Background.

Li You was born in 795, during the reign of his great-grandfather Emperor Dezong. At that time, his father Li Chun was the Prince of Guangling, and his grandfather Li Song was Emperor Dezong's crown prince. Li You's mother Princess Guo was Li Chun's wife and a granddaughter of the prominent general Guo Ziyi—her parents were Guo Ziyi's son Guo Ai () and Princess Shenping, a sister to Emperor Dezong. Li You was Li Chun's third son. At some point, Li You was created the Prince of Jian'an.  In 806, by which time Li Chun was emperor (as Emperor Xianzong), Li You was created the Prince of Sui. His mother Princess Guo, however, despite her having been Li Chun's wife, was not created empress, but only an imperial consort, albeit with the high rank of "Guifei" (). (During the remainder of his reign, Emperor Xianzong would repeatedly resisted calls by imperial officials to have Consort Guo made empress, using one excuse after another, fearing that if she, with her honored heritage, were made empress, she would so dominate the palace that no other imperial consort would dare approach him.) Further, although Li You, as the son of Consort Guo, was considered by the imperial officials as the proper heir, when the imperial scholars, led by Li Jiang, requested that Emperor Xianzong create a crown prince in 809, Emperor Xianzong did not create Li You crown prince, and instead created Li You's older brother Li Ning (by Consort Ji) crown prince. Li Ning died in 811, and in 812, Emperor Xianzong created Li You crown prince and changed his name to Li Heng. (When Emperor Xianzong ordered the imperial scholar Cui Qun to draft a petition in the name of Li You's older brother Li Kuan the Prince of Li offering to yield the position, Cui declined, pointing out that Li Heng, as the son of a wife, should have had priority over Li Kuan in any event, and Emperor Xianzong agreed.)

As crown prince.

Not much was recorded about Li Heng's life as crown prince, although it is known that in 817, the imperial consultant Wei Shou (), who was an attendant to Li Heng in his studies, drew disfavor from Emperor Xianzong for providing Li Heng with expensive food and pleasing him with humor. Emperor Xianzong removed Wei from his post as attendant, and soon sent him out of the capital Chang'an to serve as the prefect of Qian Prefecture (虔州, in modern Ganzhou, Jiangxi). Meanwhile, the powerful eunuch Tutu Chengcui had often urged Emperor Xianzong to replace Li Heng with Li Kuan (whose name had been changed to Li Yun by this point). Tutu, however, did not relent in his hopes to have Li Yun made crown prince, even by 820, when Emperor Xianzong had become seriously ill. Li Heng, worried about what would happen next, requested advice from his uncle (Consort Guo's brother) Guo Zhao (), who advised him to simply serve his father with filial piety and not worry about the rest.  By this point, Emperor Xianzong, whose illness was said to be due to alchemists' pills that were designed to achieve immortality. Xianzong's temper and rage had become uncontrolled, causing widespread fear among the eunuchs. In spring 820, he died suddenly—and it was believed that he was assassinated by the eunuch Chen Hongzhi (), but the eunuch suppressed an investigation into the matter, announcing that Emperor Xianzong had died from the pills' complications. In the aftermaths, the eunuchs Liang Shouqian (), Ma Jintan (), Liu Chengjie (), Wei Yuansu (), and Wang Shoucheng, who supported Li Heng, killed Tutu and Li Yun, allowing Li Heng to take the throne (as Emperor Muzong). (There were suspicions by some, including by Li Heng's younger brother Li Yi, who would later become Emperor Xuānzong, that Li Heng and his mother Consort Guo were involved in Emperor Xianzong's assassination.)

Reign.

Loss of Chengde, Lulong, and Weibo Circuits.

As soon as Emperor Muzong took the throne, he put to death the alchemists who had been supplying Emperor Xianzong with the immortality pills. He further quickly exiled the chancellors Huangfu Bo and Linghu Chu, replacing him with new chancellors. He also honored his mother Consort Guo as empress dowager and was extravagant in supplies to her. He himself was spending much time in games and hunts, against the advice of those officials who found such activities inappropriate, but was said to be tolerant toward those giving such advice.  At the time that Emperor Muzong took the throne, he inherited a state that had just recently been, during his father's reign (which was known as the Yuanhe Restoration (), due to Emperor Xianzong's era name's being "Yuanhe"), restored to unity under the imperial government after various circuits, the most defiant of which were Pinglu (平盧, headquartered in modern Tai'an, Shandong), Weibo (魏博, headquartered in modern Handan, Hebei), Chengde (成德, headquartered in modern Shijiazhuang, Hebei), and Lulong (盧龍, headquartered in modern Beijing), had been effectively independent from the imperial government. As of 819, when Emperor Xianzong's forces crushed those of Li Shidao, the military governor of Pinglu, in effect, these circuits that had broken away from the imperial government since the end of the Anshi Rebellion had resubmitted to the imperial government.  In winter 820, major events that tested Emperor Muzong's abilities to keep these circuits under control came. Wang Chengzong the military governor of Chengde, whose family had controlled Chengde since his grandfather Wang Wujun and whose forces Emperor Xianzong was unable to defeat (although Wang Chengzong himself eventually became apprehensive of Emperor Xianzong's might and submitted anyway), died. With Wang Chengzong having sent his sons Wang Zhigan () and Wang Zhixin () to Chang'an to serve as hostages in order to show his submission to the imperial government, his subordinates, who wanted to keep Chengde independent from the imperial government, supported Wang Chengzong's brother Wang Chengyuan to succeed him. Wang Chengyuan pretended to accept their support, but declared his loyalty to the imperial government and secretly petitioned Emperor Muzong to replace him.  Emperor Muzong reacted by, against the advice of the general Yang Yuanqing (), moving Tian Hongzheng the military governor of Weibo—whose submission to the imperial government in 812 had been a crucial step in the Yuanhe Restoration and who had been a major participant in the subsequent campaigns against Chengde and Pinglu—to Chengde, Wang Chengyuan to Yicheng Circuit (義成, headquartered in modern Anyang, Henan), Liu Wu from Yicheng to Zhaoyi Circuit (昭義, headquartered in modern Changzhi, Shanxi), Li Su from Wuning Circuit (武寧, headquartered in modern Xuzhou, Jiangsu) to Weibo, and made Tian Hongzheng's son Tian Bu the military governor of Heyang Circuit (河陽, headquartered in modern Jiaozuo, Henan). Wang Chengyuan, despite the opposition of his soldiers, departed Chengde and turned control of the circuit over to Tian Hongzheng. Tian Hongzheng, however, was apprehensive that the soldiers under him—whom he had fought on the battlefield for years and many of whom bore hatred for him—would mutiny, and thus brought 2,000 Weibo soldiers to Chengde to serve as his personal guard. When he requested that the imperial government supply the salaries of these Weibo soldiers, however, the acting director of finances, Cui Ling (), a relative of the chancellor Cui Zhi, not understanding the seriousness of the situation, believed that it was the Chengde soldiers' responsibility to protect their military governor, refused. Tian was forced to return the Weibo soldiers to Weibo.  Meanwhile, in spring 821, Liu Zong the military governor of Lulong, who had taken power initially by killing his father Liu Ji and brother Liu Gun (), had grown fearful of his father's and brother's spirits, and wished to resign and become a Buddhist monk. He also requested an award to the soldiers, while ordering a number of officers that he felt were difficult to control, including Zhu Kerong (the grandson of a former military governor, Zhu Tao) to report to Chang'an, hoping that the imperial government would give them proper discipline and rewards such that they would become faithful to the imperial government. He further recommended that Lulong be divided into three circuits and recommended Zhang Hongjing, Xue Ping, and Lu Shimei () to take over the three circuits. Specifically, his division plan called for the circuit capital, You Prefecture (), along with Zhuo Prefecture (涿州, in modern Baoding, Hebei), be given to Zhang; Ji (薊州, in modern Tianjin), Gui (<unk>州, in modern Zhangjiakou, Hebei), and Tan (檀州, in modern Beijing) Prefectures be given to Xue; and Ying () and Mo (莫州, both in modern Cangzhou, Hebei) Prefectures be given to Lu. (Liu had made these recommendations on the bases that when Zhang ruled Hedong, which neighbored Lulong, Liu had often heard good opinions of Zhang's governance; that Xue was the son of Xue Song and familiar with the region; and that Lu was a relative of Liu's wife's.)  Emperor Muzong accepted Liu's submission, but did not fully implement Liu's partition plan; Ying and Mo were given to Lu Shimei, but the remaining prefectures were all given to Zhang, under the suggestion of the chancellors Cui Zhi and Du Yuanying, who did not understand the rationale of Liu's plan. Further, Zhu and the other officers that Liu sent to Chang'an were not given offices or salaries, and it was said that as they lacked income, they fell into financial desperation, even requiring loans for their food and clothing, despite their frequent submission of requests for offices to Cui and Du. When Zhang arrived at Lulong, he ordered Zhu and the others to return to Lulong, further angering them. Meanwhile, Zhang further drew the anger of the people and soldiers of Lulong over a number of actions:  In fall 821, when a low-level officer accidentally collided with Wei's guards, Wei ordered the officer whipped, but the other officers were unaccustomed to this kind of punishment and refused to carry out the punishment. Zhang Hongjing had the officers arrested. That night, the soldiers mutinied, killed Wei and several other staff member of Zhang's, and put Zhang under arrest. The next day, the mutineers began to regret their actions, but when they met Zhang to ask for forgiveness, Zhang did not speak at all. The mutineers believed that Zhang was not intending to pardon them, and instead supported Zhu Kerong's father Zhu Hui () to serve as the acting military governor. Zhu Hui declined, but recommended Zhu Kerong, and the soldiers agreed.  Meanwhile, in fall 821, after the Weibo soldiers had departed from Chengde, the Chengde officer Wang Tingcou plotted a mutiny. One night, he led his soldiers and attacked Tian Hongzheng's headquarters, killing him, his staff, and their family members, and then taking over control of most of Chengde by killing those who disagreed with him. Niu Yuanyi (), the prefect of one of Chengde's prefectures, Shen Prefecture (深州, in modern Hengshui, Hebei), tried to resist Wang Tingcou, but soon was besieged within the capital of Shen Prefecture. Meanwhile, Li Su planned a campaign against Wang and Zhu, but fell ill, and was replaced by Tian Bu as the military governor of Weibo. Emperor Muzong commissioned Pei Du, a key chancellor during Emperor Xianzong's reign, to oversee the entire operation against Lulong and Chengde, which also included such renowned imperial generals as Wu Chongyin and Li Guangyan and had some 150,000 soldiers in total, against the less than 10,000 soldiers that the rebels had.  However, by this point, the imperial treasury had been exhausted by Emperor Muzong's extravagance, and Pei's battle plans were being interfered with by Emperor Muzong's trusted imperial scholar Yuan Zhen. The imperial forces were unable to achieve quick victory over Chengde and Lulong rebels, and when Tian Bu tried to advance his forces, they took mutinied under the leadership of Shi Xiancheng. Tian tried to rally the remaining troops, which refused to follow his orders further. He committed suicide, and Shi, who nominally submitted to the imperial government and thus received imperial sanction, took over Weibo. The imperial government was forced to capitulate, and soon also named Zhu and Wang military governors of their circuits as well, ending the campaign against them. From this point on, until the eventual fall of the Tang Dynasty altogether in 907, the imperial government was never again able to assert direct control over Chengde, Lulong, or Weibo.

Aftermath.

After the end of the campaign against Lulong and Chengde rebels, Pei Du was recalled to Chang'an to serve as chancellor. Soon thereafter, there were allegations that Yuan Zhen (who had been made chancellor by this point as well) had plotted to assassinate Pei. Investigations did not yield positive evidence for the allegations, but as a result, both Pei and Yuan were removed from the chancellor posts.  Meanwhile, in fall 822, soldiers of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered in modern Kaifeng, Henan)—traditionally under imperial control, rather than the situation with Lulong, Chengde, and Weibo—mutinied against the military governor Li Yuan (), killing Li Yuan's wife and forcing him to flee. The chancellor Du Yuanying and the official Zhang Pingshu () advocated placating the mutineers' leader Li Jie (李<unk>) by making him military governor, but the chancellor Li Fengji opposed, arguing that effectively abandoning control over Xuanwu would lead to the eventual loss of the Yangtze River-Huai River region. With the prefects of the three Xuanwu prefectures other than the capital prefecture Bian Prefecture () all petitioning for a new military governor rather than Li Jie, however, Emperor Muzong decided to act against Li Jie by making Han Chong (), the brother of former long-time Xuanwu military governor Han Hong, military governor, and have him head toward Xuanwu, while commissioning Li Jie as a general of the imperial guards. Li Jie refused the commission and put one of the resistant prefectures, Song Prefecture (宋州, in modern Shangqiu, Henan), and its prefect Gao Chengjian (), under siege. However, Han, Li Guangyan (then the military governor of neighboring Zhongwu Circuit (忠武, headquartered in modern Xuchang, Henan), Cao Hua the military governor of Yanhai Circuit (兗海, headquartered in modern Ji'ning, Shandong), and Wang Zhixing the military governor of Wuning Circuit, quickly converged on Xuanwu. Li Jie, who had fallen ill by that point, was killed by his own subordinate Li Zhi (), who surrendered to Han.  Around the new year 823, when Emperor Muzong was participating in a polo game in the palace, a eunuch fell off his horse. Emperor Muzong, shocked by the incident, suffered a stroke and was unable to walk. For days, no official was able to meet with Emperor Muzong. At the repeated requests of Pei and Li Fengji, Emperor Muzong was taken to an imperial hall to meet with the officials to calm the people's hearts, and at their further urging, he created his oldest son Li Zhan the Prince of Jing, crown prince. It was said that shortly thereafter, Emperor Muzong recovered somewhat from his stroke.  In 823, impressed with the official Niu Sengru for having refused gifts from the now-deceased Han Hong while virtually the rest of the entire imperial administration had received Han's gifts, Emperor Muzong made Niu chancellor, disappointing that similarly-highly regarded governor of Zhexi Circuit (浙西, headquartered in modern Zhenjiang, Jiangsu), Li Deyu. Li Deyu, in disappointment, suspected Li Fengji of acting in concert with Niu to reject him, and resented Niu and Li Fengji deeply. (This incident is considered one of the precipitating incidents for the so-called Niu-Li Factional Struggles, which would last decades.) Meanwhile, Li Fengji, who had a close alliance with Wang Shoucheng, and his associates were able to have Pei, whom Li Fengji viewed as an enemy, sent out of the capital to serve as military governor of Shannan West Circuit (山南西道, headquartered in modern Hanzhong, Shaanxi), and Emperor Muzong's trusted imperial scholar Li Shen, ejected from the palace.  In spring 824, Emperor Muzong's old illness recurred, and he died shortly after. Li Zhan succeeded him (as Emperor Jingzong).

In fiction.

Played by Eric Li, a fictionalized version of Muzong was portrayed in 2009 Hong Kong's TVB television series, Beyond the Realm of Conscience.

Emperor Muzong of Tang (July 26, 795 – February 25, 824), personal name Li Heng, né Li You () (name changed 812), was an emperor of the Tang Dynasty of China. He reigned from 820 to 824. Emperor Muzong was the son of Emperor Xianzong. He was created crown prince in 812 during the reign of Emperor Xianzong and, after Emperor Xianzong was allegedly assassinated by a eunuch, Li Heng was proclaimed emperor in 820.

Tang Muzong (), né en 795, et décédé le, est un empereur de la dynastie Tang. Il règne sur la Chine de 821 à sa mort.


Synopsis.

The episode opens in a desert, where a naked Mal sits on a rock, staring into the distance and saying to himself: "Yeah... that went well."  During a cargo transfer 72 hours earlier, Mal meets up with Monty, a war buddy and fellow Browncoat turned smuggler. As Monty's crew unloads cargo, he tells Mal that he's gotten married, introducing his wife Bridget. "Bridget" turns out to be Mal's nemesis Saffron, and a fight breaks out between them. Enraged to learn of Saffron's double-dealing, Monty leaves without her, stranding her on the deserted moon where Mal is waiting for a pickup. Mal orders Saffron to walk away and be left behind, but reconsiders when she tempts him with the prospect of a lucrative heist. Later, "Serenity" arrives to pick up Mal and the unloaded cargo. Later Mal lets Saffron out of one of the loaded crates in the cargo bay.  In the common room, Saffron describes to the crew her plan to steal a priceless antique laser pistol, the Lassiter, from Durran Haymer, a wealthy collector of Earth-That-Was artifacts. She claims a detailed knowledge of Haymer's security arrangements, but explains that the difficulty lies in getting the weapon off the estate, something "Serenity"'s crew could accomplish. The crew is outraged that Mal has brought Saffron on board, but they reluctantly agree to the plan.  Jayne is assigned to watch over Simon and River and keep them out of Saffron's sight. River worries about the situation, telling Simon she doesn't trust Saffron and that she knows Jayne had tried to betray the Tams to the Alliance. Meanwhile, Wash and Kaylee instruct Mal and Saffron to dump the collectible pistol, once they procure it, into an automated trash disposal unit, which Kaylee can reprogram to have the trash taken to a remote location where they can pick it up.  Mal and Saffron enter the estate without difficulty. They find the room that houses the well-protected collectible, but are met by Durran himself. Durran rushes to Saffron and embraces her, calling her "Yolanda" and thanking Mal for bringing back his wife, who had apparently disappeared six years ago. Saffron insists that Durran provide some compensation for Mal's "rescue". Durran steps out to get reward money for Mal, to allow them to finish retrieving the pistol. As Durran reenters, he attempts to remonstrate with her, but Saffron knocks him out with a kick and leaves with Mal, who has discarded the antique in the trash chute after which they escape.  Meanwhile, Wash has been hovering "Serenity" directly under the trash unit of Haymer's estate while Jayne retrieves the control unit and Kaylee reprograms it, clinging to the ship's hull. A delay arises during the windy EVA when Jayne is incapacitated by an electric shock, but Zoe helps Kaylee replace the control board just in time for the automated pickup vehicle to collect the trash unit. Jayne is dragged back on board by Shepherd Book.  As Mal and Saffron fly toward the rendezvous in Isis Canyon, Mal continues to explore his theory that Durran was Saffron's true love and original husband. Saffron seems to become emotional, but when Mal is off guard, she secures his gun and takes him prisoner. Saffron orders Mal to disrobe as revenge for him seeing her naked in the episode "Our Mrs. Reynolds", and strands him in the desert before proceeding to the drop location.  As Saffron searches through the garbage for the antique laser pistol, Inara emerges above her to taunt her with the weapon. The Companion reveals that she been part of the plan all along, knowing that Saffron would get the drop on them somehow and arranging to beat her at her own game of deception. Inara remotely closes the garbage container to trap Saffron for the authorities to pick up later.  On "Serenity", the crew discovers that Saffron has again sabotaged their ship, delaying their trip to the rendezvous so that Kaylee can make repairs. Jayne awakens in the infirmary to find that Simon has medically paralyzed him to rest a spinal injury. Simon reveals his knowledge of Jayne's plan to sell out the Tams, but reminds him that "Serenity" crew are a team, and that as Jayne's doctor he will never harm him. River, however, warns Jayne that she can kill him with her brain.  Once repaired, "Serenity" makes it to Mal's location. Mal and Inara, having reached an understanding, trade jokes about the heist. Mal casually boards "Serenity" in front of his crew, still unclothed. Wash and Zoe are shocked by the captain's brazenness, but Kaylee cheerfully congratulates Mal as the ship lifts off from the desert.

Pop culture references.

The planet where most of the action takes place is Bellerophon. Bellerophon is the name of a spacecraft in the classic film "Forbidden Planet" (1956), in the TV series "Andromeda", and in the series "".  Bellerophon originated in Greek myth.  Bellerophon has been used as a name for both British Royal Navy and U.S. Navy warships.  The Lassiter might have taken its name from the 1984 caper film of the same name starring Tom Selleck.

"Trash" is the eleventh episode of the science fiction television series "Firefly" created by Joss Whedon. It is the first of three episodes that were not broadcast in the original 2002 Fox run.

Déchet précieux (titre original ) est le onzième épisode de la série télévisée américaine de " créée par Joss Whedon. C'est le premier de trois épisodes qui n'avaient pas été diffusés lors de la première diffusion de la série par la Fox.


Gameplay.

"Stakes Winner" is a thoroughbred horse racing game similar to "Winning Post", where players take control of any of the available horses, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, to compete against either AI opponents or other human players across multiple races. Players control their horse with the joystick while two action buttons are used; one controlling the reins for small accelerations that drains little portions of the horse's stamina and another for the whip for fast speed, which drastically consumes stamina from the horse and if the stamina is depleted completely, racing is given up for a short period. Two quick taps on the joystick at any direction allows the horse to push back an opponent in front of them, however two quick taps on the opposite side reduces speed. Power-ups also spawn on the race track for players to pick up. Failing to qualify for the next race results in a game over screen unless players insert more credits into the arcade machine to continue playing.

Development and release.

"Stakes Winner" was developed by Saurus, with additional support from AM Factory, and the project was first announced in mid-1995 across Japanese publications such as "Neo Geo Freak", with previews showcasing various differences compared to the final release. The game was first released by SNK for the Neo Geo MVS on September 27, 1995 and was then published for Neo Geo AES on October 27 of the same year. The North American AES release has since become one of the more expensive titles on the platform, with copies fetching over US$4000 on the secondary video game collecting market. The game was later re-released by Saurus for the Neo Geo CD and released only in Japan on March 22, 1996. The title was later ported by Saurus to the PlayStation and Sega Saturn, both of which were released on December 6, 1996. It has since received multiple re-releases in recent years on various digital distribution platforms such as the Virtual Console, Nintendo eShop, PlayStation Network and Xbox Live.

Reception.

"Stakes Winner" was met with mixed reception from critics and reviewers since its release. In Japan, "Game Machine" listed it on their November 1, 1995 issue as being the fourth most-successful arcade game of the year, outperforming titles such as "Puzzle Bobble 2", "Virtua Striker" and "Street Fighter Alpha".

Sequel.

A sequel, "Stakes Winner 2" was released in 1996 for the arcades, Neo Geo AES, PlayStation and Sega Saturn. It was later re-released in recent years for the Virtual Console, PlayStation Network, Nintendo eShop and Xbox Live.

Stakes Winner is a horse racing arcade video game developed by Saurus, with additional support from AM Factory, and originally published by SNK on September 27, 1995. In the game, players compete with either AI-controlled opponents or against other human players across multiple races. Though it was initially launched for the Neo Geo MVS (arcade), the title was later released for both Neo Geo AES (home) and Neo Geo CD respectively, in addition of being ported and re-released through download services for various consoles. It was received with mixed reception from critics and reviewers since its initial release. In 1996, a sequel titled "Stakes Winner 2" was released for the arcades.

Stakes Winner est un jeu vidéo de hippisme développé par Saurus et édité par SNK en 1995 sur Neo-Geo MVS, Neo-Geo AES et en 1996 sur Neo-Geo CD (NGM 088). Le jeu est également porté sur PlayStation et Saturn en 1996.


Production details.

Joss Whedon selected Summer Glau for the role after having previously worked with her on another of his shows, "Angel". River Tam was Glau's first major role. Glau's inexperience assisted her in playing the character: she likened River's emotional withdrawal to her own initial apprehension on the set.  In many of the hand-to-hand combat scenes featuring the character, particularly those in "Serenity", Glau's own experience in ballet dancing was incorporated into her fight choreography.

Depiction.

During River's early childhood, she grew up alongside her brother, Simon, part of the wealthy Tam family on the "core" planet of Osiris. She was graceful and intellectually gifted. She is described as having a strong thirst for knowledge and a love for and intuitive grasp of dance. By the time she was fourteen years old, she had grown "bored" with her studies and enrolled in a graduate program for physics.  It was at this point that she was sent to a government learning facility known as "The Academy". While her parents and Simon believed the Academy was a private school meant to nurture the gifts of talented children, it was in fact a cover for a government experiment in creating assassins. While in the hands of Alliance doctors and scientists, River was secretly experimented on, including surgery that damaged her amygdala. According to Simon, the Alliance attempted to isolate River from her family, though she managed to send a call for help by putting a coded message in a letter to her brother. Simon decoded the message and set out to rescue his then sixteen-year-old sister, despite his parents' insistence that he was being paranoid. In his quest to locate and free River, Simon enlisted the aid of anti-governmental groups, exhausting his personal fortune and sacrificing a promising medical career.  The R. Tam sessions depict her descent into insanity and portray hints of her psychic abilities. She references the "G-23 Paxilon Hydrochlorate", which would later be a plot point in the film "Serenity", and mentions the Academy's first subject "dying on the table." The first session clip indicates she has strong "intuitive" abilities and can easily understand complex subjects.  River is seen mostly barefoot throughout the series.

Reception.

In 2005, Summer Glau won the SFX Magazine award for Best Actress for her role as River in "Serenity". Glau later won a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress, again for her role as River in "Serenity" in May 2006. Glau was also runner up for "Best Actress/Movie" in the SyFy Genre Awards for 2006.  The nature of the character and her role in the franchise has garnered both praise and criticism from various reviewers. Some have positively likened the character's erratic behavior to autism. Dr. Karin Beeler of the University of Northern British Columbia compared and contrasted River to Buffy Summers, protagonist of the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" franchise (also created by Joss Whedon), in her book "Seers, Witches and Psychics on Screen: An Analysis of Women Visionary Characters in Recent Television and Film". Beeler labeled the character an anti-heroine, in comparison to the more heroic role of Buffy Summers. Film critic and horror author Michael Marano also compared the character to Buffy, citing the two characters' combat prowess as similarities and describing River as the apotheosis of Joss Whedon's strong female characters.

River Tam is a fictional character of the "Firefly" franchise. River is portrayed by actress Summer Glau in the 2002 TV series "Firefly" and the 2005 film "Serenity". The nature of the character and her role in the franchise has garnered praise.

River Tam est un personnage de la franchise'(la série télévisée ', le film'et les comics '). Elle est également le personnage principal de la série de courts métrages ". Elle est jouée par Summer Glau.


Early life.

Labrava was born in Miami, Florida and spent time in Amsterdam tattooing and working as a bouncer at a club. He grew up riding dirt bikes and got his first Harley Davidson when he was 17 years old. At the age of 14, he was cooking chicharrón with the Cubans in Hialeah, FL.

Career.

Labrava was hired to be the Technical Advisor for "Sons of Anarchy" and then was cast as Happy Lowman; he was with the show from its inception in 2008 to its finale in 2014. He also co-wrote season 4, episode 10, titled "Hands", the only episode in seven seasons that ever won an award, an honorable mention from "TIME" magazine.  Labrava has authored a best selling autobiography, entitled "Becoming A Son".  Labrava wrote, produced, directed, and starred in his first feature film, entitled "Street Level" (2015), which is available on digital platforms.  Labrava writes the "Burnin' Rubber with Jimmy Carbone" column in the national hot rod magazine, "Ol Skool Rodz". He is credited as Dave "D.L." Labrava. Before that he used to write for "Horse Motorcycle" magazine and built a bike that made the cover in March 2001.

Personal life.

Labrava resides in Oakland, California with his dogs. He practices Buddhism.  His son committed suicide on May 5, 2018 (he had just turned 16) after battling depression. Labrava wrote on Instagram, "I am broken", and encouraged his followers to communicate with their loved ones, because "there may not be any signs."

David M. Labrava (born October 19, 1962) is an actor, writer, tattoo artist, former member of the Hells Angels, and motorcycle enthusiast best known for playing Happy Lowman in the FX series "Sons of Anarchy" and its spinoff "Mayans M.C.".

David M. Labrava (né le à Miami, Floride) est un acteur, écrivain et un artiste-tatoueur. Il est surtout connu pour avoir incarné le rôle d'Happy dans la série Sons of Anarchy.


History.

Formation, early years and self-titled (2011–2015).

The band was first announced in February 2011, when Metal Hammer reported news of Puciato and Cavalera planning a new project in the vein of Cavalera's Nailbomb band with Alex Newport in the mid 1990s. Shortly afterwards, The Mars Volta's Dave Elitch and Mastodon bassist Troy Sanders were announced to be part of the project. Converge bassist Nate Newton was originally eyed to be included in the project, but was unable to join, so Cavalera reached out to Sanders instead. Despite not yet having a name, the group entered the Fortress Studio in Los Angeles in September 2013 with producer Josh Wilbur.  In October 2013, the band revealed Killer Be Killed as their name and announced that their first album would be released through Nuclear Blast. In March 2014, an announcement confirmed that the band's debut album would be self-titled, "Killer Be Killed", and would be released on May 13, 2014. On March 14, 2014, two songs from the upcoming eponymous debut, "Wings of Feather and Wax", and "Face Down" were made available for streaming.  In 2015, it was announced that Elitch left the band because of a dispute between the band members and managers (Ryan J. Downey, Nick Jon, Gloria Cavalera) and conflict of being in Antemasque as well. Converge drummer Ben Koller filled in for the band's live debut at Soundwave Festival and eventually became an official member.

Upcoming album (2016–present).

In an interview with Full Metal Jackie, Cavalera said he'd love to do another Killer Be Killed album; "I’d love to do a little bit with Killer Be Killed... We did one record and it was very well received, and I think we can do a better one than that. I think we can really — if we work hard on it — we can make a kick ass second Killer Be Killed album." In a 2016 Facebook update Koller announced there is "whispers in the dark of a new Killer Be Killed album". In April 2018, Max Cavalera confirmed that the band were convening in Phoenix to write and rehearse new material in Soulfly's rehearsal space, with the aim of releasing a new album in 2019.

Musical style.

Commenting on the writing process of their first album, Cavalera told "Decibel" that the record will be "politically charged" and that the composition will be a merging of styles of each of its members. In a press release, Puciato characterizes the style, "It's a bit of Sabbath-y doom, a bit of thrash, a bit of hardcore and punk" continuing, "Of any of our bands, it sounds the furthest away from mine...", whereas critics have described the band's sound as a progressive form of groove metal, incorporating elements of melodic metalcore, hardcore punk, crossover thrash and progressive rock.

Accolades.

Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards

Killer Be Killed is an American heavy metal supergroup founded by The Dillinger Escape Plan vocalist Greg Puciato and Soulfly, Cavalera Conspiracy and ex-Sepultura frontman Max Cavalera in early 2011. The lineup also features Mastodon bassist and co-vocalist Troy Sanders and Converge drummer Ben Koller. The band had slowly been working on material before announcing its name in October 2013, along with their signing to Nuclear Blast. The group's self-titled debut record was released on May 13, 2014. As of August 2017 they have sold more than 11,000 records.

Killer Be Killed est un supergroupe de metal américano-brésilien. Il est formé en 2011 par le chanteur de The Dillinger Escape Plan, Greg Puciato, et par le leader de Soulfly et ex-Sepultura, Max Cavalera. Ils sont ensuite rejoints par Troy Sander, bassiste de Mastodon, et Dave Elitch, batteur de The Mars Volta. Ils signent avec Nuclear Blast en et publient un premier album homonyme le.


Life.

Dostal was born in Korneuburg, Lower Austria, and was the nephew of composer Hermann Dostal. He initially studied law at the University of Vienna, but turned to studying music at the Academy for Church Music in Klosterneuburg, and made a name for himself when his "Great Mass in D major" premiered in Linz in 1913.  After participating in World War I, Dostal worked as the theatre Kapellmeister in Innsbruck, St. Pölten, Vienna, Chernivtsi and Salzburg, before moving to Berlin in 1924, where he turned his hand to secular music. He worked in music publishing and as a freelance arranger for Oscar Straus, Franz Lehár and Robert Stolz, among others.  Whilst working as a Kapellmeister and composer, Dostal wrote the music for the film "The Emperor's Waltz" (1933) and enjoyed great success with his first operetta "Clivia". This was followed by "Die Vielgeliebte" (1934) ("The Much-Loved"), "Die ungarische Hochzeit" (1939) ("The Hungarian Wedding"), and numerous pieces of film music.  In 1946 Dostal moved to Vienna, then in 1954 to Salzburg, where he continued to devote himself to composition, writing there among other pieces the chamber musical "So macht man Karriere" (1961) ("How To Make a Career"). Dostal also composed church music along with operettas and film music.  In 1942 he married the opera singer Lillie Claus, by whom he had one son, Roman Dostal, later a conductor. Dostal died in Salzburg, where he is buried in a grave of honour in the main cemetery, the "".

