China: Literature and scholarship: …individual freedom, championed notably by Yuan Zhongdao, but writings produced during this period were later denigrated as insincere, coarse, frivolous, and so strange and eccentric as to make impossible demands on the readers.

Zoom: …created under the direction of Eric Yuan, a Chinese American engineer and executive. While a vice president at Webex by Cisco, Yuan proposed modernizing the company’s videoconferencing software. When his idea was rejected by his superiors, Yuan left, taking with him 40 other engineers to start a new business, Saasbee,…

Yuandi was the posthumous name (shi) of the ninth emperor (reigned 49/48–33 bc) of the Han dynasty (206 bc–ad 220). He ardently promoted and helped firmly establish Confucianism as the official creed of China. Although Confucianism had been made the state cult of China in 136 bc, previous emperors

Yuandi was the posthumous name (shi) of the ninth emperor (reigned 49/48–33 bc) of the Han dynasty (206 bc–ad 220). He ardently promoted and helped firmly establish Confucianism as the official creed of China. Although Confucianism had been made the state cult of China in 136 bc, previous emperors

Kangxi: Administration of the empire: …the encyclopaedia of subject matter, Yuanjian leihan (1710). Another great encyclopaedia, the Gujin tushu jicheng, which was to consist of 10,000 chapters, was also started in Kangxi’s reign.

Qianlong: Contributions to the arts of Qianlong: …to the beautification of the Yuanmingyuan near Beijing. He was to reside there more and more often, and he considered the ensemble formed by its numerous pavilions, lakes, and gardens as the imperial residence par excellence. He increased the estate and erected new buildings. At his request, several Jesuit missionaries…

China: Literature of China: The collection Yuanquxuan (“Selection from Yuan Operas”), with 100 opera librettos, and the storyteller “prompt books” for dramatized historical romances such as Sanguo (“Three Kingdoms”) give ample evidence for the creativity and vitality of Chinese dramatic literature. This phenomenon may perhaps be considered as evidence that under…

Lantern Festival: …with fruits and nuts, called yuanxiao or tangyuan, are eaten during the festival. The round shape of the balls symbolizes wholeness and unity within the family.

Cao Yu: …film [1938 and 1985]) and Yuanye (1937; rev. ed. 1982; “The Wilderness”; adapted for film [1981]), a story of love and revenge that clearly reflects the influence of American playwright Eugene O’Neill. Most Chinese critics declared Yuanye a failure on its first appearance, but the revised play received critical acclaim…

Xuanzang was a Buddhist monk and Chinese pilgrim to India who translated the sacred scriptures of Buddhism from Sanskrit into Chinese and founded in China the Buddhist Consciousness Only school. His fame rests mainly on the volume and diversity of his translations of the Buddhist sutras and on the

Mi Fu was a scholar, poet, calligrapher, and painter who was a dominant figure in Chinese art. Of his extensive writings—poetry, essays on the history of aesthetics, and criticism of painting—a considerable amount survives. Mi was born of a family that had held high office in the early years of the

Yuba City, city, seat (1856) of Sutter county, north-central California, U.S. It lies in the Sacramento Valley, at the junction of the Feather and Yuba rivers, 40 miles (65 km) north of Sacramento. In 1849, during the California Gold Rush, Samuel Brannan, Pierson B. Reading, and Henry Cheever

Yūbari, city, central Hokkaido, northern Japan. It lies along the upper Yūbari River, in the Yūbari Range. It developed as a mining town when coal was discovered in the area in the 1880s, and by the mid-20th century it was the largest mining city in Hokkaido. Most of the coal was sent to Iwate

cassava, (Manihot esculenta), tuberous edible plant of the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae) from the American tropics. It is cultivated throughout the tropical world for its tuberous roots, from which cassava flour, breads, tapioca, a laundry starch, and an alcoholic beverage are derived. Cassava

Yucatán, estado (state), southeastern Mexico. Occupying part of the northern Yucatán Peninsula, it is bounded to the north by the Gulf of Mexico, to the east and southeast by the state of Quintana Roo, and to the southwest and west by the state of Campeche. The state capital and chief commercial

