Medical Terms in the Arabic Manuscript Kitāb al-mi’a fi al-ṭibb (“Hundred Books on the Skills of Medicine”) by Abu Sahl Isa b. Yahya al-Masihi (the 11th Century)

The article is based on the manuscript “Hundred books on skills of Medicine” by Abu Sahl al-Masihi from the collection of the Oriental Department of the Gorky Library of St. Petersburg State University (Ms. O 667). The author of this written monument was regarded as the teacher of Ibn Sina (Avicenna). The text of Abu Sahl al-Masihi is an encyclopedic medical treatise of the XI century. It consists of one hundred “books”, each of which is a separate and independent chapter dedicated to a specific problem of theoretical or practical medicine. The article presents an analysis of Arabic medical terms found in the table of contents to the first book. They can be divided into four categories: borrowings from other languages, obsolete terms, terms found in the Qur’an, and terms with Arabic roots. The authors of the article cited fragments of Quranic texts as an illustration of the early origin of some terms for physiological states. The medical knowledge and traditions of the Arabs played a decisive role in the development of Arab-Muslim medieval medicine. Medical terms of the Arabs, introduced into scientific circulation in the early Middle Ages, are actively used in modern Arabic. The results of the lexical analysis of medical terminology from the first “book” of the treatise reflect the scale of the phenomenon called Arab-Muslim medieval medicine.

The Cultural Spirit of the “May Fourth Movement” and Lu Xun’s Ambivalent Thinking

The “May Fourth Movement” is undoubtedly a turning point in the history of modern Chinese society and culture. It must be acknowledged that the direction of development of Chinese culture was largely influenced by famous Chinese writer, educator and revolutionary Lu Xun (1881–1936). The structure of Lu Xun’s ideas and the influence of Lu Xun’s ideas today have shaped the ever-living “Lu Xun’s culture”. The main essence of Lu Xun’s culture is embodied in many important judgments regarding the development of the nation, society and culture. These judgments are aimed not only at the past, but also at the future and the present. Many of his thoughts were a century ahead their time. Speaking about Lu Xun’s anti-traditionalist approach to the development of new culture, one cannot ignore the rationalistic cultural spirit of the enlightenment ideology behind it. Lu Xun’s pessimism at the beginning of the “May Fourth Movement” and the subsequent bitterness can serve as a key to understanding the cultural spirit of the “May Fourth Movement” and its logical connection with Lu Xun’s culture. Analyzing Lu Xun’s criticism of China’s unrealized democracy and his skepticism about the new culture, one can see that Lu Xun’s inner mood is shrouded in a shadow of disappointment. Moreover, until the end of his days, he was accompanied by pain caused by too sober and deep perception of life. In addition, the reason for Lu Xun’s distrust is that too often, due to his decency and simplicity, he was deceived. We believe that the spiritual world of Lu Xun has always been characterized by the presence of two levels: Lu Xun is open, throwing loud calls, and Lu Xin is hidden, suffering and lonely. At the same time, his inherent sharpness stems from a deep understanding of the situation, and his bitterness comes from a firm will and an uncompromising attitude to his views. The reason for such bitterness is due to the strength and immensity of the objects of his resistance. Lu Xun’s views have enriched the thinking of China and all mankind.

Confucian Exegetical Thought in the Southern Dynasties Period (420–589): Canonical Texts and Commentaries between Decline and Restoration

The article examines the main trends in Confucian exegetical thought during the Southern dynasties period. Confucian exegesis, as an original intellectual tradition, was in a state of crisis at that time and experienced significant influence both from the syncretic teaching xuanxue and Buddhism. This situation determined the particular popularity of some canonical texts and commentaries and the actual oblivion of others. Losing its monopoly in education, Confucianism often came down to providing ritual ceremonies at court. The article examines several aspects of this crisis state of southern Confucianism. It identifies and analyzes a new type of commentary that appeared in the exegesis of this period, and it explores the main intellectual tendencies in the Confucian exegesis of the Southern dynasties period and traces the reasons for their appearance. The author examines features of subcommentary-yishu, through which scholars realized new forms of intellectual activity. This commentary originated from Buddhist monks’ translation and teaching activities approximately in the mid-5th century AD. In the exegesis of the Southern dynasties, yishu provided a platform for relatively free philosophical discussion, often associated with the practice of lecturing. It is important that this practice in Confucianism and Buddhism of that time had many common features. The changes in the educational standard (the emergence of schools with a new structure) are traced as well as its influence on the position of Confucian commentary in the educational process (apparent instability of the set of authoritative commentaries).

