Abstract
Recently, researchers have shown an increased interest in Dongba secular documents whereby scholars can carry out ground-breaking research on Dongba script and Naxi culture. The Dongba Tici is of great significance in Dongba secular written records, which play an invaluable role in daily life for Naxi people. In previous studies of the Dongba Tici, the different types of the Dongba Tici have been found to be written for people, for institutions, for meetings, for the commemoration of tours and journeys, and so on. So far, however, there remains a paucity of research on the Dongba Tici, which was written by Dongba religious priests for themselves. In this study, we draw on a linguistic approach to exploring Baidi He Nianheng’s Tici written in Dongba script. The results indicate that He Nianheng, one of the Dongba religious priests in Baidi, showed responsibility for being a Dongba shaman in his later years and conveyed his deep feelings about a sense of living on borrowed time in his Dongba Tici. In addition, we also find a new Dongba pictogram and several unusual variants of Dongba pictograms, which can be added to the reference books of Dongba script.
Introduction
Over the past decades, researchers have become gradually aware of the significance of Dongba script, which has come to be seen as an irreplaceable cultural heritage of Chinese culture. The literature of Dongba script consists of the religious documents particularly pertinent to Naxi manuscripts (the classics of the Naxi nationality dwelling in Yunnan Province in ancient China) and some secular documents aspiring to reflect daily social life. The secular documents of Dongba script are usually comprised of a wide and diverse variety of subtypes, such as land titles, ledgers, loan receipts, diaries, letters, and Tici 题词 (Yu, 2001). All of these are priceless and beneficial for the study of Dongba script and Naxi culture.
Being a unique and precious part of the secular documents of Dongba script, the Chinese term the Dongba Tici 东巴题词 is one of the common etiquette terms. It is usually a text inscribed to a person, an object or an event as a memorial and can be written anywhere by Dongba priests. It generally serves different purposes in distinct situations. The Tici can be created for people, for institutions, for conferences, for the commemoration of tours and journeys, and so on. There have already been several published and interpreted Tici. For example, Dongba Hecai living in Ludian of Yunnan Province inscribed a Dongba Tici for the three children of Dong Zuobin in 1943 (Yu, 2006a); Yide Cili, another Dongba residing in Eya of Sichuan Province, dedicated a Tici to Zeng Xiaopeng (2013). Also, Dongba He Shukun in Baidi of Yunnan wrote a congratulation Tici for Tsinghua University on its centennial anniversary in 2011 (Zhao, 2013: 72–73). Similarly, He Zhiben and He Jiquan, who are Dongba in Baidi of Yumnan, created a congratulation Tici for the second International Dongba Culture Festival held in Lijiang in 2003 (Yu, 2006b). Furthermore, Li Lincan produced a Tici for the Aming Divine Cave of Baidi in 1942 (Yu, 2016a). Likewise, He Zhiben composed a Tici for that place afterwards (Yu, 2016b: 889–894). However, there are no Tici written by Dongba for themselves.
He Nianheng was a veteran Dongba in Shuijia Natural Village of Baidi Administrative Village of Sanba Naxi Township of Shangri-la County of Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan Province. He duplicated some Dongba scriptures and chants in a hard copy notebook in his twilight years, at the request of Yang Zhengwen, a scholar of Naxi nationality born in Baidi.
The Dongba also appended some thoughts to the scriptures and chants, which can be perceived to be both postscripts and the Tici. Since Yang Zhengwen were allowed to copy those original Tici by hand, one of the copied Tici was published in the Dongba Xiangxing Wenzi De Yingyong (Yang, 2008a: 123). In fact, the published Tici was initially handwritten by He Nianheng for himself (see Figure 1 for details). Specifically, this poignant Tici was made after Dongba He Nianheng composed the chant Guqi, in which Dongba put across a sense of helplessness towards his declining years. The Tici was subsequently published again in Dongba Shuhua Xuan (Yang and Yang, 2010: 243). Tici transcribed from He Nianheng by Yang Zhengwen (2008a: 123).
