Treatise on Awakening Mahāyāna Faith

Editors:
John Jorgensen, Dan Lusthaus, John Makeham, and Mark Strange

Publisher:
Oxford University Press

Publication date:
December 2019

Abstract:
Dasheng qixin lun 大乘起信論, or Treatise on Awakening Mahāyāna Faith has been one of the most important texts of East Asian Buddhism since it first appeared in sixth-century China. It outlines the initial steps a Mahāyāna Buddhist needs to take to reach enlightenment, beginning with the conviction that the Mahāyāna path is correct and worth pursuing. The Treatise addresses many of the doctrines central to various Buddhist teachings in China between the fifth and seventh centuries, attempting to reconcile seemingly contradictory ideas in Buddhist texts introduced from India. It provided a model for later schools to harmonize teachings and sustain the idea that, despite different approaches, there was only one doctrine, or Dharma. It profoundly shaped the doctrines and practices of the major schools of Chinese Buddhism: Chan, Tiantai, Huayan, and to a lesser extent Pure Land. It quickly became a shared resource for East Asian philosophers and students of Buddhist thought.

Drawing on the historical and intellectual contexts of Treatise's composition and paying sustained attention to its interpretation in early commentaries, this new annotated translation of the classic, makes its ideas available to English readers like never before. The introduction orients readers to the main topics taken up in the Treatise and gives a comprehensive historical and intellectual grounding to the text. This volume marks a major advance in studies of the Treatise, bringing to light new interpretations and themes of the text.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
Treatise on Awakening Mahāyāna Faith
Bibliography
English-to-Chinese Glossary
Chinese-to-English Glossary

Rome, China, and the Barbarians Ethnographic Traditions and the Transformation of Empires

Author:
Randolph Ford

Publisher:
Cambridge University Press

Publication date:
June 2020

Abstract:
This book addresses a largely untouched historical problem: the fourth to fifth centuries AD witnessed remarkably similar patterns of foreign invasion, conquest, and political fragmentation in Rome and China. Yet while the western Roman empire was never re-established, China was reunified at the end of the sixth century. Taking a comparative approach to the study of the broader historiographical and ethnographic traditions in the classical Greco-Roman and Chinese worlds, the book turns to the late antique/early medieval period, when the western Roman Empire 'fell' and China was re-constituted as a united empire after centuries of foreign conquest and political division. Analyzing the discourse of ethnic identity in the original texts, with translations by Dr Ford, it explores the extent to which notions of Self and Other, of 'barbarian' and 'civilized', help us understand both the transformation of the Roman world as well as the restoration of a unified imperial China.

Table of Contents:

Introduction
1. Ethnography in the Classical Age

2. The Barbarian and Barbarian Antitheses

3. Ethnography in a Post-Classical Age: The Ethnographic Tradition in the Wars of Procopius and in the Jin shu 晉書

4. New Emperors and Ethnographic Clothes: The Representation of Barbarian Rulers
The Confluence of Ethnographic Discourse and Political Legitimacy: Rhetorical Arguments on the Legitimacy of Barbarian Kingdoms

Conclusion

[Dissertation] Everyday Stress, Exceptional Suffering: Bioarchaeology of Violence and Personhood in Late Shang, China

Author:
Daniela Wolin

School:
Yale University

Submitted:
2018

Abstract:
The Late Shang period (ca. 1250-1050 BCE) of China is a unique context where archaeological features and artifacts, human skeletal remains, and a coeval writing system (inscribed oracle bones) document the practice of ritual sacrifice, which claimed the lives of more than 10,000 people. Although thousands of human skeletons from sacrificial and non-sacrificial contexts have been systematically excavated over the past 90 years at the urban settlement of Yinxu 殷墟 in Anyang city, Henan province, osteological analyses of direct and indirect violence have only been published for a small fraction of these remains.

