EACS-2016. Book of Abstracts

Premodern History 21st Biennial Conference of the European Association for Chinese Studies 118 Eicher Sebastian (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität) Rewriting the History of the Later Han? Some thoughts on Fan Ye’s Compilation Technique Key words: Compilation technique, Dongguan Han ji, Bajia Hou Han shu, fragments, authorship FanYe’s Hou Han shu 後漢書 (HHS) is only the youngest work in a rather long series of annals-biographies- histories on the Later Han dynasty. It was compiled centuries after the fall of the Later Han and the historian therefore no longer had access to the materials in the archives. Instead he had to rely heavily on previously compiled historical works, namely the Annals of the Eastern Watchtower 東觀漢紀 (Dongguan Han ji), and the so called Eight authors of Books on the Later Han, the Bajia Hou Han shu 八家後漢書 . But what did this reliance on other histories mean for the actual work? What were Fan Ye’s main sources and how did he work with them? Howmuch did he actually write himself?What new things could he tell about a dynasty that already had a dozen histories devoted to it? Due to the gradual loss of all the competing works these questions so far have rarely been dealt with. At least partial answers are however possible. Later compilers of commentaries and encyclopedias preserved a big number of fragments of Fan Ye’s predecessors and by comparing them with the HHS that we know today it is possible to gain some insight into how the historian Fan Ye worked. This paper tries to show some tendencies by analyzing the textual history of chapter 39 of the HHS in detail. Escher Julia (Universität Zürich) Marriage Alliances Between Chinese Dynasties and the Tŭyùhún 吐谷渾 — a Study Based on the Cases of Five Chinese Princesses Key words: marriage alliance, Tuyuhun 吐谷渾 , princess, heqin 和親 , diplomacy Throughout the history of Imperial China, marriage alliances formed an important part of politics and diplomacy. In most cases, a female member of the Imperial clan would be invested as a Princess and married off to the leader of a foreign state. By the time of the Tang dynasty, a clear hierarchy of different Princess titles had emerged. This presentation will focus on the marriage alliances conducted between various Chinese dynasties and the Tuyuhun-kingdom. The state of the Tuyuhun existed from the early fourth to the late seventh century and was situated in the vicinity of the Qinghai-lake. It covered parts of the present-day provinces Qinghai, Gansu and Sichuan. It was ruled by an elite of Murong Xianbei origin and controlled branches of the Silk Road. Due to its location and the trade routes running through its territory, the Tuyuhun-state played an important role in the commercial and cultural exchange between various states in the Tarim-basin, Central Asia and the different Chinese dynasties. Based on historical texts and the epitaphs of two Princesses, I will present a short overview of the Princesses given to Tuyuhun rulers by Chinese dynasties. I will argue that their ranks directly reflect the political importance of the Tuyuhun-kingdom at the time of the respective marriage alliance. Gomouline Andrei (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) The Image of Jixia in the Han Sources: The Garden of Eden of the Han Literati Key words: Jixia Academy, Taixue Academy, literati The Chinese intellectual tradition preserved the story of a noteworthy mid- to late Warring States 戰國 (453–221 BCE) institution, where hundreds or even thousands of thinkers gathered under the patronage of several generations of rulers to discuss philosophy and various theoretical issues, without being charged with any direct administrative duties. The most prominent of them (“masters” xiansheng 先生 ) were reportedly granted high ranks of shangdafu 上大夫 and appropriate salaries. The tradition refers to this institution as “Jixia” 稷下 ; the modern Chinese scholarship adds it with the title of “xuegong” 學宮 (“Palace of Learn- ing”), which is usually rendered into the Western languages as “Academy” — i. e., “Jixia xuegong” 稷下 學宮 or the “Jixia Academy.”