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Dopa-responsive dystonia（DRD） is an autosomal dominant or recessive dyskinesia, which is pathologically characterized with reduced amount of dopamine in the substantia nigra and striatum. DRD is mainly manifested with dystonian in early childhood. Low-dose levodopa can mitigate relevant symptoms. Guanosine triphosphate cyclohydrolase I （GCH1） gene is the pathogenic gene of DRD. In this article, 1 child diagnosed with DRD induced by GCH1 gene mutation was reported. Gait abnormality was the chief complaint. The child showed dystonic posture when walking. These symptoms were mitigated in the morning and aggravated during night. Gene detection confirmed the incidence of heterozygous mutation of GCH1 gene. The neurological symptoms of this child were basically cured after low-dose levodopa therapy. During 2-year follow-up at Department of Pediatric Neurology, motor function was restored to normal. In clinical practice, the possibility of DRD should be considered for pediatric dystonia with unknown causes. Prompt diagnosis and treatment can significantly improve clinical prognosis and prevent the incidence of disability.

Background and objective Lung cancer incidence in Macao increases gradually, smoking is one of the important high risk factors. The purpose of this study is to observe the detection rate of lung cancer and nodules in long-term smoking Macao individuals. Methods We recruited eligible Macao residents by publicity, all subjects were arranged to receive low-dose computed tomography screening. Image features of lung nodules were analyzed by radiologist. For suspicious lung cancer, multiple disciplinary team (MDT) was arranged. Results A total of 291 were adopted, 10 lung cancers were detected, the detection rate of lung cancer was 3.44% (95%CI: 2.78%-4.01%), all were males. There were 5 adenocarcinoma patients, each 2 squamous-cell carcinoma and small cell lung carcinoma patients; 1 adenosquamous cancer patient. Among 10 lung cancers, 40% had stage 1 disease. The detection rate of lung nodules was 72.9% (95%CI: 67.8%-78.0%); The number of suspicious lung nodules were 44, and the detection rate was 15.1% (95%CI: 11.0%-19.2%). There was no significant differences in the lung cancer detection rate between the single and multiple lung nodule groups (P>0.05). There were 168 subjects in the

Objective To establish an automatic segmentation algorithm using convolution neural network, and to validate the consistency between the algorithm and manual segmentation. Methods One hundred andforty⁃six CT scans of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) were included from Chinese Intracranial Hemorrhage Image Database (CICHID). They were randomly divided into training set (n=90), testing set (n=26) and validation set(n=30). All CT scans were manual segmentation. Training set and testing set were used for algorithm training. The validation set was measured by four methods including manual segmentation, algorithm segmentation, accurate Tada formula and traditional Tada formula. The consistency test was performed. Results Compared with the Tada formula methods, the percentage error ofalgorithm values was the smallest 15.54 (8.41,23.18) %, and algorithm agreement with the manual reference was the strongest (correlation coefficient 0.983). Bland⁃Altman analysis showed that 93.33% of the data was within the 95% limits of agreement (95%LoA), and 95%LoA was narrow (⁃ 6.46-5.97 ml). No significant differences were found in size and shape (P > 0.05, for all). Conclusions The algorithm using convolutional neural network has a certain application prospect, but it needs still more validation in large sample research. DOI：10.3969/j.issn.1672⁃6731.2020.07.005

The bi (“disc”) is an object that was originally made from jade, and became an independent motif that appeared widely in different pictorial materials during Han times. The bi disc is considered one of the earliest jade forms, and has been used for ritual purposes or as an ornament from the Neolithic period until today. This paper focuses on the Han Dynasty (202 BCE–220 CE), a period in which jade bi discs were extensively used and placed in burials of different ranks. Present finds show that images of bi discs also appeared widely in Han burials, in which they were depicted on coffins, funerary banners covering coffins, and mural paintings, and were also engraved on pictorial stones and pictorial bricks, these practices becoming more ubiquitous in the later Han period. By studying various images of bi discs in different burials throughout the Han period, this paper will explore the development and significance of different pictorial representations of bi disc in Han burial context, and also attempt to reveal the rich content and thoughts embedded in the form of bi discs during this period of time.

