Shenzong was the temple name (miaohao) of the sixth emperor (reigned 1067–85) of the Song dynasty (960–1279) of China. During his reign some of the greatest intellectual and cultural figures of the era flourished, among them Ouyang Xiu and Su Dongpo. Under the Shenzong emperor, the radical reformer

Zhao Mengfu: …Guan Daosheng, and his son, Zhao Yong (born 1289), were both painters of note.

Zhao Youqin was a Chinese astronomer, mathematician, and Daoist who calculated the value of π, constructed astronomical instruments, conducted experiments with a camera obscura, and compiled an influential astronomical compendium. Zhao was one of the patriarchs of the northern branch of the

Li Yuanhao was the leader of the Tangut (Chinese: Dangxiang) tribes, a people who inhabited the northwestern region of China in what are now parts of Gansu and Shaanxi provinces and the Ningxia Hui and Inner Mongolia autonomous regions. Li founded the Xia (or Daxia) dynasty (1038–1227), usually

Chinese languages: The 20th century: …scholar Lin Yutang, the linguist Zhao Yuanren, and others, was adopted. This attempt also was halted by war and revolution. A rival Communist effort known as Latinxua, or Latinization of 1930, fared no better. An attempt to simplify the language by reducing the number of characters to about 1,000 failed…

Renzong was the temple name (miaohao) of the fourth emperor (reigned 1022–63) of the Song dynasty (960–1279) of China, one of the most able and humane rulers in Chinese history. Under him, the Song government is generally believed to have come closer than ever before to reaching the Confucian ideal

Qin Shi Huang was the emperor (reigned 221–210 bce) of the Qin dynasty (221–207 bce) and creator of the first unified Chinese empire (which collapsed, however, less than four years after his death). Zhao Zheng was born the son of Zhuangxiang (who later became king of the state of Qin in

Bei Dao is a Chinese poet and writer of fiction who was commonly considered the most influential poet in China during the 1980s; he went into exile in 1989. The eruption of the Cultural Revolution in 1966 interrupted Zhao Zhenkai’s formal education. A member of the Red Guards for a short time and

Zhao Ziyang was the premier of China (1980–87) and general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (1987–89). Born into a landlord family in Henan province, Zhao joined the Young Communist League in 1932 and became a member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1938. He served in local party

China: Survival and consolidation: …financially strong, Gaozong adopted the zhao’an policy, which offered peace to the various roving bands. The government granted them legitimate status as regular troops, and it overlooked their minor abuses in local matters. Thus, the size of imperial forces swelled, and the problem of internal security was largely settled. The…

Chloé Zhao is a Chinese filmmaker known for absorbing and closely observed movies about journeys of self-discovery set in the American West. Her films delve into rarely explored strata of American society. For Nomadland (2020), she became the first person of colour to win the Academy Award for best

China: From Wudi to Yuandi: …infant—known by his posthumous name Zhaodi (reigned 87–74 bce)—who came from neither family was chosen to succeed. The stewardship of the empire was vested in the hands of a regent, Huo Guang, a shrewd and circumspect statesman who already had been in government service for some two decades; even after…

Zhaohui was a famous Qing dynasty general who played a prominent part in the conquest of East Turkistan (now Uygur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang, China). A member of the imperial family, Zhaohui volunteered to lead an expedition against the western Mongols, whose continued history of usurpations,

Liu Bei was the founder of the Shu-Han dynasty (ad 221–263/264), one of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguo) into which China was divided at the end of the Han dynasty (206 bc–ad 220). Although Liu claimed descent from one of the early Han emperors, he grew up in poverty. Distinguishing himself in battle in

Zhaoqing, city, western Guangdong sheng (province), China. It lies on the north bank of the Xi River, 50 miles (80 km) west of the provincial capital of Guangzhou (Canton), just above the famous Lingyang Gorge, commanding the river route to Guangzhou. Zhaoqing is an ancient city. A county town was

