Three curious dogs in a Dunhuang manuscript: re-evaluating the identification of “yaks” in Pelliot chinois 2598

Abstract

A relatively understudied manuscript in the Pelliot collection, Pelliot chinois 2598, features a drawing on its verso of three animals tentatively identified as yaks. However, I would like to re-identify these as being a particular kind of dog which appeared suddenly in the early Tang 唐 (618–907) dynasty. This case will be built on the visual correlations between this image and other descriptions and depictions of such dogs. The manuscript and drawing as a whole will also be explored to contextualize this depiction, which may in turn lead us to hypothesize about the existence, visually or physically, of these dogs and their associated tropes in Dunhuang 敦煌.