Simulating the Evolution of Language

A number of research groups around the world have begun to study how the brain acquires and processes language, but we still know comparatively little about it. Many such groups work on very specific, often narrow, problems. This approach is certainly necessary, but a broad perspective can be helpful, if not essential, too. This volume consists of an important collection of papers presented at the Seminar on Language, Evolution, and the Brain (SLEB), hosted by the International Institute for Advanced Studies in Kyoto, Japan, bringing together distinguished researchers with background in cognitive science, anthropology, linguistics, robotics, physics, etc. Major topics discussed here include: Creoles and pidgins, and their implications regarding language evolution. Quantitative analysis and modeling of various aspects of language evolution, including the evolution of lexical items and color terms, the emergence of linguistics categories, and the dynamics of language competition. The ev

Evolution of language has evolved at multiple levels—from changes in the cognitive processes by which language is acquired in the individual, to language change by diffusion of acquired linguistic features across populations of individuals, to the emergence of linguistic features over phylogenetic time scales. Evolution of language at each of these levels interacts with that at each other level. This volume is a collection of essays by noted researchers from diverse fields that deals with a broad spectrum of issues in the study of language evolution. The principle topics addressed here include: the genetic and cognitive bases for the phylogenetic emergence of language; several distinct accounts of the underlying cognitive processes by which children learn to acquire language; a critique of the methods employed by historical linguists in the last century; the modeling of language evolution using mathematical and computational techniques; discussions on the complexity of language.

Prof. William S-Y. Wang, an eminent linguist, has made significant contributions to the field regarding lexical diffusion, experimental phonetic studies, language simulation and modeling, and aging and language. To celebrate his 90th birthday, colleagues and friends worldwide have contributed over 30 articles to a two-volume Festschrift. The English volume includes topics such as Chinese language evolution, the relationship between language and music, and the brain processes involved in language production. This Festschrift is written by and for experienced language researchers and is also suitable for students of Chinese linguistics and those interested in Chinese culture, history, and neurology.

In this ground-breaking, posthumous study, the late Lo Jung-pang discusses the geographic, political, and commercial factors that led to the emergence of seapower and a navy under the Ming. While Zheng He and his seven expeditions have received some scholarly attention, few understand the long history of maritime engagement which provided the nautical and technical background for these voyages. The evolution of this maritime engagement and its extension into the Indian Ocean is the focus of Lo’s still-timely and highly significant work. In addition to detailing the rise of the Ming navy and its extraordinary accomplishments, Lo also examines some of the factors that led to the end of China’s first great maritime era: Why did China suddenly seem to turn away from the seas? Were the military defeats in Annam and on the northern borders significant in this? Or were financial pressures key? Empire in the Western Ocean represents the most comprehensive and insightful English-language trea

本書集結六篇論文（第一、三、四、六篇德文，第二篇西班牙文，第五篇義大利文），本書為因應時代變遷下的教育環境及學生職涯挑戰，在教學方法上所提出新的論述及建構。 This book contains essays by various teachers from different universities and departments with the aim of presenting modern teaching methods for the changed learning and study conditions on the basis of theoretical preliminary considerations. Language teachers at Taiwanese universities often encounter similar difficulties in designing lessons: students’ increasing frustration and lack of motivation. Many students experience a high level of frustration and demotivation; they cannot find future prospects in language studies. Confronted with reality of time-consuming internships, part-time jobs and life, many students become painfully aware that a linguistic degree won’t prepare them for later work or provides career opportunities. In addition, they realize their low language skills and life experiences. Aware of that problem, the language departments have to find new teaching methods and create curricula which

Self-Access Language Learning (SALL) has played a prominent part in language education in universities. Its role is to foster autonomous learning among students. With the wide-spread implementation of SALL and its increasing impacts on students, it is important to understand how SALL is managed in order to meet the learning needs of the users in the most resource-effective way. This book provides readers with an understanding of SALL management by setting the discussion against a wider backdrop and also examining details of current good practice. The authors examine issues of leadership and management in education before turning to look at the roles of a SALL manager, and suggest how these roles are changing and what the future may hold for managing SALL. Case studies are used to illustrate how SALL is managed in different universities as a way of contextualising the issues discussed in the book. The book is of relevance to institutional and departmental managers, classroom-based lan

