Xi or Xi Jiang, great river of S China, c.1,250 mi (2,010 km) long, rising in E Yunnan prov. and flowing generally E through Guangxi and Guangdong provs. to the South China Sea near Guangzhou; the Kui, Bei, and Dong rivers are its chief tributaries. The Xi flows mainly through narrow, confined valleys. At the junction with the Bei, W of Guangzhou, the Xi forms the vast Pearl River delta (2,890 sq mi/7,485 sq km), consisting of a maze of channels and canals. The densely populated delta is one of China's chief economic areas; agriculture (rice, sugarcane, fruit) predominates. One of China's principal inland waterways, the Xi is navigable for large ships along almost half of its length. It is also called the West River.

Ptolemy XI (Ptolemy Auletes), d. 51 B.C., king of ancient Egypt (80-58 B.C., 55-51 B.C.), of the Macedonian dynasty, illegitimate son of Ptolemy VIII. He is also called Ptolemy Neos Dionysus. He succeeded Ptolemy X to the throne, but his violent misrule and reprehensible life caused the Alexandrians finally to rebel and unseat him in 58 B.C. He sought Roman aid and with the help of Pompey paid Aulus Gabinius, proconsul of Syria, a huge sum to put him back on the throne. He made the Roman senate executor of his will and Pompey the guardian of his son Ptolemy XII.

Pius XI, 1857-1939, pope (1922-39), an Italian named Achille Ratti, b. Desio, near Milan; successor of Benedict XV.

Prepapal Career

Ratti's father was a silk manufacturer. He studied in Milan and at the Gregorian Univ., Rome, and was ordained in 1879. His excellence in philosophy brought him to the attention of Leo XIII. He taught in the Milan seminary, was appointed (1888) one of the college of doctors of the Ambrosian Library, Milan, and won a name for his studies in paleography. In 1907 he was made chief librarian. Called by Pius X to Rome, he became vice prefect of the Vatican Library.

In 1918, Benedict XV entrusted him with the difficult legateship in Poland. There he put the church on good terms with the new government and helped, as much as possible, the Roman Catholics of Russia. In 1919 he was made nuncio to Poland. Two years later Benedict appointed him archbishop of Milan and created him cardinal. Cardinal Ratti was elected pope eight months later (Feb. 6, 1922).

Papacy

Pius's pontificate was marked by great diplomatic activity and by many important papers, often in the form of encyclicals. In diplomatic affairs Pius was aided at first by Pietro Gasparri and after 1930 by Eugenio Pacelli (who succeeded him as Pius XII). Cardinal Gasparri's masterpiece was the Lateran Treaty (1929). Nevertheless, the Fascist government and the pope were in open disagreement over the restriction of youth activities; this culminated in a strong papal letter (Non abbiamo bisogno, 1931), showing the impossibility of being at once a Fascist and a Catholic. Relations between Mussolini and the Holy See were cool ever after.

It fell to Cardinal Pacelli to negotiate a concordat for all Germany (1933). The Hitler government never pretended to observe the treaty. In 1937, after interference of every sort by the Nazis in Catholic life, the pope denounced the government and the Nationalist Socialist theory in a powerful encyclical, Mit brennender Sorge. A few days later he issued a definitive analysis of Communism from the Roman Catholic point of view in On Atheistic Communism. Pius also denounced persecutions in Russia, Mexico, and Spain. With England, the Netherlands, and France (where he condemned the royalist Action française movement in 1925) the pope was on unprecedentedly cordial terms. He spoke out continually against nationalism, racism, and totalitarianism and their menace to human dignity; hence the new feast of Christ the King, established to recall the rights of religion in the state, and hence, too, Pius's denunciation of anti-Semitism.

The pope, highly critical of laissez-faire capitalism, urged social reform especially in his encyclical Quadragesimo anno (1931), which renewed the plea made 40 years earlier by Leo XIII. Pius appealed directly to the laity for greater participation in all things religious—this he called Catholic Action. In the church's missionary activity he laid great stress on the necessity of integrating Christianity with native cultures rather than trying to make them European. This is seen in the Pontifical Work of St. Peter the Apostle for the Native Clergy, which he set up in 1929. To protect Catholics of Eastern rites from Latin influence he augmented the powers of their congregation and established a commission to study their canon law. He also called on Western Catholics to exhibit greater understanding of the Orthodox and other ancient churches of the East, notably in the encyclical Rerum Orientalium (1928).

