Category Archives: Dunhuang

Manuscript of medieval character dictionary digitized

Posted on 02/04/2011 by imre

Manuscript Or.8210/S.388 from the Stein collection at the British Library is finally digitized and available at the IDP website. This is a manuscript that has been written/copied sometime between the late 6th and first half of 7th centuries, and records … Continue reading →

Posted in Character variants, Chinese writing, Dunhuang, Orthography, Palaeography | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Unattested character variant

Posted on 01/04/2011 by imre

Last May, Sam and I went on a trip to Gansu and Qinghai provinces to visit the sites along a medieval pilgrimage route. (On this trip, see Sam’s entry on his blog: Amdo Notes II.) I got to Lanzhou first … Continue reading →

Posted in 20th century, Character variants, Chinese writing, Dunhuang, epigraphy, Orthography | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Impossible dates in manuscripts

Posted on 10/01/2010 by imre

Every now and then we come across impossible dates in Chinese manuscripts and inscriptions, which refer to years in reign periods that never existed. The common explanation for these is that the place where the manuscript was written was remote … Continue reading →

Posted in archaeology, Dating, Dunhuang, epigraphy, History of scholarship, Palaeography | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

A mysterious manuscript about the discovery of Dunhuang manuscripts

Posted on 09/18/2010 by imre

The mysterious manuscript referred to in the title is a little notebook written in a cursive caoshu hand and is currently located at the Gansu Provincial Library. The title Dunhuang xianhua 敦煌闲话 (Idle Chat about Dunhuang) is included in the notebook so … Continue reading →

Posted in 20th century, Aurel Stein, books, Dunhuang, exploration, History of scholarship, Japanese, Otani expeditions | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment