The Eastern Sea Route as Depicted in a Chinese Historical Geographical Description of Foreign Lands of the Yuan dynasty (1279–1368) Daoyi zhilüe (“A Brief Description of the Island Barbarians”, 1349/1350): Chapters 1–4, Translation with Commentary

This article is the first in the series of planned publications with translations of separate chapters from a Chinese historical-geographical description of foreign lands Daoyi zhilüe (“A Brief Description of Island Barbarians”, 1349/1350) written during the Yuan dynasty (1279–1368). The first four chapters of the treatise which describe policies on the eastern sea route from China are included in this work. The article offers the first translation of these chapters into Russian, accompanied by detailed historical commentary. Apart from that, in the research part of the article the author has briefly analyzed the order of the chapters in the treatise and compared it with the previous sources of similar nature. The translations are an important source for studying various aspects of the history of the Penghu islands, Taiwan and the Philippines in the 14th century AD.

The last Legal Code of the Yuan Empire: History and Text

From the jural point of view, the Yuan era (1271–1368) can be considered as one of the most interesting in the history of Eastern Asia. This is partly because at that time the Chinese tradition was enriched by a foreign influence. However, very few sources on the Yuan legal system have survived, and even those which did survive are usually far from being complete. The article introduces the recently discovered part of the Zhi-zheng tiao-ge code published in 1346 at the very end of the Yuan Empire. The author lists the testimonia, which mention this document. He also offers the analysis of legal documents mentioned there following the time of their issue. The introduced source is compared with legal codes of the previous years and suggests ways of their reconstruction. The final part of the article contains a brief description of the surviving chapters of the monument. The results of the analysis allow us to see in the Zhi-zheng tiao-ge code an important source on the legislation not only of the late Yuan but also on the Yuan dynasty as a whole.

Study on the causes of secondary cracks of the eave wall mural of Daxiong Hall at Fengguo Temple in Yixian, Liaoning, China

Built in Kaitai 9 years after the beginning of the Liao Dynasty (1020 A.D.), the Daxiong Hall of Fengguo Temple (Yixian County, Liaoning Province) is one of China’s largest existing ancient single-eave wooden architecture structures. In 2012, it was listed on the “Preliminary List of World Cultural Heritage in China.” Preserved Buddhist murals depicting the Yuan Dynasty cover approximately 470 m2 of the hall’s four walls. Since the in-situ reinforcement and protection of the mural, conducted in the 1980s in cooperation with the maintenance and restoration project of the main hall, seriously developed cracks—known as secondary cracks—have become a primary factor affecting the mural’s structural stability. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive investigation using a full-frame digital camera, an industrial endoscope, an infrared thermal imager, an online environmental monitoring system, and a three-dimensional laser scanner. Our results, and other relevant materials, allowed us to deepen our understanding of the existing structural features, the nature of the cracks, the deformation conditions, and the environmental characteristics of the mural. Moreover, we provide a further discussion on the macroscopic formation process of the secondary cracks.

Once Again on the Chronology of the As People’s Entry into Mongol Service

Research objectives: To ascertain the time and circumstances of the As people’s incorporation into the service of the Great Mongol Qa’ans. Research materials: Biographies of the As military commanders presented in the official History of the Yüan dynasty (the main source), the narratives of John of Plano Carpini and William of Rubruck, the chronicles of Vardan Areveltsi, Kirakos Gandzaketsi, and Grigor Aknertsi, Rashid al-Din’s Compendium of Chronicles, the Hypatian Codex, notes of Chinese officials Peng Da-ya and Xu Ting on the Mongols. Results and novelty of the research: The paper clarifies one aspect of the author’s previous research of the problem under consideration. It partially refutes a prior conclusion that the As entried into the Mongols’ military service only during the Western campaign. On the contrary, this paper substantiates the traditional assertion that the As joined Mongol service during the reign of Möngke Qa’an. Besides, it indicates that this argument finds its substantiation in the information found in the As military commanders’ biographies in the History of Yuan which are usually overlooked on this issue. The assumption is also put forward and argued that the enthronement of the rulers of Alania took place in the Caucasus, and they did not need to go to the capital of the Mongol Empire for this purpose. In addition, it is noted that in the related sources, analyzed by the author in both papers on this topic, there is no information that would allow for asserting or suggesting the possibility of the arrival of the As to serve in Mongolia and China after the beginning of the process of the actual division of the Empire into independent uluses following the death of Möngke Qa’an in 1259.

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A Look at the Architectural Cultural Exchange Between East and West During the Yuan and Ming Dynasties from the Brick-Vaulted Bathroom Outside Nanjing’s Zhonghua Gate – A Secondary Publication

There is a brick-vault roofed bathroom building, commonly known as the Cistern Hall (Wengtang), opposite the Grand Baoen Temple Heritage and Scenic Area near the Zhonghua Gate in Nanjing. This article analyzes its shape and characteristics by means of a 3D scan that surveys and maps out 2019 data on the site. On this basis, this article suggests that the bathroom may have been built as an annex to the Grand Baoen Temple in the early Ming dynasty. This kind of bathroom design originated in West Asia, entered China during the Yuan dynasty (1271‒1368) and became popular in the Jiangnan region during the Ming (1368‒1644) and Qing (1644‒1911) dynasties. In a lively exchange of architectural ideas, it bore witness to rich, in-depth architectural cultural exchanges between China, Central Asia, and West Asia in the Yuan and Ming dynasties.

Corrosion of Longquan celadons in the marine environment: study on the celadons from the Dalian Island shipwreck of the Yuan Dynasty

The Dalian ("Image missing") Island shipwreck of the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368 CE) was located in the sea area of Pingtan ("Image missing"), Fujian ("Image missing") Province, China. A total of 603 Longquan ("Image missing") celadon wares were excavated, some of which have been severely corroded. In this study, two celadon specimens with severe corrosion were selected to investigate the corrosion mechanism in the marine environment. Optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy equipped with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM–EDS), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), Micro-Raman spectroscopy, and thermal expansion analysis were applied to analyze the microstructure of the glaze, corrosion morphology, and composition of corrosion products, and the corrosion mechanism was discussed in depth. The results showed that these two celadon wares are opaque matt glaze, in which the anorthite crystallization-phase separation structure with low chemical stability was found, which was more likely to be corroded. There are three possible stages in the corrosion process of the glaze. The first stage is mainly the long-term cation exchange reaction. Then, because of the corrosion of the CaO-rich droplet phase and the crystal-glass phase interface layer, the porous structure and many microcracks may be formed, promoting the corrosion process. Finally, many corrosion craters, caused by the shedding of anorthite crystals, may appear on the glaze surface. The quintinite group minerals in the glaze were probably formed during the corrosion process, which may be related to the marine buried environment and the corrosion of the glaze. This study discussed the influencing factors of the corrosion process of celadon wares in the marine environment from the perspective of microstructure for the first time, which is of great significance to the study of the corrosion mechanism of ancient ceramics.