The article summarizes Poe's influence on Rock and Heavy Metal musicians featuring bands such as ... more The article summarizes Poe's influence on Rock and Heavy Metal musicians featuring bands such as IRON MAIDEN, ANNIHILATOR, METAL CHURCH, CRIMSON GLORY, HADES.
This is Part 1 of an article published by the online magazine Powermetal.de.
It deals with the on... more This is Part 1 of an article published by the online magazine Powermetal.de. It deals with the ongoing impact of Edgar Allan Poe's work in Rock and especially in Heavy Metal.
Based on the materials scholars have examined so far, it can be stated that the Old Uyghur Maitri... more Based on the materials scholars have examined so far, it can be stated that the Old Uyghur Maitrisimit nom bitig is apparently a rather faithful translation of the Tocharian A Maitreyasamitināṭaka. However, there are some significant discrepancies between the two versions. Both versions of this highly important text dedicated to the visionary biography of the future Buddha Maitreya provide an ideal starting point for comparative Tocharian-Old Uyghur studies. The two languages involved belong to two different language families and thus have divergent typological properties. Although shorter translations from Middle Iranian languages into Old Uyghur are known, the Old Uyghur Maitrisimit nom bitig is without any doubt the most important translation from an Indo-European language into a Turkic one in the period before the turn of the first millennium CE. The article discusses some peculiarities of this Old Uyghur translation.
The present article is a reconstruction of the dhāraṇī part of the Uṣṇīṣavijayādhāraṇī produced d... more The present article is a reconstruction of the dhāraṇī part of the Uṣṇīṣavijayādhāraṇī produced during the Yuan dynasty which does not only contain the Sanskrit text in transliteration in Uyghur script but also an interlinear Brāhmī version. Fragments from different woodblock prints are taken into account. All pieces are housed in the Berlin Turfan Collection. Except for a few letters (in the transliterated text in Uyghur script) or akṣaras (in case of the Brāhmī part) respectively it is possible to present a complete reconstruction of the text. All fragments considered, it is now possible to draw the conclusion that the Uyghurs printed and disseminated a special edition of the Uṣṇīṣavijayādhāraṇī that contained only the dhāraṇī section. This text is directly based on a Sanskrit original although occasionally the Uyghur edition differs from the recently published critical edition of the Sanskrit text based on Nepalese manuscripts.
The amount of loanwords in Old Uyghur borrowed from various languages is considerable. Since Uygh... more The amount of loanwords in Old Uyghur borrowed from various languages is considerable. Since Uyghur Manichaeism was largely dependent on Iranian Manichaean literary traditions, Manichaean technical terms borrowed from Middle Iranian languages abound in Old Uyghur. The article traces for the first time the etymology of two Old Uyghur words borrowed from Sogdian that do not belong to the religious vocabulary of Manichaeism. All examples are found in Uyghur Buddhist texts. The Old Uyghur words show a broader semantic spectrum than their Sogdian counterparts.
Uyghur murals and miniatures are among the most frequently reproduced works of art in academic an... more Uyghur murals and miniatures are among the most frequently reproduced works of art in academic and popular books on the 'Silk Road'. However, written Old Uyghur sources about the process of painting are rare. In a text edited by Peter Zieme in 2017 and reprinted in a collection of his articles issued in 2020 the work of a skilled painter is described in a series of metaphors. The Old Uyghur manuscript found at Dunhuang preserves some Chinese technical terms in the form of loanwords. The article aims to elucidate the etymology of a hitherto unexplained verb and suggests the interpretation that the Uyghurs were familiar with the technique of pounces to sketch the outlines of a painting.
Misty morning, clouds in the sky Without warning, the wizard walks by Casting his shadow, weaving... more Misty morning, clouds in the sky Without warning, the wizard walks by Casting his shadow, weaving his spell Funny clothes, tinkling bell Black Sabbath 'The Wizard' ∵ 1 Introduction1 Two publications from the 1970s have inspired the following considerations: firstly, a widely known article penned by the scholar celebrated with this volume, namely 'Dream, Magic Power and Divination in the Altaic World' (Róna-Tas 1972), and secondly, Robert Dankoff's (1975) classic study on what Kāšġarī has to say about 'beliefs and superstitions' including omens and portents but also evil spirits, demonic possession (Arabic saʿfah), and the evil eye. 'Magic' , 'sorcery' , 'witchcraft' , and related terms are much debated in Religious Studies and some scholars tend to avoid them altogether. Several now outdated theories have used 'magic' to explain certain stages in the development of 'religion' or scholars have opted for an artificial distinction between 'magic' and 'religion'. (The singular 'religion' is also highly problematic.) More recent studies use the terms 'magic' and 'sorcery' without recourse to a theoretical framework based on an unconvincing evolutionist scheme.2 Certain
"Yeni Gun" ( yaŋi kun ) kavrami Eski Turk Budizmi, dinler tarihi ve Turkoloji arastirma... more "Yeni Gun" ( yaŋi kun ) kavrami Eski Turk Budizmi, dinler tarihi ve Turkoloji arastirmalarinda sik sik tartisilagelmis, ancak bu kavramla bagli guclukler henuz cozulememistir . Bugune dek belli aciklamalar rivayet edilse de buna bir aciklama getirilememistir. Elyazmalarda gecen bu kavramla ilgili taniklar bugunku bilgilerimize gore epey yuzyil geriye dayanmaktadir, zira su an elimizde Mani nushalari ve Eski Uygurlarin erken Budist edebiyatina dair (10.y.y.) belgeler bulunmaktadir. Daha Mogollar devrinde (13. /14. y.y.) yaŋi kun kelimesi sik sik kullanilmaktaydi. Uygurca Maitrisimit'te cok sayida tanik bulunmaktadir; bundan oturu arastirmalarda bu taniklar onemle dikkate alinmistir. Burada bazi kilit noktalar bakimindan ‘yaŋi kun'un semantiginin net olarak ortaya konmasi amaclanmistir. Makalenin yazarina gore, b utun onemli taniklar gozden gecirildiginde, bugune dek yapilan aciklamalarin, problemi aydinlatmaktan cok karartmaktadir: Yeni ortaya cikan belgeler/taniklar, tamamen farkli baglamlarda yerlesmis olsalar da, cogunlukla daha once yapilan yorumlar cercevesine uydurulmustur. Bu da yapilan cozumlerin istisna durumlarda, sanki diger taniklarin isini de gorecek sekilde bicimlendirildigini gostermekteedir. Bu baglamda diger Budist tasavvur ve rituellerle karsilastirilacak olursa, gozlenilen ortusmezligin, kimileri icin spesifik Orta Asya’ya ozgun dusun dunyasinin eseri (Gedankengut) oldugunu ispatlar. Maitrisimit Orta Asyada Budizmin sevilen bir oyun turu ornegi gibi gosterilir. Yine de, butun bu tema cercevesinde dinler tarihi bakimindan onem tasir. Makalede bundan oturu yaŋi kun kavrami yeniden gozden gecirilmis ve bunun icin simdiye dek yapilan kisa aciklama denemeleri, t aniklarin hepsini gozden gecirilmistir.
In the present article fourteen fragments of the cycle of stories Daśakarmapathāvadānamālā in Old... more In the present article fourteen fragments of the cycle of stories Daśakarmapathāvadānamālā in Old Turkic which are housed in Berlin and St. Petersburg are identified as belonging to a story which was formerly unknown in Turkic literature but can now be related to several parallel versions in Sanskrit, Tibetan and Chinese Buddhist works. Whereas the overall story in the Avadāna is similar to the other versions, the Old Turkic legend shows several unique features. The main character Kāmapriya, who has killed his own mother, tries to annihilate his misdeed by entering the Buddhist community but is subsequently discovered by a young arhat who possesses the "eye of meditation".
Bitig Türkoloji Araştırmaları Dergisi, hakemli, yaygın, uluslar arası, süreli (altı aylık) yayınd... more Bitig Türkoloji Araştırmaları Dergisi, hakemli, yaygın, uluslar arası, süreli (altı aylık) yayındır. ** Bitig Türkoloji Araştırmaları Dergisi'nde yayımlanan makaleler yayımcının yazılı izni olmadan tamamı veya bir kısmı herhangi bir yolla çoğaltılamaz. Yazıların fikrî sorumluluğu ve imlâ tercihi yazarlarına aittir. Başka kaynaklardan alınmış tablo, resim ve benzeri şeylerin yazılarda kullanım sorumluluğu yazara aittir.
