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The Textual Form of Knowledge: Occult Miscellanies in Ancient and Medieval Chinese Manuscripts, Fourth Century B.C. to Tenth Century A.D.

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Looking at it from Asia: the Processes that Shaped the Sources of History of Science

Part of the book series: Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science ((BSPS,volume 265))

Abstract

In 1900 an itinerant Daoist holy man, Wang Yuanlu 王圓祿, unblocked the entrance to a cave at the Buddhist caves (Mogaoku 莫 高窟) near Dunhuang 敦煌, Gansu, revealing a cache of medieval paper manuscripts (scrolls and booklets) that had not been seen since the cave was sealed in the early eleventh century. The cave, numbered Cave 17 in modern Dunhuang studies, appears to have been a manuscript depository used by the local Buddhist establishment before being sealed when the populace of Dunhuang feared an attack by Islamic Karakhanid forces who in 1006 occupied Khotan (west of Dunhuang on the southern edge of the Taklamakan Desert).

In the +8th came theKhai-Yuan Chan Ching already mentioned, and posterity owes a debt of gratitude to its author for preserving so many passages from the ancient writings on astronomy, however astrological his interests may have been.

(Joseph Needham 1959, 201–2)

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Notes

  1. 1.

    See (Rong 1999–2000) for a history of the manuscript discovery in Cave 17; and (Whitfield 2002, 9–20), which also addresses the issue of forgeries of Dunhuang manuscripts. The numbers assigned to Dunhuang manuscripts in the British Library are preceded by S (for Stein); those in the Bibliothèque nationale de France are preceded by P (for Pelliot).

  2. 2.

    (Giele 1998–1999) provides an overview of ancient Chinese manuscript discoveries as of 1999, arranged by archaeological site; see also (Giele electronic database).

  3. 3.

    Selected examples of publications in Western languages include (Harper 1998), (Lo and Cullen 2005), (Kalinowski 2003), (Bonnet-Bidaud and Praderie 2004).

  4. 4.

    Oxford English Dictionary (1971). “Miscellany” as a term used in manuscript studies is discussed below, pp. 56–57, nn. 64–65.

  5. 5.

    See below, p. 40, for details on the first century B.C. bibliographic classification, which served as the basis for the bibliographic treatise in the Han shu 漢書.

  6. 6.

    See (Kalinowski 2003, 110–11) and (Lloyd 2004, 127–28) for discussion of the term shushu.

  7. 7.

    (Crossgrove 1994; Brévart 1988; Eamon 1994).

  8. 8.

    (Liu Lexian 2003, 14–52) surveys ancient manuscripts. For Dunhuang manuscripts see (Kalinowski 2003). (Yu Xin 2003, 2006) examine Dunhuang occult manuscripts with comparisons to ancient manuscripts.

  9. 9.

    (Drège 1991, 265–68; Cherniak 1994).

  10. 10.

    See (Guy 1987) for a detailed history of the compilation of the Siku quanshu 四庫全書, commissioned by the Qing court in the eighteenth century.

  11. 11.

    (Wilms 2002, 53–58) summarizes the transmission and editions of Beiji qianjin yaofang.

  12. 12.

    Zhenben qianjin yaofang (1996, 630).

  13. 13.

    Han shu, 30.1774 and 1776. See (Harper 1999, 822–23) for further discussion.

  14. 14.

    Han shu, 30.1764. The five stars are the five naked-eye planets; the bronze measure and jade transverse refer to observational instruments.

  15. 15.

    Han shu, 30.1764.

  16. 16.

    Han shu, 30.1768 (the orphan-empty system is discussed below, pp. 58–59).

  17. 17.

    Han shu, 30.1772.

  18. 18.

    Han shu, 30.1772.

  19. 19.

    (Kalinowski 2003, 313–15).

  20. 20.

    See below, p. 66, for a statement on secrecy in P2610.

  21. 21.

