New Books

<正>Moinyul,the Hiding Paradise This is the first book produced in China concerning the Moinyul area in Tibet.Consisting of a total of 23 chapters and 13 invaluable historical attached files,the book is written by Pasang Norbu and narrates the history and culture of Moinpa and the people living there all the way from the ninth to nineteenth century.The book was published     

吐蕃的遗产,敦煌的缘分

Now let’s turn our attention to Dunhuang in the Hexi Corridor,the home of the Mogao Grottoes.What position does it hold in Tibetan history and culture?What does it reveal of the formation and development of the Chinese nation as a whole?The area around Dunhuang was called Sanwei in ancient times.     

New Books

Outline of Tibetan Historical and Intellectual Theory In producing his book of seven chapters, the author Wang Pu sums up his study by finding that Tibetan historiography did not have any ＂precepts＂ in the compilation of Tibetan history over generations. This is because the motivation behind writing history, from the perspective of Tibetan historians, is neither the seeking of a professional position nor concerning employment, but rather the responsibility of inheriting a culture and obtaining happiness by sharing knowledge. The Tibetan historical and intellectual ideology has been formed by a rich and apparent Buddhist tradition with contemporary characteristics in the expression of each individual historian. The book is priced at 28 Yuan and published by China Social Sciences Publishing House.     

Commerce and Empire in the Borderlands： How do Merchants and Trade Fit into Qing Frontier History？

As our understanding of the Qing empire and its various borderlands has evolved, so too have we come to appreciate China＇s early modem commercial sophistication. In recent North American studies of the Qing, the links between commerce and conquest have come under investigation, and we are increasingly urged to pay attention to merchants and merchant capital. But how should we understand the relationship between merchants and the Qing empire in the borderlands？ This article surveys selected work on the borderlands and commercialization, primarily in the Northwest and Southwest. The goal is to initiate a more comprehensive discussion of how to understand the intersection of commerce and empire while also making some suggestions for ways that borderlands history might shape future work on China.     

Stepping into the Public World： Cases of Guixiu Philanthropic Activities in Late Qing China

This article explores the of certain elite women during late little-known public philanthropic activities Qing China. By examining contemporary newspapers, it traces the new development of women＇s philanthropic engagement and further analyzes two cases, one on disaster relief and the other on women＇s education, to illustrate the issues, controversies and achievements that went along with women＇s philanthropy. It demonstrates how philanthropy, a traditionally-sanctioned field for women＇s activism, legitimatized women to move out of domestic seclusion and reposition themselves in the public sphere in a crucial transitional era when for ＂good women＂ to appear in public was something hotly debated, and how through philanthropic opportunities some were able to engage with political affairs. The broad social impact of their initiatives suggests the continued importance of traditional elite women during China＇s transition to the modern era; it challenges some of our previous notions, which often unthinkingly accepted the verdict of ＂New Women＂ that those who did not embrace their path to modernity were parasitic, unproductive, and backward. By looking carefully at philanthropy, the article reveals fascinating issues and rich details of women＇s public activities that previous historical narratives have often overlooked. It helps to understand how reconfigured traditions became essential components of modernity in the development of modern Chinese gender roles. It also adds a gender perspective to the burgeoning historiography on Chinese philanthropy.     

The Origin of “Chinese Philosophy”

Using the analysis of a single word to launch a conceptual review of (a problem in) cultural history, the Chinese term zhexue 哲學 (wisdom-learning, tetsugaku) is not simply a translation of the word “philosophy”; its inventor, Nishi Amane (1829–97), regarded it as the (Western) counterpart of Oriental learning (Tōyōgaku). The first explicit linkage of “philosophy” with “the East” was at The University of Tokyo, where it played an important role in the work of Katō Hiroyuki (1836–1913) and Inoue Tetsujirō (1855–1944). Inoue’s History of Oriental Philosophy, written under Katō’s inspiration, used Western philosophy to systematize ancient Chinese thought, and transformed “philosophy” (tetsugaku) from a learning of others, or Western learning, into an important component of the spiritual world of the East, and into a kind of universal knowledge. This was completely different from earlier lectures on “China philosophy” (shina tetsugaku) by Nakamura Masanao (1832–91) and Shimada Jūrei (1838–98) which still followed the Chinese underlying structure, and in the background, it had the intent of grasping the power to control East Asian discourse. In China, when young scholars like Wang Guowei (1877–1927) embraced philosophy, they already took its universality as a self-evident premise. This kind of alignment later evolved into a situation where it seemed entirely natural to use Western systems to interpret Chinese thought, and it also induced serious scholars to reflect. However, “Oriental philosophy” and “Chinese philosophy” provide East Asia and especially China with an opportunity to reevaluate its traditional culture. In this connection, “Chinese philosophy” includes: first, using philosophical concepts to re-provision ancient thought (the so-called history of Chinese philosophy); second, the occurrence of “philosophy” and “Chinese philosophy” and their evolution after their arrival in China; third, drawing on philosophy to enrich and develop China’s thinking. When seeking out “philosophy” in the veins and arteries of China’s history, the first and second aspects must be strictly distinguished. As to what the future may hold, the effect of the third aspect is most important.     

A Companion to Ancient History,Blackwell Companions to the Ancient Worm （Yan Shaoxiang）.

I am wondering if we should have more Companions in ancient history in the 21^st century since we already have numerous companions from the Cambridge Companions and Brill Companions, both series very focused and up to date. The Edinburgh Companion to Ancient Greece and Rome （2006） contains a variety of information about the classical world which makes it a useful handbook, and also in Blackwell＇s Companions, quite a few Companions have appeared since the new century, covering ancient history. So far as this paper is concerned, we may list the Companions to the Ancient Near East, Archaic Greece, the Classical Greek World, the Hellenistic World, the Roman Republic, the Roman Empire, Late Antiquity, the Roman Army, and Julius Caesar, all of which combined together cover almost every historical stage of ancient history chronologically. Is there any further space left for a Comnanion to Ancient History？     

凉山彝族的漆作工艺

Lacquer ware is the invention of China and still be used and produced in civilian life. That made from area of Mountain Liang is most characterized with ancientness and simplicity. The author has thrice been there to investigate the social history and art of lacquer. This passage introduces the procedure of making lacquer wares in detail, which is believed to be of great value to the research of the social culture.     

Brindley, Erica Fox,Individualism in Early China: Human Agency and the Self in Thought and Politics

In this bold and thought-provoking book Erica Fox Brindley examines an issue long assumed to be a primary point of difference between European cultures and their descendants and the intellectual milieu of early China:the role of the individual.In the past,comparative studies of the individual in China have often assumed a basic distinction on this point,or have taken up one definition of the individual and argued that it did not exist in a particular Chinese context.Brindley eschews the ready comparison and instead looks to see whether concepts of the individual did exist in early China.She demonstrates there was in fact considerable discussion of the individual in pre-imperial intellectual history,and the bulk of her book is an examination of its forms.     

Official Life： Homoerotic Self-Representation and Theater in Li Ciming＇s Yuemantang Riji

Homoerotic play was central to the recreational culture of theatergoing from the mid-Qing to the beginning of the twentieth century, especially in Beijing. Theatergoing literati in particular played an important role in the production and reproduction of an elite, theater-based, homoerotic sub-culture, heavily investing themselves in the pursuit of social distinction. While it is important not to underestimate the importance of lower-status audiences in the popularisation of Peking opera, the literati doubtlessly considered themselves the aesthetic vanguard in terms of both the judgment of staged drama and the literary promotion of romances between themselves and the boy-actors offstage. Unlike ＂flower-guides＂ （Huapu） that circulated between friends, diaries from the period record private thoughts on the scene that would not, and could not, be expressed in public. Drawing on the diary of the influential late-Qing scholar-official Li Ciming （1830-94）, I focus on the question of how an understanding of public participation entered Li＇s diaries, as well as examining what his self-representations have to say about Qing literati ownership of homoerotic sensibilities and spaces, which is to say, how he saw himself as presenting to others and how that self-presentation is （re-）presented in his writing.     

A Lone Islet or A Center of Communications? Shanghai in the Indian National Army Movement

Students of modem Chinese history,and modern Shanghai history in particular,tend to view Shanghai as having been a lone islet during the Pacific War,when it was cut off from other parts of the world.This article,however,argues that Shanghai was still well connected to areas under the control of the Japanese throughout the war.Using the Sikh community in Shanghai as a case,it demonstrates how the Indian National Army used both a Japanese-initiated military highway and the long-existing Indian diasporic network in Southeast and East Asia to facilitate a certain kind of mobilization.It further sheds light on how the Sikhs in Shanghai were influenced by and responded to the Indian National Army's endeavors.     

