• Thyo’ tsyer fa:q se ldwɪr ryeqr (The Saddharma-puṇḍarīka, Lotus sūtra of the wonderful law)
    𗤓𗹙𗤻𗑗𗖰𗚩

Uniform title:
  • Tripiṭaka. Sūtrapiṭaka. Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra. Tangut
Publisher:
  • [China] : [publisher not identified], [13th cent.?]-[14th cent.?]
Extent:
  • 1 volume : illustrations ; 33 cm
Format:
Description:
  • In Tangut.
  • Jing she zhuang.
  • 經折裝.
  • Library has juan 4 only.
  • 每半葉6行, 行16字.
  • Gest collection.
Subject:
Edm rights:
  • No Known Copyright
View in catalog:
Curator's notes:

  • Tangut
    China/Xixia, 13th–14th century?, paper

    The Tanguts were a Tibeto-Burmese people living in Northwestern China. With the formation of a state in 1038, they also created their own (very complicated) script. After the state’s annihilation by the Mongols in 1227, however, the script only survived for a while in Buddhist or military circles. The Chinese numerals in this sūtra illustration may therefore indicate one such later Tangut printing. The script has been deciphered in the 20th century.

    Gest Collection, BQ2053.T3 T38

    For further reading

    Arakawa Shintarō 荒川慎太郎. Purinsuton daigaku toshokan shozō Seikabun myōhō rengekyō プリンストン大学図書館所蔵西夏文妙法蓮華経 (facsimile, text and linguistic studies). Tōkyō: Soka Gakkai Tōyō Tetsugaku Kenkyūjo, 2018.

Exhibit category: