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In China, the cult of Guanyin (also known as Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva), is one of the most widespread and influential Buddhist beliefs. In popular dramas, Guanyin is portrayed as a savior who delivers people from suffering and disasters. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, multiple Guanyin dramatic texts on the cultivation and enlightenment of Princess Miaoshan were created. These dramas, including the Xiangshanji, Haichaoyin, Nanyouji, and Daxiangshan, reflected market demand for Miaoshan Guanyin dramas in urban and rural areas that appealed to people of different social classes, including literati and court nobility. This article explores market demand and narrative variations of Miaoshan Guanyin dramas by comparing and analyzing textual narratives and investigating historical information about performances. The data presented focus on three dimensions, namely sacredness and entertainment, cultivation and filial piety, and the functions of ritual dramas. The findings presented below show that the success of Miaoshan Guanyin dramas in crossing social boundaries can be attributed to several factors: 1) Such dramas combined sacred and entertaining qualities by adding aesthetic effects to essential sacred scenes and strengthening the perception of sacredness through stage performances. 2) The embrace of feminist thought and Confucian ethics plus the incorporation of themes about women and filial piety from the Miaoshan legend attracted female audiences and met the demand for ethical education. 3) The spirit of guiding people towards cultivation in Buddhist texts was shifted to delivering the deceased and giving blessings, achieving one key function of ritual dramas. In short, Miaoshan Guanyin dramas presented different social functions and aesthetic features beyond entertaining effects due to multiple meanings of the Miaoshan legend as well as various connotations. The popularization and development trajectory of religious dramas can also be observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of South Architecture / Nanfang Jianzhu is the property of South Architecture Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In the 18th and 19th centuries, the exported paintings recording realistic themes with realistic skills was popular in Guangzhou. Pith painting was the watercolor painting drawn on rice paper, which was thin and colorful, in which characters and scenes were vivid, recording production and life at that time in details. Therefore, it is the precious image data to study the society, production, life and folk customs of that time. Based on the analysis and research of a set of pith paintings with the theme of Pekoe in China (Hainan) Museum of the South China Sea, the cultivation, production, trade and circulation of Pekoe in the Qing Dynasty are discussed in details. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tea, one of the significant export commodities in modern China, faced a continuous decline in its export during the late Qing Dynasty and Early Republic of China. In response to this predicament, tea merchants attempted to implement quality control measures in tea export, driven by market forces. During the initial stage of the Nanjing national government, the Ministry of Industry actively intervened in the quality management of tea export. It established specialized tea inspection agencies, developed uniform inspection standards, set normative inspection procedures, and adopted scientific inspection methods to conduct tea export inspections. Evidence illustrates that in the initial stage of the Nanjing national government, the tea export inspections yielded positive outcomes in improving tea quality and restoring the reputation of Chinese tea. However, with the full scale outbreak of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, coupled with inherent deficiencies, tea export inspection practices in the early Nanjing national government failed to resolve the dilemma of tea exports in modern China. Nonetheless, viewed from a long-term perspective, it laid a solid foundation for the establishment of tea inspection systems in New China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Lichun folk custom of greeting spring has been inherited in China for nearly two thousand years. Starting as an official sacrificial ritual, it has evolved during the Tang, Song, Ming, and Qing dynasties into a national festival aimed at encouraging agricultural production, disaster prevention, and praying for a bountiful harvest, bringing joy and unity among the people, which further strengthened the emphasis on agriculture-based local education and national identity. As a category of woodblock New Year pictures, Chunniu New Year Pictures can be found in different origins. Chunniu New Year Pictures is a kind of New Year pictures used to predict the weather, crop harvest and other information in agricultural era. It is also called calendar picture because it is mostly printed next year’s solar term dates. Diverse images are not only the collective memory of the inheritance of Lichun folk custom, but also the inheritance and life practice of folkloric time-space concept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gunpowder is one of the four great inventions of ancient China, which once had an important impact on the world pattern and development process. However, after the late Ming Dynasty and the early Qing Dynasty, gunpowder firearms gradually declined in China. Gunpowder moved to the West with the war and became black powder, which promoted the birth and development of modern chemical science. The development of chemical science is of great significance to the dynamite family. The brilliant achievements of China's modern king of