This study is based on a manuscript which was carried by a Chinese monk through the monasteries
of the Hexi corridor as part of his pilgrimage from Wutaishan to India. The manuscript has
been created as a composite object from three separate documents with Chinese and Tibetan
texts on them. Included is a series of Tibetan letters of introduction addressed to the heads
of monasteries along the route functioning as a passport when passing through the region. The
manuscript dates to the late 960s coinciding with the large pilgrimage movement during the
reign of Emperor Taizu of the Northern Song recorded in transmitted sources. Therefore it is
very likely that this is a unique contemporary testimony of the movement of which our pilgrim
was also part. Complementing extant historical sources the manuscript provides evidence for
the high degree of ethnic cultural and linguistic diversity in Western China during this
period.
