Buddhist Manuscript Cultures

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Buddhist Manuscript Cultures

Stephen C. Berkwitz,Juliane Schober,Claudia Brown
Buddhist Manuscript Cultures Book PDF

Author : Stephen C. Berkwitz,Juliane Schober,Claudia Brown
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 282 pages
File Size : 42,6 Mb
Release : 2009-01-13
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781134002412

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Buddhist Manuscript Cultures by Stephen C. Berkwitz,Juliane Schober,Claudia Brown Pdf

Buddhist Manuscript Cultures explores how religious and cultural practices in premodern Asia were shaped by literary and artistic traditions as well as by Buddhist material culture. This study of Buddhist texts focuses on the significance of their material forms rather than their doctrinal contents, and examines how and why they were made. Collectively, the book offers cross-cultural and comparative insights into the transmission of Buddhist knowledge and the use of texts and images as ritual objects in the artistic and aesthetic traditions of Buddhist cultures. Drawing on case studies from India, Gandhara, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Mongolia, China and Nepal, the chapters included investigate the range of interests and values associated with producing and using written texts, and the roles manuscripts and images play in the transmission of Buddhist texts and in fostering devotion among Buddhist communities. Contributions are by reputed scholars in Buddhist Studies and represent diverse disciplinary approaches from religious studies, art history, anthropology, and history. This book will be of interest to scholars and students working in these fields.

Dunhuang Manuscript Culture

Imre Galambos
Dunhuang Manuscript Culture Book PDF

Author : Imre Galambos
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Page : 327 pages
File Size : 47,8 Mb
Release : 2020-12-07
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 9783110727104

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Dunhuang Manuscript Culture by Imre Galambos Pdf

“Dunhuang Manuscript Culture” explores the world of Chinese manuscripts from ninth-tenth century Dunhuang, an oasis city along the network of pre-modern routes known today collectively as the Silk Roads. The manuscripts have been discovered in 1900 in a sealed-off side-chamber of a Buddhist cave temple, where they had lain undisturbed for for almost nine hundred years. The discovery comprised tens of thousands of texts, written in over twenty different languages and scripts, including Chinese, Tibetan, Old Uighur, Khotanese, Sogdian and Sanskrit. This study centres around four groups of manuscripts from the mid-ninth to the late tenth centuries, a period when the region was an independent kingdom ruled by local families. The central argument is that the manuscripts attest to the unique cultural diversity of the region during this period, exhibiting—alongside obvious Chinese elements—the heavy influence of Central Asian cultures. As a result, it was much less ‘Chinese’ than commonly portrayed in modern scholarship. The book makes a contribution to the study of cultural and linguistic interaction along the Silk Roads.

Manuscript Cultures: Mapping the Field

Jörg Quenzer,Dmitry Bondarev,Jan-Ulrich Sobisch
Manuscript Cultures Mapping the Field Book PDF

Author : Jörg Quenzer,Dmitry Bondarev,Jan-Ulrich Sobisch
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Page : 383 pages
File Size : 53,7 Mb
Release : 2014-12-12
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9783110225631

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Manuscript Cultures: Mapping the Field by Jörg Quenzer,Dmitry Bondarev,Jan-Ulrich Sobisch Pdf

Script and writing were among the most important inventions in human history, and until the invention of printing, the handwritten book was the primary medium of literary and cultural transmission. Although the study of manuscripts is already quite advanced for many regions of the world, no unified discipline of ‘manuscript studies’ has yet evolved which is capable of treating handwritten books from East Asia, India and the Islamic world equally alongside the European manuscript tradition. This book, which aims to begin the interdisciplinary dialogue needed to arrive at a truly systematic and comparative approach to manuscript cultures worldwide, brings together papers by leading researchers concerned with material, philological and cultural aspects of different manuscript traditions.

Indic Manuscript Cultures through the Ages

Vincenzo Vergiani,Daniele Cuneo,Camillo Alessio Formigatti
Indic Manuscript Cultures through the Ages Book PDF

Author : Vincenzo Vergiani,Daniele Cuneo,Camillo Alessio Formigatti
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Page : 801 pages
File Size : 55,5 Mb
Release : 2017-12-18
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9783110543124

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Indic Manuscript Cultures through the Ages by Vincenzo Vergiani,Daniele Cuneo,Camillo Alessio Formigatti Pdf

This collection of essays explores the history of the book in pre-modern South Asia looking at the production, circulation, fruition and preservation of manuscripts in different areas and across time. Edited by the team of the Cambridge-based Sanskrit Manuscripts Project and including contributions of the researchers who collaborated with it, it covers a wide range of topics related to South Asian manuscript culture: from the material dimension (palaeography, layout, decoration) and the complicated interactions of manuscripts with printing in late medieval Tibet and in modern Tamil Nadu, to reading, writing, editing and educational practices, from manuscripts as sources for the study of religious, literary and intellectual traditions, to the creation of collections in medieval India and Cambodia (one major centre of the so-called Sanskrit cosmopolis), and the formation of the Cambridge collections in the colonial period. The contributions reflect the variety of idioms, literary genres, religious movements, and social actors (intellectuals, scribes, patrons) of ancient South Asia, as well as the variety of approaches, interests and specialisms of the authors, and their impassionate engagement with manuscripts.

