The Journal of the American Oriental Society articles from October 2001

The Journal of the American Oriental Society archives from October 2001

The motif of the woman in the doorway and related imagery in traditional Chinese funerary art.
October 1, 2001... A mysterious image in traditional Chinese tomb art, that of a woman standing in an open or half-open doorway, has been inadequately treated by modern scholarship. This paper discusses the manifest sexual significance of the image. It was...

The last classic Chinese novel: Vision and design in the travels of Laocan.
October 1, 2001... The Travels of Laocan, one of the most famous works of fiction from the turn of the twentieth century, is here considered as the last classic Chinese novel. The complex literary and cultural contexts of the end of the Qing dynasty, in which the...

Vrata divine and human in the early Veda.
October 1, 2001... The relationship between Rigvedic and post-Rigvedic usages of the word vrata has not been adequately explained, despite several studies of the concept. This paper distinguishes three aspects of the word's meaning in the Rg Veda and in the...

Sanskrit pandits recall their youth: Two autobiographies from nineteenth-century Bengal.
October 1, 2001... This essay calls attention to two little-known autobiographies written by Sanskrit pandits in late nineteenth-century Bengal. These texts, by Isvaracandra Vidyasagara (1820--91) and Girisacandra Vidyaratna (1822--1903), are here examined in...

Shaykh [ABD.sup.[subset]] al-[AZIZ.sup.[subset]] al-Mahdawi, Ibn al-[Arabi's.sup.[subset]] Mentor.(Tunisian sufism)
October 1, 2001... The Tunisian Sufi master, [Abd.sup.[subset]] al-[Aziz.sup.[subset]] al-Mahdawi, played a timely role in the coming-of-age of the great mystical theoretician, Muhyi l-Din Ibn al-[Arabi.sup.[subset]] (known to later ages as al-Shaykh al-Akbar,...

The development and meaning of the Epic of Gilgamesh: an interpretive essay.
October 1, 2001... BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY This essay traces the history of the several major versions (Old Babylonian, eleven-tablet, and twelve-tablet) of the Akkadian Epic of Gilgamesh and examines the development of meaning from one version to the next. The...

A research manual on Phoenician and Punic civilization. (Review Article).
October 1, 2001... La civilisation phenicienne et punique is a truly comprehensive handbook of Phoenician and Punic civilization. Representing the state of scholarship in a relatively new and growing field at the end of the twentieth century, the volume offers...

How the Girisa Vidyiiratna press acquired its fonts: A supplement to the work of Fiona G. E. Ross. (Brief Communications).
October 1, 2001... This essay offers a brief supplement to Fiona G. E. Ross's survey of the development of the modern printed Bengali character, by providing information concerning the nature, scope, and provenance of the typeset used by Pandit Girifacandra...

The solar omen of Mursili II. (Brief Communications).
October 1, 2001... The fragmentary text KUB 14.4, a prayer of the Hittite king Mursili II, is reexamined with regard to chronological implications. The king recounts various misdeeds of the old queen, his stepmother. In particular, he tells how she tried to...

Dating problems in cuneiform tablets concerning the reign of Antigonus Monophthalmus. (Brief Communications).
October 1, 2001... In the course of research on cuneiform tablets no fewer than three years have been identified with the first year of Antigonus Monophthalmus (317/16, 316/15, and 315/14 B.C.). Thanks to a better knowledge of the astronomical goal-year texts, a...

The Structure and History of Japanese: From Yamatokotoba to Nihongo. (Reviews of books).
October 1, 2001... The Structure and History of Japanese: From Yamatokotoba to Nihongo. By LONE TAKEUCHI. Harlow, Essex: PEARSON EDUCATION LTD. [for Longmans], 1999. Pp. xxii + 255. [sterling pound]17.99. The most striking feature of this, the first volume in...

Chinese Literature, Ancient and Classical. (Reviews of Books).
October 1, 2001... Chinese Literature, Ancient and Classical. By ANDRE LEVY, translated by WILLIAM H. NIENHAUSER, JR. Bloomington: INDIANA UNIVERSITY PRESS, 2000. Pp. xi + 168. $22.95. Andre Levy's concise and elegant account of pine-modern Chinese...

