Zhang-Zhung | |
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Region | Western Tibet and Central Asia |
Era | 7th–10th century |
Sino-Tibetan
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Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 |
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Linguist list
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xzh |
Glottolog | zhan1239 |
Marchen |
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Type | |
Languages | Zhang-Zhung |
Direction | Left-to-right |
ISO 15924 | Marc, 332 |
Unicode alias
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Marchen |
U+11C70–U+11CBF |
Zhang-Zhung (Tibetan: ཞང་ཞུང, Wylie: zhang zhung) is an extinct Sino-Tibetan language that was spoken in what is now western Tibet. It is attested in a bilingual text called A Cavern of Treasures (mDzod phug) and several shorter texts.
A small number of documents preserved in Dunhuang contain an undeciphered language that has been called Old Zhangzhung, but the identification is controversial.
A Cavern of Treasures (Tibetan: མཛོད་ཕུག, Wylie: mdzod phug) is a terma uncovered by Shenchen Luga (Tibetan: གཤེན་ཆེན་ཀླུ་དགའ, Wylie: gshen chen klu dga') in the early eleventh century. Martin (n.d.: p. 21) identifies the importance of this scripture for studies of the Zhang-zhung language: