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Reconstructing a Medieval Library? The Contents of the Manuscript Bundles in the Dunhuang Library Cave Cover

Reconstructing a Medieval Library? The Contents of the Manuscript Bundles in the Dunhuang Library Cave

Silk Roads Archaeology and Heritage
Volume 1 (2023): Issue 1
By: Paschalia Terzi and  Susan Whitfield  
Open Access
|Apr 2024

Figures & Tables

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Figure 1

Paul Pelliot examining manuscripts inside the library cave in 1908. Photograph: Charles Nouette. Musée Guimet AP8187, with annotation by authors.

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Figure 9

Several regular bundles in their hemp covers, one with an inscription. British Library, Photo 392/27(589).

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Figure 3

The double exposed image showing some of the bundles of manuscripts in the corridor of Cave 16. Stein 1907. The British Library, Photo 392/59(2).37

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Figure 2

Examples of Id1: the top three, are almost certainly in Stein’s hand and made in situ; the bottom two were made on unpacking in the British Museum or copied from Stein’s annotation when the item was conserved. From 1919,0101,0.125; 1919,0101,0.162; IOL San 389; IOL Khot 19; IOL Khot 2. The bottom two also show the addition of cataloguing numbers.

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Figure 4

Detail of the verso of manuscript Or.8210/S.101 showing the mazi number in red and title in black added by Jiang and the corresponding Arabic number in blue pencil added on unpacking or later. The British Library.

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Figure 5

Jiang Xiaowan annotating the Chinese material near the end of the second expedition. Khotan, 31 July 1908. The British Library, Photo 392/26(831).

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Figure 6

Stein’s notes from 27 June 1908 in Khotan listing dated manuscripts identified by Jiang (MSS Stein 272/59).

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Figure 7

Part of the list of packing cases from 2nd expedition prepared by Stein in Khotan and with annotations made on unpacking at the British Museum in 1909. The Bodleian Library. MSS Stein 37/120.

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Figure 8

Paper scroll wrapper from Dunhuang, Or.8210/S.11049 with annotations by Jiang Xiaowen. The British Library.

Table 1

Manuscript scrolls so far identified as contained in the paper wrapper pictured in Figure 8.

MAZIBL MSS. NO.TEXT (GILES 1957 NO.)DATING
605Or.8210/S.238Daoist text: Jin zhen yu guang ba jing fei jing 金眞玉光八景飛經 (6834)Empress Wu characters in colophon
606Or.8210/S.244Saddharmapuṇḍarı̄kasūtra, ch. 6, sections 23 (end only), 24 (3024)
606Or.8210/S.245Saddharmapuṇḍarı̄kasūtra, ch. 2, sections 3, 4 (2429)
606Or.8210/S.246Saddharmapuṇḍarı̄kasūtra, ch. 5, section 17 (2891)
606Or.8210/S.247Saddharmapuṇḍarı̄kasūtra, ch. 6, sections 18, 19 (2910)
606Or.8210/S.248Saddharmapuṇḍarı̄kasūtra, ch. 9, sections 22, 23 (3008)
607Or.8210/S.243Mahāprajñāpāramitāsūtra, pt. 1, ch. 31, pin 7 (21) (41)
609Or.8210/S.241Vimalakı̄rtinirdeśasūtra, ch. 2, sections 8 (end only), 9 (3442)
612Or.8210/S.235Buddhāvataṃsakasūtra, ch. 48 [=ch. 58 (mid.)] (1645)
616Or.8210/S.229Sarvadurgatipariśodhana Uṣṇı̄ṣa Vijaya Dhāraṇı̄ Sūtra (N.348) (3828)
618Or.8210/S.236Li chan wen, 禮懺文 (6468)981?
619Or.8210/S.232Guan shi yin bu kong juan suo wang xin shen zhou gong de fa men ming bu kong cheng jiu wang fa 觀世音不空羂索王心神呪攻德法門名不空成就王 (5161)
621Or.8210/S.228Saddharmapuṇḍarı̄kasūtra*, ch. 2] section 3 (2375)
621Or.8210/S.233Suvarṇaprabhāsottamasūtrendrarājasūtra*, section 16, 17 (2110)
Table 2

Bundle A: Contents of Bundle 9 in case 79 (Ch.79.IX).

