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Zhu Bajie

Zhu Bajie, also named Zhu Wuneng (he has two Buddhist Dharma names, one, "Wuneng" (悟能) given to him by the bodhisattva, Guanyin, and one, "Bajie" (八戒) given to him by Tang Sanzang/Tripiṭaka), is one of the three helpers of the aforementioned-Tang Sanzang and a major character of the 16th century novel Journey to the West. Zhu means "swine" and Bajie means "eight precepts". Prior to his being recruited by the bodhisattva, Guanyin, Zhu Bajie went by "Zhu Gāngliè" (豬剛巤; literally "Strong-Maned Pig"). Buddhist scholars consider that both expressions are related to "Śīla pāramitā". In many English versions of the story, Zhu Bajie is called "Monk Pig", "Pig", "Piggy", or "Pigsy".

Zhu Bajie is a complex and developed character in the novel. He looks like a terrible humanoid-pig monster, part human and part pig, who often gets himself and his companions into trouble through his laziness, gluttony, and propensity for lusting after pretty women. He looks up to his senior disciple Sun Wukong as a big brother. Though he occasionally acts rebelliously when injured by Wukong's constant teasing, his schemes usually end in his own humiliation.

His Buddhist name "Zhu Wuneng", given by Bodhisattva Guanyin, means "pig (reincarnated) who is aware of ability" or "pig who rises to power", a reference to the fact that he values himself so much as to forget his own grisly appearance. Tang Sanzang gave him the nickname Bājiè which means "eight restraints" or "eight commandments" to remind him of his Buddhist diet.

In the original Chinese novel, he is often called dāizi (呆子), meaning "idiot". Sun Wukong, Tang Sanzang, and even the author consistently refers to him as "the idiot" over the course of the story. Bodhisattvas and other heavenly beings usually refer to him as "Heavenly Tumbleweed" (天風滾草/天风滚草, Tiān Fēnggǔncǎo), his former name when he was a heavenly marshal.

In modern times, Zhu Bajie is seen as a patron deity of masseuses, hostesses, and prostitutes within Taiwan and other parts of East Asia.

Character
Zhu Bajie originally held the title of Tiānpéng Yuánshuài (天篷元帅; lit. "Marshal Canopy"), commander-in-chief of 80,000 Celestial sailors. However, he was later banished for misbehavior. At a party organized for all the significant figures in Heaven, Bajie saw the goddess of the Moon for the first time and was captivated by her beauty. Following a drunken attempt to seduce her, she reported this to the Jade Emperor and thus he was banished to Earth. In popular retellings, Zhu Bajie was sentenced to a thousand lives where each life would end in a love tragedy. In some retellings of the story, his banishment is linked to Sun Wukong's downfall. In any case, he was exiled from Heaven and sent to be reincarnated on Earth, where by mishap he fell into a pig well and was reborn as a man-eating pig-monster known as Zhū Gāngliè (猪刚鬛 the "strong-maned pig").

In the earlier portions of Journey to the West, Wukong and Tang Sanzang come to Gao village and find that a daughter of the village elder had been kidnapped and the abductor left a note demanding marriage. In some versions of the story Bajie has convinced the elder to allow him to marry the daughter based on his ability to do large amounts of hard work due to his prodigious strength. The elder recants when he discovers that, although Zhu Bajie manages to do quite a lot of work in the fields, he manages to eat so much that the farm is losing money anyway. After some investigations, Wukong found out that Bajie was the "villain" behind this. He fought with Wukong, who learns after beating him that he has also been recruited by Guanyin to join their pilgrimage and make atonements for his past sins.

At the end of the novel, most of Bajie's fellow pilgrims achieve enlightenment and become arhats, but he does not; although much improved, he is still too much a creature of his base desires. He is instead rewarded for his part in the pilgrimage's success with a job as "Cleanser of the Altars" and all the leftovers he can eat. However, his actual rank in relation to the others is unclear, but possibly the lowest.

Pre-existence
In traditional Chinese Taoism, there is a divine goddess named Doumu Yuanjun (斗姆元君) who was acclaimed as the mother of all the constellations, even the Emperor Zi-Wei is her son. She has four faces while one of them is akin to a pig's face. Tiānpéng Yuánshuài (天篷元帅; lit. "Marshal Heavenly Mugwort") is one of her most significant understrappers, which is the head general of the North Pole.

According to the depiction in the chapter 217 of 《道法会元》, a biography of Taoism and Chinese mythical stories compiled in Ming Dynasty; Tiānpéng Yuánshuài was a blazing powerful marshal in the North Pole. A phrase depicts his appearance as:

He was scarily imposing with three heads and six arms, red hair, red armor all over; Holding a magic seal, an axe, a firm rope in left hands and a convulsion bell, a symbolic artifact of constellations and a long sword in right. He leads 360,000 warriors; travels along with scary and dark gas, in which there is a five-colored cloud. Numerous deities with great respect always greet his arrivals.

Under his reign, there are a mass of strong myrmidons, with a piece of description withdrawn from ancient books and records of Taoism, three of the most outstanding ones are:

 * 1) "Mahatma of heaven": with height of over a hundred feet, wearing a light-colored gown, disheveled long hair, could create incantatory power with his fingers, holding a sharp sword in his right hand.
 * 2) "The Great General of mixed pneuma": Wearing a high crest and golden corselet the whole body, equipped by a bow, an arrow, and a halberd.
 * 3) "Four-eyed thunder marshal": Aged, with four eyes and a walks with a crutch. Accompanied by two august emissaries.

Also, there are 36 generals and a group of Divine warriors under his dominion; anyhow, as is depicted in myth of Chinese Taoism, he is the commander of a huge deity system in the Northern Pole, in which a great number of valiant deity generals and warriors who all controlled by the Emperor Zi-Wei.

In the novel, after he is punished and becomes Zhu Bajie, there is an obvious recession in both his confidence and power which makes him less militant and lazier as we can find in many parts in the original passage. However, with the remains of power he used to have in his preexistence, he is still capable of fighting against most of the devils appear in their way of journey and in this regard, Sun Wukong always prefers to bring him together when having battles with enemies although they have intermittent personal conflicts all the way.

Nine-toothed rake
The nine-toothed rake (, also known as the "Baoqin gold palladium" (寶沁金鈀)) is the primary weapon of Zhu Bajie. This phrase depicts the first point in which Bajie's legendary nine-toothed rake had been used:

In another passage, Pig tells of his legendary rake while battling against Sun Wukong:

During their journey, he atrociously kills many demons with his rake, usually with nine blood-spurting holes in their head.

Respectful
Despite his previous identity as a great marshal who was in charge of 80,000 celestial marines, he always claims Sun Wukong as "brother" with awe and respect while Sun has conflicts with him and often makes fun of him all the way. Of course, another reason for it is he already knows Sun's reputation of being a great fighter in his preexistence.

Soft-hearted
During the journey, many demons change their appearances into children and beautiful women, pretending to be in trouble to confuse them with the intention of eating their master Tang Sanzang. However, though Sun Wukong is capable of detecting demons, Zhu Bajie always manages to persuade his brother to release them rather than capturing or killing them, although his kindness often causes trouble and leads to disaster.

Optimistic
Though he is constantly captured by numerous demons throughout the journey, he still behaves normally; even when he is about to be eaten, he does not seem to be anxious compared to his other two mates. This is also related to his background as a marshal in preexistence; rich experience in coping with various incidents makes his emotions fluctuate less. In some readings of this book, it is said that Zhu Bajie deliberately does not use his real power on the journey as he knows every time Monkey King would come and save them all. Even if not, other deities would come and help them.

Gluttony
In one part of the book, Zhu Bajie obtains a watermelon and splits it into four pieces to share with his colleagues equally. When he finds watermelon too delicious after finishing his own slice, he finds excuses to eat each piece one by one until he finishes the whole watermelon. He has a big appetite, which is fairly visible in many parts of the story.

Laziness
Zhu Bajie is given to laziness. He seemingly never cares about their troubles and works, and always finds excuses to procrastinate their expedition. Every time the four of them arrive in another country, the local people always welcome them with food and accommodation because they come from the Great Tang Empire, which was both culturally and economically influential to all the surrounding areas at that time. Zhu Bajie hence tends to find excuses to persuade his master to stay several more days for better abodes and food due to his greediness.

Lust
When he was a marshal in heaven, he dallied with Chang'e, which was the reason for his banishment. After his reincarnation he drools everytime he meets beauties. Because of his lust the group often sinks into various troubles and even disasters.

All in all, he was given a name that means "eight resistances", which reminded him to resist temptations of the flesh, including lust, laziness, gluttony, and avarice.

title: Zhu Bajie


text:
Tangwai movement

The Tangwai movement, or simply Tangwai, was a loosely knit political movement in Taiwan in the mid-1970s and early 1980s. Although the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) had allowed contested elections for a small number of seats in the Legislative Yuan, opposition parties were still forbidden. As a result, many opponents of the KMT, officially classified as independents, ran and were elected as members "outside the party." The movement was at times tolerated and other times suppressed, the latter being the case particularly after the Kaohsiung Incident of 1979. Members of the movement eventually formed the Democratic Progressive Party, which after opposition political parties were legalized, contested elections and won the Presidency with candidate Chen Shui-bian, ending decades of single party rule in Taiwan.

History
Early figures associated with the movement include Kang Ning-hsiang and Huang Hsin-chieh. College professors led a series of demonstrations and open demands for political change in city streets. By 1973 the government began to arrest the leaders of this new movement and fire those professors who openly criticized the regime. While leading an authoritarian government, Chiang Ching-kuo appeared to be open minded to the possibility of political dissent.

Because the majority of seats in the Legislative Yuan were held by delegates purportedly representing constituencies in mainland China, who were elected in 1947 and appointed thereafter (because the "electorate" in mainland China was unable to cast votes in an election in the Taiwan Area), pending the promised retaking of mainland China, the tangwai movement had no possibility of gaining power. They were, however, able to use the legislature as a forum for debating the ruling KMT.

