Ba Jin

Li Yaotang , courtesy name Feigan , is considered to be one of the most important and widely-read writers of the 20th century. He wrote under the pen name of Ba Jin , allegedly taking his pseudonym from Russian and . Ba Jin started composing his first works in the late 1920s.

Biography

Young Life and Anarchism

Born in , Li was born into a scholarly family of officials. His paternal grandfather ruled the large, five generation-tiered household with an autocratic hand, which young Li found stifling, not unlike that depicted in his famous novel, ''Family''. As a child Li was taught to read and write first by his mother, and later by privately engaged house tutors. It was not until the death of this grandfather in 1917, causing a power struggle which ended with an elder uncle emerging victorious, that released him to explore the world. As a youngster Li read widely and was deeply influenced by Piotr Kropotkin's famous pamphlet, ''An Appeal to the Young'', which he read at age fifteen. Hugely impressed by Emma Goldman, whom he later referred to as his "spiritual mother", Li started a lifelong correspondence with her.

In 1920, Li enrolled, with an elder brother, in the Chengdu Foreign Language Specialist School to study . It was there he first engaged in the organization of literary journal ''Crescent'' and wrote a number of vers libre. Joining an anarchist organization, the Equality Society, Li became its most prominent member, actively distributing propaganda leaflets.

Three years later, Li moved to Shanghai and subsequently to Dongnan University, Nanjing on the pretext of study, but mainly, as he put it, to escape the influence of his family. There he managed to master Esperanto within one year of diligent study and took part in leftist socialist strikes, while remaining active in the anarchist movement, writing a pamphlet on the Chicago Anarchist Martyrs.

France

On graduation, he left on-board a liner on February 15 1927 with a friend for Paris, France for further studies, where he lodged at the 5th arrondissement . He described his life there as boring and monotonous, taking daily afternoon walks at the Jardin du Luxembourg and evening French lessons at Alliance Francaise. He recalled especially 's statue at the Panthéon , the River Seine and the tollings of the .

:"In spring 1927 I was living atop a five-storied apartment at Paris's Quartier Latin, a small lodging full of gas and onion smell. I was lonely, I felt pain, sunlight hardly shone into my room: I missed my homeland and my family."

It was partly owing to boredom when Li began to write his first novel, ''Miewang'' on a jotterbook. In France, Li continued his anarchist activism, translated many anarchist works, including Kropotkin's ''Ethics'', into Chinese, which was mailed back to Shanghai anarchist magazines for publication. Alexander Berkman was one of many anarchist leaders he met there.

The trials of immigrants Sacco and Vanzetti filled the fervent writer with anger and Ba Jin worked tirelessly to champion their release. Vanzetti apparently was moved enough to reply to the young man from his American prison, with a package of anarchist texts for his readings. Their short correspondence ceased when Vanzetti was executed, along with Sacco, on August 23 1927.

Shanghai

On his return to Shanghai in 1928, Ba Jin continued writing and working on translations. His first novel, ''Destruction'', was released serially by ''Fiction Monthly'' in 1929, a foremost literary magazine and earned him many admirers.

During the next 10 years, Li acted as editor to several important publishing firms and periodicals, as well as composing the works which he is best known for – '''' , The Love Trilogy ''Fog'' , ''Rain'' and ''Lightning'' , the novellas ''Autumn in Spring'' and ''A Dream of the Sea'', the short story collection ''Mengya'' and prose writings in ''Fuchou'' and ''Shen, Gui, Ren'' .

During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Ba Jin was actively involved in propaganda work against the Japanese invasion, working on the publication ''Nahan'' with Mao Dun. In the later stages of the war, Ba Jin completed the famous Torrents Trilogy — of which ''Family'' was the first written — with ''Spring'' and ''Autumn'' . Other works of the post-war period, like the short novels ''A Garden of Repose'' , ''Ward No 4'' and ''Cold Nights'' , contain some of his strongest writings.


During the Cultural Revolution, Ba Jin was heavily persecuted as a counter-revolutionary. His wife, Xiao Shan, died during the Revolution after being denied medical care, and the manner of her death traumatized Ba Jin for the rest of his life. He was rehabilitated in 1977, after which he was elected to many important national literary posts, including chairman of the Chinese Writers' Association . The most significant work of his later years is probably the discursive writings in ''Suixiang Lu'' , in which, among other things, he reflected on the Cultural Revolution in a painfully honest manner and asked specifically for a Cultural Revolution Museum to be set up as a deterrent for future generations.

He spoke and advocated Esperanto and in the 1980s was the vice-president of the Chinese Esperanto League.

Ba Jin’s works were heavily influenced by foreign writers, including Emile Zola, Ivan Turgenev, Alexandr Herzen, Anton Chekhov, and Emma Goldman, and a substantial amount of his collected works are devoted to translations. His writing style, characterized by simplicity, avoids difficult, abstruse words, and most of his works would be easily understood by anyone with a high school education, making him one of the easiest modern Chinese writer to read.

Ba Jin suffered from Parkinson's Disease since 1983, an ailment which almost completely debilitated him. The illness confined him to a hospital unable to speak and walk toward the last few years of his life. Ba Jin died of cancer in Shanghai at the age of 100 . His death marked the end of an era for Chinese literature, especially since he was the last major writer to live through the May Fourth Movement. He received the Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize in 1990.

Asteroid 8315 Bajin is named in his honour.

Bibliography

Translated into English

* Living Amongst Heroes. Beijing: Foreign Language Press.
* The Family. Beijing: Foreign Language Press.
* A battle for life: a full record of how the life of steel worker, Chiu Tsai-kang, was saved in the Shanghai Kwangrze Hospital. Beijing: Foreign Language Press.
* Cold Nights Hong Kong: Chinese University press.
* Random Thoughts Hong Kong: Joint Publishing Company.
* Selected works of Ba Jin Beijing: Foreign Language Press.
* Ward Four: A Novel of Wartime China . San Francisco: China Books & Periodicals, Inc.
* "How to Build a Society of Genuine Freedom and Equality", "Patriotism and the Road to Happiness for the Chinese" and "Anarchism and the Question of Practice" in ''Anarchism: A Documentary History of Libertarian Ideas, Volume 1: From Anarchy to Anarchism'' , ed. Robert Graham. Montreal: Black Rose Books, 2005.

Ba Jin Stories in Collections

*Arzybasheff, M.. "Morning Shadows?" in Tales of the Revolution. Tr. Percy Pinkerton. New York Huebsch.
*."Workingman Shevyrev." in Tales of the Revolution, tr. Percy Pinkerton. New York: Huebsch.

Works

Short Story Collections:
*''Vengeance'' 《复仇》，1931
*''Brightness'' 《光明》，1932
*''The Electric Chair'' 《电椅》, 1933
*''Wiping Cloth'' 《抹布》，1933
*''The General'' 《将军》，1934
*''Gods, Ghosts and Men'' 《神·鬼·人》，1935
*''Sinking'' 《沉落》，1936
*''The Story of Hair'' 《发的故事》，1936
*''Thunder'' 《雷》，1937
*''Resurrection Grass'' 《还魂草》，1942
*''Little People, Little Events'' 《小人小事》，1943
*''Heroic Tales'' 《英雄的故事》，1953
*''Pigs and Chickens'' 《猪与鸡》，1959
*''Li Da-hai'' 《李大海》，1961
*''Stories Outside the City''，1992

Children's literature:
*''The Immortality Pagoda'' 《长生塔》，1937
*''The Pearl and the Jade Concubine'' 《明珠和玉姬》，1957

Novels and Novellas:
*''Destruction'' 《灭亡》, 1929
*''The Dead Sun'' 《死去的太阳》, 1931
*The "Love" Trilogy 《爱情的三部曲》
**''Fog'' 《雾》, 1931
**''Rain'' 《雨》，1933
**''Lightning'' 《电》，1935
*''New Life'' 《新生》，1933
*''Miners'' 《砂丁》，1933
*''Germination'' 《萌芽》，1933
*''A Dream of the Sea'' 《海的梦》，1932
*''Autumn in Spring'' 《春天里的秋天》，1932
*The "Torrents" Trilogy 《激流三部曲》
**''The Family'' 《家》，1933
**''Spring'' 《春》，1938
**''Autumn'' 《秋》，1940
*''Lina'' 《利娜》，1940
*''Fires'' 《火》，1940—1945
*''Stars'' 《星》，1941
*''A Garden of Repose'' 《憩园》，1944
*''Ward No 4'' 《第四病室》，novella, 1946
*''Cold Nights'' 《寒夜》，1947

Autobiography and Memoirs:
*''Ba Jin: An Autobiography'' 《巴金自传》，1934
*''I Remember'' 《忆》，1936
*''Thinking Back on Childhood'' 《童年的回忆》，1984

Non-fiction:
*''Anarchism and its Practical Problems'' 《无政府主义与实际问题》，1927
*''From Capitalism to Anarchism'' 《从资本主义到安那其主义》，1930
*''A Walk by the Sea'' 《海行》，1932
*''Travel Notes'' 《旅途随笔》，1934
*''Droplets of Life'' 《点滴》，1935
*''Confessions of Living'' 《生之忏悔》，1936
*''Brief Notes'' 《短简》，1937
*''I Accuse'' 《控诉》，1937
*''Dreaming and Drunkenness'' 《梦与醉》，1938
*''Thoughts and Feelings'' 《感想》，1939
*''Black Earth'' 《黑土》，1939
*''Untitled'' 《无题》，1941
*''Dragons, Tigers and Dogs'' 《龙·虎·狗》，1941
*''Outside the Derelict Garden'' 《废园外》，1942
*''Travel Notes'' 《旅途杂记》，1946
*''Remembering'' 《怀念》，1947
*''Tragedy of a Still Night'' 《静夜的悲剧》，1948
*''The Nazi Massacre Factory: Auschwitz'' 《纳粹杀人工厂—奥斯威辛》，1951
*''Warsaw Festivals: Notes in Poland'' 《华沙城的节日—波兰杂记》，1951
*''The Consoling Letter and Others'' 《慰问信及其他》，1951
*''Living Amongst Heroes'' 《生活书局在英雄们中间》，1953
*''They Who Defend Peace'' 《保卫和平的人们》，1954
*''On Chekhov'' 《谈契河夫》，1955
*''Days of Great Joy'' 《大欢乐的日子》，1957
*''Strong Warriors'' 《坚强的战士》，1957
*''A Battle for Life'' 《—场挽救生命的战斗》，1958
*''New Voices: A Collection'' 《新声集》，1959
*''Friendship: A Collection'' 《友谊集》，1959
*''Eulogies: A Collection'' 《赞歌集》，1960
*''Feelings I Can't Express'' 《倾吐不尽的感情》，1963
*''Lovely by the Bridge'' 《贤良桥畔》，1964
*''Travels to Dazhai'' 《大寨行》，1965
*''Ba Jin: New Writings''，1978—1980
*''Smorching Smoke'' 《烟火集》，1979
*''Random Thoughts'' 《随想录》，1978-86
*''Thinking Back on Writing'' 《创作回忆录》1981
*''Exploration and Memories'' 《探索与回忆》，1982
*''Afterwords: A Collection'' 《序跋集》，1982
*''Remembrance: A Collection'' 《忆念集》，1982
*''Ba Jin: On Writing'' 《巴金论创作》，1983
*''Literature: Recollections'' 《文学回忆录》1983
*''To Earth to Dust'' 《愿化泥土》，1984
*''I Accuse: A Collection'' 《控诉集》，1985
*''In My Heart'' 《心里话》，1986
*''Ten Years, One Dream'' 《十年一梦》，1986
*''More Thoughts'' 《再思录》，1995

Letters:
*''To Our Young Friends Looking for Aspirations'' 《寻找理想的少年朋友》，1987
*''Snow and Dirt'' 《雪泥集》，1987
*''Collected Letters of Ba Jin'' 《巴金书信集》， 1991

Others:
*
*

Films

*''Return from Silence: Five prominent and controversial Chinese writers speak on their roles in the modernization of China''. - The life and work of five esteemed Chinese writers whose modern classics shaped China's past: Ba Jin, Mao Dun, Ding Ling, Cao Yu, and Ai Qing. Produced by Chung-wen Shih, George Washington University. 1982.

