The Historical Fiction Based on True Stories:An Analysis of the Menghui Gushu by Huang Jianhua with the Aid of Historical Records and Archaeological Objects of Art

The Gushu Chuanqi[Legend of Ancient Shu]trilogy is historically grounded,although it is largely fictional.Five characteristics of the society represented in the trilogy,i.e.,walled cities,sacred statues,silk fabrics,burials,and pottery,were examined with the aid of related historical records and archaeological objects of art unearthed in Sichuan.This paper made a comparative study of these things with their respective textual descriptions in the Menghui Gushu[Ancient Shu Revisited in the Dream],the first volume of the Gushu Chuanqi[Legend of Ancient Shu]trilogy by Huang Jianhua.The results support the assertion that the trilogy is not a free interpretation of history but historical fiction based on true stories.

Relationship between earthquake and volcanic eruption inferred from historical records

A large number of seismic records are discovered for the first time in the historical materials about Wudalianchi volcanic group eruption in 1720~1721, which provides us with abundant volcanic earthquake information. Based on the written records, the relationship between earthquake and volcanic eruption is discussed in the paper. Fur-thermore it is pointed that earthquake swarm is an important indication of volcanic eruption. Therefore, monitoring volcanic earthquakes is of great significance for forecasting volcanic eruption.

Test Calibration of the Paleoclimatic Proxy Data with Chinese Historical Records

The calibration of paleoclimate proxies is one of the key problems in the study of paleoclimate at present. Historical documentary records of climate are suitable for calibration on dating and the climatic implication of the proxy data in a climatological sense. A test calibration on correcting the Delingha tree ring precipitation series using Chinese historical documentary records shows that among the 44 extreme dry cases in 1401 1950 AD, 42 cases （or 95.5%） are believable. Thus the long series of Delingha rings-denoted precipitation is highly reliable. Another test to validate the monsoon intensity proxy data based on the Zhanjiang Huguangyan sediments using historical records indicates that the years of Lake Maar Ti content series-designated winter monsoon intensities are entirely opposite to historical documents- depicted years of harsh winters in 800-900 AD. As a result, serious doubt is raised about the climatic implication of this paleo-monsoon proxy series.

The Cyclical Views of Human History in Thucydides’Archaeology and Sima Qian’s Historical Records

Many previous thinkers have imagined that there was a glorious or harmonious period in the past better than the world of their own time,but Thucydides and Sima Qian do not describe the early stages of human society as a Golden Age.I suggest that Sima Qian marks a separation between the mythical stories and the historical spirit in China,just as Thucydides did in Greece.Further,they both presented a modified cyclical view of human history.For a better understanding of the basic characteristics of Greek and Chinese historiographies,this paper discusses the cyclical views of human history underlying ancient Greek and early Chinese historiographies through a comparative study of Thucydides’and Sima Qian’s texts.I analyze some similarities and differences between the two great historians’conceptions of historical process,and I conclude that Thucydides believes human intelligence develops through a historical spiral,while Sima Qian focuses on dynastic cycles with a strong moral concern.

Could bright γ-ray burst optical transients have been recorded historically?

The brightest optical flash from a γ-ray burst （GRB） was, briefly, a naked- eye object. Several other GRBs have produced optical transients only slightly fainter. We argue that, based upon the recently accumulated data from hundreds of GRB transients, many such optical events should have been visible to the unaided eye in the course of human history. The most likely repositories of such observations are histor- ical records from the Orient, and we have located and discuss a number of candidates. We also consider the value of such observations, should any very likely ones be uncovered, to modern astrophysics.

China's Outward FDI in 2016 Hitting Another Historical Record High

According to EY 4th issue of its China outbound investment report'China Go Abroad—Key connectivity improvements along the Belt and Road in telecommunications&aviation sectors',and expects China’s outward FDI in 2016 is likely to exceed 170 billion US dollars for the whole year and reach another historical record high.In the coming years,the tide of China’s overseas investment should continue to rise and maintain a double-digit growth rate.

Preliminary Report on the Anurans of Mount Hilong-hilong, Agusan Del Norte, Eastern Mindanao, Philippines

Mount Hilong-hilong is a key biodiversity area, spanning several municipalities in the provinces of the Caraga Region （Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Norte and Surigao del Sur）, northeastern Mindanao Island, southern Philippines. The Hilong-hilong massif remains one of the most signiifcant forested areas in Mindanao, threatened with habitat modification （forest removal, degradation） and other anthropogenic disturbances related to renewable resource extraction. Amphibians are key indicator species for environmental quality and are useful focal taxa for conservation efforts. Relying on historical museum database information and new survey work on Mount Hilong-hilong, we provide species accounts and describe microhabitat preferences of the anurans （frogs and toads） present in the area. Twenty-seven species representing seven anuran families were studied in detail at elevations between 700 to 1300 meters above sea level; 16 of these species are Mindanao faunal region endemics. Qualitative overlap in microhabitat use was observed, suggesting that, for the species recorded, intact forest may ensure species persistence to some levels of anthropogenic disturbance. A more extensive herpetofaunal survey is needed to fully estimate the herpetofaunal diversity of Mount Hilong-hilong. Because amphibians represent ifne-scale indicators of environmental quality and microendemism, we recommend appropriate ifne-scaled regional strategies geared towards the conservation of amphibians in the Caraga area, northeast Mindanao Island.

Review of the Ochsenius Theory for Salt Generation in the Transylvanian Basin,Romania

This short study aims to highlight contradictions in Ochsenius’s model for the basin-wide salt generation(Kara-Bogas bay desiccation).Without claiming completeness,and through numerous records cited from the specific literature,we attempt to point at crucial incoherencies in the classical evaporitic model.In our presupposition,these might have led our ancestors to conclude that basin-wide salt generation needs theoretically well-based models.This is emphatically true for the Transylvanian Basin,Romania.The selected records are basic for the specific topic.We checked their validity by logical reasoning and by literature references.As for salt generation,the classical Ochsenius model has been upheld for the generation of evaporates even though it has been known that there are records denying the exclusivity of the evaporation model.It has also been proven that deep-sea salt exists,yet terminology is reluctant to follow the new discoveries.If non-evaporitic salt generation exists,it entails that huge salt deposits may exist,which are not remnants of a desiccation process.These cannot be considered as part of the classical theory of evaporation.Former researchers left important but neglected records,which should have updated the model of Ochsenius by now.Well-documented historical observation uncovered some contradictions in the salt generation of the Transylvanian Basin,Romania.Hereby we list 10 important contradictions,which may reveal that the well-known theory of Ochsenius(i.e.drying of Kara Bogaz bay)ought to be challenged for the Transylvanian Basin.

ZHANG Heng’s Seismometer and Longxi earthquake in AD 134

Longxi earthquake was the only earthquake example, which ZHANG Heng＇s Seismometer had detected. Therefore this event attracted the attention of the academic circle and also served as crucial evidence to examine the rationality of the reconstructed model of the seismometer. But for a long time, owing to the fact that the Jincheng-Longxi earthquake on February 28, AD 138 was mistaken as the event went against the historical records, it was refuted by the researches of both in China and abroad. By making careful textual research of historical records, especially by analyzing the description of Longxi earthquake of Houhan Shu, by studying the historical background exposed by historical literatures at that time, ZHANG Heng＇s biography, his poems and place names of Han Dynasty, by comparing five earthquakes occurred in Qing Dynasty and their attenuation of seismic intensity, the conclusion can be drawn that the Longxi earthquake should take place on December 13, AD 134 （the third year of Yangjia reign）. As a rough assessment, the epicenter was in Tianshui area and the magnitude was about 7. Due to the political corruption and inability to scientifically explain earthquake phenomenon at the end of Eastern Han Dynasty, a tragedy occurred during the later years of ZHANG Heng＇s life that had direct relations with the earthquake successively occurred in AD 133 and AD 134 after invention of seismometer in AD 132. In order to analyze the ground motion at Lingtai caused by the event in AD 134, the digital broad-band seismic records of three Longxi earthquakes in recent years recorded by Luoyang seismic station are used. The numerical modelings are made from three aspects of seismic magnitude definition, digital broad-band seismograms and empirical Green＇s function method. The results have shown that the maximum horizontal displacement at Lingtai is between 6-8 mm, and the maximum acceleration is less than 10^-2 m/s^2. These results have played an important role in quantitative test of the scientific reconstruction model of ZHANG Heng＇s Seismometer.

Average Annual Temperature Changes in the Holocene in China

Abstract: In 1876 Blytt proposed a post-glacial climatic classification, maintaining that the then temperature fluctuated 1–2°C higher or lower than that today. Lamb (1969) held that in Europe “the axis of the subtropical high pressure belt was generally displaced north by about 10° latitudes” during the Hypsithermal and that the temperature was three to six times higher than that in the postglacial period.

Archaeological Work IN THE RUINS OF CHINGWA TAKTSE PALACES

The ruins of Chingwa Taktse are located in the Chogye Valley in Lhoka of Tibet.It faces the famous Valley of the Kings across a distance.According to Tibetan historical records,Chingwa Taktse was the earliest Tubo palace complex.Six notable palaces were built successively on the rolling hills here.Local folklore has it that it is a＂princess＇s tomb＂：

Gridding cropland data reconstruction over the agricultural region of China in 1820

Recent studies have demonstrated the importance of LUCC change with climate and ecosystem simulation, but the result could only be determined precisely if a high-resolution underlying land cover map is used. While the efforts based satellites have provided a good baseline for present land cover, what the next advancement in the research about LUCC change required is the development of reconstruction of historical LUCC change especially spatially-explicit historical dataset. Being different from other similar studies, this study is based on the analysis of historical land use patterns in the traditional cultivated region of China. Taking no account of the less important factors, altitude, slope and population patterns are selected as the major drivers of reclamation in ancient China, and used to design the HCGM （Historical Cropland Gridding Model, at a 60 km×60 km resolution）, which is an empirical model for allocating the historical cropland inventory data spatially to grid cells in each political unit. Then we use this model to reconstruct cropland distribution of the study area in 1820, and verify the result by prefectural cropland data of 1820, which is from the historical documents. The statistical analyzing result shows that the model can simulate the patterns of the cropland distribution in the historical period in the traditional cultivated region efficiently.

Variations in Typhoon Landfalls over China

The interannual variability in typhoon landfalls over China is investigated using historical and modern records. For the purpose of substantiating and elaborating upon the claim of north to south variation in tropical cyclone activity over China, a north-to-south anti-correlation in yearly activity is confirmed in the historical cyclone records. When cyclone activity over the province of Guangdong is high （low）, it tends to be low （high） over the province of Fujian. A similar spatial variation is identified in the modern records using a factor analysis model, which delineates typhoon activity over the southern provinces of Guangdong and Hainan from the activity over the northern provinces of Fujian, Taiwan, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Shandong. A landfall index of typhoon activity representing the degree to which each year follows this pattern of activity is used to identify correlated climate variables. A useful statistical regression model that includes sea-level pressure differences between Mongolia and western China and sea-surface temperature （SST） over the northwestern Pacific Ocean during the summer explains 26% of the interannual variability of the landfall index. It is suggested that a stronger than normal north-south pressure gradient increases the surface easterly wind flow over northern China： this, coupled with lower SST over the Pacific, favors typhoons taking a more westerly track toward southern China.

Oldest Peach Fossil Found in Yunnan

Prunus persica（peach）is an economically important deciduous tree in the Rosaceae family that produces20 million tons of fruit per year.China has a long history of peach cultivation known from both historical and archaeological evidences.So far.