The present study examines the translation and adaptation of a medieval Buddhist tale about an "ugly woman," with particular attention to how gendered implications were reshaped through its cross-cultural transmission. While previous scholarship has primarily compared textual variants to reconstruct the history of the story's transmission, it has often overlooked the cultural resonances embedded within these variants. In contrast, this study argues that the Dunhuang variants reinterpret the story's original Indian setting, characterized by mixed-gender gatherings and social behavior regulated by stipulated fines, into a form more attuned to medieval Chinese gender norms. A comparative analysis of Chinese and Sanskrit sources reveals a dual narrative structure: a flexible, adaptive layer centered on the male protagonist, and a stable, karmically fixed core centered on the "ugly woman." The male protagonist's social interactions become key sites of localized adaptation, shaped by audience relatability, cultural expectations and prevailing gender codes. One adaptation reimagines the regular outdoor gatherings of caste-bound Indian landlords as the then newly emergent elaborate indoor Chinese house parties for close associates, where interaction with the host's wife was customary, namely guangzuo chengqi . By tracing shifts in narrative detail and emphasis, this study shows how Buddhist storytelling engaged with secular cultural values, reflecting medieval ideals of elite sociability and gendered norms.
The Hengduan Mountains, located at the convergence of the eastern and western cultural transmission routes of the eastern Eurasian continent, serve as a significant corridor for cultural interactions and human migrations along the eastern Tibetan Plateau. During the pre-Qin period, this region had frequent interactions with northern China and the Eurasian Steppe, reflecting both the historical connections among ancient ethnic groups in China's frontier regions and the broader cultural exchanges between ancient China and the steppe. The early cultural interactions between the Hengduan Mountains and northern regions reached their peak in the late Bronze Age. Compared to the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age, this period featured a wider spatial scope, richer content, and more complex mechanisms of cross-regional interactions. The present article focuses on weapons, tools, daily implements, horse gears, and horse bone interment, which were highly representative in the bronze cultures of both the Hengduan Mountains and northern regions, exploring the specific connections, mechanisms, and historical contexts of the cultural interactions at the time. This article argues that interactions occurred through a complex network of multiple connections, each with a distinct temporal and spatial orientation. The Hengduan Mountains acted as a crossroads where diverse eastern and western cultures collided and fused, contributing to the complexity, diversity, and inclusivity of the region's late Bronze Age cultures. The southward migration of northern cultures, along with nomadic and semi-nomadic groups, was a key external driver for the formation and development of late Bronze Age cultures in the Hengduan Mountains, while selective absorption, reorganization, and innovation of diverse cultural elements provided the internal impetus. The process highlights the remarkable integrative characteristics of the local cultures owing to the status of the Hengduan Mountains as a cultural corridor.
This article analyzes discourses on agricultural labor in Warring States China, especially views on who should undertake farming and justifications of such designs, arguing that three new socio-economic developments were closely related to the issue of agricultural labor, including the demise of the existing social hierarchy, the increase in livelihood options, and the growing attention of the state to agricultural production. Warring States discourses on agricultural labor thus entail how the individual thinker/text had responded to these developments via his/its intellectual insights. In short, the Mohists not only valued production, but also accepted the existence of different social statuses, among which some people could be justifiably relieved from agricultural labor. Moreover, inheriting the attitudes toward labor and status that prevailed in the Spring and Autumn period, Mencius in the mid-Warring States argued that shi (sic) could shirk farming since their major task was to seek political posts and serve the state, a view which was, however, criticized by the Legalists and the Taoists. The Legalists aimed to strengthen the state and thereby emphasized the importance of production, attempting to build a regime in which every individual was expected to be both a farmer and a soldier; to this end, they focused on the elevation of people's willingness to engage in agricultural labor. Responding to the above contexts, Xunzi in the late Warring States period used the concept of li (sic) (rite) to articulate a synthetic discourse, which can be found in certain chapters of Guanzi (sic)(sic),on agricultural labor that not only paid sufficient attention to the issue of production but re-established a social hierarchy. The analysis of discourse on agricultural labor, therefore, may well help us to understand the notion of the division of tasks, the idea of status, the role of "the people" in Chinese political thought, and the varying visions of ideal order in early China.
Focusing on Gong ling (sic)(sic) (Ordinances on Merit) unearthed from Tomb 336 at Zhangjiashan, the present article explores the changes in the nature of "ling shi"(sic)(sic), a kind of low-ranking bureaucrat, in the Qin and early Han dynasties, as well as the significance of its underlying systemic development. This article first summarizes related historical materials, namely bamboo slips, from the Qin and early Han as well as previous scholarship, indicating that "shi" (sic)in the Qin was hereditary and that they were distinguished from "zuo" (sic), who originated as commoners, in terms of training and channels for promotion. At that time, "ling shi" was one of the most important duties within the official career of "shi." But after the rapid expansion of the Qin state, the old system of centralized training and transferring "shi" to different parts of the state was unable to supply the new demand for officials. Moreover, there was a trend of "shi" students deliberately not passing their exams to avoid being transferred to distant posts. Gong ling shows that the Han dynasty in response frequently adjusted the system of appointing and transferring officials, gradually decentralizing the power of appointment to local officials. The hereditary nature of "ling shi" was also slowly reduced, with the title being transformed into that of an ordinary local official. This institutional evolution ultimately laid the foundation for a system centered on the local magistrate.
Among all the southern Chinese who served as officials in the Yuan dynasty, Ye Li (sic)(sic)(1242-1292) was the most powerful despite not being the highest ranking. This article scrutinizes the life and behavior of Ye Li, reexamining his seclusion and official career during the Song-Yuan transition, especially his political involvement and influence, to explore the position of the southern Chinese in the Yuan. Emperor Shizu of Yuan (Qubilai Qan, r. 1260-1294) had always trusted Ye Li, not only for his excellent military and political capabilities but also for his upright character, namely an unconcern for fame and wealth. Owing to such character, Ye Li avoided forming cliques and deliberately pursuing power, which made him an ideal tool of the ruler but also the primary target of attacks by political opponents. After the death of Ye Li, the policy of absorbing southern Chinese literati into the central government in the reign of Emperor Shizu came to an end, to the extent that it was too late when later rulers attempted to restore the previous system and remove the restrictions on southern officials.
Catholic missionaries were required to use the language of their audience to spread their faith. How could they convey concepts that were originally absent from their audience's culture and language? And how could they use language to describe phenomena that did not exist in the phenomenal world? These were the dilemmas faced by missionaries in China during the Ming and Qing dynasties, and they remain challenges for cross-cultural translation. This article analyzes the translation of anima to examine how the Chinese Catholic community addressed these two issues and discusses how the audience acquired new Catholic concepts through translations. The missionaries used a series of terms related to ling (sic)to translate anima, as they are related to either vitality or the state of existence after death. The most common rendering was linghun(sic)(sic), with others including hunshen (sic)(sic), xing (sic), jingshen (sic)(sic), jingling(sic)(sic), lingming (sic)(sic), xingling (sic)(sic), lingxing (sic)(sic), lingxin (sic)(sic), and lingcai (sic)(sic).Regardless of which was selected, the missionaries hollowed out the original meaning of the Chinese signifiers and filled them with the content of the Catholic anima. This translation, while seemingly Chinese, departs from the original cultural and linguistic contexts, and thus had to be relearned. The Catholic community at that time used question-and-answer sessions to constantly practice the meaning of these terms, and with the help of visual aids, the missionaries' audience gradually learned the new meaning of linghun as the Catholic anima; furthermore, through the daily prayers and ritual texts, they grasped the essence of the theory of the soul: God gives life and provides human beings with the goal of pursuing good; the anima uses its intellect to understand the world, employs its will to act, reveres God, and returns to His embrace in heaven. The translation of anima thus provided a new view of the immortal soul combined with the mortal body, and also qualified Catholicism as a teaching (jiao (sic)), competing with the other three Chinese teachings and folk beliefs.
In the oral accounts recorded in the Eastern Han dynasty bamboo slips from Wuyi Square, Changsha city, there is a peculiar usage of yang (sic) as a prefix by speakers before people and things, such as yang wu (sic)(sic) and yang ren (sic)(sic). Academic circles have put forward three interpretations of yang: a person's name, the meaning of "central," and the first-person possessive case. To further our understanding of its usage, the present article analyzes all instances of yang in the Eastern Han bamboo slips from Wuyi Square, finding that yang in spoken language can be divided into two interpretations based on the situation: first, it appears in the form of "yang + someone/thing," which refers to "someone of me" or "something of me"; second, it appears in the form of yang ren, connoting "we." This article thus concludes that the previous interpretation of yang as the possessive case is more accurate. But it is also discovered that the extended use of yang ren and the fact that most of its users are male do not conform to the explanation in the early dictionary Shuowen ASz Z that yang (sic) is "the first-person pronoun for women." Furthermore, considering that the grammatical structure of yang ren is similar to that of yang tu(sic)(sic), the latter of which was used by the Changsha (sic)ii and Wuling (sic)(sic)non-Han peoples to refer to themselves as "we" in "Biographies of the South and Southwest Barbarians"(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic) (sic)(sic)(sic)of the Book of the Later Han, such terms may come from a mixing of Chinese and non-Han language habits.
