Dated Chinese Manuscripts in the Stein Collection VI. Tenth Century (A. D.

947-995)
Author(s): Lionel Giles
Source: Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol. 11,
No. 1 (1943), pp. 148-173
Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of School of Oriental and African Studies
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/609211
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Dated Chinese Manuscripts in the Stein Collection
By LIONELGILES
VI. TENTHCENTURY(A.D. 947-995)
THE dated documents belonging to this last half-century of the
Stein Collection are more numerous than ever, but also for the
most part scrappy and fragmentary. There are very few Buddhist
canonical texts, but a considerable variety of miscellaneous prayers,
eulogies, certificates, letters, contracts, calendars, inventories, and so
forth. The general impression one obtains is of a period of gradually
increasing poverty and political unrest, in which the civilization
introduced by the Chinese is seriously threatened, and Buddhism,
though still maintaining its position as the dominant religion, has
greatly degenerated since the palmy days of the early T'ang dynasty.
The three specimens of printing which are included all belong to
the middle of the century, and are noticeably inferior to those dated
70 or 80 years earlier which I have discussed in a previous article.
On the other hand, the appearance of several booklets points to the
eventual supersession of the long roll, whether manuscript or printed,
by the more convenient form of book consisting of leaves fastened
together. All the booklets of the Tunhuang collection, including the
five dated specimens, have single leaves with writing on both sides
like our own books; the next stage of development was to be the
doubling of the leaves so that their inner sides are necessarily left
blank. Such a type of book may already have been evolved in other
parts of China, but doubtless the scarcity of good thin paper in remote
districts like Tunhuang would in any case have operated against the
adoption of this new method.
The latest date found on any of the MSS. is A.D. 995, but it is
quite possible that out of such a large collection some may have
been written a few years later. We do not know exactly when the
great hoard was walled up in the secret chamber where it was to
remain hidden and forgotten until the beginning of the twentieth
century; but presumably it was some time before the invasion of
the country by the Hsi-hsia, which took place in 1035. At any rate
we can be certain that these manuscripts cover just about 600 years-
a stretch of time comparable to that which has elapsed between the
battle of Crecy and the present day.

A.D. 947 (LATER HAN).

P. 8. This is a printed prayer-sheet, with a woodcut of * ]i
Iylti F4 :X 3E "The Celestial King (Devaraja) the Very Holy
 DATED CHINESE MANUSCRIPTS IN THE STEIN COLLECTION 149

Vaigramana" and inscription beneath: ;I t *_C eI t W pq X

SE A Xi T-- A it
3 jf&i fg * I; *: E4S%I

t *Pffi t
EPA xE k Ba AS
M X5 EP Ci e mA
* eE F 0t
wN Xa 0 * +
* W -PC0 T0*
X- [ * T * A -t JI Fi El e $ "0 Most Holy
Vaisramana, Devaraja of the Northern Quarter, who commandest
all the various classes of demons and spirits under Heaven! May
those of us, thy followers, who can make their devotions and prayers
to thee in respectful humility of heart, be all rewarded with happiness
and prosperity. The disciple Ts'ao Yiian-chung of Ch'iao-chiin,
Governor of the military district of Kuei-i, specially promoted
additional Grand Preceptor, having requested the artificer to carve
this block for printing, now prays that the country may enjoy peace
and its inhabitants prosper, that the spirits of land and grain may
continually flourish, that the highways may be safe, and that peace
and comfort may prevail in every clime.-Recorded on the 15th
of the 7th moon of ting-wei, the 4th year of K'ai-yiin in the Great
Chin dynasty " [4th August, 947]. The first emperor of a new dynasty
was proclaimed in the 2nd moon, and in the 6th moon the name was
changed from Chin to Han. But the news may not have reached
Tunhuang until much later. The woodcut, depicting Vaisramana and
attendants, has been reproduced in Serindia, plate C (ch. 00158),
and is fully described in Binyon's Catalogueof Japanese and Chinese
Woodcuts in the British Museum, p. 579, no. 14. The prayer is
rather faintly and unevenly printed on a sheet of coarse buff paper,
55-5 x 32 cm.

947 (LATER HAN).

P. 9. Another printed prayer-sheet, hand-coloured, showing Kuan
Yin with lotus and vase [see Serindia, pl. CIII (ch. 00185a.); Japanese
and Chinese Woodcuts, p. 579, no. 10]. To the right of the picture
we read: ~ ~ fifit a: * "Made by
order of Ts'ao Yiian-chung, Governor of the military district of
Kuei-i and additional Grand Preceptor." To the left: k* t0 C
eP ,: ~ : t~ ~ ~ ~ "The Greatly Merciful, Greatly Com-
passionate Rescuer from suffering, the Bodhisattva Kuan Yin."
7- of ] -
And below: tpi A aII Te
WZ [dWi]

a t ) + ? H e E A X M E "The disciple
150 L. GILES-

Ts'ao Yiian-chung, Governor of the military district of Kuei-i,

Inspector for Kua-chou and Sha-chou, Commissioner for the
distribution of military land allotments within the sphere of his
jurisdiction, and for the suppression of Tibetan tribes, specially
promoted additional Grand Preceptor, inaugural Marquis of Ch'iao-
chiin, ordered this block to be carved for printing, to the end that
the city god may enjoy peace and prosperity, that the whole prefecture
may be tranquil, that the highways leading east and west may remain
open, that evil-doers north and south may be reformed, that diseases
may disappear, that the sound of the war-gong may no longer be
heard, that pleasure may attend both eye and ear, and that all may
be steeped in happiness and good fortune.-Recorded on the 15th
of the 7th moon of ting-wvei,the 4th year of K'ai-yiin in the Great
Chin dynasty [4th August, 947]. Artificer: Lei Yen-mei." Here we
have the name of the actual block-cutter. To him belongs the honour,
wrongly accorded by Mr. Carter to 3E * Wang Chieh (see under
A.D. 868), of being " the first printer of books of whom the world has
record ". For Ts'ao Yiian-chung and other members of the ruling
family, see BSOS. VII, pp. 569 et seq. Of the ;J 4-, which I have
translated "war-gong", the Tz'ui Yuan says: t fj ,
J] A
u~ Z j3 ~ ^ ~i [j ; YX X _[
A "An instrument
used of old by armies on the march. It was sounded by night in
order to warn the troops or to announce the hour, like our watch-
drums." It also quotes a commentary on the Han shu: -J - JJ,
it A * - +- X A t ; :A ] f " The tiao-to was a
vessel made of bronze, holding one tou; in the daytime it was used
for cooking, at night it was beaten to guide troops on the march."
The print is mounted on a piece of coarse thick paper already inscribed
with cyclical characters, etc., measuring 46 x 26-5 cm.

948 (LATER HAN).

S. 2687. A document recording the presentation to the 5 ~
" cave-temples in the valley of the Tang River " [i.e. the Ch'ien-fo-tung
or Caves of the Thousand Buddhas near Tunhuang] of 7~ , X
fT S rh -- { "a wrapper for sutras, embroidered in a great variety
of colours ", made by Madame T Ti, consort of Ts'ao Yiian-chung,
on the 19th of the lth moon of the ting-wei year, the 13th [really
the 12th] of T'ien-fu in the Great Han dynasty [2nd January, 948].
Another similar presentation is dated 964. T'ien-fu, after having
been replaced by K'ai-yiin in its 9th year (944), was resumed for one
year only in 947 by the first emperor of the Later Han. This is a
mediocre MS. on coarse paper, 30 x 43 cm.
 DATED CHINESE MANUSCRIPTS IN THE STEIN COLLECTION 151

948 (LATER HAN).

S. 1907. This roll consists of two distinct parts: first, the
apocryphal sutra %f & 5 e J?, X Fo shuo fu mu en chung
ching, a very good MS., though somewhat damaged, on dark yellowish
paper; secondly, in a different hand on smooth light buff paper,
part of a sftra of the Prajna-paramita class. This was left unfinished,
and is immediately followed by a note or colophon in an unformed
hand, written from left to right: rj S [for 1] - T J j ?
_Xji -
_UtEit#9 LP, t ft a a 6 +,WI a -
J_E f [for e] V J[a " On the 27th of the 12th moon
of the ting-wei year, the 3rd of K'ai-yiin, Hai-ch'iian, a priest of the
Pao-en Monastery, with pious intent recited the Fu mu en chung
ching in one chiian, firstly in order to requite the four kinds of
bounty ... ". Ting-wei was really the 4th year of K'ai-yiin; assuming
that the cyclical date is correct, it works out as the 9th February, 948.
The four kinds of bounty flow from (1) one's parents; (2) the
sovereign; (3) all living beings; (4) the Triratna. The total length
of the roll is about 52 feet.

