This paper offers a critical edition, translation, and notes to the chapter titled Pāṇilekhā or "the lines on the hands", from the Śārdūlakarṇāvadāna. It represents an early Indian formulation of palmistry that entered the texts in the latter half of the ninth century CE. It presents thirty-four verses in varying metres, suggesting compilation from diverse origins and dealing with omens and prognostication. Notably, it incorporates astrological elements, a feature not common in other early palmistry collections until much later. The paper includes critical remarks on the Sanskrit used and discusses different manuscript versions, aiming for an accurate representation of the original. Innovative is the use of more recent hand drawings in the understand of ancient text. Appendices provide translations of later palmistry texts like the Hastasañjīvana and Samudrikatilaka, along with historical illustrations of hand diagrams.
The works by the well-known Russian scholar N. Bichurin (1777–1853) (Iakinf) were the first to open the real significance in the world history of the vast geographic area of Central Asia, called Western Regions (Xi Yu) in the Chinese sources, and provided a basis for its’ further fundamental research and practical study. This region was of a key geopolitical interest for the Chinese empires and was at the main vector line of the external policy of China for many centuries. The major work by N. Bichurin on the historical geography of the Western Regions became “Description of Dzungaria and Western Turkestan”, which included translations from the main Chinese sources on the subject, as “History of the Early Han Dynasty”, “Record of What One Sees and Hears in the Western Regions”, and the official geographic corpus “A Сomplete Description of the Great Qing Empire”. Bichurin introduced for the academic world a lot of data on history, administration and ethnography of the peoples living in the Western Regions and also became the first scholar, who made a comparative linguistic analysis of many toponyms making use of the data not only in Chinese, but also in Manchu, Mongolian, Tibetan and Uighur languages. The necessity to republish with the updated scholarly apparatus the translations and research works by N. Bichurin on historical geography of the Central Asia, remains a topical issue up to our days, as due to this the scientists may focus their attention on the issues, raised by N. Bichurin, which has not received sufficient attention, and will contribute to the restoration of the priority of Russian oriental studies in a number of fields.
In early 2024, a Saint Petersburg publishing house and independent publishing partner of the State Hermitage Museum “Arka” published a reedition of the catalogue of the exhibition “Kuniyoshi and His Time. Japanese Prints of the 19th Century. The Utagawa School,” which took place in 1997– 1998. The author of this catalogue is M. V. Uspensky (1953–1997), one of the greatest Russian researchers of Japanese fine art and curator of the museum’s Japanese collection.Following the original, the central figures of the second edition’s narrative are contemporaries and graduates of the Utagawa school, the artists Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798–1861) and Utagawa Kunisada (1786–1865). Just as in the original, the texts describing their different periods of work are followed by catalogue descriptions. Bat, unlike the first edition, these cataloge descriptions have a larger number of exclusively colored illustrations, some of which are presented for the first time. Moreover, missing sheets of polyptychs from the collections of other museums are also included, which undoubtedly gives a more holistic perception of the works. In total, the catalogue descriptions contain 299 illustrations, 143 of which are by Kuniyoshi and his students, and 156 by Kunisada. As for the texts, they are published without much change, except for the addition of the article “Memorial Portraits and Self-Portraits by Kuniyoshi and His Disciples” and the inclusion of illustrations and images with fragments of kanji texts, seals, signatures, etc. in the narrative.e narrative. In general, throughout the book, Kuniyoshi and his mushae, to whom twothirds of the book is devoted, are contrasted with Kunisada and his yakushae and bijinga. This allows the author to paint a rather comprehensive picture of the state of ukiyo-e in the first half of the 19th century.