In response to more native Taiwanese taking public office, the tangwai attempted to contest elections in 1975-1976 and demand even more changes to the political system. The tangwai politicians were reluctant to associate themselves with the National Assembly, as those positions were ostensibly tied to constituencies on Mainland China. They had been able to win victories in contests for the Taiwan Provincial Assembly where affiliated candidates were able to win 21 out of 77 seats. They also won in four of twenty magistrate and mayoral races. Irregularities in the vote counting process in the city of Zhongli, lead to violent clashes between protesters and police in what is now known as the Zhongli incident. Shih Ming-teh was released from prison soon after Zhongli, and attempted to involve himself with a Provincial Assembly election.

In 1979, the same year which the US ceased its recognition of the Republic of China, conflict between authorities and the tangwai again turned violent in the Kaohsiung Incident. The writers of a political publication called Formosa Magazine or Mei-li-tao planned a series of political marches, first in the southern city of Kaohsiung and later a larger one in Taipei, although the Taipei rally ended up not occurring due to the arrest of the magazine's leaders. Police tapped phones and surveilled those associated with the magazine. On the day of the demonstration, activists took to the streets in a parade formation in Kaohsiung, but were diverted several times due to police blocking their intended route. They attempted to reorganize in Tainan, but many of their leaders were arrested over the next few days. Shih Ming-teh evaded arrest for several months by being harbored by members of the Presbyterian Church of Taiwan (PCT). Shih was sent to the infamous Green Island, as was PCT General Secretary Kau Chih-min. The Kaohsiung incident marked the end to open demonstrations by the tangwai. Faced with the struggle for diplomatic recognize by the international community, the Kuomintang-led government decided to end political dissent, determining that political activists outside of the party were giving the impression that the government was not stable.

Throughout the 1980s the Chiang administration continued to limit free speech. On the other hand, scholars argue that the various other demonstrations by common citizens helped keep the tangwai movement alive despite the mass imprisonment of its leaders. Examples of other social movements from both the middle and working classes which who staged public demonstrations included farmers protesting against corporate farms, and environmentalists opposing a proposed factory from DuPont to be built in Lukang.

The Presbyterian Church of Taiwan was linked to many members of the Tangwai, and the Church itself was at the center of government censure for publishing works in Romanized Taiwanese Hokkien in the 1970s. The government confiscated these works, which led the Church to appeal to the Carter administration of the United States to highlight what it considered a human rights violation.

Efforts to counter the tangwai may have included the opening of the political system to Taiwanese who did not hold radical beliefs. Various individuals helped recruit intellectuals to work within the Kuomintang. Sung Shih-hsuan, then chairman of the Provincial Party Committee, introduced social service orientation to local party work, perhaps in an effort to counter the social activism of the Presbyterian Church and Maryknoll order.

Members of the Tangwai movement formed the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in 1986. Although still illegal, the KMT did not take action against the DPP and the party was legalized in 1991. Many current politicians in Taiwan, most notably former President Chen Shui-bian and Vice President Annette Lu, were active in the tangwai movement.

Tangwai members, including Shih Ming-teh and Lin Yi-hsiung, were often harassed or imprisoned by the KMT government, especially in the wake of the Kaohsiung Incident.

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

title: Tangwai movement


text:
Earl of Norfolk

Earl of Norfolk is a title which has been created several times in the Peerage of England. Created in 1070, the first major dynasty to hold the title was the 12th and 13th century Bigod family, and it then was later held by the Mowbrays, who were also made Dukes of Norfolk. Due to the Bigods' descent in the female line from William Marshal, they inherited the hereditary office of Earl Marshal, still held by the Dukes of Norfolk today. The present title was created in 1644 for Thomas Howard, 18th Earl of Arundel, the heir of the Howard Dukedom of Norfolk which had been forfeit in 1572. Arundel's grandson, the 20th Earl of Arundel and 3rd Earl of Norfolk, was restored to the Dukedom as 5th Duke upon the Restoration in 1660, and the title continues to be borne by the Dukes of Norfolk.

Earls of Norfolk (and Suffolk), first creation (1066/67)

 * Ralph the Staller, 1st Earl of Norfolk and Suffolk (c. 1011–1068)
 * Ralph de Guader, 2nd Earl of Norfolk and Suffolk (c. 1040 – c. 1096) (forfeit 1074)

Earls of Norfolk, second creation (1141)

 * Hugh Bigod, 1st Earl of Norfolk (1095–1177)
 * Roger Bigod, 2nd Earl of Norfolk (died 1221)
 * Hugh Bigod, 3rd Earl of Norfolk (died 1225)
 * Roger Bigod, 4th Earl of Norfolk (died 1270)
 * Roger Bigod, 5th Earl of Norfolk (died 1306)

Earls of Norfolk, third creation (1312)

 * Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk (died 1338)
 * Margaret, Duchess of Norfolk, 2nd Countess of Norfolk (died 1399)
 * Thomas de Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk, 3rd Earl of Norfolk (1365–1399) (dukedom forfeit 1399)
 * Thomas de Mowbray, 4th Earl of Norfolk (1385–1405)
 * John de Mowbray, 2nd Duke of Norfolk (1392–1432) (dukedom restored 1425)
 * John de Mowbray, 3rd Duke of Norfolk (1415–1461)
 * John de Mowbray, 4th Duke of Norfolk (1444–1476) (dukedom abeyant 1476)
 * Anne de Mowbray, 8th Countess of Norfolk (1472–1481)

Earls of Norfolk, fourth creation (1477)

 * Richard, Duke of York (1473–1483)

Earls of Norfolk, fifth creation (1644)

 * Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Norfolk (1585–1646)
 * Henry Frederick Howard, 2nd Earl of Norfolk (1608–1652)
 * Thomas Howard, 5th Duke of Norfolk (dukedom restored 1660)

For later Earls of Norfolk, see Duke of Norfolk.

title: Earl of Norfolk


text:
Saoul Mamby

Saoul Paul Mamby (June 4, 1947 – December 19, 2019) was an American professional boxer who fought between 1969 and 2008. He held the WBC super lightweight title from 1980 to 1982.

Personal
Mamby was born in South Bronx, New York, to Victoria, of Spanish descent, and father, Robert, from Jamaica. He converted to Judaism at age 4, and went to Hebrew School at the Bronx's Mount Horeb Synagogue.

Mamby became interested in boxing while on vacation in Jamaica. He began his boxing career in 1963 at the age of sixteen, fighting in the Golden Gloves in 1965 and 1966. He compiled an amateur record of 25–5 before turning pro in 1969.

Mamby was a soldier in the U.S. Army and served in Vietnam during the Vietnam War in 1968.

Boxing career
He held the WBC super lightweight title once, starting his $2 1⁄2$-year reign in February 1980 by going to South Korea to stop titlist Kim Sang-Hyun in the 14th round. After that, he made five successful defenses, travelling to Indonesia and Nigeria in the process. He stopped former WBC lightweight champion Esteban De Jesús in the 13th round in July 1980 on the Holmes-LeDoux undercard and decisioned Termite Watkins over 15 on the Holmes-Ali undercard. He won a 15-round nod over Jo Kimpuani on yet another undercard for a Larry Holmes fight against Leon Spinks. He then went to Indonesia to decision Thomas Americo.

In his last bout leaving the ring as champion, he decisioned Obisia Nwankpa in Nigeria.

He was to fight WBA champion Aaron Pryor in the summer of 1982 for a unification bout in the super lightweight division, but instead fought and lost his WBC title by split decision to Leroy Haley in June of that year.

He would play the role of world title challenger twice more, once in a rematch with Haley in February 1983 which he lost in a 12-round unanimous decision. He then challenged new champion Billy Costello in November 1984 but lost another 12-round unanimous decision.

Other boxers Mamby fought include Roberto Durán to whom he lost by points in a non-title fight in 1976, and Saengsak Muangsurin to whom he lost in a 15-round decision in Thailand in 1977 in an attempt to win Muangsurin's WBC 140 lb title.

Mamby continued to fight into his 50s, and was forced to retire by the California State athletic commission following his last loss in 2000.

Comeback at 60
At the age of 60, Mamby announced a comeback which was to have taken place in Lapwai, Idaho at the Pi-Nee-Waus Community Center of the Nez Perce Tribe, in a card that was subsequently canceled.

Mamby fought several weeks later, weighing 149$1/2$ pounds (67 kilograms) and lost a ten-round decision to journeyman fighter Anthony Osbourne in the Cayman Islands. As a result, Mamby became one of the oldest boxers to appear in an officially sanctioned bout. It was Mamby's eleventh loss in his last 14 fights.

Mamby was known for his ability to take punches well; in 85 professional bouts, he was stopped only once, that by an opponent who was several years younger, Derell Coley, in 1993. On June 23, 2024 Mamby was inducted into the Florida Boxing Hall of Fame.

title: Saoul Mamby


text:
Talk:Chen Shui-bian

Riots after 2004 election
There were indeed riots that included violence after the 2004 election that were led and encouraged by the "Pan Blue" factions. Here is but one source: riot: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D04E7DF1138F932A25757C0A9629C8B63 Since it is stated as fact even by the New York Times, it should remain inside the article. There have been multiple attempts to censor this, and censoring it is no good. --Shrimpcrackers (talk) 13:17, 18 February 2008 (UTC)

Maybe I'm misremembering things but....

I think it's important to mention that the street was originally named 'Long Live Chiang Kai-Shek Street' rather than merely Chiang Kai-Shek Street. This made the street renaming less controversial than it otherwise would have been. Also. he renamed a few other streets Shi-Min Jie for example.... -- Roadrunner

 * OK..my bad. I didn't think they would keep 'Long Live Chiang Kai-Shek Street' around for so long after his death. I really don't know this. Jiang 05:41 19 Jun 2003 (UTC)

 * A Huaxia Economics article wrote that it was: Kuan-ch'ien Road (館前路) → Fu-ch'ien Road (府前路) → Chieh-shou Road (介壽路) → Ketagalan Avenue (凱達格蘭大道).
 * Despite the article's informal tone and bias, I believe the names are correct. Although it seems to have missed Chiang Kai-shek Street (?蔣介石路?) that Roadrunner spoke of.
 * --Menchi 07:06 19 Jun 2003 (UTC)
 * Ketagalan Avenue is an east-west road. Kuan-ch'ien Road now is a south-north road, so the same road name has been relocated. Likewise, Chungcheng Road (中正路) was in central Taipei, but it has been renamed and today's Chungcheng Road is in Shihlin, northern Taipei. As the external link is now broken, I have found a new one at http://www.huaxia.com/tw/tdyh/msj/00026411.html .--Jusjih 01:53, 21 February 2006 (UTC)

What's wrong with his hair? It looks fake.

