum and wampumpeag were initially adopted by English settlers, who derived them from one of the eastern

Minamoto Shitagō: …era (931–938) he compiled the Wamyō ruijūshō, a dictionary of Japanese and Chinese words by categories, which was the first dictionary in Japan. He is also thought to be the author of many other works, including Utsubo monogatari (“The Tale of the Hollow Tree”), written between 956 and 983.

wide area network (WAN), a computer communications network that spans cities, countries, and the globe, generally using telephone lines and satellite links. The Internet connects multiple WANs; as its name suggests, it is a network of networks. Its success stems from early support by the U.S.

Cao Yu was a Chinese playwright who was a pioneer in huaju (“word drama”), a genre influenced by Western theatre rather than traditional Chinese drama (which is usually sung). Wan Jiabao was educated at Nankai University in Tianjin and Qinghua University in Beijing, where he studied contemporary

Kalgan, city in northwestern Hebei sheng (province), northern China. Kalgan, the name by which the city is most commonly known, is from a Mongolian word meaning “gate in a barrier,” or “frontier.” The city was colloquially known in Chinese as the Dongkou (“Eastern Entry”) into Hebei from Inner

Wanzhou, former city, northeastern Chongqing shi (municipality), central China. It has been a district of Chongqing since the municipality was established in 1997. The district is an important port along the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang), being situated at the western end of the river’s renowned

Kim Chŏng-hui was the best-known Korean calligrapher of the 19th century. Kim was born into a family of artists and government officials. As a young man he accompanied his father on a trip to Peking, where he became friendly with many of the leading Chinese scholars of the day. Returning to Korea,

Wanli was the emperor of China from 1572 to 1620, during the latter portion of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). The Wanli emperor was a recluse whose apparent inattention to government affairs contributed to the abuses of power by provincial officials and other political figures that came to dominate

Great Wall of China, extensive bulwark erected in ancient China, one of the largest building-construction projects ever undertaken. The Great Wall actually consists of numerous walls—many of them parallel to each other—built over some two millennia across northern China and southern Mongolia. The

Beijing Zoo, zoological garden on the western outskirts of Beijing, founded in 1906 by the empress dowager Cixi. The zoo is financed with government funds and is noted for its collection of rare Asian species. The Beijing Zoo served chiefly as an experimental farm from 1911 to 1949, when the

Christianity: Christian practice in the modern world: For them, Wanadi was the Supreme Being of great light and, although one being, he exists in three distinct persons (damodede, “spirit-doubles”). Over the course of creation and human history, Wanadi has sent his three incarnations to earth in order to create human beings and redeem them…

Lake Wānaka: The town of Wanaka, at the southern tip of the lake, is the centre of a resort region that also supports some sheep grazing and crop farming. First known as Roys Bay and then Pembroke (until 1940), it lies 175 miles (282 km) northwest of Dunedin by road.

Lake Wānaka, lake in west-central South Island, New Zealand. The lake occupies 75 square miles (193 square km) of a valley that is dammed by a moraine (glacial debris) and lies at the eastern foot of the Southern Alps. The lake’s surface is 915 feet (280 metres) above sea level. It is probably more

John Wanamaker was a merchant and founder of one of the first American department stores. Wanamaker began work at age 14 as an errand boy for a bookstore and served as secretary of the Philadelphia YMCA from 1857 to 1861. In 1861 he established with Nathan Brown the clothing firm of Brown and

Bankside: …Shakespeare, and the American actor Sam Wanamaker, the driving force behind building the new Globe Theatre (1997) in Bankside. The original Globe Theatre (1599)—a partial foundation of which was discovered in 1989—and other theatres and bear gardens (venues for bearbaiting) also stood in Bankside, located strategically just outside the city’s…

Aegean civilizations: The mainland: …was organized under a king, wanax, with a military leader, rawaketa, and troops with chariot officers attached for patrolling the borders; there also were naval detachments. The people had certain powers and a council. The towns were organized hierarchically under local officials, like the later “kings,” basileis.