華人地區深受傳統儒家文化影響，不少家長及教師都認同「勤有功、戲無益」、「有志者、事竟成」和「鐵柱磨成針」等傳統觀念。因此長期以來，香港學童都面對家課量多、家課深、長時間做家課的問題。2001年，香港特區政府推行教育改革，建議學校適當編排學生家課的數量，從而提升教與學的質素。為求了解香港學童家課的質與量是否因家課政策的實施而得以改善，本研究在香港10所小學進行調查，邀請各所學校其中一班五年級學生填寫問卷，統計完成家課的時間和家課類型，並訪問教師了解他們在家課設計、家課類型、家課功能等方面的考量。研究顯示，相對於課程改革之前，學生每天花在家課的時間的確減少；然而，大部分家課仍是紙筆練習，以鞏固課堂所學為主，較少有發展性的家課。分析這些研究結果背後的成因，有助於了解香港課程改革實施的狀況。Parents and teachers across Chinese societies mostly uphold the traditional belief of Confucianism that “hard work is the key to success.” As such, Hong Kong students have long been using much of their time doing lots of difficult homework. In 2001, curriculum reform was launched in Hong Kong, requesting schools and teachers to adjust the quantity and quality of homework assigned to students for the improvement of teaching and learning. The present study attempts to reveal the level of implementation of this homework policy. Ten primary schools participated in this study. One class of Grade 5 students in each school was chosen to complete a questionnaire for identifying the amount of time students spent on homework and the types of homework. Teachers of these classes were interviewed to find out how schools and teachers design and plan homework for their students. The study reveals that the time students spent on homework has decreased when compared to the time spent before the curriculum reform. However, the homework was still more of consolidating, but less of developmental in nature. The reasons behind these findings are discussed for understanding the implementation of curriculum reform in Hong Kong.

自2009年開始，香港高中課程進行大規模的改革，所有適齡的中學生，須接受六年免費的中學教育，在初中至高中期間，無需經歷任何公開考試，直至完成中六，才接受一次中學文憑考試，以作為升學或就業的依據。在這改革背景之下，香港的高中課程和教學須面對有史以來最重要的改革和挑戰。在課程路向方面，新高中課程從以往的菁英主義走向普及主義；在教學路向方面，它須走向多元化的教學方向，才能處理新高中課程會出現的學生個別差異的問題。面對這種種的挑戰，究竟學校政策制定者對新高中課程所持的觀點，與官方課程是否相同，抑或有異？在他們工作的學校環境中，建構新課程時又有何決定？本研究以香港新高中課程改革為背景，以實徵研究為本，探討香港中學的政策制定者對新高中課程的觀點和決定，問題有三：一、香港的學校政策制定者對新高中課程持哪些觀點？二、學校政策制定者在學校課程的建構方面有何決定？三、哪些因素影響學校政策制定者的決定？Since 2009, the senior secondary school curriculum in Hong Kong has undergone a large scale of change. Instead of taking two public examinations, all students will receive free six-year secondary school education and sit the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination at their exit point. With such a change, the Hong Kong senior secondary school curriculum faces its greatest challenge that has ever met. In terms of curriculum orientations, the new secondary school curriculum espouses compulsory education instead of elitist education. In terms of teaching and learning, the new secondary school curriculum needs to adopt various teaching methods in order to solve the problems of individual differences. With this challenge, it is interesting to explore how school policy makers perceive the new senior secondary school curriculum, as well as the decisions they make on the planning and construction of their new school curriculum. This paper aims to explore the perspectives and decision making of the school policy makers on the new secondary school curriculum. It focuses on three questions: (1) What are the perspectives of the school policy makers on the new secondary school curriculum? (2) What are the decision making of the school policy makers in constructing the new school curriculum in their own school contexts? (3) What are the factors affecting school policy makers’ decisions?

