唐宋民间医疗活动中灸疗法的浮沉——一项技术抉择的时代背景分析

The changing status of moxibustion therapy in folk medicine from the Tang Dynasty to the Song Dynasty is a reflection of the distribution situation of popular medical resources during these periods. As a feasible therapy with a large popularity, moxibustion played a crucial role in the Tang Dynasty. The Song Dynasty saw some social development as well, because it was an active state power and social force in medical activities. Therefore, people at the lower class gradually benefited from decoction and acupuncture treatments, and the status of the moxibustion therapy began to decline. The changing status of moxibustion therapy in different dynasties embodies the changes in technology and the quality of life. Translated by Chen Cheng from Tsinghua daxue xuebao 清华大学学报 (Journal of Tsinghua University), 2006, (1): 62–74     

宋代的宗族祠堂、祭祀及其它

The Song Dynasty is the most important period in Chinese history in terms of the establishment of a new type of clan system. During the Song, Chinese social organization, at the grass-roots level, experienced a fundamental change. In the wake of the late-Tang collapse of the local power system, it was necessary for the Song to replace the ancestral lineage structure and develop a new system to adapt itself to the new circumstances brought on by drastic changes in its economy. Song Confucians played a vital part in the changes. Not only did they gradually solve the theoretical problems of the new type of clan organization, but they also developed many feasible and standard models. Eventually this model would gain even wider acceptance after the Yuan Dynasty with the rise of Neo-Confucianism. Thus, ancestral halls, serving as the major centers for the new clan activities, became prevalent among common people. Translated from Anhui Shifan Daxue Xuebao 安徽师范大学学报 (Journal of Anhui Normal University), 2006, (3): 322–327 This paper is part of a National Social Science Fund project, Research on Chinese Folklore History (Song and Yuan Volume, You Biao, ed.)     

In Search of the Social: Steamboats, Square Wheels, Reindeer and Other Things

This paper examines the concept of the ‘social,’ particularly from an archaeological perspective, and explores how it relates to the ways in which we seek to understand the processes of technological innovation and change. It is demonstrated that the concept ‘social’ is far from well defined and that enquiry is bedevilled by artificial polarization between subject-centred approaches and object-centred particularism. Through the medium of early United States steamboat technology a different approach is forged through the melding of people and things with the idea of viewing artefacts as active social actors along with people. Ultimately, it is argued that maritime archaeologists should be more bullish in their approaches to material things—instead of adopting social theories ‘wholesale,’ we should insist that they include the things we study: boats, material objects, people, artefacts, landscapes and animals.     

近代城市贫民阶层及其救济探析——以天津为例

With the development of industry and commerce after Tianjin’s opening as a treaty port, the urban poor were in an unfavorable situation in controlling the social resources. Facing a large number of urban poor, the state represented by government officials of various levels and the civil society represented by local gentry-merchants have clearly recognized the widened gap and increased opposition in all social strata and communities while the disintegration was close to cross the bottom line. It will affect the social harmony and cause unrests. Therefore, under their advocacy and support, all kinds of relief and charity institutes come into being and play a positive role in balancing the social wealth, helping the lower class, improving the social justice and maintaining the stability of social order. Translated by Luo Hui from Shilin 史林 (Historical Review), 2006, (2): 77–84     

犬儒派与庄子学派处世观辨析

During the fourth and third centuries B.C., both the ancient Greek and Chinese civilizations evolved into key periods of social transformation. The Cynics and the School of Zhuangzi responded most acutely to these great social changes. Both of them denied the legitimacy of the existing political systems, denounced the upper rulers and felt disappointed at the comprehensive reality of societies, and were indifferent to fame and gain, and willing to live simply and smile at death. But compared with the Zhuangzi School, the Cynics were more extreme and defiant. Viewed from both macro and micro perspectives, the differences in civilizations, geographical conditions, and historical traditions determined the difference in behavior and attitudes of the two schools in terms of their behavior in the world. Nevertheless, their similarities outweigh their differences because of the similar development stages of their civilizations, similar socio-historical periods and similar social and living problems confronted. Translated by Feng Jinpeng from Nankai Xuebao 南开学报 (Nankai Journal), 2006, (3): 85–91     