Sources.

Much of the content of this article comes from (retrieved September, 2007).

Nico Dostal (full name: Nikolaus Josef Michael Dostal) (27 November 1895 – 27 October 1981) was an Austrian composer who later specialised in operetta and film music.

Nikolaus Josef Michael Dostal, connu sous le nom de Nico Dostal, né à Korneubourg le – mort à Salzbourg le, est un compositeur autrichien d'opérettes et de musique de film.


Early life and education.

Smith was born in Mobile, Alabama, on August 20, 1939, and graduated from the United States Naval Academy with the Class of 1962. He received his wings in January 1964.

Naval career.

As a naval aviator, Smith flew carrier-based, A-7 Corsair II light attack jet aircraft during multiple deployments to the Mediterranean, North Atlantic, Western Pacific and Indian Oceans. These included three cruises in waters off North Vietnam where he flew over 280 combat missions, primarily in the A-7 Corsair II. Smith held command at sea in the aviation community at squadron and wing levels as well as major commands that included a deep draft vessel, the, before taking command of the aircraft carrier and subsequent command of Carrier Group 6 in 1986 as a flag officer. He has logged over 4,200 flying hours and accumulated over 1000 carrier arrested landings.

Commands.

Smith's early flag officer tours were Director for Operations, United States European Command (1989–1991) and Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Plans, Policy and Operations (1991–1994). Appointed to four-star rank in April 1994, he became Commander in Chief, United States Naval Forces Europe and concurrent NATO Commander in Chief Allied Forces Southern Europe (1994–1996). In December 1995, he assumed, concurrently, command of the NATO-led Implementation Force (IFOR) in Bosnia, a position he held until August 1996.  Smith's IFOR command in Bosnia was criticized by Richard Holbrooke for his refusal to use his "authority" to also perform nonmilitary implementation tasks, including arresting indicted war criminals:

Later work.

Smith retired from the US Navy on 1 October 1996. He is currently serving as a Senior Fellow at the Center for Naval Analyses, was President of Leighton Smith Associates and Vice President of Global Perspectives, Inc., both international consulting firms. He was Chairman of the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation, immediate past Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the United States Naval Academy Alumni Association and served on the Executive Committee of the Association of Naval Aviation. He was also on the National Advisory Council to the Navy League and was a member of the Board of Directors of several corporations.  Smith was a supporter of the John McCain 2008 presidential campaign before the 2008 election. Smith spoke out in defense of McCain after critical comments from General Wesley Clark regarding McCain's military experience. Prior to his retirement, Smith had previously served alongside General Clark for several years during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.  Smith has been one of the senior signatories of the March 31, 2009 letter urging the president to maintain the policy excluding homosexuals from the armed forces.

References.

"Adapted from this biography." (2003)

Leighton Warren Smith Jr. (born August 20, 1939) is a former United States Navy admiral. In 1994, he became the Commander in Chief of United States Naval Forces Europe and Allied Forces Southern Europe, holding the commands during the height of the Yugoslav wars. He commanded the NATO enacted no-fly zone (Operation Deny Flight) over Bosnia and the later bombing campaign against Republika Srpska (Operation Deliberate Force) in 1995. The same year he additionally took on command of the NATO-led Implementation Force (IFOR) in Bosnia with the objective of overseeing the peace agreement. He held all three positions until his retirement in 1996.

Leighton Warren Smith, Jr, né le, est un amiral quatre étoiles de la marine américaine, aujourd'hui à la retraite. En 1994, il devient commandant en chef des forces navales américaines en Europe et des forces alliées en Europe du Sud, position qu'il occupe au plus fort du conflit en ex-Yougoslavie. Il dirige la mise en place de la zone d'exclusion aérienne au-dessus de la Bosnie-Herzégovine par les forces de l'OTAN ("Operation Deny Flight"), puis la campagne de bombardement contre la république serbe de Bosnie en 1995 ("Operation Deliberate Force"). Cette même année, il prend les commandes de l'IFOR, chargée de faire respecter les accords de Dayton en Bosnie-Herzégovine. Il conserve ces trois postes de commandement jusqu'à sa retraite en 1996.


Career.

Rangers and Leeds United.

Raised in the small village of Rhu, Parlane joined Rangers as a teenager, following in the footsteps of his father Jimmy who had a spell with the club in the 1940s. He became an important player at Ibrox, making 300 appearances and winning three Scottish League championships, three Scottish Cups, three Scottish League Cups and the 1971–72 European Cup Winners' Cup; he was capped by Scotland 12 times (with one Under-21 cap). Furthermore, Parlane was inducted into the Rangers Hall of Fame in 2010.  He moved to Leeds United in March 1980 but it wasn't a very successful stay. He scored 10 goals in 53 appearances for Leeds before going to Hong Kong on loan to Bulova.

Manchester City and later career.

On 14 July 1983, new Manchester City manager Billy McNeill brought Parlane to Maine Road; he linked up with another newcomer, fellow Scot Jim Tolmie and on their debut for the Blues on Saturday 27 August 1983, City beat Crystal Palace 2–1 at Selhurst Park in the Second Division. Parlane and Tolmie each scored one which set a precedent for the rest of the season. In all, Parlane scored 20 goals in 48 appearances for City, a healthy return.  The 1984–85 season did not start well for Parlane as City signed David Phillips from Coventry City and Tony Cunningham from Newcastle United to bolster their attack. Parlane got injured in September 1984 and was sold to Swansea City in January 1985. After the season finished he played in New Zealand for the summer with North Shore United. He spent the 1985–86 season in Belgium with Racing Jet, before returning to play two seasons with Rochdale from 1986 to 1988, playing 42 games and scoring 10 times. His last professional club was Airdrie in the 1987–88 season, he scored 4 goals in 9 games, before signing for then non-league outfit Macclesfield Town in England.

Derek James Parlane (born 5 May 1953) is a Scottish former professional football striker who played for Rangers from 1970 until 1980, and also played in England with clubs including Leeds United and Manchester City.

Derek Parlane est un footballeur international écossais, né le, à Helensburgh, Argyll and Bute. Évoluant au poste d'avant-centre, il est particulièrement connu pour ses saisons aux Rangers. Il fait partie du Rangers FC Hall of Fame.


Presentation.

The uncomplicated appearance is that of a number of yellowish, circular, cup-shaped crusts (scutula) grouped in patches like a piece of honeycomb, each about the size of a split pea, with a hair projecting in the center. These increase in size and become crusted over, so that the characteristic lesion can only be seen round the edge of the scab. A mousy odour is often present. Growth continues to take place for several months, when scab and scutulum come away, leaving a shining bare patch destitute of hair. The disease is essentially chronic, lasting from ten to twenty years. It is caused by the growth of a fungus, and pathologically is the reaction of the tissues to the growth.  The fungus was named after a microscopic structure termed "achorion" (a term not used in modern science), seen in scrapings of infected skin, which consists of slender, mycelial threads matted together, bearing oval, nucleated fungal substrate-arthroconidia either free or jointed. This structure is currently called "scutula." The fungus itself is now called "Trichophyton schoenleinii".  During initial infection, the fungal spores would appear to enter through the unbroken cutaneous surface, and to germinate mostly in and around the hair follicle and sometimes in the shaft of the hair.

Species.

It was the first disease in which a fungus was discovered by J. L. Schönlein in 1839; the discovery was published in a brief note of twenty lines in Millers Archive for that year (p. 82), the fungus having been subsequently named by Robert Remak; "Achorion schoenleinii" after its discoverer.  In 1892, two additional "species" of the fungus were described by Paul Gerson Unna, the "Favus griseus", giving rise to greyish-yellow scutula, and the "Favus sulphureus celerior", causing sulfur-yellow scutula of a rapid growth. This was in the days before scientists learned to rigorously distinguish microorganism identities from disease identities, and these antique, ambiguous disease-based names no longer have status either in mycology or in dermatology.  Similar looking infections, sometimes diagnosed as favid but more often as atypical inflammatory tinea, may rarely be produced by agents of more common dermatophyte fungal infections, in particular "Microsporum gypseum", the most common soil-borne dermatophyte fungus, and "Trichophyton mentagrophytes" (name used in post-1999 sense for a phylogenetic species formerly referred to as "Trichophyton mentagrophytes" var. "quinckeanum"), the agent of favid infection of the mouse.

Treatment.

Up until the advent of modern therapies, favus was widespread worldwide; prior to Schönlein's recognition of it as a fungal disease, it was frequently confused with Hansen's disease, better known as leprosy, and European sufferers were sometimes committed to leprosaria. Today, due to this species' high susceptibility to the antifungal drug griseofulvin, it has been eliminated from most parts of the world except rural central Asia and scattered rural areas of Africa. It is mainly a disease connected to demographic poverty and isolation, but is so readily treatable that it is among the diseases most likely to be completely eliminated by modern medicine.

Favus (Latin for "honeycomb") is a disease usually affecting the scalp, but occurring occasionally on any part of the skin, and even at times on mucous membranes.

Le favus, favid ou teigne favique (du latin signifiant « gâteau de miel »), est un type de teigne du cuir chevelu.


Championnat d'Espagne de football D2 2013-2014

Teams.

Promotion and relegation (pre-season).

A total of 22 teams contested the league, including 15 sides from the 2012–13 season, four promoted from the 2012–13 Segunda División B and three relegated from the 2012–13 La Liga.  RCD Mallorca, Deportivo de La Coruña and Real Zaragoza were the teams relegated from La Liga the previous season. Mallorca was relegated after sixteen years in La Liga, the longest period in its history and ending their golden era, Zaragoza returned to the Segunda División after a four-year tenure in La Liga, while Deportivo de La Coruña made an immediate return to the Segunda División after being promoted the previous year. All three teams were relegated in the last matchday. Elche CF was promoted the previous season to La Liga after 14 consecutive seasons in the Segunda División. Villarreal made an immediate return to La Liga after a win over Almería in the decisive match of the last matchday where the winner would be directly promoted to La Liga. Almería was promoted on 22 June 2013 as winner of play-off games after two years of absence in La Liga.  The teams which had been relegated from the Segunda División the previous season were Guadalajara, Racing Santander, Huesca and Xerez. Xerez was relegated after twelve years in the division some weeks before the end of season. On 2 June 2013, after the penultimate matchday, Racing, Huesca and Murcia were relegated after Mirandés' win, however on 4 June 2013 the LFP relegated Guadalajara and the three teams had their last opportunity to stay in Segunda División in the last matchday. Finally, Huesca was relegated after five years in the second level, while Racing de Santander returned to the third level after twenty years and nineteen of them in La Liga. Murcia was the team saved from the relegation after the administrative relegation of Guadalajara.  The four teams relegated were replaced by four Segunda División B teams: Deportivo Alavés (group 2 champions and overall champions) and CD Tenerife (group 1 champions and overall runners-up), both from the champions play-offs and two from the third round play-offs: Eibar and Jaén. Alavés and Tenerife returned to the second level respectively after 4 and 2 years, while Eibar and Jaén returned to the second level respectively after 4 and 11 years.

Guadalajara case.

Guadalajara was relegated to Segunda División B administratively after irregularities detected in the capital increase made the previous summer for conversion to a Sociedad Anónima Deportiva. Murcia remained in Segunda after the relegation administratively of Guadalajara, however RFEF didn't recognize the unilateral sanction by LFP and the relegated or saved team was disputed between Guadalajara and Murcia until Spanish sports jurisdictional body, the CEDD (part of CSD), would make a resolution. CEDD ruled refusing the precautionary suspension of Guadalajara relegation, whereby Murcia remained in Segunda.

League table.

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Positions by round.

The table lists the positions of teams after completion of each round.

Results.

The draw of the matchdays calendar was on 9 July 2013.

Promotion play-offs.

This promotion phase (known as "Promoción de ascenso") is to determine the third team which will be promoted to 2014–15 La Liga. Teams placed between 3rd and 6th position (excluding reserve teams) take part in the promotion play-offs. Fifth placed faces against the fourth, while the sixth positioned team faces against the third. The first leg of the semi-finals will be played on 11 June, the best positioned team plays at home the second leg on 15 June. The final will also be two-legged, with the first leg on 19 June and the second leg on 22 June, with the best positioned team also playing at home the second leg.  In case of a draw after the overtime in the second leg, there will not be a penalty shoot-out, and the best positioned team in the league table directly passes to the next round.

Season statistics.

Zamora Trophy.

The Zamora Trophy is awarded by newspaper "Marca" to the goalkeeper with least goals-to-games ratio. Keepers must play at least 28 games of 60 or more minutes to be eligible for the trophy.  In the table, only goalkeepers with at least the 70% of the games played are included.

The 2013–14 Segunda División season (known as the "Liga Adelante" for sponsorship reasons) was the 83rd since its establishment. The season started on 17 August 2013 and the league phase of 42 rounds ended on 8 June 2014. The entire season ended on 22 June 2014 with the promotion play-off finals.

La saison 2013-2014 de Liga Adelante est la quatre-vingt-troisième édition de la deuxième division espagnole. Les vingt-deux clubs participants au championnat sont confrontés à deux reprises aux vingt-et-uns autres.


Life.

Kim Yeonsu was born in Kimcheon, Kyeongsangbuk-do in 1970. He graduated with a degree in English Literature from Sungkyunkwan University in Korea. After graduation, Kim was an office worker by day, a translator at night, and spent the remainder of his time writing novels. In 1997, Kim worked as a reporter for a woman's magazine, and this experience was also key to his outlook that daily life is difficult.

Work.

Kim made his debut in 1993 with a poem in the journal "Jakka Segye" (Writer's World) and the next year published a novel "Walking While Pointing to the Mask" (Gamyeon-eul Gariki-myeo Geotgi). He is one of the most well-received Korean writers since 2000, and also a best-selling author in Korea. For example, his work "World’s End Girlfriend," published in 2009, sold 40,000 copies in less than three months of publication.  Kim's literary world is shaped by his study of humanities and at the same time owes much to the Argentinian writer, Jorge Luis Borges, whose influence is paramount in his first collection of short stories, "Twenty Years Old".  Kim did not content himself with a place in the shadow of a literary great. His third novel, "Goodbye, Yi Sang" was met with a critical reception worthy of a masterpiece at the very pinnacle of humanistic imagination. To be sure, Borgesian influence is still unmistakable, but only in the background: the novel, as a whole, is animated by the author's own meticulous and in-depth study of Yi Sang, the Korean existentialist writer of the 1930s who produced some of the most exotic and complex stories in Korean literary history. "Goodbye, Yi Sang" is concerned with the question of truth and of existence as well as the very definition of literature which, in Kim's view, are not mutually exclusive. “The reason why I write,” the author has said,” is to find out whether the truth does indeed exist in the act of writing."”  "When I Was Still A Child", which first appeared in serial form, is a collection of stories based on his childhood and adolescence. Although it was written with considerable ease and employs much lighter tone of voice than "Goodbye, Yi Sang", the stories in this collection provide yet another venue for exploring the nature of truth, which has always remained the focus of Kim's interest.  As a young author, Kim's works are just now being translated. To this date, only one short essay ("New York Bakery") and several short stories referenced below have been translated into English. Rather, more of his works are translated into Japanese, French, and Russian. "World’s End Girlfriend," "Wonder Boy," "The Country of the Blind," and other short stories are published in Japanese. "So You Love Me, Seonnyeong" (Sarang-irani, Seonnyeong-a), "If the Waves Belong to the Sea," and "I am a Ghost Writer" are translated into French. "World’s End Girlfriend" and "Wonder Boy" are also published in Russian, "I am a Ghost Writer" is published in German, and again, "World's End Girlfriend" in Chinese.

Awards.

First Place  Runner-ups

Kim Yeonsu (The romanization preferred by the author according to LTI Korea) (; born 1970) is a South Korean writer.

Kim Yeon-su (en hangeul : ), né en 1970 à Gimcheon dans la province de Gyeongsang du Nord, est un écrivain sud-coréen.


Early years.

The son of Teddy Bridgewater Sr. and Rose Murphy, Bridgewater was born in Miami, Florida on November 10, 1992. He attended Miami Northwestern High School. In his sophomore year, he replaced Jacory Harris as starting quarterback and took over a team that had been named the 2007 national champions by "USA Today". He completed 97 of 160 attempts (60.6 percent) for 1,560 yards over the season, throwing 16 touchdowns with three interceptions. He also carried 45 times for 211 yards (4.7 average) and two more scores. Northwestern finished the season 13–3, falling short to Seminole High School of Sanford 28–21 in the 6A state title game.  As a junior, Bridgewater passed for 2,546 yards and 32 touchdowns and rushed for 379 yards and five more scores. In a late-September game against Hialeah-Miami Lakes High School, he completed 19 of 24 passes for 327 yards and a Dade County record of seven touchdowns. He was named second-team All-State for 6A classification and first-team All-County by the "Miami Herald". Northwestern finished the season 10–2, after a 29–16 loss to rival Miami Central High School.  As a senior, Bridgewater had 2,606 passing yards and 22 touchdowns despite missing parts of the season with a medial collateral ligament injury. He also rushed for 223 yards and eight more scores. Northwestern had a 9–3 record for the season, losing 42–27 to Miami Central in the 6-A semifinals, in which he threw for 436 yards and scored four touchdowns.  Regarded as a four-star recruit, Bridgewater was considered the sixth best dual-threat quarterback prospect in the nation by Rivals.com. He played in the 2011 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

College career.

As a freshman in 2011, Bridgewater entered the season as a backup to Will Stein but started the Cardinals' fourth game of the season against Marshall and remained the starter the rest of the year. He finished the season completing 191 of 296 passes for 2,129 yards with 14 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. For his play, he was named the Big East Rookie of the Year and was named a freshman All-American by Rivals.com, Scout.com, CBS Sports, and "Sporting News".  As a sophomore in 2012, Bridgewater started 11 of 12 regular season games. In his only non-starting action, coming off the bench while injured against Rutgers, he led his team to a win, a Big East title, and a berth to the BCS. He finished the regular season completing 267 of 387 passes for 3,452 yards with 25 touchdowns and just 7 interceptions. He finished 6th in the nation in completion percentage, 8th in yards per attempt, and 7th in passing efficiency. For his play, he was named the Big East Offensive Player of the Year.  Bridgewater and his Cardinals football team entered the 2013 Sugar Bowl against the Florida Gators as decided underdogs. Although Florida boasted the nation's #1 pass efficiency defense, Bridgewater passed for 266 yards and a pair of touchdowns to become the game's MVP in a 33–23 win.  As a junior in 2013, Bridgewater completed 303 of 427 passes for 3,970 yards with 31 touchdowns and four interceptions. In his final college game against the Miami Hurricanes in the 2013 Russell Athletic Bowl, he completed 35 of 42 passes for 447 yards three touchdowns and was named the game's MVP.

Professional career.

As early as April 2013, Bridgewater was seen as one of the top prospects for the 2014 NFL Draft, alongside Jadeveon Clowney and Johnny Manziel. Reports said that, had he been eligible for the 2013 Draft, he most likely would have been the first quarterback taken. At one point, he was projected by many to be the first overall pick in the draft. On January 1, 2014, Bridgewater announced that he would forgo his final year of eligibility at Louisville.

Minnesota Vikings.

2014 season: Rookie year.

Bridgewater was selected by the Minnesota Vikings as the 32nd and final pick of the first round of the draft. The Vikings had traded their second round and fourth round picks to the Seattle Seahawks to move up and select Bridgewater. Bridgewater signed a four-year contract worth $6.85 million with a $3.3 million signing bonus with the Minnesota Vikings.  Bridgewater entered the season as the second-string quarterback, behind veteran Matt Cassel but ahead of Christian Ponder. Bridgewater made his NFL debut on September 21, 2014, against the New Orleans Saints, entering in relief of the injured Cassel and finishing the game with 150 passing yards. He was named the starting quarterback for the remainder of the season after Cassel, who broke his foot in the aforementioned game, was placed on injured reserve.  On September 28, 2014, Bridgewater made his first NFL start against the Atlanta Falcons and won the game, in large part due to his 317 passing yards, and scored his first NFL touchdown on a 13-yard rush. After spraining his ankle during the Falcons matchup, Bridgewater was inactive for the next game against the Green Bay Packers on "Thursday Night Football" in Week 5. However, he was able to recover in time for the Week 6 game against the Detroit Lions. However, a weak offensive line against a strong Lions' defense led to a 17–3 rout. Bridgewater was intercepted three times, two from tipped passes, and was sacked eight times. During Week 7 against the Buffalo Bills, Bridgewater threw his first NFL touchdown pass to Cordarrelle Patterson. Despite being sacked five times and throwing two interceptions, Bridgewater helped the Vikings get a 16–10 lead, but the effort was negated only by the Bills' comeback win which put them up 17–16 with no time to retaliate. In the next game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Bridgewater threw for 241 yards and a touchdown and was sacked only once. He led a game-tying drive to force overtime, where fellow first-round pick Anthony Barr made a fumble recovery on the Bucs' first overtime play, giving the Vikings a 19–13 win. His third win as a starter, a 29–26 comeback win over the Washington Redskins, broke a franchise record shared by Fran Tarkenton and Ponder for wins among starting rookie quarterbacks. Bridgewater added to this record with wins over the Carolina Panthers, New York Jets, and Chicago Bears in weeks 13, 14, and 17 respectively. The win over the Jets is notable for when wide receiver Jarius Wright turned a screen pass from Bridgewater into an 87-yard touchdown, giving the Vikings another overtime win.  Bridgewater finished his rookie year with 2,919 passing yards, 14 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, and an 85.2 passer rating. He also rushed for 209 yards and a touchdown. He played in 13 games, starting 12 of them. On January 13, 2015, Bridgewater was selected as the quarterback of the 2014 NFL All-Rookie team by the Pro Football Writers of America, joining Tommy Kramer as the only Vikings quarterbacks to claim this award. Bridgewater also won the 2014 Pepsi Rookie of the Year award, as voted by fans.

