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The classical communities had the confidence that their difficult written languages placed an exclusive position as the literary language. Along with Latin, traditional written Chinese was also far from the colloquial language. In modern China, many intellectuals felt that it was necessary to overcome this situation and establish a new language education system. Hu Shih (1891-1962), picked up in this paper, is still one of the most famous philosophers, who reevaluated vernacular Chinese as the new “active” literary language. This paper aims to examine the formation of curriculum theory for language education through the case of Hu Shih’s contemplation and practice. For this purpose, the author analyzes his statements concerning curriculum and instruction for language education. Hu Shih went to the United States in September 1910 with the help of a government scholarship. During summer vacation in 1915, certain staff members at Chinese student office in Washington D. C. distributed documents on Chinese situation. Because of this incident, Hu Shih was regularly discussing about Chinese literature with his friends. At the same time, he formulated rules for the literary reform and published the improved version of them as the eight points. After studying in the U.S., he proposed the thesis “Guoyu de Wenxue, Wenxue de Guoyu(國語的文學・文學的國語)” in his paper. This new thesis means “Literature written in national language, National language of literary value” in English. When returning to China, he read Edith Sichel’s book and wrote the impression in his diary. Referring to the history of European Renaissance, he pointed out that the accumulation of creating practical works based on vernacular Chinese would become the basis of national language with literary value as Chinese Renaissance. To promote these steps, he started to argue for the necessity of new curriculum and instruction theory for language education. In this context, he concretely suggested that all school textbooks composed in colloquial language should be distributed from the lower grades, and classical literature should be arranged after junior high school and high school stages. This paper picks up Hu Shih’s statements on curriculum and instruction for language education. The analysis of this paper reveals that he proposed the thesis “Guoyu de Wenxue, Wenxue de Guoyu” with reference to European Renaissance. As Li Jinxi, a famous linguist in modern China, mentioned, Hu Shih’s argument played a key role in unifying the language unification and the literary reform. This background also set the stage for the development of his theory on language education and his contribution as the core policymaker for educational reform in the May Fourth Period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Asian Economies is the property of Institute of Developing Economies, JETRO 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 Asian Economies is the property of Institute of Developing Economies, JETRO 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 Asian Economies is the property of Institute of Developing Economies, JETRO 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 Asian Economies is the property of Institute of Developing Economies, JETRO 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.)

Modern Chinese star charts based on the Chinese constellation have been identified by Christian missionaries operating in China around the 17th century. However, by their identification, some of the ancient constellations have been disappeared, and subsequent verifications have confirmed that many of the identifications are unreliable. There is also no research on how they identified the Chinese constellation. This paper reveals how missionaries identified the Chinese constellation and why they failed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to analyze Wang Sihuai's Taijitusuo lun (On the Explanations of the Diagram of Supreme Ultimate) to understand Wang's thoughts against the background of the Ming-Qing intellectual history. The first part of the paper discusses the main purpose of Wang's composing this text, which is to distinguish "true" Confucianism from Daoism, Buddhism, and Song-Ming Confucianism. Wang Sihuai believed Taijitu and Taijitu shuo belong to Taoist works and betrayed the meaning of the Yijing (The Book of Changes). Wang's opinions followed those of Lu Jiushao and Lu Jiuyuan and corresponded with the new wave of criticizing the Diagram of Taiji in the Jiangnan area during the early Qing period. In the second part, the paper elaborates Wang Sihuai's thoughts from four aspects, which are (1) the fundamental difference between being and non-being, (2) the concepts of life, death, spirit, and ghost, (3) his ideas about human nature, the nature of myriad things, and the Mandate of Heaven, (4) the ethical teachings by Confucian sages. Finally, this paper also traces the friendship between Wang Sihuai and the Confucian Catholic Zhang Xingyao, and tries to explain why Zhang paid compliments to Wang Sihuai and his Taijitusuo lun by comparing their works. This also leads us to see more about the interactions between Confucianism and Christianity in 17th-century China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Kyoto Protocol continues to provide a binding framework for global warming prevention. However, it will be supplanted by the Paris Agreement in 2020. Unlike the Kyoto Protocol, where only developed countries take responsibility for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, the Paris Agreement involves all countries who have signed the accord. Following the Paris Agreement, it has been agreed that global warming will be kept within a 2°C increase from pre-industrial levels. In this paper, the implications of this policy reform on Japan, China and Australia are discussed. Utilizing the" Clean Development Mechanism" (CDM) in the Kyoto Protocol, many Japanese firms have used foreign direct investments (FDI) to conduct reforestation in areas outside Japan in order to offset emissions produced by Japan. Although this mechanism might be weakened by the Paris Agreement, the contribution to reforestation by Japanese firms using FDIs have not always been significant as they were oriented towards business interests rather than environmental goals. Most of these FDIs were carried out by electrical power companies, trading firms, paper manufacturing companies and companies using paper. In addition, the newly planted trees tended to be cut down every 7 years for chip pulp used in paper production which was then exported by Japanese firms. Trees can only effectively absorb CO2 when they are grown for longer terms. Therefore, these Japanese FDI projects can be viewed with suspicion in regards to reducing CO2 emissions. In addition, the expected shift from nuclear power to thermal power in Japan following the 2011 Fukushima Disaster will likely mean uranium imports from Australia will shrink in favor of coal. This will not only impact the Australian economy but may also have negative effects on Japan's attempts to decrease greenhouse gas emissions. Both Japan and Australia had failed to ratify the Paris agreement before its implementation although they signed it afterwards. This has substantially weakened their negotiation powers with regards to climate change. However, Chinese leadership on climate change has continued to strengthen, particularly after President Donald Trump announced the USA's withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and TPP and the EU's instability following Brexit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Socio-Economic History / Shakai-Keizai Shigaku is the property of Socio-Economic History Society 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 Asian Economies is the property of Institute of Developing Economies, JETRO 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 Japanese Sociological Review / Shakaigaku Hyoron is the property of Japan Sociological Society 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 seeds of conflict, or even of a revolution, in a society can germinate from policies of a nation-state that are designed to strengthen its power of governance. This paper explores how such seemingly contradictory phenomena emerged within the Qing government and led to the Repiblican Revolution of 1911. The ideas included here have been borrowed from Theda Skocpol, a historical sociologist, who has made a major contribution to research on the revolution. Emphasizing that a state autonomously functions as a governing body, she focuses on the process of how old regimes in the past, pressured by military competition with foreign powers, provoked conflicts within and among different groups of people or along the lines of class while campaigning for the modernization of national institutions. This paper shares her view but differs in that it terms a government's attempt to strengthen its functions as "naturalization," instead of "centralization," in order to more clearly outline how state policies and society influence each other, thereby laying the seeds for a possible revolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we study the quality of motor gasoline in China and analyze the factors affecting its quality. Firstly, we use cause-effect diagrams to discover the potential factors that may significantly impact the motor gasoline quality. The key factor octane, which has the most significant impact on the quality of motor gasoline, was found in the key factor confirmation table. Secondly, we examine all the parameters related to the quality of octane in motor gasoline, including benzene, aromatic, olefin and oxygen. Then, the stepwise regression method is used to avoid the multicollinearity among the independent variables, and the regression equation is obtained. This model could be applied to predict the quality of gasoline in China. Finally, we make suggestions on the measures to be taken to achieve the purpose of improving the motor gasoline quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Socio-Economic History / Shakai-Keizai Shigaku is the property of Socio-Economic History Society 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 Socio-Economic History / Shakai-Keizai Shigaku is the property of Socio-Economic History Society 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 Socio-Economic History / Shakai-Keizai Shigaku is the property of Socio-Economic History Society 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 third month of the 30th year (1551) of the Jiajing era (1522-1556), the Ming government decided to offer a trade agreement to the Mongols led by Altan Khan, which would set up markets (mashi) where Mongolian horses would be traded for valuable Chinese commodities. This paper explores the political history of the late phase of the era through an analysis of the decisionmaking process leading up to the Ming government recognizing trade with Altan Khan, while continuing to refuse a long-standing demand to grant the Mongols tributary status. The research to date on the political situation at the time understands it as a period of political stagnation attributed to Emperor Shizong's withdrawal from governmental affairs and incompetence on the part of Yan Song, senior officer of the Grand Secretariat. Moreover, recent attempts to reexamine the situation have still not been able to produce a complete picture of what exactly was happening on the contemporary poltical scene in concrete terms. The opportunity to offer the trade agreement was furnished ironically by Shizong's increasing desire to conduct a military campaign against Altan Khan. During the eighth month of 1550, after Altan's army had surrounded Beijing (the so-called Gengxu zhibian) in protest of being refused tributary status, Shizong ordered that plans be drawn up for a punitive expedition against the Mongols. Although such a campaign was clearly unrealistic, Yan Song, other central bureaucrats, and the supreme commander and grand coordinator of the northern region went through the motions ouot of respect to Shizong's will, but in reality took every action possible to avoid such a campaign. While respect was shown for Shizong's refutation of tribute relations with the Mongols as an attitude consistent with the ideology supporting the traditional Chinese world order, attempts to satisfy Mongol's material demands by means other than "tributary trade" and thus pacify the unrest threatening China's borders gave birth to the idea of a "mashi" trade arrangement. The idea caused virulent opposition from government officials outraged by such a display of impudence toward the will of the emperor, but as the debate raged on, the proponents after several attempts finally persuaded Shizong, and a decision was reached to set up the "mashi" trade. However, due to such factors as Shizong's obstinate attitude and the fiscal situation on the ground, it became impossible to generate a scale of trade sufficient to satisfy Mongol demand, leading to an escalation of Mongol attacks. Consequently, after it became apparent that the hopes of Yan Song and his cohorts were unattainable, the "mashi" trade agreement was ended in the ninth month of 1522. From his investigation of this turn of events, the author concludes that the political history of the Jiajing Era should be placed in the context of a group of policy makers confronted with an emperor's stubborn espousal of ideals in no way reflecting reality and thus trying to bring the situation into a soft landing by navigating for areas of compromise linking political ideals with present reality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]