Literature and Documents ●
This article introduces two newly discovered Dongba-script "renqing" (gift/favor) account books from the Republican era, found during fieldwork in Tacheng, Lijiang, by Yang Yihua and Zhong Yaoping in January 2008. Dongba applied documents reflect real social life of the Naxi people and hold significant historical value, yet they remain scattered and understudied. With the owners' consent, the authors present, translate, and analyze these two account books (labeled "jia" and "yi") for the first time in academic publication—the first such gift-ledgers ever published in this field. The books record gifts exchanged during funeral/memorial rites for deceased mothers, dated 1931 and 1947 respectively. Through character-by-character glossing and translation (sample page provided), the study reveals Naxi kinship terminology, social customs, reciprocal gift-giving practices, burial diversity (earth vs. cremation), and evidence of reciprocated gifts marked by circular notations, illuminating rural Naxi social networks and etiquette.
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