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" He was beyond the age of fifty , he was more than fifty , and standing upright he measured about eight feet . His face had a golden tan , arched brows , a pair of bright eyes , a regular head form , a square mouth , a pair of protruding ears , and under his chin there were three locks of beard , a grizzled beard . O... |
Heroes and religious masters with above normal height are a recurring theme in Chinese folklore . For instance , his student Wu Song is said to be over nine feet tall in the same folktale . In The Story of Yue Fei , the General simultaneously duels with two other warriors vying for first place in a military exam ; one... |
When Zhou is vocalized in " Yangzhou storytelling " , he speaks in " Square mouth public talk " , which is a manner of speaking reserved for martial heroes , highly respected characters , or , sometimes , lesser characters that pretend to be an important hero . Square mouth public talk is actually a mixture of two for... |
In her analysis of Yangzhou storytelling , Børdahl noted that the aforementioned tale about Zhou and Wu Song uses different forms of dialogue for both characters . Wu speaks square mouth utilizing standard mandarin without rusheng ( short glottal syllables ) . On the contrary , Zhou speaks squaremouth using the Yangzh... |
= = = Students = = =
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= = = = Water Margin outlaws = = = =
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The Water Margin ( c . 1400 ) is a Ming Dynasty military romance about one hundred and eight demons @-@ born @-@ men and women who band together to rebel against the lavish Song Dynasty government . Lin Chong and Lu Junyi , two of these outlaws , are briefly mentioned as being Zhou 's previous students in The Story of... |
Zhou 's portrayal as their teacher is connected to a recurring element in Chinese fiction where Tang and Song Dynasty heroes train under a " celestial master " , usually a Taoist immortal , prior to their military exploits . C.T. Hsia suggests the mold from which all other similar teachers are cast is Guiguzi , master... |
Although Lin and Lu have been connected to Zhou since the early Qing Dynasty , Wu Song did not become associated with him until Wang Shaotang created a 20th @-@ century folktale in which the two meet in Kaifeng . The tale takes place during Wu 's mission to Kaifeng , but before the murder of his older brother Wu Dalan... |
Wang 's tale portrays Zhou as an aging itinerant swordmaster with " a fame reverberating like thunder " throughout the underworld society of Jianghu . He is made the sworn brother of the outlaw " Flowery Monk " Lu Zhishen , a military officer @-@ turned @-@ fighting monk , who is , according to Hsia , first among the ... |
Because of his association with these outlaws , Zhou is often confused with the similarly named outlaw " Little Conqueror " Zhou Tong . In the Water Margin , this Zhou Tong is a bandit chief of Mount Peach Blossom whom Lu Zhishen beats for trying to forcibly marry the daughter of the Liu family . He dies later under t... |
= = = = Yue Fei = = = =
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The Story of Yue Fei comments Lu Junyi is Zhou 's last student prior to taking on seven @-@ year @-@ old Yue Fei and his three sworn @-@ brothers Wang Gui , Tang Huai ( 湯懷 ) and Zhang Xian ( 張顯 ) . He teaches them literary and military lessons on even and odd days . The novel says Yue is talented in all manners of " l... |
Books written by modern @-@ day martial artists make many claims that are not congruent with historical documents or current scholarly thought . For instance , internalist Yang Jwing @-@ Ming says Zhou was a scholar who studied martial arts in the Shaolin Monastery and later took Yue as his student after the young man... |
Eagle Claw Grandmasters Leung Shum and Lily Lau believe " Jow Tong " ( the Cantonese rendering of his name ) was a monk who brought young Yue to the Shaolin Monastery and taught him a set of hand techniques , which Yue later adapted to create his Ying Kuen ( Eagle fist ) . Liang Shouyu states practitioners of Emei Dap... |
= = = Martial arts = = =
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There is insufficient historical evidence to support the claim he knew any skills beyond archery . Contemporary records never once mention Zhou teaching Yue boxing . Despite this , various wuxia novels and folk legends have attributed many different military and supernatural skills to Zhou . These range from mastery o... |
Zhou can also be linked to these combat arts through his historical and folklore students . Practitioners of Eagle Claw , Chuojiao and Xingyi commonly include him within their lineage history because of his association with Yue Fei , the supposed progenitor of these styles . Yuen Mankai believes Zhou taught Lin Chong ... |
