title: Steel Rain

text: The film opened in South Korea on December 14, 2017, and was later released worldwide on March 14, 2018, on Netflix. A standalone sequel titled "" was released in 2020, with Jung Woo-sung and Kwak Do-won returning to play the leading but different roles.


title: Steel Rain

text: In North Korea, Eom Chul-Woo is assigned by chief director Ri Tae-han of the Reconnaissance General Bureau to assassinate Supreme Guard Command chief Park Byung-jin and the minister of state security to prevent a coup d'état. Eom kills the minister in a car accident. In South Korea, senior presidential secretary Kwak Chul-woo congratulates Kim Kyung-young for winning the presidential election. He is later informed by Li, an ethnic Korean in charge of the Korean branch of China's state security, of the assassination and the possibility of a coup in the North.


title: Steel Rain

text: Bidding farewell to his wife and daughter, Eom proceeds to the Kaesong Industrial Region, where Park is due to arrive with the supreme leader for a North Korean—Chinese event. Meanwhile, North Korean infiltrators disguised as ROK Army soldiers hijack a US Army MLRS vehicle and launch two missiles at Kaesong. Eom tries to inform Ri about Park's absence just as the missile lands.


title: Steel Rain

text: Surviving the attack, Eom witnesses KPA soldiers massacring the remaining survivors. Eom and two schoolgirls rescue the gravely injured supreme leader in a toy company van and escape across the border to the South with the rest of the Chinese delegation. Kwak, meanwhile, meets with CIA station chief Joanne Martin, who absolves US responsibility for the incident.


title: Steel Rain

text: In Ilsan, Eom has an obstetrician to tend the supreme leader, but she is unable to extract a bullet lodged near the supreme leader's brain. Meanwhile, Eom informs Ri of his location, who sends reinforcements to kill the supreme leader. Ri reveals himself to be the mastermind of the coup. Eom eliminates them and evacuates him to a plastic surgery clinic staffed by Kwak's ex-wife, Su-Hyeong. Notified of the fight, Kwak makes his way to his ex-wife's clinic and is tied up by Eom along with the South Koreans. However, South Korean special forces soon detain Eom, while the supreme leader is sent to be treated in a military hospital. Meanwhile, President Lee declares martial law in the country as North Korea declares war on the South.


title: Steel Rain

text: The next morning, Eom and Kwak shadow the director of South Korea's National Intelligence Service as he meets with North Korean military leaders at Nodongdangsa. North Korean snipers attack the meeting and a car chase ensues. Not expecting Park to be leading the North Korean delegation, Eom shoots him as ordered earlier. Meanwhile, Ri reveals his plans to attack the South by using nuclear missiles but is unable to use them without the nuclear codes. Eom and Kwak foil another assassination attempt on the supreme leader. Tensions rise as the US Air Force launches nuclear missiles at North Korea, which responds by launching a nuclear missile toward Japan. The interception by a Japanese ship causes an electromagnetic pulse which takes down the US missiles. Alarmed by the escalation, Eom convinces Kwak to leak false news that the supreme leader is dead, which leads to the North halting its plans.


title: Steel Rain

text: Eom forms a plan with Kwak and returns to the North via a secret tunnel to confront Ri in his underground bunker. The ROK Air Force receives Eom's signal to launch missiles at his location, destroying the bunker and killing everyone. With the coup attempt foiled, newly-inaugurated President Kim announces peace and reunification talks with North Korea. South Korean officials repatriate the supreme leader in return for half of North Korea's nuclear arsenal.


title: Steel Rain

text: A sequel "" was released on 29 July 2020. Jung Woo-sung and Kwak Do-won returned to star, but in different roles compared to the first film.


title: Gleyber Torres

text: Gleyber David Torres Castro (born December 13, 1996) is a Venezuelan professional baseball shortstop and second baseman for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut on April 22, 2018. Torres was an All-Star in 2018 and 2019.


title: Gleyber Torres

text: Torres was born and raised in Caracas by his parents, Eusebio Torres and Ibelise Castro. Intrigued by the name "Qleyber," his father decided to name Torres after it because of its uniqueness. Torres grew up in a middle-class household. However, life at home devolved into unrest, with many citizens rebelling against the government in the wake of constant food shortages, rampant crime and widespread violence.


title: Gleyber Torres

text: Torres started playing baseball at the age of four as a center fielder, catcher, pitcher, and eventually shortstop. His passion for baseball grew watching games on TV, while idolizing his favorite player Omar Vizquel. Torres also played basketball briefly in high school, but he quit the sport on his father's instructions in order to focus on baseball.


title: Gleyber Torres

text: Academies began to take notice of Torres's talent and wanted to help him become a professional. At 14, Torres moved to Maracay to enroll in an academy that had contacts with MLB scouts. He was sought out by the Chicago Cubs and signed a contract with the team.


title: Gleyber Torres

text: When Torres was not playing baseball he would spend a lot of time with his friends, riding bicycles and going to amusement parks. One of his favorite games was "chapitas." The game was played with a bottle cap, with one person pitching and another batting with a broomstick.


title: Gleyber Torres

text: Torres signed with the Chicago Cubs as an international free agent in 2013 for a $1.7 million signing bonus. He made his professional debut in 2014 with the Arizona Cubs of the Rookie-level Arizona League. He was later promoted to the Boise Hawks of the Class A-Short Season Northwest League. In 50 games for the two teams combined, he hit .297/.386/.440 with two home runs.


title: Gleyber Torres

text: In 2015, Torres began the season with the South Bend Cubs of the Class A Midwest League, and was promoted to the Myrtle Beach Pelicans of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League in September. In 487 at bats over 126 games for the two teams combined, he hit .287/.346/.376 with three home runs and 64 runs batted in (RBI).


title: Gleyber Torres

text: On July 25, 2016, the Cubs traded Torres, Adam Warren, Billy McKinney, and Rashad Crawford to the Yankees for relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman. He began his Yankees career playing with the Tampa Yankees of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League. He finished the 2016 season batting .270/.354/.421 with 11 home runs and 66 RBI for the two Class A+ teams combined. After the season, the Yankees assigned him to the Scottsdale Scorpions of the Arizona Fall League (AFL). After batting .403 in 76 at bats with a .513 on-base percentage and a 1.158 OPS, Torres was named the AFL Most Valuable Player. At the age of 19, Torres was the youngest player in the AFL, and the youngest player in history to win the AFL MVP. He was ranked after the 2016 season as the Yankees' top prospect by "Baseball America".


title: Gleyber Torres

text: Torres was listed as the fifth best prospect in baseball entering the 2017 season by "Baseball America". After hitting .448 in 29 at bats with two home runs in spring training with the Yankees, Torres began the 2017 season with the Trenton Thunder of the Class AA Eastern League. In April, he went on the seven-day disabled list with rotator cuff inflammation. The Yankees promoted Torres to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders of the Class AAA International League in May. In June, Torres slid headfirst into home, despite the fact that the Yankees stress to their players to slide feet-first because the team believes it is safer, and tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his non-throwing left elbow. On June 19, Torres was ruled out for the rest of the 2017 season after it was determined that his injury required Tommy John surgery. He finished the 2017 season batting .287/.383/.480 with seven home runs and 34 RBI for the two teams combined. The Yankees added him to their 40-man roster after the season.


title: Gleyber Torres

text: Entering the 2018 season, Torres was labeled as the fifth-best prospect in baseball and the best shortstop prospect by MLB.com. During spring training, Torres competed with Miguel Andujar and other infielders for a spot on the opening day roster. On March 13, 2018, Torres was optioned to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to begin the year. He was pulled out of the game on April 22 after six innings. Torres misunderstood thinking it was a punishment for not hustling enough but after the game he was called into manager Bobby Mitchell's office where he heard of his promotion to the Major Leagues.


title: Gleyber Torres

text: Torres made his MLB debut on April 22, 2018, as the second-baseman against the Toronto Blue Jays, going 0-for-4. The next day, against the Minnesota Twins, Torres recorded his first MLB hit. On May 4, Torres hit his first career home run, off Josh Tomlin, which at the age of 21 was the youngest Yankee to homer since John Ellis in 1969. Two days later, against the Cleveland Indians, Torres hit his first career walk-off, a home run off relief pitcher Dan Otero, becoming the youngest Yankee to hit a walk-off homer and giving the Yankees a 7–4 victory. On May 21, against the Texas Rangers, Torres recorded his first multi-homer game when he hit two home runs as the Yankees won 10–5. On May 25 against the Los Angeles Angels, Torres hit a home run in his fourth straight game; at 21 years and 163 days old, he became the youngest player in American League history to accomplish that feat. Torres was named AL Player of the Week for the week ending on May 27, when he hit .368/.429/1.158 with five home runs and nine RBIs. On May 29, Torres hit a walk-off single to beat the Houston Astros in extra innings. Torres was also named American League Rookie of the Month for May. He slashed of .317/.374/.659 scoring 13 runs, 26 hits, nine home runs and 24 RBI.


title: Gleyber Torres

text: On July 4, Torres went on the 10-day disabled list due to a right hip strain. After batting .294 with 15 home runs and 42 RBI over 218 at-bats and boasting a .905 OPS, Torres was selected to the 2018 All-Star Game, his first All-Star appearance, but he did not play in the game.


title: Gleyber Torres

text: For the week ending on September 2, Torres was once again named AL Player of the week. On September 29, Torres hit the Yankees 265th home run of 2018, surpassing the 1997 Seattle Mariners for most home runs in a single season. In addition, it was the 20th home run in the 9th spot of the order, making the Yankees the first team in history to have 20 home runs from every batting spot in the lineup. Torres finished in third in balloting for the American League Rookie of the Year Award, behind Shohei Ohtani, who won the award, and Andújar.


title: Gleyber Torres

text: Following the 2018 season, Gleyber signed a one-year contract with the New York Yankees. For his sophomore season, on April 4, 2019, Torres became the fourth youngest Yankee with four hits and three extra base hits in a game since Joe DiMaggio did it in 1936. Torres went 4-for-4 with a double, two home runs and four RBI against the Baltimore Orioles. On June 19, 2019, Torres hit his 39th career home run and his first career grand slam off Oliver Drake of the Tampa Bay Rays. Torres hit his second career grand slam on August 2, 2019 against Eduardo Rodríguez of the Boston Red Sox. On August 12, the Venezuelan scored his 13th home run against the Orioles, setting a record in the divisional era. On August 22, Torres hit his 30th home run, thus becoming the second Yankee to hit 30 or more home runs in a single season at age of 22 or younger, joining Joe DiMaggio who hit 46 home runs in 1937. On July 9, Torres was announced as an American League All-Star for the second time in his career, first time being in 2018. In the All-Star game, Torres notched one hit in two at bats. His 38 home runs made him the second ever middle infielder after Alex Rodriguez to do so before turning 23, and third Yankees player since DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle to hit at least 20 home runs in two different seasons before the age of 23. Torres finished the 2019 regular season batting .278 and went on to hit .417 in the 2019 American League Division Series.


title: Gleyber Torres

text: On October 13, 2019, Torres became the youngest second baseman in MLB history, and the third youngest overall (Mantle, Tony Kubek) to recorded at least four RBIs in a game, and youngest ever for at least five RBIs.


title: Gleyber Torres

text: Gleyber ended the 2019 campaign with 38 home runs and a slugging percentage of .535, proving to be a big part of the dangerous New York Yankees lineup. He finished 17th in MVP voting in 2019, with his teammate D.J. Lemahieu finishing fourth.


title: Gleyber Torres

text: In the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Torres slashed .243/.356/.368 with three home runs and 16 RBI in 42 games. On defense, he led all AL shortstops with nine errors.


title: Gleyber Torres

text: In 2021, Torres slashed .259/.331/.366 across a total of 459 at bats. He had nine home runs and 51 RBIs as well. After struggling at shortstop, the Yankees moved Torres back to second base in September.


title: Gleyber Torres

text: The Yankees acquired Isiah Kiner-Falefa to play shortstop before the 2022 season, keeping Torres at second base.


title: Gleyber Torres

text: Torres met his long-time girlfriend Elizabeth in his hometown of Caracas in 2014. They were married in April 2017, and Torres had his first child with Elizabeth, a son, who was born on March 20, 2022.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: Emperor Yang of Sui (隋煬帝, 569 – 11 April 618), personal name Yang Guang (), alternative name Ying (), Xianbei name Amo (), also known as Emperor Ming of Sui () during the brief reign of his grandson Yang Tong, was the second emperor of the Sui dynasty of China.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: Emperor Yang's original name was Yang Ying, but was renamed by his father, after consulting with oracles, to Yang Guang. Yang Guang was made the Prince of Jin after Emperor Wen established the Sui dynasty in 581. In 588, he was granted command of the five armies that invaded the southern Chen dynasty and was widely praised for the success of this campaign. These military achievements, as well as his machinations against his older brother Yang Yong, led to him becoming crown prince in 600. After the death of his father in 604, generally considered, though unproven, by most traditional historians to be a murder ordered by Yang Guang, he ascended the throne as Emperor Yang.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: Emperor Yang, ruling from 604 to 618, committed to several large construction projects, most notably the completion of the Grand Canal, and the reconstruction of the Great Wall. He also ordered several military expeditions that brought Sui to its greatest territorial extent, one of which, the conquest of Champa, resulted in the death of thousands of Sui soldiers from malaria. These expeditions, along with a series of disastrous campaigns against Goguryeo, left the empire bankrupt and the populace in revolt. With northern China in turmoil, Emperor Yang spent his last days in Jiangdu (江都, in modern Yangzhou, Jiangsu), where he was eventually strangled in a coup led by his general Yuwen Huaji.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: Despite his accomplishments, Emperor Yang is generally considered by traditional historians to be one of the worst tyrants in Chinese history and the reason for the Sui dynasty's relatively short rule. His failed campaigns against Goguryeo, and the conscriptions levied to man them, coupled with increased taxation to finance these wars, and civil unrest as a result of this taxation, ultimately led to the downfall of the dynasty.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: Yang Guang was born in 569, during the reign of Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou. His parents were Yang Jian, the Duke of Sui, and Yang Jian's wife Duchess Dugu Qieluo; his maternal grandfather was Dugu Xin, a prominent military general and official. He was his parents' second son, after Yang Yong, and he had at least one older sister, Yang Lihua, who became the wife of Emperor Wu's crown prince Yuwen Yun (the later Emperor Xuan) in 573. He was considered handsome and intelligent in his youth, and of Yang Jian's and Duchess Dugu's sons, they favored him the most. Sometime during Northern Zhou, on account of Yang Jian's achievements, he was created the Duke of Yanmen.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: In 580, Yang Jian seized power as regent after Emperor Xuan's death. In 581, he had Emperor Xuan's son (by the concubine Zhu Manyue), Emperor Jing, yield the throne to him, ending Northern Zhou and establishing Sui Dynasty as its Emperor Wen. Emperor Wen created Yang Yong crown prince and created his other sons imperial princes. Yang Guang thus received the title of Prince of Jin.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: Also in 581, Emperor Wen made Yang Guang the commandant at Bing Province (并州, roughly modern Taiyuan, Shanxi), in charge of the provinces north of the Yellow River. In 582, Emperor Wen set up a branch of the executive bureau of his government (尚書省, "Shangshu Sheng") at Bing Province and made Yang Guang its head. He made the official Wang Shao () the deputy head and had him assist Yang Guang. Later in 582, Emperor Wen took a daughter of his vassal Emperor Ming of Western Liang (Xiao Kui) to be Yang Guang's wife and princess. It was said that Yang Guang loved and respected her.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: In 584, after some Sui military and diplomatic victories, Tujue's Shabolüe Khan Ashina Shetu submitted to Sui. Yang Guang suggested to Emperor Wen that he rejected Ashina Shetu's overture and launch a major attack on Tujue, but Emperor Wen refused. In 585, with Ashina Shetu under attack from one of his subordinate khans, the Datou Khan Ashina Dianjue, Emperor Wen in fact sent Yang Guang to aid Ashina Shetu.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: In 588, Emperor Wen moved Yang Guang's headquarters to Shouchun (壽春, in modern Lu'an, Anhui), and made him the commandant there as well as the head the branch of the executive bureau established there. In winter 588, Emperor Wen launched a major attack on rival Chen Dynasty. Yang Guang, his brother Yang Jun, and the general Yang Su were in command of the three main prongs of the operation, with Yang Guang in command of the eastern prong as well as the overall operation. The key official Gao Jiong served as Yang Guang's assistant. In spring 589, the generals Han Qinhu () and Heruo Bi (), both under Yang Guang, crossed the Yangtze River and approached the Chen capital Jiankang. Soon, after Heruo defeated the Chen general Xiao Mohe, Jiankang fell, and the Chen emperor Chen Shubao was captured. Yang Guang, apparently fascinated by Chen Shubao's favorite concubine Consort Zhang Lihua, sent Gao Jiong's son Gao Dehong () to order Gao Jiong to hold Consort Zhang. Instead, Gao Jiong, comparing Consort Zhang to Daji (the wicked wife of King Zhou of Shang), beheaded her. Yang Guang thereafter resented Gao greatly, stating sarcastically, "It has been said, 'You should repay every good deed done to you.' I will repay Duke Gao later." By Yang Guang's orders, several of Chen Shubao's favorite officials, who were considered reasons for Chen's downfall, including Shi Wenqing (), Shen Keqing (), Yang Huilang (), Xu Xi (), and Ji Huijing (), were executed. It was said that the people praised Yang Guang for his actions. Chen Shubao and his own clan members, however, were treated with kindness, and at Yang Guang's request, Chen Shubao sent letters to Chen generals who had not yet surrendered to persuade them to do so, and they largely did. Later that year, Yang Guang's forces escorted them to the capital Chang'an. At the ceremony to present Chen Shubao to Emperor Wen, Yang Guang marched into the palace first, and Emperor Wen bestowed on Yang Guang decorated wagons, horses, clothing, and jade. Afterwards, Yang Jun was given the Yang Province (then moved to modern Yangzhou, Jiangsu) commandant post, and Yang Guang was returned to Bing Province. In 590, Emperor Wen swapped the defense posts of Yang Jun and Yang Guang, returning Yang Guang to Yang Province.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: In 594, Yang Guang urged Emperor Wen to offer sacrifices to Mount Tai—a traditional ceremony for emperors, but one that was rarely carried out. Emperor Wen rejected the elaborate traditional ceremonies, but did carry out a reduced ceremony at Mount Tai.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: In spring 600, with Ashina Dianjue, who had by now become Tujue's khan, attacking the borders, Emperor Wen sent Yang Guang, Yang Su the Duke of Yue, Yang Guang's brother Yang Liang the Prince of Han, and Shi Wansui () the Duke of Taiping, against Tujue, and they were largely successful against Ashina Dianjue, protecting the Qimin Khan Ashina Rangan, whom Sui supported, from Ashina Dianjue's attack.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: By 600, Yang Guang's older brother Yang Yong had lost the favors of Emperor Wen and Empress Dugu—over his wastefulness (which displeased Emperor Wen) and his having many concubines (which displeased Empress Dugu). Yang Guang, by contrast, pretended to be frugal and loving only Princess Xiao. (It was written that Yang Guang did have concubines, but he pretended that he did not, and that he forced his concubines to have abortions if they became pregnant.) Yang Guang further inflamed Empress Dugu by informing her that she believed that Yang Yong was determined to kill him eventually. Empress Yang thus resolved to remove Yang Yong. Yang Guang further had his associate Yuwen Shu persuade Yang Su's brother Yang Yue () that, because Yang Su's relationship with Yang Yong was not good, that their family would be in peril should Yang Yong succeed Emperor Wen. Finally, Yang Guang also had Yang Yong's associate Ji Wei () accuse Yang Yong of plotting treason. Emperor Wen had Yang Su investigate, and Yang Guang and Yang Su manufactured evidence against Yang Yong. Emperor Wen deposed Yang Yong and replaced him with Yang Guang, putting Yang Yong under house arrest under Yang Guang's watch. Yang Guang later prevented Yang Yong from all attempts of seeing his parents again.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: It is widely believed that Yang Guang also continued to scheme to secure his status as the crown prince. Such commonly believed tales include the following:


