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Vol. 15, No. 4 (35)
Winter 2018

Journal based in 2004
Issued quarterly

The entire issue as a *.PDF file

PUBLICATIONS

“Five Grades of Revelation” by the Bab: Thematic Fragments of the Text. Introduction, Translation from the Persian Laguage and Commentaries by Youli A. Ioannesyan — 5
The article introduces the reader to one of the latest Writings of the Bab (founder of the Babi faith): The Panj Sha’n. It contains a brief review of its content illustrated by relevant passages. This Writing consists of various Arabic and Persian texts different in style and content. What makes The Panj Sha’n unique among the Bab’s writings is that it comprises the five “modes” or “grades” of what the Bab described as his revelation. The texts are very difficult for understanding and translation, but, as the author of the article shows by demonstrating their examples in his provisional Russian translation, the viewpoint expressed by some scholars that this Writing is “almost unreadable” and “untranslatable” is largely exaggerated.
Key words: the Babi faith, the Bab, religion, the Baha’i faith

RESEARCH WORKS

Alexandr L. Khosroyev. A Commentary on the Word ϪѠΚM̄ (λουτρόν? βάπτισμα) in the “Second Logos of the Great Seth” 58.15–16 (NHC VII.2) and Early Christian “Baptism” Generally. Part 4 — 21
The article deals with Gnostic writings of the second half of the 2nd and the first half of the 3rd A.D. and concludes the author’s review of the usage of the concept “baptism” in early Christian literature. While some Gnostics (e.g. Valentinians) applied the concept to the water baptism, others used the word “baptism” as a mere metaphor, without any connection to the water rite at all (as was the case with the New Testament texts which display strong evidence of such a usage; cf. pts. 1–2 of this article).
Key words: Early Christianity, baptism, the New Testament, Christian authors, Gnosticism Ishikawa Toru. The Discovery of the “Chogonka” (“The Song of Everlasting Sorrow”) Scroll Fragments by Asai Ryoi. Introduction, Translation from the Japanese Laguage and Commentaries by Karine G. Marandjian — 61 The article of the Japanese scholar investigates two fragments of “Chogonka” (“The Song of Everlasting Sorrow”) scroll from the IOM RAS collection that until recently have been unknown in Japan. The author proves that the text itself and its calligraphy can be attributed to the famous writer Asai Ryoi (1612–1691).
Key words: illustrative scroll, naraehon, calligraphy, copyist, wood-block printed edition, the writer Asai Ryoi

Oxana V. Tikhonova. About the Authorship of the “Poema de Yusuf” in Aljamiado Literature — 70
Many scholarly works have been devoted to the “Poema de Yusuf”, but its origin still raises questions. An anonymous poem in aljamiado is written by a Muslim and is based on a story popular among the Moriscos, based on the twelfth Sura of the Koran. However, the poem also traces Christian influence, and not only at the lexical level. The poem is written in a complex poetic form of the “cauderna via”, which was widespread in the church environment.
Key words: history of linguistics, Spanish, manuscripts, Moriscos, medieval literature, Poema de Yusuf, aljamiado

HISTORY AND HISTORIOGRAPHY

Vladimir G. Datsyshen. Re the Problems of Transcription of the Chinese Language: From the History of the Russian Sinology — 78
The article examines the origin and development of the Russian transcription of the Chinese language. It covers the period from the 18th to the second half of the 20th century, the emphasis is made on the problems of preserving historical traditions and cultural legacy in Chinese studies by Russian researchers. The paper surveys the historical picture of handwritten and printed dictionaries, overviews the role of the famous Russian and Soviet sinologists in the forming of the modern Russian transcription of the Chinese characters. Created in the 18th century, the Russian transcription has been steadily and permanently developing till it assumed its modern form in the second half of the 20th century. The attempts of serious reforms of the Russian transcription in the 19th–20th centuries or proposals to abandon it entirely were not successful.
Key words: Sinology, Russian transcription, the Chinese language, historical traditions

Igor A. Alimov. Notes on Xiaoshuo: “Tai ping Guang Ji” — 87
The article is part of a large ongoing study under the general title “A Concise History of the 1st– 13th Century Chinese Xiaoshuo Prose”. It is devoted to one of the four great encyclopedias-leishu “Tai ping guang ji” (“Extensive Notes of the Years of the Tai-ping") of the Song Dynasty. This is the official compendium of the best examples of xiaoshuo prose from antiquity to the 10th century and the most important source for studying the traditional spiritual culture of China. The article considers the history of creation of the text, analyzes its composition, examines the existence of “Tai ping guan ji” from its earliest editions to modern ones.
Key words: China, Chinese literature, Chinese xiaoshuo prose, textology, “Tai ping guang ji”

COLLECTIONS AND ARCHIVES

Tatiana I. Yusupova. “The Idea of Establishing the Turkish Commission of the Academy of Sciences has Fully Ripened”: On the Visit of Academicians N.Ya. Marr and A.N. Samoilovich to Turkey in 1933 — 98
The article highlights the events that preceded the creation of the Commission for the Promotion of Scientific Relations with Turkey (the Turkish Commission) in the structure of the Academy of Sciences, USSR. At the request of the President of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal, the Academy of Sciences sent two Soviet Orientalists — academicians N.Ya. Marr and A.N. Samoilovich as the President of Turkey emphasized the importance of their activities in his reform efforts to determine new cultural and national priorities: Their invitation was related to the creation of Turkish historical and linguistic societies on the initiative of Kemal. This trip of Soviet academicians was an important step in the development of scientific contacts between the USSR Academy of Sciences and Turkish scientists in the 1930s. Documents from the State Archive of the Russian Federation and the Archive of Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation make it possible to trace in detail the preparation of N.Ya. Marr and A.N. Samoilovich’s visit to Turkey, reflect the role of the People’s Commissariat of Foreign Affairs in its implementation and motivation for choosing specifically these scholars, demonstrate the importance that the Foreign Policy Department attached to scientific interaction in the structure of Soviet-Turkish relations. The correspondence of the Soviet diplomatic mission in Turkey and the People’s Commissariat for Foreign Affairs on the organization of the visit to Turkey of N.Ya. Marr and A.N. Samoilovich is given in an attachment.
Key words: People’s Commissariat of Foreign Affairs of the USSR, Soviet-Turkish scientific contacts, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Turkish Commission of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR

Aleksey V. Andronov. The Legacy of Evgenii Polivanov in the Central Asia — 111
The article presents the results of research recently conducted in the libraries of Samarkand, Tashkent and Bishkek with the aim of expanding the bibliography of Evgenij Dmitrievič Polivanov (1891– 1938), including works devoted to him published in Central Asia in the late 20th and the early 21st century. It clarifies the information about Polivanov’s manuscripts kept in local archives. The materials include Polivanov’s articles on the Uzbek, Kyrgyz and Dungan languages and on the epic Manas, as well as translations and his correspondence, which has been hitherto unknown or practically inaccessible. A list of the discovered publications is given in the Appendix. An addition to Polivanov’s earlier bibliographies, the new materials are expected to promote a continuation of Polivanov’s Selected Writings (Vol. I, 1968; Vol. II, 1991).
Key words: history of linguistics, Polivanov, bibliography, archives, Samarkand, Tashkent, Bishkek, Uzbek, Kyrgyz, Dungan, Manas

ACADEMIC LIFE

Tatiana V. Ermakova. Conference “Current Topics of Buddhist Studies-5” (St. Petersburg, March 14, 2018) — 137

Anna A. Turanskaia. International Research Conference “Political Culture of the Mongols from the 13th to the Early 20th Century” (St. Petersburg, May 25, 2018) — 140

Dmitry A. Nosov. 61st Permanent International Altaistic Conference (Bishkek, Cholpon-Ata, August 26 — September 4, 2018) — 144

REVIEWS

Sh. Khurshudian. State Institutions of Parthian and Sasanian Iran, 3rd Century AD — 7th Century BC (Arthur A. Ambartsumian) — 147