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This paper is designed to place technical knowledge within a context of less technical ideas. Shen Gua (1031–1095), a literatus and statesman who lived under the Northern Song (960–1127), possessed a strong interest in technical knowledge. In examining the category "Particular Skills" (jiyi) Shen Gua coined in his famed work Brush Talks by Dream Brook, my aim is to demonstrate that Shen Gua's interest in technical knowledge was an integral part of his intellectual enterprise. His perspective and methods in acquiring the skills of particular kinds reveal his intellectual predilections as a literatus, whose livelihood and social status depended on his production of knowledge in written form.
Chinese cultural elites are well known for a certain amateur ideal, distancing themselves from specialist norms of technical excellence. Less well known are the ways in which technical skills were folded into, disputed, and acknowledged in relation to mainstream cultural pursuits. Among Song literati, Shen Gua, a scholar steeped in Confucian education, distinguished himself by showing an insider's familiarity with technical knowledge. In the present paper, I intend to discuss how such an interest was grounded in and enlivened by Shen's cultural pursuits.
My departure point lies in a category: the "Particular Skills" (jiyi 技藝) in Shen's famed work Brush Talks from Dream Brook (Mengxi bitan 夢溪筆談, hereafter Brush Talks). Brush Talks is a collection of jottings encompassing an encyclopedic range of topics; the entries are organized in 17 sections, each of which is preceded by a categorical label. Jiyi is the tenth category in this arrangement. Shen Gua assembled a diverse set of skills under the term jiyi, including architectural arts, chess strategies, mathematical methods, woodworking, and medicinal techniques. For each skill, Shen Gua composed a brief written description. These accounts, taken together, constituted a recognizable, effective textual presentation of the skills.
The matters treated in "Particular Skills" are curiously diverse, and the taxonomic boundary appears to be almost ineffable. My aim in this paper is to ferret out the hidden consistency that makes "particular skills" a viable category. Instead of a generally recognized category of knowledge, Shen's jottings describe his thinking—to be specific, his perspective and methods in acquiring skills of particular kinds as a maker of written knowledge.1 This complex thinking process involved collecting data from practice and observation, ordering technical details in meaningful sequences, tackling causal relations in terms of efficacy, excluding nonessential information (irrelevant events, biographical data, social bias, and so on), and, eventually, reporting effectively and analytically in clear language.
1 Shen Gua and
Brush Talks
Before the plunge, let me make a brief detour to present an outline of Shen Gua's life and of his widely known work, Brush Talks. Shen led the life of a peripatetic learner. He served the Northern Song for three decades, never ceasing to apply his voracious intellect to a wide range of fields. Upon retiring, he composed Brush Talks from Dream Brook, a record of the heterogeneous knowledge he had acquired over a lifetime of study.
To modern readers, Shen is best known for his extraordinary erudition in a wide range of intellectual endeavors, including literary composition, Confucian classics, astronomy, mathematics, cartography, physics, music, hydraulic engineering, architecture, art criticism, and geology. On the one hand, this scholar personifies the cultural erudition of centuries of mainstream Confucian scholars; on the other hand, he represents a singular moment in Chinese intellectual history, when "know-how" practical thinking based on critical experiential inquiries attached itself to the rock of Confucian classical scholarship. Shen combined these heretofore contesting intellectual impulses, producing a coherent epistemology.
Despite his novel achievement, Shen Gua remains both over- and under-researched. For many historians, he is less a historical figure than a fanciful idea—aperson advancing modern science in middle-period China. Since early last century, a voluminous scholarship has been devoted to identifying Shen's "scientific" contributions but has barely provided a sense of coherence in understanding his life.2 Discussions of his thought have remained more or less isolated from major themes in Chinese intellectual history.
I intend to explicate some of Shen Gua's ideas in the context of his own times. He emerged during a transition in Chinese history. The eleventh century was characterized by a revival of Confucian learning and classical values. Literati, as a self-conscious group, succeeded the aristocracy as the sociopolitical elite. The open-mindedness of the day and the generous imperial patronage fostered competition among the literati interested in statecraft-oriented philosophical systems. Wang Anshi (1021–1086), Sima Guang (1019–1086), and Zhang Zai (1020–1077), thinkers who changed the course of intellectual history for the next centuries, drew together a constellation of ideas which radiated power and consequence.3 Shen's epistemology, a vigorous, inventive line of thinking, was rooted in the same soil.
Shen Gua led the typical life of a high-ranking bureaucrat.4 Born into an established elite lineage in Qiantang (modern Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province), he initiated his bureaucratic career directly under the influence of his father. In 1054, Shen received his first official appointment, registrar of Shuyang (in modern Jiangsu) county, through yin privilege because of his father's death. After securing his jinshi degree in the palace examination of 1063, Shen was recruited by Wang Anshi and played a part in the important reform known as the "New Policies" (1069–1085).
During this period, Shen was involved mostly in technical projects and creative designs in support of the New Policies. His work on astronomical instruments, state rituals, and hydraulics elicited praise from both Wang and the emperor, who appreciated Shen's unusual analytical mind and excellent common sense. In 1075 he was appointed fiscal grand councilor—the peak of his career.
A decade of engagement in technical projects fostered Shen's appreciation of creative material labor. Compared with other literati, he paid more attention to those who worked with their hands, not only because of an intellectual interest in understanding such work, but also due to his experiences working directly with court artisans. In an early piece on ritual music, for instance, Shen argued that the ancient world of the sages, filled with magnificent objects, would not have been possible without the participation of artisans and other commoners. As literati of his own time called for the restoration of the perfect ancient order, they should, Shen emphasized, not only revive "the regulatory systems (fa 法) of antiquity" in the sociopolitical realm, they should also attend to the material forms—"technology, implements, sizes, dimensions, and the colors black, yellow, blue, and red"—which were indispensable constituents of a perfect world (Shen 1896b: 19:7a).
Shen's penchant to frame material labor in a sociopolitical context stemmed directly from his vision as a Confucian scholar and his experience as a bureaucrat. He endorsed intelligent craftsmanship, appreciating its social value according to the model presented in a number of Confucian classics. In The Rites of the Zhou (Zhou li), for instance, artisans were regarded as one of the six major social groups in the operations of the state. The responsibility of them was to explore natural materials and develop designs based on their specific properties.5
At the same time, Shen discoursed on creative material labor to make sense of the administrative and technical drudgery he had slogged through. Self-consciously, he developed an intellectual persona that featured both cultural virtuosity and technical expertise. The credentials he presented—literary skills, classical erudition, administrative competence, and specialized skills in a number of fields—met Wang Anshi's expectations for a capable official.6 To use language a bit closer to his own, though emphatically a literatus known for cultural virtuosity (wen), he also possessed the expertise of an administrator (li) and the ingenuity of an artisan (gong).7 For instance, in an essay celebrating the opening of a new prefectural school in Hangzhou, Shen Gua presented the complementary roles that administrators and artisans might assume: "The artisans realized the exquisiteness; the administrators ensured the appropriateness. Addressing both the enormous and the diminutive, the twists and turns, they worked together to make the regulatory systems function perfectly" (Shen 1896d: 24:6a).
For Shen, reconstructing the ideal society required all three parties: visionary virtuosi who could decipher the classics, administrators with practical expertise and prudence in overseeing the projects, and artisans adept at bringing designs to realization. Shen saw intellectual possibilities in the work of li and gong, constitutive qualities that a mainstream cultural visionary could incorporate into his identity without worrying that he might degrade his mind.
Despite all his achievements in the political arena during the 1060s and the 1070s, Shen Gua failed to hang on to his position during the turbulent years of the controversial reform. Due to factional struggles, he received a series of demotions just after reaching the high point of his career. In the last decade of his life, Shen composed Brush Talks while living in seclusion by Dream Brook.
For any study of Shen Gua, Brush Talks is of paramount significance. It is a collection of jottings covering a wide range of topics, mostly drawn from Shen's recollections and personal observations. For many scholars, this text is the means to understanding its author, an explanation of why he matters at all. His legendary erudition is to a large extent constructed from a selective reading of Brush Talks, assigning many of the collected items to modern scientific categories.8 Even as the book has become a subject of intensive scholarly interest, it has been thoroughly misread.
Brush Talks is significant, but it is not the only key to unlocking Shen's life, nor does it represent Shen's attempt to demonstrate his intellectual versatility. It is not a systematic piece of work. By presenting the text as a chat between himself and the brush with which he wrote, Shen implied that the composition was a process of working with memories (Shen 1963: 19). As the materials first came to his mind (perhaps with the aid of previous written notes), they would be sporadic and inconsistent rather than organized or systematical. In other words, Shen allowed for a certain degree of randomness in choosing his materials. Also, earlier in his life, Shen composed a number of monographs on Confucian classics, court rituals, music, cartography, diplomatic missions to the border state, calendars, and medicine. Bearing in mind the completion date of Brush Talks, it should be viewed as an assemblage of sequels to his other works.9 Sequels, not reiterations—he intentionally avoided repeating himself. Brush Talks, therefore, conveys a piecemeal approach to experiential learning, not a portrait of a polymath.
Jiyi: A Strangely Diverse Category
One conspicuous feature of Brush Talks is its organization by categories. In its earliest surviving form (a xylograph made by a schoolteacher in 1166), the text contains 594 entries in total, which are organized into 17 categories and 26 chapters.10 As shown in Appendix A, this is not significantly different from the current arrangement in the modern standard edition.11
At first sight, jiyi (the tenth category in both the early edition and the modern) may seem absurdly vague; unlike many other categories, it does not seem to have a stable taxonomic boundary. It encompasses 20 entries—in the arrangement of the current version of Brush Talks, items 299 to 318.12 Subjects treated range from architecture (299, 312) to calligraphy (316, 317), woodworking (303), mathematics (300, 301, 304, 306), chess strategies (302, 305, 310), printing technology (307), calendrical methods (308), medical procedures (309, 313, 314, 315, 318), and prognostication techniques (311). This range shows that Shen Gua grouped cerebral labor (mathematical skills, chess strategies, and so on) with manual labor (woodworking, architecture, and so forth).
The entries on cerebral labor have long been cited in the historiography of Chinese science. Shen included a number of innovative mathematical methods, such as a method for measuring circles and a method for calculating volume with interstices (entry 301). On a par with the conceptual activities, Shen Gua indiscriminately presented the skills in manual labor in the form of written knowledge, so that in the jiyi category a definitional distinction between cerebral and manual skills was nullified.
Some comparisons show that the content and diversity of Shen's jiyi category were unconventional during his time. The term jiyi, a generic designation of skills in general, is a commonly seen word. Categories labeled with jiyi or its variants also occur in contemporaneous writings, but they tend to have a different feeling. For instance, in Taiping guangji (Comprehensive Records Compiled in the Taiping xingguo Era), an imperially prescribed collectanea compiled in the late tenth century, the term jiqiao 伎巧 (clever skills, a synonym of jiyi) leads the section on extraordinary, clever skills (Li et al. 1961). Most of the skills discussed belong to "architectural arts" and "mechanical designs." Moreover, many of them are not the explicable type of clever architectural or mechanical skills seen in Shen Gua's book, but singular, uncanny, and frequently unfathomable practices. Shen's jiyi is far broader than Taiping guangji's jiqiao.
Jiyi is also peculiar inside Brush Talks in terms of its relation to other conceptual groupings. Some of the topics that turn up in this section are treated elsewhere in the book: Medicine, calligraphy, and painting, for example, are treated in individual sections. The overlap has led some scholars to suspect that these entries were mistakenly attributed to the jiyi category and should be moved (Zhang 1973: 2:31a–32b). I disagree. Shifting the relevant items (such as at least seven entries on medicine and calligraphy) would reduce the total number of entries in the section to 13 at most, making it tiny when compared with the other sections. Plus, as I explain in Appendix B, some circumstantial evidence from other texts supports the current arrangement, which probably reflects Shen's original design.
This means that an explanation is needed. What thread provides the consistency for the jiyi section? Such consistency is not determined by taxonomic groupings but rather by other forms of thought. As Daiwie Fu (2002) pointed out, the consistency in this category lies in the urge of the practitioner to pursue certain skills to their limits. With Shen Gua, the crucial decision is to look at his epistemological stance.
I argue that Shen's perspective, as well as his methods in pursuing the particular skills, amount to the adhesive that makes jiyi a viable category. This conceptual grouping is an analytical construct that came into existence as Shen acquired the skills and translated them into written knowledge. As I will argue in the next section, the category was less a matter of providing clear spaces for codified knowledge than they were of a place where Shen Gua exercised certain thinking processes.
3 Epistemological Categories in
Brush Talks
Why did Shen Gua coin a category as peculiar as jiyi? How can we justify its singularity as well as its unusual consistency? Does the same justification also apply to all the other section headings in Brush Talks? The categories in Brush Talks are not the result of a taxonomy determined by conventional classification principles; they are epistemological categories shaped by Shen's personal beliefs and epistemological stance. In order to clarify the correlation and distinction between them, a discussion of the nature of epistemological categories in Brush Talks is in order.13
The practice of classifying knowledge became highly visible along with the proliferation of leishu 類書 (collectanea of categorized knowledge) that began in the Six Dynasties. Similar to modern encyclopedias, collectanea were divided into taxonomic categories so that fields of knowledge could be presented in a highly rational fashion. Trawling through all sorts of available texts, compilers divided these materials into voluminous categories, creating encyclopedic reference works, leishu.14 Large-scale, state-commissioned leishu usually encompassed a wide range of categories intended to cover "all knowledge." For instance, the colossal Taiping yulan 太平御覽 (The Imperial Collectanea of the Taiping xingguo Era), which was compiled between 977 and 982, featured 55 categories and 5,474 subcategories (Li et al. 1968). The system of categories reveals the ideal of providing an inventory of the known universe: from the realm of heaven and earth to the human world, from the imperial house to the bureaucracy, from the military to rituals, from belles-lettres to legal codes, from religions to numerology, from diseases to practical instruments, from clothing to food, from animals to plants, and so on and so forth (Guo 1967, 17–25). Each category was one constituent of the universe.
Middle-period literati—the writers and readers of leishu—soon extended the practice of classifying knowledge beyond the realm of leishu. Categories of classified knowledge became a framing device across different genres of text. In anthologies of literary writings, compilers arranged poems and rhymed-prose essays thematically according to their subjects; themes in the form of classified knowledge were adopted, in addition to the more traditional rhymes, formats, and dates, as new stuff of the compilers' organizing philosophy (Zhang 2008). For instance, after some refashioning by Northern Song literati, the works of the famed Tang poet Du Fu 杜甫 (712–770) were re-arranged under the headings of moon, star, flower, grass, bamboo, among 68 other categories (Du 1967).
Another major group of texts permeated by the classificatory approach was biji (jottings), a literary genre that flourished in the Song. Roughly speaking, a biji is a hodgepodge of brief anecdotes, comments, descriptions, and analyses jotted down with no attempt to include transitions, links, or overall theses. Sometimes translated as "notes,""pen notes," or "notebook literature," biji represents a large body of texts produced over a long time, from the fifth century to the end of the nineteenth. Due to its multifarious content and lack of stable structure, biji remains a nebulous category; whether it constitutes a genre is moot (Bol 1995: 123–28). Motivated by different interests and questions, modern scholars have tended to define the nature of biji from certain angles rather than an integrated prospective.15
Some biji texts concentrate on single subjects, such as historical anecdotes, calligraphy, stones, or plants, to name only a few. Others encompass knowledge in multiple fields. Authors of such multifarious-content biji tended to organize the texts into categories, borrowing from leishu a taxonomic structure, down to the specific terms employed by the encyclopedic compilers.
Among the most famous Song biji is Brush Talks. Its categorical organization can hardly be overlooked, as shown in Table 1. The 17 categories, presumably assigned by Shen himself, have remained unchanged since the earliest surviving edition, that of 1166.16
There is, however, a significant difference apt to be overlooked between the categories found in Brush Talks and their counterparts in contemporaneous leishu. The taxonomic categories in leishu functioned as a control device to chart boundaries in existing knowledge; they were determined by the conventional rules of classification. The ultimate goal of a state-commissioned leishu, such as Taiping yulan, was the domestication of everything under heaven and the creation of a harmonious cosmic order. In order to achieve the goal, not only did the leishu compilers have to collect materials comprehensively, but they also needed to create an all-inclusive categorical framework. In this context, each category held a determinative taxonomic place for a group of things in the universe. The classificatory boundary was stable and the taxonomic criterion clear, for the categories represented order. Besides, the emperors' agenda to commission leishu compilations added a political aspect to the role of categories as control device. In the case of Taiping yulan, for instance, the ideological message was clear: creation of such a collectanea would bring a sense of unification to the newly found Song empire. Its categorical structure provided a standardized framework of perceiving the world for emperors, officials, and later on examination candidates, the talent pool of social elite.17
Of special note, leishu compilers were not concerned about the production of new knowledge: Their primary task was the organization of existing knowledge. Copy-and-paste was known as the conventional strategy of them (Haeger 1968: 450). The state-commissioned leishu, hence, were not original scholarly work. Viewed from this perspective, Shen Gua and Brush Talks were completely different. Comprehensive coverage was not his goal. Shen Gua included nothing but his own work in this text. He engaged with his materials more deeply than most leishu compilers: Not only did he offer many new insights, he also crafted every entry on his own without cutting-and-pasting from earlier texts. Shen was primarily concerned with production of new knowledge.
For a maker of new knowledge like Shen, categories resemble a control device less than they do a support apparatus. As Shen started composing the first entry, he embarked upon a relatively random journey in the edifice of his personal knowledge; signposts, therefore, were necessary to maintain stable working procedures. For this purpose, he might have arranged a series of folders, each labeled with a categorical term. As he finished a jotting, he would place it into the corresponding folder. The folders kept him from losing himself as he thought and wrote. On the day he finished, he had 17 folders lying out on his desk, in each of which clusters of jottings aggregated.
It was Shen Gua's own forms of thought, rather than conventional classifications, that these categories made manifest. Not only the subject matters treated were limited to his personal knowledge, but also, Shen's own methods of acquiring the knowledge played a decisive role in shaping these categories. Ways of obtaining knowledge was perhaps not an essential concern to leishu compilers in coining a categorical section, for they were not engaged in producing the knowledge themselves, but to Shen, it had a special salience. For instance, in the bianzheng (Identification and Proof) section, Shen Gua applied the approach of critical evidential inquiry to making sense of heterogeneous knowledge. Jiyi, is another example, where Shen Gua grouped together a set of inquiries not quite according to their subject matters, but rather according to the epistemological commonalities he noted in pursuing them.
4 Producing Written Knowledge in
In what sense does "the production of written knowledge of jiyi" constitute a stable analytical category? As a producer of written knowledge, Shen Gua's acquisition of skills is a complex practice enacted in thinking processes that consistently recur. Among the processes are the collection of observational data, selection of details, ordering of steps, analysis of causality, elimination of unrelated information, and write-up. Despite the heterogeneity of the skills, these practices linger beneath the textual surface as repeated themes, which invoke the epistemological commonalities that lead to the integration of jiyi.
Shen's ability to produce written knowledge of jiyi depended on at least three factors. Like other literati, he knew how to write, and his livelihood and social status depended on his production of knowledge in written form. He also possessed knowledge of certain skills; he wrote about such topics both in specialized technical monographs and, somewhat surprisingly, in Brush Talks, which is dominated by matters of general interest to a literati audience. Last but certainly not least, he wrote lucidly and precisely: even modern readers find his technical accounts quite clear.18
While I have been continuously enlightened by the new developments in this field, in my project, both canonical and sociological views of scientific language provide useful insights. I am not dealing with a bona fide piece of scientific writing, nor in the context of modern science; most subjects of dispute between the two sides are of little relevance to my argument. The normative/canonical paradigm provides me with convenient markers to tackle the consilience between Shen Gua's writing and modern scientific writing, and the sociological models keep me aware of the existence of an inescapable rhetorical artifactuality.
The uniqueness of this intellectual endeavor is only fully revealed when we compared it to others. Most writers of the day avoided deep engagement with technical activities. Even the minority who were interested did not often set their ideas down in written form. A small number of them left behind technical writings, which have become important sources for modern historical studies. Not all of these authors clearly communicated their ideas in writing to readers (including minds educated by modern science).19 Research of pre-modern texts attests to the existence of such difficulties. Even those literati who were interested in technical knowledge and in the mean time concerned with clarity in presentation sometimes allowed their political, philosophical, or esthetic biases to intrude into their written accounts—Su Shi (1037–1101), is one such example. 20 This made it harder to grasp the subjects they addressed.
Hence, the acquisition of technical knowledge and creation of recognizable written reporting undoubtedly represents the result of thinking. In technical activities of any kind, writing about the activities differs in significant ways from performing these activities (Myers 1990). Such a difference to a large extent determines that a maker of written knowledge would adopt a perspective and methods of acquisition distinct from a practitioner who was not concerned with textual knowledge and textualization.
Shen Gua's entry on movable-type printing (item 307, Shen 1963: 178-79), for instance, reveals his unique thinking processes. 21 As Shen wrote, first, the printer cut characters in sticky clay to form individual type pieces. Next, the pieces were baked in fire to become hardened. In the meantime, the technician prepared an iron plate covered with a mixture of pine resin, wax, and paper ashes. Then, the technician placed a frame on the plate and set in the type pieces one by one. Once the frame was filled, the entire thing was placed close to the fire in order to soften the paste on the iron plate. The printer then pressed a smooth wooden board to even out the surface of the block. Usually, two plates were simultaneously in use: While paper impressions were made from one, type was being placed in the other. Thus, by the time the printing of the first plate was finished, the second plate would be ready. Duplicate type pieces were prepared for commonly used characters. After printing was finished, the block was again baked near the fire to allow the paste to melt and then cleaned by hand, so the type pieces fell off easily and could be reused.
Now, let's look beyond the text and make an informed guess about how Shen produced this piece of writing. First, Shen, a literatus who presumably had no previous knowledge of the technical aspects of movable-type printing must have observed Bi Sheng (ca. 970–1051), the inventor of this new technology, as he worked. Shen was aware that Bi was a commoner, but he was not distracted by the class distinction.
Shen needed to gather visual information through his deliberate observation of Bi's performance. What he attained was raw visual data—the casting of clay types, the cutting of characters, the mixing of pine resin with wax and ashes, the placing of the frames close to the fire, and so on. Shen was no doubt greatly intrigued by the process. He observed carefully and reflected upon what he saw in order to understand how each discrete operation was performed, what purpose they served, and how one operation connected with another. Shen selected what he considered essential operations. He left those he saw as irrelevant acts out of the picture: For instance, he might have observed that Bi Sheng poked the sticks of burning wood before baking the types or that Bi spent some time in adjusting the types so that the lines of print would be straight and not dance up and down on the page. He might, too, have witnessed trials and errors, such as production of a wrong-sized type, but he decided that they were not significant in presenting the most efficient process. Shen then arranged the chosen operations in a certain order.
Eventually, Shen was ready to convert this mental sequence into textual form. Shen was not in the same position as Bi, who could present the technique with physical demonstration and perhaps a few spoken instructions. For Shen's purpose, a lot more different work was needed to be done. Shen identified the relevant components of the printing apparatus, describing them with telling modifiers: a piece of fired-clay type (as thin as the rim of a coin), a plate (made of iron), a wooden board (with a smooth surface), among other objects. Shen also chose appropriate verbs, such as to cast (clay types), to cut (characters), to mix up (pine resin, wax, and paper ashes), to put (the frame) close to (fire), so as to translate the physical operations into comprehensible textual form. Afterward, he arranged the operations sequentially, so that the reader would be able to understand them as interconnected and related in time.
In addition, he repeatedly alerted readers to special tips for increasing efficiency. Pressing the frame with a smooth board would make the block surface even and thus improve the quality of the final print. Also, Shen recommended the simultaneous preparation of two printing plates. He explained why the types should not be made of wood. Because wood might be of fine or coarse texture, wooden types tended to absorb too much moisture; moreover, they tended to stick in the paste and so were not easily reused.
As shown above, Shen Gua was not a passive spectator; on the contrary, his active engagement allowed him to obtain the knowledge on movable-type printing. Understanding and reporting on this process was in effect a coherent endeavor to construct a sequence of steps in textual form. From this perspective, writing about movable-type printing was rather similar to writing about mathematical operations. In entry 304, Shen wrote about the calculation of a large number, 3361, which also required the translation of certain mental steps into textual form (Shen 1963: 181–82).22 In both the entry about printing and that about mathematics, he employed identical strategies. In both cases, he began by reflecting on the practice, then assigned definitions, drew up sequential paths, and asserted causality to a physical or mental operation.
Shen Gua's perspective in approaching the skills is greatly affected by his concern with causality. This is particularly revealed in his analyses of single operations in the jiyi section. These accounts are largely products of Shen Gua's causal reasoning. Instead of introducing a process from beginning to end, Shen focused on analyzing the principles behind single technical acts. In entry 303, for instance, he offered three tips for making an archery set (Shen 1963: 181; see also Umehara 1979: 174–76). To craft such an account, he drew on the experience of his older brother, Shen Pi (dates unknown), a skillful archer reported to have made his own equipment. This set, according to Shen Gua, was superior for a number of reasons: The bow was light, durable, strong, and easy to draw; the bowstring was durable, and its strength did not decrease over time, nor was it much affected by weather changes; the sound produced by releasing the bowstring was clear and resonant; and the bow held steady when the string was drawn.
After establishing the criteria for a proper archery set, Shen proceeded to describe three methods to satisfy them: making a durable bowstring, determining the best grip proportion, and coating the strings with the appropriate amount of glue.
He provided a two-step recipe for making a good bowstring. If the appropriate material, cow tendon, was dried in the sun and then soaked in glue, it would become tough, resistant to stretching. Before attaching the string to the bow, Shen wrote, the bow was to be bent against its natural curvature, permitting it to shoot further. As to the grip, Shen explained why it had to be made to his specifications: If it was too short, the bow would be easy to draw but weak; if it was too long, the bow would be strong yet very hard to draw. As to the use of glue, he suggested that it be applied thinly, because it was more vulnerable to the effects of weather than was cow tendon. A bowstring coated with only a thin coat of glue would last longer than one with a thick coat.
