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The article focuses on the life of master Sang, whose given name is Yün-chiao, and who is fifty-one years old. The son of a blacksmith, he followed his father from one place to another. From his childhood, he was fed the bitter water of class oppression and class exploitation, the old society drove to their deaths seven members of his family. In 1945 the Communist Party saved his entire family. Now, he is the head of the welding group of the United Factory in Wu-hsiang hsien and an honored labor model. From the time of Yü-chiao's great -grandfather, his family served the big landlords like Yang Lao-p'ei. horses and mules. Yang employed scores of lackeys, these plus his hired laborers and maidservants must have made his household number more than 100 persons. Yang operated a salt shop which monopolized the business and controlled salt prices, and it cost ten catties of maize to buy a catty of salt. Salt was as expensive as silver, how could poor people afford it. They could not eat salt for years.

The article gives a brief rendition of the typical ceremonial activities in which Buddhists have engaged, including temple worship, assemblies, celebration of religious holidays, pilgrimages, ordination. etc., both among Han and minority believers. In the communist-ruled Chinese mainland, it is questionable whether sufficient leisure time is available for personal religious cultivation. The communist newspapers and periodicals have carried no material regarding individual cultivation of the faith, consequently, as regards the religious activities of Buddhists on the mainland, one can only make observations from collective external behavior in connection with the various assemblies, congregations, pilgrimages, etc. Judging from the reports of Communist Chinese newspapers and news agencies, almost nothing remains of the genuine religious assemblies, the so-called "Fa-hui" held by Buddhists in China proper, that is, the vast area populated by the Han nationality, and excluding the border regions where the national minorities predominate, except the so-called "Ablution of Buddha," which is conducted annually in certain large cities.

One of the fundamental reasons geographers have cited for the non-study of contemporary China is the inaccurate blanket excuse that “there is no material available on mainland China.” While admitting that the scholarly resource base is not optimal for researches on China today, I contend that there does exist adequate material for continuing geographic awareness and concern with this nation so rich in geographic lore and material. One of the most effective means of retiring some enthusiasm for the intelligent study of China is the viewing and comparing of a number of recently produced educational films on mainland China. This short article is concerned with the review of nine such films and the creation of a basis for comparison between the films which would enable new China hands to gain some idea of the elements of landscape which are currently visible even to Americans. The films are analyzed briefly and compared in terms of footage on settlement phenomena, landscape modification, occupations, transportation facilities, rural landscapes, and regional coverage. Addresses of the relevant distributors are included to facilitate review of the films directly by interested teachers and students of China. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The ideal of human life as a life of sagehood is the core of Confucian thought. In neo‐Confucianism the stress is on the self‐perfectibility of man, and the central concern of neo‐Confucianist thinkers has accordingly been with the question of how man can cultivate his own potentiality to be a sage. The different answers they give are in the form of teachings about the ‘way’, these teachings incorporating different philosophical views of mind, human nature, and the universe. The author outlines the views of successive neo‐Confucianists and their versions of the ‘way’, seeing their teachings as developments towards the doctrine presented by Wang Yang‐ming (b. 1472), whose thought can be seen in particular as a synthesis of the views of Chu Tzu and Lu Shiang‐shan. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Explores the urban developments in China. Establishment of cities in connection with an official residence; Functions of modern Chinese cities; Factors affecting the country's development.