The article presents five fifteenth- to sixteenth-century Pali inscriptions from Sukhodaya, Thailand. Three of them are engraved in the Khom alphabet on large square stone slabs, with considerable attention to format; they seem to be unique in Thai epigraphy. Two of these carry extracts from the Abhidhamma; the third gives a syllabary followed by the recollection formulas of the Three Gems. The other two epigraphs are written not on stone slabs but are inscribed on small gold leaves; they contain the (...) heart formulas of the books of the Tipi?aka and the qualities of the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sa?gha. The exact find-spots and functions of the slabs and gold leaves are not known. I suggest that they are the products of widespread and enduring Buddhist cultures of inscription, installation, and consecration, as well as of customs of condensation and abbreviation that have have been intrinsic to Thai liturgical and manuscript practices up to the present. (shrink)

One of the important areas where the development of Islamic calligraphy can be observed is the tombstone inscriptions. As a reflection of the evolution of calligraphy in the 18th and 19th centuries of the Ottoman Empire, tombstone inscriptions also began to contain high artistic value. Especially the epitaphs of the tombstones belonging to the noble families, state officials and the people of the palace, combined with the fine workmanship, became works of art. These examples are important records for art history (...) as they mostly contain signatures and dates. Gravestones, which are important in many aspects, especially art, literature and history, are mostly open to the public and therefore to destruction. This situation makes it necessary and meaningful to evaluate historical gravestones in a multi-faceted way and to reveal their value. Therefore, serious research on gravestones is extremely valuable. This article is about the gravestones signed by calligraphers of the cemetery belonging to the Yahya Efendi Complex in Istanbul-Beşiktaş. The study includes the analysis of the data collected before the 2009-2013 restoration, considering the current situation of the cemetery. The cemetery is home to tombstones with high artistic value due to the importance of the buried people. There are over two thousand tombstones in the cemetery, which has an important place within the social complex. Some of these stones attract attention with their decorations and stone workmanship, as well as their inscriptions, which are rare examples of calligraphy art. Among these inscriptions, seventy-nine samples signed by calligraphers were found and these samples were examined within the scope of the article. It is possible to see the prominent artists of the last period among the calligraphers whose works are found in the cemetery. Yahya Efendi Cemetery is home to the signed epitaphs of twenty-seven different calligraphers, mainly Aziz Efendi, Sâmi Efendi, Şefik Efendi, Şevki Efendi, Hulusi Efendi, İzzet Efendi, Nuri Korman, Arif Efendi and Halim Özyazıcı. (shrink)