Onuora Nzekwu: Nzekwu’s first novel, Wand of Noble Wood (1961), portrays in moving terms the futility of a Western pragmatic approach to the problems created by an African’s traditional religious beliefs. To the hero of Blade Among the Boys (1962), traditional practices and beliefs ultimately gain dominance over half-absorbed European…

China: The Changbai Mountains: …comprising the Changbai, Zhangguangcai, and Wanda mountains, which in Chinese are collectively known as the Changbai Shan, or “Forever White Mountains”; broken by occasional open valleys, they reach elevations mostly between 1,500 and 3,000 feet (450 and 900 meters). In some parts the scenery is characterized by rugged peaks and…

Captain Marvel: From Ms. Marvel to Captain Marvel and back: …adult in the Disney+ miniseries WandaVision (2021).

Martinus Nijhoff: In his first volume, De wandelaar (1916; “The Wanderer”), his negative feelings of isolation and noninvolvement are symbolized in wildly grotesque figures, and the image of the dance of death is prevalent. The only solution to this spiritual frustration is suicide, as enacted in the short verse drama Pierrot…

Belgian literature: The turn of the 19th century: …essays and his symbolic novel De wandelende Jood (1906; “The Wandering Jew”), their leader, August Vermeylen, advocated a rationalism infused with idealism. Prosper van Langendonck, on the other hand, interpreted the incurable suffering of the poète maudit. In 1898 Emmanuel de Bom published Wrakken (“Wrecks”), the first modern Flemish psychological…

Helmuth von Moltke: Early career: …(published in his Wanderbuch, 1879; Notes of Travel, 1880). Moreover, when the warship bringing Prince Henry’s body back to Germany reached Gibraltar, Moltke left it and made his own way home across Spain, recording his impressions in his “Tagebuchblätter aus Spanien” (also published in the Wanderbuch).

harvester: … known in some areas as wanderers, attack aphids and are generally found on hawthorn and alder trees. It is the only species of harvester found in the United States.

Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog, oil painting by German artist Caspar David Friedrich that was completed about 1818. It is regarded as one of the most representative and important works of the German Romantic movement. The sublime power of nature is a dominant theme in Friedrich’s paintings. The

Alain-Fournier: …novel, Le Grand Meaulnes (1913; The Wanderer, or The Lost Domain), is a modern classic.

English literature: Elegiac and heroic verse: “The Wanderer” is narrated by a man, deprived of lord and kinsmen, whose journeys lead him to the realization that there is stability only in heaven. “The Seafarer” is similar, but its journey motif more explicitly symbolizes the speaker’s spiritual yearnings. Several others have similar…

Richard Savage: His most considerable poem, The Wanderer, a discursive work revealing the influence of James Thomson’s The Seasons, appeared in 1729, as did his prose satire on Grub Street, An Author to be Let. In 1737–38 he met Samuel Johnson, then newly arrived in London, and to Johnson’s perceptive and…

Philip Kaufman: Adaptations: …to illustrate his versatility with The Wanderers (1979). Based on Richard Price’s novel about a gang of Italian American teenagers in the Bronx in 1963, the acclaimed film combined gang rumbles, sexual rites of passage, and dysfunctional families into a portrait of an era. Kaufman subsequently took a break from…

albatross: The wandering albatross (D. exulans) has the largest wingspread among living birds—to more than 340 cm (11 feet). The adult is essentially like the royal albatross. It nests on islands near the Antarctic Circle and on some islands in the South Atlantic, and in the nonbreeding…

wandering bishop, in Christianity, a bishop without authority or without recognition in any major Christian church. Such bishops may have received an irregular consecration by another bishop, or they may have been properly consecrated but lack a diocese or were excommunicated by their church. In

