From Democracy to Bureaucracy： The Baojia in Nationalist Thought and Practice, 1927-1949

In the 1939 New County Reforms, the Nationalist government made the baojia system the lowest level of self-government in the country. This decision was the result of more than ten years of discussion among Nationalist administrators and writers who were searching for a tutelary system to train the people in their political rights in preparation for constitutional rule. In the 1920s and 1930s, Nationalist writers claimed to be following Sun Zhongshan＇s （Sun Yat-sen） philosophy by reinventing the baojia as a form of democracy. Harkening back to a reimagined national past, they ＂discovered＂ that the imperial baojia was not a system of local control, but a traditional model of bureaucratically-designed local self-government. Nationalist writers dovetailed this new baojia with Sun Zhongshan＇s philosophy in order to rationalize its position as the foundation of the Three Principles of the People State. Once philosophically legitimized, Nationalist writers endorsed the baojia as a top-down bureaucratic system that would transform the political, social, and economic life of the country; it would become the core political unit of their state-making and nation-building projects. In so doing, the baojia came to represent the Nationalists＇ deeply-held belief in the power of human agency to create state institutions capable of entirely remaking society and transforming the nation.     

Smith,Aminda M., Thought Reform and China＇s Dangerous Classes Reeducation,Resistance, and the People

Aminda M. Smith＇s bold and thought-provoking first book examines the reeducation of China＇s ＂dangerous classes＂ in the 1950s, using the process of thought reform to study how the new party-state answered the following question ＂What makes a vast population of heterogeneous individuals into the Chinese People？＂ （p. 11）. With an array of primary source materials including government documents from the Beijing Municipal Archive,     

TRANSPORTATION IN Lhasa CITY TURNS TO A NEW PAGE

Road construction in Lhasa City has turned a new page over recent decades due to disinterested support from provincial and municipal governments in the hinterland, in particular under the auspices of the government of Beijing Municipality and Jiangsu Province.Unbelievable changes of the roads in Lhasa City not only improve the city‘s transportation infrastructure,but bring about direct benefits to local residents as well.     

Gao,Yunxiang, Sporting Gender.＂ Women Athletes and Celebrity-Making during China＇s National Crisis, 1931-45

In Sporting Gender.＂ Women Athletes and Celebrity-Making During China＇s National Crisis, 1931-45, Yunxiang Gao argues that standards of waif-like beauty in the 1920s gave way to a new aesthetic of robust and athletic femininity （jianmei） in visual media in the 1930s. Female athletes challenged traditional norms by exposing themselves and bearing their skin in public, but they navigated between the politically acceptable ＂New Woman＂ model and the socially subversive ＂Modem Girl＂ model.     

