Unsettled “structure of feeling” of Chinese migrant workers – cases from the service sector of Shanghai

The suffering, struggling status and controversial political identity of Chinese internal migrant workers have put them in the academic spotlight for decades. An abundance of literature has analysed the problems faced by Chinese migrant workers from mainly three theoretical perspectives. However, not enough attention has been paid to migrant workers’ subjective understandings and feelings about their work and lives. The current article tries to illuminate the ambivalent feelings of migrant workers of the service sector in Shanghai, based on a brief comparison between migrant workers of three Asian countries, and the interviews with 16 Chinese migrant workers, two government officers and two local citizens in Yan community attached to Po district of Shanghai. It is argued that the migrant workers share an unsettled “structure of feeling” in everyday practices. They simultaneously feel bewildered and sanguine, depressed in a sombre mood and happy, passionate and indifferent. The unsettlement of the structure of feeling constitutes a political passivity for migrant workers. It is urgent to find ways to break up such a stalemate of consciousness.     

Paint from the Depth of Heart： Celebrated Painter Zhang Yahui

Zhang Yahui＇s painting works in his studio in Dashilan, a historic quarter in Qianmen in the downtown of Beijing, have attracted manyviewers. His paintings represent a bold blend of freehand and fine bmshwork. Years of hard practice in inking painting have enabled him to obtain virtuosity in overall layout. Created from depth of heart, Zhang＇s works fascinate viewers with well-designed layouts, innovative techniques, vigorous brushworks, artistic profundity and poetic beauty. By mixing characteristics of Chinese ink painting and Western oil painting,     

A qualitative study of temporary reentry from significant others’ perspective

Using data collected through participant observation and in-depth interviews with 13 mothers of study abroad students in China, this study explores, from the mothers’ perspectives, patterns of social interaction between them and their children during their short-term reentry. It shows that the mothers’ confusion about their children's cultural identities led to their confusion about their motherhood identity and the renegotiated rules of interaction that virtually transformed mother–child relationships into host–guest relationships. The courteous and apparently friction-free interactions between mothers and their children were laden with latent relational distress and tension. The study suggests that reentry is not an individualized process of psychological and behavioral adjustment on the part of returnees only, as suggested by the existing literature; rather, it is co-produced by returnees and their significant others through communication. It also suggests that effective interaction between returnees and their significant others may be the key to reducing reentry stress.     

Zheng Quan： An Outstanding Singer from the Hometown of Yue Opera

Zheng Quan was born in Shengzhou, Zhejiang Province Which is known as the hometown of Yue Opera. It is also a place nurturing many poets and national chess players And enjoying beautiful landscape. Zhen Quan has an extraordinarily pretty appearance And a well-shaped figure. Her voice is as moving as the nightingale And her performance on stage is so charming. She played Lin Daiyu in òA Dream of the Red Chamberó And Xie Yunxia in òLooking for the Wifeó. Her performance in òJade D…     

Inter-generational transmission of Indigenous culture and children’s wellbeing: Evidence from Australia

A limited body of empirical evidence suggests a strong sense of cultural identity promotes wellbeing and other socio-economic outcomes for First Nations people, including for Indigenous Australians. A challenge to this evidence is potential endogeneity: that Indigenous people who achieve positive outcomes are then more likely to maintain and engage in their traditional culture. Data from Australia’s Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children were used to address that challenge. Indigenous parents’ attitudes and practices with respect to passing on traditional culture to their children in early childhood were related to children’s later health and socio-emotional adjustment. Exploratory factor analysis identified three key elements of parental transmission of Indigenous culture to their children: connection to country, connection to kin and traditional knowledge. Parents fostering a strong kinship connection was found to contribute to positive child development. Positive effects of connection to country and parental desires to pass on traditional knowledge were also identified in some regional contexts, providing further evidence that traditional Indigenous cultures should be seen as a resource for addressing Indigenous disadvantage, not a contributing factor. The research design eliminates the possibility of (the child’s) outcomes ‘causing’ greater cultural identity or engagement, but not the possibility of omitted variables shaping both parents’ practices toward cultural engagement and child outcomes.     

Ancient Dances from Qufu

THE ancient city of Qufu inShandong Province has longbeen renowned as a centerof culture in China, for it was thebirthplace of the great Chinesetninker and educator,Confucius.Lately a new and unexpectea cultur- al phenomenon has emerged fromQufu:re-creations of ancient yuewu(song and dance).Yuewu has beenperformed throughout the Qufu areafor centuries and has slowly devel-oped into a distinct art form of itsown.Three Superb Pieces of Ancient Yuewu     

Islamic Historians of the Ayyūbid Era and Muslim Rulers from the Early Crusading Period: A Study in the Use of History

This article examines the presentation of Muslim rulers from the early crusading period, 490–540/1097–1146 in six of the main chronicles written during the first half of the seventh/thirteenth century. It discusses the themes, ideas and topoi in each, demonstrating that the historians appear to have been divided into two ‘camps’ over their presentation of these rulers, based on their personal views of the rulers of their time. The article also examines why this division may have occurred, and considers its ramifications for modern scholarship of Arabic historiography, Islamic history and the history of the Crusades, in both the sixth/twelfth and seventh/thirteenth centuries.     