The Eminent Monk: Buddhist Ideals in Medieval Chinese Hagiography. (Reviews of Books).
October 1, 2001... The Eminent Monk: Buddhist Ideals in Medieval Chinese Hagiography. By JOHN KIESCHNICK. Kuroda Institute Studies in East Asian Buddhism, 10. Honolulu: UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII PRESS, 1997. Pp. 218. $27 (paper). During Buddhism's first millennium...

Chinese Dialect Classification: A Comparative Approach to Harngjou, Old Jintarn, and Common Northern Wu. (Reviews of Books).
October 1, 2001... Chinese Dialect Classification: A Comparative Approach to Harngjou, Old Jintarn, and Common Northern Wu. By RICHARD VANNESS SIMMONS. Amsterdam Studies in the Theory and History of Linguistic Science, series 4: Current Issues in Linguistic...

Lost Books of Medieval China. (Reviews of Books).
October 1, 2001... Lost Books of Medieval China. By GLEN DUDBRIDGE. The Panizzi Lectures, 1999. London: THE BRITISH LIBRARY, 2000. Pp. 79. [pounds sterling]18 (paper). [Distrib. in N. America by Univ. of Toronto Press] The general title of Glen Dudbridge's...

Dragon's Brain Perfume: An Historical Geography of Camphor. (Reviews of Books).
October 1, 2001... Dragon's Brain Perfume: An Historical Geography of Camphor. By R. A. DONKIN. Brill's Indological Library, vol. 14. Leiden: BRILL, 1999. Pp. xix + 308, maps, figs. $85.50. While the principal spices (in particular, pepper, cloves, nutmeg,...

Die Felsbildstation Shatial. (Reviews of Books).
October 1, 2001... Die Felsbildstation Shatial. By GERARD FUSSMAN and DITTE KONIG, with contributions by OSKAR VON HINUBER, THOMAS O. HOLLMANN, KARL JETTMAR, and NICHOLAS SIMS-WILLIAMS, in cooperation with MARTIN BEMMANN. Materialen zur Archaologie der...

The Vakatakas: An Essay in Hindu Iconology. (Reviews of Books).
October 1, 2001... The Vakatakas: An Essay in Hindu Iconology, By HANS BAKKER. Gonda Indological Studies, vol. V. Groningen: EGBERT FORSTEN, 1997. Pp. xiv + 211, plates, maps. Many of the sculptures illustrated in Hans Bakker's book may come as a shock to...

A Despotism of Law: Crime and Justice in Early Colonial India. (Reviews of Books).
October 1, 2001... A Despotism of Law: Crime and Justice in Early Colonial India. By RADHIKA SINGHA. Delhi: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, 1998. Pp. xxix + 342. $32. On 14 October 1837, Thomas Babington Macaulay and the Indian Law Commissioners addressed a letter...

A Catalogue of the Sanskrit and Other Indian Manuscripts of the Chandra Shum Shere Collection in the Bodlejan Library, vols. 2-3 (Reviews of Books).
October 1, 2001... A Catalogue of the Sanskrit and Other Indian Manuscripts of the Chandra Shum Shere Collection in the Bodlejan Library, part II: Epics and Puranas. Edited by JOHN BROCKINGTON. General editor, JONATHAN B. KATZ. Oxford: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS,...

Sir William Jones 1746-1794: A Commemoration.
October 1, 2001... Sir William Jones 1746-1794: A Commemoration. Edited by ALEXANDER MURRAY. Oxford: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, 1998. Pp. xvi + 169, plates. $65. The bicentenary of Sir Williams Jones' death has been observed with the publication of...

Missionaries, Rebellion and Proto-Nationalism: James Long of Bengal 1814-87.
October 1, 2001... Missionaries, Rebellion and Proto-Nationalism: James Long of Bengal 1814-87. By GEOFFREY A. ODDIE. London Studies on South Asia, vol. 16. Richmond, Surrey: CURZON PRESS, 1999. Pp. xiv + 261, plates, maps. $45. In this book Geoffrey Oddie...