Township/Village Administration from the Late Qing to the Warlord Period

In ancient China, formal government institutions stretched to the county level. This system witnessed a radical transformation during the late Qing and the Warlord period, with various types of township/village administrations mushrooming in many places across the country to meet the requirements of institutional reform and the demands for modernization in local regions. These township/village administrations can be divided into two types: one is the newborn township/village administration in the late Qing dynasty, and the other is the township/village or quasi-administration that evolved from the old localized Xiangdi (local administrative system). Functionally, the former can be further divided into two kinds, the monofunctional township/village administration, which might include education, or police and security, and the multifunctional administration. The latter falls into three categories: some were new-model administrations directly translated from the old rural Xiangdi system; some were subdivisions of the neonatal administration composed of the old local Xiangdi system; and still, others basically reserved the intrinsic property and function of the old Xiangdi system. As political entities, township/village administrations of this era can be further differentiated into those bordering on “self-government” and those lingering under “the official system.” Township/village administration at this time mostly consisted of a standing body, with their personnel, who enjoyed the status of professional civil servants, set up by legal proceedings. Government outlay was sponsored by public finance or tax income, and it assumed all kinds of modern administrative functions, basically of a modern character. Meanwhile, of course, it retained much of its traditional flavor in actual operation. All in all, the birth of this form of township/village administration constituted an important dimension of the modernization of China’s local administration system. Translated from Beijing Normal University Journal (Social Sciences), Vol. 2, 2004, by Sun Yue     

Establishing the Public Sphere and Abolishing the Private Domain: The Rise of a Doctrine and Its Social Significance in the Spring and Autumn Period

The dominant views regarding the concepts of “the public” (gong) and “the private” (si) took shape in the Spring and Autumn period and matured in the succeeding years of the Warring States period. This paper is an attempt to trace both the growth of the vocabulary containing “gong” and “si” and the development of philosophical views regarding issues that center on the relation between the individual and the larger social/communal/political body, of which that individual is a member; it also touches on issues related to the proper handling of public affairs and the relation between state, sovereign, and the individual. The era is often characterized as “The Contention of the Hundred Schools of Thought,” notwithstanding it ended with but one view that is universally accepted by thinkers of diverse persuasion, namely, si is the source of all social evil and, therefore, should be condemned. This is the doctrine known as ligong miesi (abolishing si so gong may be established), which contributed to the orthodox for that era and the millennium to come. By extolling gong and condemning si, it painted a portrait of the pair as two irreconcilable norms or forces in social and political life; it provided a justification for the then emerging new social arrangement and ways of distribution of power and resources, and it also led to acute conflicts between the sovereign and the state, the ruled and the ruler, the state and the subject, as well as the public sphere and the private domain. Translated from Nankai Journal, Vols. 4, 5, 2004     

宋明以来宗族制形成理论辨析

The discussion of the formation of patriarchal lineage system since the Song and Ming dynasties can be divided by the turn of 1980s and 1990s. The earlier period research is rationalized by four theories under the perspective of feudal society: the theory of village commune, the theory of lineage authority, the theory of patriarchal thought, and the theory of the restriction of land relations. The theoretical breakthroughs of the latter focused on the lineage's popularization, “three changes” of the kinship organization and the social vicissitude, the national identity, the lineage's community-compactization, and the generalized analysis on the reason of patriarchal lineage's formation. __________ Translated by Xiong Ting from Anhui Shixue 安徽史学 (Historical Research in Auhui), 2007, (1): 75–87     

明代地域商帮兴起的社会背景

In the mid-Ming Dynasty, the means of transportation were greatly improved; commodity production became more developed; silver was gradually monetized; commercial taxes became lighter; and social attitudes towards merchants changed. All these developments created a favorable environment for the formation of regional merchant groups. Meanwhile, social factors at the regional level—characteristics of local commodity production, favorable natural environment and production structures, as well as Ming government’s practice of border defense, border trade, foreign policy, local customs, and the interpretation of commercial activities of local people—all contributed to the emergence of merchant groups. Translated by Wu Yanhong from Tsinghua Daxue Xuebao 清华大学学报 (Journal of Tsinghua University), 2006, (5): 81–94     

An inquiry into the causes for the multiple goals of the United States Antitrust Law from a historical perspective

It is not the case as Robert Bork claims that the U. S. antitrust law had only one goal—maximization of consumer welfare of efficiency—at the very beginning and should have been kept that way for its later development. Partly because of the fighting among different interest groups as well as spokesmen of different regions at the 51st Congress, the Sherman Antitrust Act came out as a legislation with multiple goals, which were also taking shape under the influence of the Republican idea of balance of power, the liberal belief in property rights, the freedom of contract of classic economics, and the price theory of neoclassic economics. In more than a hundred years after that, the U.S. antitrust law has shifted the center of its goals as a result of the change of regulatory regimes with different emphases such as market function, economic stabilization, social concern, and economic efficiency during different periods. From a historical perspective, it is beyond dispute that the U.S. antitrust law has had multiple goals instead of only one. __________ Translated from: Shixue Yuekan 史学月刊 (Journal of Historical Science), No.6, 2004     

晚清至民国徽州小农的生产与生活——对5本婺源县排日账的分析

The Pairizhang (day-to-day accounts) found in Huizhou were mostly written by the pupils in old-style private school. They seem similar to a dairy in some way with the activities of family members (mostly male) as the main contents. However, they differ from modern diaries in many ways. It was a common practice in Wuyuan County to keep day-to-day accounts in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China. By analyzing the 5 accounts found there, many underlying facts can be revealed, such as the time allocation of the main labor force, the composition of the peasant’s family economy, the general situation of productive activity and the days and ranges of their outdoor activity, etc. All these findings can help us have a better understanding of the peasants’ life in Huizhou at that time. __________ Translated by Li Dan from Jindaishi Yanjiu 近代史研究 (Modern Chinese History Studies), 2008, (2): 119–124     

"中国"与"天下"的重合——古代中国疆域形成的历史轨迹

“The Central Kingdom” is pregnant of political implications as well as of geographical and cultural significance. It was believed that whoever controlled Zhongguo (the Central Kingdom or China) would be the legitimate ruler over Tianxia (the realm under heaven or all under heaven). It was the contention for “the Central Kingdom” among the varieties of dynasties, notably those established by the Han-Chinese and the various ethnic groups in the northern borderland, that lead to the alternation of disintegration and unification of the territory. It was not until the Qing Dynasty that the unified “Central Kingdom” composed of a variety of ethnic groups turned into the ideal “realm under heaven” with “the Central Kingdom” at its core, which naturally put an end to the formation of territory in ancient China. Translated by Chen Dan from Zhongguo Bianjiang Shidi Yanjiu 中国边疆史地研究 (China’s Borderland History and Geography Studies), 2007, (3): 1–15     

中西文化的一次对话:清初传教士与《易经》研究

By the early 18^th Century, the “Rites Controversy” among the missionaries themselves has evolved into a culture conflict between the Qing Empire and Europe. To make the European missionaries in China follow the rites of Matteo Ricci, Emperor Kangxi had French Jesuit missionaries Joachim Bouvet and Jean Francoise Foucquet study the Book of Changes in his royal palace and had further conversions with the European missionaries based on their researches. Not only did this cultural conversation reveal the Figurist’s tendencies, as represented by Bouvet, and the interior conflict among the missionaries themselves after the “Rites controversy,” but also showed Kangxi’s policies towards the missionaries, as well as his attitude towards Western culture and religion. __________ Translated from Lishi Yanjiu 历史研究 (Historical Research), 2006, (3): 74–85     

从环境的历史到环境史——关于环境史研究的一种认识

By and large, there are three kinds of research on environment: the history of environment as a field of natural history studies, the history of environment as within the scope of history of society studies, and environmental history as the study of the relationship between human and nature. The methodological perspective of the relationship between humanity and environmental distinguishes the third from the previous two. From this perspective, when we probe the mutual effects between human and nature, we will stress on their interactions. The new era and the realities of contemporary society foster the rise of environmental history, which has not only theoretical values but also practical significance. Translated from Xueshu Yanjiu 学术研究 (Academic Research), 2006, (9):12–22     