shamanism: Forms of revelation: …possessed by the spirit, and wandering trances, in which his soul departs into the realm of spirits. In the former the possessed gets into an intense mental state and shows superhuman strength and knowledge: he quivers, rages, struggles, and finally falls into a condition similar to unconsciousness. After accepting the…

dragonfly: Distinguishing characteristics and flight behaviour: The globe skimmer (or wandering glider, Pantala flavescens), a migratory dragonfly, for example, makes an annual multigenerational journey of some 18,000 km (about 11,200 miles); to complete the migration, individual globe skimmers fly more than 6,000 km (3,730 miles)—one of the farthest known migrations of all…

spiderwort: Major species: small-leaf spiderwort (Tradescantia fluminensis) and inch plant (T. zebrina). The latter has an array of colourful-leaved varieties including ‘Purpusii,’ with dark red or bronzy leaves, and ‘Quadricolor,’ with metallic-green leaves striped with green, red, and white. White velvet, or white-gossamer (T. sillamontana), has leaves and stems covered with a whitish…

wandering Jew, in Christian legend, character doomed to live until the end of the world because he taunted Jesus on the way to the Crucifixion. A reference in John 18:20–22 to an officer who struck Jesus at his arraignment before Annas is sometimes cited as the basis for the legend. The medieval

Eugène Sue: …Misérables—and Le Juif errant (1844–45; The Wandering Jew). Published in installments, these long but exciting novels vastly increased the circulation of the newspapers in which they appeared. Both books display Sue’s powerful imagination, exuberant narrative style, and keen dramatic sense. These qualities, along with Sue’s realistic and sympathetic depictions of…

wandering spider, (family Ctenidae), any member of the family Ctenidae (order Araneida), a small group of large spiders of mainly tropical and subtropical regions, commonly found on foliage and on the ground. Their first two legs are armed with strong bristles on the lower side. Cupiennius salei,

Mick Jagger: Artist collaborations and other work: Jagger released additional solo albums—Wandering Spirit (1993) and Goddess in the Doorway (2001)—while simultaneously writing, recording, and performing with the Rolling Stones. He and British musician Dave Stewart collaborated on the soundtrack to the movie Alfie in 2004; the song “Old Habits Die Hard” won the Golden Globe Award…

tattler: …name is given to the wandering tattler (Heteroscelus incanus) and the Polynesian, or gray-rumped, tattler (H. brevipes). Both closely resemble the yellowlegs but are short-legged and have barred underparts in summer. The wandering tattler nests on gravel bars in Alaskan rivers and winters from Mexico to western Pacific islands. The…

William Butler Yeats: His early poems, collected in The Wanderings of Oisin, and Other Poems (1889), are the work of an aesthete, often beautiful but always rarefied, a soul’s cry for release from circumstance.

Toni Collette: …navigating an open marriage in Wanderlust. She appeared as a detective investigating a series of rapes in the limited series Unbelievable (2019); for her performance, she received an Emmy nomination. In Pieces of Her (2022– ), a series based on Karin Slaughter’s best-selling book, Collette played a mother with a…

Paul Rudd: Career: …This Is 40 (2012), and Wanderlust (2012), which he coproduced. He worked again with Carell in Dinner for Schmucks (2010) and with Carell and Ferrell in the unsuccessful Anchorman sequel Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013).

vocal music: The 17th–20th centuries: Thus in Franz Schubert’s “Das Wandern” (“Wandering”) from the cycle Die schöne Müllerin (“The Fair Maid of the Mill”), the accompaniment suggests the continual flow of the millstream, while the energetic vocal melody reflects the enthusiasm of the young traveller. The singer’s rhythm is easily adaptable to each stanza of…

macaque: Species: Liontail macaques, or wanderoos (M. silenus), are black with gray ruffs and tufted tails; an endangered species, they are found only in a small area of southern India. Closely related to liontails are the pigtail macaques (M. nemestrina), which carry their short tails curved over…

