Dwelling(s) in a north‐west Arabian oasis: decoding residential architecture at Taymāʾ

The definition of an ancient, autochthonous north‐west Arabian residential architecture is still a major void in the archaeology of the region. This preliminary case study is intended to shed some light on this “blind spot” by presenting and analysing the architectural complex E‐b9 from Taymā? (c. fourth/third century BCE until the first/early second century CE). A meticulous study of the architecture identified a modular concept as a key to understanding the complex. Furthermore, underlying patterns of household organisation can be deduced from the architectural remains resulting in the definition of potential household units. Those are indicated by a set of activity areas which are congruent with patterns of accessibility and the use of specific wall types. These findings provide insights into the organisation of households and daily life in the oasis of Taymā?, and may help to define local or regional traditions in the future.     

Intersectional power dynamics and extended households: Elderly and widowed women’s international migration from Armenia

Drawing upon interviews and fieldwork conducted in Armenia and Turkey with 25 Armenian migrant women and their non-accompanying family members, the present article examines how gendered norms intersecting with age, marital and motherhood statuses have structured the migration decision-making process as it occurs at the household level. These migrant women were mostly elderly, widowed and from extended households, where male income support to the family was either insufficient or wholly absent for a variety of reasons. Building on the Household Survival Strategies (HSS) approach, this article examines the dynamism and complex kinship norms in extended-households and how these have led some women to assume the role of migrant labourers in a patriarchal context that would ordinarily deny them mobility. While empirically this study sheds light on women’s migration from an understudied geography, it also deepens our understanding of the interplay between patriarchy, intersectionality and women’s agency outside of the traditional nuclear household.     

Imperial Geographies of Home: British Domesticity in India, 1886–1925

This paper considers the translation of domestic discourses over imperial space as middle-class British women established homes in India from 1886 to 1925. Unlike studies of imperial domesticity that delineate separate spheres of home and empire, I consider the exercise of imperial power on a domestic scale, by examining advice given in household guides on managing servants and raising British children in India. Rather than view the household merely as confining, I also explore the advice given to British women regarding travel outside their homes in India. The domestic roles of British women reproduced imperial power relations on a household scale, and the political significance of imperial domesticity extended beyond the boundaries of the home.     

Eating, Cooking, and Shanghai's "Less-than-Manly Men”: The Social Consequences of Food Rationing and Economic Reforms

This study examines some social consequences of food rationing and economic reforms in Shanghai by considering the notion of “Shanghai little men” (a broader translation of which is “Shanghai less-than-manly men”). Male Shanghainese are notorious for doing household labor and being obedient to their wives, which has earned them the nickname Shanghai little men. This study indicates that their grocery shopping and cooking were first inspired by fundamental changes in food distribution and the power structure during the 1950s and 1960s. It treats Shanghai little men as both a special group and a symbol of certain changes in gender roles at home and the redefining of gender norms in the larger society. It examines the shifting discourse concerning Shanghai little men in the era of economic reforms and analyzes a recent popular discourse about “seeking real men” and “being real women.” Finally, it deconstructs the current cultural nostalgia for traditional gender-defined divisions of labor, reflecting a parallel developmen—the “transnational business masculinity” that one sees in China.     

Seeking and Managing Wealth: Advice from a Guangdong Mother in Late Qing and Early Republican China

This article traces the life of Qu Fengzhu (1860–1927), a native of Panyu, Guangdong, with special focus on her Zhijia yaoyi (Basic principles of household management). Whereas many women from elite families in late imperial China emphasized the importance of their sons studying hard in order to secure a place in the government or to live with dignity, Qu Fengzhu focused on seeking and managing wealth properly to sustain the family finances. Living in the greater Canton area loaded with heavy commercial activities and East-West interaction opportunities, as well as witnessing the political and social transition from the imperial era to the republican era, Qu Fengzhu gave very pragmatic advice to her offspring without elaborating much on high-sounding truths and principles. She set four rules for her children to follow and emphasized the importance of diligence and frugality. In a flourishing commercial world, the relatively conservative arguments on wealth management contained in Zhijia yaoyi somehow incorporates moral education. This makes its author’s words carry weight and significance.     

Unveiling China’s Relinquished Marital Mode: A Study of Yuan Shikai’s Polygamous Household

This article investigates one of the last polygamous families in modern China, the household of Yuan Shikai, who was the first president of the Republic of China. Before his presidency, Yuan was a prominent reformer and high-ranking official in the late Qing Empire. Although he implemented numerous influential progressive reforms to promote China’s modernization, he himself led a traditional private life within his own home: He married ten women, built himself a large harem, and fathered thirty-two children. This article explores Yuan’s polygamous marriages by revealing the characteristics of his marital life, probing the styles of his nuptial experience, and examining his approach of managing his family. Through this study, we can see another aspect of China’s transformation from tradition to modernity, along with its national transformation from empire to republic. Therefore, this study help us not only explore the long-relinquished old-style marriage system and uncover a long forgotten system of spousal union, but also unmask the role of polygamy in shaping the lives of Chinese social and political elites before its final abolition in the early 20th century.     

试论人民公社的历史地位

农村人民公社是我国农村社会发展史上持续时间最长、影响深远的农村社会制度 ,其对我国的经济发展和社会进步做出了无以替代的历史性贡献 :它为“工占农利”经济战略的实施提供有力的制度保障 ;其间 ,我国的农业生产有很大增长 ,农业生产条件得到显著改善 ;人民公社的社会保障制度以较低成本维持六七十年代我国农村的基本稳定。当人民公社保障我国工业化初步实现的历史使命基本完成后 ,一种新的农业生产经营制度———家庭联产责任制在人民公社的胚胎里酝酿而生 ,两者的此消彼长是我国农村社会发展必然结果。     

紫禁城太和殿所供符板及其宗教思想研究

太和殿顶棚上东、西、南、北、中五个方向上分别供奉着五块符板,每块符板上镌刻了佛教常见的经咒(陀罗尼)、咒牌和宫宅神王尊名以及道教七十二镇宅灵符,反映出清代宫廷佛道合一、汉藏佛教交融现象的普遍存在。本文在对每块符板上各部分内容作详尽的分析之后发现,五块符板组成了一个完整的以祈寿、镇宅、护国佑民为主旨的供奉思想。     

The Tudor Speakers 1485–1601: Choosing,Status, Work*

During the Tudor period the Speaker was nominated by the crown. The house of commons acquiesced with the crown's nomination, but not entirely passively. There is a body of evidence suggesting that the crown's nominee became the focus of disapprobation once his name became known. What hostility there was to the Speaker-designate from the mid 16th century was displayed to better effect outside the House than within.     

Decreasing house prices and household mobility: An empirical study on loss aversion and negative equity

This paper examines the effects of loss aversion and negative equity on household mobility. We stress the importance of studying these mechanisms simultaneously. By making use of a unique administrative data set of Statistics Netherlands, covering the period 2006–2011, we estimate the effects of loss aversion and negative equity. The results provide strong evidence for loss aversion, while less evidence is found for a lock‐in effect of negative equity. The results indicate that moderately underwater households do have a lower mobility, but heavily underwater households do not. Additional results indicate that the particularly high mobility of heavily underwater households is not default‐driven.