Sui-T’ang Studies in Japan in 1997

T'ang Studies 15-16 (1997-98) S u i-T a n g S tu d ie s in J a p a n in 1 9 9 7 * WATANABE TAKASHI llJj§~ Translated by JOHN LEE St. Mary's University, Halifax, Nova Scotia Among the scholarly outputoflastyear, special mention should be made of the Supplements to the Collected Fragments of the T' ang Administrative Code (Torei shai ho m~~3I:tm), edited by Ikeda On tH!EElH! and others. The editors spent over a decade in expanding on the original , compiled by the late Niida Noboru t#B3~. The result is sufficient testament to the difficulties they had to overcome. There is little doubt that this volume will become invaluable, shared property of all researchers on East Asian history. The publication of The History of the Wei, Chin, Nan-pei-ch' ao, Sui, and T'ang Periods (Gi Shin Nanbokucho Zui To jidai shi .1lf1¥i:it!jVj~J8 ~f~!i:),edited by Tanigawa Michio :frJllil~Uland others, was also meaningful for providing, as we welcome the impending arrival of the twenty-first century, an occasion to review past scholarship and outline future tasks. Some contributions to the volume will be introduced individually in the present review at the appropriate place. Otagi Hajime's ~~5G Studies on the History of Regional Society during the T'ang (Todai chiiki shakaishi kenkyu m1-t:iiE:l1JH±~9!ifge), and Kiyokoba Azuma 7F1*~Jk,The Framework of Imperial Gifts: Studies on the Financial History of the T' ang-Expenditure (Teishi no kozi5:Ti5daizaiseishi kenkyu, shishutsu hen WimQ)#Jii r1'~J ;Jl), Ehime Daigaku Hobungakubu ronsha: Jimbun gakka !tijt*~~Jt~$~ •. AJtW~ 32, argues that, compared with the laws of the Ch'in, those of the Han adopted a more lenient attitude toward crimes against filial piety. At the same time, actions that could be considered unfilial offenses had also expanded in scope. Wakae goes on to place T'ang law, which included unfilial acts among the "ten cardinal crimes," in the development of earlier trends. However, he cites as specific examples only cases from the Yuan; the failure to cite those from the T'ang and the Sung seems a little incomprehensible. Satachi Haruhito t!i1i.rtJ.A., "The Northern Wei System of Demotion of Officials for Criminal Offense" (Hoku-Gi no kant6 seido :ltftG7)1f ~ifiUJ.!t),in Punishments in Premodern China (Zenkindai Chagoku no keibatsu BtrilI{t$!EQ.)JflJIil), edited by Umehara Kaoru m))jfg~, traces unsystematic elements of the T'ang criminal law, under which the punishment of demotion competed against that of dismissal, to Northern Wei practice. This combined the tradition of dismissal, operative since the Western Jin, with its own principle of demotion, stipulated in the code of the Shen-chia era (428-32). Although this stud y raises a few interesting points, it relies too much on conjecture. Nakamura Hiroichi J:t:It1rtt-, "The Administration of Documents " (Monjo gyosei Jtiffij]$c), in Tanigawa et aI., outlines the 198 Tang Studies 15-16 (1997-98) essentials of how various types of imperial pronouncements evolved. This study raises some new points, including the fact that various agencies of the Department of State Affairs (shang-shu sheng) were involved in the transmission of edicts and that edicts were delivered also to the Secretariat (chung-shu sheng) and the Chancellery (men-hsia sheng). Kiyokoba Azuma fi'f/ldBJt!, "Memorials of the T'ang, Part I" (To no hye, je, ichi mO)~ • ~ (-»), Kurume Daigaku hikaku bunka nenpo (A 'i'**~lb~:)(1t~*R6,ispart of a planned comprehensive study on the types of T'ang memorial. This article examines the style and composition of the memorials of the monks Hsiian-tsang and Amoghavajra. Arakawa Masaharu JtLJlllElIW, "The Inhabitants of T'ang Prefectures and Districts and the Issuing of Safe-Conduct" (Te no shu ken hyakusei to kasho no hakkyu mQ)1NYitBlt~i&lmQ)Je#.ift), Shikan 5l:fi: 137,clarifies the process by which safe conduct was applied for and obtained, relying on a detailed analysis of documentary evidence from Turfan. The study mentions, in addition, the importance of clerical officials in the administration of documents. Toritani Hiroaki ~~~.t.IJlj, "The 'Selection Process' during the...