“Soldiers with stiff bodies”: rumors,stereotypes and the Chinese image of the British army during the First Opium War (1839-1842)

ABSTRACT

A curious aspect of the First Opium War was the circulation among Chinese officials of two claims made about British soldiers, instigated by Commissioner Lin Zexu: their uniforms were so tight that if they were to stumble they would not be able to get up again; and, the men were “like fish,” thus able to function well at sea, but not to fight on land because they had become so used to the pitching and rolling of their ships. This article examines the extent to which these notions took on the quality of wartime rumors, and how they spread beyond generals and officials and into the general population. It considers the way in which the rumors functioned in different ways and at different levels of society, taking on different constructions of meaning in multiple social and political domains.     

MANAGEMENT OF THE WATER BALANCE OF THE ARAL SEA

In view of the declining inflow into the Aral Sea, alternative proposals are advanced to save this inland sea by reducing its area as well as its salinity levels. The proposals involve the closing off of some portions of the sea, notably the Little Aral in the northeast and the Western Aral, from the large shallow eastern portion. Some portions of this fragmented sea would then be treated as active bodies of water with a throughflow regime, discharging surplus waters of high salinity into other portions, which would be allowed to become salt marshes. Various combinations of active water areas and residual water areas are examined, and possible trends in waterlevel and salinity are projected to the middle of the 21st century.     

ON THE INADVISABILITY OF THE PROJECTED DAM ACROSS KERCH' STRAIT

The proposed dam across the Kerch' Strait is opposed both on econonic grounds and because it is unlikely to achieve its basic purpose of reducing the salinity level in the Sea of Azov and restoring earlier fish productivity. Calculations are presented to show that the additional streamflow into the Sea of Azov needed to reduce salinity from the present 15 per thousand to 10 per thousand would be far more costly than the revenue that could be derived from fisheries. It is proposed that the loss in fish productivity in the Sea of Azov might be compensated for far more economically by developing pond fisheries in the drainage basin and by introducing brackish-water and marine species into the sea.     

论湖泊的自然衰亡与可持续开发利用——以杭州西湖古今开发为例

从地理学角度看,湖泊都有自然沼泽化的趋势。人类活动可以加剧或者减缓这种趋势。杭州西湖就是由于人们古往今来的长期良性开发,才得以保存至今而且成为著名风景胜地的。在阐明这一原理的基础上,本文分析评价了近20余年来人们对此湖的开发行为,结论是:良性和非良性开发都在持续。这一结论对国内许多同类湖泊而言具有一定普遍性或代表性。     

What Is and Isn't in a Name

Although I remain sympathetic to the narrative behind the notion of “History of Knowledge,” I argue against redrawing the disciplinary boundaries around “knowledge,” as opposed to retaining the term “science.” This is not because I think there is no place for a “history of knowledge,” and not because I am concerned that such a redrawing of disciplinary boundaries would open the floodgates of “anything goes.” Rather, I am doubtful that problems of demarcation and exclusion can be resolved solely by changing a name. I draw on my personal experience as an East Asianist to suggest that the challenges I faced trying to fit into the community of historians of science and technology would not have been solved by renaming the discipline. At the same time, I also argue that changes can and do happen without a change of name. And finally, I maintain that the word “science” has important connotations that we do not want to give up.     

The Water-Balance Components of the Aral Sea and their Impact on Long-Term Level Fluctuations

An analysis of water-balance components over the 45-year period 1926–1970 seeks to establish their relative significance in the marked decline of the Aral Sea level since 1961. Long-term fluctuations in the sea level are found to reflect both natural fluctuations in the water resources available to the drainage basin and the steady growth of human activity in the watershed area. An increase in water withdrawals for irrigation in the 1950s did not appreciably affect the Aral Sea level because of generally large water resources during those years. The intensive decline of the water level since 1961 is attributed mainly to a growth of consumptive withdrawals from the Syrdarya and Amudarya, the two main tributaries of the Aral Sea. The position of the sea level also depends on the annual fluctuations of evaporation from the sea surface, which tends to be more variable than the annual streamflow to the sea. The subsurface component of Aral Sea inflow, contrary to previous studies, is found to be a negligible factor.     

