New research and findings from Tell Sufan

Abstract

The article reviews archaeological surveys and excavations in the area of the Wadi Faynan, together with various dating proposals. In particular, the results so far published of the San Diego expedition under Thomas Levy and of the possible connection between Iron Age copper mining and the biblical King Solomon are considered, along with the necessity of utilizing evaluation of the material remains by conventional archaeological means (stratigraphy, ceramic typology) alongside laboratory analysis, and not the latter alone.     

路易十四派遣“皇家数学家”传教士来华的背景

17世纪,葡萄牙国力日渐衰败,令其无法再从经济上支持传教士的东方拓展之旅,这不仅让罗马教廷颇为不满,而且让欧洲新崛起的法国看到了一个取而代之的机会。当时法国遇到的障碍主要有两个,一是葡萄牙所拥有的保教权;二是罗马教廷所要求的宣誓问题。但是,法国政治、科学和宗教的发展需求,加之暹罗使团的突然来访,让路易十四最终决定派遣有皇家科学院通讯院士之称的耶稣会士跟随暹罗使团前往东方。这些耶稣会士便是在中法交流史上赫赫有名的"皇家数学家"。     

怀仁丹扬王墓补考

本文对正史记载的九位"丹扬王"的官爵变迁和丧葬情况逐一考察,将山西怀仁县丹扬王墓墓主人的生活时代缩小到北魏时期,然后根据墓葬形制的特殊性,推断是孝文帝时期重臣刘昶与三位公主夫人的合葬墓,后因迁葬而空穴。并对该墓出土人物画像砖和甬道壁画的文化来源稍做分析。     

伯■(歼)父簋铭文试释

伯歼父簋铭文记载伯歼父跟随西周某王从成周出发南征,有所俘获,因作宝簋祭祀文祖考事。伯歼父簋的制作时代,说者或以为属于西周厉王时期。本文结合宗周钟等铭文研究认为应该属于西周昭王时。     

蒙古豳王家族与元代西北边防

蒙古豳王家族崛起于13世纪后期,始祖为由西域东归投奔忽必烈汗的察合台系出伯、合班兄弟,于14世纪初期形成豳王、肃王、西宁王和威武西宁王四个乌鲁斯,分别驻牧于酒泉、瓜州、沙州和哈密。豳王家族据守西北一隅,有效地抵御了窝阔台后王海都和察合台后王都哇等西域反叛势力对西域东部及河西走廊的侵扰,使河西及西域东部地区免受战火的蹂躏。为了巩固西北边防,豳王家族采取了一系列措施,积极发展农业生产尤其是屯垦以保障供给,整饬驿站以疏通驿路,同时大力支持佛教,借以抵御伊斯兰教势力的东侵。这些措施有效地巩固了西北边防,从而确保了西北地区社会的相对稳定。     

Searching for the Promised Land: Examining Dr Martin Luther King's Concept of the Beloved Community1

Abstract: 4 April 2008 marked the 40th anniversary of Dr King's assassination in Memphis, Tennessee. Since his murder we have seen Dr King's message of social justice, the growing threat of militarism, the threat the USA's burgeoning empire posed, and his goal of ending injustice boiled down to a few words spoken in Washington DC when he declared his dream to see his children grow up in a society free of race prejudice. This paper engages with Dr King's work and presents a more geographically sophisticated understanding of King's legacy than the oft repeated Washington speech. Through an analysis of Dr King's concept of the Beloved Community, I argue that Dr King's work stems from the experiences of the Black Atlantic world. Consequently, we should see Dr King's social theory as part of a larger anti‐colonial struggle which sought to integrate African American and Western notions of community, which holds contemporary importance as a counterpoint to current neoliberal conceptions of community.     

