buddhism in the west uyghur kingdom and beyond 231
dated to the middle of the 14th century and are important witnesses of the
caves as places of pilgrimage.182 Some wall paintings in the earlier caves are
the work of the West Uyghurs.183
In some inscriptions in later times, the holy place is referred to by the
Mongolian loan süm (< Mong. süme) meaning ‘temple, monastery, shrine’.184
The inscription H,185 for instance, relates that a group of pilgrims headed by
prince Buyan Kulı186 visited the monastery at the Yulin site and transferred
their merit. Inscription D gives a long list of persons from the district of
Shazhou (OU šaču čölge) who came to visit the place.187 The inscriptions H,
I,188 J,189 K,190 L,191 O,192 P193 and Q194 equally specify the composition of the
group of pilgrims who visited the Yulin Caves. Sometimes the date of the visit is
given.195 Occasionally, the purpose of the visit to the caves is expressed:
different scripts found in Xinjiang (新疆) and Gansu is the article by Porció, Tibor, “Some
Pecularities of the Uygur Buddhist Pilgrim Inscriptions,” in Searching for the Dharma,
Finding Salvation—Buddhist Pilgrimage in Time and Space, ed. Christoph Cueppers and
Max Deeg (Lumbini: Lumbini International Research Institute, 2014), 157–178.
182 Several inscriptions (A–N) are to be found in cave no. 12. Inscription G (ed. Hamilton, Niu,
“Inscriptions ouïgoures,” 142–143) can be interpreted as being in alliterative verse:
ädgüli ayıglı nomlarnıŋ
agıẓı amraglı köŋül ol
ädgüti agı kim bilsär
ädgün barmıš ymä ol ok ol
183 Moriyasu, “Sha-chou Uighurs,” 32.
184 Inscription A (ed. Hamilton, Niu, “Inscriptions ouïgoures,” 129), inscription E (ed.
Hamilton, Niu, “Inscriptions ouïgoures,” 139). In inscription I (line 4, ed. Hamilton, Niu,
“Inscriptions ouïgoures,” 146) the term buhar süm for the monastery is attested.
185 Ed. Hamilton, Niu, “Inscriptions ouïgoures,” 144. Reedited in Matsui, “Revising the Uighur
Inscriptions,” 18.
186 The name of the prince is partly restored.
187 Ed. Hamilton, Niu, “Inscriptions ouïgoures,” 134.
188 Ed. Hamilton, Niu, “Inscriptions ouïgoures,” 146–147.
189 Ed. Hamilton, Niu, “Inscriptions ouïgoures,” 148–149, reedition in Matsui, “Revising the
Uighur Inscriptions,” 22.
190 Ed. Hamilton, Niu, “Inscriptions ouïgoures,” 150–151.
191 Ed. Matsui, “Revising the Uighur Inscriptions,” 25.
192 Ed. Hamilton, Niu, “Inscriptions ouïgoures,” 156–157. The editors think that four persons
are mentioned: Sarıg from Suzhou (OU sügčülüg) and his three sons: D(a)rma Širi, Säŋgä
Širi and Bilgä. However, the last word, which had been read bilgä could be interpreted as
birlä (‘together with’) so that only two sons remain.
193 Ed. Hamilton, Niu, “Inscriptions ouïgoures,” 158.
194 Ed. Hamilton, Niu, “Inscriptions ouïgoures,” 160–161.
195 Inscriptions H (line 1), J (line 1), L, M (ed. Hamilton, Niu, “Inscriptions ouïgoures,” 155). A
date is given in inscription F, too. See Hamilton, Niu, “Inscriptions ouïgoures,” 142.