Travels and Revelations: 23 Essays by Zhang Chengzhi is about cultures which the author knows intimately. With sophisticated sensibility, he describes the tangible cultures of Beijing, Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Ningxia and Xinjiang in recent decades – the landscapes and cityscapes, the roads and waterways, the rural and urban dwellings, the working and living habits, and the outstanding symbols and totems. Like a traveller pausing before stunning scenery – the Mongolian grasslands, the yellow-earth plateaus, the Yellow River’s mighty gorges – he reflects on the intangible cultures that have made the Han, the Hui, the Mongolian and the Uyghur peoples who they are, and contemplates on their language usages, socio-political dilemmas, philosophical traditions, beliefs and biases and their religious aspirations. These essays show how deeply Zhang Chengzhi understands modern China’s painful evolution through war and revolution and how deeply he is attached to his Hui–Muslim roots. They also

This book covers basic concepts of international trade and local trade practices. It addresses the evolution of electronic commerce and financial technology,including the use of blockchain technology letter of credit and Internet of Things.

內容簡介 ˙The learning goals that center on the thematic units are set in accordance with the language proficiency levels, established by the ACTFL ˙To Comply with the pedagogical principle of backward design to establish the teaching/learning goals for the intermediate learner of Chinese ˙Integrates into its thematic contents the ACTFL-defined, three mores of language uses as well the 5C concepts ˙Assist the learner to achieve holistic progress and to cultivate specific linguistic abilities of Chinese ˙The selecting of keywords/phrases in thetextbooks is greatly in line with vocabulary levels defined by the HSK and by the TOCFL. The regional difference in language uses between the two sides of theTaiwan Strait are also meticulously annotated in the textbooks In recent years, the background of learners has become diversified, and the number of self-study students of elementary Chinese is also increasing. On the pedagogical front, however, learning materials, found to be biased towards s

Dr. Tzu Yu Allison Lin achieved her PhD with her study of Virginia Woolf and London narratives at Goldsmiths, University of London. Her research interests are visual and verbal representations, literary criticism and language teaching. She has articles and books published in English, including the most recent, Art and Narrative (2019). She is teaching at Gaziantep University, Turkey.

Appropriate for use by students at varying levels of competence, Burmese: A Cultural Approach provides a thorough and systematic introduction to the Burmese writing system in Part One and a series of true-to-life conversations in Part Two. Students with some prior knowledge of the spoken language but little familiarity with the Burmese script can use Part One to solidify their grasp of the Burmese sound system as well as its orthography. Intrepid beginners could also start their study of the language by making use of Part One. Doing so would mean making a slower start at formulating phrases as compared to using a romanization system but learners would gain a firmer foundation for the later—and eventually, faster—development of their speaking and reading skills. The conversations in Part Two are extensively annotated in order to illustrate grammatical patterns, characteristic turns of phrase, and typical habits of social interaction. True to an anthropological approach to language le

Learning Chinese Language and Culture is an intermediate level textbook, which was intended to be used throughout the entire school year and designed mainly for students who have completed introductory courses of Chinese as a foreign language. This book illustrates Chinese language knowledge and introduces Chinese culture in twenty-two lessons, covering a variety of cultural content, including customs and manners, holidays and festivals, poems and idioms, calligraphy and couplets, myths and legends, feng shui and superstitions, and historical relics and sceneries and many others. In every lesson, the authors have strived to maintain a clear topic and a coherent structure. They have also endeavored to keep the contents lively and achieve a fluent writing style while closely controlling the structure and grammar of every lesson.

