Spatial Distribution Characteristics and the Evolution of Buddhist Monasteries in Xi’an City Area

In the field of the pictorial decoration of Chinese architecture, the decor of the period of the Ming and Qing dynasties is considered the most outstanding since, at that time, the technique was perfect, and the methods of decoration were rich in their diversity, which was not possible in previous eras. The polychrome painting of official buildings during the Ming and Qing dynasties’ reign is quite different from the Song dynasty’s polychrome painting. The transition from the Song dynasty’s polychrome painting to the Ming and Qing dynasties’ polychrome painting was completed during the Yuan dynasty’s reign. Due to the decrease of dougong in size in the Ming dynasty, polychrome painting began to be placed on beams. Xuanzi polychrome painting, which originated from painting beams under the Yuan dynasty, became the primary type. By the Qing dynasty, Hexi polychrome painting and Suzhou polychrome painting, which evolved from the folk polychrome painting of the Jiangnan region of the Ming dynasty, appeared. The Xuanzi type was one of the three main polychrome painting types in the Qing dynasty. It was fully developed compared to the Hexi type as it was used more widely. The article explains the development of the artistic features of the various decorative parts of Xuanzi polychrome painting during the Ming and Qing dynasties, the characteristics of each gradation, and the method of distinguishing it, as well as its place of application.

It is of great significance to study the spatial and temporal distribution characteristics and influencing factors of national key cultural relics protection units in the Yangtze River Delta region. Taking the national key cultural relics protection units in the Yangtze River Delta as an example, the spatial and temporal distribution characteristics and influencing factors of the sites were studied by using the methods of nearest proximity index, spatial density, standard deviation ellipse, and geographic detector. It can be concluded that the number of key cultural relics under protection in the Yangtze River Delta region is concentrated in the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties and since modern times, with the main types of ancient buildings, and the largest number in the 100-year time scale since modern times. On the whole, the spatial density of the national insurance unit has formed contiguous areas dominated by “Shanghai, Suzhou, and Wuxi,”“Nanjing, Yangzhou,”“Hangzhou and Shaoxing” and single core areas dominated by Ningbo and Huangshan, with the spatial distribution characteristics of “three contiguous areas and two single cores.” During the eight periods from prehistoric period to modern times, the national security units showed a state of agglomeration in spatial distribution, showing the transfer trend of “Southwest-northwest-southeast-southeast-southeast-northwest-northeast” and the evolution process of “agglomeration—dispersion—agglomeration—dispersion—agglomeration—agglomeration.” Natural environmental factors such as altitude and river network density, and socio-economic factors such as economic development level, abundance of scenic spots, abundance of intangible cultural heritage resources and total population have a significant impact on the spatial distribution of national protection units in the Yangtze River Delta.

Floods had a massive impact on the development of ancient cities around the world and understanding this phenomenon constitutes an essential part of the history of long‐term and dynamic human–environment interactions. There remains, however, an enormous challenge in identifying records of ancient floods in urban environments due to various sedimentation and postdepositional processes that often remove, erase, and alter such environmental records. During archaeological excavations in the famous historic city of Kaifeng, we identified records of two historical floods at the Shuntianmen site. Related stratums were carefully studied, from which dating and sediment samples were collected. These excavated stratums were also scanned to obtain digital data for modeling. Combining these data, we then applied three‐dimensional modeling to reconstruct the evolution of the natural and cultural landscape of the site since the Northern Song Dynasty (960–1127 AD), which was not possible in previous studies due to the deep burial of archaeological strata. Our results indicate that the two floods occurred during the late Ming Dynasty (1368–1644 AD) and the Qing Dynasty (1636–1912 AD), respectively. During the Northern Song Dynasty, Shuntianmen was an important part of Kaifeng, which was, at that time, the capital of China and one of the largest cities in the world. Later, during the Yuan and Ming dynasties, Shuntianmen became a suburban settlement situated along various traffic routes. During the Qing Dynasty, the area became a small village. Subsequently, the area was completely abandoned and deserted until modern Kaifeng, which was built at the same place. The evolution of the regional landscape is the direct result of the interaction between the natural environment and human activities, among which the precarious alluvial processes of the Yellow River were playing an increasingly vital role. Over the centuries, the Yellow River floods, warfare, and wind‐blown sand accumulation reduced the Kaifeng region from a prosperous capital to a comparatively deserted area.

Throughout the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, the relative longevity of each dynasty, coupled with the change of dynasties, basically did not fall into a long period of turmoil, which ensured that Confucian indoctrination thought entered a period of successive development and gradual improvement. During this period, the Confucian ideology of indoctrination eventually developed into a complete system of thought and practice that was compatible with the political and social development of the country and had a significant impact on the moral development and cultivation of human beings. This article focuses on Confucian indoctrination during this period, aiming to sort out the theoretical and practical development of Confucian indoctrination during this period, to help gain a more comprehensive insight into the evolutionary trajectory of Chinese outstanding traditional culture.

The reconstruction of cropland across historical periods offers valuable insights into the relationship between climate change and human–environment interactions. By extracting key demographic and tax revenue data from historical documents, we estimated cropland data during the Tubo, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties for the Rikaze area in China. Subsequently, according to the characteristics of cropland fragmentation in the Rikaze area, we employed geographically weighted regression (GWR) to reconstruct the 1 km × 1 km cropland cover datasets across the four dynasties for the Rikaze area. The findings are as follows. The amount of cropland showed that the change in cropland in the Rikaze area in the four periods was extremely high, which reflects the great instability of cropland in the Rikaze area. Under the combined action of social unification, cropland production policies, and a suitable climate, the Tubo dynasty was the most significant period of cropland development in the Rikaze area, with the area of cropland reaching 591,927 mu. However, under the influence of the nomadic regime and harsh climate in the Yuan dynasty, the cropland area was sharply reduced, reaching only 18,338 mu. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the cropland area increased steadily, reaching 200,000 mu and 547,000 mu, respectively. The spatial distribution of cropland shows that the cropland in the Rikaze area is mainly distributed in the middle reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River, the middle and lower reaches of the Nianchu River, and the Pengqu River Valley. Counties and districts with better agricultural conditions, such as Jiangzi, Bailang, and Renbu, are the main concentration areas of cropland in the Rikaze area. The overall spatial distribution pattern of cropland shows fragmented distribution along rivers, highlighting the characteristics of valley cropland. The research in this paper represents the active exploration of the reconstruction of cropland distribution under complex terrain conditions.

Classical Chinese literature exerts a powerful hold on readers and writers in later periods. The question of how earlier literature was preserved, classified, anthologized, and distributed is vital for understanding how authors defined their creative and interpretive endeavors during the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. Printing expanded, with a dramatic increase in numbers and variety in the sixteenth century. For many of the texts discussed in our volume, the earliest extant editions or reconstituted versions date from the Ming dynasty, and many important commentaries and annotations were produced during the late imperial period. Encyclopedias and collectanea show how tradition is repackaged. Political legitimation is bound up with state-sponsored comprehensive collections and encyclopedias. Anthologies of earlier literature and commentaries on them yield insights into literary trends in later periods. Primers and textbooks demonstrate the role of classical literature in acquiring basic linguistic and literary competence.

In the late Ming Dynasty, a family of the Po, who was a Mongolian military officer, emerged in Xuanfu. At first, they served as “Yi Ding(Tatar Soliders)” in Jiubian(nine-frontier fortification system of the Ming Dynasty). Unlike the Mongolians who joined the Wei Suo system in the early Ming Dynasty, the Po family served as private armed servants of Ming Dynasty border defense generals. They not only serve as frontline soldiers for border defense generals, but also serve as Mongolian language translators for them. In short, they have a lot of effectiveness.At the same time, they were incorporated into the military status of the garrison in Xuanfu, and became officials in the camp step by step from the positions of garrison and guerrilla.Its members took part in a series of eastern expeditions and western wars in the late Ming Empire, such as the Imjin War, and participated in the battles of Jigsan and Ulsan to expel the Japanese army, while the father and son of Pou Tingxiang participated in the war between the Ming Dynasty and the Later Jin Dynasty and sacrificed their lives on the battlefield. After the change of Dynasties in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the members of the Po family chose to become officials in the Qing Dynasty for the sake of family interests, and tried to let the next generation continue to engage in the army and maintain their glory. However, due to the collapse of the former Ming Dynasty’s military officer system, the Qing Dynasty’s vigilance against the former Ming Dynasty’s generals, and the characteristics of the Qing Dynasty’s military system and military officer system itself, the Po family did not get the same position of power as the former Ming.In the end, like other generals on the Jiubian(nine-frontier), the former Ming generals, who were born as adherents, gradually withered away in the Qing Dynasty.

The study of ancient settlements in the traditional waterside towns of Jiangnan is an important part of scientific research on architectural heritage. This study examines ancient settlements in the Nanxi River Basin during various historical periods, such as the Neolithic Age, Eastern Han Dynasty, Tang-Five Dynasty, Song-Yuan Dynasty, Ming Dynasty, and Qing Dynasty. It investigates their temporal and spatial evolution and the factors that influence their distribution, with a particular focus on the role of intangible cultural heritage. This study focuses on the relationship between the spatial evolution of traditional waterside settlements in the Nanxi River Basin and the distribution of intangible heritage and analyzes the driving factors of their development. How settlements changed over time and space was examined with geographic information systems (GIS) software and by using kernel density, elliptical variance, and spatial autocorrelation methods on 204 ancient settlement points. This study also employs buffer and data overlay methods to analyze the factors that affect settlement distribution by elevation, slope, water system distance, and distance to intangible cultural heritage points. The study reveals the following. (1) During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, clans, culture, and the economy drove the expansion of early settlements, which relied on water systems and flat terrain, to form a multicenter distribution. (2) The settlement distribution in the Nanxi River Basin has undergone a transformation from single-point distribution to multipoint aggregation and divergence during the evolution from the Neolithic Age to the Qing Dynasty. The overall center of gravity of the settlements shifts from south to north and east, and the overall distribution of the settlements is in a state of aggregation. (3) The spatial and temporal evolution of settlements is jointly influenced by the natural environment and cultural factors. The natural environment determines the spatial distribution of early settlements, while cultural factors promote the evolution and development of the settlement space. This study further clarifies the key role of intangible cultural heritage in the formation and development of settlements and provides a reference framework for future heritage protection policies.

The general characteristics of climate changes over the past 2000 years in China, regional differences and uncertainties were analyzed based on the recently peer-reviewed high time-resolution climatic reconstructions. The results showed that there exists four warm periods of the temperature variation in China since the Qin Dynasty, including the western and eastern Han Dynasties (200 BC-AD 180), the Sui and Tang dynasties (541–810), the Song and Yuan dynasties (931–1320), and the 20th century, and three cold phases involving the Wei, Jin, and North-South Dynasties (181–540), the late Tang Dynasty (811–930), and the Ming and Qing dynasties (1321–1920). The Song and Yuan warm period is consistent with the Medieval Warm Period over the Northern Hemisphere, and the cold phases of the North-South Dynasties and the Ming and Qing dynasties are paralleled to the Dark Ages Cold Period and the Little Ice Age, respectively. The 13th-15th century could be a shift to the wet condition of the climate, and the low precipitation variability is exhibited in western China prior to 1500. In the context of the climate warming, the pattern of the drought in north and flood in south is prevalent over the eastern China. In addition, the published reconstructions have a high level of confidence for the past 500 years, but large uncertainties exist prior to the 16th century.

Similar to that in the Ming dynasty, Sanqu in the Qing dynasty was already the creation of the literati but not that of the folks. The Northern and Southern tunes in the Ming dynasty were still the same thing as “Ci in the Southern Song dynasty,” though at its old age, could still exist, be popularized and sung in the folk. While Sanqu in the Qing dynasty was something like “Ci in the Ming dynasty,” with a few exceptions, most of the Northern and Southern tunes could not be played and sung and popularized in the folk. The spirit of the Sanqu authors was not the same bold and generous as that in the Yuan and Ming dynasties. It either tended to be sharp and fresh, struggling between the words and sentences, or to be restrained by the meters, becoming a lifeless living corpse.

본 연구는 중국 한전불교 사찰을 대상으로 후한 때부터 청대까지의 역사적 가람배치와 사원 내외의 환경을 구명한 것으로 인도·서역에서 비롯된 종교형식이 중국 고유의 형제로 한화(漢化)되는 과정에 주안점을 두고 고찰되었다. 중국 불사의 최초 공간형식인 부도사(浮圖祠)는 중루와 사면 회랑으로 이루어진 단순한 형식으로 이루어져, 중국 고대 예제건축인 ‘명당·벽옹식’의 배치평면과 유사했을 것으로 보고 있다. 남북조시대에서 수당대에 접어들면 탑과 불전의 그 위상이 역전되어, 불전이 사원의 중심건물로 배치되고 탑이 점차 불전 마당의 양 측면이나 주변부로 밀려나 부속시설로 취급된 점이 확인된다. 이 시기는 황제의 복식을 따른 불상이 제조되고 궁궐의 조영법식을 준용한 사원이 나타나는 등 한전불사의 기본적인 형식이 구축된 것으로 평가된다. 송대에는 선종사원을 중심으로 형성된 가람칠당식 배치에서 완전히 한화된 형질을 읽을 수 있다. 원명대 사묘에서는 율종 형식의 계당(戒堂)이나 정토종 개념의 불당들의 출현이 특기된다. 청대에 이르러 불사는 이전의 법식과 고풍이 사라진 화려한 원림식사묘로 개조되어 볼거리와 흥미를 구비한 민간 원림 요소들로 채워졌다. 이는 대중문화와 민간신앙적 요소가 한데 섞여 강한 통속적인 색채를 갖는 청대 불교의 특징으로 지적된다.This study investigates the historical site layout of the Buddhist temple and its inside/outside environment from the Later Han to the Qing Dynasty, focusing on the process of Hanization of the religious style derived from India and the West. Budosa, the first spatial style of Chinese Buddhist temple, is thought to be similar to the layout of “Mingtang-Piyong,” with its simple style consisting of a zhonglou pavilion and four-sided corridor. Entering from the North and South Dynasties into Sui and Tang Dynasties, the status pagoda and sanctum was reversed, and it was confirmed that the sanctum was placed as the main building of temple and the pagoda was gradually pushed to both sides or the periphery of temple and treated as an accessory structure. This period is said to have established the basic style of the Han Buddhist temple, with the appearance of temples that conformed to the palace’s construction method and Buddha statues following Emperor’s design. In Song Dynasty, one can read the characteristics of the full Hanization from Shichidou Garan formed around temples of the Zen sect. For the temples from Yuan and Ming Dynasties, the emergence of Risshu style halls and Pure Land sect style temples is noted. By the time of the Qing Dynasty, the temples were transformed into colorful garden temples where the old rituals and archaism disappeared, filled with elements of private gardens with attractions and interests. Meanwhile, Buddhism in Qing Dynasty is characterized by strong popular colors with a mix of popular culture and folk beliefs.

This study aims to examine the manner in which Yi Gyu-gyeong(李圭景, 1788-1856) assimilated and systematized Chinese graphological knowledge by analyzing the materials related to Chinese graphology contained in Oju Yeonmun Jangjeon Sango(五洲衍文長箋散稿) and investigating the patterns of cited works therein. To this end, the main body of this study first explores the content and structural composition of Oju Yeonmun Jangjeon Sango to clarify the author's intent in its compilation. Subsequently, it scrutinizes the specific content and methodological approach employed in the presentation of materials related to Chinese graphology, thereby evaluating the process through which such knowledge was compiled. Finally, it delineates the distinctive characteristics of the works cited within the realm of Chinese graphology. These findings may be summarized as follows: First, while Yi Gyu-gyeong primarily referenced graphological texts from the Qing dynasty, he also extensively cited works from the Song and Ming dynasties. Notably, the most frequently referenced texts include Yang Shen(楊愼)’s Danyan Zonglu(丹鉛總錄) and Sheng’an Ji(升菴集) from the Ming dynasty, as well as Gu Yanwu(顧炎武)’s Rizhilu(日知錄), spanning the Ming and Qing dynasties. Second, Yi Gyu-gyeong incorporated numerous Korean sources into his work, the most frequently cited among them being Cheongjanggwan Jeonseo(靑莊館全書), a compendium encompassing a wide array of scholarly knowledge and materials, authored by his grandfather, Yi Deok-mu(李德懋). Third, beyond these principal sources, he drew upon a diverse range of texts of varying scope and content, thereby engaging in extensive discourse on multiple facets of Chinese graphology. Fourth, his engagement with Chinese graphology also extended to the inclusion of Japanese texts, such as Wakan Sansai Zue(和漢三才圖會) and Nenroku(蔫錄), as well as records of Korean diplomatic missions to Japan, including Haedong Jegukgi(海東諸國記) and Haeyurok(海遊錄). These citations suggest a keen interest in Japan and indicate a broadly receptive stance toward Japanese scholarship.

This paper collected and analyzed literatures about starting of traditional medicine and trading of different medicine from Chunqiu Zhanguo to Ming and Qing Dynasties, in order to preliminarily explore on an overview of specie of chinese exotic traditional medicine and trade of different country in different dynasty（from Chunqiu to Ming and Qing Dynasties）, as well as the amount of exotic medicine over two thousand years. (remove repeating and doubtful species), find peculiarity of exotic medicine, sreen species that used to develop the Silk Route and establish quality standards.Finally, We get conclusions are as follows. First, primary,.prosperous and declining stages of development of exotic traditional medicine are Qin and Han, Song-Jin-Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, respectively. Second, according to literature, the stage that has the most species of exotic medicine is song dynasty,approximately have 300. Removing repeating and doubtful species, the believable species are approximate 230 to 250. Meanwhile, the unknown species are approximate 30, which may be different name of one medicine or processed goods, now these medicines are named as "doubtful species". Third, the medicinal parts of exotic medicine are different from Chinese medicine of Han nation. The number of Resin, fruits and seeds kind are more than root and rhizomes kind,mineral medicines are more than animal. Fourth, the major producing area of exotic medicine is some countries and territories related to the Silk Route in the history. Ultimately, this paper preliminarily figure out basic information of exotic medicine of different dynasty in China,that provide reference for learning study and decision of industrial development.

As the first volume of a two-volume set that studies the ancient Chinese academy from a socio-cultural perspective, this title explores the history of the academy and its relationship with the development of Confucianism in the Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties. Inaugurated in the Tang dynasty and eventually abolished in the late Qing dynasty, the academy, as a unique cultural and educational organization in Chinese history, exerted extensive and profound influences on ancient Chinese culture, politics, and social life. The book first revisits the inception and development of the academy by anaylzing the socio-cultural context and different driving forces including social mentality, print culture, education systems, and so on. It then examines the reciprocity and thriving relationships between the academy and Neo-Confucianism in the Song and Yuan dynasties and Yangming School of Mind in the Ming dynasty. The title will be a useful reference for scholars, students, and general readers interested in cultural history, intellectual history, and educational history of ancient China and especially the Chinese academy culture.

China has a long history of wine-brewing. Traditional Chinese drinking games are a unique and mysterious part of the Chinese drinking culture. In this paper, we deal with the development of Chinese wine first, and then we take big events as reference to uncover the history of the traditional Chinese drinking games chronologically. After introducing the representative drinking games from each dynasty, it could help people understand the general development of the traditional Chinese drinking games. The results show: (1) the Chinese wine-brewing origins from the saccharomycetes, matures in Tang and Song Dynasties, and popularizes in Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties. (2) The first traditional Chinese drinking game is pitch-pot, and it emerges in the later of Spring and Autumn Period. Its system grows mature in the Tang Dynasty. The Qing Dynasty is a united period for the collection of traditional Chinese drinking games.