貢品與時尚：明代川扇考論

<p>摺扇的普及，是明代社會風尚異於前代的物質表徵之一。晚明最盛行的二種摺扇中，蘇州摺扇以書畫扇面與精製扇骨著稱，四川摺扇則以進貢聞名，明人常簡稱之為「川扇」、「蜀扇」等，川扇廣義上亦包括各地的仿製品。過往對中國摺扇的研究，多側重扇面書畫藝術與江南製扇工藝，對明代社會生活與物質文化的討論，則一般認為明代宮廷品味的時尚影響、文化底蘊相對不高，川扇不重書畫，又與明代宮廷關係密切，其興衰歷史、風格特點、文化內涵皆未得到充分探討。本文將考證川扇的興衰歷史，並梳理文獻、圖像中川扇的特徵，與明墓屢見出土的無書畫金面摺扇實物比對，指出後者應屬川式扇，並辨析川扇與日本、蘇州、杭州、榮昌等地摺扇的關係，思考不以書畫著稱的川扇在中國摺扇史中的地位，也探究川扇作為方物、貢品、賜物、禮物、商品等在明代的社會文化內涵。川扇大致發端於明初，此後進貢宮廷並成為時尚，作為明代高檔無書畫摺扇的代表，是蘇州書畫扇以外，明代摺扇發展的另一重要線索，體現了明代摺扇文化的豐富性，還對杭州摺扇影響深遠；川扇到晚明已與國計民生、世風人情有深密的交織，後隨明亡而衰落，是明代物質文化中極富時代特色的內容。</p> <p>&nbsp;</p><p>The unprecedented prevalence of folding fans marked one of the significant developments in social customs in the Ming dynasty. Folding fans made in Suzhou and Sichuan were the most famous ones in the late Ming. Suzhou folding fans were renowned for fan leaves decorated with calligraphy and painting and for delicate fan frames, while Sichuan folding fans were famous as tribute to the imperial court. The latter were usually abbreviated as &ldquo;Chuan fans&rdquo; or &ldquo;Shu fans&rdquo; in Ming sources. In a broad sense, Chuan fans also included folding fans in the Sichuan style made in other places in the late Ming. The history, features and culture of Chuan fans have not been fully examined for two reasons. First, past research has mainly focused on literati fan calligraphy and painting and the fan-making craft in Jiangnan. And, second, Chuan fans had close association with the court, but the tastes of Ming court has been generally disregarded by scholars as lacking in cultural depth. Drawing on texts and images, this essay sorts out the history and characteristics of Chuan fans, and links them with the folding fans excavated from Ming tombs, which feature golden leaves without calligraphy and painting. This paper also explores the connections between Chuan fans and those produced in Japan, Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Rongchang, and considers the broader place of Chuan fans in the history of Chinese folding fans. Furthermore, this essay explores the social and cultural implications of Chuan fans in the Ming dynasty as local specialties, tributes, bestowals, gifts, commodities and so on. Chuan fans generally appeared in the early Ming, and then became tribute goods as well as trendy items. Representing luxury folding fans that did not have painting or calligraphy, Chuan fans were no less important than the art-adorned Suzhou folding fans. indicating the rich diversity of Ming folding fan culture. Chuan fans also had a deep influence on the subsequent development of Hangzhou folding fans. By the late Ming, Chuan fans had already been closely connected with many aspects of Ming society. As the Ming dynasty fell, Chuan fans also declined, thus remaining of the unique elements of Ming material culture.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>

