Witnesses for Tibetan Craftsmanship: Bringing Together Paper Analysis, Palaeography and Codicology in the Examination of the Earliest Tibetan Manuscripts

Abstract

This study investigates the earliest surviving Tibetan paper, from the Dunhuang cave library, using paper fibre analysis combined with codicological, palaeographical and textual information. The hypotheses tested by this method concern the regional origins and production centres of early Tibetan paper and methods for dating this material. Using overlapping typologies, we classify a sample of manuscripts into coherent groups, relating them to particular 'book cultures'. By linking three main manuscript groups to different geographical regions, we offer new insights into an important manuscript collection, and show that the method of overlapping typologies has the potential to yield further insights.shrubs belonging to the Daphne and Edgeworthia species (shog shing or dung lo ma in Tibetan)-which still provide the basic materials for paper made in the Himalayan regions-but from the roots of both the Stellera chamaejasme species (re lcag pa in Tibetan) and, more seldom, Euphorbia fisheriana (re lcag gi rtsa ba in Tibetan) (Trier 1972, 56; Dawa 1999, 156-9, 320-1). Stellera is a small genus of fewer than ten species, found growing in comparatively dry conditions in areas such as Central Asia, Iran and parts of Tibet. It is widely distributed along the Himalayan range, where it is found at altitudes of 2700-4500 m. 1 In principle, it should not be difficult to determine the relative importance of each of these different fibres in the early history of Tibetan papermaking. Stellera chamaejasme fibres can be clearly differentiated from Daphne and Edgeworthia despite the fact that all of these plants belong to the Thymelaeaceae family.It should also be possible to distinguish paper made from these Thymelaeaceae family plants from Chinese paper. According to traditional Chinese accounts, the first true paper was invented by Cai Lun in ad 105 in south-eastern China, and is said to have been made from mulberry bark, remnants of hemp, rags of cloth and fishing nets (Hunter 1932(Hunter , 1978Tsien 2004). We know that in Central China, fine paper was made for important documents primarily from hemp and mulberry (Tsien 1973;Whitfield 2007). Rattan was used from about the seventh century, until it was supposedly replaced by bamboo in southern China in approximately the 10th-11th centuries (Tsien 1973(Tsien , 1985Bloom 2001). In this way, by the end of the eighth century, the Chinese were probably using a variety of raw fibres that included the rags of hemp, flax (ropes) and ramie (known as 'Chinese grass'), bark of mulberry, bamboo and rattan, rice and wheat straw, and many other types of grass depending on the region of production. Some plants, such as ramie, were widely distributed and available in all China, while others were limited to particular geographical zones.The above accounts are, however, based on secondary sources rather than on systematic analysis. The purpose of this study is to determine the nature of the earliest available Tibetan paper, through paper analysis combined with textual, palaeographical and codicolog...

Writing, painting and sketching at Dunhuang: assessing the materiality and function of early Tibetan manuscripts and ritual items

“…By extending the head, the surface of the sample is illuminated for half a second, using a small 2 W bulb. The characteristic reflectance spectrum is measured and stored (Fuchs, 1988). By comparing this specific spectrum with a database, it is possible to identify most of the colourantsdorganic as well as inorganic materials.…”

Notes on the early history of paper in Central Asia based on material evidence

“…Earlier estimates date these manuscripts to the time of the Tibetan occupation of Dunhuang that occurred between 781 and 848 CE, but recent research by Géza Uray, Tsuguhito Takeuchi and Jacob Dalton, Tom Davis, and Sam van Schaik has dated the majority of these manuscripts to the tenth century CE 51 . The earliest surviving examples of Tibetan paper in Dunhuang manuscripts made of Daphne fibres are dated to the nineth century CE and are assumed to have been produced in Central Tibet 52 .…”

Paper fragments from the Tibetan Samye Monastery: Clues for an unusual sizing recipe implying wheat starch and milk in early Tibetan papermaking

“…Historical records of Tibetan hand papermaking are rare, discontinuous, and subject to divergent discussions [1,2]. The early known records could be traced back to the Tang Dynasty in the Book of Tang•Tubo biography (Tubo represents the Tibetan regime in ancient China), which reports that the representatives of Tubo (649AD) asked Tang Dynasty dignitaries for the help of the craftsmen of paper and ink making, which was approved by Emperor Gaozong (628-683AD) of Tang Dynasty.…”

“…1, modern Gansu Province, China). These manuscripts stored now in different museums have been, for some of them, the subject of investigations under the angle of textual, palaeographical or codicological studies combined to paper analysis using microscopy and spectroscopy [1,14]. On the basis of these experimental results, the paper type was aligned to its geographical origin with the threefold classification of origin around Central Asia, central Tibet or eastern Tibet [1].…”

“…These manuscripts stored now in different museums have been, for some of them, the subject of investigations under the angle of textual, palaeographical or codicological studies combined to paper analysis using microscopy and spectroscopy [1,14]. On the basis of these experimental results, the paper type was aligned to its geographical origin with the threefold classification of origin around Central Asia, central Tibet or eastern Tibet [1]. These results confirmed the variety of papermaking methods and potential plant materials used in correlation with the availability of local plants for papermaking, which does not simplify the definition of a "Tibetan paper".…”