Mahakavi Bhudhardas: Ek Samalocanatmak Adhyayan. (Reviews of Books).
October 1, 2001... Mahakavi Bhudhardas: Ek Samalocanatmak Adhyayan. By NARENDRAKUMAR JAIN SASTRI. Ajmer: SRI VITRAG VIJNAN VUNAN SVADHYAY MANDIR TRAST, 1997. Pp. xxvi + 456. Rs 80 (cloth); Rs 30 (paper). Bhudhardas was a Khandelval Digambar Jain pandit and...

A Millennium of Buddhist Logic, vol. 1.
October 1, 2001... A Millennium of Buddhist Logic, vol. 1. By ALEX WAYMAN. Buddhist Tradition Series, vol. 36. Delhi: MOTILAL BANARSIDASS, 1999. Pp. xxiv + 349. Rs 395. This book is the first volume of a projected two-volume work by Alex Wayman. The volume...

A Comprehensive Bibliography for the Nilgiri Hills of Southern India, 1603-1996.
October 1, 2001... Comprehensive Bibliography for the Nilgiri Hills of Southern India, 1603-1996. By PAUL HOCKINGs. Espaces tropicaux, no. 14, 1996. Dynamique des milieux et des societies dans les espaces tropicaux. Bordeaux: UNIVERSITE MICHEL DE MONTAIGNE, 1996....

Faces of the Feminine in Ancient, Medieval, and Modern India.
October 1, 2001... Faces of the Feminine in Ancient, Medieval, and Modern India. Edited by MANDAKRANTA BOSE. New York: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, 2000. Pp. xiii + 346. $70. A book easy and enjoyable to read but difficult and daunting to review. As a symposium...

Abhinavagupta, Luce dei Tantra: Tantraloka & Gli Aforisini di Siva, con il Commento di Ksemaraja: Siva sutravimarsini.
October 1, 2001... Abhinavagupta, Luce dei Tantra: Tantraloka. Edited and translated by RANIERO GNOLI. 2nd edition. Biblioteca Orientale, vol. 4. Milan: ADELPHI EDIZIONI, 1999. Pp. lxxxiv + 782. LIt 140,000. Gli Aforisini di Siva, con il Commento di...

Abhinavagupta's Philosophy of Revelation: An Edition and Annotated Translation of Malinislokavarttika I 1-399.
October 1, 2001... Abhinavagupta's Philosophy of Revelation: An Edition and Annotated Translation of Malinislokavarttika I 1-399. Translated by JURGEN HANNEDER. Groningen Oriental Studies, vol. 14. Groningen: EGBERT FORSTEN, 1998. Pp. viii + 298. The...

The Integrity of the Yoga Darsana: A Reconsideration of Classical Yoga.
October 1, 2001... The Integrity of the Yoga Darsana: A Reconsideration of Classical Yoga. By IAN WHICHER. Albany: STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK PRESS, 1998. Pp. 426. $27.95. This book is a revised version of the author's doctoral dissertation at Cambridge...

A Brief History of Dharmasastra.
October 1, 2001... A Brief History of Dhamasastra. By S. C. BANERJI. New Delhi: ABHINAV PUBLICATIONS, 1999. Pp. ix + 400. Rs 500. Prof. S. C. Banerji is one of India's senior Indological scholars. He has been making contributions to the world's store of...

The Character of Logic in India.
October 1, 2001... The Character of Logic in India. By BIMAL KRISHNA MATILAL. Edited by JONARDON GANERI and HEERAMAN TIWARI. Albany: STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK PRESS, 1998. Pp. ix + 180. $22.95. During the years 1989-91 B. K. Matilal worked on a new...

One God or Many? Concepts of Divinity in the Ancient World. (Reviews of Books).
October 1, 2001... One God or Many? Concepts of Divinity in the Ancient World. Edited by BARBARA NEVLING PORTER. Transactions of the Casco Bay Assyriological Institute, vol. 1. Chebeague Island, Maine: CASCO BAY ASSYRIOLOGICAL INSTITUTE, 2000. Pp. ix + 350,...

Family Religion in Babylonia, Syria and Israel: Continuity and Change in the Forms of Religious Life. (Reviews of Books).
October 1, 2001... Family Religion in Babylonia, Syria and Israel: Continuity and Change in the Forms of Religious Life. By K. VAN DER TOORN. Studies in the History and Culture of the Ancient Near East, vol. 7. Leiden: BRILL, 1996. Pp. viii + 491. $142. Trop...

Ancient Astronomy and Celestial Divination. (Reviews of Books).
October 1, 2001... Ancient Astronomy and Celestial Divination. Edited by N. M. SWERDLOW. Dibner Institute Studies in the History of Science and Technology. Cambridge, Mass.: MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY PRESS, 1999. Pp. x + 378. $49.95. This volume...

Jewish Palestinian Aramaic Poetry from Late Antiquity. (Reviews of Books).
October 1, 2001... Jewish Palestinian Aramaic Poetry from Late Antiquity. Edited by MICHAEL SOKOLOFF and JOSEPH YAHALOM. Publications of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities. Jerusalem: ISRAEL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES, 1999. Pp. vi + 384,...

The Archaeology of Jordan and Beyond: Essays in Honor of James A. Sauer. (Reviews of Books).
October 1, 2001... The Archaeology of Jordan and Beyond: Essays in Honor of James A. Sauer. Edited by LAWRENCE E. STAGER, JOSEPH A. GREENE, and MICHAEL D. COOGAN. Studies in the Archaeology and History of the Levant, vol. 1. Winona Lake, Ind.: EISENBRAUNS, 2000....

Notes on the Greek Text of Numbers. (Reviews of Books).
October 1, 2001... Notes on the Greek Text of Numbers. By JOHN WILLIAM WEVERS. SBL Septuagint and Cognate Studies Series, vol. 46. Atlanta: SCHOLARS PRESS, 1998. Pp. xlviii + 643. $54.95. The eminent J. W. Wevers has given us the ripest fruit of his...

Ginza Rba (The Great Treasure) and Qulasta: The Mandaean Liturgical Prayer Book, Book 1: Sidra d Nismata (Book of Souls). (Reviews of Books).
October 1, 2001... Ginza Rba (The Great Treasure). Edited by MAJID FANDI AL-MUBARAKI, HAITHIM MAHDI SAAED, and BRIAN MUBARAKI. Sidney: MAJID FANDI AL-MUBARAKI, n.d. $265. Qulasta: The Mandaean Liturgical Prayer Book, Book 1: Sidra d Nismata (Book of Souls)....

Siut-Theben: Zur Wertschatzung von Traditionen im alten Agypten. (Reviews of Books).
October 1, 2001... Siut-Theben: Zur Wertschatzung von Traditionen im alten Agypten. By JOCHEM KAHL. Probleme der Agyptologie, vol. 13. Leiden: BRILL, 1999. Pp. xi + 401. HF1 209, $123. This book reconstructs the transmission history of a group of ancient...

A Scholar's Odyssey. (Reviews of Books).
October 1, 2001... A Scholar's Odyssey. By CYRUS H. GORDON. Society of Biblical Literature, Biblical Scholarship in North America, vol. 20. Atlanta: SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE, 2000. Pp. ix + 149. $24 (paper). This small monograph is not only the odyssey...

Die Umma-Texte aus den archdologischen Museen zu Istanbul, vol. 5 (Nr. 3001-3500). (Reviews of Books).
October 1, 2001... Die Umma-Texte aus den archdologischen Museen zu Istanbul, vol. 5 (Nr. 3001-3500). By FATMA YILDIZ and TOHRU OZAKI. Bethesda, Md.: CDL PRESS, 2000. Pp. 306. $60. The authors, F. Yildiz and T. Ozaki (formerly T. Gomi), have produced an...