From the preceding example, it seems that causal analysis played a large role in Shen Gua's writing. Indeed, the identification of causal relations between a process and a product may have inspired him to take up his brush in the first place. Such analysis justifies the efficacy of certain operations as well as their sequential organization. Shen's obsessive inquiries into the why and how, whether he was looking at the making of a robust archery bow or at the calculation of large numbers, ran through the diverse activities he recorded.
Although to modern observers such causal analysis may seem straightforward and sometimes self-evident, we should not assume that the practitioners all reflected on such issues. Many practical workmen took the work as an end in itself, failing to grasp the etiology. For some of them, to implement a skill meant simply following an established practice: They repeated procedures as they had been taught, rather than questioning why or how a particular procedure worked.
Shen Gua's inclination to reflect upon skills and to probe the causality separated him from common practitioners. At several places in Brush Talks, both in the jiyi section and elsewhere, Shen mentioned his conversations with artisans, physicians, and court musicians. Eager to understand "why we should do this" in addition to "how we should do this," Shen Gua pressed the practitioners on their reasoning, but often he was disappointed.
For example, in entry 314, Shen discussed a seeming contradiction between two medical prescriptions associated with powdered stalactite (zhongru) and an herb called shu—what we now know as Cirsium spicatum (Shen 1963: 187). The first prescription used shu to cancel out the effects of the stalactite powder. According to the logic of this particular prescription, these two ingredients could not be used simultaneously: The net effect would be nil. The second prescription included shu as a component in a composite toxin called "five stone powder" (wu shi san), which also contained stalactite powder. In the face of this apparent contradiction, Shen Gua consulted some "experienced physicians" (lao yi), but none of them could offer an explanation. Eventually, he propounded his own hypothesis: In the second prescription, the herb functioned as a catalyst to activate the five types of stone powder, which were too condensed to work on their own. If a physician wished to use efficacious techniques, Shen wrote, he should resort to reflective thinking rather than blindly relying upon established recipes.
Many skills are a combination of technical knowledge and the ability to execute such knowledge; the latter is sometimes involved with bodily practices and thus rendered as a "tacit" aspect of skills.23 In a few cases, Shen encountered the problem of tacit knowledge and apparently accepted that it could not be adequately recorded in written form. For instance, in his entry on the blind calendrical expert Wei Pu (fl. 1070), Shen provided only a descriptive account of Wei's extraordinary ability to memorize data and use counting rods, without offering any verbal analysis (Shen 1963: 185).
In addition to data processing, step sequencing, and casual reasoning, the production of concise writings on skills also requires the elimination of extraneous information. In most of his writings about jiyi, Shen Gua kept social factors in background. Although he may not have been concerned with class distinctions when he was busy jotting down his technical insights, the written knowledge he produced (especially his entries on manual labor) offers historians valuable information.
Shen indiscriminately treated the practices of elites and nonelites as subject matters of written knowledge, unconsciously setting literati and artisans on a par. At least in terms of practical techniques, the two occupational categories were equal. Shen showed a sympathetic appreciation of original, clever skills and a connoisseur's sensibility in collecting them. In his records, each skill was a piece of original work bearing the name of its practitioners. A number of commoners appear in his records with full credit. From a historical perspective, people who would have never merited a mention in an elite work of history as well-drawn figures because they mastered the skills of their vocation. Shen's records of a number of individual workmen are the only surviving sources on these figures. Because of the written knowledge he produced, individual workmen such as movable-type inventor Bi Sheng, master carpenter and architect Yu Hao (fl. 970), and calendrical calculator Wei Pu have names and voices.
5 Conclusion
It was not easy to acquire a particular skill and set it down in written form. Only an orderly and focused chain of thought would lead one there. So Shen Gua began by making deliberate observations. Next, he posed questions to identify the causal relations in each operation he had observed. He then proceeded to tinker with individual steps in order to align them in a reasoned sequence. In the end, he took up a brush to craft a step-by-step presentation from which he had carefully winnowed out distracting information.
As Shen Gua thought and wrote about skills of particular kinds, his own process of reflecting on technical practices and shaping them into steps recurred; these recurrences invoked epistemological commonalities which invited him to group together items whose contents might otherwise be considered rather disparate. This led him to create a strangely diverse category, jiyi.
The recurring themes have a lot to do with the perspective and approach of Shen Gua as a maker of written knowledge. Shen's reliance on reflective observations (rather than osmosis), emphasis on causality (rather than repetition), and attentiveness to verbal clarity all reflect his intellectual predilections as a literatus. To himself, jiyi was not an aberration; it was a part of a larger textual undertaking. It afforded Shen Gua a place to apply certain analytical methods in a deliberate, ordered, and focused manner to engage a particular set of inquiries. We may easily dismiss it as some sort of idiosyncrasy on the part of Shen Gua. In precisely this, however, jiyi demonstrates how it could resist modern concepts of science, technology, or even the encyclopedic classifications in Shen's own time.
Appendix A
Appendix B
Is the categorical organization of Brush Talks part of Shen Gua's original plan or a later development? Is the jiyi category part of a deliberate design or a clumsy mistake made by later editors? In this, Table 1 has assembled some circumstantial evidences to address these questions. Although no direct evidence proves that Shen himself assigned the categories, they arise quite organically from the entries, and the weight of indirect evidence from other sources supports my hypothesis that these entries were thematically organized by Shen. I am persuaded, in particular, that the categorization and arrangement of jiyi is Shen Gua's work.
Not all scholars have shared my view. One problem is the late date of the earliest surviving edition of Brush Talks. The book was completed during the 1080s to 1090s.24 According to the informed guesswork of modern scholars, Brush Talks must have circulated as a printed text (or, less likely, as a manuscript) before Shen Gua's death in 1095. We know almost nothing about the book during the interval between the publication or circulation of the original copy and the 1166 edition. A handful of scholars (Zhang Wenhu, for instance) have therefore questioned the credibility of the book's current organization as a reflection of Shen's original thoughts (Zhang 1973: 2:31a–32b). They wonder whether the original edition was organized into chapters (and categories) at all. Might not categorization have been a later development?25
As we look for clues, Supplement to Brush Talks (as I mentioned in footnote 10) provides useful information. Shen Gua did not complete Brush Talks in haste; after all, he took the time to draw up the Supplement. It is hard to assume that he would have done so with hundreds of entries in a chaotic, incomprehensible mess. Also, in the Supplement he directed that the new entries be inserted in certain parts of certain chapters—only a well-organized text made this possible.
Secondly, even though the earliest editions no longer exist, passages from them are preserved in the form of quotations in other texts. My strategy is to seek the earliest circumstantial evidence possible from these texts and narrow the gap between the original and the 1166 edition. I assume that if we find evidence of an organizational scheme that looks like that of the 1166 text in passages transcribed a relatively short time (a few decades at the longest) after Shen's death, we should rule out a later editorial intervention.
For instance, Brush Talks was extensively cited in A Collection of Categorized Things from the Song Dynasty (Song chao shishi leiyuan 宋朝事實類苑), a leishu compiled between 1132 and 1145 by Jiang Shaoyu (dates unknown). Jiang must have had access to an edition at least a few decades earlier than that of 1166. The procedure used in collating leishu tended to preserve the original form of the texts. As Fu Daiwie has also observed (Fu 1993–94: 35), the entries from Brush Talks cited in Categorized Things are not only preserved intact in terms of their content, but when multiple entries were cited, they are found in the same order as in the 1166 edition. We may therefore assume that at least one early edition of Brush Talks structurally resembled the current version.
More circumstantial information from Categorized Things helps us to confirm the arrangement of the jiyi section. Of the 20 entries in the jiyi section, 19 are included in Categorized Things. While entry 316 is not cited at all and 317 appears in Chapter 51, the rest are split into two clusters—eight jottings in one and ten in the other—and may be found, respectively, in Chapter 49 and Chapter 52. At this point, although it is hard to tell whether the two clusters belong together in the version of Brush Talks Jiang used, we do know that the vast majority of the jiyi entries we see today belonged to at most two groups in an early version.
To press this point a bit further, Chapter 49 of Categorized Things is labeled "Prognostications and Medicine" (zhanxiang yiyao 占相醫藥) and Chapter 52 is labeled "Calligraphy, Painting, and Skills" (shuhua jiyi 書畫技藝). This arrangement was the work of Jiang Shaoyu, the compiler. Does this mean that the two clusters were originally separated in Brush Talks? I doubt it. Entry 310, on the subject of chess strategy, is absurdly placed in "Prognostications and Medicine," whereas entry 304, which is also related to chess, was placed in "Calligraphy, Painting, and Skills." Such discrepancies show that the division into two clusters was awkward. It is likely, all things considered, that they always belonged to a single, rather broad section, and that Jiang divided the group himself in order to suit his own taxonomic categories. This implies that the edition used by Jiang, which we have assigned to the 1130s, corresponded more or less to the current version.
This study originated in a paper delivered at the workshop entitled "Status and Skill: The Portrayal of Individuals in Chinese Historiography, 10th–18th Century" at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin, September 2009. I wish to thank the organizers, Martin Hofmann and Dagmar Schäfer, for their invitation, and to record my gratitude to Chu Pingyi and Dorothy Ko, among other participants, for their valuable comments and encouragement. I am grateful to the two anonymous referees for their many helpful suggestions on earlier drafts. My special thanks also go to Willard J. Peterson, Brigid Vance, and Jun Hu, who worked with me through several drafts of this work.
My primary source, Brush Talks from Dream Brook, is an early literary work; it does not devote itself exclusively to any particular field of technical studies. The author did not compose the text under the sort of disciplinary constraints that exist in modern academia. The boundary between science and society explored by historians of science and sociologists was not yet established during the author's age. Many modern sociologists of science have studied the production of written scientific knowledge. Charles Bazerman (1988), for instance, studied how social and rhetorical forces have shaped the experimental science article. Also, a number of sociologists have relied on written texts as their sources for investigating the purported tensions between the production of scientific literature and actual laboratory practices. While such works inspired my study of Shen Gua, my discussion of written knowledge is rather different from that found in previous studies. In the present paper, "written knowledge" simply means knowledge as recorded in a text. As a result, many significant issues discussed in the aforementioned scholarship are of little relevance to my case.
Most studies of Shen are by historians of science. To date, the essay by Nathan Sivin (1995) is the most lucid and concise survey of Shen's technical contributions.
For an introduction to the revitalization of Confucian teaching and major intellectual trends in the eleventh century, see Bol 1995, 176–211.
For concise biographical information of Shen Gua, see Zhang Yinlin 1936 and Zhang Jiaju 1962. For the most recent book-length account of Shen Gua's life and ideas, see Zu Hui 2004.
Barbieri-Low (2007) provided an elaborate analysis of artisans as a classical trope in early texts, 48–53.
For a historical account of the interactions between Wang and Shen, see Zu Hui 2003.
This conceptualization was also a positive unraveling of the tension he frequently felt in the decade between 1054 and 1063 between the two identities, wen (cultural virtuoso) and li (administrator). This decade witnessed Shen Gua's struggles to detach himself from local administrative drudgery and proceed to a more intellectual life in the capital. Shen Gua revealed his commitment to the identity of a quintessential literatus, that is, a cultural virtuoso, in a number of his writings during the decade, for instance, see Shen Gua 1896a, c.
It is important to be clear about the constitution of Brush Talks. As we shall see from the contents, the majority of the book is intimately linked with the common cultural pursuits of literati, from the sartorial paraphernalia of officialdom to court rituals and music, philological discussions, and gossip. Entries on technical activities, in the sense of building, designing, healing, and the like, constitute a small portion of the book—which still captures the lion's share of the attention of modern scholarship.
Shen's other writings remain largely unexplored. Most are no longer extant, and yet surviving poems, memorials, essays, and correspondences have not attracted much attention. The main reason for this relative neglect is perhaps that these materials, which largely concerned themselves with the sociopolitical events that took place during Shen's life, shed no light on his "scientific" achievements. Nonetheless, they deserve careful scholarly examination by scholars: They go far to clarify his intellectual development. For a list of titles and brief introduction to the content of the lost works, see Hu Daojing (1956b) and Li (1999a).
The chapter-category arrangement mentioned here is the textual structure of the main text of Brush Talks, excluding its two sequels, Bu bitan 補筆談 (Supplement to Brush Talks) and Xu bitan 續筆談 (Sequel to Brush Talks). On those two works, see Hu Daojing (1963), 4–5.
Thanks to the editorial changes made by generations of scholars, the total number of entries has increased to 609 in the standard modern edition.
The jiyi section in the modern text includes 21 entries, items 298 through 318, but I believe that item 298, which has been taken as the first entry in this category since the Ming, belongs to the miscellany (zazhi) section. Its anecdotal narrative about a numerologist stands an odd exception among other entries, which are consistently accounts of particular techniques. Textually speaking, in the 1306 edition of Brush Talks (aka. Yuan kan Mengxi bitan 元刊夢溪筆談 (Brush Talks from Dream Brook, Yuan Edition)), the jiyi section starts with the current item 299, and item 298 does not exist at all (Shen 1975). In Song chao shishi leiyuan 宋朝事實類苑 (Collection of Categorized Things in the Song Dynasty), a leishu 類書 (collectanea of categorized knowledge) compiled between 1132 and 1145 by Jiang Shaoyu (dates unknown), where 18 out of 21 jottings from the jiyi section were cited, this entry is not seen either (Jiang 1981). For details of Categorized Things and the Brush Talks jotting preserved in it, see Appendix B.I argue that the placement of this item in the jiyi section is most likely the work of later editors.
Daiwie Fu (2002) argued against comparing the classification of knowledge in Brush Talks to modern taxonomies. He also pointed out that the classification of knowledge in Brush Talks represents Shen Gua's general epistemological stance—a two-tiered theory of knowledge. See also Lei Hsianglin and Fu Daiwie (1993).
For basic information on leishu as a textual tradition, see Dai Keyu and Tang Jianhua (1981) and Yu Cuiling (2002).
Herbert Franke, in the context of private historiography, noticed that the organization of biji was loose and that some authors wrote their jottings to supplement state-commissioned historical records (Franke 1961: 116–117). Yau-Woon Ma regarded brevity a definitional characteristics of biji, as in comparison with lengthier accounts in another literary form xiaoshuo 小說 (lesser sayings) (Ma and Lau 1986: 11). Alister Inglis also discussed the characteristics of biji in the comparison with the genres xiaoshuo and zhiguai 志怪 (accounts of anomalies; Inglis 2006: 108–109). Based on both content and structure, Fu Daiwie (2007), with the intent to discuss classification of knowledge, grouped all biji texts in three clusters, biji as a synonym of xiaoshuo, biji as a collection of categorized knowledge, and biji as a single-subject technical treatise. He provided a definitional description of each type.
Although this textual structure is consistent in all extant editions, information from Supplement to Brush Talks seems to suggest the existence of a 30-chapter edition. This edition has become the topic of intense speculation among generations of scholars. For a brief summary of the problem, see Hu Daojing (1956a), Li Yumin (1999b), and the appendix to Fu Daiwie (1993–1994.)
For some more concrete discussions of the political aims the state-commissioned compilation projects served, see Kurz (2001).
In the context of modern science, sociologists of science in recent decades have discussed the properties associated with the language of science, which constitutes a source of inspiration for my point here. While normative or canonical versions for the formatting of scientific writing emphasize that scientific language is uniquely characterized by its features of logic, clarity, and simplicity, there also arose a growing body of literature arguing that scientific language, just like its literary counterpart, also relies on rhetorical devices to produce scientific knowledge and reproduce the cultural authority of that knowledge. For a few classic discussions in the latter category, see Latour's (1987) "deletion of modalities" and Myers's Writing Biology (1990).
Modern comprehension is certainly not a legitimate criterion for evaluating the works of previous ages; however, a tacit, and yet inescapable limitation of textual studies, is that historians dig out from the ancient archives just the texts their cognitive preparation and contemporary interest induce them to seek. In my opinion, the popularity of Shen Gua as a research subject in the modern times is not only due to the brilliance, but also the intelligibility (on the part of modern readers) of his written work; the construction of him as a "scientist" reflects, among other things, the consilience between his ideas and modern scientific thinking.
Though best known for his literary achievements, Su Shi also held a strong interest in technical knowledge (especially in medicine) and material objects. He was also concerned with effective and clear writing on technical subjects. Once, he lamented that even though the ancient authors preserved the dimensions of Zhou bronzes in great detail, their poor verbal presentations prevented contemporary readers from visualizing the actual shapes (Su Shi 2004: 71:2251–2252). Su Shi's interest in skills, technical knowledge, and material things was strongly affected by his esthetic values and moral concerns of self-cultivation. See Egan (2006, 182–188).
I should note here that mathematical calculations were perhaps easier for Shen to present in writing than the process of movable-type printing. Because of the accumulation of mathematical knowledge, a relatively large and precise vocabulary had been developed for mathematical operations.
In Michael Polanyi's classic study (1974), he argued that a skill is "tacit knowledge" embodied in bodily practices so that it is difficult to formalize. To perform a skill, one needs not only a focusing awareness of the external object, but also a subsidiary awareness which speaks to one's sensory facilities. A skill cannot be transmitted by texts, because "the aim of a skillful performance is achieved by the observance of a set of rules which are not known as such to the person following them" (Polanyi 1962, 49).
While most scholars of Brush Talks endorse Hu Daojing's judgment that Shen Gua composed the text (in 26 chapters) between 1088 and 1093, Li Yumin (1999b) proposed an alternative possibility, that Shen completed the 26-chapter version between 1082 and 1088, then a 30-chapter edition in the early 1090s.
Daiwie Fu also responded to Zhang's criticisms in the appendix to Fu 1993–1994: 34–35.


