A syllable applied to the third tone of the scale of C, i. e., to E, in European solmization, but to the third tone of any scale in the American system.
Word of the Day: Catachrestical
A tribe of Indians that formerly occupied the country between the Wabash and Maumee rivers.
1. MI'ASM
Infectious particles or germs floating in the air; air made noxious by the presence of such particles or germs; noxious effluvia; malaria.
Alt. of Miasmatical
One who has made a special study of miasma.
That department of medical science which treats of miasma.
The crying of a cat.
Miautse
Encyclopedia Britannica
MIAUTSE. The Miautse or Meaou-tsze of southern China are one of the aboriginal tribes of the country. At one time they occupied a considerable portion of the rich and fertile lands which now form the central province of the empire, but as the Chinese advanced southwards they were driven, like the Ainos in Japan and the Welsh in Britain, into the more inaccessible districts until they were compelled to seek refuge from the invaders in the mountain ranges, in the provinces of Yunnan, Kwei-chow, Kwang-se, and Kwang-tung, where they are found at the present day. This line of mountains extends for about 400 miles, and, being in many parts high, steep, and rugged, it forms a convenient shelter for them. As early as the reign of king Seuen (about 800 b.c.) we read of an expedition having been sent to drive them out of Hoo-nan, and since that time they have been periodically attacked either to punish them for misdeeds or to make them yield up vineyards coveted by Chinese Ahabs. The last important campaign against them was undertaken by the emperor K’een-lung, who, having completely subjugated the Eleuths, was desirous of bringing under his yoke these mountain tribesmen. But the same success which had attended his arms in the north did not follow them to the south. The first expedition was utterly defeated, and the general in command paid the penalty of discomfiture with his head. The leader of a second expedition, having learned wisdom by the fate of his predecessor, purchased the submission of the Miautse by a large bribe. As soon as the unsuspecting savages had been thus lulled into security a third army was set in motion against them. This time, being unprepared, they suffered a crushing defeat, and were compelled to purchase peace by swearing allegiance to their ...conquerors. But, though the Chinese thus gained sovereignty over them, they have since deemed it wise to content themselves with but the shadow of authority. No real jurisdiction is ever exercised over these hardy mountaineers. They are allowed to govern themselves on their own patriarchal system. The old men of each tribe manage the affairs of their juniors, and command an obedience which would be utterly refused to the mandate of any mandarin. In figure the Miautse, both men and women, are shorter and darker complexioned than the Chinese, their faces also are rounder and their features sharper. In disposition, too, they are very unlike their civilized neighbours. They are brave, passionate, suspicious, revengeful, and indifferent to cold and hunger; they are free and easy in their manners, and are as noisily joyous as the Chinese are grave and sedate.
They are divided into between forty and fifty clans, each of which is distinguished by a name which is generally derived either from some physical characteristic, or from some custom, or from the habitat of the clan, as, for example, “The Black Miau,” “the narrow-headed Miau,” so named from their manner of dressing their hair, “the six-valley Miau,” &c. Among these clans there exist wide differences of culture, some being in no way removed from savages, while others who have been brought under the influence of Chinese civilization show themselves apt and ready learners. Very few of them, so far as is known, possess any written records. The Yaou-jin, or Goblin clan, are said to have books, which, though they are now unable to read, they still regard with reverent awe. “The barbarous characters” used in these books are, according to a Chinese writer, “like knotted worms, and are utterly unintelligible.” The Ko-los also are said to be a lettered clan, but for the most part the Miautse content themselves with conveying information and preserving records by means of notched sticks. Their language as well as their ethnic characteristics prove them to be closely related to the Siamese, Anamese, Cambodians, and the inhabitants of Hainan; in fact they form part of the race which is spread over the whole of south-eastern Indo-China. Their social customs are as widely different as their appearance is from those of the Chinese. The widest latitude is given to the youth of both sexes in the choice of their husbands and wives. As among the hill tribes of Chittagong, the selection is commonly made on the mountainside, where on moonlight nights in the “leaping month” the young men and maidens meet to sing or to play at ball, or to dance round the “devil’s staff” ( Anglice, Maypole), and to choose their partners for life. Amongsome clans the “couvade” is an established custom. Their funeral rites vary according to the districts, those living within reach of the influence of the Chinese having adopted their customs, while those more remote still hang their dead in baskets from trees, or lay them in the ground and disinter them yearly to wash their bones. In dress they are fond of bright colours, and commonly wear loose but short jackets, sometimes with and sometimes without trousers. The men wear turbans wound round their hair, which is raised above the head in the shape of a spiral shell, and the women either don a kind of cap, or dress their hair in the shape of a ram’s horn. For many years the relations of the Miautse with the Chinese Government have been generally of a peaceable nature, and in the Peking Gazette of April 1881 there was published a new system of government by which it is hoped that the incorporation of the mountaineers into the empire may become more real and complete.
See Sketches of the Miau-tsze, translated by E.C. Bridgman; J. Edkins, The Miau- tsi Tribes, their History, and ‘ Quaint customs in Kwei-chow," Cornhill Magazine, January 1872.
9th ed. Encyclopædia Britannica, vol. 16, p. 223
[970 words — estimated reading time: 6 minutes]
[970 words — estimated reading time: 6 minutes]
1. A mineral of a foliated structure, consisting of thin flexible lamels or scales, having a shining surface. The scales are sometimes parallel, sometimes interwoven, sometimes wavy or undulated, sometimes representing filaments. It is called also talck, glimmer, muscovy-glass, and glist.
2. Jameson subdivides mica into ten subspecies, viz. mica pinite, lepidolite, chlorite, green earth, talck, nacrite, potstone, steatite and figure stone.
The name of a group of minerals characterized by highly perfect cleavage, so that they readily separate into very thin leaves, more or less elastic. They differ widely in composition, and vary in color from pale brown or yellow to green or black. The transparent forms are used in lanterns, the doors of stoves, etc., being popularly called isinglass. Formerly called also cat-silver, and glimmer.
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