Ascetics, Society, and the Desert: Studies in Early Egyptian Monasticism. (Reviews of Books).
October 1, 2001... Ascetics, Society, and the Desert Studies in Early Egyptian Monasticism. By JAMES E. GOEHRING, Studies in Antiquity and Christianity. Harrisburg, Pa.: TRINITY PRESS INTERNATIONAL, 1999. Pp. 287. $29.00. This volume collects twelve essays...

Legal and Administrative Texts from the Reign of Nabonidus. (Reviews of Books).
October 1, 2001... Legal and Administrative Texts from the Reign of Nabonidus. By PAUL-ALAIN BEAULIEU. Yale Oriental Series, Babylonian Texts, vol. 19. New Haven: YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS. Pp. xii + 288, plates. $60. This volume contains an introduction,...

The Writing on the Wall: Studies in the Architectural Context of Late Assyrian Palace Inscriptions. (Reviews of Books).
October 1, 2001... The Writing on the Wall: Studies in the Architectural Context of Late Assyrian Palace Inscriptions. By JOHN MALCOLM RUSSELL. Mesopotamian Civilizations, vol. 9. Winona Lake, Ind.: EISENBRAUNS, 1999. Pp. xii + 348, illus. $52.50. Assyrian...

L'espace domestique en Mesopotamie de la [III.sup.e] dynastie d'Ur a l'epoque paleobabylonienne. (Reviews of Books).
October 1, 2001... L'espace domestique en Mesopotamie de la [III.sup.e] dynastie d'Ur a l'epoque paleobabylonienne. By LAURA BATTINI-VILLARD. 2 vols. BAR International Series, vol. 767. Pp. 580, figs. Oxford: BRITISH ARCHAEOLOGICAL REPORTS, 1999. [pounds...

Ancient Ammon. (Reviews of Books).
October 1, 2001... Ancient Ammon. Edited by BURTON MACDONALD and RANDALL YOUNKER. Studies in the History and Culture of the Ancient Near East, vol. 17. Leiden: BRILL, 1999. Pp. vii + 247, illus. HFI 160, $94.50. Ancient Ammon is a collection of eleven papers...

The Cambridge History of Egypt, vol. 1: Islamic Egypt, 640-1517. (Reviews of Books).
October 1, 2001... The Cambridge History of Egypt, vol. 1: Islamic Egypt, 640-1517. Edited by CARL F. PETRY. Cambridge: CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS, 1998. Pp. xx + 645. $120. There has long been a need for a reasonably comprehensive, but relatively concise...

The Cambridge History of Egypt, vol. 2: Modern Egypt from 1517 to the End of the Twentieth Century. (Reviews of Books).
October 1, 2001... The Cambridge History of Egypt, vol. 2: Modern Egypt from 1517 to the End of the Twentieth Century. Edited by M. W. DALY. Cambridge: CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS, 1998. Pp. xiv + 463. $100. In this, the first Cambridge History devoted to...

The Afghan Occupation of Safavid Persia 1771-1729. (Reviews of Books).
October 1, 2001... The Afghan Occupation of Safavid Persia 1771-1729. Compiled, annotated, and translated by WILLEM FLOOR. Les Cahiers de Studia Iranica, 19. Paris: ASSOCIATION POUR L'AVANCEMENT DES ETUDES IRANIENNES, 1998. Pp. 389. Willem Floor has long...

Tradition and Innovation: Norm and Deviation in Arabic and Semitic Linguistics. (Reviews of Books).
October 1, 2001... Tradition and Innovation: Norm and Deviation in Arabic and Semitic Linguistics. Edited by LUTZ EDZARD and MOHAMMED NEKROUMI. Wiesbaden: HARRASSOWITZ VERLAG, 1999. Pp. 208. DM 128. The eleven articles in the work under review were originally...

