Textual Research on the Litigation Office in the Northern Song Dynasty

During the period of Yuanyou and Yuanfu in the Northern Song Dynasty, “litigation offices” were established respectively. Although the names of the two are the same, the purpose of setting is completely opposite. The party dispute where the litigation was located played a very negative role in the change from political opinions to mood disputes, and accelerated the demise of the Northern Song Dynasty.

Ethnobotanical Study on Garcinia (Clusiaceae) in China

The genus Garcinia L. (Clusiaceae) is gaining increasing scientific attention worldwide owing to its ethnobotanical and pharmacological significance. In China, even though Garcinia plants have long been used for food, ethnomedicine, building materials, and other purposes, a comprehensive ethnobotanical study of the genus is notably limited. In the current study, the ethnobotanical importance of Garcinia plants has been extensively investigated through field surveys and literature reviews. Our studies revealed that Garcinia plants have been used in folk medicine since ancient times in China, including the Northern Song Dynasty, 960–1127 AD. Through their extensive interactions with genus, the Chinese people have gained various traditional knowledge, which is reflected in the following six aspects: food, traditional medicines, ornamental trees, construction and technology, cultural and spiritual significance, and miscellaneous uses. In particular, the four species: Garcinia hanburyi , G. paucinervis , G. xanthochymus , and G. oblongifolia , have cultural or spiritual values, among which G. paucinervis could be considered a cultural keystone species in the local communities, considering its crucial contribution to people’s cultures, spirits, and community identity. However, in general, some concerns originating from swift socio-economic changes have also been identified in the knowledge and Garcinia species. Strategies are needed to conserve traditional botanical knowledge, as well as plants.

On the Similarities and Differences of Yan Ou's Ci

Since the Northern Song Dynasty, Ouyang Xiu's Ci, as the highest achievement in the creation of Ci Poetry in the early Song Dynasty, has always been praised, cited and learned. Their poems have the same atmosphere of graceful poetry, with small images, gentle and delicate language and same feelings. They have many similarities, but they also show their own personality characteristics. They are different in material selection, expression methods and emotions. My work will analyze the similarities and differences between the two from the perspective of knowing people and discussing the world.

Brother, Uncle, and Patriarch: a Northern Song “Family Man”

This is a case study of Han Qi (1008–1075), one of the most influential statesmen in the Northern Song. Drawing on his funerary biographical work and other writing, it places at the forefront Han's family life and relationships, especially his role as a brother, uncle, and family head. The goal of the study is threefold: first, to establish Han as a “family man,” in contrast to his conventional image as an outstanding political figure; second, to illustrate how seemingly random occurrences shaped Han's life and fortune in significant ways. Finally, this essay aims to enrich scholarly understanding of family preservation in the Northern Song. For many years, the possibility of the Hans failing in this regard remained a source of anxiety for Han Qi. This fear shaped his interaction with members of the younger generations in tangible ways and created noticeable undertones in his writing on family matters.

Interpretation of Li Gonglin Ecological View of Landscape Painting Based on Chinese Soil Smoke Culture

Objectives: Cigarettes are not goods that have existed in China since ancient times, but consumer goods that were introduced into China by western countries and accepted and developed by Chinese people in modern times. The application of Chinese soil smoke culture in Li gonglin’s landscape painting is studied in this paper. Methods: From the perspective of art history, landscape painters in the Northern Song Dynasty, as a prosperous period of Chinese art history landscape painting, thought deeply about painting from the artistic form of nature, and integrated their own view of environment into their creation, forming many landscape aesthetic paradigms. Results: This paper focuses on the interactive dialogue between the literati and the environment with the involvement of how space planning and governance are allocated. It is aimed at the global perspective in the Anthropocene and a local position in the Northern Song Dynasty. Localization is not only the exploration of the ecological approaches of China and the West in space, but also the integration of the past and the present, observing its ecological image from the perception and practice of traditional environmental aesthetics to the harmonious coexistence of modern cities and nature. Conclusion: Local tobacco is not a traditional local consumer product. Under the public’s praise, it has gradually formed a unique thing in China - cigarette culture. People in the society are not only the observers of the environment, but also the participants of the environment. Through the aesthetic configuration of the classification of environmental belonging space and the transformation of the image and vision into such realistic or ideal landscapes as “Longmian Villa”, it goes towards ecological holism. Therefore, from the perspective of environmental aesthetics research, Li Gonglin’s paintings have research value.

Urbanization in China: Through the City Construction in Qingming Scroll and the Proposition of New-Type Urbanization

In the 2019 Government Work Report of The State Council[1], Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of China, Li Keqiang, stressed the need to “promote coordinated regional development and improve the quality of new-type urbanization.” The Government Work Report of The State Council in May 2020 puts forward the basic principles of strengthening the new-type urbanization and improving the capacity of public service facilities[2]. (Xinhua News Agency [XNA], 2020). It is necessary to promote sustainable and livable urbanization. What should urbanization be like in the case of the new type as a crucial task of construction? How should it deepen the reform of the household registration system and promote economic development beyond the population balance of cities? Based on city clusters, how should urbanization further be promoted and comprehensively driven the Chinese economy after the epidemic? Will the "street stall economy" and "small shop economy" jointly proposed by the Central Civilization Office and Prime Minister in 2020 be a new opportunity? By reviewing Urbanization in China (2019) written by Houkai Wei, this paper believes that Qingming Scroll, as an observable example of the economic prosperity of the Northern Song Dynasty, can be a breakthrough in the analysis of the new-type urbanization. Taking the urbanization of the Northern Song Dynasty shown in Qingming Scroll as a base, this paper will further give a new answer on how to further develop and improve the new urbanization. Based on the analysis of the national urbanization of Bianjing in the Northern Song Dynasty shown and the process given by Urbanization in China, this paper further speculates and constructs the possibility of development. Therefore, according to the characteristics of cities and the nature of urban development in the Northern Song Dynasty, this paper tries to analyze the structure of urbanization in New China and discusses feasible new ways of the urban economy.[1] Li, Keqiang. (2019). Report on the Work of the Government of the State Council.[2] Xinhua News Agency. (2020). Report on the Work of the Government for 2020.

Rise and Fall of the Grand Canal in the Ancient Kaifeng City of China: Role of the Grand Canal and Water Supply in Urban and Regional Development

In the long history of the feudal society of China, Kaifeng played a vital role. During the Northern Song Dynasty, Kaifeng became a worldwide metropolis. The important reason was that the Grand Canal, which was excavated during the Sui Dynasty, became the main transportation artery for the political and military center of the north and the economic center of the south. Furthermore, Kaifeng was located at the center of the Grand Canal, which made it the capital of the later Northern Song Dynasty. The Northern Song Dynasty was called “the canal-centered era.” The development of the canal caused a series of major changes in the society of the Northern Song Dynasty that were different from the previous ones, which directly led to the transportation revolution, and in turn, promoted the commercial revolution and the urbanization of Kaifeng. The development of commerce contributed to the agricultural and money revolutions. After the Northern Song Dynasty, the political center moved to the south. During the Yuan Dynasty, the excavation of the Grand Canal made it so that water transport did not have to pass through the Central Plains. The relocation of the political center and the change in the canal route made Kaifeng lose the value of connecting the north and south, resulting in the long-time fall of the Bianhe River. Kaifeng, which had prospered for more than 100 years, declined gradually, and by the end of the Qing Dynasty, it became a common town in the Central Plains. In ancient China, the rise and fall of cities and regions were closely related to the canal, and the relationship between Kaifeng and the Grand Canal was typical. The history may provide some inspiration for the increasingly severe urban and regional sustainable development issues in contemporary times.