The prints and printing culture of the Old Uyghurs on the ancient northern Silk Road

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Abdurishid Yakup
• Subject Area: Asian Studies
• Term: since 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 531544687

The research project pursues one core objective: the systematic investigation of around 1500 Old Uyghur prints from the 13th to 14th century in terms of their content and formal, technical, and functional aspects in close comparison to Chinese, Mongolian, Tangut, and Tibetan prints from the same period. Among the most important testimonies of the printing culture on the ancient Northern Silk Road, the Old Uyghur prints and wood letters represent the most extensive group of texts, which are considered the oldest examples of printing technique in an alphabetical script on the Silk Road and are unique for the study of the printing culture. Despite the long history of the edition and investigation of Old Uyghur prints,- there is neither an overall overview of the printed texts nor a substantive or systematic formal classification of the entire corpus of Old Uyghur prints;- the reasons for selecting the respective texts for printing have not been investigated;- among the 1535 fragments, only 13 fragments have a clear dating;- the technical aspects of Old Uyghur prints have not been sufficiently investigated;- the role of the Old Uyghurs in the spread of printing technology on the ancient Northern Silk Road and from there to the West has not yet been sufficiently investigated. Within this context, the project puts special focus on the following four points: I. Research on the content: the classification of the content of the entire corpus, the identification of fragments not yet determined in terms of content, and the explanation of the reasons for the selection of texts for printing are the central tasks of the investigation of this part. II. Research on the formal aspects: the systematic description of the formal aspects of Old Uyghur prints, especially the definition of the criteria for formal classification, the classification of Old Uyghur prints according to these criteria, the determination of the places of printing, and the dating of the prints according to formal features form the core of the investigation of this part. III. Research into the technical aspects: the following questions are answered in this part: which types of printing — block printing, letter printing, or other types of printing — can be determined in the Old Uyghur prints? How were the Old Uyghur prints made? Studies on the specific terms related to printing technology are also carried out in this context. IV. The investigation of the functional aspects: this part focuses on the foundation, use, and dissemination of the technique under investigation. The focus is on the participation of the state, Buddhist monasteries, and private individuals in the foundation of Old Uyghur prints, the investigation of the intended use of Old Uyghur prints, the role of the Uyghurs in the dissemination of printing technology in Central Asia and further westwards, as well as the contribution of the Uyghurs to the printing culture of the Northern Silk Road.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants