The joint victory of the Soviet-Mongolian forces in the battle of Khalkhin Gol in 1939 laid the historical and moral-ideological foundation that became an important resource of Russian-Mongolian relations in the post-socialist period. The article analyzes the mechanisms of constructing historical memory of the events at Khalkhin Gol and the factors that transformed this victory into a significant symbolic resource in bilateral interaction. The author examines the historical context of the conflict, the debate over its terminological definition, the geopolitical consequences of the victory, and the place of Khalkhin Gol in Mongolian and Russian commemorative narratives. Particular attention is paid to the post-socialist period: anniversary events, high-level visits, restoration and erection of monuments, youth expeditions, exhibitions, academic conferences and publications. The article concludes that the memory of Khalkhin Gol performs a stabilizing function: it maintains the image of “battle brotherhood”, structures the rhythm of interstate contacts and legitimizes strategic partnership by referring to a shared victorious past.
The article examines the United Arab Emirates’ role in Iraq’s post-conflict reconstruction in 2018–2024. It analyzes key political, humanitarian and economic aspects of interaction between the two countries, including the development of energy cooperation, infrastructure investment projects and UNESCO-supported reconstruction programs. Particular attention is given to the Development Road Project, a transport and logistics initiative linking Iraq’s southern regions with Turkey’s Mediterranean coast and potentially strengthening the Iraqi economy. The study explores foreign policy differences and points of convergence between the UAE and Iraq, particularly regarding the normalization of relations with Israel and regional security amid the Arab-Israeli conflict. The relevance of the topic stems from the search for effective ways to restore post-conflict states and from the growing role of regional actors in this process. The article analyzes the doctrinal principles of both countries’ foreign policies and introduces Arabic-language sources into Russian scholarly discourse.
Keywords:
United Arab Emirates; Iraq; foreign policy; foreign aid; humanitarian cooperation
The article examines the cultural connections between legends and natural as well as man-made monuments. The author analyzes monuments in folk legends as elements of cultural symbolism that reveal their significance from the perspective of cultural studies. The study is based on several key legends about monuments included in the Collection of Chinese Folk Tales. Two types of legends are identified: those explaining the origin of monuments and those explaining their characteristics. Within the first group, the article considers stories connected with historical figures, Daoist ideas of immortality, the spirit of traditional culture and motifs of folk literature. The study concludes that the relationship between local monuments and legends is essentially a process of symbolization: legends endow natural and man-made objects with names, spiritual content and memory, transforming them from physical objects into cultural symbols that carry collective memory, value systems and spiritual beliefs. The article also notes that Russian electronic academic databases contain no specialized studies devoted directly to legends about monuments, which makes the cultural analysis of this material a promising research area.
Keywords:
legends, monuments, culture, cultural symbol, folk tradition
The article provides the first comparative analysis of themes and imagery related to World War II in both essays and fiction of Sakaguchi Ango (1906–1955). The programmatic essays “A Personal View of Japanese Culture” (1942) and “Discourse on Decadence” (1946) are examined, in which Sakaguchi expresses his view of Japanese culture and human nature, drawing on wartime ideological stances and his personal experience of the war. From Sakaguchi’s prose fiction, the short stories “The Idiot” (1946) and “Mr. Sun-Moon” (1949) are used as material for the study: the former describes the bombing of Tokyo from the perspective of an ordinary Japanese person, while the latter depicts a sense of loss in the postwar social crisis. The analysis shows that Sakaguchi preferred to interpret wartime experience through the lens of Buddhism, considering destruction and defeat as a particular example of the fragility of human nature. He presents a way out of the prevailing situation as paradoxical rebirth through the experience of tragedy or transgression.
Keywords:
Sakaguchi Ango, Buraiha, Japanese literature, World War II, postwar fiction
This article analyzes the structure and semantics of Sanskrit terminology in Jyotiṣa Vedāṅga, one of the six Vedāṅgas directly related to the Vedas and intended for the understanding and preservation of the Vedas. Jyotiṣa Vedāṅga takes its name from the word jyotis “light, luminary” and denotes the discipline concerned with the movement of celestial bodies and the temporal periods determined by them. The article focuses on key lexical and terminological units of the Jyotiṣa corpus: the names of its three divisions, Gaṇita, Horā and Saṃhitā, the terms apauruṣeya and pauruṣeya, and selected passages from Sanskrit metrical treatises. The Sanskrit material is presented in scholarly IAST transliteration and is accompanied by Russian translation and concise explanatory comments. In terms of content, Gaṇita describes computational and astronomical issues, Horā deals with horoscopic interpretation, while Saṃhitā is concerned with natural and social omens. This format makes it possible to present Jyotiṣa Vedāṅga not only as a source for the history of Indian astronomy but also as a textual corpus with a stable lexical-semantic and terminological organization.
Keywords:
Jyotiṣa, Vedanga, Sanskrit, ancient Indian astronomy, terminology
Railways were a key mode of land transport during the Second World War, including in the Afro-Asian world — from the fronts of North Africa in 1940– 1943 to the theatre of operations in Manchuria in 1945. The exploitation of railway systems already built by that time contributed significantly to the successes of the opposing powers, while further development of these systems made it possible to regard them as powerful geopolitical rays — vectors of military and political influence on space. The experience of rail communications in the logistics of the Second World War taught several lessons which later were taken into account in a number of potential and actual armed conflicts in Asia and Africa. First, a power with a more developed railway network as dual-purpose transport infrastructure stands a better chance of victory. Second, the war emphasized the need to deliberately disrupt the operation of the enemy’s railways. Third, where railways are insufficiently developed, the improvement of ocean communications (“sea power” according to A. Mahan) significantly reduces their effectiveness in their own land-based environment, more specifically in the Eurasian coastal arc (N. Spykman’s Rimland). British and American strategists learned this lesson in the context of the Cold War, which soon began. Fourth, the experience of Asian and African railways during the Second World War is invaluable for assessing the risks of future conflicts. For instance, the use of the Thai–Burma Railway as an instrument of a maritime power against a land power allows us to interpret the Baku–Tbilisi–Kars Railway, built in the early twenty-first century, as a geopolitical ray that strengthens transport routes bypassing Russia and has anti-Russian potential.
Keywords:
railways, geopolitics, Second World War, Asia and Africa, logistics, geopolitical ray, armed conflict
The article examines the historical development of Japan’s administrative-territorial division in chronological sequence, from its initial formation in the 7th–8th centuries to the present day. It identifies the most significant stages and outlines their key characteristics. Particular attention is paid to the evolution of the relationship between territorial and administrative division, the continuity of terminology and the changing functions of administrative units from the Ritsuryō system to the modern prefectural and municipal organization. The conclusion presents the Japanese Cabinet’s plans for establishing a “regional district system”.
Based on issues of Pravda Vostoka for 1935–1936, the article identifies the main forms of passive resistance among the peasantry: mass absenteeism, violations of the water-use regime, above all the theft of collective-farm water, and opposition to technical innovations, especially mechanization. The newspaper materials reveal no clear boundary between conscious, albeit passive, resistance, on the one hand, and ordinary indiscipline that did not imply purposeful action against Soviet power, on the other. The author explains this by the fundamental features of the social order of the USSR. Rejecting traditional coercive forms of domination as the main source of legitimacy, Soviet power sought to base its legitimacy on setting and solving ever larger constructive tasks. Therefore, not only acts containing malicious intent, but also insufficient enthusiasm in carrying out economic transformations, above all mechanization, could be treated as serious misconduct. Seeking first to solve a problem, the Soviet press and other authorities changed their approach and moved to significant sanctions — reprimands, dismissals and the like — if phenomena considered shortcomings became stable. The article also substantiates the source-critical relevance of Pravda Vostoka, which remains insufficiently studied in recent historiography. The Soviet periodical press of the 1930s was not merely a transmitter of the state point of view: it also acted as a public controller, exposing the most unattractive sides of Soviet reality in their diversity because it regarded these problems as temporary and solvable.
Keywords:
Pravda Vostoka, Uzbekistan, Soviet press, worker correspondents, Communist Party of Uzbekistan
The documents of Lutheran missionaries who worked in Tamil Nadu from the beginning of the 18th century contain extensive information about life in the region. In accounts of Tamil society, alongside Brahmans there often appear unclear figures called pantaras or pandaras. Their status is interpreted differently in scholarly literature: they are described as priests for lower castes or as non-Aryan priests, and some authors write about their conflict with Brahmans. Analysis of the sources makes it possible to systematize the available information. The Pandaras were associated with cult practices. They were not identical to Brahmans and were not part of the Brahman group, yet they were not consistently opposed to Brahmans. In some situations Brahmans and Pandaras could even replace one another. The sources show that Pandaras were more closely linked to non-Aryan cults. Their status imposed fewer restrictions than that of Brahmans and allowed them to perform rituals prohibited to Brahmans. Pandaras could be pilgrims or mendicant ascetics; they could act independently or serve as temple employees; they could act alone or belong to different communities. Most likely, pandar is a collective term. Unlike Brahman status, the status of a Pandara was not inherited. The term pandar was probably not a caste name. Thus, analysis of Tamil Nadu’s social structure and of the source material allows us to view the Pandaras as cult specialists with the widest possible audience.
Keywords:
India, Tamil Nadu, priesthood, missionaries, Danish Royal Mission
The article continues the study of the political biography of Nosaka Sanzo, one of the most prominent leaders of the Japanese Communist Party in the twentieth century. Drawing on documents from Soviet party and foreign-policy archives, materials of the US occupation authorities, CIA reports and publications of the Japanese party press, it examines Nosaka’s return to Japan after the war, his contacts with American and Soviet representatives, his role in shaping the line of “peaceful revolution”, the subsequent subordination of the JCP to Soviet and Chinese directives, and the circumstances of Nosaka’s late party condemnation in 1992. Particular attention is paid to the relationship between Nosaka’s personal political strategy, intra-party conflicts, external influence from Moscow and Beijing, and the logic of the Cold War. The author argues that Nosaka’s figure cannot be reduced either to the image of the “face of the party” or to the later party version of “betrayal”. He appears simultaneously as a communist theorist, a mediator between the JCP and external centers of the communist movement, a cautious politician inclined to compromise, and a participant in a system dependent on foreign support. The case of Nosaka illustrates how party organizations construct and revise their own past, and how the political assessment of the same action may change radically depending on the historical context.
Keywords:
Nosaka Sanzo; Japanese Communist Party; JCP; Japan; USSR; CPSU; American occupation
This article examines the figure of the leak sorcerer in Balinese culture and traces the dynamics of its representation across folklore, traditional literature, cinema and contemporary digital lore. The study employs an interdisciplinary approach that integrates folklore studies, literary criticism and cultural anthropology. The analysis centers on ethnographic data regarding beliefs in leaks, the folk-performative cycle “Calon Arang”, the poem “I Gede Basur”, and the 1981 feature film “Mystics in Bali”. As a figure of folk belief, the leak serves as a personification of hidden threats within the community and a mechanism for explaining misfortune. In literary tradition, by contrast, its image is integrated into Hindu cosmology and systems of sacred knowledge, including literacy and the mastery of mantras. The cinematic interpretation, aimed at a mass audience, intensifies elements of monstrosity and the exoticization of the “Asian monster”, while simultaneously introducing new motifs absent from earlier tradition. Particular attention is paid to the phenomenon of “reverse involution”, whereby cinematic imagery returns to the oral tradition and begins to be perceived as part of authentic folklore. The resilience of beliefs in leaks is sustained by the image’s capacity to adapt to various medial forms and social contexts. This Balinese case study demonstrates that mass culture not only reflects tradition but also actively participates in its production and reinterpretation.
Keywords:
leak; balian; witchcraft; Balinese folklore; Mystics in Bali; Calon Arang; I Gede Basur
The article examines the short stories of Xiao Hong (萧红), a Chinese writer little known in Russia but widely known in her homeland. Reviewing publications on Xiao Hong, the authors note that most critical responses focus primarily on the content of her works, while the formal features of Xiao Hong’s prose have received less attention. Turning to the analysis of her stylistic originality, the authors trace the poetic evolution of Xiao Hong’s artistic language and clarify the criteria of periodization: the degree of external conflict, the nature of social problematics, the type of imagery and the way psychological states are conveyed. The early stories of 1933 are considered as socially oriented realist prose with naturalistic detail and heightened expressiveness. The works of the second half of the 1930s are characterized by a weakening of direct accusatory rhetoric, an increasing role of subtext and a more objective psychological manner. In the stories of 1940–1941, impressionistic imagery and lyrical organization of the narrative come to the fore. The authors show that Xiao Hong’s later works, if one may speak of early and late periods in the career of a writer who lived only thirty years, are marked by a more complex artistic structure. Some of Xiao Hong’s short stories have been translated into Russian by the authors of the article for the first time.
Keywords:
new Chinese literature; Xiao Hong; poetics; evolution; expressiveness; impressionistic quality; lyricism
The concept of “ki” (気), denoting energy, air, breath, pneuma, spirit and much more, is one of the fundamental and most distinctive categories of Chinese and, more broadly, Far Eastern philosophical thought. In Japan, the adoption of this concept began with the penetration of Chinese religious and philosophical thought. The article analyzes the meanings of the lexeme “ki” / 気 as it appears in Japanese lexical units and idioms. Set expressions are divided into six groups according to the meanings they convey. A large number of idioms are identified that reflect human feelings and emotions, as well as the perception of reality. The article also examines the growing role of the concept of “ki” in military affairs and martial arts. Based on Issai Chozan’s 1729 treatise “Tengu’s Discourses on the Art [of the Sword]”, the study shows that the state and fullness of “ki” directly influence changes occurring not only in the human body but also in the heart, mind and soul, and therefore in the psycho-emotional state. The article concludes that the idea of a primordial energy permeating and shaping the surrounding world is found in different layers of vocabulary. Idioms, as one of the most stable parts of language and culture, clearly demonstrate the preservation of the original meanings of the Chinese concept qi, which was borrowed and adapted by the Japanese tradition. The material for interpreting and representing the concept of “ki” consists primarily of phraseological units, set expressions and individual lexical items that verbalize basic concepts of national tradition and reflect the worldview of Japanese culture.
Keywords:
concept of “ki”; Japan; Japanese language; linguocultural studies; idioms
A new interpretation is proposed for a passage from the Mushi (The Oath on the Field of Mu) chapter of the Zhou Shu (Zhou Scriptures) section of the ancient Chinese Shangshu (Esteemed Book), or Shujing (Canon of Scriptures). The passage contains a speech by the Zhou king Wu-wang before the decisive battle with the Shang army, calling on the Zhou army to advance a few steps and then halt, to strike several times and then halt. In its literal form, this passage seems logically inconsistent. Liu Qiyu has provided criticism of the traditional interpretations of the passage and proposed to read this passage as a description of a war dance, performed immediately before the battle. The author, drawing on Zhouli (The Rites of Zhou) and other sources, corroborates the traditional explanation as a description of the rhythmic movement of troops, suggests the figurative nature of the passage, attributing this to the stylistic features of the text and proposing an analogy in the description of the actions of the Zhou troops with the process of writing the character wu (militantness), consisting of elements zhi (foot, stop) and ge (axe). The number of steps and strikes corresponds to the number of seven strokes in the character wu in its ancient writing in zhuan (seal) script. This proposal is based on the discussion by Zhuang-wang, the ruler of the Chu kingdom, on the composition of the character wu and the concept of militantness, consisting of seven virtues, presented in Zuo’s Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Chronicle (Chunqiu Zuo zhuan). The need to interpret the passage under consideration with the assumption of its euphemistic nature supports the opinion that the text of Mushi was recorded relatively late in the Eastern Zhou period.
Keywords:
Shangshu; Shujing; Mushi; historiography; text criticism; ancient Chinese prose
The article analyzes Armenian travel notes of the 17th–19th centuries that reflect the routes, travel conditions and trade practices of Armenian merchants and clergy in India. The study is based on three key sources: the trade journal-diary of Hovhannes Ter-Davtyan from New Julfa, The History of Tahmaz Guli by Kuchuk Harutin and the travel notes of the priest Avetik Karbetsi Tsagikyan. For each source, the author has compiled a route map. Ter-Davtyan’s journal presents one of the routes followed by Armenians to India in the 17th century: from Shiraz via Bandar Abbas to Surat, while a later delegation from Echmiadzin, travelling in the first half of the 19th century, went from Shiraz to the port of Bushehr and then to Bombay. Karbetsi describes towns and villages, terrain, climate, dangers of the road and everyday hardships, including shortages of water, poisonous insects and bandits, among them guides who ultimately robbed the travellers. Kuchuk Harutin’s notes reflect the realities of military campaigns: difficult crossings through forests and deserts, and sweltering heat that dried up water within minutes. A separate section examines the postal system of the Armenian trading diaspora. The article documents both maritime and overland routes for the delivery of correspondence between New Julfa, Bengal, Madras, Surat and other trading centers. The study demonstrates the importance of Armenian sources for the history of transregional trade and routes, and highlights the role of Armenian travellers as intermediaries between East and West.
Keywords:
Armenian merchants; India; New Julfa; travelogues; trade routes; correspondence delivery
The Korean War was a multifaceted conflict in which the interests of the Korean states became intricately intertwined with those of the era’s major powers — the USSR, the United States and the People’s Republic of China. The involvement of these powers in the war, in various forms, diminished the roles of both the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Republic of Korea (ROK) during the hostilities and in shaping the post-war armistice regime. From this perspective, the diplomacy and propaganda of the USSR, the PRC and the USA had greater significance for the course of the conflict than those of the DPRK and the ROK. This article analyzes the interrelationship between diplomacy and propaganda during the early months of the Korean War, focusing on the cases of the USSR and the PRC (June–July 1950). It examines the diplomatic measures undertaken by the Soviet Union and China at the war’s outset and the accompanying propaganda campaigns. The diplomatic efforts of the USSR and the PRC were aimed at justifying the DPRK’s military actions as defensive in the context of the war that had erupted on the Korean Peninsula, while officially adhering to a policy of non-interference in internal affairs. Concurrently, the Soviet and Chinese press published articles presenting evidence of the South Korean government’s preparations for aggressive war with US assistance. In both countries, mass campaigns were launched in support of the DPRK, which was portrayed as “resisting American imperialism and the Syngman Rhee clique”.
Keywords:
propaganda; diplomacy; Korean War; USSR; China
The article analyzes the views of the British colonial administration on the security system along the north-eastern borderland of India during the Second World War. It examines strategic projects developed by British officials in the early 1940s in the context of the Japanese advance in Burma and the reconsideration of the region’s future political and strategic configuration. Particular attention is paid to the concept of the “two rings of buffers” proposed by Foreign Secretary to the Government of India Olaf Caroe, according to which the defence of India in the North-East was to be based on a combination of an external belt of buffer states (primarily Tibet and Burma) and an internal defensive zone composed of the tribal areas of the North-East Frontier of India. The article shows that in British strategic planning of that period, the North-East gradually acquired increasing importance in the context of possible external threats to India’s security, the most significant of which was perceived to be the potential rise of China. At the same time, the political developments of the mid-1940s and the preparations for granting independence to India prevented the implementation of plans for the reorganization of the northeastern borderland, many of which remained at the level of strategic proposals.
Keywords:
North-East India, Olaf Caroe, frontier, border, buffer, strategic planning, Second World War
The article examines the impact of World War II and the first post-war years on the activities of Russian spiritual missions of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Far East, in China, Japan, and Korea. It is shown that by the mid-20th century these missions already had a long history and performed not only religious, but also cultural translation, diplomatic, and communicative functions. In conditions of war, occupation regimes, changes in political authority, and the growing confrontation between the USSR and the United States, issues of support for Russian compatriots, the jurisdictional affiliation of church structures, and the property rights of the missions came to the fore. Based on Chinese material, the article analyzes post-war repatriation, the formation of the East Asian Exarchate of the Moscow Patriarchate, and the conflict over missionary property. The Japanese section considers changes in church administration, the impact of Japanese wartime legislation, and subsequent intervention by the American occupation authorities. The Korean section shows the consequences of the division of the peninsula, the conflict between supporters of different church jurisdictions, and the struggle for mission property. The article concludes that the post-war fate of the missions was determined by a combination of the geopolitical consequences of the war, the anti-religious policy of the Soviet state, local national interests, and the aspirations of Orthodox communities for independence.
Keywords:
Russian spiritual mission; Russian Orthodox Church; China; Japan; Korea; Far East; World War II
Foreign direct investment has remained an important factor in the economic development of the Republic of Turkey for most of its history. This phenomenon has been evaluated in terms of the dynamics of FDI inflows, as well as their geographical and sectoral structure. In this article, we examine the relevance of foreign participation in the capital of the largest manufacturing companies in Turkey, which make up the list of the top 500 companies according to the Istanbul Chamber of Industry. We analyze both the scale of foreign investors’ presence in the capital of leading companies and their sectoral preferences, including from the perspective of the technological complexity of the most popular industries, as well as the main obstacles to expanding foreign presence in the most technologically advanced sectors.
Keywords:
Turkey; FDI; 500 leading manufacturing companies,; Turkey’s attractiveness for high-tech investment; Vietnam; comparative analysis
This article aims to study the composition of modern Persian ghazals on the material of selected poems by Simin Behbahani, a master of this genre in Iran,
who is rightfully recognized as “Mistress of the Modern Ghazal” (“Bānu-ye qazal-e mo‘aser”). The ghazal is the dominant form in Simin’s work. She has written more than six hundred poems in this form. Simin Behbahani not only demonstrates continuity with Persian classical poetry in her choice of imagery and poetic syntax, but also “modernizes” the ghazal with her own “invented motifs” (“ma‘āni-ye exterā‘”), which have no equivalents in classical literature. The changes that Simin introduced to the traditional form of the ghazal also affect the formal aspect — composition of the text. The classical Persian ghazal tends to be divided into two categories according to the nature of the connection between the bayts, which are referred to as mosalsal (“linear”) or parākande (“disparate”). Most of Simin’s ghazals belong to the first type and are characterized by a unity of theme and figurative-semantic structure. In her ghazals, Simin often prefers various variants of ring composition. There are few examples of this type of composition in the ghazals of the classical period. The purpose of this work is to use selected representative examples to show how Simin Behbahani develops this compositional model. This will allow us to take the first step in the theoretical understanding of the poetics of the modern ghazal (qazal-e mo‘aser) as the changes that have occurred in it at the current stage have not yet been studied properly. Using the example of three different texts, it is shown that, by working with the original methods of constructing a ghazal, Simin Behbahani as a poet who worked in the era of the individual creative type of artistic consciousness chooses a preferred compositional method for unfolding the lyrical situation in each poem.
Keywords:
Simin Behbahani; modern ghazal; classical ghazal; linear composition; ring composition
The article is devoted to the study of a possible genre classification of Sanskrit one-stanza poetry, using Bhartṛhari’s Śatakatrayam (3rd–4th centuries AD) and Vidyākara’s Subhāṣitaratnakośa (11th century AD) as examples. The existing division only by the genres of anthologies (śataka and kośa) seems too general. The
article shows that several distinct genres can be identified among the poems ncluded in the anthologies, including blessings (nandī), panegyrics (praśasti), didactic maxims in their various forms (ascetic and urban didactics), compliments to a beauty (cāṭu), poems about canonical love situations, and seasonal landscape lyrics. Thematic and, where possible, structural and stylistic features of these genres are briefly described. A connection is established between the composition of blessing stanzas and the archaic ritual riddle (brahmodya). Features of developed literary panegyric poetry are demonstrated in single-stanza verses praising kings or allegorically censuring them. The question is raised about the connection between panegyric and love poetry
of small forms and the court poem mahākāvya due to the commonality of style
and imagery. Prospects for comparing minor genres with larger genres of Sanskrit
literature are outlined.
This article analyzes the structure of original folklore texts (folktales)
from several small, unwritten ethnic groups in the southeastern regions of Tanzania
in terms of their lexical and stylistic features. These texts are introduced into
scholarly circulation for the first time. Particular attention is given to folktales in
the Vidunda, Luguru, Ngindo, and Ndonde languages, which were transcribed using
native-speaking informants. Various lexical and stylistic devices that give a certain
emotional and expressive coloring and markedness to narratives are examined, such
as reduplication, the use of ideophonic vocabulary, and interjections.
Keywords:
Bantu languages; unwritten languages of Tanzania; lexical-stylistic features; reduplication; ideophones; interjections
This article examines the diplomatic activities of the English nobleman Anthony Shirley (c. 1565–1635) in Iran. It analyzes his negotiations with Shah Abbas I (r. 1588–1629) of the Safavid dynasty and his subsequent stay at the Shah’s court. Plans for creating an anti-Ottoman coalition and establishing bilateral economic ties are presented. An analysis is provided of how Shirley contributed to shaping the image of Persia in Renaissance Europe.
Keywords:
Anthony Shirley; Abbas I; England; Iran; Safavids
The present article is focused on the Interregnum of 1727–1757 in Morocco — a controversial and turbulent period that followed the death of Moulay Ismail (1672–1727). This ruler who was the third sultan of the Alawi dynasty (1631–present time), consolidated the power and laid the foundations of the precolonial Moroccan state. He adopted a policy of strict centralisation towards the Berber-speaking tribes of the Atlas Mountains who always tried to maintain their independence from the state. The incursion of these tribes into the Atlantic plains had traditionally played a disruptive role for social, economic and political life in Morocco, and Ismail was able to stop this process. However, after his death a struggle for power began between his numerous descendants, and the political and economic crisis was followed by a new wave of tribal resistance. The author concludes that the crisis of the Interregnum could be seen as an inversion of the strict tribal policy pursued by Moulay Ismail. Based on the Moroccan annals and city chronicles, the paper analyses different approaches of Alawi sultans to the resolution of the crisis during this period. Special attention is paid to the role of Moulay Abdallah, who was able to find the way out of the crisis. The comparative analysis of the Moroccan chronicles shows that the solution laid not in the fight against Berber tribes, but in the search for compromises between them and the throne. Moulay Abdallah’s strategy in dealing with the tribes established a new policy of Moroccan rulers in the XVIIIth and XIXth centuries, which meant a greater use of arbitration and reliance on different tribal forces.
Keywords:
Morocco; Alawis; tribal resistance; centralisation; the Interregnum
In recent years, global and regional crises have prompted Japan to strengthen its defense capabilities, deepen military alliances, and develop a network of strategic partnerships both within the Indo-Pacific region and beyond. A country that for decades relied primarily on its alliance with the United States is now seeking to become a more active and autonomous regional actor that helps shape rules and build coalitions. Despite a growing body of research on Japan’s foreign policy strategy, the implications of the course toward strengthening Japan’s international role in the field of security remain insufficiently explored, particularly in terms of how this approach influences regional cooperation frameworks such as QUAD and Japan’s engagement with ASEAN countries. The article examines Japan’s use of the FOIP and QUAD frameworks as instruments of foreign policy influence and advancement of strategic interests in the Indo-Pacific region. The relevance of the topic is underscored by the intensifying geopolitical tensions in the Indo-Pacific, the escalating situation around Taiwan, and China’s increasing military and political activity. Japan’s shift toward a more active role in regional security highlights the internal contradiction between its constitutionally enshrined limitations and the growing need to contribute to the regional security order. This tension presents a key challenge for the current cabinet: to maintain economically beneficial relations with China while adhering to a security discourse centered on military buildup and responding to U.S. demands for a greater Japanese contribution to regional defense.
Keywords:
Japan, Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP), QUAD, ASEAN, regional cooperation
The Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC), launched by Japan in 2022, represents a new platform for regional cooperation in the fields of decarbonization and green energy. The article examines the key parameters of AZEC’s formation, its institutional characteristics, and the preliminary results of its implementation in 2023-2024. At this stage, AZEC functions as a flexible coordination framework without a strict international legal basis, which allows adaptation to diverse national contexts but simultaneously creates risks of limited long-term sustainability. Particular attention is given to the analysis of projects implemented in Southeast Asian countries and Australia, including hydrogen and ammonia technologies, biomass power generation, microgrids, and energy management systems. Case studies from Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, and other participants highlight the multi-level nature of cooperation, encompassing energy, industry, and the agricultural sector. Despite its modest quantitative impact (approximately 0.0785% of the region’s total installed capacity by the end of 2024), the initiative’s qualitative significance lies in piloting innovative technologies, shaping the institutional foundations of climate policy, and strengthening a regional “ecosystem” structured around Japanese technological solutions. At this stage, AZEC functions primarily as a mechanism for demonstrating and testing models of low-carbon development, as well as a channel for the transfer of norms, knowledge, and governance practices. Its contribution to the energy transition in East Asia is therefore less about immediate capacity expansion and more about creating the conditions for future scaling of Japan’s energy sector in the region and deepening of green cooperation.
The People’s Republic of China and the Republic of India have traditionally shared similar economic development goals, but their principles for achieving them differ. While both countries initially relied on five-year plans, their paths began to diverge by the end of the 20th century. China continued to refine its system of prescriptive five-year plans, building on its accumulated experience. Meanwhile, India abandoned this approach by creating the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog). The new model is based on a series of coordinated plans of varying timeframes, fostering cooperative federalism and the development of grassroots innovation that more closely responds to local needs. Thus, China’s centralized model and India’s decentralized system represent contrasting governance philosophies. Despite this, both demonstrate a key capacity for adaptation, ensuring resilience and technological transformation. The experiences of China and India, their ability to flexibly respond to global challenges and long-term risks, serve as valuable guidance for other developing economies.
Keywords:
five-year plans, National Institute for Transforming India, NITI Aayog, China, India, economic policy
The article examines how the theme of World War II is reflected in modern Turkish literature, using as an example Z. Livaneli’s well-known novel “Serenade” (2011). The focus is on the perspective from which this theme is presented in the novel - the genocide of the Jewish people during the war, as expressed in the plot and the system of images. Particular importance is attached to the documentary factual material used by Z. Livaneli. Real facts from the wartime past are woven into the everyday life of contemporary Turkey in the novel, helping readers to better understand the tragedy of the protagonist and to appreciate his contribution to the anti-fascist struggle. The article also highlights markers of the belletristic code employed by the writer: the intertwining in the novel of the classical tradition of “high” literature with the templates of popular fiction.
Keywords:
Zülfü Livaneli; the novel “Serenade”; Turkish fiction; the Jewish genocide; the Romanian ship “Strum”
The article examines the terminological apparatus of the grammatical description of the Chinese language (wenyan) in Zhong deng guo wen dian (1907). This textbook was written in the initial period of developing approaches to describing the native language in China. During this extremely significant period, basic terms, which are also used by modern linguists, were formed. The study revealed that: 1) Zhang Shizhao distinguishes between words and morphemes, designating them as ci and zi; 2) the author sees understanding of word structure as an integral part of the study of grammar, and therefore introduces the corresponding terms; 3) since ci and zi are strictly distinguished, the variant ci is used to name classes when classifying vocabulary; 4) in the field of sentence analysis, the new terminology reflected: a) a different approach to describing the system of sentence parts; b) the need to describe the types of sentences; 5) the system of parts of speech has not undergone any fundamental changes compared to “Ma shi wen tong” (1898), although some terms have been reworked. Zhong deng guo wen dian is oriented toward the European canon of grammatical description of language, which is reflected in the author’s concepts. While earlier works introduced new terminology very cautiously, Zhang Shizhao, on the contrary, is not afraid to propose new interpretations and terms.
Keywords:
Chinese language; grammar; history of linguistics; terminology; part of speech; sentence constituent; word
This article examines the main principles for describing the broken plural as presented by Ibn Yaʿīsh (13th c.) and notes the main differences between his treatment and that of Sībawayhi (8th c.), the author of the earliest extant grammatical treatise, which makes it possible to gain an idea of how this topic developed in traditional Arabic grammar. The broken plural is of particular interest because of the large number of patterns (more than 30) and the rather complex algorithm for choosing a broken-plural form for a given singular form, and it is precisely this type of plural that receives the most attention in the treatise Sharḥ al-Mufaṣṣal.
Keywords:
Ibn Yaʿīsh, Sībawayhi, broken plural, traditional Arabic grammar
This study addresses the critical scientific problem of how urbanization processes influence the dynamics of dialect continua in the unique multi-substrate region of Western Anatolia, where the tension between preserving dialectal features and language standardization is particularly acute. The objective of this work is to conduct a comprehensive linguogeographic and demographic analysis of the transformation of the Turkish dialect continuum under urbanization. To achieve this goal, the following tasks were accomplished: 1) identifying key characteristics of the continuum (phonetic, lexical, morphological); 2) analyzing the impact of demographic factors (migration, age structure) on language change; 3) determining the mechanisms of urbanization effects (hyperurbanization, accommodation); and 4) constructing a predictive linguogeographic model. The object of study is the Turkish dialect continuum in Western Anatolia, while the subject focuses on its dynamics under urbanization and demographic influences. The hypothesis regarding the reduction of dialectal boundaries and the emergence of hybrid forms has been empirically confirmed. A multidisciplinary methodological framework was employed, including field methods (audio recordings of 120 speakers stratified by age/migration status), linguogeographic mapping in QGIS (80 parameters), demographic analysis (TÜİK data), and statistical modeling (R, SPSS). Key findings include:1) A three-zone transformation was identified: a 43% reduction (1990-2023) in the Aegean palatalization area, the emergence of hybrid regiolects (e.g., düyme for “button”), and the preservation of relic clusters (isolation index > 0.9); 2) Demographic factors account for 85% of linguistic variability (β = 0.92 for correlation “proportion of 60+ speakers → agglutination preservation”); 3) A “mosaic resilience” model and LVI index were developed to predict language shifts. Practical significance: The results are applicable for safeguarding linguistic heritage (priority documentation of LVI > 0.8 zones) and language policy planning.
Keywords:
dialect continuum, urbanization, linguistic geography, demolinguistics, Western Anatolia, language change, hybrid regiolects, linguistic variability
The party line of the right-wing South African party Vryheidsfront Plus/VF Plus/Freedom Front+/FF+ is in large part focused on the necessity of the development of the rich local language diversity (including the South African sign language) as well as on the language rights’ upholding of the South African ethnic groups. The particular attention is paid to the issues of the Afrikaans language retention (the crackdown on which is painfully tolerated by the FF+) and the extension of the possibilities for its using, considering that the primary objective is to widen the spheres of the educational activities concerning Afrikaans. The party takes into consideration the uneasy situation primarily related to the formation and evolvement of Afrikaans as a separate language and then to its existence as a medium of instruction, which since the apartheid regime demolishing has been fraught with a whole variety of difficulties. Hence, the FF+ regards the history of the Afrikaans triumphs and setbacks as a decent example of the dignified struggle for the right to the full existence also for other South African local languages the native speakers of which are interested in the preservation of the cultural heritage. The party refuses to acknowledge the ostensibly subordinate position of the official state’s languages towards uniquely English assuming the actual eradication from the public sphere all of the vernacular languages besides the English one to be an unacceptable manifestation of the anglophiles’ imperialism, which is characterised by the linguistic expansion into the South African area. From the FF+ perspective, the threat of the erosion of the native languages’ role against the omnipotent dominance of English appears to be a justification for the existence of the Afrikaner nationalism, which once played a prominent role in strengthening the Afrikaans positions at all levels of the socio-political life. The FF+ insists on the necessity of the provision of educational services in the mother tongue for both pupils and students what, based on the party members’ position, will aid in the better comprehensibility of the material as well as creation of the comfortable and familiar environment for the learners. The implementation of such an intention is to attain the following goals, i.e., the promotion and the maintaining of the South African language diversity (as an integral part of the cultural mosaic) and the defending the right to the language choice of tuition. To add to it, in the party’s eyes, the right to use their own languages for the South Africans ought to be spread, inter alia, into the interaction with public agencies.
Keywords:
the current language politics of the Freedom Front+/FF+ (Vryheidsfront Plus/VF Plus); the encouragement of the teaching in the South African official languages and their use by the state bodies; the promotion of the Afrikaans language; the resistance to the English-language dominance at the expense of the local South African languages
Drawing on documents from the archives of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs, the article examines the fate of one of the most prominent figures of the Japanese Communist Party, Nosaka Sanzo: his rise to power, his contacts and cooperation with leaders of the communist movement in the Soviet Union, China, and Korea, his relations with the United States occupation forces in Japan, and his tragic final years.
Keywords:
USSR; NKVD (the People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs); Japan; Communist Party of Japan; Nosaka
The article conceptualizes bibliometrics as an economic activity and as a management tool in science, linking indicator-based governance with broader scientometric practices. It contrasts two perspectives: a Western, metrics-driven model focused on efficiency and performance, and an Eastern, truth-seeking tradition grounded in cultural and philosophical views of knowledge. Methodologically, the study combines a historical analysis of bibliometrics’ evolution with an examination of RSCI (RINC), Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar data, alongside the analytical capabilities of the ISTINA information system. The paper shows how bibliometrics has matured into scientometrics that shapes funding allocation, staffing, and university strategies through global rankings (QS, THE, ARWU), international student flows, and associated revenues. It also outlines the economics of scholarly publishing (subscription bundles, open access, APCs, transformative agreements) and their implications for institutional decision-making. Focusing on Oriental and broader humanities fields, the study highlights long citation windows, undercount risks due to metadata inconsistencies and footnote practices, and the comparative advantages of Google Scholar for capturing citations. As an applied case, the paper discusses the RSCI dynamics (2017–2024) of Lomonosov Moscow University Bulletin. Series 13: Oriental Studies and derives editorial policy insights. A practical toolkit is proposed to improve visibility and measurement accuracy: content internationalization, harmonized metadata and persistent author identifiers (ORCID, ResearcherID, Scopus Author ID, IRID), English titles and abstracts, and targeted author training on citation standards. The article concludes that indicators should remain instruments for transparent, cost-effective research governance rather than ends in themselves, preserving the substantive value of scholarship—particularly in the humanities and Oriental studies.
Keywords:
bibliometrics; scientometrics; economics of science; university rankings; Oriental studies; RSCI (RINC); open access
The article is devoted to the study of the traditional model of Chinese masculinity through the prism of the concept of wen - wu (文武), where wen represents cultural achievements and education, and wu - military valour, on the example of the first poem from Zuo Xi’s cycle ‘Poems on history’ (咏诗八首). The article examines the historical roots of the wen-wu dichotomy, its relationship to Confucian canons, and its role in the formation of the ideal male image in traditional Chinese culture. Based on the analysis of the first poem of the cycle, it was concluded that the harmonious combination of education, mastery of words on the one hand and knowledge of martial arts on the other embodies the traditional gender ideal of wen-wu shuangquan, which means ‘to be well-versed in literature and martial arts’. The study emphasises the significance of the categories of wen and wu for Chinese culture, and demonstrates how literary creativity reflects socio-cultural norms of masculinity.
Keywords:
Zuo Si, wen-wu, Chinese masculinity, gender studies, gender poetics
The article reviews the First International Conference on Philippine Studies, held by the Department of Southeast Asian, Korean, and Mongolian Philology of IAAS MSU on October 25-26, 2024. It outlines key topics and presentations related to Philippine history, language, literature, and socio-political development, highlighting the conference’s role in fostering international scholarly collaboration.
Keywords:
international conference; Philippine studies; the Philippines; Southeast Asian studies; IAAS MSU
The new book by the well-known Russian Africanist R.N. Ismagilova, Ethiopia: History and Modernity, published in 2025, is a collection of articles written over the past two decades. These articles examine both significant historical events and contemporary issues in Ethiopia. Domestic politics, the establishment of a federal system of governance, and complexities in the relationships among the diverse peoples of this multiethnic country are analyzed in close connection with their traditions. In her approach, the author combines the perspectives of a historian, political scientist, and anthropologist. The book will be of interest not only to specialists in African studies but also to anyone interacting and communicating with Africans.
Keywords:
Ethiopia; federalism; polyethnicity; opposition
The author considers the specifics of the confrontation between Russia and the United States in Syria against the background of the change of power in Damascus and the Russian armed forces’ special military operation in Ukraine. In the context of Russian military planning, the author points out the peculiarities of Moscow’s maintenance of the military and political balance of power in the Black Sea and Mediterranean theaters of military operations as a single operational area under the jurisdiction of the Southern Military District. The author shows the details of Russia’s geostrategic planning with reliance on military facilities in Tartus and Hmeimim, their place in the defense of Russian territories. The relevance of the study of this issue is due to the fact that Moscow is negotiating to maintain a military presence in Syria after the opposition comes to power, which increases the relevance of understanding the possible format of interaction — both in terms of delivery of humanitarian aid to the country to continue to provide assistance to the Syrian people, and to maintain the ability to conduct operations to deter the US and maintain logistics in the framework of counterterrorism cooperation between Moscow and African countries.
Keywords:
special military operation; Middle East; Syria; politico-military planning; deterrence measures; Mediterranean theater of operations; military bases
The article examines the external aspects of the implementation of the digital yuan, namely: what practical steps the Chinese government is taking to expand the use of the digital yuan in foreign trade transactions, and how such measures are substantiated by the legislation. In addition, the scientific discourse regarding the potential of the digital yuan to reshape the global financial system is being analyzed. Currently, scholars both in and outside China are discussing how the development of the digital yuan will affect the transformation of the international trade. Do the actual steps taken by the Chinese government match their vision? How systematically and consistently are changes being implemented? Which tools are being used to promote the digital yuan in bilateral and multilateral formats? To answer these and other research questions, the article analyzes the most important policy document on the digital yuan — the White Paper ‘Progress of Research & Development of E-CNY in China’, and identifies the main directions for the development of the digital yuan in accordance with this document. In addition, references to the use of the digital yuan in the scientific literature and media were studied and summarized. The relevance of this article is due to the fact that in the context of growing sanctions pressure, the failure of Western-centric payment systems in terms of maintaining the normal functioning of global trade, the study of the use of digital currencies of central banks in foreign trade transactions in general, and the digital yuan — as the most advanced central bank digital currency — in particular, is extremely in demand.
Keywords:
PRC; digital yuan; People’s Bank of China; Central bank digital currency
The Japanese economy entered the third decade of the 21st century with low and unstable growth rates, some vestiges of catch-up development, the legacy of the “lost” decade of the 1990s in the form of huge accumulated public debt, and demographic problems. From the position of the second largest economy in the world, which it occupied in the 1990s, it dropped to 3rd place (GDP at the current exchange rate) and to 4th place in PPP. The country’s share in world GDP decreased from 7.6 % to 3.7 % (PPP) between 1990 and 2023. What is Japan’s real place in the global and Asian economies? Does the country have growth potential in modern conditions? What are the internal quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the Japanese economic model? Thus, the purpose of this study is to assess the state and prospects of the Japanese economy according to the parameters “outside” — “inside” — “forward”, which is figuratively reflected in the title of the work as “3D measurement”. The paper analyzes internal and external problems and factors of development of the Japanese economy in the context of global uncertainty, the main trends in the country’s economic development in the 21st century and the directions of modernization of the country’s socio-economic model.
Keywords:
Japan; international competitiveness; economic growth model; digitalization; “new capitalism”
Based on the study of the original memoir source “My Biography” by A. Mostoufi, verified by the testimonies of foreign observers, the article examines one of the minor social groups of Iran’s urban population in the second half of the 19th century and the first third of the 20th century. As an integral part of the Iranian city, this group is often viewed by researchers as amorphous and marginal, lacking stable characteristics that would define its homogeneity and permanence, which is also reflected in the contradictory meanings of the lexeme luti. Having analyzed the features of luti as a distinct group actor with its own moral, behavioral, and professional characteristics, the authors conclude that its officially low social status directly contradicts the significance it possessed in the socio-cultural life of the urban community. A wide range of role functions secured this group social prestige in the eyes of both the local patriciate and the democratic part of the urban population.
Keywords:
luti; ayyar; javanmard; rind; Iranian city; haydari-khanah; niʻmatikhanah; muharram; zur-khanah; role function
The article is devoted to the study of the religious communities of Jerusalem — Christians and Jews — in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, against the background of the Napoleonic expedition to the Middle East. Jerusalem, despite its relatively small population (about 12,000 people) and limited political importance in the Ottoman Empire, had a special status as a holy city of three world religions — Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Christians and Jews in Jerusalem formed significant communities closely linked to the life of the Muslim majority, which created a complex system of religious symbiosis. During the years of the French invasion of the Middle East (1798–1801), the attitude of local authorities towards minorities was characterized by wariness and variability, including arrests, searches and the temporary detention of a large number of Christians in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The Jewish community showed demonstrative loyalty to the Ottoman government and even helped to strengthen the defenses. Napoleon considered taking Jerusalem, hoping to gain the support of local Christians. However, due to tactical reasons, the capture did not take place, and the city maintained the status quo. The expedition exacerbated confessional contradictions, intensified the struggle for Holy Places and laid the foundations for further escalation of tension in interreligious relations. The Ottoman authorities sought to maintain control by charging large taxes and bribes from religious communities, while maintaining relative stability and preventing internal conflicts. The article reflects the complex balance of interests between various Christian denominations, the Jewish community and the Muslim authorities, as well as the reaction of Jerusalem residents to foreign military intervention in the lands of Palestine.
Keywords:
history of the Holy Land; the Eastern expedition of Napoleon Bonaparte; Christians of Palestine; Jews of Palestine; struggle for Holy Places
The article examines a historical retrospective of the administrative, cultural, and intellectual relationship between the post-Almohad dynasties of the Maghreb (the Marinids, Abdalwadids, and Hafsids) and the traditional Muslim educational institutions of North Africa. The reasons and characteristic features of the processes of reproduction of religious scholarship in the Maghreb are investigated in the light of the military and political events that accompanied the expansion of the Almohad state. The historical and cultural background of cooperation and rivalry between the major universities of the region and the Sultan’s/Emir’s court is shown. The author traces the dynamics of the geography of “sacred knowledge” in North Africa and proves that it correlates with the financial and economic activity of the states that arose on the ruins of the Almohad political project. Special attention is paid to the analysis of the multifaceted activities of madrasahs, which served as leading urban learning centers, had significant libraries and had highly professional teachers of Islamic spiritual disciplines. Tribal and intellectual ties between the military and political elite of the Maghreb and the teaching staff of new educational institutions have been studied.
The article examines the specific administrative model that developed in Ottoman Egypt in the second half of the 18th century, and the role of the local elite in the formation of the system of power. This study focuses on the influence of the Mamluk Sultanate on the ideas of regional leaders of predominantly Mamluk origin concerning the ideal structure of the state. These leaders regarded the Mamluk Sultanate as a model of the ‘golden age’ of Egyptian statehood. This study explores the repercussions of the deviation from the conventional tenets of the Mamluk corporation, which is characterized by an escalation in the competitive dynamics among the military-administrative elite of Egyptian society. The principal conclusion of the study is that the organizational structure of Mamluk society, which took shape in Ottoman Egypt in the latter half of the 18th century and was based on meritocratic principles of elite recruitment, due to its inherent contradictions, initially laid the foundation for stable stereotypes of behavior among the ruling authorities. These contradictions gave rise to conflicts among them. Despite the crisis of the Ottoman system of provincial administration, the leaders of the ruling ‘houses’ (‘beyts’) of the neo-Mamluk type were unable to propose a new political model of development and finally break away from dependency on the Ottoman metropolis, thus failing to put their ideas about the ideal state into practice.
Keywords:
Ottoman Egypt; Mamluks; ojaqs; Mamluk bayts; neo-Mamluk society
The article examines the conflictual relations between the Druze community, historically inhabiting Jabal al-Duruz, a mountainous region in southern Syria, and the Ottoman authorities during the period of large-scale reforms in the Ottoman Empire, that is, during the Tanzimat (1839–1876) and the reign of Sultan Abdulhamid II (1876–1909). The ethno-confessional specificity of the population of Jabal al-Duruz, which has persisted to the present day, largely shaped the sociopolitical situation in the Hauran region, of which Jabal al-Duruz formed a part, south of Damascus. This makes it possible to place the military conflicts and political arrangements between the Ottoman provincial administration in Syria and the Druze community of Hauran within a broader context of the changing historical destinies of inward-looking and compactly settled ethno-confessional communities during state-led modernization. Drawing on archival materials from Russian consular reports and other primary sources, the study traces the logic and dynamics of Ottoman attempts to incorporate Jabal al-Duruz into the empire-wide reformed system of administrative and territorial governance. It also identifies the factors that helped preserve the Druze community’s confessional and social insularity and its readiness to offer armed resistance to external encroachments on traditional self-government.
This work is a historical analysis of the references to Sasanids and Arabs in Publilius Optatianus Porfyrius’ 14th poem, a panegyric to Constantine the Great, composed in the mid-320-es. The mention of the Parthian putting aside his arrows is a reference to the end of the war against Sasanid king Shāhpūhr II, waged in 324–325. The same war seems to be behind Optatianus’ words on the Mede rushing to a ‘love contest’ by which exchange of gifts, a standard diplomatic practice and a sui generis competition in courtesy, is probably meant. So, Optatianus appears to mean that the Sasanid king began negotiations and sent an embassy with gifts. The statement that Persians wish to recognize Constantine as their sovereign and give him their royal power and possessions is ambiguous. Optatianus may refer to Hurmuzd, a Sasanid prince who fled to the Romans and became a general at their service. Alternatively, Optatianus may reproduce the then existing belief that following the war of 324–25 king Shāhpūhr became a tributary of Rome. A reference to Arabs seems to be connected to the Roman rulers’ policy to attract Arabic tribes of border regions, especially those on the Euphrates, and use those tribes in their struggle against the Sasanids.
Keywords:
Sasanids; Arabs; Constantine the Great; Publilius Optatianus Porfyrius; Shāhpūhr II
Researchers and practitioners studying traditional Chinese medicine often encounter difficulties in interpreting ancient texts; among the problems most frequently noted are ambiguous words and meanings and the abundance of specialised, outdated vocabulary. With regard to the treatise Huang-di nei jing. Su wen, there is a substantial body of research on its medical aspects, whereas works devoted specifically to its philological analysis are relatively few. The aim of this paper is to clarify the original meaning of key terms using the first chapter of Huang-di nei jing. Su wen as a case study. This article proposes a method for analysing terms based on the approaches of V.S. Spirin and A.M. Karapetyants. The method involves a step-by-step structural analysis of the text, the identification of parallel constructions, the explication of pairs with antonymous, synonymous and adjacent relations between components, and the subsequent classification of each pair. This approach makes it possible not only to analyse the structure of Chinese texts, but also to develop a more systematic way of interpreting ancient medical texts in general. The proposed method can be applied to other ancient Chinese texts, both medical and philosophical, and can contribute to the development of communication studies by promoting a more accurate understanding of the information reflected in ancient texts.
Keywords:
terminological apparatus, structural analysis, parallel constructions, explication of pairs with antonymous, synonymous and adjacent relations
This article examines the structural features of newspaper headlines in the Korean language from a grammatical and stylistic perspective. It focuses on classifying headline types based on their form: nominal constructions, participial forms, full-sentence headlines (both declarative and interrogative), and those ending in case markers or adverbs. A comparison with Russian headlines is made, highlighting differences in frequency and usage. Special attention is given to the stylistic function of grammatical omission, the dropping of predicates, and speaker orientation in Korean, which are critical for accurate translation from Russian into Korean. The article discusses the challenges faced by Russian-speaking translators in preserving both authenticity and clarity when rendering headlines. It provides practical recommendations for using the most common and linguistically safe types of headlines, especially for non-native speakers. It emphasizes that choosing the appropriate headline structure requires not only grammatical knowledge but also an intuitive sense of Korean journalistic style.The material is useful for students studying Korean, instructors in East Asian studies, as well as translators and journalists working with Korean-language sources.
Keywords:
newspaper headlines, Korean language, grammatical features, translation, stylistics
The article presents a historical and bibliographic sketch of the manuscript “Translation of the Sacred Book of the Foyan Sect called Fo niu jin gang jing, meaning The Adamant Book, or The Adamant-like Book of Foy’s Teaching” by Hieromonk (later Archimandrite) Daniil (Dmitry Petrovich Sivillov, 1798-1877), stored in the Department of Manuscripts and Rare Books (15322, II/44, l. 1-3 vol.) of Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University. The manuscript is an unfinished draft translation from Kumarajiva’s (early 5th century) Chinese version of the canonical Buddhist Diamond Sutra. This translation, done in Beijing around 1828, precedes the German translation of the Diamond Sutra from Tibetan by Russian academician J.I. Schmidt published in 1837, hence ought to be seen as the first attempt of this sutra translation into a European language. The bibliographic descriptions of the manuscript by A.I. Artemiev (1882, 1884), J. von Gottwald (1884), Henri Cordier (1893, 1904), A.A. Petrov (1937) and P.E. Skachkov (1977) are discussed. Erroneous transcription fo niu for fo shuo (‘Buddha speaks’) in the title of the Chinese original; the obsolete Russian ‘adamant’ for ‘diamond’ as well as the obsolete ‘Fo’ and ‘Foy’ for the name of Buddha are pointed out in particular. A.I. Artemyev’s bibliographic description undertaken between 1844 and 1851 is valued as the original one, while all the others must have been the secondary follow-ups. A.I. Artemyev had provided dating of the manuscript based on the filigree (watermark) of its paper. Although The Diamond Sutra is of prime importance for Buddhism, Fr. Daniil’s translation has been overlooked by historiographers. Unpublished works on Buddhism by Fr. Daniel, along with the works of J.I. Schmidt, J.S. Kowalewski, and some other scholars, provide a basis for revising the historiography of Russian Buddhology, highlighting its initial or preliminary stage in the first half of the 19th century.
Keywords:
archimandrite Daniil, D.P. Sivillov, The Diamond Sutra, The Adamant Book, Buddhology, historiography Funding: Foundation for the Promotion of Buddhist Education and Research, project topic “The first Russian studies on Buddhism of the early 19th century by hieromonk Daniil”.
The article provides a detailed examination of the influence of the ethnolinguistic factor on the formation of new administrative units in modern India. It focuses particularly on the analysis of the planning and implementation process of the administrative reform conducted in 1956, which became a key stage in shaping the country’s internal structure based on ethnolinguistic criteria. The study explores the mechanisms through which the ethnolinguistic characteristics of regions were considered in the creation of new states, as well as the views of various political figures such as V. Patel and J. Nehru regarding these issues. Additionally, it addresses contemporary trends and prospects concerning the impact of India’s language policies on current and future administrative processes. The article also analyses the development of the country’s administrative division amid ongoing linguistic diversity and considers the role of government policy in maintaining the balance between national unity and regional identity. Overall, the paper is a study of the historical ethnolinguistic contradictions in India and their influence on the administrative system, emphasizing the importance of acknowledging the linguistic factor for the stability and development of the state.
Keywords:
India, state formation, language policy, States Reorganisation Act, autonomism, regional identity
After the Ottoman conquest of Syria and Palestine, the cities of the Holy Land became part of a strategically important region connecting several parts of the empire, but remained an unchanged meeting place for Christian, Jewish and Muslim civilizations. Traders, emigrants and pilgrims from different countries crossed paths in Syria and Palestine - they witnessed and described in letters and memoirs the changes that took place in the Eastern Mediterranean during the Ottoman era. A network of diverse contacts intertwined Jewish communities due to the dispersion of the Jewish diaspora across Mediterranean countries. Jewish immigrants and visitors to the Holy Land exchanged news and established ties that spread to different parts of the Mediterranean and involved representatives of various groups and institutions of Jewish society. Their notes cover urban life in the Middle East in the 16th century, the evolution of settlements in Palestine, and the formation of the image of the foreigner. Moreover, they reveal a key feature of Jewish socio-cultural life: the existence of a system of well-established bonds between communities as a means of survival. The article analyses contacts between the Holy Land and neighbouring Mediterranean countries by the example of communication between Jewish communities in Syria and Palestine, Italy and North Africa, taking into account the historical realities of the Ottoman era. The geography of connections, the subjects of letters, the place of the Holy Land in the system of communication between the diaspora centers of the Levant, and the participation of emigrants in the socio-cultural life of the Mediterranean in the 16th-early 17th centuries are examined.
Keywords:
Middle East of the 16th–17th centuries, Holy Land, Safed, Mediterranean Jews, everyday life, social contacts, correspondence
This article examines how the Soviet Union was portrayed in materials from the South African Communist Party (SACP) in the age of apartheid, using the magazine “African Communist” as an example. The issue of the USSR’s image in South African communist publications is connected to broader themes, such as how the Soviet Union was perceived in South African socio-political discussions during apartheid and the characteristics of the discourse in the global communist press during the latter half of the 20th century. These issues are particularly relevant given the current active development of Russian-South African relations and the related interest in the history of Soviet-South African relations. Additionally, problems associated with forming the image of another country - and the related discursive practices - are especially relevant in the era of digital media and accelerated information exchange. This work identifies the key features of the USSR’s image as a leading socialist power in the journal’s materials from its founding in 1959 until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. It uses the tools of imagology, an interdisciplinary field that studies the sociocultural dimensions of subjects. Despite changes in South Africa, the USSR, and the world, the main features of the Soviet Union’s image in the journal remained unchanged throughout the studied period. The USSR was largely mythologized in the “African Communist”: it was presented as a role model for developing countries and as the foundation of the global socialist movement. When discussing conflicts between the USSR and other socialist states, the magazine’s authors invariably took the USSR’s side. When mentioning contradictions within the USSR, the authors emphasized the Soviet leadership’s ability to admit mistakes. Such features of the Soviet Union’s image in the magazine can be explained by the USSR’s status as a key ally of the South African Communist Party and the important role its image played as a propaganda tool in shaping a picture of the socialist future of Africa.
Keywords:
South Africa, Union of South Africa, Republic of South Africa, South African Communist Party, African Communist, USSR, image
The article is devoted to the study of the phenomenon of language play in the Chinese segment of Internet communication and communication (wǎngluò yǔyán). In this regard, the purpose of the study is to analyze the main types of graphic, semantic and grammatical transformations, such as playing with tones, using abbreviations, acronyms, numeronyms, emojis, stickers, games with hieroglyphs, mixing writing systems, as well as metaphors, allusions, irony and rethinking familiar semantic relationships. The key functions of the language game are considered: identifying users with groups, enhancing expressivity, creating a humorous effect, saving linguistic resources, circumventing censorship and linguocreative creation of new meanings within the framework of the theory of neology. The influence of Internet slang on modern Chinese is discussed, including interaction with literary norms and penetration into everyday speech The study used three main sources: the Weibo microblogging platform, Douyin video hosting (an analogue of TikTok) and youth forums (Tieba, Douban). The study highlights the relevance of studying the language game for understanding the dynamics of an isolating type of language and culture in the digital age as a whole.
Keywords:
Chinese language, linguistic creativity, Internet slang, language game, Internet communication, sociolinguistics, linguoculturology, neologisms
The article examines examples of translating proper names from Japanese and several other East Asian languages that use logographic writing systems into Russian, within the framework of translation onomastics as discussed in the works of D. I. Ermolovich. Alongside the issues already identified in existing studies, the article outlines further questions that require consideration in the ongoing development of this field. Particular attention is given to the challenges of transcription and transliteration from different languages, the problem of preserving the internal form of the name, including the visual component of the logographic character, as well as issues of maintaining the identity of the name when translating nominal affixes.
Keywords:
onomastics in translation science; translation of proper nouns; Japanese language; Chinese language; Cantonese
This study investigates the functioning of referential components within noun phrases in Modern Chinese. The analysis focuses on the deployment of these elements in sentence structures to elucidate their referential status-a topic that remains largely underexplored in Russian-language sinological scholarship. Particular attention is given to the referential properties of noun phrases, framed within the context of the extensive theoretical foundation established in Russian linguistics over more than half a century of research on reference. Evidence from Chinese corpus data indicates that linear position plays a decisive role in determining the referential status of noun phrases in this system. In contrast, lexical features alone are insufficient for accurately capturing the referential meanings of noun phrases in context. It is thus essential to delineate the conditions under which a language permits multiple alternative strategies for designating real-world referents. Consequently, the pragmatic factors governing communicative interaction must be taken into account when determining referential choices within noun phrase structure.
Keywords:
The Chinese language; Chinese grammar; Chinese syntax; an articleless language; structure of noun phrase; reference
The article examines the Qizilbash campaigns (1541, 1547, 1551, 1554) under Shah Tahmasp I (r. 1524-1576), revealing the dynamics of relations between Iran and Eastern Georgia in the first half of the 16th century. The Safavid dynasty (1501-1722) continued the expansionist policy of its predecessors and declared its rights to the South Caucasus. The main support of the Safavids became the nomadic Turkoman tribes - followers of the Sufi order of Sheikh Safi ad-Din (1252-1334), known as Qizilbash (red heads): Shamlu, Rumlu, Ustajlu, Tekelyu, Afshar, Qajar, Zulqadar, Turkeman. The founder of the dynasty, Shah Ismail I (r. 1501-1524), initiated efforts to conquer Eastern Georgia, taking advantage of internal divisions within Georgian kingdoms. Despite their weakened state due to internal conflicts, these kingdoms did not abandon attempts at unification. Maneuvering between the rival Safavids and Ottomans in the region, the Georgian rulers made forced concessions, trying to prevent devastating and bloody invasions from both sides.
Keywords:
qizilbash, Tahmasp I, military-political history, Safavids, Georgia
The article provides an overview of the achievements of four East African countries in the implementation of science, technology and innovation (STI) programs, and examines the assistance in this process from international intergovernmental organizations: the United Nations, UNCTAD, UNESCO. The relevance of the research topic is due to the potential of the STI sphere in solving the main socio-economic problems faced by East African states. The author has identified and analyzed data on Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Uganda over a wide chronological period: from the colonial period to the present. It is concluded that the development of science and education is the central and most difficult task in planning and technological adaptation for the countries of the East African region. Against the background of rapid economic growth, it is important for States to properly allocate public investments in the field of science and education, use the accumulated positive experience and strengthen the existing infrastructure.
Keywords:
education; science; innovation; East Africa; Kenya; Rwanda; Tanzania; Uganda
This article is based on existing research and published archives and, by systematizing this information, seeks to reflect as fully as possible China’s and the USSR’s judgment of the situation during the 1938 Soviet-Japanese border con-flict and the range of actions taken on the basis of that judgment. After the Lake Hasan conflict widened, the Chinese government believed that war would break out between Japan and the USSR, so it began to actively ally itself with the USSR both politically and militarily. While holding Wuhan, the Chinese army began planning counter-offensives and attempted to draw the USSR and Japan into a full-scale war. However, the conflict between Japan and the USSR did not escalate into a military clash. At this stage, the USSR also hoped that China would continue to share Japan’s military pressure, and after the Japan-Soviet peace talks, still insisted that the Chi-nese army launch a counteroffensive. After the loss of Wuhan and Guangzhou, the USSR’s vision could not be realized, and as a result, mutual dissatisfaction gradu-ally grew between China and the USSR. In such a situation, the close Sino-Soviet relations formed on the basis of the goal of “joint resistance to Japanese expansion” also began to be adversely affected, and after the conflict at Lake Hasan, these contradictions between the two sides also became one of the factors behind the emergence of disagreements between China and the USSR later on Soviet military aid to China and other issues.
Keywords:
Second Japan-China War, Khasan battles, Battle of Wuhan, Sino-Soviet relations, National Government of the Republic of China
Feng Jicai (b. 1942) is one of the most famous contemporary Chinese writers, he is known also as an artist and calligrapher. This paper examines his novel “The Three-Inch Golden Lotus” (San cun jin lian, 1986), in particular, it looks into literary representation of trauma. The revealed stylistic features allow us to consider the story in the context of its relationship with the oral folk tale.
Keywords:
Feng Jicai; contemporary Chinese literature; “The Three-Inch Golden Lotus”; Foot Binding; trauma
Al-hanin ila-l-awtan (“longing for the native places”) is a group of motives in classical Arabic literature which emerged in the pre-Islamic era and gained popularity in the I/VIII-II/IX cc., whereby the expansion of the caliphate, the concentration of literary activity at courts, and a number of other reasons made poets leave their homelands. They expressed their homesickness in different literary forms, including poetic improvisations, prose sayings, and separate motifs in polythematic works. The II/IX century marked the appearance of the first al-hanin ila-l-awtan anthologies, the earliest of which is attributed to al-Jahiz. This collection, of a relatively moderate volume, contains examples of al-hanin ila-l-awtan poetry and prose of various periods. It was frequently quoted later on. Nevertheless, the anthology has been little studied; although mentioned in a number of review articles, it has not yet been subject to a separate research. This article considers the issues related to the source attribution, structure, and content, as well as its role in the literary tradition.
The article discusses the issue of referring to people with disabilities in the contemporary Japanese language. There has been little research on the problems of labelling vulnerable population groups, in particular, concerning about people with disabilities in the Japanese language in the national and Western scientific literature. However, since Japan’s state policy is aimed at the adaptation and inclusion of people with disabilities in public life, the language policy of Japan in this field could be useful for other countries. The main data for the study was taken from the BCCWJ (Balanced Corpus of Contemporary Written Japanese) corpus of National Institute of Japanese Language and Linguistics and the official websites of the organisations dealing with the problems of people with disabilities. The author examines language models of nomination formation, analyses different interpretations and uses of the most frequently used word «sho:gaisha». The author concludes that there is a certain influence of political correctness in the contemporary Japanese language. However, the model of nomination in which disability acts as a marker of the identity is prevailing.
Keywords:
person with disabilities; the contemporary Japanese language; political correctness; euphemism; corpus; obstacle; opportunity; identity marker
The article contains an analysis of phonetic features of modern Korean language, the peculiarities of similar sounds’ pronunciation and its differences from Russian analogues. A significant part of the article is devoted to the research of the specifics of the Korean language’s grammatical structure with a focus on: the principle of constructing simple and complex sentences; differences in using dative and locative cases, verbs of movement’s direction, constructions of impossibility to perform an action for subjective and objective reasons, the principle of using three variants of subordinate clauses of purpose; constructing an indirect question and subordinate additional clauses, using “Korean” and “Chinese” numerals and the system of big data. The article also presents an analysis of a special orientation of politeness’ category, which has several levels and is expressed in verb endings, suffixes and polite equivalents for a number of nouns.
Keywords:
phonetic features; grammatical structure; differences between dative and locative cases; verbs of movement’s direction; impossibility of performing an action; subordinate clauses of purpose; “Korean” and “Chinese” numerals; category of politeness
The article is dedicated to the sinologist Yakov Yakovlevich Brandt (Brandt, J.J.; 1869–1946), who lived in Beijing. The orientalist graduated from the Saratov gymnasium and the oriental department of St. Petersburg University (1892). Having entered the service in the Ministry of the Imperial Household in 1894, he then worked in the Ministry of Finance. In 1901, he was appointed head of the Beijing department of the Chinese Eastern Railway (CER). Having developed his own methodology, Brandt spent many years teaching the Russian language to the Chinese and Chinese for the Russians. He was the first to develop the program of teaching diplomatic Chinese, having published several manuals (“Diplomatic Conversations” and “Collection of treatises between Russia and China.” Being the oldest professor at the Chinese Institute of Russian Language and Literature, he published works on Chinese studies in Russian, Chinese and English, and repeatedly advised students from the Oriental Institute in Vladivostok and St. Petersburg. He also taught at the North China Union Language School. Communication with foreign orientalists helped him publish several works in English. The Sinologist was also involved in political and social activities. The article also provides brief notes about Russian orientalists in Beijing. While preparing it, the author used the memoirs of the sinologist’s contemporaries (I.G. Baranov, I.I. Serebrennikov and A.N. Speshnev), materials from foreign collections (Archive and Library of the Hoover Institution — HILA; Russian collection of the University of Hawaii, Honolulu; Museum of Russian Culture in San Francisco — MRK) including private ones (M. Drozdov, Shanghai, NN, Beijing).
Keywords:
Ya.Ya. Brandt (1869–1946); sinology; oriental studies; pedagogy; textbooks in China; Russian studies in China; Russians in Beijing
Travelling is an indispensable source of information about foreign countries. Both today and in the 17th century, journeys abroad immerse travelers in local cultural and linguistic environments, providing numerous opportunities to gain new knowledge, especially when it comes to Constantinople, a city with a rich history. In the early 17th century, Pietro Della Valle (1586–1652), an Italian nobleman, musician, diplomat, and traveler, visited Constantinople during his journey through the Ottoman Empire, Persia, and India (1614–1626). He documented his experiences and observations in letters to his Neapolitan friend, Mario Scipano, a professor of medicine. What drew the young Italian’s attention in Constantinople? Whom could one meet there? How did ambassadors spend their leisure time? What languages could travelers learn, why were Turkish Jews teaching them, and why did Europeans eagerly acquire Eastern manuscripts?
Keywords:
Pietro Della Valle; cultural exchange; Constantinople Jews; Ottoman Empire of the 17th century; travel; everyday life
Using the example of Alaouite Morocco and the Egyptian province of the Ottoman Empire, the authors discuss the historical retrospective of the political and ideological interrelationship between the ruling circles of the Arab lands and the influential clans of the descendants of the Prophet Muhammad (sharifs), who lived in North Africa since the early Middle Ages. The reasons for the political alliances between the Alaouite dynasty and the provincial sharifian families are explained, as well as the factors behind the sharifs’ participation in the political life of Ottoman Egypt. The ecological, political, and socio-cultural grounds for the long-term preservation of peripheral land-use patterns in these countries are considered. The authors turn to the study of the functioning of pious endowments (waqfs), land grants (azibs), and tax-farming holdings (iltizams) provided in favor of the sharifs. The historical and cultural prerequisites for the transformation of waqfs, azib lands, and iltizams into private property are clarified. Special attention is paid to the legal status of users of azibs and iltizams and to the political status of residents of lands granted as azibs.
Keywords:
land relations, land grants, Egypt, Maghreb, provincial elites, sharifs, Ottoman Empire, Saadis, Alaouites
The article examines the peculiarities of the description of the participation of representatives of noble families in the political struggle during the reign of Han Gaozu, Liu Bang (202-195 B.C.), in the second part of the first chapter of Han shu (漢書 “History of Han”). The analysis of the content of “historical-literary” texts from this chapter, adjacent to historical texts, makes it possible to study the peculiarities of the struggle for power between the emperor and representatives of various elite groups of hereditary nobility. An open and direct designation of the circumstances of this struggle was apparently not always possible due to the long-lasting influence of the political forces involved. Therefore, historiographers limited themselves to mentioning various personalities, which indirectly indicates the involvement of particular political groups of the hereditary aristocracy of early imperial China in the struggle for power.
Keywords:
Chinese history, Han Empire, Liu Bang, political process, political struggle, political elites, textual criticism
In 1954, in the village of Kizhur at the border of Pondicherry and Madras (since 1956 - Tamil Nadu) a referendum took place; it was attended by representatives of the local Pondicherry elite who took a decision on the merger of the French colonial possessions in the South of Hindustan with India. The decision to transfer the territories brought about a number of legal issues that were to be resolved by the governments of the two countries; the issue of citizenship of Pondicherry residents was one of them. In 1956, India and France signed a final agreement that determined the new status of former French enclaves and the legal status of their residents. The article examines the key provisions of the 1956 agreement on the transfer of territories to India, regulatory inconsistencies in the articles on citizenship, as well as formal difficulties that the residents of Pondicherry could have encountered. It also analyzes the current status of Pondicherry residents - those of French or other foreign citizenship.
Keywords:
Pondicherry; French India; Republic of India; India-France Agreement of 1956; citizenship
Theophanes the Confessor’s statement that following Constantine the Great’s victory over Licinius (324) Roman troops defeated Persians who had seized Amida is usually considered as actually describing events which took place in mid-330-es. This, however, does not seem supported by the extant evidence. On the contrary, a study of the sources suggests that in 324 Sasanid troops, capitalizing on the struggle between Constantine and Licinius, invaded Mesopotamia and took Amida, but in the spring of the following year Roman forces under the nominal command of Caesar Constantius defeated them. Doubts as to the reliability of Theophanes’ account arise from the fact that the author of the original text erroneously described Narseh, who commanded the Sasanid troops, as a son of the Sasanid king. That Narseh is probably not identifiable with either Narseus of Rufus Festus, or Narseh, brother of Sasanid king Shāhpūhr II (307/8–379/80), mentioned by mediaeval Armenian writers. Reasons which are usually put forward against the reliability of Theophanes’ account do not appear decisive, for Constantius might have obtained the title of Persicus because of his repulse of a Sasanid offensive in 338 and his fortification of Amida was caused by the Persians’ repeated raids and is not necessarily connected to Narseh’s campaign.
Keywords:
Sasanids; Arabs; Constantine the Great; Shāhpūhr II; Theophanes the Confessor
Economic development of Israel is a key issue not only in the regional researches but in case of the national economics around the globe. Small territory, lack of natural resources and estrangement from the states in the region: all these factors had a huge negative impact on the national economy of Israel in 1948. There was a need to develop the agriculture in order to build a recursive and self-ensuring economy. Traditional agricultural communities and settlements played a key role in its’ development. They still represent one of the main producers of agricultural goods. Moreover, the branch remains an important part of the inner production and export even in the innovative era. Two main types of agricultural goods for export consist of citruses and vegetables. The current wave of Israeli-Palestinian conflict influences the agriculture along with all types of industries. However, Israel has gone through the similar phases throughout its’ history. The agricultural market remains stable and ready for such fluctuations.
Keywords:
The economy of Israel; Agriculture; Arab-Israeli conflict
In Persian poetry sky is a powerful being whose incessant rotation around the earth determines the course of time and governs people’s destinies. Poets glorify the height and grandeur of the firmament, invoke its mercy upon themselves or upon the one to whom the poem is dedicated, and often they address the sky with reproaches. However, usually it does not answer them. The article discusses two cases in which the sky responds to the appeal, and a philological translation of the relevant passages is proposed. One example can be found in the masnavi poem by the Sufi poet Farid ad-Din ʿAṭṭār the Musibat-nameh (The Book of Torments) (12–13th cc.) where the Traveller of Thought (sālik-i fikrat), i.e. the personified thought of a meditating soul, converses with the sky seeking solace in his metaphysical grief. Another one is a fragment from Ferdowsi’s poem Shah-nameh where the Sky is being addressed by the author himself. Although these appeals to the Sky are quite different, the responses are similar: in both cases, the Sky ― and through it the poet ― appeals to human beeing’s higher purpose and unique place in the universe.
Keywords:
Persian poetry; Sufi poetry; Sufism; Ferdawsi; Shah-nameh; ʻAttar; Musibat-nameh; medieval cosmography; Sky
Liu Xie’s (465/466–520/522) treatise Wen xin diao long of 50 chapters presents the traditional literary theory, literary criticism and history of Ancient and Early Medieval literature of China in the most systematic and complete form. Its first complete Western translation into English by Vincent Yu-chung Shih (施友忠, Shi Yuzhong, 1902–2001) was published as late as in 1959. This presentation examines the 1959–1961 book reviews by the foreign literary experts on the Shih’s translation. They contain diverse assessments, suggestions and criticism of the first foreign-language edition of Wen xin diao long, which is an important resource for developing the parameters of a complete scientific edition of the forthcoming Russian translation of the treatise. The reviewers did not object to the choice of Liu Xie’s treatise as a source text. The courage of the translator who took up such a difficult task was lauded. The comments concerned the structure of the book (Introduction, translation text, Notes, Glossary, Index), the execution of the translation, the content of the Introduction and the scientific apparatus of the book. Vincent Shi’s translation became a significant event in the study of Wen xin diao long in the international sinology. The reviews pointed out objective difficulties, many of which remain relevant to this day and are associated with a lack of translations and knowledge of ancient and early medieval Chinese literature. The end of the 20th — beginning of the 21st witnessed appearance of the seven new translations of the treatise into European languages, which had to refer to Vincent Shih’s translation, to challenge him or agree with him both in the matters of translation proper and in the matters of the publication setup.
Keywords:
Liu Xie; Wen xin diao long; Shi Youzhong; Vincent Yu-chung Shih; Medieval Chinese Literary Theory; translation
This article presents a review of the major scientific researches on the topic of ideograms in the Chinese and the Japanese languages, classified by their main themes and approaches in order to isolate similarities and differences of the approaches. In the paper we describe various approaches of Russian-speaking researchers to the study of ideograms from the second half of the XX to the early XXI century. Works in Sinology and Japanology during this period cover topics including writing, lexicology, and grammar, demonstrating a synchronized approach to studying the languages and cultures in both countries. Different perceptions of the issues under investigation can be noted in Japanology and Sinology. There is a lack of comparative studies simultaneously addressing both languages and their writing systems, as these topics are mostly presented separately in the works of Sinologists and Japanologists, indicating that despite the synchronization of studying linguistic aspects of both languages, joint comparative research within a single work is almost non-existent.
The history of modern Hebrew started in the 19th century, when Eliezer Ben-Yehuda set out to bring back the sleeping since the third century Hebrew language. This process was called the “revival of Hebrew”. Some innovations characteristic of the Slavic and Germanic language groups were added to the basis, that was preserved in traditional literature. However, we have not yet had to talk about the final design of the literary norm. Hebrew continued develop during the first waves of Jewish migrations from Europe to Eretz Israel, absorbing the regional characteristics of the settlers. Changes are still taking place in it. Modernization processes in Israeli society are leaving their mark on Hebrew. Language revises norms that are not relevant to modern discourse, acquires neologisms and slang, discards hopelessly outdated elements. Special institutions have been established to stabilize and codify continuous development. It would seem that they should become an aid in teaching modern Hebrew, because all educational and methodological literature is focused on their rulings. However, the role of such organizations is highly controversial. In practice, they often do not solve the controversial issues of comparing literary norms and conversational status, but leave them open. This puts the teacher of modern Hebrew in front of a moral choice: to adhere to the study of dry rules or sometimes to the detriment of them to give preference to a lively informal language. For Hebrew, this problem has the character of an existential question, laid down during the first waves of Jewish migrations at the turn of the XIX–XX centuries, and does not have an unambiguous answer. The choice depends on the preferences and views of the teacher.
Keywords:
modern Hebrew; Israel; neologisms; feminitives; Hebrew Language Academy
Yulia Markovna Alikhanova (17.06.1936 — 05.01.2024), who had worked over half a century at the Department of Indian Philology of IAAS MSU, an outstanding Sanskritologist, scholar of literature studies and master of literary translation, teacher of many generations of philologists at IAAS, author of lecture courses on literature and poetics of Ancient India, as well as basic theory of literary studies, — has passed away.
Keywords:
Yulia Markovna Alikhanova; Sanskrit; ancient Indian literature; IAAS; indology; poetics
The article examines Turkey’s strategic efforts to enhance its economic engagement with Africa, focusing on key initiatives such as the 2003 Strategy for the Development of Economic Relations with Africa and the Turkey-Africa Summits. These efforts have played a pivotal role in expanding trade relations, particularly evident in the post-2002 period, which witnessed a sharp rise in Turkish exports to African markets. Furthermore, Turkey’s development assistance programs have emerged as a central tool for bolstering its economic footprint on the continent. Overall, the article underscores Turkey’s evolving position as a prominent actor in Africa, characterized by growing trade, investment, and multifaceted political and humanitarian involvement.
The article is devoted to the narrative features of the short story Flock of Brown Birds (Hese Niaoqun, 1988) by the modern Chinese writer Ge Fei (born 1964), one of the key figures of the Chinese avant-garde literature of the late 20th century (xianfeng wenxue). The article provides an analysis of the narrative structure, composition and character system of the story. Main focus is on the elements of metafiction in the story, including addressing the topic of the fictional process, bringing the image of the narrator closer to the figure of the author, commenting on the process of creating a literary work (exposing the technique). For Ge Fei, reality is the text, and fictional process is an attempt to establish a connection with the elusive reality. In addition, the article also focuses on the fragmentation of the narrative, the use of an unreliable narrator, the non-linearity of the plot and the presence of gaps that invite the reader to participate in the creation of a literary work. Due to the identified features, Ge Fei’s fiction can be classified as the example of Chinese postmodern literature.
Keywords:
Ge Fei; modern Chinese literature; modern literature; metafiction; postmodern literature; fragmentation
The underlying thesis of this article is related to the assertion that Confucianism, the oldest philosophical school in China, which emerged in 551–479 B.C., has influenced and still influences the social and spiritual life of the country, particularly its literature, for centuries. The authors examine in detail how the main Confucian paradigms of ‘Ren’, ‘Li’, and ‘Zhong yong’ are refracted in Chinese literature of the past and present centuries. A brief interpretation of these paradigms is given. Particular attention is paid to the fact that the postulates of this doctrine are flexible, which makes it possible to draw from it various inferences necessary for a certain historical stage and for literary writers to follow the prescriptions of these inferences.
Keywords:
New China; Chinese literature; Confucianism; ‘Ren’; ‘Li’; ‘Zhong yong’
The article studies two key novels by the Egyptian writer and Nobel laureate (1988) Naguib Mahfouz (1911–2006), The Cairo Trilogy (1956–1957) and Children of Our Alley (1959), through the prism of the Muslim allusions embedded in them. They play major role in the allegorical work Children of Our Alley which is stylized as a sira (“folk novel”) and shows the life of many generations of Gabalawi’s descendants. In The Trilogy, the symbolism is hidden, but the comparison between it and the next novel of Mahfouz through the lens of Muslim allusions, primarily in names, made it possible to reveal the symbolic meaning of the novel and establish a common philosophy underlying the two works. The main source is the Qur‘an; the authors also turned to texts of classical Islamic studies and early Islamic history. Relevance: 1) drawing attention to the Cairo Trilogy, famous in Arab countries, but not translated into Russian; 2) popularizing the method of analyzing religious connotations, which is rarely used in literary studies, but is productive for understanding and translating the literature of Muslim countries in which religion plays a large social role. Conclusions: both novels present an allegory of the history of mankind which is going through radical changes in modern times. At the beginning, they show a traditional world where religion is associated with vital energy (in the first two issues of the Trilogy, the Islamic aspect of names is associated with success in society and large offspring; in Children of Our Alley, the names allowed to connect the main characters with the prophets of Islam). During the course of the plot, the order in the world of the novels is disrupted. At the end of them, the father leaves the world (in both novels, the patriarch is an allegory of God); Muslim references in names and the religious piety of the characters cease to be a defense against chaos. Religion is being replaced by scientific point of view (Kamal in the Trilogy and ‘Arafa in Children of Our Alley; their names do not have Islamic connotations). Science which is free from religious rules is not able to resist immorality and the depletion of the human race. The author’s view of the new era is pessimistic: the old model of the world is destroyed, and the new one is corrupted.
The article deals with the peculiarities of quoting proverbs and aphorisms by Turkish President R.T. Erdogan in his speeches. The questions of their transformation, methods of introduction and connection to current circumstances, expressive-emotional and stylistic coloring, as well as the evaluative aspect and its author’s development in the context are raised. The speaker introduces a proverb into his speech with the help of introductory phrases and words that act as markers, which can break it in the case of a two-part structure, frame it, and be used in double and triple repetition. Stylistically, most of the quoted proverbs are neutral in color; to achieve maximum expressiveness of the statement, the speaker uses emotional proverbs belonging to the conversational style of speech, often with a zoonymic component. The President rarely transforms the idiom; its recognition is important to him; moreover, he does not use the most common of them, this gives his speeches originality and emphasizes the originality of the author’s style. The most used method of transformation is the omission of elements that do not change the semantics of the expression, or the replacement of a word with a synonym, in rare cases, a compositional transformation consisting of rearrangement of parts. Sometimes the speaker, relying on the imagery of an idiom, paraphrases and interprets it in the current context, or, changing only its grammatical-syntactic structure, inserts it into his speech. R.T. Erdogan uses idioms with both positive and negative evaluative components. Often he expresses his thought by using the stylistic device of antithesis, starting from the negative assessment contained in the idiom, he comes to a positive conclusion, less often — vice versa. To enhance the expressiveness and persuasiveness of his speech, the speaker sometimes indicates a personal attitude towards what is being quoted, connecting it with the circumstances of his private life. In some cases, there is an obvious pragmatic connection between the idiom and the topic, geography, or specific occasion for delivering the speech.
Keywords:
Turkish proverb; aphorism; Turkish phraseological units; Turkish political discourse; presidential ideolect; transformation of proverbs; connotative component
In 2024, we celebrated the 220th anniversary of the birth of the prominent scholar G.S. Sablukov (1804–1880), who occupied a special place in the history of the Qur’anic studies in Russia. His main academic achievement — the first published translation of the Qur’an from the Arabic into Russian (1877) — became an important step in the development of Russian Oriental science. The article investigates the stages of formation of G.S. Sablukov as an expert on Islamic issues, contains an overview of his works dedicated to the Qur’an and analyzes the assessments of his translation of the Holy Muslim Book, which have changed over time. However, there is no doubt that with his translation of the Qur’an, G.S. Sablukov made a significant contribution to Russian Islamic studies by strengthening its scholarly foundations.
Keywords:
Russia; Islamic studies; Qur’anic studies; G.S. Sablukov Funding. The research was carried out with the support of the Russian Science Foundation (project No. 23-28-10046) and in accordance with the Strategic Academic Leadership Program of Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University.
This article examines the foreign trade of Kazakhstan during three decades of its independent development. A special attention is paid to the analysis of structural characteristics of exports and imports. Changes in trade volumes with main partners as well as the number of commodity names in trade are of particular interest. Based on foreign trade indicators, it can be concluded that in the early 2020s, similar to the 2000s and 2010s, Kazakhstan’s exports were dominated by hydrocarbons, with metals, minerals, chemicals and crops still accounting for a significant share of export trade. Imports were dominated by manufactures, particularly electrical machinery and equipment, as well as transportation. During the 2000s and 2010s, the main consumers of Kazakhstan’s exports often included China, Italy, France, Russia and the Netherlands. During the same period, the main importers were Republic of Korea, Germany, Russia, Italy, USA and Ukraine. The results of the paper may be useful for the planning of public policies and for the long-term development strategies of commercial enterprises; the results can also be used to prepare educational programmes on Central Asian economies.
The article is devoted to the theory, policy and practice of PRC’s science diplomacy in the modern era. Having studied scientific works of scientists from different countries, official documents of the Chinese government and media reports, the author reveals the definition of the concept, achievements and inadequacies of contemporary science diplomacy of PRC.
Keywords:
science diplomacy; PRC; Belt and Road; technological standard; foreign policy
This paper studies the cycle of works by one of the outstanding Chinese writers of the “root-seeking” literary movement- Ah Cheng. The research includes his works “The King of Chess”, “The King of Children” and “The King of the Tree”, where the main theme is the comparison of the past and the new world order. The main purpose of this work was to study the axiological conceptosphere of these works, namely, to identify the features of depicting the values of Taoist philosophy as a classical ideology and the Chinese cultural revolution as a new ideology. As a result of the study, it was found that in the works of Ah Cheng, these ideologies coexist both in society as a whole and in each individual person. Among the main values of Taoism, the author highlights the following: life in harmony with nature, the representation of the world as a single whole (organism), the principle of non-action and the cult of honor of ancestors, authorities. Also, among the new values of the cultural revolution, such as the practical use of natural resources, the perception of man as the crown of creation, the idea of human independence, independence from external forces, and the denial of previous stereotypes were identified. It was revealed that these values are mainly revealed through the dialogues of the characters, as well as their internal monologues, which often include rhetorical questions addressed to the character and to the reader. In addition, metaphors and implicitness play an important role in the depiction of values, which is especially characteristic of Taoist philosophy as an eastern tradition, where the main ideas are conveyed allegorically, with hidden meanings. In addition, it was found that the values of Taoism are also realized in the description of landscapes, since one of the foundations of Taoism is the connection of man with nature.
Keywords:
Ah Cheng; root-seeking literary movement; Taoism; Chinese Cultural Revolution
The book by the leading Russian scholar in Oriental and Literary studies academician A.B. Kudelin “The Life of the Prophet as a monument of medieval Arabic literature” sums up the author’s long-term involvement with one of the most famous literary achievements in Arab-Muslim culture. The book introduces the reader to this work, the history of its writing and editing, its content, composition and poetics. The narrative, which is a fusion of hagiography, historical writing and poetry, has always been a subject of interest to Islamic scholars, historians and, to a lesser extent, literary critics. The book by A.B. Kudelin combines all these approaches to the text, but the main emphasis is placed on the literary side of this masterpiece. This is the novelty of the reviewed book. The new approach allowed the author to make a number of observations and conclusions. This is, firstly, the formation of a long prose narrative in historical and adab works, arising on the basis of a mosaic of isolated brief testimonies and stories, and secondly, the growth of elements of fiction within functional prose. Thirdly, the chosen angle of view allowed the author to re-evaluate the role of poetry in the structure of “Biography”, which was previously often perceived as a purely decorative, ornamental element, to see in it a continuation of pre-Islamic oral literature, which was characterized by prosimetry. The conclusions drawn by A.B. Kudelin go beyond the scope of the topic and highlights a number of important theoretical and methodological issues. The book is useful to anyone interested in Arab-Muslim culture and literature, students of Oriental studies, not to mention researchers on a wide range of issues.
Keywords:
classical Arabic prose; sīra; prosimetry; Ibn Isḥāq; Ibn Hishām; Islām
Review of the book: Сhang Jisŏng. Hangug-ŭi Hwahweyŏngmohwa [Korean Painting of Flowers, Birds, and Animals]. Seoul: Ankhŭphiksŭ, 2020. 419 p., ISBN: 978.89.7059.1 (936000). (In Korean).
Keywords:
Korean traditional painting; Koryŏ; Chosŏn; South Korean modern art; hwahweyŏngmohwa; “flower, bird and animal painting”
The article analyzes the scale, dynamics, and structure of incorrectly issued trade invoices, which are a key channel for illegal cash flows in the Arab region. International trade increasingly occurs within complex supply networks and value chains. In such circumstances, misreporting and incorrect invoicing can occur at any stage. Due to incorrect issuance of trade invoices in 2008–2015. in the Arab region, $482.7 billion were “missed,” which is equivalent to a fifth of total GDP in 2016. Every year, $60.3 billion “went into the shadows.” However, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria and Jordan accounted for 80% of illegal cash flows in the region associated with trade misinvoicing. Countries not primarily involved in the export of natural resources are more susceptible to misinvoicing practices (10.4%) than countries with resource-dependent economies (7.4%). Informal cross-border trade is a major challenge for customs authorities in some Arab countries. It represents the largest part of the trade flow on Sudan’s border with Ethiopia and Eritrea.
Keywords:
Arab countries; international trade; illicit financial flows; misinvoicing; informal cross-border trade
With the expanding influence of China, the competition between the PRC and the US is intensifying. As an important regional organization in the Asia-Pacific region, ASEAN has close economic ties with both China and the U.S., and the conflict between China and the U.S. inevitably occurs in Southeast Asia, which has made ASEAN once again face direct competition from major powers. Under the current regional situation and to maintain the stability and development of the Southeast Asian region, ASEAN countries have chosen a more rational strategy of balancing the great powers in their foreign policy.
The process of studying modern Iranian literature has just begun. This article is the first attempt in Russian and foreign Iranian philology to systematize and analyze a representative block of modern women’s prose works. The scale of this phenomenon, which got a special impetus for development in the republican period, deserves to be in the focus of research, taking into consideration both the vector of development of Iranian literature and its non-literary role as an important social factor. The main features of women’s prose are the expansion of the thematic range and expressive means used by the authors. The stylistic diversity of women’s prose (social realism, fiction, magical realism) is combined with the similarity of its topic — the denial of the woman’s image in its traditional interpretation.
In this article we study gestures and facial gestures as cultural-specific elements of a foreign culture in translation. When translating kinetic idioms, which are verbal description of gestures, facial gestures or postures and simultaneously emotions and feelings they express, a translator chooses the most adequate strategy which depends on existence of full or partial equivalents, absence of equivalents or existence of gaps in target language and culture. Ways and techniques used in every separate case, in the whole coincide with those described in the theory of translation.
Keywords:
cultural-specific elements; gestures and facial gestures; kinetic idioms; translation theory
The article examines the peripheral actants in Japanese utterance on the degree of expression of their prototypical agentive characteristics: volition, affectedness, ability to control, individuality, etc. The research was based on the material of author’s parallel Russian-Japanese fiction corpus. While analyzing cases of permutative voice in Japanese it is revealed that cases of anthropo-oriented impact of an inanimate subject are characterized by a focus shift from a human as a causation object and bringing him to the syntactic periphery with the raising of a means/instruments or somatics to an object position. A specific type of syntactic transformation is revealed: the movement of the possessor from the original dative to the attributive non-agentive position in possessive constructions, which contributes to the proof of the theoretical thesis about the restriction of the dative coding of the external possessor in Japanese. As a result of a complex study of the agentive potential of peripheral actants it is confirmed that the processes of actant-predicate interaction are largely determined by the semantic features of not only the core, but also of the peripheral syntactic and semantic participants.
After gaining independence from Great Britain in 1947, the territory of Hindustan still encompassed small colonial enclaves — French and Portuguese. The issue of their joining India was a matter of time. French possessions included Chandernagore in Bengal; Pondicherry, Yanaon and Karikal on the east coast; and Mahe on the west coast. Population of the French-owned territories was basically represented by Bengalis, Tamils and Malayalis; their ethnic identity played a decisive role in the integration of the former French possessions into the Republic of India. This article examines the stages and ethnocultural nuances of the integration process.
Keywords:
colonialism; Republic of India; French India; Pondicherry; Chandernagore
The article examines the peripheral actants in Japanese utterance on the degree of expression of their prototypical agentive characteristics: volition, affectedness, ability to control, individuality, etc. The research was based on the material of author’s parallel Russian-Japanese fiction corpus. While analyzing cases of permutative voice in Japanese it is revealed that cases of anthropo-oriented impact of an inanimate subject are characterized by a focus shift from a human as a causation object and bringing him to the syntactic periphery with the raising of a means/instruments or somatics to an object position. A specific type of syntactic transformation is revealed: the movement of the possessor from the original dative to the attributive non-agentive position in possessive constructions, which contributes to the proof of the theoretical thesis about the restriction of the dative coding of the external possessor in Japanese. Special attention is paid to case variation of peripheral actants because case alternation in the design of high-agent and low-agent actants also demonstrate the importance of the propositional level of utterance and prototypical agential features. As a result of a complex study of the agential potential of peripheral actants it is confirmed that the processes of actant-predicate interaction are largely determined by the semantic features of not only the core, but also of the peripheral syntactic and semantic participants.
This article is based on existing research and published archives and, by systematizing this information, seeks to reflect as fully as possible the process of decision-making on the restoration of diplomatic relations between China and the USSR in 1932. The main focus is on the analysis from the perspective of the Nanking government: the conceptual development and choice of interests of the Chinese and Soviet sides in the issues of Sino-Soviet relations and interaction with Japan during this period are examined. Soviet-Chinese diplomatic relations after 1931 underwent a relatively difficult process of reconstruction. Much of the Chinese and Russian literature provides limited analysis of this topic with simplistic conclusions. Due to widespread contradictions between China and the USSR, the Nanjing government was mistrustful of developing relations with the Soviet Union. At the same time, faced with unrest beyond the Far Eastern border, the USSR, out of caution and “distrust of the Nanking government,” also took a series of actions that were seen as “developing Japan-Soviet relations.” Under increasing pressure, China finally decided to start negotiations with the USSR to unconditionally restore diplomatic relations to prevent the Soviet Union from getting too close to Japan. The fact that the USSR gradually began to view Japan as a factor of instability also created conditions for the restoration of Soviet-Chinese diplomatic relations and their further development.
The article analyzes the actual problem of gender relations in Uzbekistan at the end of the XX — beginning of the XXI century, as well as the impact of gender relations on the economy of the state. There is a significant gender imbalance in the country, manifested in domestic violence, an impressive wage gap between men and women, forced marriages and so on — all this slows down the economic development of the state. The paper examines statistical data reflecting the employment of men and women of Uzbekistan in the labor market, the legislative framework governing the employment of the population. The role of mentality and religion in shaping the structure of gender relations in the economic sphere is determined. The stability of Muslim traditions in society is noted, which complicates the search for methods to achieve equality between men and women that do not contradict the foundations of religion. The segregation of the Uzbek labor market is considered and the main areas of employment of men and women are highlighted. The causes of the gender imbalance are determined, as well as attempts to correct it in politics are being studied. The paper examines the specifics of women’s employment, ways to encourage women’s participation in political and social activities, as well as the effectiveness of the methods used.
The paper discusses issues in the contemporary historiography of the West Punjab region, which now forms the Punjab province of Pakistan. The ethnic specificity of this area has been fully recognized by researchers; however, it is interpreted indifferent ways. To this end, the basic criterion has been the algorithm of “fixing” West Punjab within the general South Asian context. A detailed study of works on Punjabi ethnocultural identity allows us to distinguish two main research approaches: 1) consideration of West Punjab’s peculiarities in view of its ages-old cultural legacy; 2) analysis of its historical path and contemporary place based on the political realities of mid-ХХ–ХХI cc. While the first line of thinking is based on the assumption that West Punjabi culture has been inseparable from that of South Asia, the second one suggests that West Punjab should be considered exclusively as a Muslim-majority area, whose incorporation into Pakistan has been a natural outcome.
Keywords:
South Asia; Pakistan; Punjab; historiography; ethnonationalism
The article analyses the scientific and pedagogical activities of the teaching staff of the Department of the Near and Middle East History on the threshold of the 270th anniversary of the Lomonosov Moscow State University. The main goal of the authors was to make an objective assessment of the current state of the Department and its contribution to the development of Russian humanitarian knowledge, to determine its place in the structure of university science and education. Such a study makes it possible to characterize the specific nature of the training of Russian specialists in the Middle East and North Africa, the history and culture of Islam at Moscow University. At the same time, it allows us to get an adequate idea of the scientific schools formed in the Department, the level of academic research conducted by it, in order to assess the multifaceted work of the Department’s team within the framework of all-Russian and international Orientalist research projects. In the course of the work it was convincingly demonstrated that the Department of the Near and Middle East History has now firmly occupied its niche in the structure of Russian Oriental studies, becoming an important part of the Russian humanitarian community, a recognized center of education and training of qualified Orientalists for the needs of the country.
Keywords:
Moscow University; Institute of Asian and African Studies; Higher Education in Oriental Studies; Oriental Studies; Near and Middle East
The article explores the main periods and trends in the development of studies in History and Politics in the Institute of Asian and African Studies and depicts the activities of certain departments. It reveals unity and diversity in the historical and contemporary social and political development of various parts of Asia and Africa regions.
Keywords:
Lomonosov Moscow State University; the 270th anniversary; Institute of Asian and African Studies; Studies in History and Politics at the IAAS MSU; departments of the Historical Division; fields of study; pedagogical activities
The article is devoted to the analysis of modal constructions with infinitives in -(i)tuṃ in Pali, which is a representative of the early-middle stage of Indo-Aryan. Pali is predominantly known as the classical language of the religious and philosophical canon of «Theravada» Buddhism. As the most frequent suffix in Pali, -(i)tuṃ (historically, an indicator of a verbal noun frozen in the accusative) was also the most productive way of generating infinitives in classical Sanskrit (but the least productive in Vedic). Upon analyzing the Pali jatakas (fables about the Buddha’s earthly reincarnations) the author has identified a limited set of stable semo-syntactic contexts in which infinitives in -(i)tum occurred most frequently. The constructions discovered were analyzed and systematized throughout the prism of the functional-semantic field of modality.
The paper attempts to analyze the ways of typological evolution of four Western New Indo-Aryan (NIA) languages: Hindi-Urdu, Rajasthani, Punjabi and Gujarati. In the majority of Western NIA languages the consistent ergative strategy typical for the beginning of its development later gave way to the neutral, then — to the contrastive one, which was replaced in some paradigms by the accusative system of case marking. Multidirectional processes of morphosyntactic evolution were observed at the beginning of the New Indian period. Later the changes in coding strategies as well as the changes in rules of verbal agreement became predominantly unidirectional. In certain languages, the ergative construction maintained the gendernumber agreement with the marked direct object, in others the marked direct object blocked verbal agreement. Split ergativity, characteristic of the initial period of Indo- Aryan syntactic structure, has been preserved in most Western New Indo-Aryan languages (NIA). The only exception is Dakhini where the ergative case marking got initially extended to the entire system of aspectual and tense forms, later the system returned to the nominative-accusative type. Typical for ergative systems free elision of the ergative agent got established in Apabhramsha in the beginning of the NIA period (14–15 centuries), but practically does not appear in modern languages. Co-referential omissions of ergative type were observed in Middle Indo-Aryan and in Early NIA periods, in modern NIA languages they are ungrammatical. So, with the exception of minor deviations, the evolution of the morphosyntactic systems of Western NIA languages shows a unidirectional movement towards decrease in the ergative morphology and syntax.
Keywords:
uni- and multidirectional ways of the typological evolution; split ergativity; case marking; verbal agreement; new Indo-Aryan languages
The article, based on Palestinian and British sources, reconstructs the journey of the ideologist and propagandist of Palestine’s national movement’s radicalization — shaykh ‘Izz al-Din al-Qassam (1882–1935), one of the inspirers of the Great Arab revolt of 1936–1939. ‘Izz al-Din al-Qassam was the person behind the formation of underground cells of political organizations that became the mainstay of the Great Arab revolt, the most famous of which was the paramilitary group “Black Hand” created in 1930. Despite active confrontation with the British military administration and Jewish settlers, ‘Izz al-Din al-Qassam and the “Black Hand” failed to achieve the independence of Palestine, but al-Qassam’s person and his activities served as a source of inspiration for the Palestinian people in their struggle for independence, and the very name of shaykh al-Qassam has become a household name for modern paramilitary structures of the Palestinian resistance.
Keywords:
Palestine; Palestinian national movement; Zionist movement; British administration; resistance; ‘Izz al-Din al-Qassam
The article considers the reign of the first emperor of the Western Han — Liu Bang, better known as Han Gao-tzu (202–195 BC). Based on the results of the study of the chronicle of the reign, preserved in the main source on the history of the period — Han shu (“History of Han” I century.) we considered the activities of the bearer of supreme power in the sphere of state administration as part of the 1 Автор благодарит своего научного руководителя к.и.н. М.Ю. Ульянова за помощь и поддержку в подготовке данной статьи. political process on the basis of the fact that the chronicle of the reign preserves all the most important actions of the emperor.
Keywords:
Chinese history; Han Empire; Liu Bang; political process; political struggle; governance
This article is a continuation of the study initiated in the article ‘The Persian Story of Shīr Farrokhzādān and the Forced Migration of the Arabs from Misikhē (al-Anbār) under Sasanid King Shapur I (240–271)’. A close examination of the story of Shīr Farrokhzādān within the historical context allows to make the following observations and conclusions. The migration of the Arabs from the region of Misikhē was the result of their struggle against the Sasanids, who won and built a fortress at Misikhē. King Shapur I considered those Arabs to be dangerous, and so, he parted them and settled them in different places under the power of his governors or, perhaps, Arabic ruler Djadhīma who is described in some sources as a vassal of the Sasanids. Those events took place before the enthronement of Shapur I, during the Sasanids’ initial expansion in the Euphrates region (225 to 240). The Sasanids’ strategic aim appears to have initially consisted in ensuring the security of their new capital, Wēh-Ardashīr, against attacks of hostile Arabic tribes rather than in establishing a barrier on the Romans’ way. However, after firmly setting foot in the Euphrates region the Sasanids used the way up the Euphrates’ course, to attack Roman possessions, in particular in campaigns involving the taking of Dura-Europos (239) and Antioch (241).
In European literature, the genre of the spy novel appeared at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, in Chinese it happened a little later — around the 1930s. By the 1940s, the genre was flourishing. Since 1937, during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the confrontation between the Kuomintang and the Communists, espionage activities have acquired a special, topical significance, which could not but be reflected in literature. The next peak of interest in the genre came at the time of the formation of New China, Soviet translated novels became a source of inspiration for the authors. During the years of the Cultural Revolution, literary activity froze, but individual elements of the spy novel can be found even in “model operas”. In the 1970s and 1980s a new rise in translated literature began, as a result of which China became acquainted with the classics of European and American spy literature, in addition, Soviet spy novels of the 1950s and Chinese novels of the same period were reprinted. Another peak of interest in spy literature arose at the beginning of the 21st century; it is associated with the popularity of the works of the contemporary writer Mai Jia. With the spread of the Internet, a large number of authors of online literature who write in this genre have appeared. Each of these stages had its own distinctive features, for example, differences in the images of the antagonists. Plots related to spies and espionage/intelligence activities are consistently popular among readers. The 21st century, together with Western translated literature, epoch-making events, and a change in systems and paradigms, has brought new themes and sources for plots to literature in general and to the genre of the spy novel in particular.
Keywords:
Chinese literature; spy literature; spy novel; Mai Jia; Mao Dun; Xu Jie; Qiu Zhang; Bai Hua
Using etymological methods, the present study has identified six Sinitic and Slavic shared (Sino-Germanic) etymologies (etyma):【旦, 嬾, 板, 塼, 媛 and 軸】. These six etyma form a rhyme correspondence. This regular sound change validates the etymological connection in question. The etymon of день (den’) ‘day’ has been identified in Sinitic, Slavic, Baltic, Albanian and Sanskrit. The etymon of лень (len’) ‘laziness’ has been identified in Sinitic, Slavic, Baltic, Romance and Italic. The etymon of день (pen’) ‘stump’ has been identified in Sinitic, Slavic and Hellenic. The etymon of стена (stena) ‘wall’ has been identified in Sinitic, Slavic, Germanic and Hellenic. The etymon of жена (žena) ‘wife’ has been identified in Sinitic, Slavic, Baltic, Germanic, Celtic, Albanian, Hellenic, Anatolian, Armenian, Indo-Iranian and Tocharian. The etymon of один (odin) ‘one’ has been identified in Sinitic, Slavic, Baltic, Germanic, Celtic, Italic, Albanian, Hellenic.
The study is devoted to the category of counting words (words-classifiers) in modern Chinese. A counting word is a word that indicates the discreteness of the object (object or action) it introduces. Counting words in Chinese are divided into two classes: classifiers for nouns (名量词 míng liàng cí) and multiplicity indicators for verbs (动量词 dòng liàng cí). The study deals specifically with classifiers for nouns. With regard to classifier words in Mandarin, many works have been written, where counter words are organized into different groups. These groups often differ in volume and in features that are inherent in each individual counting word. Some authors believe that the counting word is a function word that is not used as a separate category, some refer classifier words to nouns. In our study, we will adhere to the second point of view. It should also be noted that in different periods of history and in different dialects (topolects), different counter words were used to classify words according to a certain species-forming feature. We base our research on classifier words found in northern dialects that form the basis of Mandarin.
Keywords:
classifier; discreteness; vocabulary; grammatical categories; Putonghua; Chinese language; experiment
The suggested article deals with the problems of symbolism of the special instruments (sacrificial spoons) and of the corresponding substances (melted butter or fat) in them. Two types of rituals, namely, the ‘great’ one (‘śrauta’) and the ‘home’ one (‘gRhya-‘), are briefly characterized in the paper; in both of them the personified fire or God of Fire (Agni-) was always acting as the main subject and — simultaneously — as one of the objects of the ritual. It is demonstrated in the paper that the names for sacred instruments — namely, ‘srúc-’ (masc.) “scoop” and sruvá- (fem.) “ladle”- are originally the verbal nouns generated from verbal root sru- “to stream down” and “to destroy” — and an attempt is made to explain why this split in semantics of the root is not a casual one. It is also shown in the paper that ancient Indo-Aryans believed in a kind of the so called “sexual union” (mithuná) between the sacrificial spoons and melted butter (ā́ jya-) or fat (ghRtá-) as well as in the new mithuná of the substances accumulated in spoons with Agni of the altar. The detailed descriptions of the parameters of sacrificial spoons, of the types of materials used for their manufacture, of the varieties of their usage, etc. are supplied in the paper; the special function of the scoop (srúc-), as manifested in funeral rituals, is also explained. The reasons and circumstances causing the existence of the feature of “superpurity” in sacrificial spoons and in fatty substances inside them are listed in the paper; it is also marked there that it was absolutely impossible to use the spoons in question in any everyday necessities of life.
Keywords:
vedic sacrifice; ritual spoons; libations; God of Fire; “superpurity”
In the 1950s the Soviet Union was gradually establishing relations with many Asian and African countries, including India. A significant event in the life of the Soviet citizens was the VI World Festival of Youth and Students in Moscow. In 1957 the “Iron Curtain” was lifted for tens of thousands of foreign visitors in the hope of attracting young people from the other countries. The VI World Festival of Youth and Students in Moscow helped to create a positive image not only for the guests from the Western and highly developed countries, but for the countries of the Non-Aligned Movement. The festival was supposed to demonstrate the accomplishments of the Soviet Union in the field of science, culture and economy. The Moscow festival received the large delegation from India and showed the foreign guests, including students, the Soviet way of life. This festival not only had a propaganda effect, but also allowed to strengthen and expand links with many countries, including India. From the 1950s scientific, cultural and economic relations with India begin to improve. The festival allowed a large number of people to discover the socialist country. The article considers in detail the archival documents, that have not previously been used to examine the participation of the Indian delegation in the festival.
Keywords:
USSR; India; youth festival; Indian delegation; students; Iron Curtain
On modern Indian meeting websites (for example, MatrimonialsIndia. com ) the user page, in addition to other information, contains an indication of who created the profile. Among these persons, in addition to the user himself (or herself) and their close relatives (parents, brothers, sisters), some «friends» are mentioned. Not only in the early periods of history, but also in modern India, the institution of marriage remains extremely conservative. This circumstance raises the question: why do people who are not relatives of the potential bride and groom take part in creating a family? The analysis of sources from different eras shows us that contexts of this kind have been encountered before. So, for example, in the notes of Lutheran missionaries who worked in Southern India at the very beginning of the XVIII century, there are indications of the participation of some «friends» in the planning of marriage unions. There are also references to certain «friends» as the participants in the search for a bride for a young man in the monuments of ancient Indian didactic literature (Kāmasūtra). The analysis of texts and cases of the use of the term «friends» both in ancient Indian texts and in later sources shows that, most likely, it is not just about friendly ties. «Friends» most likely refer to members of the same caste group to which the potential bride and groom belong.
Keywords:
India; marriage; didactic literature; caste
The Emergency declaration was a major landmark of the 1970s in India. The task of the regime introduced in 1975 by the Indian National Congress under the leadership of Indira Gandhi (1917–1984) was to save democracy from anti-Indian elements and to pave the way for further structural changes and reforms. But on the contrary, it resulted in the total dissatisfaction with the extraconstitutional restrains and, as a result, sowed the seeds of disdain and distrust among the population of India. As images of a bright future started to fade away, the INC saw a significant decline which eventually resulted in the party’s defeat at the 1977 general elections and the transfer of power to the Janata Party. The article examines the Emergency (1975–1977) in the current political rhetoric of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in India. In BJP’s view, the emergency declaration and the formation of the first non-Congress government was the victory of democratic values over the “dictatorship” of Indira Gandhi, or the triumph of good over evil and light over darkness. The regime, which gained notoriety among the people of India due to the unpopular socio-political course and unbalanced economic regulations of the government, did not only become a symbol of restriction and deprivation: it also made the people question the very essence of India’s democracy and the legacy of its “Founding Fathers” among whom was Jawaharlal Nehru (1947–1964), the first prime minister of India. Although almost five decades have passed since the infamous 1975, the ghost of the Emergency still haunts the contemporary Indian society and dominates BJP’s political rhetoric.
Keywords:
India; Indira Gandhi; crisis of the 1970-s; the Emergency; Bharatiya Janata Party; propaganda
The Muˁdjam al-buldān (Reference-Book on Countries and Settlements), a mediaeval geographical encyclopaedia by Yāḳūt (1178–1129), contains a story in which Sasanid king Shapur ‘Piercer of the Shoulders’ moved Arabs from the region of al-Anbār (near present-day al-Fallujah), built there the town of Pērōz-Shāhpūhr (Peroz-Shapur) and appointed a certain Shīr Farrokhzādān as its governor. There are grounds to believe that the story in question was a part of a family history which descendants of Shīr Farrokhzādān kept through centuries, including in Islamic times. Yāḳūt quotes the story on the authority of Abū-l-Faḍl al-Ṣūlī who wrote at the end on the 9th or in the first half of the 10th century and was, by the criteria of mediaeval Islamic literature, a fairly early writer. The fact that story goes back to Sasanid times and is related by a relatively early writer seems to indicate its general reliability in the presentation of the events. However, the story also shows that it was re-worked in the Arabic cultural milieu. Shapur I, who actually built Misikhē (Pērōz-Shāhpūhr), is replaced by King Shapur II ‘Piercer of the Shoulders’ (307/8–379/80), probably because the latter, known by his fierce struggle against Arabic tribes, seemed to Arab story-tellers to be the one who would cause the forced migration in question rather than anyone else.
Realization of the central Zionist idea, known in Judaism as the “gathering of the exiles” (קיבוץ גלויות), caused one million Jews’ immigration to Israel in the 1950s and became a significant challenge for the country: Jews who came from different countries did not have a single culture and language, a common historical memory and generally accepted social habits. The way to achieve national unity was the “Melting Pot” policy, known in Israeli discourse as “mizug galuyot” (מיזוג גלויות) — “the mixing of exiles”, — aimed at forming a single Israeli nation. Despite the declared nature of the policy of cultural mixing, the practice of implementing “mizug galuyot” continues to be criticized by many researchers, who often characterize it as the forced assimilation of new immigrants by old-timers — the Jews, who arrived before 1948. This article aims to contribute to the study of Israel’s nation-building policy in the 1950s. based on archival documents.
Keywords:
Melting pot policy; Mizug Galuyot; nation-building in Israel; Jewish immigration; assimilation; Mizrahim
The article focuses on the analysis of the impact of the Wahhabi movement on the emergence of the First Saudi State in the 1740s. Special attention is paid to the investigation of the distinctive features of the Wahhabi doctrine and the socio-political transformation of the Emirate of Diriyah under its direct influence. The study is based on the chronicles of the early Wahhabi theologians and historians — Hussein ibn Ghannam (d. 1811) and Usman ibn Bishr (d. 1871/72), as well as the anonymous work “The Shine of the Meteor in the Life of Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab”. The treatises of the founder of Wahhabism Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab (1703–1792) serve as a source of information about the early ideology of the movement. A comprehensive study of the listed sources makes it possible to reconstruct the social and political processes in Najd of the mentioned period, and also to draw a conclusion about the leading role of the Wahhabi doctrine in the emergence of Saudi statehood and the absence of other socio-political factors in this process.
Keywords:
Arabia; 18th century; Nejd; Al-‘Arid; Emirate of Diriyah; First Saudi State; Wahhabism; Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab; Muhammad ibn Saud
The article deals with a notable episode within the phenomenon of the so-called “itinerant court” that includes performing pilgrimages (ziyarat) to the shrines of Muslim saints by the Timurid ruler Shahrukh. The study is based on the materials of dynastic chronicles and considers the most significant pilgrimage routes for the sovereign, its stages, as well as the purposes of these visits. Priority is given to the most frequently visited Sufi communities and the peculiarities of Shahrukh’s interaction with their leaders and other inhabitants. At this point an important question considering what was primary for him — the idea of ruler’s personal piety or utilitarian motives — arises. A thorough analysis of the chronicles demonstrates that the pilgrimage not only provided spiritual satisfaction, but also contributed to the growth of the ruler’s political significance.
The article centers upon the final, third, period of biography of outstanding Dutch Javanist Johann Gericke. It summarizes the results of his scientific and social activity, influencing a lot on the formation of Javanese studies as an academic discipline in the Netherlands in the first half of the 19th century. This subject is yet to be studied in our country being an extremely important matter for understanding the specifics of the development of Indonesian studies within Oriental studies in Russia and abroad.
Keywords:
Indonesian studies; academic Javanism; dutch Oriental studies; history of science; I. Gericke; translation of the Bible into Oriental languages
Based on the materials from Pakistani military journals the article analyzes strategies used by the Pakistan Army in Kashmir from 1947 to the present. Indian-Pakistani disagreements over the territory of Kashmir have caused large-scale wars as well as local border conflicts and still remain a source of tension between the two nuclear powers. A new round of tension in Indian-Pakistani relations is associated with revocation of article 370 of the Constitution of India in 2019, which provided the state of Jammu and Kashmir with the autonomy. However, due to the military superiority of India Pakistan has focused on non-traditional methods of solving the Kashmir problem since the early years of independence. Irregular forces became her main weapon and the methods of using them have been improving over decades. Great importance was also given to the buildup of conventional weaponry and the development of nuclear weapons. Thus, the Pakistan Army has shown interest in such strategies as guerrilla warfare, asymmetric conflict, state terrorism, proxy war, low-intensity conflict, limited and non-kinetic warfare. One of the results of the application of these strategies was the growth of terrorism not only in India but in the region as well. However, in recent years, in the conditions of hybrid warfare nuclear weapons as well as superiority in conventional weapons have ceased to be considered by the Pakistan military leadership as necessary factors for achieving victory in Kashmir. This initiated the search for new approaches to confrontation with India. Military experts consider non-kinetic methods of hybrid warfare to be the most advantageous strategy for the Pakistan Army.
Keywords:
army; Pakistan; hybrid war; Kashmir; military strategy
The Institute of Asian and African Studies has been a leading institution for decades in the training of specialists across a broad spectrum of knowledge related to the development of Asia and Africa. IAAS serves as both a symbol and a reflection of the evolutionary trajectory of Soviet and Russian Oriental Studies. The Institute’s primary function is the preservation of classical Oriental Studies traditions, while concurrently addressing contemporary needs, providing in-demand, scientifically rigorous training, expanding its program offerings, reinforcing its position as a leading center for Asian and African Studies expertise, fostering robust academic and applied collaborations, and fulfilling Russia’s national development objectives.
Keywords:
Lomonosov Moscow State University; Institute of Asian and African Studies; Oriental Studies; MSU Anniversary; Academic Research; International Academic Cooperation
The head of all secret services of the Chinese Communist Party, Kang Sheng (1898–1975), served as the deputy head of the CCP delegation to the Comintern and as a member of the Presidium of the Comintern Executive Committee (ECCI) from 1933 to 1937. However, until recently, little was known about his life in the Soviet Union, as his personal file, held at the Russian State Archive of Recent History (RGANI), was not accessible to researchers. Only now has it become possible to introduce readers to documents from this file, shedding light on Kang Sheng’s political and organizational activities during that period. The presented information is complemented by materials from the personal file of Kang Sheng’s wife, Cao Yi’ou, also housed at RGANI, as well as from a range of lesser-known collections at the Russian State Archive of Social and Political History (RGASPI), including the personal files of the CCP delegation head to the Comintern Wang Ming, his wife Meng Qingshu, and many other Chinese communists. All these documents indicate that Kang Sheng was not an independent figure in organizing repressions against Chinese communists working in the USSR. The leading role in such activities was undoubtedly played by Wang Ming, while Kang mostly served as his subordinate.
Keywords:
Kang Sheng; Wang Ming; Cao Yi’ou; J. V. Stalin; Moscow; Comintern; Soviet-Chinese relations
The article examines the features of the religious and intellectual activities of a group of reform-minded Muslim scholars (ulama) led by Jamal al-Din al-Qasimi (1866–1914) in Ottoman Syria at the end of the 19th century, as well as the reaction to their activities by conservative supporters of Islamic traditionalism (taqlid) and the Ottoman authorities. The key historical event in the focus of the study is the so-called The “Mujtahids Incident” of 1896, when al-Qasimi and a number of his supporters were summoned to a judicial instance in Damascus for a public trial of their religious views and academic studies, where they were forced to respond to accusations, made against them by the Hanafi Mufti, of disloyalty to the authorities and independent arbitrary interpretations of the Koran and Sunnah. The study and discussion of sacred texts in the circle of Jamal al-Din al-Qasimi became an occasion for attacks from conservative-minded ulama, who were afraid of competition from Islamic intellectuals who did not consider themselves obliged to unconditionally accept all the conclusions of one or another of the four madhhabs (religious and legal schools). And although the participants in the “Mujtahids Incident” managed to justify themselves to the authorities in 1896, in the future until the Young Turk revolution of 1908–1909 they could not openly declare that they were practicing ijtihad, i.e. independent formulation and clarification of Islamic religious and legal conclusions based on direct reference to the Koran and the Sunnah. Both the formal and informal influence of conservative ulama in Ottoman Syria during the reign of Sultan Abdul Hamid II (1876–1909) remained virtually undeniable.
Keywords:
The Ottoman Empire; Syria; Damascus; ulama; taqlid; ijtihad; traditionalism
In the article some features of the development of the territorial problem in Indonesia — Malaysia relations in the late XX — early XXI centuries are revealed, in particular the recent dispute over the islands of Sipadan and Ligitan is reviewed. The author emphasizes the importance of the issue for the development of bilateral cooperation between Indonesia and Malaysia and for the process of interstate border final delimitation in today’s conditions. In conclusion, the author attempts to identify possible ways to solve the problem taking into consideration its historical and legal background.
Keywords:
Indonesia; Malaysia; territorial disputes; boundary delimitation; the Sulawesi Sea; the International Court of Justice
The Bayero University Dictionary, published in 2006, is the first Hausa explanatory dictionary, compiled by a team of authors from the Center for the Study of National Languages of Nigeria, Bayero University in Kano. Unfortunately, the dictionary does not indicate the number of words, but the sheer volume of the dictionary — 502 pages — suggests that the dictionary provides interpretations of a large number of words, including those that are not recorded in earlier Hausa-English dictionaries. The dictionary explains new semantic neologisms that have emerged in the Hausa language over the past 30 years.
The second dictionary was created by Ayuba T. Abubakar, who worked on its compilation for more than 25 years and during the work consulted Hausa language scholars both in Nigeria and abroad. Unfortunately, this dictionary does not indicate the number of dictionary entries. It is interesting that the author provided each dictionary entry not only with an explanation of its meaning, but also with a large number of examples. For better understanding, excerpts from songs are also given, since some words are used only in songs. Particularly interesting and useful not only to linguists, but also to ethnographers and historians is the explanation of the various appellatives that the Hausa give to children along with names taken from the Koran. Most of these appellatives are not noted in other dictionaries. Both of these dictionaries are an important source of knowledge on the vocabulary of the Hausa language both for philologists involved in the study of Chadic languages and Hausa in particular, and for students of this language.
The paper analyzes the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economies of North African countries. The pandemic is shown to have had a significant impact on the economies of the countries in the region. Despite the decisive measures taken by the governments of the North African countries to limit social contacts in order to slow down the spread of the virus, the consequences of the pandemic have significantly slowed down economic and social projects and worsened the internal situation. The leading country in the region, Egypt, faced a high rate of spread of the coronavirus due to its densely populated population, but was best prepared for the financial and economic turbulence caused by the consequences of COVID-19. Morocco’s economy coped relatively painlessly with the COVID restrictions and showed good recovery growth rates. Algeria’s economy experienced slow economic growth on the eve of, during and after the pandemic. The worst impact of the pandemic was felt by the Tunisian economy, which was in deep stagnation at the start of the pandemic. The stimulus measures had a short-term effect and did not have a decisive impact on the Tunisian economy, which continues to show low rates of economic development. The graphs presented by the authors on the dynamics of total GDP and GDP at purchasing power parity clearly support the above conclusions.
Keywords:
pandemic; COVID-19; North Africa; coronavirus; economy
The “Pivot to Africa” officially proclaimed by the decision-making bodies of the Russian Federation is gradually being filled with specific content. Along with the propaganda discourse, the official and academic approach to the realities of African countries — potential partners is being updated, and the Russian Federation’s capabilities for developing dialogue with Africa are being clarified, taking into account the current state of international relations. The article, based on numerous publications in 2023, reveals the mutual influence of academic, propaganda and official discourse in the process of building a new policy of the Russian Federation towards African partners.
Keywords:
African discourse; turn to Africa/Pivot to Africa; Russian-African relations; African studies; Russia-Africa Partnership Forum; Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation; trade and economic turnover of the Russian Federation; propaganda discourse
The article examines the potential of the Russian language and cooperation in education as a source of Russian “soft power” in Nigeria. Today, Africa is becoming an increasingly relevant regional area of foreign policy of the Russian Federation. The spread of Russian “soft power” in Nigeria, one of the key states in sub-Saharan Africa, will promote national interests throughout the continent. Cooperation in education has proved to be a more influential source of soft power, while a number of difficulties accompanies the popularization of the Russian language in Nigeria. Russia’s lack of a strategy to form elites in Nigeria slows down the possibility of intensifying cooperation with this African state.
The phenomenon of the “new” novel in Swahili, which arose at the turn of the last and current centuries, can be considered as one of the highest achievements of modern Swahili literature. Among the writers who created and develop the “new” novel, we should first of all name the Tanzanian authors Euphrase Kezilahabi and Said Ahmed Mohamed and the Kenyans Kyallo Wadi Wamitila and Tom Olali. Their works reveal a number of similar features, one of which is the depiction of the current state of Africa and the whole world and the vision of their future.
The idea of this future as a catastrophe can be traced at different levels of the text, including the level of its “topography”, consisting of three main elements — the human world, the other world (as a rule, the underground world with obvious features of hell), and the world of the future. All these worlds closely interact with each other, thereby expressing the authors’ idea — humanity is persistently building (or has already built) hell on earth, which is destined for an exclusively apocalyptic future.
The authors see a possible way out of the situation in the joint efforts of those who are not indifferent to the fate of future generations, under the slogan of “unity in equality”. These joint efforts should be made in various areas — primarily in the dissemination of education, knowledge and creativity, creation instead of consumption, mutual support instead of the “laws of the wolf pack.” In this case, humanity can even again count on the support of higher powers — and the scenario of a possible future may not be so gloomy.
Keywords:
Swahili literature; “new” novel in Swahili; space in novel; symbol of the future
The first part of this article is dedicated to the problem of correlation between the categories of modality and subjectivity. The notion of modality is one of the most debatable in linguistics. The scholars tend to define the field of modality by listing the varieties of the modality meanings and group them around several conceptual centers. This article provides a comparative overview of existing classifications of the types of modality, as well as gives a working definition of modality that suits the aims of the current research. The modal meanings express an assessment of the status of the situation in relation to the real world, a subjective assessment of the content of the statement by the speaker, as well as its communicative intention. Based on the ideas proposed by E. Paducheva, we consider that subjective-modal meanings are located on the intersection of two semantic fields — modality and egocentricity/subjectivity, which allows us to interpret modality as an egocentric category. The second part of this work justifies the relevance of studying subjective-modal meanings in colloquial Egyptian Arabic. The analysis of real language examples illustrates such problems as: compatibility of different types of modality in one statement, attributing the possibility and necessity to the sphere of subjective modality, as well as the question of expressing modality in Egyptian Arabic by grammatical means.
Keywords:
types of modality — objective; subjective/speaker-oriented; illocutionary; semantic field of egocentricity/subjectivity; means of expressing subjective modality; colloquial Egyptian Arabic
The paper presents an overview of ultrasound and laryngoscopic studies which have gained ground in the last two decades and made a significant contribution to the understanding and description of the articulatory base of phonological features characteristic of African languages.
Ultrasound studies shed light on the peculiarities of click production and provided a comprehensive picture of the posterior constriction location during their articulation. The posterior constriction was shown to occur in various parts of the post-velar region depending on the type of click, which gave grounds to replace the notion of velaric airstream mechanism with the notion of lingual airstream mechanism. The studies also revealed the important role of the tongue root retraction as part of the rarefaction gesture, which is a key step in the production of clicks. Ultrasound studies shed light on the role of the tongue root and tongue body height in the production of the advanced tongue root contrast. The tongue root movement was shown to be an independent gesture, the difference in tongue body height during the production of the vowels of different harmonic sets being non-significant or inconsistent across vowel types and speakers.
Laryngoscopic studies have made a significant contribution to the understanding of the articulatory base of the advanced tongue root feature and the production of different phonation types. The laryngoscopic studies gave primacy in production of the contrast to aryepiglotto-epiglottal constriction while all the other mechanisms postulated before — tongue root position, the volume of the pharyngeal cavity and larynx height — are considered as parts of a synergistic system of laryngeal articulations. Laryngoscopic studies also shed light on the production of different phonation types including the so-called faucalised voice which has not been reported as a contrastive feature outside of Africa.
Keywords:
cooperation between universities; additional education programs; key methods; general theoretical and practical issues of teaching Oriental languages
A review of the book: Foreign Policy and Diplomacy of the Republic of Korea / M.P. Kukla, L.E. Kozlov, E.M. Ermolaeva, K.A. Pak, V.I. Voloshchak; under the general editorship of M.P. Kukla. Vladivostok: Far Eastern Federal University Publishing House, 2022. 252 p.
Keywords:
foreign policy; history of diplomacy; Republic of Korea; the ideological foundations of foreign policy
The article discusses the main stages of creating and implementing a strategy for building a green economy in the Republic of Korea. The directions of implementation of the principles of sustainable development and green growth in the leading sectors of the economy and the role of the state in this process are analyzed. The financial and institutional drivers of the green growth of the South Korean economy are determined. The goals, objectives, and targets for the implementation of the New Green Course in South Korea for the period 2020–2025 are given.
Keywords:
sustainable development; climate change; environmental protection; green economy; drivers of green growth; zero carbon footprint economy; energy efficiency
This article examines the economic policy in the last years of Park Chung-hee’s presidency (second half of the 1970s), ending the period of rapid economic growth and marking the transition to economic deregulation. The period under review is marked by significant political, social and economic changes. In Russian Korean studies, the process of transformation of the economic policy of the Republic of Korea at the turn of the 1970–80s is shown in insufficient detail. This work analyzes the political aspects of the transition from industrialization, built on the budget support of heavy industry, to deregulation of economic in the Republic of Korea during the last years of presidency of Park Chung-hee. Particular attention is paid to the role of economic management institutions in this transformation.
The article examines internal and external factors which South Korean economy faced in 1970s (including imbalances resulted from industrialization, 1970s oil shocks, etc.) as well as methods South Korean government utilized to deal with their consequences. The system for making key economic decisions and the discussion around economic policy measures, in particular the role of the Economic Planning Department, are analyzed. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of the stabilization measures announced by Park Chung-hee in 1979, which actually marked the transition to a neoliberal model of economy.
Keywords:
Republic of Korea; Park Chung-hee; economic policy; oil shock; 1970s; stabilization policy
The article examines the influence of Russian literature, in particular the short stories “Misery” by A.P. Chekhov and “Happiness” by M.P. Artsybashev on the work of Korean writer Hyŏn Jin-gŏn, who made a significant contribution to the formation and development of realism in Korean literature. It explores the intertextual interaction between the short story “A Lucky Day” written by Hyŏn Jin-gŏn in 1924 and the eponymous work written by Yi Mun-yŏl in the postmodern period in 1987.
In Korean literary circles, it is generally accepted that Hyŏn Jin-gŏn wrote his story “A Lucky Day” under the impression of A.P. Chekhov’s story “Misery”, borrowing both the theme and the narrative structure from the Russian writer. However, the authors of the article come to the conclusion that the above-mentioned story by Hyŏn Jin-gŏn has much in common with the story “Happiness” by M.P. Artsybashev which Hyŏn Jin-gŏn translated into Korean by himself. The motif of imaginary luck is the leading one both in the story “A Lucky Day” and in the story “Happiness”. And this motif is strongly associated with the phrase “Lucky Day” among modern carriers of Korean culture.
The authors of the article also note that Hyŏn Jin-gŏn’s story “A Luchy Day” can be directly compared in terms of tragedy with the story “Rickshaw” published a year later, in 1925, but not with the postmodern story “A Lucky Day” by Yi Mun-yŏl. In their opinion, this story by Yi Mun-yŏl, based on a deliberate reference to the story by Hyŏn Jin-gŏn, remains underestimated in the Republic of Korea, and its main advantage is not the spirit of tragedy, but irony.
Keywords:
Hyŏn Jin-gŏn; Yi Mun-yŏl; “A Lucky Day” short story; intertextuality; modern Korean literature
Joining research of the phenomenon of enantiosemy (auto-antonymy) in different languages of the world, the article deals with examples from fictional literature (including those found in Japanese language corpus), where one can observe auto-antonymy in the meaning of the verb kureru “give”. This is the first work exploring semantics of a Japanese lexeme from the point of view of enantiosemy. Based on analysis of usage of this verb as auxiliary we suggest there is a semantic shift, which leads to simultaneously existing benefactive and malefactive meaning, and also differently directed vectors of the act described by the verb (either “from within to outside” vs “inside from the outside” or “from the second or third person to the first person” vs “from the first person to the second or third person”). Results of the informant survey (60 people, aged from 18 to 45 and older) confirm existence of antonymous meanings and differently directed vectors of the act, depending on the semantics of the main verb and context, including grammatical context.
Keywords:
auxiliary verb kureru; benefactive meaning; corpus data; Japanese language; malefactive meaning; enantiosemy
The article investigates the biography and academic legacy of the famous Russian representative of classical Oriental studies Boris V. Miller (1877–1956). His life along with his scholarly and pedagogical activities reflected turning points in the history of linguistic, folkloristic, historical and ethnographic studies of the Iranian-speaking peoples of the Caucasus — Talysh, Kurds and Tats at the end of the 19th — first half of the 20th century. Professor B.V. Miller is remembered in the history of Oriental studies in Russia as a talented and highly motivated scholar who made a significant contribution to the development of Iranian studies, and as one of the founders of Iranian studies at Lomonosov Moscow State University.
Keywords:
Russia; Caucasus; Oriental studies; Iranian studies; Boris V. Miller
The Encyclopedia of Japanese Linguistics (Nihongogaku daijiten), published in 2018, is a new type dictionary concerning Japanese linguistics. The Encyclopedia of Japanese Linguistics, which was compiled over a long period of time from 2006 to 2018 by a collective of prominent native and world linguists, highlights the achievements of modern Japanese and world linguistics in compliance with modern approaches. This dictionary is the first Japanese dictionary in which new linguistic terms and description of the linguistic methods and terms are presented. The dictionary includes more than 800 dictionary entries and introduces almost all epochs and theories of linguistics as well as the most significant concepts of world linguistics from ancient times to the present. The Encyclopedia of Japanese Linguistics was preceded by “The Japanese Linguistic Dictionary” (1955) and “The Japanese Great Linguistic Dictionary” (1980). Both dictionaries were reprinted several times and reflected the achievements of linguistics at the time of their publication, but no longer meet the requirements of the contemporary time. It should be noted the appearance of a large number of new dictionary entries and the expansion of the list of personalities in The “Encyclopedia of Japanese Linguistics” on account of the description of new linguistic approaches. The dictionary also includes a number of appendices, which are described in the following review. Being a fundamental source of linguistics knowledge, the dictionary also makes a significant contribution to the development of Japanese lexicography.
This article demonstrates the current situation in the field of literary translation from oriental languages into Russian, providing an overview of the translated works from Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Persian, Arabic, Indian and Kyrgyz literatures of different eras — from antiquity to the present — in terms of their content and volume. In addition, it highlights the specific features of literary and artistic translation from oriental languages. For example, much thought should be put into translation of the realities that characterize the oriental cultures: in particular, specific idioms and exoticisms. The question is raised as to how far the translation should deviate from the original: should the translator make his product interesting for the reader or should it be as close as possible to the original text in terms of content. The above examples of difficulties in literary translation allow to conclude that oriental literature is quite sophisticated in its presentation to the Russian reader, and yet these translations show increasing popularity.
Keywords:
literary and artistic translation; oriental languages; translated text and original text; translation of realities; idioms and exoticisms
The article examines the change in the nature of bilateral trade between the EU and Turkey during the period of its stay in the Customs Union of European states, that is, from 1996 to the present. In the early years, a sharp aggravation of the deficit nature of trade for Turkey was expected. It is not surprising that the imbalance has softened somewhat in the subsequent period due to Turkey's gradual adaptation to new conditions and the effective use of new import opportunities not only to saturate the consumer market, but also for technological renewal of production. What looks paradoxical in many ways is the bringing of bilateral trade in the last few years to a balanced state and even some surplus in favor of Turkey. The change in the nature of bilateral trade, apparently, was the result of long-term factors. Firstly, there has been an "ennobling" of Turkish exports, understood in this case as a certain increase in the level of its manufacturability, although while maintaining a low share of the actual high-tech goods. Mobility is also important not only for Turkish exporters, but also for Turkey's European partners, who are very willing to take into account the new opportunities of Turkish partners in their import strategy. Secondly, the expansion of the EU due to the entry of economically weaker new members, close to the level of development of Turkey or even lagging behind it, trade with which is mainly surplus for the Turkish side. At the same time, Turkey's trade with the EU-15 countries, as before, remains scarce.
Keywords:
Turkey; EU; customs Union; the balance of bilateral trade between Turkey and the EU; changing the nature of trade between Turkey and the EU
The article considers the films of the popular Chinese film director Zhang Yimou, as a text of culture and in the context of the development of the Chinese film industry in today's global competition in the field of culture. The purpose of this article is to investigate the reasons for the popularity of Zhang Yimou's films both in China and abroad. With the help of a semiotic analysis of the cultural code and the functioning of ideology in the films under consideration, it was concluded that the success of Zhang Yimou's work was achieved due to different directorial strategies depending on the audience — Chinese and foreign. The article examines the use of cinematography as a tool of "soft power, with the help of which the famous Chinese director promotes world interest to the national history and culture, thereby implementing the state policy of revival China's authority on the international stage. Understanding the essence of culturally and socially important information encrypted with the help of cultural code in modern Chinese films is also important for improving effective intercultural communication skills.
Keywords:
Chinese cinema; Zhang Yimou; cultural code; traditional culture; ideology; national ideology; audience requests; strategy
The article deals with the analysis of folklore texts of the peoples from the Indonesian provinces of Papua (written down in the 1960s–1970s). ‘Folk Tales from Irian Jaya’ may be considered to be a relatively new material in comparison with the field-work by Wirtz and Nevermann done before WWII. The study focuses on the archaic features of these texts such as etiologism, totemism, the cult of ancestors, belief in spirits, etc. The article attempts to identify the key elements of the most ancient layers of folklore, which are undergoing inevitable changes in oral transmission and written fixation. On having analyzed the texts the author has come to the conclusion, that the innovations are made in order to include the Papuan part to the melting pot of the pan-Indonesian culture, but such later interpolations do not ruin the archaic elements. The study of Papuan folk tales is intended to contribute reconstruction of a more complete picture of the primary forms of Indonesian folklore and its evolution.
Keywords:
Papua myths; folklore of Papua; Papuans; Indonesian folklore, Indonesian Papua
This article is aimed at studying the childhood component in the works of Nima Yushij and his younger coeval Golchin Gilani (1910–1972). Both authors stayed at the origins of Iran’s “new poetry” (“še‘r-e now”), which demonstrated a break with the rules of normative poetics. This study addresses two interrelated aspects of the analysis. First, the matter is focused on the strategy of displaying memories of childhood, which form a frame of axes in the author's artistic world. Secondly, the artistic solutions of Nima Yooshij, embodied in his poems for children at the meaning and formal organization aspects, contributed to the formation of “new poetry” tools, since these poems could serve as a kind of creative laboratory for the poet. The article touches upon the little-studied area of scientific consideration of the "new poetry" in Iran, especially: the origins of the childhood theme in traditional Persian-language poetry; the role and functions of the childhood theme in the construction of the author's individual artistic world in the "new poetry"; figurative image fabric of children's feelings by the material of the early “new poetry” works in Persian. The childhood theme in the lyrics of the two authors is tightly connected with the theme of love for a homeland. The idyllic description of the homeland’s beautiful nature serves as a "portal" to the ideal world, and the author's landscape, imbued with the personal vision of the lyrical hero, is one of the methods for individualizing the artistic world in the "new poetry" poems.
Keywords:
"new poetry" in Iran; the theme of childhood; the theme of love for homeland; the individualization of the artistic world
The article is focused on the problem of language shift in Malaysian minority communities. The studies conducted by both local and foreign researchers on endangerment and maintenance of minor ethnic languages in Malaysia has been reviewed. Native languages of minority communities were divided into groups based on the ethnicity of their speakers: indigenous, creole and idioms of the immigrants. As a result of the analysis of the language situation in each selected group, three directions of the language shift among their speakers were identified: into Malay, English and Mandarin Chinese. The data obtained from this study contributes to the information about the reasons for language shift, which put minor languages into disadvantageous positions in the modern world.
Keywords:
language shift; minor languages; language policy; Malaysia; sociolinguistics
The paper describes the relationship between historical changes in syntactic coding strategies and the rules of co-referential deletion in the history of Western Indo-Aryan languages. It will be shown that the evolution from nominative-accusative to ergative type, and then a partial return to the nominative-accusative model of syntactic coding manifested itself not only in morphological marking and verbal agreement, but also in the domain of syntactic ergativity — the rules of clausal combination and co-referential deletions. The nominative-accusative strategy of syntactic coding was typical for Old Indo-Aryan period. In the Middle Indo-Aryan it was replaced by a “split” ergative one: sentences with perfective verbal forms were structured according to the ergative model. The Middle Indo-Aryan and the beginning of the New Indo-Aryan period show the most consistent features of morphological ergativity. In the course of historical development, the ergative strategy (S=P≠A) gives way to a neutral one (S=P=A), then a contrastive one (S≠P≠A), which in a significant part of Rajasthani nominal paradigms, as well as in Punjabi pronominal paradigms, was later replaced by accusative system of case marking (S=A≠P). Middle and early New Indo-Aryan languages demonstrated both the peak of morphological ergativity and various deviations from the classical accusative model of clause combinations and coreferential deletions. Later, with the transition to a contrastive and nominative-accusative system of case marking, the rules of clausal combination and coreferential deletions acquired a consistently accusative character. Middle and early New Indo-Aryan languages had one more feature of syntactic ergativity: the Agent in ergative construction was only a secondary figure in the sentence and could be easily omitted. In most modern Western NIA languages Agent omission is impossible.
The article is devoted to the study of one of the specific aspects of the development of the Persian classical ghazal as a structural and thematic unity with pronounced signs of poetic form. Compositional factors played a key role in the transformation of the ghazal. The techniques of decorating the beginning and ending of a poetic work were regulated by the norms of Arabic poetics borrowed by the Iranians. They were respectively designated by the terms ‘beauty of the beginning’ (husn al-matla‘) and ‘beauty of the ending’ (husn al-makta‘). Their use in Persian poetic practice had notable specificity in comparison with Arabic. The use of repetitive figurative and syntactic clichés to implement these techniques in the ghazal gradually turned into a generally accepted norm. Along with the principle of uniform design of the ending, there is also a basic fund of standard figurative-syntactic models and clichés that served as markers of the beginning of the ghazal. At each stage of its evolution, the ghazal interacted with various components of the genre system, gradually expanding the thematic range and the repertoire of standard beginnings. As a result of these changes, which are often not fixed by theoretical poetic treatises, but fixed in practice, the canonical appearance of the Persian ghazal arises. It was fundamentally different from the original prototype. After going through several stages of transformation, the ghazal turns into a genre form with a set of permanent structural features.
Keywords:
Persian classical ghazal; poetic form; standard beginning; genre cliché
The article is focused on the acceptance of Hindi as the official language of the Republic of India and the related problems of the status of other Indian languages, the constitutional design of the language policy at the stage of formation of the legal system of an independent state, the positions of various regional political forces on this issue and possible solutions to the issue of the official language. The article raises the question of the linguistic unity of multi-ethnic states without an absolute ethnic and linguistic majority. In this context the role of language in shaping the identity of social groups and its possible use as a mechanism of state control is important, as well as the reaction of various political groups and activists. The process of debate in the Constituent Assembly of 1949 is considered to be the starting point for the language policy of the new state, which determined the status of Indian languages for years to come. In this regard, the positions of the participants should be seen as an attempt by various regional forces to influence the language policy in the long term. The article estimates the languages that could claim the status of the official Indian language, their position in the country and society by the time of Independence, the arguments for and against their adoption. In this context the positions of Hindi in different states of India, which classified themselves as Hindi-speaking or non-Hindi-speaking, is very important.
Keywords:
India; Constituent Assembly; Hindi; official language; Munshi-Aiyangar formula; language conflicts
This article is devoted to the problem of differential object marking in the modern Amharic language. Differential object marking is a common phenomenon in many languages, when the choice of morphosyntactic design of an object is determined by the meaning of one or more features of the object noun phrase. One of the parameters of differential marking is the contrast between dependent and head marking. “In relation to sentence-level actants, dependent marking is the expression of the syntactic function or semantic role of the actant (object) using the case indicator with a noun phrase, and head marking is the expression of the syntactic function or semantic role of the actant using morphologically non-autonomous indicators of person, gender and number”, in the case of Amharic, there are object pronominal suffixes as part of predicate.
Keywords:
Amharic language; differentiated object marking; topical status; referential status
Non-verbal predication is one of the current trends in modern linguistics. The topic of non-verbal predication has recently received widespread development in functional linguistics, as has the typology of copulative constructions. Non-verbal predication means a non-standard method of formatting a predicate expressed by nominal parts of speech. With the clear predominance of finite verbal predicates in the Bantu languages, a special method of non-verbal predication is recorded. The essence of such predication in the Bantu languages is to mark the name with a certain indicator — copula. Sentences with a copula or with some grammatical element similar in function to the copula usually express the same range of meanings. Basically, these are sentences of two types: existential and equative or identifying. The article focuses on the ways of marking non-verbal predicates in the southeastern Bantu languages (Zulu, Shona, Sotho) and eastern Bantu languages (Swahili, Dabida, Kikuyu).
Keywords:
nonverbal predication; copula; nonverbal predicate marking; Bantu languages
The relevance of the topic is due to the fact that in the context of the expansion and strengthening of Russia’s ties with Africa, it is extremely important to analyze the experience of Soviet-African relations, to identify its achievements and miscalculations.
The political crisis in Kenya in the second half of the 1960s played an important role in the deterioration of Soviet-Kenyan relations. Тhe essence of the crisis was that in the first half of 1965 the struggle between the right and left wings in the Kenyan government and in the leadership of the ruling KANU party escalated. The leader of the left wing, Oginga Odinga, was ousted from the leadership of the country. He created an opposition party, the Kenya People’s Union, which under his leadership led an active struggle to change the course of the government. In 1969 Oginga was arrested and his party was banned. In parallel in 1967–1968 a fierce factional struggle within the ruling party of Kenya developed and reached its peak by mid-1969, when the leader of the right wing of KANU Tom Mboya was assassinated.
The political crisis in Kenya has found its rather detailed reflection on the pages of the newspaper Pravda. At first, the newspaper tried to create a positive image of the opposition among the Soviet reader, to show the progressive nature of its demands, and after the defeat of the opposition, its tone became more neutral in the interests of preserving relations with Kenya. However, not all aspects of the crisis were covered in Pravda.
Keywords:
Kenya; the political crisis of the second half of the 1960s; Soviet-Kenyan relations; Pravda newspaper; source studies
Studying colonial ideology, it is important to understand how, when and why Europeans accepted the idea that remote territories can and should be conquered, and the local population needs protection, guardianship and civilizing influence of the West. The mission of the white man, according to their unanimous conviction, was to establish and maintain civilization, just peace and order in the entire ecumene. The general desire for colonial acquisitions was closely connected with the changing economic views of most European countries. Thus, an ideology was formed that allowed the population of the Euro-Christian world to justify the crimes of colonialism. On the far outskirts of the Euro–Christian world, a state appeared that was the first to be freed from colonial dependence — the United States. The Americans abandoned the idea of a “civilizing mission” and replaced it with “democracy”. Initially, the United States did not combine exploitation with democratic principles. After the Second World War, the United States has no competitors left in the capitalist world. They abandoned the “Monroe doctrine” and put the entire non-capitalist world under their financial and economic control, and a significant part of it under political, military and ideological control. However, for such an extensive foreign policy agenda, another ideological motivation was needed. In its most generalized form, it can be described as the doctrine of “American world leadership”. It formulates the main super–task — the establishment and preservation of American hegemony in the world. Gradually, the term “liberal democracy” was introduced into practice. Regardless of the implementation of the standards of “liberal democracy”, the United States supports those regimes whose foreign and domestic political course meets American interests.
Keywords:
Europe; colonialism; USA; liberal democracy; Russia; China
The article is devoted to the BRICS Academic Forum, held on May 13–17, 2023 in Cape Town, the parliamentary capital of South Africa, which this year chairs the group of countries uniting Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The distinctive feature of the forum was that the first time after three years of pandemic restrictions, it was held not online, but “live”.
It is noted that although South Africa joined this group last, two years after its creation, and by many indicators it is “not equal” to its other members, it adequately represents the African continent in it. This was reflected in the main theme of her presidency — “BRICS and Africa: partnership for mutual accelerated growth, sustainable development and inclusive multilateralism”,
The article describes in detail the topics of the plenary meetings and sessions of the forum, the participation in them of a delegation of Russian academics, headed by the Chairman of the Board of the National Committee on BRICS Research V.A. Nikonov. At the end of the forum, a meeting of the BRICS Think Tanks Council was held, at which the report for the upcoming summit of the leaders of the five countries, to be held on August 22–24, 2023 in Johannesburg with the participation of the heads of 67 countries and international organizations, including 55 members of the African Union, was discussed and approved. Preparations for it are taking place actively, but for its successful implementation it is necessary to solve the problem that arose in connection with the provocation of the International Criminal Court, which issued an arrest warrant for the President of the Russian Federation.
Keywords:
Academic Forum; BRICS; South Africa; summit
In this paper, some morphological features of the Kyŏngsang dialect of the Korean language are studied. The adaptation of the story “The Little Prince” by A. de Saint-Exupery into the Kyŏngsang dialect was chosen as a text material. The paper establishes correspondences between the predicative endings and nominal particles of the standard Seoul language and Kyŏngsang endings and particles in the studied text. First, for a given pair of correlative endings, the frequency of replacing the standard ending with a dialect ending in the text of “The Little Prince” is determined. It turned out that only eight Kyŏngsang endings out of 32 studied completely replaced the standard counterparts — there was a total replacement. This indicates that the idiom of “The Little Prince” is mixed or «hybrid». Secondly, for a given pair of endings, the question of compositionality is investigated, i.e., the representability of replacing the ending through the replacement of atomic formatives that make up this ending. It turned out that 14 endings are compositional, 6 endings are not compositional, and 12 endings are compositional in a trivial way, since they consist of one formative.
Keywords:
Kyŏngsang dialect of the Korean language; hybrid dialect; morphology; grammatical lexicon of the Kyŏngsang dialect; compositionality
The article focuses on the main features of the spiritual life of Central Arabia in the first half of the 18th century including non-Islamic cults widely spread in Najd during the period before the rise of the first Wahhabi state. The study is based on works of the founder of Wahhabism Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab (1703–1792) including his personal correspondence and public messages as well as the historical works of early Wahhabi scholars. Its study became the basis for the reconstruction of the religious situation in this part of the Arabian Peninsula and its comprehensive analysis allows to conclude that pagan cults represented by different variations of fetishism were one of the main components of the spiritual life of these agricultural regions. In addition to that its significance was comparable to the traditional and deviant forms of Islam.
Keywords:
Arabian Peninsula; Najd; Al-‘Arid; religion; pagan cults; fetishism; Wahhabism
Terentii F. Shtykov, the conductor of the Soviet policy on the Korean Peninsula after the liberation of Korea, played a key role in the realization of his country’s interests. The USSR set the main goal of its policy on the Korean Peninsula to create a Soviet-friendly government, so that the Korean Peninsula would not fall under the influence of other powers that posed a threat to its security. T. Shtykov was at the forefront of achieving these political goals.
Since the establishment of the Provisional Government of Korea under the agreement between the USA and the USSR failed at the 2nd Joint US-Soviet Commission in 1947, the Soviet leadership sought a solution to the Korean problem through proposals such as the simultaneous withdrawal of US and Soviet troops. However, this plan had no choice but to be accepted as a justification for making the division of the country a fait accompli. Although T. Shtykov once considered holding a general election between North and South on population proportions in accordance of the US proposal, he was not sure that this would necessarily benefit his country. So when South Korea moved to establish a separate government, North Korea followed the same path. For T. Shtykov, the creation of a Soviet-friendly government on the Korean Peninsula, not socialist, but at least pro-Soviet, was a plan minimum.
Keywords:
Terentii F. Shtykov; North Korean state; USSR; USA; Iosif V. Stalin; Kim Il-sŏng; Pak Hŏn-yŏng; Cho Man-sik; “anti-custodial” forces; Joint US-Soviet Commission
In the article, the author explores the phenomenon of «Gathering Painting» kyehoedo in Korean traditional painting of the Chosŏn era (1392–1910). Within the genre of «Documentary Painting» kirokhwa, «Gathering Painting» has developed over the centuries as an independent artistic form, which had memorial significance and conveyed the intellectual and spiritual searches of Confucian scholars within the framework of a national corporate culture. Being a product of historical memory, kyehoedo painting reflected the socio-political context, showed certain forms of Korean everyday culture, described and explained the development of individual social groups.
The work analyses the source of kyehoe meetings of Confucian scholars that originate from the ancient associations of community members of the pre-state period. Over time, gatherings of intellectuals became an indispensable part of the life of an official in Korea, being one of the types of social relations within the bureaucratic elite, and a means of close ties intensification. The evolution of the meetings of intellectuals reflected their gradual institutionalization as a result of the strengthening of the neo-Confucianism positions in Korean society, which strived for definition and hierarchy not only in the structure of the state apparatus, but also in interpersonal relations.
The author traces changes in the composition and technique of kyehoedo paintings from idyllic landscapes, made in ink, to bright and detailed everyday scenes, and concludes that historical processes naturally led to transformation of typical plots and revision of aesthetic values of Korean officials, which mirrored their cultural needs and aspirations.
Keywords:
«Documentary Painting»; kirokhwa; «Gathering Painting»; kyehoedo; Korean traditional painting; Koryŏ; Chosŏn
This article presents a general historical outline of medieval Korea legal system formation in the period of 1392–1484: from the Chosŏn Dynasty foundation to the approval and publication of the most important source on the matter — the Great Code of State Administration, the “Kyŏngguk Taejŏn” of the year Ŭlsa. The unified code of laws was intended to become the basis for the design of a new socio-political system, the fundamentals of which were determined by the tasks of overcoming regional autonomy, centralization, and unification of government as well as concentration of economic resources under state control. The publication briefly outlines the main stages of the legislative codification and reflects on the main aspects of the domestic political development of the country that influenced this process. The main sources for the writing are, in addition to the Great Code itself, the True Records of the Joseon Dynasty — the main annals of Korea in the 14th–19th centuries.
Keywords:
History of Korea; Chosŏn; “Kyŏngguk Taejŏn”; history of law; sadaebu; hungup’a
This article is devoted to the broad question of the connection of synchronous epigraphic sources of the Chunqiu era on the history of ancient East Asia and those types of texts that were included as components in later complex texts. The examples of two inscriptions on bronze vessels show the emergence of two different traditions of self-referencing inscriptions: the tradition of royal inscriptions and the tradition of inscriptions of dignitaries of hereditary aristocratic clans. The example of the second type of inscriptions shows the origin of the plot core of that type of texts, which will later become a type of historical and literary narratives in Chun qiu zuo zhuan, which are sometimes called “anecdotes”. The research shows the similarity between the plot in the inscription and the general outline of events in the written monument. The article assumes the parallel development of two different traditions of texts arising from different types of inscriptions, these processes are linked to the development of two types of statehood in . The article also describes the successive stages of the genesis of tradition of narratives: from inscriptions on bronze of the 7th century BC through the inscriptions on bamboo of the Zhangguo era to the time to the antologies and complex texts of the Western Han era. Thus, we can conclude that there is a continuous chain of transmission of historical information from synchronous primary sources to complex narratives of the later historical tradition. Our research establishes a connection between the productive type of preservation of historical memory and the winning imperial model.
Keywords:
antiquity; history of China; sources studies; ancient texts; epigraphics; paleography; jinwen; political process; Chunqiu Zuozhuan; narratives
The paper explores the military industry development in the Ottoman Empire during the period of active reorganization of its armed forces and implementation of Western technical innovations (1826–1880). The paper scrutinizes the activities of the most important Ottoman industrial centers: the Imperial Arsenal, the Imperial Weapons Workshop, the Powder Workshop and the sewing factory. These centers provided all kinds of troops with the necessary supplies, producing cannons, small arms, ammunition and uniforms for military personnel. The multifaceted analysis of the Ottoman military transformations allowed to highlight a number of important research findings: first, the ambivalent nature of the reforms, which improved the technical equipment, but worsened the economic situation in the empire; second, the dependence of the Ottoman Empire on imports from Europe and America, which was relevant for all aspects of the military; third, the insufficient technical and economic basis for the reforms; four, the subordinate position of the Ottoman state relative to Western military-technical thought. Reformers found themselves trapped in a vicious circle, being forced to rebuild the whole industry from scratch for each new model of weapons created in Europe. Several unsuccessful attempts of organization of the military industry resulted in the degradation of the Ottoman military production and the beginning of purchases for the entire army. At the same time, the reformers did not take into account the expenses of the innovations. This practice contributed to both economic and political collapse of the Ottoman Empire.
Keywords:
Ottoman Empire; military industry; Ottoman weapons; military history; military reforms
The article analyzes the complex and tangled relationship between members of the military-political elite of Ottoman Egypt at the end of the 18th century. Based on the materials of the chronicle of the Egyptian annalist Abd al-Rahman al-Jabarti the article aims to reveal the principal motives for the murder of one of the key figures in the neo-Mamluk hierarchy — Emir al-Hajj Yusuf-Bek. At the same time, the author examines the role of Islamic religious leaders, namely the Egyptian Alim corps, in this notorious affair. As a result of the case study, a finding is made about the necessity of observing the norms of behavior set in the Egyptian society by holders of secular power towards the religious spiritual authorities.
Keywords:
Ottoman Egypt; power elites; Mamluk emirs; Emir al-Hajj; Egyptian ulama; Islamic religious leaders
The paper explores the development of Iranian-Turkish relations through the prism of Turkish press coverage of Reza Shah’s visit to Turkey from 10 June to 7 July 1934. The research is based on the content analysis of the flagship Kemalist media outlets — namely, the newspapers Akşam, Cumhurriyet, Hakimiyet-i Milliye and Son Posta. Founded at the turn of the late 1910s and early 1920s with the personal support of Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk), these newspapers became the mouthpiece of the ruling People’s Republican Party and an instrument of Kemalist political propaganda. The visit of Reza Shah Pahlavi to Turkey in 1934 became an important event in the history of Iranian-Turkish relations, which experienced in the 1930s a new stage in its development characterized by both the overcoming century-old confrontation legacy and the imperatives of modernization and Westernization. The state visit of Reza Shah and his meetings with Ataturk marked the course for establishing good neighborly relations and cooperation between Ankara and Tehran. The Kemalist propaganda, mixing the problematic issues of bilateral relations, played a significant role in covering these events and giving them an official solemn gloss. Although there is a number of publications analyzing the record-breaking visit of Reza Shah to Turkey, none of the well-known works attempted to analyze the events through the prism of Turkish press coverage and Kemalist propaganda’s activities. The content analysis of Turkish press revealed the mechanisms for creating a positive image of Iran, the ruling Shah and relations between Tehran and Ankara in an exclusively positive way using a variety of propaganda techniques. The state visit of the Iranian Shah became a manifestation for the policy of good neighborliness, set by the 1932 agreement between Turkey and Iran, and continued in the subsequent years.
Keywords:
Kemalist propaganda; Reza Shah Pahlavi; Turkey; Iran; Mustafa Kemal Ataturk
The present article based on local chronicles and diplomatic correspondence as well as on the accounts of European and Russian visitors to the khanate focuses on the issue of specific traits and evolution of courtly ceremonial and official titles adopted by the khans of Khiva in the 1st half of the 19th century. This source material supports the idea of the styling of Khivan rulers being deeply rooted into epic Iranian and Quranic traditions. The titles used equally reflect the polyethnic nature of the Qongrat khans’ authority, appealing to Turkic, Mongol, Arabic and Iranic elements.
Keywords:
The Qongrats; Russia; The Khanate of Khiva; Khwarazm; ceremonial; titles
The article deals with the situation of Antiochian Orthodox Church in contemporary Syria and Lebanon. With the example of Antioch Patriarch Theodosius’s reign the author makes an attempt to analyze the Patriarchate’s inner life as well as a set of external factors that had an influence on it. In the middle of the 20th century, the canonical territory of the Antioch Patriarchate became an object of intense rivalry between the Cold War blocs. The traditional competition between Damascus and Beirut is coupled with the emergence of the independent states of Syria and Lebanon, which leads to a church management crisis, which has repeatedly been on the verge of a split. At the same time, the Greek and Russian influence, which has a long history, is filled with a new content, becoming an internal factor in the life of the Orthodox community. The Lebanese region and the Greek party within the patriarchy had a pronounced pro-Western orientation, while the Syrian group was closer to an alliance with the Russian Orthodox Church and the USSR. Great value in the transformation of the patriarchate was played by “The Orthodox Youth Movement”, which by the end of Patriarch Theodosius’s reign had won key synodal positions and determined the pro-Greek bias in the external church relations.
Keywords:
Theodosius VI (Abou Rjaileh); Alexander III (Tahan); Patriarchate of Antioch; the Orthodox Arabs; Russia and the Orthodox East; Syria; Lebanon
The article deals with the period of the first monarch of the Western Han state — Liu Ban, better known as Han Gao-tsu (202–195 B.C.). This period is investigated in the context of collision of different paradigms of future development of the new Han Empire as the largest and longest-lasting state formation of the imperial type in ancient East Asia.
Keywords:
Han Empire; Liu Bang; political process; political struggle; centers of power; governance; social groups; political groupings
The paper discusses issues in the contemporary historiography of Telugu (Andhra) ethnonationalism as part of research on national movements and development of political consciousness of the peoples of independent India. The growth of religious and ethnic nationalisms, separatism and autonomous movements in the contemporary world has put forward the necessity of rethinking the above processes within the framework of ethnonational policies pursued by states. In the Republic of India whose 1.5 billion people speak 19.5 thousand languages and dialects and represent more than ten religions (including three world religions) as well as many religious beliefs, the problems of ethno-linguistic and ethno-confessional belonging get increasingly politicized as a powerful resource for regional and all-India political, economic, cultural and other elites. Authors of this paper discuss aspects of foreign and Soviet/Russian scholarly studies along the following lines: 1) nationalism and federalism within the all-India context (with a particular focus on South India); 2) the setting up of Vishalandhra and building it into India’s administrative territorial framework of the 1950s; 3) the Telangana movement, or the ‘Greater Andhra’ restructuring process.
The paper is dedicated to analysis of the problems of presenting the grammatical information in the text of ‘Dhātupāṭha’ which is treated by the Indian grammatical tradition as created by Pāṇini himself (V cent. b.c.) in the form of an ‘Appendix’ to his Sanskrit Grammar ‘Aṣṭādhyāyī’. Having shortly characterized certain historical problems associated with ‘Dhātupāṭha’, the author puts special stress on the fact that all the nowadays available versions of the ‘Appendix’ have reached us in presentation of the later commentators and grammarians, and thus the problem of Pāṇini’s authorship of the treatise is still remaining unsolved. The grammatical information found in ‘Dhātupāṭha’ and not quite consistently presented in it needs to be explicitly opened. That is why the most basic tenets of Sanskrit verbal grammar are — in the shortest way possible — explicated in the paper.- Thus, the paper is supplied with the data concerning verbs’ classification into 10 classes through the help of the so called “presence basis”; the roots are characterized in accordance with their correspondences with the grammemes of Active and Middle voices; the information on the so called “accentuation” in verbal roots and in forms produced from them and on the meta-lingual properties of Sanskrit tones is given; the principles of the distribution of the ‘Dhātupāṭha’ roots into 3 different groups (‘seṭ’, ‘ániṭ’and ‘veṭ’) in accordance with their interaction with the connective ‘-i-‘ are explained; the information concerning the meanings references applied to a number of roots in the ‘Dhātupāṭha’ is also provided. In conclusion, the devices of coding the grammatical information which has been important for ‘pāṇinists’ of all times and which is present in the treatise are explained through the help of the two illustrative samples extracted from one of the versions of ‘Dhātupāṭha’ (S.Katre’s).
The article examines the determining factors of the formation and development of one of the most acute disputes in the interstate relations between Indonesia and Malaysia, namely territorial dispute. The author turns to its origin in the historical past of the region. Based on the analysis of several agreements concluded between Great Britain and the Netherlands in the colonial era, the main reasons for the development of contradictions are revealed. Special attention is given to the problem of interpretation of the corresponding agreements.
Keywords:
Indonesia; Malaysia; territorial disputes; boundary delimitation; the Sulawesi Sea; colonial period
In the shadow of the Emergency declaration in 1975, the Indian government suspended a number of basic human rights including the freedom of conscience, peaceful assembly and association. Eventually it banned some 20 rightwing religious organizations opposed to the socio-political course of Indira Gandhi and attacked their leaders on the grounds of causing unrest, inciting religious riots and provoking communal violence. Though religious and sectarian groups tried to maintain a united front against the government, they lost that battle. As a result, various religious communities were predictably deprived of legal representation and protection at courts, which intensified the violation of human rights and highlighted a need of negotiation process between the government and respective leaders of Indian religious groups. The anti-secular onslaught shed light on the discrimination treatment of minorities, primarily Muslims and Sikhs. The initiation of a forced sterilization campaign of male population predominantly in Muslim areas along with demolition of slums with a large number of Muslim population revealed the glaring hypocrisy of Indian democracy based on the principles of secularism and inclusiveness.
This article examines the mid-1970s ban on a number of religious organizations in India and attempts to explore its influence on the Indian society in the subsequent decades. Currently, in the light of ideological confrontation between secularist forces and radical religious groups the study of the “dark” Emergency period implicates the importance of the constitutionally based principle of freedom of conscience and its implementation in real life.
Keywords:
India; Indira Gandhi; crisis of the 1970-s; emergency; religious radicalism; religious freedoms; secularism
Religious ceremonies of the Western Zhou era (1027–771 BC) are rarely the subject of research. The specificity of epigraphic sources of the epoch makes it possible to correlate their data with synchronous written sources and sources of a later time and restore a picture of the religious life of the society of the era studied. The author of the article based on the analysis of the content of inscriptions on bronze vessels of the early period of the Western Zhou era (1027–966 BC) highlights regular and occasional religious ceremonies, as well as their elements, such as ritual feasting, ritual drinking of wine, the instruction of van, various types of sacrifices. The study showed that some of the considered ritual ceremonies and their elements are found unchanged in the historical source “Chunqiu Zuozhuan” of the Chunqiu era (771–453 BC), and some have no analogues in the subsequent era.
Keywords:
Western Zhou; jinwen; epigraphics; religious ceremonies; ritual
Several Sufi shrines important for Iranian mysticism are located in the region of Khurasan. One of them is the mausoleum of shaykh Ahmad from Jam — a 12th-century Sufi mentor, also known as «Ahmad-i Jam». Ahmad’s circle of devotees burgeoned into a significant Sufi community of the region while his descendants maintained the shrine and enjoyed beneficial positions in Khurasanian state and society.
The article explains the main functions of Sufi center as a place for the joint religious rites, meetings and debates, where representatives of various movements could exchange religious experience. Based on the materials of Sufi hagiographies and correspondence, the author also attempts to assess the role of Islamic mysticism in the political events in the Middle East and investigate the relationship between the descendants of Ahmad-i Jam and the rulers of the 14th–15th centuries — the Karts, Tamerlane and his son Shahrukh. Special attention is paid to the role of the Jami shaykhs in the Tamerlane’s conquest of Khurasan and subsequent events.
This work continues the study initiated in the article “Hatra, Sasanids, and Arabs: Political History”. It focuses on references to the fall of the city of Hatra in Arabic verses and legends. A comparison of those references to the data of antique sources allows to supplement the picture of events. The war which led to the fall of Hatra (240 A.D.) began with an invasion of the region of Shahrazur by Arabs from the Ḳuḍāʿa tribal confederation. Although Muslim writers claim that the king of Hatra subsequently made an attack upon Southern Mesopotamia (Sawād) and captured a woman from the Sasanid family, those assertions appear false. Sasanid king Ardashir I Pabagan (225–240) put the blame for the invasion upon the king of Hatra, from whose possessions the Ḳuḍāʿites had arrived, and moved his troops against that city. After a month (or some more time) of siege, the Sasanian troops took Hatra employing a stratagem. That was reflected in a legendary story of a failed romance between Ardashir’s son Shapur (or a Sasanid general) and the Hatraean princess, who gave the city over to the enemies. As an extraordinary event, the fall of Hatra took root in the historical memory of the inhabitants of the Euphrates region and is mentioned by poets related to those places.
Keywords:
Sasanids; Arabs; Hatra; Ardashir I Pabagan
Recently Soviet studies of African history, as well as Soviet journalistic writing on Africa draw a significant attention of non–Russian historians. The image of Africa which was created by Soviet Africanists seems an obvious and easy subject to those who use post-colonial methodology. Soviet historiography of African history is usually characterised out of historical and comparative context, which prevents an analysis of its multi–layered and complex nature, as well as its historical transformation, its real achievements and its no less real limitations.
The article investigates the major tendencies and trends in Soviet historiography of African history in the context of major developments in world African studies. It analyses their trajectories and assesses them from the point of view of their contribution to the academic understanding of African history. It also defines the main stages of the development of Soviet historiography of African history from the late 1920s until the late 1980s and gives a short overview of its main schools, each with its different topics, approaches and sources.
The importance of this study derives from the fact that until now no comparative–problematic analysis of the Soviet historiography of African history has been done. A particular stress was made on its historical context, which helps to prevent a distortion of its image.
Keywords:
history of Africa; Soviet historiography; Soviet historiography of Africa
The period of king Injong’s reign (the second quarter of the 12th century) was specially chosen to describe the history of Koryŏ–Song relations. Active contacts between the Korean state Koryŏ (918–1392) and the Chinese Song Empire (960–1279) began in the 11th century. They developed in several directions. First, it was an exchange of diplomatic missions of equal status: in peaceful years, states exchanged one or two embassies annually, and merchants who had a certain freedom of action and did not depend much on the political situation sometimes brought messages from the Song. Trade exchange developed more actively, including the neighboring state of Liao (907–1125), with which the Song conducted indirect trade through Koryŏ. The last direction was mutual trips of Buddhist monks and the exchange of religious literature.
At the beginning of the 12th century, both states faced enormous difficulties in domestic politics: the uprisings of Lee Jagyŏm and Myoch’ŏn in Koryŏ, and Song Jiang and Fang La in Song. In addition, both states faced a serious external threat in the face of the Jin state (1115–1234), which in 1126 forced Koryŏ to recognize vassalage, and in 1127 tore off the northern territories from the Song, marking the beginning of the division into the epochs of the Northern and Southern dynasties. Song repeatedly asked Koryŏ to take its side against Jin, but the Korean king preferred to observe neutrality first, and then submit to the Jurchen state in order to avoid war. This attitude caused dissatisfaction with the Song government, but it had no way to influence the decisions of the Korean neighbor. Shortly after the final loss of the northern territories, the Southern Song practically ceased official diplomatic contacts with Koryŏ.
After arriving to India as a part of French East India Company mission and becoming de facto head of all French settlements in Asia, François Martin (1634–1706) chose a place for a future commercial post on the Hindustan peninsula coast, concluded agreements with local rulers concerning the ownership of this territory, and founded a settlement, which subsequently began to attract thousands of Frenchmen. Among them were both the trading company employees and ordinary people willing to shift from cold Europe to comfortable tropics. As a result, Pondicherry turned into the most famous French colony in India, and François Martin’s name became part of the history of French colonialism. Throughout 30 years of his service for the French East India Company, François Martin was keeping a diary; after more than two centuries, in 1931, it was published in France as a three-volume edition. In his ‘Mémoires’ Martin introduces in detail the milestones of establishing the French trade system, the sea voyages to Madagascar and further to Asia, discusses the performance of other European companies in Hindustan, describes local princely states and their interaction, and presents his assessment of the achievements of the French on the peninsula. Based on primary sources that have never been used by Russian Indologists, the article focusses on the role of François Martin in setting up strategically important French territories in South Asia at the turn of the XVIII century.
Keywords:
colonialism; French India; Pondicherry; Francois Martin
In the 2nd and 3rd century A.D. the rulers of the city of Hatra (Northern Irak) bore the titles of kings of ʿrb, where ʿrb denoted lands between Euphrates and Tigris rather than Arabs. However, Arabs dwelt in those places too and preserved memories of tribes from the Ḳuḍāʿa confederation staying there. The course of Hatra’s history was largely determined by Emperor Septimius Severus (193–211)’ two failed attempts to capture it, in 198 and 199. Considering the Roman threat, the rulers of Hatra applied to Parthian Arsacids for protection. Parthian king Valgash (Vologeses) V (190/91–207) granted the ruler of Hatra his protection. The rulers of Hatra became vassals of the Arsacids and had to assist them, including by military force. Due to that, the ruler of Hatra fought in 225 on the Parthians’ side against the Sasanids, who, in their turn, attempted to capture the city, yet, with no success. After the Arsacids’ downfall, the rulers of Hatra became allies of Rome. Then the Sasanids undertook another campaign against Hatra and finally took it (240). Shapur, son of Ardashir I, the founder of the Sasanid empire, took part in that campaign. Since Shapur was then co-ruler of Ardashir, the capture of Hatra is often described in Oriental sources as an achievement of his reign.
Keywords:
Sasanids; Arabs; Hatra; Ardashir I Pabagan
Basing on the documents from the investigation file, the paper displays the life of the famous actress of the Japanese Theatre and Cinema - Okada Yoshiko. Together with her beloved man - Sugimoto Ryokichi (who was the member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Japan), she crossed the Soviet-Japanese border in Sakhalin Island in 1938, hoping to start a new happy life in the Socialist country. Instead, they were immediately arrested and forced to “admit” that they came to the USSR with the spying purposes. After about a year Sugimoto war judges and shot, and Okada was sentenced for 10 years in the concentration camps. Nevertheless, she was not broken down, she managed to survive, come to Moscow and start working on the State Radio and for some Moscow theatres.
