Overview.

Subjective idealism is a fusion of phenomenalism or empiricism, which confers special status upon the immediately perceived, with idealism, which confers special status upon the mental. Idealism denies the knowability or existence of the non-mental, while phenomenalism serves to restrict the mental to the empirical. Subjective idealism thus identifies its mental reality with the world of ordinary experience, rather than appealing to the unitary world-spirit of pantheism or absolute idealism. This form of idealism is "subjective" not because it denies that there is an objective reality, but because it asserts that this reality is completely dependent upon the minds of the subjects that perceive it.  The earliest thinkers identifiable as subjective idealists were certain members of the Yogācāra school of Indian Buddhism, who reduced the world of experience to a stream of subjective perceptions. Subjective idealism made its mark in Europe in the 18th-century writings of George Berkeley, who argued that the idea of mind-independent reality is incoherent, concluding that the world consists of the minds of humans and of God. Subsequent writers have continuously grappled with Berkeley's skeptical arguments. Immanuel Kant responded by rejecting Berkeley's immaterialism and replacing it with transcendental idealism, which views the mind-independent world as existent but incognizable in itself. Since Kant, true immaterialism has remained a rarity, but is survived by partly overlapping movements such as phenomenalism, subjectivism, and perspectivism.

History.

Thinkers such as Plato, Plotinus and Augustine of Hippo anticipated idealism's antimaterialism with their views of the inferior or derivative reality of matter. However, these Platonists did not make Berkeley's turn toward subjectivity. Plato helped anticipate these ideas by creating an analogy about people living in a cave which explained his point of view. His view was that there are different types of reality. He explains this with his cave analogy which contains people tied up only seeing shadows their whole life. Once they go outside, they see a completely different reality, but lose sight of the one they saw before. This sets up the idea of Berkley’s theory of immaterialism because it shows how people can be exposed to the same world but still see things differently. This introduces the idea of objective versus subjective which is how Berkeley proves that matter does not exist. Indeed, Plato rationalistically condemned sense-experience, whereas subjective idealism presupposed empiricism and the irreducible reality of sense data. A more subjectivist methodology could be found in the Pyrrhonists' emphasis on the world of appearance, but their skepticism precluded the drawing of any ontological conclusions from the epistemic primacy of phenomena.  The first mature articulations of idealism arise in Yogacarin thinkers such as the 7th-century epistemologist Dharmakīrti, who identified ultimate reality with sense-perception. The most famous proponent of subjective idealism in the Western world was the 18th-century Irish philosopher George Berkeley, although Berkeley's term for his theory was "immaterialism". From the point of view of subjective idealism, the material world does not exist, and the phenomenal world is dependent on humans. Hence the fundamental idea of this philosophical system (as represented by Berkeley or Mach) is that things are complexes of ideas or sensations, and only subjects and objects of perceptions exist. "Esse est percipi" is Berkeley’s whole argument summarized into a couple words. It means “to be is to be perceived”. This summarized his argument because he based his point around the fact that things exist if they are all understood and seen the same way. As Berkeley wrote: “for the Existence of an Idea consists in being perceived”. This would separate everything as objective and subjective. Matter falls into the subjective category because everyone perceives matter differently, which means matter is not real. This loops back to the core of his argument which says that in order for anything to be real, it must be interpreted the same way by everyone.  Berkeley believes that all material is a construction by the human mind. According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy his argument is: “(1) We perceive ordinary objects (houses, mountains, etc.). (2) We perceive only ideas. Therefore, (3) Ordinary objects are ideas.”  Berkeley makes such a radical claim that matter does not exist as a reaction to the materialists. He says “if there were external bodies, we couldn’t possibly come to know this; and if there weren’t, we might have the very same reasons to think there were that we have now”: “a thinking being might, without the help of external bodies, be affected with the same series of sensations or ideas as you have.” Berkeley believes that people cannot know that what they think to be matter is not simply a creation in their mind.  People have contested that premise (2) is false, claiming that people don't perceive ideas but instead, “distinguishing two sorts of perception” they perceive objects and then have ideas about them, effectively cutting down the equality. This might seem to obviously be the case, but in fact it is contestable. Many psychologists believe that what people actually perceive are tools, impediments, and threats. The famous gorilla psychological study, where people were asked to watch a video and count the number of basketball passes made, showed that people do not actually see everything in front of them, even a gorilla that marches across a high school gym. Similarly, it is believed that human reaction to snakes is faster than it should physically be if it were consciously driven. Therefore, it is not unfair to say that objects go straight to the mind. Berkeley even pointed out that it is not obvious how motion in the physical world could translate to emotion in the mind. Even the materialists had difficulty explaining this; Locke believed that to explain the transfer from physical object to mental image one must “attribute it wholly to the good pleasure of our Maker.” Newton's laws of physics say that all movement comes from the inverse change in another motion, and materialists believe that what humans do is fundamentally move their parts. If so how you explain the correlation between objects existing, and the completely other realm of regular ideas is not obvious. The fact “that the existence of matter does not help to explain the occurrence of our ideas” seems to Berkeley to undermine the reason for believing in matter at all. If the materialists have no way of knowing that matter exists, it seems best to not assume that it exists.  According to Berkeley, an object has real being as long as it is perceived by a mind. God, being omniscient, perceives everything perceivable, thus all real beings exist in the mind of God. However, it is also evident that each of us has free will and understanding upon self-reflection, and our senses and ideas suggest that other people also possess these qualities as well. According to Berkeley there is no material universe, in fact he has absolutely no idea what that could possibly mean. To theorize about a universe that is composed of insensible matter is not a sensible thing to do. This matters because there is absolutely no positive account for a material universe, only speculation about things that are by fiat outside of our minds.  Berkeley's assessment of immaterialism was criticized by Samuel Johnson, as recorded by James Boswell. Responding to the theory, Dr. Johnson exclaimed "I refute it "thus"!" while kicking a rock with "mighty force". This episode is alluded to by Stephen Dedalus in James Joyce's "Ulysses", chapter three. Reflecting on the "ineluctable modality of the visible", Dedalus conjures the image of Johnson's refutation and carries it forth in conjunction with Aristotle's expositions on the nature of the senses as described in "Sense and Sensibilia". Aristotle held that while visual perception suffered a compromised authenticity because it passed through the diaphanous liquid of the inner eye before being observed, sound and the experience of hearing were not thus similarly diluted. Dedalus experiments with the concept in the development of his aesthetic ideal.

In fiction.

Subjective idealism is featured prominently in the Norwegian novel "Sophie's World", in which "Sophie's world" exists in fact only in the pages of a book.  A parable of subjective idealism can be found in Jorge Luis Borges' short story "Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius", which specifically mentions Berkeley.

Subjective idealism, or empirical idealism, is the monistic metaphysical doctrine that only minds and mental contents exist. It entails and is generally identified or associated with immaterialism, the doctrine that material things do not exist. Subjective idealism rejects dualism, neutral monism, and materialism; indeed, it is the contrary of eliminative materialism, the doctrine that all or some classes of mental phenomena (such as emotions, beliefs, or desires) do not exist, but are sheer illusions.

主观唯心主义是唯心主义哲学的基本形式之一,与客观唯心主义对称。


Early life.

Hodgson was born in Croydon, Surrey. His mother was a baker in the town, and his father, Bill, a Newcastle United fan, worked as a bus driver south of the River Thames. Hodgson's family lived

Playing career.

Hodgson was a moderately successful youth player with Crystal Palace, but was never able to break into the first team. After leaving Crystal Palace he played non-league football for several years with Tonbridge and Gravesend & Northfleet. At the age of 23, he completed training to gain his full coaching badge. He then joined Maidstone United, where he played

Managerial career.

Halmstad.

Hodgson started his managerial career in 1976 at Allsvenskan side Halmstads BK, having been recommended by then-Malmö FF manager Bob Houghton. Hodgson spent five years at Halmstad, winning the league championship in 1976 and 1979. His success with Halmstad

Bristol City.

In 1980, he moved to Bristol City in his native England, where he was assistant manager to Bob Houghton from 1980 to 1982 and manager from January to April 1982. Due to the club's financial problems he was largely unsuccessful and was dismissed after four months in charge.

Oddevold, Örebro.

In 1982, Hodgson moved back to Sweden to take over second-tier side IK Oddevold part-way through the 1982 season. Hodgson could not save the club from relegation as they finished 11th,

Malmö FF.

In 1985, he took over at Malmö FF, which he led to five consecutive league championships, two Swedish championships (at the time the Swedish championship was decided through play-offs) and two Swedish Cups. In European competitions, Malmö took part in the Intertoto Cup in 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1989. At the time, there were no winners as only the group stages were contested. In the 1985–86 UEFA Cup, Malmö lost to Videoton on away goals in the first round. In the 1986–87 European Cup Winners' Cup, they beat Apollon Limassol in the first round and Tirana in the second round, losing to Ajax in the

Influence on Swedish football.

His early coaching career was closely linked to that of his friend Bob Houghton; they worked together at Maidstone, Stranraer and Bristol City and they both worked in Swedish football at the same time. Houghton moved to Sweden with Malmö in 1974 and two years later installed Hodgson at Halmstad. The pair are credited with transforming football in Sweden and bringing in zonal marking for the first time to Swedish football. Swedish teams at the time were influenced by German football and used a sweeper with three or five

Neuchâtel Xamax.

Malmö offered Hodgson a lifetime contract, but he declined, saying later that "moving to another place seemed exciting. The decision was also financial. Swedish taxes were so high that even if you were being paid reasonable money, after losing 65% in tax there wasn't a lot left." Hodgson moved to Swiss side Neuchâtel Xamax in July 1990. In his first season in charge, Xamax

Switzerland.

Hodgson took over as manager of the Switzerland national team from Uli Stielike on 26 January 1992. Stielike had been the first Swiss coach to have a winning record, winning 13 of the 25 games he was in charge of. As Hodgson was succeeding Stielike at the national level, Stielike took over the job Hodgson had just vacated at club level with Swiss Super League side Neuchâtel Xamax.  Switzerland had not qualified for a major international tournament since the 1966 World Cup. Hodgson took the "Schweizer Nati" to the 1994 World Cup, losing only one game during qualification, from a group that included Italy and the more fancied Portugal and Scotland. The Swiss took four points from Italy (managed by Arrigo Sacchi, the Italian team made it to the World Cup final and lost on penalties). The Swiss won 1–0 at home and in the game in Italy, the Swiss were at one stage leading 2–0 before being pegged back to 2–2. The Swiss also took four points from Scotland, winning 3–1 at home and drawing 1–1 away. Against Portugal, they drew 1–1 at home and suffered their only defeat of the campaign, losing 1–0

Inter Milan.

Before the European Championships, Hodgson joined Italian Serie A giants Inter Milan, where he worked from 1995 to 1997. With significant investment, he presided over a rebuilding phase. Inter had finished thirteenth and sixth in the seasons prior to his arrival. After a terrible start to the season that saw the team bottom of Serie A, Hodgson was brought in and guided the club to seventh place in the 1995–96 season, qualifying for the UEFA Cup. In an interview with "FourFourTwo" in a May

Blackburn Rovers.

In the 1997 close season, Hodgson was tempted by Jack Walker to become manager of Blackburn Rovers. Rovers had finished 13th the previous season – only two seasons after winning the title – and had been in danger of relegation. Manager Ray Harford had resigned on 25 October 1996 with Blackburn winless, bottom of the Premier League and just knocked out of the Football League Cup by Division Two underdogs Stockport County. Manager Tony Parkes had been put in charge for the rest of the season and had overseen an improvement in league form to secure survival, but it was clear that Walker wanted a more experienced

Return to Inter, Grasshoppers.

In February 1999, Glenn Hoddle was dismissed as England manager and Hodgson was considered an outside chance for the job. Ultimately, it went to Kevin Keegan. Shortly after, Austria were beaten 9–0 by Spain in a Euro 2000 qualifier and manager Herbert Prohaska resigned. Hodgson was shortlisted to become the next manager, but the role went instead to Otto Barić. Hodgson then returned to Inter as technical director

Copenhagen, Udinese.

Hodgson moved to Denmark in July 2000 and became manager of F.C. Copenhagen, where he proved an instant success, taking a team that had finished seventh and eighth in the two previous seasons to the Superliga championship in the 2000–01 season – the club's first championship since 1993. His team also won the 2001 Danish Supercup. In 2001, he left Copenhagen to move to Serie A side Udinese. With

United Arab Emirates.

Hodgson took over as manager of the United Arab Emirates in April 2002, managing the senior and Olympic sides. Hodgson's reign began with six friendlies. The first two ended in defeat and the subsequent four were draws. Hodgson then successfully led the team through qualification to the 2004 Asian Cup as runners-up of their group. Before the Asian Cup took place, Hodgson led the team during the 16th Arabian Gulf Cup. He was dismissed in January 2004 after a fifth-placed finish in the round-robin tournament. Without him, the team went on to finish bottom of their group at the Asian Cup, collecting

Viking.

In July 2004, Hodgson moved to Norwegian club Viking, replacing manager Bjarne Berntsen, who resigned to become manager of the Norway women's national football team. The club had finished fifth in the season before Hodgson took over and finished ninth under Hodgson in their first season in their new stadium, Viking Stadion. They also qualified for the 2005–06 UEFA Cup

Finland.

Hodgson was to begin work with Finland in June 2006 but after resigning as manager of Viking in December 2005, he began the role early, in January 2006. Hodgson's first matches in charge were against Saudi Arabia and South Korea in a friendly tournament at the end of January. Finland played five more friendlies before qualification for UEFA Euro 2008 got under way, drawing three and losing two. Drawn in Group A, Finland, a country who have never qualified for a major tournament, narrowly failed to qualify. Their qualification campaign began well, winning three and drawing two of their opening five matches, leaving them briefly top of the table. Defeats to Azerbaijan and Serbia saw them fall from top spot. Wins against Belgium and Kazakhstan renewed their hopes of qualification but they drew their next three games 0–0. A subsequent friendly against Spain also finished 0–0. A win against Azerbaijan kept the chance of qualification possible and it was only when their final match against Portugal

Fulham.

On 28 December 2007, in a surprise appointment, Hodgson accepted the post of manager at struggling Premier League team Fulham, with his contract beginning on 30 December 2007. The club were 18th, two points from safety and had only won two Premier League games all season. Hodgson's first game in charge was the West London derby against Chelsea at Craven Cottage which his club lost, 2–1. Hodgson made half a dozen signings in the January transfer window, the most important proving to be centre half Brede Hangeland, who would go on to become a key player for the club and who Hodgson had managed at Viking. Hodgson initially endured a run of very poor results with the club, including being knocked out of the FA Cup on penalties after two draws against League One side Bristol Rovers. Apparently

Liverpool.

On 1 July 2010, Hodgson was appointed as manager of Liverpool, signing a three-year contract. The appointment came against the backdrop of an unexpected candidacy bid from former Liverpool striker and manager and then-club ambassador Kenny Dalglish. Dalglish's application was rejected by the club, who publicly never gave a reason for their decision but it was suggested that he had been away from management for too long. Instead, Hodgson was chosen as the candidate that could use his extensive experience in management 'to steady the ship'.

West Bromwich Albion.

Hodgson was appointed head coach of West Bromwich Albion on 11 February 2011, signing a contract until June 2012. Hodgson replaced Roberto Di Matteo, who had been dismissed after a poor run of form which saw West Brom lose thirteen of their previous eighteen matches and slip to seventeenth in the table, only out of the relegation zone on goal difference.  Hodgson's first game in charge ended in a 1–1 home draw against West Brom's Black Country rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers. Hodgson helped West Brom to five wins and five draws from their twelve remaining games,

England.

Appointment.

After England manager Fabio Capello resigned, it had been widely reported in the British press that then-Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp was favourite for the position. However, the FA chairman, David Bernstein,

Euro 2012.

Leading up to Euro 2012, Hodgson engendered controversy when he left former England captain Rio Ferdinand out of England's initial Euro 2012 squad. Hodgson would defend his decision to leave out Ferdinand as due to "footballing reasons", citing Ferdinand's lack of appearances for the national team, his last cap having come in June 2011 and also concerns over his fitness. Ferdinand's manager Sir Alex Ferguson agreed with Hodgson, saying that at the Euros, "you play something like a game every four days. Rio Ferdinand couldn't do that". Speculation was rife that Ferdinand was not selected due to Hodgson not wanting

2014 World Cup qualification.

Less than two months after being eliminated by Italy at Euro 2012, England played them again in a friendly in Bern, Switzerland, recording a 2–1 win, with Jermain Defoe coming off the bench to score the winner in the 79th minute.  England were drawn in Group H of the European Zone of qualification for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, alongside Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, San Marino and Ukraine.  Hodgson's England started their World Cup qualification campaign on 7 September 2012 with a convincing 5–0 away win over Moldova, with Frank Lampard scoring twice, his first within three minutes from the penalty spot. In their second qualifier on 11 September the team drew 1–1 to Ukraine.  On 12 October 2012, England recorded a second 5–0 win, at home to San Marino, and drew 1–1 away to Poland on 17 October. The game was scheduled for 16 October but was delayed by torrential rain that left the pitch unplayable. England played Sweden in a friendly in Stockholm on 14 November 2012, losing 4–2, Hodgson's first defeat as England manager. England

2014 World Cup.

On 12 May 2014, Hodgson announced his squad for the finals, stating, "I believe the squad can win the World Cup." The 23-man squad included Everton's Ross Barkley and Liverpool's Raheem Sterling, but not Ashley Cole, who announced his retirement from international football after missing out.  England lost to Italy 2–1 in their

Post 2014 World Cup.

Hodgson named Wayne Rooney as the new captain of England in August 2014, following the retirement of Steven Gerrard from international football. Hodgson's first match after the World Cup was a 1–0 win against Norway in an international friendly match at Wembley on 3 September 2014. During

Euro 2016.

England started their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign with a 2–0 win against Switzerland, with Danny Welbeck scoring both goals. In March 2015, England won 4–0 against Lithuania, their fifth competitive win in a row to maintain their 100% record in qualifying for Euro 2016. On 5 September 2015, England beat San Marino 6–0 at San Marino Stadium, Serravalle, to qualify for Euro 2016. England concluded its qualification having won all ten of its matches becoming only the fifth national side to qualify for a European Championship with a 100% record, and the sixth instance, after France (1992 and 2004), Czech

Crystal Palace.