The aboriginal names of Chen Shui-bian need to be explained rather than just listed on the page (Why has he been given them? When was he given them? Who gave them to him? etc.) --Lowellian 17:55, Mar 16, 2004 (UTC)

 * The Taipei Times article answers your questions. I think they should be removed because they were only given recently as a political gesture and are never used. They carry no prominence and add little informational value. --Jiang 05:21, 30 Mar 2004 (UTC)

I think leaving them is okay, as long as they're accurate and it's clear what they are. Even if they are a political gesture, it's still information. --Lowellian 19:41, Mar 30, 2004 (UTC)

 * It's information, but useless information. As an encyclopedia, we should only mention the important points, not obscure details. There's a lot more other things we can cover. Leaving them there might lead people to believe that they're actually significant when theyre not. --Jiang 21:14, 30 Mar 2004 (UTC)

-

Removed statement on the 3/29 interview with the Washington Post as this is a bit misleading. Chen didn't say that he planned to "make" Taiwan an independent, sovereign nation. His position and that of the DPP has always been that Taiwan is already an independent and sovereign nation.

His position has a whole lot of complex implications, which will take a paragraph or two to explain.

Remember that he is a lawyer.

Roadrunner 12:35, 21 May 2004 (UTC)

-

I tried to write a NPOV summary of his positions and their implications. Someone needs to proofread for NPOV as I completely detest Chen Shuibian and some of that might have leaked through.

My POV summary of "Interpretation of his actions" would read "Chen Shuibian is either evil or stupid, and in either case he is a very dangerous man."

Roadrunner 15:20, 21 May 2004 (UTC)

--

I think we have a vandal, but I'll offer one chance for an explanation. By what criterion is CSB a communist? Among all of the nasty things his political opponents accuse him of, being a communist is not one of them.

If you change the article again without any sort of explanation, I'll block your IP.

Roadrunner 03:44, 23 May 2004 (UTC)

Yep he's definitely a vandal. There's absolutely no communism/capitalism discussion in Taiwan politics. It's all about pro or anti-independence. Economically, the focus has been on opening more opportunity for Taiwanese business to establish bases in China, and both parties like promising pork barrels to win constituencies. Chen is definitely NOT a communist. Just because he's anti KMT doesnt mean he's a communist. Wareware 00:34, 24 May 2004 (UTC)

Absolutely. In fact being a anti-KMT makes him even more diffrent to the communist. He is certainly a patriot of Taiwan.--68.98.154.196 01:03, 12 December 2005 (UTC)From Taiwan

Scandals
Something needs to be done about this passage: "Another small party that backed Chen previously, Taiwan Solidarity Union, said Friday they would likely to support the upcoming recall measure. If the recall passed, it would be up to the voters to decide Chen's fate in an island-wide referendum.

Leaders of the Democratic Progressive Party met together on Friday to discuss the unfavorable charges."

Apart from the fact that this looks like it has been cut-and-pasted from elsewhere, which Friday is Friday? This doesn't belong in an encyclopedia! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 195.194.252.133 (talk) 13:13, 23 September 2007 (UTC)

notoriety for his forceful and "colorful" arguments?
Questionable characterization below:

 * While his client Huang Hsin-chieh...and seven co-defendants...were all found guilty, Chen gained notoriety for his forceful and colorful arguments. He has stated that it was during this period that he realized the unfairness of the political system in Taiwan and became politically active as a member of the Tangwai movement.

I fail to see how "forceful and colorful arguments" from a lawyer constitute or lead to "notoriety". And if they did, where did he "gain" this notoriety from, perhaps the judge sitting on the military court? Or supporters? In the interest of brevity and to avoid the need to further contextualize the claim, I am going to change this to "...Chen came to be known for..." A-giau 00:37, 27 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Affair with aide
Why couldn't I find anything about Chen's reported affair with pretty aide Hsiao Bikim? --Vladko 16:31, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

Because this has been ruled by the court as unprovable. Besides, it brought more benefit towards Hsiao for her celebrity status than to Chen, so it was more important to Hsiao than to Chen. However, you can read more about this on Hsiao's page. Bobbybuilder 03:02, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

Additions
This article doesn't seem to address: 1) Chen's use of Taiwanese language/dialect in speeches; 2) his status in regard to ethnic divisions/tensions in Taiwan. Badagnani 03:34, 26 June 2006 (UTC)

 * Taiwanese dialect, how different is it from the dialect spoken on Fujian? i can understand what he is saying so is it even Taiwanese? has the 'Taiwan seperatist' hajacking our identity for their own agenda? or is it an unfortunate conquences of mass media misinfomation as the world became more verse with Taiwan then Fujian, see it uniquely Taiwanese? Akinkhoo 14:47, 29 January 2007 (UTC)

 * I guess the media likes reporting on democratic countries. ;)   Jumping cheese   Cont @ct 01:47, 30 January 2007 (UTC)

 * Taiwanese dialect is different, read the article. I think they're similar in a way, because they sound the same, but they are a little different.--Jerrypp772000 02:32, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

 * Taiwanese dialect has some Japanese elements in it (legacy of the Japanese rule), the Min-nan dialect does not. Also, given the fact that Taiwan and Fujian has been ruled separately with communication and connection virtually cut off for more than 50 years (or 100, if includes the time under Japanese rule), it is natural that the local dialects of the two developed in different directions. Kc0616 1:01, 11 April 2007 (UTC)
 * That doesn't make any sense at all. People in every place may speak a little different, does that make everybody speaking a different "dialect"? And the mandarin (Guoyu) spoken by Taiwanese and mainland Chinese and Hongkongnese sound different -- are they different "dialect" of mandarin?24.11.175.146 (talk) 16:29, 28 April 2008 (UTC)

The so called Recall
To be honest, i found there is no any Neutral point of view in this article especially the "recall" part. '''In Taiwan the referendum law, yet this law passed by the pan-blue majority congress, does not apply to the case of removing The Taiwan President from office. For this the original author had already failed to mention and try to misguide reader of Wikipedia by not telling the whole truth. 2nd this motion is NOT recall but rather "impeachment", the goal of this motion is to impeach Mr. Chen via congress NOT by referendum through public vote because there is NO law in Taiwan at this moment allow to do so in order to remove Taiwan president from office. yet the original author failed to mention this again. Why i am not surprised at all.'''

In Taiwan, congress has right to impeach President if Presdient has anything violate the law just like US congress can but recall. So Please do not MISLEADING reader of Wikipedia. Neutral point of view ? i found this is quite a funny point. So far base on what evidence Mr. Chen has violated any Taiwan law that Taiwan congress can impeach him? Do we see the original author mention about any evidence?

Hello? Neutral point of view?! anyone? --[[User:] 06:51, 19 August 2006 (UTC)

 * That is your view; the actuality of your view has never been ruled on by the courts, and therefore remains undetermined. An assertion that the attempted recall is illegal is therefore not NPOV.  --Nlu (talk) 07:00, 19 August 2006 (UTC)

Well. talking about "rule by the courts",Maybe Mr.(or Ms.) Nlu can show us, all reader of Wikipedia, where we can find the Taiwan law mention about to remove The Taiwan President through "recall" or referendum? NPOV? Hello?'' NPOV == Nlu's view?"' Hahahaha! Why i am not surprised at all [[User:] 07:11, 19 August 2006 (UTC)

 * I did not say that the law was constitutional; saying that it has not been ruled unconstitutional is not the same as saying that it is constitutional. --Nlu (talk) 07:24, 19 August 2006 (UTC)

I guess we are not living at same earth. Hahaha! '''If there is NO such law, why we have "constitutional" or "un-constitutional"? constitutional of what? un-constitutional of what? thin air? You need to have a law first then we can talk about if it is constitutional or un-constitutional. Again, Why i am not surprised at all.''' Mr.(or Ms.) Nlu, if you can do us, readers of Wikipedia, a big favor just show us the dame law about how to remove Taiwan president by "recall" or referendum, i will be very happy to apply. NPOV should base on facts and truth not imagination, Wikipedia is NOT a place for doing propaganda, for the name sake of Wikipedia. --[[User:] 07:37, 19 August 2006 (UTC)
 * Read the President Election and Recall law of the Republic of China . Chapter 4, Section 70.
 * The congress can recall the president via purpose by 1/4 of its members, and pass by 2/3 its members.
 * Once the recall act passed in the Congress, the case will transfer to Centeral Election Committe to host a vote decide by people to let the president go or not. 163.28.81.2 03:29, 18 October 2006 (UTC)

About the Mayor of Taipei
In this portion, the original author also failed to mention at end of Chen's first term as mayor of taipei, he has more than 80% approval rate that is never seen in the history of Taipei especially for the people-elected mayor. Ethnic concentration as well as more pro-pan-blue voters in city of Taipei had decided to choose a new mayor from pan-blue, the current Mayor Ma, instead of the one with high approval rate. When talking about this part of history, I suggest this part of fact should not be left out.

How good Mayor Ma is doing after replaced Mr. Chen as mayor of taipei? You can check out the link of Mayor Ma embedded in this article. And just a friendly reminder, don't be surprised to see many Mr. Ma's "scandal" in that link had been removed. Another sign to show you when reading this kind of controversial article at wikipedia used your best judgement and checkout more information before you jump into conclusion. There are peoples out there their main jobs are creating propaganda to promote or dis-credit a person. [[User:] 19:42, 19 August 2006 (UTC)

 * "Ethnic concentration as well as more pro-pan-blue voters in city of Taipei had decided to choose a new mayor from pan-blue"?? I suggest you keep your good opinion to yourself and leave the encyclopaedia to someone who can tell facts from opinions. By the way, sign after you leave a message. Machie 01:57, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

Ceding of powers?
Did he cede some powers to the Prime Minister following the recent protests? I can't find anything about this in the article. Badagnani 04:24, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

Need Chen Shui-bian Picture
We need to get a Chen Shui-bian photograph. I think the Republic of China government provides a picture and it is fair use. Please get that old picture back up. -Nationalist 06:30, 3 January 2007 (UTC)

Protection
Please stop the edit warring on whether to refer to his birth place as "Taiwan" or as "Taiwan Province, Republic of China." This really needs a community consensus, and the current edit war is not productive. Please talk this through. --Nlu (talk) 05:58, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

 * Taiwan Province, Republic of China is the correct factual way. After all, there is no such country as Taiwan. The country is the Republic of China. I see no reason why Taiwan Province, Republic of China is not okay. -Nationalist 07:34, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

 * It's extremely political. It's better to be vague regarding the political status than taking a stance.    Jumping cheese   Cont @ct 10:01, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

 * Republic of China(ROC) does have a Taiwan province,which covers most of ROC, but whats the point of that? Vinson —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.87.12.213 (talk) 03:05, 4 October 2007 (UTC)

Why should we be vague? Why not recognize that his birth place is Taiwan Province, Republic of China. That is the real fact. It is indisputable. The government on Taiwan is called the Republic of China. Ask Chen Shui-bian himself. He is President of the Republic of China! Just having Taiwan makes it sound like Taiwan is an independent nation, which is not true. The ROC governs it. -Nationalist 03:26, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

 * You conveniently forget that the world community does not regard the Republic of China on Taiwan as a sovereign nation. Hence, the most accurate terminology would be "Taiwan Province, Republic of China government-in-exile."   The ROC doesn't exercise sovereignty over Taiwan. 118.166.232.176 (talk) 09:48, 2 October 2009 (UTC)
 * "Taiwan Province" throws it off.   Jumping cheese   Cont @ct 04:37, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

I have no strong opinion on this -- but obviously you guys do. May I propose, "Tainan County, the Republic of China" as the alternative? --Nlu (talk) 05:18, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

 * See Talk:Taiwan and Talk:Republic of China. There's enough archives of discussions on the the proper name of "Taiwan" to keep you busy for days.  The consensus (not really, still some complaints) is basically Taiwan for the island and ROC for the government that administers Taiwan.  So...Taiwan is sometimes referred to as "Republic of China (Taiwan)" to appease both sides.  People usually know what Taiwan is, but not ROC.    Jumping cheese   Cont @ct 05:58, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

 * By having the paranthesis next (Taiwan), after Republic of China. It makes it as though ROC = Taiwan. This is not true. I like Nlu's plan. But I do not like Republic of China (Taiwan). -Nationalist 01:09, 13 January 2007 (UTC)

 * It's like ROC a.k.a. Taiwan. People might not know what ROC is, but the name Taiwan is well recognized.   Jumping cheese   Cont @ct 05:06, 13 January 2007 (UTC)

 * Again you are equalling ROC to Taiwan. That is not true. AKA is also known as. which is equals. But it ROC does not equal Taiwan. Republic of China on Taiwan is a better way to put it. -Nationalist 06:03, 13 January 2007 (UTC)

 * as much as i believe taiwan is not a state, i don't see why ROC(Taiwan)cannot be used. ROC = Taiwan is phyiscally true since it is the only area under ROC control. and it make it easier to indentify on the map. removing taiwan doesn't make sense as ROC is not a place; while using taiwan province kinda lead to confusion as to whether ROC control more than 1 province or something (which i find even more offensive and ugly for both sides) Akinkhoo 14:03, 16 January 2007 (UTC)

 * ROC is known as Taiwan, and Chen is born in Taiwan no matter what. Some of you are saying Taiwan isn't a country, it is governed by the ROC, it's like saying South Korea isn't a country, but is governed by the ROK. Taiwan Province, ROC would only make it really confusing. I think the best would be simply Taiwan, or ROC (Taiwan).--Jerrypp772000 20:43, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

Taiwan is governed as Taiwan Province, Republic of China. I think we can put Tainan County, Taiwan, Republic of China. That is a good compromise. ROC (Taiwan) only equates ROC to Taiwan, but that is not true-Nationalist 02:36, 18 January 2007 (UTC)

 * Again, ROC is commonly known as Taiwan. Let's give you another example, Ireland. The Republic of Ireland is known as Ireland, even though it doesn't govern the whole island. Saying Taiwan isn't a country is like saying China isn't a country, which is just ridiculous.--Jerrypp772000 21:12, 18 January 2007 (UTC)

The Republic of China also administers parts of Fuchien Province. Fuchien is not considered as Taiwan. Therefore, saying Taiwan wouldn't work. Fuchien is not part of Taiwan. The Constitution of Ireland says Ireland in it. So that's fine. But look at the ROC Constitution. It says ROC Republic of China, NOT TAIWAN. There is NO Republic of Taiwan. It is the REPUBLIC OF CHINA. -Nationalist 01:45, 19 January 2007 (UTC)

 * This is like how China is typically called China, not the People's Republic of China.  Jumping cheese   Cont @ct 05:12, 19 January 2007 (UTC)

 * I am NOT trying to push a view that Taiwan is part of the People's Republic of China. No Definitely NOT. I am a staunch supporter of Taiwan and the Republic of China. I just want to reflect on the true facts. Even though the ROC is nowadays commonly known as Taiwan, it is still appropriate to make it known that Taiwan is part of the Republic of China and that the actual name of the country is ROC. Now, since ROC will be linked to the Wiki article, people will read it and understand that there is The Republic of China, based on Taiwan, and the Communist mainland People's Republic of China. If we just have Taiwan Taiwan and more Taiwan, it doesn't change anyone's mind. We need to clarify to Wiki readers about the two China's. -Nationalist 05:35, 19 January 2007 (UTC)

http://www.gio.gov.tw/taiwan-website/5-gp/president.htm Says "President of the Republic of China (Taiwan)." Just write it like that. --Borgarde 07:47, 27 January 2007 (UTC)

 * Yeah, that would be fine, and it also says in the article President of the Republic of China that it is also commonly called President of Taiwan outside of the ROC.--Jerrypp772000 19:52, 27 January 2007 (UTC)

Edit Request
Editprotected

The template Template:Infobox Mayor has been merged into Template:Infobox Officeholder. This is the last page that needs to be updated. Could you please update the infobox at the top of the page with the following code and then remove the outdated Infobox Mayor code from the top of this section. VerruckteDan 18:17, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

 * ✅, let me know if there are any other issues. ---J.S (T/C/WRE) 02:43, 4 February 2007 (UTC)
 * Thanks, it looks good. VerruckteDan 10:32, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

Picture of the president
Hi, i am quite new on this kind of stuff, but why there isn't a photo of Chen Sui bian on the template article? i think it would be nice to see at least how does his face looks like =) --HappyApple 09:09, 18 February 2007 (UTC).

 * Copyright issues...had a pic, but it got deleted. =(    Jumping cheese   Cont @ct 11:18, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

nth "term" president
As discussed in the Talk:Lee_Teng-hui page, when saying in English that someone is the nth president, you are counting the number of people who have held the office, not the number of terms of office. Saying, for example, that Chen is the 10th and 11th president makes no sense in English. He can't be both because if he were, he would only be the 10th president. The president who followed him would be the 11th president no matter how long or for how many terms Chen served.

Apparently the convention in Taiwan for numbering presidents is to use the number of terms, but this is an English-language Wiki, so we must say things that make sense in English. So we cannot say Chen was the 10th and 11th President. We have to say that he served the 10th and 11th terms. Readin (talk) 22:59, 13 January 2008 (UTC)

 * Which makes less sense than the former proposal. Which is why the majority of officeholders don't have numbers anymore. Therequiembellishere (talk) 22:57, 18 January 2008 (UTC)
 * What was the former proposal?Readin (talk) 23:05, 18 January 2008 (UTC)
 * The one your arguing against, "nth". Therequiembellishere (talk) 23:11, 18 January 2008 (UTC)
 * I'm ok with "nth" if it's followed by the word "term" if terms are what are being counted.Readin (talk) 23:16, 18 January 2008 (UTC)
 * That's exactly the problem, The 5th President makes a higher amount of sense than 5th term President. However, due to to confusions with people who hold the office more than once, disputed officeholders, multiple officeholders, innumerable officeholders, people who contest the officeholder and acting, provisional, caretaking, interim and regent officeholders (and mixes of these) the numbers have been removed because they clutter the infobox and cause confusion, especially when the number itself is confused because of the above examples. Chen fits the bill for more than one of these so it would be best to strike these from the box altogether. Therequiembellishere (talk) —Preceding comment was added at 23:23, 18 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Removing them altogether is ok with me too. I don't see that saying someone is the nth president is anything more than trivia unless the person is very early in the list.  Knowing that George Washington was the 1st president is important.  Knowing that Lincoln was the 16th president is just trivia. Readin (talk) 01:36, 19 January 2008 (UTC)

Exactly. Am I allowed to remove them now? Therequiembellishere (talk) 01:38, 19 January 2008 (UTC)

I won't stop you or revert the edit, but I can't promise that no one else like (User:Joseph_Solis_in_Australia or Iamwisesun) will revert it. Readin (talk) 01:52, 19 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Alright, thank you. I'll send them here, I guess. Therequiembellishere (talk) 02:17, 19 January 2008 (UTC)

Ethnic Origin
What ethnic group Mr. Chen belongs to? Is he an Han Chinese or native Taiwanese? 35.11.39.19 (talk) 21:08, 25 March 2008 (UTC)

He is mostly Han Chinese with ancestry from Fujian. Of course, the definition of Han Chinese changes and is sometimes based on culture. HanBoN (talk) 02:21, 28 August 2008 (UTC)

 * When speaking of Taiwan, the term "native Taiwanese" generally refers to people whose families were in Taiwan prior to the 1940s when Chiang brought several million people from China. Most of the native Taiwanese are descendants of Chinese who immigrated up to four hundred years ago.  A small number are Taiwanese Aborigines, people whose ancestors were in Taiwan prior to the 1600s when the Dutch took over.  The Taiwanese Aborigines are Austronesian.
 * I believe Chen is a native Taiwanese with all or mostly Chinese ancestry. Many native Taiwanese have aborigine blood without knowing it; a recent DNA study found that about 80% of native Taiwanese have some aborigine ancestry.
 * To answer your question, Chen can be called both "Han Chinese" because he has ancestors from China and he can be called "native Taiwanese" because his ancestors immigrated long before the 1940s. Readin (talk) 03:14, 28 August 2008 (UTC)

 * Does the OP even know who the native Taiwanese are? You should look up Taiwanese aborigines. Nowadays, Taiwan is more Han Chinese than China. The OP is very ill-informed and doesn't know how absurd the question is.

