title: Ahom kingdom

text: Rudra Singha (1696–1714) during his reign the kingdom reached its zenith, he had subjugated the Jayantia and the Kachari kingdoms and, abandoned the policy of isolation and encouraged trade with different parts of the world, he had also planned to organise a confederacy of Hindu rulers to invade Bengal. Rudra Singha was a devout hindu, he had invited Parvatiya Gosain alias Krishnaram Bhattacharya to take his initiation/sharan and promised him to be given take care of Kamakhya Temple, this factor had a great significance in the history of Assam, Rudra Singha had also expressed from his deathbed that all his sons should become kings in order, which was in violation of the law of primogeniture nature of Ahom kingship. He introduced Islamic prayers in the court that his successors continued.


title: Ahom kingdom

text: All Ahom kings from Siva Singha to Rajeswar Singha were disciples of Parvatiya Gosain or his relatives, Lakshmi Singha (1769–1780) was refused initiation by Parvatiya Gosain because of his based illegitimacy, so he had taken initiation of new Sakta priest Ramananda Acharyya alias Pahumariya Gosain because of his establishment in Pahumara, Gaurinath Singha had taken initiation from the son of Pahumariya Gosain. Again from Kamaleswar Singha had reverted to Ekasarana Dharma.


title: Ahom kingdom

text: His son and successor Siva Singha had dropped his father plan to invade Bengal but he accepted the initiation of Krishnaram Bhattacharya Nyayavagish according to his father's advice and became an orthodox Hindu Sakta. Siva Singha was greatly influenced by the Brahmana priest and astrologers. He installed his chief queens as de facto rulers because of evil consequences of the evil chatra-bhanga-yoga as predicted by his spiritual guides and astrologers in 1722, his chief queen Phuleshwari was made the de facto ruler who assumed the title of Bor Raja or the 'chief king' and the name of Pramateswari, after the death of Phuleswari in 1731 there were two more successive Bor Rajas, Ambika and Sarbeshwari till the death of Siva Singha in 1744. Reign of Siva Singha witnessed the golden age and Assamese manuscripts and temple buildings and a time of internal peace, there was no war in his reign expect a Dafla attack in 1717 who rose into revolt and were easily suppressed and subdueded. During his reign three great ponds which got the title of Sagar (ocean), were dug up- Sivasagar Tank, Gaurisagar Tank and the Lakshmisagar Tank, and in the surrounding, temples were constructed. Beside that in Lower Assam numerous temples were erected or reconstructed through Tarun Duara Borphukan by the orders of Siva Singha.


title: Ahom kingdom

text: Siva Singha was succeeded by his younger brother Pramatta Singha, his reign was peacefull with no internal conspiracies expect a failed attempt to capture the palace by the Tipam Raja. Pramatta Singha had constructed the famous Rang Ghar with bricks, and had constructed many temples.


title: Ahom kingdom

text: Reign of Rajeswar Singha was also peacefull, Rajeswar Singha was an orthodox Hindu, and witnessed the last days of the Ahom glory and power. In 1762 there was an expedition to Manipur to expel the Burmese out of the Manipuri throne, and an army of 40,000 men was sent under the command of Harnath Senapati Phukan, but was a complete fail even before reaching Manipur, however a second contingent was sent under the Command of Kirti Chandra Borbarua through the route of Raha and the Kachari kingdom. The army which consisted of 10,000 troops proceeded far as the Merap river and recovered the Manipuri throne from the Burmese. Later the Manipuri King Ching-Thang Khomba or Jai Singh send many gifts to the ahom king including his daughter Kuranganayani for mairrage to the king. Rajeswar Singha constructed many temples including the Negheriting Shiva Doul and the administrative buildings of Talatal Ghar and Kareng Ghar, Rajeswar Singha died in 1769 and the throne was passed to Lakshmi Singha through the mechanism of Kirti Chandra Borbarua. Reign of Lakshmi Singha witnessed the first Moamoria rebellion and the subsequent downfall of the Ahom kingdom Astabhujdeva the Mayamara Mahanta had made a prediction that a disaster will befall with the accession of Lakshmi Singha


title: Ahom kingdom

text: The Ahom kingdom by the mid-18th century was indeed an over-burdened hierarchical structure, supported by a weak institutional base and meagre economic surplus. The Paik system which in the 17th century had helped the kingdom to repulse the repeated Mughal invasions, had become extremely outdated. The later phase of the rule was also marked by increasing social conflicts, leading to the Moamoria rebellion were able to capture and maintain power at the capital Rangpur for some years but were finally removed with the help of the British under Captain Welsh. The following repression led to a large depopulation due to emigration as well as execution, but the conflicts were never resolved. A much-weakened kingdom fell to repeated Burmese attacks and finally after the Treaty of Yandabo in 1826, the control of the kingdom passed into British hands.


title: Ahom kingdom

text: The Ahom kingdom was based on the Paik system, a type of corvee labor that is neither feudal nor Asiatic. The first coins were introduced by Jayadhwaj Singha in the 17th century, though the system of personal service under the Paik system persisted. In the 17th century when the Ahom kingdom expanded to include erstwhile Koch and Mughal areas, it came into contact with their revenue systems and adapted accordingly.


title: Ahom kingdom

text: Trade was carried on usually through barter and use of circulation of money was limited. According to Shihabududdin Tailash, currency in the Ahom kingdom consisted of cawries, rupees and gold coins. With the increase of external trade since the reign of Rudra Singha, there was a corresponding increase in the circuation of money. Inscriptions dating from the reign of Siva Singha, gives the price of number of commodities like rice, ghee, oil, pulses, goat, pegion in connection with worship in different temples of the kingdom. This concludes that the barter economey was in the process of being replaced by the money economy, which was the outcome of Assam's developing economic ties both with feudal India and the neighbouring countries of the north east.


title: Ahom kingdom

text: Due to trade with Tibet, a coin of Jayadhwaj Singha carries a single Chinese character on each side reading Zang Bao. This had been translated as 'treasury of your honour'. Nicholas Rodhes read the inscription as 'Currency of Tibet', Also these two characters were used by the Chinese in Lhasa between 1792 and 1836 with the meaning 'Tibetan currency. Furthermore, there was a significant contact between China and tibet in the mid-seventeen century, so it is not unlikely that the Assamese would have thought have thought that a Chinese character was an appropriate for Assamese-Tibetan trade coin. This piece evidently was an attempt by Jayadhwaj Singha to facilitate trade with Chinese knowing person coming from the direction of Tibet. Rudra Singha is also said to have established an extensive trade with Tibet and to have encouraged intercourse with other nations although he strictly limited the extent to which foreigners were allowed into the country. Presumably, some of the coins of his reign were struck with the silver earned from these trading activities.


title: Ahom kingdom

text: Another point by which we can understand the trade relation of Ahoms with other nations is through the use of Silver coins. It is to be noted that there are no silver mines in the northeast or in the rest of India, so the metal entered as a result of trade.


title: Ahom kingdom

text: In extent the kingdom's length was about 500 miles (800 km) and with an average breadth of (60 miles) 96 km. It roughly corresponded to six districts of the Brahmaputra valley- Undivided Lakhimpur , Undivided Dibrugarh district, Undivided Sivasagar, Undivided Nagaon, Undivided Darrang and Undivided Kamrup . The uttarkul or northern bank was more populated and fertile but the Ahom kings set up their capital at dakhinkul on the south bank because it had more inaccessible strongholds and defensible central places.


title: Ahom kingdom

text: From 1500 to 1770 A.D., one comes across definite signs of demographic growth in the region. There was terrible depopulation In course of the Moamoria rebellion 1769–1809, when more than half of the population was wiped out. Again, during the Burmese regime, the atrocities committed during (1817-1825) further reduced the population by 1/3. The census of British, after annexation of Ahom kingdom shows, in 1826, only 7 to 8 lalkhs were survived as population.


title: Ahom kingdom

text: During the reign of Pratap Singha (1603–41), when the territories of Kamrup was not included in the Ahom territory, the relevant adult Male population in (15–60 age group) could be estimated as 4.2 lakhs and later 6.1 lakhs. The total population during the reign of Pratap Singha were 1,680,000 and 2,440,000 respectively during the time frame of 1615–1620.


title: Ahom kingdom

text: 1669, the total population fell meanwhile during to lingering the Ahom–Mughal conflicts and a sevre drought of 1665, the total adult population for 1669 could be estimated to 4 lakhs. The total population could be estimated to 1,600,000 in 1669. This population estimates are excluding Kamrup, till this time Ahoms had not yet annexed Kamrup.


title: Ahom kingdom

text: In 1711 during the reign of Rudra Singha when Kamrup had already become an integral part of Ahom Assam. The militia register in his state revealed that 2,60,000 paiks could be mobilized if the combatants (Kanri) alone were called up, 3,60,000 paiks, if the non-combatants (chamua). With this force, men-ment for non-manual services, too, were also called up to form the army of which consisted 4,00,000 if included the auxiliary force of his vassals. The population during his reign, (1711) is estimated to be 2,880,000.


title: Ahom kingdom

text: Ending 1750s the population of the Ahom kingdom upto Manas will be 3,000,000. The population would fall to more than half ending 1805.


title: Ahom kingdom

text: However there were towns, but only a small percentage of the population lived in such towns. Some important towns of Ahom time were Rangpur, Garhgoan, Guwahati and, Hajo, etc. The capital city of Rangpur, was found 20 miles in extet and thickly populated in 1794 by Wesh. However, the population never exceeded 10 thousand.


title: Ahom kingdom

text: The Ahom kingdom was ruled by a king, called "Swargadeo" (Ahom language: "Chao-Pha"), who had to be a descendant of the first king Sukaphaa. Succession was generally by primogeniture but occasionally the great Gohains ("Dangarias") could elect another descendant of Sukaphaa from a different line or even depose an enthroned one.


title: Ahom kingdom

text: Dangarias: Sukaphaa had two great Gohains to aid him in administration: Burhagohain and the Borgohain. In the 1280s, they were given independent territories, they were veritable sovereigns in their given territories called "bilat" or "rajya". The Burhagohain's territory was between Sadiya and Gerelua river in the north bank of the Brahmaputra river and the Borgohain's territory was to the west up to the Burai river. They were given total command over the "paiks" that they controlled. These positions were generally filled from specific families. Princes who were eligible for the position of Swargadeo were not considered for these positions and vice versa. In the 1527, Suhungmung added a third Gohain, Borpatrogohain. The Borpatrogohain's territory was located between the territories of the other two Gohains.


