document_title: Grand Canal (China)

question_text: who initiated the construction of the grand canal

text: Grand Canal (China)

text: History[edit]

text: Precursors[edit]

text: In the late Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC), Fuchai, King of the State of Wu (whose capital was in present-day Suzhou), ventured north to attack the State of Qi. He ordered a canal be constructed for trading purposes, as well as a means to ship ample supplies north in case his forces should engage the northern states of Song and Lu.[6] This canal became known as the Han Gou (邗沟, "Han Conduit").[7] Work began in 486 BC, from south of Yangzhou to north of Huai'an in Jiangsu, and within three years the Han Gou had connected the Yangtze with the Huai River by means of existing waterways, lakes, and marshes.[6]

text: The Han Gou is known as the second oldest section of the later Grand Canal since the Hong Gou (t 鴻溝, s 鸿沟, Hónggōu, "Canal of the Wild Geese" or "Far-Flung Canal") most likely preceded it.[8] It linked the Yellow River near Kaifeng to the Si and Bian rivers and became the model for the shape of the Grand Canal in the north.[9] The exact date of the Hong Gou's construction is uncertain; it is first mentioned by the diplomat Su Qin in 330 BC when discussing state boundaries.[10] The historian Sima Qian (145–90 BC) knew of no historical date for it, placing his discussion of it just after the legendary works of Yu the Great; modern scholars now consider it to belong to the 6th century BC.[10] During the course of the 1990s, people saw the black waters which stank, till a $250 million renovation; which started in 2001, brought back some quality.[11]

text: Sui dynasty[edit]

text: The sections of the Grand Canal today in Zhejiang and southern Jiangsu provinces were in large part a creation of the Sui dynasty (581-618), a result of the migration of China’s core economic and agricultural region away from the Yellow River valley in the north and toward the southern provinces. Its main role throughout its history was the transport of grain to the capital. The institution of the Grand Canal by the Qin dynasty and the Sui dynasty, mostly the Sui, also obviated the need for the army to become self-sufficient farmers while posted at the northern frontier, as food supplies could now easily be shipped from south to north over the pass.[12]

text: By the year 600, there were major build ups of silt on the bottom of the Hong Gou canal, obstructing river barges whose drafts were too deep for its waters.[2] The chief engineer of the Sui dynasty, Yuwen Kai, advised the dredging of a new canal that would run parallel to the existing canal, diverging from it at Chenliu (Yanzhou).[2] The new canal was to pass not Xuzhou but Suzhou, to avoid connecting with the Si River, and instead make a direct connection with the Huai River just west of Lake Hongze.[2] With the recorded labor of five million men and women under the supervision of Ma Shumou, the first major section of the Grand Canal was completed in the year 605—called the Bian Qu.[13] The Grand Canal was fully completed under the second Sui emperor, from the years 604 to 609,[14] first by linking Luoyang to the Yangzhou (and the Yangzi valley), then expanding it to Hangzhou (south), and to Beijing (north).[15] This allowed the southern area to provide grain to the northern province, particularly to troops stationed there.[15] Running alongside and parallel to the canal was an imperial roadway and post offices supporting a courier system. The government also planted an enormous line of trees.[12][13] The history of the canal's construction is handed down in the book Kaiheji ('Record of the Opening of the Canal').[13]

text: The earlier dyke-building project in 587 along the Yellow River—overseen by engineer Liang Rui—established canal lock gates to regulate water levels for the canal.[13] Double slipways were installed to haul boats over when the difference in water levels were too great for the flash lock to operate.[13]

text: Between 604 and 609, Emperor Yang Guang (or Sui Yangdi) of the Sui dynasty ordered a number of canals be dug in a ‘Y’ shape, from Hangzhou in the south to termini in (modern) Beijing and in the capital region along the Yellow River valley. When the canal was completed it linked the systems of the Qiantang River, the Yangtze River, the Huai River, the Yellow River, the Wei River and the Hai River. Its southern section, running between Hangzhou and the Yangtze, was named the Jiangnan River (the river ‘South of the Yangtze’). The canal’s central portions stretched from Yangzhou to Luoyang; the section between the Yangtze and the Huai continued to the Shanyang River; and the next section connected the Huai to the Yellow River and was called the Tongji Channel. The northernmost portion, linking Beijing and Luoyang, was named the Yongji Channel. This portion of the canal was used to transport troops to what is now the North Korean border region during the Goguryeo-Sui Wars (598–614). After the canal's completion in 609, Emperor Yang led a recorded 105 km (65 mi) long naval flotilla of boats from the north down to his southern capital at Yangzhou.[12]

text: The Grand Canal at this time was not a continuous, man-made canal but a collection of often non-contiguous artificial cuts and canalised or natural rivers.

text: Tang to Yuan dynasties[edit]

text: Although the Tang dynasty (618–907) capital at Chang'an was the most thriving metropolis of China in its day, it was the city of Yangzhou—in proximity to the Grand Canal—that was the economic hub of the Tang era.[16] Besides being the headquarters for the government salt monopoly and the largest pre-modern industrial production center of the empire, Yangzhou was also the geographical midpoint along the north-south trade axis, and so became the major center for southern goods shipped north.[16] One of the greatest benefits of the canal system in the Tang dynasty—and subsequent dynasties—was that it reduced the cost of shipping grain that had been collected in taxes from the Yangtze River Delta to northern China.[17] Minor additions to the canal were made after the Sui period to cut down on travel time, but overall no fundamental differences existed between the Sui Grand Canal and the Tang Grand Canal.[18]

text: By the year 735, it was recorded that about 149,685,400 kilograms (165,000 short tons) of grain were shipped annually along the canal.[19] The Tang government oversaw canal lock efficiency and built granaries along the route in case a flood or other disaster impeded the path of shipment.[19] To ensure smooth travel of grain shipments, Transport Commissioner Liu Yan (in office from 763 to 779) had special river barge ships designed and constructed to fit the depths of each section of the entire canal.[20]

text: After the An Shi Rebellion (755–763), the economy of northern China was greatly damaged and never recovered due to wars and to constant flooding of the Yellow River. Such a case occurred in the year 858 when an enormous flood along the Grand Canal inundated thousands of acres of farmland and killed tens of thousands of people in the North China Plain.[21] Such an unfortunate event could reduce the legitimacy of a ruling dynasty by causing others to perceive it as having lost the Mandate of Heaven; this was a good reason for dynastic authorities to maintain a smooth and efficient canal system.

text: The city of Kaifeng grew to be a major hub, later becoming the capital of the Song dynasty (960–1279). Although the Tang and Song dynasty international seaports—the greatest being Guangzhou and Quanzhou, respectively—and maritime foreign trade brought merchants great fortune, it was the Grand Canal within China that spurred the greatest amount of economic activity and commercial profit.[22] During the Song and earlier periods, barge ships occasionally crashed and wrecked along the Shanyang Yundao section of the Grand Canal while passing the double slipways, and more often than not those were then robbed of the tax grain by local bandits.[23] This prompted Qiao Weiyue, an Assistant Commissioner of Transport for Huainan, to invent a double-gate system known as the pound lock in the year 984.[24] This allowed ships to wait within a gated space while the water could be drained to appropriate levels; the Chinese also built roofed hangars over the space to add further protection for the ships.[24]

text: Much of the Grand Canal south of the Yellow River was ruined for several years after 1128, when Du Chong decided to break the dykes and dams holding back the waters of the Yellow River in order to decimate the oncoming Jurchen invaders during the Jin–Song wars.[25] The Jurchen Jin dynasty continually battled with the Song in the region between the Huai River and the Yellow River; this warfare led to the dilapidation of the canal until the Mongols invaded in the 13th century AD and began necessary repairs.[20]

text: During the Mongol Yuan dynasty (1271–1368) the capital of China was moved to Beijing, eliminating the need for the canal arm flowing west to Kaifeng or Luoyang.[26] A summit section was dug across the foothills of the Shandong massif during the 1280s, shortening the overall length by as much as 700 km (430 mi) (making the total length about 1,800 km (1,100 mi)) and linking Hangzhou and Beijing with a direct north-south waterway for the first time. As in the Song and Jin era, the canal fell into disuse and dilapidation during the Yuan dynasty's decline.[27]

text: Ming dynasty restoration[edit]

text: The Grand Canal was renovated almost in its entirety between 1411 and 1415 during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). A magistrate of Jining, Shandong sent a memorandum to the throne of the Yongle Emperor protesting the current inefficient means of transporting 4,000,000 dan (428,000,000 liters) of grain a year by means of transferring it along several different rivers and canals in barge types that went from deep to shallow after the Huai River, and then transferred back onto deep barges once the shipment of grain reached the Yellow River.[28] Chinese engineers built a dam to divert the Wen River to the southwest in order to feed 60% of its water north into the Grand Canal, with the remainder going south.[29] They dug four large reservoirs in Shandong to regulate water levels, which allowed them to avoid pumping water from local sources and water tables.[29] Between 1411 and 1415 a total of 165,000 laborers dredged the canal bed in Shandong and built new channels, embankments, and canal locks.[29]

text: The Yongle Emperor moved the Ming capital from Nanjing to Beijing in 1403. This move deprived Nanjing of its status as chief political center of China. The reopening of the Grand Canal also benefited Suzhou over Nanjing since the former was in a better position on the main artery of the Grand Canal, and so it became Ming China's greatest economic center.[30] The only other viable contender with Suzhou in the Jiangnan region was Hangzhou, but it was located 200 km (120 mi) further down the Grand Canal and away from the main delta.[31] Even the shipwrecked Korean Choe Bu (1454–1504)—while traveling for five months throughout China in 1488—acknowledged that Hangzhou served not as a competitor but as an economic feeder into the greater Suzhou market.[31] Therefore, the Grand Canal served to make or break the economic fortunes of certain cities along its route, and served as the economic lifeline of indigenous trade within China.

text: The scholar Gu Yanwu of the early Qing dynasty (1644–1912) estimated that the previous Ming dynasty had to employ 47,004 full-time laborers recruited by the lijia corvée system in order to maintain the entire canal system.[32] It is known that 121,500 soldiers and officers were needed simply to operate the 11,775 government grain barges in the mid-15th century.[32]

text: Besides its function as a grain shipment route and major vein of river borne indigenous trade in China, the Grand Canal had long been a government-operated courier route as well. In the Ming dynasty, official courier stations were placed at intervals of 35 to 45 km (22 to 28 mi).[32] Each courier station was assigned a different name, all of which were popularized in travel songs of the period.[33]

text: Qing dynasty and modern China[edit]

text: The Manchus invaded China in the mid-17th century, allowed through the northern passes by the Chinese general Wu Sangui once the Ming capital at Beijing had fallen into the hands of a rebel army. The Manchus established the Qing dynasty (1644–1912), and under their leadership the Grand Canal was overseen and maintained just as in earlier times.

text: In 1855, the Yellow River flooded and changed its course, severing the course of the canal in Shandong. This was foreseen by a Chinese official in 1447, who remarked that the flood-prone Yellow River made the Grand Canal like a throat that could be easily strangled (leading some officials to request restarting the grain shipments through the East China Sea).[29] Because of various factors – the difficulty of crossing the Yellow River, the increased development of an alternative sea route for grain-ships, and the opening of the Tianjin-Pukou Railway and the Beijing-Hankou Railway – the canal languished and for decades the northern and southern parts remained separate. Many of the canal sections fell into disrepair, and some parts were returned to flat fields. Even today, the Grand Canal has not fully recovered from this disaster. After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the need for economic development led the authorities to order heavy reconstruction work.

text: The economic importance of the canal likely will continue. The governments of the Shandong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces planned dredging meant to increase shipping capacity by 40 percent by 2012.

text: On June 22, 2014, The Grand Canal was listed as a World Heritage Site, at the 2014 Conference on World Heritage.[34]

text: Historical sections[edit]

text: As well as its present-day course, fourteen centuries of canal-building have left the Grand Canal with a number of historical sections. Some of these have disappeared, others are still partially extant, and others form the basis for the modern canal. The following are the most important, but do not form an exhaustive list.

text: Jia Canal[edit]

text: In 12 BC, to solve the problem of the Grand Canal having to use 160 kilometres (100 mi) of the perilous course of the Yellow River in Northern Jiangsu, a man named Li Hualong opened the Jia Canal. Named after the Jia River whose course it followed, it ran 140 kilometres (87 mi) from Xiazhen (modern Weishan) on the shore of Shandong's Weishan Lake to Suqian in Jiangsu. The construction of the Jia Canal left only 100 kilometres (62 mi) of Yellow River navigation on the Grand Canal, from Suqian to Huai'an, which by 1688 had been removed by the construction of the Middle Canal by Jin Fu.

text: Nanyang New Canal[edit]

text: In 1566, to escape the problems caused by flooding of the Yellow River around Yutai (now on the western shore of Weishan Lake), the Nanyang New Canal was opened. It ran for 75 kilometres (47 mi) from Nanyang (now Nanyang Town in the centre of Weishan Lake) to the small settlement of Liucheng (in the vicinity of modern Gaolou Village, Weishan County, Shandong) north of Xuzhou City. This change in effect moved the Grand Canal from the low-lying and flood-prone land west of Weishan Lake onto the marginally higher land to its east. It was fed by rivers flowing east-west from the borders of the Shandong massif.

text: Huitong Canal[edit]

text: North of the Jizhou Canal summit section, the Huitong Canal ran downhill, fed principally by the River Wen, to join the Wei River at the city of Linqing. In 1289, a geological survey preceded its one-year construction. The Huitong Canal, built by an engineer called Ma Zhizhen, ran across sharply sloping ground and the high concentration of locks gave it the nicknames chahe or zhahe, i.e. 'the river of locks'. Its great number of feeder springs (between two and four hundred, depending on the counting method and season of the year) also led to it being called the quanhe or 'river of springs'.

text: Jizhou Canal[edit]

text: This, the Grand Canal’s first true summit section, was engineered by the Mongol Oqruqči in 1238 to connect Jining to the southern end of the Huitong Canal. It rose to a height of 42 metres (138 ft) above the Yangtze, but environmental and technical factors left it with chronic water shortages until it was re-engineered in 1411 by Song Li of the Ming. Song Li's improvements, recommended by a local man named Bai Ying, included damming the rivers Wen and Guang and drawing lateral canals from them to feed reservoir lakes at the very summit, at a small town called Nanwang.

text: Duke Huan's Conduit[edit]

text: In 369 AD, General Huan Wen of the Eastern Jin dynasty connected the shallow river valleys of the Huai and the Yellow. He achieved this by joining two of these rivers' tributaries, the Si and the Ji respectively, at their closest point, across a low watershed of the Shandong massif. Huan Wen’s primitive summit canal became a model for the engineers of the Jizhou Canal.

text: Yilou Canal[edit]

text: The Shanyang Canal originally opened onto the Yangtze a short distance south of Yangzhou. As the north shore of the Yangtze gradually silted up to create the sandbank island of Guazhou, it became necessary for boats crossing to and from the Jiangnan Canal to sail the long way around the eastern edge of that island. After a particularly rough crossing of the Yangtze from Zhenjiang, the local prefect realised that a canal dug directly across Guazhou would slash the journey time and so make the crossing safer. The Yilou Canal was opened in 738 AD and still exists, though not as part of the modern Grand Canal route.

text: Modern course[edit]

text: The Grand Canal nominally runs between Beijing and Hangzhou over a total length of 1,794 km (1,115 mi), however, only the section from Hangzhou to Jining is currently navigable. Its course is today divided into seven sections. From south to north these are the Jiangnan Canal, the Li Canal, the Zhong Canal, the Lu Canal, the South Canal, the North Canal, and the Tonghui River.

text: Jiangnan Canal[edit]

text: This southernmost section of the canal runs from Hangzhou in Zhejiang, where the canal connects with the Qiantang River, to Zhenjiang in Jiangsu, where it meets the Yangtze. After leaving Hangzhou the canal passes around the eastern border of Lake Tai, through the major cities of Jiaxing, Suzhou, Wuxi and Changzhou before reaching Zhenjiang. The Jiangnan (or ‘South of the Yangtze’) Canal is very heavily used by barge traffic bringing coal and construction materials to the booming delta. It is generally a minimum of 100 metres wide in the congested city centres, and often two or three times this width in the countryside beyond. In recent years, broad bypass canals have been dug around the major cities to reduce ‘traffic jams’.

text: Li Canal[edit]

text: This ‘Inner Canal’ runs between the Yangtze and Huai'an in Jiangsu, skirting the Shaobo, Gaoyou and Hongze lakes of central Jiangsu. Here the land lying to the west of the canal is higher than its bed while the land to the east is lower. Traditionally the Shanghe region west of the canal has been prone to frequent flooding, while the Xiahe region to its east has been hit by less frequent but immensely damaging inundations caused by failure of the Grand Canal levees. Recent works have allowed floodwaters from Shanghe to be diverted safely out to sea.

text: Zhong Canal[edit]

text: This ‘Middle Canal’ section runs from Huai'an to Weishan Lake, passing through Luoma Lake and following more than one course, the result of the impact of centuries of Yellow River flooding. After Pizhou, a northerly course passes through Tai'erzhuang to enter Weishan Lake at Hanzhuang bound for Nanyang and Jining (this course is the remnant of the New Nanyang Canal of 1566 – see below). A southerly course passes close by Xuzhou and enters Weishan Lake near Peixian. This latter course is less used today.

text: Lu Canal[edit]

text: At Weishan Lake, both courses enter Shandong province. From here to Linqing, the canal is called the Lu or ‘Shandong’ Canal. It crosses a series of lakes – Zhaoyang, Dushan and Nanyang – which nominally form a continuous body of water. At present, diversions of water mean that the lakes are often largely dry land. North of the northernmost Nanyang Lake is the city of Jining. Further on, about 30 km (19 mi) north of Jining, the highest elevation of the canal (38.5 m or 126 ft above sea level) is reached at the town of Nanwang. In the 1950s a new canal was dug to the south of the old summit section. The old summit section is now dry, while the new canal holds too little water to be navigable. About 50 km (31 mi) further north, passing close by Dongping Lake, the canal reaches the Yellow River. By this point waterless, it no longer communicates with the river. It reappears again in Liaocheng City on the north bank where, intermittently flowing through a renovated stone channel, it reaches the city of Linqing on the Shandong – Hebei border.

text: Southern Canal[edit]

text: The fifth section of the canal extends for a distance of 524 kilometres (326 miles) from Linqing to Tianjin along the course of the canalised Wei River. Though one of the northernmost sections, its name derives from its position relative to Tianjin. The Wei River at this point is heavily polluted while drought and industrial water extraction have left it too low to be navigable. The canal, now in Hebei province, passes through the cities of Dezhou and Cangzhou. Although to spectators the canal appears to be a deep waterway in these city centres, its depth is maintained by weirs and the canal is all but dry where it passes through the surrounding countryside. At its end the canal joins the Hai River in the centre of Tianjin City before turning north-west.

text: Northern Canal and Tonghui River[edit]

text: In Tianjin the canal heads northwest, for a short time following the course of the Yongding, a tributary of the Hai River, before branching off toward Tongzhou on the edge of the municipality of Beijing. It is here that the modern canal stops and that a Grand Canal Cultural Park has been built. During the Yuan dynasty, a further canal on the Tonghui River connected Tongzhou with a wharf called the Houhai or "rear sea" in central Beijing. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, however, the water level in the Tonghui River dropped and it was impossible for ships to travel from Tongzhou to Beijing. Tongzhou then became the northern shipping terminus of the canal. Cargo was unloaded at Tongzhou and transported to Beijing by land. The Tonghui river still exists as a wide, concrete lined storm-channel and drain for the suburbs of Beijing.

text: East Zhejiang Canal[edit]

text: The Eastern Zhejiang Canal (simplified Chinese: 浙东运河;; traditional Chinese: 浙東運河;; pinyin: zhèdōng yùnhé), also known as the Hangzhou–Ningbo Canal (杭甬运河) is located in Zhejiang. Its west end is in Xixing Street, Binjiang District, Hangzhou City, crossing Cao'e River and Shaoxing City to its east end, the Yong River estuary in Ningbo City. The canal is 239 kilometres (149 mi) long. Early canal construction took place in the Shanyin old canal in Shaoxing City, in the Spring and Autumn period (approximately 771 to 476 BC).[1] In the third century AD, an official named He Xun supervised the construction of Xixing Canal, establishing the complete Eastern Zhejiang Canal.

text: In the Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279), the capital was established at Linan, which meant that the Eastern Zhejiang Canal became an important shipping channel. From the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) to the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912), the Eastern Zhejiang Canal lost its privilege but still remained navigable. In recent years, because of newer modes of transportation, the canal has been gradually replaced. The reconstruction of the canal began in 2002, by 2007 it was partially navigable, and the renovation project finished in 2009, though the Ningbo section was not navigable until the end of 2013.

text: In May 2013, the Eastern Zhejiang Canal was listed in the seventh group of Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level, and was included in the Grand Canal. In November 2008, as an extension of Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal and the passage between the Grand Canal and the Maritime Silk Road, the Eastern Zhejiang Canal was placed into the nomination file in the UNESCO World Heritage programme. In 2014, with Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal and Sui & Tang Grand Canal, the Eastern Zhejiang Canal became one World Heritage site.

text: Elevations[edit]

text: Though the canal nominally crosses the watersheds of five river systems, in reality the variation between these is so low that it has only a single summit section. The elevation of the canal bed varies from 1 m below sea level at Hangzhou to 38.5 m above at its summit. At Beijing it reaches 27 m, fed by streams flowing downhill from the mountains to the west. The water flows from Beijing toward Tianjin, from Nanwang north toward Tianjin, and from Nanwang south toward Yangzhou. The water level in the Jiangnan Canal remains scarcely above sea level (the Zhenjiang ridge is 12 meters higher than the Yangzi River).

text: Uses[edit]

text: From the Tang to Qing dynasties, the Grand Canal served as the main artery between northern and southern China and was essential for the transport of grain to Beijing. Although it was mainly used for shipping grain, it also transported other commodities and the corridor along the canal developed into an important economic belt. Records show that, at its height, every year more than 8,000 boats[36] transported four to six million dan (240,000–360,000 metric tons) of grain. The convenience of transport also enabled rulers to lead inspection tours to southern China. In the Qing dynasty, the Kangxi and Qianlong emperors made twelve trips to the south, on all occasions but one reaching Hangzhou.

text: The Grand Canal also enabled cultural exchange and political integration to mature between the north and south of China. The canal even made a distinct impression on some of China's early European visitors. Marco Polo recounted the Grand Canal's arched bridges as well as the warehouses and prosperous trade of its cities in the 13th century. The famous Roman Catholic missionary Matteo Ricci travelled from Nanjing to Beijing on the canal at the end of the 16th century.

text: Since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the canal has been used primarily to transport vast amounts of bulk goods such as bricks, gravel, sand, diesel and coal. The Jianbi shiplocks on the Yangtze are currently handling some 75,000,000 tons[vague] each year, and the Li Canal is forecast to reach 100,000,000 tons[vague] in the next few years.

text: South-North Water Transfer Project[edit]

text: This article's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (March 2012)

text: The Grand Canal is currently being upgraded to serve as the Eastern Route of the South-North Water Transfer Project. Additional amounts of water from the Yangtze will be drawn into the canal in Jiangdu City, where a giant 400 m3/s (14,000 cu ft/s) pumping station was already built in the 1980s, and is then fed uphill by pumping stations along the route and through a tunnel under the Yellow River, from where it can flow downhill to reservoirs near Tianjin. Construction on the Eastern Route officially began on December 27, 2002, and water was supposed to reach Tianjin by 2012. However, water pollution has affected the viability of this project.

text: Notable travelers[edit]

text: In 1169, with China divided between the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty in the north and the Southern Song dynasty in the south, the Southern Song Emperor Xiaozong sent a delegation to the Jurchen to wish their ruler well for the New Year. A scholar-official named Lou Yue, secretary to the delegation, recorded the journey, much of which was made upon the Grand Canal, and submitted his Diary of a Journey to the North to the emperor on his return.[37]

text: In 1170 the poet, politician and historian Lu You travelled upon the Grand Canal from Shaoxing to the river Yangtze, recording his progress in a diary.[38]

text: In 1345 Arab traveler Ibn Battuta traveled China and journeyed through the Abe Hayat river (Grand Canal) up to the capital Khanbalik (Beijing).

text: In 1488, the shipwrecked Korean scholar Choe Bu travelled the length of the Grand Canal on his way from Zhejiang to Beijing (and on to Korea), and left a detailed account of his trip.

text: In 1600, Matteo Ricci traveled to Beijing from Nanjing via the Grand Canal waterway to gain the support of the Wanli Emperor of the Ming dynasty with the help of Wang Zhongde, the Director of the Board of Rites in the central government of China at the time.[39]

text: In 1793, after a largely fruitless diplomatic mission to Jehol, a large part of Lord Macartney's embassy returned south to the Yangtze delta on the Grand Canal.[40]


document_title: Meals on Wheels

question_text: who started meals on wheels in the usa

question_tokens: who started meals on wheels in the usa

root

text: Meals on Wheels

text: History[edit]

text: Meals on Wheels originated in the United Kingdom during the Blitz, when many people lost their homes and therefore the ability to cook their own food. The Women's Volunteer Service for Civil Defence (WVS, later WRVS) provided food for these people. The name "Meals on Wheels" derived from the WVS's related activity of bringing meals to servicemen. The concept of delivering meals to those unable to prepare their own evolved into the modern programmes that deliver mostly to the housebound elderly, sometimes free, or at a small charge.[3][4][5]

tag: p

text: United Kingdom (1943)[edit]

text: The first home delivery of a meal on wheels following World War II was made by the WVS in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England in 1943.[clarification needed] Many early services used old prams to transport the meals, using straw bales, and even old felt hats, to keep the meals warm in transit.[3][citation needed]

text: This type of service requires many volunteers with an adequate knowledge of basic cooking to prepare the meals by a set time each day. The majority of local authorities in the United Kingdom have now moved away from freshly cooked food delivery, and towards the supply of frozen pre-cooked reheatable meals.[6]

text: One of the pioneers of meals on wheels was said to be Harbans Lall Gulati, a general practitioner from Battersea, according to his obituary in the British Medical Journal.[7] This however is disputed as there is little evidence.[8]

text: Australia (1953)[edit]

text: Doris Taylor MBE founded Meals on Wheels in South Australia in 1953, and in 1954 the first meal was served from the Port Adelaide kitchen.[9] The first meals were delivered to eight elderly Port Adelaide residents on 9 August 1954.[10][11]

text: In New South Wales, Meals on Wheels was started in March 1957 by the Sydney City Council. In the first week, 150 meals were served for inner city dwellers; these were cooked in the Town Hall kitchen.[4]

text: Organised on a regional basis, in Australia Meals on Wheels is a well established, active and thriving group of organisations. The history of a small sample of some of the organisations includes: New South Wales,[4][12] Queensland,[13][14] South Australia,[15][16][17] Western Australia[18] and Victoria.[19]

text: In 2012, the Queensland branch of Meals on Wheels was a recipient of the Queensland Greats Awards.[20]

text: United States (1954)[edit]

text: Established in 1974,[21] the oldest and largest national organization is Meals on Wheels America, which supports more than 5,000 community-based senior nutrition organizations across the country.[22] By providing funding, leadership, education and advocacy support, Meals on Wheels America empowers its local member programmes to provide services to their communities.[22] With local programmes, they galvanize the resources of local community organizations, businesses, donors, sponsors and more than two million volunteers – bolstered by supplemental funding from the Older Americans Act – into a national safety net for seniors.[23]

text: Currently, they are located in Arlington, Virginia,[24] and headed by President and CEO Ellie Hollander.

text: Pennsylvania

text: The first home-delivered meal program in the United States began in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in January 1954. At the request of the Philadelphia Health & Welfare Council, and funded by a grant from the Henrietta Tower Wurtz Foundation, Margaret Moffat Toy, a social worker in Philadelphia's Lighthouse Community Center, pioneered a program to provide nourishment that met the dietary needs of homebound seniors and other "shut-ins" in the area who otherwise would have to go hungry. As is the case today, many participants were people who did not require hospitalization, but who simply needed a helping hand in order to maintain their independence. Most of the volunteers were high school students, who were dubbed "Platter Angels." The "Platter Angels" would prepare, package, and deliver food to the elderly and disabled through their community. The daily delivery consisted of one nutritionally balanced hot meal to eat at lunch time, and a dinner consisting of a cold sandwich and milk along with varying side dishes.

text: Margaret's legacy of fighting hunger continues today. Her collegiate sorority, Alpha Gamma Delta, officially partnered with Meals on Wheels in 2017 as part of their international philanthropic focus.[25]

text: Columbus, Ohio, was the second city in the U.S. to establish a community based meals program. Building on the model set forth in Philadelphia, a federation of women's clubs went through the town to inform themselves of possible participants for a meal service. In Columbus, all of the meals were prepared by local restaurants and delivered by taxi cabs during the week. On weekends, high school students filled the posts.

text: The city of Rochester, New York, began its home-delivered meal program in 1958. It was originally a pilot project initiated by the New York Department of Health and administered by the Visiting Nurse Service. The Bureau of Chronic Diseases and Geriatrics of the New York Department of Health underwrote the costs.

text: Also in the late 1950s, a group of concerned women in San Diego, California recognised that isolated seniors were in need of regular meals and human contact. What was to become Meals-on-Wheels Greater San Diego, Inc. started in 1960, and has served area seniors for 50 years. When the national association, Meals on Wheels Association of America (MOWAA), sought guidance with the parameters to be used in the evaluation process for locally-run agencies, Meals-on-Wheels Greater San Diego was used as a model to help define the benchmark for successful operations, and "set the standard" for approval. The mission of Meals-on-Wheels Greater San Diego, Inc. is to support the independence and well-being of seniors. A private, not-for-profit corporation, Meals-on-Wheels San Diego strives to keep seniors independent in their own homes by delivering meals to those who are unable to adequately meet their own nutritional needs. Often, the availability of this service enables seniors to avoid seeking institutional alternatives. From modest beginnings, Meals-on-Wheels has grown into one of the largest senior service programmes in Southern California. Meals-on-Wheels is currently the only organization in the area home-delivering two meals a day, for seven days a week (including holidays), and providing modified diets to seniors, age 60 and older, throughout San Diego County. In 2009, agency-wide, 82 staff members supported over 2,200 volunteers who donated their time to home-deliver 450,000 meals to approximately 2,000 seniors throughout San Diego County. Debbie Case is the CEO and President of Meals-on-Wheels Greater San Diego.[26]

text: Another California Meals On Wheels programme is Meals On Wheels West (MOWW), which has been delivering services to home-bound individuals in their homes since April 1974. The agency has since grown from an organization that served 8 clients in one city to one that provides meals and companionship to 396 individuals in 6 of Los Angeles County’s coastal communities by 2010. In 2010 alone, over 3,000 volunteers delivered more than 86,000 meals. Begun as a programme of the Westside Ecumenical Conference, MOWW attained its own non-profit status in 1994. The CEO since 1987, RoseMary Regalbuto’s, first challenge upon arrival at MOWW was to eliminate the waiting list by increasing the number of routes and clients served. Since then, no eligible clients have been made to wait for services. When Mrs. Regalbuto took the helm, MOWW was only serving Santa Monica. Due to her leadership, the agency now serves Santa Monica, Topanga, Pacific Palisades, Malibu and parts of Marina Del Rey. In 2010, 93% of MOWW clients stated that MOWW was a major factor in their ability to remain in their own homes. 88% of clients reported that the daily contact with Meals On Wheels West volunteers was important to them, and 50% stated the volunteers were the only visitors during the day. 70% of volunteers stay with the organization for more than 5 years, which allows for significant lasting connections with clients.[27]

text: Meals on Wheels People was founded in 1969 in Portland, Oregon and currently produces 5,000 hot, nutritious meals five days each week which are delivered to 34 senior centers throughout Multnomah County, Washington County and Clark County. The Meals are served at noon to seniors in center dining rooms or sent out as Meals on Wheels to frail, homebound elderly.[28] Meals on Wheels People continues to expand to other locations, such as the Edwards Community Center in Aloha, Oregon where, in partnership with Edwards Center Inc. and Washington County Disabled, Aging and Veterans Services people over 60 years of age may receive hot lunches, alongside veterans and adults with developmental disabilities thereby providing new community connections for several groups that might otherwise become isolated.[29]

text: Ypsilanti, Michigan

text: Ypsilanti Meals on Wheels was a programme idea that originated from the city of Ypsilanti’s Mayor’s Council on Aging. As a result of the Council’s recommendation in the spring of 1973, the City Council agreed to appropriate $8000 to a meal delivery programme to begin on July 1, 1973. Pastor William Bingham, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Ypsilanti and a member of the mayor’s Council on Aging, became the first Executive Director. Volunteers prepared meals in the kitchen of the First Baptist Church. Meal service began on January 14, 1974 to 16 homebound individuals. As time passed and the demand grew, Ypsilanti meals on Wheels purchased vans and equipped them with refrigerators and microwave ovens. Up until that time, volunteers had picked up cold meals, prepared at Eastern Michigan University, and heated them at each stop. Today, Ypsilanti meals on Wheels owns four vans and delivers approximately 200 hot meals each day, Monday through Friday. Drivers pick up the meals at Eastern Michigan University Hoyt Conference center and pack them into insulated containers that maintain the appropriate temperature until the delivery of the last meal.[30]

text: Canada (1963)[edit]

text: Brampton, Ontario is the first city in Canada to deliver meals to seniors in need. In the spring of 1963, Ruby Cuthbert, a nurse, implemented the Meals on Wheels programme with the support of the local Soroptimist Club. Later, the Auxiliary group from Peel Memorial Hospital took over the responsibility and Brampton Meals on Wheels (BMOW) started with six meals a day.[citation needed]

text: Meals on Wheels was formed in response to a plea from the Hospital Chaplaincy Committee of the Calgary Presbytery of the United Church. In 1965, a study was undertaken by the Presbyterian United Church Women into the needs of the elderly living alone and those being discharged from hospitals with no help available during their convalescence. On November 30, 1965 the Calgary Church Women's Community Care was incorporated and in 1976 the name was officially changed to "Calgary Meals on Wheels". In addition to the United Church, the Anglican, Baptist, Catholic and Presbyterian Churches supported the movement while interested volunteers and service clubs answered the call for help and proved to be the backbone of the fledgling organization. The United Way and the City of Calgary have also played a vital role in the success of this community service. On 15 November 1965 the first meal service started serving eight clients. By 1982 the number of clients had increased to in excess of 380 per day, requiring a move to a larger centre. In 2005, Calgary Meals on Wheels celebrated its 40th Anniversary, (having never missed a meal delivery in its 40-year history), and delivered to some 1,900 clients, plus services to several unique programmes. The organisation is governed by a Board of Directors, all of whom are volunteers. A pool of some 750 volunteers donate just under 75,000 hours of time a year to deliver meals five days a week within Calgary city limits.[31]

text: The first meals were delivered on 21 April 1969 for $0.65 each. There was one route on the south side with a total of three meals.[32]

text: Meals on Wheels of Fredericton, New Brunswick began in 1967. They currently serve over 40,000 meals per year to about 300 clients. The organization will be celebrating 50 years of service in 2017.[33]

text: Meals on Wheels began in Nova Scotia in 1969, with three volunteers delivering six meals in Halifax.[34]

text: Since 1967, the Health and Home Care Society of BC has operated the Meals on Wheels programme in Vancouver and Richmond.[35]

text: Meals on Wheels was originally created as a side project of The Home Welfare Association. A 1961 study recommended the establishment of a Meals on Wheels delivery service for people who were unable to prepare meals for themselves, such as the elderly and infirm. A three-year pilot project was started and they delivered the first meals on 30 June 1965. In 1981 the Home Welfare Association chapter was officially closed when the name was changed to Meals on Wheels of Winnipeg, Inc.[36]

text: Ireland (1971)[edit]

text: Longford

text: The first meals were delivered in Longford, a small county town in the Midlands. They were delivered by County Longford Social Services, organised by Sister Calasanctius of the local Convent of Mercy and the local hospital's medical officer Dr Gerard McDonagh. The meals were distributed from a mobile kitchen for which funds had been raised by the local children. The fundraising had been organised by the Longford News (local newspaper) editor Derek Cobbe.

text: Some of the first meals were delivered by a volunteer driver, the late Pat Hourican, with volunteer helper the late Sr. Bonaventure. The mobile kitchens were built by a local businessman, Noel Hanlon, at his ambulance factory in the town. The vans had specially fitted gas cookers provided by the ambulance factory to keep the dinners warm. Meals were delivered then to some 400 people around Longford, mostly elderly or disabled, and were free of charge, supported by small grants and locally collected funds.

text: Modern programmes[edit]

text: Today, Meals on Wheels programmes generally operate at the county level or smaller. Programmes vary widely in their size, service provided, organisation, and funding.

text: There are Meals on Wheels programmes in Australia,[37] Canada,[38][39] Ireland,[40] the United Kingdom and the United States. The National Association of Care Catering[41] are a great source of information on UK Meals on Wheels services. The Meals On Wheels Association of America (MOWAA)[42] is a national association for senior nutrition programmes headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, but each programme operates independently.

text: Most Meals on Wheels programmes deliver meals hot and ready-to-eat, but some deliver cold meals in containers ready to microwave. Others supply deep-frozen meals. Some warm-meal programmes provide an additional frozen meal during the days prior to a weekend or holiday, when there would be no delivery. Depending on the programme, meals may be delivered by paid drivers or by volunteers. In addition to providing nutrition to sustain the health of a client, a meal delivery by a Meals on Wheels driver or volunteer also serves as a safety check and a source of companionship for the client.

text: Most clients of Meals on Wheels programmes are elderly, but others who are unable to shop or cook for themselves (as well as their pets) are generally eligible for assistance. In the United States, programmes receiving federal funding may not serve people less than 60 years old. US Federally funded programmes may only request voluntary contributions from clients, while other programmes often charge a moderate fee for service. Regardless of their sources of funding, eligibility for most programmes is determined solely by medical need, with financial need and actual ability to pay not making a difference either way.

text: United Kingdom[edit]

text: In the county of Suffolk, the programme is referred to as "Community Meals".[43] "Meals on Wheels" services are provided for those who have been assessed to have difficulty cooking for themselves. Community Meals services can comprise daily hot meals, chilled meals or a weekly or fortnightly delivery of frozen meals. Traditional hot deliveries are cooked in a central kitchen then transported to the service user.

text: Support to the elderly is also provided by WRVS (formerly named Women’s Royal Voluntary Service).

text: National Association of Care Catering Community Meals Week is a national event aiming to increase visibility of Community Meals Services.[44] In October 2008, Camilla, The Duchess of Cornwall assisted in Meals on Wheels Week activities.[45]

text: Increasingly in the UK, commercial rather than voluntary or local authorities organisations are providing the meals. For example, some Local Authorities have stopped providing hot meals and are instead delivering frozen pre-cooked meals.[46] Other variations include using Apetito, who operate a "Chefmobil"[47] service which regenerates meals en route,[48] and Apetito subsidiary Wiltshire Farm Foods, which operates a Meals on Wheels alternative service for those who do not meet assessment criteria.[49]

text: October 2011 saw a Hairy Bikers series, Meals on Wheels, air on BBC Two. The series fronted a campaign with BBC Learning to save local 'meals on wheels' services around the UK.[50]

text: Canada[edit]

text: Halifax Meals on Wheels in Nova Scotia currently operate 68 programmes across the province; more than 600 volunteers serve an estimated 3400 meals a week. In Halifax, the service is partially funded by the municipality. The United Way also provides funding, depending on how much the programmes need. Organizations such as nursing homes and hospitals provide many of the meals; others come from restaurants and private homes. The programme isn't just for the elderly; people of any age who live alone often call when they're recovering after a recent hospital stay and are unable to cook for themselves. Other users of Meals on Wheels are people with disabilities such as multiple sclerosis who use the programme to help them through a rough time when cooking becomes too difficult. In 1996, 56.7% of clients in Halifax used the service for less than three months.[34]

text: There are dozens of independent meals on wheels in Montreal, one of the largest and most innovative is the unique intergenerational Santropol Roulant, an organisation operated mainly by young volunteers in central Montreal neighbourhoods. Deliveries are done on foot, by bicycle and by hybrid car in some outlying routes.[51]

text: Ireland[edit]

text: Longford[edit]

text: Currently (2016) vans are still used to deliver meals around Longford by County Longford Social Services, a registered charity - 4 vans deliver to all areas of County Longford, but the meals are now hot soup and chilled main course and dessert - recipients have microwave ovens for reheating the dinners. Meals are provided 7 days per week, 365 days per year. Unfortunately there is now a small charge (€4 per meal) due to reduction in grant aid, but there is still local support with fundraising and over 25 volunteer drivers and helpers. There are 4 employees (2 full-time and 2 part-time) with more people on various employment schemes, and the Social Services Council also provides a subsidised chiropody service and a patient transport service to help people maintain their mobility and independence. This is supported by a pre-owned fashion shop in Longford, "Change of A Dress", mainly run by volunteers.

text: Other areas[edit]

text: A study by Trinity College Dublin[52] published in 2008 on behalf of the National Council on Ageing and Older People found most of Ireland served by Meals on Wheels services (or centre-based alternatives) since the 1980s, over half being registered charities. Half of the services are noted to be parish-only, with many more serving a slightly larger area: the report notes only 5% of providers serve "a significant proportion of their county" (but they do not mention the longest-running service in Longford, which serves the whole county).

text: United States[edit]

text: The Meals on Wheels Association of America (MOWAA) is headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia. MOWAA is the oldest and largest organization in the United States representing those who provide meal services to seniors in need, specifically those at risk of or experiencing hunger. MOWAA is a non-profit organization working toward the social, physical, nutritional and economic betterment of vulnerable Americans by providing the tools and information its programmes need to make a difference in the lives of others.[42] In 2016, Meals on Wheels provided approximately 218 million meals to 2.5 million Americans.[53][54] Approximately 500,000 of the recipients are veterans.[53] The annual meal cost is $2,765.[55]

text: Citymeals-on-Wheels serves the New York City area.[56] In 2008, Citymeals delivered over 2.1 million meals to 17,713 frail aged in every borough of New York City. In addition, over 1,500 volunteers collectively spent 62,000 hours visiting and delivering meals to New York’s frail aged. Gael Greene and James Beard founded Citymeals-on-Wheels in 1981 after reading a newspaper article about homebound elderly New Yorkers with nothing to eat on weekends and holidays. They rallied their friends in the restaurant community, raising private funds as a supplement to the government-funded weekday meal delivery programme. Twenty five years ago their first efforts brought a Christmas meal to 6,000 frail aged.

text: In 2007, the MOWAA Foundation commissioned a study on hunger (see next section). In 2009, MOWAA partnered with The Mission Continues,[57] an organization which addresses the needs of veterans who have served the United States.

text: Specialty Meals on Wheels programmes, such as "Kosher Meals on Wheels", also exist to service niche clientele.[citation needed]

text: MOWAAF study on hunger[edit]

text: The Meals On Wheels Association of America Foundation (MOWAAF),[58] recognizing that hunger is a serious threat facing millions of seniors in the United States, determined that understanding of the problem is a critical first step to developing remedies.[59] In 2007, MOWAAF, underwritten by the Harrah's Foundation, commissioned a research study entitled The Causes, Consequences and Future of Senior Hunger in America.[60] The report was released at a hearing of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging in March 2008 in Washington, D.C.

text: The study found that in the United States, over 5 million seniors, (11.4% of all seniors), experience some form of food insecurity, i.e. were marginally food insecure. Of these, about 2.5 million are at-risk of hunger, and about 750,000 suffer from hunger due to financial constraints. Some groups of seniors are more likely to be at-risk of hunger. Relative to their representation in the overall senior population, those with limited incomes, under age 70, African-Americans, Hispanics, never-married individuals, renters, and persons living in the southern United States are all more likely to be at-risk of hunger. While certain groups of seniors are at greater-risk of hunger, hunger cuts across the income spectrum. For example, over 50% of all seniors who are at-risk of hunger have incomes above the poverty threshold. Likewise, it is present in all demographic groups. For example, over two-thirds of seniors at-risk of hunger are caucasian. There are marked differences in the risk of hunger across family structure, especially for those seniors living alone, or those living with a grandchild. Those living alone are twice as likely to experience hunger compared to married seniors. One in five senior households with a grandchild, but no adult child, present is at risk of hunger, compared to about one in twenty households without a grandchild present. Seniors living in non-metropolitan areas are as likely to experience food insecurity as those living in metropolitan areas, suggesting that food insecurity cuts across the urban-rural continuum.[61]

text: 2017 proposed budget cuts[edit]

text: In March 2017, President Donald Trump's proposed budget would make cuts to block grants that go towards spending on Meals on Wheels.[54] Defending these cuts, director of the Office of Management and Budget Mick Mulvaney said that "Meals on Wheels sounds great" but that the program is one of many that is "just not showing any results."[2][54]

text: Impact[edit]

text: A 2013 review study on the impact of home-delivered meal programs found that "all but two studies found home-delivered meal programs to significantly improve diet quality, increase nutrient intakes, and reduce food insecurity and nutritional risk among participants. Other beneficial outcomes include increased socialization opportunities, improvement in dietary adherence, and higher quality of life."[1][2] The study concluded, "Home-delivered meal programs improve diet quality and increase nutrient intakes among participants. These programs are also aligned with the federal cost-containment policy to rebalance long-term care away from nursing homes to home- and community-based services by helping older adults maintain independence and remain in their homes and communities as their health and functioning decline."[1][2]


document_title: Nellie Oleson

question_text: who married nellie on little house on the prairie

text: Nellie Oleson

text: Character sources[edit]

text: Nellie Owens[edit]

text:
Nellie Winfield (Owens) Kirry

Born
(1869-08-02)August 2, 1869
Walnut Grove, Minnesota, U.S.

Died
November 2, 1949(1949-11-02) (aged 80)
Forest Grove, Oregon, U.S.

tag: table

text: Owens was born on August 2, 1869,[1] two years after Laura Ingalls. She had a younger brother; William B. Owens (1881-1934;[2] played by Jonathan Gilbert in the television series). Nellie's parents, William (1836-1920)[3] and Margaret (1836-1908)[4] Owens (renamed Nels and Harriet Oleson in the television series; called only "Mr. and Mrs. Oleson" in the books), did, as Laura describes, run the local mercantile in Walnut Grove, Minnesota.[5]

text: Later in her life, around 1883, the Owens moved to California; probable via the Oregon Trail. In 1891 they went to Tillamook, Oregon, where Nellie taught school and in 1893 married[5] Henry Francis Kirry (1869-1951). They moved to Bay City, Oregon and had three children; Zola (1894-1986), Lloyd (1896-1961) and Leslie (1900-1931).[6] Soon, the Kirries changed their home again by moving to Rainier, Oregon in 1899.[5] Her brother Willie went blind from a firecracker explosion, attended a school for the blind, married, and also had three children.[7]

text: There seems to be no indication that Laura ever saw Nellie Owens again after Laura's family left Walnut Grove in 1879. Nellie died on November 2, 1949 in Oregon and is buried on Forest View Cemetery in Forest Grove, Oregon.[1][5]

text: Genevieve Masters[edit]

text:
Genevieve Maude (Masters) Renwick

Born
(1867-11-12)November 12, 1867
Hornby, New York, U.S.

