Organizer: Mary B. Rankin, Independent Scholar
Economic Reforms, Development Path, and Spatial Disparity: The Case of Jiangsu
and Guangdong
C. Cindy Fan, University of California, Los Angeles
Spatial disparity of economic development is a function of the development path(s) that a nation and the regions within it have taken. Existing studies highlight two contrasting paths of development, each having distinct implications for spatial disparity-the "development from above" approach entails spatial concentration of economic growth which would likely increase spatial disparity; the "development from below" approach focuses on local development which promises to bring about more balanced spatial development.
These two development paths are simultaneously pursued in China. Yet most regions are inclined toward one approach more than another. This paper studies Jiangsu and Guangdong, two eastern seaboard provinces that have had remarkable growth since the late 1970s. Jiangsu is known for its booming rural non-agricultural sector, led by a "bottom-up" approach with collective enterprises as the primary agents of development. Guangdong, on the other hand, is driven by "top-down" state investment and preferential policies. Foreign investment in Guangdong is yet another agent of development which discriminates between different open zones and which I argue is "development from outside," a path of development related to but distinct from "development from above."
The probable spatial outcome in Jiangsu is therefore one of balanced development, while Guangdong would likely be subject to increase in spatial disparity. The empirical analysis tests this hypothesis and relates the spatial pattern of investments from different sources (state-sector, collective-sector, individual and foreign) to the spatial pattern of economic development.
The Global Trade of the People's Republic of China from 1984 to 1993: Spatial
Patterns and Relationships
Chienping John Lee, University of Georgia
Studies indicated that rapid and substantial growth of external trade has been a major manifestation of the open door policy in the economic reforms proceeded by the People's Republic of China (PRC) since 1979. They also demonstrated the changes of trading partners over time and their relations with diplomacy, domestic economy, and foreign direct investments. With the application of mapping and analytical techniques, the paper cartographically delineated spatial distributions of both exports and imports for the PRC from 1984 to 1993 globewise, examined the changes and stability of the trade flows, and depicted the spatial relationships between its external trade and factors of domestic economic growth, cultural and historical linkages, distance, and the purchasing power and scale of the destination markets. As several studies discovered the trend of open regionalism in the new world economic order after the end of the Cold War, the paper attempted to compare the PRC's external trade patterns at the regional level during the time of study in the context of its geographical concentration. Besides, the paper grouped the trade flows within the three Chinese areas in the PRC, Hong Kong, and the Republic of China on Taiwan to test the arguments for the emergence of the Greater China as a functional region in recent literature. The paper concluded by arguing that the growing involvements of the PRC in global trade and its spatial concentration on key regional centers would promote peace through interdependence.
Heroes of the Water Margin: Martial Arts, Exorcism and Local Identity Among the
Sung Chiang Chen Troupes of Taiwan
Stewart McFarlane, Lancaster University
Notions of martial valour and brotherhood, communal pride, and ritual empowerment are vividly demonstrated by the Sung Chiang militia, who are a central feature of procession rituals at festivals in southern Taiwan. In the service of their patron deity General Tien Du, the thirty-six man troupes perform complex battlefield formations, combat demonstrations with traditional weapons, and a range of empty hand martial arts forms. Each member of the troupe trains in the weapon skill of the appropriate hero of Liang Shan Po. In effect, he takes on the identity of the deified hero. All the 108 heroes of the Shui Hu Chuan (Water Margin) are regarded as reborn star gods, who appeared in the Sung Dynasty to restore righteousness to the Empire and overthrow corrupt officialdom.
As initiates of a traditional sworn brotherhood, Sung Chiang Chen members are respected in their communities as guardians of martial valour and uprightness. They demonstrate the persistence of the traditional values of yi chi (righteous honour) of the hao han (hero/good man) of Chinese popular culture.
My poster presentation will include photographs of Sung Chiang troupes in training and performing at festivals. Rare diagrams and ritual texts will be displayed. I shall try to give a sense of the strength of this expression of popular religious engagement and show how it forms part of the assertion of Taiwanese identity.
Japanese Case-Marking and the Notion of Shared Information
Kiri Lee, Lehigh University
The proposed paper is a study of Japanese case-marking in relation to the notion of shared information. The case-markers discussed here are the topic case-marker wa, the nominative casemarker ga, and the accusative case-marker o. The paper also deals with sentences without case markers and without referential noun phrases.
In previous studies, there has been agreement that the notion of shared information is crucial for describing the dichotomy between wa and ga in subject noun phrases, and between wa and o in object-noun phrases (Kuno: 1973; Maynard: 1980; Hinds et al: 1987). Also, it has been argued that the notion of shared information plays a crucial role in case deletion (Masunaga: 1987). Although the notion of shared information seems responsible for a Japanese speaker's selection of a proper case-marker or no case-marker in a sentence, no studies have attempted to describe a coherent system for case selection based on this concept.
This paper examines four sentence patterns in Japanese: (i) sentences with the nominative or accusative cases; (ii) sentences with the topic case; (iii) sentences without case-markers; and (iv) sentences without a referential noun phrase. The paper will show how speakers of Japanese select one pattern over another, and how they establish a hierarchy among the four types of sentences based on the notion of shared information.
Placed Names: a/historical a/effects of Okinawa's "Cornerstone of
Peace"
Gerald Figal, Lewis and Clark College
A fortuitous set of circumstances compels me to present this poster. First, my recent trip to Okinawa (June 21-26, 1995) coincided with the unveiling of a major Battle of Okinawa memorial and the media blitz that attended it. I have consequently collected engaging documents of the event in the form of newsprint, photos, and video. Second, tracking the Enola Gay exhibit controversy throughout the year has spurred much thought about the complicity and contention between commemoration and historiography. Third, I have available to me multimedia technology and know-how which would be well-implemented in a Poster Session. Having seen and used many ways-some better, some worse-to present scholarly material in abstracted and multimedia form, I am anxious to experiment further.
By looking at the specific case of Okinawa's "Heiwa no ishiji" (Cornerstone of Peace) I intend to raise and address questions about the creation of commemorative space (physical and mental, public and private) that necessarily invokes history through powerfully affective means for largely ahistorical ends. In this process the ownership, audience, and aim of such commemorative space-and of the historical field-are not always self-evident nor clear-cut, especially as various constituencies plant stakes in it. Definitions and assumptions of commemorative and historiographical practice are put into question as boundaries blur. What results, I will argue, is not epistemological mush; rather, a negotiation between the commemorative and the historical voice-as Edward T. Linethal has called it-can lead to expansive and productive rethinking of both practices.
Urban Developments in the Late-Mughal Period: A Study of the Pathan Mohallas in
the City of Bhopal, Central India
Manu P. Sobti, University of Minnesota
This presentation examines the Pathan residential neighbourhoods in Bhopal, Central India-a city founded in 1722 A.D. by Dost Mohammed Khan, an armed recruit who deserted the Mughal Army after the death of Aurangzeb in 1707 A.D. A unique urban agglomeration developed in the course of the next 150 years on an undulating terrain and along the perimeters of a pre-existing water body or lake. Its character seems to have resulted from the interactions of two distinct cultural groups-firstly the local Hindu, Gond inhabitants, and secondly the Pathan clansmen hailing from the Mirazi-Khail family of the Karar tribe in Afghanistan.
The large majority of the Pathan administrative and military elite settled in two particular quarters of the city, in close proximity to the important public institutions and urban spaces. A detailed documentation and analysis of large areas within these quarters reveals significant complexities not only at the level of overall organization and fabric patterns, but also in the rather unique nature of the house-types used by the migrant populace which bear distinct resemblance to the "Qala" house native to rural Afghanistan.
The presentation is substantiated by written text, extensive measured drawings including plans and three-dimensional axonometrics, comparative sketches and photographs.
