Yuan Dynasty Documents 101

draft. 2019.07.15. 11:11 AM

Intro and Readings

Special Lecture by Wonhee Cho.

Readings (Selections from Birge, Bettine. Marriage and the Law in the Age of Khubilai Khan: Cases from the Yuan Dianzhang. Harvard University Press, 2017.)

Download here (read pp. 58-77 for our class, but feel free to read more.)

Text 1. Yuandianzhang 元典章 no.1

Selection from Compendium of Statutes and Sub Statutes of the Yuan (Da Yuan shengzheng guochao dianzhang 大元聖政國朝典章) or the Institutions of the Yuan (Yuandianzhang 元典章). Private publication from the Jiangnan area.

[僧道休差發例]

至元三十一年五月十六日,中書省欽奉聖旨節該,成吉思皇帝,月吉合皇帝,先皇帝聖旨裏,和尚,也里可温,先生每,不揀甚麼差發休教着,告天祝壽者.麼道來.如今依着在先聖旨體例,不揀甚麼差發休教着者,告天祝壽者.欽此.

Translating these documents without prior knowledge can be challenging. Translate as much as you can, but if not (believe me, it will be challenging) be prepared to answer the following questions.

Questions

• What is the nature of this document? Use the punctuation provided to make an educated guess, if necessary.
• When is this document issued?
• Who are these individuals? What is significant?

      成吉思皇帝

      月吉合皇帝

      先皇帝

• Translate the following phrase.

       和尚,也里可温,先生每

• The following words might no show up in your average Chinese-English dictionary. What reference works did you use to find the meaning of these words?

       體例

       差發

       節該

• The characters marked in bold mostly serves as grammatical markers. Can you guess what functions they serve?

Text 2 Fozu lidai tongzai 佛祖歷代通載

Selection from Comprehensive Registry of the Successive Ages of the Buddhas and the Patriarchs (Fozu lidai tongzai 佛祖歷代通載) vol 22. Part from the Biography of a Tibetan Monk Danba 膽巴

甲午四月成宗皇帝踐祚. 遣使召師, 師至慶賀畢, 奏曰: 昔成吉思皇帝有國之日, 疆土未廣, 尚不徵僧道稅糧. 今日四海混同萬邦入貢. 豈因微利而棄成規? 倘蠲其賦則身安志專, 庶可勤修報國. 上曰: 師與丞相完澤商議. 奏曰: 此謀出於中書省官, 自非聖裁他議何益. 上良久曰: 明日月旦就大安閣釋迦舍利像前修設好事, 師宜早至. 翌日師登內閣, 次帝師坐. 令必闍赤朗宣勅旨, 顧問師曰: 今已免和稅糧, 心歡喜否? 師起謝曰: 天下僧人咸沾聖澤.

This text is rather more straight forward and follows the classical Chinese structure. We may or may not translate this text in class. The following keys might help you translate the text.

• 成宗皇帝: Temür Oljeitü Qa’an (r. 1294-1307)
• “師”: “the Master,” here referring to the Tibetan Monk Danba 膽巴. According to his biography in the Comprehensive Registry, he was known for being a “miracle worker.”
• 完澤: Chancellor Üljei, one of the many non-Han high ranking individuals that worked for the Yuan.
• 大安閣: The Pavilion of Great Peace was the main hall of the Yuan summer capital Shangdu (the Xanadu in Marco Polo and ultimately Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem, modern Inner Mongolia). It was first built in 1266, and in 1294 Chengzong’s coronation ceremony was held there.
• 必闍赤: “scribe” from the Mongolian word Bičeči. Words ending with the suffix či / 赤 indicate an actor of the stem.

Questions

• What is Danba's main argument/request in this text?
• What is his argument based on, and how did he accomplish this?

Text 3 Dayuan tongzhi tiaoge 大元通制條格

Selection from Comprehensive Regulations and Statutes of the Yuan, (Dayuan tongzhi tiaoge 大元通制條格, abbreviated as the Comprehensive Regulations). Official government publication, served as the reference for all legal issues. Vol. 29, “Buddhists and Daoists” (Sengdao 僧道), Commercial tax and Land tax (dishui shangshui 地稅商稅) (emphasis added)

皇慶元年四月十七日, 中書省奏: 爲僧,道,也里可溫,荅失蠻納稅糧的上頭, 在先省官與宣政院官互相聞奏不一的上頭, 完澤篤皇帝時分羊兒年裏, 完澤丞相等省官, 荅失蠻等宣政院官, 吃剌思八斡卽兒帝師根底商量呵,除亡宋時分舊有常住並奉世祖皇帝聖旨做常住與來的地土外, 其餘歸附之後諸人捨施, 或典買來的, 一切影占的, 依舊納稅糧者,麽道奏過定體了來

The following keys might help with your translation.

• 完澤篤皇帝時分羊兒年: The year of the Sheep during the Chengzong era (1295)
• 省官: Officials of the Central Secretariat 中書省
• 宣政院: Bureau of Tibetan and Buddhist Affairs (why is it translated like this?)
• 的上頭: [postposition]: because. (in Korean, ~ 때문에, in Japanse ~ だから, in Manchu, ~ dahame)
• 完澤篤皇帝: Temür Uljeitu [Wanzetu 完澤篤] Qa’an (1294-1307)
• 裏: [postposition] “at”
• 荅失蠻: Proper noun (cf. not the "荅失蠻” from the phrase "僧,道,也里可溫,荅失蠻” above).
• 吃剌思八斡卽兒: Proper Noun. Gragspa-‘Odzer, the “Imperial Preceptor” and head of the Bureau of Tibetan and Buddhist Affairs
• 根底: [postposition] “with” “to”
• 呵: [postposition] … then, if, when etc. (“As” in English)

Text 4 Yuandianzhang 元典章 no.2

Compendium of Statutes and Sub Statutes of the Yuan (Da Yuan shengzheng guochao dianzhang 大元聖政國朝典章) or the Institutions of the Yuan (Yuandianzhang 元典章). Private publication from the Jiangnan area. Vol. 24. “Regulations concerning taxes of the Buddhists and Daoists”(Sengdao zushui tili 僧道租稅體例)

元貞元年(1295)閏四月　日, 欽奉聖旨: 諭中書省,樞密院,御史臺,宣政院,行中書省,行御史臺,司農司,宣慰司,管民官,應管公事大小官吏,諸色人等. 據中書省宣政院奏: 和尚,也里可溫,先生,荅失蠻等, 地糧商稅所辦錢物, 若不再行明諭, 恐在下官府合徵納者, 妄作免除, 不應徵納者, 卻行追收, 致使僧道人等生受. 乞降聖旨事. 准奏. 所有條畫開列于後 [一]西番,漢兒,畏兀兒,雲南田地裏, 和尚,也里可溫,先生, 荅失蠻, 擬自元貞元年正月已前應有已未納稅地土, 盡行除免稅石. 今後續置或影占地土, 依例隨地徵稅. [一]江南, 和尚,也里可溫,先生,荅失蠻田土,除亡宋時舊有常住, 并節次續奉先皇帝聖旨撥賜常住地土, 不納租稅外, 歸附之後, 諸人捨施, 或典賣一切影占地畝, 依舊例徵納稅糧. 隱匿者, 嚴行治罪. [一]和尚,也里可溫,先生,荅失蠻, 買賣不須納稅, 卻不得將合納稅之人等物貨, 妄作已物夾帶影蔽違者, 取問是實, 犯人斷罪, 物貨沒官. 其店肆,塌房,客旅,停塌,物貨, 依例銷報納稅.