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: By 602, his brother, Yang Xiu the Prince of Shu, who, was commandant of Yi Province (roughly modern Chengdu, Sichuan), and had great resources at his disposal. Yang Guang collected evidence of Yang Xiu's wrongdoing, particularly wastefulness, and had Yang Su submit them to Emperor Wen. Emperor Wen summoned Yang Xiu back to the capital and had Yang Su investigate, and both Yang Guang and Yang Su further manufactured evidence against Yang Xiu. Emperor Wen reduced Yang Xiu to commoner rank and put him under house arrest.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: Also in 602, Empress Dugu died. It was said that Yang Guang pretended to mourn greatly, refusing most foods, but in private continued to dine normally.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: In 604, while Emperor Wen was at his vacation palace Renshou Palace (仁壽宮, in modern Baoji, Shaanxi), he fell ill and then died—a death, however, that traditional historians, while admitting a lack of direct evidence, believed to be a murder ordered by Yang Guang (see below). Yang Guang, after sending Yang Yue to kill Yang Yong, announced Emperor Wen's death and took the throne as Emperor Yang.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: An immediate challenge that Emperor Yang faced was a rebellion by his brother Yang Liang, then the commandant at Bing Province, who was encouraged by the generals Wang Kui () and Xiao Mohe. Yang Liang received support from 19 provinces, but lacked a coherent plan as to whether to try to challenge Emperor Yang for the control of the entire empire, or just the region north of the Yellow River. After some initial successes, Yang Liang's offenses stalled. Emperor Yang sent Yang Su against him, and Yang Su proceeded quickly to Yang Liang's headquarters at Bing Province, capturing Xiao and forcing Yang Liang to surrender. Emperor Yang did not execute Yang Liang, but reduced him to commoner rank and imprisoned him for the rest of his life.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: In winter 604, believing in the words of the sorcerer Zhangchou Taiyi () that the geography of Chang'an was not conducive to his health, Emperor Yang went to Luoyang, designating it as the eastern capital, and would rarely return to Chang'an thereafter. He ordered that major construction projects be carried out at Luoyang, commensurate with the necessities of having it as the actual capital, and he left his oldest son, Yang Zhao the Prince of Jin, in charge of Chang'an. He conscripted several hundred thousands of young men to dig a lengthy trench to surround the Luoyang region, intending that it serve as a defense perimeter. He also ordered that women and servants be exempted from head taxes, and that men would only be considered adults (i.e., subject to conscription) when they turn 21.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: In spring 605, Emperor Yang created his wife Crown Princess Xiao empress, and Yang Zhao as crown prince. He also abolished the offices of military commandants. He, at this time, trusted Empress Xiao's brother Xiao Cong the Duke of Ju (Western Liang's last emperor) and made him, as well as many of her other relatives, important officials, creating him the greater title of Duke of Liang.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: Starting in 605, Emperor Yang also started a massive number of construction projects—including the building of the imperial palace at Luoyang, described to be particularly luxurious. Further, he conscripted a large number of men to build the Tongji Canal (), connecting Luoyang with the Yellow River and connecting the Yellow River with the Huai River, as well as to rebuild the Han Canal (), connecting the Huai River and the Yangtze River. The two canals, which would eventually become parts of the Grand Canal of China, were said to be constructed within five months, but at substantial cost of life—40% to 50% of the men employed. Emperor Yang also ordered that some 40 secondary palaces be built around the empire, so that he could visit the various provinces, arguing that he needed to do so to see the conditions of the empire so that he could govern effectively.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: In fall 605, after the completion of the Tongji and Han Canals, Emperor Yang carried out the first of 11 (counting military campaigns) tours that he would eventually undertake of various parts of the empire, going to Jiangdu—the capital of Yang Province, where he had been commandant previously—on an imperial ship that was said to be sufficiently large and luxurious to serve as floating palaces.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: Also in 605, when Khitan tribes attacked Ying Province (營州, roughly modern Zhaoyang, Liaoning), Emperor Yang had the official Wei Yunqi () requisition Tujue troops under Ashina Rangan to attack Khitan. The Khitan forces were caught by surprise and defeated.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: In summer 606, Yang Zhao the Crown Prince became ill while visiting Luoyang, and soon died. Emperor Yang would not create another crown prince for the rest of his reign, creating Yang Zhao's sons Yang Tan (), Yang Tong, and Yang You imperial princes, while initially apparently tacitly considering his second son, Yang Jian the Prince of Qi (note different character than Emperor Wen) the de facto successor, leaving Yang Jian in charge of Luoyang whenever he would be away from Luoyang. Yang Su, whom Emperor Yang pretended to respect but actually feared, also died in summer 606.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: Also in 606, Emperor Yang ordered that two massive food storages—the Luokou Storage () and the Huiluo Storage () – be constructed near Luoyang.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: In spring 607, Ashina Rangan visited Emperor Yang at Luoyang. Also in spring 607, at the instigation of Yuwen Shu, Emperor Yang had Yang Yong's eight sons put to death.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: In summer 607, Emperor Yang abolished provinces and changed them to commanderies. At the same time, he reorganized his father's governmental system of having five main bureaus, keeping four of the main bureaus—the executive bureau (尚書省, "Shangshu Sheng"), the examination bureau (門下省, "Menxia Sheng"), the legislative bureau (內史省, "Neishi Sheng"), the Palace Library – while abolishing the eunuch bureau and replacing it with the palace bureau (殿內省, "Diannei Sheng"). He established three additional independent agencies and five independent departments. He also organized the imperial army into 16 corps. He abolished three levels of noble titles—the counts, the viscounts, and the barons—keeping only the princes, the dukes, and the marquesses.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: Also in summer 607, Emperor Yang embarked on a tour of the northern provinces, building an imperial highway from Chang'an to Jinyang (晉陽, the capital of Bing Province). He then personally visited the imperial tent of Ashina Rangan, whose display of submission and loyalty caused Emperor Yang to bestow much honor and wealth on him. When the senior officials Gao Jiong, Yuwen Bi (), and Heruo Bi privately expressed disapproval, Emperor Yang discovered their criticism and put all of them to death, while removing Su Wei, who also discouraged him from giving excessive rewards to Ashina Rangan, from his post. (Traditional historians attribute Gao's death to Gao's refusal to keep Chen Shubao's Consort Zhang alive in 589.) As Xiao Cong had a deep friendship with Heruo Bi, and there had been rumors that the Xiaos would rise again, the superstitious Emperor Yang also removed Xiao Cong from his post. Qimin visited Yangdi at Yulin.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: In spring 608, Emperor Yang conscripted over a million men to construct the Yongji Canal (), from the Yellow River to Zhuo Commandery (涿郡, roughly modern Beijing). It was said that there were not enough men, and he started conscripting women as well.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: In 608, after persuasion by the Sui official Cui Junsu (), the Western Tujue khan (Ashina Rangan's western rival), the Heshana Khan Ashina Daman, whose mother was Han, submitted to Sui as a vassal. However, also in 608, Emperor Yang received a letter claiming to be from the Emperor of Japan, Duolisibigu (多利思比孤, now commonly believed to be Prince Shōtoku), stating, "The Son of Heaven where the sun rises, to the Son of Heaven where the sun sets, may good health be with you." Displeased by what he saw as insolence, he ordered that in the future, "insolent" letters from other states not be submitted to him.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: Also in 608, initially over disputes over women (Yang Jian's having taken a concubine that Emperor Yang himself wanted) and hunting (Yang Jian's guards having been much more successful than Emperor Yang's guards at hunting), Emperor Yang's relationship with Yang Jian began to deteriorate. He ordered investigations into Yang Jian's violation of laws, and discovered that Yang Jian had used witchcraft to curse Yang Zhao's three sons. In anger, Emperor Yang executed and exiled a number of Yang Jian's associates, but he did not depose Yang Jian, although from this point on Yang Jian did not exert much influence on the political scene.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: In 608 as well, Pei Ju persuaded the Tiele tribes to attack Tuyuhun, forcing Tuyuhun's Busabuo Khan Murong Fuyun to flee. Murong Fuyun initially considered submitting to Sui, and Emperor Yang sent Yuwen with an army to welcome him. However, when Murong Fuyun changed his mind, Yuwen attacked him and seized much of Tuyuhun's people. When Murong Fuyun fled further, Emperor Yang had his forces seize Tuyuhun's territory, establishing four commanderies, to be populated with exiles.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: In spring 609, Ashina Rangan made another visit to Emperor Yang, and Emperor Yang again rewarded him with much treasure.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: Later in spring 609, Emperor Yang conducted a tour of the newly conquered Tuyuhun territory, and sent several generals to chase down Murong Fuyun. The Sui forces engaged Murong Fuyun's remaining forces, with mixed success, but Murong Fuyun was forced to flee to Dangxiang tribes. Emperor Yang tried to impose Murong Fuyun's son Murong Shun, whom Murong Fuyun had earlier sent to Sui as a hostage, as Tuyuhun's new khan, but the Tuyuhun people would not accept him, and Murong Shun was forced back to Sui territory. Emperor Yang also received 27 rulers of Xiyu kingdoms in an audience at Zhangye (張掖, in modern Zhangye, Gansu).


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: Later in the year, Ashina Rangan died, and was succeeded by his son Shibi Khan Ashina Duojishi. Pursuant to Tujue customs, Ashina Duojishi requested permission from Emperor Yang to marry Ashina Rangan's wife Princess Yicheng () (the daughter of a clansman of Emperor Yang). Emperor Yang agreed. Also in 609, Emperor Yang, jealous of the literary talent of the official Xue Daoheng (), he falsely accused Xue of defaming the emperor and had Xue strangled.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: By this time, it was said that Emperor Yang's lifestyle had become particularly wasteful, and that he no longer felt bound by moral principles.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: In 610, Emperor Yang visited Jiangdu again, and this time elevated Jiangdu's importance so that it effectively became a third capital.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: When Emperor Yang was visiting Ashina Rangan in 607, a messenger from Goguryeo's King King Yeong-yang to Ashina Rangan happened to be present, and Ashina Rangan introduced him to Emperor Yang. Emperor Yang ordered King Yeong-yang to come visit him, offering to reward him if he did so and to punish him if he did not do so. King Yeong-yang did not respond, and by 611, Emperor Yang, insulted by the lack of response, prepared a campaign against Goguryeo. With Sui appearing to be in its prime, both governmental officials and the people were initially in support of a campaign to conquer Goguryeo. In spring 611, Emperor Yang went to Zhuo Commandery and announced the campaign against Goguryeo. Several hundred men were conscripted, and it was said that even before they could get to Zhuo Commandery, disease and fatigue had already caused much loss of life. In response, a number of conscripted soldiers deserted and became agrarian rebels.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: Also in 611, angry that Western Tujue's khan Ashina Daman, while nominally submissive, had refused to visit him, Emperor Yang had Pei Ju persuade Ashina Daman's subordinate khan Ashina Shegui () to rebel against Ashina Daman, promising to give him a Sui princess in marriage. Ashina Shegui thus rebelled against Ashina Daman, forcing Ashina Daman to flee, first to Gaochang, then to Sui. Emperor Yang accepted Ashina Daman's submission, and thereafter divided his people into three groups, while leaving Ashina Daman as titularly khan, although he never allowed Ashina Daman to return to his people.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: By 612, the soldiers had been gathered at Zhuo Commandery, and Emperor Yang launched his attack, attacking a number of cities in Goguryeo territory, but targeting mainly at the important city of Liaodong (遼東, in modern Liaoyang, Liaoning) and Goguryeo's capital Pyongyang. However, contrary to the desires of the generals, Emperor Yang ordered that their tactical decisions must first be submitted to and approved by him before they could be carried out. Thus all the Goguryeo forts and cities were able to withstand Sui forces and thus there was not much chance of Manchuria being successfully conquered. Emperor Yang, however, made a new plan to keep the Goguryeo forts at bay while sending another army, alongside the navy. to siege the Goguryeo capital. The navy arrived first and with a haste order, the navy attacked the capital but were defeated by ambush. The navy then waited for the land army to arrive. The supply of food had also been greatly delayed and many Sui soldiers died of famine. Then the Goguryeo General Eulji Meundeok rallied Goguryeo forces, and constantly harassed them with ambushes and feigned retreats. The Sui army had come to the Salsu River, but Eulji and the Goguryeo forces were waiting in ambush. A dam was made at the Salsu River to make the river seem it was shallow. When the Sui army was in the middle of the River, the dam was opened and many Sui soldiers drowned. Out of the 305,000 men that entered the river, only 2,700 soldiers escaped death. Thus the Sui army, or what was left of it, retreated back to Sui. This war had, however, resulted in devastating losses for the Sui in terms of soldiers, money and support from the people.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: In winter 612, Emperor Yang gave a daughter of a clansman, whom he created the Princess Huarong, to Qu Boya () (the king of Gaochang) in marriage


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: In spring 613, Emperor Yang again ordered that soldiers be gathered at Zhuo Commandery, as he prepared a second campaign against Goguryeo. He also selected the most elite of the soldiers into a specialized corps, the Xiaoguo Army (驍果, meaning, "the strong and brave"). Thereafter, the Xiaoguo Army became his own personal guards. In response to the conscription order, even more men deserted and joined the agrarian rebels, throwing the northern central part of the empire into a state of confusion. With the officials on command having little military training, the rebels went largely unchecked. One notable exception was general Zhang Xutuo (), who was able to defeat some of the rebels, but even he was not able to succeed in suppressing them.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: In summer 613, Emperor Yang crossed the Liao River again and put Manchuria under siege. However, at this time, news arrived that Yang Su's son Yang Xuangan had rebelled near Luoyang. With the people disaffected by the Goguryeo campaigns, Yang Xuangan received much popular support and threatened Luoyang. Emperor Yang, in fear, lifted the siege on Liaodong and also ordered the southern offensive to be terminated, returning to Zhuo Commandery while sending Yuwen and Qutu Tong () south to aid Luoyang. The general in charge of defending Chang'an, Wei Wensheng (), also came to Luoyang's aid. Together, these forces outnumbered Yang Xuangan's and dealt him several defeats. Yang Xuangan decided to try to advance west to capture Chang'an as a base of operations, but on the way was again defeated, and he had his brother Yang Jishan () kill him, to avoid capture. At Emperor Yang's orders, the officials Fan Zigai () and Pei Yun () carried out mass-scale reprisals, executing a large number of people who had followed Yang Xuangan. Around the new year 614, by Emperor Yang's orders, Yang Jishan and Yang Xuangan's strategist Wei Fusi () were publicly executed in exceedingly cruel manners—the officials all fired arrows at them, and then they were further drawn and quartered, and then their bodies were burned and the ashes scattered.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: Around the same time, there were also rebellions south of the Yangtze River, and Emperor Yang sent the official Wang Shichong against the rebels. Wang was able to suppress the rebellions, for the most part, and thereafter began to rise in prominence at Emperor Yang's court. Meanwhile, Emperor Yang ordered that rebels' possessions could be confiscated at will. The local officials, however, used this as an excuse to execute and confiscate properties of those they did not like.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: In spring 614, Emperor Yang again proposed another campaign against Goguryeo. Although his officials did not approve, none dared to oppose him. Many of the soldiers ordered to report to Zhuo Commandery deserted. Emperor Yang tried to stop desertions by executing those who deserted, but still could not stem the tide of desertions. Goguryeo forces had also been constantly ambushing the Sui army and the Sui supply line. Goguryeo offered peace, for Goguryeo had also been exhausted. Goguryeo also returned Yang Xuangan's associate Husi Zheng (), who had fled to Goguryeo after his association with Yang Xuangan was discovered. Lai initially opposed ending the campaign, but did finally withdraw after ordered by Emperor Yuan. Emperor Yang executed Husi using the same kind of cruelty that he employed against Yang Jishan and Wei Fusi, but afterwards, when he again summoned Goguryeo's King Yeong-yang to meet him, King Yeong-yang again ignored him. Emperor Yang declared a fourth campaign against Goguryeo—but he never actually launched it. Meanwhile, agrarian rebellions continued to rise. While generals such as Zhang Xutuo and Wang Sichong enjoyed victories here and there, the situation was deteriorating for the welfare of the Sui state at large.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: In spring 615, believing in accusations by Yuwen Shu that the official Li Hun () was intending to carry out a coup to replace Emperor Yang with his nephew Li Min (李敏, son-in-law of Emperor Yang's sister Yang Lihua the Princess Leping) and worried about prophecies that someone named Li would become the next emperor, Emperor Yang had Li Hun, Li Min, and their clansmen executed, and further poisoned Yang Lihua's daughter Yuwen Eying ().


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: Later in 615, Emperor Yang carried out a tour of the northern provinces with the Empress Xiao and much of the imperial court. Shibi Khan, angered that the imperial advisor Pei Ju had promised a princess to his brother Ashina Chiji () and had executed his close advisor Shishu Huxi () under false pretenses, launched a surprise attack on Yanmen Commandery. In accordance with Turkish customs, Princess Yicheng had married him as her husband's successor; having been well treated by the empress during an earlier visit, though, she sent a secret warning of his plans to the emperor and his wife. The imperial train sought refuge at the commandery seat in present-day Daixian, Shanxi, which Shibi Khan and his army put under siege on September 11. It was said that Emperor Yang became so fearful that he cried all day long while holding onto his youngest son Yang Gao, the Prince of Zhao. Yuwen Shu suggested that Emperor Yang take the most elite guards and try to fight out of the siege, but Su Wei and Fan Zigai opposed this. Empress Xiao's brother Xiao Yu suggested seeking further help from Princess Yicheng, and Emperor Yang did so. Meanwhile, at Yu Shiji's advice, Emperor Yang also personally visited the soldiers defending the city, raising morale by promising to end the campaigns against Goguryeo and to reward them with honors and treasure. Princess Yicheng falsely informed Shibi Khan that the Turks were under attack from the north and relief troops from Luoyang and the other commanderies began arriving, so the khan lifted the siege. With the danger passed and credit muddled, Emperor Yang followed the advice of Su and Yuwen to renege on most of his promises: he did not return to the capital Chang'an, but went to Luoyang instead; he continued to prepare a campaign against Goguryeo; he did not bestow any monetary rewards on the garrison or its reinforcements; and he was sparing in the promotion of the officers involved. When Fan and Xiao Yu reminded him of the promises, Emperor Yang rebuked Fan and demoted Xiao Yu.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: Emperor Yang only appeared to begin to be concerned about rebels when, at the lunar new year imperial gathering in 616, 20 odd commanderies' messengers did not arrive—either because they had fallen into rebel hands, or because their messengers were intercepted or killed on the way. Only then did Emperor Yang begin talking about suppressing the rebels. Apparently beginning to consider the idea of evacuating to south of the Yangtze River, he ordered that a major palace be built at Piling Commandery (毗陵, roughly modern Changzhou, Jiangsu), and that another palace be built in Kuaiji Commandery. However, he did not like to hear news about rebels, and when Su expressed concerns about the rebels, Emperor Yang had Su falsely accused of crimes and initially was poised to execute him, but instead demoted him to commoner rank.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: By fall 616, Emperor Yang had resolved to go to Jiangdu, at Yuwen Shu's suggestion. A number of officials opposed, reasoning that if he left Luoyang, Luoyang would fall into enemy hands; Emperor Yang punished all, some with execution, and proceeded to Jiangdu. He wrote a farewell poem to the ladies in waiting in Luoyang, which included two lines that read:


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: Once Emperor Yang left Luoyang, Yang Xuangan's former strategist Li Mi, who by this point was advising the rebel general Zhai Rang, advised Zhai to directly assault the Luoyang region. Zhai agreed, and killed Zhang Xutuo in a battle; thereafter, the morale of the Sui troops became greatly damaged. Zhai, believing in the prophecies about the next emperor being a Li, began to honor Li Mi as his leader. Meanwhile, the Sui general Yang Yichen was having success against the rebels north of the Yellow River, killing Zhang Jincheng () and Gao Shida (), but Emperor Yang and his prime minister Yu Shiji, fearful of Yang Yichen's talent, ostensibly promoted Yang Yichen and recalled him to be a minister. Yang Yichen died soon thereafter, and the rebels north of the Yellow River reinvigorated themselves under Dou Jiande. By 617, several other major rebels had also emerged, including:


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: By spring 617, Li Mi and Zhai had captured Emperor Yang's main food storages near Luoyang, the Luokou and Huiluo Storages, thus keeping their army well-supplied while making the Sui forces at Luoyang beginning to lack food. Li Mi took the title of Duke of Wei, while creating Zhai the Duke of Dong Commandery (although Li soon, fearful of Zhai, killed him and seized Zhai's army). A number of other agrarian rebels at least nominally submitted to Li Mi, including Dou and Li Yuan, and it was often thought at the time that Li Mi would soon be able to become emperor. Emperor Yang sent Wang to Luoyang to aid in its defenses, and Li's offensives stalled. Meanwhile, Li Yuan advanced southwest and captured Chang'an in winter 617. He declared Yang You emperor (as Emperor Gong) while honoring Emperor Yang as "Taishang Huang" (retired emperor), and he himself wielded actual authority over the western Sui commanderies under the title of Prince of Tang.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: Meanwhile, at Jiangdu, it was said that Emperor Yang's lifestyle grew increasingly decadent. His palace contained over 100 chambers, each exceedingly luxurious and full of beautiful women. The women of each chamber would serve as hostesses for a feast each day, and Emperor Yang, Empress Xiao, and Emperor Yang's favored concubines would be their guests. Emperor Yang began to come to the realization that his fall was near, but still commented as if he did not care. It was said that on one occasion, he told Empress Xiao, "There must be many people who want to hurt me. However, I will at least be the Duke of Changcheng [i.e., be like Chen Shubao], and you will at least be like Empress Shen [(Chen Shubao's wife)]. Do not worry. Let us drink and be merry." It was also said that on another occasion, when he was looking in the mirror, he told Empress Xiao, "I have a good neck, and I'm waiting for someone to sever it." Empress Xiao, surprised and distressed by his comment, asked him why he was saying so, and he responded and smiled, "Honor and wealth and poverty and dishonor, as well as pain and pleasure, all come in cycles. Why be distressed?" Meanwhile, not wanting to return to the turbulent north, he discussed with his officials about moving the capital to Danyang (丹楊, in modern Nanjing, Jiangsu). His elite Xiaoguo Army guards, missing their families in the north and realizing that Emperor Yang did not intend to return north, began to desert. Their commanders Sima Dekan (), Yuan Li (), and Pei Qiantong (), worried that Emperor Yang would punish them, began considering rebelling and taking the Xiaoguo Army north themselves instead. They associated with a number of other officers and officials, discussing so publicly that even the ladies in waiting began to hear about it. When one reported to Empress Xiao, Empress Xiao had her report to Emperor Yang—but Emperor Yang, not wishing to hear about the bad news, beheaded her. When another reported to Empress Xiao, Empress Xiao no longer permitted her to report to Emperor Yang, figuring that it was too late.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: Meanwhile, the Xiaoguo Army officers planning the mutiny had by this time decided on supporting Yuwen Shu's son Yuwen Huaji as their leader. In late spring 618, they launched the coup. They entered the palace and surrounded Emperor Yang, accusing him of crimes. Emperor Yang admitted his faults, but pointed out that he had always treated them well—drawing the response from Sima: "All of the earth is angry at you. It does not stop at just one man." They killed Yang Gao on the spot to show him that they were serious. Emperor Yang offered to swallow poison, but none could be found quickly. He then took off his scarf, and the soldier Linghu Xingda () strangled him with it. The coup participants also killed a number of high-level officials and relatives of Emperor Yang, including Emperor Yang's brother Yang Xiu and his sons, son Yang Jian and his sons, grandson Yang Tan the Prince of Yan, Yu Shiji, Pei Yun, Lai Hu'er, Yuan Chong (), Yuwen Xie (), Yuwen Jiong (), and Xiao Ju () the Duke of Liang (Empress Xiao's nephew). The only close relative to Emperor Yang who was spared was his nephew Yang Hao, the prince of Qin, who was friendly with Yuwen Huaji's brother Yuwen Zhiji (). Yuwen Huaji thereafter declared Yang Hao emperor. Empress Xiao and the ladies in waiting, with no one else to help them, were forced to make makeshift caskets for Emperor Yang and Yang Gao using headboards from their beds. It was not until Yuwen Huaji left Jiangdu that the Sui official Chen Leng () buried Emperor Yang with reduced ceremony. In 622, after Li Yuan had established the Tang Dynasty, becoming Emperor Gaozu, and had somewhat reunified the empire, he reburied Emperor Yang with honors. The tomb was moved several times, and it was said that because of his immoral behaviour lightning struck the tomb wherever it was relocated.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: While no allegations were made at the time that Emperor Wen's death was anything other than the result of illness, starting from the time of the succeeding Tang Dynasty, it was generally assumed that Emperor Wen was killed on Emperor Yang's orders—although more neutral historians generally assumed it to be true while stating that there was no direct evidence. An example is the Song Dynasty historian Sima Guang's "Zizhi Tongjian", generally considered one of the most reliable, albeit secondary, sources in Chinese history, which, after mentioning Emperor Wen's death and giving a commentary on Emperor Wen's reign, then gave this account:


