On the office of saṃgha overseer in Dunhuang during the period of Guiyijun rule

This essay focuses on the succession of important monks who occupied the prestigious post of saṃgha overseer (Chin. \(\it sengtong\) 僧統) in Dunhuang after the establishment of the Guiyijun regime (851–1036, Return-to-Allegiance Army, 歸義軍) in the territory from the second half of the 9th century until well into the 11th century. I look at the functions that were formally part of the jurisdiction and duty of the saṃgha overseers and, after that, at the lives of each of these monks. These are being examined against the data yielded by the primary sources, that is, the Dunhuang manuscripts. The overall purpose is to develop a sense of the institution of saṃgha overseer in Dunhuang and to arrive at a deeper appreciation of these monks as primary agents in the religious and political context of this minor kingdom located in Eastern Central Asia on the western-most border of the Chinese cultural space