Body Rainbow

Chapter Four The next morning, Phubu was awoken up by a group of monkeys fighting over peas and barley in the field. It was broad daylight. The long calls of the so-called ＂slow birds＂ came from afar. Phubu looked over to the bed to check on Phnmo and saw her sitting cross-legged and chanting sutras. Phumo saw him get up, so she got off the bed, took out a handful of dried apricots, opened the door, and threw them to the monkeys who, instead of running away when they saw her, came up to her chattering. Fearing that they would climb up and steal things, Phubu drew them away. The morning sun rose from the mountains by the Nujiang River in the east. After a good night＇s sleep, Phumo felt much better and had a nice breakfast. After the sun had reached the whole valley, they set out. Phubu carefully dowsed the fire in the stove and cleaned the Tsampa crumbs off the stove. He made sure everything was in order before leaving after fastening the door to prevent those cunning monkeys from entering and making a mess there. Having finished this, Phubu then put the ladder away in the barn on the ground floor to shield it from sun and rain, put the bags on his back and ran after Phumo. Other than a short fur jacket, Phubu was dressed in modern Chinese-style clothes that were more convenient for walking, but Phumo did not want to give up her a cumbersome long dress. Phubu was determined to make her put on the pants he prepared for her once they reach the paved road, otherwise when they start prostrating, she would most likely trip over her long dress, and bave a nasty fall. Phubu soon caught up with Phumo. She walked rather briskly through the forest with a stick picked up from by the road. They breathed in deeply the fresh air of the forest in the morning.., and gained strength from it. Phumo said, ＂Now I＇m feeling much better. I want to start prostrating.＂ Phubu objected, ＂Wait a minute. Haven＇t we already agreed on it？ We don＇t prostrate on Dosenla Mountain. The mountaintop is covered with snow now. It is hard to find a spot to spend the night up there. We＇d better get to the township today.＂ Phumo thought for a while, and agreed. They crossed the forest and climbed up to an alpine meadow. On a gentle slope facing the sun, lots of marmots were standing straight, basking in the sunshine. When the two of them got close, the marmots quickly jumped back into their burrows. Phumo and Phubu carefully avoided the holes on the snow-covered ground, and reached the mountaintop. Dosenla Mountain has a long ridge. The peak in the east is called Dosen and the one sitting five kilometres to the west is Doshong. Once they were on Dosen, a strong west wind blew straight at them. Phumo staggered, Phubu held her, and they rested in the sheltered side by the Mani stones on the peak. Phubu took out his thermos, a gift from a Chinese friend of his in Lhasa. He poured hot tea into the cap, and they enjoyed the heart-warming drink. Phumo took out the prayer banners from their luggage and was about to hang them with other prayer banners on the peak. Phubu stopped her, ＂We＇ll be passing by many mountains. If you start hanging them now, we won＇t have enough for later.＂ ＂I＇ll leave them at the right places. There＇s no such thing as ＇not enough＇.＂ Phumo replied. Phubu had no choice but to help Phumo hang the banners in the strong wind. ＂Let＇s not hang the wind-horse banners here, at least wait until we get to Doshong.＂Phubu said. ＂OK.＂Phumo strode forth. The small path from Dosen to Doshong winds along the high mountain ridge. If looked at from afar, Phumo and Phubu were like two moving exclamation marks. Then some ellipsis points appeared behind them. Those were the three sons of Gar Phuntsok of Sengo Village. They went up the mountain to collect logs, and were now coming back down. They were going to build new houses in the winter. ＂A hard trip, isn＇t it？＂ said Sonam, Gar Phuntsok＇s eldest son, when he caught up with them. Phubu didn＇t react, so Phumo answered in haste, ＂No problem＂ Not knowing what else to say, she asked, ＂Carrying logs＂ ＂Yep,＂ Sonam said, ＂Patri and his company have gone for over two months. What kept you so long＂ Sonam and his brothers had been working at their county seat; they did not know what was going on in the village. ＂We just finished the farm work at home.＂ Phumo replied. Sonata and his brothers were famous for their good looks in the village. They got that from their beautiful mother. Sonam used to be Phumo＇s childhood sweetheart, a fact the narrow-minded Phubu had never let go. The Sonam brothers were all married and had children now, but rumour had it that they were getting a divorce, because their wife was a tough woman who ran a tight ship     

The Urban “Cultural Nexus of Power”： Intellectual Elites in Shanghai and Beijing, 1900-1937

In the decades before the full-scale war with Japan in 1937, a robust series of institutions connected the bourgeois with intellectuals （which included professionals and journalists, as well as academics） in Shanghai. Collectively, these institutions can be understood as forming an urban ＂cultural nexus of power＂ that allowed non-state actors to effectively control aspects of Shanghai＇s political life. This bourgeois-intellectual alliance was not inevitable; no similar bonds existed between these same two groups in Beijing. It was forged in Shanghai due to the city＇s unique historical position as a Treaty Port and its dynamic economy, which included an extensive structure of private higher education and a market-based publishing industry. Unlike the rural ＂cultural nexus of power＂ originally described by Prasenjit Duara, this urban nexus grew stronger during the political and economic changes of the early twentieth century. War and revolution in the 1930s and 1940s, however, destroyed the connections between the bourgeoisie and the intellectuals, ending the vibrant urban environment they had created.     

