Silk Roads, Steppe Roads: History Unearthed from the Tombs of Medieval China

Author: Jonathan Karam Skaff

Publication year: 2026

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Abstract:
Silk Roads, Steppe Roads takes the reader on a journey to three sites in northwestern China and Mongolia to investigate medieval Chinese tombs containing evidence of Eastern Eurasian cultural contacts and exchanges. The construction, artifacts, and texts on paper and stone found at these tombs of the Sui (581–618) and early Tang (618–907) dynasties reveal glimpses of people, rituals, and objects that were in motion on the Silk and Steppe roads until being laid to rest over a millennium ago.

Jonathan Karam Skaff shows how the major transit hubs of the Silk and Steppe roads were particularly active sites of cultural contestation, experimentation, and mutual influence that had an impact on the historical development of China and Inner Asia. Challenging the idealized image of the Silk Road, he also examines travel permits and sales contracts that document the trade of enslaved people over the route.

Innovatively drawing on both textual and archaeological sources, Silk Roads, Steppe Roads shows how Eurasian peoples, despite believing their societies to be unique, spun overlapping and entangled webs of culture.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
A Slave Road? Slaves and Slavers at Turfan
Sogdians or Borderlanders? Part I:
Lives Revealed in Epitaphs
Sogdians or Borderlanders? Part II:
Death Rituals Revealed in Tombs
A Tang Dynasty Ally in Ritual and War:
The Tomb of Pugu Yitu (635–678) in Mongolia
Conclusion

Inscribing death : burials, representations, and remembrance in Tang China

Author: Jessey J C Choo

Publisher: University of Hawaiʻi Press

Publication date: July 2022

Abstract:

This nuanced study traces how Chinese came to view death as an opportunity to fashion and convey social identities and memories during the medieval period (200–1000) and the Tang dynasty (618–907), specifically. As Chinese society became increasingly multicultural and multireligious, to achieve these aims people selectively adopted, portrayed, and interpreted various acts of remembrance. Included in these were new and evolving burial, mourning, and commemorative practices: joint-burials of spouses, extended family members, and coreligionists; relocation and reburial of bodies; posthumous marriage and divorce; interment of a summoned soul in the absence of a body; and many changes to the classical mourning and commemorative rites that became the norm during the period. Individuals independently constructed the socio-religious meanings of a particular death and the handling of corpses by engaging in and reviewing acts of remembrance.

Drawing on a variety of sources, including hundreds of newly excavated entombed epitaph inscriptions, Inscribing Death illuminates the process through which the living—and the dead—negotiated this multiplicity of meanings and how they shaped their memories and identities both as individuals and as part of collectives. In particular, it details the growing emphasis on remembrance as an expression of filial piety and the grave as a focal point of ancestral sacrifice. The work also identifies different modes of construction and representation of the self in life and death, deepening our understanding of ancestral worship and its changing modus operandi and continuous shaping influence on the most intimate human relationships—thus challenging the current monolithic representation of ancestral worship as an extension of families rather than individuals in medieval China.

Table of Contents:
The Rise and Normalization of Familial Joint-Burial
Spousal Joint- and Disjoint-Burials
Burial Divinations
The Hun-Summoning Burial
The Speakers for the Dead

The Essentials of Governance 貞觀政要

Author:
Wu Jing 吳兢

Editors and Translators: 
Hilde De Weerdt, Glen Dudbridge, Gabe van Beijeren

Publisher: 

Cambridge University Press

Publication date:

January 2021

Abstract:
In the eighth century, Wu Jing selected exchanges between Emperor Taizong and his ministers that he deemed key to good governance. This collection of dialogues has been used for the education of emperors, political elites and general readers ever since, and is a standard reference work in East Asian political thought. Consisting of ten volumes, subdivided into forty topics, The Essentials of Governance addresses core themes of Chinese thinking about the politics of power, from the body politic, presenting and receiving criticism, recruitment, the education of the imperial clan, political virtues and vices, to cultural policy, agriculture, law, taxation, border policy, and how to avoid disaster and dynastic fall. Presented with introductory commentary that offers insights into its historical context and global reception, this accessible and reliable translation brings together ten scholars of Chinese intellectual history to offer a nuanced edition that preserves the organisation, tone and flow of the original.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: The Essentials of Governance from the Reign of Constancy Revealed in Context 

Hilde De Weerdt and David McMullen

Prefaces

Presentation of The Essentials of Governance from the Reign of Constancy Revealed Hilde De Weerdt

Preface to The Essentials of Governance from the Reign of Constancy Revealed Hilde De Weerdt

Volume I; 

1. The Way of the Sovereign Jack W. Chen; 

2. The Organization of Governance Jack W. Chen; 

Volume II; 

3. Employing the Wise Hilde De Weerdt; 

4. Seeking Criticism Hilde De Weerdt; 

5. Accepting Criticism Hilde De Weerdt

Volume III; 

6. Lessons from the Past for Sovereign and Officials Chu Mingkin; 

7. On Selecting Officials Oliver Moor; 

8. On Enfieffment David McMullen; 

Volume IV; 

9. On Determining the Roles of the Crown Prince and the Princes David McMullen; 

10. On Respecting Tutors David McMullen; 

11. Instructing and Warning the Crown Prince and the Princes David McMullen; 

12. Reproving the Crown Prince David McMullen; 

Volume V; 

13. On Humaneness and Righteousness Anthony DeBlasi; 

14. On Loyalty and Righteousness Anthony DeBlasi; 

15. On Filial Piety and Friendship Anthony DeBlasi; 

16. On Impartiality Anthony DeBlasi; 

17. On Sincerity and Trustworthiness Anthony DeBlasi; 

Volume VI; 

18. On Frugality and Moderation Gabe van Beijeren; 

19. On Modesty and Deference Gabe van Beijeren; 

20. On Being Humane and Compassionate Gabe van Beijeren; 

21. Caution in One's Preferences Anna M. Shields; 

22. Caution in Speech Anna M. Shields; 

23. Obstructing Slander and Sycophancy Anna M. Shields; 

24. On Regretting One's Faults Anna M. Shields; 

25. On Profligacy and Recklessness Jack W. Chen; 

26. On Greed and Baseness Jack W. Chen; 

Volume VII; 

27. Honoring Classicist Scholarship Chu Mingkin; 

28. On Literature and History Chu Mingkin; 

29. On Rites and Music Chu Mingkin; 

Volume VIII; 

30. Dedication to Agriculture Tineke D'Haeseleer; 

31. On Punishment and Law Tineke D'Haeseleer; 

32. On Amnesties Tineke D'Haeseleer; 

33. On Tribute Presentations Oliver Moor; 

34. Recognizing the Rise and Fall of Dynasties Hilde De Weerdt; 

Volume IX; 

35. Debates about Punitive Expeditions Tineke D'Haeseleer; 

36. Debates about Pacifying the Borders Tineke D'Haeseleer; 

Volume X; 

37. On Tours Oliver Moor; 

38. On Hunting Oliver Moor; 

39. On Auspicious and Inauspicious Signs Gabe van Beijeren; 

40. On Remaining Vigilant until the End Gabe van Beijeren

Dramatis Personae

(via Hilde De Weerdt)

隋唐洛陽と東アジア：洛陽学の新地平

Editor:

氣賀澤保規 (Yasunori Kegasawa)

Publication date:

December 2020

Publisher:

京都：法藏館

Abstract:

洛陽に展開した政治、都城、宗教などの諸問題から中国史を問う。日中の１６名の最新成果を収録し、「洛陽学」を提唱する画期的論集。

Table of Contents:

《序論》隋唐洛陽学の意義と課題［氣賀澤保規］

第Ⅰ部　政治社会史上の洛陽
北魏の洛陽遷都と孝文帝の改革――改革の中国史上に占める位置をめぐって［川本芳昭］　

北魏洛陽における権貴勢家第宅の奢侈の風と孝文帝の遷都改革［夏炎］

煬帝大業十一年の洛陽大朝会とその背景――隋末政治史の一側面［氣賀澤保規］

複都制再考――八世紀日本の造都と天皇権から考える［佐藤文子］

安史の乱における突厥王族阿史那氏の動向――洛陽出土「大燕阿史那明義墓誌」とその関連資料を中心に［速水大］

「党争」の残照――李徳裕の洛陽帰葬とその周辺［竹内洋介］

隋・唐・五代洛陽宮の政治空間について［松本保宣］

墓誌からみる唐代洛陽の万安山［毛陽光］

第Ⅱ部　宗教空間からの洛陽世界
寺院・摩崖・石窟の位置からみた交通路――北朝後期〜隋代、洛陽より東南へ［北村一仁］

北周末より唐代初期における洛陽仏教の動向［宮嶋純子］

流動する政治景観――「昇仙太子碑」と武周・中宗朝の洛陽政局［孫英剛］

則天武后の明堂と嵩山封禅――『大雲経疏』Ｓ六五〇二を中心に［大西磨希子］

新出「岩和尚墓誌」に見る唐代洛陽の天宮寺［王慶衛］

唐代洛陽大聖真観考［雷聞］

龍門広化寺善無畏三蔵真身考――中国唐末～北宋期におけるミイラ信仰について［榎本淳一］

《特別寄稿》日本の洛陽研究に関する一考察［黄婕］

The Writ of the Three Sovereigns: From Local Lore to Institutional Daoism

Author:

Dominic Steavu

Publication date:

October 2020

Publisher:

University of Hawaii Press

Abstract:

In 648 CE, Tang imperial authorities collected every copy of the Writ of the Three Sovereigns (Sanhuang wen 三皇文) from the four corners of the empire and burned them. The formidable talismans at its core were said not only to extend their owners’ lifespan and protect against misfortune, but also propel them to stratospheric heights of power, elevating them to the rank of high minister or even emperor. Only two or three centuries earlier, this controversial text was unknown in most of China with the exception of Jiangnan in the south, where it was regarded as essential local lore. In the span of a few generations, the Writ of the Three Sovereigns would become the cornerstone of one of the three basic corpora of the Daoist Canon, a pillar of Daoism—and a perceived threat to the state.

