再论萧关的地理位置

1981年,我在《文献》第8期上写了《萧关位置辨》一文,针对一些学术著作中关于萧关位置的说法作了辨析,指出了萧关在甘肃环县西北说是不能成立的,并认为古文献中关于萧关在宁夏东南30里是正确的。近年来,不少从事地方史志研究的学者,对萧关的地理位置作了深入的研究,提出很多新的说法。如萧关在宁夏固原县南的三关口说、瓦亭说、牛营说、开城说等。①还有一个最有影响的说法是萧关在今甘肃环县城北。《西北史地》1997年第1期刊出的《“北萧关”考——兼证萧关原址在今甘肃庆阳地区环县城北二里》(以下简称“环县说”)一文,就是其中的代表作…     

萧关·固原

沿丝绸之路东段回中道西行,经过平凉、翻越六盘山后,如果不走天水、金城(今兰州)一线,将在今天甘肃、宁夏交界处的固原一带,穿过秦汉长城和一个很著名的古关隘——萧关,然后至甘肃靖远、景泰一带渡过黄河,进入河西走廊。萧关,约建于秦始皇时期。秦始皇统一中国后,担心匈奴进犯,     

丝路古道平川区境内古渡口与古城遗址考述

白银市平川区位在丝绸之路自陕西咸阳经六盘山通往西域的古道上。这条古道相对平缓易行,位在北武当山下的鹯阴口是古代条件相对较好的黄河渡口,其西岸车道沟较为平坦且直通今景泰川而径往西域。汉武帝曾跨过六盘山从萧关一带西行,由平川区打拉赤经杨稍沟“西临祖厉河而还”。境内自东向西分布着秦、汉、晋（十六国、北朝）、隋、唐、宋、明共10余座古城遗址。     

丝路重镇 人文镇原

正镇原位于甘肃省庆阳市西南部,是古代丝绸之路东段北道(萧关古道)的必经之地和历代西北边防重镇。这里地处陇东黄土高原腹部,境内有茹河、蒲河、洪河等纵横其间,是中华文明的发祥地之一。镇原历史悠久,文化源远流长。据考古发现证明,约在20万年前,姜家湾、寺沟口先民打破蒲河两岸的沉寂,在这片神奇的土地上繁衍、生息。四五万年前后,人类在这里的活动已经相当频繁。已经发现的大批新石器时代遗址证明,远在     

太阳山历代兵事探微（三）

四、宋与西夏战事宋代已由五代十国的动乱、分裂走向统一,北宋王朝为中国历史上国土最小、国势最弱、国防最差的封建王朝。在此期间,党项族从拓跋部夏州政权建立起（881年）,至西夏王朝灭亡止（1227年）,包括西夏王朝190年在内,历时347年。北宋初期,太阳山地区分属灵、原等州。成平五年（1002年）,萧关（今海原县高崖乡草场古城）以北皆被党项族首领李继迁攻占,北宋只控制萧关以南各地。西夏实行全民皆兵制度,全国设置12监军司,其中韦州静塞监军司,驻威州（今韦州镇）。韦州静塞监军司为西夏地方军指挥机构,每一监军司都领有一支专门的军队,     

西望崆峒山

崆峒山雄立于甘肃陇东平凉。其西连接宁夏六盘山,东望陕西秦川,南依关山,北峙萧关,泾河与胭脂河回护前后;西望兰州、东临西安、东南距宝鸡、北达银川,均在三百公里左右,宝中铁路、３１２国道由此连通南北东西,四通八达。据《新修崆峒山志》记述,崆峒山是上三迭系...     

西夏王陵掠影

西夏是我国古代羌族一支即党项族所建的国家,该族首领拓跋思恭在镇压黄巢起义军时有功于唐,被赐姓李。九传到李继迁执政时,于990年被辽圣宗封为夏国王,是为西夏太祖。到1038年其孙李元吴称作皇帝,将东到黄河上游西至玉门关,南临今甘肃省东部的萧关北至宁夏北部的大漠划入自己的     

世界史为现实服务的一次尝试——读《重要国际问题探源》有感

世界史研究如何与现实问题相结合并为现实服务?这是我国广大世界史工作者多年来一直在摸索、争论而至今仍未得到很好解决的问题。上海社科院历史所世界史室的几位中青年史学工作者,抱着在科学道路上勇于探讨和攀登的精神,根据自己对这一问题的理解,约请有关同志一起编写了一本具有较大现实意义的世界史著作《重要国际问题探源》,这是值得赞许的。     

评《1500年以来英国社会的妇女和老年化》

20世纪末 ,全球老龄化呈加速发展趋势 ,老年问题引起人们的普遍关注。在这一背景下 ,一些西方史学家开始从事老年问题的研究 ,这方面的史学专著在上个世纪末开始出现 ①。它们从不同的角度论述了西方历史上的老年人及其面临的各种问题。但著者们关注的是老年人这一整体 ,很少就     

浅谈新时期的干部选拔任用工作

在全面加快建立社会主义市场经济体制的新形势下,解决好用人问题,做好人才工作,是摆在各级组织人事部门面前的一项十分重大而紧迫的课题。邓小平指出：考虑人的角度,也要深化,这也是一种改革,是思想上的改革,思想上的解放。这一精辟论断,为解决人才问题指明了方向。因为只有解放思想,才能发现人才、用好人才;只有解放思想,才能做好新时期的干部选拔任用工作。一、要有勇于发现人才和善于使用人才的意识邓小平在人才问题上,是面向世界和着眼于21世纪的战略高度来考虑问题的。他把握时代发展的脉搏和契机,不断告诫全党要抓住机遇…     

唐代宥州变迁的军事地理考察

唐代关内道北部的“河曲”是农、牧族类交融频繁地域 ,也是唐朝边防战略要地之一。宥州的置废变迁 ,就是这一地域军政形势起伏多变历程之缩影。本文着重从军事地理角度考察宥州的变迁背景 ,以明其时军政局势演替与唐朝边防措置之互动关系     

石关峡:最早的玉门关与最晚的玉门关

丝绸路上的著名关隘玉门关,伴随着中西交通的发展及其路线的变化,关址有过几次改徙。本文披检有关史料,并经反复实地踏察,考得西汉最早设置的玉门关位于今甘肃省嘉峪关市石关峡,置关时间当在武帝元封四年,至太初三、四年间李广利二次伐大宛之际,随着汉王室西方战略的需要,遂将玉门关西迁至敦煌郡西北。石关峡至今仍残留关址和汉长城遗迹。迨及五代、宋初,该峡又被重新利用,重又设为玉门关,为敦煌归义军与甘州回鹘政权之间的分疆之处和东西交通要口,此为最晚的、最后废弃的玉门关址。宋仁宗景祐三年(1036年),西夏占领河西后,玉门关就从史籍上消声匿迹了。     

古濝关考

古濝关即为现济源市邵原镇东侧的邵原关,郦道元《水经注》中记载有偏误之处,此关在中国古代的军事史上占据着重要的地位,是我国古代太行山上最重要的关口之一.     

近代以来日本外交战略的三次转变及其原因

近代以来150年间日本外交战略经历了一个从追求军事崛起到经济崛起,以及再到政治崛起的过程,并且为此而不断调整自己的外交战略。岛国的政治文化、内部指导思想固然是决定其战略转变的主要原因,而不可忽视的是东亚的国际环境亦成为日本对外决策的重要诱因。面对21世纪,军事失败与经济成功正反两方面的历史经验证明,顺应东亚一体化的趋势,实现与亚洲各国的和解,积极、平等地推动地区合作,将是日本外交战略的现实选择。     

日美安保体制中的冲绳问题

冲绳的驻日美军基地是维持日美安保体制的核心内容,20世纪60年代,美国军方和国务院围绕是否将冲绳归还日本的问题发生分歧,最终主张归还的一方占据上风,其战略意图体现为,力求以归还冲绳为契机,进一步增强作为美国亚洲战略依托的日美安保体的有效性制,由此迫使日本在亚太地区承担更多的军事防卫责任。     

The Japan-Australia security declaration and the changing regional security setting: wheels,webs and beyond?

