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Evidence of Chinese Flags in the Light of Ancient Texts
Liščák, Vladimír
The evidence of the fact that in China some kinds of flags or banners have been in use since the earliest history of the state can be documented from the earliest inscriptions on the oracle bones and bronzes (between 14th and 5th centuries BC). But the earliest use of banners in China refers to the mythological times, as recorded in the classical books. According these texts already the Yellow Emperor (Huang Di), a mythical ancestor of the Chinese nation, has used some kind of a banner. It was ornamented with four kinds of diurnal birds of prey or raptors: a mythical bird he (a kind of falcon), an eagle, a kite (hawk or glede) and a falcon. Also standards of some mythical tribes are mentioned in Chinese classics.
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Egyptian Mawlids in the Context of Contemporary Sufi Spirituality
Ostřanský, Bronislav
Mawlids – as many-sided religious and social phenomenon – have a long and uninterrupted tradition within Islam. Since uncertain beginnings which can be traced back to the 13th or 14th centuries until the present times their participants have been put together by the identical common motive – the will to express their respect, devoutness and loyalty to a certain saint (walī). Using the popular Muslim parable describing the pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj), we might to state that ways and manners of wandering are different, but the Aim is just one. On the example of these religious celebrations we can clearly illustrate to what a degree Islamic mysticism and Muslim folk religiosity are closely interwoven until it is quite impossible study both of them separately (!). In general, celebrations of mawlids connect both religious and profane aspects and up to the present day belong to the most significant sources for our study of the contemporary popular Muslim (not only Egyptian) religiosity.
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Introduction: Odoric of Pordenone and the Eastern Parts of the World
Liščák, Vladimír
Odoric of Pordenone (1275/85 – 1331), a Franciscan missionary, ranks among the most important persons travelling in the 13th/14th centuries to China. The numerous copies of Odoric’s narrative (both of the original text and of the versions in French, Italian, German &c.) that have come down to our time show how speedily and widely it acquired popularity.
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Are the Mandarin "retroflexes" retroflex? "Palatals" palatal? "Velars" velar? Notes on terminology.
Třísková, Hana
Mandarin initial consonants are traditionally classified into several series. The classification is based on the articulatory features. The paper explores whether the terms used for identifying particular series reflect real articulatory features of the proper consonants (such as: is the "retroflex" series articulated with the tip of the tongue curled backwards?) The conclusion: we have to distinguish between the phonological usage of the particular term (i.e. the term is used for classifying the series) and the phonetic usage (i.e. the term is used for describing the articulation).
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