Pelliot Tibétain 1073

A legal code from the Tubo Empire (7th–9th century CE), preserved in the sealed cave library at Dunhuang. In twenty-nine lines of Old Tibetan, the text specifies the penalties when a person sets a dog upon another — detailing the fate of the dog-keeper, the forfeiture of their household, and the compensation owed to the family of the dead.

Penalties are organized by the social rank of the perpetrator within the Tubo Empire's bureaucratic hierarchy. A system of seal-bearing scribes — jade, gold, silver, brass, and copper — indicated descending degrees of authority, while zhang lon (ministers), great nobles, and commoners formed the broader social structure. The law distinguishes between attacks on peers and attacks on officials, between male and female perpetrators, between those with heirs and those without, and between deliberate and accidental dog-settings.

The manuscript is a scroll in the Pelliot tibétain collection at the Bibliothèque nationale de France, with twenty-nine lines of Tibetan on the recto and Chinese Buddhist text on the verso. The opening and closing lines are damaged. First English translation from Old Tibetan.

Opening Provisions

[...] a rider is startled — whether from this he dies, or does not die — the compensation:

If the dog-keeper is a man, by a single adjudication, the fine is one fine horse. The upper pledge-gifts and the many-returns of the compensation are imposed. If the dog-keeper is a woman, by one worthy adjudicator it is decided: the upper pledge-gifts and many-returns, and the balance, are given to the responsible party.

Penalties for Fatal Dog-Setting

For officials of the pra-men scribes and above — the person himself, his household, and one household of equal standing are answerable. For those from the silver-seal scribes downward and from the copper-seal scribes and above — the person himself, his household, and one household of equal standing.

If one of these set a dog, and the victim died — whether the one set upon was bitten and died, or a rider on a borrowed mount was frightened and thrown off and died, or in retaliation for the dog-setting someone was killed by whatever means:

If the dog-keeper is a man: he himself shall be killed forthwith. His sons and dependents shall be banished. His wife, livestock, and property — whatever he possesses — shall be given in recompense for the dead.

As for servants and lands: if there exists an heir upon whom a settlement has been established, they shall be given to that heir. If no such heir exists, they shall be given to the father. If there is no father, even if brothers are present, they shall not be given. The killed person's own subjects, servants, and lands — let each lord receive his own separately.

If one who has no established heir set dogs and killed: to the kindred, the undivided wife, livestock, and property shall be divided; and from the killed person's share, whatever wife, livestock, and property are obtained — all shall be given in recompense for the killed.

If a married woman set dogs and killed: everything she originally accumulated under her maiden family name — all of it — shall be given in recompense for the dead.

If an unmarried woman set dogs and killed: her servants, livestock, and property — whatever she possesses — all shall be given in recompense for the dead.

When an Official Is the Victim

If by the dog-setting an official is bitten — whether he dies or does not die — the compensation in either case. Or if a rider on a borrowed mount is frightened by the dog and thrown off — whether he dies or does not die — the compensation:

If the dog-keeper is a man: he himself shall be placed in bonds and banished. One quarter of his household — wife, livestock, and property — shall be given as fine for the compensation.

If the dog-keeper is a woman: of her own possessions, half of her household — spouse, livestock, and property — whatever she possesses — shall be given as fine for the compensation.

Deliberate Dog-Setting Against Officials

For officials from the pra-men scribes and above — the person himself, his household, and one household of equal standing are answerable. From the great nobles downward, commoners and all beneath:

If one of these set a dog — whether the one set upon was bitten and died, or a rider on a borrowed mount was chased by the dog and thrown off and died, or in retaliation for the dog-setting was killed by whatever means:

If against officials or clergy one deliberately set dogs, and male household members including sons are implicated — the dog-keeper shall be killed. If female members are not implicated, the dependents shall be banished. Wife, livestock, and property — all of it — shall be given in recompense for the dead official.

If one who has no established heir set dogs and killed: to the kindred, the undivided wife, livestock, and property [shall be divided, and from the killed person's share...]

[...closing damaged...]

Colophon

First English translation from Old Tibetan. Translated independently from the transliteration published by the Old Tibetan Documents Online (OTDO) project, Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa (AA-Ken), Tokyo University of Foreign Studies.

Pelliot tibétain 1073 is a scroll from the Dunhuang cave library (Mogao Caves, Gansu Province, China), sealed circa 1002 CE and recovered by Paul Pelliot in 1908. The original is held in the Bibliothèque nationale de France. The script is Old Tibetan dbu med.

This text belongs to a group of legal codes (PT 1071–1075) covering hunting law, dog-bite indemnities, and theft — among the earliest surviving legal documents from Central Asia. The legal formulae are organized by the Tubo Empire's bureaucratic rank system: seal-bearing scribes of jade, gold, silver, brass, and copper, along with ministers (zhang lon), great nobles (gtsang chen), and commoners (dmangs). The recurring compound bang za pyugs nor ("wife, livestock, and property") designates the complete household assets subject to forfeiture — the term is formulaic and applies regardless of the perpetrator's gender.

Section headings in the translation are editorial additions for readability; the original text is continuous with section breaks marked by double visarga (::). Several terms resist confident translation: ring res in line 2 (rendered "adjudication"), ya stags ("upper pledge-gifts"), and mang 'ung ("many-returns") appear to be legal-technical terms whose precise meaning awaits further scholarship. The term smas is rendered "compensation" and stong as "recompense" — both refer to the indemnity owed to the family of the dead.

