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| 0135 |
On Ancient Central-Asian Tracks : vol.1 |
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OCR Text
Sasanian period ending in the seventh century A.D. This
close contact in time with the remains of the Dandan-
oilik shrines adds to the interest which the introduction of
the deified Iranian hero into the local Pantheon of Khotan
affords as an illustration of the accretions undergone by
Buddhist cult on its passage into Central Asia.
The time when the site of Dandan-oilik was abandoned
to the desert can fortunately be determined by converg-
ing chronological evidence from manuscript remains of a
secular character. There were found in some ruined dwelling-
places, probably monastic, small sheets of thin paper
with Brahmi script (Fig. 33). On subsequent examination
these have proved to be documents drawn up in Khotanese
language and relating to petty local transactions, such as
deeds of loan, requisition orders, etc. The palaeographic
character of these writings as well as of the canonical
Buddhist manuscripts pointed to the eighth century as their
probable date. The correctness of this approximate dating,
due mainly to the scholarship of the late Dr. Hoernle, one
of my oldest and most helpful collaborators, has been estab-
lished by a series of Chinese documents (Fig. 34) brought to
light from more than one of the ruined monastic quarters.
When examined by the late Professor Chavannes, the
lamented great Sinologue of Paris and my unfailing guide
in all that related to Chinese records, they proved to con-
tain petitions for the recovery of debts, bonds for small
loans, reports from a small local officer and the like. As was
to be expected in documents drafted by people so strongly
imbued with chronological sense as the Chinese are, these
finds supply us with exact dates ranging from A.D. 781 to
790. They have given us also the Chinese name, Li-sieh, of
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561
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571
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578
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