གསེར་ཡིག ། gser yig

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Wangchuk 2016: 373–375 “The term gser yig seems to have at least three levels or layers of meaning or usage. (a) The primary (‘literal’) meaning of the term seems to be ‘an inscription/letter/document/scripture/treatise written with gold,’⁶ and hence should be understood in concrete terms. (b) Obviously, gser yig in the sense of ‘an imperial letter/decree’ is secondary in meaning,⁷ and ‘gold’ in this case is to be understood figuratively.⁸ It is, however, possible that royal decrees or letters of grave importance were written with gold, as the legend of Srong btsan sgam po’s wooing the Chinese princess as his bride suggests. The Tibetan emperor is said to have sent a letter threatening the Chinese emperor, which is described as “a letter in Chinese characters written with gold on blue paper” (rgya nag stong khun gyi yi ge mthing shog la gser gyis bris pa) placed in a “casket of the royal command” (bka’ shog sgrom bu).⁹ (c) Another secondary meaning of the term gser yig (or gser gyi yi ge) seems to be ‘first (class) award certificate (yig tshangs)¹⁰ or ministerial rank,’ said to have been bestowed during the imperial period in Tibet.¹¹ Such a ministerial rank was called gser yig obviously because the minister received from the emperor a kind of a certificate or decree made of gold (or gilded) plate upon which the rank was inscribed. It is said that during the time of the Tibetan king Srong btsan sgam po, ministerial ranks were classified hierarchically into three groups: first class (rab), consisting of g.yu yig (‘turquoise certificate’) and gser yig (‘gold certificate’); second class (’bring), consisting of dngul yig (‘silver certificate’) and phra men gyi yi ge (perhaps ‘manganese certificate’);¹² and third class, consisting of zangs kyi yi ge (‘copper certificate’) and lcags kyi yi ge (‘iron certificate’). sBa gSal snang, for instance, is said to have been awarded the ‘Grand Gold Certificate’ (gser gyi yi ge chen po) by Khri srong lde btsan.¹³ In addition to the actual document/certificate inscribed in gold and the highest ministerial rank, the term gser yig also refers to the person who is directly associated with it. The term is unambiguous if it is employed in its nominalised form gser yig pa (or gser gyi yi ge pa). But even when this is not the case, it is clear from the context when gser yig has been employed as a possessive (bahuvrīhi) compound, namely, as meaning ‘one who bears or is associated with a gser yig.’ Thus, gser yig (pa) or gser gyi yi ge pa refer to three kinds of persons, namely, (a) a minister who holds a gold insignia or certificate,¹⁴ (b) a messenger who bears a royal letter or decree,¹⁵ and (c) a clerk or calligraphist who prepares such a letter or certificate.¹⁶

⁶ The first meaning of gser yig in Brag g.yab’s Bod brda’i tshig mdzod (s.v. gser yig) is gser gyis bris pa (‘[something] written with gold’). This primary meaning has been presupposed in bTsan lha’s gSer gyi me long (s.v. gser gyi yi ge), which states: gser gyi byang bu’i thog tu go gnas sogs bkod pa’i yi ge zhig gi ming (‘a designation for an inscription on a golden writing support on which rank-title and the like have been written’). Interestingly, this meaning does not seem to be recorded in the Tshig mdzod chen mo.

⁷ Tshig mdzod chen mo (s.v. gser bris): gong mas btang ba’i bka’ yig (‘letter/decree sent by the emperor’). See also the Dung dkar tshig mdzod (s.v. gser yig pa). The second meaning given by Brag g.yab in his Bod brda’i tshig mdzod (s.v. gser yig) is yi ge’i zhe sa (‘honorific for letter’).

⁸ The figurative use is made explicit in the Dung dkar tshig mdzod (s.v. gser yig pa): rgyal pos btang ba’i bka’ yig la gser yig zer zhing gser dang ’dra bar rin thang che zhing dkon pa yin pa’i don (‘a letter sent by a king is called a “golden letter” and it has the connotation of being precious and rare like gold’).

⁹ For the content of the letter, see, for example, the Nyang ral chos ’byung (pp. 210.16–211.1). Cf. dPa’ bo gTsug lag phreng ba, mKhas pa’i dga’ ston (p. 109.23).