This paper identifies a number of different pathways that give rise to sentence final particles in Chinese. In particular, it focuses on a strategy referred to as ‘clausal integration’. Diachronic evidence is given for the emergence of sentence final particles er yi yi and ye yi yi in Old Chinese. Additional examples are further provided from Early Modern Chinese and contemporary Chinese to show that the process of clausal integration is a highly robust, recursive process that gives rise to numerous pragmatic markers at the right periphery within the Chinese language, with possible implications for other languages as well.

本文提出香港現今師資培訓及中學校教育的局限性，並以行動研究的角度去尋找、探討及描述一個創新的教學法：「以院校合作模式推動課程統整」。文中描述這個院校合作計畫的理論架構、實踐模式及研究結果。院校合作提供啟導以及院校協作推動課程發展的機會，讓準老師把他們已涉獵的理論和教學法實踐在真實的教學情景中，師資培訓不再是紙上談兵。這個實景性學習能激發準老師的學習動機的同時，也能推動學校的課程發展。此外，院校合作的設計與實踐也融合了課程統整的原素：把學科分割的知識在有意義的教學主題下重新統合。因此，作為門徑去推動中學課程統整的院校合作計劃亦能讓中學生明白知識與生活是息息相關，讓他們體會學會學習的真諦。 Addressing the limitations of the current teaching training methods, this study adopts action research as a tool to examine the effectiveness of a new model of teaching known as the institute-school partnership in a teacher education programe in Hong Kong. The paper discusses the framework, design and implementation of this new partnership mode for a group of nine pre-service teachers, and how it can serve as a professional strategy to promote integrated curriculum development in schools. The Institution-school partnership project provided mentoring support that encouraged student-teachers to take part in curriculum development in school, student-teachers was able to apply pedagogical knowledge into real life context, and learned from experience alongside learning from text. This method enhanced the learning motivation of student-teachers at this pre-service period for better equipping themselves for the school workplace, at the same time highly promoted curriculum development of the participating school by adopting the concept of integration to achieve effective learning, within the current segregated curriculum structure in school. The study uses integrated curriculum as a cutting point to link up partnership with the teacher education institute and school teachers, the lessons learnt can be shared to promote curriculum development in schools which better serves the needs of learning for students in schools.

「學生為本」課程為每一專業老師心中教育理想之所繫，亦乃其教學實踐中奉之為圭臬者。但何謂「學生為本」課程？老師在這種課程框架內是如何定位，及如何實踐這種課程之目標？研究文獻指出，不同老師抱有不同的課程詮釋及演繹。但這課題上之文獻探討，大多是理念的闡析，而少有實證研究，也就是說，少見有人把某人實踐的課程進行分析或詮釋為currere（跑馬場）課程，而做一論述。是以，研究者有意在此方面做出嘗試，以現象詮釋學角度探索及分析何謂「學生為本」課程？其與後現代課程學者Pinar（1988）所倡議之curriculum as currere（跑馬場課程）又有何不同？明顯而言，何者為currere課程？及其應如何被演繹出來是純綷一詮釋的過程及結果。老師或研究員皆可以作主體性的詮釋。本研究是根據一歷時3～4年（參與學校4所、2所為小學、2所為中學，每校有2～3位老師或校長參與）的教師課程信念研究所得出之結果及心得，藉以探討並指出，此種詮釋性現象學研究如何能為老師的課程信念提升、專業發展及老師個人生涯之意義重整等三方面做出貢獻，以及指出此種研究方法可以如何打開新的學術研究及老師專業發展天地，以致最終令學童得益。 Teachers as professionals are both assumed and reported in literature to dedicate themselves to the academic, personal and social well-being of their students. This will entail a kind of formal and informal curriculum that is geared towards the needs of the students. The notion of a ‘student-centred curriculum’ begets a lot of different interpretations and practice from amongst the teacher sector. It also impinges a lot on teachers’ interpretations and the resultant enactment of what they think is a student-centred curriculum. The researcher would like to find out how it is likened to Pinar’s (1988) notion of curriculum as currere which emphasizes a path of self discovery and self actualization. This study finds out that different teachers embrace different notions of child-centred curriculum and practice. It also argues that a hermeneutical and phenomenological way of studying such a notion or theory-in-action among targeted teachers and principals (a total of eight) would yield more illuminating insights and revelations than other commonly used research methods. The study reveals that Gadamer’s notion of ‘fusion of horizons’ can be realized with the researcher and the participant teachers mutually enhancing their pre-understanding of student-centred curriculum notions and practice. The hermeneutic interviews also results in the researcher’s and teachers’ re-constructing the meanings of their journey as professional education practitioners who have a heart in child-centredness. Such an approach of studying and empowering teachers, it is argued, would transform the world for the betterment of our children.