Bilingual texts in Old Uyghur and Sanskrit in Brāhmī
script are essential for the understanding o... more Bilingual texts in Old Uyghur and Sanskrit in Brāhmī script are essential for the understanding of how the Indian Buddhist tradition came to be appropriated by the Uyghurs in general, but especially during the Yuan Dynasty (1279–1368 CE). Some manuscripts represent Vinaya related materials which are missing altogether in monolingual Old Uyghur texts. The article introduces a bilingual fragment (Sanskrit and Old Uyghur) in Uyghur script housed in the Turfan Collection in Berlin which belongs to the Karmavācanā literature and deals with the pravāraṇā ceremony. This monastic ritual was celebrated after the annual retreat of three months during the rainy season (Skt. varṣā). In the Sanskrit part the fragment corresponds well with the Sanskrit Karmavācanā literature from Central Asia, whereas the Uyghur instructions on the recto are quite unique.
The tantric Buddhist work Mañjuśrīnāmasaṃgīti (“Chanting of the Names of Mañjuśrī”) was very popu... more The tantric Buddhist work Mañjuśrīnāmasaṃgīti (“Chanting of the Names of Mañjuśrī”) was very popular among the Uyghurs during the Yuan period (1279–1368 CE). The article identifies a manuscript in cursive writing from the St. Petersburg Collection as the Sanskrit text of the mantravinyāsa (“The arrangement of the mantra”) – the core ritual part of the work – in Uyghur script. This newly identified piece testifies once more to the importance of Sanskrit in the late phase of Uyghur Buddhism during Mongol rule. Key Words: Mañjuśrīnāmasaṃgīti, Old Uyghur, Sanskrit, tantric Buddhism, Central Asia
The article summarizes Poe's influence on Rock and Heavy Metal musicians featuring bands such as ... more The article summarizes Poe's influence on Rock and Heavy Metal musicians featuring bands such as IRON MAIDEN, ANNIHILATOR, METAL CHURCH, CRIMSON GLORY, HADES.
This is Part 1 of an article published by the online magazine Powermetal.de.
It deals with the on... more This is Part 1 of an article published by the online magazine Powermetal.de. It deals with the ongoing impact of Edgar Allan Poe's work in Rock and especially in Heavy Metal.
Based on the materials scholars have examined so far, it can be stated that the Old Uyghur Maitri... more Based on the materials scholars have examined so far, it can be stated that the Old Uyghur Maitrisimit nom bitig is apparently a rather faithful translation of the Tocharian A Maitreyasamitināṭaka. However, there are some significant discrepancies between the two versions. Both versions of this highly important text dedicated to the visionary biography of the future Buddha Maitreya provide an ideal starting point for comparative Tocharian-Old Uyghur studies. The two languages involved belong to two different language families and thus have divergent typological properties. Although shorter translations from Middle Iranian languages into Old Uyghur are known, the Old Uyghur Maitrisimit nom bitig is without any doubt the most important translation from an Indo-European language into a Turkic one in the period before the turn of the first millennium CE. The article discusses some peculiarities of this Old Uyghur translation.
The present article is a reconstruction of the dhāraṇī part of the Uṣṇīṣavijayādhāraṇī produced d... more The present article is a reconstruction of the dhāraṇī part of the Uṣṇīṣavijayādhāraṇī produced during the Yuan dynasty which does not only contain the Sanskrit text in transliteration in Uyghur script but also an interlinear Brāhmī version. Fragments from different woodblock prints are taken into account. All pieces are housed in the Berlin Turfan Collection. Except for a few letters (in the transliterated text in Uyghur script) or akṣaras (in case of the Brāhmī part) respectively it is possible to present a complete reconstruction of the text. All fragments considered, it is now possible to draw the conclusion that the Uyghurs printed and disseminated a special edition of the Uṣṇīṣavijayādhāraṇī that contained only the dhāraṇī section. This text is directly based on a Sanskrit original although occasionally the Uyghur edition differs from the recently published critical edition of the Sanskrit text based on Nepalese manuscripts.
The amount of loanwords in Old Uyghur borrowed from various languages is considerable. Since Uygh... more The amount of loanwords in Old Uyghur borrowed from various languages is considerable. Since Uyghur Manichaeism was largely dependent on Iranian Manichaean literary traditions, Manichaean technical terms borrowed from Middle Iranian languages abound in Old Uyghur. The article traces for the first time the etymology of two Old Uyghur words borrowed from Sogdian that do not belong to the religious vocabulary of Manichaeism. All examples are found in Uyghur Buddhist texts. The Old Uyghur words show a broader semantic spectrum than their Sogdian counterparts.
Uyghur murals and miniatures are among the most frequently reproduced works of art in academic an... more Uyghur murals and miniatures are among the most frequently reproduced works of art in academic and popular books on the 'Silk Road'. However, written Old Uyghur sources about the process of painting are rare. In a text edited by Peter Zieme in 2017 and reprinted in a collection of his articles issued in 2020 the work of a skilled painter is described in a series of metaphors. The Old Uyghur manuscript found at Dunhuang preserves some Chinese technical terms in the form of loanwords. The article aims to elucidate the etymology of a hitherto unexplained verb and suggests the interpretation that the Uyghurs were familiar with the technique of pounces to sketch the outlines of a painting.
Misty morning, clouds in the sky Without warning, the wizard walks by Casting his shadow, weaving... more Misty morning, clouds in the sky Without warning, the wizard walks by Casting his shadow, weaving his spell Funny clothes, tinkling bell Black Sabbath 'The Wizard' ∵ 1 Introduction1 Two publications from the 1970s have inspired the following considerations: firstly, a widely known article penned by the scholar celebrated with this volume, namely 'Dream, Magic Power and Divination in the Altaic World' (Róna-Tas 1972), and secondly, Robert Dankoff's (1975) classic study on what Kāšġarī has to say about 'beliefs and superstitions' including omens and portents but also evil spirits, demonic possession (Arabic saʿfah), and the evil eye. 'Magic' , 'sorcery' , 'witchcraft' , and related terms are much debated in Religious Studies and some scholars tend to avoid them altogether. Several now outdated theories have used 'magic' to explain certain stages in the development of 'religion' or scholars have opted for an artificial distinction between 'magic' and 'religion'. (The singular 'religion' is also highly problematic.) More recent studies use the terms 'magic' and 'sorcery' without recourse to a theoretical framework based on an unconvincing evolutionist scheme.2 Certain
"Yeni Gun" ( yaŋi kun ) kavrami Eski Turk Budizmi, dinler tarihi ve Turkoloji arastirma... more "Yeni Gun" ( yaŋi kun ) kavrami Eski Turk Budizmi, dinler tarihi ve Turkoloji arastirmalarinda sik sik tartisilagelmis, ancak bu kavramla bagli guclukler henuz cozulememistir . Bugune dek belli aciklamalar rivayet edilse de buna bir aciklama getirilememistir. Elyazmalarda gecen bu kavramla ilgili taniklar bugunku bilgilerimize gore epey yuzyil geriye dayanmaktadir, zira su an elimizde Mani nushalari ve Eski Uygurlarin erken Budist edebiyatina dair (10.y.y.) belgeler bulunmaktadir. Daha Mogollar devrinde (13. /14. y.y.) yaŋi kun kelimesi sik sik kullanilmaktaydi. Uygurca Maitrisimit'te cok sayida tanik bulunmaktadir; bundan oturu arastirmalarda bu taniklar onemle dikkate alinmistir. Burada bazi kilit noktalar bakimindan ‘yaŋi kun'un semantiginin net olarak ortaya konmasi amaclanmistir. Makalenin yazarina gore, b utun onemli taniklar gozden gecirildiginde, bugune dek yapilan aciklamalarin, problemi aydinlatmaktan cok karartmaktadir: Yeni ortaya cikan belgeler/taniklar, tamamen farkli baglamlarda yerlesmis olsalar da, cogunlukla daha once yapilan yorumlar cercevesine uydurulmustur. Bu da yapilan cozumlerin istisna durumlarda, sanki diger taniklarin isini de gorecek sekilde bicimlendirildigini gostermekteedir. Bu baglamda diger Budist tasavvur ve rituellerle karsilastirilacak olursa, gozlenilen ortusmezligin, kimileri icin spesifik Orta Asya’ya ozgun dusun dunyasinin eseri (Gedankengut) oldugunu ispatlar. Maitrisimit Orta Asyada Budizmin sevilen bir oyun turu ornegi gibi gosterilir. Yine de, butun bu tema cercevesinde dinler tarihi bakimindan onem tasir. Makalede bundan oturu yaŋi kun kavrami yeniden gozden gecirilmis ve bunun icin simdiye dek yapilan kisa aciklama denemeleri, t aniklarin hepsini gozden gecirilmistir.
