Century China Research Articles

China's industrial revolution: A new perspective

In “The Industrial Structure of Production: An Outline of a Research Program,” Ronald Coase and Ning Wang (2001) made a plea for a new economic research program that can go beyond the Arrow-Debreu framework and explain China's miraculous rise. They point out that the greatest trouble with the Arrow-Debreu framework lies in its inability to explain production. In this article I will push this insight further to shed new light on why and how production, or mass production in particular, emerged and mushroomed in the 18th–19th century England, the 19th–20th century United States, and 20th-21st century China but not in other parts of the world with similar geo-developmental conditions such as the Netherlands, Mexico, or India. My central thesis is that production or firms emerge in response to market demand, yet the so-called “market” is itself a fundamental public good that must be created by a development state instead of the “invisible hand.” Therefore, the lack of industrialization in any nation seems on the surface due to the lack of mass supply, but is in fact due to the lack of a mass market, which in turn is due to the lack of powerful and strong-willed market creators.

A history from below: Translators in the publication network of four magazines issued by the China Book Company, 1913–1923

ABSTRACT The article offers a glimpse into the “history from below” of a population of previously uncharted Chinese translators, based on the data drawn from four magazines published between 1913 and 1923 by the China Book Company, an ordinary commercial publisher in Shanghai. Combining methods in historical studies, translation history and network studies with Gephi, the article registers the translators’ presences and connections in the magazines’ publication network that comprises the editors, contributors and their educational, professional, commercial and other social affiliations. The study interprets these presences and connections as a sign of the emergence of a writing public in the periodical press, and translation as a discursive mode of production that popularized the very act of publication in this historical setting. This understanding serves as an alternative to the current translation historiography of early twentieth century China that tends to selectively focalize the “great men” of worldly trends and events.

What about Rats? Buddhist Disciplinary Guidelines on Rats: Daoxuan’s Vinaya Commentaries

Buddhist texts generally prohibit the killing or harming of any sentient being. However, while such a ban may seem straightforward, it becomes much more complex when annoying or dangerous animals are involved. This paper focuses on one such animal—the rat. These rodents feature prominently in monastics’ daily lives, so it should come as no surprise that both Indian and Chinese Buddhist masters pay attention to them. In the first part of the paper, we investigate the problems that rats can cause, how monastics deal with them, and what the authors-compilers of Buddhist vinaya (disciplinary) texts have to say about them. In the second part, we focus on how Daoxuan 道宣 (596–667)—one of the most prominent vinaya masters of the early Tang Dynasty—interprets the vinaya guidelines and their implementation in Chinese monasteries. As we will see, he raises a number of potential issues with regard to strict adherence to the Buddhist principles of no killing and no harming, and so reveals some of the problematic realities that he felt monastics faced in seventh century China.

Between practical and liberal statecraft: Guo Songtao and his political and economic ideas

ABSTRACT “Liberalism” has served often as an analytical concept in Chinese intellectual history. In this paper, I use this term to refer to the thinking of a group of “open-minded” and unorthodox thinkers who espoused progressive and/or radical opinions about institutional reforms for nineteenth century China. To a certain extent, these reformers’ political thinking had features similar to some that are found in J. S. Mill’s liberalism – namely, political participation, popular initiative, free enterprise, religious toleration, individualism, and commitment to long-term moral ideals.

Living an Emperor’s Life, Dying a Nobel Death. Li Hongwei’s Novel “The King and Lyric Poetry” as a Journey Through the History of Chinese Poetry

The present paper discusses Li Hongwei’s novel The King and Lyric Poetry (2017). The novel tells the story of the suicide of the last Nobel Prize laureate in the future history of literature, Chinese poet Yuwen Wanghu. Following the detective thread of the book, the essay reconstructs utopian and dystopian semi-virtual landscapes of the mid-21st century China which feed into two different models of lyricism: the poet as a knight errant who seeks inspiration far from modern civilization and the poet as a lonely warrior against (technological) tyranny. In the final scene, the two landscapes blur and the antithetical forces that infuse them: lyricism (Yuwen) and power/knowledge (the King) merge into what may be seen as their dialectical synthesis to be fulfilled by the novel’s third protagonist – Yuwen’s young friend, Li Pulei. Mobilizing various contexts, including the suicides of famous mainland-Chinese poets, important poetry polemics, and intertexts ranging from classical Chinese literary theory through to Truman Show and Matrix, I argue that the novel mirrors the development of poetry discourse in the PRC with its various myths, conflicts, complexes, and ambitions. I also show how this discourse, shaped for a long time largely by the so-called Third Generation poets born in the 1950s and 1960s, translates into the situation of the poets who belong to a younger generation (“post-70”) represented by Li Hongwei among others, and what (self-)expectations, challenges, and limitations they face in their writing.

