Comparing the Names of Animals in the Altun Yaruk Sudur Text with Their Chinese Equivalence

The Old Uyghur literature is a translation literature in which texts have been translated from many languages. The majority of these are texts with religious content. Even though these religious texts are related to Buddhism, Manichaeism, and other religions, concepts and conceptual areas can be seen in these texts that reflect the Turkish mental structure. One of these conceptual areas involves anima-related vocabulary. This paper compares the animal names mentioned in the Old Uyghur Altun Yaruk Sudur text with the T0663 and T0665 versions of the Sutra of Golden Light, which has three versions in Chinese. When examined in general terms, the Old Uyghur Altun Yaruk Sudur text and the Chinese texts do not coincide exactly with one another, because while the Chinese texts are shorter, the Old Uyghur text is longer. This shows that translators had made some omissions while translating, and as a result, the Old Uyghur text has acquired the identity of a translation copyright rather than a translation. In addition, 39 animal names with Chinese equivalents have been identified in the Altun Yaruk Sudur text, and comparing them with the Chinese text reveals how many of the words are semantically equivalent or not. Thus, the article reveals how much the Uyghur translator adhered to or deviated from the text while translating, as well as how animal names were reflected in the Old Uyghur mental structure.