The reporter learned from the Department of Culture of the Tibet Autonomous Region that since the project for the protection and utilization of ancient books and documents in the Potala Palace of the World Cultural Heritage was launched at the end of 2018, various protection and utilization work has been steadily advanced, and by the end of 2021, more than 3,000 letters and millions of leaves of precious ancient books and documents have been registered.
Staff are conducting a damage investigation into the Bayeux sutra in the Potala Palace collection. (Photo courtesy of potala palace management office)
Potala Palace was founded in the 7th century AD, as the largest and most complete preserved palace-fortress complex in Tibet, potala palace because of its unique architectural form, a large number of palace cultural relics, known as "the treasure house of Tibetan nationality's history, culture and art".
The total investment of the Potala Palace Ancient Books And Documents Protection and Utilization Project is 300 million yuan, and the project period is 10 years. After the launch of the project, the Party Committee and Government of the Tibet Autonomous Region set up a leading group for the protection and utilization of cultural relics in the Potala Palace in a timely manner, established the Potala Palace Ancient Book Literature (Bayeux Sutra) Protection and Research Center, formulated the overall plan for the protection and utilization of the Potala Palace cultural relics (ancient books) project (2019-2028) and the design plan for the first phase of cultural relics preventive protection, rescue protection and digital protection.
According to the data of the Department of Culture of the Tibet Autonomous Region, by the end of 2021, the potala palace cultural relics (ancient books) protection and utilization project has accumulated more than 68 million yuan in funds, completed the archiving and registration of 3078 letters and 444421 volumes of 1074474 leaf ancient books; completed 465 letters and 29378 leaf Bayeye collation, basic archiving and cataloging work; completed the digitization of 136 letters and 85944 leaf ancient books; and completed the restoration of 23 letters and 3017 leaf Tibetan paper.
Staff digitize the Ming Yongle edition of the Great Tibetan Classics in the Potala Palace collection (taken on May 25, 2021). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chun La
It is reported that while promoting the census and archiving of ancient books, catalog sorting, classification, and surveying, the Potala Palace Management Office has also carried out research on the diseases of ancient books in the collection, research on the solubility of the pigments of ancient books and documents, dna research on bayeux classics, investigation of bayeux economy diseases, testing of basic performance data of Tibetan paper, collation and coding of ancient books and documents, and environmental testing of ancient book preservation.
The Potala Palace is vast. According to incomplete statistics, the Potala Palace currently has tens of thousands of rare ancient books and documents in many languages, such as Han, Tibetan, Manchu, Mongolian, and Sanskrit, including more than 460 letters and nearly 30,000 leaf Baye sutra treasures. The content of these ancient texts involves religion, architecture, art, medicine, history, language, literature, philosophy and other fields.
Reporter: Chunla
Editors: Jia Zhen, Luan Ruohui