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subset: commoncrawl


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Sushi Rice
I used to make sushi rice with rice vinegar and mirin, but the price of real mirin has gone up so I don't just have it sitting around to toss on my avocado udon anymore. Sweetening sake is the most auspicious substitute, but my sake was still in storage so I made the following recipe up out of some recipes I found online.
- 1 c. sushi rice
- 1 1/3 c. water
- 2 T. rice vinegar
- 1 1/2 T. sugar
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- 1 T. white cooking wine
Optionally, rinse the rice. (I forgot.) Bring the rice in the water to a boil. Simmer 20 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the remaining ingredients in a small pan until they're mixed well. Mix it all together when done. Chill.
Updated by M. C. DeMarco (view history)


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The other week you may recall Drake decided to hop on Tinashe's "2 On" DJ Mustard beat alongside OB OBrien for "2 On Thotful." The freestyle increased Tinashe's buzz easily, and now she's decided to return the favor, hopping on Drake's "Days In The East" track, aptly switching it to "Days In The West." She turns the track, premiered by DJBooth, into a record all about her work ethic and her musical career.
The RCA signee is still pushing her single "2 On" which features ScHoolboy Q, and she hasn't announced a new project just yet. She dropped off Black Water in November which you can cop here if you're looking to get a little more familiar with the lady.
Quotable Lyrics
Tired of you not doing your research, look me up
I've been doing this since I was 3 or see, look me up
You're showing me how ignorant you are with your comments
The internet really breeds bullies
With false sense of confidence


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Rafter Insurance Agency was started in La Habra, CA by Mike Rafter Sr. in 1961. Good products, great service and word of mouth helped Rafter Insurance to continue to grow throughout the years. The agency is still based in La Habra and is now run by Mike Rafter Jr. In 2003 the Northern California office was opened in Folsom, CA by Tom Rafter. The same formula from the early days; good products, great service and word of mouth is still being used today in the Folsom office.
Being in business that long, we have seen new customers go from newly minted drivers, to start families of their own. While we still insure them, we now also insure their children and their grandchildren's families. They have entrusted in us to provide them with protection of their family's personal assets and to provide peace of mind over the years. Being around for 50 years, we have seen a lot, and seen a lot of changes. But the one thing that has never changed is people want to know who their insurance agent is…and they want their insurance agent to know who they are.


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Clifford and Emily Elizabeth Costume
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This homemade costume for kids entered our 2015 Halloween Costume Contest.
A word from Laura, the 'Clifford and Emily Elizabeth' costume creator:
My daughter loves the Clifford the Big Red Dog book series, so for Halloween she is dressed as Emily Elizabeth and her baby brother is Clifford. I sewed the costumes out of fleece and flannel so they would be warm enough for Michigan trick or treating.


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Maruti Recalls Baleno And Swift DZire Cars For Verifying Faults
28 May 2016 : Maruti Suzuki has recalled units of Swift DZire and Baleno for faulty airbags software and fuel filters. 75, 419 units of Baleno have been reported to have airbag issues while 1961 swift DZire units have been recalled for replacement faulty fuel filters. According to company spokespersons, the decision has been made to ensure the safety of customers.
The recall includes Baleno cars manufactured between 3rd August 2015 to 17th May 2106. It includes both the diesel and petrol variants. In the 75, 419 Baleno cars that have been recalled, 15,995 are diesel models manufactured between the time periods of 3rd August 2015 to 22nd March 2016 are also suspected to have faulty fuel filters. The company decision of recall also includes 17,231 cars meant for export.
In the Swift DZire category, the recall will only include the Auto Gear Shift diesel variants. This implies that manual diesel and petrol variants will be unaffected by the decision of recall.
Earlier this month, Maruti Suzuki had recalled 20, 427 S-Cross cars which were suspected to have faulty brake parts. The dealers of Maruti Suzuki will start the exercise of contacting owners from 31st May onwards. Customers can check whether their cars qualify for the recall by checking Nexa website for Baleno and Swift DZire's official website. The customers will be required to fill in their chassis number.