This study, the only book-length treatment of the Writ of the Three Sovereigns in any language, traces the text’s transition from local tradition to empire-wide institutional religion. The volume begins by painting the social and historical backdrop against which the scripture emerged in early fourth-century Jiangnan before turning to its textual history. It reflects on the work’s centerpiece artifacts, the potent talismans in celestial script, as well as other elements of its heritage, namely alchemical elixirs and “true form” diagrams. During the fifth and sixth centuries, with Daoism coalescing into a formal organized religion, the Writ of the Three Sovereigns took on a symbolic role as a liturgical token of initiation while retaining its straightforward language of sovereignty and strong political overtones, which eventually led to its prohibition. The writ endured, however, and later experienced a revival as its influence spread as far as Japan.

Despite its central role in the development of institutional Daoism, the Writ of the Three Sovereigns has remained an understudied topic in Chinese history. Its fragmentary textual record combined with the esoteric nature of its content have shrouded it in speculation. This volume provides a lucid reconstruction of the text’s hidden history and enigmatic practices while shedding light on its contributions to the religious landscape of medieval China.

Table of Contents:

Introduction

The Writ in early medieval southern China

The religious life of objects: the talismans of the Writ and their surviving fragments

Beyond talismans: alchemy, charts, and meditation in relation to the Writ

From local lore to universal Dao: the cavern of divinity and the early Daoist canon

The Writ and its corpus: the rise and fall of the cavern of divinity in institutional Daoism

Conclusion

Appendix 1: List of variant titles for the Writ of the three sovereigns (Sanhuang wen) in early medieval sources

Appendix 2: Synopsis of the principal Six dynasties sources containing fragments of the Writ of the three sovereigns (Sanhuang wen) and its oral instructions

Appendix 3: Comparative list of talismans from the "essential instructions from the western citadel on the great characters in celestial script of the Three sovereigns" (Xicheng yaojue sanhuang tianwen dazi) and the "essential functions of the Three sovereigns" (Sanhuang yaoyong pin)

Appendix 4: Comparative inventory of transmission gages associated with the Writ of the three sovereigns (Sanhuang wen)

六朝隋唐文史哲論集Ⅰ : 人・家・学術

Author: 

吉川忠夫 (Tadao Yoshikawa)

Publisher: 

法藏館

Publication date:

November 2020

Abstract:
六朝隋唐期の学術史・宗教史研究にひときわ輝かしい成果を著わしてきた著者がみずから論考を厳選して編んだ待望の論文集。学術史を明らかにする二二篇を収録。

Table of Contents:

緒　言
序　章　六朝隋唐時代の社会と思想

第Ⅰ部　人 と 家
一　章　歴史のなかの伯夷叔斉
二　章　薄葬の思想
三　章　皇甫謐の「篤終論」
四　章　陶淵明の「戒子書」をめぐって
五　章　此れも亦た人の子なり
——六朝時代における「四海の内皆な兄弟」の思想——
六　章　読「庭誥」
七　章　梁の徐勉の「誡子書」
八　章　嶺南の欧陽氏
九　章　李泌と『鄴侯家伝』
十　章　中唐の韋渠牟
——道士として、僧として、また官人として——
十一章　劉 軻 伝││中唐時代史への一つの試み││

第Ⅱ部　学　　術
一　章　六朝時代における家学とその周辺
二　章　鄭玄の学塾
三　章　後漢末における荊州の学術
四　章　蜀における讖緯の学の伝統
五　章　汲冢書発見前後
六　章　裴駰の『史記集解』
七　章　北魏孝文帝借書攷
八　章　島夷と索虜のあいだ
——典籍の流伝を中心とした南北朝文化交流史——
九　章　元行沖とその「釈疑」をめぐって
十　章　韓愈と大顚

燉煌文書の研究

Author:
土肥　義和 （DOHI Yoshikazu ）

Publication date:
July 2020

Publisher:
汲古書院

Table of Contents:

序　　　土肥史学と敦煌・吐魯番文書研究（氣賀澤保規）
自　序
前篇　唐代律令制関係文書の研究

第一部　唐代均田制の実施関係文書の研究
　はじめに
　――わが国における唐代均田制研究の課題――

第一章　唐令より見たる現存唐代戸籍の基礎的研究
　――均田制施行との関連において――
　一　はじめに　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
　二　現存唐代戸籍の書式
　三　燉煌県開元四年・十年籍稿（P三八七七V）にみえる給田記載　　　　　　　
　四　おわりに

第二章　唐代燉煌戸籍の居住園宅について
　――その班給と田土の地割とに関連して――

第三章　唐代西州における均田制の開始
　――貞観十四年九月の手実を中心に――

第四章　唐代均田制の給田基準攷
　――とくに吐魯番盆地の実例を中心に――

第五章　唐代均田制下における燉煌の田土給授について
　一　はじめに　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
　二　燉煌県受田簿断簡と付着紙片
　三　燉煌県受田簿の外形的特徴と成立年代　　　　
　四　燉煌県受田簿の特質　　　
　五　おわりに

第六章　唐開元十六年燉煌県史氾知節請給田土衛志曹大慶牒の一分析
　はしがき　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
　一　文書の概観
　二　文書の記載形式上の特徴　　　　　　　　　　
　三　文書の内容分析　　　　　
　む す び

まとめ　唐代における均田法施行の史料雑抄
　序　言　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
　一　西州高昌県等狭郷の給田記録
　二　沙州燉煌県寛郷の給田申請牒について　
　むすびに代えて――均田法下の嶺南地区

第二部　令文関係文書の研究

第一章　永徽二年東宮諸府職員令の復元
　――大英図書館蔵同職員令断片（S一一四四六）
　　　の発見に際して――
　一　永徽二年職員令復元の経緯　　　　　　　　　
　二　新発見職員令断片と他断巻との接続状況
　三　永徽二年職員令の外形的特徴　　　　　　　　
　四　編纂者記載と撰上期日

第二章　唐考課令等写本断片（Дx六五二一）等
　――開元二十五年撰『格式律令事類』に関連して――
　一　問題の所在　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
　二　本断片（Дx六五二一）の条文復元
　三　条文復元にかかわる史料と解釈　　　　　　　
　むすびにかえて――本断片の特質――

後篇　燉煌帰義軍期の政治社会および仏教教団関係文書の研究

第一部　帰義軍節度使支配期（唐晩期・五代・宋初）の政治社会と仏教教団

第一章　帰義軍節度使支配期（唐晩期・五代・宋初）の政治社会
　第一節　帰義軍（唐後期・五代・宋初）時代
　一　はじめに――帰義軍節度使の燉煌支配　　　　
　二　帰義軍の行政的支配機構
　三　胡漢雑居の住民構成　　　　　　　　　　　　
　四　帰義軍と燉煌仏教教団
　五　莫高窟千仏洞と帰義軍　　　　　　　　　　　
　六　むすびにかえて

　第二節　燉煌発見唐・回鶻間交易関係漢文文書断簡考
　一　はじめに　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
　二　文書断簡の復元とその外形的特徴
　三　唐・回鶻間交易文書の一分析　　　　　　　　
　四　むすびにかえて

　第三節　燉煌文書をめぐる堀敏一先生の思い出
　　――付「戌年六月十八日諸寺丁壮車牛役部（S五四二V）」に見える燉煌寺戸の
　　性格に関する若干の考察――

第二章　燉煌仏教教団十六大寺から十八大寺の成立と蘭若
　一　莫高窟と窟寺　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
　二　莫高窟の性格
　三　燉煌仏教教団大寺の増建　　　　　　　　　　
　四　燉煌の蘭若

第三章　燉煌莫高窟の性格
　一　莫高窟景観　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
　二　莫高窟で催された燃燈会
　三　燉煌仏教教団と窟寺と三所禅窟
　　　　　　　
第四章　燉煌莫高窟を支えた人達

　第一節　燉煌莫高窟を支えた人達
　――燉煌研究院編『莫高窟供養人題記』の数量的分析――
　一　はじめに　　　　　　　
　二 『供養人題記』に見える九・十世紀の窟龕数について
　三 『供養人題記』に見える供養者の姓氏別分布の一特色
　四　九・十世紀における莫高窟の造営者たち

　第二節　燉煌莫高窟供養人図像題記について
　――その配置を中心に――

第二部　燉煌「社」集団の組織と特色

第一章　唐・北宋間の「社」の組織形態に関する一考察
　――燉煌の場合を中心に――

第二章　唐・北宋の間、燉煌の杜家親情社追補社条（S八一六〇RV）について
　はしがき
　一　杜家親情社追補社条の記載形式上の特徴　　　
　二　杜家追補社条の条規
　三　杜家追補社条に見える贈例　　　　　　　　　
　四　杜家追補社条に見える三駄と三贈（請贈）
　五　杜家追補社条の作成年代　　　　　　　　　　
　六　杜家追補社条に見える親情
　おわりに

第三部　燉煌文献の性格とその封蔵

　曹氏帰義軍後期、燉煌管内仏教教団の写経事業記録の分析
　――「燉煌遺書」の性格を探って――
　はじめに
　一　九八〇年代以降、燉煌管内仏教教団の主要な写経記録の分析
　二　九八〇年代―一〇〇二年代燉煌管内仏教教団の写経人・勘経人の人名一覧
　三　写経人・勘経人の身分構成
　四　十世紀後期以降の経巻包装紙より見た蔵経写経
　おわりに

附論　燉煌文書の魅力
　ウィグルと中国の朝貢貿易　　　
　道円に関する文書　　　
　三つの疑問

　初出一覧

　あとがきにかえて
　土肥先生の西域文書に取り組む研究姿勢について（石田勇作）
　土肥義和先生の「龍朔二年（六六二）高昌県思恩寺僧籍」釈読（速水　大）
　十世紀末期から十一世紀初期の燉煌写経事業において武周新字が用いられている
　点への指摘の重要性（十時淳一）

