PRIVATE COLLECTION OF CUNEIFORM TABLETS IN JERUSALEM

Cuneiform texts presented in this article are part of the Av collection of cuneiform tablets belonging to a private collector in Jerusalem. I was introduced to this collection almost a couple of years ago by a chance through a mutual friend. The collection was     

MORTALITY AND FAME IN AKKADIAN TEXTS

Not all topics can be treated in the same way. Some are too intimate or thorny to be discussed without precautions in our use of language. One of these topics is undoubtedly death, a timeless and placeless taboo in which psychological, religious, and social interdictions are embodied. The aim of this paper is to explore the linguistic devices that Akkadian speakers used to tone down the taboo and cope with death. To address the issue, written sources, belonging to different genres and time periods, are examined.     

TEXTS AND TRADITIONS IN CHINESE AND COMPARATIVE PHILOSOPHY

This article considers Quentin Skinner's critique and methodology in his seminal essay “Meaning and Understanding in the History of Ideas” vis-à-vis the current methodological debates in Chinese and comparative philosophy. It surveys the different ways in which philosophers who work with ancient Chinese texts in those related fields deal with the tension between textual contexts and autonomy and how some of the errors criticized by Skinner under the mythology of coherence, mythology of doctrines, mythology of parochialism, and mythology of prolepsis might apply to those fields. It argues that Skinner's insistence that understanding a text requires recovering its author's intended meaning by studying its linguistic context has limited application to Chinese and comparative philosophy because those fields’ most important texts are not best understood as means of communication by specific historical authors with intended messages to convey to readers. These texts are instead the means by which Chinese traditions perpetuate their respective beliefs and practices. Instead of being circumscribed by authorial intent, the meanings of traditional texts are dynamic and co-created in the process of producing, reproducing, and consuming texts as well as in the evolution of practices that also constitute each tradition. The meanings received by the audience are never exactly what authors or transmitters intended but have been transformed by each audience's own concerns and interests, even if the audience attempts to grasp what the former intended. Using the Five Classics and the Analects as examples, this article illustrates how such texts’ purposes to teach and perpetuate the practices that constitute a way of life determine their meanings. Understanding is not merely cognitive but practical as well. The meanings of such texts are not static but dynamic as traditions evolve. The debates about methods of reading and interpreting ancient Chinese texts are also debates about the nature of Chinese traditions and struggles over their futures.     

七日“日出之国”自驾游火热集结中

<正>日本,一个童话世界,一个说不尽风华与优雅的国度,春天樱花、夏季薰衣草,冬季冰雪。日本文化受汉文化的熏陶影响,发展至今已别具特色。2010年7月1日起,日本正式放宽中国旅客签证,日本自由行的门槛大幅度降低,体验完全的日本自由行已经成为可能。在这个夏天,带上足够的辎重,到日本,去吸满森林旷野的生气,过几天逍遥的野居生活。     

THREE EARLY DYNASTIC SUMERIAN SALES CONTRACTS OF IMMOVABLES HOUSED IN THE OKAYAMA ORIENT MUSEUM

Two years ago I had a chance to read four unpublished Sumerian texts newly housed in the Okayama Orient Museum, Okayama-shi, Japan. With the generous permission of Prof. Dr. Taksahi TANIICHI, Director General of the Museum, I offer three of the texts below.     

SOCIAL UPGRADING IN SIX CANADIAN INNER CITIES

This paper examines social upgrading in the inner neighbourhoods of six major Canadian cities between 1971 and 1981. The extent of social status change is assessed, and hypotheses are considered to account for neighbourhoods likely to experience social upgrading. Maps of status change are discussed and suggest further general principles. These are assessed in a correlation analysis where the dependent variable is an index of social status change for each inner city tract. Most of the independent variables show significant associations; the most consistent correlation is with proximity to an existing elite area. Implications of these findings for models of neighbourhood transition are considered.
Cet article examine le phénomène du renouveau social à I'intérieur des secteurs d'habitation de six grandes villes canadiennes entre 1971 et 1981. Le changement de statut social fait I'objet d'une évaluation dans son étendue, et des hypothèses sont formulées pour rendre compte des quartiers qui ont de grandes chances de connaître un phénomène de renouveau social. La carto-graphie des changements de statut social permet de dé-gagerde nouveaux éléments d'explication. La vérification des hypothèses est faite au moyen d'une analyse corrélative où la variable dépendante est un in-dice du changement de statut social survenu en chaque division des secteurs couverts. La plupart des variables indépendantes montrent des associations significatives; la corrélation la plus marquée a rapport à la proximité d'un secteur où réside l'élite. La signification de ces ré-sultats pour la formulation de modéles de quartiers en transition retient notre attention.     