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Zhu Yu (author)

Zhu Yu was an author of the Chinese Song Dynasty . Between 1111 and 1117 AD, Zhu Yu wrote the book ''Pingzhou Ketan'' , and had it published in 1119 AD. It covered a wide variety of various subjects and issues in China at the time. His extensive knowledge of maritime engagements, technologies, and practices were owed to the fact that his father, Zhu Fu, was the Port Superintendent of Merchant Shipping for Guangzhou from 1094 until 1099 AD, whereupon he was elevated to the status of governor there and served in his office until 1102 AD.

Pingzhou Table Talks

In terms of global significance, Zhu Yu's book was the first book in history to mention the use of the mariner's magnetic-needle compass for navigation at sea. Although the compass needle was first described in detail by the Chinese scientist Shen Kuo in his ''Dream Pool Essays'' of 1088 AD, he did not specifically outline its use for navigation at sea. The passage from Zhu Yu's ''Pingzhou Ketan'' relating to the use of the compass states:


According to government regulations concerning seagoing ships, the larger ones can carry several hundred men, and the smaller ones may have more than a hundred men on board. One of the most important merchants is chosen to be Leader , another is Deputy Leader , and a third is Business Manager . The Superintendent of Merchant Shipping gives them an unofficially sealed red certificate permitting them to use the light bamboo for punishing their company when necessary. Should anyone die at sea, his property becomes forfeit to the government...The ship's pilots are acquainted with the configuration of the coasts; at night they steer by the stars, and in the day-time by the sun. In dark weather they look at the south-pointing needle . They also use a line a hundred feet long with a hook at the end which they let down to take samples of mud from the sea-bottom; by its smell they can determine their whereabouts.


Although Zhu began writing his book in 1111 AD, it referred to events concerning various seaports of China from the year 1086 onwards. Therefore, if a ship's hull was heavily damaged, only one compartment would fill with water while the ship could be salvaged without sinking. Zhu Yu wrote that ships springing a leak could hardly be repaired from the inside, though; instead the Chinese employed expert foreign divers that would dive into the water with chisels and oakum and mend the damage from the outside. Expert divers were written of by many Chinese authors, including Song Yingxing who wrote about that used watertight leather face masks attached with secured with tin rings that led up to the surface, allowing them to breathe underwater for long periods of time. Since at least the Tang Dynasty , the Chinese also had a formula for a waterproof cream applied to silk clothes that proved useful for divers.

Confirming Zhu Yu's writing on Song Dynasty ships with bulkhead hull compartments, in 1973 a 24 m long, 9 m wide Song Dynasty trade ship from circa 1277 AD was dredged from the water off the southern coast of China; this ship contained 12 bulkhead compartment rooms within its hull.

Zhang Dai

Zhang Dai was a Ming Dynasty writer.

Born in Ming Dynasty 25th year in Shanyin , now Shaoxing of Zhejiang province, China. He died in Qing Dynasty 28th year at age 93.

Zhang Dai is known as the greatest essay writer in Ming dynasty. He was a prolific writer. He wrote more than thirty books covering literature and history. However only a few remain today.

Zhang Dai's most famous books are:

* ''Tao An Meng Yi'' , written ca. 1665.
* ''Xi Hu Meng Xun''

Books by Zhang Dai

*张岱 Zhang Dai: 陶庵梦忆 Tao An Meng Yi, 1986 edition, Golden Maple Publishing House, Taiwan
*张岱 Zhang Dai: 西湖梦寻 Xi Hu Meng Xun, Search The West Lake in Dreams. ISBN 957-763-132-0

Books on Zhang Dai

* Spence, Jonathan D. . ''Return to Dragon Mountain: Memories of a Late Ming Man''. Viking, 332 pages. ISBN 978-0-670-06357-4
* Kafalas, Phlip A. . ''In Limpid Dream: Nostalgia and Zhang Dai's Reminiscences of the Ming''. East Bridge, 286 pages. ISBN 978-1-891-93663-0

Translations

* ''Zhang Dai, Souvenirs rêvés de Tao'an'', translated by Brigitte Teboue-Wang, 1995
* ''Vignettes from the Late Ming: A Hsiao-P'in Anthology'', by Yang Ye, University of Washington Press; ISBN 0-295-97733-7

Excerpt

Elderly Min Tea

Chou Me-Nong bragged about Min Vin-sui's tea to me over and over. In the ninth month of 1638, I went to the City of Liu. After landing, I visited Min Vin-sui at Peach Leave Ferry. It was afternoon, and Vin-sui was out. He came back late, and I saw a grumpy old man. No sooner than introduction, he suddenly exclaimed "I forgot my cane at some one's home !" then out he went. I said to myself " I cannot afford to waste a whole day". I called again. When Vin-sui returned, it was already evening. He glanced at me, and said "Is the guest still here ? What are you here for?" "I have long heard your reputation, I will not leave here unless I get to drink Vin-sui tea" I replied.
Vin-sui was pleased, and set up stove and brew tea himself, as swiftly as wind and storm. He led me into a room with bright windows and clean desk and filled with Thorn Brook tea pots and Chen Shuen Kiln porcelain cups. What an exquisite collection! Under the lamplight, the color of tea looked the same as the porcelain cups, but the tea had an aggressive aroma, I exclaimed with amazement and ask Vin-sui "Where do you obtained this tea?" "It was from the Garden of Liang" he replied. I sipped again, and said "Don't fool me, this tea was indeed made according to Liang Garden recipe, but it doesn't tasted so" "Do you know where the tea was from?" asked
Vin-sui, hiding his smile. I sipped again, and said "How come it tasted so much like Lu Gie tea?" "Odd, odd!" said Vin-sui, sticking out his tongue. I ask Vin-sui what kind of water he used. "Hui Spring water" "Don't fool me, Hui Spring water travelled thousands of miles how come the water moves but not the pebbles?" "I am not going to hide the truth any more. When one fetch Hui Spring water one must dig a well, and wait in a silent night for new water to arrive, then bucket it up quickly. Mountain pebbles would line the bottom of the jar. A boat will not move without the wind, so still water creates no pebbles......" " Odd, odd!" said he, sticking out his tongue. No sooner he uttered this words, out he went. He soon returned with a kettle and pour me a full cup of tea, and said "please try this" "It has an intense aroma and rich taste. Is this spring tea? The one I tasted before was Autumn pick" Vin-sui laughed heartily and said "In seventy years of my life, I have never met a single connoisseur like you!" We became friends.

From Book III, "Dream and Remininscence of Tao An" , translated by Gisling

Yuen Ren Chao

Yuen Ren Chao was a Chinese American and amateur composer. He made important contributions to the modern study of phonology and grammar.

Besides helping to shape the Gwoyeu Romatzyh, a Chinese romanization scheme, Chao is also credited with inventing a notation for transcribing in spoken languages.

Biography

Born in Tianjin with ancestry in Changzhou, , Chao went to the United States with a Boxer Rebellion Indemnity Scholarship in 1910 to study mathematics at Cornell University, switching to philosophy later. He earned his doctorate in philosophy from Harvard University.

Already in college, his interests had turned to music and languages. He spoke and fluently and some , and he had a reading knowledge of ancient Greek and Latin. He served as Bertrand Russell's interpreter when the renowned British philosopher visited China in 1920. In his ''My Linguistic Autobiography'', he wrote of his ability to pick up a Chinese dialect quickly, without much effort.

He returned to China in 1920, teaching at the Tsinghua University. One year later he returned to the United States to teach at Harvard. He again returned to China in 1925, teaching at Tsinghua. He began to conduct linguistic fieldwork throughout China for the Institute of History and Philology of Academia Sinica from 1928 onwards. During this period of time, he collaborated with Luo Changpei and Li Fanggui, the other two leading Chinese linguists of his generation, to edit and render into Chinese Bernhard Karlgren's monumental ''Etudes sur la Phonologie Chinoise'' .

He left for the US in 1938, and resided there afterwards. In 1945, he served as president of the Linguistic Society of America, and a special issue of the society's journal ''Language'' was dedicated to him in 1966. He became an American citizen in 1954. From 1947 to 1960, he taught at the University of California at Berkeley, where in 1952, he became Agassiz Professor Oriental Languages.

He was married to the physician Buwei Yang Chao, perhaps best known as author of ''How to Cook and Eat in Chinese'', a treatise on Chinese cuisine. Yuen Ren Chao offers his insights liberally throughout the book, offering glimpses into the kind of relationship they had together. Both were known for their good senses of humor, he particularly for his love of subtle jokes and language puns: they published a family history entitled, ''Life with Chaos : the autobiography of a Chinese family''.

Late in his life, he was invited by Deng Xiaoping to return to China. Chao and his wife returned to China in 1973 for the first time since the 1940s. He visited China again between May and June in 1981 after his wife passed away in March the same year. He died in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His daughter Rulan Chao Pian , born in 1922, is Professor Emerita of East Asian Studies and Music at Harvard.

Work

When in the US in 1921, Chao recorded the standard Mandarin pronunciation distributed nationally, as proposed by Commission on the Unification of Pronunciation.

He is the author of one of the most important standard modern works on Chinese grammar, ''A Grammar of Spoken Chinese'' , which was translated into Chinese separately by Lü Shuxiang in 1979 and by Ting Pang-hsin in 1980. It was an expansion of the grammar chapters in his earlier textbooks, ''Mandarin Primer'' and ''Cantonese Primer''. He was co-author of the ''Concise Dictionary of Spoken Chinese'', which was the first dictionary to mark Chinese characters for being ''bound'' or ''free'' .

His translation of Lewis Carroll's ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'', where he tried his best to preserve all the word plays of the original, is still considered a classic.

He also wrote "The "Lion-Eating Poet in the Stone Den". This Chinese text consists of 92 characters, all with the sounds ''shī'', ''shí'', ''shǐ'' and ''shì'' . When written out using the text can be understood, but it is incomprehensible when read out aloud, and therefore also incomprehensible on paper when written in romanized form. This example is often used as an argument against the romanization of Chinese. In fact, the text was an argument against the romanization of Classical Chinese and Chao was actually pro-romanization for writing modern vernacular Chinese .

His composition ''How could I help thinking of her'' was a "pop hit" in the 1930s in China. The lyrics are by Liu Bannong, another linguist, who is famous for coining the Chinese feminine pronoun ''ta'' .

Chao translated "Jabberwocky" into by inventing characters to imitate what Rob Gifford describes as the "slithy toves that gyred and gimbled in the wabe of Carroll's original."

Further reading

* Yuen Ren Chao, "My Linguistic Autobiography", in ''Aspects of Chinese Sociolinguistics: Essays by Yuen Ren Chao'', pp.1-20, selected and introduced by Anwar S. Dil, Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1976.
* William S-Y. Wang, "Yuen Ren Chao", ''Language'', Vol. 59, No. 3 , pp. 605-607, through JSTOR

Yuan Cai

Yuan Cai was a Song dynasty scholar and official, best known for penning the ''Yuan shi shi fan'', a manual of advice addressed to family heads on the subject of how to handle their responsibilities.

Yuan was born in Xin'an, the capital of Quzhou prefecture, to an established gentry family. In the 1150s he was a student at the National University at the Southern Song capital of Hangzhou. After passing the ''jinshi'' degree in 1163, Yuan Cai served in several prefectures outside the capital. Altogether Yuan Cai served as magistrate of four .

During this time, he spent much of his time writing. Two of his early works, ''Zhenghe za ji'' and ''Xianling xiao lu'' , are no longer extant. From the bibliography chapter of the ''Book of Song'' and Ming dynasty gazetteers of Quzhou, he is also known to have written a number of other books, all of which are also lost. Most of them were concerned with the administration of local and central government. At least one detailed ways in which the central government could improve its capacity to fend off the Jurchens who had seized north China.

Serving as magistrate of Leqing from 1178 onwards, Yuan acted as compiler of a ten-chapter gazetteer of the county. He probably completed and published the ''Yuan shi shi fan'' around this time. Liu Zhen, one of the members of the local families, whom Yuan had met at the National University, wrote the preface for Yuan's work. The ''Yuan shi shi fan'' was reprinted in 1190, whilst Yuan Cai was at Wuyuan in what is now southern Anhui.

In 1192 he was recommended for promotion by the poet Yang Wanli. Yuan Cai's last post was in the capital, as director of the Public Attention Drum Bureau. He probably died sometime in the mid-1190s. After his death, his second son and a cousin also attained the ''jinshi'' degree in 1205.

Xue Zongzheng

Xue Zongzheng is a renowned historian, a director of Ancient History at the Institute of History in , and a professor of History at the Xinjiang Normal University. Born in , he was graduated in history from the Peking University in 1958, specialized in the fronter policy of ancient China and the history of Central Asia. He published several books in the Chinese language.

Publications

* ''A History of Turks''. Beijing: Chinese Social Sciences Press. 1992.
* ''A Study of Western Boundary's Frontier Poetry in the Past Dynasties''. Lanzhou: Dunhuang Literature and Art Press. 1993.
* ''Anxi and Beiting Protectorates''. Harbin: Heilongjiang Education Press. 1995.
* ''Rise and Decline of Tubo Kingdom''. Beijing: Nationalities Press. 1997.
* ''The Pronunciation of the Han and Jin Dynasties and the Toponym of the Ancient Western Region''. Journal of Xinjiang University. 2000.1.
* ''Xinjiang's Historical Events Listed in Divani Lugatit Turk''. Journal of Xinjiang University. 2001.1
* ''A Study on Multilateral Relations Among the Tibetan, Uighur and Karluk — On the Contend in the Western Regions After An and Shi's Rebellions of the Tang Dynasty''. 2001.3
* ''A History of On Oq Khans in the Late Western Turks''. Journal of Xinjiang Normal University. 2001.4.
* ''The Royal Gar and the Tibetan-Subjected Western Turkic Regimes — With the Discussion About the Contend Between Tang Dynasty and the Tibetan in the Western Region''. China's Borderland History and Geography Studies. 2002.4.
*''From Shule to Jiashizhili''. Xinjiang Academy of Social Sciences. 2005.2.

Xie Bingying

Xie Bingying was a Chinese soldier and writer born in .

Xie was one of the first female soldiers in modern history, and participated in the . Her literary reputation started with her military diaries. She was arrested in Japan for resistance activities in 1935. In 1948 she moved to Taiwan to escape the coming communist rule. In 1974 she emigrated to the United States.

Main works

*''Girl Rebel: the autobiography of Hsieh Pingying, with extracts from her new war diaries '', Da Capo Press, New York, 1940
*''Autobiography of a Chinese Girl: a genuine autobiography '', G. Allen & Unwin, London, 1943

Xi Kang

Xi Kang or Ji Kang was a , poet, philosopher, musician, and alchemist.

As a thinker, he wrote on longevity, music theory, politics and ethics. Among his works were ''Yangsheng Lun'' , ''Shengwu Aile Lun'' , ''Qin Fu'' , and ''Shisi Lun'' . As a musician, Xi Kang composed a number of solo pieces for .

Xi Kang was highly critical of Confucianism and challenged many social conventions of his time. As such he was considered scandalous and seditious. He was sentenced to death after offending Zhong Hui and Sima Zhao. Xi Kang was one of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove.

Wong Kiew Kit

Wong Kiew Kit claims to be the fourth generation successor from the Shaolin Monastery of China, and a of Shaolin Kung Fu and Chi Kung.

Martial arts

Sifu Wong Kiew Kit received the ''Qigong Master of the Year'' award at the Second World Congress on Qigong held from 21st to 23rd November 1997 in San Francisco, United States.

Career as an Author

Wong Kiew Kit has authored several books on martial arts and philosophy. His works include ''Chi Kung For Health and Vitality'',ISBN ''The Art of Shaolin Kung Fu'', ''The Complete Book of Tai Chi Chuan'', ''The Complete Book of Zen'', ''Introduction to Shaolin Kung Fu'', ''The Complete Book of Chinese Medicine'', ''The Complete Book of Shaolin''. and ''Sukhavati: Western Paradise'',

Lineage

Wong Kiew Kit claims to be the fourth generation successor of Jiang Nan from the famous Shaolin Monastery in China.
Wong Kiew Kit claims his legacy is over 150 years old and that it traces back to the Southern Shaolin Monastery through two patriarchs; Lai Chin Wah and Ho Fatt Nam.

Sun Tzu

Sun Tzu is traditionally considered to be the author of ''The Art of War'' , an immensely influential book on military strategy. Whether or not he is an authentic historical figure is vigorously debated by historians. Traditional accounts place him in the Spring and Autumn Period of China as a heroic general of the King of Wu. Scholars accepting his historicity place him in the Warring States Period , based on the descriptions of warfare in the ''Art of War''. Traditional accounts state that his son, Sun Bin, also wrote a master treatise on military tactics.

Sun Tzu, both as a author of the ''Art of War'' and a legendary figure, had an immense impact on Chinese and Asian history and culture. During the 19th and 20th centuries, the ''Art of War'' gained popularity and saw practical use in Western society. He remains highly influential in both Asian and Western culture and politics.

Biography

Historians debate whether or not Sun Tzu was a real historical figure. In some histories, such as the biography written in the 2nd century BC by the historian Sima Qian, Sun Tzu is born in during the Spring and Autumn Period of China and becomes a heroic general for the King of , Ho Lu. His victories inspire him to write the Art of War. Other historians place the writing of the Art of War in the Warring States Period , based on its description of warfare. It was a time of constant war between seven nations seeking to control all of China.

According to Sima Qian, the king of Wu tested Sun Tzu's skill, commanding him to train a harem of three hundred and sixty concubines. Sun Tzu divided them into two , appointing the two concubines most favored by the king as the company commanders. Sun Tzu received giggles when he first commanded the companies, telling them in response that the general is at fault if his soldiers do not understand. He taught the maneuver to them again, and again they laughed and tittered. Sun Tzu ordered the execution of the two favored concubines, to the king's vigorous protest. He explained that if his soldiers understand but do not obey, it is the fault of the . Sun Tzu also said once a general receives his orders, it is his duty to carry them out perfectly, even if the king protests. New officers were named and the two companies performed their maneuvers flawlessly thereafter. According to this biography, Sun Tzu further proved his theories on the battlefield with a successful military career and wrote the Art of War based on his tested expertise. His grandson, Sun Bin, also became a famous scholar of the military arts.

The Art of War

''The Art of War'' is said to have been penned by Sun Tzu and was originally called the ''Sun Tzu Ping Fa'' , or simply the ''Sun Tzu''. It presents a complete philosophy of war for managing conflicts and winning clear victories. Contrary to popular perceptions, it contains not only the writing of the original author, but also commentary and clarifications from later military philosophers, such as Li Ch'uan and Tu Mu. It is widely accepted as a masterpiece on strategy and has been referenced by generals and theorists throughout history.

The book is not only popular among military theorists, but also among political leaders and those in business management. The book addresses strategy in a broad fashion, despite the title, touching upon public administration and planning. The text outlines theories of battle but also advocates diplomacy and cultivating relationships with other nations as essential to the health of the state.

Related text

During the early 1970s, scholars uncovered a large collection of ancient texts written in amazingly preserved . Among them was the Art of War and Sun Bin's ''Military Methods''. Although ''Military Methods'' was noted by Han Dynasty bibliographies as extant and written by a descendent of Sun Tzu, it had since been lost. The finding of Sun Bin's work was considered an extremely important find, due to a variety of factors including Sun Bin's relationship to Sun Tzu and the work's illustration of military thought in late Chinese antiquity. The discovery as a whole expanded the total known Chinese military works by hundreds, though Sun Bin's text is the only known additional surviving text from the ancient period.

Influence and importance

Sun Tzu's ''Art of War'' has been deeply influential. It is said the first emperor of a unified China, Qin Shi Huang, thought the book invaluable in ending the Age of Warring States. Japan was introduced to Sun Tzu's work c. AD 760, quickly becoming popular among her generals. It is considered an important influence on the unification of Japan. Mastery of its teachings was considered a mark of respect among the samurai and several influential samurai both exhorted and exemplified its teachings, such as Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Napoleon is said to have studied Sun Tzu's military writings and used them to successfully wage war against the rest of Europe. Napoleon's disregard for some of the central principles, such as attentiveness to temporal conditions, is largely credited for his eventual . Admiral of the Fleet Tōgō Heihachirō, who led Japan's forces to victory against Russia in the Russo-Japanese War, was a famous disciple of the ''Art of War'''s teachings.

Mao Zedong partially credited his defeat of Chiang Kai-shek and the Nationalists in 1949 to the ''Art of War''. It strongly influenced Mao's writings about guerrilla warfare, which further influenced communist insurgencies throughout the world. A further example of its explicit modern influence is its use by General Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr. during the Gulf War, where the general put to practice Sun Tzu's principles of deception, speed, and attacking the enemy's weakness.

Song Yingxing

Song Yingxing was a scientist and encyclopedist who lived during the late Ming Dynasty . He was the author of an encyclopedia that covered a wide variety of technical subjects, including the use of gunpowder weapons. Comparing him to the famous encyclopedist, the sinologist and historian Joseph Needham called Song Yingxing, "The of China."

Biography

Song Yingxing achieved only modest wealth and influence during his life. Born in 1587 to a gentry family of reduced circumstances, he participated in the imperial examinations, and passed the provincial test in 1615, at the age of 28.

Written works

Encyclopedias

Although Song Yingxing's encyclopedia was a significant publication for his age, there had been a long tradition in the history of Chinese literature in creating large encyclopedic works. For example, the ''Four Great Books of Song'' compiled much earlier in the 10th and 11th centuries . Just a few decades before Yingxing's work, there was also the Ming Dynasty encyclopedia of the ''Sancai Tuhui'', written in 1607 and published in 1609. Song Yingxing's famous work was the ''Tiangong Kaiwu'' , or ''The Exploitation of the Works of Nature'', published in May of 1637. The ''Tiangong Kaiwu'' is an encyclopedia covering a wide range of technical issues, including the use of various gunpowder weapons. Copies of the book were very scarce in China during the Qing dynasty , but original copies of the book were fortunately preserved in Japan. sericulture and textile technology, another illustration shows a brick-maker filling a wooden mold with clay while he dresses the brick's surface with a finishing wire strung on a bow.

