Au XVIIIe siècle, Mạc Thiên Tứ, un loyaliste Ming de la deuxième génération, a composé une suite bien connue de dix poèmes paysagers sur le port pittoresque de Hà Tiên, situé dans le delta du Mékong ; ces vers ont été écrits en caractères chinois. Au XXe siècle, des poèmes paysagers portant exactement les mêmes titres, mais écrits en caractères vernaculaires vietnamiens, chữ Nôm, ont été publiés. À ce jour, les spécialistes s’accordent à dire que Mạc Thiên Tứ est l’auteur à la fois des poèmes classiques et des poèmes en langue vernaculaire. Remettant en cause cette interprétation dominante, cet article approfondit la question de la paternité des poèmes vernaculaires et affirme qu’une analyse plus approfondie révèle qu’ils n’ont pas été composés par Mạc Thiên Tứ. En examinant la filiation complexe de ces poèmes, cet article explore leurs appropriations nationalistes et avance une surprenante généalogie alternative.
Cet article présente une édition et une traduction annotée du namaskārapaddhati, soit la section comprenant des vers d’obéissance de la Sūktimuktāvalī, une anthologie de poésie sanskrite dont la compilation eut lieu dans le Deccan en 1257 de notre ère. L’introduction à cette édition replace la Sūktimuktāvalī dans son contexte historique, discute de l’identité du ou des compilateurs de l’anthologie et de sa structure.
In his Generalities on History (Shitong 史通 ), which he wrote to show his contemporaries and posterity how history should be written, Liu Zhiji 劉知幾 (661–721) repeatedly emphasizes the function of history and the mission of the historian. Seen as the ultimate tool for edification, the historical text is for him the place where the historian is able to influence the conduct of his readers, by providing them with precedents, models to follow or, on the contrary, to avoid. The denunciation of evil and the promotion of good can only be conceived for Liu only if the historical record is faithful to the truth of the facts, a fundamental element to which Liu devotes many pages. The aim of this article is to identify the various elements in Liu Zhiji’s work that answer the fundamental question “What’s the point of history ?”.
This study of royal edicts of Aceh or sarakata traces their development over three centuries. In the early 17th century, during the autocratic rule of Iskandar Muda (r. 1607–1636), royal decrees were legally enacted through the ceremonial pronouncement of the king’s word, sabda, in the presence of court nobles. Iskandar Muda’s daughter Tajul Alam (r. 1641–1675) oversaw a sea-change in chancery practice, for while royal edicts were still announced orally, a paper copy was also issued to the recipient. By the 19th century, it was the written document itself, the sarakata bearing the ninefold seal of state, that was the crucial manifestation of the royal command. These devel-opments are reflected in the diplomatics of sarakata: the formulaic opening lines evolve from a simple protocol common to all Malaystates to two iterations unique to Aceh: including, from the mid 17th to mid 18th centuries, an elaborate description of the proclamation, and from the mid 18th into the 19th century, a long litany of blessings preceding the royal order to set pen to paper. This understanding of the chronological development of the diplomatics of royal edicts is then applied to five case studies of sarakata, to examine their authenticity and value as sources for the history of Aceh.
Located in the northwest of Cambodia, the hill (phnom) of Preah Netr Preah ranks among the provincial sites mentioned in early twentieth-century archaeological inventories, yet it has garnered little scholarly attention. Its occupation during the Angkorian period has hitherto been primarily represented by the temple constructed at its summit. This paper aims to examine new archaeological and epigraphic data gathered during fieldwork, from both the temple area and the slopes of the hill. The documented remains, showcasing diverse characteristics and often displaying original features at the scale of the ancient Khmer territory, reflect an eremitical presence contemporary with the temple’s activity. These data prompt a reevaluation of the richness and diversity of the religious occupation of Phnom Preah Netr Preah, whose protagonists were gathered around the cult of śivapāda (“feet of Śiva”). Furthermore, they invite broader reflection on the interactions woven between the different types of religious establishments observed on this hill situated on the “margins” of the bustling centre of the Khmer kingdom.
This article presents an eighteenth-century Bugis text from South Sulawesi in Indonesia. It concerns the career of La Maddukelleng (c.1700-1765). Also known as Arung Singkang and Arung Peneki, he played a key role in the complex politics and wars of the period. After establishing his military credentials in Kalimantan, he returned to Sulawesi in the early 1730s and imposed himself as ruler of the Bugis state of Wajo from where in 1739 he led an almost successful campaign to expel the Dutch East India Company from its base in Makassar. Despite this defeat, he retained his position in Wajo until 1754 and, even after stepping down, continued to cause unrest. In 1763, representatives of the three main Bugis states, Bone, Wajo and Soppeng, met to discuss what might be done. The document presented here in Bugis transcription and English translation reports on each of the seven meetings. There was no practical outcome. The discussions reflect, however, the history of the previous thirty years, as well as illustrating the texture of eighteenth-century Bugis politics. The use of written documents as evidence in discussion is particularly noteworthy.
