Encyclopædia Britannica Australia -

Encyclopedias since 1768

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P'alkwanhoe ... Pacheco, Francisco

P'alkwanhoe: (Korean: "Assembly of P'alkwan"), most important of Korea's ancient national festivals, a ritualistic celebration that was essentially Buddhist in form but tinged with elements of Taoism and indigenous folk beliefs. Some historians think P'alkwanhoe was originally a state-sponsored cultural festival ...
P'an Ku: central figure in Chinese Taoist legends of creation. P'an Ku, the first man, is said to have come forth from chaos (an egg) with two horns, two tusks, and a hairy body. Some accounts credit him with the separation of ...
P'an-lung-ch'eng: ). The site, located near the confluence of the Yangtze and Han-shui rivers in central Hupei, consists of five graves and two storage pits that were first excavated in 1963 and a town wall and palace foundations that were uncovered ...
p'an-t'ao: (Chinese: "flat peach"), in Chinese Taoist mythology, the peach of immortality that grew in the garden of Hsi wang mu ("Queen Mother of the West"). When the fruit ripened every 3,000 years, the event was celebrated by a sumptuous banquet ...
P'anmunjom: village, central Korea, in the demilitarized zone established after the Korean War, 5 miles (8 km) east of Kaesong and 3 miles (5 km) south of the 38th parallel, on the Kyongui high road (from Seoul to Sinuiju). It was ...
p'ao: wide-sleeved robe of a style worn by Chinese men and women from the Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) to the end of the Ming dynasty (1644). The p'ao was girdled about the waist and fell in voluminous folds around the ...
p'Bitek, Okot: Ugandan poet, novelist, and social anthropologist whose three verse collections-Song of Lawino (1966), Song of Ocol (1970), and Two Songs (1971)-are considered to be among the best African poetry in print.
P'eng-hu Islands: archipelago and hsien (county) of Taiwan, consisting of about 64 small islands, approximately 30 miles (50 km) west of the coast of Taiwan, from which it is separated by the P'eng-hu Channel. Of volcanic origin, many of the islands consist ...
p'i-p'a: short-necked Chinese lute prominent in Chinese opera orchestras and as a solo instrument. Ultimately of West Asian origin, it was known in China by the 2nd century AD. It has a shallow, pear-shaped body with a wooden belly and, sometimes, ...
P'ing-hsiang: city in southwestern Kwangsi Chuang autonomous region, China. The city is situated on the border with Vietnam. It was founded as a military outpost under the name P'ing-hsiang during the Sung dynasty (960-1279), and under the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) it ...
P'ing-hsiang: city in western Kiangsi sheng (province), China. P'ing-hsiang is situated on the border of Hunan province. It lies in the midst of the Wu-kung Mountains on the upper course of the Lu River, on what has always been a major ...
P'ing-liang: city, eastern Kansu sheng (province), north-central China. It lies near the borders of Ningsia Hui autonomous region and Shensi province. Located in the eastern Kansu loesslands, the town is situated in the upper valley of the Ching River, which is ...
P'ing-ti: last ruling emperor of China's Western, or Former, Han dynasty.
P'ing-tung: shih (municipality) and seat of P'ing-tung hsien (county), southwestern Taiwan. It is located 13 miles (21 km) northeast of Kao-hsiung city, in the southern part of the western plain. Founded in the early 18th century, the city is situated west ...
P'ing-tung: southernmost hsien (county) of Taiwan. It is bordered by Kao-hsiung hsien (northwest), T'ai-tung hsien (northeast), and by the Luzon Strait (southwest). The Central Range (2,300-10,000 feet [700-3,000 m] above sea level) is the source of the Hsia-tan, Kao-p'ing, and Wu-lo ...
p'o: in Chinese Taoism, the earthly (inferior, material) human soul as distinguished from the heavenly hun (superior, spiritual) soul. The distinction is based on the Chinese concept of yin-yang, the inescapable principle of duality in all things. When the two souls ...
P'o-yang, Lake: large lake in northern Kiangsi sheng (province), China. It lies in a depression south of the Yangtze River and is fed by various rivers from Kiangsi, the most important being the Kan River, which drains almost the whole of Kiangsi. ...
P'ohang: city, Kyongsang-puk do (province), eastern South Korea. A fishing port, it lies on the eastern side of the Yongil Gulf, 51 miles (82 km) east-northeast of Taegu, the provincial capital. Formerly a small village, it began to develop after 1930 ...
p'u: (Chinese: "simple," "in primordial condition"), in Chinese Taoism, metaphorical expression often translated as "uncarved block" and signifying the primordial condition of the mind before it has been affected by experiences. In the state of p'u there are no distinctions between ...
P'u-chou: town in east central Shansi Province (sheng), China. It stands on the east bank of the Huang Ho (Yellow River), on the north side of the western spur of the Chung-t'iao Shan (mountains). A short distance to the south is ...
P'u-i: last emperor of the Ch'ing (Manchu) dynasty in China and Japan's puppet emperor of Manchoukuo (Manchuria) from 1934 to 1945. P'u-i succeeded to the Manchu throne at the age of three, when his uncle, the Kuang-hsu emperor, died on Nov. ...
p'ungsuchirisol: (Korean: "theory of wind, water, and land"), in Korean religion, geomancy, a belief that the natural environment of a particular location can influence the fortune of its inhabitants and descendants. It derives from the Chinese notion of feng-shui ("wind-water"), which ...
P'yongsong: city, western North Korea, located about 20 miles (32 km) northeast of P'yongyang, the national capital. P'yongsong is a new city built near the old provincial capital of Sain-ni, at a place formerly called Sainjang, once only a stop on ...
P'yongyang: capital of North Korea, on the Taedong River about 30 miles (48 km) inland from the Korea Bay of the Yellow Sea. It is reputed to be the oldest city in Korea. The ancient capital of the legendary Tangun dynasty ...
P-38: fighter-interceptor aircraft used by the U.S. Army Air Force during World War II. The P-38 was produced by the Lockheed Aircraft Company, on a design specification of 1937 calling for a heavily armed fighter that could quickly climb to bomber ...
P-47: fighter and fighter-bomber aircraft used by the Allied air forces during World War II. A single-seat, single-engine, low-wing monoplane, it was developed in the United States by Republic Aviation to meet the need for a high-speed long-range fighter. It first ...
P-51: one of the finest fighter aircraft of World War II, a single-seat, single-engine, low-wing monoplane that was produced by North American Aviation for Britain's Royal Air Force (RAF) and later was adopted by the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF). Its ...
p-n junction: in electronics, the interface within diodes, transistors, and other semiconductor devices between two different types of materials called p-type and n-type semiconductors. These materials are formed by the deliberate addition of impurities to pure semiconductor materials, such as silicon. Semiconductors ...
Pa: ancient tribe and later an ancient Chinese feudal state that came into being in the 11th century BC, under the Western Chou. It was situated in the Chia-ling valley of what is now central Szechwan. Pa established relations with the ...
Pa Hsien: heterogeneous group of holy Taoists, each of whom earned the right to immortality and had free access to the Peach Festival of Hsi Wang Mu, Queen Mother of the West. Though unacquainted in real life, the eight are frequently depicted ...
Pa Sak River: river in central Thailand. It rises in the northern portion of the Phetchabun Range and flows south through a narrow valley for 319 miles (513 km). It empties into the Lop Buri River at the city of Ayutthaya, north of ...
Pa-an: town, southern Myanmar (Burma). Situated on the left bank of the Salween River, 27 miles (43 km) north of Moulmein (Mawlamyine), it has an airfield and is linked by road west to Thaton and across the Dwana Range to Thailand. ...
Paarl: town, Western Cape province, South Africa, east of Cape Town, on the Groot-Berg River between the Paarl Mountain and the Drakenstein Range. Settled in 1688 by Huguenots, who introduced viticulture, it is still known for its vineyards and wine making; ...
Paasche index: index developed by German economist Hermann Paasche for measuring current price or quantity levels relative to those of a selected base period. It differs from the Laspeyres index in that it uses current-period weighting.