This essay represents a reflection on the nature of shufa, the Chinese “art of writing,” and its ontological grounding as a continuous, “durational transcription,” of an inscriptional event, producing a phenomenology of “viewing.” This distinguishes it from ordinary writing (xiezi) in which attention is focused on the lexical meaning of the written characters (i.e., an experience of “reading”). Viewing a calligraphic inscription actually unfolding in time (i.e., as a dynamical structure or “temporal object event”), however, raises an interesting (...) theoretical question concerning the two complementary aspects of temporal consciousness of calligraphy as both duration and unity. This will be addressed in terms of recent discussions of a dynamical approach to Edmund Husserl’s theory of time consciousness. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Books ReceivedAt the Eleventh Hour: The Biography of Swami Rama. By Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, Ph.D. Honesdale, Pennsylvania: Himalayan Institute Press, 2002. Pp. 427. Hardcover $18.95.Awakening and Insight: Zen Buddhism and Psychotherapy. Edited by Polly Young Eisendrath and Shoji Muramoto. Hove, England: Brunner-Routledge, 2002. Pp. xii + 275. Paper $24.95.Beyond Metaphysics Revisited: Krishnamurti and Western Philosophy. By J. Richard Wingerter. Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America, 2002. Pp. vii + (...) 391. Hardcover $71.00.Bhāmatī and Vivaraṇa Schools of Advaita Vedānta: A Critical Approach. By Pulasth Soobah Roodurmun, foreword by V. N. Jha, and edited by Kanshi Ram. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 2002. Pp. xv + 297. Price not given.A Bibliography of Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy. By James S. Crouch. New Delhi: Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts and Manohar Publishers and Distributors, 2002. Pp. 430. Price not given.Crisis Theory and World Order: Heideggerian Reflections. By Norman K. Swazo. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2002. Pp. x + 289. Hardcover $78.50. Paper $26.95.Devotional Literature in South Asia: Current Research 1997-2000: Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Early Literature in New Indo-Aryan Languages, Leuven, 23-26 August 2000. Edited by Winand M. Callewaert and Dieter Taillieu. New Delhi: Manohar Publishers and Distributors, 2002. Pp. xxii + 324. Price not given.Dharma Bell and Dhāraṇī Pillar: Li Po's Buddhist Inscriptions. By Paul W. Kroll. Kyoto: Italian School of East Asian Studies, 2001. Pp. viii + 95. Price not given.Essays on the Moral Philosophy of Mengzi. Edited, with introduction, by Xiusheng Liu and Philip J. Ivanhoe. Indianapolis and Cambridge: Hackett Publishing Company, 2002. Pp. xiv + 249. Hardcover $39.95. Paper $16.95. Professional price $12.95.Ethical Questions: East and West. Edited by Bina Gupta. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 2002. Pp. vi + 279. Hardcover $70.00. Paper $26.95.Ethical Relativism and Universalism. By Saral Jhingran. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 2001. Pp. xiv + 385. Price not given.Genius-In Their Own Words: The Intellectual Journeys of Seven Great 20th Century [End Page 431] Thinkers. Edited and with introduction by David Ramsay Steele, foreword by Arthur C. Danto. Chicago and La Salle: Open Court, 2002. Pp. xxii + 366. Paper $24.95.The Hatha Yoga Pradipika. The original Sanskrit by Svatmarama, an English translation by Brian Dana Akers. Woodstock, New York: YogaVidya.com, 2002. Pp. xii + 115. Hardcover $19.95. Paper $11.95.Human Rights and Chinese Thought: A Cross-Cultural Inquiry. By Stephen C. Angle. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Pp. xviii + 285. Hardcover $65.00. Paper $23.00.Indestructible Truth: The Living Spirituality of Tibetan Buddhism. By Reginald A. Ray. Boston and London: Shambhala Publications, 2002. Pp. x + 495. Paper $17.95.Introduction to Eastern Thought. By Marietta Stepaniants. Edited by James Behuniak and translated by Rommela Kohanovskaya. Lanham, Maryland: AltaMira Press, a division of Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 2002. Pp. xiv + 293. Hardcover $69.00. Paper $24.95.Jainism and Ecology: Nonviolence in the Web of Life. Edited by Christopher Key Chapple. Cambridge: Harvard University Press for the Center for the Study of World Religions, 2002. Pp. xliv + 252. Hardcover $32.95. Paper $22.95.Mediating the Power of Buddhas: Ritual in the Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa. By Glenn Wallis. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2002. Pp. xiii + 263. Hardcover $86.50. Paper $29.95.Methodology in Religious Studies: The Interface with Women's Studies. Edited by Arvind Sharma. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2002. Pp. xi + 253. Hardcover $78.50. Paper $26.95.Persons and Valuable Worlds: A Global Philosophy. By Eliot Deutsch. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 2002. Pp. x + 309. Hardcover $80.00. Paper $34.95.Philosophy and Art in Gurdjieff's Beelzebub: A Modern Sufi Odyssey. By Anna T. Challenger. Amsterdam and New York: Editions Rodopi B.V., 2002. Pp. xi + 145. Paper EUR 27,00, U.S. $25.00.The Pratyabhijñā Philosophy. By G. V. Tagare. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 2002. Pp. xii + 165. Price not given.Reflections on Reality: The Three Natures and Non-Natures in the Mind-Only School: Dynamic Responses to ong-ka-a's The... (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Aestheticism and SpiritualismA Narrative Study of the Exploration of Self through the Practice of Chinese CalligraphyMing-Tak Hue (bio)IntroductionCalligraphy has been used to preserve significant writings and texts in a beautiful form and to make the different styles of writing enjoyable. It is not only the art of beautiful handwriting but also a cultural heritage and tradition that reflects the culture and history of a society, a race, a nation, (...) and a country. Hence, it has very great educational value. In China calligraphy is done with a brush, which was a common writing implement in ancient times. In addition to its utilitarian function, calligraphy is the most fundamental element in other types of art, such as painting and seal-carving, and is closely connected to many subject disciplines, such as literature, history, and philosophy. Brush calligraphy is still popular in Chinese society and is frequently used in different forms of publication, such as banners and newspapers; however, it is becoming more popular for these publications to be created mechanically or in electronic form with computers rather than by hand. In the context of schooling, a similar phenomenon can be seen. Many teachers in Hong Kong, as elsewhere, are concerned that fewer and fewer students have the chance to write with a pen and enjoy the beauty of writing, as the use of computers and different types of electronic devices for writing become more popular with the general public.The aim of this article is to examine the meaning of the practice of Chinese calligraphy from a cultural perspective and to draw school practitioners' attention to the importance of calligraphy education in the promotion of the whole-person growth of students and of multicultural education. Relevant literature on Western and Chinese calligraphy will be reviewed. Then an explanation will be given on how a narrative approach to the personal experience method and textual analysis were adopted for the data analysis. The article argues that calligraphy serves more than a utilitarian function. It [End Page 18] has also been used as an aesthetic practice and spiritual discipline. Hence, it is suggested that the calligraphy of brushwork is not only delightful to the eye but also an inspiration to the spirit. It is a practice of mindfulness for promoting self-reflection and self-cultivation, which leads calligraphy practitioners to reflect in their mind and heart, and so brings them into a harmonious relationship with others and the natural world.Literature ReviewIn Western societies for the last one hundred years, calligraphy has been rediscovered and relearned.1 Knight pointed out that the heritage and traditions of calligraphy have not been properly addressed and inherited in Western societies. Uyehara further suggested that calligraphy had been basically restudied and relearned in Europe and the United States up until the end of World War II. Edward Johnston (1872-1944) could be the most influential scholar who attempted to rediscover the art of Western calligraphy, lettering, and illuminating. In his study of ancient inscriptions and old manuscripts, three essential qualities of calligraphy were identified: "legibility," "beauty," and "character."2 When creating a piece of artwork, calligraphers have to ensure the legibility of the letter forms, the mastery of the skills of creating beautiful writing, and the readability of their works. As he explained,To make good letters and to arrange them well. To make good letters is not necessarily to "design" them—they have been designed long ago—but it is to take the best letters we can find, and to acquire them and make them our own. To arrange letters well requires no great art, but it requires a working knowledge of letter-forms and of the reasonable methods of grouping these forms to suit every circumstance.3Similarly, Knight highlighted the essential qualities of "legibility" and "beauty." Further, he stressed that the "creativity" of calligraphy should be imposed upon the tradition and cultural heritage of ancient manuscripts. As he said,[M]any of the conventions we use today in letter design and typography were established during the manuscript age. To know the classic work of this period is to know more about the ground we stand upon. If we grasp the... (shrink)

It will be a wrong judgment to consider grave stones as an ordinary tradition. When it is viewed in terms of history, art and culture, it can be seen that especially Turkish grave stones are record drawings that include many types of arts and artists’ labor, shed our culture and history and that is precious and unique. Grave stones are the documents that transfer not only the national culture but also transfer people’s beliefs, problems, fears, sadness and different feelings, who (...) breathe the same air and live in the same places. Because of this reason, grave stones are the cultural features that are shaped according to the differences in culture and decorated with life styles. Of course, Of course, having been applied plenty of traditional Turkish plastic arts on the tombstones, have all contributed to the diversity of tombstones in terms of composition and motifs. Rich craftsmanship of gravestones and sarcophagus in the second Bayezid graveyard is almost like an open air museum that shows Turkish motifs. While scarping was used for making gravestones are scarping, and painting were used as the main decoration tecnique is seen on foot stone with the painting technique, inscriptions of stones were coloured. Most of the inscriptions and decorations are relieved. Decoration subjects seen on gravestones are phytomorphic, geometric, objective and calligraphic. On the other side, these tombstones include wide knowledge about the socio-economic, cultural and regional headgears. When evaluating the information on the inscriptions, it can be obtained knowledge about the health conditions or epidemics in that period. Adolf Ebeling, article titled “Turkish cemeteries” in the 1882 the year Gartenlaube journal, when talking about the importance given to the graves by Turks, to say that the Turkish burial tomb can be an example to the world is no need to say more about it. The thomstones as the verbal means service to rebuilt the material world where the man has saved so far and the culture developing in accordance with this. The written tombstones which were formed by the individuals’ cherishing and remembering desires that the cultural, religious and traditional ones shaped, are the carrier elements of the values wich will provide to understand the sterotype requirements and ideologies within the cultural structure. Looking at the overall structure of the Turkish tombstones form shows major differences in male and female gravestones. In the Turkish tombstone tradition, women's elegance, finesse and beauty is reflected as a form of artwork. In fact, women in the Ottoman Empire, although excluded from the social life in very marginalized, especially in women flashy decorations tombstones, can be considered as an indication value which is given to women but unspoken. Since the tombstones have dates, they hold the distinction of being a document for ethnographic and art works. Moreover, inscribed tombstones are living evidences in order to prove that Turkish people lived in this land and also they have ethnographic value. Therefore, tombstones are important while the histories of cities, villages or boroughs are preparing. In short, tombstones are the common products of the environment that are built, religious beliefs, traditions, art, natural, social and economic conditions of the century. In this case they hold key for our culture history in addition to our art history. In this study, besides the effects of Turkish grave stones on our beliefs and daily lives, fruit patterns on the stones are also examined. The reflections traditional architectural and handicrafts motifs and the religious believes on the Turkish ornament art are explained by the examples chosen among gravestones in İstanbul II. Beyazıt Cemetery. In the colloquial language what fruit motifs mean in folk songs ang manias and how it is reflected on the ornaments of grave stones are investigated. (shrink)

