Translating the Master

The publication of the Confucius Sinarum Philosophus in Paris in 1687 represented the apex of the syncretic effort between Confucianism and Catholicism started by Matteo Ricci more than one century before. The present study draws attention to the heart of the text, which is the translation of three Confucian Classics: Daxue (The Great Learning), Lunyu (The Analects) and Zhongyong (The Doctrine of the Mean), where the contribution of Prospero Intorcetta (1625–1696) appears to be predominant.

This article will firstly offer an updated biography of Intorcetta and his mission to Europe. Secondly, it will summarize the long process that led to the publication of the Confucius Sinarum Philosophus. Finally, through a comparative analysis between the former translations and those published in the Confucius Sinarum Philosophus, this study will attempt to extrapolate and determine the contribution of Intorcetta, focusing especially on the way some key concepts of the Confucian philosophy and of the traditional Chinese thinking in general were rendered.     

Slaves, servants and wage earners: Free and unfree labour, from Grotius to Blackstone

This article provides an intellectual history of the status of wage earners as conceptualized within the natural law paradigm by European writers both on the Continent and in Britain. Historians of political discourse have mostly investigated the consequences of such a status for the political rights of labourers. This article shows that the crucial moves were made by different authors analysing the relation of servant to master either in the domestic sphere or in private contracts. The article further contends that that resulting deeply ambiguous analyses implied a far from complete personal freedom for wage earners. This had a decisive impact on different visions of commercial society in early modern times, and left a significant legacy for moderns.     

WHERE IS THE ECONOMICS IN SPATIAL ECONOMETRICS?*

ABSTRACT Spatial econometrics has been criticized by some economists because some model specifications have been driven by data‐analytic considerations rather than having a firm foundation in economic theory. In particular, this applies to the so‐called W matrix, which is integral to the structure of endogenous and exogenous spatial lags, and to spatial error processes, and which are almost the sine qua non of spatial econometrics. Moreover, it has been suggested that the significance of a spatially lagged dependent variable involving W may be misleading, since it may be simply picking up the effects of omitted spatially dependent variables, incorrectly suggesting the existence of a spillover mechanism. In this paper, we review the theoretical and empirical rationale for network dependence and spatial externalities as embodied in spatially lagged variables, arguing that failing to acknowledge their presence at least leads to biased inference, can be a cause of inconsistent estimation, and leads to an incorrect understanding of true causal processes.     

Economic and Environmental Policy Analysis of the Flumen‐Monegros Irrigation System in Huesca,Spain

This article describes a behavioral model of the Flumen‐Monegros irrigation area (Spain) and presents the results from the model simulation under various policy scenarios. The model combines agronomic, economic and policy information in a framework built using linear programming and crop growth simulation techniques. An important feature of the model is the classification of crop acreage in various types of soils which have different productive potential. The objective function maximizes net margins of crops and includes direct payments of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The crop activities covered in the model are the main crops cultivated in the area (fallow, wheat, barley, corn, sunflower, alfalfa, rice, other crops, and CAP set‐aside). To validate the model, the results on cropland utilization obtained from the model have been compared with actual cropland utilization, concluding that the model closely approximates the actual data. The model is used to characterize the behavior of the irrigation area under three scenarios which reflect likely changes in agricultural and environmental policies: removal of direct payments, increase in water prices, and reduction of fertilizer use. The results show the large impact of these three scenarios on farmers' production decisions: the elimination of direct payment reduces net margin almost by half; prices corresponding to full recovery of water costs reduce significantly the cultivated acreage; and the reduction in fertilizer use causes a fall of 23 percent in net margins.     

A new protocol for radiocarbon dating of hair and keratin type samples—application to an Andean mummy from the National Museum of Natural History in Paris

The protocol of preparation of keratinized samples (e.g. hair, furs …) for radiocarbon dating that we have developed is based on the selective extraction of keratin from the bulk part of the shaft (cortex). The aim of this method is to eliminate the cuticle which could contain exogenous carbon from external contaminations. The total treatment takes place as follows: a washing/dry cleaning, a soft treatment with diluted acidic and basic solutions (acid/alkali/acid method) similar to the protocol used for vegetal samples, extraction of keratin by reduction using dithiothreitol and precipitation with sodium deoxycholate and trichloroacetic acid. This method was applied on a hair sample from an Andean mummy, conserved in the collections of the Anthropology Laboratory of the National Museum of Natural History (Musée de l’Homme) in Paris, France. The results of two runs reveal that the mummy is dated to a period between the eleventh century and the first half of the twelfth century. It therefore belongs to the Late Intermediate period (900–1450?ad). The combination of historical research, the study of the body by computed tomography and the analysis of mineral deposits on the surface of the body provides clues to identify the geographical origin of the mummy. These investigations led to determine that the mummy comes from the region of Tarapacá in Chile and belongs to the cultural complex Pica-Tarapacá.     