《明史紀事本末》卷之四十二〈弘治君臣〉校釋

<p>本文逐條校讀《明史紀事本末‧弘治君臣》的文本，註出其可能的史源，並以史源校正文本之訛誤。並以校注結果，兼談作者的編纂水平與史學。今尋其史源，以《皇明大政紀》為最主要史源，全書只有三條文本沒有參考引用《皇明大政紀》。不少條文本，其他史書皆不載，獨《皇明大政紀》載之；是獨家史源。由於編者未參考《明實錄》，全篇99條，時間錯置多達47處。而人名、官名和文字缺漏亦有18處，是本篇缺點。但作者能根據私家史書撰寫一些官方史書忌諱的史事，是本篇優點。其敘事完全配合「谷應泰論贊」對弘治朝政治的評價，論述其君臣之互動，大臣不斷進諫，弘治帝也能採納。對於朝政的負面現象，也不迴避。就此而論，《明史紀事本末‧弘治君臣》仍不失為一篇良史之作。</p> <p>&nbsp;</p><p>This is an annotated version of the chapter on &ldquo; Emperor Hongzhi and his Ministers&rdquo; in the Major Events of Ming History, tracing the likely sources upon which the account was based, and using the sources to correct errors in the text. And the essay will further discuss the editorial and historiographical abilities of the compiler. The Chronicle of Major Political Events of the Ming Dynasty was the most important source for this work. In the entire volume, there were only three entries that did not cite the Chronicle of Major Political Events of the Ming Dynasty. Several of the entries cited no historical sources other than the Chronicle of Major Political Events of the Ming Dynasty, and hence it could be the only source. Because the compiler did not consult the Ming Veritable Records, among the ninety-nine entries in the volume, there were as many as forty-seven errors in dates. And there were eighteen errors in names and titles of individuals. These are the weaknesses of this volume. However, the compiler was able to draw upon works by private historians to recount historical events omitted from the official records. This is the strength of this volume. The narrative completely matches the evaluation in &ldquo;Gu Yingtai&rsquo;s Assessment&rdquo; on the Hongzhi reign regarding the interactions between the Hongzhi emperor and his ministers, that the high officials made endless admonitions of the emperor and the emperor was fairly receptive to their opinions. As for the negative aspects of governance during this reign, the work does not avoid them. And hence, the &ldquo;Emperor Hongzhi and his Ministers&rdquo; chapter in the Major Events of Ming History can be regarded as a fine historical record.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>

Translator Management: A Case Study of the Ming-Dynasty’s Ethnic House

Translator management may be seen as the use of some management methods to manage translators in a certain environment so as to achieve a certain management purpose and improve operational efficiency. The present study applies contingency theory of management to the case study of translator management in the Ethnic House in the Ming Dynasty, focusing on its organisational designs, model of leadership, management methods, and needs and incentives. The findings show that there are no unified models for translator management methods, and today’s translation companies and institutions are expected to follow certain management laws and make certain adjustments based on the external and internal environments as well as the qualifications and needs of managers and translators and establish a system of contingency management in order to promote the healthy and orderly development of the language service industry.

Between the Islamic and Chinese Universal Empires: The Ottoman Empire, Ming Dynasty, and Global Age of Explorations

This article studies two sixteenth-century Asian texts: Khitay namah, a Persian travelogue about the Ming dynasty written by the Muslim merchant Ali Akbar and presented to the Ottoman sultan, and Xiyu, an illustrated Chinese geographical treatise with detailed travel itinerary from China to Istanbul by the Ming scholar-official Ma Li. In addition to demonstrating the breadth of Ottoman and Chinese knowledge about each other in the global Age of Exploration, these two books, written respectively for the monarchs of the self-proclaimed Islamic and Chinese universal empires, reflect the Ottoman and Chinese imperial ideologies in an era when major world powers aggressively vied for larger territories and broader international influence. Both the Ottoman and Chinese authors recast the foreign Other as the familiar Self – Ali Akbar constructed an Islamized China while Ma Li depicted a Sinicized Ottoman world – to justify their countries’ claims to universal sovereignty and plans for imperial expansion. Like many contemporary European colonial writers, Ali Akbar’s and Ma Li’s exploration of foreign societies, their literary glorification of their own culture’s supremacy, and their imposition of their own cultural thinking on foreign lands all served their countries’ colonial enterprise in the global Age of Exploration.