On 12 September 2017, Hodgson was appointed manager of his boyhood club Crystal Palace, signing a two-year contract with the South-London club. He was tasked with managing a Palace side that had lost their first four league games of the season without scoring a single goal. Despite losing his first three games in charge, a turnaround in form meant he led Crystal Palace to safety and

Personal life.

Hodgson is married to Sheila, and together they have a son, Christopher. Hodgson is known to be a fan of the authors Sebastian Faulks, John Updike, Philip Roth and Saul Bellow. He is multilingual: In addition to his native English, he speaks fluent Norwegian, Swedish, German and Italian, as well as some Danish, French and Finnish.  Although Hodgson played for Berea Park in South Africa's white-only National Football League during the 1970s, he has stated his admiration for

FA commission.

On 20 October 2013, Hodgson and Rio Ferdinand were

Honours.

Manager.

Halmstads BK  Örebro SK  Malmö FF

Roy Hodgson (born 9 August 1947) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Crystal Palace. He has managed 16 different teams in eight countries, beginning in Sweden with Halmstads BK in the 1976 season. He later guided the Switzerland national team to the last 16 of the 1994 World Cup and qualification for Euro 1996; Switzerland had not qualified for a major tournament since the 1960s. From 2006 to 2007, he managed the Finland national team, guiding them to their highest-ever FIFA ranking of 33rd place and coming close to qualifying for a major tournament for the first time in their history. He managed the England national team from May 2012 to June 2016. Other clubs that Hodgson has managed include Inter Milan, Blackburn Rovers, Malmö FF, Grasshoppers, FC Copenhagen, Udinese, Fulham, Liverpool and West Bromwich Albion.

莱·鹤臣(英语:Roy Hodgson,1947年-8月9日)是一名英格兰前足球运动员,退役后担任足球领队,曾任教英格兰国家队。


History.

The library was founded by King Philip V in 1712 as the Palace Public Library (Biblioteca Pública de Palacio). The Royal Letters Patent that he granted, the predecessor of the current legal deposit requirement, made it mandatory for printers to submit a copy of every book printed in Spain to the library. In 1836, the library's status as Crown property was revoked and ownership was transferred to the Ministry of Governance (Ministerio de la Gobernación). At the same time, it was renamed the Biblioteca Nacional.  During the 19th century, confiscations, purchases and donations enabled the Biblioteca Nacional to acquire the majority of the antique and valuable books that it currently holds. In 1892 the building was used to host the Historical American Exposition. On 16 March 1896, the Biblioteca Nacional opened to the public in the same building in which it is currently housed and included a vast Reading Room on the main floor designed to hold 320 readers. In 1931 the Reading Room was reorganised, providing it with a major collection of reference works, and the General Reading Room was created to cater for students, workers and general readers.  During the Spanish Civil War close to 500,000 volumes were collected by the Confiscation Committee (Junta de Incautación) and stored in the Biblioteca Nacional to safeguard works of art and books held until then in religious establishments, palaces and private houses. During the 20th century numerous modifications were made to the building to adapt its rooms and repositories to its constantly expanding collections, to the growing volume of material received following the modification to the Legal Deposit requirement in 1958, and to the numerous works purchased by the library. Among this building work, some of the most noteworthy changes were the alterations made in 1955 to triple the capacity of the library's repositories, and those started in 1986 and completed in 2000, which led to the creation of the new building in Alcalá de Henares and complete remodelling of the building on Paseo de Recoletos, Madrid.  In 1986, when Spain's main bibliographic institutions - the National Newspaper Library (Hemeroteca Nacional), the Spanish Bibliographic Institute (Instituto Bibliográfico Hispánico) and the Centre for Documentary and Bibliographic Treasures (Centro del Tesoro Documental y Bibliográfico) - were incorporated into the Biblioteca Nacional, the library was established as the State Repository of Spain's Cultural Memory (Centro Estatal Depositario de la Memoria Cultural Española), making all of Spain's bibliographic output on any media available to the Spanish Library System and national and international researchers and cultural and educational institutions. In 1990 it was made an Autonomous Entity attached to the Ministry of Culture (Ministerio de Cultura).  The Madrid premises are shared with the National Archaeological Museum.

The library today.

The Biblioteca Nacional is Spain's highest library institution and is head of the Spanish Library System.  As the country's national library, it is the centre responsible for identifying, preserving, conserving, and disseminating information about Spain's documentary heritage, and it aspires to be an essential point of reference for research into Spanish culture. In accordance with its Articles of Association, passed by Royal Decree 1581/1991 (R.D. 1581/1991) of 31 October 1991, its principal functions are to:  The library's collection consists of more than 26,000,000 items, including 15,000,000 books and other printed materials, 4,500,000 graphic materials, 600,000 sound recordings, 510,000 music scores, more than 500,000 microforms, 500,000 maps, 143,000 newspapers and serials, 90,000 audiovisuals, 90,000 electronic documents, and 30,000 manuscripts.  The current director of the Biblioteca Nacional is Ana Santos Aramburo, appointed in 2013. Former directors include her predecessors Glòria Pérez-Salmerón (2010–2013) and Milagros del Corral (2007-2010) as well as historian Juan Pablo Fusi (1996–2000) and author Rosa Regàs (2004–2007).  Given its role as the legal deposit for the whole of Spain, since 1991 it has kept most of the overflowing collection at a secondary site in Alcalá de Henares, near Madrid.  The Biblioteca Nacional provides access to its collections through the following library services:

The Biblioteca Nacional de España ("National Library of Spain") is a major public library, the largest in Spain, and one of the largest in the world. It is located in Madrid, on the Paseo de Recoletos.

西班牙国家图书馆()是西班牙的国家图书资讯机构,也是西班牙最大的图书馆,位于马德里的雷科莱托斯大道。


Early life.

Hurd was born in 1930 in the market town of Marlborough in Wiltshire. His father Anthony Hurd (later Lord Hurd) and grandfather Sir Percy Hurd were also Members of Parliament. Douglas attended Twyford School and Eton College, where he was a King's Scholar and won the Newcastle Scholarship in 1947. He was also Captain of School (head boy).  After school Hurd did National Service, which he did not particularly enjoy, at a time when the Berlin Blockade made a Third World War seem far from unlikely. He began in July 1948 with a compulsory period in the ranks of the Royal Regiment of Artillery alongside young men of all social backgrounds. He later recorded that although living standards were no great shock after the spartan conditions at public school in those days, the petty dishonesty which he saw in the barrack room, and the waste of time which was so large a part of a conscript's experience, made him sceptical in later years of constituents' demands for a restoration of National Service. He was selected for officer training, attended Mons Officer Cadet School, Aldershot from November 1948, and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the 5th Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery (as it was then called) at the start of March 1949. He was released from the Army in September 1949 to take up his place at Cambridge University. He trained for a few weeks each summer as a reserve officer until 1952.  Hurd went up to Trinity College, Cambridge in the autumn of 1949. He achieved an Upper Second (II:1) in his preliminary exams in summer 1950. In March 1951 he was approached by an Admiral to be recruited to British Intelligence. He attended a selection panel, but withdrew from the process because, he later wrote, he did not want a career which would have to be pursued in secret. Hurd's brother Julian, who was on the officer training course at Aldershot at the time, committed suicide in June 1951. In his third year, Hurd served as Chairman of the Cambridge University Conservative Association for Michaelmas (autumn) Term 1951 and President of the Cambridge Union Society in Easter (summer) Term 1952. His special subject for study was the Second French Republic, and he graduated in 1952 with a first-class degree (BA) in history.  In 1952, Hurd joined the Diplomatic Service. He was posted to China, the United States and Italy, before leaving the service in 1966 to enter politics as a member of the Conservative Party.

Member of Parliament.

Hurd became Private Secretary (a political appointment, his salary paid by the Conservative Party) to Conservative Prime Minister Edward Heath, and was first elected to Parliament in February 1974 to represent the constituency of Mid Oxfordshire. After his election, he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the February 1974 Dissolution Honours, gazetted on 2 April 1974. At the 1983 general election the seat was replaced by Witney and he remained MP for that seat until his retirement from the House of Commons in 1997 having served 23 years in Parliament. (From 2001 to 2016 this constituency was represented by the former Leader of the Conservative Party and former British prime minister, David Cameron.)

In government: 1979–1990.

Hurd was appointed Minister of State at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office upon the Conservative victory in the 1979 general election and remained in that post for the duration of the Parliament. After the 1983 election Thatcher moved Hurd to the Home Office, but just over a year later he was promoted to Cabinet rank, succeeding James Prior as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. In this position, his diplomatic skills paved the way for the signing of the Anglo-Irish Agreement on the future of Northern Ireland, which marked a turning point in British-Irish co-operation on the political situation in the troubled region. A month before the agreement was signed, however, Hurd returned to the Home Office, this time as Home Secretary, following the demotion of Leon Brittan to the Department of Trade and Industry. Widely seen as a "safe pair of hands" and a solid, loyal member of the Cabinet, Hurd's tenure as Home Secretary was largely uncontroversial, although he was notably of the view that Her Majesty's Prison Service did not work effectively and argued for more rehabilitation of offenders and alternative sentencing.

