|
|
The Historic Influence of Chinese Script on the Social Development of the Western Regions: With a Re-examination on How Kharo??hī Became the Official Script of the Shan-shan Kingdom |
Luo Shuai |
School of History, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China |
|
|
Abstract A large number of unearthed documents show that the Gandharan language and the Kharo??hī script were commonly used in the Shan-shan Kingdom in the southeast of Tarim Basin from the 2nd to the 5th century AD. Since Kharo??hī was one of the official scripts of the Kushan Dynasty, some scholars have proposed that the Kushans ever ruled the Tarim Basin. However, upon careful examination of literatures, unearthed documents and cultural relics, it can be proved that such views contradict historical facts. The Shan-shan Kingdom adopted the Gandharan and Kharo??hī as its administrative language and script, not due to the coercion from the Kushan Dynasty, but as a temporary measure taken by the kingdom in the special period at the end of the Han Dynasty.During the Western Han Dynasty, the Tarim Basin was first brought under the rule of dynasties in the Central Plains. The Han Dynasty set up a series of officials and institutions such as Protector-general of the Western Regions, Chief Official of the Western Regions, and Wu and Chi colonels to effectively govern the Western Regions. For these Northwest territories are vast and sparsely populated, the operation of administrations relies on official documents. Before the governance of the Han Dynasty, there were no scripts in the oasis kingdoms. Chinese characters were introduced to the Western Regions by Han Dynasty officials and soldiers, becoming the first script used in the regions, which had a profound impact on the local society. The wooden slips with Chinese characters unearthed from places such as Loulan and Niya are solid evidence that Chinese script was prevalent in the Western Regions. The oasis kingdoms established specialised clerical agencies and officials such as translators and clerks. Since the number of local natives who mastered Chinese characters was limited, the staff in the agencies were mainly Han people. These clerical agencies played an indispensable role in the domestic affairs, diplomacy, and daily lives of the local nobles in the oasis kingdoms. Firstly, they were the basis for maintaining the documental communication of the local administration systems. Secondly, most of the daily correspondence between local nobles required help from the scribes. Moreover, when envoys from the countries west of the Pamir Mountains passed through the oasis kingdoms in the Tarim Basin, they usually needed the assistance of these clerical agencies to write credentials submitted to the Han Dynasty.The long-term governance of the Western Regions by the Han Dynasty enabled the oasis kingdoms to adapt to the documental society. However, the Han officers and soldiers withdrew to the Central Plains at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and personnel exchanges between the Central Plains and the Western Regions were cut off due to the Liangzhou Rebellion. The clerical agencies of the oasis kingdoms lacked scribes who were proficient in Chinese characters, resulting in a serious writing crisis. This situation put the normal operation of administration, economy, and daily life of the oasis kingdoms in a predicament. They need to find new scripts to replace the role that Chinese characters once played in the local documental society. The Shan-shan Kingdom has a long and narrow territory. Furthermore, it is the easternmost kingdom in the Tarim Basin and is most affected by the Central Plains. Therefore, its administrative operation has the strongest demand for scripts. During the Han and Jin Dynasties, Shan-shan was a gathering place for Kushan merchants and Buddhists, and there were lots of Kushan people who spoke Gandharan language and used Kharo??hī script within its territory. In order to ensure the normal operation of the documental society, the rulers of Shan-shan took the initiative to recruit those Kushans as scribes in the clerical agencies. Those Kushans neither possessed advanced cultural literacy nor mastered in grammar, hence they were unable to create a new script adapted to the Shan-shan dialect in a short time. Therefore, the rulers of Shan-shan had to set the Gandharan language as their official language while the Kharo??hī as official script.
