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Print Edition> Lifestyle
UPDATED: June 7, 2010 NO. 23, JUNE 10, 2010
Rescuing Yushu's Culture
The cultural relics seriously damaged by a devastating earthquake in April 2010 are being restored
By YIN PUMIN
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BACK TO NORMAL: The Buddhist statues rescued from the Thrangu Monastery in the Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture have been moved to a safe place (WU GUANGYU) 

The plan puts the Gyana Mani Stone Mound at the top of the government's priorities for cultural relic restoration.

The repair and restoration of cultural relics in the Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture would follow the experience of similar restoration after the Wenchuan earthquake of May 12, 2008, and invite local residents to participate in restoration work, said Shan.

"Local people are welcome to help in repairing and reconstructing temples and the traditional ethnic buildings," Shan said. "It is a good way to hand down traditional crafts and construction skills."

Local people would also earn money from restoration work, he said.

Actually, in April 2010, a team of 14 experts led by SACH officials have already been working on a reconstruction plan for the Gyana Mani Stone Mound, which covers nearly 21,000 square meters.

Hou Weidong, the chief engineer of the Chinese Academy of Cultural Heritage and head of the 14-person team, said they aimed to restoring everything to what it was before the quake.

For centuries, the sacred mound has been part of daily life in Sengze Village of Yushu County. Tibetans consider rocks from the mountains of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau sacred and stones with sutra scripts even more so.

Before the quake, local Tibetans visited the site every day. They earned a living by engraving and selling the stones.

"The locals cannot live without the mound, so we'll work closely with them to make sure they like every detail of the restoration plan," Hou said.

For example, experts learned they couldn't use a backhoe to reconstruct the mani stone heaps because of the religious belief of local people, Hou said. "We decided to do it by hand."

 

PRECIOUS: The Tibetan version of Tripitaka, a Buddhist canon of scriptures, was completely saved from the rubble of the earthquake on April 14, 2010 (CFP) 

At the same time, modern technologies including techniques to resist earthquakes, water and insects will also be employed in the restoration, Shan said.

Up to now, the SACH has allocated 800,000 yuan ($117,000) for the first stage of rescue work. The Chinese Ministry of Culture has also allocated 3 million yuan ($439,000) for the protection of ethnic culture in the quake-hit area. n

Tibetan Buddhism in Yushu

The Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in northwest China's Qinghai Province is a holy land of Tibetan Buddhism. Covering 267,000 square km, Yushu has a population of more than 350,000, 97 percent of whom are Tibetans. The history of Tibetan Buddhism there stretches back more than 800 years and there are 192 Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in the prefecture. The monasteries are both Tibetan Buddhist cultural centers and homes to valuable cultural relics.

Yushu is a living book of the development of Tibetan Buddhism. Quite a number of famous Tibetan Buddhist monasteries have been built there, and many prestigious lamas and living buddhas of different sects of Tibetan Buddhism have visited there, bringing a boom to the religion in the area.

The prefecture is home to a large number of monasteries of the Sakya Sect, one of the major Tibetan Buddhist schools that also include the Nyingma, Gelug and Kagyu sects. The Gyegu Monastery located in Yushu County in the prefecture is the largest and the most influential Sakya temple.

The Gyana Mani Stone Mound in Yushu County is a precious relic of Tibetan Buddhism and Tibetan culture. Having a history of more than 300 years, the site is sacred to Tibetans and is a shrine for prayers. Made up of more than 2 billion pieces of mani stones engraved with contents about sutra texts, laws, calendars and art, the mani stone mound is about 283 meters long, 74 meters wide and 2.5 meters tall, the largest of its kind in the world.

In Yushu County, there is a 1,300-year-old temple built in commemoration of Princess Wencheng, a royal member of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) who married Songtsan Gambo, the leader of the Tubo Kingdom in today's Tibet, in an amicable move on the part of the court of Tang to strengthen relations with Tibet.

In 641, Princess Wencheng left Chang'an (today's Xi'an in Shaanxi Province), capital of the Tang Dynasty. On her way to Tubo, Princess Wencheng passed by the area where today's Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture is located, and was warmly welcomed by local people. Moved by their hospitality, the princess stayed there for some time and taught the people there various farming and weaving skills. She also organized some artisans to carve Buddhist statues, pagodas and sutra texts on nearby mountain cliffs. Based on these statues and pagodas, the local people built a temple dedicated to the princess after she left.

(Source: Mzb.com.cn, World News Journal)

King Gesar

The great epic The Life of King Gesar, the longest epic poem in the world, was created in the Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture where, it is said, King Gesar founded his kingdom. Today, a 22-meter-high statue of King Gesar, the largest of the legendary hero in the country, still stands in the Gesar Square in Gyegu Town in the prefecture.

Created more than 1,000 years ago, the epic tells the story of King Gesar who conquered the devils of other Tibetan tribes and made Tibet a stable, peaceful and happy place to live in. Comprising 120 volumes with more than 20 million words, The Life of King Gesar has been spread orally through generations of Tibetans.

Covering the history, thinking and life of ancient Tibetan society, the epic touches upon many fields including religion, myths, wars, folk customs, literature and nature. In September 2009, the epic was added by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to the list of the world's intangible cultural heritage.

(Source: Mzb.com.cn, World News Journal)

 

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