Yunnan Update, Pali MS, inscriptions, etc.

Very briefly:

It appears that there is some significant research to be done here,
both regarding stone inscriptions and palm-leaf manuscripts.

As with everywhere in Asia, a large part of that research is in
determining precisely what is meant by "there is nothing" (or the
obverse claim: "everything was destroyed").  What must be re-iterated
is simply that this problem is universal to the field, not peculiar to
China, viz., the first question in Cambodia, Laos, etc., would be the
same ("what exactly do you mean by 'there is nothing'?").

I've been visiting various libraries to examine the small numbers of
manuscripts, etc., and speaking with academics about both the
materials on stone and those on palm & mulberry-paper.

At a minimum, this research could spin off a small article for the
JPTS or equivalent.

Prior to my arrival here, it genuinely seems that nobody had taken the
tally of precisely how much of "nothing" there is to study here since
1947 --and there is indeed a great deal of "nothing" relative to any
one scholar's ambitions.  (Again: the same could be said of Northern
Laos, etc. --this problem is not uniquely Yunnanese, nor is it worse
in China than elsewhere)

I've been invited to contribute a paper (in Chinese) to the Journal of
the Ethnic Minority University --and will endeavour to compose
something in very simple English, to then render into Chinese (I've
yet to meet an appropriate translator...).

I've also been invited to present the paper, or something similar, at
one of a pair of conferences that are on the horizon (here in
Kunming).  For those who have been following my recent reports from
the Thai academic milieu, it should indeed be evident that both the
individuals and institutions here have been more welcoming and more
helpful than elsewhere --and have shown genuine interest in my work,
etc.

There is an endemic and ongoing problem of the sale/theft of stone
inscriptions in never-translated ancient Indian languages (i.e.,
variously assumed to be Sk., Pali, or misc. Prakrit --possibly just
very crude Pali mistaken as the others, etc., given the religious
context of Nan Chao, etc.).

One academic [name unstated] is "talking tough" about cultural
preservation --viz., preventing the ongoing "looting" of these
inscriptions.  I genuinely do not know if his efforts will prove to be
dangerous --as there is both money involved, and at least some degree
of embarassment for some responsible authorities.

Apart from that academic, I've heard several reports of how "Hong Kong
businessmen" simply buy these stones (primarily from around the lake
adjacent to Dali, but also as far away as the Sino-Burmese
borderlands) --and there is always some confusion when I ask, "yes,
but who do they buy them FROM?" --i.e., who presents themselves as the
owners to collect the money.

The best answer I have heard is, "People in the temple".

The institutional context here is in no way comparable to any other
Theravada country or region.  Who really is meant by such "people in
the temple" is very difficult to say --even where the outward form of
the responsible authorities is made to resemble Thai norms.

E.M.
www.pali.pratyeka.org