抄録
This study analyzed the Dunhuang manuscript BD09637, which is preserved in the National Library of China. The author transcribed the entire text into the Latin alphabet and translated it into Japanese. The findings are as follows:
1. The Dunhuang manuscript BD09637 is a register in which contributions received by a monastery in Dunhuang, then under Tibetan rule, were recorded.
2. In this manuscript, two kinds of contributions were recorded. One was called “the usual contribution,” and the other was “the contribution for service.”
3. “The usual contribution” was a fixed amount paid under the Tibetan authority. It was regularly given to the monastery based on “the numbers of srang.” After receiving the contribution, the monastery exchanged it for grain or livestock. The grain was provided from the “granary in Shazhou (沙州, i.e., 敦煌)” or the “granary of the government,” while the livestock was provided from the “unpaid amount of monks” or “unpaid amount of ’A zha”.
4. “The contribution for service” was personally given to the monastery and was an act of faith. It was recorded based on “the numbers of srang” and included Buddhist altar items, silver, and livestock.
5. Regarding “the numbers of srang,” one srang could be exchanged for 3.2–3.52 khal of barley at the time the manuscript BD09637 was written.
All of the usual contributions and some of the contributions for service given to the monastery were based on “the numbers of srang” and were exchanged for supplies by the monastery. It was a rational measure that reduced transportation costs and, in practice, meant that the materials collected from the local people were provided to the monastery. This system was well suited to a situation in which public funds were used for the maintenance of the Buddhist sect in Dunhuang under Tibetan rule.
