Chinese Classics Research Articles

Keynotes from Nanotechnology Conference [Theme: Keynotes from Nanotechnology Conference

Prof. Chao-Sung Lai is an Asso­ciate Editor-in-Chief in charge of the Highlights Section. One article is featured in the Highlights Section, entitled “A Conversation about Quantum Literacy, The Chinese Classics and STEAM-based Education at University.” Four papers are featured in this Issue. We invited Keynote/Plenary Speakers from the “2022 IEEE Nanotechnology Conference” to contribute to the papers. The first paper is entitled “Advanced Impacts of Nanotechnology and Intelligence” by Professor Chao-Sung Lai and the research team at Chang Gung University in Taiwan. The second paper is entitled “From Green Electronics to Gray Matter and Cyborg Cells” by Professor Deblina Sarkar at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The third paper is entitled “There is Plenty of Room All-Around: Highlight of Semiconductor Nanotechnology Research in My Lab” by Prof. Xiuling Li at University of Texas, Austin. The fourth paper is entitled “Nano-MOSFET – Foundation of Quantum Computing, Part I: Qubits, Quantum Architecture and Control, Cryo-CMOS” by Xiao Xue, Pascal ‘t Hart, Edoardo Charbon, Fabio Sebastiano, Andrei Vladimirescu.

A Conversation About Quantum Literacy [Quantum Literacy

Developments in quantum technology mean that an increasing number of people will require quantum literacy. This article discusses a proposed course at Chang Gung University, Taiwan, to develop quantum literacy through a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics)-based educational approach with input from the works of ancient Chinese literatures known as Chinese classics by way of arts integration. The topics are discussed in a Q&A fashion. This article provides an opportunity for readers to reconsider the importance of quantum literacy and how it can best be delivered through effective learning contents and pedagogical approaches.

HDAC Downregulation of Xiaoqinglong Decoction in the Treatment of Allergic Rhinitis

Introduction: As one of the most common allergic diseases, allergic rhinitis (AR) has attracted wide attention all over the world. More appropriate treatment of AR should be explored thoroughly. In recent years, traditional Chinese medicine has attracted more attention in AR treatment. As a classical Chinese medicine prescription, Xiaoqinglong decoction (XQLD) has been commonly used in treating AR. Even though its therapeutic effect on AR has been clinically confirmed, more molecular mechanism remains to be further investigated. Our research aimed to investigate the therapeutic mechanism of XQLD for AR management. Methods: The study was evaluated in an ovalbumin sensitized mouse model and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry was adopted to test the stability of XQLD’s effective components. Results: The results confirmed the stability and safety of the effective components of XQLD. XQLD significantly downregulated the expression of HDACs (HDAC1, HDAC3, and HDAC4) and Th2 inflammatory factors (IL4, IL5, and IL13) in AR mice. XQLD and the HDAC inhibitor JNJ-26481585 promoted the expression of epithelial tight junction proteins (claudin-1 and ZO-1) and decreased the expression of mucins (Muc5ac and Muc5b) in the nasal mucosa of AR mice. Conclusions: In conclusion, our findings present the beneficial effects of XQLD on AR and recovery of the nasal epithelium. We also identify the decreased HDAC as a potential target of XQLD for AR treatment. This study provides an important experimental proof for elucidating the therapeutic mechanism of XQLD.

Effects of Zhishi Daozhi Decoction on the intestinal flora of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease mice induced by a high-fat diet.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common type of chronic liver disease with a high incidence, and the situation is not optimistic. Intestinal flora imbalance is strongly correlated with NAFLD pathogenesis. Zhishi Daozhi Decoction (ZDD) is a water decoction of the herbs used in the classical Chinese medicine prescription Zhishi Daozhi Pills. Zhishi Daozhi Pills has shown promising hepatoprotective and hypolipidemic properties, but its specific mechanism remains unclear. Mice were fed on a high fat-rich diet (HFD) for ten weeks, and then the animals were administrated ZDD through oral gavage for four weeks. The serum liver function and blood lipid indexes of the mice were then tested using an automatic biochemical analyzer. H&E and Oil Red O staining were used to observe the pathological conditions of mice liver tissue, and 16S rRNA sequencing technology was used to analyze the changes in intestinal flora of mice. The concentration of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in the gut of mice was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The expression of tight junction (TJ) proteins between ileal mucosal epithelial cells was analyzed using the immunofluorescence technique. ZDD was found to reduce the bodyweight of NAFLD mice, reduce serum TG, CHO, ALT, and AST levels, reduce fat accumulation in liver tissue, make the structure of intestinal flora comparable to the control group, and increase the concentration of intestinal SCFAs. It was also found to increase the expression of TJ proteins such as occludin and ZO-1, making them comparable to the control group. ZDD has a therapeutic effect on NAFLD mice induced by HFD, which may act by optimizing the intestinal flora structure.

Teaching Exploration of the Ancient and Modern Implications of Modern Chinese Prose

Under the background of China's new curriculum reform, prose teaching cannot be ignored. Combining modern prose with classical aesthetic expressions, or connecting modern prose words with ancient classical Chinese and poetry, are several teaching forms to realize the integration of ancient and modern Chinese teaching. The significance lies in that classical expression can deepen students' understanding and expression of modern prose, and transforming modern prose into ancient poetry restores and co-creates emotions through both ancient and modern aspects. The comparison of ancient and modern characters allows students to experience and create new to have a whole new sense of words.Pay attention to let students go deep into modern prose in the process of Chinese teaching, eliminate the deep and difficult thoughts and barriers to ancient classical Chinese culture, inherit ancient and modern Chinese excellent culture, and promote the formation of students' core literacy.

Integrated Network Pharmacology and Gut Microbiota Analysis to Explore the Mechanism of Sijunzi Decoction Involved in Alleviating Airway Inflammation in a Mouse Model of Asthma.

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways with recurrent attacks, which seriously affects the patients' quality of life and even threatens their lives. The disease can even threaten the lives of patients. Sijunzi decoction (SJZD), a classical Chinese medicine formula with a long history of administration, is a basic formula used for the treatment of asthma and demonstrates remarkable efficacy. However, the underlying mechanism has not been elucidated. We aimed to integrate network pharmacology and intestinal flora sequencing analysis to study the mechanism of SJZD in the treatment of allergic asthmatic mice. The active compounds of SJZD and their asthma-related targets were predicted by various databases. We performed Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses to identify potentially relevant pathways for target genes. Furthermore, the active compound-target and target-signaling pathway network maps were constructed by using Cytoscape 3.8.2. These results were combined with those of the intestinal flora sequencing analysis to study the influence of SJZD on airway inflammation in allergic asthmatic mice. We obtained 137 active compounds from SJZD and associated them with 1445 asthma-related targets acquired from the databases. A total of 109 common targets were identified. We visualized active compound-target and target-signaling pathway network maps. The pathological analysis and inflammation score results suggested that SJZD could alleviate airway inflammation in asthmatic mice. Sequencing analysis of intestinal flora showed that SJZD could increase the relevant abundance of beneficial bacterial genus and maintain the balance of the intestinal flora. The core toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling pathway was identified based on network pharmacology analysis, and the important role TLRs play in intestinal flora and organismal immunity was also recognized. The analysis of the correlation between environmental factors and intestinal flora revealed that beneficial bacterial genera were negatively correlated with TLR2 and positively correlated with the TLR7 expression. Furthermore, they were positively correlated with IFN-γ and IL-10 levels and negatively correlated with IL-4 and IL-17 levels. SJZD alleviated the airway inflammation state in asthmatic mice. The findings suggest that increasing the relevant abundance of beneficial intestinal bacteria in mice with asthma, regulating intestinal flora, interfering with the level of TLR2 and TLR7 expression to adjust the secretion of inflammatory factors, and alleviating asthmatic airway inflammation may be the possible mechanism involved in the treatment of asthma by SJZD, providing a basis for further studies on SJZD.

Xiyanglou – “Buildings of the Western Ocean”: Splendor, Poverty and Lessons of the Ruin

The paper gives a complex analysis of the Xiyanglou palace and park complex (“Buildings of the Western Ocean”), located on the current northwestern outskirts of Beijing, designed, and built in 1747–1751 by European masters, led by the Italian Jesuit artist Giuseppe Castiglione (Lang Shining, 1688–1766). Castiglione, best known as a painter, acted in this case as a visionary architect and designer who skillfully integrated the “European part” into the already existing Yuanmingyuan palace complex and received for this his main recognition at the court of the Manchu Emperor Qianlong, who personally oversaw the project. Using the example of the syncretic Sino-European style of the Xiyanglou architectural complex, incorporating European Baroque and Rococo styles and classical Chinese construction principles, the paper demonstrates the European masters’ practical application of the adaptation principles developed by Matteo Ricci, the leader of the Jesuit mission in China when preaching Christianity in China. Separately, the innovative buildings in the Chinese style located in Yuanming Yuan, which incorporated Xiyanglou, are briefly analyzed, the background of the design and creation of Xiyanglou is considered, detailed descriptions of the buildings of the Western Quarter are given, and the fate of the palace and park complex is traced. The author concludes that the Western Quarter, which became a testing ground where were practiced the principles of Occidental art, acted as a focus of mutual influence of European and Chinese artistic trends.