＂Bankers Are Stingy？＂ Re-Examining Stock Exchanges and Public Debt in Prewar Shanghai （1920s-1930s）

This review article surveys new studies of China＇s economy in the early twentieth century that have been published in both China and the West. It analyses the nuances that we find in these recently published studies and how those might improve our conventional understanding of the era, with particular emphasis on the link between fiscal revenue and stock-exchanges. First, a detailed introduction treats the evolution, beginning in the nineteenth century, of Shanghai＇s segmented stock exchanges in the context of wider global currents. Section two reprises the still common notion that heavy domestic borrowing by the Nationalist （Kuornintang, or GMD） government in the 1920s-1930s forestalled industrialization. Section three discusses at length the degree to which Chinese banks in that period may be seen as merely a GMD conduit of borrowing. Chinese banks were probably more conducive to Shanghai＇s industrialization than is usually acknowledged, and they also played a key role in stabilizing China＇s monetary environment well beyond their perceived focus on managing public debt. But more evidence needs to come to light, and this article sets out the areas in which future research might advance our knowledge. The conclusion will underscore how the various findings of scholars might, as a whole, remould current conceptions.     

Defiant Retreat： The Relocation of Middle Schools to China＇s Interior, 1937-1945

This study focuses on the migration of middle school students to the interior of China after the Japanese invaded in 1937. It argues that the Guomindang （GMD） central government was generally successful in handling the 500,000 displaced students, making substantial efforts to monitor, register, educate, and provide training for them, as well as establishing government-run ＂national middle schools＂ during the war. Meanwhile, the GMD also exerted a strong influence on course curriculum, instructing educators how to implement the Three People＇s Principles and other party doctrines in classrooms. These processes expanded the state＇s hand in secondary education and allowed the GMD to include refugee students and schools in its wartime narrative of progress, praising the students＇ patriotic participation in defying the Japanese occupiers and their contribution to ＂national reconstruction＂ （jianguo）. However, there were still many challenges. Refugee students, teachers, and principals forcibly converted Buddhist temples into schools and clashed with local monks, farmers, villagers, and even the GMD military. With schools merging and moving inland, relocation also provided opportunities for unscrupulous administrators and teachers to exploit the situation for themselves, as government reports reveal many cases of corruption in the wartime schools.     

Policy Blending,Fuzzy Chronology,and Local Understandings of National Initiatives in Early 1950s China

This article proposes the concept of policy blending to improve our understanding of the densely interactive quality of political initiatives in early 1950s China. Using three cases studies, I argue that policy blending, defined as the process by which previous political experiences shaped the implementation and interpretation of those subsequent to them （sometimes in ways contrary to the government＇s intentions）, occurred frequently during this period, to the extent that people＇s understanding of the first years of Chinese Communist Party rule cannot be separated from this phenomenon. Using examples from marriage registration, the Marriage Law and the national discussion of the 1954 draft Constitution, I advance the historiographical argument that the early 1950s should not be demarcated by, or taught mainly with reference to, ＂temporally encapsulated＂ policies with clear beginnings and ends （i.e., policy ＂a＂ occurred in year ＂b,＂ followed by policy ＂c＂ in year ＂d＂）. Rather, policies seeped into each other, producing a blurry--but sometimes accurate--＂impression＂ of state power. I further suggest that the concept of policy blending can be helpful in understanding subsequent political initiatives as well.     

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.     

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.＂     

DENG DONG,MR. NICE OF YUSHU

During our talk with Danke, he suggested enthusiastically that we interview another person： ＂You＇ve got to talk to him. He＇s been working tirelessly in Yushu for quite a few years, planning the new Yushu and new projects for it. Danke was talking about Deng Dong, Director of the Urban Planning and Design Institute of the China Academy of Urban Planning and Design （CAUPD）. The locals have given him the nickname ＂Mr. Nice of Yushu＇.     

VILLAGE ADMINISTRATOR DEKYI WHO GRADUATED FROM UNIVERSITY

Dekyi is a Tibetan girl who always has a smile on her face.She came from Tibet to Beijing to receive her higher education and then she gave up the opportunity to work in city where she could have had a high income and comfortable life.Instead she decided to work in Sema Village of Nechung Town of Tohlung Dechen County,where she launched her new life by contributing to the rebuilding of a rural area in Tibet.She interpreted the rural policies issued by the government by applying her own knowledge.     

