On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629–645 A.D. v1.c5.67

v1.c5.67

All the part of the passage which I have put in italics is taken by Julien to refer to the mourning customs of the tribes, and this seems to be the natural and proper interpretation. But it is beset with difficulties. The original for "they flay the face and cut off the ears" is rendered by Julien—"Ils se font des incisions sur la figure et se mutilent les oreilles." The word for "flay" or "make cuts in" is in the D text *li* (釐) which does not seem to give any sense, and in the other texts it is *li* (𠝏) which is an unknown character but is explained as meaning to "flay". Julien evidently regarded the latter character as identical with *li* (𠝏) which is the word used in the T'ang-Shu.² This last character means originally to inscribe or delineate and also to blacken and to flay. As an act of filial mourning for a dead parent the T'ufan people, we are told, blackened (tai 黛) their faces, and among some tribes it apparently was the custom to tear or gash the face at the funeral of a parent or chief. But to flay or brand the face and to cut off an ear were acts of punishment which were perhaps common to all the tribes in question.