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15 January 2020, Volume 0 Issue 1 Previous Issue    Next Issue

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Kang Youwei’s “The Theory of the Flood,” “The Theory of the Summit of the Earth” and “Theory of the Earth’s Fate” during the 1898 Reform Period—A Discussion of the Writing and Completion of the “Master Kang’s Private and Public Writings” (Kangzi Neiwai Pian) MAO Haijian 2020, 0(1): 1-24.  Abstract ( 138 )   PDF (20998KB) ( 195 )   During the 1898 reform period, Kang Youwei discussed “The Theory of the Flood,” (Hongshuishuo) in his lectures at the Thatched Hut among Ten Thousand Trees Hall Academy. “The Theory of the Flood,” stated that the whole world was flooded four thousand years ago, and that the history of human society began in this period. The history of China began from the rule of Emperor Yu of the Xia dynasty. Kang also discussed “The Theory of the Summit of the Earth (Didingshuo) which posited that Mount Kunlun was the summit of the earth where early human civilization was preserved. During the flood, there were “four golden dragon lakes” on Mount Kunlun and the lakes were the sources of four rives: Irtysh River, the Amu Darya River, the Indus River and the Yellow River. These rivers were the foundations of the prosperous Asian civilizations. What were the political purposes of these peculiar views? This article clarifies that the book, “Master Kang’s Private and Public Writing: Topography Chapter” (Kangzi Neiwai Pian: Dishi Pian) discussed the “The Theory of the Summit of the Earth, but the “The Theory of the Summit of the Earth” had developed into “The Theory of Topography” (Dishi Shuo) developed by Kang Youwei after the 1898 reform. This article argues that “The Theory of the Earth’s Fate” (Diyun shuo) in the political essays written by Kang Youwei’s disciples, Xu Qin, Liu Zhenlin, and Liang Qichao, illustrated that human civilization was born in India, spread westward to Europe and the Americas, and eventually spread to China through two routes (Siberia and the Americas via Japan). This was the conclusion of “The Theory of the Flood,” and “The Theory of the Summit of the Earth”. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Reexamination of the Reasons for the Rise of Hui Cloth Trade WANG Kejie 2020, 0(1): 104-112.  Abstract ( 154 )   PDF (7643KB) ( 106 )   After the pacification of Xinjiang during the Qianlong Period, the change to the new Pu’er cash in southern Xinjiang, resulted in a currency circulation crisis and an unreasonable taxation structure while the movement of the soldiers northward led to a backlog of the remaining foods in the garrison cities. In northern Xinjiang, there was an urgent need for a large supply of cheap cloth to trade with Kazakh in exchange for horses. In order to solve their respective problems, the northern and southern Xinjiang garrisons arduously explored solutions for two years. Finally, they decided to use cash and grain to exchange for cloth, which they then transported to Yili for trade with Kazakh. This not only solved the problems of the circulation of coins and the backlog of grain in southern Xinjiang, but also enriched the types and levels of cloth in the silk-horse trade, facilitating commerce and also establishing a benign interaction between the northern and the southern garrisons that benefited both sides. These were precisely the reasons for the rise of the Hui Cloth trade. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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From Grassland to Dock: The Clan Construction and Transport Management of the Fan Clan in Huangpi, Hubei Province since the Xianfeng-Tongzhi Period of the Late Qing Dynasty ZHANG Yu 2020, 0(1): 113-123.  Abstract ( 139 )   PDF (8695KB) ( 89 )   In the special geographical environment of Jianghan Plain, there is a complex relationship between the development of clan organizations and water resources. Previous studies have shown that before the middle of the Qing dynasty, struggling over lake products and wetlands was the main cause and driving force for the construction of clan organizations in Jianghan Plain. However, the study of the clans in Jianghan Plain during the late Qing dynasty and the Republic of China the construction of clan organization in this later period arose from the perspective of modernization. From the process of the clan construction of the Fans in Huangpi, Hubei Province in the late Qing dynasty and the Republican period, we can see how the clan organization adapted and used the new situation to maintain and continue the established “ownership.” From the struggle for lake products and wetlands to the development of a commercial center, the Fans constituted the historical epitome of the development of the Jianghan Plain lake area since the Qing dynasty. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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The New Policies in the Late Qing Dynasty and the Promotion of the Education through Craft Training Institutions XU Hetao 2020, 0(1): 124-134.  Abstract ( 217 )   PDF (8695KB) ( 98 )   The large-scale establishment of education through craft training institutions was an important social reform measure in the New Policies of the Late Qing Dynasty. The emergence of education through craft training institutions did not begin in the Late Qing. However, before the New Policies period, the development of education through labor was localized, and these institutions’ geographical distribution was limited, and mainly concentrated in the developed provinces such as Jiangsu and Zhejiang. After the start of the New Policies, the Qing government paid more attention to education through labor because it was closely linked to the development of industry, reformation of the prison system, and social improvement. There developed a top-down, institutionalized driving mechanism for the setting up of the education through labor institutions. Furthermore, the expansion of local finances and the broadening of local elites’ participation meant that more areas had the ability to set up such institutions. Therefore, the education through labor institutions was expanded to the whole country, and the provinces with strong administrations and executive ability, such as Zhili and Shandong, became the regions with the fastest development of the education through labor system in the New Policies period. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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China’s Modern Population Survey in the Late Qing Dynasty LI Zhangpeng 2020, 0(1): 25-44.  