『92 BC, Crossing the Sea of Hidaka』[086] The Tanakh Transcribed by Dorji
Chapter 4: Kakeru's Trading Partner, the Xiongnu
Section 3: Dorji, the Interpreter of the Xiongnu Language
[086] ■ Episode 2: The Tanakh Transcribed by Dorji
"By the way, Dorji. If you don't mind, could you tell me the story behind the Tanakh you said you brought to the Fuyo inlet?"
"I saw writing for the first time after coming to Fuyo. Josef showed me a letter from his younger brother Dario carved into bamboo slats, and a record of old transactions written on sheepskin and bound together. Both were filled with writing, but they didn't look like the same script at all.
"I've been wondering ever since about that scroll you mentioned called the Tanakh..."
"I see. There isn't much left to say about it, really... The Tanakh is made of thin sheepskin with writing on it, rolled from both ends onto two thin wooden cores. I'll show it to you sometime. The characters written on it are likely the same as those in the letter from Dario you were shown. They are the characters used by the Hu people (Hebrews).
"My clan is a large family made up of many smaller families. The Tanakh has been passed down in that large family since long ago. I believe there were five scrolls in total, and the content is likely the same in all of them. However, even among the Qiang people, I think there are many who have never seen it.
"Among the sons of that large family, the one deemed the wisest is given the duty of transcribing it onto new leather. That is how the Tanakh is kept from disappearing."
"Were you also supposed to transcribe it?"
"No, I was told I didn't have to. I was different from the other children in the clan. The only reason I read and transcribed the Tanakh was to learn the characters.
"There were gatherings where the elders of our clan would read the Tanakh to the children and teach them what it meant, but my grandfather told me I didn't have to go. I think my father was likely told the same thing growing up.
"The Tanakh was not passed down to any of the Qiang people I met after fleeing to the north.
"After my grandfather passed away, my father said to me, 'Once things settle down a bit, could you transcribe it and somehow pass it on to those around us?' But I joined the cavalry and went to war with Yan, so it never happened. My grandfather is gone now. I suppose my father gave up, thinking the Tanakh would end with this..."
"..."
"I think many Qiang people understand Sogdian because they sometimes read the Tanakh. There are many similar words. Besides, above all, they use the same characters. It might have looked different to you, but they are actually the same characters."
"Josef taught me that they are called Aramaic characters."
"Is that so? So those characters are called Aramaic. I didn't know... Naoto, you'd like to see how the characters are written, wouldn't you?"
"Yeah, I would. But why do you think that?"
"You're that kind of man. If you're around, I can tell. You've walked around the carts and tinkered with various things before, haven't you?"
"...Did I do that?"
"Yes, you did."
Dorji laughed and used a long branch he was holding to write something on the ground. It seemed to start from the right and end on the left. There was a small space between the two sequences. Dorji's expression was serious.
"Dorji, what did you write?"
"I wrote, 'The pale sun sets over the Hingan mountains.'"
Dorji spoke the translation into Sogdian.
"Does it mean that?"
"Yes. If I tell you beforehand that this is what is written, anyone who can read the language of the Hu people will read it that way."
"The language of the Hu people... Could you continue a little more?"
"Alright, watch..."
Continuing from above, Dorji lined up a few characters at a time with spaces in between, shifting the position downward as he wrote, and then read it aloud in the language of the Hu people:
"The wind blows from the north, I think of my late father's profile. A black horse runs toward the moon, my aged eyes follow, wondering if it is but a phantom."
It was completely different from Sogdian. At first, Naoto, who had been watching Dorji's hand and elbow movements and his way of writing intently, thought the sound of the words he couldn't understand was interesting and listened quietly. But once Dorji translated it into Sogdian and he understood the content, he became curious about what would follow.
"Dorji, if there is more, could you write it all out?"
He asked. Dorji looked puzzled, but muttering something like "Alright," he continued.
"The pale moonlight illuminates its mane. The earth rings with its hooves, reaching my ears a moment later. I no longer refuse the long sleep."
Dorji looked at him as if to say, "How about that?" so he asked.
"Dorji, did you just think of that and write it down now?"
".... What do you mean?"
"Did you just write down what came to your mind in the language of the Hu people?"
"Ah, that... No, these are the words my grandfather left behind before he died. After he had been bedridden for several days, he had nothing else to do, so after thinking about various things, he had me write them down, and he gave me the finished thin leather just like that. At that time, he said, 'You must surely transcribe the Tanakh in this land.' Come to think of it, those were my grandfather's last words..."
"I see... Your grandfather was a great man. I'm sorry, but could you read it from the top one more time? I'd like to listen to it slowly."
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