A History for Falun Gong: Popular Religion and the Chinese State Since the Ming Dynasty

2003 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 223-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Ownby
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Ming Dynasty ◽  
Popular Religion ◽  
Falun Gong ◽  
Religious Traditions ◽  
History Of ◽  
Chinese State ◽  
Ultimate Objective ◽  
Historical Antecedents

This article seeks to place Falun Gong - and the larger qigong movement from which it emerged - into the long-term context of the history of Chinese popular religion from the midMing (1368-1644) to the present. The argument developed is that Falun Gong and qigong are twentieth-century elaborations of a set of historical popular religious traditions generally labeled by scholars as "White Lotus Sectarianism." This article attempts both to look forward at the Falun Gong from a perspective informed by an understanding of its historical antecedents, and to look backward at the historical traditions on the basis of what we know about Falun Gong and qigong. The ultimate objective is to arrive at a recharacterization of a popular religious phenomenon which has been incompletely understood.

The Modern City

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
DIANE E. DAVIS
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Mexico City ◽  
Political Alliances ◽  
The Social ◽  
Shifting Balance ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Rich ◽  
The City ◽  
Rich History

What constitutes modern Mexico? Is there a clear distinction between the historic and modern Mexico City? And if there are, does this distinctions hold up throughout the twentieth century, when what is apparent is a mix of legacies coexisting overtime? This chapter discusses the semiotics of history and modernity. It discusses the struggle of the Mexico City to find its own image including its struggle to preserve historic buildings amidst the differing political alliances that either promote change or preserve the past. However, past is not a single entity, hence if the preservation of the rich history of Mexico is pursued, the question arises as to what periods of history represented in the city are to be favoured in its future development. In this chapter, the focus is on the paradoxes of the Torre Bicentenario and on the pressures to preserve Mexico’s past, the ways they have been juxtaposed against the plans for its future and how the balance of these views has shifted over time. It determines the key actors and the institutions who have embraced history as opposed to progress, identifies the set of forces that dominated in the city’s twentieth-century history, and assesses the long-term implications of the shifting balance for the social, spatial and built environmental character of the city. The chapter ends with a discussion on the current role played by the cultural and historical authorities in determining the fate of the city.

The limits of comparison: institutional mortality rates, long-term confinement and causes of death during the early twentieth century

2012 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 404-418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Waltraud Ernst
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Causes Of Death ◽  
Modern World ◽  
British India ◽  
Psychiatric Institution ◽  
Early Twentieth Century ◽  
The Status ◽  
History Of ◽  
New Material

This article presents a case study of institutional trends in a psychiatric institution in British India during the early twentieth century. It focuses on mortality statistics and long-term confinement rates as well as causes of death. The intention is two-fold: first, to provide new material that potentially lends itself to comparison with the few existing institutional case studies that have explored this particular period; second, to highlight some of the problems inherent in the status of the statistics and the conceptual categories used, and to consider the challenges these pose for any intended comparative and transnational assessment. Furthermore, it is suggested that historians working on the history of western institutions ought to look beyond the confining rim of Eurocentric self-containment and relate their research to other institutions around the world. It is important for social historians to abstain from uncritically reproducing hegemonic histories of the modern world in which western cultures and nations are posited by default as the centre or metropolis and the rest as peripheries whose social and scientific developments may be seen to be of exotic interest, but merely derivative and peripheral.

On fragile democracy: Contemporary and historical perspectives—Introduction

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 422-431
Author(s):  
Martin Conway
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Historical Perspectives ◽  
Alternative Means ◽  
History Of ◽  
Long Term Trends

The concept of fragility provides an alternative means of approaching the history of democracy, which has often been seen as the ineluctable consequence of Europe’s social and political modernisation. This is especially so in Scandinavia, as well as in Finland, where the emergence of a particular Nordic model of democracy from the early decades of the twentieth century onwards has often been explained with reference to embedded traditions of local self-government and long-term trends towards social egalitarianism. In contrast, this article emphasises the tensions present within the practices and understandings of democracy in the principal states of Scandinavia during the twentieth century. In doing so, it provides an introduction to the articles that compose this Special Issue, as well as contributing to the wider literature on the fragility of present-day structures of democracy.