In the present article fourteen fragments of the cycle of stories Daśakarmapathāvadānamālā in Old... more In the present article fourteen fragments of the cycle of stories Daśakarmapathāvadānamālā in Old Turkic which are housed in Berlin and St. Petersburg are identified as belonging to a story which was formerly unknown in Turkic literature but can now be related to several parallel versions in Sanskrit, Tibetan and Chinese Buddhist works. Whereas the overall story in the Avadāna is similar to the other versions, the Old Turkic legend shows several unique features. The main character Kāmapriya, who has killed his own mother, tries to annihilate his misdeed by entering the Buddhist community but is subsequently discovered by a young arhat who possesses the "eye of meditation".
Bitig Türkoloji Araştırmaları Dergisi, hakemli, yaygın, uluslar arası, süreli (altı aylık) yayınd... more Bitig Türkoloji Araştırmaları Dergisi, hakemli, yaygın, uluslar arası, süreli (altı aylık) yayındır. ** Bitig Türkoloji Araştırmaları Dergisi'nde yayımlanan makaleler yayımcının yazılı izni olmadan tamamı veya bir kısmı herhangi bir yolla çoğaltılamaz. Yazıların fikrî sorumluluğu ve imlâ tercihi yazarlarına aittir. Başka kaynaklardan alınmış tablo, resim ve benzeri şeylerin yazılarda kullanım sorumluluğu yazara aittir.
Bilingual texts in Old Uyghur and Sanskrit in Brāhmī
script are essential for the understanding o... more Bilingual texts in Old Uyghur and Sanskrit in Brāhmī script are essential for the understanding of how the Indian Buddhist tradition came to be appropriated by the Uyghurs in general, but especially during the Yuan Dynasty (1279–1368 CE). Some manuscripts represent Vinaya related materials which are missing altogether in monolingual Old Uyghur texts. The article introduces a bilingual fragment (Sanskrit and Old Uyghur) in Uyghur script housed in the Turfan Collection in Berlin which belongs to the Karmavācanā literature and deals with the pravāraṇā ceremony. This monastic ritual was celebrated after the annual retreat of three months during the rainy season (Skt. varṣā). In the Sanskrit part the fragment corresponds well with the Sanskrit Karmavācanā literature from Central Asia, whereas the Uyghur instructions on the recto are quite unique.
The tantric Buddhist work Mañjuśrīnāmasaṃgīti (“Chanting of the Names of Mañjuśrī”) was very popu... more The tantric Buddhist work Mañjuśrīnāmasaṃgīti (“Chanting of the Names of Mañjuśrī”) was very popular among the Uyghurs during the Yuan period (1279–1368 CE). The article identifies a manuscript in cursive writing from the St. Petersburg Collection as the Sanskrit text of the mantravinyāsa (“The arrangement of the mantra”) – the core ritual part of the work – in Uyghur script. This newly identified piece testifies once more to the importance of Sanskrit in the late phase of Uyghur Buddhism during Mongol rule. Key Words: Mañjuśrīnāmasaṃgīti, Old Uyghur, Sanskrit, tantric Buddhism, Central Asia
: The Life of Muḥammad Sharīf. A Central Asian Sufi Hagiography in Chaghatay. With an appendix by... more : The Life of Muḥammad Sharīf. A Central Asian Sufi Hagiography in Chaghatay. With an appendix by Rian Thum and David Brophy. Wien: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften 2015. 133 S. 8°= Veröffentlichungen zur Iranistik 78; Sitzungsberichte der philosophisch-historischen Klasse 864. € 23,00. ISBN 978-3-7001-7769-2.
