New Trends in Dongba Script Research
This article by Deng Zhangying surveys new trends in Dongba script research, a field of Naxi pictographic writing studies spanning over a century since Terrien de Lacouperie (1885) and Jacques Bacot (1913). The author argues that 21st-century scholarship has expanded its source materials and deepened theoretical inquiry, identifying five emerging developments: (1) critical reflection on existing dictionaries (Li Lin-ts'an's, Rock's, and Fang Guoyu's) and a shift toward using primary scripture texts rather than dictionary-derived data, since dictionaries were compiled indirectly via Dongba priests' oral glosses rather than extracted directly from original manuscripts, and suffer from artificial character segmentation and serious omissions; (2) renewed attention to compiling character glosses (zishi); (3) growing focus on collecting and studying practical/applied Dongba documents; (4) increasing attention to Dongba scripts used by Naxi sub-branches; and (5) deeper theoretical study of Dongba writing system characteristics.
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