A Note On Chinese Texts In Tibetan Transcription

Walter Simon

doi:10.1017/S0041977X00072712

A Note On Chinese Texts In Tibetan Transcription

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 December 2009

Walter Simon

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We witness two kinds of Chinese texts in Tibetan transcription, thosewhich have the Tibetan transcription by the side of the Chinese characters—much as the Japanese syllabic script occurs by the side of theChinese characters—and those which are in Tibetan script only.

Type: Articles
Information: Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies , Volume 21 , Issue 2 , June 1958 , pp. 334 - 343

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0041977X00072712 [Opens in a new window]
Copyright: Copyright © School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London 1958

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References

^{page 334 note 1} ‘Kan-ban taiin senjimon no dankan’ Tōyō Gakuhō, XIII 1923, 390–410.Google Scholar

^{page 334 note 2} JA, XIX, 1912, 584, 589–90.

^{page 334 note 3} BEFEO, XX, 1920, 1–124 ; see particularly pp. 21, 32, 37, 41, 46–50.

^{page 334 note 4} JRAS, 1929, 37–76. The postface of this text (11. 120–8) has also been preserved without the treatise itself. It occurs on the verso of scroll S. 2944 of the Stein Collection. See now Giles, L., Descriptive catalogue of the Chinese manuscripts from Tunhuang in the British Museum (London, 1957)Google Scholar [in the following referred to as ‘Giles, Catalogue’], where it is listed among Unidentified works ‘ (p. 129, No. 4412) and described as ‘An essay on the views of the Mādhyamika School concerning Mahāyānism’.

^{page 334 note 5} JRAS, 1926, 508–26.

^{page 334 note 6} JRAS, 1927, 281–306.

^{page 334 note 7} Under its Chinese title Emitwojing (= Amitābha-sūtra) the Sukhāvatīvyīha heads the list of Buddhistic texts transcribed into Tibetan which are mentioned in the colophon appended to its transcription. See ibid., pp. 282 and 293. See also below, p. 335, n. 6, and p. 336, notes 1 and 3.

^{page 334 note 8} See JRAS, 1926, 312–13 and 509.

^{page 334 note 9} Academia Sinica. The National Research Institute of History and Philology Monographs, Ser. A, No. 12, Shanghai, 1933.

^{page 335 note 1} BSOAS, XII, 3–4, 1948, 753–69.

^{page 335 note 2} ‘A Buddhist Chinese text in Brāhmī script’, ZDMO, XCI, 1937, 1–48.

^{page 335 note 3} ZDMO, XCII, 1938, 579–610. For the Chinese text of these ‘Introductory Prayers’ (chiiching ) to the Vajracchedika-sᚽtra see Zokuzōkyō (Shiuhtzanqjing ), Ser. A, Case 92, Fasc. 2, also ibid., Ser. C, Case 2, Fasc. 2. The prayers also appear in Taishō Tripitaka, Vol. 85, p. 1, col. a, as a reprint of Stein MS S.1846 (Giles, Catalogue, p. 30, No. 1352).

^{page 335 note 4} Inventaire des manuscrits tibétains de Touen-houang conservés à la Bibliothèque Nationale, Vol. I, 1939, and Vol. II, 1950.

^{page 335 note 5} See below, IV (1).

^{page 335 note 6} As is well known, this chapter corresponds to chapter XXIV (Samantamukha-parivarta) of the Sanskrit original. The Chinese title of the Chinese version is included in Tibetan transcription (Kvan 'im kyi [=]) in the Tibetan colophon mentioned p. 334, n. 7.

^{page 335 note 7} See below, IV (2).

^{page 335 note 8} See below, IV (3).

^{page 336 note 1} See Giles, Catalogue, pp. 142–3, Nos. 4821, etc. Professor A. von Gabain, basing herself on Tun-Huang MSS preserved in the Peking National Library, reprinted the Chinese text of this sūtra as an appendix to her edition of its Uigur version (Tüurkische Turfantexte VI. Das buddhistische Sūtra Säkiz Yükmäk, Berlin, 1934, pp. 94–9). The Chinese text is also included in Zokuzōkyō (Shiuhtzanqjing), Ser. C, Case 23, Fasc. 4, and in Taishō Tripitaka, Vol. 85, No. 2897, pp. 1422, etc. The title of the sūtra appears in the Tibetan colophon mentioned above as Par kyi.

