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Friday 3 December 2021

Natalia Svistunova Has Been Awarded the Prize of S.Oldenburg

 
The prize of S.Oldenburg was awarded to Ms. Svistunova for the research of "Laws of the Great Ming Dynasty with a Consolidated Commentary and Application of Resolutions (Da Ming Lui Tsze Fu Li)" in 4 volumes.

19 out of 26 members of the Bureau were present at the meeting of the Bureau of Historical and Philological Sciences Department (the Russian Academy of Sciences). In accordance with the results of the secret ballot, the Russian Academy of Sciences Presidium unanimously submitted a draft resolution on awarding the S.F. Oldenburg Prize of the year 2021 to N.Svistunova.

“The Laws of the Great Ming Dynasty” is one of the most important monuments of traditional Chinese law. It was the basis of China's legal system from the end of the 14th till the middle of the 17th century, during the Golden Age of Chinese culture. 

The Code was created in the year 1397 after centuries of Mongol rule. It is surprising by its development even today. The Code is not only a history of law monument, but also a valuable source for studying the daily life of various segments of China’s population in the early modern era. It was reflected in 460 articles, as well as in 405 additional decrees added in the period from 1443 to 1607 in order to take into account the changes that were taking place in the country.

The translation by N. Svistunova was the first complete translation of the code into the Western language. This monumental four-volume work with a total volume of almost 2000 pages and more than 135 author's sheets was prepared for more than half a century and had been published for 22 years. The translation has become a fundamental contribution to world sinology; it  is one of the rarest world records of Russian oriental studies. The translation also successfully eliminates the lacuna between the complete translations of the previous - Tang (7th-10th centuries) and subsequent - Qing (17th-20th centuries) legislations published earlier by Russian scientists (V. Rybakov in 1999-2008 and A. Leontiev in 1781-1783 respectively).

The publication of translation by N. Svistunova of “The Laws of the Great Ming Dynasty” is one of the major events in the history of Russian Sinology. It is a rare and remarkable example of a successfully completed project destined to become the basis of many works on history, law, and culture of traditional China.

Source: РАН