title: Ahom kingdom

text: Royal officers: Pratap Singha added two offices, Borbarua and Borphukan, that were directly under the king. The Borbarua, who acted as the military as well as the judicial head, was in command of the region east of Kaliabor not under the command of the "Dangarias". He could use only a section of the paiks at his command for his personal use (as opposed to the Dangariyas), the rest rendering service to the Ahom state. The Borphukan was in military and civil command over the region west of Kaliabor, and acted as the "Swargadeo's" viceroy in the west. Borbaruas were mostly from different Moran, Kachari, Chiring and Khamti communities, while Borphukans were from the Chutia community. The Borbarua and Borphukan offices were not hereditary and thus could be chosen from any families.


title: Ahom kingdom

text: Patra Mantris: The five positions constituted the "Patra Mantris" (Council of Ministers). From the time of Supimphaa (1492–1497), one of the "Patra Mantris" was made the "Rajmantri" (Prime Minister, also "Borpatro"; Ahom language: "Shenglung") who enjoyed additional powers and the service of a thousand additional paiks from the Jakaichuk village.


title: Ahom kingdom

text: The Borbarua and the Borphukan had military and judicial responsibilities, and they were aided by two separate councils ("sora") of "Phukans". The Borphukan's "sora" sat at Guwahati and the Borbarua's "sora" at the capital. Six of them formed the council of the Borbarua with each having his separate duties. The Naubaicha Phukan, who had an allotment of thousand men managed the royal boats, the Bhitarual Phukan, the Na Phukan, the Dihingia Phukan, the Deka Phukan, and the Neog Phukan formed the council of Phukan. The Borphukan also had a similar council of six subordinate Phukans whom he was bound to consult in all matters of importance. This council included Pani Phukan, who commanded six thousand "paiks", Deka Phukan who commanded four thousand "paiks", the Dihingia Phukan, Nek Phukan and two Chutiya Phukans.


title: Ahom kingdom

text: The superintending officers were called "Barua"s. The Baruas of whom there were twenty or more included Bhandari Barua or treasurer; the Duliya Barua, who was in charge of the royal palanquins; the Chaudang Barua who superintended executions; Khanikar Barua was the chief artificer; Sonadar Barua was the mint master and chief jeweler; the Bez Barua was the physician to the Royal family, Hati Barua, Ghora Barua, etc.


title: Ahom kingdom

text: Other officials included twelve Rajkhowas, and a number of Katakis, Kakatis, and Dolais. The Rajkhowas were governors of given territories and commanders of three thousand "paiks". They were the arbitrator who settled local disputes and supervised public works. The Katakis were envoys who dealt with foreign countries and hill tribes. The Kakatis were writers of official documents. The Dolais expounded astrology and determined auspicious time and dates for any important event and undertaking.


title: Ahom kingdom

text: Members of the royal families who occupy lower positions are given regions called "mel"s, and were called "meldangia" or "raja". "Meldangia Gohain"s were princes of an even lesser grade, of which there were two: "Majumelia Gohain" and "Sarumelia Gohain".


title: Ahom kingdom

text: Royal ladies were given individual "mel"s, and by the time of Rajeshwar Singha, there were twelve of them. The most important of these was the "Raidangia mel" given to the chief queen.


title: Ahom kingdom

text: Forward governors, who were military commanders, ruled and administered forward territories. The officers were usually filled from the families that were eligible for the three great Gohains.


title: Ahom kingdom

text: The dependent kings or vassals were also called "Raja". Except for the Raja of Rani, all paid an annual tribute. These Rajas were required to meet the needs for resources and paiks when the need arose, as during the time of war.


title: Ahom kingdom

text: The Ahom kingdom was dependent on the Paik system, a form of corvee labor, reorganized in 1608 by Momai Tamuli Barbarua. Every common subject was a "paik", and four "paiks" formed a "got". At any time of the year, one of the "paiks" in the "got" rendered direct service to the king, as the others in his "got" tended to his fields. The Paik system was administered by the Paik officials: A Bora was in charge of 20 "paiks", a Saikia of 100 and a Hazarika of 1000. A Rajkhowa commanded three thousand and a Phukan commanded six thousand "paiks".


title: Ahom kingdom

text: Supatphaa became acquainted with the land measurement system of Mughals during the time he was hiding in Kamrup before he succeeded to the throne. As soon as the wars with Mughals were over he issued orders for the introduction of a similar system throughout his dominions. Surveyors were imported from Koch Behar and Bengal for the work. It was commenced in Sibsagar and was pushed on vigorously, but it was not completed until after his death. Nowgaon was next surveyed, and the settlement which followed was supervised by Rudra Singha himself. According to historians, the method of survey included measuring the four sides of each field with a "nal", or bamboo pole of length and calculating the area, the unit was the "lucha" or and . is one "Bigha". Four 'bigha' makes one 'Pura'. A similar land measurement system is still being followed in modern Assam.


title: Ahom kingdom

text: The Ahom military forces included infantry, cavalry, Elephantry, Artillery, Spies and Navy. Land was given to Martial Paiks or peasants in exchange for service. They were organised under various head. "Bora" was the leader of twenty paiks, "Saikia" was the leader of a hundred or more, and "Hazarika" was the leader of a thousand, a Barua was leader of 2000 soldiers, a Rajkowa a leader of 3000 soldiers and a Phukan of 6000 soldiers. The army's commander-in-chief was known as Borphukan. Swords, spears, bows, and arrows, guns, matchlocks, cannons were the primary weapons of the war. The soldiers had been trained to stand firm in battle. The cavalry commander was "Ghora Barua", and the elephant commander was "Hati Barua".


title: Ahom kingdom

text: The people of mediaeval Assam were aware of the use of incendiary weapons. However, firearms were first introduced in the early 16th century. The Ahom troops quickly became experts in the manufacture of various types of guns, small and large, matchlocks, artillery, and large cannon. "Kharghariya Phukan" was the officer in charge of the manufacture of gunpowder.


title: Ahom kingdom

text: The navy was the most important and powerful division of the Ahom forces. The main warships were known as bacharis. This shape was similar to Bengali kosahs, and each could carry 70 to 80 men. They were tough and powerful, and by the end of the period, many of them were armed with guns. The Fathiya-i-ibriya mentions 32,000 ships belonging to the king of Assam at the time of Mir Jumla's invasion. These were primarily made of chambal wood and were thus light and fast and so difficult to sink. The navy was led by the "Naobaicha Phukan" and "Naosaniya Phukan".


title: Ahom kingdom

text: Forts were built in strategic locations to provide armed resistance. The Ahom soldiers were skilled at attacking the enemy at night. On the battlefield, a small group of Ahom soldiers could often outnumber thousands of enemy soldiers. Aside from their numerical strength, the Ahom paiks' physical strength, courage, and endurance were the most important factors in the Ahom military's invincibility.


title: Ahom kingdom

text: The numerical strength of Pratap Singha army consisted of 100,000 foot soldiers, 1,000 war elephants and a large fleet, estimated by the author of Badshahnama.


title: Ahom kingdom

text: The same king army at a different time was estimated by the author of Baharistan-i-Ghaibi at 300,000 foot soldiers, 180 war elephants and 4,000 war-boats.


title: Ahom kingdom

text: In 1669, the combined strength of the Infantry and cavalry under the command of the Ahoms was estimated at 1 lakh.


title: Ahom kingdom

text: In civil matters, Hindu laws were generally followed, while the criminal law was characterized by sternness and comparative harshness, where the general principle was that of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, and the culprit was punished with precisely the same injury as that inflicted by him on the complainant. The Barbarua and the Barphukan were the chief judicial authorities in their respective provinces, and trials were conducted before them.


title: Ahom kingdom

text: The punishment of the crimes were generally harsh, the offenders were punished by various manners like- by impaling, grinding between two cylinders, starving to death, slicing of the body in pieces, hoeing from head to foot etc. The common punishments were- extraction of eyes and knee caps, slicing off nose, beating with sticks etc.


title: Ahom kingdom

text: Subinphaa (1281–1293), the third Ahom king, delineated the "Satgharia Ahom" ("Ahom of the seven houses") aristocracy: the "Chaophaa", the Burhagohain and the Borgohain families, and four priestly lineages—the "Deodhai", the "Mohan", the "Bailung" and the "Chiring Phukan" . These lines maintained exogamous marital relationships. The number of lineages increased in later times as either other lineages were incorporated, or existing lineages divided. The king could belong to only the first family whereas the Burhagohain and the Borgohain only to the second and the third families. Most of the Borphukans belonged to the Chutia ethnic group, whereas the Borbaruas belonged to the Morans, Dimasas, Chiring and Khamti groups. Later on Naga, Mising and Nara (Mongkawng) oracles became a part of the "Bailung" group. The extended nobility consisted of the landed aristocracy and the spiritual class that did not pay any form of tax.


title: Ahom kingdom

text: The was the gentry that was freed from the "khels" and paid only money-tax. The "paikan chamua" consisted of artisans, the literati and skilled people that did non-manual work and rendered service as a tax. The "kanri paik" rendered manual labor. The lowest were the "licchous", "bandi-beti" and other serfs and bondsmen. There was some degree of movement between the classes. Momai Tamuli Borbarua rose from a bondsman through the ranks to become the first Borbarua under Prataap Singha.


title: Ahom kingdom

text: The culture of dance and music was widespread and the most popular manifestation of it was Bihu. Different styles of dances were performed Queen Phuleshwari was originally attached to Siva temple at Dergaon. Many types of musical instruments were used. Mughal music performances like Nageras under the Royal patronage were introduced. Rudra Singha had right regards for Mughal music and sent Assamese musicians to Delhi to learn the playing of the instruments like Pakhuaj. The king also appointed certain officers like Gyan barua, for the promotion of music and art. The Assamese monarchs Rudra Singha and his son Siva Singha were both writers of songs. Rajeswar Singha was the author of a drama entitled "Kichak Bandh". To celebrate the visit of the Rajas of Manipur and Cachar, a Bhaona entitled as Ravan-Badh, was performed at the Ahom capital Rangpur, Assam and the master of the performance was the Deka-Barbarua, son of Kirti Chandra Barbarua, in this Bhaona 700 men took part.