Chinese performing arts: The Yuan period: …history play Zhaoshi guer (The Orphan of Zhao), written in the second half of the 13th century. In it the hero sacrifices his son to save the life of young Zhao so that Zhao can later avenge the death of his family (a situation developed into a major dramatic…

Zhu Wen: …and forced the Tang emperor, Zhaozong, to move the capital from Chang’an (present-day Xi’an) to Zhu’s own residence at Luoyang. In 904 he murdered the emperor and all his sons with the exception of a boy of 13, who was placed on the throne as the Aidi emperor and was…

Lake Zaysan, freshwater body in eastern Kazakhstan. It is located in a hollow between the Altai (northeast) and Tarbagatay (southwest) mountain ranges at an elevation of 1,266 feet (386 metres). Formed by the Irtysh (Ertis) River, which enters the lake in the east, it was originally 60 miles (100

Ural River, river in Russia and Kazakhstan. The Ural is 1,509 miles (2,428 km) long and drains an area of 91,500 square miles (237,000 square km). It rises in the Ural Mountains near Mount Kruglaya and flows south along their eastern flank past Magnitogorsk. At Orsk it cuts westward across the

Mariupol, city, southeastern Ukraine. It lies along the estuary of the Kalmius and Kalchik rivers, 6 miles (10 km) from the Sea of Azov. The city was founded in 1778 as Pavlovsk, on the site of a former Cossack encampment. It was renamed Mariupol in 1779 to honour Maria Fyodorovna, the second wife

Andrey Aleksandrovich Zhdanov was a Soviet government and Communist Party official. A member of the Bolsheviks from 1915, Zhdanov rose through the party ranks after the October Revolution of 1917 and eventually became political boss of Leningrad (St. Petersburg), leading the city’s defense during

Zhdanovshchina, cultural policy of the Soviet Union during the Cold War period following World War II, calling for stricter government control of art and promoting an extreme anti-Western bias. Originally applied to literature, it soon spread to other arts and gradually affected all spheres of

Zhdanovshchina, cultural policy of the Soviet Union during the Cold War period following World War II, calling for stricter government control of art and promoting an extreme anti-Western bias. Originally applied to literature, it soon spread to other arts and gradually affected all spheres of

Fuchun River, river flowing through Zhejiang province, southeastern China. The lower course and estuary, which discharge at Hangzhou into Hangzhou Bay, are called the Qiantang River. Above Hangzhou, as far as Tonglu, it is called the Fuchun River, and the section above Tonglu is known as the Tong

Zhe school, group of conservative, academic Chinese painters who worked primarily in the 15th century, during the Ming dynasty. These painters specialized in large and decorative paintings that perpetuated the styles and interests of the Southern Song (1127–1279) academy of painting and represent a

Tianqi was the reign name (niaohao) of the 16th and penultimate emperor (reigned 1620–27) of the Ming dynasty, under whose rule the infamous eunuch Wei Zhongxian (1568–1627) dominated the government while the dynasty disintegrated. Ascending the throne at the age of 15, the Tianqi emperor preferred

Zhejiang, sheng (province) of southeastern China. It is one of the smallest province-level political units of China, but it is also one of the most densely populated and affluent. A coastal province, it is bounded by the East China Sea to the east, by the provinces of Fujian to the south, Jiangxi

Huang Zongxi: …and founder of the eastern Zhejiang school, which attempted to develop objective rather than personal and moral standards for historical study. The school also insisted on the study of recent history as opposed to the traditional Chinese belief that value lay solely in ancient studies.

Jiangxi: Transportation: Another, the Zhejiang-Jiangxi railroad, runs east-west, from the Zhejiang border, westward to the Hunan border. This line forms part of a national trunk line that extends westward through Hunan into Guizhou to connect with the rail network of southwestern China. Another line runs southeastward from Yingtan to…

Condylarthra: The earliest condylarths were the zhelestids, rodent-sized ungulates from the late Cretaceous of Uzbekistan.

Zheliu Zhelev was a Bulgarian dissident and politician who served as president of Bulgaria from 1990 to 1997. Zhelev graduated with a degree in philosophy from St. Clement of Ohrid University of Sofia (1958). In 1965 he was expelled from the university and the Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP) after

Zheliu Zhelev was a Bulgarian dissident and politician who served as president of Bulgaria from 1990 to 1997. Zhelev graduated with a degree in philosophy from St. Clement of Ohrid University of Sofia (1958). In 1965 he was expelled from the university and the Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP) after

Zheleznogorsk, city, Kursk oblast (region), western Russia. It is located 80 miles (130 km) northwest of Kursk city and was founded in 1958 in connection with the development of the KMA (Kursk Magnetic Anomaly), one of the Soviet Union’s largest iron-ore-mining basins. It is now one of the leading

Nan Mountains: …route in early times; the Zheling, northwest of Shaoguan, which connects Hunan with central Guangdong and is crossed by the railroad that runs from Guangzhou (Canton) to Wuhan; and the Meiling, which cuts through the Dayu Mountains, a part of the larger Nan Mountains system, northeast of Shaoguan. Until the…

Andrey Ivanovich Zhelyabov was a Russian revolutionary and a leading Narodnik. Born to a family of serfs shortly before emancipation, Zhelyabov entered the law school at Novorossiysk University in Odessa but was expelled for his part in student disturbances of October 1871. He continued to be a

Chen Tao, new religious movement that was founded by Chen Hong-min in Pei-pu, Hsin-chu county, Taiwan, in 1993. Chen, a former professor of sociology at Chianan College of Pharmacology and Science, founded a religion that is an eclectic mixture of Buddhism, popular religion, Christianity, and New

new religious movement: China and Taiwan: …the Zhen Yesu Jiaohui (True Jesus Church), evolved as a result of the Pentecostal charismatic revivals (1900–20) in the United States. A second independent church was the Difang Hui (Local Church), founded in the 1930s by Watchman Nee, whose followers later spread the church to the United States.

Daoism: Internal developments: 1140 by Xiao Baozhen; the Zhendadao (“Perfect and Great Dao”) sect of Liu Deren (1142); and the Quanzhen (“Perfect Realization”) sect, founded in 1163 by Wang Chongyang (Wang Zhe). This last sect came to the favourable attention of the Mongols, who had taken over in the North, and its second…

Zhengding, town, western Hebei sheng (province), China. The town has been strategically important throughout history, being situated on the edge of the North China Plain at the foot of the Taihang Mountains and commanding the approaches to one of the principal routes from the plain into Shanxi

zheng, Chinese plucked board zither roughly 47 inches (120 cm) long and 12 inches (30 cm) wide. Its resonator is galley-shaped, and in cross section the top is curved and the bottom flat. The strings are stretched over the surface, fastened at the left end and at the right where there are pegs for

Zheng Chenggong was a pirate leader of Ming forces against the Manchu conquerors of China, best known for establishing Chinese control over Taiwan. Zheng Chenggong was born in a small Japanese coastal town to a Japanese mother and a Chinese father, Zheng Zhilong, a maritime adventurer who made a

Zheng He was an admiral and diplomat who helped extend the maritime and commercial influence of China throughout the regions bordering the Indian Ocean. He commanded seven naval expeditions almost a century before the Portuguese reached India by sailing around the southern tip of Africa. Zheng He

Zheng Chenggong: His son, Zheng Jing, used the Taiwan base to sustain the anti-Qing struggle for another 20 years. But after his death in 1681, the Zheng kingdom on Taiwan fell to a Qing invasion fleet in 1683. This defeat ended the longest lived of the Ming restorationist movements.

Zheng Qiao was a great historian of the Song dynasty (960–1279). He wrote the Tongzhi (“General Treatises”), a famous institutional history of China from its beginnings through the Tang dynasty (618–907). In this work he discussed subjects such as philology, phonetics, and the development of

Zheng Zhilong was a Chinese pirate leader who achieved great power in the transitional period between the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1911/12) dynasties. As a boy, Zheng found employment with the Europeans in the Portuguese settlement at Macau, where he was baptized and given the Christian name

Zheng Zhenduo was a literary historian of Chinese vernacular literature who was instrumental in promoting the “new literature” of 20th-century China. After studying in his native province, where he began writing short stories and verse as a youth, Zheng Zhenduo went to Shanghai and then to Beijing

Zheng Zhilong was a Chinese pirate leader who achieved great power in the transitional period between the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1911/12) dynasties. As a boy, Zheng found employment with the Europeans in the Portuguese settlement at Macau, where he was baptized and given the Christian name

Chengde, city in northern Hebei sheng (province), China. The city is situated in the mountains separating the North China Plain from the plateaus of Inner Mongolia, approximately 110 miles (180 km) northeast of Beijing, on the Re River (Re He; “Hot River”), a small tributary of the Luan River. The

Zhengde was the reign name (nianhao) of the 11th emperor (reigned 1505–21) of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), during whose reign eunuchs achieved such power within the government that subsequent rulers proved unable to dislodge them. Zhu Houzhao ascended the throne in 1505, taking the reign name

Zhengding, town, western Hebei sheng (province), China. The town has been strategically important throughout history, being situated on the edge of the North China Plain at the foot of the Taihang Mountains and commanding the approaches to one of the principal routes from the plain into Shanxi

Lunyu: …mean”), li (“proper conduct”), and zhengming (“adjustment to names”). The last inculcates the notion that all phases of a person’s conduct should correspond to the true significance of “names”—e.g., marriage should be true marriage, not concubinage.

Zhengtong was the reign name (nianhao) of the sixth and eighth emperor of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), whose court was dominated by eunuchs who weakened the dynasty by a disastrous war with Mongol tribes. In 1435 Zhu Qizhen ascended the throne and became known as the Zhengtong emperor, with his

Taizong: Taizong the emperor: …account of his court, the Zhenguan zhengyao, written in 708–710, as a utopian model of ideal government. It gives a picture of a powerful and decisive emperor governing with the aid of a group of talented and well-chosen chief ministers. It shows him as responsive to their outspoken exhortations and…

Zhengzhou, city and capital of Henan sheng (province), China. Located in the north-central part of the province, it is situated to the south of the Huang He (Yellow River) where its valley broadens into the great plain and at the eastern extremity of the Xiong’er Mountains. The city is at the

Zhengzhou, city and capital of Henan sheng (province), China. Located in the north-central part of the province, it is situated to the south of the Huang He (Yellow River) where its valley broadens into the great plain and at the eastern extremity of the Xiong’er Mountains. The city is at the

Aleksandr Pushkin: At Mikhaylovskoye: His ballad “Zhenikh” (1825; “The Bridegroom”), for instance, is based on motifs from Russian folklore; and its simple, swift-moving style, quite different from the brilliant extravagance of Ruslan and Ludmila or the romantic, melodious music of the “southern” poems, emphasizes its stark tragedy.

Modest Mussorgsky: Life and career: …of Nikolay Gogol’s Zhenitba (The Marriage).

Zhenjiang, city and port, southern Jiangsu sheng (province), China, situated on the southern bank of the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang). It was capital of the province in 1928–49. Pop. (2002 est.) 536,137; (2007 est.) urban agglom., 854,000. Zhenjiang was the seat of feudal domains from the 8th

T’ai-chung: The Chen Lan (Zhenlan) temple at Ta-chia is well known as the starting point of an annual pilgrimage to Pei-kang (Beigang) in southern Taiwan in honour of Matsu, goddess of the sea. The Taiwan Provincial Assembly, 6 miles (10 km) south of central T’ai-chung, formerly (until…

zhenren, in Daoism, a god or deified mortal. The term has been the official title of the head of the Zhengyidao sect since the late 13th century. The Daoist sage Zhuangzi used the term zhenren, along with shenren (“spiritualized person”), zhiren (“perfected person”), and shengren (“sage,” or

kaishu, in Chinese calligraphy, a stylization of chancery script developed during the period of the Three Kingdoms and Western Jin (220–316/317) that simplified the lishu script into a more fluent and easily written form. Characterized by clear-cut corners and straight strokes of varying thickness,

Daoism: Literary developments: …figures, such as the immense Comprehensive Mirror of the Immortals (Zhenxiantongjian; early 12th century). Sectarian historiography also developed; of particular interest are the extensive monographs devoted to the great mountain centres of Daoism. The Treatise on Maoshan (Maoshanzhi; 1329) is among the most monumental. It includes lives of the saints…

Buddhism: Zhenyan: According to the Zhenyan tradition, Vajrayana Buddhism was taken from India to China by three missionary monks who translated the basic Zhenyan texts. The first monk, Shubhakarasimha, arrived in China in 716, and he translated the Mahavairochana-sutra and a closely related ritual compendium, the…

Shingon, branch of Vajrayana (Tantric, or Esoteric) Buddhism that has had a considerable following in Japan since its introduction from China, where it was called Zhenyan (“True Word”), in the 9th century. Shingon may be considered an attempt to reach the eternal wisdom of the Buddha that was not

Zhenzong was the temple name (miaohao) of the third emperor (reigned 997–1022) of the Song dynasty (960–1279), who strengthened Confucianism and concluded a peace treaty with the Liao empire to the north that ended several decades of warfare. As a result of the Treaty of Chanyuan (1004), the Song

Zhezqazghan, city, central Kazakhstan. It is located on a reservoir of the Kenggir (Kara-Kengir) River. The city was created in 1938 in connection with exploitation of the rich local copper deposits. In 1973 a large mining and metallurgical complex was constructed to the southeast to smelt the

China: Decline and fall: The reign of Zhezong (1085–1100) began with a regency under another empress dowager, who recalled the conservatives to power. An anti-reform period lasted until 1093, during which time most of the reforms were rescinded or drastically revised. Though displaying integrity, the conservatives offered few constructive alternatives. They managed…

Zhezqazghan, city, central Kazakhstan. It is located on a reservoir of the Kenggir (Kara-Kengir) River. The city was created in 1938 in connection with exploitation of the rich local copper deposits. In 1973 a large mining and metallurgical complex was constructed to the southeast to smelt the

measurement system: The ancient Chinese system: …the two basic measurements, the zhi and the zhang, were set at about 25 cm (9.8 inches) and 3 metres (9.8 feet), respectively. A noteworthy characteristic of the Chinese system, and one that represented a substantial advantage over the Mediterranean systems, was its predilection for a decimal notation, as demonstrated…

Huang Binhong was a painter and art theorist who, faced with the challenge of a new society in 20th-century China, incorporated fresh ideas into traditional Chinese painting. Huang’s father was a merchant and art enthusiast who encouraged his son’s interest in painting. In 1888 his business

Zhi Nü, in Chinese mythology, the heavenly weaving maiden who used clouds to spin seamless robes of brocade for her father, the Jade Emperor (Yudi). Granted permission to visit the earth, Zhi Nü fell in love with Niu Lang, the cowherd, and was married to him. For a long time Zhi Nü was so deeply in

Yantai, port city, northeastern Shandong sheng (province), northeast-central China. It is located on the northern coast of the Shandong Peninsula on the Yellow Sea, about 45 miles (70 km) west of Weihai. The city was traditionally known as Zhifu (Chefoo), which was the name of the island that

Zhiyi was a Buddhist monk, founder of the eclectic Tiantai (Japanese: Tendai) Buddhist sect, which was named for Zhiyi’s monastery on Mount Tiantai in Zhejiang, China. His name is frequently but erroneously given as Zhikai. Orphaned at age 17, Zhiyi turned to monastic life and was a disciple of the

Hebei, sheng (province) of northern China, located on the Bo Hai (Gulf of Chihli) of the Yellow Sea. It is bounded to the northwest by the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and by the provinces of Liaoning to the northeast, Shandong to the southeast, Henan to the south, and Shanxi to the west. Hebei

Jelep Pass, mountain pass on the border of the Indian state of Sikkim and the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. Jelep Pass lies at an elevation of about 14,390 feet (4,386 meters), in the Dongkya Range of the eastern Himalayas. The pass (la), with its gentle gradient, was a crucial link in the main

Battle of Tannenberg: Initial developments on the Eastern Front: Yakov Grigoryevich Zhilinsky, who as chief of the general staff until early 1914 had made the military convention with France whereby Russia pledged to put 800,000 men in the field by the 15th day of mobilization. This arrangement overwhelmed the cumbrous Russian war machine, which…

Caspian Sea: Physical features: Morskoy, Kulaly, Zhiloy, and Ogurchin.

Huang Mountains: …the Chan (Zen) Buddhist master Zhiman, who founded a temple that later became famous as the Xiangfu Monastery. From that time onward it became a popular place for sightseeing, with its great stands of pines, its mountain streams and waterfalls, and its many strangely shaped rocks, caves, grottoes, and hot…

Xu Zhimo was a Chinese poet who strove to loosen Chinese poetry from its traditional forms and to reshape it under the influences of Western poetry and the vernacular Chinese language. After graduating from Peking University, Xu went to the United States in 1918 to study economics and political

Kazakh literature: …types of professional bards: the zhıraw and the aqın. These were primarily—though not exclusively—male professions. The zhıraw performed both the epic zhır and the didactic tolgaw and terme. Prior to the later 18th century, when Kazakhs began to lose their political autonomy, zhıraws were sometimes advisers to sultans and khans,…

Vladimir Zhirinovsky was a Russian politician and leader of the far-right Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) from 1991 to 2022. Known for his fiery Russian nationalism and broad anti-Semitic asides, he later acknowledged his Jewish roots. Much of Zhirinovsky’s personal history is vague,

Vladimir Zhirinovsky was a Russian politician and leader of the far-right Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) from 1991 to 2022. Known for his fiery Russian nationalism and broad anti-Semitic asides, he later acknowledged his Jewish roots. Much of Zhirinovsky’s personal history is vague,

Avvakum Petrovich: …is considered to be his Zhitiye (“Life”), the first Russian autobiography. Distinguished for its lively description and for its original, colourful style, the Zhitiye is one of the great works of early Russian literature. A council of 1682 against the Old Believers condemned Avvakum to be burned at the stake,…

Russian literature: The Second South Slavic Influence: …notable hagiography of the period, Zhitiye svyatogo Sergiya Radonezhskogo (“Life of Saint Sergius of Radonezh”) by Epifany Premudry (Epiphanius the Wise; d. between 1418 and 1422).

Zhytomyr, city, western Ukraine. It lies along the Teteriv River where it runs between high rocky banks. Zhytomyr is believed to date from the 9th century, but the first record is from 1240, when it was sacked by the Tatars. Long a major trade focus and a seat of provincial government, modern

Renovated Church, federation of several reformist church groups that took over the central administration of the Russian Orthodox church in 1922 and for over two decades controlled many religious institutions in the Soviet Union. The term Renovated Church is used most frequently to designate the

Todor Zhivkov was the first secretary of the ruling Bulgarian Communist Party’s Central Committee (1954–89) and president of Bulgaria (1971–89). His 35 years as Bulgaria’s ruler made him the longest-serving leader in any of the Soviet-bloc nations of eastern Europe. The son of poor peasants,