¹⁰ Tshig mdzod chen mo (s.v. yig tshangs): sngar chos rgyal srong btsan gyis blon po rnams la bya dga’ gnang ba’i yig lam (‘award certificate bestowed upon ministers by the Dharma King Srong btsan [sgam po]).’ See also ibid. (s.v. yig tshangs drug). See also bTsan lha, gSer gyi me long (s.v. yig tshangs). See Jo sras or mKhas pa lDe’u, lDe’u chos ’byung (pp. 255.21–256.4): na drug (yi ge che ba drug = g.yu gser phra men che chung gnyis re byas pas drug) and ne drug (yi ge chung ba drug = dngul, ra gan, ’khar ba, zangs, dpal lcags, shing skya chu ris); ibid. (p. 263.12–21): (1) dgung blon chen po = yig tshang g.yu’i yi ge che ba, (2) dgung blon ’bring po = yig tshang g.yu’i yi ge chung ba, (3) dgung blon chung ba = yig tshang gser gyi yi ge chen po; (4) nang blon tha chung dang yo ’gal ’chos pa ’bring po = yig tshang gser yig chung ba, (5) yo ’gal ’chos pa chung ba = yig tshang ’phra men gyi yi ge mtho (ba); ibid. (pp. 266.15–267.11): che drug chung drug; ibid. (p. 270.13–14): yig tshang drug. Dunhuang manuscripts also mention terms such as tha shing skya chu rus kyi yi ge, ke ke ru’i yi ge, and ra gan gyi yi ge. See the annotation in bSod nams skyid & dBang rgyal, Tun hong shog dril (p. 52, n. 2). The note also quotes the relevant passage from the mKhas pa’i dga’ ston (dBang gyal & bSod nams skyid, Tun hong yig cha, p. 79, n. 117). These are found also in Pelliot tibétain 1071 (online) and reproduced in Tun hong shog dril (pp. 12–51); Tun hong yig cha (p. 79, n. 124); bTsan lha, gSer gyi me long (s.v. gser gyi yi ge).

¹¹ bTsan lha, gSer gyi me long (s.v. gser gyi yi ge): gser gyi byang bu’i thog tu go gnas sogs bkod pa’i yi ge zhig gi ming.

¹² The term phra men poses a challenge. Giuseppe Tucci has identified phra men as ‘Silver inlaid,’ for which, see Tucci 1956: 88 and Ehrhard 1990: 103, n. 71. It may also be noted that phra men is a gender-unspecific Tibetan rendering of the Sanskrit ḍāka or ḍākinī. A gender-specific translation of ḍāka is phra men pha, and of ḍākinī, phra men ma. See, for examples, Negi’s Bod legs tshig mdzod (s.vv. phra men, phra men pha & phra men ma), which provides the Laṅkāvatārasūtra as a source. Cf. Jäschke 1881: (s.v. phra men) ‘sorcery, witchcraft.’

¹³ Ko zhul, mKhas grub ming mdzod (p. 1258.10–12).

¹⁴ This meaning is not mentioned in the Dung dkar tshig mdzod (s.v. gser yig pa) and Tshig mdzod chen mo (s.v. gser yig pa), but the expression gser gyiyi ge pa referring to a minister (zhang blon) is attested in Dunhuangmaterials (e.g. Pelliot tibétain 1071).

¹⁵ Dung dkar tshig mdzod (s.v. gser yig pa): bka’ yig khyer ba’i mi de la gser yig pa zer (‘a person who bears a royal decree is called a gser yig pa’). See also the Tshig mdzod chen mo (s.v. gser yig pa): gong ma’i bka’ yig skyel mi bang chen (‘an envoy bearing a letter (or decree) of the emperor’).

¹⁶ Dung dkar tshig mdzod (s.v. gser yig pa): skabs re rgyal po’i mdun gyi drung yig la’ang gser yig pa zhes ’bod gsol yod pa skabs dang sbyar shes pa dgos so (‘One should know according to the context that occasionally there is also the custom of referring to a clerk in the presence of the king as gser yig pa'). See also the Tshig mdzod chen mo (s.v. gser yig pa): gong ma’i drung yig (‘emperor’s clerk’).”

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