The Correspondence of Asturian Emigrants at the Turn of the Century: The Case of José Moldes (c. 1860–1921)

The private letter, one of the most representative expressions of mass literacy, was the product of improved postal services and epistolary manuals. In the nineteenth century, which also witnessed the new phenomenon of mass emigration, letter writing became one of the most common practices. This article discusses the correspondence of José Moldes, an Asturian who left Spain for Puerto Rico at the age of fourteen and settled shortly afterwards in Chile. He died in his native Asturias at the age of sixty-one. Throughout these fifty or so years, José wrote letters to keep in contact with members of his family, to control them when he became head of the household or to manage his businesses and investments. About 120 of his letters survived in the Moldes-Barreras family archive, through which we can reconstruct his experiences. The essential characteristics of this epistolary corpus emerge from an analysis of its material and graphic aspects, suggesting the profound influence of immigration on personal writing.     

Cordiform Maps since the Sixteenth Century: The Legacy of Nineteenth‐Century Classificatory Systems

The heart‐shaped, or cordiform, maps of the sixteenth century, including those by Oronce Fine, Peter Apian and Gerard Mercator, have long intrigued historians. Most writers have considered the heart shape a product only of mathematics, but some have recently offered other interpretations for the use of the heart. A classificatory system devised by d'Avezac in 1863, however, has impeded our understanding of the cordiform map, particularly in the matter of what is considered to be such a map. The nature of his classification and its reception by other writers since the late nineteenth century are examined in order to elucidate new directions for the study of the use of the heart shape in sixteenth‐century cartography.     

Cultures of Incomprehension?: The Legacy of the Two Cultures Debate at the End of the Twentieth Century

This paper considers the impact of Snow's Two Culture's thesis on debates about the place of science and scientists in society in the latter part of the twentieth century. Debates concerned with the public understanding of science and the ‘science wars’, both of which relied to some extent on the dividing of society into ‘two cultures’, are contextualised within longer efforts by scientists to popularise definitions of science and society and their relationship with other epistemic communities. This paper argues that we should think about all these episodes as part of ongoing rhetorical boundary work, reflective of strains and stressors on science as an institution. The two cultures debate has provided one powerful rhetorical device, amongst many, for ongoing boundary work to establish or question science as the dominant form of knowledge in society and delineate who is allowed to speak for it, and wield its power.     

Folk Narrative Research in Wales at the Beginning of the Twentieth Century: The Influence of John Rhŷs (1840–1916)

Although published at the beginning of the twentieth century, John Rh?s's work on folklore remains an important source for the study of Welsh folk narrative. There exists, however, no overall assessment of his contribution, his concept of folk narrative, his sources, or his interpretation of his material either in terms of Welsh culture or in the wider context of folklore theory, then and now. This paper is intended as a platform from which some of those concerns can be addressed by bringing together primary material relating to Rh?s's folklore interests. Some of his letters at The National Library of Wales, plus material in the Archives of The Folklore Society and in the collection of the Bodleian and Taylorian Libraries at Oxford, can help to clarify Rh?s's interest in folk studies. These sources also indicate how his interest in language, archaeology, and folklore overlapped, and how these interests affected his attitudes to folklore and its uses.     

Chosŏn Korea in the Ryūkoku Kangnido: Dating the Oldest Extant Korean Map of the World (15th Century)

The date of the earliest extant Korean world map, entitled Honil kangni y?ktae kukto chi to (Map of Integrated Lands and Regions of Historical Countries and Capitals) and now in the ōmiya Library, Ryūkoku University Academic Information Center, Kyoto, Japan, is unknown. The Ryūkoku Kangnido (as the map is commonly referred to), along with three other Korean world maps believed to have been made in Chos?n Korea in the fifteenth or sixteenth century, is thought to have been derived from a now‐lost world map made in Chos?n Korea in 1402. Opinions on possible dates for the Ryūkoku Kangnido have varied widely. In this paper, a revised date of between early 1479 and late 1485 is proposed on the basis of a study of the Korean place‐names in the map and changes in the Korean civil and military administration they reflect. It is also suggested that, despite showing most of the rest of the world, the Korean officials who produced the Ryūkoku Kangnido were less interested in portraying current images of neighbouring Asian countries than in presenting an up‐to‐date image of Chos?n Korea.     

