VEDA, PUBLISHING HOUSE OF THE SLOVAK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES SLOVAK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES DEPARTMENT OF ORIENTAL STUDIES CHIEF EDITOR IVAN DOLEŽAL EXECUTIVE EDITOR JOZEF GENZOR EDITORIAL BOARD JOZEF BLAŠKOVIČ LADISLAV DROZDÍK MARIÁN GÁLIK BERTA KREBSOVÁ VIKTOR KRÚPA ASIAN A N D AFRICAN STUDIES DEPARTMENT OF ORIENTAL STUDIES OF THE SLOVAK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES BRATISLAVA IX 1973 1974 VEDA, PUBLISHING HOUSE OF THE SLOVAK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES BRATISLAVA CURZON PRESS . LONDON PUBLISHED OUTSIDE THE SOCIALIST COUNTRIES SOLELY BY CURZON PRESS LTD . LONDON AND DUBLIN SBN 7007 00447 © VEDA, VYDAVATEĽSTVO SLOVENSKEJ AKADÉMIE VIED, 1974 CONTENTS Obituary Berta Krebsová Articles Zbigniew S lup ski, The World of Shih T'o ........................................................................ 11 Marián Gálik, Studies in Modem Chinese Literary Criticism: VII. Liang Shih-ch’iu and New Humanism.......................................................................................................................\ • 29 Anna Doležalová, The Short Stories in Creation Daily . . 53 Ján Múčka, Quelques remarques sur la prose réalistique vietnamienne....................................... 65 Kamil Baňák, Mohammad Mascüd “Tafrīhāt-e shab”—Analytical Approach to the Composi­ tion of the Novel ............................................................................................................................... 81 Harry Spitzbardt, The Lexical and Morphological Impact of Sanskrit on Modem Indonesian ..............................................................................................................................................97 Viktor Krup a, Tane in the Easter Island Script................................. 115 Ladislav Drozdík, The Vowel System of Egyptian Colloquial Arabic.......................................121 Vojtech Kopöan, Eine Quelle der Geschichte Silihdärs ...................................................................129 Review Articles Ema B ayerleová, Recent Studies on Ancient Chinese History............................. 143 Marián Gálik, A Comment on Recent Books on Chinese Literary Criticism...........................151 Georg Hazai, 10 Jahre der „Uralic and Altaic Series” der Indiana University Publications . 171 Marián Gálik, A Comment on Two Slovak Books on the Theory of Comparative Literature . . 175 Book Reviews Henrik Birnbaum, Problems of Typological and Genetic Linguistics Viewed in a Generative Framework. By Viktor Krupa......................... 187 Wallace L. Chafe, Meaning and the Structure of Language. By Viktor Krupa . . . . . . 188 E. Coseriu, Die Geschichte der Sprachphilosophie von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart. Von Ján Horečky....................................................... 190 New Horizons in Linguistics. Ed. by John Lyons. By Viktor Krupa......................................192 Ernesto Zier er, The Theory of Graphs in Linguistics. By Viktor Krupa.................................194 Countries and Peoples of the Pacific Basin. Compiled and edited by Y. V. Maretin. By Jozef Genzor......................................................................................................................................194 Okeaniya. By Jozef Genzor...............................................................................................................196 Samuel H. Elbert, Spoken Hawaiian. By Viktor Krupa ..................... 196 Albert J. Schutz, The Languages of Fiji. By Jozef Genzor................................................197 Stuart A. Schlegel, Tiruray-English Lexicon. By Jozef Genzor . 198 Yazyki Kitaya i Yugo-vostochnoi Azii. Problémy sintaksisa. By Viktor Krupa.............198 N. I. Nikulin, Vietnamskaya literatura. Kratkii ocherk. By Ján Múčka.................................199 Marianne Bastid, Aspects de la reforme de Venseignement en Chine au debut du 20e siede. By Marián G álik...................................................................................................................................205 Anna Doležalová, Yii Ta-fu: Specific Traits of his Literary Creation. By Berta Krebsová . 