Asian Studies Commons^™

Reflections On Qing History, Maura Dykstra

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

A review of Pamela Kyle Crossley’s The Wobbling Pivot: China Since 1800, An Interpretive History (Wiley-Blackwell, 2010) and William T. Rowe’s China’s Last Empire: The Great Qing (Belknap Press, 2009)

Around The Web: Podcasts And Videos

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Though we spend a lot of time reading over here at China Beat headquarters, we also like to keep up with the many China-related podcasts and videos that are proliferating on the web these days. A sampling of what’s caught our attention recently:

Blogging Aas 2010 (5), Miri Kim, Charles Wheeler

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

In this panel, organized by Siyen Fei (University of Pennsylvania), Mark Edward Lewis (Stanford University), Hilde De Weerdt (University of Oxford), and Fei presented papers that creatively engaged the work of G. William Skinner on how to conceptualize empire in time and space. Lewis proposed that the northern capital historically functioned as a peripheral center that connected the agricultural and economic centers found further south with the steppe, and this positioning, a prime concern of the dynasties founded by nomads, helped maintain China as a coherent empire. De Weerdt used social network analysis to mine Song dynastybiji for data that …

Blogging Aas (3), Miri Kim

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

This intellectually and visually stimulating roundtable was chaired by Carma Hinton (George Mason University) and focused on the legacy of China’s socialist past in China’s not-quite-so socialist present. I’d like to think I took good notes, but this was a session very rich in materials and ideas (and excellently managed time-wise, which means things moved along at a brisk pace), so apologies in advance for any errors or omissions.

If You Can Read Chinese, Read This E-Journal, Xujun Eberlein

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

The new issue of Remembrance (<记忆>) continues to review Mao’s Last Revolution (by Roderick MacFarquhar and Michael Schoenhals; Chinese translation can be found here). The four articles in issues 55 and 56 discuss the book from different angles, with thoughtful comments and legitimate questions. All are well worth reading.

Anhui’S Barefoot Aids Doctors, Annie Ye Ren

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

For the past four years, I have periodically worked with a Chinese grassroots HIV/AIDS non-governmental organization (NGO) that serves children in Fuyang Prefecture, Anhui Province. The Fuyang AIDS Orphan Salvation Association (AOS)gives aid directly to local communities, addressing local needs that are often overlooked or underfunded by large-scale government projects.

A Chinese Immigrant Reads Yiyun Li, Xujun Eberlein

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Among the twenty-three people who received MacArthur Fellowships last month was Yiyun Li, a fiction writer based at the University of California, Davis. Born and raised in Beijing before coming to the United States for graduate work (first in immunology, later in creative writing), Li is one member of a growing community of Chinese authors now writing in English. We asked Xujun Eberlein, also part of that group, to reflect on Li’s writing.

Symbols: Liu Xiaobo’S Nobel Peace Prize, Paulina Hartono

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Liu Xiaobo is, and now is probably much more so after Friday’s announcement, one of China’s most well-known dissidents—or activists, depending on the term you prefer. Most people who have heard of him know about his hand in penning part of Charter 08, a manifesto based on Charter 77, which advocates broad democratic political reform and human rights protections in China. Those who are more familiar with Liu’s name know of him for his hunger strike in Tian’anmen, or his prolific number of essays published in print and on the Internet.

China By The Numbers: The Chinese Professor And The Red Emperor, Charles W. Hayford

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Remember those jailbirds who know all of each others’ jokes? They don’t tell the whole joke, just shout out the number from the jokebook. Our public discourse on China has something of the same quality. Instead of shouting out a number, however, somebody “shouts out” a word or an image which evokes a whole China story. These stories can be persuasive, poetic, or insightful, but when we only “shout out” the number, then we don’t have the chance to examine the whole story. Painful facts or challenges to venerable beliefs can be papered over when the story is a misleading …

On Michael Jackson In Mongolia, Hanging Out At Shanghai’S World’S Fair, And Other Topics: A Quick Q & A With Marketplace’S Rob Schmitz, Jeffrey Wasserstrom

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Over the summer, there was a changing of the guard in the Shanghai office ofMarketplace, an American radio program that has consistently carried smart reports about China. Scott Tong moved from the PRC back to the US (where he continues to work for the show) and former Peace Corps volunteer Rob Schmitztook his place. I had the pleasure of meeting them both in Shanghai in July andran a post with the former in early August, in which he reflected on his time covering the China beat. Now, as a sequel to that post, comes a quick q and a with …

What I Read On My Summer Vacation (Iv), Ron Javers

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

I was booked to give a China talk in August, high season in the Hamptons, as part of the summer series at the Rogers Memorial Library in Southampton.

Analysis Of The Recent Made-In-China Campaign, Hongmei Li

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

China has recently launched its first global advertising campaign about products made in China. A 30-second television commercial, sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce of China and four Chinese trade associations, has been running on CNN, the Headline News and International Asia TV channels in the United States since November 23, 2009. Costing tens of millions of Yuan, the commercial was scheduled to run for six weeks. The commercial also started to run in some parts of Asia starting in December 2009.

More On Google + China

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Now that we’ve all had a few days to think deeply about the Google + China story, lots of commentaries and opinion pieces are coming across the wire. Here’s a sampling of those that caught our attention over the weekend:

Travelogue, Delhi-Beijing, Pallavi Aiyar

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

The plane burps to a halt and almost immediately everyone is on their feet, jostling to open the over-head lockers, reaching high for their strolleys. My head feels stuffed with lead and I marvel at the nimble alacrity of my fellow travellers, at 3:00 in the morning. Slowly we shuffle off the Air China flight and make it into the inadequately-air conditioned environs of Indira Gandhi International Airport.

Blogging Aas 2010 (2), William Callahan

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

One of the pleasures of going to a conference is seeing what free goodies you can scam from various institutions. Lots of free pens were proffered by various publishers. A Chinese press was giving out some trinkets — but for some reason not to me. The International Institute for Asian Studies (Leiden) was once again giving out sheer canvas bags loaded with their newsletter and other readable items. UBC Press offered 50-year-old issues of Pacific Affairs for the antiquarians among us, as well as more recent issues.

Adaptable Ideology And Policymaking In Contemporary China: A Case Study Of The Government Response To The Rich-Poor Gap, Gary Stephen Andrasko

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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The Social Relations Of Tourism On The Perhentian Islands., Jacqueline L. Salmond

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

In recent years there has been an increase in the adoption of tourism as an economic strategy in many developing nations and a growing interest in how communities and individuals engage with tourism. This parallels research which aims to uncover alternative readings of community participation in forms of economic and social development. This research uses tourism as a lens to understand the economic subjectivity of communities engaged in tourism. Focusing on how the local populations understand, experience and participate in tourism, it paints a picture of the Perhentian Islands which challenges existing understandings of individual and community participation in tourism. …

Auswertung Der In Den Jahren 1993-2009 Im Östlichen Altai (Russland) Und Südöstlichen Altai (Tyva) Gesammelten Federn Und Rupfungen, W.-D. Busching

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

Determination-results of birds from Russian Altai-Mountains and Tyva based on plucked and moult-feathers.

This paper deals with plucked- and moult-feathers of different Central-Asian birds collected by STEPHAN ERNST, DANIEL MICHELE LINDNER and JENS HERING in the Russian Altai- Mountains and Tyva 1993 - 2009.

Beobachtungen Zu Unterscheidungsmerkmalen An Equidenschädeln, Speziell Zwischen Denen Von Mongolischen Dschiggetai Und Pferden, Roland Müller, Joachim Wussow

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

First paragraph:

Von STUBBE et.al. wurden zwischen 2001 und 2004 in der Südmongolei ca. 400 Schädel des Dschiggetai (Equus hemionus hemionus) gesammelt.

Comparative Morphology Of Two Sympatric Species Of Hedgehog In Ikh Nart Nature Reserve, Mongolia, Richard P. Reading, David Kenny, Sodnomphil Batdorj, James Murdoch

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

Daurian hedgehog (Mesechinus dauuricus) and long-eared hedgehog (Hemiechinus auritus) inhabit Ikh Nart Nature Reserve, Mongolia and both species appear to occupy similar niches. We gathered morphological measurements to test for differences between species and sexes. We hoped to gain insight into the mechanisms that allow the species to coexist. We collected morphometric data from 10 long-eared hedgehogs (6 male, 4 female) and 18 Daurian hedgehogs (10 male, 7 female, and 1 unknown sex). Only total body length in Daurian hedgehogs differed significantly between males and females. Otherwise, we found no significant differences between morphometric measures of …

Estimates Of Toad Headed Agama Density In Three Steppe Habitats Of Mongolia, James Murdoch, Buyandelger Suuri, Richard P. Reading

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

The toad headed agama (Phrynocephalus versicolor) ranges across the arid steppe regions of southern and western Mongolia and represents one of the most common reptiles in the country. However, few details of the species’ population characteristics exist, which may be important for evaluating population trends and assessing its conservation status. We estimated toad headed agama density in Ikh Nart Nature Reserve, Mongolia based on surveys conducted in the summers (June-September) of 2005, 2006, 2008, and 2009. We conducted surveys in three steppe habitats including tall grassland (n = 7), shrub-steppe (n = 7), and semi-shrub steppe …

Beitrag Zur Säugetierfauna Des Staatlichen Naturschutzgebietes Azas In Tyva/Südsibirien = Contributions To Fauna And Ecology Of Small Mammals Of State Nature Reserve “Azas” In The Republic Of Tyva /South Siberia, Annegret Stubbe, Michael Stubbe, V. V. Unžakov, A. P. Saveljev, N. I. Putincev, W. Stubbe

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

During 1988-2004 Russian and German biologists carried out a research of biodiversity of the mountain taiga within the territory of State Nature Reserve “Azas” (Republic of Tyva/Russia). Along with executing the main task – studying and development of an aboriginal population of Tuvinian beavers Castor fiber tuvinicus – materials on the fauna of small mammals of the Todzha kettle were collected. On the basis of samples (about 550 collected micromammals) information on the occurrence, reproduction and morphometric characteristics of four species of Insectivora, six species of Chiroptera and eleven species of small Rodentia inhabiting the territory of the reserve “Azas” …

Im Gedenken An Den Mongolischen Ornithologen Ajurzana Bold (1936-2007), M. Stubbe, Annegret Stubbe

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

Obituary of Mongolian ornithologist Ajurzana Bold (1936-2007).

Temporal Dynamics Of Group Size And Sexual Segregation In Ibex, N. J. Singh, S. Amgalanbaatar, Richard P. Reading

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

Group size is an important variable describing behavioral ecology of animals. A variety of factors such as habitat characteristics, life history, spatio-temporal resource dynamics, population density, predation risk, competition with kin, and social learning often determine group size in large mammals. We studied temporal dynamics of group size in Siberian ibex (Capra sibirica) in a protected area in Mongolia. We measured monthly and yearly variations in typical group size and used the sexual segregation and aggregation statistic to assess sexual segregation. Ibex formed the largest groups in November and smallest groups in July. However, group sizes did not …

Verzeichnis Der In Den „Beiträgen Zur Gefiederkunde Und Morphologie Der Vögel“ Hefte 1-14 Beschriebenen Und Der Vom Verfasser Im Übrigen Schrifttum Publizierten Federbestimmungsmerkmale Von Mongolischen Vögeln, W.-D. Busching

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

First paragraph:

Seit der ersten Mongolisch-Deutschen Biologischen Expedition im Jahre 1962 hat die Erforschung der Avifauna große Fortschritte gemacht, wobei im Zoologischen Institut der Martin Luther Universität Halle-Wittenberg, der Mongolischen Akademie der Wissenschaften und dem Biologischen Institut der Nationaluniversität der Mongolei in Ulaanbaatar umfangreiche Balgund Skelettsammlungen angelegt wurden. Nicht wenige Vogelfunde lagen aber in Form von Nahrungsresten der Greifvögel, Eulen und des Haarraubwildes vor und waren damit nur schwer anzusprechen. So gingen die aufgesammelten Rupfungen und Säugetierrisse zumeist an den Autor, in der Hoffnung, dass sie bestimmt werden können.