Impact of Salmon Fishing on Livelihood and Social Relations Among the Ulchi and the Amur Nanai (Second Half of the 19th – Early 20th Century)

Drawing on an analysis of literary sources, 1897 Census data, and the author's ?eld materials, the study examines the impact of salmon ?shing on the economic and social structures of the Tungus-Manchu ethnic groups – the Ulchi and Nanai people. Speci?c features of the spawning migration of various species of Paci?c salmon formed the regional basis of livelihoods in the Lower Amur region. These same features determined the economic character and structure of settlements as well as impacting social relations among the Amur Nanai and the Ulchi.     

Traditional Perceptions of the Dog Among the Khakas People of the Late 19th–Mid-20th Century

The article describes a body of myths and rituals associated with the dog, one of the most prominent ? gures of Khakas folklore. The analysis covers the functional and symbolic aspects of the dog as well as the relationship between the dog and rituals associated with life cycles.     

The Choosers or the Dispossessed? Aspects of the Work of some French Eighteenth Century Pacific Explorers

This paper links the work of eighteenth century French explorers with that being done by contemporary anthropologists. Good ethnographic writers are not necessarily limited by the texts they read before going into the field and, since the time of Bougainville, have actively evaluated what they saw against what they had read. Bougainville himself has been much underrated as an ethnographer and this paper accounts for the trivializing of his work. Furthermore, the paper makes it clear that there was not one unified attitude concerning the Other in eighteenth century France. In noting that abridged or re-written forms of the explorers' journals were extremely popular, the paper posits the idea that at any one time there is a limit as to how much We want to know about Them. Finally, the paper considers the role of the exotic in obliging the French to re-define the knowledge systems they were building in their own culture. In this context, the ethnographic text is seen as a provocation in proportion to the amount of the exotic world of ‘other’ it conveys.     

An Early Illustrated Comparative Anatomy of the Brain: Samuel Collins’ A Systeme of Anatomy (1685) and the Emergence of Comparative Neurology in 17th Century England

The concept of comparing of the brains of various animals and of individual human brains was launched in the last half of the 17th century in England and was much influenced by the formation of the European scientific societies and their attempts to guide naturalist observations into a new systematics. An ambitious attempt to document this trend in an extensively illustrated work of encyclopedic pretensions was the singular publication of Samuel Collins (1618–1710), an energetic anatomist and president of the Royal College of Physicians. His little known two-volume folio presentation, written in the vernacular for broad acceptance, contains the seeds of a science of comparative neurology with the largest collection of brain illustrations (as well as of other organ systems) attempted in his era. Although lacking the conceptual insight that might derive from a true “comparative” anatomy and an understanding of the relations of different animals, the handsome engravings exemplified the new direction of the ‘enlightenment’ of the scientific revolution and are discussed in the context of relevant events of this period.     

Caciques as Placeholders in the Guaraní Missions of Eighteenth Century Paraguay

This essay uses census data from the eighteenth century to examine the leadership role of caciques in the Guaraní missions. Cacique succession between 1735 and 1759 confirms that the position of cacique transitioned from the Guaraníes’ flexible interpretation of hereditary succession to the Jesuits’ rigid idea of primogenitor (father to eldest son) succession. This essay argues that scholars overstate the caciques’ leadership role in the Guaraní missions. Adherence to primogenitor succession did not take into account a candidate's leadership qualities, and thus, some caciques functioned as placeholders for organizing the mission population and calculating tribute and not as active leaders. An assortment of other Guaraní leadership positions compensated for this weakness by providing both access to leadership roles for non-caciques who possessed leadership qualities but not the proper bloodline and additional leadership opportunities for more capable caciques. By taking into account leadership qualities and not just descent, these positions provided flexibility and reflected continuity with pre-contact Guaraní ideas about leadership.     

