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- Language: Chinese
Description
Sacred apocalyptic texts claim to foretell coming events, warning the faithful of some terrible fate that lies beyond the present. Such texts often derive their power from successfully recasting past events in such a way as they appear to be "predicted" by the text and thus take on additional meanings beyond the superficial. This ex eventu status allows apocalyptic texts to increase the credibility of their future predictions and connect emotionally with the reader by playing on present fears. The fifth-century Daoist apocalyptic text, the Scripture on the Cycles of Heaven and Earth (Tiandi yundu jing, 天地運度經), is no exception. This thesis examines the apocalyptic markers in the poetic sections of the text, attempting to develop a strategy for separating the generic imagery (both to Chinese texts and the apocalyptic literary genre as a whole) from the more significant recoverable references to contemporary events such as the fall of the Jin dynasty and the subsequent founding of the Liu-Song dynasty.
ContributorsBussio, Jennifer Jean (Author) / Bokenkamp, Stephen (Thesis advisor) / Chen, Huaiyu (Committee member) / Cutter, Robert J (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
TWO POEMS OF THE SONG DYNASTY is an original composition for soprano voice and orchestra. The duration of this two-movement work is approximately 10 minutes. The instrumentation is: Flute 1, 2, Oboe 1, 2 (doubling English Horn), Clarinet in Bb 1-2, Bassoon 1-2, Trumpet in Bb 1-3, Horn in F 1 - 4, Tenor Trombone 1-2 , Bass Trombone, Tuba, Timpani, Vibraphone, Cymbals, Triangle and Strings. This piece is of moderate difficulty; to be sung in Chinese with elements of sprechstimme and a vocal range from C4 to A5. The two movements, "Sheng Sheng Man" and "Yong Yu Le" refer to old poetic forms from the Song Dynasty (1127-1279). The poets Li Qingzhao and Xin Qiji provide contrasting laments for the wars of their time; the first is an introverted metaphor of sorrow and the second is a more explicit recollection of old times.
ContributorsJiang, Yang, M.M (Composer) / DeMars, James (Thesis advisor) / Rodgers, Rodney (Committee member) / Levy, Benjamin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
Wu Yun (d. 778) was prominent poet at the Tang court. His biography of the Daoist ritualist Lu Xiujing (406-77) can be read on several levels. It functions as a source of information on Lu's life and works, but a reading focused on this alone is insufficient. Conventions of Chinese biography dictate the text is read not just with an eye towards who Lu "really was," but also how he functions as a character fashioned by an author for certain purposes. With this in mind, the reader can learn not just about Lu, but about the audience of the text and the aims of its author. Lu functioned as a model for later Daoist masters and as an exhortation to proper conduct towards them on the part of rulers and elites. Finally, with reference to the work of Michel Foucault and scholars of collective memory, this work can be read as a window onto the world of discourse in early medieval China.
ContributorsSwanger, Timothy (Author) / Bokenkamp, Stephen R. (Thesis advisor) / Aguilera, Miguel A. (Committee member) / West, Stephen H. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Biophysics, rockets, and the state: the making of a scientific discipline in twentieth-century China
Description
This study takes biophysics--a relatively new field with complex origins and contested definitions--as the research focus and investigates the history of disciplinary formation in twentieth-century China. The story of building a scientific discipline in modern China illustrates how a science specialty evolved from an ambiguous and amorphous field into a full-fledged academic discipline in specific socio-institutional contexts. It focuses on archival sources and historical writings concerning the constitution and definition of biophysics in order to examine the relationship between particular scientific styles, national priorities, and institutional opportunities in the People's Republic of China. It argues that Chinese biophysicists exhibited a different style of conceiving and organizing their discipline by adapting to the institutional structure and political economy that had been created since 1949. The eight chapters demonstrate that biophysics as a scientific discipline flourished in China only where priorities of science were congruent with political and institutional imperatives. Initially consisting of cell biologists, the Chinese biophysics community redirected their disciplinary priorities toward rocket science in the late 1950s to accommodate the national need of the time. Biophysicists who had worked on biological sounding rockets were drawn to the military sector and continued to contribute to human spaceflight in post-Mao China. Besides the rocket-and-space missions which provided the material context for biophysics to expand in the late 1950s and early 1960s, Chinese biophysicists also created research and educational programs surrounding biophysics by exploiting the institutional opportunities afforded by the policy emphasis on science's role to drive modernization. Biophysics' tie to nationalistic and utilitarian goals highlights the merits of approaching modern Chinese history from disciplinary, material, and institutional perspectives.
ContributorsLuk, Yi Lai Christine (Author) / Koblitz, Ann Hibner (Thesis advisor) / Maienschein, Jane A (Committee member) / Tillman, Hoyt C (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
Yuan Mei 袁枚 (1716-97) is often thought of as a rebellious figure within the eighteenth-century intellectual and literary landscape. His perceived rejection of nearly all aspects of Confucian values was so extreme that he was even dubbed a "sinner against the teachings of Confucius." This thesis examines six stories within Yuan Mei's Zi buyu 子不語 (What Confucius Did Not Talk About) and, through close reading, shows how Yuan Mei utilizes each foreign group's physical traits and their ability to verbally and/or ethically communicate with the Chinese protagonist, in order to reflect their adherence to Confucian values and acceptance of Chinese imperial authority to arrange them along a spectrum of humanness that reflects the Chinese-foreign distinction. Furthermore, by examining each story in their historical and literary contexts, it is discovered that nearly every foreign group portrayed in Zi buyu is based on historical groups that actually existed on the periphery of the Qing empire, and that the different degrees of foreignness of each subject reflect each historical foreign group's acquiescence to or rebellion against the imperial authority of the Qing empire. Contrary to commonly held opinions, Yuan Mei's negotiation of foreignness demonstrates his own deep subscription to Confucian ethics and adherence to imperial order.
ContributorsCampos, Miles (Author) / Ling, Xiaoqiao (Thesis advisor) / Oh, Young Kyun (Committee member) / West, Stephen H. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
The construction of the contemporary Taiwanese child and childhood has been under-researched. It is often understood solely in contrast to a Western context as a mysterious or even exotic existence. However, this understanding differs from what I discovered in my literary reviews, which reveal many similarities - not differences - with respect to the philosophical views of the child and childhood between the so-called "East" and "West." To gain a better understanding of the Taiwanese child and childhood, I chose the annual Taipei Children's Arts Festival (TCAF) as my main research subject and adopted grounded theory and dramatic analysis as my research methods to explore the following question: What are the representations of the Taiwanese child and childhood as reflected by the cultural artifacts of TCAF between 2000 and 2011? TCAF is the largest children's arts festival in Taiwan and theatre for young audiences (TYA) has been its main component. I therefore selected four award winning TCAF plays and their production videos as my main data. Additional data consists of forewords from the programs, which were written by mayors of Taipei City, commissioners of Taipei's Department of Cultural Affairs, and festival organizers. To provide context, I give a brief history of Taiwanese children's theatre before beginning the main analysis. My findings indicate a complex construction of the Taiwanese child and childhood. The central category states that Taiwanese children are constructed as adults' futures. This explains adults' desires to preserve children's positive qualities, and reflects adults' emphasis on learning and teaching, children's agency, and their happiness. Determining one central category/hypothesis proved to be difficult, due to the variety and complexity of my data. Missing categories include concepts of the unconscious child and children's relationships to religion, family, friendships, and gender issues. The distinctions between children and adults are both distinct and ambiguous. Although differences of the East/West binary exist, social constructions of the child and childhood become increasingly similar as the world becomes more fluid. My research highlights a variety of such elements. Future research is still needed, however, in order to broaden and deepen the understanding of the Taiwanese child and childhood.