Yang Zhengwen has annexed the following Chinese translation of the Tici to his book: 水甲村基索家东巴年恒说下这几句话:我这人看来就要去死地了,正如凡女人都要嫁到夫家,凡夫妻都要生儿育女一样,我虽活着,心却早已远走高飞。假若真的到了那天,随人怎么说,说了也白说,话随白云去,话随鹤影去,话随雁影去。我自己觉得十分伤心啊,伤心如冰雪,眼泪止不住流下,溢满了眼眶啊!
Dongba Nianheng of the Jisuo family in Shuijia Village said: “I am dying, just as a woman has to be married to a man and a couple has to give birth to their children. Although I’m still alive, my heart has already gone far away. If my last day comes, let it be. Words will disappear with clouds, flying into the sky like cranes and wild geese. I feel truly grieved. Tears flow from my eyes like melting snow.”
Unfortunately, there are some problems in Yang Zhengwen’s translation. Therefore, we hereby attempt to study the writing background of the Tici, to translate the Tici word by word, and to investigate its scripts. This research will not only assist us in further accurately understanding the delicate emotional world of Dongba, but also enrich the expression forms of Dongba script in philology.
Background information on the Tici
The original writer: Dongba He Nianheng
It is acknowledged that the Tici was transcribed by Yang Zhengwen from Dongba He Nianheng. Thus, we assume that the original writer should be He Nianheng. He Nianheng was an eminent Dongba renowned as one of the best Dongba priests in Baidi. Yu Suisheng (2017: 104) inferred that Dongba He Nianheng was born in 1912, according to the postscript written by He Nianheng in Tuzuo scripture. The postscript said: “It had been written in the twelfth month of the lunar year Renxu, when Dongba Nianheng of Shuijia Village was approaching 71 years old.”
Dongba He Nianheng had written numerous Dongba scriptures in his early years, the majority of which were donated to Minzu University of China with the assistance of an intermediary, He Zhiwu, in 1962. Beijing Diqu Dongbawen Zongmu·Houji, edited by Xu Lihua (2009: 513) read: He Fayuan once said: “The 1449 volumes of Dongba scriptures have been collected by the Institute of Ancient Books, Minzu University of China. Those volumes were obtained by Professor He Zhihua (a scholar of Naxi nationality in Minzu University of China) and me in 1952 from Zhongdian and Weixi Counties in Yunnan. We bartered tea, brown sugar, salt, buckets, washbasins and other things with the local people for the scriptures. There were five boxes in total. Out of the five boxes, four boxes were over 2000 volumes of books and one box contained religious instruments.”
Yu Suisheng (2017: 98) pointed out that many of the scriptures were labeled as “the handwritten copy of Baidi,” and the copying time was initially determined to be in 1952, but was later revised to 1962. In addition, He Nianheng also donated Dongba scriptures several times (Yang, 1999: 160).
Dongba He Nianheng has made remarkable contributions to the exploration and collection of Dongba culture. For instance, Dongba He Nianheng interpreted hundreds of Dongba scriptures for the research group of Minzu University of China and Lijiang Cultural Center in Baidi and Lijiang in 1962. Of the 31 scriptures included in Dongba Jingdian Xuanyi by He Zhiwu (1994), 16 scriptures were interpreted by Dongba He Nianheng. In 1983, he was invited to attend the Dongba and Daba Forum held in Lijiang. He passed away in 1985.
Writing background and time of the Tici
It has been recorded that Yang Zhengwen (2008b: 123) had asked Dongba He Nianheng to write in Dongba script: I went to Kunming to have a meeting once and met with my primary school teacher He Wenyao. I asked him to bring some notebooks, sketch books, pens, gifts and a box of pigment for Chinese painting to Dongba Nianheng. In the next year, Dongba Nianheng had copied three scriptures, one Dongba chant and a sketch book with dozens of Dongba paintings, when I returned home to visit my family. Hence, I tried my best to make some compensations for him. In the spring of that year, I asked him to interpret those Dongba scriptures and I took notes according to his interpretations. In the end of one of the scriptures, he wrote some sentences for me in Dongba script. He sighed that time waits for no man, otherwise he could express all his feelings and thoughts. He passed away on August 12, 1985.