Learning Chinese Language and Culture is an intermediate level textbook, which was intended to be used throughout the entire school year and designed mainly for students who have completed introductory courses of Chinese as a foreign language. This book illustrates Chinese language knowledge and introduces Chinese culture in twenty-two lessons, covering a variety of cultural content, including customs and manners, holidays and festivals, poems and idioms, calligraphy and couplets, myths and legends, feng shui and superstitions, and historical relics and sceneries and many others. In every lesson, the authors have strived to maintain a clear topic and a coherent structure. They have also endeavored to keep the contents lively and achieve a fluent writing style while closely controlling the structure and grammar of every lesson.

Drawing on extensive historical studies of the lives and works of distinctive yet understudied sinologists in the Czech Republic, Mongolia, Poland, and Russia, this volume takes readers on a journey of exploration and rediscovery of post-communist sinology—an important topic that we know surprisingly little about. After the end of the Cold War, the China Studies research agenda in these four countries has evolved divergently without any apparent shared orientation, despite the previously shared socialist and Communist legacies. Contributors draw on case studies to illustrate how sinologists in these countries actively use diverse approaches to map China’s modern evolution and deconstruct stereotypical notions of China’s rise in the twenty-first century. These hallmark studies also reveal sinologists’ deep engagement with the Chinese humanities. The conclusions in this volume have major implications for the evolution of intellectual history and its analysis, by emphasizing the importanc

This reader is designed for an intermediate-level Chinese course in which students not only develop proficiency in the Chinese language but also gain some knowledge of Chinese culture. It consists of twenty-two lessons, which are arranged according to their level of difficulty. Each lesson contains a core text and a reading text. The contents of the texts cover a wide variety of topics, including Chinese language structures and characters, Chinese customs, proverbs, holidays, social phenomena, religions, poetry and geography, as well as Chinese folklore. A list of questions for group discussion follows the text in each chapter to help students further explore issues related to Chinese culture and to their own lives. Grammar notes and exercises for relevant grammatical points are introduced after each core text to enhance students’ skills of reading, comprehension and writing. The grammar notes are all explained in English and illustrated through sample sentences in Chinese with Engli

Throughout the long-term evolution of global capital markets, stock markets, and crypto-asset markets have historically operated as two parallel systems: the former is built upon over a century of institutional accumulation and vast institutional networks, while the latter has thrived within the technological framework of blockchain. Today, with the ongoing implementation and application of new models—such as the tokenization of real world assets (RWAs), stablecoins, crypto-asset ETFs, and digital asset treasury (DAT) companies—the convergence of securities and crypto is emerging as the most disruptive transformation trajectory in capital markets. Traditional securities are stepping into the on-chain world, while native crypto-assets are making their way into the mainstream financial arena through compliant pathways. Capital markets are witnessing a historic convergence characterized by "mutual convergence."  This book presents a comprehensive overview of the convergence of securities

Kaho Yu’s China’s Energy Security in the Twenty-First Century: The Role of Global Governance and Climate Change explores the evolution of China’s energy security from its bilateral going-out strategy to its more multilateral Belt and Road Initiative. By analysing the topic from a multidisciplinary perspective, this book examines China’s evolving role in global energy governance through four empirical case studies: China’s energy cooperation with Russia and Central Asia, Africa, the European Union, and the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank.

The crisis of masculinity surfaced and converged with the crisis of the nation in the late Qing, after the doors of China were forced open by Opium Wars. The power of physical aggression increasingly overshadowed literary attainments and became a new imperative of male honor in the late Qing and early Republican China. Afflicted with anxiety and indignation about their increasingly effeminate image as perceived by Western colonial powers, Chinese intellectuals strategically distanced themselves from the old literati and reassessed their positions vis-à-vis violence. In Mastery of Words and Swords: Negotiating Intellectual Masculinities in Modern China, 1890s–1930s, Jun Lei explores the formation and evolution of modern Chinese intellectual masculinities as constituted in racial, gender, and class discourses mediated by the West and Japan. This book brings to light a new area of interest in the “Man Question” within gender studies in which women have typically been the focus. To fully r