From the rise of the Jianzhou Jurchens (later known as the Manchus) in the late sixteenth century to the establishment of Aisin Gurun (Later Jin dynasty) by Nurgaci (1559-1626) in 1616, the authorities of Manchuria had already gained some knowledge of Japan. Around the time of the Imjin War in 1592, the Jurchens had obtained information from Choson Korea and Ming China, and engaged in corresponding foreign activities, particularly focusing on the gunpowder technology that Japan had acquired from Europe. Aisin Gurun, after winning the Battle of Sarhu in 1619, obtained further knowledge from the surrenders of Korean parties of the political changes in Japan following the Siege of Osaka and became aware of the potential for Japanese military intervention in the Korean Peninsula. During the Tiancong era (1627-1636) of the reign of Hong Taiji (1592-1643), because of the complex geopolitical situation in Northeast Asia involving Manchuria, Korea, and Ming China, the Manchus actively collected intelligence on a potential military alliance between Korea and Japan, as well as the interactions between the Tokugawa shogunate and the Ming dynasty, thereby labeling Japanese-related geographic information in Manchu script on maps. As the Qing dynasty officially established its regime outside of the Great Wall during the Chongde era (1636-1643), the pursuit of information on Japan grew increasingly frequent. After Korea became a vassal state of the Qing following the Treaty of 1637, Hong Taiji repeatedly sent envoys to order Korea to guide Japanese envoys from Tsushima Island to Mukden through Busan in hopes of establishing trade relations with Japan to obtain Japanese swords and Southeast Asian spices, breaking the economic sanctions imposed by the Ming dynasty on Manchuria. Korea was initially passive towards the Qing's request to communicate with Japan; however, the deterioration of relations between Korea and Japan in 1638 prompted the former to actively comply with the Qing court. Under this historical context, the information on Japan was translated into Manchu and interpreted by Crown Prince Sohyeon of Korea, who remained in Mukden as a hostage. The Qing was accordingly able to procure intelligence on significant events in Edo Japan, including the Shimabara Rebellion and the Yanagawa Incident, in the early seventeenth century. More broadly, the Qing dynasty extensively gathered information on various aspects of Japanese politics, society, economics, and culture, particularly focusing on political institutions such as the emperor and the shogunate, as well as trade between the Ming and Japan through Nagasaki. These diverse sources of information had formed the basis of the Manchus' understanding of Japan before they entered China proper, one which was closely linked to the Qing expansion in Northeast Asia and laid the foundation for the empire's later maritime awareness.
The present article is a follow-up study based on the author's previous argument (2012, 2013) on the phenomenon of fenqi (sic)(sic) (divided up booty) regarding early Western Zhou bronze vessels. It aims to infer the characteristics of late Shang bronze artifacts by examining bronze vessels excavated from early Western Zhou tombs in the Guanzhong region. First, the author focuses on three currently known jin (sic) (altar) sets and conducts a comprehensive study and reconstruction of the chuji jin H(sic)(sic)(protruding ji halberd altar) set. The study then examines the you (sic) vessel with vertical ribs and phoenix bird motifs on top of the altar and all other vessels, not just limited to you, with the same motifs from archaeological excavations and museum collections, including the zhi (sic) with vertical ribs and phoenix birds, the four-handled gui (sic) with ruding L7 (boss) motif, the ding (sic) with vertical ribs and handles, the zun (sic) and you with vertical ribs and birds, the fu (sic)with vertical ribs, and vessels with pointed-feather phoenix birds. It is argued that most of these vessel forms are artifacts from the late Shang period and that the use of vertical ribs and phoenix bird motifs was a method to create the monumentality of bronze vessels during this period. Several pieces of evidence are expounded in this article to demonstrate that most of these vessels are from the late Shang dynasty: (1) among the same types of vessels, which can be categorized as passed down (namely being in museum collections) or excavated, the latter has been primarily found in different forms of fenqi tombs; (2) the inscriptions on these vessels contain elements associated with the names of Shang nobility, such as clan signs and kinship terms, as well as using day stems; (3) these vessel types first