1.
Pinyin
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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
2.
Lanzhou
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Lanzhou is the capital and largest city of Gansu Province in Northwest China. The prefecture-level city, located on the banks of the Yellow River, is a key transportation hub. Historically, it has been a link on the Northern Silk Road. The city is also a center for industry and petrochemical industry. Lanzhou was previously ranked as one of the cities with the worst air quality in the world, due to industrial pollution, however, as of 2015 it was awarded Chinas climate progress title. Lanzhou is home to 3,616,163 inhabitants at the 2010 census and 2,177,130 in the area of 1,088 square kilometres. Originally in the territory of the Western Qiang peoples, Lanzhou became part of the territory of the State of Qin in the 6th century BC. In 81 BC, under the Han dynasty, it was taken from the Huns Huandi Chanyu and made the seat of Jincheng commandery, to protect the city, the Great Wall of China was extended as far as Yumen. Parts of the Great Wall still exist within the built-up area, after the fall of the Han dynasty, Lanzhou became the capital of a succession of tribal states. In the 4th century it was briefly the capital of the independent state of Liang, the Northern Wei dynasty reestablished Jincheng commandery, renaming the county Zicheng. Mixed with different cultural heritages, the area at present-day Gansu province, from the 5th to the 11th century, under the Sui Dynasty the city became the seat of Lanzhou prefecture for the first time, retaining this name under the Tang dynasty. In 763 the area was overrun by the Tibetan Empire and in 843 was conquered by the Tang, later it fell into the hands of the Western Xia dynasty and was subsequently absorbed by the Song dynasty in 1041. The name Lanzhou was reestablished, and the county renamed Lanzhuan, after 1127 it fell into the hands of the Jin dynasty, and after 1235 it came into the possession of the Mongol Empire. Under the Ming dynasty the prefecture was demoted to a county and placed under the administration of Lintao superior prefecture, the city acquired its current name in 1656, during the Qing dynasty. When Gansu was made a province in 1666, Lanzhou became its capital. In 1739 the seat of Lintao was transferred to Lanzhou, which was made a superior prefecture called Lanzhou. Lanzhou was badly damaged during the Dungan revolt in 1864–1875, in the 1920s and 1930s it became a center of Soviet influence in northwestern China. This highway remained the primary route of northwestern China until the completion of the railway from Lanzhou to Ürümqi
3.
Gansu
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Gansu is a province of the Peoples Republic of China, located in the northwest of the country. It lies between the Tibetan and Loess plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, the Yellow River passes through the southern part of the province. Gansu has a population of 26 million and covers an area of 425,800 square kilometres, the capital is Lanzhou, located in the southeast part of the province. Gansu is a compound of the names of Ganzhou and Suzhou, Gansu is abbreviated as 甘 or 陇, and is also known as Longxi or Longyou, in reference to the Long Mountain east of Gansu. Gansu is a name first used during the Song dynasty of two Sui and Tang dynasty prefectures, Gan and Su. In prehistoric times, Gansu was host to Neolithic cultures, the Dadiwan culture, from where archaeologically significant artifacts have been excavated, flourished in the eastern end of Gansu from about 6000 BC to about 3000 BC. The Majiayao culture and part of the Qijia culture took root in Gansu from 3100 BC to 2700 BC and 2400 BC to 1900 BC respectively, the Yuezhi originally lived in the very western part of Gansu until they were forced to emigrate by the Xiongnu around 177 BCE. The State of Qin, later to become the state of the Chinese empire, grew out from the southeastern part of Gansu. The Qin name is believed to have originated, in part, Qin tombs and artifacts have been excavated from Fangmatan near Tianshui, including one 2200-year-old map of Guixian County. In imperial times, Gansu was an important strategic outpost and communications link for the Chinese empire, the Han dynasty extended the Great Wall across this corridor, building the strategic Yumenguan and Yangguan fort towns along it. Remains of the wall and the towns can be found there, the Ming dynasty built the Jiayuguan outpost in Gansu. By the Qingshui treaty, concluded in 823 between the Tibetan Empire and the Tang dynasty, China lost a part of Gansu province for a significant period. After the fall of the Uyghur Empire, an Uyghur state was established in parts of Gansu that lasted from 848 to 1036 AD, during that time, many of Gansus residents were converted to Islam. Along the Silk Road, Gansu was an important province. Temples and Buddhist grottoes such as those at Mogao Caves and Maijishan Caves contain artistically and historically revealing murals. An early form of paper inscribed with Chinese characters and dating to about 8 BC was discovered at the site of a Western Han garrison near the Yumen pass in August 2006, the province was also the origin of the Dungan Revolt of 1862-77. Among the Qing forces were Muslim generals like Ma Zhanao and Ma Anliang who helped Qing crush the rebel Muslims, the revolt spread into Gansu from neighbouring Qinghai. Frequent earthquakes, droughts and famines have tended to slow progress of the province until recently
4.
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
5.
Mandopop
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Mandopop refers to Mandarin popular music. It is now used as a term to describe popular songs performed in Mandarin. Mandopop is categorized as a subgenre of commercial Chinese-language music within C-pop, Mandopop was the first variety of popular music in Chinese to establish itself as a viable industry. It originated in Shanghai, and later Hong Kong, Taipei, among the countries where Mandopop is most popular are mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Singapore. S. to record local music in Asia. The recordings were then manufactured outside China and re-imported by the Gramophone Company’s sales agent in China, the Moudeli Company dominated the market before the 1910s until the Pathé Records took over the leading role. Pathé was founded in 1908 by a Frenchman named Labansat who had started a novelty entertainment business using phonograph in Shanghai around the beginning of the 20th century. It originally recorded mainly Peking opera, but later expanded to Mandarin popular music, later other foreign as well as Chinese-own recording companies were also established in China. Early in the 20th century, people in China generally spoke in their own regional dialect, although most people in Shanghai then spoke Shanghainese, the recordings of the pop music from Shanghai from the 1920s onwards were done in Standard Mandarin, which is based on the Beijing dialect. Those involved in this movement included such as Li Jinhui. Mandarin popular songs started in the 1920s were called shidaiqu. The Mandarin popular songs of the Shanghai era are considered by scholars to be the first kind of popular music developed in China. Li Jinhui is generally regarded as the Father of Chinese Popular Music who established the genre in the 1920s, buck Clayton, the American jazz musician, also worked alongside Li. Li established the Bright Moon Song and Dance Troupe, and amongst their singing stars were Wang Renmei, there was a close relationship between music and film industries and many of its singers also became actresses. Around 1927, Li composed the hit song The Drizzle recorded by his daughter Li Minghui, the song however was sung in a high-pitched childlike style, a style described uncharitably as sounding like strangling cat by the writer Lu Xun. This early style would soon be replaced by more sophisticated performances from better-trained singers, in 1931, the first sound film was made in China in a cooperation between the Mingxing Film Company and Pathé. Amongst the best-known of the singer-actress to emerge in the 1930s were Zhou Xuan, Gong Qiuxia, although later singing stars need not also have an acting career, the close relationship between the recording and film industries continued for many decades. Later Yao Lee, Bai Guang, Li Xianglan, Wu Yingyin also became popular, other notable singers of this period include Li Lihua and Chang Loo. In 1940 Yao Lee recorded Rose, Rose, I Love You which later became the first Chinese pop song to be covered by Western singers that was a hit
6.
K-pop
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K-pop is a music genre originating in South Korea that is characterized by a wide variety of audiovisual elements. The more modern form of the genre emerged with one of the earliest K-pop groups, Seo Taiji and Boys and their experimentation with different styles of music reshaped Koreas music scene. As a result, the integration of foreign musical elements has now become common practice with K-pop artists, K-pop entered the Japanese market at the turn of the 21st century and rapidly grew into a subculture among teenagers and young adults of East and Southeast Asia. Although K-pop generally refers to South Korean popular music, some consider it to be an all-encompassing genre exhibiting a vast spectrum of musical and visual elements, the French Institut national de laudiovisuel defines K-pop as a fusion of synthesized music, sharp dance routines and fashionable, colorful outfits. Songs typically consist of one or a mixture of pop, rock, hip hop, R&B, Management agencies in South Korea offer binding contracts to potential artists, sometimes at a young age. Trainees live together in an environment and spend many hours a day learning music, dance, foreign languages. This robotic system of training is often criticized by Western media outlets, in 2012, The Wall Street Journal reported that the cost of training one Korean pop idol under S. M. K-pop is a product that features “values, identity and meanings that go beyond their strictly commercial value. ”It is characterized by a mixture of Western sounds with an Asian aspect of performance. It has been remarked that there is a vision of modernization inherent in Korean pop culture, for some, the transnational values of K-pop are responsible for its success. Many agencies have presented new idol groups to an audience through a debut showcase, groups are given a name and a concept, along with a marketing hook. Sometimes sub-units or sub-groups are formed among existing members, an example subgroup is Super Junior-K. R. Y. Which consists of members Kyuhyun, Ryeowook, and Yesung, and Super Junior-M, online marketing includes music videos posted to YouTube in order to reach a worldwide audience. Prior to the video, the group releases teaser photos. Promotional cycles of subsequent singles are called comebacks even when the musician or group in question did not go on hiatus, modern K-pop is marked by its use of English phrases. In 1995, the percentage of song titles using English in the top 50 charts was 8% and this fluctuated between 30% in 2000, 18% in 2005, and 44% in 2010. Similarly, increasing numbers of K-pop bands use English names rather than Korean ones and this allows songs and artists to be marketed to a wider audience around the world. An example of a Korean song with a proportion of English lyrics is Kara’s Jumping. Increasingly, foreign songwriters and producers are employed to work on songs for K-pop idols, such as will. i. am, musicians, including rappers such as Akon, Kanye West, Ludacris, and Snoop Dogg, have also featured on K-pop songs
7.
Singing
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Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of sustained tonality, rhythm, and a variety of vocal techniques. A person who sings is called a singer or vocalist, Singers perform music that can be sung with or without accompaniment by musical instruments. Singing is often done in an ensemble of musicians, such as a choir of singers or a band of instrumentalists, Singers may perform as soloists, or accompanied by anything from a single instrument up to a symphony orchestra or big band. Singing can be formal or informal, arranged or improvised and it may be done as a form of religious devotion, as a hobby, as a source of pleasure, comfort, or ritual, as part of music education, or as a profession. Excellence in singing requires time, dedication, instruction, and regular practice, if practice is done on a regular basis then the sounds can become more clear and strong. Professional singers usually build their careers around one specific genre, such as classical or rock. They typically take voice training provided by teachers or vocal coaches throughout their careers. Though these four mechanisms function independently, they are coordinated in the establishment of a vocal technique and are made to interact upon one another. During passive breathing, air is inhaled with the diaphragm while exhalation occurs without any effort, exhalation may be aided by the abdominal, internal intercostal and lower pelvis/pelvic muscles. Inhalation is aided by use of external intercostals, scalenes and sternocleidomastoid muscles, the pitch is altered with the vocal cords. With the lips closed, this is called humming, humans have vocal folds which can loosen, tighten, or change their thickness, and over which breath can be transferred at varying pressures. The shape of the chest and neck, the position of the tongue, any one of these actions results in a change in pitch, volume, timbre, or tone of the sound produced. Sound also resonates within different parts of the body and an individuals size, Singers can also learn to project sound in certain ways so that it resonates better within their vocal tract. This is known as vocal resonation, another major influence on vocal sound and production is the function of the larynx which people can manipulate in different ways to produce different sounds. These different kinds of function are described as different kinds of vocal registers. The primary method for singers to accomplish this is through the use of the Singers Formant and it has also been shown that a more powerful voice may be achieved with a fatter and fluid-like vocal fold mucosa. The more pliable the mucosa, the more efficient the transfer of energy from the airflow to the vocal folds, Vocal registration refers to the system of vocal registers within the voice. A register in the voice is a series of tones, produced in the same vibratory pattern of the vocal folds
8.
CJ E&M
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CJ E&M Corporation, formerly O Media Holdings Limited is a South Korean entertainment and media contents company. It is a subsidiary of the CJ Group,2010 – O Media Holdings was founded as a merger of the following companies, CJ Media, On-Media, Mnet Media, CJ Entertainment, CJ Games, CJ Internet, and the media division of CJ O Shopping. Responding to the suit, CJ E&M accused DFSB of being unhappy on the decision on a similar lawsuit filed in Seoul in 2011. The first trial was set for March 1,2016 after the court rejected CJ E&Ms motion to dismiss the case, CJ E&M. CJ E&M Corp Corporate Shares and Equity Securities Disposal Decisions. 130960, KOSDAQ Stock Quote - CJ E&M Corp
9.
Chinese name
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Chinese personal names are names used by those from mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and the Chinese diaspora overseas. Prior to the 20th century, educated Chinese also utilized a courtesy name or style name called zi by which they were known among those outside of their family and closest friends. From at least the time of the Shang dynasty, the Han Chinese observed a number of naming taboos regulating who may or may not use a given name. In general, using the given name connoted the speakers authority, peers and younger relatives were barred from speaking it. Owing to this, many historical Chinese figures – particularly emperors – used a half-dozen or more different names in different contexts and those possessing names identical to the emperors were frequently forced to change them. Although some terms in the ancient Chinese naming system, such as xìng and míng, are used today, they were used in different. Commoners possessed only a name, and the modern concept of a surname or family name did not yet exist at any level of society.3 billion citizens. In fact, just the top three – Wang, Li, and Zhang – cover more than 20% of the population. This homogeneity results from the majority of Han family names having only one character. Chinese surnames arose from two separate traditions, the xìng and the shì. The original xìng were clans of royalty at the Shang court, the shì did not originate from families, but denoted fiefs, states, and titles granted or recognized by the Shang court. Apart from the Jiang and Yao families, the original xìng have nearly disappeared, xìng is now used to describe the shì surnames which replaced them, while shì is used to refer to maiden names. The enormous modern clans sometimes share ancestral halls with one another, nonetheless, however tenuous these bonds sometimes are, it remains a minor taboo to marry someone with the same family name. In modern mainland China, it is the norm that a woman keeps her name unchanged. A child usually inherits his/her fathers surname, though the law explicitly states that a child may use either parents or the grandparents. It is also possible, though far less common, for a child to both parents surnames. In the older generations, it was common for a married woman to prepend her husbands surname to her own. This practice is now almost extinct in mainland China, though there are a few such as the name change of Gu Kailai, but survives in some Hong Kong, Macau
10.
