Pray the gay away: identity conflict between Christianity and sexuality in Hong Kong sexual minorities

Recognition and respect for sexual minorities in Hong Kong is still a contested area. Public sexual identity politics in Hong Kong has been framed by traditional Chinese gender ideology and imported Christian beliefs which are profoundly negative. Focusing on the interpersonal relationships in three spheres of life, the research adopted the sociological perspective of personal life and the feminist geographers’ idea of spatialization of identity management to analyze how the sexual self of sexual minorities has been marginalized and excluded in intimate social spaces of family, church communities and schools in Hong Kong with specific spatial practices and different forms of power/knowledge. By examining overlooked intimate injustice in personal life, this study illustrates that identity conflicts between Christianity and non-heterosexuality in everyday life is constructed through misrepresentation, misrecognition, harassment and exclusion in intimate relationships. Different types of knowledge are being used to reiterate pre-existing norms and institutionalized patterns of cultural value that constitute the sexual minorities as comparatively unworthy of respect. These micro-political processes involve both conformity and resistance to gender and sexual stereotypes. Participants managed to develop spatial coping strategies such as concealment, compartmentalization, confrontation and alternative sources of support to manage their lives with dignity and self-esteem.     

Study on the lithology of stone chimes (stone musical instruments in ancient China) and Lingbi stone

The oldest extant musical instruments in the world are stone chimes. This music was created by the ‘eight tones’ that could be produced by these ‘stone’ voices. Although many of these stone chimes have been unearthed from sites predating the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period in China, their discussion in archaeological reports is usually not very thorough. In this paper, the ancient and modern samples are analysed from the point of view of lithology. The aim is to explore how the ancients chose to make these stones, and to check that the type of stone from which these ancient Chinese stone chimes are made is actually those recorded in previous studies. The results show that most of the ancient stone chimes in China are made of limestone. These chimes required a material with a single, homogeneous and compact mineral composition. Lingbi chimes (a kind of ‘lithophone’ produced in Lingbi county, China, are pure in composition and have a fine microcrystalline structure, which is the best choice for making stone chimes. This paper makes a systematic study of the lithology of Chinese stone chimes. The results supplement a significant lacuna in the study of ‘lithophone’ and ancient stone instruments both in China and on a more global scale.     

1. THE DEFINING CHARACTER OF CHINESE HISTORICAL THINKING1

Imbued with profound historical consciousness, the Chinese people are Homo historiens in every sense of the term. To be human in China, to a very large extent, is to be historical, which means to live up to the paradigmatic past. Therefore, historical thinking in traditional China is moral thinking. The Chinese historico‐moral thinking centers around the notion of Dao, a notion that connotes both Heavenly principle and human norm. In view of its practical orientation, Chinese historical thinking is, on the one hand, concrete thinking and, on the other, analogical thinking. Thinking concretely and analogically, the Chinese people are able to communicate with the past and to extrapolate meanings from history. In this way, historical experience in China becomes a library in which modern readers may engage in creative dialogues with the past.     

从“公推”到“票举”：近代天津商会职员推选制度的曲折演进

近代中国具有现代意义的投票选举制度虽然率先在清末的民间工商社团商会中实行,但各地商会的具体实施过程却并非同步进行。上海、苏州等商会正式成立后即开始制订并实行这一制度,天津商会则在清末坚持采用"公推"的方式推举总理、协理和会董,没有真正实施"票举"。到民国初期,天津商会依然认为"公推"优于"票举",直至明定商会必须实行投票选举制度的《商会法》公布之后,天津商会还希望政府"准予特殊办法,仍行公推"。但实施"票举"在当时已是大势所趋,1918年天津商会也在章程中拟订了投票选举制度,并由此进入"票举"会长和会董的新时期。自清末至民国时期天津商会从"公推"到"票举"的曲折演进历程,说明在选举制度的建设中,天津商会的领导人在思想认识和实践操作两个方面都偏向于保守,不仅自身缺乏创造性的举措,而且很少主动借鉴和学习其他商会已有的投票选举制度,这种现象也表明了清末民初各地商会对现代投票选举制度的认识并不完全一致。     