Controversy
Taiwanese Prosecutors on May 20, 2008 named Chen suspect in a $ 450,000 fraud case, after he lost presidential immunity. Specifically, the investigation was for his role in the handling of a special presidential fund used to pursue Taiwan's foreign diplomacy. The Supreme Prosecutor's Office stated that: "We have formally started the investigation of the special expenses case concerning former president Chen.The office has assigned ... a seven-member investigative unit to take charge of the case."news.bbc.co.uk, Taiwan ex-leader faces graft caseap.google.com, Taiwan investigating ex-President Chen Shui-bian --Florentino floro (talk) 11:45, 20 May 2008 (UTC)

Conspiracy Speculation
The following was deleted: "The unprecedented scandal created a media firestorm in Taiwan and widespread disbelief among Chen's supporters. Strangely, in the four days following the initial news break, the biggest news out of Taiwan has yet to make its way to mainstream English media outlets such as CNN, BBC, Washington Post and Reuters. These news authorities choose to focus the coverage of this region on the impending arrival of a pair of pandas from China to a zoo in Taipei. US has been a strong ally to Chen's presidency. This virtual censorship by Western media could be an indication that Chen's corruption runs deep in today's international politics." by user: 61.229.246.213

There has been coverage by news outlets such as the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Bloomberg. Other foreign media also use AP and AFP stories. To say that the Western media (meaning all media from Europe to the United States) are embroiled in an international corruption and conspiracy in not covering Chen Shui-bian's scandal is absurd. Naturally, this story to some western countries deserve simply a story or two in coverage not the front-to-back coverage as in Taiwan. News to international outlets may also take days in sorting out facts by foreign media. The article is about Chen, not speculation on how late coverage or less-than-your-satisfaction of coverage in western media constitute wide-spread or international corruption or conspiracy. This was a bit over-the-top. Clygeric (talk) 14:42, 18 August 2008 (UTC)

Notice, my last assertion was Anglo media, not Western media. I did notice that AFP reported the news on the same day Chen made the public appology for breaking the law, unlike US/UK/Canadian media which has been all silent until a few days later. Washington Post put out a related piece "Democracy and Dirty Money in Taiwan" by "Pomfret's China" on Aug 18th. This piece is nowhere advertised on its regular news site, so the average reader won't even be aware of it unless he/she specifically search for Taiwan. (I guess that's why you are not aware of it either) Ok, here is the meaty stuff: you say that there is no media censorship among Anglo media to Chen's scandal, then explain why my IP is now permanently banned from visiting www.washingtonpost.com after I post a reader response to "Democracy and Dirty Money in Taiwan", comment #7 (see also the response exhibit on Pomfret's China):

" Li-Shei Ho: I am living in Taiwan, Chen's scandal was the biggest news in Taiwan in the past 3 days. Can you explain why Washington Post (CNN, BBC, CBC, Reuters for that matter) hasn't even aired a single news item on this matter? Your paper reported one news that is Taiwan related - a Taiwan pitcher played a perfect game in 1979's World Series. Is this news even comparable to Chen's Scandal on the level of importance? What is keeping your paper from reporting Chen's corruption scandal promptly?"

You see, my comment was deemed too offensive, that I have to be kept off-limit to Washington Post. My apprentice take note, this kind of overt reaction from the Post confirmed my analysis that US corporate media does not view kindly the demise of Taiwan's pro-independent force for the sake of their anti-China agenda. To validate my view once again, I predict that although US corporate media was slow and unwilling to report Chen's scandal admission to their audiences, they will promptly and cheerfully report the 8/30 anti-China rally organized by the Green faction. (user 61.229.246.213) 29 August 2008

Since the information is removed, it need not be an issue. Your arguments have many points, and would be ideal in any newspaper's Op/Ed sections. Such an occurrence of reporting by "Anglo" media (which is a minute, if any, difference from if I chose to use "Western") is an unfortunate coverage. At either rate, one cannot simply speculate on a conspiracy and have this speculation deem to be "encyclopedic" detail. I encourage you to write to these media outlets to express your outrage at their lax coverage of the Chen scandal. I, too, believe this scandal must be magnified for all to know, as corruption of such magnitude should not be under the light, but be always in the light of public examination and scrutiny. Thank you for your observances. Clygeric (talk) 03:27, 31 August 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for your comment. I just want to update that just as I predicted and right on que, BBC has promptly and cheerfully reported the 8/30 Rally in Taipei, titled "Huge rally against Taiwan leader," which is listed as one of the top stories on the BBC website. The Chen family saga (which is still the hottest news topic in Taiwan now) is only given minimal lip service, one sentence to be exact, in this news gem. And yes, still no news article devoted to the Chen saga on BBC. This tells you how "neutral" and "unbiased" Anglo medias really are. Also, just want to clarify, my IP 61.229.246.213 was banned from Washington post a few hours after my response posting as mentioned above. Since I am only renting my place temporarily, I feel bad for the American student from UC Berkeley who will take my room after I leave. In his room, he will not be able to read his highly esteemed Washington Post over the web. Too bad. (user 61.229.246.213) 1 September 2008 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 59.112.237.54 (talk) 12:50, 1 September 2008 (UTC)

Recent Arrest
"Prosecutors have asked a three-judge panel to formally detain the ex-president. They said "it is necessary to take Chen into custody while they continue their probe because the crimes Chen is suspected of committing are felonies". Following his detainment, the former president Chen Shui-Bian seems can no longer play his self-claimed pro-independence tricky game in misleading his southern supporters to the manipulated political stance." This is clearly biased so I removed it until someone can put up NPOV information. 220.133.88.162 (talk) 02:18, 12 November 2008 (UTC)

"Alleged money laundering controversies"
Cross purposes gone wild. The money laundering is alleged, the controversies are not. Either use "money laundering allegations" or "money laundering controversy", not both. --PalaceGuard008 (Talk) 03:22, 13 November 2008 (UTC)

Niece
Can we include that his niece is married to Erik Ralske of the NY Philharmonic? Choicefresh (talk) 00:50, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

taiwanese folk religion - chinese folk religion...
Hi there... do u agree if I change the wording of the link? I mean, the box about chen says he practices "taiwanese folk religion", but the link goes to "chinese folk religion"... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.38.223.195 (talk) 22:41, 24 December 2008 (UTC)

 * Is there even such a thing as "Taiwanese folk religion"? If not, then the label is clearly inappropriate and needs to be reverted. Albert584 (talk) 05:45, 1 January 2009 (UTC)

When adding new information about the court case, give sources!!!
I u dont provide the source of the information, i will erase the un-sourced material... —Preceding unsigned comment added by Gumuhua (talk • contribs) 18:33, 31 December 2008 (UTC)

Image placement.... (Really angry)
Why NOT allow my picture at COMMONS and replaced without any notice in edit summary?! Give me a reason, or I will consider the replace as IRRESPECTIVE BEHAVIOR!!!!!!

This is not once, in other articles also had the same condition~! In addition to Chinese Wikipedia.  Brock contact... 05:37, 8 February 2009 (UTC)

Call to ban "Taiwaneseamerican" and the IP from which he sticks his absurd tags
Call to ban "taiwaneseamerican" and the IP from which he sticks his absurd tags, call to protect "Chen Shubian" article:

Absurd tags such as "The KMT tried to kill him", or "US DOS consider him a political prisoner", not to say missquotations taken from the press and missourcing

Recently I have reverted some vandalism made by him, I have (for the second time) done so, but he keeps vandalising (He has also vandalized Ma Yingjiu article... How can we ban him?

Pyl also undid some of his changes, but the guy seems undeterred...

CheersGumuhua (talk) 11:11, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

 * What was his response when you commented on his user talk page?
 * I agree that many of his edits are blatant bias and uncalled for, but I think you should at least make an effort to address him directly before trying to get him banned. Readin (talk) 16:09, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

While we're on the topic of banning users, Eeeeeewtw has done a lot of vandalizing and seemingly random edits. He has a number of warnings on his talk page. Perhaps we should attempt to take some action against his account. Readin (talk) 16:37, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

Separate article
Shouldn't the whole post-Presidency investigations be a separate article? Nada (talk) 07:23, 6 May 2009 (UTC)

Source translation
Can anyone provide a translation for this source ? Readin (talk) 23:20, 16 June 2009 (UTC)

 * page does not exist. Blueshirts (talk) 16:07, 17 June 2009 (UTC)

Taiwan ruling
The line "Some analysts also share similar view.." is copied almost verbatim from the BBC report, and phrased awkwardly.. shouldn't it be phrased differently?

Nada (talk) 21:31, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Mandarin Text
To be honest, is it completely necessary to include the Mandarin translation of all the Chinese names in this article? It's just wonderful that people want to add such useful tools, but there is a page specifically for Mandarin. Thoughts? GnarlyLikeWhoa (talk) 21:33, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

 * Mandarin is a spoken language, so you mean the Chinese (i.e. written Chinese) translation. Yes, it is necessary. A Chinese name transliterated into English could correspond to so many Chinese characters, that it is most of the time impossible to guess which Chinese characters they are a transliteration of. Without the Chinese, it wouldn't be possible to get information from this article in English and write about it in Chinese without having to guess half of the names. Keep the Chinese. AugustinMa (talk) 04:59, 26 December 2009 (UTC)

POV
This article desperately needs clean-up. I'm not familiar enough with the situation to deal with it myself, but certainly passages such as this from the section about his recent criminal conviction read as biased whatever the facts of the case.