Chinese surname
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Chinese surnames are used by Han Chinese and Sinicized ethnic groups in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore, Vietnam and among overseas Chinese communities. In ancient times two types of surnames existed, namely xing or lineage names, and shi or clan names, Chinese family names are patrilineal, passed from father to children. Women do not normally change their surnames upon marriage, except in places with more Western influences such as Hong Kong, traditionally Chinese surnames have been exogamous. The colloquial expressions laobaixing and bǎixìng are used in Chinese to mean ordinary folks, prior to the Warring States period, only the ruling families and the aristocratic elite had surnames. Historically there was also a difference between clan names or xing and lineages names or shi, Xing were surnames held by the noble clans. They generally are composed of a nü radical which has taken by some as evidence they originated from matriarchal societies based on maternal lineages. Another hypothesis has been proposed by sinologist Léon Vandermeersch upon observation of the evolution of characters in oracular scripture from the Shang dynasty through the Zhou, the female radical seems to appear at the Zhou period next to Shang sinograms indicating an ethnic group or a tribe. This combination seems to designate specifically a female and could mean lady of such or such clan, prior to the Qin Dynasty China was largely a fengjian society. In this way, a nobleman would hold a shi and a xing, after the states of China were unified by Qin Shi Huang in 221 BC, surnames gradually spread to the lower classes and the difference between xing and shi blurred. Many shi surnames survive to the present day, according to Kiang Kang-Hu, there are 18 sources from which Chinese surnames may be derived, while others suggested at least 24. The following are some of the sources, Xing, These were usually reserved for the central lineage of the royal family. Of these xings, only Jiang and Yao have survived in their form to modern days as frequently occurring surnames. Royal decree by the Emperor, such as Kuang, state name, Many nobles and commoners took the name of their state, either to show their continuing allegiance or as a matter of national and ethnic identity. These are some of the most common Chinese surnames, name of a fief or place of origin, Fiefdoms were often granted to collateral branches of the aristocracy and it was natural as part of the process of sub-surnaming for their names to be used. An example is Di, Marquis of Ouyangting, whose descendants took the surname Ouyang, there are some two hundred examples of this identified, often of two-character surnames, but few have survived to the present. Names of an ancestor, Like the previous example, this was also a common origin with close to 500 or 600 examples,200 of which are two-character surnames, often an ancestors courtesy name would be used. For example, Yuan Taotu took the character of his grandfathers courtesy name Boyuan as his surname. Sometimes titles granted to ancestors could also be taken as surnames, seniority within the family, In ancient usage, the characters of meng, zhong, shu and ji were used to denote the first, second, third and fourth eldest sons in a family
11.
Chinese language
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Chinese is a group of related, but in many cases mutually unintelligible, language varieties, forming a branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family. Chinese is spoken by the Han majority and many ethnic groups in China. Nearly 1.2 billion people speak some form of Chinese as their first language, the varieties of Chinese are usually described by native speakers as dialects of a single Chinese language, but linguists note that they are as diverse as a language family. The internal diversity of Chinese has been likened to that of the Romance languages, There are between 7 and 13 main regional groups of Chinese, of which the most spoken by far is Mandarin, followed by Wu, Min, and Yue. Most of these groups are mutually unintelligible, although some, like Xiang and certain Southwest Mandarin dialects, may share common terms, all varieties of Chinese are tonal and analytic. Standard Chinese is a form of spoken Chinese based on the Beijing dialect of Mandarin. It is the language of China and Taiwan, as well as one of four official languages of Singapore. It is one of the six languages of the United Nations. The written form of the language, based on the logograms known as Chinese characters, is shared by literate speakers of otherwise unintelligible dialects. Of the other varieties of Chinese, Cantonese is the spoken language and official in Hong Kong and Macau. It is also influential in Guangdong province and much of Guangxi, dialects of Southern Min, part of the Min group, are widely spoken in southern Fujian, with notable variants also spoken in neighboring Taiwan and in Southeast Asia. Hakka also has a diaspora in Taiwan and southeast Asia. Shanghainese and other Wu varieties are prominent in the lower Yangtze region of eastern China, Chinese can be traced back to a hypothetical Sino-Tibetan proto-language. The first written records appeared over 3,000 years ago during the Shang dynasty, as the language evolved over this period, the various local varieties became mutually unintelligible. In reaction, central governments have sought to promulgate a unified standard. Difficulties have included the great diversity of the languages, the lack of inflection in many of them, in addition, many of the smaller languages are spoken in mountainous areas that are difficult to reach, and are often also sensitive border zones. Without a secure reconstruction of proto-Sino-Tibetan, the structure of the family remains unclear. A top-level branching into Chinese and Tibeto-Burman languages is often assumed, the earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones from around 1250 BCE in the late Shang dynasty
12.
Actor
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An actor is a person who portrays a character in a performance. Simplistically speaking, the person denominated actor or actress is someone beautiful who plays important characters, the actor performs in the flesh in the traditional medium of the theatre, or in modern mediums such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is ὑποκριτής, literally one who answers, the actors interpretation of their role pertains to the role played, whether based on a real person or fictional character. Interpretation occurs even when the actor is playing themselves, as in forms of experimental performance art, or, more commonly, to act, is to create. Formerly, in societies, only men could become actors. When used for the stage, women played the roles of prepubescent boys. The etymology is a derivation from actor with ess added. However, when referring to more than one performer, of both sexes, actor is preferred as a term for male performers. Actor is also used before the name of a performer as a gender-specific term. Within the profession, the re-adoption of the term dates to the 1950–1960s. As Whoopi Goldberg put it in an interview with the paper, Im an actor – I can play anything. The U. K. performers union Equity has no policy on the use of actor or actress, an Equity spokesperson said that the union does not believe that there is a consensus on the matter and stated that the. subject divides the profession. In 2009, the Los Angeles Times stated that Actress remains the term used in major acting awards given to female recipients. However, player remains in use in the theatre, often incorporated into the name of a group or company, such as the American Players. Also, actors in improvisational theatre may be referred to as players, prior to Thespis act, Grecian stories were only expressed in song, dance, and in third person narrative. In honor of Thespis, actors are commonly called Thespians, the exclusively male actors in the theatre of ancient Greece performed in three types of drama, tragedy, comedy, and the satyr play. Western theatre developed and expanded considerably under the Romans, as the Western Roman Empire fell into decay through the 4th and 5th centuries, the seat of Roman power shifted to Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire. Records show that mime, pantomime, scenes or recitations from tragedies and comedies, dances, from the 5th century, Western Europe was plunged into a period of general disorder
13.
Super Boy (TV series)
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Super Boy or Happy Boy was a Chinese singing contest for male contestants, organized by Hunan Satellite Television in 2007, as a spin-off of its popular Super Girl series. Its a talent show which aims at uncovering talented tomorrow new male stars, partly inspired by the many spinoffs of the UK show Pop Idol, the competition was open to any male contestant regardless of his origin, appearance, or how he sings. The almost unrestricted audition sessions drew contestants of ages ranging from 4 to 89 years old, many applicants travelled long distances to take part in the competition hoping to become a star. Following the selection of contestants in the six regions, the competition began with the preliminary rounds, preliminaries were held in each of the six locations where auditions were located. Television viewers were able to each of the preliminaries and vote for their favorite singers. Voting was conducted by telephone and text messaging, the regional preliminaries are followed by a weekly broadcast knockout competition held in Changsha, Hunan province. Viewers call in to vote for their favourite singers, and the weakest two—as voted by the judges, the term is derived from kill-or-be-killed multiplayer online games. The singer with the least number of votes is then eliminated, unlike Pop Idol, the last event is contested between the final three, rather than the final two contestants. Unlike American Idol, judges for the competition were selected from different backgrounds in society, a few dozen audience judges were selected in addition to several professional judges. This was, according to Jim Yardley of International Herald Tribune, the contest selected many stars like Chen Chusheng, Jason Zhang, Chen Xiang, Vision Wei, Hua Chenyu and so on. It gives the boys, who love music, the way to achieve dreams. But it also caused some criticism, some people think it contributes to the atmosphere of daydream of becoming stars. Many young people change their attention from study to music and singing, in sum, it once became a fashion. The first season of Super Boy aired from May 25 to July 20,2007, although the winners of the competition were not promised recording contracts, the top three winners signed such deals. Well Li Wei - Fuzhou Area - 1st place - Champion 09, liu Xin - Changsha Area - 2nd place 02. Philip - Changsha Area - 3rd place 11, jaki Tan Jiexi - Guangzhou Area - 4th place 12. Chen Xiang - Chengdu Area - 5th place 04, Li Hangliang - Guangzhou Area - 6th place 03. King Wang Ye - Shenyang Area - 7th place 13,8090 - Kuai Le Tian Tuan - 8th place 10
14.