appeared in Phase III or IV of the Yin period; (4) molds or models have been discovered at the bronze workshop in Xiaomintun, Anyang; (5) scientific analyses of the core soil from key vessels reveals that its chemical composition falls within the "Anyang block," indicating them to be the product of Anyang; (6) the sudden end in the evolution of these flamboyant vessels and ornate motifs suggests a definitive end to their style by the influence of political turmoil or change of government policy. These phenomena in summation indicate that despite being excavated from early Western Zhou tombs, some of these vessels were actually produced in the late Yin period at the Shang workshops in Anyang. The concept of fenqi then explains how they were distributed to the Guanzhong region. The vessel types discussed in this article, characterized by the vertical ribs and phoenix bird motifs, mostly belong to a "flamboyant" style, but others brought to the region can be regarded as more "conservative" in style. Nonetheless, the author concludes that the combination of these motifs, along with other decorative elements and vessel forms such as protruding edges and certain handles, constitutes the formula for creating the monumentality of bronzes in the late Shang. Finally, when examining the square ritual yi wine vessel with pointed-feather phoenix bird motif, it has been found that the yi not only forms an altar set with the large and small you, but also creates another combination with the gong (sic)and zun vessels. Notably, the set of zun with large and small you had originated in the Shang and continued into the early Western Zhou period. These examples demonstrate that during the late Shang dynasty, there was a gradual shift in ritual practices from dynamic drinking ceremonies to static sacrifices and displays, marking an important development in bronze vessel sets as the Shang drew to a close.
Song shi quanwen xu zizhi tongjian(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(hereafter Song shi quanwen) is an important work for studying the history of the Southern Song dynasty from the reign of Emperor Guangzong (r. 1189-1194) onwards. With the inclusion of "tongjian" in the title, this book is also a product of the trend of compiling chronological histories in the Song. However, Song shi quanwen exhibits significant differences in its writing style and level of detail regarding historical events from different periods, suggesting that it may not be the product of a single author or a single period. Previous discussions on its historical value and compilation characteristics often treat the book as a whole, not considering the nature of the appended Song ji chao shishi(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic).It is thus necessary to comparatively analyze the textual characteristics of Song shi quanwen and Song ji chao shishi in order to gain insights into their compilation processes, and obtain a deeper understanding of the two works. Focusing on the texts beginning from the Guangzong reign in Song shi quanwen, including Song ji chao shishi, which are regarded as having more historical value, the present article conducts a quantitative analysis with indicators such as the frequency of daily records and the length of entries, as well as examining certain textual characteristics such as term usage and sentence structure. The discussion reveals that the texts, which are on different periods, have distinct textual features: to begin, entries on Guangzong are more general yet longer in length, offering a comprehensive account of events; those on the reigns of emperors Ningzong (r. 1194-1224) and Lizong (r. 1224-1264) of the Song provide more detailed records with precise dates, but despite their textual features being largely similar, the formats of the two are distinct, indicating that they were not compiled simultaneously; and, the texts in Song ji chao shishi are short and fragmented, lacking clear time references, features which suggest that it should not be regarded as "recorded but not written" chronicles of the reign of Emperor Duzong (r. 1264-1274) of the Song onwards. Considering these elements, Song shi quanwen was likely compiled from miscellaneous sources and underwent multiple compilations before reaching its current form, a process which echoes trends in the compilation of historical materials in the Song dynasty. Finally, a comparison of Song shi quanwen with the annals in Song shi (sic)(sic)better reflects the nature of the narrative and contents of the former. This analysis thus works to assist researchers in being able to more accurately grasp the value of its historical data and the historical contexts in which it was compiled.
