PT 1078 — Two Administrative Documents from the Dunhuang Period
PT 1078 is a manuscript from the Pelliot tibétain collection of the Bibliothèque nationale de France, written in Old Tibetan on paper. It preserves two separate administrative documents from the Stong-sar district of Sha-cu (Dunhuang), both dating to the period of Tibetan imperial rule over the Hexi Corridor (c. 787–848 CE).
The first document (recto and verso, nine lines) is a debt enforcement contract: Shang He'do, a paper-maker of Stong-sar, pursues Bung Dze-weng for two hundred yug-lengths of paper owed as tribute. The debtor's excuses — illness, delays, broken oaths — stretch from the Dragon Year to the Sheep Year before a final deadline is set, with penalties of property seizure and whipping. It is one of the only Dunhuang documents to illuminate the paper economy of the Tibetan Empire, where paper functioned as both commodity and administrative currency.
The second document (thirty-seven lines) is the most complex legal proceeding yet translated from the Dunhuang Old Tibetan administrative corpus. The Wang brothers — Chinese landowners at the locality of Yur-ba Ke-hva-gu-na — petition to recover orchard-fields that were seized by force nearly twenty years earlier. The case includes field registry evidence, rope surveys in dor units, testimony from six Chinese village elders, and a binding judgment from the court of Khri-zla Blon Btsan-sum-brtsan. The verdict splits the disputed land: southern fields to the seizors, northern fields restored to the Wang brothers. Nine round seals and three Chinese signatures authenticate the settlement.
Together, these documents reveal a multi-ethnic district where Chinese subjects petitioned Tibetan courts, where paper debts carried the penalty of whipping, and where ancestral orchards withered for two decades before justice was sought. The legal machinery is formal, methodical, and — in the twenty-year patience of the Wang brothers — quietly devastating.
Document 1: The Paper Debt of Dze-weng
In the spring of the Dragon Year:
Shang He'do, paper-maker of Stong-sar district, presented the following case. Two hundred yug-lengths of paper had accumulated as a debt to Blon Rgyal-zigs, and had not been delivered.
The two hundred yug-lengths of paper for tribute correspondence, being in the custody of Bung Dze-weng, were sought out. The date for their return was set: the fifth of the mid-summer month of the Dragon Year.
An oath was sworn. But he made excuses and pretexts, and did not deliver. Moreover, Tse-weng was struck by illness. On the basis of the illness notification — subsequently, in the first winter month of the Sheep Year:
When He'do inquired about the paper, he stated: "For about two or three years, I have not delivered the paper. Between being unable to recover and seeking treatment for my illness, there has been no proper accounting."
"I too acknowledge fault for failing to deliver. I petition that another date be set." So saying, another date was set: the tenth of the mid-winter month of the Sheep Year.
The full two hundred yug-lengths — Dze-weng shall deliver them. If at that time he does not deliver, or if any excuse is sought, then in exchange — from his own property:
Whether outer livestock, inner goods, or any articles of use — whatever falls due, even by seizure, it shall be accepted. Moreover, the penalty whipping for default on tribute shall also be administered.
As witnesses: Im Gtsug-legs, Je'u Tse-weng, and Pin-dang. He'do's seal was not available, so he pressed his finger-measure.
Within the two hundred yug-lengths, one packet of lo-thang paper has been delivered.
(Two inverted lines mark the end of the document.)
Document 2: The Land Case of the Wang Brothers
Formerly, at Yur-ba Ke-hva-gu-na in Stong-sar district — Wang Weng-tshan and Wang Rgod-kong, brothers, whose [...]
fields were contiguous — between Kog-yung and Rgod-kong, regarding the fields, no agreement could be reached [...]
The disputed fields were surrendered to Blon Lha-mdo-brtsan. For a great many years [...]
Subsequently, in the summer of that year — at the Kva-cu market assembly, Blon Rgyal-tsan, Blon Btsan-bzang, Blon [...]
and others — in response to the decree issued at Kva-cu Se-shi-thang, regarding Rlang Blon Lha-spad — the Sha-cu subject Rgod-[kong ...]