Piano
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The piano is an acoustic, stringed musical instrument invented around the year 1700, in which the strings are struck by hammers. It is played using a keyboard, which is a row of keys that the performer presses down or strikes with the fingers and thumbs of both hands to cause the hammers to strike the strings. The word piano is a form of pianoforte, the Italian term for the early 1700s versions of the instrument. The first fortepianos in the 1700s had a sound and smaller dynamic range. An acoustic piano usually has a wooden case surrounding the soundboard and metal strings. Pressing one or more keys on the keyboard causes a padded hammer to strike the strings. The hammer rebounds from the strings, and the continue to vibrate at their resonant frequency. These vibrations are transmitted through a bridge to a soundboard that amplifies by more efficiently coupling the acoustic energy to the air, when the key is released, a damper stops the strings vibration, ending the sound. Notes can be sustained, even when the keys are released by the fingers and thumbs and this means that the piano can play 88 different pitches, going from the deepest bass range to the highest treble. The black keys are for the accidentals, which are needed to play in all twelve keys, more rarely, some pianos have additional keys. Most notes have three strings, except for the bass that graduates from one to two, the strings are sounded when keys are pressed or struck, and silenced by dampers when the hands are lifted from the keyboard. There are two types of piano, the grand piano and the upright piano. The grand piano is used for Classical solos, chamber music and art song and it is used in jazz. The upright piano, which is compact, is the most popular type, as they are a better size for use in private homes for domestic music-making. During the nineteenth century, music publishers produced many works in arrangements for piano, so that music lovers could play. The piano is widely employed in classical, jazz, traditional and popular music for solo and ensemble performances, accompaniment, with technological advances, amplified electric pianos, electronic pianos, and digital pianos have also been developed. The electric piano became an instrument in the 1960s and 1970s genres of jazz fusion, funk music. The piano was founded on earlier technological innovations in keyboard instruments, pipe organs have been used since Antiquity, and as such, the development of pipe organs enabled instrument builders to learn about creating keyboard mechanisms for sounding pitches
15.
Thailand
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Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand, formerly known as Siam, is a country at the centre of the Indochinese peninsula in Southeast Asia. With a total area of approximately 513,000 km2, Thailand is the worlds 51st-largest country and it is the 20th-most-populous country in the world, with around 66 million people. The capital and largest city is Bangkok, Thailand is a constitutional monarchy and has switched between parliamentary democracy and military junta for decades, the latest coup being in May 2014 by the National Council for Peace and Order. Its capital and most populous city is Bangkok and its maritime boundaries include Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast, and Indonesia and India on the Andaman Sea to the southwest. The Thai economy is the worlds 20th largest by GDP at PPP and it became a newly industrialised country and a major exporter in the 1990s. Manufacturing, agriculture, and tourism are leading sectors of the economy and it is considered a middle power in the region and around the world. The country has always been called Mueang Thai by its citizens, by outsiders prior to 1949, it was usually known by the exonym Siam. The word Siam has been identified with the Sanskrit Śyāma, the names Shan and A-hom seem to be variants of the same word. The word Śyâma is possibly not its origin, but a learned, another theory is the name derives from Chinese, Ayutthaya emerged as a dominant centre in the late fourteenth century. The Chinese called this region Xian, which the Portuguese converted into Siam, the signature of King Mongkut reads SPPM Mongkut King of the Siamese, giving the name Siam official status until 24 June 1939 when it was changed to Thailand. Thailand was renamed Siam from 1945 to 11 May 1949, after which it reverted to Thailand. According to George Cœdès, the word Thai means free man in the Thai language, ratcha Anachak Thai means kingdom of Thailand or kingdom of Thai. Etymologically, its components are, ratcha, -ana- -chak, the Thai National Anthem, written by Luang Saranupraphan during the extremely patriotic 1930s, refers to the Thai nation as, prathet Thai. The first line of the anthem is, prathet thai ruam lueat nuea chat chuea thai, Thailand is the unity of Thai flesh. There is evidence of habitation in Thailand that has been dated at 40,000 years before the present. Similar to other regions in Southeast Asia, Thailand was heavily influenced by the culture and religions of India, Thailand in its earliest days was under the rule of the Khmer Empire, which had strong Hindu roots, and the influence among Thais remains even today. Voretzsch believes that Buddhism must have been flowing into Siam from India in the time of the Indian Emperor Ashoka of the Maurya Empire, later Thailand was influenced by the south Indian Pallava dynasty and north Indian Gupta Empire. The Menam Basin was originally populated by the Mons, and the location of Dvaravati in the 7th century, the History of the Yuan mentions an embassy from the kingdom of Sukhothai in 1282
16.
Joan Chen
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Joan Chen is a Chinese American actress, film director, screenwriter, and film producer. In China she performed in the 1979 film Little Flower and came to attention for her performance in the 1987 Academy Award-winning film The Last Emperor. She is also known for her roles in Twin Peaks, Red Rose, White Rose, Saving Face, and The Home Song Stories, Chen Chong was born in Shanghai, to a family of pharmacologists. She and her brother, Chase, were raised during the Cultural Revolution. At the age of 14, Chen was discovered on the rifle range by Jiang Qing. Chen graduated from school a year in advance, and at the age of 17 entered the prestigious Shanghai International Studies University. Chen Chong performed alongside Tang Guoqiang in Zhang Zhengs Little Flower in 1979, Chen portrayed a pre-Maoist revolutionarys daughter, who, reunited with her brother, a wounded Communist soldier, later learned that his doctor was her biological mother. In addition, Chen was in the 1979 film Hearts for the Motherland, the songs, I Love You, China and High Flies the Petrel, sung by Chens character, are perennial favorites in China. In 1981, Chen starred in Awakening, directed by Teng Wenji, at age 20, Chen moved to the United States, where she studied filmmaking at California State University, Northridge. Her first Hollywood movie was Tai-Pan, filmed on location in China and she went on to star in Bernardo Bertoluccis The Last Emperor in 1987 and the David Lynch/Mark Frost television series Twin Peaks as Josie Packard. She starred alongside Rutger Hauer in 1989s The Blood of Heroes, written, in 1993 she co-starred in Oliver Stones Heaven & Earth. She portrayed two different characters in Clara Laws Temptation of a Monk, a princess of Tang dynasty. The award-winning film was adapted from a novel by Lilian Lee, in 1996, she was a member of the jury at the 46th Berlin International Film Festival. She later directed Autumn in New York, starring Richard Gere and Winona Ryder, in the middle of the 2000s, Chen made a comeback in acting and began to work intensely, alternating between English and Chinese-language roles. In 2004, she starred in Hou Yongs family saga Jasmine Women, alongside Zhang Ziyi, in 2005, she appeared in Zhang Yangs family saga Sunflower, as a mother whose husband and son have a troubled father-son relationship over 30 years. She portrayed a glamorous and unstable Chinese nightclub singer who struggles to survive in seventies Australia with her two children, the role earned her four awards including the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress and the Golden Horse Award for Best Actress. In 2008, she starred alongside Sam Chow in Shi Qi, directed by Joe Chow, as a rural mother of a 17-year-old in eastern Zhejiang province. The same year Joan Chen portrayed in Jia Zhangkes 24 City a factory worker once fancied because she resembled Chen herself in the 1979 film Little Flower, but who missed her chance at love
17.
