{"title":"“这门艺术是谁开始的?它从何而来?”镶框一个故事的起源关于炼金术的书ziziphus树最遥远的Pseudo-Ibn Waḥšī已经","authors":"C. Braun","doi":"10.3989/ALQANTARA.2016.012","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"This paper explores the context of a Hermetic frame story in the pseudepigraphical alchemical treatise The Book of the Ziziphus Tree of the Furthest Boundary (Kitāb Sidrat almuntahā). The treatise is attributed to a prominent figure in the Arabic occult sciences, Abū Bakr b. Waḥshīya (fl. first half of the 4th/10th century). It was written in the form of a dialogue between the protagonist, Ibn Waḥshīya, and an alchemist from the Islamic West, al-Maghribī al-Qamarī. The last section of the introductory dialogue between these two characters consists of a frame story on the origins of alchemy and a legend of discovery (Fundlegende) that introduces a cosmogony and an allegorical depiction of the process of transmutation. Both the frame story and the legend of discovery abound in Hermetic motifs and topoi known from other Greek and Arabic alchemical treatises. The exposition of the different prevailing theories on the beginnings of alchemy reflects, moreover, historical phenomena, such as the Graeco-Arabic translation movement and the shu‘ūbīya controversy. Consistent with the literary tradition of the Arabic Hermetica, Ancient Egypt emerges in this treatise as the cradle of alchemy; however, I suggest that more than merely literary convention, such evocations express a genuine fascination with Ancient Egypt and its surviving material culture. In this respect, the littleknown genre of Arabic books on hidden treasure might shed new light on common Hermetic narratives and their circulation in Arabic occult literature.","PeriodicalId":44299,"journal":{"name":"AL-QANTARA","volume":"10 1","pages":"373-398"},"PeriodicalIF":0.4000,"publicationDate":"2017-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"1","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"“¿Quién empezó este arte y de dónde viene?” Una historia enmarcada sobre los orígenes de la alquimia en el Libro del árbol de ziziphus de los más lejanos confines de Pseudo-Ibn Waḥšīya\",\"authors\":\"C. Braun\",\"doi\":\"10.3989/ALQANTARA.2016.012\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"This paper explores the context of a Hermetic frame story in the pseudepigraphical alchemical treatise The Book of the Ziziphus Tree of the Furthest Boundary (Kitāb Sidrat almuntahā). The treatise is attributed to a prominent figure in the Arabic occult sciences, Abū Bakr b. Waḥshīya (fl. first half of the 4th/10th century). It was written in the form of a dialogue between the protagonist, Ibn Waḥshīya, and an alchemist from the Islamic West, al-Maghribī al-Qamarī. The last section of the introductory dialogue between these two characters consists of a frame story on the origins of alchemy and a legend of discovery (Fundlegende) that introduces a cosmogony and an allegorical depiction of the process of transmutation. Both the frame story and the legend of discovery abound in Hermetic motifs and topoi known from other Greek and Arabic alchemical treatises. The exposition of the different prevailing theories on the beginnings of alchemy reflects, moreover, historical phenomena, such as the Graeco-Arabic translation movement and the shu‘ūbīya controversy. Consistent with the literary tradition of the Arabic Hermetica, Ancient Egypt emerges in this treatise as the cradle of alchemy; however, I suggest that more than merely literary convention, such evocations express a genuine fascination with Ancient Egypt and its surviving material culture. In this respect, the littleknown genre of Arabic books on hidden treasure might shed new light on common Hermetic narratives and their circulation in Arabic occult literature.\",\"PeriodicalId\":44299,\"journal\":{\"name\":\"AL-QANTARA\",\"volume\":\"10 1\",\"pages\":\"373-398\"},\"PeriodicalIF\":0.4000,\"publicationDate\":\"2017-03-24\",\"publicationTypes\":\"Journal Article\",\"fieldsOfStudy\":null,\"isOpenAccess\":false,\"openAccessPdf\":\"\",\"citationCount\":\"1\",\"resultStr\":null,\"platform\":\"Semanticscholar\",\"paperid\":null,\"PeriodicalName\":\"AL-QANTARA\",\"FirstCategoryId\":\"1085\",\"ListUrlMain\":\"https://doi.org/10.3989/ALQANTARA.2016.012\",\"RegionNum\":4,\"RegionCategory\":\"哲学\",\"ArticlePicture\":[],\"TitleCN\":null,\"AbstractTextCN\":null,\"PMCID\":null,\"EPubDate\":\"\",\"PubModel\":\"\",\"JCR\":\"Q1\",\"JCRName\":\"HISTORY\",\"Score\":null,\"Total\":0}","platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"AL-QANTARA","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.3989/ALQANTARA.2016.012","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"HISTORY","Score":null,"Total":0}
“¿Quién empezó este arte y de dónde viene?” Una historia enmarcada sobre los orígenes de la alquimia en el Libro del árbol de ziziphus de los más lejanos confines de Pseudo-Ibn Waḥšīya
This paper explores the context of a Hermetic frame story in the pseudepigraphical alchemical treatise The Book of the Ziziphus Tree of the Furthest Boundary (Kitāb Sidrat almuntahā). The treatise is attributed to a prominent figure in the Arabic occult sciences, Abū Bakr b. Waḥshīya (fl. first half of the 4th/10th century). It was written in the form of a dialogue between the protagonist, Ibn Waḥshīya, and an alchemist from the Islamic West, al-Maghribī al-Qamarī. The last section of the introductory dialogue between these two characters consists of a frame story on the origins of alchemy and a legend of discovery (Fundlegende) that introduces a cosmogony and an allegorical depiction of the process of transmutation. Both the frame story and the legend of discovery abound in Hermetic motifs and topoi known from other Greek and Arabic alchemical treatises. The exposition of the different prevailing theories on the beginnings of alchemy reflects, moreover, historical phenomena, such as the Graeco-Arabic translation movement and the shu‘ūbīya controversy. Consistent with the literary tradition of the Arabic Hermetica, Ancient Egypt emerges in this treatise as the cradle of alchemy; however, I suggest that more than merely literary convention, such evocations express a genuine fascination with Ancient Egypt and its surviving material culture. In this respect, the littleknown genre of Arabic books on hidden treasure might shed new light on common Hermetic narratives and their circulation in Arabic occult literature.
期刊介绍:
Al-Qanṭara inició su publicación en 1980, como continuación de Al-Andalus (1933-1978). Al-Qanṭara está dedicada a la civilización del Islam clásico (hasta el siglo XVII incluido) con especial atención al Occidente islámico. Se publica en forma de dos fascículos anuales de unas 250 páginas cada uno. Una sección monográfica aparece en el segundo fascículo de cada año. La revista sólo solicita contribuciones para las secciones monográficas.