scholarly journals Ritual, Legend, and Metaphor: Narratives of the Willow in Yuan Zaju

Religions ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 55
Author(s):  
Qian Wang ◽  
Qiong Yang
Keyword(s):  
Literary Tradition ◽  
Northeastern China ◽  
Folk Religion ◽  
Sacred Tree ◽  
Ritual Performance ◽  
Folk Belief ◽  
New Creation ◽  
Frequent Use ◽  
Iconic Image ◽  
The Book Of Songs

Narratives of willow trees in Yuan zaju 雜劇, or variety play, largely come in three types, namely, the ritual performance of shooting willows; the deliverance of willow spirits by Lü Dongbin, one of the Eight Immortals of Daoism; and the use of the word willow to refer to women. The willow shooting ritual depicted in Yuan zaju was highly reminiscent of the willow shooting ritual popular throughout the Song (960–1279), Liao (916–1125), Jin (1115–1234), and Yuan (1271–1368) dynasties, with its conceptual origins traceable to the ancient shamanic belief in the willow as a sacred tree prevalent among the Khitans and Jurchens who lived in what is now northeastern China. The legend of Lü Dongbin delivering a willow spirit to immortality is a recurring motif in Han Chinese folklore and Daoist hagiography, which also finds expression in the iconic image of Guanyin Pusa or Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara holding a willow branch with which they cure diseases for people and bring fulfillment to their wishes. The frequent use of “willow leaf-shaped eyebrows” (liumei 柳眉) and “willow-like waist” (liuyao 柳腰) in Yuan zaju as metaphorical references to women can be seen as a continuation of the great literary tradition of Shijing 詩經 (The Book of Songs) and also as a dramatic enactment of the fertility cult of the willow and women in Chinese folk religion. Evidence abounds that the narratives about the willow in Yuan zaju were not a new creation but an artistic manifestation of centuries-old folk belief and literary tradition.

scholarly journals Црна и бела магија као културно наслеђе: представе младих у Бору о влашкој магији

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1153
Author(s):  
Lidija Radulović
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Folk Religion ◽  
Theoretical Concepts ◽  
Folk Belief ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Relevant Today ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
The Relationship

Serbian ethnology and anthropology is missing papers on folk belief and magic practices on black and white magic. This paper problematizes research on Vlach magic as an authentic and archaic culture of the ethnic Vlachs in North-Eastern Serbia. The first part of the paper deals with theoretical concepts of magic, while the second presents the results of research on the relationship between young people in Bor towards Vlach magic, as part of traditional folk religion and archaic cultural heritage which is still relevant today.

scholarly journals Greed and Work in Finland-Swedish Folklore

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-72
Author(s):  
Ulrika Wolf-Knuts
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Folk Religion ◽  
Folk Belief ◽  
Lay People ◽  
Norms And Values

Greed, or avarice, is one of the cardinal sins. Protestant Swedish Finn folklore demonstrates expressions of greed, even if the actual term is not mentioned. In folk religion Christian norms and values are combined with elements of folk belief. Theologians certainly clarify the gospel, but how lay people have implemented it should also be considered. With the help of proverbs and folklore legends from rural Swedish-Finland in the nineteenth century, this paper reflects on the idea of the Sabbath, or holiday, and work, in combination with considerations of envy and ‘the limited good’. Greed can be regarded as an expression for work in the wrong time and in the wrong way.

scholarly journals Problems of cliche in the context of creativity of choreographer-director of modern dance

2021 ◽  
pp. 53-58
Author(s):  
Olga Bigus
Keyword(s):  
Internal Structure ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
Modern Dance ◽  
Semantic Content ◽  
Social Experience ◽  
Contemporary Dance ◽  
Conceptual Content ◽  
Social Nature ◽  
Frequent Use ◽  
Iconic Image