Lee Joon
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Lee Chang-seon, better known by his stage name Lee Joon, is a South Korean actor. He is best known as a member of the South Korean boy band MBLAQ. Since early 2015 he has signed to Prain TPC, which manages other actors such as Ryu Seung-ryong, Park Ji-young. After training under Rain and J. Tune Entertainment, Lee became a member of South Korean quintet male group MBLAQ, serving as a vocalist and main dancer. The group debuted on October 9,2009 at Rains Legend of Rainism concert where they performed songs from their then-unreleased single album Just BLAQ. Their performance was met with praise, with many concert spectators, MBLAQs first single, Oh Yeah, was released to the public through a music video on October 14,2009 with their debut single album, Just BLAQ releasing on the same day. MBLAQ made their broadcast debut with the song Oh Yeah on Mnets M. Countdown, MBLAQ made their Japanese debut on May 3,2011 with an event held at the Kanagawa Lazona Kawasaki Plaza which gathered a reported 10,000 fans. A day later, on May 4, they released their first Japanese single Your Luv which immediately reached first position of the Oricon Daily Charts, with MBLAQ, he has released three single albums, seven EPs and one studio album. He is also one of the guests for SBS Running Man. The episodes that he appeared on are namely, Episode 8,95,108,129,162 and 320, in late 2009, after MBLAQs debut, Lee was cast as a permanent cast member in the television shows Star Golden Bell Season 2 and Oh. On February 26,2010, it was announced that Lee and seven other artists from 2PM, 2AM, in 2010, he was cast in Jungle Fish 2, a youth drama which tackles real life issues about students. And Housewife Kim Kwang Jas Third Activity which aired on September 22,2010 and he participated in the OST for Jungle Fish 2, singing the song 슬픈예감 with Hong Jong-hyun. In 2011, Lee lent his voice for the Korean dub of the film Gnomeo & Juliet, on January 6,2012 it was announced that Lee and After Schools Lizzy would become a dance couple for MBCs Lunar New Year special programPit-a-Pat Shake. Lee also joined the variety program We Got Married, pairing up with Oh Yeon-seo. The same year, he was cast in Iris II, the sequel to the espionage series Iris. In 2013, Lee starred in the film Rough Play, produced by Kim Kiduk. The film was unusually risque for a pop idol due to the nude sex scenes he had to perform in it. In 2014, after his departure from MBLAQ, Lee was cast in the dramas Gap-dong, in 2015, Lee starred in SBSs Heard It Through the Grapevine, in which he plays the young son of a wealthy upper-class family who accidentally impregnates his lower-class girlfriend. During promotion of the drama, Lee stressed the importance of sex education among teenagers and he won Excellence Award at the 8th Korea Drama Awards and 4th APAN Star Awards for his performance
18.
MBLAQ
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MBLAQ is a South Korean boy band created by South-Korean entertainer Rain under J. Tune Camp. The group consists of Seungho, G. O, and Mir, the group debuted on October 15,2009, at Rains Legend of Rainism concert. On October 14,2009, the released their debut single album, Just BLAQ. The group then released their first extended play album Y on May 19,2010, on December 16,2014, it was announced Joon and Thunder had departed from the group and they will focus on individual activities for the time being. MBLAQ was first announced on September 21,2009 with an appearance in Nylon magazine, the group appeared alongside Rain, in his Legend of Rainism concert. They performed various songs from their produced EP, Just BLAQ and were met with praise, with spectators at the concert. The group released teasers for their song, Oh Yeah on October 12,2009 with the music video being released two days later. Coinciding with the video, MBLAQs debut single album Just BLAQ, was released on the same day. The next day, the made their broadcast debut on M. nets M. Countdown with Oh Yeah. In early December, the group debuted in Japan, following their performance during Rains fan meeting and their performance resulted in a documentary being produced surrounding their stay in Japan. Later that month, the group commenced promotions for their follow up track, two music videos were released, an unofficial music video prior to the official music video, which was released on December 10,2009. In May 2011, Thunder revealed that former member Sang Bae left the group due to his poor health, on May 17,2010, the group released their second single album, Y, a track that Rain wrote, composed, produced and choreographed. The music video for the track, Y, was released on the same day at midnight with teasers being released from May 6. On December 29,2010, MBLAQ released a music video, featuring their song Cry, for their upcoming full-length album. On December 30,2010, J. Tune Entertainment merged with JYP Entertainment, however, as MBLAQ is part of J. Tune Camp, they are not considered as part of JYP Entertainment, or have any ties with the company. MBLAQ returned to the scene in January 2011. MBLAQ participated in the production of BLAQ Style, with Seungho composing and playing the piano for the introductory track Sad Memories, on January 3,2011, J. Tune Camp released MBLAQs music video for Cry on YouTube, an R&B track produced by E-Tribe. The video gained more than 500,000 views within a week, J. Tune Camp announced that MBLAQ would be debuting in Japan in May, signing with Sony Music Japan
19.
M Countdown
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M Countdown is a South Korean music program broadcast by Mnet. It airs live every Thursday at 18,00 to 19,30 KST, the show features some of the latest and most popular artists who perform live on stage. The show is hosted by Shinees Key and co-hosted by various artists that are invited to the show each week and it is broadcast from CJ E&M Center Studio in Sangam-dong, Mapo District, Seoul. It also airs live in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Philippines, United States, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, segments previous airing include BSHOP where songwriter Bang Si-hyuk introduces some hit songs, and MCD DRAMA where the hosts act out scenarios. The current segment airing is MCD NEWS which reports the latest music industry news, and MCD Ranking which ranks celebrities with certain topics. As of June 11,2015, The chart featured on M. Countdown was calculated by combining Digital Single Sales, Album Sales, Social Media Points, Preference Points, Mnet Broadcast Points, after that, the song is removed from the chart. Music Core Arirang TV Pops in Seoul Arirang TV Simply K-Pop JTBC Music on Top MBC Music Show Champion SBS MTV The Show M Countdown – Official website
20.