206 The Legacy of China. Ed. by Raymond Dawson. By Marián Gálik.....................................211 Joseph R. Levenson, Revolution and Cosmopolitanism. The Western Stage and the Chinese Stages. By Marián Gálik.......................................................................................................................213 Lawrence A. Schneider, Ku Chieh-kang and China's New History. Nationalism and the Quest for Alternative Traditions. By Marián Gálik...................................................................216 Tai Chen's Inquiry into Goodness. A Translation of the Yuan Shan. By Marián Gálik . . .218 Linguistics in South Asia. By Jozef Genzor....................................................................................219 J. Duncan M. Derret, A Critique of Modern Hindu Law. By Leonard Bianchi....................220 Dariusch Bayat-Sarmadi, Erziehung und Bildung im Schahname von Firdousi. Von Kamil Baňák............................................................................................................................................220 Walther Hinz, Persisch, Praktischer Sprachführer. Von Kamil Baňák.................................221 Angelo Michele Piemontese, Storia della letteratura persiana. By Kamil Baňák . . . . 223 Hans E. Wulff, The Traditional Crafts of Persia, Their Development, Technology, and Influence on Eastern and Western Civilizations. By Kamil Baňák.....................................224 Studia Turcica. Edidit L. Ligeti. Von Georg Hazai .............................................. 226 Hadzy Mehmed Senai z Krymu, Historia Chana Islam Gereja III. Von Vojtech Kopcan . . . 228 Ferenc A. Váli, Bridge across the Bosporus. The Foreign Policy of Turkey. By Jozef Braun . 231 Heidrun Wurm, Der osmanische Historiker Hüseyn b. Gacfer, genannt Hezärfenn, und die Istanbuler Gesellschaft in der zweiten Hälfte des 17. Jahrhunderts. Von Vojtech Kopcan . 233 Moderne türkische Lyrik. Von Xénia Celnarová......................... 235 Cahit Öztelli, Yunus Emre. Yeni Belgeler—Bilgiler. Von Xénia Celnarová........................238 S. Plaskowicka-Rymkiewicz, M. Borz^cka, M. Lab^cka-Koecher, Historia lite­ ratury tureckiej. Von Xénia Celnarová.........................................................................................239 K. E. Bosvort, Musuľmanskije dinastiji. Von Vojtech Kopčan..................................................243 H. L. Gottschalk—B. Spuler—H. Kahler, Die Kultur des Islams. Von Vojtech Kopčan—Kamil B aňák...................................................................................................... 243 Heinz Grotzfeld, Das Bad im arabisch-islamischen Mittelalter. Eine kulturgeschichtliche Studie. Von Kamil B aňák..................................................................................................................246 Der Islam II. Von Vojtech Kopčan..........................................................................................................247 Ernst Kühnel, Islamic Arts. By Kamil Baňák................................................................................249 Edward William Lane, Arabian Society in the Middle Ages. Studies from The Thousand and One Nights. By Kamil Baňák..............................................................................................................250 Arne A. Ambros, Einführung in die moderne arabische Schriftsprache. By Ladislav Drozdík . 252 Mary Catherine Bateson, Structural Continuity in Poetry. A Linguistic Study of Five Pre-Islamic Arabic Odes. Von Ján Pauliny....................................................................................254 A. F. L. Bees ton, The Arabic Language Today. By Ladislav Drozdík.................................255 David Cohen, Dictionnaire des racines sémitiques, ou attestées dans les langues sémitiques. Von Ján Pauliny...................................................................................................................................257 Jaroslav Stetkevych, The Modem Arabic Literary Language. By Ladislav Drozdík . . 258 Abdelghany A. Khalafallah, A Descriptive Grammar of Saci:di Egyptian Colloquial Arabic. By Ladislav Drozdík..............................................................................................................260 Said Hanouz, Grammaire berbére. La langue. Les origines du peuple berbere. By Ladislav Drozdík....................................................................................................................... 262 Noveishaya istoriya Afriki. Ed. by S. R. Smirnov. By Peter Skalník.....................................262 BOOKS RECEIVED . . . .................................................................... 