The “Ten Injuctions” 訓要十條 (Hunyo Sipcho, 942?): annotated translation

The article focuses on the “Ten Injunctions” (Hunyo sipcho, 942?), a famous Korean document that dates back to the early Koryŏ period (918–1392) and most likely belongs to Wang Kŏn (T’aejo, 877–943), the founder of Koryŏ kingdom. This article, for the first time in Russian Korean studies, introduces a reader to a commented translation of the “Ten Injunctions”. The “Ten Injunctions” is mentioned in Korean historical chronicles, namely the “History of Koryŏ” (Koryŏsa, 1451) and the “Essentials of Koryŏ History” (Koryŏsa chŏryo, 1452). It was written in Hanmun – a Korean form of classical Chinese, and as our research shows, it was in form of traditional Chinese imperial writings. The “Ten Injunctions” document consists of two parts. The first one is an Introduction that explains the reasons stood behind the completion of the document, and the second one is the main text with the prescribed ten injunctions. The origin of the “Ten Injunctions” is still under discussion because most of the Koryŏ historical documents were destroyed in Khitan invasion in 1011: although most of the scholars are sure that the text belongs to Wang Kŏn, recently there have been a number of suggestions that the text belongs to Wang Kŏn’s grandson or even to a palace scholar of the 11th century. The “Ten Injunctions” document has never yet been translated into Russian, nor have ever been a study on its contents, so this paper seeks to fill this gap and to introduce the document to the Russian Korean studies.

Development of an Identification Method of User Tasks and Data Elements for Library Cataloging of Chinese Classics

Development of an Identification Method of User Tasks and Data Elements for Library Cataloging of Chinese Classics

Research on the Construction and Dissemination of the “Chinese Classics Resource Base”

Research on the Construction and Dissemination of the “Chinese Classics Resource Base”

LiberRoad: Probing into the Journey of Chinese Classics Through Visual Analytics.

Books act as a crucial carrier of cultural dissemination in ancient times. This work involves joint efforts between visualization and humanities researchers, aiming at building a holistic view of the cultural exchange and integration between China and Japan brought about by the overseas circulation of Chinese classics. Book circulation data consist of uncertain spatiotemporal trajectories, with multiple dimensions, and movement across hierarchical spaces forms a compound network. LiberRoad visualizes the circulation of books collected in the Imperial Household Agency of Japan, and can be generalized to other book movement data. The LiberRoad system enables a smooth transition between three views (Location Graph, map, and timeline) according to the desired perspectives (spatial or temporal), as well as flexible filtering and selection. The Location Graph is a novel uncertainty-aware visualization method that employs improved circle packing to represent spatial hierarchy. The map view intuitively shows the overall circulation by clustering and allows zooming into single book trajectory with lenses magnifying local movements. The timeline view ranks dynamically in response to user interaction to facilitate the discovery of temporal events. The evaluation and feedback from the expert users demonstrate that LiberRoad is helpful in revealing movement patterns and comparing circulation characteristics of different times and spaces.

Study on the Strategy of Integrating Excellent Traditional Culture into Chinese Teaching of Primary Schools

In Chinese teaching of primary schools, traditional culture education has been given enough attention, and it has become the consensus to cultivate students’ Chinese literacy through excellent traditional culture. Starting from the analysis of the connotation of excellent traditional culture, the study focuses on the analysis of Chinese classics and local traditional culture, demonstrates the significance of integrating the two into the Chinese teaching of primary schools respectively, as well as analyzes the strategy of integrating excellent traditional culture into Chinese teaching of primary schools.

東珠와 珍珠 - 淸初 만주 황실의 眞珠 채취와 소비

Since ancient times, freshwater pearls have been the signature specialty of Manchuria. The Manchus used tana and nicuhe to distinguish pearls, so while tana was a name derived from the Mongolian language, nicuhe was an indigenous term in the Manchu language. In the process of being influenced by the Mongolian language, it is assumed that the name differentiation was made so that tana denotes a high-grade pearl and nicuhe denotes a less valuable pearl. On the other hand, in historical materials in Chinese classics, the name changed according to the location of the place of consumption and the place of production. Pearls produced in Manchuria were called