Kim So-eun
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Kim So-eun is a South Korean actress. In 2015, she was paired with Song Jae-rim on season 4 of We Got Married, Kim So-eun made her acting debut with a bit part in the 2004 film Two Guys, when she was in junior high school. She then appeared in roles on TV and film, including Sisters of the Sea. Kim rose to fame in 2009 with her role as the heroines best friend. She portrayed an older mid 20s woman by joining the cast of comedy series He Who Cant Marry. She landed her first leading role in the 2010 daily drama A Good Day for the Wind to Blow and she then starred in weekend drama A Thousand Kisses, which explored age differences in relationships. In 2012, she starred in the ten-episode Chinese drama Secret Angel and she returned to Korean television in the cable drama Happy Ending. Kim and Lee Junho composed the song Love is Sad, which Lee also recorded, it was released as a single and featured on the soundtrack of Feast of the Gods. Kim played a girl who gets invited to a high school club, and encounters fantastical missions every episode. She and Victoria Song were also chosen to host Glitter, a variety show on the lives of trendy twenty-somethings, in 2014, Kim starred in the horror film Mourning Grave, playing a ghost girl who forms a friendship with a ghost-seeing high school boy Kang Ha-neul. This was followed by a role in Liar Game, a Korean drama adaptation of the titular Japanese manga by Shinobu Kaitani. Kim also joined the season of reality show We Got Married. In 2015, Kim starred in the webtoon adaptation Scholar Who Walks the Night, playing roles as a noblemans daughter. She is set to launch her activities in China through the romance film Sky Lantern, Kim will play a young lantern designer trying to move on after losing a loved one. In 2016, Kim signed with new management agency Will Entertainment, as a child, Kim trained professionally as a national athletic skier. Her training was put on hold after being scouted as a professional model in a 2003 junior advanced skiing and snowboarding competition in Pyeongchang
21.
Mnet 20's Choice Awards
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The Mnet 20s Choice Awards is a major music awards show that is held annually in South Korea, organized by CJ E&M through its Mnet channel. The exciting event was hosted by Shinhwa’s Minwoo and Jun Jin, with the theme of Legend of 20′s, the 20′s Choice Awards featured the young and fresh, as well as the experienced and legendary. Here is the list of winners, the theme of the 2012 show is Do Super 20’s and the nominations were announced on June 7, with the ceremony taking place on June 28
22.
Miss A
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Miss A, stylized as miss A, is a South Korean-Chinese girl group based in South Korea formed by JYP Entertainment in 2010. Their group name stands for Miss Asia and the highest rank, the group currently consists of three members, Suzy, Fei and Min. Their fourth member Jia, left the group in May 2016 following her contract expiration, originally, the group consisted of five trainees who were formed by JYP Entertainment in 2010. While still in training, the group flew to China where they appeared in variety shows performing dance routines. As the group had no name, they were known to the Chinese audiences as JYP Sisters. However, the group went through changes during this period. In March 2010, fifteen-year-old trainee Bae Suzy joined the group, the group began their first official promotional activities in China as a group by signing up with the Samsung Electronics group in China. The group released a song used for the commercial called Love Again for the Samsung Beat Festival, the song was written by Korean composer Super Changddai, and the music video was directed by Hong Won-ki. Lee Min Young, a solo artist and a trainee in America. She had auditioned when she was in the 6th grade, and she came back in 2008 to continue activities in Korea. During her time in New York, she studied at the Repertory Company High School in Manhattan and it was later announced that she would be joining the group under her stage name, Min, for their South Korean debut in April. Miss A made their debut in South Korea as a four-member group on July 1 with their single Bad Girl Good Girl. The song was taken from their single album Bad but Good. Miss A received first place in the on KBS Music Bank, the group also consequently got first place program Inkigayo from the SBS. On August 1,2010, Miss A received their first Mutizen award on M. nets M. Countdown, the song stayed as the number 1 song for four straight weeks, breaking the previous record set by Girls Generation. The group later on made their comeback with their single album called Step Up on September 26. The group promoted Breathe as the single for the single album and showed an exotic. The first performance was on M. Countdown on October 7, the group received first place on M. Countdown in the last week of October
23.
Mnet Media
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It is a subsidiary of the CJ Group. Once the home to top-selling artists/groups, such as Lee Hyori and SeeYa, its current roster of recording artists include, CNBLUE, CJ E&M Music won the Music Distributor of the Year trophy at the 3rd Gaon Chart K-Pop Awards in 2014. The CJ E&M Music Performance Division consists of five divisions, Music – entertainment management Broadcasting – variety program production, owns 2 music cable channels Mnet, online music content – runs online music store Mnet. to distribute video games. In 2014, CJ E&M launched a joint venture with Japans Victor Entertainment, in 2015, CJ E&M acquired Hip Hop label Hi-Lite Records In 2016, CJ E&M acquired shares and formed a Strategic Alliance/Partnership with AOMG. SG Wannabe Davichi Linuss Blanket Rocoberry Boys24 Roy Kim Eric Nam Emma Wu Kim Feel Heize AOMG is an independent subsidiary label of CJ E&M since 2016, Hi-Lite Records is an independent subsidiary label of CJ E&M since 2015. 1877 Entertainment is an independent subsidiary label of CJ E&M since 2014, MMO Entertainment is an in-house subsidiary label of CJ E&M. MMO means Music Makes One. Son Ho Young Park Bo Ram Hong Dae Kwang Trainees Kang Daniel Kim Jae-han Yoon Ji-sung Joo Jin-woo Choi Tae-woong The Music Works is a subsidiary label of CJ E&M. It was founded by Oh Won-chul, former CEO of Baek Ji-youngs former agency WS Entertainment, the agencys logo is a play on the letter M on Mnets logo, combining the letters M and W. Official website
24.
Guangzhou
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Guangzhou, traditionally romanised as Canton, is the capital and most populous city of the province of Guangdong in southern China. Guangzhou is currently, the third city in mainland China, behind Beijing and Shanghai, holds sub-provincial administrative status. In 2015 the citys area was estimated to have a population of 13,501,100. Some estimates place the population of the area of the Pearl River Delta Mega City as high as 44 million without the Hong Kong SAR and 54 million including it. Guangzhou is ranked as a Beta+ Global city, in recent years, there has been a rapidly increasing number of foreign residents and illegal immigrants from Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe, as well as from Africa. This has led to it being dubbed the Capital of the Third World, the migrant population from other provinces of China in Guangzhou was 40 percent of the citys total population in 2008. Long the only Chinese port accessible to foreign traders, the city fell to the British during the First Opium War. No longer enjoying a monopoly after the war, it lost trade to ports such as Hong Kong and Shanghai. In modern commerce, Guangzhou is best known for its annual Canton Fair, for the three consecutive years 2013–2015, Forbes ranked Guangzhou as the best commercial city on the Chinese mainland. Guǎngzhōu is the pinyin romanisation of the Chinese name 廣州, which was simplified in mainland China to 广州 in the 1950s, before acquiring its current name, the town was known as Panyu, a name still borne by one of Guangzhous districts. The origin of the name is uncertain, with 11 various explanations being offered. The city has sometimes been known as Guangzhou Fu or Guangfu after its status as the capital of a commandery. From this latter name, Guangzhou was known to medieval Persians such as Al-Masudi, under the Southern Han, the city was renamed Xingwang. Under the Qing, it was known to its inhabitants as simply The Provincial Capital. The Chinese abbreviation for Guangzhou is 穗, after its nickname Rice City, the former name City of the Immortals came from the same story. The more recent City of Flowers is usually taken as a reference to the areas greenery. The English name Canton derived from Portuguese Cantão or Cidade de Cantão, although it originally and chiefly applied to the walled city, it was also used in English in reference to Guangdong generally. It was adopted as the Postal Map Romanization of Guangzhou and remained in use until the gradual adoption of pinyin
25.
