A study on Dongba manuscripts from the perspective of cultural geography

Abstract

Dongba manuscripts are traditional Chinese texts written in pictographic Dongba script. The Dongba script likely originated in the early Tang dynasty, and no later than the Northern Song dynasty in the 11th century. The distribution of the Dongba manuscripts corresponds to the distribution of the eastern and western dialects of the Naxi ethnic group. Dongba manuscripts from different regions exhibit significant differences in character forms and writing styles, displaying regional characteristics. Dongba manuscripts are categorized into four regions based on their distribution: the first region features small characters, simple strokes, and a rustic style; the second region features round and delicate characters with even strokes; the third region mainly features three-line scripts with concise strokes and clear writing and with varying spacing; the fourth region features more annotated characters, denser lines, reduced spacing between characters, and a variety of ways to convey meaning and pronunciation. The geographical distribution of Dongba manuscripts is closely related to surrounding ethnic groups such as the Han, Tibetan, Bai, and Lisu.