Shaping the Stein collection’s Dunhuang corpus (2): the items from Cave 17’s ‘miscellaneous’ bundles

In a previous blog post , we looked at the instrumental role played by Wang Yuanlu during the selection of the items from the Cave 17. Wang, who directly chose from the small repository what to hand over to Stein for inspection, was very keen to divert his attention from the so-called ‘regular’ bundles, which were composed for the most part of Buddhist sutras in Chinese and Tibetan. During their first ever transaction, which took place between 21 May and 6 June 1907, Wang Yuanlu therefore began by handing over the ‘miscellaneous’ bundles, which he seemed to hold in low estimation. To Stein’s delight, these contained mixed and diverse materials, such as manuscripts in non-Chinese languages, illustrated scrolls, paintings, drawings, ex-votos, textiles, etc. Stein picked out any of the items that jumped at him as being particularly interesting and made sure to put them aside for ‘further examination’, the phrase that he used to refer to their removal in his transaction with Wang. This

New Publication: Manuscripts and Travellers

This new book by IDP's Sam van Schaik and Imre Galambos is based on a Dunhuang manuscript which was carried by a Chinese monk through the monasteries of the Hexi corridor, as part of his pilgrimage from Wutaishan to India. The manuscript is a composite object from three separate documents, with Chinese and Tibetan texts on them. The most important part is a series of Tibetan letters of introduction addressed to the heads of monasteries along the route, functioning as a kind of passport for the pilgrim. The manuscript dates to the late 960s, coinciding with the large pilgrimage movement during the reign of Emperor Taizu of the Northern Song. Therefore, it is very likely that this is a unique contemporary testimony of the movement. Complementing extant historical sources, the manuscript provides evidence for the high degree of ethnic, cultural and linguistic interaction between Chinese and Tibetan Buddhists in the tenth century. Available from the publisher's website.

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