Pelliot Tibétain 1075
A legal code from the Tubo Empire (7th–9th century CE), preserved in the sealed cave library at Dunhuang. In forty-one lines of Old Tibetan, the text specifies the penalties for theft across six categories: general property theft graded by value, attempted burglary, theft of grain, theft from non-market lodgings, theft of divine objects, and corporal punishment for convicted thieves.
The law operates on a tiered system. At the highest tier, the principal offender is executed, the next accomplice is banished, and the rest pay fines. At lower tiers, death gives way to banishment gives way to fine — all calibrated to the assessed value of the stolen goods in srang and zho, the Tubo Empire’s units of weight and currency. Section four introduces an alternative valuation in horse-counts for theft from non-market lodgings. Section five addresses the theft of sacred objects. Section six prescribes beating with a rod.
The manuscript is a scroll in the Pelliot tibétain collection at the Bibliothèque nationale de France. The opening and closing lines are damaged. First English translation from Old Tibetan.
Value-Tiered Penalties for Theft
[...opening damaged...] thief [...] one [...] escape [...]
For those present, a fine shall be paid. For goods assessed at four srang and below, three srang and above: if stolen — among the thieves present, one head, death. Below that — one person, banishment to a nearby place. Below that — for all thieves present, a fine shall be paid.
For goods assessed at two srang seven zho and below, two srang and above: if one person alone steals, he alone — death. If two persons steal — a fine shall be paid.
For goods assessed at one srang seven zho and below, one srang and above: if stolen — all thieves present shall pay the fine. Seal.
Attempted Burglary
The law concerning one who enters but does not lay hands on anything — in the houses, storehouses, sheds, warehouses, and pits belonging to queens, princesses, ladies, ministers and below, commoners and above:
If a thief enters the houses, storehouses, sheds, warehouses, pits, travellers’ lodging-quarters, and the like belonging to queens, princesses, ladies, ministers and below, commoners and above — and is caught without having obtained goods:
If he entered a place containing goods worth two srang and above and is caught: the thief — one person — shall be banished to a far place, to a distant track. For the rest of those present — the penalty of two srang, as in the law for actual theft, and let the fine descend accordingly.
If he entered a place containing goods worth below two srang and is caught without having obtained goods: the thief — however many present — half a srang for the penalty of being caught, and let the fine descend accordingly.
The captor’s reward shall be from the thief’s forfeited wealth and livestock, and from the fine imposed. By royal decree, as witnessed, accordingly it shall be granted. Seal.
Theft of Grain
The law for theft of grain from the granaries of queens, princesses, and ladies, and of ministers and below, commoners and above:
If grain from the granaries of queens, princesses, and ladies, and of ministers and below, commoners and above, is stolen and the thief caught: the khal-measure counts and bre-measure counts shall be reckoned in srang and zho. The same law and penalty as for property theft applies. Seal.
Theft from Non-Market Lodgings
The law for theft from lodgings that are not market lodgings:
Since the lodgings are not market lodgings: if one steals from a traveller or merchant’s lodging, or from a shed, or from a kennel, or from a small lodging — from any of these, if stolen — the offence is not reckoned as household burglary.
From such places, whatever is stolen shall be reckoned in lod-srang, calculated in horse-counts. If the horse-count falls to the death penalty — death. If it falls to the banishment penalty — banishment, near or far, according to the law’s standard. If it falls to the fine penalty — a fine shall be paid. Seal.
Theft of Divine Objects
The law for theft of divine objects by ministers and below, commoners and above:
If ministers and below, commoners and above, steal a divine object and seek to profit from it, and are caught: the divine object, however much was stolen, shall be reckoned in zho-counts and srang-counts, and the same law and penalty as for household burglary applies. Seal.
Corporal Punishment for Convicted Thieves
The law for penalties concerning the goods of queens, princesses, and ladies, and the property of ministers and below, commoners and above:
When a thief convicted of stealing the goods of queens, princesses, and ladies, or the property of ministers and below, commoners and above, is brought forth alive — a rod, of whatever girth and height, sufficient to encircle the body once — by the judge’s seal obtained — shall be applied. For every threefold increase in the assessed value, one blow each shall be struck.
[...] If the thief dies before the sentence is completed, it falls upon the male household [...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 1075 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. PT 1075 is the final text in this group and the most comprehensive in its treatment of theft, covering six distinct categories with graduated penalties.
The law employs a tiered penalty system based on the assessed value of stolen goods, measured in srang (a unit of weight, approximately one ounce of gold or silver) and zho (one-tenth of a srang). Penalties descend from death to banishment to fine as the assessed value decreases. The recurring phrase man cad...yan cad ("below X, above Y") defines the value band for each tier. For group theft, Section One prescribes graduated individual sentences: the principal (ra mgo gcig, literally "one head-count") receives death, the next accomplice receives banishment, and the remainder pay fines.
Several terms resist confident translation. Lod-srang in Section Four appears to be an alternative valuation unit for non-market theft, distinct from the standard srang — the stolen goods are first assessed in lod-srang, then converted to horse-counts (rta grangs), and the penalty determined by the horse-count total. Khra is rendered "assessed goods" or "assessment" — it appears to designate a valued lot of stolen property. The rod description in Section Six (kho’u chung gang sbom mtho gang gyis ‘khor pa gcig) is tentatively rendered as a rod sized to encircle the body once; the beating formula (nya tsha sum rgyas) may refer to threefold increments in assessed value, though the exact legal meaning is uncertain.
The phrase phyag rgya ("seal") appears at the end of each section, indicating that each provision was authenticated by official seal — a standard feature of Tubo legal documents.
