1.
Traditional Chinese characters
–
Traditional Chinese characters are Chinese characters in any character set that does not contain newly created characters or character substitutions performed after 1946. They are most commonly the characters in the character sets of Taiwan, of Hong Kong. Currently, a number of overseas Chinese online newspapers allow users to switch between both sets. In contrast, simplified Chinese characters are used in mainland China, Singapore, the debate on traditional and simplified Chinese characters has been a long-running issue among Chinese communities. Although simplified characters are taught and endorsed by the government of Mainland China, Traditional characters are used informally in regions in China primarily in handwriting and also used for inscriptions and religious text. They are often retained in logos or graphics to evoke yesteryear, nonetheless, the vast majority of media and communications in China is dominated by simplified characters. Taiwan has never adopted Simplified Chinese characters since it is ruled by the Republic of China, the use of simplified characters in official documents is even prohibited by the government in Taiwan. Simplified characters are not well understood in general, although some stroke simplifications that have incorporated into Simplified Chinese are in common use in handwriting. For example, while the name of Taiwan is written as 臺灣, similarly, in Hong Kong and Macau, Traditional Chinese has been the legal written form since colonial times. In recent years, because of the influx of mainland Chinese tourists, today, even government websites use simplified Chinese, as they answer to the Beijing government. This has led to concerns by residents to protect their local heritage. In Southeast Asia, the Chinese Filipino community continues to be one of the most conservative regarding simplification, while major public universities are teaching simplified characters, many well-established Chinese schools still use traditional characters. Publications like the Chinese Commercial News, World News, and United Daily News still use traditional characters, on the other hand, the Philippine Chinese Daily uses simplified. Aside from local newspapers, magazines from Hong Kong, such as the Yazhou Zhoukan, are found in some bookstores. In case of film or television subtitles on DVD, the Chinese dub that is used in Philippines is the same as the one used in Taiwan and this is because the DVDs belongs to DVD Region Code 3. Hence, most of the subtitles are in Traditional Characters, overseas Chinese in the United States have long used traditional characters. A major influx of Chinese immigrants to the United States occurred during the half of the 19th century. Therefore, the majority of Chinese language signage in the United States, including street signs, Traditional Chinese characters are called several different names within the Chinese-speaking world
2.
Simplified Chinese characters
–
Simplified Chinese characters are standardized Chinese characters prescribed in the Table of General Standard Chinese Characters for use in mainland China. Along with traditional Chinese characters, it is one of the two character sets of the contemporary Chinese written language. The government of the Peoples Republic of China in mainland China has promoted them for use in printing since the 1950s and 1960s in an attempt to increase literacy and they are officially used in the Peoples Republic of China and Singapore. Traditional Chinese characters are used in Hong Kong, Macau. Overseas Chinese communities generally tend to use traditional characters, Simplified Chinese characters may be referred to by their official name above or colloquially. Strictly, the latter refers to simplifications of character structure or body, character forms that have existed for thousands of years alongside regular, Simplified character forms were created by decreasing the number of strokes and simplifying the forms of a sizable proportion of traditional Chinese characters. Some simplifications were based on popular cursive forms embodying graphic or phonetic simplifications of the traditional forms, some characters were simplified by applying regular rules, for example, by replacing all occurrences of a certain component with a simplified version of the component. Variant characters with the pronunciation and identical meaning were reduced to a single standardized character. Finally, many characters were left untouched by simplification, and are identical between the traditional and simplified Chinese orthographies. Some simplified characters are very dissimilar to and unpredictably different from traditional characters and this often leads opponents not well-versed in the method of simplification to conclude that the overall process of character simplification is also arbitrary. In reality, the methods and rules of simplification are few, on the other hand, proponents of simplification often flaunt a few choice simplified characters as ingenious inventions, when in fact these have existed for hundreds of years as ancient variants. However, the Chinese government never officially dropped its goal of further simplification in the future, in August 2009, the PRC began collecting public comments for a modified list of simplified characters. The new Table of General Standard Chinese Characters consisting of 8,105 characters was promulgated by the State Council of the Peoples Republic of China on June 5,2013, cursive written text almost always includes character simplification. Simplified forms used in print have always existed, they date back to as early as the Qin dynasty, One of the earliest proponents of character simplification was Lubi Kui, who proposed in 1909 that simplified characters should be used in education. In the years following the May Fourth Movement in 1919, many anti-imperialist Chinese intellectuals sought ways to modernise China, Traditional culture and values such as Confucianism were challenged. Soon, people in the Movement started to cite the traditional Chinese writing system as an obstacle in modernising China and it was suggested that the Chinese writing system should be either simplified or completely abolished. Fu Sinian, a leader of the May Fourth Movement, called Chinese characters the writing of ox-demons, lu Xun, a renowned Chinese author in the 20th century, stated that, If Chinese characters are not destroyed, then China will die. Recent commentators have claimed that Chinese characters were blamed for the problems in China during that time
3.
Pinyin
–
Pinyin, or Hànyǔ Pīnyīn, is the official romanization system for Standard Chinese in mainland China, Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan. It is often used to teach Standard Chinese, which is written using Chinese characters. The system includes four diacritics denoting tones, Pinyin without tone marks is used to spell Chinese names and words in languages written with the Latin alphabet, and also in certain computer input methods to enter Chinese characters. The pinyin system was developed in the 1950s by many linguists, including Zhou Youguang and it was published by the Chinese government in 1958 and revised several times. The International Organization for Standardization adopted pinyin as a standard in 1982. The system was adopted as the standard in Taiwan in 2009. The word Hànyǔ means the language of the Han people. In 1605, the Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci published Xizi Qiji in Beijing and this was the first book to use the Roman alphabet to write the Chinese language. Twenty years later, another Jesuit in China, Nicolas Trigault, neither book had much immediate impact on the way in which Chinese thought about their writing system, and the romanizations they described were intended more for Westerners than for the Chinese. One of the earliest Chinese thinkers to relate Western alphabets to Chinese was late Ming to early Qing Dynasty scholar-official, the first late Qing reformer to propose that China adopt a system of spelling was Song Shu. A student of the great scholars Yu Yue and Zhang Taiyan, Song had been to Japan and observed the effect of the kana syllabaries. This galvanized him into activity on a number of fronts, one of the most important being reform of the script, while Song did not himself actually create a system for spelling Sinitic languages, his discussion proved fertile and led to a proliferation of schemes for phonetic scripts. The Wade–Giles system was produced by Thomas Wade in 1859, and it was popular and used in English-language publications outside China until 1979. This Sin Wenz or New Writing was much more sophisticated than earlier alphabets. In 1940, several members attended a Border Region Sin Wenz Society convention. Mao Zedong and Zhu De, head of the army, both contributed their calligraphy for the masthead of the Sin Wenz Societys new journal. Outside the CCP, other prominent supporters included Sun Yat-sens son, Sun Fo, Cai Yuanpei, the countrys most prestigious educator, Tao Xingzhi, an educational reformer. Over thirty journals soon appeared written in Sin Wenz, plus large numbers of translations, biographies, some contemporary Chinese literature, and a spectrum of textbooks
4.
Standard Chinese
–
Its pronunciation is based on the Beijing dialect, its vocabulary on the Mandarin dialects, and its grammar is based on written vernacular Chinese. Like other varieties of Chinese, Standard Chinese is a language with topic-prominent organization. It has more initial consonants but fewer vowels, final consonants, Standard Chinese is an analytic language, though with many compound words. There exist two standardised forms of the language, namely Putonghua in Mainland China and Guoyu in Taiwan, aside from a number of differences in pronunciation and vocabulary, Putonghua is written using simplified Chinese characters, while Guoyu is written using traditional Chinese characters. There are many characters that are identical between the two systems, in English, the governments of China and Hong Kong use Putonghua, Putonghua Chinese, Mandarin Chinese, and Mandarin, while those of Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia, use Mandarin. The name Putonghua also has a long, albeit unofficial, history and it was used as early as 1906 in writings by Zhu Wenxiong to differentiate a modern, standard Chinese from classical Chinese and other varieties of Chinese. For some linguists of the early 20th century, the Putonghua, or common tongue/speech, was different from the Guoyu. The former was a prestige variety, while the latter was the legal standard. Based on common understandings of the time, the two were, in fact, different, Guoyu was understood as formal vernacular Chinese, which is close to classical Chinese. By contrast, Putonghua was called the speech of the modern man. The use of the term Putonghua by left-leaning intellectuals such as Qu Qiubai, prior to this, the government used both terms interchangeably. In Taiwan, Guoyu continues to be the term for Standard Chinese. The term Putonghua, on the contrary, implies nothing more than the notion of a lingua franca, Huayu, or language of the Chinese nation, originally simply meant Chinese language, and was used in overseas communities to contrast Chinese with foreign languages. Over time, the desire to standardise the variety of Chinese spoken in these communities led to the adoption of the name Huayu to refer to Mandarin and it also incorporates the notion that Mandarin is usually not the national or common language of the areas in which overseas Chinese live. The term Mandarin is a translation of Guānhuà, which referred to the lingua franca of the late Chinese empire, in English, Mandarin may refer to the standard language, the dialect group as a whole, or to historic forms such as the late Imperial lingua franca. The name Modern Standard Mandarin is sometimes used by linguists who wish to distinguish the current state of the language from other northern. Chinese has long had considerable variation, hence prestige dialects have always existed. Confucius, for example, used yǎyán rather than colloquial regional dialects, rime books, which were written since the Northern and Southern dynasties, may also have reflected one or more systems of standard pronunciation during those times
5.
Jyutping
–
Jyutping is a romanisation system for Cantonese developed by the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong, an academic group, in 1993. Its formal name is The Linguistic Society of Hong Kong Cantonese Romanisation Scheme, the LSHK promotes the use of this romanisation system. The name Jyutping is a contraction consisting of the first Chinese characters of the terms Jyut6jyu5, only the finals m and ng can be used as standalone nasal syllables. ^ ^ ^ Referring to the pronunciation of these words. There are nine tones in six distinct tone contours in Cantonese, however, as three of the nine are entering tones, which only appear in syllables ending with p, t, and k, they do not have separate tone numbers in Jyutping. Jyutping and the Yale Romanisation of Cantonese represent Cantonese pronunciations with the letters in, The initials, b, p, m, f, d, t, n, l, g, k, ng, h, s, gw, kw. The vowel, aa, a, e, i, o, u, the coda, i, u, m, n, ng, p, t, k. But they differ in the following, The vowels eo and oe represent /ɵ/ and /œː/ respectively in Jyutping, the initial j represents /j/ in Jyutping whereas y is used instead in Yale. The initial z represents /ts/ in Jyutping whereas j is used instead in Yale, the initial c represents /tsʰ/ in Jyutping whereas ch is used instead in Yale. In Jyutping, if no consonant precedes the vowel yu, then the initial j is appended before the vowel, in Yale, the corresponding initial y is never appended before yu under any circumstances. Jyutping defines three finals not in Yale, eu /ɛːu/, em /ɛːm/, and ep /ɛːp/ and these three finals are used in colloquial Cantonese words, such as deu6, lem2, and gep6. To represent tones, only tone numbers are used in Jyutping whereas Yale traditionally uses tone marks together with the letter h. Jyutping and Cantonese Pinyin represent Cantonese pronunciations with the letters in, The initials, b, p, m, f, d, t, n, l, g, k, ng, h, s, gw, kw. The vowel, aa, a, e, i, o, u, the coda, i, u, m, n, ng, p, t, k. But they have differences, The vowel oe represents both /ɵ/ and /œː/ in Cantonese Pinyin whereas eo and oe represent /ɵ/ and /œː/ respectively in Jyutping. The vowel y represents /y/ in Cantonese Pinyin whereas both yu and i are used in Jyutping, the initial dz represents /ts/ in Cantonese Pinyin whereas z is used instead in Jyutping. The initial ts represents /tsʰ/ in Cantonese Pinyin whereas c is used instead in Jyutping. To represent tones, the numbers 1 to 9 are usually used in Cantonese Pinyin, however, only the numbers 1 to 6 are used in Jyutping
6.
Cantonese
–
Cantonese, or Standard Cantonese, is a variety of Chinese spoken in the city of Guangzhou in southeastern China. It is the prestige variety of Yue, one of the major subdivisions of Chinese. In mainland China, it is the lingua franca of the province of Guangdong and some neighbouring areas such as Guangxi. In Hong Kong and Macau, Cantonese serves as one of their official languages and it is also spoken amongst overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia and throughout the Western World. When Cantonese and the closely related Yuehai dialects are classified together, Cantonese is viewed as vital part of the cultural identity for its native speakers across large swathes of southeastern China, Hong Kong and Macau. Although Cantonese shares some vocabulary with Mandarin, the two varieties are mutually unintelligible because of differences in pronunciation, grammar and lexicon, sentence structure, in particular the placement of verbs, sometimes differs between the two varieties. This results in the situation in which a Cantonese and a Mandarin text may look similar, in English, the term Cantonese is ambiguous. Cantonese proper is the variety native to the city of Canton and this narrow sense may be specified as Canton language or Guangzhou language in English. However, Cantonese may also refer to the branch of Cantonese that contains Cantonese proper as well as Taishanese and Gaoyang. In this article, Cantonese is used for Cantonese proper, historically, speakers called this variety Canton speech or Guangzhou speech, although this term is now seldom used outside mainland China. In Guangdong province, people call it provincial capital speech or plain speech. In Hong Kong and Macau, as well as among overseas Chinese communities, in mainland China, the term Guangdong speech is also increasingly being used among both native and non-native speakers. Due to its status as a prestige dialect among all the dialects of the Cantonese or Yue branch of Chinese varieties, the official languages of Hong Kong are Chinese and English, as defined in the Hong Kong Basic Law. The Chinese language has different varieties, of which Cantonese is one. Given the traditional predominance of Cantonese within Hong Kong, it is the de facto official spoken form of the Chinese language used in the Hong Kong Government and all courts and it is also used as the medium of instruction in schools, alongside English. A similar situation exists in neighboring Macau, where Chinese is an official language along with Portuguese. As in Hong Kong, Cantonese is the predominant spoken variety of Chinese used in life and is thus the official form of Chinese used in the government. The variant spoken in Hong Kong and Macau is known as Hong Kong Cantonese, Cantonese first developed around the port city of Guangzhou in the Pearl River Delta region of southeastern China
7.
British Hong Kong
–
British Hong Kong was the period during which Hong Kong was under British Crown rule from 1841 to 1997. It was established as a Crown colony and later designated a British Dependent Territory in 1981, Hong Kong Island was ceded to Great Britain by the Qing dynasty of China after the First Anglo-Chinese War. The Kowloon Peninsula was added to the colony after the Second Anglo-Chinese War, finally, in 1898, the New Territories were added under a 99-year lease. The transfer has been credited as marking the end of the British Empire, in 1836, the Manchu Qing government undertook a major policy review of the opium trade. Lin Zexu volunteered to take on the task of suppressing opium, in March 1839, he became Special Imperial Commissioner in Canton, where he ordered the foreign traders to surrender their opium stock. He confined the British to the Canton Factories and cut off their supplies, Chief Superintendent of Trade, Charles Elliot, complied with Lins demands to secure a safe exit for the British, with the costs involved to be resolved between the two governments. When Elliot promised that the British government would pay for their stock, the merchants surrendered their 20,283 chests of opium. In September 1839, the British Cabinet decided that the Chinese should be made to pay for the destruction of British property, an expeditionary force was placed under Elliot and his cousin, Rear Admiral George Elliot, as joint plenipotentiaries in 1840. Foreign Secretary Lord Palmerston stressed to the Chinese Imperial Government that the British Government did not question Chinas right to prohibit opium, but it objected to the way this was handled. He viewed the sudden strict enforcement as laying a trap for the traders. In 1841, Elliot negotiated with Lins successor, Qishan, in the Convention of Chuenpi during the First Opium War, on 20 January, Elliot announced the conclusion of preliminary arrangements, which included the cession of Hong Kong Island and its harbour to the British Crown. On 26 January, the Union Jack was raised on Hong Kong and Commodore James Bremer, commander-in-chief of British forces in China, on 29 August 1842, the cession was formally ratified in the Treaty of Nanking, which ceded Hong Kong in perpetuity to Britain. The treaty failed to satisfy British expectations of an expansion of trade and profit. In October 1856, Chinese authorities in Canton detained the Arrow, the Consul in Canton, Harry Parkes, claimed the hauling down of the flag and arrest of the crew were an insult of very grave character. Parkes and Sir John Bowring, the 4th Governor of Hong Kong, in March 1857, Palmerston appointed Lord Elgin as Plenipotentiary with the aim of securing a new and satisfactory treaty. A French expeditionary force joined the British to avenge the execution of a French missionary in 1856, in 1860, the capture of the Taku Forts and occupation of Beijing led to the Treaty of Tientsin and Convention of Peking. In the Treaty of Tientsin, the Chinese accepted British demands to open ports, navigate the Yangtze River. During the conflict, the British occupied the Kowloon Peninsula, where the land was valuable training and resting ground
8.
Hong Kong
–
Hong Kong, officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China, is an autonomous territory on the Pearl River Delta of East Asia. Macau lies across the delta to the west, and the Chinese province of Guangdong borders the territory to the north. With a total area of 1,106 square kilometres. Hong Kong was later occupied by Japan during World War II until British control resumed in 1945, under the principle of one country, two systems, Hong Kong maintains a separate political and economic system from China. Except in military defence and foreign affairs, Hong Kong maintains its independent executive, legislative, in addition, Hong Kong develops relations directly with foreign states and international organisations in a broad range of appropriate fields. Hong Kong is one of the worlds most significant financial centres, with the highest Financial Development Index score and consistently ranks as the worlds most competitive and freest economic entity. As the worlds 8th largest trading entity, its legal tender, Hong Kongs tertiary sector dominated economy is characterised by simple taxation with a competitive level of corporate tax and supported by its independent judiciary system. However, while Hong Kong has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world and it has a very high Human Development Index ranking and the worlds longest life expectancy. Over 90% of the population use of well-developed public transportation. Seasonal air pollution with origins from neighbouring areas of Mainland China. Hong Kong was officially recorded in the 1842 Treaty of Nanking to encompass the entirety of the island, before 1842, the name referred to a small inlet—now Aberdeen Harbour, literally means Little Hong Kong)—between Aberdeen Island and the southern coast of Hong Kong Island. Aberdeen was a point of contact between British sailors and local fishermen. Detailed and accurate romanisation systems for Cantonese were available and in use at the time, fragrance may refer to the sweet taste of the harbours fresh water estuarine influx of the Pearl River or to the incense from factories lining the coast of northern Kowloon. The incense was stored near Aberdeen Harbour for export before Hong Kong developed Victoria Harbour, the name had often been written as the single word Hongkong until the government adopted the current form in 1926. Nevertheless, a number of century-old institutions still retain the form, such as the Hongkong Post, Hongkong Electric. As of 1997, its name is the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China. This is the title as mentioned in the Hong Kong Basic Law. Hong Kong has carried many nicknames, the most famous among those is the Pearl of the Orient, which reflected the impressive nightscape of the citys light decorations on the skyscrapers along both sides of the Victoria Harbour
9.
Shaolin Soccer
–
Shaolin Soccer is a 2001 Hong Kong martial arts sports comedy film co-written and directed by Stephen Chow, who also stars in the lead role. A former Shaolin monk reunites his five brothers, years after their masters death, to apply their superhuman martial arts skills to play soccer and bring Shaolin kung fu to the masses. Sing is a master of Shaolin Kung Fu, whose goal in life is to promote the spiritual and practical benefits of the art to modern society and he experiments with various methods, but none bear positive results. He then meets Golden Foot Fung, a legendary Hong Kong soccer star in his day, Sing explains his desires to Fung who offers his services to coach Sing in soccer. Sing is compelled by the idea of promoting kung fu through soccer, Sing and Fung attempt to put together an unbeatable soccer team. Fung invites a vicious team to play against them and the thugs proceed to give the Shaolin team a brutal beating, when all seems lost, the Shaolin disciples reawaken and utilise their special powers, dismantling the other teams rough play easily. The thugs then give up, and ask to join Sings team, Sing meets Mui, a baker with severe acne who uses Tai chi to bake mantou, and even takes her to look at very expensive dresses at a high-end department store after hours. She soon forms an attachment to Sing and even gets a makeover in an attempt to impress Sing, however, this backfires and when Mui reveals her feelings to him, he tells her he only wants to be her friend. This revelation, coupled with the constant bullying from her overbearing boss, Team Shaolin enters the open cup competition in Hong Kong, where they chalk up successive and often ridiculous one-sided victories. They end up meeting Team Evil in the final, Team Shaolin, which had steamrolled their earlier opponents, are brought back to reality when Team Evils amazing capabilities prove more than a match for them. After Team Evil took out Team Shaolins goalkeepers, Mui, who has shaved her hair and gotten rid of her acne, reappears to keep goal for Team Shaolin. In their final attack, Team Evils striker leaps into the sky and kick the ball with enormous force towards Mui, she use her art to divert and stop it. Mui and Sing combine their skills and rocket the ball down field. The ball plows through Team Evils goal post, thereby scoring the winning goal, Sing is then thrown into the air in celebration as the trophy is presented to him and his team. A newspaper article then shows Hung being stripped of his title of chairman and sent to jail for five years. With people all over the world practicing kung fu in their lives, Sings dream is finally fulfilled. Mighty Steel Leg Sing, a Shaolin Kung Fu monk and he is the teams striker and uses his extremely powerful kicks to make unstoppable soccer shots. Golden Leg Fung, a player from the 1980s, he became crippled after being beaten after a match, Iron Head, the eldest Shaolin brother, he specializes in headers during match, before joining Sing he worked in a club
10.
A Chinese Odyssey
–
A Chinese Odyssey is a two-part 1995 Hong Kong fantasy-comedy film directed by Jeffrey Lau and starring Stephen Chow. The first part is titled A Chinese Odyssey Part One, Pandoras Box while the one is called A Chinese Odyssey Part Two. The film is loosely based on the Wu Chengens novel Journey to the West. A third film, A Chinese Odyssey Part Three, was released in China on September 14,2016. 500 years ago, during their journey to the west to fetch the Buddhist scriptures, Monkey got annoyed with the constant nagging of his master, Longevity Monk, and decided to betray him. He was intercepted and subdued by Guanyin, who decided to give him a chance after Longevity Monk pleaded for leniency. Monkey is reincarnated in the present as Joker, chief of a group of outlaws, Joker and his gang are attacked by two demons, Spider Woman and Bak Jing-jing, who threatened and force them to do their bidding. Jokers second-in-command secretly overheard the demons plan to capture Longevity Monk, Joker subsequently fell in love with Bak Jing-jing. Grandpa Buddha shows up in disguise as a bunch of grapes, informs Joker about the danger he is in, the group are attacked by Bull King, who is also after Longevity Monk. Joker and Pigsy flee with Bak Jing-jing and Spider Woman to Waterfall Cave, Bak Jing-jing and Joker eventually flee from the cave while Spider Woman is impregnated with Pigsys child by accident. As Bak Jing-jing had been poisoned by Spider Woman, Joker goes back to the cave to ask for the antidote, in the meantime, outside the cave, Bak Jing-jing is captured by Bull King, who cures her of the poison. Inside the cave, Joker finds Pandoras Box, which can open up a portal when moonlight shines on it. He also overhears Guanyins voice, telling him that he was actually Monkey in his past life and is destined to continue his quest to escort his master on the journey to the west. His true destiny will be revealed after he gets three marks on the sole of his foot, meanwhile, Bull King and Bak Jing-jing enters the cave and fight with Spider Woman. Bak Jing-jing commits suicide after believing that Joker has betrayed her love. Joker finds Bak Jing-jing and tries to save her by travelling back in time with the aid of Pandoras Box and he finally manages to make it on time to prevent Bak Jing-jing from slitting her throat, but she sacrifices herself to save him from Bull King. Joker travels back in again, but ends up going back in time by 500 years. Outside the cave, he encounters a fairy, Zixia, who confiscates Pandoras Box and this fulfils his true destiny as Monkey
11.
Kung Fu Hustle
–
Kung Fu Hustle is a 2004 Hong Kong-Chinese Kung fu action comedy film, directed, co-produced and co-written by Stephen Chow, who also stars in the lead role. The other producers were Chui Po-chu and Jeffrey Lau, and the screenplay was co-written with Huo Xin, Chan Man-keung, Yuen Wah, Yuen Qiu, Danny Chan Kwok-kwan, and Bruce Leung Siu-lung co-starred in prominent roles. After the commercial success of Shaolin Soccer, its company, Star Overseas. The cartoon style of the film, accompanied by traditional Chinese music, is cited as its most striking feature. The film was released on 23 December 2004 in China and on 25 January 2005 in the United States and it received a 90% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and 78 out of 100 at Metacritic. The film grossed US$17 million in North America and US$84 million in other regions, Kung Fu Hustle was the highest-grossing film in the history of Hong Kong until it was surpassed by You Are the Apple of My Eye in 2011. The film was the all-time tenth highest-grossing foreign language film in the United States as well as the foreign language film in the country in 2005. Kung Fu Hustle won numerous awards, including six Hong Kong Film Awards, the film was re-released in 3D in October 2014 across Asia and America, marking the tenth anniversary of the film. In Shanghai during the 1930s, Sing and his friend Bone attempt to join the Deadly Axe Gang, Sing and Bone attempt to intimidate the residents of Pig Sty Alley but are chased off by its Landlady. Hearing of this, Sum orders the capture of Sing and Bone, three of the tenants, Coolie, Tailor, and Donut, reveal themselves to be martial arts masters, defeating more than fifty of the Gang. Fearing retribution, the Landlady evicts the three, but they encounter a pair of hired assassins who fight using a magical guqin that launches invisible blades, the two defeat the assassins but Tailor and Donut die from their injuries. The Landlords temporarily evacuate the other tenants for their safety, meanwhile, Sing engineers his and Bones escape from confinement, and Sum is impressed, offering them membership in the Gang if they can kill a person. Sing and Bone attempt to kill the Landlady, but their plan backfires, later, he attempts to mug an ice cream vendor, who turns out to be the mute girl, she offers him a lollipop but he knocks it away, humiliated at himself. After sending Bone away, blaming his failure on Bone, Sing is bought before Sum. Sum wants Sing to use his skills to free a legendary fighter. The Beast turns out to be a middle-aged, slovenly, and flippant man, when the Landlords arrive at the Axe Gang casino to settle the score, Sum sends the Beast to fight them. During the fight, he stabs both with hidden blades, weakening but not defeating them, Sum orders Sing to strike the Landlord to break the stalemate, but Sing has a change of heart and strikes the Beast instead. The Beast turns and pummels Sing until he is rescued by the Landlords, the Beast kills Sum for disrupting his fight, and then orders an all-out assault on Pig Sty Alley
12.
Final Justice (1988 film)
–
Final Justice is a 1988 Hong Kong crime film directed by Parkman Wong and starring Danny Lee, who also serves as the films producer, and Stephen Chow. Final Justice is Chows film debut, playing in a dramatic role, Chow would later go on to be the top superstar of Hong Kong. District Crime Squad Sergeant Cheung Tit-chu of the Wan Chai District has been a pioneer in the area, however, Cheungs staunch handling style, has attracted many complaints towards him. Cheungs new superior, Chief Inspector Lo Tai-wai is dissatisfied with him, accusing him of disobeying superior orders, one day, criminal Judge is released from prison, and leads his former associates Bull, Chicken and Smut to prepare a major crime spree plan. Meanwhile, car thief Boy regards Judge as his idol and willingly serves him, unexpectedly, Judge and his associates use the stolen car to rob an illegal underground casino, killing some customers in the process. Boy is innocently involved in the robbery case, moreover, Lo regards Boy as an accomplice to the robbery and charges him for robbery and murder. However, Cheung believes that Boy is innocent and is determined to find new evidence to overturn the false allegations, Final Justice at the Hong Kong Movie DataBase Final Justice at Hong Kong Cinemagic Final Justice at the Internet Movie Database Final Justice at LoveHKFilm
13.
Justice, My Foot!
–
Justice, My Foot. is a 1992 Hong Kong comedy film directed by Johnnie To, starring Stephen Chow, Anita Mui and Ng Man Tat. Sung is by far the best lawyer in Guangdong and the areas of Southeast China. His skills have earned his family an excellent living, albeit his habit of winning all his cases by whatever means necessary, because of his shyster ways, none of his sons survived beyond a year old, causing grief for his wife Madam Sung. Upon the death of his 13th son, Sung decides to retire from law, and switch to business, opening an inn in the middle of town, Sung finds it difficult to truly give up his former career, and in his boredom reenacts his final case constantly. A chance encounter between Madam Sung and a woman whose husband was suspiciously murdered revives his hopes of returning to court, however, the case is compounded by corrupt magistrates, who make it their goal to bury the truth. Sung needs all his wits to beat a system that he has embraced for a long time, in the end, justice my foot is what this film is about
14.
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
–
The Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference, also known as the Peoples PCC or just the PCC, is a political advisory body in the Peoples Republic of China. The organisation consists of delegates from a range of parties and organisations. The proportion of representation of the parties is determined by established convention. In practice, the largest and dominant party in the Conference is the Communist Party of China which has one third of the seats. Other members are drawn from the United Front parties allied with the CPC, the Conference is intended to be more representative and be composed of a broader range of people than is typical of government office in the Peoples Republic of China. The National Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference typically holds a meeting at the same time as plenary sessions of the National Peoples Congress. Both CPPCC National Committee and NPC plenary sessions are called the National Lianghui. The 2014 session of the CPPCC is scheduled to open on March 3,2014, a less common translation is the National Congress. This translation is discouraged, as it causes confusion with the National Peoples Congress as well as with the National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the organisational hierarchy of the CPPCC includes the National Committee and regional committees. Regional committees of the CPPCC include the provincial, prefecture, so are the relationships between upper-level regional committees and lower-level committees. Operating budgets on each level are independently administered by the administrations for the region, making the National committee. An indirect leadership, however, exists via the United Front Departments on each level, the Conference dated prior to the existence of Peoples Republic of China. This was included in the Double Tenth Agreement and this agreement was implemented by the Nationalist Government of the Republic of China, who organised the first Political Consultative Assembly from January 10–31,1946. Representatives of the Kuomintang, Communist Party of China, Chinese Youth Party and this conference was then renamed the Peoples Political Consultative Conference. The first conference approved the Common Program, which served as the de facto Constitution for the five years. The conference approved the new anthem, flag, capital city, and state name. In effect, the first Peoples Political Consultative Conference served as a constitutional convention, from 1949 to 1954, the conference became the de facto legislature of the PRC. In 1954, the Constitution transferred this function to the National Peoples Congress, the role that CPPCC plays in the Chinese government is stated in the preamble of the PRC Constitution
15.
Guangzhou University
–
Guangzhou University is a state university in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, China. The university is made up of two campuses, the major campus is located in Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, covering a total area of 131.7 hectares, with a building space of 596,000 square meters. The other campus is located in downtown of Guangzhou, covering 20 hectares, the university is dually affiliated to Guangzhou Municipal Government and Guangdong Provincial Government. The funding for the university is subject to Guangzhou Municipal Government, Guangzhou University was reestablished in July 2000 by the Chinese Ministry of Education. The university is committed to consolidating and expanding its undergraduate program, graduate programs. It offers 87 undergraduate programs with coverage of ten fields, including philosophy, history, literature, law, pedagogy, art, science, engineering, management. Currently, the university is authorized to run 3 PhD programs with 25 grade-2 subjects,26 graduate programs with 95 grade-2 subjects. In addition, the university offers 9 professional graduate programs in 36 fields, including pedagogy, engineering, physical education, art, the number of the full-time graduates and undergraduates is over 23,000. The university is undertaking the national and provincial research programs. International exchange and cooperation have always been a priority work of the university, up to 2011, the university has established the partnership with more than 100 overseas institutions. The university is available for students to study Chinese and apply for degree study. It also enrolls students from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan as well, in the new age, the university is engaged in making a contribution to the development of Guangzhou, Guangdong Province as well as that of China. The goal of the university is to itself as a comprehensive university with a unique characteristic. As a manifestation of GU’s core spirit, the Campus Culture of GU guarantees a good academic and cultural atmosphere on campus. In addition, the university organizes various contests including Debate, Image Design, Career Design, Singing and Dancing, Hosting, etc. there are now eighty student associations with more than 12,000 members at GU. These associations cover a range of subjects including humanities, technology, public service, arts, the new Guangzhou University is named after the third biggest city in China and was established in July 2000. It is actively undertaking the national and provincial research programs in recent years, therefore, it is a well-reputable academic institution in its local region in the Guangzhou Province of Southern China or even the whole country. In the new age, the university is engaged in making a contribution to the community, the goal of the university is to mold itself as a comprehensive university with a characteristic and ranks in a leading position among the universities of similar type
16.
Ningbo
–
Ningbo, formerly written Ningpo, is a sub-provincial city in northeast Zhejiang province in China. It comprises the districts of Ningbo proper, three satellite cities, and a number of rural counties including islands in Hangzhou Bay and the East China Sea. Its port, spread across locations, is among the busiest in the world. As of the 2010 census, the entire administrated area had a population of 7.6 million, with 3.5 million in the six urban districts of Ningbo proper. To the north, Hangzhou Bay separates Ningbo from Shanghai, to the east lies Zhoushan in the East China Sea, on the west and south, Ningbo borders Shaoxing, the first character in the citys name ning means serene, while its second character bo translates to waves. The city is abbreviated Yǒng, after the Yong Hill, a prominent coastal hill near the city, the character ming was composed by two parts, representing two lakes inside the city wall, Sun Lake and Moon Lake. As a city with giant port, culture of Ningbo influences many countries near it, Ningbo is one of Chinas oldest cities, with a history dating to the Hemudu culture in 4800 BC. Since the Tang dynasty Ningbo was an important commercial port, arab traders lived in Ningbo during the Song dynasty when it was known as Mingzhou, as the ocean-going trade passages took precedence over land trade during this time. Another name for Mingzhou/Ningbo was Siming and it was a well known center of ocean-going commerce with the foreign world. These merchants did not intermingle with native Chinese, practicing their own customs and religion and they did not try to proselytize Islam to Chinese. Jews also lived in Ningbo, as evidenced by the fact that, after a flood destroyed Torah scrolls in Kaifeng. The city of Ningbo was known in Europe for a time under the name of Liampó. This is the spelling used e. g. in the standard Portuguese history, João de Barross Décadas da Ásia. The spelling Liampó is also attested in the Peregrination by Fernão Mendes Pinto, for the mid-16th-century Portuguese, the nearby promontory, which they called the cape of Liampó, after the nearby illustrious city was the easternmost known point of the mainland Asia. The Portuguese began trading in Ningbo around 1522, by 1542, the Portuguese had a sizable community in Ningbo. Portuguese activities from their Ningbo base included pillaging and attacking multiple Chinese port cities around Ningbo for plunder and they also enslaved people during their raids. The Portuguese were ousted from the Ningbo area in 1548, Ningbo was one of the five Chinese treaty ports opened by the Treaty of Nanjing at the end of the First Opium War between Britain and China. During the war, British forces took possession of the city of Ningbo briefly after storming the fortified town of Zhenhai at the mouth of the Yong River on October 10,1841
17.