Jesuit thalassology reconsidered: the Mediterranean and the geopolitics of Jesuit missionary aims in seventeenth-century Ethiopia

During the second half of the sixteenth century, the Society of Jesus relied heavily on Portuguese trade routes in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans in order to reach Ethiopia. However, geopolitical shifts, particularly the rise of Ottoman sea power in the Indian Ocean and the Spanish conquest of Portugal in 1580, ended this route’s viability for the Jesuits. In order to sustain Jesuit connections with Ethiopia, Father General Mutio Vitelleschi decided in 1627 to abandon the Portuguese and send four Jesuits with French passports through Ottoman territory and up the Nile, whence they would travel overland into Ethiopia. After arriving in Egypt, however, the Jesuits were arrested, interrogated and expelled by the Ottoman governor, who suspected that they were Habsburg spies. The course of this failed Jesuit effort to reach Ethiopia has three important implications for our understanding of the Mediterranean and its relationship with other sea spaces in terms of early modern empire building and Catholic evangelization. First, the decision to abandon the Portuguese in favour of the French illuminates how the Mediterranean remained at the fore of the Society of Jesus’s missionary efforts. Second, French willingness to protect the Jesuits demonstrates that Louis XIII of France saw the Mediterranean as an important theatre for achieving his political, religious and economic goals. Third, the Ottoman decision to arrest and expel the Jesuits due to fears that they were in Egypt to assist in a Coptic rebellion and concomitant Hapsburg invasion demonstrates both Ottoman anxiety concerning the rise of European religio-imperial ambitions and the Ottomans’ ability to control foreigners travelling through their lands. In sum, these developments illuminate a larger thalassological picture of the Mediterranean, which, like other sea spaces, obtained as an important contact zone where early modern powers competed to build empires and save souls.     

日本的海权观及其海洋领土争端——一种建构主义的尝试分析

东北亚国家对于海洋权益的认知渐进深入,以及地缘政治实况和国家实力消长等,构成了社会意识与物质力量变迁的合力,加剧了日本与周边国家之间普遍存在海洋领土争端这一社会情势。当代西方国际关系理论中的建构主义为上述实况提供了一种新的思维尝试、分析框架与消解困境的方案补充。东北亚海洋领土争端困境的解决关键在于如何利用预留的政治空间。     

The environment becomes a political issue. Highlights of the Brundtland Commission Report

The Report of the Brundtland Commission (World Commission on Environment and Development) has been released by the UN. The Report points out that environmental survival requires development and development is only possible if the resources of the global environment are conserved. Although the UN and the World Bank must make commitments to development, each nation must devise its own strategy because development is inextricably linked to political, economic, and social factors such as poverty, overpopulation and the status of women. The Report makes 3 specific recommendations: 1) An independent body should be set up to assess global risks; 2) A universal declaration on environment and development should be made and followed by a convention; and 3) The UN General Assembly should set up a UN Program on Sustainable Development. The highest priority should be given to finding alternatives to nuclear energy as well as making the use of nuclear energy safer. Other major environmental problems include desertification, acid rain, the "greenhouse effect" and its impact on global climate and sea levels, and the destruction of the ozone layer with concomitant increase in cancer.     

Water-Transport Problems of Central Asia in Connection with Water-Management Projects on the Amudarya and the Karakum Canal

The economics of Central Asian transportation are such that railroads are more economical than waterways if they run parallel, but water transport is considerably more economical than motor transport in the absence of railroads. This explains why shipping was never significant along the Syrdarya, one of the two major streams of Central Asia, which has been paralleled by a railroad (from Orenburg to Tashkent) since 1906. The situation was different in the case of the Amudarya, which was paralleled by a railroad in its lower reaches only since 1955. The significance of shipping on the Aral Sea is declining rapidly as more water is being withdrawn from its tributary streams for irrigation and the sea level is dropping. The author sees a future for water transportation on a southern east-west route made up by the upper reaches of the Amudarya and the Karakum Canal. However, such a route would require considerably additional capital investment on the canal to make it accessible to larger barges.     

