This paper examines the origins, development, and impact of the Crusades on the medieval world through an analysis of Cécile Morrisson’s work The Crusades. The author pays particular attention to the complex relationship between Byzantium and the Crusaders. By investigating the deep-rooted contradictions between the two sides, the paper reveals the hostile relationship between the Byzantine Empire and Crusader leaders during the Crusades. Drawing upon Anna Komnene’s Alexiad and other sources, th...

History 

This paper focuses on Sophocles’ tragedy Antigone, providing an in-depth analysis of the natural law thought and political philosophy criticism embedded in its core conflict. The study points out that Antigone’s act of defying Creon’s edict to bury her brother Polynieces, based on “sacred duty” and “eternal heavenly laws,” constitutes the harbinger of ancient Greek “natural law” thought. Its core lies in the supra-positive norms established by blood ethics and sacred traditions. The intense conf...

History 

This paper critically reviews Kato Yoko’s Why Did the Japanese Choose War, aiming to assess the book’s explanatory power and limitations from a social-psychological perspective. Through a close reading of Kato’s historical narrative and comparative analysis with existing scholarship (e.g., Maruyama Masao, Iriye Akira), this review argues that while Kato’s social-psychological approach offers a valuable new lens, it suffers from underdefined key concepts, insufficient critical engagement w...

History 

As a key military financial management body during the late Ming dynasty, the Dongjiang Rations Bureau’s administrative mechanisms hold significant importance for the study of the military financial system during the transition from the Ming to the Qing dynasty. By examining historical documents, this paper explores the background and reasons for the establishment of the Dongjiang Rations Bureau, as well as its organisational structure and evolution, with the aim of revealing the characteristics...

History 

This article explores the origin of the story of ancient Greek mathematician Thales transporting salt with mules. Through the investigation of Thales in historical works on mathematics, it was found that British historian of mathematics James Gow might first introduce this tale in A Short History of Greek Mathematics in 1884. Gow argued that the story originated from Plutarch or Aristotle, but such claims have not been accepted by Western historians of mathematics. American mathematician Howard ...

History  Pedagogy  History of Mathematics 

This paper provides a policy-oriented overview of the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) in China, examining it as a living carrier of national identity. While ICH is deeply rooted in China’s 5000-year civilization—encompassing everything from Kunqu Opera to traditional tea-making—it currently faces significant dilemmas, including inheritance breakage, shrinking cultural spaces, and the tension between preservation and economic development. Drawing on a narrative review of Chines...

History  Culture 

In the late Qing Dynasty, the 36 Weirs of Baishaxi Stream in Jinhua fell into frequent disputes. A particularly intense struggle for the water rights (legal or customary entitlements that determine how individuals or groups can access, use, and control water resources) of the Shanhe Weirs erupted between the Yin and Yu lineages downstream, turning local documents such as county gazetteers (xianzhi) and temple gazetteers (miaozhi) into a battlefield for power. The Yu lineage, whose water rights h...

History 

This study examines the historical and cultural significance of mushrooms within the ethnomedicinal practices of the Baganda of central Uganda, situating these practices within broader frameworks of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS), heritage studies, and the history of medicine in Africa. While mushrooms have long been valued in Buganda as sources of food, medicine, and spiritual meaning, their ethnomedicinal applications and historical evolution remain under-documented in formal scholarship. ...

History 

Hsi-sheng Chi’s 1976 English monograph *Warlord Politics in China, 1916-1928* was the first to systematically construct an analytical paradigm of “relation-culture” in the study of Beiyang warlord politics. This research broke away from the traditional class-based historical view and regarded the warlord group as a dynamically operating power balance system. Its core innovations lie in: 1) employing political science and sociological theories to deconstruct warlord factions, proposing three sust...

History 

The article is a description of theories of origin, migration and development of the Luo people’s governing system of kingdoms and chiefdoms in South Sudan and Eastern Africa. The narrative aims to highlight the traditional beliefs of the historical background which will be led by three questions: who are the Luo people, and where did they use to live? What caused their separation and migrations and where have they ended up today? What kind of governing system controls their affairs today? The a...

History  Anthropology  Culture