STEIN BUNDLEBL REG. NO.TITLE (GILES 1957 NO.)HEIGHT/cmLENGTH/cmCOPIER
Ch.79.IX.1Or.8210/S.1875Sukhāvatīvyūhasūtra (4911)30.8528.22Lu Rixing
Ch.79.IX.2Or.8210/S.1834Sukhāvatīvyūhasūtra (4889)31497.74Fan Zisheng
Ch.79.IX.3Or.8210/S.2019Sukhāvatīvyūhasūtra (4930)31167.74
Ch.79.IX.4Or.8210/S.1838Sukhāvatīvyūhasūtra (4892)31354.34Lu Rixing
Ch.79.IX.6Or.8210/S.2012Sukhāvatīvyūhasūtra (4923)31815.34
Ch.79.IX.7Or.8210/S.1862Sukhāvatīvyūhasūtra (4901)31.2172.52Song Sheng
Ch.79.IX.8Or.8210/S.1982Sukhāvatīvyūhasūtra (5092)30.5205.74Wang Han
Ch.79.IX.9Or.8210/S.1990Sukhāvatīvyūhasūtra (4916)31678.18Zheng Jing
Ch.79.IX.10Or.8210/S.1870Sukhāvatīvyūhasūtra (4906)31.2167.64Piliang
Ch.79.IX.11Or.8210/S.2013Sukhāvatīvyūhasūtra (4924)31.5213.36Song Sheng
Ch.79.IX.12Or.8210/S.1843Sukhāvatīvyūhasūtra (4898)31.2497.74
Ch.79.IX.13Or.8210/S.1836Sukhāvatīvyūhasūtra (4890)31.6599.24
Ch.79.IX.14Or.8210/S.1866Sukhāvatīvyūhasūtra (4902)31213.36Song Sheng
Ch.79.IX.16Or.8210/S.1842Sukhāvatīvyūhasūtra (4897)31.4213.36Ma Feng
Ch.79.IX.17Or.8210/S.1840Sukhāvatīvyūhasūtra (4895)31.2213.36Ma Feng
Ch.79.IX.18Or.8210/S.2014Sukhāvatīvyūhasūtra(4925)31441.96
Ch.79.IX.19Or.8210/S.1872Sukhāvatīvyūhasūtra (4908)31162.46Lu Rixing
Ch.79.IX.20Or.8210/S.1837Sukhāvatīvyūhasūtra (4891)31.8518.16Yao Liang
Ch.79.IX.21Or.8210/S.1868Sukhāvatīvyūhasūtra (4904)31.3213.36Ma Feng
Ch.79.IX.22Or.8210/S.2015Sukhāvatīvyūhasūtra (4926)32167.64Zhang Juanzi
Ch.79.IX.23Or.8210/S.1861Sukhāvatīvyūhasūtra (4900)30.2182.88
Ch.79.IX.24Or.8210/S.1873Sukhāvatīvyūhasūtra (4909)31.5175.26Lu Rixing
Ch.79.IX.25Or.8210/S.2018Sukhāvatīvyūhasūtra (4929)31198.12
Ch.79.IX.26Or.8210/S.1869Sukhāvatīvyūhasūtra (4905)32.2335.28Zhang Juanzi
Ch.79.IX.27Or.8210/S.2017Sukhāvatīvyūhasūtra (4928)30.5162.46
Ch.79.IX.30Or.8210/S.1994Sukhāvatīvyūhasūtra (4920)31731.52
Ch.79.IX.31Or.8210/S.1871Sukhāvatīvyūhasūtra (4907)30.5335.28Lu Bao
Ch.79.IX.32Or.8210/S.1867Sukhāvatīvyūhasūtra (4903)31.3335.28
Ch.79.IX.33Or.8210/S.1874Sukhāvatīvyūhasūtra (4910)30.8213.36Song Sheng
Ch.79.IX.34Or.8210/S.1995Sukhāvatīvyūhasūtra (4921)30.5213.36Song Sheng
Ch.79.IX.35Or.8210/S.1839Sukhāvatīvyūhasūtra (4993)31.5213.36Song Sheng
Ch.79.IX.36Or.8210/S.1841Sukhāvatīvyūhasūtra (4896)31.2198.12Song Sheng
Ch.79.IX.37Or.8210/S.1844Sukhāvatīvyūhasūtra (4899)31.1167.64Fan Zisheng
Table 3

Bundle B: Bundle 3 from case 84 (Ch.84.III).

