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Abstract
With the rapid development of economic globalization, the world situation is ever-changing, and new things, new knowledge and new ideas are emerging all the time. Xi Jinping believes that learning is the way to pass on civilization, the ladder to grow in life, the foundation to consolidate political parties and the key to national prosperity. The Chinese nation is a nation that loves learning and is good at learning. The Communist Party of China is a political party that attaches great importance to learning and is good at learning. To create in learning, to develop in practice, the Communist Party of China regards learning as the inherent gene of its own development and the eternal subject of its own construction. It is significant for promoting cultural exchange and mutual appreciation.
Abstract
In the strategic context of building a comprehensive ecologically civilized society as envisaged by the Communist Party and State Government of China, Eco-civilization education would become a mandatory new mission of the higher educational institutions in China. Linking the constructive postmodernism and ecological Marxism theories to eco-civilization, the purpose of the present essay is to restructure the higher education system for realizing the eco-civilized society in China via the literature integration methodology, the findings are as follows: (1) the goal of instituting the educational system of Eco-civilization in Chinese universities and colleges is to facilitate the culturing ecological literacy of the graduates; (2) the implementation of Eco-civilization education will create the graduates’ awareness, impart their requisite knowledge, and motivate them to adopt practices that promote Eco-civilization; and (3) the triple transitions of the higher education institutions in China to deliver on their missions as implementers of Eco-civilization education. Firstly, they must roll-out pragmatic programs to enhance students’ Eco-civilization conscious through the teaching Eco-civilization concepts as part of ideological and political courses. Secondly, they could also deepen students’ Eco-civilization knowledge by adjusting the teaching content and pedagogy of ecology courses. Finally, they could facilitate the Eco-civilization process by reinforcing behavioral reforms required to drive sustainable Eco-civilization and help positions these students as devoted ambassadors of Eco-civilization after graduation.
Abstract
The implementation of China’s rural revitalization strategy has accelerated the endogenous change of traditional villages, resulting in the restructuring of rural society in terms of geo-community, industrial community, and governance community, and the qualitative change of traditional villages in terms of culture, transportation, technology, and industry compared with the previous ones. The article focuses on a series of changes in the sense of community, which was originally built up by blood relations, as social change accelerates. This is reflected in the structural imbalance of social governance within the traditional villages, the decline of culture, the transformation of economic structure and the spatial reconstruction of the “three lives” of rural ecology and life. In terms of methodologies developed, this study has used survey, observation, and literature methods, as well as other research methods to analyze in detail the changes brought by social transformation to traditional villages, analyze the series of transformation of rural interpersonal relations, blood relations, value identity and so on in the context of social change, and analyze their causes, and at the same time put forward corresponding countermeasure suggestions. The rural revitalization strategy mainly starts from the sustainable development of the governance community, cultural community, industrial community, and spatial community of rural society, and formulates five development requirements in terms of specific measures: prosperous industry, civilized countryside, effective governance, affluent living, and pleasant ecological living. These specifics correspond to the transformation and development of communities in ethnic areas and propose more countermeasures for reconstructing them. By clarifying the connotation and logic of reconstructing the rural community in ethnic areas in China, the path of reconstructing the rural community in ethnic areas in China is constructed by starting from governance, culture, industry and space, stimulating the potential of rural cultural development while cultivating villagers’ spontaneous awareness of participating in rural governance, formulating rural industrial development plans in conjunction with the actual situation, and increasing people’s participation in rural governance in multiple forms and through multiple channels.