Fragments of the Tibetan translation of the sūtra, entitled brgyad ces bya- [or: theg-pa ] mdo, have been preserved in Paris (see Nos. 743–45 [and perhaps also No. 742] of Professor Lalou’s catalogue) and apparently also in Stuttgart (see R. O. Meisezahl, ‘Die tibetischen Handschriften und Drucke des Linden-Museums in Stuttgart’, Tribus. Verōffentlichungen des Linden-Museums, Nr. 7, 1957, p. 43, Sammlung Leder 24,396). The text listed as mDo-man, No. 149 in Professor Lalou’s Catalogue du fonds tibétain de la Bihliothèque Nationale, IV, Fasc. 1, ‘Les Mdo-Mań’, Paris, 1930, pp. 56–7 and ‘Corrections‘ at end, differs from these fragments.

^{page 336 note 2} See below, IV (4).

^{page 336 note 3} See Sino-Indian Studies, v (Liebenthal Festschrift), 1957, 192–9. Perhaps it is this prayer that is referred to in the Tibetan colophon mentioned above under the title Phyogs mtha yas, which might be referring to ‘The uncountable (Buddhas) of the ten directions’ Professor Thomas reconstructed (loc. cit., p. 282) Samanta(ananta) -daśadig. A further Chinese prayer in transcription occurs on the recto of No. 1254, but I have so far not been able to reconstruct it with any certainty.

^{page 336 note 4} See also below, p. 337. The Chinese text has been reprinted in Taishō Tripitaka, Vol. 85, No. 2832, p. 1270. See also Giles, Catalogue, No. 7830 (3).

^{page 336 note 5} See below, IV (5).

^{page 336 note 6} The Chinese text has been reprinted in Taishō Tripitaka, Vol. 85, No. 2830A, p. 1268. See also Giles, Catalogue, No. 6107. The Chinese text is also included in the Paris Tun-Huang collection (Fonds Pelliot Chinois, Touen-houang, No. 3190).

^{page 336 note 7} See below, IV (6).

^{page 336 note 8} See also Asia Major, NS, IV, 1, 1954, 24.

^{page 336 note 9} See below, IV (7).

^{page 336 note 10} This is unfortunately only a short fragment, see below, IV (8).

^{page 336 note 11} The first line of this seven character poem (then ) would seem to correspond to

^{page 336 note 12} See above, p. 335.

^{page 337 note 1} I was able to inspect Professor Thomas’s romanization for a few weeks when I made some brief notes on identified passages. The romanization was, however, recalled by him and sent to Japan so that at present I am unable to make accurate acknowledgments of the parts identified by him and his collaborators.

^{page 337 note 2} See p. 336.

^{page 337 note 3} See above, p. 336.

^{page 337 note 4} See Giles, Catalogue, pp. 204–6.

^{page 338 note 1} loc. cit. (see above, p. 334, n. 1). See also P. Pelliot, JA, XIX, 1912, 588, 590, and F. W. Thomas, ZDMO, XCI, 1937, p. 47, n. 1.

^{page 338 note 2} See Gabain, A. von, Die uigurische Übersetzung der Biographie Hüen-Taangs, Berlin, 1935, 5.Google Scholar

^{page 338 note 3} I wish to exemplify on this final only since the issue is apparently much more complicated in the case of -ing.

^{page 338 note 4} See above, p. 336, and note 3.

^{page 339 note 1} See above, p. 336.

^{page 339 note 2} See above, p. 336, n. 6.

^{page 339 note 3} Taishō Tripitaka, Vol. 85, No. 2830A, p. 1268, col. c, line 23: The corresponding line of the transcription (end of line 28 of the MS) is: tshun bu co źib ‘a pyi.

^{page 339 note 4} Taishō Tripitaka, Vol. 85, No. 2889, p. 1405, col. a, last line of the sūtra: The corresponding line of the transcription (line 67 of the verso of the ‘Long Scroll’) is: .

^{page 340 note 1} Recto, line 107.

^{page 340 note 2} See above, pp. 338–39.

^{page 340 note 3} The character has been used to indicate that no reconstruction has been attempted.

^{page 340 note 4} Apparently mistake for śig owing to śim in line 1. The correct transcription occurs in line 6.

^{page 341 note 1} 5 characters left out, see above, p. 338.

^{page 341 note 2} 24 characters left out, the transcriber jumping to the continuation after the next occurrence of Guanin-shyhin-pwusah.

^{page 341 note 3} The Tibetan transcription has been added at the side of the Chinese characters.

^{page 341 note 4} The common reading is

^{page 342 note 1} sic for tab yvar.

^{page 343 note 1} I am indebted to my colleagues Mr. D. C. Lau and Dr. K. P. K. Whitaker for having jointly suggested these two characters.

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