After being released — the Wang Rgod-kong brothers petitioned Khri-zla Blon Btsan-sum-brtsan, saying:
"We formerly, in the Chinese era, held land at Yur-ba Ke-hva-gu-na. Later, in the Rat Year, when the Sha-cu people were assigned corvée — the fields were needed [...]
"We took on corvée land. As before, we possessed the fields in peace — until from the Snying-tsoms district [...]
"Our corvée fields had a small vacant strip — they encroached upon the vacancy, imposed assessment, and seized the land by force [...]
"These orchard-fields — we surrendered them to Blon Lha-mdo-brtsan. The Rlang made himself the landowner. As for Dze'u-bur [...]
"At the orchard-field — the Rlang used it as a labor base, built houses, and erected enclosures. For nearly twenty years [...]
"The orchard-fields have withered and died, as if cut from their stems. Having grown fearful of oppression, we petitioned for their return [...]
"We seek the documents and the grounds for our land that was severed from us, and call upon the four witnesses. Our farmland, our orchards [...]
"Together — we ask only that they be returned to us. What will you grant?"
They petitioned. Now Kog-yung petitioned in response:
"The Rgod-kong brothers' orchard-fields — from the old Chinese era, the land was contiguous. Later, when the Sha-cu people were assigned corvée [...]
"The corvée fields, standard plots of six dor each, were measured equally by tally-stick. According to the field register [...]
"The fields came to eleven dor. As for the six dor assigned to the Rgod-kong brothers — they did not accept that amount [...]
"The fields they accepted were eight dor. 'I do not have that many fields.' By the evidence — from the steward Blon [...]
"The field register was also consulted, and measured by dor-rope. 'My fields are three dor [...]'
"There was a surplus of eight and a half dor. From Wang Rgod-kong's surplus land — three dor and seven lhu [...]
"Were cut away. They did not accept this. No agreement was reached. Our thousand-chief, Blon [...]"
The thousand-chief declared: "Since we, the Sha-cu people, did not take corvée land — from the surplus fields [...]
"The pon cultivated them. Now Blon Lha-spad has also come from the region. The former stewards [...]"
"What will you grant?" they petitioned. Whether to grant the petition or not — the tax-chief and the khri-yig officials shall investigate.
The tax-chief Blon Mdo and the khri-yig Blon Stag-sum-stag-legs — in their presence, the field register was consulted [...]
At Yur-ba Ke-hva-gur — from Wang Beng'do's fields, one dor and two lhu were found to be due. Now Kog-yung [...]
The field register did not produce a general answer — requiring the grounds and the four witnesses. The field village elders: Im Hing-weng, Bam Kyir'do-[...]
Tse, Leng Ho-an-tshe, Sag Dze-sheng, and Bam Kheng-tse — they deliberated and testified. Their statements agreed, and the case was determined:
Their ancestral fixed fields and orchards. Later, in the Rat Year, when the Sha-cu people were assigned corvée and the fields organized [...]
The brothers peaceably held and cultivated these orchard-fields — until Kog-yung and Dze'u-bur, together with the official, against Wang Rgod-kong [...]
Encroached and seized by force. Unable to prevail, the brothers surrendered the land to Blon Lha-mdo-brtsan. For nearly twenty years [...]
Having been without recourse, the brothers petitioned the lord Blon Btsan-sum-brtsan. The case was heard and settled.
Regarding the grounds: the seizure of Wang's surplus land — since Wang did not accept the registered allocation, and combining with the four witnesses' determination [...]
Let it be granted as petitioned. The steward Blon Klu-bzang-stag-skyes also decreed: "Let it be settled." The subjects shall comply [...]
Those fields on the southern side — granted to Do and Dze'u. Those on the northern side at Yur-ba — awarded to the Rgod-kong brothers as their domain [...]
Having reached agreement — henceforth, no dispute shall be raised and no contention brought. Each party having testified and confirmed [...]
The customary seals and the judgment seal of Khri-zla Blon Btsan-sum-brtsan were pressed. One copy each was granted to Do and Wang.
(Nine round seals. Three Chinese signatures.)
Colophon
PT 1078 (Pelliot tibétain 1078). Two Old Tibetan administrative documents from the Dunhuang cave library. Translated from Old Tibetan by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, April 2026. First English translation.