    See (Raz 2004, 262–66) for discussion of medieval Daoist esoteric traditions associated with the Taishang lingbao wufu xu 太上靈寳五符序 (Array of the five numinous treasure talismans of the Most High).

  22. 22.

    See my earlier statements in (Harper 1998, 148–50; Harper 1999, 816–17).

  23. 23.

    Self-identified specialists include the category of fangshi 方士 “recipe gentlemen,” first mentioned in Han sources; see (Harper 1999, 818 and 827).

  24. 24.

    Guanju Qin Han mu jiandu (2001, 133–34). The manuscript is discussed below, pp. 44–45 and pp. 57–58.

  25. 25.

    Guanju Qin Han mu jiandu, 145–60.

  26. 26.

    Guanju Qin Han mu jiandu, 153–56.

  27. 27.

    Guanju Qin Han mu jiandu, 133. Reference is by slip (s) numbers or by column (c) numbers for silk manuscripts and Dunhuang manuscripts. For ancient manuscripts I also cite the page of the modern transcription in the published source (plates of the original slips or silk may be consulted using slip or column numbers). For convenience, my transcription in this chapter uses standard modern graphs. For the original forms of many graphs consult the source cited. Lacunae, either because the manuscript is damaged or because graphs are illegible, are indicated with square brackets enclosing the estimated number of missing graphs; [?] means that the number of missing graphs cannot be determined.

  28. 28.

    Suizhou Kongjiapo Han mu jiandu (2006, 32–35).

  29. 29.

    Suizhou Kongjiapo Han mu jiandu, 140.

  30. 30.

    P2661v°, c160. See (Kalinowski 2003, 252–53) for a description of the manuscript.

  31. 31.

    In transmitted sources the same method is recorded in the fifteenth century Japanese work Kichinichikō hiden 吉日考秘傳; see (Nakamura 1985, 435–36).

  32. 32.

    (Wang Mingqin 2004, 29–48). For recent discussion of the Wangjiatai divination record, which has been identified as the lost Guicang 歸藏, see (Shaughnessy 2006, 156–57; Harper 1999, 857).

  33. 33.

    (Wang Mingqin 2004, 26–27).

  34. 34.

    Photographs of the original slips have not yet been published. Chinese transcription in the examples below is based on (Wang Mingqin 2004, 47–48).

  35. 35.

    Kaiyuan zhanjing, 112.4a.

  36. 36.

    Kaiyuan zhanjing, 112.4b.

  37. 37.

    Kaiyuan zhanjing, 116.25a.

  38. 38.

    (Nielsen 2003, 129–32; Loewe 2000, 199–200).

  39. 39.

    Kaiyuan zhanjing, 116.25a.

  40. 40.

    Han shu, 30.1703–16: Yi (Changes), Shu 書 (Documents), Shi 詩 (Songs), Li 禮 (Rites), Yue 樂 (Music), Chunqiu 春秋 (Spring and autumn).

  41. 41.

    Sui shu, 32.941 (from the account of wei “weft-texts” following the subdivision of the Sui shu bibliographic treatise devoted to them). (Yasui and Nakamura 1966, 260–64), summarizes historical records of prohibitions of chenwei; (ibid. 356–71) is a table of weft-texts for which textual fragments have survived in transmitted sources. For background on chenwei, see also (Dull 1966; Seidel 1983, 291–323).

  42. 42.

    There has been disagreement over the identity of the deceased in Mawangdui tomb 3. For various arguments and summary of evidence that the deceased was Li Xi, see (Fu Juyou 2004).

  43. 43.

    See the summary of silk manuscripts in Changsha Mawangdui er san hao Han mu (2004, 87–91).

  44. 44.

    See (Kalinowski 1998–1999) for a study of the Xingde texts.

  45. 45.

    (Liu Lexian 2003a, 7–8 and 17–18).

  46. 46.

    (Liu Lexian 2003a, 20).

  47. 47.

    I follow the transcription in (Liu Lexian 2003a, 161–62). I have benefited from the translation of Riyue fengyu yunqi zhan by Ethan Harkness, doctoral student at the University of Chicago (Harkness 2007). Harkness notes the specific denotation “defender” for zhuren 主人 in ancient Chinese military terminology (contrasting with ke 客 “attacker”).

  48. 48.

    Kaiyuan zhanjing, 11.14b.

  49. 49.

    (Liu Lexian 2003, 341–51); (Liu Lexian 2003a, 29–194) transcribes three Mawangdui shushu texts and identifies parallels with received sources in the annotation.

  50. 50.

    (Yasui and Nakamura 1971–1992, 6:54–85).

  51. 51.

    P2661v°, c54.

  52. 52.

    Taisui ri 太歲日 “great-year day” is the first day of the first lunar month; that is, New Year’s Day (Tan Chanxue 1998, 64).

  53. 53.

    Taiping yulan (1997, 891.3b); (Yasui and Nakamura 1971–1992, 6:96).

  54. 54.

    For example, P2661v°, c95, on burying silkworm detritus in the house for good luck, corresponds to Longyu hetu (Yasui and Nakamura 1971–1992, 6:95). The Longyu hetu fragment was preserved in the sixth century agricultural book Qimin yaoshu 齊要術 (Everyman’s essential arts). The tenth century Japanese medical compendium Ishinpō (1994, 26.554), describes the same method but identifies the source as Zhenzhong fang 枕中方 (Recipes from inside the headrest).

  55. 55.

    Shuihudi Qin mu zhujian, 1–2.

  56. 56.

    See the survey of rishu in (Liu Lexian 2003, 27–38).

  57. 57.

    Shuihudi Qin mu zhujian, 210.

  58. 58.

    No doubt fu 幅 “broadcloth” puns with fu 福 “blessings” and fu 富 “wealth.”

  59. 59.

    Shuihudi Qin mu zhujian, 247 (s189–195).

  60. 60.

    See (Kalinowski 2003, 455–58) for a description of the manuscript. S6261 is a fragment of the same manuscript (Kalinowski 2003, 467).

  61. 61.

    Shuihudi Qin mu zhujian, 212–19 (24–68v°); (Harper 1985).

  62. 62.

    Hou Han shu, treatise 5, 3128; (Harper 1988, 74).

  63. 63.

    See (Harper 1988) for further discussion. The ancient and medieval manuscript evidence eliminates one conjecture: that a medieval nightmare incantation adopted the name Boqi from the text of a curse used during the year-end exorcism at the Han court (it is more likely that the curse recorded in the Hou Han shu shows the influence of popular occult ideas and practices as recorded in manuscripts).

  64. 64.

    See n. 17 above for one title in the Han shu bibliographic treatise, in the zazhan subdivision of the shushu division. There are more examples in the tianwen subdivision, Han shu, 30.1764. See Sui shu, 34.1019–21, for examples of medieval titles with za in the tianwen subdivision of the Sui shu bibliographic treatise. The occurrence of za in titles is fairly common in titles in other divisions of both bibliographic treatises.

  65. 65.

    (Nichols and Wenzel 1996, 3–4).

  66. 66.

    For discussion of occult material in ancient medical manuscripts, see (Harper 1998, 159–72); (ibid., 354–55) is the translation of a section of magical recipes for traveling from a Mawangdui medical recipe manual. S5614 is an example of a medieval booklet in which four medical texts are copied with astrological and cleromantic texts (Kalinowski 2003, 78 and 352–53).

  67. 67.

    Guanju Qin Han mu jiandu, 126–37.

  68. 68.

    For example, it is clear from the content of s365 that slip(s) before it are missing.

  69. 69.

    Guanju Qin Han mu jiandu, 99–102. Slip s364 specifies three days in the seventh month and one day in the eighth month using sexagenary signs, and the signs coincide with days in those months during either the thirty-sixth or thirty-seventh year.

