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Pierre Ryckmans (writer)
Pierre Ryckmans (28 September 1935 – 11 August 2014), better known by his pen name Simon Leys, was a Belgian-Australian writer, essayist and literary critic, translator, art historian, sinologist, and university professor, who lived in Australia from 1970. His work particularly focused on the politics and traditional culture of China, calligraphy, French and English literature, the commercialization of universities, and nautical fiction. Through the publication of his trilogy ''Les Habits neufs du président Mao'' (1971), ''Ombres chinoises'' (1974) and ''Images brisées'' (1976), he denounced the Cultural Revolution in China and the idolizing of Mao in the West.Ian Buruma"The Man Who Got It Right" ''The New York Review of Books'', 15 August 2013; also: Ian Buruma"The Man Who Got It Right" chinafile.com. Retrieved 26 September 2020. Biography Pierre Ryckmans was born in Uccle, an upper-middle-class district of Brussels, to a prominent Belgian family living in a house on Avenue ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brussels
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalities, 19 municipalities, including the City of Brussels, which is the capital of Belgium. The Brussels-Capital Region is located in the central portion of the country. It is a part of both the French Community of Belgium and the Flemish Community, and is separate from the Flemish Region (Flanders), within which it forms an enclave, and the Walloon Region (Wallonia), located less than to the south. Brussels grew from a small rural settlement on the river Senne (river), Senne to become an important city-region in Europe. Since the end of the Second World War, it has been a major centre for international politics and home to numerous international organisations, politicians, Diplomacy, diplomats and civil servants. Brussels is the ''de facto' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Uccle
Uccle (French language, French, ) or Ukkel (Dutch language, Dutch, ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the southern part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, Belgium, Forest, Ixelles, and Watermael-Boitsfort, as well as the Flanders, Flemish municipalities of Drogenbos, Linkebeek and Sint-Genesius-Rode. In common with all of Brussels' municipalities, it is legally Multilingualism, bilingual (French–Dutch). , the municipality had a population of 85,099 inhabitants. The total area is , which gives a population density of , half the average of Brussels. It is generally considered an affluent area of the region, and is particularly noted for its community of French immigrants. History Origins and medieval times According to legend, Uccle's Church of St. Peter was dedicated by Pope Leo III in the year 803, with Charlemagne and Gerbald, Bishop of Liè ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
People's Republic Of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after India, representing 17.4% of the world population. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and Borders of China, borders fourteen countries by land across an area of nearly , making it the list of countries and dependencies by area, third-largest country by land area. The country is divided into 33 Province-level divisions of China, province-level divisions: 22 provinces of China, provinces, 5 autonomous regions of China, autonomous regions, 4 direct-administered municipalities of China, municipalities, and 2 semi-autonomous special administrative regions. Beijing is the country's capital, while Shanghai is List of cities in China by population, its most populous city by urban area and largest financial center. Considered one of six ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai ( zh, s=周恩来, p=Zhōu Ēnlái, w=Chou1 Ên1-lai2; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman, diplomat, and revolutionary who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China from September 1954 until Death of Zhou Enlai, his death in January 1976. Zhou served under Chairman Mao Zedong and aided the Chinese Communist Party, Communist Party in rising to power, later helping consolidate its control, form its Foreign policy of China, foreign policy, and develop the Economy of China, Chinese economy. As a diplomat, Zhou served as the Chinese Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China, foreign minister from 1949 to 1958. Advocating peaceful coexistence with Western Bloc, the West after the Korean War, he participated in the 1954 Geneva Conference and the 1955 Bandung Conference and helped orchestrate 1972 Nixon visit to China, Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to China. He helped devise policies regarding disputes with the United States, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Braine-l'Alleud
Braine-l'Alleud (; ; ) is a Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, in the Provinces of Belgium, province of Walloon Brabant, Belgium, about south of Brussels. The municipality consists of the following districts: Braine-l'Alleud (including the hamlet of Sart-Moulin), Lillois-Witterzée, and Ophain-Bois-Seigneur-Isaac. Bordering Flanders, the town is home to a minority of Dutch speakers. The famous Lion of Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo, where the eponymous Battle of Waterloo, battle took place, is in the territory of Braine-l'Alleud. History Middle Ages Several archaeological finds point to prehistoric settlements in this area. The first historical mention of a parish on Braine-l'Alleud's current territory, then called ''Dudinsart'', dates from 1131, date at which Godfrey I, Duke of Brabant ceded it to the Abbey of Gembloux. The Duke, however, still owned exempt land (or wiktionary:franchise, franchise) on this territory, as specified in a legal document by Henry ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Servite Order
The Servite Order, officially known as the Order of Servants of Mary (; abbreviation: OSM), is one of the five original mendicant orders in the Roman Catholic Church. It includes several branches of friars (priests and brothers), contemplative nuns, a congregation of religious sisters, and lay groups. The order's objectives are the sanctification of its members, the preaching of the Gospel, and the propagation of devotion to the Mother of God, with special reference to her sorrows. The Servites friars lead a community life in the tradition of the mendicant orders. History Foundation The order was founded in 1233 by "the seven holy founders", each a member of a patrician family of Florence, Italy. These cloth merchants left their city, families, and professions and withdrew to Monte Senario, a mountain outside the city of Florence, for a life of poverty and penance. The seven were: Bonfilius of Florence, born Bonfilius Monaldi (Buonfiglio dei Monaldi); Alexis of Florence, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pierre Mertens