One Problem in the Study of the Houthi Movement (Three Сliches of anti-Houthi Propaganda)

The article identifies and analyzes three main accusations leveled in the 2000s by the Yemeni Government against Houthis: a desire to restore the Imamate, gaining support from Iran and conversion to Twelver Shiism. It is shown that these accusations are incorrect and are consequences of the Yemeni authorities’ discrimination policy against practicing Zaydis and especially sayyids — Zaydi religious “aristocracy”. It is demonstrated that reestablishment of theocratic rule was not part of the Houthi political agenda since a majority of Yemenis were against it; the goal of allegations about Houthi connections with Tehran, made by the Yemeni political establishment, was to secure additional financial aid from Washington and Riyadh; Al-Houthi was not a Twelver Shiite and was critical of the main ideas of this denomination. The author of the article suggests that many Yemenis and several Russian and Western scholars believed the accusations due to the dominance of anti-Zaydi sentiment in the Yemeni information space and the fact that these accusations complement each other in a quasi-logical way: to reestablish the Imamate, Houthis need support, which can be gained from Iran, while conversion to Twelver Shiism guarantees such support.

Features of Chinese Animalistic Prose on the Example of Gerel-Сhimeg Black Crane’s Novel Black Flame

The article examines the themes, images, and artistic features of the animalistic novel Black Flame (2006) by the Chinese writer of Mongolian origin Gerel-Сhimeg Black Сrane’s. The general and comparative analysis of the novel not only reveals the peculiarities of the author’s individual style, but also characterizes the general trends in the development of animalistic prose in China and abroad. Respect for the laws of nature, as well as the theme of love and devotion of an animal to man, run through the entire novel Black Flame as red threads. A characteristic feature of the work is the combination of scientific and artistic styles. Such qualities of the writer as truthfulness and subtle understanding of animal psychology are also remarkable. Among the features of Black Crane’s artistic style, one can note the poetic language enriched with original metaphors and epithets. Instead of the usual narration of the characters’ actions, Gerel-Chimeg focuses on the physical and mental sensations evoked by these actions and transmitted to the readers. The writer does not humanize animals, nevertheless, he manages to penetrate their inner world through the use of a rich arsenal of smells, sounds and even tactile sensations. Today, Gerel-Chimeg is an original and iconic figure among Chinese writers of this genre. The article emphasizes that animalistic literature of such a level plays an important role both in the study of the wild world as well as in the education of humanity in people. The novel Black Flame not only enriches our knowledge of nature and animals of northern and western China, but also evokes a powerful emotional response from the readers.

Evolution of Masculine Gender Stereotypes in Korean

The article is devoted to the study of the evolution of masculine stereotypes represented in the Korean language. Language is an integral part of culture, it reflects changes in social consciousness, while the lexis of the language is the first to react to sociocultural transformations taking place in society. The material for the study was Korean traditional paremias, modern proverbs, metaphors, and neologisms about men. Korean traditional paremias convey ideas of hegemonic masculinity and ideas about the absolute superiority of men. Men in Korean proverbs are portrayed from the positive side, they emphasize the dignity and various achievements of men in every possible way. On the other hand, the linguistic material of the modern Korean language allows us to say that conceptualization of masculinity is changing — the male image becomes less authoritarian and new images of natural masculinity are appearing. Contemporary Korean society is still largely androcentric, but society and language have undergone numerous transformations over the years, and new more feminine images of men are replacing the traditional male images of a patriarchal society. Thus, modern metaphors reflect the perception of a person, regardless of gender: modern Korean metaphors about men have much in common with metaphors about women. Modern proverbs about men convey ideas that are opposite to traditional patriarchal ideas, they record a change in social roles and emphasize the increasing social role of women. Korean neologisms represent largely feminized images of men, portraying gentle, authoritarian-minded men with an interest in household chores, fashion, and beauty.

