Quality Evaluation of Taxilli Herba from Different Hosts Based on Simultaneous Determination of Multiple Bioactive Constituents Combined with Multivariate Statistical Analysis

Taxilli Herba (TAXH) is an important traditional Chinese medicine with a long history, dating from the Eastern Han Dynasty to the present times. However, the active constituents in it that parasitize different hosts vary, affecting its clinical efficacy. Given the complexity of the host origins, evaluating the quality of TAXH is critical to ensure the safety and effectiveness of clinical medication. In the present study, a quantitative method based on ultra-fast liquid chromatography tandem triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (UFLC-QTRAP-MS/MS) was established, which simultaneously determined the content of 33 active constituents, including 12 flavonoids, 4 organic acids, 12 amino acids, and 5 nucleosides in 45 samples. Orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) was employed to classify and distinguish between TAXH and its adulterants, Tolypanthi Herba (TOLH). A hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA) was conducted combined with a heatmap to visually observe the distribution regularity of 33 constituents in each sample. Furthermore, gray relational analysis (GRA) was applied to evaluate the quality of samples to get the optimal host. The results demonstrated that TAXH excelled TOLH in quality as a whole. The quality of TAXH parasitizing Morus alba was also better, while those that were parasitic on Cinnamomum camphora and Glyptostrobus pensilis had relatively poor quality. This study may provide comprehensive information that is necessary for quality control and supply a scientific basis for further exploring the quality formation mechanism of TAXH.

Using Excavated Slips to Look at Effective Governance of the Northern Frontier during the Han Dynasty—The Lelang Commandery in Han Slips

By analyzing “The Record of the Increase and Decrease in the Number of Households in Lelang Commandery by County in Year Four of Chuyuan” 樂浪郡初元四年縣别户口多少[集] 簿 from Han tomb #364, located in Jeongbaekdong 정백동 (貞柏洞), Pyeongyang, this paper shows how population and territory were fundamental to the exercise of power. Complete population figures for Lelang Commandery 樂浪郡 are evidence of the existence of a governing mechanism of commanderies and counties in this region during the Western Han. Furthermore, an assortment of excavated seals in the area are symbols of different levels of official authority. The discovery of impressions on clay from seals of government officials from commandery level to county level, essentially covering every county in Lelang Commandery, indicates the effectiveness of various administrative bodies and officials of all levels in exercising their functions and powers. Wooden slips that refer to Lelang, which were excavated in the Juyan 居延 area, show that Lelang commandery and all other border commanderies were effectively governed during the Western Han down through Wang Mang to the Eastern Han.

Formation of the Ancient Chinese Eastern Han Empire in the Soviet historiography of 1920s – 1930s

This article provides an overview of the major works of the Soviet researchers of prewar period, who covered the emergence of the Eastern Han Empire (25 – 220). The period of its existence that falls on the I – II centuries AD is one of the poorly studied periods of the Ancient Chinese history. The representations on the establishment of this empire within Soviet historiography developed in the prewar period are important for further study of this state, since they have not undergone significant changes. The article employs the chronological principle with determination of the key peculiarities of historiography of 1920s – 1930s, as well as comparative-historical and typological methods. Soviet researchers of the prewar period who dealt with this topic relied on the concept of the existence of feudalism in Ancient China, and thus, the struggle between the class of feudal lords and serf peasants. The Red Eyebrows rebellion movement drew heightened attention of the scholars. The Russian researchers of prewar period, other than K. A. Harnsky (1884 – 1938), views the Red Eyebrows movement as a peasant rebellion relying on rather ideological reasons than the analysis of historical sources. The author of this article believes that the example of this rebellion movement could tell about the class struggle in Ancient China, which explains the interest of the researchers. However, the focus of researchers on the Red Eyebrows movement, which covers just the first years of the existence of Eastern Han Empire, is also the reason why the establishment of the empire is poorly studied. They also interpreted the topic from ideological perspective, omitting the inconvenient facts.

Gualou Xiebai Banxia decoction ameliorates Poloxamer 407-induced hyperlipidemia

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Gualou Xiebai Banxia decoction (GLXBBX) is a well-known traditional Chinese herbal formula that was first discussed in the Synopsis of the Golden Chamber by Zhang Zhongjing in the Eastern Han Dynasty. In traditional Chinese medicine, GLXBBX is commonly prescribed to treat cardiovascular diseases, such as coronary heart disease and atherosclerosis. Objective: The present study aimed to examine GLXBBX’s preventative capacity and elucidate the potential molecular mechanism of Poloxamer 407 (P407)-induced hyperlipidemia in rats. Materials and Methods: Both the control and model groups received pure water, and the test group also received a GLXBBX decoction. For each administration, 3 mL of the solution was administered orally. To establish hyperlipidemia, a solution mixed with 0.25 g/kg P407 dissolved in 0.9% normal saline was injected slowly into the abdominal cavity. At the end of the study, the rats’ plasma lipid levels were calculated using an automatic biochemical analyzer to evaluate the preventative capability of the GLXBBX decoction, and the serum and liver of the rats were collected. Results: The GLXBBX decoction significantly improved P407-induced hyperlipidemia, including increased plasma triglycerides, aspartate aminotransferase elevation, and lipid accumulation. Moreover, GLXBBX decoction treatment increased lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity and mRNA expression of LPL. Furthermore, GLXBBX significantly suppressed the mRNA expression of stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD1). Conclusion: GLXBBX significantly improved P407-induced hyperlipidemia, which may have been related to enhanced LPL activity, increased LPL mRNA expression, and decreased mRNA expression of SCD1.

