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Now, Voyager

Now, Voyager is a 1942 American drama film starring Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, and Claude Rains, and directed by Irving Rapper. The screenplay by Casey Robinson is based on the 1941 novel of the same name by Olive Higgins Prouty.

Prouty borrowed her title from the Walt Whitman poem "The Untold Want," which reads in its entirety, "The untold want by life and land ne'er granted, Now, voyager, sail thou forth, to seek and find."

In 2007, Now, Voyager was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." The film ranks number 23 on AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Passions, a list of the top love stories in American cinema. Film critic Steven Jay Schneider suggests the film continues to be remembered for not only its star power, but also the "emotional crescendos" engendered in the storyline.

Plot
Charlotte Vale is a drab, quiet, overweight, neurotic woman whose life is brutally dominated by her mother, an aristocratic Boston dowager whose verbal and emotional abuse of her daughter has contributed to Charlotte's complete lack of self-confidence. Mrs. Vale had already brought up three sons, and Charlotte was an unwanted child born to her late in life. Fearing that Charlotte is on the verge of a nervous breakdown, her sister-in-law Lisa introduces her to psychiatrist Dr. Jaquith, who recommends that Charlotte spend time in his sanitarium. Away from her mother's control, Charlotte blossoms, and at Lisa's urging, the slim, transformed woman — with a chic borrowed wardrobe — opts to take a lengthy cruise instead of going home immediately. Initially Charlotte is too shy to mix with the other passengers on the ship. On an excursion, Charlotte is asked to share a carriage ride with Jeremiah Duvaux Durrance, a married man traveling on business, who asks Charlotte to help select presents for his female relatives. She obliges and they become friendly, with Jerry discussing his young daughter Tina’s shyness. Charlotte shows him a picture of her family, with herself appearing “as the fat lady with glasses” before her transformation. Jerry is sympathetic to her fledgling and frail confidence, expressing his admiration for her. Jerry runs into his friends Deb and Frank McIntyre and introduces Charlotte to them. From them, Charlotte learns how Jerry's devotion to his young daughter Tina keeps him from divorcing his wife, a manipulative, jealous woman who does not love Tina and hinders Jerry's chosen career of architecture.

On an excursion from the ship in Rio de Janeiro, Charlotte and Jerry are stranded on Sugarloaf Mountain when their car crashes. Spending the night together while their driver goes for help, Jerry and Charlotte become sexually intimate. They miss the ship and spend five days together before Charlotte flies to Buenos Aires to rejoin the cruise. Although they have fallen in love, they decide it would be best not to see each other again.

When she disembarks from the ship, Charlotte's family is stunned by the dramatic changes in her appearance and demeanor. The awkward and shy Charlotte has become popular among the passengers, with many making fond farewells. At home, her mother is determined to subjugate her daughter once again, but Charlotte is resolved to remain independent. The memory of Jerry's love and devotion — as evidenced in the timely arrival of a corsage of Camellias — helps give her the strength she needs to remain resolute.

Charlotte becomes engaged to wealthy, well-connected widower Elliot Livingston, but by chance she again encounters Jerry at a party for an acquaintance who is his client. Though Jerry congratulates her on her engagement, Charlotte realizes she does not love Elliot enough and subsequently breaks off the engagement. During a quarrel with her mother over the broken engagement, Charlotte says she did not ask to be born, that her mother never wanted her, and it has "been a calamity on both sides." Mrs. Vale has a heart attack and dies. Guilty and distraught, Charlotte returns to the sanitarium. At the sanitarium, Charlotte is immediately diverted from her own problems when she meets Jerry's 12-year-old daughter Tina, who has been sent to Dr. Jaquith by her father on Charlotte's recommendation. Tina greatly reminds Charlotte of herself; both were unwanted and unloved by their mothers. Shaken from her depression, Charlotte becomes interested in Tina's welfare, and with Dr. Jaquith's permission, Charlotte takes her under her wing. When the girl improves, Charlotte takes her home to Boston.

Jerry and Dr. Jaquith visit the Vale home to discuss a project where Jerry is the architect for a new psychiatric wing donated by Charlotte. Jerry is delighted to see the change in his daughter. Dr. Jaquith has allowed Charlotte to keep Tina there provided that her relationship with Jerry remains platonic. Charlotte tells Jerry that she sees Tina as his gift to her and her way of being close to him. When Jerry asks her if she is happy, she replies: "Oh, Jerry, don't let's ask for the Moon. We have the stars."

Cast

 * Bette Davis as Charlotte Vale
 * Paul Henreid as Jeremiah "Jerry" Duvaux Durrance
 * Claude Rains as Dr. Jaquith
 * Gladys Cooper as Mrs. Henry Windle Vale
 * Bonita Granville as June Vale
 * John Loder as Elliot Livingston
 * Ilka Chase as Lisa Vale
 * Lee Patrick as "Deb" McIntyre
 * Franklin Pangborn as Mr. Thompson
 * Katharine Alexander as Miss Trask (as Katherine Alexander)
 * James Rennie as Frank McIntyre
 * Mary Wickes as Nurse Dora Pickford
 * Janis Wilson as Tina Durrance (uncredited)

Production
Filming ran from April 7 to June 23 of 1942 as producer Hal B. Wallis made Now, Voyager his first independent production at Warner Bros. under a new arrangement with the studio. He took an active role in the production, including casting decisions. The initial choices for Charlotte were Irene Dunne, Norma Shearer, and Ginger Rogers. When Bette Davis learned about the project, she campaigned for and won the role. More than any other of her previous films, Davis became absorbed in the role, not only reading the original novel, but also becoming involved in details such as choosing her wardrobe personally. Consulting with designer Orry-Kelly, she suggested a drab outfit, including an ugly foulard dress for Charlotte initially, to contrast with the stylish, "timeless" creations that mark her later appearance on the cruise ship. The choice of Davis's leading men became important, as well. Davis was aghast at the initial costume and makeup tests of Austrian actor Paul Henreid; she thought the "slicked back" gigolo-like appearance made him look "just like Valentino." Henreid was similarly uncomfortable with the brilliantine image, and when Davis insisted on another screen test with a more natural hairstyle, he was finally accepted as the choice for her screen lover. In her 1987 memoir, This 'N That, Davis revealed that co-star Claude Rains (with whom she also shared the screen in Juarez, Mr. Skeffington, and Deception) was her favorite co-star.

Initial production of the Prouty novel had to take into account that European locales would not be possible in the midst of World War II, despite the novelist's insistence on using Italy as the main setting. Prouty's quirky demands for vibrant colors and flashbacks shot in black and white with subtitles were similarly disregarded. Principal photography was shifted to Warner's sound stage 18 and various locations around California, including the San Bernardino National Forest, while European scenes were replaced by stock footage of Brazil. One of the primary reasons for Davis being interested in the original project was that photography would also take place in her hometown of Boston. Other locations of filming include Harvard Medical School in Roxbury, Massachusetts, Laguna Beach, Whitley Avenue, and other streets around Boston. The film highlighted Davis's ability to shape her future artistic ventures, as not only did she have a significant role in influencing the decisions over her co-stars, but also the choice of director was predicated on a need to have a compliant individual at the helm. Davis previously had worked with Irving Rapper on films where he served as a dialogue director, but his gratitude for her support turned into a grudging realization that Davis could control the film. Although his approach was conciliatory, the to-and-fro with Davis slowed production and "he would go home evenings angry and exhausted". The dailies, however, showed a "surprisingly effective" Davis at the top of her form.

For years, Davis and co-star Paul Henreid claimed the moment in which Jerry puts two cigarettes in his mouth, lights both, then passes one to Charlotte, was developed by them during rehearsals, inspired by a habit Henreid shared with his wife, but drafts of Casey Robinson's script on file at the University of Southern California indicate it was included by the screenwriter in his original script. The scene remained an indelible trademark that Davis would later exploit as "hers".

Box office
According to Warner Bros. records, the film earned $2,130,000 domestically and $2,047,000 foreign.

Critical reception
Theodore Strauss, a critic for The New York Times, observed: "Casey Robinson has created a deliberate and workmanlike script, which more than once reaches into troubled emotions. Director Irving Rapper has screened it with frequent effectiveness. But either because of the Hays office or its own spurious logic, [the film] endlessly complicates an essentially simple theme. For all its emotional hair-splitting, it fails to resolve its problems as truthfully as it pretends. In fact, a little more truth would have made the film a good deal shorter ... Although Now, Voyager starts out bravely, it ends exactly where it started – and after two lachrymose hours."

David Lardner of The New Yorker offered a similar opinion, writing that for most of the film, Davis "just plods along with the plot, which is longish and a little out of proportion to its intellectual content." Variety, however, wrote a more positive review, calling it "the kind of drama that maintains Warner's pattern for box-office success ... Hal Wallis hasn't spared the purse-strings on this production. It has all the earmarks of money spent wisely. Irving Rapper's direction has made the picture move along briskly, and the cast, down to the most remote performer, has contributed grade A portrayals." Harrison's Reports called the film "intelligently directed" and praised Davis' performance as "outstanding", but warned that the film's "slow-paced action and its none-too-cheerful atmosphere make it hardly suitable entertainment for the masses."

Leslie Halliwell wrote in Halliwell's Film Guide: "A basically soggy script gets by, and how, through the romantic magic of its stars, who were all at their best; and suffering in mink went over very big in wartime."

Source material
Olive Higgins Prouty's novel, written in 1941, served as the basis for the film, and other than certain limitations imposed by World War II on the locations for filming, the movie remains fairly true to the novel.

The novel is considered to be one of the first, if not the first, fictional depictions of psychotherapy, which is depicted fairly realistically for the time, as Prouty herself spent time in a sanitarium following a mental breakdown in 1925. This was caused by the death of one of her daughters and proved to be a defining period in her professional life as a writer, as the experience she gained from this episode helped her write not only Now, Voyager, but also her 1927 novel Conflict, both of which have similar themes of recovery following a breakdown. Prouty also used this experience to help others in her life who were experiencing mental health issues, including her close friend Sylvia Plath, who was supported both financially and emotionally by Prouty following a suicide attempt in 1953.

The novel is the third in a pentalogy centered on the fictional Vale family, and by far the most popular. The other titles are The White Fawn (1931), Lisa Vale (1938), Home Port (1947), and Fabia (1951). The other novels in the series do not feature mental health as centrally as Now, Voyager, but themes and certain elements appear throughout. Many characters appear in multiple novels.

title: Now, Voyager


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Talk:Eastphalian language

"Eastphalian" seems like the English translation of the language. Could someone let us know what it calls itself? -- Zoe

It's "Ostfälisch" in Standard German, but that's not a whole lot of help. Ethnologue doesn't give it a separate article, so that resource doesn't say. -- Toby 06:14 Feb 9, 2003 (UTC)

Regarding "Elbe Eastphalian" I have removed Eastern Germany and Aschersleben: - First, the area mentioned is part of the same region. After 18 years since the wall came down - there is no need to point out that this part belonged to the former GDR for a while and since it has little to no relevance for the existence of this dialect. - Secondly, Aschersleben seems do be a mistake. It is located right off the "border line" in an adjacent area, but where a central German dialect (Anhaltisch) is spoken. Most likely Oschersleben was meant, where the local Dr. Ziethen publishing house printed a number of books in Eastphalian dialect. (please see also the German article)--Zarbi1 (talk) 12:45, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

Southern Low German vs. West Low German
See Talk:Elbingian. --02:12, 26 December 2023 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2003:DE:370C:38A6:CCC3:BAC8:B246:9099 (talk)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Talk:Eastphalian language


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Talk:Buster Crabbe

Untitled
His birth year is reported variously as 1907, 1908, and 1910: the Social Security Death Index gives the year 1908, which is probably the best we can do short of a birth certificate. -- Someone else 05:59 Feb 9, 2003 (UTC)

Agreed yes, but now I am curious about what was his "Hollywood" birth date? Hugo999 (talk) 20:13, 13 September 2008 (UTC)

Birth year and birth location
I like this format better than just the year, can we convince Wikipedia its the way to go for biographies? I hate searching the bio just to find where a person was born or died --Richard Arthur Norton (1958- ) 02:50, 16 October 2005 (UTC)

Young man, I know so
I just watched this on hulu. He doesn't look directly at the camera and he doesn't wink. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.90.75.64 (talk) 02:31, 25 August 2008 (UTC)

Television section
There were several "typos" that a human would not have made in this section. I believe it was scanned from a printed text that was most likely not public domain. Also, the tv party.com reference needs to be moved to external links. I'm actually not sure it should be kept at all, as the last paragraph of this section is very wordy and a little hard to understand. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.186.160.167 (talk) 03:11, 1 August 2010 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion: Participate in the deletion discussion at the. —Community Tech bot (talk) 15:36, 31 July 2019 (UTC)
 * Camp Meenahga Group Photo 1960.pdf

title: Talk:Buster Crabbe


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Rosalind Russell

Catherine Rosalind Russell (June 4, 1907 –November 28, 1976) was an American actress, model, comedian, screenwriter, and singer, known for her role as fast-talking newspaper reporter Hildy Johnson in the Howard Hawks screwball comedy His Girl Friday (1940), opposite Cary Grant, as well as for her portrayals of Mame Dennis in the 1956 stage and 1958 film adaptations of Auntie Mame, and Rose in Gypsy (1962). A noted comedienne, she won all five Golden Globes for which she was nominated. Russell won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 1953 for her portrayal of Ruth in the Broadway show Wonderful Town (a musical based on the film My Sister Eileen, in which she also starred). She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress four times during her career before being awarded a Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1973.

In addition to her comedic roles, Russell was known for playing dramatic characters, often wealthy, dignified, and stylish women. She was one of the few actresses of her time to portray women in professional roles such as judges, reporters, and psychiatrists. Russell's career spanned from the 1930s to the 1970s and she attributed this longevity to the fact that, although she had many glamorous roles, she never became a sex symbol.

Early years
Catherine Rosalind Russell was one of seven children born in Waterbury, Connecticut, to James Edward, a lawyer, and Clara A. Russell (née McKnight), a teacher. The Russells were an Irish-American, Catholic family. She was named after a ship on which her parents had traveled. Russell attended Catholic schools, including the women's-only Rosemont College in Rosemont, Pennsylvania and Marymount College in Tarrytown, New York. She then attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. Her parents thought Russell was studying to become a teacher and were unaware that she was planning to become an actress. Upon graduation from the performing arts school, Russell acted in summer stock and joined a repertory company in Boston.

Early career
Russell began her career as a fashion model and was in many Broadway shows. Against parental objections, she took a job with a stock company for seven months at Saranac Lake, New York, and then Hartford, Connecticut. Afterwards, she moved to Boston, where she acted for a year with a theater group run by Edward E. Clive. Later, she appeared in a revue in New York (The Garrick Gaieties). There, she took voice lessons and had a brief career in opera, which was cut short because she had difficulty reaching high notes.

In the early 1930s, Russell went to Los Angeles, where she was hired as a contract player for Universal Studios. When she first arrived on the lot, she was ignored by most of the crew and later told the press she felt terrible and humiliated at Universal, which affected her self-confidence. Unhappy with Universal's leadership, and second-class studio status at the time, Russell set her sights on Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and was able to get out of her Universal contract on her own terms. When MGM first approached her for a screen test, Russell was wary, remembering her experience at Universal. However, when she met MGM's Benny Thau and Ben Piazza, she was surprised; they were "the soul of understanding". Her screen test was directed by Harold S. Bucquet, and she later recalled that she was hired because of a closeup he took of her.

Under contract to MGM, Russell debuted in Evelyn Prentice (1934). Although the role was small, she received good notices, with one critic saying that she was "convincing as the woman scorned". She starred in many comedies such as Forsaking All Others (1934) and Four's a Crowd (1938), as well as dramas, including Craig's Wife (1936) (the second of three film adaptations of the play of the same name; Joan Crawford starred in the third) and The Citadel (1938). Russell was acclaimed when she co-starred with Robert Young in the MGM drama West Point of the Air (1935). One critic wrote: "Rosalind Russell as the 'other woman' in the story gives an intelligent and deft handling to her scenes with Young." She quickly rose to fame, and by 1935, was seen as a replacement for actress Myrna Loy, as she took many roles for which Loy was initially set.

In her first years in Hollywood, Russell was characterized, both in her personal life and film career, as a sophisticated "lady". This dissatisfied Russell, who said in a 1936 interview:

"Being typed as a lady is the greatest misfortune possible to a motion picture actress. It limits your characterizations, confines you to play feminine sops and menaces and the public never highly approves of either. An impeccably dressed lady is always viewed with suspicion in real life and when you strut onto the screen with beautiful clothes and charming manners, the most naive of theatergoers senses immediately that you are in a position to do the hero no good. I earnestly want to get away from this. First, because I want to improve my career and professional life and, secondly because I am tired of being a clothes horse – a sort of hothouse orchid in a stand of wild flowers."

Russell approached director Frank Lloyd for help changing her image, but instead, Lloyd cast her as a wealthy aristocrat in Under Two Flags (1936). She was then cast as catty gossip Sylvia Fowler in the comedy The Women (1939), directed by George Cukor. The film was a major hit, boosting Russell's career and establishing her reputation as a comedienne.

Russell continued to display her talent for comedy in the classic screwball comedy His Girl Friday (1940), directed by Howard Hawks. In the film, a reworking of Ben Hecht's story The Front Page, Russell plays quick-witted ace reporter Hildy Johnson, who was also the ex-wife of her newspaper editor Walter Burns (Cary Grant). Russell had been, as she put it, "Everyone's fifteenth choice" for the role of Hildy in the film. Before her being cast, Howard Hawks had asked Katharine Hepburn, Irene Dunne, Claudette Colbert, Jean Arthur, Margaret Sullavan, and Ginger Rogers if they would like to play the brash, fast-talking reporter in his film. All of them refused. Russell found out about this while riding on a train to New York, when she read an article in The New York Times stating that she had been cast in the film and listing all the actresses who had turned the part down.

Later career
In the 1940s, Russell made more comedies including The Feminine Touch (1941), Take a Letter, Darling and My Sister Eileen (both 1942), dramas including Sister Kenny (1946) and Mourning Becomes Electra (1947), and a murder mystery: The Velvet Touch (1948).

Russell scored a big hit on Broadway with her Tony Award-winning performance in Wonderful Town (1953), a musical version of her successful film of a decade earlier, My Sister Eileen. Russell reprised her starring role for a 1958 television special.

Perhaps her most memorable performance was in the title role of the long-running stage comedy Auntie Mame (based on a Patrick Dennis novel) as well as the 1958 film version, in which she played an eccentric aunt whose orphaned nephew comes to live with her. When asked with which role she was most closely identified, she replied that strangers who spotted her still called out, "Hey, Auntie Mame!". The role earned her a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. Patrick Dennis dedicated his second Auntie Mame novel Around the World with Auntie Mame to "the one and only Rosalind Russell" in 1958.

She continued to appear in movies through the mid-1960s, including Picnic (1955), A Majority of One (1961), Five Finger Exercise (1962), Gypsy (1962), The Trouble with Angels (1966), and its sequel Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows (1968). Russell was the logical choice for reprising her role as Auntie Mame when the musical version Mame was set for a production on Broadway in 1966, but she declined for health reasons.

In addition to her acting career, Russell (under the name C.A. McKnight) also wrote the story for the film The Unguarded Moment (1956), a story of sexual harassment starring Esther Williams. Russell used the pen name C.A. McKnight again in 1971, when she was credited as screenwriter for adapting the novel The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax into the screenplay for Mrs. Pollifax-Spy, in which she also starred. It was Russell's last big screen role.

Awards and nominations
Over the course of her career, Russell was nominated four times for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performances in My Sister Eileen (1942); Sister Kenny (1946); Mourning Becomes Electra (1947); and Auntie Mame (1958). She also won five Golden Globe Awards. She was nominated for two Tony Awards, winning once. She also received a Special Academy Award, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, in 1972, which came with an Oscar statuette. In 1975, she was given the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award.

In 1972, Russell received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement. She also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Russell is honored at the Rosalind Russell Medical Research Center for Arthritis. Her portrait and a description of her work hang in the lobby, as Congress made a grant in 1979 to establish the research center, in honor of her Congressional appointment to the National Commission on Arthritis.

Personal life
On October 25, 1941, Russell married Danish-American producer Frederick Brisson (1912–1984), son of actor Carl Brisson. Cary Grant was responsible for the couple having met and was the best man at Frederick and Rosalind's wedding. Brisson had been traveling from England to the United States by ship in 1939, and The Women was playing on an endless loop during the voyage. After hearing the audio for the film day after day while traveling, Brisson decided he had better sit down and watch the whole film. He became so enamored with Russell's performance as Sylvia Fowler that he turned to his friends and proclaimed: "I'm either gonna kill that girl, or I'm gonna marry her."

Brisson stayed with Cary Grant in his guest house while Grant was filming His Girl Friday. Upon hearing that Grant was making the movie with Russell, Brisson asked his friend if he could meet her. Cary Grant then spent weeks greeting Russell each morning on set with the question "Have you met Freddie Brisson?" in an effort to pique the actress's curiosity. One night, when Russell opened her door to let Grant in before they went dancing, as they often did, she found him standing next to a stranger. Grant sheepishly explained that the odd fellow was Freddie Brisson, the man whom he had mentioned so often, and they set off for dinner, with Freddie in tow.

Russell and Brisson were married for 35 years, until her death. They had one child in 1943, a son, Carl Lance Brisson.

Russell was a registered Republican who supported the 1960 campaign of Richard Nixon.

Russell was a devout Catholic, and a member of the Good Shepherd Parish and the Catholic Motion Picture Guild in Beverly Hills, California.

Death

Russell died of breast cancer on November 28, 1976. She was survived by her husband and her son. She is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.

Russell has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the 1700 block of Vine Street.

Her autobiography Life Is a Banquet, written with Chris Chase, was published a year after her death. The foreword (written by her husband) states that Russell had a mental breakdown in 1943. She did not act in films in 1944. Details are scant, but the book indicates that health problems and the deaths of a sister and a brother were major factors leading to her breakdown. Russell had rheumatoid arthritis, and an arthritis research center at the University of California, San Francisco currently bears her name.

In 2009, the documentary film Life Is a Banquet: The Life of Rosalind Russell, narrated by Kathleen Turner, was shown at film festivals across the U.S. and on some PBS stations.

title: Rosalind Russell


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Shizuoka Prefecture

Shizuoka Prefecture (静岡県) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Shizuoka Prefecture has a population of 3,555,818 and has a geographic area of 7777.42 km2. Shizuoka Prefecture borders Kanagawa Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Prefecture to the northeast, Nagano Prefecture to the north, and Aichi Prefecture to the west.

Shizuoka is the capital and Hamamatsu is the largest city in Shizuoka Prefecture, with other major cities including Fuji, Numazu, and Iwata. Shizuoka Prefecture is located on Japan's Pacific Ocean coast and features Suruga Bay formed by the Izu Peninsula, and Lake Hamana which is considered to be one of Japan's largest lakes. Mount Fuji, the tallest volcano in Japan and cultural icon of the country, is partially located in Shizuoka Prefecture on the border with Yamanashi Prefecture. Shizuoka Prefecture has a significant motoring heritage as the founding location of Honda, Suzuki, and Yamaha, and is home to the Fuji International Speedway.

History
Shizuoka Prefecture was established from the former Tōtōmi, Suruga and Izu provinces.

The area was the home of the first Tokugawa shōgun. Tokugawa Ieyasu held the region until he conquered the lands of the Hōjō clan in the Kantō region and placed land under the stewardship of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. After becoming shōgun, Tokugawa took the land back for his family and put the area around modern-day Shizuoka City under the direct supervision of the shogunate. With the creation of the Shizuoka han from the Sunpu Domain in 1868, it once again became the residence of the Tokugawa family.

Geography
Shizuoka Prefecture is an elongated region following the coast of the Pacific Ocean at the Suruga Bay. In the west, the prefecture extends deep into the Japan Alps. In the east, it becomes a narrower coast bounded in the north by Mount Fuji, until it comes to the Izu Peninsula, a popular resort area pointing south into the Pacific.

11% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as natural parks, namely the Fuji-Hakone-Izu and Minami Alps National Parks; Tenryū-Okumikawa Quasi-National Park; and four Prefectural Natural Parks.

Climate
In Shizuoka prefecture, the temperature, over the course of the year, typically varies from 34 °F to 87 °F and is rarely below 28 °F or above 93 °F. The summers in Shizuoka are warm, oppressive, and mostly cloudy; the winters are very cold, windy, and mostly clear.

Disaster
On 15 March 2011, Shizuoka Prefecture was hit with a magnitude 6.2 earthquake approximately 42 km NNE of Shizuoka City. It is said, that throughout history, Shizuoka area has experienced a large earthquake every 100 to 150 years.

Demographics
3,635,220 people live in Shizuoka Prefecture, according to the 2020 census.

Municipalities
Since 2010, Shizuoka has consisted of 35 municipalities: 23 cities and 12 towns.

Mergers
After the introduction of modern municipalities in 1889, Shizuoka consisted of 337 municipalities: 1 (by definition: district-independent) city and 23 districts with 31 towns and 305 villages. The Great Shōwa mergers of the 1950s reduced the total from 281 to 97 between 1953 and 1960, including 18 cities by then. The Great Heisei mergers of the 2000s combined the 74 remaining municipalities in the year 2000 into the current 35 by 2010.

Motorcycles
Shizuoka-based companies are world leaders in several major industrial sectors. Honda, Yamaha, and Suzuki all have their roots in Shizuoka prefecture and are still manufacturing here. Thanks to this, Shizuoka pref. accounts for 28% of Japanese motorcycle exports.

Musical instruments
Yamaha and Kawai are both global piano brands. Yamaha has the largest share in the global piano market. Kawai has the second largest share. They both got their start in Shizuoka pref. in the early twentieth century.

Yamaha and Roland are major brand for electronic musical instruments. In the electronic piano world market, Yamaha has the world's largest share. Roland and Kawai have the second and third place share. Roland and Yamaha also manufacture high-quality synthesizers and drum machines for professional musicians.

In addition, various instruments such as wind instruments and guitars are manufactured in this prefecture. There are about 200 companies that manufacture musical instruments, in this prefecture.

Most of these musical instruments are especially produced in Hamamatsu City.

Rail

 * JR East
 * Tōkaidō Line (Atami–Odawara)
 * Itō Line
 * JR Central
 * Tōkaidō Shinkansen
 * Tōkaidō Line (Atami–Toyohashi)
 * Gotenba Line
 * Minobu Line
 * Iida Line
 * Izukyū
 * Izuhakone Railway
 * Daiyūzan Line
 * Sunzu Line
 * Gakunan Railway
 * Shizuoka Railway
 * Ōigawa Railway
 * Enshū Railway
 * Tenryū Hamanako Railroad

Expressways

 * Tōmei Expressway
 * Shin-Tōmei Expressway
 * Chūbu-Ōdan Expressway
 * Izu-Jūkan Expressway
 * San-en Nanshin Expressway

Toll roads

 * Shizuoka East-West Road
 * Shizuoka South-North Road
 * West Fuji Road (not a toll road anymore as of 2012)
 * Fujinomiya Road
 * Nishi-Fuji Road

National highways

 * National Route 1
 * National Route 42
 * National Route 52
 * National Route 135
 * National Route 136
 * National Route 138
 * National Route 139
 * National Route 149
 * National Route 150
 * National Route 152
 * National Route 246
 * National Route 257
 * National Route 301
 * National Route 362
 * National Route 414
 * National Route 469
 * National Route 473
 * National Route 474

Airports

 * Shizuoka Airport

Ports

 * Shimizu Port
 * Atami Port and Shimoda Port - Mainly ferry route to Izu Island
 * Numazu Port

Universities
National universities
 * Hamamatsu University School of Medicine
 * Shizuoka University
 * Graduate University for Advanced Studies (Mishima Campus, National Institute of Genetics)

Public universities
 * Shizuoka University of Art and Culture
 * University of Shizuoka

Private universities
 * Fuji Tokoha University
 * Hamamatsu University
 * Hamamatsu Gakuin University
 * Juntendo University (Mishima Campus)
 * Nihon University (Mishima Campus)
 * Seirei Christopher University
 * Shizuoka Eiwa Gakuin University
 * Shizuoka Institute of Science and Technology
 * Shizuoka Sangyo University
 * Shizuoka University of Welfare
 * Tokyo Women's Medical University (Daito Campus)
 * Tokai University (Shimizu and Numazu Campuses)
 * Tokoha Gakuen University

Senior high schools

 * Hiryū High School
 * Numazu Commercial High School
 * Shizuoka Prefectural Susono High School
 * Shizuoka Prefectural High School

Sports
The sports teams listed below are based in Shizuoka.

Basketball

 * San-en NeoPhoenix

Motorsport

 * Fuji International Speedway

Rugby

 * Yamaha Júbilo (Iwata)

Football

 * Shimizu S-Pulse (Shimizu, Shizuoka)
 * Júbilo Iwata (Iwata)
 * Matches between the above two teams, both currently in the top flight of the J. League, are known as the Shizuoka Derby.
 * Honda F.C. (Hamamatsu)
 * Azul Claro Numazu (Numazu)
 * Fujieda MYFC (Fujieda)

Volleyball

 * Toray Arrows (men's volleyball team) (Mishima city)

Notable people
Motoo Kimura (木村 資生, 1924–1994), biologist and theoretical population geneticist, died in Shizuoka Prefecture

Museums

 * Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art
 * Museum of Natural and Environmental History, Shizuoka

Theme parks

 * Air Park Japan Air Self-Defense Force Hamamatsu Public Information Building)
 * Shimizu Sushi Museum

Festivals and events

 * Shimoda Black Ship Festival, held in May
 * Shimizu Port Festival, held on August 5 to 7
 * Shizuoka Festival, held in April
 * Daidogei World Cup in central Shizuoka City, held in November
 * Enshu Daimyo Festival in Iwata, held in April
 * Numazu Festival, held in July
 * Mishima Festival, held in August

title: Shizuoka Prefecture


text:
Talk:Politics of the United Kingdom

Americanised infobox
The infobox refers to the executive branch, legislative branch and judicial branch. These are American concepts. Whilst the United States Government is considered to have these three branches (due to their constitution) no such terminology is used widely in the United Kingdom. Government in the UK refers to Ministers of the Crown. There are no branches of government.

I think the judicial and legislative branches be removed and the executive branch is altered and called Government. DukeLondon (talk) 20:25, 8 April 2021 (UTC)

Draft:Team UK Summit link
, please do not revert the edits by

Chipmunkdavis has deleted a temporary link made to created an article, there cannot be a WP:REDLINK so it needs to be removed until the article is created, then placed in the correct place.

