oportion of population younger than 15: 16 percent. Languages: Mandarin Chinese (official), Taiwanese (Min), Hakka dialects. Faith: Mixture of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism (93 percent), Christianity (5 percent) and others. Ethnic groups: “Native” Taiwanese (including Hakka) 85 percent (note: most native Taiwanese Chinese, descended, as noted above, of migrants from Fujian), “mainland” Chinese (14 percent) and others. Literacy: 96 percent. (Source: World Factbook.)
Pronounced “dow,” Chinese for “the way.” It is a philosophy and guide to life that, much like Confucianism, has shaped China for more than two millennia. Also implies skill, harmony and the true nature of reality, as in “The Tao of Archery.” In many ways, more metaphysical than Confucianism but, like it, involving no organized worship of a deity. Attributed to Lao Tzu, a contemporary of Confucius, in the sixth century. His “Tao-te Ching,” or “The Book of the Way,” is a central text. See also CONFUCIANISM; MARTIAL ARTS; SHINTOISM.
See ISLAMIST; JIHAD; MOSQUE “AT” GROUND ZERO; SEPTEMBER 11, 2001; SRI LANKA; SUICIDE BOMBING; and related entries.
Known as Siam until 1939, it was the setting of the 1951 musical “The King and I.” A 2000 film remake of the original 1944 novel “Anna and the King of Siam” was banned out of respect for the royal family. Thailand is one of the few countries in the region never to have been colonized by a European power. The first Thais believed to have come to the United States were Chang and Eng Bunker, born joined at the hip and with fused livers. A circus attraction, they were known as “The Siamese Twins.” Immigration to the United States was sparse until the 1970s and the end of the Indochinese wars. Thailand was an ally of the United States and South Vietnam. A thriving sex industry, a residue of the Vietnam War, remains an international controversy. Continuing political instability in Thailand followed a military coup in 2006. A “red shirt” faction formed, made up of supporters of the ousted prime minister. A “yellow shirt” faction, a loose grouping of the urban middle class and others, formed in opposition. Clashes between the two led to riots and the paralyzing of Bangkok’s airports. The former prime minister’s sister was elected prime minister in 2011. Her young administration was immediately tested by catastrophic regional flooding. Twice the size of Wyoming. Capital: Bangkok. Languages: Thai, English and regional dialects. Faith: Buddhist (95 percent), Muslim (5 percent) and others (2000 estimate). Population: 67 million (2012 estimate). Proportion of population younger than 15: one-fifth. Ethnic groups: Thai (75 percent), Chinese (14 percent) and others. Literacy: 93 percent. (Source: World Factbook.)
Virtually unknown cuisine in the United States until the latter half of the 20th century. A distinct cuisine from those of China and Japan. (The Thai typically use forks and spoons, rather than chopsticks. King Rama IV, the model for the monarch in the Broadway musical “The King and I,” promoted Westernization.) Unlike Chinese restaurants, Thai restaurants are not so numerous as to emphasize regional cuisines. The typically spicy cuisine is sometimes tamped down to accommodate non-Asian palates, but Thai can equal or exceed Hunanese in spice. Best known is “pad thai,” stir-fried rice noodles, egg, bean sprouts, shrimp and peanuts.
Typically personal name first, family name second, with long multi-syllable names, especially if Chinese. On second reference, personal name is sometimes used.
A vestige of the Cold War and used to describe that portion of the globe that was non-aligned with either the West or Communist powers. Once in vogue, especially by such Marxist scholars of colonialism as Frantz Fanon, most experts today use “developing countries,” or “emerging world,” or a similar formulation. Coinage variously attributed, but principally to either Albert Sauvy, the French demographer and sociologist, or Charles de Gaulle, the French statesman. They both used “tiers monde,” or third world. See COLONIALISM; IMPERIALISM; IND