baojia \'bau-'je-9\ or pao-chia Chinese village militia system created by Wang Anshi as part of his reforms of 1069-76. Units of 10 families were regularly trained and supplied with arms, thereby reducing the gov¬ ernment’s dependence on mercenaries. Members were mutually respon¬ sible for each other. The system was resurrected in the 19th century to help put down the Taiping Rebellion and was imitated by both the Nation¬ alist Party and the Chinese Communist Party in the 20th century.
baptism In Christianity, the sacrament of admission to the church, sym¬ bolized by the pouring or sprinkling of water on the head or by immer¬ sion in water. The ceremony is usually accompanied by the words “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Indeed, Christians believe that after his resurrection, Jesus appeared to his disciples and commanded them to baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In the teaching of St. Paul, it signifies the wiping away of past sins and the rebirth of the individual into a new life. Judaism practiced ritual purification by immersion, and the Gospels report that John the Baptist baptized Jesus. Baptism was an important ritual in the early church by the 1 st century, and infant baptism appeared by the 3rd century. Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and most Protestant churches practice infant baptism. The Anabaptist reformers insisted on adult bap¬ tism after a confession of faith; modern Baptists and the Disciples of Christ also practice adult baptism.
Baptist Member of a group of Protestant Christians who hold that only adult believers should be baptized and that it must be done by immersion. During the 17th century two groups of Baptists emerged in England: General Baptists, who held that Christ’s atonement applied to all persons, and Particular Baptists, who believed it was only for the elect. Baptist origins in the American colonies can be traced to Roger Williams, who established a Baptist church in Providence, R.I., in 1639. Baptist growth in the U.S. was spurred by the Great Awakening in the mid-18th century. The 1814 General Convention showed divisions among U.S. Baptists over slavery; a formal split occurred when the Southern Baptist Convention was organized in 1845 and was confirmed when the Northern (American) Baptist Convention was organized in 1907. African-American Baptist churches provided leadership in the 1960s civil rights movement, notably through the work of Martin Luther King. Baptist belief emphasizes the authority of local congregations in matters of faith and practice; worship is characterized by extemporaneous prayer and hymn-singing as well as by the exposition of scripture in sermons.
baptistery or baptistry Domed hall or chapel, adjacent to or part of a church, for the administration of baptism. By the 4th century, the bap¬ tistery had assumed an eight-sided shape (eight in Christian numerology being the symbol for a new life), as had the baptismal font within. The font itself was set beneath a dome-shaped baldachin and encircled by col¬ umns and an ambulatory (aisle), features first used by the Byzantines. See photograph opposite.
Baqqarah See Baggara
bar association Group of lawyers organized primarily to deal with issues affecting the legal profession. In general, they are concerned with furthering the interests of lawyers through advocating reforms in the legal system, sponsoring research projects, and regulating professional stan¬ dards. Bar associations sometimes administer the examinations required for admission to practice law. The largest U.S. bar association is the American Bar Assn.
bar code Printed series of parallel bars of varying width used for enter¬ ing data into a computer system, typically for identifying the object on which the code appears. The width and spacing of the bars represent binary information that can be read by an optical (laser) scanner that is part of a computer system. The coding is used in many different areas of manufacturing and marketing, including inventory control and tracking systems. The bar codes printed on supermarket and other retail merchan¬ dise are those of the Universal Product Code (UPC).
bar graph See histogram
Bar Kokhba \,bar-'k6k-ba\ orig. Simeon bar Kosba (d. ad 135) Leader of an unsuccessful Jewish revolt against Roman rule in Palestine. In 131 Hadrian forbade circumcision and built a temple to Jupiter on the ruins of the Temple of Jerusalem. The Jews rebelled in 132, led by Sim¬ eon bar Kosba, who, according to one story, was hailed as a messiah by Akiba ben Joseph. He was called Bar Kokhba (“Son of the Star”), a mes¬ sianic allusion drawn from the book of Numbers. His army captured Aelia and inflicted heavy casualties, but Hadrian visited the battlefield and sum¬ moned reinforcements, and the Romans retook Jerusalem. Bar Kokhba was killed at Betar in 135, and the remnant of the Jewish army was soon crushed, with total Jewish losses, according to the 3rd-century Roman historian Dio Cassius, numbering 580,000. Surviving Jews were exiled and barred from Jerusalem.
Bar Mitzvah X.bar-'mits-voX Jewish ritual celebrating a boy’s 13th birth¬ day and his entry into the community of Judaism. It usually takes place during a Sabbath service, when the boy reads from the Torah and may give a discourse on the text. The service is often followed by a festive Kiddush and a family dinner on the same day or next day. Reform Judaism substituted confirmation of boys and girls for the Bar Mitzvah celebra¬ tion after 1810, but many congregations restored the Bar Mitzvah in the 20th century. A separate ceremony for girls. Bat Mitzvah, has been insti¬ tuted in Reform and Conservative Judaism.
Bara Vbar-oV, Theda orig. Theodosia Goodman (b. July 20, 1885?, Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.—d. April 7, 1955, Los Angeles, Calif.) U.S. film actress. She had a brief stage career before going to Hollywood. Her first major picture, A Fool There Was (1915), was accompanied by a pub¬ licity campaign, billing her as the daughter of a Middle Eastern potentate, that made her an instant success. Establishing a sultry, exotic persona, she became the prototype of the screen “vamp.” She made more than 40 films within a few years, but her popularity soon declined, and she retired in the 1920s.
Barabbas \bo-'ra-b3s\ In the New Testament, a prisoner or criminal freed to please the mob before the crucifixion of Jesus. Described as a thief or an insurrectionist, Barabbas is mentioned in all four Gospels. Following the custom of setting free one prisoner chosen by popular demand before Passover, Pontius Pilate suggested pardoning Jesus, but the crowd pro¬ tested and demanded the release of Barabbas. Pilate gave in and sent Jesus to his death.
Barada Vbar-o-dsX River ancient Chrysorrhoas River, western Syria. It flows about 45 mi (72 km) from the Anti-Lebanon Mountains past Damascus. Throughout history, channels have been cut at different levels parallel to the main branch of the river to divert its flow. The chan¬ nels (of Nabataean, Aramaean, and, especially, Roman origin) fan out as they reach Damascus, irrigating a large area. This system created the site of Damascus, an artificial oasis of extreme fertility.
Barak River See Surma River
Battistero (baptistery) San. Giovanni, Florence, begun 7th century
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Baraka ► Barber I 165
Baraka \ba-'ra-k3\, (Imamu) Amiri orig. (Everett) LeRoi Jones
(b. Oct. 7, 1934, Newark, N.J., U.S.) U.S. playwright, poet, and activist. After graduating from Howard University and serving in the U.S. Air Force, he joined the Beat movement and in 1961 published his first major poetry collection. His play Dutchman (1964), produced off-Broadway, explored the suppressed hostility of U.S. blacks toward the dominant white culture. After the assassination of Malcolm X in 1965, Baraka became involved in black nationalism and founded the Black Arts Rep¬ ertory Theatre in Harlem. In 1974 he adopted a Marxist-Leninist philoso¬ phy. He was appointed Poet Laureate of New Jersey in 2002.