A Comparative Study of Editions of Phonetic Loan Characters in Dongba Scriptures
This article studies phonetic loan characters (jiajiezi) in the Dongba script used by the Naxi people's Dongba religion. Because Dongba scriptures were transmitted orally and copied individually from master to disciple across generations, different lineages produced distinct textual styles, making it rare to find two identical manuscripts even within the same region. Focusing on the early scripture "Genesis" (Chuangshiji), the author compares three different versions circulating in the Ludian area—narrated/translated by different Dongba priests (He Yuncai/He Fayuan, He Fang/Zhou Rucheng, and He Shicheng/He Fayuan)—to examine how loan characters are used across versions of the same scripture from the same region. Through detailed phonetic transcription and character-by-character glossing of one version (labeled "Jiaben"), the study illustrates specific instances of loan-character usage, revealing similarities and variations that reflect differences in scribal tradition, phonetic representation, and interpretive choices among Dongba practitioners, contributing to research on Naxi ancient script and phonetic borrowing.
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