Abstract ( 318 )   PDF (15958KB) ( 208 )   This paper strives to grasp the overall development of the population survey in the late Qing Dynasty. The introduction of demographic knowledge and theory provided methodological guidance for the modern population statistics in the late Qing Dynasty and effectively promoted the rise of modern demographics in China. The establishment of the Hunan Security Administration can be regarded as the origin of China’s modern population survey. The initial rise of population survey in modern China was a process that went from partial to comprehensive and from local to national. In addition to the Beijing household registration survey, the national household registration survey and the population census, other national population surveys, including many local investigations and some special investigations, occurred at that time. The demographic surveys in the late Qing Dynasty were diverse and complex. Modern population surveys contained traditional factors, and foreign imperialists also imposed some restrictions. The essay discusses the results of the population survey in the late Qing Dynasty, and summarizes the collection of relevant original materials. It also focuses on the quality of the results of the census survey which may have been underestimated, overestimated, or uncertain. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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The Formation and Nationalization of Rural Public Property in Chongqing from the Qing Dynasty to the Early Republic of China LIANG Yong 2020, 0(1): 45-56.  Abstract ( 114 )   PDF (8943KB) ( 138 )   In the process of rural social reconstruction in Chongqing, Sichuan Province in the Qing Dynasty, there were many kinds of rural public properties, which were called association property, temple property and school property, that were established by means of fund-raising, donation, payment of taxes, and confiscation. The development pattern, existing forms, and management mode of rural public property in Chongqing in Qing Dynasty was strongly colored by migration and distinct regional characteristics. Due to the imbalance of revenue and expenditure in the prefectures and counties, and the deterioration of the financial situation in the Qing Dynasty, the local rulers changed the uses of rural property under the rubric of “public for public.” Under the new policies of the late Qing Dynasty, local governments continuously collected all kinds of rural public property in the name of preparing new schools, policing, and industries. After entering the Republican period, due to the warlords’ scuffles and local public construction, governments set up collection agencies for public property, which accelerated the nationalization of rural public property. The nationalization of rural public property embodied the characteristics of the transformation of government finances from traditional forms to modern ones. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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The Origin of the Emancipation of the Mean People in the Yongzheng Reign DONG Jianzhong 2020, 0(1): 57-65.  Abstract ( 220 )   PDF (7279KB) ( 174 )   This article makes uses of palace memorials and other related materials, to demonstrate that the emancipation of the mean people was advised by Nian Gengyao who had his own selfish interests in the policy, and that the origin of this reform was fortuitous. Past viewpoints that the policy was an integral part of Emperor Yongzheng’s comprehensive reform, or that the emperor aimed to win popular support, were incorrect. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Development of a Small Lineage in Huizhou by Rising from the Lower Class：A Case Study of the Jiang Family in Xitouwu, Qimen County ZHENG Xiaochun 2020, 0(1): 66-78.  Abstract ( 144 )   PDF (10374KB) ( 105 )   In 1859 the Jiang family redeemed themselves through a written contract and ended their economic dependence and their status as servants to the Fang family, which dated to the Ming dynasty. From that point on, the Jiang family initiated a series of family-organized construction activities: establishing an ancestral hall, compiling a genealogy and selecting a clan elder. Through this institutional building the Jiang lineage realized a resurgence of the family’s social status. By virtue of continuous purchases of land, the necessary material base was prepared for the survival and development of the lineage. Through production and management of land as well as the education of their sons, and the development of marriage alliances, the lineage eventually adapted to the local social life. The Jiang lineage finally realized its transformation from a small family to a commoner lineage and successfully integrated into Huizhou clan society. An examination of the transformation of the Jiangs from lower class family to an established lineage provides a model case for the investigation of how small lineages came to flourish in Huizhou. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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The Culture of Zhongsheng as Medical Sage in the Qing Dynasty and Its Shaping of the Knowledge of “Warm” Diseases ZHANG Tiansheng 2020, 0(1): 79-91.  Abstract ( 174 )   PDF (10613KB) ( 120 )   With the aid of Han learning, biographies, stele inscriptions, and other orthodox models, the movement to elevate Zhang Zhongjing to the status of medical sage in the Qing Dynasty developed comprehensively and deeply, gained the recognition of the entire medical community, and had a profound impact on the emergence of new knowledge of the warm diseases. To maintain the image of Zhongjing as sage, without hindering the new theory of warm diseases, doctors mainly relied on three strategies. One was the statement that the knowledge of the warm diseases found in the Treatise on Cold Damage Disorders was lost due to wars and the compilation of Wang Shuhe’s work. The second was that the invention of new knowledge was meant to supplement the Treatise on Cold Damage Disorders. The third was to create new knowledge under Zhongjing’s name. According to these strategies, although the new knowledge of warm diseases was legitimate, it had also been distorted and common-sense errors had emerged. Wu Tang’s first use of the Guizhi Decoction was an example. However, classical prescription doctors accepted Wu’s point of view during the Republican Era. Modern Chinese medicine circle inherited, both the opposing view of the Qing Dynasty and the approval of Republican period and both have become part of the modern knowledge of warm diseases. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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The Study on Women’s Charitable Donations in the Qing Dynasty Lü Kuanqing 2020, 0(1): 92-103.  Abstract ( 136 )   PDF (9208KB) ( 112 )   This article discusses the various types of donations of women in the Qing dynasty and internal motivations for this philanthropy. This giving consisted of charitable donations, religious donations and gifts to patriarchal clan organizations. The donated assets included private property and common property of the family. This behavior also reflected the rights of women in the Qing Dynasty. The reasons for the donations were a complex mix of traditional customs, beliefs, interests, and other factors. The women’s donations to public organizations had some similarities to charitable acts in modern times. The donations had a long and extensive nature through time and space and they emboded women’s rights. References | Related Articles | Metrics