Buddhist Manuscript Cultures

Stephen C. Berkwitz,Juliane Schober,Claudia Brown
Buddhist Manuscript Cultures Book PDF

Author : Stephen C. Berkwitz,Juliane Schober,Claudia Brown
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 230 pages
File Size : 40,5 Mb
Release : 2009-01-13
Category : History
ISBN : 9781134002429

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Buddhist Manuscript Cultures by Stephen C. Berkwitz,Juliane Schober,Claudia Brown Pdf

Buddhist Manuscript Cultures explores how religious and cultural practices in premodern Asia were shaped by literary and artistic traditions as well as by Buddhist material culture. This study of Buddhist texts focuses on the significance of their material forms rather than their doctrinal contents, and examines how and why they were made. Contributions are by reputed scholars in Buddhist Studies and represent diverse disciplinary approaches from religious studies, art history, anthropology, and history.

Esoteric Buddhism and Texts

Jinhua Chen
Esoteric Buddhism and Texts Book PDF

Author : Jinhua Chen
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
Page : 275 pages
File Size : 47,6 Mb
Release : 2024-02-08
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781003853534

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Esoteric Buddhism and Texts by Jinhua Chen Pdf

This book explores trans-cultural and cross-border transmission and transformation of Esoteric Buddhism in East Asia, focusing on its manuscript culture and the transborder transmission of Esoteric Buddhist texts. In East Asia, Esoteric Buddhism’s influences can be seen across all levels of society: not only in that it achieved a recognizable sectarian identity, but also because elements of esoteric teachings were absorbed by other religious schools, influencing their philosophical tenets and everyday practices. The influence was not confined to the religious sphere: scholars have been paying more and more attention to the significance of Tang Esoteric Buddhism in relation to material culture and the dissemination of Esoteric Buddhist technologies in South, Central, and East Asia. No matter how one looks at a maṇḍala—an integral feature of esoteric practice—or the uncannily expressive statues of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas or Yidam that come in all shapes and sizes, or the murals that depict the variegated, mysterious themes of the esoteric tradition, one can always recognise the profound connection between art and Esoteric Buddhism. Esoteric Iifluences also abound in East Asian literature across different genres, displaying its unique characters both in poetry and prose. Likewise, in architecture, one can readily make out the enigmatic, colorful and distinctive elements characteristic of the esoteric tradition. Monks initiated into the esoteric lineages not only brought Buddhist classics and practices to China but also advanced knowledge in astronomy, calendarial calculations and mathematical theories. The chapters in this volume focus on two major aspects of textual Esoteric Buddhism—its manuscript culture and transborder transmission. This book will be beneficial to advanced students and researchers interested in Religious Studies, History and Buddhist studies. It was originally published as a special issue of Studies in Chinese Religions.

Manuscripts and Travellers

Sam van Schaik,Imre Galambos
Manuscripts and Travellers Book PDF

Author : Sam van Schaik,Imre Galambos
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter
Page : 257 pages
File Size : 47,7 Mb
Release : 2011-11-30
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9783110225655

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Manuscripts and Travellers by Sam van Schaik,Imre Galambos Pdf

This study is based on a manuscript which was carried by a Chinese monk through the monasteries of the Hexi corridor, as part of his pilgrimage from Wutaishan to India. The manuscript has been created as a composite object from three separate documents, with Chinese and Tibetan texts on them. Included is a series of Tibetan letters of introduction addressed to the heads of monasteries along the route, functioning as a passport when passing through the region. The manuscript dates to the late 960s, coinciding with the large pilgrimage movement during the reign of Emperor Taizu of the Northern Song recorded in transmitted sources. Therefore, it is very likely that this is a unique contemporary testimony of the movement, of which our pilgrim was also part. Complementing extant historical sources, the manuscript provides evidence for the high degree of ethnic, cultural and linguistic diversity in Western China during this period.

