Higuchi Koichi (Ehime, Japan)

How were Mongolian versions of the Lotus sutra translated, compiled and transmitted?; through examination of the Turfan fragments

(57th Annual Meeting of the PIAC Vladivostok, 2014)

The Lotus sutra was firstly translated into Mongolian in the 14 th century; the fact that two fragments of the original translation excavated at Turfan remind us of its Uighur version affords eloquent testimony to it. However, the versions contained in the Mongolian Kanjur or the so-called Peking xylographs are different translations and all of them are seemingly based on the Tibetan version but not on the Uighur or the Chinese version. This fact can make us assume that these Modern translations are not dependent on the Middle translation, of which parts are no other than the Turfan fragments, while through careful reexamination of the fragments we can presume that the Modern translations and the Middle one are not necessarily independent; more complicated relationship than expected can be established between them. It is possible that this is a reflection of a multi-ethnical society of the Middle and the Modern periods.