SO2与水分综合影响下的云冈石窟砂岩劣化研究

气体污染物SO₂是造成云冈石窟文物本体劣化的重要因素之一。为厘清SO₂与水分耦合作用下的云冈砂岩劣化规律，开展不同SO₂浓度、相对湿度以及降水条件下的室内模拟风化试验，测定试样质量、表面特征和化学成分变化。结果表明：SO₂易与砂岩中的碳酸盐矿物(如方解石)和长石发生化学反应，产物包括CaSO₄·2H₂O、MgSO₄·7H₂O和高岭石等，且随着相对湿度增加，反应程度增大，造成试样的质量、色差值、可溶盐含量上升及硅铝比下降；液态水的参与能显著加快SO₂与砂岩的相互作用过程，不但增加了各项指标的变化幅度，还加大了SO₂入侵深度。研究成果可为砂岩质文物的科学认知和预防性保护提供参考。     

从“社”到“庄”:清代前期山东寿光县顺庄法的推行

清康熙年间,山东寿光县为缓解"大差"负担,将"大差"由轮当制改为下放给各社自理,但这进一步加重了民间劈社的窘境。乾隆年间知县王椿在缺少土地记录的情况下,采用"顺庄法"重整地方组织,缓解赋税征收的困境。以百姓实际居住的"庄",取代官方登记的里甲组织"社",作为税收登记与征收的基本单位。同时,这也形成了山东以"村庄"为基层组织的地方社会。因南北土地分布状况的差异,顺庄法在山东与江南显示出不同的形态与结果。     

魏晋十六国北朝关中侨置武都郡研究

前秦时关中氐人分布的武都是指侨置武都郡。侨置武都郡始于曹魏。曹魏为与蜀汉争夺陇右,将武都氐人迁徙至关中,并先后在小槐里和美阳设置武都郡以进行管理。西晋江统的《徙戎论》反映出此时关中武都氐聚居的地方未置武都郡。十六国初期屠各刘氏和羯族石氏先后统治关中,将大量氐羌迁往关东,因此这一时期在关中侨置武都郡缺乏现实基础。苻健立国关中后,在战略要地宝鸡附近侨置武都郡,是其氐人本位政策的体现。北魏时侨置武都郡始领县级行政单位,统治范围扩大,标志着氐人的关中化,同时它也是太武帝平定盖吴叛乱时分化关中南道氐人的重要战略举措。西魏北周立国关中后受政区滥置影响,武都郡领县减少。隋开皇间侨置武都郡在当权者废郡、保留州县的地方行政政策的影响下消失于历史舞台。     

西方博物馆展览策划的理念与实践:从策展人(Curator)谈起——以皇家安大略博物馆为例专访沈辰先生

新世纪以来中国博物馆展览事业发展迅猛,与国外博物馆的交流活动频繁,展览策划及相关的策展人制度、理事会制度以及公众服务等均在借鉴国外经验的基础上不断完善。加拿大皇家安大略博物馆副馆长沈辰先生指出,皇家安大略博物馆等西方博物馆在curator的职责和作用,展览策划的理念和实践以及展览流程中的团队协作、对公众体验的重视、展览的筹款、董(理)事会的功能等方面的经验可以为中国博物馆的展览策划工作提供借鉴。     

唐武惠妃墓出土疑似胶结材料的分析研究

为了确定武惠妃墓室内发现的黑色多孔块状物质是否为绘制壁画时使用的胶结材料,联合使用显微镜观察、SEM-EDS、Raman、FTIR和GC-FID多种分析方法对该物质进行了显微结构观察、元素组成及物质组成分析。结果表明,该物质虽已炭化,但内部仍可见一些较新鲜的胶料残留,其成分为动物胶,并在其中发现了少量红色朱砂颜料残留。通过古文献记载和以往研究成果讨论了结果的可靠性。该研究不仅丰富了唐代墓葬壁画绘制技艺的考古学研究,更可为后期文物保护材料和工艺的选择提供借鉴。