yucca Vyo-,k3\ Any of about 40 species of succulent plants (genus Yucca ) of the uly family, native to southern North America. Most species lack a stem and have a rosette of stiff, sword-shaped leaves at the base and clusters of waxy white flowers. The Joshua tree (K brevifolia) has a stem more than 33 ft (10 m) high. Com¬ monly cultivated as ornamentals for their unusual appearance and attrac¬ tive flower clusters are the aptly named Spanish bayonet ( Y. aloifo- lia ), Spanish dagger (Y. gloriosa ), and Adam’s needle, or bear grass {Y. filamentosa ). Yucca moths (genus Tegeticula ) inhabit yucca bushes, each moth species adapted to a par¬ ticular yucca species. The yucca can be fertilized by no other insect, and the moth can use no other plant to raise its larvae.
Yudenich \yii-'dye-nyich\, Nikolay (Nikolayevich) (b. July 30, 1862, Moscow, Russia—d. Oct. 5, 1933, Saint-Laurent-du-Var, France) Russian commander of anti-BoLSHEViK forces in the Russian Civil War. A career army officer who joined the Imperial Army in 1879, he commanded in the Russo-Japanese War and was promoted to general in 1905. In World War I he led Russian troops in the Caucasus (1914-15, 1917). After retir¬ ing to Estonia, he organized anti-Bolshevik forces there and launched an
Yucca
COURTESY OF THE NEW MEXICO DEPARTMENT OF DEVELOPMENT
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
YueFei ► YWCA I 2101
unsuccessful offensive toward Petrograd (St. Petersburg). He renewed his offensive in coordination with other White forces but was stopped by the Red Army and forced to retreat to Estonia, where he disbanded his army (1920). He fled to France, where he died in exile.
Yue Fei or Yueh Fei \yt£-'e-'fa\ (b. 1103, Tangyin, Henan province, China—d. Jan. 27, 1142, Lin’an, Zhejiang province) One of China’s greatest generals and national heroes. When the Juchen overran northern China and captured the Song-dynasty capital at Kaifeng, Yue Fei accom¬ panied the future emperor Gaozong into the south, where the Southern Song was established. Yue Fei prevented the advance of the Juchen in the south and was able to recover and secure some of the occupied territory in central China. His attempt to push north and recapture all of the lost territory was opposed by the minister Qin Hui, who had Yue executed. Yue has been extolled for his resistance to foreign domination.
yuga Vyu-g3\ Unit of the cosmic cycle in Hindu cosmology. Each yuga is progressively shorter than the preceding one, corresponding to a decline in the moral and physical state of humanity. Four such yugas make up a mahayuga; 2,000 mahayugas make up the basic cosmic cycle, the kalpa. The first yuga was an age of perfection that lasted 1,728,000 years. The fourth and most degenerate yuga began in 3102 bc and will last 432,000 years. At the close of this yuga, the world will be destroyed, to be re¬ created after a period of quiescence as the cycle resumes.
Yugoslavia Former federated country situated on the west-central Bal¬ kan Peninsula of southern Europe. Between 1929 and 2003, three fed¬ erations bore the name Yugoslavia (“Land of the South Slavs”). After the Balkan Wars of 1912-13 ended Turkish rule in the Balkan Peninsula and Austria-Hungary was defeated in World War I, a Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes was established, comprising the former kingdoms of Serbia and Montenegro (including Serbian-held Macedonia), as well as Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austrian territory in Dalmatia and Slo¬ venia, and Hungarian land north of the Danube River. The Kingdom of Yugoslavia, officially proclaimed in 1929 by King Alexander I and lasting until World War II, covered 95,576 sq mi (247,542 sq km). The postwar Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia covered 98,766 sq mi (255,804 sq km) and had a population of about 24 million by 1991. In addition to Serbia and Montenegro, socialist Yugoslavia included four other repub¬ lics now recognized as independent states: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, and Slovenia. The “third Yugoslavia,” inaugurated on April 27, 1992, had roughly 45% of the population and 40% of the area of its predecessor and consisted of the republics of Serbia and Mon¬ tenegro, which in 2003 abandoned the name Yugoslavia and renamed the country Serbia and Montenegro.