Prologue to Frontier Modernity: Zhangjiakou (Kalgan) as a Gateway City for the Modern Western Expeditions in China

The late 19th and early 20th centuries witnessed an age of expedition frenzy that had spread east as the Western explorers diverted their interest in Central Asia across the continent to Chinese Xinjiang, Gansu, and Inner Mongolia. To facilitate the planning and logistics of their expedition activities, Western explorers selected specific cities situated on the Chinese northern and western frontiers that were geographically suited to their needs and interests, as well as to serve as their temporary basecamps throughout the expedition period. Kalgan, the name by which the city of Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province is most known to Westerners, is a city with close to 2,000 years of history as a frontier trade zone since the Eastern Han Dynasty, emerged from these expedition activities as an embodiment of full-fledged urban modernity in the early 20th century. Railroads, postal services, telegram lines, banking systems, and customs were all established as necessary infrastructures, turning this historical frontier city into a practical “pivot” from which the expedition operations were managed, relayed, and communicated with the explorers’ respective home nations. Through photos, writings, and other types of housekeeping documents (i.e., cheques, telegrams, and balance sheets), this paper aims to examine the cultural memory of Kalgan against the modern Western expedition activities that had directly, or indirectly, stimulated the modernization of a frontier city, one that had historically been a gateway city where the Chinese heartland meets the outside world.

Introduction

This chapter reviews the rise and fall of Wu and Yue, two rival states located in southeastern China during the late Spring and Autumn period from 771 to 475 BCE. It draws inspiration from several poems, vernacular stories, and dramas that marked influence on Chinese literature. It also contains a mixture of historical accounts and fictional tales focusing on anomalies and supernatural events that are subjects of criticism in the Analects and often celebrate revenge and intrigues. The chapter looks at materials that are unredacted reflections of the thoughts and intellectual interests of the Eastern Han. It explains the dynamic period of the Eastern Han when jinwen, guwen, chenwei, apocryphal doctrines, and other religions and philosophies vied for dominance in the marketplace of ideas.

The Inner Tradition of Helü

This chapter suggests that Helü was considered a legitimate ruler in the Wu royal linage as he inherited the authority passed down from the founder Taibo and King Shoumeng. It recounts the reign of King Liao, which was treated as a transitional period much like the short-lived Qin dynasty. It also notes that the traditions of the Wu king Helü and his successor Fuchai are titled as the “inner tradition,” while the two kings from Yue, Wuyu, and Goujian, are identified as “outer tradition.” The chapter follows the chronology of King Helü's rule, wherein the structure continues the Shiji tradition and provides a comprehensive picture of the time. It examines a considerable number of stories that are supernatural nature or reflect strong yinyang and chenwei influences that were typical during the Eastern Han time, such as the Ganjiang casting swords.

Iconographic Volatility in the Fuxi-Nüwa Triads of the Han Dynasty

Over the span of some two hundred years, from the late Western Han to the late Eastern Han, triad images featuring a prominent central being flanked by two smaller, snake-bodied figures, occurred on murals and carved stones in Henan, Shandong, and adjacent areas. The iconographic schema of the flanking figures, Nüwa and Fuxi, appears mature and stable, with their identities consistently determined by their half-human, half-serpent, and gendered bodies as well as by the divine objects they hold—sun and moon, compass and T square, numinous mushrooms. The iconography of the third being, however, appears far less consistent and somewhat elusive, yielding many different identifications by scholars. The seemingly anomalous pictorial program speaks to the issue of iconographic volatility in Han art. Looking across the corpus of triad images, this essay identifies the volatile third being as the Grand One, and proposes that its figural metamorphoses were predicated on the amorphousness of the supreme deity of Daoist cosmogony. Distilling the three most important formal aspects of the Grand One—a therianthropic being, a forceful facilitator, and a regal icon—this essay argues that the triad images embodied a coherent program depicting the cosmogonic origin of the world that began with the Grand One conjugating yin and yang, associated with Nüwa and Fuxi respectively. The emergence of this triad imagery coincided with evolving Daoist thought during the Han dynasty.

Stele for Magistrate Jing Yun 景雲: An Eastern Han memorial stele from the south-west with reference to the Chuci 楚辭

An Eastern Han stele with an unusual relief decoration and 367 character memorial inscription tells us much about the south-west of China in early imperial times. Unearthed in 2004 from the banks of the Yangtze River and dated to 173 ce, the stele was dedicated to Quren county magistrate Jing Yun who died 70 years earlier in 103 ce. The paper provides a full translation, annotation, and analysis of the stele's commemorative text, which borrows from the content and language of one of China's oldest anthologies of poems, the Chuci, and places it in its historical context. It also examines the iconography at the head of the stele which reflects beliefs in transcendence and the pursuit of immortality prevalent at the time and demonstrates its close relation to the inscription. Overall, the paper suggests that the decoration and text together exhibit a regional heritage that is distinct to the south-west, its memorial culture, and poetic and religious traditions.