Before talking about Ji Yong and his work, a few words should be said about the socio-political situation in China in the 17th century. “The invasion of Chinese territory by the Manchu invaders, who entered into an agreement with the Chinese feudal elite, met the heroic resistance of the people. The establishment of the Manchu Qing dynasty, which pursued a policy of severe political, economic and national oppression, set in motion the feudal opposition. Many of the writers and scientists fought with arms in their hands for the independence of their homeland, becoming the head of the units of resistance to the enemy formed at their expense, and having been defeated in this unequal struggle, they hid in the forests and mountains, hiding from persecution by the government or from attempts by the Manchus to lure them away to your side."

Immediately after the establishment of the Manchu dynasty, all kinds of associations were banned, persecution of dissidents, repressions and arrests began. In 1769, a decree was issued on the destruction of prohibited books, and from 1774 to 1782, 13,862 books were publicly burned, and more than 2,000 were banned.

To popularize their dynasty, the Manchus declared themselves true followers of Confucian teachings. Using the system of state examinations, without which it was impossible to obtain a single position, they gradually changed the topics of examination essays from economics and management to essays based on quotations from the Confucian canon. The Qing rulers also encouraged compilation, imitations of antiquity, and abstract research. Many scientists were involved in the compilation of various dictionaries and encyclopedias.

The most severe censorship, the inculcation of neo-Confucianism, repression and execution of writers led to the fact that the latter preferred not to attract attention to themselves. “In place of the scientific discoveries of scientists of the 17th century. On issues of the authenticity of the Confucian canon, the materialistic concepts of the early enlighteners are replaced by a passion for purely philological research. There is a decline in educational tendencies in literature […] even the historical-heroic novel, which had such glorious traditions, by this time was degenerating into orthodox literature, glorifying the punishers of the peasant and national liberation movements.”

In such a situation, Ji Yun’s stories appear, which satirically depict pedants and bribery of officials, the decline of morals, and advocate the fight against the orthodox interpretation of the Confucian canon and its transformation into a dogma, a call to goodness. “Notes from the Hut: Great in Small” by Ji Yun revives the educational trends that fertilized Chinese literature of the 18th century. ideas of equality of people, “natural rights” of man, the value of the individual, regardless of his origin and social status.”

Ji Yun lived a long and generally prosperous life. He quickly moved up the career ladder and was an authoritative scientist of his time. This, as well as his Confucian education and strict censorship conditions, shaped his "relatively calm tone of 'ethical' criticism."

Ji Yun was born on August 3, 1724 in Xianxian County (present-day Hebei Province) in the family of the dignitary Ji Yong-shu. At the age of 30 he received the first academic degree of Xiucai, in 1747 - the second, and in 1754 he passed the exams in the capital for the degree of Jinshi. He soon received the position of editor at the Hanlin Academy, then was an inspector of schools in Fujian province, but in 1768 he was accused of disclosing state secrets and exiled to Urumqi. In 1771, Ji Yun was forgiven and returned to Beijing. Ji Yun was one of the editors of the “Catalog of the Complete Four Treasures” - books that were collected for the imperial library (3448 books included in the library and 6783 books mentioned). The work continued for more than 10 years. In 1789, Ji Yun was sent to Luanyang to oversee the work of the census takers. There the first collection of stories was written - “Records Made in the Summer of Luanyang.” He also served in the Chamber of Rites, was the chief examiner, the head of the censorship, the military chamber, and even the mentor of the Crown Prince. Ji Yun died on March 14, 1804.

Ji Yun was a prominent scholar with diverse interests, known for his philological research, the publication of a number of poetry anthologies, as the author of many prefaces, and as a poet. His fame was brought to him by “Notes from the Hut of the Great in the Small,” collected and published by his student Sheng Shi-yan in 1800. They consist of five collections: “Records Made in the Summer in Luanyang” - 1789, “So I Heard” - 1791, “Notes on Miscellaneous Things Compiled West of Sophora” - 1792, “Don’t Take It Seriously” - 1793, “Continuation of the Luanyang Records” - 1798

The work of Ji Yun is almost unknown to European readers. As for Ji Yun’s assessment in China, after his death he was forgotten for many years. The modern assessment of his stories is also ambiguous, because... “The concepts of many Chinese literary scholars were marked by vulgar sociologism, an unhistorical approach to literary phenomena, and dogmatism, which moved from the sphere of politics into the sphere of literary studies and literary criticism.