Died
November 7, 1909(1909-11-07) (aged 41)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

text: The second girl, Genevieve Masters, was born November 12, 1867 in Hornby, Steuben County, New York[1] and was the spoiled daughter of a former teacher of Laura's. Genevieve wore beautifully tailored clothes and had striking blonde curly hair, just as "Nellie Oleson" had. Genevieve boasted continually about how much more proper and "civilized" things were in the "East". With her superior attitude, Genevieve was far nastier than Nellie Owens had been, and Laura and Genevieve became keen rivals, both academically and socially.

text: Gennie's family moved to De Smet not long after the Ingalls family, but the Owens family did not move. Therefore, the "Nellie" of Little Town on the Prairie is most likely Genevieve Masters. In her "Letter to Children" written late in her life (a sort of form letter sent to the hundreds of children who wrote her monthly), Laura stated: "Nellie Oleson . . . moved back East, and did not live many years."[citation needed] Laura was evidently referring to Genevieve Masters in this letter as Nellie Owens lived to the age of 80. Masters married William Graham V. Renwick (1864-1924)[8] and had one daughter, Margaret (1900-1982).[1][9]

text: Genevieve died of pneumonia November 7, 1909 in Chicago,[1] just 5 days before her 42nd birthday. Her remains were brought back to De Smet, South Dakota and buried in the local cemetery.[10]

text: Stella Gilbert[edit]

text:
Estella M. (Gilbert) Merrill

Born
(1864-05-00)May , 1864
Lake City, Minnesota, U.S.

Died
September 16, 1944(1944-09-16) (aged 80)
Yakima, Washington, U.S.

text: The third girl, Stella Gilbert, born in May, in 1864, lived on a claim north of the Ingalls in De Smet. She was reportedly very attractive and was very interested in Almanzo Wilder. She was possibly the girl who convinced him to take her on several buggy rides, which were described in These Happy Golden Years. Almanzo, who was not aware of a conflict between Stella (Nellie in the books) and Laura, eventually became aware of Stella's fear of horses (which disgusted him). In addition, Laura eventually gave Almanzo an ultimatum regarding Stella, and Almanzo's invitations to Stella to join them on the rides stopped. This was the last appearance of a "Nellie Oleson" in the series.[citation needed]

text: Stella's older brother was Dave Gilbert, the brave 17 year old who made the very risky run to Lake Preston, Dakota Territory on his horse-drawn sled between blizzards to take the outgoing mail and bring back the incoming mail, as described by Laura in The Long Winter.

text: Stella died in 1944 at the age of 80 years.[1][11]

text: Fictional Nellie[edit]

text: Little House books[edit]

text: This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2015)

text: Nellie Oleson appeared in three of the Little House novels Ingalls Wilder: On the Banks of Plum Creek (1937), Little Town on the Prairie (1939), and These Happy Golden Years (1943) — the fourth, seventh, and eighth in the series. Laura is 13 to 15 years old in the two intervening novels. On the Banks of Plum Creek alone is set in Minnesota, near Walnut Grove where the long-running television series is set. In that novel Laura is 7 to 9 years old.[12][clarification needed]

text: Oleson also stars in Nellie Oleson Meets Laura Ingalls, a book by Tui T. Sutherland (as Heather Williams), published by HarperCollins in 2007. The Library of Congress catalog summary is "Wealthy, spoiled Nellie Oleson is only happy when she is the center of attention, and so she feels angry and left out when Laura Ingalls, a poor country girl, moves to Walnut Grove and is embraced by Nellie's friends and schoolteacher."[13] Nellie Oleson Meets Laura Ingalls is one among dozens of Little House series extensions published beginning in the 1990s.[citation needed]

text: Little House on the Prairie television series[edit]

text:
Nellie Oleson

Little House on the Prairie character

Portrayed by
Alison Arngrim

First appearance
1.02 Country Girls

Last appearance
9.08 The Return of Nellie

[show]Family

Parents
Harriet and Nels Oleson

Siblings
Willie Oleson (brother)
Nancy Oleson (adopted sister)

Spouse
Percival Dalton

Children
Jennifer and Benjamin Dalton

text: The Little House books were later adapted into a long-running television series. Played by actress Alison Arngrim, Nellie Oleson was a manipulative, witty, sharp-tongued character on the NBC television show, Little House on the Prairie. Her parents, Nels and Harriet Oleson, owned the mercantile in the small town of Walnut Grove, set in post-Civil War Minnesota. Early in the series, the character of Nellie closely resembled her counterpart from the books - mainly as portrayed in On the Banks of Plum Creek. She had long, elaborately curled hair, acted very prissy and spoiled - yet underneath, she could display a vicious and manipulative personality. Nellie took after her doting mother Harriet (Katherine MacGregor), while father Nels (Richard Bull) tended to be stern with his two children and had little tolerance for Nellie's often cruel antics. Nels and Harriet frequently conflicted on the rearing of both Nellie and Willie; Harriet's assertiveness frequently won out, although Nellie was not always allowed to get away with her behavior. For example, on the episode called "The Cheaters", Mrs. Oleson finds out Nellie has cheated, and Mrs. Oleson started hitting Nellie with her jacket.[citation needed]

text: Arngrim's character grew in importance during the series (as did the roles of the entire Oleson family) as she served as a perfect antagonist to honest, tomboyish Laura Ingalls, played by Melissa Gilbert. Nellie and Laura feuded during their school years together, which was at times comically paralleled with quarreling between the two girls' mothers, Harriet Oleson and Caroline Ingalls (Karen Grassle).

text: After Nellie graduated from school, her mother, Harriet, bestowed her with a restaurant and hotel. At first, Nellie balked, showing great incompetence in the hospitality business. Eventually, Nels and Harriet hired Percival Dalton (played by Steve Tracy) to help Nellie learn how to cook and run the restaurant. During this time, Nellie began maturing — thanks to Percy's work with her and Nels's values winning out over Harriet's — and fell in love with Percival. The two eventually married, and Nellie gave birth to twin children (Benjamin and Jennifer).[citation needed]

text: Nellie became a close friend of Laura's in her adult years and Laura attended her wedding. Before Nellie takes off for her honeymoon, she throws the bouquet to Laura. In the episode "Come Let us Reason Together", Laura's mother Caroline helped deliver Nellie's twin babies.[citation needed]

text: Arngrim left the series at the end of the seventh season. Nellie's resulting departure was explained by having her move with Percival and their twins to New York to run the family business when Percy's father falls ill; the move is made permanent when Percival's father dies. After Nellie's departure became permanent, the Olesons adopted a daughter named Nancy (played by Allison Balson), who bore a striking resemblance to Nellie, although she had a nastier and meaner disposition than Nellie. Nellie — who retained her pleasant personality seen in her later years — returned in the ninth season and met Nancy, who briefly ran away from home when she (mistakenly) believed that her adoptive parents loved Nellie more than her. When Nellie first meets Nancy and see how she acts, she asks her parents in shock: "I know I was temperamental at her age, but I wasn't THAT bad....Was I?" They all start to laugh, then they realize she was as bad.[citation needed]

text: Compared to the book On the Banks of Plum Creek, the series presented Nellie Oleson as a much more prominent character. In the books, Nellie's family members are very minor characters, whereas the Olesons became major figures on the series, with several episodes focusing on Nellie or her family. Eventually, the "villainous duo" of mother Harriet and daughter Nellie proved to be very popular with viewers for their often evil, yet humorous, antics.[citation needed]

text: Other screenings[edit]

text:
Although the character of Nellie does not appear in any of the Beyond the Prairie: The True Story of Laura Ingalls Wilder movies, in Part 1 there is certain Patsy Robbins girl (played by Jenny Dare Paulin), who clearly reminds of Nellie.[14]
In the Little House on the Prairie musical, Nellie Oleson was played by Sara Jean Ford and Kate Loprest.

tag: ul

text: Cultural impact[edit]

text: The sketch comedy group The Nellie Olesons took their name after the character.[citation needed]


document_title: List of National Football League career scoring leaders

question_text: who has scored the most points in nfl

question_tokens: who has scored the most points in nfl

text: The top 25 scorers in National Football League history are listed below. All players listed are placekickers and all statistics include regular season scoring only.

text: Active players are listed in bold (age in parentheses).

text: Statistics are accurate as of the 2017 season.[1]

text:
Rank

Player

Career

Points

1

Morten Andersen

1982–2007

2,544

2

Adam Vinatieri (45)

1996–present

2,487

3

Gary Anderson

1982–2004

2,434

4

Jason Hanson

1992–2012

2,150

5

John Carney

1988–2010

2,062

6

Matt Stover

1991–2009

2,004

7

George Blanda

1949–1975

2,002

8

Jason Elam

1993–2009

1,983

9

John Kasay

1991–2011

1,970

10

Phil Dawson (43)

1999–present

1,817

11

Sebastian Janikowski (40)

2000–present

1,799

12

Norm Johnson

1982–1999

1,736

13

David Akers

1998–2013

1,721

14

Nick Lowery

1978–1996

1,711

15

Jan Stenerud

1967–1985

1,699

16

Ryan Longwell

1997–2011

1,687

17

Matt Bryant (43)

2000–present

1,624

18

Stephen Gostkowski (34)