In this paper, an efficient method to generate elliptic curves for public key cryptosystems based on discrete logarithm problem is presented. Usually, to resist possible attacks, such as MOV reduction, public key cryptosystems based on elliptic curve E over field GF（q） must satify the following condition: the order m of the curve has a large prime factor of the form 2p+1 where p is a prime and q21 mod m. This condition can be relaxed to include primes of the form 2ip+1 （i is a small integer） without compromising security. Hence, the number of elliptic curves suitable for use by public key cryptosystems is increased greatly. We design a method to implement such a scheme, showing that, it is much faster to generate a suitable elliptic curve with this new scheme than with the original scheme.

Foreign domestic workers, also known as migrant domestic workers, spread all over the world under the phenomenon of global population migration. They leave their origin countries and migrate to work at destination countries. Changes in the environment affect the living and health conditions of these people. Under the implementation of the law on the employment of foreign employees in Macao, there are now about 30,000 foreign domestic workers. Due to the differences in social culture and language, the health status of foreign domestic workers is of great concern. Therefore, this article aims to review literatures, to explore the social determinants of the health of foreign domestic workers in Macao through the rainbow model of Dahlgren and Whitehead. It was found that the social determinants of health of this population are unsatisfactory, including living and working conditions, language and cultural adaption. Thus, this article puts forward suggestions for the health of foreign domestic workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the knowledge, attitude and behaviors towards hand washing of the health professional in Macau. Method: 567 and 40 medical caretakers were selected for questionnaires and clinical observations respectively. Results: 491 effective questionnaires were collected, return rate is 86.6%. An average score of 81.6 was founded among the doctors or nurses on their knowledge to band washing and 98.6% of them knew that the purpose of bend washing is to protect individuals and patients from infection. It also showed that the rate of hand washing of the medical caretakers after patient contact was lower than that of before contact. The major reasons for this situation were that they were busy at work and these were not sufficient hand washing facilities at hand, etc. Conclusion: This research findings offered some suggestions for improvement so as to increase the hand washing rate and decrease nosocomial infection rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Shanghai Physical Education Institute / Shanghai Tiyu Xueyuan Xuebao is the property of Shanghai Physical Education Institute 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.)

This article examines the effect of family social capital on students' literacy performance. Data of the present study come from the first cycle of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which was conducted in 2002 in Hong Kong. A total of 4,405 fifteen-year-old students from 140 secondary schools completed the assessment and questionnaires. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) is used to examine the effect of family social capital on students' reading, mathematical, and scientific literacy performance. Findings from the HLM analysis indicate that most measures of family social capital are consistently associated with students' reading, mathematical, and scientific literacies. At the student level, students scored higher if their parents have more cultural or social communication with them. Parents with higher educational expectation also contribute significantly to students' literacy performance. At the school level, school average level of parental network has strong positive contextual effect on students' literacy performance. Overall, evidence from this study supports Coleman's thesis of social capital in the creation of human capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tai Chi Soft Ball is a young Chinese sport with distinctive ethnic characteristics. It has profound cultural connotation and philosophy, and blends traditional sport and modern competitive sport into a unity. Deeply rooted in traditional Chinese culture, the sport developed rapidly in the last 20 years, and loved by people all over the world. The aims of this paper are to provide 1) a comprehensive historical and cultural background of Tai Chi Soft Ball and; 2) a solid theoretical foundation for this ancient but young sport and; 3) systematic review on Tai Chi Soft Ball in scientific evidence based research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mosston and Ashworth (1994) introduced the spectrum of teaching styles in physical education. Research findings indicated that reciprocal teaching style brought positive benefits to student learning. This