Candidature in the 1990 leadership election.

Hurd's Cabinet career progressed further during the turbulent final months of Margaret Thatcher's prime ministership. On 26 October 1989, Hurd moved to the Foreign Office, succeeding John Major, whose rapid rise through the Cabinet saw him become Chancellor of the Exchequer in the wake of Nigel Lawson's resignation.  In mid-November 1990, he supported Margaret Thatcher's candidature as Conservative Party leader against challenger Michael Heseltine, but on her withdrawal from the second round of the contest on 22 November, Hurd decided to enter the race as a moderate centre-right candidate, drawing on his reputation as a successful 'law-and-order' Home Secretary. He was seen as an outsider, lagging behind the more charismatic Heseltine and the eventual winner, John Major, who shared the moderate centre-right political ground with Hurd but had the added advantages of youth and political momentum. Hurd's Etonian education may have also been a disadvantage. He came third, winning 56 of the 372 votes cast and, together with Heseltine, conceded defeat to allow Major, who had fallen just three votes short of an outright majority, to return unopposed and take over as Prime Minister on 27 November 1990. Hurd was gracious in defeat and, on the formation of Major's first Cabinet, was returned to his position as Foreign Secretary.

Foreign Secretary.

Hurd was widely regarded as a statesmanlike British Foreign Secretary, his tenure having been particularly eventful. He oversaw Britain's diplomatic responses to the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, as well as the first Gulf War to drive Iraqi troops out of Kuwait. Hurd cultivated good relations with the United States under President George Bush Sr., and sought a more conciliatory approach to other members of the European Community, repairing relationships damaged during the increasingly Eurosceptic tone of Margaret Thatcher's final years. Hurd was a signatory of the Maastricht Treaty establishing the European Union in 1992. Hurd welcomed a reunified Germany into the European political community in 1990.  One of the defining features of Hurd's tenure as Foreign Secretary was the British reaction to the Yugoslav Wars. During the war in Bosnia, Hurd was seen as a leading voice among European politicians arguing against sending military aid to the Bosniaks and for maintaining the arms embargo, in defiance of the line taken by US President Bill Clinton, and arguing that such a move would only create a 'level killing field' and prolong the conflict unduly. Hurd also resisted pressure to allow Bosnian refugees to enter into Britain arguing that to do so would reduce pressure on the Bosnian Government to sue for peace. Hurd described his and British policy during that time as'realist'.  Shortly after his withdrawal from frontline politics, Hurd travelled to Serbia to meet Slobodan Milošević on behalf of the British bank NatWest (see below), fuelling some speculation that Hurd had taken a pro-Serbian line. There has been criticism of Hurd's policies in relation to the war. The Bosnian government even threatened to charge Hurd as an accomplice to genocide before the War Tribunal at The Hague, though this came to nothing. In 2010 Hurd told a reporter that he was troubled by his Bosnia policy but still doubted that intervention would have brought about an earlier end to the war.  Hurd was involved in a public scandal concerning Britain's funding of a hydroelectric dam on the Pergau River in Malaysia, near the Thai border. Building work began in 1991 with money from the British foreign aid budget. Concurrently, the Malaysian government bought around £1 billion's worth of British-made arms. The suggested linkage of arms deals to aid became the subject of a UK Government inquiry from March 1994. In November 1994, after an application for Judicial Review brought by the World Development Movement, the High Court of Justice held that the British Foreign Secretary, Douglas Hurd's actions were "ultra vires" [outside his legal powers and therefore unlawful] by allocating £234 million towards the funding of the dam, on the grounds that the legislation only empowered him to fund economically sound projects.  In 1997, the administration of the UK's aid budget was removed from the Foreign Secretary's remit (previously the Overseas Development Administration had been under the supervision of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office). The new department, the Department for International Development (DfID), has its own Secretary of State who is a member of the Cabinet. In 1995, during the Cabinet reshuffle widely seen as setting up the Conservative team which would contest the next election, Hurd retired from frontline politics after 11 years in the Cabinet and was replaced by Malcolm Rifkind.

Retirement.

After his retirement as Foreign Secretary, he remained a key supporter of John Major, and kept a range of active political involvements as well as taking on some business appointments, most notably as a Deputy Chairman of NatWest Markets and a Board Director of NatWest Group, posts he held from October 1995–99.  Hurd left the House of Commons at the 1997 general election, and on 13 June 1997 was created Baron Hurd of Westwell, of Westwell in the County of Oxfordshire, which enabled him to continue sitting in Parliament as a member of the House of Lords. He retired from the Lords on 9 June 2016.  In December 1997, Hurd was appointed Chairman of British Invisibles (now renamed International Financial Services London or IFSL). He was Chairman of the judging panel for the 1998 Booker Prize for Fiction. He became a member of the Royal Commission on the Reform of the House of Lords in February 1999, and in September 1999 he was appointed High Steward of Westminster Abbey, reflecting his long active membership of the Church of England. He later went on to chair the Hurd Commission which produced a review of the roles and functions of the Archbishop of Canterbury.  Hurd is Chairman of the Advisory Council at FIRST, an international affairs organisation. Hurd was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1974 and Companion of Honour in the 1996 New Year Honours. He was formerly a Visiting Fellow of Nuffield College, Oxford and Chairman of the German British Forum. On 17 July 2009, he received the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters (Hon DLitt) from Aston University at its Degree Congregation.  Hurd is a member of the Top Level Group of UK Parliamentarians for Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament and Non-proliferation, established in October 2009.

Personal life.

Hurd has married twice. In 1960, he married his first wife Tatiana, daughter of Major Arthur Eyre MBE, and their union produced three sons. The couple separated in 1976, and divorced in 1982. Tatiana Hurd cited her husband's career as the reason for their separation, saying, "Really, politics don't mix with marriage". In 1982 Hurd married Judy Smart, his former parliamentary secretary, who was 19 years his junior. They had two children, a boy and a girl. Judy Hurd died of leukaemia on 22 November 2008 in an Oxford hospital, aged 58.  Hurd's eldest son, Nick Hurd, was Conservative Member of Parliament for Ruislip Northwood and Pinner from May 2005 to December 2019. In 2010, he was appointed Minister for Civil Society and married Lady Clare Kerr, daughter of the Marquess of Lothian.  Hurd's second son, Thomas, joined the Diplomatic Service. His name appeared on a list of suspected MI6 operatives which was published on the Internet, as did Douglas himself, supposedly the work of disgruntled former SIS (MI6) or Security Service (MI5) employees. The authenticity of several entries on the list is questionable, leading to speculation that it was in fact compiled by a poorly informed amateur. The Hon Thomas was appointed OBE in 2006, and is married with five children. His wife, Catherine, known as Sian, died on 21 May 2011, after falling from the roof of the building where they lived on East 84th Street in New York City.  In 1988, Hurd set up the charity "Crime Concern". Crime Concern worked to reduce crime, anti-social behaviour and the fear of crime, by working with young people, their families and adult offenders, offering opportunities through training and employment. Crime Concern merged with young people's charity "Rainer" in 2008 to become Catch22. Hurd is fluent in Mandarin, French and Italian. He is a patron of the pro EU European Movement UK.

Literary works.

Hurd is a writer of political thrillers including:  His non-fiction works include:

Douglas Richard Hurd, Baron Hurd of Westwell, (born 8 March 1930) is a British Conservative politician who served in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major from 1979 to 1995.

-{zh-hans:道格拉斯·理查·赫德;zh-hk:韩达德;zh-tw:道格拉斯·理查·赫德;}-,韦斯特维尔的韩达德男爵,CH,CBE,PC(英语:Douglas Richard Hurd, Baron Hurd of Westwell,1930年-3月8日),英国资深的保守党政治家及小说家。


Etymology.

The word "Narasimha" consists of two words "nara" which means man, and "simha" which means lion. Together the term means "man-lion", referring to a mixed creature avatar of Vishnu.  He is known as "Narasinh","Narasingh", "Narasingha","Nrusingha", "Narasimba" and "Narasinghar" in derivative languages. His other names are "Agnilochana" (अग्निलोचन) - the one who has fiery eyes, "Bhairavadambara" (भैरवडम्बर) - the one who causes terror by roaring, "Karala" (कराल) - the one who has a wide mouth and projecting teeth, "Hiranyakashipudvamsa" (हिरण्यकशिपुध्वंस) - the one who killed Hiranyakashipu, "Nakhastra" (नखास्त्र) - the one for whom nails are his weapons, "Sinhavadana" (सिंहवदन) - the whose face is of lion and "Mrigendra" (मृगेन्द्र) - king of animals or lion.

Texts.

Vedas.

The Vishnu hymn 1.154 of the "Rigveda" (1700-1200 BCE) contains a verse with allusions to a "wild beast, dread, prowling, mountain-roaming", which has been interpreted by some to be the Narasiṃha legend. Another hymn 8.14 alludes to the Namuci legend with "waters' foam you tore off, Indra, the head of Namuci, subduing all contending hosts", but the hymns does not present details.  A more complete version of the Namuci legend is found in "Shatapatha Brahmana" of the "Yajurveda" in chapter 12.7.3. Other references to Narasimha are found in the Vedic texts Vajaseneyi Samhita 10.34, Pancavimsa Brahmana 12.6.8 and Taittiriya Brahmana 1.7.1.6.

