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15 August 2009, Volume 0 Issue 3 Previous Issue    Next Issue

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Villager and Townspeople:Location and Identity in Zezhou,Shanxi in the Ming-Qing Periods ZHAO Shi-Yu 2009, 0(3): 1-18.  Abstract ( )   PDF (432KB) ( )   In many respects the development of towns in Zezhou, the south-eastern part of Shanxi, during the Ming and Qing periods, did not lag behind the Jiangnan area. There was a long history for township development, but the towns had very close relations with the villages. After their formation, the towns could not necessarily be spatially differentiated from the original villages. It could be said that“large villages became towns”, and the formation of townships took a long time. In order to understand the character of the village and town and their interrelationship it is important to understand what the inhabitants would call the locality and who they referred to as local people, not merely what outsiders or later observers saw the townships. As for the integral relations of village and town, it can be generalized as a “territorial community” with the she as its core rather than“marketing community”. Related Articles | Metrics

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Baozhai in the villages of Northern China and Social Change in the Frontier Areas during the Ming-Qing Periods:A Case Study of Yu County,Hebei Province DENG Qing-Ping 2009, 0(3): 19-27.  Abstract ( )   PDF (414KB) ( )   Baozhai was a type of defensive fortress which was common in rural China. Large numbers of this military fortress were built around the villages of northern China during the Ming??Qing periods, which reflected the social change in these areas. This article is a case study of Baozhai in Yu County, Hebei Province and illustrates its construction, types, functions, administration and the symbolic meaning as well as its influence on the situation along the frontier in northern China and the change of the weisou system. Meanwhile, we can observe the strength of the rural gentry and the transformation of the villagers?? conception during the evolution of Baozhai. Related Articles | Metrics

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Governors and Local Tax Deficits in the Kangxi Reign LIU Feng-Yun 2009, 0(3): 28-38+106.  Abstract ( )   PDF (2659KB) ( )   Local tax deficits were increasingly widespread during the middle and late Kangxi reign. An investigation of the various reasons for these deficits reveals that they were closely related to local finance, treasury regulations and official discipline. Owing to the lack of regulations governing retention and storage of taxes and the absence of timely supervision, dishonest officials had convenient opportunities for embezzlement. Governors, being responsible for supervision of the provinces, were directly to blame for not monitoring tax collection and for not investigating and not punishing malpractices. Individual integrity and talent could not prevent deficits, and there were many governors who were punished for their own misappropriations as well as for failing to impeach or for sheltering the offenders. Thus, given that existing institutional defects were the source of these deficits, it it was impossible to limit the tax deficits in the Kangxi reign. Related Articles | Metrics

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The Funding of the Qiantang River Seawall Project in the Qianlong Reign:The Effectiveness of the Qing Government in the Eighteenth Century HE Wei-Guo 2009, 0(3): 39-48.  Abstract ( )   PDF (2603KB) ( )   In the Qianlong reign, the construction of Qiantang river seawall project marked the transition from “repair by people ”to “repair by government”. In order to realize this objective “once and for all,” the Qing government did not spare any expense to construct the fish-scale stone seawall. By the late Qianlong reign, the seawall project system was basically complete. In Chinese history, water-control was always one of the basic functions of the governments. The amount of funds involved in water control often reflected the degree of the government??s effectiveness and enthusiasm. The amount of funds and the government’s role in a local project, along with an overall research, reveal effectiveness of the Qing government in the eighteenth century. Related Articles | Metrics

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Knowledge Classification in Gong Zizhen’s Views on the "Six Arts" ZHANG Shou-An 2009, 0(3): 49-61.  Abstract ( )   PDF (2751KB) ( )   The transformation of knowledge in modern China has emerged as a critical topic in recent scholarship. To explore China’s turn to modern knowledge, it is absolutely necessary to understand the changes occurring within China itself, as well as how modern Western scientific-style knowledge was constructed in China. The scholarship of the Qing period was a key transitional point, which is seen in the nature and recognition of scholarship as represented by important early modern reconsiderations of traditional scholarship. This article focuses on the important late Qing scholar Gong Zizhen, analyzing how he traced Zhang Xuecheng’s historical view of ?? bibliographies and schools?? back to the “Yiwen zhi” of the Hanshu, distinguishing the “Six Classics” and the “Six Arts” in order to systematize the millennia of the classical learning tradition by establishing a historical view of this tradition. Gong further built a knowledge system based on the Six Arts, outlining the professionalization and specialization of the learning of the Six Arts based on the new areas of expert knowledge that had emerged since the eighteenth century. In thisway, we can not only explain how traditional classical learning was expressed in various classifications but also reveal the preliminary knowledge construction of traditional scholarship by Qing Confucians. Related Articles | Metrics