2015 season.

Bridgewater threw for no touchdowns and an interception behind a struggling offensive line that allowed five sacks in the 20–3 loss at the San Francisco 49ers on "Monday Night Football" in Week 1. He threw only 18 times the next game, but completed 14 of those passes for 153 yards and threw his first touchdown pass of the year to tight end Kyle Rudolph in a 26–16 win over the Detroit Lions in Minnesota's home opener. Bridgewater had some struggles in week three against the San Diego Chargers, going 13 of 24 for 121 yards and one interception but won the game 31–14 with a strong performance by the defense and running back Adrian Peterson. He rebounded to go 27 of 41, 269 yards and a touchdown pass to Mike Wallace against Denver Broncos who had the number one ranked defense coming into the game. Minnesota still lost 23–20 as Bridgewater was sacked seven times. Coming off of a bye week, he threw 31 times and completed 17 of them for 249 yards with another touchdown pass to Kyle Rudolph, but threw two interceptions in a sloppy 16–10 win against the Kansas City Chiefs. Bridgewater then had arguably the best game of his career the next week against the Detroit Lions in Detroit, going 25 of 35, 316 yards, two touchdown passes and no interceptions, including his first touchdown pass to rookie Stefon Diggs. That game was Bridgewater's fourth career 300+ yard passing game, and the second 300+ passing game of Bridgewater's career against the Lions. Bridgewater led his fourth career fourth-quarter comeback at the Bears despite having a below-average day going 17 of 30, 187 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Bridgewater went 13 of 21 for 144 yards and an interception while also rushing for a touchdown and two-point conversion against the St. Louis Rams before he sustained a blow to the head by the Rams' safety Lamarcus Joyner that caused Bridgewater to leave the game in the fourth quarter. Minnesota still managed to pull off a 21–18 victory in overtime against the Rams. At home against the Chicago Bears in week 15, Bridgewater completed 17 of 20 pass attempts, four passing touchdowns, and a rushing touchdown in a 38–17 win, giving him a career-high passer rating (154.4). In a fight for the NFC North Division Title in week 17 against the Green Bay Packers, Bridgewater connected only 52.6% of his passes for 99 yards and an interception. Despite his career-lowest passer rating (45.7), the Vikings pulled off a 20–13 victory and won their first division title since 2009.  Bridgewater finished his second season with 3,231 passing yards, 14 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions. He also rushed for 192 yards and 3 touchdowns.  On January 10, in the Wild Card Round against the Seattle Seahawks in one of the coldest games ever played, Bridgewater was 17-of-24 for 146 yards as the Vikings fell 10–9.  On January 25, 2016, he was named to his first Pro Bowl.

2016 season.

During a team practice on August 30, 2016, Bridgewater suffered a non-contact injury to his left leg. A subsequent MRI confirmed that he tore his ACL and suffered other structural damage, including a dislocation of the knee joint. As a result, Bridgewater missed the rest of the 2016 season. After the loss of Bridgewater for at least the 2016 season, the Vikings traded a first-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft and a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft to the Philadelphia Eagles for quarterback Sam Bradford. In 2016, the Vikings went 8–8, finishing third in the NFC North and missing the playoffs, despite starting the season with a 5–0 record.

2017 season.

Originally, the media reported that Bridgewater's injury would keep him out for 17–19 months, meaning he would miss the entire 2017 season. In January 2017, doctors confirmed that the healing would indeed take 19 months.  On May 1, 2017, the Vikings declined the fifth-year option on Bridgewater's contract, making him a free agent after the 2017 season.  Bridgewater began throwing and doing individual work in May at Vikings mini-camps. Head coach Mike Zimmer said on June 6, that Bridgewater "has a long way to go" until he is fully healed, but was impressed by his rehabilitation progress to that point. However, on September 2, the Vikings announced that he would begin the season on the PUP list, meaning that he would miss the first six games to begin the year.  On October 16, he was cleared to practice, but couldn't return to action for three more weeks. Bridgewater was activated off PUP to the active roster on November 8 to be Case Keenum's backup. Bridgewater entered the Week 15 game against the Cincinnati Bengals in relief of Keenum in the fourth quarter. The whole crowd gave Bridgewater a standing ovation as he walked onto the field. He finished with an interception out of two pass attempts as the Vikings won 34–7.

New York Jets.

On March 18, 2018, Bridgewater signed a one-year contract with the New York Jets. The contract only guaranteed a $500,000 signing bonus, though he could make up to a maximum of $15 million from a non-guaranteed salary and incentives.

New Orleans Saints.

2018 season.

On August 29, 2018, the Jets traded Bridgewater and a 2019 sixth-round draft pick to the New Orleans Saints for a 2019 third-round draft pick.  Bridgewater made his Saints debut on October 8 against the Washington Redskins, taking a knee twice to close out the game. He did this in two more games later in the season.  On December 28, with the Saints already locking up the #1 seed, it was announced that Bridgewater would start in the season finale against the Carolina Panthers. Making his first start since 2015, Bridgewater finished the game completing 14 of 22 passes for 118 yards, a touchdown, and an interception as the Saints lost 33–14. He also rushed for 12 yards.

2019 season.

On March 15, 2019, Bridgewater signed a one-year, $7.25 million fully guaranteed contract with the Saints. During Week 2, he replaced Drew Brees, who left with a right thumb injury, completing 17 of 30 passes for 165 yards in a 27–9 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Due to Brees's injury, Bridgewater was named the starting quarterback for Week 3. In that game, Bridgewater completed 19 of 27 passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns as the Saints defeated the Seattle Seahawks on the road by a score of 33-27. This was the first game where Bridgewater threw for more than one touchdown in a game since week 15 of the 2015 season. In Week 5 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Bridgewater threw for 314 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception in the 31–24 win. In Week 6, against the Jacksonville Jaguars, he had 240 passing yards and one passing touchdown in the 13–6 victory. In Week 7, against the Chicago Bears, he had 281 passing yards and two passing touchdowns. Brees returned from his injury in Week 8 against the Arizona Cardinals.

Carolina Panthers.

On March 26, 2020, Bridgewater signed a three-year, $63 million contract with the Carolina Panthers.

Personal life.

Bridgewater is the youngest of four children. He is a Christian. He graduated from the University of Louisville with a degree in Sports Administration after the 2013 college football season. His mother, Rose, is a breast cancer survivor. In 2014, soon after her son was drafted by the Vikings, Cadillac presented a pink Escalade to Rose when they learned that Bridgewater had wanted to get her one since he was in the third grade.

Theodore Edmond Bridgewater Jr. (born November 10, 1992) is an American football quarterback for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Louisville, and was drafted in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings. With the Vikings, Bridgewater threw for 14 touchdowns in each of his first two seasons, including winning the NFC North and making a Pro Bowl appearance in 2015. The following preseason, Bridgewater suffered an injury to his left leg, which knocked him out for all but one offensive series the next two seasons.

Theodore « Teddy » Bridgewater, né le à Miami en Floride, est un joueur américain de football américain évoluant au poste de quarterback.


History.

The "Zhengao" is a compendium of Shangqing Daoist materials transmitted by the Eastern Jin dynasty scholar and mystic Yang Xi (330-c. 386) and his patrons Xu Mi (許谧, 303-376) and Xu Hui (許<unk>, 341-c. 370). The large, aristocratic Xu (許) family was from Jurong, Jiangsu, which was the Eastern Jin capital Jiankang (modern Nanjing) from 317 to 420. Following the Xu family tradition of government service, Xu Mi and his son Hui were officials in the court of Emperor Ai, unlike Xu Mi's elder brother Xu Mai (許邁, 300-348) who converted to the Way of the Celestial Masters, resigned from his official career and devoted himself to Daoist studies and practices. In 362, the Xus employed Yang Xi as their household shaman and spiritual advisor, and two years later when he first established contact with the Perfected Ones from the previously unknown heaven of Shangqing (上清, Highest/Supreme Clarity), they prophesied that the Xu family would have an important role in transmitting the prophetic revelations (Robinet 2008b: 1248).  According to Shangqing School tradition, between 364 and 370, Yang Xi had a series of midnight visions in which Perfected Ones appeared to him in order to reveal their sacred scriptures, talismans, and secret registers, as well as their instructions concerning personal matters such as health and longevity (Schipper 1999: 403). Yang wrote down the content of every vision in ecstatic verse, recording the date along with the name and description of each Perfected who appeared. The purpose of the revelations was to set up a new syncretic faith that claimed to be superior to all earlier Daoist traditions (Espessett 2008: 1147). Most texts revealed by Yang Xi were intended for the family patriarch Xu Mi, his relatives, and friends.  The visions appeared to Yang Xi alone, and he said the Perfected directed him to transcribe the revelations for transmission to Xu Mi and Xu Hui, who would make additional copies (Strickmann 1977: 16). The "Zhengao" says the Perfected women told Yang that since they could not express themselves in debased human writing, he would act as an intermediary, rendering their words in his own outstanding calligraphy. After each transmission the Perfected checked that he transcribed their words correctly and then "presented" it back to him as if they had written it themselves (Bokenkamp 1996: 167). The heavenly maidens who visited Yang at night "never write themselves, neither with their hands nor with their feet", but instead would take his hand and engage him in a "sublime relationship" while he transcribed the sacred texts (tr. Ledderose 1984: 254, 256).  The Perfected who appeared to Yang Xi constituted three groups (Smith 2013: 16). The first were early saints in the Shangqing movement. The three brothers Mao Ying (茅盈), Mao Gu (茅固), and Mao Zhong (茅衷), referred to as the Three Lords Mao, supposedly lived in the Western Han dynasty. Perfected Lady Wei Huacun (252-334), a Way of the Celestial Masters adept proficient in Daoist meditation techniques was among the Perfected, and she became Yang's "xuanshi" (玄師, Teacher in the Invisible World) (Strickmann 1977: 41). Another notable example is the legendary "xian" transcendent Zhou Yishan (周義山, b. 80 BCE). The second group includes Yang Xi's bride, the Perfected Consort An (安妃), the Ninefold Florescent Perfected Consort in the Upper Palace of Purple Clarity, and her mythological parents Master Redpine and Lady Li (李夫人). The third are the Queen Mother of the West's daughters, such as the Lady of Purple Tenuity (紫微夫人) who served as matchmaker between Yang Xi and Consort An.  After Xu Mi died in 376, Xu Hui's son Xu Huangmin (許黄民, 361-429) spent several years compiling all the available Yang-Xu transcribed texts. He first distributed copies among the Xu family and their friends. Early readers of these revealed texts were impressed both by the erudite literary style of ecstatic verse and the artistic calligraphy of Yang Xi and Xu Hui (Strickmann 1977: 3, 42).  Manuscripts concerning the Shangqing revelations later were collected by several eminent Daoists. Notably, Gu Huan (顧歡, c. 425-c. 487) edited a compilation of Yang-Xu texts entitled "Zhenji" (真跡, Traces of the Perfected), which became the model for Tao Hongjing's 499 "Zhengao". Tao's postface notes differences between the two collections of Yang-Xu manuscripts. The "Zhenji" includes secondary texts such as biographies of the Daoist hermit Xu Mai by his famous calligrapher friends Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi, while the "Zhengao" is restricted to the revealed texts and their historical context. Gu's work was composed of facsimile tracings of the manuscripts, while Tao's more accessible work included his calligraphic analysis of who wrote each component text (Strickmann 1977: 32).  The eminent Shangqing scholar and alchemist Tao Hongjing (456-536) collected, annotated, and redacted all the available autograph fragmentary Yang-Xu manuscripts Kohn 2008b: 119). Based upon his remarkable familiarity with the calligraphy of Yang Xi, Xu Mi, and Xu Hui, Tao was able to judge authenticity and to eliminate forgeries, resulting in an early example of text-critical scholarship (Robinet 2008b: 1248). Tao's painstakingly endeavors resulted in two texts. The esoteric c. 493-514 "Dengzhen yinjue" (登真隱訣, Concealed Instructions for the Ascent to Perfection), which provides technical guidance for Shangqing adepts, and the 499 "Zhengao", which was intended for a broader audience of laypeople (Robinet 2008b: 1249).  Tao Hongjing's "Zhengao" Declarations of the Perfected survives as a complete work, with interpolations and commentarial additions. Standard editions are found in the 1444 "Daozang" Daoist Canon (CT 1016) and the 1782 "Siku Quanshu" literary collection. The received text of "Zhengao" is dated 499, with a preface by Gao Sisun (高似孫) dated 1223 (Robinet 2008b: 1248, 206).  In English, there are only partial translations of the "Zhengao". Bokenkamp (1996) translated some prose and seven poems, Kroll (1996) translated nine poems, and Schipper (1999) two (Komjathy 2004: 42-43). Smith (2013) made an annotated translated of Chapter 1. In Japanese, there are "Zhengao" ("Shinkō") reference works and a full translation. Ishii (1971–72) and (1987) compiled indexes of the people, places, and titles mentioned in the text, and Mugitani (1991) created a concordance. Yoshikawa and Mugitani (2000) wrote an annotated translation (Fabrizio 2008: 1329).