Zhejiang
–
Zhejiang, formerly romanized as Chekiang, is an eastern coastal province of China. The provinces name derives from the Zhe River, the name of the Qiantang River which flows past Hangzhou. Kuahuqiao culture was a neolithic culture that flourished in Hangzhou area in 6. Zhejiang was the site of the Neolithic cultures of the Hemudu, the area of modern Zhejiang was outside the major sphere of influence of the Shang civilization during the second millennium BC. Instead, this area was populated by peoples known as Dongyue. The kingdom of Yue began to appear in the chronicles and records written during the Spring, according to the chronicles, the kingdom of Yue was in northern Zhejiang. Shiji claims that its leaders were descended from the Shang founder Yu the Great, the Song of the Yue Boatman was transliterated into Chinese and recorded by authors in north China or inland China of Hebei and Henan around 528 BC. The song shows that the Yue people spoke a language that was mutually unintelligible with the dialects spoken in north, the Sword of Goujian bears bird-worm seal script. Yuenü was a swordswoman from the state of Yue, to check the growth of the kingdom of Wu, Chu pursued a policy of strengthening Yue. Under King Goujian, Yue recovered from its early reverses and fully annexed the lands of its rival in 473 BC, the Yue kings then moved their capital center from their original home around Mount Kuaiji in present-day Shaoxing to the former Wu capital at present-day Suzhou. With no southern power to turn against Yue, Chu opposed it directly and, in 333 BC, yues former lands were annexed by the Qin Empire in 222 BC and organized into a commandery named for Kuaiji in Zhejiang but initially headquartered in Wu in Jiangsu. Kuaiji Commandery was the power base for Xiang Liang and Xiang Yus rebellion against the Qin Empire which initially succeeded in restoring the kingdom of Chu. At the beginning of the Three Kingdoms era, Zhejiang was home to the warlords Yan Baihu and Wang Lang prior to their defeat by Sun Ce and Sun Quan, who eventually established the Kingdom of Wu. Despite the removal of their court from Kuaiji to Jianye, they continued development of the region, industrial kilns were established and trade reached as far as Manchuria and Funan. Zhejiang was part of the Wu during the Three Kingdoms, Wu, commonly known as Eastern Wu or Sun Wu, had been the economically most developed state among the Three Kingdoms. The historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms records that Zhejiang had the best-equipped, the story depicts how the states of Wei and Shu, lack of material resources, avoided direct confrontation with the Wu. In armed military conflicts with Wu, the two states relied intensively on tactics of camouflage and deception to steal Wus military resources including arrows and bows, the other two centers in the south were Jiankang and Chengdu. In 589, Qiantang was raised in status and renamed Hangzhou, some may have lost social privilege, and took refugee in areas south to Yangtze River
18.
Given name
–
A given name is a part of a persons personal name. It identifies a person, and differentiates that person from other members of a group, such as a family or clan. The term given name refers to the fact that the name usually is bestowed upon a person and this contrasts with a surname, which is normally inherited, and shared with other members of the childs immediate family. Given names are used in a familiar and friendly manner in informal situations. In more formal situations the surname is commonly used, unless it is necessary to distinguish between people with the same surname. The idioms on a basis and being on first-name terms allude to the familiarity of addressing another by a given name. The order given name – family name, commonly known as the Western order, is used throughout most European countries and in countries that have cultures predominantly influenced by Western Europe. The order family name – given name, commonly known as the Eastern order, is used in East Asia, as well as in Southern and North-Eastern parts of India. The order given name - fathers family name - mothers family name is used in Spanish-speaking countries to acknowledge the families of both parents. Today the order can also be changed legally in Spain using given name - mothers family name - fathers family name, under the common Western naming convention, people may have one or more forenames. If more than one, there is usually a main forename for everyday use, sometimes however two or more forenames may carry equal weight. There is no particular ordering rule for forenames – often the main forename is at the beginning, a childs given name or names are usually chosen by the parents soon after birth. If a name is not assigned at birth, one may be given at a ceremony, with family. In most jurisdictions, a name at birth is a matter of public record, inscribed on a birth certificate. In western cultures, people normally retain the same name throughout their lives. However, in some cases names may be changed by petitioning a court of law. People may also change their names when immigrating from one country to another with different naming conventions, in France, the agency can refer the case to a local judge. Some jurisdictions, like in Sweden, restrict the spelling of names, parents may choose a name because of its meaning
19.
Tang dynasty
–
The Tang dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. It is generally regarded as a point in Chinese civilization. Its territory, acquired through the campaigns of its early rulers, rivaled that of the Han dynasty. The dynasty was founded by the Lǐ family, who seized power during the decline, the dynasty was briefly interrupted when Empress Wu Zetian seized the throne, proclaiming the Second Zhou dynasty and becoming the only Chinese empress regnant. In two censuses of the 7th and 8th centuries, the Tang records estimated the population by number of registered households at about 50 million people. Various kingdoms and states paid tribute to the Tang court, while the Tang also conquered or subdued several regions which it controlled through a protectorate system. Besides political hegemony, the Tang also exerted a powerful influence over neighboring states such as those in Korea, Japan. Like the previous Sui dynasty, the Tang dynasty maintained a service system by recruiting scholar-officials through standardized examinations and recommendations to office. This civil order was undermined by the rise of military governors known as jiedushi during the 9th century. Chinese culture flourished and further matured during the Tang era, it is considered the greatest age for Chinese poetry. Two of Chinas most famous poets, Li Bai and Du Fu, belonged to this age, as did many famous painters such as Han Gan, Zhang Xuan, there was a rich variety of historical literature compiled by scholars, as well as encyclopedias and geographical works. The adoption of the title Tängri Qaghan by the Tang Emperor Taizong in addition to his title as emperor was eastern Asias first simultaneous kingship, there were many notable innovations during the Tang, including the development of woodblock printing. Buddhism became an influence in Chinese culture, with native Chinese sects gaining prominence. However, Buddhism would later be persecuted by the state, subsequently declining in influence, although the dynasty and central government were in decline by the 9th century, art and culture continued to flourish. This family was known as the Longxi Li lineage, which includes the Tang poet Li Bai, the Tang Emperors also had Xianbei maternal ancestry, from Emperor Gaozu of Tangs Xianbei mother Duchess Dugu. He had prestige and military experience, and was a first cousin of Emperor Yang of Sui, Li Yuan rose in rebellion in 617, along with his son and his equally militant daughter Princess Pingyang, who raised and commanded her own troops. In winter 617, Li Yuan occupied Changan, relegated Emperor Yang to the position of Taishang Huang or retired emperor, and acted as regent to the puppet child-emperor, Emperor Gong of Sui. On the news of Emperor Yangs murder by General Yuwen Huaji on June 18,618, Li Yuan declared himself the emperor of a new dynasty, the Tang
20.
Hong Kong Council of the Church of Christ in China
–
The Hong Kong Council of the Church of Christ in China is a Protestant Christian church organization in Hong Kong. The construction of their first church building, Hop Yat Church, was completed on 10 October 1926 and it is located at 2 Bonham Road in the Mid-Levels area in the city. HKCCCC is one of the bodies in Hong Kong runs many local schools including the CCC Kei Wan Primary School. Church of Christ in China Christianity in Hong Kong The official website
21.
Prince Edward Road
–
Prince Edward Road East and Prince Edward Road West are roads in Kowloon, Hong Kong, going in an east-west direction and linking Tai Kok Tsui, Mong Kok, Kowloon Tong, Kowloon City and San Po Kong. The roads were named after Prince Edward in 1922, later Edward VIII of the United Kingdom, Prince Edward Station and the Prince Edward area in Hong Kong are both named after Prince Edward Road, rather than Prince Edward himself. In the beginning of the 1920s, the Hong Kong government was developing the Mong Kok district, in April 1922, Prince Edward came to Hong Kong and visited the construction of this road. Due to this visit, the government named this road Prince Edward Road, in the 1930s, Prince Edward Road was extended to the area of Ngau Chi Wan. Prince Edward Road West is a road between Tai Kok Tsui, Mong Kok, Kowloon Tong and Kowloon City and this road was originally named Edward Avenue before 1924. It was later renamed Prince Edward Road in 1924, and in 1958 the Chinese name was changed from what was literally British Royal Prince Road to a new name that is literally Crown Prince Road, in 1979 it became the Prince Edward Road West. Prince Edward Road West starts from Kowloon City where it succeeds Prince Edward Road East and it runs across Kowloon City and Prince Edward, and ends at Tai Kok Tsui at an intersection with Tong Mi Road and West Kowloon Corridor. It is worth noting that the section of Prince Edward Road West from Olympic Park to Nathan Road runs unidirectionally from east to west, boundary Street serves as its complement by providing a nearby route which runs from west to east. Prince Edward Road East is a road between Kowloon City and San Po Kong and it was originally the Sai Kung Road and later part of the Clear Water Bay Road. It later became part of the Prince Edward Road, in 1979 it became the Prince Edward Road East. The modern Prince Edward Road East starts from Choi Hung Interchange, Prince Edward Road East was once misspelled as Princess Edward Road East by MTR Corporation in the map describing Sha Tin to Central Link. The relevant section of the road was closed, leading to a disruption of traffic among East Kowloon. Prince Edward, Hong Kong List of streets and roads in Hong Kong Google Maps of Prince Edward Road
22.
