The Light of Technology in the“Belt and Road”:The Example of Astronomy and Astrology in Cultural Exchange

(Center for Area Studies-Pakistan,Ministry of Education/National Ethnic Affairs Commission of China,Yinchuan 750021)

Abstract:There has been cultural exchange between China and country of western and central Asia from long time ago.In technology,particularly astronomy and astrology,Madeluding family came to China in Ming Dynasty was a great example.According to historical documents and linguistic comparation,this essay cleared some issues of Madeluding family,provided historical information for the study of cultural exchange of China and countries of western and central Asia,and supported historical experience for better accomplishment of the“Belt and Road”initiative.

Key words:The“Belt and Road”initiative;Cultural exchange;History of technology

1 Introduction

From early times there has been started cultural exchange between China and other countries,particularly with other Asian countries.Taking the examples of cultural exchange in astronomy and astrology,there were three phases,with the typical figures:Mayize(Maizah) from Rum in Song Dynasty,Zhamaluding (Jamaluddin)from Persian in Yuan Dynasty,and Madeluding with his family from central Asia in Ming Dynasty.With their arriving China,the calendars and related subjects as astronomy and astrology were introduced into China,improved the technological and cultural exchange between China and central and west Asian countries.In this article,we focus on Madeluding and his family and their contribution to Chinese astronomy and astrology in Ming Dynasty,which shows a great acceptability of Chinese cultural and the attraction of Ming China.Madeluding and his sons,Mashayihei,Mahama,Mahasha,and Hashan came to China in the time of Hongwu,they learned Chinese little soon after their arriving,with their Arabic and Persian languages ability,Mashayihei was ordered to edit Huayi Yiyu (Chinese glossaries of other languages like Mongolian,Persian,etc.,) and Calendar of al-Hijrah,and participated into translatingYuanchao Mishi (Secret History of Yuan Dynasty),his brother,Mahama,translated Tianwen Shu (Book of Astrology,originally by Persian astronomer Kushyar),it’s highlypossible the they both participated in editingSino-Farsi Glossarywhich was taught in Siyi Guan (Foreign Department of government).

2 Madeluding:Coming to China with His Sons

About the homeland of Madeluding family,and the date of their coming to China,there are different records.According toGenealogy of Juzhentang Ma[1],andSupplementary Interpretations of Tawhidism[2],Chen take the date of their coming to China as the 2nd year of Hongwu (1369)[1]rather than the 20th year of Hongwu(1387) recorded inGenealogy of Dacetang Ma[1].Moreover,Records of Ming Dynasty recorded that Mashayihei was ordered to edit Huayi Yiyu in the 15th year of Hongwu (1382)[3]and accomplished Calendar of al-Hijrah in the 17th year of Hongwu (1384)[4],while Mahama finished the translation ofBook of Astrologyin the 16th year of Hongwu (1383),so the date of their coming to China could not be later than these years,which proves that there’s no possibility that they come in the 20th year of Hongwu.Other than Madeluding family,the great grandfather of Wu family Wu Ru,the great grandfather of Wang Daiyu’s family all came to China in the early years of Hongwu due to their skills in astronomy,indicates in the early years of Hongwu the Ming government had rather big interest in astronomy experts.

There are also various records about the homeland of Madeluding family,like Samarkend[2]of todya’s Uzbekistan;Rumi[1]of today’s Anatolia;Jiddah[1]of today’s Saudi Arabia,Chen Jiujin preferred to Jiddah as their hometown,but his evidence is not enough scrutinized.

In fact,even in Saudi Arabia firstly established systematic community and early regime of absolutist Tawhidism,but there was no much developed example in astronomy in Arabia the peninsula;rather,the outside regions like Damascus,Baghdad,and Samarkend appeared important figure of technology like Ibn-Sina,Biruni,etc.Before Madeluding family,the astronomers from western Asia who came to China,Maizah was from Rum[5](P77),Zhamaluding might from Buhkara[6](P89),not in Arabia.Some scholars take Jiddah as Madeluding family’s hometown according to the record in Genealogy of Juzhentang Ma:“ In the 5th year of Hongwu (1372),(Mahasha,might be Muhsin) went back hometown with his father (Madeluding)for pilgrimage to Ka‘bah,thus came back seven years later.”[1]But this is not a proof that Jiddah is their hometown,for Tawhidism followers all over the world,pilgrimage is a duty to fulfill once in the life,regardless with the hometown.So in this genealogy,Madeluding and Mahasha went to the peninsula for pilgrimage was correct,but back hometown was a mistaken record.

After the Abbasid empire,Arabic culture influence the central Asia in depth,moreover,the original version of Book of Astronomy by Kushyar (Kushyar Ibn Labban Ibn Bashahri Abu’l-Hasan Al-Jili,970-1029) was in Persian[7],the translator must be able to Persian to translate it,which was Mahama,shows that his family was under Persian cultural influence in their hometown.The grandson of Timur Empire,the ruler of Samarkend Ulug Beg established one of the most influential astronomical platform in 1428/1429,proved that astronomy was in much prosperity in Samarkend,and till now Samarkend is an important residential city of Tajiks,who speak a dialect of Persian.

From Madeluding’s name can also prove this view more.Transliterated back to Arabic or Persian,whether Madruddin or Matruddin are all meaningless.But if Madeluding came from central Asia,this confusion could be cleared:it’s common that the consonant“b”changed into“m”in Turkic languages of central Asia,like the word“men”(means“I”or“me”) in Uzbek language is“ben”in Turkish,the name Madeluding is highly possible a transliteration of Badruddin (means the full moon of religion) which witnessed this“b-m”change through Arabic into the local language as Madruddin,then transliterated into Chinese.This also proves that Madeluding family was from Samarkend of central Asia rather than Jiddah of Arabia.

3 Mashayihei:His Name and His Life

About the name of Mashayihei,Jin Zhanxiang takes it as“a honorable calling to several masters rather than some single one’s name,”he pointed out that taking Mashayihei as“surname Ma with last name Shayihei (Shaikh)”is not correct,and analyzed Mashayihei as a plural noun in Arabic,referring to its original meaning,“several masters,”which should be translated into“several honorable masters.”[8]This view is scrutinable in linguistics,but rather weak in according to historical documents.

First,from Genealogy of Dacetang Ma it says Ma in Mashayihei is endowed from the emperor,and his name is Shayihei[1].But fromWords and Behaviors of Tawhidist Predecessors,Mashayihei is also called Moshayihe[9](P116),this indicates that both Jin and Chen’s views are in flaws,Moshayihe and Mashayihei are different transliterations of Mashaikh,so Ma could not be a separated surname;inHistory of Ming Dynasty(Mingshi) which records“(the Emperor) ordered Hanlin (official) Li Chong,Wu Zongbo with master Mashayihei and others to translate the books,”[4]and inPreface to Translation of Book of Astronomy“(the Emperor Hongwu) ordered officials in the Department of Astronomy Heydar,Atauddin,masters Mashayihei,Mahama and others come to the court,showed them the books collected in the palace,choose these about astronomy,astrology,calendar and others to translate,”[10](P3)indicates that Mashayihei is a name of a single man as Haydar,Atauddin,and Mahama.So here we could make it clear that Mashayihei is the name of a single man,was translated from his Arabic name Mashaikh,not the endowed surname Ma with the name Shaikh,nor the calling of“several masters.”There is also Japanese scholar who takes Mashayihei as a Mongol,but this name could proof the identity of Mashayihei,even he affiliated with Mongol[11],whether he has Mongolian origin or not,his religious conversion was clear enough from his name.

After editingCalendar of al-Hijrah,Mashayihei also high possible edited Sino-Farsi Glossary,the great example in lexicography of China[12].According to the other documents,Mashayihe was so favored by the Emperor Hongwu that he was endowed a princess as wife[1],then at the time of Yongle,“the Emperor takes him (Mashayihei)as en elder,even when the Emperor is very angry but still listening to him,then the Emperor’s madness would be relieved.”[9]There was also a official who was skilled in Arabic,Persian,Mongolian languages just as Mashayihei,whose name is Haji Maulana Yusuf,and he was so favored by the Emperor Yongle,that once the Emperor was hit by the horse gifted from the King of Samarkend,Shah Rukh,the Emperor was so angry that said to kill all the envoys at court,then Haji Maulana Yusuf came to the Emperor and had a talk with him,relieved his madness and saved all the people at court[13](P60).An Australian scholar studied the Persian translation in Ming court concerned on the edition work of Huayi Yiyu and Haji Yusuf for who was working at Huitong Guan,a close department to Siyi Guan[14](P72),but more documents are needed to to proof their relationships.

4 Mahama:the Firman and the Book

There is an firman inCollected Essays of Emperor Hongwu of Ming Dynasty Volume8,but it’s not clear that to whom this firman was endowed,and for the title of this firman,there are various versions such asEndowed Firman To Hanlin Editors Mashayihei and Mahama(Shou Hanlin Bianxiu Mashayihei,Mahama Chiwen)[7],Firman to Hanlin Editors Mashayihei,Mahama (Hanlin Bianxiu Mashayihei,Mahama Chiwen)[15],Firman to Tawhidist Masters[16](P358),but the title of this firman in Collected Essays of Emperor Hongwu of Ming Dynasty Volume 8,the official version isFirman to Hanlin Editor Mahamute(Hanlin Bianxiu Mahamute Chiwen)[3],differs from all the titles above,which indicates a question,to whom this firman was endowed? Who was Mahamute and what’s the relationship between him and Mashayihei and his brother Mahama?

There is no date of this firman in Collected Essays of Emperor Hongwu of Ming Dynasty,the date of the firman collected in Liu Zhi’s book is the 15th year of Hongwu,relating that in September of the 15th year of Hongwu,the Emperor ordered Mashayihei and others into the court to translate books,the date of this firman was thought as the 15th year of Hongwu[1],but according to the works of Mashayihei and Mahama,none of them was finished in the this year.