The source text was accessed from the Old Tibetan Documents Online (OTDO) database maintained by Osaka University. The transliteration follows OTDO's conventions, which preserve the archaic Old Tibetan orthography.
Document 1 (recto r1–r6, verso v1–v3): The Paper Debt. A debt enforcement contract from the Dragon Year, with final deadline set in the Sheep Year. Shang He'do, paper-maker (shog mkhan) of Stong-sar district, pursues Bung Dze-weng for two hundred yug-lengths of paper owed as tribute (sku yon) to Blon Rgyal-zigs. The document records the original oath, the debtor's excuses (illness stretching over two to three years), his acknowledgment of fault (nongs), and the final terms: deliver in full by the tenth of mid-winter of the Sheep Year, or face confiscation of livestock and goods plus penalty whipping. He'do authenticated by finger-measure (sug yig tshad) rather than seal. A partial payment of one packet of lo-thang paper was made. The document illuminates the paper economy of Tibetan-controlled Dunhuang, where paper served as a commodity of tribute and official correspondence.
Document 2 (lines 1–37): The Land Case. A full-scale land dispute and judicial proceeding — the most complex legal case yet translated from the Dunhuang Old Tibetan administrative corpus. The Wang brothers — Chinese landowners at Yur-ba Ke-hva-gu-na in Stong-sar district — petition to recover ancestral orchard-fields seized nearly twenty years earlier. The case narrative spans the pre-Tibetan "Chinese era" (rgya'i tshe), through the imposition of corvée in the Rat Year (byi ba lo), through forcible seizure by Kog-yung and Dze'u-bur, through the transfer of land to a Tibetan official (Blon Lha-mdo-brtsan), to the final petition before Khri-zla Blon Btsan-sum-brtsan. Evidence includes field registries (zhing yig dkar cag), rope surveys in dor and lhu units (dor thag), and testimony from six Chinese village elders (rgan rabs). The verdict splits the disputed land: southern fields to the original seizors, northern fields restored to the Wang brothers. Nine round seals and three Chinese signatures authenticate the settlement.
Historical context: The "Rat Year" when corvée was imposed on Sha-cu (Dunhuang) likely corresponds to 787 or 799 CE, during the Tibetan Empire's administration of the Hexi Corridor. "Nearly twenty years" of occupation places the case approximately 807–819 CE. The multiple Chinese names transcribed in Tibetan script (Wang, Im, Bam, Leng, Sag, Ban, He, Bung) confirm a multi-ethnic district operating under Tibetan law with Chinese subjects fully participating in the legal system. Kva-cu is the Old Tibetan rendering of Guazhou (瓜州), a major administrative center.
On the orchards: The phrase "the orchard-fields have withered and died, as if cut from their stems" (tshal zhing stsogs pa 'gum ba dang 'dra ste stams las chad bzhin du) is not merely descriptive. It is the emotional center of a twenty-year dispossession compressed into a single sentence. The Wang brothers watched their family orchards decay under someone else's occupation and said nothing until they could no longer bear it.
Translation note on lacunae: The manuscript is damaged along the right margin throughout Document 2. Lacunae are indicated by [...] where the text breaks off. The legal argument is fully reconstructible despite the damage, as the surviving text preserves the petition, counter-petition, evidence, witness testimony, verdict, and authentication — the complete arc of a Tibetan imperial court proceeding.
This is a Good Works Translation. The English is independently derived from the Old Tibetan source text. The OTDO transliteration was the primary source. No prior English translation was available for consultation. Some administrative and legal terminology was cross-referenced against the established Dunhuang corpus in the archive (PT 1082–PT 1098).
Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.
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Source Text: PT 1078
Old Tibetan source text from the Old Tibetan Documents Online (OTDO) database, Osaka University. Presented here for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above.