2006–present

1,613

19

Lou Groza

1946–1967

1,608

20

Eddie Murray

1980–2000

1,594

21

Al Del Greco

1984–2000

1,584

22

Olindo Mare

1997–2012

1,555

23

Steve Christie

1990–2004

1,476

24

Pat Leahy

1974–1991

1,470

25

Jay Feely

2001–2014

1,451

text: Non-kickers[edit]

text: The top five scoring non-kickers in NFL history are listed here with their overall scoring rank. Note that only one non-kicker is in the top 50 scorers of all-time (although George Blanda played as both a quarterback and a kicker, 1,966 of his 2,002 points were scored as a kicker).

text:
Rank

Player

Position

Career

Points

37

Jerry Rice

Wide receiver

1985–2004

1,256

53

Emmitt Smith

Running back

1990–2004

1,052

61

LaDainian Tomlinson

Running back

2001–2011

972

67

Randy Moss

Wide receiver

1998–2012

950

69

Terrell Owens

Wide receiver

1996–2010

942


document_title: Chess piece relative value

question_text: which chess piece holds the least value on a chess board

text: Chess piece relative value

text: Standard valuations[edit]

text: The following table is the most common assignment of point values (Capablanca & de Firmian 2006:24–25), (Seirawan & Silman 1990:40), (Soltis 2004:6), (Silman 1998:340), (Polgar & Truong 2005:11).

text:
Symbol

Piece
pawn
knight
bishop
rook
queen

Value
1
3
3
5
9

text: These values are very reliable in endgames with a limited number of pieces. The oldest derivation of the standard values is due to the Modenese School (Ercole del Rio, Giambattista Lolli, and Domenico Lorenzo Ponziani) in the 18th century (Lolli 1763:255) and is partially based on the earlier work of Pietro Carrera (Carrera 1617:115–21). The value of the king is undefined as it cannot be captured, let alone traded, during the course of the game. Some computer chess programs give the king an arbitrary large value (such as 200 points or 1,000,000,000 points, for example Zillions of Games gives 106332 points for king vs. 14332 points for queen in center)[citation needed] to indicate that the inevitable loss of the king due to checkmate trumps all other considerations (Levy & Newborn 1991:45), as that is the easiest way to create a computer chess program due to technology limits. In the endgame, where there is usually little danger of checkmate, the fighting value of the king is about four points (Lasker 1934:73). In the endgame, a king is more powerful than a minor piece but less powerful than a rook. Julian Hodgson also puts its value at four points (Aagaard 2004:12). The king is good at attacking and defending nearby pieces and pawns. It is better at defending such pieces than the knight is, and it is better at attacking them than the bishop is (Ward 1996:13).

text: This system has some shortcomings. Combinations of pieces do not always equal the sum of their parts; for instance, two bishops are usually worth slightly more than a bishop plus a knight, and three minor pieces (nine points) are often slightly stronger than two rooks (ten points) or a queen (nine points) (Capablanca & de Firmian 2006:24), (Fine & Benko 2003:458, 582). A bishop pair is worth half a pawn, thus slightly superior to a bishop and knight.[citation needed]

text: The evaluation of the pieces depends on many parameters. For example, GM Larry Kaufman suggests the following values in the middlegame:

text:
Symbol

Piece
pawn
knight
bishop
rook
queen

Value
1
3½
3½
5¼
10

text: The Bishop pair is worth 7½. The position of the pieces also makes a significant difference, e.g. pawns near the edges are worth less than those near the centre, pawns close to promotion are worth far more, pieces controlling the centre are worth more than average, trapped pieces (such as bad bishops) are worth less, etc.

text: Alternative valuations[edit]

text: Although the 1/3/3/5/9 system of point totals is the most commonly given, many other systems of valuing pieces have been proposed. Several systems give the bishop slightly more value than the knight. A bishop is usually slightly more powerful than a knight, but not always; it depends on the position (Evans 1958:77,80) (Mayer 1997:7). A chess-playing program was given the value of 3 for the knight and 3.4 for the bishop (Mayer 1997:5).

text:
Alternative systems, with pawn = 1

Source
Date
Comment

3.1
3.3
5.0
7.9
2.2
Sarratt[verification needed]
1813
(rounded) pawns vary from 0.7 to 1.3[1]

3.05
3.50
5.48
9.94

Philidor
1817
also given by Staunton in 1847[2]

3
3
5
10

Peter Pratt
early 19th century
(Hooper & Whyld 1992:439)

3.5
3.5
5.7
10.3

Bilguer
1843
(rounded) (Hooper & Whyld 1992:439)[3]

3
3
5
9-10
4
Lasker
1934
[4] (Lasker 1934:73)

3½
3½
5½
10

Euwe
1944
(Euwe & Kramer 1994:11)

3½
3½
5
8½
4
Lasker
1947
(rounded) Kingside rooks and bishops are valued more, queenside ones less[5]

3
3+
5
9

Horowitz
1951
The bishop is "3 plus small fraction" (Horowitz 1951:11), (Horowitz & Rothenberg 1963:36)

3½
3½+
5
10
4
Evans
1958
Bishop is 3¾ if in the bishop pair[6] (Evans 1958:77,80)

3½
3½
5
9½

Styeklov (early Soviet chess program)
1961
(Soltis 2004:6) (Levy & Newborn 1991:45)

3
3¼
5
9

Fischer
1972
(Fischer, Mosenfelder & Margulies 1972:14)

3
3
4½
8½

European Committee on Computer Chess, Euwe
1970s
(Brace 1977:236)

3
3
4½
9

Garry Kasparov
1986
(Kasparov 1986:9)

3
3
5
9-10

Soviet chess encyclopedia
1990
A queen equals three minor pieces or two rooks (Hooper & Whyld 1992:439)

3¼
3¼
5
9¾

Kaufman
1999
Add ½ point for the bishop pair[7] (Kaufman 1999)

3½
3½
5¼
10

Kaufman
2011
Add ½ point for the bishop pair. These are evaluation of the pieces in Middle games[8]

Kaufman, Larry (2011), The Kaufman Repertoire for Black & White, New in Chess, ISBN 978-90-5691-371-7

3.20
3.33
5.10
8.80

Berliner
1999
plus adjustments for openness of position, rank & file (Berliner 1999:14–18)

3½
3½
5
9

Kurzdorfer
2003
(Kurzdorfer 2003:94)

3
3
4½
9

another popular system

(Soltis 2004:6)

4
3½
7
13½
4
used by a computer

Two bishops are worth more (Hooper & Whyld 1992:439)

2.4
4.0
6.4
10.4
3.0
Yevgeny Gik

based on average mobility; Soltis (2004:10–12) pointed out problems with this type of analysis

3.075
3.315
5
9.5
4
Median

3.2
3.3
5.2
9.6
3.5
Average

text: Note: Where a value for the king is given, this is used when considering piece development, its power in the endgame, etc.

text: Hans Berliner's system[edit]

text: World Correspondence Chess Champion Hans Berliner gives the following valuations, based on experience and computer experiments:

text:
pawn = 1
knight = 3.2
bishop = 3.33
rook = 5.1
queen = 8.8

text: There are adjustments for the rank and file of a pawn and adjustments for the pieces depending on how open or closed the position is. Bishops, rooks, and queens gain up to 10 percent more value in open positions and lose up to 20 percent in closed positions. Knights gain up to 50 percent in closed positions and lose up to 30 percent in the corners and edges of the board. The value of a good bishop may be at least 10 percent higher than that of a bad bishop (Berliner 1999:14–18).

text:
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h

8

8

7
7

6
6

5
5

4
4

3
3

2
2

1
1

a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h

text: There are different types of doubled pawns; see the diagram. White's doubled pawns on the b-file are the best situation in the diagram, since advancing the pawns and exchanging can get them un-doubled and mobile. The doubled b-pawn is worth 0.75 points. If the black pawn on a6 were on c6, it would not be possible to dissolve the doubled pawn, and it would be worth only 0.5 points. The doubled pawn on f2 is worth about 0.5 points. The second white pawn on the h-file is worth only 0.33 points, and additional pawns on the file would be worth only 0.2 points (Berliner 1999:18–20).

text:
Value of pawn advances (multiplier of base amount)

Rank
Isolated
Connected
Passed
Passed & connected

4
1.05
1.15
1.30
1.55

5
1.30
1.35
1.55
2.3

6
2.1
x
x
3.5

text:
Value of non-passed pawn in the opening

Rank
a & h file
b & g file
c & f file
d & e file

2
0.90
0.95
1.05
1.10

3
0.90
0.95
1.05
1.15

4
0.90
0.95
1.10
1.20

5
0.97
1.03
1.17
1.27

6
1.06
1.12
1.25
1.40

Value of non-passed pawn in the endgame

Rank
a & h file
b & g file
c & f file
d & e file

2
1.20
1.05
0.95
0.90

3
1.20
1.05
0.95
0.90

4
1.25
1.10
1.00
0.95

5
1.33
1.17
1.07
1.00

6
1.45
1.29
1.16
1.05

text: Changing valuations in the endgame[edit]

text: As already noted when the standard values were first formulated (Lolli 1763:255), the relative strength of the pieces changes as a game progresses to the endgame. The value of pawns, rooks and, to a lesser extent, bishops may increase. The knight tends to lose some power, and the strength of the queen may be slightly lessened, as well. Some examples follow.

text:
A queen versus two rooks

In the middlegame they are equal
In the endgame, the two rooks are somewhat more powerful. With no other pieces on the board, two rooks are equal to a queen and a pawn

A rook versus two minor pieces

In the opening and middlegame, a rook and two pawns are weaker than two bishops; equal to or slightly weaker than a bishop and knight; and equal to two knights
In the endgame, a rook and one pawn are equal to two knights; and equal or slightly weaker than a bishop and knight. A rook and two pawns are equal to two bishops (Alburt & Krogius 2005:402–3).

Bishops are often more powerful than rooks in the opening. Rooks are usually more powerful than bishops in the middlegame, and rooks dominate the minor pieces in the endgame (Seirawan 2003:ix).
As the tables in Berliner's system show, the values of pawns change dramatically in the endgame. In the opening and middlegame, pawns on the central files are more valuable. In the late middlegame and endgame the situation reverses, and pawns on the wings become more valuable due to their likelihood of becoming an outside passed pawn and threatening to promote. When there is about fourteen points of material on both sides, the value of pawns on any file is about equal. After that, wing pawns become more valuable (Berliner 1999:16–20).

text: C.J.S. Purdy gave minor pieces a value of 3½ points in the opening and middlegame but 3 points in the endgame (Purdy 2003:146, 151).

text: Shortcomings of piece valuation systems[edit]

text: There are shortcomings of any piece valuation system. For instance, positions in which a bishop and knight can be exchanged for a rook and pawn are fairly common (see diagram). In this position, White should not do that, e.g.

text: This seems like an even exchange (six points for six points), but it is not because two minor pieces are better than a rook and pawn in the middlegame (Silman 1998:340–42). Pachman also notes that two bishops are almost always better than a rook and pawn (Pachman 1971:11).

text: In most openings, two minor pieces are better than a rook and pawn and are usually at least as good as a rook and two pawns until the position is greatly simplified (i.e. late middlegame or endgame). Minor pieces get into play earlier than rooks and they coordinate better, especially when there are many pieces and pawns on the board. Rooks are usually developed later and are often blocked by pawns until later in the game (Watson 2006:102).

text: This situation in this position is not very common, but White has exchanged a queen and a pawn (ten points) for three minor pieces (nine points). Three minor pieces are usually better than a queen because of their greater mobility, and the extra pawn is not important enough to change the situation (Silman 1998:340–41). Three minor pieces are almost as strong as two rooks (Pachman 1971:11).

text: Two minor pieces plus two pawns are almost always as good as a queen. Two rooks are better than a queen and pawn (Berliner 1999:13–14).

text: Many of the systems have a two-point difference between the rook and a minor piece, but most theorists put that difference at about 1½ points, see The exchange (chess)#Value of the exchange.

text: In open positions, a rook plus a pair of bishops is stronger than two rooks plus a knight (Kaufeld & Kern 2011:79).


document_title: Talking to the Moon (song)

question_text: talking to the moon bruno mars lyrics meaning

text: Talking to the Moon (song)

text: Background and production[edit]

text: "Talking to the Moon" was first recorded by Mars for his debut EP, It's Better If You Don't Understand, which was released on May 11, 2010 under Elektra Records.[2] When asked about the lyrical content of the record, Mars stated that "[he] just [writes] songs that [he] strongly believe in and that are coming from inside. There's no tricks. It's honesty with big melodies. And [he is] singing the s*** out of them."[2] During an interview, Mars explained that after writing and producing songs for other artists, he thought that he could write a song for himself. He started writing the lyrics of "Talking To The Moon" while playing the piano.[3] The track was included five months later on his debut studio album, Doo-Wops & Hooligans, released on October 4, 2010 under the Elektra and Atlantic labels.[4] Mars also recorded an acoustic piano version included on the deluxe edition of the album.[5] Ari Levine of The Smeezingtons stated that "Talking To The Moon" was one of his favorite songs on the album and described how the song was conceived in an interview for Sound on Sound:[6]

text:
“
We only had the first verse and the horns. We then had three different bridges and we spent a lot of time trying to find out which one was the best. Jeff Bhasker is a fantastic musician, and he helped write that track. I think we tried to arrange and produce this in four different ways, mostly trying to figure out what kind of drums to put on.
”

text: "Talking to the Moon" was written by Albert Winkler, Jeff Bhasker, Bruno Mars, Philip Lawrence, and Ari Levine, and produced by Mars, Lawrence, and Levine, while Bhasker co-produced the song. Levine and Mars played all the instruments on the track and recorded them; Levine was as well responsible for engineering the song at Levcon Studios in California. The mixing of the track was done at Larrabee Sound Studios in North Hollywood by Manny Marroquin, with Christian Plata and Erik Madrid serving as assistants. Stephen Marcussen mastered the song at Marcussen Mastering in California.[7]

text: Composition[edit]

text:
"Talking to the Moon"

A 20-second sample of the song in which Mars sings "In hopes you're on the other side talking to me too/ Or am I a fool who sits alone talking to the moon?/Ohoooo...".

Problems playing this file? See media help.

text: "Talking to the Moon" is a "sowaring" R&B power ballad,[8][9][10] that lasts for three minutes and seven seconds,[7] with a stripped-down production, and instrumentation consisting primarily of drums and a piano.[11] According to the digital sheet music published by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, the song was written in the key of C# minor and was set in a four-four time signature with a ballad tempo of 73 beats per minute. Mars' vocal range spans from G♯3 to C♯5, and the song follows the chord progression E-G♯7-C♯m-B-A.[12] Natalie Li from The Harvard Crimson felt the song has an "electro twist".[10] Sasha Frere-Jones wrote for The New Yorker that the single relies on a "gorgeous wall of backing harmony".[13]

text: The song's lyrics describe feelings of loneliness, loss, and hope in the chorus: "Talking to the moon/Try to get to you/In hopes you're on the other side/Talking to me, too".[11] As the song continues, it shows the singer's vulnerable side with soft, sincere lyrics about a lost love that has now gone, according to Alex Young of Consequence of Sound.[14] Pittsburgh Post-Gazette' Scott Mervis described Mars' vocals on the track as "yearning".[9] Sherri Thornhill of Yahoo!, believed the lyrics reveal the singer's hope that "his former flame is talking to the moon just as he is."[15] A similar opinion was shared by Seattle Post-Intelligencer's Tyrone Reid, noticing Mars "waxing poetic about love and longing".[16]

text: Critical reception[edit]

text: The song received mixed to positive reviews from music critics on the release of the album. Alex Young of Consequence of Sound gave the song a positive review writing that the song "may be the best of this collection [album]", adding that "this track is primed for radio; a soft, sincere piano-driven song about a lost love that has now gone [...] belts the vulnerable Mars."[14] Yahoo!'s music critic, Sherri Thornhill, praised the song, calling it a "beauty" and "relatable", since the lyrics show the "heartbroken lover['s]" wish that his former lover is doing the same as he is - talking to the moon.[15] The Seattle Post-Intelligencer's reviewer, Tyrone S. Reid, considered the song "beautifully written, waxing poetic about love and longing – a forte that the singer employs with great results in his work."[16] In a similar review, Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly felt that the debut studio album "aptly applies Mars’ studio talents...in his own postmillennial way", calling "Talking to the Moon" "woebegone", adding that "a malt-shop heart beats beneath [its] digital skin".[17] Emily Yang of The Signal stated that Mars "focuses on the slow pace of the drums and piano to convey his sorrow. He sings of loneliness which is almost palpable in the chorus."[11]

text: On the other hand, Bill Lamb of About.com confessed about the recording that it "is possibly the weakest track simply because the heavy production threatens to overwhelm the centerpiece of Bruno Mars' singing because it is a big power jazz ballad that would work well from the stage."[8] In the same vein, Mike Diver of BBC Music considered the song "a ballad devoid of detectable emotion".[18] The same perspective was replicated by Jamie Milton from musicOMH, who called it a "over-sentimental ballad".[19]

text: Commercial performance[edit]

text: Following the track's inclusion on the soundtrack of Insensato Coração, which generated most of the song's success Warner Music Brasil decided to release it as an official single in Brazil on April 12, 2011.[20] After its release, "Talking to the Moon" charted on two Brazilian charts – Billboard Brasil Hot Pop & Popular and the Brasil Hot 100 Airplay with it reaching the top position in both cases. The song spent nine weeks at number one on the latter chart,[21] while it topped the former chart for 22 weeks.[22][23][24] It became the fourth song with the most weeks spent at the top of Billboard Brasil Hot Pop & Popular and[24] on Brasil Hot 100 Airplay it ranked seventh with the most weeks at number one as of 2012.[25] In 2017, "Talking to the Moon" debuted on the Japan Hot 100 at number 45.[26]

text: Usage in media[edit]

text: The song was used on the soundtrack of Brazilian telenovela Insensato Coração.[20] It was also used in the movie, A Turtle's Tale: Sammy's Adventures, with it being as well included on the movie soundtrack as a bonus song.[27] An acoustic piano version of "Talking to the Moon" was included on the charity compilation album, Songs for Japan, released on March 25, 2011.[28] "Talking to the Moon" was featured in the movie Think Like A Man, released in 2012, where the song was attributed to Mars in the final credits.[29]

text: Credits and personnel[edit]

text:
Mixed at Larrabee Sound Studios, Hollywood, California.
Engineered at Levcon Studios, Los Angeles, California.
Mastered at Marcussen Mastering, Hollywood, California

text:
Songwriting – Bruno Mars, Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine, Albert Winkler, Jeff Bhasker
Production – The Smeezingtons
Co-producer – Jeff Bhasker
Instrumentation – Bruno Mars, Ari Levine

Mixing – Manny Marroquin
Assistant mixing – Christian Plata, Erik Madrid
Mastering - Stephen Marcussen
Engineering – Ari Levine

text: Credits adapted from the liner notes of Doo-Wops & Hooligans.[7]

text: Charts[edit]

text:
Chart (2011)
Peak
position

Brazil Hot 100 Airplay (Billboard)[21]
1

Brazil Hot Pop Songs (Billboard)[24]
1

text:
Chart (2017)
Peak
position

Japan (Japan Hot 100)[26]
45