For Iranians, The Shahnameh Is History Not Myth

Q - What are the differences between your editing and former editings of the Shahnameh?

A - My work has several features to it. One of them is that I read copies of the Shahnameh from across the world for ten years before beginning the task of its editing.  I first studied fifty copies, of which I chose 15 to use in my work. I have read all of these copies and my first attempt was to introduce them in literary publications.

I used a system by the name of “The Positive System” in my editing and tried not to let anything go waste. A mistake of some Shahnameh editors is that they choose copies of the book without research and study and begin their correction, but I didn’t use a copy in my work unless there was academic logic behind it.

Q - Does this mean that your work is perfect?

A - No, one must not forget that “Only Allah is perfect”. My work has its own flaws to it, yet I have tried to prevent them as much as possible by using academic editing methods.

Q - The version of the Shahnameh printed in Moscow is one of the most accredited. What is your opinion on this version?

A - The first flaw of the Moscow Shahnameh is the small number of versions of the Shahnameh that have been used in the editing. You cannot edit a book like the Shahnameh of Ferdowsi with two or three versions.

The second error is the large number of editors and their lack on information on the Farsi language. A large number of the editors chosen for the task did not have enough information on the Shahnameh and the Iranian culture. The editor must first raise his knowledge and then attempt to edit a book. He or she should not be culling information during editing.

Q - What are the difference between our editing techniques and the techniques of the Orientalists?

A - Do not forget that Farsi is our first language; even if a thousand years have passed, we understand it better than a foreigner who doe not speak the language.

At the beginning, because we did not know the academic-critique correction methods used in the west and would edit our works based upon personal taste, the works edited by Orientalists were better than those edited by Persian masters. Now that Iranians are aware of academic-critique methods of correction and are skillful in the Farsi language, they perform the best corrections and works edited by Iranians are better.

Master Allamah Ghazvini brought forth a correct method of correction. After him, a group of Iranians turned towards preferential critique and drew the academic critique method of Ghazvini to non-academic directions.

Despite this, a number of Iranian editors did a good job, such as Gholam Hossein Yusofi and his correction of the Bustan and Gulistan.

Unfortunately, although Iranians have the knowledge and capability of large tasks they are indolent. Although Orientalists do not understand some issues, they follow academic methods and therefore their corrections are better and perfect.

Q - Some have divided the Shahnameh into three sections: myth, legend and history. What is your opinion in this regard?

A - Such divisions do not affect the correction of the Shahnameh. What has been mentioned is based upon the beginning of the Shahnameh, its continuation and its events, and is not an absolute division. Myth, history, and legend are not dividable in the Shahnameh. Story and history are intermingled in the Shahnameh.

In the tradition of Iranian thought and perspective, the Shahnameh is the history of Iran up until the invasion of the Arabs. Iranians never considered it to be myth and have always named it history. Yet after the 20th century, we realized that myth, history and many other things are separate.

Our ancestors believe that the history of Farsi peaking territories from most ancient times up until the Arab invasion. The Shahnameh does not belong only to the people of Iran, it belongs to all Farsi speakers across the planet.

Q - Once again, let us return to the subject of the correction of the Shahnameh. How far have you gone in the correction?

A - Seven chapters of the Shahnameh have been corrected of which five have been published. Two others are in pre-printing stages and another one is currently in final correction stages. Eight descriptive chapters will also be written for this chapter of which two have already been written.

However, what is important now is the correction of the Shahnameh and completing it.

Q - Due to the fact that it will be published outside of Iran, your correction will be sold at approximately four million rials. Don’t you intend to print this correction in Iran?

A - The reason that I printed this correction outside Iran is that it was not finished and we did not want to print it incomplete. Iranian publishers would also not accept to do so. Although I have spent more than thirty years of my life on correcting this book, I dot not agree with its high price in Iran and am currently considering publishing it in Iran after it is completed.

Q - Tell us about the informal scripts you used in correcting the Shahnameh.

A - Instead of listing them at the end of the book, places in which informal copies have been used for the verses have been mentioned in the footnote. This does not make a difference for normal readers of the Shahnameh, for they are attracted to the (subject of the) text itself. However, those who work on the text of the Shahnameh need informal copies, and if the informal copies are mentioned at the end of the book, this creates problems. I hope this correction will be a good research reference for those in the field.

Unfortunately, a number of readers will be tempted to correct the book when they see the informal copies used in the correction. They do not research the version of the informal copy and correct it, which is unprofessional. Correction is not an easy job and requires research, study and attention. To correct a book, one must also consider its requirements. Many in Iran think that they must correct the Shahnameh, which is not correct. We have many books in Farsi, which need correction.

I began the correction of the Shahnameh at 1969 and have done nothing else since. Now, after 34 years, I have been able to publish five chapters of the eight chapters that are to be published. In this period, some have printed corrections of the Shahnameh several times. This shows that they do not take correction seriously and academically. How can one correct and publish a book like the Shahnameh in one year or two years?

Q - Has a certain group or institution helped you in your work?

A - Supporting such works is expensive. Institutes rarely invest in such works in Iran. I only received help from two people in my work; one was myself, I spent all my income from teaching in this work. The other was “Mirasiran” in the United States of America, which printed the book.

Q - As a person who has researched the Shahnameh and Ferdowsi for years, what do you think about the cultural center built in Tus entitled “Iransarayeh Ferdowsi” as a location for researching the Shahnameh in Iran?

A - The construction of the “Iransarayeh Ferdowsi” was a very good idea, which began by the efforts of the late poet Fereydun Moshiri, Master Zarrinkub and several others. At the moment, Dr. Mohammad Ali Eslami Nadushan, who was involved in the job from the beginning, is pursuing this task and our other friends assist him. I hope this task will be completed. Regarding a Shahnameh research center, I believe that we need such a location. We must not only attend to the Shahnameh in such a location, all Iranian legends must be studied. We have good legendary literature. Our legendary literature is just as important as are poetry and mysticism and must be attended to.

JS/IS
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MNA