How to Surpass the Qin

In the famous chapters on the flaws of the Qin (221–207 BCE) dynasty, Jia Yi (200–168 BCE) deals with the reasons for the Qin’s defeat. This article, grounded in previous scholarship, will analyze Jia Yi’s discussion of the fall of the Qin and will show that the negative depiction of Qin policies was part of Jia Yi’s strategy for implementing the political agenda of the Han. Moreover I argue that the Guo Qin lun, or “To Surpass the Qin,” is not simply a historical analysis, but a political treatise that also deals with: (1) heeding the advice of meritorious ministers; (2) persuading the emperor to apply policies to bring tranquility to the people.     

1. PRETEXTURES OF TIME

Textures of Time is a rich and challenging book that raises a host of important and hard questions about historical narrative, form, and style; the sociology of texts; and the core problem of ascertaining historical truth. Two that pertain to the book's main claims are of special interest to nonspecialist readers: Is register or style—“texture”—necessarily and everywhere diagnostic of “history”? Does a new kind of “historical consciousness” emerge in south India beginning in the sixteenth century, indeed as a sign of an Indian early modernity?Textures is not the first book to argue that historical discourse is constitutively marked by a peculiar style, but the claim is beset by difficulties that scholars since Barthes have detailed. Rather than textures of time—accounts of what really happened in history—what these works offer us may be only pretextures of time, textualized forms of a human experience that make claims about its degrees and types of truth through representations of various states of temporality. Instead of assessing, then, whether these works are history or something else like “myth,” we might ask whether they invite us to transcend this very dichotomy, to try, that is, to make sense of historical forms of consciousness rather than to identify forms of historical consciousness. As for modernity, nothing in south Indian historiography from 1500–1800 remotely compares to the conceptual revolution of Europe. But why should we expect the newness of the early modern world to have been experienced the same way everywhere? Modernity across Asia may have shown simultaneity without symmetry. Should this asymmetry turn out to reveal continuity and not rupture, however, no need to lament the fact. There is no shame in premodernity.     

Solomon and His Empire: Fact or Fiction?

Abstract

The essay examines the plausibility of a “Double Monachy,” a large state, under a king Solomon in the 10th century with Jerusalem as its capital. First, all texts in the Old Testament are mentioned, and it is pointed out that no extrabiblical texts from the period mention such a state. In the next paragraph the archaeological finds from the period are examined whether they may allow the existence of such a state, and it is concluded that it is improbable. Also from historical knowledge of the period in the Levant as well as Solomon’s name it is concluded that there was not a large kingdom in Jerusalem under a king of that name.

In the rest of the essay I try, from the story in the Bible, to date the various elements of the story, and comparing them with other legendary kings (e.g. Sargon of Akkad) to find a suitable period when such a legend could be construed, I point to the second half of the 7th cent. BCE as the best possibility for the story’s date.     

Dwelling(s) in a north‐west Arabian oasis: decoding residential architecture at Taymāʾ

The definition of an ancient, autochthonous north‐west Arabian residential architecture is still a major void in the archaeology of the region. This preliminary case study is intended to shed some light on this “blind spot” by presenting and analysing the architectural complex E‐b9 from Taymā? (c. fourth/third century BCE until the first/early second century CE). A meticulous study of the architecture identified a modular concept as a key to understanding the complex. Furthermore, underlying patterns of household organisation can be deduced from the architectural remains resulting in the definition of potential household units. Those are indicated by a set of activity areas which are congruent with patterns of accessibility and the use of specific wall types. These findings provide insights into the organisation of households and daily life in the oasis of Taymā?, and may help to define local or regional traditions in the future.     

Tragedy and Science

Tragic theater is a phenomenon both extremely rare and sadly ephemeral. Perusal of Nietzsche will lead to the proposal that tragic theater developed in periods marked by scientific revolutions, related here to sweeping and far-ranging changes in the social fabric and the myths — or world theories (condensed images of the world) — underlying it. Tragic theater expresses an insoluble conflict between a mythology (or world theory) in decline and a new form of culture, epitomized by a new world theory. True tragic theater therefore exhibits the same conditions that give rise to scientific revolutions. This “Tragedy — the Swan Song of Myth” thesis, outlined in Nietzsche's early studies of Greek tragedy, will be generalized and extended to the case of 17th century English tragedy and science, and the origins of the modern myth of Progress and Enlightenment.     

Compositional Phases,Geography and Historical Setting behind Judges 4-5 and the Location of Harosheth-ha-goiim

In this article I deal with the compositional history, geographical background and possible historical setting of Judges 4-5. I propose that the original heroic, oral material behind these chapters represents two different traditions: One (embedded in Chapter 4) originated in the area of Mount Tabor and the hills to its east and northeast and had the city of Anaharath (the name behind the pun or polemic twist of “Harosheth-ha-goiim”) at its core. The other (part of Chapter 5, 19-22) came from the southwestern Jezreel Valley. These traditions represent memories of turbulent 10^th century BCE events—the fall of the last of the late-Canaanite city-states and the take-over of the region by highlanders (Israelites) just before, or in very early days of, the rise of the Northern Kingdom. They were put in writing for the first time by a North Israelite author in the first half of the 8^th century. This author had only vague knowledge of the western valley tradition (Chapter 5); hence while composing the early song, he “imported” details from Chapter 4, merged the two tales into one account, and “expanded” both to portray a broad (North) Israelite scene. A Deuteronomistic author of the late 7^th century BCE inserted the frames characteristic of the Book of Judges, harmonized Chapter 4 with the Jabin story in Joshua 11, included other “explanatory” notes and entered the divine intervention in Chapter 4. A Deuteronomistic author also introduced the adoration of YHWH segments in Chapter 5.     

The origin and evolution of the concept of mixin (superstition): A review of May Fourth scientific views

ABSTRACT

This article explores the evolving connotations of the concept of “superstition” up to the establishment of “superstition studies,” in an examination of the process of secularization experienced by early modern Chinese thought under the impact of Western science. In traditional texts, the Chinese term mixin (迷信, literally “delusional beliefs”), modernly translated as“superstition,” carries diverse and variable meanings: aside from referring to the proper or improper content of ideas and beliefs, mixin also has political connotations, broadly referring to beliefs or behaviors differing from the official rituals. On an ideological level, the traditional concept of mixin refers to a category of thought opposed to Confucian concepts such as the cosmology of Heaven, Earth, and Man, or the idea that “for a man to sacrifice to a spirit which does not belong to him is flattery.” In the late Qing Dynasty, as the idea of “superstition” as opposed to “science” was introduced via Japan, the traditional connotations of mixin evaporated, and it merged with other neologisms. From the late Qing to the early Republic, the parameters of “superstition” were expanded to encompass anything at odds with “reason.” This was also a reflection of China’s shift from the “Classical Age” to the “Age of Science,” as Confucian concepts and scientific ideas successively served as the criteria for judging “superstition.” As of the present, a consensus has yet to be reached on how to distinguish between “religion” and “superstition.” This paper shall seek to clarify the connotations of mixin or “superstition” in different contexts and their connection to the changing times, which may aid in understanding the complex facets of this issue.     

长沙汉墓随葬动物形象的“器物观念”

本文探讨了长沙汉墓随葬品不同"动物"形象所蕴含的不同的人文观念,借用美术考古学家的"器物观念"概念,分析不同"动物"形象背后隐含的古人精神世界。笔者将"动物"形象分为现实动物形象、神话"动物"形象和"动物"组合形象三类,分析其所依次表现出的"事死如事生"的世俗观念、以龙凤为主的神话观念和"天地相协"的理想观念。     

Le Concept de « Démocratie Raciale » dans L’Histoire Intellectuelle Brésilienne

This article aims to reconstruct the history of the term “racial democracy” in Brazilian sociological literature. This term, usually associated with the idea of “myth”, is used in many studies of race relations without little definition or clarity. This article retraces its origins, in particular by showing that the concept is not the invention of Gilberto Freyre. It then examines the evolution of its use with particular emphasis on Unesco’s research in the 1950s and the texts of Florestan Fernandes in the 1960s.     

From Babylon to Christianity: William Foxwell Albright on Myth,Folklore, and Christian Origins

The American Orientalist William F. Albright (1891–1971) is remembered as a leading voice of twentieth‐century “biblical archaeology,” a field that aimed to demonstrate empirically the Hebrew Bible's substantial historicity. Less well known is Albright's research on Christian backgrounds, which by contrast reflected modernist theology's scepticism about the gospel narratives' literal truth. Drawing ideas from the “Pan‐Babylonian” school of biblical criticism, Albright invoked the influence of ancient Near Eastern myth and folklore on the Christ story, this being the culminating theme of his magnum opus From the Stone Age to Christianity (1940). Originally Albright believed that this mythological interpretation would reestablish Christianity's intellectual credibility in the twentieth century and thus help revive New Testament theology. Yet in the latter part of his career he omitted the mythological thesis from his writings, apparently having concluded that it was harmful to orthodox Christian faith.     

Reading the Body: Mystical Theology and Spiritual Actualisation in Early Seventeenth‐Century Lima*

In early seventeenth‐century Lima, Peru, female visionaries composed texts of their bodies, and texts composed their bodies. This fact can be explained, in part, by the belief that an individual could gain access to and appropriate the language of God (His spiritus) in distinct ways. Mystical narratives, stigmata, as well as the spoken words of enraptured visionaries communicating with absent souls were considered readable texts because the object to be read could be a book, a painting, or the body itself. Thus the reading of, and listening to, texts was parallel to Lima's visionaries entering a state of spiritual ecstasy (arrobamiento), and “reading” their bodies as living books, which perforce became a readable space.     

Divine wrath and the conceptual coherence of the book of Nahum

Abstract:

In the recent scholarly discussion on the Book of Nahum two views stand juxtaposed: (1) The Book is a unity, written by a seventh century BCE prophet; (2) the Book as it stands is the outcome of a complex process of redaction implying a Persian period date for the final form. Starting from the final form of the book, it is concluded that, from the point of view of structural‐literary analysis, the book can be seen as unity. The redaction historical approach to the Book of Nahum assumes a distinction between lofty theological language in the hymn (Nah. 1,2–8) and the more realistic language expressing nationalistic feelings in the rest of the book. This distinction is the starting point for a literary‐critical division. However, an analysis of the theme “divine wrath” leads to the conviction that both parts of the book share a common ideology. “Wrath” in the Book of Nahum should be interpreted within the framework of covenant‐theology and as a provoked reaction. The Assyrians are depicted as the “enemies of God”. The doom that is predicted for them can be seen as God's response to their conduct. In this connection it should be observed that several allusions to ancient Near Eastern treaty clauses can be found in Nah. 2,4–3,19. This observation leads to the assumption that the relation between YHWH and the Assyrians is seen as some form of vassaldom. All these observations make a literary‐critical division less plausible. Finally, a seventh century BCE date for the composition of Nahum is proposed.     

The Monotheism of the Deuteronomistic History

The Hebrew Bible is often characterized as a monotheistic book, but a closer inspection reveals that monotheistic passages represent only a thin and late layer: There are only six passages in the Deuteronomistic history that contain monotheistic vocabulary. They are late additions that belong to the latest editorial phases of the composition. They were probably added to the composition in the 5th century BCE or later. This means that the final shift to monotheistic conceptions, as far as the Deuteronomistic History is concerned, occurred in the Persian period. The monotheism of the Deuteronomistic History is “nationalistic.” Although other gods are assumed to be non-existent, the other nations are not invited to join the Israelites in their worship of Yahweh. This also reveals the preliminary stage of the monotheism. It is improbable that there is a planned religious system behind the monotheistic passages of the Deuteronomistic History. The authors are convinced that there is no other deity but Yahweh, but all the consequences of this view have not yet been drawn. The authors assume that Yahweh has already created humankind as well as the whole world. This idea is not found in the older texts. It is probable that the monotheistic authors are dependent on a later form of the Pentateuch, which already includes a creation story. The idea that Yahweh lived in heaven, whence he spoke to the Israelites, is also late. It is the end of the development caused by the destruction of Yahweh's physical representation in the temple where he lived: Yahweh moved to heaven. Differences between the monotheism of the Deuteronomistic History and Deutero-Isaiah are evident. Deutero-Isaiah is more open to the possibility that other nations worship Yahweh. Deutero-Isaiah also makes a connection between idol criticism and monotheism, whereas in the Deuteronomistic History these themes are found in different texts. Idol criticism seems to be older than monotheism. The differences between the monotheism of the Deuteronomistic History and Deutero-Isaiah suggest that none of them is dependent on the other. Although some mutual interaction and influence should not be excluded, they seem to be two distinct developments that took place in different contexts. While external influence is also possible, it seems that many roots of the monotheism of the Deuteronomistic History can be found in the older conceptions of Israel's religion and especially in the Deuteronomistic theology, which is a product of the events in 587 BCE. It is probable that without the destruction of the temple Israel's religion would not have developed monotheistic conceptions. In view of the literary development in the Deuteronomistic History, any pre-587 BCE dating of monotheistic conceptions or phraseology is improbable.     