Battle of Wandiwash, (Jan. 22, 1760), in the history of India, a confrontation between the French, under the comte de Lally, and the British, under Sir Eyre Coote. It was the decisive battle in the Anglo-French struggle in southern India during the Seven Years’ War (1756–63). Lally, cut off from

wandjina style, type of depiction in Australian cave paintings of figures that represent mythological beings associated with the creation of the world. Called wandjina figures, the images are believed by modern Aborigines to have been painted by the Wondjinas, prehistoric inhabitants of the

German literature: Expressionism: Die Wandlung (1919; Transfiguration), a play by Ernst Toller, depicts this kind of transformation in a young man who turns his horrific war experience into a new awareness of the brotherhood of man; his play Masse-Mensch (1920; Man and the Masses) presents the tragic attempt of a woman…

Carl Jung: Association with Freud: …with the publication of Jung’s Wandlungen und Symbole der Libido (Psychology of the Unconscious, 1916), which ran counter to many of Freud’s ideas. Although Jung had been elected president of the International Psychoanalytic Society in 1911, he resigned from the society in 1914.

Matthias Claudius: …and editor of the journal Der Wandsbecker Bothe.

Hamburg: Industry: Wandsbek in 1937, Hamburg has become Germany’s major industrial city. All processing and manufacturing industries are represented there. Hamburg treats most of the country’s copper supplies, and the Norddeutsche Affinerie, on Veddel, is Europe’s second largest copperworks. The chemical, steel, and shipbuilding industries are also…

Wandsworth, inner borough of London, England, in the historic county of Surrey. It lies west of Lambeth and stretches for 5 miles (8 km) along the south bank of the River Thames. The borough was established in 1965 by merging the former metropolitan borough of Battersea with approximately

Wandsworth: Wandsworth Prison (1851; originally named the Surrey House of Correction) held Oscar Wilde in 1895 and was the scene of a sensational escape in 1965 by the train robber Ronnie Biggs. Notable among former Wandsworth residents are the novelist William Makepeace Thackeray and the exiled…

Paul and Lloyd Waner: …long balls (doubles and triples); Little Poison, who batted left-handed and threw right-handed, was known for the number of singles he hit.

Paul and Lloyd Waner: …long balls (doubles and triples); Little Poison, who batted left-handed and threw right-handed, was known for the number of singles he hit.

Paul and Lloyd Waner: …size but to their batting: Big Poison, who batted and threw left-handed, hit more long balls (doubles and triples); Little Poison, who batted left-handed and threw right-handed, was known for the number of singles he hit.

Paul and Lloyd Waner were American professional baseball outfielders, brothers who played much of their career together. Their nicknames did not refer to their size but to their batting: Big Poison, who batted and threw left-handed, hit more long balls (doubles and triples); Little Poison, who

Paul and Lloyd Waner: …size but to their batting: Big Poison, who batted and threw left-handed, hit more long balls (doubles and triples); Little Poison, who batted left-handed and threw right-handed, was known for the number of singles he hit.

Genghis Khan: Rise to power of Genghis Khan: …with the Chinese title of wang, or prince, and gave Temüjin an even less exalted one. And, indeed, for the next few years the Jin had nothing to fear from Temüjin. He was fully occupied in building up his power in the steppe and posed no obvious threat to China.

China: Rise of the empress Wuhou: …to have the legitimate empress, Wang, deposed and herself appointed in her place. The struggle between the two was not simply a palace intrigue. Empress Wang, who was of noble descent, had the backing of the old northwestern aristocratic faction and of the great ministers surviving from Taizong’s court. Wuhou…

Wang Anshi was a Chinese poet and prose writer, best known as a governmental reformer who implemented his unconventional idealism through the “New Laws,” or “New Policies,” of 1069–76. The academic controversy sparked by his reforms continued for centuries. Wang emerged from a rising new group of

Wang Anshi was a Chinese poet and prose writer, best known as a governmental reformer who implemented his unconventional idealism through the “New Laws,” or “New Policies,” of 1069–76. The academic controversy sparked by his reforms continued for centuries. Wang emerged from a rising new group of

