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PAMYATNIKI
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Vol. 21, No. 2 (57)
Summer 2024

Journal based in 2004
Issued quarterly

Full text as a *.PDF file

PUBLICATIONS
HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, PHILOLOGY

Anthony E. TEREKHOV. Biographies from the Han Collection Liexianzhuan (Biographies of Outstanding Transcendents) and Their Analogues in the Manuscript of the Same Name from the Collection of IOM, RAS — 5

This publication is a Russian translation of four biographies from the unique 19th-century manuscript Liexianzhuan (Biographies of Outstanding Transcendents), housed at the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts, RAS (NOVA collection, H56). The biographies selected for translation go back to the Han era (206/202 B.C. — 220 A.D.) work of the same name (from which, however, manuscript differs considerably both in scope and contents), traditionally attributed to the high official and writer Liu Xiang (77–76 B.C.). Moreover, since the biographies from the manuscript are much longer than their prototypes from the Han collection, their translation is accompanied by a translation of the original biographies from the latter, which allows us to evaluate the editorial work carried out by the anonymous compiler of the manuscript. The heroes of the translated biographies are characters from the times of legendary antiquity: the “Rain Master” Chisongzi, the horse veterinarian Mashi Huang, the “Rope Father” Chijiang Ziyu and the pine nut lover Wo Quan.
Keywords: Liexianzhuan, manuscript, transcendents, Taoism, Taoist hagiography.

Tatiana V. KLEMENTEVA. Local Cults in the Chapter “Guai Shen” 怪神 (“Monsters and Deities”) from Ying Shao’s 應劭 Treatise Feng su tong yi 風俗通義 (Penetrating into the Meaning of Traditions and Customs). Translation from Chinese and Commentary by Tatiana V. Klementeva — 17

This article presents a translation of two sections from the chapter “Guai Shen” 怪神 (“Monsters and Deities”) of the treatise Feng su tong yi 風俗通義 (Penetrating into the Meaning of Traditions and Customs), written by the statesman Ying Shao 應劭 (d. before 204), supplied with an introduction and comments. This chapter includes twenty-one anecdotes about human encounters with the supernatural or local religious cults. Ten of them were later included into the collection of stories Sou shen ji 搜神記 (Investigations into Deities), thus this treatise had some impact on the development of the zhiguai xiaoshuo 志怪小説 (“stories [containing] records [of] the unusual”) genre. The two sections selected for publication describe local cults that were formed during the Han era 漢 (202 B.C.E. — 220 C.E.). In the first section, Ying Shao shows how officials should control such cults using laws. In the second one, the author persuades the reader to rationally approach the foundations on which the cult arises and not to trust all rumors about the divine power of creatures. This translation provides an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of religious life at the end of the Han era.
Keywords: Ying Shao, anecdotes, Ancient China’s customs, feng su, religious cults of the Han era.

RESEARCH WORKS
HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, PHILOLOGY

Viacheslav M. RYBAKOV. On Translating the Names of Harem Offices in Tang China (618–907) into Russian — 30

Analysis and attempt to precisely translate the traditional Chinese administrative terms into Russian can be very interesting and fruitful for the understanding of the basic concepts of Chinese culture. Each title more or less explicitly encodes general ideas about the social functions of an institution or office and about the supposed ways to perform these functions. Of special interest are those cases when it is impossible to find a close Western functional analogue for the name and, therefore, it is impossible to simply replace the Chinese term with a Western one instead of translating it. In these cases, each name was the function. The name is an extremely concise symbolic, allegorical description of the ideal concepts about the tasks that the state sets for this institution or official, and, at the same time, of the ideal concepts about the methods by which these tasks will be implemented. Having understood the name, we get an idea of both the task and the method. Interesting examples of such names are the positions of the female staff of the institution that we traditionally call the imperial harem.
Keywords: Traditional Chinese administration, administrative terminology, official function and its symbolic meaning.

Helena P. OSTROVSKAIA. Interpretation of Euthanasia in the Buddhist Worldview — 43

Religious interpretations of the moral aspect of euthanasia arouse serious scholarly interest in the problematic field of bioethics. The article is devoted to the explication of the Buddhist approach to the ethical assessment of euthanasia based on the material of Encyclopedia of Abhidharma with Commentary, an exegetical work by the famous educator Vasubandhu (4th–5th centuries). A thematic analysis of the text reveals two different types of euthanasia discussed by Buddhist exegetes. One of them is characterized as the foreign practice of killing terminally ill parents in order to save them from severe suffering. In the context of the Buddhist worldview, this type of euthanasia belongs to the category of murders committed on the basis of ignorance. Killing is not a method of getting rid of suffering, because suffering is an attribute of samsara. Ignorant Gentiles do not understand the true difference between sin and virtue. By interrupting the lives of terminally ill parents, they commit the mortal transgression of killing a benefactor. Another type of euthanasia is described as a Buddhist ritual of premature end of life. The ritual is performed by an elderly arhat (the enlightened guardian of the Buddha’s teachings) when he has already prepared a worthy successor. An arhat interrupts his own life through a special mental method sanctified by the canonical tradition. This type of euthanasia was defined by Buddhist exegetes as a phenomenon of the domination of an enlightened person over life and death.
Keywords: euthanasia, bioethics, later Abhidharma texts, Vasubandhu, Yashomitra, murder of terminally ill parents, mortal sin of killing benefactors, Buddhist ritual of premature end of life, arhats.

HISTORY AND HISTORIOGRAPHY
TEXTOLOGY, CODICOLOGY, PALEOGRAPHY, ARCHEOGRAPHY

Artyom V. KLIMOV. Who Was Entrusted with the Development of the “Eastern Lands of the Ainu” in 1799 (Based on Matsuda Denjuro’s Diaries) — 53

In 1799, the military government Bakufu 幕府 transferred the Lands of the Ainu Ezochi 蝦夷地, which had previously been subordinate to the Matsumae Family 松前藩, under its direct control. These territories were divided into the Eastern Lands of the Ainu Higashi Ezochi 東蝦夷地 and the Western Lands of the Ainu Nishi Ezochi 西蝦夷地. The Japanese also included the southern islands of the Kuril ridge, Kunashir and Iturup, in the Eastern Lands; the border between the lands ran along the island of Hokkaido. It is known that by this time Japanese administration had been created only in the southern part of this island. It was extremely important for the bakufu to establish full control over these territories, as well as to prevent the penetration of Russian researchers and traders into the lands of the Ainu. Proxies of the military government were sent there to carry out this task. The diary entries of Matsuda Denju:ro:’s Tales of the Northern Barbarians provide a list of the leaders of the first sea crossing in Japanese history from Edo to Akkeshi in Hokkaido. An analysis of the titles and ranks of the listed leaders allows us to see the seriousness of the military government’s approach to preparing the expedition. This article is devoted to the translation and analysis of the list given in the Tales.
Keywords: Matsuda, Tales of the Northern Barbarians, Hokkaido, Japanese titles, Japanese ranks.

COLLECTIONS AND ARCHIVES

Youli A. IOANNESYAN. Vladimir Alekseevich Ivanov — a World-Class Expert on Iranian Studies. Part 2 — 68

The article is devoted to the outstanding 20th-century researcher of Iran — V.A. Ivanov (or Wladimir Ivanow, as he often styled himself), whose scholarly studies combined two spheres: Persian/Iranian dialectology and Ismailism, while he himself stood at the origins of research in both these spheres. The author tried to consider Ivanov’s studies in both these areas altogether for a full-scale assessment of his great personality as a scholar, as well as of his contribution to world Oriental studies. The article, published in two parts, includes V.A. Ivanov’s biography, sections concerning his works on linguistics/ethnography and Ismailism, as well as data on the significant replenishment by Ivanov of the IOM, RAS, collection of manuscripts and lithographs. Among the sources used for the article are V.A. Ivanov’s own memoirs and IOM, RAS archival materials.
Keywords: history of Oriental studies, Ismaili studies, replenishment of the IOM, RAS, funds.

Tatiana I. YUSUPOVA, Mark A. KOZINTCEV. “Everywhere Was I Greeted with Great Courtesy”: V.V. Bartold’s Research Visit to Turkey on the Pages of His 1926 Constantinople Diary — 87

The paper continues the history of Academician V.V. Bartold’s research visit to Turkey in the first half of 1926. The trip was partly reflected in the scholar’s diary, which he kept from January 15 to February 17, 1926. Despite the small volume and brevity of the entries, they are very informative and present a valuable source for studying Bartold’s research activities. The diaries show that, during that period, the Academician was mainly engaged in the study of Oriental manuscripts in Istanbul libraries. In addition, Bartold communicated a lot with Turkish and European researchers working in Turkey at that time, and, on behalf of the USSR Academy of Sciences, discussed with them the possibility of organizing joint research projects. The diary also reflects Barthold’s prepa¬rations for the trip to Baku to participate in the First All-Union Turkological Congress. The infor¬mation provided allows us to detail Bartold’s research work in Turkey and his activities in strengthening academic cooperation between the two countries.
Keywords: collections of Oriental manuscripts, manuscript collections of Turkey, European researchers in Turkey, V.V. Bartold’s diary, Soviet-Turkish scholarly contacts.

ACADEMIC LIFE

Tatiana V. ERMAKOVA. The 17th All-Russian Oriental Conference in Memory of O.O. Rozenberg (St. Petersburg, November 27–28, 2023) — 105
Keywords: Buddhism, O.O. Rozenberg, written records of the East, history of Oriental studies.

Dina V. ZAITCEVA. Conference in Memory of O.F. Akimushkin (St. Petersburg, February 19, 2024) — 111
Keywords: O.F. Akimushkin, Oriental Studies, Near and Middle East, IOM, RAS.

Nigora S. KHAMIDOVA. The 46th Annual Session of St. Petersburg Arabists “The 300th Anniversary of Russian Arabic Studies: Arabists and Their Calling” (St. Petersburg, April 8, 10, 2024) — 115
Keywords: the 300th anniversary of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Arabic studies, Middle Eastern studies, history, linguistics, literary criticism, source studies, epigraphy, Christian East, Islamic studies.

REVIEWS

Oguibénine B. A New Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Reader. Harvard Oriental Series — Opera Minora 15. New York: Gorgias Press, 2023. xii + 382 pp. (Evgeniya A. DESNITSKAYA) — 121
Keywords: Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit, Sanskrit, Prakrit, Buddhist manuscripts.

IN MEMORIAM

Vadim Yu. Klimov (Vasilii V. SHCHEPKIN) — 125