Pièce SC78/2 - Sino–Tibetan Empire Treaty Inscription

1 rubbing, 1 sheet

This consists of one large sheet formed by pasting together eight smaller sheets, measuring approximately 82cm (w) × 368cm (h) in total. The rubbing contains Chinese writing on the right and Tibetan writing on the left. The Chinese characters are only faintly legible, and the Tibetan are mostly illegible, but the piece is presumably a reproduction of the Sino–Tibetan Empire Treaty Inscription on the stone pillar erected in Lhasa in AD 823. The rubbing includes the main inscription of the treaty from one of the four sides of the pillar.

A note written on the accompanying wrapping paper reads: 'Rubbing of the Tibetan Chinese Inscription at Lhasa. Presented by W. W. Rockhill 26 Nov. 1893. See JRAS XII n.s. 516–518, 534.'

Open. Please contact the Archivist.

• chinois
• tibétain

The JRAS reference for the second rubbing is to the article The Early History of Tibet. From Chinese Sources by Stephen W. Bushell, published in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society in October 1880. The article includes two plates of the inscription along with Bushell’s restoration of the Chinese characters. It is unlikely that the plate in the article was reproduced from this rubbing donated by Rockhill, as the plate features a much more clearer writing than the rubbing.