千年之变:一种西欧封建社会解释的兴衰

"千年之变"或"封建变革"是由乔治·杜比率先阐发,经P.图贝尔和P.博纳西等人发展的一种关于西欧封建社会生成与演变的解释模式。这一模式改变了传统的封建社会诞生的年代学,将西欧封建变革的关键时期放在公元千年前后到11世纪中期;认为封建制度的产生是加洛林国家解体、公共权力蜕变为领主私人统治权的结果;在封建化造成的暴力和混乱之中,传统的社会关系被重构并形成新的社会阶层。20世纪的最后10年中,这种变革论受到多方面的批评,批评者强调千年之变是对当时新的书写文化的误读;千年前后的社会演变不是与加洛林秩序的突然断裂;变革派关于封建混乱的理解,是透过现代政治的棱镜观察中世纪而产生的误解。     

另辟蹊径，匠心独运——《〈天演论〉传播与清末民初的社会动员》评介

近代中国处于"数千年未有之大变局"之中,先进的中国人为拯救国家和民族于水深火热之中,从各自的立场出发,提出了多种多样的救国方略,从而使社会思想文化处于激烈的变革之中.     

从动还是能动,跟着还是领着?——20世纪初中国女性服饰变革与社会变革

中国古代,重重衣饰束缚着女性身体和行动,暗喻妇者雌伏的社会心理。清末民初"礼崩乐坏",服装逾制。女性以服饰为道具和工具,一反其长期扮演的次要角色和失语地位,史无前例地参与到社会变革中,服饰变革与社会变革呈现出复杂多维的历史关系。一方面,女性服饰变革从动于社会变革:在"兴国强民"的时代语境下,放女足首先从清末京沪开放城市兴起,而后风行全国,蔚为大观,这一变革追随社会达尔文主义思潮,客观上被攫升到复兴民族的历史高度去认知和实践,女性服饰变革是为社会变革之"影"。拟男服饰和早期旗袍流行一时,响应女权主义思潮,女性扮演同等国民,女性服饰变革是为社会变革之"镜"。另一方面,女性服饰变革能动于社会变革:反叛传统的"服妖"和趋于极端的裸体运动划开了服饰禁忌的口子,解放了囿于服饰的人性,引发激烈争议,女性服饰变革是为社会变革之"剑"。女学生着文明新装,引领文明生活先声;名媛影星穿改良旗袍,展示女性时代风貌。这些代表性群体的服饰行为塑造了摩登女性形象,推动了社会文明进步,女性服饰变革是为社会变革之"轮"。     

略论日本天武天皇

公元7世纪,"大化改新"有效地推动了日本社会的进一步发展,天武天皇也在这场变革中登上政治舞台。以"壬申之乱"中夺取天皇之位为开端,治世15年的天武天皇着重强化皇权,一系列的政策和改革终使日本律令制国家开始形成,对其后世直至日本现代都产生了不可磨灭的影响。     

从自治到保甲:乡制重构中的历史回归问题——以20世纪三四十年代两湖乡村社会为范围

在20世纪之初的中国乡制变革中,由自治取代保甲和以复兴保甲来推进自治这一看似回旋的历史过程,深深地烙印着传统皇族国家与社会结构崩解后,近代民族国家与社会结构重建的复杂性和探索性特征.以传统与现代力量都很突出的两湖地区乡村社会为范围,考察乡制变革中现代自治与传统保甲体制由替代到融通的历史变异过程,可以充分展示乡村社会变迁的实况和解析其制度性回归传统的历史因由,并深刻揭示在"保甲-自治-保甲"的诡论式表象趋势中,串结着的深层历史主题.     

《仪礼·丧服》所体现的周代宗法制度与伦理观念

人们往往将我国历史上的夏、商、周并称为三代.不过,较之夏商二代,周代的思想文化和政治制度发生了引人瞩目的巨大变革.王国维先生曾深刻指出:"中国政治与文化变革,莫剧于殷周之际.……殷周间之大变革,自其表言之,不过一姓一家之兴亡与都邑之移转;自其里言之,则旧制度废而新制度兴,旧文化废而新文化兴.……周人制度之大异于商者,一曰立子立嫡之制.由是而生宗法及丧服之制,并由是而有封建子弟之制、君天子臣诸侯之制.……"①此诚为不刊之论.<仪礼·丧服>篇所记载的丧服制度就是与周代宗法制度相辅而行、互为表里的.周人所创制的具有划时代意义的宗法制度以及与之相关的伦理观念均在<仪礼·丧服>中有深刻而具体的体现.     

斯文关天意:1932年清华大学入学考试的对对子风波

1932年清华大学入学考试的方式变革引起了争议,这一事件本身需要进行史实的重建.中学国文教育是双方的共同关注点,考试中的"对对子"的确为出题者陈寅恪所侧重,期借此防止国语不国和传统不传,并希望以大学入学考试的创新来促动中学国文教育的改变;但反击的"社会"舆论却强调国立大学入学考试的方式应与中学国文教育的现状保持一致,并不断诉诸"国家"的权威.正是"社会"对"国家"的监督以及对"国家机关"职责的强调,迫使后者做出了让步;而"社会"对"国家"的监督又并非以对立的姿态出现,反而是在代"国家"立言,要求后者维护"中国教育行政的统一".     