Understanding childhood immunizations, their serological interpretation and vaccines - A review article

The practice of immunization dates back hundreds of years. Buddhist monks drank snake venom to confer immunity to snake bite and variolation (smearing of a skin tear with cowpox to confer immunity to smallpox) was practiced in 17th century China. Edward Jenner is considered the founder of vaccinology in the West in 1796, after he inoculated an 8 year-old-boy with vaccinia virus (cowpox), and demonstrated immunity to smallpox. In 1798, the first smallpox vaccine was developed. Over the 18th and 19th centuries, systematic implementation of mass smallpox immunization culminated in its global eradication in 1979. Vaccination is when a vaccine is administered to you (usually by injection). Immunization is what happens in your body after you have the vaccination. The vaccine stimulates your immune system so that it can recognize the disease and protect you from future infection (i.e., you become immune to the infection.). Immunization is a proven tool for controlling and eliminating life-threatening infectious diseases and is estimated to avert between 2 and 3 million deaths each year. It is one of the most cost-effective health investments, with proven strategies that make it accessible to even the most hard-to-reach and vulnerable populations. It has clearly defined target groups; it can be delivered effectively through outreach activities; and vaccination does not require any major lifestyle change.

Profits of Nature: Colonial Development and the Quest for Resources in Nineteenth Century China By Peter B. Lavelle. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020. 288 pp. $65.00 (cloth).

Profits of Nature: Colonial Development and the Quest for Resources in Nineteenth Century China By Peter B. Lavelle. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020. 288 pp. $65.00 (cloth). - Volume 5 Issue 2

Trans-Himalayan science in mid-twentieth century China and India: Birbal Sahni, Hsü Jen, and a Pan-Asian paleobotany

AbstractThis paper uses the decade-long collaboration between the Indian paleobotanist Birbal Sahni (1891–1949) and his Chinese doctoral student Hsü Jen (Xu Ren 徐仁, 1910–1992) to offer a connected history of mid-twentieth century scientific activity in China and India. Possibly the first Chinese scientist to earn a PhD from an Indian university (Lucknow, 1946), Hsü was certainly the first to be appointed to a faculty position in India. Sahni and Hsü's attempts to build Asian networks of scientific activity, characterized by the circulation of experts, scientific knowledge, and specimens, provide the grounds for considering a practice of Pan-Asianism. Such a formulation adds to existing work on the Pan-Asianist articulations of intellectual and political figures and urges for an expansion of how we understand scientific activity across China and India from the 1930s to the 1960s. In so doing, the paper makes two historiographical interventions. In the first instance, the collaboration presents an opportunity to move beyond the two dominant frames through which histories of science in China and India are studied: the nation state and Non-West/West binaries. Second, a focus on science widens the scope of China–India history, a field dominated by research on cultural, intellectual, and diplomatic topics.

Universal pause of the human-perceived winter warming in the 21st century over China

Low-temperature weather accompanied by strong chill wind is considered as a great risk factor for human health in winter, especially in some extreme weather conditions. Based on the observation data and the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data of air temperature and wind velocity in 1961–2019, the warming pause of wind chill temperature (WCT) in the 21st century in China is first revealed in this paper. A significant increasing trend of WCT is found during 1961–1999 (P1), and a slight decreasing trend in 1999–2019 (P2) is detected by a 21 year running trend analysis. The extreme cold WCT day (WCD) with the WCT index below the 10th percentile also shows a decreasing trend in P1 but a slight increasing trend in P2. Both the WCT and the extreme WCD consistently display the warming pause in seven climatic regions in China. That means the slowdown or even decrease of human bioclimatic temperature in recent two decades may lead to an increasing risk of frostbite and other cold-related diseases in the country. Both the decreasing trend of mean temperature and the increasing trend of the wind speed contribute to the slowdown of the human-perceived warming in the 21st century, and this conjoint contribution could be linked to the East Asian winter monsoon circulations over Siberia, i.e. the Siberian high. The variation of averaged sea level pressure over the central region of the Siberian high shows high consistency with both the WCT and the extreme WCD in the whole study period, by a decreasing rate of −1.28 hPa per decade in P1 and an increasing rate of 1.26 hPa per decade in P2.

"Reconceptualizing the Other in Anchee Min’s Pearl of China"

Anchee Min is the Chinese-American author of Pearl of China (2010), a historical fiction novel that reinterprets the life and influence of Nobel Prize-winning writer Pearl Sydenstricker Buck through her relationship with a fictional best friend named Willow Yee. Reading the historical backdrop of twentieth century China and Pearl S. Buck’s unique position in it through the lens of Emmanuel Levinas’s theory of the self and the Other, I examine the development of Willow’s selfhood through her subsequent relationship with Pearl, and how this relationship influences her relationship to the systems in which she lives. This paper argues that Willow and Pearl’s ‘religious bond’ becomes their strength as they define themselves and maintain each other’s identities against the traditional patriarchy of Qing and Nationalist China, as well as the totalizing forces of communist China under Mao.

Realistic Painting of the 20th Century China in the Context of Cultural Visualization

This article examines the phenomenon of Chinese realism, as well as the prerequisites and factors that influenced the processes of reception in modern Chinese art. At the beginning of the 20th century, under the influence of Western academic realism and the artistic system of social realism, a new direction and artistic method was formed — realism, which became mainstream in the art of China of the mid-20th century. According to its aesthetic and ideological motifs, Chinese realism is an object of social realism reception, which was determined by cultural and historical factors, and the development of political, economic and cultural ties with the USSR. Studying the realistic painting, which reflects the atmosphere of the era, the worldview, and the dialogue of cultures, is relevant for both Chinese and Russian contemporary art studies. The article examines the role of realism in the development of Chinese art culture of the 20th century, including its socio-political components, as well as the dynamics of artistic and expressive means and the iconographic system in the context of the historical and cultural situation. In the 1980s and 1990s, as a result of the liberalization of economic and political life, the artistic consciousness formed new concepts of realistic painting — neorealism and cynical realism, associated with a critical rethinking of the historical heritage. The neorealism and cynical realism, which would significantly enrich realistic painting with new forms and content, adopted Western postmodern concepts of pop art, and debunked, in a grotesque and satirical form, the political stereotypes of the past. The analysis of realistic painting of the 1990s demonstrates how the transformation of past painting canons reflects the desire of society to free itself from the pressure of totalitarian ideology and to rethink the value orientations of the previous era.The novelty of this study lies in the fact that it applies a systematic and holistic approach to the analysis of realism in Chinese painting, reveals the diversity of its forms and directions, and gives ground for the specifics of its evolution in the context of the artistic culture of the 20th century China. There are almost no comprehensive studies of this issue in modern art history, so this work is an attempt to create a scientific approach to the study of this artistic phenomenon and the formation of ideas about how the artistic consciousness of an entire epoch was changing.

Research on Wang Xiaobo’s Humanitarian Enlightenment

In the 20th century of China, The enlightenment spirit was obviously active twice, once in the May 4th, 1919 when the New Culture Movement happen, and once in the 1980s. The core of the spirit of enlightenment is a kind of humanitarianism, which emphasizes rationality and freedom. And the core of Wang Xiaobo’s spiritual exactly is consistent with Humanitarian enlightenment, so the discussion of Wang Xiaobo’s ideological value can be summarized from the perspective of Humanitarian enlightenment: advocating science and rationality, advocating freedom and human rights, and the pursuit the true interest in life.

Phytochemical Composition and Biological Activities of Scorzonera Species.

The genus Scorzonera comprises nearly 200 species, naturally occurring in Europe, Asia, and northern parts of Africa. Plants belonging to the Scorzonera genus have been a significant part of folk medicine in Asia, especially China, Mongolia, and Turkey for centuries. Therefore, they have become the subject of research regarding their phytochemical composition and biological activity. The aim of this review is to present and assess the phytochemical composition, and bioactive potential of species within the genus Scorzonera. Studies have shown the presence of many bioactive compounds like triterpenoids, sesquiterpenoids, flavonoids, or caffeic acid and quinic acid derivatives in extracts obtained from aerial and subaerial parts of the plants. The antioxidant and cytotoxic properties have been evaluated, together with the mechanism of anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and hepatoprotective activity. Scorzonera species have also been investigated for their activity against several bacteria and fungi strains. Despite mild cytotoxicity against cancer cell lines in vitro, the bioactive properties in wound healing therapy and the treatment of microbial infections might, in perspective, be the starting point for the research on Scorzonera species as active agents in medical products designed for miscellaneous skin conditions.

Discovery and characterization of flavonoids in vine tea as catechol-O-methyltransferase inhibitors

Vine tea has been used as a traditionally functional herbal tea in China for centuries, which exhibits paramount potential for chronic metabolic diseases. Herein, the inhibitory potential of vine tea toward human catechol-O-methyltransferase (hCOMT) was investigated. A practical bioactivity-guided fractionation combined with chemical profiling strategy was developed to identify the naturally occurring hCOMT inhibitors. Five flavonoids in vine tea displayed moderate to strong inhibition on hCOMT with IC50 values ranging from 0.96 μM to 42.47 μM, in which myricetin was the critically potent constituent against hCOMT. Inhibition kinetics assays and molecular docking simulations showed that myricetin could bind to the active site of COMT and inhibited COMT-catalyzed 3-BTD methylation in a mixed manner. Collectively, our findings not only suggested that the strong hCOMT inhibition of vine tea has guiding significance in the drug exposure of catechol drugs, but also identified a promising lead compound for developing more efficacious hCOMT inhibitors.

The Impacts of Flattening Fiscal Reform on Health Expenditure in China.

Introduction: A number of provinces have implemented a fiscal reform of flattening government since the first decade of this century in China. This study aims to quantitatively analyze the influences of this government fiscal reform on county-level health expenditure. We also bring forward policy suggestions for improving county-level fiscal system and healthcare delivery.Methods: We collected a novel longitudinal county-level data from 2003 to 2010, including counties' socioeconomic data, fiscal revenue, and health expenditure. Jilin Province, Hebei Province, and Anhui Province were selected as representative samples for this policy evaluation. The study employed a time-varying difference-in-difference model specification to investigate the impacts of flattening fiscal reform on health expenditure.Results: The analyses find that the fiscal system reforms of the three provinces have a significantly positive impact on the health expenditure of county-level governments. However, we find no policy effects on the proportion of health expenditure to fiscal expenditure of county-level governments. The estimation results are robust after controlling several background variables.Conclusion: The results yield important policy insights that public finance and its reform significantly impacts health expenditures in China. The government may still need to strengthen the transfer payment system to guarantee the social welfare provision in healthcare.

The fabric of Post-Western sociology: ecologies of knowledge beyond the \u201cEast\u201d and the \u201cWest\u201d

For several centuries, the history of the West has merged with the history of the world. The global economy of knowledge is structured around epistemic inequalities, hegemonies, and dominations. A clear division of scientific practices has developed among academic “peripheries,” “semi-peripheries,” and “core.” The question of epistemic injustice, which includes the indigenization of knowledge, was posed very early in the twentieth century in China, Japan, and Korea without being linked to coloniality, which was the case in Indian sociology. Based on the production of an epistemology shared with Chinese sociologists, we proposed a Post-Western sociology to enable a dialogue—on a level footing—addressing common concepts. This sociology also addresses concepts situated in European and Asian theories that consider the modes of creating continuities and discontinuities as well as the conjunctions and disjunctions between the knowledge spaces situated in different social contexts. We aim to fill the gaps between these social contexts. We will describe an ecology of knowledge in the Western-West, the non-Western-West, the semi-Western West, the Western East, the Eastern East, and the re-Easternized East situated on an epistemological continuum. While Chinese sociology has constantly oscillated between indigenization and universalism, and while epistemic autonomies are diverse, Chinese sociologists agree that Western sociologies should not be considered hostile to Chinese sociology. We will offer a definition of Post-Western sociology and demonstrate how it can be theoretically and methodologically applied. We will then identify some transnational theories, theoretical discontinuities and continuities, and common knowledge situated in Western and non-Western contexts.