No previous English translation is known. French synopses appear in F.W. Thomas, Tibetan Literary Texts and Documents Concerning Chinese Turkestan (1935–1963), and the legal codes have been studied by Iwao Kazushi, Takeuchi Tsuguhito, and others. The present translation is independently derived from the Old Tibetan.

Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.

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Source Text: Pelliot Tibétain 1073

Old Tibetan transliteration from the OTDO project (otdo.aa-ken.jp). Presented for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above.

(1) [---] zh[o]n zh[o]n pa' 'dr[a]gs / d[e] bar yang rung gum / n[i] ma / gum gy[i] / smas dang /
(2) khyI sbod sbod pa po zhig na rIng res / gcig gIs / bcad de dkod du 'og rta dam pa' gcig
(3) dang smas pa'i ya stags / mang 'ung dbabodbab bo / mo zhig na gi za ma / dam / pa gcIg gyis bcad de /
(4) ya stags mang 'ung dang dang yus bdag stsald do / :: / zhang lon pra men gyI yi ge pa'
(5) {pa} yan 'cad / khong ta ngo bo dang khong ta dang stong mnyam / ba gcig / la / dngul gi yi ge pa' / man cad /
(6) zangs gyI yi ge pa' / yan 'cad / khong ta ngo bo dang / / khong ta dang / / stong mnyam / ba / gcig / gyis / khyi /
(7) sbad de / khyi sbad pas / bza's / de / gum / yang rung / khyi sbad pas / g.yar / las stsogs pa' / zhon zhon
(8) pa zhig 'drogs / de bor de gum / yang rung / khyI sbad pa'I lan 'don gyIs / cIs / bkum / yang rung
(9) khyi sbod sbod pa po zhig na / kho 'da' 'pra shIg bkum ste / bu smad spyug go / bang za' pyugs nor /
(10) / ci mcIs / pa' gum ba'I stong du / stsald do / khol yul / / ni slad na bu sdum pa bub pa' /
(11) zhig mcIs / na bu stsald do / bu sdum pa' / phub pa' ma mcIs / na pa stsald do / pa ma mcis /
(12) na pu nu po drung mcIs / gyang myI stsald do / bkum ba' su'I 'bangs / su'i bran ba' / khol yul /
(13) so sor bzhes 'tsol cIg / sdum pa' / ma bub pa'/ zhIg / khyi sbod sbod de / bkum / na spad spun du /
(14) bang za pyugs nor / ma bgo pa'I / rnams / bgos / de bkum / ba'I / sgal / bar / bang za pyugs nor / ci /
(15) thob pa' / kund / bkum ba'I stong du stsald do / bud myed khyo mcis / pa' / zhig / khyi sbod sbod de /
(16) bkum na / mo 'da' / gdod ma' / / pa mying gyIs / cis / brtsangs pa' / kund gum / pa'I stong du stsald do /
(17) bu sring khyo ma mcIs pa'/ zhIg khyi sbod sbod de bkum na mo 'da' la bran dang pyugs / nor / kud /
(18) pa' cI mcIs pa' gum / ba'I stong du stsald do / khyi sbad pas / zhang lond / zhig bzas de / gum ni ma /
(19) gum / gI smas / gyang rung / khyI sbad pas / g.yar las / stsogs pa' / zhon zhon ba 'drogs / de bor / yang /
(20) rung gum / nI ma gum / gI smas / dang khyi sbod pa' / zhIg na kho na po reng du spyug go / bang za' / pyugs /
(21) nor gyi bzhI ca gcIg smas / pa'I dkod du stsald do / mo zhig na mo 'da'I / spyugs / la / bang za pyugs /
(22) nor cI mcIs / pa'I pyed smas / pa'I dkod du stsol cIg / ::/ zhang lon pra myInmen gyI yI ge pa' /
(23) yan cad khong ta ngo bo dang / khong ta dang stong mnyam ba gcIg la / gtsang cen man cad / dmangs / thamtha' /
(24) ma yan cad cIg gyIs / khyi sbad de khyi sbad pas / bza's / de gum / yang rung / g.yar las / stsogs / de /
(25) zhon zhon ba zhig / khyIs 'dros de bor de / gum yang rung / khyI sbad pa'I lan dond cIs / gum / yang / rung / zhang /
(26) lond dang dge ba la / khyi sbod sbod nongs / gyIs / khong ta bu smongs / byung yan cad dgum / mo / smongs /
(27) ma byung ba smad nI spyug go / bang za pyugs / nor / kund nI zhang lon gum / ba'I stong du stsald do /
(28) sdum pa' ma pub pa / zhIg khyI sbod sbod de bkum / na spad spun du bang za'/ pyugs / nor / ma / bgos /
(29) [---] [-]'I rnams / bgos / de bk[um / ba'i] [---]

Source Colophon

Old Tibetan transliteration from the Old Tibetan Documents Online (OTDO), Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. URL: archives?p=Pt_1073. The original manuscript is Pelliot tibétain 1073, Bibliothèque nationale de France.

Bracketed text [ ] indicates reconstructed readings of damaged portions. Curly braces { } indicate editorial deletions in the transliteration. The transliteration follows OTDO conventions for Old Tibetan.

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