Ji Yun's works are written in the biqi xiaoshuo genre. The original meaning of the term included "what the common people say", popular opinions, customs, etc. Later they began to be understood as narrative prose. Ji Yun himself divided xiaoshuo into three categories:

1. Narratives of various events, mixed descriptions.

2. Records of miracles.

3. Jokes.

Now it means a type of narrative prose, including works of both plot and descriptive nature. Ji Yun created a collection of mixed notes, where the basis of the plot works is the author's intention, and credibility is given by references to witnesses or narrators, and a certain edifying conclusion is drawn.

“Ji Yun thinks not in social, but in ethical categories, therefore in his stories supernatural beings correct not a violation of social justice, but corrupt morals. His foxes mock not officials in general as representatives of a certain social category, but a certain person who has forgotten about his duty, or is arrogant about his position, or is abusing it.” Foxes, like demons, in Ji Yun often look like people, behave like people, or imitate human behavior. This was done so that the reader would believe in the authenticity of the stories, since for an uneducated person the reality of spirits was beyond doubt. The actions of supernatural forces are subject to their own logic - they see everything that people do and reward or punish everyone according to their deserts. This was done for greater impact and education of the reader.

O. Fishman highlights the main ideas of Ji Yun's stories as the idea of ​​good conquering evil, the idea of ​​the power of a moral example that should guide people. O. Fishman also emphasizes the importance of the collection’s title – “Notes from the Hut, Great in Small”: “the writer seems to be saying with this title that in small episodes, cases […] great moral laws lie hidden.”

In general, the structure of Ji Yun's stories is similar to that of Yuan Mei's stories mentioned above. But sometimes Ji Yun introduces an additional episode that adds didacticism or clarifies morality, giving the author’s assessment of events.

Ji Yun shows a certain interest in the West, which can be explained by the work of European missionaries in China. Some scholars believe that they played an important role in the development of Qing period ideology, as well as "in the expansion of the critical movement against Confucian orthodoxy"

In some notes and arguments, the writer appears as an opponent of superstitions, a rationalist, ready to explain some things by natural causes. Ji Yun's journalistic notes reflect his views on contemporary reality and his social position, for example, he condemns the examination system, which gave rise to scribblers. “Publicistic acuity also distinguishes discussions about the position of servants and slaves, whose lives actually belonged to their masters (the stories in which Ji Yun protests against the cruelties committed by the masters against not only servants, but also concubines are also bold; [...]). Meanwhile, the laws were on the side of the masters, and Ji Yun’s protest was an act of civil courage noted by Lu Xun.”

An interesting technique is used by Ji Yune in a number of stories - repetition of plots on the same topic, in order to more fully confirm the same idea - social morals are in decline, and enlightened people must correct them by their own example. This is a reflection of Confucian education and the idea of ​​​​the possibility of correcting a person by enclosing him in a certain moral framework, a system of moral values. For the same purpose - conveying a moral lesson - Ji Yun also used the Buddhist theory of retribution, without being a Buddhist himself.

“Therefore, his works, although they did not have a clearly political anti-feudal and anti-Manchu edge, were woven into the general ideology of the Chinese Enlightenment […] the ideologists of the Chinese Enlightenment were on one flank supporters of the “enlightened monarchy”, on the other – fighters for the overthrow of absolutism; the works of some educators contained a crushing criticism of feudal institutions, while the works of others prevailed in the belief in the decisive role of the upbringing and education of people […].”

From the point of view of courageous citizenship, Ji Yun is not a political writer, but moral instructions in some cases relate to political situations, which, under the conditions of despotic strict censorship, could lead to sad consequences for him. O. Fishman connects this with the difference in perception in European and Chinese cultures - for example, criticism of an official in China was perceived not as disapproval of the actions of a private person, but as corruption of the bureaucratic apparatus as a whole. Ji Yun managed, without attacking the feudal system of society directly, to show its shortcomings through particulars.

“This type of criticism looked like establishing order in the world recognized by the writer, and not as a criticism of this world itself. But essentially this was part of the general educational anti-feudal criticism of everything “unreasonable”, “immoral”, “unnatural”.

Creativity of Jiyun. Collection “Notes on Insignificance”

Ji Yun was born on August 3, 1724 in Xianxian County (present-day Hebei Province) in the family of the dignitary Ji Yong-shu. At the age of 30 he received the first academic degree of Xiucai, in 1747 - the second, and in 1754 he passed the exams in the capital for the degree of Jinshi. He soon received the position of editor at the Hanlin Academy, then was an inspector of schools in Fujian province, but in 1768 he was accused of disclosing state secrets and exiled to Urumqi. In 1771, Ji Yun was forgiven and returned to Beijing. Ji Yun was one of the editors of the “Catalog of the Complete Four Treasures” - books that were collected for the imperial library (3448 books included in the library and 6783 books mentioned). The work continued for more than 10 years. In 1789, Ji Yun was sent to Luanyang to oversee the work of the census takers. There the first collection of stories was written - “Records Made in the Summer of Luanyang.” He also served in the Chamber of Rites, was the chief examiner, the head of the censorship, the military chamber, and even the mentor of the Crown Prince. Ji Yun died on March 14, 1804.

Ji Yun was a prominent scholar with diverse interests, known for his philological research, the publication of a number of poetry anthologies, as the author of many prefaces, and as a poet. His fame was brought to him by “Notes from the Hut of the Great in the Small,” collected and published by his student Sheng Shi-yan in 1800. They consist of five collections: “Records Made in the Summer in Luanyang” - 1789, “So I Heard” - 1791, “Notes on Miscellaneous Things Compiled West of Sophora” - 1792, “Don’t Take It Seriously” - 1793, “Continuation of the Luanyang Records” - 1798

Ji Yun's works are written in the biqi xiaoshuo genre. The original meaning of the term included "what the common people say", popular opinions, customs, etc. Later they began to be understood as narrative prose. Ji Yun himself divided xiaoshuo into three categories:

• 1. Narratives of various events, mixed descriptions.
• 2. Records of miracles.
• 3. Jokes.

"Notes from the Hut Great in Small". The collections were published from 1789 to 1798, the entire work was published in 1800. The collections included in this work belong to the type of small-form prose called “bi-ji” (lit. - “Notes following the brush” ), the characteristic features of which are the inclusion of different genres (short stories, short stories, epics, anecdotes and plotless entries dedicated to noteworthy events or containing discussions about the morals and customs of the era, about various localities, about works of literature, history and philosophy).

Following the tradition of his predecessors, Ji Yun sought to impart a character of reliability and factuality not only to the notes, but also to those plot works that were based on the author’s fiction. To do this, he named the names of the narrators, referred to witnesses to the incident, indicating its date and place of action; the main thing is that from the most incredible incident he drew a specific edifying conclusion addressed to the contemporary reader. What was new compared to his predecessors was Ji Yun’s desire to create a holistic picture of reality with the help of clear examples. For the first time in biji collections, behind scattered observation notes and individual reflections, there is a single “observer” who makes assessments of what he saw or was told about.

Many stories and tales in Ji Yun's collections are associated with folk beliefs. However, science fiction is subordinated to didactic purposes. Supernatural forces have their own “logic of behavior”; they act not “from evil”, not on a whim, but purposefully, punishing bad people and rewarding good ones. They see everything that people do, and even have the ability to know what a person is up to in secret from everyone. And since spirits and werewolves see a person literally “through and through,” then people should remember this and behave in a manner appropriate for a member of the family and society.

In carrying out their judgment on people, supernatural forces act in accordance with a certain expediency, a certain law of relations in society, established by Heaven, known and formulated by the Confucian sages of ancient times. The author's goal is to guide people on the true path. To do this, he also uses the Buddhist theory of retribution for actions committed by a person during his lifetime. But Ji Yun does not seek to arouse in the reader a superstitious horror of supernatural forces; on the contrary, he constantly emphasizes that a person of a righteous life is not afraid of spirits and demons, evil spirits are powerless in front of virtuous people. Moreover, Ji Yun shows that evil spirits in themselves are not terrible, since they behave rationally, and the basis of their actions is causality, not irrationality. Strict moral principles, active kindness, genuine (and not imaginary) scholarship - these are the qualities most valued by the “executors of the law” (i.e., the author himself). The author considers the worst qualities of human nature to be depravity, malice, wickedness, cruelty, pedantry, disrespect for elders and dishonesty in fulfilling one’s duties.

Stories were written with particular force, denouncing pedantic scolders: one of them, with his stubbornness and commitment to antiquity (“did not understand that in our days everything is different than in ancient times”), destroyed the happiness of a loving couple and caused the death of a girl and madness young men; another, religiously observing “norms of behavior,” did not dare to call out to a sleeping woman, whose child was playing dangerously close to the well, but went in search of her husband. While he was walking, the child fell into the well and died.

Despite the abundance of negative characters, Ji Yun is generally optimistic about the possibilities of human nature, and the very type of “educational” story is built on this.

He does not believe that man is inherently bad; in a number of his stories, people, under the influence of circumstances or with the help of supernatural forces, change for the better. Evil, according to the writer, is only a temporary violation of the harmony that exists in a well-organized society. The reader should have been strengthened in this opinion by the fact that not only positive examples have a beneficial effect on people.

Ji Yun preaches Confucian morality. A person must remember that he is a member of society, and the responsibilities of a member of society begin with the family. Therefore, one must behave as a good family man should, show respect to elders in the family and in society, serve the spirits of ancestors, without expecting rewards from them. Ji Yun chooses the genre of a short story or novella, which does not require showing the characters’ experiences or their inner world. He “generalizes” the character of his characters according to one quality, one passion (greed, stinginess, hypocrisy, honesty, debauchery, etc.). His characters have a predetermined character and most often appear in a separate episode, not connected with their previous life and not conditioned by it.

Unlike the ancient authors of stories about the extraordinary, who were not interested in the behavior of different people in the same situation, for Ji Yun it is precisely this repetition of the same situations that is important. From story to story, individual behavioral traits of the characters “accumulate”. A unique type of character develops, and the center of gravity falls on the situation in which this type manifests itself. This type is often formed by the profession or way of thinking of the characters. Thus, from story to story, the image of the book-reader acquires more and more new features: in one story he is strict and demanding of his students, but he himself secretly indulges in debauchery, in another he participates in deception, the purpose of which is to buy a house on the cheap, in the third - he is going to deceive the widow of her property; in a new situation he is boastful and arrogant or turns out to be a coward and a hypocrite. The Confucian norm sets the ideal character; There is no such normative character in Ji Yun's stories, but some characters approach this ideal, while the majority are shown as deviations from it. The proper is invisibly present everywhere, and the measure of the characters’ individuality is the measure of their deviation from or approach to the ideal type. Ji Yun focuses on the moral aspect of human behavior, that is, on the conceptually perceived aspect, and not on the individual, unique, figurative. Hence the stinginess of individual features (portraits, details), their replacement with verbal characteristics that speak more to thought than to figurative representation.

A certain radicalism of Ji Yun’s views was reflected in the fact that his moral edification, his proof of the action of the universal

He also applies the law in cases where the event being described is politically acute. “Law” in the highest sense of the word punishes anyone, no matter how high a position he holds; and vice versa, the dignity of a “little” person is protected by “law” from encroachment by those in power. Ji Yun was not only an educator of morals, but also a critic of certain phenomena of social reality (especially the oppression of slaves and servants, as well as the decline of morals). He professed the Confucian theory of man's active participation in society. Therefore, he condemns both the Buddhist monk who left the world (selfishly thinking only about himself), and the Taoist hermit who sat in the mountains for many years without uttering a word. Escape from life, from moral responsibility (whatever form this escape may take) is alien to Ji Yun, who demanded that a person conscientiously fulfill his duty. This is also evident in the plotless works included in his collections. Thus, in one of the notes talking about the writer’s social position, we read: “Exams are designed so that the examiners have more hangers-on.” In another note, Ji Yun, who was appointed chief examiner five times, sharply criticizes the examination system.

Ji Ru-ai from Jiaohe and Zhang Wen-fu from Qingxian were old teachers and had disciples in Xian. One day, while walking in the moonlight, they found themselves at an abandoned courtyard; everything was surrounded by bushes, dark, neglected, quiet...

Feeling anxiety in his heart, Zhang suggested setting off on the return journey.

“Spirits are often found in ruins and at graves,” he said, “let’s not linger here.”

Suddenly, out of nowhere, an old man appeared, leaning on a staff, and invited both of them to sit down.