Keywords:
USSR; Japan; NKVD (the People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs); Okada; Sugimoto
The present article is a further extension of the authors’ previous publication dealing with the main milestones in the development of the Department of Near and Middle East History during the years of Soviet power. This part of the study covers the range of issues relating to the functioning of the staff of the department from the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 to the present day. The challenges faced by domestic higher education and Oriental studies in the post-perestroika period are described, as well as the characteristics of the departmental leaders who were able to ensure the consistent development of the department in the new realities of a rapidly changing world. A considerable part of the article is devoted to the analysis of academic and pedagogical activities of the Department’s teaching staff at the present stage. The members of the Department actively and fruitfully work on creation of new high-quality training programs for Orientalists specializing in the history of the Middle East, making a significant contribution to training and education of Orientalist specialists at Moscow University, and promoting Oriental studies and historical science in general.
Keywords:
Moscow University; Institute of Asian and African Studies; Higher Education in Oriental Studies; Oriental Studies; Near and Middle East
The article is dedicated to the 90th anniversary of Dega V. Deopik, Professor, PhD in History, whose brilliant research and educational work is closely related to the Institute for Asian and African Studies of the Moscow State University. The article dwells upon major fields of his research activity in oriental studies. Nevertheless, the scope of his academic interests is much wider, it embraces archaeology, ancient history and culture, origin of writing in the Eastern Asia, etc. In the article a special attention is given to the Vietnamese studies, his first and for long major special field, and also to his works on countries and peoples of the South-East Asia as well as ancient history of the Eastern Asia, so called Old China. Mentioned are his achievements in studying epigraphic artifacts and medieval chronicles and also development and implementation of quantitative methods in oriental studies. It is emphasised that Dega V. Deopik is also a distinguished teacher, research advisor and lecturer.
Keywords:
anniversary; 90th anniversary; Dega V. Deopik; history; oriental studies; quantitative methods; educational work; ancient history; medieval studies; archaeology; epigraphy
This article is devoted to rethinking the understanding of creativity - zuo in the treatise of Wang Chong (c. 27 - 100 AD) “Discourses in the Balance” (Lunheng), which is a logical continuation of the ideas of some of his predecessors. The article draws attention to the peculiarities of the philosopher's literary thought and compares them with the ideas of Yang Xiong (53 BC - 18 AD) from the treatise Exemplary Speeches (Fayan). The main provisions of Wang Chong's literary thought are revealed on the basis of an analysis of the chapters from “Discourses in the Balance”, which the philosopher wrote to fight works that were incorrect, from his point of view. Thanks to a scrupulous examination of such works, the philosopher managed not only to generalize the important thoughts of his predecessors in relation to literary creativity, but also come to many new discoveries that were successfully developed by subsequent literary theorists. The philosopher understands literature - wen quite broadly and includes in it those types of written creativity that during the next era will be excluded from the concept of wen. The thinker himself does not believe that wen means in general everything written in hieroglyphs, and therefore excludes matter-of-fact reports from wen, which is carried out by local officials. Wang Chong assigns a separate place to odic poetry in the wen system and even places a partial emphasis on the aesthetic function of literature. He considers discourse - lun to be a standard of wen, to which he refers his own treatise. The thinker puts forward certain requirements for the style of reasoning and observes them himself throughout the entire treatise, turning it, on the one hand, into a theoretical work, and on the other, into a practical one, on the pages of which this theory is embodied.
Keywords:
literary thought; theory of literature; Discourses in the Balance; creativity; Wang Chong
This article discusses various approaches used in describing the Chinese language basic unit of grammar. The problems faced by Chinese linguists along this path are due to the typological features of the Chinese language, where the word plays a peripheral role in the system, therefore units of all levels, from morpheme to sentence, were promoted to the status of the basic unit of the language in different periods. One by one we introduce problems, faced by Chinese linguists, as they are described in the most important works, along with the solutions they offer depending on the dominant theory of the linguistic history period. It shows how the views of scientists on the structure of the Chinese language and the choice of the basic (structural) unit of its grammar has been shifting due to the expansion of scientific knowledge about the typological features of languages. In contrast to previous periods, when a single view of the basic unit of grammar prevailed in linguistic research, today theories tend to pluralize. At the present stage, the search for ways to represent the Chinese language without the templates, developed with Western languages and European linguistics, has led to the emergence of several original concepts, hardly known to the Russian-speaking audience. The unsolved problem of defining a word, the difficulty of distinguishing units at the syntactic level in Chinese led to proposition of а sentence (clause), a syntagma (word group) and a character (taken on a new meaning) as the basic unit of the language structure. The validity of these approaches usually domestically described as those with Chinese characteristics requires discussion in the scientific community outside China and should be proofed or at least validated on a wide range of language concepts.
Keywords:
Chinese language; grammar of the Chinese language; fundamental units of grammatical structure; basic unit of language; syntactic unit
The article focuses on the analysis of elements of spoken language in Japanese commercials. Japanese colloquial speech is a structure that significantly differs from codified language which is reluctant to adopt any sort of change. Some of colloquial speech elements may even appear in other functional styles. The article describes main characteristics of Japanese colloquial speech in commercials seen on four language levels: phonetic, lexical, morphological and syntactic. It also examines primary tendencies applicable to these levels, and attempts to give possible reasons for usage such elements.
Keywords:
Japanese language; colloquial speech; levels of colloquial speech; language of commercials
The article analyzes the understanding of agentivity by Japanese linguists both during the historical formation of this concept and in the context of the current functioning of this semantic category in the Japanese language. Agentivity is an important linguistic universal that influences the formation of both deep and surface syntactic structures, ultimately determining the characteristics of any linguistic structure. The current level of linguistic knowledge about how agentivity is represented in the Japanese linguistic discourse could be considered as insufficient; it does not provide a systematic understanding of the features of the Japanese perception of agency, even though the structure of the hierarchical relations of semantic and syntactic actants with the predicate in the Japanese language determines the functioning of all key grammatical categories. An array of Japanese-language and partly English-language works has been studied for more than 100 years, from the end of the 19th century to the end of the 21th century to perform several tasks: to determine the essence of the concept of “agency” in Japanese terminology; to identify and systematize the linguistic phenomena described by Japanese linguists to be determined by the agentive characteristics of the event participants; to clarify the significance of agentive features for various grammatical categories. It has been found that Japanese linguists are unanimously of the opinion that Japanese tends to exhibit low-agent properties which are expressed in the structure of Japanese voice, in the system of Japanese polite verbs, in the case marking of actants, in desiderative and potential constructions, etc. As further prospects for study, we see the investigation of Japanese-language linguistic papers on the role of agentive features in the formation of Japanese vocabulary and further systematization of agentive characteristics in the morphosyntactic aspect.
Keywords:
agentivity; transitivity; agent; Japanese syntax; subject-predicate relations
The history of the missionary movement in India was reflected in various types of sources: both in official documents and in letters from Church ministers. These texts contain unique information about the region and, at the same time, allow us to imagine the perception by Europeans of the image of the “other” - the pagans, the antipodes of the Christians. An example of such sources can be materials related to the name of Pastor Bartolomäus Ziegenbalg, who headed the Lutheran community in Southern India at the beginning of the XVIII century. The texts compiled by Ziegenbalg clearly show the division of the entire Tranquebar society into three large and specific groups: Christians (Christen), Muslims (Mahometaner / Mohammedaner / Muhammedaner) and pagans (Heiden). At first glance, the main criterion in this division turns out to be the religious factor, and the characteristic of the inhabitants of Hindustan is built according to the bipolar principle typical of early forms of thinking: “we” (Europeans, carriers of true knowledge and genuine culture) and “they” (ignorant pagans, barbarians). On closer inspection, the situation seems more complicated. Ziegenbalg’s critical attitude towards local European Christians creates a distinct effect of a certain detachment of the mission servants and their flock from Christening. The pastor introduces the concepts of “new Christians” and “old Christians”. The new ones are those who join the community from among the pagans. The old Christians, as expected, mean European Christians living in and around Tranquebar.
Authors consider interaction of factors of Tuareg nationalism/ separatism and Islamist radicalism/jihadism in Mali. They show the influence of the Arab Spring on the development of the processes of growth of Islamist radicalism and Tuareg separatism in the northern regions of this country. Authors analyze the fourth Tuareg uprising, the Islamist revolution in Azawad that took place in the summer of 2012, the Islamist offensive in southern Mali in 2013 and its impact on relations between Bamako and Tuareg nationalists, as well as a new jihadist offensive in recent years. It is concluded that the central government of Mali and the Tuareg nationalists again turn out to be situational allies, since they now face one main enemy that threatens the existence of both the Malian state and potential real Tuareg autonomy, Azawad - Islamist jihadi radicals.
Russian Freemasonry in China - an extremely interesting phenomenon, it was markedly different from the Masonic lodges of the Western Diaspora of Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Hong Kong. There was no specific “Russian” Masonic lodge in China, Freemasonry among the natives of Russia in the 1920-1930's turned into an arena of political struggle and mutual accusations, the opposition of conservative, monarchist, socialist and other ideas. It also turned out to be closely connected with moral and esoteric quests, intertwined with Roerichism and mysticism. Another feature was that, unlike Westerners, Russian Freemasons have never raised the question of the possibility of participation of the Chinese in the activities of the lodges, or on cooperation with the Chinese administration. Russian Freemasonry and the parallel anti-Masonic movement lived their own, active, but closed life. Accusations of Freemasonry were a traditional way of settling scores between various Russian groups, and the term “Freemason” became a formula for accusations of the worst sins. The Sungari Lodge in Harbin was founded on the wave of the opening of new Masonic organizations across northeast China on July 5, 1928, and operated for twelve years. In opposition to Freemasonry among the Western diaspora, which was not painful to discuss, was not politicized and did not serve as an arena for clashes between various groups, Russian Freemasonry in China was closely related to the search for new meanings of transformation of society, the discovery of “friends” and “enemies”, and it reflected the deep debate in the Russian émigré environment.
Keywords:
China Freemasonry; Russian Diaspora in Harbin; Roerichism; ideological discussions
This article is devoted to the 120th anniversary of the birth of the outstanding scientist Alexander Andreevich Guber. This is a tribute to the memory of his life and activities associated with Moscow State University, with the IVYA at Moscow State University, where he taught courses on the history of Indonesia for the first time and made great efforts to found a new department of the history of the countries of the Far East and Southeast Asia, the head of which he remained until the end of his days.
Keywords:
Alexander Andreevich Huber; academician; Founder of the National Historical Science of the Study of Southeast Asia in USSR
In the XVIII century, the first Lutheran priests arrived from the Saxon city of Halle to the south of Hindustan, in the city of Tranquebar. As employees of the Danish Royal Mission, they worked among pagans, studied their languages, translated texts of Holy Scripture and other Christian literature into local languages, printed these translations in the printing house they established, and taught local children in schools. They regularly sent detailed reports on their work to Germany. In addition to information about the God-pleasing activities of Lutheran pastors, these reports contained detailed information about the region: natural and climatic conditions, political structure, daily lives of the local population, religion and cults, etc. The first years of the mission’s existence in Tranquebar, the main work was conducted under the leadership of Pastor Bartolomäus Ziegenbalg (1682–1719), who lived in India from 1706 until 1719. In this article, the missionaries’ reports, most of which were compiled by Ziegenbalg, and his letters from India are used as the main sources. The key problem to which the article is devoted is the understanding of the Indian institute of caste by European settlers of the beginning of the XVIII century. The missionaries made attempts to interpret the caste system, comparing it with the traits of the social organization of Europe familiar to them. They did not fully understand the nature of caste and caste ideology. However, they considered the existence of the caste system as the main obstacle to the spread of Christianity in India.
The article is focused on a problem of the role of European prisoners of war interned in the concentration camps of Turkestan during the First World War, in the events of the Civil war in Central Asia. The problem considered in the article has not yet been researched in historiography. Both the materials of Soviet documents and the memoirs of participants in those events in English, French and German were used as sources. The problem of the place of prisoners of war in the recent history of Central Asia was considered both in the context of the regional events of the civil war and in the international context. The sources published in the collections, as well as documents from the archives of the Russian State Archive of War and Peace. The main type of sources in the process of writing the article were the memoirs of foreign prisoners of war, as well as eyewitnesses to the events of those days. In this case, the corpus of narrative sources allowed in the process of disclosing the problem to fill a number of gaps associated with the formality and informative paucity of documentary sources.
Keywords:
prisoners of war; Turkestan; Germans; Soviet power; Basmachi
The article considers the milestones of evolution of the Department of Near and Middle East History since its establishment within the Faculty of History of Lomonosov Moscow State University and up to the collapse of the USSR. The research is based on the analysis of scientific and pedagogical activities of prominent Soviet professors and scientists who worked at the department and considerably influenced the development of Russian Oriental Studies within the walls of the Moscow University. During the existence of the Soviet state the teaching staff of the Department worked actively and effectively on creation of new quality curricula and training programs for oriental studies, development of innovative lecture courses and corresponding textbooks taking into account the latest trends and tendencies in teaching. This helped to provide the Soviet generation of students with a sufficiently complete understanding of the historical development and current state of the socioeconomic and cultural life of the countries and regions under study. The scientific life of the Department during the Soviet period was characterized by a gradual shift in the focus of research interests of its staff from topics describing the national liberation struggle of the peoples of the Near and Middle East against colonial oppression, the history of the labor movement, the activities of communist parties and trade union organizations, towards the issues of civilizational development of the East, the ways of development of the nations in the context of the bipolar world, etc. The most significant polemical subjects were reflected in the capital scientific works of the Department, which over time acquired a more diverse and analytically profound character.
Keywords:
Moscow University; Institute of Asian and African Studies; Higher Education in Oriental Studies; Oriental Studies; Near and Middle East
This article is an attempt to re-construct the political biography of Iyās Ibn Ḳabīṣa, one of the chieftains of the Arabic tribe of Ṭayyiʾ, who was at the service of the Sasanids in the late 6th and the early 7th centuries. In the mid-6th century Banū Ṭayyiʾ were included into the sphere of influence of the Lakhmids, the rulers of al-Ḥīra and vassals of the Sasanids. Iyās quickly made his way up and in 578/9 was the interim governor of al-Ḥīra while the Sasanid king was busy selecting a new Lakhmid ruler. Later on, Iyās was involved in war against Byzantium at the north-western borders of the Sasanid empire. An important episode of Iyās’ career took place in 591 when Iyās and his fellow tribesmen assisted Sasanid king Chosroes II (591–628) in fleeing from the rebellious general Warahrān Chūbīn. Apparently as a reward Chosroes appointed Iyās his governor of ʿAyn al-Tamr. Iyās, formally inferior to the Lakhmid king in rank, behaved rather independently and even could threaten the latter with an armed clash. Following the dismissal of al-Nuʿmān III, the last Lakhmid king (579–601), Chosroes appointed Iyās governor of al-Ḥīra (602). Iyās was able to consolidate his power, but in the same year lost the battle of dhū Ḳār. Fearing punishment, he misinformed Chosroes about the outcome of the battle and fled. Chosroes dismissed Iyās and discontinued the practice of appointing Arab rulers of al-Ḥīra.
Keywords:
Iyās Ibn Ḳabīṣa; Arabia; Sasanids; Lakhmids; al-Ḥīra
The article explores the role of Sanjay Gandhi (1946–1980) in socio-political and cultural life of contemporary India and traces the roots of his “personality cult” in the society. Though over forty years have passed since his death, the controversy surrounding his figure does not subside even today. In India a number of public facilities boast Sanjay Gandhi’s name and his controversial persona often becomes the subject of populist rhetoric of political parties, news reports, as well as the prototype of characters in fiction. Sanjay Gandhi entered the Indian politics in the notoriously famous mid-1970-s marked with the declaration of national Emergency. In order to gain more political influence, he started strengthening the Indian Youth Congress — the youth wing of the Indian National Congress party. Simultaneously Sanjay Gandhi gathered a clique of his personal advisers, some of whom were important politicians from different states of the country. They were the ones who implemented into life Sanjay Gandhi’s socio-political programs including the family planning and city-beautification projects etc. But nowadays, too, the name of Sanjay Gandhi evokes mixed feelings in the Indian society. Different political parties, including the Congress, continue to blame him for the excesses of the Emergency. This article is an attempt to study the phenomenon of Sanjay Gandhi’s “personality cult” through tracing its history, identifying the factors of its formation, and giving some examples pertaining to the “cult”.
Keywords:
India; Sanjay Gandhi; Indira Gandhi; crisis of the 1970-s; emergency; propaganda
The article consists of two blocks: in the first block, based on the analysis of original documents, the evolution of the formation of an alliance under the auspices of the United States between Israel and the Arab countries that acceded to the Declaration on the Accords of Abraham is considered. The second block contains an assessment of the positive and unfavorable consequences that may manifest themselves in the Middle East in connection with the formation of new political realities. The authors consider that “normalization” plan’s main goal is the weakening of the role of Russia and China while maintaining US influence in the region. The United States failed to draw its Middle Eastern allies into the anti-Russian front: the Arab monarchies, Egypt and Israel ignored Washington’s insistent calls to impose sanctions against Russia. A consensus has formed among US Middle Eastern partners that does not imply active US involvement in regional politics. This consensus is clearly manifested in passive support for Russia and increased business ties with China. According to authors, given the continued potential for conflict in relations between the Arab world and Israel, on the one hand, and Iran, on the other, Russia could play the role of a mediator, using the accumulated baggage of positive cooperation with these countries. We believe, it seems important to use in the region both the capabilities and experience of Russian diplomacy and the domestic foreign economic potential. The consolidated recommendations presented in the article are based on Russian foreign policy interests.
In October 2014, mass protests began in Ouagadougou, triggered by the constitutional reform in Burkina Faso, which suggests the possibility of extending the term of the incumbent President Blaise Compaoré in power and his nomination in the 2015 elections. The parliamentary meeting to consider the constitutional amendments was scheduled for October 30, and on the same day the representative of the protest movement Emil Pargi Par announced that “a Black spring is announced in Burkina Faso, similar to the Arab spring”. The references to the events of the Arab spring by the Burkinan protesters are not accidental – the Arab protests of 2011 really played a big role in the dynamics of socio-political instability around the world, acting as a kind of trigger for a global destabilization wave. In this regard, it seems relevant to study the forms and methods of the influence of the events of the Arab spring on the Black spring in Burkina Faso.
Keywords:
Arab Spring; Black Spring; Burkina Faso; couvolutions; army; political instability
Hawdha Ibn ‘Alī al-Ḥanafī, chieftain of the Arabic tribe of Banū Ḥanīfa, is a notorious person in the history of Arabia of the late 6th and the early 7th cent. This article is an attempt to re-construct his political biography. It can be traced fr om the late 6th century when Hawdha, probably pursuant to an agreement with the Lakhmids, protected Sasanid caravans as they travelled through Yemama wh ere Banū Ḥanīfa dwelt. An important turning point took place when one of those caravans was captured and plundered by Arabs from the Banū Tamīm tribal confederation. Hawdha gave shelter to the caravan men and the guards and then took them to Ctesiphon. Sasanid king Chosroes II (591–628) bestowed Hawdha with a crown and a brocade garment. This probably means that Hawdha was appointed a local king, vassal of the Sasanids. Later on, Hawdha acted on behalf of the Sasanids. He was involved in the massacre of the Banū Tamīm at al-Mushaḳḳar (end of the 6th or beginning of the 7th century) and then provided Chosroes II with information on the affairs in Arabia and protected Sasanid caravans. After the dethronement of Chosroes II in February 628 Hawdha began to establish ties with Byzantium, yet that was interrupted by his death in 629 or 630.
Keywords:
Hawdha Ibn ‘Alī; Arabia; Sasanids; Lakhmids; al-Mushaḳḳar
The article centres upon the second period of life of Johann Gericke, the pioneer of Dutch Javanology. His works influenced a lot on development of this branch of Dutch Oriental studies. He was not the only specialist in this area, but it was he who laid the foundation stone of it. By force of circumstances (which are observed in this article) he became the key figure conditioning its progress. From the point of view of his authorities at the Netherlands Bible Society he should have concentrated mainly on finishing the Javanese translation of the New Testament. But Gericke himself thought it more to the point first to complete two tasks. The first task, a literary one, was to prepare the publication of Sěrat Wiwaha Jarwa (1778), a modern Javanese version of Arjuna Wiwaha (c. 1030 AD), a literary classic paving the way for studying the Javanese literary classics. The second task, a linguistic one, was to finish compiling the Great Javanese-Dutch Dictionary. These goals met resulted in shaping of the corpus of academic Javanology.
Keywords:
Indonesian studies; Javanese studies; classical oriental studies in Russia; biographies of scholars
This work examines the Islamic political movements in Algeria from its independence in 1962 to the end of the Civil War (1992–1999). The author argues that the examined period is divided into two parts: before and after the legalization of multiparty system in 1989. The author highlights the characteristics of existing organizations representing political Islam: structure, strategy for achieving their goals, and relationship with the state. Special attention is paid to the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), as the first mass Islamic organization that had a deep impact on the future of religion in Algeria’s political life. The comparison of two stages is made as the conclusion: both common features and differences are presented.
Keywords:
Political Islam; Algeria; Algerian Civil War; history of XX century Algeria; political history
The article is dedicated to the foreign policy approaches and principles that were characteristic of Islamist organisations of Pakistan at the end of the XXth century (this, second part of the article, covers the 1988–1999 period). It has been ascertained that the partnership between Islamist forces and the Pakistani leaders, established by both sides in domestic politics, led to a specific perception of foreign policy by Pakistani Islamists, who were pursuing the most compelling topics while at the same time staying in line with the general course set by the Pakistani government. The most significant among these topics are apparently setting Pakistan against India and calling for Pan-Islamic solidarity, of which Pakistan was deemed to be a stronghold. The aforementioned views often intertwined, which is obvious from Pakistani Islamists’ attitude towards the Afghan conflict, their support for Muslim separatism in Kashmir and their contacts with Indian counterparts. The main principle that Pakistani Islamists have been following while developing their approaches towards global politics is formulating foreign policy priorities according to inner policy needs.
The present article is focused on the historical role of the Idrisi Sharifs — the most ancient and numerous clan of the descendants of the Prophet Muhammad, who founded the first Moroccan state in the VIIIth century. After the collapse of the Idrisids the descendants of the Idrisi rulers had to live in the backstage for centuries and didn’t play any significant role in socio-political life of the Islamic Far West. However the rule of the Marini dynasty (1269–1465) became a turning-point for the Idrisi Sharifs: the Marini Sharifian policy based at the promotion of Sharifism led to the resurgence of the Sharifian cult. Since that moment the Idrisi Sharifs gained a privileged position in society and became an essential part of urban and rural elites in Morocco. Since the XVIth century Morocco saw the raise of the Sharifian dynasties — the Saadians (1511–1659) and later the Alawis (1631–present time). These dynasties took legitimacy from their noble descent from the Prophet (sharaf). The most ancient and powerful Sharifian lineages obviously had to adapt themselves in this new situation. The aim of this paper is to explore the character of the relations between the Idrisi Sharifs and the first Alawi monarchs. Basing on the Moroccan chronicles and hagiographic works the author analyses the dynamics of interaction between the Idrisi families and the Alawi sultans at the moment when they came to power and during the first century of their rule. The analysis shows that the Alawi monarchs realised the supreme position of the Idrisi Sharifs and didn’t seek to undermine their influence. Instead of this, the rulers developed a well-balanced policy towards the Idrisis which allowed them to turn the most powerful and popular Sharifian groups into the allies of the throne.
The article examines foreign policy settings that Islamist parties of Pakistan developed during the last three decades of the XXth century. The rise of Islamist forces around the world and the enhancement of their role within the global community, that began at that time, are still going on, in some form or other. In order to better understand this process one will find it beneficial to study the case of Pakistan – the state where Islamists fairly early began to express interest in global politics, having to face rather practical problems in this respect. Pakistani Islamists’ perception of foreign policy was formed at the crosscurrents of two factors under the influence of subjective circumstances, stemming from the specifics of Pakistan as a state. The first factor is the niche occupied by Islamists in Pakistan’s inner politics; the second one is the role ascribed to religion in the development of inter-state connections between Islamabad and the rest of the world. Having determined the contents of these factors as well as their combined influence on the foreign policy perception by Pakistani Islamists, we come to the conclusion that, due to the interdependence between Pakistani authorities and Islamist organisations, the latter focused their attention on the discourses that were in line with official state policy.
The article concerns formula structure of contemporary Japanese fantasy literature. Research’s relevance is determined by the development of Japanese fantasy literature in 2010s that followed after a rapid rise in popularity of web-novels, which herald the change in the paradigm of contemporary literature. Specifically, Japanese reincarnation fantasy contributed vastly to the common fantasy discourse, taking it by storm. Quantitative analysis of novels’ summaries aided by text-mining tools accommodates for outlining main structural characteristics of the Japanese fantasy conventional system. For the research purposes by application of continuous sampling method a body of 390 novels has been selected pertaining to general relevance and relevance to Japanese fantasy. Text-mining algorithm of BigData processing AI by User Local, inc. has been used. Article contains context-based classification of 39 thematic groups divided into 15 categories, representing 3 layers. In conclusion, quantitative analysis of summaries of 2010s Japanese fantasy coupled with content-analysis has produced a set of key words and a thematic classification. Thematic systematisation reveals a model of formula structure of Japanese fantasy. Research results forward a model of self-recreating ability of the literary formula, operating under a single framework that defines standards and boundaries of Japanese fantasy as an original literary formula. To top it off, formula structure discourse characteristics of contemporary Japanese fantasy found in a context of collocations allow for a possible survey of target audience.
Keywords:
Japanese fantasy; mass literature; quantitative analysis; collocations; Japanese reincarnation fantasy; concept; fiction discourse
The author investigates such an important aspect of Sufi role in sociopolitical life of Iran and Central Asia under Timur (Tamerlane) as conflicts. She also attempts to analyze some noticeable incidents involving famous Sufi mentors of the 14th–15th centuries. The author considers the above-mentioned conflicts in a context of power struggle in Iran and Transoxiana that preceded the reign of Tamerlane and focuses on the interior Sufi competition between the local shaykhs for influence. A thorough study of resolution methods adopted by Tamerlane demonstrates the transformation of his priorities due to various factors — from political to personal, considering the position of the close Sufi circle.
The epics of the Turkic peoples have an ancient history. All Turkic dastans, including the very early ones, tell about the people’s struggle for justice, the revival of the motherland, love, spirituality. The people composing the epic had a belief in justice, which can be seen in the victorious ending in all the works. And naturally, the hero, who was the winner in the folk epic, was presented in the form of a strong, courageous and unshakable. For his invincibility, the hero of the Turkic epics always needed supernatural powers. To increase the interest of the unusual, indestructible and courageous hero of the Turkic epics, the creators add unusual information about the birth of the hero. And for this reason, the motive of a miraculous birth is widespread in Turkic dastans. For this reason, starting from the day of the creation of the first Turkish epics, we can say that in all dastans the hero is born in a miraculous way. But over time, the form of such a birth changes. For example, if we compare in the early dastans about the magical birth of Ari Kaan and Oguz Kagan, there are some differences between the birth of heroes in later dastans. If in early dastans we observe the magical birth of a hero in the mother’s womb from a ray of light, a drop of water, one breath, a tree, a skull powder, then in relatively later heroes are born from Gods, demigods who descended from heaven, and you can also observe an unusual birth girls-beloved heroes. In the Middle Ages, during the significant influence of Sufism on the epic, the motive of the miraculous birth of the hero from an ordinary earthling is observed. Although the problem of the poetic hero, his typology in folklore has repeatedly been the object of research, the miraculous birth of the hero and his forms did not stand out as an independent subject of study. In this article, for the first time, they tried to determine the forms of the miraculous birth of the hero, as well as give variants of such a process. In this study, the heroic dastans “Ari Kaan”, “Oguz Kagan”, “Aldai Buuchu”, “Oruzmek”, “Manas”, “Alpamysh”, “Dede Korkud”, “Korogly”, “Tulum Khoja” belonged to these peoples; as well as in the dastans about love “Asli and Kerem”, “Gul Masum”, “Leyli and Majnun”, “Latif Shah”, “Gurbani” both heroic and love motives were analyzed and reunited with the motives of a miraculous birth.
Keywords:
epic; the first man; miraculous; birth; variation
This article deals with publications in the magazine “New Youth” under the heading “Poetry”, which existed from 1915 to 1923. “New Youth” was one of the most important journals in China in the first decades of the 20th century. “New Youth” was the first magazine that published the most important journalistic articles and works of fiction that shaped new Chinese culture and literature after the “May 4th movement”. This article focuses on the poems that were first published in “New Youth” magazine. The substantive and formal features of the literary works are examined not only within the framework of the magazine’s policy in general, but also in the context of the ideas of the “Poetry” column authors as to what the shape of new poetry should be. Creative experiments on the pages of “New Youth” led to the emergence of new poetic genres (vers libre, prose poetry) and the rapid evolution of the themes of new poetry.
Keywords:
Chinese literature; Chinese poetry; vers libre; prose poetry; “wenyan”; “baihua”
The article focuses on the main features of the socio-political life of the Emirate of Diriyah in the period preceding the emergence of the First Saudi State. The basis of the study is formed by a number of recently published Najdi chronicles of the 17th and 18th centuries. The new scientific material made it possible to reconstruct the mentioned historical period and analyze it comprehensively. The results of the study show that by the time the First Saudi State was founded in 1744, Diriyah was only a small agricultural settlement in Southern Najd. Its political and economic influence was undermined both by difficult natural conditions and constant political upheavals.
Keywords:
The Arabian Peninsula; Diriyah; Wahhabism; the First Saudi State; Najd; the Emirate of Diriyah
The article is devoted to the analysis of the epistolary novel of the Thai king Rama VI Vajiravudh – the prolific writer who stood at the origins of modern literature of Siam / Thailand. The author correlates the private life of the protagonist with the current political and social changes. Vajiravudh considers the reforms carried out in the kingdom to be a fact of his life. In his novel he shows how the turmoil – sometimes comic, sometimes dramatic – that took place in Thai society at the beginning of the 20th century, influenced the life of an individual. The main problem of the novel is the incompatibility of the cultural codes of the West and the East, Siam in particular. This is precisely the reason for the tragedy of the main hero. The author sees the only way to solve the problem and achieve a harmonious human existence in an era of change – it is the dialogue of cultures and the synthesis of the new European and traditional Thai within the worldview of an individual.
Keywords:
Thai literature; Vajirvudh; epistolary novel; the individual; society; era of change
The paper examines the poetic image of a sparrow in the poems by Shinkichi Takahashi against the background of Zen Buddhism, which the poet practiced throughout his life. Though most scholars still discuss his poems in the context of Japanese Dadaism, the author shifts the interpretation of his legacy to Zen imagery and Zen philosophy. A great number of essays and notes published by Shinkichi Takahashi that remain almost unknown outside Japan may help us to expand our horizon in understanding his poetic images and render him a unique and profound poet that influenced the following literary tradition of Japan. The poet’s exceptional consistency and lifelong devotion to the image once created by him provides us a rare opportunity to study the transformation of his self-concept throughout his entire life. One of the main objectives of the article is also the question of delimiting the ideological message of European Dadaism with its subsequent interpretation in Japan in the context of the poet’s work. The paper attempts to establish what brings Shinkichi Takahashi’s dada closer to the elements of Zen philosophy, and what distances him, thus, from European Dadaism.
Keywords:
Shinkichi Takahashi; Dadaism; Zen Buddhism; Japanese poetry of the 20th century
The mechanism of the conceptual metaphor is similar to the mechanism of the functioning of the language. Accurate understanding of a language is associated with many factors: speaker, listener, linguistic means, word semantics, context, and others. All these elements complement each other, in the process of interaction they form a single whole, thereby forming a single communicative community. The study of the mechanism of metaphor cannot do without describing the concepts associated with metaphor: a cognitive subject, an object of a metaphor, an arbitrary component of a metaphor, a metaphorical basis and context. The need to clarify the above concepts is due to the fact that the metaphorical meaning is the result of the actions of several parties.
The article studies the images of the ascetic and the king in the literary Sanskrit jātaka. Based on the two “Jātaka-mālās” by Arya Śūra and Haribhaṭṭa (III–IV and IV–V centuries AD respectively) we observe the ambiguity of the image of the king, who can be both righteous and guilty of bad deeds. As well as the image of the ascetic who undergoes transformations in literary jātakas. We have shown that, like the king, the ascetic can be portrayed both as the embodiment of the Buddhist ideal of non-possession, self-restraint and renunciation, and as the antagonist of the hero, sometimes portrayed as a villain. The connection between the archaic image of the gift-granting ascetic and the synthetic image of the pratyekabuddha is traced: he functionally replaces the brahmanical forest ascetic capable of granting boons. It is shown that the assessment of a character does not depend on his status, but on his attitude to bodhisattva in a particular jātaka. The idealized image of both king and ascetic appears as just one of many versions of the same ideal image of a bodhisattva. Buddhist authors adapt for their own purposes the traditional images of the king and ascetic, emphasizing in them only those motives and associated plot moves that correspond to their ideology and creative intention.
This article is devoted to the work of Bus’hak Shirazi, whose poetic heritage had not been studied in detail before, but was only mentioned in review works on the history of medieval Persian literature. A collection of his works, published in 1302 AH (1924), was kept in the library of the University of Toronto and became available to the author of this work in the form of a PDF copy. In modern Iran, the book has not been reprinted and is a bibliographic rarity. Bus’hak created his works within the framework of the poetic practice of “nazira-navisi” (response writing) to the reference works of his predecessors and the well-known works of his contemporaries. “Answers” were composed according to special rules, and the tradition as a whole, starting from the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries, played an important role in the literary life of medieval Iran. Within the framework of this work, several ghazals of Bus’hak Shirazi were studied, which are part of his “Divan of Foods”, and a comparative analysis was carried out with the works he parodied (sample ghazals of Saadi and Hafiz) in order to identify the peculiarities of Bus’hak’s parody style. The study demonstrates that Bus’hak’s parody work is another component of the mosaic of the literary life of that time, without which its picture cannot be considered complete.
The paper provides a critical analysis of the interpretation of Shinkichi Takahashi (1901–1987) early intellectual views. Using the example of essays and samples of early poetry works, the unambiguous involvement of the poet’s work with the Zen philosophy is disputed. The “rebellious” spirit of Dada poetry, although it has common features with the ideas of Zen nihilism generally accepted in the academic circles, has a slightly different nature and properties. The deliberately provocative creative method of the poet of the early period is not probably the result of a conscious intellectual choice, but a derivative of a difficult biography and personality traits. Perhaps the early works and the image of the poet himself was largely mythologized by his immediate circles, and the poet himself, in numerous essays and notes, subsequently treated his early “verses” and painful spiritual searches very critically.
Keywords:
Shinkichi Takahashi; Dadaism; Zen Buddhism; Japanese poetry of the 20th century
The paper deals with some syntactic features of the denominative verbs 㶇 – huáng (*wāŋ) – ‘locust’ / ‘to suffer from locust’, ⯛ – yì (*wek) – ‘epidemic’ / ‘to suffer from an epidemic’, 䴧 – léi (*rhwəj) – ‘thunder’ (like a natural disaster) / ‘to thunder’. The article also proposes a primary classification of situations when there is a need to form a denominative verb. The lexemes are analyzed on the basis of the text corpus of the ancient Chinese period XI BC. – V AD. The nouns 㶇 – huáng (*wāŋ) – ‘locust’, ⯛ – yì (*wek) – ‘epidemic’, 䴧 – léi (*rhwəj) – ‘thunder’ (as natural disaster) in the position of the predicate are not frequent, the percentage does not exceed 20%. For the first time appear in the pre-Han texts (5th century BC). There is a probability of some morphological process (the so-called latent morphology, phonetic-grammatical alternation within one word, not reflected in the writing), involved in the formation of denominatives, such as the reconstructed denominative suffix -s (䚃 – dǎo (*lhu̅́) meaning ‘path’, but dào (*lhu̅ʔ-s) means ‘to lead, to indicate’). Nevertheless, due to the lack of reliable information, this theory also needs further research. In fact, the denominatives 㶇 – huáng (*wāŋ) – ‘to suffer from locusts’, ⯛ – yì (*wek) – ‘to suffer from an epidemic’, 䴧 – léi (*rhwəj) – ‘to thunder’ are formed unmarked, neither phonetically nor morphologically, are intransitive monovalent verbs with similar semantic features.
Keywords:
lexical categories; noun; predicate; denominative verb; lexeme syntactic function; Old Chinese
The article is related to the collection of the hadith qudsi that is the most popular one in Russia — the “40 Hadith Qudsi”. Its authorship is erroneously attributed to Ali Fikri Yavuz who had just translated the text from Arabic into Turkish. The purpose of the given article is a detailed analysis of this collection, in addition to the identification of its original author and the study of the used sources. The research presented in the article is purely textological and also includes the comparison of the examined collection to the other compilations of the hadith qudsi. Moreover, the article comprises the analysis of the rhymed prose represented in the Yavuz collection. The main issue that the author raises may be formulated as follows: may the examined collection be just a compendium of the hadith qudsi or is it an independent literary work?
Keywords:
Hadith Qudsi; non-Qur’anic revelations; the apocryphal texts; the Qur’an; saj‘
In the folklore and literature all over the world, there is a range of plots, motifs, and images based on understanding the non-obvious processes associated with the redistribution of property, and assumptions about the randomness or regularity of such redistribution. This includes all sorts of stories about the search for treasures, the notion that treasures can search for the owner proactively, and money can run away from the owners; images of animals/guardians or incarnations of treasures. Abundant material in this regard is provided by medieval Chinese “records of anomalies”. When analyzing stories about treasures contained in collections composed in the 3rd–7th centuries, a group of tales mentioning a golden bull on a golden chain, usually existing underwater or underground, attracts attention. Unlike other varieties of animal treasures, the golden bull itself is inaccessible to treasure hunters. Chinese researchers had suggested that these reports might have influenced the image of the Wuzhiqi monster in Li Gongzuo’s short story “The Ancient Canon of Mountains and Rivers”. References to the golden bull as the embodiment of wealth are not uncommon in fairy tales recorded in the PRC in the 20th century; at the same time, in a modern folk tale, this image is predictably interpreted differently than in medieval mythological stories. The article attempts to determine the basic features of some plots concerning the golden bull as the embodiment of a treasure in the early medieval Chinese prose.
Keywords:
legends about hidden treasures; zhiguai collections; Chinese folklore; “Taiping guang ji”; fantastic animals
The paper is dedicated to problems of formation and development of the opposition ‘masculine – feminine’ all the way along the evolution of culture and languages of the ancient and contemporary India. For ancient period of the Indian culture, represented by the phase of Vedas and by the later stage of Brāhmaṇas, the Vedic language and Early Sanskrit were correspondingly the two most important and functionally specified versions of one common language, namely, of the Ancient Indo-Aryan. The Vedic variant of the latter is manifested in texts of Vedas, first of all in Rgveda, while Sanskrit finds its earliest representation in Brāhmaṇas, the prosaic commentaries on Vedas. It was inside those two language versions and groups of texts that the universal theory of mithuná as a system of twin objects filling up the existing universe, was elaborated. In each and every one of mithuná pairs, the participants were internally connected by ritually and sexually important gender-asymmetrical dichotomy of ‘masculine – feminine’. The first, “masculine”, component of this latter opposition was the bearer of the dominant role, while the second was always functioning as a recessive one. This system of mithuná, mirroring the sexual ties between people or anthropomorphic creatures of different genders (specially between gods), was originally active mostly with the animate nouns, but later on, at the epoch of Brāhmaṇas, it has also spread through processes of metaphorization onto the great massive of inanimate substantives. Its role became relevant for the constituents of different linguistic levels – such as, e.g., syllabic structure of lexemes, the set of the typical features of word-classes, the grammatical categories of the word-forms, the associations of nouns with different functional styles, etc. – the concrete samples of the structures of those types are in detail analyzed in the paper. Methodologically the paper is based on combination of the philological method with standard mechanisms of investigating the dead language semantics and also with certain elements of structural linguistics approach. It is also demonstrated in the paper that for contemporary speakers of the New Indo-Aryan languages any ritualistic or cultural values implicated by the ancient concept of mithuná have practically stopped to exist, but the central opposition of ‘masculine – feminine’ and the additional dichotomies like ‘greater – less’ or ‘even – odd’ together with formal means of expressing the corresponding meanings also have been rudimentarily preserved in New Indo-Aryan.
Taiwan’s uniqueness in geographical position, and political-economic situation contributes to its special status in the Chinese-speaking world. As one of the most important transport hubs located between the Eurasian continent and the Pacific Ocean, for centuries Taiwan has been the focal point of attention of the European and Asian countries. Since the 17th century, European maritime powers (the Dutch, then the Spaniards) occupied the southern and northern parts of the island. In the second half of the 17th century, with the strengthening of East Asian states’ role, Taiwan was under control of general Zheng Chenggong of Ming Dynasty, and his descendants. Subsequently, the island was governed by Qing Dynasty, imperial Japan and the government of the Republic of China. Constant change of power over the past five centuries has contributed to the formation of a unique linguistic system in Taiwan, and the influence of the cultures of the indigenous Austronesian peoples, European and Japanese colonialists, and immigrants from Southeast Asia has contributed to the special cultural identity of its population. Taiwan has come a long way from autocracy to democracy. During the reign of five political forces, the multi-component model of the language policy, taking into account the interests of immigrants from Mainland China and aborigines of Taiwan, was repeatedly replaced by a single-component one (in the center of which there were alternately Japanese and Chinese languages). In the modern period, there is a pluralistic language policy focused on the harmonious co-functioning of the languages of the peoples on the island. This article attempts to examine the dynamics of the language policy of various political forces that ruled in Taiwan since the 16th century, and to analyze the process of the formation of the so-called “Taiwanese identity”.
Keywords:
Taiwan; Guoyu; Taiwanese identity; language policy; language situation
In recent years, many Russian students have chosen Taiwan as a place to study Chinese. During the pandemic, Taiwan, much earlier than Mainland China, opened its borders to foreign students, including Russian students and undergraduates. But it should not be forgotten that the Chinese language on the mainland and in Taiwan is different: the mainlanders speak Putonghua, the Taiwanese speak Guoyu. The differences concern not only writing systems (traditional and simplified characters), phonetic notation systems (Pinyin and Zhuyin), vocabulary, grammar, but also punctuation. This is primarily due to the fact that governments on both sides of the Taiwan Strait have been pursuing different language policies since 1949. During this time, punctuation on the mainland and on the island has also undergone changes. This article explains the difference between punctuation marks in mainland China and Taiwan in detail, thereby introducing students and teachers of the Chinese language to the features of Guoyu. The authors retrospectively consider the policy of the mainland and the island in relation to punctuation, and also analyze those features of punctuation that are necessary to know in order to avoid mistakes or misunderstanding of what is written with examples. The article describes the differences between Mainland China and Taiwan in the use of quotation marks, smart quotation marks, brackets, and raises the issue of quotation formatting. In addition, the problem of different arrangement of punctuation marks on the line is touched upon. This article will be useful to anyone who studies or teaches Chinese, as well as to those who write scientific papers and works in Chinese.