It can be inferred from the narration of Yang that Dongba He Nianheng wrote those scriptures and Dongba chants in 1983.
However, the postscript of Tuzuo scripture written by He Nianheng records differently: “It has been written in the twelfth month of the lunar year Renxu, when Dongba Nianheng of Shuijia Village was about to be 71 years old” (Yu, 2017: 104). It is self-evident that the lunar year Renxu refers to the year of 1982. Besides, the Tici was written by Dongba He Nianheng himself, and the narration of Yang Zhengwen was based on his memory. Based on that evidence, we tend to believe that the Tici was also written in 1982.
Connotation of the Tici
The Tici written by Dongba for themselves often directly expressed their feelings and thoughts. In 1982, Dongba He Nianheng was already 71 years old. The Tici he wrote at that time reflects his sense of responsibility as the Dongba. As long as he was alive, he, being the Dongba, would perform religious rites and ceremonies for the local people at funerals, weddings and the moment of childbirth. However, on second thoughts, He Nianheng realized that he did not have much time left, so he felt extremely distressed with his eyes filled with tears.
Interpretation of the Tici
We have dissected the original Tici word by word for the purpose of easily comprehending the literal and the implied meaning of the Tici. The translation and interpretation of the Tici will be shown in this section.
The first sentence
is an initial symbol with no pronunciation.
[be33] means “a hatchet.” It is borrowed to express the meaning of [ʂu21] “iron,” and it is used as phonetic symbol of the first syllable of [ʂu21 ʥə21].
[ʥə21] means “a steelyard weight.” It is used as the second syllable of [ʂu21 ʥə21]. The two characters, 
[be33] and 
[ʥə21], are pronounced together to express the village name “Shui Jia” [ʂu21 ʥə21].
[ue33] means “a village.”
[ʨi55] means “a par of shears” used in shearing sheep. It is used as a phonetic symbol of the first syllable of [ʨi55 so33].
[so33] means “a big steelyard.” It is used as a phonetic symbol of the second syllable of [ʨi55 so33]. The two characters, 
[ʨi55] and 
[so33], are pronounced together to indicate the family name “Jisuo” [ʨi55 so33].
is a compound pictogram. It represents the combination of [to33] 
“plank of wood” and [bɑ33] 
“big neck,” which are pronounced together to express [to55 bɑ21] “Dongba.”
[ȵə21] means “eyes.” It is used as the first syllable of [ȵə21 hɯ33].
[hɯ33] means “teeth.” It is used as the second syllable of [ȵə21 hɯ33]. The two characters, 
[ȵə21] and 
[hɯ33], are pronounced together to express a person’s name [ȵə21 hɯ33] “Nianheng.”
[nɯ33] means “a heart.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate the subject marking particle [nɯ33].
[ʂə] is a Geba character, which represents [ʂə33] “said.”
[me33] means “a vagina.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate a modal particle [me55].
Full pronunciation: ʂu21 ʥə21 ue33 ʨi55 so33 to55 bɑ21 ȵə21 hɯ33 nɯ33 ʂə33 me55.
Translation: Dongba Nianheng of the Jisuo family in Shuijia Village said.
The second sentence
[ŋə21] means “to exorcize ghosts.” It refers to bending the bamboo slip for hitting ghosts on the ground, and using it to flick ghosts. This symbol is borrowed as “I.”
[i33] means “the serow.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate an auxiliary denoting a continuing relationship.
[ɑ33] means “to exhale.” It is used as the first syllable of [ɑ33 i21].
[i21] means “to leak.” It is used as the second syllable of [ɑ33 i21]. The two characters, 
[ɑ33] and 
[i21], are pronounced together to express [ɑ33 i21] “now.”
[ʂʅ33] means “being dead.”
[me33] means “a vagina.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate an auxiliary structural particle [me55].
[ko21] means “a needle.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “a house.”
[lɑ21] means “hands.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “also.”
[bɯ33] means “a half a liter of.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “to go.”
[dər33] means “a bamboo mat or screen.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “should.”
[ʨi55] means “a par of shears” used in shearing sheep. It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “the progressive form of a verb.”
[me33] means “a vagina.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate a modal particle [me55].
Full pronunciation: ŋə21 i33 ɑ33 i21 ʂʅ33 me55 ko21 lɑ21 bɯ33 dər33 ʨi55 me55.
Translation: Now I should go to the house where there is someone dead.
The third sentence
[tʂhv33] means “time.” It is used as the first syllable of [tʂhər33 me33].
[me55] means “mother.” It is used as the second syllable of [tʂhər33 me33]. The two characters, 
[tʂhv33] and 
[me55], are pronounced together as one character to express the meaning of [tʂhər33 me33] “a bride.”
[mi33] means “fire.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “a female.”
[ʐv21] means “mountain willows.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “to marry.”
[me33] means “a vagina.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate a structural particle [me55].
[ko21] means “a needle.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “a house.”
[lɑ21] means “hands.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “also.”
[bɯ33] means “a half a liter of.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “to go.”
[dər33] means “a bamboo mat or screen.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “should.”
[ʨi55] means “a pair of shears” used in shearing sheep. It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “the progressive form of a verb.”
[me33] means “a vagina.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate a modal particle [me55].
Full pronunciation: tʂhər33 me33 mi33 ʐv21 me55 ko21 lɑ21 bɯ33 dər33 ʨi55 me55.
Translation: I should go to all families where I must officiate at the wedding ceremonies.
The fourth sentence
[zo21] means “a jar.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate [zo33] “a son.”
[mi33] means “fire.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “a female.”
[ɕi21] means “a paddy.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “parenting.”
[me33] means “a vagina.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate a structural particle [me55].
[ko21] means “a needle.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “a house.”
[lɑ21] means “hands.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “also.”
[bɯ33] means “a half a liter of.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “to go.”
[dər33] means “a bamboo mat or screen.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “should.”
[ʨi55] means “a pair of shears” used in shearing sheep. It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “the progressive form of a verb.”
[me33] means “a vagina.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate a modal particle [me55].
Full pronunciation: zo33 mi33 ɕi21 me55 ko21 lɑ21 bɯ33 dər33 ʨi55 me55.
Translation: I should go to the house where women are giving birth.
The fifth sentence
[ŋə21] means “to exorcize ghosts.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “I.”
[ɑ33] means “to exhale.”
[ʥy33] means “a turnip.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “to have.”
[ȵə21] means “eyes.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “time.”
[bɯ33] means “a half a liter of.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “to go.”
[ʦo21] means “a gecko.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate the auxiliary word [ʦo33] “will.”
[uɑ33] means “five.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “to be.”
[me33] means “a vagina.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate a modal particle [me55].
[ŋə21] means “to exorcize ghosts.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “I.”
[lɯ55] “a louse.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “be going to.”
[mə33] means “not.”
[ʥy33] means “a turnip.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “to have.”
[se21] means “a blue sheep.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate a tense auxiliary word “has been.”
[nɯ33] means “a heart.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate a modal particle.
Full pronunciation: ŋə21 ɑ33 ʥy33 ȵə21 bɯ33 ʦo33 uɑ33 me55, ŋə21 lɯ55 mə33 ʥy33 se21 nɯ33.
Translation: I’ll go there while I’m alive, yet I’ll be long gone.
The sixth sentence
[ʣɿ21] means “flying ghosts.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “what.”
[ȵi33] means “the sun.” It is extended to mean “day.” The two characters, 
[ʣɿ21] and 
[ȵi33], are
pronounced together to express the meaning of [ʣɿ21 ȵi33] “what day.”
[tho33] means “to lean on.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “later.”
[ʥy21] means “a bracelet.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate [ʥy33] “to have.”
[ho21] means “ribs.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate [ho55] “to bless.”
[tho33] means “to lean on.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “later.”
[ʥy21] means “a bracelet.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate [ʥy33] “to have.”
[le33] means “a river deer.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate an adverb “again.”
[hɯ33] means “teeth.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “to go.”
[ho21] means “ribs.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate [ho55] “to bless.”
Full pronunciation: ʣɿ21 ȵi33 tho33 ʥy33 ho55 tho33 ʥy33 le33 hɯ33 ho55.
Translation: I hope there’ll be more days left for me, and if so, I will go there again later.
The seventh sentence
[ʨi21] means “clouds.”
[tʂu55] means “an awl.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “among.”
[le33] means “a river deer.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate an adverb “again.”
[hɯ33] means “teeth.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “to go.”
[ho21] means “ribs.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate [ho55] “to bless.”
[ko33] means “a crane.”
[o21] means “a turquoise.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “a shadow.”
[le33] means “a river deer.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate an adverb “again.”
[hɯ33] means “teeth.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “to go.”
[ho21] means “ribs.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate [ho55] “to bless.”
Full pronunciation: ʨi21 tʂu55 le33 hɯ33 ho55 ko33 o21 le33 hɯ33 ho55.
Translation: May the cranes fleet in the clouds.
The eighth sentence
[ʥi21] means “water.”
[tʂu55] means “an awl.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “among.”
[le33] means “a river deer.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate an adverb “again.”
[hɯ33] means “teeth.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “to go.”
[ho21] means “ribs.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate [ho55] “to bless.”
[kɑ33] means “a wild goose.”
[o21] means “a turquoise.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “a shadow.”
[lɯ55] means “a louse.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “be going to.”
[le33] means “a river deer.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate an adverb “again.”
[hɯ33] means “teeth.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “to go.”
[ho21] means “ribs.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate [ho55] “to bless.”
Full pronunciation: ʥi21 tʂu55 le33 hɯ33 ho55 kɑ33 o21 lɯ55 le33 hɯ33 ho55.
Translation: May the wild geese wander by the riverside, and I’ll be there again by then.
The ninth sentence
[zo21] means “a jar.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate [zo33] “a man.”
[nɯ33] means “a heart.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate the subject marking particle.
[le33] means “a river deer.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate an adverb “again.”
[sɿ55] means “thatch.” it is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “to feel, consider.”
[me33] means “a vagina.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate a structural particle [me55].
[nv21] means “soybeans.” It is used as the first syllable of [nv55 me33].
[me33] means “a vagina.” It is used as the second syllable of [nv55 me33]. The two characters, 
[nv21] and 
[me33], are pronounced together to express the meaning of [nv55 me33] “a heart.”
[ʨhi33] means “thorns.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “pain.”
[me33] means “a vagina.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate a structural particle [me55].
[nɯ33] means “a heart.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate a modal particle.
[ʥi21] means “water.”
[ʨhi33] means “thorns.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “cold.” The two characters, 
[ʥi21] and 
[ʨhi33], are pronounced together to express the meaning of [ʥi21 ʨhi33] “cold water.”
[lɑ21] means “hands.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “also.”
[thv33] means “cheese.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “to pour.”
[me33] means “a vagina.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate a modal particle [me55].
Full pronunciation: zo33 nɯ33 le33 sɿ55 me55 nv55 me33 ʨhi33 me55 nɯ33 ʥi21ʨhi33 lɑ33 thv33 me55.
Translation: I feel a lot of pain in my heart, as if cold water had been poured on it.
The tenth sentence
[ȵə21] means “eyes.”
[bər21] means “a yak.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “tears.”
[bu21] means “a slope.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “stream.”
[me33] means “a vagina.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate a structural particle [me55].
[nɯ33] means “a heart.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate the subject marking particle.
[ȵə21] means “eyes.”
[ʣɿ33] means “a stockade.” It is used as the second syllable of [ȵə21 ʣɿ33] to indicate “eye sockets.” The two characters, 
[ȵə21] and 
[ʣɿ33], are pronounced together to express the meaning of [ȵə21 ʣɿ33] “eye sockets.”
[ko21] means “a needle.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “inside.”
[lɑ21] means “hands.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “also.”
[thv33] means “cheese.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate “to.”
[se33] means “end.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate a status particle [se21] “le.”
[me33] means “a vagina.” It is used as a phonetic symbol to indicate a modal particle [me55].
Full pronunciation: ȵə21 bər33 bu21 me55 nɯ33 ȵə21 ʣɿ33 ko21 lɑ33 thv33 se21 me55.
Translation: Tears streamed from my eyes.
Full translation: Dongba Nianheng of the Jisuo family in Shuijia Village said: “Now I’m supposed to go to all families where there is someone dead, wedding ceremonies are being held, or women are giving birth. I’ll go there while I’m alive, yet I’ll be long gone. I hope there’ll be more days left for me, and if so, I’ll go there again later. May the cranes fleet in the clouds, and may the wild geese wander by the riverside, and I’ll be there again by then. I feel a lot of pain in my heart, as if cold water had been poured on it, and tears streamed to my eyes.”
Script research
According to Yu Suisheng’s research on the original manuscript of Tuzuo’s postscript written by He Nianheng, as well as on the transcription of Yang Zhengwen, it is speculated from the shape of the characters that this postscript would be a transcription of Mr. Yang. Therefore, this section of the paper deals with the characteristics of Mr. Yang’s wording and writing.
Script overview and writing form
There are 117 symbols (including reused ones) in the literature, including 1 symbol at the beginning of the volume, 115 Dongba pictograms and 1 Geba script. Among the Dongba characters, there are 106 loan characters, accounting for 92.17%. In the text, there are 115 single Dongba pictograms in which one pictogram corresponds to one syllable, with the only exception of the compound pictogram 
, which corresponds to two syllables. This pattern features one-to-one correspondence in the relation of pictograms and syllables within the social documents of Dongba script.
The text of the transcription is written horizontally on a single sheet of paper in a linear order of words, from left to right, from top to bottom. The lines are arranged linearly according to the word order. Each line is basically horizontal word by word, with each character occupying one position, and the overall layout is neat and orderly.
Variant characters of the same meaning and multiple functions in one character
The same meaning is expressed repeatedly with different characters in this document.
For example, [ʥy33] means “to have” in the fourth line of the document. This meaning is expressed by two different characters. The first one is the character that originally means “turnip” [ʥy33], which is written as 
in the fifth line. The second one is the character originally referring to “bracelet” [ʥy21], which is written as 
.
Some characters appear multiple times, but with different functions.
The character 
is borrowed as the first syllable of the first name “Jisuo” [ʨi55 so33] in the first line of the document; it is borrowed as a status particle indicating “the progressive form of a verb” [ʨi55] in the second line.
The character 
is borrowed as the first syllable of the person’s name “Nianheng” [ȵə21hɯ33] in the first line of the document; it is borrowed as “time” [ȵə21] in the fourth line; it is borrowed as the first syllable of “tears” [ȵə21 bər33] and “eye sockets” [ȵə21 ʣɿ33] in the eighth line.
The character 
is borrowed as the second syllable of the person’s name “Nianheng” [ȵə21 hɯ33] in the first line of the document, and is borrowed as “to go” [hɯ33] in the fifth line.
The character 
is borrowed as a modal particle in the first line of the document and is borrowed as a structural particle [me55] in the second line.
The character 
is borrowed as the first syllable of “now” [ɑ33 i21] in the first line of the document, and it represents the original meaning of “to exhale” [ɑ33] in the fourth line.
The character 
is borrowed as “home” [ko21] in the second line of the document, and is borrowed as “inside” [ko21] in the eighth line.
Homographs, unusual variant characters and a new pictogram
Homographs
In the first line of the document, the character referring to “steelyard weights” [ʥə21] is written as 
. It is similar to the character representing “dice” [sɿ21], which is written as 
(Fang 11291). In addition, the pictogram denoting “steelyard weights” [ʥə21] is generally written as 
(Fang 1100).