Very few references are made to the people who supposedly taught martial arts to Zhou . In The Legend of Zhou Tong , he learns as a child from a Shaolin master named Tan Zhengfang . Practitioners of Chuojiao claim he learned the style from its creator , a wandering Taoist named Deng Liang . Practitioners of Geok Gar K... |
= = In popular culture = =
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Zhou has appeared in various kinds of media including novels , comic books , and movies . Apart from The Story of Yue Fei and Iron Arm , Golden Sabre , he appears in a novel based around his older martial arts brother , Jin Tai . A recent graphic novel of The Story of Yue Fei , deletes all mythological elements from t... |
Another noticeable difference in the storyline takes place when Zhou travels with his teenage disciples to visit his friend the Abbot . Instead of Yue wandering behind the temple to battle the magical snake , he stays with Zhou and the Abbot , while the other disciples go off to explore . Zhou watches as the Abbot tes... |
A second graphic novelization drastically changes the storyline involving Zhou . Like the original , Zhou becomes the tutor of the Wang estate , but , when news of his arrival prompts rich families to send their sons to learn from him , he is forced to accept droves of these students on a trial basis . He eventually c... |
Stories including Zhou have also been used to educate . The Secondary School system of Hong Kong teaches children the value of mentorship by making them read about the close teacher @-@ pupil relationship between Zhou and Yue . A morale tale called " Yue Fei Studies Archery " in Children 's Pictorial , a Chinese magaz... |
He is mentioned numerous times in author Robert Liparulo 's thriller Deadlock ( 2009 ) . Zhou is first featured in chapter eight during a conversation between the main character John " Hutch " Hutchinson , a journalist bent on stopping the maniacal plans of a billionaire madman , and his friend 's young son Dillon , a... |
Screen actors who have portrayed Zhou in film 's from the 1940s and 1960s include Wong Sau Nin , Li Ming , and Jing Ci Bo . Jing starred alongside a ten @-@ year @-@ old Sammo Hung , who played young Yue Fei . Veteran martial arts actor Yu Chenghui , who played the sword @-@ wielding antagonist in Jet Li 's Shaolin Te... |
= Romanian Land Forces =
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The Romanian Land Forces ( Romanian : Forțele Terestre Române ) is the army of Romania , and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces . In recent years , full professionalisation and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the force .
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The Romanian Land Forces were founded on 24 November [ O.S. 12 November ] 1859 . They participated in World War I , together with the Russian Empire forces in actions against the Central Powers and , despite initial setbacks , won the decisive battles of Mărăşti and Mărăşeşti . During most of World War II ( until Augu... |
Following the Romanian Revolution , due to shortage of funds , many units were disbanded and much equipment was phased out . Likewise , Romanian military capability declined because of a lack of fuel as well as training . However , since the late 1990s , a number of positive changes have come about and the level of co... |
= = Mission = =
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The Land Forces represent the most important component of the Romanian Armed Forces and they are destinated for execution of various military actions , with terrestrial or aeromobile character , in any zone or direction .
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The Land Forces must , independently or together with other Romanian military branches , conduct operations and defensive or offensive battles , for capture , or destruction of the invading enemy , being part of national , or multinational military structures .
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A part of the units which compose the current operational structure of the Land Forces , must be able to conduct military operations outside the national territory , together with the international military forces .
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= = History = =
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The first attempt to create an independent Romanian army was made by Gheorghe Magheru during the 1848 Wallachian Revolution , and it was based at Râureni ( now part of Râmnicu Vâlcea ) . However , Magheru rapidly ordered his troops to disband when the Ottoman forces swept into Bucharest to stop the revolution .