Zentralasien Dmitriev, N. K.: Étude sur la phonétique bachkire. München: Lincom 2012. 60 S. 8°¼ L... more Zentralasien Dmitriev, N. K.: Étude sur la phonétique bachkire. München: Lincom 2012. 60 S. 8°¼ Lincom Orientalia 35. Brosch. € 39,10. ISBN 978-3-86290-121-0.
Das „Handwörterbuch des Altuigurischen“ ist die erste Bestandsaufnahme des gesamten Wortschatzes ... more Das „Handwörterbuch des Altuigurischen“ ist die erste Bestandsaufnahme des gesamten Wortschatzes altuigurischer Texte (Manuskripte, Blockdrucke, Inschriften), die in den Oasenstädten der antiken Seidenstraße (Turfan, Dunhuang u. a.) gefunden wurden. Einbezogen ist auch der reiche Lehnwortschatz der buddhistischen, manichäischen und christlichen Texte. Mithilfe des Wörterbuchs können nunmehr erstmalig Editionen aller Textgattungen (religiöse, medizinische, astrologische und divinatorische Texte, Briefe, Urkunden, Verträge, Inschriften) ohne weitere lexikografische Hilfsmittel benutzt werden. Das „Handwörterbuch des Altuigurischen“ eignet sich besonders für den universitären Unterricht im Fach Turkologie, da auch komplexe Begriffe und Kollokationen erfasst sind. Weil das Altuigurische die am besten bezeugte einheimische Sprache Zentralasiens in vorislamischer Zeit und gleichzeitig die erste ausführlich dokumentierte türkische Literatursprache ist, ist diese Variante des Alttürkischen nicht nur für die Turkologie und die allgemeine Sprachwissenschaft, sondern auch für die vielfältige und bis heute faszinierende Kulturgeschichte der Seidenstraße von großer Bedeutung.
This catalogue contains descriptions of Old Uyghur confession texts from the Turfan Collection in... more This catalogue contains descriptions of Old Uyghur confession texts from the Turfan Collection in Berlin. For a complete download follow the link.
This catalogue contains descriptions of Manichaean fragments in Old Uyghur from the Turfan Collec... more This catalogue contains descriptions of Manichaean fragments in Old Uyghur from the Turfan Collection in Berlin. Please follow the link for the download.
Die ausgewählten Schriften Peter Ziemes verdeutlichen den Schwerpunkt seiner wissenschaftli... more Die ausgewählten Schriften Peter Ziemes verdeutlichen den Schwerpunkt seiner wissenschaftlichen Tätigkeit, die Erforschung des buddhistischen Schrifttums der Alten Türken, vor allem auf der Grundlage der Textfragmente der Berliner Turfansammlung. Eine umfassende, monographische Studie zum alttürkischen Buddhismus ist wegen der noch nicht abgeschlossenen Bearbeitung der Quellen und der Neufunde uigurischer Handschriften bis heute weltweit ein Desideratum geblieben. P. Ziemes Untersuchungen zu diesem Thema sind international hoch geschätzt und werden sowohl von Fachkollegen wie auch von den Kollegen in den Nachbardisziplinen regelmäßig zitiert. Er selbst hat seinen im vorliegenden Sammelband veröffentlichten Aufsätzen Addenda und Corrigenda beigefügt. Die Herausgeber haben die Studien durch mehrere Indices, wie einen Sachindex, einen Wortindex, einen Index der publizierten und zitierten buddhistischen Werke, einen Index der publizierten und zitierten Turfanfragmente sowie Indices zu Personen- und Ortsnamen für die Wissenschaft weiter erschlossen. Zwei in russischer Sprache veröffentlichten Aufsätzen wurden deutsche Übersetzungen beigefügt.
This is a study of a scripture translated into Old Uyghur from Tocharian A and counted as one of ... more This is a study of a scripture translated into Old Uyghur from Tocharian A and counted as one of the earliest Uyghur Buddhist texts. The Buddhist collection of stories entitled Daśakarmapathāvadānamālā (“garland of legends pertaining to the ten courses of action”) is the most important narrative work of Buddhist Central Asia as it is not only attested in Old Uyghur (the best preserved version) but also in Tocharian A and B as well as in Sogdian. Volumes one and two present the reconstructed text in Old Uyghur in transcription (more than 12.500 lines) and facing German translation accompanied by a philological commentary and 250 illustrations of joint fragments. The third volume contains a glossary and the transliterations. The text is a treasure trove of Buddhist jātakas (stories of former lives of the Buddha) and avadānas (heroic deeds) sometimes told in variants unknown from other Buddhist works. In addition, it contains instructions referring to Buddhist ethics. Next to the Maitrisimit, the Daśakarmapathāvadānamālā is the second fundamental text translated from Tocharian A and is thus of major importance for Tocharian studies.