Ontological-dynamic Concepts of the I Ching Tradition and the Model of their Linguocultural Analysis

The accumulated historical experience and rich cultural heritage of the pre-axial Chinese civilization are concentrated and reflected in the ancient Chinese language. Therefore, linguistic methods of studying traditional Chinese philosophy and its conceptual apparatus are becoming relevant in modern Sinology. By focusing on the material of ancient Chinese philosophical works, it is possible to reconstruct the conceptual apparatus of traditional Chinese philosophy and culture in general, and some of the classics in particular. Among the sets of fundamental terms, it is worth highlighting the compendiums by Chan Wing-tsit, Joseph Needham, A. I. Kobzev, Wu Yi and A. M. Karapetyants, which formed the basis of this study. The object of the study is the ontological-dynamic concepts, and its purpose is to develop a model of their linguocultural analysis demonstrated on the example of certain terms, first of all, 人 ren, 德 de and 道 dao. The statistical analysis of conceptions of the I Ching tradition, namely “The Appended Commentaries”, helps to construct a monocentric semantic field of ontological terms with a heterogeneous core. This model of linguocultural analysis proves to be universal for many philosophical concepts.

A Look at Yuri Bondarev in Turkey from Past to Present

Yuri Vasilyevich Bondarev is one of the well-known names of 20th century Russian literature, and he is one Russian writer familiar to Turkish readers. A successful author of war prose, Bondarev attracted the attention of the Turkish audience with a wide range of literary works which includes novels, novellas, short stories, poems, articles, essays, interviews, etc. In this respect, the years in which he produced writings on the universal theme of war have an important place in Turkish politics. Bondarev began to be published in Turkey during the politization process following the military coup (1980) and he continued to be present in Turkey until the day he died. Especially in the 80’s when he was adopted as a war prose writer he was a guide for left-wing people in the struggle after the events of September 12. It is worth noting that the recent significant increase of interest in Bondarev’s work among Turkish linguists and philologists indicates that he is popular with the Turkish reader no less than the recognized classics of Russian literature. In this article, Bondarev’s position in Turkey from past to present will be analyzed in view of the studies on him in Turkish press and literature, and it will be emphasized that the author engrossed the Turkish reader with his artistic expertise and the ideology relayed through his works.

The Principles of the Formal Construction of the Lexical-Semantic Field in Modern Chinese

The article presents an attempt to formally construct a lexical-semantic field for the Chinese language, taking into account the fact that the concept of such a field presupposes a certain classification system of the vocabulary, which is divided into large and small groups ordered in relation to each other. Due to the presence in the Chinese language of a large number of copulative complexes, paradigmatic relations of semantic proximity are expressed in syntagmatic relations of juxtaposition, which allowed the authors of the article to construct semantic fields based on the data of normative dictionaries and vocabulary lists. This article presents formal methods for constructing a semantic field for the modern Chinese language, a semantic method for fixing the language. It is based on a graphical representation of combinations of symbols (synographic images) and their explanations in dictionaries and wordlists of the modern Chinese language. As typical examples, the sphere of designations of emotions and verbs with the meanings of purchase and sale was chosen. The article defines the features of the structure of the lexical-semantic field of the verbs of sale and purchase, reveals the lexical units that are included in the core, near and far periphery. The material presented in the article indicates that in the case of the Chinese language, a similar method of constructing a lexical-semantic field can be applied both to tokens with an abstract meaning and to tokens with a specific meaning.

Problems of British Bangladeshis’ Adaptations

The novel Brick Lane by British writer Monica Ali provides a vivid sketch of the life of Bangladeshis both at home and in London, where the largest community of people from Bangladesh lives outside South Asia, primarily natives of Sylhet County. The book got its name due to the street, which has become a distinctive center of concentration for Bengalis in the capital of Great Britain. Ali’s novel Brick Lane can be regarded as a source on the recent history and ethnography of Great Britain and Bangladesh. The novel examines the peculiarities of the acculturation of Bengalis in England, identifies the points of conflicts between the host society and migrants, the growth of domestic racism in the place of concentration of migrants perceived as outsiders and the threat to traditional British values. The main characters of the novel — spouses Chanu and Nazneen, as well as their daughters — found themselves at the junction of two worlds: the European metropolis and the Asian rural hinterland. The work also depicts the conflict between representatives of different generations: between labor migrants, who arrived in England twenty or thirty years ago, recently arrived migrants and between descendants of migrants born in London who consider England as their homeland and Bangladesh as a distant country. Ali in her novel describes options for a way out of the conflict of civilizations in which the main characters were involved. Shanu, unable to achieve career growth and improve his social status, decided to leave London, while Nazneen and their daughters preferred to remain in the city.