Kong (surname)

Kong (孔) is a Chinese, Korean, and Cambodian surname. It can also be written as Kung in Taiwan, Hung in Hong Kong, Khổng in Vietnam, and Gong in Korea. There are around 2.1 million people with this surname in China in 2002, representing 0.23% of the population.

This surname Kong is most notable as the surname of Confucius and his descendants. The family tree of Confucius and his descendants is generally considered to be the world longest, covering over 2,500 years with more than 80 generations recorded, and has two million entries according to its last update in 2009. The main line of descent traditionally held the title of Duke Yansheng, which was changed to the title of the first Sacrificial Official to Confucius in the 20th century. This title is currently held by Kung Tsui-chang.

Kong may also be the English transliteration of a rare Chinese surname 空, or a less common form of the Gong surnames such as 龔, 貢 and 弓.

Origin

The character for the Kong surname was derived from the Zi (子) family name. The founder of the Shang Dynasty, Tang of Shang whose family name was Zi, had the courtesy name of Taiyi (太乙). His descendants fused the character Zi (子) to Yi (乙), forming the character Kong (孔) which eventually became a surname. It first appeared during the Zhou Dynasty as the courtesy name Kongfu (孔父) of a noble in the State of Song named Jia (嘉), said to be a descendant of the Tang of Shang. Kongfu Jia was murdered, and his son escaped to the State of Lu where he adopted Kong as the name of his clan. His family settled in Qufu and Confucius was one of his descendants.

Dickie Goodman

Richard Dorian "Dickie" Goodman (April 19, 1934 – November 6, 1989) was an American music and record producer born in Brooklyn, New York. He is best known for inventing and using the technique of the "break-in", an early precursor to sampling, that used brief clips of popular records and songs to "answer" comedic questions posed by voice actors on his novelty records. He also wrote and produced some original material, most often heard on the B-side of his break-in records.

Career

In June 1956, Goodman created his first record, "The Flying Saucer Parts 1 & II", which he co-wrote with his partner Bill Buchanan, and featured a four-minute rewriting of Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds radio show. This recording was the subject of a copyright infringement case against Goodman. The court eventually ruled his sampled mix was considered a parody, and was an entirely new work. "The Flying Saucer" was officially released under the artist name "Buchanan and Goodman" and was Goodman's highest-charting single on Billboard, peaking at #3. Buchanan and Goodman followed up with four other records: "Buchanan and Goodman on Trial" (#80 in 1956), "Flying Saucer The 2nd" (#18 in 1957), "The Creature (From A Science Fiction Movie)" (as by Buchanan and Ancell) (#85 in 1957), and "Santa and the Satellite (Parts I & II)" (#32 in 1957).

Kong (band)

Kong is an Amsterdam-based band, known for creating an avant-garde mix of rock, electronica, and industrial. Nearly all of Kong's music is instrumental, with the only vocals being an eclectic blend of sampling. The band is perhaps most notable for the quadrophonic approach to their shows: live performances are played in a quadraphonical setup, with each band member having his/her own, independent stage and PA system.

History

1988-2000

Kong was formed in 1988 by guitarist/synth programmer Dirk de Vries, guitarist Aldo Sprenger, bassist/synth programmer Mark Drillich, and drummer Rob Smits. The band released their debut album Mute Poet Vocalizer in 1990 and started touring across Europe. Kong's second album Phlegm was released in 1992 and contains the band's best-known song Stockhouse.

The band released the follow-up to Phlegm, Push Comes To Shove, in 1995. Shortly after the release, founding members Sprenger and Smits left the band and were replaced by guitarist Marieke Verdonk and drummer Rob Snijders. With this lineup, Kong recorded the album Earmined; their first album to be released by Roadrunner Records. Snijders left in 1998, and drumming duties for 1999's Freakcontrol album were split between new drummer Klaas Broekema and former member Rob Smits.

Untouchable

Untouchable(s) or The Untouchable(s) may refer to:

Society

People

Entertainment

Fictional entities

Films

Literature

Untouchability

Untouchability is the low status of certain social groups confined to menial and despised jobs. It is usually associated with the Hindu caste system, but similar groups exist outside Hinduism, for example the Burakumin in Japan, Blacks in South Africa, and Hutu and Twa of Rwanda. At the beginning of the twenty-first century there were over 160 million untouchables on the Indian subcontinent.

Origins

The earliest of the Hindu scriptures, the Rig Veda (10.90.11-12), describes a society divided into four varnas ("colors" or castes): Brahman (poet-priest), Kshatriya (warrior-chief), Vaishya (traders), and Shudras (menials, servants). The four basic divisions of society had their roots in the Vedic era (1500-800 BCE) and assumed definitive form by the sixth century BCE. The idea is further developed in the Laws of Manu (200 BCE-200 CE). The first three varnas are known as the twice-born, all of whom undergo a ceremony in their youth admitting them into high status.

The varna caste division excluded the Untouchables, who were and are below the Shudras in any ranking, despised because they engaged in occupations that were considered unclean and polluting. Untouchable castes became a category as avarnas, without varna, probably sometime after the fourth century CE. The untouchables (ćaṇḍālas) are mentioned in the Upanishads and early Buddhist literature, as a "fifth caste" resulting from the polluting contact of Shudra males and Brahmana females.

Untouchable (novel)

Untouchable is a novel by Mulk Raj Anand published in 1935. The novel established Anand as one of India's leading English authors. The book was inspired by his aunt's experience when she had a meal with a Muslim woman and was treated as an outcast by his family. The plot of this book, Anand's first, revolves around the argument for eradicating the caste system. It depicts a day in the life of Bakha, a young "sweeper", who is "untouchable" due to his work cleaning latrines.

Publication history

The book was first published in 1935. Later editions carried a foreword written by E. M. Forster. In 2004, a commemorative edition including this book was launched by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

References