No previous English translation is known. The legal codes have been studied by Iwao Kazushi, Takeuchi Tsuguhito, and others, with French synopses in F.W. Thomas, Tibetan Literary Texts and Documents Concerning Chinese Turkestan (1935–1963). 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 1075
Old Tibetan transliteration from the OTDO project (otdo.aa-ken.jp). Presented for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above.
(1) [-]u [---] [rkun?] [---] mch[-]g gc[i]g / [-]u [-]rang [---] phyu[g] [-]na[-]
(2) du mchIs pa chald ’jal o’jal lo / srang bzhi man cad srang gsum yan cad gyi khra
(3) zhig rkus na rkus na / rkun po du mchIs pa’I mchIs pa’I ra mgo gcig dgum mo dgum mo de’i ’og na ra mgo
(4) pa gcig shul nye par spyugo spyug go de’i ’og du rkun po du mchIs pas / chald ’jal o’jal lo /
(5) srang gnyis zho bdun nam gnyis man cad srang gnyis yan chad khra zhig myi
(6) cIg gyIs rkus na kho na dgum mo dgum mo myI gnyis gyi rkus na chal ’jal o’jal lo / srang gcig /
(7) zho bdun nam gnyis man cad / nam cig yan cad gyi khra zhig rkus na rkun
(8) po du mchIs pa kun chal ’jal o’jal lo / phyag rgya’
(9) $:/ btsan mo lcam sru dang / jo mo dang / zhang lon man cad dmangs yan cad gyi khang
(10) pa dang sa ma dang spra dang bang pa dang / dong du rkun po zhig zhug pa la lag du ma thog
(11) zan pa’I khrims la / / btsan mo lcam sru dang jo mo dang zhang lon man cad dmangs yan cad
(12) gyI khang pa dang sa ma dang spra dang bang ba dang dong dang / ’dron po’i phyes ’brang dang / ’di rnams
(13) las stsogs pa’I nang du rkun po zhig zhugs te zhugs te dkor lag du ma thob par zind na
(14) srang gnyis mchIs pa yan cad gyI nang zhugs pa zhugs pa las zind / na rkun po ra mgo
(15) pa gcig phu ring du shul ring por spyugo spyug go / slad na du mchIs pa la srang gnyis /
(16) rkus pa’I thang du rkud phob shig / / srang nyis su ma ’tsald pa man chad gyi nang
(17) du zhugs te / dkor nor lag du ma thob par zin na rkun po du mchIs gyang
(18) rung srang phyed rkus te rkus te / zin pa’I thang rkud phob cig / zin zind pa’I pya dga’ nI rkun
(19) po spyugs pa’I nor phyug / dang chald phab pa la bka’ grims ji dpang ba’ /
(20) dang bzhind du bzhind du stsaldo stsald do / / phyag rgya /
(21) $:/ btsan mo lcam sru dang jo mo’i stsang dang zhang lon man chad dmangs yan chad gyI nas
(22) rkus pa’I khrims la btsan mo lcams sru dang jo mo’i / stsang dang zhang lon man chad dmangs
(23) yan chad gyI nas zhig / rkus te zin na khal grang dang bre / grangs las srang dang zhor
(24) brtsIs / la nor / rkus / pa’i khrims dang thang gcig go phyag rgya
(25) $ :/ khrom gyi brang ma lags pa’ brang gzhan nas rkus pa’I khrims / khrom gyi brang ma lags pa’I
(26) slad na ’dron po tshong pa zhig / gi / brang nas / rkus / na / spra zhig / gi / nang nas / rkus / kyang rung khyi / brang zhig
(27) gi nang nas rkus / kyang rung rtse’u brang nga zhig nas rkus / kyang rung de rnams shig / la / rkus na / khyim phugs phug s
(28) / ma / lags o lags so de rnams lta zhig / las rkus / su / lags na lod srang / du / brtsis / te / lod / gyi
(29) rta grangs su brtsis te brtsis te / rta grang gyis dgum pa’i khrims la bab na’ang / dgum mo dgum mo / spyugs
(30) pa’I khrims la bab na ’ang spyugs yul nye ring gyi bka’ grims gyi thang bzhin
(31) du spyugo spyug go / chal ’jal pa’I khrims la bab nang chal ’jal o’jal lo phyag rgya
(32) $ zhang lon man chad dmangs yan chad gyI lha rkus pa’I khrims la / zhang lon man chad
(33) dmangs yan chad gyIs lha zhig rkus te nor du ’tshal pa las zin na lha blas ji rkus
(34) pa zho grangs dang srang grangs u grangs su rtsis la khyim phugs btab pa’i / khrims dang thang gcig go
(35) phyag rgya
(36) $ :/ btsan mo / lcams / sru / dang jo / mo’i / dkor dang / zhang lon man chad dmangs yan chad
(37) gyI nor rkus pa’I / rkun chad gyI khrims la / btsan mo lcams / sru / dang jo mo’i / dkor
(38) dang / zhang lon man chad dmangs / yan chad gyI / nor brkus te brkus te / rkun po rkud phab pa’i
(39) rnams / ’gul du lang srid kho’u / chung gang sbom mtho / gang gyis / ’khor / pa / gcig zhal ce pa’i
(40) rgyas / thobs te thobs te / thogs shig / nya tsha / sum rgyas / gzhugs / la mkhar / lan sla / ba / re / re gcad o gcad do /
(41) [---] ma khor bar gum na / thu pho’i mgul du lang
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: https://otdo.aa-ken.jp/archives?p=Pt_1075. The original manuscript is Pelliot tibétain 1075, Bibliothèque nationale de France.
Bracketed text [ ] indicates reconstructed readings of damaged portions. The transliteration follows OTDO conventions for Old Tibetan. The OTDO text includes superscript variant readings (shown here as inline pairs, e.g. "dgum mo dgum mo" for the base and variant forms).
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