Caribbean Sea: Physiography: The northernmost of these, the Yucatán Basin, is separated from the Gulf of Mexico by the Yucatán Channel, which runs between Cuba and the Yucatán Peninsula and has a sill depth (i.e., the depth of the submarine ridge between basins) of about 5,250 feet (1,600 metres). The Cayman Basin, to…

howler monkey: The Yucatán black howler monkey (A. pigra), which is native to Guatemala, Belize, and southern Mexico, has been listed as an endangered species since 2003. Since 1978 it has declined by more than 60 percent because of hunting, habitat loss, and disease. Diet, temperament, and other…

Yucatán Channel, strait connecting the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, extending for 135 miles (217 km) between Cape Catoche, Mexico, and Cape San Antonio, Cuba. The north and south equatorial currents enter the channel from the southeast and form the beginnings of the Gulf Stream in the Gulf

Yucatán Current, oceanic surface current, the western limb of a clockwise gyre in the eastern Gulf of Mexico flowing from northern Honduras, through the Yucatán Channel, to the central eastern portion of the Gulf. The Yucatán Current is strongest in the

Yucatán Peninsula, a northeastern projection of Central America, lying between the Gulf of Mexico to the west and north and the Caribbean Sea to the east. Encompassing some 76,300 square miles (197,600 square km), it includes the Mexican states of Campeche, Quintana Roo, and Yucatán and, in the

henequen, (Agave fourcroydes), fibre plant of the asparagus family (Asparagaceae), native to Mexico and Guatemala. Henequen fibre is an important leaf fibre and has been used since pre-Columbian times. The plant was introduced to Cuba in the 19th century and became the country’s chief fibre crop by

Mérida: …is the site of the Autonomous University of Yucatán (1922). The Regional Museum of Anthropology (1920) exhibits Olmec and Mayan artifacts. Mérida has an international airport and is on the main highway between central Mexico and Cancún. Pop. (2010) 777,615; metro. area, 973,046; (2020) 921,771; metro. area, 1,316,088.

Mérida: …is the site of the Autonomous University of Yucatán (1922). The Regional Museum of Anthropology (1920) exhibits Olmec and Mayan artifacts. Mérida has an international airport and is on the main highway between central Mexico and Cancún. Pop. (2010) 777,615; metro. area, 973,046; (2020) 921,771; metro. area, 1,316,088.

Yucatec language, American Indian language of the Mayan family, spoken in the Yucatán Peninsula, including not only part of Mexico but also Belize and northern Guatemala. In its classical (i.e., 16th-century) form Yucatec was the language of Yucatán, and it survives in its modern form with little

Yucatec Maya, Middle American Indians of the Yucatán Peninsula in eastern Mexico. The Yucatec were participants in the Maya civilization, whose calendar, architecture, and hieroglyphic writing marked them as a highly civilized people. Modern Yucatec range from groups highly conservative of their

Yucatec language, American Indian language of the Mayan family, spoken in the Yucatán Peninsula, including not only part of Mexico but also Belize and northern Guatemala. In its classical (i.e., 16th-century) form Yucatec was the language of Yucatán, and it survives in its modern form with little

yucca, (genus Yucca), genus of about 40 species of succulent plants in the agave subfamily of the asparagus family (Asparagaceae), native to southern North America. Most species of yucca are stemless, with a rosette of stiff sword-shaped leaves at the base and clusters of waxy white flowers. The

grass tree, (genus Xanthorrhoea), genus of about 30 species of slow-growing perennial plants (family Asphodelaceae) endemic to Australia. Certain species are also known as grass gums because of the red or yellow gumlike resins that exude from the base of old leaves. The resins are used for varnish.

yucca, (genus Yucca), genus of about 40 species of succulent plants in the agave subfamily of the asparagus family (Asparagaceae), native to southern North America. Most species of yucca are stemless, with a rosette of stiff sword-shaped leaves at the base and clusters of waxy white flowers. The

yucca: Spanish bayonet (Y. aloifolia), Spanish dagger (Y. gloriosa), and Adam’s needle (Y. filamentosa) are commonly cultivated as ornamentals for their unusual appearance and attractive flower clusters.

Agavoideae: of the genus Yucca, including Joshua trees (Y. brevifolia) and Spanish daggers (Y. gloriosa), are popular as ornamentals for their woody stems and spiny leaves.

yucca: gloriosa), and Adam’s needle (Y. filamentosa) are commonly cultivated as ornamentals for their unusual appearance and attractive flower clusters.

Agavoideae: brevifolia) and Spanish daggers (Y. gloriosa), are popular as ornamentals for their woody stems and spiny leaves.

Yucca House National Monument, the ruins of prehistoric Native American pueblos, located 15 miles (24 km) south of the town of Cortez in the southwestern corner of Colorado, U.S., near Mesa Verde National Park. Occupying about 10 acres (4 hectares)—34 acres (14 hectares) including a privately owned

yucca moth, (genus Tegeticula), any of four species of insects of the Prodoxidae family of moths (order Lepidoptera). The adults are small, diurnal, and have tiny spines covering their wings. Each of the four species is adapted to a particular species of yucca. The moths emerge when the yucca

pottery: Korea: Nevertheless, one such excavation at Yuch’ŏn-ni has disclosed shards of both the celadon glaze and of white porcelain from which it seems evident that white porcelain resembling both the Yingqing and Ding types was made (see above China: Song dynasty). The earliest vessels were probably fairly close copies of Chinese…

Native American dance: Northeast and Southeast Indians: The Creek, Yuchi, Seminole, and other tribes of the southeastern United States greatly emphasize the summer green corn harvest ceremony, or Busk. Before the removal of many of those tribes to reservations in Oklahoma, they acquired a few dances outside their own traditions. They carried the stomp…

Jinzhong, city, central Shanxi sheng (province), northeast-central China. It is situated on the Xiao River, about 15 miles (25 km) south of Taiyuan, the provincial capital. Jinzhong was created in 1999 by amalgamating the city of Yuci and Jinzhong prefecture, with the former Yuci becoming a

Nikolay Yudenich was the commander of the White forces in the northwest during the Russian Civil War (1918–20). Having entered the Imperial Army in 1879, Yudenich graduated from the General Staff Academy in 1887, served on the General Staff from 1887 until 1902, and then became a regimental

Nikolay Yudenich was the commander of the White forces in the northwest during the Russian Civil War (1918–20). Having entered the Imperial Army in 1879, Yudenich graduated from the General Staff Academy in 1887, served on the General Staff from 1887 until 1902, and then became a regimental

Kaithal: …to have been founded by Yudhisthira, a Pandava king in the ancient epic poem Mahabharata, and it was later a Muslim cultural centre. Of historical interest are the large bathing tank (reservoir) and tombs of several saints dating from the 13th century ce. An agricultural market centre, it was constituted…

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono: …until 2020, when his son Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono assumed the post.

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is an Indonesian military officer, politician, and government official who was the first popularly elected president of Indonesia (2004–14). Yudhoyono was born into a well-to-do family of aristocratic background. Following in the footsteps of his father, a middle-ranking

Yudi, in Chinese religion, the most revered and popular of Chinese Daoist deities. In the official Daoist pantheon, he is an impassive sage-deity, but he is popularly viewed as a celestial sovereign who guides human affairs and rules an enormous heavenly bureaucracy analogous to the Chinese Empire.

Shun, in Chinese mythology, a legendary emperor (c. 23rd century bce) of the golden age of antiquity, singled out by Confucius as a model of integrity and resplendent virtue. His name is invariably associated with that of Yao, his legendary predecessor. Though Shun’s father repeatedly tried to

Yue, aboriginal people of South China who in the 5th–4th century bce formed a powerful kingdom in present-day Zhejiang and Fujian provinces. The name Vietnam means “south of the Yue,” and some Chinese scholars consider the Vietnamese to be descendants of the

Fujian: History of Fujian: …area was the kingdom of Yue, located south of Hangzhou Bay; it included what is now Fujian province. The lord of Yue was nominally a vassal of the Chinese king. The Yue and their culture are considered by some to have constituted one of the principal elements that merged to…

Yue Fei was one of China’s greatest generals and national heroes. In 1126 North China was overrun by the nomadic Juchen (Jin), and the Song capital at Kaifeng was taken. The former emperor Huizong, who had abdicated in 1125, together with his son, the Qinzong emperor (reigned 1125/26–27), was