dynamite revitalize the glory of Chinese gunpowder. This paper reviews the legendary development course and the groundbreaking role of dynamite, describes the properties, rich types and unique working principles of its special chemical energy, and tries to trace the internal mechanism of gunpowder combustion and explosion. It aims to highlight the importance of scientific thinking mode and the development of chemistry discipline to the study of explosives, so as to continuously enrich the knowledge connotation of chemistry students, stimulate their enthusiasm for innovative thinking, enhance their professional confidence, cultural confidence and national confidence, and promote the spirit of scientists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Statistics in modern China was transplanted from the West. Driven by a wave of Western learning in the late Qing Dynasty, the statistical works translated into Chinese consisted of two main categories: firstly, the statistical yearbooks of various countries translated directly from English; secondly, the statistical works translated by Japanese scholars from Japanese, who translated the English word statistic as tokei, or as political table, notation, tabulation or comprehensive calculation, which was later transferred from Japan to China. The translation and publication of the Japanese-translated statistics works marked the beginning of modern statistics in China. On the basis of the translation of Western statistics, Chinese scholars began to explore the compilation of a variety of statistical handouts for the use of teaching in the new style of schools . The early intellectual elites' perception and acceptance of modern Western statistical knowledge was not simply the infiltration and transplantation of the other, but a complex process of localization and reproduction involving both Western cultural transmitters and local recipients With the widespread establishment of new style of schools and the gradual formation of the seven disciplines, statistics took its place in the new school system and gradually grew into an independent modern discipline in China [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Soochow University Philosophy & Social Sciences Edition is the property of Soochow University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Beijing Institute of Civil Engineering & Architecture is the property of Journal of Beijing University of Civil Engineering & Architecture Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Due to the lack of research on the embroidery types and needle techniques of the Gaoshan nationality of Taiwan, China, we used the two-dimensional verification method of literature and image analysis, Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator to illustrate their stitching techniques and to summarize the basic application rules of Gaoshan embroidery stitch. The results show that the Gaoshan nationality in Taiwan is closely related to the Han nationality. Since the Qing Dynasty, after the Gaoshan nationality traded with the Han nationality in Chinese mainland, the embroidery utensils of the Gaoshan nationality have been gradually improved. According to the degree of communication with the Han nationality, the embroidery of the Gaoshan nationality is divided into primitive ecological embroidery and immigrated embroidery. The primitive ecological embroidery has a strong primitive and religious atmosphere. The immigrated embroidery has been developed from the integration of Han and Gaoshan ethnic characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zhi Wu Xue in late Qing dynasty is very important both in the history of botany and Chinese-western scientific and technical communication. It has made great influence in scientific and cultural field. There are many factors to make book a successful one, but among which the most important is that in the process of its translation, Li Shanlan’s translator subjectivity had been fully played. He creatively translated many terms, which fully expressed the scientific connotations and cultural phenomenon, thus to promote the communication of modern botany in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Poyang Lake is the property of Journal of Poyang Lake Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The society was filled with the emotions of self-examinations and restraining sins during late Ming and early Qing dynasties. The introduction of Catholic hamartiology undoubtedly further enriched the discusses of sins in the intellectual world in Ming and Qing China. This article explores the Catholic Hamartiology in details and its social significances during late Ming and early Qing dynasties by analyzing related literatures. It firstly discusses the concepts on sins by Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism before the Catholic Church entered China; secondly, it discusses the main contents of Hamartiology of Western Christianity represented by St. Augustine and St. Aquinas. Then it analyzes the thoughts of Hamartiology in the Catholic works in Ming and Qing dynasties, and the social responses to these thoughts. Catholic Hamartiology actually marks the boundaries of the Catholic community, so as to distinguish it from other social groups, and thus plays an important role in shaping the identity of the Catholics during late Ming and early Qing dynasties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The granary in the Ming and Qing dynasties was important to continue the previous agriculture, which required the official institution in the application process to stabilize the local area. The middle reaches of the Huang He River was an important agricultural area in ancient China. With the lack of land resources and the decrease of political attention, many problems occurred in grain storage