Back to Gamdeling

The Township Village of Gamdeling is situated in District Naiqung, County of Doilungdeqen, Lhasa. It is the place where I began to establish a relationship with Tibet. Halfa Century＇s Concern and Remembrance In the early spring of 1963, as a junior student majoring in Tibetan at the Department of Minority Languages and Literature in the Central College for Nationalities, I set foot in Tibet for the first time. The first place I saw was the Township Village of Gamdeling, where I went to work with the liberated serfs who were undergoing a democratic reform. I helped set up grass roots political power. Being together day and night, I studied Tibetan with them and taught singing to children in the primary school. There, I learned to recite Tsangyang Gyatso＇s poem, On the Peak of the Eastern Mountain, from which the well- known name ＂Makye-ame＂ comes. Since July 20, 1963, the day on which I departed, I have had no opportunity to return to Gamdeling. These years, by radio, newspaper and internet, I got to know that a famous vegetable and flower producers＇ cooperative was built in Gamdeling. I can collect hundreds of reports about Gamdeling on line. The news makes me excited, because I know Gamdeling is going forward with Tibet. How about my old Tibetan friends？ How about their life now？ Who are even still alive？ On August 30, 2011, on the occasion of a short business trip to Lhasa while accompanied by a friend, I stepped on the land again. Tenzin Wodrup＇s Vegetable Greenhouse Across the bridge over Tohlung Chu of the Lhasa River, we entered the area of Gamdeling. For me, everything was so familiar but yet strange! We stopped our car in front of a building with the sign of ＂Vegetable and Flower Exhibition and Trade Center of the Gamdeling Farmers＇ Vegetable Cultivation Cooperative, the County of Doilungdeqen＂. By the gate there was a stall selling local watermelons. Having taken some pictures, we drove northwards into the district of the vegetable greenhouses, intending to find a local and ask the way. It took five or six minutes for our ear to circle around the area, from which, we can see how big the district was. In time, I saw a middle-aged farmer with a bright T-shirt standing on the road. I got out and asked him about Tsering Dondrup. To my surprise, he was from Gamdeling and lived in the same Village of Chabka as Tsering Dondrup, and they were relatives The man＇s name was Tenzin Wodrup. He promised to take us to call on Tsering Dondrup＇s. On both sides of the road that was straight, clean and paved with cement, there stood dozens of vegetable greenhouses in rows.     

News in Brief

Tibet to Hold ! ITH Mountaineering Assembly The llth Tibet Mountaineering Assembly is going to be held from Sep.26 to Oct.7. It is aimed to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the first ascent of Mount Qomolangma by human beings. The organizers will also hold several mountaineering activities for amateurs to learn mountaineering skills. i,hasa Issued China＇s Firstlmrism Law Lhasa issued the offprint of the Tourism Law of the People＇s Republic of China in August, which is the country＇s first tourism law. Deliberated and approved by the 12th Standing Committee of the National People＇s Congress （NPC）, the law will be put into force on October 1, 2013. Overseas Chinese Painters X＇isited Tibet Nearly 20 overseas artists from 11 countries and areas including the US, Canada, Japan, Australia, France and Italy set out for the journey of ＂Famous Chinese Painters to Tibet＂ on August 16. In the next ten days in Tibet, they produced art works and had seminars with local artists. 2013 Tibetan Thangka Industrial Dexelnpment Forum Ileid in Lhasa The forum was held in the Mass Art Gallery in Lhasa on August 15, attracting the relative experts, scholars and painters in Tibet to have an in-depth discussion about Thangka＇s industrial development pattern and path, and the inheritance and protection in the new media age. Grand Tibetan Musical Yarluag Zangbo Premiered Musical Yarlung Zangbo premiered at the Yarlung Theatre in Lhoka Prefecture on August 15, 2013. The musical showed the time-honored history and culture of Lhoka and also highlighted the Yarlung Cultural Festival from August 15 to 21. Tibet Invests 100 Million Yuan to Build Sehool Bathrooms Almost 100 million Yuan has been invested in building bathrooms for primary and middle school students in Tibet since 2012. It is expected that 109 bathrooms, which make use of solar energy by installing solar power water heaters, will be finished until the end of 2013. Nachen Bridge, connecting the North Circular Road and the 318 National Highway after completion, has realized its closure of the main part structure and is expected to open to traffic within the year. The scenic zone Nanyigou, located in Nyingchi Prefecture, has adopted a tourist quota policy to allow a limit of up to 2,000 per day since August in order to support Chinas bid to build ecological shelter. The 2013 Shoton Festival of Tibet has wrapped up on August 12th. During the seven days＇ festival this year, a total number of 1.38 million tourists have visited Tibet, reaching an all-time high. The Xiahe Airport in Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Gansu Province opened on Aug. 19.     