948 (LATER HAN).

S. 4300. Confession and prayer, with Buddhanama: an indifferent
MS. on coarse buff paper, 4 feet long. Colophon: ) iM + E tR
A j EI El 4" i P)] i 0 ~it X i " Recorded
by the Vinaya Master Pao-yiian of the Chin-kuang-ming Monastery
on the 20th of the 4th moon of mou-shen, the 14th year of
T'ien-fu" [31st May, 948]. Again the cyclical date does not agree,
but is more likely to be correct.

949 (LATERHAN).
S. 4398. A letter from the "newly created" Chieh-tu-shih of
Kuei-i Chiin, Ts'ao Yiian-chung, stamped with his official seal,
accompanying a donation of ten pounds of sal ammoniac (;J ati _
4j- FJ), to be delivered by i A jX Liang Tsai-t'ung, an officer in
of
charge infantry training (? g * j),4 and others. Dated in
the 5th moon of the 14th year of T'ien-fu [June, 949]. The recipient
is not mentioned, but was doubtless some Buddhist community.
On the back, written in two different hands, is part of a commentary
on the Diamond Sitra.

949 (LATER HAN).

P. 11. lf]
WIJ h g: g Chin kang pan jo po lo mi ching.
This was a printed copy of the Diamond Sutra in thirty-two chapters
(see BSOS., X, p. 319), but all that remains is chapter 1, chapter 2
152 L. GILES-

(incomplete), and chapter 32 (end only, beginning with the famous

gatha on the impermanence and unreality of phenomena). These are
preceded by a short introduction and dharan.i. At the end are three
further series of dharani and a colophon: 7 - of t Si
Ls 4bm t % iff
fl* 9P S* i t; 1t 1 +W7
E
* X X t XX + i: $ e N ji + i
F] 4, d 4K q > [~ ~] E " Universally distributed for the
maintenance of faith by the disciple Ts'ao Yiian-chung, chieh-tu-shih
of the military district of Kuei-i, specially promoted additional Grand
Preceptor, Imperial Censor and inaugural Marquis of Ch'iao-chiin.
Recorded on the 15th day of the 5th moon of chi-yu, the 15th year
of T'ien-fu [14th June, 949]. Block-cutter: the ya-ya ... Lei Yen-
mei ". Chi-yu corresponds to 949, and the 15th year of T'ien-fu
(really the 3rd of Ch'ien-yu) to 950. I think the cyclical date is more
likely to be correct. A ya-ya was a subordinate officer attached to
the chieh-tu-shih. The first two characters of Lei Yen-mei's name are
partly torn away, but there is no doubt about the reading. This man,
described as a simple "artificer" two years earlier, had evidently
been promoted in the interval. An interesting feature of this block-
print is that it appears not in the form of a roll but as a booklet of
eight pages, measuring 14 x 10 cm. Two other copies (F.P. 4515,
containing ch. 30-32, and F.P. 4516, ch. 1-2) are in the Paris Collection.

949 (LATER HAN).

S. 518. A short imperial edict confirming Ts'ao Yiian-chung in his
title of chieh-tu-shihand fixing his income. This is dated the 22nd of
the 8th moon of ping-wu, the 14th year of T'ien-fu in the Great Han
dynasty, which must be the 17th September, 949, as ping-wu fell in
946, before the Later Han dynasty began, and is evidently a mistake.
The document is in large bold handwriting on a sheet of coarse buff
paper.

950 (LATER HAN).

S. 3393. On the back of this roll, containing a complete copy of
3E X !, N Wangfan chih shih, the didactic poem by the Brahmacarin
Wang (see BSOS., X, p. 336), there are numerous scribblings, including
the date " 18th of the 2nd moon of Ch'ien-yu " [9th March, 950].

951 (LATER CHOU).

S. 3879. An exhortation by a bishop or metropolitan of the
Buddhist Church to the monks and nuns of his diocese, in a bold
running hand. It is dated the 4th of the 4th moon of the 4th year
of Ch'ien-yu [12th May, 951], and stamped with three impressions of
 DATED CHINESE MANUSCRIPTS IN THE STEIN COLLECTION 153

iJi
a large red seal: inj f t E ~P " Seal of the Bishop of Ho-hsi ".
Other notes follow, and part of a commentary is written on the back.

952 (LATER CHOU).

S. 5860. The remains of a bag made of paper that had been used
for writing. On one side is the end of an official statement (%) dated
in the 5th moon of the 2nd year of Kuang-shou [May-June, 952].

953 (LATER CHOU).

S. 466. An agreement by which the brothers | E ~i Lung
Chang-yu and " tf i Lung Yu-ting of ~ ; ~ Mo-kao Hsiang
mortgage their landed estate, comprising 2 EtJch'i 2 a mou, to the
ya-ya g ,4 J Lo Ssi-chao. Dated the 22nd of the 10th moon of
the 3rd year of Kuang-shou [1st December, 953]. Either party failing
to keep the agreement must forfeit ten camel-loads of green wheat.
At the end appear the names and " brushmarks" of the two owners
of the land (the younger brother coming first), the mortgagee, and
two witnesses, namely the latter's father, the ya-ya i ] I Lo
An-chin, and a monk, the i # fa-lii j-s f Fu-hai.-At the present
day, 6-6 mou go to an acre, and 50 mou = 1 ch'i.
954 (LATERCHOU).
S. 4472. This roll contains two sets of religious poems or gathas,
the second entitled -+- f, %I "Ten stanzas on kindness and
compassion ", and a testamentary epistle (j #) by the monk e 0
Yiin-pien, also called J;e Iii "the
t Great Teacher of the Round
Mirror", who died on the 24th July, 951. There is a concluding note
by one Li Yuan } }5, dated in the 1st year of Hsien-te [954]. On
the back is a long list of donors and their donations for the funeral
of the daughter-in-law of Chang Yu-tzu ( j- S a
ifc
W).
954 (LATER CHOU).
S. 4689. Fragment of a letter written by j ^ Yiian-tea on behalf
of his fellow monks (~ ^), with spaces left for their names at the
end, and dated the 1st of the 1st moon of the 1st year of Hsien-te
[6th February, 954]. Attached to it is a paper label, showing that
it was afterwards used as a wrapping: i ^ff -F * X
" Pen ch'i recited 500 Hsiieh
-~ 4 c ching, etc., by disciples. [a
library mark, in red]."
955 (LATER CHOU).
S. 5572 is a booklet of twenty-three leaves, 14 x 15 cm., containing
a collection of eulogies (X) in verse and prayers for recitation in the
154 L. GILES-

temple. The first three leaves, as well as the last, have been almost
entirely torn away, and some of the others are heavily but unevenly
stained with a dark brown dye. On f. 7 r?, which is otherwise blank,
there has been inserted a note in a minute hand: . X ~ -
f * E Z4_P a X A ;) - ] B " 6th day of the
3rd moon of the 3rd year of Hsien-te [19th April, 956]. Copying
recorded on the 2nd day of the 8th moon of the i-mao year " [22nd
August, 955]. One hardly knows what to make of this, unless the
" 3rd year " is a mistake for the 2nd year. Or the cyclical date might
be wrong, though that is less likely.

956 (LATER CHOU).

S. 95. fi - $ j K S H "Annotated
Calendar for ping-ch'en, the 3rd year of Hsien-te" [A.D. 956], with
introductory matter. e ,-I
ft: , * f -?i g _?
"Compiled and submitted by the teng-shih-lang, Headmaster of the
Departmental School, and Doctor of Letters, Ti Feng-ta ". At the
end is a note: A]
' b : - 8 3C . " Copied, examined and
revised. Written out by the apprentice Ti Wen-chin ". Teng-shih-lang
was a title of honour for civilians, instituted under the Sui dynasty
and involving no special functions. During the Ch'ing dynasty it
denoted those of the 9th grade, 1st class.-This is one of the two
complete calendars in the Collection: it comprises 354 days in all,
there being no intercalary moon. The introductory portion includes
a diagram of colours [cf. S. 612, A.D. 978], and gives information
on this and a number of other points. There is also a table showing
the location of the human spirit or vital principle on each day of the
month: on the 1st, it is in the great toe; on the 2nd, in the ankle;
on the 3rd, in the thigh; on the 4th, in the waist; on the 5th, in the
mouth; on the 6th, in the little finger; and so on. Wherever it
happens to be, no blood-letting by means of acupuncture or cautery
should take place in that particular part of the body (;t 4: A i0
WiE ;; Z ] ;F X X * M jfIL). This warning is repeated at the
end of the roll. In the calendar itself, every seventh day is marked
with the character 3 mi (Mithras). After the designation in cyclical
characters and the specification of " element ", each day is followed
by a list of activities for which it would be propitious. Among such
activities we find- k iE sacrificing, j - getting married, I[ *
J, E cutting one's finger-nails and toe-nails, 1]JF-j shaving one's
head, ] * sweeping the house, S6 I taking drugs, $ A buying
in the market, a )f repairing wells, jj 9j curing disease, g 3
conducting a funeral, and many others of more obscure import.
At intervals, a day will be marked simply : or %J(stars forming
 DATED CHINESE MANUSCRIPTS IN THE STEIN COLLECTION 155

part of the Northern Dipper) or X # (special days on which God

is supposed to pardon sins). On the back of the roll, and covering
nearly its entire length of 73 feet, are devotional texts in Tibetan.
The paper is coarse and thick, and mounted on a roller.

958 (LATER CHOU).

S. 196. Fragment of a letter accompanying the transmission of
an imperial decree dated in the 2nd moon of the 5th year of Hsien-te
[February-March, 958].

958 (LATERCHOU).
S. 2241. A letter from j X the princess Chiin-che-ch
e e
to her friend 4 L-t JA 1 :
-
7-- the lady of the North
House, the young mistress Ssu-k'ung. The writer is about to start
on a journey, and begs her correspondent to acquire merit for her
by lighting a lamp in the Zoroastrian temple (-kJ 9 A
j
;X e 9 l m{
f M
Ji a a l); but on the principle of
-
"keeping her powder dry ", she also asks for an escort of soldiers
Yi
(X X1 : E J: ?i a 4I [for R]). This docu-
ment was patched at the back with three small fragments, of which
the second bears the date " 3rd moon of the 5th year of Hsien-te"
[March-April, 958].

958 (LATER CHOU).

S. 1776. Fragments of two inventories of articles for religious and
domestic use belonging to a monastery, similar to S. 1774 (see BSOS.,
X, p. 341). The first is torn at the end, and bears a date: the 13th
of the llth moon of mou-wu,the 5th year of [Hsien-]te [25th December,
958]. The second, in a different hand, is incomplete at both ends.
Among the articles used for worship we may note: j f*
1 bronze bell (hung on a pole); p f -Tf 1 bronze ladle; :k
V iff [ 1 large silver-splashed banner; f; ~ J ? , a six-
leaved "Buddha " screen; t ] i_IJ]
lg A a pair of "coiled-
dragon" umbrellas embroidered in green; )4 {lf g e -e
16 rolls of the Ta fo ming ching (Buddhanama Sfitra); 1 large sfitra-
table (in the temple). And among the domestic articles: fi ~
f! 2 sheepskin rugs; J t ; figg : fiX 5 new white square-
shaped rugs; H ft - {SF f 1 embroidered mat (in cupboard);
* 4J' e' i l PI [El E 4 t 11 jars, large and small
(three in the north store-room); ; e 1 red bowl. On the back
are memoirs of ,L , Hung-jen and , f Hui-neng, the 5th and
6th Buddhist patriarchs of the T'ang dynasty.
156 L. GILES-

959 (LATER CHOU).

S. 527. This interesting document, written on a piece of soft
whitish paper about 2 feet long, sets forth the aims and objects of
a woman's club which was established on the 3rd day of the 1st moon
of chi-wei, the 6th year of Hsien-te [13th February, 959]. It opens
with a eulogy of friendship in general: X m : J

"Our parents give us life, but friends enhance its value: they sustain
us in time of danger, rescue us from calamity. In dealing with friends,
a single word may serve as a bond of faith ". On feast days, the
members of this mutual benefit society are each to contribute 1 -.
ko (that is, the tenth of a f sheng or pint) of oil, 1 Ji chin or pound
of white flour, and 1 #g tou or gallon of wine; and on the day in the
first moon set apart for " the establishment of merit " ( t ji- E ),
1 tou of wine and 1 bowl of lamp-oil. Much stress is laid on the
maintenance of discipline: P A fd: a
; A [for . ?] k* +J I
i IE JR A? E M [for e ?] * T JI A I 4f f4P A
d:a PORq It ~ - " "If in the club there is anyone who
disregards precedence (?) in small things and great, in unruly fashion
creates disturbance at a feast, and will not obey the verbal instructions
of her superior, then all the members shall repair to the Gateway and
fine her enough wine-syrup for a whole feast ". We have seen from
the club circulars discussed in BSOS., IX, p. 1039, that the favourite
meeting-place was at the gate of some monastery. Ir $ " hubbub
and fisticuffs " (if my conjecture is right) is a delightful expression
for brawling, though of course it is regrettable that a club composed
of women, most of whom appear to be nuns, should stand in need
of such an admonition. But this sounds still worse: ff ji:
2t t ` AJ [for
I ?] at A n
"Any person wishing to leave
the Club shall be sentenced to three strokes with the bamboo "-in
addition to the inevitable fine. The names of fifteen members follow
(including four office-bearers), each with a distinctive brush-mark:
these are executed in so clumsy a fashion as to leave little doubt that
none of them could write. The document concludes with a note in
which it is stated that the rules are designed to be as suitable for
members as water is for fish (- - T $ A 7 *u A.i); that they
are to swear by the hills and streams, with the sun and moon as
witnesses (ill fi A B
Efl XS ); and that as a precaution
against bad faith these rules have been written down to serve as
a memorandum for those who come after (? A 1[ P ajf if f
A * le, 4).
 DATED CHINESE MANUSCRIPTS IN THE STEIN COLLECTION 157

959 (LATER CHOU).

S. 5463. g a _ O11l K'ai meng yao hsiin, 1 ch. This is the end
portion only of the children's primer discussed in Vol. IX, p. 1024,
contained in a booklet of three leaves. Colophon: X X fij $
+ - J + i:L B H k $ i L "[Copied by] the
hsiieh-lang [...] at the Ta-yiin [Great Cloud] Monastery on the 15th
of the 12th moon of the 5th year of Hsien-te " [26th January, 959].
On the last page is the title 4 j -- "Miscellaneous characters
in 1 vol.", which fairly expresses the scope of the work.

961 (SUNG).
S. 2974. A short letter from the chieh-tu-shihTs'ao [Yiian-chung]
to the abbot of the temple of J gI h&i S R| Pindola-bharadvaja
on a Xll Mt. Chi-tsu in the south-west, asking that prayers may
be offered for his deceased father, King of Tunhuang (i.e. Ts'ao
I-chin). It is dated in the 2nd moon of the 2nd year of Chien-lung
[June-July, 961] and stamped with a large red seal: "Newly cast
seal of the Chieh-tu-shih of Kuei-i Chiin." Pindola-bharadvaja was
the first of the Sixteen Arhats, popularly known as the Old Man of
the Mountains.-This is a fairly good, clear MS.; on the other side
of the sheet is a more carelessly written note on the reception of
sila. Chien-lung is the first Sung nien-hao, but in the letter we find
k Ji fI i Wj " Sha-chou in the Great Chou Realm ", although the
Chou dynasty was extinguished in the 1st moon of 960.

