Aftermanyphonecallsandnegotiations,ourreporterwasfinallygrantedaccesstooneofthe“forbiddenzones”whereahiddenTibetanBuddhistworldlayinwait.
MysteriousYuhuaPavilion
InthenorthwesternquadrantofthemuseumisanareaknownasZhongzhengdian,entirelycomposedofBuddhisthalls.AroundZhongzhengHallare10TibetanBuddhisthallsincludingBaohuaHall,YuhuaPavilionandFanzongTower,linedupfromnorthtosouth.Noneofthesebuildingsareopentothepublic.
In1749duringtheQingDynasty,EmperorQianlongtooktheadviceofthethirdJangjyaKhutuktu,thennationalpreceptor,tomimicthedesignsoftheMandalaToweroftheTolingMonasteryinTibetduringarenovationoftheYuhuaPavilion,anesotericTibetanBuddhisthall.
Althoughitappearstohaveonlythreestories,YuhuaPavilionactuallyhasfourfloorsandistheonlystructureintheimperialpalacetocombineHanandTibetanflavors.TheBuddhastatuesonthefourthfloorrepresentfourdifferentlevelsofreligiouspractice.
“Thelayoutoftherelicsinthepavilionremainsthesameasitwasfrom1711to1820,”notesLuoWenhua,directoroftheInstituteofTibetanBuddhistHeritageofthePalaceMuseum.Thespecificdurationandthepositionofeacharticlehavebeenrecordedinthemuseum’sfiles.”
Throughtheopenedvermeilgate,warmwintersunshineradiatesontotherosewoodBuddhistpagodaonthefirstfloorofYuhuaPavilion.AbovethegateisaboardwithaninscriptionbyEmperorQianlong.AccordingtoLuo,insidetherosewoodpagodaareBuddhastatuesgiftedbyformerDalaiLamasandPanchenLamastoemperorsastributes.ThepavilionalsohousesenamelmandalasforthreemainBuddhasofesotericBuddhism,aswellasmanygoldandcopperBuddhastatues,ritualarticles,porcelainpagodasandthangkapaintings.SomeofthetreasurescamefromTibetandMongoliaastributesorhailedfromIndiaandNepal.Someweremadebytheimperialhouseholddepartment.
Mostofthethangkaswerepaintedmorethantwohundredyearsago,inandaroundtheyear1750,whenthepavilionwasfirstbuilt.Heavycurtainspreventthesunfromdamagingthethangkasortheircolors.Undertorchlight,brighthuesofthemineralpigmentsofthepaintingsarestillvibrant.“Thosethangkapaintingshavebeenhangingtheresincethedaytheywerefinishedandneverputaway,”saysLuo.“Buttheyremainasfreshasever.”Mostofthe1,970thangkapaintingsinthemuseumwerecomposedbyTibetanpaintersduringthereignofEmperorQianlong.
Somelarge-scalewoodenstructuresandporcelainpagodashavebeenfittedwithearthquake-proofingequipment,butmostrelicsremainexactlythesameastheyhavealwaysbeen.Thepavilionissocrowdedwithrelicsthatvisitorswouldfrequentlybumpintothem—amajorreasonthepavilionisn’topentothepublic.However,ithasbeenincludedinthe“DigitalMuseum”plan,andwillbeevenmorevividlydisplayedtothepublicwiththehelpofvirtualrealitytechnology.
VisitorslookingforTibetanBuddhistarttreasurescanvisitXianruoHallintheGardenofthePalaceofBenevolentPeace,whichwasjustrenovatedandreopenedtothepubliclastyear,accordingtoLuo.XianruoHallservedastheplacewhereempressesandimperialconcubinesworshippedBuddha.StatuesofTibetanBuddhism
ThePalaceMuseumwitnessedtheprimeofTibetanBuddhisminChina.
In1653,thetenthyearofthereignofEmperorShunzhi,theemperorwelcomedthefifthDalai,thenleaderofTibetanLamaism,whomShunzhidubbedthe“DalaiLama.”In1713,EmperorKangxigavethefifthPanchenthetitle“PanchenErdeni,”formallyacknowledgingthepoliticalandreligiousstatusofDalaiandPancheninTibet.Subsequently,TibetanBuddhismprosperedandthevolumeofTibetanBuddhisthallsintheForbiddenCityswelled.Partofa15thCenturygildedBuddhastatuefromNepal.In1780,thesixthPanchenarrivedattheForbiddenCitytocelebrateEmperorQianlong’s70thbirthday,markingthefinalhighpointofTibetanBuddhistactivityintheroyalcourt.Afterthat,astheempirebegantoerode,theinfluenceofTibetanBuddhismintheroyalcourtfaded.
