Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Empress Wu (625-705): Woman emperor during Tang dynasty,
which she interrupted and renamed Zhou; reigned from 684 until
705, when she was finally deposed; her reign was in many ways quite
successful.
Genghis Khan: See Chinggis Khan.
Gongsun Long (320?-250? B.C.): Logician-philosopher; best known
for frivolous argumentation and meticulous parsing of analytical cat-
egories—“A white horse is not a horse” is one of his better-known
statements.
Guangxu (1871-1908): Qing emperor from 1875 to 1908; supported
many of Kang Youwei's reforms but was ultimately cloistered by the
Empress Dowager Cixi, his aunt; perhaps murdered in 1908 by Cixi
just prior to her own death.
Han Fei (d. 233 B.C.): Theorist and major figure in Legalist thought;
advocated harsh governance and argued against the applicability of
ancient institutions to current situations.
Han Wudi (156-87 B.C.): Han dynasty emperor who reigned from
141 to 87 B.C.; greatly expanded Han territory and waged relentless
warfare against the Xiongnu.
Han Yu (768-824): Late Tang Confucian scholar often credited with
beginning the Neo-Confucian movement; somewhat anti-Buddhist in
thought but retained some attachment to the religion.
Henry Pu Yi: See Pu Yi.
Hong Xiuquan (1814-1864): Apparently mentally unstable leader of
the Taiping Rebellion, a pseudo-Christian military uprising in
nineteenth-century China that nearly succeeded in toppling the Qing
dynasty.
Hu Jintao (1942-): Native of Jiangsu; hydraulic engineer by profes-
sion. Currently China's strongman, Hu Jintao holds the triumvirate
of political power in China: Presidency of the People's Republic of
China, General Secretary of the Party, and, especially important,
Chairman of the Central Military Commission. Hu is widely thought
of as a pragmatist and moderate and has thus far in his reign made
