“Soldiers with stiff bodies”: rumors,stereotypes and the Chinese image of the British army during the First Opium War (1839-1842)

ABSTRACT

A curious aspect of the First Opium War was the circulation among Chinese officials of two claims made about British soldiers, instigated by Commissioner Lin Zexu: their uniforms were so tight that if they were to stumble they would not be able to get up again; and, the men were “like fish,” thus able to function well at sea, but not to fight on land because they had become so used to the pitching and rolling of their ships. This article examines the extent to which these notions took on the quality of wartime rumors, and how they spread beyond generals and officials and into the general population. It considers the way in which the rumors functioned in different ways and at different levels of society, taking on different constructions of meaning in multiple social and political domains.     

川陕省苏维埃铜元金属成分及相关问题分析

川陕省苏维埃铜元是第二次国内革命战争时期遗留下来的重要革命文物，它承载着中国共产党与川陕苏区人民英勇奋斗的光辉历程，本工作通过能量色散型X射线能谱(EDS)技术对二种面值、三个种类、九个版类的川陕省苏维埃铜元成分进行了研究，结合川陕省苏维埃铜元产地的历史变迁及版类的生产顺序，发现川陕省苏维埃铜元的含铜量整体上远高于晚清、民国典型黄铜元的铜含量，而稍低于典型红铜元的铜含量。随着生产时期向后推移，川陕省苏维埃铜元的含铜量逐渐增加并达到95%左右，而锌、铅、锡的含量则呈现出较明显的降低趋势。分析表明，川陕省苏维埃政府早期生产的大二百文铜元，中后期生产的部分无齿类小二百文铜元和繁体联五百文铜元极可能是采用红铜元、杂铜混合重铸的方式制造，而鼎盛时期生产的有齿类小二百文铜元和简体联五百文铜元则是合格的红铜元。这一动态变化趋势说明，苏维埃造币机构在铜元生产过程中，其原材料筛选标准逐渐明确并日趋严格，反映了苏维埃政府在铜资源管理与使用上逐渐趋于合理化。     

Sovereignty and territoriality in the city–state: A case study from the Amuq Valley,Turkey

This article investigates the relationship of state authority and territory in the city–state, using the Iron Age Syro-Anatolian culture of the ancient Near East as a case-study. Although more sophisticated spatial modeling of political authority has appeared in the past decade, archaeologists are still prone to assume that territoriality in ancient city–states operated according to a “container model” principle in which, like the modern state, political power is evenly distributed across the landscape within clear boundary divisions. The present work examines both the historical record from the Iron Age on the one hand, and regional settlement pattern data on the other, to evaluate the appropriateness of this conception of territory and power in the Syro-Anatolian city–state of Patina, located in southern Turkey. Textual accounts and gravity modeling of settlement distributions point toward a pattern of territoriality in which power was present inconsistently across the geographical extent of the city–state, and in which borderlines as conventionally drawn did not apply. I refer to this flexible relationship of authority and space as malleable territoriality.     

Theatre,mathematics, and the aesthetics of infinity: Complicite’s A Disappearing Number

ABSTRACT

Complicite's A Disappearing Number is one of the best examples of contemporary plays that use theatrical strategies to convey complex scientific ideas. Complicite uses performance to stage the complex mathematical concepts of partition and infinite convergent series, taking inspiration from the statement by renowned British mathematician G. H. Hardy that “a mathematician... is a maker of patterns”. As well as performativity, other elements in the play contribute to performing mathematics on the stage, elements such as time and space, narrative structure, thematic content, and characterization. Complicite introduces a complex pattern that runs throughout the play to connect these elements to form a complete whole. These elements effectively work with each other to release a set of clues that guide the audience towards decoding the play's pattern. This study provides an in-depth analysis of these connections and the complex process of decoding the pattern in the play.     

Ceramic form and function in the Neolithic Gulf. A view from Bahra 1

This paper discusses the possible functions of ceramic vessels in the Neolithic Gulf, based on new data from the Ubaid-related settlement of Bahra 1 (Kuwait). Two pottery groups identified at the site—Ubaid Ware and Coarse Red Ware—are found in great numbers and variety of forms which provides grounds for a reconsideration of the role of pottery vessels in the societies of the Gulf. Analysis of this material reveals a more varied function of pottery vessels compared to that suggested in earlier studies. It was also possible to define the function of certain pottery vessels in more detail, both in their economic and social context.     

莲花纹在西夏石窟藻井中的流变

莲花纹因其独特的造型、丰富的美感、高尚典雅的品格象征,被广泛应用于我国传统装饰纹样中。西夏时期是敦煌石窟艺术的新时期,其装饰纹样出现了新的变化。这一时期,石窟藻井装饰中莲花纹样的流变也出现了新的特征。一是在样式上由平瓣和卷瓣莲花纹逐渐向写实风格的莲花纹演变,二是在位置上由藻井井心逐渐位移到藻井边饰和四披,三是在技法上由以重线辅色向重色辅线演变。藻井装饰中莲花纹样的流变体现了西夏佛教石窟艺术在前期深受唐宋石窟艺术的影响下,逐渐形成了西夏自己的石窟装饰风格,这种变化也是西夏社会历史特别是佛教流派思想在艺术上的体现。     

Stochastic process and archaeological mechanism in spatial analysis

Statistical techniques for the study of spatial patterns (“spatial analysis”) are reviewed, and their foundations are examined so that archaeologists can more readily judge how appropriate they are for dealing with particular problems. The concept of “association” is seen as crucial to this question, and some archaeological interpretations of it are critically examined. The potential usefulness of various techniques is discussed. Details of the simpler techniques are given in an Appendix.     

公共服务视野下的城市空间正义问题——以山东省Q市为例

以山东省Q市为例，从公共服务满意度视角探讨城市空间正义问题及其作用路径。研究发现，近年来我国城市存在公共服务视野下明显的空间不正义问题，临近省市政府能享受更多、更好的公共服务，而区政府并不显著，且远离政府权力中心的边缘地带更加严重。不过，这种空间不正义问题更多源自省市政府权力的空间资源配置失衡，区政府没有足够话语权；主要在市辖区层面，街道尺度并不显著。受制于公共产品属性不同，不同公共服务的空间不正义问题有明显差异，弱排他性或弱竞争性的问题较小。另外，权力空间化通过公共产品配置数量和质量影响空间不正义问题，且质量层面远大于数量层面。新时代城市要从提高公共产品质量入手实现空间正义。