This shall not be repeated here. However, the posting of the database onto the web and the introduction of the full-text search function has made some reformatting inevitable. Also, users with no access to the print version might want an explanation of the numerical code that is given for each site. The second part of the code represents the sequence within each of these groups. Due to additions and deletions this is no longer an unbroken and purely numerical sequence.
Distribution now shows where within a tomb or other site the manuscripts have been found.
For the archival manuscripts from the Chinese northwest that derive from a multitude of sites scattered over large areas, but have been published together, a compromise solution is still adopted in this database. Rather than according to single sites, these manuscripts are listed according to archaeological campaigns and publications, which is also the format they are usually referred to in secondary literature. In these cases, the distribution field tries to make up for the inconsistency by showing how many manuscripts were actually found at which site. The reformatting of the database has forced me to use clear-cut expression and values in most other fields. Often the information in the archaeological reports is not so clear-cut, however, and the remarks field draws attention to moot points.