Jusup Balasagyn: "The Gracious Knowledge"
Little is known about Jusup Balasagyn, the author of the greatest work — the poem “Blessed Knowledge”, or “The Science of State Governance.” He was born around 1010-1016 (1018) in the capital of the medieval Karakhanid state — the city of Balasagyn. He was a highly educated man of his time — possessing profound knowledge in astronomy, mathematics, medicine, history, philosophy, aesthetics, ethics, literature, Arabic and Iranian-Tajik poetry, Turkic folklore, and the Persian language. He exhibited both breadth and depth of thought.
By the time he completed the poem, the author was 54 years old. He began writing it in Balasagyn and finished it between 1067 and 1070 in Kashgar, thus working on it for 18 months. It is known that Jusup Balasagyn presented his creation as a gift to Tavaqch Bura Karakhan Abu-Ali-Khasan — the ruler of Kashgar. As an enlightened person, he duly appreciated the profound content and vivid poetic form of the work. The poet was awarded the high title of Ulugh Hass-Hajib (Arabic, hass — a respected person at court, the chief advisor to the khan), a title bestowed upon the most famous, authoritative, and closest individuals to the khan's court.
“Blessed Knowledge” by Jusup Balasagyn — a work written in the traditional ethical-didactic style of Eastern culture, has a characteristic instructive and educational orientation. The genre originated in the ancient literature of Egypt, India, and Iran, and then became well established in Eastern written and oral literature. In Europe, it formed as the genre of “mirror” much later — during the Renaissance, five centuries after the appearance of Jusup Balasagyn's work.
The poem represents a significant universal interest as a spiritual, moral-ethical encyclopedia, reflecting the history, culture, and religious views of society during that era. It can be appreciated as an epic work, where questions about the meaning and content of human life, and about social and personal relationships, are examined through the lens of the author's philosophical views and positions. The ethical and moral principles of the author are vividly expressed through concepts of justice, reason, happiness, modesty, and are personified in specific characters. For instance, the ruler Kuntuudu symbolizes justice, the vizier Aytoldu symbolizes happiness, the vizier's son Akdilmish symbolizes reason, and the vizier's brother Otkurmush symbolizes modesty. Even the names of these heroes are filled with high allegorical-symbolic content.
“Blessed Knowledge” by Jusup Balasagyn contains a wealth of information about the social structure of that time — about the place and role of all social groups, and about social norms and rules. The philosopher reflects on the dialectics of such concepts as good and evil, truth and falsehood, generosity and greed, prudence and impatience. At the same time, the author's ethical views are closely linked to his epistemological and social concepts. Moreover, they are part of his worldview. He often reiterates the idea that in both politics and other relationships, the main criterion of human essence should be humanity. Thus, the foundation of the ethical-philosophical, political, and social worldview of the outstanding thinker-humanist of medieval Kyrgyzstan, Jusup Balasagyn, consists of humanism and universal moral-ethical values.
