query: Where was Li Linfu born?

title: Li Linfu

text: It is not known when Li Linfu was born. He was a great-grandson of Li Shuliang (李叔良) the Prince of Changping, who was a cousin of Tang Dynasty's founder Emperor Gaozu. Li Linfu's grandfather Li Xiaobin (李孝斌) carried the title of Duke of Huayang and served as a prefectural secretary general. Li Linfu's father Li Sihui (李思誨) served as a military officer at Yang Prefecture (揚州, roughly modern Yangzhou, Jiangsu).[4] Li Linfu's mother was a sister of the official Jiang Jiao (姜皎), a close associate of Emperor Gaozu's great-great-grandson Emperor Xuanzong who became prominent during Emperor Xuanzong's reign, carrying the title of Duke of Chu. Li Linfu studied music and was favored by his uncle Jiang.

title: Chen Xilie

text: By 752, however, Chen was instead aligned with the rising Yang Guozhong—the cousin of Emperor Xuanzong's favorite concubine Consort Yang Yuhuan—against Li Linfu. When Li Linfu's close associate Wáng Hóng (王鉷) was implicated in a rebellion plot contrived by his brother Wáng Hàn (王銲), Li Linfu tried to extricate him, but Chen and Yang insisted that Wang Hong was guilty and should be further investigated, eventually leading to Wang Hong's being forced to commit suicide. Further, both Chen and Geshu Han also accused Li Linfu of associating with another general who rebelled around that time, the ethnically Tujue general Lǐ Xiànzhōng (李獻忠). This added to the apprehension that Li Linfu had at that point about Yang's rising power, and Li Linfu died in fear around the new year 753.

title: Li Linfu

text: Meanwhile, with Nanzhao repeatedly attacking Jiannan Circuit (劍南, headquartered in modern Chengdu, Sichuan), Li Linfu tried to defuse Yang's threat to him by requesting that Yang, who was also military governor of Jiannan, be sent to Jiannan to defend against Nanzhao attacks. Despite Yang's repeated pleas, Emperor Xuanzong sent him on his way, but promised to recall him soon to be chancellor. Meanwhile, Li Linfu was seriously ill by this point, and when a sorcerer indicated that if the emperor looked at him, he would be cured, Emperor Xuanzong considered visiting him. Ultimately, though, at the opposition of the imperial attendants, Emperor Xuanzong did not do so, but had Li Linfu brought out to the courtyard of his mansion and then ascended a tower to look toward Li Linfu. This had no beneficial effect on Li Linfu's illness, however. Meanwhile, once Yang reached Jiannan, Emperor Xuanzong recalled him. When Yang, after arriving back in the capital, went to visit Li Linfu, Li Linfu tried to ingratiate him and entrust his family to Yang. Li Linfu died around the new year 753.

title: Li Linfu

text: Also in 737, Consort Wu decided to try to trick Li Ying, Li Yao, and Li Ju. She had a message sent to the three princes, stating, "There are bandits in the palace. Please report at once in armor!" The three princes arrived in full armor, and she thereafter told Emperor Xuanzong, "The three princes are planning treason. Look, they have come in full armor." Emperor Xuanzong had his eunuchs check out the situation, and the three princes were seen in full armor. Yang Hui subsequently accused Li Ying, Li Yao, and Li Ju of treason. When Emperor Xuanzong discussed this with the chancellors, Li Linfu stated, "This is Your Imperial Majesty's family matter. We will not interfere." The three princes were soon reduced to commoner rank and forced to commit suicide. Meanwhile, the deputy chief judge of the supreme court, Xu Jiao (徐嶠) submitted a flattering report to Emperor Xuanzong, pointing out that there were only 58 death sentences handed down for the year and that the reduced number of sentences showed that Emperor Xuanzong's reign was so peaceful that they were not required. Emperor Xuanzong, in turn, credited the chancellors, and created Li Linfu the Duke of Jin and Niu the Duke of Bin. It was also around this time that a revision of the laws, led by Li Linfu, Niu, and the officials in charge of the justice system, was completed.

title: Li Ying (prince)

text: Meanwhile, Consort Wu had designs to have Li Qing, whose name was by then changed to Li Mao (李瑁), named crown prince. She and the official Li Linfu entered into an alliance, where Li Linfu agreed to help her to have Li Mao created crown prince, while she recommended Li Linfu to be chancellor. Li Linfu became chancellor in 734, and thereafter began to lobby on Li Mao's behalf.

title: Li Linfu

text: After Li LInfu's death, Emperor Xuanzong initially awarded him a number of posthumous honors, including ordering a grand funeral with imperial guards serving as honor guards and the use of royal funeral items. However, in spring 753, Yang Guozhong induced An Lushan into accusing Li Linfu of having been complicit with Li Xianzhong's rebellion, and then had Li Linfu's son-in-law Yang Qixuan (楊齊宣) corroborate this. Before Li Linfu's funeral could be held, Emperor Xuanzong issued an edict stripping all of his honors and exiling his descendants. Li Linfu's casket was split open, and three of the funereal honors—the pearl in his mouth, the purple robe of chancellorship, and the golden fish to show rank—were stripped, and he was instead buried with ceremony fit for a mere commoner, in a small casket. It was said that while the people hated Li Linfu for his corrupt and harsh reign, they nevertheless mourned at how he was falsely accused after his death. After Li Heng later became emperor (as Emperor Suzong), he considered further infliction of humiliation on Li Linfu's body—by exhuming and burning it and scattering the ashes. At the suggestion of the imperial advisor Li Mi, however, he did not do so.[13]

title: Li Linfu

text: By this point, Li Linfu was said to be so powerful that officials needed his recommendations for promotion, and that those who were commissioned without such recommendations would soon fall prey to his false accusations. For example, in 743, when the official Yang Shenjin (楊慎矜) was set to be promoted to be deputy chief imperial censor, he did not dare to accept the position because Li Linfu did not recommend him, accepting the office only in 744 when he received a recommendation from Li Linfu. Also, Li Linfu, viewing the official Pei Kuan (裴寬) as a potential threat to be chancellor as well, induced the general Pei Dunfu (裴敦復) into accusing Pei Kuan of nepotism, and Pei Kuan was demoted. (Li Linfu, however, also viewed Pei Dunfu as a threat, and soon had him sent out of the capital.) Meanwhile, Emperor Xuanzong, who was very trusting of Li Linfu at this point, considered formally letting Li LInfu take over all matters of state. Gao spoke against it, pointing out then that no one would be able to control the chancellor. Emperor Xuanzong was displeased with Gao's response, but did not formally bestow Li Linfu with such authorities.

title: Li Linfu

text: In 749, the commandery governor Zhao Fengzhang (趙奉璋) submitted a petition to Emperor Xuanzong accusing Li Linfu of over 20 crimes. Before the petition could arrive, however, Li Linfu already found out, and had Zhao arrested and caned to death.

title: Emperor Suzong of Tang

text: As Li Heng's ascension to be crown prince was against Li Linfu's wishes, and also because Wei Jian, who drew favor from Emperor Xuanzong due to his abilities to increase revenues for the imperial treasury, was becoming a rival to Li Linfu at court, Li Linfu looked for ways to incriminate both Wei and Li Heng. In 746, when the official Yang Shenjin (楊慎矜), at Li Linfu's instigation, reported to Emperor Xuanzong that, one night, Li Heng met Wei while both were sightseeing, and shortly after, Wei met a friend of his, the general Huangfu Weiming (皇甫惟明) at a Taoist temple, Li Linfu used these incidents to accuse Wei and Huangfu of secretly pledging allegiance to Li Heng and planning to remove Emperor Xuanzong to replace him with Li Heng. Wei and Huangfu were arrested and interrogated by Yang, Wang Hong (王鉷), and Ji Wen (吉溫), but Emperor Xuanzong, who did not want the case to further explode into a major incident although he believed Li Linfu's accusations, demoted Wei and Huangfu out of the capital and, for the time being, stopped the investigation. However, when Wei Jian's brothers Wei Lan (韋蘭) and Wei Zhi (韋芝) submitted a defense of their brother Wei Jian later in 746—and the defense cited words from Li Heng—Emperor Xuanzong was incensed. Li Heng, in fear, divorced Crown Princess Wei and asked for the Wei brothers to be punished. The Wei brothers, along with a number of their associates—including the former chancellor Li Shizhi, Wei Bin (韋斌), Wei Jian's nephew Li Quan (李琄) the Prince of Xue, Pei Kuan (裴寬), and Li Qiwu (李齊物), were all demoted. (In 747, at Li Linfu's instigation, the Wei brothers, Huangfu, and Li Shizhi were all forced to commit suicide.)

title: An Lushan

text: An was arrogant toward other officials, including Consort Yang's second cousin Yang Guozhong. However, carrying the honorary title of deputy chief imperial censor (御史大夫) at this point, he was respectful of his colleague Wang Hong (王鉷), an associate of Li Linfu's, although initially not Li Linfu—and therefore, on one occasion, Li Linfu intentionally summoned Wang Hong in An's presence, and when Wang Hong arrived, he was paying Li Linfu great respect, causing An to be surprised and apprehensive, and thereafter An carefully cultivated his relationship with Li Linfu as well.

title: Chen Xilie

text: In 746, after the chancellor Li Shizhi was removed from office due to machinations by his colleague Li Linfu, Li Linfu believed that Chen had a subservient personality and would be easy to control, and therefore recommended Chen to succeed Li Shizhi. Emperor Xuanzong gave Chen the designation "Tóng Zhōngshū Ménxià Píngzhāngshì" (同中書門下平章事), making Chen a chancellor "de facto". It was said that Chen followed Li Linfu's directions in all matters and that Chen merely signed all documents that Li Linfu wanted him to sign. Later, he was made "Zuǒ Xiàng" (左相), the head of the examination bureau and a post considered one for a chancellor, as well as the minister of defense (兵部尚書, "Bīngbù Shàngshū"). He was created the Duke of Yǐngchuān (潁川公).