Sayana B. Bukhogolova, Soelma R. Batomunkueva, Snezhana P. Garmaeva
Introduction. The article examines the biography and works of the 5th abbot of Aginsky datsan (Dechen Lhundublin) Galsan Zhimba Tuguldurov. The relevance of the study is determined by importance of the personality of G.-Zh. Tuguldurov. He was one of the most significant Buryat Buddhist leaders of the 19th century. Tuguldurov was one of the bright representatives of the Buryat priesthood, expert in Buddhist philosophy, astrology, medicine and lexicology (he compiled the first Buryat Tibetan-Mongolian dictionary Despite the weight of his multifaceted personality and the presence of works reflecting his activities, the information about the details of G. Tuguldurov's biography and writings continues to remain little known. The purpose of the article is to provide historiographic overview of researches on his biography and creative heritage, introduce some new information into scientific circulation. This information was obtained from archive documents written in Old Mongolic script from the preliminary translation of not studied before biography (namthar) of G.-Zh. Tuguldurov in Tibetan language. The title of the namthar is “The biography of Galsan-Zhimba Balzangpo — the abbot of the datsan Dechen Lhundubling (bde chen lhun grub gling gi khri pa chos rje skal bzang spyin pa dpal bzang po’i rnam thar gyi sa bon bzhugs)”. Materials and methods. The research is based on the works of Russian and Mongolian authors written in different times, archival data from funds of the State Archive of the Republic of Buryatia, Center of Oriental Manuscripts and Xylographs of the Institute for Mongolian, Buddhist and Tibetan studies of the SB RAS and namthar of G.-Zh. Tuguldurov in Tibetan language (archive of Aginsky datsan). The following methods were used: collection, analysis and processing of data, historical-systematic and retrospective analysis. The results of the research helped to restore the chronology of activities of G.-Zh. Tuguldurov. For the first time the biography of G.-Zh. Tuguldurov with additional and clarifying information has been put into scientific circulation. Therefore, the restored biography of G.-Zh. Tuguldurov can make a significant contribution into academic researches, especially into reconstruction of the spread of Buddhism in the region.
History of Asia, Political institutions and public administration - Asia (Asian studies only)
The Spanish flu pandemic of 1918-1919 was widely regarded as the deadliest in modern history, claiming more lives than World War I. Colonial Indonesia was not spared. Several scholars have estimated that around 1.5 to 4.37 million people in the colony perished, making the death rate one of the highest in Asia. In the midst of the chaos and confusion caused by the pandemic, many people in colonial Indonesia turned to traditional medicines, particularly the poorer members of society who were inexperienced in Western medicine. Herbal treatment was considered a viable option for those who frequently faced discrimination when visiting Dutch clinics or hospitals. This essay demonstrates how more than a century ago, various ethnic groups in colonial Indonesia relied on nature to develop their own “vaccine” and medication in the fight against the Spanish flu. In the context of the pandemic, Sin Po and other newspapers played an essential role in spreading information about herbal medicines as an alternative, more affordable remedy than modern Western medicine. These newspapers provided the inspiration to investigate traditional Indonesian therapies more thoroughly. An examination of this subject reveals that there is nothing new under the sun. The colonial government never had a grand design to combat or stop the spread of a pandemic. It made almost no efforts at prevention and the outcome of this lack of preparedness was clear. Unfortunately, even more than a hundred years later, when COVID-19 struck Indonesia, nothing had really changed.
History of scholarship and learning. The humanities
Este artigo tem como objetivo refletir sobre a construção de um imaginário acerca da nação angolana nas páginas dos romances do escritor Pepetela, mais especificamente em A geração da utopia, escrito entre 1991 e 1992. A partir de um debate sobre como os conceitos de nação e raça ainda permaneciam problemáticos no período pós-independência, podemos visualizar através do romance a tensão ainda existente na sociedade angolana nos anos 1990, parte de um debate político dentro do MPLA que influenciou diretamente o desenvolvimento de uma ideia de Estado e nação do país. Nesse sentido, os romances de Pepetela vão muito além de uma concepção de literatura pautada pela escrita ficcional, e passam a ser fundamentais para refletirmos sobre o imaginário angolano sob uma perspectiva histórica e política.
Palavras-chave: Pepetela | Angola | Nação.
Abstract:
This article analyzes the construction of a collective imaginary about Angola in the novels of the writer known as Pepetela[1] , more specifically, the novel A Geração da Utopia, written between 1991 and 1992. By discussing how the concepts of nation and race remained problematic in the post-independence period, we can see through the novel the tension still existing in Angolan society at that time he 1990s and which was part of a political debate within the MPLA, directly influencing the development of an idea of State and nation. In this sense, Pepetela's novels go far beyond a conception of literature as merely fictional writing, becoming fundamental for reflections on the Angolan imaginary from historical and political perspectives.