964 (SUNG).
S. 2142. A clearly written list of Buddhist sftras and a few other
canonical works preserved in a certain monastery, giving the number
of bundles for each. One bundle, it may be noted, always consists
of ten rolls. We are told that owing to the lack of a catalogue the
number of items had previously been unknown. There is also the
following note at the end: , eX ~
_? * - ~A k
:
Ie p-f l t *X^t^^tH - t4a j I E -B a

_%* & inMP

a H S em OR* fAmR* *
"The above make a total of 106 bundles of miscellaneous
sutras and sixty bundles of the Ta pan jo. On the 23rd day of the
4th moon of chia-tzu, the 2nd year of Ch'ien-te of the Great T'ang
[sic] dynasty [6th June, 964] the Keeper of Sutras and Dean, Hui-yen,
and the fa-li Hui-tz'u examined the two sets of the Ta pan jo ching
and found several imperfections which they have not yet been able
to make good. On the same day the fa-ll Hai-ch'iian asked permission
158 L. GILES-

to deposit the Tafo ting liieh chou pen in 1 roll, and the fa-lii Hui-tz'u
asked permission to deposit a small-character copy of the Tsui sheng
wang ching in two rolls (to be reckoned as one set) ". *C J) is a
curious slip for k:* "great Sung." Verso: (1) a list of characters
from the first bundle of the ;C ~ gg Ta pao chi ching. (2) A
memorandum of the contents of the rolls in bundle no. 11. Apparently
this does not refer to the list r?. The MS. is on light buff paper, about
44 feet long.

964 (SUNG).
S. 532. Three sila certificates (t Jc, cf. Vol. IX, p. 20) given by
the officiating priest A 1 Tao-chen at the San-chieh Monastery to
(1) a 4 , Li Han-erh, who accepted the Eight Commandments
on the 26th June, 964 ; (2) the female disciple ~g Chang, who accepted
the Five Commandments on the 5th July, 964; and (3) another
female disciple Chang who accepted the Five Commandments on the
19th February, 965. One of these two women, as we learn from S. 347,
accepted the Eight Commandments on the 4th March, 965. No. 1
bears seven impressions of a large red portrait-stamp of Buddha,
nos. 2 and 3 five each of the same.

965 (SUNG).
S. 5494. i _- , lt "Annotated calendar for the
3rd year of Ch'ien-te ". Only the title has been preserved.

966 (SUNG).
S. 4844. gila certificate given by Tao-chen to some one (the name
is missing) who accepted the Five Commandments on the 15th of the
1st moon of the 4th year of Ch'ien-te [8th February, 966].

967 (SUNG).
S. 3417. t ~ d: iX g Chiu chiu chung shAng k'u nan
ching. This short apocryphal " sitra for the rescue of all living beings
from suffering and calamity" is on coarse buff paper, and slightly
mutilated. Colophon: t {Mffi A T 1j P.t -ff--- H
I:A
[rp3' Aft; 1 2s : "Note to record that this sfitra
was twice jointly copied out as a help against illness on the 21st
of the 7th moon of ting-mao, the 5th year of Ch'ien-te" [29th
August, 967].
968 (SUNG).
S. 4632. A letter from Ts'ao Yiian-chung to the monks of Mt.
Chi-tsu, requesting prayers for the public welfare at the convocation
of a general assembly on the 8th of the 4th moon of the 6th year of
 DATED CHINESE MANUSCRIPTS IN THE STEIN COLLECTION 159

Ch'ien-te [7th May, 968]. This bears an impression of the same seal
as S. 2974 (A.D. 961). On the other side, in a more cursive hand, is
a Buddhist prayer which may have been inspired by the above appeal,

968 (SUNG).
S. 3876. A short letter from ~J pql9 t S g the Buddhist
Vinaya Master Ch'ing-shen asking for official confirmation of a settle-
ment made with & iJ -T ChangYu-tzu and ] p f Chang Ch'ing-nu.
Dated in the 9th moon of the 6th year of Ch'ien-te [September-
October, 968]. This is followed, in a smaller hand, by a series of
dharani (continued for half a column verso).

968 (SUNG).
S. 6424. On the back of this roll, which contains a copy of the
-A ~S ~ nJ t Pa yang shen chou ching (see under A.D. 934, 942,
Vol. X, pp. 334, 340), are several inscribed patches, one of which
bears the date A.D. 968, and another 975.

969 (SUNG).
S. 5646. A well-preserved and unusually large booklet of fifty-two
leaves bound together with string, containing three texts: (1) The
Diamond Suitrain thirty-two chapters, with pen-and-ink drawings of
four Bodhisattvas and the four Lokapalas; (2) f ~ g P ~ IJ 5
)S
]5iE X Fo shuo mo ii chih t'ien p'u sa t'o to ni ching, a
dharani suitraon Marici, Queen of Heaven, said to have been translated
by Bodhiruci, but not in the Canon; (3) f ; ffi
0 ~ # g
Fo shuo chai fa ch'ing ching ching, an apocryphal sutra of which
there are three other fragmentary copies in the Collection. Colophon:

e- Lt S ;A - -, % fiP t a I " On the 15th

of the 4th moon of chi-ssui,the 7th year of Ch'ien-te [really the 2nd
of K'ai-pao] in the Great Sung dynasty [4th May, 969] the Mahayanist
worthy and Dhyana Recorder in the School, Ho Chiang-t'ung, with
pious intent reverently copied out three books of sutras, large and
small, amounting to 9 chiian, having recited them all night long, and
now whole-heartedly dedicates them, making this record of the fact ".
As each of the three sitras contains only one chiian, | f' would
seem to be used in the sense (not known to K'ang Hsi) of " book"
or "booklet "; and we must suppose that this is only the last of
a set of three. : here loses its original meaning of "roll " and
denotes merely a section.-This is a fairly good MS. on thick whitish
paper. The leaves measure 15*5 x 14 cm.
160 L. GILES-

970 (SUNG).
S. 3540. This document, written in a cursive hand and dated the
25th of the 1st moon of the keng-wu year, is a solemn pledge on
the part of sixteen men, headed by the monk ,ig & Fu-hui and
the fic A TE I ? Club Elder Wang An-wu, to make themselves
responsible for the upkeep of the cave-temples in the Tang River
valley (j 7j I* 3t). These, of course, are the f ft IJ Ch'ien
fo tung or Caves of the Thousand Buddhas, as they are called to-day,
from which our MSS. were taken by Sir Aurel Stein. One of the
sixteen happens to be no other than Ma Wen-pin, the writer of the
letter we shall be considering next, which fixes the cyclical date for
certain as the 25th March, 970. The following passage occurs:
PI :I J mt sI t; a m M 1; E [for ;Tf??] = P9 J;Ifp S
:V 3EfjiX i "Even if Heaven and Earth collapse, this vow
shall remain unshaken. We pray the Two Emperors [Yao and Shun ?]
to partake in the oath, and beg the Four [Guardian] Kings to bear
witness to it".

970 (SUNG).
S. 2973. A letter from the gji
Xp fl Pj- W:
chieh-tuya-ya and overseer of copyists Ma Wen-pin to a friend, dated
in the 8th moon of the 3rd year of K'ai-pao [September, 970], and
appending some verses on a wall-painting ( rX A W I), apparently
of a tiger among mountains: -i A e + [ V a ,.
:E,

JPI %
t e r 0
"A rare and precious work of art-this King of Beasts!
For fierce valour and heroic heart unequalled the world over.
His four feet, firmly planted, are like pillars of jade;
His two rows of teeth are sharp as points of steel.
As he stands and looks upon the beetling crags, he seems as fixed as
a mountain peak;
But if he should move, his spring will terrify the beholder.
Let a mere rumour of his presence be heard by the evil sort,
And which of them will then dare to stir up trouble and calamity ? "
This is a very neat, well-spaced MS. on light buff paper, 29 x 40 cm.
On the back, in a running hand, is a Buddhist text with dharani
from the Sanskrit.

972 (SUNG).
S. 2073. An account of the eminent monk [, x Hui-yiian of
W, 11Mount Lu in Kiangsi and his teacher X ~ Tao-an, embodying
 DATED CHINESE MANUSCRIPTS IN THE STEIN COLLECTION 161

long discourses which explain the doctrines of the Parinirvana Sutra.

"
Colophon: a ffij $
S -f e Record of copying done
by Chang Ch'ang-chi in the 5th year of K'ai-pao " [972]. A bold,
clear MS. which becomes more cursive towards the end. The size of
the writing varies considerably. The roll is of coarse whitish paper
and reaches a length of 342 feet.

972 (SUNG).
S. 2894. Part of a well-written Vinaya text torn at both ends,
with copious commentary in smaller characters. On the back of the
roll, in a schoolboy hand, we find: (1) the first sixty characters of
the :F 4 ~3 Thousand Character Essay; (2) Six club circulars,
all dated in the jen-shen year; a list of proper names; and a few
other scraps, including the date g f f [for il] * MI[ E ) f)t
F " 20th day of the 1st moon of kuei-yu, the 5th year of K'ai-pao ".
The 5th year of K'ai-pao, however, corresponds not to kuei-yu (973)
but to jen-shen (972). We may choose, therefore, between the 7th
February, 972, and the 25th February, 973.
972 (SUNG).
S. 4295. On the back of this fragment containing a set of dharani
are the first few words of the Lotus Sfitra, chap. 25, preceded by the
following note: $ E* i 11 E
O Ii 4
. ~ tS_ " The 6th of the 4th moon of jen-shen,
the 4th,[really the 5th] year of K'ai-pao [21st May, 972]: the ya-ya
[...] and Superintendent of scribes Wu Ta-ta ".

974, 975 (SUNG).

S. 5973. Four official letters accompanying religious donations are
brought together in this roll, 5- ft. long, from which a small corner
has been torn off at the beginning and again at the end. The first
two letters are from the chieh-tu-shih of Kuei-i Chiin and Prince of
Tunhuang Ts'ao Yiian-chung, who has appeared several times already
in these notes, and are dated in the 1st and 2nd moon, respectively,
of the 7th year of K'ai-pao [January-February and February-March,
974]. The third and fourth are from his son and successor H E j
Ts'ao Yen-kung, and are dated in the 1st and 2nd moon of the following
year. Each letter is in a different hand, and stamped with the same
seal as S. 2974 (see under 961, above). Comparing the titles of the
two rulers, it will be noticed that the latter is not styled " Prince of
Tunhuang " like his father. The gifts, which include a roll of paper
for religious purposes (~. e Oi %j a$), pieces of cloth to be made
into garments, and silk and cotton fabrics, are listed in front of each
letter.
VOL. XI. PART 1. 11
162 L. GILES-

976 (SUNG).
S. 5651. j I -* ; Li ch'an, 1 pen. There are some forty of
these "forms of confession and prayer " in the Stein Collection
(cf. S. 4300, under A.D. 948). Our present text has the _ following
note at the end: * X r1 g A f E$ an
go X -
,
jL E] * [XiJ] iSJt - ; " Confession and meditation on the
bodily relics of Buddha: 19th day of the 3rd moon of chi-mao [really
ping-tzu], the 9th year of K'ai-pao in the Great Sung dynasty"
[21st April, 976]. Chi-maowould be the 4th year of T'ai-p'ing Hsing-kuo
[979], and it is unlikely that the year of the reign should be so far
out. The roll is made of the usual light buff paper, and is 15 cm.
x 4? feet long.

978 (SUNG).
S. 612. This is an incomplete calendar for the year 978. The
heading runs thus: _3 ; i * ~ 35 ;lb t
* * m B *IN - $* RX xXEatA
Aj [:t *fi ;l t]A1
A = w
+_ t i
"Great Sung dynasty. Wang Wen-t'an, who keeps in order the
official books of T'ien-t'ai, has carefully arranged this comprehensive
calendar. Fully annotated calendar, in conformity with Heaven, for
the year mou-yin, the 3rd of T'ai-p'ing Hsing-kuo [...], totalling
355 days ". I can make little sense of the characters placed in brackets,
which are written as double-column commentary: " stem, Earth,
branch, Wood, yield the sound t'u." That is to say, in fan-ch'ieh
spelling, t'[u] + [m]u = t'u. The relevance of this statement is not
obvious.-The primary object of a Chinese calendar is to foretell good
or bad luck on certain days, and we find here the usual tables to be
consulted for that purpose. But the most striking feature is a group
of finely executed drawings representing the Year-star God (* A
T'ai Sui, or Jupiter) seated in the middle and surrounded by figures
of the twelve x jc; "great spirits " and the four Lokapalas. Each
of the former is wearing as a headdress one of the twelve animals
of the duodenary cycle (rat, ox, tiger, hare, dragon, serpent, horse,
goat, monkey, cock, dog, boar), and eight of them carry ceremonial
tablets in their hands. There is also a diagram of mysterious
import showing the names of colours arranged in the form of a
square and connected with points of the compass. The roll is
81feet long, and about half of it is left blank, though a framework
of sections has been traced out ready to receive the appropriate text.
Verso, in another hand and extending over 7? feet, are further notes
on divination, lucky days, etc. The paper used is unusually thick
and heavy.
 DATED CHINESE MANUSCRIPTS IN THE STEIN COLLECTION 163

978 (SUNG).
S. 5441. J%;~ j 1 t Cho chi pu ch'uan wen, 1 ch. " Story of
the capture of Chi Pu." (The character 4 is written in fainter ink
and seems to be a later addition.) This is immediately followed by
a longer title: :* -= t q 3, E : XE
(
1 1E 4/4 [?] Jk 1 P3J "Poetical composition telling how
the Ch'u general Chi Pu cursed the Prince of Han on the field of
battle and put the imperial ministers to shame, setting cavalry in
ambush as he withdrew his army, in the 3rd year of the Great Han
dynasty " [204 B.C.]. For an account of this once famous ballad, see
BSOS., X, 2, pp. 337-9. Colophon: *k * []] =- f_ ,
A E X t H Ye L g * ?t AD 1t X X f] * ;X * _ g
"Chi Pu in 1 chiian, copied with their own hands by Fan
K'ung-mu and the hsiieh-shih-lang Yin Nu-erh on the 10th of the
4th moon of mou-yin, the 3rd year of T'ai-p'ing Hsing-kuo" [19th
May, 978]. One can only wonder that anybody should proclaim
himself the copyist of so bad and slovenly a manuscript. And the
3E it ? N I Wang fan chih shih chi, ch. 2 [see Vol. X, p. 336]
which follows in the same hand or hands, is no whit better. This
sorry exhibition of vile handwriting is contained in an incomplete
booklet of fifteen leaves measuring 21-5 x 15*5 cm. which has come
to pieces. The outer leaf (f. 1 r?) is scribbled over with names and
other dates in the same year. The text of Chi pu begins on f. 1 v?,
and of Wangfan chih on f. 13 r?.

979 (SUNG).
S. 6178. This fragment is the end of a letter written by J
) -i the Grand Preceptor Kuang-ch'i to the Crown Prince [of
Tun-huang ?], dated in the 7th moon of the 4th year of T'ai-p'ing
Hsing-kuo [July-August, 979], and containing a list of monks. On
the other side, in a semi-cursive hand, is a short religious composition.

980 (SUNG).
S. 289. [ 01 - [: + JH Pao tz'u mu shih en te. These " Ten
causes for Gratitude to one's Mother" are enumerated, with
explanatory comments on each, as follows: (1) 4* t aX J.
" The protection of the child in her womb ". |I is a puzzling word
in this connection, but it appears in all the copies. (2) |H -
: I. "The pangs of labour preceding childbirth ". (3) ,4j -.
J, " The act of parturition and the forgetting of grief". (4) P~
%: fft ,. " Swallowing the bitter and spitting out the sweet ".
This curious phrase, which occurs again in a set of verses on filial
piety (P. 1 and S. 389), is explained as referring to the mother's
 164 L. GILES-