ChefBear01 (talk) 16:46, 9 May 2021 (UTC)

Vandalism
A couple of IP users were having fun with the lead and I think Cluebot (and maybe some of us humans) got confused trying to disentangle their edits. I've revertd the "United Nations" link but someone with local knowledge should check the lead for any remaining discrepancies. ClaudineChionh (talk – contribs) 12:50, 9 November 2021 (UTC)

Jumping the gun
I don't want to invoke WP:3RR, so I can't correct this again, but despite several good-faith editors inserting Rishi Sunak as PM, he has not been asked by the King as of the evening of Oct 25, and Liz Truss is still constitutionally PM. This will presumably be moot in a few hours, but, please, next time there is a change let's get it right. David Brooks (talk) 03:11, 25 October 2022 (UTC)
 * I just did what should have occurred to me the first time, and added an inline warning note to the two occurrences of the PM's name, ready for the next change. David Brooks (talk) 17:32, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

Multi party system
https://pureadmin.qub.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/107735631/The_United_Kingdom_is_Not_a_Two_Party_System.pdf

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2041905816680418

https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/charts/timeline-british-governments-1900

https://consoc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/COSJ2086_Mandates_and_Coalitions_06.14_WEB-1.pdf

There has been an increase of multiple parties either through coalition or third parties winning election. ChefBear01 (talk) 17:22, 1 December 2022 (UTC)

Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Politics of the United Kingdom has an RFC
Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Politics of the United Kingdom has an RFC for possible consensus. A discussion is taking place. If you would like to participate in the discussion, you are invited to add your comments on the |discussion page. Thank you. Colonestarrice (talk) 10:37, 28 December 2022 (UTC)

title: Talk:Politics of the United Kingdom


text:
My Sister Eileen

My Sister Eileen is a series of autobiographical short stories by Ruth McKenney, originally published in The New Yorker, which eventually inspired many other works: her 1938 book My Sister Eileen, a play, a musical, a radio play (and an unproduced radio series), two motion pictures, and a CBS television series in the 1960–1961 season.

The stories center on two sisters from Ohio who are out to make successful careers while living in a basement apartment in the Greenwich Village section of New York City. Older, sensible Ruth aspires to be a writer, while Eileen dreams of success on the stage. A variety of oddball characters bring color and humor to their lives.

1940 play
The stories were adapted for the stage by Joseph Fields and Jerome Chodorov. The Broadway production, directed by George S. Kaufman, opened on December 26, 1940 at the Biltmore Theatre and moved three times before finally completing its run of 864 performances on January 16, 1943. The opening night cast included Shirley Booth as Ruth and Jo Ann Sayers as Eileen, with Richard Quine and Morris Carnovsky in supporting roles.

Eileen McKenney, the inspiration for the title character, and her husband, novelist and screenwriter Nathanael West, were killed in a car accident in Southern California four days before the Broadway opening.

1942 film
Fields and Chodorov adapted their play for a 1942 film released by Columbia Pictures (their biggest hit of 1942/3). Alexander Hall directed a cast that includes Rosalind Russell as Ruth (in an Academy Award–nominated performance ) and Janet Blair as Eileen, with Brian Aherne, George Tobias, Allyn Joslyn, Elizabeth Patterson, Grant Mitchell, Jeff Donnell, and Richard Quine in supporting roles.

1946 radio play and unproduced radio series
On May 18, 1946 Rosalind Russell and Janet Blair reprised their roles in a half-hour radio adaptation of the 1942 film for the CBS Radio anthology series Academy Award Theater. During the closing credits show announcer Hugh Brundage stated that a radio series based on the two main characters was being prepared by writer Arthur Kurlan. He added that it would star Lucille Ball and it would premiere in the fall. However CBS ultimately turned down the proposed series after only a sample audition record was made.

In 1947 CBS began airing a new radio series, My Friend Irma, which contained the same basic premise and characterizations. In response, Arthur Kurlan sued CBS on behalf of himself and Ruth McKenney, ultimately winning compensation from CBS.

1953 Broadway musical
Wonderful Town, with lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, music by Leonard Bernstein, and book by Fields and Chodorov, is a musical stage adaptation of the 1940 play, which was in turn based on McKenney's stories. Rosalind Russell reprised the part of Ruth for the Broadway production and appeared in a CBS broadcast of the musical on November 30, 1958. It was revived on Broadway, starring Donna Murphy, in 2004.

1955 film
In 1955, Columbia made a film as a musical comedy with a score by Jule Styne and Leo Robin. Richard Quine and Blake Edwards wrote the screenplay, and Quine directed. The cast includes Betty Garrett as Ruth and Janet Leigh as Eileen, with Jack Lemmon, Bob Fosse (who choreographed the musical numbers), Kurt Kasznar, Dick York, Arnold Stang, and Tommy Rall in supporting roles.

1960–1961 television series
A pilot for a television series based on the short stories and subsequent film adaptations aired on NBC as an episode of Alcoa-Goodyear Theater titled "You Should Meet My Sister" on May 16, 1960, starring Elaine Stritch as Ruth and Anne Helm as Eileen. Twenty-six more episodes were produced with Stritch as Ruth and Shirley Bonne portraying Eileen, and CBS broadcast these in the United States during the 1960–1961 season as the situation comedy My Sister Eileen. The series premiered on October 5, 1960. It was canceled after one season, and last aired on April 12, 1961.

title: My Sister Eileen


text:
Robert Young (actor)

Robert George Young (February 22, 1907 – July 21, 1998) was an American film, television, and radio actor best known for his leading roles as Jim Anderson, the father character, in Father Knows Best (CBS, then NBC, then CBS again) and the physician Marcus Welby in Marcus Welby, M.D. (ABC). In 1978, Young produced a documentary that "stressed the importance of motorcycle training for teenagers." This film earned him the 1979 BAFTA Award for Best Specialised Film.

Early life
Born in Chicago, Young was the son of an Irish immigrant father, Thomas E. Young, and an American mother, Margaret Fyfe. While Young was a child, the family moved to various locations within the U.S., including Seattle as well as Los Angeles, where Young was a student at Abraham Lincoln High School. After graduation, he studied and performed at the Pasadena Playhouse while working odd jobs and appearing in bit parts in silent films. While touring with a stock company producing "The Ship", Young was discovered by a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer talent scout who signed the fledgling actor to a contract. Young made his sound-film debut for Fox Film Corporation in the 1931 Charlie Chan film Black Camel, starring Warner Oland.

Film career
Young appeared in over 100 films between 1928 and 1952. In spite of having a "tier B" status, he co-starred with some of the studio's most illustrious actresses, such as Katharine Hepburn, Margaret Sullavan, Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Helen Hayes, Luise Rainer, Hedy Lamarr, Helen Twelvetrees and (unrelated) Loretta Young. Yet most of his assignments consisted of short B movies, also known as "programmers", which required brief two- to three-week shooting schedules. Actors who were relegated to such hectic routines appeared, as Young did, in some six to eight movies per year.

As an MGM contract player, Young was obligated to accept any film assigned to him or risk being placed on suspension—and many actors who were placed on suspension were prohibited from earning a salary from any endeavor at all, even those unrelated to the film industry. In 1936, MGM summarily loaned Young to Gaumont British in the U.K. for two films; the first, Secret Agent, was directed by Alfred Hitchcock, while the other, It's Love Again, co-starred Jessie Matthews. While in England, he was convinced that MGM intended to terminate his contract, but he was mistaken.

He unexpectedly received one of his most rewarding roles late in his MGM career, in H.M. Pulham, Esq. (1941), which also benefited from one of Hedy Lamarr's most effective performances. He once remarked that he was assigned only those roles which Robert Montgomery and other A-list actors had rejected.

After his contract with MGM expired, Young starred in light comedies and dramas for studios such as 20th Century Fox, United Artists, and RKO Radio Pictures. From 1943, Young had more challenging roles in films like Claudia, The Enchanted Cottage, They Won't Believe Me, The Second Woman, and Crossfire. His portrayals of unsympathetic characters in several of these later films—which had seldom been the case in his MGM pictures—were applauded by numerous critics. In 1949, he returned to MGM briefly to appear in That Forsyte Woman with Errol Flynn and Greer Garson. He played the second lead in Secret of the Incas (1954) starring Charlton Heston, the film upon which Raiders of the Lost Ark was subsequently loosely based. Despite the picture's superior quality while being shot on location at Machu Picchu, it was the last feature film in which he appeared. Young's career had begun an incremental and almost imperceptible decline, despite a propitious beginning as a freelance actor without the nurturing of a major studio. He had continued starring as a leading man in the late 1940s and early 1950s, but only in mediocre films, and occasionally playing supporting roles in important films. Then, he subsequently disappeared from the silver screen—only to reappear, successfully, several years later on a much smaller one.

Television career
Today, Young is most remembered as the affable insurance salesman in the long-running popular sitcom Father Knows Best (1949–1954 on radio, 1954–1960 on television), for which he and his co-star Jane Wyatt won several Emmy Awards. Elinor Donahue ("Betty"), Billy Gray ("Bud"), and Lauren Chapin ("Kathy") played the Anderson children in the television version.

Young then created, produced, and starred with Ford Rainey and Constance Moore in the nostalgic CBS comedy series Window on Main Street (1961–1962).

Young's final television series was Marcus Welby, M.D. (1969–1976), co-starring a young James Brolin. This show earned an Emmy for Young, for best leading actor in a drama series.

He shared the stage on The Dick Cavett Show with Jimi Hendrix in September 1969.

Until 1982, he made numerous television commercials for Sanka coffee.

The popular phrase "I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV" from a commercial for Vicks 44 cough medicine has been erroneously attributed to Young due to his Marcus Welby, MD fame. It was actually spoken by actor Chris Robinson and then by Peter Bergman during the 1980s.

Personal life and death
Young was married to Betty Henderson for 61 years from 1933 until her death in 1994. They had four daughters: Carol Proffitt, Barbara Beebe, Kathy Young, and Betty Lou Gleason. They also had six grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

Despite his trademark portrayal of happy, well-adjusted characters, Young's bitterness toward Hollywood casting practices never diminished, and he suffered from depression and alcoholism, culminating in a suicide attempt in January 1991. Later, he spoke candidly about his personal problems in an effort to encourage others to seek help. The Robert Young Community Mental Health Center is named after Young in honor of his work toward passage of the 708 Illinois Tax Referendum, which established a property tax to support mental health programs in his home state. The center started in Rock Island, Illinois, and now has sites in both Iowa and Illinois, as part of the Quad-City metropolitan area.

Young died of respiratory failure at his Westlake Village, California, home on July 21, 1998.

He has three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame; the stars are in the categories of film (located at 6933 Hollywood Blvd.), television (6358 Hollywood Blvd.), and radio (1660 Vine Street).

title: Robert Young (actor)


text:
Balhae

Balhae (,, Бохай, ) or Jin , also rendered as Bohai, was a multiethnic kingdom established in 698 by Dae Joyeong (Da Zuorong) and originally known as the Kingdom of Jin (震, Zhen) until 713 when its name was changed to Balhae. At its greatest extent it corresponded to what is today Northeast China, the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and the southeastern Russian Far East.

Balhae's early history involved a rocky relationship with the Tang dynasty that saw military and political conflict, but by the end of the 8th century the relationship had become cordial and friendly. The Tang dynasty would eventually recognize Balhae as the "Prosperous Country of the East". Numerous cultural and political exchanges were made. Balhae was conquered by the Khitan-led Liao dynasty in 926. Balhae survived as a distinct population group for another three centuries in the Liao and Jin dynasties before disappearing under Mongol rule.

The history surrounding the origin of the state, its ethnic composition, the modern cultural affiliation of the ruling dynasty, the reading of their names, and its borders are the subject of a historiographical dispute between Korea, China and Russia. Historical sources from both China and Korea have described Balhae's founder, Dae Joyeong, as related to the Mohe people and Goguryeo.

Name
Balhae was founded in 698 by Dae Joyeong (Da Zuorong) under the name (진, Jin), read as tsyinH in Middle Chinese. The kingdom's name was transcribed as in Chinese, with the same Middle Chinese reading as.

In 713, the Tang dynasty bestowed the ruler of Jin with the noble title "Prince of Commandery of Bohai (Balhae)" (渤海郡王). In 762, the Tang formally elevated Balhae to the status of a kingdom. The kingdom's territories did not overlap with the Bohai Commandery. According to Jin Yufu, the Tang referred to the state as Mohe (Malgal, name of the ethnic group) until 713, and "Balhae" was possibly used as a different transcription of the same name. According to the New Book of Tang, the state was called Mohe before it received investiture from China and assumed the name Bohai. Linguists Karl Heinrich Menges and Roy Andrew Miller raised another theory, suggesting that the name Balhae had an underlying native name which was cognate to Manchu butha ("hunting").

The transcriptions Bohai (Chinese pinyin romanization), Po-hai (Chinese Wade–Giles romanization), and Parhae (Korean McCune–Reischauer romanization) are also used in modern academia. Most Western-language scholarship have opted for Bohai except in the field of Korean studies; however, some scholars have chosen the Korean romanization to avoid a "Chinese" narrative spread by the usage of pinyin romanization. According to Pamela Kyle Crossley, neither Chinese or Korean transliterations can be correct. She chose to use modern Chinese transliteration "to indicate that the only referent we have is Chinese characters". Jesse D. Sloane chose to use "Parhae" because it was not covered in depth in the state-mandated curriculum of China, but used Chinese romanization for all other terms related to Balhae that appeared in Chinese sources first. Neither Crossley or Sloane meant to depict Balhae as essentially Chinese but used Chinese romanization out of convenience and to acknowledge the transnational origins of Balhae discourse.

Origin
In 696, Li Jinzhong (Wushang Khan) of the Khitans along with his brother-in-law Sun Wanrong rebelled against Tang (Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty ) hegemony, killed an abusive Tang commander, and attacked Hebei. Li died soon after and Sun succeeded him, only to be defeated by the Second Turkic Khaganate. The population of Yingzhou (營州, modern-day Chaoyang, Liaoning) fled eastward toward the Liao River during the turmoil. The Tang tried to appease Dae Jungsang (Da Zhongxiang) and Geolsa Biu (Qisi Biyu), two local leaders, by granting them the titles of Duke of Zhen (Jin) and Duke of Xu (Heo) respectively. Geolsa Biu rejected the offer but was soon defeated by a Tang force led by Li Kaigu, while Dae Jungsang fled with his followers but also died around the same time. Dae Jungsang's son, Dae Joyeong (Da Zuorong), left the Liao River valley for Mt. Tianmen (in modern Jilin Province). There, he dealt a heavy defeat to the Tang forces at the Battle of Tianmenling (Cheonmunnyeong), after which he led his followers to set up a state. In 698, Dae Joyeong declared himself King of Zhen (Jin).

Another account of the events suggests that there was no rebellion at all, and the leader of the Sumo Mohe (Songmal Malgal) rendered assistance to the Tang by suppressing Khitan rebels. As a reward the Tang acknowledged the leader as the local hegemon of a semi-independent state.

In diplomatic communications between Silla and Jin, Silla attempted to confer investiture to Dae Joyeong with the title of a fifth rank official: "Dae Achan". Silla conferred this mid-ranking investiture partially out of a sense of superiority, but also because Balhae was a relatively new kingdom whereas Silla had been centuries old. The people of Jin did not know the system of ranks used in Silla and thus accepted the title. After a while, Dae Joyeong realized the meaning of the title and sought to change Balhae's international status. In 713 or 714, the Tang dynasty recognized Dae Joyeong as the "Prince of Bohai (Balhae)", the name for the sea surrounding Liaodong and Shandong.

According to Alexander Kim, neither the Tang or Silla recognized Balhae as the successor of Goguryeo. The Tang considered it a dukedom while Silla considered it their vassal. South Korean historians such as Kim Eng Gug, however, believe that the Tang viewed Balhae as Goguryeo's successor. Between 713 and 721, Silla constructed a northern wall to maintain active defences along the border. The Tang later recognized Balhae as a kingdom in 762 but Silla continued to view Balhae as a rebellious vassal. However, Kim Eun Gug argues that thus the "bestowal of a fifth-rank position was an expression of Silla’s confidence, and such an exchange would have been unimaginable if Silla and Parhae were in a hostile relationship." After Tang recognition of Balhae as a kingdom, Balhae diplomatic missions to Japan began to refer to the Balhae ruler as descended from Heaven. Japanese officials criticized these letters, revised them, and limited diplomatic missions from Balhae. A royal epitaph and Buddhist scripture confirm this designation for the ruler of Balhae.

Ethnic identity
The ethnic identity of Balhae's founder is controversial and disputed. Many Chinese, Korean, Russian, and Japanese scholars of Balhae believe its population was composed of Goguryeo remnants and Mohe tribes. Chinese scholars consider that Mohe people form the ethnic majority of Balhae, and arguments for this opinion are also viewed positively in Russia and in the West. While modern Korean scholars usually consider Balhae a Korean state and one of the Northern and Southern States of Korea, Russian and Chinese scholars reject this notion, echoing the position of historical Korean scholars such as Kim Bu-sik, author of the Samguk Sagi.

Some historians view this dispute as the polemics reflecting modern politics rather than historical evidence.

Historical sources give different accounts of Dae Joyeong's ethnicity and background. Among the official dynastic history works, the New Book of Tang refers to Dae Joyeong and his state as Sumo Mohe (related to Jurchens and later Manchus) affiliated with Goguryeo. The Old Book of Tang also states Dae's ethnic background as Mohe but adds that he was "高麗別種" (gaoli biezhong). Literally speaking, biezhong means "separate kind." The term is interpreted as meaning "a branch of the Goguryeo people" by South and North Korean historians, but as "distinct from Goguryeo" by Japanese and Chinese researchers. According to Sloane, Tang sources divided Balhae's population into two categories, Goguryeo and Mohe. The royalty and upper class were composed of Goguryeo remnants while the majority of Balhae's population were Mohe. In a diplomatic mission to Japan in 727 or 728, the Balhae envoy said that Balhae has "recovered the lost land of Goguryeo and inherited the old traditions of Buyeo." Some consider this divide to be a cause of tension that contributed to Balhae's eventual downfall. Chinese scholars have made claims that Han Chinese were a part of the Balhae population, but apart from Goguryeo and Mohe, no other group is associated with the foundation of Balhae in Chinese, Korean, or Japanese sources.

According to Ch'oe Ch'i-wŏn (b. 857), the people of Balhae were Mohe. In the conflict between the joint Tang-Silla forces against Balhae, Silla described Balhae as "rebellious barbarians." Sillan aristocracy tended to view the Balhae population as consisting of solely Mohe people, but this could be due to the antagonistic relations between the two states causing the Sillan nobility to ignore Goguryeo elements of Balhae ethnic composition. The Ruijū Kokushi, a 9th-century Japanese text, says that when Balhae was founded, it spanned 2,000 li and was filled with villages, each of which were Mohe tribes. Japanese diplomatic communications with Balhae recognized it as a "state of Go[gu]ryeo." In the early 12th century, the Jurchen leader Aguda sent ambassadors to the Liao dynasty to call on the Balhae people there to rebel against the Liao by appealing to a common origin between the Jurchens and Balhae. According to the appeal, both the Jurchens and Balhae people descended from the seven Wuji tribes. However according to Alexander Kim, this only applied to the Mohe portion of Balhae's population and not the Goguryeo people, who were not included in the seven Wuji tribes. The Samguk sagi, written in the 12th century by Kim Bu-sik, did not consider Balhae a Korean state. The Samguk yusa, a 13th-century collection of Korean history and legends, describes Dae as a Sumo Mohe leader. However, it gives another account of Dae being a former Goguryeo general, citing a now-lost Sillan record. Kim considers this unlikely since Goguryeo fell in 668 while Dae died in 719, and young men could not receive the rank of general.

Russian scholars argue that the ethnic composition of Balhae cannot be determined with great precision because no materials exist that can confirm either the Chinese or Korean claims. Some Russian scholars claim Balhae as part of Manchurian history while others believe Balhae was neither a Korean state or Chinese province and there is no direct link between Balhae and either modern China or Korea. E. V. Shakunov believes that Balhae's population also consisted of elements from Central Asia such as Sogdians and Tocharians. Many Uyghurs fled to Balhae after the destruction of the Uyghur Khaganate in 840 but they failed to adapt to Balhae society and caused social unrest.

It is evident that Balhae had a diverse population, including other minorities such as Khitan and Evenk peoples. Archaeological evidence suggests that the Balhae culture was an amalgamation of High Tang Chinese, Korean, and Tungusic cultures.

Expansion and foreign relations
Dae Joyeong died in 719 and was succeeded by his son, Dae Muye (Da Wuyi, r. 719–737). While Muye accepted Tang gifts and title upon his succession, he showed his independence by giving his father a posthumous temple name, Gowang/Gaowang (high king). Muye adopted his own reign title in 720. In 721, the Tang asked Balhae for military support against the Khitans but they refused. To check Balhae's influence, the Tang appointed a chieftain of the Heishui Mohe (Heuksu Malgal) as prefect of Bozhou (in modern Khabarovsk) in 722. In 725, the Andong Protectorate suggested stationing an army in the region. In response, Tang officials dispatched an administration staffed by the leaders of smaller tribes under the command of the Youzhou governor-general. Muye was convinced that the Heishui Mohe and the Tang were plotting to attack him and required a preemptive strike. He ordered his brother, Dae Munye (Da Wenyi), to attack the Heishui Mohe. Munye, who had stayed at the Tang capital as a hostage since the start of peaceful relations in 705, and understood the implications of attacking a Tang ally, was reluctant to carry out the order. He advised Muye to abandon the plan twice.