Sacred Landscapes of Imperial China: Astronomy, Feng Shui, and the Mandate of Heaven

Author: 
Giulio Magli

Publisher: 
Springer

Publication date:
June 2020

Abstract:

This book analyses the magnificent imperial necropolises of ancient China from the perspective of Archaeoastronomy, a science which takes into account the landscape in which ancient monuments are placed, focusing especially but not exclusively on the celestial aspects. The power of the Chinese emperors was based on the so-called Mandate of Heaven: the rulers were believed to act as intermediaries between the sky gods and the Earth, and consequently, the architecture of their tombs, starting from the world-famous mausoleum of the first emperor, was closely linked to the celestial cycles and to the cosmos. This relationship, however, also had to take into account various other factors and doctrines, first the Zhao-Mu doctrine in the Han period and later the various forms of Feng Shui. As a result, over the centuries, diverse sacred landscapes were constructed. Among the sites analysed in the book are the “pyramids” of Xi’an from the Han dynasty, the mountain tombs of the Tang dynasty, and the Ming and Qing imperial tombs. The book explains how considerations such as astronomical orientation and topographical orientation according to the principles of Feng Shui played a fundamental role at these sites.

Table of Contents:

1 Heavens and Earth in Ancient China

2 In Between Wind and Water

3 A Mound and A Terracotta Army

4 Pyramids on the River

5 The Golden Age

6 A New Splendor

7 A Beautiful Valley

8 The Last Dynasty

Conclusions: A View from Purple Mountain

Appendix Probing Feng Shui Landscapes
The Azimuth-Altitude Reference System
The Horizon Formula
The Use of Virtual Globe Software
Palaeomagnetic Models Chronology of Imperial China

Reading Du Fu: Nine Views (九家讀杜)

Editor:
Xiaofei Tian

Publisher:
Hong Kong University Press

Publication date:
July 2020

Abstract:
This is the first collection of essays in English, contributed by well-known experts of Chinese literature as well as scholars of a younger generation, dedicated to the poetry of Du Fu, commonly regarded as the greatest Chinese poet. These essays are engaged in historically nuanced close reading of Du Fu’s poems, both canonical and less known, from new angles and in various contexts, and discuss a series of critical issues, including the local and the imperial; the body politic and the individual body; poetry and geography; perspectives on the complicated relation of religion and literature; materiality and contemporary reception of Du Fu; poetry and visual art; and tradition and modernity.

Many of the poems discussed in this book were written in the backwater town of Kuizhou, far from Du Fu’s earlier residence in the capital city Chang’an, at a time when the Tang dynasty was going through devastating social and political disturbances. The authors contend that Du Fu’s isolation from the elite literary establishments allowed him to become a pioneer who introduced a new order to the Chinese poetic discourse. However, his attention to details in everyday reality, his preoccupation with domestic life and the larger issues embroiled in it, his humor, and his ability to surprise tend to be obscured by the clichéd image of the “poet sage” and “poet historian”—an image this collection of essays successfully complicates.

Table of Contents:

Introduction
Xiaofei Tian

Section I: Home, Locale, Empire
1. Foundings of Home: On Du Fu and Poetic Success
Jack W. Chen

2. Thinking through Poetry: Du Fu’s “Getting Rid of the Blues” (Jie men)
Stephen Owen

3. History Channels: Commemoration and Communication in Du Fu’s Kuizhou Poems
Gregory Patterson

4. Ironic Empires
Lucas Rambo Bender

Section II: Poetry and Buddhism
5. Refuges and Refugees: How Du Fu Writes Buddhism
Paul Rouzer
6. Feeding the Phoenix: Du Fu’s Qinzhou-Tonggu Series
Xiaofei Tian

Section III: Reception and Re-creation
7. Sources of Difficulty: Reading and Understanding Du Fu
Christopher M. B. Nugent

8. Ming-Qing Paintings Inscribed with Du Fu’s Poetic Lines
Ronald Egan

9. Six Modernist Poets in Search of Du Fu
David Der-wei Wang

[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

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

仏像の着衣と僧衣の研究

Author: 
吉村怜 (Yoshimura, Rei )

Publisher:
法藏館

Publication date:
May 2019

Abstract:
彫像の背縫い線の歪みや衣端の揲の表現も見逃さない徹底した作品観察と律蔵文献をはじめとする膨大な史料を駆使し、古代の仏像彫刻が纏っている衣の呼称や実態、さらには現代の僧侶が着用している衣との関係を解明する。

Table of Contents:

序（肥田路美）
自序（吉村怜）
第一部　仏像の着衣と僧衣
第一章　古代仏像の着衣と名称―僧祇支と偏衫について―
第二章　古代比丘像の着衣と名称―僧祇支・偏袒・偏衫・直?について―
第三章　中国仏像の着衣の基本―袈裟・裙・僧祇支・偏袒について―
第四章　仏・菩薩像の衣服と名称
第五章　鑑真和上像の着衣、唐式偏衫について―竹下繭子氏の批判に答えて―
第六章　青州龍興寺址出土・北斉のインド風仏像の起源
第二部　個別研究
第七章　東大寺大仏の仏身論―蓮華蔵荘厳世界海の構造―
第八章　東大寺大仏・梵網教主説批判
第九章　雲岡・曇曜五窟の大仏
第十章　龍門古陽洞仏龕にみられる荘厳意匠の意義
第十一章　行像考
第十二章　中国奇岩怪石趣味の起源―霊璧石と太湖石について―

[Dissertation] Kingly Exchange: The Silk Road and the East Eurasian World in the Age of Fragmentation (850-1000)

Author:
WEN, Xin

School:
Harvard University

Date Submitted:
2017

Abstract:
This dissertation is a cultural history of travel on the Silk Road in East Eurasia in the ninth and tenth centuries from the vantage point of Dunhuang, an oasis town situated between China proper and Central Asia. Following the near-simultaneous fall of the Tibetan empire, the Uyghur empire, and the Tang empire in the mid-ninth century, the East Eurasian world experienced a long period of political fragmentation. Such political fragmentation, together with the collapse of the extensive Sogdian diasporic network around the same time, is generally considered to have resulted in a relatively inactive period of travels on the Silk Road. In this dissertation, by examining medieval manuscripts in Chinese, Tibetan, Uyghur, Khotanese, and Sogdian discovered in the sealed library-cave in Dunhuang and reading them in the contexts of transmitted Chinese texts produced in China proper, I argue that activities on the East Eurasian Silk Road during this period of political fragmentation not only persisted, but also took on a distinct and non-commercial form.

Informed by anthropological theories on gift exchange and hospitality, I argue that trans-regional travels in my sources were primarily the results of state endeavor: travelers were predominantly described as state envoys rather than private merchants, and that these envoys participated not in economic networks of commodified exchange, but in diplomatic networks of competitive gifting. That is to say, contrary to widespread assumptions about the Silk Road as a busy trading highway, the movements of people and goods in the area under my investigation were motivated primarily by the royal pursuit of glory rather than interest in profit. Political fragmentation and the presence of a much greater number of state entities in East Eurasia in the ninth and tenth centuries only enhanced such pursuit. Through investigating the non-commercial aspect of travel and the mechanism of negotiating social life on the road, I argue that the networks of competitive diplomacy through long-distance personnel and material exchange were as effective as commercial networks in facilitating trans-regional connections on the Silk Road.

Table of Contents:

Introduction

Part one – Geography and Diplomacy: Opening the Road

CHAPTER 1: THROUGH BROKEN GEOGRAPHIES: THE RE-CREATION OF
GEOGRAPHICAL INTELLIGIBILITY BETWEEN CHINA AND CENTRAL ASIA

CHAPTER 2: “BY THE ROAD WE BECOME ONE FAMILY”: DIPLOMACY ON THE
SILK ROAD

Part two: Gifts and Guest: Practices of Travel

CHAPTER 3: MOVING GIFTS

CHAPTER 4: WELCOME THE GUEST, PRAISE THE HOST

Part three: Economy and ideology: Results of Travel

CHAPTER 5: RECONSIDERING THE SILK ROAD ECONOMY

CHAPTER 6: KING OF KINGS OF CHINA: HYBRID STATE IDEOLOGY

Conclusion

草原の制覇 大モンゴルまで （シリーズ中国の歴史3）

Author:
古松崇志  (Takashi Furumatsu)

Publisher:
岩波書店

Publication date:
March 2020

Table of Contents:

いま、中国史をみつめなおすために――シリーズ中国の歴史のねらい（執筆者一同）
はじめに

序章　ユーラシア東方史と遊牧王朝
　一　中央ユーラシアの騎馬遊牧民
　二　遊牧と農耕が出会うユーラシア東方史

第一章　拓跋（タブガチ）とテュルク
　一　鮮卑拓跋部と北魏
　二　唐と突厥の興亡
　三　安史の乱の激動

第二章　契丹と沙陀
　一　契丹の建国
　二　沙陀の勃興
　三　沙陀系王朝と契丹

第三章　澶淵の盟と多国体制
　一　澶淵の盟への道
　二　タングト・西夏の台頭
　三　契丹情勢と北宋の西北経略

第四章　金（女真）の覇権
　一　女真の勃興
　二　金の覇権とユーラシア東方情勢
　三　金の変革と北方情勢

第五章　大モンゴルと中国
　一　大イェケモンゴル国ウルスの建国と拡大
　二　クビライと大元ウルス
　三　ユーラシアの東西交流と中国

The Chinese Lyric Sequence: Poems, Paintings, Anthologies

Author:
Joseph R. Allen

Publication date:
March 25, 2020

Publisher:
Cambria Press

Abstract:
Classical Chinese poetry is the dominating lyric form of world literature. Mainstream shi (lyric poetry) is a genre spanning more than two millennia, with poems numbering in the hundreds of thousands—extant shi from the medieval Tang dynasty alone consists of 48,000 poems by 2,200 authors. In these thousands of poems are some of the world’s more enduring examples of the short occasional poem, inspiring readers and writers across the globe with its vivid language of perspicuity. And embedded within that great lyric tradition, from its very beginnings to contemporary times, is the subtle but unsung form of the sequence of poems. Along with its related meta-forms of the literary anthology and album of paintings, this forms the Chinese lyric sequence.