国家政权建设下乡村的权力和秩序——以民国前期贾汪矿区为中心

民国前期贾汪矿区的政治生态和社会秩序,随着国家政权建设的逐步深入,呈阶段性起伏波动之势。民初对绅权既尊重又约束的制度安排,保障了矿区的有序发展。1920年代末国家权力全面扩张,政治失意、经济受损的乡村"保护人"即曾为地方利益代言的乡绅投向逐利性基层国家权力,转化为渔利型掮客,导致矿区失序。1933年国家权力重新调整后,新崛起的地方精英与职能强化的地方政府致力于乡村利益和社会公正,修复了矿区秩序。矿区政治和秩序的变化,从根本上说是政权建设中制度变革特别是国家权力配置不断调适的结果,区域性生态环境的影响并不明显;而忽视这种阶段性特征,单纯说政权建设成功或失败有失偏颇。     

清代疆域“大一统”观念的变革——以《大清一统志》为中心

"大一统"是秦汉以降历代王朝遵循的治国理念,也是封建君臣追求的至高目标。疆域统一成为"大一统"内涵的重要元素。清代以前,受"华夷之辨"思维的影响,历朝构建的"大一统"疆域观未包括边疆地区尤其是长城以外的"三北"。至清代,始突破"华夷之辨",把边疆地区纳入到"大一统"疆域内,实现了"中外一家"局面下真正的国家"大一统"。三部《大清一统志》的编纂以昭示"一统之盛"、"一统无外之盛"为宗旨,是清代疆域"大一统"观念变革的重要体现。     

“记忆之场”与皮埃尔·诺拉的法国史书写

法国新史学的经济社会史取向削弱了传统的民族史叙事,20世纪70年代法国社会的一系列重大社会政治变迁导致民族国家意识的淡化,个别化的历史记忆、逆向的记忆和认同日益凸显,拉维斯主义民族国家的历史记忆走向碎裂。"记忆之场"就是在这种背景下提出来的。皮埃尔·诺拉试图通过对记忆之场的回想,追寻一种没有民族主义的民族意识。这一研究虽然受到拉维斯《法国史》的启发,但比后者更具包容性,是具有反思性的"第二层次的历史"。它是民族主义意识形态衰落后,在已然"遗产化"的民族记忆中追寻身份的努力。"记忆之场"的提出,意味着法国民族史中过去、现在和未来关系的一种深刻变革,历史的连续性动摇了,这可视为一种新的"历史性体制"——"当下主义"的标志。     

Telling small stories: spaces of knowledge and the practice of geography

This article examines how the practice of learning geography, and the arenas in which knowledge-making takes place, can be usefully positioned within changing histories of the discipline. It contends that networks of action – understood through the intersection of social sites, subjects and sources – present a conceptual framework and narrative focus for the re-consideration of specific episodes from geography's past. The interventions made here are informed and illustrated by a 'small story' about the doing of geography. Based on different personal accounts, the story revives a series of events, encounters, dialogues and images dating back to the winter of 1951 at Glenmore Lodge, Scotland. This educational institution in the Cairngorm mountains offered children from urban areas the opportunity to learn field studies and the skills of 'outdoor citizenship'. Initially, the focus falls on Margaret Jack, a 14-year-old field-course participant. Her learning experiences are traced through personal letters, a diary and a field journal dating from that time, and her recent recollections of this event. Margaret's account dovetails with the story of her field studies instructor, Robin Murray. Robin's role is traced through his learning experiences as a geography undergraduate at Aberdeen University, and the recent recollections of Catriona Murray, his wife.     

Das Wissen der Schulden. Recht,Kulturtechnik und Alltagserfahrung im liberalen Kapitalismus

The Knowledge of Debt: Law, Media Technique, and Everyday Experience in Liberal Capitalism. Performing an object such as ‘the economy’ hinges on practices of formatting knowledge. The article proposes to look at such instituting moments in connection with social conflicts over the legitimate rules of exchange. This is exemplified by way of recounting the story of the codification of Swiss bankruptcy law in 1889. In order to homogenize the legal procedures of debt collection and bankruptcy, two subject categories were instituted: ‘merchants’ and ‘non-merchants’. These different categories were thought to account for the diverging temporalities and spaces of credit exchange in everyday economic life. The introduction of the commercial register, a media-technical apparatus, enabled a formal distinction between ‘merchants’ and ‘non-merchants’. However, this boundary was contested and proved to be porose.     

Two radiocarbon dates for freshwater shells from hierakonpolis: Archaeological and geological interpretations

Shells of two species of freshwater bivalve (Unio willcocksi Bullen Newton and Etheria elliptica Lamarck) from the predynastic Gerzean (Nagada II) Decorated Tomb at Hierakonpolis, Egypt have given dates of 5000±90 bp for the tomb, and 12,900±120 bp for an episode of Nile terrace accumulation (correlated here with the Sahaba-Darau aggradation event). The archaeological and geological significance of these results is discussed, together with an outline of problems associated with radiocarbon dating of shell. Comparisons are made with the few other radiocarbon dates available for the Predynastic period in Egypt and possible reasons for the presence of shells in the tomb are considered.     

Some chronological implications of a fossil molluscan assemblage from a neolithic site at Brook,Kent, England

The later post-glacial history of a valley in the chalk escarpment near Brook, Kent, is described, based on molluscan stratigraphy, archaeological evidence and radio-carbon dating. Differences in size and colour banding, respectively, of fossil and living representatives of two species of land snails, Pomatias elegans (Müller) and Cepaea nemoralis (L.), are correlated with climatic change during the post-glacial period. The problems of the use of fossil shells of these species as samples for radiocarbon dating are discussed.     

China's Dynamic Industrial Sector: The Internet Industry

A Singapore-based economic geographer explores and analyzes the spatially uneven evolution of the Internet industry in China, arguing that the country's immense regional disparity in the provision of Internet services is best explained by the interplay of place- and path-dependence. The author demonstrates how the highly uneven regional endowments in relevant industrial and entrepreneurial resources have led to the substantial and persistent regional imbalance within China's emerging "new economy." His initial survey of the country's 100 leading Internet content providers (firms), identified from a listing of ca. 11,700 commercial websites, is selectively augmented to reflect an increase of over 70 million Internet users in 2007, reaching a total of 253 million in June 2008, and thus overtaking the United States as the world's largest Internet market. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: L10, L86, O30. 6 figures, 1 table, 53 references.     

The 1911 International Exposition in Rome: architecture, archaeology, and national identity

This paper discusses the 1911 International Exposition in Rome and illustrates how this patriotic celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Italian Sate utilized symbolic landscapes of architecture and archaeology to promote nationalist sentiments of italianità and romanità centered on the young capital of Rome. Through modern art exhibitions at the Valle Giulia, scientific conferences at the Castel Sant’Angelo, archaeological exhibits on the Roman Empire in the Baths of Diocletian, and regional Italian pavilions in the Piazza d’Armi, exposition officials offered a complex representation of Italian national identity that was modern yet ancient, cosmopolitan yet bucolic, European yet regional, and imperial yet developing.     

The Rise and Fall of Alexander the Great – The Need for Medical Analysis: Reply to Commentaries

Alexander the Great died in 323 B.C. from an unknown cause. By elucidating the nature of his death, we can better interpret various aspects of Alexandrian history. Alexander’s death may have ensued from the sequelae of a congenital scoliotic syndrome. It would therefore be of significance to note that one of the greatest leaders in history who conquered much of the then known world may have been suffering from a physical disability.     

The Chemists' Style of Thinking

Der Denkstil der Chemiker. Der Aufsatz diskutiert die Tragfähigkeit des Begriffes “Denkstil”, wie er von Alistair Crombie eingeführt und Ian Hacking aufgegriffen wurde, für das Verständnis dessen, wie das Fach Chemie historisch seine Identität ausgeprägt hat. Obwohl weder Crombie noch Hacking den Begriff “Denkstil” in Bezug auf einzelne Disziplinen verwendet haben, erscheint im Fall der Chemie seine Anwendung besonders vielversprechend, weil er hier hilft, ein zentrales Problem zu thematisieren – nämlich die Frage, wie es Chemikern trotz wechselnder Gegenstandsbereiche und theoretischer Umbrüche gelang, eine eigenständige und stabile Identität auszubilden. Nach einer Einführung in den Begriff “Denkstil”, argumentiert der Aufsatz, dass die Beständigkeit der Chemie als eines Faches wesentlich in ihren Laborpraktiken gründet, die ihrerseits wiederum die spezifische Art der Fragen bestimmten, die Chemiker in ihren Forschungen stellten bzw. die Form der Antworten, nach denen sie suchten. Folgende Merkmale kennzeichnen diesen “chemischen Denkstil” (1) eine spezifische, im Herstellen begründete Form des Wissens, (2) die Befassung mit einzelnen Stoffen und Materialien statt mit Materie im Allgemeinen und (3) eine Beobachtung von Natur besonders im Hinblick auf Transformationsprozesse. The Chemists' Style of Thinking. This paper discusses the relevance of the notion of “styles of scientific thinking” introduced by Alistair Crombie and revisited by Ian Hacking, for understanding how chemistry shaped its identity. Although neither Crombie nor Hacking applied this notion to individual disciplines, it seems appropriate to use it in the case of chemistry because it helps to address a puzzling issue: how did chemists manage to shape an identity of their own, despite shifting territories and theoretical transformations? Following a presentation of the notion of style, I will argue that the stable identity of chemistry is rooted in laboratory practices, which determined the specific questions that chemists put to nature as well as the answers to their questions. The “chemical style of thinking” is characterized by i) a specific way of knowing through making, ii) the concern with individual materials rather than matter in general and iii) a specific commitment to nature.