Pius took delight in new technological developments. He established a broadcasting station at the Vatican and advanced the modernization of the Vatican Library. He also reconstituted the Pontifical Academy of the Sciences (1936), with a large international membership.

Muhammad XI, d. 1538, last sultan of Granada in Spain (1482-92); also called Boabdil by the Spanish. He seized the throne from his father and thus plunged Granada into civil war at the time the Castilians were beginning their attack on the kingdom. As the Christians overran western Granada, Muhammad secretly promised (1487) them that he would surrender the city of Granada in return for some cities held by the rival Granadian party. However, he repudiated the agreement, and in Apr., 1491, the Castilians laid siege to Granada. After valiant resistance, Muhammad surrendered in Jan., 1492, and fled to Morocco. His surrender marked the end of Moorish rule in Spain, and he is the subject of a number of romantic legends.

Louis XI, 1423-83, king of France (1461-83), son and successor of Charles VII.

Early Life

As dauphin Louis was almost constantly in revolt against his father. He was pardoned after joining (1440) the Praguerie; after conspiring (1446) against Agnès Sorel and Pierre de Brézé, he was exiled to the Dauphiné, which he governed himself. His continued intrigues forced another exile (1456-61), this time to the court of Philip the Good of Burgundy.

Conflict with the Nobility

Louis began his reign by dismissing many of his father's best advisers; but he soon deserted his former allies of the Praguerie and began the task of centralizing all authority in the crown. His measures to curb the power of the great nobles aroused (1465) the League of the Public Weal, headed by Charles the Bold, son of Philip the Good; Francis II, duke of Brittany; Jean, comte du Dunois; Antoine de Chabannes; and the dukes of Alençon and Bourbon, under the nominal leadership of the king's brother Charles. The lesser nobility, the bourgeoisie, and the lower classes supported Louis, who also allied with the citizens of Liège, a Burgundian protectorate, against Charles the Bold. Louis successfully defended Paris, but in Oct., 1465, he granted the demands of the rebels in the treaties of Conflans and Saint-Maur-des-Fossés. He soon violated the treaties, taking Normandy from his brother Charles, to whom it had been granted.

In 1467 a new coalition against the king was formed by Charles the Bold, now duke of Burgundy, with Francis II; Charles also obtained the support of King Edward IV of England. When the duke of Brittany invaded Normandy, Louis arranged a truce with him. In 1468, at the expiration of the truce with Brittany, he subdued Normandy and forced Francis II to sign the Peace of Ancenis (1468). Having visited Péronne for an interview with Charles the Bold, Louis was made (1468) prisoner and forced to sign a treaty granting important concessions and compelling him to participate in suppressing the revolt of Liège, which he had helped instigate. After his release Henry involved himself in English affairs against Edward IV (see Roses, Wars of the), aiding the restoration of King Henry VI.

Conflict with the French nobles continued. The death (1472) of Louis's brother Charles removed one opponent, and after a brief campaign Louis signed truces with Francis II and Charles the Bold. Charles renewed his alliance with Edward IV, who had regained the English throne. Louis, however, succeeded in buying off Edward IV when he invaded (1475) France to aid Charles, and in uniting the enemies of Charles the Bold, among whom the Swiss were the strongest. The Swiss victories over Charles and his death (1477) at Nancy enabled Louis to take Burgundy, Picardy, Boulogne, Artois, and Franche-Comté from Charles's daughter, Mary of Burgundy. Mary's husband, Maximilian of Austria (later Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I), defeated (1479) Louis at Guinegate, but was ultimately forced to concede the Burgundian territories to Louis in the Treaty of Arras (see Arras, Treaty of). On the extinction of the house of Anjou, Louis acquired Anjou, Maine, Bar, and Provence.

