Jean Lannes, duc de Montebello was a French general who, despite his humble origins, rose to the rank of marshal of the First Empire. Napoleon said of him, “I found him a pygmy and left him a giant.” Lannes, the son of a stable boy, learned to read and write from a village priest and was

Guardians of the Galaxy: …team of Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, who were largely responsible for the revival of Marvel’s “cosmic” comic properties, introduced a new team, set in the present day, in Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2, no. 1 (May 2008). This new generation of Guardians included galactic adventurer Star-Lord; Bug, a…

28 Notable Women Cricketers: Meg Lanning: Meg Lanning is one of cricket’s most successful captains, a charge she took up at the age of just 21. She is also an aggressive and consistent batter, with a women’s record 15 international ODI hundreds. She also holds the Australian record for…

28 Notable Women Cricketers: Meg Lanning: Meg Lanning is one of cricket’s most successful captains, a charge she took up at the age of just 21. She is also an aggressive and consistent batter, with a women’s record 15 international ODI hundreds. She also holds the Australian record for…

Bob Dylan: Elder statesman of folk and rock: …with Oh Mercy, produced by Daniel Lanois. When Life magazine published a list of the 100 most influential Americans of the 20th century in 1990, Dylan was included, and in 1991 he received a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy. In 1992 Columbia Records celebrated the 30th anniversary of…

lanolin, purified form of wool grease or wool wax (sometimes erroneously called wool fat), used either alone or with soft paraffin or lard or other fat as a base for ointments, emollients, skin foods, salves, superfatted soaps, and fur dressing. Lanolin, a translucent, yellowish-white, soft,

carbonium ion: Reactions.: …by way of another compound, lanosterol. In this transformation, acid-catalyzed rearrangements—reaction type 6, described earlier—occur repeatedly.

Belgian literature: Prose: Such authors as Tom Lanoye and Stefan Hertmans made their mark in more than one genre. Lanoye was a performing poet and a passionate, often iconoclastic critic as well as a fiction writer. Hertmans’s critical essays are cosmopolitan and erudite, his poetry hermetic, and his fiction hallucinatory.

Charles Lanrezac was a French army commander during the first part of World War I who, though a capable tactician, proved unable to stop the German advance in northern France and was consequently replaced. Rising steadily in the French army, Lanrezac had by 1914 become a member of the Conseil

Angela Lansbury was a British-born American character actress who achieved success and acclaim for her stage, film, and television work. Lansbury and her widowed mother, actress Moyna MacGill, emigrated from England to the United States in 1940. From 1940 to 1942 Lansbury studied acting at the

George Lansbury was a leader of the British Labour Party (1931–35), a Socialist and poor-law reformer who was forced to resign the party leadership because of his extreme pacifism. A railway worker at the age of 14 and later a timber merchant, he became a propagandist for Henry Mayers Hyndman’s

Bath: …the son; the Guildhall, 1775; Lansdown Crescent, built by John Palmer, 1796–97; and the 1795 pavilion in Sydney Gardens, Bathwick, which now houses the art collection of the Holburne Museum. In 1942 the Assembly Rooms of 1771 were destroyed in an air raid from which the whole city suffered severely,…

George Washington, full-length oil portrait of George Washington created in 1796 by his most famous portraitist, Gilbert Stuart. It shows Washington during his last year as president of the United States and is a strong demonstration of Stuart’s skills. This portrait of the gentlemanly planter who

Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th marquess of Lansdowne was an Irish nobleman and British diplomat who served as viceroy of Canada and of India, secretary for war, and foreign secretary. The eldest son of the 4th marquess, he attended Eton and, on the death of his father, succeeded at age

William Petty-Fitzmaurice, 1st marquess of Lansdowne was a British statesman and prime minister (July 1782 to April 1783) during the reign of George III. The son of John Fitzmaurice, who took the additional name of Petty on succeeding to the Irish estates of his uncle and who was created earl of

Peider Lansel was a Romansh leader of the revival of Rhaeto-Romance language and culture and one of its most accomplished lyric poets. Spending every summer at his family’s native village of Sent in the Engadine, Lansel devoted himself to the collection and critical examination of Rhaeto-Romance

Lansing, capital of Michigan, U.S., located in Ingham county. The city site, on the Grand River at its junction with the Red Cedar River, was a wilderness when the state capital was moved there from Detroit (about 85 miles [140 km] southeast) in 1847. At first called Village of Michigan, in 1849 it

