On the Yueling Texts from the Xixia Dynasty and the Local Seasons——Focusing on the"Names of the Moon"in the Tangut Reference Book Shengli Yihai
The third volume of the Tangut reference book Shengli Yihai圣立义海 from the Western Xia,or Xixia dynasty entitled the"Names of the Moon"not only possesses a temporal structure characteristic of traditional Chinese yueling月令texts(documents that recorded information about the monthly climate),it also expresses the political concept of governing according to the laws of nature.Research on the ideas that guided the preparation of the Shengli Yihai has found that they were mainly de-rived from the political model of yueling texts that were heavily influenced by Confucianism,as well as the political ideal of benevolent government and Chinese cultural traditions that can be traced to the Qin and Han dynasties.It was also influenced by reference books edited by the governments of the Tang and Song dynasties,and by the Tang Yueling唐 月令(Tang Dynasty Yueling Records).The notable inheritance of content from the Tang Yueling in"Names of the Moon"shows that the Western Xia rulers not only admired and imitated the politics of the Tang dynasty,but also that they actively incorporated Tang models of the oretical construction when establishing the legitimacy of their own regime.The descriptions of social life,festival celebrations and entertainment activities in"Names of the Moon"provide an image of Western Xia political practices that are highly revealing of the government's motives and self-perception.Many of the recorded social customs reflectthe ideals that motivated the rulers of the Western Xia in their rectification of various customs and efforts to standardize the moral spirit of the people.In addition,the regime also sought to make the knowledge of the seasons from the Central Plains more localized,and thus more practical.Fi-nally,the Western Xia showed a marked tendency to identify their rule with the"Middle Kingdom,"or Central Plains region.Study of yueling texts thus provides a new perspective for observing the political culture of the Western Xia dynasty.
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