Title.

Tao Hongjing titled his book with "zhēn" (真 or 眞, "real; true; perfected"; as in Gu Huan's "Zhenji" Traces of the Perfected) and "gào" (<unk>, "proclamation; announcement"), denoting that its contents were divinely inspired. Daoist "zhenren" "Perfected" deities "gao" "dictated" the Shangqing revelations to highly literate medium and shaman Yang Xi (Schipper 1999: 402).  In the historical linguistics of the Chinese language, "Medieval Chinese" was used in texts during the 4th and 5th centuries when the "Zhengao" was written and compiled. Owing to the significant differences in word meanings between Medieval and Modern Chinese, the following semantic discussion of "zhen" and "gao" will summarize English translation equivalents from Paul W. Kroll's dictionary of Classical and Medieval Chinese (2017).  "Zhēn" (from Middle Chinese "tsyin") (眞 or 真) had complex abstract meanings.  The Daoist term "zhēnrén" (真人) has many English translations such as "Real Person", "Authentic Person", "True Person", "Perfected Person", and "Perfected" (Miura 2008b: 1265). Kroll clarifies the difference between Daoist and Buddhist usages: "(1.c.) "zhēnrén", Realized Persons, the Perfected, term found as early as the 6th chapter of "Zhuangzi" and used in various movements, but esp[ecially] influential in Shangqing Dao[ism] to designate the highest class of divine beings whose home is in the Shangqing heaven and who are completely spiritualized."; "(2.)... "zhēnrén", "one who embodies truth," [transcription] of Sanskrit "arhat"...  Chinese "zhēn" "real; true; genuine; etc." is written with several variant characters in East Asian languages, illustrating the Unicode compatibility difficulties with encoding CJK [Chinese, Japanese, and Korean] characters.  The early graph 眞 (U+771E) is now an outdated traditional Chinese character, Korean "hanja", Vietnamese Chữ Nôm, and Japanese "kyūjitai" ("old character form") "kanji". There are variations of the calligraphic strokes below the "mù" 目 "eye" component in 眞. This 10-stroke 眞 graph has a single "down and right" pattern (cf. <unk>); which the 11-stroke 眞 (U+2F945) replaces with a 2-stroke "down and stop, right" version.  The modern 真 is both the traditional and simplified Chinese character, and the Japanese "shinjitai" ("new character form"). Note the change of the original "bǐ" 匕 "spoon" at the top of 眞 (compare the Small seal script in the infobox above) to "shí" 十 "ten". There are Sino-Japanese variations on the horizontal line below the 目 "eye" element; Chinese (U+771F) connects it with the horizontal line, while Japanese (U+2F947) separates them.  "Gào" (Middle Chinese "kawH") <unk> had comparatively more concrete semantics. The traditional Chinese character <unk> or simplified 诰 is classified as a radical-phonetic character, composed from the "speech" radical "yán" 言 and a "gào" (MC "kawh" or "kowk") 告 "announce, proclaim; report; exhort; accuse" phonetic element.  Scholars either transliterate the title ("Zhengao", "Zhen Gao", "Chen-kao", etc.) or translate it:

Content.

The "Zhengao" primarily contains Yang Xi's writings that purport to convey the teachings revealed in his spiritual visions (Eskildsen 1998: 72). Tao Hongjing's redacted fragments relate the circumstances of the revelations, the Perfected Ones' explanations and interpretations of their scriptures and methods, private correspondences between Yang and the Xus, and responses to their direct questions addressed to the Shangqing divinities. Tao regularly comments on the authenticity of a text and whether he considered it an original Shangqing fragment (Robinet 2000: 206). Gao Sisun's preface uses the weaving terms "jīng" (經, warp) and "wěi" (緯, weft)—alluding to the literary terms "jīngshū" (緯書, classics; scriptures) and "wěishū" (緯書, esoteric glosses on the classics) —to describe the "Zhengao" as the "weft" background of the Shangqing revelations (Robinet 2008b: 1249).  Tao Hongjing's received "Zhengao" is divided into seven "piān" (篇, chapters) and twenty "juǎn" (卷, volumes), but this was not the original format. It was initially arranged into ten "juan", or ten "pian" according to some later references. In the present text, chapters 1, 2, and 4 are each split in two parts, making ten chapters altogether, and the arrangement into twenty volumes results from the further subdivision of each chapter into two parts (Robinet 2008b: 1248).  Each chapter has a three-character title, emulating the New Text school's apocryphal "chènwěi" (<unk>緯, "mystical Confucian prophetical works of Eastern Han") (Theobald 2011). In the table below, chapter 1 and 2 translations are by Smith (2013) while the others are tentative.  The division into seven chapters resulted from Tao's "sometimes clumsy" effort to give coherence to the whole (Robinet 2008b: 1249). The first five chapters record the revelations of the Perfected. Chapter 1 contains texts relating Yang Xi's visions of and hymns sung by the Perfected, and fragments of Ziyang zhenren (紫陽真人, Perfected Purple Yang)'s lost "Jianjing" (劍經, Scripture of the Sword) with a method for making a magic sword that will provide immortality through "shijie" (屍解, liberation by means of a simulated corpse) (Robinet 2008b: 1250). Chapters 2 and 3 are devoted to minor recipes and methods by lesser divinities, with information on the afterlife of the Xus' relatives and acquaintances, and a work revealed to Peijun (裴君, Lord Pei), the Baoshen qiju jing (寶神起居經, Scripture on the Behavior for Treasuring the Spirit) (Robinet 1984, 2: 359-362). The fourth chapter concerns Maoshan, its long history of mystics and hermits, biographies of the Mao brothers, and Guo Sichao (郭四朝), an early inhabitant of the mountain (Robinet 1984, 2: 389-98). The fifth comprises a detailed description of the Chinese underworld, and may have constituted the lost "Fengdu ji" (酆都記, Records of Fengdu), referring to the subterranean administrative headquarters of hell. Chapter 6 of the "Zhengao" consists of personal letters, memoranda, and records of dreams written by Yang and the Xus. Tao gives a detailed commentary on the texts contained in these first six chapters. The seventh chapter is Tao's postface, explaining his editorial methods, the history of the Shangqing textual corpus being scattered and plagiarized, and the Xu family genealogy (Strickmann 1977: 4). Despite this overall ordering, some sections have occasional interpolations, repetitions, and misplaced insertions, often resulting in a "confused and truncated" logical order of presentation (Robinet 2000: 206).

Syncreticism.

Scholars have long recognized that much of the "Zhengao" content derives from a syncretic assortment of older sources from "Wu" shamanism, Celestial Master Daoism, and Chinese Buddhism, despite the "resplendent homogeneity which originally disparate elements appear to have acquired in his inspired transcriptions" (Strickmann 1977: 5).

"Wu"-shamanist influences.