title: Emperor Xuanzong of Tang

text: In 752, Wang Hong's brother Wang Han (王銲) was accused of treason after his associates rose in a failed coup at Chang'an. In the aftermaths, Wang Hong was forced to commit suicide, and Yang Guozhong, Chen, and Geshu Han further tried to implicate Li Linfu in the plot as well. After Li LInfu died in winter 752, Yang Guozhong succeeded him, and almost immediately accused Li LInfu of having been complicit in the rebellion of another general, Li Xianzhong (李獻忠). Li LInfu was posthumously disgraced, and his family was exiled.

title: Li Linfu

text: By 750, however, a realistic threat against Li Linfu's power was rising—as Ji Wen and Yang Zhao, the cousin to Emperor Xuanzong's then-favorite concubine Consort Yang Yuhuan—were aligned with each other, and they had Li Linfu's close associates Xiao Jiong (蕭炅) and Song Hun (宋渾) demoted, to gradually reduce Li Linfu's power, with the intent of having Yang Zhao replace Li Linfu. Ji, soon, was also ingratiating An Lushan, and An was repeatedly recommending him. Subsequently in 751, Ji was made the deputy military governor of Hedong, which was under An's command at the time.

title: Li Shizhi

text: Later in 746, however, when Li Linfu made further accusations against Wei, Li Linfu implicated a large number of Wei's associates, including Li Shizhi. Li Shizhi was thus demoted to be the governor of Yichun Commandery. In 747, when Li Linfu was able to get Emperor Xuanzong to send the imperial censor Luo Xishi (羅希奭) to various commanderies to execute Wei and several other officials implicated, the commanderies were terrorized. As Luo was approaching Yichun, Li Shizhi was fearful and committed suicide.

title: Emperor Xuanzong of Tang

text: Meanwhile, Li Linfu was beginning to conflict with Li Shizhi and Wei Jian, who were allies. Li Linfu, who engaged a group of secret police officials to investigate and manufacture evidence against political enemies, was able to get Wei and Li Shizhi demoted and exiled in 746. (Li Shizhi was replaced by Chen Xilie, who gained favor from Emperor Xuanzong for his knowledge in Taoism and sorcery.) In 747, Li Linfu further carried out a campaign of terror against exiled officials, and among the officials executed were Wei, Li Yong (李邕) and Pei Dunfu (裴敦復). Li Shizhi and Wang Ju, who had been instrumental in Emperor Xuanzong's initial actions against Princess Taiping, committed suicide.

title: Li Linfu

text: It was said that because Niu was recommended by Li Linfu, he followed Li Linfu's directions, while Li Linfu discouraged dissent within the government—telling junior officials that they, like imperial horses who would not obey directions, were easily replaceable. When the official Du Jin (杜璡) nevertheless submitted a proposal, Du was immediately sent out of a capital—ostensibly for a promotion, but considered demoted due to his new post's being away. It was further said that Li Linfu held his emotions in check and was difficult to discern; he often used sweet words to please others and then attack them when they were not ready. He endeared those who were close to the emperor, while finding ways to eliminate potential competitors for power. The Chinese proverb "having honey in the mouth and a sword in the belly" (口蜜腹劍, kou mi fu jian), first became idiomatic when used to describe him.[11][12]

title: Chen Xilie

text: After Li Linfu's death, Chen continued to serve as chancellor, along with Yang, but actual power was wielded by Yang. It was said that all important matters were decided at Yang's mansion, not at the office of the chancellors. Meanwhile, when Yang was able to successfully posthumously implicate Li Linfu in Li Xianzhong's rebellion, causing Li Linfu to be posthumously dishonored and his family to be exiled, Yang and Chen were created greater ducal titles—in Chen's case, the Duke of Xu—to award them for "discovering" Li Linfu's plot.

title: Li Linfu

text: Late in 746, when Wei Jian's brothers Wei Lan (韋蘭) and Wei Zhi (韋芝) submitted a petition to try to defend their brother, the petition backfired badly, as their citation of what Li Heng had spoken caused Emperor Xuanzong to indeed believe that they were loyal to Li Heng and not to him. Li Heng, in fear, divorced Crown Princess Wei, and subsequently, Wei Jian and his brothers were exiled, and Li Linfu took this opportunity to several other officials associated with the Weis—Li Shizhi, Wei Bin (韋斌), Li Xuan (李琄) the Prince of Xue (a nephew to both Emperor Xuanzong and Wei Jian), Pei Kuan, and Li Qiwu (李齊物)—all demoted to remote posts. When, shortly after, Du Youlin (杜有隣) the father of Li Heng's concubine Consort Du, as well as Du Youlin's son-in-law Liu Ji (柳勣) were accused of criticizing Emperor Xuanzong, Li Linfu took the opportunity to have Ji Wen extend the target, eventually convincing Emperor Xuanzong that Li Yong (李邕), Pei Dunfu, Huangfu, and the Wei brothers were all involved in the plot and had them all killed at their posts or in exile. A number of others, including Li Shizhi and Wang Ju (王琚), were terrorized into committing suicide. Li Heng, however, avoided consequences, as Emperor Xuanzong believed him to be filially pious. After Wei Jian's death, Li Linfu was still angry at Wei Jian, and had the judges continue to pursue people accused of being Wei Jian's associates and torture them, until Li LInfu's later death in 752.

title: Li Linfu

text: Meanwhile, Li Shizhi and another official with designs on the chancellorship—Wei Jian (韋堅), who was Li Heng's brother-in-law, as well as Li Linfu's uncle Jiang Jiao's son-in-law and thus who had initially gained favor with Li Linfu—were associating with each other, and Li LInfu viewed both as threats. He had Wei ostensibly promoted but removed Wei from a number of finance-related positions that he had held and at which he had gained Emperor Xuanzong's favors by adding to the imperial treasury income. In 746, he then tricked Li Shizhi into making a suggestion to Emperor Xuanzong of opening gold mines at Mount Hua—and then himself informed Emperor Xuanzong that, based on Taoist principles, he believed that a mine at Mount Hua would damage Emperor Xuanzong's health, thus bringing imperial displeasure on Li Shizhi. He then accused Wei and a general close to Li Heng, Huangfu Weiming (皇甫惟明), of inappropriate close association and intimated that they were ingratiating Li Heng. (Li Linfu had been apprehensive about Li Heng's elevation against his recommendation of Li Mao, and therefore sought to undermine Li Heng by making this accusation as well.) Wei and Huangfu were thus demoted to be commandery governors. Li Shizhi, in fear, offered to resign his chancellorship. Emperor Xuanzong made Li Shizhi an advisor to Li Heng and removed him from his chancellor position. Li Linfu, believing that the official Chen Xilie, who became favored by Emperor Xuanzong because of Chen's dabbling in supernatural matters, would be easy to control, and therefore recommended Chen to succeed Li Shizhi. After Chen became chancellor, however, effectively, all matters were still decided by Li Linfu, leaving Chen with no real authorities.

title: Emperor Xuanzong of Tang

text: By 736, Emperor Xuanzong was described as having been tired of important affairs of state and beginning to become wasteful and exuberant in his lifestyle. Zhang tried to curb his behavior but thus began to lose favor, while Li Linfu was gaining power due to his association with Consort Wu. Further, Zhang supported Li Hong (whose name had been changed to Li Ying by this point), while Li Linfu and Consort Wu supported her son Li Mao (李瑁) the Prince of Shou and tried to have Li Mao made crown prince. In 736, due to Li Linfu's machinations that made Emperor Xuanzong believed that Zhang and Pei Yaoqing were improperly engaging in factionalism, Zhang and Pei Yaoqing were removed and replaced by Niu Xianke, who closely followed Li Linfu's will, and thereafter, Li Linfu would dominate the imperial government almost to the end of Emperor Xuanzong's reign. Li Linfu did all he could to stay in power, and carried out many dirty tricks against actual or potential threats to his power. He also severely discouraged criticism, ending the relative freedom that officials had to make proposals to Emperor Xuanzong. This was often viewed by traditional historians as the turning point of Emperor Xuanzong's reign, which up to that point was considered a golden age in Chinese history, toward a path of degeneration. The Song dynasty historian Sima Guang, in his "Zizhi Tongjian", for example, commented:

title: An Lushan

text: In 753, with Li Linfu's death and replacement by Yang Guozhong, Yang Guozhong, intending to posthumously dishonor Li Linfu, had An Lushan corroborate his accusations that Li Linfu was involved in Li Xianzhong's rebellion. An agreed, and subsequently, with further corroboration from Li Linfu's son-in-law Yang Qixuan (楊齊宣), Li Linfu was posthumously dishonored, and his family members were exiled. Also in 753, Li Xianzhong's troops were defeated by the Huige, and they surrendered to An, further enhancing his strength.

title: Li Linfu

text: Meanwhile, Li Linfu was said to be constantly bribing the eunuchs and ladies in waiting himself to keep an eye on Emperor Xuanzong's emotions and acts, to allow him to carry out actions that would help him stay in power. For example, when Emperor Xuanzong was impressed by the official Lu Xuan (盧絢) on one occasion and appeared poised to promote him, Li Linfu, viewing Lu as a potential threat, summoned Lu's younger clan members and informed them that Emperor Xuanzong was set to make Lu the commandant of distant Jiao Prefecture (交州, roughly modern Hanoi, Vietnam) or Guang Prefecture (廣州, roughly modern Guangzhou, Guangdong)—technically promotion, but considered at that point to be positions of exile—causing Lu to, in fear, submit a resignation, asking to be made a member of the staff of Li Yu (whose name was changed to Li Heng by that point). Lu Xuan was ultimately made a member of Li Heng's staff, out of contention for the chancellorship. Meanwhile, when Emperor Xuanzong appeared poised to recall Yan Tingzhi, perhaps to make him chancellor, Li Linfu tricked Yan's brother Yan Sunzhi (嚴損之) into believing that the best way to have Yan Tingzhi recalled was to claim that Yan Tingzhi was ill. Li Linfu then managed to have Emperor Xuanzong make Yan Tingzhi a member of Li Heng's staff as well, along with Qi Huan (齊澣), another influential senior official that Li Linfu viewed as a threat.

title: Li Linfu

text: During Emperor Xuanzong's reign, when Yuan Qianyao served as a chancellor, Li Linfu was a member of the staff of Emperor Xuanzong's crown prince Li Siqian.[5] Yuan had been recommended by Jiang Jiao at the start of his career and had had his grandnephew Yuan Guangcheng (元光乘) marry Jiang's sister. Because of these relations, Yuan's son Yuan Jie (源絜) relayed a plea from Li Linfu to be made Simen Langzhong (司門郎中), a low level official at the ministry of justice. Yuan Qianyao, however, did not view Li Linfu highly, and commented, using Li Linfu's nickname, "People who are to serve as Lang must have good talent and virtues. Genu is no Lang." Several days later, however, he had Li Linfu promoted among the ranks of Li Siqian's staff members. Li Linfu later served as Guozi Siye (國子司業), the deputy principal of the imperial university.

title: Li Linfu

text: In fall 736, when Emperor Xuanzong was at Luoyang, he had set to return to Chang'an on March 7, 737.[8] However, at that time, an incident occurred where there were strange apparitions appearing in the Luoyang Palace, and Emperor Xuanzong did not want to stay at Luoyang. On or right before November 9, 736,[9] he summoned the chancellors to ask them whether he could depart for Chang'an immediately. Pei and Zhang, pointing out the fact that it was harvest season and that the imperial train would interfere with harvest, requested a one-month delay. After Pei and Zhang exited, however, Li Linfu remained personally and stated his agreement with the departure, arguing that the farmers could be compensated by relieving their taxes. Emperor Xuanzong was pleased and immediately departed for Chang'an. Emperor Xuanzong was, then, impressed with Niu Xianke, the military governor (jiedushi) of Shuofang Circuit (朔方, headquartered in modern Yinchuan, Ningxia), wanted to make him the minister of defense. Zhang, who pointed out that Niu was not well-learned and had started from the ranks of low-level administrators—contrary to the Tang tradition of going through the imperial examinations—opposed, and then further opposed the creation of a title. Eventually, despite Zhang's opposition, Emperor Xuanzong, with concurrence from Li Linfu, created Niu the Duke of Longxi. Li Linfu was trying to have Emperor Xuanzong make Li Mao crown prince to replace Emperor Xuanzong's Li Ying, who had long lost Emperor Xuanzong's favor and who had offended Emperor Xuanzong and Consort Wu over an incident where he and his brothers Li Yao (李瑤) the Prince of E and Li Ju (李琚) the Prince of Guang privately complained about how Emperor Xuanzong had lost favor for their mothers. With Zhang strenuously opposing such a move, Li Ying remained in his position. The deputy minister Xiao Jiong (蕭炅), whom Li Linfu recommended, was demoted on the suggestion of Zhang and Zhang's friend Yan Tingzhi (嚴挺之), who further offended Li Linfu by refusing to meet with him. Soon thereafter, there was an incident where Wang Yunyan (王元琰), the husband of Yan's ex-wife, was accused of corruption. Yan tried to intercede on Wang's behalf, and this was discovered.

title: Li Linfu

text: Meanwhile, though, by 752, Wang Hong was having authorities rivaling LI Linfu's, but as Wang was carefully cultivating his relationship with Li Linfu and humble to Li Linfu, Li Linfu did not act against him. However, Wang Hong's brother Wang Han (王銲), who believed that he was destined to be emperor, planned a coup with his associate Xing Zai (邢縡). When Xing subsequently did rise in rebellion, the rebellion was suppressed by Gao, Wang Hong, and Yang Zhao (whose name was changed to Yang Guozhong by this point). Li Linfu subsequently tried to defend Wang Hong before Emperor Xuanzong, and Emperor Xuanzong initially took no actions against either Wang Hong or Wang Han, but was waiting for Wang Hong to submit a petition asking for punishment. When none came, Chen Xilie, who was also beginning to be antagonistic to Li Linfu, and Yang accused Wang Hong of being complicit. Wang Hong was forced to commit suicide, and Wang Han was caned to death, causing terror in Li Linfu's heart. He thus, while keeping his chancellorship, resigned his military governorship of Shuofang and had the command transferred to An Sishun instead. That, however, failed to stem the accusations that Yang, Chen, and Geshu were making that Li Linfu was associating with not only Wang Hong and Wang Han, but also the ethnically Tujue general Li Xianzhong (李獻忠), who rebelled in 752 as well.

title: Li Linfu

text: In 726, the official Yuwen Rong became deputy chief imperial censor (御史中丞, Yushi Zhongcheng). Yuwen was friendly with Li Linfu, and therefore recommended Li Linfu to serve as a colleague; Li Linfu was thus made a deputy chief imperial censor as well, and later successively served as deputy ministers of justice (刑部侍郎, Xingbu Shilang) and civil service affairs (吏部侍郎, Libu Shilang). At that time, Emperor Xuanzong's favorite concubine Consort Wu dominated the palace, and her sons Li Mao (李瑁) the Prince of Shou and Li Qi (李琦) the Prince of Sheng were Emperor Xuanzong's favorite sons, diverting favor away from Li Siqian (whose name had been changed to Li Ying, by that point). Li Linfu was friendly with many important eunuchs, and through them informed Consort Wu that he was willing to support Li Mao to try to supplant Li Ying. Meanwhile, Li Linfu had also been having an affair with the wife of the chancellor Pei Guangting, who was a daughter of Wu Sansi, a deceased nephew of Emperor Xuanzong's grandmother Wu Zetian and a relative of Consort Wu. After Pei died in 733,[6][7] Lady Wu requested that the powerful eunuch Gao Lishi, who had served Wu Sansi at one point, to recommend Li Linfu to replace Pei. Gao did not dare to make the recommendation, but when Emperor Xuanzong was set to name Han Xiu chancellor, Gao leaked this information to Lady Wu first, who then told Li Linfu. Li Linfu submitted a petition endorsing Han, who became grateful. When Han subsequently had conflicts with fellow chancellor Xiao Song, he recommended Li Linfu to serve as chancellor, and Consort Wu was also speaking on Li Linfu's behalf. Emperor Xuanzong did not make him chancellor immediately, but made him Huangmen Shilang (黃門侍郎), the deputy head of the examination bureau of government (門下省, Menxia Sheng) and favored him more.

title: Geshu Han

text: In 752, Geshu began to become part of the central government intrigue, in the power struggle between the chancellor Li Linfu and Yang Guozhong, the second cousin of Emperor Xuanzong's favorite concubine Consort Yang Yuhuan, as both he and the chancellor Chen Xilie corroborated accusations that Li Linfu had friendly relations with Li Xianzhong (李獻忠), an ethnically Tujue general who was forced into rebellion earlier that year. This facilitated Yang Guozhong's aggrandizement of power and the reduction of Li Linfu's influence.

title: Li Shizhi

text: In 742, after the death of the chancellor Niu Xianke, Li Shizhi succeeded Niu as "Zuo Xiang" (左相) -- the head of the examination bureau of government (門下省, "Menxia Sheng") and a post considered one for a chancellor; he was also created the Duke of Qinghe. He served alongside Li Linfu, and they fought over control of government, although since Li Shizhi was not a deep thinker, Li Linfu was able to find ways to damage him. For example, on one occasion, Li Linfu told Li Shizhi that there were gold deposits at Mount Hua that could be mined—and Li Shizhi, as Li Linfu intended, then proposed to Emperor Xuanzong to mine the gold deposits. Li Linfu then pointed out that pursuant to Taoist principles, he believed that a mine at Mount Hua would damage Emperor Xuanzong's health, thus bringing imperial displeasure on Li Shizhi. In another incident, in 745, with Li Shizhi also serving as the minister of defense and Emperor Xuanzong's son-in-law Zhang Ji (張垍) serving as deputy minister and whom Li Linfu also disliked, Li Linfu had some 60 officials at the minister of defense accused of corruption, and then coerced confessions out of them by torture, intending to use this to discredit Li Shizhi and Zhang, although neither was punished. However, subsequently, Li Linfu was able to accuse several officials friendly with Li Linfu—Huangfu Weiming (皇甫惟明), Wei Jian (韋堅), Pei Kuan (裴寬), and Han Chaozong—and get them demoted or exiled. Li Shizhi, in fear, offered to resign the chancellor position, and in 746 was removed from his chancellor post, becoming an advisor to the new crown prince (Li Ying having been forced to commit suicide in 737) Li Heng. He wrote a poem in which he lamented that after he was removed, not even his family and friends were visiting him.

title: Yang Guozhong

text: In 752, Yang received an opportunity to have Li Linfu removed. That year, Wang Hong's brother Wang Han (王銲) had been implicated in a coup attempt at Chang'an, and although Emperor Xuanzong, at the plea of Li LInfu, initially took no action against Wang Hong and Wang Han, he expected Wang Hong to offer to be punished, but Wang Hong did not, drawing Emperor Xuanzong's anger. Li Linfu's fellow chancellor Chen Xilie and Yang then both accused Wang Hong of treason, and Wang Hong was forced to commit suicide, depriving Li Linfu of a major ally. Wang's post as mayor of Jingzhao Municipality (京兆府, encompassing Chang'an) went to Yang. Yang then had the captives from Wang Han's failed coup implicate Li Linfu, and also had Chen and Geshu Han implicate Li Linfu in the rebellion of the ethnically Tujue general Li Xianzhong (李獻忠). Li Linfu tried to defuse the threat by requesting that Yang be sent to Jiannan to personally oversee the Nanzhao campaign, and Emperor Xuanzong sent Yang to Jiannan, despite Yang's pleas and Consort Yang's pleas on his behalf. Emperor Xuanzong, however, promised to make him chancellor, and recalled him as soon as he reached Jiannan. When he returned to Chang'an, Li Linfu was gravely ill, and tried to ingratiate Yang by pointing out that Yang would be chancellor and entrusting his household to Yang. Upon Li Linfu's death, however, Yang induced Li Linfu's son-in-law Yang Qixuan (楊齊宣) into corroborating that Li Linfu was involved with Li Xianzhong. As a result, Li Linfu was posthumously stripped of honors and his family members were exiled.

title: Consort Wu

text: Meanwhile, Consort Wu had designs to have her oldest son Li Qing, whose name was by then changed to Li Mao (李瑁) and who had been created the Prince of Shou, named crown prince. She and the official Li Linfu entered into an alliance, where Li Linfu agreed to help her to have Li Mao created crown prince, while she recommended Li Linfu to be chancellor. Li Linfu became chancellor in 734, and thereafter began to lobby on Li Mao's behalf.


query: What is a tennis ball made out of?

title: Tennis ball

text: Tennis balls are filled with air and are surfaced by a uniform felt-covered rubber compound. The felt delays flow separation in the boundary layer which reduces aerodynamic drag and gives the ball better flight properties.[3][4] Often the balls will have a number on them in addition to the brand name. This helps distinguish one set of balls from another of the same brand on an adjacent court.[5]

title: Tennis games

text: At least eight players are needed for this game. Two players start on the baseline, the back line of the tennis court, of each side with the court split in half vertically. Two tennis balls are played simultaneously on each half of the court starting with a drop hit. A drop hit is an underhand hit by bouncing the ball first. Once one player loses a point on his or her side of the court, they call out “One ball live!” and the single remaining ball is played out among the four players with the court no longer split down the middle. The team that wins this point stays, while two new players on the other side replace the losing team and the game starts over with two balls. The first team to reach ten points wins. This game is designed for use in practicing groundstrokes, the forehand and backhand, at first and then doubles strategy once "One ball live" is called.

title: Passing shot

text:
A passing shot is a forceful shot, as in tennis or team handball, that travels to one side out of the reach of one's opponent. In tennis, this shot is generally a groundstroke and is used when one's opponent is running to the net or if he is at the net already. The alternative to a passing shot is to lob the ball over the opponent's head. The aim of the passing shot in tennis is to prevent the opponent from returning the ball once he/she is at the net.
In tennis, there are 3 main ways to execute an effective passing shot: hitting a fast return, hitting an angled ball, and bluffing.

title: Four wall paddleball

text: Other sports (notably paddle tennis) used paddles, but the ball proved more difficult to create. Riskey found that if the fuzzy surface was removed from a tennis ball, the resulting ball had a suitable bounce for the game. Dime-store rubber balls were also used. The choice of ball remains one of the most contentious issues of the sport today. There are standard paddleballs (made by Ektelon), but the sport is also played with a racquetball. This difference changes how the game is played. For instance, when playing with a standard paddleball the ceiling ball is an impractical shot; however, when playing with a racquetball the ceiling ball is the shot of choice.

title: 10 and Under Tennis

text: Under the changes made through 10 and Under Tennis, not only are court dimensions smaller, racket shorter, and tennis nets lower but the balls used are larger and have less compression. With a lower compression, balls don’t bounce as high. This keeps them within a younger players strike zone creating more chances to make contact with the ball.

title: Backboard (tennis)

text: A tennis backboard is a simple wall usually made from some kind of fiberboard and located at a tennis court. It should have a tennis net either drawn or painted at the proper height. It is designed to allow a single person to practice by hitting a tennis ball against the wall so the ball is returned, much like a second player would return it.

title: I-formation Doubles Tennis Tactical

text: Another key to success with this tactic is understanding the ins and outs of returning a serve, and what is involved when choosing to hit down the line as opposed to a crosscourt return. For example, it is harder to change the direction of the ball when it is travelling quickly. Also, there is a higher margin of error when hitting the ball crosscourt, because the distance between the net and the baseline is longer and the net is lower in the centre where the ball path crosses the net.

title: Tennis ball

text: Before the development of lawn tennis in the early 1870s, the sport was played as the courtly game of real tennis. England banned the importation of tennis balls, playing cards, dice, and other goods in the Act of Parliament Exportation, Importation, Apparel Act 1463.[7] In 1480, Louis XI of France forbade the filling of tennis balls with chalk, sand, sawdust, or earth, and stated that they were to be made of good leather, well-stuffed with wool.[8] Other early tennis balls were made by Scottish craftsmen from a wool-wrapped stomach of a sheep or goat and tied with rope. Those recovered from the hammer-beam roof of Westminster Hall during a period of restoration in the 1920s were found to have been manufactured from a combination of putty and human hair, and were dated to the reign of Henry VIII.[9] Other versions, using materials such as animal fur, rope made from animal intestines and muscles, and pine wood, were found in Scottish castles dating back to the 16th century. In the 18th century, 1.9cm (3⁄4in) strips of wool were wound tightly around a nucleus made by rolling a number of strips into a little ball.[10] String was then tied in many directions around the ball and a white cloth covering sewn around the ball.

title: Elle (sport)

text: Until such time as a special ball is specifically made for elle, tennis balls are used. The fur on the ball could be removed/shaved before use but removing of fur to make the rubber visible is strictly prohibited. A rubber ball or another light ball could be used instead of a tennis ball, but it is of paramount importance that the ball used should be common to both teams.

title: National Tennis Club

text: The rules and scoring are similar to those of lawn tennis. In both sports game scoring is by fifteens (with the exception of 40, which is shortened from 45), however in real tennis the player with six games wins a set even if the opponent has five games. A match is typically best of three sets, except for the major open tournaments in which the matches are best of five sets. Another difference is that unlike the latex-based technology underlying the modern lawn-tennis ball, real tennis still utilizes a cork-based ball very close in design to the original ball used in the game, which are much less bouncy than lawn tennis balls and weigh about 2 ounces (compared to the lawn tennis ball weighing at 2 ounces). Real tennis also uses long racquets (27 inches) made of wood and use very tight strings to cope with the heavier balls.

title: Real tennis

text: Unlike latex-based technology underlying the modern lawn-tennis ball, the game still uses a cork-based ball very close in design to the original balls used in the game. The diameter balls are handmade and consist of a core made of cork with fabric tape tightly wound around it and covered with a hand-sewn layer of heavy, woven, woollen cloth, traditionally Melton cloth (not felt, which is unwoven and not strong enough to last as a ball covering). The balls are traditionally white, but around the end of the 20th century "optic yellow" was introduced for improved visibility, as had been done years earlier in lawn tennis. The balls are much less bouncy than lawn tennis balls, and weigh about (lawn tennis balls typically weigh 2 ounces).

title: Tennis

text: A "volley" is a shot returned to the opponent in mid-air before the ball bounces, generally performed near the net, and is usually made with a stiff-wristed punching motion to hit the ball into an open area of the opponent's court. The "half volley" is made by hitting the ball on the rise just after it has bounced, also generally in the vicinity of the net, and played with the racket close to the ground. The "swinging volley" is hit out of the air as the player approaches the net. It is an offensive shot used to take preparation time away from the opponent, as it returns the ball into the opponent's court much faster than a standard volley.

title: Wishbone (TV series)

text: "I didn't know what the dog looked like and they give (me) the barest of information, 'there's going to be this great new kids show with this dog that talks and we want you to come in and we want you to be funny' so I went to the first audition having no idea what to do," Brantley explained. "In the callback I actually got to meet Soccer for the first time...It was basically a five minute impromptu audition...I never really read from the script, I was supposed to, but I didn't. Rick Duffield, the executive producer, said, 'well, watch the dog and just kind of follow along and see what he's doing right now.' Soccer was obsessing like over this tennis ball...and he wasn't interested in me or Rick Duffield or anybody else in the room, it was like tennis ball. And he would stare at the tennis ball. I want the tennis ball...So it was like five minutes about a tennis ball and I walked out of the audition saying, 'I can't believe I just did five minutes about a tennis ball.' And then I got the job. We may never understand."

title: Tennis

text:
Many companies manufacture and distribute tennis rackets. Wilson, Head and Babolat are some of the more commonly used brands; however, many more companies exist. The same companies sponsor players to use these rackets in the hopes that the company name will become more well known by the public.
Tennis balls were originally made of cloth strips stitched together with thread and stuffed with feathers. Modern tennis balls are made of hollow vulcanized rubber with a felt coating. Traditionally white, the predominant colour was gradually changed to optic yellow in the latter part of the 20th century to allow for improved visibility. Tennis balls must conform to certain criteria for size, weight, deformation, and bounce to be approved for regulation play. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) defines the official diameter as . Balls must weigh between . Tennis balls were traditionally manufactured in the United States and Europe. Although the process of producing the balls has remained virtually unchanged for the past 100 years, the majority of manufacturing now takes place in the Far East. The relocation is due to cheaper labour costs and materials in the region.

title: Tennis ball

text: Tennis balls begin to lose their bounce as soon as the tennis ball can is opened. They can be tested to determine their bounce. Modern regulation tennis balls are kept under pressure (approximately two atmospheres) until initially used; balls intended for use at high altitudes have a lower initial pressure, and inexpensive practice balls are made without internal pressurization. A ball is tested for bounce by dropping it from a height of 254cm (100 inches) onto concrete; a bounce between 135 and 147cm (53 and 58 inches) is acceptable—if taking place at sea-level and 20°C (68°F) with relative humidity of 60%; high-altitude balls have different characteristics when tested at sea-level.[6]

title: Tennis

text: Ball boys and girls may be employed to retrieve balls, pass them to the players, and hand players their towels. They have no adjudicative role. In rare events (e.g., if they are hurt or if they have caused a hindrance), the umpire may ask them for a statement of what actually happened. The umpire may consider their statements when making a decision. In some leagues, especially junior leagues, players make their own calls, trusting each other to be honest. This is the case for many school and university level matches. The referee or referee's assistant, however, can be called on court at a player's request, and the referee or assistant may change a player's call. In unofficiated matches, a ball is out only if the player entitled to make the call is sure that the ball is out.

