Hamsun Vham-.sunV Knut orig.
Knut Pedersen (b. Aug. 4, 1859,
Lorn, Nor.—d. Feb. 19, 1952, near Grimstad) Norwegian novelist, dra¬ matist, and poet. Of peasant origin, he had almost no formal education. His semiautobiographical first novel, Hunger (1890), about a starving young writer, revealed his impulsive, lyrical style. It was followed by such works as Mysteries (1892), Pan (1894), and Victoria (1898), with which he established himself as a leader of the Neoromantic revolt against social realism. Growth of the Soil (1917) and his many other novels express a message of fierce individualism and back-to-nature philosophy. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1920. His antipathy to modem Western culture led to his support of Nazi Germany during its wartime occupation of Norway; he was imprisoned and tried after the war, and his reputation was seriously damaged.
han Fief controlled by a daimyo, or territorial lord, during the Tokugawa period (1603-1867) in Japan. Collectively, the han resembled a confed¬ eration of principalities united under the Tokugawa shogunate. In 1869 the daimyo were requested to surrender their domains to the Meiji emperor; in 1871 they were abolished and replaced by the present-day prefectures.
Han dynasty \'han\ (206 bc-ad 220) Second great Chinese imperial dynasty. In contrast to the preceding Qin dynasty, the Han was a period of cultural flowering. One of the greatest of the early histories, the Shiji by Sima Qian, was composed, and the fu, a poetic form that became the norm for creative writing, began to flourish. The Yuefu, or Music Bureau, collected and recorded not only ceremonial chants but also the songs and ballads of ordinary people. Lacquerware, first developed during the Shang dynasty, reached a level of great mastery, and silk was woven for export
trade, which reached as far as Europe. Buddhism entered China during the Han. Paper was invented, time was measured with water clocks and sundials, and calendars were published frequently. So thoroughly did the Han dynasty establish what was thereafter considered Chinese culture that the Mandarin Chinese word for Chinese people is Han.
Han \'han\ River River, east-central China. A principal tributary of the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang), it has a total length of about 950 mi (1,530 km). It rises in the mountains in southwestern Shaanxi province; known by various names in its upper course, it becomes the Han at Hanzhong and flows through a fertile basin some 60 mi (100 km) long and 12 mi (19 km) wide, then cuts through a series of deep gorges and emerges into the central Yangtze basin in Hubei province. Its lower course forms a dense network of water transport covering the southern part of the North China Plain.
Han Yongun Vhan-'yoq-'unV or Manhae (b. 1879, Korea—d. 1944, Korea) Korean poet and religious and political leader. After participating in the failed Tonghak Uprising, he fled to Mount Solok and studied Bud¬ dhism. He became a priest in 1905 and set out to restore and nationalize Buddhism in Korea. In 1910, when Korea came under Japanese rule, he joined the independence movement. He helped draft a Korean Declara¬ tion of Independence in 1919 and was arrested and jailed for three years. In 1927 he led in the establishment of the Singanhoe society, a united national independence front. His best-known work is a volume of poetry, The Silence of the Lover.
Han Yu or Han Yu Vhan-'yuA (b. 768, Henan province, China—d. 824, Chang’an) Chinese poet and prose writer, the first proponent of Neo- Confucianism. An orphan, he joined the Chinese bureaucracy and served in several high government posts. He attacked Daoism and Buddhism, which were then at the height of their influ¬ ence, and sought to restore Confu¬ cianism to its former status. He revived interest in the writings of Mencius and other neglected Confu- cian classics. His own works were written in a simple prose style unlike the elaborate manner popular at the time, and he became known as the “Prince of Letters.”
Hancock, Herbie orig. Her¬ bert Jeffrey Hancock (b. April 12, 1940, Chicago, Ill., U.S.) U.S. pianist, composer, and bandleader.
He was educated at Grinnell College.
Part of the superb rhythm section of Miles Davis’s mid-1960s group, he led the group after Davis left. In the 1970s he became involved in funk music, and later disco, while con¬ tinuing to tour with jazz groups, including that of Wynton Marsalis. In 1986 he acted in and scored ’Round Midnight (1986, Academy Award). His later career was notably diverse.
Hancock, John (b. Jan. 12, 1737, Braintree, Mass.—d. Oct. 8, 1793, Quincy, Mass., U.S.) American Revolutionary leader. He entered the mer¬ cantile business of his wealthy uncle in Boston in 1754. His adherence to the patriot cause dates from the Stamp Act, which, as a leading mer¬ chant, he protested. In 1769, soon after the British seized one of his ships, he was elected to the Massachusetts legislature, and he chaired the Bos¬ ton town committee formed after the Boston Massacre. He became presi¬ dent of the provincial congress (1774-75), and he and Samuel Adams led the Massachusetts Patriots. In 1775 both were forced to flee from British troops sent to arrest them for treason. Hancock was a member of the Con¬ tinental Congress (1775-80), serving as its president (1775-77); the bold flourish with which he signed the Declaration of Independence has made his name synonymous with “signature.” As governor of Massachusetts (1780-85, 1787—93), he presided over the state’s ratification of the Con¬ stitution in 1788.
Hancock, Winfield Scott (b. Feb. 14, 1824, Montgomery county, Pa., U.S.—d. Feb. 9, 1886, Governor’s Island, N.Y.) U.S. general and politi-
Golden hamster [Mesocricetus aura- tus).
JOHN MARKHAM
Han Yu, portrait by an unknown artist; in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taiwan.
COURTESY OF THE COLLECTION OF THE NATIONAL PALACE MUSEUM, TAIPEI, TAIWAN, REPUBUC OF CHINA
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
hand ► Hangul I 835
cian. He graduated from West Point and served in the Mexican War. Appointed a brigadier general of volunteers at the start of the American Civil War, he became a corps commander in the Army of the Potomac (1863-65) and served with distinction at the Battle of Gettysburg. After the war he commanded the military division of Louisiana and Texas. For his insistence that the region’s civil authorities be maintained in their “natural and rightful dominion,” he won the support of Democrats, who nominated him for president in 1880. He lost the election to James Garfield.
hand End part of the arm, consisting of the wrist joint, palm, thumb, and fingers. The hand has great mobility and flexibility to carry out precise movements. Bipedal locomotion in humans frees the hands for grasping and manipulation. The opposable thumb allows them to pick up small items and grip objects from both sides. Dexterity in the hands and increased brain size are believed to have evolved together in humans.
Hand, (Billings) Learned (b. Jan. 27, 1872, Albany, N.Y., U.S.—d. Aug. 18, 1961, New York, N.Y.) U.S. jurist. He attended Harvard Uni¬ versity, where he studied philosophy (under William James, Josiah Royce, and George Santayana) and law; thereafter he practiced law in Albany and New York City. In 1909 he was appointed a federal district judge, and in 1924 he was elevated to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, becoming chief judge in 1939. He sat in many cases after his official retirement in 1951. His 52-year tenure on the federal bench (from 1909 to his death in 1961) represents a record. Several of his decisions, especially in the anti¬ trust suit known as the Alcoa case (1945) and in a 1950 case involving charges of communist conspiracy, are considered landmarks. Although he never reached the Supreme Court of the United States, his reputation sur¬ passes that of all but a few who have sat there.
handball Any of a variety games in which a small rubber ball is struck against a wall with the hand or fist. It can be played in a three- or four- walled court or against a single wall by two or four players (in singles or doubles games, respectively). The object is to make the ball rebound off the wall so that it cannot be returned by the opponent. The game runs to 21 points. Handball games were played in ancient Rome and later (as pelota) in Spain and France. Modern handball developed in Ireland, where it is still popular. It was played widely among late-19th-century Irish immigrants in New York City, whence it eventually spread around North America.