1.
Bamboo
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The bamboos /bæmˈbuː/ are evergreen perennial flowering plants in the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. The dicotyledonous woody xylem is also absent, the absence of secondary growth wood causes the stems of monocots, including the palms and large bamboos, to be columnar rather than tapering. Bamboos include some of the plants in the world, due to a unique rhizome-dependent system. Certain species of bamboo can grow 91 cm within a 24-hour period, giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. Bamboos are of economic and cultural significance in South Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia, being used for building materials, as a food source. Bamboo has a higher compressive strength than wood, brick, or concrete. The word bamboo comes from the Kannada term bambu, which was introduced to English through Indonesian, the subfamily in its current sense belongs to the BOP clade of grasses, where it is sister to the Pooideae. The woody bamboos do not form a group, instead. Altogether, more than 1,400 species are placed in 115 genera, most bamboo are native to warm and moist tropical and warm temperate climates. However, many species are found in climates, from hot tropical regions to cool mountainous regions. In the Asia-Pacific region they occur across East Asia, from 50°N latitude in Sakhalin south to Northern Australia, and west to India, China, Japan, Korea, India, and Australia, all have several endemic populations. They also occur in numbers in sub-Saharan Africa, confined to tropical areas, from southern Senegal in the north to southern Mozambique. Bamboo is also native through Central America and Mexico, northward into the Southeastern United States, canada and continental Europe is not known to have any native species of bamboo. Recently, some attempts have been made to grow bamboo on a basis in the Great Lakes region of east-central Africa. In the United States, several companies are growing, harvesting, bamboos include some of the fastest-growing plants on Earth, with reported growth rates up to 91 cm in 24 hours. Primarily growing in regions of warmer climates during the late Cretaceous period, some of the largest timber bamboo can grow over 30 m tall, and be as large as 25–30 cm in diameter. However, the range for mature bamboo is species-dependent, with the smallest bamboos reaching only several inches high at maturity. A typical height range that would cover many of the common bamboos grown in the United States is 4. 6–12 m, depending on species
2.
Oboe
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Oboes /ˈoʊboʊ/ OH-boh are a family of double reed woodwind musical instruments. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range, oboes are usually made of wood, but there are also oboes made of synthetic materials. A soprano oboe measures roughly 65 cm long, with keys, a conical bore. Sound is produced by blowing into the reed and vibrating a column of air, the distinctive oboe tone is versatile, and has been described as bright. When the term oboe is used alone, it is taken to mean the standard treble instrument rather than other instruments of the family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called a hautbois, hoboy. The spelling of oboe was adopted into English c.1770 from the Italian oboè, a musician who plays the oboe is called an oboist or simply an oboe player. In comparison to other woodwind instruments, the treble oboe is sometimes referred to as having a clear. The Sprightly Companion, a book published by Henry Playford in 1695, describes the oboe as Majestical and Stately. Humorously, the sound of the oboe is described in the play Angels in America as like that of a if the duck were a songbird. The rich timbre of the oboe is derived from its conical bore, as a result, oboes are readily audible over other instruments in large ensembles. The highest note of the oboe is a lower than the nominally highest note of the B♭ clarinet. Since the clarinet has a range of notes, the lowest note of the B♭ clarinet is significantly deeper than the lowest note of the oboe. Music for the oboe is written in concert pitch. Orchestras normally tune to a concert A played by the oboe, according to the League of American Orchestras, this is done because the pitch of the oboe is secure and its penetrating sound makes it ideal for tuning purposes. The pitch of the oboe is affected by the way in which the reed is made. The reed has a significant effect on the sound of the instrument, Variations in cane and other construction materials, the age of the reed, and differences in scrape and length all affect the pitch of the instrument. German and French reeds, for instance, differ in many ways, weather conditions such as temperature and humidity also affect the pitch
3.
