Home > China Feature |
Printing of original ancient Buddhist canon returns to Palace Museum
A printing of the complete version of an 18th century edition of the Tripitaka, a collection of Buddhist scriptures, has been collated by the Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City.
The Tripitaka, which is of great religious and cultural importance, has several versions published at different times and in various languages, such as Tibetan and Mongolian.
The compilation of Qing Dynasty's imperial edition of the Tripitaka, China's last official collation of the work in Chinese, started in 1733 and finished in 1738.
It was carved on 79,036 pieces of wood and weighed 360 tonnes. Each plate weighs 4.5 kilograms, and they were stored in the Forbidden City after completion.
Unfortunately, over 9,600 woodblocks have been lost and nearly 14,000 pieces are subject to different degrees of damage.
In 2009, restoration of the woodblocks began, with researchers sent to museums, research institutes and temples at home and abroad to study different version of the Tripitaka.
The complete content of the Tripitaka has been recovered through collecting lost parts of its initial Qing Dynasty printing.
Art
moreChina Beijing International Diet ...
Recently, The hit CCTV documentary, A Bite of China, shown at 10:40 ...
Exhibition of Ancient Chinese Jad...
At least 8,000 years ago, Chinese ancestors discovered a beautiful...
Longmen Grottoes
The Longmen Grottoes, located near Luoyang, Henan Province, are a tr...
Custom
moreWeb Dictionary
Martial Arts
Chinese martial arts practitioner pens 400 guide...
A Chinese martial arts practitioner in northern China's Hebei provin...
Tai Chi Master Class Held in Moscow
MOSCOW, June 15, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Students learn from Shaolin ...
Celebriting 70 years' efforts in restoring Mogao...
Work is being carried out at the restoration site of cave No 98 a...