The Indra-Namuci legend.

Narasimha likely has roots in the metaphors filled Indra-Namuci legend in the Vedas. Indra is the dharmic leader of the Devas who commands lightning, thunder, rain and rivers, while Namuci is a deceptive demigod Asura in competition for power. Namuci suggests peace to Indra, which the latter accepts. He demands Indra to promise that he will neither try to slay him with his "palm of the hand nor with the fist", neither in day nor in night, neither "anything that the dry" nor "anything that is moist". Indra agrees.  After the deal is done, Namuci carries away all that nourishes the Devas: the Soma drink, the essence of food and the strength of Indra. The leader of the gods finds himself conflicted, feels bound by his promise. Indra then meets Saraswati (goddess of knowledge) and Ashvins. They reply they will deal with Namuci, get it all back, if Indra agrees to share his powers, the essence of food and the Soma drink with them. Indra agrees. The gods and the goddess then come up with a creative plan. They pour out "foam of water" as a thunderbolt, which is neither dry nor moist, and the evil Asura Namuci is attacked and killed when it is neither day nor night.  After Namuci is killed, the gods get all the powers back, but discover that Namuci had drunk the Soma already. The good was thus now mixed with his badness of his blood, which they did not want to drink. So, they extract the good out from the bad. Thus, good returns to the Devas, the bad is discarded.  According to Deborah Soifer, the Vedic legend has many parallels with the Narasimha legend, it has the same plot, the same "neither-nor" constraints, and the same creative spirit that allows the good to vanquish the evil. Further, the Sanskrit words and phrasing such as "neither palm nor fist" and "neither day nor night" in the later Hindu texts is the same as in the Vedic texts. This suggests a link and continuity between the Vedic Namuci legend and the later Narasimha legend in the Puranas. According to Walter Ruben, both versions along with several other legends in ancient and medieval texts reflect the Indian tradition against despots and tyrants who abuse power.

Puranas.

There are references to Narasiṃha in a variety of Purāṇas, with 17 different versions of the main narrative. The Valmiki Ramayana (7.24), Harivaṃśa (41 & 3.41-47), "Viṣṇu Purāṇa" (1.16-20), "Bhagavata Purāṇa" (Canto 7), Agni Purāṇa (4.2-3), Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa(2.5.3-29), Vayu Purāṇa (67.61-66), Brahma-Purāṇa (213.44-79), Viṣṇudharmottara Purāṇa(1.54), Kūrma Purāṇa (1.15.18-72), Matsya Purāṇa(161-163), Padma Purāṇa(Uttara-khaṇḍa 5.42), Śiva Purāṇa (2.5.43 & 3.10-12), "Linga Purana" (1.95-96) and Skanda Purāṇa 7 (2.18.60-130) all contain depictions of the Narasiṃha Avatāra.

Other texts.

Narasimha is also found and is the focus of "Nrisimha Tapaniya Upanishad".

History.

Prahlāda legend.

The Bhagavata Purāṇa describes that Vishnu, in his previous avatar as Varāha, killed the evil asura Hiraṇayakṣa. The younger brother of Hirṇayakṣa, demon king Hiraṇyakaśipu, hated Vishnu and wanted revenge. He undertook many years of austere penance to gain special powers. Thereafter, Brahma offered Hiraṇyakaśipu a boon. Hiraṇyakaśipu asked, "Grant me that I not die within any residence or outside any residence, during the daytime or at night, nor on the ground or in the sky. Grant me that my death not be brought about by any weapon, nor by any human being or animal. Grant me that I not meet death from any entity, living or nonliving created by you. Grant me, further, that I not be killed by any demigod or demon or by any great snake from the lower planets." Brahma granted him the boon, and Hiraṇyakaśipu gained these powers.  Hiraṇyakaśipu, once powerful and invincible with the new boon, began to persecute those who were devotees of Vishnu. Hiraṇyakaśipu had a son, Prahlāda, who disagreed and rebelled against his father. Prahlāda became a devotee of Vishnu. This angered Hiraṇyakaśipu, who tried to kill the boy—but with each attempt, Prahlāda was protected by Viṣṇu's mystical power. When asked, Prahlāda refused to acknowledge his father as the supreme lord of the universe and claimed that Viṣṇu is all-pervading and omnipresent.  Hiraṇyakaśipu pointed to a nearby pillar and asked if 'his Viṣṇu' is in it and said to his son Prahlāda, "O most unfortunate Prahlāda, you have always described a supreme being other than me, a supreme being who is above everything, who is the controller of everyone, and who is all-pervading. But where is He? If He is everywhere, then why is He not present before me in this pillar?" Prahlāda then answered, "He was, He is and He will be."  In an alternate version of the story, Prahlāda answered,"He is in pillars, and he is in the smallest twig". Hiraṇyakaśipu, unable to control his anger, smashed the pillar with his mace, and following a tumultuous sound, Viṣṇu in the form of Narasiṃha appeared from it and moved to attack Hiraṇyakaśipu in defense of Prahlāda. In order to kill Hiraṇyakaśipu and not upset the boon given by Brahma, the form of Narasiṃha was chosen. Hiraṇyakaśipu could not be killed by human, deva or animal. Narasiṃha was none of these, as he is a form of Viṣṇu incarnate as a part-human, part-animal. He came upon Hiraṇyakaśipu at twilight (when it is neither day nor night) on the threshold of a courtyard (neither indoors nor out), and put the demon on his thighs (neither earth nor space). Using his sharp fingernails (neither animate nor inanimate) as weapons, he disemboweled and killed the demon king.  The Shaiva scriptures narrate that god Shiva assumed the Avatar (incarnation) of Sharabha to pacify Narasimha afterwards when he started to threaten the world violently.  The "Shiva Purana" mentions: After slaying Hiranyakashipu, Narasimha's wrath threatened the world. At the behest of the gods, Shiva sent Virabhadra to tackle Narasimha. When that failed, Shiva manifested as Sharabha. Sharabha then attacked Narasimha and immobilized him. He thus quelled Narasimha's terrifying rage. Narasimha became a devotee of Shiva after being bound by Sharabha  The Kūrma Purāṇa describes the preceding battle between the Puruṣa and demonic forces in which he escapes a powerful weapon called Paśupāta. According to Soifer, it describes how Prahlāda's brothers headed by Anuhrāda and thousands of other demons "were led to the valley of death (yamalayam) by the lion produced from the body of man-lion". The same episode occurs in the "Matsya Purāṇa" 179, several chapters after its version of the Narasiṃha advent.

Iconography.

Narasimha is always shown with a lion face with clawed fingers fused with a human body. Sometimes he is coming out of a pillar signifying that he is everywhere, in everything, in everyone. Some temples such as at Ahobilam, Andhra Pradesh, the iconography is more extensive, and includes nine other icons of Narasimha:  The earliest known iconography of Narasimha is variously dated to between the 2nd and the 4th-century CE, and these have been found in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. Most images and temples of Narasimha are found in the peninsular region of India, but important ancient and medieval archeological sites containing Narasimha icons are also found as Vaikuntha Chaturmurti in Kashmir and Khajuraho temples, while single face versions are found in Garhwa and Mathura (Uttar Pradesh) and in Ellora Caves (Maharashtra). Other major temples with notable icons of Narasimha are found in Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and the Vijayanagara Empire ruins in Karnataka. Some of the oldest surviving Hindu temples, such as those found in Tigawa and Eran (Madhya Pradesh), dated to early 5th-century, include Narasimha along with other avatars of Vishnu.

Significance.

Narasimha is a significant iconic symbol of creative resistance, hope against odds, victory over persecution, and destruction of evil. He is the destructor of not only external evil, but also one's own inner evil of "body, speech, and mind" states Pratapaditya Pal.  In South Indian art – sculptures, bronzes and paintings – Viṣṇu's incarnation as Narasiṃha is one of the most chosen themes and amongst Avatāras perhaps next only to Rāma and Kṛṣṇa in popularity. Lord Narasiṃha also appears as one of Hanuman's 5 faces, who is a significant character in the Rāmāyaṇa as Lord (Rāma's) devotee.  Narasimha is worshipped across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh States in numerous forms. Although, it is common that each of the temples contain depictions of Narasimha in more than one form, Ahobilam contains nine temples of Narasimha dedicated to the nine forms of Narasimha. It is also notable that the central aspect of Narasimha incarnation is killing the demon Hiranyakasipu, but that image of Narasimha is not commonly worshipped in temples, although it is depicted.

Coins, inscriptions and terracotta.

The Narasimha legend was influential by the 5th-century, when various Gupta Empire kings minted coins with his images or sponsored inscriptions that associated the ethos of Narasimha with their own. The kings thus legitimized their rule as someone like Narasimha who fights evil and persecution. Some of the coins of the Kushan era show Narasimha-like images, suggesting possible influence.  Some of the oldest Narasimha terracotta artworks have been dated to about the 2nd-century CE, such as those discovered in Kausambi. A nearly complete, exquisitely carved standing Narasimha statue, wearing a "pancha", with personified attributes near him has been found at the Mathura archeological site and is dated to the 6th-century.

Performance arts.