This article primarily focuses on a textual examination of specific phrases in the Analects from the perspective of language and writing, discussing related issues in detail. Firstly, regarding the textual examination, there are three instances that require rectification: (1) In a passage from the chapter "Xue er" (sic), the character yi (sic)(sic)the phrase "xian xian yi se"(sic) should be read as ti (sic), indicating the meaning of "to move away" or "to avoid." (2) In "zi suo yayan, Shi Shu zhili jie yayan ye" (sic),(sic)from the chapter "Shu er" (sic), the character yan (sic)in the first phrase originally had a repetition mark, the loss of which resulted in the omission of a second yan; therefore, this portion of the passage should be read as "zi suo yayan, yan Shi Shu." Furthermore, regarding zhili (sic), the bamboo slips unearthed from a Han dynasty tomb in Dingzhou follows the expression with the additional character ji (sic), which should be read as either zhi (sic), making the phrase "zhili zhi" (sic)(sic)(sic), or as ji (sic) combining with the subsequent phrase to read as "ji jie yayan ye" (sic) (3) In the chapter "Yong ye" (sic)(sic), the character er (sic)in the phrase "bu er guo" (sic)should be read as ni (sic)or shi(sic), implying the meaning of "to conceal" or "to disguise." Secondly, the discussion focuses on the relationship between exegesis of word meanings and conceptual significance.
Ogyu Sorai (1666-1728) criticized Neo-Confucianism and explained "Dao" from the perspective of history, leading him to explore the relationship between "the Way of the sage" and ancient Japan from an open historical perspective as well as to examine various issues in the ancient history of Japan. Moreover, his theory caused his disciples to likewise think about and explore ancient Japanese history. Their thinking conflicted with the view held by Kokugaku (native Japan studies) scholars, who had developed their respective school from Japanese literary studies, a conflict which catalyzed their debates on "Dao" and Japanese ancient history. However, Kokugaku scholars largely formulated their theory of ancient Japanese history through their criticisms of Dazai Shundai's (1680-1747) thought, who was a disciple of Sorai but-when compared to his mentor-differed markedly in his understanding of both "the Way of the sage" and its historical connections. Therefore, the present paper aims to explore the debates between the scholars of the Sorai School and pivotal Tokugawa Kokugaku scholar Motoori Norinaga *)-(1730-1801) to demonstrate how Norinaga developed his theory on the basis of Shundai's view in the latter's Bendosyo . Secondly, Ichikawa Kakumei (1740-1795), who wrote the book Maga no hire to critique Norinaga, is also discussed in this paper. Within existing research, he is only understood as a member of the Sorai School, and the characteristics of his thought have thus not been clearly expounded. This paper compares his thought and that of Sorai, and then analyzes his view of ancient Japanese history and his criticism of Norinaga. Finally, this paper discusses how Kamei Shoyo (1773-1836), who is also regarded as adhering to the Sorai School, started his writing of Japanese ancient history and his criticisms of Norinaga's historical theory in Moushi.By doing so, this paper demonstrates how in the mid and late Edo period, Confucian scholars of the Sorai School unfurled their imagined ancient Japanese history, thereby bringing to light another form of ancient Japanese history research in the Edo period that has been obscured and forgotten.
The present article focuses on the phenomenon of the use of different calligraphy or handwriting styles for personal names found in early official documents, arguing that it represents a signature, which was referred to as a "shuming" (sic)(sic)at the time. Signatures were typically placed on the original copy of the document by the senior official who had approved its contents. Afterward, the document would be copied by junior officials and distributed externally with the official seal of the senior official to guarantee its authenticity. This system had been widely implemented throughout the empire by at least the mid-Western Han dynasty. From the Western and Eastern Han dynasties to the Three Kingdoms period, the types of official documents requiring signatures continued to increase, and the signers expanded from senior officials to both higher and lower ranking junior officials, indicating that the use of signatures within administrative culture became more widespread. This was partly due to the growing recognition of handwriting and the proof of its validity being no less than that of a seal; in another respect, it was also due to the administrative requirements for finer decentralization and separation of responsibilities, especially for documents that involved multiple participating parties. Additionally, the development of signatures was also related to the writing materials used. During the era of bamboo slips and wooden tablets, seals were the primary means of authentication, but this also marked a period of significant growth for signatures. Lastly, this article discusses how the act of signing one's "name" was related to the meaning of their name and reflects the stability of the tradition of official documents.