title: Ahom kingdom

text: The first temple thought to be constructed by Ahoms was in the banks of Karatoya by Suhungmung Dihingia Roja, after defeating and chasing the musalman invaders till Karatoya. The most notable temples of the Ahom period are the Sivasagar group of temples constructed between 1731 and 1734 these temples are dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu, and Devi. The Siva temple was built of stone and bricks and is one of the high-altitude Siva temples in India and is a place of great sanctity. Gaurisagar group of temples were constructed between 1715 and 1715 of which the Devi dol is the main temple, beside there is the other two temples dedicated to Siva and Vishnu. The Devi dol was built of stone and bricks, its stone artwork is best among the other Ahom temples, next to Joy dol. The Shiva dol of Gaurisagar is very much similar to that of Shiva dol of Sivasagar. The Joysagar group of temples are standing on the bank of Joysagar tank. The temples were constructed in 1698 by Rudra Singha, the main tempe is the Joy dol or the Kesavaraya Vishnu dol, this is the biggest temple based on Nilachal architecture after the Kamakhya Temple. The stone work of Joy dol is the finest among all the Ahom temples, beside Joy dol there are more temples dedicated to Shiva, Ganesha, Devi, and, Surya. Negheriting Shiva Dol constructed in 1765 by Rajeswar Singha.This temple is constructed of brick and stone and is built in Panchayatana style with the main temple in the middle and the subsidiary temple surrounding it, it is one of the most unique temples constructed by Ahoms. The other temples of the Ahoms are the Surya Mandir, the Ranganath Dol, the Fakua Dol and the Ganesa Mandir at Joysagar, the Visnu Dol on the bank of the Rudrasagar Tank near Bhatiapar, the Visnu Dol and the Jagatdhatri Dol at Kalogoan, the Visnu Dol and the Devi Dol on the bank of the Namti tank. The Mahesvara Ghar (Garakhia Dol) on the southern bank of the Dikhow river at Nazira, the Thowra Dol on the north-east of Sibsagar city, the Siva Dol on the bank of the Brahmaputra at Dergaon, the Piyali Phukanar Dol at Galeky, the Bezar Dol at Demow, Hara Gauri dol, Gauri Ballabh dol, and multiple temples at Lower Assam built through the Borphukan, etc. Apart from these there are a number of other temples which exist today only in ruins like the Bogi Dol near Joysagar, the Borpatra Dol at Kenduguri, the Keri Rajmao Dol at Mathichiga, the Ikhneswar Dol at Rangpur, the Govindra Dol at Gargaon, the Langkuri Dol, the Gota Dol at Charaideo, the Naphuki Rajmao Dol at Naphuk, the Sam Rajmao Dol at Nazira etc.


title: Ahom kingdom

text: The excavations of tanks was one of the notable works system under Ahoms. There grandeur was enhanced by construction of temples in their bank. Among the largest of tank there is the Joysagar tank excavated by Rudra Singha in 1698, this tank covers a total area of 318 acres of which 155 acres in underwater, many notable temples were constructed on its bank. Phuleswari Devi had excavated the Gaurisagar or Namdangar puskarni in the chronicles, this tank was excavated on (17 Feb, 1724) and the excavation was completed in (30 June 1724). In includes a total area of 293 acre of which 150 acre is underwater, on its bank three temples are built dedicated to Devi, Shiva and Vishnu. Queen Ambika devi had excavated the Sivasagar Tank in 1733, it has a total area of 257 acre of which 127 acre is underwater. Besides this, there are some more great Tanks, like- Lakshmi Sagar, Vishu Sagar or Rajmao Pukhuri, and Rudra Sagar. The number of other tanks excavated by the Ahom rulers is estimated to be approximately, 200.


title: Forestry

text: Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. The science of forestry has elements that belong to the biological, physical, social, political and managerial sciences. Forest management play essential role of creation and modification of habitats and affect ecosystem services provisioning.


title: Forestry

text: Modern forestry generally embraces a broad range of concerns, in what is known as multiple-use management, including: the provision of timber, fuel wood, wildlife habitat, natural water quality management, recreation, landscape and community protection, employment, aesthetically appealing landscapes, biodiversity management, watershed management, erosion control, and preserving forests as "sinks" for atmospheric carbon dioxide.


title: Forestry

text: Forest ecosystems have come to be seen as the most important component of the biosphere, and forestry has emerged as a vital applied science, craft, and technology. A practitioner of forestry is known as a forester. Another common term is silviculturist. Silviculture is narrower than forestry, being concerned only with forest plants, but is often used synonymously with forestry.


title: Forestry

text: All people depend upon forests and their biodiversity, some more than others. Forestry is an important economic segment in various industrial countries, as forests provide more than 86 million green jobs and support the livelihoods of many more people. For example, in Germany, forests cover nearly a third of the land area, wood is the most important renewable resource, and forestry supports more than a million jobs and about €181 billion of value to the German economy each year.


title: Forestry

text: Worldwide, an estimated 880 million people spend part of their time collecting fuelwood or producing charcoal, many of them women. Human populations tend to be low in areas of low-income countries with high forest cover and high forest biodiversity, but poverty rates in these areas tend to be high. Some 252 million people living in forests and savannahs have incomes of less than US$1.25 per day.


title: Forestry

text: Today a strong body of research exists regarding the management of forest ecosystems and the genetic improvement of tree species and varieties. Forestry studies also include the development of better methods for the planting, protecting, thinning, controlled burning, felling, extracting, and processing of timber. One of the applications of modern forestry is reforestation, in which trees are planted and tended in a given area.


title: Forestry

text: Trees provide numerous environmental, social and economic benefits for people. In many regions, the forest industry is of major ecological, economic, and social importance, with the United States producing more timber than any other country in the world. Third-party certification systems that provide independent verification of sound forest stewardship and sustainable forestry have become commonplace in many areas since the 1990s. These certification systems developed as a response to criticism of some forestry practices, particularly deforestation in less-developed regions along with concerns over resource management in the developed world.


title: Forestry

text: In topographically severe forested terrain, proper forestry is important for the prevention or minimization of serious soil erosion or even landslides. In areas with a high potential for landslides, forests can stabilize soils and prevent property damage or loss, human injury, or loss of life.


title: Forestry

text: Foresters work for the timber industry, government agencies, conservation groups, local authorities, urban parks boards, citizens' associations, and private landowners. The forestry profession includes a wide diversity of jobs, with educational requirements ranging from college bachelor's degrees to PhDs for highly specialized work. Industrial foresters plan forest regeneration starting with careful harvesting. Urban foresters manage trees in urban green spaces. Foresters work in tree nurseries growing seedlings for woodland creation or regeneration projects. Foresters improve tree genetics. Forest engineers develop new building systems.


title: Forestry

text: Professional foresters measure and model the growth of forests with tools like geographic information systems. Foresters may combat insect infestation, disease, forest and grassland wildfire, but increasingly allow these natural aspects of forest ecosystems to run their course when the likelihood of epidemics or risk of life or property are low. Increasingly, foresters participate in wildlife conservation planning and watershed protection. Foresters have been mainly concerned with timber management, especially reforestation, maintaining forests at prime conditions, and fire control.


title: Forestry

text: Foresters develop and implement forest management plans relying on mapped resources, inventories showing an area's topographical features as well as its distribution of trees (by species) and other plant covers. Plans also include landowner objectives, roads, culverts, proximity to human habitation, water features and hydrological conditions, and soils information. Forest management plans typically include recommended silvicultural treatments and a timetable for their implementation. Application of digital maps in Geographic Informations systems (GIS) that extracts and integrates different information about forest terrains, soil type and tree covers, etc. using, e.g. laser scanning enhances forest management plans in modern systems.


title: Forestry

text: Forest management plans include recommendations to achieve the landowner's objectives and desired future conditions for the property subject to ecological, financial, logistical (e.g. access to resources), and other constraints. On some properties, plans focus on producing quality wood products for processing or sale. Hence, tree species, quantity, and form, all central to the value of harvested products quality and quantity, tend to be important components of silvicultural plans.


title: Forestry

text: Good management plans include consideration of future conditions of the stand after any recommended harvests treatments, including future treatments (particularly in intermediate stand treatments), and plans for natural or artificial regeneration after final harvests.


title: Forestry

text: The objectives of landowners and leaseholders influence plans for harvest and subsequent site treatment. In Britain, plans featuring "good forestry practice" must always consider the needs of other stakeholders such as nearby communities or rural residents living within or adjacent to woodland areas. Foresters consider tree felling and environmental legislation when developing plans. Plans instruct the sustainable harvesting and replacement of trees. They indicate whether road building or other forest engineering operations are required.


title: Forestry

text: Agriculture and forest leaders are also trying to understand how the climate change legislation will affect what they do. The information gathered will provide the data that will determine the role of agriculture and forestry in a new climate change regulatory system.


title: Forestry

text: Over the past centuries, forestry was regarded as a separate science. With the rise of ecology and environmental science, there has been a reordering in the applied sciences. In line with this view, forestry is a primary land-use science comparable with agriculture. Under these headings, the fundamentals behind the management of natural forests comes by way of natural ecology. Forests or tree plantations, those whose primary purpose is the extraction of forest products, are planned and managed to utilize a mix of ecological and agroecological principles. In many regions of the world there is considerable conflict between forest practices and other societal priorities such as water quality, watershed preservation, sustainable fishing, conservation, and species preservation.


title: Forestry

text: The provenance of forest reproductive material used to plant forests has a great influence on how the trees develop, hence why it is important to use forest reproductive material of good quality and of high genetic diversity. More generally, all forest management practices, including in natural regeneration systems, may impact the genetic diversity of trees.


title: Forestry

text: The term describes the differences in DNA sequence between individuals as distinct from variation caused by environmental influences. The unique genetic composition of an individual (its genotype) will determine its performance (its phenotype) at a particular site.


title: Forestry

text: Genetic diversity is needed to maintain the vitality of forests and to provide resilience to pests and diseases. Genetic diversity also ensures that forest trees can survive, adapt and evolve under changing environmental conditions. Furthermore, genetic diversity is the foundation of biological diversity at species and ecosystem levels. Forest genetic resources are therefore important to consider in forest management.


title: Forestry

text: Genetic diversity in forests is threatened by forest fires, pests and diseases, habitat fragmentation, poor silvicultural practices and inappropriate use of forest reproductive material.


title: Forestry

text: About 98 million hectares of forest were affected by fire in 2015; this was mainly in the tropical domain, where fire burned about 4 percent of the total forest area in that year. More than two-thirds of the total forest area affected was in Africa and South America. Insects, diseases and severe weather events damaged about 40 million hectares of forests in 2015, mainly in the temperate and boreal domains.


title: Forestry

text: Furthermore, the marginal populations of many tree species are facing new threats due to the effects of climate change.


title: Forestry

text: Most countries in Europe have recommendations or guidelines for selecting species and provenances that can be used in a given site or zone.