The Making of Iconic Disloyalty: The Evolution of Liu Mengyan’s (1219 - ca. 1295) Image since the Thirteenth Century

This paper traces the deeds and evolving images of Liu Mengyan (1219–ca.1295), the top candidate in the 1244 civil service examination who was later promoted to Chief Councilor of the Southern Song (1127–1279) in 1275. After the Southern Song collapse, Liu joined the Yuan (1271–1368) government and continued his career as a high official. In contrast to the prominent Song loyalist Wen Tianxiang (1236–83), who enjoyed excellent posthumous fame, Liu Mengyan was repeatedly denounced upon his death and even became an icon of disloyalty. This paper examines how this image of disloyalty was forged from the late-thirteenth century onwards. It suggests that the way Liu’s contemporaries and later literati interpreted and portrayed his deeds depended on political and social circumstances, and this in turn related to the ideal loyalist prototype by which they considered Liu, as well as on their interpretation of the concept of loyalty and their attitudes towards non-Han “barbarians.”     

China and Geography in the 21st Century: A Cultural (Geographical) Revolution?

A noted Singapore-based cultural geographer and specialist on Asia reviews the recent emergence of cultural geographic research on and within China and the implications of China's rise for the study of 21st century cultural geography more broadly. She identifies six major issues modern China is confronting that, when addressed from a cultural geographical perspective, may both enhance an understanding of the country and reshape the practice of cultural geography as a subdiscipline: agricultural reform, economic reform, urban change, rural-urban migration and related social inequalities, the changing family structure, and environmental change. The author argues that if China's cultural geography is to help the subdiscipline at large develop a more international and inclusive approach, it must be driven by questions of significance in China, yield constructive answers of relevance to China, and at the same time derive theoretical ideas that diversify the collective geographical imagination.     

The kingdom of Portugal,homage and papal ‘fiefdom’ in the second half of the twelfth Century

This paper examines the relationship between the newly formed kingdom of Portugal and the papacy in the second half of the twelfth century. The kings of Portugal sought a close alliance with the papacy and their relationship has been seen as that of ‘vassal’ and overlord. However, it seems likely that this alliance owed more to the tradition of monastic protection grants. The act of homage performed to the papal legate by King Afonso I is an example of a wider use of the homage ceremony. Homage was not only used to cement ‘feudal’ bonds, but also to make peace or to confirm pacts and agreements. The annual census paid by the kingdom to Rome was part of the same grant of protectio. The papal–Portuguese letters used the same language and terminology as ecclesiastical protectio, which was awarded by the papacy to monasteries, churches and eventually kingdoms and kings.     

The path-dependent evolution of the entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE) – dynamics and region-specific assets of the case of Vienna (Austria)

The paper sheds light on the path-dependent development of the Viennese entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE). By taking into account temporal dynamics from the 1990s onwards as well as region-specificities we are able to demonstrate the evolution of the EE is not a linear process, but rather the various pillars of the EE may develop in distinct directions and find themselves in discrete development stages. Our in-depth analysis supports the understanding of how various pillars of the EE – especially the regulatory and finance/funding pillar – interrelate. Furthermore, the detected cause–effect interlinkages are not balanced, but are rather shaped by power-constellations and temporal imprinting as well as other regional specificities, which influence the overall success of the EE.     

Wars as Dividing Lines? Rethinking the Significance of the Sino-Japanese War in Twentieth Century China

Historical periodization frequently takes wars as turning points—as ruptures that signify the end or beginning of an era. At the same time, front lines have often been taken as boundaries that contain the activities of one side or the other. Thus, discontinuity and disjuncture rather than continuity and fluidity have often been the points of emphasis among historians who have taken war events as turning points, or who have seen lines of combat as impermeable. A new focus on the Sino-Japanese War period has begun to reveal ways in which that moment served not as an interruption but as a part of longer term processes of change and development that characterized China’s mid-twentieth century. It also permits us to gain a deeper understanding of the fluidity of human movement and socio-economic interaction that frequently crossed both political and military boundaries and to think about similarities, linkages, and differences between various Chinese spaces. The aim of this paper is to consider ways in which the new generation of scholarship on the Sino-Japanese War period offers new ways of thinking about continuity, change, similarity and difference across both temporal and physical boundaries that have served as the parameters for much of the earlier scholarship on the period. To this end, the paper examines recent literature on the Sino-Japanese War period, as well as literature that crosses that period, to examine ways in which this historiography has challenged conventional periodizations and political and geographical delineations.