|
Received: 08 January 2024
|
|
|
|
1 罗帅:《汉佉二体钱新论》,《考古学报》2021年第4期,第501-520页。 2 林梅村:《中国所出佉卢文的流散与收藏》,见《西域文明——考古、民族、语言和宗教新论》,北京:东方出版社,2013年,第156-163页。 3 林梅村:《佉卢文材料中国藏品调查记》,《西域研究》2011年第2期,第115-129页。 4 Burrow T., A Translation of the Kharo??hi Documents from Chinese Turkestan, London: The Royal Asiatic Society, 1940. 5 林梅村:《沙海古卷——中国所出佉卢文书(初集)》,北京:文物出版社,1988年。 6 刘文锁:《沙海古卷释稿》,北京:中华书局,2007年。 7 Stein M. A., Serindia: Detailed Report of Archaeological Explorations in Central Asia and Western-most China, vol. 1, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1921. 8 Brough J., “Comments on third-century Shan-shan and the history of Buddhism,” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, Vol. 28, No. 3 (1965), pp. 582-612. 9 Pulleyblank E. G., “Chinese evidence for the date of Kani?ka,” in Basham A. L. (ed.), Papers on the Date of Kaniska, Leiden: Brill, 1968, pp. 255-257. 10 Winter W., “Tocharians and Turks,” in Sinor D. (ed.), Aspects of Altaic Civilization: Proceedings of the Fifth Meeting of the Permanent International Altaistic Conference Held at Indiana University, June 4-9, 1962, Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1963, pp. 239-251. 11 Winter W., “Baktrische Lehnw?rter im Tocharischen,” in Schmitt-Brandt R. (ed.), Donum Indogermanicum: Festgabe für Anton Scherer zum 70. Geburtstag, Heidelberg: C. Winter, 1971, pp. 217-223. 12 Bivar A. D. H., “The history of eastern Iran,” in Yarshater E. (ed.), The Cambridge History of Iran, vol. 3, part 1, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983, pp. 181-231. 13 Hitch D. A., “Kushan Tarim domination,” Central Asiatic Journal, Vol. 32, No. 3-4 (1988), pp. 170-192. 14 日]长泽和俊:《楼兰王国史研究序说》,见《丝绸之路史研究》,钟美珠译,天津:天津古籍出版社,1990年,第170-223页。 15 马雍:《东汉后期中亚人来华考》,见《西域史地文物丛考》,北京:文物出版社,1990年,第56-59页。 16 林梅村:《贵霜大月氏人流寓中国考》,见《西域文明——考古、民族、语言和宗教新论》,北京:东方出版社,2013年,第33-67页。 17 孟凡人:《楼兰鄯善简牍年代学研究》,乌鲁木齐:新疆人民出版社,1995年。 18 王炳华:《贵霜王朝与古代新疆》,见《西域考古文存》,兰州:兰州大学出版社,2010年,第337-341页。 19 德]弗兰兹·伯恩哈德:《犍陀罗语与佛教在中亚的传播》,姚崇新译,《西域研究》1996年第4期,第61-66页。 20 Mukherjee B. N., “Shan-shan and the Kushā?a Empire,” in India in Early Central Asia: A Survey of Indian Scripts, Languages and Literatures in Central Asia of the First Millennium A.D., New Delhi: Harman Publishing House, 1996, pp. 90-96. 21 班固:《汉书》,北京:中华书局,1962年。 22 孟凡人:《楼兰新史》,北京:光明日报出版社,1990年。 23 林梅村:《尼雅汉简与汉文化在西域的初传——兼论悬泉汉简中的相关史料》,见《松漠之间——考古新发现所见中外文化交流》,北京:生活·读书·新知三联书店,2007年,第90-109页。 24 黄文弼:《罗布淖尔考古记》,北平:国立北京大学出版部,1948年。 25 肖之兴:《试释“汉归义羌长”印》,《文物》1976年第7期,第86页。 26 贾应逸:《新疆尼雅遗址出土“司禾府印”》,《文物》1984年第9期,第87页。 27 朱玉麒:《所谓“李崇之印”》,《中国典籍与文化》2013年第4期,第8-15页。 28 新疆维吾尔自治区博物馆、新疆文物考古研究所编著:《中国新疆山普拉——古代于阗文明的揭示与研究》,乌鲁木齐:新疆人民出版社,2001年。 29 王炳华、刘子凡:《汉晋西域所见汉文简牍透视》,见朱玉麒主编:《西域文史》第6辑,北京:科学出版社,2011年,第91-104页。 30 孟凡人:《罗布淖尔土垠遗址试析》,见《新疆考古论集》,兰州:甘肃教育出版社,2010年,第105-128页。 31 王炳华:《“土垠”遗址再考》,见朱玉麒主编:《西域文史》第4辑,北京:科学出版社,2009年,第61-82页。 32 王冀青:《斯坦因第四次中亚考察所获汉文文书》,见季羡林等主编:《敦煌吐鲁番研究》第3卷,北京:北京大学出版社,1998年,第259-290页。 33 张铁男:「新疆文物考古研究所など3ヶ所に所蔵されるニヤ遺跡出土簡牘と文書」,日中共同ニヤ遺跡学術調査隊編:『中日日中共同尼雅遺跡学術調査報告書』第3巻,京都:中村印刷株式会社,2007年,306-307頁。 34 日中共同ニヤ遺跡学術調査隊編:『中日日中共同尼雅遺跡学術調査報告書』第2巻(本文編),京都:中村印刷株式会社,1999年。 35 林梅村:《汉代精绝国与尼雅遗址》,见《汉唐西域与中国文明》,北京:文物出版社,1998年,第244-255页。 36 阮秋荣:「尼雅遗址聚落形态初探」,日中共同ニヤ遺跡学術調査隊編:『中日日中共同尼雅遺跡学術調査報告書』第2巻(本文編),京都:中村印刷株式会社,1999年,194頁。 37 孟凡人:《尼雅N14遗迹的性质及相关问题》,见《新疆考古与史地论集》,北京:科学出版社,2000年,第162-174页。 38 刘文锁:《论尼雅遗址遗物和简牍与建筑遗迹的关系》,见余太山主编:《欧亚学刊》第3辑,北京:中华书局,2002年,第116-149页。 39 王樾:《略说尼雅发现的“苍颉篇”汉简》,《西域研究》1998年第4期,第55-58页。 40 范晔:《后汉书》,北京:中华书局,1965年。 41 马雍:《〈汉龟兹左将军刘平国作亭诵〉集释考订》,见《西域史地文物丛考》,北京:文物出版社,1990年,第24-40页。 42 荣新江:《西域粟特移民聚落考》,见《中古中国与外来文明》(修订版),北京:生活·读书·新知三联书店,2014年,第17-33页。 43 罗帅:《玄奘之纳缚波与马可波罗之罗卜再研究——兼论西晋十六国时期楼兰粟特人之动向》,《敦煌研究》2019年第6期,第101-108页。 44 Stein M. A., Ancient Khotan: Detailed Report of Archaeological Explorations in Chinese Turkestan, vol. 1, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1907. 45 汪涛、汪海岚:《安瑙印章及其引出的问题》,韩香译,见朱玉麒主编:《西域文史》第6辑,北京:科学出版社,2011年,第79-88页。 46 马雍:《新疆所出佉卢文书的断代问题——兼论楼兰遗址和魏晋时期的鄯善郡》,见《西域史地文物丛考》,北京:文物出版社,1990年,第89-111页。 47 Sims-Williams N., Bactrian Documents from Northern Afghanistan III: Plates, London: The Nour Foundation, 2012. 48 马雍:《古代鄯善、于阗地区佉卢文字资料综考》,见《西域史地文物丛考》,北京:文物出版社,1990年,第73-75页。 49 林梅村:《佉卢文书及汉佉二体钱所记于阗大王考》,见《西域文明——考古、民族、语言和宗教新论》,北京:东方出版社,2013年,第280-289页。 50 张广达、荣新江:《关于和田出土于阗文献的年代及其相关问题》,见《于阗史丛考》(增订新版),上海:上海书店出版社,2021年,第58-59页。 