金毓黻的好太王碑研究与调查——兼考金毓黻好太王碑释文来源

金毓黻是20世纪中国东北史学、东北文献学研究主要奠基者之一,他曾对高句丽好太王碑进行过较为详细的研究与调查。金毓黻的好太王碑研究成果收录于《静晤室日记》《辽东文献征略》《奉天通志》《东北通史》等著述之中。为了深入研究好太王碑,金毓黻曾亲赴辑安实地考察好太王碑。《静晤室日记》和《辽东文献征略》中收录的好太王碑释文为金毓黻转录于《东北》杂志1924年第2期中佚名的好太王碑释文。《奉天通志》中的好太王碑释文是金毓黻以《东北》杂志中的好太王碑释文为基础并参照当时所见好太王碑拓本而作出的释文。     

Chivalrous models of Patriot Kingship: Gilbert West,Lord Lyttelton and The Idea of a Patriot King

This article examines two explorations of the theory expounded in Lord Bolingbroke's The Idea of a Patriot King (written 1738, published 1749), Gilbert West's 1742 dramatic poem The Institution of the Order of the Garter and Lord Lyttelton's The History of the Life of Henry the Second (1767–1771). Both were associates of Bolingbroke's in the Patriot movement and were committed to his ideological programme, understanding its potential and appeal. They both recognised the significant potency in Bolingbroke's last and final theorem, that of the Patriot King, whose miraculous function it was to stamp out corruption, reform the state and rule as a father to his people. Yet they both reframe the theory, by providing relatable models of Patriot Kingship. The models West and Lyttelton provide are two historical English kings, Edward III and Henry II. By portraying these monarchs as Patriot Kings, both writers construct a mythopoeic idealisation of the English and British past, in which the manners of chivalry form the basis of Patriot Kingship. Both these works should also be understood within the context of an eighteenth-century tradition of using the English and British past to extol monarchy and reflect of contemporary politics and society.     

Were the Miao Kings "Prophets of Renewal"? The Case of the 1795-1797 Hunan Miao Revolt

This essay considers the concept of "prophets of renewal" introduced by James Scott in The Art of Not Being Governed:An Anarchist History of Upland Southeast Asia (2009),as seen in the context of the 1795-97 Miao revolt along China's Hunan-Guizhou border.The appearance ofa "Miao King" and four "Wu kings" centering anti-Qing resistance in an intractable highland-utilizing native legends,spirit possession,investment of officials,and multi-ethnic recruitment-suggests a case of"Zomia" (the vast Southeast Asian Massif) prophets in action,as Scott himself suggests.Closer examination,however,reveals a more complex and uncertain picture,characterized by division between rival lords and an overall dearth of institutional,ideological,or cosmological elaboration,all further obscured by a paucity of historical sources.The Miao kings might be seen as prophets of renewal in a general sense,but the fit is inexact.There is still value,however,in considering Scott's model in the study of this event.It enables a sharper conceptualization of the agency of the Miao people,while offering a case for comparison with analogous instances of religiously-based native resistance on other Qing frontiers.     

Role of Monitoring in Historical Building Restoration: The Case of Leaning Tower of Pisa

A short summary is presented of the studies and the actions of Committees appointed in past 50 years for the Tower of Pisa. The discussion first addresses the attempts carried out during the whole history of the Tower to measure its movements and the efforts made to understand the origin and causes of its inclination. A history of foundation rotation has been also deduced by means of a precise architectural survey, which has led to a diagnosis for the inclination and its increase in time. As a consequence, several hypotheses for its stabilization have been proposed. All the measures for leaning tower stabilization need the application of observational method for their implementation. The observational method is strictly based on a comprehensive monitoring system, both described in the second part of the paper. The aims are to stress the importance of a well-conceived monitoring system and to propose the extension of concept of monitoring to construction history details. The data and actions described are from the work carried out by committees appointed by Italian Government during the second half of 20th century, in particular by the committee chaired by Professor Jamiolkowski, appointed in 1991. The authors have collaborated with this committee since 1993, and they are still in charge of the monitoring and maintenance of the Tower of Pisa.