Harlequin, Meissen hard-paste porce¬ lain figure from the commedia dell'arte modeled by Johann Joachim Kandler, c. 1738; in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
COURTESY OF THE VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM, LONDON; PHOTOGRAPH, EB INC.
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
1014 I Kane ► Kano school
Kandy in 1803 failed; in 1815 Kandyan chiefs invited the British to over¬ throw a tyrannical king, and in 1818 those chiefs’ rebellion against the Brit¬ ish was suppressed.
Kane, Paul (b. Sept. 3, 1810, Mallow, Ire.—d. Feb. 20, 1871, Toronto, Ont., Can.) Irish-born Canadian painter. His family immigrated to Canada in 1819. He worked mainly in Toronto but traveled as far as the Pacific coast depicting landscapes, Native American subjects, fur traders, and missionaries; he published an account of his adventures in Wanderings of an Artist (1859). Half of his paintings are portraits, works of great his¬ torical value in which he recorded the dress and ornaments of his subjects in accurate detail. He excelled at composing large figurative groups in a style similar to contemporary European genre painting.
Kanem-Bornu Yka- I nem- , bor-nu\ Former African empire around Lake Chad. It was ruled by the Sef dynasty in the 9th-19th century. Its terri¬ tory at various times included what is now southern Chad, northern Cam¬ eroon, northeastern Nigeria, eastern Niger, and southern Libya. Probably founded in the mid-9th century, it became an Islamic state at the end of the 11th century. Its location made it a trading hub between North Africa, the Nile Valley, and the sub-Saharan region. From the 16th century Kanem-Bornu, sometimes called simply Bornu, was extended and con¬ solidated. The Sef dynasty died out in 1846.
Kang Vkaq-'yo-'waV Youwei or K'ang Yu-wei (b. March 19, 1858, Guangdong province, China—d. March 31, 1927, Qingdao, Shandong) Chinese scholar, a key figure in the intellectual development of modem China. In 1895 Kang led hundreds of provincial graduates to protest the humiliating terms of China’s treaty with Japan after the Sino-Japanese War and to petition for reforms to strengthen the nation. In 1898 the Qing emperor launched a reform program that included streamlining the gov¬ ernment, strengthening the armed services, promoting local self- government, and opening Beijing University. The empress Cixi annulled the reforms and had six reform leaders executed, and Kang had to flee the country. In exile, he opposed revolution; instead, he favoured rebuilding China through science, technology, and industry. He returned in 1914 and participated in an abortive restoration of the emperor. His fears of a divided country led him to oppose the government of Sun Yat-sen in southern China. Kang is also known for his reappraisal of Confucius, whom he saw as a reformer.
kangaroo Most specifically, any of six large Australasian marsupials of the family Macropodidae. The term is also used to refer to any of the family’s 54 species. Most kangaroos graze on the Australian plains, but tree kangaroos are arboreal; they climb trees and leap from branch to branch. Kangaroos generally have long, powerful hind legs and feet and a long tail, thickened at the base. The hind legs enable their spectacular leaps and are also useful for self- defense; the tail is used for balance.
The head is small, the ears large and rounded, and the fur soft and woolly.
Females have one young (called a joey) annually; it is suckled in its mother’s pouch for six months and often returns to be carried in the pouch later as well. The gray kanga¬ roo, the best-known and second- largest species, can leap more than 30 ft (9 m). The red kangaroo is the largest species; the male may stand 6 ft (1.8 m) tall and weigh 200 lbs (90 kg). Millions are killed annually for their meat and hides and because they compete with livestock for forage. See also wallaby; wallaroo.
Kangaroo Island Island (pop., 1996: 4,118), South Australia. Located at the entrance to the Gulf St. Vincent, southwest of Adelaide, Kangaroo Island is 90 mi (145 km) long with an area of 1,680 sq mi (4,350 sq km). Visited in 1802 by the English explorer Matthew Funders, it was named for its many kangaroos. Nepean Bay was the site of the state’s first settle¬ ment in 1836.
kangaroo rat Any of about 25 species (genus Dipodomys, family Heteromyidae) of rodents that leap about on their hind legs; found in dry regions of North America. They have large heads, large eyes, short fore¬ limbs, long hind limbs, and fur-lined external cheek pouches that open alongside the mouth. They are 4-6.5 in. (10-16 cm) long without the long tail, which usually ends in a furry tuft. They are pale buff to brown above and white below, with a white stripe on each hip. They forage by night for seeds, leaves, and other vegetation, carrying food in their cheek pouches to store in their burrows, but seldom drink water.
KaNgwane \kaq-'gwa-na\ Former black enclave, eastern Transvaal, South Africa. It was created under the apartheid system in 1977 as a homeland for those Swazi people not residing in Swaziland. The 1994 constitution of South Africa abolished the black enclaves created under the apartheid system, and it is now part of Mpumalanga province.
Kangxi \'kaq-'she\ emperor or K'ang-hsi emperor (b. May 4,
1654, Beijing, China—d. Dec. 20, 1722, Beijing) Second emperor of the Qing dynasty. His personal name was Xuanye. One of China’s most capable rulers, Kangxi (r. 1661-1722 ) laid the foundation for a long period of political stability and prosperity. Under his reign, the Treaty of Nerchinsk was signed with Russia, parts of Outer Mongolia were added to China’s territory, and control was extended over Tibet. Domestically, Kangxi’s reign was a time of large-scale public works, such as repairing the Grand Canal to permit transportation of rice to feed the northern population, and dredging and banking the Huang He (Yellow River) to prevent destructive flooding. Kangxi reduced taxes many times and opened four ports to foreign ships for trade. Though an ardent proponent of Neo-Confucianism, he also welcomed Jesuit missionaries, whose accomplishments led him to permit the propagation of Roman Catholi¬ cism in China. He commissioned many books, including the Kangxi dic¬ tionary and a history of the Ming dynasty. See also Dga'l-dan; Manchu; Qianlong emperor.
Kaniska Vko-'nish-koX or Kanishka (fl. 1st century ad) Greatest king of the Kushan dynasty that ruled over the northern part of the Indian sub¬ continent, Afghanistan, and possibly regions north of Kashmir in Central Asia. He is thought to have taken the throne between ad 78 and 144 and to have ruled for 23 years. Kaniska is noted for having convened a Bud¬ dhist council that marked the beginnings of Mahayana Buddhism. He was a tolerant king who honoured the Zoroastrian, Greek, and Brahmanic dei¬ ties as well as Buddha. During his reign, trade with the Roman Empire increased significantly, and contact between him and the Chinese in Cen¬ tral Asia may have inspired the transmission of Buddhism to China.
Kannada Vka-no-doV language formerly Kanarese \,ka-n3-'rez\ language Dravidian language, the official language of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is spoken by more than 33 million people in Karnataka; an additional 11 million Indians may speak it as a second language. The earliest inscriptional records in Kannada are from the 6th century. Kannada script is closely akin to Telugu script in origin. Like other major Dravidian languages, Kannada has a number of regional and social dia¬ lects and marked distinctions between formal and informal usage.
Kan non See Avalokitesvara
Kano \'ka-no\ City (pop., 1991: 2,166,554), northern Nigeria. Its tradi¬ tional founder was Kano, a blacksmith of the Gaya people who in ancient times came to Dalla Hill in search of iron. It became the capital of the Hausa state of Kano in the early 12th century. It was the capital of an emirate in the 19th century before being captured by the British in 1903. Modem Kano is a major commercial and industrial centre. The old city is enclosed by a massive city wall dating from the 15th century; the cen¬ tral mosque there is Nigeria’s largest.