Keywords:
Taiwan; Chinese punctuation marks; Guoyu; Putonghua; Traditional Chinese characters; Chinese as a foreign language
This paper is aimed at analyzing the grammaticalization of unaccusative/unergative opposition in Hindi. The main diagnostic construction which serves to explicate the opposition of unaccusative vs. unergative verbs is passive construction. It will be shown that unaccusative and unergative verbs do not form homogenous classes and may be divided into three groups on the basis of their syntactic and semantic properties. The first class includes initially unaccusative verbs with valency on involitional (animate or inanimate) subjects: girnā ‘fall’. The unaccusative verbs with valency on animate subjects may acquire volitional meaning in special contexts or through metaphorical shifts: marnā ‘die of covid – die for the Motherland’. The second class is made up of initially unergative verbs with agentive animate subjects: bhāgnā ‘run’. Many verbs of this class may also have valency on inanimate subjects. In such cases they acquire involitional meaning: uṭhnā ‘rise’ (about a man – clouds, smoke). The third class consists of verbs that have valency either on volitional (animate) subject or on involitional (animate or inanimate) subject: milnā ‘meet’ (meet with somebody deliberately vs. unexpectedly; be received about money, etc.). Passive transformation in all the three classes is possible only when the verb has volitional meaning. Causative construction can also be used in order to distinguish between unergative and unaccusative verbs: only non-accusative verbs can form causatives with valency on involitional causer. The paper also discusses compound verbs formed by combining the main and the light components. Our analysis of the compatibility of non-accusative and non-ergative verbs in compounds brings to the conclusion that the non-ergative or non-accusative semantics of verbal combinations is always determined by meaning of the main, but not of the light verb.
Using etymological methods, the present study identified three Sinitic and Slavic shared (Sino-Germanic) etyma: U+9E7F, U+9732 and U+8EF8. These three etyma form a rhyme correspondence. This regular sound change validates the etymological connection in question. The etymon U+9E7F for “deer and similar animals of the superfamily Cervoidea” has been identified in Sinitic, Slavic, Germanic, Baltic, Celtic, Romance, Hellenic, Armenian, Indo-Iranian and Tocharian. The etymon U+9732 for “dew” has been identified in Sinitic, Slavic, Baltic, Romance and Indo-Iranian. The etymon U+8EF8 for “dark” has been identified in Sinitic, Slavic, Germanic, Baltic, Celtic, Romance, Albanian, Hellenic and Indo-Iranian. In Indo-European linguistics, the Proto-Indo-European roots *h1ol-ḱ-i- “deer, elk”, *Hros-eh2 “dew” and *h2eḱs-(i-) “axle, axis” are newly identified in Sinitic.
Pāṇini’s grammar of Sanskrit contains, among others, interpretative rules called paribhāṣās which guide the correct reading of grammatical rules expressed in a concise form by means of special terms, denotations and other shortening techniques. A careful study of Pāṇini’s grammar shows that paribhāṣās formulated by him are not enough to clarify all the nuances of various grammatical rules. Therefore commentators formulated additional paribhāṣās that allowed them to interpret correctly the rules of Pāṇini’s grammar and to resolve conflicts between the grammatical operations prescribed by it. Not only is a description of these additional interpretative rules unavailable in Russian literature, but even mentions of this phenomenon of Sanskrit grammatical literature are rare. The article highlights the history and principles of compilation of commented lists of post-Pāṇinian paribhāṣās by medieval Sanskrit grammarians of different schools. A comparative analysis of these lists is carried out and the traditional classification of paribhāṣās is discussed. It can be concluded that for at least one and a half thousand years (4th–18th centuries) a brief but exhaustive set of commented rules of interpretation of Pāṇini’s grammar was being compiled. The works of commentators differed both in the composition and order of presentation of the rules and in the understanding of each of them. This process was crowned by the 18th-century work of Nāgojībhaṭṭa, “The Lunar Diadem of Paribhāṣās” (Paribhāṣenduśekhara), which remains canonical today.
The article presents an annotated translation of the anonymous Chinese collection “Landun Shiyong” (Ten Verses on London), the first known poetic description of London in Chinese.
Keywords:
Landun shiyong; Chinese poetry; Qing China; J. F. Davis; K. F. A. Gutzlaff
The article examines attempts to institutionalize political processes at the township and village level in China and changes to grassroots governance in the era of Xi Jinping.
Keywords:
China; political reforms; governance; institutional reforms; grassroots level; democratization; Xi Jinping; ideology
The article describes the Department of Middle Eastern History at Moscow State University and its place in the development of Russian Oriental studies.
The article analyzes the position of the Muslim Brotherhood in Mauritanian domestic politics and the development of the Tawassul party between 2007 and 2019.
Keywords:
Mauritania; Nouakchott; Muslim Brothers; Tawassul; Maghreb; Sahel; Islam
The article examines religious endowments to Buddhist institutions of the kingdom of Awa from a monk and rulers of Chiang Mai, using two Burmese inscriptions from the fourteenth century.
Using a speech by former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, the article examines code-switching between Modern Standard Arabic and Egyptian Colloquial Arabic and the speaker’s role.
Keywords:
Egypt; diglossia; code-switching; political communication; Modern Standard Arabic; Egyptian Colloquial Arabic
The article reviews Japanese onomatopoeic words from the standpoint of cognitive experimental research and discusses their relevance to psychology and sound symbolism.
Keywords:
Japanese language; onomatopoeia; mimetic words; sound symbolism; psycholinguistics
The present article is a sequel of a series of articles on history of Javanology based on biographies of its most prominent personalities. The article dwells on J.F.C. Gericke, who being a scholar, teacher and administrator played an exceptionally important role at an early stage of Java academic studies. If we name Baptist pastor Gottlob Brückner (1783–1857) (who is the first translator of the New Testament into Javanese and author of the first Javanese grammar book) a founding father of Java studies, then J. Gericke may be considered as belonging to the second generation of scholars engaged in the Java studies: he was fifteen years younger than G. Brückner, he arrived at Java later than G. Brückner, his works were also published later. While G. Brückner, being a priest, had no ties with academic environment, J. Gericke did a lot for its establishment, both as a scholar and as an administrator. J. Gericke contributed a lot to the development of Javanology in its infancy. Starting from the very beginning J. Gericke proved to be a practicing Orientalist (he established contacts with the Java nobility while performing a task entrusted by the government), an administrator in the academic field (he was one of the founders of the Institute for the Javanese Language), a teacher, a linguist (he compiled a practical grammar book and the first Great Javanese-Netherlands Dictionary) and also an illuminator of the Javanese people (he translated the Bible and adapted the Bible stories).
Keywords:
Java studies; Javanology; classical Oriental studies; biographies of scholars
The article analyzes biographies of Vinaya monks in Chinese Buddhism from the late Ming to the Qing period and the role of monasteries and secular patrons.
Keywords:
Chinese Buddhism; genealogy; monk biographies; Vinaya; Ming; Qing; China
The article studies the functions of the Chinese prepositions 给 gei3, 为 wei4 and 替 ti4 as markers of verbal valency, with particular attention to the beneficiary.
The first Order of independent Indonesia – Bintang Gerilya, or the Guerilla Star – was instituted in 1949, to praise those Indonesians who fought for the Independence against the Dutch. The evolution of Indonesian award system is inextricably intertwined with the developments of the Indonesian state and Indonesian Armed Forces (Tentara Nasional Indonesia, TNI). In the late fifties, the Indonesian Armed Forces became more professional. They adopted the dual function of security and politics and managed to suppress rebellions throughout the Indonesian Archipelago. They needed to be granted for their heroism and service to the Government. As a result, two military orders were instituted in 1958, Bintang Sakti, or the Sacred Star, and Bintang Dharma. Later on, when Suharto established his New Order Regime (Orde Baru) and made the Armed Forces the main actor in Indonesian politics and society, he instituted several orders to buy loyalties of Indonesian top brass officers. All main branches of the Indonesian Armed Forces received their professional orders in late 1968 – Bintang Jalasena for the Navy, Bintang Kartika Eka Pakçi for the Infantry, and Bintang Swa Bhuwana Paksa for the Air Force. But three years later, in 1971, Suharto instituted a new military Order – Bintang Yudha Dharma, or the Grand Meritorious Military Order Star of Indonesia. This award has been a means to praise those military and civilian officials as well as foreign military officers who helped and facilitated the development and strengthening of the National Armed Forces of Indonesia. My paper focuses on the statute of the Order and several cases of its bestowal. The main sources are legal documents of the Indonesian Government and the mass media as well as other open sources.
Keywords:
orders; Indonesia; army; the state; armed forces; award system
The article examines the synthesis of Chinese classical and Western modernist literary traditions in Bai Xianyong’s Taipei People using the story “Wandering in the Garden, Waking from a Dream”.
Keywords:
Bai Xianyong; Taipei People; Chinese literature; modernism
The article examines the publication and reception of the Chinese poetic collection “Landun Shiyong” in the context of Anglo-Chinese contacts before the Opium War.
Keywords:
Landun shiyong; Chinese poetry; Qing China; J. F. Davis; K. F. A. Gutzlaff
The article examines Intan Paramaditha’s interpretation of the Javanese folklore image of Nyai Roro Kidul in the short story “The Queen” and its relation to horror fiction.
Keywords:
Indonesian folklore; Nyai Roro Kidul; horror; Indonesian culture; Intan Paramaditha
The paper aims to analyze adjectival paradigms of degree in Tagalog as influenced by Spanish. The subject appears to be of interest to the researchers of language contact with Spanish, as the contact-induced changes in the Tagalog grammar are still understudied. The impact of Spanish borrowings on the whole system of degrees in Tagalog adjectives has not yet received any particular attention. Following the approach by I. Melchuk, the paper offers descriptions for both the adjectival paradigm of intensity category and comparison category in Tagalog. The impact of Spanish borrowings in these two paradigms are analyzed based on the Leipzig Corpus of Tagalog. It is shown that Spanish-derived moderative marker medyo and elative markers masyado and sobra have contributed considerably to the inventory of the intensity paradigm of Tagalog. In the comparison paradigm which includes comparative, superlative, equative, and also attenuative degree forms, Spanish comparative marker mas has been shown to prevail, while pareho has been adopted as a new equative degree marker (infrequent). Along with the native relator sa, two Spanish-derived relators kaysa and kumpara sa are part of the Tagalog comparison inventory. Finally, it is suggested that the use of mas as a double-marker in comparison of inequality may indicate a tendency to grammaticalization of mas towards a general “comparison of inequality” marker.
The article reconstructs the history of Banū Tamīm from the third to the first half of the sixth century and its relations with the Sasanian state, Lakhmids and Kindites.
The research of Tagalog phraseological units contributes to the study of almost all spheres of private and social life of the Tagalogs, their national and universal human values. One cannot claim complete language proficiency in Tagalog without knowledge of its phraseological units. The article deals with the methods of identification of Tagalog phraseological units and ways of their classification on the basis of different criteria: (1) affiliation of the key word to a certain part of speech, (2) origin, (3) topics, (4) degree of semantic fusion. The first three criteria have already been used in the classification of Tagalog phraseological units whereas the last one is used for the first time. This classification based on the degree of semantic fusion was introduced by V.V. Vinogradov for the analysis of Russian set expressions. This research proves the universal character of this classification and possibility to use it for the description of the Tagalog phraseological units as they possess the features of semantic fusion similar to those of the Russian set expressions. Most of phraseological units are based on metaphors and can be described using methods of cognitive linguistics. It’s possible to group them in target domains and determine their source domains that facilitates understanding of mental and perceptive peculiarities of the Tagalog native speakers. Four target domains (“intelligence”, “stupidity”, “beauty” and “ugliness”) are analysed in the article and their source domains are detected. Thus the research shows that analysing Tagalog set expressions one can use different approaches that reveal various aspects of such complex phenomenon as phraseological units.
The article reviews studies of Naguib Mahfouz’s Cairo Trilogy published over the last twenty years and groups them according to their research methods.
Keywords:
Egypt; modern Egyptian literature; Naguib Mahfouz; Egyptian novel
The Nusantara folklore studies are included into the basic course for IAAS students of Indonesian language groups. The renewed course of folklore paves the way for the future deeper understanding of Indonesian literature and culture. The course titled ‘Indonesian Folklore Guide’ is planned to be published. Its main topics are myths and rituals, folk tales, minor folklore genres, ghost-lore and modern forms of Indonesian folklore. Ten lectures are devoted to the following subjects: 1) Spirits, Shamans and Were-Demons: Spells and Incantations; 2) Gods and Heroes: Mythological texts; 3) Shadows, Puppets, Masks and People: Rituals, Sacred Performances and Story-Telling; 4) Giants, Hermits and the Royals: Wonder Tales; 5) Indonesian Cinderellas and Sleeping Beauties: Folktale Motifs and Archaic Reconstructions; 6) The Cunning Mouse-Deer Kancil and the Lazy Man Si Kabayan: Tales about Tricksters; 7) Minor Folklore Genres: Riddles, Pantuns, Jokes and Proverbs; 8) Ghosts and Ghouls: Indonesian Demonology; 9) Child-lore, Urban-lore & Internet-lore; 10) The Future of the Folklore. The course includes group discussions and creative homework assignments. The bibliography and recommendations for students include Indonesian and Malay original sources, translated texts as well as theoretical works by prominent folklorists, philologists and anthropologists.
Keywords:
Indonesian folklore; Indonesian mythology; Indonesian rituals; Indonesian tales; minor Indonesian folklore genres; Indonesian ghostlore
The article analyzes Chinese authors’ experiments with the recitation and performance of modern poetry in the 1920s and 1930s and the relation between oral and written forms.
Keywords:
Chinese poetry; declamation; recitation; rhythm; verse
The collection of legal documents of the Lingga Sharia court (Mahkamah Syariah Kerajaan Lingga) from the Daik museum (Lingga island, modern Indonesia) is a collection of court judgments regarding various types of commercial acts, financial obligations and disputes over property. The collection contains about 350 documents written in the Malay Jawi language and dating back to the early 20th century (from 1905 to 1909). Among documents there are: promissory notes, judgments on the imposition of fines, claims for the payment of alimony/maintenance, claims, disputes over property, documents on the purchase and sale of goods and property; waqf documents etc. A preliminary review of the documents helps to identify personalities among the participants in the court proceedings: their race, cultural and religious background, social status, places of origin etc. Texts mention Muslims and also non-Muslims, first of all, Chinese, Indian and a number of European names. Apparently the Lingga Sharia Court was engaged in the implementation of legal proceedings and the consideration of cases not only for Muslims, but also for other groups of the population. Hence textual analysis of documents will help to reconstruct various legal, socio-economic and cultural aspects of life in Johor. The application of an integrated systematic scientific approach to the studies of these new mass historical sources will reveal new material on the regional history and historical realities of the Malay society in the late 19th – early 20th centuries.
Keywords:
Collection of the Malay Jawi legal documents; shariah court of Riau-Lingga; historical sources research
The paper claims that tracing Philippine literature back to the pre-colonial epics is an extrapolation of the European model, paradoxically supported by the ideology of nationalism. Russian essays on the history of Philippine literature share the same drawbacks: they claim the existence of pre-colonial written literature, including epics, and trace the genesis of Philippine literature to them. There is no doubt that the archipelago was rich in oral epics, it is documented in early Spanish sources. However, epics were wiped out in the process of Christianization, not a single text in the vernacular has survived. The existence of a vast body of ancient manuscripts written in syllabic scripts in pre-colonial times, as shown by A. Ocampo, is a romantic idea that dates back to presumptions made by Jose Rizal and has never been proved. Written literature with a novel as its pinnacle was formed in medieval Europe on the basis of Greco-Roman heritage, local oral traditions and Christianity. Early written Philippine literature, on the contrary, has excluded local folklore as a pagan lore. Only poetic elements of rhyme and rhythm were preserved, but not the contents. Written literature has evolved during the 17–18 cc. in a society oriented on Christian values and Spanish culture under the influence of borrowed ecclesiastic and lay literary genres of European origin. It is only recently that the rich Philippine oral literature starts to find its way into urban forms of art through theatre, ballet, dance, cinema, TV, comics and horror stories. It presently dominates the last of those ‘democratic genres’. The author’s field materials (1995–2020) on the present-day living epics of several mountain areas of the archipelago are used.
Keywords:
Philippines; Philippine folklore; Philippine oral epics; Philippine literature; national identity; oral and written literature; Spanish-Philippine links
The paper explores the biography and academic career of Professor Mikhail Meyer, a distinguished historian of Ottoman and Turkish studies and President of the Institute of Asian and African Studies, Lomonosov Moscow State University.
The paper focuses on a so far understudied and underestimated problem of contacts between early modern Malay literature with Western writing. Undertaken analysis demonstrates the modes chosen by the Malay author to adapt a well-known foreign novel to literary and ideological context of British Malaya before World War II. The message of Malay version is inspired by Islamic reformist thought and Malay nationalism, which in the first half of the 20th century strongly colored the atmosphere in the colony, producing a socially and politically engaged type of writing. Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster most probably attracted the Malay writer with its focus on the problems of women’s emancipation and education, actively propagated by reformist thought. A certain didacticism of the American novel must have also appealed to Malay audience, brought up on the edifications of traditional verbal culture and literature. The engaged character of the Malay rendering of Daddy-Long-Legs made the writer turn down epistolary form of the original and replace the first-person narrative with third-person. It also led to introduction of a new plot line, which contains the main conflict and partially sidelines the romantic topic. As a result, in Malay reinterpretation, the source text loses its basic generic features.
Keywords:
Malay literature; Western influence; Malaysian short story; early modern prose; epistolary genre; Jean Webster; Ariffin
A review of a book about Japanese food culture, published by the Japanese Culinary Academy in 2016 as the first volume in a series on Japanese cuisine.
Keywords:
japanese cuisine; japanese culture; japanese food; japanese history
The article examines early and child marriage in contemporary India’s Muslim community. It discusses the historical background, laws raising the minimum marriage age, and the influence of traditional family life, education and Muslim personal law.
Keywords:
India; Muslim community; Muslim women; child marriage
The article examines Cao Zhi’s ‘Letter to Yang Dezu’ as a work of early Chinese epistolary prose. It considers the letter’s reflections on literature, thematic range, rhetorical strategies and value as a historical document.
Keywords:
Chinese literature; Jian’an literature; prosaic message; rhetoric; motive
This publication includes the second part of a translation into Russian of the commentary to the sūra “The Opening One” (al-Fātiḥa) and the first five ayats of the sūra “the Cow” (al-Baqara) by the Russian Muslim theologian Musa Jarullah Bigiyev (1874–1949) written in Arabic and published in 1915 year in Petrograd under the name “Fiqh al-Qurʼān” (The Understanding of the Qurʼān). It covers the commentary to the last three (according to another numbering four) ayats of the sūra “The Opening One” (al-Fātiḥa), which reflects the position of M. Bigiev concerning the history of the Qurʼān, its grammar and vocabulary, the differences between the readings (qirāʼat), and his hermeneutic reasoning, which is a synthesis of reformist and mystical approaches.
Keywords:
Musa Jarullah Bigiev; “Fiqh al-Qurʼān” (The Understanding of the Qurʼān); sūra “The Opening One” (al-Fātiḥa); Quranic hermeneutics; Islam in Russia
The article examines the adaptation of Hindu and Sikh refugees from Pakistan in Delhi after the Partition of India in 1947. It considers housing and rehabilitation, the refugees’ role in the city’s growth, and their political preferences in the late 1940s and 1950s.
Keywords:
the Partition of India; Delhi; Punjab; urbanization; Hindu nationalism
The final part of a Russian translation of Musa Jarullah Bigiev’s commentary on al-Fātiḥa and the opening verses of al-Baqara. It presents his treatment of Quranic history, grammar, vocabulary, variant readings and hermeneutics.
Keywords:
Musa Jarullah Bigiev; “Fiqh al-Qurʼān” (The Understanding of the Qurʼān); sūra “The Opening One” (al-Fātiḥa); Quranic exegesis (tafsīr); Quranic hermeneutics; Islam in Russia
This paper explores the novel “Ten Nights of Dreams” which is a series of short dream stories written in 1908 by the famous Japanese writer Natsume Sōseki (1867–1916). In this paper I explore Natsume’s technique called “dream” which employs images of Japanese folklore and world mythology. The dreams of the character of the “Ten Nights of Dreams” novel symbolize complexity and ambiguity of the human nature, and the world of the fantasy created by him demonstrates us both a unique stream of consciousness and the unconscious layer. I focus on the subjective attitude of the dreamer (dream-ego), as well as on images, symbols and motives of each dream. The whole series of the dreams is seen to have three levels of motives: 1) separation of man and woman by death; 2) confrontation with oneself; 3) tales concerning art and/or religion. Natsume Sōseki uses the following symbols in his novels: 1) number 100 as a symbol of eternity and wisdom in four novels and number 7 in two novels; 2) symbols of Buddhism and Shinto – in three novels; 3) animal as a symbol – once; 4) a flower as a symbol of pure eternal love – once; 5) allusions on the Japanese and world literature and folklore – in three novels.
The article examines relations between Moroccan sultans and Sufi brotherhoods in the 17th and 18th centuries. After the Alawis established their rule, they had to limit the power of Sufi orders while avoiding open conflict with influential shaykhs. Historical chronicles show a more complex relationship than a simple confrontation.
Keywords:
Sufism; Morocco; Sufi brotherhoods; administrative system; makhzen
The article examines the structural and linguistic means used in Swahili mediatexts, drawing on the online Tanzanian newspaper Mtanzania. It considers how selection of information and lexical and grammatical choices serve to inform and influence readers.
Keywords:
Swahili; mediatext; linguistic analysis; grammatical tools; metaphors; borrowings; concept
The article examines the origins, assets and investments of sovereign wealth funds in the Arabian monarchies of the Persian Gulf. It discusses their role in economic reform, support for private enterprise and social stability.
Keywords:
Arabian monarchies; GCC; sovereign wealth funds; oil; gas; world oil prices; energy export revenues; shares; infrastructure; economic cooperation; social stability
This article describes the possibility of distinguishing the genre of the anecdote in Manden oral tradition and the specificity of the texts associated with the anecdote in bamana. In bamana and Maninka languages there is no special term for anecdotes, most often the words “joke” or “funny story” are used. The significance of bamana “funny stories” is in fact that the anecdote genre’s formation is taking place before our eyes. But so far, among these stories one can find full-fledged anecdotes as well as a large number of simple stories, from the point of view of the logic of their constructing, related to tales about animals or fools. First and foremost, such qualities as stupidity, laziness, cowardice, greed, and desire to gain one’s own profit are ridiculed. There are anecdotes that correspond to a visual-figurative type of thinking. They are based on comic situations, and represent the examples of stupidity, confusion, mistakes. Other anecdotes correspond to a verbal-logical type of thinking, the stories based on language errors, misreading, homonymy, etc.; as well as those that are based on various inconsistencies in the logic of action, on resourcefulness and wit and require the use of more complex logical chains, associations, concepts, etc. by the listener.
The article discusses the dispute over sharing the waters of the Teesta River between India and Bangladesh. It reviews efforts to establish rules for water use since 1972, the role of West Bengal political elites, and obstacles to a settlement after the change of government in India in 2014.
Keywords:
India; Bangladesh; Teesta; international rivers; All India Trinamool Congress; Mamata Banerjee
The article examines the ethnocultural, linguocultural and semantic properties of Chinese phraseological units with zoomorphic components. It identifies and systematizes these units and considers the role of zoomorphic components in their meaning.
Keywords:
linguocultural studies; cultural codes; semantics; zoomorphism; phraseological units
The article compares the Russian spatial preposition “na” with the Chinese frame construction “在……上”, examining their prototypical meanings, image schemas, extended meanings and syntactic functions.
Keywords:
Russian preposition “na”; Russian language; Chinese frame construction “在……上”; Chinese language; image schema theory
The article analyzes the film of the German film director Wim Wenders “Tokyo-ga” from the point of “questioning identity” of a Western man which was proposed by the French philosopher Y. Kristeva. The film shows the meanings and images opened to Wim Wenders as a result of a dialogue with the spiritual heritage of the Japanese film director Yasujiro Ozu.
Keywords:
cinema; questioning identity; dialogue of cultures; travel
The article studies the formation of pilgrimage routes used by Muslims of the Russian Empire to reach the Islamic holy sites in Arabia. It compares traditional and less-used Hajj routes and examines the authorities’ role in organising travel, preventing disease, issuing passports and choosing safer routes.
Keywords:
Hajj; pilgrimage routes; Russian Empire; consular office; Muslims; Islam
The article examines the influence of relations with India on Pakistan’s 2018 election campaign. It compares the programs of major political parties, their portrayals of India and the prospects for implementing the proposals of the winning party.
Keywords:
imagology; the enemy image; Pakistan; India; election campaign
The article examines the concept of fate in Chinese, its cultural and historical development, and its conceptual, value-related and figurative features in the Chinese linguistic worldview.
Keywords:
Chinese language; cultural codes; axiological concepts; concept of fate; linguoculturology; cognitive linguistics; linguocognitive experiment
This article deals with an episode of the early mediaeval empires’ struggle for domination over Arabia, namely, an attempt of direct intervention which the Sasanids undertook in the middle of the 6th century with the help of Abū-l-Ǧabr, a prince from the South Arabic (Qaḥṭānite) tribal confederation, who had fled to them. Abū-l-Ǧabr’s initiative arose out of an internal struggle which broke among the Kindites after those of them who had advanced to the North-East of Arabia in the process of the conquests of the 5th and early 6th centuries were defeated by Sasanids and Laḫmids and retreated to Hadramawt. This period of the Kindites’ history is insufficiently explored, especially as compared to earlier times. This article presents an attempt to reconstruct the course and chronology of those events. For the Sasanids, Abū-l-Ǧabr’s initiative was a chance to set foot in Southern Arabia, especially valuable after the intensification of their struggle with Abraha, the Abissinian ruler of Yemen, in the middle of the 6th century.
Keywords:
Arabia; Kinda; Abū-l-Ǧabr; Sasanids; Khusraw I Anushirwan
Based on a travel treatise by the Damascus Sufi ‘Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulsi, the article examines travel in search of knowledge in the cultural and intellectual life of late-17th-century Bilad al-Sham. It explores pilgrimage routes, cultural centres, scholarly contacts and cultural exchange.
Keywords:
cult of knowledge; Islam; Greater Syria; genre of rihla; ‘Abd al-Ghani al-Nablusi
The article examines the spread of Jama’ah Tabligh in Southeast Asia since the 1960s, focusing on its missionary activity in Malaysia, Indonesia and southern Thailand and on the movement’s adaptation to local religious practices and Muslim communities.
The article examines the erosion of noun class agreement in Bantu languages, including reduction of class inventories, unification of plural markers and a shift toward semantic agreement based on animacy.
In this paper we attempt to reconstruct the evolution of ideas in the studies of Soviet and post-Soviet Russian Orientalists about the Republic of Tripolitania, which existed on the territory of the modern State of Libya in 1918–1923. Based on the analysis of historiographic materials, we identified the main stages in the development of research in this area, as well as problematic issues and approaches to their comprehension. Specific examples show how changes in the sociopolitical context in the Russia and Libya, as well as the dynamics of interstate relations, influenced the transformation of ideas about the Tripolitan Republic and its role in the history of Libya in the 20th century.
Keywords:
Libya; Tripolitania; Tripolitanian Republic; historiography; history; politicization of history
The article examines contact between Western and Far Eastern civilizations in the early modern period. European printing houses in Siam and Vietnam introduced new printing techniques and books in the Latin alphabet. It also discusses the role of Catholic missionaries in establishing these presses and promoting Christianity in the region.
Keywords:
history of Siam; history of Vietnam; missioners; Catholics; printing houses; cultural interaction
Drawing on travel accounts by Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulusi and Muhammad Kibrit, the article compares two seventeenth-century Muslim pilgrims’ experiences in Ottoman Cairo and their contacts with its religious and intellectual circles.
Keywords:
Ottoman Egypt; Islam; cult of knowledge; rihla; hajj; ziyara
Comparing episodes from the Ayodhya book of Valmiki’s Ramayana and Tulsidas’s retelling, the article shows how changes in the characters’ motives reflect bhakti ideas and new models of virtuous conduct.
Monarchies of the Arabian Peninsula and the adjacent islands remain a very specific part of the Arab world throughout the contemporary history. Before gaining independence, these countries represented the most economically and politically backward part of the Peninsula. In the final third of the last century they have overtaken their counterparts in such characteristics as the standard of living, becoming the forefront of the Arab region. The political elite of the country carried out fundamental political and socio-economic reforms, and showed that it is able to move society from medieval backwardness to modernity. The danger of this situation isn’t a secret for ruling houses is extinguished by elite which makes efforts on the different directions in the aspiration to preserve the social peace and the power. The work was written on the basis of data obtained from the studies of such authors as Rosmarin Zakhlan, Mehran Kamrava, Ali Khalifa Al Kuwari and others, as well as on the statistics of the international organization of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the national statistics of the ministry of information of Qatar, the Russian and Western press.
Keywords:
Qatar; GCC; Al Thani; the constitution; “Amir al-ab”
The article examines the role of the Coptic Orthodox Church journal “Al-Kiraza” in the life of the Coptic community, the circumstances of its emergence, and its influence on readers. Founded through the efforts of young church leaders in the 1930s–1950s, the journal promoted their philosophical views among Copts.
Keywords:
periodicals; “Al-Kiraza”; church chronicle; theology
The article examines collective terms in the records of the early modern Venetian Jewish community, especially “ghetto synagogues”, and shows how culturally distinct congregations understood themselves within a shared communal space.
Keywords:
Venice; Jewish community; record books; congregations; sixteenth century; seventeenth century; Levantine Jews; Italian Jews
Using Reza Khan’s travel diary about his campaign in Khuzestan, the article examines how the future shah justified his claim to the Iranian throne. It analyzes the diary’s political purpose and the use of Iranian cultural tradition to construct the image of a modern ruler.
In Dagestan in the early XX century there were representatives of Muslim reformism who entered into a tough confrontation with local supporters of the traditional Shafi’i law school, mainly with the apologists of Sufism. The Sufi Sheikhs actively joined in the theological polemic with the Muslim reformers. The range of issues that caused the most heated discussion was quite traditional for the polemics between the supporters of “taclid” and “ijtihad”. This is the problem of “false sheikhs”, accusation of polytheism (shirk), mediation (tawassul), intercession (shafat), etc. The authors of this article, analyzing the course and content of this polemic, made commented translations of the most characteristic fragments from the works of the most active participants, especially of Sufi Sheikh Muhammad al-Asali.
Keywords:
Muslim reformism; Wahhabism; Sufism; Dagestan; Khasan al-Kakhi; Muhammad al-Asali
The article discusses language contact between Swahili and other Bantu languages in Tanzania. Swahili, itself influenced by Arabic, transfers borrowed lexical elements to local languages of lower social status. Its grammatical impact is less pronounced. The study uses material collected by the authors during fieldwork in Tanzania.
Keywords:
language contacts; Swahili language; Arabic language; bantu languages; the role of the Swahili language
Based on the journal Shura, the article examines early twentieth-century debates among Tatar Muslim intellectuals about Quranic exegesis. Some writers rejected reliance on authoritative tafsirs, while others valued them for historical context.
Keywords:
Islam in Russia; Tatar periodical press; Shura journal; Quran; tafsirs
The article reconsiders the date of the Battle of Dhū Ḳār. Based on new evidence, it places the Arab victory over Khusraw II’s forces in the summer of 602 and refines the chronology of the Sasanian governors of al-Hira.
Keywords:
pre-Islamic Arabia; Dhū Ḳār; Iyās ibn Ḳabīṣa; Sasanids; Khusraw II Parwēz
The survived correspondence of Vasiliy V. Bartold and Agafangel E. Krymsky contains important data about crucial changes which took place in the Oriental science in the post-revolutionary Russia. The letters of two distinguished scholars, dated before 1918, were concerned mainly with discussion of the professional issues. Anyhow, the following correspondence increasingly touched upon social and political problems and included their thoughts about methods of their resolving. The correspondence of these two eminent scholars remains a significant factor in the history of the Oriental science.
Keywords:
Oriental studies; epistolary heritage; arrests of scholars; congress of Turkologists; teaching methods; Ukrainian language in science; library collections
The article examines motifs of dreams and sleep in classical Persian qhazal. These motifs usually occur at the beginning or end of a poem and may shape the meaning of the whole text. It traces their transfer from love lyrics and qasida openings into qhazal, and interprets sleeplessness as a derivative counter-motif of sleep.
Keywords:
Persian Classic qhazal; repertoire of motifs; standard lyric situation; dream and sleeplessness; transposition of motifs; composition of qhazal
Using official publications of the Japanese Governor-General in Korea, the article examines colonial governance from 1910 to 1945, including policing and ideological measures adapted to changing circumstances and Korean traditions.
The article examines the Avtar Bani as the sacred text of the Sant Nirankari Mission and analyzes its semantic, performative and iconic functions in the movement’s continuing dispute with mainstream Sikhs.
Keywords:
Sikhism; Nirankari Sikhs; Sant Nirankari Mission; Avtar Bani
Based on a series of indices and models calculated by the author, the article shows that the contemporary second major wave of globalization, substantially more extensive than the first (from the last third of the nineteenth to the early twentieth century), has had a major but contradictory impact on the economic development of advanced countries and, even more so, of developing countries. It has enabled some of the latter, including China and India, to carry out rational institutional and economic reforms and gain ground in the world economy at the expense of Western countries and Japan. However, globalization has also energized market forces and significantly aggravated economic, financial and socio-political instability around the world.
Keywords:
(de)globalization; dynamics of international trade and capital flows; models; economically advanced and developing countries; productivity slowdown; financialization of the economy; inequality; poverty; instability; inclusive institutions; governability
The article analyzes the ideological and political grounds for the genesis and activity of the Islamic State. The author examines the theoretical content of Islamic fundamentalism and analyzes the picture of the world that it offers its followers. The author asks what goals its supporters pursue and whether ISIS is a fundamentally new type of fundamentalist organization. The article examines the factors that allowed supporters of this organization to fight for a prolonged period against the national governments of Syria and Iraq and the forces of the international coalition of states. It explores key sources of Islamic law and cites comments by prominent theologians and scholars. The author concludes that ISIS uses Islam in a distorted form. Religious literacy is therefore an important element of any national policy to counter extremism.
The article is focused on the theological legacy of Moroccan Sultan Sidi Muhammad ben ‘Abdallah (1757–1790). The significance of his religious works is caused by the fact that since the Almohads (12th century) Sidi Muhammad was the first Moroccan sultan who consistently called for a return to the pure Islam of Prophet Muhammad. Moreover, a study of his theological heritage allows us to rethink the view of the development of Salafism in Arab-Islamic societies. For example, Russian and international researchers used to consider that Moroccan sultans had turned to Salafi ideas only after the development of the Wahhabi doctrine in Arabia. However, an analysis of the religious works of Sidi Muhammad shows that the rise of Salafi ideas in Morocco was not a result of adoption of the Wahhabi ideology which spread on the Arabian Peninsula, but formed at the stage when the Wahhabi movement was just emerging. The fundamentalist views of the Moroccan sultan were the result of internal processes that took place at that time in the Islamic Far West, and not of external influence. This conclusion broadens the limits of our perception of the renewal tendencies that emerged in the Arab-Islamic world in the second half of the 18th century.
In what follows we will try to assess the contribution of Lee Keun – the winner of the 2014 Schumpeter Prize and Professor of Seoul National University – to the theory of breakthrough economic development, based on the case of the Republic of Korea (RK).
Keywords:
the Republic of Korea; economic catch-up; technological leapfrogging; factors of growth; productivity growth
The article contains an excerpt from a letter by Vissarion Sartov, the nephew of the prominent pre-revolutionary orientalist Palladius (Kafarov) and the first psalmist of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Japan. The excerpt from a letter to an unknown person, dated July 28, 1873, was found in the Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts and is published for the first time. It contains information about the early preaching of Orthodoxy in Japan: rivalry with Catholic missionaries in the former province of Sendai; features of Orthodox worship in Japanese; the organization of the church and the life of the Orthodox community in Hakodate; and Vissarion Sartov’s personal assessment of the prospects for Orthodoxy in Japan. It also mentions Nicholas of Japan, who had moved from Hakodate to Tokyo by the time Sartov wrote the letter.
Keywords:
Vissarion Sartov; F. R. Osten-Sacken; Nicholas of Japan; Palladius Kafarov; Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Japan; Russian-Japanese relations; archive
This article is dedicated to the life and works of Uchida Masao (1839–1876), a Japanese writer, translator and teacher of the second half of the nineteenth century. The world geography encyclopedia “Yochi Shiryaku” (“Short Description of the World”, 1871–1880) is considered his main work. During the Meiji period (1868–1912), it was a bestseller. The encyclopedia was so popular that it was called “one of the three [outstanding] books of the Meiji period” (Meiji no sanshyo). Despite Uchida Masao’s rich literary legacy, his name is now practically unknown.
Keywords:
Uchida Masao; world geography; encyclopedia; Yochi Shiryaku; Meiji period
A set of XII century BC oracle bone inscriptions found in the ruins of the ancient Shang state capital narrates the bestowing of a title of hou of the place named Gan (genuine reading unknown) upon the person named Shang. The case of Gan-hou Shang cannot be explained by merely a formal recognition of the subjection of a previously independent peripheral chieftain; it must have been either a feudal-like enfeoffment or an assignment of an office. Some evidence suggests Gan was originally a part of the royal domain, granted later to hou Shang as a fief. Thus, the inscriptions shed light on the Shang period enfeoffment system, saying little of its actual scale and characteristics.
Keywords:
feudalism; Chinese feudalism; Shang China; Ancient China; oracle bone inscriptions
The monograph titled “From Lenin to Putin. Russia in the Middle and Near East” is presented to the judgment of professionals and a wide range of readers by the Academician A.M. Vasilyev, who is the patriarch of Russian Oriental and African studies. It covers an immense period (what is reflected in the title of the work) that witnessed political and economic relations of both the USSR and Russia with countries extended over the Middle and Near East surviving a lot of controversial events. In the course of that period not only the regimes changed and various military and political conflicts of diverse intensity have taken place, but the breakdown and unification of some of them has been seen, followed by transformation of ideologies, political systems etc. Obviously, the author aimed his efforts at analysing the great majority of these events stressing the role of both the USSR and Russia in them. The fundamental monograph by A.M. Vasilyev is of great interest for professionals and a wide range of readers from the educational and informational points of view.
Keywords:
the USSR; Russia; the Middle and Near East; conflict; aggression; negotiations; pragmatism; tragedy of Syria; the United Nations; the USA; Western Europe
A qualitative leap in knowledge about the Ottoman Empire and Islam achieved under Peter I was due not only to a subjective factor — the decision of such statesmen and scholars as P. A. Tolstoy, D. Kantemir, P. I. Yaguzhinsky and S. L. Vladislavich-Raguzinsky to join the tsar. In many ways, it was dictated by an objective factor, namely the practical need for knowledge of the Turks and Islam in the context of a military confrontation between two powers and two worlds: Russian Orthodox civilization and Muslim civilization in its Ottoman form.
Keywords:
Peter I; oriental advisors; the Ottoman Empire; Russia; oriental studies; Islam; Muslim world; Porte; Posolsky prikaz (ambassadorial office); Treaty of the Pruth; Persian campaign of Peter the Great
This article dwells upon the language situation in Hyderabad, which is very diverse from the ethnolinguistic point of view. The author gives a historical description of the Urdu and Telugu languages and their relationship. The author also analyzes the evolution of the status of these languages and considers how their position has changed since the princely state of Hyderabad was integrated into the Indian Union in September 1948. The article examines the spheres in which Urdu and Telugu, though official languages, can be used, and the measures taken to promote and develop them. Special attention is paid to the correlation of ethnolinguistic and confessional aspects in the life of the Hindu and Muslim communities of Hyderabad, whose members are often bilingual. The author also raises the question of the relationship between Indian languages and English in various spheres of society and studies the resulting problems and possible solutions.
Keywords:
language situation in India; status of Urdu and Telugu; ethnos and confession in Hyderabad; Hindu-Muslim relations
The article discusses the problem of enclave territories on the border between India and Bangladesh (East Pakistan in 1947–1971), known as chitmahals or chhits. The emergence of chitmahals can be traced through the history of the Cooch Behar princely state in the north-east of India. The XVII–XVIII centuries saw the decline of the princely state, which led to the ceding of a number of land parcels within its territory to the Mughal Empire. At the same time, the maharajas of Cooch Behar had land possessions outside their state. Later the actions of the East India Company, the new suzerain of the princely state, resulted in the emergence of new enclave territories. The problem of chitmahals was not resolved during the Partition of India in 1947, and Cooch Behar’s merger with India in 1949 turned it into a matter of international relations. The Agreements of 1958 and 1974 sanctioned the exchange of enclaves in order to preserve the integrity of the international border, but their timely implementation was delayed by politicization of the problem and India’s cumbersome bureaucracy. Corruption and the lax attitude of border guards helped enclave dwellers survive without access to their state’s infrastructure, economic system and social services up to 2015. The local population was hostile to people from chhits, which further exacerbated their hardships and impeded the implementation of the 1974 Agreement. Though the Agreement was ratified in full in 2015, there still are a few obstacles to clear on the way to resolving the enclaves issue.
This publication includes the introduction and the first part of a translation into Russian of the commentary to the sūra “The Opening One” (al-Fātiḥa) and the first five ayats of the sūra “the Cow” (al-Baqara) by the Russian Muslim theologian Musa Jarullah Bigiyev (1874–1949), written in Arabic and published in 1915 in Petrograd under the name “Fiqh al-Qurʼān” (The Understanding of the Qurʼān). The introduction to the translation briefly discusses the contribution of the theologian to Qurʼān studies, his scientific ties with renowned European and Russian Orientalists, as well as his methodology of interpretation. The first part of the translation covers the commentary to the first four (according to another numbering three) ayats of the sūra “The Opening One” (al-Fātiḥa), which reflects the position of M. Bigiev concerning the history of the Qurʼān, its grammar and vocabulary, the differences between the readings (qirāʼat), and his hermeneutic reasoning, which is a synthesis of reformist and mystical approaches.
Keywords:
Musa Jarullah Bigiev; “Fiqh al-Qurʼān” (The Understanding of the Qurʼān); sūra “The Opening One” (al-Fātiḥa); Quranic hermeneutics; Islam in Russia
This article explores how women in contemporary China answer to unemployment challenges which have affected China after its shift towards the market oriented economy. The paper discusses the changing approach to body politics in China as an answer towards rising rate of unemployment among Chinese women. It traces the history of how market reforms and changes in educational policies have put Chinese women in a position where they have to seek help of plastic surgeons to increase their value on the job market. The author argues that due to a rapid economic development of China and rise of the middle class with a larger disposable income, competition for employment in China has increased dramatically, which made women highly vulnerable, pushing them to use body alterations to secure jobs.
Keywords:
Unemployment in China; Educational Reforms in China; Youth Unemployment; Gender; Plastic Surgery; Beauty Economy
The paper analyses Turkey’s foreign policy towards the Middle East in the 2000s and early 2010s in two interrelated aspects: as a complicated search for a mutually acceptable model of cooperation between Turkey and the West on international security, and as a problem of differences in their perspectives on international security and approaches to its implementation in Turkey, the EU and the US. The relatively successful period of cooperation in the global war on terrorism in the 2000s did not help Turkey and the West overcome these conceptual differences. First, this prevented the full integration of Turkey into the Western system of international security in the Middle East. Second, it deepened differences in perspectives on international security and the struggle against those accused of terrorism and radicalism by the West. The Arab Spring and the escalation of instability in the region since the early 2010s, related to new civil wars and the rise of the Islamic State, highlighted this divergence and accelerated Ankara’s ambitions to act as an independent regional power in the Middle East, with its own agenda and strategy for relations with both state and non-state actors.