Diasporic identifications: exile,nostalgia and the Famine past in Irish and Irish North-American popular fiction, 1871–1891

During the nineteenth century, “exile” became a key term to describe the Irish-diasporic community in North America. More recently, scholars in the fields of diaspora studies and Irish studies have described this community as a “victim diaspora” with connotations of forced expulsion, exile, and nostalgia for the homeland. Moreover, among scholars and within the Irish-American community, the notion exists that the Great Irish Famine (1845–1851) constitutes the Irish-American “charter myth”, that it was the starting point of an Irish-American identity. This article sheds a different light on these (self-)identifications by discussing the concepts of origin myth, exile and nostalgia and also considers the concept of diasporic belonging in the context of Irish and Irish North-American works of popular “Famine fiction” written between 1871 and 1891. Consequently, the impact of these late nineteenth-century literary considerations on present-day conceptualisations of the Irish-American community as a victim diaspora are discussed.     

The Phoenician City-states of Tyre and Sidon in Ancient Jewish Texts

Abstract

Interpreted against the historical situation in the Levant of the first millennium BCE, ancient Jewish texts reflect the historical situation of the time in which they were written. Based on this assumption, we propose in this article that ancient Jewish materials speak of the city-states of Tyre and Sidon in three divergent ways that reflect three distinct socio-historical situations. The first grouping, represented primarily by the books of Amos and Hosea, reflects the pre-Persian or late Persian historical situation. These books speak of Tyre as the dominant economic polity in the Levant, whereas an economically weaker Sidon receives little coverage, if any. The second large grouping, represented primarily by the DtrH, addresses the Persian-period historical situation. We propose the DtrH materials coincide with the Persian-period compositional date when placed against the historical situation of the mid-6th4th centuries BCE. The third category of ancient Jewish texts does not differentiate between the cities of Tyre and Sidon. Reflecting the post-Achaemenid period, when the city-states of Tyre and Sidon were no longer able to maintain their independent economic and political positions, these texts refer to Tyre and Sidon as the collective “Tyrians and Sidonians.”     

4. A PRAGMATIC RESPONSE1

In the years since its twin publication in 2001 (Indian edition) and 2003 (U.S. edition), Textures of Time has attracted a great deal more attention outside the United States than in the American academy. This, we suggest, is because its ideas and approach are rather at odds with the dominant trends in the area of “postcolonial studies.” In this response to three critical essays that engage with the book—by Rama Mantena, Sheldon Pollock, and Christopher Chekuri—we begin by setting out our principal hypotheses as well as the evidentiary structure of the book, which draws mostly on vernacular materials from South India in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The former includes the claim that South India between roughly 1600 and 1800 (and thus in the centuries before the consolidation of colonial rule) possessed considerable and diverse historiographical traditions, though these histories came couched in a variety of genres, rendering them difficult for the uninitiated to recognize at first; the latter requires us to develop the significance of the concepts of “texture” as well as of “subgeneric markers” that help distinguish texts with a historical intention from those that are nonhistorical but have the same generic location. Our response then goes on to discuss why theoretical or ?āstric texts in India do not themselves explicitly theorize the distinctions we make. Here, we posit a contrast between “embedded” and “explicated” concepts in the “emic” sphere, suggesting that “texture” belongs to the first category. We explicitly distinguish our views from the poststructuralist (and Barthesian) language adopted by Pollock in his critique of Textures, and the more predictable postcolonial vision of Chekuri. We once more emphasize the need to take the vernacular historiography seriously, and to refine our reading practices, rather than overly depending on normative materials in Sanskrit, or on a prefabricated theoretical schema that derives from a stylized (and impoverished) view of the nature of the transformations produced by colonial rule.     

“Folklore” and “popular religion” in Britain during the middle ages

This article explores whether the bi‐polar model of “elite” and “folk” or “popular religion” can be maintained for the medieval period. In fact, there were many strands to medieval religious culture, and people from a variety of backgrounds participated at a variety of levels on different occasions. Using a variety of chronicles and other sources, rather than the more dogmatic penitentials and canon law texts usually cited, this article argues that historians should make room for “local religious culture” in their taxonomies, in which both elites (including clerics) and people could participate.