title: Forestry

text: The preindustrial age has been dubbed by Werner Sombart and others as the 'wooden age', as timber and firewood were the basic resources for energy, construction and housing. The development of modern forestry is closely connected with the rise of capitalism, the economy as a science and varying notions of land use and property.


title: Forestry

text: Roman Latifundiae, large agricultural estates, were quite successful in maintaining the large supply of wood that was necessary for the Roman Empire. Large deforestations came with the decline of the Romans. However already in the 5th century, monks in the then Byzantine Romagna on the Adriatic coast, were able to establish stone pine plantations to provide fuelwood and food. This was the beginning of the massive forest mentioned by Dante Alighieri in his 1308 poem Divine Comedy.


title: Forestry

text: Similar sustainable formal forestry practices were developed by the Visigoths in the 7th century when, faced with the ever-increasing shortage of wood, they instituted a code concerned with the preservation of oak and pine forests. The use and management of many forest resources has a long history in China as well, dating back to the Han dynasty and taking place under the landowning gentry. A similar approach was used in Japan. It was also later written about by the Ming dynasty Chinese scholar Xu Guangqi (1562–1633).


title: Forestry

text: In Europe, land usage rights in medieval and early modern times allowed different users to access forests and pastures. Plant litter and resin extraction were important, as pitch (resin) was essential for the caulking of ships, falking and hunting rights, firewood and building, timber gathering in wood pastures, and for grazing animals in forests. The notion of "commons" (German "Allmende") refers to the underlying traditional legal term of common land. The idea of enclosed private property came about during modern times. However, most hunting rights were retained by members of the nobility which preserved the right of the nobility to access and use common land for recreation, like fox hunting.


title: Forestry

text: Systematic management of forests for a sustainable yield of timber began in Portugal in the 13th century when King Afonso III planted the Pinhal do Rei (King's Pine Forest) near Leiria to prevent coastal erosion and soil degradation, and as a sustainable source for timber used in naval construction. His successor King Denis of Portugal continued the practice and the forest exists still today.


title: Forestry

text: Forest management also flourished in the German states in the 14th century, e.g. in Nuremberg, and in 16th-century Japan. Typically, a forest was divided into specific sections and mapped; the harvest of timber was planned with an eye to regeneration. As timber rafting allowed for connecting large continental forests, as in south western Germany, via Main, Neckar, Danube and Rhine with the coastal cities and states, early modern forestry and remote trading were closely connected. Large firs in the black forest were called „Holländer“, as they were traded to the Dutch ship yards. Large timber rafts on the Rhine were 200 to 400m in length, 40m in width and consisted of several thousand logs. The crew consisted of 400 to 500 men, including shelter, bakeries, ovens and livestock stables. Timber rafting infrastructure allowed for large interconnected networks all over continental Europe and is still of importance in Finland.


title: Forestry

text: Starting with the 16th century, enhanced world maritime trade, a boom in housing construction in Europe, and the success and further Berggeschrey (rushes) of the mining industry increased timber consumption sharply. The notion of 'Nachhaltigkeit', sustainability in forestry, is closely connected to the work of Hans Carl von Carlowitz (1645–1714), a mining administrator in Saxony. His book "Sylvicultura oeconomica, oder haußwirthliche Nachricht und Naturmäßige Anweisung zur wilden Baum-Zucht" (1713) was the first comprehensive treatise about sustainable yield forestry. In the UK, and, to an extent, in continental Europe, the enclosure movement and the Clearances favored strictly enclosed private property. The Agrarian reformers, early economic writers and scientists tried to get rid of the traditional commons. At the time, an alleged tragedy of the commons together with fears of a Holznot, an imminent wood shortage played a watershed role in the controversies about cooperative land use patterns.


title: Forestry

text: The practice of establishing tree plantations in the British Isles was promoted by John Evelyn, though it had already acquired some popularity. Louis XIV's minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert's oak Forest of Tronçais, planted for the future use of the French Navy, matured as expected in the mid-19th century: "Colbert had thought of everything except the steamship," Fernand Braudel observed. In parallel, schools of forestry were established beginning in the late 18th century in Hesse, Russia, Austria-Hungary, Sweden, France and elsewhere in Europe.


title: Forestry

text: Starting from the 1750s modern scientific forestry was developed in France and the German speaking countries in the context of natural history scholarship and state administration inspired by physiocracy and cameralism. Its main traits were centralized management by professional foresters, the adherence to sustainable yield concepts with a bias towards fuelwood and timber production, artificial afforestation, and a critical view of pastoral and agricultural uses of forests.


title: Forestry

text: During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, forest preservation programs were established in British India, the United States, and Europe. Many foresters were either from continental Europe (like Sir Dietrich Brandis), or educated there (like Gifford Pinchot). Sir Dietrich Brandis is considered the father of tropical forestry, European concepts and practices had to be adapted in tropical and semi-arid climate zones. The development of plantation forestry was one of the (controversial) answers to the specific challenges in the tropical colonies. The enactment and evolution of forest laws and binding regulations occurred in most Western nations in the 20th century in response to growing conservation concerns and the increasing technological capacity of logging companies. Tropical forestry is a separate branch of forestry which deals mainly with equatorial forests that yield woods such as teak and mahogany.


title: Forestry

text: Forest and landscape restoration (FLR) is defined as a process that aims to regain ecological functionality and enhance human well-being in deforested or degraded landscapes. FLR has been developed as a response to the growing degradation and loss of forest and land, which resulted in declined biodiversity and ecosystem services. Effective FLR will support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. The United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021–2030)  provides the opportunity to restore hundreds of millions of hectares of degraded forests and other ecosystems.


title: Forestry

text: Forestry mechanization was always in close connection to metal working and the development of mechanical tools to cut and transport timber to its destination. Rafting belongs to the earliest means of transport. Steel saws came up in the 15th century. The 19th century widely increased the availability of steel for whipsaws and introduced forest railways and railways in general for transport and as forestry customer. Further human induced changes, however, came since World War II, respectively in line with the "1950s syndrome". The first portable chainsaw was invented in 1918 in Canada, but large impact of mechanization in forestry started after World War II. Forestry harvesters are among the most recent developments. Although drones, planes, laser scanning, satellites and robots also play a part in forestry.


title: Forestry

text: The first dedicated forestry school was established by Georg Ludwig Hartig at Hungen in the Wetterau, Hesse, in 1787, though forestry had been taught earlier in central Europe, including at the University of Giessen, in Hesse-Darmstadt.


title: Forestry

text: In Spain, the first forestry school was the Forest Engineering School of Madrid (Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros de Montes), founded in 1844.


title: Forestry

text: The first in North America, the Biltmore Forest School was established near Asheville, North Carolina, by Carl A. Schenck on September 1, 1898, on the grounds of George W. Vanderbilt's Biltmore Estate. Another early school was the New York State College of Forestry, established at Cornell University just a few weeks later, in September 1898. Early 19th century North American foresters went to Germany to study forestry. Some early German foresters also emigrated to North America.


title: Forestry

text: In South America the first forestry school was established in Brazil, in Viçosa, Minas Gerais, in 1962, and moved the next year to become a faculty at the Federal University of Paraná, in Curitiba.


title: Forestry

text: Today, forestry education typically includes training in general biology, ecology, botany, genetics, soil science, climatology, hydrology, economics and forest management. Education in the basics of sociology and political science is often considered an advantage. Professional skills in conflict resolution and communication are also important in training programs.


title: Forestry

text: In India, forestry education is imparted in the agricultural universities and in Forest Research Institutes (deemed universities). Four year degree programmes are conducted in these universities at the undergraduate level. Masters and Doctorate degrees are also available in these universities.


title: Forestry

text: In the United States, postsecondary forestry education leading to a Bachelor's degree or Master's degree is accredited by the Society of American Foresters.


title: Forestry

text: In Canada the Canadian Institute of Forestry awards silver rings to graduates from accredited university BSc programs, as well as college and technical programs.


title: Forestry

text: In many European countries, training in forestry is made in accordance with requirements of the Bologna Process and the European Higher Education Area.


title: Forestry

text: The International Union of Forest Research Organizations is the only international organization that coordinates forest science efforts worldwide.


title: Forestry

text: In order to keep up with changing demands and environmental factors, forestry education does not stop at graduation. Increasingly, forestry professionals engage in regular training to maintain and improve on their management practices. An increasingly popular tool are marteloscopes; one hectare large, rectangular forest sites where all trees are numbered, mapped and recorded. These sites can be used to do virtual thinnings and test one's wood quality and volume estimations as well as tree microhabitats. This system is mainly suitable to regions with small-scale multi-functional forest management systems.


title: The Right Stuff (TV series)

text: The Right Stuff is an American historical drama streaming television series, loosely based on the 1979 book of the same name by Tom Wolfe and its 1983 film adaptation, that premiered on October 9, 2020, on Disney+. It explores the origins and growth of the United States' space program. On April 3, 2021, Disney+ canceled the series due to a redesign in the NatGeo channel's focus. Show financier Warner Bros. Television is looking to shop the series to other networks.


title: The Right Stuff (TV series)

text: "The Right Stuff" takes a "gritty, anti-nostalgic look at what would become America's first reality show as the obsessive original Mercury Seven astronauts and their families become instant celebrities in a competition that will either kill them or make them immortal. The eight-part, one-hour-per-episode drama will follow the protagonists from the Mojave Desert to the edges of space, with future seasons carrying through to humankind’s greatest achievement: the moon landing."


title: The Right Stuff (TV series)

text: On July 25, 2017, it was announced that National Geographic was partnering with Appian Way Productions and Warner Horizon Television to option the screen rights to Tom Wolfe's 1979 novel "The Right Stuff". The series was set to be written by Will Staples who was also expected to executive produce alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson.


title: The Right Stuff (TV series)

text: On February 10, 2019, it was announced during the Television Critics Association's annual winter press tour that National Geographic had given the production a series order. David Nutter was expected to direct the premiere episode. Additional executive producers were set to include Mark Lafferty and Lizzie Mickery with Lafferty also serving as showrunner.


title: The Right Stuff (TV series)

text: The series premiered on October 9, 2020. On November 20, 2020, the series was granted a tax credit to film a second season in San Diego. The show had yet to be officially renewed at the time. However, on April 3, 2021, it was announced that Disney+ had canceled the series due to a change in NatGeo's programming focus. Show financier Warner Bros. Television is looking to shop the series to other networks such as TNT and HBO Max.