Biochemical changes and microbial community dynamics during spontaneous fermentation of Zhacai, a traditional pickled mustard tuber from China

Zhacai is a traditional fermented vegetable that has been consumed in China for centuries. It is currently manufactured by spontaneous fermentation and therefore mostly relies on the activities of autochthonous microorganisms. Here, we characterized microbial community dynamics and associated biochemical changes in 12% salted Zhacai during a 90-day spontaneous fermentation process using high-throughput sequencing and chromatography-based approaches to identify associations between microorganisms and fermentation characteristics. Amplicon sequencing targeting bacterial 16S rRNA genes revealed that bacterial communities were dominated by halophilic bacteria (HAB, i.e., Halomonas and Idiomarina) and lactic acid bacteria (LAB, i.e., Lactobacillus-related genera and Weissella) after 30 days of fermentation. In addition, the relative abundances of the fungal genera Debaryomyces, Sterigmatomyces, and Sporidiobolus increased as fermentation progressed. Concomitantly, pH decreased while titratable acidity increased during fermentation, along with associated variation in biochemical profiles. Overall, the levels of organic acids (i.e., lactic and acetic acid), free amino acids (i.e., alanine, lysine, and glutamic acid), and volatiles (i.e., alcohols, esters, aldehydes, and ketones) increased in mature Zhacai. In addition, the abundances of Lactobacillus-related species, Halomonas spp., Idiomarina loihiensis, as well as that of the yeast Debaryomyces hansenii, were strongly correlated with increased concentrations of organic acids, amino acids, biogenic amines, and volatiles. This study provides new detailed insights into the succession of microbial communities and their potential roles in Zhacai fermentation.

Two novel antioxidant peptides derived from Arca subcrenata against oxidative stress and extend lifespan in Caenorhabditis elegans

• Two peptides with excellent antioxidant activities were identified from Arca subcrenata . • The antioxidant peptides extended the lifespan and healthspan of C. elegans and increased their resistance to stress. • The antioxidant peptides reduced fat, ROS, and lipofuscin accumulation in C. elegans . • The antioxidant peptides activated insulin/IGF1 (IIS) signaling pathways of C. elegans . Arca subcrenata has been used as a nutritious food material and traditional medicine in China for centuries. Two novel antioxidant peptides, D2-G1S-1 (VENAACTTNEECCEKK) and G2-G1S-2 (VEGGAACTTGGEEGCCEKK), were identified from A. subcrenata by de novo peptide sequencing. These peptides exhibited potent DPPH and ABTS + radical scavenging activities and ferric-reducing antioxidant ability. Thermal and pH treatments did not alter the antioxidant activities of the peptides. In addition, the peptides enhanced the mean lifespan of Caenorhabditis elegans and significantly improved age-associated physiological functions in the nematode. Furthermore, the peptides decreased the accumulation of ROS, fat and lipofuscin in nematodes under increased oxidative stress induced by paraquat. RNA-sequencing analysis and qRT-PCR experiment showed that the peptides could significantly downregulate gene age-1 and upregulate stress-inducible genes, viz., mtl-1 , sod-3 , ctl-1 and hsp16.2 . Therefore, D2-G1S-1 and D2-G1S-2 might prolong nematode lifespan and could be developed as potential cosmetics additives.

Diuretic effect of Lagopsis supina fraction in saline-loaded rats is mediated through inhibition of aquaporin and renin-angiotensin-aldosterone systems and up-regulation of atriopeptin

Lagopsis supina (Steph. ex Willd.) lk. -Gal. ex Knorr. has been used as a diuretic agent in China for centuries with limited scientific evidence. This study investigated the diuretic efficacy and underlying mechanism of a macroporous adsorption resin with 30% ethanol elution fraction from L. supina (LSC) in saline-loaded rats and to identify its phytochemicals by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-qTOF-MS/MS). As a result, 18 phenylpropanoids, 14 flavonoids and 15 others were identified in LSC, among which stachysoside A and acteoside could be the main bio-active constituents responsible for the diuretic effect. In parallel, the daily administration of LSC (16, 32 and 64 mg/kg) markedly promoted urinary excretion after 2 h of treatment. Moreover, LSC had no effect on urinary Na+ and K+ concentrations, as well as on serum Na+-K+-ATPase activity. Meanwhile, LSC significantly decreased the serum levels of angiotensin II (Ang II), anti-diuretic hormone (ADH), aldosterone (ALD), aquaporin (AQP) 1, AQP2 and AQP3, suppressed renal AQP1, AQP2, and AQP3 mRNA expressions, down-regulated AQP1, AQP2 and AQP3 protein levels, and up-regulated serum atriopeptin (ANP) level in a dose-dependent manner. These findings suggest that LSC has acute and prolonged diuretic effects by inhibiting the AQPs, RAAS, and upregulation of atriopeptin in saline-loaded rats, and this finding support LSC as a novel diuretic agent.

The “Internationalization” of the Humanities in Twenty-First Century China

The “Internationalization” of the Humanities in Twenty-First Century China