Tomáš Masaryk: Fight for Czech and Slovak independence: The Lansing Declaration of May 1918 expressed the sympathy of the U.S. government with the Czechoslovak freedom movement, and Czechoslovakia’s liberation became one of Wilson’s Fourteen Points for the post-World War I peace settlement. Masaryk also concluded the so-called Pittsburgh Convention with the Slovak associations in…

Kansas City Group: …Group underlie those of the Lansing Group and overlie those of the Pleasanton Group, all of which are included within the Missourian Series. The Kansas City Group consists of six limestone formations that alternate with six shale units. The rocks are fossiliferous and contain important fusulinid genera useful for stratigraphic…

Robert Lansing was an international lawyer and U.S. secretary of state (1915–20), who negotiated the Lansing–Ishii Agreement (1917) attempting to harmonize U.S.–Japanese relations toward China; he eventually broke with Pres. Woodrow Wilson over differences in approach to the League of Nations.

Lansing–Ishii Agreement, (Nov. 2, 1917), attempt to reconcile conflicting U.S. and Japanese policies in China during World War I by a public exchange of notes between the U.S. secretary of state, Robert Lansing, and Viscount Ishii Kikujirō of Japan, a special envoy to Washington. Japan promised

Harvey Keitel: …historical drama Fatima (2020) and Lansky (2021), a biopic about the gangster Meyer Lansky.

Meyer Lansky was one of the most powerful and richest of U.S. crime syndicate chiefs and bankers. He had major interests in gambling, especially in Florida, pre-Castro Cuba, Las Vegas, and the Bahamas. A Polish Jew born in the Russian Pale of Settlement, Lansky immigrated with his parents to New

proton pump inhibitor: …proton pump inhibitors include omeprazole, lansoprazole, and rabeprazole.

typesetting machine: …in 1885 another American inventor, Tolbert Lanston, perfected the Monotype (q.v.), a machine in which type is cast in individual letters. Both machines were made possible by the development of machine tools, specifically, the mechanical punch cutter. A third process, the Intertype (q.v.), developed later, also sets type by the…

Hans Jacob Christoph von Grimmelshausen: … include Die Lanstörtzerin Courage (1669; Courage, the Adventuress)—which inspired Bertolt Brecht’s play Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder (1941; Mother Courage and Her Children)—and Das wunderbarliche Vogelnest (1672; “The Magical Bird’s Nest”). One part of the latter, translated as The False Messiah (1964), is about an adventurer whose

Lantana, genus of more than 150 shrubs native to tropical America and Africa and belonging to the verbena family (Verbenaceae), order Lamiales. Common lantana (L. camara), growing to 3 metres (10 feet) tall, is a weed in tropical America, but elsewhere it is much used as a garden plant. It blooms

conservation: Introduced species: >Lantana camara, for example, which were introduced as ornamental plants, have destroyed huge areas of grazing land worldwide.

Lantana: Trailing lantana (L. montevidensis), from South America, is a small-leaved, drooping, thinly branched species that bears rose-lavender flowers. Other species are variously known as yellow sage, weeping (or trailing) lantana, and polecat geranium.

Lantao Island, island located about 6 miles (10 km) west of Hong Kong Island, part of the New Territories of Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China. About 17 miles (27 km) long and 6 miles (9.5 km) wide, it has an area of 58 square miles (150 square km). Consisting of mountains rising

Lantao Island, island located about 6 miles (10 km) west of Hong Kong Island, part of the New Territories of Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China. About 17 miles (27 km) long and 6 miles (9.5 km) wide, it has an area of 58 square miles (150 square km). Consisting of mountains rising

Hong Kong: Relief: …3,064 feet (934 meters) on Lantau Peak and 2,851 feet (869 meters) on Sunset Peak. Extending southeastward from Mount Tai Mo, the Kowloon Peak attains an elevation of 1,975 feet (602 meters), but there is an abrupt drop to about 650 feet (198 meters) at Devil’s Peak. Victoria (Hong Kong)…

garden and landscape design: Italian: …between the beds) of the Villa Lante at Bagnaia (begun 1564) is designed neither for solitary enjoyment nor for a crowd but for a select, discerning company—as is the garden of the far more splendid Villa Farnese at Caprarola (completed 1587). The most remarkable mid-16th-century garden, that of the Villa…

loo, gambling card game often mentioned in English literature. The name derives from the French lanturlu, the refrain of a popular 17th-century song. Popularity of the game faded in the 20th century. The players may number from five to about nine, each playing for himself. A standard 52-card deck

lantern, in architecture, originally an openwork timber construction placed on top of a building to admit light and allow smoke to escape. Something of this idea persists in medieval examples such as the lantern above the central octagon of Ely Cathedral (14th century). The term lantern soon came

lantern, a case, ordinarily metal, with transparent or translucent sides, used to contain and protect a lamp. Lamp-containing lanterns have been found at Pompeii, Herculaneum, and other classical sites. They have been made of iron, silver, gold, and tin and their sides of horn, talc, leather, oiled