Muye paid his brother no heed and used his reluctance as pretext to remove Munye from command. Munye fled to the Tang dynasty. A Balhae envoy arrived at the Tang court in 732 requesting the execution of Munye. In response, the Tang secretly sent Munye to Central Asia while informing Muye that his brother had been banished to South China. The reality of events, however, leaked out, enraging Muye. A Balhae naval force led by Jang Mun-hyu (Zhang Wenxiu) attacked Dengzhou on the north shore of the Shandong Peninsula and killed its prefect. Additionally, Dengzhou was the center of maritime trade routes in East Asia, and was the locale where both Silla and Balhae envoys stayed when coming to pay tribute to the Tang Emperor. As a result, Balhae's attack on Dengzhou was not merely motivated by geopolitical retaliation against the Tang but also out a of a desire to assert its newfound maritime prowess as well as prevent the Heishui Mohe from establishing trade relations with the Tang, which would have weakened Balhae's dominace of the northern trade routes. Balhae's successful attack on Dengzhou also demonstrates a surprisingly maritime prowess for a thirty-year old state, which had military naval vessels that could cross the sea as well as merchant vessels that could carry out trade activities.

In response to the attacks, the Tang ordered Kim Chungsin, the nephew of Seongdeok of Silla and courtier in the Tang court, to return to Silla and organize an attack on Balhae. Chungsin excused himself from the request by asking to remain in China as the emperor's bodyguard. In his place, the Tang sent Kim Saran, a low ranking Sillan diplomat, and a Tang eunuch. Munye was also recalled to recruit soldiers in Youzhou. In the meantime, Balhae struck again, sacking the town of Mt. Matou (northwest of modern Shanhaiguan), and killing 10,000 Tang soldiers. The Balhae force raided and pillaged along the Liao River and the coast of the Liaodong Peninsula. In 733, Tang and Sillan forces attempted a joint attack on Balhae but were accosted by a blizzard that blocked all roads and killed half of the 100,000 Tang-Silla army, forcing them to abort the invasion. Muye continued to try to kill his brother. He sent an agent to Luoyang to plot the assassination of his brother. Munye was attacked in broad daylight near the Tianjin Bridge outside the imperial palace but escaped unharmed.

Japanese records indicate that Balhae and Japan enjoyed very amicable relations. When King Mu sent Balhae's first envoy delegation to Japan in 727, the mission was made up of 24 men, which included high-ranking Generals such as Ko In ˇui and Ko Ched ˇok. King Mu had 300 sable furs sent by the Balhae delegation to Japan as both a show of goodwill and a desire to foster friendly relations with Japan.

In 734, Silla attacked Balhae with no success. In an effort to curb Balhae's ambitions, the Tang granted Silla's request to place troops in the Paegang region in 735.

The strategic landscape began to turn on Balhae in 734–735, when the Khitan chieftain, Ketuyu, and his Turkic allies were defeated by Tang forces. In addition a force of 5,000 Kumo Xi cavalrymen surrendered to the Tang. The defeat of the Khitans and Turks, and the submission of the Kumo Xi removed the buffer zone that had formed between Balhae and the Tang. Sensing the change in strategic developments, Muye decided to reconcile with the Tang. In 737, Tang sailors and civilians detained in Balhae were repatriated. In 738, an envoy from Balhae requested Tang ritual codes and dynastic histories in a symbolic gesture towards peace. Muye died soon after.

Muye's son and successor, Dae Heummu (Da Qinmao, r. 737–793), continued the course of reconciliation with the Tang. At the same time, trouble with the Tibetan Empire to the west forced the Tang to withdraw all military forces from Korea and adopt a defensive stance. Heummu cemented the geopolitical balance by sending an envoy to the Japanese court, which his father had done as well in 728 to threaten Silla with an ally from the southeast. Balhae kept diplomatic and commercial contacts with Japan until the end of the kingdom. Balhae dispatched envoys to Japan 34 times, while Japan sent envoys to Balhae 13 times.

Balhae planned a joint attack on Silla with Japan. Gyeongdeok of Silla offended Japan twice. In 753 he treated Japanese ambassadors with arrogance and in 758 when he refused to meet them. After 758, Japan asked Balhae to attack Silla with them. Balhae and Japan exchanged ambassadors several times in the 750s and 760s to plan for the attack. Silla likely knew of these plans and prepared by building six castles along the border with Balhae in 762. The border region changed hands many times but the losses are not described in Silla's official history, only the dates when an army was sent north. Japan prepared a fleet to invade southern Silla, however the plan never came to fruition.

In 755, the An Lushan Rebellion broke out, causing the Tang to lose control of the northeast, and even after the rebellion's end in 763, warlords known as jiedushi controlled the former northeastern part of the Tang empire. In 762, Emperor Daizong of Tang formally recognized Balhae as a state and Heummu as its king. Although China recognized him as a king, Balhae itself referred to him as the son of heaven (emperor) and a king. The consort of the ruler was also called empress. A record in 834 says that Balhae had both kings and great kings. The epitath of Princess Jeonghyo (Zhenxiao), daughter of Heummu, states that his father was a "great king." During Heummu's reign, a trade route with Silla, called "Sillado", was established. The Silla trade route began at the Eastern Capital located at the center of Balhae's Yongwon Province, came down along the coast past what is modern-day Hamgyong Province. This route, which also passed through Balhae’s Southern Capital, was established for the purpose of conducting trade with Silla. Since the 1980s large numbers of archaeological sites related to Parhae have been excavated in North Korea; among those sites, the fortress at Bukcheong and the monastery site at Omae-ri in the city of Sinpo were locales engaged in the trade between Balhae and Silla. The route led from Pukchong, which was Balhae’s Southern Capital, down along the coast to the Yonghung River; across the river was Silla’s Chonjong (Jeonjeong) Prefecture. King Mun moved the capital of Balhae several times. He also established Shangjing/Sanggyeong, the permanent capital near Lake Jingpo in the south of today's Heilongjiang province around 756; stabilizing and strengthening central rule over various ethnic tribes in his realm, which was expanded temporarily. He also authorized the creation of the Jujagam/Zhouzijian, the national academy, based on the national academy of Tang.

The bilateral relationship between the Tang and Balhae grew friendlier. From 766 to 779, 25 missions from Balhae paid respect to Daizong. By the end of Heummu's reign in 793, princes from Balhae's royal family were serving as guards at the court of Emperor Dezong of Tang of their volition. Peace with the Tang allowed Balhae to further expand its territory. After the death of Heummu, who was posthumously known as Mun of Balhae (Wen, r. 737–793), Balhae experienced a succession crisis. As a result, Balhae lost territory and bordering Mohe tribes rebelled. Both the reigns of Seon of Balhae (Xuan, r. 818–830) and Dae Ijin (Da Yizhen, r. 830–857) saw intrusions by Mohe tribes. Seon annexed the Yuexi Mohe and other tribes along the Amur valley in the north. In 818-820, he also invaded Liaodong and parts of Silla on Balhae's southern border. In 826, Silla mobilized tens of thousands of people to fortify the border with Balhae. In the middle of the 9th century, Balhae completed its local administrative system, which was composed of five capitals, 15 prefectures and 62 counties.

Fall
In 907, Balhae came into conflict with the Khitan Liao dynasty because of the decision of the Khitans near modern Chifeng and Tongliao, who recognized the supremacy of Balhae, to become part of the Liao dynasty. The Liao ruler Abaoji took possession of the Liao River basin, which led to a long conflict. In 911, Silla allied with Balhae against the Khitans. In 924, Balhae attacked the Khitans. The next year, a Balhae general, Sindeok, surrendered to Goryeo. In 925, Silla allied with the Khitans and helped them in their war against Balhae. Afterwards, warriors from Silla were rewarded by the Khitan ruler. In 926, the Khitans laid siege to the Balhae capital Shangjing/Sanggyeong and forced their surrender. In Balhae's place, the Khitans established the autonomous kingdom of Dongdan ruled by the Liao crown prince Yelü Bei. Its independence ended in 929 when a new Liao ruler ordered the relocation of its population. It was soon absorbed into the Liao in 936. The name of Balhae was officially removed in 982. Meanwhile, a series of nobilities and elites led by key figures such as crown prince Dae Gwang-hyeon, were absorbed into Goryeo. Some Balhae aristocrats were forced to move to Liaoyang, but Balhae's eastern territory remained politically independent in Later Balhae, which was later renamed to Jeongan (Ding'an). The Liao invaded Jeongan in 975 but failed to conquer them. In 985–6, the Khitans attacked Jeongan again, this time successfully.

Some scholars considered the eruption of Mount Baekdu in the 930–940s to have dealt a final blow to the surviving forces of Balhae based on records of massive population displacement of Balhae people to the Liaodong peninsula of the Khitan empire and the Korean peninsula of Goryeo. However this theory has lost popularity in Korea in recent times and Russian scholars do not consider it a plausible reason for Balhae's collapse. The most paramount reason seems to have been military confrontation with a superior power, the Khitans.

The Old Book of Tang stated that the kingdom originally had around 100,000 households and tens of thousands of soldiers, suggesting a population of around 500,000. At the time of its fall, its soldiers numbered "hundreds of thousands" according to the History of Liao. The kingdom's total population in its last years is variously estimated at between 1.5 to 4 million by historians today.

Goryeo
Though Balhae was lost, a great portion of the royalty and aristocracy fled to Goryeo, including Dae Gwang-hyeon, the last crown prince. They were granted land and the crown prince was given the family name Wang (왕, 王), the royal family name of the Goryeo dynasty, and included in the royal household by Wang Geon, who was crowned as Taejo of Goryeo. Koreans believe Goryeo thus unified the two successor nations of Goguryeo. Some other members of the Balhae royalty took the surname Tae (태, 太). According to the Goryeosa jeolyo, the Balhae refugees who accompanied the crown prince numbered in the tens of thousands of households. According to Alexander Kim, Goryeo's statistical information shows that more than 100,000 Balhae people moved to Goryeo at different points in time. As descendants of Goguryeo, the Balhae people and the Goryeo dynasts were related. Taejo of Goryeo felt a strong familial kinship with Balhae, calling it his "relative country" and "married country", and protected the Balhae refugees. This was in stark contrast to Later Silla, which had endured a hostile relationship with Balhae. Taejo displayed strong animosity toward the Khitans who had destroyed Balhae. The Liao dynasty sent 30 envoys with 50 camels as a gift in 942, but Taejo exiled the envoys to an island and starved the camels under a bridge, in what is known as the "Manbu Bridge Incident". Taejo proposed to Gaozu of Later Jin that they attack the Khitans in retribution for Balhae, according to the Zizhi Tongjian. Furthermore, in his Ten Injunctions to his descendants, he stated that the Khitans are "savage beasts" and should be guarded against. Khitan conquest of Balhae resulted in Goryeo's prolonged hostility towards the Khitan Empire.

