This paper systematically examines the contributions of the German sinologist Fuchs in the field of early Manchu studies, particularly his work in collating and researching Manchu-language documents. Focusing on his landmark 1936 publication, Studies on Manchu Books and Documents, the paper provides an in-depth analysis of his research methodology and academic significance. Fuchs' documentary work reflects the rigorous philological tradition of German sinology. He not only systematically catalogued fifty-six rare Manchu printed materials and early archival documents, meticulously examining their editions, physical formats, contents, and locations of preservation, but also, through detailed textual comparison and linguistic analysis, revealed the evolutionary trajectory of the Manchu script from its "unpointed" to its "pointed" form, as well as how the compilation of official Qing dynasty historical texts shaped historical narratives. His research scope is extensive, covering officially compiled historical records, official documents and set phrases, translated literature, and even Manchu-language seals, thereby situating Manchu documents within the broader context of the multi-ethnic governance and cultural interactions of the Qing dynasty.

Malay cultural identity is often interpreted primarily through Islamic frameworks, which has led to the marginalization of earlier cultural layers that shaped its formation. This study addresses a significant gap in Malay historiography, namely the limited examination of how Srivijayan Buddhist cultural structures continue to influence contemporary Malay identity in the Riau mainland. The research employs a qualitative historical‑interpretive design that integrates ethnographic observation, Old Malay epigraphic materials, Chinese Buddhist records, and archaeological data from Muara Takus and related sites. Textual comparison, historical linguistics and material culture analysis were used to identify patterns of continuity between Srivijayan Buddhist traditions and present-day cultural practices. The findings reveal three major continuities. First, purification rituals such as petang megang retain pre-Islamic Buddhist concepts of spatial and temporal cleansing. Second, communal eating traditions preserve Old Malay social ethics centered on equality and collective cohesion. Third, linguistic survivals in Riau Malay, including Old Malay lexicon and phonological features, demonstrate long-term structural continuity with Srivijayan-era language use. These continuities show that Islamic transformation in Riau did not replace earlier cultural systems but adapted and integrated them.

This study investigates the influence of peer assessment on students’ writing scores in descriptive texts within the context of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) instruction. The importance of enhancing descriptive writing skills is underscored by its critical role in effective communication, particularly in language learning environments where detailed observation and expressive clarity are essential. While existing research has demonstrated the benefits of peer assessment for various writing genres, limited attention has been given to its application in descriptive writing and to students’ subjective experiences during the feedback process. This research addresses this gap by focusing specifically on how peer assessment shapes students’ revision behaviors, perceptions, and writing development in descriptive genres. Employing an exploratory research design, the study involved 24 second-year university students enrolled in an English Education program. Data were collected through pre- and post-writing tasks, structured peer assessment sheets, and guided reflections from participants. The analysis combined textual comparison of writing samples, thematic interpretation of feedback and reflection data, and quantitative examination of score changes, allowing for a comprehensive understanding of both performance outcomes and learners’ cognitive and emotional responses. The findings reveal significant improvements in students’ descriptive writing scores following peer assessment. Participants reported increased awareness of descriptive features, more strategic revision practices, and positive perceptions of peer feedback’s role in their learning process. The study highlights that peer assessment not only enhances writing performance but also fosters critical reflection and learner autonomy. These findings suggest that incorporating structured peer review processes can be an effective pedagogical strategy in EFL writing instruction, especially for genres demanding detailed and expressive language. The implications emphasize the need for educators to adopt multifaceted assessment approaches that integrate peer feedback to promote deeper engagement, independent thinking, and ongoing improvement in descriptive writing skills.

Background Study: Marriage is widely regarded as a foundational social institution that sustains moral order, regulates social relations, and preserves cultural continuity across civilizations and major religious traditions. Islam, Catholicism, and Protestant Christianity each conceptualize marriage as a sacred and morally binding union, yet they articulate its purposes, ethical boundaries, and legal implications in distinct ways. Methods: This study employs a qualitative library-based method, drawing on primary religious texts—the Qur’an, the Bible, and Catholic magisterial documents—alongside scholarly literature on religious ethics and family law. Through systematic textual comparison, the study identifies core ethical principles and examines their similarities and divergences across the three traditions. Key findings: reveal that Islam, Catholicism, and Protestant Christianity share several universal ethical values—commitment, fidelity, responsibility, and justice—while differing in doctrinal interpretations of marital permanence, divorce, gender roles, and reproductive ethics. Catholicism affirms the indissolubility of marriage as a sacrament; Islam upholds marriage as a sacred contract yet permits divorce under regulated conditions; and Protestant Christianity adopts a covenantal framework that allows pastoral flexibility, including divorce in exceptional cases. Contributes: to interreligious ethical discourse by highlighting convergent moral principles that can support dialogue in plural societies, particularly in contexts where interfaith marriage remains contested. Conclusion: the research underscores that despite doctrinal differences, the three religions maintain shared ethical foundations that can strengthen social harmony and enrich contemporary discussions on family ethics and interreligious understanding.

This study examines the English translation of Lu You’s Southern Song travel diary Rushu Ji (A Journey to Shu) in Philip Watson's Grand Canal, Great River: The Travel Diary of a 12th-century Chinese Poet, focusing specifically on its de-piction of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal and Zhejiang Eastern Canal sec-tions. The research aims to reveal how Watson’s translation strategies and par-atextual manipulation systematically reconstruct the original text’s narra-tive, spatial, and cultural significances. Through detailed textual comparison and discourse analysis informed by André Lefevere’s rewriting theory (1992), Gér-ard Genette’s paratext theory (1997), and cultural geography’s production of space theory, this paper demonstrates how the translation enacts a profound act of cross-cultural domestication. The analysis reveals three key dimensions of reconstruction: narratively, through systematic omission of official records and scholarly verifications, Lu You transforms from a scholar-official fulfilling impe-rial duties to a po-et-explorer; spatially, by filtering hydraulic engineering ter-minology while en-hancing scenic descriptions, the functional canal, an imperi-al lifeline, becomes a scenic waterway conforming to western picturesque ide-als; paratextually, through title, maps and preface, readers are guided toward expecting a romantic journey through an exotic land. While this creative treason successfully intro-duced Rushu Ji to English readers, the reconstruction inevita-bly simplified and obscured the text's rich historical information concerning Southern Song gov-ernance, scholar-official ethos, and infrastructure complexi-ty. The study con-cludes that the translation, despite its dissemination merits, represents a signif-icant case of cultural filtration, offering critical insights for reflecting on image construction and cultural representation in translating Chinese classics for global audiences.

Rabindranath Tagore, a Nobel laureate and one of the defining voices in world literature, frequently engaged with India’s philosophical and spiritual heritage, drawing deeply from foundational texts like the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. This research paper closely examines Tagore’s interpretation and creative recontextualization of the Bhagavad Gita, focusing especially on how he weaves its core themes into his poetry, prose, and broader philosophical outlook. By delving into textual comparisons, intertextual resonances, and Tagore’s own writings—most notably “Gitanjali”—this study demonstrates both Tagore’s fidelity to and his innovation upon the Gita’s teachings. Through a synthesis of spirituality, universalism, and poetic imagination, Tagore refashions the Gita’s doctrine of duty, detachment, and devotion for the modern world, emphasizing an inner transformation that transcends sectarianism, ritualism, and fatalism. The analysis traces the evolution of central ideas—dharma and cognitive crisis, the human-divine relationship, creative evolution, and the poeticization of surrender—illustrating Tagore’s singular role in rendering ancient Indian wisdom both globally accessible and existentially relevant.

This research examines the transfiguration of Jesus in the Synoptic Gospels, with particular emphasis on the theological distinctiveness of the Gospel of Mark. The study employs a qualitative method using a literature review approach, focusing on narrative analysis, textual comparison, and theological reflection. The analysis shows that although Matthew, Mark, and Luke present the transfiguration event, each Gospel offers distinctive features in wording, narrative structure, and theological emphasis. Mark presents the transfiguration in a concise form, portraying Jesus as the messianic Son of God and as a prophet like Moses, while highlighting the apocalyptic and symbolic aspects of this divine encounter. From Mark’s perspective, the transfiguration serves as a prefiguration of Jesus’ resurrection and a revelation of His messianic identity, which in the Greco-Roman context may be understood as apotheosis—the elevation of a human into divinity. This study affirms that the transfiguration in Mark is not only a historical event but also a theological event that encompasses eschatological and christological dimensions, as well as a reflection on divine hiddenness. In conclusion, the transfiguration is understood as a manifestation of Jesus’ hidden glory within suffering, confirming that the path to resurrection and glory must pass through the cross. This article contributes to biblical and theological studies by demonstrating how Mark articulates a unique christology, one that remains relevant for contemporary Christian faith and opens avenues for further exploration through apocalyptic theology and scriptural intertextuality.

The question of how to properly understand and proactively respond to life and death is a fundamental human concern and a core topic in both philosophical and religious studies. Seventeenth-century Chinese philosopher Fang Yizhi (1611–1671) held a unique perspective on this issue, yet his insights have received little scholarly attention. Employing a methodology of textual comparison and logical analysis, this study systematically examines Fang Yizhi’s discourse on life and death. Grounded in the framework of the “Unity of Heaven and Humanity,” (tianren heyi 天人合一) he utilized dialectical modes of thought such as “primary and complementary” (zhengyu 正余) and “inverse causality” (fanyin 反因) to view life and death as categories that are not only mutually antithetical but also capable of mutual transformation. He further substantiated this view with a Confucian-style ontological grounding. Furthermore, this paper outlines the methods he proposed for the liberation of those lost in the sea of life-and-death anxiety. The findings underscore the enduring relevance of Fang Yizhi’s philosophy of life and death in addressing modern existential anxieties and encouraging a more positive and proactive approach to life.

The outcome-based education (OBE) framework emphasizes rigorous constructive alignment among learning outcomes, instructional activities, and assessment criteria. Within English for Specific Purposes, particularly Commentary Writing, providing detailed, genre-specific and pedagogically coherent teacher feedback remains challenging. The emergence of artificial intelligence large language models (AI LLMs) offers a potential solution by enhancing feedback quality and enabling an efficient scaffolding approach. This study proposes an AI-empowered teacher scaffolding model in commentary writing teaching, where AI specifically focuses on genre features, informational completeness, and linguistic quality, while the teacher acts as a pedagogical mediator, strategically designing prompts, critically evaluating AI output, and transforming it into personalized and outcome-oriented feedback. It also explores the design principles of this human-machine collaborative feedback system in aligning with OBE outcomes, and students’ perceptions of its efficacy. This quasi-experimental intervention study compares an experimental group (AI-mediated scaffolding) with a control group (traditional teacher feedback). Students’ pre-revision text (version 1) and post-revision text (version 2) were collected and analyzed. Quantitative analyses included multi-dimensional textual comparisons. Qualitative data from teacher logs and student interviews helped to assess the instructional process and subjective experiences. Findings showed this AI-empowered scaffolding model significantly enhanced students’ ability to master news genre conventions and overall writing competencies compared with traditional feedback. Teachers’ mediation of AI feedback ensured alignment with OBE learning outcomes and fostered learners’ autonomy and critical evaluation skills regarding AI suggestions. This study presents an effective methodology for incorporating LLMs into journalism commentary writing instruction while maintaining pedagogical integrity.

This study aims to analyze the bibliographical features of the commercially printed woodblock (Bangakbon) 30-folio Seoul-area edition (Gyeongpan) of Sodaeseongjeon held at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (TUFS) and to investigate its relationship with other Seoul-area editions of the same text by comparing their textual content. TUFS houses five identical copies of the 30-folio Sodaeseongjeon, all bearing the imprint ‘Hyogyo Singan’(孝敎新刊), meaning “newly engraved at Hyogyo.” This 30-folio edition shows similarities in format and in the number of characters per half-folio from folio 2 to folio 20 with the 24-folio edition. Specifically, from folio 3 to folio 20, the number of characters per half-folio ranges from 340 to 360, but it decreases to between 290 and 310 from folio 21 onwards, accompanied by a change in font style, indicating a composite printing style. Considering the unusual misengraving examples and the existence of multiple identical copies (five in total), it is presumed that this 30-folio edition at TUFS is a Japanese reprint of a Korean original published in Joseon bearing the ‘Hyogyo Singan’ imprint. The narrative length up to folio 20 in the 30-folio edition matches that of the 24-folio edition and shows little difference compared to the 36-folio edition. In the concluding section, however, the 30-folio edition has more narrative content than the 24-folio edition, yet less than the 23-folio and 36-folio editions. Textual comparison reveals that from folio 21 onward, especially in the war narratives, the 24-folio edition significantly abridges the content present in the 30-folio edition, whereas the 36-folio edition expands upon it, making the 30-folio edition most similar to the 23-folio edition in this section. The 36-folio edition distinctly elaborates on narrative scenes, causing textual complications. These findings suggest that rather than the 30-folio edition being an abridged version of the 36-folio edition, it is more likely that the 36-folio edition expanded upon a common source text. In the concluding marriage narrative, the 24-folio edition again abbreviates content compared to the 30-folio edition, whereas both the 36-folio and 23-folio editions show an expansion of narrative detail, marking this section as exhibiting the greatest variance among the four editions. Connecting these characteristics to the composite printing style of the 30-folio edition, it can be inferred that the 30-folio edition was produced by slightly altering a preceding, now lost, ‘33-folio edition’ by primarily increasing characters per half-folio from folio 3 to 20 and then adopting an existing printing format from folio 21 onward. Additionally, it can be assumed that the 36-fascicle version was a redaction that elaborated on the military narrative sections of the ‘33-fascicle version.’

This article draws on the concepts of miscellany, self-fashioning and imitation to analyse how the former actor, author and playwright, Agustín de Rojas, informs a wide audience while fashioning a courtly identity and defending his claim to minor nobility (hidalguía) throughout El buen repúblico (1611). This study analyzes how Rojas’ strategies for self-fashioning come into conflict with the Inquisition in the 1612 Índice. Supplementary appendices offer specific textual comparisons and provide a guide for navigating the epistolary miscellany’s copious erudition and borrowings and may inspire future studies, an updated critical edition or an English translation of this invaluable miscellany.

This study examines Pearl S. Buck’s English translation of Shui Hu Zhuan (All Men Are Brothers) through a contextual, paratextual, and textual lens, with particular focus on her ideological positioning as a Western female translator depicting Chinese women. Grounded in postcolonial feminist theory, the research aims to explore how Buck’s bicultural identity and ideological stance influenced her translation choices, especially in the representation of gender. A qualitative methodology is employed, integrating contextual biography, paratextual commentary, and close textual comparison with later translations by Shapiro and Jackson. Findings indicate that while Buck adopts a largely literal and foreignizing translation style, she does not mitigate, and in some cases amplifies, the misogynistic portrayals present in the source text. Her lexical choices, such as translating neutral or mildly critical Chinese terms into morally charged English equivalents, suggest an orientalist and gendered interpretive framework. These translation decisions appear to reflect not only a commitment to linguistic fidelity but also implicit cultural biases toward Chinese femininity. The study concludes that Buck’s translation reinforces Western-centered ideological narratives, casting the translator as an active participant in shaping cross-cultural representations. The findings underscore the importance of critically examining the translator’s positionality in literary translation. This research contributes to discussions on symbolic power in translation and calls for greater ethical and gender-sensitive awareness among cultural mediators working with texts from historically marginalized contexts.

Averroes’ kalām treaty, the Kitāb al-kašf ʿan manāhiğ al-adilla is one of the most controversial texts from the Andalusian philosopher. Its writing relied vastly on Aristotelian texts and opuses from the aš‘arite kalām, of which Averroes wanted to deconstruct and refute the doctrines. Most of its references – whether they are Aristotelian or ašʿarite are not explicitly quoted – are consistent with the medieval Islamic customs. Having published between 2005 and 2007 an analysis of the Aristotelian sources of this text, this contribution aims at studying the ašʿarite authors critiqued by Averroes and broadly mentioned as the ‘modern ašʿarites’. The main source discovered through this textual comparison is the Kitāb al-Niẓāmī fī usūl ad-dīn by Abu-Bakr Al-Fūrakī, author of a kalām treaty of which a single copy has been conserved in Istanbul. A transcription and a translation of its most salient excerpts have been included in this contribution, in order to show the relationship between those two kalām treaties.

Artificial intelligence writing tools (e.g., ChatGPT/Grammarly) have caught the attention of many debates in terms of benefits and risk at using them in education. One camp thinks that these technologies will democratize academic support because they improve conciseness, fluency, and confidence among students, while the other camp throws caution that over-dependence on them may develop formulaic writing, inhibit critical thinking, and partly make unclear authorship. A mixed-method design was adopted in this study: data from survey response among 250 undergraduate and postgraduate students, plus 20 faculty interviews and textual analysis of AI-assisted assignments. The findings indicate that students largely identified AI as being useful in grammar, structure, and development of ideas, while faculty were concerned with its threats, such as plagiarism, dependence, and the dulling of creativity. Textual comparisons confirmed this contention: AI-assisted essays were fluent and cohesive but more formulaic, less original, and associated with higher similarity scores. In conclusion, the pedagogical value of AI is context-dependent and varies on some parameters: academic level, discipline, and institutional policy. Future studies should look to the long-term consequences as well as cross-cultural adoption and then find effective methods of enacting AI literacy to avoid any academic integrity violations.

This article explores how oral traditions preserve memory, subvert authority, and reinvent identity by tracing the transatlantic journey of “La Ziguezon”, a French folk song that La Bottine Souriante revived in Quebec in 1983. Drawing on historical chansonniers, ethnomusicological studies, and oral recordings, it examines how the song evolved from a 16th-century Breton ballad into a contemporary emblem of Québécois folklore. Focus is given to its melodic resilience, nonsense refrain (“ziguezon zinzon”), and gendered narrative, in which a young woman rejects patriarchal reward and composes her own response. Methodologically, the study blends textual comparison, musical analysis, and critical folklore theory to examine “La Ziguezon” as both artifact and performance. A comparative table highlights its adaptability across regions, eras, and singers. The article also reflects on the challenges of studying oral material within a print-based aca-demic paradigm. Findings suggest that the song endures not through fixed meaning but through its rhythmic structure, performative irony, and mnemonic potency. Its absurd refrain functions as a ritual of resistance, enabling marginal voices—especially female ones—to reclaim agency through rhythm and play. Rather than preserving the past, “La Ziguezon” embodies what this study calls an “improvised archive”: a living, rhythmic form that adapts across generations. Ultimately, the article argues that folk songs like “La Ziguezon” are not cultural fossils but dynamic sites of memory and subversion—traditions that survive precisely because they can be sung anew.

This study on the subject of Arabic logic claims that its main difference from modern logic stems from the conception of the reasoning (al-fikr). Firstly it presents compartmentalization of Arabic logic. Logical compartments are five universals, the ways of defining, propositions and their judgments, syllogism and five arts/or syllogistic matter. By analyzing quoted excerpts, it reduces Arabic logical thinking to the function of reasoning. In terms of either Arabic logic or modern Logic, logic can be reduced to correct reasoning. When reduced, the fundamental difference appears. The assessment reveals that modern logic relies only on propositional relations, while Arabic logical thinking relies on the dimidiate domain of apprehension and judgment. The aim of the study is also to reveal this. Its suggestion is that if a comparison is to be made between Arabic logic and modern logic, it should start with the concept of al-Fikr. The method used is to put forward a new thesis by synthesizing the data obtained and document analysis used in qualitative research. In addition, it is to resort to textual comparisons. The data was collected through document creation.

This article explores the connections between Carlo Collodi’s Pinocchio (1881–83) and nineteenth-century Italian puppetry and related literature. Through textual comparisons with works by Stendhal, Angelo Brofferio, Paul Ginasty, Pietro Coccoluto Ferrigni (alias Yorick figlio di Yorick, hereafter Yorick) and Corrado Ricci, I examine how Pinocchio reflects the fascination with puppetry that permeated late-nineteenth-century Italy. The analysis focuses on three key case studies: the motif of the hanging puppet in puppetry literature, which, I posit, resonates with the episode of Pinocchio’s hanging in Chapter 15; the depiction of distinct types of puppeteers, which I show are reflected in the characters of Geppetto and Fire-Eater; the technological innovations in puppet manipulation techniques in the last decades of the nineteenth century, which, I suggest, may have influenced Collodi’s conceptualization of an unruly, stringless puppet. Beyond these primary case studies, the article offers further reflections on thematic, linguistic and narrative parallels between Collodi’s novels and contemporary puppet performances and literature. By considering the interplay between fiction, non-fiction texts and historical puppet practices, the article sheds light on the ways in which Pinocchio engages with and reflects the puppet cultural milieu of its time.

This article is an attempt to identify the scribes of four anonymous and undated manuscripts containing the Old Swedish version of the Revelations of St Birgitta of Sweden: C 61 (Uppsala University Library), A 33 and A 44 (The National Library of Sweden), and Mh 20 (Lund University Library) and by means of textual comparison formulate a hypothesis of their place of origin. It is shown that the youngest of these, C 61, was compiled from exemplars representing different versions of the Old Swedish text and that the editio princeps of the Latin text (Ghotan 1492) was used for comparison. One of the main hands in C 61 and the only hand in A 33 are attested in the Registrum ecclesie lincopensis. The scribe of A 44 and Mh 20 is identified as Lars Finvidsson, canon and notarius publicus in Linköping at the beginning of the fifteenth century. This suggests that these books were produced at a learned and highly literate scribal centre by professional scribes, possibly commissioned for this purpose by the abbey in Vadstena.

This paper investigates the complex causal relationships within Jain narrative literature (prathamānuyoga/dharmakathānuyoga), specifically focusing on the examination of the Sītā abandonment narrative across Prakrit, Sanskrit, and Apabhramsha textual traditions. By employing textual analysis and philosophical interpretation, the study explores the intricate causative mechanisms in narratives by Vimalasūri, Raviṣeṇa, and Svayambhūdeva. The paper addresses critical research questions examining the multifaceted nature of causality: the root causes of Sītā’s abandonment, the identification of precursory causal signs like dreams, cravings during pregnancy and omens, an analysis of Sītā’s philosophical response to her circumstances, and the complex interplay between external and internal instrumental causes (bahiraṅga- and antaraṅga-nimitta-kāraṇa). Through rigorous textual comparison and philosophical analysis of the Paümacariyaṃ, Padmapuraṇa, and Paümacariü, the study reveals that Jain narrative literature predominantly employs instrumental causality as its primary explanatory framework. The paper demonstrates how external and internal instrumental causes interplay, and explores the role of Sītā’s bad or good karma in shaping her narrative trajectory. The paper contributes to the ongoing scholarship on Jain narratives by analyzing causality in religious narratives, offering philosophical insights into narrative causation, providing an interdisciplinary perspective that bridges literary analysis with philosophical interpretation, and illuminating the ways Jain narratives employ causality to explain complex human experiences and ethical dilemmas, ultimately revealing how narrative structures reflect deeper metaphysical and philosophical concepts within the Jain textual tradition.

Today, the majority of data generated and processed in organizations is unstructured. NoSQL database management systems perform the management of this data. The problem is that these unstructured databases cannot be analyzed by traditional OLAP analytical treatments. The latter are mainly used in structured relational databases. In order to apply OLAP analyses on NoSQL data, the structuring of this data is essential. In this paper, we propose a model for structuring the data of a document-oriented NoSQL database using machine learning (ML). This method is broken down into three steps, first the vectorization of documents, then the learning via different ML algorithms and finally the classification, which guarantees that documents with the same structure will belong to the same collection. Therefore, the modeling of a data warehouse can be carried out in order to create OLAP cubes. Since the models found by learning allow the parallel computation of the classifier, our approach represents an advantage in terms of speed since we will avoid doubly iterative algorithms, which rely on textual comparisons (TC). A comparative study of the performances is carried out in this work in order to detect the most efficient methods to perform this type of classification.