265 OBITUARY BERTA KREBSOVÁ On September 15,1973, a member of onr Editorial Board, Dr. Berta Krebsová, CSc., died suddenly in Prague, aged 64. Through her death, Czechoslovak orientalist scholarship loses a prominent sinologist, and the Asian and African Studies a devoted cooperator who had been with us for many years. Having majored in philosophy at the Charles University, and after occupying various posts at several Secondary schools in Prague, Berta Krebsová began to study Chinese during the war years. In 1946—1948 she studied sinology ľat ľEcole Nationale des Langues Orientales Vivantes in Paris. From the beginning of the fifties she held a teaching post at the Philosophical Faculty of Charles University, then, from 1955 until her retirement two years ago she worked at the Oriental Institute of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences in Prague as a senior scientific worker, for several years as chief of the Far Eastern Department, and directress of the Lu Hsün Library. A bibliography of her works includes a list of some 150 items. Dr. B. Krebsová’s scientific interest lay principally in an investigation of the works and personality of one of the greatest modern Chinese writers, Lu Hsün. She wrote a book about him (Lu Sün, sa vie et son ceuvre, Prague 1953) and a series of studies in Archiv orientální and in Asian and African Studies. In addition, she wrote scores of articles, prepared several radio lectures in which she presented and unlocked to the Czecho­ slovak public the treasures of Chinese culture, literature, creative art, philosophy, even familiarizing her auditors with the theory of translation from Asian literatures. She translated a considerable part of Lu Hsün’s work, Kuo Mo-jo’s and Chou Li-po’s fiction and in 1971 published her excellent translation of the ancient Chinese treatise of Tao-te-ching. Unexpected death interrupted her work on the translation of the second volume of Lu Hsün’s essays. The scientific, popularizing and translation works which Dr. Berta Krebsová has left behind are evidence of the high standard of her professional erudition, her wide-embracing scholarship, her talent, but also of her personal enthusiasm which she always brought to her work. Although she worked all her fife in Prague, her memory will remain alive and will also be cherished in Slovakia, as many of her translations have appeared also in 7 a Slovak version. From its beginnings, Slovak oriental studies and especially The Department of Oriental Studies of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava, had in her person a sincere supporter and trusted friend. Those of us who consider ourselves her pupils, shall never cease to acknowledge our debt of gratitude to Dr. Berta Krebsová for her counsels, encouragement, and her help. Anna Doležalová 8 ARTICLES ASIAN AND AFRICAN STUDIES IX, 1973 THE WORLD OF SHIH T’O ZBIGNIEW SLUPSKI, WARSAW Shih T’o (pseudonym of Wang Ch’ang-chien) (born ca 1908) is one of the most outstanding Chinese writers of the thirties and forties of this century. Relatively neglected by scholars, he deserves credit because of his exceptional talent shown in stories and novels about an “unknown” and “unknowable” world, written in an unconventional manner. Shih T’o’s departure from narrow literary realism should be appreciated against the background of his undogmatic approach to conventions, contemporary ideas, his attitude to cruelty, indifference and senselessness of the “world”. A certain distortion of reality is here a means of depicting it more fully, even truthfully in a peculiar sense. Shih T’o [1] is not an unknown writer, but rather one who is little read. In his two-volume History of Modern Chinese Literature Wang Yao1 devotes several pages to Shih T’o without, unfortunately, saying anything of real value. C. T. Hsia gives him a whole chapter2 and although his conclusions are not always acceptable, he deserves credit for having rescued the name of Shih T’o from the long list of modern Chinese writers whose work is condemned to oblivion. Shih T’o is a pseudonym adopted by the author in 1946, before which he had written under the pseudonym Lu Fen [3]. The reason for this change was that two or three other people had used the same name during the war.3 Shih T’o’s real name was Wang Ch’ang-chien [5], and he was born about 1908, probably in Honan province. He had no formal education,4 and began to write some time about 1931.5 According to C. T. Hsia he was one of the young writers round the Ta-kung pao [6] literary supplement edited by Shen Ts’ung-wen [7]. In 1936 he was awarded the 1 Wang Yao, Chung-Jcuo hsin wen-hsüeh shih kao [2], 2 vols. Shanghai 1954, pp. I, 245—246; II, 137-138. 2 C. T. Hsia, A History of Modern Chinese Fiction. New Haven 1961, pp. 461—468. 3 Shih T’o, Chih Lu Fen hsien-sheng-men [4], To Messrs. Lu Fen. A short article published as a supplement to Ma-lan, pp. 309—314. 4 These facts are given by C. T. Hsia, who pointed out that the date of birth is not reliable; it is taken from Yuan Chia-hua and Robert Payne, Contemporary Chinese Short Stories. 5 This can be assumed from Shih T’o’s comment that he began to use the pseudonym Lu Fen in 1931. See Shih T’o, Chih Lu Fen hsien-sheng-men. 11