title: Sonoma, California

text: When the U.S. military occupation of California ended in 1850, when California was admitted as a state, Sonoma was named the county seat for Sonoma County. About that time the flow of miners had slowed and the U.S. Army was leaving Sonoma. Business in Sonoma moved into a recession in 1851. Surrounding towns such as Petaluma and Santa Rosa were developing and gaining population faster than Sonoma. An 1854 special election moved the county seat and its entailed economic activity to Santa Rosa.


title: Sonoma, California

text: Parts of Wes Craven's "Scream" (1996) were filmed in the city, with shots of the Sonoma Community Center masked as Westboro High School.


title: Sonoma, California

text: The city is situated in the Sonoma Valley, with the Mayacamas Mountains to the east and the Sonoma Mountains to the west, with the prominent landform Sears Point to the southwest. Sonoma has an area of .


title: Sonoma, California

text: The principal watercourse in the town is Sonoma Creek, which flows in a southerly direction to discharge ultimately to the Napa Sonoma Marsh; Arroyo Seco Creek is a tributary to Schell Creek with a confluence in the eastern portion of the town.


title: Sonoma, California

text: The active Rodgers Fault lies to the west of Sonoma Creek; however, the risk of major damage is mitigated by the fact that most of the soils beneath the city consist of a slight alluvial terrace underlain by strongly cemented sedimentary and volcanic rock. To the immediate south, west and east are deeper rich, alluvial soils that support valuable agricultural cultivation. The mountain block to the north rises to 1,200 feet (366 m) and provides an important scenic backdrop.


title: Sonoma, California

text: Sonoma has a typical lowland near-coastal Californian warm-summer mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification "") with hot, dry summers (although nights are comfortably cool) and cool, wet winters. In January, the normal high is and the typical low is . In July, the normal high is and the normal low is . There are an average of 58.1 days with highs of 90 °F (32 °C) or higher and 12.1 days with highs of . The highest temperature on record was on July 13, 1972, and the lowest temperature was on December 22, 1990. Normal annual precipitation is . The wettest month on record was in January 1995. The greatest 24-hour rainfall was on January 4, 1982. There are an average of 68.6 days with measurable precipitation. Snow has rarely fallen, but fell in January 1907; more recently, snow flurries were observed on February 5, 1976, and in the winter of 2001.


title: Sonoma, California

text: The 2010 United States Census reported that Sonoma had a population of 10,648. The population density was . The racial makeup of Sonoma was 9,242 (86.8%) White, 52 (0.5%) African American, 56 (0.5%) Native American, 300 (2.8%) Asian, 23 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 711 (6.7%) from other races, and 264 (2.5%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1,634 persons (15.3%).


title: Sonoma, California

text: Within the Sonoma Valley, the racial makeup was 46.3% White, 49.1% Hispanic, and 2.7% Native American. The average household income was $96,722. The Census reported that 10,411 people (97.8% of the population) lived in households, 11 (0.1%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 226 (2.1%) were institutionalized.


title: Sonoma, California

text: There were 4,955 households, out of which 1,135 (22.9%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 2,094 (42.3%) were married couples living together, 425 (8.6%) had a female householder with no husband present, 174 (3.5%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 230 (4.6%) unmarried partnerships, and 48 (1.0%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 1,920 households (38.7%) were made up of individuals, and 1,054 (21.3%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.10. There were 2,693 families (54.3% of all households); the average family size was 2.82.


title: Sonoma, California

text: The population was spread out, with 1,920 people (18.0%) under the age of 18, 559 people (5.2%) aged 18 to 24, 2,252 people (21.1%) aged 25 to 44, 3,250 people (30.5%) aged 45 to 64, and 2,667 people (25.0%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 49.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.8 males.


title: Sonoma, California

text: There were 5,544 housing units at an average density of , of which 2,928 (59.1%) were owner-occupied, and 2,027 (40.9%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.6%; the rental vacancy rate was 7.0%. 6,294 people (59.1% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 4,117 people (38.7%) lived in rental housing units.


title: Sonoma, California

text: At the previous census of 2000, there were 9,128 people, 4,373 households, and 2,361 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,442/sq mi (1,330/km). There were 4,671 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 93.80% White, 0.36% African American, 0.34% Native American, 1.70% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 1.61% from other races, and 2.14% from two or more races. 6.85% of the population were Hispanics (of any race).


title: Sonoma, California

text: There were 4,373 households, of which 21.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.5% were married couples living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.0% were non-families. 39.2% of households consisted of individuals, and 21.5% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.07 and the average family size was 2.77. The age distribution was as follows: 18.6% under the age of 18, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 23.5% from 25 to 44, 28.9% from 45 to 64, and 24.2% who had achieved age 65. The median age was 47 years. For every 100 females, there were 81.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.0 males.


title: Sonoma, California

text: The median income for a household in the city was $50,505, and the median income for a family was $65,600. Males had a median income of $51,831 versus $40,276 for females. The per capita income for the city was $32,387. 3.7% of the population and 2.0% of families were below the poverty line. 3.3% of those under 18 and 4.7% of those were 65 and older.


title: Sonoma, California

text: The City of Sonoma was incorporated on September 3, 1883. It uses a council–manager form of government, wherein a council sets policy and hires staff to implement it. The city council has five members, elected to four-year terms. The city council selects one of its members to serve as mayor.


title: Sonoma, California

text: In addition to the official mayor, Sonoma has a tradition of naming an honorary mayor each year, titled "Alcalde/Alcaldesa". The Alcalde or Alcaldesa presides over ceremonial events for the city.


title: Sonoma, California

text: According to the California Secretary of State, as of February 10, 2019, Sonoma has 7,162 registered voters. Of those, 3,694 (51.6%) are registered Democrats, 1,309 (18.3%) are registered Republicans, and 1,783 (24.9%) have declined to state a political party.


title: Sonoma, California

text: The two primary news sources for Sonoma are the "Sonoma Index-Tribune" and the "Sonoma Valley Sun". The "Sonoma Index-Tribune" publishes twice weekly on Tuesdays and Fridays and has a circulation of 9,000. The "Sonoma Valley Sun" publishes every other Thursday and is free. The "Sun" is recognized as the alternative weekly for the Sonoma Valley. It has a circulation of 5,000. Sonoma has a local radio station, KSVY, and a public-access television station, SVTV 27.


title: Sonoma, California

text: California State Route 12 is the main route in Sonoma, passing through the populated areas of the Sonoma Valley and connecting it to Santa Rosa to the north and Napa to the east. State routes 121 and 116 run to the south of town, passing through the unincorporated area of Schellville and connecting Sonoma Valley to Napa, Petaluma to the west, and Marin County to the south. Sonoma County Transit provides bus service from Sonoma to other points in the county. VINE Transit also operates a route between Napa and Sonoma.


title: Sonoma, California

text: The nearest airport with regularly scheduled commercial passenger service is Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport, about northwest of Sonoma. San Francisco International Airport and Oakland International Airport are both about south of Sonoma.


title: Amazon Pay

text: Amazon Pay is an online payments processing service owned by Amazon. Launched in 2007, Amazon Pay uses the consumer base of Amazon.com and focuses on giving users the option to pay with their Amazon accounts on external merchant websites. As of March 2021, the service became available in Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and the United States.


title: Amazon Pay

text: Amazon Pay announced a partnership with Worldpay in 2019, allowing Worldpay clients to enable Amazon Pay as a part of the same integration.


title: Amazon Pay

text: Amazon Pay provides the option to purchase goods and services from websites and mobile apps using the addresses and payment methods stored in the Amazon account, such as credit cards or a direct debit bank account or the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in India.


title: Amazon Pay

text: Amazon Pay Express is a payments processing service for simple e-commerce use cases on websites. It is built on Amazon Pay but without requiring a full e-commerce integration, it can be used to create a button that can be copied and pasted onto a website or added via a WordPress plug-in. It is best suited for merchants selling a small number of products with a single item in each order, such as a digital download.


title: Amazon Pay

text: Checkout by Amazon (CBA) was an e-commerce solution that allowed web merchants to accept Amazon account information and use Amazon for payment processing. CBA could manage several aspects of the transaction, including order processing, promotional discounts, shipping rates, sales tax calculation, and up-selling. Depending on the merchant's needs, CBA could be integrated into the merchant's systems with manual processing (through Seller Central) or through SOAP APIs or downloadable CSV files. CBA also claimed to reduce the bad debt because of Amazon's fraud detection capabilities. CBA was discontinued in the UK and Germany in 2016 and in the US in April 2017.


title: Amazon Pay

text: Flexible Payments Service (FPS) was an Amazon Web Service that allowed money transfer between two entities using a technology built on single, multiple, and unlimited use payment tokens. Merchants managed their service use via API or solution providers. They accessed the account through a merchant account on the Amazon Payments website. The service was launched as a limited beta in August 2007 and, later in February 2009, was promoted to General Availability. FPS differed from CBA because FPS did not handle additional capabilities associated with order processing, such as promotions, tax, and shipping. FPS also provided the payments processing for the Amazon Web Services DevPay service but was discontinued in June 2015.


title: Amazon Pay

text: In 2013 Amazon acquired GoPago's technology (mPayment) and hired their engineering and product teams. Amazon was interested in the mobile payment business. GoPago's app allows shoppers to order and pay for goods and services before arriving at a company.


title: Amazon Pay

text: On September 22, 2010, Amazon published a security advisory regarding a security flaw in its Amazon Payments SDKs. This flaw allows a shopper to shop for free in web stores using those SDKs. Amazon mandated all web stores to upgrade to its new SDKs before November 1, 2010. Amazon acknowledged security researcher Rui Wang for finding this bug. The detail of the flaw is documented in the paper "How to Shop for Free Online - Security Analysis of Cashier-as-a-Service Based Web Stores" by Rui Wang, Shuo Chen, XiaoFeng Wang, and Shaz Qadeer.


title: Eric Haze

text: Eric Haze was born in 1961 in New York City to progressive parents of the Upper West Side. Haze was drawn to art through his father's friend's pop art collection and meeting Elaine de Kooning who gave Haze oil paints while she painted a portrait of Haze and his sister in 1971.


title: Eric Haze

text: In 1972, Haze began writing graffiti throughout New York City. In 1974, he started showing his art publicly, later exhibiting paintings and drawings alongside friends Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat in the 1980s. As part of the seminal New York City collective “The Soul Artists”, Haze was one of the original pioneers to bring graffiti above ground into the mainstream and the first graffiti artist to brand his tag as a logo, creating one of the first street wear clothing companies to rise out of the hip hop era. Haze also appeared in the seminal 1983 documentary "Style Wars".