Western Zhou Dynasty Western Zhou bronze inscriptions is to study the history of one of the most important historical data, subject to accurate staging and the Interpretation of the premise. Mid-Western Zhou season Ding, Jin Yang Gui and other information in the "Sikou" is not the official said, there is always a judicial official weekly generation "Sikou" of the set or with a similar view can not be established. Zhou, "Sikou" the establishment of very late times, can only be derived (...) up to the West weekend leaves, and its position is not high, in order to arrest Koudao, maintaining social order as the main ministry. Bureaucracy in the recovery of the Western Zhou Dynasty, it should distinguish Officials with the ministry, and not with the "Rites" and other literature forced analogy. Bronze inscriptions in Western Thou can become a vital historical evidence to study its history, only on the condition of a prudent periodization and explanation. Sikou in bronze inscriptions on xiaojiding and yanggui is not a name for official rank. The argument that there ever existed a judicial office of sikou and alike during the whole Thou Dynasty is problematic. Instead, it was set up as late as in the end of Western Zhou. Ranked rather low, sikou was mainly in charge of conning after robbers and guarding the social security. When doing research on the reinstatement of the bureaucracy in Western Thou, the official rank and its responsibility should be considered in separation, and any effort to conform them to that in zhouli is questionable. (shrink)

Une nouvelle inscription digraphe a été découverte dans le sanctuaire d'Aphrodite à Amathonte de Chypre : c'est la consécration par le roi Androklès, dans les années 330-310 av. J.-C, des statues de ses deux fils, Orestheus et Andragoras, à « l'Aphrodite chypriote ». La partie écrite en syllabaire chypriote malheureusement très mutilée, paraît transcrire la langue indigène, dite « étéochypriote ».

Inscriptions from Rhodes for citizens dead in combat, ἄνδρες ἀγαθοὶ γενόμενοι. This article studies three inscriptions from Rhodos for citizens dead in combat. The first (3rd century BC), here in editio princeps, is engraved on the base of a statue erected posthumously by the city for a general fallen during the war. The second is republished, connecting two fragments previously unrecognized as belonging to the same plaque inserted in the funerary monument of two brothers (genitive), honored posthumously with a gold (...) crown and a bronze portrait-statue by the city, in the company of their companions in arms on the cataphract galleys (1st century BC). The third inscription, finally, lost and reedited from the squeeze, was engraved on another inserted plaque from the tomb erected by the city for three brothers dead in the war against the Tyrrhenian pirates (3rd century BC). The article also presents reflexions on the manner in which the Rhodians manifest their recognition for citizens who died heroically. (shrink)

This article deals with the painted inscriptions and scenes of agonistic character found during the Franco-Hellenic excavation of the xystus in the gymnasium at Delphi. These texts, from the imperial period, fifteen in number, name the winners of races at the Pythia in a formula which indudes acclamations and mention of the prostate or prostates. They are inscribed on the inside of a tabula ansata. Palms, crowns and apples, prizes awarded in the Pythia, stress the agonistic character of these texts.

Inscriptions from Amathous X. Greek and latin inscriptions from the agora of Amathous. The riches of this batch of inscriptions reflect the importance of its find spot. If of three building dedications there exists nothing but the most banal elements, that of a probable mausoleum dedicated to Germanicus reveals an unrecognized aspect of the cult of this prince. Statuary dedications uncover two new proconsuls and a new proquestor, as well as two hitherto unencountered documents from Cyprus : a bronze statue (...) of Gordian III, and that of a doukenarion, interim governor of the island. Together, with proof of the city’s status as metropolis, and a document unique in its type, the plan of a sacred asylum zone, the inscriptions shed new light on the economic and political panorama of Amathous in imperial times, which until recently appeared rather lustreless. (shrink)

Inscriptions from Thasos. This article presents twelve inscriptions, most of them found during the excavations of the French School at Athens from 1970 to 1973. Among them, we note particularly two short lists of theoroi inscribed on stones which do not belong to the “ passage of theoroi” but allow correcting or improving ancient readings of some lists found in this place ; dedications of magistrates or private persons, one of which was consecrated by all the magistrates in office the (...) same year— unfortunately, without any information concerning the offices ; the horos stone of a new patre to be added to those found by Cl. Rolley during his excavations of the Thesmophorion ; three epitaphs inscribed on a sarcophagus, one of them metrical. These inscriptions date from the first half of the fourth century BC to the second half of the second or the beginning of the third century AD. (shrink)

Une inscription trouvée à Chalcis célèbre l'exploit d'un Callinikos qui lors des Dionysia a fait 55 fois le tour de l'orchestra, porté sur une perche, et qui a soulevé seul le phallos. Rapprochement avec diverses traditions populaires.

L'inscription publiée ici, gravée sur du marbre thasien et écrite en alphabet parien, est datée des années 470/460 av. J.-C. et se réfère à l'octroi de biens immobiliers par la cité de Bergè au Thasien Timèsicratès. Le lieu de la découverte et le contenu de l'inscription ne laissent aucun doute sur l'identification de la ville antique de Berge avec le site archéologique qui se trouve au Sud-Ouest du village actuel de Néos Skopos Serrôn. Le problème de la localisation (...) de Berge est donc définitivement résolu et la cité trouve sa place dans l'environnement historique de la région. Berge fut fondée par les Thasiens au VIe siècle, sur les bords du lac Kerkinitis et du fleuve Stry- mon. La première installation devait être un emporion qui, très vite, acquit le statut de cité, frappant sa propre monnaie et jouissant d'institutions démocratiques — boule et démos —, au début du Ve siècle du moins. De par sa situation, la cité est un maillon important dans la chaîne des colonies thasiennes et une étape sur la voie commerciale de la vallée du Strymon qui, grâce à la navigabilité du fleuve, constitue l'axe le plus propice à la pénétration des Thasiens dans l'arrière-pays thrace, jusqu'à Pisti- ros, assurant ainsi les échanges commerciaux entre Grecs et dynastes thraces, comme cela apparaît également dans l'inscription de Pistiros. C'est la raison pour laquelle, juste après l'effondrement de la puissance maritime thasienne, les Athéniens incluent Berge dans la confédération athénienne, en attendant de fonder leur propre colonie d'Amphipolis, qui leur permet de contrôler efficacement la vallée du Strymon. (shrink)

A new preface by the author updates this classic text.

In "An Inscriptional Approach to Indirect Quotation," Israel Scheffler presented an analysis of sentences of the form '... writes that ---'. He was primarily concerned to give a nominalistic analysis of indirect discourse which would elude certain objections offered by Church. Here the question is not whether the analysis eludes those criticisms. The question is whether the analysis is correct. I shall argue that it is not.

Lors de la campagne de fouilles de 1990 à Malia, au Quartier Nu, deux inscriptions en linéaire Β peintes sur deux vases à étrier ont été découvertes. Elles proviennent d'un bâtiment détruit au début du MR III B, d'après le matériel abondant trouvé dans la couche de destruction. Elles sont constituées chacune d'un mot, vraisemblablement un anthroponyme. Elles apportent une nouvelle preuve de l'intérêt du MR III maliote.