Does social capital reduce the psychological distress and improve the wellbeing of asylum seekers? Evidence from Israel

The living difficulties of asylum seekers in receiving countries may impair their mental health. Based on the Social Capital Theory, the current study sought to identify social factors that might reduce their psychological distress and improve their wellbeing. A sample of 227 Darfuri asylum seekers in Israel aged 19–58 completed a questionnaire assessing the outcomes of psychological distress and wellbeing, and the predictors of post-migration living difficulties, number of asylum seeker and Israeli friends, perceived social support, and volunteering in community activity for asylum seekers. The findings show that whereas perceived social support was associated with reduced psychological distress and increased wellbeing (and the latter also associated with number of Israeli friends), the number of asylum seeker friends was associated with increased psychological distress and reduced wellbeing. Moreover, both factors moderated the association between living difficulties and psychological distress, that is, it was significant only at higher levels of these factors. Volunteering in community activity also moderated this association. The results suggest that having friends is not enough to improve wellbeing and may even have the opposite effect when friends share similar adversities. However, friends who are available to offer support can contribute to improved wellbeing. Similarly, volunteering in community activity may reduce the individual’s own welfare, as it exposes them to the adversities of others. Thus, while some social capital indicators are beneficial, others might have a detrimental effect. The results indicate the need to strengthen the social contacts of asylum seekers while paying attention to the potential cost.     

“A Crusade from the First”: The Norman Conquest of Islamic Sicily, 1060–1091

In the creation myth of the Crusades, Pope Urban II (r. 1088–1099) is the founding father and 1095 is the critical year. During the twentieth century, French, Spanish, and English scholars challenged this myth; yet this myth remains as durable as ever. Because the origins of the crusading enterprise came to be associated with the so-called First Crusade (1095–1102), scholars have created a vision of crusading at odds with Pope Urban's vision, which views the “First” Crusade as the third part of a triptych: first, the Norman conquest of Sicily (1060–1091); then, the Castilian and Catalan advances in Iberia; and finally the 1095 Eastern Crusade. Today, the study of the Crusades is hampered by a failure to concentrate on the direct evidence and to take into account what contemporaries understood by crusading. To get a sense of what contemporaries understood by crusading, this paper examines the Norman Crusade in Sicily, drawing upon both Christian and Islamic sources.     

The Wind from the Aegean Sea

The Chinese edition of Greek writer Panagiotis Tranoulis’s novel “The Furnace” was recently published by China Translation & Publishing Corporation. The book, like a gentle breeze from the Aegean Sea, has opened a window on contemporary Greek literature and been well-acclaimed by Chinese readers. At the release ceremony of the new book, Tranoulis donated to Beijing Foreign Studies University publications and AV materials worth 50,000 RMB. A child, insulated from the blessing of th…     

The representation of ‘Asia’, ‘occupational forces’ and ‘women’ against the backdrop of post‐war Japanese culture: from the system of censorship to the present

This paper is one of the attempts to show how each East‐Asian regional country’s memory of the war has been related to the post‐war literatures and movies restricted by the structure of the Cold War. In particular, this paper takes up the issue of how the structure of Japanese culture after World War II was heavily influenced by the Cold War. When Japan was under the Occupational Forces, Japanese writers and film directors settling on the subject matter of the war were not free from the strain of the systematic censorship by GHQ. Translating into mechanisms of their works using the body or woman (comfort woman) by squarely facing the facts of the East‐Asian history, this paper reconsiders the body of post‐colonial Japan.     

Brilliant for Its Purity——A review on the Beijing Premiere of Henri Oguike Dance Company from UK

For four consecutive years, contemporary dance performances from UK jointly presented bv the Cultural and Education Section of the British Embassy in Beijing and Milky Way Arts ＆ Communications Co., Ltd., have been staged in Beijing during Chinese New Year celebrations. In the Spring Festival this year, Henri Oguike Dance Company presented its Beijing premiere in Tianqiao Theatre, bringing flesh charm of British modern dance to Chinese people.     

BSod-lam-dban-mo：A Folk-song Singer from Tibet

The song"Golden Hometown",like the nature's sound,Makes your name known to everyone overnight.BSod-lam-dban-mo,you came over on the horseback from the Heavenly road,And with your spring-clear voice and pure heart,Represented the image of snow mountains and highland yaks,As well as pearl-like sheep herds.     

Islam,Jews and Eastern Christianity in Late Medieval Pilgrims’ Guidebooks: Some Examples from the Franciscan Convent of Mount Sion

The Holy Land was described, not just in the accounts of the pilgrims who visited the most sacred land of Christianity, but also in several compilations and collections of texts conceived as guidebooks for clerics and pilgrims. From the fourteenth century onwards, many of these collections are clearly linked to the Franciscan Convent of Mount Sion. These assemblages often include texts on customs and religious beliefs of the peoples of the Near East and on the history of the Holy Land. One of the aims of the compilers seems to have been to prepare the reader to meet unorthodox practices and beliefs, emphasising the contrast between Latin Christianity and Eastern Christianity or Islam.     

Huangshan Mountain Embraces Folk Arts from the World

Last October, at the foot of beautiful Huangshan Mountain, the 6th China International Folk Arts Festival, coorganized by China Federation for the Literary and Art Circle and Huangshan Municipal Government, welcomed hundreds of folk artists from 21 countries, presenting a diverse artistic feast to local people.     

The Art of Stone： Records of Ethnic History of Guizhou

Guizhou Province, located in southwest China, boasts numerous mountains and valleys. Over the sweep of history, local people have created many calligraphic and painting works on cliffs and rocks, leaving much information about the culture and traditions of the ancient society.[第一段]