The Origins of Islamic Law: The Quran, the Muwatta and Madinan Amal. (Reviews of Books).
October 1, 2001... The Origins of Islamic Law: The [Qur.sup.[contains]]an, the [Muwatta.sup.[contains]] and Madinan [Amal.sup.[subset]]. By YASIN DUTTON. Richmond, Surrey: CURZON PRESS, 1999. Pp. xiv + 264. [pounds sterling]40. In the Sunni view that became...

Hilseyin Lamekani: Ein osmanischer Dichter und Mystiker und sein literarisches Werk. (Review of Books).
October 1, 2001... Hilseyin Lamekani: Ein osmanischer Dichter und Mystiker und sein literarisches Werk. By SLOBODAN ILIC. Studien und Texte zur Literatur des Orients, vol. 8. Wiesbaden: HARRASSOWITZ VERLAG, 1999. Pp. 216. DM 138. A short Turkish...

Islamic Mysticism Contested: Thirteen Centuries of Controversies and Polemics. (Reviews of Books).
October 1, 2001... Islamic Mysticism Contested: Thirteen Centuries of Controversies and Polemics. Edited by FREDERICK DE JONG and BERND RADTKE Leiden: BRILL, 1999. Pp. xii + 829. $247.50. Aside from an introduction and a postscript written by the editors,...

Religion and Culture in Medieval Islam. (Reviews of Books).
October 1, 2001... Religion and Culture in Medieval Islam. Edited by RICHARD G. HOVANNISIAN and GEORGES SABAGH. Giorgio Levi della Vida Conferences. Cambridge: CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS, 1999. Pp. viii + 119. $49.95. The prestigious Giorgio Levi Della Vida...

L'Egypre fatimide: Son art et son historie. (Reviews of Books).
October 1, 2001... L'Egypre fatimide: Son art et son historie. Edited by MARIANNE BARRUCAND. Paris: PRESSES DE L'UNIVERSITE DE PARIS-SORBONNE, 1999. Pp. 704. FF 345. In late May of 1998 just about everyone actively interested in or now doing scholarly work...

Oxfrod Studies in Islamic Art, vol. 11, A Monumental Manifestation of the Shiite Faith in Late Twelfth-Century Iran: The Case of the Gunbad-I Alawiyan Hamadan. (Reviews of Books).
October 1, 2001... A Monumental Manifestation of the [Shi.sup.[subset]]ite Faith in Late Twelfth-Century Iran: The Case of the Gunbad-I [Alawiyan.sup.[subset]], Hamadan. By RAYA SHANI. Oxford Studies in Islamic Art,-vol. 11. Oxford: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, 1996....

Historical Writing During the Reign of Shah Abbas: Ideology, Imitation, and Legitimacy in Safavid Chronicles. (Reviews of Books).
October 1, 2001... Historical Writing during the Reign of Shah [Abbas.sup.[subset]]: Ideology, Imitation, and Legitimacy in Safavid Chronicles. By SHOLEH A. QUINN. Salt Lake City: UNIVERSITY OF UTAH PRESS, 2000. Pp. xiv + 197. The study of Persian...

The Biography of Muhammad: The Issue of the Sources. (Reviews of Books).
October 1, 2001... The Biography of Muhammad: The Issue of the Sources. Edited by HARALD MOTZKI. Islamic History and Civilization, Studies and Texts, vol. 32. Leiden: BRILL, 2000. Pp. xvi + 330. This volume of ten essays is the result of a colloquium held at...

The Quest for the Historical Muhammad. (Reviews of Books).
October 1, 2001... The Quest for the Historical Muhammad. Edited, with translations, by IBN WARRAQ. Amherst, N.Y.: PROMETHEUS, 2000. Pp. 554. This is a partisan work compiled by the editor hiding behind the nom de plume of Ibn Warraq (lit. "son of a...

The Leaven of the Ancients: Suhrawardi and the Heritage of the Greeks. (Reviews of Books).
October 1, 2001... In The Leaven of the Ancients: Suhrawardi and the Heritage of the Greeks. By JOHN WALBRIDGE. SUNY series in Islam. Albany: STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK PRESS, 2000. Pp. xviii + 305.$26.95 (paper). In The Leaven of the Ancients, John...