unselfishness in disregarding her own personal needs in order to look

after her baby: f[ (for $f) ~ M X } )J] "though she may
be fed on wine and meat she will never grow fat ". (5) IL i %
]JBi "Suckling and rearing the infant ". Instances are given of
a mother's unceasing watchfulness: M M [a better reading is PR]
M :~ r .. . if [for ;] fjl a " If she hears the baby's
cry she cannot sit still . . but must steal away and have a peep
at him ". (6) M e i, t J . "Back to dry and then to wet ". This
section deals very frankly with the unpleasantness of sharing a bed
with a young child, and ends with the exclamation: id ; [for
o3 X ?] X -R J ~I ' IV aX ) 5 "The fondness of
parents under trials like these is seen to be of more than heavenly
merit!" (7) it X ; ) ., "Washing the unclean". The
commentary begins by depicting the mother scrubbing her child's
ten fingers despite the bitter blast of winter; but the rest is a some-
what inappropriate eulogy of the filial crow which brings food to
the mother-bird in its beak. (8) ~ '_ ,, It J@," Incurring bad
karma for the sake of her offspring ". The accompanying text is
obscure, but it would seem that if the mother violates any Buddhist
law, such as the killing of animals for food, it is not done for any
selfish purpose, but that she is even prepared, for the sake of her
children, to be "engulfed " in the stream of reincarnation ( M
'A * Ei ~). (9) a e a ,. "Dwelling in thought on
her children when they are far away". (10) j A 1,] $t [for ,%
l] , "Loving sympathy in general ".-Filial piety is usually
associated with Confucianism,but no. 8 in this list is a purely Buddhist
conception. There is also a short note at the beginning which suggests
that this virtue had been officially adopted by the Buddhist Church
in China: k M * X X: -; , 4f1 ]
"Any kind and filial son or daughter who shows deep gratitude for
their parents' goodness will be reborn in heaven ". The whole
composition is in a sort of clumsy, irregular verse, with a different
rhyme for each section. It is followed by another short piece, very
carelessly scrawled. Verso is a copy of the inscription on a memorial
tablet erected to the Jf t prefect I- 4 g Yin Ts'un-hui, a native
of Tunhuang, which is dated the 3rd of the 2nd moon of the 5th year
of T'ai-p'ing Hsing-kuo [21st February, 980]. To the customary
eulogy in prose and verse is added, in this case, an account of his
nearest relations: his great-grandfather, prefect of Kua-chou; his
-
grandfather, accountant-general; his father, 3pi 1 -ji chieh-tu
tu-t'ou of Kuei-i Chiin; his mother (a letter from whom to a Buddhist
monk is preserved in S. 526), his two deceased sons, his deceased
uncle who was a chieh-tuya-ya, and his elder brother, a Buddhist monk.
 DATED CHINESE MANUSCRIPTS IN THE STEIN COLLECTION 165

We are then informed that he died at his private residence in the

b3 ~; Hsiu-wen ward on the 15th February, and was buried on
the 21st on the north side of the J J fi Yang-kuan River in
i_ ' the hamlet of Mo-kao. The inscription ends with another
short laudatory poem of the pIJtz'u class. The roll is of coarse drab
paper, 23 feet long, and the handwriting is mediocre but clear.

980 (SUNG).
S. 5562. j L
Lii ch'an, 1 pen. Confession and prayer according
to the - M; "Three Stages" teaching. Colophon: k 2p Z]

i k;A e I E "Recorded on the 27th of the 4th moon

of keng-ch'en,the 5th year of T'ai-p'ing Hsing-kuo [12th June, 980],
with a humble request that the copyist of this roll, those who corrected
its mistakes, and those who in the future will read it, may offer
sacrifice ". A mediocre MS. on a roll of light buff paper, 73 feet long
but only just over 6 inches wide.

981 (SUNG).
S. 6886. *Commentary* on an Abhidharma text, in a clear hand.
Verso, covering the greater part of the roll, about 5- out of 7- feet:
a complete calendar for hsin-ssu, the 6th year of T'ai-p'ing Hsing-kuo
[981], comprising 354 days. After the heading, a space appears to
have been left for the preface. The entry for each day consists of
its number in the month, its cyclical designation, an element, and
one of twelve characters recurring in this order: 1f IJ LA i
:q
q . )i f~t . For example: f- Ei3 -j" 27th
[of the 3rd moon]; chia-tzui; metal; danger". - T i A z2
"1st [of the 5th moon]; ting-yu; fire; peace ". A further note
has been added here and there, such as: t f Aa1 *, p
"Propitious for rebuilding a house, digging a well, and repairing a
granary ".
981 (SUNG).
S. 3708. The end of a letter from 5 [ 0 ~ the Warden
Hui-shen to ?ji 4 k ~i The Chief Preceptor. Dated in the 9th
moon of the 6th year of T'ai-p'ing Hsing-kuo [October, 981].

981 (SUNG).
S. 4760. A petition, dated the 11th moon of the hsin-ssu year,
the 6th of T'ai-p'ing Hsing-kuo [December, 981], from the Nun
Preceptress (acarya) A
V Hsiu-shan and others to the Bishop, with
reference to the repair or upkeep of the he
e Sheng-kuang Convent
166 L. GILES-

buildings. The Bishop's reply follows, granting the request. Verso

and 2 cols. recto: A memorandum of land measurements.

982-985 (SUNG).
S. 330. A boldly executed copy of six slla certificates (see Vol. IX,
p. 20) given by the priest Tao-chen at the _ - f San-chieh
Monastery in Sha-chou to (1) the female disciple [ ; , Ch'eng
Hui-i who accepted the Eight Commandments on the 14th of the
5th moon of the 2nd year of Yung-hsi [5th June, 985]; (2) to the
same, on the 19th February, 984; (3) to the same, on the 8th June,
982; (4) to the same, on the 4th February, 982; (5) to the same,
on the 12th February, 984; (6) to the disciple gL- Hui-hung,
who accepted the Eight Commandments on the 4th February, 982.
Each bearsthe title j&j X p^
f X ] )f j ^ 1 -- A &
A A aS "Certificate of the bestowal of the Eight Commandments
in the San-chieh Temple at Sha-chou in the Sahalokadhatu [the world
of men] in South Jambudvipa [one of the four great continents of
Buddhist cosmography] ". There are several impressions of red
portrait-stamps of Buddha.

982 (SUNG).
S. 1473. A calendar* for the 7th year of T'ai-p'ing Hsing-kuo
[A.D. 982], containing the first four months only. A neat, closely
written MS., with certain additions in red, notably " colour-squares"
for each month (see S. 612, above). These are different arrangements
of nine characters comprising S, red, j yellow, 4e green, E greenish-
blue, ! purple,. black,and t white(thisappearing thrice). The
numberof daysis givenas 384,whichis due to the fact that there
was an intercalary12th moonin this year. The compilerwas one
~g j3 - Ti Wen-chin,a man of somenote judgingby the string
of titles precedinghis name. Onthe back,in a muchlargerhand,is
a Buddhistconfession andprayer,mutilatedat the beginning.
982 (SUNG).
{ A
S. 2474. f^ , 3E Jt ft & a , Fo wei hsin wang
p'u sa shuot'out'o ching,ch. 1. " Sitra on dhfta (discipline
aiming
at releasefrom troubles)spokenby Buddhafor the Bodhisattva
Hsin Wang." -
Ill , I it W ii S "With com-
mentaryby the Dhyana Master of
Hui-pien the Five Skandhas
Mountain RetreatMonastery ". Thisis the onlycopyin the Collection
of any partof this apocryphal siitra. Verso: (1) Threenotes,dated
in the 8th and 9th moons of the keng-ch'en year [980 ?] from the
t '~ camel-officer t, % ChangHan-erh,askingfor a decision
 DATED CHINESE MANUSCRIPTS IN THE STEIN COLLECTION 167

with regard to a dead she-camel whose hide was made over, to one
]S :9 Chang Hung-ting; and a similar note from the camel-
officer X3SJ j Teng Liu-t'ung dated the 2nd of the 11th moon of
the chi-mao year [24th November, 979 ?]. The replies are in large
cursive script, the last character in each case being the figure of a
bird perched on the " walking radical ", apparently used as a signature.
(2) A long statement of accounts for a Buddhist monastery in which
the characters A (oil) and g (flour) are written in red. There is a
note in the middle: R1 i F - I - $ 3 4 i -= n
E: Bit ~ ; t :W- "44 "Contract made
on the 5th of the 2nd moon of jen-wu, the 7th year of T'ai-p'ing
Hsing-kuo [3rd March, 982]. Recorded by the layman Chang Tsai-liu
of Mo-kao Hsiang ". The length of the roll is 51 feet.

982 (SUNG).
S. 1398. A copy of three contracts relating to property, two of
the parties being the brothers jj : A Kuo Ting-ch'eng and ^j
^ Kuo Ting-ch'ang of 0 ,[a Tz'i-hui Hsiang. Dated the
20th of the 2nd moon of the 7th year of T'ai-p'ing Hsing-kuo [18th
March, 982]. The names of the contracting parties and witnesses
usually appearing at the end are omitted here. After this, blackened
and hardly legible, comes the beginning of a club circular, and on
the back are memoranda concerning the supplies of wine on different
dates of the same year, with impressions of an oblong stamp. Written
on a piece of very thick paper, 21.5 x 44 cm., damaged, discoloured,
and torn at the bottom.

984 (SUNG).
S. 2448, 1183. Two sila certificates given by the priest Tao-chen
at the San-chieh Monastery (1) to the female disciple ? X
P'u-t'i-ai on the 12th February, 984, and (2) to the disciple t X
Chu-nu on the 4th March, 984. Both accepted the Eight Command-
ments, and both certificates are stamped with clustered images of
Buddha. The surnames appear to be given on the back: (1) ~
"Madam Fan"; (2) ~ 0j p ff j "With compliments: the
ya-ya Teng ".

984 (SUNG).
S. 4400. On two sheets of very inferior paper through which the
ink shows badly is written in a careless, semi-cursive hand a prayer
by " Ts'ao, Prince of Tunhuang ", dated the 21st of the 2nd moon
of the 9th year of T'ai-p'ing THsing-kuo[26th March, 984]. The Ts'ao
-
in question must be EI * Ts'ao Yen-lu who reigned from 980
168 L. GILES-

to 1002. On the back, in better writing, is another prayer with

dharanil and eulogy of Buddha.

984 (SUNG).
S. 3835. (1) C & *
*T'ai k
kung chia chiao, 1 ch. It is the
same text as S. 4920 (see under A.D. 931). None of the other copies is
complete at the beginning, so we cannot tell how much is missing in
the present roll. This is a good neat MS., but the handwriting
deteriorates in the next two pieces. (2) zf T * Ch'ien tzui wen,
1 ch. The Thousand Character Essay, complete. (3) ]~ ,% Z Po
niao ming, 1 ch. A composition in poetical prose introducing the names
of a large number of birds. After the title come the words gE
* [for f] {t "Insignia of Sovereign and Minister"; and at the
end a colophonis squeezedin: i $ t - 9EJ [1H T ;
-- f ~ gg IJ] "Recorded with his own hand by So Pu-tzu on
a day in the 12th moon of the keng-yin year" (probably 930-1).
The roll is 8? feet long, of which (1) occupies about 42 feet, (2) 21 feet,
and (3) 14 feet. Verso : Various scraps of writing, including diagrams
formed of characters, and a short agreement relating to the boundaries
of some land, with the date " 2nd day of the 4th moon of chia-shen,
the 9th year of T'ai-p'ing Hsing-kuo " [5th May, 984].

984 (SUNG).
S. 6946. On the back of an incomplete copy of the ~ 9 f 3
P'u sa ying lo ching and another, unnamed, sutra are a number of
scribblings which include this: k @ , L^ t t
i ~i
~ ~ t j jJ * aM "Contract drawn up by the
ya-ya Yin Ch'ou-ta, a layman from the country district of Mo-kao,
in the 6th moon of the 9th year of T'ai-p'ing Hsing-kuo" [June-
July, 984].
984 (SUNG).
S. 4609. 5s Z ij [for j] g "List of the property of the
Teng family ". This consisted mostly of clothes. The first entry
reads: ~_ ~ ~ g . Xg i ~ ~S 7
"
? -- ] ^4 ~ "One jade-green silk skirt; one two-piece
jacket of purple silk; one yellow embroideredcloak: the three together
forming a set ". Dated in the 10th moon of the 9th year of T'ai-p'ing
Hsing-kuo [October-November, 984]. The handwriting, stiff and
formal at first, becomes free and careless towards the end. On the
back are some faint characters, apparently additions to the list.

985 (SUNG).
S. 4125. Two short documents concerned with the delimitation
 DATED CHINESE MANUSCRIPTS IN THE STEIN COLLECTION 169

of land, drawn up by TgejC 8 Teng Yung-hsing on behalf of his

household, consisting of himself, wife, and three younger brothers,
on the 1st of the 1st moon of the 2nd year of Yung-hsi [24th January,
985].

985 (SUNG).
S. 4115. Sila certificate given by Tao-chen to the female disciple
i f Fa-ch'ing who accepted the Eight Commandments on the 15th
of the 5th moon of the 2nd year of Yung-hsi [6th June, 985].

985 (SUNG).
S. 4489. A sheet containing the end of a section of a Buddhanama
Suftra (invocations 1192-1200), with the following note: Z E 1
?i + - B TX; * * itJwq * Is IV
" f

, t ffi S A* J + ? H- T " On the 13th

of the 5th moon of the i-yu year [4th June, 985 ?] was begun
the copying out of the Chin kang ching in 1 chiian, Kuan yin ching
in 1 chiian, Ssui men ching in[l]chiian, Ti tsang p'u sa ching in 1 chiian,
and Chieh po sheng yiian chia ching in 1 chiian, making 5 chiian in
all. Task completed at midday on the 15th of the 6th moon " [5th
July, 985]. It is strange that no mention is made of the Buddhanama
Suftraitself. Verso: A formal appeal to the authorities by g A j
Chang Tsai-t'ung of ~ [for 0] , 4i Tz'u-hui Hsiang in a dispute
with his elder brother ~ i g Chang Chio-t'ung. This is dated in
the 6th moon of the 2nd year of Yung-hsi [June-July, 985].

986 (SUNG).
S. 4601. f4 g; k X f f 9^M Fo shuo hsien chieh ch'ien
fo ming ching, ch. 1 (1J). The invocations of this Buddhanama Sftra,
written in specially large characters, are the same as in the modern
text (Nanjio 406); but the rest does not agree. It is a good bold
MS. on thick whitish paper, stained a rich brownish yellow towards
the middle. The roll is 351 feet long. Colophon: jE
g] L

M ? J [for %] ;fE =1Z j

_e ^7* t
f "Copied on the 28th of the 11th moon of the i-yu year,
the 2nd of Yung-hsi [1lth January, 986]; recorded as a copy made
with his own hand, pen-brush and ink, by the ya-ya K'ang Wen-hsing.
170 L. GILES-

The disciple of pure faith Hsing-p'o would first utter a general prayer
for exceeding good fortune. With pious intent, the three men Chang
Fu-ting, Hsing-p'o, and Li Ch'ang-tzui have caused a copy to be
made of Ta hsien chieh ch'ien fo ming, ch. 1, and are presenting it
for inclusion in the temple of the priest Shun-tzui. As a link in the
chain of causality, it is offered to the end that the country may be
peaceful and its inhabitants prosperous, that the spirits of land and
grain may continually flourish, that the roads in every direction may
remain open, and all the peoples of the world may keep to their
allegiance. In the second place, as concerns personal good fortune,
Hsing-p'o and his companions pray that they may be conveyed to
rebirth in the Pure Land, and that their whole households in the
present life, including males and females, may enjoy wealth and
good luck, brilliant prosperity and power; and so they dedicate this
sutra for perpetuity ".

986 (SUNG).
S. 5855. A letter from the rpiJt 1 g chieh-tutu-t'ou[f ~ jj Yin
Ts'un-li, formally requesting the authorities of the San-chieh Temple
to hold a service on behalf of his deceased father. Dated in the 6th
moon of the 3rd year of Yung-hsi [July-August, 986]. Yin Ts'un-li may
very probably be the brother of the prefect Yin Ts'un-hui whom we
saw commemorated in S. 289 v?. (see under 980). The letter is written
in a running hand on a strip of whitish paper which was used to patch
S. 2981, a copy of the Suvarna-prabhasa Sitra.

986 (SUNG).
S. 6734. J. : $J Ssu i ching, ch. 3. A good copy of N. 190,
though mutilated at the beginning, on crisp yellow paper. On the
back is part of the *: A ?i X Ta sheng ching t'u tsan, " Eulogy
of the Pure Land in the Mahayana," and also this note: ~ --

S I 9 X fi'
@
S 4 i 6 'P X "On the
23rd of the 11th moon of ping-hsii, the 3rd year of Yung-hsi [26th
December, 986] the donor and disciple Yin Sung-chih, finding that
the Chieh t'an chai han ching and the Miao fa lien hua ching were
damaged and torn, had the beginning of each copied out afresh "

986, 987 (SUNG).