Reviewed by Jens Wilkens* Old Uyghur manuscripts and woodblock prints retrieved from different si... more Reviewed by Jens Wilkens* Old Uyghur manuscripts and woodblock prints retrieved from different sites along the ancient Silk Routes located mainly in Eastern Turkestan (today's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, PR China) and Dunhuang (Gansu, PR China) are housed in various collections around the world. The collection in St. Petersburg is one of the most important ones-second only to the Turfan Collection in Berlin (Academy of Sciences and Humanities of Berlin-Brandenburg). While the latter is accessible by means of the printed volumes of the series 'Verzeichnis der Orientalischen Handschriften in Deutschland' (produced as part of the former project under the title 'Union Catalogue of Oriental Manuscripts in German Collections') and the database KOHD (= Katalogisierung der Orientalischen Handschriften in Deutschland) Digital, the former was previously known mostly to a few specialists. The beautifully printed volume under review is conceived as being the first one in a series of catalogues of manuscripts and woodblock prints housed in the Serindia collection 1 of the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts in St. Petersburg, compiled under the auspices of two institutions, the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IOM, RAS) and the Tōyō Bunko (Tōkyō), and in cooperation between scholars from Russia (Olga Lundysheva, Anna Turanskaya) and Japan (Umemura Hiroshi), supervised by Peter Zieme (Germany). 2 1 Until May 2006 the collection was known under the title 'Central Asian collection'. The renaming led to the introduction of new call numbers for the materials beginning with SI (i.e., Serindia) followed by a number consisting of one to four digits (p. XXIII).
Substandard Substandard Substandard Substandardelemente und Kolloquialismen im Altuigurischen ele... more Substandard Substandard Substandard Substandardelemente und Kolloquialismen im Altuigurischen elemente und Kolloquialismen im Altuigurischen elemente und Kolloquialismen im Altuigurischen elemente und Kolloquialismen im Altuigurischen Jens Wilkens (Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen) 0. Einleitung 1 Das Altuigurische ist uns fast ausschließlich aus literarischen Texten bekannt, die zudem noch meist einen religiösen Hintergrundbuddhistisch, manichäisch, seltener: christlich -haben. Eine Bestimmung von Elementen des Substandards fällt, wie nicht anders zu erwarten, dementsprechend schwer. Es kommen verschiedene Perspektiven bei der Sichtung des Materials in Betracht. In morphologischer Hinsicht bemerkenswert und sicherlich der gesprochenen Sprache zugehörig ist die drei Mal in Dokumenten belegte pronominale Dativform bizkä. 2 Auch in dem Maudgalyāyana-Bianwen-Text Mainz 290 (/v/7) 3 und in einer Inschrift 4 ist bizkä bezeugt. Die von HAMILTON und NIU in einer Inschrift aus den 榆林 Yulin-Grotten gelesene Pronominalform alar 5 hat sich hingegen als Fehllesung erwiesen. 6 Es ist ferner darauf hingewiesen worden, dass die nur ein Mal belegte Konstruktion -mAk üčün in bizni kutadmak üčün ("um uns zu erlösen") in einem Glaubensbekenntnis der Apostolischen Kirche des Ostens ein Element der Umgangssprache sein könne, ähnlich wie auch in christlich-sogdischen Texten einige Kolloquialismen nachweisbar seien. 7 Gelegentlich entsprechen gewisse Formen denen, die im östlichen Mitteltürkischen belegt sind, so etwa die Form beräli für berälim (1. Plural Voluntativ). 8 Sie sind auf jeden Fall als progressiv und spät zu betrachten. In einem poetischen Text erscheinen in einem Stanza vier -gan-Formen (bolgan, ugan, tugan, kurgan), von denen nur die zweite und dritte lexikalisiert scheinen. 9 In lexikalischer Hinsicht fällt in einem späten buddhistischen Manuskript, das eine anti-islamische Polemik 1 Es handelt sich um eine leicht überarbeitete Fassung eines Vortrags, der auf der Tagung "Substandard-Vokabular der türkischen und mongolischen Sprachen" des Seminars für Turkologie und Zentralasienkunde in Göttingen gehalten wurde (7. und 8. Oktober 2014).