Mashayihei’s Calendar is a book of astronomy rather than astrology,according to its contents,the last year of the calendar is the 17th year of Hongwu,the finished date ofCalendar of al-Hijrahcould not be earlier than this year,nor in the 15th year.And,fromRecords of Ming Dynasty,in the spring,the Emperor“ordered Huo Yuanjie and Ediror (Bianxiu) Mashayihei to transliterated the (Mongolian)words with Chinese,”[3](P2223)while in the firman it said“so endowed him as Hanlin Editor,”it’ll be confused if the emperor endowed such a official title to the same figure twice.While,Mahama’sBook of Astrology,in the Preface it says“in the second year,the translation is finished,”[10]indicates that it is fulfilling in the 16th year of Honghu,from the dates of the firmans before and after the firman to Mahamute,the last date of the one before is the 13th year of Hongwu (1380),and the next one is 16th year of Hongwu,so the date of the firman should be between the 13th to the 16th year.There’s no figure in the court at that time who left related works in astronomy or astrology,so the most possible receiver of this firman should be Muhama,but why the name is Mahamute in the firman?

We have referred that there might be various transliterations of a same name of foreign language in Chinese,like Mashayihei and Moshayihe of Mashaikh,the inconsistency of Mahama and Mahamute could also be figured out in this way.The name Mahama in Chinese is transliterated from Muhammad which is doubtless.There could be changes in the process of Arabic words into other languages,like the vowel a,i,and u might be changed,or the consonants h-h-hk,b-p-m,or d-t.In this case,the word Muhammad,from Arabic to Turkic language,the second syllable“ham”is changed into“hkam”due to there is no the throat voice of h in Turkic language,in the third syllable,the vowel a changed into e whole the consonant“d”changed into“t,”now the name Muhammad became Mukhammet,now this name still exists in Uyghur language;thus in oral speaking,the vowel“u”of the first syllable changed into“e,”the first consonant“hk”of the second syllable changed into“h,”and last consonant“m”is overlapped with the first consonant of the third syllable so one of them was omitted,name Muhammad became Mehmet,now this one still exists in some Turkic languages like Kazak and Kyrgiz languages;in modern Uyghur language,the consonant“h”of the second syllable was also omitted,Muhammad became Memet.While in Ming Dynasty,it could be traced that the name Muhammad,the vowel“u”of the first syllable changed into“a,”and in the third syllable,the vowel“a”changed into“u”at the same time the last consonant“d”changed into“t”like in Turkic languages above,so Muhammad became Mahammut,which is Mahamute in Chinese.And for the name Mahama,like such linguistic changing tracks,the vowel of the first syllable“u”changed into“a”,the second consonant of the second syllable“m”overlapped with the first consonant of the third syllable so they mixed into one,thus the last consonant of the third syllable“d”was omitted,that Muhammad became Mahama in Chinese.So we know that Mahamute and Mahama are just different transliterations of the same name Muhammad,which could match with other issue of Mahama,that the firman was endowed into Mahama.

The biggest contribution of Mahama was his translation of Kushyar’sBook of Astrologyfrom Persian into Chinese.This book is mainly on how to make clear the fate of people according to the position and movement of the stars,this subject was high developed both before and after Iranian regions left Mazdeanism and accepted Tawhidism[17].Kushyar was a scholar who was in high skills in astrology,hisBook of Astrologywas popular in a long time even after his death,and Mahama’s translation in Chinese make it combined with Chinese perspective in astrology,and particularly in the court,the make sure the fate of the loyal family,and the action of the emperor.

5 Conclusion

From early times China had started cultural exchange with western Asian countries in astronomy and astrology,after Mayize in Song Dynasty and Zhamaluding in Yuan Dynasty,Madeluding family,including his sons Mashayihei and Mahama in Ming dynasty was another one great example,their edited works like Huayi Yiyu,andCalendar of al-Hijrah,translated works likeBook of Astrologyimproved the development of Chinese technology in such subjects,at the same time strengthened the cultural exchange between China and other countries.After Mashayihei and Mahama,their descendants continued their work in the Department of Astronomy and Astrology of the court,but unlike them,the descendants were not so skilled,when the European such as Johann Adam Schall von Bell (1592-1666,known in Chinese as Tang Ruowang) came to China and challenged them with the foretelling of the movement of the starts,they failed the debate and lost the control of the department,which was then dominated by Europeans,so as the development of the subjects[18].Even for that,their contribution to the development of astronomy and astrology must not be omitted.There’s no limit in science nor in technology,Madeluding family as from Samarkend came to China thus made their contribution to the development of Chinese technology.At present we’re encouraging cultural dialogue and exchange between civilizations,and Madeluding family shows such a good example in the history,which can also improve the accomplishment of the“Belt and Road”initiative.