Keywords:
Turkey; Middle East; EU; US; international security; war on terrorism; Islamists; jihadists
The article analyzes the phenomenon of transnational Islamic movements’ expansion to Thailand, taking the case of such a transregional missionary movement as Jama’ah Tabligh. Wide-scale activities of various international Islamic movements in Thailand and their rising influence on political and social life there since the 1970s resulted in the growing complexity of the religious situation in Thailand in general and in its southern provinces in particular. The Muslim Brotherhood was the most influential among Islamic movements in Thailand in that period. Its ideological framework became the basis of the Young Muslims Association of Thailand’s activities. However, the impact of the transnational movement Jama’ah Tabligh originating from India and Salafi movements urging the clearing of Islam from local traditions on Thailand’s Muslims was also essential. Each of these movements has its own strategy of ideological expansion and its own model of social activity. Thus, new ideological constructions and cultural identities emerging from the expanding Islamic network structures originating from the Islamic reformist movements supplemented the patchwork constellation of Islamic movements historically established in Thailand in the Modern Times. These processes became most visible in Thailand’s Muslim south.
This article is devoted to the problem of the name of the Qing settlement, commonly referred to as Maymachen. The toponym Maymachen was one of the most well-known geographical names mentioned in various texts dedicated to Russian-Qing relations. It was usually used as the name of the settlement, which had been located on the Russian-Qing border on the opposite side of Russian towns of Kyakhta and Troitskosavsk. In the 18th century this area became the center of Russian-Qing trade and the place, where diplomatic contacts between Russian and Qing governments were conducted. As such, it was repeatedly described in travelogues and reference books, regularly mentioned in dictionaries and diplomatic correspondence; a number of articles and books devoted to local commerce and language contacts were compiled. However, the history of the local Qing settlement has been poorly studied to date and even its name has been incorrectly used in Russian texts, which referred to it as “Maymachen”. The real Chinese name of this place was “Qiaketu”, which also, like the Russian word “Kyakhta”, originated from the Mongolian toponym “Hyagt”. The name “Maymachen” (or maimaichen according to the modern norms of transcription) was used in Chinese for the trade settlements and there were several “maimaichens” in other Mongolian cities. Thus, in the case of Qiaketu, a generic term for a specific part of the town (maimaichen) was used as the name of the whole town. The article considers the circumstances that contributed to the emergence of this peculiar situation, and the resulting errors in the interpretation of the content of geographic and historical materials.
The article analyzes the restoration of the Buddhist sangha in Mongolia after 1990 in the context of theories of Buddhist modernization in the twentieth century. Many works discuss the interaction of Buddhism with Western teachings and culture, but Mongolian Buddhism has received insufficient attention in this regard. In recent decades, Mongolia’s role in Tibetan-Mongolian Buddhism has grown. Buddhism in contemporary Mongolia is connected to religious revival and is also an important part of national, ethnic, cultural and political processes. There is a tendency towards the modernization of Buddhism in Mongolia, while the state also regards Buddhism as a means of preserving national culture and traditions. Traditional and modern forms of Buddhism are not clearly separated in contemporary Mongolia; believers sometimes use traditional practices and views to address modern problems.
The article focuses on various contexts in India’s ancient didactic texts dealing with money. The issue under discussion is whether ritual pollution was transferred from person to person through money. Ancient Indian sources repeatedly state that property acquired at the expense of punished criminals necessarily needs ritual purification. The reason for this is explained by a “similarity relationship” between the property and its owner: a sin of the former owner gets transferred to the property recipient. In this case, it is necessary to explain the issue of punishments that prescribe property confiscation. According to India’s ancient didactic texts, confiscation is often replaced by a monetary fine. Does this mean that money does not transfer the ritual pollution of its former owner to a new owner? How can we explain this paradox? The article analyzes the vocabulary used in ancient Indian texts to denote money and examines various money-related contexts. Finally, it offers insights into a possible understanding of the role of money in ancient societies.
On the basis of analyzing the works of the Persian poets of the XI–XVII centuries, the author of the paper has made an attempt to trace the main stages of evolution of the genre of Shahrashub, which is little dealt with in Iranian studies. Such study is meant to throw some light upon the process of evolution of minor genres of Persian poetry throughout the classical (X–XV c.) and postclassical (XVI–XVII c.) periods. Revealing the generic forms used by Persian poets for writing Shahrashubs, the author has made a number of suggestions concerning the reasons for their choice of different poetic forms. The main stress is made upon the analysis of verses of two outstanding poets – Mas‘ud Sa‘d Salman (1046–1121) and Sayido Nasafi (d. 1711), whose works have served as basic landmarks on the way of the evolution of the genre.
Keywords:
evolution of genre Shahrashub; system of genres and generic forms of classical Persian poetry; religious and mystical poetry; minor poetic genres
The article is focused on the problems of defining the governmental policy of the Republic of India towards the former princely territories after their integration into newly created independent state, constructing of the image of “princes without princely states”, revealing the reaction of princely community to republican political system versus the ideals of monarchy. The article traces the destinies of princely dynasties in contemporary India and dwells on the problems of incorporation of their representatives into modern Indian society based on democratic traditions. The article shows the process of transformation of the attitude of Indian ruling circles to traditional elites of South Asia and reflects changing repercussions of this problem in national historiography. The article raises the questions whether the princely dynasties of India can be measured in terms of “gone with the wind” traditional groups destined to extinction or they managed to become a part of modern composite ruling stratum and what social and political values prevail in the minds of the common population of the former territories of princely states.
Keywords:
India; Indian princely states; princes; integration of princely states; traditional elites
This article examines the poetics of Eastern Han epistles (second century AD), the first poetic love messages in the history of Chinese literature. The works discussed are Qin Jia’s poem “Sending to My Wife” (Zeng fu shi), his three-part poetic cycle “Remaining in My Native Region, I Send to My Wife” (Liu jun zeng fu shi), and an anonymous poem, “The Daughter of Shaofu Cui Bestows a Poem upon Lu Chun” (Cui shaofu nü zeng Lu Chong shi). These works had not previously been translated into Russian or studied in Russian sinology. The analysis considers poetic form, composition, themes and motifs and their connections, the genre features of the epistle, features of other genres, and means of artistic expression. As the works include poetic cycles as well as individual poems, the article also discusses the poetic cycle itself. It concludes by identifying general features of the poetic love epistle at the transition from Antiquity to the Middle Ages.
Keywords:
Chinese poetry; love messages; poetics; poetic cycle
Punjabi Sikhs’ presence in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands can be traced back to the nineteenth century. The number of Sikh units in the British-Indian army increased after the annexation of Punjab (1849); Sikh army and police were employed to operate the Andamans-based Kala Pani (Black Water) jail. The Police Gurdwara of Port Blair became a visual marker of Sikh presence in the archipelago. In 1937, the New Gurdwara was set up; it was later renamed Dr Diwan Singh Kalepani Gurdwara to commemorate Diwan Singh’s contribution to India’s national liberation movement and his humanitarian and educational work in the Andamans. In the late 1960s, the Indian government invited former servicemen, primarily Punjabi Sikhs, to settle in the Nicobar Islands to protect them from poaching and to show India’s presence in that part of the Bay of Bengal. A “Mini-Punjab” subsequently emerged on Great Nicobar in the 1970s. Throughout their history in the Andamans, Sikhs strove to reproduce their homeland in a faraway land. Unlike other Sikhs in Bengal, Assam and other regions far from Punjab, the Andaman-based followers of Guru Nanak did not have to continually assert their identity through negotiation with local social and cultural traditions.
The article is devoted to proving that Yang Xiong (53 BC – 18 AD), an outstanding Chinese thinker, writer and scientist, is the creator of the first explicit rhetoric as a theory of literature in China. From this point of view his work in world sinology has not yet been considered. The article reveals the main factors and features of the formation of ancient Chinese doctrines on oratorical art using the results of research on archaeological excavations of the last three decades. Ancient Chinese rhetoric has gone a long way of development from latent to explicit form with the selection of poetics from it. The works of Yang Xiong are one of the final stages of this process. The main provisions of Yang Xiong’s rhetoric are revealed on the basis of the study of his treatise “Exemplary Speeches” Fayan, which is both the theory and practice of literature, because on the one hand, it formulates the theory of rhetorical poetry and prose, and on the other hand it is conceived by the author as a canonical example of its literary embodiment. This thinker understands literature very widely, it covers all the main genres and types of writing that were formed by that time. A special role in it is given to canonical literature, which combines the features of the canon and classics. Yang Xiong gives poetry and prose a rhetorical character, makes a functional distinction between oral and written speech, but it is with the text that he binds the creative act, making writing primary in relation to oral presentation. He pays special attention to the aesthetic side of ancient Chinese literature. Yang Xiong also gives a rationalistic interpretation of divine inspiration, examines the phenomenon of creativity and develops the category of individual authorship.
Keywords:
rhetoric; theory of literature; oral and written speech; creativity; individual authorship
The article, based on Moroccan and Egyptian examples, offers a historical retrospective of political and economic interactions between the ruling circles of the Arab lands and powerful clans of descendants of Prophet Muhammad (sharifs), which resided in the North Africa since the early Middle Ages. The authors demonstrate the causes of friendly relations between the ruling structures and sharifian families. Typical social and economic conditions for usage of charitable endowments (waqfs) and land grants (azibs), provided to the advantage of sharifs, are also reviewed, as well as historical and cultural background for transformation of waqf and azib lands into private property. The authors trace back the etymology of azib and argue that its semantic content was due to existence of semi-nomad camps on the cattle-pass routes. Special attention is paid to the legal status of population living in waqfs and azibs, as well as factors of economic efficiency of these economic units. The study explores the continuity and stability of their evolution on specific examples. Reasons for development of wakfs into azibs, which remained typical in Moroccan (not Egyptian) history, are also outlined.
Keywords:
land property assignment; land grants; Egypt; Maghrib; provincial elites; sharifs; Ottoman Empire; Saadi dynasty; Alawi dynasty
The paper discusses polysemic onomatopoetic words in Japanese. Several models of semantic development are identified among 371 words from the Japanese-Russian Dictionary of Onomatopoetic Words, including both giseigo and gitaigo (sound and image mimetic words). The meaning of a polysemic onomatopoetic word generally develops from the concrete to the figurative and abstract: for example, from the description of a sound to a movement associated with it, or from an image or state associated with movement to human feelings and emotions likened to that state. The paper confirms some universal patterns in the semantic development of polysemic words, including metaphorical and metonymic transfers of meaning.
Keywords:
Japanese language; onomatopoetic words; semantics; polysemy
The present paper provides a survey of Indonesian women’s prose (so-called sastra wangi) that has been gaining strength since the end of the twentieth century and has become one of the central phenomena of modern Indonesian literature. In connection with the subject of discussion, some information on gender studies and feminist literary criticism is given. Sastra wangi possesses distinctive features that distinguish it from purely entertaining chick-lit. Similar processes are found in the literature of many countries, as shown by examples from Indian, Turkish and Chinese writing. Modern Indonesian women’s prose can therefore be viewed in the context of Asian and African women’s writing in general.
Keywords:
modern Indonesian prose; women’s prose; gender studies; feminism; Oriental literature
The article discusses the poetological features of the story “Infinite Present Time” (1998) by A. Kulin, which are studied on narrative-compositional and image-bearing levels. The unusual chronotopos (playing with time and space), along with the psychological motivation of the characters and the acute social problems, permit us to say a lot about the fictional code that is dominant in this work of the writer. The present tense (=yor) is intended to increase the sense of tragedy and make the events described more dramatic. The present tense in this story seems to absorb the past and replace it, presenting past events in a tragic perspective through the prism of today. The present tense (=yor) is also used to describe events that the main character believes will happen to her in the future. They also evoke a persistent sense of hopelessness and anxiety. In such a way, the present tense accumulates all other tenses, apparently becoming infinite: there is nothing but the present, a message which the story’s title emphasizes.
Keywords:
Ayshe Kulin; Turkish fiction; chronotopos; dramatization of a narration
The article analyses economic and political aspects of Algeria’s development against the background of the so-called Arab Spring, reflects on the role of the country’s president who had been honored as a man who stopped the civil war by a national accord. However, in the author’s perception, the current events resulted in deep social differentiation, the emergence of a new oligarchy, built on a splice of military, bureaucracy and private business. The author portrays some of the Algerian leaders, as well.
Keywords:
State; Constitution; president; opposition; army; revolt; revolution; secularity; Islam and Islamism
On the basis of Russian-Chinese parallel corpora, with a focus on academic texts in the social sciences and humanities, this paper examines the universal of как structures in two aspects: equivalence and foreignization. We hypothesize that such equivalence has mixed features. To test this hypothesis, we: 1) classified Russian sentence patterns introduced by как into seven types, four “integral” (for example, the “so that” pattern) and three “split” (for example, the “so…that” pattern). A statistical analysis of Russian как structures and their Chinese equivalents found that equivalence distributions differ between the two languages, with Types Two and Four in the integral group and Type One in the split group having the greatest equivalence; 2) tested the foreignization hypothesis by comparing the distributions of Chinese structures corresponding to как patterns in a translation corpus and a comparable corpus: 正如 (zhengru, just as), sentence-final 因为 (yinwei, for), and the idiomatic structures 如此……以致 (ruci…yizhi, so…that) and 没有……就 (meiyou…jiu, if not…then). Translators tend to follow the conventions of the source language, Russian, rather than those of the target language, Chinese.
Keywords:
как structures; translation equivalence; integral sentence pattern; split sentence pattern
The paper examines the semantic domain of falling in modern Japanese. The domain is comprised of two verbs of falling down, ochiru and furu; two verbs of falling over, taoreru and korobu; and one of falling and rolling, korogaru. They differ in their preferred type of trajector (objects for ochiru, rain etc. for furu; animate for korobu, unspecified for taoreru). Some finer characteristics can also be seen: for furu other trajectors than rainfall are acceptable if they come from above the viewpoint. For korobu the trajector must be self-propelling. For vertical objects the resulting prostrate state is covered by taoreru even if the fall itself comes under ochiru.
Keywords:
verbs of falling; lexical typology; lexical semantics; Japanese language
The article is dedicated to the lexical-semantic and grammatical characteristics of the two main components of the field “movement in ether” – namely, the verbs pát- “to fly; to fall” and dī-/ḍī- “to fly”. The main basis for the analysis was the hymns of the Rigveda; language data from texts in Middle Indo-Aryan and New Indo-Aryan were also used. The dynamics of the semantic and formal transformations of the verbs mentioned and of their derivatives, correlating with their functioning at different phases of the evolution of Indo-Aryan, was demonstrated.
Keywords:
movement; ether; “to fly”; “to fall”; Ancient Indo-Aryan; Vedic; Middle Indo-Aryan; New Indo-Aryan; stem; causative; derivative
The article analyzes the unpublished correspondence between V.V. Bartold and A.E. Krymsky during the period from 1908 till 1913. It contains valuable data which helps us to reconstruct main trends of the academic life at that time and to have a better understanding of the problems which occurred in the field of Oriental studies in Russia in the early 20th century. The correspondence of these distinguished scholars shows that they shared obvious common sympathy and similar professional interests. The letters of V.V. Bartold and A.E. Krymsky confirm that their primary concern was the state of Oriental studies and the system of education.
Keywords:
Oriental studies; epistolary heritage; educational system; Muslim world
Nowadays, China is one of the world’s fastest-growing economies and the largest energy consumer. The rapid development of China has brought the country to the brink of environmental collapse. In order to improve China’s environment, it is necessary to change the structure of energy consumption. Natural gas is a high-quality, highly efficient, clean, low-carbon energy source. It plays an important role in the diversification and optimization of China’s coal-dominated energy mix. Different official documents state that coal-to-gas switching is an integral part of the implementation of China’s low-carbon development strategy and a key element in the country’s transition to a sustainable energy system. This paper focuses on the dynamics and structure of gas consumption by sector and region. It also characterizes forecasts in this sphere for the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016–2020).
New trends in globalization are considered: some authors state that globalization is under threat, with the rise of protectionism and new labor-saving technologies. New trends in globalization of the 2000s include the increasing role of Asian countries in the world economy. In the first half of the 2010s, we can point out the growing importance of regional economic integration, including negotiations on the creation of regional mega-groups such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Possible future variants of the new world economic order, such as Globalization 3.0, Polarization, Islandization, and “Commonization” (version of E. Petersen and P. Laudicina), are depicted.
Transnationals from Asian countries play an increasing role in the world economy. The author makes an attempt to show that TNCs from Asian countries are involved in these new trends in globalization: the increasing importance of internal and regional markets, the rise of robotics and automation, and the transfer of labor-intensive industries from Asian countries to “frontier” economies (some African countries).
Keywords:
globalization; transnationals (TNCs) from Asian countries; new labor-saving technologies; transfer of industries to “frontier economies”; rise of protectionism; regional economic integration
The Asian crisis was sudden and unprecedented in its scale. It began as a currency crisis in Thailand but quickly spread to other Southeast Asian countries and almost paralyzed their financial systems, primarily banks and capital markets, then the real economies. Later the crisis was called a crisis of a new type in the globalization era. Four ASEAN countries – Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia – that had opened their capital accounts too soon found themselves in the epicenter of the crisis. As the crisis was financial by its nature, the above-mentioned countries in postcrisis years tried to promote more sound and efficient domestic financial systems, paid much attention to lessening the sensitivity of domestic economies and financial systems to external shocks, including “sudden stops” in foreign capital inflows, and to building a solid base of domestic investors. The aim of this study is to re-assess the scope of financial development of four Southeast Asian countries that were hit particularly hard during the Asian crisis.
Keywords:
Financial development; financial market; index of financial development; depth; access and efficiency of financial system
Chinese politics in the Hu Jintao era (2003–2013) is marked by a certain degree of ideological pluralism. This period is a peak of creative work of Yu Keping and Wang Shaoguang — the two Chinese public intellectuals whose works are examined in this article. Their positions differ in many aspects, yet one remarkable idea unites them: China can and should be democratic, and this does not mean building a Western-style democracy. In this research we conclude that democratic ideas proposed by modern Chinese pro-party intellectuals are, in essence, a reconsideration of Chinese political thought of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Keywords:
China; democracy; ideology; Yu Keping; Wang Shaoguang
The article represents a quantitative study of economic growth in the context of globalization and a country risk premium. The authors have analyzed the panel data for 94 countries for the period of 2001–2013 years. The sample of 29 Asian and African countries was considered for the same indicators and the time period. The hypothesis about correlation between the level of country’s globalization, its country risk premium and its economic growth was tested. The regression analysis showed that there was a negative correlation between the economic growth of Asian and African countries and their level of integration in the global economy. Qualitative indicators as independent variables were not investigated.
This paper offers a detailed description of the “Evaluations of the Song Dynasty Painters of Renown,” one of the earliest accounts of Chinese artists who were active between the late 10th and the first half of the 11th centuries. The paper first describes the structure of the text and the content of the artists’ biographies. It then addresses issues of authorship and date, challenging the traditional attribution to Liu Daochun in favor of Fu Jiaying, a lesser-known Song Dynasty personage. The paper finally highlights the text’s approach to the classification of artists, and places the text in the broader context of the connoisseur tradition in China.
Keywords:
history of Chinese paintings; Northern Song artists; biographies of artists; Liu Daochun; categories “pin”; connoisseurship in China
This article gives a general outline of the current state and perspectives of nuclear energy development in Arab countries. Special attention is paid to the reasons of utilization of this type of alternative energy and to analysis of existing plans for its development. Governments of a number of Arab countries expect it to become an important energy source in the future. The material analyzed in the article allows to conclude that the existing programs are too ambitious and don’t have a solid infrastructure basis yet. Taking into consideration the fact that the countries of the region significantly lag behind technologically and don’t have national human resources for nuclear power related projects, implementation of such projects is only possible with international assistance. Nevertheless, a number of Arab countries, namely the UAE, will be able to construct their own NPPs in the coming years. If such plans are realized, the issues of technological and geopolitical risks will become quite topical.
Keywords:
nuclear energy; global trend; Arab countries; national programs; nuclear power plants
The article is devoted to the analysis of the political life in Delhi in the 1940s–1960s with special attention to the development of the Hindu nationalist movement — the emergence and the early phase of BJS (Bharatiya Jana Sangh — Indian Popular Union). The author emphasizes the crucial role of RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh — National Volunteer Organisation) in the consolidation of the anti-Congress opposition movement in the early 1950s. The analysis of the changing political situation in the Indian capital is based on the results of the national and regional elections in Delhi. The consequences of the Partition of British India also had a significant impact on the political preferences of the population of Delhi. The study of the political life in Delhi reveals the fact that powerful opposition parties, which could challenge INC at the regional level, were active in India since independence.
Keywords:
Republic of India; Delhi; regional politics; Hindu nationalism; Hindu nationalist organizations
The article is focused on the role of jihad in the social and political life of Morocco in the XVII–XVIII centuries as one of the main factors of legitimacy of the Alawi dynasty (since 1631). A study of historical sources allows us to suppose that the European presence in the Moroccan lands since the XV century had a serious impact on the religious life of the Islamic Far West. Using of the ideology of jihad the sultans succeeded to gain popularity among their subjects, primarily among the traditional Islamic scholars. They also tried to justify their different political and economic outlines by needs of the holy war.
Keywords:
jihad; Morocco; sharifs; ‘ulama; legitimation; the Alawi dynasty
The Muslim community in India is among the country’s most socially and economically disadvantaged religious communities. Literacy rates are low, especially among women. The educational situation is particularly difficult in North India, including Uttar Pradesh, the country’s most populous state. Many Muslim women there cannot attend schools located far from Muslim neighbourhoods. Tensions between religious communities contribute to fear and distrust and discourage girls from going to school. Although several programmes to improve Muslim women’s access to and quality of education were launched in the 2000s, they have yet to produce substantial results.
Keywords:
Muslim community; gender; literacy rate; Uttar Pradesh
The article is devoted to the globalization impact analysis on the economic development of the Southeast Asian countries. The author notes that this process is characterized by the accelerated growth of their foreign economic relations and the increased involvement in the global economy. At the same time, it is accompanied by the increasing rates of economic development in these countries and significant changes in their economic structure. The globalization process stimulates the economies of Southeast Asian countries to gradually acquire the features of more developed markets, and facilitates their transformation from being the suppliers of food and raw materials to becoming large producers of modern industrial products. The author comes to the conclusion that at the same time with acquiring new increasingly modern development trends the globalization leads to the increase in the economic dependency of the region on the foreign markets and in particular on the main centers of the world economy.
Keywords:
globalization; involvement in global economy; position in the world economy; dependence on external factors in development; the impact of globalization on economic development
Tarikhs from several Ottoman fortresses of the Caucasus Black Sea coast (Taman, Temryuk, Sudjuk-kale, Anapa and Suhum-kale), despite their lapidary form, provide information about the history and details of the Ottoman penetration and military presence in the region. According to the account of the Temryuk fortress, construction began in 921 AH (1515–1516) during the reign of Sultan Selim I and was completed in 925 AH during the reign of Sultan Suleiman. This fort was further developed in 983 AH, during the reign of Sultan Murad (1575–1576). Under Sultan Ahmed III (1703–1730) a number of new forts were built in the region with the activation of Ottoman policy, such as Sudjuk-kale, Fash and Suhum-kale. The tarikh of Suhum-kale was discovered and translated by A. von Nordmann. Finally, at the end of the eighteenth century, the Ottomans started a new phase of fortress construction by building fortifications of the Anapa fortress.
Keywords:
The Ottoman Empire; The Black Sea; Western Caucasus; tarikhs; Anapa; Sudjuk-kale; Taman; Suhum-kale
The article is based on the materials derived from the part of the unpublished treatise of the Syrian adept of Sufism ‘Abd al-Ghani al-Nablusi (1641–1731) “Authentic and Graphic Description of Journey across the Greater Syria, Egypt and Hijaz” which contains the description of author’s travel through Egypt. The goal of this article is to analyze the structure of the ulama corporation, and its role and place in the Egyptian society of the 17th century. The analysis confirms that the ulama of this period can be characterized as a potent group that traditionally played a crucial role in the development of sustainable relations between the political elites and religious community.
Keywords:
Islam; Sufism; genre of rihla; ‘Abd al-Ghani al-Nablusi; ulama; Cairo in the 17th century
The article surveys Japanese, Western and Russian research on the life and writing of Gensai Murai (1863–1927), a Japanese writer and journalist who authored the culinary novel “Kuido:raku” (The Pleasure of Eating, 1903). Despite his extensive literary legacy and the early success of the novel, Murai is rarely counted among the best-known writers and educators of the Meiji era (1868–1912). A detailed biography published in 2004 renewed interest in his work. Western studies usually mention Murai and his novel only in discussions of everyday life in Meiji Japan. The article reviews the main studies and examines why he has received little attention in Russian historiography.
Keywords:
Meiji period historiography; journalism in Meiji Japan; everyday life; Gensai Murai; culinary novel
This article examines the main features of business Chinese in comparison with colloquial Chinese. The emergence of modern business Chinese is linked to the economic reforms begun in 1978. Stylistic features of business Chinese are analysed at the lexical and syntactic levels. A study of the Peking University CCL online corpus allows the stylistic markedness of business Chinese vocabulary to be assessed quantitatively. After classifying the genres of business writing by subject matter, the author identifies expressions characteristic of each genre that convey the intentions of the sender. Knowing these expressions supports effective use of business Chinese in negotiations and correspondence. Business Chinese combines contrasting tendencies: colloquial elements, rational and emotional approaches, traditions and innovations.
Keywords:
business Chinese language; colloquial Chinese language; business letters; key expressions
In recent decades, the Japanese economy is in the low speed segment of the global economy, while partially losing its international competitiveness in those markets where it previously had a distinct advantage, namely high-tech markets of the manufacturing industry. For the period of 5 years (2011–2015) Japan had a negative trade balance. Low economic growth in the context of continuing deflation leads to stagnation of demand in the domestic market. In these circumstances, the country’s government and Japanese businesses are looking for new areas of capital investment and new export opportunities. The article analyzes the direction and results of the Japanese strategy aimed at overseas promotion of creative industries where intellectual property constitutes the core of the product. The government of S. Abe sees these industries as one of the drivers for economic growth and expansion of export potential of the country.
This article focuses on China’s policy, cooperation and disagreements with Washington and Moscow on the DPRK’s nuclear issue. Sections 1 and 2 give an analysis of the background of developments surrounding the DPRK’s nuclear issue and the Chinese position in detail. Section 3 covers China’s cooperation and disagreements with the US on this issue. From China’s perspective, “no problems in the region will eliminate US interference in regional affairs.” Section 4 covers China-Russia cooperation regarding the DPRK’s nuclear issue. The arguments are the following: Moscow and Beijing maintain pressure on the DPRK but only to the extent that its political system does not collapse. One reason for the joint Russian-Chinese resistance to the DPRK’s nuclear tests is that, after its tests and missile launches, the US increased its military involvement in the Far East. In conclusion, the author gives a recommendation on a possible way to solve the DPRK’s nuclear issue, which poses a threat to international security.
Keywords:
China’s Policy in the UNSC; The DPRK’s Nuclear Issue; UNSC Resolutions; Nuclear Proliferation; China-US Contradictions in the UNSC; China-Russia Cooperation in the UNSC
The issue of predestination of human’s fate has triggered plenty of discussions in Islam during many centuries. A number of roots are used in description of this topic in the Quran. The author pointed out three prominent roots and analysed their usage relying on commentary to the Quran written by one of the most prominent Muslim scholars – Ibn Kathir. The study resulted in finding out the most frequent root used in description of predestination, the author also gives statistics on reflection of the topic in different periods of Quran’s revelation. The author attempts to find out the reasons why not the most frequent roots were used in the name of the theme in the Islamic doctrine.
The paper deals with the patterns of quotations in a Jewish-Italian Divination Book. The manuscript of the book belongs to the Russian State Library and derives from the Italian town of Ancona. In the 16th century, Ancona flourished as an important Mediterranean port bringing together merchants from the Ottoman Empire, Italian cities, etc. The Jewish community played a crucial role in Ancona’s commercial success due to its connections with the Jewish Sephardic communities of the Eastern Mediterranean. No wonder, the Divination book mostly bothers about commerce and money matters. However, it also expresses religious and cultural affiliation of the community. The author of the Divination Book needed Biblical and Talmudic quotations to support his forecasts by the authority of the classical texts. At the same time, these same texts put the life of Jewish merchants into the context of sacred history of Israel making the daily existence of the Ancona merchants sacred and meaningful.
Matteo Ripa (1682–1746) was an Italian missionary priest whose stay in China allowed him to witness the death of Emperor Kangxi and the Chinese rites controversy, a conflict within the Catholic Church over the meaning of traditional Chinese rituals. The conflict had severe consequences for its participants, including the Jesuit order. On returning to Italy, Ripa founded a college in Naples, the first European institution to study and teach subjects concerning the East at an academic level; it later became the Oriental University. He also wrote the memoir “Giornale”. A century after his death, Jesuit editors substantially revised the text, distorting the author’s meaning. Their widely distributed version created a lasting misconception about Ripa’s life and character. Publication of the original text now makes it possible to recover his story.
Keywords:
Matteo Ripa; Chinese rites controversy; Catholic missions; Vatican; China
The article examines how to distinguish basic and augmented elements of the Arabic word. The phenomenon of az-ziyāda (addition of a segment) is studied through the thirteenth-century Arab grammarian Ibn Ya‘īš’s treatise “Šarḥ al-Mufaṣṣal”. The identification of augmented ḥurūf is illustrated by hamza. The main criteria are derivation, evidence from words of the same pattern, and the frequency with which a ḥarf is basic or augmented in a given position. The article also examines the hierarchy of nouns according to their ability to change morphological structure: triradical nouns rank highest, followed by quadriradical and quinqueradical nouns. Special attention is paid to initial hamza. Three types of structural defectiveness in nonverbal nouns with an initial prothetic hamza are identified: elision of the third radical; assimilation of the vowel of the second radical to that of the third; and an atypical pattern whose use is restricted to a particular context.
Keywords:
Ibn Ya‘īš; Šarḥ al-Mufaṣṣal; addition of a segment; basic ḥurūf; augmented ḥurūf
The article focuses on one of the most important features of Turkey’s economic development in recent decades: periodic crises of growth arising from a similar set of causes. During globalization, the sources of these crises changed. Whereas they previously had mainly external origins, domestic financial tensions and consequent macroeconomic instability also became sources. The author regards this change as a result of Turkey’s growing agency in international financial relations under conditions of financial openness, one of the main attributes of globalization.
Keywords:
Turkey; financial and economic crisis; external debt; Turkey’s growing agency in international financial markets; financial stability
The article is devoted to little-known aspects of the Christian-Muslim relations in the Mamluk state dealing with suppression of the Christian wine-production and wine-trade. In the 13th and 14th centuries the Muslim world affected by serious historical challenges (the Crusades and the Mongol invasion) went through a certain moral revolution. It stimulated the spirit of religious fundamentalism, implementation of the norms of the Islamic piety and the oppression of the religious minorities. During the “century of persecutions” (1260s–1360s) campaigns of religious repressions against Dhimmis repeated several times being motivated by a certain irrational rhythm of social aggression of the lower classes of the Muslim society. However in the late 14th and 15th centuries another factor of the persecutions became obvious. The “Black Death” pandemic and following waves of the epidemics of plague, natural disasters and famine caused an atmosphere of apocalyptic expectations and penitence. These sentiments led to campaigns against social vices as wine-drinking, drugs consumption and prostitution, which were supposed to be the reasons of the Divine punishment. The article analyses coincidences between the years of plague and famine and the religious persecutions of the Dhimmis, first of all suppression of the wine-trade which was strongly associated with the Christians.
Keywords:
the Mamluk sultanate; Islam; Christian-Muslim relations; Syria; Egypt; “the Black Death”; plague; wine production; wine-trading; religious persecutions
This paper, which is based on a series of author’s calculations and models, analyzes current situation, trends, factors and major determinants of Least Developed Countries’ (LDCs’) economic development during the last three to four decades. It is argued that despite many acute problems that they do not cease to face, several dozens of LDCs have recently started to progress on the path of rather fast and more or less sustained economic growth. Although LDCs are still grappling with severe forms of multidimensional poverty, substantial dearth of human capital and modern infrastructure, adequate economic, social, political and legal institutions, and encounter considerable foreign economic and climatic shocks, they on average during the last decade and a half managed to have markedly increased their rates of growth of per capita GDP and human development index. It should be underscored that LDCs having benefitted from significant improvement of barter terms of foreign trade, some upgrade in government effectiveness and implementation of a series of pragmatic economic reforms, have succeeded in expanding rates of growth of agricultural and manufacturing production and exports. The level of their gross capital formation has by and large considerably risen due to significant enlargement of the share of domestic savings related to GDP, FDI inflows and workers’ remittances. It would be incorrect to overemphasize the progress achieved by approximately three dozen LDCs (as the basis of their growth remains shaky), but, nevertheless, they have demonstrated noticeable improvement in dynamics of their investment efficiency and productivity growth.
Keywords:
Least Developed Countries (LDCs); poverty; backwardness; determinants of economic growth; total factor productivity; quality of institutions
The article presents a Russian translation of the commentary on the 77th sura, “The Emissaries,” from Tafsir al-Jalalayn (“The Commentary of the Two Jalals”), one of the most popular short Qur’anic commentaries in the Muslim world. It reflects the central opinion of the Sunni tradition. The introductory remarks and explanations describe the features of this commentary, briefly analyze the sura and discuss variations in Russian translations of several ayahs arising from different interpretations in classical Muslim exegesis.
Keywords:
Tafsir al-Jalalayn; 77th surah “The Emissaries”; commentary to the Qur’an; Muslim exegesis
The Republic of Korea is one of few countries, that have managed to accomplish a catching-up development, create competitive economics and transit into the group of high-income countries. The paper analyses factors of economic growth of the Republic of Korea. The study explores a number of components of South Korea’s economic success, due to which South Korea has managed to transit from the category of poor and underdeveloped countries into the group of developed countries and make its economy proceed to grow by the way of intensive economic growth. The paper also represents a number of economic growth’s constraints and measures taken to overcome them.
Keywords:
the Republic of Korea; components of success; economic growth; effectiveness; constraints of growth; intensive economic growth
The actual Russian military-political presence in Syria makes to reveal the events happened there more than two centuries ago. During the Russian-Ottoman war of 1768–1774 Russia became the first European country that invaded to the Middle East in the Modern times and even for the short time occupied the part of it: the city of Beirut. The repetition of the Russian navy’s Mediterranean expedition was preparing during the next war of 1787–1791. One of its results should be the separation of Egypt and the part of Syria from the Ottoman Empire as a result of ‘diversions’, as in the diplomatic correspondence were named the secret agreements with the separatist-minded local leaders. The approval by Catherine II of the Ottoman Empire’s partition project known as “Greek Plan”, the involvement of Crimea into Russian’s influence area and its further annexation in 1783 are laying between two those events. The presented article analyzes the chances for the Crimean scenario to be repeated in Syria if the Sweden aggression in 1788 would not thwart the prepared transfer of the Baltic navy to the Eastern Mediterranean.
Keywords:
“Greek Project”; Russia and the Middle East; Syria; Lebanon; Russian-Turkish war of 1787–1791; Ahmad Djezzar-pasha; Yusuf Shihabi
The article examines the role of Mughal gardens in Indian history from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century. It considers their functions during the reigns of the Great and Late Mughals and their value as indicators of the growth and decline of the Mughal Empire. Establishing gardens was especially important to the first Mughal emperors as a way of marking territory. By the seventeenth century, this way of asserting authority was no longer needed, and the wives and daughters of emperors began to tend the gardens of the capital. The widespread decay of gardens in the eighteenth century reflected the disintegration of the empire. Two Delhi complexes are examined: Humayun’s tomb, the first Mughal dynastic building in South Asia and a model for Indian Muslim architecture, and Safdarjung’s tomb, often described as the last glimmer of Mughal architectural style in Delhi.
The article examines the existence, development and influence of the ancient plot of the Ramayana and its main characters, Rama and Sita, on modern Hindi literature. Numerous publications confirm the importance of this subject for contemporary India. The ancient plot is modernized and connected with the current situation in India and the world. The images of Rama and Sita also allow writers to create new genres: a modern mahakavya in Hindi rather than Sanskrit, a satirical or detective story, a feminist novel, a utopian novel or a postmodern novel with elements of comics. The article focuses on two Hindi works: Premchand’s “Ram Charcha” (Discussing Rama), a Ramayana in simple prose for children and a broad audience, and Kusum Ansal’s “Ek aur Panchavati” (One More Panchavati), a novel in the “mahila lekhan” (women’s writing) movement.
Keywords:
Ramayana; modern Hindi novel; interpretation of a traditional plot
The article deals with some issues of PPP-based international economic comparisons. Considering the case of the world’s two largest economies — China and the USA — it formulates the problems of accurately estimating economic size and the level of economic development. In particular, it identifies shortcomings in IMF and World Bank methods for PPP-based indicators that severely limit researchers’ capacity for analysis and forecasting. It stresses that, given the current quality of statistics, precise estimates of PPP-based GDP cannot be obtained for either developing (low- and middle-income) or developed (high-income) countries. It gives reasons for revising IMF and World Bank methods of adjusting PPP-based GDP.
The article presents an analysis of the semantic field of oscillation verbs in Hindi and its metaphorization. The main aim of this article is to study the principles of organization of the semantic field of oscillation in Hindi. Some semantic parameters relevant for this field in Hindi were revealed. The most relevant parameters are animateness and oscillation because of the deformation.
This article deals with the fate of Hyderabad, the largest princely state in South Asia, after it was integrated into the Indian Union. The decolonization of South Asia affected not only the provinces of British India, but also most of the 600 Indian princely states. Russian historiography pays special attention to the events that took place in British India. The author analyzes the decolonization of Indian princely states, in particular, the case of Hyderabad, which was exceptionally important due to its strategic location within India. Hyderabad was forcedly integrated into India, so this article dwells on the aftermath of this event.
Keywords:
Decolonization of South Asia; 1947–1948 Integration; Communal Violence; The Princely State of Hyderabad
This article focuses on analyzing and comparison of phrase identification criteria in modern Russian and Chinese languages. Through a theoretical and terminological examination author concluded the research with the observation of three common criteria in Russian and Chinese Phraseology. This confirmed to a certain degree the universality of phrase identification in these two languages. However, some unique criteria from Chinese language do result in very different types of phrases in these two languages. It’s recommended that further researches on typology and Inner form of Russian and Chinese phrases can be based on the results of this article.
Keywords:
phraseology; phraseological units; Russian idioms; Chinese Chengyu; Russian language; Chinese language
The article focuses on emotional and sensorial perception of Delhi by three foreigners (J. Matheson, G. Bulger, R. Minturn) who visited India in the second half of the XIXth century and authored informative travelogues.
Keywords:
India; Delhi; Great Mughals; city; travelers; emotions; emotional turn
The article describes the semantic field of the “human” concept that is widely presented among the Swahili proverbs. That is the space of this concept that helps to overview the system of spiritual cultural values. Cultural and spiritual values are very important part of every ethnic community and Swahili as well. These values are accumulated, carefully kept and pass from generation to generation of Swahili people with the help of their proverbs. Cultural values are also a basic category of the world’s picture of the ethnos. All the values are invisibly spread and somehow codified in the language of Swahili community and proverbs are not an exception. The investigation of human values through the proverbs is like a key to the soul of Swahili people.
Keywords:
semantic space of concept “human”; cultural and spiritual values; ethnically codified categories
The article is focused on the role of Nuri al-Said in the process of state-making in Iraq in the beginning of the XX century. Special attention is paid to the issues of establishing of the British Mandate in Mesopotamia and the beginning of the independence according to the treaty of 1930 between Britain and Iraq.
Contemporary Chinese poetry demonstrates a tendency towards converging word and image. Many authors use this convergence of visual and verbal as a means of renewing their poetics. It reflects not only orientation towards a creative dialogue with the art of previous periods, but also emergence of new expressive means that implicate language experiments (incl. words as asemantic images). Examples of this approach include formal experiments of poet-cum-artist Yan Li, calligraphic explorations of Ouyang Jianghe, and works of several poetry groups and circles, among others — the ‘marvelous enlightenment’ calligraphy school (miao wu). This use of hybrid formats for information presentation captures new ways of visual-verbal interaction in rethinking of the literati tradition. At the same time, it constitutes a part of our need for surviving in a global text field, where misunderstanding of the text language in constant crossing of linguistic borders is increasingly becoming an important part of our practice.
Keywords:
Chinese Literature; contemporary poetry; visual art; calligraphy
The article describes the events in Libya from 1943, when Libya was liberated from the control of Italy and divided into three occupation zones, to the first decade of the XXI century, the verge of “Arab Spring”, which triggered a civil war in that country. It especially focuses on the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya regime, which was overthrown together with its founder in 2011. The author shows that behind this regime, allegedly based on direct democracy, was not only the autocracy of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, but also political confrontation between representatives of different tribal clans, which escalated in 1991–1998, during the period of international embargo against Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. The article also analyzes the main trends of Libyan foreign policy and internal conflicts that lead to the fall of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and the shocking death of Gaddafi.
Keywords:
History of Libya; Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya; Muammar Gaddafi; “Arab Spring”
The article speaks about the numerous verbal forms in the Fula language (Atlantic family) and the best way to translate them into typologically different languages, such as Indo-European. The verbal forms discussed are predicates, participles and recently grammaticalized auxiliaries.
Keywords:
Fula language; morphology; semantics; typology; aspect systems
The social status of the reaya of the Ottoman Empire in the sixteenth century is analyzed in this article. The author describes the relationship between the peasant and sipahi-landowners. Much attention is given to the consideration of categories of the peasantry, types of taxes that were paid in favour of sipahi and the state treasury, the mutual duties and rights of reaya and landowners.
Keywords:
the Ottoman Empire; reaya; chiftlik; kanunname; taxes; sipahi
The article deals with the historical overview of the emergence of the interest to the composition of the Qur’ān and the formation of the special discipline in the classical Muslim science written by an authority in the subject, Badr ad-Dīn az-Zarkashī. Zarkashī dates the beginning of this interest back to the first half of the Xth century but it is only in the XIII–XIVth centuries that we can speak of the existence of the discipline devoted to munāsabāt. Zarkashī’s text became a starting point for Jalāl ad-Dīn as-Suyūṭī in his famous Itqān. The article includes also a survey of the concrete approaches of Muslim scholars to the study of the structure of the Qur’ānic text.
Keywords:
the Qur’ān; composition; ‘ilm al-munāsabāt; Zarkashī; Suyūṭī
Imperial ideology and practice under Abdul Hamid II marked the return of the religious factor: the revival of the Caliphate and the concept of Islamic solidarity. During the reign of Abdul Hamid II “Scenario of power” of the secular and cosmopolitan empire turned into a national-religious myth. Sultan’s reign concept maintained and transformed the dynamic combination of the spiritual and secular elements. The idea of the extraterritoriality of spiritual power has become an essential component of the official ideology of Pan-Islamism.
Keywords:
Imperial ideology; Sultan Abdul Hamid II; the Ottoman Empire; the reign of the concept; the Middle East
Laboratory of Experimental Phonetics is a teaching and research unit, part of the Institute of Asian and African Studies of Lomonosov Moscow State University. Laboratory works closely with all philological departments of the Institute, its experts are studying sounding system of language, speech prosody, intonation, psycholinguistics. Laboratory of Experimental Phonetics was established in autumn 1962 as an interdepartmental research center: students, undergraduates, graduate students, teachers, researchers of the Institute of Philology faculties work and study there.
