Shi Wei (失(室)韦) in Khitan Small Script in Historical Materials

Yingzhe Wu

Shi Wei (失(室)韦) in Khitan Small Script in Historical Materials

(60th Meeting of the PIAC, Székesfehérvár 2017)

This article attempts to initiate a discussion on the tribal names Shi Wei (失(室)韦) and Meng Wu (蒙兀) recorded in Khitan small script through comparing and contrasting the newly found material “Epitaph of Gong Ning Taishi” with the old materials in Khitan small script, and also to present the author’s own views.

Firstly, there is another possibility to reconstruct the pronunciation of Shi Wei (失(室)韦) as ʃilbunən, besides the pronuncation ʃilunən;

Secondly, . (U+18CC8, U+18C44, U+18BA0) the pronunciation of which torlpen is similar to the record 夺里本, 讨平也 in Liaoshi is presumed to be ‘to conquer’ or ‘to put down a rebellion’;

Finally, based on the mid-ancient Chinese pronunciation, the pronunciation of Meng Wu (蒙兀) is reconstructed as muŋŋuət, which is similar to the pronunciation of Khitan small script . (U+18C0F, U+18C9A, U+18C6A, U+18CA6).