As the historian Joseph Needham points out, the vast amount of accurately drawn illustrations in this encyclopedia dwarfed the amount provided in previous Chinese encyclopedias, making it a valuable written work in the history of Chinese literature. At the same time, the Tiangong Kaiwu broke from Chinese tradition by rarely referencing previous written work. It is instead written in a style strongly suggestive of first-hand experience. In the preface to the work, Song attributed this deviation from tradition to his poverty and low standing.

Song wrote about the general terms used in agriculture, saying that the "hundred grains" referred to crops in general, while the "five grains" were specifically sesamum, legumes, wheat, panicled millet, and glutinous millet . He wrote about the meticulous and proper cultivation of each crop, as well as how to avoid agricultural disasters in the process.

In aiding the text, he also provided many different drawn illustrations, including a man loosening the soil by ploughing with an ox, soil broken into fine particles by an ox-drawn , men engaging in foot weeding and hand weeding of rice, a vertical waterwheel with hollow wooden cylinders dipping water into an open woodwork tub feeding an irrigation canal, a cylinder-type chain pump powered by a vertical waterwheel placed in a narrow, low-lying stream with a mounted rotating wheel placed at the top of an elevated plane, whereupon the cylinders fed water into an irrigation canal, a wooden river dam correcting the flow of water around a field of crops, a sluice gate controlling the flow of a water channel, a square-pallet chain pump powered by a horizontal waterwheel, connected by an axle to a gear-tooth wheel above, which in turn engaged a vertical gear-tooth wheel, another square-pallet chain pump employing an ox-drawn set of geared wheels, two different types of foot-treadle operated chain pumps, a counterweighted lever for raising or lowering a bucket, a pulley-wheel for raising or lowering a bucket, an ox-drawn plough-seeder with a cone-shaped filter, an ox-drawn pair of stone rollers, used for pressing seeds into the soil, the simpler process of sewing seeds by hand and pressing them into the dirt by foot, and finally, an illustration of men cultivating wheat with broad-headed hoes.

In another chapter, The Preparation of Grains, he also provided illustrations for rolling rice grains with a wooden ox-drawn roller, a crank-operated rotary-fan winnowing machine that separated husks, a hand-operated wooden hulling mill, a hand-operated earthen hulling machine, a process of sieving to separate husk-free grains, two types of foot-operated trip hammers, a hydraulic-powered trip hammer powered by a waterwheel that rotated an axle of overhead cams, a horse-drawn hulling mill, an oxen-drawn grinding mill, a grinding mill operated by a vertical waterwheel, and a rolling mill operated by a horizontal waterwheel, the waterwheel placed in a rushing current found under a wooden deck that rotated the axle of the stone roller above within the interior of a building.

Nautics

The subject of maritime and nautical technology and engineering was discussed extensively by Song Yingxing. Song noted that in northern China the chief means of transportation was by carriage and cart, while in southern China it was by ship and boat. He provided various nuances about nautical matters, such as metal anchors for battleships and sea-going vessels weighing up to 30,000 . Song also wrote of the methods used by the Chinese in his day for pearl diving in Guangdong. Song wrote that these divers were able to stay underwater for prolonged periods of time since a secure rope was tied around their waists connected to the ship as they breathed through a long curving pipe that led up above the surface of the water.

In his admiration for the stern-mounted steering rudder , he wrote:

Sericulture and cotton

Song Yingxing opened his chapter on clothing with the aspects of sericulture in producing silk. He gave an accurate description of the raising of , along with their instinctual mating tradition. Those raising the silkworms had their eggs deposited on sheets of paper or cloth, and stored for use in the following year. He noted the differences between two general forms of silkworms, late and early, while providing information on a wide variety in different silkworm breeds and cocoons, and even silkworm diseases. After their eventful hatching, he described the proper living conditions and environment that the silkworms should be immersed in, as well as the care that should be given in feeding them. He warned of different sources of foul odors and smoke that had the capability of killing the silkworms if they came into contact. gathering of cocoons, and the different pests such as birds and mosquitoes that should be avoided, He also described the proper planting of mulberry trees and how to harvest them. For the process of making silk, he noted that raw silk could not be reeled into normal silk until a formal wadding process was done. He described the reeling of silk fabric with a reeling machine, the of silk fibers, the spinning of silk fibers into weft yarns, the silken threads drawn into a warp frame for weaving, and the "ingenious" works of figure designing. He also described the proper dimensions of different draw looms,

Song Yingxing wrote that although silk was reserved for those with economic means, both rich and poor used cotton clothing during the winter. In ancient times, he said, cotton was called ''xima'' . He noted the process of straightening the cotton fibers with wooden boards, which prepared them for the spinning wheel, the "slivers drawn out to desired size and twisted into yarns." In addition to these he also described different fur, woolen, and felt clothing.

Metallurgy, casting, and forging

In China, the 'five metals' were gold, silver, copper, iron, and tin, although the term could be extended in general terms to any sort of metal. He wrote of how gold was held to be the most precious metal of them all, and that it could be obtained in the mountains, panned from river sand, and from underground mining. He also outlined the different grades of gold and its malleable qualities.

Song Yingxing wrote that ancient rulers of early China cast inscriptions of writing onto bronze tripods since this was a much more durable method of preserving the written record than using the perishable materials found in books and scrolls. He noted that musical and announcing bells of higher quality were made of different copper alloys, while those of lesser quality were made of iron. He also provided weighted formulas of different metal compositions for certain bells, for example, the casting a large bell in an audience hall or pavilion that required 47,000 of copper, 4,000 of tin, 50 . of gold, and 120 . of silver in its composition. When dried and heated so that the melted fat and wax could flow out entirely by means of apertures at the base, the bell or tripod could be cast in the vacated cavity between the core and the mold. metal statues, metallic mirrors, and different metallic coins of copper or iron. He described the processes of hammer forging with the initial casting of an anvil, He outlined the different types of , axes, , saws, anchors, that could be forged and produced. For the making of the finest swords, he said, they are coated with steel after "a hundred smeltings," but the core of the sword was still made of wrought iron; this was because a sword made entirely of steel would easily break when making hard strikes. For the preparation of saltpetre, Song Yingxing wrote:





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For purification the remaining solution is again boiled, together with a few pieces of turnip, until the water has evaporated further. This is then poured into a basin and left overnight so that a mess of snow-white is formed, and that is called ''pen xiao''. For making gunpowder this ''ya xiao'' and ''pen xiao'' have a similar effect. When saltpetre is used for making gunpowder, if in small quantity it has to be dried on new tiles, and if in large quantity it should be dried in earthenware vessels. As soon as any moisture has all gone, the saltpetre is ground to a powder, but one should never use an iron , because any spark accidentally produced could cause an irretrievable catastrophe. One should measure out the amount of saltpetre to be used in a particular gunpowder formula, and then grind it together with sulfur. Charcoal is only added later. After saltpetre has been dried, it may become moist again if left over a period of time. Hence when used in large cannons it is usually carried separately, and the gunpowder prepared and mixed on the spot. It also described an explosive naval mine that was timed by a fuse and sent down river to an enemy ship. However, it was the ''Tiangong Kaiwu'' of Song Yingxing that outlined the use of a rip-cord pulled from ambushers hidden on a nearby shore that would trigger the steel-wheel mechanism in producing sparks for the naval mine placed in the river or lake.

Song Yingxing described a 'match for ten thousand armies' bomb as follows:



The historian Needham notes that Song Yingxing must not have been much of a military man with extensive knowledge of martial matters, due to his enthusiasm for this archaic type of bomb that had been used by the Chinese since the Song Dynasty in the 12th century.

Cosmology

Song Yingxing also published two scientific tractates that outline his cosmological views. In these, he discusses the concepts of ''qi'' and ''xing'' . Qi has been described in many different ways by Chinese philosophers. To Song, it is a type of all-permeating vapor from which solid objects are formed. These solid objects eventually return to the state of ''qi'', which itself eventually returns to the great void. Some objects, such as the sun and the moon, remain in ''qi'' form indefinitely, while objects like stones are eternally ''xing''. Some objects, like water and fire, are intermediary between the two forms.

Tiangong Kaiwu gallery

Song Qiang

Song Qiang is a co-author of ''China Can Say No'' and ''The Way Out For China: Under the Shadow of Globalization''.

Qu Qiubai

Qu Qiubai was born in Changzhou, Jiangsu, China. He was a leader of the Communist Party of China in the late 1920s and an important contributor to Mao Zedong Thought.

Early Life

From a prominent, though impoverished, regional family, Qu suffered tragedy at an early age. His father, unable to extract wealth from their land or attain a good bureaucratic position was forced to take a remote teaching position that left no money to send home. In 1915, his mother, overwrought by her life's mounting difficulties and debts, committed suicide. In 1916, Qu found himself in Beijing, after having spent some time with relatives in Wuhan, without any means to pay for a regular university tuition. Therefore, Qu enrolled in the newly established Russian Language Institute, as it was tuition-free, offered a stipend and held the promise of work upon graduation. A reluctant participant in revolutionary discourse Qu would become radicalized by his experience in the May 4th Movement.

Communist Party Involvement

Qu led a solitary existence under the demanding regimen of the language institute, studying both French and Russian and on his own time and philosophical works. Early contact in revolutionary circles occurred with his participation in a discussions hosted by Li Dazhao, head librarian at Beijing University, about Marxist analysis. Mao Zedong would also be present at these meetings. Qu then later chose to accept a job as a journalist for a Beijing newspaper and be stationed in Moscow. Qu was one of the first Chinese to report from Moscow about life in Russia after the Bolshevik Revolution.
He became acting Chairman of the in 1927 after the fall of Chen Duxiu, thus becoming the ''de facto'' leader of the party. He organised revolutions and uprisings such as the Guangzhou Uprising of December 11, 1927.Unable to join his comrades on The Long March due to his tuberculosis, Qu stayed in the vanguard. Qu was eventually arrested and executed by firing squad by the Kuomintang in 1935, though not before writing a final farewell letter, leaked by the Kuomintang, that is part of the literary tradition of the Communist movement.

Legacy

Qu was heavily criticised as a "renegade" during the Cultural Revolution. However, the absolved him in 1980 and today he is held in very high regard by the Party. A Qu Qiubai museum operates in his native town of Changzhou. Tsi-an Hsia writes in ''The Gate of Darkness: Studies on the Leftist Literary Movement in China'' describing Qu as "the tenderhearted Communist". Qu and a Russian counterpart, V.S. Kolokolov, were responsible for the early development of the system of romanization. From its Russian translation, Qu also created the official Chinese translation of The Internationale, used as the anthem of the Communist Party of China.

Pei Zunqing

Pei Zunqing , courtesy name Shaoliang , was an official of the dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving as a during the reigns of and .

Background

It is not known what year Pei Zunqing was born -- but as he was said to be in his 90s at his death in 775, based on Chinese protocol of age-counting, he would have been born between 677 and 686. He was from a prominent clan of Jiang Prefecture , which traced its ancestry to officials of Han Dynasty, Cao Wei, Jin Dynasty , Western Liang, Northern Wei, and Tang Dynasty. Pei Zunqing's grandfather Pei Yihong served as a mid-level official at the legislative bureau of government and carried the title of Duke of Xuanwu. Pei Zunqing's father Pei Quan was a prefectural prefect and carried the title of Baron of Hedong. Pei Zunqing had at least two older brothers, Pei Zunyu and Pei Zunye .

During Emperor Xuanzong's reign

It was said that Pei Zunqing was ambitious but mild in his disposition, and he was studious and careful in his behavior in his youth. When he had become relatively old for a new official, he, on account of his heritage, was made the legal officer at Lu Prefecture . Because of his relatively old age, he was not noticed, but was eventually summoned to the Tang capital Chang'an to serve in the ministry of civil service affairs , and then to serve as ''Dali Cheng'' , the secretary general of the supreme court . It was said that he was capable in judging cases and decided them logically. On one occasion, because the general Xiao Keji was harsh toward his subordinates, his soldiers made comments that suggested they were suggesting rebellion. When they were charged with treason, Pei responded, "They had no money to gather people, and no talent to command people. How could they commit treason?" It was said that because of Pei's judgment, tens of households were saved. Later, late in 's ''Tianbao'' era , Pei served as a junior official at the ministry of civil service affairs and was in charge of selecting the junior officials. It was said that because the realm was peaceful at times, each year there would be tens of thousands of people coming to Chang'an seeking official commissions. Pei was said to be dexterous, knowledgeable, good in memory, detailed, and not harsh, despite the large amount of work he had to carry out, and was said to be the best at the task. During this period, he wrote a work known as the ''Records of the Kings' Governance'' , discussing the rites from ancient days to his own days; it was said that those who read the work saw that he had talent to be a high-level official. Toward the end of the ''Tianbao'' era, the chancellor Yang Guozhong was exceedingly powerful, and he sent most officials who were not his followers away from the capital. As Pei did not flatter Yang, he was sent out of the capital to serve as a commandery governor.

During Emperor Suzong's reign

After Emperor Xuanzong was succeeded by his son in 756, Emperor Suzong recalled Pei Zunqing to serve as imperial attendant , ''Shangshu You Cheng'' , and deputy minister of civil service affairs . Pei was said to be frugal and careful, drawing much praise. While Xiao Hua was chancellor, he knew Pei well and, whenever he met Emperor Suzong, would recommend Pei for promotion. In 761, based on Xiao's recommendation, Pei was made ''Huangmen Shilang'' -- the deputy head of the examination bureau -- and given the designation ''Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi'' , making him a chancellor ''de facto''.

During Emperor Daizong's reign

Emperor Suzong died in 762 and was succeeded by his son . Pei Zunqing continued to serve as chancellor. In 763, when the relationship between the imperial government and the general Pugu Huai'en had become exceedingly tense, because Emperor Daizong knew Pei to be faithful and honest, he sent Pei to Hezhong to try to sooth Pugu and persuade him to report to Chang'an. Pei was initially able to persuade Pugu to do so, but after opposition by Pugu's subordinate Fan Zhicheng , Pugu changed his mind, and Pei returned to Chang'an empty-handed. In 763, when a surprise Tufan attack on Chang'an forced Emperor Daizong to flee Chang'an, Pei was able to escape and follow Emperor Daizong to Shan Prefecture . After Emperor Daizong returned to Chang'an, Pei and a fellow chancellor, Miao Jinqing, were removed from their chancellor posts and given honorary positions -- in Pei's case, as an advisor to Emperor Daizong's crown prince . Pei was soon made minister of civil service affairs and ''You Pushe'' , one of the heads of the executive bureau. He was again put in charge of selecting officials. As Pei was extremely old at the time, he was allowed to carry out this task at his mansion, which was considered a very high honor. On one occasion, a distant relative of his submitted an accusation that Pei was plotting treason, but Emperor Daizong knew of his carefulness and faithfulness and took no heed of the accusation. In his old age, Pei was said to be even more strict in his own behavior -- he would be displeased if someone he recommended came to thank him as he found it to be inappropriate; and while he often conversed with Emperor Daizong to give advice, he would destroy the records of their conversations later. He died in 775, while still serving in these duties. His great-grandson Pei Shu would later serve as chancellor near the end of Tang Dynasty, under and .

Pei Guangting

Pei Guangting , courtesy name Liancheng , formally Baron Zhongxian of Zhengping , was an official of the dynasty Tang Dynasty and Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty, serving as a during the reign of . He instituted a seniority-based system of promotion for the Tang civil service system, and was often blamed by traditional historians for limiting the rise of talented officials in the subsequent years of Emperor Xuanzong's reign.

Background

Pei Guangting's family was from Jiang Prefecture and traced its ancestry to a line of officials of Han Dynasty, Jin Dynasty , Former Liang, Southern Qi, Northern Wei, Northern Zhou, and Tang Dynasty. Pei Guangting, born in 676, was a younger son of Pei Xingjian , a renowned general during the reign of . When Pei Xingjian died in 682, Pei Guangting was just six. During the reign of Emperor Gaozong's wife Wu Zetian , she summoned Pei Guangting's mother Lady Kudi into the palace and made her a senior lady in waiting; as a result, Pei Guangting was promoted, eventually to be the ''Taichang Cheng'' , the secretary general at the ministry of worship. He married a daughter of Wu Zetian's nephew Wu Sansi the Prince of Liang. During the second reign of Emperor Gaozong's and Wu Zetian's son , Wu Sansi was posthumously denounced, and Pei, because he was Wu Sansi's son-in-law, was demoted to be the military advisor to the prefect of Ying Prefecture .

During Emperor Xuanzong's reign

Early in the ''Kaiyuan'' era of Emperor Ruizong's son , Pei Guangting was recalled, initially to be an officer in the imperial guards, and subsequently as a low-level official at the ministry of justice and then at the ministry of defense . It was said that in his youth, Pei was known for being silent and being a loner, and when he was promoted, he was not well-regarded. Once he started his service, however, he was said to be well-organized, drawing praise and respect.

In 725, when Emperor Xuanzong was set to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth at Mount Tai, the Zhang Shuo, a major proponent of the sacrifices, was apprehensive that certain hostile foreign powers may take the opportunity to attack, and considered fortifying the borders. He discussed the matter with Pei. Pei pointed out that the sacrifices at Mount Tai were intended to show the power of the state, and fortifying the borders would in fact show apprehension, not power. Instead, he pointed out that among the foreign powers, Eastern Tujue was the strongest, and that if the Eastern Tujue khan Ashina Mojilian would be willing to show submission by sending a key official to attend to Emperor Xuanzong, then the other foreign states would do so as well. Zhang was impressed with his proposal and submitted it to Emperor Xuanzong, and Emperor Xuanzong agreed. Subsequently, Pei was made the deputy minister of vassal affairs . After Emperor Xuanzong returned from Mount Tai, Pei was made the deputy minister of defense .

In 729, Emperor Xuanzong, displeased that then-chancellors and Du Xian were constantly arguing and fellow chancellor Yuan Qianyao was unable to moderate them, removed all three from chancellor positions, replacing them with Pei and Yuwen Rong, with Pei becoming ''Zhongshu Shilang'' , the deputy head of the legislative bureau of government and made chancellor with the designation ''Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi'' . They served alongside Xiao Song. After just 100 days, Yuwen, who became favored by Emperor Xuanzong because of his ability to increase government revenues, was removed for wrongly accusing another favorite of Emperor Xuanzong's, his second cousin Li Hui the Prince of Xin'an. However, after Yuwen's removal, it was said that revenues decreased sharply, and Emperor Xuanzong questioned Pei and other officials who had criticized Yuwen, "You all claim that Yuwen Rong is evil, and I have removed him. Now, what should we do if there is not enough money in the treasury? What are you here for?" Pei and the other officials were fearful and unable to answer, but Emperor Xuanzong did not punish them. Pei was also made the chief imperial censor , and soon was moved from the legislative bureau to serve as ''Huangmen Shilang'' , the deputy of the examination bureau , and continued to serve as chancellor.

In 730, Pei was made ''Shizhong'' , the head of the examination bureau and a post considered one for a chancellor. He was also soon given the additional post as the minister of civil service affairs , in charge of selecting officials. Prior to Pei's serving as minister of civil service affairs, Tang civil service selections were said to be focused on a person's abilities. Pei changed the system that seniority became the most important factor, such that unless someone was shown to have committed an offense, no one with less seniority could leap over him. It was said that the mediocre officials who had been stuck at low positions were happy about Pei's changes and called his proposal, "the holy proposal," but those with abilities were angry at the change. Despite strenuous objections by the senior advisor Song Jing, Emperor Xuanzong adopted Pei's proposal. Pei was also made an imperial scholar at Hongwen Paviliion . He thereafter submitted two works ''Yaoshan Wangze'' and ''Weicheng Qiangui'' as advice to Emperor Xuanzong. Emperor Xuanzong praised the works and awarded him with silk. However, when Pei proposed a more ambitious work -- a series of biographies in the tradition of the ''Zuo Zhuan'', to be written by a team of scholars selected by him, including Li Rong , Zhang Qi , and Sima Libin , the project did not make progress and was eventually abandoned.

In 732, Pei attended Emperor Xuanzong's sacrifices to earth, and was given the honorific title of ''Guanglu Daifu'' and created the Baron of Zhengping. He died in 733. After his death, there was a dispute over his posthumous name. The scholar at the ministry of worship in charge of choosing posthumous names, Sun Wan criticized Pei's seniority system and recommended the posthumous name of Ke -- a posthumous name that was only moderately honoring. Pei's son Pei Zhen submitted a petition arguing for a more honorable posthumous name, and Emperor Xuanzong, overriding Sun's recommendation, chose Zhongxian , and had Zhang Jiuling write the epitaph.

Ma Jun (environmentalist)

Ma Jun is a environmentalist, non-fiction writer, environmental consultant, and journalist.

In the 1990s Ma became known as an investigative journalist, working at the ''South China Morning Post'' from 1993 to 2000. There, he began to specialize in articles on environmental subjects. He eventually became the Chief Representative of in Beijing.

He was named as one of the 100 most influential persons in the world by '''' magazine in May 2006, in an article written by Hollywood film star Ed Norton.

Ma's 1999 book ''China's Water Crisis'' has been compared to Rachel Carson's ''Silent Spring'' – China's first major book on the subject of that nation's environmental crisis.

He directs the IPE , which developed the , the first public database of water pollution information in China. He also serves as environmental consultant for the Sinosphere Corporation..

Ma said: "Water pollution is the most serious environmental issue facing China. It has a huge impact on people’s health and economic development. That is why we have begun to build this database. To protect water resources, we need to encourage public participation and strengthen law enforcement. In some places, polluting factories and companies are being protected by local governments and officials."

List of works

Books

* ''China's Water Crisis''

Articles

Ma Jun has written for the online journal chinadialogue since 2006. Articles are available in Mandarin and English.
* "Tackling China's water crisis online"
* "A path to environmental harmony"
* "How participation can help China's ailing environment"
* "The government needs freedom of information"
* "Getting involved"
* "Disaster in Taihu Lake"
* "After green GDP, what next?"
* "Tackling pollution at its source"
* "Ecological civilisation is the way forward"
* "Your right to know: a historic moment"

Ma Jun wrote for Hong Kong's South China Morning Post from 1993 to 2000. Articles are not available for free online.

Speeches

* Promoting River Protection in China

Lung Ying-tai

Prof. Lung Ying-tai , is a celebrated essayist and cultural critic, with a total of 17 published titles to her credit in Chinese. Essays in other languages had appeared in European newspapers such as the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung before she accepted the appointment as the first Cultural Minister of Taipei in 1999. During her 4-year term as cultural architect of the city she has designed as well as practiced a new concept of cultural policy, which has had a great impact on contemporary culture in Taiwan and greater China. Lung's poignant and critical essays contributed to the democratization of Taiwan and as the only Taiwanese writer with a column in major Chinese newspapers, she is considered one of the most influential writers in Mainland China as well.

Lung received her bachelor degree from the National Cheng Kung University and Ph.D. from the Kansas State University. She joined the Journalism and Media Studies Centre of the University of Hong Kong in August 2004 and took up the position of Chair Professor of arts and humanities at National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan in 2005.

Liu Hsia

Liu Hsia , more often known as "Hsinglintzu" for her penname, was an influential Taiwanese writer. She was also a social activist, presidential advisor, and founded the Eden Social Welfare Foundation, Taiwan's largest social welfare foundation.

She suffered from Rheumatoid arthritis from when she was 12 years old.

A Ph.D. study of the Christian theology implicit in her writings was produced at the University of Edinburgh in 2006.

Lin Yutang

Lin Yutang was a and inventor whose original works and translations of into became very popular in the West.

Lin was born in the town of Banzi in Zhangzhou Fujian province in southeastern China. This mountainous region made a deep impression on his consciousness, and thereafter he would constantly consider himself a child of the mountains . His father was a Christian minister. His journey of faith from Christianity to Taoism and Buddhism, and back to Christianity in his later life was recorded in his book ''From Pagan to Christian''

Lin studied for his bachelor's degree at in Shanghai, then received a half-scholarship to continue study for a doctoral degree at Harvard University. He left Harvard early however, moving to France and eventually to Germany, where he completed his requirements for a doctoral degree at the University of Leipzig. From 1923 to 1926 he taught English literature at Peking University. On his return to the United States in 1931, he was briefly detained for inspection at Ellis Island.

Dr. Lin was very active in the popularization of classical Chinese literature in the West, as well as the general Chinese attitude towards life. He worked to formulate a of romanizing the Chinese language, and created an indexing system for Chinese characters.

He was interested in mechanics. Since Chinese is a character-based rather than an alphabet-based language, with many thousands of separate characters, it has always been difficult to employ modern printing technologies. For many years it was doubted that a Chinese typewriter could be invented. Lin, however, worked on this problem for decades and eventually came up with a workable typewriter -- brought to market in the middle of the war with Japan.

He also invented and patented several lesser inventions such as a toothbrush with toothpaste dispensing.

After 1928 he lived mainly in the United States, where his translations of Chinese texts remained popular for many years. His many works represent an attempt to bridge the cultural gap between the East and the West. He was frequently nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature.

His first two books, ''My Country and My People'' and ''The Importance of Living'' , written in English in a charming and witty style, brought him international fame. Others include ''Between Tears and Laughter'' , ''The Importance of Understanding'' , ''The Chinese Theory of Art'' , and the novels ''Moment in Peking'' and ''The Vermillion Gate'' , Chinese-English Dictionary of Modern Usage .

His wife, Lin Tsui-feng was a cookbook author whose authentic recipes did a great deal to popularize the art of Chinese cookery in America. Dr. Lin wrote an introduction to one of her and their daughter Lin Hsiang Ju's collections of Chinese recipes. His second daughter, Lin Tai-Yi was the general editor of Chinese Readers' Digest from 1965 until her retirement in 1988.

Dr. Lin was buried at his home in Yangmingshan, Taipei, Taiwan. His home has been turned into a museum, which is operated by Taipei-based . The town of Lin's birth, Banzi, has also preserved the original Lin home and turned it into a museum.

Works by Lin Yutang

* ''My Country and My People'', Reynal & Hitchcock, Inc.,
* ''A History of the Press and Public Opinion in China'', Kelly and Walsh
* ''The Importance of Living'', Reynal & Hitchcock, Inc.,
* ''The Wisdom of Confucius'', Random House, The Modern Library
* ''Moment in Peking'', A John Day Book Company
* ''With Love & Irony'', A John Day Book Company
* ''Leaf in the Storm'', A John Day Book Company
* ''The Wisdom of China and India'', Random House
* ''Between Tears & Laughter'', A John Day Book Company
* ''The Vigil of Nation'', A John Day Book Company
* ''The Gay Genius: The Life and Times of Su Tungpo'', A John Day Book Company
* ''Chinatown Family'', A John Day Book Company
* ''The Wisdom of Laotse'', Random House
* ''On the Wisdom of America'', A John Day Book Company
* ''Widow, Nun and Courtesan: Three Novelettes From the Chinese Translated and Adapted by Lin Yutang'', A John Day Book Company
* ''Famous Chinese Short Stories, Retold by Lin Yutang'', A John Day Book Company
* ''The Vermilion Gate'', A John Day Book Company
* ''Looking Beyond'', Prentice Hall
* ''Lady Wu'', World Publishing Company
* ''The Secret Name'', Farrar, Straus and Cudahy
* ''The Chinese Way of Life'', World Publishing Company
* ''From Pagan to Christianity'', World Publishing Company
* ''Imperial Peking: Seven Centuries of China'', Crown Publishers
* ''The Importance of Understanding'', World Publishing Company
* ''The Red Peony'', World Publishing Company
* ''The Pleasure of a Nonconformist'', World Publishing Company
* ''Juniper Loa'', World Publishing Company
* ''The Flight of Innocents'', G. P. Putnam's Sons
* ''Chinese-English Dictionary of Modern Usage'', Hong Kong Chinese University

Works by Lin Tsuifeng and their daughter Lin Hsiang Ju

In English

* ''Cooking with the Chinese Flavor'', Prentice Hall
* ''Secrets of Chinese Cooking'', Prentice Hall
* ''Chinese Gastronomy'', Pyramid Publications; 1977 reprint: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
* ''The Art of Chinese Cuisine'', Tuttle

Works in English by his second daughter Lin Tai-Yi

with Adet Lin, ''Our Family'' .

with Adet Lin, ''Dawn over Chungking'' .

-- ''War Tide, a Novel'' .

-- ''The Golden Coin'' .

-- ''The Eavesdropper'' .

-- ''The Lilacs Overgrow'' .

-- ''Kampoon Street'' .

Li Ju-chen , ''Flowers in the Mirror'' .

Liang Shih-Chiu

Liang Shih-chiu , a renowned educator, writer, translator, literary theorist and lexicographer.

Liang was educated at in Beijing . He went on to study at Colorado College and later pursued his graduate studies at and Universities. At Harvard, he studied literary criticism under Irving Babbitt, whose New Humanism helped shape his conservative literary tenets. After his return to China in 1926, he began a long career as a professor of English at several universities, including Peking University, , Jinan University, and . During this period he published a number of literary treatises which showed the strong influence of Babbitt and demonstrated his belief that human life and human nature are the only proper subjects for literature. The best known among these are "The Romantic and the Classical", "Literature and Revolution", "The Seriousness of Literature", and "The Permanence of Literature". In each of these treatises, he upheld the intrinsic value of literature as something that transcends social class and strongly opposed using literature for propagandist purposes. These pronouncements and his dislike for the excessive influence of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and other Romanticists in China triggered a polemic war between him and Lu Xun and drew the concerted attacks of leftist writers. He also served as the editor of a succession of literary supplements and periodicals, including the famous ''Crescent Moon Monthly'' . His major works as a translator included James Barrie's ''Peter Pan'', George Eliot's ''Silas Marner'' and ''Mr. Gilfil's Love Story'', and Emily Bront?'s ''Wuthering Heights''.

In 1949, to escape the civil war, Liang fled to Taiwan where he taught at until his retirement in 1966. During this period, he established himself as a lexicographer by bringing out a series of English-Chinese and Chinese-English dictionaries. His translation works included George Orwell's ''Animal Farm'' and Marcus Aurelius' ''Meditations''. However, he is now remembered chiefly as the first Chinese scholar who has single-handedly translated the complete works of Shakespeare into Chinese. This project, which was first conceived in 1930, was completed in 1968. He then embarked on another monumental project — that of writing a comprehensive history of English literature in Chinese, which was completed in 1979 and consists of a three-volume history and a companion set of ''Selected Readings in English Literature'' in Chinese translation, also in three volumes. However, Liang’s literary fame rests, first and foremost, on the hundreds of short essays on familiar topics, especially those written over a span of more than four decades and collected under the general title of ''yashe xiaopin'', now available in English translation under the title ''From a Cottager’s Sketchbook''.

Lai Junchen

Lai Junchen was a secret police official during the dynasty Tang Dynasty and Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty, whose ability to interrogate and falsely implicate officials of crimes made him a subject of fear and hatred. In 697, he was accused of plotting to falsely accuse Wu Zetian's sons and other family members of treason, and he was executed.

Background

It is not known when Lai Junchen was born, but it is known that he was from Wannian County , one of the two counties making up the Tang Dynasty capital Chang'an. His father was one Lai Cao -- who was said to have won Lai Junchen's mother, then the wife of his friend Cai Ben , after winning in gambling with Cai. Lai Junchen was said to be a thug who did not work, who was investigated for thievery while he was at He Prefecture and who then made false accusations against others to the prefect, Li Xu the Prince of Dongping, a cousin of then-reigning . Li Xu had him caned 100 times and thrown out.

In 689, in the aftermath of rebellions against Emperor Ruizong's mother and regent by Emperor Ruizong's uncle the Prince of Yue and the Prince of Langye, Li Xu, along with many other imperial Li clan members, was executed by Empress Dowager Wu. Lai again made a secret report, this time directly to Empress Dowager Wu, who encouraged such reports from anyone. When she met with him, he claimed that what he was reporting earlier dealt with Li Zhen's and Li Chong's rebellions, and that Li Xu had improperly suppressed them. Empress Dowager Wu believed him and thought he was faithful to her, and therefore made him a secret police official, rising to the rank of deputy imperial censor .

First stint as secret police official

It was said that Lai Junchen personally retained a staff of several hundred men who were previously thugs, with the intent to have them make reports. If he decided to falsely implicate someone in a crime, then he had the men submit false reports that corroborate each other. Lai and his assisant Wan Guojun even authored a text known as the ''Classic of Accusation'' , teaching their subordinates how to accuse people of crimes and how to create details that make the alleged plot appear logical and likely. Lai and the other secret police officials were also said to have created a number of torture methods and equipments to get the accused to confess, and further, each time he knew that a general pardon was set to be issued, he had the jailers kill important prisoners first before the general pardon would be declared. Lai's authorities continued to grow, particularly after Empress Dowager Wu herself took the throne in 690 as "emperor" of a new Zhou Dynasty, interrupting Tang and reducing Emperor Ruizong to the rank of crown prince.

In 691, the official Liu Xinggan was accused of treason. Wu Zetian had the Shi Wuzi investigate along with Lai. After Liu Xinggan and his brothers were executed for treason, Lai further reported to Wu Zetian that Shi had good relations with Liu Xinggan and had tried to hide evidence of Liu Xinggan's guilt. Wu Zetian had Lai investigate Shi as well and Shi, in fear, committed suicide.

That year, a famous incident involving Lai and fellow secret police official occurred. Earlier that year, the general Qiu Shenji had been accused of crime and executed, and subsequently, there were secret reports that Zhou was involved with Qiu's crimes. Wu Zetian had Lai investigate, without Zhou's knowledge. One day, Lai and Zhou sat down to lunch, and Lai asked Zhou the question of, "Many of the accused are not wiling to confess. Do you have an idea on how to get them to confess?" Zhou responded, "That is easy. Take a big urn and set a fire under it. Put the accused in it, and surely he will confess everything." Lai had a big urn brought and a fire set underneath, in accordance with Zhou's instructions, and then rose and stated to Zhou, "I had received secret instructions from Her Imperial Majesty with regard to you, big brother. Please enter the urn." Zhou, in fear, knelt and confessed. Wu Zetian did not execute Zhou but exiled him, and on the way to his place of exile, Zhou was killed by his enemies.

Later that year, when investigating the general Zhang Qianxu , Lai interrogated Zhang and tortured him severely. Zhang, unable to stand the torture, yelled out to another official in charge of investigations, Xu Yougong , who was known for being merciful. Angry that Zhang was yelling out to Xu, Lai had his guards slash Zhang to death with their swords and then beheaded him. When he subsequently investigated the prefect Yun Hongsi , he did not bother interrogating Yun -- he just beheaded Yun and then forged a confession from Yun.

Yet later that year, the chancellors Cen Changqian and Ge Fuyuan offended Wu Zetian by strenuously opposing the proposal to elevate her powerful nephew Wu Chengsi to be crown prince, and she had them arrested. Lai coerced Cen's son Cen Lingyuan into implicating another chancellor, Ouyang Tong, whom Lai subsequently arrested and tortured. However, he was unable to get Ouyang to admit to treason, and so he forged a confession from Ouyang. Cen, Ge, and Ouyang were all executed. Lai also killed the general Li Anjing .

In 692, Lai falsely accused the chancellors Ren Zhigu, Di Renjie, and Pei Xingben, along with other officials Cui Xuanli , Lu Xian , Wei Yuanzhong, and Li Sizhen of treason. Lai tried to induce them to confess by citing an imperial edict that stated that those who confessed would be spared their lives, and Di confessed and was not tortured. He then wrote a petition on his blanket and hid it inside cotton clothes, and then had his family members take the clothes home to be changed into summer clothes. Wu Zetian thereafter became suspicious and inquired with Lai, who responded by forging, in the names of Di and the other officials, submissions thanking Wu Zetian for preparing to execute them. However, the young son of another chancellor who had been executed, Le Sihui, who was seized to be a servant at the ministry of agriculture, made a petition to Wu Zetian and told her that Lai was so skillful at manufacturing charges that even the most honest and faithful individuals would be forced into confessions by Lai. Wu Zetian thereafter summoned the seven accused officials and personally interrogated them, and after they disavowed the forged confessions, released but exiled them. Later that year, Lai demanded a bribe from the general Quan Xiancheng , the grandson of the former Goguryeo regent Yeon Gaesomun and, when Quan refused, falsely accused Quan of treason and had him strangled.

In 693, the officials Pei Feigong and Fan Yunxian were accused of secretly meeting with the crown prince Li Dan , and when Fan tried to speak on his own behalf, Lai had his tongue cut off, and then had Pei and Fan both executed by being cut in half at the waist. Wu Zetian decreed that officials would not be allowed to meet with Li Dan. When, subsequently, there were secret accusations that Li Dan was plotting to overthrow her, she had Lai investigate Li Dan's associates, whom Lai arrested and tortured. One of them, An Jinzang , proclaimed Li Dan's innocence and cut his own abdomen, causing the organs to fall out. When Wu Zetian heard this, she was touched, and she had the imperial physicians treat An, barely saving his life, and on account of An's assurance that Li Dan was not plotting against her, ordered Lai to end his investigations against Li Dan. Meanwhile, Lai falsely accused the minister of public works, Su Gan , of having been a coconspirator of Li Chong's, and had him executed.

Either in 693 or 694, Lai was accused by the imperial censor JI Lüzhong of five crimes, including corruption, and initially, Lai was sentenced to death, but Wu Zetian, believing him to have accomplished much for her, spared his life and reduced him to commoner rank -- and soon thereafter reinstated him as secretary general of palace affairs . Lai was, however, thereafter again accused of corruption, and he was demoted to be a military officer at Tong Prefecture , interrupting his career as a secret police official.

Second stint as secret police official

In 696, Lai Junchen was recalled to then-capital Luoyang to serve as the sheriff of Hegong County , one of the two counties making up Luoyang. In late 696, the sheriff of Mingtang County , Ji Xu, heard about a treasonous plot by the officials Liu Sili , Qilian Yao , and Wang Ju -- as the conspirators believed that Qilian was fated to be emperor one day. Ji relayed the plot to Lai, and had Lai submit a secret report of it. Wu Zetian had Wu Yizong the Prince of Henan, the grandson of her uncle Wu Shiyi , investigate. Liu implicated some 36 officials into the plot, and they and their families were executed. Lai, wanting to monopolize the rewards for reporting this plot, was prepared to falsely accuse Ji of crimes as well, but Ji found this out and submitted a secret petition; he was able to meet Wu Zetian, who promoted him, while Lai was further restored to good graces in Wu Zetian's eyes and was promoted to be the deputy minister of husbandry .

It was said that, particularly after this restoration to power, Lai did what he could to seize beautiful women for his gratification, finding ways to implicate and execute their husbands and then seize them. It was further said that he created a book of the officials' names and then random chose whom to accuse by drawing lots, and that he compared himself to Shi Le, the founder of Later Zhao. As he had an inimical relationship with the censor Li Zhaode, he and another enemy of Li Zhaode's, Huangfu Wenbei , falsely accused Li Zhaode of treason, and Li Zhaode was arrested later in 697.

Meanwhile, Lai was said to be ready for something much more major -- falsely accusing Li Dan, his older brother the Prince of Luling , the Wu clan imperial princes, and Wu Zetian's powerful daughter Princess Taiping, of treason as well, to wipe them out gradually to give himself a chance to start a coup to seize the throne himself. His friend Wei Suizhong , publicly reported the plot, and the Wu clan princes and Princess Taiping responded by submitting accusations against Lai. Wu Zetian arrested Lai, and Lai was sentenced to death -- but Wu Zetian, still believing that he was faithful to her, did not approve the execution order for three days. Only at Ji's urging did she approve the execution, and Lai and Li Zhaode were executed on the same day. It was said that the people mourned Li Zhaode while celebrating Lai's death -- with his enemies cutting out his flesh and organs, consuming much of it in anger.

Jiang Gaoming

Jiang Gaoming is a professor and Ph.D. tutor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Botany.

He is also vice secretary-general of the UNESCO China-MAB Committee and a member of the UNESCO MAB Urban Group. He is known for his concepts of “urban vegetation” and allowing damaged ecosystems to recover naturally.


Jiang received his Bachelor's degree in Botany at Shandong University in 1985

, and his Master's degree in Botany at the Institute of Botany Academia Sinica in 1988

. He received his Phd in Botany in 1993. He studied at the University of Liverpool from 1991-1992.


Jiang has done research on a wealth of topics. These topics include eco-environmental planning for middle-sized cities in China, bioindicating and biomonitoring of air pollution by plants, phosphorus cycling and chemical ecology, the ecology of colliery spoils, and urban vegetation. He initiated the first conference for the Young Chinese Botanists in Beijing 1987, and the first conference on Environment and Plant Resource Exploring in China in Changbaishan in 1988.


Jiang was the first person to chart the pollution history of Chengde in northern China. He was the first to explain why ancient pine trees in gardens were dying. He has also established models for monitoring sulfur dioxide pollution in woody plants.

Jiang noted the effects of tourism and urbanization on the Chengde Mountain Resort , which is the largest existing imperial garden in China.


Jiang Gaoming is married to Jianjie Lu. They have a daughter.

Works

Jiang has published hundreds of articles, papers, and books, a majority of which are in Chinese. His main topics include plant ecology and plant ecophysiology.
He publishes articles for chinadialogue, which are available in Chinese and English.

*Letting nature heal itself chinadialogue 18 July 2008
*The countryside is being forgotten chinadialogue 12 June 2008
*To everything there is a season chinadialogue 22 May 2008
*Saving Beijing’s reservoirs chinadialogue 23 April 2008
*Land reclamation: tread carefully chinadialogue 11 March 2008
*Chinese consumers must reject polluted food chinadialogue 05 February 2008
*China’s “green deserts” chinadialogue 08 January 2008
*Waiting for the smoke to clear chinadialogue 17 October 2007
*The problem with cotton chinadialogue 12 September 2007
*Securing our food — and our future chinadialogue 16 August 2007
*The disappearing sand of Yimengshan chinadialogue 07 August 2007
*The truth about dead chickens chinadialogue 14 June 2007
*A sea of plastic chinadialogue 16 May 2007
*Stopping the sandstorms chinadialogue 13 April 2007
*Global warming’s local solutions chinadialogue 15 March 2007
*China must say no to imported waste chinadialogue 08 February 2007
*The new Green Revolution chinadialogue 17 January 2007

Positions

*Invasive Species
In July Jiang asked the government to watch out for invasive species, especially during the Olympic games.
He noted that international meetings are often bothered by invasive species. This could cause biological catastophes and incur major economic losses. For example, the State Forestry Bureau said last year that there were more than 290 alien species on the mainland, causing estimated losses of 56 billion yuan a year.


*Desertification
Jiang is eager to control desertification but he criticizes the government's policy of planting one species of trees.
"Ecology is on everyone's lips, but ecology does not mean blindly planting trees," Xinhua News Agency reported Jiang as saying.


Jiang thinks the main cause of desertification in Inner Mongolia is overgrazing. By 2000 some 80% of the grasslands in Hunshandake had deteriorated into desert, and 33% of the land had become mobile sand dunes. In the 1960s mobile sand dunes only made up 2% of the land. The first attempt to solve desertification involved planting 100,000 yuan worth of willows, because conventional thought led Jiang to believe trees were the best solution to stop sandstorms.


Later Jiang's team tried a different approach. A 2670-hectare section of grassland in the Bayinhushuo Gacha was fenced off and no grazing was allowed.


The success achieved in Bayinhushuo Gacha quickly spread to the surrounding regions: several gachas followed suit, fencing off grasslands for natural restoration and thereby expanding the protected areas to more than 6500 hectares. Jiang is pleased that a policy of "ecological conservation first, ecological construction second" has been included in the 11th Five-Year Plan on Ecological Protection.


*Biofuels
Jiang supports burning straw instead of coal as a source of power. He estimated that a biomass power plant of 25,000 kw can generate 100,000 tons less carbon dioxide every year compared with the coal burning power plant of the same capacity. Furthermore, Jiang said that biomasses are less wasteful than coal. Thirty percent of burnt coal is waste while biomass burning generates just two percent and can be used as fertilizer after proper processing.


*Pesticides
Jiang believes that the use of pesticides in Chinese farming can lead to poor quality and even dangerous food. “Farmers adopted certain production methods to make food-production cheaper. They use whichever chemicals are cheapest. The use of pesticide seems better, and it is cheap. In fact, the pesticides they would buy are also used as fertiliser, and this makes it all the more dangerous,” Jiang said.

Huan Tan

Huan Tan 桓譚 Huan was a close associate of the court astronomer and mathematician Liu Xin as well as the author and poet , and worked as an official under the administrations of Emperor Ai of Han , Wang Mang , Emperor Gengshi of Han , and Emperor Guangwu of Han .

Further reading

*''Huan Tan'' in: Loewe, Michael, ''A Biographical Dictionary of the Qin, Former Han and Xin Periods '', Leiden 2000, ISBN 90-04-10364-3, pp. 164-165.

Hu Lancheng

Hu Lancheng was a writer, editor, and was married to the novelist Eileen Chang from 1943 to 1947.

During the Second Sino-Japanese War he collaborated with the Japanese, serving briefly in the puppet government in China headed by Wang Jingwei in 1939-40. This history made many Chinese regard him as a Hanjian or traitor. , and led to intense controversy regarding the value of his work .

After the war, he went into hiding, eventually fled to Japan. In the early 1970s he taught in Chinese Culture University in Taiwan for several years, until popular pressure forced him to return to Japan, where he died in Tokyo in 1981.

Works

*《今生今世》, a memoir;
*《禪是一枝花》, a study in Buddhism;
*《中國文學史話》, a study on the history of Chinese literature ;
*《山河歲月》

He Qinglian

He Qinglian is a female author and economist.

She was born in Shaoyang, Hunan, China, in 1956. She studied history in Hunan Normal University from 1979 to 1983. In 1988 she got a masters degree on economy at Fudan University in Shanghai, China. She worked in universities in Hunan and Guangdong for several years. Later she became a newspaper editor in Shenzhen, Guangdong. She wrote many articles and several books on Chinese society and economy. ''The Pitfalls of Modernization'' , her most famous book, sold over 100,000 copies in China and won acclaim from both the public and economists. She argues in ''Pitfalls'' that, as power has devolved to local government, local officials who at first favored reform later came to oppose further reform which might limit their discretion and so make it harder to trade power for money and money for power. In the latter part of ''Pitfalls'' she also discussed the revival of clan power in southern provinces such as Guangdong and Fujian. Her articles, which point to deep structural problems and declare that thoroughgoing political reform will be necessary if economic reform is to succeed, displeased some Chinese government officials. Due to her articles she got more and more pressure in China and on June 14, 2001 she fled from home abroad. She now lives in the U.S.A..

He Qinglian's articles often appear in the Chinese language press outside of China. Her book ''Media Control in China'' was published online in Chinese by Human Rights in China in 2004 and serialized on the website of a scholarly Chinese language quarterly based in New Jersey, ''Modern China Studies'' . A revised and expanded edition was published in Taipei by Liming Cultural Enterprises in 2006.

Empress Zhangsun

Empress Zhangsun , formally Empress Wendeshunsheng or, in short, Empress Wende , was an empress of the dynasty Tang Dynasty. She was the wife of and the mother of . She was of Xianbei origin and well educated.

Background

The future Empress Zhangsun was born in 601. Her father was the Sui Dynasty general Zhangsun Sheng , and her mother was Zhangsun Sheng's wife Lady Gao, the daughter of the official Gao Jingde . She had at least four older brothers -- Zhangsun Sheng's oldest son Zhangsun Xingbu , Zhangsun Heng'an , Zhangsun Anye , and Zhangsun Wuji. Zhangsun Sheng died in 609, and Zhangsun Anye, instead of raising his younger brother and sister, expelled them, as well as his stepmother Lady Gao, from the Zhangsun household and sent them back to Lady Gao's brother Gao Shilian, and Gao Shilian raised them. The future Empress Zhangsun was said to be studious and proper in her actions. In 613, she married , the second son of the general the Duke of Tang.

As Princess of Qin and crown princess

In 617, Li Yuan, aided by Li Shimin and Li Shimin's older brother Li Jiancheng, among others, rebelled at Taiyuan , and later that year captured the capital Chang'an, declaring Emperor Yang's grandson the Prince of Dai emperor . In 618, after news arrived that Emperor Yang had been killed in a coup at Jiangdu led by the general Yuwen Huaji, Li Yuan had Emperor Gong yield the throne to him, establishing Tang Dynasty as its Emperor Gaozu. He created Li Shimin the Prince of Qin, and she was created the Princess of Qin. She and Li Shimin would eventually have three sons -- Li Chengqian, Li Tai, and -- and at least three daughters, who were later created the Princesses Changle, Jinyang, and Xincheng.

Li Shimin was Tang's most capable general in its campaigns to reunite China following Sui's collapse, defeating the major enemies Xue Rengao the Emperor of Qin, Liu Wuzhou the Dingyang Khan, Wang Shichong the Emperor of Zheng, and Dou Jiande the Prince of Xia. In doing so, he overshadowed his older brother Li Jiancheng, who as the oldest son was created crown prince, and the brothers developed an intense rivalry. Princess Zhangsun was said to serve her father-in-law Emperor Gaozu carefully while trying to reduce the adversarial nature of the brothers' relationship .

Sources state that in 626, the crown prince Li Jiancheng and another brother, Li Yuanji the Prince of Qi, who supported Li Jiancheng, decided to set an ambush for the rising Li Shimin. But Li Shimin heard about this trap, and organize a counter-coup, going to the trap with several of his own most trusted and skilled soldiers. When Li Shimin mobilized his personal troops within his mansion, and as he did so, Princess Zhangsun was said to have personally made an appearance before the troops to encourage them. Her brother Zhangsun Wuji was one of Li Shimin's major strategists in this matter. Li Shimin was able to counter Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji at and kill them, and then essentially forced Emperor Gaozu to create him crown prince. Princess Zhangsun was accordingly created crown princess. Two months later, Emperor Gaozu yielded the throne to Li Shimin, who took the throne as Emperor Taizong, and he created her empress and their oldest son Li Chengqian crown prince.

As empress

As empress, Empress Zhangsun was said to be frugal and humble, taking only the supplies that she needed without living luxuriously. When Crown Prince Chengqian's wet nurse the Lady Sui'an stated that his palace lacked sufficient goods and requested more, she replied, "All a crown prince should worry about is not having enough virtues or enough fame. Why worry about not having enough goods?" It was also said that she rarely got angry with the and eunuchs who served her. She often gave Emperor Taizong examples from history to inspire him to rule better. At times, if Emperor Taizong got angry at the ladies in waiting or eunuchs for no reason, she would pretend to be angry as well and ask to personally interrogate them and hold them in custody; she would then wait until his anger had subsided, and then begin to plead on their behalf, thus reducing improper punishments within the palace. It was said that whenever Emperor Taizong's concubines or ladies in waiting would be ill, she would personally visit them and reduce her own expenditures to treat them.

Emperor Taizong would at times try to discuss with her matters of award and punishment to see what she opined, but each time she refused to do so, stating that it was not her place to do so. As her brother Zhangsun Wuji was a major strategist who contributed much to his victory over Li Jiancheng, he wanted to make Zhangsun Wuji a , and Empress Zhangsun declined on Zhangsun Wuji's behalf, stating:

:''I have the opportunity to be here in the palace, reaching the highest of honors. I do not wish to see my brothers and nephews wield power. What happened to the households of Han Dynasty's Empress Lü Zhi and Huo Guang are cruel examples of what might happen. I pray that Your Imperial Majesty will not make my brother chancellor.''

Emperor Taizong initially disagreed and made Zhangsun Wuji chancellor anyway in fall 627, but with Zhangsun Wuji himself also repeatedly declining, Emperor Taizong relented in spring 628 and removed Zhangsun Wuji from the chancellor position.

Also in 627, Empress Zhangsun's other brother Zhangsun Anye was implicated in a treasonous plot, along with the generals Li Xiaochang , Liu Deyu , and Yuan Hongshan . Initially, Zhangsun Anye, like the other conspirators, were to be put to death, but Empress Zhangsun interceded on his behalf, stating that even though Zhangsun Anye deserved death, the people would have thought that she was retaliating for his ill treatment of her and Zhangsun Wuji when they were little. Emperor Taizong agreed and spared Zhangsun Anye, only exiling him to Xi Prefecture .

In 632, Emperor Taizong was about to marry the Princess Changle to Zhangsun Wuji's son Zhangsun Chong . As the princess was born of Empress Zhangsun and was his favorite daughter, Emperor Taizong ordered that her dowry had to exceed that for his sister, the Princess Yongjia. The chancellor Wei Zheng advised against it, pointing out that this was contrary to Emperor Ming of Han's observation that his sons should not be as honored as his brothers. Emperor Taizong agreed and also informed Empress Zhangsun, who was greatly impressed with Wei's honest advice, and therefore, after receiving permission from Emperor Taizong, she had her eunuchs send rewards of money and silk to Wei, praising him for his honesty. On another occasion, after Emperor Taizong returned from an imperial gathering, he was angry and yelled, "Let me find a chance to kill this farmer!" Empress Zhangsun asked whom he was referring to, and he replied, "I am referring to Wei Zheng. He always find a way to insult me in front of everyone in the imperial hall!" Empress Zhangsun retreated to her bedchambers and put on the official empress gown; standing solemnly, she prepared to bow to Emperor Taizong. He was surprised, and asked her what the reason was. She responded, "I have heard that only a most able emperor will have subordinates who have integrity. Wei shows this much integrity because you are an able emperor. How can I not congratulate you?" Emperor Taizong's anger turned to happiness, and he did not punish Wei. Later that year, on an occasion when Emperor Taizong and she personally visited Emperor Gaozu at his Da'an Palace , they personally served a feast to him.

Emperor Taizong, for several years, had often suffered from severe illnesses, and Empress Zhangsun often attended to him day and night, carrying poison within her belt and resolving to commit suicide if the emperor should die. Empress Zhangsun herself was said to suffer from severe asthma, and her conditions were exacerbated in 634 when she was ill, but nevertheless attended to Emperor Taizong when he was forced to wake up in the middle of the night and put on armor and weapons due to an emergency report by his brother-in-law, Chai Shao the Duke of Qiao. By 636, her conditions were severe, and Li Chengqian suggested to her that, as the doctors appeared to have done everything they could, Emperor Taizong declare a general pardon and encourage commoners to become Buddhist or Taoist monks, to try to gain divine favor. Empress Zhangsun, knowing that Emperor Taizong had long disapproved of Buddhism and Taoism and herself believing over use of pardons to be improper, refused. Li Chengqian instead told the idea to the chancellor Fang Xuanling, who reported it to Emperor Taizong. Emperor Taizong considered issuing a general pardon, but Empress Zhangsun again refused. As she came close to death , she bid Emperor Taizong goodbye with these words;

:''Fang Xuanling had served Your Imperial Majesty for a long time. He is careful, and all of his wonderful strategies and secret plans were not revealed to anyone. Unless there is a particularly good reason, I hope that you will not abandon him. As to my Zhangsun clan, many of them enjoy high salaries and high positions on account of our marriage, not because of their great virtues, and therefore they can crumble easily. In order to preserve the Zhangsuns, I hope that you will not put them in powerful positions, and that they would be satisfied with seeing you at imperial gatherings the first and 15th day of each month. During my lifetime, I made no contributions to the people, and I should not harm them in my death. I hope that you will not build a tomb to cause the people to labor and the empire to waste resources. Make a hill my tomb, and only use brick or wooden implements in the tomb. I hope that Your Imperial Majesty will continue to be close to honest men and stay away from those lacking virtues; that you will accept faithful words and reject wicked flattery; that you will decrease labor and stop hunting. Even as I go into the underworld, if these things happen, I will have no regrets. It is not necessary to summon the sons and daughters back here; if I see them mourn and cry, I will only be saddened.''

She died in 636. After she died, the palace authorities submitted Empress Zhangsun's writings -- a 30-volume work titled ''Examples for Women'' , and a commentary criticizing Han Dynasty's -- to Emperor Taizong. When Emperor Taizong read her works, he was greatly saddened, and he stated:

:''This book, written by the empress, is capable of being an example to generations. It is not that I do not know the will of heaven and mourn uselessly, but now, when I enter the palace, I can no longer hear her corrective words. I have lost a wonderful help, and I cannot forget her.''

He summoned Fang back to his chancellor position, and then he buried her with honors due an empress, but reduced the expenditures to the extent possible, as she wished. He himself would eventually be buried at the same tomb, after his death in 649.