Female Workers,Political Mobilization,and the Meaning of Revolutionary Citizenship in Beijing, 1948-1950

After entering Beijing in January 1949, the Communist Party immediately sent cadres to local factories in order to mobilize female industrial workers into a women＇s movement and to establish the idea of ＂revolutionary citizenship.＂ The Party wished to nurture this idea in both the local political arena and in women＇s lives inside and outside the factories. This article demonstrates that a host of factors defined revolutionary citizenship, including party directives, choices in revolutionary strategy, cadres＇ interpretations of directives and their own initiatives, and workers＇ reactions to mobilization. It was in this complex mix of mobilization, women＇s strategies to protect and advance their own interests, and the politics of group representation in the revolution, that female workers came to understand the meaning and impact of revolutionary citizenship and the shape of labor-state relations in the emerging socialist China.     

From Academic Nitpicking to a =New Culture Movement＇： How Newspapers Turned Academic Debates into the Center of ~May Fourth＂

Abstract In early 1919, people like Hu Shi and Chen Duxiu were regarded as members of an ivory-tower ＂academic faction＂ （xuepai）, embroiled in a debate with an opposing ＂faction.＂ After the May Fourth demonstrations, they were praised as the stars of a ＂New Culture Movement.＂ However, it was not obvious how the circle around Hu Shi and Chert Duxiu was associated with the May Fourth demonstrations. This link hinged on the way in which newspapers like Shenbao reported about the academic debates and the political events of May Fourth. After compartmentalizing the debating academics into fixed xuepai, Shenbao ascribed warlord-political allegiances to them. These made the Hu-Chen circle look like government victims and their ＂factional＂ rivals like the warlords＇ allies. When the atmosphere became hostile to the government during May Fourth, Hu Shi＇s ＂faction＂ became associated with the equally victimized May Fourth demonstrators. Their ideas were regarded as （now popular） expressions of anti-government sentiment, and soon this was labeled the core of the ＂New Culture Movement.＂ The idea and rhetoric of China＇s ＂New Culture Movement＂ in this way emerged out of the fortuitous concatenation of academic debates, newspaper stories, and political events.     

An Encounter between the Qing Dynasty and Khoqand in 1759-1760： Central Asia in the Mid-Eighteenth Century

This paper examines negotiations involving the exchange of envoys between the Qing dynasty and Khoqand in 1759-60. The Qing made contact with Khoqand in order to bring rapid stabilization to the newly acquired western territories. Khoqand, on the other hand, established a relationship with the Qing in order to expand their authority over the Kirghiz, and to advance toward Bukhara. Irdana tried to take advantage of Qing authority for the purpose of expanding his territories, but at the same time, he appealed to the other Central Asian Muslims to engage with him in a ＂holy war＂ against the Qing. It is true that each power in Central Asia shared a sense of crisis in reaction to the Qing＇s sudden expansion to the west. However, we also need to examine the competition for hegemony among the powers under the pretext of opposition to the Qing＇s advance.     

History,Culture, and Politics： On Historical Formation and Identity Dilemmas of ＂China＂

This lecture is concerned with some historical issues of ＂China,＂ ＂territory, culture＂ and ＂identity＂ that are placed against the background of politics, culture and scholarship in contemporary China. I want to draw attention to the question of how historians understand and interpret ＂China.＂ It addresses the following questions. First, where did the idea of ＂China＂ come from？ and how did it become a topic of scholarly research？ What kind of dilemmas does ＂China＂ confront in its current condition and historical interpretation？ Second, how do various new historical theories and methods in international academic circles enrich our understanding of ＂China＂？ Third, how does China＇s history and reality challenge the theories of ＂empire＂ and ＂nation-state＂？ Fourth, is it possible to write ＂East Asian history＂？ Does ＂national history＂ prove still effective in describing China or East Asia？