Leo Tolstoy: Fiction after 1880 of Leo Tolstoy: …drama, Zhivoy trup (written 1900; The Living Corpse), and a harrowing play about peasant life, Vlast tmy (written 1886; The Power of Darkness). After his death, a number of unpublished works came to light, most notably the novella Khadji-Murat (1904; Hadji-Murad), a brilliant narrative about the Caucasus reminiscent of Tolstoy’s…

Zhiyi was a Buddhist monk, founder of the eclectic Tiantai (Japanese: Tendai) Buddhist sect, which was named for Zhiyi’s monastery on Mount Tiantai in Zhejiang, China. His name is frequently but erroneously given as Zhikai. Orphaned at age 17, Zhiyi turned to monastic life and was a disciple of the

history of Central Asia: Early eastern peoples: Another group, led by Zhizhi, brother and rival of the northern Xiongnu ruler, moved westward. With the death of Zhizhi in 36 ce, this group disappears from the records, but according to one theory the Huns, who first appeared on the southern Russian steppes about 370 ce, were descendants…

Maxim Gorky: Marxist activity of Maxim Gorky: In 1901 the Marxist review Zhizn (“Life”) was suppressed for publishing a short revolutionary poem by Gorky, “Pesnya o burevestnike” (“Song of the Stormy Petrel”). Gorky was arrested but released shortly afterward and went to Crimea, having developed tuberculosis. In 1902 he was elected a member of the Russian Academy…

Ivan Bunin: …autobiographical novel Zhizn Arsenyeva (The Life of Arsenev)—which Bunin began writing during the 1920s and of which he published parts in the 1930s and 1950s—were recognized by critics and Russian readers abroad as testimony of the independence of Russian émigré culture.

Maxim Gorky: Last period: …Gorky worked on the novel Zhizn Klima Samgina (“The Life of Klim Samgin”). Though he completed four volumes that appeared between 1927 and 1937 (translated into English as Bystander, The Magnet, Other Fires, and The Specter), the novel was to remain unfinished. It depicts in detail 40 years of Russian…

Viktor Pelevin: Zhizn nasekomykh (1993; The Life of Insects) was set in a decaying resort on the Black Sea. In the novel two Russians and an American live alternately as humans and insects—for example, as dung beetles—and thereby learn valuable lessons about how to manage in life. Among Pelevin’s other…

opera: Russian opera: …Glinka: Zhizn za tsarya (A Life for the Tsar), also known as Ivan Susanin, (1836), and Ruslan i Lyudmila (1842; “Ruslan and Lyudmila”), both premiered in St. Petersburg. Basically Italianate operas, they—Ruslan in particular—determined the course of Russian opera, because of Glinka’s approximations of Slavic folk music, his modified…

Zhob, town, Balochistān province, western Pakistan. The town lies on an open plain just east of the Zhob River. Originally called Apozai (the name is still used locally), it was renamed Fort Sandeman for Sir Robert Sandeman in 1889 and was so called until the 1970s. To the north is a ridge rising

zhong, Chinese clapperless bronze bells produced mainly during the late Zhou (c. 600–255 bc) dynasty and used as a percussion instrument in ancient China. Although the term also denotes the religious bells used daily in Buddhist temples, this article treats only the ancient bells rarely used today.

Kuei Xing, in Chinese religion, a brilliant but ugly dwarf who, as the god of examinations, became the deity of scholars who took imperial examinations. Kuei Xing, whose name before deification was Zhong Kuei, is said to have passed his own examination with remarkable success but was denied the

Chinese literature: Classical literature: …of revolt was shared by Zhong Xing and Tan Yuanchun, of a later school, who were so unconventional that they explored the possibilities of writing intelligibly without observing Chinese grammatical usages. Although their influence was not long-lasting, these two schools set the first examples of a new subgenre in prose—the…

Karakoram Highway, roadway that connects Kashgar (Kaxgar) in western Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China, with Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan. The road, which took almost 20 years (1959–78) to complete, extends for about 500 miles (800 km) through some of the most rugged and inaccessible