Starting from the second half of the 15th century, written sources give evidence for the circulation of firearms in the Deccan. Intensification of their use and production throughout the 16th century show original patterns relating to the artillery as well as to the fortifications in the area. In Europe, the spreading of firearms since the 14th century caused the gradual dismissal of mechanical artillery and led to its disappearing from conflicts as early as the 16th century, whereas in India, its use for defending and attacking strongholds continued until the early 17th century. The structures which are studied here for the first time bear unique witness for permanent constructions specifically designed to support counterweight engines. In a context of globalization, this support to fire artillery sheds a new light on the organization of defense in the fortifications of the Deccan. By singling out the case of the fortress of Gulbarga (Karnataka), this article relies on extant archaeological artefacts to assess their operational features and chronology.
This article focuses on furniture, and more specifically beds and bed pavilions in pre-Islamic Java, hence before 1500 CE . In this way, it intends to contribute to the knowledge of an aspect of Javanese material culture that is still in need of comprehensive studies. Old Javanese and Malay texts read against the iconographic evidence on temple stone reliefs and metalware identify four types of “sleeping apparatus” in pre-Islamic Java: a mat unrolled on the floor; a wooden or bamboo bed-platform, standing on four or more legs, which were supported on stone or terracotta bases (umpaks); a movable bed consisting of a bedstead standing on wooden legs (what one might be tempted to call a “true” bed); and a canopy bed, which probably developed from the curtained bedchamber. The article also considers the elements that complete the beds’ functional equipment, such as mattress padding and curtains that ensure privacy for their users. Even in their terse form, the different sources can be used to develop hypotheses on the association of some of these beds with groups of people identified by social rank or gender, and on the influence of foreign furniture on the design of beds in Java. Finally, this study also seeks to determine the precise meaning of various Javanese terms used to designate items of furniture intended for rest or pleasure, as tilām/tilam, palaṅka, and jinǝm.
This article explores suphannabat, golden-plate inscriptions of the Siamese royal court, as an epigraphic tradition dating back to the fifteenth century. The Siamese royal court produced these golden plates to bestow royal, noble, and monastic titles, to record the regnal title at coronations (suphannabat chaloem phra pòramaphithai), and as diplomatic letters sent to foreign sovereigns (phra ratchasan suphannabat). The suphannabat inscriptions were produced to perform ritual and symbolic functions, representing the authority of the king and of the persons upon whom royal titles were bestowed. The epigraphic tradition of suphannabat continues in twenty-first-century Thailand.
This article first reveals the formation of knowledge in Nguyễn’s Vietnam regarding the two Jarai polities, and then shows that the imperial court’s consistent efforts since 1802 to construct a historical discourse, defining its trade relations with the Jarai as “tributary” and describes as such. This article explains how, following Vietnam’s diplomatic and military failures in the peninsula since 1829, the Nguyễn emperors adopted an economic strategy to make the Jarai accept their suzerainty, disregarding the Confucian doctrine of the spontaneous submission of barbarians to the empire. However, interpreting in their own way the essence of the relation established, the Nguyễn perform an imaginary diplomatic victory. This article argues that “foreign policies” to the Jarai are none other than domestic politics, they remain within the Vietnamese administrative system and have little to do with the reality of established relations.
Constatant un déroutant mélange de faits et de fiction dans la réception historiographique du roi Airlangga (Java oriental, vers 1019-1052 de notre ère) alors qu’il existe d’abondantes sources primaires sous forme d’inscriptions qui demeurent inexplorées, les auteurs tentent dans cette contribution de jeter les bases nécessaires pour de futures recherches sur le règne d’Airlangga. Pour ce faire, ils dressent d’abord un inventaire des inscriptions identifiées avec certitude grâce à leur contenu comme ayant été émises par Airlangga en personne, mais aussi de celles probablement assignables à son règne sur la base d’autres arguments. Quelques études de cas illustrent les difficultés que l’on rencontre pour savoir si des inscriptions données appartiennent ou non à ce corpus, fragmenté à plusieurs égards. Ensuite, les auteurs proposent une édition complète et une traduction intégrale de quatre inscriptions qui, jusqu’ici, n’ont été que peu ou pas prises en compte dans l’historiographie de l’île de Java au XIe siècle. L’étude s’accompagne d’un aperçu des nouvelles données lexicographiques du vieux javanais issues des inscriptions publiées ici. Elle se clôt sur une discussion soulignant les implications historiques des sources présentement éditées et les perspectives de poursuite de l’approche novatrice développée dans ces pages.
