[Tai-Pings], a name bestowed upon the followers of Hung Hsiû-ch`wan, a village schoolmaster of China, who, coming under the influence of Christian teaching, sought to subvert the religion and ruling dynasty of China; he himself was styled "Heavenly King," his reign "Kingdom of Heaven," and his dynasty "Tai-Ping" (Grand Peace); between 1851 and 1855 the rising assumed formidable dimensions, but from 1855 began to decline; the religious enthusiasm died away; foreign auxiliaries were called in, and under the leadership of [Gordon] (q. v.) the rebellion was stamped out by 1865.
[Tait, Archibald Campbell], archbishop of Canterbury, of Scotch descent, born in Edinburgh; educated at Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Oxford; when at Oxford led the opposition to the Tractarian Movement; in 1842 succeeded Arnold as head-master at Rugby; in 1850 became Dean of Carlisle; in 1856 Bishop of London; and in 1868 Primate. This last office he held at a critical period, and his episcopate was distinguished by great discretion and moderation (1811-1882).
[Tait, Peter Guthrie], physicist and mathematician, born at Dalkeith; educated in Edinburgh; became senior wrangler at Cambridge, and Smith's prizeman in 1852; was in 1854 elected professor of Mathematics at Belfast, and in 1860 professor of Natural Philosophy at Edinburgh; has done a great deal of experimental work, especially in thermo-electricity, and has contributed important papers on pure mathematics; wrote, along with Lord Kelvin, "Treatise on Natural Philosophy," and along with Balfour Stewart "The Unseen Universe," followed by "Paradoxical Philosophy"; b. 1831.
[Tai-wan] (70), capital of [Formosa] (q. v.), an important commercial emporium, situated about 3 m. from the SW. coast, on which, however, it has a port, ranking as a treaty-port.
[Taj Mahal]. See [Agra].
[Talaria], wings attached to the ankles or sandals of Mercury as the messenger of the gods.
[Talavera de la Reina] (10), a picturesque old Spanish town on the Tagus, situated amid vineyards, 75 m. SE. of Madrid; scene of a great victory under Sir Arthur Wellesley over a French army commanded by Joseph Bonaparte, Marshals Jourdan and Victor, 27th July 1809.
[Talbot, William Henry Fox], one of the earliest experimenters and a discoverer in photography, born in Chippenham, which he represented in Parliament; was also one of the first to decipher the Assyrian cuneiform inscriptions (1800-1877).
[Tale of a Tub], a great work of Swift's, characterised by Professor Saintsbury as "one of the very greatest books of the world, in which a great drift of universal thought receives consummate literary form ... the first great book," he announces, "in prose or verse, of the 18th century, and in more ways than one the herald and champion at once of its special achievements in literature."
[Talent], a weight, coin, or sum of money among the ancients, of variable value among different nations and at different periods; the Attic weight being equal to about 57 lbs. troy, and the money to £243, 15s.; among the Romans the great talent was worth £99, and the little worth £75.