‘A blow to the men in Pink’: The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and Opposition to Hunting in the Twentieth Century

Rural History ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
MICHAEL TICHELAR
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Royal Society ◽  
Essential Feature ◽  
Public Attitudes ◽  
Rural Society ◽  
Pressure Groups ◽  
History Of ◽  
Cruelty To Animals

AbstractIn 1976 the RSPCA finally adopted a policy of opposition to fox hunting and the shooting of birds for sport after a long history of highly controversial internal debate and external lobbying by pressure groups. This article explores the possible long-term historical reasons behind the change of policy. It seeks to begin to fill a gap in the historical literature and explain the changes in public opinion towards hunting that occurred during the course of the twentieth century by looking at key episodes in the history of the RSPCA up to the 1970s. It shows there was a decline in aristocratic dominance on the ruling council of the RSPCA after the 1920s, but other reasons for the change in policy included the increasing influence of an urban/metropolitan view of the countryside after the 1950s; changing public attitudes towards farmers, who had been traditional supporters of hunting; and the increasing importance of environmentalism and ecology after 1960. By the end of the twentieth century it was no longer possible to argue that hunting was an essential feature of rural society and culture, despite the continuing popularity and survival of fox hunting with hounds.

scholarly journals Christianity and Religious Syncretism in Early Twentieth-Century China

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoxuan Wang
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Popular Religion ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Chinese Religion ◽  
Republican China ◽  
Religious Traditions ◽  
Christianity In China ◽  
Early Twentieth Century ◽  
Chinese Religions ◽  
Religious Syncretism

AbstractChristianity in China is known to have been influenced by Chinese popular religion. Yet it is less known how much Christianity has influenced other religions in China. This article examines the syncretic trend of the early years of Republican China, which aimed at reinventing Chinese religions. I argue that as early as the 1920s, followers of Chinese religious traditions were appropriating various aspects of Christianity – from its symbols and institutions to its values – for their own ends. This trend was crucial for Christianity to become a part of Chinese religion and society.

scholarly journals Naitō Konan (1866-1934) and Chinese Historiography

2003 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 137-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua A. Fogel
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Large Volume ◽  
Chinese History ◽  
Historical Writing ◽  
Historical Process ◽  
Proper Sense ◽  
Period Style ◽  
History Of ◽  
Chinese Historiography

Abstract Naitō Konan (1866-1934) was one of towering figures of twentieth-century Sinology, in Japan, China, and elsewhere. His theories concerning Chinese history continue to influence us all, often through secondary or tertiary means. Among his many books and articles is a large volume entitled Shina shigaku shi (History of Chinese historiography), arguably the first such comprehensive work in any language and still unsurpassed to this day, roughly eighty years after the chapters which comprise it were first delivered as lectures in Kyoto. Naitō argued that Chinese historical writing was divided, as we all know now, into two traditions: the comprehensive style (tongshi) launched by Sima Qian and the single-period style (duandai shi) begun somewhat later by Ban Gu. Naitō himself always favored the former, and he showed a marked predilection for the major historical works over the centuries by Chinese with the character tong in their titles: such as Liu Zhiji's Tong shi, Du You's Tong zhi (about which he lectured before the Japanese emperor in 1931), Ma Duanlin's Wenxian tongkao, and most notably Zhang Xuecheng's Wenshi tongyi. He did not disragrd or disrespect the duandai shi approach, but he did believe that by cutting off chunks of history one could not get a proper sense of the long-term forces at work in the historical process, what the great French historians later would call la longue durée.

