Traditional Chinese historical geography is closely related to yange dili. Concepts relating to man-land relations are the underlying theories. The Yugong Society played a key role in the transformation of the Chinese historical geography from yange dili to modern historical geography. In the second half of the twentieth century, Chinese historical geographers made substantial contributions. Two main themes are the geographical change through time and the reconstruction of past geographies. Major research topics include changes of national territories and administrative divisions, changes of physical environments, urban geography, population, agricultural geography, social and cultural aspects, general and regional geographies, historical cartographics, and other aspects. Chinese historical geography is indigenous, but with western influence. Nevertheless, the Chinese historical geography is still very much descriptive and lags behind the west in theoretical research. Most Chinese historical geographers are originally trained historians. Hence they are more interested in studies of changes through time than in researches of spatial variations. Chinese historical geography is maturing as a respected field of study.
In this chapter, the authors present scholarly yet practical comparisons of the perspectives of creativity in several Asian countries and territories from the viewpoints of scholars from those areas: China, Hong Kong/Macau, Japan, Malaysia and South Korea. The scholars considered each place's views of creativity in responding to the following questions: (a) "What is creativity and/or the public's perception of creativity?" (b) "In which field is creativity valued?" (c) "What do people see as characteristics of creative people?" and (d) "What is the place for creativity in education?" which includes the subquestions: What assessments are used to measure creativity? Is there any official government agency that promotes creativity? What methods are used to encourage creativity? These conceptualisations were balanced by understanding current research and literature on creativity, assessing commonalities, and differences in the views and drawing upon cultural influences on those views.
Ch'ing China's salt supply was widely dispersed, although more than four-fifths of the salt produced came from the seacoast. There were six sources of salt: seawater, salt lakes, brine wells, saline rock, gypsum mines and salty earth. Boiling and solar evaporation were the major production methods. The simplicity of the boiling method favored its wide use. Nevertheless, the solar evaporation eventually took the place of the boiling method, as fuels became scarcer in most saltproducing areas. A better natural resource base stimulated the production of salt along the North China seacoast to a greater extent than elsewhere in the nation. The increasing trend of salt production paralleled China's population growth. Geographical changes in salt production also reflected regional differences in this growth.
As a daily necessity for human life and also as a taxed commodity, salt has played an important part in the economic and political development of China. As salt is used regularly by all people, its annual consumption is largely predictable so that a tax on salt, as a disguised poll tax, provided the government with a reliable source of revenue. For this reason, it has drawn the special attention of statesmen and financiers throughout China's history. In terms of economic magnitude, the business of the production and marketing of salt was a major industry in agrarian China for centuries and the largest single economic undertaking in Ch'ing China (1644–1911). Control of salt and its financial gains frequently became the immediate objectives of revolutionaries, rebels, brigands, and other organized malcontents in China. The sources of salt supply in Ch'ing China were widespread. Several distinctive methods of production were employed in different areas. The distribution of salt involved all types of transportation available in traditional China. Its flow was well geared to the national, regional and local trade. This paper reconstructs the salt trade in Ch'ing China in its geographical context. It stresses five aspects: centers of production, state control, trade networks, means of transportation, and spatial structure of market areas.
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