Document 1 (Recto and Verso)
(r1) 'brug gi lo'i dpyid / stong sar gyi shog mkhan shang he 'dos / blon rgyal zigs la shog shog yug rings yug nyis brgya' zhig chags pa las / 'jal du ma mchis te /
(r2) sku yon 'dri ba'i shog shog yug rings nyis brgya' bung dze weng gi sug pa na mchis pa snga du 'tshal te / slar 'bul ba'i dus 'brug gi lo'i dbyar sla 'bring po tshes lnga la 'bul
(r3) bar dam bgyis pa las / kho tas gya gyu dang / bgyis nas / ma phul / bar du yang tse weng bro nad kyis btab ste / brda' ba'i rngo ma thog / slar kyis lug gi lo'i dgun sla ra ba la
(r4) he 'do la shog shog brdas na / kho na'i mchid nas / lo gnyis sum tsam gyi bar du shog shog ma phul ba / rub ma pas bro 'tshal te brdas pa yang ma mchis /
(r5) bdag kyang ma phul ba nongste / khri lan yang dus bgyi gsol zhes mchi' nas / yang dus bgyis pa / lug gi lo'i dgun sla 'bring po tshes bcu la / yug
(r6) rings nyis brgya' tshang bar dze 'veng la 'bul bar bgyis / dus der ma phul lam gya gyu zhig 'tshal na bsgyur te / gyur dang bchas par kho na'i
(v1) sgo nas / phyi phyugs nang rdzas sug spyad ci bab kyang rungste / phrogs kyang zhal par bgyis pa'i steng du sku yon gcod pa'i gyur
(v2) lchag kyang gzhu bar bgyis pa'i dpang la / ^im gtsug legs / je'u tse weng / dang pin dang / he 'do'i sug rgya ma mchis
(v3) te / sug yig tshad gyis btab pa' / / yug rings nyis brgya'i nang na lo thang shog shog theb gcig phul /
Document 2 (Lines 1–37)
(1) sngun yur ba ke hva gu na / / stong sar kyi sde / wang weng tshan dang / wang rgod kong spun gyi [---]
(2) zhing dang mu sbrel du mchis pa las / / kog yung dang / rgod kong du zhing la mchid ma mjal nas / / [---]
(3) myi mjal pa'i zhing rnams / / blon lha mdo brtsan la phul nas / / dgung lo mang mo zhig bar [d]u [---]
(4) slad kyis lo'i dbyar / / kva cu khrom gi 'dun tsa / / blon rgyal tsan dang / blon btsan bzang dang / blon [---]
(5) stsogs pas / / kva cu se shi thang du btab pa'i lan la / / rlang blon lha spad la / sha cu pa'i 'bangs r[g]od [---]
(6) nas phyung ba'i rjes la / / wang rgod kong spun gyis / khri zla blon btsan suM brtsan la gsol pa las / / bdag [---]
(7) sngun rgya'i tshe nas / yur ba ke hva gu na mchis te / slad kyis byi ba lo la / / sha cu pa rkyar sbyar / zhing mkhos m[-] [---]
(8) las rkya zhing du mnos te / / snga mkho bzhin rnal du rmed cing mchIs pa las / / snying tsoms gyi [sd]e [---]
(9) bdag cag gi rkya zhing chung zad dor ka yangs pa'i bag ba du zhugs nas / / tha snyad btags te / phrog du rga[l] [---]
(10) tshal zhing 'di rnams / blon lha mdo brtsan la phul nas / / rlang gIs ni zhIng bdag bgyis / dze'u bur [---]
(11) gi tshal zhing la / dpung du rlang gnyer nas / khang khyim brtsIgs / shing ra btsugs te / dgung lo nyi shur nye ba zhig gI [---]
(12) nas tshal zhIng stsogs pa 'gum ba dang 'dra ste stams las chad bzhIn du / btsan nyen du gyur pas blar gsol [-]I [---]
(13) byung bas / / bdag cag stams las chad pa'i sgo yus dang / rgyus 'tshal ba'I che bzhI rma zhing / tshal zhI[ng] [---]
(14) bcas par bdag cag la slar gthad pa tsam du ci gnang zhes gsol / / do kog yung gsol [pa] [---]
(15) kong spun gyi tshal zhing / gna' rgya'I tshe nas mu sbrel du mchis pa las / / slad gyis sha cu pa rkyar sbyard / [---]
(16) gyI rkya zhing dor drug drug mnyaM bar khram du btab pa las / / zhing yig dkar cag 'dris pa'I 'og du [---]