S. 4307. % * ]I& f Hsin chi yenfu chiao, 1 pen. "Newly
collected teachings of a father." This is a set of doggerel verses of
five words to the line, with two constantly recurring refrains:
{a t fM ' i "Just follow your father's instruction ", and i ]
 DATED CHINESE MANUSCRIPTS IN THE STEIN COLLECTION 171

Ak *C 0 "Circumspection is indeed best ". Here is a specimen:

X- " If you encounter a drunken man on the footpath, get off it

into the roadway. When he has passed you may come back
again: circumspection is indeed best! " There are two notes at the
end: J sse =-- ~ jj Ac A _U )X 5 aBi*5
H
B :-i f:
A5 -9 X 2C
0 0. X; ` -$
4 X H
t Igl * [f4] 1X13T ~jIil : A"d " On the
6th day of the 7th moon of ping-hsii, the 3rd year of Yung-hsi
[14th August, 986] the Councillor and hsiieh-shih-lang Li Shen-nu
copied the Yen fu chiao and made this note ".-" On the 9th day of
the 3rd moon of the ting-hai year [9th April, 987] the hsiieh-shih-lang
Li Shen-nu of the Ting-nan Street penned this note with his own
hand." The second note seems to be,in a different hand from the
rest, so the actual copying was doubtless done for Li Shen-nu by
a scribe. In both notes his name is substituted for that of - X
Ts'ui Ting-hsing, which has been crossed out.

987 (SUNG).
S. 3748, 4482, 4915. These are all sila certificates. The first two
were given on 24th June at the g [ p Ling-t'u Temple to the
female disciple ~ f t Ch'ing-ching-i and the male disciple ; [E
Hui-yiian, respectively; the third at the San-chieh Temple to a
female disciple, also in June. All accepted the "Bodhisattva sila ",
i.e. the Ten Commandments. The first certificate bears three
' IF
impressions of a square red seal inscribed Mis fj
"Seal of the Bishop of Ho-hsi "; the other two show several
impressions of a red Buddha-portrait stamp (see S. 330 under A.D.
982-5).

989 (SUNG).
S. 3985. - X H "A fully annotated
calendar for the 2nd year of Tuan-kung ". This is a title only, with
the place-name - & Shou-ch'ang below. (Cf. Vol. X, p. 343, under
A.D. 945.) Mr. Clapperton thinks that the paper is wonderfully good
for the tenth century: "the surface is polished and has no hairy
fibres, stands ink fairly well and is easy to write on."

989 (SUNG).
S. 3424. ( , ~ J S
lakirti Sutra, ch. 1, p'in 4.
century, on yellow paper.
service (mostly crossed out
I Wei mo ch'i so shuo ching. Vima-
A good MS., probably of the eighth
Verso: Programme of Buddhist holy
with brush-strokes), and the following
172 L. GILES-

note: i $t,f )1 -t-

+ FX 2 t A
~ jS~ {'
fl ItS_t~ "Announcement made by the priest
Chih-chien, who has travelled to India, has himself received the
Bodhisattva discipline and now confers it on others, on the 16th of
the 9th moon of the 2nd year of Tuan-kung" [18th October, 989].
At the very end, in large characters, there are three lines on for-
bearance, which I commend as a nice little puzzle to my readers:
a1 ^F0t^ . A.i it g o A 99 7 #9 0P X A S A +'
i. ~ i
,T,% A.
991 (SUNG).
S. 86. A list of sacrificial offerings made on behalf of a deceased
female disciple JB Ma, who bore the strange personal name of fit *
Ch'ou-nii (" Ugly Girl "). The gifts include fabrics, foodstuffs, and
copies of Buddhist scriptures. At the end there is a prayer expressing
the hope that she may be reborn in the Tusita heaven (the inner
department of which is the Pure Land of Maitreya), and a date:
_ 4It = * * #9P a ,) t A ! " 28th day of the
4th moon of hsin-mao, the 2nd year of Shun-hua" [13th June, 991].
The paper of this sheet is more typical of its period than the last one
described by Mr. Clapperton: it is "very badly made, with a rough
uneven surface and uneven texture ". On the other hand, it is " long-
fibred, tough, and difficult to tear ".

991 (SUNG).
S. 4453. An official letter from the Commissioner (V{) to ~
H [ Chang Yeh-lo-tsan, military governor of Shou-ch'ang, and
g e fJ Ti Ha-tan, Assistant Commissioner, giving directions for
the transport of material. The " bird-character" (see S. 2474 under
A.D. 982) occurs after {!, and again at the end of an additional note.
The letter is dated the 8th of the 10th moon of the 2nd year of Shun-hua
[16th November, 991], and bears three impressions of a red seal:
"
a * V 'ii, A j FI "Seal of the chieh-tu-shih of Kuei-i
Chiin" (who was then Ts'ao Yen-lu).

991 (SUNG).
S. 1946. A contract dated the 12th of the 11th moon of hsin-mao,
the 2nd year of Shun-hua [20th December, 991], in which the ya-ya
i$ (Fi t Han Yian-ting and his wife A- fi -+J Ch'i-niang-tzui
(Septima) agree to sell a * # -i- slave-girl named ] ] Lan-sheng,
aged about 28, to -, Mgi4f Chu Yian-sung and his family in settlement
of a debt of three pieces of raw silk (j if) and two pieces of spun
silk ( /j). It appears to be more in the nature of a loan of services
than a sale, for it is stated that the debt is repayable by the 5th
 DATED CHINESE MANUSCRIPTS IN THE STEIN COLLECTION 173

moon of the ensuing year. If either party repudiates the bargain,

he shall forfeit a piece of fine thin silk (4, &) and two full-grown
wethers (k* -t t- E ). This is followed by the names and " brush-
marks" of the girl, her two employers, both mistress (t E) and
master (0[5 t), an adviser Yuan Fu-shen (J j]6 JA j t ),
and two Buddhist monks as witnesses.

992 (SUNG).
S. 5696. A letter from the Sg tu-t'ou C
Ch'en
Eh Shou-
hsiian to the abbot of the monastery on Mt. Chi-tsu requesting
prayers for his deceased father. [Cf. S. 2974 under 961, and S. 4632
under 968.] Dated in the 8th moon of the 3rd year of Shun-hua
[September, 992].
993 (SUNG).
S. 5941. A letter from the tu-t'ou Ts'ao Ch'ang-ch'ien (no doubt
a member of the ruling family) to a number of clerics, asking them
to hold a religious service (aL ^) for the benefit of a deceased person
whose description is not clear, on the 17th of the 5th moon of kuei-ssu,
the 4th year of Shun-hua [9th June, 993].

995 (SUNG).
S. 4172. A document fixing the boundaries and extent of contiguous
pieces of farm land in the possession of six different owners on the
1st of the 1st moon of the 1st year of Chih-tao [3rd February, 995].
This, the latest in date of our Stein MSS., appears to be incomplete
at both ends. What remains, however, is so clear that it is possible
to reconstruct the position of the holdings in a fairly accurate map.
They run from south to north along the banks of a ;~ main canal
on the east, with 5 uncultivated land and X ; salt-pools to the
west. Starting from ~ Ef public lands in the south, the holdings
are those of li -i ~t Ho Shih-chu (110 mou), 3 -. Kao An-san
(75 mou), _
* {f So Fu-chu (55 mou), 4 ] it Li Hsing-chu
(60 mou), 3 7t H Chang Fu-ch'ang (55 mou), and # i -t So
Chu-tzui(55 mou). Between Kao's land and the canal there intervenes
the estate of * h -^ So Ch'ang-tzui,which is not otherwise mentioned.
At the present day, about 6? mou are reckoned to the acre. The roll
is of thick light buff paper, 1? feet long. On the back is a writing
exercise in large characters, consisting chiefly of the name and titles
of Ts'ao Yen-lu.
Note.-Chinese characters not in the fount: P. 164, line 24 (10):
tk should have the "heart" radical underneath. P. 168, S. 4609,
line 3: X should have the " clothes" radical on the left.