PT 1088.2 — A Dunhuang Loan Contract
PT 1088.2 is a brief grain loan contract from the Pelliot tibetain collection of the Bibliotheque nationale de France. Written in Old Tibetan on paper, it records a loan of four khal of grain from Cang Lha-legs of the Stong-sar district to Sag Dge-bstan of the God-sar district, with a double-repayment penalty clause and an oath-seal.
The document dates to the spring of the Hare Year, during the Tibetan imperial period at Dunhuang (c. 786-848 CE). The personal names are Chinese rendered in Tibetan script. The contract follows a standard loan formula: amount, terms, penalty for default, and legal waiver. The double-penalty clause — one khal becomes two if unpaid — is a common feature of Dunhuang-era loan documents.
This is a primary source for the credit economy of Dunhuang under Tibetan rule, showing how grain functioned as currency and how debt was formalized between ordinary people under imperial administration.
In the spring of the Hare Year, in the first month:
From the Stong-sar district: Cang Lha-legs — four khal of grain [---]
From the God-sar district: Sag Dge-bstan borrowed it in advance. The time for repayment is this [---] until the end of the first month. If not a single bre of grain payment is missing, Lha-legs shall receive the full amount in one delivery.
Should he fail to repay on time, or should he seek to evade, each khal shall be doubled — one becomes two. Even if, together with the principal and the penalty, he takes the matter to a court of arbitration and seizes it through official procedure, not a single word of legal dispute shall arise.
As guarantee: should Dge-bstan's lords carry the burden and no basis remain, or should it turn to mutual disadvantage — the oath-seal above shall apply. As sworn, he shall fulfill the terms and repay.
Colophon
PT 1088.2 (Pelliot tibetain 1088, second text). Old Tibetan grain loan contract 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.
Translation notes: The text is partially damaged, with lacunae indicated by [---]. "Khal" is a unit of dry measure (approximately 25-30 lbs). "Bre" is a smaller unit (approximately 1/20 of a khal). "Stong-sar" and "God-sar" (also written Rgod-sar) are district names in the Dunhuang region. The personal names are Chinese: Cang Lha-legs (possibly Zhang Liang-le 張良樂 or similar) and Sag Dge-bstan (possibly Sa De-zhan). "Ring lugs" refers to official legal procedure. "Ris thang rtsis" refers to a court of arbitration or judicial accounting. The double-penalty clause (gchig la gnyis su bsgyur) is standard in Dunhuang loan contracts — it incentivizes timely repayment without requiring collateral. The final clause about "Dge-bstan's lords" (rje blas) suggests that the debtor's superiors or patrons might bear some responsibility if he defaults. "Dam rgya" (oath-seal) refers to the seal affixed to formalize the sworn agreement.
This is a Good Works Translation. The English is independently derived from the Old Tibetan source text. No prior English translation was available for consultation.
Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.
🌲
Source Text: PT 1088.2
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.
(1) /:/ yos bu lo'i dpyid sla ra ba 'i ngo la / stong sar gyi sde / cang lha legs gyi gro khal bzhi [---]
(2) god sar gyi sde / sag dge bstan gyis snga g.yar du 'tshalte / slar 'bul ba'i dus ni lan 'di [---]
(3) [sla] ra ba ma gum tshun cad gro [bre] phul gang yang myI chad pa [dus] gchig [du] lha legs gyis sgor ['bul]
(4) [ba]r bgyis / dus der ma phul lam gya gyu zhig 'tshal na gchig la gnyis su bsgyur te / dngos sgyur [dang]
(5) [bca]s par nas si gyi ris thang rtsIs zhing r[i]ng lugsu phrog na yang zhal ce tshig chig kyang myI mchis par
(6) [b]gyis / brgya la dge bstan rje blas gis bsgal te gzhi la ma mchis [sam pa]n pun du gyur na dam rgya 'di gong na
(7) rmos pa bzhin mchid gyi[s] 'tshal zhing 'bul bar bgyis pa'i [---] [len] /
Source Colophon
Old Tibetan source text from the Old Tibetan Documents Online (OTDO), https://otdo.aa-ken.jp/archives?p=Pt_1088_2, maintained by Osaka University. The original manuscript is held by the Bibliotheque nationale de France.
🌲