Lantern Festival, holiday celebrated in China and other Asian countries that honours deceased ancestors on the 15th day of the first month (Yuan) of the lunar calendar. The Lantern Festival aims to promote reconciliation, peace, and forgiveness. The holiday marks the first full moon of the new

lantern fish, any of the numerous species of small, abundant, deep-sea fish of the family Myctophidae. Some lantern fish live in the depths to 300 metres (about 1,000 feet) by day, but at night they may approach the surface. Others live deeper and do not approach the surface. They are somewhat

lantern of the dead, small stone structure with windows in the upper part, in which lamps were placed to mark the position of a cemetery at night. Their use, which seems limited to western and central France, is probably owing to a traditional survival of primitive Celtic rather than Christian

Edna O’Brien: Other works: … (1974), A Fanatic Heart (1984), Lantern Slides (1990), and Saints and Sinners (2011), the last of which won the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award.

flashlight fish, any of three species of fishes in the family Anomalopidae (order Beryciformes), characterized by the presence of luminescent organs just below the eye. They are among the few species of non-deep-sea fishes to possess such organs. Bioluminescent bacteria create the light

lanternfly, (Lanternaria phosphorea), a large, brightly coloured South American plant hopper (order Homoptera) that lives on trees and is relatively uncommon. Its most remarkable feature is the inflated anterior prolongation of the head, which contains a pouchlike extension from the digestive

lantern of the dead, small stone structure with windows in the upper part, in which lamps were placed to mark the position of a cemetery at night. Their use, which seems limited to western and central France, is probably owing to a traditional survival of primitive Celtic rather than Christian

lantern fish, any of the numerous species of small, abundant, deep-sea fish of the family Myctophidae. Some lantern fish live in the depths to 300 metres (about 1,000 feet) by day, but at night they may approach the surface. Others live deeper and do not approach the surface. They are somewhat

lanternfly, (Lanternaria phosphorea), a large, brightly coloured South American plant hopper (order Homoptera) that lives on trees and is relatively uncommon. Its most remarkable feature is the inflated anterior prolongation of the head, which contains a pouchlike extension from the digestive

Buddhism: Anniversaries: …events of the Buddha’s life—his birth, enlightenment, and entrance into final nirvana (parinibbana)—are commemorated in all Buddhist countries but not everywhere on the same day. In Theravada countries the three events are all observed together on Vesak (also spelled Wesak), the full moon day of the sixth lunar month (Vesakha),…

lanthanide, any of the series of 15 consecutive chemical elements in the periodic table from lanthanum to lutetium (atomic numbers 57–71). With scandium and yttrium, they make up the rare-earth metals. Their atoms have similar configurations and similar physical and chemical behaviour; the most

lanthanide contraction, in chemistry, the steady decrease in the size of the atoms and ions of the rare-earth elements with increasing atomic number from lanthanum (atomic number 57) through lutetium (atomic number 71). For each consecutive atom the nuclear charge is more positive by one unit,

lanthanide, any of the series of 15 consecutive chemical elements in the periodic table from lanthanum to lutetium (atomic numbers 57–71). With scandium and yttrium, they make up the rare-earth metals. Their atoms have similar configurations and similar physical and chemical behaviour; the most

lanthanide contraction, in chemistry, the steady decrease in the size of the atoms and ions of the rare-earth elements with increasing atomic number from lanthanum (atomic number 57) through lutetium (atomic number 71). For each consecutive atom the nuclear charge is more positive by one unit,

monitor: The earless monitor (L. borneensis), a rare and little-known lizard native to Borneo, is the only species in the subfamily Lanthanotinae. It too is elongate with a relatively long neck, but the limbs are small. It grows to a length of 40 cm (16 inches).

