Antiquities of Themiclesia

Antiquities of Themiclesia (震旦故事記, tjerh-tanh-kas-dzrje′-kjeh) is a history of Themiclesia written by Nem-njing Kah (南仁顧) and Gje, Baron of Mjen (閔侯忌), presented to the Sungh court in 432. The work purports to recount the founding of Themiclesia and its history up to the end of the Tsjinh dynasty. However, the modern edition of the book seems to have been redacted several times, by editors with different objectives.

Name

The title of the book, tjerh-tanh-kas-dzrje′-kjeh (震旦故事記) or Antiquities of Themiclesia, is frequently shortened to kas-dzrje′-kjeh (故事記) or Antiquities.

Contents

In most editions, Antiquities is divided into 216 volumes, of which 200 are devoted to biographies and the remainder to family trees, lists, chronicles, and miscellaneous texts.

Biographies

The biographies section open with the biography of Sixth P.rjang′, the first patriarch of Tsjinh whose reign can be firmly dated to have begun in 295 BCE. Subsequent biographies cover each succeeding patriarch of Tsjinh, though not every patriarch receives an individual volume. Uneventful reigns were consolidated, to the end that each volume did not vary by much in length. Between patriarchs were biographies of other individuals, most frequently nobles. After the biography of Patriarch ′An, who ruled Tsjinh in the 1st c. CE, other rulers' and nobles biographies are presented in roughly chronological order.

Family trees and lists

The section of genealogies opens with the following phrase:

Since antiquity (自故), illustrious (宜光) and lordly men (君子) have lived in this land (茲國). Their glorious origins (皇祖) and honoured progeny (顯奕) are evidence to their greatness (聲). The following recounts their births (生) and generations (世).

In total, 329 genealogies of varying lengths are preserved in the Antiquities, with their relationships noted by the writer. Some of these genealogies are of considerable length: the longest, that of the patriarchs of Tsjinh, contain over 4,000 names. The genealogy section is mainly written in the form of A through B gave birth to C and D, two offspring; C through E gave birth to F, one offspring etc. Another 140 lists of individuals, whose familial relationships are unclear but are known to be related, are also included. In this category are some notables like the Barons of Muk, where 12 barons are listed without specifying their relationships. A short preface detailing the origins of the family is provided at the head of each genealogy or list. References in other parts of the work to these individuals are noted. The notation of other references has led some scholars in the 1830s to believe this section was originally composed as an index, but this view is not considered definitive or complete amongst historians.

Analysis

Name

It is generally accepted that the term tjerh-tanh here refers to the geographic region that Maverican priests defined as north of Norfeld, even though it is a corrupted transliteration of "Tsjinh", the city and polity that ruled southern Themiclesian for many centuries; according to this view, the title should be understood to indicate the history of the region called Themiclesia, rather than that of a country called Themiclesia. Historians agree that the title of the book openly refers to the Gosagi, a Menghean work that may partly date to the 8th c. BCE. The Gosagi describes the mythical origins of the world, providing that nature and humanity were created by deities and purporting to record their histories up to the 8th century.

See also

• Themiclesia