Exchanges of Folk Rituals and Customs between Peoples in Turfan and Dunhuang——A Discussion Based on Extant Chinese,Tibetan,Uighur and Tangut Versions of the Sutra of the Ten Kings
Dunhuang and Turfan were both places where many different ethnic groups lived together in medieval China,and in which many religions and cultural practices converged.Sustained contact led naturally to the blending of funeral rituals and customs.Though it remains difficult to conduct detailed research at present based on available historical manuscripts,textual research of the Sutra of the Ten Kings has proven to be a fruitful method because the text exerted widespread influence on medieval funeral rituals and folk customs in the region.Chinese and Uighur versions of this sutra have been unearthed at both Dunhuang and Turfan,while several versions in Tangut and Tibetan have also survived until today.Over the course of its history,Dunhuang was successively ruled by different ethnic groups,including the Han,Tibetan,Uighur and Tangut.Studying the funeral practices of different ethnic groups and religions based on the interpretation of the Sutra of the Ten Kings that was popular at different times throughout history has revealed much about the exchanges between different peoples and religions at Dunhuang,as well as deepened our understanding of the way that disparate groups perceived themselves as belonging to a single community.
Sutra of the Ten Kingsimages of the Ten Kingsfuneral ritualsfuneral customsUighurTangut(Western Xia)TibetManichaeismZoroastrianism
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