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Document Details : Title: On the 'Barbarian' Origin of the Sacred Number Three in Medieval China Author(s): CHEN, Sanping Journal: Journal Asiatique Volume: 309 Issue: 1 Date: 2021 Pages: 131-140 DOI: 10.2143/JA.309.1.3289431 Abstract : In early medieval China, there appeared a 'vulgar' variant of the common numeral san, 'three', that was used in a large group of theophoric personal names as a theonym. This special character, together with associated theophoric names, was traced back to the ancient Iranian-speaking world. Meanwhile, the utter rejection by the Confucian literati of this 'Barbarian' godly character exemplifies the inherent bias of received Chinese sources. |
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