Cantonese language, variety of Chinese spoken by more than 55 million people in Guangdong and southern Guangxi provinces of China, including the important cities of Canton, Hong Kong, and Macau. Throughout the world it is spoken by some 20 million more. In Vietnam alone, Cantonese (Yue) speakers

celadon: Yue ware, first made in the Han dynasty (206 bce–220 ce) in China, was the earliest celadon; the glaze used was olive or brownish green. Beginning in the late Han period, the kilns in Zhejiang, Guangdong, Jiangxi, and Fujian provinces became important celadon producers. The…

celadon: Yue ware, first made in the Han dynasty (206 bce–220 ce) in China, was the earliest celadon; the glaze used was olive or brownish green. Beginning in the late Han period, the kilns in Zhejiang, Guangdong, Jiangxi, and Fujian provinces became important celadon producers. The…

pottery: Underglaze blue and red: Clair de lune (yue bai, “moon white”), a cobalt glaze of the palest blue shade, was also used.

yuefu, form of Chinese poetry derived from the folk-ballad tradition. The yuefu takes its name from the Yuefu (“Music Bureau”) created in 120 bc by Wudi of Han for the purpose of collecting songs and their musical scores for ceremonial occasions at court. The music for these songs was later lost,

Chinese literature: Poetry: …in 125 bce of the Yuefu, or Music Bureau, which had been established at least a century earlier to collect songs and their musical scores. Besides temple and court compositions of ceremonial verse, this office succeeded in preserving a number of songs sung or chanted by the ordinary people, including…

Yue, aboriginal people of South China who in the 5th–4th century bce formed a powerful kingdom in present-day Zhejiang and Fujian provinces. The name Vietnam means “south of the Yue,” and some Chinese scholars consider the Vietnamese to be descendants of the

Yue Fei was one of China’s greatest generals and national heroes. In 1126 North China was overrun by the nomadic Juchen (Jin), and the Song capital at Kaifeng was taken. The former emperor Huizong, who had abdicated in 1125, together with his son, the Qinzong emperor (reigned 1125/26–27), was

Chinese literature: Poetry: …in 125 bce of the Yuefu, or Music Bureau, which had been established at least a century earlier to collect songs and their musical scores. Besides temple and court compositions of ceremonial verse, this office succeeded in preserving a number of songs sung or chanted by the ordinary people, including…

astronomical map: Lunar mansions: …23 are mentioned in the Yüeh Ling, which may go back to 850 bce. In India a complete list of nakshatra are found in the Atharvaveda, providing evidence that the system was organized before 800 bce. The system of lunar mansions, however, may have a common origin even earlier in…

celadon: Yue ware, first made in the Han dynasty (206 bce–220 ce) in China, was the earliest celadon; the glaze used was olive or brownish green. Beginning in the late Han period, the kilns in Zhejiang, Guangdong, Jiangxi, and Fujian provinces became important celadon producers. The…

yueqin, Chinese lute, one of a family of flat, round-bodied lutes found in Central and East Asia. The yueqin, which evolved from the ruan, has a length of some 18 inches (about 45 cm), with a short neck and a round resonator that is some 12 inches (30 cm) in diameter. It has two pairs of silk

Yuezhi, ancient people who ruled in Bactria and India from about 128 bce to about 450 ce. The Yuezhi are first mentioned in Chinese sources at the beginning of the 2nd century bce as nomads living in the western part of Gansu province, northwestern China. When Lao Shang (reigned c. 174–161 bce),

yuefu, form of Chinese poetry derived from the folk-ballad tradition. The yuefu takes its name from the Yuefu (“Music Bureau”) created in 120 bc by Wudi of Han for the purpose of collecting songs and their musical scores for ceremonial occasions at court. The music for these songs was later lost,

Yueyang, city, northern Hunan sheng (province), southeast-central China. It is situated on the east bank of the outlet from the Dongting Lake into the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang), some 5 miles (8 km) from the outlet’s confluence with the Yangtze. Its port on the Yangtze is known as Chenglingji. The

Cantonese language, variety of Chinese spoken by more than 55 million people in Guangdong and southern Guangxi provinces of China, including the important cities of Canton, Hong Kong, and Macau. Throughout the world it is spoken by some 20 million more. In Vietnam alone, Cantonese (Yue) speakers

Chinese music: Aesthetic principles and extramusical associations: …theory in the “Yueji” (“Annotations on Music”) section of the Liji with such comments as:

