Themuseumnowhouses42,000religiousartifacts,80percentofwhicharerelatedtoTibetanBuddhism.ThisrichcollectionwitnessedtheheightofTibetanBuddhisminChina.
PartofaSakyamuniBuddhastatue.
Agold-groundfamille-rosesacrificialutensilwithalotusflowerdesignand“eighttreasures”pattern.THEForbiddenCity(akathePalaceMuseum)ishometotheformerimperialpalace,officialresidenceoftheemperor,hisfamily,andentourageduringtheMingandQingdynasties(1368-1911).Themuseumnowhouses42,000religiousartifacts,80percentofwhicharerelatedtoTibetanBuddhism.ThisrichcollectionwitnessedtheheightofTibetanBuddhisminChina.
MysteriousYuhuaPavilion
TheForbiddenCityisoneoftheworld’slargestandbest-preservedwoodenbuildings.Everydaytensofthousandsofvisitorsflocktoseeitsfamoushalls,buttherearesomeareasofthecomplexthatremainclosedtothepublicandstillretainatraceofmystery.
InthenorthwestcorneroftheForbiddenCityliesZhongzhengHall,aclusterof10TibetanBuddhisthallsarrangedalonganorth-southaxis.TheseincludeBaohuaHall,YuhuaPavilion,andFanzongTower.Noneofthesebuildingsisopentothepublic.
YuhuaPavilionwasfirstbuiltduringtheMingDynasty(1368-1644).In1749,whenQingEmperorQianlongdecidedtorenovatethebuilding,thethirdgenerationofChangkyaKhutuktu,aprominentTibetanBuddhistandimperialconsultant,advisedthatitbemodeledaftertheMandalaToweratTholingMon-asteryinNgari,westernTibet.
Althoughitappearstobeathree-storybuilding,YuhuaPavilionactuallyhasfourfloorsandistheonlystructureintheImperialPalacecomplextocombineHanandTibetandesignelements.TheBuddhastatuesonthefourthfloorrepresentfourdifferentlevelsofreligiouspractice.
“ThearrangementofhistoricalartifactsinthepavilionremainsthesameasitwasinEmperorQianlong’sreign(1736-1796)andEmperorJiaqing’sreign(1796-1820),”notedLuoWenhua,directoroftheInstituteofTibetanBuddhistHeritageatthePalaceMuseum.“Thespecificdateandpositionofeachitemisrecordedinthemuseum’sfiles,”hesaid.
WarmwintersunshinefiltersthroughthehugereddoorsontotherosewoodBuddhistpagodaonthegroundfloorofYuhuaPavilion.AbovethedoorhangsatabletwithaninscriptionbyEmperorQianlong.
AccordingtoLuoWenhua,insidetherosewoodpagodaareBuddhastatuespresentedastributestotheemperorsbygenerationsofDalaiLamaandPanchenLama.ThepavilionalsohousesenamelmandalasofthethreemostimportantimagesofBuddhainTantricBuddhism,aswellasmanygoldandcopperBuddhastatues,instrumentsusedinrituals,miniatureporcelainpagodasandThangkapaintings.WhilesomeofthesetreasuresweresourcedfromTibet,India,andNepalbyTibetanandMongolianleadersandgivenastributestotheQingemperors,otherartifactsweremadebycraftsmenfromtheimperialhousehold.
MostoftheThangkapaintingswerecreatednearly300yearsago,around1750,whenthepavilionwasfirstrenovated.Heavycurtainspreventthesunfromfadingtheircolors.Undertorchlight,thebrightmineralpigmentsinthepaintarestillvibrant.“ThoseThangkapaintingshavealwayshungthere,”marveledLuo,“buttheyremainasfreshasever.”Ofthe1,970paintingsinthePalaceMuseummostwerecreatedbyTibetanpaintersduringthereignofEmperorQianlong.
Somelarge-scalewoodenstructuresandporcelainpagodashavebeenequippedwithanearthquake-proofingbase,butmostrelicsremainuntouched.Thepavilionissocrowdedwithartifactsthatthereisnoroomforvisitors,whichiswhythepavilionhasnotbeenopenedtothepublic.Ithas,however,beenincludedinthe“DigitalPalaceMuseum”tourprojectandwillbevividlydisplayedtothepublicusingthevirtualrealitytechnology.
LuoalsoadvisesvisitorsinterestedinTibetanBuddhistartifactstovisittherecentlyrenovatedXianruoHallinthegardensofCiningPalace(PalaceofBenevolentPeace).ThehallwaswheretheempressdowagerandimperialconcubineswenttoworshiptheBuddhaaftertheemperorhaddied.
AsittingstatueofBodhisattvaMaitreya.StatusofTibetanBuddhism
TherichcollectionofTibetanBuddhistartifactsinthePalaceMuseumisduetotheiraccumulationattheheightofTibetanBuddhisminChina.
In1653EmperorShunzhioftheQingDynastywelcomedthefifthgenerationoftheDalai,thenleaderoftheGelugsectofTibetanBuddhism,anddubbedhimthetitle“DalaiLama.”In1713EmperorKangxigavethefifthgenerationofPanchenthetitle“PanchenErdeni,”therebyformallyacknowledgingthepoliticalandreligiousstatusoftheDalaiandPancheninTibet.TheinfluenceofTibetanBuddhismspread,andthenumberofTibetanBuddhisthallsintheForbiddenCityexpanded.
In1780theSixthPanchenErdeniarrivedattheForbiddenCitytocongratulateEmperorQianlongonhis70thbirthday,coincidingwiththepeakofTibetanBuddhistactivityintheroyalcourt.Thereafter,theinfluenceofTibetanBuddhismintheimperialcourtwanedastheQingDynastybegantodecline.
“Afterwakingup,theemperorswouldlightincenseinonehallafteranother,beforehavingbreakfastinQianqingPalace,”explainedLuo.“ThecomplexofBuddhisthallswasveryimportanttothecourt.”
ThroughZhaofuGatetothenorthofYuhuaPavilionisasquarewherelarge-scaleBuddhistceremonieswereheld.Theprayerflagsusedduringtheseceremoniesstillremain.Attheendofeachyear,theemperorwouldtakepartinanexorcismceremony,themostimportantBuddhisteventintheimperialcourt.Onthatday,theemperorwouldsitbesidetheDalaiLamaandPanchenLama,aswellasotherseniormonks,demonstratingtheprominentstatusofTibetanBuddhismintheQingDynasty.
PreservationofArtifactsandCulturalExchange
AftergraduatingfromPekingUniversityin1989withadegreeinarcheology,LuoWenhuawenttoworkatthePalaceMuseum.Today,asaninternationallyrenownedscholarofTibetanBuddhism,heiscompetentinEnglish,Tibetan,Sanskrit,andGerman.
“ManyartifactsarescatteredthroughoutmonasteriesinTibetan-inhabitedregions,”saidLuo,voicinghisconcernsaboutthepreservationofTibetanBuddhistartifacts.“Owingtoalackoffundsandprofessionals,therehasneverbeenasystematicsurveyandmanyartifactshavenotbeencatalogued.Preservationworkisjustbeginning.”
TobetterprotectBuddhistartifactsinTibet,thePalaceMuseumsignedanagreementwiththegovernmentofTibetAutonomousRegion.Thetwopartieswillcooperatetobuildmuseums,studyandrestoreartifacts,holdexhibitionsandpublishresearch.ArchaeologicalresearchwillgraduallybecarriedoutinTibetAutonomousRegion,andexpertsfromthePalaceMuseumhavealreadybeguncontributingtothepreservationofartifactsatJokhangMonastery.
“AlongtheSilkRoad:GuptaSculpturesandTheirChineseCounterparts,400-700AD,”anexhibitionheldatthePalaceMuseum,finisheditssuccessfulrunearlythisyear.LuoWenhuaactedastheindependentcuratoroftheexhibition.HehadvisitedIndia,thebirthplaceofBuddhism,manytimesandeachtimebroughtbackBuddhisttexts.“Indiahasawealthofartifactsandculturalsites,”saidLuo.“Historically,ChinaandIndiaconductedfrequentexchanges,butinmoderntimes,peopleofthetwocountriesknowlittleabouteachother.”LuoaddedthatChinaandIndiashouldstrengthenculturalcommunication.
WhencommentingontheinternationalinfluenceofTibetology,LuoobservedthatWesterncountriesareveryinterestedinTibetanBuddhistartifacts.PeopleintheWesthavebeenstudyingTibetologyforoveracentury.TheU.S.,theU.K.,France,andGermanyhaveallmadesignificantprogressinTibetanBuddhiststudies,especiallyonBuddhisminHimalayanareas.Chinashouldcooperatewiththesecountries.
ShanJixiang,directorofthePalaceMuseum,hopestheorganizationcantakeadvantageofthepalace’srichresourcesandartifactsandmakeitChina’scenterforTibetology,promotingcooperationbetweendomesticandinternationalexperts.
ZHANGXUEisareporteratChinaPictorial.
ThemysteriousYuhuaPavilionintheForbiddenCity.YuhuaPavilionistheonlystructureintheImperialPalacecomplextocombineHanandTibetandesignelements.