My dissertation uses a bioarchaeological framework to study the intersection of violence, gender, and ritual practices during the Late Shang period of northern China. Through the study of human osteology, contextualized with mortuary analysis and oracle bone inscriptions (OBI), I explore how violence in Late Shang society was a culturally constructed and ritually meaningful practice, that was mediated through social identity. To explore how violence influenced the lived experiences of people during this time, I collected osteological data from various locales at Yinxu, including both royal and neighborhood areas.

A spectrum of different types of violence were occurring simultaneously, ranging from exceptional performances of violence – warfare, captivity, and human sacrifice – to small-scale "everyday" and structural violence among the general population. For the residential neighborhood of Yinxu Liujiazhuang 殷墟劉家莊, an overall low prevalence of trauma indicative of interpersonal violence was identified at this site, suggesting that integrative mechanisms, such as religion, feasting, communal ritual activities, and sacrifice, may have promoted social cohesion among the general population. A slightly higher percentage of healed trauma on the skulls of females, however, is suggestive of gender-based violence. Oral pathologies and osteological indicators of health and nutritional stress, while limited, also point toward differences in diet and susceptibility to disease. These results were compared to two regional settlements in Shangdong province: Jinan Liujiazhuang 濟南劉家莊 and Tengzhou Qianzhangda 滕州前掌大. Low levels of trauma were also observed in these collections, however, variation in the prevalence of oral pathologies between Yinxu and Jinan Liujiazhuang indicate differences in diet between these regions.

My analysis of sacrificial victims from royal and residential areas at Yinxu demonstrated that many of the skulls of decapitated victims displayed healed trauma in addition to direct evidence of perimortem beheading. These lesions document a process of physical abuse that likely began at the time of initial confrontation and continued throughout captivity until the individuals were chosen to be ritually decapitated. Through these interactions, personhood was (re)constituted as the Shang captors imposed new social identities on them both in life and in death. Osteological evidence of nutritional deficiencies and mechanical stress suggest that captives may have been forced to carry out taxing labor until the time they were selected for ritual sacrifice.

By focusing on trauma and paleopathology, my research highlights the range of lived experiences among the men and women of Yinxu. This study challenges past reconstructions that see males as the sole perpetrators and recipients of violence and encourages scholars to integrate gender theory into future research. Finally, as one of few anthropologically-oriented studies on violence in the Late Shang that utilizes bioarchaeological methods and theory, this dissertation demonstrates the importance of incorporating all lines of evidence – including human skeletal remains – into reconstructions of ancient societies in order to construct a rich and diverse narrative.

[Dissertation] A Biographical Study on Bukong 不空 (aka. Amoghavajra, 705-774) : Networks, Institutions, and Identities

Author:
Yang, Zeng

Submitted:
2018

School:
The University of British Columbia

Abstract:
This dissertation addresses the historical practices of the Buddhist monk Bukong, who is well known by his Sanskrit name Amoghavajra and recognized as the most important promoter of the Esoteric tradition of Vajroṣṇīṣa Yoga in medieval China. Bukong was of mixed descent, half Indian and half Sogdian, and he traveled widely throughout Asia. Spending most of his lifetime in Tang China, as a Buddhist missionary and court official, he devoted his life to combining a soteriological agenda with monastic service to the state. In this regard, his commitment was so pivotal to the Esoteric school that it gave the latter an institutional expression that distinguished it from other Buddhist traditions in China. The school thrived as vital part of the official institutions of the state and thus constituted a new mode of imperial Buddhism. Bukong’s biographical accounts became the primary context for the historical narratives and documentation of almost all events and issues related to Esoteric Buddhism at the time. Employing a wide variety of historical materials, this study presents a comprehensive biography of Bukong that has been long overdue in academia. The exploration that follows focuses on his political rise and the institutionalization of his Esoteric School in its heyday, revealing the posts held by monks as the religious functionary and official institutes provided for his yogin disciples. The success of Bukong and his school owed significantly to the political and military turbulence caused by the An Lushan rebellion. He contributed to the usurpation of Emperor Suzong and was rewarded with the imperial authorization of his Esoteric tradition and the initial institutionalization of the Esoteric practices. During the next reign, a victory over a foreign invasion widely convinced his contemporaries of the “miraculous” might of the Vajroṣṇīṣa Yoga and facilitated Emperor Daizong’s conversion into a royal yogin. The emperor’s devotion and secret association with Bukong became a powerful factor for the latter to weave an eclectic network that assembled various resources to support Buddhist institutions and projects. Bukong’s diverse achievements and social associations, however, led to the diversified perception of him in historical writings.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: A Comprehensive Biography of Bukong
Chapter 3: Mutual Consecration: New Ruler and New Role
Chapter 4: The Mobilizer of Monks and Money: Integrating and Institutionalizing Buddhist Missions
Chapter 5: The Various Accounts of Bukong’s Background Places and His Ethnicity and Identity
Chapter 6: Conclusion: Backgrounds, Networks, Institutions, and Identities

後漢・魏晋簡牘の世界

Editors:
伊藤　敏雄  (Toshio Itou) & 関尾　史郎 (Shiro Sekio)

Publication date:
March 2020

Publisher:
汲古書院

Table of Contents:

はしがき（関尾史郎）
　凡例
　出土史料の主要テキストとその略号

第一部　走馬楼呉簡の世界

臨湘県の地理的環境と走馬楼呉簡　…………………………………　安部聡一郎
「嘉禾五年貧民貸食米斛數簿」について　……………　熊　曲（小野　響 訳）
走馬楼呉簡「史潘慮料刺中倉吏李金所領嘉禾三年雜米要簿」
　　に関する一考察…………………………………………楊　芬（石原遼平 訳）
走馬楼呉簡吏民簿の編製時期について　………………………………　鷲尾祐子
走馬楼呉簡から見た孫呉の塩政 ………………………………………　蘇　俊 林

第二部　後漢・魏晋簡牘の諸相

長沙五一広場後漢簡牘の概観　…………………………………………　髙村武幸
南京出土三国呉・西晋簡について　……………………………………　永田拓治
楼蘭魏晋簡の再検討
　――楼蘭魏晋簡の分類と券の書式を中心に――　…………………　伊藤敏雄
甘粛・臨沢出土の西晋簡をめぐって
――訴訟関係文書と「塢」・「塢舎」の理解を中心に――　………　町田隆吉
漢簡からみた国家の物資輸送と雇用労働 ……………………………　李　周 炫
名刺簡をめぐる諸問題　…………………………………………………　関尾史郎

　あとがき（伊藤敏雄）

[Dissertation] The Ceramic Technology of Bronze-Casting Molds in Ancient China: Production Practices at Three Western Zhou Foundry Sites in the Zhouyuan Area

Author:
Matthew Lincoln Chastain

School:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Submitted:
2019

Abstract:
During the second and first millennia BCE, peoples living near China's Yellow and Yangzi Rivers produced bronze ritual and military paraphernalia that represent arguably the most sophisticated use of metal casting by any ancient society. These objects were cast by pouring bronze into mold assemblies composed of interlocking sections. To survive the mechanical and thermal rigors of this casting process, the mold sections were constructed from highly specialized ceramic materials. This study investigates these ceramic materials. The primary focus is three foundry sites (Zhougongmiao, Kongtougou, Lijia) in the Zhouyuan area, Shaanxi province, a major bronze production center during the Western Zhou period (1045-771 BCE). Casting molds (72 total), other ceramic artifacts, and soils, all from the Zhouyuan area, were analyzed using electron microscopy, optical microscopy, and infrared spectroscopy.

