| Research Abstract |
In this project we have databased all the Old Tibetan wooden slips unearthed from the ruins along the Silk Road by M. A. Stein and now preserved in the British Library. Their digital images have been made available through internet. In addition, we have provided the following information on each item requisition and site numbers, size, physical description, classification (form and content), transliterated text, key words, etc.
While examining and analyzing the wooden slips, we have attained the following results.
1. Tibetan wooden slips maybe classified into 10 types according to their form and content.
2. The interrelations between shapes and contents of wooden slips have been made clear.
3. The forms and usages of particular types of wooden slips, e.g., tally sticks, have been analyzed in details.
4. Their social and sociolinguistic backgrounds: I.e., who made them, how they were actually used by officials and soldiers, what kind of military administrative system Tibetans employed, etc, have been examined.
Takeuchi publicized part of the research results in papers and lectures delivered at University of St. Andrews (2001/9), University of London (2002/10), Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes at Paris (2003/3), and University of Lausanne (2003/4). The final outcome, namely the database, will be made available through the International Dunhuang Project website (http://idp.bl.uk).
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