title: Eric Haze

text: In 1985, Haze graduated with honors from School of Visual Arts in NYC with a degree in graphic design. In 1986, he set up a design studio and due to his unique positioning of coming out of the hip-hop era, began establishing clientele and relationships within that market and community. He has created logos, album covers and identity design for clients including the Beastie Boys, Tommy Boy Records, LL Cool J and EPMD.


title: Eric Haze

text: In 1991, Haze relocated his design studio to Los Angeles, where he also founded his eponymous clothing and accessory brand, HAZE. By 2005, the brand had three stores in Tokyo.


title: Eric Haze

text: In 2000, Haze contributed to the creation of the video game Jet Set Radio, published by SEGA, providing some graffiti of his own to be used in the game


title: Eric Haze

text: In 2005, Haze returned to New York City, setting up a new studio in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Haze has since presented solo exhibitions in New York, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Paris and Tokyo. Haze was also featured in the 2011 landmark exhibition “Art in the Streets” at Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles.


title: Kyle Katarn

text: Kyle Katarn is a fictional character in the "Star Wars" expanded universe, who appears in the five video games of the , the video game "", and in several books and other material. In the "Jedi Knight" series, Katarn debuts in "", appears in "", is one of two playable characters in "", appears in "" and is a major NPC in "".


title: Kyle Katarn

text: Katarn was originally a member of the Galactic Empire, before becoming a mercenary for hire. He regularly worked for the Rebel Alliance and later became a member of the New Republic as well as a skilled Jedi and an instructor at the Jedi Academy, second only to Luke Skywalker.


title: Kyle Katarn

text: Katarn has been well received by most critics, with GameSpot including him in a vote for the greatest video game character of all time, where he was eliminated in round two, when facing Lara Croft.


title: Kyle Katarn

text: Katarn first appeared in "", where he was introduced as a former Imperial officer who became a mercenary-for-hire after learning the Empire was responsible for the death of his father. As a mercenary, he regularly worked for the Rebel Alliance, where he was secretly dispatched by Mon Mothma on missions deemed too dangerous or sensitive for actual Rebel operatives. The game begins shortly before the events of the film "A New Hope", with Katarn single-handedly infiltrating an Imperial facility on the planet Danuta to retrieve the plans for the first Death Star. The plans would eventually be forwarded to Princess Leia, leading to the destruction of the Death Star. One year later, Katarn is employed to investigate the "Dark Trooper" project, a secret Imperial research initiative manufacturing powerful robotic stormtroopers to attack Alliance strongholds. After several adventures (including encounters with Jabba the Hutt and Boba Fett), Katarn terminates the Dark Trooper Project and kills its creator, General Rom Mohc, aboard his flagship, the "Arc Hammer".


title: Kyle Katarn

text: "" takes place one year after the events of the film, "Return of the Jedi". It begins with 8t88, an information droid, telling Katarn about the Dark Jedi Jerec, who killed Katarn's father, Morgan, in his efforts to find the Valley of the Jedi, a focal point for Jedi power and a Jedi burial ground. 8t88 also tells Katarn of a data disk recovered from Morgan after his death which can only be translated by a droid in Morgan's home. After 8t88 leaves Katarn to be killed, Katarn escapes, tracks down 8t88 and recovers the disk. He then heads to his home planet of Sulon and has the disk translated. The disk contains a message from Morgan, telling Katarn he must pursue the ways of the Jedi, and giving him a lightsaber. Katarn also learns that seven Dark Jedi are attempting to use the power found in the Valley to rebuild the Empire. Kyle eventually kills all seven Dark Jedi and saves the Valley.


title: Kyle Katarn

text: "", an expansion pack for "Dark Forces II", takes place approximately five years later. The game focuses on former Imperial assassin Mara Jade, who has come under Kyle's tutelage as she trains to be a Jedi. During this period, while investigating Sith ruins on Dromund Kaas, Kyle comes under the influence of the Dark Side of the Force, but Jade is able to turn him back to the Light.


title: Kyle Katarn

text: "" is set three years after "Mysteries of the Sith". Feeling vulnerable to another fall to the Dark Side, Kyle has chosen to forsake the Force and has returned to his former mercenary ways. Whilst on a mission for Mon Mothma, Kyle's partner, Jan Ors is apparently murdered at the hands of two Dark Jedi, Desann and Tavion. Determined to avenge her death, Katarn returns to the Valley of the Jedi to regain his connection to the Force. Taking back his lightsaber from Luke Skywalker, he sets out to track down Desann. After escaping from a trap with Lando Calrissian's help, Katarn heads to Cloud City and interrogates Tavion, who tells him that Jan is not dead at all. Desann simply pretended to kill her knowing Katarn would return to the Valley, at which point Desann followed him so as to infuse his soldiers with the Force and reinstall the Imperial Remnant as rulers of the galaxy. Katarn spares Tavion's life and stows away on Desann's ship, the "Doomgiver". After rescuing Jan, Katarn defeats the military scientist, Galak Fyyar, who tells him that Desann plans to use his Jedi infused soldiers to attack the Jedi Academy on Yavin IV. Katarn enters the Academy and defeats Desann. After the battle, he tells Luke Skywalker that he is going to stay a Jedi, confident of his strength and dedication to the Light Side.


title: Kyle Katarn

text: "" takes place a year after "Jedi Outcast", and is the first game in the series in which Katarn is not a playable character. The game begins as he is appointed master of two new students, Jaden Korr and Rosh Penin. Rosh soon begins to feel held back and comes to resent Katarn. It is soon discovered that a Sith cult named the Disciples of Ragnos are stealing Force energy from various locations across the galaxy via a scepter. Along with others, Katarn and his students embark on a number of missions in an effort to discover what the cult are hoping to do with the powers they steal. During one such mission, while investigating the ruins of the planet formerly known as Byss, Rosh is captured and converted to the Dark Side by the cult's leader, Tavion (Desann's former apprentice). Jaden and Katarn escape and conclude that Tavion is storing the stolen Dark Force energy in the scepter in order to use it to resurrect an ancient Sith master, Marka Ragnos. After receiving a distress message from Rosh, who has returned to the Light Side and is now a prisoner, Katarn and Jaden go to rescue him, only to discover that the distress signal was a scheme to lure the two in. After defeating Rosh, Jaden is confronted with a choice: kill him and turn to the Dark Side, or spare him and remain on the Light Side. If the player kills Rosh, the game ends with Jaden killing Tavion, taking the scepter and fleeing, with Katarn heading out in pursuit. If the player chooses not to kill Rosh, the game ends with Jaden killing Tavion and defeating the spirit of Ragnos.


title: Kyle Katarn

text: In "The New Jedi Order" series of novels, Katarn becomes the Jedi Academy's foremost battlemaster, a close friend of Luke Skywalker, and a respected Jedi Master. During the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, Katarn helps develop strategies to use against the invaders, and participates in the rescue of human captives from the Imperial Remnant world Ord Sedra. Near the end of the war, the living planet Zonama Sekot agrees to help the Republic; Katarn is one of several Jedi Knights who bonds to seed-partners and is provided with Sekotan starships to use in Sekot's defence.


title: Kyle Katarn

text: During Troy Denning's "The Dark Nest" trilogy ("The Joiner King", "The Unseen Queen" and "The Swarm War"), Katarn is one of four Jedi Masters who attempts to destroy the Dark Nest. Katarn also speaks his mind during a Master's Council session, where he stands up to Chief of State Cal Omas. He, along with Corran Horn and other Masters, believe that Jaina Solo and Zekk could be the next leaders of the Dark Nest. In "The Swarm War" (the final part of the trilogy), Katarn leads a squadron of Jedi Stealth X's against the Killiks.


title: Kyle Katarn

text: Katarn also appears in Karen Traviss' "Legacy of the Force" novels "Bloodlines", "Sacrifice", "Exile" and "Fury", as a Jedi Master participating in Council meetings. In "Bloodlines", he helps to point out the "embarrassment" to the Jedi Order of Jacen Solo's actions in apprehending Corellians on Coruscant. In "Exile", he plays devil's advocate regarding Leia Organa's supposed betrayal of the Galactic Alliance, although he reasserts his loyalty to Leia by being the first to formally declare his faith in her at the meeting's conclusion. Katarn plays a much larger role in "Fury", leading a team of Jedi against Jacen Solo in a capture-or-kill mission. After a fierce four-way lightsaber duel, Katarn is severely wounded and the mission ends in failure.


title: Kyle Katarn

text: Katarn's adventures are also told in three hardcover graphic story albums written by William C. Dietz, which were adapted into audio dramatizations; "Soldier for the Empire", "Rebel Agent" and "Jedi Knight".


title: Kyle Katarn

text: Katarn also appears in the "Star Wars Roleplaying Game" and is a premiere figure of "The New Jedi Order" faction in the Wizards of the Coast Star Wars Miniatures. The Wizards of the Coast web series, "The Dark Forces Saga", highlights his background, as well as those of most of the other heroes and villains found in the games.


title: Kyle Katarn

text: He also appears in the video game "", where he can be used in the 'Skirmish' battle mode as a special 'hero' unit. The game is set between "" and "Episode IV", and, as such, Katarn cannot use force powers.


title: Kyle Katarn

text: The popularity of characters from "Dark Forces" resulted in LucasArts licensing toys based on the game. Hasbro produced Kyle Katarn and Dark Trooper toys, which are among the few Expanded Universe items to be turned into action figures.


title: Kyle Katarn

text: Katarn was made non-canon in 2014, following the acquisition of Lucasfilm by Disney. However, he was later recanonized by "Star Wars: The Card Game" in 2016.


title: Kyle Katarn

text: Originally, the protagonist of "Dark Forces" was to be Luke Skywalker. However the developers of the game realized that this would add constraints to gameplay and storyline, and instead a new character, Kyle Katarn, was created. For "Jedi Academy", an early decision made during development was whether or not to have Kyle Katarn as the playable character. This was due to the character already being a powerful Jedi Knight, and, as such, starting off with the force skills would affect the gameplay. To resolve this issue, the developers chose to make the playable character a student in the Jedi Academy. Katarn was then made an instructor in the academy and integral to the plot to ensure that "Jedi Academy" built upon the existing "Jedi Knight" series storyline.