Super Junior
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Super Junior, also known as simply SJ or SUJU, is a South Korean boy band. Formed in 2005 by producer Lee Soo-man of S. M, Entertainment, the group comprised a total of thirteen members at its peak. Super Junior originally debuted with twelve members, consisting of leader Leeteuk, Heechul, Hangeng, Yesung, Kangin, Shindong, Sungmin, Eunhyuk, Siwon, Donghae, Ryeowook, Kyuhyun joined the group in 2006. Super Junior launched into international recognition following the release of their best-selling single Sorry, Sorry in 2009, over the years, they have been divided into smaller groups, simultaneously targeting different music industries and audiences. Largely due to Super Juniors success as entertainers, other Korean entertainment managements began to train their music groups in areas of entertainment. Super Junior is the best-selling K-pop artist for four years in a row, in 2012, they were nominated for Best Asian Act in MTV Europe Music Awards. In 2015, they won the International Artist and Best Fandom in the Teen Choice Awards, in 2000, SM Entertainment held their first overseas casting auditions in Beijing 101, China and recruited Hankyung, who auditioned against three thousand applicants. That same year, Leeteuk, Yesung, and Eunhyuk were recruited after auditioning for the companys annual casting system in Seoul, Sungmin and Donghae became trainees after jointly winning first place in an SM-sponsored contest in 2001. In 2002, Heechul and Kangin were recruited along with Kibum, Siwon became a trainee after being scouted in 2003. Shindong became a trainee in 2004, Ryeowook won the 2004 Chin Chin Youth Festival singing competition and became a trainee just two months before debut in 2005. Kyuhyun then joined the group in 2006, after winning third place in the 2005 Chin Chin Youth Festival, in early 2005, Lee Soo-man announced that he had been preparing for an all-boy project group of twelve members to debut at the end of the year. He called this group to be The Gateway to Stardom of Asia, as most of the members in this group were chosen for their experiences as actors, MCs, models. Heechul and Kibum were already established actors at the time, and most of the members had already made various kinds of appearances in television. This concept was then introduced to the K-pop market. For a while the group was rumoured to be called O. V. E. R, however, before the group settled with their current name, the company simply referred to them as juniors, a representation of the members young ages when they first became SM trainees. Super Junior 05 made their performance on the Korean channel Mnet on September 11,2005. At the showcase, they performed various styles of hip-hop dancing, Hankyung, Eunhyuk, and Donghae also performed a separate dance together, dancing to Ushers Caught Up. However, the performance did not air on television until May 16,2006 as a segment in the Super Junior Show, the group officially debuted on SBSs music program Popular Song on November 6,2005, performing their first single Twins
26.
B1A4
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B1A4 is a South Korean idol group under the management of WM Entertainment. The group debuted on April 23,2011, with the single O. K after their first introduction to the public through a webtoon and they have released two studio albums, six EPs and various singles in South Korea. Their debut Japanese album 1 was released in October 2012, with its video released by Pony Canyon. Baro, the rapper of the group, was first discovered by a representative who came across his photo posted on his friends homepage on social network service Cyworld. At his audition, Baro sang Sumi Jos Once I Leave and Sung Si-kyungs The Road to Me, similarly, leader Jinyoung was discovered from a photo posted on Cyworld. He received training for composing, singing, and acting, Gongchan was also discovered on Cyworld as a result of his winning of an Eoljjang Challenge when he was in middle school. He was also a runner-up of a cross-dressing contest while, where he danced to a song by soloist Ivy, main vocalist Sandeul, who competed in numerous singing contests, was approached by a company agent after performing a song by Kim Yeon-woo in a talent show. Prior to their debut, the group underwent a period of two years. On April 11, the members of B1A4 were introduced through a webtoon, initially, it was believed that B1A4 would be a mixed gender group due to the presence of a female character named Anna in the webtoon, this was later proven false. That same day, WM Entertainment revealed a photo of the first member of the group, the remaining members Baro, Gongchan, Sandeul, and CNU were revealed on a daily basis between April 12–15. A music video teaser for B1A4s promotional single O. K was uploaded on April 19, the full music video, as well as their debut EP Lets Fly, was released on April 21. The group made their performance on the April 23 episode of Munhwa Broadcasting Corporations Show. They had their subsequent debut stages on Mnets M. Countdown, Korean Broadcasting Systems Music Bank, and Seoul Broadcasting Systems The Music Trend on April 28, April 29, B1A4 began promoting Only Learned the Bad Things on June 18,2011. The group, alongside Block B, starred on SBS MTVs reality show Match Up and it began to air on June 22. The music video for the promotional single Only Learned the Bad Things was aired on the first episode. On August 31, it was announced that B1A4 would release a second EP the following month. Photo teasers of Jinyoung, Baro, CNU, Sandeul, and Gongchan were revealed daily from September 5–9, respectively and it B1A4 and the full music video for Beautiful Target were released on September 15. The group began promoting the album by performing on KBS Music Bank, Music Core, SBS The Music Trend, and Mnets M. Countdown
27.
Hunan Broadcasting System
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Hunan Broadcasting System formerly known as Golden Eagle Broadcasting System, is Chinas second biggest television network after China Central Television. The television network is owned by the Hunan provincial government, the network is based in Changsha in Hunan and Xining in Qinghai. On May 20,2009, the network expanded its service to Hong Kong. Hunan Broadcasting System first aired on October 1,1970 as a television station in Changsha, Hunan province. It expanded its network through nationwide satellite television on January 1,1997, Hunan Broadcasting Systems nationwide channel Hunan Satellite Television created Happy Camp, one of Chinas first variety show. Happy Camp remained as Chinas highest-rated TV show, until its ratings were overtaken in 2008 by Jiangsu TVs If You Are the One, Hunan TV is also known for Super Girl, a national singing contest. Hunan TV also aired many highly rated dramas including Palace and Scarlet Heart, Hunan Broadcasting System took a 49% stake in Qinghai TV in 2009, increasing the number of satellite channels in its roster. Hunan TV is currently Chinas second most-watched channel, second only to CCTV-1, owned by China Central Television, as of 2008, it is airing the Chinese version of Strictly Come Dancing, a co-production with TVB
28.
Fleet of Time
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The film is adapted from the popular novel of the same name by Chinese writer Jiu Yehui. It is a coming of age tale of a group of friends as they experience high school, college. In addition to the film, the novel has also adapted into a television series. The film was released on December 5,2014, Cong Cong Na Nian Lyrics, Lin Xi Music, Kubert Leung Singer, Faye Wong The film grossed ¥590.6 million at the Chinese box office
29.
Thunder (singer)
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Park Sang-hyun better known by his stage name Thunder, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, actor and model. He is a member of South Korean boy band MBLAQ. On December 16,2014, it was announced that he had departed from the group to focus on studying music and he signed with Mystic Entertainments music label APOP on February 11,2015 and released his debut extended play on December 7,2016. Park Sang-hyun was born in Busan, South Korea, but grew up in the Philippines and he has two older sisters, Sandara and Durami. Aside from his native Korean, he is fluent in English and Tagalog. His eldest sister, Sandara, achieved fame in the Philippines in 2004 after becoming the runner-up on the first season of Star Circle Quest. He first appeared on television when he attended the finale with his mother. Later on, as his sister began her hectic activities as a celebrity and this marked Thunders first ever appearance on South Korean television. Sandaras eventual decision to pursue activities in their home country led to their familys return to South Korea in 2007, by this time, Thunder had finished secondary education in the Philippines. It was later on revealed in a interview that he had originally decided to pursue a professional career as a soccer player. He gave up and instead started auditioning for entertainment agencies, one of which was JYP Entertainment and he had taken dancing workshops offered by Sandaras home network back in the Philippines. Thunder eventually became a trainee under LOEN Entertainment, where he met IU and he appeared in IUs debut music video for her song Lost Child and was also seen in a couple of videos with her wherein they sing Big Bangs Lies and Super Juniors Sorry Sorry. On October 14, MBLAQ officially released their single album Just BLAQ. A day later, MBLAQ had their debut stage with their title song Oh Yeah on Mnets M. Countdown, also in October, he was featured in Lyns New Celebration music video. In November, he starred in a film with Wonder Girls for Cafe Mori. Because of his androgynous face and modelesque image he was featured in Elle Girls February 2010 issue and he was given a 4-page spread, where he showed off his unique yet fashionista chic image. In March 2010, Thunder alongside U-KISS Dongho and Eli and Shinees Key hosted a new variety show called Raising Idol, in March 2010, he also appears in K. Wills Gift music video. Thunder also participated in Mnets Mnet Scandal and he was also a host of The M-Wave, a music program which aired on Arirang TV with Krystal Jung
30.