Scholars Zhu Dexi (1920-1992) and Qiu Xigui (1935-) are the earliest to have pointed out that tun t in unearthed documents of the Warring States period has the usage of a universal quantifier, with Zhu later giving a more thorough investigation on its usage, origins, and evolution in both unearthed and passed-down texts. After the publication of Zhu's and Qiu's articles, more bamboo slips of the Chu State containing the universal quantifier tun have been released, and some scholars have raised doubts about Zhu's views. Based on the unearthed materials that have been published, this article re-examines the usage of the universal quantifier tun in early Chinese literature. In the inventory slips from the tombs of Marquis Yi of ZengZ and in Xinyang, the universal quantifier tun mainly appears in front of the predicate, highlighting the commonality of a certain aspect of the things referred to by the plural subject, a usage which is equivalent to the universal quantifier jie; in those of the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng, tun is also used after a singular subject to express the purity of a certain aspect of the thing(s) referred to by the subject and is thus equivalent to quan (sic); in the divinatory and ritual slips from a tomb in Xincai, tun mainly occurs before the quantity structure between the objects in double object constructions, and in the inventory slips from a tomb at Yancang, tun mostly appears in front of quantity structures that include a unit of measure in the predicate, both of which are equivalent to ge ; tun in Shanhai jing LLf $z (Classic of Mountains and Seas) can be interpreted as jie or ge, which is related to the complexity of the source of the book; and finally, there are problems in interpreting tun in the tallies of Lord Qi of Eas either jie or ge, as tun can also contain the meaning of mei . Zhu's views on the differences between tun and jie are still valid: first, tun has the semantic feature of highlighting the whole, whereas jie has the semantic feature of highlighting the individual; second, tun is a content word, and jie is a function word; and third, the difference between the two is similar to that between quan (sic) and dour in Modern Standard Chinese. Moreover, the difference between tun and ge is similar to that between mei and ge. Ultimately, the universal quantifier tun contains some of the semantic features of "all," "every," and "each," and in early Chinese literature, has both dialectal and colloquial properties.
The structure of the political geography prior to and following the unification of the Qin dynasty was composed of zhong xian dao (sic)(sic)(sic) (counties and marches within the central region), guanwai jun (sic)(sic)(sic) (lit. "commanderies beyond the passes"), gu jiao (sic) (sic) (former border), and xin di (sic)(sic) (new territories). The former border and new territories were both regarded as frontier regions under rule, and their officials were thus mainly transferred in from outside. According to slip nos. 278-279 of the Yuelu shuyuan cang Qin jian (si) (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)((sic)) ( Yuelu Academy Collection of Qin Bamboo Slips [Four]), rong zuo shi (sic)(sic)(sic) and jun zuo shi (sic)(sic)(sic) are the two basic types of these so-called external officials. The latter refers to zuo (sic) (assistant) and shi (sic) (scribe) who had been jun (sic) , namely the dispatch and allocation of personnel, materials, etc. from areas of plenty to those in need, to serve in remote areas to oversee taxation and other material objects. The assistants and scribes in the counties and marches within the central region and the commanderies beyond the passes could be transferred to the former border and the new territories, with those serving in the former border being transferred to the even more remote former border. Due to the agreed upon service period, assistants and scribes in the new territories would no longer be further transferred to other locations; rather, their service period would be extended. The transfer of officials from the counties and marches within the central region or the commanderies beyond the passes to the new territories was called "serving as a new territories official" (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic) ,whereas their dispatch to the former border was "former border garrison" (sic) (sic)(sic) . Each jun zuo shi had a statutory service term, and upon its completion, the assistant or scribe returned to his hometown. In contrast, rong zuo shi refers to assistants and scribes who voluntarily rong (sic) , namely continuous service performed by one person- opposite of geng (sic) -in remote areas in order to obtain titles or other benefits. The official and the government agreed in writing on the period of continuous service, and once the term concluded, he could either return to their hometown or stay in the new territories after obtaining their title or other benefits. The Qin government used two methods to transfer officials to the former border and the new territories: the first was the punishing of officials, under which jun falls, by forcing them to serve at the former border or the new territories; secondly, tied to Tong, rewards attracted officials to actively seek opportunities in these regions. The Qin thus followed the theories of Legalism in using the two handles of punishment and reward to control officials in order to achieve policy goals of the state.
The Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica, possesses a set of manuscripts titled "Guanglu guancha gong Duan shi Shuowen qianji" pi3 that contains Wang Niansun's(1744-1832) thoughts on Shuowen .Contrasting Wang's manuscripts with Duan Yucai's (1735- 1815) Shuowen jiezi zhu ;,the present article points out the broad disagreements between these two leading Qing (1644-1912) philologists in four sub-fields of Chinese philology. First, Wang and Duan disagreed on paleography. They had different theories about the six categories of Chinese characters, particularly about the overlap between semantic and phonetic compounds. Second, their reconstructions of the Old Chinese rhymes and initials are different. Third, they disagreed on historical semantics, including the original semantic analyses of characters by Xu Shen F [ (ca. 54-ca. 125), loan graphs, the dialects' original characters, the use of philological evidence, and the semantics of function words. Fourth, they took different approaches to textual criticism, valuing different editions and using different sources and methodologies in collating Shuowen. This article compares Wang and Duan's methodologies and provides insights into dozens of controversial philological cases with the help of excavated materials and linguistic tools.
