Characterizations of palace lantern tassels preserved in The Palace Museum,Beijing, by UPLC-ESI-Q-TOF

Palace lanterns were important and highly visible decorations in the imperial palace in Beijing, China, during the Qing dynasty (1636–1912). Most lanterns had colourful tassels made of fibres. The study performed a comprehensive investigation of the materials and dyes used for palace lantern tassels preserved in The Palace Museum, Beijing. Eight samples with different colours, including yellow, green and red, from five palace lanterns were analysed. By using ultra-performance liquid chromatography combined with time-of-flight mass spectrometry, the compositions of the dyes were identified quickly, and thus the dyes' origins were explored. A X-ray fluorescence spectrometer assisted in the detection of whether a mordant was used during the dyeing process. As a result, the tassels were all made of silk, discovered through the use of microscopic observation and micro-Fourier transform infrared spectrometry analysis. Different dyeing techniques were found in these tassels: yellow tassels were dyed by cork tree or turmeric by a direct dyeing method; greens were dyed by pagoda bud with an iron mordant, or by the combination of cork tree and indigo using multi-dyeing method; and red tassels were coloured with different acid red industrial dyes. These results provide valuable data for the conservation of ancient textile tassels and contribute to the investigation of other hanging tags.     

Bringing Chinese Law in Line with Western Standards? Problematizing “Chinese” and “Western” in the Late Qing Debate over the New Criminal Code of Great Qing

This article examines the intense debates over the New Criminal Code of Great Qing (Da-Qing xin xinglü) in the National Assembly (Zizheng yuan) during the Qing empire’s New Policy Reform (1901–11). The focus is on the conflict between those who drafted and supported the new code and those who expressed reservations, especially over reform of the laws on filial piety and fornication. The issue of reconfiguring the family and social order through law was closely related to the overarching agenda of twentieth century legal reform in China—making an empire that “ruled through the principle of filial piety” into a modern nation-state that had direct relationships with its citizens. More importantly, an analysis of the late Qing debate over family law enables this article to problematize such concepts as “Chinese” and “Western” during this crucial moment of China’s empire-to-nation transformation. It showcases the paradox of China’s modern-era reforms—a contradiction between imposing Western-inspired order with a largely indigenous logic and maintaining existing sociopolitical order in the name of preserving national identity.     

Study on the strontium isotope standard in pig teeth excavated from Zaoshugounao site,Shaanxi Province of China

In archaeology, strontium isotope analysis is developing into an efficient scientific technique for tracing the movement of prehistoric humans and animals. Determining the local bioavailable ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio range is the key to distinguishing whether the human or animal is indigenous to the local area. It has been shown that the ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio in the enamel of pigs can be an excellent sample to determine the range of local strontium isotope ratio at the site. However, pigs may not be all local at the site, and there is no special study on whether pigs’ different ages and tooth types impact the local strontium isotope characteristics. In this paper, the tooth enamel of 19 pigs from the Zaoshugounao site for strontium isotope ratio (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) by multicollector–inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. There were no significant differences in ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios of local pigs at different months and different molar types, which did not affect the determination of the local strontium isotope standard. Based on the local strontium isotope ratio range (0.711056–0.711476), we found that five pigs were non-local. The Jing and Wei river basins (in Guanzhong basin) and northern Shaanxi are likely sources of non-pigs.     

多伦多都市区的居住空间结构研究

本文采用因子生态分析方法剖析多伦多都市区的居住空间结构。主成分分析表明,家庭构成、年龄构成、职业构成是形成城市居住分异的主要因素。聚类分析表明,家庭构成和年龄构成的分异呈同心园格局,职业构成的分异呈扇形格局。形成这种居住分异格局的机制包括动力机制、管理机制和行为机制三个方面。     

光纤反射光谱在彩绘文物颜料鉴别中的应用研究

光纤反射光谱是一种完全无损的颜料鉴别方法,适合用于精美珍贵的彩绘文物颜料工艺研究。光纤反射光谱在国际文物研究领域已成为一种较成熟的方法,而国内由于缺乏反射光谱数据库限制了其应用。因此,本研究探讨了颜料颗粒度和产地对反射光谱的影响,对蓝色系、绿色系、红色系和黄色系颜料的反射光谱特征进行归纳总结,并将其用于故宫博物院建筑彩画和书画文物的颜料分析中,证明光纤反射光谱确实是一种快速有效的颜料分析方法。     

Revised conodont and fusuline biostratigraphy of the Bamchi Formation (Pyongan Supergroup) at the Bamchi section,Yeongwol and the Carboniferous–Permian boundary in South Korea

Wang, Q., Wang, Y., Qi, Y., Wang, X., Choh, S.J., Lee, D.C. & Lee, D.J., November 2017. Yeongwol and the Carboniferous–Permian boundary in South Korea. Alcheringa 42, 245–258. ISSN 0311-5518

Six conodont and one fusuline zones are recognized on basis of a total of 25 conodont and 13 fusuline species (including seven unidentified species or species given with cf. or aff. in total) from the Bamchi Formation, Yeongwol, Korea. The conodont zones include the Streptognathodus bellus, S. isolatus, S. cristellaris, S. sigmoidalis, S. fusus and S. barskovi zones in ascending order, which can be correlated with the conodont zones spanning the uppermost Gzhelian to Asselian Age of the Permian globally. The fusuline zone is named the Rugosofusulina complicata–Pseudoschwagerina paraborealis zone. The co-occurrence of the conodont Streptognathodus isolatus (the Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point index for the base of Permian) and Pseudoschwagerina (a Permian inflated fusuline) indicates that the Carboniferous–Permian boundary can be placed in the lower part of the Bamchi Formation in South Korea.

