PRC - a communist nation that covers a vast territory in eastern Asia; the most populous country in the world

acupuncture, stylostixis - treatment of pain or disease by inserting the tips of needles at specific points on the skin

acupressure, G-Jo, shiatsu - treatment of symptoms by applying pressure with the fingers to specific pressure points on the body

Chinese Revolution - the republican revolution against the Manchu dynasty in China; 1911-1912

yang - the bright positive masculine principle in Chinese dualistic cosmology; "yin and yang together produce everything that comes into existence"

yin - the dark negative feminine principle in Chinese dualistic cosmology; "the interaction of yin and yang maintains the harmony of the universe"

feng shui - rules in Chinese philosophy that govern spatial arrangement and orientation in relation to patterns of yin and yang and the flow of energy (qi); the favorable or unfavorable effects are taken into consideration in designing and siting buildings and graves and furniture

Chinese - any of the Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in China; regarded as dialects of a single language (even though they are mutually unintelligible) because they share an ideographic writing system

Cultural Revolution, Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution - a radical reform in China initiated by Mao Zedong in 1965 and carried out largely by the Red Guard; intended to eliminate counterrevolutionary elements in the government it resulted in purges of the intellectuals and socioeconomic chaos

dim sum - traditional Chinese cuisine; a variety of foods (including several kinds of steamed or fried dumplings) are served successively in small portions

fortune cookie - thin folded wafer containing a maxim on a slip of paper

egg roll, spring roll - minced vegetables and meat wrapped in a pancake and fried

Red Guard - a radical political movement by Chinese youths who espoused Maoist principles

falun gong - a spiritual movement that began in China in the latter half of the 20th century and is based on Buddhist and Taoist teachings and practices

Manchuria - a region in northeastern China

Chongqing, Chungking - a city in south-central China on the Chang Jiang; a commercial center for western China

Canton, Guangzhou, Kuangchou, Kwangchow - a city on the Zhu Jiang delta in southern China; the capital of Guangdong province and a major deep-water port

Gansu, Gansu province, Kansu - a province in north-central China; formerly part of the Silk Road to Turkistan and India and Persia

Hunan, Hunan province - a province in southeastern central China between the Nan Ling mountains and the Chang Jiang; noted for its timber and valuable mineral resources

Luda, Luta - an industrial conurbation in northeastern China on the southern end of the Liaodong Peninsula; it now includes the cities of Dalian and Lushun

Dairen, Dalian, Talien - a port and shipbuilding center in northeastern China on the Liaodong Peninsula; now a part of Luda

Loyang, Luoyang - a city in east central China; the capital of ancient China during several dynasties

Lushun, Port Arthur - a major port city in northeastern China on the Liaodong Peninsula; now a part of Luda

Hangchow, Hangzhou - a city of eastern China on Hangzhou Bay; regarded by Marco Polo as the finest city in the world

Nanchang, Nan-chang - a walled city in southeastern China on the Gan Jiang

Nanjing, Nanking - a city in eastern China on the Yangtze River; a former capital of China; the scene of a Japanese massacre in the 1930s

Shanghai - the largest city of China; located in the east on the Pacific; one of the largest ports in the world

Taiyuan - an ancient city in northeastern China noted for coal mining and steel production