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: More detailed versions of the story largely alleged that Zhang Heng personally killed Emperor Wen by pounding his chest and breaking his ribs. The advocates for the theory that Emperor Wen was killed on Emperor Yang's orders also pointed to other circumstantial evidence, including how immediately after Emperor Wen's death Emperor Yang took Consorts Chen and Cai as his concubines. Further, after Zhang lost Emperor Yang's favors and eventually was executed in 612, Zhang lamented at the execution field, "What did I do for him that I can expect to live long?" The warden, apparently believing in the murder theory himself, immediately covered his ears to avoid hearing any details and had Zhang immediately executed. They further pointed out how Liu Shu and Yuan Yan were exiled and Yang Yong executed immediately following Emperor Wen's death.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: However, particularly in more recent times, some historians have questioned this theory. They pointed out that in the most official histories written not long after (the "Book of Sui" and the "History of Northern Dynasties"), no allegations of patricide was levied against Emperor Yang in either Emperor Wen's or Emperor Yang's biographies, or Zhang's, even though many other accusations were made of Emperor Yang's misrule. Indeed, they pointed out the origin of the murder theory appeared to come from the "Daye Lüeji" () by the early Tang author Zhao Yi (), in whose version of the story, "Consort Cai", not Consort Chen, was the concubine involved. They also pointed out that all of the circumstantial evidence had other plausible explanations—and that, indeed, why were Liu and Yuan not killed if they knew the truth? However, the idea that Emperor Wen was killed on Emperor Yang's orders has become ingrained in the traditional Chinese mindset, although the truth might never be known.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: In April 2013 the tomb of Emperor Yang was discovered in Yangzhou. Two brick-lined tombs were discovered in the Hanjiang District of Yangzhou during work on a housing development. A stone epitaph found in the western tomb was inscribed with the title "Tomb epitaph of the late Emperor Yang of Sui" (), indicating that the tomb was that of Emperor Yang. It is thought that the other tomb may be that of the emperor's consort, but it has not been properly excavated yet.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: The tomb is 4.98 × 5.88 meters in dimension, which is smaller than many non-royal tombs of the period. The reason for the tomb's small size according to Chinese archaeologists is that the emperor died suddenly when he escaped to Yangzhou during a coup, and there was no time to build a grand tomb.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: The top of the tomb had been damaged by later buildings built on top of it, and the tomb had been robbed in antiquity. No coffin or human remains have been found in the tomb, but a number of artefacts have been recovered, including a pair of lion-shaped gold-inlaid iron door-knockers and a jade belt with gold decoration.


title: Emperor Yang of Sui

text: Emperor Yang was also a patron of the arts, having expanded the number of foreign orchestras (from across Asia) at the Sui court from seven to nine. He was, in fact, quite a gifted artist himself, but one prone to horrible fits of jealousy and stubbornness, who seldom listened to the advice of more talented individuals. He was a talented poet but killed two poets after he found their stanzas to be superior to his own.


title: George Harrison (album)

text: George Harrison is the eighth studio album by English rock musician George Harrison, released in February 1979. It was written and recorded through much of 1978, a period of domestic contentment for Harrison, during which he married Olivia Arias and became a father for the first time, to son Dhani. Harrison wrote several of the songs in Hawaii, while the track "Faster" reflected his year away from music-making, when he and Arias attended many of the races in the 1977 Formula 1 World Championship. The album also includes the hit single "Blow Away" and "Not Guilty", a song that Harrison originally recorded with the Beatles in 1968.


title: George Harrison (album)

text: Harrison co-produced the album with Russ Titelman. The contributing musicians include Steve Winwood, Neil Larsen, Willie Weeks and Andy Newmark, with Eric Clapton and Gary Wright making guest appearances. The recording sessions took place at Harrison's FPSHOT studio in Oxfordshire.


title: George Harrison (album)

text: Issued on Dark Horse Records, "George Harrison" was well-received by music critics on release. Commentators regularly cite it among the artist's best works after his 1970 triple album "All Things Must Pass". The album was remastered in 2004 as part of Harrison's "Dark Horse Years 1976–1992" reissues.


title: George Harrison (album)

text: In February 1977, George Harrison completed the promotion for "Thirty Three & ⅓", his 1976 debut on his Dark Horse record label and an album that was widely viewed as a return to form after the critical disappointments of "Dark Horse" and "Extra Texture". Rather than follow up on this success, Harrison took a sabbatical, which he described as "what the English call 'skyving'". For much of the year, he travelled with his girlfriend, Olivia Arias, and became a regular presence at motor races in the Formula 1 World Championship. As a rare artistic project during that time, Harrison assisted comedian Eric Idle in developing his Beatles satire, the Rutles, into the 1978 TV film "All You Need Is Cash". After a chance meeting with representatives from Genesis Publications at a hotel near Heathrow Airport in July 1977, he also began compiling his song manuscripts for a limited edition leather-bound book, leading to his 1980 autobiography "I, Me, Mine".


title: George Harrison (album)

text: Before resuming songwriting for the new album, Harrison had not written a song since 1976. He said he was compelled to return to making music to satisfy requests from his friends in the Formula 1 community. He also felt a sense of duty towards Warner Bros. Records, the company that had taken up the distribution of Dark Horse in 1976, when A&M Records chose to offload the label, particularly as the Warner's executives had not pressured him for a new album throughout 1977.


title: George Harrison (album)

text: Harrison said the project was informed by his contentment with how his life had progressed since "Thirty Three & ⅓". In June 1977, he was granted a divorce from Pattie Boyd, who had left him for his friend Eric Clapton in 1974. Boyd's solicitor, a partner at the London firm Theodore Goddard, later remarked on the sensitivity shown by each party towards the other, and how rare this was in his experience of high-stakes divorces. Among other "profound changes" that influenced the album's creation, according to author Ian Inglis, Harrison became a father for the first time when Arias gave birth to their son, Dhani, in August 1978, three months after the death of his father, Harry Harrison.


title: George Harrison (album)

text: Harrison began writing "Love Comes to Everyone" in September 1977. It was one of several new compositions that reflected his contentment with Arias and with life generally. Author Simon Leng comments that while familiar Harrison lyrical references to Krishna and Hindu spirituality appear to be absent on "George Harrison", these themes are "rife" but stated subtly; he adds, "Hence, the 'love' that comes to everyone ... is, of course, God's." "Blow Away" was initially inspired by rain damage to a roof at Harrison's Friar Park estate in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire. He turned the experience into one of positive thinking, reasoning that if he sought to be optimistic by expressing love, the problem would diminish in importance. He later said that he wrote "Blow Away" as a song that Niki Lauda, Jody Scheckter, Emerson Fittipaldi and others in the F1 "gang" might enjoy. He also wrote "Faster" in late 1977, drawing inspiration from Lauda's successful comeback from a near-fatal crash at the Nürburgring the previous year. The album credits listed former driver Jackie Stewart, whose autobiography was titled "Faster", as the other source of inspiration.


title: George Harrison (album)

text: Harrison listened to his 1970 triple album "All Things Must Pass" for inspiration. He wrote "If You Believe", incorporating musical and lyrical elements familiar from "All Things Must Pass", with American musician Gary Wright on New Year's Day 1978 at Friar Park. Harrison then met with Warner's staff producers Lenny Waronker, Russ Titelman and Ted Templeman in Los Angeles to discuss the new album and play them demos of his latest songs. He recalled that Templeman's appreciation of his 1971 B-side "Deep Blue" inspired him to begin writing what became "Soft-Hearted Hana".


title: George Harrison (album)

text: Harrison wrote or finished writing the album's songs while holidaying on the Hawaiian island of Maui in February 1978, soon after he and Arias learned of Arias's pregnancy. The holiday was a highly creative time for Harrison and influenced the mood of the album. He wrote "Dark Sweet Lady" there as a Spanish-style love song for Arias. "Your Love Is Forever" started as a guitar instrumental to which Harrison added lyrics that, furthering a common trait in his songwriting, expressed love to both a woman and his deity.


title: George Harrison (album)

text: In addition to revisiting "Not Guilty", a song he had first recorded with the Beatles in 1968, Harrison wrote "Here Comes the Moon" as a lyrical successor to his 1969 "Abbey Road" composition "Here Comes the Sun". As with "Here Comes the Moon", his inspiration for the lyrics to "Soft-Hearted Hana" was a psychedelic mushroom experience he had on Maui. The song's title references the Tin Pan Alley standard "Hard Hearted Hannah" and the town of Hana on Maui. "Soft Touch" was a song that Harrison started writing in March 1976, while holidaying with Arias in the Virgin Islands. Harrison said the melody originated from him playing the horn line from the "All Things Must Pass" track "Run of the Mill" on acoustic guitar, after which he sought to convey the atmosphere around him: "the wind, the cool breeze blowing, the palm trees, the new moon rising".