The purpose of the article is to identify the specifics of the use of clichéd expressive means in the process of creating a production of modern choreography and to determine the ways to get rid of clichés in the context of philosophical and worldview types of choreographic life. Methodology. In order to identify the peculiarities of the use of clichéd means of expression in the performances of modern dance, the typological method, the method of structural-semantic and textual analysis was applied. Scientific novelty. The problem of the use of clichéd expressive means by choreographers-directors of modern dance is investigated; the features of the use of clichéd forms of visual expressiveness are considered on the basis of modern choreography productions; based on the analysis of the theoretical works of the leading choreographers of the 20th century. the approaches to avoiding the use of clichés in the process of staging modern dance have been identified. Conclusions. Certain lexical elements of modern dance, compositional features, and visual means of expressiveness of choreographic performances in their own semantics are clichéd, since, as a result of the frequent use of choreographers-directors (usually due to positioning as necessary elements of the text of the choreographic performance, which provide an easy and accurate way of transmitting the encoded information) have lost their imagery, and their semantic content has gradually decreased. In contemporary dance productions, the cliché is a kind of sign of the choreographic text, which has its own conceptual content and structurally organized form, providing a certain meaning to the concept placed in this cliché. This meaning can be interpreted as an element of the semantic system, the internal structure of which is associated with its relationship with other elements of this structure and reflect the system of connections and relationships between objects and phenomena of reality existing outside a separate sign in the form of a converted form of this objective content, which largely depends on the projected on the iconic image created by the choreographer of the viewer's social experience. The meaning of the choreographic cliché is considered as a result of the process of determination, when a “psychic image” appears in the viewer's mind, the presence of which is manifested through a visual signification and is fixed in the signs of the dance text. Changes in the content of the cliché as a sign (its meaning) create differences of an individual and social nature, reflecting the choreographer's ideas about the surrounding reality. The choreographer-director of contemporary dance comprehends and rethinks life in accordance with his own philosophical and worldview principles, revealing life concepts that are closer to a paradox and distant from the established logic. Seeing life as a force, the choreographer constantly strives for awakening in order to free himself from disciplinary individualizations.

Convergent-beam thickness determination: The advantages of digital imaging

1994 ◽  
Vol 52 ◽  
pp. 420-421
Author(s):  
Stuart McKernan ◽  
C. Barry Carter
Keyword(s):  
Intensity Variation ◽  
Convergent Beam Electron Diffraction ◽  
Digital Data ◽  
Thickness Determination ◽  
Frequent Use ◽  
Automated Processing ◽  
Beam Thickness ◽  
Convergent Beam ◽  
Remarkable Agreement

Convergent-beam electron diffraction (CBED) patterns contain an immense amount of information relating to the structure of the material from which they are obtained. The analysis of these patterns has progressed to the point that under appropriate, well specified conditions, the intensity variation within the CBED discs may be understood in a quantitative sense. Rossouw et al for example, have produced numerical simulations of zone-axis CBED patterns which show remarkable agreement with experimental patterns. Spence and co-workers have obtained the structure factor parameters for lowindex reflections using the intensity variation in 2-beam CBED patterns. Both of these examples involve the use of digital data. Perhaps the most frequent use for quantitative CBED analysis is the thickness determination described by Kelly et al. This analysis has been implemented in a variety of different ways; from real-time, in-situ analysis using the microscope controls, to measurements of photographic prints with a ruler, to automated processing of digitally acquired images. The potential advantages of this latter process will be presented.

Wondrous Events: Foundations of Folk Belief

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
James McClenon ◽  
Emily Edwards
Keyword(s):  
Folk Belief

Is thyroid surgery performed too often in Germany?

2015 ◽  
Vol 54 (03) ◽  
pp. 101-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. A. Verburg
Keyword(s):  
Surgical Procedures ◽  
Thyroid Surgery ◽  
Needle Biopsy ◽  
Fine Needle Biopsy ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Fine Needle ◽  
Diagnostic Measures ◽  
Frequent Use ◽  
Preoperative Diagnostic ◽  
The Usa

SummaryThyroid surgery is one of the more common surgical procedures in Germany. This is in contrast with the situation in some other countries, where this procedure is performed comparatively rarely. In this paper the number of thyroid surgeries in Germany is compared with other western countries (Netherlands, USA, England). In contrast to e. g. the USA and England the number of thyroid surgeries in Germany is declining, however with approximately 109/100 000/year in 2012 is still elevated (Netherlands: 16/100 000/year, USA: at least 42/100 000/year, England: at least 27/100 000/year).Possible contributing factors to this higher number of thyroid surgeries in Germany are explored. These factors include iodine deficiency, the frequent use of advanced diagnostics such as ultrasound, insufficient use of preoperative diagnostic measures such as fine needle biopsy and the practice of “defensive medicine”. How much each of these factors contributes is however unclear.