operation in this area. In order to solve the problems caused by the expansion of the granary function, the local government gradually introduced local merchants in the middle reaches of the Huang He River since the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, whose professional skills not only improved the insufficient use of grain storage in the region, but also maintained the social stability and development of the border areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of China Pulp & Paper is the property of China Pulp & Paper Magazines Publisher and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Science & Technology of Cereals, Oils & Foods is the property of Science & Technology of Cereals, Oils & Foods Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Poyang Lake is the property of Journal of Poyang Lake Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Theoretical Studies of Literature & Art / Wenyi Lilun Yanjiu is the property of Editorial Board of Theoretical Studies in Literature & Art and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Tourism Tribune / Lvyou Xuekan is the property of Tourism Institute of Beijing Union University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Society: Chinese Journal of Sociology / Shehui is the property of Society: Chinese Journal of Sociology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The traditional herbal medicine Qiancengta, recorded in the Iconographia Plantarum written in the Qing Dynasty, was previously verified as Lycopodiaceae, Huperzia Bernh, Huperzia serrata. Huperzine A(HupA), isolated from Qiancengta during pharmaceutical research, can effectively, highly selectively and reversibly inhibit acetylcholinesterase and reduce the decomposition of acetylcholine. It has been widely used to enhance memory and treat Alzheimer's disease, attracting worldwide attention. This research reviews the latest research progress of these precious medicinal plants in the past 40 years, including systematics, genetic diversity, omics research, endophytic fungi, chemical constituents, resource investigation, cultivation and propagation and natural resource conservation. From the perspective of taxonomy, H. serrata in China includes actually two species: H. javanica in South China and H. serrata in Northeast China. The former is the botanical origin recorded in Iconographia Plantarum. Taking into account the stability of the names of medicinal plants and materials, this research propose that the Chinese name of H. javanica follows “Qiancengta” in Iconographia Plantarum and H. serrata follows “Shezushishan”. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently many scholars have paid attention to the history and fate of Christian Socialism in modern China. However, for many among them, it is not clear if Christian Socialism was introduced into China in the late Qing Dynasty, before 1902, or not. In this article the author points out that in 1891 Timothy Richard in his English book The Benefits of Christianity mentioned major Christian Socialists and their thought; he also absorbed some of these elements into his own Modernizing-China theory in Chinese. In 1896-1897 he asked one famous British Christian Socialist John Bruce Wallace to give Chinese governors and scholars suggestions on how to build a modern China, he then translated these suggestions into Chinese and published them in Wan Kwoh Kung Pao, No. 1, January 1899. Timothy Richard also translated Edward Bellamy’s Looking Backward, 2000-1887 into Chinese in 1891. He also introduced Karl Marx’s theory when he translated Benjamin Kidd’s Social Evolution in 1899. By knowing Timothy Richard’s relationship with Socialism, it can help us to further understand his influence on modern Chinese thinkers, especially Kang Youwei, who transformed Christian Socialism into Confucian Socialism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Taiwan Journal of East Asian Studies is the property of National Taiwan Normal University, College of International Studies & Social Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, many missionaries arrived in China. While spreading Catholicism, they also pushed the cultural exchanges between China and the western world to an unprecedented new height. Up until our times today, there has been an abundance of researches on the missionary strategies of the Jesuits, while the Franciscans, another vital force, has received little mention among scholars, neither have Spanish language historical materials been properly used. This lack of research has proved unhelpful for reproducing missionary history, both from the perspective of Chinese scholars, and from the perspective of putting eastern and western scholars in an equal conversation. Therefore, this article uses the example of the Franciscans' first mission in Chaozhou to analyze their missionary strategies in China (based on the letters collected in Sinica Franciscana). This article intends to point out that during the 17th century, the Franciscans in China had forgone their early rigid strategy, and had later adopted more flexible strategies, in order to adapt to Chinese culture and to preserve their religious mission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Changzhou University (Social Science Edition) is the property of Editorial Department of Journal of Changzhou University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The orthodox theory of most dynasties in China is based on Confucian concepts such as "inheriting the mandate of heaven" and "transforming people to virtue", and this orthodox theory was mainly inherited and interpreted by the Han nationality. In that respect, the Qing Dynasty was different from its predecessors. The territory of the Qing empire extended to areas inhabited by a variety of non- Han people, especially the vast areas in the northwest and southwest. Clearly, the Confucian orthodox view could not fully accommodate the beliefs and customs of the people in these areas. Thus, how the Qing Dynasty ruled its frontiers remains an important research topic. This article seeks to elucidate a new model of legitimacy formed respectively in the heartland and the frontier of Qing territory. The Qing emperors relied on the Confucian moral education in the heartland but utilized the belief in Tibetan Buddhism in the frontier areas where the inhabitants were mainly minorities. A new system was thus established to adapt to the unique situation in which the concept of legitimacy needed to be amended. In tins respect, the meaning of "rule” can be distinguished from that of "governance." "Rule" mainly refers to the utilization and respect of the imperial power in a set of imaginary symbolic metaphors, while "governance" bears more technical meaning supported by a profound ideological background. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Society: Chinese Journal of Sociology / Shehui is the property of Society: Chinese Journal of Sociology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Theoretical Studies of Literature & Art / Wenyi Lilun Yanjiu is the property of Editorial Board of Theoretical Studies in Literature & Art and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Beijing Normal University is the property of Beijing Normal University, Institute of History and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Humanitas Taiwanica is the property of National Taiwan University, Humanitas Taiwanica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Beijing Normal University is the property of Beijing Normal University, Institute of History and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

As evolutionary theories were introduced into China, and the principle of evolution was established in the last years of the Qing dynasty, it became a pressing problem to fix the position of China in an evolutionary sequence. Many kinds of evolutionary orders emerged around the year 1900, among which the order from savage society to patriarchal society to militant society proposed by Yan Fu’s Shehui tongquan, translated from Edward Jenks's A Short History of Politics, was the most influential. To explain Yan Fu’s purpose in translating this work, the political and intellectual situation of China and the works he had read but had not translated should also be taken into consideration, besides his expositions through the preface, comments and translation of this work. In Shehui tongquan, Yan Fu labelled China as “patriarchal as well as militant,” and on many occasions expressed the wish for China to rise above patriarchal society and enter militant society. His label of Confucius as “Sage of patriarchal society” shook the position of Confucianism in China. Meanwhile, Yan Fu criticized the tendencies of conservatism, xenophobia and anti- Manchuism in contemporary China. His criticism of conservatism and xenophobia was widely accepted and occasioned no debate, while his criticism of anti- Manchuism became involved in the debate between the revolutionary party and the constitutional party. Zhang Taiyan refuted Yan from the aspect of understanding “nationalism” correctly. There were also some faults in Zhang's refutation. However, his opinions that there are differences between social science and natural science, and that the particularity of China should be taken into consideration in studying Chinese society, were very insightful. Yan Fu’s introduction of a social evolutionary sequence, and his location of Chinese society therein, were influential among intellectuals until the 1920s and 1930s, around which time it was replaced by a five stage theory. But the pattern of analysing Chinese society from general truth or general rules did not change. Actually, Herbert Spencer had once refuted Auguste Comte’s practice of taking different forms of society as different stages in the evolutionary series, but he himself also accepted the existence of a principle of evolution, and used “universal,” “general,” and “special” to differentiate them, in a way that is not completely clear. Yan Fu’s works were often aimed at specific occasions rather than something unchanging. It should be noted that, in his late years, especially after the breakout of the First World War, Yan experienced a re-valuation of eastern and western cultures, as well as of “militant society,” and reaffirmed the value of traditional Chinese culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the following questions: Does a conflict exist between the pursuit of personal morality and familial obligations in Confucian discourse during the Ming-Qing transition? How important are the family and the fulfillment of familial obligations in Confucian moral cultivation? In terms of learning to become a sage, what relationship obtains between the cultivation of one’s mind-heart and familial ethics? If the fulfillment of familial ethics is required for Confucian sagely learning, how is it represented in the images of Confucian sages? By investigating the above questions, this article finds that early Qing Confucians tended to reject the internal practice of the mind-heart and instead emphasized the importance of fulfilling familial obligations. They claimed that Confucian sagely learning had to be realized within the household, arguing that a person could never abandon his familial obligations in order to engage in sagely learning. In other words, filial piety was viewed as a requirement for sagehood. In accordance with this idea, early Qing Confucians highlighted filial piety in their writings about past Confucian sages. Even in the absence of strong evidence, scholars of the time argued that Confucius and Yan Hui