title: George Harrison (album)

text: Harrison decided to work with Titelman as his co-producer on "George Harrison". The project marked the first time that Harrison had shared the producer's role on one of his albums since working with Phil Spector in the early 1970s. While in Los Angeles in mid March, Harrison filmed his role as the narrator in Ringo Starr's TV special "Ringo", a modern-day adaptation of Mark Twain's "The Prince and the Pauper". He and Arias returned to England on 4 April and recording for the album began at Harrison's home studio, FPSHOT, later that month. Although the album credits list only FPSHOT, Titelman has said that they first recorded "Dark Sweet Lady" at Amigos Studios in Los Angeles.<ref name="Havers/uDiscover">Richard Havers, "Exploring the Expert Popcraft of George Harrison's Self-Titled Album", "uDiscoverMusic", 17 March 2021 (retrieved 15 May 2021).</ref> In a 1996 interview, Titelman recalled that he initially had to get past his awe of Harrison, as an ex-Beatle, and that while making the album he came to appreciate the precision and craft Harrison had applied to the band's music, and the "unique" quality of his guitar styles and sounds. He recognised Harrison's "fluid approach" in the guitar parts on "Dark Sweet Lady", "Love Comes to Everyone" and "Blow Away" as a legacy of his immersion in Indian music.


title: George Harrison (album)

text: Among the first songs recorded at FPSHOT, on 11 April, was "Flying Hour", although it did not appear on the album. Another outtake was "Circles", a song that Harrison wrote in 1968. The core group of musicians on the album included keyboard player Neil Larsen, who had recently worked on Titelman's production of Rickie Lee Jones' self-titled debut album, and Harrison's rhythm section from his 1974 North American tour, Andy Newmark and Willie Weeks. Newmark recalled a far "mellower" Harrison in 1978, compared with his demeanour during the sessions for "Dark Horse". Steve Winwood also contributed, on keyboards and backing vocals, and Ray Cooper played percussion. Leng says that the participation of these two English musicians reflected the apparent waning of American musical influences on Harrison, as suggested by the minimal presence of horns, previously a staple of the artist's sound since 1970. Special guests at the sessions included Gary Wright (on "If You Believe") and Eric Clapton, who contributed the lead guitar intro to "Love Comes to Everyone". In September, a month after the birth of their son, Harrison and Arias were married in a private ceremony in Henley.


title: George Harrison (album)

text: In Leng's description, the album departs further from Harrison's recent works through its preference for both warm acoustic-based guitar arrangements and using electric guitars as "smooth, ringing purveyors of elegance". In the latter regard, he views the selection of "Love Comes to Everyone" to open the album as a statement declaring: "This is not a rock 'n' roll record." Inglis writes that, furthering the approach introduced on "Thirty Three & ⅓", the arrangements convey a "less aggressive, more subtle, musical philosophy that saw music and words as complementary rather than competing ingredients"; he cites "Soft Touch" as especially indicative of this trait. Harrison augmented the rag-time atmosphere of "Soft-Hearted Hana" with sounds and conversation captured at his local Henley pub, The Row Barge. At the end of the track, the recording was subjected to heavy varispeeding, creating dramatic changes in pitch; Leng views the song as the first example of Harrison evoking Monty Python in his music. He added Formula 1 sounds throughout "Faster"; the track opens with the cars revving up and then starting the race. String and horn overdubs were added to some of the songs at London's AIR Studios in late 1978.


title: George Harrison (album)

text: The new album was originally titled "Faster" after Harrison's F1 tribute song. The album was scheduled for release in December but an issue with the artwork delayed the process. On 7 December, Harrison joined Clapton and Elton John on stage at Guildford Civic Hall to play the encore at the final show of Clapton's UK tour. That same month, he performed with Bad Company's Mick Ralphs, Simon Kirke and Boz Burrell, and Deep Purple members Jon Lord and Ian Paice – as the Pisshole Artists – in the Oxfordshire village of Pishill, near Henley.


title: George Harrison (album)

text: The album design was by Mike Salisbury, who also took the front and back cover photos of Harrison in the gardens at Friar Park. The setting emphasised Harrison's connection with nature, as conveyed in "Blow Away" and further to his self-identification as a "gardener" more than a musician. The LP's inner sleeve highlighted his affinity with Formula 1. One side contained the lyrics of "Faster", along with the album credits, beside a photo of Harrison and Stewart taken in July 1978 at the British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch. In addition to acknowledging Stewart and Lauda's inspiration, a caption under the song's lyrics gave "special thanks" to Scheckter and dedicated "Faster" to the memory of Ronnie Peterson, who had died as a result of an accident at the start of the 1978 Italian Grand Prix.


title: George Harrison (album)

text: Harrison filmed a music video for the album's lead single, "Blow Away". It shows him miming to the song while interacting with giant replica animals such as a red duck and a swan. He also rides atop a large replica dog, who nods its head along with the music.<ref name="Watts/Uncut">Peter Watts, "George Solo: George Harrison", "Uncut Ultimate Music Guide: George Harrison", TI Media (London, 2018), pp. 88–89.</ref>


title: George Harrison (album)

text: In May 1979, three months after the release of the album, Harrison filmed a video for "Faster". Having attended the Monaco Grand Prix with Starr at this time, Harrison filmed part of the clip on the Monaco street circuit. These portions show Stewart chauffeuring a road car around the racetrack as Harrison sings and plays guitar in the back seat.


title: George Harrison (album)

text: The album was previewed by the single "Blow Away", which was released on 16 February 1979 in the United Kingdom and three days later in the United States. "George Harrison" was issued on Dark Horse Records on 20 February in the US, with the UK release following on 23 February. Shortly before its release, he, Arias and Wright attended the Brazilian Grand Prix in São Paulo. As the first Beatle to have visited Brazil, Harrison was the subject of considerable media attention. He corrected a journalist's assumption that the whole LP was about motor racing, saying that only "Faster" was, although he added that the lyrics were suitably "abstract" and "could be about anyone ... not just about cars and engines".


title: George Harrison (album)

text: Harrison did minimal promotion for the album. A plan for him to perform a radio concert in April was under consideration but soon abandoned. In early February, Harrison appeared with Michael Jackson as a guest singles reviewer on BBC Radio 1's "Roundtable", during which he discussed his year away from music and writing "Blow Away" and "Here Comes the Moon". He then appeared in a brief interview segment conducted by Nicky Horne for ITV's "Thames at Six" news programme, and as a guest on Horne's Capital Radio show "Your Mother Wouldn't Like It". Later in February, he sat for an interview at Warner's London offices with Mick Brown, for "Rolling Stone".


title: George Harrison (album)

text: Following an accident at Friar Park when a tractor drove over his foot, Harrison required a walking stick during his brief promotional visit to the US. He made fun of his predicament by using a wheelchair when departing from Heathrow. On 8 March, at the Dark Horse Records offices in Los Angeles, Harrison gave his first US press conference since the start of his 1974 tour. In journalist Rip Rense's later description, he was "promptly surrounded – and almost suffocated" by the reporters as microphones were thrust in his face. Harrison's lightheartedness extended to the usual questions about when the Beatles might re-form; the Associated Press photo from the event showed him holding his hands up to his ears in response.<ref name="Barber/DenverPost">Glen Barber, "Photos: Today in history – November 29 – The Denver Post", "The Denver Post", 29 November 2017 (retrieved 17 May 2021).</ref> Dismissing the recent multi-million-dollar offers for a reunion concert, he said, "The Beatles can't save the world. I mean, we'll be lucky if we can save ourselves." When a reporter asked whether "something less than a full reunion" was likely, Harrison suggested they could meet for a cup of tea and televise the proceedings via satellite. He added that he and his former bandmates would have a "great time" together, and "the only thing that would spoil it would be all of you with the cameras and microphones!"


title: George Harrison (album)

text: In the US, "Blow Away" peaked at number 16 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and number 2 on "Billboard"s Adult Contemporary chart, while "George Harrison" reached number 14 on the magazine's Top LPs & Tape chart and number 12 on "Cash Box"s Top 100 Albums.<ref name="UScharts/CashBox">"Cash Box Top 100 Albums", "Cash Box", 14 April 1979, p. 58.</ref> The album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. Harrison's unwillingness to actively promote the record hindered its commercial performance in the UK. There, "Blow Away" peaked at number 51 and "George Harrison" reached number 39. As a further impediment, according to author Elliot Huntley, the UK's fascination with new wave music meant that "interest in Beatle product was probably at an all time low". "Blow Away" was especially successful in Canada, where it peaked at number 7 on the singles chart.


title: George Harrison (album)

text: Following the album's release, Harrison's efforts were increasingly directed towards the film industry, after he had formed HandMade Films in order to help Idle and the other members of Monty Python complete "Life of Brian". In April, "Love Comes to Everyone" was issued as the album's second single. It failed to chart in the UK and, despite having been a popular choice on radio as an album track, in the US. The following month, Harrison, Starr and Paul McCartney performed together on stage at Clapton and Boyd's wedding reception in Surrey. In Huntley's description, it was a historic moment and "the closest the former Beatles had come to a live performance since the break-up".


title: George Harrison (album)

text: Harrison participated in two fundraising weekends to benefit the cancer research project set up by former F1 driver Gunnar Nilsson before his death from cancer late the previous year. In the second of these, in early June, he drove Stirling Moss's Lotus 18 from the early 1960s around the Donington Park circuit. In July, "Faster" was released as a charity single in the UK, to raise further funds for Nilsson's cause.


title: George Harrison (album)

text: In 2004, "George Harrison" was remastered and reissued both separately and as part of the deluxe box set "The Dark Horse Years 1976–1992". The reissue added a demo version of "Here Comes the Moon" as a bonus track. Following the digital release of much of his catalogue in 2007, Harrison's demo of "Blow Away" became available as an iTunes-exclusive download.


title: George Harrison (album)

text: "George Harrison" received favourable reviews from music critics. During his interview with Harrison, Mick Brown said the critical reception had been "exceptionally good" in the UK and suggested that the new album was the artist's best since "All Things Must Pass", a contention that several critics supported. "Billboard" featured "George Harrison" as its "Spotlight" album (meaning "the most outstanding new product of the week's releases") and highlighted "Love Comes to Everyone", "Here Comes the Moon" and "Not Guilty" among the "best cuts".