Keywords: Pepetela | Angola | Nation.
This is an excerpt from “Return from Siberia: A Japanese Life in War and Peace, 1925-2015”. The book, which was published in May 2018, is based on a series of interviews with a Japanese man who was born in 1925 and served in the Japanese army before being interned in Siberia following Japan's surrender at the end of World War II. This excerpt describes his experience as a soldier in Manchuria and his journey to Siberia after being conscripted into the army in November 1944.
This article is a pan-Himalayan story about how the turtle, as a cultural symbol within Sino-Tibetan divination iconography, came to more closely resemble a frog. It attempts a comparative analysis of Sino-Tibetan divination manuals, from Tibetan Dunhuang and Sinitic turtle divination to frog divination among the Naxi people of southwest China. It is claimed that divination turtles, upon entering the Himalayan foothills, are not just turtles, but become something else: a hybrid symbol transformed via cultural diffusion, from Han China to Tibet, and on to the Naxi of Yunnan. Where borders are crossed, there is translation. If we go beyond the linguistic definition of translation towards an understanding of transfer across semiotic borders, then translation becomes the reforming of a concept from one cultural framework into another. In this way, cultural translation can explain how divination iconography can mutate and transform when it enters different contexts; or in other words, how a turtle can come to lose its shell.
Francisco Perfectti, José M. Gómez, Adela González-Megías
et al.
Background The phylogeny of tribe Brassiceae (Brassicaceae) has not yet been resolved because of its complex evolutionary history. This tribe comprises economically relevant species, including the genus Moricandia DC. This genus is currently distributed in North Africa, Middle East, Central Asia and Southern Europe, where it is associated with arid and semi-arid environments. Although some species of Moricandia have been used in several phylogenetic studies, the phylogeny of this genus is not well established. Methods Here we present a phylogenetic analysis of the genus Moricandia using a nuclear (the internal transcribed spacers of the ribosomal DNA) and two plastidial regions (parts of the NADH dehydrogenase subunit F gene and the trnT-trnF region). We also included in the analyses members of their sister genus Rytidocarpus and from the close genus Eruca. Results The phylogenetic analyses showed a clear and robust phylogeny of the genus Moricandia. The Bayesian inference tree was concordant with the maximum likelihood and timing trees, with the plastidial and nuclear trees showing only minor discrepancies. The genus Moricandia appears to be formed by two main lineages: the Iberian clade including three species, and the African clade including the four species inhabiting the Southern Mediterranean regions plus M. arvensis. Discussion We dated the main evolutionary events of this genus, showing that the origin of the Iberian clade probably occurred after a range expansion during the Messinian period, between 7.25 and 5.33 Ma. In that period, an extensive African-Iberian floral and faunal interchange occurred due to the existence of land bridges between Africa and Europa in what is, at present-days, the Strait of Gibraltar. We have demonstrated that a Spanish population previously ascribed to Rytidocarpus moricandioides is indeed a Moricandia species, and we propose to name it as M. rytidocarpoides sp. nov. In addition, in all the phylogenetic analyses, M. foleyi appeared outside the Moricandia lineage but within the genus Eruca. Therefore, M. foleyi should be excluded from the genus Moricandia and be ascribed, at least provisionally, to the genus Eruca.
This essay offers a consideration of cosmopolitan temporality in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s short story “The Headstrong Historian.” Spanning the late nineteenth century to the 1970s, Adichie presents three generations of cosmopolitans and three distinct iterations of cosmopolitanism. We argue that the cosmopolitan is a person privileged with a poly-visional sensibility and that cosmopolitan temporality is informed by multiple, often overlapping, narratives of family, heritage, and historical time. With emphasis on Grace, the eponymous historian, we examine manifestations of cosmopolitan temporality, from the village, to the mission schools, to postcolonial Lagos. Grace aims to resituate Nigerian history from a Nigerian perspective, influenced by the lives of her grandmother, her parents, and her husband, all of whom experienced Christianization and intercultural contact in radically different ways. She also writes “reports for international organizations about commonplace things.” In both endeavors, Grace reappraises colonial tracts, which once denied the true historicity of her people. As three temporalities collapse into and upon her writing and worldview, we see Grace as a “citizen of the world” and an active participant in reclaiming the history of southern Nigeria.
History of Africa, African languages and literature
This article explains how and why the (monumental?) tomb of Arghun Khan (r. 683–690/1284–1291), the fourth Ilkhanid monarch of Persia, was converted to the Islamic shrine of Qeidār-e Payambar (Qedar the prophet), and gives a better justification for the origin and etymology of the name “Qeidār”, the supposed prophet/emāmzāda of the same shrine. The earliest occurrences of a “Qeidār-e Payambar” for that place are in Tārikh-e Jahāngir / Preface of afarnāma (822/1419) of Šaraf al-Din AliYazdi, and in afarnāma (828-831 A.H.) of the same author. From then on, Qeidār has been generally identified with “Qeidār (Qedar) son of Ishmael”. This paper shows that “Qeidār” was, in fact, a toponym, and this toponym had its origin in the pre-classical Mongolian word for monastery, i.e. “keyid”; the monastery which, some years after burial of Arghun Khan in Mount Sujās (modern Mount Qeidār), was built on the site(?) by his daughter, UljatāyKhātun. This research uses historical and geographical data, and takes a linguistic approach by etymological analysis of the toponym “Qeidār”.
History and principles of religions, History of Asia
Yee Ling Chong, Abinash Padhi, Peter J Hudson
et al.
Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV) is a pathogenic strain of avian paramyxovirus (aPMV-1) that is among the most serious of disease threats to the poultry industry worldwide. Viral diversity is high in aPMV-1; eight genotypes are recognized based on phylogenetic reconstruction of gene sequences. Modified live vaccines have been developed to decrease the economic losses caused by this virus. Vaccines derived from avirulent genotype II strains were developed in the 1950s and are in use globally, whereas Australian strains belonging to genotype I were developed as vaccines in the 1970s and are used mainly in Asia. In this study, we evaluated the consequences of attenuated live virus vaccination on the evolution of aPMV-1 genotypes. There was phylogenetic incongruence among trees based on individual genes and complete coding region of 54 full length aPMV-1 genomes, suggesting that recombinant sequences were present in the data set. Subsequently, five recombinant genomes were identified, four of which contained sequences from either genotype I or II. The population history of vaccine-related genotype II strains was distinct from other aPMV-1 genotypes; genotype II emerged in the late 19(th) century and is evolving more slowly than other genotypes, which emerged in the 1960s. Despite vaccination efforts, genotype II viruses have experienced constant population growth to the present. In contrast, other contemporary genotypes showed population declines in the late 1990s. Additionally, genotype I and II viruses, which are circulating in the presence of homotypic vaccine pressure, have unique selection profiles compared to nonvaccine-related strains. Collectively, these data show that vaccination with live attenuated viruses has changed the evolution of aPMV-1 by maintaining a large effective population size of a vaccine-related genotype, allowing for coinfection and recombination of vaccine and wild type strains, and by applying unique selective pressures on viral glycoproteins.
1) The paper takes into consideration some religious and political phenomena labelled as examples of fundamentalism in the domain of Hinduism. Hinduism itself is best described as a (religious) complex system, according to some recent definition of this particular taxonomical and hermeneutical tipology. 2) The particular phenomenon taken into consideration is a sort of conscious and deliberate rewriting of historical textbooks in the light of a political objective, i.e. the revisionism of well grounded facts and hypotheses about ancient Indian history (e.g. the Indo-aryan migration theory). These facts and hypotheses are replaced by new ones (“Out of India” theory), often not so well grounded from the historical, archeological, linguistical point of view. 3) A specific field study is analyzed, being the recent denigratory campaign against Michael Witzel (Harvard University), built up for political reasons by some fundamentalist groups of the Hindu diaspora in the USA.