The Narasimha legends have been a part of various Indian classical dance repertoire. For example, Kathakali theatre has included the Narasimha-Hiranyakasipu battle storyline, and adaptations of "Prahlada Caritam" with Narasimha has been one of the popular performances in Kerala. Similarly, the Bhagavata Mela dance-drama performance arts of Tamil Nadu traditionally celebrate the annual Narasimha jayanti festival by performing the story within regional Narasimha temples.

Prayers.

A number of prayers have been written in dedication to Narasiṃha avatāra. These include:

Early images.

In Andhra Pradesh, a panel dating to third-fourth century AD shows a full theriomorphic squatting lion with two extra human arms behind his shoulders holding Vaiṣṇava emblems. This lion, flanked by five heroes ("vīra"), often has been identified as an early depiction of Narasiṃha. Standing cult images of Narasiṃha from the early Gupta period, survive from temples at Tigowa and Eran. These sculptures are two-armed, long maned, frontal, wearing only a lower garment, and with no demon-figure of Hiraṇyakaśipu. Images representing the narrative of Narasiṃha slaying the demon Hiraṇyakaśipu survive from slightly later Gupta-period temples: one at Madhia and one from a temple-doorway now set into the Kūrma-maṭha at Nachna, both dated to the late fifth or early sixth century A.D.  An image of Narasiṃha supposedly dating to second-third century AD sculpted at Mathura was acquired by the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 1987. It was described by Stella Kramrisch, the former Philadelphia Museum of Art's Indian curator, as ""perhaps the earliest image of Narasiṃha as yet known"". This figure depicts a furled brow, fangs, and lolling tongue similar to later images of Narasiṃha, but the idol's robe, simplicity, and stance set it apart. On Narasiṃha's chest under his upper garment appears the suggestion of an amulet, which Stella Kramrisch associated with Visnu's cognizance, the Kauṣtubha jewel. This upper garment flows over both shoulders; but below Hiranyakasipu, the demon-figure placed horizontally across Narasiṃha's body, a twisted waist-band suggests a separate garment covering the legs. The demon's hair streams behind him, cushioning his head against the man-lion's right knee. He wears a simple single strand of beads. His body seems relaxed, even pliant. His face is calm, with a slight suggestion of a smile. His eyes stare adoringly up at the face of Viṣṇu. There is little tension in this figure's legs or feet, even as Narasiṃha gently disembowels him. His innards spill along his right side. As the Matsya purana describes it, Narasiṃha ripped "apart the mighty Daitya chief as a plaiter of straw mats shreds his reeds". Based on the Gandhara-style of robe worn by the idol, Michael Meiste altered the date of the image to fourth century AD.  An image of Narasiṃha, dating to the 9th century, was found on the northern slope of Mount Ijo, at Prambanan, Indonesia. Images of Trivikrama and Varāha avatāras were also found at Prambanan, Indonesia. Viṣṇu and His avatāra images follow iconographic peculiarities characteristic of the art of central Java. This includes physiognomy of central Java, an exaggerated volume of garment, and some elaboration of the jewelry. This decorative scheme once formulated became, with very little modification, an accepted norm for sculptures throughout the Central Javanese period (circa 730–930 A.D.). Despite the iconographic peculiarities, the stylistic antecedents of the Java sculptures can be traced back to Indian carvings as the Chalukya and Pallava images of the 6th–7th centuries AD.

References.

Narasimha (Sanskrit: नरसिंह IAST: Narasiṃha, lit. "man-lion") is a fierce avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu, one who incarnates in the form of part lion and part man to destroy evil and end religious persecution and calamity on Earth, thereby restoring Dharma.

那罗希摩(;),又称Nrusimha(नृसिंह,)、Narasingh、Narsingh和Narasingha,意为“人狮”,印度教所崇拜的大神毗湿奴10种化身中的第四种,即半人半狮,曾经消灭阿修罗王金席。


Education and Royal Wedding.

Jigme Dorji Wangchuck was born in 1929 in Thruepang Palace in Trongsa. At a young age, he was apprenticed in etiquette and leadership at the royal court of his father the King. Wangchuck was educated in a British manner in Kalimpong and went on study tours and stay to many foreign countries such as Scotland and Switzerland from where he drew inspiration to develop Bhutan with suitable adaptations. In 1943, he was appointed Trongsa Dronyer and then elevated as the 25th Paro "Penlop" in 1950, upon the death of the 24th Paro Penlop, Tshering Penjor (1902–1949). Wangchuck married "Ashi" Kesang Choden Wangchuck (born 1930), the daughter of "Gongzim" (Lord Chamberlain) Sonam Topgay Dorji (1896–1953), in 1951. The royal wedding was held in Paro Garden Palace. The following year, Wangchuck became the King after his father died in Kuenga Rabten Palace. Coronation was held in Punakha Dzong on 27 October 1952.

Father of modern Bhutan.

During his 20-year reign that ended in June 1972, the fundamental reorientation of Bhutanese society began. Wangchuck not only achieved the reorganisation of society and government, but also consolidated Bhutan's sovereignty and security. He mobilised resources from the international donors as aid. Wangchuck's strategy was to broaden the source of aid by developing relationships with other countries. Bhutan joined the Colombo Plan in 1962 to obtain international aid. However, India became the main source of financial and technical assistance. He was a deft and farsighted planner in the sense that he modernised Bhutan without destabilizing its culture and tradition. Wangchuck brought modern techniques and methods to preserve and promote the culture of Bhutan, yet at the same time, he introduced Western science and technology. He was a forerunner among environmentalists in this part of the world. The Manas Sanctuary established in 1966 was one of the first in the region.

Political and social reforms.

In the context of Bhutan, there were small groups who were bonded labourers. They would work on the farms of the aristocratic and prominent families. In return, they would receive food, lodging and clothes. As soon as he became the King, labourers who worked on the royal lands were made into tenants and sharecroppers instead of indentured labourers. Later, similar indentured labourers were set free in other areas of the country, especially in some parts of Eastern Bhutan, where they were concentrated. In 1953, Wangchuck, realising that hitherto the decision of the King and that of the high officials were binding on the country, wanted them to be shared. As a result, Wangchuck opened the National Assembly of Bhutan in 1953 in Punakha Dzong. For the first time, elders from different gewogs were invited to voice their concerns, ideas and solutions for the future of this country. At the same time, it was a forum for Wangchuck to share his larger vision for Bhutan in the years to come. After the National Assembly was established in 1953, the king drafted and devised a series of progressive laws for the Kingdom. The King brought out a holistic set of laws covering fundamental aspects of Bhutanese life such as land, livestock, marriage, inheritance, property and so forth. The Thrimzhung Chenmo (Supreme Law) was passed by the National Assembly in 1959. The laws are very organic, coherently interrelated within themselves and to the evolving reality and manifested his vision of law-based society. Along with the promulgation of Thrimzhung Chenmo, a mechanism to implement and enforce laws was needed. Wangchuck decided to open the judiciary, first with the appointment of Thrimpons (judges) in districts, and then finally to the High Court, which was set up in 1968. These administrative and social reforms were prior to any economic modernisation programmes. In 1955, he intensified the conversion of commodity taxes to cash taxes by assessing land for cash taxation. Cash taxes were nominal, but moving from commodity taxes to cash taxes was a radical step at that time. Apart from promulgation of better laws and tax reforms, the Royal Bhutan Army was formally established in 1963. Furthermore, the entitlements of all officials were converted from commodities to cash and new designations were given. Wangchuck established new Ministries in 1968.

Culture and education.

The king paid considerable policy attention on preserving Bhutanese culture so that Bhutan could always perpetuate itself as a culturally distinct nation, in particular with a flourishing Buddhist culture.  He established Simtokha Rigzhung Lobdra (now known as the Institute of Language and Cultural Studies) in 1967, where a new breed of traditional scholars could be nurtured. He also increased the number of monks in many dratshangs. During his reign the systematic phonetic, syntax and grammatic rules of Dzongkha language were devised. To propagate culture and traditions in schools, and to study scientific disciplines as well as humanities, the Third King established modern education on a wide spread basis. He established what were then the centres of education excellence with two public schools: Yangchenphug, in western Bhutan in 1969, and the other, Kanglung, in eastern Bhutan in 1968. An Agriculture Department was created to improve nutrition and to generate income from horticulture. The Kingdom’s free health service was also founded.

Infrastructure development.

Modernising Bhutan's infrastructure for transportation, communications, education, health system and agriculture started after India was receptive enough to offer aid. India became independent in 1947, and was not in any immediate position to help Bhutan. Wangchuck officially visited India in 1954. The first Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru made a historic journey to Bhutan in September 1958. King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck then paid repeated visits to India. A year after Nehru visited Bhutan in 1958, the development of Bhutan's modern infrastructure began, with assistance from India. Although road construction started in 1959, a large scale undertaking became systematic two years later in 1961, with the commencement of the 1st Five Year Plan (FYP) that envisaged construction of 177 km of road, 108 schools, three hospitals, and 45 clinics. In 1961, motor road transport reached Thimphu. The systematic envisioning of the economic future of Bhutan through FYPs was put into practice in 1961. The idea of budgeting and programming on a five-year basis is a legacy from that period. The construction of roads expanded vigorously to the end of Jigme Dorji Wangchuck’s reign. His very last visit to central Bhutan was partly to open the Zhunglam, the highway between Wangdue Phodrang and Trongsa, in 1971.

Multilateral and bilateral relations.

The king's priority was to continue deepening the excellent relationship with India. The second priority was to diversify the relationship with other countries. He intended to strike close economic relationship with Bangladesh. Bhutan was the first nation after India to recognise the independence of Bangladesh. One key event his era was enabling Bhutan to join the United Nations in 1971, when it became its 125th member.

Jigme Dorji Wangchuck (Wylie: " 'jigs med rdo rje dbang phyug"; 2 May 1929 – 21 July 1972) was the 3rd Druk Gyalpo of Bhutan.

吉格梅·多吉·旺楚克(,按藏文译法:旺秋·晋美多吉;1929年-5月2日-1972年-7月21日),第三任不丹国王。


Description.

The species has a population spread across all the Australian states except Victoria and Tasmania. It occupies a wide range of habitat from forests of tropical swamp to intermittent pools and lowland grass country; all habitat is assumed to be of a low elevation. Populations are assumed to be large from frequent reports and a broad range. This range is assumed to overlap with National parks, but research has not been undertaken into the ecology and biology of the species. It buries itself in sandy ground in a secreted, water-tight, mucus cocoon with its external skin during periods of hot, dry weather. For additional nutrition and to save energy, the frog eats the external skin. It has been known to burrow to depths of up to 1 meter.  The water-holding frog is characterized by a broad, flat head, completely webbed toes, and a stout body which is usually dull gray to dark brown or green. They also have small eyes that are placed somewhat laterally and forward-directed, enhancing vision downward and binocular perspective (Cogger and Zweifel 1998).

Reproduction.

The water-holding frog only emerges from deep underground after it rains to breed. It lays large amounts of spawn in still water after floods. Some eggs may be attached to vegetation, or spread in a thin film on the surface, thus ensuring adequate oxygen in warm waters suffering from oxygen depletion (Cogger and Zweifel 1998). Tadpoles of the water-holding frog can reach a maximum length of 60mm (S. Australian Frogcensus 1999).

Human interaction.

Australian Aborigines discovered a means to take advantage of this ability by digging up one of these frogs and gently squeezing it, causing the frog to release some of the fresh water it stores for itself in its bladder and skin pockets. This water can be consumed by the person, who then releases the frog. During the dry season, this will cause the frog to die, as its water reserves are necessary for its survival.

Threatened status.

No threats have been identified, research into the extent of habitat loss through land clearing and the associated salinity is yet to be undertaken. The species is given Least Concern status at the IUCN Red List [http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/41076/0 [Red List link<nowiki>]</nowiki>] due to a wide range and large population.

Ranoidea platycephala, commonly known as the water-holding frog, is a frog common to most Australian states. It differs from most other members of the family Pelodryadidae as a ground dweller and the ability to aestivate. It can live for five years without drinking.

储水蛙("Litoria platycephala")是生活在澳大利亚沙漠地区的一种两栖动物,属于无尾目树蟾科雨滨蛙属。储水蛙头部宽而平,身体和脚蹼较厚。体色通常为暗灰色,深橄榄色,深褐色或绿色,腹部为白色。皮肤上布满了疣。


Production.

Unlike most later consoles, the Microvision did not contain an onboard processor (CPU). Instead, each game included its own processor contained within the removable cartridge. This meant that the console itself effectively consisted of the controls, LCD panel and LCD controller.  The processors for the first Microvision cartridges were made with both Intel 8021 (cross licensed by Signetics) and Texas Instruments TMS1100 processors. Due to purchasing issues, Milton Bradley switched to using TMS1100 processors exclusively including reprogramming the games that were originally programmed for the 8021 processor. The TMS1100 was a more primitive device, but offered more memory and lower power consumption than the 8021. First-revision Microvisions needed two batteries due to the 8021's higher power consumption, but later units (designed for the TMS1100) only had one active battery holder. Even though the battery compartment was designed to allow the two 9-volt batteries to be inserted with proper polarity of positive and negative terminals, when a battery was forcefully improperly oriented, while the other battery was properly oriented, the two batteries would be shorted and they would overheat. The solution was to remove terminals for one of the batteries to prevent this hazard. Due to the high cost of changing production molds, Milton Bradley did not eliminate the second battery compartment, but instead removed its terminals and called it the spare battery holder.  Milton Bradley put most of its marketing muscle at the time behind the tabletop Vectrex system, contributing to the Microvision's mediocre performance in the market.

Problems.

Microvision units and cartridges are now somewhat rare. Those that are still in existence are susceptible to three main problems: "screen rot," ESD damage, and keypad destruction.

Screen rot.

The manufacturing process used to create the Microvision's LCD was primitive by modern standards. Poor sealing and impurities introduced during manufacture has resulted in the condition known as "screen rot". The liquid crystal spontaneously leaks and permanently darkens, resulting in a game unit that still plays but is unable to properly draw the screen. While extreme heat (such as resulting from leaving the unit in the sun) which can instantly destroy the screen can be avoided, there is nothing that can be done to prevent screen rot in most Microvision systems.

ESD damage.

A major design problem on early units involves the fact that the microprocessor (which is inside the top of each cartridge) lacks ESD protection and is directly connected to the copper pins which normally connect the cartridge to the Microvision unit. If the user opens the protective sliding door that covers the pins, the processor can be exposed to any electric charge the user has built up. If the user has built up a substantial charge, the discharge can jump around the door's edge or pass through the door itself (dielectric breakdown). The low-voltage integrated circuit inside the cartridge is extremely ESD sensitive, and can be destroyed by an event of only a few dozen volts which cannot even be felt by the person, delivering a fatal shock to the game unit. This phenomenon was described in detail by John Elder Robison (a former Milton Bradley engineer) in his book "Look Me in the Eye"; Robinson described the issue as having been a significant enough issue during the 1979 holiday season (with up to 60% of units being returned as defective) that it resulted in significant panic among Milton Bradley staff and required extensive modifications to both later Microvision units and Microvision factories (the former being of his own design) to better dispel stray static charges.

Keypad destruction.

The Microvision unit had a twelve-button keypad, with the switches buried under a thick layer of flexible plastic. To align the user's fingers with the hidden buttons, the cartridges had cutouts in their bottom (over the keypad). As different games required different button functions, the cutouts were covered with a thin printed piece of plastic, which identified the buttons' functions in that game. The problem with this design is that pressing on the buttons stretched the printed plastic, resulting in the thin material stretching and eventually tearing. Having long fingernails exacerbated the condition. Many of the initial games were programmed to give feedback of the keypress when the key was released instead of when the key was pressed. As a result, users may press on the keypad harder because they are not being provided with any feedback that the key has been pressed. This resulted from a keypad used for prototyping being different from the production keypad; the prototyping keypad had tactile feedback upon key pressing that the production units lacked.

Games.

While the game cartridge plastic cases were beige colored in the USA, in Europe they came in a variety of different colors, and the games were numbered on the Box. The age range in Europe for the console and its games was from 8 to 80 years old or 8 to Adult.  There were titles known to have been released.

The Microvision (aka Milton Bradley Microvision or MB Microvision) is the first handheld game console that used interchangeable ROM cartridges. It was released by the Milton Bradley Company in November 1979. The Microvision was designed by Jay Smith, the engineer who would later design the Vectrex gaming console. The Microvision's combination of portability and a cartridge-based system led to moderate success, with Smith Engineering grossing $15 million in the first year of the system's release. However, very few cartridges, a small screen, and a lack of support from established home video game companies led to its demise in 1981. According to Satoru Okada, the former head of Nintendo's R&D1 Department, the Microvision gave birth to the Game & Watch after Nintendo designed around Microvision's limitations.

Microvision是首部使用可更换卡带的掌上游戏机,由妙极百利(Milton Bradley)于1979年11月发售,售价为51.25美元。由于其可携带性及使用卡带为媒介,在发售初期获得不俗的成绩。但是,由于游戏数量过少、萤幕太细及缺乏游戏公司的支援,导致它于1981年停止发售。


Description.

The chukar is a rotund long partridge, with a light brown back, grey breast, and buff belly. The shades vary across the various populations. The face is white with a black gorget. It has -streaked flanks, red legs and coral red bill. Sexes are similar, the female slightly smaller in size and lacking the spur. The tail has 14 feathers, the third primary is the longest while the first is level with the fifth and sixth primaries.  It is very similar to the rock partridge ("Alectoris graeca") with which it has been lumped in the past but is browner on the back and has a yellowish tinge to the foreneck. The sharply defined gorget distinguishes this species from the red-legged partridge which has the black collar breaking into dark streaks near the breast. Their song is a noisy "chuck-chuck-chukar-chukar" from which the name is derived. The Barbary partridge ("Alectoris barbara") has a reddish-brown rather than black collar with a grey throat and face with a chestnut crown.  Other common names of this bird include chukker (chuker or chukor), Indian chukar and keklik.

Distribution and habitat.

This partridge has its native range in Asia, including, Syria, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, along the inner ranges of the western Himalayas to Nepal. Further west in southeastern Europe it is replaced by the red-legged partridge, "Alectoris rufa". It barely ranges into Africa on the Sinai Peninsula. The habitat in the native range is rocky open hillsides with grass or scattered scrub or cultivation. In Israel and Jordan it is found at low altitudes, starting at below sea level in the Dead Sea area, whereas in the more eastern areas it is mainly found at an altitude of except in Pakistan, where it occurs at. They are not found in areas of high humidity or rainfall.  It has been introduced widely as a game bird, and feral populations have become established in the United States (Rocky Mountains, Great Basin, high desert areas of California), Canada, Chile, Argentina, New Zealand and Hawaii. Initial introductions into the US were from the nominate populations collected from Afghanistan and Nepal. It has also been introduced to New South Wales in Australia but breeding populations have not persisted and are probably extinct. A small population exists on Robben Island in South Africa since it was introduced there in 1964.  The chukar readily interbreeds with the red-legged partridge ("Alectoris rufa"), and the practice of breeding and releasing captive-bred hybrids has been banned in various countries including the United Kingdom, as it is a threat to wild populations.

Systematics and taxonomy.

The chukar partridge is part of a confusing group of "red-legged partridges". Several plumage variations within the widespread distribution of the chukar partridge have been described and designated as subspecies. In the past the chukar group was included with the rock partridge (also known as the Greek partridge). The species from Turkey and farther east was subsequently separated from "A. graeca" of Greece and Bulgaria and western Europe.

Subspecies.

There are fourteen recognized subspecies:

Population and status.

This species is relatively unaffected by hunting or loss of habitat. Its numbers are largely affected by weather patterns during the breeding season. The release of captive stock in some parts of southern Europe can threaten native populations of rock partridge and red-legged partridge with which they may hybridize.  British sportsmen in India considered the chukar as good sport although they were not considered to be particularly good in flavour. Their fast flight and ability to fly some distance after being shot made recovery of the birds difficult without retriever dogs. During cold winters, when the higher areas are covered in snow, people in Kashmir have been known to use a technique to tire the birds out to catch them.

Behaviour and ecology.

In the non-breeding season, chukar partridge are found in small coveys of 10 or more (up to 50) birds. In summer, chukars form pairs to breed. During this time, the cocks are very pugnacious calling and fighting. During winter they descend into the valleys and feed in fields. They call frequently during the day and especially in the mornings and evenings. The call is loud and includes loud repeated "chuck" notes and sometimes duetting "chuker" notes. Several calls varying with context have been noted. The most common call is a "rallying call" which when played back elicits a response from birds and has been used in surveys, although the method is not very reliable. When disturbed, it prefers to run rather than fly, but if necessary it flies a short distance often down a slope on rounded wings, calling immediately after alighting. In Utah, birds were found to forage in an area of about and travel up to to obtain water during the dry season. The home range was found to be even smaller in Idaho.  The breeding season is summer. Males perform tidbitting displays, a form of courtship feeding where the male pecks at food and a female may visit to peck in response. The males may chase females with head lowered, wing lowered and neck fluffed. The male may also perform a high step stiff walk while making a special call. The female may then crouch in acceptance and the male mounts to copulate, while grasping the nape of the female. Males are monogamous. The nest is a scantily lined ground scrape, though occasionally a compact pad is created with a depression in the centre. Generally, the nests are sheltered by ferns and small bushes, or placed in a dip or rocky hillside under an overhanging rock. About 7 to 14 eggs are laid. The eggs hatch in about 23–25 days. In captivity they can lay an egg each day during the breeding season if eggs are collected daily. Chicks join their parents in foraging and will soon join the chicks of other members of the covey.  As young chukars grow, and before flying for the first time, they utilize wing-assisted incline running as a transition to adult flight. This behaviour is found in several bird species, but has been extensively studied in chukar chicks, as a model to explain the evolution of avian flight. Chukar will take a wide variety of seeds and some insects as food. It also ingests grit. In Kashmir, the seeds of a species of "Eragrostis" was particularly dominant in their diet while those in the US favoured "Bromus tectorum". Birds feeding on succulent vegetation make up for their water needs but visit open water in summer.  Chukar roost on rocky slopes or under shrubs. In the winter, birds in the US selected protected niches or caves. A group may roost in a tight circle with their heads pointed outwards to conserve heat and keep a look out for predators.  Chukar are sometimes preyed on by golden eagles.  Birds in captivity can die from "Mycoplasma" infection and outbreaks of other diseases such as erysipelas.

In culture.

The chukar is the national bird of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and of Pakistan. The name is onomatopoeic and mentions of "chakor" in Sanskrit, from northern Indian date back to the "Markandeya Purana" (c. 250-500 AD). In North Indian and Pakistani culture, as well as in Indian mythology, the chukar sometimes symbolizes intense, and often unrequited, love. It is said to be in love with the moon and to gaze at it constantly. Because of their pugnacious behaviour during the breeding season they are kept in some areas as fighting birds.

The chukar partridge ("Alectoris chukar"), or simply chukar, is a Palearctic upland gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae. It has been considered to form a superspecies complex along with the rock partridge, Philby's partridge and Przevalski's partridge and treated in the past as conspecific particularly with the first. This partridge has well marked black and white bars on the flanks and a black band running from the forehead across the eye and running down the head to form a necklace that encloses a white throat. The species has been introduced into many other places and feral populations have established themselves in parts of North America and New Zealand. This bird can be found in parts of the Middle East and temperate Asia.

石鸡(学名:)为雉科石鸡属的鸟类,俗名"'朵拉鸡、红腿鸡、嘎嘎鸡"、鹧鸪'。分布于欧洲、西伯利亚、阿富汗、伊拉克、伊朗、克什米尔以及中国大陆的新疆、青海、甘肃、经华北到东北的西南部等地,多生活于低山干燥山谷以及丘陵的岩坡和砂坡。该物种的模式产地在希腊。


Biography.

Ling Mengchu was born into the Ling clan of Wucheng in northern Zhejiang province (modern day Wuxing District). His courtesy name was 'Xuanfang' (玄房) and his pseudonym was 'Chucheng' (初成).  His ancestors were government officials. His grandfather was named Ling Yueyan (凌约言). He was a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations of Ming Dynasty and in Nanjing served as an adjutant, managing legal affairs and prisons. Ling Mengchu's father was Ling Dizhi (凌迪知), styled Zhizhe (稚哲). He was a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations in 1556. He first worked in the Labor ministry as a leader, managing projects, water conservation, farmlands and so on. This was an unimportant position, but Ling Dizhi was studious and serious. Soon he was appreciated by the emperor of Ming Dynasty, and became tongpan (通判) of Ding Zhou government and Tong Zhou government.  At the time of Ling's birth, his family fortunes were declining. He had four brothers, and he was the fourth son in this family. He went to school when he was 12 and became Xiucai at age eighteen. By 1605 his mother died and he failed the next level of exams. Afterwards, he wrote Break with Ju Zi (绝交举子书). In 1623, he was 44 years old. He met with minister of the Ministry of Rites Zhu Guozhen (朱国桢). After that meeting, Ling Mengchu decided to take up writing. In 1634 he worked as a country magistrate in Shanghai. In 1637 he wrote "Wu Sao He Bian" (吴骚合编) with Zhang Xudong. 1643 he was promoted to tongpan of Xuzhou government.  In addition family members were actively engaged in the printing business with a local specialty of books in polychrome. The Wucheng area was adjacent to the commercial and cultural areas of Hangzhou and Suzhou where reading materials were in increasing demand. Ling Mengchu was certainly a merchant businessman and also certainly a traditional scholar with civil service ambitions.  The business motive of the Ling family was originally discussed by Ling Mengchu’s contemporary Xie Zhaozhe (谢肇浙 1567-1624) in his "Wu zazu" (五雜俎 - Five Assorted Offerings). Such were the times. Ling repeatedly failed at the examinations and did not take a government post until he was fifty-four. Ling would finally perish in fighting against the Li Zicheng led rebels in 1644. He is frequently associated with Feng Menglong.

Works.

Ling’s "Two Slaps" collections of short stories ("Slapping the Table in Amazement" and "Slapping the Table in Amazement, vol. 2") comprise a detailed composite portrait of his 17th century moral world, offering tales of virtue, vice, and adventure. Sometimes racy, often outrageous, and wildly imaginative, they have remained popular reading for centuries. While focusing on extraordinary events, the narratorial attitude alternates openness toward the unorthodox with reflexive Confucian conservatism, a mix also found in contemporaneous works such as Feng Menglong's "Three Words" trio of story collections and Zhang Yingyu's "The Book of Swindles". Ling was most strongly influenced by Feng Menglong, whose success he acknowledged as having emboldened him to publish commercially.  In the prefatory material to his first short story collection he insisted it was infinitely more difficult to paint a likeness of a dog or horse one had actually seen than to render a ghost or goblin one had never observed (a quotation from Han Feizi).

Ling Mengchu (; 1580–1644) was a Chinese writer of the Ming Dynasty. He is best known for his vernacular short fiction collections "Slapping the Table in Amazement" (拍案驚奇), I and II.

凌蒙初(1580年-6月18日-1644年-2月21日),字玄房,号初成,别号即空观主人,浙江乌程(今吴兴区织里镇晟舍)人,明朝官员,文学家、小说家。