qilin

In Chinese mythology, a kind of unicorn whose rare appearance often coincides with the imminent birth or death of a sage or illustrious ruler. Appearances could also indicate the benevolence of living emperors. A qilin has a single horn on its forehead, a yellow belly, a multicoloured back, a horse's hooves, a deer's body, and an ox's tail. Legend has it that a qilin appeared to the pregnant mother of Confucius.

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(born March 5, 1870, Chicago, Ill., U.S.—died Oct. 25, 1902, San Francisco, Calif.) U.S. novelist and short-story writer. Norris initially worked as an overseas correspondent and in publishing. He became the first important American author to embrace naturalism. McTeague (1899) is a portrait of an acquisitive society. He adopted a more humanitarian ideal beginning with his masterpiece, The Octopus (1901), the first novel of a projected trilogy dealing with the economic and social forces involved in the wheat industry. The second part, The Pit, appeared in 1903, but the third was unwritten at his death. Despite romanticizing tendencies, his works present a vivid, authentic picture of life in California in his day.

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(born Oct. 10, 1895, Longxi, Fujian province, China—died March 26, 1976, Hong Kong) Chinese writer. The son of a Presbyterian minister, he studied in the U.S. and Europe. In 1932 he established a highly successful Western-style satirical magazine of a type totally new to China; soon he introduced two other publications. A prolific writer of works in Chinese and English, he produced his first English-language book, My Country and My People, in 1935. From 1936 he lived chiefly in the U.S. His other works include The Wisdom of China and India (1942), books on Chinese history and philosophy, and highly acclaimed English translations of Chinese literary masterpieces.

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(born Dec. 5, 1907, Huanggang, Hubei province, China—died Sept. 13, 1971?, Mongolia?) Chinese military leader and government official who played a prominent role in the Cultural Revolution. He joined the Socialist Youth League in 1925 and Chiang Kai-shek's Northern Expedition in 1926. When Chiang turned on the communists in 1927, Lin fled to join Mao. During the Long March Lin became legendary for never losing a battle, and he prevailed against the Japanese in the 1930s and the Nationalists in the 1940s. In the early 1960s his reformation and indoctrination of the army in accordance with Mao's teachings became a model for the rest of society, and during the Cultural Revolution he was designated Mao's successor. Subsequent events are unclear, but in September 1971 the Chinese government reported that Lin died in a plane crash in Mongolia in an attempt to flee China; his death has remained a mystery.

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Province (pop., 2002 est.: 26,990,000), northeastern China. It is bordered by Russia and North Korea, Heilongjiang and Liaoning provinces, and Inner Mongolia. With an area of 72,200 sq mi (187,000 sq km), it is China's most urbanized province; its capital is Changchun, and its second largest city is Jilin. Its major river is the Sungari (Songhua) River, a tributary of the Amur. It was made a province in 1907. Occupied by the Japanese army in 1931, it became part of the puppet state of Manchukuo (1932–45). Chinese communist forces seized the province from the Nationalists in 1948. Industrialization since the late 20th century has been rapid.

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(born March 19, 1875, Haicheng, Liaoning province, China—died June 4, 1928, Shengyang, Liaoning) Chinese warlord. After fighting in the Sino-Japanese War (1894–95), Zhang organized a self-defense militia in his native district. By 1912 he was in command of a division, and he set out to dominate Manchuria (northeastern China), relying on the tacit support of the Japanese, to whom he granted concessions in Manchuria. In 1918 he became inspector general of Manchuria's three provinces, which he ruled as a virtually autonomous state. In 1920 he pushed south into the Chinese heartland and in 1924 took Beijing, but his troops had to abandon their position in the face of the 1927 Northern Expedition. Zhang was killed by a bomb planted by Japanese extremists who hoped his death would provoke the Japanese into occupying Manchuria.

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• Lin (surname)
• Lin (The King of Fighters), a Chinese ninja character
• Lin Shaye (born 1944), an American actress
• LIN TV, an American holding company operating 31 stations
• Maya Lin, an American artist
• Wai Lin, a character in Tomorrow Never Dies
• Local Interconnect Network (LIN)
• Linate Airport (LIN), Milan
• Village Lin in Pogradec, Albania.