Chinese languages: The 20th century: …scholar Lin Yutang, the linguist Zhao Yuanren, and others, was adopted. This attempt also was halted by war and revolution. A rival Communist effort known as Latinxua, or Latinization of 1930, fared no better. An attempt to simplify the language by reducing the number of characters to about 1,000 failed…

yueqin, Chinese lute, one of a family of flat, round-bodied lutes found in Central and East Asia. The yueqin, which evolved from the ruan, has a length of some 18 inches (about 45 cm), with a short neck and a round resonator that is some 12 inches (30 cm) in diameter. It has two pairs of silk

qin: …called the “great mountain” (yueshan), the low bridge at the narrow end is called the “dragon’s gums” (longyin), and the two pegs for fastening the strings are called the “goose feet” (yanzhu). Each qin is given a unique name, which is engraved on the back side of the instrument,…

Guangzhou: Old City districts: Yuexiu district is the commercial and financial centre of Guangzhou, as well as the site of provincial and municipal government offices. Included within it are the city’s major hotels, department stores, and cinemas; traditional Chinese buildings are rarely found in this district, except in the…

Guangzhou: Old City districts: Yuexiu Park, in the northern part of the district, is one of the city’s largest green spaces. Within the park are artificial lakes, a five-story red pagoda (built in 1380) that now houses the Guangzhou Municipal Museum, a flower exhibition hall, and sports and recreational…

Yueyang, city, northern Hunan sheng (province), southeast-central China. It is situated on the east bank of the outlet from the Dongting Lake into the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang), some 5 miles (8 km) from the outlet’s confluence with the Yangtze. Its port on the Yangtze is known as Chenglingji. The

Cantonese language, variety of Chinese spoken by more than 55 million people in Guangdong and southern Guangxi provinces of China, including the important cities of Canton, Hong Kong, and Macau. Throughout the world it is spoken by some 20 million more. In Vietnam alone, Cantonese (Yue) speakers

Yuezhi, ancient people who ruled in Bactria and India from about 128 bce to about 450 ce. The Yuezhi are first mentioned in Chinese sources at the beginning of the 2nd century bce as nomads living in the western part of Gansu province, northwestern China. When Lao Shang (reigned c. 174–161 bce),

Yuezhi, ancient people who ruled in Bactria and India from about 128 bce to about 450 ce. The Yuezhi are first mentioned in Chinese sources at the beginning of the 2nd century bce as nomads living in the western part of Gansu province, northwestern China. When Lao Shang (reigned c. 174–161 bce),

Chinese pottery: The Han dynasty (206 bce–220 ce): …first made at Yuezhou (present Yuyao), Zhejiang province, during the Han dynasty, although all surviving specimens are later, most belonging to the Six Dynasties (220–589 ce). They have a stoneware body and an olive or brownish green glaze and belong to the family of celadons, a term that looms large…

Yueyang, city, northern Hunan sheng (province), southeast-central China. It is situated on the east bank of the outlet from the Dongting Lake into the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang), some 5 miles (8 km) from the outlet’s confluence with the Yangtze. Its port on the Yangtze is known as Chenglingji. The

Ket language: …a moribund close relative called Yug [Yugh], or Sym, is sometimes considered a dialect of Ket.)

Paleo-Siberian languages: Yeniseian, Luorawetlan, and Nivkh: …by about 500 persons, and Yug, with no more than 5 speakers. Kott (Kot; also called Assan or Asan), Arin, and Pumpokol, now extinct members of this group, were spoken chiefly to the south of the present-day locus of Ket and Yug.

yuga, in Hindu cosmology, an age of humankind. Each yuga is progressively shorter than the preceding one, corresponding to a decline in the moral and physical state of humanity. Four such yugas (called Krita, Treta, Dvapara, and Kali, after the throws of an Indian game of dice) make up the mahayuga

Ugadi, Hindu festival celebrating the new year in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Karnataka. In Maharashtra and Goa states it is known as Gudi Padwa. Ugadi is celebrated on the first day of the Hindu month of Chaitra (March–April) following the South Indian Amavasyant calendar,

Japan: The Yamato polity: …the court, such as the yugei, the quiver bearers, who were attached to the Ōtomo clan, a major military support group for the Yamato ruling house.

Amiri Baraka: …founded (1958) the poetry magazine Yugen, which published the work of Beat writers such as Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac; he edited the publication with his wife, Hettie Cohen. He began writing under the name LeRoi Jones in the late 1950s and produced his first major collection of poetry, Preface…

Zeami: …or the representational aspect, and yūgen, the symbolic aspect and spiritual core of the Noh, which took precedence and which became the touchstone of excellence in the Noh. Zeami wrote, “The essence of yūgen is true beauty and gentleness,” but not mere outward beauty: it had to suggest behind the…

Ket language: …a moribund close relative called Yug [Yugh], or Sym, is sometimes considered a dialect of Ket.)