title: The Right Stuff (TV series)

text: On May 31, 2019, Patrick J. Adams had been cast in the series lead role of John Glenn. On June 14, 2019, Jake McDorman and Colin O'Donoghue were cast as Alan Shepard and Gordon Cooper, respectively. On June 21, 2019, Eric Ladin, Patrick Fischler, Nora Zehetner, Eloise Mumford, Shannon Lucio, and Josh Cooke joined the cast. On August 19, 2019, Danny Strong was cast as NASA Spokesman John A. "Shorty" Powers. On November 29, 2019, Mamie Gummer was cast as "Mercury 13" astronaut hopeful, Jerrie Cobb.


title: The Right Stuff (TV series)

text: On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 55% based on 31 reviews, with an average rating of 7.21/10. The site's critics consensus reads: ""The Right Stuff" contains some grace notes in its depiction of America's first slate of astronauts, but this tired retread of Tom Wolfe's famed book mostly makes the wrong moves in revitalizing space race history for the modern era." On Metacritic, the series has a weighted average score of 61 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".


title: The Right Stuff (TV series)

text: Richard Roeper of "The Chicago Sun-Times" praised the show as "a visually striking, well-acted period piece that plays like 'Mad Men: The Flyboys Edition." Writing for "Rolling Stone", Alan Sepinwall called the show "a dutiful, mostly competent, infrequently lively historical workplace drama" and "almost defiantly generic in every way." "Wall Street Journal" reviewer John Anderson described the show as "a perfectly serviceable drama about a rococo period of American history." Lucy Mangan of "The Guardian" rated the show 4 out of 5 stars and claimed that ""The Right Stuff" doesn’t reach for the stars, but looks back to the Earth from which the phenomenon of astronauts and space travel, the glamour and the myths grew, along with the appetites they fed, and is all the more interesting for that." Matt Cabral of "Common Sense Media" rated the series 3 out of 5 stars and called it a "space drama" that is "serviceable but doesn't reach the stars."


title: The Right Stuff (TV series)

text: In Caroline Framke's review for "Variety", she criticized the show as "familiar" and said it "never met a space story cliché it didn't embrace with open arms." In a review for "The Dispatch", Alec Dent criticized the show's choice to leave out Chuck Yeager, saying his absence "embodies the central problem of the show: those behind it don't seem to understand what the right stuff is, at least not well enough to portray it on TV."


title: Tony Finau

text: Milton Pouha "Tony" Finau (born September 14, 1989) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour.


title: Tony Finau

text: Milton Pouha Finau was born on September 14, 1989 in Salt Lake City, Utah. He won the Utah State Amateur Championship in 2006, defeating future PGA Tour player Daniel Summerhays in the 36-hole championship match.


title: Tony Finau

text: Although Finau had college scholarship offers in basketball, he turned professional at the age of 17 and began playing on mini-tours including the Gateway Tour, NGA Hooters Tour, and National Pro Tour.


title: Tony Finau

text: Finau and his brother Gipper competed on the Golf Channel's "The Big Break" in 2009. Finau finished second on "Big Break Disney Golf".


title: Tony Finau

text: Finau played on the PGA Tour Canada in 2013, making seven cuts in eight starts. He finished T-3 at the 2013 Web.com Tour qualifying school to earn his Web.com Tour card for 2014. He won his first title in August 2014 at the Stonebrae Classic. He finished 8th in the regular season, and 12th in the Web.com Tour Finals to earn his PGA Tour card for the 2014–15 season.


title: Tony Finau

text: In March 2016, Finau won his maiden title on the PGA Tour at the Puerto Rico Open. He won in a sudden death playoff over Steve Marino with a birdie on the third extra hole. He had earlier missed a putt for the victory outright on the 72nd green. The result moved Finau into the top 25 in the FedEx Cup standings.


title: Tony Finau

text: Finau opted not to defend his Puerto Rico title in 2017, instead taking his chances to get into the field at the 2017 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, but was two players short of entering the field, which takes the top 64 available players from the Official World Golf Ranking.


title: Tony Finau

text: Finau qualified for the first three majors in 2018, including his first Masters appearance, by making it to the Tour Championship in 2017. He finished in a tie for 10th place at the 2018 Masters, despite dislocating his ankle in the Par-3 contest the day before the first round. In June 2018, Finau finished in 5th place at the U.S. Open after a double-bogey on the 18th hole, his highest finish to date in a major tournament.


title: Tony Finau

text: Finau finished the 2018 PGA Tour season ranked sixth in the season-long FedEx Cup. He earned over $5,600,000 in the 2017–18 season with 11 top-10 finishes. His best finishes in the season were second at the Safeway Open and The Northern Trust. He also finished T2 at the Genesis Open.


title: Tony Finau

text: In September 2018, U.S. team captain Jim Furyk named Finau as a captain's pick for the 2018 Ryder Cup at Le Golf National outside of Paris, France. The U.S. lost the Ryder Cup to the European side 17 1/2 to 10 1/2. Finau finished with a 2-1-0 record and won his singles match over Tommy Fleetwood (6 and 4). Up till then Fleetwood had gone 4-0-0 in the fourball and foursome matches (with partner Francesco Molinari).


title: Tony Finau

text: On October 28, 2018, Finau lost a playoff against Xander Schauffele in the WGC-HSBC Champions. He still won more than $1,000,000 by finishing second.


title: Tony Finau

text: In April 2019, Finau was in the final group of the Masters Tournament with Francesco Molinari and Tiger Woods. He ended the tournament tied for 5th.


title: Tony Finau

text: In December 2019, Finau played on the U.S. team at the 2019 Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia. The U.S. team won 16–14. Finau went 0–1–3 and halved his Sunday singles match against Hideki Matsuyama.


title: Tony Finau

text: In February 2020, Finau lost the Waste Management Phoenix Open in a sudden death playoff to Webb Simpson. Finau, who lost to Simpson's birdie on the first extra hole, had held a two stroke lead with two holes to play, but Simpson finished with consecutive birdies to force the playoff.


title: Tony Finau

text: In July at the Memorial Tournament, Finau held a four-stroke lead in the third round before faltering on the back nine with two double bogeys. His struggles continued on Sunday, including a triple bogey on the par-four sixth hole, ultimately shooting six over par on the day and finishing the tournament in eighth place, two under par. A week later, Finau's T-3 placing at the 3M Open meant that he now shares the PGA Tour record (30) for the most top-10 finishes in a four-year period without a win.


title: Tony Finau

text: In early 2021, Finau had a stretch of five weeks where he finished in the top 4 in all four tournaments that he entered. He finished fourth at The American Express, tied second at the Farmers Insurance Open, tied second at the Saudi International on the European Tour and he lost in a playoff to Max Homa at the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California. Finau won the 2021 Northern Trust, beating Cameron Smith in a playoff.


title: Tony Finau

text: In September 2021, Finau played on the U.S. team in the 2021 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin. The U.S. team won 19–9 and Finau went 1–2–0 including a loss in his Sunday singles match against Ian Poulter.


title: Tony Finau

text: In July 2022, Finau won the 3M Open and the Rocket Mortgage Classic in successive weeks; his third and fourth victories on PGA Tour.


title: Tony Finau

text: Finau qualified for the U.S. team at the 2022 Presidents Cup; he won three and lost one of his matches.


title: Tony Finau

text: In November 2022, Finau won the Cadence Bank Houston Open for his third PGA Tour victory of the calendar year.


title: Tony Finau

text: Finau is of Tongan and Samoan descent, the first person of such ancestry to play on the PGA Tour. Finau's brother Gipper made the cut in the Utah EnergySolutions Championship at the age of 16 but did not succeed as a tournament professional. He is the cousin of NBA basketball player Jabari Parker and former NFL football player Haloti Ngata.


title: Tony Finau

text: Finau runs the Tony Finau Foundation, an organization aimed at empowering youth and their families in the local community. He is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He and his wife, Alayna Finau, have five children.


title: Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville)

text: The Republic of the Congo () was a sovereign state in Central Africa, created with the independence of the Belgian Congo in 1960. From 1960 to 1966, the country was also known as Congo-Léopoldville (after its capital) to distinguish it from its northwestern neighbor, which is also called the Republic of the Congo, alternatively known as "Congo-Brazzaville". In 1964, the state's official name was changed to the "Democratic Republic of the Congo," but the two countries continued to be distinguished by their capitals; with the renaming of Léopoldville as Kinshasa in 1966, it became also known as Congo-Kinshasa. After Joseph Désiré Mobutu, renamed Mobutu Sese Seko in 1972, commander-in-chief of the national army, seized control of the country, it became the Republic of Zaire in 1971. It would again become the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1997. The period between 1960 and 1964 is referred to as the First Congolese Republic.


title: Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville)

text: Conditions in the Congo improved following the Belgian government's takeover in 1908 of the Congo Free State, which had been a personal possession of the Belgian king. Some Bantu languages were taught in primary schools, a rare occurrence in colonial education. Colonial doctors greatly reduced the spread of African trypanosomiasis, commonly known as sleeping sickness.


title: Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville)

text: During World War II, the small Congolese army achieved several victories against the Italians in East Africa. The Belgian Congo, which was also rich in uranium deposits, supplied the uranium that was used by the United States to build the atomic weapons.


title: Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville)

text: The colonial administration implemented a variety of economic reforms to improve infrastructure: railways, ports, roads, mines, plantations and industrial areas. The Congolese people, however, lacked political power and faced legal discrimination. All colonial policies were decided in Brussels and Léopoldville. The Belgian Colony-secretary and Governor-general, neither elected by the Congolese people, wielded absolute power.


title: Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville)

text: Among the Congolese people, resistance against their undemocratic regime grew over time. In 1955, the Congolese upper class (the so-called "évolués"), many of whom had been educated in Europe, initiated a campaign to end the inequality.


title: Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville)

text: In May 1960, the MNC party or Mouvement National Congolais, led by Patrice Lumumba, won the parliamentary elections, and Lumumba was appointed Prime Minister. Joseph Kasa-Vubu of ABAKO was elected president by the parliament. Other parties that emerged include the Parti Solidaire Africain (PSA), led by Antoine Gizenga, and the Parti National du Peuple (PNP), led by Albert Delvaux and Laurent Mbariko.


