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On the Authorship of the Old Turkic Inscriptions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2020

CHEN HAO
CHEN HAO*
Affiliation:
Shanghai Jiaotong [email protected]
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Abstract

This article focuses on the authorship of the Kül Tégin and Bilge Kağan inscriptions and manages to reveal the different layers of the text. Through a careful analysis of the Old Turkic inscriptions and the relative Chinese accounts concerning the Türk royal lineage after Bilge Kağan, it concludes that the text on the south side of the Kül Tégin Inscription and the north side of the Bilge Kağan Inscription were narrated by the younger son of Bilge Kağan, Teŋri Teg Teŋride Bolmış Türk Bilge Kağan, in Kaiyuan XXVIII (ca. 740). In that year his elder brother (Teŋri Teg Teŋri Yaratmış Türk Bilge Kağan) passed away, so the Chinese emperor sent envoys to ‘appoint’ him as the new Türk kağan. He took the opportunity of the visit of Chinese delegates led by Li Zhi to ask the Chinese craftsmen to inscribe his words onto his father's memorial. The same text was also inscribed onto the blank side of his uncle's memorial, while inserting a quotation of his father's words.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society , Volume 30 , Issue 4 , October 2020 , pp. 707 - 719
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal Asiatic Society 2020

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Footnotes

This article is based on a chapter of my doctoral dissertation A History of the Second Türk Empire: Through a Combination of the Turkic Inscriptions and Chinese Sources (Free University of Berlin, 2016). Two relevant articles have been published in Chinese. See Chen Hao, 阙特勤碑南面铭文的作者与镌刻年代问题 ‘The Background of the South Side of the Kül Tégin Inscription’, in 学术月刊 Academic Monthly, June 2017, pp. 148-54; Chen Hao, 登利可汗考 ‘Teŋri Teg Teŋri Yaratmış Türk Bilge Kağan and Teŋri Teg Teŋride Bolmış Türk Bilge Kağan’, in 西域研究 The Western Regions Studies 4 (2016), pp. 33-40. 本文是国家社科基金青年项目‘“突厥”的概念史研究’（18CSS001）的阶段性成果。

References

1 For example, Thomsen, V., Inscriptions de l'Orkhon, Déchiffrées MSFOu V. (Helsingfors, 1896)Google Scholar; Radloff, W., Die alttürkischen Inschriften der Mongolei, Lieferung 1-3 (St. Petersburg, 1894-5)Google Scholar; Radloff, W., Die alttürkischen Inschriften der Mongolei. Neue Folge. Nebst einer Abhandlung von W. Barthold: Die historische Bedeutung der alttürkischen Inschriften (St. Petersburg, 1897)Google Scholar; Orkun, H. N., Eski Türk Yazıtları I (Istanbul, 1936)Google Scholar, S.E. Malov (Малов С. Е.), Пам ятники древнетюркской письменности (Москва, 1951); Tekin, T., A Grammar of Orkhon Turkic (Bloomington, 1968)Google Scholar; Berta, A., Szavaimat jól halljátok… A türk és ujgur rovásírásos emlékek kritikai kiadása (Szeged, 2004)Google Scholar; Geng Shimin 耿世民, Gudai tujuewen beiming yanjiu 古代突厥文碑銘研究 (Studies on the Old Turkic Inscriptions) (Beijing, 2005); Alyılmaz, C., Orhun Yazıtlarının Bugünkü Durumu (Ankara, 2005)Google Scholar; Aydın, E., Orhun Yazıtları. (Köl Tegin, Bilge Kağan, Tonyukuk, Ongi, Küli Çor) (Konya, 2012)Google Scholar; and Ölmez, M., Orhon-Uygur Hanlığı Dönemi Moğolistan'daki Eski Türk Yazıtları. Mertin-Çeviri-Sözlük (Ankara, 2013, the first edition was published in 2012)Google Scholar.

2 Mau-tsai, Liu, Die chinesischen Nachrichten zur Geschichte der Ost-türken (T'u-Küe) (Wiesbaden, 1958)Google Scholar.

3 Radloff, Die alttürkischen Inschriften der Mongolei, pp. 4-31; Thomsen, Inscriptions, pp. 97-121.

4 Tekin, A Grammar of Orkhon Turkic, pp. 261-263.

5 For the transliteration, transcription and translation of the Old Turkic text, cf. Chen Hao, A History of the Second Türk Empire. The parallel text on the north side of the Bilge Kağan Inscription is as follows: 1 I, Teŋri Teg Teŋride Bolmış Türk Bilge Kağan, have ascended the throne at this moment. My words shall be clearly heard by all my brothers and sons, by my united tribes and people, by the chiefs of Şadapıt in the south and the chiefs of Tarkat Buyruk in the north, and by the chiefs and people of Otuz Tatar and Tokuz Oğuz. You should listen carefully to my words and keep them in mind. All the people who live in the east towards the sunrise, 2 in the south towards midday, in the west towards the sunset and in the north towards midnight, look up to me. I put all these people in order. Now they are not evil. If the Türk kağan lives in Ötüken, there will be no sorrow in the country. I campaigned eastwards as far as the Shandong Plain and almost reached the sea. I campaigned southwards as far as Tokuz 3 Ersin and almost reached Tibet. I campaigned westwards, crossing the Yinčü River, as far as the Iron Gate. I campaigned northwards as far as the land of the Bayırku. I marched to all these places. There is no better place than the Ötüken mountain forest. It is the place to take hold of the country. Settling down in this place, I was on equal terms with the Chinese people. They gave [us] immeasurable quantities of gold, silver and silk. 4 The words of the Chinese people were sweet and their treasures were fine [lit. soft]. With sweet words and fine treasures they brought the distant people near. After [they] had settled nearby, [the Chinese] conceived evil thoughts [in their hearts]. They did not let the truly wise men and truly brave men succeed (lit. to walk, march). If one man committed a crime, [the Chinese] would not spare his clan, his relatives or even his children. 5 Having been deceived by their sweet words and fine treasures, many Türk people died. You Türk people were dying. If you said “I shall settle down in the southern Çuğay Mountain and the Ordos Plain”, you would be in danger of dying. The evil men [i.e. the Chinese] tempted you [by saying]: “If [you are] faraway, I will give you inferior things; if [you are] nearby, I will give you superior things.” This is how they tempted you. 6 The unwise believed [lit. took] these words [at face value] and drew near; many people died. By going to that place, you Türk people came close to death! If you settle in Ötüken and dispatch envoys and caravans, there will be no kind of sorrow. If you live in the Ötüken mountain forest, you will take hold of the everlasting country. Türk people, you are people thinking you are [always] well-fed. You do not think that there will be [both] hunger and fullness. Once full, you do not think about being hungry. Because you are like this, 7 you did not accept the orders of your kağan who had fed you, and you fled in every direction. All of you were tired and exhausted. The people who remained had [scattered] everywhere; they all became weak and died. Because of the mandate of Teŋri and because I myself had the good fortune, I became kağan. Having become kağan, I collected all the poor people together. I made the poor people rich. I enlarged the population. 8 Is there anything wrong with my words? Türk officials and people, listen to this! I have inscribed on this [stone] how you Türk people came together and held the country. I have also inscribed on this [stone] how you erred and died. Whatever words I had, I have inscribed them on this everlasting stone. You, the present Türk officials and people, should read this inscription and comprehend it! Will you officials, who looked up to the royal throne, misbehave [again]? … Türk people, as long as you don't leave this kağan, those officials and this country, 14 you will look after yourselves well, you will return home, you will become [the people who have] no sorrows. … Then I sent for all the painters from the Chinese emperor. He did not refuse my request. He dispatched his imperial painters. I let them build a gorgeous shrine. I let them paint gorgeous frescoes both on the inside and on the outside of the shrine. I let them make an inscription. I let them engrave my heartfelt words [onto the stone]. … 15 [You, the people,] including the linear descendants and collateral branches of the On Ok, you should read and comprehend this inscription! I let them establish this everlasting inscription. … I let someone write it down. You should read and comprehend it well! This stone and shrine…

6 For example, cf. Thomsen, V., ‘Alttürkishe Inschriften aus der Mongolei‘, Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft (ZMDG) 78 (1924), p. 127Google Scholar. It was originally published in Danish: ‘Gammel-tyrkiske indskrifter fra Mongoliet i oversaettelse og med indledning’, Samlede Afhandlinger III (København, 1922), pp. 465-516. The German translation was carried out by H. H. Schaeder. Ross, E. D. also translated it into English, as ‘The Orkhon Inscriptions: being a translation of Professor Vilhelm Thomsen's final Danish rendering’, BSOS 5, 4 (1930), pp. 861-876CrossRefGoogle Scholar, and ‘The Tonyukuk Inscription: being a translation of Professor Vilhelm Thomsen's final Danish rendering’, BSOS 6, 1 (1930), pp. 37-43Google Scholar.

7 About the campaign towards Iron Gate in the reign of Élteriş Kağan, cf. T. 18-19, 44-45; as to the reign of Kapğan Kağan, cf. K. E. 17-18.

8 It is true that Bilge Kağan also blamed the Chinese for being tricky and deceitful (cf. B. E. 6), but the historical context was the time of his forefathers, not his own time.

9 Concerning the Türk conflict with the Kıtañ and-Tatabı, cf. B. S. 7-8; Jiu Tangshu, (eds.) Liu Xu et al. (Zhonghua Publishing House, 1975), 103: 3199; ZZTJ 213: 6801-2.

10 Accounts of the issue of the Türk-Tang marriage are scattered in the biography of the Türks in Xin Tangshu, (eds.) Ouyang Xiu et al. (Zhonghua Publishing House, 1975) (hereafter XTS), and in Jiu Tangshu, (eds.) Liu Xu et al. (Zhonghua Publishing House, 1975) (hereafter JTS).

