PT 1095 — A Dunhuang Livestock Transaction
PT 1095 is a livestock sale contract from the Pelliot tibetain collection of the Bibliotheque nationale de France. Written in Old Tibetan on paper, it records the sale of one ox from Zing Nu-ku-spong of the 'A-zha (Tuyuhun) Ma-ga Do-cin district to Wang Gvang-hing, a Chinese buyer. The document includes a physical description of the animal, an ownership guarantee clause, a guarantor arrangement through the seller's brother, and a resale covenant.
The 'A-zha (Tuyuhun) were a Mongolic or Xianbei people who controlled a kingdom in the Qinghai-Tibet borderlands before being absorbed into the Tibetan Empire. Their presence in Dunhuang legal documents testifies to the multi-ethnic character of the Tibetan imperial administration, where Tibetans, Chinese, Tuyuhun, and other peoples conducted business under a single legal framework.
The document dates to the winter of the Hare Year, during the Tibetan imperial period at Dunhuang (c. 786-848 CE). Six vermilion seals authenticate the transaction — an unusually high number, suggesting a significant purchase.
In the winter of the Hare Year, in the middle month:
From the 'A-zha Ma-ga Do-cin district, from Zing Nu-ku-spong — Wang Gvang-hing purchased one ox. Its markings and horn shape: a black ox with crooked horns, spotted on the chest and belly — one ox purchased.
Should anyone later claim ownership of this ox, or should any legal claim arise whether great or small, Nu-ku-spong's word shall apply.
As guarantee: should a claim arise and the ox be lost, an ox of equivalent body and size — or the price of two half-grown cattle, including all increase — he shall immediately return it to Gvang-hing.
Should Nu-ku-spong be absent, per the oath sworn above, his younger brother Zing Sha-cu-skyes shall fulfill the terms.
Witnesses: Blon Lha-bzang Lha-ston, Wang Hing-tse, An Heng-tse, Cang Zhun-zhun, and others — their witness-seals were affixed. The sale-seals of the ox owner and the guarantor were affixed.
Furthermore, after this sale was concluded: should a reseller come, whichever party first trades with the reseller shall immediately give four khal of barley to the non-trading party. This also was agreed as a side covenant.
(Six round vermilion seals.)
Colophon
PT 1095 (Pelliot tibetain 1095). Old Tibetan livestock sale 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 'A-zha (འ་ཞ) are the Tuyuhun (吐谷渾), a Xianbei or Mongolic people who established a kingdom in the Qinghai region before being conquered by the Tibetan Empire in the 7th century. Their appearance in Dunhuang contracts shows they remained a distinct administrative group within the empire. "Ma-ga Do-cin" is a district name, likely a Tuyuhun or Chinese place rendered in Tibetan. "Zing" may be a Tuyuhun clan prefix. Wang Gvang-hing is Chinese (possibly Wang Guang-xing 王光興). "Blon" before witness names indicates an official rank. The physical description of the ox (black, crooked horns, spotted chest/belly) follows the standard Dunhuang formula for livestock identification — these descriptions served as legal proof of ownership. The "resale covenant" (yal dam) at the end is unusual: it penalizes either party for secretly reselling the ox to a middleman, suggesting awareness of speculative livestock trading. "Khal" is a unit of dry measure, approximately 25-30 lbs. The six vermilion seals are noted in the manuscript itself.
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.
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Source Text: PT 1095
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 dgun sla 'brIng po'i ngo la / / 'a zha ma ga do cin gyI sde zIng nu ku spong
(2) las / wang gvang hIng gIs glang gcIg mjal pa'I spu rtags dang ru tshugs la / /
(3) glang nag po la ru tsog / brang zhol bkra ba gcIg mjal the / / glang 'dI la slad gyis la la
(4) zhig gIs ngo bzung ngam / zhal mcu gces phras cI byung yang rung ste / nu ku spong mcId kyis
(5) 'tsal / / brgya la zhal mcu zhig byung ste / glang 'dI ngo shor par gyurd na yang / glang
(6) 'dI tsham phod pa lus gyI tshod / na'I 'dra gcig gam / rIn du ba smad gnyis 'tsal
(7) pa'I phel rgyud tshun chad / 'phral du slar gvang hing la 'bul bar bgyis / / nu ku spong
(8) ma mchis na / / dam tshigs gong nas smos pa bzhIn / khas len kho na'i nu bo /
(9) zing sha cu skyes mcId gyIs 'tshal bar bgyis pa'I dphang la / / blon lha bzang
(10) lha ston dang / wang hing tse dang / ^an heng tse dang / cang zhun zhun la stsogs pa'I dpang
(11) rgya dang / glang bdag dang khas len gyi sug rgyas bthab pha / / mjal tshong 'dI ltar
(12) bgyis pa'I 'og du / tshong lo ba zhig mchis na / gang sngar lo bas / myI lo ba la nas khal bzhI 'phral
(13) du stsald par yang / yal dam bgyis so / / (six round vermilion seals)
Source Colophon
Old Tibetan source text from the Old Tibetan Documents Online (OTDO), https://otdo.aa-ken.jp/archives?p=Pt_1095, maintained by Osaka University. The original manuscript is held by the Bibliotheque nationale de France.
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