Exodus en masse on part from the Balhae refugees would continue on at least until the early 12th century during the reign of King Yejong, according to Korean scholars. Due to this constant massive influx of Balhae refugees, the Goguryeo population is speculated to have become dominant in proportion compared to their Silla and Baekje counterparts that have experienced devastating war and political strife   since the advent of the Later Three Kingdoms. Later Baekje fared only little better than Later Silla before its fall in 936. Meanwhile, of the three capitals of Goryeo, two were Kaesong and Pyeongyang which were initially populated by Goguryeoic settlers from the Paeseo Region (패서, 浿西) and Balhae.

Crossley believes that according to Goryeo records, Balhae refugees only arrived in groups of a few hundred to a few thousand. She suggests that the total number could not be more than 100,000, while millions remained in Liao-controlled territories. According to Crossley, it is also unclear whether they stayed, went back to Balhae, or moved on elsewhere like China or Japan. According to Kim, between the 10th and 11th centuries, 30,000 Balhae families (more than 100,000 people) immigrated to Goryeo, 94,000 local families (470,000 inhabitants) were deported by the Liao, and only 20,000 Balhae families lived in the former territories of Balhae, a significantly smaller figure than those that immigrated to Goryeo. Korean historians generally estimate that approximately 100,000 to 200,000 fled from Balhae to Goryeo. Historian Professor Park Jong-gi estimated that 120,600 people fled from Balhae to Goryeo, and by themselves comprised approximately 6.3% of early Goryeo's roughly 2 million inhabitants.

According to Kim, many Balhae refugees fled to Goryeo due to pro-Balhae policies during the mid 9th century. In the first few decades after Balhae's fall, Balhae refugees were welcomed by Goryeo. However, it seems few Balhae refugees retained high positions in Goryeo as service in the Khitan administration offered more benefits. Goryeo annals contain only six names of high-ranking officials who were of Balhae origin. In 1029-1030, the Khitan Administration was rocked by a rebellion by Balhae people after the government tried raising taxes on them. The leader of the rebellion was the Liao general Da Yanlin, a 7th generation descendant of the founder of Balhae. He arrested and killed Khitan leaders and proclaimed the establishment of a new dynasty, Xing Liao. He sent an ambassador to Goryeo requesting military support. Goryeo sent some military troops against the Liao but the Khitans repelled them and expelled the Goryeo army. Some of Goryeo's officers sought further confrontation with the Liao, but the Goryeo diplomatic corps and nobility asked the Goryeo king to exercise caution. The Goryeo king decided to abandon military activities against the Liao. Despite this, Balhae people continued to send missions to Goryeo requesting assistance. The last mission, led by Lee Kwang Rok, arrived after the destruction of the state, and Kim considers this group as refugees, not members of an ambassadorial mission. Kim believes that in the 11th century, Balhae people under the Liao started viewing Goryeo as a hostile state in which the Balhae people lacked support.

Liao dynasty
The Balhae people played a pivotal role in the politics, literature, and society of northern China under the Liao and Jin dynasties. After the dissolution of Balhae by the Khitan empire, the term "Bohai" was used through the fourteenth century to denote a subset of the populations of the Liao, Jin, and Mongol empires. The Liao Eastern Capital (Dongjing, modern-day Liaoyang, Liaoning) served as a base for monitoring the former Balhae territories. The city's residents, over 40,000 in early tenth century, were primarily Balhae, according to a figure cited by Pamela Crossley. Dae Inseon (Da Yinzhuan), the last Balhae king, and other members of the former royal lineage still held considerable authority in Dongdan and the Eastern Capital after Balhae's fall. Some Balhae elites, on the other hand, were integrated into the Liao aristocracy and often changed their personal identities dramatically.

According to Wittfogel and Feng, an undated Liao census puts the number of Balhae households in Liaoyang at around 100,000, which would be around half a million individuals.

In the summer of 1029, a distant descendant of Balhae royalty, Da Yanlin, rebelled at the Eastern Capital. He imprisoned minister Xiao Xiaoxian and his wife, killed the tax commissioners and chief military commander, and declared his own Xing Liao dynasty (興遼國/흥료국). He requested aid from Goryeo, who sent forces against Liao only to be repelled. Further ambassadors were sent by Xing Liao to Goryeo seeking aid but Goryeo refused to help them owing to the advice of nobles and scholars to the Goryeo king. Other Balhae people serving in the Liao military also refused to join Xing Liao. Four groups of ambassadors were sent but the last group remained in Goryeo rather than return. Instead only a handful of Jurchens joined his regime. Many participants of the rebellion probably realized the weakness of the new dynasty and fled to Goryeo before its collapse. A year later, one of Da Yanlin's officers betrayed him and opened the Eastern Capital's gates to the Khitans. His short lived dynasty came to an end. The old Balhae nobility were resettled near the Supreme Capital while others fled to Goryeo. In 1114, Balhae descendants took advantage of the Jurchen-Khitan war and rebelled. They defeated Khitan armies twice before they were destroyed. In 1116 another rebellion occurred at the Eastern Capital when a Balhae officer named Gao Yongchang declared himself emperor of the Yuan dynasty and requested aid from the Jin. Liao troops sent to quash the rebellion were themselves led by those of Balhae descent. The Jin relief troops to Yuan easily repulsed the Liao troops but then turned on the Balhae rebels and killed Gao Yongchang.

The distinction between Balhae and Jurchen rebellions was not always clear to the Liao. In the 1117 epitaph of an officer who died while fighting against Jurchens in 1114, the Balhae and Jurchens were mentioned in connection to each other and placed within a similar category.

Jin dynasty
The Khitans themselves eventually succumbed to the Jurchen people, the descendants of the Mohe, who founded the Jin dynasty. Jurchen proclamations emphasized the common descent of the Balhae and Jurchens from the seven Wuji (勿吉) tribes. The Jin sent two Balhae representatives to recruit "people from their home area" while bearing a message that "The Jurchen and Bohai are originally of the same family; as we rise in arms to smite the wicked, [harm] will not unjustly reach the innocent." The fourth, fifth and seventh emperors of Jin were mothered by Balhae consorts. Nevertheless, the 13th century census of Northern China by the Mongols distinguished Balhae people who belonged to the Khitan Empire from other ethnic groups such as Goryeo, Khitans and Jurchens.

A Song observer notes that during the Liao era, Balhae people were not employed in the government, as a result they were the first to defect to the Jin. The call for Balhae defectors was met with significant success. Aguda was advised by a Balhae man named Yang Pu who aided him in establishing an imperial court. An 1125 embassy noted that Jin protocol officers included Khitans, Jurchens, as well as Balhae. They all spoke Chinese. A descendant of the Balhae royal family, Da Gao (1086-1153), served in the Jin army and was given command of eight Balhae battalions in the war against the Song dynasty. One Balhae commander, Guo Yaoshi (active 1116–1132) fought in the Liao, Jin, and Song armies at one point or another. The Balhae played a critical role in supporting Emperor Shizong of Jin's accession to the throne.

Families of Balhae descent were able to rise high in the Jin hierarchy, including Zhang Rulin (d. 1190) and Zhang Rubi (d. 1187), who were key advisers of Emperor Shizong, and Li Yin (jinshi 1194, d. 1214), who died fighting against the Mongols. Balhae descendants also participated with success in the Jin imperial examinations. Many Balhae literati-officials such as Gao Kan (d. 1167), Gao Xian (jinshi 1203), Zhang Rulin, Zhang Runeng, Zhang Ruwei (fl. 1150), Zhang Rufang, and Wang Tingyun (1151-1202) were entrusted as arbiters of culture and cultivated taste. Wang Tingyun's family received literary distinctions. His eldest daughter became a Daoist priestess, named Congqing, and was a poet at the imperial court. Intermarriage between Balhae civil elites in the Jin dynasty was common. In 1190, Wang Ji identified two families he encountered in Liaodong as Balhae. Writing after the fall of the Jin dynasty in 1234, Liu Qi identified the military commander Li Ying as a "Bohai man of Liaodong."

There were still limitations on Balhae people in the Jin dynasty. In 1136, the Jurchen official Wanyan Puluhu revoked the pardon of a man when his origin was determined to be Balhae. Policies to restrain and weaken Balhae were increased over time. In 1140, an edict abolished Han Chinese and Balhae hereditary military garrisons but not Kumo Xi and Khitan garrisons. The Jin government also targeted the Balhae population for relocation. Over the years, groups of Balhae who were once moved outside to areas near the Liao supreme or central capital regions were resettled east of the Taihang Mountains, which was completed by 1141. Another relocation south of Zhongdu was planned in 1149, but the Balhae court attendant Gao Shouxing protested to Empress Daoping, who told the emperor, resulting in the beating and death of the two officials planning the relocation. A substantial Jin military presence was bought to Liaodong in which as many as thirty Jurchen meng'an units (meng'an literally means one thousand or units composed of one thousand soldiers) and the families of the retinues were moved to garrisons in the Eastern Capital Circuit. The southward migration of Jurchens, especially Jurchen aristocrats, may have contributed to a decline of people who identified as Balhae. In 1177, a decree was passed to abolish the "old Bohai custom" of marriage through mock abduction. Although the Balhae experienced less restrictions under the Jin, there was also less emphasis on Balhae as a distinct group. During the later Jin era, the strong association between Balhae and Liaodong declined as Liaodong became dominated by other identities.

As Balhae descendants became firmly incorporated into the apparatus of the Jurchen-led state, many individual Balhae-descended officials willingly chose to self-identify as Chinese. In 1135, Nansali was chosen as an emissary to Goryeo, for which he changed his name to the Sinitic Wang Zheng. Wang Tingyun also invented a genealogy record on his epitaph tracing his lineage to Taiyuan rather than Liaodong. The epitaph acknowledges that his most recent ancestors were in the employ of Balhae but added that they only "lived dispersed among the eastern barbarians", rejecting his Balhae identity. The practice of inventing fictitious genealogies to hide ancestry outside of the "Central Territories" was widespread from Song times onward.

