Aus geteilten Zeiten: Studien zur Nanbeichao-Periode. Geburtstagsgabe f

• Author: Richter, Antje

Aus geteilten Zeiten: Studien zur Nanbeichao-Periode. Geburtstagsgabe für Shing Müller [phrase omitted]. Edited by RODERICH PTAK. Deutsche Ostasienstudien, vol. 35. Gossenberg: OSTASIEN VERLAG, 2020. Pp. vi + 216. [euro]29.

It is reassuring to know that the tradition of the Festschrift is still alive, even if fewer exemplars of the genre have been appearing in recent years. Seeing this book in honor of Shing Müller (Soong Shing [phrase omitted]) is especially gratifying, because it recognizes a scholar who has been active in the field of early medieval Chinese archaeology and culture for thirty years now. As far as Festschriften go, the book is unusual in two ways: the nine authors are all colleagues of the honoree at the Institute of Sinology at Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, and they are all offering a contribution to the study of early medieval China (ca. 200-ca. 600 CE), even if their research typically focuses on other periods of Chinese history, as the volume's editor, Roderich Ptak, explains in his preface (pp. 1-3). Ptak also emphasizes how significant Soong's work in the past decades has been for the Institute of Sinology: through her broad and profound research, her creative teaching, and, not least, her contributions to the development of the institute's library holdings that are, thanks to her, now especially rich in Chinese archaeology. The preface is followed by a select bibliography of Soong's publications in German. English, and Chinese since 1991 (pp. 5-10), demonstrating the breadth of both her research and the venues in which she published, ranging from local Bavarian publications to international journals.

The "Geburtstagsgabe" ('birthday gift'), as this Festschrift is subtitled, is wrapped in poetry. The reader first encounters Thomas O. Höllmann's prose translations of seven well-known early medieval poems, with a brief introduction and annotations by the translator. The solemn tone of Höllmann's chapter, "Siebenfacher Schmerz: Gedichte aus bewegter Zeit" ('sevenfold pain: poems of tumultuous times') contrasts with that of the last chapter. The lightness of Marc Nürnberger's poetic translation of Shu Xi's [phrase omitted] (263-302) fragmentarily transmitted "Bing fu" [phrase omitted] is not only due to the subject matter of this rhapsody--a famous celebration of pasta and other forms of doughy foods--but also to Niirnberger's decision to translate the names of the numerous pastries and pastas mentioned by Shu...