Gregory the Great, the Rule of Benedict and Roman liturgy: the evolution of a legend

This paper relates the evolution of Gregory the Great’s reputation as creator of the Roman liturgy to the slow process by which the Rule of Benedict acquired authority within monasticism in the seventh and eighth centuries. It argues that Gregory composed the Dialogues to promote ascetic values within the Church, but that this work did not begin to circulate in Spain and then Gaul until the 630s, precisely when Gregory’s known interest in liturgical reform is first attested in Rome. The letters of Pope Vitalian (657-72) provide hitherto unnoticed testimony to the theft of Benedict’s relics by monks of Fleury c.660, marking a new stage in the evolution of monastic culture in Gaul. The paper also argues that the Ordo Romanus XIX is not a Frankish composition from the second half of the eighth century (as Andrieu claimed), but provides important evidence for the Rule being observed at St Peter’s, Rome, in the late seventh century. While Gregory was interested in liturgical reform, he never enforced any particular observance on the broader church, just as he never imposed any particular rule. By the time of Charlemagne, however, Gregory had been transformed into an ideal figure imposing uniformity of liturgical observance, as well as mandating the Rule of Benedict within monasticism. Yet the church of the Lateran, mother church of the city of Rome, continued to maintain its own liturgy and ancient form of chant, which it claimed had been composed by Pope Vitalian, even in the thirteenth century.     

The value of empire: tenth-century Bulgaria between Magyars,Pechenegs and Byzantium

The article seeks to explain the connection between the migration of the Magyars and Pechenegs in central and south-east Europe, in the late ninth and early tenth century, and the conflict between Byzantium and Bulgaria during the same period. Through reference to anthropologists discussing the relations between nomadic and sedentary societies (Khazanov, Barfield), and historians studying medieval rituals (Buc, Althoff, Koziol), the article interprets the aggressive policy of the Bulgarian tsar Symeon as a consistent effort to displace Byzantium as major partner of the nomadic polities in the area. By subverting the principles of Byzantine diplomacy and political culture, Symeon turned his own kingdom into a society-structuring factor in the nomadic world. The article evaluates the very meaning of imperial claims not so much in legal terms, as an effort to guarantee Bulgaria’s sovereignty in a Byzantium-centred world, but in the real-time capacity of a ruler to make use of imperial symbols and act upon the dynamically changing conjuncture.     

The value of empire: tenth-century Bulgaria between Magyars,Pechenegs and Byzantium

The article seeks to explain the connection between the migration of the Magyars and Pechenegs in central and south-east Europe, in the late ninth and early tenth century, and the conflict between Byzantium and Bulgaria during the same period. Through reference to anthropologists discussing the relations between nomadic and sedentary societies (Khazanov, Barfield), and historians studying medieval rituals (Buc, Althoff, Koziol), the article interprets the aggressive policy of the Bulgarian tsar Symeon as a consistent effort to displace Byzantium as major partner of the nomadic polities in the area. By subverting the principles of Byzantine diplomacy and political culture, Symeon turned his own kingdom into a society-structuring factor in the nomadic world. The article evaluates the very meaning of imperial claims not so much in legal terms, as an effort to guarantee Bulgaria’s sovereignty in a Byzantium-centred world, but in the real-time capacity of a ruler to make use of imperial symbols and act upon the dynamically changing conjuncture.     

纵贯历史：辛亥前后的铁路国有

1911年,由铁路国有引发的保路运动,正是辛亥革命爆发的导火线,辛亥革命则导致了清朝的灭亡。不过,铁路国有的政策却并未成为清帝国倒台的殉葬品。民国建立以后,铁路国有化的整体趋势却是不可逆转的。铁路国有在清朝和民国的不同命运,揭示了辛亥前后政治格局的变动。     

"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     

Colonial encounters,local knowledge and the making of the cartographic archive in the Venetian Peloponnese

Current research on the cartography of the Venetian Empire rests on a state-centred perspective which reduces maps to mere technical tools in the service of maritime expansion and colonial government. In contrast, this paper argues that such an approach cannot sufficiently account for the multiple ethnocartographic transactions between Venetian authorities and local communities which defined Venetian map-making projects. Taking the seventeenth-century conquest of the Peloponnese as its focus, the paper proposes to rethink the Venetian cartographic archive as constituted through a set of socio-cultural and political practices involving both colonial surveyors and native inhabitants. By analysing the assemblage of cartographic knowledge in the context of the encounter between colonisers and colonised, the paper examines topographical surveys as the product of cross-cultural communication shaped through negotiation, competition and unequal dialogue. Ultimately, the paper aims to show the heuristic value of a dialogic approach to cartography for a better understanding of both the colonial society of the Venetian Peloponnese and the making of knowledge in Venice's overseas empire.     

The preliminary transition of the grass-roots government functions in the border areas jiangxi, Fujian, and Guangdong during the first half of the twentieth century

During the first half of the twentieth century, the social administrative functions of the grass-roots governments in the border areas Jiangxi, Fujian and Guangdong provinces showed apparent differences from the traditional government. There appeared a gradual transitional tendency to the modern society in aspects such as the specialization of administrative bodies, the communalization, corporation and trade orientation of the mass organizations, and the social control as well as attaching importance to conducting, serving and constructing the social communal facilities in the social economic context. Consequently, the transformation should be regarded as one of the stages in the progress of the social transition since the Late Qing dynasty. __________ Translated from: Wenshizhe 文史哲 (Journal of Literature, History and Philosophy), No. 1, 2004     

1939年秋-1940年夏国民党的南调命令及其影响——对皖南事变起源的新分析

抗战初期的南调命令是国民党在发展和维护它的华中敌后利益,尤其是大别山根据地利益的过程中提出来的.由于抗战的新形势,国民党对在失去大举"剿共"手段之后的策略选择和反共部署,其实并没有多少及时而深入的考虑,尤其因为共产国际五月指示以来共产党在华中采取攻势策略,国民党更显缺乏心理和策略准备,南调命令最终在国民党内外重重阻力下不了了之.但是,这并不意味着它在国共关系史上没有产生实际的影响.在皖南,国共都因为南调命令而发生了策略变化,两党由此不可避免地开始积累矛盾,直至事变发生.     