Wang Anshi was a Chinese poet and prose writer, best known as a governmental reformer who implemented his unconventional idealism through the “New Laws,” or “New Policies,” of 1069–76. The academic controversy sparked by his reforms continued for centuries. Wang emerged from a rising new group of

Wang Bi was one of the most brilliant and precocious Chinese philosophers of his day. By the time of Wang’s death at the age of 23, he was already the author of outstanding commentaries on the Daoist classic, the Daodejing (or Laozi), and the Confucian mantic classic the Yijing (“Classic of

Bangkok: People of Bangkok: …gather around mosques in the Wang Burapha section, and the Western and Japanese communities reside in the affluent, modern eastern section of the city.

Wang Chong was one of the most original and independent Chinese thinkers of the Han period (206 bce–220 ce). A rationalistic naturalist during an age of superstition, Wang dared attack the belief in omens and portents that had begun to creep into the Confucian doctrines. He helped pave the way for

Wang Che was the founder of the Ch’üan-chen (Perfect Realization) sect of Taoism, in 1163. After receiving secret teachings, Wang established a monastery in Shantung to propagate the Way of Perfect Realization as a synthesis of Confucianism, Taoism, and Ch’an (Zen) Buddhism. Wang’s new sect

Zhang Yimou: …nu ren: Yang Guifei (2015; Lady of the Dynasty), about the tragic love affair between concubine Yang Guifei and Emperor Xuanzong, and then helmed the English-language thriller The Great Wall (2016). Ying (2018; Shadow) is an action drama inspired by China’s Three Kingdoms. Zhang’s subsequent movies included Yi miao zhong

Wang Ching-wei was an associate of the revolutionary Nationalist leader Sun Yat-sen, rival of Chiang Kai-shek (Jiang Jieshi) for control of the Nationalist government in the late 1920s and early ’30s, and finally head of the regime established in 1940 to govern the Japanese-conquered territory in

Wang Che was the founder of the Ch’üan-chen (Perfect Realization) sect of Taoism, in 1163. After receiving secret teachings, Wang established a monastery in Shantung to propagate the Way of Perfect Realization as a synthesis of Confucianism, Taoism, and Ch’an (Zen) Buddhism. Wang’s new sect

Wang Zhen was a Chinese eunuch who monopolized power during the first reign of the Ming emperor Yingzong (reigned as Zhengtong; 1435–49). Wang was denounced by later historians as the first of a series of eunuchs whose mismanagement helped destroy the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Wang was the constant

Wang Ching-wei was an associate of the revolutionary Nationalist leader Sun Yat-sen, rival of Chiang Kai-shek (Jiang Jieshi) for control of the Nationalist government in the late 1920s and early ’30s, and finally head of the regime established in 1940 to govern the Japanese-conquered territory in

Wang Chong was one of the most original and independent Chinese thinkers of the Han period (206 bce–220 ce). A rationalistic naturalist during an age of superstition, Wang dared attack the belief in omens and portents that had begun to creep into the Confucian doctrines. He helped pave the way for

Wang Che was the founder of the Ch’üan-chen (Perfect Realization) sect of Taoism, in 1163. After receiving secret teachings, Wang established a monastery in Shantung to propagate the Way of Perfect Realization as a synthesis of Confucianism, Taoism, and Ch’an (Zen) Buddhism. Wang’s new sect

Koko Taylor: …notably the 1965 hit “Wang Dang Doodle.” That song, which thrust Taylor into the mainstream, sold more than a million copies and reached the top five on the Billboard rhythm-and-blues chart. With the demise of Chess in the early 1970s, Taylor moved to Alligator Records, where she recorded a…

Wang Shifu was the leading dramatist of the Yuan dynasty (1206–1368), which saw the flowering of Chinese drama. Of 14 plays attributed to Wang, only three survive, of which Xixiangji (The Story of the Western Wing, also published as The Romance of the Western Chamber) is widely regarded as the best

