Work in progress

Kz-222-ZS-R-02

Known as:Kz-222-ZS-R-02; G-Qm12
Cite this page as:Adrian Musitz (editor translation commentary). "Kz-222-ZS-R-02". In A Comprehensive Edition of Tocharian Manuscripts (CEToM). Created and maintained by Melanie Malzahn, Martin Braun, Hannes A. Fellner, and Bernhard Koller. https://cetom.univie.ac.at/?m-kz222zsr02 (accessed 04 Jul. 2025).

Edition

Editor:Adrian Musitz (editor translation commentary)

Provenience

Main find spot:Kizil
Collection:in situ

Language and Script

Language:TB

Text contents

Text genre:Non-literary
Verse/Prose:prose

Object

Material: engraving on wall
Form:Graffito

Transliteration

a16 kṣu ntsa tri cce [c]o cce ne śta rcye ñu ne tai tsyā· ku neṃ mo lmi śi
a2nau ṣweṃ tsa mai we¯ ¯ñ pa kā ñce e [ṣ]i – [rṣā] [nä] yke ne si mtsa mai ta re tu ntse [ṣo] tr[i] pai yka re |

Transcription

a1n1 6 kṣuntsa tricce coccene śtarcye ñune taitsyā(ṃ)kuneṃ molmiśin2
a2n3 nauṣweṃtsa maiweñ päkāñn4 ce eṣirṣānä ykenen5 simtsa maitare tuntse ṣotri paiykare

Translation

a1+In regnal year 6, third month, in the cocce dayn6 , fourth month, on day nine, young päkāñ(c) came to this... place along the border (?), with general Molmiśi at the fore.
a2They wrote (this as) proof thereof.

Other

a16 年,周(朝)的三月,四月九日,以大将军莫苾 (Zhao and Rong 2020: 171ff)
a2为首的,冠有白(*Päk)[姓]的一群年轻人来到这个......地界 ,写其记。 (Zhao and Rong 2020: 171ff)

Commentary

Philological commentary

*The transliteration has been taken from Zhao and Rong 2020: 171-173.
*The transcription has been taken from Zhao and Rong 2020: 171-173.
n1Ching 2017: co cce teṃ
n2The editors identify Molmiśi with 莫苾 (mòbì, EMC *mak-bjit, LMC *mak-pɦjit) known from Chinese documents. This stretches the limits of phonetic plausibility. How would the cluster -kbj- turn into -lm-, and final -t into -śi?
n3Ching 2017: Eti[laṣ]ā[t]o
n4The editors read päkāñ(c), arguing that the c has been dropped because of the following ceṃ. They connect it to Chinese 白 (bái, *baek), a name often given to Tocharians in Chinese documents, glossing it as "provided with (the surname) päk". However, I believe it is much more likely that the form is to be read as päkāñ, and that it is Tocharian and not a loan word. Maybe there is some connection to Greek πέπων, a word meaning "ripe" that can also be used as a term of endearment when addressing a person. From a morphophonological point of view, it would fit very well.
n5There is a Chinese character below this word that the editors read as 督 ("supervise" or "governor").
n6The editors believe that coccene is an adjective derivation in -tstse of Chinese 周 (zhou), denoting here the interregnum of Wu Zetian. However, from the context alone, we would much rather expect coccene to denote some kind of (holi)day, since it follows directly after the month. If coccene truly denoted a dynasty, we would expect it to be at the very beginning of the line, before kṣuntsa. For another example of an adjective in -tstse denoting a holiday, see PK LC 10 a7-a8parāce.

References

Edition

Zhao and Rong 2020; Ching 2017: 115

Translations

Zhao and Rong 2020: a1 (171ff), a2 (171ff)

Bibliography

Ching 2017

Ching, Chao-jung. 2017. 吐火罗语世俗文献与古代龟兹历史 – Tocharian secular texts and the history of Ancient Kucha. Beijing: Peking University Press.

Zhao and Rong 2020

Zhao, Li, and Xinjiang Rong, eds. 2020. Cave inscriptions in Ancient Kucha. Shanghai: Zhongxi Book Company.