Agricultural reclamation policy and environmental changes in the northwest China during the Qing dynasty

Northwest China, including the provinces of Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, and a small part of the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, was not only one of the earliest developed areas in history, but also one of the most ecologically fragile belts. The traditionally sustainable land reclamation and cultivation policies for the development of an agricultural economy adopted and implemented in administrations during different periods of the Qing dynasty, greatly raised farming and stock production. However, this led to imbalances in the originally fragile ecological environment. The negative effects such as rapidly expanding desertification, worsening water and soil erosions, increased cost of production, enlarged investment, vicious cycles and failing economy can serve as a lesson for contemporary development. __________ Translated from: Qingshi Yanjiu 清史研究 (Studies in Qing History), No. 1, 2004     

晚清商办与官办的斗争

晚清时期,围绕着近代民用企业实行商办,还是实行官办,进行了3个回合的斗争。第一回合,轮船招商局屡被弹劾,京中言官要求对其统制,乃至收归官办,被李鸿章顶住。第二回合,围绕着湖北铁政局的经营形式,张之洞与盛宣怀展开争论,结果张之洞动用官款创建,企业实行官办;然而,企业官办后经济效益太差,几年后不得不招商承办。第三回合,“轮电之争”,袁世凯将官督商办企业收归官办或对之实行统制,盛宣怀经过多年努力,终于使各官督商办企业摆脱“官督”,完全商办。经过数十年商办与官办的斗争,以及商办的不断胜利,迎来了民国初年中国民族资本主义的“黄金时代”。     

对春秋时期吴国城址的初步认识

春秋时期的吴国出于政治、军事和经济等目的,兴建了众多的功能有别,形态各异的大小城池,文章通过实地调查并结合文献记载,对现有的吴国城址进行了描绘和讨论。     

Revisiting the lead isotopic compositions of the Shang bronzes at Hanzhong and the new hypothesis of Qinling as the source of highly radiogenic lead

The provenance of the highly radiogenic lead (HRL) contained in Chinese Shang bronzes has attracted great scholarly attention in recent years. A new study of the Hanzhong Shang bronzes has put forward a hypothesis that the HRL metal may come from the adjacent Qinling Mountains. This article reanalyses the lead isotope ratios and alloy compositions of the Hanzhong bronzes. Combining the analytical results, the modern ore data and the slags from Guanzhong area, we propose that there is no direct evidence to identify Qinling as the provenance of HRL metal (especially lead). Whilst over 80% of the Hanzhong bronzes contain HRL, the indigenous artefacts containing both HRL and special alloying elements (As, Sb, Ni) account only for minor portions. This fact cannot verify that HRL originates from Qinling, and even makes it difficult to prove that most of the Hanzhong bronzes use local metal resources. An alternative argument might be that the HRL used in Hanzhong derived from the Shang dynasty. The use of HRL reflects a unified system for allocating metal resources centred on the Shang kingdom, which has great significance for further understanding of the resource circulation patterns among different bronze cultures and locations during the Shang period.     

齐量制刍议

齐国量制本以升、豆、区、釜、钟为单位,从战国开始发生急剧变化,与其他诸侯国量制趋于统一,"斗"进入齐国量制系统。这一过程并非是突然发生的,"斗"初始用"/卮"来指称,在《考工记》中"豆"这一旧量单位被借用来表示"斗",直到战国末期"斗"方正式成为标准量制单位。     

Legal heritage and urban slums

This paper studies the effect of legal origins (common law vs. civil law) on contemporary slum formation in developing countries. First, we provide a cross-country correlation analysis. Second, we provide a regression discontinuity analysis using household data from Cameroon. The results suggest that a common law heritage is associated with a lower probability of slum conditions. The legal philosophies transplanted through colonization appear to be associated with the pattern of contemporary urban housing stocks in developing countries.     

Study on the source of raw material and firing technique of glazed tiles bodies in the Ming Imperial palace site,Nanjing, China

This article considered glazed tiles excavated from the Ming Imperial Palace site in Nanjing as the research object. Glazed tiles were selected and analyzed via vacuum porosimeter, thermal dilation (TD), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) to determine their physical property, firing temperature, phase composition, and chemical composition, respectively. Results show that the firing temperature of body belongs to the temperature range (of 950–1,100°C), whereas the water absorption and apparent porosity are large. The phase composition of glazed tile bodies is the same (predominantly quartz and mullite). However, some samples contain trace amounts of rutile, hematite, sodalite, and orthoclase. The firing temperature combined with the phase composition indicates that the raw material and firing process of glazed tile body samples have similarities, which embody of the strict and unified management system of the official kiln. The raw materials of glazed tile body in the Ming Imperial Palace site may come from Dangtu glazed kiln, whereas the rest of the samples remains to be explored. This study provides a scientific basis for understanding the evolution of glazed tile-making technology in ancient China, and is important for the protection and repair of glazed buildings in the Ming Dynasty.     

以发展与和谐为主题推动青海"十一五"又快又好发展

党的十六届五中全会是在我国改革发展进入关键时期召开的一次重要会议。贯彻落实五中全会精神,推动青海“十一五”经济社会又快又好发展,必须牢牢把握青海新阶段的主题,正确处理加快发展与实现和谐的关系;必须以科学发展观为统领,继续突出抓好抓生态、打基础与加快培育和壮大特色经济这两个关键问题;必须坚持以人为本,着力提高城乡居民收入水平;必须坚持改革开放,不断解放和发展生产力;必须继续发扬青海人的团结和奋斗精神。     

陈云与新中国货币制度建设

陈云是我国金融工作的卓越领导者。陈云金融管理的核心思想,一是强调货币发行权集中于中央,二是反对通货膨胀,保持物价稳定。建国初期,在他的指导下,我国建立了新型的货币管理制度,开始在货币发行与流通、银行信贷、企业结算等方面实施有效的管理;我国于1955年3月顺利发行人民币新币,完成了货币制度划时代的重大革新;他还领导经济管理部门积极探索稳定人民币币值的有效途径,为我国平抑物价、治理通货膨胀积累了成功的经验。     

《水经·洛水注》校笺及水道与政区复原(下)

《水经注》是我国古代以水道为纲记载地理信息的著名典籍,对于研究早期水道情况和政区变迁有着极为重要的意义。以往对《水经注》的研究主要集中于版本流传与郦学史方面,对郦注本文尚乏深入而细致的地理学方面的探究。因此,在文本校勘与史源探求工作的基础之上,选取《水经注》卷十五《洛水篇》作为研究对象,并利用相关文献和考古资料对郦注所记载的洛水相关水道与城邑进行全面的考释与系统的复原,不失为在《水经注》本体研究方面所进行的一次有益尝试。此外,以古今对照的形式编制出的《<水经·洛水注>河流名称古今对照表》与《<水经·洛水注>图》,不仅可以直观而形象地展现研究的结论,同时也可为相关研究者研读《水经注》提供便利。本文分上下篇,上篇已先行刊布,下编研究的范围自洛水东出散关至最终与河水交汇部分。