Dunhuang's Loans (Material Life and Society in China's Medieval Era)

Author: (French) Tong Pi, translated by Yu Xin and Chen Jianwei
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-02-01
Features: Tong Pi (éric Trombert) is a member of the UMR8583 research group jointly established by the école Pratique des Hautes études (EPHE) and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), and serves as a research supervisor at the fourth department of EPHE and the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Polytechnic Institute. Originally specializing in Dunhuang socio-economic documents, particularly loan contracts and monastic account books, this book is his representative work. After its publication in 1995 by the Institute of Sinology of the Collège de France, it received high praise from the French sinological community. The book is divided into four chapters, with each chapter consisting of three parts: the selection of materials and research methods, the formal evolution and structure and classification of contracts, and the introduction of original materials. Chapter 2 focuses on grain loans during the period of Tibetan occupation, including the study of three representative manuscripts, the agricultural life of Dunhuang as shown in loan contracts, and certain aspects of Dunhuang society reflected in grain loans. Chapter 3 examines fabric loans in the 10th century. Chapter 4 explores the evolution of loan conditions in the 9th-10th centuries. The book also includes 18 analytical charts of loan contracts, a comparative list of loan contract numbers, and other relevant reference materials.