title: Kyle Katarn

text: Katarn was voiced by Nick Jameson in "Star Wars: Dark Forces". He was portrayed by Jason Court in the full motion video sequences of "Dark Forces II". The in-game model was modeled after Court to maintain consistency. In "Mysteries of the Sith", "Jedi Outcast" and "Jedi Academy", Katarn's appearance is exclusively a polygonal model, without any FMV scenes, in which he is designed to look like a slightly older Court. In "Mysteries of the Sith", he is voiced by Rino Romano, and in the two subsequent games by Jeff Bennett. For the audio dramatizations, he is portrayed by Randal Berger. In Pendant Productions' "Blue Harvest", Katarn is voiced by Scott Barry.


title: Kyle Katarn

text: Previewing the PlayStation version of "Star Wars: Dark Forces", "Electronic Gaming Monthly" called Katarn "a perfect character to star in a first-person shoot-'em-up in the "Star Wars" universe", and said the character has the same rogue-with-a-heart appeal as Han Solo.


title: Kyle Katarn

text: GameDaily's Robert Workman listed Katarn as one of his favourite "Star Wars" video game characters. IGN placed him as their 22nd top "Star Wars" character, praising him as "a gamer's reliable blank state," a feature which they felt made him one of the most "human" "Star Wars" characters. They also stated that Katarn's endearance with fans was because of his "mishmash of quirks and dispositions." In 2009, IGN's Jesse Schedeen argued that the character should not appear in the then upcoming "Star Wars" live-action TV series, feeling that "Katarn isn't very interesting without his Jedi abilities," and that deeply exploring his past was not really warranted. Schedeen also included Katarn as one of his favourite "Star Wars" heroes and video game sword masters. In GameSpot's vote for the all-time greatest videogame hero, Katarn was eliminated in round two when he faced Lara Croft, garnering 27.5% of the votes. In round one he defeated Dig Dug, with 67.6% of the votes.


title: Kyle Katarn

text: On the other hand, GamesRadar was critical of Katarn, calling him the third worst character in video gaming, saying "he's bearded, he's boring, he's bland and his name is Kyle Katarn," comparing his outfit to that of a "beige-obsessed disco cowboy." They also commented that while "originally a genuinely interesting character in the Han Solo mold," they felt that the character had become "emotionless" after he gained force powers.


title: Spittoon

text: A spittoon (or spitoon) is a receptacle made for spitting into, especially by users of chewing and dipping tobacco. It is also known as a cuspidor (which is the Portuguese word for "spitter" or "spittoon", from the verb "cuspir" meaning "to spit"), although that term is also used for a type of spitting sink used in dentistry.


title: Spittoon

text: In the late 19th century, spittoons became a common feature of pubs, brothels, saloons, hotels, stores, banks, railway carriages, and other places where people (especially adult men) gathered, notably in the United States, but allegedly also in Australia.


title: Spittoon

text: Brass was the most common material for spittoons. Other materials used for mass production of spittoons ranged from basic functional iron to elaborately crafted cut glass and fine porcelain. At higher class places like expensive hotels, spittoons could be elaborately decorated.


title: Spittoon

text: Spittoons are flat-bottomed, often weighted to minimize tipping over, and often with an interior "lip" to make spilling less likely if they tip. Some have lids, but this is rare. Some have holes, sometimes with a plug, to aid in draining and cleaning.


title: Spittoon

text: Use of spittoons was considered an advance of public manners and health, intended to replace previously common spitting on floors, streets, and sidewalks. Many places passed laws against spitting in public other than into a spittoon.


title: Spittoon

text: Boy Scout troops organized campaigns to paint "Do not Spit on the Sidewalk" notices on city sidewalks. In 1909 in Cincinnati, Ohio, scout troops together with members of the Anti-Tuberculosis League painted thousands of such messages in a single night. A mass-produced sign seen in saloons read:


title: Spittoon

text: Spittoons were also useful for people suffering from tuberculosis who would cough up phlegm. Public spittoons would sometimes contain a solution of an antiseptic such as carbolic acid with the aim of limiting transmission of disease. With the start of the 20th century medical doctors urged tuberculosis sufferers to use personal pocket spittoons instead of public ones; these were jars with tight lids which people could carry with them to spit into. Similar devices are still used by some with tuberculosis.


title: Spittoon

text: After the 1918 flu epidemic, both hygiene and etiquette advocates began to disparage public use of the spittoon, and use began to decline. Chewing gum replaced tobacco as the favorite chew of the younger generation. Cigarettes were considered more hygienic than spit-inducing chewing tobacco. While it was still not unusual to see spittoons in some public places in parts of the US as late as the 1930s, vast numbers of old brass spittoons met their ends in the scrap drives of World War II.


title: Spittoon

text: A large public collection of spittoons can be found at Duke Homestead State Historic Site Durham, North Carolina. In 2008, the site's tobacco museum added 282 spittoons—claimed to be the world's largest collection—to its holdings of over 100.


title: Spittoon

text: Spittoons have been used in China for a long time; the earliest porcelain spittoon was found in a tomb dating to Emperor Xianzong's reign during the Tang dynasty. During the Qing dynasty and later in Japan, a golden spittoon would be among the numerous objects displayed in front of the emperor at major ceremonies.


title: Spittoon

text: After China became a Communist state in 1949, the spittoon became much more prevalent: spittoons were placed at every conceivable public place, and were commonplace in homes as well. The mass introduction of spittoons was no doubt a public hygiene initiative, motivated by a desire to curtail the still common Chinese practice of spitting onto the floor. The spittoons used in China were typically made of white porcelain, sometimes with traditional Chinese art painted onto the exterior.


title: Spittoon

text: Spittoons were used even during official functions by the political leaders of China; especially when Deng Xiaoping had a frequent use of spittoon with other political leaders. This eventually became a source of ridicule by the mass media outside China. As a response, the spittoons have largely been withdrawn from public spaces in China since the late 1980s.


title: Spittoon

text: In May 2015, the Spittoon Collective came into being, probably the largest English-language literary collectives in China. They publish the Spittoon literary magazine.


title: Spittoon

text: While spittoons are still made, they are no longer commonly found in public places (except as decorations). There are a few companies that currently make spittoons for users of smokeless tobacco, such as MudJug, Spitbud, and Mud Bud by DC Crafts Nation. Professions in which spittoons are commonly used are coffee, tea and wine tasting. A taster will sip samples and then spit them into a spittoon in order to avoid intoxication. Makeshift spittoons, such as large mixing bowls, can be used by people with a cold who are frequently coughing up phlegm.


title: Spittoon

text: Spittoons remained in use in the Southern United States in public buildings at least until the 1970s. For example, the Georgia Capitol Museum in the Georgia Capitol Building in Atlanta, Georgia, has on display a spittoon of the type that was used in legislative sessions into the 1970s.


title: Spittoon

text: The United States Senate also has spittoons spread across the Senate Chamber as they are considered a Senate tradition. Similarly, each Justice on the United States Supreme Court has a spittoon next to his or her seat in the courtroom. However, the spittoons function merely as wastebaskets; the last time the spittoon was used for its customary purpose was in the early 20th century.


title: Guru (2017 film)

text: Guru () is a 2017 Indian Telugu-language sports drama film written and directed by Sudha Kongara and produced by S. Shashikanth on YNOT Studios banner. The film stars Venkatesh and Ritika Singh with the music composed by Santhosh Narayanan. The film is remake of Kongara's own film "Irudhi Suttru" (2016).


title: Guru (2017 film)

text: Aditya alias Aadi (Venkatesh) is a failed boxer who, despite being very talented, falls victim to the dirty politics in the boxing association. Many years later, Aadi, now coaching the women's boxing teams, is extremely angry and frustrated with the partiality in selection. Due to his rift with the association head Dev Khatri (Zakir Hussain), he is falsely charged with sexual harassment and transferred to Vizag. Despite the very poor infrastructure, Aadi manages to find talent in a roadside vegetable seller, Rameswari alias Ramulu (Ritika Singh), who he along with his assistant coach Punch Ponds (Nassar) notices while she is thrashing the judges during her sister's tournament.


title: Guru (2017 film)

text: Ignoring Rameswari's elder sister Lakshmi alias Lux (Mumtaz Sorcar), who has been boxing for 8 years, Aadi offers to train Rameswari for 4 hours daily. But the two don't get along due to Aadi's ruthless training methods and Rameswari's aggressive nature. As a result, Rameswari intentionally loses a local match. Aadi later asks Lakshmi and Rameswari's parents, to send them to stay in a hostel with him so their daughters can work hard on training. Rameswari misunderstands him, but later regrets it when she finds out that Aadi has sold his bike to buy new training equipment for her. Rameswari then starts training with Aadi rather intensely with dedication and develops feelings for him. On the day of a qualifying match, she reveals her feelings to Aadi, and he promptly rejects her. During the warm-up before the match Lakshmi, who is now jealous of her sister, injures Rameswari's hand causing Rameswari to lose. Aadi thinks that Rameswari lost intentionally again and throws her out of training camp.


title: Guru (2017 film)

text: Dev Khatri takes advantage of the situation by calling Rameswari to Delhi for a cultural exchange tournament and makes her fight with a heavyweight Russian boxer, who knocks out Rameswari in a few seconds. A demotivated Rameswari is then approached by Dev Khatri with an indecent proposal, to which she reacts by injuring him. Dev Khatri takes revenge by getting her arrested on false theft charges.


title: Guru (2017 film)

text: Aadi comes to the rescue and bails her out. He later takes Rameswari to Delhi to get her a wild-card entry into the World Boxing Championship. Rameswari works hard and goes on to win the semifinal. On the day of the finals, Dev Khatri removes Rameswari's name from the list and asks Aadi to resign immediately if he wants to see Rameswari in the final, with the same Russian boxer who knocked her out in Delhi. Rameswari gets to fight in the final round but is dejected after learning about Aadi's resignation. She keeps losing points in the early rounds and gets badly injured before Aadi shows up at the stadium and indicates to attack her opponent's arms to make her weak. Rameswari follows the game plan and knocks out the opponent with seconds to go in the final round. Dev Khatri quickly attempts to take the credit for training Rameswari. Still, she punches him and runs towards Aadi and hugs him, showing the emotional reunion of a coach and student.


title: Guru (2017 film)

text: Music composed by Santhosh Narayanan. Music released on Lahari Music Company. Except "Jingidi", all other songs were reused from the original Tamil film's soundtrack. The song "Jingidi" marked the singing debut of actor Venkatesh.


title: Guru (2017 film)

text: Principal photography commenced in September 2016 in Hyderabad. Principle filmography took place in Vizag, Hyderabad, and Goa. The film has completed shooting in the first week of December 2016. While Santhosh Narayanan and Sathish Suriya was retained as music director and editor from the original version of the film, there are some changes on other technical teams. Art director Jacki was roped into the project, replacing T. Santhanam from the original adaptation.


title: Eleni Foureira

text: Eleni Foureira (; born Entela Fureraj; 7 March 1987) is a naturalised Greek, Albanian singer and dancer. She began her music career in 2007 as a member of the Greek girl group Mystique, pursuing a solo career after the group disbanded in 2009.


title: Eleni Foureira

text: Foureira signed a solo contract with Universal Music Greece and released her self-titled debut album in 2010. She later signed with Minos EMI, and went on to release her second and third studio albums "Ti Poniro Mou Zitas" and "Anemos Agapis" in 2012 and 2014, respectively. Both albums were well-received in Greece and Cyprus. Foureira left Minos EMI in 2015, and signed with Panik Records. Her fourth studio album "Vasilissa" was released in December 2017. On June 3rd, Eleni released her fifth studio album called “Poli_Ploki”.


title: Eleni Foureira

text: After being rejected several times in her efforts to represent Greece, Foureira represented Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 with the song "Fuego". She was one of three ethnically Albanian competitors. On 8 May 2018, she qualified from the first semi-final to the grand final, where she finished second with 436 points, thereby achieving Cyprus' best Eurovision result to date.


title: Eleni Foureira

text: In 2019, Foureira released the EP "Gypsy Woman", followed in 2020 by the release of singles "Yayo", "Temperatura" and "Light It Up". In 2021, she hosted the Greek talent show "House of Fame - La Academia" at Skai TV. Afterwards, she collaborated with Greek rapper MadClip on the song "Mporei", which became one of the biggest hits of the year in Greece. The song "Aeraki (To Thiliko)" followed with similar success.


title: Eleni Foureira

text: Foureira was born as Entela Fureraj on 7 March 1987 in Fier, Albania. Her mother is a seamstress, while her father works in construction. She has three siblings: Ioanna, Margarita, and Giorgos. Foureira grew up in the Eastern Orthodox faith, and has a grandfather who was from Greece. When she was four years old, the family moved to the city of Vlorë, and later moved to Greece due to the Albanian Civil War in 1997. While living in Albania, the family had electricity for only two hours a day, and left for Greece after their home was hit with bullets. Upon arriving in Greece, Foureira and her family settled in Athens.


title: Eleni Foureira

text: Foureira began pursuing music at a young age, learning how to play guitar and later working in a theatre for three years.


title: Eleni Foureira

text: Foureira began her music career as a member of the girl group Mystique. She was discovered by Andreas Giatrakos, and the group also consisted of Alkmini Chatzigianni and Maria Makri. They released their debut single "Se alli selida" in 2007, and later achieved success with the single "Min kaneis pos de thymasai" featuring Greek hip hop group NEVMA the following year. They broke up in 2009.


title: Eleni Foureira

text: After Mystique broke up, Foureira signed a solo contract with Universal Music Greece, the same label as Mystique. She appeared on the charity program "Just the Two of Us", hosted by Mega Channel. She tied for first place along with singer Panagiotis Petrakis. Foureira released her self-titled debut studio album in December 2010. Afterwards, she signed with Minos EMI. Her second album "Ti Poniro Mou Zitas" was released in 2012, while her third "Anemos agapis" was released in 2014. From 2015 to 2016, she starred as Sofia in the musical "" in Athens, alongside other Greek pop stars such as Ivi Adamou and Katy Garbi. Following the release of "Anemos agapis", she left Minos EMI and signed with Panik Records. She was a judge on season three of the Greek version of "So You Think You Can Dance". Her fourth studio album "Vasilissa" was released in 2017.


title: Eleni Foureira

text: Foureira has made several attempts to represent Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest. In 2010, she took part in the Greek national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with Manos Pyrovolakis, performing the song "Kivotos tou Noe". They placed second behind Giorgos Alkaios. In 2013, she performed "Wild Dances" with Ruslana at Eurosong 2013 – a MAD show. She later considered taking part in Eurosong 2015 - NERIT & MAD show, but ultimately did not. She once again attempted to represent Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Come Tiki Tam", but was rejected by Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT). In 2017, she was rejected by the broadcaster for the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 once again.


title: Eleni Foureira

text: In February 2018, it was confirmed that Foureira would represent Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 with the song "Fuego". The song was composed by Greek-Swedish songwriter Alex Papaconstantinou. Foureira was seen as one of three ethnic Albanians competing that year, each of them representing different countries. Foureira posed with Albanian contestant Eugent Bushpepa, making the crossed hands gesture denoting the double eagle of the Flag of Albania. In response, nationalist Greeks spoke out against Foureira, saying she should be removed from the contest, but Cyprus continued to support her. On 8 May 2018, she qualified from the first semi-final to the grand final. In the final held on 12 May 2018, she finished as the runner-up to winner Netta from Israel, having received the fifth most votes from the international juries and the second most votes from the public televoting process; this marked Cyprus' best Eurovision placement in history.


title: Eleni Foureira

text: Shortly after Eurovision 2018, Eleni signed a record deal with Sony Music. By doing so, she become only the second Greek artist to sign an international deal with a major record label after Helena Paparizou (who won the Eurovision Song Contest 2005). In late June, she released her Greek single "Caramela", which topped the Digital Single Chart. In mid-October, she released the non-album single "Tómame", which was also number one hit. Towards the end of the year, it was announced that "Fuego" has been certified platinum in Spain, and gold in Norway and Sweden, becoming Eleni's first song to achieve this.


title: Eleni Foureira

text: On 17 May 2019, Eleni released her first international project, an extended play titled Gypsy Woman (EP), which includes the song "El Ritmo Psicodelico" as the lead single. To further promote her studio project, she embarked on a European tour in various cities in Greece, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Around the same time, during the Host Broadcaster press conference of the Eurovision Song Contest 2019, Foureira was announced as one of the four artists from previous contests that will perform as an interval act in the final, where she performed the 2007 runner-up Verka Serduchka's song "Dancing Lasha Tumbai". Throughout the rest of the year, she mostly took part in collaborations with artists such as Kaan and Snoop Dogg, and Claydee. In March 2020, she released the electropop and R&B single Yayo. In June, she released a Greek single "Temperatura", which was later accompanied with a Spanish version.


title: Eleni Foureira

text: In December 2019, she performed as a surprise guest at Festivali i Këngës 58, the Albanian national selection contest for Eurovision, held in Tirana, Albania. After performing a medley of her own songs and international hits, she sang a few Albanian folk songs alongside TV presenter Alketa Vejsiu, accompanied with a monologue in the Albanian language on her Albanian roots, since she moved from Albania during her childhood.


title: Eleni Foureira

text: Towards the end of 2020, Eleni Foureira released two dance-pop, electropop, nu-disco, and synth-pop records "Light It Up" (in October) and "Dokimase Me" (in December), both of which contain 1980s and retrofuturism tropes. Around the same time, during a live stream on her official Instagram account, the singer revealed that her forthcoming second extended play, entitled "Light It Up", is set for release in early 2021. At May 2021 she released a song with Greek rapper MadClip, titled "Mporei", which was awarded as the best duet at Super Music Awards


title: Eleni Foureira

text: In May 2022, she collaborated on "Mono Esy Kai Ego" with Greek singer Konstantinos Argiros. On 3 June 2022, Foureira released her fifth studio album, "Poli Ploki", preceded by the singles "Mporei" and "Aeraki (To Thiliko)".


title: Eleni Foureira

text: Since 2017, she has been in a relationship with Alberto Botía, a Spanish footballer who was playing in Greece for Olympiacos F.C. at the time. On November 13 2022, Eleni Foureira announced her pregnancy via her Instagram account.


title: Eleni Foureira

text: Since the beginning of her career, the Greek media have speculated on Foureira's ancestral origins. As a member of Mystique, she claimed to be Brazilian. She later claimed that her father was from Athens and her mother from Ioannina, although she had some Mexican ancestry as well. In 2018, Foureira confirmed that she became a Greek citizen through descent, and also declared that her grandfather was Greek.


title: Eleni Foureira

text: In 2013, it was reported by the Greek media that Foureira was born in Albania and that her birth name was Entela Fureraj. Foureira did not comment on the reports until 2014, when she confirmed them. She claimed that she did not reveal her origin in order to be accepted in the music industry in Greece. She continued claiming she never understood the issue, since she always felt Greek and she has received only Greek education. Andreas Giatrakos, who discovered Foureira and recruited her to join Mystique, later stated that he wanted Foureira to be proud of her origin and would not have rejected her if he knew she was born in Albania.


title: Eleni Foureira

text: During the Eurovision Song Contest 2018, Foureira made the Albanian patriotic eagle gesture in a photo with Albanian singer Eugent Bushpepa. The image went viral in Albania and Greece, being well-received in the former but causing controversy in the latter.


title: Chinese treasure ship

text: A Chinese treasure ship (, literally "gem ship") is a type of large wooden ship in the fleet of admiral Zheng He, who led seven voyages during the early 15th-century Ming dynasty. The size of Chinese treasure ship has been a subject of debate with the "History of Ming" recording the size of 44 "zhang" or 44.4 "zhang", which has been interpreted by some as over in length, while others have stated that Zheng He's largest ship was about or less in length.


title: Chinese treasure ship

text: The "History of Ming" (1739) credits the first voyage with 62 treasure ships crewed by 27,800 men. A Zheng He era inscription in the Jinghai Temple in Nanjing gave the size of Zheng He ships in 1405 as 2,000 liao (500 tons), but did not give the number of ships.


title: Chinese treasure ship

text: Alongside the treasures were also another 255 ships according to the "" (1520), giving the combined fleet of the first voyage a total of 317 ships. However, the addition of 255 ships is a case of double accounting according to Edward L. Dreyer, who notes that the "Taizong Shilu" does not distinguish the order of 250 ships from the treasure ships. As such the first fleet would have been around 250 ships including the treasure ships.


title: Chinese treasure ship

text: The second voyage consisted of 249 ships. The Jinghai Temple inscription gave the ship dimensions in 1409 as 1500 liao (375 tons).


title: Chinese treasure ship

text: According to the "Xingcha Shenglan" (1436), the third voyage consisted of 48 treasure ships, not including other ships.


title: Chinese treasure ship

text: The "Xingcha Shenglan" states that the fourth voyage consisted of 63 treasure ships crewed by 27,670 men.


title: Chinese treasure ship

text: According to the Liujiagang and Changle Inscriptions, the seventh voyage had "more than a hundred large ships".