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There is only so much negativity you can take, until you just have to press stop, eject the program and just reset yourself by getting out in the sun and down the beach.
So with the sun shining on the first weekend of July 2016, Molly, the french bulldog and I headed out down Pwll Du Bay, Gower to get some photos to cheer everyone up.
We went the cliff route out to Brandy Cove, and then along the Wales Coast path back to Pwll Du. This gave us a great view of Caswell Bay.
Molly was really enjoying the Cliff Path, stopping for a drink in the the cattle's water bath.
We spent some time of the beach among the pebbles and the waves.
With all that sun and sea, I did feel totally reset. The full gallery is below. Stop, eject and reset by having a look through, DimExcuses.


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The Naish Nalu SUP is a versatile board that performs well in both flat water paddling situations as well as in the surf. The Nalu SUP range comes in a range of sizes and depending on your size, skill level and interest you are going to have hours of fun on one of these SUPS. The 10'6 model if you are a female or lighter paddler (<75 kg) wanting to spend quite a bit of time on the flat water. If you are a heavier paddler and looking for a more performance oriented SUP in the surf then this could be the board for you. Drop us a line, call or arrange a demo ride today.
We also have the 11'4 Nalu in stock and on sale, the 11'4 is suited to riders over 80 kg's.


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Alice Tait 'Large Illustrated World Map' Print
Alice Tait 'Large Illustrated World Map' Print
Alice Tait 'Large Illustrated World Map' print
Size: A1 (841 mm x 594 mm)
This print is digitally printed on high quality paper and hand signed by Alice Tait.
Look for a world of detail in this lively piece of art!
As you are buying directly from Alice, these prints can be personalised with a unique message of your choice such as 'To Katie, with love' or 'Happy Birthday Dad!' Please email us with your message which can be up to 25 characters long once you have made your purchase. The message will be written in pencil in small handwriting along the bottom of the print.
The print arrives unframed and presented in white tissue paper and rolled in a postal tube. It is sent Special Delivery to UK addresses and will add an additional £10.00 on top of the order total. For overseas orders, the print is sent International Tracked and Signed which will add an additional £15 on top of the order total.


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|Up a level
Group by: Item Type | No Grouping
Number of items: 1.
Underwood, Joshua, Luckin, Rosemary, Kerawalla, Lucinda, du Boulay, Benedict, Holmberg, Joe, O'Connor, Jeanette and Tunley, Hilary (2005) What did you do at school today? Using tablet technology to link parents to their children and teachers. In: Looi, Chee-Kit, McCalla, Gord, Bredeweg, Bert and Breuker, Joost (eds.) Artificial Intelligence in Education: Supporting Learning through Intelligent and Socially Informed Technology. Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence and Applications . IOS Press, Washington, DC, pp. 932-934. ISBN 9781586035303


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Congratulations America! You've overcome.
You've overcome Islamophobes, racists, war-mongers and purveyors of fear. You've overcome a generation of political apathy and have launched a new trend of interest that should be emulated everywhere. As a people, you embraced the urgent need for deep-level change in Washington – and you've just elected a new President with a strong mandate to lead that change.
The world has watched throughout the long and sometimes arduous campaign that brought Barack Obama to the White House on November 4 and it will be watching intently for the next four years. After two consecutive terms of extreme right-wing politics under the Bush administration, you can't blame anyone at home or abroad for having high expectations of the coming presidential mandate.
But be warned: the first African-American leader of the world's last remaining super-power also bears an unprecedented burden. If he fails in even the smallest detail of policy or judgment, there will be those quick to blame his black heritage and forget that he is also half-white.
America under the tenure of George W. Bush Jr. initiated three wars –" in Afghanistan, in Iraq, and globally "a war against terror" – and these continue as Obama prepares to take the reins of power. The so-called War on Terror is the huge "elephant in the room" as Obama steps into office. It has been used to justify the steady erosion and compromise of human civil liberties; to condone rising Islamophobia worldwide; to promote torture; to operate inhumane detention centres such as Guantanamo Bay; to rationalize increasing global militancy; and to neglect urgent peace and social justice issues at home and abroad.
The invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq are the least difficult to handle of America's three wars. Much could be accomplished simply by pulling troops from cities and establishing military bases outside the volatile zones – a solution employed by European occupation powers. But President-elect Obama could be even more creative and innovative than that if he has the will and courage to surround himself with top advisors who are not part of established lobby groups and who are willing to leave their political agendas and self-interests at the door.
On the national front, economic reform is urgently needed, along with major improvements to health care, education, environmental safeguards, gun laws, and crime deterrence — especially in schools. Economics and social reform initiatives must come together in a genuine push to narrow the gap between America's "haves" and "have-nots," so that the welfare of the young, the poor, the needy, the elderly and the disabled are moved to the top of the list.
It is no longer acceptable that America's financial system can be allowed to favor only the rich and powerful, but not the middle class and working poor. The U.S. still represents more than 20 per cent of the world's economy and this will almost certainly continue over the next four years while Obama is in office; any good he can do in this area will benefit people both inside and outside the country.
In fact, the attention of the Obama administration could easily be totally absorbed by the economic crisis. The U.S. jobless rate has reached a 14-year high of 6.5 per cent and continues to rise; full-blown recession is more than a distinct possibility.
Yet the world is still hopeful that the historic election of an American president of colour can turn many other things around for the better. Antigua's prime minster has already declared that he wants to rename the island's highest peak "Mount Obama." No pressure for a new leader who is already facing great heights to scale!
I was in Cairo just after the American election results were announced. No sooner were they made official than many new fathers whose family names are Hussein (Obama's middle name) called their infant sons Barack, so as to be registered as Barack Hussein. Even Egyptians who claim to be uninterested in world politics have emulated my fellow Canadians in following the U.S presidential campaign from start to finish and staying up until the early morning hours of November 5 (local time) to see the results for themselves.
Perhaps it is unrealistic to hope that this newly minted and idealistic young American president can achieve Middle East peace by ending the 42-year-old Israeli occupation of native Palestinian lands. But I dared not tell my Egyptian friends that. Within hours of his confirmed election, however, Obama had appointed an Israeli-American as his Chief of Staff. Does that mean all our hopes of peace through justice have been dashed? Only time can tell.
From the moment when it seemed inevitable that Obama would win, some analysts began talking about his chances of being assassinated in office by white supremacists or some other extremist faction. But chances are far higher that he could be politically "assassinated" by powerfully entrenched Washington lobbyists. That would be as great a tragedy as a literal killing, for it would be accompanied also by the death of hope.
For now, however, let us pause to enjoy the hope that Barack Obama can truly succeed as an effective agent of change in a world that badly needs to believe in him.


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Human Milk News is featuring a milksharing story every day leading up to
|Roby at his mother's breast, donor milk via an at breast supplementer.
Roby's StorySeptember 5, 2012 | Filed under: Stories and tagged with: WMW 2102My story begins with shared milk natural birth of my son, Roby. I suspected that perhaps would not have enough milk for him (never produced enough milk for my first baby), but I had a natural birth to increase chances of success in breastfeeding.He grabbed the breast immediately after birth, and was nursed when wanted from that time forward.... more