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= = = Romanian War of Independence = = =
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The current Romanian Land Forces were formed in 1859 , immediately after the unification of Wallachia with Moldavia , and were commanded by Alexandru Ioan Cuza , Domnitor of Romania until his abdication in 1866 . In 1877 , at the request of Nikolai Konstantinovich , Grand Duke of Russia the Romanian army fused with th... |
= = = Second Balkan War = = =
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The Romanian Army entered the Second Balkan War against Bulgaria , allowing Romania to annex Southern Dobruja ( also known as the Cadrilater ) . Although some 330 @,@ 000 troops were mobilised , the Romanians met little resistance in Bulgaria and as such this is not considered a major conflict in Romanian history . Th... |
= = = World War I = = =
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On July 6 , 1916 , Romania declared war on Germany and Austria @-@ Hungary , following the initial success of the Brusilov Offensive ( a major Russian offensive against the armies of the Central Powers on the Eastern Front ) . The Romanian armies entered Transylvania ( then part of the Austro @-@ Hungarian Empire ) , ... |
= = = Hungarian @-@ Romanian War of 1919 = = =
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After World War I , Transylvania proclaimed union with the Kingdom of Romania . As a result , in April 1919 , the newly established Hungarian Soviet Republic vowed to retake the region by force , and Hungarian troops attacked Romanian formations in Transylvania . The Romanian Army defeated the Hungarians and conquered... |
From 1921 to 1939 in Transylvania Inspectorate General of Army no . 3 had subordinate the 6th and 7th Army Corps . By 1 April 1921 , when he disbanded Forces Western Command , to order 6th Army Corps ( and earlier structures ) have been generals Prezan Constantin , Constantin Christescu Traian Mosoiu , Mardarescu Geor... |
= = = World War II = = =
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After General ( later Marshal ) Ion Antonescu took power in September 1940 , Romania signed the Tripartite Pact with the Axis Powers and subsequently took part in Operation Barbarossa in 1941 . An expeditionary force invaded the Soviet Union in Bessarabia and southern Ukraine , alongside the German Wehrmacht . The exp... |
The greatest disaster for the Romanian expeditionary force on the Eastern Front came at Stalingrad , where , during the Soviet counter @-@ offensive of November 1942 , the thinly spread forces of the Third Army ( deployed north of Stalingrad ) and of the Fourth Army ( deployed south of Stalingrad ) were attacked by va... |
During April – May 1944 the Romanian forces led by General Mihai Racoviţǎ , together with elements of the German Eighth Army were responsible for defending Northern Romania during the Soviet First Jassy @-@ Kishinev Offensive , and took part in the Battles of Târgu Frumos . In late August 1944 , the Red Army entered e... |
= = = Cold War = = =
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The Soviet occupation of Romania led to a complete reorganisation of the Romanian Land Forces under the supervision of the Red Army . At the onset , pro @-@ German elements were purged from the Romanian armed forces . In 1944 – 45 , two divisions were formed out of Romanian volunteers — ex @-@ prisoners of war , train... |
After the Romanian Communist Party seized political power , the sovietization of the army commenced , under the supervision of the new Minister of Defence , Emil Bodnăraş . Thirty per cent of the officers and noncommissioned officers ( mostly experienced soldiers , and a potential source of opposition ) were purged fr... |
In the early 1950s the RLF reached a level of 12 rifle , one mechanised , and one tank division . Between 1960 and 1964 the rifle and mechanised divisions were converted to motor rifle divisions , and reductions in strength began ; force size dropped to six motor rifle and two tank divisions by 1970 . From 1970 to 197... |
From 1947 to 1960 the country seems to have been divided into three major military regions : Cluj , Bacău , and Bucharest in the west , east , and south , respectively . In wartime the land forces in each military region would become an army corps with their headquarters in Cluj @-@ Napoca , Iaşi , and Bucharest . Arm... |
During the 1980s , the land forces numbered 140 @,@ 000 personnel , of whom two thirds were conscripts . In 1989 four armies appeared to exist : the First Army at Bucharest , Second Army at Buzau , Third Army at Craiova , and Fourth Army at Napoca . In 1989 the land forces consisted of eight mechanised ( infantry ) di... |
Motorised rifle divisions were organized along the Soviet model with three motorised rifle regiments , one tank regiment , and a full complement of 12 @,@ 000 infantry soldiers . The artillery , antitank , and air defence regiments of divisions provided specialised fire support that enabled motorised rifle and tank re... |
Surface @-@ to @-@ surface missile battalions were divided into three or four batteries , each equipped with one missile launcher . They operated thirty FROG @-@ 3 and eighteen SCUD missile launchers . The FROG @-@ 3 , a tactical missile first introduced in 1960 , was being replaced in other non @-@ Soviet Warsaw Pact... |
= = = Post @-@ communist era = = =
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During the early 1990s , some major units were disbanded and a lot of equipment was phased out or scrapped due to a severe shortage of funds . The whole land forces structure was reorganized from armies into territorial corps , and from regiments into battalions . In the mid @-@ 1990s , the situation of the land force... |
= = Present organisation = =
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= = = Manpower = = =
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In 2005 , the army comprised eight combat , four combat support and two logistic brigades , while ten combat , five combat support and two logistic brigades could be further mobilised in case of crisis . Many of these units have been restructured , however , as part of the 2007 Force Plan .
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Currently , about 75 @,@ 000 military personnel and 15 @,@ 000 civilians comprise the armed forces , for a total of 90 @,@ 000 men and women . Out of these 75 @,@ 000 , cca . 43 @,@ 000 are in the Land Forces .
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= = = Modernisation = = =
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