Yalu \'ya-lii\ River Chinese Yalu Jiang or Ya-lii Chiang Korean Amnok Vam-.nskV -kang River, eastern Asia, between northeastern China and North Korea. Some 491 mi (790 km) long, it rises on the northern border of North Korea, then flows to Korea Bay. It is an impor¬ tant source of hydroelectric power and is navigable by smaller vessels for most of its course. It became a political boundary in the 14th century. During the Korean War, as UN forces battled toward it in 1950, Chinese troops crossed it, in effect marking their entry into the war.
Yak (Bos grunniens).
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2090 I yam ► Yangdi
yam Any of several plant species of the genus Dioscorea (family Dioscoreaceae, or yam family), native to warmer regions of both hemi¬ spheres. A number of species are cultivated for food in the tropics; in cer¬ tain tropical cultures, notably of West Africa and New Guinea, the yam is the primary agricultural commodity and the focal point of elaborate ritual. The edible tuberous roots, which vary in taste from sweet to bitter to tasteless, are eaten as cooked starchy vegetables. Often boiled and then mashed, they may also be fried, roasted, or baked. True yams are botani- cally distinct from the sweet potato, though in the U.S. the names are commonly interchanged. Dioscorea mexicana contains a chemical that can suppress ovulation in humans and is used as the basis for birth-control pills. The so-called yam bean is the legume jicama.
Yama Vyo-moX In Indian mythology, the lord of death. The Vedas describe him as the first man who died. The son of the sun god Surya, he presides over the resting place of the dead. In the Vedas, he was a cheer¬ ful king of the departed ancestors, but in later mythology he became known as the just judge who punished the deceased for their sins.
Yamagata Aritomo X.ya-mo-'ga-to-.ar-e-'to-moX (b. Aug. 3, 1838, Hagi, Japan—d. Feb 1, 1922, Tokyo) First prime minister under Japan’s parliamentary regime (1889-91,1898-1900). As a samurai youth in ChoshO province, Yamagata was among those who answered the foreign threat with the slogan “Sonno joi” (“Revere the emperor, expel the barbarians”). In 1864 Western gunboats bombarded the Choshu coast, convincing him of the need for modem armaments. After participating in the Meiji Restoration, he went abroad to research military institutions, returning to become com¬ mander of an imperial force of 10,000 troops. When he introduced con¬ scription, bearing arms ceased to be the exclusive prerogative of a warrior class. His forces defeated Saigo Takamori’s rebellion in 1877. In politics he was more conservative than his contemporary ho Hirobumi, favouring a strong executive. As prime minister, his policies were expansionist; Japan sent the largest of all foreign forces to China to quell the Boxer Rebellion. He increased the autonomy of the military and tried to suppress an incipient social-labour movement. After retirement, he continued to wield power as a genro (elder statesman). See also Meiji Constitution; Meiji period.
Yamal Xyo-'malX Peninsula Peninsula between the Kara Sea and the Gulf of Ob, northwestern Siberia, west-central Russia. It has a total length of 435 mi (700 km), a maximum width of 150 m (240 km), and an area of 47,100 sq mi (122,000 sq km). There are large natural gas deposits on its western coast.
Yamamoto Isoroku \ 1 ya-ma- , mo-to-,e-so- , ro-ku\ (b. April 4, 1884, Nagaoka, Japan—d. April 18, 1943, Solomon Islands) Japanese naval officer. He fought in the Russo-Japanese War and thereafter rose to become commander in chief of Japan’s Combined Fleet in 1941. When it was decided to go to war with the U.S., Yamamoto asserted that the only chance for a Japanese victory lay in a surprise attack that would cripple U.S. naval forces in the Pacific and conceived of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. He then sought to destroy the remnants of the U.S. fleet, principally its aircraft carriers, but the Japanese lost the resulting Battle of Midway in June 1942. His campaign in the Solomon Islands was also unsuccessful. He was killed when the U.S. (which had broken the Japa¬ nese communications codes) discovered his whereabouts and shot down his plane over Bougainville island.
