EACS-2016. Book of Abstracts

Section 11 21st Biennial Conference of the European Association for Chinese Studies 125 The aboriginal-boundary map (Fanjie tu, 番界圖 ), one particular kind of subject-map, had a unique form and function in eighteenth-century Taiwan under Qing rule. This paper analyzes this type of map with reference to other versions, such as those held by Academia Sinica in Taipei, Northwest Normal University Library in Lanzhou, the Russian State Library in Moscow, and the Palace Museum in Beijing, as well as the copy held privately by Hous. It also compares the map with some historical examples of cartography such as Yuan-Shu Chiang ( 蔣元樞 )’s illustrated album of architecture, Qianlong Taiwan Map, held by the National Palace Museum in Taipei; two Taiwan antique maps held by Tenri University in Nara; and The Map of Taiwan held in the British Museum. Such textual research into Taiwan aboriginal-boundary maps created under Qing rule not only sheds light on the development of cartography and helps us understand the framework of space, but also attempts to figure out the spatial image and human-land relationships that lay behind the painted landscape of the map. Terekhov Anthony (Institute of Oriental Manuscripts, RAS) The Sagely Emperor: Sheng in Han Court Rhetoric Key words: Sage, court rhetoric, Han political ideology, reports to the throne, imperial edicts The concept of Sage (sheng 聖 ), the ultimate ideal of human perfection, played very important part in traditional Chinese thought. It was used by almost every major thinker of the Warring States period (453 — 221 BC), although each one understood it in his own specific way. As a result this notion acquired a lot of different meanings. Although in most of the interpretations it had strong political implications and was often used to describe a monarch, it had not been applied to contemporary rulers until Qin (221–206 BC), when the First Emperor (r. 221 — 210 BC) proclaimed himself to be one. After the fall of Qin and founding of Han (202 BC— 220AD) the term temporarily disappears from the historical documents, yet from the times of Wen-di (r. 180–157 BC) and Wu-di (r. 141–87 BC) onwards it started to regain its significance in the realm of political rhetoric, quickly becoming one of the major lauda- tory terms and even a metonym for the emperor. By the first decades of Eastern Han (25 — 220AD) the use of the term sheng in official documents became so ubiquitous that emperors issued two edicts forbidding its use in the reports to the throne, but apparently without any result. The use of the term sheng in Han documents raises a lot of questions: Which purposes it served? Did it really imply specific features on part of emperors or was it just a figure of speech? Were all the emperors seen as Sages? Why the term was so popular and why was it banned? In my paper I will analyze its use in emperors' edicts and officials' reports to the throne preserved in historical sources to demarcate different meanings of this term in Han court rhetoric, to highlight the specifics of its use, and thus to define its role in the political ideology of the Han period. Theaker Hannah (University of Oxford) Peculiar Pivot: Parsing the Life of Muslim General Ma Anliang in the Late Qing Establishment Key words: Late Qing, Muslim, historical memory, borderland dynamics, This presentation will explore the life and career of MaAnliang 馬安良 1850–1918, a Hui Muslim com- mander who formally occupied a number of military positions across Northwest China during his lengthy career. Ma’s career, however, began when he was gifted the name Anliang in 1872 by none other than Zuo Zongtang 左宗棠 , when presenting the surrender of his father Ma Zhan’ao 馬占鰲 in one of the pivotal events of the 1860–1877 Muslim Rebellion. The complex nature of Ma Anliang’s connections to local Sufi Muslim lineages, most notably the Flowery Mosque ( 花寺 ), Amdo Tibetan society and the Qing establish- ment, however, mean Ma Anliang was far more than the military man who emerges from official memori- als. Understanding Ma’s career first requires a sensitivity to the dynamics of late 19th century Gansu and Qinghai borderland society, the personal relationships between local Muslims and commanders who had served under Zuo and the complex ties between Muslim groups in the area. Through detailed assessment of