Middle Kingdom Research Articles

The Middle Kingdom under the Big Sky: A History of the Chinese Experience in Montana. By Mark T. Johnson

The Middle Kingdom under the Big Sky is based on the important and well-accepted premise that historians and audiences need to know more about the lives of Chinese people in nineteenth-century America and in the diaspora from the perspectives of the Chinese (in America and abroad) themselves. Working with this compelling idea, Mark T. Johnson offers a fascinating history of the Chinese diasporic experience in Montana from 1870 to the 1950s, using previously ignored and untranslated collections at the Montana Historical Society. Indeed, Johnson’s attention to sources makes this work critical reading for scholars interested in the history of the Chinese diaspora and transnational relations, as well as historical methods. The latter will be especially engaged by his accounts of the translation work undertaken by student and inter-generational volunteers, which speak to methodological challenges and conceptual possibilities of this approach. Johnson’s scholarship reveals what is possible when using a trove of “local” sources to pursue diasporic research (the content of the letters and the international nature of the correspondence challenge received notions of what we mean by the term “local”). In a wide-ranging analysis, Johnston explores the lynching of Ah Chow in 1870 (described in a manner that evokes Beth-Lew Williams’s analysis in The Chinese Must Go: Violence, Exclusion, and the Making of the Alien in America), the activities of the Chinese Empire Reform Association, the 1905 anti-U.S. boycott in China (and the material impact in Montana), Chinese women in Montana, burial rituals, and how people navigated immigration restrictions in the Cold War. The Middle Kingdom Under the Big Sky is a compelling diasporic analysis that explores how the lives of Chinese residents in Montana were simultaneously rooted in place and shaped by concerns abroad.

The Middle Kingdom under the Big Sky: A History of the Chinese Experience in Montana by Mark T. Johnson (review)

The Middle Kingdom under the Big Sky: A History of the Chinese Experience in Montana by Mark T. Johnson (review)

The African Origin of Civilization curated by Alisa LaGamma and Diana Craig Patch; Before Yesterday We Could Fly: An Afrofuturist Period Room curated by Hannah Beachler, Michelle Commander, Ian Alteveer, and Sarah E. Lawrence

The African Origin of Civilization curated by Alisa LaGamma and Diana Craig Patch; Before Yesterday We Could Fly: An Afrofuturist Period Room curated by Hannah Beachler, Michelle Commander, Ian Alteveer, and Sarah E. Lawrence

From Friction to Acceleration: China’s Ambition for a Post-Pandemic Tianxia World Order

This paper explores the relation between the Covid-19 pandemic and China’s peaceful rise. In March 2020, the Covid-19 virus outbreak was declared by World Health Organization (WHO) as a global pandemic that knows no boundaries. While China received an enormous spotlight for being the ground-zero of the pandemic, China has managed to control the pandemic effectively. Not only that, China has also even been able to help other countries by providing Covid-19 assistance to other countries in need. More significantly, however, China was in a unique position when the pandemic hit—it was in a critical period for its rising era. China’s rise has been framed as a ‘peaceful rise’ (heping jueqi). On the other hand, the pandemic forced China to re-think its national power usage while still striving to achieve an idealized order of Tianxia—all-under-heaven. This research analyses how China’s pandemic cooperation is utilized in a greater framework of peaceful rise to accelerate the establishment of Tianxia world order. This research argues that the pandemic served as a critical juncture for the status-quo liberal international order, and China took the opportunity to indirectly disrupt the order. This is evident through two main pillars of China’s pandemic cooperation: (1) asserting self-reliance by strengthening national response; (2) establishing cooperation to put China as a ‘middle kingdom.’ This research concludes that China, in some ways, successfully transform the pandemic from friction to an acceleration factor for its peaceful rise.

Out of Ruins: Contextualizing an Ancient Egyptian Spectacle of Architectural Reuse

Architectural reuse was common in ancient Egypt. Modern interpretations of this practice, particularly in royal contexts, usually ascribe it either a practical or ideological function, only rarely considering it possible that different motivations were involved. This type of approach is particularly true for the reuse of Old Kingdom blocks by the Middle Kingdom king Amenemhat I in his pyramid at Lisht, a case often classified as solely utilitarian. However, an approach that prioritizes not only the ancient Egyptian worldview and royal ideology, but also how this case of reuse fits into cross-cultural considerations of monumentality, demonstrates the necessity to look at this practice more holistically. This study focuses in particular on the possibility that the transportation of reused materials by Amenemhat I was a spectacle of construction used to showcase the king's legitimacy and authority at the start of a new dynasty.

"Years of Hunger" in the Orix Nome: on the Egyptian Arable Farming in the First Intermediate Period and Early Middle Kingdom

Throughout the Egyptian history of the III–II millennium BC, most of written mentions of famines occurs from the First Intermediate Period to the beginning of the Middle Kingdom, and such really happened then more often than usual. The article points out some of the reasons for this and the grounds for the food security restoration in the XII dynasty. The newest data proves some deterioration of ecological conditions, to which arable farming was unable to adapt after the collapse of the Old Kingdom legal and economic order. For “private farms” that figure in the First Intermediate Period inscriptions, it was often difficult to formalize their rights to fertile lands and to gather seed grain, livestock, workers in the necessary short time. In the absence of an established grain market, but with prevalence of violence and robbery, even strong households often avoided expanding their plowing. Detrimental to arable farming was a flow of workers to other sectors of economy and the depopulation of the Middle Egypt. The cessation of the famines was caused not only by environmental improvement, but also by the restoration of peace and order in the country, and above all the implementation of the state economic regulation, including spreading and support of arable farming. Even in the times of crop failures, it preserved tillage wherever possible and quickly re-introduced it to the lands with restored fertility

Taiwan, China and the Meta-civilizational World System of Eastern Asia: Towards a New Vision of Asian Globality

The stalemate in China-Taiwan relations calls for new approaches to the problem of security and stability in APR. The article examines the current confrontation between the "two sides of the Taiwan Strait" in its relation to Chinese civilization’s specificity and globalization processes. Taiwan is not just China's periphery, but also the last Chinese frontier. Taiwan's politics of "de-sinicization" and transformation of the Taiwanese into an "Oceanic Nation" is considered in the three-dimensional context of modern Chinese civilization: the continental centralized state of imperial type, represented by the "Middle Kingdom" concept, the Chinese periphery and the Chinese diaspora, representing the global aspect of Pax Sinica. A real focus of this structure is precisely the point of Frontier, a sort of heterotopy with its capacity to bring together singularity and universality, internal and external aspects of existence. The author offers a new concept of Greater China as a link between the local and the global aspects of Chinese civilization. This mediation is realized through the transformation of various qualities of existence into its persisting types as the symbols of the fullness of existence. These types create a special kind of communicative space which constitutes the East Asian meta-civilizational world system. This approach to the relationship between China and Taiwan and their globalist aspirations reveals a special East Asian type of globality, in which cooperation between China and Taiwan can be reconciled on the synergy basis, despite their widely divergent political systems. The Pacific region is a convenient testing ground for this type of relationship.

“All Who Are with Him are Defeated”: Execration Texts of the Middle Kingdom on the Nubian Dynasties

The paper deals with dynastic lines of Nubian states, which were situated to the south of the 2nd Cataract during the Middle Kingdom. The names of Nubian rulers reached us in special lists — the so-called Execration texts. Carved on small figurines or vessels Execration texts were discovered and published in the previous century. There are four corpuses of texts today, covering almost the entire period of the Middle Kingdom: Helwan, Mirgissa, Berlin, and Brussels. Due to these sources, it was possible to establish a dynastic connection between some of the rulers mentioned in the texts of different corpuses. This made it possible to construct a genealogical line of almost chiefs of Nubian regions known to the Egyptians of the Middle Kingdom. An analysis of the names of the rulers, as well as additional information from other sources, made it possible to correct approximate dating of the corpuses Execration texts, which was given by previous researchers. The genealogical lines of the rulers of Nubia, formed with the help of these sources and their connection to the dates of the reign of the Egyptian kings of the XII dynasty made it possible to clarify some details of the political relationship between Egypt of the Middle Kingdom and the Nubian states.

ПОДХОДЫ К МИФОЛОГИЧЕСКОЙ ИНТЕРПРЕТАЦИИ ЕГИПЕТСКИХ СОСУДОВ ДЛЯ ЛИБАЦИИ ЭПОХИ ДРЕВНЕГО ЦАРСТВА

The article considers the evolution of visual language in Old Kingdom Egypt. This process anticipated the usage of images to convey mythological content on the Middle Kingdom coffins. During the V dyn. glimpses of transformation of cult images began to emerge. Along the “realistic” depiction of the funerary cult some compositions started to refer to mythological consequences of its successful implementation. Following J. Assmann we can say that the “sacramental explanation” of the ritual action was thus incorporated in the composition of cult images. The article investigates the problem of mythological interpretation of a distinct type of ritual implement – libation basin. Initially its function was instrumental, namely to accept the sacrificial substances. During the IV dyn. it was as well interpreted as a lake, but in literature one can also find its mythological interpretation as the eternal waters of Nun. To delineate more sharply the boundaries of possible mythological interpretation, the author refers to the term “constellation” proposed by J. Assmann. In this perspective the similarity between verbal and visual texts could be confirmed by identity of the characters, as well as of the attributes of their interaction. Along these lines it is argued that the closest textual parallel to the libation basins is to be found in the group of utterances associated with the arrival of the deceased to the Fields of Offerings, to the butler of god Ra. The latter can be the personification of the flood and water abundance Agebi.