Yamasee Vya-ms-seX War (1715-16) Conflict between Indians and American colonists. Indian resentment of colonial settlers and traders in South Carolina led a group of Yamasee Indians to kill 90 whites in 1715. Other tribes soon joined the Yamasee in their raids on trading posts and plantations. Colonial military assistance from neighbouring colonies and war supplies from New England helped end the raids. Many defeated Indians escaped to Florida, where they joined runaway black slaves and other Indians to form what later became known as the Seminole tribe.
Yamato Takeru Xya-'ma-to-ta-'ke-riiX Japanese folk hero who may have lived in the 2nd century ad. The son of the 12th emperor, Keiko, he was responsible for expanding the territory of the Yamato court. In stories, he subdued two Kumaso warriors by disguising himself as a woman and killing them while they were drunk. With a miraculous sword he then cut away the burning grass fire set by the Ainu tribesmen and escaped. On the plains of Tagi, he became ill, changed into a white plover, and disap¬ peared. His tomb at Ise is known as the Mausoleum of the White Plover.
Yamazaki Ansai X'ya-ma-.za-ke-'an-.siX (b. Jan. 24, 1619, Kyoto, Japan—d. Oct. 16, 1682, Kyoto) Japanese exponent of the philosophy of
the Chinese Neo-Confucianist Zhu Xi. Early in life he was a Buddhist monk, but he gradually rejected Buddhism in favour of Confucianism, which he began to teach to thousands of students. He reduced Neo- Confucianism to a simple moral code, which he then blended with native Shinto religious doctrines. He equated Neo-Confucian principles and theories with Shinto legends and divinity, creating a philosophical system that took on greater authority than its sources possessed alone. His thought was one of the sources of the extreme nationalism and emperor worship that developed later in Japan.
Yamm X'yamX Ancient West Semitic deity who ruled the oceans, rivers, lakes, and underground springs. At the beginning of time, Yamm was awarded the divine kingship by El, the head of the pantheon. One day, Yamm’s messengers requested that the gods send Baal to become Yamm’s servant. Baal refused to go, and engaged Yamm in battle. After a furious fight, Yamm was slain and the kingship was given to Baal. Yamm may have been the same deity as Lotan (Hebrew: “Leviathan”), who was rep¬ resented as a dragon or serpent.
Yamoussoukro X.ya-mti-'su-kroX Town (pop., 1995 est.: 110,000), capital designate of Cote d’Ivoire. From 1960 to 1993 it served as the coun¬ try’s “second capital” because it was the birthplace, home, and unofficial headquarters of Pres. Felix Houphouet-Boigny. It was designated the official capital in 1983 and shares some of the functions of the former national capital, Abidjan. Fishing and forestry are important to its economy. It is the site of the basilica of Notre-Dame de la Paix, the world’s largest Christian church, an almost exact replica of St. Peter’s in Rome.
Yamuna X'yo-mo-noX River River, north-central India. Rising in the Himalayas, it flows south and southeast 855 mi (1,376 km) into the Ganges River at Allahabad; their confluence is a sacred place to Hindus. The Yamu¬ na’s upper course forms a long section of the border between Uttar Pradesh and Haryana states.
Yancey, William Lowndes (b. Aug. 10, 1814, Warren county, Ga., U.S.—d. July 27, 1863, Montgomery, Ala.) U.S. politician. He was admit¬ ted to the bar and served as editor of the Greenville Mountaineer. During the nullification crisis, he took a firm Unionist stand. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives (1844-46), and in response to the Wilmot Proviso he drafted the Alabama Platform (1848), which asserted slave¬ holders’ rights to take their chattel with them to the new territories. He later added secession to the platform. He helped create the League of United Southerners (1858) and supported the Southern Democrats in their nomination of John C. Breckinridge for president (1860). He drafted Ala¬ bama’s secession ordinance and served in the Confederate government