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.     

Research collaboration beyond the boundary: Evidence from university patents in China

Geographical distance constitutes friction in searching for research collaborators. Taking advantage of a quasinatural experiment featured by High-Speed Railway (HSR) lines in China, this paper employs the difference-in-differences model to identify the causal impact of a substantial improvement in the intercity transportation infrastructure on collaborative innovation across cities. The data pertain to a universe of patent applications filed by Chinese universities and their citations. We find that HSR contributes to a substantial increase in the innovation quantity and quality of collaborative patenting innovation between universities and corporates. It contributes to industry collaboration by utilizing university academic disciplines in the related technology fields. Lastly, HSR facilitates universities to search for new research partners with better quality beyond the geographical boundary.     

The Chemical Composition and Production Area of Early Western Zhou Proto‐Porcelain Unearthed from Yejiashan Cemetery,Suizhou, China

The bodies and glazes of 27 early Western Zhou proto‐porcelain samples from Yejiashan cemetery, Hubei Province, were analysed using LA‐ICP–AES, SEM, XRD, a thermal expansion instrument and other analytical methods. The results indicated that the bodies of all samples were characterized by high silicon and low aluminium, and were made with porcelain stone raw materials found in the south of China. The glazes are typical of high‐temperature calcium glazes of the CaO (MgO) – K₂O (Na₂O) – Al₂O₃ – SiO₂ series, with relatively high Mn and P content, which was probably caused by the addition of plant ashes. The physical properties and phase compositions of Yejiashan proto‐porcelain show that firing processes were still in the early stages of development in ancient China. Multivariate statistical analyses indicated that Yejiashan proto‐porcelain might have come from the Deqing area, in Zhejiang Province. These results provide new archaeological evidence for research on issues related to material flow in the Western Zhou dynasty.     

A new antiarch placoderm from the Emsian (Early Devonian) of Wuding,Yunnan, China

Pan, Z., Zhu, M., Zhu, Y. &; Jia, L., August 2017. A new antiarch placoderm from the Emsian (Early Devonian) of Wuding, Yunnan, China. Alcheringa 42, 10–21. ISSN 0311-5518.

Wufengshania magniforaminis, a new genus and species of the Euantiarcha (Placodermi: Antiarcha), is described from the late Emsian (Early Devonian) of Wuding, Yunnan, southwestern China. The referred specimens were three-dimensionally preserved in black shales, allowing a high-resolution computed tomography reconstruction of anatomical details. The new euantiarch is characterized by a large orbital fenestra, an arched exoskeletal band around the orbital fenestra and a developed obtected nuchal area of the skull roof. Maximum parsimony analysis, using a revised data-set of antiarchs with 44 taxa and 66 characters, resolves Wufengshania gen. nov. as a member of the Bothriolepididae, which is characterized by the presence of the infraorbital sensory canal diverging on the lateral plate, and the nuchal plate with orbital facets. New analysis supports a sister group relationship between Dianolepis and the Bothriolepididae. Luquanolepis, a coeval euantiarch from the neighboring site of the new form, is referred to the Asterolepidoidei and represents the basalmost and earliest member of the Asterolepidoidei.

Zhaohui Pan* [panzhaohui@ivpp.ac.cn], Min Zhu* [zhumin@ivpp.ac.cn], You’an Zhu^? [zhuyouan@ivpp.ac.cn] and Liantao Jia [jialiantao@ivpp.ac.cn] Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, PO Box 643, Beijing 100044, PR China. *Also affiliated with University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, PR China. ^?Also affiliated with Uppsala University, PO Box 256, 751 05 Uppsala, Sweden.     

山东省近代外来建筑遗产的历史蕴意

近20年来众多外来建筑遗产被公布为全国重点文物保护单位,山东省也有青岛、烟台、济南等地十多处外来建筑进入了全国重点文物保护单位范围。外来建筑遗产有着丰富的历史蕴意,以山东省为例,它能反映近代山东的开放过程和程度、中外文化交流程度和近代山东复杂的矛盾斗争历史。这些历史蕴意启示着对外来建筑遗产的保护有重要的意义,也昭示着做好历史阐释的重要性,也要求我们对外来建筑遗产的展示要对历史有足够的重视。     

《雅典胞族法令》译注

在古代雅典,胞族是兼具血缘和地缘特征的基层社会组织,是维系氏族、德莫和部落、保证雅典城邦运转的宗教纽带。在政治和宗教无法完全剥离开来的雅典社会,胞族成员资格无疑是雅典人获得公民权的必要条件,而参加胞族节庆及祭仪等宗教活动,亦是雅典人对其公民身份的自我建构过程。《雅典胞族法令》系一篇关于胞族如何确认其成员资格的石刻铭文,对德凯莱亚地区男童和男丁的审查入籍做出了相关规定。该篇法令是解读雅典胞族组织最为重要的文献证据。     

大冶香炉山遗址采集炉渣初步研究

对湖北省大冶市香炉山遗址采集的20个炉渣样品进行了扫描电镜检测,发现了炼制锑青铜、锡铅青铜、生铁的炉渣。重点对锡铅青铜的冶炼流程进行了推断,认为该遗址首先使用伴生有铅镍砷等元素的铜矿石进行还原冶炼,再添加锡料生产以锡铅为主要合金元素并含有镍砷的青铜,先后排出不含锡和含锡的两种高铁型炉渣。香炉山遗址出现的青铜生产证据,预示着大冶地区可能存在着相当规模的有别于中原的早期青铜产业,对探讨鄂东南地区早期冶金技术与当地文明的演进关系具有重要意义。     

述海日楼藏旧抄本《贾氏谈录》

宋太祖开宝三年(970),南唐清辉殿学士张洎奉命使宋,纪录宋典客、左补阙贾黄中谈话,撰成<贾氏谈录>一书.此书虽记唐代琐事,又仅一卷,"篇帙无多,然如牛李之党其初肇衅于口语,为史所未及,而<周秦行纪>一书,晁公武亦尝据此录以辨韦璀之诬.     

铜器刻文——"泰州主簿记"诠释

将铜器刻文与史籍对照研究,从而对刻文作出新的解释.