scholarly journals Interpreters and the Writing of History in China

2009 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 201-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Lung
Keyword(s):  
Tang Dynasty ◽  
Primary Sources ◽  
Historical Records ◽  
Ancient China ◽  
Historical Texts ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Tang Dynasty ◽  
Liang Dynasty ◽  
Historical Accounts ◽  
Made In

Abstract This article argues that interpreters are crucial figures in the recording of history. Evidence taken from historical texts in ancient China is used to verify the claim that interpreters’ notes might have been used as a reference in composing historical records. By documenting the Tang dynasty (AD 618-907) policy to have interpreters interview foreign envoys and submit the relevant accounts to the Bureau of Historiography, this article provides background for the link between interpreters’ interview notes and history compilation in China. Evidence is further drawn from the history of the Sui dynasty (AD 581-618), whereby an interpreter’s mediated account of the emperor’s conversation with a Japanese envoy was directly adapted. Most interestingly, pictorial and written documents of foreign peoples made in the mid-6th century during the Liang dynasty (AD 502-557) were found to be very similar to the written accounts about these foreign peoples in Liangshu, the history of the Liang dynasty, completed in the early 7th century. Apparently, there is a solid link between the interview accounts and historical accounts about foreign peoples in China. Thus, there is a strong possibility that interpreters’ notes, in the form of reports, provide important, if not primary, sources for history compilation in China.

The Baima Tibetans and the Di People of Chinese Historical Records: Challenging the Link

2008 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-174
Author(s):  
Katia Chirkova
Keyword(s):  
Tang Dynasty ◽  
Chinese Character ◽  
Historical Records ◽  
Western Sichuan ◽  
Loan Words ◽  
Historical Texts ◽  
Linguistic Evidence ◽  
Popular View ◽  
The Tang Dynasty ◽  
The Ancient Chinese

This paper addresses a long-standing controversy surrounding the ethnicity of the Baima Tibetans, a Tibeto-Burman people in Western Sichuan Province whose ethnic and linguistic origins are yet to be satisfactorily ascertained. It focuses on one popular view, which attempts to link the present-day Baima Tibetans with the Di, an ancient Tibeto-Burman group documented in the Chinese historical records who inhabited roughly the same area until their gradual assimilation into the Han and the Tibetans during the Tang Dynasty. The paper examines and refutes all three types of evidence proffered in the literature in support of making such a link: geographical distribution, cultures and customs, and language. Focusing on the linguistic evidence, including autonyms and certain names of the Di contained in the historical texts, and two alleged Di loan words recorded in the ancient Chinese character dictionary 《說文解字》 , the paper makes use of first-hand fieldwork material to bear on the issue. It concludes that it is immature to say anything definite about the identity of the mysterious Di language or languages, let alone to directly link them with the speech of the modern Baima people, which is predominantly a Bodic language.

scholarly journals Reconstruction designs of an early Chinese astronomical clock with a waterwheel steelyard clepsydra

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 891-911
Author(s):  
Zeng-Hui Hwang ◽  
Tsung-Yi Lin ◽  
Hong-Sen Yan
Keyword(s):  
Tang Dynasty ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Historical Records ◽  
Ancient China ◽  
Design Specifications ◽  
Astronomical Clock ◽  
Technological Level ◽  
The Tang Dynasty ◽  
Ancient Times ◽  
Original Device

Abstract. During the 8th century, ancient China began to use a steelyard clepsydra to control the waterwheel, giving it a time-keeping function for use in hydromechanical astronomical clocks. In the Tang Dynasty, the monk I-Hsing (683–723 CE) and Liang Lingzan jointly built a water-powered celestial globe (shuiyun huntian), which, according to historical records, was China's first hydromechanical astronomical clock with a waterwheel steelyard clepsydra. However, the original device has since been lost. The objective of this study is to use the design methodology for the reconstruction of lost ancient machinery to systematically reconstruct this lost clock. The methodology included the study of ancient literature to formulate reconstruction design specifications. Through the process of generalization and specialization, the target device was analyzed to determine its function, and different mechanical configurations that achieved the same function were developed. Thereafter, an atlas of possible mechanical sketches that were consistent with the technological level of ancient times was built. A computer 3D reconstruction of the waterwheel steelyard clepsydra, time-reporting device, and astronomical device was carried out, and 50 possible configurations were developed. One was selected to build a physical model.

Ancient Chinese Bronze Casting Methods: The Dilemma of Choice

MRS Advances ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (33-34) ◽  
pp. 1743-1768
Author(s):  
Michael R. Notis ◽  
DongNing Wang
Keyword(s):  
Tang Dynasty ◽  
Warring States Period ◽  
Ancient China ◽  
Warring States ◽  
The Past ◽  
Mold Casting ◽  
Spring And Autumn Period ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Tang Dynasty ◽  
Bronze Casting

AbstractThe history of the manufacture of the magnificent bronze castings produced in ancient China has been reinterpreted a number of times during the past hundred years or so. These bronzes were first believed to be fabricated by lost wax (cire perdue) casting, but this gave way to a belief that piece mold casting was the dominant, if not the sole method of manufacture from the Shang (1700-1100 BCE) until possibly as late as the Tang dynasty (618-907 CE). This has been reinforced by the finding, a number of years ago, of the Houma piece mold foundry, as well a number of more recent similar finds. However, this stance was challenged by the discovery of openwork bronze objects as early as in the 1920s, and more strongly challenged in the late 1970s by finds of intricately cast interwoven openwork bronze objects at the Tomb of the Marquis of Yi, dated to the Warring States Period (475-221 BCE). Since then many other similar bronze objects have been found. Questions exist concerning the very existence of the lost-wax process as early as the Spring and Autumn Period (771 to 476 BCE), and was it independently developed in China, or was it introduced from the outside.

scholarly journals 陸德明《經典釋文．序錄》所反映的經學觀念

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (33) ◽  
pp. 029-060
Author(s):  
林保全 林保全
Keyword(s):  
Tang Dynasty ◽  
Six Dynasties ◽  
History Of ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
The Tang Dynasty ◽  
The Way

<p>本篇論文旨在藉由《經典釋文．序錄》，考察陸德明如何對秦漢以來的經學流衍提出梳理原則，從而析釐出〈序錄〉中的經學觀念。</p> <p>首先，陸德明針對了經典的範圍重新定義，以「經典」一詞命名，回應經典範圍逐漸擴大的經學議題。其次，提出自己判斷經典次第的標準，回應經學史上經典次第的安排議題。第三，提出具體的選擇標準，用以選擇今、古文的底本。第四，利用音注與義注選取的偏重，回應先秦以來掌握經典旨意的入手次第。</p> <p>&nbsp;</p><p>This paper seeks to investigate the way Lu De-Ming compiled Jingdian Shiwen (Textual Explanations of Classics and Canons) in the Tang Dynasty. On a more specific basis, how did he systematically collate various issues concerning the history of the study of Confucian classics since the Qin, Han and Six Dynasties in Jingdian Shiwen, and thereby presented integrated and unified research findings? </p> <p>The general principles and methods that Lu applied to accomplishing this monumental task include: (1) redefine the scope of classics; (2) establish the criteria for ordering the classics; (3) transcend the dichotomy between archaic scripts and new-text Confucianism; and (4) grasp the connotation and significance of classics by correcting the pronunciation of the keywords in annotated classics.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>

Origins

2020 ◽  
pp. 12-49
Author(s):  
David Damrosch
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Literature ◽  
Literary History ◽  
Tang Dynasty ◽  
Arab World ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Tang Dynasty ◽  
China And Japan ◽  
Renaissance Italy ◽  
Comparative Philology

This chapter explains how the history of comparative literature is a history of archives, such as of libraries and collections that are either preserved or lost and studied or forgotten. It mentions the first library that was established by the Tang Dynasty monk Xuanzang when he returned from his epochal journey to the western regions in order to collect Buddhist manuscripts. It also talks about the foundations of comparative literature that were established by the comparative philology that began in Renaissance Italy and spread to many parts of Enlightenment Europe. The chapter looks at Max Koch who wrote about comparative literary history and how it gained a sure footing with the inclusion of Oriental material. It also analyzes non-Eurocentric comparatism that draws on philological traditions from China and Japan to the Arab world.

scholarly journals Contemporary History of Indonesia between Historical Truth and Group Purpose

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. 179
Author(s):  
Anzar Abdullah
Keyword(s):  
Primary Sources ◽  
Historical Event ◽  
Contemporary History ◽  
Historical Reconstruction ◽  
History Textbook ◽  
Historical Figures ◽  
History Of ◽  
Historical Truth ◽  
Made In ◽  
Discussion Topic

<p>Contemporary history is the very latest history at which the historic event traces are close and still encountered by us at the present day. As a just away event which seems still exists, it becomes controversial about when the historical event is actually called contemporary. Characteristic of contemporary history genre is complexity of an event and its interpretation. For cases in Indonesia, contemporary history usually begins from 1945. It is so because not only all documents, files and other primary sources have not been uncovered and learned by public yet where historical reconstruction can be made in a whole, but also a fact that some historical figures and persons are still alive. This last point summons protracted historical debate when there are some collective or personal memories and political consideration and present power. The historical facts are often provided to please one side, while disagreeable fact is often hidden from other side. The article aims to discuss some subject matter of contemporary history in Indonesia as they are printed in history textbook for school, along with varies issues. The article will make correction about context of some issues that they actually used as discussion topic among teachers of history. In the last part of this article, it will outline on how we respond to contemporary history of Indonesia. Conclusion is made that in context of contemporary history in Indonesia, it found two interests, i.e. for historical truth and group purpose.</p>

Semi-Automating the Transformation of Chinese Historical Records Into Structured Biographical Data

2019 ◽  
pp. 228-246
Author(s):  
Lik Hang Tsui ◽  
Hongsu Wang
Keyword(s):  
Tang Dynasty ◽  
Chinese Language ◽  
Asia Pacific ◽  
Chinese History ◽  
Historical Records ◽  
Important Process ◽  
Biographical Data ◽  
Chinese Studies ◽  
Latin Script ◽  
The Tang Dynasty

This chapter explores and analyzes the new methods that the China Biographical Database (CBDB) project team has developed and adopted to digitize reference works about Chinese history, which is part of the important process of turning them into structured biographical data. This workflow focuses on the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and has implications for the continued improvement in the technologies for digitization and research into historical biographies in the Chinese language. These explorations and outcomes also demonstrate attempts in the Chinese studies field to transform large amounts of texts in non-Latin script into structured biographical data in a semi-automated fashion, and are expected to benefit digital humanities research, especially initiatives focusing on the Asia-Pacific region.

Women Rulers in Imperial China

NAN Nü ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith McMahon
Keyword(s):  
Song Dynasty ◽  
Tang Dynasty ◽  
Extreme Case ◽  
Han Dynasty ◽  
The Song Dynasty ◽  
Women Rulers ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Tang Dynasty ◽  
Imperial China

“Women Rulers in Imperial China”is about the history and characteristics of rule by women in China from the Han dynasty to the Qing, especially focusing on the Tang dynasty ruler Wu Zetian (625-705) and the Song dynasty Empress Liu. The usual reason that allowed a woman to rule was the illness, incapacity, or death of her emperor-husband and the extreme youth of his son the successor. In such situations, the precedent was for a woman to govern temporarily as regent and, when the heir apparent became old enough, hand power to him. But many women ruled without being recognized as regent, and many did not hand power to the son once he was old enough, or even if they did, still continued to exert power. In the most extreme case, Wu Zetian declared herself emperor of her own dynasty. She was the climax of the long history of women rulers. Women after her avoided being compared to her but retained many of her methods of legitimization, such as the patronage of art and religion, the use of cosmic titles and vocabulary, and occasional gestures of impersonating a male emperor. When women ruled, it was an in-between time when notions and language about something that was not supposed to be nevertheless took shape and tested the limits of what could be made acceptable.

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