title: The Amazing Race 21

text: The leg's Roadblock was in honor of Mallorcan tennis player Rafael Nadal, one team member had to return 20 tennis balls fired by an automatic server within the bounds of a clay court in order to receive their next clue. If the machine ran out of tennis balls, they would have to start the task over, their prior count reset.

title: Tennis ball

text: A tennis ball is a ball designed for the sport of tennis. Tennis balls are fluorescent yellow at major sporting events,[1][2] but in recreational play can be virtually any color. Tennis balls are covered in a fibrous felt which modifies their aerodynamic properties, and each has a white curvilinear oval covering it.

title: Types of tennis match

text: There is an evolution in tennis training that employs the use of low compression balls and in some cases modified court sizes. Organizations around the world have begun to use lower compression balls and modified court sizes as a way to reach out to younger tennis players interested in tennis. The use of low compression balls and modified court sizes is meant to ease the process into becoming a competitive or amateur tennis player. The low compression balls are colored differently to indicate the level of compression. Young players and beginners are likely to find the game easier to learn because the balls do not bounce as high or travel as fast as "normal" balls. The modified smaller courts make covering the court, or reaching the opponents shot, easier as well.

title: Squash tennis

text: Required equipment is fairly simple and inexpensive: junior tennis racquets and standard lawn tennis ball. In decades past, modified tennis balls were manufactured for the game. They had higher pressure and were slightly smaller than tennis balls. The last specially manufactured ball was green, so that it could be more easily seen against white walls. Early courts had dark wood walls so that white tennis balls could be seen. Players now either use a marker to darken a yellow ball, or use colored tennis balls (such as the pink ball sold on a limited basis by Penn to raise money for breast cancer research). Blue painter's tape can be used to add the additional lines on the floor and back wall of squash racquets courts.

title: Tennis ball

text: In the early 1870s lawn tennis arose in Britain through the pioneering efforts of Walter Clopton Wingfield and Harry Gem, often using Victorian lawns laid out for croquet. Wingfield marketed tennis sets, which included rubber balls imported from Germany. After Charles Goodyear invented vulcanised rubber, the Germans had been most successful in developing vulcanised air-filled rubber balls. These were light and coloured grey or red with no covering. John Moyer Heathcote suggested and tried the experiment of covering the rubber ball with flannel, and by 1882 Wingfield was advertising his balls as clad in stout cloth made in Melton Mowbray.[11]

title: Shrimp baiting

text: The bait balls can be made of just about anything a shrimp will eat. The most common bait is a mixture of powdered clay and fish meal (typically ground menhaden). Other popular baits are flour, corn meal, cat food, and chicken feed. The bait typically includes a binding agent such as clay or Portland cement. The balls range in size from a tennis ball to a softball and are typically flattened out to a hamburger shape.

title: Big Brother VIP (Serbian season 1)

text: The housemates played tennis against Big brother. In the yard they had a tennis net and on the other side of the net machines that throw out tennis balls. The housemates played in pairs. The housemates get a point if they hit the tennis ball. The housemates passed this task and as reward they had a party next night.

title: Tennis Chumps

text: Tom then hurls tennis balls at Jerry until Jerry swallows one, and Tom and Butch use him as a tennis ball until Jerry escapes by flicking the racket's string into Tom's face and evades Tom by bouncing away like a kangaroo. Tom throws his racquet to catch him, but Jerry jumps over the net and Butch swallows it. Butch then hits the ball out of Jerry and he and Tom trap Jerry on the net, but Jerry jumps on Butch's head, making Tom miss and hit Butch.

title: Flat (tennis)

text: A flat shot in tennis is made by striking the ball at a neutral level. Unlike the backspin and topspin the ball is hit with a swipe at neutral level. This effect is created by driving through the ball to push it forward rather than brushing up or down the back creating spin. The shot is commonly used for power and helps quicken the pace on the ball during play.

title: Frontenis

text: Originally, the sport was played with ordinary tennis balls, but the fiber cover of these balls slowed them excessively, reduced their bounce, and made the game very slow. To speed the game, the fabric cover of the tennis balls was removed. Later, balls made of oilcloth were imported from England and the United States with the goal of further speeding the game.

title: Aravane Rezaï

text: Aravane Rezaï is well known for her hard hitting games and hits the ball with immense power; players often cite her as finishing the point a lot quicker. Jelena Janković stated after her quarterfinal against Rezaï in Madrid. "Aravane hits every ball hard, no matter if it is a high or low ball you don't know where she is going to hit it. I have played players who hits the ball hard but not like Aravane. Even if I hit the ball high she is so aggressive." Venus Williams also said "Wow, what can I say? Aravane is a very hard hitter; obviously she was brought up playing on clay courts but I can not get over how hard she hits that tennis ball. She is a player to watch out for in the future. I do have warnings to other top players: watch out for her."

title: Magnus effect

text: In table tennis, the Magnus effect is easily observed, because of the small mass and low density of the ball. An experienced player can place a wide variety of spins on the ball. Table tennis rackets usually have a surface made of rubber to give the racket maximum grip on the ball to impart a spin.

title: Tape ball

text: In informal games, either a rubber ball or tennis ball is used as an alternative. The rubber ball is not suitable for the variety of surfaces made use of in informal games; it is too bouncy on cement and concrete and barely bounces at all on grass or soil. An unmodified tennis ball is light, but it is incapable of gaining sufficient speed. By covering a tennis ball with electrical tape, the ball's weight and traction are increased, which in turn leads to greater bounce and speed. A tape ball can also be used to mimic a seaming cricket ball by adding an extra layer of tape around the circumference like a seam, the sides can be roughened to mimic conventional swing of a cricket ball. The tape ball is thus a sound compromise between safety and sincerity to the sport.

title: Soup or Sonic

text: 9. A new plan is formulated, where Wile E. attempts to blow up the Road Runner by pelting explosive tennis balls at him. The first ball seamlessly blows up a cactus with no apparent issues and the Coyote is eager to try them out. As luck would have it, the Road Runner is heard and Wile E. is quick to lob another ball at him, but just misses, and the ball then drops onto the arm of a cactus, which throws it directly back to its owner. A little agitated, the Coyote returns the ball and this time it is caught by power lines and slung back out of Wile E.'s reach. The ball pops directly back into its original slot in the box of balls as Wile E. arrives on the scene and takes stock. Sensing the coming explosions, Wile E. holds up a pair of signs: "For Sale One used Tennis Racket" and "CHEAP!" before (as the screen puts it) a "GIGANTIC EXPLOSION!" occurs.

title: Tennis ball cricket

text: In this game a more difficult version of tennis ball is used. The number of overs in the game varies from six to twenty-five. Considering that the ball is not as hard as the professional cricket ball, the use of protective gear like gloves, pads and helmets is optional. In most cases in this form sometimes, the ground may be a street or a compound. In such scenarios there may be a rule of pitching catch or inside house out etc. The tennis balls used in this game in India is NODENS, Cosco or Vicky. In other countries, such as the U.S. and Canada, they use Wilson or Slazenger. This is the only form of cricket where the rules of real cricket do not apply as they normally would. Tennis ball cricket has allowed to a spare runner for batsman injured time.


query: What was We Five's first album?

title: We Five

text: We Five's first album produced a major hit with the title tune, Stewart's re-arrangement of the Ian and Sylvia song "You Were on My Mind." Stewart made several changes to the original Sylvia Tyson composition,[4] and the song went directly to the Billboard Top Five in 1965. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold record.[5] The group's second single was an arrangement of the popular Kingston Trio folk tune "Let's Get Together," which reached #31 on the Billboard Hot 100 (and was later a Top Five hit and a million-seller for The Youngbloods as "Get Together").

title: What Now (Sylvan Esso album)

text: Speaking on the album, Meath said in an interview that, following their debut album, the duo felt they needed to "step it up as much as possible to prove that [they] belong [where they are]." Sanborn added that the record felt "much more lived-in and alive" than their previous album due to the fact that they were more assured with what they wanted, whereas their first album came right after their formation as a band. Meath explained that the album's title came from a "deep band existential crisis", and that during the first part of recording the album, they often asked themselves, "Can we still do this or did we lose it?"

title: Tore Johansson

text:
His first five years as a producer were largely focused on developing the Swedish indie band The Cardigans, for whom Johansson has produced five of their six albums to date, beginning with the 1994 debut "Emmerdale", excluding their fifth studio album "Long Gone Before Daylight" due to artistic differences. As someone as new to the studio as the band these sessions were an equally valuable learning experience for both parties. According to Johansson, each time they started on a new album, "we sat down and listened to the old album and decided what we liked about it and what we didn't like about it and what direction the new album should go in."
Nowadays Tore Johansson prefers to write for or co-write with solo artists.

title: Love Is What We Make It

text: Love Is What We Make It is the eighteenth studio album by Kenny Rogers, released by Liberty Records. It is a collection of songs Rogers recorded between 1974 and 1983 that were rejected for his studio albums of that time. "Love Is What We Make It" was issued after he signed to RCA Nashville. "Stranger in My Place" is a 1974 recording with The First Edition, an alternate of which was released on their last single.

title: What If We

text: "What If We" was released on August 19, 2008 through the Provident Label Group in the United States. It debuted at No. 73 on the "Billboard" 200, being his first album to chart on the "200". It also debuted at No. 3 on Nielsen SoundScan's chart for Christian albums, selling over 7,100 copies in the first week.