Mongol Empire
The term "Balhae" became noticeably less prevalent under the rule of the Mongol Empire. There is no trace of Balhae descendants from the defunct Jin dynasty and no epitaphs from the Mongol era claim a Balhae identity. Balhae was only used as a toponym in the early 14th century and Balhae disappeared entirely from historical sources by the late 14th century. Near the end of Mongol rule, Tao Zongyi (c. 1316–1402) put Balhae alongside Khitan and Jurchen under a subcategory within Hanren, which is not surprising given that most of them at the time of the Mongol conquest were literati, officials, or attachments to the Jin bureaucracy. Many chose to use Chinese style names, similar to Jurchens, probably for inclusion in the Hanren (Northern Chinese) category under the Mongol hierarchy, rather than the inferior fourth category, Nanren (Southern Chinese). Aside from legal references to the Taihe Code of the Jin dynasty, the term "Balhae" is absent from the Yuan legal compendium. The referenced passages have to do with limitations on levirate marriage for Han and Balhae and restrictions on marriage during mourning.

Some Balhae adopted Mongol or Tatar culture rather than Chinese. The biography of You Xingge (d. 1227) identifies him as Balhae. As the Jin dynasty was collapsing from the Mongol invasions, You established an independent fort near Gaozhou (modern Chifeng). They fought off several military detachments until they were besieged by Muqali. After You surrendered, Muqali praised him to Genghis Khan, who bestowed on him the Mongol name Halabadu. He later fought for the Mongols at Taiyuan in 1227. You Xingge's son is only referred to by the name Mangqutai, which denotes him as part of the Mangqutai tribe.

The decline of Balhae identity was not a gradual and steady process. According to Toyama Gunji, "the Bohai remained alive and well for three hundred years of history" after the state was destroyed.

Culture
Balhae's population was composed of former Goguryeo people and Tungusic Mohe people in Manchuria. Within sixty sites identified as Balhae settlements, many had dwellings with heating stoves, ceramic roof tiles, and vessels. Iron agricultural implements suggest that sophisticated agriculture was practised in parts of Balhae. These finds indicate that much of the population even outside the capitals were sedentary.

Balhae's culture is as complex as its ethnic makeup. Archaeological findings have demonstrated that Balhae culture contained elements from Mohe, Goguryeo, Turkic, as well as Tang Chinese cultures. However, scholars from Japan, China, Russia and Korea emphasize some components over the others because of their national backgrounds.

Han Ciu-cheol believes that many of Goguryeo's tradition were continued by Balhae, such as the use of Ondol heating systems in Balhae's royal palaces as well as the use of stone lined tombs, stone chambers and stone coffins used by Goguryeo's ruling class. According to Japanese historian Shiratori Kurakichi, 26 of the 85 emissaries dispatched to Japan by Balhae bore the typical Goguryeo surname of Ko (Go), which is still commonly used in Korea, indicating a substantial Goguryeo presence in Balhae culture.

A record of the journey of Hong Hao (1088-1155) in Jin territory describes the Balhae people as primarily martial and not adherent to Confucian norms. Balhae women were described as "fiercely jealous" and prevented the men from deviating from martial fidelity. Balhae men were described as "full of cunning, surpassing other nations in courage, such that there exists a saying 'Three Bohai are a match for a tiger.'" Some Balhae people practiced Buddhism. However Balhae cultural markers evidently did not deviate to the point of preventing assimilation into neighboring societies. There was widespread usage of "Chinese" style surnames in Balhae and no distinct cultural marker prevented them from integrating into Chinese literati society. There is no evidence of any friction in this process. Other cultural markers such as martial traditions may have also facilitated the adoption of Mongol, Tatar, and Jurchen backgrounds.

Society
According to Korean scholars and other historians, Mohe made up the working class which served the Goguryeo ruling class. Some historians believe that ethnic conflicts between the ruling Goguryeos and underclass Mohe weakened the state. Other historians offer dissenting views. Han Ciu-cheol agreed that Mohe people were the majority of Balhae's population but disagreed that they were any different from Goguryeo or Balhae. According to Han, the origins of "Malgal" and "Mulgil" lie in the Goguryeo language, and "the Malgal language and customs were the same as those of Goguryeo and Balhae."

On the other hand, the Russian historian Polutov believes that Goguryeo descendants did not have political dominance, and the ruling system was open to all people equally. Its ruling structure was based on the military leader-priestly management structure of the Mohe tribes and also partly adapted elements from the Chinese system. After the 8th century, Balhae became more centralized, and power was consolidated around the king and the royal family.

The class system of Balhae society is controversial. Some studies suggest there was a stratified and rigid class system similar to those of the related Korean kingdoms and pre-Qin northern China. Elites tended to belong to large extended aristocratic family lines designated by surnames. The commoners in comparison had no surnames at all, and upward social mobility was virtually impossible as class and status were codified into a caste system. Other studies have shown there was a clan system but no clear division of classes existed, whereas the position of the clan leader depended on the strength of the clan. Any member of the clan could become the clan leader if he had sufficient authority. There were also religiously privileged shaman clans. The clan struggles were also partly due to growing Tang influence and different attitudes toward further Sinicization. The main part of society in Balhae was free in a personal capacity and consisted of clans.

By the time of the state’s demise, the Balhae mode of living had come to resemble that of the northern Chinese. The Liao dynasty classified the Balhae population as Han in legal and taxation contexts, the same as those whose ancestry was traced to the Tang empire. Some Mohe groups did not adopt this manner of life and were excluded from the Liao's designation of Balhae. Instead, they remained as Mohe, and would become an important source of the Jurchen people in the future.

Government

After its founding, Balhae actively imported the culture and political system of the Tang dynasty and the Chinese reciprocated through an account of Balhae describing it as the "Flourishing land of the East (海東盛國)." The bureaucracy of Balhae was modeled after the Three Departments and Six Ministries and used literary Chinese as the written language of administration. Balhae's aristocrats and nobility traveled to the Tang capital of Chang'an on a regular basis as ambassadors and students, many of whom went on to pass the imperial examinations. Three students are recorded in 833 and a royal nephew in 924. Although Balhae was a tributary state of the Tang dynasty, it followed its own independent path, not only in its internal policies, but also in its foreign relations. Furthermore, it regarded itself as an empire, and sent ambassadors to neighbor states such as Japan in an independent capacity.

Balhae had five capitals, fifteen provinces, and sixty-three counties. Balhae's original capital was at Dongmo Mountain in modern Dunhua, Jilin Province, China. In 742 it was moved to the Central Capital in Helong, Jilin. It was moved to the Upper Capital in Ning'an, Heilongjiang in 755, to the Eastern Capital in Hunchun, Jilin in 785, and back to the Upper Capital in 794. Sanggyong (Upper Capital) was organized in the way of the Tang capital of Chang'an. Residential sectors were laid out on either side of the palace surrounded by a rectangular wall. The same layout was also implemented by other East Asian capitals of the time.

Military
The 10 units (wi) constituted the central army while two of them, the Left and Right Maengbunwi, were the elite units. Each unit had its own responsibility such as defending the royal palace and the capital or serving as palace guards. For other regions, armed forces were deployed in the 15 local provinces (bu). It is known that in its early years, during the reign of King Mu, Balhae held 100,000 troops.

Language and script

Balhae used multiple languages. The indigenous language of Balhae is unclear, as no extant text or gloss of the language survived.

One term that the people of Balhae used to describe "a king" was Gadokbu, which is related to the words kadalambi (management) of the Manchu language and kadokuotto of the Nanai language.

Alexander Vovin suggests that the Balhae elite spoke a Koreanic language, which has had a lasting impact on Khitan, Jurchen and Manchu languages. However, he also believes that the vast majority of the Balhae population were probably Tungusic, and at least partially Jurchen-speaking. Some Korean historians believe that a record in Shoku Nihongi implies that the Balhae and Silla language were mutually intelligible: a student sent from Silla to Japan for Japanese language interpreter training assisted a diplomatic envoy from Balhae in communicating with the audience of a Japanese court.

Diplomatic missions between Balhae, Japan and the Tang dynasty were primarily conducted in the Chinese language. Based on administrative and diplomatic records, a number of Japanese historians and linguists have further suggested that Chinese was the lingua franca of Balhae. Classical Chinese was also used for the two unearthed tomb inscriptions for members of the Balhae royal family.

Excavated epigraphic materials indicate that the Chinese script was the only widely used script in Balhae. According to Russian scientific research, the Balhae writing system is based on Chinese characters, and among the characters used, many were used only in the state "Wu". However, the recording was phonetic. Some of the names of Balhae's emissaries were similar to Chinese names while others were unique to Balhae: Wodala, Zhaoheshi, and Nansali. The unique Balhae names were the minority. The Old Book of Tang records that Balhae had its own script, about which almost nothing is known. Vovin has suggested that the script was a prototype of the Jurchen script. While most Balhae inscriptions consisted of common Chinese characters, he has identified a small number of characters with Jurchen script signs or phonograms.

Economy and trade
Under Balhae, the region's agriculture became much more widespread and well-developed than in previous centuries, especially in the north. Millet, barley, soy beans and rice were the main type of crops cultivated in Balhae. Some of its specialized regional produce, such as rice, fermented beans, plums and pears, were much sought after. Fishing and hunting also remained important among Balhae people. Balhae also produced fine iron and copper wares, silk and linen textiles, and ceramics, including Sancai pottery developed under the influence of that of the Tang. Whaling was also done, albeit this was mostly done as tribute to the Tang.

Balhae had a high level of craftsmanship and engaged in trade with neighboring polities such as the Göktürks, Nara Japan, Later Silla and the Tang dynasty. Balhae sent a large number of envoys to Japan, called Bokkaishi. Fur from Balhae was exported to Japan while textile products and precious metals, such as gold and mercury, were imported from Japan. In Japan, the fur of the 貂 (ten, i.e. sable or other marten) was very valuable due to its popularity among Japanese aristocrats. Similarly, Balhae builders used Japanese fortification techniques with prevailing Japanese culture in their construction of the port of An. Balhae's musical works Shinmaka (新靺鞨) have been preserved by the Japanese court.

Controversies
The historic position of Balhae is disputed between Korean, Chinese, Russian, and Japanese historians. Korean scholars consider Balhae to be the successor state of Goguryeo, and part of the North–South States Period of Korean history. Chinese scholars argue that Balhae was a local administration of the Tang dynasty and composed of Mohe people, making it a part of Chinese history due to its close cultural and political ties with Tang China. The Russian archaeological school views Balhae as a state of primarily Mohe people while Japanese scholars consider it a tributary state.

Media
Balhae features in the Korean film Shadowless Sword, which is about the last prince of Balhae. The Korean TV drama Dae Jo-yeong, which aired from 16 September 2006, to 23 December 2007, was about the founder of Balhae.

Balhae is the name of the lunar research facility in the Korean TV series, The Silent Sea.

title: Balhae