PIS'MENNYE
PAMYATNIKI
VOSTOKA

Vol. 17, No. 2 (41)
Summer 2020

Journal based in 2004
Issued quarterly

The entire issue as a *.PDF file

PUBLICATIONS

“About the city of Singapore and Tengku Long” (an excerpt from the memoirs of Abdullah bin Abdulkadir Munsyi). Introduction, translation from Malayan and commentaries by Liubov V. Goriaeva — 5
The article comprises the researcher’s preface and an abridged translation of Chapters 22–23 from The Story of Abdullah by the famous Malay author, Abdullah bin Abdulkadir Munsyi (1796/7–1854). The chapters relate the story of the transfer of the island of Singapore from the possession of the Sultanate of Johor Riau to the authority of the British East India Company. Despite the fact that Abdullah was not a direct witness to these events, his story is quite detailed and informative.
Key words: Singapore, British East India Company, treaty, Raffles, Farquhar, port, temanggung, Sultan Hussein.

RESEARCH WORKS

Marat M. Yunusov. From the History of the Decipherment of West Semitic Writing: Events and People. 7. Barthélemy the Orientalist: Between Scholarship and High Society. Part I — 18
In the mid-18th century, Barthélemy made two outstanding discoveries — he deciphered the Palmyrene and Phoenician alphabets. A few days, sometimes months, of work on ancient writings—and a decade of debates, conflict and justification. Long-term studies of antique numismatics—and wide recognition of the colleagues. Thirty years of work on the archaeological novel Voyage du jeune Anacharsis en Grèce—and the rapture of contemporaries, the universal adoration of the general public. Did Barthélemy’s dreams of his days of study in Marseilles come true when the young seminarist Jean-Jacques began to learn the basics of Oriental languages on his own?
Key words: Barthélemy, Reynaud, Cary, Thomassin, Boze

Iuliia V. Boltach. Indian Deities in Ancient Korea (as reflected in the Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms) — 41
Along with Buddhism, ancient Koreans learned about some elements of pre-Buddhist Indian beliefs, which have been previously incorporated into Buddhism in India—in particular, about the deities Indra (and his retinue), Sarasvati, the four heavenly kings and others, who were viewed in Buddhism as inhabitants of the higher Samsaric spheres and protectors of the Buddha’s Dharma. The research is based on the Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms (Samguk yusa 三國遺事), which is a vast collection of materials on early Korean history composed by Iryeon 一然 (1206–1289). However, there are no legends dedicated exclusively to the deities in this book—only individual references to them, and there is no information about religious practices associated with these deities, because Buddhists do not take refuge in them. However, as we can conclude from Iryon’s book, Indian deities played a rather noticeable part in ancient Korean ideological system: they were associated with local gods (Hwanin), ancestors (Haemosu) and historical figures (Gim Yusin), and employed for the “sanctifying” of Silla state, which was proclaimed to be a country inhabited by deities and protected by them.
Key words: early Korean Buddhism, Indian pantheon, Indra, Sarasvati, the Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms

HISTORY AND HISTORIOGRAPHY

Sun Yingxin. The Tangut Version of the Ārya-Aparimītāyurjñāna-nāma-mahāyāna-sūtra from Khara-Khoto in the Collection of the IOM, RAS — 52
The article presents a textological research of all the extant fragments of the Tangut version of the Aparimītāyurjnāna-nāma mahāyāna-sūtra in the Collection of the IOM, RAS. It turned out that the Tangut text of this sutra is different from all the versions in other languages. The Dharani from this Buddhist text seems to be the one that was widely spread in Hexi area at the time. Analysis of the Tangut translation of this sutra is important for studying the history of Buddhism in China. It is assumed that the Tangut version was translated from a Tibetan version, which has been lost.
Key words: block print, Xi Xia (Tanguts), Buddhism, dharani, transcription

Olga M. Chunakova. Some Sogdian Manuscripts Written in Columns — 58
The article deals with those of the Sogdian manuscripts, extant and published, whose texts are written in columns. Among them, there is a fragment recently found at the Serindian Fund of the IOM, RAS, which is a list of ingredients for the manufacture of ink (Chinese ink).
Key words: Sogdian, Sogdian Manuscripts, Department of Manuscripts of the IOM, RAS

Alexey Yu. Lushchenko. Traditional Japanese Textbook for Handwriting Practice (17th–19th Centuries): Handwriting Precepts for Beginners (Shotōzan tenarai kyōkunsho) — 68
The article contains the Japanese text and a Russian translation of two versions of the Handwriting Precepts for Beginners (Shotōzan tenarai kyōkunsho). This work is one of the most common primers used in Japan during the 17th–19th centuries for learning handwriting. It was intended as a calligraphy sample to be copied and a didactic treatise for the moral edification of disciples.
Key words: Japanese writing, history of education, calligraphy, learning handwriting in Japan, didactic textbooks, Handwriting Precepts for Beginners (Shotōzan tenarai kyōkunsho)

Anton D. Pritula. East Syriac Lectionary Sir. 26 in the Collection of the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the Russian Academy of Sciences: “Old” and “New” Verses and Images — 87
The Collection of the Institute of the Oriental Manuscripts of the Russian Academy of Science possesses a manuscript Sir. 26, an East Syriac lectionary. Being an Evangeliary (Evangelion), it is meant for the Gospel lections of the whole liturgical year. As determined by Nina V. Pigulevskaya, all the miniatures were added to it later. These additional folia with the miniatures also contain the date of completion and the name of the person involved. Besides, a part of the illuminations is marked in his hand as “a new image”, while the others are called “an old image”. Their iconographic features and the data provided by the notes enable us to see various tendencies that were present in the manuscript production of the Chaldean (East Syriac Catholic) Church in the late 19th—early 20th centuries in a new light. At the same time, the “conservator” accompanied the miniatures with quatrains, as was the normal practice, since they were an important element of manuscript illumination.
Key words: Syriac manuscripts, lectionary, Chaldean Church, manuscript illumination, scribal poetry

ACADEMIC LIFE

Vladimir P. Ivanov. Open Lectures of the IOM RAS in 2018–2019 — 102

Youli A. Ioannesyan. Conference in Memory of O.F. Akimushkin (St. Petersburg, February 19, 2020) — 108

Irina F. Popova. Session of the Round Table “Current State and Development Trends of the Oriental Studies in Russia”. Exhibition Opening “Keepers of the Cultural Patterns. Russian Oriental Studies in Persons” (Moscow, March 2, 2020) — 117

REVIEWS

‘Abd al-Salām Sayyid Ahmad. Al-Fuqahā’ wa al-saltana fī al-Sinnār (“Faqihs and the Sultanate of Sennar”). Khartoum: Sharikat matabia al-Sūdān li-l-‘umla al-mahdūda, 2017. 252 pp. (in Arabic) (Igor V. Gerasimov) — 131

INDEXES

Tatiana A. Pang. Indexes to the Pis’mennye pamiatniki Vostoka Journal. Vol. 14, № 4 (issue 31), 2017 — Vol. 17, № 1 (issue 40), 2020 — 137

IN MEMORIAM

Kseniia Leonidovna Chizhikova (09.04.1933–11.04.2020) (Irina F. Popova) — 146

Aleksandr Konstantinovich Ogloblin (02.01.1939–23.04.2020) (Svetlana V. Banit) — 149