Kowloon Peninsula
–
The Kowloon Peninsula is a peninsula that forms the southern part of the main landmass in the territory of Hong Kong. The Kowloon Peninsula and the area of New Kowloon are collectively known as Kowloon, geographically, the term Kowloon Peninsula may also refer to the area south of the mountain ranges of Beacon Hill, Lion Rock, Tates Cairn, Kowloon Peak, etc. The peninsula covers five of the eighteen districts of Hong Kong, Kowloon Bay is located at the northeast of the peninsula. The main rock type of the consists of a medium grained monzogranite with some fine granite outcrops. Early maps and photographs show flat, low-lying land behind the beach of Tsim Sha Tsui Bay with an area, Kowloon Hill. The peninsula has been expanded through land reclamation from the sea. In the south and west most of the reclamation was carried out before 1904, Reclamation in several other small areas along the main Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront was completed by 1982. The West Kowloon Reclamation was formed as part of the Airport Core Programme, before the actual Kowloon boundaries were established, the Kowloon Peninsula served as one of the first destinations for escape during Chinas dynastic times. In 1287, the last emperor of the Song Dynasty, Emperor Bing was fleeing from the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, taking refuge in a cave in the Kowloon peninsula, the inscription wrote Sung Wong Toi or Song Emperors Pavilion. In the 17th century, after the fall of the Ming Dynasty, Kowloon Peninsula had a population of 800 when it was ceded to the British empire in 1860. In 1898 a resolution was passed by the Colonial Hong Kong Legislative Council to preserve the land where some of the caves stand, boundary Street Islands and peninsulas of Hong Kong Kowloon List of buildings, sites and areas in Hong Kong New Kowloon
23.
Bruce Lee
–
Lee Jun-fan, known professionally as Bruce Lee, was a Hong Kong and American martial artist, actor, philosopher, filmmaker, and founder of the martial art Jeet Kune Do. Lee was the son of Cantonese opera star Lee Hoi-chuen and he is widely considered by commentators, critics, media, and other martial artists to be one of the most influential martial artists of all time, and a pop culture icon of the 20th century. He is often credited with helping to change the way Asians were presented in American films, Lee was born in Chinatown, San Francisco on November 27,1940 to parents from Hong Kong and was raised in Kowloon, Hong Kong with his family until his late teens. He was introduced to the industry by his father and appeared in several films as a child actor. Lee moved to the United States at the age of 18 to receive his education, at the University of Washington, at Seattle. The direction and tone of his films changed and influenced martial arts and martial arts films in the US, Hong Kong, Lee became an iconic figure known throughout the world, particularly among the Chinese, as he portrayed Chinese nationalism in his films. He trained in the art of Wing Chun and later combined his other influences from various sources, in the spirit of his martial arts philosophy. Lee held dual nationality of Hong Kong and the US and he died in Kowloon Tong on July 20,1973 at the age of 32. Bruce Lee was born on November 27,1940, at the Chinese Hospital, according to the Chinese zodiac, Lee was born in both the hour and the year of the Dragon, which according to tradition is a strong and fortuitous omen. Bruces father, Lee Hoi-chuen, was Han Chinese, and his mother, Grace Ho, was of half-Chinese and half-Caucasian descent. Grace Ho was the daughter of Ho Kom-tong and the half-niece of Sir Robert Ho-tung. Bruce was the child of five children, Phoebe Lee, Agnes Lee, Peter Lee. Lee and his parents returned to Hong Kong when he was three months old, Lees Cantonese birth name was Lee Jun-fan. The name homophonically means return again, and was given to Lee by his mother, because of his mothers superstitious nature, she had originally named him Sai-fon, which is a feminine name meaning small phoenix. The English name Bruce is thought to have given by the hospital attending physician. Lee had three other Chinese names, Li Yuanxin, a name, Li Yuanjian, which he used as a student name while he was attending La Salle College. Lees given name Jun-fan was originally written in Chinese as 震藩, however, hence, the Chinese character for Jun in Lees name was changed to the homonym 振 instead, to avoid naming taboo in Chinese tradition. Lee Hoi-chuen had been touring the United States for many years, although many of his peers decided to stay in the US, Lee Hoi-chuen returned to Hong Kong after Bruces birth
24.
The Big Boss
–
The Big Boss is a 1971 Hong Kong martial arts action film written and directed by Lo Wei, with assistance from Bruce Lee. It stars Lee, Maria Yi, James Tien and Tony Liu. Lees first major film, however, when the films original director, Ng Kar-seung, was replaced by Lo, Lee was given the leading role instead. Lees strong performance overshadowed Tien, already a star in Hong Kong, Cheng Chao-an is a Chinese man from mainland China who moves to Thailand to live with his cousins and work in an ice factory. Cheng begins work at the ice factory, when a block of ice is accidentally broken, a bag of white powder falls out. Two of Chengs cousins pick up the bag, and are asked to see the manager, the factory is really a front for a drug smuggling ring led by Hsiao Mi, also known as the Big Boss. When Chengs cousins refuse to cooperate, they are killed and their bodies disposed of, Hsu Chien and another cousin go to Hsiaos compound to find out what happened to the two cousins. Hsu doubts Hsiaos claims he does not know what happened to them, Hsiao has the duo killed before they can leave. When the workers at the ice factory learn that Hsu is missing as well, to ease tensions, Hsiao makes Cheng a foreman, providing him with alcohol and prostitutes. Cheng gets drunk at Hsiaos dinner party and is seduced by Sun Wuman and she later warns Cheng that his life is in danger if he goes after Hsiao, and that Hsiao is running a drug trafficking operation. Immediately after Cheng leaves, Hsiaos son, Hsiao Chiun, sneaks in, suns body is disposed of in the ice factory, just as Chengs cousins were. Cheng breaks into the factory and finds the bodies, and is discovered by the gangsters, Cheng fights his way out, killing Hsiao Chiun and many gangsters in the process. He returns home to find that almost all of his family have been murdered, Cheng exacts revenge by killing Hsiao Mi in a final fight. Once he knows that Chiao Mei is safe, he surrenders to the Thai police when they arrive at Hsiaos house, Bruce Lee as Cheng Chao-an, a young man who, along with his uncle, travels from China to Pak Chong, Thailand to stay with his cousins. Maria Yi as Chiao Mei, a damsel in distress. She is Chengs only female cousin, James Tien as Cousin Hsu Chien, a martial artist who gets into fights with the local gangs. Nora Miao as a cold drinks vendor. Lee Kwan as Cousin Kun Han Ying-chieh as Hsiao Mi owner of an ice factory which is really a front for his drug dealing, Tony Liu as Hsiao Chiun, Hsiao Mis son. Kam San as Cousin Shan Li Hua-sze as Cousin Wong Marilyn Bautista as Miss Sun Wuman Chan Chue as Sheng, billy Chan Wui-ngai as Cousin Pei Lam Ching-ying as Cousin Yen Tu Chia-cheng as Uncle Lu, Chengs uncle
25.
TVB
–
Television Broadcasts Limited, commonly known as TVB, was founded as the first wireless commercial television station in Hong Kong. It commenced broadcasting on 19 November 1967 and it has a staff of about 4,500. It is still referred to with that name, although there is more than one terrestrial television station now. The companys previous chairman was Sir Run Run Shaw, TVBs headquarters is Asias largest commercial television production centre. TVB currently operates five channels in Hong Kong, TVB Jade. TVB relaunched its service in 2014 under a new brand. TVB Network Visions channel are carried by PCCW NowTV service because of an agreement dating from the pay-TV networks inception. Network Vision is run by veteran TVB executive, Felix To, TVB reaches out to the Overseas Chinese communities. In Taiwan, TVB operates through its TVBS subsidiary, many of Hong Kongs film and pop stars started their careers at the station through drama series produced by TVB. Special TVB events such as the annual TVB Anniversary Celebration are broadcast to planetary audience, TVB also runs talent programmes such as the annual Miss Hong Kong and Miss Chinese International beauty pageants. Successful contestants may be offered TVBs contracts and represent Hong Kong to take part at world-class beauty contests, TVB dominates most of the television market in Hong Kong, but it is not considered the powerhouse it used to be. One of the first shows launched was Enjoy Yourself Tonight in 1967, TVB receives praise for its programming from a wide range of demographics, including the middle class, as was the case with its 2004 historical drama series War and Beauty. Its programme line-up features a stream of soap operas, variety shows. TVB has been criticised for signing contracts with many local celebrities which restrict them from appearing on other local television stations. Hong Kongs Cable T. V. claims it is unfair competition, in fact, many artists do not have exclusive contracts with TVB and are free to show up in programmes produced by other local television stations or out-sourcing production houses. The annual TVB Music Awards ceremony is one of the biggest for Cantopop personalities and it ruled that three TVB staff members under scrutiny were not guilty. Afterwards, TVB reformed its music programmes in a bid to reestablish their authority, on the other hand, TVB was awarded the National Association of Broadcasterss International Broadcasting Excellence Award in 2001. The award recognised the companys outstanding contributions to the community through a range of charitable programmes and activities
26.