ContributorsTsai, Yi-ren (Author) / Bedard, Roger (Thesis advisor) / Woodson, Stephani E (Committee member) / Underiner, Tamara (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
The aim of this study is to conduct the empirical tests on consumer's emotional responses of product design and the relationship between emotion and consumer's attitudinal loyalty to identify if there exists potential relationship links between these two factors together by following certain regulation. This study also seeks to compare Brand Loyalty of Apple products across two different cultures - China and US to see if there are any differences regarding their brand loyalty construction and expression. The emotional responses on product design were also studied in order to reveal potential emotional design issues between the two different cultures. Results of this study show that: (1) Brand loyalty strengthens a consumer's emotion bond with a targeted brand through its product carrier. Emotion is seen as a predictor for brand loyalty based on consumer proportionality and conformity of expression. (2) Cognitive experience is not necessary nor a sufficient condition to build brand loyalty. Emotion and culture will be crucial in constructing brand loyalty without cognition. Cultural differences will affect brand loyalty, especially regarding attitudinal loyalty. (3) Different cultures share different ways of emotional expression. Based on the scope, limitations, and results of this research, Chinese consumers appear to be more sensitive in their emotional feelings of the iPad's design than American consumers.
ContributorsQu, Yonghao (Author) / Takamura, John (Thesis advisor) / Shin, Dosun (Committee member) / Branaghan, Russell (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
The Vimalakirti Sutra is one of the classics of early Indian Mahayana Buddhism. The sutra narrates that Vimalakirti, an enlightened layman, once made it appear as if he were sick so that he could demonstrate the Law of Mahayana Buddhism to various figures coming to inquire about his illness. This dissertation studies representations of The Vimalakirti Sutra in Chinese painting from the fourth to the nineteenth centuries to explore how visualizations of the same text could vary in different periods of time in light of specific artistic, social and religious contexts. In this project, about forty artists who have been recorded representing the sutra in traditional Chinese art criticism and catalogues are identified and discussed in a single study for the first time. A parallel study of recorded paintings and some extant ones of the same period includes six aspects: text content represented, mode of representation, iconography, geographical location, format, and identity of the painter. This systematic examination reveals that two main representational modes have formed in the Six Dynasties period (220-589): depictions of the Great Layman as a single image created by Gu Kaizhi, and narrative illustrations of the sutra initiated by Yuan Qian and his teacher Lu Tanwei. The latter mode, which became more popular than the former in the Tang Dynasty (618-907), experienced adaptation from handscroll to panoramic mural. It is also during this period that a minor scenario, the Heavenly Maiden Scattering Flowers, became a necessary vignette for representation of the sutra. Since the Song Dynasty (960-1279), the Heavenly Maiden Scattering Flowers gradually became an independent theme. This author investigates the thematic shift caused by various factors. These include the transformation of later Chinese narrative painting and the prevalence of shinu hua 仕女畫, painting of beauties, in later Chinese painting. There is also a change in the role of the Heavenly Maiden from one of many maidens to the only and necessary partner of Vimalakirti. Ultimately, the image of the Heavenly Maiden evolves from a Buddhist heavenly being to a Daoist fairy and later to a symbol representing auspicious meanings.
ContributorsLiu, Chen (Author) / Brown, Claudia (Thesis advisor) / Chou, Ju-hsi (Committee member) / Wu, Jiang (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
In recent years, China and Japan have both experienced the serious challenge of handling some of the most destructive natural disasters in human history with the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake and the 2011 Fukushima incident. After careful examination of geological surveys and further evidence released in the aftermath, these two incidents can be regarded as man-made or technological disasters, which differentiate them from the multitude of natural disasters that have happened previously. Their unique causation also creates a need for separate analysis of the public reaction towards these disasters. Due to existing knowledge and communication gaps within the Chinese and Japanese governments, the official media reports of these disasters also hold many problems, such as a lack of clarity, consistency, and transparency caused by a shortage of investigative journalism. Japan, in particular, has grappled with the bias of "nuclear nationalism" since post-World War II. These issues and ideas can change public opinion drastically, which makes it necessary to evaluate the combined effects on the psychology of people trying to come to terms with these technological disasters and examine possible solutions for this problem.