In the presence of my king forever: Royal images in the tombs of noblemen of the Middle Kingdom and beyond

The paper discusses the origins of royal representations and their transformation into the divine presence in private tomb decorations. The point of departure is a small fragment of the divine beard of Mentuhotep II recently rediscovered in TT 311. Although the scene with the king in TT 311 is, thus far, the earliest attested representation of a pharaoh in a private tomb, the motif fits well into the evolving pattern of gods’ and kings’ presence in private tombs, initiated in the Old Kingdom with Anubis and Osiris occasionally depicted on tomb walls and the king addressed in offering formulae. The introduction of the image of Mentuhotep II with Osirianizing features in TT 311 also sets up a paradigm of a closed cycle of Osirian presence in private tombs: from prayers to Osiris in htp-dj-nswt formulae, through the king-as-deity to the image of Osiris himself.

Three notes on Middle Kingdom inscriptions

Three notes on Middle Kingdom inscriptions

Format 17+1 jako przykład chińskiego rozumienia i praktyki polityki zagranicznej

The main purpose of the article is to show the foreign policy of the People’s Republic of China from a different than western analytical perspective. According to author, not including in analysis of Pekin’s politic it’s different experience and view in international relations is the reason of their too western/European approach. In the result the picture is distorted by the western conceptual grid which makes it difficult to properly read and predict PRC moves in the international arena. In the article main concepts visible in the Chinese political culture, are talked over. As their roots reach to the classical philosophy and political practice of Middle Kingdom, they are also visible in contemporary Chinese foreign policy. Mentioned concepts are tianxia (all under heaven), ba (hegemony), shi (practically almost impossible to translate in one word) and guanxi (interpersonal connections). In the article all of them were defined and discussed, to show the reader China’s different approach to the international relations. Additionally, in the article author makes a bid to analyze Pekin’s international organization – 17+1 under the presence of above concepts. As it is shown, all of them can be found in it. 17+1 itself may be therefore an example of a universalism of Chinese foreign policy. Independently of the country toward which it is aimed, it is always formed by the concepts described in an article.

Захист Осіріса. Формальні міркування щодо висловів 1076 та 1077 текстів саркофагів

One of the main episodes of the Osirian myth is the infamous assault of Seth on his brother Osiris. Their father, the god Geb, took all the precautions to protect the body of his murdered son from any future attack by Seth. A well-protected building housed the dead body, where Geb appointed powerful guards to protect the body of Osiris. Fortunately, few coffins from the Middle Kingdom (2055–1650 BC) preserved for us a strikingly interesting record of these apotropaic beings both in word and image. The standard publication of the Coffin Texts gathered the names of these guardians in two spells with numbers 1076 and 1077. Yet, lack of sufficient documentation and predominant textual bias in previous studies caused a great deal of confusion regarding these guardians as far as their number and visual representation are concerned. This contribution addresses these formal issues and analyzes the arrangement of the names and depictions of the guardians in these coffins. The close scrutiny revealed some hitherto undocumented features in the original sources.

Who Were the Hyksos?

The term “Hyksos” commonly refers to the foreign dynasty that inhabited and held power in Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period, ca. 1650–1550 BCE. The later historian Manetho described the Hyksos as invading foreigners, and this view persisted until the modern period. Recent research has integrated archaeological, artistic, and textual evidence revealing the Hyksos origin and presence in Egypt to be more complex than previously envisioned. To investigate the provenance of the so-called Hyksos, human remains from Tell el-Dab’a, the ancient Hyksos capital of Avaris, were analyzed using Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System dental nonmetric traits. An intra- and intersite biodistance analysis of individuals from Tell el-Dab’a (n = 92) and other contemporary sites in the Near East (n = 285) was conducted. Two statistical tests, mean measure of divergence and Gower distance analysis, were selected. The archaeological and biological evidence suggests continued occupation spanning from the end of the Middle Kingdom through the Hyksos dynasty, offering further evidence contra Manetho, who described a sudden invasion. The intersite analysis supports the archaeological finds from Tell el-Dab’a, suggesting that not only commodities but also people made their way to Tell el-Dab’a.