title: Chinese treasure ship

text: The most contemporary non-Chinese record of the expeditions is an untitled and anonymous annalistic account of the then-ruling Rasūlid dynasty of Yemen, compiled in the years 1439–1440. It reports the arrival of Chinese ships in 1419, 1423, and 1432, which approximately correspond to Zheng He's fifth, sixth, and seventh voyages. The 1419 arrival is described thus:


title: Chinese treasure ship

text: Niccolò de' Conti (–1469), a contemporary of Zheng He, was also an eyewitness of Chinese ships in Southeast Asia, claiming to have seen five-masted junks of about 2000 tons* burthen:


title: Chinese treasure ship

text: Although active prior to the treasure voyages, both Marco Polo (1254–1325) and Ibn Battuta (1304–1369) attest to large multi-masted ships carrying 500 to 1000 passengers in Chinese waters. The large ships (up to 5,000 "liao" or 1520–1860 tons burden) would carry 500–600 men, and the second class (1,000–2,000 "liao") would carry 200–300 men. Unlike Ming treasure ships, Song and Yuan great junks were propelled by oars, and have with them smaller junks, probably for maneuvering aids. The largest junks (5,000 "liao") may have had a hull length twice that of Quanzhou ship (1,000 "liao"), that is . However, the usual Chinese trading junks pre-1500 was around long, with the length of only becoming the norm after 1500 CE. Large size could be a disadvantage for shallow harbors of southern seas, and the presence of numerous reefs exacerbates this.


title: Chinese treasure ship

text: The most contemporary accounts of the treasure ships come from the "Taizong Shilu", which contains 24 notices from 1403 to 1419 for the construction of ships at several locations.


title: Chinese treasure ship

text: In 1407, 249 vessels were ordered "to be prepared for embassies to the several countries of the Western Ocean".


title: Chinese treasure ship

text: On 14 February 1408, 48 treasure ships were ordered from the Ministry of Works in Nanjing. This is the only contemporary account containing references to both treasure ships and a specific place of construction. Coincidentally, the only physical evidence of treasure ships comes from Nanjing.


title: Chinese treasure ship

text: 's "Longjiang Chuanchang Zhi" (1553), also known as the "Record of the Dragon River Shipyard", notes that the plans for the treasure ships had vanished from the ship yard in which they were built.


title: Chinese treasure ship

text: According to 's novel "Sanbao Taijian Xia Xiyang Ji Tongsu Yanyi" (1597), the treasure fleet consisted of several distinct classes of ships:


title: Chinese treasure ship

text: Edward L. Dreyer claims that Luo Maodeng's novel is unsuitable as historical evidence. The novel contains a number of fantasy element; for example the ships were "constructed with divine help by the immortal Lu Ban". Scholars have worked, however, to distinguish the fictional elements from those that the author had access to but have subsequently been lost, including both written and oral sources.


title: Chinese treasure ship

text: The contemporary inscription of Zheng He's ships in the Jinghai temple 靜海寺 inscription in Nanjing gives sizes of 2,000 "liao" (500 tons) and 1,500 "liao" (275 tons), which are far too low than would be implied by a ship of 444 "chi" (450 ft) given by the "History of Ming". In addition, in the contemporary account of Zheng He's 7th voyage by Gong Zhen, he said it took 200 to 300 men to handle Zheng He's ships. Ming minister Song Li indicated a ratio of 1 man per 2.5 tons of cargo, which would imply Zheng He's ships were 500 to 750 tons.


title: Chinese treasure ship

text: The inscription on the tomb of Hong Bao, an official in Zheng He's fleet, mentions the construction of a 5,000 "liao" displacement ship.


title: Chinese treasure ship

text: According to the "History of Ming" (Ming shi—明史), completed in 1739, the treasure ships were 44 "zhang", 4 "chi", i.e. 444 "chi" in length, and had a beam of 18 "zhang". The dimensions of ships are no coincidence. The number "4" has numerological significance as a symbol of the 4 cardinal directions, 4 seasons, and 4 virtues. The number 4 was an auspicious association for treasure ships. These dimensions first appeared in a novel published in 1597, more than a century and a half after Zheng He's voyages. The 3 contemporary accounts of Zheng He's voyages do not have the ship dimensions.


title: Chinese treasure ship

text: The "zhang" was fixed at 141 inches in the 19th century, making the "chi" 14.1 inches. However the common Ming value for "chi" was 12.2 inches and the value fluctuated depending on region. The Ministry of Works used a "chi" of 12.1 inches while the Jiangsu builders used a "chi" of 13.3 inches. Some of the ships in the treasure fleet, but not the treasure ships, were built in Fujian, where the "chi" was 10.4 to 11 inches. Assuming a range of 10.5 to 12 inches for each "chi", the dimensions of the treasure ships as recorded by the "History of Ming" would have been between 385 by 157.5 feet and 440 by 180 feet (117.5 by 48 metres, and 134 by 55 metres). Louise Levathes estimates that it had a maximum size of 110–124 m (390–408 feet) long and 49–51 m (160–166 feet) wide instead, taking 1 "chi" as 10.53–11.037 inches.


title: Chinese treasure ship

text: According to British scientist, historian and sinologist Joseph Needham, the dimensions of the largest of these ships were by . American historian Edward L. Dreyer is in broad agreement with Needham's views.


title: Chinese treasure ship

text: Modern scholars have argued on engineering grounds that it is highly unlikely that Zheng He's ship was in length. Guan Jincheng (1947) proposed a much more modest size of 20 "zhang" long by 2.4 "zhang" wide (204 ft by 25.5 ft or 62.2 m by 7.8 m). Xin Yuan'ou, a shipbuilding engineer and professor of the history of science at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, argues on engineering grounds that it is highly unlikely that Zheng He's treasure ships were 450 ft long, and suggests that they were probably closer to 200–250 ft (61–76 m) in length. Hsu Yun-Ts'iao does not agree with Xin Yuan'ou: Estimating the size of a 2,000 "liao" ship with the "Treatise of the Longjiang shipyard" at Nanking, the size is as follows: LOA , bottom's hull length , overhanging "tail" length , front depth , front width , midhull depth , midhull width , tail depth , tail width , and the length to width ratio is 7:1. Dionisius A. Agius (2008) estimated a size of 200–250 ft (60.96 m–76.2 m) and maximum weight of 700 tons. Tang Zhiba, Xin Yuan'ou, and Zheng Ming have calculated the dimensions of the 2,000 "liao" ship, obtaining a length of , width of , and draught of . Zheng Ming believes that the "Heavenly Princess Classics" depict 2,000 "liao" ships.


title: Chinese treasure ship

text: André Wegener Sleeswyk extrapolated the size of "liao" by deducing the data from mid-16th century Chinese river junks. He suggested that the 2,000 "liao" ships were "bao chuan" (treasure ship), while the 1,500 "liao" ships were "ma chuan" (horse ship). In his calculations, the treasure ships would have had a length of 52.5 m, a width of 9.89 m, and a height of 4.71 m. The horse ships would have a length of 46.63 m, a width of 8.8 m, and a height of 4.19 m. Richard Barker estimated that the treasure ships would have a length of , a width of , and a draught of . He estimated it using an assumed displacement of 3100 tons.


title: Chinese treasure ship

text: One explanation for the colossal size of the 44 "zhang" treasure ships, if in fact built, was that they were only for a display of imperial power by the emperor and imperial bureaucrats on the Yangtze River when on court business, including when reviewing Zheng He's actual expedition fleet. The Yangtze River, with its calmer waters, may have been navigable for such large but unseaworthy ships. Zheng He would not have had the privilege in rank to command the largest of these ships. Some of the largest ships of Zheng He's fleet were the 6 masted 2000-liao ships. This would give burthen of 500 tons and a displacement tonnage of about 800 tons. Because they were built and based in Nanjing, and repeatedly sailed along the Yangtze river (including in winter, when the water is low), their draught cannot exceed 7–7.5 m. It is also known that Zheng He's fleet visited Palembang in Sumatra, where they needed to cross the Musi river. It is unknown whether Zheng He's ships sailed as far as Palembang, or whether they waited on the shore in the Bangka Strait while the smaller ships sailed at Musi; but at least the draught of the ship that reaches Palembang should not be more than 6 m.


title: Chinese treasure ship

text: Xin Yuan'ou argued that Zheng He's ships could not have been as large as recorded in the "History of Ming". based on the following reasons:


title: Chinese treasure ship

text: From the comments of modern scholars on Medieval Chinese accounts and reports, it is apparent that a ship had a natural limit to her size, going beyond, would have made her structurally unsafe as well as causing a considerable loss of maneuverability, something the Spanish Armada ships famously experienced. Beyond a certain size (about 300 feet or 91.44 m in length) a wooden ship is structurally unsafe. It was not until the mid to late 19th century that the length of the largest western wooden ship began to exceed 100 meters, even this was done using modern industrial tools and iron parts.


title: Chinese treasure ship

text: It is also possible that the measure of "zhang" (丈) used in the conversions was mistaken. Seventeenth-century Ming records state that the European East Indiamen and galleons were 30, 40, 50, and 60 "zhang" (90, 120, 150, and 180 m) in length. The length of a Dutch ship recorded in the "History of Ming" was 30 "zhang". If the "zhang" is taken to be 3.2 m, the Dutch ship would be 96 m long. Also, the Dutch "Hongyi" cannon is recorded to be more than 2 "zhang" (6.4 m) long. A comparative study by Hu Xiaowei (2018) concluded that 1 "zhang" would be equal to 1.5–1.6 m, this means the Dutch ship would be 45–48 m long and the cannon would be 3–3.2 m long. Taking 1.6 m for 1 "zhang", Zheng He's 44 "zhang" treasure ship would be long and wide, or 22 "zhang" long and 9 "zhang" wide if the "zhang" is taken to be 3.2 m. It is known that the measuring unit during the Ming era was not unified: A measurement of East and West Pagoda in Quanzhou resulted in a "zhang" unit of 2.5–2.56 m. According to Chen Cunren, one "zhang" in the Ming Dynasty is only half a "zhang" in modern times.


title: Chinese treasure ship

text: In June 2010, a new inscription was found in Hong Bao's tomb, confirming the existence of Ming dynasty's 5,000 "liao" ship. Taking the "liao" to be 500 lbs, that would be 1,250 tons burthen. According to Zheng Ming, the 5,000 "liao" ship would have a dimension of , width of , with draught, and the displacement would reach more than 2,700 tons. The 5,000 "liao" ship may have been used as the flagship but the number of ships was relatively small. Wake argued that the 5,000 "liao" ships were not used until after the 3rd voyage, when the voyages were extended beyond India. Judging from the three images from the Ming era, the largest ships had 3–4 main masts and 2–3 auxiliary masts.