BUNDLEBL MSS. NO.TITLE (GILES 1957 NO.)HEIGHT/cmWIDTH/cmDATE
Ch.84.III.1Or.8210/S.2686Foshuoxianghaojing 佛說相好經 (5344)198.12
Ch.84.III.2Or.8210/S.1448Mahāprajñāpāramitāsūtra (71)26.5883.92
Ch.84.III.3/4Or.8210/S.1450Buddhanama sutras (4684)27.8266.7
Ch.84.III.5.Or.8210/S.1445Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikāprajñapāramitasūtra (783)26.5441.96
Ch.84.III.6.Or.8210/S.1444Mahāvaipulyamahāsamnipātasūtra (1590)25.4701.047th c.
Ch.84.III.7Or.8210/S.2692Foshuofawangjing 佛說法王經 (5311)822.96
Ch.84.III.8Or.8210/S.1456Saddharmapuṇḍarı̄kasūtra (2818)26952.5676
Ch.84.III.9.Or.8210/S.1446Buddhabhasitamahabhisekarddhidharanisutra (3550)25.9533.4
Ch.84.III.10Or.8210/S.1453Vajracchedikāprajñāpāramitāsūtra (1118)27.2499
Ch.84.III.11Or.8210/S.1447Caturvarga-bhikṣunı̄-prātimokṣa (4197)25.6304.8
Ch.84.III.12Or.8210/S.1457Suvarṇaprabhāsottamarajasūtra (2059)26426.72
Ch.84.III.13Or.8210/S.1458Visesacintabrahmapariprcchasūtra (3683)26.1952.5
Ch.84.III.14Or.8210/S.1449Prajñāpāramitāhṛdayasūtra (1417)27.945.72
Table 4

Bundle C: Bundle 4 from case 80 (Ch.80.IV).

BUNDLEBL MSS NO.TITLE (LVP/GILES/ENOKI CAT. NO.)LANG.FORMATHEIGHT/cmWIDTH/cm
Ch.80.IV.IOL Tib J 1589Aparimitāyurjñāna SūtraTib.scroll
Ch.80.IV.IOL Tib J 384Maṇḍalakramavidhi and Amoghapāśamaṇḍala (LVP 384)Tib.concertina929
Ch.80.IV.IOL Tib J 716Tantric invocations, Vajrayāna (LVP 716)Tib.scroll25158
Ch.80.IV.IOL Tib J 741.1[Not clear that exists]Tib./Ch.scroll26135
Ch.80.IV.IOL Tib J 4521. Suvarṇaprabhāsottamakīrtivarṇana; 2. Anuśayapraṇidhāna?; 3. Amitābhaguṇayogāsana (LVP 452)Tib.concertina930.5
Ch.80.IV.bIOL Tib J 4631. Aṣṭadarśananāmamahāyānasūtra; 2. Aparimitāyurnāmamahāyānasūtra (LVP 463)Tib.concertina928.5
Ch.80.IV.cIOL Tib J 441ĀryasarvabuddhaaṅgavatīnāmadhāraṇīTib.pothi6.221
Ch.80.IV.dIOL Tib J 3371. ĀryaCandanapratimāṅga; 2. Ākāśagarbhahṛdaya; 3. ĀryaAmṛtacakravidhi; 4. BhagavadAvalokiteśvarahṛdaya
5. Namaskāras (LVP 337)		Tib.concertina4.717.8
Ch.80.IV.fIOL Tib J 4601. Aṣṭadarśananāmasūtra; 2. ĀryaKanakavatīnāmadhāraṇī (LVP 460)Tib.concertina8.525.5
Ch.80.IV.gIOL Tib. 741.2Divination text (LVP 741)
Saddharmapuṇḍarı̄kasūtra (Enoki C26)		Tib.scroll26135
Ch.80.IV.hIOL Tib J 748Prognostications for different yearsTib.scroll2696
Ch.80.IV.4Or.8210/S.2554Commentary on a work of the Dharmalaksana School (Giles 5846)Ch.scroll291706.8
Ch.80.IV.5Or.8210/S.5009Prajñāpāramitāsūtra (Giles 1549)Ch.scroll28.145.72
Ch.80.IV.7Or.8210/S.5044Mahāprajñāpāramitāsūtra (Giles 25)Ch.scroll777.24
Ch.80.IV.12Or.8210/S.5013Saddharmapuṇḍarı̄kasūtra (Giles 2312)Ch.scroll25.7840
Ch.80.IV.13Or.8210/S.4640List of Buddhist works (Giles 7903)Ch.scroll30.729.4
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/srah.8 | Journal eISSN: 2753-3697
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Language: English
Submitted on: Mar 5, 2023
|
Accepted on: Nov 3, 2023
|
Published on: Apr 12, 2024
Published by: Ubiquity Press
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Publication frequency: 1 issue per year
Keywords:
Aurel Stein,
Dunhuang,
manuscripts,
Silk Road,
Buddhism

© 2024 Paschalia Terzi, Susan Whitfield, published by Ubiquity Press
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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