The March 2007 Japan-Australia Security Declaration has garnered more than its share of hyperbole. Described variously as an historic milestone for peace or an agreement designed to encircle China; the declaration's actual strategic consequences are somewhat unclear. The purpose of this article is to provide a critical analysis of the security declaration and to assess its impact in the context of the changing patterns of the region's security setting. Some have argued that it marks a small but qualitatively significant shift in the essential features of the regional security architecture. The article assesses this claim and argues that while the declaration is of some diplomatic importance, and clearly contributes to improving cooperation in disaster relief and other humanitarian operations, it is of little strategic significance to the broader patterns of East Asian security over the short to medium term. Each side's operational constraints, their different strategic priorities, most obviously their perceptions of China, as well as the continued military predominance of the US, means that the agreement will be of little immediate significance for East Asian security. That said, it remains an important development for the respective parties and is a leading edge indicator of broader forces for change that are increasingly present in East Asia.     

The German politics of war: Kunduz and the war in Afghanistan

This article analyses the way in which Germany's participation in the international intervention in Afghanistan has shaped and transformed the country's politics of defence and deriving policies. It argues that in the wake of operational challenges posed by the insurgency in northern Afghanistan since 2007, and in particular the increasing rate of German combat fatalities, established post‐Cold War dogmas of German politics are becoming subject to erosion. Developments in the Kunduz region of northern Afghanistan, with the tanker bombing of 4 September 2009 as its apex, have had a catalyst function in this process. In particular, strategic, operational and tactical requirements for counterinsurgency operations have had significant politico‐strategic repercussions for the country's defence and security policy more generally. As a result, in recent years the Bundeswehr has begun to undergo a far‐reaching structural process of military adaptation and innovation. The article explains and analyses this phenomenon of political change and military learning in the context of political paralysis.     

Popular and prevalent: Asian trade goods in northern New Spain, 1590–1850

Much previous scholarship has assumed that Pacific trade goods were generally restricted to the urban centers of colonial Latin America and had little influence on the culture of interior provinces. Documentary and archeological records from remote areas of northern New Spain indicate otherwise and may serve as an example of the range of Asian trade goods elsewhere in colonial Latin America. This essay focuses upon Parral and New Mexico, showing that Asian goods-especially porcelain and textiles-reached some of the most remote areas of the viceroyalty of New Spain. Throughout the colonial era, the desire to establish and maintain a sophisticated lifestyle on the periphery seems to have been operative, with imported Asian goods as signifiers of status and prestige. Although fewer imported Asian goods may have been available in the remote northern regions than in urban areas, archeological and documentary evidence indicates their quality was equal to that of the metropoles, suggesting that daily life on the northern frontier was not as poor and isolated as previously assumed, but rather, actively participated in the international trade of the times.     

Japan’s strategic interests in the South China Sea: beyond the horizon?

Japan has a national interest in the South China Sea issue. Although its direct commitment is ultimately limited in a material sense due to a lack of military capabilities, as well as political and constitutional constraints on the Self-Defense Force, Japan has maintained its firm stance to uphold international maritime rules and norms, and nurtured strong diplomatic relations and conducted maritime capacity-building programs with the South-East Asian states, as well as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. These actions contribute to consolidating the rule of law at sea and provide those claimant states an opportunity to withstand pressures from China. Given the Trump administration’s unclear South China Sea policy and South-East Asia’s strategic uncertainty, Japan is becoming a key player in maintaining regional maritime stability in East Asia through diplomacy.     

MILITARY ASSISTANCE,FOREIGN POLICY,AND NATIONAL SECURITY

From the inauguration of the Mutual Defense Assistance Program (MDAP) in 1950, until its termination in the early 1960s, Norway was among the main European beneficiaries of military assistance from the United States. Previous research on this subject has mainly seen the MDAP from the perspective of the recipient, analysing what effect the influx of large amounts of equipment had for the shape and development of the Norwegian Armed Forces. This article discusses the motives for US military assistance to Norway, and analyses this activity as an expression of US Cold War objectives concerning Norway and NATO’s northern flank. The article also explores how these objectives influenced policy making relevant to military assistance, and gives particular attention to the role of US representatives in Oslo. These actors played an important role in highlighting the political and strategic benefits of extensive aid to Norway.