study aimed at examining the effects of reciprocal style on junior secondary students' learning interest, collaboration skills and communication skills in volleyball lessons. Participants were 32 female junior secondary students and they were taught in ten volleyball lessons with reciprocal teaching style. Mixed methods were employed to collect both quantitative and qualitative data in the study. The collaboration skill and communication skill analysis checklists, participant observation field notes and individual interview were used as to understand the learning process and the students' perceptions on the teaching style within the lessons. Findings indicated that there were positive effects on students' learning interest, collaboration and communication skills under this teaching style. Results were discussed in the following aspects: (1) how did the students enhance learning interest, (2) how did the students develop collaboration skills, and (3) how did the students develop communication skills under this teaching style. The findings of this study have implications on the practice of physical educators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The implementation of school-based assessment (SBA) is an important component of the new senior secondary (NSS) education reform. Although there is yet to be a timeframe for the implementation of Mathematics SBA, a number of studies have revealed that Mathematics teachers are anxious about the setting and the suggested assessment o/SBA questions. Some of them even challenge its effectiveness and fairness. England and Australia are experienced in implementing Mathematics SBA. The assessment model proposed in Hong Kong is similar to the one implemented in England, and the feature of SBA in Queensland is unique as it is based on its school-based curriculum in implementation. With reference to the experience of GCSE coursework in England and SBA in Queensland, this article attempts to provide insights and recommendations on how the Mathematics SBA of Hong Kong might be implemented in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The new Hong Kong senior secondary science curriculum will be implemented in 2009. The curriculum change was induced by the change in the education system, but its meaning will go far beyond matching the curriculum with the new system. It intends to remove the limitation of the existing curriculum, and to enlighten it with essential elements of contemporary science education. It transcends subject boundary to establish a new integrated subject, and extends the scope of student assessment such that both teaching and assessment will become more diversified. This article analyses the characteristics of this curriculum reform and its forces behind, and comments on the advantages and challenges it create. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the stress of role change in fresh nursing graduates working in a hospital in Macau. Methods: A survey was conducted by using convenience sampling amongst 74 graduates of Years 2002 and 2003 in a nursing college with Role Stress and Role Ambiguity in New Nursing Graduates and Scale of Occupational Stress. Result: Mean of new nurses in role ambiguity is 2.67, role stress 2.52, occupational stress 2.64, all of which display insignificant and below average stress level in new nurses' role ambiguity, role stress and occupational stress. However, subjects' own choice of wards is not significantly related to the stress level mentioned above whilst those working in OPD, ER, Surgical, Critical Care or Specialist Departments undergo greater stress, because of role ambiguity, than those in departments of General Surgery, Gynecology and Obstetrics and Pediatrics. Most of the subjects tend to choose positive means to reduce stress. Conclusion: The Study shows that fresh graduates have undergone certain stress related to role change. It is suggested that management should take into consideration building up a comprehensive recruitment lead-in programme, favorable clinical supervision and instruction system, effective stress monitoring and teaching of coping skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the stress of role change in fresh nursing graduates working in a hospital in Macau. Methods: A survey was conducted by using convenience sampling amongst 74 graduates of Years 2002 and 2003 in a nursing college with Role Stress and Role Ambiguity in New Nursing Graduates and Scale of Occupational Stress. Result: Mean of new nurses in role ambiguity is 2.67, role stress 2.52, occupational stress 2.64, all of which display insignificant and below average stress level in new nurses' role ambiguity, role stress and occupational stress. However, subjects' own choice of wards is not significantly related to the stress level mentioned above whilst those working in OPD, ER, Surgical, Critical Care or Specialist Departments undergo greater stress, because of role ambiguity, than those in departments of General Surgery, Gynecology and Obstetrics and Pediatrics. Most of the subjects tend to choose positive means to reduce stress. Conclusion: The Study shows that fresh graduates have undergone certain stress related to role change. It is suggested that management should take into consideration building up a comprehensive recruitment lead-in programme, favorable clinical supervision and instruction system, effective stress monitoring and teaching of coping skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developments in learning theories and researches have shown that spiral bianshi curriculum can become a bridge from "basic skills" to the development of various process abilities in the learning of mathematics. In other words, students can acquire basic skills and develop higher-order thinking competences at the same time. In this article, attempt is made to illustrate the principles of designing spiral bianshi curriculum using three mathematics topics at senior primary level as examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To examine the morbidity of dental caries and the related factors among the primary 2 students in Macau. Method: convenient sampling was conducted and 167 full-dine primary 2 students accepted the oral examinations in a Macau health centre. The data was obtained by the self-designed questionnaires. Results: It revealed that the morbidity of dental caries was 79%, on an average of 4.3 drops of dental caries in their primary teeth, and 0.24 drops of dental caries in their permanent teeth. The reasons causing dental caries in primary teeth of the primary 2 students were related to sex, the frequency of eating sweets, and the regularity of receiving teeth check-up. In this research, there was no significant relation found between the morbidity of dental caries in primary teeth with the issues of what age they start brushing their teeth, the brushing time, brush before bed, their mouths rinsed or not after eating, etc. Moreover, the way of brushing teeth needed to be explored further. Conclusion: The morbidity of dental caries is found higher in female having sweets more than once a day and having no regular teeth check-up. So we suggest the government increase the publicity of oral sanitation, evoke regard of the family, and encourage parents to keep watch over their children on minimizing sweets intake and arranging regular teeth check-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article attempts to elucidate the political and academic significance of an ideological debate between Yan Fu ... and Zhang Shizhao ..., two distinguished thinkers and foremost exponents of liberalism in modern China, on Rousseau's Social Contract in the early Republican years. Yan and Zhang were both modern Chinese intellectuals influenced and nurtured by the political theories of 19 -century British classical liberalism. Both of them favoured a political reform with steady and slow progress and agreed that the ultimate goal of such reform was to achieve democratic constitutionalism and human rights. However, their political views were distinctly different in the early Republican years when China was undergoing the transition from autocratic monarchism to republican constitutionalism. Such divergence is clearly displayed in their debate on the political principles put forward by Rousseau's Social Contract. Politically, the acts of Yuan Shikai ... before and after his restoration of monarchy brought about the debate between Yan and Zhang. Academically, the debate tentatively fostered among modern Chinese intellectuals an understanding of the nature of Rousseau's political thought. The conventional understanding of Rousseau's thoughts involving the democracy-totalitarianism dichotomy is also well mirrored in the debate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It seems that most past studies of Wang Tao ... by both Chinese and Western scholars have focused on the analysis and evaluation of his views on institutional reform. In fact, Wang Tao played a much more significant role in modern Chinese history than just as a pioneer reform thinker. He was among the first of the 19th-century Chinese thinkers to witness and comprehend the transformation of the modern world and the clash between Chinese and Western cultures. Even more importantly, he was able to face these unprecedented changes with a positive attitude, and make timely and proper responses to the cultural transformations of his time. His contributions to cultural exchanges between China and the West, the transformation of his own cultural views, and his rational investigation, comparison and evaluation of the content and characteristics of the two cultures all hold epoch-making significance in Chinese history. Wang Tao's cultural views underwent three transformations during his life, becoming steady and mature during his old age. First of all, he was able to abandon the idea that Chinese civilization is paramount; secondly, he repudiated the common belief that Chinese and Western cultures are opposed to each other in that the former is metaphysical and theoretical while the latter materialistic and practical; and lastly, he proposed the ground-breaking idea that the integration of Chinese and Western cultures was a prerequisite for achieving a universal culture on earth. It is not difficult to find the influence of Wang Tao's cultural views in the ideas of such later thinkers as Yan Fu ..., Kang Youwei ... and Liang Qichao .... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay is an attempt to reconstruct the biographies of the early Ming commanders--in--chief Ning Cheng ... and his son Ning Chung ... through collation of the information scattered in the Ming T'ai-tsu shih-lu (...) and supplementation with other pertinent contemporaneous sources. The basic supplementary source for Ning Cheng is the Chi-shih lu (...) , a personal reminiscences of the anti-Yuan military campaigns by Yu Pen ..., a junior officer under the command of Chu Yuan-chang ..., the future Ming dynastic founder. An additional source for Ning Chung, who fought for the Chien-wen ... Emperor against the usurpation of the Prince of Yen ..., the future Yung-lo ... Emperor (T'ai-tsung ... or Ch'eng-tsu ...) and martyred for the royal cause, is the biographical compendia of these loyal personages compiled at the end of the dynasty. These biographical addenda shed new light not only on the life and career of these two distinguished military commanders but also on the vicissitudes of several important military commanders but also on the vicissitudes of several important military campaigns in the early Ming dynasty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most scholars have argued that Yen's evaluation of Sino-Western cultures in the latter part of his life displayed a dramatic change by claiming that, during the period of the May Fourth Movement, Yen no longer admired Western culture. In fact, these scholars go so far as to say that Yen, instead, began to appreciate Chinese traditional culture which would have been a reversal of the sentiments from his early life. However, I would like to insist that such a great change never occurred in his thought and any slight inconsistencies of his have been overemphasized. By re-examining Yen Fu's most important comments on Chinese and Western culture, I have discovered that Yen's thinking was consistent and continuous in his life-long search for an ideal culture. It is obvious that Yen always held a fair, rational and modest view on both Chinese and Western cultures. He also eagerly looked for the possibility of integrating the strengths of the two cultures to form a new one which would ultimately benefit the Chinese people as well as the Western world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is no dearth of historical literature or scholarly writings on the famous maritime expeditions to the "Western Oceans" undertaken by the grand-eunuch-admiral Cheng Ho on the order of the Ming emperors T'ai-tsung (Yung-lo Ti) and Hsüan-tsung (Hsüan-te Ti) during the first half of the fifteenth century. However, much of the research has been concentrated on the leadership of Cheng Ho, almost to the exclusion of his colleagues. There has not been a substantial study, for example, of the career of Wang Ching-hung, a grand eunuch who had served with Cheng Ho in command of the armada, probably in all the seven voyages to the foreign lands. This paper attempts to Fill the void with a reconstruction of his biography. Wang Ching-hung became a subject of dramatization in the late gang historical romance San-pao t'ai-chien Hsi-yang chi yen-i. He is portrayed as a seasoned naval commander and an ingenious military strategist to whom Cheng Ho frequently turned for consultation on various voyages and exuded unconcealed adoration. Folktales about Wang Ching-hung abounded in popular literature since the late Ming and so were legends among the Chinese ethnic communities in Southeast Asia, transforming him into a semi-mythical protector of the Chinese travellers and overseas settlers. Legend has it that he died in Semarang, Java, on the last voyage, and his alleged burial site, the 'Grotto of Sam Pao,' became a shrine frequently visited by both Chinese and Javanese pilgrims. These folkloristic materials thus vividly project the popular impression of Wang Ching-hung's extraordinary achievements and enhance our understanding of his special contribution. In short, our reconstruction of Wang Ching-hung's biography shows that historians have underrated his manifold achievements. Although most of the extant records characterize him as a deputy of Cheng Ho in the maritime expeditions, Wang Ching-hung was in fact his equal in official rank and in knowledge about navigation and naval manoeuvre, and enjoyed as much trust of the Ming emperors as did Cheng Ho. He is also said to have compiled a manual on sailing directions, which provided an important source for Cheng Ho's famous navigational chart. It is indisputable that Wang Ching-ho had made an important contribution to the early Ming maritime expeditions, and therefore should be ranked on the par of Cheng Ho for an objective appraisal of his historical stature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sung Mao-ch'eng (1573-1623), a native of Hua-t'ing, modern Kiangsu, was a well versed and widely connected literatus in the late Ming, known particularly for his wealth, his generosity, and his chivalric spirit. His literary works, Chiu-yao chi, comprising two anthologies of prose and two of poetry in 33 chüan, were published around 1616 but became extremely rare thereafter. Because of numerous anti-Manchu expressions it contains, the book was banned during the early eighteenth century. It was not until 1984 that a modern, punctuated version, based upon a manuscript the scholar Wan Li-ch'i once possessed, was edited by Wang and published in Peking. Undoubtedly rendering a great service to the scholarly circles, Wang's version is nevertheless incomplete, especially so in the part of poetry. The present note compares the new edition with the original edition now held by the Naikaku Bunko in Japan, discusses bibliographic questions pertinent to both editions, and lists the titles of pieces that are included in the original but missing in the new edition. In addition, it calls attention to those essays and poems which might be useful for the study of political, social, and intellectual history of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese history abounds with legends about the planning and building of imperial cities, but none are as fanciful as those about Ta-tu, the "Great Capital" of the Mongol-Yüan state and predecessor of Peking, the majestic capital of the Ming and Ch'ing. Ta-tu, which Marco Polo called Cambaluc ("city of the Khan"), was built in the Yen province under Khubilai Khan in 1267-83. The city was designed by the great khan's chief adviser Liu Ping-chung (1216-74), a Buddho-Taoist adept in astronomy, mathematics and the pseudo-sciences. Many legends about the building of Ta-tu grew out of Liu Ping-chung's ingenious designs for the capital. These legends were further embroidered with popular beliefs about the dragon genii who inhabited the lakes and rivers and controlled the water resources of the region. Two noteworthy references to the legends surrounding the building of Ta-tu are contained in literary collectanea dating from the late Yüan and early Ming. The first is to be found in one of a set of poems on the capital entitled "Nien-hsia ch'ü" by the belle lettrist Chang Yü, which says: There are eleven gates around the walls of Ta-tu, thatched with hay and paved with earth the Na-cha city was built. The prophecy says if [the walls] were encased in brick and stone, they will be as long as [the column of] the armored soldiers of the Heavenly King. The other, recounted by Ch'ang-ku chen-i (pseudonym) in his miscellany Nung-t'ien yü-hua, offers this: The city of Yen was designed by Liu T'ai-pao [Liu Ping-chung]. There are eleven gates in order to symbolize Na-cha's three heads, six arms and two feet. Shih-tsu [Khubilai Khan] was enthroned in the keng-shen year [1260], and the state perished between the wu-shen [1368] and ssu-yu [1369] years. Altogether one hundred and eleven years elapsed. These passages would suggest that Ta-tu was called Na-cha city because its gates were designed to symbolize the body of the supernatural deity known as Na-cha. What was the origin of this bizarre legend? Who was Na-cha and what sort of extraordinary power did he command that compelled Liu Ping-chung to construct Ta-tu's gates in his likeness? And what is the impact of this legend on the folk traditions surrounding the building of Peking later? The principal character in this legend, Na-cha (later also transcribed as No-cha), originally Nata in Sanskrit, was a child deity, the third son of Vaisravana, one of the four "Heavenly Kings" who in the Buddhist tradition was guardian of the north. In the sutras of Tantric Buddhism introduced to China during the early T'ang dynasty, Na-cha is endowed with an extraordinary physique and divine power, capable of transforming himself at will and performing miraculous feats. He is credited with assisting his father in defending the city of An-hsi in western China against foreign invasion. Furthermore, his superior power and magical charms were effective in exorcizing the wicked demons and subduing the heavenly dragon who caused droughts. By the late T'ang and early Sung, the popular imagination had incorporated Na-cha into the mythological genealogy of the early T'ang general Li Ching (571-649), who had by this time been transformed into a Taoist guardian god. Grafted onto this historical figure were some of the most fanciful legends associated with King Vaisravana. What emerged was a mythologized hero known as Pagoda-bearing Heavenly King Li Ching. Na-cha, now a prince and the third son of the Heavenly King, is described as being sixty feet tall, having three heads, six arms (later eight arms) and two feet. In the course of time, many miraculous episodes of Buddhist and Taoist provenance were attributed to Na-cha. One of the most dramatic and one which is directly related to the legends surrounding Ta-tu concerns Na-cha's feuds with the dragon genii.… [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]