The Final Combat
–
The Final Combat is a 1989 Hong Kong TVB wuxia comedy drama series starring Stephen Chow, Richard Ng, Francis Ng, Jacqueline Law and Yammie Nam as the main cast. It aired on April 3,1989 to May 12,1989 with 30 episodes total, Chow also introduced his famous catch phrase Sit down, drink a cup of tea, eat a bun, and talk slowly「坐低飲啖茶,食個包」in this drama. Unfortunately Fung and Hoi failed to get the scripture and Hoi accidentally kills one of their own brothers in the process of trying to steal it from their Si Fu. Hoi feeling guilty for what has happened raises Fungs son Yuk Lau as his own, Yuk Lau grows up to be a filial son and good at martial arts where as Duen Fei grows up to be mischievous and hates martial arts. Yuk Lau meets Suet An who is a disciple of Ku Yim Yeung and falls in love with her and he eventually gets his hands on the Maiden scripture through a sorceress who had stolen the Maiden scripture from Ku Yim Yeung. Yuk Lau learns the skills from the Maiden scripture and becomes like Ku Yim Yeung. He takes over the Maiden Force cult from Ku Yim Yeung, Stephen Chow 周星馳 as Duen Fei 段飛 The main protagonist of the story. Duen Hois son and Yuk Laus adopted younger brother and his mother died when he was young. Due to his fathers guilt of the death of his brother he was neglected while growing up. He hates martial arts and loves mischief and he meets Ku Fung when he ran away from home. Has a crush on Suet An but learns to love and marries Lee Ju later on, Richard Ng 吳孟達 as Ku Yim Yeung 古艷陽 & Ku Fung 古峰 Ku Yim Yeung - Former disciple of the Celestine Sect. Due to being power hungry he learns the Maiden scripture and becomes lady like, Ku Fung - Celestine Sect disciple. He feels guilty and his brothers dont trust him because his twin Ku Yim Yeung who was part of the Celestine Sect had turned evil after learning the Maiden scripture. He gets framed for the death of a sect brother Hoi accidentally killed, Francis Ng 吳鎮宇 as Duen Yuk Lau 段玉樓 Duen Feis adopted older brother. Due to Duen Hois guilt on causing the death of Ku Fung he adopts Yuk Lau. He is a son and good at martial arts but due to being power hungry he is willing to turn against anyone. He loves Suet An but due to his hunger for power he uses her to try to get the Maiden scripture, Jacqueline Law 羅慧娟 as Lee Ju 李珠 Ku Yim Yeung and Lee Gils daughter. She manages a wine shop with her mother and she doesnt know that Ku Yim Yeung is her biological father because her mother had left her father and took her with her when he was learning the Maiden scripture
27.
All for the Winner
–
All for the Winner is a 1990 Hong Kong comedy film directed by Jeffrey Lau and Corey Yuen. Two films, GOD of Gamblers II and GOD of Gamblers III, Back to Shanghai, Sing is a mainland China country boy who arrives in Hong Kong to visit his Uncle Blackie Tat. He takes advantage of this and turns Sing into the Dou Seng or the Saint of Gamblers, after getting into a fight with several alleyway gamblers he meets the lovely Yee-mung, a henchman for the King of Gamblers, and becomes infatuated with her. Sing quickly becomes a rival to the King and must win his way through a competition to prove his skill
28.
From Beijing with Love
–
From Beijing With Love is a 1994 Hong Kong action spy comedy film directed by Lee Lik-chi and Stephen Chow. The film is a direct spoof of James Bond fims and stars Chow, Anita Yuen. Golden Gun steals the cranium of Chinas only dinosaur fossil, Chow, starring as a hawker-cum-secret-agent 007, is sent to Hong Kong by a high-ranking government official to recapture the cranium. When he arrives in Hong Kong, he meets Lee Heung-kam, however, Heung-kam turns out to be a subordinate of Golden Gun. Golden Gun is in actuality the government official who directs 007 to find the cranium, Golden Gun instructs Heung-kam to send 007 on a false lead and tells him that the cranium may have been stolen by a smuggler. 007, with the help of Heung-kam, sneaks into a party held by the smuggler. Before he enters, he tells Heung-kam that he will fetch her some white roses, Heung-kam tells 007 to find evidence that the smuggler stole the cranium, meanwhile, Heung-kam hides in a tree, planning to snipe 007 from afar. The party is interrupted by a man and a mysterious woman who are out to kill 007. Taking this opportunity, Heung-kam shoots 007 several times, including once in the leg with 007 thinking another assassin has shot him,007 escapes, grabbing three white roses on the way out. Heung-kam is touched by this gesture and saves his life and she decides to defect from Golden Gun. Together, the two destroy the organization that is behind the theft of the cranium,007 eventually wins the hand of Heung-kam and is rewarded with a meat cleaver emblazoned with the calligraphy of Deng Xiaoping. 凌凌漆 is a homophone for the number 007 in Chinese. The name of the ultimate weapon invented by Tat Man-sai, 要你命3000, is also the name of a Hong Kong, the Universe Laser DVD cover of the movie parodies that of the 1987 James Bond movie The Living Daylights. The Golden Guns signature weapon is a spoof of the gun used in the James Bond novel The Man with the Golden Gun. Unlike the one from the James Bond series, this is a gold-plated Thompson/Center Contender with extremely powerful expanding bullets of piercing or explosive force, the song Stephen Chow sang while playing the piano is 李香蘭 by Jacky Cheung. It grossed a huge HK$37,523,850 in Hong Kong
29.
China
–
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
30.
CJ7
–
CJ7 is a 2008 Hong Kong-Chinese science fiction comedy drama co-written, co-produced, starring, and directed by Stephen Chow. It was released on 31 January 2008 in Hong Kong and it was also released on 14 March 2008 in the United States. In August 2007 the film was given the title CJ7, a play on Chinas successful Shenzhou manned space missions—Shenzhou 5 and it was previously known by a series of working titles—Alien, Yangtze River VII, Long River 7 and most notably, A Hope. CJ7 was filmed in Ningbo, in the Zhejiang province of China, Chow Ti is a poor construction worker. He lives in a demolished house with his nine-year-old son. Ti is eager to save money so he can continue sending his son to private school, however, Dicky is often bullied by other children and chided by his teachers at school. One day, while at a department store, Dicky begs his father to buy him a robotic toy called CJ1. Ti cannot afford it, and the situation ends badly when Ti spanks the stubborn Dicky in front of other customers, Dicky finds comfort in Ms. Yuen, his schoolteacher, who is passing by. That night, Ti visits the junkyard where he picks up home appliances and clothes for Dicky. He finds a green orb and takes it home, telling Dicky that it is a new toy. He is hesitant at first, but later accepts it, the following evening, the green orb transforms into a cuddly alien creature that befriends Dicky. After playing with the alien, he names the alien CJ7 and he dreams that the alien will help him gain popularity and good grades at school. When a group of students see the alien with Dicky they forcibly take it and try to cut it, at last they try to use a drill and Dicky jumps on them. Dicky tries to hit one of the students but a fat boy stops him who in turn is stopped by Maggie and they are then punished for fighting. When the teacher, Mr. Cao left, CJ7 comes out from hiding and Dicky gets it to perform tricks for the other students, Dicky thanked Johnny, the leader of the group of students, for not letting Mr. Cao know about CJ7. They shake hands and agree to not letting the adults know about it, at the construction site Ti shows everyone Dickys test paper in which he scored a 100. His boss tells him that Dicky changed the marks from a 10 to a 100 and is a cheater, then Ti threatens his boss that if he continues saying his son cheated he will hit him. This results in a fight leads to Ti running off while his boss shouts after him that he is fired
31.
Shenzhou (spacecraft)
–
Shenzhou is a spacecraft developed and operated by China to support its manned spaceflight program. The name is translated as Divine Craft, Divine Vessel of God. Its design resembles the Russian Soyuz spacecraft, but it is larger in size, the first launch was on November 19,1999 and the first manned launch was on October 15,2003. In March 2005, an asteroid was named 8256 Shenzhou in honour of the spacecraft, chinas first efforts at human spaceflight started in 1968 with a projected launch date of 1973. Although China launched a satellite in 1970 and has maintained an active unmanned program since. The first unmanned flight of the spacecraft was launched on November 19,1999, after which Project 921/1 was renamed Shenzhou, a series of three additional unmanned flights ensued. Shenzhou 9 – June 16,2012 – three-person crew with Jing Haipeng, Liu Wang and Liu Yang, the spacecraft returned to earth on 29 June 2012 with three crew members appearing in good health. Shenzhou 10 – June 11,2013 –The three-person crew with Nie Haisheng, Zhang Xiaoguang and Wang Yaping started and docked with Tiangong-1 two days later, Shenzhou 11 – October 17,2016 – manned mission carrying crew to Tiangong-2. Shenzhou 12 –2018 The Shenzhou spacecraft resembles the Soyuz, although it is longer and it features a powered service module like the Soyuz, and prior to Shenzhou 8 its orbital module was capable of autonomous flight. The general designer of Shenzhou-1 through Shenzhou-5 was Qi Faren, and from Shenzhou-6 on, in 1994, Russia sold some of its advanced aviation and space technology to the Chinese. In 1995 a deal was signed between the two countries for the transfer of Russian Soyuz spacecraft technology to China, included in the agreement was training, provision of Soyuz capsules, life support systems, docking systems, and space suits. In 1996 two Chinese astronauts, Wu Jie and Li Qinglong, began training at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Russia, after training, these men returned to China and proceeded to train other Chinese astronauts at sites near Beijing and Jiuquan. The hardware and information sold by the Russians led to modifications of the original Phase One spacecraft, eventually called Shenzhou, like Soyuz, Shenzhou consists of three modules, a forward orbital module, a reentry module in the middle, and an aft service module. This division is based on the principle of minimizing the amount of material to be returned to Earth, thus both Soyuz and Shenzhou have more living area with less weight than the Apollo CSM. Without docking systems, Shenzhou 1–6 carried different kinds of payload on the top of their orbital modules for scientific experiments, up until Shenzhou 8, the orbital module of the Shenzhou was equipped with its own propulsion, solar power, and control systems, allowing autonomous flight. In the future it is possible that the module could also be left behind on the planned Chinese project 921/2 space station as additional station modules. Orbital module data Design life,200 days, RCS Coarse No x Thrust,16 x 5 N. RCS Propellants, Hydrazine. Electrical system, Solar panels,12.24 m², the reentry module is located in the middle section of the spacecraft and contains seating for the crew
32.