Abstract
Over the last two decades, China has become increasingly influential in Africa, and the US policy pivoting to confront domestic challenges and withdrawing from its role in international fora has raised many concerns. Based on this global context, this paper examines the US-China soft power competition through foreign aid. It takes a relational lens to analyze their aid to the African countries. It first looks at how foreign aid could be transformed into soft power assets, and then innovatively puts the two countries side by side and examines the relational powers of their foreign aid and the impacts on the other’s national image. The paper uses ordered (Ordinary Least Squares) OLS, ordered logit, and IV regression to analyze aid data and opinion poll data. The results show that foreign aid can promote the African perceptions of both countries. It also finds that Chinese aid has a negative impact on the image of the US in Africa, while American aid has no significant effect on African perception of China. This conclusion aligns with the competitive nature of the US–China relationship. China’s model of aid may be preferred by Africans, while the US may need to revisit its approaches in Africa in order to turn this situation around.
Abstract
In early modern Japan, the Buddhist monopoly on death-related rituals eventually triggered a movement for the development of Shintō funerals. Based on an analysis of ritual texts produced by several Shintō groups—Yoshida Shintō, Yoshikawa Shintō, Suika Shintō, and Kokugaku Shintō—this study delineates how each group adopted and localized Confucian discourses to establish Shintō funerals during the Edo period. While there were Buddhist overtones in the practices of Yoshida Shintō, clergy from the other three groups frequently borrowed from Confucian rituals in their construction of Shintō-style funerals. Attempting to revive ancient Japanese funerary rites, scholars created Shintō versions of Confucian-style spirit tablets and justified Confucian rituals by invoking the practices of the kami. This study provides a deeper understanding of the history of Shintō funerals, and the inherent Shintōization of Confucian practices therein, while also exploring the relationship between Buddhist, Confucian, and Shintō thought in Edo-period Japan.
Abstract
This article analyses the Italian commercial presence in the Mongol Īl-Khānate in thirteenth-century Persia. Analysing source materials, the study focuses on the experiences of individuals and communities alike, showcasing a dual aspiration to economic gain and political status. The study examines mechanisms that facilitated merchants’ relationship with the Īl-Khānids, leading Italians to occupy significant positions at the Īl-Khānid court. It also explains how just a few individuals were instrumental in fostering diplomatic ties with Europe and enabling treaties that bolstered Genoese and Venetian communities in Tabriz and beyond. A subsequent phase marked a shift as Īl-Khānid rulers embraced Islam, causing relations with Europe to erode, thereby diminishing Italian influence. This intricate interplay between Italian merchants’ trade, diplomatic endeavours, and cultural exchanges highlights the multifaceted nature of historical interactions in this period.
Abstract
The role of Chinese ceramics in the interconnections of the Mongol khanates is not a new subject; however, most studies focus on the artistic exchanges between Yuan China and Ilkhanid Iran. Besides the well-known southern mainland route that linked these two regions, written sources and archaeological evidence also bear witness to intense commercial activity along the northern routes that passed over the Caspian Sea to the Caucasian region, relaying between the major cities of the Golden Horde khanate. The Chinese stoneware and porcelain excavated in some of these cities, including Saray, Saraijuk, Azov, Majar, and Bolgar, have been published among other materials in various excavations reports and articles covering these regions, but have never been considered as a whole. This article aims to provide an initial survey on the presence of fourteenth-century Chinese ceramics in the Golden Horde khanate, draw a preliminary picture of the typologies of the exported wares, and set the basis for further studies in the field.
Abstract
While there is no consensus as to when the Marāgha observatory, centre of a Eurasian-scale intellectual network, ceased to function, given that no historical sources mention such a date, by focusing more on the Īl-Khānid political context than on the scientific activities at the observatory that have so far attracted scholarly attention, I argue that the termination of the observatory’s activity overlapped with the downfall of Aṣīl al-Dīn b. Naṣīr al-Dīn (d. ca. 1317) in 1309/10. Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī (1201–1274) acquired the office of trustee of the waqf endowments for the observatory. This office was inherited after his death by his sons. However, the family property related to the religious endowments was targeted, which resulted in the family’s fall. Thereafter, the eighth īl-khān, Öljeitü (r.1304–1316), did not station his mobile court in Marāgha, which marked a shift of the intellectual centre of the Īl-Khānid dynasty away from the observatory.