Its water level has varied during sea¬ sons of drought in recent decades.
Fed by numerous small streams, the intensely blue lake and the surround¬ ing national forests have been devel¬ oped as popular tourist resorts.
TahtawT Uah-'ta-.weV Rifa'ah Rafi' al- (b. 1801, Tahta, Egypt—d.
1873, Egypt) Egyptian teacher and scholar. Beginning in 1826, he spent five years in Paris as a religious teacher for a group of Egyptian stu¬ dents and later was appointed head of a state language school (1836) and a translation bureau (1841) in Cairo.
In these capacities he played a cen¬ tral role in bringing Western science and methods to Egypt. Under the anti-Western administration of khedive 'Abbas I (1848-54), he was sent to teach school in Khartoum, Sudan, but later returned to resume his work in translation and education.
Tai \'tl\ Any member of the dominant group of mainland Southeast Asia. They include the Thai, or Siamese (in Thailand), the Lao (in Laos and Thailand), the Shan (in Myanmar), the Lti (primarily in Yunnan province, China), the Yunnan Tai (in Yunnan), and the tribal Tai (in Vietnam). All speak Tai languages, and most are Buddhists of the Theravada school. The status of Tai women is high. The Tai number about 76 million.
Tai See Shan
Tai, Lake Chinese Tai Hu Vtl-'hiiN or T'ai Hu Lake, between Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces, eastern China. Roughly crescent-shaped, it covers an area of 850 sq mi (2,200 sq km). It lies in a plain and is served by a maze of natural and man-made waterways, some dating from the 7th cen¬ tury ad. Several islands in the eastern section were traditionally famous Daoist and Buddhist religious sites. The area’s great natural beauty attracts many tourists.
Tai Chi Chuan Chinese taijiquan or t'ai-chi-ch'uan
Vtl-'je-'chwanN Ancient Chinese form of exercise or of attack and defense. As exercise, it is designed to provide relaxation in the process of body conditioning, which it accomplishes partly by harmonizing the principles of yin-yang. It employs flowing, deliberate movements with carefully pre¬
scribed stances and positions. As a mode of attack and defense, it resembles kung fu and is properly considered a martial art. Dating to the 3rd century ad, Tai Chi Chuan consists of two major schools, the Wu and the Yang. Depending on the school, the number of exercises varies from 24 to more than 100.
T'ai-chung \ , ti-'chuq\ City (pop., 2002 est.: 990,041), west-central Tai¬ wan. Most of the old town was tom down under the Japanese occupation (1895-1945) and replaced by a planned modern city. An agricultural cen¬ tre since the early 19th century, it is a major market for the rice, sugar, and bananas produced in the surrounding area. In the 1970s an interna¬ tional seaport was developed west of the city, and T’ai-chung was des¬ ignated an export-processing zone to encourage foreign investment. It is also a cultural centre, with various institutions of higher education. In 1999 it suffered one of Taiwan’s worst earthquakes.
T'ai Hsu See Tai Xu
Tai languages Family of closely related languages spoken in South¬ east Asia and southern China by more than 80 million people. According to a widely used classification, Tai comprises three branches. The South¬ western group includes Thai, the national language of Thailand; north¬ eastern Thai and Lao, spoken in eastern Thailand and Laos; Pak Tay (South Thai), spoken in southern Thailand; Shan, spoken in eastern and northern Myanmar; and Tai Dam (Black Tai) and Tai Don (Tai Khaw, or White Tai), spoken mainly in North Vietnam. The Central group includes Nung and South Zhuang, a dialect chain in northern Vietnam and China’s Guangxi province; and Tay (Tho), spoken in the same area. The North¬ ern group includes Buyi and North Zhuang, a dialect chain spoken in Guangxi, Guizhou, and Yunnan, China. All Tai languages are tone lan¬ guages. Most scholars believe the Tai family is related to a number of other languages spoken by minority peoples of southern China and north¬ ern Vietnam. Together with Tai, the entire group has been named the Kadai or Tai-Kadai family.