The origins of modern Daoism can be traced to the Church of the Heavenly Master (Tianshidao), reputedly established by the formidable Zhang Daoling. In 142 CE, according to Daoist tradition, Zhang was visited by the Lord on High, who named him his vicar on Earth with the title Heavenly Master. The dispensation articulated an eschatological vision of saving initiates—the pure, those destined to become immortals— by enforcing a strict moral code. Under evolving forms, Tianshidao has remained central to Chinese society, and Daoist priests have upheld their spiritual allegiance to Zhang, their now divinized founder. This book tells the story of the longue durée evolution of the Heavenly Master leadership and institution. Later hagiography credits Zhang Daoling’s great-grandson, putatively the fourth Heavenly Master, with settling the family at Longhushan (Dragon and Tiger Mountain); in time his descendants—down to the present contested sixty-fifth Heavenly Master living in Taiwan— made th

English Explained explores the areas of English grammar that are most affected by misinformation and confusion and supplies the learner with the knowledge to finally grasp the workings of this multifaceted language. The fifty sections of English Explained cover the misunderstood, the misleading, and anything that appears to break the standard grammar ‘rules’ we are all taught. The book has been written, in the first instance, for teachers and prospective teachers (TESOL/TEFL) whose first language is not English. A key aim of the book, then, is assisting both students and teachers on a practical level by equipping them with the knowledge and the awareness to answer any challenging questions a teacher or an enquiring student may pose over the course of an English class. It will also prove invaluable to students of all disciplines who seek a better grasp and understanding of English grammar—essential for achieving competency in both writing and reading.

The First Estates shows the impact on Hong Kong’s urban history of Fairview Park and Hong Lok Yuen, the earliest examples of private estates provided in the New Territories of Hong Kong. Completed in the 1970s and 1980s, both are examples of land development projects built as low-density, American-style suburban house living, the first true alternative to the typical high-rise urban living of Hong Kong. In this book, Roger Nissim traces their evolution—from retreats for urban dwellers to family residences—that followed the expansion of Hong Kong’s public transportation system. The book draws heavily on the original documents that are reproduced in the book. These unearthed documents detail land acquisition process and the negotiations with the government, financiers, local villagers, contractors, and new residents. Read together, this collection of key primary sources—concerning government approvals, site selection, planning and implementation, layout plan, and sales policy—provide the

This is a novel, not a text book, although the reader may like to use some of the content of this book for German language teaching or learning. This is a novel that is intended to serve a dual purpose: For reading pleasure and for picking up and/or boosting one’s existing knowledge of German. The book should be read chapter by chapter, starting from Part I all the way to the end of Part II, as the story and the progression of the language instruction and discussion follow a linear thread. As far as the story goes, the reader will find the two main characters, William and Becky from Hong Kong, both college students who have just completed their first year of a degree programme and are now on exchange to University of Freiburg in Germany for a semester – August to December, which eventually turns out to be a bit longer, extending to end of February. This is part of an internationalization programme that they are going through and capitalizing on. On arrival in Germany their first stop

Based on rare first-hand historical data, Wang Ke presents the analysis of the East Turkestan from the perspective of Islamic social structure, the origin and evolution of thoughts on national revolution, the power structure of the Republic, and international politics. The original Japanese edition of this book has been recognized as the most authoritative research work on the independence movement of East Turkestan. This revised, enriched English edition provides valuable references for the prominent issues of Xinjiang today. ~~~~~~~ “For those intrigued by the modern history of China’s Xinjiang region, this detailed study of the 1940s invites the reader to explore a tempestuous decade marked by conflict and turmoil as Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other ethnic groups sought to form an independent state, the East Turkestan Republic. Understanding the complex involvement of powerful outside forces, a brutal world war, and an opportunity for groups that saw a chance at independence requires ca

The University Museum and Art Gallery (UMAG) of the University of Hong Kong presents the Chinese painting exhibition Tradition to Contemporary: Ink Painting and Artistic Development in 20th-century China. The exhibition is curated from artworks within the museum’s permanent collection. Works trace the evolution of ink painting in Hong Kong, and include many of the masters that have helped to build the city’s art scene and museum collections. The exhibition and its associated catalogue offers audiences a broad overview of the provenance and aesthetic quality of individual works, and the cultural interactions among twentieth-century Chinese artists, curators, collectors and scholars in Hong Kong, mainland China and abroad. It makes reference to individuals and their networks, to teacher-student relationships and to the generosity of the numerous painters who have helped UMAG to grow the museum’s holdings, and whose work constitutes the foundation of UMAG’s educational work today. Since