Where in the world of the living would spirits come from? - he asked. - Haven’t you heard about Yuan Zhan’s reasoning? Both of you, venerable ones, are Confucian scholars, why do you give faith to the stupid chatter of Buddhists about the existence of evil spirits!

And then he began to explain to them the meaning of the teachings of the Cheng brothers and Zhu Xi, giving all sorts of arguments and evidence, and all this in refined expressions, smoothly and eloquently. Listening to him, both raiders nodded their heads in agreement, imbued with the truth contained in the teachings of the Song Confucians. While enjoying the wine offered to them, they even forgot to inquire about the name of their host.

But in the distance the rumble of large carts passing by was heard, and cow bells rang. Having straightened his clothes, the old man hurriedly stood up and said:

People resting under the Yellow Springs are doomed to eternal silence. If I had not made speeches denying the existence of spirits, I would not have been able to keep you here, most respected ones, and I would not have had the opportunity to while away the evening chatting. At this hour we must part, and I respectfully ask you not to complain at me for my joke!

A moment, and the old man disappeared.

There were very few learned men in this area, only the grave of Mr. Dong Kun-ju was nearby. Maybe it was his spirit?!

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Chinese scientist Wang Zi-yun, a member of an expedition that examined the cultural monuments of Xinjiang, published an interesting report about newly discovered stone sculptures and petroglyphs in this northwestern region of China.

Already at the beginning of the 2nd century. BC. A route was laid from China to the west through Xinjiang, which played an important role in the cultural ties of the Chinese people with their western neighbors. To this day, the ruins of ancient Buddhist temples and beautiful Buddhist wall paintings have been preserved in these areas.

Of great interest are the ancient stone sculptures discovered in the Zhaosu-Khorgos region of the Ili special region, located in the northwestern part of Xinjiang on the border with the Kazakh SSR. They were found in steppe pastures or in the valleys of mountain gorges near the city of Zhaosu (in the steppe called Aksu, in the steppe region of Samutashi, the mountainous region of Akyasy, in the Xiaohunhai gorge) and the city of Khorgos (in the mountain valley of Qiuhetai). The sculptures are steles carved from stone, which are given the shape of a human figure. On four sculptures in the upper part there is an oval carved face with designated eyes, mouth and nose, and on the body there are folds of clothing and two hands folded on the stomach. To some extent, writes Wang Zi-yun, the general character of the figures is reminiscent of statues from the mounds of the Tang dynasty, but the contour of the face conveys the features of the Central Asian type, which is clearly manifested in the sculptures from Zhaosu Aksu and Samutashi.

The statue in Samutashi has a height of 1.45 m. The beard, mustache, eyebrows, and nose carved on his face, along with the non-Chinese dress, are so characteristic that they resemble the appearance of a representative of the Iranian people. The sculpture from Zhaosu Xiaohunhai in general outline resembles the statue of Samutashi, but is better preserved. Its height is 2.30 m. In the right hand, as on the statue of Samutashi, there is depicted a “wine vessel [or a bowl (bowl. - R.I.) for drinking kumys], and the left hand holds the edge of the garment.” There is a hat carved on the front of the head, and very long hair with decorations at the back. On the body, on the forehead, on the hand holding the vessel, there are some signs reminiscent of “ancient Uyghur writing.”

Another sculpture with an outline of a face was discovered in the area of ​​Khorgos. Unlike the previous three, it depicts a woman holding a vessel with both hands directly in front of her stomach. The height of the sculpture is 0.9 m. Wang Zi-yun considers it possible, in terms of execution technique, to bring these sculptures closer to the famous stone sculptures from

Henan Province and a Han-era sculpture from Shaanxi Province called “The Weaver”.

This is the general characteristic of the sculptures from Xinjiang. Further, Wang Zi-yun, drawing attention to the fact that most of the statues are oriented to the east - “towards the sunrise”, suggests that the statues were “idols that were worshiped” for the ancient nomadic tribes.

The author considers it possible to justify such a definition of the purpose of the sculptures by the passage in the text about the Xiongnu from “Shiji”, where it is said: “The Xiongnu... worshiped the sun as the beginning of life.”