Characteristics of Louis's Reign

A born diplomat, Louis skillfully checked his foreign and domestic enemies and set up an efficient central administration. He used commissions (and the one States-General he convoked) to give his acts the appearance of popular approval. He diminished the prestige of the courts. Despite his revocation (1461) of his father's pragmatic sanction of Bourges, he intervened freely in church affairs. He imposed heavy taxes, using much of the revenue to purchase support. He also encouraged industry and expanded domestic and foreign trade. Louis preferred men of humble origin, and among his advisers were Olivier Le Daim, Louis Tristan L'Hermite, and Cardinal Balue, whom he rewarded liberally, though he was niggardly in his own expenses. Fearing assassination, he spent his last years in virtual self-imprisonment near Tours. He was succeeded by his son, Charles VIII.

Innocent XI, 1611-89, pope (1676-89), an Italian named Benedetto Odescalchi, b. Como; successor of Clement X. He was elected because of his great saintliness and desire for reform. His election had been opposed by Louis XIV, with whom he had a long, bitter quarrel over Gallicanism, begun in this phase with Louis's collection of the revenues of vacant benefices all over France. The Gallican statement of 1682 brought a papal condemnation; and when Louis revoked the Edict of Nantes, perhaps to gain papal favor, Innocent denounced the proceedings (1685). James II of England, Louis's ally, also excited Innocent's displeasure, but there is no proof of the allegation that Innocent supported the Protestant William III in his accession to the English throne. He was succeeded by Alexander VIII. Innocent was beatified in 1956.

Gregory XI, 1330-78, pope (1370-78), a Frenchman named Pierre Roger de Beaufort. He was the successor of Urban V, who had made an unsuccessful attempt to remove the papacy from Avignon to Rome (1367-70). From the time of his election Gregory heard prophetic admonitions to go to Rome, first from St. Bridget of Sweden and then from St. Catherine of Siena, who visited him (1376). But the Avignon court was opposed, and Italy had again become inhospitable. The pope's absence and the death of Cardinal de Albornoz had plunged the entire Italian peninsula into anarchy and violence. Florence, Milan, and Perugia revolted against papal authority. With Gregory's sanction, Robert of Geneva led a marauding army into Italy, returning violence for violence. Gregory finally heeded St. Catherine's pleas and returned to Rome (Jan., 1377), thus ending the Babylonian Captivity of the popes on French soil. All his efforts to bring about peace failed. He was the last of the French popes and was succeeded by Urban VI. The elections after his death began the Great Schism. Gregory issued the first condemnation of the teachings of John Wyclif.

Constantine XI (Constantine Palaeologus), d. 1453, last Byzantine emperor (1449-53), brother and successor of John VIII. To secure Western aid against the Turkish assault on what remained of the empire, he proclaimed (1452) the union of the Western and Eastern Churches. No help came, however, and in 1453 Constantine, with some 8,000 Greeks, Venetians, and Genoese, faced 150,000 Turkish besiegers under Sultan Muhammad II. After almost two months of heroic defense, directed by the emperor, the city and the empire fell. Constantine died fighting with the last of his men.

Clement XI, 1649-1721, pope (1700-1721), an Italian (b. Urbino) named Giovanni Francesco Albani; successor of Innocent XII. He was known in his youth for his prodigious learning and brilliance. He became cardinal in 1690. As pope he was involved in the struggle between France and Austria over the throne of Spain; he recognized Philip V but later was forced into recognizing Charles of Hapsburg, the other claimant. The chief spiritual concern of his pontificate was that of Jansenism (see under Jansen, Cornelis). The brief Vineam Domini (1705) condemned the Jansenist ideas on papal infallibility, and in 1713 he issued the bull Unigenitus, which condemned certain other Jansenist propositions. He was succeeded by Innocent XIII.