《邊學邊用：華語聽說教材》是針對以普通話為第二語言／外語人士的特點和需要編寫的普通話口語系列教材。教材取材於普通話母語人士的口語對話，幫助學習者學習普通話，在日常生活或專業領域學以致用。 “Chinese（Putonghua）in Communication” is a series of spoken Putonghua textbooks designed for learners studying Putonghua as a second／foreign language. By drawing all examples and sample conversations from authentic speaking materials collected from native Putonghua speakers, this book series is suitable for learners aiming at learning practical Putonghua to be used in their daily as well as professional lives. 本書特點： Features of this textbook: 1. 簡體中文和漢語拼音對照，並附繁體中文供參考。 Simplified Chinese characters and Pinyin（Romanization）are presented side by side, also with conventional Chinese characters attached for reference. 2. 豐富多彩的練習，還原日常生活場景，活學活用。 Providing various communicative tasks simulating real world scenarios or situations. 3. 隨書附課文及詞彙錄音。 Providing full recordings of text and vocabulary. 4. 本書在大學已經使用多年，特別適合短訓班，學習者可以在比較短的時間內，基本掌握學校課堂、交通詢問、邀約、留言、飲食購物、簡短講演等方面的語言運用。 This textbook has been used

In the last twenty years Hong Kong society has witnessed dramatic change, and nowhere is this better reflected than in the realm of media and communication. Across the fields of journalism, public relations and advertising we can see the changing trends in terms of audience consumption and interaction. From technological developments to the shift in audience participation, the expectations and functions of these professions have been greatly altered. Through a selection of essays by field experts, this volume aims to explore not only the evolution in media itself, but also to examine the complex causes. It identifies not only the difficulties and opportunities for media professionals today, but also the evolving role of the audience.

The genre of poems that may be read both forward and backward, producing different creations was known as the “flight of wild geese.” These poems were often sent so that a distant lover, like the migrating birds, would return. Its greatest practitioner, and the focus of this critical anthology, is Su Hui, a woman who, in the 4th Century, embroidered a silk for her distant husband using a grid of 840 characters that created perhaps 12,000 ways to read this poem. With examples from the 3rd to the 19th centuries, Michele Metail describes reversible poems as “a singular adventure at the edge of meaning, of language, and of writing.”

From his court Jupiter keeps staying away, Missed by fellow gods; Atlas the culprit at large---- ----The Tower of Pisa: A Sequel Since the appearance of POTTY LITTLE MAN SELECTED POEMS OF BAI CHUAN III (《人渺小：白川詩選三》) in its original native language, there has been a demand for a serious attempt to transform its international outlook into an international readership. In response to this, the present English edition offers not a slavish translation. Instead, there is perhaps a true sense of creative effort, to say nothing of the venture itself being a rich and rewarding experience.

Since the appearance of Roads Range Far: Selected Poems of Bai Chuan (道路遠近：白川詩選) in its original native language, there has been a demand for a serious attempt to transform its international outlook into an international readership. In response to this, the present English edition offers not a slavish translation. Instead, there is perhaps a true sense of creative effort, to say nothing of the venture itself being a rich and rewarding experience.