浙江宁波象山“小白礁I号”清代沉船树种鉴定和用材分析

"小白礁I号"清代沉船遗址位于浙江省宁波市象山县石浦镇东南约26海里的渔山列岛海域,于2008年首次发现,计划于2014年将沉船船体发掘出水。为了从多方面了解"小白礁I号"沉船的特点,考察其建造地点及造船工艺方面的有关问题,制定出水船体保护方案,为此,分别从龙骨、肋骨、隔舱板、船底板等多个部位对船体木材采样进行了种属鉴定。种属鉴定结果表明,"小白礁I号"沉船船体所用木材多为龙脑香科、马鞭草科和山榄科等阔叶硬材,且多产于东南亚热带地区而在我国较少分布,有别于我国以往考古发现的古船。"小白礁I号"沉船用材及保存状况的了解为船体发掘出水后的保护修复工作创造了非常有利的条件。     

跨世纪的广西区域开发战略格局

广西是中国唯一沿海沿边的少数民族自治区。亚热带农林土特产品、水电、铝锰锡建材为主的矿产、旅游资源丰富;作为西南出海大通道,地缘政治经济地位突出。迈向21世纪,将进一步完善大通道为主的交通、能源、通讯为主的基础设施结构,建成七大系列支柱产业基地,形成五大经济区的区域开发战略格局,由此而成为中国沿海新兴的少数民族经济发展热点地区。     

从“不做官吏”到争做官吏——汪精卫早年的无政府主义思想及其蜕变

汪精卫在民国初年宣布"不做官吏",退出政治,投入留法教育运动,在思想上是出于对无政府主义的认同。信奉无政府主义,促使汪早年崇尚暗杀,继而将教育视为比武装革命更为根本的救国手段,并与孙中山产生了严重的分歧。但国内政治的危机局面,使汪又不能忘情于现实政治,内心充满苦闷挣扎,最终重返政治,放弃了无政府主义理想。探讨汪精卫思想中的无政府主义及其蜕变过程,也有助于了解无政府主义在中国现代政治中所面临的困境。     

Dynamics of a Non-Decision: the 'Failure' to Devalue the Pound, 1964-7

Harold Wilson's delay in devaluing the pound until November1967 is still widely thought of as a fatal mistake, despiterecent work which has emphasized the economic case for not surrenderingsterling's parity with the dollar. This paper re-examines notjust the economic but also the political reasons behind theLabour government's defence of the national currency—anddoes so in order to explain both the initial rejection of devaluationand its eventual acceptance. It concludes that the governmenttried to avoid devaluation in order to avoid disruption to theworlds financial system and because it believed it would notsolve Britain's long-term economic problems. The governmentalso knew that it would be electorally damaging, and that theattack on public and private spending that would have to accompanyit would threaten its parliamentary survival. Devaluation occurredin 1967 because of a complex series of contingent events. Butdevaluation also took place because the government could convincinglyargue to the outside world that it had done its utmost, becauseits alternative approach failed to deliver the goods in time,and because, having an increased majority, it decided to facedown rather than pander to its own parliamentary supporters.     

THE SHAPES OF MOSCOW OBLAST CITIES

An analysis of the shapes of cities in the Moscow region finds that the linear, elongated form tends to predominate over the compact. City layout often derives from the arrangement of the axes of development. In many Moscow Oblast cities, these axes are the transport corridors radiating out of Moscow, and the corridors, often made up of parallel railroad, highway and river, account for the pronounced elongation of city shapes. From a historical perspective, linearity developed mainly in the last 50 to 60 years as new industrial plants and housing developments sprang up along the transport corridors. The author cautions against unhindered development of linearity since it may ultimately produce continuously urbanized belts along the major transport corridors radiating out of Moscow. Such a development is viewed as undesirable from the standpoint of regional planning because it would obliterate recreational facilities, which are now situated mainly along these transport routes.     

Evolution of the Palaeolithic landscape at the westernmost tip of continental Europe: The shoreline seen by the Menez Dregan dwellers

The successive dwellers of the Palaeolithic Menez Dregan site (Finistère, France) experienced a different landscape because of the relative sea level transgressions and regressions which affected Audierne Bay between 465 and 369?Ka. We computed a series of bathymetric measurements and then produced a series of 3D images between Penmarc'h Bill, the Sein Ridge and the –120?m isobath to reconstruct these landscapes. Due to the lack of flint in the onshore and offshore Brittany basement, the –40 and –80?m regressive stages have been particularly well studied as they correspond to two well-developed flint-rich boulder bars. The other topographic features which probably attracted the attention of pre-Neanderthals were: (1) the vertical granite cliffs of Sein, Audierne and Penmarc'h; (2) the mid-Bay granitic pinnacles and cascade; (3) the Raz pass, which was the only communication route between the Audierne and Douarnenez Bays; (4) the Goayen and Pouldreuzic Rivers; (5) the Ar Palinier plateau made up of shelly limestone characterised by small caves and dolinas; (6) the Bigorne marsh, infilled by continental mud, which received drainage from all the rivers and the cascade; (7) the gentle south-facing slope located south of Sein island and (8) the N130° 2?m linear step cutting across all of their territory. Some of these data suggest that other Palaeolithic sites may have occurred at a deeper depth than the present sea level.     

1958年《中华人民共和国政府关于领海的声明》研究

根据国家主权原则,在总结中国领海管理的理论与实践的基础上,结合国际实践和公认的国际法原则,1958年中国政府颁布了《中华人民共和国政府关于领海的声明》,标志着新中国领海制度的初步建立,这对捍卫中国领海主权、维护海洋利益、发展海上交往、巩固海防等都具有重大的意义。     

Edwardian Conservatism and the Constitution: The Thought of Lord Hugh Cecil

This article presents an analysis of the political thought of Lord Hugh Cecil. It argues that in order to understand Cecil's thought it is necessary to emphasize the role of the constitution in his thinking. There are three reasons for this. First, his opposition to Chamberlain's tariff reform campaign was rooted in a view of the detrimental effects the policy would have on politics, evidence for which Cecil saw in the tactics used by the tariff reformers. Second, because his opposition to the Parliament Bill and to the home rule proposals, which lay behind the removal of the house of lords' veto, was similarly rooted in what he saw as the unconstitutional nature of these measures. Third, because Cecil was an active proponent of constitutional reforms that were designed to ensure that the second chamber could still exercise a restraining influence on government and so stand up for the interests of what he saw as the moderate majority of the people.     

The relational turn in island geographies: bringing together island,sea and ship relations and the case of the Landship

Island studies are a growing field of research. A relational turn has recently taken place in island studies alongside relational turns in associated fields of research, including oceanic and ship geographies (although not always in conversation with them). While all three now challenge the landlocked nature of geography and related disciplines, this paper suggests that islands, oceans and ships should not always be reductively conceptualized in isolation, because they are often bound together through complex and shifting relations and assemblages. After reviewing debates and conceptual gaps in the critical island, sea and ship literatures, the paper makes this argument by reference to an island dance performance and social institution that is not wholly of the island, the ship or sea, called the Barbados’ Landship.     

The Poor Man’s Goldmine?

This article analyses the career paths of Swedish and Finnish sailors from the mid-19th to the mid-20th century. The article shows that, for the most of the men, the seaman’s occupation was just a passing phase before taking up a job on shore, but many of them also created a long-lasting and advancing career by going to sea. There was not necessarily, however, a clear distinction between job opportunities at sea and those on shore in those days: men worked both at sea and on shore. We therefore argue that an individual’s advancement in a maritime career was a context-specific socio-economic phenomenon. In Scandinavia, work on board ships was dependent on features that characterized the division of labour in a predominantly agricultural domestic economy on land and emerging industrialization during the turn of the century. Here we present an analysis of the career paths of almost 60,000 men recruited to serve on Swedish and Finnish merchant vessels from the 1840s to late 1940s.