The ISO (International Standards Organisation) assigns a two character code to each country name. These codes are used by Internet 'whois' databases (these two character abbreviations are the whois country codes) and also other applications.
Confucius (Kong Fu-tse) was an ancient Chinese philosopher. He was born around 551 BC at Shantung province and died around 479 BC. His father, Shuh-liang-heih, who was of royal descent, died when Confucius was three years old, and the boy was reared in comparative poverty by his mother, Ching-tsai. At the age of seventeen he was made inspector of corn-markets, at nineteen he married, and after about four years of domesticity, in which a son and two daughters were born him, he commenced his career as a teacher.
In 517 BC he was induced by two members of one of the principal houses in Lu, who had joined his band of disciples, to visit the capital with them, where he had interviews with Lao-tse, the founder of Taoism. Though temporarily driven from Lu to Tsi by a revolution, he soon returned thither with an increasing following, and at the age of fifty-two was made chief magistrate of the city of Chung-too. So striking a reformation was effected by him that he was chosen for higher posts, became minister of crime, and with the aid of two powerful disciples elevated the state of Lu to a leading position in the kingdom. Its marquis, however, soon after gave himself up to debauchery, and Confucius became a wanderer in many states for thirteen years. In 483 he returned to Lu, but would not take office. The deaths of his favourite disciples Yen Hwin and Tse-lu in 481 and 478 did much to further his own, which took place in about 479.
Confucius left no work detailing his moral and social system, but the five canonical books of Confucianism are the Yih-king, the Shu-king, the Sbi-king, the Le-king, and the Ghun-tsien, with which are grouped the 'Four Books', by disciples of Confucius, the Ta-heo or Great Study, the Chung-Yung or Invariable Mean, the Tun-yu or 'Philosophical Dialogues', and the Hi-tse, written by Meng-tse or Mencius. The teaching of Confucius has had, and still has, an immense influence in China. All his teaching was devoted to practical morality and to the duties of man in this world in relation to his fellow-men; in it was summed up the wisdom acquired by his own insight and experience, and that derived from the teaching of the sages of antiquity. Research Confucius
The Lao are a people who live along the Mekong river system in Laos (about 2 million) and north Thailand (about 9 million). The Lao language is a member of the Sino-Tibetan family. The majority of Lao live in rural villages. During the wet season, May-Oct, they grow rice in irrigated fields, though some shifting or swidden cultivation is practised on hillsides. Vegetables and other crops are grown during drier weather. The Lao are predominantly Buddhist though a belief in spirits, phi, is included in Lao devotions. There are some Christians among the minority groups. Research Lao
Vestige of Honor is a drama based on a true story and starring Michael Gross, Cliff Gorman, Season Hubley and Kenny Lao in a story about a former American soldier returning to Thailand following the Vietnam War to fulfil the American promise of bringing the Motagnard tribes people back to America following their support for America during the war. Vestige of Honor was directed by Jerry London in 1990. Research Vestige of Honor
LA is an abbreviation for Lao
LA is an abbreviation for Los Angeles
LA is an abbreviation for Louisiana
LA is an abbreviation for Low Altitude
LA is an abbreviation for Law Agent
The Lao People's Democratic Republic (Laos) is a country in south east Asia. It has a total area of 236,800 km2. The climate is tropical monsoon comprising a rainy season that last from May until November and a dry season from December to April. The terrain is mostly comprised of rugged mountains with some plains and plateaus. Natural resources are timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold and gemstones. The religion is 85% Buddhist, 15% animist and other. The official language is Lao with French, and English also spoken.
Laos was part of the KhmerEmpire during the 11th century, and during the 12th century was invaded by the Laom from Thailand who established small independent kingdoms which were amalgamated into one kingdom during the 14th century. After contact with Europeans, Laos was invaded by France and became part of French Indochina in 1893. In 1950 Laos became semi-autonomous and gained full independence again in 1953 as a kingdom. Civil war followed until the communists were victorious in 1975. Research Laos
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