From the academic perspective, Southern Min is one of the Chinese Language families, a dialect. Specifically, Taiwanese Southern Min(TSM) has resulted from a mixture of Formosan languages, Dutch, Japanese and Mandarin by way of language contact. It has preserved the basic structure, but is quite different from the Southern Min spoken in Mainland China. TSM is the natural result of a mixture of different accents. The author has dedicated his research life to the study of TSM, and the profound result of his study is revealed in this book. 本書從宏觀語言學角度介紹臺灣閩南語的各種問題。首先介紹臺灣閩南語的基本觀念；其次敘述三百多年來閩南語 在臺灣的發展；然後從語音、語法、詞彙角度說明臺灣閩南語的語言特色；再其次詳細介紹臺灣閩南語的語音結構等問題；最後對曾經或目前正在使用的漢字、教羅 等書寫方式，做一簡單的介紹。書後有「研究參考書目、分韻俗諺、音節結構表」三個附錄，相信對閱讀本書正文或深入研究臺灣閩南語，應有一定助益。

Professor William S-Y. Wang is among the most influential contemporary linguists. For several decades, he has been leading the development of Chinese Linguistics to a higher level. Professor Wang established the famous theory of lexical diffusion, advocating an evolutionary perspective and interdisciplinary methods for research on language and linguistics. His writings have appeared in handbooks, textbooks, encyclopedias, numerous technical journals, and have been translated into several languages. On the occasion of his 80th birthday, numerous pupils and colleagues of Professor Wang come together for the compilation of the Festschrift to pay tribute to him. The Festschrift has over sixty contributions by scholars from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, East Asia, North America and Europe, partitioned in Chinese and English volumes. Authors are active in areas of various linguistic frontiers, investigating language and linguistics from an interdisciplinary perspective. Most of the con

Understanding how the Chinese writing system illustrates universal design features of writing and literacy learning, as well as how it differs from alphabetic literacy, has become one of the cutting edge areas of research in the cognitive sciences. A major part of this book is devoted to the presentation of a series of proposals for collaborative research with investigators working in East Asia on cross-writing system comparisons and bilingual literacy—Comparing alphabetic and morpho-syllabic literacy. The part that corresponds to "International perspectives" proposes new avenues in research on problems of bilingualism shared by speakers of all languages. With a broad survey of research advances drawing from recent investigations, this book will provide non-specialist readers with examples of how the relevant concepts might be applied to practical problems-age of acquisition effects in first and second language development; analysis of language attrition and asymmetries of different k

Hong Kong began its colonial history in 1842 when China ceded Hong Kong Island to Britain. The Hong Kong Police Force was formally set up in 1844 to maintain law and order. To recognise its contribution in handling the 1967 Riots, the Hong Kong Police Force was renamed the Royal Hong Kong Police Force in 1969, turning a new page in the police history. This volume mainly delineates the Hong Kong policing history from 1842 to 1969 through the frontline stories of many police officers. Eighty retired policemen and policewomen, representing different generations, races, ranks and lines of duties, share the views and memories of their police service through individual oral history sessions and group discussions. Their personal recollections and lively anecdotes enable readers to enjoy the excitement and relieve the challenges, the good days and hard times of the police throughout the eras. These accounts mirror the evolution of the Hong Kong Police Force in the decades after the Second W

This study attempts to analyze systematically the rationale, evolution, and consequences of Chiang Kai-shek's "unity before resistance" doctrine, which was the basis of Nanking's appeasement policy. The author argues that there were a number of independent variables that influenced Nanking's attitude toward Japan: 1) the internal disintegration of China; 2) factional conflicts within the Kuomintang; 3) ineffective administration; 4) the vicissitudes of nationalism; 5) the material backwardness of China; and 6) international mediation. All of these factors were interrelated. The intervening variables were Chiang Kai-shek's personality, his patterns of political behavior, his way of ruling, and his perception of internal and external crises. By adopting the temporary appeasement policy toward Japan, Chiang hoped to gain enough time to consolidate China and his supreme leadership. But Chiang’s appeasement policy in fact engaged his government in two races - one with Japanese aggression an

Given the rapid pace at which the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and other Asian economies are growing and the global volatility that these societies are experiencing, social capital and its diverse connectivities can furnish useful anchoring to communities, neighbourhoods, local governments and social protection networks. This volume in twelve chapters provides a critical analysis of social capital, its indigenous evolution and spread in HKSAR. Some of the experiments and activities narrated in these chapters indicate the ingenious blending of the local ethos and culture with modern organisational forms and information networks. Policy makers, development practitioners, researchers of civil society organisations and welfare agencies will find this book a helpful reference source. The book will also appeal as a text or supplementary reading in management, public administration, governance, and development economics courses dealing with social capital and social enterprise.

