Selection of Illustrations from Tibetan Manuscripts

Author: Zhai Yuefei, Zhang Husheng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1996-12-01
Features: Tibetan art is primarily an extension of its religion—Tibetan Buddhism—and has thus flourished. This applies to temple architecture, sculpture, and painting, as well as prayer flags, mani stone carvings, and manuscript illustrations. The illustrations in Tibetan manuscripts vary depending on the content, featuring Buddha images, portraits of authors and translators, and are typically found on the first page or both sides of the title page. Commonly, there are two frames, with a stupa placed centrally on the last page. The manuscript illustrations in this book are based on the Eight Thousand Discourses, which is currently the manuscript with the most woodcut illustrations and thus a uniquely styled one. Also known as the Eight Thousand Verses of Prajna, it is a concise version of the Prajna Sutra, comprising 24 volumes and 32 chapters, translated into Tibetan by Indian scholars Shakyasena, Ganesa, and Tibetan translator Damdul Dorje, among others. The manuscript contains over 1,000 woodcut illustrations, with one on each side of the text on most pages.