Inhibition by Glaucocalyxin A of Aggregation of Rabbit Platelets Induced by ADP, Arachidonic Acid and Platelet-Activating Factor, and Inhibition of [3H]-PAF Binding

1992 ◽  
Vol 67 (04) ◽  
pp. 458-460 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhang Bin ◽  
Long Kun
Keyword(s):  
Arachidonic Acid ◽  
Platelet Aggregation ◽  
Platelet Activating Factor ◽  
Northeastern China ◽  
Ethereal Extract ◽  
Ic50 Value ◽  
Rabbit Platelets ◽  
Ic50 Values ◽  
Induced Aggregation

SummaryGlaucocalyxin A is a new diterpenoid isolated from the ethereal extract of the leaves of Rabdosia japonica (Burm f) Hara var glaucocalyx (Maxim) Hara (Labiatae) collected in the northeastern China. When it was incubated with washed rabbit platelets, glaucocalyxin A inhibited ADP- or arachidonic acid-induced platelet aggregation with IC50 values of 4.4 μmol/1, 14.1 μmol/1 respectively. Glaucocalyxin A also inhibited PAF-induced aggregation of rabbit platelets which were refractory to ADP and arachidonic acid with an IC50 value of 13.7 μmol/1. Analysis of [3H]-PAF binding showed that glaucocalyxin A prevented [3H]-PAF binding to intact washed rabbit platelets with an IC50 value of 8.16 μmol/1, which was consistent with its inhibition of PAF-induced platelet aggregation.

“All in a Garden Green”: Shakespeare's Staging of Garden Imagery

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-252
Author(s):  
Deborah Solomon
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Literary Tradition ◽  
The Public ◽  
The World ◽  
Audience Interaction ◽  
The Many ◽  
Green World

This essay draws attention to the surprising lack of scholarship on the staging of garden scenes in Shakespeare's oeuvre. In particular, it explores how garden scenes promote collaborative acts of audience agency and present new renditions of the familiar early modern contrast between the public and the private. Too often the mention of Shakespeare's gardens calls to mind literal rather than literary interpretations: the work of garden enthusiasts like Henry Ellacombe, Eleanour Sinclair Rohde, and Caroline Spurgeon, who present their copious gatherings of plant and flower references as proof that Shakespeare was a garden lover, or the many “Shakespeare Gardens” around the world, bringing to life such lists of plant references. This essay instead seeks to locate Shakespeare's garden imagery within a literary tradition more complex than these literalizations of Shakespeare's “flowers” would suggest. To stage a garden during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries signified much more than a personal affinity for the green world; it served as a way of engaging time-honored literary comparisons between poetic forms, methods of audience interaction, and types of media. Through its metaphoric evocation of the commonplace tradition, in which flowers double as textual cuttings to be picked, revised, judged, and displayed, the staged garden offered a way to dramatize the tensions produced by creative practices involving collaborative composition and audience agency.

Gendering Emotions: Ṭarab, Women and Musical Performance in Three Biographical Narratives from ‘The Book of Songs’

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 164-183
Author(s):  
Karen Moukheiber
Keyword(s):  
Formative Period ◽  
Musical Performance ◽  
Ruling Elite ◽  
Islamic History ◽  
Musical Performances ◽  
Slave Women ◽  
Social Conduct ◽  
Literary Biographies ◽  
The One ◽  
The Book Of Songs

Musical performance was a distinctive feature of urban culture in the formative period of Islamic history. At the court of the Abbasid caliphs, and in the residences of the ruling elite, men and women singers performed to predominantly male audiences. The success of a performer was linked to his or her ability to elicit ṭarab, namely a spectrum of emotions and affects, in their audiences. Ṭarab was criticized by religious scholars due, in part, to the controversial performances at court of slave women singers depicted as using music to induce passion in men, diverting them from normative ethical social conduct. This critique, in turn, shaped the ethical boundaries of musical performances and affective responses to them. Abū l-Faraj al-Iṣfahānī’s tenth-century Kitāb al-Aghānī (‘The Book of Songs’) compiles literary biographies of prominent male and female singers from the formative period of Islamic history. It offers rich descriptions of musical performances as well as ensuing manifestations of ṭarab in audiences, revealing at times the polemics with which they were associated. Investigating three biographical narratives from Kitāb al-Aghānī, this paper seeks to answer the following question: How did emotions, gender and status shape on the one hand the musical performances of women singers and on the other their audiences’ emotional responses, holistically referred to as ṭarab. Through this question, this paper seeks to nuance and complicate our understanding of the constraints and opportunities that shaped slave and free women's musical performances, as well as men's performances, at the Abbasid court.

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