跟着色彩的节奏行走:日本冲绳的视觉盛宴

旅行过程中,色彩是很重要的一个元素,无论是自然风光,还是人文景观,甚至是美食或纪念品,只要有了好的色彩,哪怕天气不好,哪怕没有神奇旅行故事,也会体会到一种快乐而张扬的心情。     

THE VARIATION OF REGIONAL POPULATION IN JAPAN*

In this paper, firstly a model of the variation of regional population was constructed, based on the work of Klaassen and the wage and job opportunity theories. Secondly, the reduced form of the model was made and fitted to the data of Japan for 1965 and the time period 1960–1965. The model was successfully fitted to the data. It was therefore concluded that in Japan, the mechanism of determination of a regional population could be shown by the model proposed in this paper, and the population in a region was determined by the natural increase of population and the economic activity of the region. Moreover, the fact that the densely populated region in Japan has higher population growth as the region has higher economic activity and higher natural increase ratio of population was found.     

ETYMOLOGY OF AKKADIAN MONTH OF AYYARU AND SUMERIAN ITI-GUD-SI-SA

1. Ayyaru in the Gula Hymn of Bullutsa-rabi
Lines 178-187 of the Gula Hymn of Bullut.sa-rabi is about the function of Ninlil. Prof. Lambert did not translate the sentence of sa i-na a-a-re-e hi-ta-ku in line 183, because the meaning of a-a-re-e is difficult. CAD S p 150 （mistakes Nin-karrak for Ninlil） thinks that a-a-re-e is arG A from Sumerian a-rá, ＂mathematical table, ephemeris＂, so they translate the sentence together with next line of sattakku man-ma ul ustapi： ＂I （Ninkarrak） am expert in what is in the multiplication tablets, no one has had to elucidate one single wedge＂.     

EXPLAINING TRENDS IN CORESIDENCE OF NEWLY MARRIED COUPLES WITH PARENTS IN JAPAN

This paper attempts to explain both the long-term downward trend in coresidence of newly married Japanese couples with parents and the surprisingly large and sustained upturn in coresidence precipitated by the 1998 economic crisis. A multivariate analysis shows that the main causes of the long-term decline in coresidence at time of marriage are the declining percentage of arranged marriages, rising mean age at marriage for wives, rising levels of education among both husbands and wives, and the declining percentage of couples who grow up in rural areas. The contributions of these variables are partially offset by changes in the mix of couple types, especially the increase in the percentage of couples in which the husband is an eldest son. The analysis of the upturn in coresidence precipitated by the 1998 economic crisis reveals a complex interplay between changes in age at first marriage, family structure and coresidence.     

THE TEXTS FORMERLY OWNED BY ST. PAUL PUBLIC LIBRARY AND PUBLISHED IN SET

In 1961 T. B. Jones and J. W. Snyder published 332 texts from many collections in the United States in their book Sumerian Economic Texts from the Third Ur Dynasty, a Catalogue and Discussion of Documents from Various Collections (Minneapolis) (usually     

遁入和风清愁乡

夏季昼长,尚未到夕阳晚照的时分,还不是一抹寂寞的天空。上空燃烧着璀璨的红霞。睿山和北山兴许是抹上了那种颜色,变得一片深蓝了。 ——川端康成《古都》     

甘肃省钱币学会第四次会员代表大会在兰召开

上世纪60年代初,湖南省津市涔澹农场犁田时发现一个小瓷罐（图一）,内装金币六枚。1985年,金币由农场财务科移交津市文物管理所。     

BASE-ISOLATION DESIGN PRACTICE IN JAPAN: INTRODUCTION TO THE POST-KOBE APPROACH

Japan has twenty years of experience in designing and constructing base-isolated building structures. Construction has increased significantly since the 1995 Hyogoken-Nanbu (Kobe) earthquake, having reached over 150 annual construction projects. Many new developments and refinements have been made in the material, device, design, and construction of these structures. This paper summarises recent design and construction of base-isolated building structures in Japan, including statistical data with respect to the common usage as well as the number of new projects. It is notable that the size, height, and fundamental natural period of new base-isolated buildings increase steadily with time, indicating that base-isolation in Japan is reaching maturity. Base-isolators and dampers commonly adopted in Japan are also introduced, with emphasis on recent design efforts to enlarge the natural period of base-isolated structures and reduce the lateral forces induced in the superstructure. Basic design procedures are presented, including determination of design earthquake forces, modelling of base-isolation layers, modelling of the superstructure, selection of ground motions, time-history analyses, and performance criteria. A mandated peer-review system, unique for design of base-isolated structures, is also noted. Several characteristic issues in the design of base-isolated structures are discussed: Variation of base-isolation material properties, applications to high-rise buildings, effects of vertical ground motions, and response when subjected to near-fault ground motions.