78Th George E. Morrison Lecture 'The Decipherment of Dead Languages in China: the Case of Kitan'

H-Announce 78th George E. Morrison Lecture 'The decipherment of dead languages in China: the case of Kitan'

Announcement published by Mark Strange on Thursday, October 12, 2017 Type: Lecture Date: October 19, 2017 Location: Australia Subject Fields: Asian History / Studies, Chinese History / Studies, East Asian History / Studies, Languages

Date: Thursday, 19 October, 2017 Time: 17:30–19:30 Venue: The Auditorium, China in the World Building (188), Fellows Lane, ANU, Canberra, Australia RSVP: https://78thmorrisonlecture.eventbrite.com.au/

Abstract

Many visitors to Xi’an go to the Tomb of Empress Wu 武則天 (624–705), where their attention may be brought to a tall stele, the Wu zi bei 無字碑 (Stele without an inscription). Despite its title, there is indeed an inscription, though it is too high to be easily read. Rubbings show that it is in two languages: Chinese and another where ‘not a character can be understood’. Wylie (1860) translated the Chinese text and thought that the other text was in Jurchen, because of a reference to the Jin Dynasty (1115–1234).

Later the unknown language was shown to be Kitan, clearly the same as an inscription from an imperial tomb of the Liao dynasty (907–1125). As other inscriptions came to light, there were many attempts to decipher the language. Little progress was made until the formal publication in 1985 of a study by the Kitan Small Character Research Group in China. But although words, sentences, and even whole inscriptions could now be transcribed, very little could be understood. For one expert on dead languages, ‘the Kitan script is becoming more and more incomprehensible. Things which we were not able to understand before, we are even less able to understand now’. This talk will survey developments in the decipherment of Kitan.

About the speaker

Professor Daniel Kane is one of the world’s foremost authorities on the extinct Jurchen and Khitan languages and their scripts. He has held academic positions at both the University of Melbourne and was Professor of Chinese at Macquarie University until his retirement. Professor Kane has also had a career in diplomacy. He joined the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs in 1976 and was posted to Beijing. He was also Cultural Counsellor at the Australian Embassy in Beijing during the 1990s. His interest in undeciphered scripts goes back to his teenage years. His first acquaintance with Kitan

Citation: Mark Strange. 78th George E. Morrison Lecture 'The decipherment of dead languages in China: the case of Kitan'. H- Announce. 10-12-2017. https://networks.h-net.org/node/73374/announcements/437967/78th-george-e-morrison-lecture-decipherment-dead-languages-china Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. 1 H-Announce was in 1970. He wrote the standard book on Kitan in English in 2009.

About the George E. Morrison Lecture series

The George Ernest Morrison Lecture series was founded by Chinese residents in Australia and others in honour of the late Dr G. E. Morrison (1862–1920), a native of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The objectives of the foundation of the lectureship were to honour for all time the memory of a great Australian who rendered valuable services to China and to improve cultural relations between China and Australia. The annual Morrison Lecture is organised by a committee of ANU colleagues from the ANU College of Asia & the Pacific.

Please see the Morrison Lecture website for more information on the series, including transcripts and recordings of past lectures.

The George E. Morrison Lecture Series is sponsored by the China Institute and the Australian Centre on China in the World at The Australian National University.

This lecture is free and open to the public. It is preceded by light refreshments at 5:30pm. The lecture will start at 6pm.

Contact Email: [email protected] URL: http://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/cap-events/2017-10-19/decipherment-dead-languages-china-case-kitan