Chiang-hsi See Jiangxi
Chiang Kai-shek Vje-'aq-'kI-'shekA English \chaq-kl-'shek\ or Chiang Chieh-shih or Jiang Jieshi yje-'aq-je-'esh-'eX (b. Oct. 31,
1887, Zhejiang, China—d. April 5,
1975, Taipei, Taiwan) Head of the Nationalist government in China (1928^19) and later in Taiwan (1949-75). After receiving military training in Tokyo, in 1918 he joined Sun Yat-sen, leader of the National¬ ist Party, which was trying to con¬ solidate control over a nation in chaos. In the 1920s Chiang became commander in chief of the revolu¬ tionary army, which he sent to crush warlords active in the north (see Northern Expedition). In the 1930s he and Wang Jingwei vied for control of a new central government with its capital at Nanjing. Faced with Japa¬ nese aggression in Manchuria and communist opposition led by Mao Zedong in the hinterland, Chiang decided to crush the communists first. This proved to be a mistake, and Chiang was forced into a temporary alliance with the communists when war broke out with Japan in 1937. After the war China’s civil war resumed, culminating in the Nationalists’ flight to Taiwan in 1949, where Chiang ruled, supported by U.S. economic and military aid, until his death, when his son, Chiang Ching-kuo, took up the reins of government. His years ruling Taiwan, though dictatorial, oversaw the island’s eco¬ nomic development and increasing prosperity even in the face of its pre¬ carious geopolitical position. His failure to keep control of mainland China has been attributed to poor morale among his troops, lack of respon¬ siveness to popular sentiment, and lack of a coherent plan for making the deep social and economic changes China required.
Chiang Mai Vjyaq-'mA City (pop., 1999 est.: 171,594), northwestern Thailand. Located on the Ping River about 80 mi (130 km) east of Myan¬ mar, it was founded in the late 13th century as the capital of the indepen¬ dent Lan Na kingdom. Later subject to Myanmar, it was taken by the Siamese in 1774, but retained a degree of independence from Bangkok until the late 19th century. It is now northern Thailand’s religious, eco¬ nomic, and cultural centre. Nearby is the temple complex of Wat Phra That Doi Suthop, whose monastery was built in the 14th century.
Chiang-su See Jiangsu
Chian-ning See Nanjing
Chiapas \che-'a-pas\ State (pop., 2000: 3,920,892), southeastern Mexico. Covering 28,653 sq mi (74,211 sq km), its capital is Tuxtla Gutier¬ rez. It is mountainous and forested and is bounded by Guatemala and the Pacific Ocean. Most of its inhabitants are Indian peoples. The extraordi¬ nary Maya ruins of Palenque are in the northeastern rainforests. Bonham- pak, with its famous Mayan murals, can be reached from the capital. Linked with Guatemala in colonial days, Chiapas became a Mexican state in 1824; its boundaries were fixed in 1882. In 1994 impoverished Indi¬ ans and middle-class residents, protesting economic and social inequali¬
ties, formed the Zapatista National Liberation Army and launched an armed uprising that continued into the 21st century.
chiaroscuro Xke-.ar-o-'skyur-oV Italian "light-dark" Contrasting effects of light and shade in a work of art. Leonardo da Vinci brought the technique to its full potential, but it is usually associated with such 17th- century artists as Caravaggio and Rembrandt, who used it to outstanding effect. The chiaroscuro woodcut, produced by printing different tones of a colour from separate woodblocks on a single sheet of paper, was first produced in 16th-century Italy.
Chibcha \'chib-,cha\ or Muisca \'mwesko\ Group of South American Indians who at the time of the Spanish conquest occupied the high val¬ leys surrounding what are now Bogota and Tunja in Colombia. They had a population of more than 500,000 and were more centralized politically than any other South American people outside the Inca empire. Their economy was based on intensive agriculture, a variety of crafts, and exten¬ sive trade. Society was highly stratified. The Chibchan political structure was crushed by Spanish invaders in the 16th century, and by the 18th cen¬ tury they had been assimilated into the rest of the population. See also Andean civilization.
Chicago City (pop., 2000: 2,896,016), northeastern Illinois, U.S. Located on Lake Michigan and the Chicago River, Chicago has extensive port facilities. In the 17th century the name was associated with a por¬ tage between the Des Plaines and Chicago rivers connecting the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes with the Mississippi River. Fort Dearborn was built in 1803 on a tract acquired from Indians. It expanded rapidly after the completion of the Illinois and Michigan Canal (1848), which connected the Chicago and Mississippi rivers, and also became the nation’s chief rail centre. Rebuilt quickly after a hugely destructive fire in 1871, it was the site of the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893. It was the birthplace of the steel-frame skyscraper in the late 19th century, and it boasts designs by eminent architects, including Louis H. Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Nuclear scientists pro¬ duced the first nuclear chain reaction at the University of Chicago in 1942. After World War II the city underwent another building boom, but, as in other large cities, its population subsequently dropped as its suburbs grew. The third largest U.S. city, it is a major industrial, commercial, and trans¬ portation centre and is the site of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade. Several museums and the Art Institute of Chi¬ cago are located there.
Chicago, Judy orig. Judy Cohen (b. July 20, 1939, Chicago, Ill., U.S.) U.S. multimedia artist. She studied at UCLA, and in 1970 she adopted the name of her hometown. Motivated by perceived discrimina¬ tion in the art world and alienation from canonical art traditions, she developed “environments” featuring feminine imagery. Her most notable work, The Dinner Party (1974-79), is a triangular table with place set¬ tings for 39 important women, each represented by personalized ceramic plates and table runners embellished with embroidery styles typical of their eras. This installation established her reputation as a leader in femi¬ nist art. In 1973 she cofounded the Feminist Studio Workshop and Wom¬ an’s Building in Los Angeles.
Chicago, University of Independent university in Chicago, Illinois, U.S. It was founded in 1890 with an endowment from John D. Rockefeller. William Rainey Harper, its first president (1891-1906), did much to estab¬ lish its reputation, and under Robert M. Hutchins (1929-51) the university came to be recognized for its broad liberal arts curriculum. The world’s first department of sociology was established there in 1892 under Robert E. Park. In 1942 it was the site of the first controlled self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction, under the direction of Enrico Fermi. Other notable achievements include the development of carbon- 14 dating and the isolation of plutonium. More than 70 scholars associated with the University of Chicago have been awarded Nobel Prizes in their fields. The university comprises an under¬ graduate college, several professional schools, and centres for advanced research, including the Oriental Institute (Middle Eastern studies), Yerkes Observatory, the Enrico Fermi Institute, and the Center for Policy Study. The university operates the Argonne National Laboratory.
Chicago and North Western Transportation Co. Former U.S. railroad company. It was created when employees of the financially troubled Chicago and North Western Railway Co. purchased its assets in 1972. The initial company, founded in 1859, evolved from the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad, which had been the first railroad to enter Chicago (1848). Employees ceased to hold a majority of the company’s