(17) nI / / zhIng dor bcu gcig du byung / / rgod kong spun la dor drug btab pa ni / khong tas nod par ma [byung] / [---]
(18) zhi[ng] dor brgyad nod par 'byung ste / / bdag la de snyed gyi zhing ma mchis pa'I yus gyis / to dog [b]lo[n] [---]
(19) las / / zhing yig kyang gtugs / dor thag gis kyang btab pa las / / bdag gi zhing ni dor gsu[m] [---]
(20) ni dor phyed dang brgyad lhag par byung ste / / wang rgod kong gi zing lhag las dor gsuM dang lhu bdun / [b- (/g-)] [---]
(21) gyis bcad pa las / / khong tas ma nyan te / mchid ma mjal nas / / bdag cag gi stong pon / blon [---]
(22) stong pon gyis mchid nas / bdag cag sha cu pa'I rkya zhing ma mnos pa'i yus kyis / zhing lhag las [-e] [---]
(23) pon gyis / rmos pa lags / da blon lha spad kyang yul nas byung / / to dog snga ma dag gis b[-] [---]
(24) ci gnang zhes gsol pa las / / gsol ba ltar mad daM myi mad / / khral pon dang khri yig dag gis rmos [---]
(25) khral pon / blon mdo dang / khri yig blon stag suM stag legs gyi sngar / zhing yig dang gtu[gs?] [---]
(26) yur ba ke hva gur / wang beng 'do 'i zhing las dor cig dang lhu gnyis nod par 'byung / / do kog yung gis mI [---]
(27) zhing yig las spyir ma byung nas / rgyus ba'I che bzhi / zhIng tses rgan rabs / ^Im hIng weng dang / baM kyir '[d]o [---]
(28) tse dang / leng ho ^an tshe dang / sag dze sheng dang / baM kheng tse rnaMs bro te / rmas pa las mchid mthun te phye ba / / [---]
(29) khong ta pha myes gyi gtan zhing dang / ra shul / slad kyIs byI ba lo la / sha cu pa rkyar sbyar zhing mkhos mdzad pa'I 'o[g] [---]
(30) spun gyis tshal zhing 'di rnams rnal du rmed cing dbang ba las / / do kog yung dang / dze'u bur yang spad gyis / wang rgod ko[ng] [---]
(31) du zhugs te phrog du rgol ba las / / ma tshugs nas / blon lha mdo brtsan la phul the / / dgung lo nye shur nye bar [la] [---]
(32) pa mad ches phye nas / dbyangs pa'I gzhis / blon btsan suM brtsan la zhus pa las / mchid kyis bcad [---]
(33) yus / wang gi zhing lhag la brgal ba nI / wang las zhing ma nod par ma byung la / che bzhis phye ba dang sbyar na / yu[s] [---]
(34) do la stsal par / to dog blon klu bzang stag skyes pas kyang bcad ces gsol la / 'bangs gyi chis bgyi '[tshal?] [---]
(35) lho ngos na mchis pa nI / do dang / dze'u la stsal / yur ba byang phyogs na mchis pa'I rnaMs nI / rgod kong spun dbang bar bcad [---]
(36) mchid mjal nas / slan cad myI gleng myi rtsod par so so nas bro shing / bros bskyal nas / do kog yung dang / dzhe['u?] [---]
(37) ring lugs gyi sug rgya dang / khri zla blon btshan suM brtsan gyi bchad rgyas btab nas / do dang wang re re 'chang du stsald [---]
Source Colophon
Old Tibetan source text from the Old Tibetan Documents Online (OTDO), archives?p=Pt_1078, maintained by Osaka University's Research Institute for Humanity and Nature. The OTDO transliteration preserves archaic Old Tibetan orthography. Variant readings indicated by OTDO's tooltip annotations are shown in square brackets. Lacunae at the right margin of Document 2 are marked [---]. The original manuscript is held by the Bibliothèque nationale de France as part of the Pelliot tibétain collection. Document 1 concludes with two inverted lines as scribal marks. Document 2 concludes with nine round seals and three Chinese signatures.
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