Shamil or Shamyl \ , sha-,mel\ (b. 1797?, Gimry, Dagestan—d. March 1871, Medina?, Arabia) Leader of Muslim Dagestan and Chechen moun¬ taineers. In 1830 he joined a Sufi sect that had become involved in a holy war against the Russians for Dagestan, formerly part of northern Iran but occupied by the Russians from 1813. He eventually became imam of Dag¬ estan and established an independent republic (1834), then led successive raids against the Russians in the Caucasus for 25 years. Determined to suppress him, the Russians attacked from all sides, compelling his sur¬ render in 1859 and effectively ending Caucasian resistance to Russian subjugation.
Shamir \sh3-'mer\, Yitzhak orig. Yitzhak Jazernicki (b. Oct. 15, 1915, Ruzinoy, Pol., Russian Empire) Polish-born Israeli statesman. He immigrated in 1935 to Palestine, where he helped found the Israel Free¬ dom Fighters, later known as the Stem Gang. Twice arrested by British authorities (1941, 1946), he twice escaped and eventually found asylum in France. After Israel achieved independence, he served as a secret- service operative until 1965. He was speaker of the Knesset (1977-80)
and later foreign minister under Menachem Begin (1980-83). He became prime minister in 1983; in 1984 an indecisive election led to his sharing power with the Labour Party leader Shimon Peres, and Shamir acted as prime minister for the six years beginning in 1986, which included another indecisive election in 1988 and the formation of a coalition government in 1990, but lost power in 1992. He retired from the Knesset in 1996.
Sham'un, Kamil See Camille Chamoun
Shan Shan Tai Any member of a Southeast Asian people who live pri¬ marily in eastern and northwestern Myanmar (Burma) and also in Yun¬ nan province, China. The Shan are the largest minority group in Myanmar, numbering more than four million. They live mainly in the valleys and plains on the Shan Plateau, where they grow rice or practice shifting agri¬ culture. They are Theravada Buddhists and have their own written lan¬ guage and literature. They dominated much of Myanmar from the 13th to the 16th century; since the 1970s they have been at odds with the national government over the issue of local autonomy. See also Tai.
Shan-hsi See Shanxi
Shandong \'shan-'duq\ or Shan-tung conventional Shantung Coastal province (pop., 2002 est.: 90,820,000), eastern China. It lies on the Yellow Sea and is bordered by Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan, and Hebei prov¬ inces. It has an area of 59,200 sq mi (153,300 sq km), and its capital is Jinan. It contains the Shandong Peninsula and an inland zone that includes a fertile, intensely cultivated area that forms part of the Huang He (Yel¬ low River) basin. The peninsula has been occupied since the 3rd millen¬ nium bc, and by the 8th century bc it had become a centre of political and military activity. It became northern China’s leading maritime centre in the 3rd century ad and retained that position for centuries. In the 19th century devastating floods resulted in substantial emigration. It came under German, British, and Japanese influence in the late 19th century. The Japanese occupied it in 1937-45; it came under communist control in 1948. Its products include wheat, corn, iron ore, gold, fish, and silk. Confucius and Mencius were born in Shandong.
Shandong Peninsula or Shan-tung Peninsula conventional Shantung Peninsula Peninsula, eastern China. Occupying the east¬ ern section of Shandong province, it extends northeastward between the Bo Hai (Gulf of Chihli) and the Yellow Sea. The terrain is hilly, with eleva¬ tions around 600 ft (180 m), rising to 3,707 ft (1,130 m) in the Lao Moun¬ tains. Fishing is important along the coast, and fruit is grown in the hills. Iron ore, magnesite, and gold are abundant. Some of China’s best ports are located along the peninsula’s rocky, indented coast.
Shang dynasty or Yin dynasty Traditionally, the second of Chi¬ na’s dynasties, following the Xia dynasty. Until excavations in the 20th century provided archaeological evidence for the Xia, the Shang was the first verifiable Chinese dynasty. Dates for its founding vary; traditionally its rule was said to have spanned 1766-1122 bc, but more recently the range has been given as c. 1600-1046 bc. Shang society was stratified: it included a king, local governors, nobles, and the masses, who engaged in agriculture. The Shang developed a 12-month, 360-day calendar with intercalary months added as necessary. The Chinese writing system began to develop; numerous records and ceremonial inscriptions survive. Sur¬ viving artifacts include musical instruments, superb bronze vessels, pot¬ tery for ceremonial and daily use, and jade and ivory ornaments. Cowrie shells were used as currency. See also Erlitou culture; Zhou dynasty.
Shanghai \'shaq-'hl\ or Shang-hai Municipality with provincial sta¬ tus (pop., 2003 est.: city, 10,030,800; 2002 est.: municipality, 16,250,000), east-central China. The municipality, on the East China Sea, is bordered by Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces and has an area of 2,400 sq mi (6,200 sq km). The city is located on the Huangpu River, which gives oceango¬ ing vessels access to it. The site was settled during the Bei (Northern) Song period (ad 960-1127), and later under the Ming dynasty it was an area of intense cotton production. This changed when it became the first Chinese port opened to trade with the West after China’s defeat by Brit¬ ain in the Opium Wars (1842); it came to dominate the nation’s commerce. The site of the Chinese Communist Party’s founding in 1921, it saw severe fighting in the Sino-Japanese War of 1937—45 and was occupied by Japan during World War II. Since 1949, it has become China’s chief industrial and commercial centre and one of its leading centres of higher education and scientific research.
Shankar \'shaq-,kar\ / Ravi (b. April 7, 1920, Benares, India) Indian sitar player. He studied music and dance, toured as a member of his
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Shankara ► shark I 1733
brother Uday’s dance troupe, and spent years learning the sitar. After serving as music director of All-India Radio (1948-56), he began a series of European and U.S. tours. He wrote the score for Satyajit Ray’s Apu film trilogy (1955-59). He was a founder of the National Orchestra of India, and in 1962 he founded the Kinnara School of Music in Bombay (now Mumbai) and later in Los Angeles. His performances with Yehudi Menu¬ hin and his association with George Harrison of the Beatles were prima¬ rily responsible for bringing Indian music to a broad Western audience.
Shankara Vshan-ko-roX or Samkara Vshom-ko-roV (b. c. 700, Kal- adi village?, India—d. c. 750, Kedarnath) Indian philosopher and theo¬ logian. According to tradition, he was born into a pious Brahman family and became a sannyasi after his father’s death. He is said to have trav¬ eled all over India, holding discussions with philosophers of different creeds, and is believed to have founded four monasteries. He is the reputed author of more than 300 Sanskrit works, most of them commentaries on and expositions of Vedic literature, but most are not regarded as authen¬ tic. The most renowned exponent of the Advaita school of Vedanta phi¬ losophy, he is credited with laying the foundation for Hindu orthodoxy in India after centuries of challenge from Jainism and Buddhism.
Shannon, Claude (Elwood) (b. April 30, 1916, Petoskey, Mich., U.S.—d. Feb. 24, 2001, Medford, Mass.) U.S. electrical engineer. Shan¬ non earned a Ph.D. in mathematics from MIT in 1940. He had a long career as a research mathematician at Bell Laboratories (1941-72) and as a professor at MIT (1957-78). On the basis of his 1948 paper “The Math¬ ematical Theory of Communication,” he is considered the founder of communication theory. He was awarded the National Medal of Science in 1966 and the Kyoto Prize in 1985.