The Real vs the Imaginary: Sir William Chambers on the Chinese Garden

Sir William Chambers was one of the most important English architects in the eighteenth-century, but both in his day and later his international recognition was closely connected with his admiration for and promotion of Chinese art, particularly Chinese landscaping. Between 1757 and 1773, Chambers published three treatises praising the ingenious mixture of nature and art in a Chinese pleasure ground, criticizing the then influential English gardener Lancelot (Capability) Brown, and trying to goad English garden design into the direction of China. He did not achieve his purposes mainly because he mixed what he knew as genuine about the Chinese gardening art with what he fantasized about it. While recent scholarship has focused on his fantasy, this article examines what Chambers knew or imagined about Chinese landscaping, what he and his detractors were for and against, and how the fiasco of his 1772 and 1773 treatises, which he brought upon himself, nevertheless helped to usher in a new phase in the English reception of Chinese landscaping ideas.     

Governance,public policy and boundary-making

This symposium draws attention to innovative and emerging research in Australian public policy exploring the interplay of governance, public policy and boundary-making. Conceptually and substantively, boundaries are fundamental to understanding policy outcomes, yet remain overlooked and undertheorised. We aim to contribute to public policy debates, in Australia and beyond, by provoking further reflection on this theme, in particular, the distributive effects of boundaries in policy-making; the blurring of boundaries implicit to governance frameworks; the crossing of boundaries, especially by policy-officials within and between institutions; the construction of boundaries to separate and marginalise; and the existence of temporal–spatial boundaries that demarcate jurisdiction and authority. In short, the study of governance and public policy-making is marked by multiple different types of boundaries but the way in which boundaries get drawn and redrawn is also suffuse with political contestation meaning they raise crucial questions about the exercise of power.     

Political Commitment,Policy Ambiguity,and Corporate Environmental Practices

A lack of clear political commitment together with confusing rules and enforcement often characterize the institutional context of policy implementation and regulatory compliance in developing countries. By connecting such contextual features to existing models of policy implementation and regulatory compliance, we examine how regulatory factors are related to basic and proactive corporate environmental management practices in the Pearl River Delta region in China. Drawing on data derived from both a survey and in‐depth interviews, we show that a perception of clear political commitment to environmental protection across multiple government levels and units is positively associated with business efforts in basic environmental practices, regardless of the specific enforcement intensity. Nevertheless, a perception of clear political commitment is not related to proactive environmental practices. Conversely, a perception of policy ambiguity, in the form of confusing regulatory standards and enforcement, is negatively associated with corporate efforts in both basic and proactive environmental practices; yet, intensive inspections mitigate these negative associations with policy ambiguity.     

Agricultural Bank of China Debuts Facial Recognition Withdrawal in Tibet

正The Agricultural Bank of China has introduced facial recognition technology at its automatic teller machines(ATM)in Tibet.By the end of 2017,20 ATMs with facial recognition technology has been installed and 100 new ATMs will be in operation in Feb.2018.The machines can be used in Tibetan language,making them more convenient for use among local Tibetans.     

RELATIVES COMING TOGETHER

正The sun shines upon the earth in spring.The Paltang Xuanzi is a well-known dance from Paltang County,Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.In the village committee of Yarigon's Daxu Village,there are over 100 villagers gathered together,discussing something of great importance."Today,I have a bit of good news!"said Sonam Drakpa,party secretary of the town of Yarigong,while surrounded by locals."Lu Guangrong,the party secretary of Chengdu's Xihanggang Street in     

The awkward years: defining and managing famines, 1944–1947

Abstract

Famines in the years immediately after World War II occurred during a period of global flux, as international famine response evolved from its ambitious, early twentieth century goals toward more modest, technocratic objectives during the second half of the century. For economists, social scientists and politicians immersed in the world of emergency food aid, these were uncertain, awkward years for famine relief. Herbert Hoover’s idealistic large-scale projects of famine relief that had dominated the first three decades of the century had been proven to be expensive and of limited efficacy, but Cold War loyalties had not yet taken over as the primary logic behind large-scale humanitarian assistance projects. Ultimately, when faced with famine conditions between 1944 and 1947, states and experts balanced a call to action against pragmatism that recognized famines were also politically expedient events that could weaken rural resistance to governance and simplify wartime and postwar administration. Ultimately, both science and humanitarian concerns learned to orient themselves toward economic expediency in these awkward years.     

释荣仲方鼎“■”字

本文通过对"序"和"宫"的时代考察和字形分析,认为《荣仲方鼎》中的"■"不应释为"序",而应释为"宫",是居住之所,非宗庙。"王作荣仲宫"中的"宫"应是王对荣仲的赏赐。     

从孔庙看民国时期历史建筑保护现象

历代传承的寺观坛庙是我国建筑遗产的重要一类。本文以此观察民国时期的历史建筑保护现象,孔庙建筑的维护是具体案例。民国时期,这些历史建筑成为文物法规的保护对象,也形成了新的公共空间。社会以之为精神文化象征而关注其物质保存,并通过保护和使用方式发挥了教育功能。"不改变原状"原则在20世纪30年代的修复实例中有所体现。     

博物馆影响力刍议

博物馆影响力的程度制约着博物馆社会价值实现充分与否,因而博物馆影响力问题处于博物馆理论体系的核心位置。博物馆影响力的产生基于博物馆物质资源、无形资源与现代媒介的应用;其特点体现为复杂性、非权力性与缓释性;其影响涉及公众、社会与同行业三个层面。而对博物馆影响力理论研究的最终目的在于寻求提升之路径。     

陕西子洲出土商代青铜容器铸造工艺观察分析

2010年11月,陕西省子洲县裴家湾镇关王岔村出土了6件青铜容器,包括尊、瓿、盘、觚、鼎、提梁卣各1件。本文通过对铜器上遗留的工艺痕迹进行肉眼观察,对铜器的铸型设计、芯撑情况、浇注位置等铸造工艺环节以及铸后加工的细节进行了初步的判断和复原,指出该批铜器的铸造工艺与安阳出土的殷墟前期同类器物基本相同,这一结果对认识和揭示这批青铜器的学术价值具有重要的意义。