拉卜楞寺藏印考述(英文)

A seal is an historical witness,a symbol of power as well as an important cultural relic for the study of history.Seeing those seals made of various materials,it is very natural to wonder how Jamyang(vjamdbyangs)living Buddhas in past dynasties developed     

Li,Huaiyin, Reinventing Modern China： Imagination and Authenticity in Chinese Historical Writing

Li Huaiyin＇s new book deals with the dialectic and competing processes ofwriting the history of ＂modem China＂ in China during the past century. Li presents the writing of history as a literary genre that has produced multiple narratives in different periods, narratives that corresponded to or were instigated by particular socio-political （especially political） circumstances of the protagonists of his story. In general, Li depicts these narratives as ＂romantic,＂ ＂optimistic,＂ or ＂pessimistic,＂ based on two major conflicting paradigms （or ＂grand narratives＂--Li often uses ＂narrative＂ and ＂paradigm＂ interchangeably）： ＂modernization＂ and ＂revolutionary.＂     

Recalling the War in China： The Dahoufang Project in Chongqing and the Restoration of a Legacy

This article presents a rare inside view of a unique project currently underway in China to study and preserve the memory of possibly the single most seminal event in Chinese modern history, the War of Resistance against Japan （1937-45）. The article introduces a multi-faceted program to preserve the wartime cultural heritage; the work is ongoing in the thriving western metropolis of Chongqing, once China＇s bomb-torn wartime capital and international Allied command center. It describes how, seven decades after World War II, scholars, cultural workers, government experts, and artists in China are joining hands in an unprecedented, all-encompassing project to record, restore, and recount the extraordinary legacy of China＇s War of Resistance in its local, as well as national and global contexts.     

Who Said, “Confucius Composed the Chunqiu”? ——The Genealogy of the “Chunqiu” Canon in the Pre-Han and Han Periods

It is often said that “Confucius composed the Chunqiu 春秋 (The Spring and Autumn Annals) to convey the way of the king.” Scholars have long noticed that before the founding of and during the Han Dynasty the phrase that served as the title of the allegedly Confucian work, “Chunqiu,” was also often used to designate history in general. In what intellectual and textual contexts did the term evolve from something general into a specific concept associated with Confucius? What works or ideas did pre-Han and Han scholars have in mind when discussing Confucius’s Chunqiu and the broader “Chunqiu” canon?1 Exploring these questions, the study that follows begins by systematically documenting the occurrences of this term in pre-Han and Han texts. It demonstrates that while Mencius was the first person to associate Confucius’s teachings with the Chunqiu, his statement was a solitary and surprising voice in the pre-Han era. Not until the Western Han Dynasty was Confucius widely heralded as the creator of the Chunqiu. But few scholars are aware that Western Han scholars never strictly distinguished the laconic Chunqiu from the detailed historical knowledge preserved in the Gongyang 公羊, Guliang 谷梁, and Zuo 左 commentaries. Furthermore, as the Chunqiu gained canonical status, the phrase still served as a generic term, referring to various historical narratives. Zhang Xuecheng 章学诚 is famous for claiming that “The Six Classics are all history,” and I shall show that in the minds of the people of the Han Dynasty, all historical works were classics.     

On the ＂Middle Way＂ of the Dalai Lama

The Dalai Lama has, in recent years, been telling the world he has stopped seeking ＂Tibetan independence＂ and turned towards a ＂middle way＂. By this, he says, he means ＂high-level autonomy＂ or ＂real autonomy＂ in Tibet and other Tibetan-inhabited areas within the framework of the Chinese Constitution. Only by doing so, he has argued, can Tibet best protect its unique traditional culture, religion and eco-environment, and can the unification and unity of China be maintained. （On March 10, 1959, the reactionary upper class in Tibet staged a counter-revolutionary armed rebellion. When it was suppressed,     

TEA AS EVIDENCE FOR THE SILK ROAD 1,800 YEARS AGO ACROSS THE QINGHAI-TIBET PLATEAU

正Originating in China,tea is one of the symbols of Chinese culture.The impact of tea culture has reached all the corners of the world:it has become one of the most popular non-alcoholic beverages,consumed by over two-thirds of the world's population for its refreshing taste,aroma,and medicinal and mildly stimulating qualities.It is the second most widely consumed drink in the world after water.In history,tea was among the commodities which     

新书（英文）

正A Pictorial of Tibet History This book is co-edited by Chen Qingying,Dondrub Wangbum,Sherab Nyima,the late Liao Dongfan,Zhang Xiaoming,and Zhou Aiming.It is comprised of 95 historical accounts together with hundreds of pictures and brief explanations,telling the history of Tibet from ancient times to the peaceful liberation in 1951 with the general theme being how Tibetan civilization