The Ersu Shaba Pictographic Writing System

The Ersu are a Qiangic people living in southern SìchuanProvince. A diminishing number of Ersu religious practitioners known as shaba employ a pictographic writing system described in Sun Hongkai's 1982 article that is the subject of this translation. An introduction provides background on Sun Hongkai and the theoretical framework he employs to describe the Ersu shaba pictographic writing system; additional footnotes and a map provide further context.