The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-11-09
TIBETAN MANUSCRIPTS.
Rare Treasures of Buddhist Litera-
ture Preserved i'm British Museum.
From the London Globe.

From the London Globe.
At the present time when the land of |
the Lamas is attracting so much at |
tention it may be of interest to call |
attention to some important manu-
scripts which are now on exhibition in |
the ethnographical department of the |
British Museum. In 1900 DR.. Marc |
Aurel Stein of the Indian educational !
service was dispatched on mission !
of exploration to Chinese Turkestan |
and in the region OF Khotan he discov-
cred the remains of several large cities
and Buddhist temples which were bur-
led in the sand, having been abandon
ed on account of the drying UP of the
rivers in the region. The archaeological
results obtained were most important.
The art showed distinct traces of
Greek influence. as did the Greco-In-
dian remains found by the late DIR.
Leitner in Dardistan.
More important than the artistic
relics were the numerous fragments of
manuscripts and wooden tablets, many
of them bearing inscriptions in a lit
tie known language, to which the name
Kharosthi has been given. The ma
1ority of the tablets and leather rolls,
some of which are Endorsed in sealed
envelopes, are government orders, per-
which, from Chinese sources may be
assigned to about 269 A. d. Still more
important, however, are two leaves of
a holy book written in Tibetan char
acters. The manuscripts were discov-
cred in a Buddhist shrine at Endere,
the separate leaves being found before
sacred images, being placed on the
plinths of the statues: a mode which
clearly indicates that they We're placed
off &c oil
that the person who deposited them
there had cut the book up so as to lay
a page before as many of the divinl-
ties as possible. The texts have been
examined by DR.. D. L. Barnett of the
British Museum, who finds them to be
of great literary Importance. They
form part of very early Tibetan YER
sion of a Buddhist philosophical work
entitled the "Salistambstura,' a work
hitherto only known to scholars from
quotations in other Sanscrit works.
The Importance of the find is very
great, for some leaves are undoubted-
ly the oldest known specimens of Tib-
etan writing, and they also gain adj
ditional Importance from the historical
and political associations with their
discovery in this remote sphere Of
Tibetan influence. From Chinese and
Tibetan graffite on the walls of the
temple the date of these manuscripts
| cannot be placed later than the sec
ond half of the eighth century of our
era, the period when the rule of these
| provinces was passing from the Chi
| nese to the Tibetans. They have how
ever, an additional Importance as
showing how quickly Buddhism had
established itself in Tibet Buddha
died about AT B. c., and the Buddhist
| creed was introduced into Tibet in A.
! d. 63S; the great temple of Lahssa be-
| ing burnt in A. D. 651. So that these
| scattered leaves prove that in less
than century and a half after the
| introduction of the new creed Sanscrit
| philosophical works were being trans
lated into Tibetan. The fact is i'm
portant as showing that the former
estimate of the illiterate and barbarous
state of this country must be consid-
erably revised. The increase of the
| Tibetan power and the decay of the
| Chinese influence at this period, now
confirmed by these finds, calls atten-
ton to very interesting inscribed
stone tablet outside the great mon
| astery at Lhassa.
This tablet bears upon II the bilin-
| quail text In Tibetan and Chinese of a
treaty OF peace and alliance between
the two nations. which was drawn UP
In the year A. d. 1922, and some Of the
clauses are particularly opposite at the
EItnctb tillc--WlAtii Jul ONll IllsblOn Is
extracting a similar treaty from the
unwilling Lamas. After a very YER
bose prologue we come TO the pith of
the document. The first important
clause reads: That the Chineses shall
have the Tang as sovereign, and the
country Of the western race shall have
the Great Fan as ruler From this
time henceforth both shall put up
weapons and armor. forget their diff
ferences and old grievances and re-
spect the honored klnship OF their SOW
ereigns ana the ancient bonds OF mu-
tuai aid" The clause as to suspected
persons Is OF especial interest In re-
gard 20 the recent action of the Tibe-
tans toward the traders OF Slklkim: ''If
any persons are suspected they shall
be taken alive. and their business in
quired into, then they shall be sent
back TO their own country" This in
teresting document Of such great an
tiquity should materially aid I'm es-
tablishing a precedent for the new
treaty now being concluded. The dis
covery OF these important manuscripts