Supporters (very few) of former President Chen say the prosecution was politically motivated and point to unusual moves by the current government such as replacing judges who had granted Chen release on his own recognizance with judges who immediately ordered Chen jailed and isolated in mid-trial.[110][111] Some self-claimed analysts with no credibility share similar view as they suggest there is some truth to the claim made by Chen Shui-bian that this case is more of a witch hunt by the current administration aimed at pleasing Beijing. But the evidences speak otherwise.

Luke Parks (talk) 11:15, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

 * Nobody is happier than I to see former President Chen in jail for corruption. Notwithstanding that it's not in keeping with Wikipedia policy to say "there are people who claim to be analysts but they are cranks".  Either their opinions are notable and should be included with more neutral language (minority opinion, fringe opinion, etc.) or their opinions are not notable and have no place in the article at all. The article needs some cleanup desperately.Simonm223 (talk) 11:51, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

 * Absolute agree.. the article doesn't seem balanced. Also, the line "Supporters of former President Chen say the prosecution was politically.." from the intro cites a source that doesn't back up the sentence.. it should be modified. Nada (talk) 16:11, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

 * I put the sentence and the sources there. I went back to them to provide a quote but they seem to have changed.  There does need to be some balance however between the assumption that a conviction means a fair process was followed to determine guilt and the numerous problems with the procedures including the inability of Chen to speak privately with his attornies early in the trial, the numerous leaks from the prosecution, the mid-trail switching of the all the judges to a different set of judges more freindly to the ruling KMT and more hostile to Chen, the unusual step of detaining Chen for months before he was charged with any crime while KMT figures already charged with similar crimes were allowed to remain free, etc. Readin (talk) 01:44, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

 * Find reliable sources, keep comments neutral, don't misrepresent quotes to suggest they say things they don't.Simonm223 (talk) 03:15, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

 * I took considerable care in adding the lines, I spent time finding sources to back them up, and I take great offense at your insulting suggestion that I misrepresented quotes. News articles do sometimes get changed by editors after first appearing on a news website.  Please read what I wrote above, and choose your words more carefully in the future. Readin (talk) 04:49, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

 * Given that the sources have changed, the sentence needs to change. I'm short on time right now so I can't do it.  If no one else wants to do it I'll try to update it tomorrow.  Please do so in a balanced way.  There are two sides to the story.  This LA Times article might be a source. This might have some useful info too.  This YouTube has a quote from the current President Ma's university advisor. Readin (talk) 02:54, 14 September 2009 (UTC)

Life Sentence Reaction
"Supporters of former President Chen say the prosecution was politically motivated" Why shouldn't the article mention the other opinions that the verdict reflects the Taiwan majority mood within the same source? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 15.243.169.72 (talk) 15:29, 12 September 2009 (UTC)
 * So find a reliable second party to confirm this quote.Simonm223 (talk) 03:16, 13 September 2009 (UTC)
 * It's listed in the exact same source which supports the first statement. So both are reliable or neither.
 * Well if it says that then put it in using neutral language and there shouldn't be a problem.Simonm223 (talk) 15:54, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

 * Now that Chen has been sentenced and future legislation won't risk freeing him, the legislature wants to move toward decriminalizing what he was accused of doing. Is this worth mentioning or would it be too POV to point out that Chen's behavior was consistent with the behavior and expectations of other elected leaders of the Republic of China?  KMT proposes ‘decriminalizing’ fund Readin (talk) 13:37, 14 September 2009 (UTC)

 * Make sure to avoid WP:SYNTH.Simonm223 (talk) 14:15, 14 September 2009 (UTC)

 * Don't misrepresent the source. The Taipei Times article is talking about "special funds" (特別費), which was what Ma and also other DPP heavyweights have been charged with, and it is something that's given to hundreds of officials nationwide. Chen was not charged with stealing this fund, but "state funds" (國務機要費), a case that ended in 2006 and then snowballed into the current bribery/money laundering case. Plus it's a DPP legislator who claims the behaviors of elected leaders and Chen were "consistent." Blueshirts (talk) 16:48, 14 September 2009 (UTC)

Chen Shuibian's trials and sentence needs a separate article
It's too long and clogging up this article. Also, it's important enough to justify a separate article. Much better to transfer it to another article, with a judicious summary here. 116.14.15.16 (talk) 13:28, 14 September 2009 (UTC)

 * It was indeed clogging up this article. Someone already created a main article on the corruption charges a while ago, moving all of the "Post Presidency" section over. So I removed the section and kept the "main article" line.-- Jerrch 16:26, 7 March 2010 (UTC)

This was sloppily done and needs cleanup. The text needs to be rewritten so it doesn't read like a timeline. New material should be added by condensing and summarizing the old material. And it needs updating in light of the past couple months.--Jiang (talk) 10:22, 10 December 2010 (UTC)

Chen Shuibian expressed desire to visit his hometown in mainland china and directly referred to himself as chinese
http://articles.cnn.com/2002-03-31/world/taiwan.nukes_1_nuclear-weapons-nuclear-posture-review-nuclear-threat?_s=PM:asiapcf

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2006/07/02/2003316835

Many DPP leaders have visited their ancestral hometowns in Fujian in the mainland

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/print/91760.htm

http://www.taiwandc.org/twcom/101-no4.htm

http://books.google.com/books?id=1tQY4jn5iNwC&pg=PA333&lpg=PA333#v=onepage&q&f=false

Rajmaan (talk) 20:51, 19 December 2012 (UTC)

According to the Taipei Times article, that is not all that Chen said on the question of whether he is Chinese. "Making comparisons to other historical migrations such as the English settling in the US and later calling themselves Americans, Chen said this spirit is the same as his Chinese ancestors leaving China and deciding to make Taiwan their permanent home." Readin (talk) 22:54, 19 December 2012 (UTC)

he referred to himself and the entire audience of taiwanese americans as chinese in a speech at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel

Rajmaan (talk) 04:00, 20 December 2012 (UTC)

Request for Comments
There is an RfC on the question of using "Religion: None" vs. "Religion: None (atheist)" in the infobox on this and other similar pages.

The RfC is at Template talk:Infobox person.

Please help us determine consensus on this issue. --Guy Macon (talk) 22:58, 25 April 2015 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just added archive links to 2 one external links on Chen Shui-bian. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20080118190500/http://english.www.gov.tw:80/TaiwanHeadlines/index.jsp?categid=8&recordid=99228 to http://english.www.gov.tw/TaiwanHeadlines/index.jsp?categid=8&recordid=99228
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20070822212721/http://au.news.yahoo.com:80/070216/2/12g11.html to http://au.news.yahoo.com/070216/2/12g11.html

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Cheers. —cyberbot II  Talk to my owner :Online 12:15, 28 August 2015 (UTC)

External links modified
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Second sentence
The second sentence of this article doesn't make sense grammatically. --2.245.219.175 (talk) 17:18, 26 May 2016 (UTC)

Hunger strike?
It's not clear why the "Hunger strikes" category was added. --Ronz (talk) 23:36, 27 June 2016 (UTC)

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Serious NPOV issues regarding the shooting
There are serious NPOV problems in the section about the shooting. Everything seems to be basically unsourced and the wording seems to suggest that the shooting was a conspiracy, and there's some clear editorializing in there. I'm not sure it can be fixed. Per WP:BLP I think the entire section should be scrapped and re-done. DrIdiot (talk) 21:58, 20 December 2020 (UTC)

"Japan"
I removed this content: Chen's and the Democratic Progressive Party are pro-Japanese, and look favorably on Japan's colonization of Taiwan, the issue of WW2 comfort women, and terrotiral disoputes between Taiwan and Japan ie, Diaoyu Islands,

Rationale: it's WP:OR and editorializing, China Daily is not RS especially on Taiwan (see WP:RSP), and the first link does not make any direct statements about Chen himself, only his advisor Shi Wen-long, whose relevance is a bit of a stretch. DrIdiot (talk) 05:41, 5 November 2021 (UTC)

Also want to remark that the standards for WP:BLP are far higher. Need direct statements from Chen. DrIdiot (talk) 05:45, 5 November 2021 (UTC)

Political positions section
Lots of cn tags from a decade ago. Going to clean up that section. Some removed material will be posted here. Here's the first:

Ancestral hometowns in Fujian in mainland China have been visited by DPP leaders and their families.

Reason: not a relevant sentence to Chen himself. Also not really a political position? And the sources are opinion pieces. DrIdiot (talk) 09:12, 5 November 2021 (UTC)

More removed content:

Chen's position on Taiwan's political status is that Taiwan is already an independent, sovereign nation named the Republic of China. This has the implication that a declaration of independence is unnecessary as Taiwan is already independent. This view point, however, is subject to change in each election campaign. At the same time, it also has the implication that the pledge by Chen to preserve the status quo or not change Taiwan's sovereign status would not preclude a declaration of independence but would preclude acceptance of the one China policy.

Some said that Chen's position on this issue was intended and to some degree succeeded in placating his pro-independence supporters without crossing any red lines that could trigger war with the PRC. His supporters saw these positions as creative and indicative of a willingness to compromise. Many of his critics (especially those from the Pan-Blue coalition) believed that his positions and actions showed that his seemingly conciliatory statements were merely a smokescreen to advance a hidden agenda of advancing de facto Taiwan independence. These suspicions appeared to arise from the actions of his KMT predecessor Lee Teng-hui who now readily admits to secretly trying to advance de facto Taiwan independence during his presidential terms.

President Chen admitted that he leans towards independence but his main position is opposition to adopting the One China principle since it prevents Taiwanese people from being able to decide upon their own future.

Rationale: per WP:BLP better to remove unsourced content. The first paragraph I've replaced. The second paragraph is kind of an opinion. If we could specific references some could be worth adding back in. The third seems a bit redundant. DrIdiot (talk) 19:02, 5 November 2021 (UTC)

Removed:

In an interview in July 2005, Chen explicitly repudiated the position of Lee Teng-Hui that Taiwan / Republic of China and China / People's Republic of China are two different countries. He said, "The Republic of China on Taiwan and the People's Republic of China on the mainland are two separate countries with divided rule and do not exercise sovereignty over each other," he said. "Under the principle of popular sovereignty and self determination, we consider that the question of whether Taiwan should be united with China should be the decision of the 23 million people of Taiwan."

