False Decretals Vdi-'kre-tolz, 'de-kro-tolzV Collection of church law from the 9th century, containing some forged documents. They are also called the Decretals of Pseudo-Isidore because they were issued under the
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656 i falsework ► Fang Lizhi
name St. Isidore of Sevilla. The collection was intended to protect the rights of diocesan bishops against encroachment by their metropolitan superi¬ ors and to protect the clergy from lay interference. The decretals also emphasized the authority of the pope at the expense of that of the arch¬ bishops. They consist of laws, papal letters, and decrees of councils— some genuine but many (including the famous Donation of Constantine) forgeries. Widely accepted by the end of the 10th century, the collection was not proved a hoax until the 17th century.
falsework or centering Temporary framework used during construc¬ tion to support arches and similar structures while the mortar or concrete is setting or the steel is being joined. As soon as the work is set and the structure is self-supporting, the centering is struck (carefully removed).
Falun Gong Vfa-Jun-'goqV or Falun Dafa \'da-fa\ Controversial spiritual movement combining healthful exercises with meditation for the purpose of “moving to higher levels.” Its teachings draw from Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism, and the Western New Age movement. It was founded in China in 1992 by Li Hongzhi, a former grain-bureau clerk from Jilin province. He originally registered it as a form of the natural-healing dis¬ cipline qigong , but he later withdrew it from China’s Qigong Research Association to stress its spiritual (rather than health-related) emphasis. Its members nevertheless claim great health benefits from its practice. It claims a worldwide following of 100 million, with 70 million in China; Chinese authorities claim it has as few as 2 or 3 million members. The movement has been regarded as a threat by the Chinese government, which started arresting its followers in mid-1999. Many Falun Gong mem¬ bers were later tried and given long prison sentences. Li emigrated to the U.S. in 1998.
Falwell Vfol-.welV, Jerry L. (b. 1933, Lynchburg, Va., U.S.) Protestant evangelist. An engineering student before turning to religion, he founded Thomas Road Baptist Church in 1956 and later Liberty Baptist College. His Old-Time Gospel Hour television show serves as outreach for his church. In 1979 he organized the Moral Majority to encourage his fol¬ lowers to become involved in politics; he withdrew from its leadership in 1990 to return to preaching. A fundamentalist interpreter of the Bible, he is known for his sometimes extreme conservatism.
Familist Vfa-mo-lisA Member of the Family of Love religious sect. It was founded by a 16th-century Dutch merchant, Hendrik Niclaes, whose goal was to end religious wrangling and unite all “lovers of truth” in one great Christian fellowship of peace. His largest following was in England, where his works were privately published. Elizabeth I issued a proclama¬ tion against the Family of Love in 1580. The sect died out after the res¬ toration of the English monarchy in 1660; some of its members may have joined the Society of Friends.
family Basic social unit consisting of persons united by ties of marriage (affinity), “blood” (consanguinity), or adoption and usually representing a single household. The essence of the family group is the parent-child relationship, whose outlines vary widely among cultures. One prominent familial form is the nuclear family, consisting of the marital pair living with their offspring in a separate dwelling. While some scholars believe this to be the oldest form, others point to the inconclusive prehistorical record and the widespread existence of other forms such as the polygy- nous family (a husband, two or more wives, and their offspring) and the extended family (including at least parents, married children, and their offspring). The family as an institution provides for the rearing and social¬ ization of children, the care of the aged, sick, or disabled, the legitima¬ tion of procreation, and the regulation of sexual conduct in addition to supplying basic physical, economic, and emotional security for its mem¬ bers. See also adoption; marriage.
family In pedology, a group of soils that have similar profiles and include one or more subdivisions called series. The primary characteristics that define each of the nearly 6,600 identified soil families are the physical and chemical properties—especially texture, mineral composition, tem¬ perature, and depth—that are important for the growth of plants.
family planning Use of measures designed to regulate the number and spacing of children within a family, largely to curb population growth and ensure each family’s access to limited resources. The first attempts to offer family planning services began with private groups and often aroused strong opposition. Activists such as Margaret Sanger in the U.S., Marie Stopes in England, and Dhanvanthis Rama Rau in India eventually succeeded in establishing clinics for family planning and health care.
Today many countries have established national policies and encourage the use of public family services. The United Nations and the World Health Organization offer technical assistance. See also birth control.
family practice or family medicine or general practice Field of medicine that stresses comprehensive primary health care, emphasiz¬ ing the family unit. Practitioners must be familiar to some degree with medical specialties and, especially in health maintenance organizations, are now often gatekeepers who refer patients to specialists when neces¬ sary. Once virtually the only kind of medicine, family practice has been defined as a separate field only since increasing specialization in medi¬ cine led to a shortage of practitioners. A 1963 World Health Organization report stressing the need for medical education to focus on the patient as a whole throughout life led to specific programs in family practice.
family sagas See Icelanders' sagas
famine Extreme and protracted shortage of food, resulting in wide¬ spread hunger and a substantial increase in the death rate. General fam¬ ines affect all classes or groups in the region of food shortage; class famines affect some classes or groups much more severely than others; regional famines affect only a particular region of a country. Causes may be natural or human. Natural causes include drought, flooding, unfavour¬ able weather conditions, plant disease, and insect infestation. The chief human cause is war; others include overpopulation, bad distribution sys¬ tems, and high food prices. Several severe famines occurred in the 20th century, including those in China (1928-29, 5-10 million dead; 1958-62, up to 20 million), Russia (1921-22, 1.25-5 million; 1932-34, 6-8 mil¬ lion), India (1943-44, 1.5 million), Cambodia (1975-79, 1 million), and sub-Saharan Africa.
fan Rigid or folding handheld device used for cooling, air circulation, or ceremony or as a sartorial accessory throughout the world from ancient times. As evidenced by Egyptian reliefs, early fans were of the rigid type, with a handle or stick attached to a rigid leaf or to feathers. In China, the folding fan came into fashion during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644); much significance came to be attached to the fan in East Asia, and many great Chinese painters devoted their talents to fan decoration. Portuguese traders in the 15th century brought fans to Europe from China and Japan. Through the 19th century in the West, fan decoration and size varied with European fashion.
Fan Chung-yen See Fan Zhongyen
Fan Zhongyen Vfan-'juq-'ysiA or Fan Chung-yen (b. 989, Wu, Jiangsu province, China—d. 1052, China) Chinese scholar-reformer whose reforms anticipated those of Wang Anshi. He attempted to abolish nepotism and corruption, reclaim unused land, equalize landholdings, cre¬ ate a strong local militia system, reduce corvee labor, and reform the civil-service examination system. He proposed establishing a national school system to train men to deal with the problems of history and poli¬ tics; the proposal was adopted in 1044. See also Neo-Confucianism; Song