The History of the Qipao

A study of the evolution of garments in China reveals thatthe qipao,which originated from the traditional dress ofManchu women,had been a popular dress among women ofthe upper classes befofe it began to be worn by all Chinesewomen. Taditionally drsses for women of Han nationalityhad always been in two pieces-a blouse and a skirt,while     

The Soul of the Forest

"The Soul of the Forest." a ceramic work exhibited at the "Century Women" Art Show. is a fine example of the work of Zhang Wenzhi from Guangdong Painting Studio: this particular piece reflects the artist's concern for environmental protection. The ceramic objects created by Zhang are not for pragmatic use; instead. they are a kind of modern art: sculpture in essence. but cer amic in flavor. Zhang Wenzhi obtained her master's degree at Guangzhou Fine Arts Academy in 1993 and her book. Arts of Modern Materials. Was published in June of that year. The next year. she joined the European Synthetic Arts Soci-ety. In 1996. she held ceramics exhibition in the gallery of Illinois State University. Her work, "The World of Wine." Was collected by the former Culture Ministry. In 1997. her work. "Chinese" was selected for the first National Modern Ceramics Exhibition in Shanghai and awarded the silver medal.     

The Source of the Changjiang River

Painting since the 1950s. Weng De has 0btained numerous achievements in this field.Majestic andwiht the rich flavor of the times.Weng's landscape paintings show a heroic.emotive spirit. In 1976.Weng De Went with the observation and exploration team to the fountainhead of theChangjiang River to sketch and paint from nature.On this trip.he experienced various tests on the     

The Boat Girl in the Photo

The Little Boat Girl THIS picture was taken at dusk, onestormy day, half a century ago. On April 21, 1949, one million soldiersof the Chinese People's Liberation Army, alongmore than 500-kilometers of riverbank, quicklybroke through the "thousand-Li line of defence,"which had been painstakingly built up by theKuomintang, and forced the Changjiang River. At dusk on April 22, boatmen from Yangzhong,an island in the Changjiang River, hurried to thebank to row the follow-up units across. Despitearduous weather, the boatmen's skill in fightingagainst wind and waves was considerable and, inthe soft lights of sunset, the rows of old woodenboats appeared to be flying on the ChangjiangRiver. A most impressive scene. Among the officers waiting on the riverbank tobe ferried across was one tall soldier, deeplyabsorbed in the sight of a young girl, not far away,     

The World of the Little Painters

Agroup of little painters, aged three to twelve, paint actively in the study office for children's paintings of the Children's and Women's Activity Center of Hunan Province. They come from ordinary families, and all of them have gone through a period of scrawling, but they have become extraordinary artists. Children here never imitate other people's paintings; nor would I want them to. As their teacher, I encourage them to observe the world and     

The Iraqi Kurds: The struggle for autonomy in the shadow of the Iran‐Iraqi conflict

This article examines the intricate relationship between the Kurds of Iraq and the Iraqi‐Iranian conflict. In the final analysis, the Kurds were both a major beneficiary but at the same time also the major losers from it. This situation became manifest during the Iraqi‐Iranian war which started in September 1980 and ended in August 1988.

Hoping to manipulate the war in order to achieve a meaningful autonomy, the Kurds both received support from Iran and lent it their own in the fighting against Iraq. But at the end of the war, Iran dropped its erstwhile allies, who once again found themselves between hammer and anvil. The punishment which the government meted to the Kurdish movement and the Kurdish population in general was unprecedented in its harshness and totality. The Kurdish hopes for a meaningful autonomy were dashed.     

The History of the Chinese Marriage Law

IN this issue of Women of China we will introduce readers to the Marriage Law of the People's Republic of China. The Marriage Law of the People's Republic of China was adopted at the Third Session of the Fifth National People's Congress and promulgated on September 10, 1980. It     

The Opening Days of the Beijing-Kowloon Railway

The Beijing-Kowloon Railway has brought great benefit to the poor areas it passes through. Many peasants in the high mountains had never seen a train before. When the new rail opened, old and young alike hurried to take a look at the train. Economic development in the poor areas has been stimulated by the construction of the Beijing-Kowloon Railway. The peasants in Xinyang and Xinxian counties of Henan     

The last Festival in the Old Lane

About to move to new houses, the residents of the old lane celebrate their last festival there in a traditional way.     

The Charming Scenery of the Jinggang Mountains

Mao Zedong lived in this house in Dajing Village at the time he led his troops to the Jinggang Mountains after the Autumn Harvest Uprising on October 24, 1927.     