  70. 70.

    Guanju Qin Han mu jiandu, 133.

  71. 71.

    Guanju Qin Han mu jiandu, 154. The excavation report does not state that the slanted bottom end is on the back side of each slip. I am grateful to Peng Hao 彭浩 for personally examining the original bamboo slips and reporting to me the result of his examination (according to Peng Hao, it is no longer easy to see the slanted end on all slips, and in some cases the bottom of the slip is missing).

  72. 72.

    For transcription of the calendars, see Guanju Qin Han mu jiandu, 93–104; for the rishu, see 104–26.

  73. 73.

    Guanju Qin Han mu jiandu, 125.

  74. 74.

    (Kalinowski 2003, 85–211).

  75. 75.

    Guanju Qin Han mu jiandu, 110–17.

  76. 76.

    Guanju Qin Han mu jiandu, 117.

  77. 77.

    Guanju Qin Han mu jiandu, 121 (Harper 2007, 402–3).

  78. 78.

    Guanju Qin Han mu jiandu, 120 (Harper 2007, 402–3).

  79. 79.

    (Kalinowski 2003, 243 and 299).

  80. 80.

    Guanju Qin Han mu jiandu, 120–21, places transcription of the s131–144 occurrence together with another passage on s145–151(see n. 81) before s261–265 without explanation. Texts arranged in registers on a manuscript, with one text above and another below, pose a problem for transcription. The utilization of space on the surface of a manuscript does not determine the sequence in which the content was read by a reader looking at the manuscript. My speculation addresses the stage of manuscript production rather than reading. Modern transcription necessitates sequential presentation of content. In my judgment the sequence in the Guanju Qin Han mu jiandu transcription is not based on careful consideration of the arrangement of texts on the manuscript.

  81. 81.

    For a corresponding entry in Shuihudi Rishu B, see Shuihudi Qin mu zhujian, 236 (s74–76, second register); and (Liu Lexian 1994, 338–39).

  82. 82.

    See (Kalinowski 2003, 59–63) for a description of the manuscript.

  83. 83.

    I have consulted the description of P2610 in the unpublished typescript by Hélène Vetch for the dimensions of the sheets of paper.

  84. 84.

    The following account is based on my personal examination of P2610 at the Bibliothèque nationale de France in September 2006.

  85. 85.

    S2729v°, c94 (Kalinowski 2003, 73–76); P3288r°, c160 (Kalinowski 2003, 66–69).

  86. 86.

    (Kalinowski 2003, 447–49).

  87. 87.

    See (Liu Lexian 2005) for a study of the love charm text.

  88. 88.

    Kaiyuan zhanjing, 4, 98–99, 100–101, 112–20.

  89. 89.

    Sui shu, 34.1038.

  90. 90.

    Jinlou zi, 5.24a.

  91. 91.

    Sui shu, 34.1038.

  92. 92.

    For biographical information and the textual history of Wuxing dayi, see (Kalinowski 1991, 11–32).

  93. 93.

    (Kalinowski 1991, 12–16).

  94. 94.

    (Kalinowski 1991, 19–24).

  95. 95.

    I use the critical edition of Wuxing dayi by (Nakamura 1998, 2–3). In my translation I have made extensive use of the French translation in (Kalinowski 1991, 140–41).

  96. 96.

    (Kalinowski 1991, 450, n.18).

  97. 97.

    (Kalinowski 1991, 42–43).

  98. 98.

    Shiji, 130.3289.

  99. 99.

    Lunheng, 989 and 993, respectively.

  100. 100.

    Hou Han shu, 82A.2705.

  101. 101.

    Hou Han shu, 76.2466.

  102. 102.

    Dayan 大衍“great proliferation” refers to the numerology of counting milfoil stalks for divination as recorded in Zhouyi, 7.20a–23a (“Xici” 繋辭).