title: Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville)

text: The Belgian Congo achieved independence on 30 June 1960. On 1 July Lumumba sent a wire to the UN to request membership, stating that the Congo "accepts without reservation the obligations stipulated in the Charter of the UN and undertakes to abide by the same in absolute good faith." UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld cabled the Foreign Ministry, pointing out the difficulty in admitting the country into the UN under its name in the face of another application for membership from the neighboring Congo, preparing for independence from French control. A delegation was sent from Brazzaville, the capital of the French Congo, to Léopoldville to resolve the matter. In the end, it was decided that the former Belgian Congo would be recognised as the Republic of the Congo or Congo-Léopoldville while the former French Congo would be known as the Congolese Republic or Congo-Brazzaville. Following a constitutional referendum in 1964 it was renamed the "Democratic Republic of the Congo", and in 1971 it was changed again to "Republic of Zaïre".


title: Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville)

text: Shortly after independence, the provinces of Katanga (with Moise Tshombe) and South Kasai engaged in secessionist struggles against the new leadership.


title: Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville)

text: Subsequent events led to a crisis between President Kasa-Vubu and Prime Minister Lumumba. On 5 September 1960, Kasavubu dismissed Lumumba from office. Lumumba declared Kasa-Vubu's action "unconstitutional" and a crisis between the two leaders developed.


title: Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville)

text: Lumumba had previously appointed Joseph Mobutu chief of staff of the new Congolese army, the Armee Nationale Congolaise (ANC). Taking advantage of the leadership crisis between Kasa-Vubu and Lumumba, Mobutu garnered enough support within the army to inspire mutinous action. With financial support from the United States and Belgium, Mobutu made payments to his soldiers to generate their loyalty. The aversion of Western powers towards communism and leftist ideology, in general, influenced their decision to finance Mobutu's quest to maintain "order" in the new state by neutralizing Kasa-Vubu and Lumumba in a coup by proxy.


title: Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville)

text: On 17 January 1961, Katangan forces, supported by the Belgian government, which desired to retain mining rights for copper and diamonds in Katanga and South Kasai, executed Patrice Lumumba and several of his aides at a pig farm near Élisabethville. From 1960 to 1964 the peacekeeping effort was the largest, most complex, and most costly operation ever carried out by the United Nations.


title: Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville)

text: Following five years of extreme instability and civil unrest, Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, then Lieutenant General, overthrew Kasa-Vubu in a 1965 CIA-backed coup. He had the support of the US for his staunch opposition to communism, which would presumably make him a roadblock to communist activities in Africa.


title: Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville)

text: Mobutu declared himself president for five years, saying that he needed that long to undo the damage that the politicians had done in the country's first five years of independence. However, within two years, he had set up the Popular Movement of the Revolution as the country's only legal party. In 1970, he appeared alone on the ballot in the country's first direct presidential election. Two weeks later, a single list of PMR candidates was elected to the legislature. For all intents and purposes, the Democratic Republic of the Congo had effectively come to an end, but it would be another year before Mobutu officially changed the country's name to Zaire.


title: Kasha

text: In English, kasha usually refers to pseudocereal buckwheat or its culinary preparations. In various East-Central and Eastern European countries, "kasha" can apply to any kind of cooked grain. It can be baked but most often is boiled, either in water or milk, and therefore the term coincides with the English definition of 'porridge', but the word can also refer to the grain before preparation, which corresponds to the definition of 'groats'. This understanding of kasha concerns mainly Belarus (), the Czech Republic (), Lithuania (), Poland (), Romania and the Republic of Moldova (), Russia (), Slovakia (), Kazakhstan, and Ukraine (), where the term, besides buckwheat, can apply to wheat, barley, oats, millet and rye. Kashas have been an important element of Slavic diet for at least 1,000 years.


title: Kasha

text: This English-language usage probably originated with Jewish immigrants, as did the form "kashi" (literally translated as "porridges").


title: Kasha

text: As an Ashkenazi-Jewish comfort food, kasha is often served with onions and brown gravy on top of farfalle, known as kasha varnishkes. Kasha is a popular filling for knishes and is sometimes included in matzah-ball soup.


title: Kasha

text: In Czech the cognate () has a wider meaning that also encompasses mashed potato (), pease pudding (), etc.


title: Kasha

text: In Polish, cooked buckwheat groats are referred to as . can apply to many kinds of groats: millet (), barley (), pearl barley (), oats (), as well as porridge made from farina (). Bulgur can be also be referred to as a type of kasza in Polish ().


title: Kasha

text: As Polish blood sausage is prepared with buckwheat, barley or rice, it is called kaszanka (kasha sausage).


title: Kasha

text: The largest gross buckwheat consumption per capita is in Russia, with per year, followed by Ukraine, with per year. The share of buckwheat in the total consumption of cereals in Russia is 20%.


title: Kasha

text: In Russian, buckwheat is referred to formally as (), or colloquially as (). Buckwheat grain and buckwheat groats are known as (). Corresponding words in Yiddish are "gretshkes/greytshkelach" and "retshkes/reytshkelach".


title: Kasha

text: The most popular kasha recipe in Russia is that of crumbly cooked buckwheat seasoned with butter. Buckwheat kasha can be eaten at any time of the day, either as a separate dish or as a side dish. Other popular kasha recipes are made with millet, semolina () and oatmeal. Cooked with milk and sugar, they are often seen as a breakfast staple, especially for children. Pearl barley porridge is less popular but also eaten.


title: Kasha

text: Kasha is one of the Russian national dishes, together with shchi. This fact is commemorated in the Russian saying, "" (), which literally translates as "shchi and kasha are our food" or "cabbage soup and porridge are what we eat". The expression has an implied figurative meaning of "it is enough to eat those two meals to live" or "it doesn't matter what happens in Russia at large, we still live the same way."


title: Kasha

text: Butter is often eaten with most kasha recipes, hence another Russian saying: "", which translates to "you'll never spoil kasha with a lot of butter".


title: Land (2021 film)

text: Land is a 2021 psychological drama film directed by Robin Wright in her feature directorial debut, from a screenplay by Jesse Chatham and Erin Dignam. It stars Wright, Demián Bichir and Kim Dickens. The film premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival on January 31, and was released in the United States on February 12, 2021, by Focus Features. It received generally positive reviews from critics.


title: Land (2021 film)

text: After a traumatic experience, Edee Holzer is in the midst of therapy, revealing to the therapist that she doesn't like to be around people because she doesn't think it's right that they share in her pain. Wanting to escape, she leaves the city she lives in and moves to Wyoming where she purchases a small, remote cabin and resolves to live in solitude without any modern conveniences connecting her to the outside world, including telephones or cars.


title: Land (2021 film)

text: Initially, she struggles with basic provisions including chopping firewood and fishing. When a black bear enters her cabin, eats her food, and destroys much of the rest of her supplies while she hides in her outhouse, she reaches her breaking point. Without a fire for heat or food to eat, she tries to hunt but cannot bring herself to shoot a deer she has in her sights. Overwhelmed, she attempts to take her life by shooting herself with the hunting rifle, stopping short when she remembers her sister Emma pleading not to hurt herself.


title: Land (2021 film)

text: During a violent snowstorm, the metal roof of her cabin becomes somewhat dislodged by the wind, making loud noises. She leaves the cabin to attempt repairs and is injured. A local hunter, Miguel and his nurse friend Alawa, rescue her and help her recover from her injuries and malnourishment. While Alawa departs, Miguel remains to look after Edee by preparing her food, replenishing her supply of firewood, and restocking the rest of her cabin.


title: Land (2021 film)

text: Edee thanks Miguel for his kindness in helping her, but explains that she came to her cabin to be alone and wants to keep it that way. Miguel understands and offers to help equip her with better survival skills so that she can have the life of solitude that she wants. He shows her how to trap in the winter and hunt in the fall so she can provide herself with food. Over time they develop a friendship as Miguel continues to join her to hunt, harvest crops, and explore her land. Miguel shares that his wife and daughter died in a car accident eight years prior, while Edee simply reveals that she used to have a family. Miguel later remarks that if she doesn't want to talk about her past she ought to consider what she wants her future to be like. She suspects that he searched her history on the internet, though he's not even aware of her last name and explains that's impossible.


title: Land (2021 film)

text: Miguel asks her to watch his dog while he goes away for a while, ostensibly for work. While he's gone, Edee retrieves a collection of old photos revealing she was married with a son, and the father and son she saw fishing earlier on had been an apparition of her family. Months pass and Miguel hasn't returned, so Edee packs her belongings and ventures off of her land for the first time since her arrival to find him. She makes her way into town on foot and eventually finds Alawa working at the local hospital. Alawa takes her to see Miguel, who is bedridden and dying from throat cancer. On his deathbed, he confesses that he was driving the night his wife and daughter were killed and it was because he was intoxicated that the accident happened. Edee responds that her husband Adam and son Drew were killed in a random shooting in a concert hall. She thanks him for helping her heal and the life he gave back to her.


title: Land (2021 film)

text: Departing with his phone that he gifted to her, she calls her sister Emma for the first time since arriving in Wyoming.


title: Land (2021 film)

text: In April 2019, it was announced Robin Wright would star in and direct the film, from a screenplay by Jesse Chatham and Erin Dignam. In October 2019, Demián Bichir and Kim Dickens joined the cast of the film, with Focus Features distributing.


title: Land (2021 film)

text: Principal photography took place over 29 days in October 2019 in the Rockies west of Calgary in Alberta, Canada.


title: Land (2021 film)

text: The great changes of weather in those parts meant that the four seasons of the two years of the screenplay's duration could be filmed in just one month.


title: Land (2021 film)

text: Edee's cabin was located on Moose Mountain, and the Elbow River in the Bragg River Land is featured in many scenes. The town scenes were filmed in Didsbury, Alberta, at the Didsbury District Health Services (hospital), on 19th Avenue (JD's Restaurant) and 20th Avenue.


title: Land (2021 film)

text: The film premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival on January 31, 2021. It was theatrically released in the United States on February 12, 2021. It was released on video on demand on March 5, 2021.


title: Land (2021 film)

text: "Land" grossed $2.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $585,207 in other territories, for a total gross of $3.1 million.


title: Land (2021 film)

text: "Land" opened alongside "Judas and the Black Messiah" and grossed $899,010 from 1,231 theaters in its opening weekend ($1.1 million over the four-day frame), finishing fifth at the box office. In its second weekend the film dropped 44% to $500,010.


title: Land (2021 film)

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 69% based on 183 reviews, with an average rating of 6.5/10. The website's critics consensus reads, ""Land"s lovely vistas can't compensate for a hollowness at its center." On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 61 out of 100 based on 32 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".