had achieved great filial piety. In a departure from the focus on cultivating the mind-heart and Three Teaching syncretism popular in the late Ming, early Qing Confucianism thus reemphasized the importance of familial ethics. Despite this, however, the concepts of a moral heaven and an inherently good human nature were not abandoned, and they continued to play an important role in the Confucian discourse of the period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sax biinv emerged in the mountainous areas of southern Guizhou during the Ming and Qing periods, at a time when serious conflict broke out between the government and local society. The Ming opened a major postal road to Yunnan through southeastern Guizhou, and the Qing continued to advance their armies through the untamed Miao lands in the mountain areas of southeastern Guizhou, opening up a trade route between Guizhou and the provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi. To counteract this, the minority peoples of southeastern Guizhou put up one rebellion after another, until finally in the 18th century the Qing government was able to subdue the area. In the course of this intense conflict, new symbols and new legends made their appearance in local society, along with new customary laws and social structures. These were meant to help stabilise local Kam (Dong) society, which was becoming unstable. The fieldwork site for the present study -- Bian village, is located in a remote mountain area between the northern part of Congjiang county and the border with Liping county in Guizhou. This is one of the areas in which sax biinv appeared. As far as Bian village is concerned, the sax biinv are not just the stuff of rumour or legends, but are a fact of life in local society, and the subject matter of a social drama in which all residents take part. This article will first explain the social origins of witchcraft accusations against sax biinv. Then, using Turner's theory of social drama, and making use of materials drawn from ethnographic research, it will explain how witchcraft accusations against sax biinv, conveyed through rumour and legendary stories, were used in order to mobilise local society, and enact a series of social dramas in which their neighbours' reputations were blackened. The third part will examine in detail how this social mechanism affects marriage patterns in society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the period from 1906 to 1949, the local education administration system in China underwent the following changes; from establishing education promotion department (EPD); to replacing EPD with education department (ED); to restoring EPD; to establishing education bureau (EB); to reorganizing EB; to replacing EB with ED; and to restoring EB. The whole process shows modem China's efforts to establish a standardized, democratic, independent, professional and open administration system of education. At the same time, it also reveals that the education administration at that period was chaotic in organization, idealistic in goal-setting, westernized in content, and radical in manner. A review of this process will shed much light on the current reform in local education administration system in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The government in the Ming and Qing dynasty had issued a series of regulations on the social security. At the same times, the union of the rural people also made some regulations, which was to supplement the government's regulations. The government and the rural people (including prosperous families) cooperate with each other to safeguard the social orderly. The regulations made by the rural people which are preserved in the books for daily use and genealogies of the rural people is of great literature value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Yi Mansion Library is regarded as one of the most important and largest collection of books in the Qing dynasty and even throughout the history of private libraries in China. However, it has not been given the attention it deserves. The academic field has long harbored misconceptions on the sources, circulation, and size of the library, as well as the time the Catalog of the Yi Mansion Library was compiled, the courtesy names of the masters of Yi Mansion, etc. (especially regarding the fact that many books came from Xu Qianxue and Ji Zhenyi's old collections). Furthermore, the Anle Tang of the Yi Mansion is sometimes mistaken for Emperor Qianlong's Mingshan Tang or Leshan Tang. With the help the newly-found book The Catalog of Books Displayed in Ying Tang in Yi Mansion and other new materials, this essay sets forth some new ideas on different aspects of the Yi Mansion Library by surveying hundreds of books from the library currently found in more than twenty libraries throughout the world and investigating it in a systematic way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jiangnan in Ming and Qing Dynasties is a fundamental economic zone, wealth and taxes powerhouse, and its county administrative is very troublesome. At the same time because of the imperial prosperity, gentry intensive, industrial and commercial landlords are powerful, Jiangnan is the place where local interests and national interests are very prone to conflicts. County is the basis of the ruling dynasty, the effective display of county administration is a prerequisite for local development. The heavy liturgical, corrupt official, social conflicts, dynastic order crisis and so on in Jiangnan, all these problems need to cleanup start from the grassroots country administrations. The nervous relations between officials and the public, officials give the public tremendous liturgical pressure and barely able to maintain the balance between them, are the real problems faced with the county