차고유금(借古喩今): 옛것을 빌어 현재를 바라본다 -중국고전산문으로 본 현재의 한중관계-

This study is an attempt to examine the problems of Korea-China diplomacy, which has failed to recover the previous strategic partnership after the THAAD crisis, from a humanistic perspective through the prose of 「liuguolun(六國論)」among classical Chinese prose. In particular, it was noted that President of the People''s Republic of China Xi Jinping often cites Chinese classics as the theoretical basis of his policies when he announces his national policies. First of all, this study aims to improve current Korea-China relations based on the perspective of “caocuolun(晁錯論)” (蘇軾, 1037-1101), one of the numerous classics cited by President of the People''s Republic of China Xi Jinping while explaining the feasibility of establishing national policies. I would like to present an essential but hidden problem that must be overcome for this purpose. Next, Sunyue(荀悅, 148-209) of the Eastern Han Dynasty''s "liyiqimouliliuguolun(酈食其謀立六國論)" and Suche(蘇轍1039-1112)''s "liuguolun(六國論)”, “liuguolun(六國論)” by Hequfei(何去非, 1077-1145) and “liuguolun(六國論)” by Fanjun(范浚, 1102-1150)” and other classical Chinese prose that can suggest implications for the current Korea-China relationship, I would like to suggest a framework of thought for the diplomatic position that the Chinese side should aim for in the current Korea-China relationship.

晦峯 河謙鎭의 經學

Hoebong Ha Gyeom-jin (1870~1946), the author of 『Dongyuhakan』 that outlined the traditional academics in a type of study scheme, a descriptive method of traditional academic history of Asia studied under the tutelage of Myeonwoo Gwak Jong-seok (1846~1919) to succeed the academic line of Janju Academic Faction.
 This article is a review of the Gyeonghak (Chinese Classics) perspective with the focus around the analysis of ｢Kang Yu-wi Noneojuseojobyeon｣ that was written in 1934 when he was 65 years of age. 『Noneoju (Annotation of the Analects of Confucius)』 of Kang Yu-wi, the subject of criticism, was an attempt of new annotation on ‘Saseo (Four Books of Chinese Classics)’ of Confucianism under the tradition of Geummun Gyeonghak in early 20th century. In this aspect, this refutation for each category on 『Noneoju』 of Kang Yu-wi could be understood as to demonstrate the academic position and level of Joseon’s renowned Confucianism scholar of 65 years old who has already solidify his academic position of his time. On the other hand, In 1934, a Confucius scholar of Joseon who was passing by the core of Japanese colonial period had the criticism on the writings of China’s Geummun Gyeonghak scholars that seemed as an attempt to correspond to its time in a way of taking a profound look at how to view to advance the insight on its time of 20th century as well as studies on Confucianism.
 Looking into the criticism of Ha Gyeom-jin, he refuted the assertion of ｢Noneojuseo｣ of Kang Yu-wi with the courteous theory of Confucianism principles for each category. He criticized the texts based on Kang Yu-wi and defended the scholarship of Jeungja, and sharply criticized the principle of Daedong that was advocated by Kang Yu-wi. The theory that was most aggressively facilitated in such a criticism was the Confucian orthodoxy. It was also penetrating in another writing, 『Dongyuhakan』. Under the desperate situation of the Japanese colonial era, straightening up the collapsing tradition was approached as the inevitable premises and the restoration of Dotong was to restore the collapsing Confucianism principle as the true and genuine system once again.
 However, this type of route for such perspective is to overcome the chaotic status of the time and ultimately progress into the Daedong community by overlooking the implication of time passing for academic contemplation of Kang Yu-wi. Ha Gyeom-jin purely and firmly kept the position of traditional Confucianism scholarship and he had the response on the changing image of the time, but it is called for more criticizing perspective on the outcome and its implication.

譯介學視角下的典籍英譯

Translation is indispensable to cross-cultural communication. To render Chinese Classics into English and introduce them to the west is a vitally important commission of medio-translatology. Chinese Classics-the crystallization of ancient Chinese wisdom-convey the most prominent fine cultures of Chinese nations, reflecting the overall needs of humanity and contributing to the civilization of world as a whole. With Chinese economy skyrocketing currently and Chinese international statue rising constantly, it is a must for Chinese Classics to go global and converge itself into the world civilization, serving the construction of a shared future for mankind.

혼착된 물명 雎鳩에 대한 연구

From ancient days, there were many controversies over whether a bird called Jeogu(저구) in the Volume of Gwanjeo(관저편), the first part of “the Book of Odes(시경)”, is a ferocious raptor (osprey) or a friendly raptor (a sort of wild duck). Because the Jeogu(저구) in the first verse of this poem is a symbol of ‘an elegant lady’ who will be an excellent spouse of a noble man, so whether this Jeogu(저구) is viewed as a bird of osprey or a sort of duck is an important key to understand the true meaning of four phrases in the first chapter of the Volume of Gwanjeo(관저편).
 This paper attempts to identify the substance of the name Jeogu(저구) which has been confused or misunderstood over a long period of time, focusing on Three Books of Article Names - Wordbook of Things(재물보), Book of Article Names(물명고), Encyclopedia of Objects(광재물보) -, which emerged in the era when the study of names, objects, law, and numbers(명물도수) was prevalent in the late Joseon Dynasty.
 When examining Chinese classics, it is understood that the confusion regarding the substance of “Jeogu(저구)” originated from the annotation of “Mosijuso(모시주소)”. The views of Chinese scholars views on the substance of ‘Jeogu’ have been debated for a long time, largely divided into one theory called a raptor and another theory called a sort of duck. It is understood that Three Books of Article Names adopted a raptor theory, a duck theory or a theory of the same name for different birds, depending on the type of Three Books of Article Names or by the classification of headwords from each Book.
 From the viewpoint of today's standards, ‘Jeogu’ is an osprey[鶚], which is a raptor. If so, when interpreting the Book of Odes(시경), it is necessary to consider ‘摯而有別’ in Mojeon(모전) as 'it is fierce but it is good at discerning the mate (in terms of chastity).
 Also, it was revealed that Jing-gyeong-yi(징경이, fish hawk), which traditionally referred to as “Jeogu(저구)”, originally indicated to a class of ducks called ‘Mandarin ducks’, but in modern times it has been misinterpreted as an osprey.
 It is thought that the main cause of the constant confusion of the name of an object is usually misunderstanding and miswriting of the object. Due to the misunderstanding and miswriting, the confusion of objects has always been repeated or reproduced. Therefore, when encountering classics, it is necessary to pay attention to the above fact and to take a careful approach.

Contact and Conflict: Integral Experience in Classical Chinese and Reformational Philosophies

Abstract This essay offers a comparative analysis of aspects of classical Chinese philosophy with those of Reformational (Neo-Calvinist) philosophy. Such aspects form a shared root in prioritizing temporal experience (over abstract reasoning) and conceptualizing the entirety of reality as contingent and relationally dependent. At the same time, however, what marks the divergence between the two philosophies is the underlying assumptions as to what this integral reality points toward – a directionality that is critical to meaning and being. For classical Chinese philosophy, the source and meaning of reality is found within reality itself, not beyond it, construing such reality not as independent and self-contained but necessary and sufficient. This conflicts with the notion of reality as contingent and dependent. From a Reformational perspective, on the other hand, reality (i.e., all of creation) is constituted as it stands in relation to an independent and necessary Creator. The crux of Reformational philosophy is that the origin and meaning of all reality must point outside of itself to its origin in God.

Perceiving the poetic world: A corpus-assisted transitivity analysis of poetry comics.

While modern adaptations of Chinese classics have drawn keen scholarly interests lately, the comic adaptation of Chinese traditional poetry remains under-investigated. Extending the previous research on intersemiotic translation and comics, this paper, drawing on the analytical framework of systemic functional semiotics, examines distribution of process types of language in poems in comparison with that in comic images in the exemplary case drawn by Cai Zhizhong, using UAM image as the annotation tool. The comic book formulates a multimodal corpus that consists of 1,097 clauses and 605 images. We have manually analyzed the process type of the poems and their corresponding comic panels. Our quantitative and qualitative results show that there are distinct patterns of process-type distributions between verbal poems and images. Poems have been turned into perceptions, actions, and verbal processes in comic strips, which serve various purposes such as construction of the poet's gaze, relations building, storyline development, dramatization, metaphor visualization, etc. The paper is concluded with discussion on how the intersemiotic translation of poems might produce effects on readers.

Contrastive Learning between Classical and Modern Chinese for Classical Chinese Machine Reading Comprehension

By leveraging self-supervised tasks, pre-trained language model (PLM) has made significant progress in the field of machine reading comprehension (MRC) . However, in classical Chinese MRC (CCMRC) , the passage is typically in classical style, but the question and options are given in modern style. Existing pre-trained methods seldom model the relationship between classical and modern styles, resulting in overall misunderstanding of the passage. In this paper, we propose a contrastive learning method between classical and modern Chinese in order to reach a deep understanding of the two different styles. In particular, a novel pre-training task and an enhanced co-matching network have been defined: (1) The synonym discrimination (SD) task is used to identify whether modern meaning corresponds to classical Chinese. (2) The enhanced dual co-matching (EDCM) network is employed for a more interactive understanding of the classical passage and the modern options. The experimental results show that our proposed method improves language understanding ability and outperforms existing PLMs on the Haihua, CCLUE, and ChID datasets.