Paasikivi, Juho Kusti: Finnish statesman and diplomat who, as prime minister (1918, 1944-46) and then president (1946-56) of Finland, cultivated harmonious relations with the Soviet Union in an effort to ensure some measure of independence for Finland.
pabbajja: Buddhist rite of ordination by which a layman becomes a novice (Pali samanera; Sanskrit sramanera). The ceremony is also the preliminary part of higher ordination, raising a novice to a monk (see upasampada).
Pabianice: town and suburb of Lodz, in Lodzkie wojewodztwo (province), central Poland, in the Lodz Highlands on the Dobrzynka River. The second most important town in the surrounding industrial area, it lies on the Lodz-Wroclaw rail line and ...
Pabna: city, west-central Bangladesh. It lies along the Ichamati River, which is a tributary of the Padma (Ganges). An industrial centre, Pabna has jute mills and is noted for its hosiery and handloomed products. Historical remains include the Hindu temple of ...
Pabst, G.W.: German film director whose films were among the most artistically successful of the 1920s. Pabst's films are marked by social and political concerns, deep psychological insight, memorable female protagonists, and human conflicts with culture and society. He is also noted ...
paca: either of two species of South American rodents with piglike bodies, large heads, and swollen cheeks. They have short ears, large eyes, and long whiskers, and their bodies are stout, with large rumps and short limbs. The front feet have ...
Pacaraima Mountains: central tabular upland of the Guiana Highlands in Brazil, Venezuela, and Guyana. The Pacaraima Mountains form the drainage divide between the Orinoco Valley to the north and the Amazon Basin to the south. Extending for 250 mi (400 km) in ...
pacarana: a rare and slow-moving South American rodent found only in tropical forests of the western Amazon River basin and adjacent foothills of the Andes Mountains from northwestern Venezuela and Colombia to western Bolivia. It has a chunky body and is ...
Pacatus Drepanius, Latinius: Gallo-Roman orator and poet, the author of an extant panegyric addressed to Theodosius I at Rome in 389 after the defeat of the usurper Maximus. He was a friend of Symmachus, the champion of paganism, and of the Christian poet ...
Pace University: private, coeducational institution of higher learning with campuses in New York City, Pleasantville, and White Plains, New York, U.S. The university includes Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, Lubin School of Business, Lienhard School of Nursing, and schools of Education, ...
pacemaker: electronic cardiac-support device that produces rhythmic electrical impulses that take over the regulation of the heartbeat in patients with certain types of heart disease.
Pachacamac: large pre-Columbian ruin located in the Lurin Valley on the central coast of present-day Peru. The earliest major occupation and construction of Pachacamac dates to the Early Intermediate Period (c. 200 BC-AD 600) and to a culture generally known as ...
Pachacamac: creator deity worshipped by the pre-Inca maritime population of Peru; it was also the name of a pilgrimage site in the Lurin Valley (south of Lima) dedicated to the god and revered for many centuries. After the Incas conquered the ...
Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui: Inca emperor (1438-71), an empire builder who, because he initiated the swift, far-ranging expansion of the Inca state, has been likened to Philip II of Macedonia. (Similarly, his son Topa Inca Yupanqui is regarded as a counterpart of Philip's son ...
Pachaimalai Hills: range of hills in Tamil Nadu state, southern India, an eastward extension of the Eastern Ghats in the northeastern Tamilnad Uplands. The Pachaimalai Hills, together with the Javadi, Shevaroy, and Kalrayan hills, separate the Cauvery River basin in the south ...
Pacheco Pereira, Duarte: Portuguese sea captain and explorer who may have discovered Brazil in 1498, two years before Pedro Alvarez Cabral explored the Brazilian coast. Because of his military exploits in India, the poet Camoes called him Aquiles Lusitano (the Portuguese Achilles).
Pacheco, Francisco: Spanish painter, teacher, and scholar. Although an undistinguished artist himself, he is remembered as the teacher of both Diego Velazquez and Alonso Cano and as the author of Arte de la pintura (1649), a treatise on the ...