Between Protection and Repression: A Short History of Juvenile Policing in the Netherlands

2007 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 214-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manon van de Riet ◽  
Wim Bernasco ◽  
Peter van der Laan
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Juvenile Offenders ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Short History ◽  
Minimal Intervention ◽  
History Of ◽  
Over Time ◽  
The Way

The police in the Netherlands have traditionally been characterised by restraint when dealing with cases involving minors. However, this policy of minimal intervention appears to be waning in recent years. This shift from welfare to justice seems to be in line with the developments in other European countries. This article comments on this development by framing it in the long-term history of juvenile policing in the Netherlands. It describes the founding and development of the Juvenile Police as an organisation, and sketches the parallel changes in juvenile policing that occurred during the twentieth century. The organisation of juvenile policing has changed considerably over time with a visible tendency away from welfare oriented policing. As such, restraint and minimal intervention may no longer characterise the way Dutch police handle juvenile offenders.

scholarly journals SOME ASPECTS OF THE ARCHIVAL INDUSTRY OF KAZAKHSTAN

2021 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Makanbaev ◽  
◽  
G. Seksenbayeva ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Political System ◽  
The State ◽  
Soviet Period ◽  
The Political ◽  
Cultural Life ◽  
History Of ◽  
Entire History ◽  
Party Ideology

The twentieth century turned out to be the most eventful for the history of archiving, and for the history of Kazakhstan as a whole. This has profoundly affected all aspects of the state, political, social, economic and cultural life. Wars, revolutions, changes in the political system, the restoration and collapse of the USSR - this is how the twentieth century began and ended. This article is an attempt to understand the course and certain feature of the long-term archival process in Kazakhstan. The entire history of archives of the Soviet period is closely intertwined with the history of the political system of the state. The history of archives is related to the monopoly rule of one-party ideology, with administrative pressure in the spiritual sphere of man, including pressure over archives. A new milestone in the development of archiving took place after the collapse of the USSR, so the archive system became independent. Independent Kazakhstan has carried out a number of reforms to democratize archival activities. As a result of these changes, a new archive management system was formed. Archives become part of the country's cultural heritage. The article focuses on identifying the leading trends in the formation of archives and key problems in the domestic archival science. Less attention is paid to the history of individual archives, since in general this is fully reflected in monographs, textbooks and numerous articles of Kazakhstani authors.

The (classical) Realist vision of global reform

2010 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 246-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
William E. Scheuerman
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Nation State ◽  
Intellectual Tradition ◽  
Reinhold Niebuhr ◽  
World State ◽  
International Theory ◽  
History Of ◽  
Hans Morgenthau

Most Realists today oppose far-reaching global reform on the grounds that it represents unrealistic and potentially irresponsible ‘utopianism’. An earlier generation of mid-century Realists, however, not only supported serious efforts at radical international reform but also developed a theoretically impressive model for how to bring it about. They considered the possibility of post-national political orders and ultimately a world state as desirable long-term goals, but only if reformers could simultaneously generate the thick societal background (or what they called ‘supranational society’) required by any viable order ‘beyond the nation state’. As they fail to engage constructively with proposals for global reform, present-day Realists betray their own intellectual tradition. By reconsidering the subterranean legacy of Realist reformism as advanced by mid-century international thinkers (e.g. E.H. Carr, John Herz, Hans Morgenthau, Reinhold Niebuhr, and Frederick Schuman), the essay provides a revisionist reading of the history of twentieth-century international theory, while also highlighting its significance for ongoing debates about global reform.

“From Each according to Their Ability, to Each according to Their Need”

2019 ◽  
Vol 51 (S1) ◽  
pp. 7-29
Author(s):  
Martha Lampland
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
Physical Capacity ◽  
Scientific Management ◽  
World War ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Capitalist Economy ◽  
Structural Character ◽  
History Of

Two wage systems designed to improve productivity among Hungarian workers are compared. The first, calorie money, was a short-term solution to keep workers properly nourished and hard at work in a capitalist economy in the midst of inflationary chaos at the end of World War II. The second, technical norms, was a long-term project initiated by the socialist state to design norms based on workers’ physical capacity in order to extract the greatest amount of effort most efficiently. In both cases, wages were set according to the level of exertion expended by the worker, not by output, which is commonly understood to be the measure of productivity. The purpose of this article is twofold: (1) to situate the early socialist project in Hungary within a longer history of rationalization and scientific management in the first half of the twentieth century; and (2) to explain how different conceptualizations of labor generate distinct approaches to determining wages and establishing norm rates. This approach draws attention to two central questions: the structural character of the transition to socialism in 1940s Hungary and the historical contingencies of the definition and assessment of work.

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