水东宋氏职衔考

水东宋氏从唐初至明末统治贵州水东地区,唐宋元明四朝先后封赐诸多官衔。通过对水宋氏所任职衔的研究,可充分认识其兴起、发展、兴盛和衰亡过程,也可窥见中央王朝的治黔方略及贵阳政区的形成过程。     

唐宋西南、岭南瘴病地理与知识阶层的认识应对

唐宋时期瘴气、瘴病主要分布于西南山区,瘴病主要分布于四川南部泸、黎、戎州一线、长江三峡地区、云贵高原及岭南广西盆地,瘿病主要分布于秦巴山区、川西北山区及长江三峡一带。本文通过对大量历史文献的考察认为,唐宋时期知识阶层经历了对以瘴病为主的地方性疾病由盲目恐惧悲观到不懈地探索及医学应对转变过程,其中对瘴气的地理学认识、瘴病的预防及辩证治疗最有成就,从一个侧面加深了对西南、岭南地区地理复杂性的了解。更为重要的是在对付瘴病方面士人积极进行移风易俗运动,从根本上倡导文明进步的应对观念行为,不仅对西南、岭南疾病地理有了较为科学的认识,而且在应对以瘴为主的环境疾病,推动西南、岭南地区社会文明进步方面产生了深远影响。     

明清学者论《旧唐书》署名问题辨正

《旧唐书》成书时,刘昫刚任"监修宰臣",于是《旧唐书》也就署名为"刘昫等纂"。不过这并非刘有意掠人之美为己有,而是当时的官方修史制度使然。明代中期以后,一些著名学者对《旧唐书》的这一署名形式产生了种种疑问,涉及到欧阳修的史德、刘昫对《旧唐书》编撰的贡献,以及《旧唐书》编修过程中的其他一些问题。但考察唐朝五代时期官方史学的发展实际可知,这些学者的论述皆有粗疏陋略乃至根本错误的地方,刘对《旧唐书》的编撰成功,起到了他作为第三任监修官的应有作用,《旧唐书》的署名形式并不存在任何问题。"刘"这一名称,已经不再只是代表他个人,而实际上成了《旧唐书》纂修队伍集体力量的代名词,成了《旧唐书》的代名词。对中国古代其他官修史书的署名情况,也必须作如是观,才不致被迷惑。     

宋代羁縻州"虚像"及其制度问题

宋代承袭唐代的羁縻州制度,但发生了许多变化。部分"羁縻州"入宋以来就本不存在,部分"羁縻州"在北宋两次"开边"之后也不复存在,史籍辗转相承,不一定可靠,是一种扩大了的"虚像"。若用宋人赵升所言"受本朝官封,而时有进贡者,本朝悉为羁縻州"的标准来衡量,宋代的羁縻州制度是残缺不全的。     

河南北宋壁画墓的题材及艺术特色

北宋墓室壁画是宋代绘画的重要组成部分,题材有日常生活、孝行故事、超度升仙和装饰性画面等四类,布局、构图都遵循一定的程式,但构思巧妙、技法多变,体现了北宋绘画艺术的丰富多彩与繁荣昌盛。     

清末民初农会组织述论

清末民初的农会组织大体经历了酝酿、兴起、发展、隐退四个阶段.其基本结构表现为组成了一个层层连接的直属组织系统;建立了较为完备的领导体制;实行了严格的民主选举制度、议事办事原则以及定期的会议制度等.呈现出组织制度的近代民主性、一定程度的自治性、成员构成的复杂性、机构权限的官督性等基本特点.所从事的活动内容相当广泛,主要表现为编辑农报,翻译农书;创办农业学堂;开办农业试验场;举行农产品评会,设立陈列所;开展调查研究;向主管官署建议农业改良进行事宜,等等.这对推动近代中国农业发展具有重要的影响与作用.     

读《全宋诗》札记四则

《全宋诗》是近年来古籍整理的一项重要成果,但其间也存在一些差错。卷三的“释印粲”条当删,卷四的徐铉小传中有一处标点有误,卷五误将两篇他人的诗作归于徐铉名下,卷一○在补录徐铉的诗作时未能引用出处最早的文献。     

《礼记·礼器》的成篇年代

周公制礼和孔子及其后学修订、改造周礼,皆遵循忠信、与时俱进等原则,《礼记.礼器》、郭店楚简《性自命出》等篇对周礼制定的原则,有系统的总结。根据《礼器》的内容,并与《周礼》、《仪礼》、郭店楚简等记载进行对比,《礼器》应成篇于战国中期。     

Neither ‘America’ nor ‘Québec’: constructing the Canadian multicultural nation

ABSTRACT. Although researchers have deconstructed the myth of stark social differences between the various North American sub‐societies, an assimilating American melting pot and an ethnically oppressive monocultural Québec are still popular representations within Canadian majority discourses, such as the English‐language mainstream media and parts of academia. In this paper, I argue that images of ‘America’ and ‘Québec’ play important roles for the multicultural reconstruction of Canadian nationhood. Examining selected op‐ed articles from two Toronto‐based mainstream newspapers during the 1990s, I develop and exemplify a theoretical understanding of how national identities are constituted and transformed within inter‐ and intra‐national relations of power and alterity. I pay special attention to the particularisation of Canada through the confrontation with American nationhood, the ambiguities of recognising the distinctiveness of Québec inside Canada, and the consequences of projecting Québec's supposedly ‘ethnic’ nationalism outside the boundaries of Canadianness.     

Different Preparation Techniques – Similar Results? On the Quality of Thin‐Ground Sections of Archaeological Bone

Palaeohistology as a valuable diagnostic instrument is dependent on the production of high‐quality thin‐ground sections from dry bone. The objective of this study was to consider technical differences and assess the qualitative outcomes of five techniques for preparing thin‐ground sections from dry archaeological bone. Established techniques with long follow‐up times and excellently documented results were compared with simpler and cheaper time‐saving techniques. Evaluations were made of the quality of thin sections obtained by one classical machine‐based embedding technique, two revised versions of the same technique, one manual moulding technique based on Frost's rapid technique and one manual hybrid technique. Five osteological specimens of differing quality were prepared following the manuals for these five techniques and examined microscopically with respect to a list of standardised histological and diagenetic parameters. Alterations in the specimens attributable to preparation effects were recorded, and observations were scored with reference to three criteria: section quality, technical quality and staining. The results show that embedding techniques are to prefer. Superglue should not be used as a mounting or embedding medium. Manual grinding comes with several limitations, and machine cutting and grinding are preferred. Haematoxylin staining can be successfully applied to embedded specimens, giving more information on microscopic diagenetic processes. A stepwise manual for a revision of the classical embedding technique is presented. The time required for producing sections using classical embedding techniques is shortened from 6 weeks to 3.7 days by refining the preparation/polymerization processes involved with no loss of osteological data. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.