《The Tales of Mother Goose》起源於歐洲各地的童話故事，由17世紀的法國作家Charles Perrault集結並加以改編出版，直到18世紀由Charles Welsh譯成英文，譯筆簡明流暢，活潑生動，全書並佐以優雅的插畫，適合作為中級閱讀教材及課外讀物。書中收錄了8篇名聞遐邇的經典童話故事，如〈灰姑娘〉(Cinderella, or the Little Glass Slipper)、〈睡美人〉(The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood)、〈穿靴子的貓〉(The Master Cat, or Puss in Boots)、〈藍鬍子〉(Blue Beard)、〈小紅帽〉(Little Red Riding-hood)等等。 Visits these eight classic tales written in the language of days gone by. A language that weaves a romantic web using the magic of fairy spells and curses, the tricks of wily wolves and ogres, and the bravery of heroes and heroines.

This richly illustrated chronicle of Chinese civilization furnishes general readers and scholars alike with an authoritative overview of Chinese history, art and culture, from the pre-historic era to the early twentieth century, touching upon recurring themes and developments and synthesizing more than five thousand years of evolution and transition. Written with precision and flair by a host of leading academics from Beijing and Hong Kong, this single volume is a welcome addition to the study of world civilizations, a broad yet detailed chronological sweep through time. Every aspect of Chinese civilization is explained, interpreted, contextualized and brought to life with well-balanced commentary and photographic documentation. The result is a fascinating distillation of the past, an indispensable guide that renders the ancient past relevant to China today and to the rest of the world. Students of Chinese civilization will appreciate the detail of the research while lay readers, fro

ESL/EFL Cases: Contexts for Teacher Professional Discussions is designed to provoke conversations on language teaching from multiple perspectives. The format of the presentation of cases allows the reader to gain insights on teaching from the vantage point of the students’ proficiency, the teacher’s perspective, the writers’ questions and suggested answers and finally the critical commentary. Readers are treated as thinking professionals who are capable of analysing the acts of language teaching through the teaching excerpts and the dynamic lesson transcriptions. The questions and critical commentary encourage deeper and more critical processing rather than a superficial interpretation of the teaching act. The cases, derived from authentic teaching contexts, encourage readers to appreciate the rich tapestry of teaching with all its complexities. Designed to promote professional discussions and deeper reflective and more effective practice, this book is a must for the teacher education

This work is the result of a co-operation between a social anthropologist and a social historian and is focused on the social evolution of Southern China. Based on a longitudinal fieldwork study in the Pearl River Delta, which is the heartland of the Cantonese-speaking world, the book explores how the ordinary people and their society evolved in a period of time characterized by drastic change. The study reports on how history supplies people with a repository for the future and accounts for how their march towards modernity is, at the same time, a reconstruction of a tradition.

內容簡介 The transmission of Buddhism to China gave rise to a uniquely rich and systematic monastic tradition. One Hundred Lessons on Monastery Languages & Affairs offers an in-depth exploration of this tradition through six themes: Monastery Systems, Monastic Precepts, Temple Undertakings, Cultivation and Gatherings, Organizational Management, and Spread of Buddhism. Drawing from decades of lived experience, it guides readers through the past, present, and evolving future of Chinese Buddhist monasticism. 目錄 VOLUME 1 MONASTERY SYSTEMS Table of Contents About Venerable Master Hsing Yun Translator’s Introduction Preface Lesson One: Types of Buddhist Monasteries Lesson Two: Monasteries in the Mainland China Lesson Three: Layout of a Monastery Lesson Four: The Forty-Eight Positions Lesson Five: The Meaning of “Unit” Lesson Six: Monastery Anecdotes Lesson Seven: Buddhist Titles Lesson Eight: Monastery Language Lesson Nine: A Day in Monastery Lesson Ten: The Four Main Halls Lesson Eleven: Mona