The First Time the Right Was Gained

ONE of the fundamental distinctionsof a modern society from atraditional one is that in a modernsociety every citizen enjoys his/her rightslaid down by law.Traditionally,womenwere expelled from society’s mainstream.influenced as it was by the dominatingConfucian ideology,one philosophy of     

Sanya:The Hawaii of the East

"A rare privilege to see. A true paradise." Mr. Enriquez Savignac Antonio. the former Secretary-General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization, excitedly wrote down these words in October, 1994, after visiting the southern coastal city of Sanya. From that point on, Sanya's fame began to grow. The beach city in the south of Hainan     

The beautiful game and the proto‐aesthetics of the everyday

Abstract

This article provides a critique of the postmodernist notion that there has been of recent years a dissolution of the divide between aesthetics and practical activities, between Art and Life. It does so by considering the game of soccer from a phenomenological viewpoint, which shows that the game possesses intrinsically ‘aesthetic’ qualities. The conditions of possibility of such qualities are understood by introducing the idea of the ‘proto‐aesthetics’ of soccer and other mundane phenomena. By considering the proto‐aesthetics of the quotidian we argue that recent changes in the nature of practical life should not be regarded as due to ‘aestheticisation’ but rather as springing from processes of commodification.     

The Man in the Red Coat—Management in the Circus

Authored by a circus performer/manager and an academic, this paper uses concepts from the work of Alasdair MacIntyre to interpret ethnographic material from the traditional circus. The paper outlines MacIntyre’s conceptual architecture of goods, practices and institutions in which exercise of the virtues by those who manage the institution is required to maintain the integrity of practices. Such exercise is one defining feature of what MacIntyre calls ‘practice‐based communities’. Following a discussion of method it uses ethnographic material to describe the organisation of work in the circus and the self‐understanding of the managerial role of ringmaster. A series of incidents illustrate the use of the virtue of phronêsis, practical judgement in this role to maintain the integrity of the practice. The paper concludes by considering the extent to which travelling circus may be considered an example of the practice‐based community.     

The selfie and the transformation of the public–private distinction

The selfie is a contemporary form of self-portraiture, representing a photographic image of the human face. The selfie is created for the purpose of reproduction and to communicate images visually with others from a distance. The proliferation of web 2.0 technologies and mobile smart phones enables users to generate and disseminate images at an unprecedented scale. Coupled with the increasing popularity of social media platforms, these technologies allow the selfie to be distributed to a wide audience in close to real time. Drawing upon Erving Goffman’s approach to the study of face-to-face social interaction, this article presents a discussion of the production and consumption of the selfie. We draw upon Goffman’s dramaturgical approach, to explore how the ‘presentation of self’ occurs in the context of a selfie. Next, we consider how the selfie as a form of visual communication holds critical implications for mediated life online as individuals go about doing privacy. We conclude by reflecting on the role of the selfie and its impact on the boundaries between public and private domains in contemporary social life.     

The More Things Change,the More They Remain the Same?

Since the publication of Arlie Hochschild’s groundbreaking work, The Second Shift (1989), scholars have delineated and deliberated the predictors and implications of American men’s participation in unpaid labor. Still, there’s little consensus about the current or future state of gender inequality in US households. In the course of reviewing scholarship published on this topic over the last two decades, this piece outlines and critically reflects upon two paradoxical conclusions one might reach when examining trends in men’s housework and care work time. In comparing and contrasting what I call ‘the mop bucket is half full’ and ‘the mop bucket is half empty’ conclusions, I also highlight the major theoretical frameworks, empirical findings, and diverging opinions on whether Hochschild’s ‘household revolution’ is permanently stalled, slowly reigniting, or ready to take off. I then conclude with a call for consensus among scholars and suggestions for future research on men’s participation in unpaid labor.     

The Continuing Legacy of the Communist Legacy? The development of family policies in Poland and the Czech Republic

This article compares family policies in Poland and the CzechRepublic in order to explain why the two countries have differentpolicies. Previous studies are right to claim that post-communistfamily policies are basically going in a refamilialist directionthat gives mothers a greater incentive to return to the home,but they tend to neglect the important differences that existbetween countries. Although previous studies were correct toemphasize the role of the anti-feminist communist legacy inexplaining this trend toward re-famialilization, it is a country'seconomic-institutional legacy that goes the farthest in explainingthe differences in policies.     

Is Who Delivers the Treatment More Important than the Treatment Itself? The Role of The Therapist in Common Factors

In this article, we discuss the role of the therapist in change in couple and family therapy. We argue that the therapist is a key change ingredient in most successful therapy. We situate our discussion in the common factors debate and show how both broad and narrow common factor views involve the therapist as a central force. We review the research findings on the role of the therapist, highlight the strengths and weaknesses of this literature, and provide directions for future research. We then use this review as a foundation for our recommendations for theory integration, training, and practice.