On the Margins of Modernism

Author(s):  
Christopher Rosenmeier

Xu Xu and Wumingshi were among the most widely read authors in China during and after the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945). Despite being an integral part of the Chinese literary scene, their bestselling fiction has, however, been given scant attention in histories of Chinese writing. This book is the first extensive study of Xu Xu and Wumingshi in English or any other Western language and it re-establishes their importance within the popular Chinese literature of the 1940s. Their romantic novels and short stories were often set abroad and featured a wide range of stereotypes, from pirates, spies and patriotic soldiers to ghosts, spirits and exotic women who confounded the mostly cosmopolitan male protagonists. Christopher Rosenmeier’s detailed analysis of these popular novels and short stories shows that such romances broke new ground by incorporating and adapting narrative techniques and themes from the Shanghai modernist writers of the 1930s, notably Shi Zhecun and Mu Shiying. The study thereby contests the view that modernism had little lasting impact on Chinese fiction, and it demonstrates that the popular literature of the 1940s was more innovative than usually imagined, with authors, such as those studied here, successfully crossing the boundaries between the popular and the elite, as well as between romanticism and modernism, in their bestselling works.

2020 ◽  
pp. 301-323
Author(s):  
Natalya I. Kikilo ◽  

In the Macedonian literary language the analytic da-construction used in an independent clause has a wide range of possible modal meanings, the most common of which are imperative and optative. The present article offers a detailed analysis of the semantics and functions of the Macedonian optative da-construction based on fiction and journalistic texts. The first part of the article deals with the specificities of the optative as a category which primarily considers the subject of a wish. In accordance with the semantic characteristics of this category, optative constructions are used in those discourse text types where the speakers are explicitly designated (the most natural context for the optative is the dialogue). The analysis of the Macedonian material includes instances of atypical usage of the optative da-construction, in which the wish of the subject is not apparent and thereby produces new emotional tonalities perceptible to the reader of a fiction/journalistic text. The study describes Macedonian constructions involving two different verb forms: 1) present tense form (da + praes) and 2) imperfective form (da + impf). These constructions formally designate the hypothetical and counterfactual status of the optative situation, respectively. Thus, the examples in the analysis are ordered according to two types of constructions, which reflect the speaker’s view on the probability of the realisation of his/her wish. Unrealistic wishes can be communicated through the present da-construction, while the imperfective construction denotes situations in which the wish can be realised in the future. The second part of the article is devoted to performative optative da-constructions, which express formulas of speech etiquette, wishes and curses. The analysis demonstrates that these constructions lose their magical functions, when used outside of the ritual context, and begin to function as interjections.


Author(s):  
Judith Fletcher

Stories of a visit to the realm of the dead and a return to the upper world are among the oldest narratives in European literature, beginning with Homer’s Odyssey and extending to contemporary culture. This volume examines a series of fictional works by twentieth- and twenty-first century authors, such Toni Morrison and Elena Ferrante, which deal in various ways with the descent to Hades. Myths of the Underworld in Contemporary Culture surveys a wide range of genres, including novels, short stories, comics, a cinematic adaptation, poetry, and juvenile fiction. It examines not only those texts that feature a literal catabasis, such as Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series, but also those where the descent to the underworld is evoked in more metaphorical ways as a kind of border crossing, for instance Salman Rushdie’s use of the Orpheus myth to signify the trauma of migration. The analyses examine how these retellings relate to earlier versions of the mythical theme, including their ancient precedents by Homer and Vergil, but also to post-classical receptions of underworld narratives by authors such as Dante, Ezra Pound, and Joseph Conrad. Arguing that the underworld has come to connote a cultural archive of narrative tradition, the book offers a series of case studies that examine the adaptation of underworld myths in contemporary culture in relation to the discourses of postmodernism, feminism, and postcolonialism.


Anticorruption in History is the first major collection of case studies on how past societies and polities, in and beyond Europe, defined legitimate power in terms of fighting corruption and designed specific mechanisms to pursue that agenda. It is a timely book: corruption is widely seen today as a major problem, undermining trust in government, financial institutions, economic efficiency, the principle of equality before the law and human wellbeing in general. Corruption, in short, is a major hurdle on the “path to Denmark”—a feted blueprint for stable and successful statebuilding. The resonance of this view explains why efforts to promote anticorruption policies have proliferated in recent years. But while the subjects of corruption and anticorruption have captured the attention of politicians, scholars, NGOs and the global media, scant attention has been paid to the link between corruption and the change of anticorruption policies over time and place. Such a historical approach could help explain major moments of change in the past as well as reasons for the success and failure of specific anticorruption policies and their relation to a country’s image (of itself or as construed from outside) as being more or less corrupt. It is precisely this scholarly lacuna that the present volume intends to begin to fill. A wide range of historical contexts are addressed, ranging from the ancient to the modern period, with specific insights for policy makers offered throughout.


A wide range of techniques is now available for the construction of hybrid DNA molecules comprising components from disparate species. Transfer of segments of DNA from other organisms, and especially eukaryotes, to Escherichia coli permits their preparation in quantities sufficient for detailed analysis of their structure and mechanism of expression. This information could be exploited to enhance the quantity or quality of polypeptide products from bacterial cells. Greatly increased yields of bacterial enzymes have been obtained in this way in several instances. The approaches that have been pioneered with bacteria are currently being applied to higher organisms. Much work is in progress with yeasts, in which transformation has been successfully demonstrated, with animal viruses and cells in culture and with some plant systems and offers the promise of wider applications of genetic engineering in the not too distant future.


Tehnika ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 76 (4) ◽  
pp. 509-520
Author(s):  
Nemanja Majstorović ◽  
Vidosav Majstorović ◽  
Radivoje Mitrović ◽  
Žarko Mišković

Basics: Industry 4.0 is a realized reality, which already today has a growing application in medicine and dentistry. So, at this moment, its application is especially important in the fight against covid-19. Aim of the paper: The purpose of this review paper is to understand the role of Industry 4.0 in the field of medicine and dentistry and to identify research directions, including future applications, especially for covid-19. Material and method: A detailed analysis of papers on Industry 4.0 in medicine, dentistry and related fields was performed and possible applications and directions of research were identified, especially for covid-19.Result: Through this review study, we identified different technologies, opportunities and research status of Industry 4.0 in the field of medicine, dentistry and covid-19 pandemic, through 19 areas of application. We can say that Industry 4.0 will become an essential part of tomorrow's smart factory of medical and dental devices. Conclusion: Industry 4.0 shows a wide range of possibilities for the production of newly adapted implants (medical and dental) and innovative tools and instruments for the field of medicine and dentistry. This model enables the creation of a digital clinic and digital office, with a complete system of medical and dental monitoring, which meets the individual requirements of the patient, thus creating the industry of medicine and dentistry with optimization of treatment time and costs. In the future, Industry 4.0 will create new capabilities and innovative protocols for the treatment and care of patients, both in medicine and dentistry.


Author(s):  
Fatima Khan ◽  
Mohd Nayab ◽  
Abdul Nasir Ansari

Ginger has been appreciated for over 2500-3000 years in many parts of the world due to its numerous scientific properties. The ginger plant (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) belongs to the Zingiberaceae family. It is a known food and flavoring ingredient reputed for its wide range of medicinal properties that have been widely used in Chinese, Ayurvedic, and Unāni Tibb worldwide, since antiquity. Ginger has long been used to cure a variety of ailments, including diarrhea, stomach discomfort, indigestion, and nausea. It is a versatile herb with phenomenal phytotherapeutic and medicinal properties. Active ingredients available in ginger such as 6-gingerol, 6-shogaol, 6-paradol, and zingerone are responsible for upgrading enzyme actions and balancing circulation through rejuvenating the body with physical re-strengthening. Gingerols, the key phenolic plant secondary metabolites responsible for its distinct flavor and health benefits, are found in the rhizome of ginger Extensive study has been undertaken over the last two decades to uncover bioactive ingredients and the therapeutic potential of ginger. This review considers ginger's chemical composition and the most recent study findings on its possible health advantages, such as analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antioxidant properties due to its phytochemistry. Overall, clinical trials are needed to confirm these prospective various health advantages of ginger in human subjects and the most efficacious dosage, based on the current body of scientific literature.


Author(s):  
Christopher Rosenmeier

This chapter provides an introduction to Xu Xu and Wumingshi and covers the book’s structure and methodology. It critiques the various terms that are used in both English and Chinese studies to categorise popular Chinese literature in the Republican period and it discusses the basis of the established divide between elite “new literature” (xin wenxue) and the much-castigated popular literature in China. It is argued that the term “Shanghai School” (haipai), a concept covering Shanghai popular literature from the 1920s to the 1940s, is too broad to be useful in analysing literature from this period or distinguishing between literary trends. The chapter also contains an extensive literature review, covering both English and Chinese works as they pertain to this study.


2021 ◽  
pp. 117-175
Author(s):  
Camille Goodman

This Chapter explores how coastal States use their prescriptive jurisdiction to regulate foreign fishing in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and how this implements, varies, or develops the framework established in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC). It demonstrates that the formula established in the LOSC for regulating access to the living resources of the EEZ—the obligation to establish whether there is a surplus, the criteria to be applied in allocating any surplus to foreign States, and the terms and conditions that might be imposed on foreign vessels involved in extracting it—bears little similarity to the contemporary regulation of foreign fishing by coastal States. While this formula was intended to ensure a balance between the exclusive jurisdiction of coastal States and the interests of the international community, in practice it has proved poorly adapted to this task, and very few coastal States follow the specific mechanisms set out in the LOSC. Instead, the detailed analysis of State practice in this Chapter shows how coastal States use the broad discretions in the LOSC to pursue a wide range of economic, social, political, national security and foreign policy objectives, and adopt regulations that broaden the substantive, geographic, personal and temporal application of their influence.


1989 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 38-69
Author(s):  
Liu Mingchen

This paper attempts to describe some of the basic organizational features in Chinese writing as shown in a particular expository text. With detailed analysis of linguistic properties in the text, such as lexical cohesion, conjunction, thematic structure and schematic structure, this paper discusses how the text is organized in terms of qǐ ‘beginning’, chéng ‘transition’, zhuÇŽn ‘turning’, hé ‘synthesis’ and jié ‘end’. The study suggests that the defining features culturally preferred in Chinese writing seem to be related to zhuÇŽn, i.e. the emphasis on the ups and downs, twists and turns, of the argumentative development, which reminds of but by far outshines Kaplan (1972).


SAGE Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 215824401983746
Author(s):  
Dev Roychowdhury

Research indicates that spirituality plays a cardinal role in enhancing sporting performance, personal growth, and well-being. Numerous researchers have attempted to examine the nexus of religion, spirituality, and psychological constructs to understand their role in sport and exercise performance and contexts. Despite the findings that spiritual well-being plays a crucial role in athletic excellence and as a buffer against a wide range of stressors and negative behaviors, it has received scant attention in the sport and exercise psychology literature. This present commentary examines the role of spirituality in sport psychology literature and proposes that spiritual well-being be incorporated into sport and exercise psychology training and consultancy to improve and enhance service delivery. This article also identifies a number of key areas for future research and practice.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document