  103. 103.

    Hou Han shu, 76.2464.

  104. 104.

    For Wang Jing’s hydraulic expertise, see (Needham 1971, 281 and 346–47).

  105. 105.

    Yanshi jiaxun (1980, 2.102–4).

  106. 106.

    Yanshi jiaxun, 7.520–21.

  107. 107.

    See (Chen Meidong 2003, 350–52) for a summary of main events in Li Chunfeng’s life based on the Jiu Tang shu and Xin Tang shu.

  108. 108.

    (Chen Meidong 2003, 351).

  109. 109.

    Jiu Tang shu, 47.2037; Xin Tang shu, 59.1544. See Lu’s preface to Yisi zhan, 1a, for seventeenth century bibliographic notices.

  110. 110.

    Xin Tang shu, 59.1545; Song shi, 206.5234. For details of the Ming rediscovery, see ( Chen Meidong 2003, 361).

  111. 111.

    see above, pp. 50–51.

  112. 112.

    Yisi zhan , Li preface, 4a.

  113. 113.

    Yisi zhan, 1.10b–11a.

  114. 114.

    See (Kalinowski 2003, 63–65) for a description of the manuscript.

  115. 115.

    P2632r° passages that cite Li Chunfeng, with Yisi zhan parallel in parentheses are: c112 (Yisi zhan, section 5, 1.24b); c113 (Yisi zhan, section 5, 1.24b); c153 (Yisi zhan, section 100, 10.56a); c159 (Yisi zhan, section 68, 10.3b); c162 (Yisi zhan, section 69, 10.6a); c188 (Yisi zhan, section 82, 10.32a); c193 (Yisi zhan, section 84, 10.37a–b). I have not located the Yisi zhan passage corresponding to c189. P2632r° text parallels that do not cite Li Chunfeng are: c143–153 (Yisi zhan, section 78, 10.18a–19a); c166 (Yisi zhan, section 69, 10.6b); c166 (Yisi zhan, section 69, 10.6b); c168 (Yisi zhan, section 84, 10.38a); c169 (Yisi zhan, section 69, 10.4b–5a); c175 (Yisi zhan, section 69, 10.5a); c193 (Yisi zhan, section 84, 10.37a–b). (Huang Zhengjian 2001, 47 and 50) notes the probable relationship between the manuscript and Yisi zhan.

  116. 116.

    See (Kalinowski 2003, 58–59 and 72–73) for descriptions of the manuscripts.

  117. 117.

    (Kalinowski 2003, 76) proposes that Li Chunfeng was the compiler. (Huang Zhengjian 2001, 51) argues that the text was compiled after Li Chunfeng’s lifetime, and that reference to “servant Chunfeng” indicates that Li Chunfeng was one among several divination specialists quoted in the manuscript.

  118. 118.

    (Kalinowski 2003, 595–96).

  119. 119.

    See (Kalinowski 2003, 44 and 50–55) for discussion of this issue.

  120. 120.

    (Kalinowski 1991, 47).

  121. 121.

    I do not concur with Needham’s repeated characterization of Li Chunfeng as a foremost medieval mathematician, for example (Needham 1959, 38); nor with Nakayama’s judgment that the Wuxing dayi “represents the highest achievement of Chinese natural philosophy” (Nakayama 1969, 59).

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  1. University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Donald Harper

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  1. CNRS-UMR 7596, Equipe REHSEIS, Université Paris 7, place Jussieu 2, Paris CX 05, 75251, France

    Florence Bretelle-Establet

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Harper, D. (2010). The Textual Form of Knowledge: Occult Miscellanies in Ancient and Medieval Chinese Manuscripts, Fourth Century B.C. to Tenth Century A.D.. In: Bretelle-Establet, F. (eds) Looking at it from Asia: the Processes that Shaped the Sources of History of Science. Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science, vol 265. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3676-6_2

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