Aging Signs on Some Male Statues of the Old and Middle kingdoms

Aging Signs on Some Male Statues of the Old and Middle kingdoms

Istoriya nacionalizacii iskusstva igry na klarnete v muzykal'noj kul'ture Kitaya

The wind wooden reed instrument clarinet is one of the most common of its group not only in Western European musical culture, but also in the East Asian region in China. Within the framework of this article, the goal is put forward to reveal the problems of creating their own methods of clarinet creativity by Chinese composers and performing musicians in a historical retrospective, as well as to formulate and evaluate possible prospects for increasing the nationalization of clarinet art in the Middle Kingdom.

Zur Sonderentwicklung des Ayin neben Het

“On the special development of Ayin near Het” The consonant represented by ‹o› (so-called oAyin, but originally a voiced dental stop or spirant) shows graphic peculiarities after the Old Kingdom if the same root contains a ‹H› (Oet). This paper presents all words hitherto known to display this feature and attempts to provide a phonetic interpretation. It is argued that the regular shift of the sound represented by ‹o› towards a pharyngeal spirant was suppressed under the said condition. Instead, the consonant either preserved its original dental articulation throughout the Middle Kingdom (at the end of a syllable, as well as immediately following ‹H›), or else it was lost altogether (at the beginning of a syllable unless immediately following ‹H›). Building upon these conclusions, some additional proposals concerning the historical phonology of Egyptian are advanced.

The Dark Side of Urbanisation: Inequality, Precarity and “Gentrification” in Middle Kingdom Tell el-Dabca, Ancient Avaris

Tell el-Dabca, ancient Avaris (eastern Delta in Egypt), was initially settled in the late 11th-early 12th dynasty, when a planned settlement was built in area F/I. This settlement was abandoned two times. The first abandonment was followed by the return of the same people, or the people of the same social background and class, to the existing planned settlement. After the second abandonment and a hiatus, the demolition and levelling of the area took place. These changes were previously interpreted as a simple reorganization of space. This paper argues that the changes in the settlement structure in the area, are a reflection of a profound change in the social background and class of the inhabitants. These changes are a consequence of class inequality and precarity understood as “politically induced condition” (Butler 2009: 25) which allowed the “gentrification” of the area.

Chiński przekład "Pana Tadeusza". Historia, fenomen, problemy i inspiracje

The aim of this paper is to describe the reception of the literature of Polish Romanticism in China, as well as its long and winding road to the Middle Kingdom. The article addresses the ideological beginnings of the existence of Adam Mickiewicz’s works in the consciousness of Chinese people. The author analyses two translations of Pan Tadeusz into Chinese, made during the first half of the 20th century. Information about Polish Romanticism and the works of its most eminent representatives reached China at a very crucial historical moment for the Middle Kingdom, almost immediately arousing the interest of the elites. However, the same historical causes that triggered the fascination with the works of the Polish Romanticists also led to a distortion and ideologization of its reception, which persisted until 1955, when the first translation of Pan Tadeusz appeared in Chinese. However, that translation was made from English and written in prose. This changed at the end of the 20th century, when a second translation of the poem, written in verse, appeared. Despite the passage of time and the efforts of translators, the reception of the literature of Polish Romanticism and the knowledge of Adam Mickiewicz's biography is still incomplete. On the other hand, this can be an impulse for further research in translation and literary studies.

Geometrical study of Middle Kingdom funerary complexes in Qubbet el-Hawa (Aswan, Egypt) based on 3D models

Highlights: A new methodology is presented to develop geometrical analysis of burial structures based on 3D models. The methodology has been applied to three contiguous burial structures (hypogea), allowing the researchers to analyse some constructive aspects such as dimensions, proportions, orientations, flatness and inclinations. Results have demonstrated the advanced skills achieved by ancient Egyptians in construction techniques. Abstract: This study describes the methodology developed and the main results obtained when analysing the geometrical behavior of three adjacent burial structures located in southern Egypt. The rock-cut tombs are composed of complex geometries such as halls, corridors, chambers and vertical shafts. Among other determining aspects, this complexity greatly conditioned the data acquisition and processing work. In this context, the main objective of this study was to develop a new methodology for obtaining geomatic products that support a complete geometrical analysis of the tombs. The researchers have used photogrammetric and laser scanning surveys to obtain accurate 3D models on a common reference system. The procedure used included obtaining several secondary products, such as several geometries (planes and cylinders) fitted from point clouds or plans and sections obtained from the 3D models. The geometric analysis has included several aspects: dimensions, proportions, orientations, wall flatness, inclinations, etc., and it is based on these products. The results obtained suggest and confirm several hypotheses about the constructive aspects of these hypogea based on a large amount of data, including the determination of a proportional canon used by the ancient Egyptians to plan and perform the excavation works of each funerary structure. The application of this methodology has demonstrated that this type of analysis is viable to unveil some important aspects of these structures and the constructive procedures carried out almost four millennia ago.