title: Chinese treasure ship

text: The keel consisted of wooden beams bound together with iron hoops. In stormy weather, holes in the prow would partially fill with water when the ship pitched forward, thus lessening the violent turbulence caused by waves. Treasure ships also used floating anchors cast off the sides of the ship in order to increase stability. The stern had two 2.5 m (8 foot) iron anchors weighing over a thousand pounds each, used for mooring offshore. Like many Chinese anchors, these had four flukes set at a sharp angle against the main shaft. Watertight compartments were also used to add strength to the treasure ships. The ships also had a balanced rudder which could be raised and lowered, creating additional stability like an extra keel. The balanced rudder placed as much of the rudder forward of the stern post as behind it, making such large ships easier to steer. Unlike a typical fuchuan warship, the treasure ships had nine staggered masts and twelve square sails, increasing its speed. Treasure ships also had 24 cast-bronze cannons with a maximum range of 240 to 275 m (800–900 feet). However, treasure ships were considered luxury ships rather than warships. As such, they lacked the fuchuan's raised platforms or extended planks used for battle.


title: Chinese treasure ship

text: Non-gunpowder weapons on Zheng He's vessels seems to be bows. For gunpowder weapons, they carried bombards (albeit shorter than Portuguese bombards) and various kind of hand cannons, such as can be found on early 15th century Bakau shipwreck. Comparing with Penglai wrecks, the fleet may have carried cannons with bowl-shaped muzzle (which dates back to late Yuan dynasty), and iron cannons with several rings on their muzzle (in the wrecks they are 76 and 73 cm long, weighing 110 and 74 kg), which according to Tang Zhiba, a typical of early Ming iron cannon. They may also carry incendiary bombs (quicklime bottles). Girolamo Sernigi (1499) gives an account of the armament of what possibly the Chinese vessels:


title: Chinese treasure ship

text: It is now about 80 years since there arrived in this city of Chalicut certain vessels of white Christians, who wore their hair long like Germans, and had no beards except around the mouth, such as are worn at Constantinople by cavaliers and courtiers. They landed, wearing a cuirass, helmet, and visor, and carrying a certain weapon [sword] attached to a spear. Their vessels are armed with bombards, shorter than those in use with us. Once every two years they return with 20 or 25 vessels. They are unable to tell what people they are, nor what merchandise they bring to this city, save that it includes very fine linen-cloth and brass-ware. They load spices. Their vessels have four masts like those of Spain. If they were Germans it seems to me that we should have had some notice about them; possibly they may be Russians if they have a port there. On the arrival of the captain we may learn who these people are, for the Italian-speaking pilot, who was given him by the Moorish king, and whom he took away contrary to his inclinations, is with him, and may be able to tell.<br>— "Girolamo Sernigi (1499) about the then-unknown Chinese visitors"


title: Chinese treasure ship

text: From 2003 to 2004, the Treasure Shipyard was excavated in northwestern Nanjing (the former capital of the Ming Dynasty), near the Yangtze River. Despite the site being referred to as the "Longjiang Treasure Shipyard" (龍江寶船廠) in the official names, the site is distinct from the actual Longjiang Shipyard, which was located on a different site and produced different types of ships. The Treasure Shipyard, where Zheng He's fleet were believed to have been built in the Ming Dynasty, once consisted of thirteen basins (based on a 1944 map), most of which have now been covered by the construction of buildings in the 20th century. The basins are believed to have been connected to the Yangtze via a series of gates. Three long basins survive, each with wooden structures inside them that were interpreted to be frames for the ships to be built on. The largest basin extends for a length of . While they were long enough to accommodate the largest claimed Zheng He treasure ship, they were not wide enough to fit even a ship half the claimed size. The basin was only wide at most, with only a width area of it showing evidence of structures. They were also not deep enough, being only deep. Other remains of ships in the site indicate that the ships were only slightly larger than the frames that supported them. Moreover, the basin structures were grouped into clusters with large gaps between them, if each cluster was interpreted as a ship framework, then the largest ship would not exceed at most, probably less.


title: Chinese treasure ship

text: In 1962, a large 11-meter-long rudder shaft was discovered during excavations at the Longjiang shipyards. The rudder blade, which did not survive, was attached to a 6-meter section of the axis. According to Chinese archaeologists, the area of the rudder was approximately 42.5 m², and the length of the ship to which it belonged was estimated at 149–166 meters. However, such use of this piece of archeological evidence rests upon supposing proportions between the rudder and the length of the ship, which have also been the object of intense contestation: That length was estimated using steel, engine-driven ship as the reference. By comparing the rudder shaft to the Quanzhou ship, Church estimated that the ship was long.


title: Chinese treasure ship

text: The treasure ships were different in size, but not in speed. Under favorable conditions, such as sailing with the winter monsoon from Fujian to Southeast Asia, Zheng He's fleet developed an average speed of about ; on many other segments of his route, a significantly lower average speed was recorded, of the order of .


title: Chinese treasure ship

text: As historians note, these speeds were relatively low by the standards of later European sailing fleets, even in comparison with ship of the line, which were built with an emphasis on armament rather than speed. For example, in 1809, Admiral Nelson's squadron, consisting of 10 ships of the line, crossed the Atlantic Ocean at an average speed of .


title: Chinese treasure ship

text: A copy of a treasure ship was announced in 2006 to be completed in time for the 2008 Olympic Games. However, the copy was still under construction in Nanjing in 2010. A new date of completion was set for 2013; when this dateline failed to be met in 2014, the project was built for 4 years.


title: Outcast (person)

text: An outcast is someone who is rejected or cast out, as from home or society or in some way excluded, looked down upon, or ignored. In common English speech, an outcast may be anyone who does not fit in with normal society, which can contribute to a sense of isolation.


title: Outcast (person)

text: In Ancient Greece, the Athenians had a procedure known as ostracism in which all citizens could write a person's name on a shard of broken pottery (called ostraka) and place it in a large container in a public place. If an individual's name was written a sufficient number of times, he was ostracized—banished from the city for ten years. This was normally practiced against individuals who had behaved in some way that offended the community.


title: Outcast (person)

text: Outcasts, in the India caste system, are individuals or a group that for some reason were rejected by any other caste. It is contrary to caste system, where even pariahs have their own caste. Foreigners not ruled by the Indian nobility in India and all foreigners were sometimes perceived as outcastes and untouchables.


title: Outcast (person)

text: To be exiled is to be away from one's home (i.e., city, state or country), while either being explicitly refused permission to return or being threatened with imprisonment or death on return. It can be a form of punishment. Exile can also be a self-imposed departure from one's homeland. Self-exile can be a protest by the person who claims it, or done to avoid persecution or legal matters (tax, criminal allegations, or otherwise), through shame, repentance, or to isolate oneself in order to devote time to a particular thing. Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that, "No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile."


title: Outcast (person)

text: In the Old Testament, Ishmael, the son of Abraham, was cast out after the birth of Isaac, his half-brother, who is considered the forebear of the Israelites. Genesis 16:12 of the Bible prophesies Ishmael's life as an outcast: "And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren."


title: 2020 Myanmar general election

text: General elections were held in Myanmar on 8 November 2020. Voting occurred in all constituencies, excluding seats appointed by or reserved for the military, to elect members to both the upper house - Amyotha Hluttaw (the House of Nationalities) and the lower house - Pyithu Hluttaw (the House of Representatives) of the Assembly of the Union, as well as State and Regional Hluttaws ("legislatures"). Ethnic Affairs Ministers were also elected by their designated electorates on the same day, although only select ethnic minorities in particular states and regions were entitled to vote for them. A total of 1,171 national, state, and regional seats were contested in the election, with polling having taken place in all townships, including areas considered conflict zones and self-administered regions.


title: 2020 Myanmar general election

text: On 1 February 2021, the Tatmadaw (Myanmar Armed Forces) claimed the results of the election were illegitimate and launched a coup d'état that deposed State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint. The military later annulled the results of the 2020 election, and pledged to hold new elections by 2023.


title: 2020 Myanmar general election

text: The prior elections in 2015 were only the second to be considered at least semi-democratic in the country since 1960 (the first being in 1990, which the military invalidated), as for a majority of its independent history, it was either controlled by a totalitarian dictatorship or a military junta. The National League for Democracy, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, won a majority of seats and votes, taking 86 percent of the seats in the Assembly of the Union (235 in the House of Representatives and 135 in the House of Nationalities), well more than the 67 percent supermajority needed to ensure that its preferred candidates would be elected president and second vice president in the Presidential Electoral College. The party technically also needed at least 67 percent to outvote the combined pro-military bloc in the Presidential Electoral College (the Union Solidarity and Development Party and the appointed legislators representing the military). Although NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi is constitutionally barred from the presidency (as both her late husband and her children are foreign citizens), she was the de facto head of government, after being appointed to a newly created office, the State Counsellor of Myanmar, a position akin to a Prime Minister. Most political parties in the country are ethnically-based, with only two (the NLD and the USDP) having large sway at the national level, although both are dominated by the ethnic Bamar majority. Parties also tend to be based more on personality (based on the attitudes and personality of their leaders) rather than a stable ideological platform.


title: 2020 Myanmar general election

text: The election took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as both the Rohingya conflict and the Rohingya genocide (alongside international condemnation for these events). In addition, the government has also been criticised for restricting press freedom and having failed to deal with the country's economic issues, putting dents in its electoral promise of reform.


title: 2020 Myanmar general election

text: Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy's actions since being elected in 2015 have been described by international media and international organisations including the United Nations, International Criminal Court, and Amnesty International as failing to stop the persecution of the Rohingya people, a Muslim minority group mainly in Rakhine State, although it is unclear how much say they actually have, regardless of their relative silence on the matter. The actions of the military, who are said to hold the real power in the region, have been described as crimes against humanity and a genocide. Over 25,000 people have been killed in the conflicts, with tens of thousands more being injured or subjected to sexual violence, in addition to over 725,000 people having fled the country, mostly to neighboring Bangladesh. Media activity in the province is heavily restricted by the government. The Rohingya are currently classed as stateless people, as Myanmar refuses to give them citizenship, claiming they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, despite evidence suggesting they have been present in the area for centuries. In the rare cases that Rohingya individuals do possess citizenship, the government routinely refuses to acknowledge the validity of documents they provide.


