The Five Plague Gods(五瘟神) in the Shuilu(水陆) murals from the Ming and Qing dynasties exemplify a distinctive manifestation of plague gods image developed under the pedigree of Taoist gods.As a significant system f...The Five Plague Gods(五瘟神) in the Shuilu(水陆) murals from the Ming and Qing dynasties exemplify a distinctive manifestation of plague gods image developed under the pedigree of Taoist gods.As a significant system for expelling disasters in Shuilu,the depiction of the Five Plague Gods prominently merges human beings and livestock.This shape form to a large extent,draws on the image of Nuo(傩),a figure reflecting an imagination of the host of plague pathogens.In terms of the numbers of gods,it aligns with the conceptual framework of Wu Xing(五行 the five elements),a foundational principle in traditional Chinese medicine.The internal cultural connection highlights the means of plague prevention and control in China,as well as the external reflection of plague culture.Through multi-dimensional interpretations with the double proof method,this article dissects the formation,core elements,and cultural characteristics of the beliefs in the Five Plague Gods reflected in the Shuilu murals,and transcends mere visual semantics,offering a deeper understanding of these complex cultural symbols.展开更多
South of Godé, in the central-western region of Burkina Faso, granitoids of Paleoproterozoic age are similar to those of the Man/Leo shield. This study focused on the petrographic and geochemical characteristics ...South of Godé, in the central-western region of Burkina Faso, granitoids of Paleoproterozoic age are similar to those of the Man/Leo shield. This study focused on the petrographic and geochemical characteristics of these granitoids, with the following results: 1) The tonalite that outcrops in the south-west of the study area belongs to the TTG group or first generation granitoids. They are most often ribboned at outcrop and have a geochemical signature close to that of Archean TTGs. Tonalite has a metaluminous character and the REE spectrum indicates that it may be derived from partial melting of basic magmatic rocks. 2) Biotite granites have no outcrop structure. They are weakly metaluminous to peraluminous and potassic to highly potassic. Their rare earth spectra indicate that they may be derived from the partial melting of TTG granitoids. 3) Geotectonic diagrams show that the granitoids studied to the south of Godé were emplaced in an active tectonic context similar to that of present-day subduction zones.展开更多
Three short performances from three regional operas present an eccentric comic image of Chenghuang城隍(City God).This serious and formidable god is performed by the role of chou丑(clown),and the role’s physical art s...Three short performances from three regional operas present an eccentric comic image of Chenghuang城隍(City God).This serious and formidable god is performed by the role of chou丑(clown),and the role’s physical art shatters the audience’s perception of this god’s traditional image.The role’s exaggerated and awkward body also results in a performance-centered structure in which negative aspects of human nature are vividly portrayed.The eccentric representation brings laughter,but the laughter is also fully charged with Confucian concepts of goodness,righteousness,justice,and tianli天理(the way of heaven).Turning a divine image into a hilarious one is an unconventional manner and also a peculiar tactic of these performers.Through this tactic,these performers not only hide their subtle criticism of the reality and the authority to survive censorship but also disseminate successfully traditional values and folk religious beliefs.This tactic indicates the cultural function of the theater and demonstrates how traditions can remain valid and functional through a force that arises from the interaction between Confucianism,folk religious beliefs,and performance.展开更多
Studying the covers of the three editions of The Kitchen God’s Wife by Amy Tan,a famous female Chinese American writer,the author finds Chinese cultural elements stood out in publishers’earliest recommendations,but ...Studying the covers of the three editions of The Kitchen God’s Wife by Amy Tan,a famous female Chinese American writer,the author finds Chinese cultural elements stood out in publishers’earliest recommendations,but later were replaced by immigrant mother-daughter relationship,and then were overwhelmed by the concern for human beings.It is interesting that this change fits the changing focuses of Chinese American writers in the 21st century.展开更多
This work examined Bertrand Russell’s main arguments against the existence of God and his strongly negative opinion on the historic role of religions.These arguments were:(1)The idea that God is a First Cause is inva...This work examined Bertrand Russell’s main arguments against the existence of God and his strongly negative opinion on the historic role of religions.These arguments were:(1)The idea that God is a First Cause is invalid because the cosmos doesn’t have to have a beginning;(2)If there were reasons for God to issue the observed natural laws and not others then God Himself was just an intermediary of older laws;(3)Considering all the defects of the world one cannot consider God as an omnipotent designer;(4)If God created both right and wrong then it is no longer a significant statement that God is good;And(5)most people believe in God just because they have been taught from early infancy to do it.The criticisms of cosmological neuroscience were as follows:(1)The particular cosmic wave that carries our Universe could have a beginning;(2)Although there were reasons for the natural laws which God issued,it cannot diminish the divine creativity of this act;(3)Although the world is indeed full of defects,they are as much parts of the cosmic order as its splendors,due to their common roots in the Law of Coexistence in Diversity;(4)Although right and wrong may ultimately be both in God’s blueprint,He is still benevolent due to the Law of Divine-Evil Asymmetry permitting wrong only under the dominance of right;And(5)although many believe in God only because they were taught to do so and hope it provides safety,this is an oversimplification unable to explain the genuine Faith of others.The devastating judgement of Russel that religions have been just“a source of untold misery to the human race”was also examined.This brief article could not detail all the positive social changes with which the religions of goodness(e.g.,Abrahamic religions)enriched history,such as introducing the respect for human life.But the paper did remind the reader of the God-inspired work of Lao Tzu,Rumi,Michelangelo,the Bach-interpreting Leonard Bernstein,Mother Teresa,Martin Luther King Jr.,George Harrison and others including the architects of the Borobudur temple and astronauts like Frank Borman who read from the Bible while flying around the Moon.The paper ended with the central thought of Bertrand Russell that“The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge”,to emphasize that if committed to their Conscience atheists like him can live as moral lives as the men and women of Faith—the difference is being nothing else than sensing or not the Soul that permeates the cosmos.展开更多
基金financed by the grants from Shanxi Province Postgraduate Education Innovation Plan (No. 2023KY126)Humanities and Social Sciences Research Project of The Ministry of Ecuation (No. 23YJAZH182)。
文摘The Five Plague Gods(五瘟神) in the Shuilu(水陆) murals from the Ming and Qing dynasties exemplify a distinctive manifestation of plague gods image developed under the pedigree of Taoist gods.As a significant system for expelling disasters in Shuilu,the depiction of the Five Plague Gods prominently merges human beings and livestock.This shape form to a large extent,draws on the image of Nuo(傩),a figure reflecting an imagination of the host of plague pathogens.In terms of the numbers of gods,it aligns with the conceptual framework of Wu Xing(五行 the five elements),a foundational principle in traditional Chinese medicine.The internal cultural connection highlights the means of plague prevention and control in China,as well as the external reflection of plague culture.Through multi-dimensional interpretations with the double proof method,this article dissects the formation,core elements,and cultural characteristics of the beliefs in the Five Plague Gods reflected in the Shuilu murals,and transcends mere visual semantics,offering a deeper understanding of these complex cultural symbols.
文摘South of Godé, in the central-western region of Burkina Faso, granitoids of Paleoproterozoic age are similar to those of the Man/Leo shield. This study focused on the petrographic and geochemical characteristics of these granitoids, with the following results: 1) The tonalite that outcrops in the south-west of the study area belongs to the TTG group or first generation granitoids. They are most often ribboned at outcrop and have a geochemical signature close to that of Archean TTGs. Tonalite has a metaluminous character and the REE spectrum indicates that it may be derived from partial melting of basic magmatic rocks. 2) Biotite granites have no outcrop structure. They are weakly metaluminous to peraluminous and potassic to highly potassic. Their rare earth spectra indicate that they may be derived from the partial melting of TTG granitoids. 3) Geotectonic diagrams show that the granitoids studied to the south of Godé were emplaced in an active tectonic context similar to that of present-day subduction zones.
文摘Three short performances from three regional operas present an eccentric comic image of Chenghuang城隍(City God).This serious and formidable god is performed by the role of chou丑(clown),and the role’s physical art shatters the audience’s perception of this god’s traditional image.The role’s exaggerated and awkward body also results in a performance-centered structure in which negative aspects of human nature are vividly portrayed.The eccentric representation brings laughter,but the laughter is also fully charged with Confucian concepts of goodness,righteousness,justice,and tianli天理(the way of heaven).Turning a divine image into a hilarious one is an unconventional manner and also a peculiar tactic of these performers.Through this tactic,these performers not only hide their subtle criticism of the reality and the authority to survive censorship but also disseminate successfully traditional values and folk religious beliefs.This tactic indicates the cultural function of the theater and demonstrates how traditions can remain valid and functional through a force that arises from the interaction between Confucianism,folk religious beliefs,and performance.
基金USST International Professional Certification and All-English Course Construction,USST Postgraduate Teaching Construction Project.
文摘Studying the covers of the three editions of The Kitchen God’s Wife by Amy Tan,a famous female Chinese American writer,the author finds Chinese cultural elements stood out in publishers’earliest recommendations,but later were replaced by immigrant mother-daughter relationship,and then were overwhelmed by the concern for human beings.It is interesting that this change fits the changing focuses of Chinese American writers in the 21st century.
文摘This work examined Bertrand Russell’s main arguments against the existence of God and his strongly negative opinion on the historic role of religions.These arguments were:(1)The idea that God is a First Cause is invalid because the cosmos doesn’t have to have a beginning;(2)If there were reasons for God to issue the observed natural laws and not others then God Himself was just an intermediary of older laws;(3)Considering all the defects of the world one cannot consider God as an omnipotent designer;(4)If God created both right and wrong then it is no longer a significant statement that God is good;And(5)most people believe in God just because they have been taught from early infancy to do it.The criticisms of cosmological neuroscience were as follows:(1)The particular cosmic wave that carries our Universe could have a beginning;(2)Although there were reasons for the natural laws which God issued,it cannot diminish the divine creativity of this act;(3)Although the world is indeed full of defects,they are as much parts of the cosmic order as its splendors,due to their common roots in the Law of Coexistence in Diversity;(4)Although right and wrong may ultimately be both in God’s blueprint,He is still benevolent due to the Law of Divine-Evil Asymmetry permitting wrong only under the dominance of right;And(5)although many believe in God only because they were taught to do so and hope it provides safety,this is an oversimplification unable to explain the genuine Faith of others.The devastating judgement of Russel that religions have been just“a source of untold misery to the human race”was also examined.This brief article could not detail all the positive social changes with which the religions of goodness(e.g.,Abrahamic religions)enriched history,such as introducing the respect for human life.But the paper did remind the reader of the God-inspired work of Lao Tzu,Rumi,Michelangelo,the Bach-interpreting Leonard Bernstein,Mother Teresa,Martin Luther King Jr.,George Harrison and others including the architects of the Borobudur temple and astronauts like Frank Borman who read from the Bible while flying around the Moon.The paper ended with the central thought of Bertrand Russell that“The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge”,to emphasize that if committed to their Conscience atheists like him can live as moral lives as the men and women of Faith—the difference is being nothing else than sensing or not the Soul that permeates the cosmos.