Reason: First, it's confusing what this is saying, and who is saying what. Also, not sure why it's relevant. Can't find source. DrIdiot (talk) 04:05, 6 November 2021 (UTC)

title: Talk:Chen Shui-bian


text:
Sorcerer

Sorcerer may refer to:

Magic

 * Sorcerer (supernatural), a practitioner of magic that derives from supernatural or occult sources
 * Sorcerer (fantasy), a fictional character who uses or practices magic that derives from supernatural or occult sources

Film

 * The Sorceror (film), a 1932 German film
 * The Sorcerers, a 1967 British science fiction horror film
 * Sorcerer (film), a 1977 American thriller film
 * Highlander III: The Sorcerer, a 1994 American fantasy action film

Games

 * Sorcerer (board game), a 1975 board wargame
 * Sorcerer (Dungeons & Dragons), a character class in the game Dungeons & Dragons
 * Sorcerer (pinball), a 1985 pinball machine
 * Sorcerer (role-playing game), a 2002 tabletop role playing game made by Ron Edwards
 * Sorcerer (video game), a 1984 interactive fiction computer game made by Infocom

Music

 * Sorcerer (band), a Swedish epic doom band from Stockholm
 * Sorcerer (Miles Davis album), 1967
 * Sorcerer (soundtrack), performed by Tangerine Dream for the film of the same name
 * "Sorcerer" (Stevie Nicks song), a 1984 song used in the film Streets of Fire
 * The Sorcerer, an 1877 comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan
 * The Sorcerer (album), a 1967 album by Gábor Szabó
 * "The Sorcerer", a song by Herbie Hancock from his album Speak Like a Child

Animals

 * Sorcerer (horse) (1796–1821), British Thoroughbred racehorse
 * Sorcerer (moth), of the family Noctuidae

Computing

 * Exidy Sorcerer, a home computer system released in 1978

Other uses

 * The Sorcerer (cave art), cave painting in 'The Sanctuary' cavern, Ariège, France
 * The Dark Tower: The Sorcerer, a comic book
 * The Sorceror, a 2002 fantasy novel by Troy Denning

title: Sorcerer


text:
Lysimachus

Lysimachus (Greek: Λυσίμαχος, Lysimachos; c. 360 BC – 281 BC) was a Thessalian officer and successor of Alexander the Great, who in 306 BC, became king of Thrace, Asia Minor and Macedon.

Early life and career

Lysimachus was born in circa 360 BC, to a family of Thessalian stock but they were citizens of Pella in Macedonia. He was the second son of Agathocles and his wife; there is some indication in the historical sources that this wife was perhaps named Arsinoe, and that Lysimachus' paternal grandfather may have been called Alcimachus. His father was a nobleman of high rank who was an intimate friend of Philip II of Macedon, who shared in Philip II’s councils and became a favourite in the Argead court. Lysimachus and his brothers grew up with the status of Macedonians; all these brothers enjoyed with Lysimachus prominent positions in Alexander’s circle and, like him, were educated at the Macedonian court in Pella.

Pausanias and the historian Justin both record a story that Alexander had Lysimachus thrown to a lion as a punishment. According to Justin this was because Lysimachus had smuggled poison to a person Alexander had condemned to a slow death. Both Pausanias and Justin report that Lysimachus overcame the lion with his bare hands and subsequently became one of Alexander's favorites. Some coins issued during Lysimachus's appointment had his image on one side and a lion on the other.

He was probably appointed Somatophylax during the reign of Philip II. During Alexander's Persian campaigns, in 328 BC he was one of his immediate bodyguards. In 324 BC, in Susa, he was awarded a ceremonial crown in recognition of his actions in India. After Alexander's death in 323 BC, he was appointed to the government of Thrace as strategos although he faced some difficulties from the Thracian king Seuthes.

Diadochi
In 315 BC, Lysimachus joined Cassander, Ptolemy and Seleucus against Antigonus, who, however, diverted his attention by stirring up Thracian and Scythian tribes against him. However, he managed to consolidate his power in the east of his territories, suppressing a revolt of the cities on the Black Sea coast.

In 309 BC, he founded Lysimachia in a commanding situation on the neck connecting the Chersonese with the mainland, forming a bulwark against the Odrysians.

In 306/305 BC, Lysimachus followed the example of Antigonus and assumed the royal title.

In 302 BC, when the second alliance between Cassander, Ptolemy and Seleucus was made, Lysimachus, reinforced by troops from Cassander, entered Asia Minor, where he met with little resistance. On the approach of Antigonus he retired into winter quarters near Heraclea, marrying its widowed queen Amastris, a Persian princess. Seleucus joined him in 301 BC, and at the Battle of Ipsus Antigonus was defeated and slain. Antigonus' dominions were divided among the victors. Lysimachus' share was Lydia, Ionia, Phrygia and the north coast of Asia Minor.

Feeling that Seleucus was becoming dangerously powerful, Lysimachus now allied himself with Ptolemy, marrying his daughter Arsinoe II of Egypt. Amastris, who had divorced herself from him, returned to Heraclea. When Antigonus' son Demetrius I renewed hostilities (297 BC), during his absence in Greece, Lysimachus seized his towns in Asia Minor, but in 294 BC concluded a peace whereby Demetrius was recognized as ruler of Macedonia. He tried to carry his power beyond the Danube, but was defeated and taken prisoner by the Getae king Dromichaetes (or Dromihete), who, however, set him free in 292 BC on amicable terms in return for Lysimachus surrendering the Danubian lands he had captured. Demetrius subsequently threatened Thrace, but had to retire due to a sudden uprising in Boeotia and an attack from King Pyrrhus of Epirus.

In 287 BC, Lysimachus and Pyrrhus in turn invaded Macedonia and drove Demetrius out of the country. Lysimachus left Pyrrhus in possession of Macedonia with the title of king for around seven months before Lysimachus invaded. For a short while the two ruled jointly but in 285 BC Lysimachus expelled Pyrrhus, seizing complete control for himself.

Later years
Domestic troubles embittered the last years of Lysimachus’ life. Amastris had been murdered by her two sons; Lysimachus treacherously put them to death. On his return, Arsinoe II asked the gift of Heraclea, and he granted her request, though he had promised to free the city. In 284 BC Arsinoe, desirous of gaining the succession for her sons in preference to Lysimachus’ first child, Agathocles, intrigued against him with the help of Arsinoe's paternal half-brother Ptolemy Keraunos; they accused him of conspiring with Seleucus to seize the throne, and Agathocles was put to death.

This atrocious deed by Lysimachus aroused great indignation. Many of the cities of Asia Minor revolted, and his most trusted friends deserted him. The widow of Agathocles and their children fled to Seleucus, who at once invaded the territory of Lysimachus in Asia Minor. In 281 BC, Lysimachus crossed the Hellespont into Lydia and at the decisive Battle of Corupedium was killed. After some days his body was found on the field, protected from birds of prey by his faithful dog. Lysimachus' body was given over to another son, Alexander, by whom it was interred at Lysimachia.

Marriages and children
Lysimachus was married three times and his wives were: Nicaea most probably died by 302 BC. From an Odrysian concubine he had a son borne to him called Alexander.
 * First marriage: Nicaea, a Greek (Macedonian) noblewoman and daughter of the powerful Regent Antipater. Lysimachus and Nicaea married in c. 321 BC. Nicaea bore Lysimachus three children:
 * Son, Agathocles
 * Daughter, Eurydice
 * Daughter, Arsinoe I
 * Second marriage: Persian Princess Amastris. Lysimachus married her in 302 BC. Amastris and Lysimachus’ union was brief, as he ended their marriage and divorced her in 300/299 BC.
 * Third marriage: Ptolemaic Greek Princess Arsinoe II. Arsinoe II married Lysimachus in 300/299 BC and remained with him until his death in 281 BC. Arsinoe II bore Lysimachus three sons:
 * Ptolemy I Epigonos
 * Lysimachus
 * Philip

title: Lysimachus


text:
Wreath

A wreath is an assortment of flowers, leaves, fruits, twigs, or various materials that is constructed to form a ring shape.

In English-speaking countries, wreaths are used typically as household ornaments, most commonly as an Advent and Christmas decoration. They are also used in ceremonial events in many cultures around the globe. They can be worn as a chaplet around the head, or as a garland around the neck.

Etymology
The word wreath comes from Middle English wrethe and from Old English writha 'band'.

Ancient Etruscan wreaths

Wreaths were a design used in ancient times in southern Europe. The most well-known are pieces of Etruscan civilization jewelry, made of gold or other precious metals. Symbols from Greek myths often appear in the designs, embossed in precious metal at the ends of the wreath. Ancient Roman writers referred to Etruscan corona sutilis, which were wreaths with their leaves sewn onto a background. These wreaths resemble a diadem, with thin metal leaves being attached to an ornamental band. Wreaths also appear stamped into Etruscan medallions. The plants shown making the wreaths in Etruscan jewelry include ivy, oak, olive leaves, myrtle, laurel, wheat and vines.

Wreaths were worn as crowns by Etruscan rulers. The Etruscan symbolism continued to be used in Ancient Greece and Rome. Roman magistrates also wore golden wreaths as crowns, as a symbolic testament to their lineage back to Rome's early Etruscan rulers. Roman magistrates also used several other prominent Etruscan symbols in addition to a golden wreath crown: fasces, a curule chair, a purple toga, and an ivory rod.

Ancient Greece and Rome

In the Greco-Roman world, wreaths were used as an adornment that could represent a person's occupation, rank, their achievements and status. The wreath that was commonly used was the laurel wreath. The use of this wreath comes from the Greek myth involving Apollo, Zeus' son and the god of life and light, who fell in love with the nymph Daphne. When he pursued her she fled and asked the river god Peneus to help her. Peneus turned her into a laurel tree. From that day, Apollo wore a wreath of laurel on his head. Laurel wreaths became associated with what Apollo embodied; victory, achievement and status and would later become one of the most commonly used symbols to address achievement throughout Greece and Rome. Laurel wreaths were used to crown victorious athletes at the original Olympic Games and are still worn in Italy by university students who just graduated.

Other types of plants used to make wreath crowns also had symbolic meaning. For example, oak leaves symbolized wisdom, and were associated with Zeus, who according to Greek mythology made his decisions while resting in an oak grove. The Twelve Tables, dating to 450 BC, refer to funeral wreaths as a long-standing tradition. Olive wreath was the prize for the winner at the ancient Olympic Games.

Advent and Christmas wreaths
In Christianity, wreaths are used to observe the Advent season, in preparation for Christmastide and Epiphanytide, as well as to celebrate the latter two liturgical seasons. These wreaths, as with other Advent and Christmas decorations, are often set up on the first Sunday of Advent, a custom that is sometimes done liturgically, through a hanging of the greens ceremony. The Advent wreath was first used by Lutherans in Germany in the 16th century, and in 1839, Lutheran priest Johann Hinrich Wichern used a wreath made from a cart wheel to educate children about the meaning and purpose of Christmas, as well as to help them count its approach, thus giving rise to the modern version of the Advent wreath. For every Sunday of Advent, starting with the fourth Sunday before Christmas, he would put a white candle in the wreath and for every day in between he would use a red candle. The use of the Advent wreath has since spread from the Lutheran Church to many Christian denominations, and some of these traditions, such as the Catholic Church and Moravian Church, have introduced unique variations to it. All of the Advent wreaths, however, have four candles, and many of them have a white candle in the centre, the Christ candle, which is lit on Christmas Day. Advent and Christmas wreaths are constructed of evergreens to represent everlasting life brought through Jesus and the circular shape of the wreath represents God, with no beginning and no end. Advent and Christmas wreaths are now a popular symbol in preparation for and to celebrate the coming of Christ, with the former being used to mark the beginning of the Christian Church's liturgical year and both serving as décor during Advent and Christmas festivities. While Advent wreaths are erected on stands or placed on tables, Christmas wreaths are often hung on doors or walls. Within Advent, the Church observes Saint Lucy's Day, the memorial of Saint Lucy, who is said to have brought "food and aid to Christians hiding in the catacombs" using a candle-lit wreath to "light her way and leave her hands free to carry as much food as possible"; as such, on this day, many young Christian girls dress as Saint Lucy, wearing a wreath on their head.

Decorative Wreaths
Decorative wreaths originated in Ancient Greece, they were used to promote healthy crop harvests, it would be made from the previous years harvest (such as wheat) and would be hung on people's doors in hope for a fruitful harvest in the coming year.

In recent years, wreaths have experienced a significant surge in popularity as versatile home decor items. In fact the global market for decorative wreaths is anticipated to reach an annual growth rate of 4.5% from 2022 to 2030, culminating in a market value of $1.2 billion by the conclusion of the forecast period. No longer confined to seasonal displays or special occasions, wreaths are now commonly used year-round to enhance interior and exterior spaces. From vibrant floral wreaths adorning front doors to minimalist greenery wreaths adorning walls, their versatility and customizable nature have captured the attention of interior designers and homeowners alike. The rise of do-it-yourself crafting and online marketplaces has also contributed to the accessibility of wreath-making materials and designs, allowing individuals to express their creativity and personalize their living spaces with these charming and visually appealing accents.

Corpus Christi wreaths
On the eve of the Feast of Corpus Christi, Christian clergy (chiefly those from the Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and Anglican traditions) bless Corpus Christi wreaths that are made of flowers. Wreaths and bouquets are often "attached to flags and banners, to houses, and to the arches of green boughs that span the streets." In Christian homes, these wreaths are suspended on walls or displayed on doors and in windows. Corpus Christi wreaths are also "put up in gardens, fields, and pastures, with a prayer for protection and blessing upon the growing harvest."

Funeral and memorial wreaths

The symbolism of wreaths has been used at funerals since at least the time of Ancient Greece, to represent a circle of eternal life. Evergreen wreaths were laid at the burial place of early Christian virgin martyrs in Europe, the evergreen representing the victory of the eternal spirit over death.

In early modern England, a wreath custom existed for the funerals of "young maidens". A young woman of the same age as the one being mourned would lead the funeral procession, carrying a wreath of white flowers to represent the purity of the deceased, and "that eternal crown of glory reserved for her in heaven".

By the Victorian era, the symbolism of flowers had grown to become an elaborate language, and the symbolism of funeral wreaths was no exception. Flowers represented life and resurrection. Specific flowers were used in funeral wreaths to represent particular sentiments. Cypress and willow were used for crafting wreath frames, and were associated with mourning by the Victorians.

Wreaths are commonly laid at the tombs of soldiers and at memorial cenotaphs during Memorial Day and Remembrance Day ceremonies. Wreaths may also be laid in memory of persons lost at sea, either from an accident or due to navy action. In a memorial service at sea, the wreath is lowered to the water and set adrift. Funeral wreaths were also commonly adorned with a "wreath sash", a term coined in the World War II era, which was decorated with fringe and embroidered to commemorate life and sacrifice. This practice is still in place today, and wreath sashes now commonly adorn doors of homes to celebrate numerous holidays.

Harvest wreath
Harvest wreaths, a common household decoration today, are a custom with ancient roots in Europe. The creation of harvest wreaths in Europe can be traced back to ancient times, and is associated with animistic spiritual beliefs. In Ancient Greece, the harvest wreath was a sacred amulet, using wheat or other harvested plants, woven together with red and white wool thread. The harvest wreath would be hung by the door year-round.

Harvest wreaths were an important symbol to the community in Ancient Greece, not merely to the farmer and his family. The festivals devoted to Dionysus, the Oschophoria and Anthesteria, included a ritual procession called the eiresîonê. A harvest wreath was carried to Pyanopsia and Thargelia by young boys, who would sing during the journey. The laurel or olive wreath would be hung at the door, and then offerings were made to Helios and the Hours. It was hoped that this ritual would bring protection against crop failure and plagues.

In Poland, the harvest wreath (wieniec) is a central symbol of the Harvest Festival, Dozynki. Wreaths are made of different shapes and sizes, using harvested grain plants, fruit and nuts. The wreath is then brought to a church for a blessing by a priest. The tradition includes a procession to the family home from the church, with a girl or young woman leading the procession and carrying the wreath. The procession is followed with a celebration and feast.

Wreaths worn as crowns
A wreath may be used as a headdress made from leaves, flowers and branches. It is typically worn in festive occasions and on holy days. Wreaths originally were made for use with pagan rituals in Europe, and were associated with the changing seasons and fertility. Christianity appropriated the symbolism of the wreath based upon its Roman association with honour and moral virtue. During the Middle Ages, Christian art featured depictions of the Virgin Mary and various saints crowned with wreaths, much as figures from Roman and Greek mythology were depicted wearing wreaths, as well as Roman and Greek rulers and heroes.

Maypole wreath

Wreath customs in Europe have survived over many centuries. The observance of May Day in England includes Maypole festivities, culminating in a race by young unmarried men to climb to the top of the Maypole to capture the May Day wreath perched at the top of the pole. The winner of this contest would wear the wreath as his crown, and would be recognized as the May Day King for the rest of the holiday. Plants traditionally used to make Midsummer wreaths and garlands include white lilies, green birch, fennel, St. John's Wort, wormwood, vervain and flax. The flowers used in making the Midsummer wreath had to be picked early in the morning before the dew had dried; the belief was that once the dew dried, the magical properties of the plants evaporated with the dew.

Midsummer celebrations are still observed in Germany and Scandinavia as well, with Maypoles and wreaths playing a prominent role, similar to England.

Wreath symbolism in England
By the Renaissance period, wreaths became symbols of political and religious alliances in England. Protestant reformers such as the Puritans saw wreaths and the holidays they were associated with, such as May Day, as being pagan corrupting influences that destroyed healthy Christian morality. Soldiers confiscated wreaths in Oxford on May Day of 1648. During the Interregnum following the overthrow of Charles I of England, wreaths symbolized Royalist sympathies. In Bath, Somerset, the coronation of Charles II of England was marked with a procession of 400 maidens in white and green, carrying "gilded crowns, crowns made of flowers, and wreaths made of laurel mixed with tulips", and led by the mayor's wife.

Saint Lucy's Day crown
Saint Lucy is traditionally depicted in Christian artwork wearing a wreath as a crown, and on the wreath stand lit candles symbolizing the light of the world represented by Christ. Sweden in particular has a long history of observing Saint Lucy's Day (St. Lucia's Day). "St. Lucia's crowns", made of a brass wreath holding candles, are part of the customs associated with this holiday.

Wreath laying ceremonies
A wreath laying ceremony is a traditional practice during which funeral wreaths are laid at a grave or memorial site. It is done as a formal sign of respect towards a particular tribute (e.g. Tomb of the Unknown Soldier). These are formal ceremonies that involve high ranking dignitaries such as heads of state. Once a wreath is laid, the person who lays the wreath goes a few steps back to bow/salute the memorial. During wreath laying ceremonies of a military nature, bugle calls such as "Last Post", "Taps", or "Sunset" are played.

In the Netherlands, wreath laying (Kranslegging) is usually held during the National Remembrance Day celebrations on 4 May. During state visits, a wreath is laid out at the National Monument in Amsterdam.

In Russia, it is tradition to lay wreaths at war memorials on Days of Military Honour and commemorative military holidays, such as Defender of the Fatherland Day and Victory Day. One of the more notable laying of wreaths takes place at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow's Alexander Garden, where the President of Russia, the Prime Minister of Russia, members of the Federal Assembly, military officers, religious leaders in the Russian Orthodox Church and other dignitaries are led to lay a funeral wreath close to the eternal flame. A moment of silence is then conducted, which is usually followed by a solemn march of an honour guard passes.

In the United Kingdom, wreaths, are most notably laid at the Cenotaph during the National Service of Remembrance on Remembrance Day.

title: Wreath