Riding the Sea and Chasing the Wave Chinese Ceramics Sold to Europe in the Ming and Qing Dynasties(II)

正Orders from Europe: Features of Chinese Export Porcelain Chinese porcelain was first imported to Europe by Portuguese traders. However, the glossy ware was not supposed to be profitable and was bought as ballast for silk, lacquer ware, spice, and other dearly cargos.

Hwangryongsa reconsidered:A Korean mirror to the medieval Chinese Buddhist ritual-architectural transformation

This article investigates the one-century construction history of Silla’s state monastery Hwangryongsa,understanding its architectural transformation in relation to the changing ritual-spatial concept within the context of the medieval Sino-Korean cultural exchanges.The initial construction between 553 and 569,supervised by the Koguryŏe´migre´monk Hyeryang,followed the sixth-century Northern Chinese model to build Hwangryongsa as a dormitory-enclosed compound,in which the One-Hundred-Seat Assembly was enacted in the image hall as the earlier Chinese Buddhist tradition would do.This plan was soon altered under the increasing popularity of the newly developed Southern Chinese paradigm.An extensive reconstruction started in 574 for the purpose of imitating the Chen imperial performance of the One-Hundred-Seat Assembly at Taijidian compound of Jiankang palace,while the archaic,oddly-empty organization of the central image hall reveals a hidden connection between Hwangryongsa and Tongtaisi,the state monastery of the Liang and also the first Chinese monastery modeled after the Taijidian compound.Hwangryongsa was eventually transformed into a corridor-enclosed ceremonial courtyard fronted by three image halls and one nine-story pagoda by 645,and the transformation profoundly mirrored China’s medieval architectural reform of Buddhist ritual space between the sixth and seventh centuries.

Impacts of seismic activity and climatic change on Chinese history in the recent millennium

General history of disasters in China suggests that China has frequently experienced two major natural disasters in its long history,one is from catastrophic earthquake events,and the other is from extreme climatic events,due to its unique active tectonic environment and climatic complexity.Although these two major natural disasters have caused great damage to human society,it remains unclear whether and how they affect Chinese dynasty alternation on decadal(emperor)timescales.Based on detailed comparisons between abrupt climatic changes,catastrophic seismic activities,and the history of Chinese dynasty alternation from 1000–2000 AD,we conclude that on decadal timescales,extreme drought(and/or flood)events could indeed significantly reduce agricultural production,cause severe food shortages and famine,and result in increases in population exile,rising food prices and inflation,and insufficient supplies for military defense,which could exceed social resilience and eventually lead to financial risks and social upheavals of the dynasties.In addition,catastrophic seismic events in the densely populated,agricultural areas of China,including the 1303 surface wave magnitude(M_(s))8.0 Hongtong earthquake,the 1556 M_(s)8.25Huaxian earthquake and the 1920 M_(s)8.5 Haiyuan earthquake,caused more than 200,000casualties and millions of victims to live in exile which was almost equivalent to the order of magnitude of those extreme climatic events-induced refugees.The secondary geological hazards related to the earthquakes(e.g.,extensive landslides and soil erosion),which could last for decades,caused more casualties and reduced food production.Furthermore,great plague spread caused by the casualties could significantly increase psychological panic among the survivors,resulting in social instability.Therefore,catastrophic seismic events could also accelerate the collapse of the dynasties(e.g.,the Ming dynasty)without immediate mitigation measures.This study indicates that catastrophic seismic activities,as well as extreme climatic events,could have great effects on the social structures and thus on the Chinese dynasty alternation on decadal timescales,which highlights the far-reaching implications of geological hazard research.

Human settlement and changes in the distribution of river systems in the Minqin Basin over the past 2000 years in Northwest China

Introduction:Arid area is an important base for human settlement,however,long and drastic human activities have altered the drainage patterns in the arid watersheds significantly,causing serious ecological consequences.This study,through a case study of the Minqin Basin,a microcosm of the artificial oases in the arid northwest China,used the multitypes of data to recover the spatial distribution of human settlement and drainage patterns during historical period and analyze the relationship between them over the past 2000 years.Outcomes:Before the Han Dynasty(121 BC),the utilization of water resources in the Minqin Basin was in the primitive stage and the drainage pattern maintained the natural state.From the Han(121 BC-220)to the Wei-Jin Dynasties(220-316),the utilization of water resources intensified unprecedentedly,but the natural shape of the river systems was still maintained.In the following 1,000 years or so,the drainage pattern was in the state of“following its own course”due to the small human population.In the Ming Dynasty(1368-1644),with the alteration of the main rivers,the water resource utilization increased obviously,but the human reclamations were mainly confined to the southern part of the basin.In the Qing Dynasty(1644-1911),the reclamation of the Liulin Lake area significantly changed the drainage patterns,resulted in the drastically northward expansion of human settlement.Since the foundation of the People’s Republic of China(PRC)in 1949,the artificial water system completely replaced the natural water system and intensified the ecological problems in the basin.Discussion:The changes over the past 2000 years show the drastic impacts of human activities on the alterations of the drainage patterns and related ecological problems in the arid Northwest China.Conclusion:Rehabilitation of such ecological impairments requires both ecological restoration projects and changes in human paradigm and behavior over multiple temporal and spatial scales.