原始思维对《山海经》长生思想的肯定

追求生命的永恒是人类共通的理想,各民族神话中都有体现人类追求永生的传说。《山海经》被称为"神话之渊府",在保存了大量神话资料的同时,也通过对增寿、长寿、长生乃至成仙的描述来否定死亡现象。     

“菊能制颓龄”——论陶渊明采菊服菊的摄生意图

历史上诗人陶渊明以爱菊而称。后人也习惯于将陶渊明采菊的行为归因于他对菊花的喜爱。然而菊花除了可供玩赏外,同时还是延年益寿之灵药。历代仙传中不乏服食菊花之仙人;降及晋代,士服食菊花更是蔚然成风。处于这一背景之下的陶渊明的采菊行为,实际上包含着明显的摄生意图。在陶渊明的诗歌中常常表现一种人生不永的感叹,这和诗人服食菊花以求长生的行为是内在一致的。     

Own-child estimates of U.S. white fertility, 1886–99

Abstract

The collapse of empires is exceedingly difficult to understand. The author examined the distribution of imperial lifetimes using a data set that spans more than three millennia and found that it conforms to a memoryless exponential distribution in which the rate of collapse of an empire is independent of its age. Comparing this distribution to similar lifetime distributions of other complex systems—specifically, biological species and corporate firms—the author explores the reasons behind their lifetime distributions and how this approach can yield insights into empires.     

The Linkage of Data Describing Overlapping Geographical Units

Abstract

This article examines advanced ages at death in a historical population in northern Sweden between 1780 and 1900. The source material used is a set of data files from the Demographic Data Base at Umeå University supplemented with the search tool Indiko. The belief that the Sami died at very old ages was tested, and life tables and values of remaining life expectancies at older ages were calculated. The information of the age at death was analysed using a model containing four levels of certainty. The analysis reveals that the Sami did not live to extreme ages. The analysis also reveals large differences between the parishes concerning extreme longevity and correctness of age at death.     

REMEASURING AGEING IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

It is a commonly held view that Southeast Asian societies are ageing rapidly. This has led to a high level of policy concern about the future capacity of states to cope with increased levels of ‘old-age dependency’ which, at first glance, often appear almost unmanageable. We suggest that the rates employed to demonstrate the present/future scale of ‘old-age dependency’ are misleading and based upon a Eurocentric notion from a bygone era. Arguing that these measurements both omit changes in life expectancy and fundamentally misconceptualise ‘old’ and ‘dependent’, we present a new series of comparative measurements based upon a dynamic view of remaining life expectancy and a more accurate concept of what it means to be ‘dependent’. These measurements simultaneously provide a more realistic and optimistic view of the future challenges of ageing in Southeast Asia.     

老子长寿神话的文化学分析

秦汉以来,"长寿"的老子形象给众多学者和民众留下了深刻印象。在东汉之后的道教神谱当中,老子更由一个"善摄生者"一跃而成为养生术的鼻祖、仙丹的炼制者——太上老君。老子长寿神话的产生和嬗变与中国古代现实主义文化的运行机制之间有着直接而紧密的联系:一方面,"重现实、黜玄想"的文化特质使得早期道家哲学具有直观性、实用性的色彩和追求实用主义的倾向;另一方面,战国秦汉之际的历史神话化运动为早期道家代表人物及其哲学的神秘化、庸俗化提供了契机。     

“断裂”的褫夺与原发时境的开启——现象学视域中“长命锁”的时间经验探析

"长命锁"潜蕴着日用而不知的原初时间经验,现象学为揭示这种原初时间经验提供了方法论意义。追溯"长命锁"时间经验的可能构成,揭示出"长命锁"在时间经验的历史重构中所须承袭的时间经验的原初状态:线性、循环和时机化的时间经验。在日常使用与话语诉说中,透析出"锁"作为器具与话语所能蕴含的时间构想,通过时间蕴含的比对,揭示出"长命锁"在习俗承袭中对原初时间经验的置换与褫夺:时间越来越被当成了现成存在对象。"长命锁"隐含的时间经验,不是现成时间观念的移置,而是时间经验的历史生成,它预示着一种活生生的原发生存时境的开启,对于解决时间"断裂"的谜团、对于中国传统时间美学的研究具有重要参考价值。     

西汉绛紫绢地“长寿绣”丝绵袍制作工艺考析

笔者对马王堆一号汉墓出土的绛紫绢地“长寿绣”丝绵袍进行了保护修复。为了更好地复原文物,达到适宜展示陈列的状态,在修复之前针对此文物做了材质鉴定、织造工艺、材料老化判断及裁剪工艺等系列研究。在对其制作工艺进行细致、全面的信息采集与数据分析之后发现,这件丝绵袍的裁剪制作工艺与发掘报告所述裁剪缝纫秩序不同,是先刺绣好面料后,再裁剪制衣,证实了马王堆一号汉墓出土曲裾丝绵袍制作工艺的多样性。     

西汉绛紫绢地“长寿绣”丝绵袍制作工艺考析

笔者对马王堆一号汉墓出土的绛紫绢地“长寿绣”丝绵袍进行了保护修复。为了更好地复原文物,达到适宜展示陈列的状态,在修复之前针对此文物做了材质鉴定、织造工艺、材料老化判断及裁剪工艺等系列研究。在对其制作工艺进行细致、全面的信息采集与数据分析之后发现,这件丝绵袍的裁剪制作工艺与发掘报告所述裁剪缝纫秩序不同,是先刺绣好面料后,再裁剪制衣,证实了马王堆一号汉墓出土曲裾丝绵袍制作工艺的多样性。