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Papers by Jens Wilkens
It deals with the ongoing impact of Edgar Allan Poe's work in Rock and especially in Heavy Metal.
However, there are some significant discrepancies between the two versions. Both versions of this highly important text dedicated to the visionary biography of the future Buddha Maitreya provide an ideal
starting point for comparative Tocharian-Old Uyghur studies. The two languages involved belong to two different language families and thus have divergent typological properties. Although shorter translations from Middle Iranian languages into Old Uyghur are known, the Old Uyghur Maitrisimit nom bitig is without any doubt the most important translation from an Indo-European language into a Turkic one in the period before the turn of the first millennium CE. The article discusses some peculiarities of this Old Uyghur translation.
script are essential for the understanding of how the Indian
Buddhist tradition came to be appropriated by the Uyghurs in
general, but especially during the Yuan Dynasty (1279–1368 CE).
Some manuscripts represent Vinaya related materials which are
missing altogether in monolingual Old Uyghur texts. The article
introduces a bilingual fragment (Sanskrit and Old Uyghur) in
Uyghur script housed in the Turfan Collection in Berlin which
belongs to the Karmavācanā literature and deals with the
pravāraṇā ceremony. This monastic ritual was celebrated after the
annual retreat of three months during the rainy season (Skt. varṣā).
In the Sanskrit part the fragment corresponds well with the Sanskrit
Karmavācanā literature from Central Asia, whereas the Uyghur
instructions on the recto are quite unique.
It deals with the ongoing impact of Edgar Allan Poe's work in Rock and especially in Heavy Metal.
However, there are some significant discrepancies between the two versions. Both versions of this highly important text dedicated to the visionary biography of the future Buddha Maitreya provide an ideal
starting point for comparative Tocharian-Old Uyghur studies. The two languages involved belong to two different language families and thus have divergent typological properties. Although shorter translations from Middle Iranian languages into Old Uyghur are known, the Old Uyghur Maitrisimit nom bitig is without any doubt the most important translation from an Indo-European language into a Turkic one in the period before the turn of the first millennium CE. The article discusses some peculiarities of this Old Uyghur translation.
script are essential for the understanding of how the Indian
Buddhist tradition came to be appropriated by the Uyghurs in
general, but especially during the Yuan Dynasty (1279–1368 CE).
Some manuscripts represent Vinaya related materials which are
missing altogether in monolingual Old Uyghur texts. The article
introduces a bilingual fragment (Sanskrit and Old Uyghur) in
Uyghur script housed in the Turfan Collection in Berlin which
belongs to the Karmavācanā literature and deals with the
pravāraṇā ceremony. This monastic ritual was celebrated after the
annual retreat of three months during the rainy season (Skt. varṣā).
In the Sanskrit part the fragment corresponds well with the Sanskrit
Karmavācanā literature from Central Asia, whereas the Uyghur
instructions on the recto are quite unique.
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The Buddhist collection of stories entitled Daśakarmapathāvadānamālā (“garland of legends pertaining to the ten courses of action”) is the most important narrative work of Buddhist Central Asia as it is not only attested in Old Uyghur (the best preserved version) but also in Tocharian A and B as well as in Sogdian. Volumes one and two present the reconstructed text in Old Uyghur in transcription (more than 12.500 lines) and facing German translation accompanied by a philological commentary and 250 illustrations of joint fragments. The third volume contains a glossary and the transliterations. The text is a treasure trove of Buddhist jātakas (stories of former lives of the Buddha) and avadānas (heroic deeds) sometimes told in variants unknown from other Buddhist works. In addition, it contains instructions referring to Buddhist ethics. Next to the Maitrisimit, the Daśakarmapathāvadānamālā is the second fundamental text translated from Tocharian A and is thus of major importance for Tocharian studies.