title: Here Comes the Boom

text: Here Comes the Boom is a 2012 American sports comedy film directed by Frank Coraci, co-written, produced by, and starring Kevin James as a biology teacher who attempts to save his school's music program by becoming an MMA fighter. It was also written by Allan Loeb and Rock Reuben with music by Rupert Gregson-Williams. The film co-stars Henry Winkler and Salma Hayek. It was produced by Happy Madison Productions. The film was released in the United States on October 12, 2012 by Columbia Pictures. The film's title is taken from the song "Boom" by Christian nu-metal band P.O.D.


title: Here Comes the Boom

text: Former Division I collegiate wrestler Scott Voss is a 42-year-old bored and disillusioned biology teacher at the failing Wilkinson High School. Budget cutbacks at the school jeopardize the continuation of its music program, which would result in its teacher, Marty Streb, being laid off. Concerned for both his colleague and his students, Scott attempts to raise the $48,000 necessary to keep the music program. He moonlights as a night instructor for an adult citizenship class, where student Niko requests outside tutoring. When Scott arrives at Niko's apartment, he learns that Niko is a former MMA fighter. While watching the UFC at Niko's apartment, Scott learns that the loser of a fight receives $10,000, which gives him the idea of raising the money by fighting and losing in MMA.


title: Here Comes the Boom

text: Scott, helped by Niko and Marty, begins with small unsanctioned bouts paying only $750 to the loser. Niko begins training him in defense, later adding trainer Mark to teach offense, after Scott knocks out opponent "Lucky" Patrick Murray and realizes that wins give larger payouts, needing fewer fights to achieve his goal. While Marty trains with Scott, Malia De La Cruz, one of Scott's students and a band member, helps Niko study for his citizenship test by putting the information into songs. Scott then begins fighting in small MMA fights and gradually gains greater amounts of money for the school.


title: Here Comes the Boom

text: Scott has been pursuing the school nurse, Bella Flores, and they share moments flirting with each other, while also rekindling Scott's passion for teaching. He begins to engage the class and earns the respect of his students. Scott is within $6,000 of his goal when Mark tells him that Niko turned down a sanctioned UFC fight offered by Joe Rogan, with the certainty of earning $10,000 for a loss. Scott confronts Niko, who apologizes and admits he turned it down because he was jealous as he was once asked to fight at the UFC but suffered a neck injury while training, ending his career. Scott and Niko accept the offer, and they travel to the MGM Grand Las Vegas for the fight. The night he arrives, Bella calls Scott to tell him that the school's vice principal Robert Elkins has been arrested for embezzling from the school, including Scott's winnings. All Scott's efforts have been in vain, and he decides he must win the fight and the $50,000.


title: Here Comes the Boom

text: The publicity of Scott's rise to fame has grown, and the school's band appears in the stands to play his theme song, "Holly Holy" by Neil Diamond, thanks to Bella contacting Rogan. During the fight, Marty reminds the losing Scott that even if he does not win, he has inspired the students, which is their real purpose as teachers. Scott has no answer to his dangerous opponent Ken Dietrich, who is angered that his original opponent canceled and that he is stuck with a man that "does not deserve" to be fighting at the UFC. Scott struggles to survive the first two rounds, but after finding inspiration from the students, he manages to win in the third and final round of the fight, earning $50,000 and Dietrich's respect. Scott and Bella kiss through the chain link fence of the ring.


title: Here Comes the Boom

text: In the closing scene, the music program is saved, the school is operating on a normal budget thanks to Scott's donation and Niko and all of the students in Scott's citizenship class attend their American citizenship ceremony.


title: Here Comes the Boom

text: Filming began on March 28, 2011, in and around the Boston, Massachusetts, area. Filming continued on through May 25, 2011, in Lowell and Quincy, Massachusetts, where it wrapped shortly thereafter, by early June 2011.


title: Here Comes the Boom

text: DVD was released in Region 1 in the United States on February 5, 2013, and also Region 2 in the United Kingdom on 18 March 2013, it was distributed by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.


title: Here Comes the Boom

text: In its opening weekend, the movie earned $11.8 million in the domestic box office and ended its box office run with $73 million worldwide.


title: Here Comes the Boom

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a rating of 42% based on 98 reviews, and an average rating of 5/10. The website's consensus reads, ""Here Comes the Boom" benefits from Kevin James's genial presence, but the film doesn't deliver enough laughs to live up to its title or enough satisfying plot to make up the difference." On Metacritic the film has a score of 40 out of 100, based on reviews from 26 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.


title: Here Comes the Boom

text: "USA Today's" Scott Bowles says the film "telegraphs every punch ... but when the comedy connects, it can deliver with funny force". He says, "The film suffers from too many side stories, but it does a nice job capturing the heavyweight battles of everyday folk."


title: Here Comes the Boom

text: Michael Phillips of the "Chicago Tribune" writes: "Once it gets going and commits to its time-worn inspirational formula, it's not half-bad." Neil Genzlinger of "The New York Times" wrote: "If you can choke down the implausible notion that the doughy Kevin James would last more than five seconds in a mixed martial arts ring, Here Comes the Boom is a moderately enjoyable, nontaxing sort of comedy."


title: Here Comes the Boom

text: John Anderson of "Variety" magazine wrote: "Hands of stone meet heads of air in Here Comes the Boom, a sports story so daffy it may as well star Kevin James." He called the film "a triumph of recycling" comparing it to Rocky. Anderson is critical of the different clashing tones of the film, but calls the characters likable, and writes the "violence adds a frisson of tension to the pic’s mix of grappling, romance and anemic social critique."


title: Here Comes the Boom

text: "Entertainment Weekly's" Lisa Schwarzbaum called it "A cloddish, harmlessly drecky comedy from the Sandler factory of crude mush."


title: Here Comes the Boom

text: Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club wrote: "Here Comes The Boom seems to have made it from the pitch stage - Kevin James does MMA to save his school or something! - to the big screen without an iota of inspiration, ambition, or personality seeping in at any juncture."


title: Here Comes the Boom

text: Marc Savlov of the "Austin Chronicle" wrote: ""Here Comes the Bomb" would've been a more fitting title, but props to Henry Winkler for rising to the occasion and turning in a sweet, idealistic performance in a film that otherwise feels like a tawdry commercial for the UFC and MMA."


title: Here Comes the Boom

text: "Here Comes the Boom" was chosen as one of ten best films for family audiences by the 21st Annual Movieguide Awards on February 15, 2013.


title: Park Ji-yeon

text: Park Ji-yeon (born June 7, 1993), referred to as Jiyeon, is a South Korean singer and actress. She debuted as a member of girl group T-ara in July 2009. The group went on to become one of the best-selling girl groups of all time. Apart from her group's activities, she has also starred in various television dramas such as "Soul" (2009), "Master of Study" (2010), "Dream High 2" (2012), "Triangle" (2014), also starred in various films such as "" (2012), "Encounter" (2015). She debuted as a solo artist with her first EP, "Never Ever", on May 20, 2014, making her the first T-ara member to debut as a solo artist.


title: Park Ji-yeon

text: Park was born in Seoul, South Korea, on June 7, 1993, from a Korean family. She briefly attended Hyehwa Girls' High School and graduated from Lila Art High School in 2012. She didn't attend university to focus on her career.


title: Park Ji-yeon

text: She and Hahm Eun-jung are the only two members of T-ara to be trained in acting. Instead, the two switched over to singing despite their original intentions.


title: Park Ji-yeon

text: Park has expressed an interest in modeling. In 2007, when she was 15 years old, she was featured in several pictorials and advertisements for clothing company Smart with Korean boy band SHINee. She collaborated with Davichi and SeeYa on the digital single "Women's Generation", which was released in May 2009, making her the first member of T-ara to appear in public. She appeared in SG Wannabe's music videos "I Love You" and "Crybaby" from their 2009 album, "Gift from SG Wannabe". Early on, the Korean media dubbed her as "Little Kim Tae-hee" due to her close resemblance to Kim.


title: Park Ji-yeon

text: Park auditioned at the Mnet Casting System and joined the company in 2008. She subsequently debuted with T-ara on July 29, 2009.


title: Park Ji-yeon

text: In 2007, Park starred in Lobbyist. In 2008 Park starred in Ae-ja and Min-ja, in 2009 Park starred in Possessed,in 2009-2010 Park starred in High Kick! 2, In 2010, Park starred in "Master of Study", a Korean screen adaptation of Japanese manga "Dragon Zakura". That same year, she played the leading role in horror film "" and starred in the youth drama "Jungle Fish 2".


title: Park Ji-yeon

text: In October 2010, Park became the host for MBC's "Show! Music Core", alongside Bae Suzy, Choi Min-ho and Onew. She also became a cast member of SBS's variety show "Heroes".


title: Park Ji-yeon

text: In 2012, she was cast in the teen drama "Dream High 2", starring Kang So-ra, GOT7's JB and Jin-young, 2AM's Jinwoon, SISTAR's Hyolyn, and Park Seo-joon.


title: Park Ji-yeon

text: Park made her solo debut in May 2014, releasing the title track "Never Ever" (also known as "1 Minute 1 Second"). The music video ranked number one on China's biggest music video site YinYueTai for two weeks straight.


title: Park Ji-yeon

text: In June, Park was cast in MBC's television series "Triangle", starring as the potential wife for Yim Si-wan's character. The same month, she began hosting SBS MTV's "" alongside Lee Hye-ri.


title: Park Ji-yeon

text: In May 2015, Park was cast in the Korean-Chinese film "Encounter" alongside actor Lee Dong-gun. In July 2015, she collaborated with 2BiC's Jun-hyung on the song "Summer Love".


title: Park Ji-yeon

text: In 2016, Park was cast in the web drama "My Runway" alongside Kang Dong-ho. The drama was released on Netflix in December 2016.


title: Park Ji-yeon

text: In February 2017, it was announced that Park would be making her solo comeback after three years with a new album. However, album preparations were later cancelled.


title: Park Ji-yeon

text: In early 2018, Park and her fellow T-ara members departed from MBK Entertainment following the expiration of their contracts. She later signed with Chinese agency Longzhen Culture Development in May 2018. Park and Vietnamese singer Soobin Hoàng Sơn have released music videos for the Korean version and Vietnamese version of their collaboration track, "Between Us". Jiyeon signed with Partners Park in November 2018 for her domestic activities.


title: Park Ji-yeon

text: On November 26, it was revealed that Park would release a digital single in mid December, as a thank you gift for fans. On December 22, 2018, Park released music videos for the Korean and Chinese version of her winter ballad track "One Day".


title: Park Ji-yeon

text: On April 2, 2019, Park was cast in the KBS2's mystery, romantic comedy drama "I Wanna Hear Your Song" alongside Yeon Woo-jin, Kim Se-jeong and Song Jae-rim.