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How to plan and prepare superyachts for cruising in extreme destinations
by Nigel Sharp
Warm weather destinations continue to be popular for superyachts, but many owners are increasingly keen to go somewhere different. The motivation for this might be the desire for something more challenging, more remote or more spectacular – by their very nature these places are likely to provide unusual difficulties. But challenges bring solutions, and one organisation in particular knows most of these solutions.
Yacht consultancy and management service High Latitudes, specialising in Antarctica, the Arctic and other remote destinations, was created to ensure owners and crew get the very best enjoyment from their destinations. The company is owned and run by Richard Haworth and Luke Milner, who based the idea for High Latitudes off of their own sailing and mountaineering expedition experience in Antarctica.
In 1999, Richard Haworth and Luke Milner bought a 13.4-metre steel ketch and began an 18-month adventure, a lot of which was spent indulging in their passion for mountain climbing in Antarctica. In coping with the extreme conditions they had the occasional minor mishap but, as Haworth puts it, 'We had to have these learning experiences. There was no one there to teach us. I couldn't begin to list the things we learnt on that trip.'
He then went to work as a skipper on charter yachts such as Pelagic and Pelagic Australis, taking people to the Antarctic and the Arctic. After six years, eager to spend time leading a 'normal life', he and Milner saw an opportunity to use their experience to help other people visit these remote places, and created High Latitudes.
The process
When Haworth and Milner meet owners or captains, initial discussions are about where they would like to go and when, and what they would like to do when they get there. It is not uncommon for small changes to be proposed, perhaps for reasons of safety but often in an attempt to maximise potential enjoyment.
The next stage is to consider the yacht intended for the voyage. In an ideal world this discussion would occur before she is built, to ensure all High Latitudes' proposals could be incorporated. Although this has been the case on a handful of Oysters – semi-custom sailing yachts with fundamental limitations regarding potential alterations due to their standard GRP hulls and decks – only recently has an opportunity occurred to significantly influence a boat's design.
When Haworth first met the owner of Bougainville, a 22-metre aluminium cruiser-racer currently in build at Claasen Shipyard in Holland, he suggested, as he often does, that the waterline should be raised to allow for the extra weight of equipment needed for the proposed voyage to the Antarctic Peninsula. But the owner went one better – asking designer Berret Racoupeau to redraw the underwater lines and give the boat more buoyancy to carry the increased payload.
Good insulation is obviously vital to cope with extreme temperatures, and Bougainville's insulation specification was upgraded on Haworth's advice – but it would be a huge job to make any such improvement on an existing steel or aluminium boat.
There were no such problems on the timber-hulled Hetairos, the 43 metre Bruce King ketch that visited Iceland and Spitsbergen – the largest island in the Svalbard archipelago, which is under Norwegian sovereignty – in 2010. 'We didn't make any major alterations to the boat for the trip,' explains Bill Lawrence, the captain. 'She had already been around the world several times. We knew the watermakers would not be so efficient in the cold waters, and luckily we had the benefit of diesel heating throughout – the water is too cold for reverse-cycle air-conditioning – and a wood-burning stove in the main saloon.'
'We are particularly interested in things like stabilisers, to make sure they don't protrude too far and [to manage] what would happen if they hit something with one of them,' Haworth comments, 'and propellers as well.' Another major consideration is ground tackle – anchors need to be much heavier and chain much longer than for conventional anchoring situations (see later for exactly why). But it can sometimes be the case that, even if there is room for more chain, it would seriously affect the trim of the boat.
The Nicholson gaff cutter Merrymaid – built in 1904 and so an extreme example of a boat High Latitudes couldn't get involved with early enough – is currently undergoing an extraordinary eight-year, 90,000-mile circumnavigation. Haworth advised on the preparation for parts of this voyage, and joined the boat himself in the Falklands, spending six weeks on board as they sailed through the Beagle Channel and up the west coast of Patagonia to Puerto Montt. 'All the changes Richard proposed were carried out, except for the wooden covers of the doghouse windows that proved to be too bulky on a boat with little storage space,' Merrymaid's owner remarks.
There was very little advice High Latitudes needed to give regarding the suitability of 54-metre motor yacht Itasca for her 2009 voyage to Antarctica. Not only was she built as a salvage tug, but had also been there on three occasions since she was converted to a superyacht. But they could advise on preparations for the trip, if not how to refit the Itasca for the cold.


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In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, the U.S. Navy has ordered three ships to sail off the shores of New York in case federal emergency responders need off-shore support as they continue clean up efforts.
On Oct. 30, "the helicopter carrier USS Wasp (LHD 1), which was already at sea riding out the storm, began to head north to be better positioned," Rear Adm. James Kirby, chief of information for the Navy, wrote on a Navy website.
On Oct. 31, "the fleet commander ordered two other amphibious ships, USS San Antonio (LPD-17) and USS Carter Hall (LSD-50), to get underway and likewise head north … however these ships have not been officially tasked to provide support," Kirby wrote.
The Navy, like the rest of the U.S. military, is often tasked with supporting the Federal Emergency Management Agency in disaster-relief efforts. Navy ships can serve as floating airports as well as provide airlift and SEABEE construction-battalion support.
"It's not out of the ordinary," said Lt. Cmdr. Mike Kafka, a spokesman for U.S. Fleet Forces, explaining that the Navy has sent ships to hurricane-damaged areas in the past to await requests for support from state and federal authorities.
In addition to off-shore support, the Pentagon is airlifting power restoration experts and trucks cross-country, from California to New York, to bolster efforts to assist the millions of people still living in darkness days after Hurricane Sandy hit the East Coast.
C-5 and C-17 military transport planes flew from March Air Reserve Base, Calif., on Nov. 1 and will arrive at Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, New York.
Souther California Edison is sending 62 vehicles to "move out to support efforts to restore power to the stricken region," said Pentagon spokesman George Little. About 100 employees from Southern California Edison will fly out to New York to help restore power to New York residents.
About 4 million homes and businesses were still without power on Nov. 1. Up to 8.5 million lost power during the storm.
"Given the size and scope of the storm and its continuing impact throughout the eastern and northeastern United States, the [Defense Department] is actively posturing forces to support civil authorities via U.S. Northern Command and the National Guard Bureau, with a particular emphasis on un-watering and energy restoration," said Pentagon spokeswoman Cynthia Smith, in an official statement.
Approximately 10,000 Army and Air National Guard forces are on duty supporting the governors in Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia and West Virginia.
Guard forces under state control are assembling and staging personnel, providing communications, shelter and engineer support, evacuation and security support, high water vehicle support, high water search and rescue, debris removal and transportation.
Seventeen Air Force cargo planes carrying 69 repair vehicles and equipment from California for use in New York and New Jersey were scheduled to arrive on Nov. 1 at Stewart Air National Guard Base, according to Lt. Col. Tom Crosson, a Guard spokesman.
The aircraft and crews from 12 active duty, Air National Guard, and Air Force Reserve bases flew from March Air Reserve Base, Calif., to pick up approximately 10 passengers and 632 short tons of equipment and supplies supporting relief efforts on the East Coast.
National Guard civil support teams are on stand-by for hazardous material response and providing a Joint Incident Site Communications Capability bridge between first responders and other local, state, and federal agencies.
In West Virginia, where the state received several feet of snow from the storm, the National Guard is patrolling Interstate 68 for stranded motorists and assisting the power company with generators.
At the request of the Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Transportation Command airlifted approximately 120 medical personnel to New York City to augment medical staff providing care to nursing homes and at-risk elderly patients. Aircraft are on standby to support further missions in response to Hurricane Sandy. Medical personnel are being brought in from Colorado, Ohio, and Texas.
The Defense Logistics Agency is providing fuel, fuel transportation, commodities, and expeditionary teams to support FEMA and the Department of Energy.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' priority is support to the New York City un-watering mission, according to Smith. They have deployed technical assistance, senior leadership oversight, and are working to identify and deploy 100 high volume water pumps consistent with FEMA mission assignments.
USACE is delivering these pumps to New York FEMA Mobilization centers. This is in addition to the 100 water pumps U.S. Northern Command is currently sourcing at FEMA's request.
Other planning response teams remain on alert for debris management, commodities distribution, infrastructure assessment, temporary roofing, critical public facilities, water planning, and temporary housing. Additional temporary power teams have also been placed on alert status.


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Advanced Combo | Setter-Hitter Academy & Competition Camp
Event Description
Advanced Combo (Setter-Hitter Academy & Competition Camp)
Location: Memorial Fieldhouse
Setter-Hitter Academy (Aug. 3-6, 1:30 - 4:30 p.m., Ages 14+)
Elite positional training for setters, middles, and outsides, plus advanced team play. Serious college-level technical training.
Competition Camp (Aug. 3-6, 5:30 - 8:00 p.m., Ages 14+)
Intense focus for experienced players on competitive skills and decision-making, plus how to "compete to win." FUN!
$25 cancellation fee after July 15.
Light fruit snacks provided; bring bag lunch both days; bring bag lunch for full day sessions.
30 minutes before session. Memorial Fieldhouse @ corner of Union Ave. & N. 11th in North End of Tacoma.
Waiver & Insurance forms must be completed and signed by parent before participation allowed. Notify us of any special medical conditions. Trainer will be on duty.
High-quality instruction directed by Head Coach Mark Massey. Experienced coaching staff for plenty of 1-on-1 help.
Space Limited
To maintain instructional quality; Register EARLY.
For more information, contact:
Main Office: 253-879-3140 | E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com