Charles XI, 1655-97, king of Sweden (1660-97), son and successor of Charles X. Charles ascended the throne at the age of five, so a council of regency ruled until 1672. The regency ended Swedish wars with favorable peace treaties (see Charles X), but mismanaged internal affairs. On reaching his majority Charles obtained from the Riksdag the restitution of the crown lands that had been given away. Sweden was involved in the third of the Dutch Wars as an ally of Louis XIV. Charles was defeated (1675) at Fehrbellin by Frederick William of Brandenburg, who overran Swedish Pomerania, known also as Hither Pomerania. Against Denmark Charles was more successful, particularly at Landskrona (1677). At the Treaty of Saint-Germain (1679) with Brandenburg, Charles, through the influence of Louis XIV, regained Hither Pomerania. The Peace of Lund (1679) with Denmark drew the Scandinavian nations closer together, and in 1680, Charles married Princess Ulrika of Denmark. In Sweden Charles set about increasing the royal power at the expense of the nobles. The Riksdag of 1682 gave him absolute power, which he used efficiently. His son succeeded him as Charles XII.

Benedict XI, d. 1304, pope (1303-4), an Italian (b. Treviso) named Niccolo Boccasini; successor of Boniface VIII. Prior to his election he had been master general of the Dominican order. As pope he was able to conciliate many of the enemies Boniface had made, chiefly Philip IV of France, whose excommunication he rescinded. However, he would not yield on the excommunication of Boniface's assaulters, Sciarra Colonna and Philip's emissary, Nogaret. The Colonna faction controlled Rome, and Benedict withdrew to Perugia, a prelude to the flight of the papacy to Avignon under Benedict's successor, Clement V, in 1309. Benedict was beatified in 1638.

Alfonso XI, 1311-50, Spanish king of Castile and León (1312-50), son and successor of Ferdinand IV. His vigorous campaign against Granada provoked an invasion by the Moors from Morocco; they took Gibraltar in 1333. In 1340, having formed alliances with Portugal, Navarre, and Aragón, Alfonso won the great victory of Tarifa (also called the battle of Salado), and in 1344 he took Algeciras. By the Ordenamiento de Alcalá, issued at Alcalá de Henares in 1348, Alfonso enforced the Siete Partidas of Alfonso X. He died while besieging Gibraltar and was succeeded by his son, Peter the Cruel.

or Chu Hsi

(born Oct. 18, 1130, Yu-hsi, Fukien province, China—died April 23, 1200, China) Chinese philosopher and proponent of Neo-Confucianism. The son of a minor government official, he was educated in the Confucian tradition and entered government service. Interested in history, he revised Sima Guang's famous history so that it would illustrate moral principles in government. In 1189 he began a commentary on the Daxue; he continued working on the Daxue all his life. Philosophically, his thought incorporated the ideas of Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi, Zhou Dunyi (1017–1073), and Zhang Zai, whose works he compiled. His commentaries on the Four Books, notably on the Lunyu (Analects) of Confucius and on Mencius (both 1177), were enormously influential. His philosophy emphasized logic, consistency, observance of classical authority, and the value of inquiry.

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(born July 3, 1423, Bourges, France—died Aug. 30, 1483, Plessis-les-Tours) King of France (1461–83). He plotted against his father, Charles VII, and was exiled to Dauphiné (1445), which he ruled as a sovereign state until Charles approached its borders with an army (1456). Louis then fled to the Netherlands, returning to France to become king on his father's death in 1461. He fought rebellious French princes (1465) and made concessions to Charles the Bold (1468). Seeking to strengthen and unify France, he destroyed the power of the Burgundians in 1477. He regained control of Boulonnais, Picardy, and Burgundy, took possession of Franche-Comté and Artois (1482), annexed Anjou (1471), and inherited Maine and Provence (1481).

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Swedish Karl

(born Nov. 24, 1655, Stockholm, Swed.—died April 5, 1697, Stockholm) King of Sweden (1660–97). At age five he succeeded his father, Charles X Gustav, and the kingdom was ruled under a regency of aristocrats until Charles came of age in 1672. The regents drew Sweden into the Dutch War (1672–78), but Charles took control of the armies and won favorable results for Sweden by the Treaties of Nijmegen, after which he maintained a foreign policy of neutrality. Within Sweden, Charles expanded royal power at the expense of the higher nobility and established an absolutist monarchy.

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