Pierre Mertens (9 October 1939 – 19 January 2025) was a Belgian writer and lawyer who specialised in international law, director of the Centre de sociologie de la littérature at the Université libre de Bruxelles, and literary critic with the newspaper ''Le Soir''. Life and career Influenced by Franz Kafka, Mertens started to publish novels and short stories in 1969 and received the Prix Médicis in 1987 for ''Les éblouissements''. He nevertheless continued his activities as a lawyer, participating in many battles for human rights. In 1989, he entered the Académie royale de langue et littérature de Belgique, and was also named ''Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' by France. Mertens reflected much on the social function of the writer. For him, private life, fiction, and history were inseparable. Thus he granted a central place to the memory in the creation of his works. To him the novelist finds his inspiration in their personal and the historical past. Merte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
La Libre Belgique
''La Libre Belgique'' (; ), currently sold under the name ''La Libre'', is a French-language Belgian daily newspaper. Together with ''Le Soir'', it is one of the most popular Francophone newspapers in both Brussels and Wallonia. ''La Libre'' was founded in 1884 and has historically had a centre-right Christian Democratic political stance. The papers is particularly celebrated for its role as an underground newspaper during World War I and World War II when Belgium was occupied. Since 1999, the newspaper has become increasingly European liberalism, liberal but is still considered more conservative than ''Le Soir''. History The modern ''La Libre'' traces its origins to the ''Le Patriote'' newspaper, founded by Victor and Louis Jourdain in 1884. Politically, the newspaper supported the dominant centre-right Catholic Party (Belgium), Catholic Party. After the German invasion of Belgium (1914), German invasion of Belgium in World War I, ''Le Patriote'' was banned by the German occu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philippe Paquet (journalist)
Philippe Paquet is a former champion jockey from France, who in 1974 was the winner of the Prix du Jockey Club on Caracolero, and the Gran Premio d'Italia on Ribecourt. In 1976, he also won the Irish Derby on Malacate, and the Irish Oaks on Lagunette. In 1979 and 1980, he won back to back on Boiteon in Prix Maurice de Gheest. In 1981, he won his final Group one on April Run in Prix Vermeille before finishing a close third in the Arc. He was the stable jockey of famous French trainer François Boutin for nine years. He joined Boutin straight from school as a 14-year-old apprentice in 1966, via the local employment exchange. He was on board Nonoalco when the colt made a winning debut in the Prix Yacowlef at Deauville in 1973, breaking the course record in the process He was made stable jockey to Boutin that season, although Piggott and Saint-Martin were still used when available. In 1980, he finished the 2,000 Guineas in first place on the Boutin-trained Nureyev, but was later disq ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Université Catholique De Louvain
UCLouvain (or Université catholique de Louvain , French for Catholic University of Louvain, officially in English the University of Louvain) is Belgium's largest French-speaking university and one of the oldest in Europe (originally established in 1425). It is located in Louvain-la-Neuve, which was expressly built to house the university, and has smaller campuses in Brussels, Charleroi, Mons, Belgium, Mons, Tournai and Namur. Since September 2018, the university uses the branding UCLouvain, replacing the acronym UCL, following a merger with Saint-Louis University, Brussels. The original Old University of Louvain, University of Louvain (''Universitas Lovaniensis'') was founded at the centre of the historic town of Leuven (or ''Louvain'') in 1425, making it the List of universities in Belgium, first university in Belgium and the Low Countries, and abolished by law in 1797. This university was the centre of Baianism, Jansenism and Febronianism in Europe. A new university, the Stat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belgian Congo
The Belgian Congo (, ; ) was a Belgian colonial empire, Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960 and became the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville). The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964. Colonization of the Congo Basin, Colonial rule in the Congo began in the late 19th century. Leopold II of the Belgians, King Leopold II of the Belgians attempted to persuade the Federal Government of Belgium, Belgian government to support colonial expansion around the then-largely unexploited Congo Basin. Their ambivalence resulted in Leopold establishing a colony himself. With support from a number of Berlin Conference, Western countries, Leopold achieved international recognition of the Congo Free State in 1885. By the turn of the century, the violence used by Free State officials against indigenous Congolese and a ruthless system of economic exploitation led to intense diplomatic pressure on Belgium to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pierre Ryckmans (governor-general)
Pierre Ryckmans (23 November 1891 – 18 February 1959) was a Belgian civil servant who served as Governor-General of Belgium's principal African colony, the Belgian Congo, between 1934 and 1946. Ryckmans began his career in the colonial service in 1915 and also spent time in the Belgian mandate of Ruanda-Urundi. His term as Governor-General of the Belgian Congo coincided with World War II in which he was instrumental in bringing the colony into the war on the Allied side after Belgium's defeat in May 1940. He was also a prolific writer on colonial affairs. He was posthumously created a peer of the realm in the Belgian nobility with the rank of count in 1962. Biography Early life Ryckmans was born in Antwerp in Flanders, Belgium, as the sixth child of and Clémence Van Ryn. The Ryckmans family originally came from Mechelen where his ancestors were lawyers for two generations. His father Alphonse was a prominent member of the Catholic Party, a senator in the Belgian Senate, an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
