A Comparative Study of the Early High‐Fired Ceramic Shards from Dongtiaoxi,Zhejiang (China)

There is a generally accepted view that there is an obvious distinction between proto‐porcelain and stamped stoneware. However, some early shards unearthed from the Dongtiaoxi region (northern Zhejiang) inspire people to rediscuss the relationship between them, because it is difficult to identify them as proto‐porcelain or stamped stoneware. In this work, we have collected samples from three of the earliest kiln sites (Piaoshan, Beijiashan and Nanshan) in the Dongtiaoxi region. We have analysed the chemical composition, firing temperature and phase composition of the samples. Comparing samples from the three kiln sites, we find that, from Piaoshan and Beijiashan to Nanshan, there has been progression in the manufacturing technology. The Shang proto‐porcelain and the stamped stoneware from Nanshan have similar raw materials, firing temperatures and body phase compositions—and they have obviously different decorative appearances, such as glazing or stamping. For ceramics from Piaoshan and Beijiashan, there is no clear distinction between glazed and unglazed samples. We believe that in the Dongtiaoxi region, the difference in the decoration between proto‐porcelain and stoneware became obvious up to the time of the Nanshan production but that, subsequently, two different paths for the development of high‐fired ceramics began to diverge.     

Did China Import Metals from Africa in the Bronze Age?

The origins of the copper, tin and lead for China's rich Bronze Age cultures are a major topic in archaeological research, with significant contributions being made by archaeological fieldwork, archaeometallurgical investigations and geochemical considerations. Here, we investigate a recent claim that the greater part of the Shang‐period metalwork was made using metals from Africa, imported together with the necessary know‐how to produce tin bronze. A brief review of the current status of lead isotopic study on Shang‐period bronze artefacts is provided first, clarifying a few key issues involved in this discussion. It is then shown that there is no archaeological or isotopic basis for bulk metal transfer between Africa and China during the Shang period, and that the copper and lead in Shang bronze with a strongly radiogenic signature is not likely to be from Africa. We call for collaborative interdisciplinary research to address the vexing question of the Shang period's metal sources, focusing on smelting sites in geologically defined potential source regions and casting workshops identified at a number of Shang settlements.     

Study on the Material and Manufacturing Technology of Different Types of Longquan Ware Imitations from Dapu Kiln of Guangdong Province in the Ming Dynasty of China (ad 1368–1644)

Research on ancient Longquan wares and their imitations has attracted considerable attention. Using a series of experimental methods, including micro X‐ray fluorescence spectroscopy (μ‐XRF), X‐ray diffractometry (XRD), optical microscopy (OM), polarizing microscopy (PLM), dilatometry (DIL) and spectrophotometery, different samples of Longquan imitations from Dapu in Guangdong Province were collected and analysed. The study of different types of celadon from the Dapu kiln factories shows that the pale yellow body had a higher TFe₂O₃ content, and the body material must therefore have been treated differently or have come from a different source. The SiO₂ and Al₂O₃ contents in the body can be used as auxiliary parameters to identify Longquan wares and its imitations. The study also found that both kinds of glaze recipe—including calcium–alkali glaze and alkali–calcium glaze—existed in the Dapu products, which suggested that while imitating Longquan ware, the potters in Dapu also showed innovation in the recipe for the glaze material. Moreover, there were some differences in the TFe₂O₃ content, as well as the size, number and distribution of bubbles in the different types of glaze. Finally, the study revealed that the material of both the saggars and separators were composed of another porcelain clay, different from that of the celadon body. In addition, the white and compact body of the celadon had a higher firing temperature, of 1140–1187 °C, compared with other types of wares, which had a lower firing temperature of 1050–1080 °C.     