Yiddish literature: The 21st century: …in the New York journal Yugntruf were Hershl Glasser, Shmoyl Nydorf, Avrom Rosenblatt, Gitl Schaechter, Yermiahu Aaron Taub, and Sheva Zucker. Since the 1970s, this journal had sponsored a shraybkrayz (Yiddish writers’ circle). Yiddish culture clubs around the United States supported the publication of books by poets such as Sarah…

Native American art: Mexico and Middle America: …protective device—worn together with the yugo, or yoke, and the hacha, or axe—used in tlachtli, the ceremonial ball game. Tlachtli was not unlike modern football (soccer); the object was to propel a gutta-percha ball through the air without touching it with the hands; if it went through a small hole…

Serbia: Transportation: Yugoslav Air Transport, the country’s principal airline, maintained links with the rest of Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, North America, and Australia.

Chetnik, member of a Serbian nationalist guerrilla force that formed during World War II to resist the Axis invaders and Croatian collaborators but that primarily fought a civil war against the Yugoslav communist guerrillas, the Partisans. After the surrender of the Yugoslav royal army in April

Serbia: The Corfu Declaration: …had set up a “Yugoslav Committee.” Aided by sympathetic British intellectuals, the committee had worked to improve the position of South Slavs within the Monarchy in any postwar settlement. One of the most important achievements of the committee was its discovery of the Treaty of London—a secret document drawn…

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Security: The Yugoslav People’s Army was designed to repel invasion, and, as part of its strategy, it used the geographically central republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a storehouse for armaments and as the site of most military production. Bosnian Serb forces, aided by the Yugoslav People’s…

Slovenia, country in central Europe that was part of Yugoslavia for most of the 20th century. Slovenia is a small but topographically diverse country made up of portions of four major European geographic landscapes—the European Alps, the karstic Dinaric Alps, the Pannonian and Danubian lowlands and

North Macedonia, landlocked country of the south-central Balkans. It is bordered to the north by Kosovo and Serbia, to the east by Bulgaria, to the south by Greece, and to the west by Albania. The capital is Skopje. The Republic of North Macedonia is located in the northern part of the area

Croatia, country located in the northwestern part of the Balkan Peninsula. It is a small yet highly geographically diverse crescent-shaped country. Its capital is Zagreb, located in the north. The present-day republic is composed of the historically Croatian regions of Croatia-Slavonia (located in

Serbia, landlocked country in the west-central Balkans. For most of the 20th century, it was a part of Yugoslavia. The capital of Serbia is Belgrade (Beograd), a cosmopolitan city at the confluence of the Danube and Sava rivers; Stari Grad, Belgrade’s old town, is dominated by an ancient fortress

Yugoslavia, former federated country that was situated in the west-central part of the Balkan Peninsula. This article briefly examines the history of Yugoslavia from 1929 until 2003, when it became the federated union of Serbia and Montenegro (which further separated into its component parts in

Bosnia and Herzegovina, country situated in the western Balkan Peninsula of Europe. The larger region of Bosnia occupies the northern and central parts of the country, and Herzegovina occupies the south and southwest. These historical regions do not correspond with the two autonomous political

Yugoslavia, former federated country that was situated in the west-central part of the Balkan Peninsula. This article briefly examines the history of Yugoslavia from 1929 until 2003, when it became the federated union of Serbia and Montenegro (which further separated into its component parts in

Kosovo: Kosovo in Yugoslavia: Serbia, which had won independence from the Ottoman Empire early in the 19th century, regained control of Kosovo in 1912, following the First Balkan War, but lost it again in 1915, during World War I. An occupation divided between Austria-Hungary and

Yugoslavia, former federated country that was situated in the west-central part of the Balkan Peninsula. This article briefly examines the history of Yugoslavia from 1929 until 2003, when it became the federated union of Serbia and Montenegro (which further separated into its component parts in

horizontally striped blue-white-red national flag. Its width-to-length ratio is 1 to 2.In 1699 Tsar Peter I (the Great) of Russia selected a new flag for his country as part of his modernization campaign. Consisting of equal horizontal stripes of white, blue, and red, it was adapted from the