Regarding the issue of dating stone sculptures, the author cites the definition of N.I. Veselovsky, who pointed out that similar sculptures belonged to ancient Turkic tribes, and for his part adds that, since this region of Xinjiang is territorially connected with Kazakhstan, Xinjiang sculptures can be considered monuments created by the ancient Wusuns. Further, Wang Zi-yun develops his thought as follows: the Wusun tribes, as part of the Xiongnu, which, in his opinion, were in turn part of the Tujue, spread to the Ili region at the beginning of the Western Han dynasty (III century BC) .

On the other hand, these sculptures are similar in technique to Han statues from Central China, and therefore they can be considered works of the “Han era, if not earlier.”

Such dating seems doubtful to us. The author connects the sculptures with some part of the tujue, thereby dating them to the 3rd century. BC. But, as is known, in Chinese chronicles tujue - tugyu appear only from the first centuries AD. In addition, in the chronicles of Sui-shu, Tang-shu and others, along with the characteristics of tugyu, they talk about the creation of stone sculptures in honor of the deceased, but there are no such details when describing the wusuns. Is this a simple coincidence, or does the author give an inaccurate dating of the statue? Most likely the latter, especially since the reference to the coincidence of the technique of making sculptures with Han statues is hardly substantiated. These coincidences are most likely explained by the material from which the sculptures are made and the tools used to process it, and not by the synchronicity of their production in each individual case.

The question of the meaning of stone sculptures of ancient Turkic times has long been the subject of lively debate. This discussion arose in connection with the discrepancy between the deciphered Orkhon texts, according to which a statue of the most significant enemy of the deceased, and the text of the translation by N.Ya. Bichurin from the Chinese chronicle Sui-shu that a “painted image” was installed on such graves deceased».

L.A. Evtyukhov, based on the above text of the translation by N.Ya. Bichurin and the portrait technique of sculptures, believes that “stone sculptures represent the dead themselves.” A.D. holds the opposite opinion. Hrach, who writes that “stone sculptures depicted on Orkhon the strongest, most influential enemies of the late Turkic kagan or noble Turk.” S.V. views this issue differently. Kiselev, who, agreeing with the definition of the purpose of the statues given by L.A. Evtyukhova, admits, however, that some of the rough sculptures, “balbals,” are depictions of enemies. Finally, A.N. Bernshtam wrote that “balbals” “could be both portrait sculptures, reproducing the buried person, and a generalized image, reproducing his servant in the other world.”

L.A. Evtyukhova and other researchers used that passage from the chronicle of Sui-shu, which was translated by N.Ya. Bichurin says: “In a building built near the grave, they place a painted image of the deceased and a description of the battles in which he was involved during his life. Usually, if he killed one person, then they put one stone. For others, the number of such stones extends to a hundred or even a thousand.”

The second part of this passage provides an explanation for the strings of stones found by archaeologists on the Tugyu graves. The first part allowed us to assume that the “painted image of the deceased” is a stone statue, and the “descriptions of battles” are steles similar to the one erected in honor of Kultegin. In any case, this is how later researchers understood Bichurin’s translation.

Let's turn to the Chinese original. First of all, it should be noted that the section on tugyu in the translation by N.Ya. Bichurin has a reference to the Chinese dynastic history of Tang-shu (Xin-tang-shu), and in the subtitle there are references to the dynastic historians of Zhou-shu

Stone sculptures from Xinjiang: 1 - from Zhaosu Samutashi (height 1.45 m); 2 - from Zhaosu Aksu (height 1.2 m); 3 - from Zhaosu Xiaohunhai (height 2.3 m, front view); 4 - the same, rear view; 5 - from the area of ​​Khargosa (height 0.9 m).

(Open Fig. in a new window)

and Sui-shu, created in the initial period of the Tang dynasty (first half of the 7th century). This is not accidental, since in Tang-shu itself, compiled with the assistance of materials from Zhou-shu and Sui-shu, the history of Tugu is presented more briefly and does not contain the information about the funeral rite that was set out in earlier news.