title: The Pirate Signal

text: Without an album, the group quickly reconfigured and began work on their project, "No Weak Heart Shall Prosper". "OneAlone began to become an albatross the way the first album did, and so much of it was not right for us to perform live that even though it's not what we wanted, the album being abandoned like that was probably best. As we toured more and more, the things that people loved about our live show and our music was not, we realized, on that album. We needed something immediate, powerful and full of energy, and that's what No Weak Heart Shall Prosper is, we're both much happier with this album and how it's coming together. As an album and as a band, this project contains so much more of what we've learned about ourselves in these past three years, that I wouldn't have it any other way, our time is fast approaching, and when it comes, this is what it sounds like. From this we can make the live show that much more incredible, and continue to streamline our sound and accomplish our goal of being the best band in the world."

title: Book of Lies (album)

text: The biggest point of difference between the first record and this one is the time we took preparing. The preparation time for the first album was like, a couple of years on the road. So we were basically like a garage pop band who went into a studio. Dennis didn't really give us the chance to develop or grow beyond that. It was like what we knew went onto the record. This time it was... like an exam. We studied way harder; just the preparation was far more intense. Once we had a pretty good idea of what everything was going to sound like, we didn't need much time in the studio, because we had spent six months working on the demos.

title: Cold Day Memory

text: Rose described the writing process for the album as "a more personal experience to him", and said that due to the events that transpired in the prior year, he would sometimes have trouble coming up with words, and would often write gibberish as a temporary filler. While Rose would be the primary writer, all five members of the band would contribute. Rose focused on more distressing themes, while Witherspoon, who had just become a father, focused his lyrics on responsibility and commitment. The album's first single, "Unraveling", was co-written by Lowery and is about the collapse of a relationship, while "Confession" indirectly addresses Lowery quitting and returning to the band. On Lowery's return, Rose spoke "Since we all write, it's hard to tell exactly what each song is about, but we like to leave it up to the listeners to decide for themselves," Rose says. "It's funny because in the end you almost don't know what you wrote. I remember telling John one time, 'Dude, that was an amazing line you wrote,' and he went, 'What are you talking about? You wrote that.' We wanted to change the template completely from what we did with our last album, 'Hope And Sorrow'. We were going, 'Let's bring back those other elements Clint brought in that made us what we were.' So we sort of made a silent agreement that we were going to let Clint run wild. We said we'll jump in when it's time, but if you've got an idea let's go with it."

title: We the Best Forever

text: "We the Best Forever" was met with generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 61, based on 7 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews ". Amanda Bassa of "HipHopDX" gave the album three out of five stars, saying "At this point listeners are either down with his movement or they aren’t, and while "We The Best Forever" is a solid piece, it’s not different enough from his previous work to change any minds about him. But with emcees ranging from Jadakiss to B.o.B., there really is a little something on his latest LP to satisfy just about anyone who enjoys mainstream Hip Hop." David Jeffries of AllMusic gave the album three and a half stars out of five, saying ""We the Best Forever" may be DJ Khaled’s first release for the Cash Money label, but little else has changed. The good news is that the ringleader’s formula of rounding up superstar talent for an album jammed with potential singles still works, unless you think everything on 2011 radio is trash and that big money ruined hip-hop." Adam Fleischer of "XXL" gave the album an XL, saying "Though the content of "We The Best Forever" is what we’ve come to expect from a DJ Khaled offering—grandiose odes to the grind and getting yours—that he understands how to create those better than most is what makes a DJ Khaled track, and album, worthwhile."

title: Conspiracy No. 5

text: Among the band's members, there are several different stories for what the album's title means. Mark Lee said "We named the album "Conspiracy No. 5" because we were really into "conspiracy theories" which were swirling around at the time in the wake of the "JFK" movie." The group also found the use of the number five compelling for several reasons: there are five members of the band and it was their fifth project (including their independent releases).

title: What We Made

text: What We Made is the debut studio album released by British recording artist Example. The album was initially due for release in June 2007, as stated on the back of the "We Didn't Invent the Remix" sleeve, however the album was delayed and was finally released on 17 September 2007. "What We Made" was later followed by the "What We Almost Made" mixtape.

title: Pink Cadillac (album)

text: In the album's liner notes Prine wrote, "What we tried to achieve here is a recording of a five-piece band with a vocalist playing and singing good honest music." Later the singer recalled, "We ended up with something like five hundred hours of tape - and took the best of what we had, and Asylum just about had a heart attack."

title: 10cc

text: In February 1975, the band announced they were splitting with Jonathan King and that they had signed with Mercury Records for US$1 million. The catalyst for the deal was one song – "I'm Not in Love". Stewart recalled:At that point in time we were still on Jonathan King's label, but struggling. We were absolutely skint, the lot of us, we were really struggling seriously, and Philips Phonogram wanted to do a deal with us. They wanted to buy Jonathan's contract. Our manager Ric Dixon invited them to listen to what we've done. Head of A & R Nigel Grainge came up to our Strawberry Studio, heard the album and freaked. He said "This is a masterpiece, it's a done deal!". We did a five-year deal with them for five albums and they paid us a serious amount of money. It was Grainge's idea to release 'Life Is A Minestrone' as the first single holding back the big one to give us more longevity for the album.

title: Aftermath (Hillsong United album)

text: Talking about how the album was created, Joel Houston said: "We took a whole year off really doing something. And we had a bit of a soul search and talked to each other and said, 'if we're gonna do this, as in United, and keep moving with it, what's it going to look like? And how prepared are we? ...Maybe to just ride on the coattails of what we've been doing for the last ten years or so or do we want to really take this thing forward?' And I think we collectively decided, 'you know what? Let's throw ourselves into it like it's the first time we've ever done anything'." The album marks Marty Sampson's return, who sings the title track "Aftermath".

title: We Can Do It (album)

text: In 1992, Dice Records (France) released the Rubettes' first two albums (Wear It's 'At and We Can Do It) as a double CD set. In 2015, Caroline Records released the album We Can Do It, including two bonus tracks, as part of a box CD set of the Rubettes' first five studio albums.

title: Squeeze (Squeeze album)

text: According to Glenn Tilbrook the process for making their first album was rewarding but also frustrating: "For me, U.K. Squeeze wasn’t really very representative of what we were doing at the time. When we worked with John Cale in the studio, he threw out all the songs that we had written. When most bands make their first album, they go in and do a lot of stuff that’s been going down well in their sets; well, that wasn’t the case with us. He told us to write new songs – which we did. He was inspirational guy to work with, but I felt that it was almost like we were writing for what he wanted rather than what the band itself was. When you’re in a position to be making a first album, it’s (A) awe-inspiring to be making an album, and (B) difficult to assert yourself against somebody who knows the ropes."

title: Daisy (Brand New album)

text: Upon its release Brian Lane noted that fans either seem to love the album or "fucking hate it". In an interview with "Kerrang!", Jesse Lacey commented on the album's content: "It's a pretty exhausting record. It's quite dense and I think some of the decisions we made don't always go in the most obvious direction. We were thinking a lot more about what we'd want to play when we were up onstage rather than actually what you'd want to hear on a record." "Daisy" was placed third on the "Top Thirty Albums of 2009" list by AbsolutePunk.net. "Kerrang!" ranked the album eleventh on their "K! Critics' Albums of the Year" list. The album was placed at fourteenth on "Rock Sound" on "Top Seventy Five Albums of the Year". In "Sputnikmusic" "Staff Picks: Top Fifty Albums of the Year" list, the album was placed at twenty-eight. "Spin" placed the album at twenty-one on their "The 30 Best Albums of 2009... So Far" list.

title: It'z Just What We Do

text: It'z Just What We Do is the second EP by American country music duo Florida Georgia Line. It was released in May 2012, by Big Loud Mountain. All five songs from the album later appeared on their debut studio album, "Here's to the Good Times" (2012).

title: For You (Selena Gomez album)

text: "For You" received a generally mixed to positive reception upon its release. AllMusic gave the album four out of five stars, writing "Gomez might not be a belter or have the electric personality of some of her contemporaries; what she does possess is style, a winning voice, and lots of good songs -- as "For You" proves again and again." AXS gave the album a score of three and a half, claiming that "Instead of just packaging her hits, Gomez's "For You" is layered with elements of her personality. The album reflects Selena's highs and lows from the past five years in the industry and serves as closure to her time with Hollywood Records. She sneaks in a few last words with love and that's something any fan can appreciate." Idolator also gave the album a three and a half, and wrote "If you’ve slept on Selena’s music career, "For You" is a great starting point. For fans, it offers just enough new material to justify the purchase." The site went on to praise both "The Heart Wants What It Wants" and "Do It". "The Times of India" gave the album a score of three out of five, praising the new material but questioning whether Gomez's career warranted a compilation album at that point. They added, ""For" You really is all about growth. We've got the punky-emo cuts like "Falling Down" to salacious songs like "Come & Get It" and also uplifting anthems that have defined her musical career till date." Popology also praised the album, saying "At the end of it, "For You" shows us where she’s been, where she’s at right now, and where she’s going. It may not include every single release, but the new songs are what counts. They show that she has a vision for herself outside of Hollywood Records. We think we speak for all of her fans when we say we can’t wait to take the next step of her journey with her!"