title: 2020 Myanmar general election

text: In addition, some construction and infrastructure projects have been either delayed or cancelled due to supply and demand shocks as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the US$1 billion Yangon Elevated Expressway and the development of the US$8–10 billion Dawei Special Economic Zone and accompanying US$137.1 million Dawei-Htee Kee Road linking the zone to Ratchaburi in Thailand. The government has also not been able to muster up enough funds to put together a stimulus package, only allocating the equivalent of around US$72 million to assist small- and medium-sized enterprises compared to the tens of billions allocated in nearby countries like Thailand. Prior to the pandemic, some areas of the country's economy had been highlighted as trouble spots, including bank lending and tourism. GDP growth is expected to decline nearly 7% from the prior year, with overall GDP expected to about break even with the prior year due to the pandemic.


title: 2020 Myanmar general election

text: Despite only reporting around 300 confirmed cases of COVID-19 nationwide as of early July 2020, Myanmar has limited testing capacity, so the true extent of the spread of the virus is still unknown. Regardless, authorities implemented strict containment measures early on, including travel restrictions, closure of land borders, and bans on mass public gatherings. Nevertheless, the number of confirmed cases has ballooned to more than 50,000 by November 2020.


title: 2020 Myanmar general election

text: In January 2019, the National League for Democracy pushed for constitutional reform, but was unsuccessful because any changes required 75% approval in the legislature, and 25% of seats are reserved for the military. Outside of these seats, the pro-military USDP was also unlikely to go along (as well as other minor parties potentially being unwilling), meaning any proposals were dead on arrival.


title: 2020 Myanmar general election

text: All offices elected by popular vote are contested under a first-past-the-post system, in which a candidate needs only a plurality of votes in a constituency to be elected. All candidates must be citizens of Myanmar. One-quarter of seats in both houses of the Assembly of the Union and one-third of seats in state and regional legislatures are reserved for the military under the 2008 Constitution, and three ministries (Home Affairs, Border Affairs, and Defense) of the national government formed following the election must be headed by a military appointee. After the new legislators take office, the President and the two Vice Presidents of Myanmar are elected by the Presidential Electoral College, made up of MPs from three committees: one of elected members from each house of the Assembly of the Union, and one from the military-appointed members. Each committee recommends one candidate, and the Assembly then holds a vote. The position the candidates are elected to depends on their overall vote total (the highest vote-getter becomes President, while the second-highest becomes First Vice President, and the remaining candidate becomes Second Vice President). People married to a non-Burmese citizen and/or who have children without Burmese citizenship are barred from being elected to any presidential position. Elected officials will take office in March 2021. For a majority, a party or coalition(s) require 221 seats in the House of Representatives and 113 seats in the House of Nationalities.


title: 2020 Myanmar general election

text: On 29 June 2020, the Union Election Commission (UEC) announced the constituency reapportionment for the 168 non-appointed seats of the House of Nationalities (Amyotha Hluttaw), 330 non-appointed seats of the House of Representatives (Pyithu Hluttaw), 644 non-appointed seats of the State and Regional Hluttaws and 29 Ethnic Affair Ministers. The UEC also announced in which constituencies elections would be fully or partially cancelled on 16 October 2020 and 27 October 2020. Elections were fully cancelled in 15 townships and partially in 41.


title: 2020 Myanmar general election

text: Opinion polling is generally rare in Myanmar, meaning there is not much data on public opinion, although questions have occasionally been asked on political and other matters.


title: 2020 Myanmar general election

text: The main item a majority felt the country was headed in the right direction with was infrastructure, while the main reasons people felt the country was headed in the wrong direction included increasing prices of goods, continuing poor economic conditions, and ethnic violence. Illicit drug use and crime were also cited as major problems in the 2019 poll.


title: 2020 Myanmar general election

text: Question: "As of now, in order to amend the Constitution it would require the support of more than 75% of parliament. Do you support or oppose making it easier to change the Constitution by amending this requirement?"


title: 2020 Myanmar general election

text: Most respondents who supported making it easier to change the Constitution also supported changing the requirement that spouses and any children of a candidate be citizens in order to be eligible for the presidency.


title: 2020 Myanmar general election

text: Question: "Do you support giving the states and regions more autonomy and power so that they can make decisions for themselves, or do you think that all power and decisions should be centralized and made by the union government?"


title: 2020 Myanmar general election

text: Despite most respondents preferring more centralized power at the national level, slightly over half felt that states/regions should have more control over natural resources located within their boundaries.


title: 2020 Myanmar general election

text: The 2020 election was observed by domestic and international election observers. In total, the Union Election Commission accredited 7,232 observers from 13 domestic groups at the union-level, an additional 985 observers from 23 groups at the state and region levels. International observers included the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL), the Carter Center, the European Union, and the government of Japan, totaling 61 international observers, 182 diplomatic observers, and 53 staff from IFES and International IDEA.


title: 2020 Myanmar general election

text: A coalition of 12 domestic election observer groups found the election results credible, reflecting the will of the majority of voters. The coalition also noted weaknesses in Myanmar's electoral legal framework, including the 2008 Constitution, and found some inconsistencies in electoral administration and election administration amid the ongoing pandemic.


title: 2020 Myanmar general election

text: The Carter Center assessment did not find any major irregularities with conduct at polling stations. A team of 43 observers had visited 234 polling stations across 10 of Myanmar's 14 states and regions. The Carter Center praised the Union Election Commission's efforts to update the voter roll, train election officials, and adapt procedures for older voters during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also noted that the UEC's failure to provide timely access to election data, and election postponements and cancellations that stopped voting for 1.4 million citizens.


title: 2020 Myanmar general election

text: A month before the November elections, Human Rights Watch issued a report noting multiple issues in the upcoming election, characterizing it as "fundamentally flawed." Its report noted the NLD government's extensive use of state media to promote its political platform, while opposition parties were not given as many chances to do so. Opposition parties also faced censorship imposed on them by the NLD government. Residents without citizenship documents were barred from voting in the election, which disproportionately affected the Rohingya, Burmese Indians and Sino-Burmese communities. Townships in conflict areas faced denial of internet access for months before the election. The report additionally took issue with 25% of the seats in parliament being reserved for the military.


title: Lee (Korean surname)

text: Lee, I, or Yi () is the second-most-common surname in Korea, behind Kim (김). Historically, 李 was officially written as Ni () in Korea. The spelling officially changed to I () in 1933 when the initial sound rule () was established. In North Korea, it is romanized as Ri () because there is no distinction between the alveolar liquids /l/ and /r/ in modern Korean. As of the South Korean census of 2015, there were 7,306,828 people by this name in South Korea or 14.7% of the population.


title: Lee (Korean surname)

text: Though the official Revised Romanization spelling of this surname is I, South Korea's National Institute of the Korean Language noted in 2001 that one-letter surnames were quite rare in English and other foreign languages and could cause difficulties when traveling abroad. However, the NIKL still hoped to promote systemic transcriptions for use in passports, and thus recommended that people who bore this surname should spell it Yi in the Roman alphabet.


title: Lee (Korean surname)

text: However, the majority of South Koreans with this surname continue to spell it as Lee, because conditions for changing passport names are strict. In a study based on 2007 application data for South Korean passports, it was found that 98.5% of people with this surname spelled it in Latin letters as "Lee" in their passports, while only 1.0% spelled it "Yi".


title: Lee (Korean surname)

text: A few people with this surname historically spelled it Ye, as in Ye Wanyong of the Korean Empire. Rhee has also been used, as in Syngman Rhee and Simon Hang-bock Rhee.


title: Lee (Korean surname)

text: As with all Korean family names, the holders of the "Yi" surname are divided into different patrilineal clans, or lineages, known in Korean as "bon-gwan", based on their ancestral seat. Most such clans trace their lineage back to a specific founder, and are generally not related to one another. This system was at its height under the "yangban" aristocracy of the Joseon Dynasty, but it remains in use today. There are approximately 241 such clans claimed by South Koreans. Most people with surname Yi () in Korea belong to either the Jeonju or Gyeongju clans. Also, surnames Yi () and Yi () each have a different clans.


title: Lee (Korean surname)

text: The founder of this clan was Yi Han, a native of Baekje who later married a Silla princess and became a high-ranking official in Silla. His 22nd-generation descendant, Yi Seong-gye, went on to found the Joseon Dynasty. The House of Yi ruled the country for 518 years (between 1392 and 1910) and established many of the cultural, artistic and linguistic foundations for modern-day Korea.


title: Lee (Korean surname)

text: During its reign, the House of Yi consolidated its effective rule over the territory of current Korea, encouraged the entrenchment of Confucian ideals and doctrines in Korean society, imported and adapted Chinese culture, and promoted classical Korean culture, trade, science, literature, and technology.


title: Lee (Korean surname)

text: , the pretender to the Joseon throne is Yi Seok. Members of the different branches of Jeonju Yi survived until the formation of the current Republic of Korea. Many families claim membership in the House of Yi, but few actually descend from this lineage. South Korea's first president, Syngman Rhee, claims descent from the lineage.


title: Lee (Korean surname)

text: The founder of the Gyeongju clan was Yi Al-pyeong (), one of the village headmen who chose Park Hyeokgeose as the first King of Silla. According to the "Samguk Sagi", the Yi name was officially bestowed on the family by King Yuri around 9 CE.


title: Lee (Korean surname)

text: Notable present-day members of this clan includes: Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok (professional League of Legends player and mid-laner for T1), Lee "Gumayusi" Min-hyeong (professional League of Legends player and bot-laner for T1), Lee Je-no (member of the South Korean boy group NCT), Lee Byung-chul (founder of Samsung Group), Lee Kun-hee (the late Samsung Chairman) and Lee Myung-bak (former president of South Korea).


title: Lee (Korean surname)

text: The Gyeongju Yi clan, according to the 2000 South Korean census, numbered over 1.4 million individuals, making it the most numerous of the clans that bear the surname Yi.


title: Lee (Korean surname)

text: The founder of the Pyeongchang clan was Yi Gwang, an official and military commander during the Joseon Dynasty. Yi Seung-hun, who was the first person that brought Catholicism to Korea, was a member of this clan. This was an "yangban" clan, founded somewhere between 1580 and 1607.


title: Lee (Korean surname)

text: The founder of this clan was Yi Dong-su, an official of the Goryeo period. This was a prominent "yangban" clan during the Joseon Dynasty, producing figures including the legendary admiral Yi Sun-shin and the highly influential government official and philosopher Yi I. The clan takes immense pride in producing both Korea's top military commander and arguably top scholar. Both Yi Sun-shin and Yi I are depicted on South Korea's money and have taekwondo forms named in their honor. The clan seat, corresponds to Deoksu-"hyeon", an old division of what is now Kaep'ung County, North Korea.


