Translations Of Ancient Texts Research Articles

Kinship ties of the ancient Huaxia: correcting one historiographical inaccuracy

The study focuses on Huaxia's beliefs regarding their kinship from the seventh to sixth century BC. One theory holds that the people living in the many ancient Chinese states at that time came together to form an ethnic group known as the Hua, Xia, or Huaxia, based on concepts of shared ancestry among other things. Citations from ancient Chinese texts are provided as confirmation, drawing a comparison between the "barbarians" and the foreign and unconnected polities and the "fraternal" and "related" states of the Huaxia. There are issues with this interpretation, though, as genealogical kinship between certain individuals is seen as evidence of the ethnic identity among the Huaxia, while translations of ancient texts are sometimes erroneous and the statement's context is disregarded. This work offers revised translations and interpretations of certain sections from Chun Qiu Zuo Zhuan (Commentary by Zuo [Qiuming to the] Chun Qiu). The author concludes that these statements refute any notion of a shared ancestry among the ancient Chinese as a whole. Rather, they deal only with the family links that existed between the several governing dynasties. Moreover, even in cases where there were no significant linguistic or cultural divide, the principalities ruled by unrelated monarchs or those whose relationship was deemed too remote could be left out of the list of "related," "fraternal" states. The question is raised as to whether the commoners were part of the emerging community of Huaxia, or whether this term still referred to representatives of the elite. It is obvious that the Huaxia are opposed to "barbarians", but it is not entirely clear whether the commoners were taken into account in the context of this comparison.

Шапошников Александр Константинович:жизнь в науке и творчестве

The article is dedicated to the memory of Alexander Konstantinovich Shaposhnikov, Candidate of Philological Sciences, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), researcher of the Department of Etymology and Onomastics of the V.V. Vinogradov Institute of the Russian Language of the Russian Academy of Sciences. As a student of Ninel Zeynalovna Gadzhieva, he received her advice in the field of comparative studies, Turkology and Altaic studies, which were later embodied in the candidate’s thesis of A.K. Shaposhnikov, as well as in many research works. Later, his supervisor was an outstanding researcher, academician Oleg Nikolaevich Trubachev. The talented student of the academician continued the research of his teacher and became a famous lexicographer, etymologist, author and compiler of a number of academic, popular academic works and translations. The topic of the candidate’s dissertation «The experience of reconstruction of the relic language (based on materials 169М.А. Бурибаева, Д.Б. Аманжолова, Н.Ж. Шаймерденова Turkic Studies Journal 4 (2022) 149-170related to the Khazar Khaganate)» was carried out under the supervision of N.G. Gadzhieva and O.N. Trubachev in 1992. This research direction became the starting point in all the further activities of A.K. Shaposhnikov, defining the scope of his scientific interests related to historical lexicography, etymology, ancient onomastics, mythology, as well as translations of ancient texts (from ancient Greek, Latin). For several years, he was the head of the annual readings in memory of Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences O.N. Trubachev from the cycle «Northern Black Sea Region: to the origins of Slavic culture».A.K. Shaposhnikov has repeatedly visited Kazakhstan and participated in linguistic forums, closely cooperated with Kazakh researchers engaged in etymological research, Turkic-Slavic language contacts, the language of monuments of Russian writing of various periods, and, most importantly, lectured and participated in a joint (with Kazakh researchers) international project on the lexicographic description of Turkisms in Slavic languages in 2013-2014. A.K. Shaposhnikov together with Kazakh researchers worked on the project «Corpus of Turkic language units in East Slavic languages: ways of penetration and adaptation», the purpose of which was a comprehensive synchronic and diachronic study of the features of semantics and functioning of Turkisms in heterogeneous and homogeneous languages, followed by the compilation of a Dictionary of Turkisms. Alexander Konstantinovich Shaposhnikov died from complications caused by viral pneumonia on July 7, 2021, leaving behind numerous studies in the field of lexicography, etymology and onomastics.

De druk van te hoge verwachtingen

Abstract The pleasant, quiet archaeological site of Olympia appears a far cry from the fame of the ancient Olympic Games, or from the spectacle of the modern variety. In this article, I discuss the end of ancient Olympia and the gradual re-emergence of the archaeological site. After Olympia was abandoned in early Byzantine times, its location was no longer remembered. However, its fame remained, partly through translations of ancient texts, notably Pausanias, partly through the revival of the Olympic Games in the 19th century. Early modern travelers and the French scholars who worked at the site as part of the Expedition de la Morée hoped that the site could fulfill their high expectations, in particular with regards to ancient sculpture. As the excavations continued, since 1875 as part of the research program of the German Archaeological Institute, the buried remains have revealed a different material reality. As a result of the combination of continuous research and restoration up until the present day the site of Olympia now provides an independent view on the past.