“Afterwakingup,emperorswouldlightincensefromonehalltoanotherbeforehavingbreakfastinthePalaceofHeavenlyPurity,”explainsLuo.“TheareaofBuddhisthallswasveryimportanttothem.”
ThroughZhaofuGatetothenorthofYuhuaPavilionisasquarewherelargescaleBuddhistactivitieswereonceheld.Theprayerflagstheyusedstillremain.Attheendofeachyear,emperorswouldtakepartinan“exorcism”ceremony,thehighest-levelBuddhisteventintheroyalcourt.Onthatday,emperorswouldsitsideby-sidewiththeDalaiorPanchenalongwithotherseniormonks,manifestingthedominantstatusofTibetanBuddhismintheQingDynasty.
Today,visitorscanstillfeeltheprofoundinfluenceleftbytheplentifulTibetanBuddhistarticles.ThePalaceMuseumhouses42,000religiousrelics,ofwhich80percentarerelatedtoTibetanBuddhism.
AcopperandgildedBuddhastatuefromthereignofEmperorXuande(1426-1435)oftheMingDynasty.RelicProtectionandCulturalExchange
AftergraduatingfromPekingUniversityin1989withadegreeinarcheology,LuoWenhuawentstraighttoworkatthePalaceMuseum.Today,notonlyishisEnglishfluent,butheisalsowell-versedinTibetan,SanskritandGerman.
“ManyrelicsarescatteredthroughoutthemonasteriesinTibetan-inhabitedregions,”lamentsLuo,speakingontheprotectionofTibetanBuddhistrelics.“Wedon’tevenknowhowmanyremainbecausetherehasneverbeenasystematicsurvey,letalonehowtotakeprotectivemeasures.”Inhiseyes,China’shubofTibetologystudyisBeijingratherthanTibet.Tibetaninhabitedregionsarehometomyriadpreciousrelics,butlocalsarenotallconsciousabouttheimportanceofprotectingthem.Duetoalackoffundsandprofessionals,manyrelicshavenotbeencataloguedandsomearesoldawaytooverseasbuyers.Inrecentyears,ChinahasstrengthenedsupervisionofrelicsandinstructedCustomstocheckmoreclosely.Comparedtothe1980s,fewerrelicsarebeinglost.
TobetterprotectrelicsinTibet,thePalaceMuseumandthegovernmentoftheTibetAutonomousRegionsignedanagreementonrelicprotection.Thetwopartieswillcooperatetobuilddigitalmuseums,studyandrestorerelics,holdexhibitionsandpublishresearch.Archaeologicalresearchintheautonomousregionwillbecarriedoutstepbystep.ExpertsfromthePalaceMuseumhavebeguncontributingtotheprotectionofrelicsinJokhangMonasteryinTibet.
Itsohappenedthattheexhibition“AcrosstheSilkRoad:GuptaSculpturesandTheirChineseCounterpartsduring400-700CE”tookplaceinthePalaceMuseumwhenthereportervisitedit.Thecuratoroftheexhibition,LuoWenhua,hasvisitedIndiamanytimes.“Indiahasawealthofantiquesandculturalsites,”saysLuo.“Historically,ChinaandIndiaconductedfrequentexchanges,butinmoderntimes,peopleofthetwocountriesknowlittleabouteachother.”LuothinksChinaandIndiashouldstrengthenculturalcommunication.EverytimehevisitedIndia,hebroughtbackalotofbooksaboutBuddhism,whichhestilltreasures.
TheWesthasshowntremendousinterestinTibetologyresearchformorethanacentury.BuddhistcultureoriginatedinIndia.However,theUnitedStates,Britain,FranceandGermanyhaveaccomplishedfruitfulachievementsinstudyingTibetanBuddhism,especiallyoftheHimalayaarea.Chinashouldworkwiththesecountries.
ShanJixiang,directorofthePalaceMuseum,hopestheorganizationcantakeadvantageofitsrichrelicresourcesandserveasChina’scapitalofTibetologystudy,promotingexchangewithdomesticandinternationalexpertsalike.
ThePalaceMuseumisChina’slargestmuseumofancientcultureandartsandagloballycelebratedlandmark.Attheendof2016,thedocumentaryMastersintheForbiddenCityhitcinemasinChina,givingthepublicaglimpseofprofessionalsintheancientimperialpalace,whichiscontinuouslybecomingmoreopentotheworld.