RECONSTRUCTION OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY SUMMER MONTHLY PRECIPITATION SERIES OF NANJING,SUZHOU,AND HANGZHOU USING THE CLEAR AND RAIN RECORDS OF QING DYNASTY”

In this study the Qing weather records 'Clear and Rain Records' were used to reconstruct the 18th century summer (June-August) precipitation and monthly precipitation series of May, June, July, and August. The nature of these records and the techniquc of transforming them into numerical codes are described. The procedure of converting these descriptive records into quantitative monthly precipitation and its scientific basis are given in detail. The reliability of the obtaind precipitation series is also ex- amined.

British Clocks in Eighteenth-Century China:Presents,Tribute,or Trade?

It is commonly believed that most European clocks that reached China before the nineteenth century were sent to the emperor as diplomatic presents from European rulers,or were given to Chinese officials by European merchants in attempts to improve trading conditions.Although such presents had been given in earlier times,British records show that,by the eighteenth century when the export of clocks to China reached its height,most clocks,including the finest,reached China as private trade goods.Once in Canton(Guangzhou),the best clocks were bought by local Chinese officials for inclusion in their annual tribute to the emperor and senior members of the government in Beijing,where many of these clocks survive in the former imperial collection.

Introduction:Creativity and Imagination through Time,Culture and Identity

Highlighting the Time,Culture and Identity cross-disciplinary project conducted between the Science Museum in London,the Palace Museum in Beijing,academics at Beijing Jiaotong University and the Institute for the History of Natural Sciences,and creative industries practitioners in China and the UK,this introduction highlights the key impacts of the research.As well as creating the practical output of a digital museum experience focused on the workings of the Country Scene clock,the research brought a range of wider impacts,including a change in understanding between collaborators,capacity-building skills,research process development and a change in attitude.The papers of this supplementary issue reflect some of the range of impacts of the work of our collaborators.

The Art Hero Made International --Benjamin West Constructs Wolfe＇s Death on the Plains of Abraham

Globalization is a topic much discussed today with the explosion of cell phones and instant messaging. This exchange of information causes the art historian to ponder the speed with which ideas spread in past centuries. The eighteenth was a century of colonial expansion made possible through the ships that sailed the great oceans Sea travel between Europe and North America drastically increased the spread of populations and their ideas between the old and new world. A good way to trace the exchange of ideas in picture painting in the eighteenth century would be to follow an artist like Benjamin West from his Quaker background in Pennsylvania to the center of the neoclassical style in Rome and a prolific career in London at the Royal Academy. West＇s travels and career offer an example of how an American pursued the artistic style of contemporary Rome to make images of North American history from a base in England. It was globalization eighteenth-century-style made possible by an ambitious artist connecting across the sea-lanes of international travel