Injection‐induced seismicity in Carbon and Emery Counties,central Utah

Utah is one of the top producers of oil and natural gas in the United States. Over the past 18 years, more than 4.2 billion gallons of wastewater from the petroleum industry has been injected into the Navajo Sandstone, Kayenta Formation, and Wingate Sandstone in Carbon and Emery Counties, central Utah, where seismicity has increased during the same period. Previous studies have attributed this seismicity to coal mining. Here, we present evidence for wastewater injection being a major cause of the increased seismicity. We show that, in the coal mining area, seismicity rate increased significantly 1–5 years following the wastewater injection, and the earthquakes, mostly with magnitudes <3.0, are concentrated in areas seismically active prior to the injection. Using simple analytical and numerical models, we show that the injection in central Utah can sufficiently raise pore pressure to trigger seismicity within 10–20 km of the injection wells, and the time needed for the diffusion of pore pressure may explain the observed lag of seismicity increase behind the commencement of injection. The b‐value of these earthquakes increased following the wastewater injection, which is consistent with these events being injection‐induced. We conclude that the marked increase in seismicity rate in central Utah is induced by both mining activity and wastewater injection, which raised pore pressure along preexisting faults.     

Popular geopolitics of Chinese Nanjing massacre films: a feminist approach

This article attempts to deconstruct the masculinised contract among the war narrative, popular culture, and Chinese nationalism by exploring the roles of women in Nanjing Massacre films with war narratives and Chinese audiences' emotional ‘readings’ of these women. Based on the analysis of City of Life and Death (2009) and The Flowers of War (2011) and audiences' comments on these two films from Douban Movie, this article has mapped a popular geopolitics of these two films through a feminist approach. The main argument of this research points out that, through the production and consumption of these two films, the women of the Nanjing Massacre can be territorialised as Nanjing/China and used to represent China's attitudes towards both the historical and current Sino–Japanese relationship. In this way, the women of these films can be considered an articulation of popular culture and politics, and they are empowered to establish Chinese nationalism and construct anti-Japanese identities in Chinese society. To a wider extent, this article can be read as a contribution to the literature on gender, nationalism and popular geopolitics.     

Sense of place and tourism business development

This study is to investigate the role of sense of place on residents' participation in tourism-related businesses. Emphasis was placed on understanding whether and how sense of place influenced people's decisions to operate a tourism-related business. Thus, this framework and the empirical validation presented are the result of triangulating quantitative survey data (n = 118) tourism business operators and follow-up with qualitative interviews (n = 72) respondents in Tai O, Hong Kong, the linkages between sense of place and small and medium business enterprises (SMTEs) were explored. The findings revealed that sense of place played an important role in encouraging move-out residents and their descendants to return and participate in a tourism-related business. Sense of place also influenced some people's decisions regarding the type of business they were involved in and the manner in which they operated their business. The findings suggested that operators of tourism-related businesses who have a strong sense of place, whether local residents or outsiders, can contribute to preserving a community's culture and for sustainable tourism development.     

内陆亚洲视野下的“新清史”研究

"新清史"作为一种学术思潮,是西方"内陆亚洲"研究理论运用到清代历史叙事的一个结果。"内陆亚洲"在19世纪被俄国、德国学者作为一个地理概念使用,用于亚洲区域的划分。后随着这一地区的历史、语言和文化及其对世界历史的影响日益受到广泛关注和研究,"内陆亚洲"成为一个文化概念。"新清史"学者们对"内陆亚洲"概念和理论的借鉴极具启发意义,但他们将满洲特性泛化为以游牧文化为核心的内亚特性,有违以往内亚史学者之本义。他们偏向强调清朝与内亚政权的延续性,将"内陆亚洲"从一个文化概念演绎为一种与"中国"对立的政治概念,逻辑上存在偏差,也不符合历史实际。     

中国农村工业结构变化的省际差异分析

本文应用结构变化指数和专业化指数,定量分析了全国各省、市、区1986至1991年农村工业结构变化的差异、专业化差异及两者关系的差异,并根据各地专业化部门的变化趋势,对农村工业结构政策提出若干建议。     

Archaeobotanical remains from the mid-first millennium AD site of Kaerdong in western Tibet

In this study, we present the preliminary result of archaeobotanical investigation at Kaerdong in western Tibet. The result shows that agropastoralism with combined strategies of foraging, hunting and fishing was in practice at the location between approximately 455 and 700 cal. AD. Our results also show that herding animals grazed at meadows above 4300 m above sea level (masl), and dung was used as fuel. The presence of a rice grain together with spikelet bases indicates that rice was a component of food resources possibly as a result of a trade and exchange system. In addition, tatary buckwheat grains were also recovered at the site.