51 Burrow T., “Tokharian elements in the Kharo??hī documents from Chinese Turkestan,” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, No. 4 (1935), pp. 667-675. 52 林梅村:《洛阳所出佉卢文井栏题记——兼论东汉洛阳的僧团与佛寺》,见《西域文明——考古、民族、语言和宗教新论》,北京:东方出版社,2013年,第387-404页。 53 僧祐:《出三藏记集》,苏晋仁、萧鍊子点校,北京:中华书局,1995年。 54 郝树声、张德芳:《悬泉汉简研究》,兰州:甘肃文化出版社,2009年。 55 罗帅:《贵霜帝国的贸易扩张及其三系国际贸易网络》,《北京大学学报(哲学社会科学版)》2016年第1期,第115-123页。 56 Jettmar K. (ed.), Antiquities of Northern Pakistan: Reports and Studies, vol. 1, Rock Inscriptions in the Indus Valley, Mainz: P. von Zabern, 1989. 57 Dani A. H., “Kharosh?hī inscriptions from the sacred rock of Hunza,” in G. Polle (ed.), India and the Ancient World: History, Trade, and Culture Before A.D. 650, Leuven: Departement Ori?ntalistiek, 1987, pp. 33-46. 58 新疆维吾尔自治区博物馆:《新疆民丰县北大沙漠中古遗址墓葬区东汉合葬墓清理简报》,《文物》1960年第6期,第9-12页。 59 孙机:《建国以来西方古器物在我国的发现与研究》,见《仰观集——古文物的欣赏与鉴别》,北京:文物出版社,2015年,第434-435页。 60 林梅村:《汉代西域艺术中的希腊文化因素》,见郑培凯主编:《九州学林》第1卷2期,上海:复旦大学出版社,2004年,第16-21页。 61 赵丰:《尼雅出土蜡染棉布研究》,见饶宗颐主编:《华学》第9—10辑,上海:上海古籍出版社,2008年,第790-802页。 62 吴焯:《从考古遗存看佛教传入西域的时间》,《敦煌学辑刊》1985年第2期,第66页。 63 Konow S., “Note on the inscription on the silk-strip No. 34: 65,” in Bergman F., Archaeological Researches in Sinkiang, Especially the Lop-Nor Region, Stockholm: Bokf?rlags Aktiebolaget Thule, 1939, pp. 231-234. 64 新疆楼兰考古队:《楼兰城郊古墓群发掘简报》,《文物》1988年第7期,第23-39页。 65 林梅村:《楼兰新发现的东汉佉卢文考释》,见《西域文明——考古、民族、语言和宗教新论》,北京:东方出版社,2013年,第193-195页。 66 Yoshida Y., “Additional notes on Sims-Williams’ article on the Sogdian merchants in China and India,” in Cadonna A. & Lanciotti L. (eds.), Cina e Iran: da Alessandro Magno alla Dinastia Tang, Firenze: Leo S. Olschki Editore, 1996, pp. 69-70. 67 林梅村:《犍陀罗语文学与中印文化交流》,见《古道西风——考古新发现所见中西文化交流》,北京:生活·读书·新知三联书店,2000年,第359-360页。 68 林梅村:《新疆营盘古墓出土的一封佉卢文书信》,《西域研究》2001年第3期,第44-45页。 69 陈寿:《三国志》,北京:中华书局,1982年。 70 李吉甫:《元和郡县图志》,贺次君点校,北京:中华书局,1983年。 71 刘昫:《旧唐书》,北京:中华书局,1975年。 72 沈约:《宋书》(修订本),北京:中华书局,2018年。 73 魏收:《魏书》(修订本),北京:中华书局,2017年。 74 林梅村:《勒柯克收集品中的五件犍陀罗语文书》,见《松漠之间——考古新发现所见中外文化交流》,北京:生活·读书·新知三联书店,2007年,第150-165页。 75 庆昭蓉:《龟兹语—印度俗语双语木简THT4059、THT4062与SI P/141的再考释》,见李肖主编:《语言背后的历史——西域古典语言学高峰论坛论文集》,上海:上海古籍出版社,2012年,第188-203页。 76 吉田豊:『コータン出土8-9世紀のコータン語世俗文書に関する覚え書き』,神戸:神戸市外国語大学外国学研究所,2006年。 |
|
|
|