Among the Tibetan texts in the Sven Hedin Collection now preserved in the Ethnographical Museum (Folkens Museum), Stockholm, there are three documents which are considered to belong to the Old Tibetan period. Their photos were first published in Bailey (1973), together with comments on a few Khotanese-related words, the texts being numbered Hedin 1, 2 and 3. But since then, they have not been paid due attention. In May 1990, I was able to examine these three manuscripts by courtesy of the Folkens Museum and Professor Staffan Rosén, secretary of the Hedin Collection.On examination, I realized that all three texts are contracts, but of different kinds: that is, Hedin 1 is a sale contract, Hedin 2 a loan contract, and Hedin 3 a contract of hiring. Each exemplifies one of the three major types of Old Tibetan contract. Although different in kind, they show a close resemblance in both form and content: they are written on paper of similar size and quality. The left edge of each document is torn off in a similar way, but my attempts to join them together showed that they were not likely to have formed one piece. Paleographically, the three texts are written in similar styles, though apparently by different hands. They also have in common somenames of the persons concerned (cf. §IV). All these shared features clearly suggest that these three texts, even though they were not originally one, belong to the same period and location.
to challenge the traditional picture of Buddhist monks as meditation specialists. With reference to Buddhist art in particular, Schopen has shown that the monk as depicted in the Mūlasarvāstivāda vinaya is "a construction foreman, an art promoter, a banker, an entrepreneur, sometimes a shyster and sometimes a saint" (Buddhist Monks and Business Matters, Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2004, pp.19-20). In the same article (pp. 35-6) Schopen argues that the function of religious paintings, according to this particular monastic code, is primarily to attract patrons and donations. The authors of this volume have many valuable things to say about the art and architecture of the caves; yet their argument that meditation practice is the key to understanding the architecture and painting at Kuča leaves much open to question. Too little is said of the economics of patronage, the availability of materials and technology, and the agency of the craftsmen and artists who created the caves, sculptures and paintings. Vignato acknowledges this lack (p. 105), stating that the socioeconomic aspects of the caves "will need to be further explored as new material evidence becomes available". Nevertheless, the book provides a useful survey of the architecture and art of this key Buddhist site, bringing together a great deal of information and analysis in a single, well-illustrated volume.
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