title: Lee (Korean surname)

text: The Jinbo Yi clan was known for the famous Joseon scholar Yi Hwang, who founded the Yeongnam School and started a private Confucian academy. He also became one of the 18 Sages of Korea (동방 18현). The progenitor of this clan was Yi Seok of the Goryeo Dynasty.


title: Lee (Korean surname)

text: The founder of the Yongin clan was Yi Gil-gwon, who helped in the foundation of Goryeo. Yi Il, a general during the Imjin War, was a member of this clan.


title: Lee (Korean surname)

text: The founder of this clan was Yi Bae-hwan. A prominent member of this clan was Yi Yun-yong, who was the acting Prime Minister of South Korea in 1952.


title: Lee (Korean surname)

text: The founder of this clan was Yi Man-yeong, who was a minister after the fall of the Goryeo Dynasty. He died of strangulation near an isolated mountain.


title: Lee (Korean surname)

text: The founder of this clan was Yi Sun-yu, a prominent official of late Silla. His 12th-generation descendant, Yi Jang-gyeong, was also a prominent official during the Goryeo Dynasty. Eight generations of Jang Kyung's descendants yielded 75 civil examination qualifiers. As of the 2000 census, 186,188 Koreans of the Seongju Yi clan live in South Korea.


title: Lee (Korean surname)

text: The founder of the Hongju Yi clan was Yi Yu-seong, a member of the King's inner circle during late Goryeo. The clan's ancestral seat was bestowed when his 9th generation descendant, Yi Gi-jong, was titled. Hongyang/Hongju is located in present-day Hongseong County, South Chungcheong Province. Especially during the late Goryeo and early Joseon Dynasties, the Hongju Yi clan produced many outstanding and influential people, including Yi Yeon-su, Yi Seong, Yi Seo, and Yi Jong-jang.


title: Lee (Korean surname)

text: The Yeonan Yi clan were aristocrats during the Joseon Dynasty. Several members were Chief State Councillors. The clan also had a high number of Chief Scholars during that period. The progenitor was Yi Mu, who came from Tang China.


title: Lee (Korean surname)

text: It is based in Hansan-"myeon", Seocheon County, South Chungcheong Province. There are two different branches (Hojanggong family and Kwonjigong family). The founder of this clan is Yi Yoon-kyung. One member of the clan is Yi Saek, a Confucian scholar during late Goryeo. He founded an academy that educated the founders of Joseon. The Hansan Yi clan also produced many scholars in the Joseon Dynasty such as Yi San-hae. Modern figures belonging to Hansan Yi clan include Yi Sang-jae, an independence activist during the Japanese occupation.


title: Mymensingh

text: Mymensingh () is the capital of Mymensingh Division, Bangladesh. Located on the bank of Brahmaputra River, about north of the national capital Dhaka, it is a major financial center and educational hub of north-central Bangladesh. The city was constituted by the British East India Company on 1 May,1787.


title: Mymensingh

text: Mymensingh is the 8th administrative divisional headquarter and 12th city corporation of Bangladesh. According to Ministry of Public Administration, Mymensingh is ranked 4th in district status. The density of Mymensingh city is 44,458/km (115,150/sq mi) which is the second most densely populated city in Bangladesh. Mymensingh attracts 25 percent of health tourists visiting Bangladesh. Mymensingh is the anglicized pronunciation of the original name "Momen Singh", referring to a Muslim ruler called Shah Momin or Momin Singh, an ethnic Bengali Muslim ruler. Its elevation is over 19 m above sea level, the highest of Bangladesh's major cities. Mymensingh is close to Tura, a city in Meghalaya from the Gobrakura Land Port.


title: Mymensingh

text: Mymensingh related with old Brahmaputra river, handcrafted duvet called "Nakshikantha" () and a rural ballad called Maimansingha Gitika. The cadet college established in Tangail in 1963 was called Momenshahi Cadet College. The city is known for educational institutions.


title: Mymensingh

text: Mymensingh is one of the sixteen old districts of Bangladesh which was constituted by the British East India Company on 1 May 1787. Being more than 220 years old, Mymensingh has a rich cultural and political history. In the beginning, Begunbari was chosen as the headquarters of the district. However, the district headquarters was relocated to Mymensingh when Begunbari devastated by a flash flood. Earlier Mymensingh was called Nasirabad, after Nasiruddin Nasrat Shah. During the British Raj most of the inhabitants of the town were Hindus. During the British, this district was ruled by Banik Zamindars who moved to India during Partition.


title: Mymensingh

text: From the early 20th century Muslims moved into town. Since then this city has played an important role as a centre for secularism. The Vidyamoyee Uccha Balika Bidyalaya and Muminunnesa Women's College have played a great role in educating Bengali Muslim women. A majority of first-generation successful Bangladeshi women have attended these schools and colleges, including the first woman justice of the High Court of Bangladesh, Justice Nazmun Ara Sultana. However, many Hindu families left Bangladesh during the partition of India in 1947. A second spell of Exodus took place following the Indo-Pak war of 1965. Many people born and raised Mymensingh have left for West Bengal since the 1960s. The exodus continues albeit at a slower pace. On 1 December 1969, Tangail subdivision was separated from Mymensingh and a new District of Tangail was formed. Then in 1977 another new district Jamalpur (including Sherpur) was formed.


title: Mymensingh

text: The nine-month liberation war of Bangladesh started on 27 March 1971. Mymensingh remained free from the occupation army until 23 April 1971. Pakistani occupation forces deserted Mymensingh on 10 December, and Mukti Bahini took over on 11 December, just five days ahead of the victory of Dhaka on 16 December.


title: Mymensingh

text: The city has no officially defined geographical limits. Since the 1980s the city has expanded with fast urbanisation. Mymensingh city is clearly marked by the old Brahmaputra River flowing along its north. Shambhuganj is situated on the other side of the Brahmaputra, connected by the Shambhuganj Bridge. Other ends of the city are marked respectively by the beginning of the Agricultural University campus, the Medical College, Army cantonment and, finally, Sultanabad, a township built for the followers of Aga Khan. A railway line connecting Dhaka with northern districts, built between 1885 and 1899, passes through the city and divides it into two sides.


title: Mymensingh

text: The climate of Mymensingh is a little cooler than Dhaka, as it is closer to the Himalayas, and sufficient to be a monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate (Köppen "Cwa") instead of a tropical savanna or tropical monsoon climate as found further south in Bangladesh. The monsoon starts in May or June and continues till August. It rains heavily and sometimes for days and weeks. During the monsoon, the temperature varies between . The temperature falls below in winter which is spread over December and January and may well include November and February. The highest temperature is felt during April–May period, when it mat rrach as high as . High humidity causes heavy sweating during this period. For western travelers, the best time to visit is between November and February.


title: Mymensingh

text: Mymensingh is the headquarter of one of the eight administrative divisions of Bangladesh. Divisional Commissioner, who is the administrative chief of Mymensingh Division, DIG for Mymensingh division and other divisional civil servants have their own offices in the city, which functions as part of the government administrative setup. Deputy Commissioner (DC) who is the administrative chief of Mymensingh District, Civil Surgeon and other district level civil servants have their offices in the city.


title: Mymensingh

text: One mayor and ward commissioners are elected for five-year terms by direct votes. Mymensingh City Corporation is responsible for all the administrative work related to city governance.


title: Mymensingh

text: Historically, Mymensingh district was known for jute production which was termed 'golden fibre' due to revenue it generated as a cash crop. Due to the high demand for polythene bags and other economic reasons, the jute industry has significantly declined. As Mymensingh is the capital of Mymensingh Division, government employees make up a large percentage of the city's workforce. Mymensingh also has a large unskilled and semi-skilled labour population, who primarily earn their livelihood as hawkers, Rickshaw pullers, taxi drivers, mechanics and other such professions. Agriculture is the most important sector contributing to GDP, followed by the growing service sector in the city. The increasing demand for fish in the local and global markets has generated a new opportunity for local fishermen as well as businessmen to exploit fishing in Mymensingh, and today it is very important to the economy. People have changed their paddy fields to ponds and are cultivating fish. Prawns, sometimes reaching a very large size in the winter, are sold in Mymensingh in great numbers.


title: Mymensingh

text: The entire area between Durgabari Road, and Maharaja Road comprises the traditional shopping area. There are places like Ganginarpar, Boro Bazaar, Choto Bazaar, Mechua Bazaar within this area. There are spots like Jilapi Patty which is for making and selling jilapi. The main road from Notunbazar to the railway station & C.K. Ghosh Road to Charpara hosts a number of shops for manufactured products and clothing.


title: Mymensingh

text: The city center of Mymensingh is along the Ganginarpar Road, which is known as the vein or life line of Mymensingh city. Some more busy area of the city are Chorpara Moor, Town Hall Moor, Zero Point Moor & Bridge Moor.


title: Mymensingh

text: The staple food is plain rice with a curry of fish or meat. Normally people start with fried or steamed vegetable and dal, a kind of lentil soup. Often people squeeze a citron slice or take additional salt while eating and add fresh shallots and green pepper as seasoning. Traditional snacks and savouries include seasonal pitha of various kinds, "dal-puri", and shingara. Home made desserts include Khyr, "Payesh" and "Shemai". Sweets soaked in syrup of sugar, such as "Jilapi", are mostly bought from shops. Pan, a digestive made out of betel nuts, spices, tobacco, and certain other ingredients are eaten by many people, some of which consume it with aromatic "Dzorda". For dinner or lunch, a simple formula is to prepare "khichuri", the broth of rice and lentils, seasoned with spices, and served with chutney or pickles. Ghee (butter) may be spread just before eating. The meal may end with sweet curd. Muri (puffed rice), chira (flattened rice) and khoi (popped rice) are substitutes for rice. They are eaten with gur (jaggery) which is a kind of unrefined sugar. They may be mixed with yogurt or milk before eaten. People use only the right hand for eating.


title: Mymensingh

text: Mymensingh is one of the cities in Bangladesh where Muslims, Christians and Hindus band together. All types of festivals of these religions as well as others like Pahela Boishakh are celebrated throughout the city. The greatest ones are the Eids. During the Durga Puja the whole city is decorated with lights, gates and flowers. Many tourists visit the city at this time. Some Christian families also live in Mymensingh mainly at the place called "Vati-Kashore".


title: Mymensingh

text: Under the auspices of the governor of East Pakistan Abdul Monem Khan, the prayer ground was established in 1962 on of land, including a pond. Every year congregation of Eid ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha are held here in the morning. The prayer ground is walled on sides with coconut trees growing. This place was used to accommodate the Elephants of Maharaj Surya Kanta Acharya in colonial time.