T'ai-nan Vtl-’nan \ formerly Dainan City (pop., 2002 est.: 742,574), southwestern Taiwan. It is one of the oldest urban settlements on the island. The Han Chinese settled there as early as 1590. The Dutch arrived in the city in 1623 and stayed until they were driven out in 1662 by Zheng Chenggong, who made it his capital. It remained the island’s capital when the Qing dynasty reestablished Chinese control over Taiwan (1683). Under Chinese rule in the 19th century, it grew into a prosperous city and was the commercial and educational centre of Taiwan. After the transfer of the capital to Taipei in 1891, it became primarily commercial. It expanded dur¬ ing the Japanese occupation (1895-1945). Today it is a major market and tourism centre.
T'ai-tsu See Taizu T'ai-tsung See Taizong
Tai Xu or T'ai Hsii Vti-’shueX orig. Lu Peilin (b. Jan. 8, 1890, Hai- ning, Zhejiang province, China—d. March 17, 1947, Shanghai) Chinese Buddhist monk and philosopher. After training as a Buddhist monk near Ningbo, he helped organize the Association for the Advancement of Bud¬ dhism (1912). In 1921 he began publication of the influential journal Hai- chaoyin (“The Voice of the Sea Tide”). Heavily influenced by Sun Yat- sen and the revolution of 1911, he sought to reform the education of monks and promoted social welfare activities. From 1925 to 1941 he traveled extensively to promote the formation of national and international Bud¬ dhist organizations in Japan, Europe, the U.S., and South and Southeast Asia.
Taieri River \'ti-3-re\ River, southeastern South Island, New Zealand. It rises in the Lammerlaw Range and flows 179 mi (288 km) north and southeast in a great arc, across plains and around the Rock and Pillar Range, to enter the Pacific Ocean near Dunedin. Gorges are found in both the upper and lower reaches.
taiga \'ti-go\ or boreal forest Open coniferous forest (see conifer) growing on swampy ground that is commonly covered with lichens. It is the characteristic vegetation of the subpolar region of northern Eurasia (principally Russia, including Siberia, and Scandinavia) and northern North America, bounded by the colder tundra to the north and the warmer temperate zone to the south. Spruces and pines are the dominant trees. Soil organisms are protozoans, nematodes, and rotifers; larger invertebrates (e.g., insects) that decompose plant litter are lacking, so humus accumu¬ lates very slowly. The taiga is rich in fur-bearing animals (e.g., sable, fox.
Lake Tahoe in Toiyabe National Forest, Nevada.
JOHN F. SHRAWDER/SHOSTAL
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
1864 I Taiga ► Taiwan
and ermine) and is home to elks, bears, and wolves. Siberian taiga alone accounts for 19% of the world’s forested area and possibly 25% of total forest volume. Despite the remoteness of the taiga, it is a major source of lumber for construction, and huge expanses have been clear-cut.
Taiga, Ike no See Ike no Taiga taijiquan See t'ai chi ch'uan
tail Extension of the vertebral column beyond the trunk, or any slender projection resembling such a structure. In fishes and other animals living completely or partly in water, it is very important to movement through water. Many tree-dwelling animals (e.g., squirrels) use the tail for balance and as a rudder when leaping; in some (e.g., certain monkeys), it is adapted for grasping. Birds’ tail feathers aid in flight maneuverability. Other animals use their tails for defense (e.g., porcupines), social signals (e.g., dogs and cats), warning signals (e.g., deer and rattlesnakes), and hunting (e.g., alligators).
Tain Bo Cuailgne See Cattle Raid of Cooley, The
Taine \'ten\, Hippolyte (-Adolphe) (b. April 21, 1828, Vouziers, Ardennes, France—id. March 5,1893, Paris) French thinker, critic, and his¬ torian. Taine came to believe as a youth that knowledge must be based on sense experience, observation, and controlled experiment, a conviction that guided his career. Teaching at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris (1864-83), he earned a reputation as one of the most esteemed exponents of 19th- century French positivism with his attempts to apply the scientific method to the study of the humanities. His works include a History of English Lit¬ erature (1863-64), containing an explanation of his approach to cultural and literary history and his scientific attitude toward criticism; On Intelli¬ gence (1871), a study in psychology; and his monumental historical analy¬ sis Les Origines de la France contemporaine, 3 vol. (1876-99).