title: George Harrison (album)

text: "Rolling Stone"s album reviewer, Stephen Holden, deemed it "refreshingly light-hearted" and wrote: "After several highly uneven LPs that saw the audience for his mystic musings dwindle dramatically, Harrison has come up with his finest record since "All Things Must Pass". A collection of ten catchy pop songs, "George Harrison" reminds us that this artist was always a much better tunesmith than priest." Writing in "Melody Maker", E.J. Thribb said it was an album that "grows in its effect" and highlighted "Love Comes to Everyone", "Blow Away" and "Not Guilty" as songs in which "the chords roll and tumble, the melodies are good to chant, and the lyrics are simple but tell their story."<ref name="Thribb/MM"></ref> Harry George of the "NME" likened "George Harrison" to Bob Dylan's "New Morning" and Van Morrison's "Tupelo Honey" and said that Harrison's "guileless romanticism surprisingly carries the album". He recognised "Faster" and "Not Guilty" as examples of Harrison's growth as a songwriter, and identified "melodies of unassuming completeness" in other tracks where "Crafty harmonies and skilfully-layered guitars recall the sun-soaked vistas of [the Beatles]' 'Because' and 'Sun King' on "Abbey Road"."


title: George Harrison (album)

text: Bob Spitz of "The Washington Post" praised the album for its "sense of structure", a quality he found lacking in Harrison's four "dreadful" LPs since "All Things Must Pass", and said that it re-established him as a "first-rate composer". Less impressed, "People"s reviewer found the music "arch-Harrison: lyrically cheery and thematically uplifting" but "so restrained and subdued that the tunes track through a whole side unnoticed and indistinguishable". Robert Christgau was more critical in "" (1981), giving it a "C" grade and singling out "Faster" as the record's only good song.


title: George Harrison (album)

text: According to authors Chip Madinger and Mark Easter, further to the welcome "lightening up" evident on "Thirty Three & ⅓" in 1976, Harrison's self-titled album completed his "musical rehabilitation". Writing in 1981, "NME" critic Bob Woffinden opined: ""George Harrison" is his most successful album since "All Things Must Pass", and would probably have sold in its millions had it arrived at the beginning rather than the end of the decade." Woffinden praised Harrison's songwriting and the "co-production arrangement" with Titelman, before describing the record as "one of the best Beatle solo efforts". In their review in the 1981 edition of "", Roy Carr and Tony Tyler welcomed Harrison's continued avoidance of the "half-baked proselytisation" that they thought had marred his solo work until 1976, saying that it showed he had shed his past insecurities. The authors added: "To detect this pleasing phenomenon here, the trick is to back away from the musical and lyrical detail (not that this is by any means incompetent or jarring) and allow the totality of the sound ... to wash over one in a series of charmed ripples."


title: George Harrison (album)

text: Following Harrison's death in November 2001, Carol Clerk of "Uncut" referred to his 1979 LP as the "acclaimed "George Harrison" album",<ref name="Clerk/Uncut">Carol Clerk, "George Harrison 1943–2001", "Uncut", February 2002, p. 55; available at Rock's Backpages (subscription required).</ref> while Greg Kot's assessment for "Rolling Stone" read in part: "'Here Comes the Moon' is a dreamy little wonder, the kind of incantation that underscores the [album's] romantic subtlety … Harrison is breezingly ingratiating on 'Blow Away' and 'Faster.'" Writing for "Goldmine" magazine in 2002, Dave Thompson deemed it Harrison's "most natural-sounding album" since "All Things Must Pass" and an "exquisite" work that reflected changes in the artist's life as profound as those in John Lennon's during the latter's five-year hiatus from recording between 1975 and 1980.<ref name="Thompson/Goldmine">Dave Thompson, "The Music of George Harrison: An album-by-album guide", "Goldmine", 25 January 2002, p. 18.</ref>


title: George Harrison (album)

text: Among reviews of the 2004 reissue, Kit Aiken of "Uncut" gave "George Harrison" a rating of four stars out of five, and described it as "a freshly enthused, minor treat – a fulsome acoustic rocker replete with sunshine melodies and gorgeous slide guitar".<ref name="Aiken/Uncut">Kit Aiken, "All Those Years Ago: George Harrison "The Dark Horse Years 1976–1992"", "Uncut", April 2004, p. 118.</ref> "PopMatters" Jason Korenkiewicz similarly welcomed the reissue, saying that the album's "languid and addictive" mood conveyed Harrison's humour and a "new found sense of calm and peace that speaks through his ever-emotive guitar". Writing in "The Rolling Stone Album Guide" that same year, Mac Randall highlighted "Not Guilty" and the "understated gem" "Your Love Is Forever" as the album's best songs, but considered that "elsewhere mellowness overwhelms musicality". An unimpressed Richard Ginell of AllMusic gives the album two-and-a-half stars, describing it as "a painstakingly polished L.A.-made product" and "an ordinary album from an extraordinary talent". Ginell writes of the preponderance of "halfhearted songs lurking here, although some are salvaged by a nice instrumental touch", and while he considers "Blow Away" the album's "most attractive" song, he finds Harrison's new reading of "Not Guilty" "an easy listening trifle".<ref name="Ginell/AM">Richard S. Ginell, "George Harrison "George Harrison"" , AllMusic (retrieved 23 August 2014).</ref>


title: George Harrison (album)

text: Reviewing Harrison's solo releases for "Mojo" in 2011, John Harris considered "George Harrison" to be "millionaire soft-rock to the max" although he recognised "Here Comes the Moon", "Faster" and "Not Guilty" among the album's successful musical statements.<ref name="Harris/Mojo">John Harris, "Beware of Darkness", "Mojo", November 2011, p. 82.</ref> In a similar overview of Harrison's solo career, on his website "Elsewhere", "New Zealand Herald" critic Graham Reid wrote that the album "has its moments" and concluded: "He still crafted beautiful melodies but it's a lyrically patchy album and the start of the artistic decline. A sound three stars."<ref name="Reid/Elsewhere">Graham Reid, "George Harrison Revisited, Part Two (2014): The dark horse at a canter to the end" > "George Harrison" , "Elsewhere", 24 October 2014 [22 November 2011] (retrieved 25 July 2016).</ref>


title: George Harrison (album)

text: On the occasion of the LP's 40th anniversary in 2019, Morgan Enos of "Billboard" described it as Harrison's "most peaceful album", with songs that showed him "happier than he'd been in years", and where "inner tranquility and outer splendor were one and the same". Enos added that "The results don't get as much play as agreed-upon classics, such as "All Things Must Pass" or "Cloud Nine", but "George Harrison" conjures an intoxicating world all its own."


title: Île Amsterdam

text: Île Amsterdam (), also known as Amsterdam Island and New Amsterdam ("Nouvelle-Amsterdam"), is an island of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands in the southern Indian Ocean that together with neighbouring Île Saint-Paul to the south forms one of the five districts of the territory.


title: Île Amsterdam

text: The island is roughly equidistant to the land masses of Madagascar, Australia, and Antarctica – as well as the British Indian Ocean Territory and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands (about from each).


title: Île Amsterdam

text: The research station at Martin-de-Viviès, first called "Camp Heurtin" and then "La Roche Godon", is the only settlement on the island and is the seasonal home to about thirty researchers and staff studying biology, meteorology, and geomagnetics.


title: Île Amsterdam

text: The first person known to have sighted the island was the Spanish explorer Juan Sebastián de Elcano, on 18 March 1522, during his circumnavigation of the world. Elcano did not give the island a name. On 17 June 1633, Dutch mariner Anthonie van Diemen sighted the island, and named it after his ship, "Nieuw Amsterdam". The first recorded landing on the island occurred in December 1696, led by the Dutch explorer Willem de Vlamingh.


title: Île Amsterdam

text: French mariner Pierre François Péron wrote that he was marooned on the island between 1792 and 1795. Péron's "Memoires", in which he describes his experiences, were published in a limited edition, now an expensive collectors' item. However, Île Amsterdam and Île Saint-Paul were often confused at the time, and Péron may have been marooned on Saint-Paul.


title: Île Amsterdam

text: Sealers are said to have landed on the island, for the first time, in 1789. Between that date and 1876, 47 sealing vessels are recorded at the island, 9 of which were wrecked. Relics of the sealing era can still be found.


title: Île Amsterdam

text: On 11 October 1833, the British barque "Lady Munro" was wrecked at the island. Of the 97 persons aboard, 21 survivors were picked up two weeks later by a US sealing schooner, "General Jackson".


title: Île Amsterdam

text: John Balleny in command of the exploration and sealing vessel "Eliza Scott" (154 tons) visited the island in November 1838 in search of seals. He returned with a few fish and reported having seen the remains of a hut and the carcass of a whale.


title: Île Amsterdam

text: The islands of Île Amsterdam and Île Saint-Paul were first claimed by France in June 1843. A decree of 8 June 1843 mandated the Polish captain Adam Mieroslawski to take into possession and administer in the name of France both islands. The decree as well as the ship's log from the "Olympe" ship from 1 and 3 July 1843, stating that the islands had been taken into possession by Mieroslawski, are still preserved.


title: Île Amsterdam

text: In January 1871 an attempt to settle the island was made by a party led by Heurtin, a French resident of Réunion. After seven months, their attempts to raise cattle and grow crops were fruitless, and they returned to Réunion, abandoning the cattle on the island.


title: Île Amsterdam

text: In May 1880 circumnavigated the island searching for a missing ship the "Knowsley Hall". A cutter and gig were despatched to the island to search for signs of habitation. There was a flagpole on Hoskin Point and north were two huts, one of which had an intact roof and contained three bunks, empty casks, an iron pot and the eggshells and feathers of sea-birds. There was also an upturned serviceable boat in the other hut, believed to belong to the fishermen who visited the island.


title: Île Amsterdam

text: The island were attached to the French colony of Madagascar from 21 November 1924 until 6 August 1955 when the French Southern and Antarctic Lands was formed. (Madagascar gained independence in 1958.)


title: Île Amsterdam

text: The first French base on Île Amsterdam was established in 1949, and was originally called Camp Heurtin. It is now the Martin-de-Viviès research station.


title: Île Amsterdam

text: From 1987 to 1998, there were frequent amateur radio operations from Amsterdam Island. There was a resident radio amateur operator in the 1950s, using callsign FB8ZZ.


title: Île Amsterdam

text: In January 2014 Clublog listed Amsterdam and St Paul Islands as the seventh most-wanted DXCC entity. On 25 January 2014 a DX-pedition landed on Amsterdam Island using MV "Braveheart" and began amateur radio operations from two separate locations using callsign FT5ZM. The DX-pedition remained active until 12 February and achieved over 170,000 two-way contacts with amateur radio stations worldwide.


title: Île Amsterdam

text: The volcanic island is a potentially active volcano. No historical eruptions are known, although the fresh morphology of the latest volcanism at Dumas Crater on the NE flank suggests it may have occurred as recently as a century ago. It has an area of , measuring about on its longest side, and reaches as high as at the Mont de la Dives. The high central area of the island, at an elevation of over , containing its peaks and caldera, is known as the Plateau des Tourbières ("Plateau of Bogs"). The cliffs that characterise the western coastline of the island, rising to over , are known as the Falaises d'Entrecasteaux after the 18th-century French navigator Antoine Bruni d'Entrecasteaux.