Qiulai Wang* [qlwang@nigpas.ac.cn] CAS Key Laboratory of Economic Stratigraphy and Palaeogeography, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, East Beijing Road 39, Nanjing 210008, PR China; Yue Wang* [yuewang@nigpas.ac.cn] LPS, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, East Beijing Road 39, Nanjing 210008, PR China; Yuping Qi* [ypqi@nigpas.ac.cn] Xiangdong Wang* [xdwang@nigpas.ac.cn] CAS Key Laboratory of Economic Stratigraphy and Palaeogeography, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, East Beijing Road 39, Nanjing 210008, PR China; Suk-Joo Choh [sjchoh@korea.ac.kr] Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea; Dong-Chan Lee [dclee@chungbuk.ac.kr] Department of Earth Sciences Education, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 28644, Republic of Korea; Dong-Jin Lee [djlee@andong.ac.kr] Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Andong National University, Andong 36729, Republic of Korea. *Also affiliated with: University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19A Yuquan Road, Shijingshan District, Beijing 100049, PR China.     

The measurement of taxonomic evenness in zooarchaeology

Zooarchaeologists frequently measure taxonomic evenness to document subsistence change and to understand the response of faunal communities to paleoenvironmental change. Although the measurement of evenness is commonplace, there are numerous challenges involved. Evenness indices are sensitive to changing richness, and by extension sample size, and various indices respond differently to changing taxonomic abundances (i.e., changing evenness). To refine protocol for comparing assemblages of varied sampling effort and identify indices that may be more useful for zooarchaeological applications, we examine the quantitative behavior of the widely used Shannon evenness and Simpson indices and two others more commonly used by ecologists. These indices are examined in relation to varied richness, sample size, and taxonomic abundances. We show that although zooarchaeologists are concerned with identifying and correcting for the effects of sample size on evenness, it may be appropriate to instead focus on how richness modulates evenness. Based on our analyses, we recommend the Simpson index for most zooarchaeological applications, except when comparing evenness across assemblages that are very even.     

试析元代磁州窑绘画枕上的蒙元人物形象

磁州窑宋金元时期生产的陶瓷枕,在装饰上展现了丰富的技法和多样的题材,其上的图像形象记录了绘画、服饰、民风民俗、社会审美以及历史题材等纷繁内容,成为特殊的古代艺术与文化载体。对图像的不断解析,有助于准确解读其真实内涵、绘画意境与文化背景。笔者尝试对磁州窑陶瓷枕上反映的蒙元人物图像加以解析如下:     

故宫藏乾隆朝漆纱隔心工艺探究

故宫乾隆花园符望阁一层明间南向宝座的栏杆罩镶嵌着一组精美绝伦貌如金纱窗的漆纱隔心。类似的隔扇装修不仅在故宫,甚至全国范围内也是独一无二的。符望阁保护修复过程中,发现漆纱隔心存在损毁严重、工艺失传、复制难度大等问题。为对该组漆纱进行研究,运用剖面显微分析、扫描电镜与能谱仪分析、显微红外光谱及多种色谱-质谱联用等实验室科技手段,明确了漆纱由内而外"织物纱芯-双面贴纸样-双面上漆贴金-双面纸样上施绘"四层基本结构关系,以及单侧14个亚层所用的无机、有机材料,为漆纱的保护和复制提供了科学依据。     

秦兵马俑和汉阳陵遗址保存环境之比较

为了探索一种适宜的遗址文物保存方式,在四季分明,气候变化较为剧烈的西北地区的文物遗址环境区,达到最大程度保护遗址文物的目的,通过对开放式的秦始皇兵马俑博物馆一号坑遗址环境的建筑结构、温度和相对湿度变化及大气颗粒物进行分析监测,并与封闭式汉阳陵博物馆外葬坑的结果进行对比研究,发现单从环境温湿度恒定、阻挡室外颗粒污染物和气态污染物的角度来讲,封闭式的汉阳陵博物馆存在明显的优势。但依然不能阻止温湿度的季节间波动和室外空气污染物渗入的威胁,同时还要预防室内污染的发生,并且出现玻璃护围内部结露,文物大面积返碱等问题,并不能很好解决文物良好保存和观展目的。所以依旧需要探索一种适宜的遗址文物保存方式,既能保持文物保存环境的温湿度的相对稳定和洁净,又能缓解全封闭玻璃护围内部结露,文物大面积返碱等问题,最大程度延长遗址文物的寿命的同时,满足观众参观的需求。本对比研究结果可为今后的设计提供参考。