The Himalayan Region as a Dual Frontier
Todd T. Lewis, College of the Holy Cross
Societies and cultures of the Himalayan region have been shaped by long-standing connections to India and to Sino-Tibetan civilizations. Scholarship often describes the Himalayas, defining a "dual frontier," a periphery region that retains archaic socio-cultural characteristics that no longer exist in the former "culture hearth" areas. This can be documented through the history of state formation, trade, migration, and culture. The diffusion of art and architecture as well as the traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism extant across the 1,500-mile mountainous region provide strong frontier case studies. To chart the larger pattern of this relationship, the poster will utilize maps, photographs, and text in outline form. It will draw upon the co-author's Syllabus of Himalayan History, Anthropology, and Religion (published by the AAS) while also indicating the problematic assumptions involved in adopting this historical paradigm for the post-modern period.
Pilgrimages and Local Islam in Java
Huub de Jonge, University of Nijmegen
Although not all Moslems approve of pilgrimages besides the hadj, Java has a large number of Islamic pilgrim places, which together attract millions of visitors each year. Some sites are only visited by Moslems, others also attract followers from other religions. Up to now, hardly any attention has been given to these regional centres of religious activity. The pilgrim centres, however, provide a clue as to how individuals experience their faith. A study of pilgrimages makes clear the ways in which local and formal Islam are related to each other within a certain society. Followers of the same faith appear to possess different, even contradictory, 'practical ideologies.'
In my paper I will compare the nature, development, and significance of two famous pilgrim sites in East Java. The first place is the fifteenth century grave of Sunan Ampel, one of the nine saints who introduced Islam on Java. The grave lies in the old Arab quarter in Surabaya. The second place, Gunung Kawi, where two holy men are buried, lies in the countryside on the slope of the Kawi mountain. These graves are visited by people from different faiths.
The questions I intend to answer about these two pilgrim sites are why, and under what conditions did these places develop into religious centres? What kind of people, from which layers of society and with what kind of religious orientation, visit these graves? What does a pilgrimage to these sanctuaries involve, and what kinds of meaning does it have for pilgrims?
A Window on the Pacific: The Status of Asian Studies in British Columbia, Canada
Leah Skretkowicz, Kwantlen University College
Interest in Asia began early in the history of British Columbia when trade links were established for staple products such as fur, lumber and fish. Trade was followed by immigration and the establishment of a variety of Asian communities in southwestern British Columbia. Interest in this region has continued to grow as economic ties with Asian countries have increased and the global community becomes more closely linked.
Asian Studies programs have been an important part of the post secondary educational system in British Columbia for many years but have seen particular growth since the mid 1980s. The current status of these programs shows a wide diversity ranging from the two-year college diploma program and the four-year bachelor degree program through to the postgraduate diploma or degree program. At each educational level (college, university college and university), there also exists much variety in the nature of the Asian Studies programs offered. Some programs have a practical Asian Studies-business focus while others have a more scholarly focus intended for students pursuing Asian studies at the graduate level. Some programs have stringent Asian language requirements while others consider the language component to be optional.
As the significance of this vast region of Asia increases for British Columbia in terms of trade and immigration, Asian Studies programs are expected to expand and evolve in the future to meet the growing interest and demand at the post secondary educational level.
Instructional Strategies for Interactive Collaborative Learning About China in
Grades 6-12
Patricia Neils, Department of Education, State of Hawai'i
An understanding and appreciation of China is important because of this country's rich cultural heritage, its vast size, enormous population, rapid economic growth and expanding political influence in international affairs.
To most of the youth of America, however, China seems very remote and irrelevant. School teachers who wish to cultivate an awareness and appreciation of China, therefore, are faced with an enormous challenge. Teacher-dominated strategies of the past need to be reexamined and more interactive, constructivist approaches adopted. Hence, this paper suggests a paradigm shift in curriculum restructuring which merges an outline of content with learning activities that enable and encourage students to: focus on broad concepts related to essential content; apply new information to prior knowledge, and thereby construct more complex and more meaningful understandings; question prior suppositions and construct new awarenesses; pose new questions that are respected and valued; use primary sources and manipulative materials; engage in critical thinking and inquiry approaches to learning; engage in interactive learning with the teacher acting as a mediator and moderator; engage in cooperative/collaborative group learning activities with other students; apply new understandings to multidisciplinary projects; be individually accountable and responsible for what is learned and how it is learned; engage in performance-based assessments (activities), rather than only, or primarily written question-and-answer tests.