Dynasty histories - Zhou-shu, compiled by the Tang historian Linghu De-pen, and Sui-shu, authored by the Tang historian Wei Zheng, were created by order of Emperor Gao-zu, the founder of the Tang dynasty (618-626). The authors of both stories were not only contemporaries, but also colleagues who were members of the same scientific committee to create a dynastic history of the era of the “six dynasties” - “Liu Chao” (IV-VI centuries AD). As far as the materials of Chinese history allow us to judge, the text of Zhou-shu was compiled before Wei Zheng finished work on Sui-shu. In both stories, the sections on tugyu are generally almost textually identical, excluding stylistic changes and some minor details, but at the same time, as already indicated in the work of A.D. Hrach, there is a significant discrepancy in one detail of the description of the Tugu funeral rite. This is a discrepancy in the two texts referred to by N.Ya. Bichurin, for some reason was not indicated either in the first edition of his work or in the second. The latter also does not indicate that in the text of the translation N.Ya. Bichurin from Sui-shu made a significant omission. Let's get acquainted with the text of both chronicles (more precisely, dynastic stories). The above passage is from the text of the translation by N.Ya. Bichurin should be translated as follows:

From Sui-shu (juan 84, p. 2a): “a house made of wood is placed near the grave. Inside it they draw [tuhua] the appearance of the deceased, as well as the military exploits he performed during his lifetime. Usually, if he killed one person, they put one stone and so on up to hundreds and thousands. If a father or brother dies, then the children and brothers marry the brother's mother and wife. Over the course of five months, many sheep and horses are killed. After sacrificing rams and horses...” (hereinafter, as in N.Ya. Bichurin).

The same place in Zhou-shu (juan 50, p. 4b) reads: “At the end of the funeral, a stone sign is placed on the grave, other stones are many or few [placed] depending

from the number of people killed [by the deceased] during his lifetime" (the following is the same text as in the translation from Sui-shu).

Thus, in the texts of both chronicles there is a discrepancy in the details of the description, but there is no contradiction. In one case it is indicated that a stone sign is placed, in the other that if one is killed, one stone is placed, etc., but before this it is reported that a wooden house is being built, inside which the appearance of the deceased and pictures of his military exploits are drawn. There are no details about the house and the image of the deceased in Zhou-shu. Are the given texts random? To answer this question, it is necessary to turn to other dynastic histories and encyclopedias that are closest in time. It is known that Chinese authors of dynastic histories, not to mention the compilers of encyclopedias, treated the works of their predecessors very carefully and, often rewriting them completely, preserved for subsequent generations much valuable information that could inevitably have been lost.

Of course, it is not possible to study this issue throughout the vast Chinese historical literature, but materials taken from various sources closest in time to Zhou Shu and Suishu allow us to draw certain conclusions.

Let's focus on three sources.

The stories of the Zhou and Sui dynasties were used in a later monument of the same Tang dynasty - “Bei-shi” (author Li Yan-shou). The funeral rite of Tugu is set out here (Juan 99, p. 3b) in exactly the same way as in Sui-shu, except for the indication that the house next to the grave is made of wood (i.e. it simply says: “they put a house at the grave”). An identical description is found in a number of other chronicles, covering the same historical periods as Bei-shi, and some mention a wooden house, others talk about the house in general, without indicating the material from which it is made. In other words, the text of Sui Shu formed the basis of later dynastic histories. As for the text of Zhou Shu, it formed the basis for a number of well-known encyclopedias of medieval China. In the Tsefu-Yuangui encyclopedia, created by a special commission in 1005-1013. (during the Song Dynasty), the description of the funeral rite of Tugu is given in exactly the same way as in Zhou Shu (Juan 961, p. 21 a, b). We also find complete textual agreement with Zhou-shu in the section on Tugu customs written in the 14th century. the works of Ma Duan-ling “Wenxiantongkao” (Juan 213, p. 3b).

Consequently, if you carefully analyze the Chinese texts, you will have to admit that they do not refute the instructions of the Orkhon texts that stone sculptures are images of enemies. The drawn image of the late noble Tugu and his exploits was probably applied to some flat material in a wooden house near the grave. The fragility of the tree did not allow archaeologists to discover these burial structures of the ancient Tugu, but it is possible that those remains of wood and stone with drawings found at the graves of the Tugu, reported by S.V. Kiselev in his extensive work “Ancient History of Southern Siberia”, there are remains of these burial structures.

The material published in Wang Zi-yun's article, despite the controversial nature of the author's conclusions, again raises the question of the need for extensive joint work by Chinese and Soviet scientists, especially on the history of areas such as Xinjiang, the fate of the peoples of which for many millennia were closely connected with the peoples of the Middle East. Asia and South Siberia.