Numerous texts in Turkic runic script have been discovered and published in China’s Xinjiang region. Among these, in addition to the book-sized Irk Bitig, many other manuscript fragments have also been obtained. However, paper is not the only material such scripts are written on.
A wooden stick with Old Turkic inscriptions was discovered in Hotan, a remote area south of the Taklamakan Desert. “The exact location where this stick was found in Hotan is unknown. The stick was purchased by the National Library of China in 2007 and is currently preserved there under inventory number BX 3-95.
The Turkic text on the stick is finally translated
In 2012, Peter Zieme attempted to read the text, but he misidentified the letters and could not decipher the content of the text.
Professor Erhan Aydın from Dokuz Eylül University has recently translated the Old Turkic text on the wooden stick found in Hoten into Modern Turkish:
Old Turkic: “Aş bulunçın uk antag tok az ermiş”
Turkish: “Aş(ın) kıymetini bil! Bu yüzden tok az imiş.”
English: “Know the value of food! Or else you starve”
Professor Erhan Aydın provided information about the inscription, saying, “There isn’t any date on the stick. However, it most probably dates back to the ninth century.”
He commented on the meaning of these phrases. “The most important aspect of this text is the wish for respect towards food. It is a concise expression that basically means: “Do not waste food so you do not go hungry!'”
“I have been contemplating how to read this text for 10 years”
Prof. Aydın told the story of how he came across the text: “I saw this text at an exhibition at the National Library of China in 2013 and took photographs of it. I have been contemplating how to read these 15 letters that I never stopped thinking about since the day I first saw them.”
Prof. Aydın explained why the text was difficult to read: “The difficulty in reading the text is due to its distinct style from other inscriptions. It turns out that we are dealing with variant forms of letters. Another significant reason why the text has not been able to be understood until today is the absence of vowels.”
“There is another text that I plan to publish before the end of this year”
Prof. Aydın announced that there is another text written on four wooden plaques from Hotan. “Another significant text found in Hotan is an inscription written on four wooden plaques. This inscription was published by two Chinese colleagues, but they misread it as a late period text from around the eleventh century. However, this text also seems to date back to the ninth century. Hopefully, I will publish the text on these four wooden plaques before the end of this year.” he said.