Results were compared to similar analyses of molds from other sites in China (Houma, Xinzheng, Tangjiadun, Shigudun). Replication experiments were undertaken to reconstruct the production process of casting molds and to identify the performance advantages of ancient casting-mold material. Casting molds were made from a material unlike the clay-rich pastes used for pottery. This material, here called "silt paste", consists of a porous network of silt-sized (3.9-62.5[mu]m) quartz particles held together by a small proportion of clay. Across north-central China, similar material was used to make molds for all types of bronze objects. Silt paste was produced from commonplace loessic soils. Its composition and properties were manipulated by processing the soil to remove much of its clay. The resulting low-clay paste offers little workability, requiring specialized forming techniques. "Piping" was used to decorate some molds. Molds were fired at 400-700°C.

The low clay content and low firing temperature of casting-mold material ensured minimal drying shrinkage and high thermal shock resistance, minimizing the risk of failure during the casting process. Producers at the three Zhouyuan-area sites practiced different engineering strategies, apparently because casting technology descended from the earlier Shang tradition was introduced into the area midway through the Western Zhou period. Differences in soil resources between northern and southern China may have influenced how bronze casting developed in each region.

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction and background
2. Previous research on casting-mold materials from ancient China
3. Sites, artifacts, and samples
4. Analyses and experiments
5. Casting-mold material: Composition and characteristics
6. Casting-mold material: Production sequence
7. Casting-mold material: Engineering performance and engineering choices
8. Transmission of casting-mold technologies
9. Conclusions

Anthology of Tang and Song Tales: The Tang Song chuanqi ji of Lu Xun

Editors:
Victor Mair & Zhenjun Zhang

Publication date:
April 2020

Publisher: 
World Scientific Publishing Co Pte Ltd

Abstract:
This volume is the first complete English rendition of the 45 famous tales in the monumental anthology masterfully selected and edited by Lu Xun (1881–1936). It is the most distinctive, authoritative, and influential chuanqi collection thus far, and many of the pieces are rendered for the first time. This is an important contribution to the field of Chinese studies in the English-speaking world.

Table of Contents:

Introduction
Preface and Selection Rules
Chinese Dynasty Chronology

Chapter 1:
The Record of the Ancient Mirror
A Supplement to Jiang Zong's 'Biography of the White Ape'
An Account of the Detached Soul
The World Inside a Pillow
The Tale of Miss Ren

Chapter 2:
Zheng Qinyue Deciphers an Ancient Inscription of the Datong Reign Period
The Tale of Miss Liu
Tale of the Transcendent Marriage of Dongting Lake
The Story of Li Zhangwu
The Tale of Huo Xiaoyu

Chapter 3:
The Ancient Classic of Peaks and Waterways
An Account of the Governor of the Southern Branch
The Story of Lady Feng of Lujiang
An Account of Xie Xiao'e
The Courtesan Li Wa
An Account of Three Dreams
The Account of the Song of Lasting Regret
The Elder of the Eastern Wall
The Origin of the Peaceful Kaiyuan Reign Era

Chapter 4:
The Story of Yingying
A Chronicle of My Journey through Zhou and Qin
Lament from the Xiang River: A Prose with a Preface
Registering a Strange Dream
A Record of a Dream of Qin
The Tale of Wushuang the Peerless
An Account of the Maid Shangqing
The Account of Courtesan Yang
The Tale of Feiyan
The Tale of the Curly-Bearded Guest

Chapter 5:
Music from the Netherworld
A Record of Nocturnal Spirits near Dongyang
An Account of Lingying

Chapter 6:
Leftover Record of the Sui Dynasty (A)
Leftover Record of the Sui Dynasty (B)
Record of the Oceans and Mountains of Emperor Yang of the Sui (A)
Record of the Oceans and Mountains of Emperor Yang of the Sui (B)
The Mansion of Enchantment
Records of Constructing the Grand Canal

Chapter 7:
The Tale of Green Pearl
Unofficial Biography of Yang the Grand Verity (A)
Unofficial Biography of Yang the Grand Verity (B)

Chapter 8:
The Record of the Drifting Red Leaf
Separate Traditions of Empress Zhao 'the Flying Swallow'
The Tale of Tan Yige
The Record of Wang Youyu
Wang Xie
The Tale of Concubine Plum
An Unofficial Biography of Li Shishi