Vol 20, No 4 (2023)

Publications

“A Guide for the Perplexed” by Sayyid Kazim Rashti. Translated from Arabic and Persian. Part 7”

Ioannesyan Y.A.

Abstract

The article presents a part of a Russian translation (with an introduction and commentaries) of the valuable treatise: Dalil al-mutahayyirin (“A Guide for the Perplexed”) by Sayyid Kazim Rashti, one of the founders of the Shaykhi school. The work is dated 1842. The translation is made from the Arabic original and two Persian translations of the treatise.

Pis'mennye pamiatniki Vostoka. 2023;20(4):5-20
pages 5-20 views

Astrology and Divination in a Chronicle from the Tangut Collection of IOM, RAS. Preface, Translation from Tangut and Commentary

Bogdanov K.M.

Abstract

Manuscript Tang 1770 (11th–13th centuries) from the IOM, RAS Collection is an astrological and mantic text. It has no beginning, where we could possibly find the text’s title, but its end has survived, so we know the name of its author or compiler. Its handwriting is quite clear and structure is also easy to read and understand, which is rarely the case with Tangut books. Judging from its grammar and lexical characteristics, it appears to be an original Tangut text rather than a translation from Chinese or Tibetan. Content-wise, this work offers a description of the agricultural calendar cycle, its beginning and ending, and significant mantic and astrological characteristics of every cycle. We also find here the elements of a year-by-year chronicle: some evidence of everyday life and real facts from Xixia history. There are also some interesting language traits which deserve further research. All these aspects make this text a very important written source for the Tangut studies.

Pis'mennye pamiatniki Vostoka. 2023;20(4):21-37
pages 21-37 views

Research works

On Docetic Christology in Early Christianity. Part 3.2

Khosroyev A.L.

Abstract

The so-called docetic Christology was based on the idea that the earthly Jesus and the heavenly Christ were two different persons; it was Jesus who suffered on the cross, whereas Christ just entered Jesus’ body for a while and abandoned it before his death on the cross; consequently, the suffering of Christ was mere appearance. Based on some passages from Gnostic texts containing examples of docetic Christology, the author attempts here to trace the life of that concept, starting with the New Testament (Pt. 1: Synoptic Gospels). In previous parts of the article (Pt. 2.1; 2.2; 2.3; 2.4), he analyzed such Paul’s passages as Rom. 1.3–4, Gal. 4. 4–7, 1Cor 8.4–6, Phlp. 2.5–11, Col 1.15–20; in Pt. 3.1, the subject of research was 1John 4.2–3; 2John 7 and some related sayings from the Letters of Ignatius. In this part, the author discusses some (antidocetic) problems of the Gospel of John. To be continued.

Pis'mennye pamiatniki Vostoka. 2023;20(4):38-59
pages 38-59 views

Sources of the Literary and Intellectual Landscape of Central Asian Khanates: Jura Bik’s First Library

Toshov N.I.

Abstract

Bik, the ruler of the Kitab Domain under the Bukharan Emirate and later a general of the Russian army. The collection in question was confiscated as a war trophy following the capture of the city of Kitab by Russian troops in 1870 and donated by the first Governor-General of Turkestan, K.P. von Kaufman to the Imperial Public Library (now NLR) in St. Petersburg. An inventory of said collection (76 books), as well as the one assembled by the orientalist A.L. Kuhn during the same Shahrisabz expedition (24 books), was discovered in 2016 in the archives of the National Library of Russia. The current article briefly covers Jura Bik’s biography, provides a general outline of his collection, and sets out to identify the manuscripts listed in the mentioned inventory, based upon their published descriptions and the author’s own materials.

Pis'mennye pamiatniki Vostoka. 2023;20(4):60-76
pages 60-76 views

History and historiography

Qabq in the Geographical work and Maps in Abu Muhammad al-Idrisi’s Nuzhat al-mushtaq fi ikhtiraq al-afaq

Gizbulaev M.A.

Abstract

The article gives new information on the history of peoples of the Caucasus on the basis of translation, commentary and comparative analysis of excerpts from the 12th c. Arabic geographical work Nuzhat al-mushtaq fi ikhtiraq al-afaq (The Delight of Him Who Desires to Journey through the Climates) by Abu Muhammad al-Idrisi, as well as based on early sources by some Muslim authors related to the history of Qabq. For the first time in Russian historiography, it compares textual fragments from Nuzhat al-mushtaq with its maps of the given region in order to determine the degree of coherence between them, and it also delineates the differences between al-Idrisi’s maps in the Paris, St. Petersburg and Oxford manuscripts on Qabq.

Pis'mennye pamiatniki Vostoka. 2023;20(4):77-88
pages 77-88 views

An Arabic Construction Inscription of 1418 from the Tsakhur Village of Jinykh

Zakariyaev Z.S.

Abstract

The article examines the content of the Arabic inscription discovered by the author in the mountainous Tsakhur village of Jinykh in Dagestan. The inscription was made on the occasion of the mosque reconstruction, it contains the name of the organizer of the repair works and is dated 821 AH, which corresponds to 1418. It has been established that the initial construction of the mosque in Jinykh took place much earlier, which is confirmed by the discovery of an Arabic Kufic inscription of the 12th–13th centuries within the wall of the mosque. The technique of the 1418 inscription, which was made in the calligraphic Naskh handwriting, greatly differs from the vast majority of other medieval inscriptions in the region. The description and translation of the text are accompanied by linguistic comments.

Pis'mennye pamiatniki Vostoka. 2023;20(4):89-94
pages 89-94 views

Collections and Archives

‘Forms of the Canarese Characters at Different Periods’ (1833): A Lithographic Edition by Walter Elliot from the Library of IOM, RAS

Tanonova E.V.

Abstract

The article is dedicated to a newly discovered item from the library of the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts, RAS. The lithographic book was issued in Bombay by a British administration official named Sir W. Elliot (1803–1887) in 1833 as a catalog of early forms of Kannada alphabetic characters dating back to the 6th century A.D. The researcher carefully collected inscriptions from various epigraphic sources. The table with characters is preceded by a Memorandum, where W. Elliot clearly answers the main questions: what kind of material was used in the lithography, where it was found and to what time it belongs, and, most importantly, why the author took the trouble to collect and classify epigraphic characters. The publication in question is an example of the work of a tireless researcher who, in his spare time, was obviously engrossed in an activity that was dear to his heart (like many researchers of all times), making Indian history and culture clearer and closer to the educated Western reader.

Pis'mennye pamiatniki Vostoka. 2023;20(4):95-105
pages 95-105 views

Die Sammlung Wolfram Eberhard zur Populären Chinesischen Sittengeschichte

Walravens H.

Abstract

The following list describes booklets which were banned in the 1960s in Hong Kong and Taiwan because of dealing with sexual topics. They were available only under the counter, did not enter libraries and official bibliographies and usually do not provide exact metadata. Most names are pseudonyms and the data on the place and year of publication are mostly missing. The Sinologist Wolfram Eberhard, who had dealt with similar subjects in his Guilt and Sin in Traditional China (Berkeley 1967) and The Daily Life of a Chinese Courtesan Climbing up a Tricky Ladder (Hong Kong 1980), possibly planned on also dealing with this popular material which he collected on his travels but he never found the time. Therefore, it is to be considered serendipitous that this little collection was acquired by the Bavarian State Library in Munich, probably the only library in the world to hold it.

Pis'mennye pamiatniki Vostoka. 2023;20(4):106-111
pages 106-111 views

Academic Life

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Reviews

pages 141-144 views
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