Written Monuments of the OrientWritten Monuments of the OrientWritten Monuments of the Orient2410-0145“Nauka” Publishers: “Vostochnaya Literatura” (Oriental Literature) Publisher62408010.55512/wmo624080Original PapersResearch ArticleThe Manchu-Chinese Manuscript Emu tanggû orin sakda-i gisun sarkiyan 百二老人語録 in the Collection of the IOM, RASIliukhovAleksandr A.
Russian Federation

junior researcher, Department of Far Eastern Studies

alexsmol96@gmail.comPangTatiana A.
Russian Federation

Cand. Sci. (History), Leading Researcher, Head of the Department of Far Eastern Studies, Deputy-Director for Science

ptatiana@inbox.ruInstitute of Oriental Manuscripts, Russian Academy of Sciences151220239233562911202305122023Copyright ©; 2023, Iliukhov A.A., Pang T.A.2023Iliukhov A.A., Pang T.A.https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0https://journals.eco-vector.com/2410-0145/article/view/624080

A unique Manchu-Chinese manuscript “The stories of one hundred and twenty old men” Emu tanggû orin sakda-i gisun sarkiyan is kept in the collection of the Institute of Oriental manuscripts. It is a rare sample of Manchu original literature that was compiled by a Mongol Sungyûn (Songyun 松筠) in 1790. The text was edited by Furentai, and in 1809 was translated into Chinese by a famous connoisseur of Manchu and Chinese literature Fugiyûn (Fujun 富俊). The bilingual manuscript from the IOM, RAS bears red personal seals of Fujun and the red seal of the printing house Shao-yi-tang 紹衣堂 that prove that the copy belonged to the translator. The text consists of 120 stories told by 120 old men. They mostly concern the life of simple Manchu bannermen, their everyday problems and financial difficulties often caused by Chinese merchants. The author solves them according to the Confucian moral teachings. Much attention is paid to training of the army and education. Descriptions of daily life in this work are of interest for historians, while its Manchu text is a good source for studies of Manchu original literature and language.

The compilation history of “The stories of one hundred and twenty old men” is described in three prefaces to the manuscript. Their English translation, accompanied by a transcription of Chinese and a transliteration of Manchu originals, is given in this article.

Manchu literatureManchu manuscriptSungyûnSongyunFugiyûnFujunEmu tanggû orin sakda-i gisun sarkiyanIOMRASCROSSLEY, Pamela 1990: Three Manchu Generations and the End of the Manchu World. Princeton.DABRINGHAUS, Sabine. 1994: Das Qing-Imperium als Vision und Wirklichkeit. Tibet in Laufbahn und Schriften des Song Yun (1752–1835). Stuttgart (Münchener ostasiatische Studien. Bd. 69).Emu tanggû orin sakda-i gisun sarkiyan. With an introduction by Kanda Nobuo (Facsimile edition of the copy kept at the Far Eastern Library, University of Chicago). Taipei: Chinese Materials Center, 1982.HEISSIG, Walter 1962: “Some Notes by Sung-yün on the Administration of Tibet”. Oriens Extremus 9: 85–89.HUMMEL, Аrtur 1991: Eminent Chinese of the Ch’ing period. Vol. 1–2. Taipei.JI YONGHAI 季永海 “Sui jun jixing yizhu” 随军纪行译注 [Personal diary following the troops]KANDA, Nobuo 1981: Remarks on “Emu tanggû orin sakda-i gisun sarkiyan”. In: Proceedings of the 6th East Asian Altaistic Conference. Taipei: 225.NAKAMI Tatsuo 中見立夫 2000: “«Hyaku ni rōjin goroku» no shomondai — Inaba Iwakichi kyūzōbon no sai shutsugen to Urānbātoru kokuritsu toshokan bon wo megutte”《百二老人語録》の諸問題—岩吉稲葉博士旧蔵本の再出現とウラーンバートル国立図書館本をめぐって [Various issues of “The stories of one hundred and twenty old men” — about rediscovery of the copy kept by Prof. Inaba Iwakichi and a copy from the National Library in Ulaan-Baatar]. Manzokushi kenkyū tsūshin 満族史研究通信 9: 23–36.NORMAN, Jerry 1978: A Concise Manchu-English Lexicon. Seattle-London.PANG, Tatiana A. 1999: “Istoiia sozdaniia manchzhurskoi rukopisi “Rasskazy sta dvadtsati startsev” [The compilation history of the Manchu manuscript “The stories of one hundred and twenty old men”]. Altaica III: 73–81.QING SHI GAO 清史稿 [A Draft History of the Qing Dynasty]. [Beijing], 1927.RUDOLPH, Richard 1940: “Emu tanggû orin sakda-i gisun sarkiyan. An unedited Manchu manuscript”. Journal of the American Oriental Society 60: 554–563.STARY, Giovanni 1983: Emu tanggû orin sakda-i gisun sarkiyan. Erzählungen der 120 Alten. Wiesbaden, (Asiatische Forschungen. Bd. 83).VOLKOVA, Maia P. 1965: Opisanie man’chzhurskikh rukopisei Instituta narodov Azii AN SSSR [Description of Manchu manuscripts kept at the Institute of the Peoples of Asia, AS USSR]. Moscow.VON MENDE, Erling 1984: “Tribus” 33: 273.ZAKHAROV, Ivan I. 1875: Polnyi man’chzhursko-russkii slovar’ [Complete Manchu-Russian dictionary]. St. Petersburg.