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[Image: see text] COVER ILLUSTRATION The cartoon shows that Confucius (left) is teaching his students (right). The text is a citation of The Analects of Confucius. It means that “The Master knows admirably how to lead people on step by step. He has enlarged my mind with an extensive knowledge of the arts, while guiding and correcting my judgement and taste. Thus I could not stop in my progress, even if I would.” The light spectrum behind the text implies the application of functional near infra‐red spectroscopy technique to the field of teaching in a naturalistic context.

Three Mongolian groups (Elute, Bargud and Buriat) were investigated on seven asymmetric behavioral traits (handedness, hand clasping, arm folding, leg folding, foot preference, stride type and eye preference) in Hulun Buir League, Inner Mongolia, in September, 1997. The results were as follows: 1) In the Mongols of Hulun Buir League, handedness, leg folding, foot preference, stride type and eye preference showed obviously higher frequencies of right type than those of left type. 2) The seven traits except leg folding had no significant sexual difference. 3) The differences between Bargud and Elute were greater than those between Bargud and Buriat. 4) Compared with other groups, the Mongols in Hulun Buir League showed a lower frequency of right hand clasping, a higher frequency of right arm folding and a moderate frequency of right leg folding. 5) Statistically significant correlation was found between 12 pairs of the traits.

A sample of 1768 participants was tested for seven different traits of lateral functional dominance (hand clasping, handedness, arm folding, leg folding, stride type, preferential foot, and preferential eye) in five populations (Oroqen, Ewenki, Daur, Mongol, and Han) from Inner Mongolia, China. The results are as follows. 1) Seven traits all show right dominance (RD) in Mongol. However, just arm folding of the seven traits shows left dominance (LD) in Oroqen and Ewenki. In addition, LD also present for hand clasping in Daur, and for hand clasping and stride type in Han. 2) Sexual characteristics are not obvious in the traits. 3) Significant ethnic characteristics are observed in stride type, preferential foot, and preferential eye. 4) Some relationships occur in the traits. Furthermore, leg folding has the mostly close correlation with other six traits, followed by between hand clasping and handedness, and, in the last place, preferential eye with other six traits. 5) From PCA and cluster analysis, it is shown that, compared with Oroqen that has relatively distinct distribution of RD and LD for most of the traits, Ewenki shows the most similar to Mongol, and the more to Daur and Han in the distributing pattern. On the whole, the result coincides with the known history data of ethnic origin of each population.

The pottical type, palmar and plantar digital formulae, hand clasping, arm folding, handedness, leg folding and stride type have been investigated on a sample of 143 male and 160 female students of the Daur population of Molidawa Banner, Inner Mongolia. The results of this study are the following: 1. the frequency of the hyperextensive pottical type is 49.17 %, the relative length of index over annularis 12.21 %, right hand clasping 45.87 %, right arm folding 49.50 %, right handedness 94.39 %, right leg folding 72.28 % and right stride type 44.88 %, 2. pottical type, hand clasping, handedness, leg folding and stride type do not show significant sex differences, 3. there are some relations between hand clasping and arm folding as well as between arm folding and stride type, 4. compared with other population groups, the Daur population shows a low frequency of right hand clasping, a moderate frequency of right arm folding and a low frequency of left handedness.