Vox populi,vox Dei: Catalina de San Juan, ‘la Niña Santa’ de la Angelópolis (India, 1605? – Puebla de los Ángeles,México, 1688)

Este artículo contribuye a destacar el capital simbólico que encarnó en la Colonia la vida de Catalina de San Juan, natural del reino del Gran Mogol e hija espiritual de la Compañía de Jesús. Si bien la autora profundiza en la figura hagiográfica de la beata y aclara algunos errores esbozados por la crítica, su aporte principal radica en las Actas de Cabildo de Puebla del siglo XVII. Estos documentos son prueba fehaciente de la concertada participación de las autoridades civiles en lo que se esperaba fuera el proceso testimonial para una pronta causa de beatificación. Aunque la Santa Sede no la canonizara, Catalina de San Juan fue proclamada santa por un pueblo que vio en ella los Prodigios de la Omnipotencia, glosados teatralmente por la pluma de sus confesores. La luz que muchos atestiguaron ver al final de sus días ilumina por siempre la historia novohispana con el misterio de su leyenda.     

Chronicle

Concepts in the history of cartography, a review and a perspective. By M. J. Blakemore and J. B. Harley. Cartographica, volume 17, number 4, winter 1980, monograph 26. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1980. Pp. 120.

Understanding maps: a systematic history of their use and development. By A. G. Hodgkiss. Folkestone: Dawson, 1981. Pp. 209.

La carte, image des civilizations. By George Kish. Paris: Seuil. Pp. 287.

Cartes et figures de la terre. Paris: Centre Georges Pompidou, 1980. Pp. 480.

The mapmakers. Byjohn Noble Wilford. London: Junction Books, 1981. Pp. xi+169.

Papers of the Nordenskiöld seminar on the history of cartography and the maintenance of cartographic archives, Espoo (Finland), September 12–15, 1979. Edited by Kerkko Hakulinen and Arvo Peltonen. Helsinki: Nordenskiöld‐samfundet, 1981. Pp. 246.

Looking at old maps. By John Booth. Westbury, Wiltshire: Cambridge House Books, 1979. Pp. xiii + 167.

The map librarian in the modem world: essays in honour of Walter W. Ristow. Edited by Helen Wallis and Lothar Zögner. Presented by the IFLA Section of Geography and Map Libraries. München, New York, London, Paris: K. G. Saur, 1979. Pp. 295.

Somerset maps: Day &; Masters 1782, Greenwood 1822. Introduction by J. B. Harley and R. W. Dunning. Taunton: Somerset Record Society, 1981. Pp. 37 with facsimiles in 15 sheets.

The ‘Rhinebeck’ panorama of London. Introduction by Ralph Hyde. London: London Topographical Society, Publication No. 125, 1981. Pp. 6, pl. 4.

A history of the Ordnance Survey. Edited by W. A. Seymour. Folkestone: Dawson, 1980. Pp. 359.

Wall‐maps of the 16th and 17th centuries. 3: The world map of 1611 by Pieter van den Keere. Edited by Gunther Schilder and James Welu. Amsterdam: Nico Israel, 1980. Pp. 25, pl. 12.

Johann Baptista Homann, die Homännischen Erben, Matthäus Seutter und ihre Landkarten. Beiträge zur Geschichte der Kartographie. By C. Sandler. Amsterdam: Meridian Publishing, 1979. Pp. 152.

Alte Pläne von Stadt und Festung Saarlouis. By Fritz Hellwig. Saarbrücken: Saarbrücker Druckerei und Verlag, 1980. Pp. xxxix + 120.

Monumenta cartografica. Dudavar Eröditési Térképe 1749. Budapest: Zrinye Katonai Kiadó, 1980. Pp. 10.

Atlanti Napoletani del diciannovesimo secolo. By Vladimiro Valerio. Naples: Luigi Regina, 1980. Pp. 114.

Chung‐kuo ti‐t'u‐hsueh shih [History of cartography of China]. By Ch'en Cheng‐siang. Hong Kong: Shang‐wu Yin‐shu Kuan, 1979. Pp. 96.

Indianische Karlen Nordamerikas: Beiträge zur historischen Kartographie vom 16. bis zum 19. Jahrhundert. By Rainer Vollmar. Berlin: Deitrich Reimer Verlag, 1981. Pp. 179.

Fire insurance maps in the Library of Congress. Plans of North American cities and towns produced by the Sanbom Map Company. A checklist compiled by the Reference and Bibliography Section, Geography and Map Division. Washington: Library of Congress, 1981. Pp. xiv + 773.

The cartography of Northern Virginia: facsimile reproductions of maps dating from 1608 to 1915. Selected and introduced by Richard W. Stephenson. Fairfax County, Virginia: Office of Comprehensive Planning, 1981. Pp. 144.

The Northpart of America. By Coolie Verner and Basil Stuart‐Stubbs. Toronto: Academic Press Canada Limited, 1979. Pp. xi + 292.

The maps of Canada: a guide to official Canadian maps, charts, atlases and gazetteers. By N. L. Nicholson and L. M. Sebert. Folkestone: Dawson; Hamden, Conn. : Archon, 1981. Pp. x + 251.

Das Geheimnis des Drachenschwanzes. Die Kenntnis Amerikas vor Kolumbus. By Paul Gallez. Berlin: Dietrich Reimer Verlag, 1980. Pp. 184.