lanthanum (La), chemical element, a rare-earth metal of Group 3 of the periodic table, that is the prototype of the lanthanide series of elements. Lanthanum is a ductile and malleable silvery white metal that is soft enough to be cut with a knife. It is the second most reactive of the rare-earth

lanthanum: Highly purified lanthanum oxide is an ingredient in the manufacture of low-dispersion, high-refraction glasses for lens components. Lanthanum is often used as LaNi5-based hydrogen-storage alloys and nickel–metal hydride rechargeable batteries in hybrid automobiles. Lanthanum is added to ferrous alloys (to

Yorgos Lanthimos is a Greek director and screenwriter known for his surreal films that combine absurd scenarios, striking set designs, and stories of penetrating psychological insight. Lanthimos learned his trade directing television commercials and music videos in Greece before turning to feature

Lantian man, fossils of hominins (members of the human lineage) found in 1963 and 1964 by Chinese archaeologists at two sites in Lantian district, Shaanxi province, China. One specimen was found at each site: a cranium (skullcap) at Gongwangling (Kung-wang-ling) and a mandible (lower jaw) at

Shaanxi: Relief and drainage: …the Hanzhong Basin; and the Lantian Pass southeast of Xi’an, which affords a route to Nanyang in Henan and to northern Anhui province.

xingshu: …of early surviving Chinese calligraphy, Lanting Xu (“Essay on the Orchid Pavilion”), written in 353 by Wang Xizhi but surviving only in several fine tracing copies and other forms of duplication such as rubbings, is written in this script.

xingshu: …of early surviving Chinese calligraphy, Lanting Xu (“Essay on the Orchid Pavilion”), written in 353 by Wang Xizhi but surviving only in several fine tracing copies and other forms of duplication such as rubbings, is written in this script.

Walter Lantz was an American motion-picture animator, cartoon producer, and creator of the cartoon character Woody Woodpecker. At age 16, Lantz worked as a newspaper cartoonist and began experimenting with animation that same year. In 1922 he went to work for Bray Studios in New York City, where he

hair: …first to develop is the lanugo, a layer of downy, slender hairs that begin growing in the third or fourth month of fetal life and are entirely shed either before or shortly after birth. During the first few months of infancy there grow fine, short, unpigmented hairs called down hair,…

Lanús, cabecera (county seat) and partido (county) of Gran (Greater) Buenos Aires, eastern Argentina. It is located directly south of the city of Buenos Aires, in Buenos Aires provincia (province). Much of the early settlement of Lanús, formerly called the county of Cuatro de Junio, was linked to

Lanús: … (county seat) and partido (county) of Gran (Greater) Buenos Aires, eastern Argentina. It is located directly south of the city of Buenos Aires, in Buenos Aires provincia (province). Much of the early settlement of Lanús, formerly called the county of Cuatro de Junio, was linked to the colonization and…

Terence: …rivals, particularly one older playwright, Luscius Lanuvinus, who launched a series of accusations against the newcomer. The main source of contention was Terence’s dramatic method. It was the custom for these Roman dramatists to draw their material from earlier Greek comedies about rich young men and the difficulties that attended…

advanced ceramics: The Lanxide process: Another chemical bonding method is the Lanxide process, introduced by the Lanxide Company in the United States. In this process a molten metal is reacted with a gas to form a metal-ceramic composite at the metal-gas interface. As the composite grows at the…

Johann Schober: …Habsburg Empire by signing the Treaty of Lány with Czechoslovakia in December 1921. But the Pan-Germans, who viewed the treaty as a possible obstruction to Austria’s ultimate union with Germany, withdrew from the government, and in May 1922 Schober resigned, returning to the post of president of police. In July…

pottery: Faience, or tin-glazed ware: Figures by J.W. Lanz, who also worked in porcelain here and at Frankenthal, are to be seen. Much work was done in the fashionable Rococo style, including objects, such as clock cases and wall cisterns, and tureens in the form of fruit and vegetables. Both faience and…

Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting: The murder of Adam Lanza’s mother: The attack began when 20-year-old Adam Lanza killed his mother, Nancy Lanza, in the home that the two shared in Newtown. She was shot four times with a .22-calibre rifle. She had purchased the rifle, as well as an AR-15—the civilian semiautomatic version of the military M16 assault rifle—and several…

Giovanni Lanza was an Italian statesman and political activist of the Risorgimento who was premier in 1870 when Rome became the capital of a united Italy and who helped organize the political forces of the centre-left. After graduating from the University of Turin as a doctor of medicine, Lanza

Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting: The murder of Adam Lanza’s mother: …Adam Lanza killed his mother, Nancy Lanza, in the home that the two shared in Newtown. She was shot four times with a .22-calibre rifle. She had purchased the rifle, as well as an AR-15—the civilian semiautomatic version of the military M16 assault rifle—and several other firearms that Adam Lanza…

Robert P. Lanza is an American scientist known for his research on cloning, particularly his contributions to the refinement of a somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) technique that enabled the generation of the world’s first human embryonic stem (ES) cells from aged somatic (body) cells. As a

Robert P. Lanza is an American scientist known for his research on cloning, particularly his contributions to the refinement of a somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) technique that enabled the generation of the world’s first human embryonic stem (ES) cells from aged somatic (body) cells. As a

Lanzarote, island, Las Palmas provincia (province), in the Canary Islands comunidad autónoma (autonomous community), Spain. It is the easternmost of the Canary Islands, in the North Atlantic Ocean. Although it rises to only 2,198 feet (670 metres) at Peñas del Chache, it is mountainous, with

Lancelot: …treatment in the German poem Lanzelet. These two themes were developed further in the great 13th-century Vulgate cycle, or “Prose Lancelot.” According to this, after the death of his father, King Ban of Benoic, Lancelot was carried off by the enchantress Vivien, the Lady of the Lake, who in time…

Lanzhou, city, capital of Gansu sheng (province), west-central China. It is situated in the southeastern portion of the province on the upper course of the Huang He (Yellow River), where the river emerges from the mountains. Lanzhou has been a center since early times, being at the southern end of

Western architecture: Early Renaissance in Italy (1401–95): …Gothic building such as the Loggia dei Lanzi in Florence was characterized by a large round arch instead of the usual Gothic pointed arch and preserved the simplicity and monumentality of Classical architecture. The Renaissance might have been expected to appear first in Rome, where there was the greatest quantity…

Mannerism: …century by the Italian archaeologist Luigi Lanzi to define 16th-century artists who were the followers of major Renaissance masters.

Claude Lanzmann was a French journalist, writer, and film director best known for his film Shoah (1985), a nine-and-a-half-hour documentary on the Holocaust. Lanzmann wrote and directed several films on the Holocaust and Israel, using firsthand interviews to construct his narratives. As a

pre-Columbian civilizations: Chavín monuments and temples: …which has variously been called El Lanzón, the Great Image, and the Smiling God, is thought to have been the chief object of worship in the original temple. The southern arm of the temple was subsequently twice widened by rectangular additions, into which some of the original galleries were prolonged.…

Laos: History of Laos: The Lao people, the predominant ethnic group in present-day Laos, are a branch of the Tai peoples who by the 8th century ce had established a powerful kingdom, Nanzhao, in southwestern China. From Nanzhao the Tai gradually penetrated southward into the Southeast Asian mainland; their migration…

olefin: Beginning in the 1970s, so-called linear alpha olefins (LAOs; distinguished by the double bond occurring on the first, or alpha, carbon atom in the unbranched chain) were produced through polymerization (specifically, oligomerization) and olefin metathesis, which together formed the basis of the Shell higher olefin process (SHOP). In olefin oligomerization,…

Lao Cai, town, northwestern Vietnam, on the China-Vietnam border. It lies at the junction of the Red River (Song Hong) and the Nam Ti River about 160 miles (260 km) northwest of Hanoi. It is a market town for timber from the surrounding mountains and is strategically important because of its

Pathet Lao, left-oriented nationalist group in Laos that took control of the country in 1975. Founded in 1950, the Pathet Lao (Lao Country) movement joined with the Viet Minh, the Communist-oriented Vietnamese nationalist organization, in armed resistance to French rule in Indochina. In 1956 a

Laozi was the first philosopher of Chinese Daoism and the alleged author of the Daodejing, a primary Daoist writing. Modern scholars discount the possibility that the Daodejing was written by only one person but readily acknowledge the influence of Daoism on the development of Buddhism. Laozi is

Ho Chi Minh: The Geneva Accords and the Second Indochina War: …committee of Ho Chi Minh’s Lao Dong (Worker’s Party), it was decided that the establishment of socialism in the North was linked with the unification with the South. This policy was confirmed by the third congress of the Lao Dong, held shortly thereafter in Hanoi. During the congress, Ho Chi…

Laozi was the first philosopher of Chinese Daoism and the alleged author of the Daodejing, a primary Daoist writing. Modern scholars discount the possibility that the Daodejing was written by only one person but readily acknowledge the influence of Daoism on the development of Buddhism. Laozi is

Lao Issara, Laotian political movement against French colonial control, founded in 1945. The departure of the Japanese from Laos in 1945 left the Laotian ruling elite divided over the issue of the restoration of French control. The king welcomed the French return, but Prince Phetsarath, the

Laozi was the first philosopher of Chinese Daoism and the alleged author of the Daodejing, a primary Daoist writing. Modern scholars discount the possibility that the Daodejing was written by only one person but readily acknowledge the influence of Daoism on the development of Buddhism. Laozi is

Thai literature: …exception during this period was Lao Khamhom (Khamsing Srinawk), whose subtle stories about country folk, first published in a collection called Fa bo kan (1959; The Politician and Other Stories), often carry a more subversive message than is immediately apparent. Although his output was small, with most of his best…

Lao language, one of the Tai languages of Southeast Asia, and the official language of Laos. Lao occurs in various dialects, which differ among themselves at least as much as Lao as a group differs from the Tai dialects of northeastern Thailand. The latter are usually called Northeastern Thai, but

Lao literature, body of literature written in Lao, one of the Tai languages of Southeast Asia and the official language of Laos. The rich oral tradition of poetry and folk tales possessed by the Lao-speaking people predates their written literature and maintains a wide popularity to the present

Laos: Ethnic groups and languages: …into one of three categories: Lao Loum (“Lowland Lao”), Lao Theung (“Lao of the Mountain Slopes”), and Lao Soung (“Lao of the Mountain Tops”). These groupings have simplified administration, and even individuals in the remotest villages now typically identify themselves to visitors with this nomenclature. The scheme does not, however,…

Pathet Lao: …a legal political wing, the Lao Patriotic Front (Neo Lao Hak Xat), was founded and participated in several coalition governments. In the 1960s and early ’70s the Pathet Lao fought a civil war against the U.S.-backed Vientiane regime, winning effective control in the north and east. In the spring of…

Laos, landlocked country of northeast-central mainland Southeast Asia. It consists of an irregularly round portion in the north that narrows into a peninsula-like region stretching to the southeast. Overall, the country extends about 650 miles (1,050 km) from northwest to southeast. The capital is

Laos: Constitutional framework: …effectively controlled by the communist Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP). This party, in alliance with the Vietnamese communists, carried out the revolution that ended in its seizure of power and the abolition of the monarchy. Top government positions—beginning with the president, who is head of state, and the prime minister,…

Laos: Constitutional framework: …effectively controlled by the communist Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP). This party, in alliance with the Vietnamese communists, carried out the revolution that ended in its seizure of power and the abolition of the monarchy. Top government positions—beginning with the president, who is head of state, and the prime minister,…

China: The Shandong Hills: …(900 meters); the highest point, Mount Lao, reaches 3,714 feet (1,132 meters). The western part is slightly higher, rising to 5,000 feet (1,524 meters) at Mount Tai, one of China’s most sacred mountains. The Shandong Hills meet the sea along a rocky and indented shoreline.

Lao She was a Chinese author of humorous, satiric novels and short stories and, after the onset of the Sino-Japanese War (1937–45), of patriotic and propagandistic plays and novels. A member of the Manchu ethnic minority, Shu Sheyu served as principal of an elementary school at age 17 and soon

Laos: Ethnic groups and languages: The Lao Soung group includes peoples who have migrated into northern Laos since the early 19th century and speak Hmong-Mien (Miao-Yao) or Tibeto-Burman languages. Among the most prominent of those communities are the Hmong, Mien (also called Man or Yao), Akha (a subgroup of Hani peoples),…

Laos: Ethnic groups and languages: Lao Tai peoples of the Lao Loum group also once had a clear political hierarchy and a stratified social structure. Black Tai tribal organization, for instance, had three levels: the village, which was the smallest unit; the commune, which comprised several villages; and the muong,…

Laos: Ethnic groups and languages: The Lao Theung peoples are scattered throughout Laos and speak Austroasiatic (Mon-Khmer) languages. They are probably the original inhabitants of the country, having migrated northward in prehistoric times. Unlike the Lao Loum, the Lao Theung had no political or social structure beyond the village. They were…