In the article, based on a series of computations and models, it is shown that despite the progress achieved in the world during the last three to four decades in technologies, innovations, and international economic links, paradoxically, there occurred a substantial slowdown in global economic growth and total factor productivity and human development index dynamics — primarily in DCs, but in EMs as well. Although some part of this phenomenon is due to underestimation of quality in growth dynamics, “new normal” of retardation in growth is real. It stems from massive distortions in the global economy and its main constituents brought about by its excessive financialization, substantial increase in indebtedness, huge rise in levels of inequality of incomes and assets. Although it is clear that some reallocation of incomes from super-rich to less well-to-do, especially in EMs, that could be undertaken by means of heavier taxation of the former, can boost development of human capital, promote acceleration in world economic growth and convergence in the global economy, the political mechanism of this Keynesian world-wide reform is very hard to enact.
Keywords:
global economy; slowdown in economic growth; models; developed and developing countries; total factor productivity; financialization of the economy; indebtedness; inequality; human capital; information technologies; institutions
The article is dedicated to the history of the foundation of the Historical branch in the Institute of Asian and African Studies in 1956 and depicts the activities of certain historical departments. It reflects the main periods and actual trends in the development of the historical studies on Asia and Africa, revealing unity and diversity in the historical development of various parts of Asia and Africa regions.
Keywords:
Historical branch in IAAS; Departments of history; academic life; pedagogical activities
The article deals with the description of the types of noun and verb paradigms in the Arabic linguistic tradition. Logical principles of attributing a certain type of paradigm to a word are detected and exposed. The study is based on the Arab grammarian Ibn Ya’īš’s treatise “Šarḥ al-Mufaṣṣal” (XIII century).
This article discusses the Ancient Indian system of concepts about purification of the property defiled by the qualities of its previous owner. It analyzes the contexts of Ancient Indian didactic literature. The main conclusion is that Brahman can act as a purifier for the defiled property.
In the article, based on a series of computations and models, it is shown that despite the progress achieved in the world during the last three to four decades in technologies, innovations, and international economic links, paradoxically, there occurred a substantial slowdown in global economic growth and total factor productivity and human development index dynamics – primarily in DCs, but in EMs as well. Although some part of this phenomenon is due to underestimation of quality in growth dynamics, “new normal” of retardation in growth is real. It stems from massive distortions in the global economy and its main constituents brought about by its excessive financialization, substantial increase in indebtedness, huge rise in levels of inequality of incomes and assets. Although it is clear that some reallocation of incomes from super-rich to less well-to-do, especially in EMs, that could be undertaken by means of heavier taxation of the former, can boost development of human capital, promote acceleration in world economic growth and convergence in the global economy, the political mechanism of this Keynesian world-wide reform is very hard to enact.
Keywords:
global economy; slowdown in economic growth; models; developed and developing countries; total factor productivity; financialization of the economy; indebtedness; inequality; human capital; information technologies; institutions
The article gives a synopsis of the main features of Arabic grammar, including morphology, inflection and syntax. Its viewpoint is that of the general linguistics which can help to bring together theoretical positions of general linguists and scholars of Arabic and to work out a common approach to the structure of Semitic languages.
Keywords:
Arabic language; inflection; word formation; syntax; weak verbs
The article raises questions connected to the appropriation of the Sharia by Christian political system; the ability of the Latin political and legal system to include the norms of Islamic law into its judicial practice of local courts and of the Royal Curia. The Crown of Aragon was selected for this study because the Muslim population there was numerous, and the informative sources were preserved. The author argues that Islamic law was not rejected by the legal system of Christians. The Sharia was present within the hierarchical legal space of Kingdom as its natural part.
Keywords:
Crown of Aragon; 14th c.; Sharia; qadi; Muslim communities; Crown law; litigation; customary law
This paper provides basic analysis of Palestine economic development in the stated above period. It gives an overall impression of the general patterns of Jewish and Arab communities’ development. Special attention is drawn to the Israeli innovation economy background formation. Main idea of the paper is that without understanding of what was going on in the economy of the region within this period it is impossible to provide a qualitative analysis of the economic development of Israel and Palestine at least in the 20th century.
This paper focuses on China’s policy on peacekeeping from 2000 to 2013. To improve its peacekeeping capabilities, China implemented several reforms and structural changes. China’s involvement in UN peacekeeping operations (UNPKO) provides China an opportunity to solidify its reputation in the world as a responsible power and strengthen its position in countries that are at risk. The international community is also interested in China deepening its role and sending more troops to UN peacekeeping operations because China offers both quality and quantity.
Keywords:
China; Peacekeeping Operations; UNSC; Africa; UN Peacekeeping Operations
South-Indian city of Hyderabad is the capital of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Hyderabad, being a historical example of Hindu-Muslim cultural synthesis, is at the same time notorious for its intercommunal clashes. This article deals with the role of ethnic and confessional factors in the activities of political parties in Hyderabad.
Keywords:
Hyderabad; communal violence; ethnic and confessional factors; political parties
In Modern Hebrew, there are rules that define which particle and which verbal form are to be used in a conditional construction. However, in less formal speech situations two new tendencies may be found. One represents the use of the particle im ‘if’ (originally real-only conditions) with a broader set of verbal forms, including those restricted to unreal conditional sentences in the literary language. The other concerns the use of some marginalizing unreal conditional particles with future tense forms, that allows to express real conditions with an emphasized modal epistemic component, showing the reality status of the situation.
Keywords:
conditionals; if; future tense; irreality; Hebrew language
The purpose of this article is to give a short survey of Orthodoxy history in East Africa. Using certain information from private interviews with the orthodox priests in Tanzania and Kenya the article is focused on the activity of Orthodox Churches. Besides the church services all the orthodox priests fulfill their principal missionary functions through the providing more and better education among the native peoples, translations of religious materials in local African languages, first-aid treatment, and the building of schools, hospitals and Orthodox cathedrals.
Keywords:
Orthodoxy; East Africa; field research; interview; activity of the orthodox priests
The article deals with the history of anthological genre in Iran of XIII–XIX c. and shows its evolution from entertaining literature to literary criticism. Development of the genre demonstrates transformation both in the character of narrative and the principles of classification.
Keywords:
anthology; adab prose; literary biography and criticism
The article investigates the role of the Chinese government in the process of searching for and identifying the next rebirth of the Dalai Lama XIV, who has been in India since 1959. The author considers the main assessments of the Chinese authorities and the Dalai Lama’s entourage on the reincarnation issue based on Chinese sources and materials of Tibetan exile, and also notes possible ways the issue may evolve.
Keywords:
China; Tibet; the Dalai Lama; the Tibetan issue; reincarnation
The article discusses some main directions in the religious policy of China in the 20th century, when China becomes one of the most important global manufacturers and investors. Cultural policy, in general, and the attitude to religions, in particular, change radically with the beginning of reforms in 1978. The policy of struggle against religions, which caused death of tens of thousands of priests and the destruction of temples during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), has gone into the past. Since the beginning of the reforms in 1978 the communist party has pursued liberal permissive policy towards religions. Moreover, the state itself becomes organizer of religious life, investor in religious activities, religious institutions and spiritual education. However, the Chinese authorities behave rigidly when religious activities are considered to be connected with sectarianism, non-recognition of communist ideology, the struggle for self-determination or separatism.
Keywords:
religious policy; sects; Confucianism; Buddhism; Islam; Christianity; Catholicism; cultural brands
Author investigates in details such specific trends of Japanese demographic development as fast population aging, rate of birth decrease, increase of age dependency ratio after the end of World War II, and the influence of these processes on labour force quantitative and qualitative characteristics and possible ways of its replenishment. Comparative analysis of the demographic shift in Japan and same processes in the developed countries of Western Europe and North America also occupies a significant place in the research.
Keywords:
demographic resources; population aging; population age structure change; fertility rate decrease; age dependency ratio; labor force; labor productivity
Article deals with a reflection of Tianjin treaty of 1858 in the diary of Archimandrite Palladius (Kafarov), head of 13th Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Beijing (1850–1858), one of the best expert on China of his time. Diary covers a period from the winter of 1858 to the end of the summer of 1858 and provides some valuable data on the history of Russian-Chinese relations in the middle of the XIXth century, especially in the dimension of daily work of Russian diplomats of this time. On the pages of the diary we can find some critical remarks on Russian representative count Putiatin behavior and clear misunderstanding of the China situation and Russian interests in the region, showed by him. For this reason, the original diary was published in abridged form and fully published only in 1912.
Keywords:
Russian-Chinese relations; Tianjin Treaty; Treaty of Tientsin; Russian orthodox mission in Beijing; Archimandrite Palladius; Kafarov; Yevfimy Putyatin
This article is dedicated to the analysis of monastic exploit in ancient Georgian hagiographic literary monuments and, in particular, to dispensation of prayer by the example of Georgian saints. Article comments on different stages of prayer life: verbal prayer, pure prayer, spiritual prayer and prayerful contemplation. The path of mystic ascent of St. Shio Mgvimeli, Abo Tbileli, Grigol Handzteli, Ekvtime Atoneli and others is analyzed taking into account basic settings of hesychast teaching, unceasing prayer, noetic prayer, contemplation of uncreated light and fragrance, glory and theoria.
Keywords:
Georgian hagiography; unceasing prayer; mental prayer; aphonic psalmody; early hesychasm; contemplation of uncreated light; Orants gesture
This article investigates the problematics of Chinese “neorealism” (xin xieshizhuyi) through a case study of Wang Anyi’s novels and short stories. Wang Anyi’s fiction is both representative of neorealism and symptomatic of its problematics. Though her work is not limited by neorealist discourse, it demonstrates, to a certain extent, all basic features of neorealist literary aesthetics, such as depicting decidedly unheroic urbane mundane life, lowering the emphasize on historical influence and social controversy, and accentuating instead human existence ‘as it is’, openly discussing the topics of human biology and body, and using specific literary techniques to transmit individual feelings and perception of life.
Keywords:
Wang Anyi; Chinese literature; “neorealist” literature; urbane, mundane life
Nowadays shadow elements like sarrafi, hawala and qarz-ol-hasane funds still exist in financial system of Iran. The article briefly observes these institutions and depicts causes of their appearance as well as main fields and consequences of their work. Measures taken by Iranian government against shadow institutions are presented. An attempt was made to forecast future development of illegal institutions.
Turkish community is imprescriptible part of the modern German society. As a result it has inevitable influence on the all aspects of social life, including literature. The formation of the literature of Turkish community interest to which highly increases recently started in the mid of 1960s and beginning of 1970s. The first works by Turkish authors represented life of so-called “guest-workers” in Germany, their main problems and hopes. The aim of our article is to represent the main features of the first period of the development of the Turkish-German literature.
Keywords:
guest-workers; Turkish community of Germany; migrant literature
The following article focuses on the first years of the British occupation of north-eastern regions of Mesopotamia after World War I. The author investigates the key features of mutual relations between the local tribal elite and the officers of the British occupational administration. Special attention is paid to the subject of establishing control over the occupied area as well as its incorporation into the newly-formed Iraqi state.
Keywords:
Iraq; Kurdistan; British Empire; Mahmoud Barzinji
The following article focuses on strengthening of Islamic factor in Turkish society and its depiction in Turkish press after World War II. The author shows shifts in Turkish printed press. Special attention is paid to establishing of Islamic periodicals in Turkey, and discussions of secular principles of the state.
The paper traces a number of developments in Burmese monastic thought in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries that were instrumental in the formation of Buddhist social movements. It argues that the redefinition of the notion of Buddhist canon as well as the debates on monastic discipline and proper relations between the monks and the laity provided a basis for the emergence of new Buddhist identities and social roles. The pivotal role of the sangha in these processes offers a new perspective on the reform movements in the nineteenth-century Theravada Buddhism, as so far these movements are more commonly interpreted as a product of lay activism.
Keywords:
Myanmar; Theravada; sangha; Buddhist reform movements
The paper examines how contemporary Chinese avant-garde poets structure their oeuvre regarding the perception of language based on the presence of several different modes of forming a poetic text. The existence of two distinguishable artistic paradigms (“minjian” and “intellectual”) not only sets the formal criteria for differentiation of the poetic space, but also enriches the content of the experiments, linking them with the Chinese autochthonous tradition, “new literature” tradition dating roughly from the beginning of the 20th century and Western models of language appropriation.
Keywords:
Chinese poetry; experimental poetry; “intellectual” poetry; “minjian” poetry; poetic language
This article attempts to bring to the limelight an insufficiently explored question, which concerns correlation between the concept of supreme power and its material and spiritual expression in the capital Phu Xuan – Hue. Issue raised by this article is directly related to the problems of integration and assimilation of foreign (primarily Chinese) cultural experience and its influence on Vietnam that traces back to the beginning of a new era.
Keywords:
supreme power; sacred image of the capital; Confucianism; ruler cult; cult of ancestors and spirits; geomancy
The paper analyses the dynamics of civic activity and development of social protest culture in Turkey since the establishment of Republic in 1923. The study explores the main vectors, forms and normative strategies of social protest within different periods of Turkey’s modern history. Basing on the analysis of publications in the Turkish press (from the late 1920s up to the 2010s) the author argues new typology of mass political actions and protest unrest in Turkey and paradigms of interference between social protest and political culture.
Keywords:
Turkey; social protest; civil society; democracy
In this article we focus on the aesthetical views of the writer Shiga Naoya, famous for his laconic and restrained style of short stories, lack of an entertaining plot. This author is recognized as an extraordinary sensualist able to intuitively grasp the beauty of his surroundings. The analysis of Shiga’s aesthetic values on the basis of his essays and fiction enables us to explain the effect of his prose on the Japanese reader. According to Shiga, the main purpose of a true artist is in the immediate, nearly physiological impact on the reader, in creating a rhythm in prose that resembles the life rhythm of its author. These views Shiga attempted to implement in his own work. The understanding of Shiga’s concept of art is necessary for comprehending the attractiveness of his prose and in the attempts of transferring it to the Western reader in translation.
The article is devoted to the analysis of Turkish absurd drama presented in the play of the Turkish absurd «classic» Sabahattin Kudret Aksal. In the frameworks of this theme the comparison between language peculiarities of Turkish and European absurd drama is conducted.
Keywords:
modern Turkish dramaturgy; absurd drama; language peculiarities of the play
The represented article is devoted to the analysis of the activities and the ideological legacy of the Syrian Islamic scholar Yusuf bin Ismail al-Nabhani (1849–1932) who represented conservative trend in the Islamic thought of the Ottoman Empire. For sheikh al-Nabhani and his followers the modern age was neither associated with modernization nor with Islamic reforms. Al-Nabhani fundamentally rejected such approaches towards Islam, considering the system of Islamic Sciences complete and universal. In this, his views corresponded with the policy of the Ottoman Sultan Abdul-Hamid II. However, al-Nabhani can hardly be considered only as a guide to the governmental course.
The proper noun being the object of linguistic analysis in the Arabic linguistic tradition is examined in the article on the basis of Arab grammarian Ibn Ya’īš’s treatise “Šarḥ al-Mufaṣṣal” (XIII century). The object of analysis in question is relevant to studying logical and semantic (reference), onomasiological (nomination), morphological, derivational and syntactic aspects of Arabic grammatical theory.
The crucial parameter for the semantic field of oscillation is whether the situation meets the human needs and expectations: Hindi has a verb reserved for the oscillation of special devices such as a swing or a cradle; Tomo-kan, on the contrary, lexicalizes the type of oscillation that indicates some disfunctionality of an artifact. Two more parameters are relevant for both languages: whether the Trajector is firm or soft and whether it is animate.
The article investigates a debut novel by Meir Shalev, a famous Israeli prosaist. Proceeding from the discurs-analysis it is proved that the national history concept in Shalev’s “Russian novel” (1988) is based at the post-modernist understanding of the world in which discourses deconstruction of ideological (Zionism) and religion (Judaism) had the determining meaning. The methods of the discursive codes and practices (“double coding principle” and others) play-mode re-coding give rise to the parody-laughing effect in the novel.
Keywords:
Meir Shalev; national history art philosophy; deconstruction; ideological and religious discourses
The article deals with the key problem of Bantu studies, namely the noun class system in Ndonde. Ndonde is a language that is at risk of falling out of use as its speakers shift to speaking another language. Therefore, language documentation of Ndonde grammar is considered to be important. Based on field research data Ndonde nouns are classified into 18 noun classes. The article is devoted to the analysis of grammar and lexical semantic characteristics of each of these noun classes.
Keywords:
field research; bantu studies; Ndonde language; noun class system
This article, exploring the case of Morocco, investigates demographic, structural, hierarchical, spiritual and ethical background of social importance, attributed to descent from Prophet Muhammad (sharifism) in traditional life of Muslim societies. The author makes distinction between the concepts of ‘sharifs’ and ‘aristocracy’, as well as clarifies the intricacies of maintenance of corporate spirit, cohesion and sociopolitical mobilization of sharif-s in the Muslim Far West. The article also provides explanatory account for sharifian benefits and privileges, historically accepted by Moroccan society and ruling circles.
The article proposes principles of the adequate rhythmic translation of the Arabic poetry into Russian within the accentual-syllabic system of the Russian verse. The theoretic foundation is the interpretation of the system of ‘aruḍ exposed by the author in his publications including the monograph “Classical Arabic Verse. History and Theory of ‘Arud”. The article is intended for specialists in Arabic poetry, students of Arabic and translators.
The paper shortly describes the main periods of the history of Kashmir starting from the times of antiquity and till the beginning of the 21st century. In parallel with this changes in sociolinguistic status of the Kashmiri language are analyzed. The latter was in the past and nowadays still remains the main means of oral communication for the majority of the population of the state, but the field of its functions has turned to be considerably reduced. Urdu declared as the only official language of Jammu and Kashmir, has ousted Kashmiri from practically all the spheres of writing, printing and electronic communication, including administrative activity, management, education and mass media. Thus Kashmiri, being historically the major language of the country, characterized by ancient and rather well developed literary tradition, by now has got transformed into a language of minority which may be qualified as an “endangered” one. In case the contemporary state of things remains preserved also in future, Kashmiri may simply disappear from the linguistic map of Hindustan.
Keywords:
history of Kashmir; sociolingual status; Kashmiri; Urdu; the language of minority; the endangered language
The article is a review of works on the Turkish phonetics and phonology, created since the appearance of Turkic studies in Russia. Author offers the original sequence Turkological literature that demonstrates the common searches and views of many researchers and helps analyze the evolution of their views. This article demonstrates the importance of terminological differences and distinction between “phonetics” and “phonology” in Turkic theoretical linguistics.
This article considers the biography of Hadzhi Zagidullovich Gabidullin, the first head of the Department of History of the Colonial and Dependent Countries of the Historical Faculty of the Moscow State University of M. V. Lomonosov. In the history of oriental studies H. Z. Gabidullin has got popularity as a researcher of Islam and Turcology. His work in co-authorship with A. Arsharuni “Sketches of Panturkism and Panislamism in Russia” even now represents considerable value because a large number of the most interesting archival documents on “Muslim affairs” from funds of the Department of Police of the imperial Ministry of Internal Affairs were published in it for the first time. H. Z. Gabidullin prepared a work on the history of the Young Turks’ revolution and supervised Russian-Turkish scientific communications at the level of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR in the mid-thirties. H. Z. Gabidullin was one of the Soviet “responsible authorities” supervising the development and introduction in Russia of alphabets based on Latin script. In May 1937 he was accused of participation in a counterrevolutionary nationalist organization and helping “Trotskyists” and was soon subjected to repression. In 1957 H. Z. Gabidullin was rehabilitated. However, his name and activity were long consigned to oblivion.
Keywords:
Gabidullin; Department of History of the Colonial and Dependent Countries; Turcology; Islamic Studies; Political repressions
The following article focuses on the state policy towards Islamic education in Turkey during the Ataturk era. The author analyses various governmental measures towards the Islamic educational system and the establishment of a secular educational system. Special attention is paid to the consistent deconstruction of traditional educational institutes.
The article concerns the processes of voluntary islamisation in the Bulgarian provinces of Ottoman Empire in XVII–XVIII cent. Using materials of the sharia courts registers (sicills) of Sofya the article tells us about probable motives and reasons of conversion to Islam, their life like “new Muslims” and integration to Ottoman society.
Keywords:
Ottoman Empire; Bulgarian lands; Islamisation; qadis courts
This article is devoted to one of the aspects of Early Afghan Literature studies — functioning of poetic incorporation in the first extant prosaic literature work in Pashto — “Dastar-nama” or “Book of Turban” by Khushkhal-khan Khattak (1613–1689). The aim of the article is to define main characteristics and functions of poetic inserts in “Dastar-nama” and determine the means of interaction between prose and poetry in a single artistic space. Such problem definition is quite actual as prose-and-poetic works are widely spread in all classic literatures of the Middle East (Arabic, Persian, Turkish etc.). Still, the problem of poetic inserts’ roles and objectives is insufficiently explored. Thus, this article analyzing the material of Afghan Literature contributes to the creation of instrumental basis for further medieval prose-and-poetic pieces’ functioning analysis.
Keywords:
adab literature; prose-and-poetic works; early Afghan prose in Pashto; poetic inserts in prose
This article is dedicated to insufficiently studied cultural and educational activities of Abdurrezak Bedirhan, one of the most influential Kurdish political figures at the end of the XIX – beginning of the XX centuries, a fervent supporter of strengthening of the Russian-Kurdish relations.
Keywords:
Kurdistan; enlightenment; the Young Turks; Islamic identity; Christian minority
The paper centers on finding a “common ground” in the works of such authors working in the mainstream of postmodern and avant-garde trends as Vladimir Sorokin and Yu Hua. The analysis is conducted from the point of view of the general ontological foundations of their works, their aesthetic guidelines and the immediate implementation of afore-mentioned in the textual reality. Thus stable complexes with a clear predominance of artistic phenomena of the grotesque and the absurd are revealed.
Keywords:
Yu Hua; Chinese literature; Sorokin; postmodernism; absurd; grotesque
This paper deals with adjectives describing slippery, smooth, and even surfaces in Chinese within the framework of lexical typology. The analysis is based on a typological research on language categorization of surface textures. After the discussion of semantic oppositions between the direct uses of the adjectives in question, the semantic map for Chinese is constructed and some suggestions for the further elaboration of the map based on Chinese data are made.
The paper covers political and legal aspects of the religious conflict in Ayodhya with a focus on 2010 verdict of the Allahabad High Court as well as the attitude of Indians to the conflict proper. The paper analyzes Bharatiya Janata Party’s electoral campaign on the eve of 2014 parliamentary elections and its potential impact on the conflict.
The article proves, on the base of the comparative analysis of Elif Shafak’s two novels (“Pinkhan”, 1997 and “Love”, 2009), that post-modernist rizoma has been structured hardly by its own fundamental principles (discourse decentration, reality textualisation, images simulativity, denial of historism, etc.) and is realized in the writer’s texts through stereotype artistic devices (characters’ way-inicialization, recital “narrativization”, “déjà vu”, parallelism, hybrid “past-present-future” time and so on) which are intensively used by other Turkish post-modernist writers.
Keywords:
Elif Shafak; Sufi discourse de-construction; recital narrativization; metaprose
This article discusses the development of artistic principles Wang Anyi’s novels about Shanghai. Despite the emphasis on depicting everyday city life in accurate and historically authentic detail, analysis of the art features and “points of view” within the novels reveals a double-layered narrative structure in which describing real life coexists with depicting an illusory existence. Therefore we can make certain conclusions that artistic representation of Shanghai in late novels is leaning more towards non-realistic and subjective approach. The article also emphasizes constructive significance of the concept of dream in artistic world of Wang Anyi’s novels.
Keywords:
Wang Anyi; Chinese literature; “haipai” literature; mirage; dream
The article traces the history of the emergence and distribution Arab movies in the Soviet Union. It discloses the content of the melodramatic genre films and the reasons for their success with audiences. Also it reflects the radical changes and the current state of Russian film market, tells about the Arab feature films of recent years.
Keywords:
Soviet Union; Arab cinema; films; directors
The paper analyses the dynamics of the transformation of Turkey’s party and political system from the 1980s to the early 2010s according to five variables: voter activity, electoral volatility, fragmentation of party system (effective number of parties), level of political competition, and proportionality of party representation in parliament. The growing stabilization of Turkey’s party and political system makes increasingly difficult for any new political party to find an electoral niche and facilitates the migration of electorate between old parties. Reformation of the party and political system and creation of a new matrix for political life forced the opposition to search both the new strategies of political struggle and new approaches towards electorate and to revise both party ideology and programs.
Keywords:
Turkey; political system; democracy; opposition; JDP (AKP); RPP (CHP)
The type of bilingualism and multilingualism of the urban intellectual elites in India is absolutely different from the bilingualism of the intellectual elite formed by previous generations. In spite of the permanent increase in the number of people identifying themselves as “native speakers” of various Indian languages and in spite of the role of the official propaganda claiming to provide support to mother tongues and especially to Hindi, the role of mother tongues as tools of expressing intellectual demands of the speakers and of preserving cultural traditions of the society is rapidly decreasing. The symmetrical type of bilingualism of the “parents” is gradually substituted by the recessive bilingualism of the younger generation.
Keywords:
mother tongue; types of bilingualism and multilingualism in India; code switching; code mixing; self identification; speech repertoire of Hindi speaking educated elite; language attitudes of urban elite; language movements
The paper centers on some of the main problems of Wang Chong’s (1st century CE) literary thought, which can be found in the “Chaoqi pian” chapter from Lunheng.
This article examines issues related to the ownership of peasants by the Georgian Orthodox Church in the 16th–17th centuries: the sources from which the social group of church peasants was formed, its size and categories, the kinds of quitrents and duties, and the role of peasants in the functioning of the Church.
Keywords:
church peasants; quitrents; duties; Georgian Orthodox Church
The article analyses the reasons for the intensification of the missionary activity of the London Jewish Society in Jerusalem in the 1840s and its results. In this decade the Anglo-Prussian Bishopric was established and the Church of Christ was built. This became possible thanks to the support of Great Britain and Prussia, which used the missionaries in their policies.
Keywords:
London Jewish Society; herem; Great Britain; firman; the Church of Christ
A current problem of the modern Chinese language is the study of Internet vocabulary. Over the past decade, the Chinese language has become more diverse, incorporating numerous computer terms, borrowings and new words from the World Wide Web that reflect the mutual influence of different languages. The goal of this article is to describe the language of the Internet, blogs and chat rooms as a new form of communication.
Keywords:
the Internet language; abbreviations; slang; emograms; neologisms; the Chinese language
The following article focuses on transformation of official view on Islam of Turkey’s Republican People’s Party after World War II. The author analyses shifts in kemalist concept of state secularism. Special attention is paid to the discussion of secularity during the seventh Republican People’s Party congress, proposals on introduction of Islam to social life and their further embodiment.
The conflict in the Arab countries was caused by a complex of socioeconomic, political, cultural and religious reasons. A specific role in the Arab events was played by the youth. It is well known that the youth as a sociodemographic group is determined by a complex of age characteristics, specifics of social status and particular sociopsychological traits. A typical characteristic of the youth is the formation of motives for political behavior and behavioral attitudes in its milieu. The function of political mobilization and socialization in the Arab protests was fulfilled by the Internet, which demonstrated a new form of political communication. Thus the role of the youth factor as an objective one has been increasing in the Arab protest movements.
Keywords:
Arab events; youth; sociodemographic group; unemployment rate; protest movements; political behaviour
The article concerns the analysis of the role and place of the Christians in the administration system of the Ottoman Syria and the degree of their involvement in the activities of the provincial governmental bodies. The study of this problem aims at showing the gradual changes in the position of the Christian population of the region in the framework of the multifaceted crisis, experienced by the Ottoman Empire in the 18th century.
During the Edo period (1603–1867), Japanese thinkers adopted some elements of European geographical thought. The new view of the world included both traditional and Western scientific knowledge. The treatise “Nihon Suido Ko:” by Nishikawa Joken (1648–1724) is one of the earliest examples of this kind of synthesis. The work was important not only for the development of geographical thought, but also for the Japanese people’s self-perception, as the synthesis of knowledge from different sources aimed to determine Japan’s position in the world.
Keywords:
Nishikawa Joken; Edo period; history of geography
The article is devoted to the interpretation of No 110 Sura Nasr of the Holy Muslim scripture – the Quran. Particular attention is paid to its eschatological significance and presence of authoritative interpreters of the Quran opinions in the past, relatively to the meaning of this sura. The results of the research have shown that proposed as the only correct traditional understanding of this sura may be revised as from the information that contained in the classical interpretations of the Quran point of view and of the Arabic language and the overall structure of the text.
Keywords:
Quran; victory; help; crowd; the judgment of God; interpreters; translations
The main achievements in the sphere of epistemology obtained in Jainism, one of the most interesting trends in religious and philosophical life of India in the 1st millennium BC, are briefly characterized in the paper. Two very important Jain theories of knowledge are analyzed: the seven-points scale of approaches towards a coordinated view upon objects, named ‘Naya-vaada’, and the relative-pluralistic doctrine of relations between the subject and object of cognition which is called ‘Syaad-vaada’ and which is based on seven fundamental assertions.
The article is devoted to the problem of transformation of the Qur‘anic story of Yusuf and its key motifs in Persian Classic poetry, both lyric and epic. On the basis of the examples from qasidas and ghazals composed by famous Persian poets like Khakani, ‘Attar, Sa‘di, Hafiz and some other the author of the article shows how the process of artistic transformation and canonization of key motifs of the Qur‘anic story took place. The citations of lyric poetry represent wide genre specter and specific individual interpretations of motifs connected with the story of Yusuf. Transformation of plot is shown on the example of Jami’s famous romance Yusuf and Zuleykha. All changes in the plot and in the list of personages are made in accordance with canon of Persian Classic verse romance.
Keywords:
Yusuf’s story in the Qur‘an; transposition of motif; Qur‘anic motifs in Persian lyrics; Romanization of the Qur‘anic story
The problem of our research is how the semantic field of thickness is divided by the lexemes in Russian and Chinese languages and what features can describe the difference between these lexemes. This study is performed within the framework of lexical typology. Methods used include context analysis of dictionary articles and corpora examples; questioning of native speakers informants. The goal of this study is to give a detailed analysis of the semantics of Chinese adjectives with initial meaning ‘thick’ and ‘thin’ and to give a comparison of systems of meanings between Chinese and Russian adjectives from the semantic field of thickness.
Keywords:
semantic field; lexical typology; Chinese; adjectives; system of meanings; ‘thick’ and ‘thin’
The article, based on a series of computations and models, shows that during the last thirty years developing countries, by applying their comparative and dynamic advantages (among them low, although rising, levels of wages and steeply increasing levels of educational attainment and investment rates), have on the whole substantially enlarged their positions in the world economy — in global GDP, industrial production, gross fixed capital formation, R&D expenditures, exports, and inflows of foreign direct investment. Despite acute ecological, financial, social and political problems that Asian, African and Latin American countries are grappling with, many (including the largest) of them, by implementing institutional reforms and rational economic policies, have by and large benefited from ongoing globalization and substantially progressed in catch-up development, productivity growth, reduction of poverty and reaching levels of global competitiveness which turned out to be considerably higher than could be expected judging by their GDP per capita standards.
Keywords:
developing and developed countries; global economy; comparative and dynamic competitive advantages; reforms; modeling; poverty; total factor productivity
The article concerns the geopolitical concept of the “Shia Crescent”, a term that has become widely spread in Western and Arab political discourse over the last decade. The article studies the problems of Sunni-Shii relations through one of the programs of “Al-Jazeera”, a leading Arab satellite channel; the conducted analysis proves that regional media are constructing a negative image of the Shiis in public opinion. Although mutual antipathy between Sunnis and Shiis has a centuries-long history, latest developments have created new impulses for this antagonism.
Keywords:
“The Shia Crescent”; Iraq; Iran; “Hezbollah”
The article examines the concept of Waqf in contemporary India as well as the waqf system structure, which was shaped in the country after 1947. In focus are the main problems of the Indian waqf system, particularly the legal and administrative difficulties of the past decades.
Keywords:
Indian Muslim community; waqf; waqfs in India; Waqf Boards; Waqf Act
The article is dedicated to the analysis of the role and place of Buddhist heritage in the formation of all-national identity in modern India, where Buddhist ideas are incorporated into the governmental strategy of unification of the state and interpreted as a composite part of cultural foundations of South Asian civilization, strengthening the links between the peoples inside the boundaries of contemporary state.
The customs union is the form of international integration, which countries of various regions often tend to reach, while their leaders are believe in it’s effectiveness. The Turkish experience helps to evaluate the customs union’s capabilities and costs associated with a specific state of the national economy as well as it is reflecting some universal features of the transition to a deeper level of international economic cooperation.
Keywords:
International economic relations; economic integration; customs union; Turkey and the European Union
The paper centers on the problem of conceptualization of death in the novel “Cries in the Drizzle” (Zai xi yu zhong huhan) by modern Chinese writer Yu Hua. The analysis of the phenomenon is carried out from a triple perspective: in terms of influence of traditional Chinese worldview, Western philosophies and totalitarian (maoist) discourse on the views of Yu Hua. The author comes to a conclusion that the simultaneous search for a kind of existential truth, historical authenticity and attempts to re-think Chinese tradition lie at the core of the writer’s art world.
Keywords:
Yu Hua; Chinese literature; death; Cries in the Drizzle (Zai xi yu zhong huhan)
The paper analyses the dynamics of the transformation of Turkey’s party and political system from the 1980s to the early 2010s according to five variables: voter activity, electoral volatility, fragmentation of party system (effective number of parties), level of political competition, and proportionality of party representation in parliament. The growing stabilization of Turkey’s party and political system makes it increasingly difficult for any new political party to find an electoral niche and facilitates the migration of electorate between old parties. Reformation of the party and political system and creation of a new matrix for political life forced the opposition to search both the new strategies of political struggle and new approaches towards electorate and to revise both party ideology and programs.
Keywords:
Turkey; political system; democracy; opposition; JDP (AKP); RPP (CHP)
Contrary to the opinion spread in some studies on the history of Islamic thought, a tendency to revive and reform Islamic practices with direct reliance on the sacred texts of the Koran and the Sunnah was common among some Muslim thinkers not only in Egypt but also in Ottoman Syria. And the mentioned tendency practically met no resistance provided that the principle of sacred Sultan’s reign was not challenged by this or that Muslim scholar. The represented article is devoted to the analysis of the activities of some Salafi-minded Islamic scholars (ulama) in Damascus during the reign of Abdul Hamid II. A special attention is paid to the personality of sheikh Jamal al-Din al-Qasimi.
Keywords:
Islam; Salafits; Abdul Hamid II; Damascus; Jamal al-Din al-Qasimi; Abd al-Razzaq al-Bitar
The article covers the advertising discourse peculiarities in East Africa. The research is based on various advertising texts in Swahili. The main focus is outdoor advertising. The advertising texts are analyzed as the objects of language play and manipulation.
Keywords:
advertising; advertising discourse; Swahili; language play; language manipulation
The article deals with the opinion of some Israeli scientists who believed that Napoleon had some plans connected with the Jews of Syro-Palestinian region. Basing on different sources the author comes to the conclusion that these plans existed only in the imagination of some contemporaries of these events. In that period the returning of the Jews to the Ottoman Syria, rebuilding of the Temple and the restoration of the Jewish state were impossible because of the political situation in the world.
The article gives a theoretical analysis of the genre system of the medieval Turkish ashik poetry — oral individual-author creation of ashik-songers. The author takes into consideration two the most popular in the Turkish philology genre classifications of the ashik poetry and shows the opposite views about the term «genre» and points out weak places of the existing classifications. In the conclusion the author suggests his own genre classification of ashiks` songs basing on the idea that the term `genre` relating ashiks` songs must comprise four closely connected with each other and equal from the point of their genre determinating role elements — theme, emotional tone, melody and form.
The article deals with the problem of “Taiwanese identity”, that may have a direct impact on the future development of the relations between the two sides of Taiwan strait. This subject attracts the attention of many Taiwanese and Western researchers but is still poorly studied in Russian historiography. The article discusses main peculiarities of defining the notion of “Taiwanese identity” and related to this terminological difficulties and certain phenomena of Taiwanese social life.
Keywords:
“Taiwanese identity”; national identity; state identity; ethnic identity; relations between main ethnic groups of Taiwan
The article is devoted to analyzing a specific plot construction in Gao Xingjian’s novel “Soul Mountain”. Its form inherits a Chinese traditional collection of miscellaneous notes “biji” which in its turn creates a certain problem in the plot unraveling. Because of essayistic inclusions parts of the event flow in the novel aren’t closely connected, but are scattered in different parts of the text. However, through differentiating two levels of narrations in these various notes (the level of I-author and personal projections You/He) we could define the novel’s event course and its characteristic features of the conflict.
This article tackles the problem of the state of the Japanese economy in the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. Why can’t it recover from the crisis of the 90-s? Can it possibly be that traditional indicators do not capture part of the utility generated in the economy of the country? If it’s really so, how large the Japanese economy really is? Traditional and alternative indicators are used to tackle these problems.
Keywords:
Japan; Japanese economy; productivity; macroeconomic indicators; international comparisons; alternative approaches
This article analyses Epichristian forms of monastic philosophy (of selfless devotion) in ancient Georgian hagiographic literary monuments, in particular, in the cycle “The Lives of the Thirteen Syrian Fathers”, and in the writing of Georgian hagiographer Giorgi Merchule “The Vita of Grigol Khandzteli”. This paper depicts lay brothers (novice) of Tao Klardjeti desert town, who, while mastering the experience of mountain seclusion of Syrian anchorites, pursued an occupation in the cells. This article traces gradual transformation of the status of “leading brother” of Anchorites into leader of monastery.
Keywords:
Georgian hagiographic literature; ancient form of monastic philosophy; Anchorites; leading brother; leadership rank; monastic feat
The article is devoted to the analyses of different types of lyric incorporations to narration in Persian classic Romance of XI–XIV centuries, to its genesis and functions both in form and content of narrative texts. Main attention is paid to the early period of development of genre (XI c.) when such poets as Unsuri, Ayyuqi and Gurgani composed first love stories in Persian poetry. The article shows how such coryphaeus of this genre Nizami used the literary experience of his predecessors in his famous romances Khsraw and Shirin and Layli and Majnun. The article contains analyses of three types of lyric incorporations in narrative text named “letters” (nama), “songs” (surud) and “love poems” (shi‘r or qhazal). The author retraced all changes in functioning of the three types of non-subject elements and showed how the border-line between them was gradually obliterated. In the end the author comes to the conclusion that lyric incorporations in Persian classic Romance act as one of the key markers of genre.
Keywords:
Persian Classic Epos; Medieval Romance; concept of Individual Love; transformation of epic subject into romance; lyric incorporations in narrative texts
A numerous code of studies dedicated to Egyptian and Syrian campaign of Napoleon Bonaparte (1798–1801) disregards the participation of Russia in struggle of the 2nd anti-French coalition for Egypt and Syria. At the same time, even though the tsarist government didn't wage any war in the Middle East, its role in the events that took place, was rather notable. The represented article is devoted to the analysis of the Middle Eastern policy of Russia during the reign of Paul the First and also tells about the plans of Ottoman authorities concerning possible involvement of its northern ally for defending Arab possessions from French aggression.
Keywords:
foreign policy of Paul I; Russia and the Middle East; Egyptian expedition of Napoleon Bonaparte; F. F. Ushakov; V. S. Tomara; Enrico Frankini
The article is devoted to revelation of peculiarities of personal names in some of the Bantu languages of East Africa. Morphemic structure of the family name can be an indication of ethnicity, gender and confessional affiliation of the owner’s own name. The article also reviews semantics of the personal name, nicknames and pseudonyms.
Keywords:
model of personal name; ethnicity, gender and confessional affiliation of the family name; semantic; nicknames; pseudonyms
In the article, based on a series of computations and models, it is shown, that global economy which on the whole had been rapidly progressing since the start of the 19th century, during the last thirty years has noticeably slowed down rates of its growth. There are investigated causes of the paradoxical phenomenon, when, despite the emergence of foundations of knowledge-based economy in the advanced countries, there came about, according to generally accepted statistics, substantial decrease in growth rates of their GDP and Total Factor Productivity. Also are specified the scales, determinants and major restraints of the Asian economic upsurge as well as major components and contradictions of modern Russian developmental model. There also are provided an assessment of socio-economic and a number of political consequences of unbalanced growth of the world economy and a prognostic estimate of contours of world economic growth for the nearest decade.
Keywords:
long-term trends of global economic development; growth paradigm of economically advanced countries; Asian economic upsurge; Russian developmental model; macroeconomic performance; ‘middle income trap’; low level of government and institutions; incremental capital output ratio; total factor productivity; structure of national wealth; global competitiveness; world inequality
This publication presents the first translation from old Japanese to Russian language of one chapter about “ceremony of living beings releasing” from “Hachiman gudoukin” (“Admonition for stupid children about Hachiman”, XIV). This ceremony is performed at Iwashimizu shrine in Japan (Yawata city, Kyoto prefecture). Iwashimizu is a major shrine of Japanese tutelary deity Hachiman. Hachiman is known as a protector of the emperor and the state. Shrine chronicles link an origin of the ceremony to the suppression of Hayato tribe uprising in 720; the suppression was led by Hachiman as the protector deity of state. The rite is a blending of the Buddhistic doctrine of compassion and prohibition against killing the “living beings” with the Japanese practice of “appeasement” of spirits of those who died in the military campaign against Hayato.
Keywords:
Hachiman cult; Buddhism; Shinto; Japanese shrines; religious rite
The article is devoted to the little-studied period of the development of Persian Literature, which, nevertheless, can be characterized as an important stage in the stylistic evolution of the traditional poetry. The works of one of the most popular poets of the period Hatef Isfahani (died in 1784) show the process of formation of the new poetic style, based on the idea of returning to the classical norm. Hatef’s poetry demonstrates both the gap with the closest predecessors and significant differences with the stable repertoire of classical poetic motifs.
Keywords:
Isfahan school of poets of the XVIII c.; literary movement of Bazgasht; the poetry of Indian style; stylistic evolution of poetry
In the article, based on a series of computations and models, it is shown, that global economy which on the whole had been rapidly progressing since the start of the 19th century, during the last thirty years has noticeably slowed down rates of its growth. There are investigated causes of the paradoxical phenomenon, when, despite the emergence of foundations of knowledge-based economy in the advanced countries, there came about, according to generally accepted statistics, substantial decrease in growth rates of their GDP and Total Factor Productivity. Also are specified the scales, determinants and major restraints of the Asian economic upsurge as well as major components and contradictions of modern Russian developmental model. There also are provided an assessment of socio-economic and a number of political consequences of unbalanced growth of the world economy and a prognostic estimate of contours of world economic growth for the nearest decade.
Keywords:
long-term trends of global economic development; growth paradigm of economically advanced countries; Asian economic upsurge; Russian developmental model; macroeconomic performance; ‘middle income trap’; low level of government and institutions; incremental capital output ratio; total factor productivity; structure of national wealth; global competitiveness; world inequality
This publication is based on the presentation made in the 26th Congress of the Union Européenne des Arabisants et Islamisants (UEAI) which took place in Basel, Switzerland in September 12–16, 2012. The motto of the congress was Arabic and Islamic Studies in Europe and Beyond. The publication is dealing with the major stages in the history of the translation of the Muslim scripture into Russian and reconstruction of the comprehensive panorama of Qur’anic studies as an essential part of Arabic and Islamic studies.
Keywords:
Qur’an; Islamic studies; Qur’anic studies; Russia