Song dynasty
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The Song dynasty was an era of Chinese history that began in 960 and continued until 1279. It succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, coincided with the Liao and Western Xia dynasties and it was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or true paper money nationally and the first Chinese government to establish a permanent standing navy. This dynasty also saw the first known use of gunpowder, as well as the first discernment of true north using a compass, the Song dynasty is divided into two distinct periods, Northern and Southern. During the Northern Song, the Song capital was in the city of Bianjing. The Southern Song refers to the period after the Song lost control of its half to the Jurchen Jin dynasty in the Jin–Song Wars. During this time, the Song court retreated south of the Yangtze, the Southern Song dynasty considerably bolstered its naval strength to defend its waters and land borders and to conduct maritime missions abroad. To repel the Jin, and later the Mongols, the Song developed revolutionary new military technology augmented by the use of gunpowder, in 1234, the Jin dynasty was conquered by the Mongols, who took control of northern China, maintaining uneasy relations with the Southern Song. Möngke Khan, the fourth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire and his younger brother Kublai Khan was proclaimed the new Great Khan, though his claim was only partially recognized by the Mongols in the west. In 1271, Kublai Khan was proclaimed the Emperor of China, after two decades of sporadic warfare, Kublai Khans armies conquered the Song dynasty in 1279. The Mongol invasion led to a reunification under the Yuan dynasty, the population of China doubled in size during the 10th and 11th centuries. The Northern Song census recorded a population of roughly 50 million, much like the Han and this data is found in the Standard Histories. However, it is estimated that the Northern Song had a population of some 100 million people and this dramatic increase of population fomented an economic revolution in pre-modern China. The expansion of the population, growth of cities, and the emergence of a national economy led to the withdrawal of the central government from direct involvement in economic affairs. The lower gentry assumed a role in grassroots administration and local affairs. Appointed officials in county and provincial centers relied upon the gentry for their services, sponsorship. Social life during the Song was vibrant, citizens gathered to view and trade precious artworks, the populace intermingled at public festivals and private clubs, and cities had lively entertainment quarters. The spread of literature and knowledge was enhanced by the expansion of woodblock printing. Technology, science, philosophy, mathematics, and engineering flourished over the course of the Song, although the institution of the civil service examinations had existed since the Sui dynasty, it became much more prominent in the Song period
4.
Dizi (instrument)
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The dizi, is a Chinese transverse flute. It is also known as the di or héngdi, and has varieties including the qǔdi and bāngdi. These names are likely to have multiple spellings, too, depending on the used to convert from Chinese names. Nonetheless, dizi seems to be the most common used in the West. The dizi is a major Chinese musical instrument, and is used in many genres of Chinese folk music, as well as Chinese opera. Traditionally, the dizi has also been popular among the Chinese common people, most dizi are made of bamboo, which explains why dizi are sometimes known by simple names such as Chinese bamboo flute. However, bamboo is perhaps more of a Chinese instrument classification like woodwind in the West, Northern Chinese dizi are made from purple or violet bamboo, while dizi made in Suzhou and Hangzhou are made from white bamboo. Dizi produced in southern Chinese regions such as Chaozhou are often made of slender, lightweight. Although bamboo is the material for the dizi, it is also possible to find dizi made from other kinds of wood. The dizi is not the only bamboo flute of China, although it is certainly distinctive, other Chinese bamboo wind instruments include the vertical end-blown xiao and the koudi. There are many suggestions for the source of dizi, while legend suggest it was the invention of the Yellow Emperor, who wanted to make the bamboo a musical instrument, others suggest that dizi was imported into China during the Han Dynasty. Recently, archaeologists have discovered evidence suggesting that the simple transverse flutes have been present in China for over 9,000 years, fragments of bone flutes from this period are still playable today, and are remarkably similar to modern versions in terms of hole placement, etc. The Jiahu neolithic site in central Henan province of China has yielded flutes dating back to 7,000 BC -5,000 BC that could represent the earliest playable instruments ever found. These flutes were carved with five to eight holes, and is capable of producing varied sounds in a nearly accurate octave. The dizi as we know it today dates to the 5th century BC. There are examples of bamboo dizi that date back to 2nd century BC that has been found and these flutes share common features of other simple flutes from cultures all around the world, including the ney, an end-blown cane flute which was depicted in Egyptian paintings and stone carvings. In fact, recent archeological discoveries in Africa suggest that the history of such flutes may date back a long way in human history indeed. Traditionally dizi is made by using a piece of bamboo
5.
