The Rules of Sanskrit-Chinese Phonetic Transcription in the Sutras Translated by Xixia(西夏) and the Dialect of Northwest China

Among the Chinese sutras excavated at the ruins of Khara-khoto,some were new versions translated by the Xixia(西夏) preceptors from the Sanskrit originals,and most of these were printed during the reign of Renzong(仁宗)(1140-1193)of the Xixia(西夏) State.Different from the other Buddhist texts in Chinese,the phonetic values of the Chinese characters used in translating and transcribing the dharani of the sutras accorded to those in the dialect of Northwest China.The main purpose of this paper is to explore the rules of Sanskrit-Chinese phonetic transcription and explain how the Sanskrit syllables were transcribed into Chinese by adapting to the Chinese phonology,hoping that it can help people to grasp the general picture of the dialect of Northwest China in the 12th century and provide assistance to the phonetic reconstruction of the Tangut phonology based on the Tangut-Chinese transcription of Fanhan He Shi Zhangzhong Zhu(番汉合时掌中珠).