Based on the hierarchical quantification of data concerning breach and flooding disasters in the lower reaches of the Yellow River during the Ming Dynasty, this study constructs a disaster severity sequence and explores its spatio-temporal distribution patterns and evolutionary trends. The distribution of disaster severity levels exhibited overall equilibrium and temporal clustering. Three distinct periods were identified: two low-frequency flooding periods, three high-frequency but low-intensity flooding periods, and three high-frequency, high-intensity flooding periods. Kernel density analysis indicates that breach sites were primarily distributed along the old course of the Yellow River from the Ming and Qing dynasties, with the center of flooding gradually shifting from Henan to Shandong and Nan Zhili (南直隶). A strong correlation was observed between the disaster severity sequence in the lower reaches and the precipitation record of the Yellow River Basin, indicating that rainfall variations within the basin significantly influenced flooding disasters downstream. Furthermore, a long-term discrepancy existed between the precipitation record of the Yellow River Basin and the severity of downstream flooding disasters throughout the Ming Dynasty, suggesting that social factors also played an important role in driving disaster occurrence.

The debate over the location of ‘Dabie’ (大别) recorded in Yugong (《禹贡》) has persisted for nearly two millennia, with the most intense disputes emerging during the Qing Dynasty. Two mainstream viewpoints crystallized: the ‘Hanyang’ theory and the ‘Anfeng’ theory. These interpretations first appeared during Han and Tang Dynasties, initially documented in Hanshu Dilizhi (《汉书·地理志》) and Yuanhe Junxian Tuzhi (《元和郡县图志》), respectively. During Han and Jin periods, the ‘Anfeng’ theory was widely accepted. Between Han and Tang Dynasties, doubts raised by scholars such as Du Yu and Li Daoyuan in their commentaries on classical texts gradually led to diverging opinions. By Tang Dynasty, Li Jifu (李吉甫) formally proposed the ‘Hanyang’ theory. Subsequently, during Song and Ming Dynasties, increasing numbers of scholars endorsed the ‘Hanyang’ theory, which gradually supplanted the older ‘Anfeng’ theory. Finally, in Qing Dynasty, different academic schools reignited a fierce debate over the location of ‘Dabie’. In summary, the shifts in the dispute over the location of ‘Dabie’ since medieval times reflect not only differences in the perspectives of writers and their sources of geographical knowledge, but also the interplay and adaptation between geographical records and classical commentaries.

During the Song Dynasty, the spatial forms of the Salt Supervisor (盐监), the Mining Supervisor (矿冶监), and the Coin Minting Supervisor (钱监) exhibited considerable diversity. The root cause lays in their fundamental nature as fiscal offices, which also assumed administrative functions beyond resource development according to temporal and local conditions. The overlap between salt production centers and government seats, as well as the coincidence of mining sites and strategic military towns, were key prerequisites for Salt Supervisors and Mining Supervisors to administer entire counties. Furthermore, the locational relationships among salt-producing areas, mining sites, and government seats influenced both the spatial layout and practical functions of these ‘Jian’ (监). The siting of Coin Minting Supervisors was primarily oriented toward proximity to government seats, reflecting a comprehensive balance of factors such as raw material supply, water resources, and transportation. These arrangements illustrated the flexible strategies adopted by the Song rulers to develop resources and govern society in an economical and efficient manner.

Merchants’ route books, which emerged in large numbers after the 16th century, were compiled centered on merchant activities, significantly differing from the route books to the capital since the Southern Song Dynasty. Such merchants’ route books have been frequently discovered in field surveys over recent decades. The author alone has newly discovered nearly twenty handwritten copies of merchants’ route books from Huizhou, most of which are related to the transportation of tea and salt by Huizhou merchants, with only two involving ceramics transportation. This article focuses on the Yun Ji Jianghu Lucheng (云记《江湖路程》), which was compiled after the 11th year of the Guangxu reign (1885) in the Qing dynasty. The manuscript details seven commercial routes, spanning Jiangxi (江西), Hubei (湖北), and Shaanxi (陕西) provinces, and involving the Changjiang (昌江), Ganjiang (赣江), Yangtze, and Hanjiang (汉江) waterways. Its primary content outlines the transportation routes for ceramics merchants shipping goods from Jingdezhen to Hanzhong (汉中) in Shaanxi, with additional references to the trade of tung oil and raw lacquer. Although this manuscript may have been transcribed by Huizhou merchants, the inclusion of two routes centered around Fengcheng (丰城) suggests that its original prototype was closely related to the pioneering trade activities and commercial networks of Jiangxi merchants during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Similar to previously discovered commercial route guides formed by Huizhou merchants operating in the Qingshui River (清水江) Basin of Guizhou (贵州), this manuscript may reflect the exchange of commercial knowledge among different merchant groups in the Qing Dynasty.

The size of Hangzhou’s urban population on the eve of the Taiping Rebellion has long preoccupied scholars of Ming-Qing economic history. Earlier figures, derived from fragmentary and ambiguous Qing sources, are clearly flawed. Fixing the reference year at 1850, this paper adopts a retrospective method: it tracks changes in the numbers of temples and shops from the mid-Qing to c. 1930 and then links the municipal census data collected by the Hangzhou city government after 1927 back to 1850. The result is an estimated urban population of c. 260 000 for Hangzhou in 1850. The retrospective approach may offer a workable way to reconstruct the pre-Taiping urban populations of other Jiangnan cities.

The construction of Japan’s modern East Asian colonial financial sphere was not a short-term economic measure limited to the Pacific War period, but a prolonged colonial process propelled by the continuous expansion of the ‘continental policy’. This financially hegemonic order, established through yen aggression and the enforcement of a yen standard, was dominated by Japanese so-called ‘special banks’ and puppet-regime banks, occupying vast territories both within and outside Japan proper. It was rooted not only in tangible currency systems but also embedded within the intangible clearing network of the ‘Special Yen’ as an international settlement system — exhibiting both institutional domination and spatial variation.

Through a combination of quantitative analysis and historical sources, this study compares the coordinate systems and map contents of the Qianlong Shisanpai Tu and the Kangxi Huangyu Quanlan Tu, using the provinces of Zhili and Shandong as case studies. By further comparing results with previous research on Guangdong and Guangxi, it is found that the Qianlong Shisanpai Tu inherits the Huangyu Quanlan Tu primarily through the preservation of original content and the continued use of latitude and longitude positioning. At the same time, the Qianlong Shisanpai Tu incorporates significant revisions and additions, including the extensive westward expansion of mapped territory and regionally differentiated updates. The revisions and omissions evident in the map reflect a disregard for the mathematical foundations and cartographic standards established in the Huangyu Quanlan Tu.

Since modern times, the British Empire has conducted long-term illegal surveys and mapping of Xizang in China for the purpose of colonial expansion. Led primarily by the Royal Geographical Society and the Survey of India, these activities were mainly official in nature, supplemented by sporadic support for explorers entering Xizang. Through decades of persistent mapping of parts of Xizang, the British Empire essentially completed a comprehensive survey of the region. The overall outcomes of this mapping are reflected in the Royal Geographical Society’s ‘Tibet and the surrounding regions: compiled from the latest information’ and the Survey of India’s ‘Tibet and adjacent countries’. The ‘Tibet and adjacent countries’ map project represents the most thorough and detailed cartographic effort. The official maps of Xizang produced by the British Empire bear strong imprints of imperial expansion, yet it is these very maps that further attest to the British Empire’s recognition of the territorial integrity of Xizang as part of China during historical periods.

In 2017, the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) adopted the Principles Concerning Rural Landscapes as Heritage, which emphasize the recognition of rural landscapes as a form of heritage. As dynamic and continuously evolving cultural landscapes, rural landscapes are increasingly valued not only for their aesthetic and historical significance but also for their vital role in promoting sustainability. Particular attention is given to the integrated agricultural and ecological values embedded in the sustainable use of natural resources. Grounded in the evaluation criteria for cultural landscapes outlined in the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention, these principles highlight the global universality and importance of rural landscapes and underscore their critical contribution to sustainable development worldwide. This paper provides a comprehensive review of international theories on rural landscape conservation, traces the evolution of value perceptions, and proposes a six-dimensional framework for understanding rural landscapes as heritage.