Shenzhou 5
–
Shenzhou 5 — was the first human spaceflight mission of the Chinese space program, launched on 15 October 2003. The Shenzhou spacecraft was launched on a Long March 2F launch vehicle, there had been four previous flights of unmanned Shenzhou missions since 1999. China became the country in the world to have independent human spaceflight capability after the Soviet Union. The state media reported that crop seeds from Taiwan were brought aboard the spacecraft. Hu added, the Party and the people never forget those who have set up this outstanding merit in the space industry for the motherland, the people. The launch was met with praise from around the world, for example, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan called the launch a great feat. United States President George W. Bush congratulated Chinese President Hu, U. S. State Department spokesman said that the United States wished to applaud Chinas success in becoming only the third country to launch people into space. NASA Administrator Sean OKeefe called Shenzhou 5 an important achievement in human exploration and wished China a continued safe human space flight program
33.
Shenzhou 6
–
Shenzhou 6 was the second human spaceflight of the Chinese space program, launched on October 12,2005 on a Long March 2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The Shenzhou spacecraft carried a crew of Fèi Jùnlóng and Niè Hǎishèng for five days in low Earth orbit and it launched three days before the second anniversary of Chinas first human spaceflight, Shenzhou 5. The crew were able to out of their new lighter space suits, conduct scientific experiments. It landed in the Siziwang Banner of Inner Mongolia on October 16,2005 and this is the first spaceflight for both crew members. The crew was introduced to the Chinese public and international media about five hours before the launch, Niè Hǎishèng celebrated his 41st birthday in space. Huang Chunping, the designer of the Long March 2F rocket, was quoted in the Beijing Times as saying the crew members who would fly the mission were selected from a pool of three pairs. Five pairs of astronauts trained for the flight and about one month before launch the two pairs with the lowest performance were dropped. The Ta Kung Pao newspaper had reported that Zhai Zhigang and Nie Haisheng were the leading pair, the crew arrived at the spacecraft about 2 hours and 45 minutes before the launch and the hatch closed 30 minutes after their arrival. At 01,00,05.583 UTC on October 12 Shenzhou 6 lifted off from the pad at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The launch phase was reported to be normal with the escape rocket separating 120 seconds after launch when the rocket was travelling 1,300 m/s, sixteen seconds later the four booster rockets separated at an altitude of 52 km. The payload fairing and first stage detached 200 seconds after launch, the second stage burned for a further 383 seconds and the spacecraft separated from the rocket 200 km above the Yellow Sea. The spacecraft then used its own system to place it into a 211 km by 345 km orbit, with an inclination of 42.4 degrees. At 01,39 UTC Chen Bingde, the Chief Commander of the Chinese space program, the crew ate their first meal in space at 03,11 UTC. Before the flight, the time had been the object of speculation by the Chinese media. For several months before the launch its time was only given as mid-October. Then on September 23 it was reported by the Hong Kong-based news agency China News Service that the launch was scheduled for 03,00 UTC on October 13. This launch time was confirmed two weeks later by Jiang Jingshan, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. But then on October 10 an official from the department of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center said the launch was then scheduled for 01,00 UTC on October 12
34.
Vietnam
–
Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. With an estimated 92.7 million inhabitants as of 2016, it is the worlds 14th-most-populous country, and its capital city has been Hanoi since the reunification of North and South Vietnam in 1976, with Ho Chi Minh City as a historical city as well. The northern part of Vietnam was part of Imperial China for over a millennium, an independent Vietnamese state was formed in 939, following a Vietnamese victory in the Battle of Bạch Đằng River. Following a Japanese occupation in the 1940s, the Vietnamese fought French rule in the First Indochina War, thereafter, Vietnam was divided politically into two rival states, North Vietnam, and South Vietnam. Conflict between the two sides intensified in what is known as the Vietnam War, the war ended with a North Vietnamese victory in 1975. Vietnam was then unified under a communist government but remained impoverished, in 1986, the government initiated a series of economic and political reforms which began Vietnams path towards integration into the world economy. By 2000, it had established relations with all nations. Since 2000, Vietnams economic growth rate has been among the highest in the world and its successful economic reforms resulted in its joining the World Trade Organization in 2007. It is also a member of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, Vietnam remains one of the worlds four remaining one-party socialist states officially espousing communism. The name Việt Nam is a variation of Nam Việt, a name that can be traced back to the Triệu Dynasty of the 2nd century BC. The word Việt originated as a form of Bách Việt. The form Vietnam is first recorded in the 16th-century oracular poem Sấm Trạng Trình, the name has also been found on 12 steles carved in the 16th and 17th centuries, including one at Bao Lam Pagoda in Haiphong that dates to 1558. Then, as recorded, rewarded Yuenan/Vietnam as their nations name, to also show that they are below the region of Baiyue/Bach Viet. Between 1804 and 1813, the name was used officially by Emperor Gia Long and it was revived in the early 20th century by Phan Bội Châus History of the Loss of Vietnam, and later by the Vietnamese Nationalist Party. The country was usually called Annam until 1945, when both the government in Huế and the Viet Minh government in Hanoi adopted Việt Nam. Archaeological excavations have revealed the existence of humans in what is now Vietnam as early as the Paleolithic age, Homo erectus fossils dating to around 500,000 BC have been found in caves in Lạng Sơn and Nghệ An provinces in northern Vietnam. The oldest Homo sapiens fossils from mainland Southeast Asia are of Middle Pleistocene provenance, teeth attributed to Homo sapiens from the Late Pleistocene have also been found at Dong Can, and from the Early Holocene at Mai Da Dieu, Lang Gao and Lang Cuom. The Hồng Bàng dynasty of the Hùng kings is considered the first Vietnamese state, in 257 BC, the last Hùng king was defeated by Thục Phán, who consolidated the Lạc Việt and Âu Việt tribes to form the Âu Lạc, proclaiming himself An Dương Vương
35.
Asia
–
Asia covers an area of 44,579,000 square kilometres, about 30% of Earths total land area and 8. 7% of the Earths total surface area. The continent, which has long been home to the majority of the population, was the site of many of the first civilizations. Asia is notable for not only its large size and population. In general terms, Asia is bounded on the east by the Pacific Ocean, on the south by the Indian Ocean, the western boundary with Europe is a historical and cultural construct, as there is no clear physical and geographical separation between them. The most commonly accepted boundaries place Asia to the east of the Suez Canal, the Ural River, and the Ural Mountains, and south of the Caucasus Mountains, China and India alternated in being the largest economies in the world from 1 to 1800 A. D. The accidental discovery of America by Columbus in search for India demonstrates this deep fascination, the Silk Road became the main East-West trading route in the Asian hitherland while the Straits of Malacca stood as a major sea route. Asia has exhibited economic dynamism as well as robust population growth during the 20th century, given its size and diversity, the concept of Asia—a name dating back to classical antiquity—may actually have more to do with human geography than physical geography. Asia varies greatly across and within its regions with regard to ethnic groups, cultures, environments, economics, historical ties, the boundary between Asia and Africa is the Red Sea, the Gulf of Suez, and the Suez Canal. This makes Egypt a transcontinental country, with the Sinai peninsula in Asia, the border between Asia and Europe was historically defined by European academics. In Sweden, five years after Peters death, in 1730 Philip Johan von Strahlenberg published a new atlas proposing the Urals as the border of Asia, the Russians were enthusiastic about the concept, which allowed them to keep their European identity in geography. Tatishchev announced that he had proposed the idea to von Strahlenberg, the latter had suggested the Emba River as the lower boundary. Over the next century various proposals were made until the Ural River prevailed in the mid-19th century, the border had been moved perforce from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea into which the Ural River projects. The border between the Black Sea and the Caspian is usually placed along the crest of the Caucasus Mountains, the border between Asia and the loosely defined region of Oceania is usually placed somewhere in the Malay Archipelago. The terms Southeast Asia and Oceania, devised in the 19th century, have had several different geographic meanings since their inception. The chief factor in determining which islands of the Malay Archipelago are Asian has been the location of the possessions of the various empires there. Lewis and Wigen assert, The narrowing of Southeast Asia to its present boundaries was thus a gradual process, Asia is larger and more culturally diverse than Europe. It does not exactly correspond to the borders of its various types of constituents. From the time of Herodotus a minority of geographers have rejected the three-continent system on the grounds there is no or is no substantial physical separation between them