title: Chicago Transit Authority (album)

text: According to band member Walt Parazaider, when the group went into the studio to record the album, they " 'found out we knew very little about what we were doing. ... The first song was “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?” We tried to record it as a band, live, all of us in the studio at once.' "

title: Liberty (album)

text: A bootleg recording of the demo sessions for the album, titled "Didn't Anybody Tell You?" surfaced in 1999. Many unreleased, scrapped songs from the "Liberty" sessions were heard by the public for the first time:When asked about the bootleg, John Taylor said, "I like coming across things that I've forgotten about. That I've forgotten that we recorded. That's what's really exciting about the "Didn't Anybody Tell You" bootleg, because there's so many songs on there that never got finished. They just take me back to that moment. Actually, what I like about that album is that the "Liberty" album - when we were rehearsing it, when we were writing it was gonna be a great album. I really felt it was gonna be a great album. When we got in the studio I fell apart and the production just wasn't right. It turned out to be a very mediocre album, but at the demo stage, which is what that [bootleg] album is all about, I think there's a great album in there. Could have been great songs."Duran Duran

title: Underclass Hero

text: "After writing the songs, even if they were demos, I was going to show the others what I wrote and let them grow with the song" Deryck said. "Usually, the first things I come up with are terrible, so I continued writing and told myself that most of them would suck. So I showed everyone what I wrote and then I looked through them all and picked the best ones in the end." McCaslin mentioned the band's musical progression that they had been taking with their previous two albums and mentioned that the music got heavier. The band members have mentioned the more pop punk progression that they were going with on this album. McCaslin said that "we didn't seem like the same band we were five or six years ago, so we decided to ask ourselves why we were in a band in the first place." Jocz said "All of us knew what we wanted to achieve with this album, and what we wanted to do was a unified idea, kind of in the style of a concept album, something that's just one thing that is related and all of the songs fit in. And it's like a whole new way of looking at making a record, and I think this is the right way to do it. You should think it through."

title: Above (Samael album)

text: "After 20 years, we've tried to do an album that would represent what SAMAEL is all about and we did 'Solar Soul'. We feel now it is the right time to [remind] the people where we come from and that's exactly what 'Above' will do. It is like an enhanced version of our three or four first albums, maybe the missing link between 'Ceremony of Opposites' and 'Passage'. With the 'Era One' project we've tried to work on different influences; with 'Above' we stripped everything down."

title: Destiny Fulfilled

text: After this album, the group planned to part ways after their fourteen-year career to facilitate their solo careers. Beyoncé has noted that their destinies were already fulfilled; however, Destiny's Child claimed that naming the album "Destiny Fulfilled" was not a coincidence. Beyoncé has said that "the group felt it still had something to offer musically" with the album before adding: "We did this record for ourselves, not to sell a million the first week out... That doesn't mean as much to us as just the fact that three friends got back together to do another record. That was our destiny.". Rowland commented: "We were like, 'You know what, we're getting older and we want to end on a high note.' We want to give our fans a great final record". Beyoncé, also commented regarding the finality of their career: "Who knows what will happen in three, five or 10 years? The main thing is that we maintain our friendship and that we do it because we want to – not because it's a good business move."

title: What We Are Today

text: What We Are Today is an album by melodic/alternative rock band Failsafe; based in Preston. "What We Are Today" is Failsafe's debut album and was released under deckcheese records. The album was produced by Pete Miles.

title: Dave Barnes

text: In April 2010, Barnes released his fourth full band studio album "What We Want, What We Get" after having released his single "God Gave Me You" from the same album. The single rose into the top-five Contemporary Christian music chart by June. Barnes appeared on the U.S. soap opera "All My Children" as himself and performed the song on June 10, 2010.

title: Close to Home (band)

text: ""Never Back Down" is our first label debut album! We spent all of 2010 creating this record and getting everything in place to release it! I just wanted to take a moment to tell you a little about the process of making this record and what the concept for it was. When we were first told we would be doing a full length we sat down and put a lot of thought in what direction we wanted to go with it, musically and lyrically. We have always tried our best to be real in everything we do and write what is real to us so the concept of the record formed there. We decided to make a record that would be an exact reflection of our lives, in a way that any one can appreciate. For those who have been supporting us for a long time you know about the struggles we have gone through personally and business wise in pursuit of what we love. It has never been an easy journey but we have always been relentless and 'DIY' in our efforts. The album title and artwork are fairly simple in what it portrays. Being the underdog and coming up against something massive in front of you. The content of the record itself is something we are all very proud of. Musically it is influenced by everything we have ever loved and we believe will take the listener on a journey. It shows the good and the bad of going after what you love and sacrificing everything. We tried to show that also musically as much as lyrically. Some songs are a lot more fun and tell the good side of our lives. The friendship, traveling, partying, creating memorable moments in life worth fighting for and just a love for the people and music itself. The other side to that is some of the heaviest music we have wrote yet and portrays the downsides and struggles. Always being gone and slipping away from understanding what it will ever be like to be 'normal' again. The strain it puts on friendships and all relationships in life. The people who want to pollute the music, talk shit, and infect it with impure intentions. We shot a music video to the song 'All We Know' which is a summary of what the record is about. The album name "Never Back Down" comes out of this song. We wanted the record to be something anyone who has ever pursued what they love in life, sacrificed or overcome great obstacles could appreciate. Can't wait for people to give it a listen from beginning to end! To hear it as one total work and give us feedback". - Close to Home

title: Neighborhoods (Blink-182 album)

text: Talk of a reunion commenced weeks after the trio began speaking again. After a two-hour phone conversation between DeLonge and Hoppus, an arrangement was made for the trio to meet up at Hoppus and Barker's Los Angeles studio in October 2008. DeLonge was the first to approach the subject of reuniting. The trio had, in Hoppus's words, "two gnarly heart-to-hearts," during which the three opened up. "Tom had just kind of come out to Los Angeles for the day," recalled Hoppus, "I remember he said, 'So, what do you guys think? Where are your heads at?' And I said, 'I think we should continue with what we've been doing for the past 17 years. I think we should get back on the road and back in the studio and do what we love doing.'" Eventually, the band appeared for the first time on stage together in nearly five years as presenters at the 51st Grammy Awards on February 8, 2009. The band's official website was updated with a statement: "To put it simply, We're back. We mean, really back. Picking up where we left off and then some. In the studio writing and recording a new album. Preparing to tour the world yet again. Friendships reformed. 17 years deep in our legacy."

title: Dopethrone

text: Jus Oborn late spoke about the development of "Dopethrone" as being part of trilogy with "Come My Fanatics…", and "Supercoven", noting that he looked upon these albums with fondness and that "With those albums, I believe we really found our mark as a band. When we did our first album, none of us had ever been into the studio before – and had no clue what to actually do. But by the time we got to do Dopethrone, we knew what was needed – or, rather I did!"

title: Weekend (Underground Lovers album)

text: "The moment we got back together it clicked", lyricist and vocalist Vincent Giarrusso told "The Courier-Mail". "We did one rehearsal, we had six or seven song ideas and we went to the studio to record them. The first four songs on the album are from that initial recording and some of those are first takes. The song 'Can For Now', what you are hearing is the first time we played it." The band also reunited with producer Wayne Connolly, producer of their 1997 album "Ways T' Burn", to get the guitar sounds they wanted.

title: What We Stand For

text: "What We Stand For" received barely positive reception from the ratings and reviews of music critics. Grace S. Aspinwall of "CCM Magazine" rated the album four stars, commenting how it is "Authentic and beautiful, the newest project by The Museum is perfection." At New Release Tuesday, Jonathan Francesco rated the album three stars, stating that "The Museum has produced a record that is singable and pleasant, giving the Church another serviceable collection of songs to worship Christ with." Alex "Tincan" Caldwell of Jesus Freak Hideout rated the album two stars out of five, writing that "The Museum is capable of much more." At Indie Vision Music, Jonathan Francesco rated the album three stars out of five, saying how the release "to be honest, still hasn't really lived up to a 2-year-or-so wait." 365 Days of Inspiring Media's Joshua Andre rated the album three-and-a-half stars out of five, remarking "Though they haven’t got everything 100% right, some ingenuity is welcomed and a nice surprise from left field."


query: Is 8 inches standard for a chef's knife?

title: Chef's knife

text: A chef's knife generally has a blade eight inches (20 centimeters) in length and 11⁄2 inches (3.8cm) in width, although individual models range from 6 to 14 inches (15 to 36 centimetres) in length. There are two common types of blade shape in western chef's knives, French and German. German-style knives are more deeply and continuously curved along the whole cutting edge; the French style has an edge that is straighter until the end and then curves up to the tip. Neither style is inherently superior; personal preference will dictate the choice.

title: Kitchen knife

text: A "lobster splitter" is a light-duty cleaver used mainly for shellfish and fowl which has the profile of a chef's knife. The Chinese chef's knife is sometimes called a "Chinese cleaver", due to the rectangular blade, but it is unsuitable for cleaving, its thin blade instead designed for slicing; actual Chinese cleavers are heavier and similar to Western cleavers.

title: Knife bayonet

text: A knife bayonet is a knife which can be used both as a bayonet, fighting or utility knife. The knife bayonet became the almost universal form of bayonet in the 20th century due to its versatility and effectiveness. Spike bayonets proved useless when separated from the rifle and useless in trench warfare; and while versatile, sword bayonets proved to be impractical weapons in trench warfare because of their length. The first knife bayonet to see widespread service was the 10 inch blade Seitengewehr 1871/84, which became the standard German infantry bayonet in 1884. Its derivative, the Seitengewehr 1884/98, would go on in use until 1945 in German service.

title: Chef's knife

text: A podcast episode that talks about how to choose a chef's knife and basic knife skills technique. A guide on how to choose, wield and care for kitchen knives.

title: CQC-6

text: The CQC-6 has a 3 5/16" long blade. The handle is 4 5/8" long making the knife close to 8 inches in length when opened. The butt-end of the knife tapers to a point and features a hole for tying a lanyard.

title: Navaja

text: Used as a fighting knife, the "navaja" typically featured a blade length of 100 mm (4 inches) or longer, and knives with 150mm (6-inch) to 200mm (8-inch) blades were common. The large-bladed fighting "navaja" or "santólio" was eventually refined into a pattern named the "navaja sevillana", after the region in which it saw much use. The "navaja sevillana" was a fighting knife characterized by a ratcheted locking mechanism, a long and slender blade with a prominent clip, a needle-sharp point, and a finely honed, razor-sharp cutting edge. During the 18th and most of the 19th century, large navajas were traditionally worn pushed into a belt or sash, with the distinctively curved, fish-shaped handle left exposed to ease removal. An exception to the predominance of large-bladed "sevillanas" was the "salvavirgo" ("chastity knife"), a small knife carried by Andalusian women in a bodice or leg garter as a weapon of self-defense.

title: Kitchen knife

text: Usually about 5 cm to 8 cm (2 to 3 inches) long, a trimming knife has a small, curved blade that is shaped somewhat like a boning knife. Trimming knives are ideal for small tasks such as decorating and peeling.

title: Chef's knife

text: The blade of a chef's knife is typically made of carbon steel, stainless steel, a laminate of both metals, or ceramic:

title: Chu (Taoism)

text: The Modern Standard Chinese lexicon uses "chu" in many compound words, for instance, "chúfáng" (廚房 with 房 "room", "kitchen"), "chúshī" (廚師 with 師 "master", "cook; chef"), "chúdāo" (廚刀 with 刀 "knife", "kitchen knife"), and "páochú" (庖廚 with 庖 "kitchen", meaning "kitchen").

title: Chef's knife

text: Chinese chef's knife Japanese cutlery Kitchen knife Santoku

title: Kitchen knife

text: In kitchen usage, a utility knife is between a chef's knife and paring knife in size, about 10 cm and 18 cm (4 and 7 inches) in length. The utility knife has declined in popularity, and is at times derided as filler for knife sets. This decline is attributed to the knife being neither fish nor fowl: compared to a chef's knife, it is too short for many food items, has insufficient clearance when used at a cutting board, and is too fragile for heavier cutting tasks, while compared to a paring knife, which is used when cutting between one's hands, (e.g., carving a radish), the added length offers no benefit and indeed makes control harder in these fine tasks. Some designs have a serrated blade.

title: Chef's knife

text: The Chinese chef's knife is completely different and resembles a cleaver.

title: Chevrolet Impala (fifth generation)

text: Engine offerings included the base 145-horsepower, 250 cubic-inch Turbo Thrift six-cylinder (available only on the Impala four-door sedan as well as the lower-line Biscayne and Bel Air sedans) and 245-horsepower 350 cubic-inch Turbo Fire V-8 (standard on Impala Sport Sedan, Sport Coupe, Custom Coupe, convertible and Kingswood wagon, and optional on the sedan). Optional engines included the 255-horsepower 400 cubic-inch Turbo Fire V-8 (the standard Caprice and Kingswood Estate engine), 300-horsepower 400 cubic-inch Turbo Jet V8 and 365-horsepower 454 cubic-inch V-8. Early in the model year, all Impalas came standard with three-speed column shift manual transmissions and manual steering as standard equipment, with power steering and one of two automatic transmissions optional. During the first months of the model year, the three-speed Turbo-Hydramatic automatic transmission was optional with all engines while the two-speed Powerglide could be ordered with the 250 6 or 350 V-8s. At mid-year the Turbo-Hydramatic and variable-ratio power steering became standard equipment on all V-8 powered full-sized Chevrolets.

title: Chef's knife

text: In cooking, a chef's knife, also known as a cook's knife, is a cutting tool used in food preparation. The chef's knife was originally designed primarily to slice and disjoint large cuts of beef. Today it is the primary general-utility knife for most western cooks.

title: M6 bayonet

text: Like its predecessor, the M5 bayonet for the M1 Garand rifle, the M6 was intended to serve additional roles as a combat knife and utility knife. The basic blade design was like the M4, M5, and later M7 bayonets, based on the World War II designed M3 Trench Knife. The overall length of the M6 is 11 3/8 inches, with a blade 6 5/8 inches long. Contractors who manufactured the M6 included Aerial Cutlery Co., Columbus Milpar and Mfg. Co. and Imperial Knife Co.The first of these contracts was fulfilled in 1961, the last in 1969.

title: Kitchen knife

text: Caidao or so-called 'Chinese cleaver' is not a cleaver, and most manufacturers warn that it should not be used as a cleaver. It is more properly referred to as a Chinese chef's knife and is actually a general-purpose knife, analogous to the French chef's knife or the Japanese santoku. The confusion arises from the fact that Chinese chef's knives are rectangular and that some (particularly older, traditional knives made of carbon steel) have somewhat heavy blades. Also, the fact that the blade is heavier toward the tip encourages skilled Chinese chefs to use a swinging or "tapping" stroke as well as a "pushing" stroke. However, the edge has the gradual bevel of a chef's knife and will most probably be damaged if used for splitting bone. Actual cleavers in China have the same profile as chef's knives but have much thicker blades with a sharp bevel and heavier handles.

title: Kitchen knife

text: Also known as a cook's knife or French knife, the chef's knife is an all-purpose knife that is curved to allow the cook to rock the knife on the cutting board for a more precise cut. The broad and heavy blade also serves for chopping bone instead of the cleaver, making this knife the all purpose heavy knife for food preparation. Chef's knives are most commonly available between 15 cm and 30 cm (6 and 12 inches), though 20 cm (8 inches) is the most common size.

title: Rubber band

text:
The origin of these size numbers is not clear and there appears to be some conflict in the "standard" numbers.
For example, one distributor has a size 117 being 1/16 inch wide and a size 127 being 1/8 inch wide.
However, an OfficeMax size 117 is 1/8 inch wide.
A manufacturer has a size 117A (1/16 inch wide) and a 117B (1/8 inch wide).
Another distributor calls them 7AA (1/16 inch wide) and 7A (1/8 inch wide) (but labels them as specialty bands).

title: Le Grand Chef

text: At a press conference, the cooking knife of the last Royal Chef of Joseon Dynasty is presented to the public. The chef, who did not wish to cook for the Japanese imperial rulers, cut off his hand with this knife. The Japanese bureaucrat at the time was moved by the chef's loyalty to king and country, and kept it upon his return to Japan. Now, to redeem past evils, his son has decided to return it to Korea. In order to find a deserving owner he announces a nationwide culinary competition to find the best cook to own this knife, and become the true heir of the last Korean Royal Chef of Joseon Dynasty.

title: PC-9800 series

text: Early PC-9801 models supported 1232 KB 8-inch floppy drives and/or 640 KB 5¼-inch floppy drives. Each used different IRQ lines and I/O ports. Later models supported both interfaces. 5¼-inch and 3½-inch HD floppy disks used the same logical format and data rate with 1232 KB 8-inch floppy disks. They became a non-standard format while formats brought by IBM PC/AT and PS/2 became industrial standard.

title: Kitchen knife

text: A paring knife is a small knife with a plain edge blade that is ideal for peeling and other small or intricate work (such as de-veining a shrimp, removing the seeds from a jalapeño, 'skinning' or cutting small garnishes). It is designed to be an all-purpose knife, similar to a chef's knife, except smaller. Paring knives are usually between 6 and 10 cm (2½ and 4 inches) long.

title: Kitchen knife

text: The Santoku has a straighter edge than a chef's knife, with a blunted sheepsfoot-tip blade and a thinner spine, particularly near the point. From 12 cm to 18 cm (5 to 7 inches) long, a true Japanese Santoku is well-balanced, normally flat-ground, and generally lighter and thinner than its Western counterparts, often using superior blade steels to provide a blade with exceptional hardness and an acute cutting angle. This construction allows the knife to more easily slice thin-boned and boneless meats, fish, and vegetables. Many subsequent Western and Asian copies of the Japanese Santoku do not always incorporate these features, resulting in reduced cutting ability. Some Western Santoku-pattern knives are even fitted with "kullen/kuhlen", scallops on the sides of the blade above the edge, in an attempt to reduce the sticking of foods and reduce cutting friction. A standard in Asian (especially Japanese) kitchens, the santoku and its Western copies have become very popular in recent years with chefs in Europe and the United States.

title: Utility knife

text: There is also a utility knife for kitchen use, which is between a chef's knife and paring knife in size.

title: Chef's knife

text: The Santoku Knife is basically a Japanese style chef's knife. It's smaller lighter sharper with a different blade shape.

title: Bob Kramer

text: Kramer initially sold his knives in the conventional fashion: $150 for an 8-inch chef's knife in 1995, $125–$225 in 2000, $475 in 2008. After a 2008 article in "Cook's Illustrated" that deemed his 8-inch chef's knife to have "outperformed every knife we've ever rated" Kramer began selling by a waiting list. The knives are now sold by auction only. At auction a new handmade knife by Kramer cost $30,000 in 2015, as much as 100 knives mass-produced with similar materials to his specifications.

title: Kitchen knife

text: Kitchen knives generally either feature a curve near the tip, as in a chef's knife, or are straight for their entire length. The edge itself may be generally smooth (a "straight" or "clean" edge), or may be serrated or scalloped (have "teeth") in some way. Lastly, the point may differ in shape: most common is a sharp, triangular point (not pictured), as in a chef's knife or paring knife, though the French point (also called "Sheep's foot") is common in santokus, and a round point is sometimes found on long slicing knives.

title: Chef's knife

text: A Japanese gyuto(牛刀 ぎゅうとう）,gyūtō), literally meaning 'beef knife', is the Japanese version of a French (aka Western) chef's knife.

title: Chef's knife

text: A modern chef's knife is a multi-purpose knife designed to perform well at many differing kitchen tasks, rather than excelling at any one in particular. It can be used for mincing, slicing, and chopping vegetables, slicing meat, and disjointing large cuts.

title: Kitchen knife

text: A carving knife is a large knife (between 20 cm and 38 cm (8 and 15 inches)) that is used to slice thin cuts of meat, including poultry, roasts, hams, and other large cooked meats. A carving knife is much thinner than a chef's knife (particularly at the spine), enabling it to carve thinner, more precise slices.

title: Drum kit

text: For example, a hanging tom 12 inches in diameter and 8 inches deep would be described by Tama as 8 inches × 12 inches, but by Pearl as 12 inches × 8 inches, and a standard diameter Ludwig snare drum 5 inches deep is a 5-inch × 14-inch, while the UK's Premier Manufacturer offers the same dimensions as: a 14-inch × 5-inch snare.