Since its revival in the mid-1980s,the study of Chinese social history has enjoyed steady growth and prominence as an emerging field.Its development over the past three decades can be roughly divided into three stages...Since its revival in the mid-1980s,the study of Chinese social history has enjoyed steady growth and prominence as an emerging field.Its development over the past three decades can be roughly divided into three stages.The first is the rejuvena-tion stage,when“social history”started to gain ground as a new branch of study and developed into regional and cultural histories.The second stage started around the 1990s when the study of“new social history”arose to break away from the old paradigms and establish new approaches for a self-sustained branch of study.Due to its narrowly targeted narrative framework,obscure jargon,and exclusive rhetoric,it was later reduced to new historical research that focused on investigating concepts without due emphasis on revisiting the origin of the study.The third stage featured the rise of historical anthropology,which sprang up in the late 1990s and brought forth new ideas that spread across the country into the twentieth century with extensive influence.Hence,social history,4<new social history,and historical anthropology mark the three different yet connected stages in the development of Chinese social history studies.Each played a significant part in history with a lasting impact on the development of the field and issues raised for further inquiry.展开更多
The provisioning of health and well-being for every human being on the planet calls for a rethink of conventional medical practices.In both the developed as well as developing world contexts,there is a growing need to...The provisioning of health and well-being for every human being on the planet calls for a rethink of conventional medical practices.In both the developed as well as developing world contexts,there is a growing need to rejuvenate alternative medical systems,but they have to be modernized to have cross-cultural appeal and acceptance.This paper explores the clash between Western medicine and Indian traditional medicine in 19th century colonial India which offers a historical precedent that could hold key lessons to the spread of traditional medicine across the world.The paper argues that the British government used biomedicine as a political tool to dominate Indians and resistance from Indian practitioners of traditional systems of medicines(TSMs)was systematically put down through policy measures.However,it was the clash between the medical modalities that transformed Indian TSMs forever as systems such as Ayurveda(the science of life)and Yoga took on the challenge and modernized and continue to have global appeal.The paper compares Indian and Chinese medical systems and argues that similarities in theory and practice in two different historical contexts,19th century India and modern-day China,enable us to understand the relevance of modernization practices in our contemporary world.展开更多
文摘Since its revival in the mid-1980s,the study of Chinese social history has enjoyed steady growth and prominence as an emerging field.Its development over the past three decades can be roughly divided into three stages.The first is the rejuvena-tion stage,when“social history”started to gain ground as a new branch of study and developed into regional and cultural histories.The second stage started around the 1990s when the study of“new social history”arose to break away from the old paradigms and establish new approaches for a self-sustained branch of study.Due to its narrowly targeted narrative framework,obscure jargon,and exclusive rhetoric,it was later reduced to new historical research that focused on investigating concepts without due emphasis on revisiting the origin of the study.The third stage featured the rise of historical anthropology,which sprang up in the late 1990s and brought forth new ideas that spread across the country into the twentieth century with extensive influence.Hence,social history,4<new social history,and historical anthropology mark the three different yet connected stages in the development of Chinese social history studies.Each played a significant part in history with a lasting impact on the development of the field and issues raised for further inquiry.
文摘The provisioning of health and well-being for every human being on the planet calls for a rethink of conventional medical practices.In both the developed as well as developing world contexts,there is a growing need to rejuvenate alternative medical systems,but they have to be modernized to have cross-cultural appeal and acceptance.This paper explores the clash between Western medicine and Indian traditional medicine in 19th century colonial India which offers a historical precedent that could hold key lessons to the spread of traditional medicine across the world.The paper argues that the British government used biomedicine as a political tool to dominate Indians and resistance from Indian practitioners of traditional systems of medicines(TSMs)was systematically put down through policy measures.However,it was the clash between the medical modalities that transformed Indian TSMs forever as systems such as Ayurveda(the science of life)and Yoga took on the challenge and modernized and continue to have global appeal.The paper compares Indian and Chinese medical systems and argues that similarities in theory and practice in two different historical contexts,19th century India and modern-day China,enable us to understand the relevance of modernization practices in our contemporary world.
