China-Tibet/Archaeological Excavation/Buddhism

Chinese archaeologists find Tubo period sutras in Tibet

  • English

Shotlist


FILE: Tibet Autonomous Region, southwest China - August 2020 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Aerial shots of Piyang-Dongga cave site
2. Various of Xiong Wenbin, professor at Sichuan University's Institute of Tibetan Studies, reporter walking around site
3. Various of archaeologists photographing documents
4. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Xiong Wenbin, professor, Institute of Tibetan Studies of Sichuan University (starting with shot 3):
"Judging from the specifications, paper, and characteristics, this batch of documents basically lasted from the Tubo period to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). So its time span is very long."
5. Various of archaeologists photographing documents

Lhasa City, Tibet Autonomous Region, southwest China - April 17, 2021 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
6. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Xiong Wenbin, professor, Institute of Tibetan Studies of Sichuan University (ending with shot 7):
"It was basically confirmed for the first time that there are scriptures from the Tubo period in the Ngari area. The remains of these scriptures have been preserved from the Tubo period to the Qing Dynasty. They form a complete sequence, providing first-hand information for us to study Tibetan Buddhism in the early phyi dar period and exchanges between central Tibet."
7. Various of discovered documents

Storyline


Chinese archaeologists discovered sutras that date back to the Tubo period (about 618-842), as well as physical evidence of the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) governing Ngari Prefecture, from excavations undertaken in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region over the past several years.

The Piyang-Dongga cave site, located in Tibet, is the largest Buddhist cave site discovered in the region to date. Since the 1990s, the tomb site, which includes grottos, murals, Buddhist temples, and pagodas, has been the focus of Tibetan archaeology.

In Dukhang Hall, archaeologists photographed more than 200 documents for their records. Just looking at the ancient documents, experts can tell a lot about their origin.

"Judging from the specifications, paper, and characteristics, this batch of documents basically lasted from the Tubo period to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). So its time span is very long," explained Xiong Wenbin, a professor at Sichuan University's Institute of Tibetan Studies.

An investigation team composed of the China Institute of Tibetan Studies at Sichuan University and the Institute of Cultural Relics Conservation of the Tibet Autonomous Region carefully documented and photographed every parchment they unearthed.

After investigating the site for two months, the archaeological team confirmed for the first time that Dukhang Hall at the Piyang-Dongga site was home to preserved Buddhist scriptures from the Tubo period, as well as the Yuan and Qing dynasties.

"It was basically confirmed for the first time that there are scriptures from the Tubo period in the Ngari area. The remains of these scriptures have been preserved from the Tubo period to the Qing Dynasty. They form a complete sequence, providing first-hand information for us to study Tibetan Buddhism in the early phyi dar period and exchanges between central Tibet," said Xiong.

This batch of precious documents also preserves the records of the imperial edicts of the Yuan Dynasty and the seals of Phags-pa script. Although they are not the original edicts but rather copied documents, they also provided important physical evidence for the Yuan Dynasty central government's governance of Ngari Prefecture.

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  • ID : 8193185
  • Dateline : April 17, 2021/File
  • Location : Tibet,China
  • Category : society,arts, culture and entertainment
  • Duration : 2'06
  • Audio Language : Chinese/Nats
  • Source : China Central Television (CCTV)
  • Restrictions : No access Chinese mainland
  • Published : 2021-05-03 22:07
  • Last Modified : 2021-05-04 00:18:00
  • Version : 2

China-Tibet/Archaeological Excavation/Buddhism

Chinese archaeologists find Tubo period sutras in Tibet

Dateline : April 17, 2021/File

Location : Tibet,China

Duration : 2'06

  • English


FILE: Tibet Autonomous Region, southwest China - August 2020 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Aerial shots of Piyang-Dongga cave site
2. Various of Xiong Wenbin, professor at Sichuan University's Institute of Tibetan Studies, reporter walking around site
3. Various of archaeologists photographing documents
4. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Xiong Wenbin, professor, Institute of Tibetan Studies of Sichuan University (starting with shot 3):
"Judging from the specifications, paper, and characteristics, this batch of documents basically lasted from the Tubo period to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). So its time span is very long."
5. Various of archaeologists photographing documents

Lhasa City, Tibet Autonomous Region, southwest China - April 17, 2021 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
6. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Xiong Wenbin, professor, Institute of Tibetan Studies of Sichuan University (ending with shot 7):
"It was basically confirmed for the first time that there are scriptures from the Tubo period in the Ngari area. The remains of these scriptures have been preserved from the Tubo period to the Qing Dynasty. They form a complete sequence, providing first-hand information for us to study Tibetan Buddhism in the early phyi dar period and exchanges between central Tibet."
7. Various of discovered documents


Chinese archaeologists discovered sutras that date back to the Tubo period (about 618-842), as well as physical evidence of the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) governing Ngari Prefecture, from excavations undertaken in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region over the past several years.

The Piyang-Dongga cave site, located in Tibet, is the largest Buddhist cave site discovered in the region to date. Since the 1990s, the tomb site, which includes grottos, murals, Buddhist temples, and pagodas, has been the focus of Tibetan archaeology.

In Dukhang Hall, archaeologists photographed more than 200 documents for their records. Just looking at the ancient documents, experts can tell a lot about their origin.

"Judging from the specifications, paper, and characteristics, this batch of documents basically lasted from the Tubo period to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). So its time span is very long," explained Xiong Wenbin, a professor at Sichuan University's Institute of Tibetan Studies.

An investigation team composed of the China Institute of Tibetan Studies at Sichuan University and the Institute of Cultural Relics Conservation of the Tibet Autonomous Region carefully documented and photographed every parchment they unearthed.

After investigating the site for two months, the archaeological team confirmed for the first time that Dukhang Hall at the Piyang-Dongga site was home to preserved Buddhist scriptures from the Tubo period, as well as the Yuan and Qing dynasties.

"It was basically confirmed for the first time that there are scriptures from the Tubo period in the Ngari area. The remains of these scriptures have been preserved from the Tubo period to the Qing Dynasty. They form a complete sequence, providing first-hand information for us to study Tibetan Buddhism in the early phyi dar period and exchanges between central Tibet," said Xiong.

This batch of precious documents also preserves the records of the imperial edicts of the Yuan Dynasty and the seals of Phags-pa script. Although they are not the original edicts but rather copied documents, they also provided important physical evidence for the Yuan Dynasty central government's governance of Ngari Prefecture.

ID : 8193185

Published : 2021-05-03 22:07

Last Modified : 2021-05-04 00:18:00

Source : China Central Television (CCTV)

Restrictions : No access Chinese mainland

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