The "times of the Qin and the Chu" (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic), also known as the Qin-Han transition within related literature, refers to the historical period from the uprising against the Qin Empire led by Chen Sheng (sic)(sic) (?-208 BCE) and Wu Guang(sic)) (?-208 BCE) to the end of the Chu-Han Contention. According to historical records, anti-Qin forces had restored the old systems of the six states-excluding the Qin-of the Warring States period, yet had also retained some of the Qin's, creating an amalgamation of the two. As a measure of the rebellion, the scripts of the six states, also known as liuguo guwen (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)or simply guwen, had been restored as well. However, due to the significant influence of the shu tong wenzi (sic)n (sic)(sic) policy, namely the standardization of written characters, launched by the Qin regime, characteristics of both the Qin and Chu writing systems were merged into most of these scripts, which can thus arguably act as a yardstick in identifying the restored scripts in question. This article first illustrates the above phenomenon by focusing on the characteristics of the characters "Zhangchu zhi sui" (sic)(sic)(sic)I ("the year after the foundation of the Zhangchu regime") on an unearthed gu IGI vessel from Well No. 8 at the Tuzishan archaeological site in Yiyang. This article then demonstrates that some of the textual materials considered relics of the Warring States period are actually written in the restored style of the times of the Qin and the Chu, including the bamboo slips from Well No. 8 at Tuzishan, the wooden tag from Wanghuling tomb M3 at Yuci, the bamboo slips with guwen from Well No. 1 at Liye, the bronze inscriptions and a seal written in guwen from Han tomb No. 1 at Beishantou in Chaohu, and another eight bronze seals. These are pieces of physical evidence for the revival of the scripts of the six states, as well as firsthand relics and historical records of the times of the Qin and the Chu, ultimately proving to be of great importance to both historical and paleographical studies.
Seasonal shad ( Tenualosa reevesii ; shiyu (sic) (sic) , lit. "fish of the time") is a species of fish that migrates yearly up the Yangtze River to spawn at the turn of spring to summer. The fish exercised a strikingly profound influence on the political and social economy of late imperial China. Since the establishment of the Ming dynasty, seasonal shad served as an indispensable sacrifice in the imperial ancestral temple. Once the capital was moved to Beijing in the north, the sacrificial fish became an annual tribute item from the southern Yangtze Delta. Preservation and transportation of these perishable fish during the blistering summer challenged both central and local governments. Two routes were adopted for the transportation of the shad tribute. One route was ground transportation by horse via dynastic relay stations and was used mainly for the express delivery of select shad to meet the urgent need for ancestral worship and imperial taste. The fish traveled approximately 1,250 km within 44 hours. The second route was delivery by boat via the Grand Canal, which took about one and half months to reach the capital. Both methods of delivery consumed conspicuous manpower and financial resources, as well as depending on local cooperation, such as maintaining the smooth flow of traffic, reserving horses for replacement, and supplying new ice to retain the freshness of the fish. This paper argues that various kinds of malpractice related to the transportation system aggravated tensions between state and society. This was especially true when government demands for shad multiplied from the reign of the Wanli Emperor (r. 1572-1620) of the Ming dynasty onward. The shad tribute was first replaced with fish levies commuted to fees in silver in the reign of the Kangxi Emperor (r. 1661-1722) of the Qing dynasty. Later, the fish levies on shad were abolished completely by the Qianlong Emperor (r. 1735-1796). Delivery of seasonal shad to the capital eventually lapsed and made no further waves in Chinese history.
Both jian (sic) and wai (sic) are commonly used in ancient and modern Chinese to indicate orientation. As the academic community holds different conclusions concerning the relation between the phono-semantics and phonetic loan characters among (sic)(jian (sic)), (sic), and related characters, however, difficulties have persisted in the interpretation of pertinent texts. In the study of ancient Chinese characters, yue (sic)and (sic)being the phonetic symbols of (sic) and jian, respectively, is the current popular view and thus mostly used in textual research. In fact, both (sic) and are syssemantographs, in which (sic) and (sic) are semantographic symbols. The character (sic) is neither the pronunciation of (sic), nor the abbreviated signific of ((sic)). Certain characters from the Warring States period such as wai and wai should be considered differentiated characters of (sic) and are unrelated to ((sic)). The character jian, which is not the abbreviated signific of jian, has another source. Moreover, the Chu character jian is the abbreviated signific of jian, whereas is not an erroneous character of but more likely a differentiated character of (sic) with the addition of the semantographic symbol dao(sic). This paper also examines more than ten related cases and argues the following: (1) In the Chu bamboo and wooden slips on divination from Baoshan, Xincai, Tianxingguan, and Xiajiatai, as well as in Rishu (sic)(sic) (lit. Day Book), the character (sic) in the phrases "wai you bu shun" (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic), "shao wai you qi" (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic), "shao you wai yanqi" (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic), "waisang" (sic)(sic), and "waigui" (sic)(sic) all refer to direction. (2) The place name "Hewai" (sic)(sic), as seen in the Qin dynasty sealing strips sealed with clay, is the counterpart of both "Hejian" (sic)(sic) and "Henei" (sic)(sic), where (sic) also refers to direction. (3) The phrase "chejia wai" (sic)(sic)(sic) found in Zhao Jianzi (sic)(sic)(sic) of the Tsinghua Bamboo Slips refers to military affairs being "outside." (4) The poetic aim of the work Cao mao zhiwai(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic) in the bamboo slips of the Shanghai Museum is related to governance as the literal meaning of the name of the poem is being "outside" the grass and thatch, implying that the ruler is alienated from the people. (5) The phrase "qi wei shou neng er bu wai" (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic) from Bangjia zhi zheng (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic) in the Tsinghua Bamboo Slips means one should confer official positions to those capable and do not alienate them. (6) The phrase "shi nan de er yi wai" (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic) found in Wuwang jianzuo (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic) of the Shanghai Museum collection of bamboo slips connotes that talented people are difficult to recruit and easy to alienate. (7) The name is likely a specific term for vehicles to be used outside and can also refer to vehicles used for military purposes. (8) The phrase "shi ci yi zhi jian yu liji" (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic) in Daoci (sic)(sic) of the Tsinghua Bamboo Slips means to save the village of a great-grandson from severe illness. (9) The phrase "na jian zhu zhong" (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic) from Yong yue(sic)(sic) in the Shanghai Museum collection refers tothe acceptance of the contemptible who use falsities to drive people apart and the condemnation of the others. (10) Finally, the place name "Yijian" (sic) in Zheng Wengong wen Taibo(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic) from the Tsinghua Bamboo Slips indicates the two places "Yi" (sic) and "Jian" (sic), respectively. After such comprehensive analysis, it becomes more evident that there is not a phono-semantic or phonetic loan character relationship between the group of characters (sic), , , and with (sic) and (sic), thereby clarifying the contestation over the two groups.
The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period in China has traditionally been seen as one of chaos in history, but some modern scholars have argued that the ambiguous and decentralized political structure had a constructive influence on Chinese history; that is, the tributary system built on the notion of tianxia (sic) (lit. "[all] under heaven") became largely ineffective, leading to four centuries characterized by diplomatic equality. However, recent research has also highlighted the adaptability of tianxia to various political environments. Even during the Five Dynasties period, evidence shows the functionality of tianxia, , proving it was not merely an ideal of those instituting it within political workings but also served practical purposes for the participants operating under it. The present article selects the Wuyue Kingdom (893-978) as a case study to investigate the different findings of previous scholars, and to this end, systematically explores three aspects: (1) the benefits and limitations of the Wuyue Kingdom's interactions with the successive Central Plain dynasties, who proclaimed themselves as the "Central Kingdom" and initiated the tianxia system in which the Wuyue participated; (2) the impact of the tianxia system on the relationships of the Wuyue Kingdom with other regimes beyond the Central Plain dynasties; and (3) the correlation between the late Wuyue Kingdom's construction of its Buddhist state image and the tianxia system. The findings of this article reveal a perpetual tension between the autonomy of the Wuyue Kingdom and the influence of the system. In general, the Wuyue Kingdom adhered to the norms of the tianxia system when engaging with the Central Plain dynasties, but when dealing with other states or their own subjects, they often deviated from its expectations in pursuit of their own interests, ultimately resulting in complex and multi-layered practices. Finally, this article also seeks to contribute to the relatively unexplored study of tianxia during the Tang-Song transition, an area that has not yet received adequate scholarly attention.