The Chinese lyric sequence was never named or even noticed, by the poets, painters, or anthologists who worked in the genre over the millennia. It was an invisible but powerful form; in fact, Professor Joseph Allen argues that its power was lies in its invisible hold on the artists. Although the works discussed are some of the most canonical in the tradition, this is the first time that close attention and detailed analysis has been brought to the Chinese lyric sequence, both in its specific manifestations and as a shared aesthetic form. In doing so, Allen provides a focused introduction to Chinese literature and art for the general reader, while offering new insights for the specialist.

The works discussed include liturgical hymns, risqué folk songs, religious poems cast in dramatic forms, sensuous songs of the seasons, dense ponderings of personal travail, intimate landscape and figural paintings, and important collections that give them form. Despite the diversity of these works, Allen offers an abiding rationale for understanding all of them in the rubric of the Chinese lyric sequence, providing an original protocol for reading. This interpretation derives from deep Chinese cultural norms, such as parallel structures, significant numbers, and the interweaving of modes of understanding, but each example offers its special manifestation of those norms.

Allen places the genre in a comparative perspective with both Japanese and Western models, using theoretical language derived from the Chinese lyric tradition itself. All poems are provided in original and translation, with extensive contextual notes and detailed readings. Examples of paintings are provided, including one complete album.

Table of Contents:

Preface
Chapter 1: The Chinese Lyric Sequence in a Comparative Perspective
Chapter 2: Decades in The Book of Songs
Chapter 3: Nines in The Elegies of Chu
Chapter 4: Selections and Collections in the Six Dynasties
Chapter 5: The Four Seasons and the Twelve Months
Chapter 6: Du Fu’s Metapoem
Chapter 7: Eight Views
Epilogue: In Significant Numbers

[Dissertation] The Buddha’s Voice: Ritual Sound And Sensory Experience In Medieval Chinese Religious Practice

Author:
Kelsey Seymour

Date of Award:
2018

School: 
University of Pennsylvania

Abstract:
This dissertation explores Buddhist chanting practices in mainly the Tang dynasty (618–907 CE), showing that they were more than just one part of ritual practice: chanting could also be a type of music, an educational tool, a means for manipulating the supernatural, and a cure and cause of illness. Previous studies of chanting practices in Chinese Buddhism have addressed histories of transmission, doctrinal approaches, and made efforts to preserve melodies through notation. However, they do not necessarily capture how individuals who engaged in chanting experienced this practice. Therefore this dissertation aims to investigate this experience through accounts found in hagiography, miracle tales, and other Buddhist materials. In studying chanting from this perspective, we can see how local and individual experiences, goals, and needs interacted with practices, and how these practices operated within Chinese Buddhist communities. Furthermore, we can understand how and when these understandings and practices were informed by scripture, and when they were not, through how individuals performed, listened to, and promoted them.

Table of Contents:

Introduction

Chapter 1  Chant and Music

Chapter 2 Experts of Memory:
Chanting as a Method and Verification of Learning

Chapter 3 Gods, Demons, Ghosts, and Men, Lend Me Your Ears:
Hearing Buddhist Sounds in Medieval China

Chapter 4 Sound Objects and Sound Bodies:
The Materiality of the Voice in Buddhist Miracle Tales

Chapter 5 Therapeutic Tones and Hazardous Hymns:
The Relationship between Sound and Health in Tang Dynasty Buddhism

律令国家と隋唐文明

Author:
大津　透 (OTSU Toru)

Publisher:
岩波書店

Publication date:
February 2020

Abstract: 
中国の王朝が隋から唐へと移り、朝鮮半島から戦火が迫る。古代日本の律令国家は、そうした極度の軍事的緊張のなかから生まれた。国土防衛と権力集中への模索から、海を介した人々の知的交流、制度にとどまらない文明の継受によって、独自の国制を築く過程を描き出す。東アジアを舞台とした、「日本」誕生のドキュメント。

Table of Contents:

はじめに――鬼ノ城にて

第一章　遣隋使と天皇号
　中国統一と朝鮮、倭／｢未開」の使者／冠位十二階と憲法十七条／『日本書紀』にのらなかった「日出づる処の天子｣／対等外交の断念／天皇号の成立／｢スメラミコト」と「天皇｣

第二章　東アジアの緊張のなかでの権力集中
　律令国家建設の出発点／太宗と倭国――唐の朝命を拒む／権力の集中へ／大化の改新／外交方針の模索／百済の滅亡／白村江での敗戦と国土防衛／高まる緊張――遣唐使の中断／近江令とは？

第三章　律令制の形成と「日本｣
　羅唐戦争――対立の一〇年／対立の影響／律令の編纂／浄御原令の意義／｢日本」のはじまり／大宝の遣唐使――国際的緊張の清算をめざして／祢軍墓誌のなかの「日本｣