Unusual variant characters
Here, [so33] means “a big steelyard,” which is written as 
in the first line of the transcription. It is usually written as 
, 
, 
(Li 11772). The way of writing this pictogram in this transcription is slightly different from the widely accepted way in other literature. Specifically, the transcriber straightened the slash lines that represent a graduated scale on the longer arm of a steelyard. Moreover, the position of the rope of the steelyard weight on the right-hand side is symmetrical with the position of the rope of the steelyard hook on the left-hand side.
[bər21] means “a yak,” and it is written as 
in the eighth line of the document. This character is generally written as 
(Fang 360), but some hair has been added to the top of the yak’s head and neck in the way of writing this pictogram in this document.
[ʨhi33] means “thorns.” The character is usually written as 
(Fang 181). However, in the eighth line of the document, it is written as 
, in which a curved line has been added to the bottom of the original character.
[ŋə21] means “to exorcize ghosts.” It is written as 
in the first line of the document. The character is commonly written as 
(Fang 1232) or 
(Li 1731), which seem to be thin bamboo strips inserted into the ground for flicking ghosts, and the strips are generally divided into five pieces.
[i33] means “to leak.” It is written as 
in the second line of the document. The character is generally written as 
(Fang 281), which seems like a cracked leaking egg. Actually, there are also variants of this pictogram in which the upper arc has been omitted, such as 
(Li 1561) and 
(Mu 6913). The way of writing the pictogram in this document is obviously different from its other variants. Specifically, the upper curved part indicating the egg has been left out and the two split lines in the lower part of the pictogram have been transformed into a zigzag.
[zo21] means “a jar,” and it is written as 
in the third line of the document. Generally, this character is written as 
(Fang 891) or 
(Mu 741), which conforms to the shape of a jar. In Baoshan, Mingyin, Dadong, Dagu, Sanba, Oya and other places, it is also written as 
, whose shape is close to the way of writing this character in this document, but in fact they are fairly different from each other.
[ho21] means “ribs,” and it is written as 
in the fifth line of the document. The character is generally written as 
(Fang 746). In Baoshan, Mingyin, Dadong, Dagu, Sanba, Oya and other places, it is usually written as 
. It looks similar to the writing method in this document, wherein some fold strokes have been used to replace the common round strokes.
[thv33] means “cheese,” and it is written as 
in the eighth line of the document. The character is generally written as 
(Fang 933). In Baoshan, Mingyin, Dadong, Daju, Sanba, Eya and other places, it is also written as 
. However, the way of writing this character is slightly different from its common variants, and it is another new variant.
[bu21] means “slope,” and it is written as 
in the eighth line of the document. Usually, the character is written as 
, 
, 
. The way of writing this character is unique and special in this transcription.
New pictogram
In the sixth line of the transcription, the pictogram representing “a wild goose” [kɑ33] is written as 
. The pictogram is used as a morpheme in 
, which means “the autumn” [mɯ33 tʂhv55] (Fang 62). This character is an associative compound of the flower and a wild goose, which refers to “the autumn.” However, the character “a wild goose” has not been included separately in existing reference books of Dongba script.
Conclusion
Baidi Administrative Village is positioned in Sanba Naxi Township, Shangri-La County, Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province. It is the mecca for Dongba priests in which copious literature on Dongba script has been preserved and many distinguished and renowned Dongba have been fostered. He Nianheng’s Tici demonstrates his sense of responsibility and reveal his persistence as a Dongba in his twilight years. As long as he was alive, he was supposed to perform religious duties and ceremonies for which a family makes a request. However, he had been aware that there was little time left for him and he was overwhelmed by the unavoidable sadness and the harsh fact that he was now far past his prime. Furthermore, a new Dongba pictogram and several unusual variants of Dongba pictograms have been discovered, which can be added to the reference books of Dongba script.
Footnotes
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Declaration of conflicting interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Authors’ Contributions
Xiaoli Bai, idea, initial draft, translation and proofreading; Mengxin Pi, partial English translation and proofreading.