ContributorsPaschke, Lauren Anne (Author) / Spring, Madeline (Thesis director) / Zhu, Jie (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description基于中国人口老龄化加速、目前人均医疗支出偏低和国内医疗器械企业以中低端产品
为主的局面，中国的医疗器械行业正面临着巨大的发展机遇，投融资活动将迎来爆发式增
长。 在此背景下， 医疗器械企业的估值研究对投融资双方都有较大的意义。
我们假设医疗器械公司的产品差异度对其公司的估值有正面影响。
产品差异度定义为：该产品区别于其他竞争性产品的独特性，由以下六个方面构成：
产品唯一性水平、先进性（器械类别、优秀国产医疗设备个数、产品的专利化程度）、利润
边际和其市场容量，并对此用 12 个指标做出了定量的估计。本研究主要的数据来源是上市
的医疗器械公司，因为这些公司的相关数据取得比较容易且数据客观性较强。我们使用一
般回归分析测量产品差异度与公司估值之间的关系。在得出正面的回归结果之后， 我们采
用双重差分分析（DID）方法，验证实际情形下新产品相关信息发布对公司股价波动的影响。
根据回归分析结果：
1、 “产生营收的产品唯一性水平”和“边际利润”与市值有显著相关性: 说明医疗器械
类企业确实是核心产品驱动发展的， 产品唯一性程度高（已剔除那些已逐渐被市场淘汰的
产品） 说明市场定价能力强， 边际利润率高，盈利能力强， 进而对公司估值形成正面影
响。
2、 “”净利润“和”“互联网概念”与市值也呈现显著相关性。净利润的相关性是显而易见
的。互联网概念的相关性体现了互联网+医疗成为近几年市场的风口。
iv
3、 其他一些指标未呈现明显的相关性，有可能是因为我们的数据量太少引起的， 也
有可能还有其他未在我们考虑范围内的因素导致的，也可能是因为中国目前的股票市场还
未到达半强式有效市场。这可能对其他行业的影响也是如此。
在后面进行的实证分析中， 除个别情况外，我们发现公司重磅新产品相关信息的发布
基本上对公司之后 1-30 个交易日的股价起到了较明显的推动作用。
关键词: 产品差异度 医疗器械行业 公司估值
为主的局面，中国的医疗器械行业正面临着巨大的发展机遇，投融资活动将迎来爆发式增
长。 在此背景下， 医疗器械企业的估值研究对投融资双方都有较大的意义。
我们假设医疗器械公司的产品差异度对其公司的估值有正面影响。
产品差异度定义为：该产品区别于其他竞争性产品的独特性，由以下六个方面构成：
产品唯一性水平、先进性（器械类别、优秀国产医疗设备个数、产品的专利化程度）、利润
边际和其市场容量，并对此用 12 个指标做出了定量的估计。本研究主要的数据来源是上市
的医疗器械公司，因为这些公司的相关数据取得比较容易且数据客观性较强。我们使用一
般回归分析测量产品差异度与公司估值之间的关系。在得出正面的回归结果之后， 我们采
用双重差分分析（DID）方法，验证实际情形下新产品相关信息发布对公司股价波动的影响。
根据回归分析结果：
1、 “产生营收的产品唯一性水平”和“边际利润”与市值有显著相关性: 说明医疗器械
类企业确实是核心产品驱动发展的， 产品唯一性程度高（已剔除那些已逐渐被市场淘汰的
产品） 说明市场定价能力强， 边际利润率高，盈利能力强， 进而对公司估值形成正面影
响。
2、 “”净利润“和”“互联网概念”与市值也呈现显著相关性。净利润的相关性是显而易见
的。互联网概念的相关性体现了互联网+医疗成为近几年市场的风口。
iv
3、 其他一些指标未呈现明显的相关性，有可能是因为我们的数据量太少引起的， 也
有可能还有其他未在我们考虑范围内的因素导致的，也可能是因为中国目前的股票市场还
未到达半强式有效市场。这可能对其他行业的影响也是如此。
在后面进行的实证分析中， 除个别情况外，我们发现公司重磅新产品相关信息的发布
基本上对公司之后 1-30 个交易日的股价起到了较明显的推动作用。
关键词: 产品差异度 医疗器械行业 公司估值
ContributorsShen, Huifeng (Author) / Chen, Pei-Yu (Thesis advisor) / Wang, Tan (Thesis advisor) / Jiang, Zhan (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018