Historical map of Yugoslavia showing the boundaries of the country from 1946 to 1992.
Yukaghir See Siberian peoples
Yukon or Yukon Territory Territory (pop., 2001 est.: 30,000), north¬ western Canada. Bounded by Alaska, U.S., to the west, and the Canadian Northwest Territories to the east and British Columbia to the south, its capital is Whitehorse. Drained by the Yukon River system, it has some of the highest mountains in North America, notably the Saint Elias Moun¬ tains and Mount Logan, Canada’s highest peak. It was originally settled by American Indians and the Inuit (Eskimo). The first European visitor (1825) was British explorer John Franklin, who was seeking the North¬ west Passage. Sporadic settlement occurred thereafter. The discovery of gold in the 1870s later resulted in the Klondike gold rush. In 1898 it was separated from the Northwest Territories and given territorial status. The economic boost from the gold rush soon abated, and the exploitation of other minerals expanded and continued throughout the 20th century. Its economic mainstays, though, are government services and tourism.
Yukon River River, northwestern North America. Formed by the con¬ fluence of the Lewes and Pelly rivers in southwestern Yukon Territory, Can., it is 1,980 mi (3,190 km) long. It flows northwest across the Yukon border into Alaska, then southwest across central Alaska to the Bering Sea. It is the third longest river in North America; its entire course of 1,265 mi (2,035 km) in Alaska is navigable. It attracted attention following the rich gold strikes in 1896 on one of its Canadian tributaries, the Klondike River (see Klondike gold rush).
Yuma \'yu-ma\ Any of various North American Indian peoples living mostly in California and Arizona, U.S. Their languages belong to the Hokan language family. They once lived in the lower Colorado River val¬ ley and adjacent areas in Arizona, California, and Mexico. The river Yuma (including the Mojave, Yuma, and Maricopa) lived along the lower Colo¬ rado and middle Gila rivers; the upland Yuma (including the Hualapai, Havasupai, and Yavapai) inhabited western Arizona south of the Grand Canyon. The river Yuma were primarily farmers; the upland Yuma also practiced hunting and gathering. Both lacked settled villages. Yuma reli¬ gion is characterized by belief in a supreme creator, faith in dreams, and ritual use of song narratives. At the turn of the 21st century, they num¬ bered more than 4,000.
Yun-nan See Yunnan
Yung-lo emperor See Yongle emperor
Yung-ning See Nanning
Yungang Yyuen-'gagN caves or Yun-kang caves Series of mag¬ nificent Chinese Buddhist cave temples, created in the 5th century ad dur¬ ing the Northern Wei dynasty period. There are about 20 major cave temples and many smaller niches and caves, stretching for over half a mile. They are among the earliest remaining examples of the first flow¬ ering of Buddhist art in China. The predominant sculptural style is a syn¬ thesis of various foreign influences, including Persian, Byzantine, and Greek, with elements ultimately derived from the Buddhist art of India.
Yunnan Vyui-'nanV or Yun-nan Province (pop., 2002 est.: 43,330,000), southern China. It is bordered by Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar, Sichuan and Guizhou provinces, and Guangxi and Tibet autonomous regions. It has an area of 168,400 sq mi (436,200 sq km), and its capital is Kunming. Its population is one of China’s most ethnically mixed, comprising more than 20 nationalities. The terrain is largely mountainous, especially in the north and west. It is crossed by three major river systems—the Yangtze (Chang; there known as the Jinsha), the Mekong, and the Salween —and is the source of two others—the Xi (there known as the Nanpan and Hongshui) and the Yuan. Because of its isolation, the region was independent dur¬ ing the historical development of China. The Mongols overran it in the 13th century. In 1855-73 it was the scene of the great Panthay (Muslim) rebellion. Part of the province was seized by the Japanese in World War II. Yunnan is now noted for its agricultural production, especially of rice, as well as for its extensive mining industry.