“I would rather be a dog’s or a pig’s wife than yours!”. A letter written by a Sogdian woman named Miwnay to her husband. Miwnay was abandoned by her husband in Dunhuang for 3 years and forced to be a servant with her daughter Shayn in a Chinese household. 313-314 CE, British Library [1937×1203]

> “Letter #3 is written by Miwnay, a Sogdian woman who accompanied her husband to Dunhuang and has now been abandoned there along with her daughter Shayn. She writes to her husband Nanaidhat directly, who has been missing for some time without sending word to his wife. Miwnay’s letter describes her attempts to find assistance among the Sogdians in Dunhuang, giving us a glimpse of the ways in which the diasporic Sogdian communities abroad maintained a network of support for one another (Whitfield 2001, 249). Unfortunately for Miwnay, she is unable to find assistance in this way, and we learn that both Miwnay and her daughter are surviving as servants in a Chinese household.

[https://www.historyofinformation.com/detail.php?id=5032](https://www.historyofinformation.com/detail.php?id=5032)

Translation:
> [Verso] From (his) daughter Shayn to the noble lord Nanai-dhat.

> [On another part of the verso] From (his) servant [left unfinished].

> [Recto] To (my) noble lord (and) husband Nanai-dhat, blessing (and) homage on bended knee, as is offered to the gods. And (it would be) a good day for him who might see you healthy, happy (and) free from illness, together with everyone; and, sir, when I hear (news of) your (good) health, I consider myself immortal!

> Behold, I am living …, badly, not well, wretchedly, and I consider myself dead. Again and again I send you a letter, (but) I do not receive a (single) letter from you, and I have become without hope towards you. My misfortune is this, (that) I have been in Dunhuang for three years thanks(?) to you, and there was a way out a first, a second, even a fifth time, (but) he(!) refused to bring me out. I requested the leaders that support (should be given) to Farnkhund for me, so that he may take me to (my) husband and I would not be stuck in Dunhuang, (for) Farnkhund says: I am not Nanai-dhat’s servant, nor do I hold his capital. I also requested thus: If he refuses to take me to (my) husband, then … such support for me that he may take me to (my) mother. The leaders say: Here in Dunhuang there is no other relative closer than Artivan, (but) Artivan [say]s: Farnkhund … whatever … to do for you. If(?) I(?) (had) no guarantee, no protection, my father … I have become … not … How much more would I have … by my father if … a servant of the Chinese! A free man … who found … and … keeps (his) clothing in good condition(?). And you write (your) bidding to me about everything in … so that I should … you and I should know how to think, and if I do not … you, then you write to me so that I should know how to serve the Chinese. In my paternal abode I did not have such a restricted … as with(?) you. I obeyed your command (lit. took your command upon my head) and came to Dunhuang and I did not observe (my) mother’s bidding nor (my) brothers’. Surely(?) the gods were angry with me on the day when I did your bidding! I would rather be a dog’s or a pig’s wife than yours! And for me …

> Sent by (your) servant Miwnay. This letter was written in the third month on the tenth day.

> [Added in the margin] From (his) daughter Shayn to the noble lord Nanai-dhat, blessing (and) homage. And (it would be) a good [day] for him [who] might see [you] healthy, rested (and) happy. … I have become … and I watch over a flock of domestic animals. Differently to you, I had a …, and … went out. I am … and I know that you do not lack twenty staters(?) to send. It is necessary to consider the whole (matter). Farnkhund has run away; the Chinese seek him but do not find him. Because of Farnkhund’s debts we have become the servants of the Chinese, I together with (my) mother.

[https://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/sogdlet.html](https://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/sogdlet.html)

There’s another letter from Miwnay to her mother asking for help.

[https://www.ancient-origins.net/history-famous-people/miwnay-sogdian-1700](https://www.ancient-origins.net/history-famous-people/miwnay-sogdian-1700)

Poor Miwnay. She got a crappy husband.