第四章　固有法としての律令法
　大宝律令と養老律令――八世紀の国制をさぐる／唐の律令、日本の律令――差異と共通点／接ぎ木された「文明｣――古代日本の国家構造／戸籍と班田制／調庸制――その歴史的背景／税の宗教的な意味／律令国家のフィクション

第五章　官僚制と天皇
　位階――貴族制的秩序／二官八省制――太政官の強い権限／四等官制――マヘツキミの職掌分担／｢宣」の世界――音声の呪術的機能／天皇の服――なぜ規定されないのか／神話と儀礼――天皇統治の正統性

第六章　帰化人と知識・技術
　律令国家のなかの帰化人／古代日本の帝国構造と技術／文化的背景――民族の移動と融合／南朝系の知識と情報／文書行政と史部

第七章　吉備真備と「礼｣
　真備町の風景／典籍の将来――養老の遣唐使／体系的な収集と修学――｢礼」と「歴史｣／｢礼」による文明化／天皇の衣服にみる「礼」受容／玄昉の仏典将来／ふたたび入唐

第八章　鑑真来日と唐風化の時代
　唐招提寺の木彫像から／来日の実現まで／唐風化としての天皇受戒／具足戒を授ける／経典、戒律の将来／仲麻呂政権の評価／新しい学制／尊号から漢風諡号へ／年中行事のはじまり――親蚕・籍田と卯杖儀礼

おわりに
　桓武天皇の郊祀／桓武の中国化と春秋学／弘仁年間の儀式整備／天皇制の唐風化と『貞観格』／律令制の展開と「古典的国制｣／唐文化の意義

日唐賤人制度の比較研究

Author:

榎本淳一 (Junichi Enomoto)

Publication date:
October 2019

Publisher:
東京: 同成社

Table of Contents:

序章　本書の視角と構成
第一章　ヤツコと奴婢の間
第三章　日唐官賤人の解放規定について
第四章　日唐賤人の身分標識について
第五章　日唐戸令当色為婚条について
第六章　天聖令からみた日唐奴婢売買の諸問題
第七章　藤原仲麻呂と女楽
終章　日本古代の奴婢は奴隷か

附篇一　『新唐書』百官志の官賤人記事について
附篇二　唐戸令当色為婚条をめぐる覚書

江南の発展：南宋まで （シリーズ中国の歴史2 ）

Author：
丸橋充拓 (MARUHASHI Mitsuhiro)

Publisher：
岩波書店

Publication date：
January 2020

Table of Contents:

いま、中国史をみつめなおすために――シリーズ中国の歴史のねらい（執筆者一同）

はじめに

第一章　「古典国制」の外縁――漢以前
　一　長江流域の諸文化
　二　「楚」の血脈
　三　「古典国制」と対峙する人びと

第二章　「古典国制」の継承――六朝から隋唐へ
　一　南からみる『三国志』
　二　江南の「中華王朝」
　三　六朝の貴族たち
　四　隋唐帝国と江南

第三章　江南経済の起動――唐から宋へ
　一　運河と海
　二　文臣官僚の時代
　三　花石綱

第四章　海上帝国への道――南宋
　一　金・モンゴルとの対峙
　二　江南の繁栄
　三　海上帝国の形成

第五章　「雅」と「俗」のあいだ
　一　俗――地域社会の姿
　二　雅――士大夫のネットワーク

おわりに――ふたたび、若者の学びのために
あとがき

The Way of the Barbarians: Redrawing Ethnic Boundaries in Tang and Song China

Author:
Shao-yun Yang

Publisher: 
University of Washington Press

Publication date:
October 22, 2019

Abstract:
Shao-yun Yang challenges assumptions that the cultural and socioeconomic watershed of the Tang-Song transition (800–1127 CE) was marked by a xenophobic or nationalist hardening of ethnocultural boundaries in response to growing foreign threats. In that period, reinterpretations of Chineseness and its supposed antithesis, “barbarism," were not straightforward products of political change but had their own developmental logic based in two interrelated intellectual shifts among the literati elite: the emergence of Confucian ideological and intellectual orthodoxy and the rise of neo-Confucian (daoxue) philosophy. New discourses emphasized the fluidity of the Chinese-barbarian dichotomy, subverting the centrality of cultural or ritual practices to Chinese identity and redefining the essence of Chinese civilization and its purported superiority. The key issues at stake concerned the acceptability of intellectual pluralism in a Chinese society and the importance of Confucian moral values to the integrity and continuity of the Chinese state. Through close reading of the contexts and changing geopolitical realities in which new interpretations of identity emerged, this intellectual history engages with ongoing debates over relevance of the concepts of culture, nation, and ethnicity to premodern China.

Table of Contents:
Han Yu, the Annals, and the origins of ethnicized orthodoxy
Han Yu, Liu Zongyuan, and the debate over Buddhism and barbarism
Ethnocentric moralism in two Late Tang essays
Ethnicized orthodoxy in the Northern Song guwen revival
Ideas of barbarization in eleventh-century Annals exegesis
Chineseness and barbarism in early Daoxue philosophy