Waterbirds Of Uvs-Nuur Depression, T. P. Archimaeva-Ozerskaya, V. I. Zabelin

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

This report provides an overview of water birds (Non-Passeriformes) inhabiting the lakes of Uvs- Nuur Depression. The article includeds material obtained during field work in the Uvs-Nuur Depression during 1999-2006, unpublished observations of rare vagrant species of birds, and data from the literature. Altogether we and others recorded 81 bird species from ten families on the lakes within the basin. The list we provide does not include sparrows or birds from habitats closely associated with the basin. The following non-Passeriformes bird families were noted (with the number of species in parentheses): Gaviidae (1), Podicipedidae (2), Phalacrocoracidae (1), Ardeidae (5), Anatidae …

In Memoriam, Academician Prof. Dr. Osor Shagdarsuren (1929-2010), Sundev Gombobaatar, D. Sumiya, R. Samiya, B. Bayartogtokh, S. Shar, Nyamsuren Batsajchan, M. Altantsetseg, Ch. Uuganbayar, D. Usukhjargal, P. Amartuvshin, P. Jargalsaikhan, Sh. Boldbaatar, N. Tseveenmyadag, G. Mainjargal, B. Nyambayar, E. R. Potapov, Michael Stubbe, Annegret Stubbe, Andrew Dixon

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

Academician, Professor Osor Shagdarsuren passed away due to apoplexy on Tuesday, February 2, 2010, at the age of 81. He was one of the most respected Mongolian ornithologists, biologists, and educators. The Mongolian scientific community has lost one of its greatest members, the premier Mongolian ornithologist.

Gustav Radde In Sibirien: Zum 150. Jubiläum Der Baikalexpedition (1855-1859), Juri Durnev, Michael Stubbe, Annegret Stubbe

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

Unter den Beiträgen der deutschen Gelehrten zur Erforschung der Fauna der Baikalregion sind die Arbeiten von Gustav Radde besonders hervorzuheben. Er war nach I. Georgi der zweite Gelehrte, der den Versuch machte, den Baikalsee mit dem Boot für zoologische Untersuchungen zu bereisen. G. Radde untersuchte die Wirbeltiere der Baikalküsten und des Chamar-Daban-Gebirges. Er bestieg als erster Naturforscher den höchsten Gipfel Ostsibiriens, den Munku-Sardyk.

Ecology Of Eurasian Black Vultures (Aegypius Monachus) In Ikh Nart Nature Reserve, Mongolia, Richard P. Reading, David Kenny, John Azua, Travis Garrett, Mary Jo Willis, Tsolmonjav Purevsuren

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

We studied the nesting ecology and movement patterns of Eurasian black vultures (Aegypius monachus) nesting in and near Ikh Nart Nature Reserve, Dornogobi Aimag, Mongolia. From 2003 till 2009, we monitored nesting pairs from incubation to fledging and compared nesting success for pairs nesting on rocks and trees. We captured chicks just prior to fledging to apply leg bands and wing tags. We also captured adults in June and attached solar-powered global positioning system (GPS)/satellite telemetry units, leg bands, and wing tags. We collected resighting data on marked birds opportunistically and telemetry data on tagged birds. We monitored …

Zum 300. Geburtstag Georg Wilhelm Stellers, Peter Hoffmann

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

First paragraph:

Genau heute vor 300. Jahren, am 10. März 1709, wurde Georg Wilhelm Steller in Windsheim/ Franken geboren. Sein Name wird in den Quellen, Kirchenbüchern usw. Stöhler, Stöller, Stoeller geschrieben. Eine solche unterschiedliche Schreibweise des Namens darf uns nicht irritieren – bis zur Gründung von Standesämtern 1878 wurden in Deutschland Personenstandsdaten von den Pastoren aufgezeichnet, die in die Kirchenbücher die Namen in der Form eintrugen, wie sie sie gehört hatten. Und auch in anderen Dokumentationen, etwa in den Akten eines Stadtarchivs, wurden Eigennamen meist nach dem Gehör notiert. Erst die standesamtliche Registrierung brachte auch eine Normierung der Schreibweise von …