Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 19.djvu/46

* TAO KWANG. the present Manchu dynasty of China. He came to the throne in 1820. The first years of hia reign were comparatively tranquil, but disturb- ances and insurrections soon occurred in Turkes- tan, in Hainan, in Formosa, and in Kwang-tung. In 1834 the privileges of the British East India Company were abolished, and the misunderstand- ings which then arose, combined with the high-handed proceedings of Commissioner Lin, led in 1839-40 to war with Great Britain, the defeat of the Chinese, and the negotiation of the Treaty of Xanking in 1842. This treaty provided for the opening of Shanghai, Ningpo, Foochow, and Amoy besides Canton to foreign residence and trade, the cession of Hong Kong to Great Brit- ain, and the payment of an indemnity of 21,000,- 000 taels, equal'at that time to about'$35,000,000. This large payment in addition to the costs of the war, coming on an impoverished treasury, created much discontent among the people, the secret societies became active, and swarms of pirates harassed the Government. Tao Kwang died in 1850, and was succeeded by his fourth son, who reigned as Hien Fung (q.v.). TAOKMINA, ta'or-me'na (Lat. Tauromeni- Mm ). A town in the Province of Messina, Sicily, 30 miles by rail southwest of the city of Messina (Map: Italy, K 10). It is majestically situated on a rocky terrace 390 feet above the Ionian Sea, but is overhung by the ruins of the castle (1300 feet above the sea), and again to the northwest by Mola (2080 feet) and by Mount Venere ( 2834 feet ). The theatre, founded by the Greeks, rebuilt by the Romans, and wrecked by the Saracens, was partially restored in 1748, and is of great interest. The an- cient city was named after Mount Toro (an- cient Taurus), on w'hose slope it lay, and was founded by the Sieuli in B.C. 396, after the de- struction of Naxos, near by, which was the oldest Greek colony in Sicily, having been founded in B.C. 735. Under the Eoman Empire it was a city of importance. On account of its strong position, it was long able to keep out the Saracens, who finally captured it in a.d. 902, killed the people and burned the buildings. Being resettled, it was, in 962, again captured by the Saracens, from whom it was taken in 1078 by the Normans. Consult: Squillaci, Taormina attraversi i secoli (Catania, 1892). Population (commune), in 1881, 3128; in 1901, 4351. TAO-TAI, or TATT-TAI, tou'ti'. A Chinese official who has the general supervision and con- trol of the affairs, both civil and military, of a tao or 'circuit.' and usually styled by foreigners the 'Intendant of Circuit' — a circuit consisting of two or more fu or departments. A foreign com- missioner of customs ranks with the tao-tai, and all foreign consuls have the rank of tao-tai. TAPAJOS, ta-pii-zh*s'. A south tributary of the Amazon, flowing entirely within Brazil (Map: Brazil. F 4). It rises in the western part of the State of Matto Grosso, near the Bolivian frontier, and flows north and northeast- ward till it enters the Amazon at Santarem after a course of about 1100 miles. Its sources are on a low and flat divide which separates its basin from those of the Paraguay and the Guapore. The upper course lies nn the great Brazilian frontier, from which it descends to the forest plains of the Amazon in a series of falls 28 TAPESTRY. and rapids which completely obstruct navigation. The last 200 miles only are navigable for large vessels. Near its mouth it expands into a large lake 70 miles long and 12 miles wide, but con- tracts again just before entering the Amazon. TAPE GRASS, Eel Grass, Wild Celeet. Popular names for Vallisneria spiralis, an aquatic grass-like plant which grows in slow waters, being common from New England to Minnesota and south to Florida and Texas. TAPESTRY (ME. tapecery, tapecerye, from OF. tiipisserie, tapestry, from tapisser, to furnish with hangings, from tapis, tapestry, carpet, from JIL. iupctium, from Gk. Taxijrioi', diminutive of T(£7r7)s, tapes, figured cloth, tapestry). A decora- tive textile fabric formed by a process inter- mediate between embroidery and true weaving. It differs from embroidery in that the design is not applied to an existing fabric, but, by being woven in and out of warp threads, forms a part of the fabric. It differs from ordinary weaving in that the filling thread, instead of being shot back and forth continuously with a shuttle through a shed formed by the heddles (see Weaving), is worked in and out a few stitches at a time with a thread held in the hand. Tapestry weaving is the simplest and appears to have been the earliest form of weaving. The Saracens introduced it into Europe, and for a long time the fabric was called Sarrazinos. Toward the end of the twelfth century tapes- try weaving was begun in Flanders and Artois, and here it was continued for many centuries. The productions of Arras, in particular, became so famous, both for quality and numbers, that the name of the town was given to the fabric. Tapestries were, during the Middle Ages, pro- duced chiefly for State and ecclesiastical pur- poses and for the decoration of royal palaces. The}' were used as curtains, wall-coverings, and less frequently as coverings for tables, beds, and floors. The scenes portrayed on them were usu- ally based on Scriptural stories or historical events. The famous Bayeux tapestry (q.v.), which, by the way, is not true tapestry at all, but embroidery, was contemporaneously executed to record the events connected with the conquest of England by William of Normandy. The Saracenic tapestries were ornamented with flowers and geometric figures only, but the Flemish people sought to enrich them with his- toric subjects. So important did this art become that the most eminent masters in painting, from Raphael downward, bestowed some of their great- est efforts upon cartoons to serve as copies for the tapestry-workers. After its introduction into France by Henry IV. at the beginning of the seventeenth century, the art of making tapestry does not appear to have made much progress until the middle of that century, when a small establishment founded by the brothers Canaye on the premises formerly occupied by .lean Gobe- lin, a Parisian dyer of wool, was commenced. It was afterwards carried on by a Dutchman named Gluck and his assistants with such success that it was suggested by Colbert, the minister of Louis XIV., that it .should be taken under the King's patronage: in consequence of which the establishment was bought, and constituted a royal manufactory in 1667, under the manage- ment of M. Lebrun, who was the first director. A royal carpet manufactory had been previously