title: Park Ji-yeon

text: On December 26, 2019, Park released her second EP "Senpass", a portmanteau of "Sense" and "Compass". The EP consists of five-track including the title track "Take A Hike".


title: Park Ji-yeon

text: On October 7, 2020, it was announced that actress Park will star in a new web drama called “ Next Door Witch J”. She'll take the role of Seo Je Yi as a beauty creator. In that same month of 2020, the news had been revealed that the actress will star another TV series called "Imitation" alongside Jung Ji-so, Lee Jun-young, Jeong Yun-ho which will air on KBS2 in the first half of 2021.


title: Park Ji-yeon

text: On July 13, 2022, it was announced that Jiyeon will hold her first solo fan meeting , "RE:BLoom" at 7 PM on the 30th at Yundang Art Hall.


title: Park Ji-yeon

text: On July 15, it was announced that Jiyeon would be releasing the 2022 version of the song "Torre", the version she sang 12 years ago.


title: Park Ji-yeon

text: On February 10, 2022, Park announced in a handwritten letter via personal SNS that she and baseball player Hwang Jae-gyun will get married in the winter of the same year. They married in a private ceremony on December 10 at Shilla Hotel. The ceremony was attended by the couple's closest family and friends, IU and Lee Hong-ki sang the congratulatory song.


title: Park Ji-yeon

text: Shortly after her debut as a singer/actress, Jiyeon was revealed to be a child model who has been active in the industry long before her debut. Jiyeonhas modelled for various brands and shopping malls prior to her debut including SMART uniform advertisement for which she won the "Model of The Year" (Daesang) award in 2008, the commercial featured other k-idols including F(x)'s Victoria, Shinee's Taemin. Park also won the silver award at the APM Model Contest in 2007.


title: Park Ji-yeon

text: In 2009, Jiyeon was chosen as cover model for the "Love song" compiliation album, a popular 2000s Original Soundtrack album which sold over 2,000,000 copies in South Korea alone. Jiyeon was chosen as model again the following year.


title: Park Ji-yeon

text: In 2010, Jiyeon was selected as a public relations ambassador of the National Pension Service by The Ministry of Health and Welfare. According to the national tax service the Ministry of Health and Welfare and affiliated organization, Jiyeon was paid a total of 55 Million Korean Won to advertise the service ranking #1 among the highest paid female celebrities.


title: Park Ji-yeon

text: In August 2016, Jiyeon worked as an advertising model with a cosmetic brand for about 360 Million Korean Won (30 Million per month), the product was a personnilzed mask called 'T-ara Jiyeon Couple mask".


title: Haha (entertainer)

text: Ha Dong-hoon (; born on August 20, 1979), better known by his stage name Haha (), is a South Korean singer, rapper, variety show host and member of RGP. He is best known for being in the sitcom, "Nonstop" and for co-hosting two popular variety programs, MBC's "Infinite Challenge" and SBS's "Running Man". He has also hosted his own show, titled "Ya Man TV" on Mnet in 2015.


title: Haha (entertainer)

text: Haha was born on August 20, 1979, in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, West Germany and moved to Seoul, South Korea when he was an infant. His parents are both Korean, with his mother holding a doctorate in psychology, and he has an older sister, Ha Juri () who is a pianist, also with a doctorate. Haha graduated from Daejin University, where he had obtained a master's degree in Drama and Fine Arts. He later signed to Seoul Records and debuted as a singer and rapper in 2001 with hip hop group, Z-kiri. Despite excessive promotion, Z-kiri failed to get popular and was quickly disbanded.


title: Haha (entertainer)

text: In 2002, Haha became a co-host for the show, "What's Up YO!" alongside MC Mong and Jerome To. The three later became known as the "What's Up Trio" because of their strong friendship on-screen. Haha later joined the main cast of the third season of "Nonstop", a sitcom about a group of college students and their friends and family. He remained a part of the cast up until 2003 which managed to gain him recognition for his acting and comedy skills. Haha later became the producer and presenter for his own radio show with MC Mong, known as "Haha and Mong's Journey" in 2004 for SBS Power FM.


title: Haha (entertainer)

text: After leaving "Nonstop", Haha spent two years alongside singer Taw, to prepare and record his debut album titled, "The Beautiful Rhyme Diary". The album was released on February 18, 2005, alongside his debut single, "Love Song" but it failed to chart or garner popularity. He eventually guested on "X-man" on May 22, 2005, and became popular for his imitations of close friend, "Kim Jong-kook". His sudden popularity spike allowed him to become a regular guest for X-man, arguably the biggest variety show of that time.


title: Haha (entertainer)

text: Thanks to his rising popularity, Haha was added to the cast of MBC's "Infinite Challenge" by December 2005 as the part of the program's format changes under new the PD of the program, Kim Tae-ho. By the time Season 3 aired in 2006, the concept and format of "variety & reality program" became very popular, and "Infinite Challenge" became the forerunner of many programs that followed with the same or similar format. Since December 2, 2006, the program has received the highest ratings of prime-time lineups for Saturday evening. In his final episode before entering the service, Haha performed at a guerilla concert at Yeouido Park that was secretly organized by his fellow co-hosts.


title: Haha (entertainer)

text: He also returned as a guest for the sixth and final season of "Nonstop" in 2006. In 2007, Haha released his second single, "You're My Destiny" which took samples from the song "Stand by Me" by Ben E. King. The single managed to reach number one on the Gaon Chart and he performed it on his Comeback Stage on "Music Bank" in November. Haha later joined the show, Happy Shares Company as a co-host until February 2008.


title: Haha (entertainer)

text: In February 2008, Haha temporarily left "Infinite Challenge" in order to serve his national service in the army. Previous reports had stated that he had been attempting to evade his military service. However, these reports were confirmed to be false and Haha's service had only been postponed. During his service, he collaborated with a new group Davichi for their song "Love and War". After 24 months of serving the military, on March 11, 2010, he was discharged.


title: Haha (entertainer)

text: After finishing his military service, Haha returned as a cast of "Infinite Challenge" following requests from his fellow co-hosts, Yoo Jae-suk and Noh Hong-chul. He also made regular guest appearances on Yoo Jae-suk's talk show "Come to Play" and was also the co-host of the "Haha-Mong Show" with MC Mong up until allegations sprung up that MC Mong had attempted to evade his military service. Since 2010, Haha is one of the co-hosts for SBS variety show, "Running Man". On December 30, 2011, Haha received the award for "Best Entertainer" during the 2011 SBS Entertainment Awards for his work on <nowiki>"Running Man"</nowiki>. He also performed his single, "Rosa" during the award ceremony.


title: Haha (entertainer)

text: In 2012, he continued his musical career by collaborating on a mini-album, "Skull & Haha Ya Man", with fellow reggae artist Skull, who was previously with Stony Skunk. The two performed one of its tracks, "Busan Vacance" on several TV music shows, and Haha performed the song along with other cast members during fan meets for the "Running Man" show. In 2012 he was also featured along with Gary, on their fellow "Running Man" cast member Kim Jong-kook's comeback album, "Volume 7 – Journey Home" in the song "Words I Want to Say to You".


title: Haha (entertainer)

text: In 2013, Haha collaborated with Skull once again, on a single titled "돈암동 멜로디" as well as an EP titled "REGGAErilla". Also, Haha and his wife welcomed their first son, Ha Dream, on July 9 on that year.


title: Haha (entertainer)

text: In 2014, he and Kim Jong-kook formed a musical duo, Running Man Brothers, and visited the United States for a concert tour, in July and December.


title: Haha (entertainer)

text: In 2016, Haha collaborated with Skull on a single titled "Love Inside", featuring Stephen Marley. The song ranked in the top ten of a Jamaican video chart when it was released. He has 2 new variety shows: Talking Road and Rebound. In addition, he will be hosting alongside Jeong Jun-ha for a new high school rap battle show, to be aired on Mnet in 2017.


title: Haha (entertainer)

text: In 2018, Haha had decided to resign as the CEO of Quan Entertainment and his longtime manager, Jang Hyung-chul will be taking over the position.


title: Haha (entertainer)

text: On December 8, 2021, Haha released his second extended play "Gap", the first for 10 years since "Quan Ninomarley A.K.A HaHa Reggae Wave" in 2011.


title: Haha (entertainer)

text: On August 15, 2012, it was announced that he was going to marry South Korean singer Byul. The couple married on November 30, 2012. The couple welcomed their first child, Dream, on July 9, 2013. Their second son, Soul, was born on March 22, 2017. Their third child, a daughter, Song, was born on July 15, 2019.


title: Sinitic languages

text: The Sinitic languages (漢語族/汉语族), often synonymous with "Chinese languages", are a group of East Asian analytic languages that constitute the major branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family. It is frequently proposed that there is a primary split between the Sinitic languages and the rest of the family (the Tibeto-Burman languages). This view is rejected by a number of researchers but has found phylogenetic support among others. The Greater Bai languages, whose classification is difficult, may be an offshoot of Old Chinese and thus Sinitic; otherwise Sinitic is defined only by the many varieties of Chinese unified by a common writing system, and usage of the term "Sinitic" may reflect the linguistic view that Chinese constitutes a family of distinct languages, rather than variants of a single language.


title: Sinitic languages

text: The total speakers of the Chinese macrolanguage is 1,521,943,700, of which about 73.5% (1,118,584,040) speak a Mandarin dialect. The estimated number of speakers globally, both native and secondary, of the larger branches of the Sinitic languages are listed below (2018–19):


title: Sinitic languages

text: Dialectologist Jerry Norman estimated that there are hundreds of mutually unintelligible Sinitic languages. They form a dialect continuum in which differences generally become more pronounced as distances increase, though there are also some sharp boundaries.


title: Sinitic languages

text: The traditional, dialectological classification of Chinese languages is based on the evolution of the sound categories of Middle Chinese. Little comparative work has been done (the usual way of reconstructing the relationships between languages), and little is known about mutual intelligibility. Even within the dialectological classification, details are disputed, such as the establishment in the 1980s of three new top-level groups: Huizhou, Jin and Pinghua, despite the fact that Pinghua is itself a pair of languages and Huizhou may be half a dozen.


title: Sinitic languages

text: Like Bai, the Min languages are commonly thought to have split off directly from Old Chinese. The evidence for this split is that all Sinitic languages apart from the Min group can be fit into the structure of the "Qieyun", a 7th-century rime dictionary. However, this view is not universally accepted.