昭君想象与时代变迁

Wang Zhaojun was a romanticized historical figure. The visualization of her was characterized by specific historical and social backgrounds. While her image was shaped with the thousands of years’ expansion of northern interethnic relations in ancient China, the united modern multi-ethnic state created her glorious image as “an angel bringing about national harmony, peace, and unity.” __________ Translated by Feng Mei from Zhongyang Minzu Daxue Xuebao 中央民族大学学报 (Journal of the Central University for Nationalities), 2008, (1): 55–58     

"德先生"和"赛先生"之外的关怀——从"穆姑娘"的提出看新文化运动时期道德革命的走向

Today, Mr. Democracy and Mr. Science are always invoked in the discussion of the May Fourth New Culture Movement. However, Miss Moral, who was also introduced in the later stages of the movement, is much less known. It would clearly be of interest to study the way in which “moral” became a catchword but then faded away and was forgotten. The emphasis on solidarity and patriotism, stimulated by foreign encroachment that had existed since the late Qing Dynasty, began to shift to an ethical revolution centering on individual liberation. However, after the rise of the May Fourth Movement, public attention was attracted by collectivism and nationalism again, while the appeal for individuality and ethical revolution was decayed gradually. The introduction of Miss Moral had a direct relationship with the trend of ethical revolution in the later stages of the New Culture Movement. Translated from Lishi Yanjiu 历史研究 (Historical Research), 2006, (1): 79–95     

Jiangnan gentry’s responses to “The great famine in 1877–1878”: The famine relief in north Jiangsu

Although “The great famine in 1877–1878” breaking out in the early years of Emperor Guangxu’s reign has mainly struck North China areas, it has also great social impact on another important area—Jiangnan. The past surveys in academic circle basically ignore the meaning of this drought from the aspect of localism in Jiangnan. When an important movement of drought relief in modern China is mentioned, that is, the rise of charity relief in the late Qing Dynasty, the judgment is not totally accurate. In fact, when they were purely facing the drought, Jiangnan produced various responses carrying a firm stand of localism to protect their county and land. Among these responses, drought relief in the north of Jiangsu launched by gentries from Jiangnan is essentially a continuity of traditional drought relief in Jiangnan since the Ming and Qing dynasties. Translated by Luo Hui from Shehui Kexue Yanjiu 社会科学研究 (Social Science Research), 2008, (1): 129–139     

影艺的政治:一九三0年代中期的中央电影检查委员会研究

Threatened by the thriving leftwing film industry, the Nationalist Party became more conservative. They set up the Central Film Censorship Committee as an important link in the system of film censorship, further tightening the control over film production. It was a substitute for the former Film Censorship Committee under the Ministries of Education and Interior. The committee achieved its original goals, but the result of its work did not fully conform to the party’s initial expectations. Translated by Zhou Weiwei from Lishi Yanjiu 历史研究 (Historical Research), 2006, (2): 62–78     

严复社会史观的构建与近代史学转向

The construction of Yan Fu’s view on social history has combined the indigenization of Western historiography and the modernization of traditional Chinese historiography, which reflects the characteristic of a change towards modern historiography. The academic sources of Yan’s view on social history include some Western thoughts such as Herbert Spencer’s social Darwinist theory, Edward Jenks’ patriarchal clan system theory, John Seeley’s political historiography, etc.; and also many indigenous sources such as Yang Zhu’s self benefit, Mozi’s selfless love, Buddhist views on mood, etc. __________ Translated from Shixue Lilun Yanjiu 史学理论研究 (Historiography Quarterly), 2007, (1): 74–86     

论清代长城边口贸易的时代特征

Comparison study on the border trading between the Ming and the Qing dynasties shows that during the Qing Dynasty, the Great Wall become an important means for the government to rule other nations like Mongolian; the border trading markets in the Qing were more than that in the Ming, and the folk trading along the Great Wall played an important role; the management about the border trading by the Qing government was embodied in the control of the structure and scale of border trading market and the mutual trading; the trading premise, the market nature, the market value for existence, and the market function of the border trading in the Qing were different from that of the Ming Dynasty. Translated by Chen Cheng from Qingshi Yanjiu 清史研究 (Studies in Qing History), 2007, (3): 73–86