He Jie
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He Jie is a Chinese mandopop singer. She came to prominence after placing 4th in the 2005 Super Girl competition and he Jie was born in Guiyang, Guizhou. Before taking part in the Super girl competition, she had some interest in music and that interest in music was shown when taking part in the competition, one of the most viewed musical shows in Mainland China. After placing the place, she released Luminary, her first major full album. One year later, she released Clearly not an angel a new album which was launched under Avex Taiwan and that second album enjoyed a considerable popularity. One of the singles of that album was a cover of Boys, originally sung by Sabrina, after almost three years of inactivity, she started working again releasing a new album called I want to go He Jie. For this new release, she returned to Mainland China and switched again, this time signed to Huayi Media. In 2011, she released her first EP, and one year later, she announced a new album called Courageous love
31.
Alan Dawa Dolma
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Alan Dawa Dolma, professionally known as Alan, is a female Tibetan singer active in both Chinese and Japanese music industry. Discovered by Avex Trax at an audition in China in 2006 and her main producer and composer is Kazuhito Kikuchi and she is also known for playing the erhu. In 2009, her ninth Japanese single Kuon no Kawa debuted at No.3 on the Oricon weekly charts, the highest ever by a singer from China. Alan is a native of Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan province, Alan was born in Kangding to a large family, her father had ten siblings and her mother had eight. She grew up with her grandparents in nearby Danba, often referred to as Beauty Valley, the name Alan, which is in fact her official surname, is a self-created shortened form of a combination of the sinified Tibetan names of her parents Atu and Lantai. Her given name Dawa Dolma was bestowed upon her by a Buddhist monk, Alans father was a local government official and her mother was a singer in the local Art Troupe. In 2003, she was accepted to the PLA Academy of Art in Beijing and double-majored in vocal music, during this time, Alan performed as a singer throughout China and discovered the pop music such as Faye Wong, Jacky Cheung and Andy Lau. In 2005, she released her first Chinese album, Shengsheng Zui Rulan, covering 13 songs by more established C-pop singers, in April 2006, Alan distinguished herself from roughly 40,000 hopefuls when Avex Trax held auditions throughout Chinese cities that year. After graduating with excellence a year later, she became Avexs first signed artist from China and moved to Tokyo, in November 2007, her first Japanese single Ashita e no Sanka was released. In May 2008, Alan released Shiawase no Kane/Ai Jiushi Shou, a later Japanese single titled Gunjō no Tani was also dedicated to the people of Sichuan. In June 2008, Alan sang the theme song Natsukashii Mirai for NHKs Save the Future special TV programs which raised awareness of the environment nationwide. Beginning with this song, which was themed on earth, Alans next five Japanese singles each dealt with a traditional Buddhist element from the Japanese Godai or Tibetan Bön. Chosen to sing the songs of the two-episode Chinese blockbuster Red Cliff. The Japanese versions, Red Cliff and Kuon no Kawa, were recorded for the showings in Japan. In April 2009 Alans ninth single Kuon no Kawa reached No,3, the highest chart placement ever for a Chinese artist in Japan. Alan held her first Japan tour in January 2010, taking in Tokyo, Nagoya, on February 3,2010, Alan released a double A-side single, Diamond/Over the Clouds. Diamond was used as the closing to the anime Inuyasha. While Over the Clouds was used as the song for the PSP video game
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MusicBrainz
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MusicBrainz is a project that aims to create an open data music database that is similar to the freedb project. MusicBrainz was founded in response to the placed on the Compact Disc Database. MusicBrainz has expanded its goals to reach beyond a compact disc metadata storehouse to become an open online database for music. MusicBrainz captures information about artists, their works, and the relationships between them. Recorded works entries capture at a minimum the album title, track titles, and these entries are maintained by volunteer editors who follow community written style guidelines. Recorded works can also store information about the date and country. As of 26 July 2016, MusicBrainz contained information about roughly 1.1 million artists,1.6 million releases, end-users can use software that communicates with MusicBrainz to add metadata tags to their digital media files, such as MP3, Ogg Vorbis or AAC. As with other contributions, the MusicBrainz community is in charge for maintaining and reviewing the data, besides collecting metadata about music, MusicBrainz also allows looking up recordings by their acoustic fingerprint. A separate application, such as MusicBrainz Picard, must be used for this, in 2000, MusicBrainz started using Relatables patented TRM for acoustic fingerprint matching. This feature attracted many users and allowed the database to grow quickly, however, by 2005 TRM was showing scalability issues as the number of tracks in the database had reached into the millions. This issue was resolved in May 2006 when MusicBrainz partnered with MusicIP, tRMs were phased out and replaced by MusicDNS in November 2008. In October 2009 MusicIP was acquired by AmpliFIND, some time after the acquisition, the MusicDNS service began having intermittent problems. Since the future of the free service was uncertain, a replacement for it was sought. The Chromaprint acoustic fingerprinting algorithm, the basis for AcoustID identification service, was started in February 2010 by a long-time MusicBrainz contributor Lukáš Lalinský, while AcoustID and Chromaprint are not officially MusicBrainz projects, they are closely tied with each other and both are open source. Chromaprint works by analyzing the first two minutes of a track, detecting the strength in each of 12 pitch classes, storing these 8 times per second, additional post-processing is then applied to compress this fingerprint while retaining patterns. The AcoustID search server then searches from the database of fingerprints by similarity, since 2003, MusicBrainzs core data are in the public domain, and additional content, including moderation data, is placed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-SA-2.0 license. The relational database management system is PostgreSQL, the server software is covered by the GNU General Public License. The MusicBrainz client software library, libmusicbrainz, is licensed under the GNU Lesser General Public License, in December 2004, the MusicBrainz project was turned over to the MetaBrainz Foundation, a non-profit group, by its creator Robert Kaye
33.
Virtual International Authority File
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The Virtual International Authority File is an international authority file. It is a joint project of national libraries and operated by the Online Computer Library Center. The project was initiated by the US Library of Congress, the German National Library, the National Library of France joined the project on October 5,2007. The project transitions to a service of the OCLC on April 4,2012, the aim is to link the national authority files to a single virtual authority file. In this file, identical records from the different data sets are linked together, a VIAF record receives a standard data number, contains the primary see and see also records from the original records, and refers to the original authority records. The data are available online and are available for research and data exchange. Reciprocal updating uses the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting protocol, the file numbers are also being added to Wikipedia biographical articles and are incorporated into Wikidata. VIAFs clustering algorithm is run every month, as more data are added from participating libraries, clusters of authority records may coalesce or split, leading to some fluctuation in the VIAF identifier of certain authority records