Ponzi scheme: …recently, in 2007 Chinese businessman Wang Fengyou, founder of Yilishen Tianxi Group, was arrested on charges of “instigating social unrest” after angry victims of his ant-farming scheme, which allegedly conned an estimated one million people out of more than $1 billion, mobbed government offices in protest. In 2008 David Murcia…

Chinese painting: Ming dynasty (1368–1644): …the early Ming court was Wang Fu, who survived a long period of banishment to the frontier under the first emperor to return as a court calligrapher. He became a key figure in the survival and transmission of Yuan literati style and was the first to single out the masters…

Wang Fuzhi was a Chinese nationalistic philosopher, historian, and poet in the early years of the Qing dynasty (1644–1911), whose works were revived by Chinese nationalists in the middle of the 19th century. Born and educated during the last years of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), Wang was an ardent

Wang Fuzhi was a Chinese nationalistic philosopher, historian, and poet in the early years of the Qing dynasty (1644–1911), whose works were revived by Chinese nationalists in the middle of the 19th century. Born and educated during the last years of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), Wang was an ardent

Wang Guowei was a Chinese scholar, historian, literary critic, and poet known for his Western approach to Chinese history. Having failed the provincial examination in 1893, Wang attended Hangzhou Chongwen Academy. In 1898 he entered the Dongwen Learning Society, founded by the scholar Luo Zhenyu;

Wang Guowei was a Chinese scholar, historian, literary critic, and poet known for his Western approach to Chinese history. Having failed the provincial examination in 1893, Wang attended Hangzhou Chongwen Academy. In 1898 he entered the Dongwen Learning Society, founded by the scholar Luo Zhenyu;

Wang Guowei was a Chinese scholar, historian, literary critic, and poet known for his Western approach to Chinese history. Having failed the provincial examination in 1893, Wang attended Hangzhou Chongwen Academy. In 1898 he entered the Dongwen Learning Society, founded by the scholar Luo Zhenyu;

Gang of Four: …third wife, Jiang Qing, and Wang Hongwen, Zhang Chunqiao, and Yao Wenyuan. Their backgrounds were similar in that prior to 1966 all four were low- or middle-ranking officials who lacked leverage within the existing power structure. Shared traits included their ability to manipulate the mass media, their good standing with…

Wang Xizhi was the most celebrated of Chinese calligraphers. It is said that even in his lifetime a few of Wang’s characters or his signature were priceless. Down through the ages, aspiring students of that most basic yet highest art in China, calligraphy, have copied and preserved traces of his

Wang Hui was probably the paramount member of the group of Chinese painters known as the Four Wangs (including Wang Shimin, 1592–1680, Wang Jian, 1598–1677, and Wang Yuanqi, 1642–1715), who represented the so-called “orthodox school” of painting in the Ming and early Qing periods. The orthodox

Confucianism: Confucian learning in Jin, Yuan, and Ming: …followers, such as the communitarian Wang Ji (1498–1583), who devoted his long life to building a community of the like-minded, and the radical individualist Li Zhi (1527–1602), who proposed to reduce all human relationships to friendship, broadened Confucianism to accommodate a variety of lifestyles.

Wang Hui: Wangs (including Wang Shimin, 1592–1680, Wang Jian, 1598–1677, and Wang Yuanqi, 1642–1715), who represented the so-called “orthodox school” of painting in the Ming and early Qing periods. The orthodox school was based upon the dicta laid down by Dong Qichang (1555–1636). It was “orthodox” in the Confucian sense of continuing…

Wang Jianlin is a Chinese businessman who founded (1988) and served as chairman (1989– ) of Dalian Wanda Group, a conglomerate with major interests in real estate development and entertainment. Wang’s rise to prominence was a quintessential rags-to-riches story. He joined the People’s Liberation