From Mulberry Leaves to Silk Scrolls

Justin McDaniel,Lynn Ransom
From Mulberry Leaves to Silk Scrolls Book PDF

Author : Justin McDaniel,Lynn Ransom
Publisher : University of Pennsylvania Press
Page : 304 pages
File Size : 46,7 Mb
Release : 2015-11-03
Category : Antiques & Collectibles
ISBN : 9780812247367

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From Mulberry Leaves to Silk Scrolls by Justin McDaniel,Lynn Ransom Pdf

Distributed for the University of Pennsylvania Libraries.

Material Culture and Asian Religions

Benjamin Fleming,Richard Mann
Material Culture and Asian Religions Book PDF

Author : Benjamin Fleming,Richard Mann
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 334 pages
File Size : 46,7 Mb
Release : 2014-03-26
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781135013738

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Material Culture and Asian Religions by Benjamin Fleming,Richard Mann Pdf

Traditionally, research on the history of Asian religions has been marked by a bias for literary evidence, privileging canonical texts penned in ‘classical’ languages. Not only has a focus on literary evidence shaped the dominant narratives about the religious histories of Asia, in both scholarship and popular culture, but it has contributed to the tendency to study different religious traditions in relative isolation from one another. Today, moreover, historical work is often based on modern textual editions and, increasingly, on electronic databases. What may be lost, in the process, is the visceral sense of the text as artifact – as a material object that formed part of a broader material culture, in which the boundaries between religious traditions were sometimes more fluid than canonical literature might suggest. This volume brings together specialists in a variety of Asian cultures to discuss the methodological challenges involved in integrating material evidence for the reconstruction of the religious histories of South, Southeast, Central, and East Asia. By means of specific ‘test cases,’ the volume explores the importance of considering material and literary evidence in concert. What untold stories do these sources help us to recover? How might they push us to reevaluate historical narratives traditionally told from literary sources? By addressing these questions from the perspectives of different subfields and religious traditions, contributors map out the challenges involved in interpreting different types of data, assessing the problems of interpretation distinct to specific types of material evidence (e.g., coins, temple art, manuscripts, donative inscriptions) and considering the issues raised by the different patterns in the preservation of such evidence in different locales. Special attention is paid to newly-discovered and neglected sources; to our evidence for trade, migration, and inter-regional cultural exchange; and to geographical locales that served as "contact zones" connecting cultures. In addition, the chapters in this volume represent the rich range of religious traditions across Asia – including Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Shinto, and Chinese religions, as well as Islam and eastern Christianities.

Of Gods and Books

Florinda De Simini
Of Gods and Books Book PDF

Author : Florinda De Simini
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Page : 488 pages
File Size : 53,5 Mb
Release : 2016-11-07
Category : History
ISBN : 9783110478815

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Of Gods and Books by Florinda De Simini Pdf

India has been the homeland of diverse manuscript traditions that do not cease to impress scholars for their imposing size and complexity. Nevertheless, many topics concerning the study of Indian manuscript cultures still remain to receive systematic examination. Of Gods and Books pays attention to one of these topics - the use of manuscripts as ritualistic tools. Literary sources deal quite extensively with rituals principally focused on manuscripts, whose worship, donation and preservation are duly prescribed. Around these activities, a specific category of ritual gift is created, which finds attestations in pre-tantric, as well as in smārta and tantric, literature, and whose practice is also variously reflected in epigraphical documents. De Simini offers a first systematic study of the textual evidence on the topic of the worship and donation of knowledge. She gives account of possible implications for the relationships between religion and power. The book is indsipensible for a deeper understanding of the cultural aspects of manuscript transmission in medieval India, and beyond.

Thai Art and Culture

Henry Ginsburg
Thai Art and Culture Book PDF

Author : Henry Ginsburg
Publisher : University of Hawaii Press
Page : 146 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 2000-01-01
Category : Art
ISBN : 9780824823672

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Thai Art and Culture by Henry Ginsburg Pdf

In this lavishly illustrated new study, Henry Ginsburg describes a wide range of Thai manuscripts and other documents in European and North American collections, discussing each in its religious and historical context. It contains an impressive compilation of maps, letters, photographs, and manuscripts that will make it a valuable reference tool for the Southeast Asia scholar, while its colorful illustrations will appeal to a wider audience interested in Thai culture.

Bon and Naxi Manuscripts

Agnieszka Helman-Ważny,Charles Ramble
Bon and Naxi Manuscripts Book PDF

Author : Agnieszka Helman-Ważny,Charles Ramble
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Page : 432 pages
File Size : 55,5 Mb
Release : 2023-01-30
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 9783110776478

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Bon and Naxi Manuscripts by Agnieszka Helman-Ważny,Charles Ramble Pdf

The present volume offers a dozen studies of manuscripts of the Tibetan Bon and Naxi Dongba traditions across time and space. While some of the contributions focus on particular features of manuscripts from either tradition, others explicitly bridge the two by considering common codicological and material aspects of selected examples or common themes in the content of the texts. This is the first primarily object-based study to deal with the cultural history and technology of books from the two traditions. It discusses collections of Bon and Naxi manuscripts, the concepts and history of both traditions, the science and technology of book studies as it relates to these collections, the relationship between text and image, writing materials, and the historical and archaeological context of the manuscripts' places of origin. The authors are specialists in different fields including philology, anthropology, art history, codicology and archaeometry. The contributions shed light on trade routes, materials and technologies as well as on reading practices and ritual usage of Bon and Naxi manuscripts.

Buddhism Illuminated

San San May,Jana Igunma
Buddhism Illuminated Book PDF

Author : San San May,Jana Igunma
Publisher : University of Washington Press
Page : 352 pages
File Size : 45,8 Mb
Release : 2018-05-01
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780295744490

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Buddhism Illuminated by San San May,Jana Igunma Pdf

Buddhist temples in Southeast Asia are centers for the preservation of local artistic traditions. Chief among these are manuscripts, a vital source for our understanding of Buddhist ideas and practices in the region. They are also a beautiful art form, too little understood in the West. The British Library has one of the richest collections of Southeast Asian manuscripts, principally from Thailand and Burma, anywhere in the world. It includes finely painted copies of Buddhist scriptures, literary works, historical narratives, and works on traditional medicine, law, cosmology, and fortune-telling. Buddhism Illuminated includes over one hundred examples of Buddhist art from the Library’s collection, relating each manuscript to Theravada tradition and beliefs, and introducing the historical, artistic, and religious contexts of their production. It is the first book in English to showcase the beauty and variety of Buddhist manuscript art and reproduces many works that have never before been photographed.

Chinese Calligraphy and Early Buddhist Manuscripts

Chung-hui Tsui
Chinese Calligraphy and Early Buddhist Manuscripts Book PDF

Author : Chung-hui Tsui
Publisher : Indica Et Buddhica
Page : 180 pages
File Size : 40,5 Mb
Release : 2020-10-31
Category : Religion
ISBN : 047354010X

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Chinese Calligraphy and Early Buddhist Manuscripts by Chung-hui Tsui Pdf

Abstract The earliest extant Chinese Buddhist manuscript the Buddhasaṅgīti-sūtra was excavated at Toyuq in Turfan. It is dated the 6th year of the Yuankang era (296 CE) during the Western Jin Dynasty (266-316 CE). This sūtra is a copy by Zhu Fashou, one of Dharmarakṣa's monk disciples, a distinctive scribe on the translation team. Both historical documentation and archæological findings of the period when Buddhism was initially transmitted into China demonstrate that the copying of Buddhist texts by monk scribes from Central Asia played a key role. The work of these scribes also enhanced the creation of diverse and vigorous calligraphic styles from the 3rd to 5th centuries. However, before the 20th century, early Buddhist scribes or foreign scribes were little known in the history of Chinese calligraphy, or in official records. The discovery of the Dunhuang and Turfan manuscripts in the early 20th century provided scholars with new material with which to examine early Buddhist scribal culture. This monograph considers the culture of early sacred writing, and the role of early Buddhist scribes, scribal workshops, scriptural calligraphy, and the expertise of these early scribes, for the history of Chinese calligraphers and calligraphy.

Receptacle of the Sacred

Jinah Kim
Receptacle of the Sacred Book PDF

Author : Jinah Kim
Publisher : Univ of California Press
Page : 406 pages
File Size : 49,5 Mb
Release : 2013-04-12
Category : Art
ISBN : 9780520273863

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Receptacle of the Sacred by Jinah Kim Pdf

In considering medieval illustrated Buddhist manuscripts as sacred objects of cultic innovation, Receptacle of the Sacred explores how and why the South Asian Buddhist book-cult has survived for almost two millennia to the present. A book “manuscript” should be understood as a form of sacred space: a temple in microcosm, not only imbued with divine presence but also layered with the memories of many generations of users. Jinah Kim argues that illustrating a manuscript with Buddhist imagery not only empowered it as a three-dimensional sacred object, but also made it a suitable tool for the spiritual transformation of medieval Indian practitioners. Through a detailed historical analysis of Sanskrit colophons on patronage, production, and use of illustrated manuscripts, she suggests that while Buddhism’s disappearance in eastern India was a slow and gradual process, the Buddhist book-cult played an important role in sustaining its identity. In addition, by examining the physical traces left by later Nepalese users and the contemporary ritual use of the book in Nepal, Kim shows how human agency was critical in perpetuating and intensifying the potency of a manuscript as a sacred object throughout time.