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He Ruzhang and Early Negotiations with Japan on Liuqiu(Ryukyu) DAI Dong-Yang 2009, 0(3): 62-76.  Abstract ( )   PDF (960KB) ( )   In 1875 , after Japan provoked an interruption in tribute , the policy of the Qing government toward Liuqiu (Ryukyu) changed from passive to active. This paper investigates He Ruzhangps advice on the Liuqiu (Ryukyu) Islands and the context of the shifting policy which He Ruzhang urged the Qing to adopt . This paper also explores Heps negotiation with Japan in Tokyo and suggests that the so2called Memoranda Incident had some relationship with Terashima Munenori and Mori Arinorips manipulation. After Shishido Tamakips return to Japan , He Ruzhang did not stop focusing on Liuqiu (Ryukyu) and continued to struggle to reopen discussions of the Liuqiu (Ryukyu) issue. This paper also verifies the dates of the extant works by He Ruzhang on Liuqin (Ryukyu) . Related Articles | Metrics

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Reassessing Castiglione’s Mission:Translating an Italian Training into Qing Commissions MA Ke-?Ma-Xi-Luo, MAO Li-Ping 2009, 0(3): 77-85.  Abstract ( )   PDF (484KB) ( )   The career of the Jesuit missionary Giuseppe Castiglione, who was employed by the Imper ialHousehold in Beijing from 1715 to 1766, embraced two diverse artistic cultures: the European that framed the artist’s first training, and the Chinese that shaped his major professional achievements. This paper analyzes both Castiglione’s Italian training and painting knowledge, and some of his most exemplary Qing commissions in order to provide a framework for the cultural translation developed by the painter in China. Castiglione’s translation demonstrates that his foundational Italian training and the results he obtained later as imperial painter are profoundly interconnected. On this basis, the main aim of my paper is to discuss the system of dynamic, always shifting elements of connection of Castiglione’s oeuvre. These elements of connection are divided into three main contexts: the pictorial, the political, and the perceptual. They relate to three painting genres, which are crucial for understanding Castiglione’s enterprise: landscape, portraiture, and illusionistic perspective. On a broader level, the purpose of this paper is to show that the artistic career of Castiglione, when examined as an entire professional life, helps us to map out the points of cultural and artistic connectivity that facilitated encounters between China and Europe in the eighteenth century. Related Articles | Metrics

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New Materials on Early and Mid Qing Relations with Russia CAO Wen 2009, 0(3): 86-94.  Abstract ( )   PDF (547KB) ( )   In the modern world the economic concerns dominate society , but in traditional China , which highlighted the political morality , the economy was always a subordinate factor and secondary political concern. Unfortunately, up to now most works on the Sino2foreign relations or Sino-foreign relations on the eve of the modern period have overlooked this. For example, the relations between China and Russia in the early and mid Qing were not on an equal footing. For most of the period, China was in control. On the basis of the Qing official regulations and newly published documents, Historical Russian Source Documents from the Palace Museum, this paper reexamines Sino2Russian relations from the Chinese perspective. Related Articles | Metrics

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Missionary Tribute and the Qianlong Emperor’s Western Taste DONG Jian-Zhong 2009, 0(3): 95-106.  Abstract ( )   PDF (342KB) ( )   An important component of Matteo Riccips mission strategy to China was through winning the goodwill of supreme rulers by presenting gifts. This paper, by using the / Palace Tribute Inventories0 of the missionaries in the Qianlong era, held at the First Historical Archives of China in Beijing, sums up three types of western missionary tribute in the Qianlong era: First, the tribute through local officials; second, the tribute by missionaries upon their arrival in Beijing; and third, the tribute by missionaries as subjects to the emperor during festivals. It explores the feelings of hate, hope, and gratitude of the missionaries under this particular environment. It portrays three following aspects through the lens of the Qianlong emperor’s Western taste: First, curiosity towards Western exotica; second, general interest in Western instruments; and third, a lasting interest in Western painting. Tribute presentation by itself is a form of exchange in which the missionaries and the Qianlong Emperor each had their respective purposes. However, this tributary relationship itself was not an exchange among equals, because all were determined by the Qianlong emperor. Related Articles | Metrics

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The Guangxu Emperor’s Study of the English Language and English Textbooks in the Palace during the Late Qing ZOU Zhen-Huan 2009, 0(3): 107-115.  Abstract ( )   PDF (621KB) ( )   Based on an analysis of fragmentary documents in both Chinese and other languages , this article verifies precisely the beginning period of English study initiated by the Guangxu emperor that began on the 25th day of the tenth month of the Guangxu reign (November 26th) in 1891. Yan Yongjing , who had studied in the United States , was nominated as a candidate to teach English to the Guangxu emperor. Between 1891 and 1894 , formally assisting the emperor’s English were Zhang Deyi and Shen Duo , who were graduates of the Tong Wen Academy in Beijing. The Guangxu emperor continued to study English on his own until approximately 1908. The author analyzes the English dictionaries used in the palace by the Guangxu emperor during the late2Qing dynasty, such as Commercial Press English and Chinese Pronouncing Dictionary, Commercial Pressp English and Chinese Dictionary, and English and Chinese Readers From2Primer to Fifth Reader Bound in Ivol. The author also presents his preliminary views concerning the influence and significance of English study by the Guangxu emperor overall on foreign language studies within the imperial family and on Chinese society as a whole. Related Articles | Metrics