Xiao (flute)
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The xiao is a Chinese vertical end-blown flute. It is generally made of bamboo and it is also sometimes called dòngxiāo, dòng meaning hole. An ancient name for the xiāo is shùzhúdí but the name xiāo in ancient times included the side-blown bamboo flute. The xiāo is a very ancient Chinese instrument usually thought to have developed from a simple end-blown flute used by the Qiang people of Southwest China in ancient period, Xiao are almost always made of bamboo, the best being purple bamboo or 紫竹. Sometimes, the xiao is made of wood that has been carved and hollowed out. They can either be plain, or have a horn inlay at the end and/or various inscriptions along the shaft. Usually, nylon wire bindings along the shaft are wrapped on which attempts to stabilize the bamboo, some players tie a tassel to dangle from one of the lower sound holes, purely for decorative purposes. Xiao are today most often pitched in the key of G, although xiao in other less common keys are also available, most commonly in the key of F. More traditional xiao have six finger holes, while most modern ones have eight, there are a further four sound holes situated at the bottom third of the length of the xiao. There may be a joint between the blow hole and the top finger hole for tuning purposes and sometimes also between the last finger hole and the end. The length of the ranges from around 45 cm to over 1.25 m but is usually around 75–85 cm. Usually, shorter xiaos are more difficult to play because of the need to control ones breath more accurately, the angle to play the xiao is around 45 degrees from the body. The narrowness of the qin xiao makes the tone softer, making it suitable to play with the qin which is a very quiet instrument. The nanxiao, Southern xiao), sometimes called chiba is a short xiao with open blowing end used in the Nanyin, typically, the end incorporates a part of the root of the bamboo. A separate instrument, the paixiao is a panpipe which was used in ancient China, the Japanese shakuhachi and hocchiku, Vietnamese tiêu, and the Korean tungso and danso, are descended from earlier forms of the Chinese xiao. Xiao page from Paul and Bernice Noll site Xiao video Chinese flutes End-blown flute Music of China Traditional Chinese musical instruments Shakuhachi Bamboo
6.
China
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China, officially the Peoples Republic of China, is a unitary sovereign state in East Asia and the worlds most populous country, with a population of over 1.381 billion. The state is governed by the Communist Party of China and its capital is Beijing, the countrys major urban areas include Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Tianjin and Hong Kong. China is a power and a major regional power within Asia. Chinas landscape is vast and diverse, ranging from forest steppes, the Himalaya, Karakoram, Pamir and Tian Shan mountain ranges separate China from much of South and Central Asia. The Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, the third and sixth longest in the world, respectively, Chinas coastline along the Pacific Ocean is 14,500 kilometers long and is bounded by the Bohai, Yellow, East China and South China seas. China emerged as one of the worlds earliest civilizations in the basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain. For millennia, Chinas political system was based on hereditary monarchies known as dynasties, in 1912, the Republic of China replaced the last dynasty and ruled the Chinese mainland until 1949, when it was defeated by the communist Peoples Liberation Army in the Chinese Civil War. The Communist Party established the Peoples Republic of China in Beijing on 1 October 1949, both the ROC and PRC continue to claim to be the legitimate government of all China, though the latter has more recognition in the world and controls more territory. China had the largest economy in the world for much of the last two years, during which it has seen cycles of prosperity and decline. Since the introduction of reforms in 1978, China has become one of the worlds fastest-growing major economies. As of 2016, it is the worlds second-largest economy by nominal GDP, China is also the worlds largest exporter and second-largest importer of goods. China is a nuclear weapons state and has the worlds largest standing army. The PRC is a member of the United Nations, as it replaced the ROC as a permanent member of the U. N. Security Council in 1971. China is also a member of numerous formal and informal multilateral organizations, including the WTO, APEC, BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the BCIM, the English name China is first attested in Richard Edens 1555 translation of the 1516 journal of the Portuguese explorer Duarte Barbosa. The demonym, that is, the name for the people, Portuguese China is thought to derive from Persian Chīn, and perhaps ultimately from Sanskrit Cīna. Cīna was first used in early Hindu scripture, including the Mahābhārata, there are, however, other suggestions for the derivation of China. The official name of the state is the Peoples Republic of China. The shorter form is China Zhōngguó, from zhōng and guó and it was then applied to the area around Luoyi during the Eastern Zhou and then to Chinas Central Plain before being used as an occasional synonym for the state under the Qing
