Form of Taxation as depicted in the Kharosthi Documents from Chinese Turkestan

Analysing hundreds of Kharosthi documents unearthed by Sir Aurel Stein at Niya, Endere and Loulan, this article reconstructs taxation in the Shan‑Shan kingdom of Chinese Turkestan in the second to fourth centuries CE. The documents show that the term palpi (palpiya), derived from Sanskrit bali, denoted a general tax paid by tenants to landlords rather than the state. Other fiscal terms, including samarena, tsamghina and koyimamdhina, appear to refer to taxes on royal lands or specific types of produce. Vega‑kilme palpi is interpreted as a tax on irrigated plots, while vaka amna indicates the landlord’s share of grain as rent. The documents list taxes paid in kind—cereals, fruits, pulses, oils, sugar, salt—and even animals like camels. Officials such as the koyima, tsamghinava and sugnuta were responsible for assessment, collection and transport. Records detail procedures for measuring fields, calculating shares, issuing receipts, remitting taxes after floods and punishing arrears. Through linguistic analysis, the author reveals a sophisticated fiscal system balancing royal demands with tenants’ obligations and shows how Indian, Central Asian and Chinese influences merged in this frontier economy. The study underscores the value of Kharosthi documents for economic history and illustrates the complexity of taxation beyond the Indian subcontinent.

AI-generated summary, automatically checked against the article text.