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This paper explores the intricate interactions between heritage and religion in modern China, as well as the broader social and political implications of these interactions in relation to national heritage policies and local developmental practices. By conducting a longitudinal analysis of the social history of Baosheng Temple, this research traces its transformations over the past hundred years from a historically religious site to a local built heritage dedicated to preserving and displaying religious relics. This transformation highlights a shift in the role of religious relics from carriers of practice and thought to focal points for heritage preservation, aimed at supporting nation-building and, more recently, promoting local development through the tourism industry. These changes reflect continuous local responses to broader social transformations towards a modern nation-state as well as the influence of Western ideas and practices. The findings of this research illuminate the evolving values associated with religious heritage and the corresponding implications for Chinese modernity within a secular state context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Qin opera culture has a long history in China for thousands of years. It is the ancestor of Chinese opera. However, with the development of modern technology and the rise of new media, the protection and inheritance of traditional Qin opera culture is facing a new challenge and opportunity, its costume culture is the same. This paper analyzes the style and structure of Qin opera costumes, extracts the colors of the costumes, summarizes the costume patterns, and then uses the three-dimensional (3D) virtual visualization technology to virtually restore the Qin opera costume, and innovates the Qin opera costume. In this paper, twelve sets of traditional Qin opera costumes are virtually restored, and on this basis, the digital protection and innovative design of Qin opera series costumes are carried out, and all the restored costumes are displayed digitally in an all-round way. The combination of Qin opera costume and digital protection extends the application scope of virtual visualization technology and enriches the transmission mode of Qin opera costume. This study inherits and protects the traditional Qin opera costume culture better. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research has played a pivotal role in advancing our understanding of cloisonné enamel production in China during the 19th and 20th centuries. However, Christian workshops, whether operating under missionary subcontracting or owned by the Catholic Church, have yet to be accurately identified and contextualized. This article delves into three significant contexts. Firstly, it identifies and contextualizes the Christian connections and interactions of the Decheng private cloisonné workshop, involving the French Lazarist Bishop Alphonse Favier, in Beijing. Secondly, it identifies the cloisonné workshop stablished by the Lazarists in the Beitang complex in Beijing and elucidates the role it played. Finally, this paper presents new evidence concerning cloisonné Christian objects crafted by the Tushanwan Jesuit workshop in Shanghai. Some of the primary works of these three workshops are identified for the first time. Additionally, this paper shows that certain cloisonné crosses, some of them thought to be originally Japanese, including those referred to as Namban, were, in fact, crafted in Beijing during the 1920s. These preliminary results will contribute to placing Chinese Christian cloisonné within the history of Chinese Art and its interactions at a global level in the context of evangelization in China, the production of the so-called export art, and the processes of indigenization carried out by the Lazarists and the Jesuits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the origin and role of the Buddhist taxonomic category "zong 宗" ("sect" or "school") in the formation of modern Buddhism in China. It does so by examining a highly significant late-Qing Buddhist text titled Ba-zong-er-xing 八宗二行 (Eight Schools and Two Practices), which the author discovered recently in Japan. Authored by the 19th-century Manchu bannerman official Hešeri Rushan 赫舍裏如山, Eight Schools and Two Practices had a direct influence on the prominent Chinese lay Buddhist Yang Wenhui (1837–1911)'s Shi-zong-lue-shuo 十宗略说 (Brief Outline of the Ten Schools) (1913), which subsequently became the most important narrative model, known as the ten-school model, for describing Chinese Buddhist history in modern times. Historians have long recognized that Yang Wenhui's Brief Outline of the Ten Schools (1913) was influenced by the medieval Japanese text hasshū kōyō 八宗綱要 (Essentials of the Eight Schools) composed by the 13th-century Japanese monk Gyōnen. Identifying, in detail, Hešeri Rushan's influence on Yang Wenhui sheds light on how a narrative model for Buddhism in its national form grew out of trans-national intellectual sharing and interactions, and how Chinese Buddhism emerged from the interactive and mutually enabling Sino-Japanese discursive field of the 19th century. Gyōnen, Rushan, and Yang Wenhui all used the category zong, referring to both doctrine and school/sect, to organize narratives of Buddhist history. Their uses were, however, different. Gyōnen's conception of zong (shū in Japanese) was fixed and exclusive, whereas zong for Rushan and Yang meant more of a mobile, nonexclusive identity. Without knowledge of Japanese Buddhism, Rushan made creative use of zong for describing the history and current condition of Chinese Buddhism, thereby superseding the traditional framework of lineage, doctrine, and precept, or zong 宗, jiao 教, lu 律. Rushan's zong provided the necessary prerequisite knowledge for Yang Wenhui to understand Gyōnen's theories, which he studied for constructing his own historical narrative and vision for modern Buddhism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper aims to contribute to the ongoing scholarly discussion about the impact of Western concepts on the modern East Asian understanding of Buddhism. Previous studies on the intellectual and cultural history of Chinese Buddhism in China's Republican (1911-1949) period suggest that the newly imported distinctions between religion and philosophy, and reason and faith, were instrumental in creating a new secular discourse that favoured the doctrinally orientated Buddhist traditions (notably Consciousness-only/Yogācāra) and belittled the more practical and devotional Buddhist currents (especially Pure Land Buddhism). While those observations pertain to the views of secular elites, a much more complex picture emerges from the confessional literature of the Republican period, for example Buddhist journals. As the present paper demonstrates, while some followers of the movement of 'Consciousness-only studies' were indeed critical of Pure Land devotionalism, they did not necessarily problematise it by appealing to the newly introduced Western conceptual framework. The first part of the present paper reexamines the devotional model of Pure Land practice associated with the influential Republican-era monk Yinguang. It argues that Yinguang's lukewarm attitude towards intellectual approach to Buddhism was itself based in his particular interpretation of traditional Buddhist thought - especially the scholastic distinction between 'principle' and 'phenomena', and the Sinitic Buddha-Nature thought, which prioritises practical and non-conceptual wisdom over discursive knowledge. In the second part the paper turns to the critique of popular Pure Land piety undertaken by the lay Consciousness-only scholar Tang Dayuan, who opted for including doctrinal study in the practice of Pure Land Buddhism. Whereas Tang's arguments for this case refer to the increasingly globalised and Westernised intellectual scene of Republican China, his reformist postulates mainly target the aforementioned exegetical and doctrinal assumptions that were shared by Yinguang and other Pure Land preachers. For example, Tang appears to sideline the dichotomy of principle (insight) and phenomena (practice) and opts instead for a unified standard of Pure Land practice grounded in doctrinal understanding. At the same time, he adduces Consciousness-only scholasticism to argue for a broader and more nuanced understanding of Buddhist wisdom, which includes discursive and communicable knowledge. In these respects Tang's critique reveals a continuity between late imperial and modern Buddhist thought, both in terms of underlying concerns and the concepts that were used to articulate them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientists and diplomats have significant differences in professional skills, activity time and work content, but they should work together. With the deepening impact of science and technology (S&T) on socio-economic development and international relations, S&T has become a crucial component of national strategies, particularly for diplomacy. There is a need for scientific evidence and advice, meaning that mastering more knowledge and skills in S&T would be helpful in negotiations. This paper analyses the ideas of S&T diplomacy, including a review of its 40-year history in China, its definition (with detailed connotations) and its characteristics. The paper focuses on the significant role of people-to-people communication in S&T, which may inform future work. Five suggestions are given to strengthen the strategic planning of S&T diplomacy: (1) A more clarified, strategic goal of future-oriented S&T diplomacy is required; (2) It is important to build a theoretical system for China to describe S&T diplomacy; (3) The creation of a global S&T cooperation map that adapts to the new type of international relations would be valuable; (4) Fairness and justice shall be maintained, while a reform of the global S&T governance system is promoted; (5) It is a must to adhere to bottom-line thinking and strengthen risk prediction and emergency responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Guangzhou is located in the southern part of China, near the South China Sea, belongs to Guangdong Province. It serves as China's southern gateway to the world and was historically called "The Southern Treasure of the Emperor", playing a crucial role in China's maritime trade history. Throughout Chinese history, Guangzhou underwent several cycles of "closure" and "opening", policies that severely impacted trade. However, foreign merchants never ceased to request permission from the Chinese government to engage in trade. In 1757, Emperor Qianlong decreed Guangzhou as the only one official port for foreign trade. This edict led to the establishment of the one port trading system in Guangzhou, as the Qing government aimed to counter foreign influences and local uprisings while maintaining a self-sufficient small-scale agricultural economy. Western nations and their traders sought opportunities within this system, aspiring to expand trade to other regions of China, even the inland areas. The exclusive status of Guangzhou as China's only one trading port persisted until 1842, following the defeat of the Qing government in the Opium War against Britain, the Nanjing Treaty was signed. This treaty opened Guangzhou, Shanghai, Ningbo, Fuzhou, and Xiamen as trading ports, bringing an end to the one port trading system. The reasons and impacts of the establishment of this system have not been comprehensively analyzed to date. Therefore, this paper based on historical archives, analyzes both the direct and underlying reasons behind Emperor Qianlong's decision and elucidates the system's diverse impacts on various aspects of Qing-era China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rational evaluation of tourism resources and the discovery of valuable potential tourism resources are important foundations for promoting the development of tourism industry. This paper systematically reviews the development history of China's ethnic tourism resource evaluation, analyzes the three different stages of tourism resource evaluation changes and their basic characteristics, and conducts research on tourism resource evaluation based on artificial intelligence neural network model to avoid the influence of subjective factors on the evaluation results to the greatest extent. This paper uses the literature comparison method, theoretical analysis method, and expert consultation method to construct an evaluation index system containing 5 primary indicators and 12 secondary indicators on the basis of which an evaluation model is designed focusing on the error values in the evaluation model, and the evaluation model is applied to the evaluation of tourism resources in several major cities, and its evaluation results and error ranges meet the requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of China's reform and opening up policy, China's identity has gradually shifted from a solely foreign investment destination country into one that prioritizes capital exports. Among the capital receiving countries, Malaysia has been definitely attractive. As the first ASEAN country that has fostered diplomatic relations with China, Malaysia instituted friendly exchanges with China more than 2,000 years ago. This paper summarizes the history of investment and trade in the Malaysia and China in the ancient Chinese historical books based on the chronicle, and concludes the characteristics of investment and trade in various periods. With the qualitative method, it specifically analyzes the related research materials and historical writing records and focuses on the reasons why China has been willing to invest in Malaysia. The paper finds both countries' complementarity of goods, the continuous accumulation of exchanges, mutual understanding, influx of Chinese immigrants, and Malaysia's unique geographical advantages, which have contributed to the fact that China chose to invest and cooperate in Malaysia for two thousand years. This paper can help understand the development of the China-Malaysia relations and can accelerate understanding between the two countries, thus helping in removing hindrances against Chinese investment in Malaysia due to various modes of incomprehension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to consider the role of accounting in the construction and maintenance of political hegemony during Mao's People's Commune movement in China between 1958 and 1966. Drawing on concepts of ideological power and intellectual diffusion in political and civil society from Gramsci's theory of hegemony, it analyses the process by which accounting intellectuals established a set of socialist accounting practices to meet the political challenges of the People's Commune. Design/methodology/approach: Gramsci's theory is adopted to examine how the accounting systems of People's Commune acted as a mechanism that reflected Mao's political ideas. Findings: This paper demonstrates that the accounting system that emerged during these socio-political movements served the ideological purpose of reinforcing Mao's political ideology and his hegemonic leadership. Accounting functioned within the spheres of both political and civil society to facilitate a national collective will, and to construct behaviours that satisfied the political requirements of the People's Commune. Originality/value: This paper will contribute to the accounting history in China from 1958 to 1966. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Despite the lack of political accountability, ancient autocracies maintained a level of monetary stability that rivals modern democracies. This paper hypothesizes that it is the threat of counterfeiting that has constrained currency debasement. Unwilling to share seigniorage with counterfeiters, who are active only if currency is debased, the government refrains from debasement unless in extreme fiscal situations. To document the facts, we build a database of historical Chinese copper coins that covers the period from the Qin dynasty (221 BC-207 BC) to the Republic of China. We also use the introduction of the steam press in late Qing China as a natural experiment to test the theory. The steam press produced coins of fine patterns that counterfeiters were unable to mimic. As the theory predicts, the removal of the threat of counterfeiting triggered the most serious debasement in the history of the Qing dynasty (1644-1912). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concepts "Great Unification" (Dayitong 大一統), "China" (Zhongguo 中國), and "all-under-Heaven" (Tianxia 天下) are all research topics which continue to attract the focus of the Chinese historical community. The three concepts are both related and different. This paper conducts a preliminary comparative analysis of the content of the three concepts and the role that they play in specific historical studies. It finds that the concept "China" emphasizes the origin of Huaxia 華夏 civilization and its significance as a center for expansion and Sinicization of surrounding ethnic groups. The concept "all-under-Heaven," meanwhile, places more stress on the overall political governance relationship between the center and the periphery. Finally, the concept "Great Unification" focuses on the process by which a dynasty establishes its legitimacy in terms of both ideology and practice. Only by examining the three concepts together can we fully grasp the overall direction and characteristics of Chinese history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: A brief account of the history of Chinese paleontology for about one century is provided with some perspectives for its future development. The development of Chinese paleontology is closely related to its social-ecological background as well as its connection to the outside world. On the other hand, the rising of the Chinese paleontology also benefitted from its rich fossil resources as well as the integration with other biological and geological disciplines and the use of new technologies. In this paper, the history of paleontology in China from 1920 to 2020 is divided into three major stages, i.e., 1920–1949, 1949–1978, and 1979–2020. As one of the first scientific disciplines to have earned international fame in China, the development of Chinese paleontology benefitted from international collaborations and China's rich resources. Since 1978, China's socio-economic development and its open-door policy to the outside world have also played a key role in the growth of Chinese paleontology. In the 21st century, thanks to constant funding from the government and the rise of the younger generation of paleontologists, Chinese paleontology is expected to make even more contributions to the integration of paleontology with both biological and geological research projects by taking advantage of new technologies and China's rich paleontological resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of barbed-spring locks in ancient China has a history of more than 2000 years. With the development of the design and manufacturing techniques in ancient China, the safety of locks has gotten better and better. Since the seventeenth century, the puzzle lock, with a complicated structure and a high difficulty in opening, was gradually developed and used. The puzzle lock needs specific steps to be opened. Based on the difficulty of the opening process, traditional Chinese puzzle locks can be partition into two sorts, namely, general puzzle locks and complex puzzle locks. As the structure of the puzzle lock will change during the opening process, the puzzle lock belongs to the reconfigurable mechanism. In this paper, a method of topology matrix is provided to analyze the structure of the complex puzzle lock during systematical operation. Firstly, the characteristics and types of general puzzle locks are explained, and then the topology matrix representation is introduced. Finally, four complex puzzle locks are taken as examples, to illustrate the opening process. There are various types of complex puzzle locks, and the mechanism designs are quite ingenious and interesting, which shows the extraordinary technique and ingenuity of the ancient craftsmen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Public Art is the property of Shanghai Fine Arts Publisher Ltd. co. 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.)

Ecological anthropology in China has a history of more than 70 years, and can be divided into four stages. The first stage was in the 1950s, which began with China's identification of minzu and socio-historical surveys of ethnic minorities. This stage was characterized by refinement and application of the Economic-Cultural Type theory from Soviet ethnography. The second stage took place in the 1980s and 1990s, when China's ecological anthropology research focused on explaining the relationship between local group culture and the environment, and how this changed in the process of modernization. Studies in this phase mainly concentrated on China's southwestern and northwestern regions, and the theoretical trends of the "adaptation model" and "the cost of development" were formed, becoming central topics. The third stage was in the first decade of the twenty-first century, when Chinese ecological anthropologists focused on the natural and social consequences of changes in the ecological environment, and stressed the importance of exploring, protecting and transforming local ecological knowledge. Ecological anthropology research flourished in Hunan, Guizhou, and Guangxi as well as in the Daxing'anling and Xiaoxing'anling mountainous regions of Northeast China. The fourth stage was in the most recent decade, when ecological anthropologists expanded their research to cover disasters, biodiversity, local social vulnerability and promotion of ecological progress, and their research areas expanded to the southeastern coast, inland river basins and traditional farming areas in the Central Plains. This paper argues that the development of ecological anthropology in China has been driven by academic consciousness rooted in local field experience, accurate understanding of the research target and changes in social situations of the era, and in-depth dialogue with Western ecological anthropological theories. At present, China's economic and social development patterns and the relationship between local people and their ecological environments are undergoing profound changes. Therefore, China's ecological anthropology should respond and adapt to these new changes through solid ethnographic surveys, take root in local field experience, and draw on the wisdom of ecological civilization development in excellent traditional Chinese culture, to become aware of new theories and carry out innovative development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article summarizes the collaboration between two historians of medicine on Sino-European medical exchanges. Gianna Pomata researches the history of medicine in early modern Europe and Marta Hanson researches the history of medicine in early modern China. The following covers the concept of epistemic genres that Pomata first developed out of her research on the history of the genres historia, observationes, recipes, medical cases, and the commentary in Europe. She connected these genres variously to empiricism, erudition, scientific observation, norm-making, and recording practice. The paper then evaluates how Pomata and Hanson used epistemic genres as a method for doing cross-cultural research on 17th–18th-century Sino-European medical exchanges. Pomata then wrote a comparative history of the medical case in Europe and China. The article concludes with how Hanson applied the distinction of epistemic genres to analyze the history of Chinese medicine from a new perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Progress is a frequently admired concept in modern societies, yet defining and achieving it requires renewed consideration in the context of sustainability and low-carbon living. This paper suggests that in China, the modern concept of progress came as a result of certain historical events in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when the country was trapped in crisis. This concept was useful in stimulating society at that time and contributed to the rapid development that followed, but whether it can still meet the new challenges of today's China is questionable. Focusing on the discipline of architecture, this paper suggests that now is the time for a critical rethink of the concept of progress. There are valuable notions to be found in China's history when addressing these challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This paper presents new estimates of the development of the urban population and the urbanization ratio for the period spanning the Song and late Qing dynasties. Urbanization is viewed, as in much of the economic historical literature on the topic, as an indirect indicator of economic development and structural change. The development of the urban system can therefore tell us a lot about long-term trends in the Chinese economy between 1100 and 1900. During the Song, the level of urbanization was high, also by international standards--the capital cities of the Song were probably the largest cities in the world. This remained so until the late Ming, but during the Qing there was a downward trend in the level of urbanization from 11%-12% to 7% in the late 18th century, a level at which it remained until the early 1900s. In our paper we analyse the role that socio-political and economic causes played in this decline, such as the changing character of the Chinese state, the limited impact of overseas trade on the urban system, and the apparent absence of the dynamic economic effects that were characteristic for the European urban system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ancient Chinese history holds a quality which has syncretized traditional thought with its cultural wealth unified of mystical and mythological figures in the background. Such that classical documents, which had begun to be written before Common Era, has directly influenced the political regime, education system and status of society in China. One of the most prominent features of these works is to propound collective knowledge about perception of cosmology, attitudes to earthiness, community standards, policy and morality. Among Five Classics works of these masterpieces of Chinese philosophy, Book of Changes which stands closest to metaphysical narrative, mainly consists of the texts about prophecy. While this piece of work had been referred as a divination guide in Western Zhou Dynasty (1046-771 BC), it turned into a cosmological text that included a range of philosophical commentary during Warring States Period (475-221 BC). The mainstay of this remarkable change is the direct correlation of all the concepts and terms that characterize the worldly beyond along with the relevant text, especially yin-yang dualism, which symbolizes an extraordinary harmony in early Chinese thought. Traditional idea suggests reciprocity in which heaven, earth and man are interconnected to maintain natural order. However, the superiority attributed to human beings also brings compulsive responsibilities to idealize a compatible society. This paper aims to discuss influences of cosmological and anthropological items on human behaviors explained in prescriptive perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the 70-year history of Chinese anthropology from domestic and international perspectives since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. The policy of reform and opening-up in 1978 was a turning point in Chinese anthropology. Within the 30 years before the reform and opening-up, Chinese anthropology was more or less at a 10-year standstill that was then followed by a boom influenced by the former Soviet Union. The continued development of Chinese anthropology in the 40 years after reform and opening-up can be divided into five stages based on "major events" and "internationalization." The first stage (1978–1995) can be described as a discipline reconstruction period; the second stage (1995–1999) witnessed the fast development and internationalization of Chinese anthropology; in the third stage (2000–2008), Chinese anthropology became an important discipline at home with improving international integration. The fourth stage (2009–2012) exhibited the initial formation of the discipline system and frequent international exchanges; and the fifth stage saw deepening domestic anthropology research and increasing overseas studies (from 2013 to present). In the past 70 years, and especially in the 40 years of reform and opening-up, Chinese anthropology has developed greatly in many aspects, including institution building, degree awarding, talent training, research communities establishing, conferences held at home and abroad, engagement with hotly-debated issues, and has existed with both advantages and disadvantages. All these demonstrate the characteristics of Chinese anthropology that are different from the discipline as practiced in the West. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC) established and consolidated a new type of socialist ethnic relations, and the people of all ethnic groups in China have embarked on a socialist road since then. This "had never occurred in thousands of years" in the history of China's ethnic relations and was based on the correct path for solving ethnic issues with Chinese characteristics pioneered by the Communist Party of China (CPC), the institutional core of which is the system of regional ethnic autonomy. So to speak, the system of regional ethnic autonomy, as a fundamental political system of the country, is the reconstruction of the important content and system of ethnic relations and the reconstruction of the governance system of a unified multi-ethnic country. Around the year of 1949, the Chinese communists planned the system of regional ethnic autonomy in a systematical and comprehensive manner, and established a basic discourse guiding the ethnic work, ethnic policies and ethnic studies in the PRC. On the basis of historical literature, this paper arranges and sorts out the ethic policies and thinking context at the early stage of the governance by the CPC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The teaching of history is an important way in which the older generation, who control education systems, curricula, content choice and so on, pass on to the younger generation ideas, especially the idea of nationhood, which they hope will form the basis for future national cohesion. The younger generation, however, receive these messages and interpret then through the lens of their own experiences, experiences that they do not share with the older generation. Consequently, the idea of history is re-formed and reformulated by each generation. This paper looks at the role of textbooks, principally history textbooks, in that process. The style of textbooks is to present history as uncontentious, a descriptive account of facts and events. In practice, however, textbooks can only present an arbitrary selection from history, and a crucial decision made by educators is when to start their account – the beginning of history – as this can radically affect the interpretation of events. This facsimile of neutrality stands in sharp contrast to the professional historians’ hope that the teaching of history can develop a critical sense of important and contested events in history. The discussion is illustrated with examples of how history is presented in China and Japan, and how the conflicting accounts serve the interests of the policies adopted by the older generation, but may have unanticipated consequences for the younger generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are 9 major coal-accumulating periods during geological history in China, including the Early Carboniferous, Late Carboniferous-Early Permian, Middle Permian, Late Permian, Late Triassic, Early-Middle Jurassic, Early Cretaceous, Paleogene and Neogene. The coal formed in these periods were developed in different coal-accumulating areas (CAA) including the North China, South China, Northwest China, Northeast China, the Qinghai–Tibet area, and China offshore area. In this paper, we investigated depositional environments, sequence stratigraphy, lithofacies paleogeography and coal accumulation pattern of five major coal-accumulating periods including the Late Carboniferous to Middle Permian of the North China CAA, the Late Permian of the South China CAA, the Late Triassic of the South China CAA, the Early-Middle Jurassic of the North and Northwest China CAA, and the Early Cretaceous in the Northeast China CAA. According to distribution of the coal-bearing strata and the regional tectonic outlines, we have identified distribution range of the coal-forming basins, sedimentary facies types and coal-accumulating models. The sequence stratigraphic frameworks of the major coal-accumulating periods were established based on recognition of a variety of sequence boundaries. The distribution of thick coals and migration patterns of the coal-accumulating centers in the sequence stratigraphic framework were analyzed. The lithofacies paleogeography maps based on third-order sequences were reconstructed and the distribution of coal accumulation centers and coal-rich belts were predicted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Best known for his lush landscapes and geometrical abstracts, Shanghai-born artist Yu Youhan 余友涵 (b. 1943) has frequently been in the limelight of curatorial and scholarly activities. Yet his vibrant pop works, which capture decisive moments in modern Chinese history, have insufficiently been considered mere juxtapositions of imagery derived from socialist China, political figures of the time, and commerce. This article offers new insights into the mechanics of signification in the artist's Political Pop works by examining the ways in which different kinds of imagery are appropriated, manipulated and recontextualised. Three in-depth semiotic analyses counter the assumption that Yu's copy-and-paste practice might indicate a lack of originality or even the decay of Political Pop, which had come to a halt in his practice by the early 2000s. Rather, the various acts of appropriation prove to be astute artistic strategies that reinforce the artist's originality and criticality. By emptying and recoding individual signifiers, Yu's work blurs the line between fact and fiction and challenges stable narratives usually expressed in official history paintings. In other words, the artist gives birth to a contemporary form of history painting, or rather an anti-history painting, in the style of Political Pop that refashions the cultural memory of China's past. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because human modification has been significant enough to alter the atmospheric chemistry, some scholars argue that our planet Earth is going beyond the Holocene and coming into a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene. While the Anthropocene concept is widely acknowledged, some key issues, such as the starting point of this epoch and how humans influenced climate, are unclear. This paper provides an overview of the long-term, broad-scale interactions between climate evolution and increasingly intensive human activities (mainly farming) in Early China. It firstly reviews both the traditional "climate in charge" hypothesis and Ruddiman's "anthropogenic greenhouse gases" hypothesis. Then pollen and isotope data on paleo-climate is summarized to shed light on the climatic history in China from ~3500 BCE to ~220 CE. It is followed by an overview of the cultural history within the same time span. Finally, by integrating these two lines of evidence, the dynamic process of the interplay of human activity (particularly farming) and climate is synthetically discussed. Based on the evidence, I argue that the onset of the Anthropocene is a prolonged process with a notable mark in the early centuries CE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to its good ornamental value, Chaenomeles sinensis has a long history of planting in China, and its fruit has health efficacy. The components from fruit and the functions of them have been fully excavated and developed, but there is little research on Chaenomeles sinensis leaves. In our study, the components of Chaenomeles sinensis leaves were extracted by ethanol and acetone. The extracts were identified by FT-IR and GC-MS in order to detect and excavate the bioactive components. The result shows that Chaenomeles sinensis leaves contain alcohols, ethers, aldehydes and other substances which were identified by FT-IR. The main volatile organic compounds (VOC) of Chaenomeles sinensis immature leaves are alcohols, ketones, alkenes and alkanes. Some substances can be simultaneously extracted by two solvents. Ethanol extracts contain high content of biogenic substances, and acetone solvents can effectively extract bioenergy substances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Dendrobium huoshanense (D. huoshanense) has been used as functional food supplements and herbal medicines for preventing and managing diseases with a long history in China. Due to its endangered natural resources and huge demand, people tend to cultivate D. huoshanense to protect this species. However, the quality of wild and cultivated herbs of the same species may change. This work quantified and compared the main quality traits and chemical components of wild imitating and greenhouse cultivated D. huoshanense with different growth years. As a result, wild and cultivated D. huoshanense had similar chemical composition, but there are significant differences in the content of many ingredients (polysaccharides, flavonoids, nucleosides, bibenzyls, lignans and volatile compounds). And the contents of many of these components increased with growing years. In addition, multivariate statistical analyses have been applied to classify and evaluate samples from different cultivation modes according to these components. In conclusion, our results demonstrated that the overall quality of greenhouse cultivated D. huoshanense was not as good as wild-grown, but this mode can be a promising and sustainable way of producing D. huoshanense. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data from the distant past are fertile ground for testing social science theories of education and social mobility. In this study, we construct a dataset from 3,640 tomb epitaphs of males in China's Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE), which contain granular and extensive information about the ancestral origins, family background, and career histories of the deceased elites. Our statistical analysis of the complete profiles yields evidence of the transition away from an aristocratic society in three key trends: 1) family pedigree (i.e., aristocracy) mattered less for career achievement over time, 2) passing the Imperial Examination (Keju) became an increasingly important predictor of one's career achievement, and 3) father's position always mattered throughout the Tang, especially for men who did not pass the Keju. The twilight of medieval Chinese aristocracy, according to the data, began in as early as the mid-seventh century CE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The publication of The Cambridge History of Chinese Literature in 2010 stands as a significant achievement in the field of Chinese literary studies within the global field of Sinology. This groundbreaking work challenged the prevailing narratives of Chinese literary history in two key areas: writing style and perspectives of literary history. By employing updated methodologies, the authors addressed the practical question of how to effectively rewrite Chinese literary history. Additionally, they relied on historiographic principles to reconsider the theoretical issues surrounding the nature of Chinese literary history and the reasons behind its rewriting. Through a comprehensive investigation, this literary history offers a theoretical response to the question of what Chinese literary history truly entails. It sheds light on two fundamental compilation principles: the history of history and the history of literary culture. These principles revolve around the three core elements of history, literature, and China itself. By examining the book's interactions with the mainstream Western theoretical community, insight may be gained into the motivations behind the writing process and the paradigmatic shifts within contemporary overseas Chinese literary history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Notably during the Yuan period of Chinese history, Korean Buddhists had a curious custom of making arduous trips to Buddhist centers in mainland China, by sea or overland. To the extent that monks made this trip despite the possible dangers of this long journey, Yuan Buddhism in the practice of Korean Buddhism was conceived as an important hub of monastic certification and the source of new Buddhist developments. In addition, the Chinese masters were seen as essential figures in the monastic careers of the Korean monks. Although there would have been qualified masters in Korea to lead the practice of kanhua chan and to verify the enlightened states of the Korean monks, traveling to China continued up to the end of the Koryŏ period. This continued because the Korean monks obtained obvious benefits after having traveled to China and received their certification of enlightenment 印可. On their return, these monks were given recognition for their spiritual attainment and assigned to high positions in the saṃgha bureaucracy, in many cases, as either a royal or state preceptor. This custom of visiting China was all the more heightened due to Yuan's domination over Koryŏ from the late-13th to the mid-14th centuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper reports a panchronic philological study on the official colours of Chinese regimes. The historical accounts of the Chinese regimes are introduced. The official colours are summarised with philological references of archaic texts. Remarkably, it has been suggested that the official colours of the most ancient regimes should be the three primitive colours: (1) white-yellow, (2) black-grue yellow, and (3) red-yellow, instead of the simple colours. There were inconsistent historical records on the official colours of the most ancient regimes because the composite colour categories had been split. It has solved the historical problem with the linguistic theory of composite colour categories. Besides, it is concluded how the official colours were determined: At first, the official colour might be naturally determined according to the substance of the ruling population. There might be three groups of people in the Far East. (1) The developed hunter gatherers with livestock preferred the white-yellow colour of milk. (2) The farmers preferred the red-yellow colour of sun and fire. (3) The herders preferred the black-grue-yellow colour of water bodies. Later, after the Han-Chinese consolidation, the official colour could be politically determined according to the main property of the five elements in Sino-metaphysics. The red colour has been predominate in China for many reasons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the ongoing debates about classics reading (dujing) in the revitalisation and diversification of Confucian classical education in mainland China. It begins by reviewing two disputes about dujing in modern Chinese history and then turns to the contemporary debate, focusing on how one professional and experienced practitioner expounded on the disparities in practicing classical education. The author summarises three controversial issues--(1) the relationship between the educative principles and methods, (2) historical legitimacy, and (3) the linguistic nature of Chinese language. Based on these, this paper reflects on the current dujingmovement by concluding that the diversification of classical education has complicated the authenticity of "Chineseness" and rendered it a debatable public issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even after the Russo-Japanese War, Manchuria remained the powder keg of East Asia. In the war’s aftermath, three empires, the Qing, the Russian and the Japanese, stationed their troops in Manchuria, in a struggle for military supremacy there. There has already been a considerable amount of research on these military activities. However, previous works have not discussed them from a triangular relationship. This paper contends that the history of modern East Asia cannot be understood until one examines the shift in the military balance in Manchuria from a triangular comparative point of view. The results of such examination show that, in Manchuria, each empire was unable to establish military domination alone, and therefore needed an alliance partner. During the Xinhai Revolution, the Russia-Japan ‘alliance’ wielded overwhelming military power against China. However, after the Russian Revolution in 1917, Japan renounced cooperation with a weakened Russia and built a new partnership with China to advance the Siberian intervention. The military triangle of Russia, China and Japan was unable to create a comprehensive regional security system in Manchuria because what was established was based on mutual distrust and fear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to develop an integrated analytical framework for revolution, reform, and involution under dictatorship based on China's history. In order to grasp the essence of political and economic interactions in historic China, this paper gets some abstract variables from China's history, on the basis of which a political economy model is built. The autocrat plays an important role in determining authority form and development pattern, which endogenously brings about different outcomes of revolution, reform, and involution. When the economic system is closed, path-dependence plays an important role, however, when the system is open, we should not attach much importance to path-dependence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The twenty-eight "lunar stations" (ershiba xiu 二十八宿) are unique in Chinese intellectual history in that they served as functional equivalents for Indian nakṣatras, which are also a type of lunar station (or mansion), but in practice these were quite different from the comparable Chinese system. The native Chinese lore of lunar stations as it was understood in the Sui period was outlined in the Wuxing dayi 五行大義 by Xiao Ji 蕭吉 (c. 530–610), which is a manual of Chinese metaphysics free of any Buddhist influences. We might compare the content in this text to writings by contemporary Buddhists, such as Jizang 吉藏 (549–623) and Zhiyi 智顗 (539–598), to illustrate the extent to which native, rather than foreign, astral lore took precedence in the writings of Buddhists in the Sui and Tang periods. This study will demonstrate that Buddhists in China struggled with understanding the nakṣatras and even when faced with the opportunity to adopt an orthodox Indian model, they shifted toward a kind of hybridized system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The past is continuously reinterpreted to serve the interests of the present. Over the last two centuries of turbulent Chinese history, the past has been redefined through narratives and categorisations. How does the party-state manage the diversity and complexity of China's past, and what implications does this have for state–society relations in China? Based on a case study of China's adoption of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Convention, this article argues that the Chinese party-state creates "infrastructures of memory," which enable it to actively manage China's diverse past through selective institutionalisation. This process creates a "cognitive map" of tangible and rationalised relations and boundaries between vernacular memories as interpreted by the state. Although this map is to shape and direct Chinese collective memory and identity, it also sparks contestation among members of the populace who seek to preserve vernacular and multiple memories of their socio-cultural past. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historians of premodern Chinese urbanism have long assumed that the origins of the Chines imperial city plan stem from a passage in the Kaogong Ji (Record of Trades) section of the classical text Rituals of Zhou which describes the city of the King of Zhou. Taking this description as the single source of all Chinese capitals, these historians have gone on to write that any Chinese imperial city constructed during the last 2,000 years not only has much in common with any other one, but that all have been built according to a single scheme. Yet the plans of the two most important Chinese imperial cities, Chang'an in the 7th to 9th century, and Beijing after the 14th century, indicate that a crucial feature of the Chinese imperial urban plan, the position of the imperial palaces, is in the north center at Chang'an and roughly in the exact center at Beijing, thereby dispelling the myth of the direct descent of all Chinese imperial city plans from the King of Zhou's city. Moreover, an examination of excavated cities of the first millennium B.C. shows that the Chang'an plan, the Beijing plan, and a third type, the double city, have their origins in China before the 1st century A.D., when the Kaogong Ji is believed to have been written. Moreover, all three city plan types can be traced through several thousand years of Chinese city building. After stating the hypothesis of three lineages of Chinese imperial city building, the paper illustrates and briefly comments on the key examples of each city type through history. More than 20 cities are involved in understanding the evolution of the imperial Chinese plans. Thus this paper also includes many Chinese capital plans heretofore unpublished in a Western language. The plan of Chang'an is different from that of Beijing because the latter city was built on the ruins of a city designed anew by the Mongol ruler of China, Khubilai Khan, with the intent of adhering to the prescribed design of the Kaogong Ji; whereas Chang'an was built according to a plan used by native and non-Chinese rulers of China only until the advent of Mongolian rule (with one exception.) Finally, this paper examines the assumption that there was little variation in Chinese imperial city building. A main reason for the assumed uniformities in Chinese capitals is because the imperial city is traditionally one of the most potent symbols of imperial rule, such that digression from it might imply less than legitimate rulership. Thus it can be shown that Chinese and non-Chinese dynasties had their actual city schemes amended for the historical record through the publication of fictitious city plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study delves into the Pre-Qin Confucian understanding of "ren 人" (human beings), focusing on the tripartite dimensions of "shen 身" (body), "qing 情" (sentiment), and "xin 心" (mind) as viewed through the lens of "li 礼" (ritual). By analyzing the works of Confucius, Mencius, Xunzi, and other significant early texts, we unravel how these early Confucian philosophers reconceptualized human beings within the framework of "li 礼" (ritual). In doing so, they presented a novel perspective on the human experience that emphasized the interconnectedness of these three dimensions, transforming the way people thought about themselves and their place in the world. This research illuminates the unique contributions of Pre-Qin Confucianism to the understanding of human beings and provides valuable insights into the philosophical breakthroughs of this period in Chinese thought. Furthermore, this understanding of human beings persisted throughout the subsequent imperial history of China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship of wu (巫) to shamanism is problematic, with virtually all mentions of historical and contemporary Chinese wu ritualists translated into English as shaman. Ethnological research is presented to illustrate cross-cultural patterns of shamans and other ritualists, providing an etic framework for empirical assessments of resemblances of Chinese ritualists to shamans. This etic framework is further validated with assessments of the relationship of the features with biogenetic bases of ritual, altered states of consciousness, innate intelligences and endogenous healing processes. Key characteristics of the various types of wu and other Chinese ritualists are reviewed and compared with ethnological models of the patterns of ritualists found cross-culturally to illustrate their similarities and contrasts. These comparisons illustrate the resemblances of pre-historic and commoner wu to shamans but additionally illustrate the resemblances of most types of wu to other ritualist types, not shamans. Across Chinese history, wu underwent transformative changes into different types of ritualists, including priests, healers, mediums and sorcerers/witches. A review of contemporary reports on alleged shamans in China also illustrates that only some correspond to the characteristics of shamans found in cross-cultural research and foraging societies. The similarities of most types of wu ritualists to other types of ritualists found cross-culturally illustrate the greater accuracy of translating wu as "ritualist" or "religious ritualist." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, three typical and most extreme precipitation events in the history of North China are analyzed and compared in terms of accumulated precipitation and synoptical circulation using surface station observations of China and the ERA5 dataset. The three events happened in August 1963 ("63.8" event, hereafter), August 1975 ("75.8" event), and July 2021 ("21.7" event), respectively, mainly in Hebei and Henan Provinces of North China. The results show that the maximum daily and 4-day accumulated precipitation of all three events exceeded 500 mm and 800 mm, with many stations' daily precipitation ranking Top 1. The "63.8" event persisted for the longest time, affected the largest area, and rained the most in 7 days (over 1000 mm). The "75.8" event was characterized by the most extreme daily precipitation and a concentrated area. All three events characterize a normal northward subtropical high that was located in North China and Northeast China. At 500 hPa, the area from South China to the South China Sea was dominated by a uniform pressure field. In the upper levels, there were troughs and divergence anomalies in all three events. In the low levels, there were anomalous low-level jets and the associated water vapor flux anomalies, which were located at different levels and came from different directions. Stable synoptical circulation and persistent jet and water vapor flux anomalies are the key factors in these extreme events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article maps the evolution of the Chinese activities within the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), with a focus on the Chinese standard-setting experience. It analyzes three different moments of the ITU-China standard-setting history: Audio Video Coding Standards (AVS) from 2002 to 2007; TD-SCDMA and TD-LTE standards from 1998 to 2013; and 5G standards from 2012 to 2013. The study contributes to the literature, first, by demonstrating that China-ITU relations have been useful to China to support the shift from norm taker to norm maker into the standard-setting process through techno-nationalism in the case of AVS, techno-globalism in the case of TD-SCDMA and TD-LTE, and neo-techno-globalism in the case of 5G. Second, it highlights how China benefited from its ITU presence to improve its abilities in lobbying for promoting new standards globally. Third, it highlights the ITU's role as actor, arena, and antenna in the field of techno-diplomacy and standards' definition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Huayan school of Chinese Buddhism inherited the legacy of the early transmission of Yogācāra teachings through the Dilun and Shelun schools, signifying a scholarly endeavour to synthetise the Yogācāra and Tathāgatagarbha teachings. In contrast to the Indian Yogācāra tradition, which was subsequently introduced to China by the renowned monk and traveller Xuanzang 玄奘 (602-664), these arly schools emphasised a kind of actual or pure reality behind the phenomenal world and was not satisfied with the worldview that the world can be traced back to a tainted entity, the ālayavijñāna, the source of all phenomena. This distinctive Chinese viewpoint finds explicit expression in the apocryphal Chinese text the Awakening of Faith Mahāyāna (Dasheng Qixin lun 大乘起信論), which has become one of the most important philosophical treatises in the history of Chinese Buddhism. This text proposes the concept of one-mind, which has the tathatā aspect (zhenru men 真如門) and the saṃsāra aspect (shengmie men 生滅門). Huayan exegetes, who authored commentaries on the Buddhāvataṃsaka-sūtra, the scripture that they regarded as the most perfect teaching of the Buddha, were influenced by the Awakening of Faith and the early Chinese Yogācāra schools in their understanding of this scripture. In this article, we are going to introduce the teachings of Buddhāvataṃsaka-sūtra that were interpreted as not only the appearance of Yogācāra thought but also as an unequivocal articulation of the concept of one-mind as it was put forward in the Awakening of Faith by Huayan scholars. We will show how this concept was further elaborated in Huayan philosophy and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Science diplomacy has played an important role in Chinese history, including in the history of science and technology (S&T) development. While we may consider science diplomacy as simply a part of China's Reform and Opening-up policy, the fact is that even in the Kuomintang period (1925–1949) or the Maoist period (1949–1976) it was a key element of Chinese foreign relations. The targets and nature of science diplomacy were shaped by the prevailing politics and economic issues of the times. For example, the Cold War limited the breadth and depth of S&T cooperation between China and the West. Nonetheless, the People's Republic of China pursued cooperation with the Soviet Union and newly independent countries in a very steadfast manner and continues to engage with Russia and developing countries today. This article analyses the nature of science diplomacy as an element of both China's S&T development and its foreign relations. The interactions and practices at the intersection of science and foreign policy in China are manifold. In addition to providing a comprehensive overview, this article also highlights evolving trends, especially in terms of the deepening of China's linkages across the international S&T system. Finally, the article examines the recent impact of the apparent rise of techno-nationalism and how this has affected the nature of China's international S&T activities regarding Beijing's use of science diplomacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eurya rubiginosa var. attenuata is a valuable multiuse tree with a long history of use in China. It has great economic and ecological importance and is used for landscape and urban planting, soil improvement, and raw materials for food production. However, genomic studies of E. rubiginosa var. attenuata are limited. Meanwhile, the classification of this taxon is controversial. In this study, the complete plastome of E. rubiginosa var. attenuata was successfully sequenced and assembled. The chloroplast genome is 157,215 bp in length with a 37.3% GC content. The chloroplast genome structure includes a quadripartite structure comprising a pair of inverted repeat (IR) sequences of 25,872 bp, a small single-copy (SSC) region of 18,216 bp, and a large single-copy (LSC) region of 87,255 bp. The genome contains 128 genes, including 83 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and 8 rRNA genes. Phylogenetic inference based on complete plastome analysis showed that E. rubiginosa var. attenuata is closely related to E. alata and belongs to the family Pentaphylacaceae, which differs from the results of the traditional Engler system. The chloroplast genome sequence assembly and phylogenetic analysis enrich the genetic resources of Pentaphylacaceae and provide a molecular basis for further studies on the phylogeny of the family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]