Kai Sheng – författare

To meet the food requirements of the growing population worldwide, the agricultural domain is being technologically empowered to produce more with fewer resources and investments. Fortunately, the faster maturity and stability of digital (digitization and digitalization) technologies and tools have laid a stimulating and sparking foundation for large-scale production of food items with minimal time, talent, and treasure. The penetration and pervasiveness of the Internet of Things (IoT) sensors and actuators are considered the first and foremost aspect of advanced and adaptive agriculture. Further, the device ecosystem for automated and accelerated agriculture processes and practices grows consistently. The robots and drone space advancements are fascinating, as they are set to transform the industry. Connected robots, drones, and other agriculture equipment, appliances, instruments, and machinery are flourishing towards intelligent agriculture. Agriculture sensors and devices generate a lot of real-time and real-world digital data. With the help of artificial intelligence (AI) methods, all agriculture data are subjected to various deep and decisive investigations to extract actionable insights in time. Other noteworthy improvisations include the widespread deployment of 5G communication networks, the growing power of edge analytics and intelligence, the distinct contributions of blockchain technology, the adoption and adaptation of cloud-native computing principles, the phenomenon of digital twins, etc., in the digital space. All these developments have led to the realization of smart agriculture products, solutions, and services.Features:Delineate the role and responsibilities of digital technologies towards smart agricultureDelve into the potential of IoT and AI, along with other critical technological advancementDemystify large language models (LLMs) and visual language models (VLMs)Dig deep and delve into the advancements in the robots and drone spaceDescribe how digital innovations can significantly elevate agriculture processes, platforms, patterns, and practicesThis book will delve into the transformative power of digital technologies in agriculture, particularly in the context of smart agriculture. It will highlight how these technologies and innovative digital devices are reshaping the agricultural landscape. The book will also showcase the disruptive potential of these technologies, illustrating how they are revolutionizing traditional farming practices and processes.

The goal of this book is to study the ways in which Chinese Buddhists expressed their religious faiths and how Chinese Buddhists interacted with society at large since the Northern and Southern dynasties (386-589), through the Ming (1368-1644) and the Qing (1644-1911), up to the Republican era (1912-1949). The book aims to summarize and present the historical trajectory of the Sinification of Buddhism in a new light, revealing the symbiotic relationship between Buddhist faith and Chinese culture.The book examines cases such as repentance, vegetarianism, charity, scriptural lecture, the act of releasing captive animals, the Bodhisattva faith, and mountain worship, from multiple perspectives such as textual evidence, historical circumstances, social life, as well as the intellectual background at the time.

This book offers a comprehensive exploration of Chinese Buddhist rituals and their pivotal role in shaping both Chinese Buddhism and broader Chinese culture. Translated from the revised and enlarged Chinese edition of Zhongguo hanchuan fojiao liyi by Shengkai (Commercial Press, 2020), it addresses a significant gap in current scholarship: the underrepresentation of ritual practices in the study of Chinese Buddhism’s development.While previous research has largely focused on doctrinal, philosophical, and ethical dimensions, this volume emphasizes ritual as a dynamic site of cultural interaction. It argues that the encounter between Indian and Chinese civilizations during Buddhism’s transmission to China was not merely theoretical but deeply embodied in ritual forms. These ceremonies served as a medium through which foreign religious ideas were localized, negotiated, and ultimately integrated into Chinese society.Despite the abundance of surviving ritual texts, the book highlights the difficulty of reconstructing how these rituals were performed in practice. It calls attention to the need for a more nuanced understanding of ritual as lived experience, not just textual tradition. By foregrounding ritual, this book contributes to a richer, more holistic view of Chinese Buddhism and its cultural legacy.