11 B. S. 11.

12 XTS 215a: 6054, JTS 194a: 5177.

13 The Chinese delegates were sent off at the end of Kaiyuan XXII. JTS 8: 202; JTS 194a: 5177; XTS 215b: 6054.

14 Earlier scholars have also partly correctly pointed out that Teŋri Teg Teŋri Yaratmış Türk Bilge Kağan should be identified with Yiran Kağan in the Chinese sources, but they did not try to figure out the relationship between Yiran Kağan and Dengli Kağan. For example, cf. Thomsen, ‘Alttürkishe Inschriften aus der Mongolei’, p. 128.

15 JTS 194a: 5177; XTS 215b: 6054. The reconstruction of Early Modern Chinese follows Pulleyblank, Edwin G., Lexicon of Reconstructed Pronunciation in Early Middle Chinese, Late Middle Chinese, and Early Mandarin (Vancouver, 1991)Google Scholar.

16 Zhang Jiuling ji jiaozhu, (ed.) Xiong Fei (Zhonghua Publishing House, 2008), p. 627. See the Chinese side of the Bilge Kağan inscription, Cen Zhongmian 岑仲勉, Tujue Jishi 突厥集史 (A Compilation of Chinese Sources on Early Turks) (Beijing, 1958), p. 841.

17 JTS 194a: 5177. The ‘appointment’ by the Chinese envoy should be understood as a ‘recognition’, because the Türk Empire was still an independent regime.

18 The original text is as follows: Yiran Kağan stayed on the throne for eight years and passed away. He dispatched three delegations to China in total. His younger brother ascended the throne and was known as Bilge Qutluğ Kağan. General Li Zhi was sent by the emperor to appoint him as Dengli Kağan. XTS 215b: 6054. The element ‘qutluğ’ was an unofficial addition to the Türk kağan titles. For example, Élteriş Kağan's title in Chinese is also ‘qutluğ’ and Kapğan Kağan's title in the Chinese sources is also recorded as “Qutluğ Mochuo Grand Qağan” (Cen, Tujue Jishi, p. 809).

19 Pelliot, P., ‘Neuf notes sur des questions d'Asie Centrale. “VI. L'inscription chinoise de Bilgä qaɣan”, T'oung Pao (TP) XXVI (1929), pp. 239-241Google Scholar.

20 Cen, Tujue Jishi, pp. 232-240.

21 Zongzhen, Xue 薛宗正, A History of the Tujue 突厥史 (Beijing, 1992), p. 572Google Scholar, Zongzhen, Xue, ‘A New Study of the Chart of the Clan Relations of the Tujue khans’ 突厥可汗譜系新考, Journal of Xinjiang University 26, 4 (1998), p 45Google Scholar.

22 JTS 194a: 5177, XTS 215b: 6054.

23 XTS 215b: 6054.

24 Pelliot counted in the European way and said there were was six years (cf. Pelliot, ‘Neuf Notes’, pp. 230-1).

25 JTS 194a: 5177.

26 B. N. 1-2, K. S. 1-3.

27 B. N. 3, K. S. 3-4.

28 B. N. 4-6, K. S. 5-8.

29 B. N. 7-8, 14-15, K. S. 9-13.

30 JTS 194a: 5177-8, XTS 215b: 6054, ZZTJ 214: 6844.

31 ZZTJ 214: 6844, JTS 9: 213, Cefu Yuangui (hereafter CFYG) (Jiangsu, 2006), 975: 11288. Bing-yin. CFYG recorded the news as arriving in the 4th month. Here we should follow the date recorded in JTS and ZZTJ.

32 On the asynchronous character of the medieval world and the time differences between the Old Turkic inscriptions and the Chinese sources, cf. Hao, Chen, ‘A Study on the Chronology of Old Turkic Inscriptions’, Central Asiatic Journal 61, 2 (2018), pp. 313-22Google Scholar.

33 These words of Bilge Kağan might have been left by him in his last hours/days.

34 The formulation “my father, the kağan” and “my uncle, the kağan” can be seen in K. E. 12, 15, 16, 17 and 25.

35 K. E. 2, 15, 18; B. E. 3, 13 and 16.

36 After Kaiyuan III (ca. 715), the Türgiş kağan was Sulu. According to the Chinese sources, Sulu married three wives, one of whom was a Türk princess. (cf. JTS 194b: 5192) In the Kül Tégin Inscription, Bilge Kağan mentioned the Türgiş kağan as being his son-in-law, when talking about representatives at Kül Tégin's funeral. (cf. K. N. 13)

37 JTS 194a: 5177; XTS 215b: 6054.

38 B. S. 11 and S. W.

39 JTS 194a: 5177.

40 It is noteworthy that Bilge Kağan lost one of his sons in the war against the Tatabı-Tang alliance. Cf. B. S. 9.