新四军争取帮会抗日的方针与实践

帮会工作一直是新民主主义革命时期中共面临的实际问题和政策策略问题.在敌强我弱的态势下,为了最大限度地孤立和分化敌人,必须团结一切可以团结的力量.抗战时期华中地区帮会林立,它们既是新四军可以争取和团结的力量,同时又存在被日军收买充当汉奸,或为国民党顽固派利用充当反共急先锋的现实危险.因此,争取帮会大部分成员积极参加抗日,便成为华中新四军领导抗日民族统一战线的重要任务之一.在中共领导下,华中新四军不仅提出和制定了正确的争取、利用和改造帮会的政策和策略,而且还有效地实施了这一政策,使帮会中的大多数成员成为抗日民族统一战线的一员,从而为抗日的胜利作出了可贵的贡献.     

汉画中的西王母神话与西王母崇拜

汉代西王母崇拜充分表现在汉砖、石、镜及摇钱神树上的西王母艺术图像中,其发展经过了“长寿之偶像”、“神的救赎”、“神的创世”3个阶段。汉代人所以崇信西王母,一是基于现实生活的需要,即祈福成仙;二是基于精神的需要,即试图冲破制度的束缚以寻求情欲的满足和自身价值的实现。     

梁启超《中国之美文及其历史》的整理问题

梁启超的《中国之美文及其历史》属于生前未完之作,死后由人整理出版,但其章节的编排存在问题,本文对其整个卷章结构进行了还原。     

The origins of lithic projectile point technology: evidence from Africa,the Levant,and Europe

Projectile weaponry is a human cultural universal, but its origins and antiquity remain poorly understood. Stone- and bone-tipped projectile weapons have long been treated as emergent features of the "Upper Paleolithic" behavioral revolution. Recently it has been proposed that projectile technology was in widespread use among Homo sapiens populations in Africa during Middle Stone Age (MSA) times. One obstacle to researching the origins of projectile point technology is that the criteria archaeologists employ for recognizing plausible and implausible stone projectile points are largely subjective (overall tool shape, microwear traces). Tip cross-sectional area (TCSA) is a ballistically significant dimension that works well at discriminating North American stone projectile points (spearthrower dart tips and arrowheads) from spear points. This paper compares the TCSA values of ethnographic North American stone projectile points to hypothetical Middle and Upper Paleolithic stone projectile points from Africa, the Levant, and Europe. The results of this comparison do not support the hypothesis of widespread use of stone-tipped projectiles in Africa, the Levant, or Europe prior to 40 Ka. In the New World and in Australia, where we have the richest ethnographic record of stone projectile point use, these implements are largely employed in big-game hunting and in warfare. One or both of these factors may have played a role in the widespread adoption of stone projectile point technology after 40 Ka.     

多元化、多样化、拓展化与开放性——西方学术界“17世纪普遍危机”论争及其启示

20世纪中期起,西方学术界围绕着"17世纪普遍危机"问题进行了一场论争,促进了对近代早期欧洲史的理解.透过其研究历程,我们从中可得到诸多启示.     

明清之际杂剧作期丛考

学术界对于明清之际一些杂剧的创作时间往往有认识上的错误,或者缺乏明确的认识。或者既已确认的时限范围还可进一步缩小。针对这种现象。本文作者汇集自己多年研究中的考辨心得．以供批评。     

The mosaic of the crypt of St. Nicholas in Bari (Italy): integrated GPR and laboratory diagnostic study

The crypt of St. Nicholas in Bari, Southern Italy, is a building of cultural worldwide importance. Inside the crypt a mosaic develops on the apsidal floor and along a parietal seat placed along the apsidal masonry, in the form of cladding. A surviving portion of the mosaic pavement is also preserved in the right lateral chapel. Integrated non-destructive survey and laboratory analyses were undertaken for the diagnostic study of the mosaic. GPR prospection was successfully applied to the study of its conservation state, that is strictly related to the condition of the subsoil, in particular to the presence and distribution of water. The presence of water, whose rise interests also some portions of the masonry and water content distribution were identified by the results of electromagnetic wave velocity analysis in GPR data.     

古文字考释中使用通假方法的历史回顾--从晚清至二十世纪中叶以前起

古字考释中常常要遇到通假现象．本从学术史的角度出发,追溯古字考释中使用的通假方法．这种方法的使用有其产生的相关学术背景,经历了从不自觉的实践到理论的提出,至反过来用理论指导实践这一过程．     

试论《山音》中的处女崇拜

川端康成晚年的代表作《山音》仍然表现出“处女性”崇拜这一主题。信吾精神饥渴和委顿,内心充溢着怅惘、空虚、失落、孤独和死亡的哀怨与恐惧,他希望获得解脱,希望得到精神的救赎。他在寻求一种精神上的归宿,寻找一种救赎的精神力量。信吾潜意识中所期待的能使之获得救赎的力量是通过女性来体现的,他探寻的目标也具体化为女性,尤其是女性美。以信吾为代表的男性形象在这种“处女”的爱中汲取无限的生命力量。川端康成作品中对“处女性”的崇拜也是一种对生命的憧憬。对“处女性”的崇拜源于川端康成的孤儿根性。也是作者对自己孤儿根性的一种解脱和拯救。