title: Île Amsterdam

text: Île Amsterdam has a mild, oceanic climate, "Cfb" under the Köppen climate classification, with a mean annual temperature of , annual rainfall of , persistent westerly winds and high levels of humidity. Under the Trewartha climate classification the island is well inside the maritime subtropical zone due to its very low diurnal temperature variation keeping means high.


title: Île Amsterdam

text: "Phylica arborea" trees occur on Amsterdam, which is the only place where they form a low forest, although the trees are also found on Tristan da Cunha and Gough Island. It was called the "Grand Bois" ("Great Forest"), which covered the lowlands of the island until forest fires set by sealers cleared much of it in 1825. Only eight fragments remain.


title: Île Amsterdam

text: Some sailors from HMS "Raleigh" landed on the island on 27 May 1880. They described the vegetation as


title: Île Amsterdam

text: Rough ground, grass several feet high, myrtle high in sheltered ravines, sedge, ferns (principally "polypodium") and cabbages, grown into bushes with stumps several inches thick in the garden ...


title: Île Amsterdam

text: The island is home to the endemic Amsterdam albatross, which breeds only on the Plateau des Tourbières. Other rare species are the brown skua, Antarctic tern and western rockhopper penguin. The Amsterdam duck is now extinct, as are the local breeding populations of several petrels. There was once possibly a species of rail inhabiting the island, as a specimen was taken in the 1790s (which has been lost), but this was either extinct by 1800 or was a straggler of an extant species. The common waxbill has been introduced. Both the Plateau des Tourbières and Falaises d'Entrcasteaux have been identified as Important Bird Areas by BirdLife International, the latter for its large breeding colony of Indian yellow-nosed albatrosses.


title: Île Amsterdam

text: There are no native land mammals. Subantarctic fur seals and southern elephant seals breed on the island. Introduced mammals include the house mouse and brown rat. Feral cats are present.


title: Île Amsterdam

text: A distinct breed of wild cattle, Amsterdam Island cattle, also inhabited the island from 1871 to 2010. They originated from the introduction of five animals by Heurtin during his brief attempt at settlement of the island in 1871, and by 1988 had increased to an estimated 2,000. Following recognition that the cattle were damaging the island ecosystems, a fence was built restricting them to the northern part of the island. In 2007 it was decided to eradicate the population of cattle entirely, resulting in the slaughter of the cattle between 2008 and 2010.


The 2021 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships were held in Kitakyushu, Japan from October 18–24, 2021. The competition took place at the Kitakyushu City General Gymnasium. It was the third time that Japan hosted the event, following the 1995 and 2011 editions.


title: 2021 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships

text: The competition was originally scheduled to be held in Copenhagen, Denmark, before the Danish Gymnastics Federation withdrew from hosting in July 2020. In November 2020, the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique announced Kitakyushu as the replacement host city for the same dates.


text: Although the World Championships are traditionally not held in Olympic years, the postponement of the 2020 Summer Olympics caused the 2021 event to fall during the same year. The last time the Olympics and the World Championships were held in the same year was in 1996.


text: China's Zhang Boheng narrowly defeated reigning Olympic champion Daiki Hashimoto of Japan by 0.017 points to take the title. Both won their first individual World medals. Ukrainian gymnast Illia Kovtun rounded out the podium in bronze.


text: Nicola Bartolini of Italy won the country's first-ever gold medal on floor, as well as its first World title since Juri Chechi's 1997 win on rings. Silver medalist Kazuki Minami of Japan and bronze medalist Emil Soravuo of Finland also won their first individual World medals. Defending champion Carlos Yulo of the Philippines had a costly out-of-bounds deduction and finished fifth.


text: Stephen Nedoroscik won the United States' first title on pommel horse and the country's first men's title in any event since Danell Leyva won parallel bars in 2011. China's Weng Hao and Kazuma Kaya of Japan tied for the silver medal.


text: Top qualifier Lan Xingyu of China won his first individual World title after previously earning gold as an alternate for the Chinese team in 2018. Marco Lodadio of Italy was called up from first reserve and earned a second consecutive silver on the event, his third World medal overall. Lodadio's teammate Salvatore Maresca and Grigorii Klimentev of RGF tied for the bronze medal, the first individual World medal for both.


text: Angelina Melnikova (RGF) became the first non-American to win a World or Olympic all-around title since her Russian teammate Aliya Mustafina did so at the 2010 World Championships. Americans Leanne Wong and Kayla DiCello won the silver and bronze medals, respectively, the first individual World medal for both.


text: Reigning Olympic champion Rebeca Andrade of Brazil won the title for her first individual World medal. Silver medalist Asia D'Amato is the first Italian female artistic gymnast to ever qualify for a World vault final. Angelina Melnikova (RGF)'s bronze was her second individual medal at the World Championships following the all-around title.


text: Wei Xiaoyuan won the title for her first individual World medal and China's first medal on the event since winning four titles in a row from 2013 to 2017 (tie in 2015). Top qualifier Rebeca Andrade of Brazil earned the silver for her second individual medal of the day. Wei's teammate Luo Rui finished in bronze after losing a tiebreaker to Andrade.


text: Subdivision 6 of the men's qualification was delayed 90 minutes while the equipment was disinfected after a Colombian gymnast, later revealed to be Jossimar Calvo, in the previous subdivision tested positive for COVID-19. Calvo subsequently withdrew from the all-around final.


title: Vinson Filyaw

text: Vinson Filyaw (December 15, 1969 May 3, 2021) was an American construction worker. He was convicted of kidnapping and raping Elizabeth Shoaf, a 14-year-old girl from Lugoff, South Carolina, in 2006, holding her captive in an underground bunker.


title: Vinson Filyaw

text: The survivor, Elizabeth Shoaf, was kidnapped after she got off her school bus on September 6, 2006. Filyaw gained her trust by posing as a police officer. He walked her around in the woods until she became disoriented and then marched her to a hand-dug 8x8 underground bunker, located within a mile of her own home.


title: Vinson Filyaw

text: Once inside, he stripped her naked, restrained her with chains, and raped her several times a day over the duration of her 10-day captivity. Police initially interpreted her disappearance as a runaway, and did not launch an Amber alert. Shoaf's poise and calm while she was held captive was considered remarkable by people involved with missing children cases. "Not only was she very brave, she was also very smart and did several things that greatly improved her chances of survival," said Captain David Thomley of the Kershaw County Sheriff’s Department.


title: Vinson Filyaw

text: After 10 days in captivity, the victim convinced Filyaw to let her borrow his cellular phone to play games, but she had an entirely different use in mind. Once he fell asleep, she texted her mother and friends, who contacted the police. Before the police could triangulate the phone number, Sheriff Steve McCaskill thought that the text was a hoax. The former girlfriend who made the call to Kershaw County's Department of Social Services passed on Filyaw's cell phone number to the police. The authorities then began to triangulate the bunker's position through local cell phone towers.


title: Vinson Filyaw

text: Officer Dave Thomley did not know that Elizabeth Shoaf was underground in a bunker until Filyaw's former girlfriend showed them the first bunker he built. Thomley initially thought that it was a trash pit. Filyaw learned that he was being pursued when he watched the news on a battery-powered television in the bunker. He asked Shoaf for advice and she suggested he ought to run away to avoid capture. He left and the next morning Shoaf left the bunker and called for help until she was found by a rescue team.


title: Vinson Filyaw

text: Filyaw was five miles from his house, carrying a taser, pellet gun, and knife, when he was arrested. He was charged with kidnapping, possession of an incendiary device (a flare gun), and impersonating a police officer, with other charges pending.


title: Vinson Filyaw

text: Filyaw pleaded guilty to all counts just before the start of the trial. The victim, Shoaf, was too emotional to testify, but a prepared statement was read by her attorney and she later made a public statement. Filyaw was sentenced to 421 years in prison without possibility of parole on September 19, 2007, by Circuit Judge G. Thomas Cooper. It was the maximum penalty under South Carolina law. He was incarcerated at the Maximum Security Unit at Kirkland Correctional Institution.


title: Vinson Filyaw

text: Filyaw died in prison at McCormick Correctional Institution on May 3, 2021, at the age of 51; no cause of death has been determined.


title: Vinson Filyaw

text: Shoaf later made several media appearances, including a 2008 episode of the "Today" show, on which Meredith Vieira did a profile of Shoaf and her family, commenting on her calmness throughout such a horrific event. The story aired on "Dateline NBC" on March 7, 2008. Filyaw's interaction with Shoaf was also explored on the "Underground Terror" episode of Investigation Discovery's "Surviving Evil" series, hosted by fellow crime survivor Charisma Carpenter, on September 9, 2013.


title: Vinson Filyaw

text: The entire ordeal was dramatized in the Lifetime movie "Girl in the Bunker", which premiered on May 28, 2018. The film starred Julia LaLonde as Elizabeth Shoaf, Henry Thomas as Vinson Filyaw, and Moira Kelly as Madeline Shoaf.


title: Attila (metalcore band)

text: Attila is an American metalcore band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 2005. They have released eight full-length albums.


title: Attila (metalcore band)

text: Though their original formation was in 2005, the band did not start touring full-time until around 2010. Their most successful album, "About That Life", was produced by Joey Sturgis, released on June 25, 2013, and debuted on the "Billboard" 200 chart at number 22. Attila has toured across the United States with bands such as Hed PE, Arsonists Get All the Girls, See You Next Tuesday, Insane Clown Posse, Emmure, Chelsea Grin, The Agonist, Oceano, Falling in Reverse, and Metro Station.


title: Attila (metalcore band)

text: Chris "Fronz" Fronzak, Sean Heenan, Sam Halcomb, Matt Booth and Kris Wilson formed Attila in their hometown of Atlanta in 2005, meeting each other at their high school and through mutual friends. Frontman Fronzak named the band in reference to Attila the Hun, which he came across in a book. Soon after forming, the band became the fourth imprint on the Artery Foundation/Razor & Tie joint venture, Artery Recordings.


title: Attila (metalcore band)

text: Attila self-released their demo album "Fallacy" (and not with Statik Factory, contrary to popular belief) on March 30, 2007 and then released their debut album, Soundtrack to a Party in 2008 with Statik Factory, prior signing to Artery Recordings. In their early years Attila toured with Arsonists Get All The Girls, See You Next Tuesday, Chelsea Grin, American Me, and We Are The End. Attila toured with HED PE and Threat Signal from March 3 to April 10.


title: Attila (metalcore band)

text: Attila signed to Artery Recordings in 2010 and released their second album and major label debut, called "Rage", on May 11, 2010. The band recorded, produced, mixed, and mastered "Rage" with Interlace Audio's Stephan Hawkes in Portland, Oregon. Attila released their music video for the album's title track "Rage" on October 8, 2010. On May 13, 2010 the band was announced as support for Drop Dead, Gorgeous' headlining tour, "The Pyknic pArtery Tour", along with From First to Last, Sleeping With Sirens, Abandon All Ships, Woe, Is Me, For All Those Sleeping and "Scarlett O'Hara", beginning on July 17 in Texas and ending in Los Angeles on August 20.