officials, "county community", which should exist in Jiangnan was popular influenced by courtiers and the rich, county officials need to carefully grasp the local gentries' trends, avoiding its threats and hazards to official police, and take full advantages of their impact for promoting the official full control of urban and rural society, try to guide the local society tend to healthy development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The atheism concept in Confucianism limited the growth of China's theological system, and the resting philosophy in Confucianism also restrained the development of China's dance industry. The boxers' God- inviting ceremony took on the task of God-making for people in a short period and a wide range. The boxers' witchcraft shows made a contribution to the development of China's witchcraft dances, and its influence was tremendous for the dance industry's popularization, promotion and innovation. The boxers' witchcraft dances directly borrowed from Chinese traditional opera and the traditions in folk witchcraft performances, and it also led to the rise of witchcraft dance industry in late Qing dynasty. The dramatic changes of the senior power in late Qing dynasty inspired the flourish of boxers' God-choosing system, and the strong sense of action in their team performances in public space not only symbolically showed the authority, but also completed the revival movement of the last witchcraft dances in the whole monarchy era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Jinshi Academy 進士館 was founded specially to re-educate the emperor's elite students 天子門生—holders of the highest imperial degree granted through palace examination—in law and politics. Searching for a quick way to implement the New Reform, the late Qing government required the new jinshi to enroll in the Jinshi Academy. This paper reveals that the government had generously invested in the establishment of this academy; that the school had elaborately-formulated regulations; and that its teachers were well-qualified. Moreover, not only were the newly-admitted jinshi not required to pay any fees, they were also entitled to receive considerable stipends. The jinshi, however, were not willing to attend the academy. They were interested in their own political careers and not government efficiency or politics in general, while the Manchu rulers were concerned with political stability, the implementation of the New Reform, and the continuation of governance. This shows how divergent the jinshi idea of “developing the wisdom of government officials” 開官智 was from the late Qing government's. These differences between the government and its officials had an extraordinarily negative effect on the operation of the Jinshi Academy. The late Qing government spared no effort to set up the academy, yet the Manchus never obtained satisfactory results. It should be pointed out that the Jinshi Academy symbolizes an essential transformation of the education of the emperor's elite students, namely, from the Shuchang Academy 庶常館 system focusing on Confucian classics and historiography, to the Jinshi Academy system in which modern legal and political knowledge was highly emphasized. In addition, the Jinshi Academy initiated systematic legal education in modern China. The re-education experiences in the Jinshi Academy provided these traditional cultural elites with a rare opportunity during the social transformation to modern China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on earlier studies conducted on the basis of textual sources to analyze the ancient technology of iron-making by using coke in China. It mentions that the presence of the technology of iron-making in the Ming Dynasty cannot be proved through the present literature. It states that the iron-making technique was achieved through crucible smelting in the early Qing Dynasty.

The term kexue came into use as far back as the Tang Dynasty. It meant the study of the Imperial Examination. "In the Late Ming Dynasty and Early Qing Dynasty, with the wave of Introducing Western Learning to the East, "Western university discipline system and knowledge category system were introduced into China, adding the meaning of the study of different disciplines to the term kexue However, kexue didn't mean modern science at that time. Modern science was often called the study of gewu qiongli, or the study of gezhi for short. Around the Meiji Restoration, Japanese scholars began to introduce natural sciences like Western modern medical science, and then introduced the modern Western discipline system including natural sciences, humanistic and social sciences. In this process, they translated the term "science" as kexue and endowed it with the modern meaning. Along with the opening to the world after the Opium Wars, especially with the Westernization Movement and the rise of the Westernization of Education, the concept of Western modern sciences together with its essential feature of "Discipline Classification in Learning" was introduced into China. In the Late Qing Dynasty, many Chinese intellectuals and foreign missionaries in China followed the tradition of Late Ming Dynasty and Early Qing Dynasty. They used the term gezhi to refer to science and introduced the essential feature of Discipline Classification in Learning of modern science by spreading Western Learning" and establishing new-type schools. The defeat in the Sino-Japanese War prompted the Chinese to review and rethink the merits and demerits of the former Westernization Movement and the Westernization of Education. On this basis, Chinese people's understanding of the roperty and feature of Discipline Classification in Learning of Western modern science was improved to a higher level, indicating that in Chinese people's mind at that time, "Western Learning" was not only the study of gezhi which mainly included craft and the branch disciplines of natural sciences, but also consisted of modern humanistic and social sciences. The progress from Western Technology focusing on Western craft and natural sciences to Western Politics including Western humanistic and social sciences marked the breakthrough of the Chinese people's understanding of the Western knowledge category system and the concept of discipline classification in learning in the Late Qing Dynasty. They began to realize that natural science and technology together with humanistic and social sciences are two related and inseparable parts in the Western modern knowledge and discipline category system. This progress helped the Chinese to grasp the essence of the concept of modern science as well as its feature of " Discipline Classification in Learning more comprehensively and deeply. In this context, Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao, Wang Guowei et al. firstly borrowed the Japanese term kexue for modern science during the process of spreading Western culture and knowledge of science, and expounded that modern science attached importance to revealing General Axiom, "namely the general laws and rules. On the other hand, scholars like Yan Fu, Cai Yuanpei and students like Ren Hongjun who returned from Europe and America emphasized that modern science was characterized by the scientific methodology of stressing observation, experiment and induction and thus enhanced the view of science in modern China in richness and comprehensiveness, enabling it to involve three main aspects, namely the form of Discipline Classification in Learning, "the gist of seeking "General Axiom" and the methodology of stressing observation, experiment and induction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ideological development within Gao's family in Jinshan at the end of the Qing Dynasty characterized how the big families of intelligentsia in the Jiangnan Region responded to tumultuous historical changes at that time. The great social changes, especially the abolishment of Keju system, prevented people of those families from following the traditional way of career development and thus forced them to turn to new cultural ideals. Members of Gao's family, who had embraced the idea of social reform in the 1898 Reform Movement led by Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao, joined the force to topple the Qing Government. They started a family monthly journal of Juemin (literally awakening people) and established a connection with the forces against Qing Government in Shanghai through this magazine . In addition to the journal, Gao's family also set up Hanyin Association, blazing a trail for the establishment of the revolutionary Nanshe Association. In this sense, the study of Gao's family is an effective way to explore the relationship between great families and the development of key social communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since Ming and Qing Dynasties, the concept of clankinship in Fujian gets relatively weak, while the awareness of family and township becomes strong. In southern Fujian, settlement by clan in the whole town, clan expansion and frequent migration, rich concept of geomaney, and the faith and worship of clan have become folk-customs. The clan in Jiangsu live together in a region though the population is not very large, thus having not formed a strong concept of family, and they pay more attention on the purity of blood. Clanexplants is rare, and the concept of geomancy is also relatively weak, so they haven't formed a certain " ritual circle" in folk beliefs. The different lifestyles and customs of the two clans are results influenced by geography, cultural traditions, socio- economic development, socialpsychology and other factors, and also concrete manifestation of ecologicalphysiognomy in the development and construction process of the two areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many craftsmen in Jiangnan District get enrolled in government through craft as well as scholars through imperial examinations, which is an important embodiment of modern transformation of craftsmen and rising of technical economy. This paper focuses on interpreting and analyzing the part of "traditional get craftsmen enrolled in government" and making up instances in Qing Dynasty in order to explore its historical influence on the basis of generally introducing main ideas of Professor Yu Tongyuan's book, Modern Transformation of Traditional Craftsman -- Centered by Craftsman's Transformation of Craft of Early Industrialization in Jiangnan District [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the expansion of the human development process, the man - tiger relation grew tense gradually. From pre - history period to the Sui dynasty, because the central governments did not take sufficient measures for the development and management of their territory, man and tiger had lived separately in places where they were pleased in the pleasant natural environment. With the early development starting from the dynasty of Tang to the Five Dynasties, man and tiger began to have contacts in mountain areas of the north and east of Fujian and conflict accidents that tiger troubled and hurt man happened occasionally. From the dynasties of Song to the dynasty of Yuan, the economic center moved to the South, and then man and tiger started to live together due to the development of mountain areas. The man - tiger conflict became salient gradually and it extended to the west and south of Fujian area. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, with the climax of full development, accidents of serious and extremely serious tiger troubles happened frequently, and the man - tiger relation had never become so tense before and even worse and worse. To solve these tiger troubles, the civilian, the government and the military responded by working together and taking some major measures, such as fete and pray, driving away tigers by good governance, individual prevention, and various hunting methods. From this, we can see the evolution of the human - animal relation in Chinese history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chen Weisong (1625-1682), a ci ... writer of the seventeenth century, was a major figure responsible for the promotion of ci poetry in the Qing dynasty (1639-1911). He was highly regarded by his contemporaries and, with the rise of the Changzhou school of ci poetics during Jiaqing (1796-1820) and Daoguang (1821-1850) reign periods, his status became even more prominent in the movement. There has been, however, a serious lack of in-depth study of his influence especially during Yongzheng (1722-1735) and Qianlong (1736-1796) periods. This paper seeks to fill this gap by carefully looking at how Chen was received during this time. With particular reference to the charismatic image he projected, the specific writing style and skills for which he was praised, the notion of ci and its history that he advocated, and the great efforts he devoted to compiling ci-anthologies, the study examines the various literary roles associated with Chen. It highlights the increasing importance he assumed in the promotion of poetics, and concludes that it was during the eighteenth century that Chen eventually acquired the status of a canonical master in Qing literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Official documents and local gazetteers of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) recorded primarily the facilities and administrative organizations of prisons at the local level, without much mention of the actual daily operations in jails. On the other hand, in many of the late Ming vernacular tales, local prisons were described as a netherworld controlled by corrupt clerks and their ruthless underlings, where bribery and murders are recurring narrative motifs. These fictional references, nonetheless, often serve as source materials for scholars who conduct critical discussions of the prison as well as the legal systems of the time. In addition, they often mix up the two different provincial judicial systems of the Ming and Qing dynasties, treating them as one intact institution. In the light of the Mengshui zhai cundu, a characteristic casebook published at the end of the Ming dynasty, this paper attempts to explore the interactions between the sophisticated, if not tedious, provincial judicial review procedures and the administration of local prisons in late Ming China. It discusses the differences in the provincial judiciaries between the Ming and the Qing. Through authentic judicial cases, this paper examines the first hand experiences of prefectural judges and other legal officials assigned to the jails, and analyses the problems in the local prisons in Guangdong and, possibly the whole country, in late Ming China. It concludes with a discussion of the critical impact that the prison administration inflicted upon the quality of justice in the legal system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Ming-Qing period, there lived a certain "wolf people" (Langren) in Southwest China. Some scholars believe that the "wolf people" were part of the Zhuang nationality. This essay argues that the "wolf people" were an independent nationality different from the Zhuang, who were formed in early Ming times and were probably descendants of the "wolf barbarians" (langman) from the Tang dynasty. The "wolf people" inhabited principally in the river basins of Longjiang, Dunijiang, Zuojiang, and Youjiang in western Guangxi prior to the mid-Ming, and gradually expanded to regions in eastern Guangxi and western Guangdong. From mid-Ming to mid-Qing, they were famed nationally for serving as "wolf troops" (langbing). In addition to fighting in wars as soldiers, they were also engaged in farming, fishing, hunting, and other economic activities. The "wolf people" had their own language and unique customs, and they excelled at singing as well. Due to their constant and continuous war involvements, they suffered severe manpower losses over the times. Moreover, as a result of their eastward movement, they spread thinly and scattered in many places in southeastern China. Gradual- ly, they were assimilated by the Zhuang, Yao, and Han nationalities, and then disappeared from historical records by the time of late Qing period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There was a strict procedure to follow for minister plenipotentiary selection in the late Qing Dynasty. First, high-ranking officials recommended persons with diplomatic talent, some of whom the Grand Council and the Zongli Yamen 總理衙門 would put into a list of minister candidates. When a minister left office, the Zongli Yamen would present the list of candidates to the emperor. With further recommendation and advice from the Grand Council and the Zongli Yamen, the emperor would select the most appropriate one for the new minister post. However, only with the acknowledgement of the Grand Council and the Zongli Yamen could the recommendation of the high rank officials be effective. Sometimes, the emperor also showed his initiative. Persons on the list were evaluated according to their membership in political factions and their ability to deal with foreign affairs. The final appointment was influenced by a variety of complicated factors, involving power struggle, interpersonal relations, and economic interests. By examining documents concerning minister selection, this article explores and reveals the details of this procedure in the late Qing Dynasty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]