PIS'MENNYE PAMYATNIKI VOSTOKA 1(2) Spring-Summer 2005 Journal based in 2004 Issued twice a year   Table of Contents as a *.PDF file PUBLICATIONS Dr Ye. Kychanov. "The Jade Mirror for Commanding Troops during the Period of Zhen-guan" (1101-1113) - 5 Summary The Jade Mirror for Commanding Troops during the Period of Zhen-guan (1101-1113) is a set of the Tangut Xi Xia state (982-1227) legislative documents of the early 12th century. These military laws regulate punishments and awards of army commanders and soldiers. More than 15 years ago I had translated the texts into Russian, but had no opportunity to publish it. The Tangut text in facsimile with German translation (done from my Russian version) was published in Germany in 1990 (see note 4). Later, in 1995, the Tangut text was reprinted in China with added Chinese translation (see note 5). All these years I have been thinking on publishing the Russian translation of the Jade Mirror. The present article finally presents it with some amendments for the Russian reader. Dr N. Dobronravin. Fula-Hausa-Arabic Medical Manuscript "Fa'ida haqlqa shurb as-sana' " (from the Collection of the St.Petersburg Branch of the Institute of Oriental Studies, the Russian Academy of Sciences) - 35 Summary The Institute of Oriental Studies (St. Petersburg Branch) of the Russian Academy of Sciences possesses a small collection of Arabic and multilingual manuscripts originating from Sudanic Africa. Most of them were written or copied by a bilingual Hausa/Eastern Fula speaker in today's Nigeria, Niger or Northern Cameroon in the nineteenth century. S. Chernetsov. Biography on the Service of Hagiography: Literary Fortunes of Elsa'e, the Second Abbot of Dabra Asbo Monastery, in Later Däbrä Libanos Hagiographic Tradition - 43 Summary The first written evidence on Elsa'e (the second abbot of Däbrä Asbo monastery founded by St. Täklä Haymanot and later renamed into Däbrä Libanos) is found in the Vita of Filpos of Däbrä Libanos, the third abbot of this monastery, written between 1424 and 1426. The only aim of this interpolated episode of obviously literary origin is to justify the appointment as the abbot of Filpos himself. If in the Vita of Filpos of Däbrä Libanos the story of Elsa'e deals not so much with his life as with the circumstances of his death, then in another hagiography — the Vita of Tadewos of Däbrä Maryam, the abbot of another monastery which belongs to the congregation founded by St. Täklä Haymanot — we find a narration about Elsa'e's childhood. Both stories are an obvious borrowing: in the first case from Coptic hagiographic literature, in the second from the Däbrä Libanos version of the Vita of St. Täklä Haymanot. One cannot help realizing that precisely these “biographical” details of Elsa'e's life are the least trustworthy elements of the entire narration. This made historians believe that the significance of Ethiopian hagiographies as a historical source is negligible. Probably it is so indeed for the epoch of the characters of a hagiography itself, i.e. for the period of their lifetime. The situation may looks otherwise if we consider these writings as historical source for the time of the writing of these works, of the creation of their new versions and the changes they had undergone. These data may be of considerable importance, for they may help a researcher to see the inside life of Ethiopian monasteries, at which a historian has fewer chances to glance than at a royal court or at a battle-field. RESEARCH WORKS Dr M. Pelevin. Poetic Fragments in Afghan Religious-Didactic Works of the 17th Century (a Study Based on Manuscripts from St. Petersburg Branch of the Institute of Oriental Studies) - 66 Summary Early Afghan poetry (in Pashto), usually associated with the mature verses of Roshānī mystics, also included less known poems of Hanafī theologians and preachers who, in pursuit of missionary purposes, tried to give poetical form to some of their spiritual and ethical homilies. Specimens of these poems, for the most part rather defective in both metrics and stylistics, are incorporated in religious manuals and didactic treatises of which only Maxzan al-islām has been published up to now, though not completely (Peshawar, 1969). The present study is based on the St. Petersburg manuscripts of three Pashto religious works of the 17th century — Maxzan al-islām (B 2483), Nāfi' al-muslimīn (B 2446), Kitāb-i Bābū Jān (C 1907). Poetical fragments of Maxzan's contributors 'Abd al-Karīm, 'Abd al-Halīm, Mustafā Muhammad and others as well as verses of Mīr Husayn and Bābū Jān, authors of Nāfi' and Kitāb, are brought together from the corpora of texts and discussed with respect to their metrical and strophical forms, structure, genre characteristics and contents. The research has a special focus on authors' treatment of religious alphabet alif-nāma which gained high popularity among early Pashto poets and examines closely Bābū Jān's attempts in exploring the classical genre kisas al-anbiyā' (stories about prophets). Dr O. Chunakova. Pahlavi Epistolary Formulae - 89 Summary In Pahlavi Texts (ed. Jamasp-Asana, 1913, p. 132-140) there is an interesting text on the correct way to write letters. The text contains a series of formulae to be used in writing letters to diverse persons. The paper is concerned with the reading and interpretation of the formulae, which were differently translated by previous scholars. The key to the understanding of these formulae is the opposition of two terms — xwadāy and bandag — meaning the addressee and the addresser of a letter. The constructions with an attributive compound and its synonym, and a determinative compound and its synonym following these two terms refer to the addressee and the addresser accordingly. Dr Ye. Knorozova. «Rêves d'un vieillard du Midi» Cho Ngouen Tchyng («The Dreams of an Elder of the South» by Cho Ngouen Tchyng) - 93 Résumé Le texte «Rêves d'un vieillard du Midi» daté du 1438, est composé par Cho Ngouen Tchyng, surnommé Vieillard du Midi. Cho Ngouen Tchyng était le fils aîné de Cho Kouï Li, qui a usurpé le trône de la dynastie Tchang et a créé sa propre dynastie Cho (1400-1407). Le texte «Rêves d'un vieillard du Midi» était écrit en Chine. Cho Ngouen Tchyng y est devenu un grand fonctionnaire. BOOK CULTURE Dr A. Khosroyev. Die Lehre über die Zeiten im Manichäismus (Manichaean Notions of Time) - 111 Summary In diesem Aufsatz betrachtet der Autor die Zeit-Vorstellungen in verschiedenen Kulturen und vergleicht sie mit der Lehre über die Zeiten, die man in manichäischen Texten findet. Nach dieser Untersuchung kann man vermuten, daß entweder Mani selbst oder seine Anhänger das aus der Astrologie entlehnte Schema der menschlichen Geschichte, nach dem alles von den Sternen schon prädestiniert ist und folglich eine zyklische Wiederkehr der Dinge voraussetzt, ihren breiteren Zeit-Vorstellungen, die ihnen im großen und ganzen vom iranischen Gut geerbt waren und nach denen keine Wiederkehr möglich ist, weil die Apokatastasis unwiederkehrbar ist, angepasst haben, ohne den geringsten Rücksicht darauf, daß beide einander widersprachen. Dr K. Zhukov. The Capture of the Beylik of Karesi by the Ottomans (the Numismatic Evidence and Narrative Sources) - 127 Summary The Capture of the Beylik of Karesi by the Ottomans (the Numismatic Evidence and Narrative Sources) The sequence of minting of Orhan bin Osman was reconstructed by Ph. Remler more than twenty years ago. Recently Render's Typology Chart was supported by K. MacKenzie and S. Srećković. In the paper, an alteration of the sequence has been proposed. The author argues that, because of their common cartouches (i.e. the ornaments which encircle the legends), В/II and C/III must be placed immediately before G/VIII type. There is the “Davidovich Law” which says that, during a ruler's reign, same cartouches of the reverse (that is on the coin's side which contains ruler's name) must follow each other without interruption. Once changed they would not be restored as long as the ruler was in power. This law might well have been applied to the Ottoman practice as well. This conclusion has some interesting ramifications including a possibility to shed light on the relationship between the Ottomans and the Karesi dynasty. Beylerbeyi, a member of this family, minted akches of two types. One of them was identical to G/VIII. This indicates that Beylerbeyi was still ruling over a part of the Beylik of Karesi ca. 1360. The family is traced back to Melik Danishmend, a rival of the Seldjukids, who ruled in Sivas in the 1 lth century. In this respect, of great importance is the fact that B/II is an imitation of the coinage of the Rum Seldjuk Sultan Kay Qubad I which he struck in Sivas in the Hijra year of 629. The historical significance of this Ottoman coin lies therefore in the claim of supremacy over the descendants of the Danishmendids. In other words, the coin represented a firm claim that the House of Osman was the legitimate successor of the Seldjuk Sultans of Rum. Dr A. Martynov. Inscriptions and Models as Monuments of Culture (a Study Based on Items of Traditional Chinese Culture) - 131 Summary The article is an attempt to present “space” as a cultural concept. In the first part of the article the author tries to analyze the influence of the three teachings (san jiao) on “space” of landscape and “space” of public office and private dwelling. The second part concerns the transformation of such artifacts as gardens en miniature and precious stones into a mysterious country. Dr I. Zograph. Interlevel Relationships and Language Interference (according to the Records of Mongolian Chancellery) - 167 Summary For Chinese, a language whose main linguistic unit — the word — has no explicit grammatical (be it connected with syntax or morphology) meaning in itself, outside any syntactic structure, and, therefore, traditionally is not included into the framework of morphology, it seems reasonable to study both lexical and grammatical levels by opposing autosemantic words to auxiliary and/or function elements of the language. The peculiarities of the Chinese language as concerns interlevel relations represent themselves specifically in the so-called chancellery style caused directly by the Mongol language and being in use in China under the Mongol domination (1280-1368). These features are given a particularly detailed review in the article. B. Norik. The Lives and Works of the 16th-17th Century Historians of Central Asian Literature, Hasan Nithari and Mutribi Samarkandi - 183 Summary This article deals with two most interesting poets and scholars of the 16th century Mavarannahr. Their names are Hasan Nithari and Mutribi Samarkandi. Both of them are the authors of interesting anthologies (tadhkiras) which give a sufficiently full picture of the functioning of literary circles. Both tadhkiras give important data for studying literary links between Mavarannahr, India and Iran. In this article a little-studied work by Mutribi Tarikh-i Jahangiri is used. This work, written in 1036/1626-27, gives a lot of new details for biography of Mutribi himself as well as for many poets mentioned in his previous anthology Tadhkirat al-shu 'ara (written 1013/1605). This anthology is one of the main sources for studying biography of Hasan Nithari who was a teacher of Mutribi. The article gives some scenes which illustrate the literary life of Mavarannahr and our authors' biographies. Being rather mediocre poets they made an important contribution to Central Asian literary studies and went down in history as historians of literature. The interest to those tadhkiras is caused by the fact that in our anthologies about 600 persons are mentioned while the 16th century is still considered to be a dark period in the history of Persian literature. So with the help of our anthologies as well as some other sources we shall be able to reconstruct the literary life of that period. COLLECTIONS AND ARCHIVES Dr O. Vasilyeva. Oriental Manuscript Collections in the National Library of Russia - 217 Summary On March 11, 2005, the Manuscript Department of the National Library of Russia (formerly Imperial Public Library) in St. Petersburg has celebrated its 200th anniversary. Owing to the labours and care of many generations of collectors and scientists, diplomats and military officers, emperors and librarians, the Manuscript Department is now a unique phenomenon: there is hardly another library in the world which could boast such a harmonious collection comprising a great body of fine specimens of Russian-Slavonic and Greek, West European and Oriental monuments of writing. All in all there are more than 400,000 manuscripts kept in the Library, the oldest ones being the Ancient Egyptian papyri of 10th century B.C. Among 27,000 Oriental items there are Jewish, Islamic, Oriental-Christian parchment or paper codices and fragments, scrolls and separate documents, as well as manuscripts from the Far East and South-East Asia. The most important manuscripts are the following: 1) Syriac translation of the “History of the Church” by Eusebius dated to 462 (the oldest dated manuscript in the Library); 2) “Paul's Epistle” of 892 in Arabic, with the miniature “Paul and Timothy”; 3-5) three Hebrew Bibles dated 916 (with Babylonian pointing), 929 (the earliest Hebrew manuscript illuminated with gold) and 1008-1010 (the oldest dated complete Hebrew Bible, also illuminated). There is also a collection of old Quran fragments written in Kufi script, and a large portion of Persian manuscripts decorated with fine miniatures. These treasures are cared for and studied by many generations of librarians, conservators and readers. Dr V. Bobrovnikov. Catalogue of Arabic, Persian and Turkic manuscripts from Kabardino-Balkaria - 239  Summary This paper is the first attempt at a systematic description of manuscripts and old-printed books in Arabic, Persian and Turkic languages from mosques and private collections in the Northwest Caucasus. It is based on materials collected by a group of anthropologists under the direction of Dr. Irina Babich in the Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria in July 2002. The present catalogue includes 51 items relating to traditional subjects of the Islamic scholarship such as Arabic grammar and syntax (al-sarf wa-l-nahw), Qur'an, Qur'anic exegesis (tafsir), Islamic jurisprudence (al-fiqh and Shari’a) and its principles (usul al-fiqh), the Prophet's biography (sira), ethics (suluk), Sufi mysticism (tasawwuf), homiletics (khutab), philosophy and logic, Arabic, Persian and Turkic literature, poetry (adab) and history (ta'rikh). Printed copies of the Qur'an as well as works on Islamic traditions (hadith) and theology (kalam) were not found by the expedition. Manuscripts and books date back to the period from the early eighteenth century until 1919. Most of them were written and copied in Arabic outside the Northwest Caucasus. That was the production of well-known publishing houses and copying centres in Cairo, Istanbul, Bakhchisaray, Kazan, Temir-Khan-Shura and Dagestani villages, which was commonly used in maktabs and madrasas in the North Caucasus. Such a broad 'geography' reflects a network of regular ties that connected local Muslim ‘ulama’ with their colleagues in Islamic cultural centres in the Russian and Ottoman empires from the Middle East through Crimea, to the Volga region and Central Asia. A comparative study of these manuscripts and books provides important information about curricula of Islamic education in the Northwest Caucasus under the Russian imperial rule. Dr Yu. Ioannesyan. St.-Petersburg Collection of Texts relating to the Babi Teaching and Bahai Faith (the 19th—Early 20th Centuries) - 304 Summary The Russian Empire during the 19th century was highly interested in the current events and political changes which were developing in Persia, especially those events surrounding the appearance of the Babi and Baha'i Faiths. Persia has always been a strategic concern of Russia's geopolitical interests and this traditional importance, which has been given to Iran has materialized itself in hundreds if not thousands of documents and writings collected by the pre-revolutionary Russian government. Among these materials, which were constantly flowing into the Russian Empire was information about and original Writings of these two emerging religions. Fortunately, this information was supplied regularly and systematized by the Russian diplomats and scholars working in Persia. Among these Russian diplomats were trained Orientalists, who could rightly ascertain their significance. The majority of Babi and Baha'i materials collected during the 19th century ended up in St.-Petersburg, the capital of the Russian Empire. Eventually, these materials were distributed between the following three learning centers: The St. Petersburg Branch of the Institute of Oriental Studies under the Russian Academy of Sciences (formerly the Asiatic Museum), the National Library (formerly the Public Library) in St. Petersburg and the Oriental Faculty of St. Petersburg State University. The largest of these collections is in the abovementioned St.-Petersburg Branch of the Institute of Oriental Studies, which for the most part this paper concerns. It is a brief introduction to these materials. The most significant of them can be divided between (1) the Writings of the Bab, the Prophet-Founder of the Babi Faith who was Baha'u'llah's Forerunner and (2) the Writings of Baha'u'llah, the Founder of the Baha'i Faith. We can further distinguish the materials into two broad groups: manuscripts or publications of manuscripts of the Writings (with and without translations) of the central figures of the Babi and Baha'i Faiths, and manuscripts and publications of other materials like eyewitness accounts and historical documents about the Babi and Baha'i Faiths, defined in this paper as other sources. ACADEMIC LIFE Dr D. Vasilyev. On the Compilation of an Electronic Catalogue of Written Records of the Turkic Nomads of Eurasia, Early Medieval Epoch (Based on Collections of Russian Museums) (1863-1934) - 321 Dr Ts. Vanchikova. The International Seminar “The Written Legacy of Mongolian Peoples: Urgent Problems of Computerizing Orientalist Research”, Ulan-Ude, August 2-6, 2004 - 323 REVIEWS Dr O. Vasilyeva. Dr L. Dmitrieva. A Catalogue of Turkic Manuscripts of the Institute of Oriental Studies, the Russian Academy of Sciences  - 327 Dr K. Zhukov. Dr O. Vasilyeva (ed.). Oriental Collection, Issue 6 - 329 Dr R. Beryozkin. Che Xilun. Zhongguo baojuan zong mu (A General Catalogue of the Chinese baojuan)  - 331 IN MEMORY OF A COLLEAGUE: Alexey Georgiyevich Sazykin (1943-2005) - 335