The Shangqing school "succeeded in adhering to a perilous ridgeline" situated between ancient shamanism or mediumship and modern institutionalizing a church and codifying its liturgy (Robinet 1993: 228). Chinese shamanic spirit journeys are a key literary device in both "Zhengao" poems and earlier "Chuci" (Songs of Chu) poems such as "Li Sao" (Encountering Sorrow), "Yuan You" (Far-off Journey), "Jiu Ge" (Nine Songs), and "Jiu Bian" (Nine Changes). Chinese "wu" shamans were spirit mediums who practiced divination, prayer, sacrifice, and rainmaking. Many of their practices were later adapted by Daoists.  The "Zhengao" section recording Yang Xi's and Consort An's betrothal and "spirit marriage" of illustrates how Yang adapted southern shamanic traditions. It resembles "Chuci" poems where male and female shamans describe their meetings, celestial travels, intercourse with nature spirits, and recount their yearnings once the spirit has gone. The passage is also an explicit renunciation of Celestial Masters marriage rites in which the initial sexual act of a bride and groom was performed ritually in the presence of the elders. The Shangqing spirit marriage between Yang and his celestial Consort also involves the merging of corporeal spirits, but all traces of the human sexual act are absent. Yang Xi names this refined type of spiritual union as "oujing" (偶景, "mating of the effulgent spirits") rather than the Celestial Master sexual practice of "heqi" (合氣, "joining of the pneumas") (Bokenkamp 1996: 168-169).  Ziwei Fujin (紫微夫人), translated as the Perfected Consort of Purple Clarity (Bokenkamp 1996) or Lady of Purple Tenuity (Smith 2013), was the celestial matchmaker between Yang Xi and Consort An. In Chinese astronomy, "Ziwei" (紫微, Purple Clarity) is the name of a constellation near the Pole star that was associated with Destiny in Daoist fortune-telling (Bokenkamp 1996: 170).  On the night of 26 July 365, the Perfected Consort of Purple Clarity descended to Yang Xi and introduced his stunning bride Consort An. Both Perfected ladies dictated poems to ensure that Yang understood the cosmic significance of their engagement. At their spirit marriage on the next night, Consort An explains their destiny, It is just that I grasp the crux of things and so seized this rare opportunity, thereby responding to cosmic rhythms and numerological fate. In lowering my effulgent corporeal spirits into the dust and evanescence of your world, I have harnessed them as dragons to plunge below. This was done expressly to summon to me the male who pursues the mysterious and to pursue with him an association wherein I might gain a suitable counterpart. We came together because of predestination. As a result, <poem>Our records were compared, our names verified; Our immaculate tallies joined in the jeweled realms— Our dual felicity has been arranged: We will travel as wild geese supporting one another. We will share sips from a single gourd-goblet, Toasting the nuptial quilt and knotting our lower garments. When you look to your mate for the food she will prepare— It is the Perfected drugs she holds inside herself.... (tr. Bokenkamp 1996: 175-176)</poem>  The "Zhengao" is a unique source for understanding the ancient shamanistic Daoism of Southern China, and its ecstatic poetry shows a distinct relationship to earlier shaman-inspired literature such as in the "Chuci" anthology. The spiritual quest for "a divine lover who is at the same time a redeemer" is a central theme in the "Zhen Gao", and the male and female Daoist adepts exchange love poems with their immortal counterparts, in celebration of their ecstatic union (Schipper 1999: 403). Take for instance, the "Song of Consort An" that she dictated to Yang Xi. <poem> My chariot has departed from the realm of Western Flowers, Wandering between the worlds of impermanence and transcendence. I now look at the summits of the Five Marchmounts, Then again I bathe myself in the Milky Way. Leaving my chariot behind, I search for an empty vessel, In all this I am full of passionate feelings, Who like a mustard grain can suddenly grow to cover ten thousand acres! In the center stands Mount Sumeru: There is no difference between large and small. The same cause stands at the root of what is far and near; You come from the impermanent world of phenomena. But I love you as a transcendent being! (tr. Schipper 1999: 403, cf. Smith 2013: 162) </poem>  Among the Perfected who transmitted poetry to Yang Xi, the most prolific (9 poems from 21 August 365 to 28 May 366) was Lady Youying (右英婦人), the thirteenth daughter of the goddess Queen Mother of the West. All nine were "seduction songs" for Yang's patron Xu Mi, who the Perfected said was destined to join Lady Youying in spirit marriage and ascend to Shangqing heaven. At that time Xu Mi was in his early sixties, and seen by the Perfected to be entangled in earthly, carnal desires. Lady Youying hoped that her poetry, filled with the colors, sounds, and scenes of the celestial regions, will convince him to join her in a mystical sacred marriage in the "unseen realm" (Kroll 1996: 181). However, despite Lady Youying's repeated otherworldly pleadings, Xu Mi waited over a decade to join her. He completed his official career in the capital, and moved to Maoshan where he practiced Shangqing worship until his death in 376 (Ledderose 1984: 255).  Yang recorded that Lady Youying dictated the following poem on 6 March 366. <poem>Reining in the sky-lights, I ascend the empyrean's dawn-source, Rambling to revelry in the Palace of Watchet Whitecap. Prismatic clouds wreathe the cinnabar auroras; Numinous cumuli bestrew the Eight Hollows. The Perfected Ones on high chant in rose-gem abodes; Lofty Transcendents carol in blue-gem chambers. Nine phoenixes sing through the vermilion sounding-pipes; The rhythms of the void commingle in the plumed bells. With our necks entwined, within the Golden Court I'll unite with my mate amidst the unseen realm. Together we will tap the ichor of the jade ale— In a flash and a flicker, are now in the nonage of infancy! —Well then, why do you crouch athwart the worldly road, Your lapses and maladies increasing with every day? (tr. Kroll 1996: 186)</poem> Songs such as Lady Youying's are "direct heirs" to the "Chuci"'s "Yuan you" Far-off Journey, which poetically describes a shamanic/Daoist flight around the heavens and earth (Kroll 1996: 181).

Buddhist influences.

The Silk Road transmission of Buddhism into China began in the 1st or 2nd century CE, and the new foreign religion had become widely popular by the time the "Zhengao" was written. The Daoist Lingbao School, which began in the early 5th century, borrowed many practices and terms from Buddhism (Zürcher 1980). The Shangqing Daoist "Zhengao" incorporated some passages from Buddhist texts and adapted religious concepts such as monastic celibacy.  Some revelations the Perfected bestowed upon Yang were corrections of existing texts in other traditions. One of the clearest examples of Buddhist borrowings in the "Zhengao" is a portion of the "Sishi'erzhang jing" "Sutra of Forty-two Chapters", which is believed to have been the first Buddhist scripture translated into Chinese (Strickmann 1977: 10). The Chinese philosopher and author Hu Shih (1935) first discovered the "Sishi'er zhang jing" borrowings in the "Zhengao" (volumes 6 and 9, and criticized Tao Hongjing for plagiarism (Eskildsen 1998: 183).  The "Zhengao" imbeds borrowed passages within discourses attributed to Daoist deities. The following passage uses two fundamental tenets of Buddhism—"Dukkha" "suffering; unsatisfactoriness" (Chinese "kǔ" 苦 "bitterness"), the first of the Four Noble Truths, and "Saṃsāra" "karmic cycle; reincarnation" ("lúnhuí" 輪回 "transmigration")— to exhort Shangqing adepts toward single-minded, painstaking training and to reject the futile cravings of mundane life. The Blue Boy of Fangzhu appeared and proclaimed, ""For a person to practice the Tao is also to suffer, but to not practice the Tao is also to suffer. People from their birth reach old age, and from old age reach [the stage of] illness". Protecting their bodies "they reach [the point of] death. Their suffering is limitless. In their minds they worry and they accumulate transgressions. With their births and deaths unending, their suffering is difficult to [accurately and sufficiently] describe" (emphasis added). Even more so it is because many do not live to their old age ordained by Heaven! [By saying that] to practice the Tao is also to suffer, I mean that to maintain the Perfect purely and immaculately, to guard the mysterious and long for the miraculous, to search for a teacher while struggling, to undergo hundreds of trials, to keep your heart diligent without failure, to exert your determination firmly and clearly; these are also the utmost in suffering." (vol. 6, tr. Eskildsen 1998: 73; italicized portions from "Sishi'erzhang jing" 35)  Another recurring "Sutra of Forty-two Chapters" theme in the "Zhengao" is the elimination of sexual desire. One borrowed passage states, "As for what is great among longings and desires, nothing is greater than lust. The guilt it brings on has no limit, and it is a matter that cannot be forgiven." ("Zhengao" 6, "Sishi'erzhang jing" 22, tr. Eskildsen 1998: 74). Prior to significant Buddhist influence, Daoists traditionally encouraged the practice of "retention of the semen" as a means to increase longevity, with "jīng" (精) meaning both physical "sperm" and spiritual "essence" in "Neidan" Internal Alchemy and Traditional Chinese medicine. Thus, "The Oral Lesson of the Female Immortal, the wife of Liu Gang" warns, "Those who seek immortality must not associate with women." ("Zhengao" 10, tr. Eskildsen 1998: 76).  The "Zhengao" used "yàolì" (藥力, "efficacy of a medicine") in an unclear meaning: "If a Taoist adept seeks to become an immortal, he must not copulate with women. Each time you copulate, you nullify a full year's medicinal strength. If you ingest nothing and engage in bedroom activities, you will lose thirty years off your life span." (10, tr. Eskildsen 1998: 75, interpreting that uncelibate adepts could take special medicines to supplement their "jing").  One of the primary "Zhengao" reasons for maintaining celibacy and eliminating lust was to attain direct spiritual encounters with immortals and gods. "Those who are perfect have no feelings of [erotic] passion and desire, nor any thoughts of man and woman. If [thoughts of] red and white exist in one's bosom, the sympathy of Perfected beings will not come about as a response, and Divine Women and Superior Worthies will not descend [before you]." (6, tr. Eskildsen 1998: 78). This "red and white" may refer to blood and sperm (1998: 184). The "Zhengao" poem "Spiritual Union, Not Sexual Intercourse" begins, "The world prizes sweetly scented intercourse / The way prescribes union in the mystic empyrean" (tr. Smith 2013: 137).

Literary value.

The "Zhengao" was influential in medieval Chinese literature and continues to have extraordinary lyrical value. The works of many of China's greatest poets, including Li Bo, Wang Wei, Bo Juyi, and Li Shangyin, were influenced by it (Schipper 1999: 403).  The first readers of the "Zhengao" were Eastern Jin dynasty literari, well-educated intellectuals who esteemed poetic ability. The text comprises some 70 poems and songs recited to Yang Xi by the Shangqing divinities, and they communicated with verbal artistry specifically "calculated to impress and enchant" the literate aristocracy of the Eastern Jin court. Yang Xi's "virtuoso efforts combining spiritual content with lyric technique" precisely appealed to this 4th-5th century Chinese audience, since most of the Perfected Ones' verses had the then current pentasyllabic meter favored by the Eastern Jin literati themselves (Kroll 1996: 180).  For a final example of Yang Xi's literary ability, consider this description of when Lady of Purple Tenuity first appeared to him (described above). "Her garments flashed with light, illumining the room. Looking at her was like trying to discern the shape of a flake of mica as it reflects the sun. Her billowing hair, black and long at the temples, was arranged exquisitely. It was done up in a topknot on the crown of her head, so that the remaining strands fell almost to her waist. There were golden rings on her fingers and jade circlets on her arms. judging by her appearance, she must have been about thirteen or fourteen." (tr. Bokenkamp 1996: 171).

The Zhengao (真<unk>, Declarations of the Perfected) written in 499 CE is the Shangqing Daoist patriarch Tao Hongjing's comprehensive collection of poetry and prose from the original "Shangqing revelations", which were supposedly given to the mystic Yang Xi by a group of Daoist "zhenren" Perfected Ones from 364 to 370. This classic text has long been famous both as a foundational text of religious Daoism and as a brilliant exemplar of medieval Chinese poetry.

Le Zhengao () est un texte taoïste de l'école Shangqing, écrit par Tao Hongjing (陶弘景) sur sept rouleaux à Mao shan (茅山, province du Jiangsu), et datant de vers 500, lors des Dynasties du Sud (420-589).