Tibetan Annals
The Tibetan Annals, or Old Tibetan Annals (OTA), are composed of two manuscripts written in
The two manuscripts are known as the "civil" and "military" versions of the Annals.
Discovery
An enormous number of early manuscripts in a variety of languages were collected by A. Stein and P. Pelliot at the famous sealed-up Library Cave (no. 17) of the Mogao Grottoes and sent back to London and Paris respectively. Among these Dunhuang manuscripts, The Tibetan Annals (or "Tibet’s First History") were found along with the "Old Tibetan Chronicle", which was probably compiled between 800 and 840 CE.[5]
Contents
The Annals begin with a very brief account of the early events of the reign of
These accounts, generally accepted as sober court records, provide a priceless view of Tibet in its early phase of expansion and establishment as a powerful empire. They also provide a valuable way of checking and dating events mentioned in later Tibetan and Chinese historical records.[10]
Neither the Annals nor the Chronicle make any mention of Buddhism in the reign of Songtsen Gampo.[11]
Footnotes
- ^ Dotson (2009), p. 9.
- ^ Dotson (2009), p. 14
- ^ Bacot, Thomas and Toussaint. (1940-1946), pp. 9–12.
- ^ a b Dotson 2009, p. 15
- ^ "Foreword by Per Sørensen in (Dotson (2009), p. 1.)
- ^ Beckwith (1987), p. 146.
- ^ Stein (1972), p. 65.
- ^ Dotson (2009), pp. 12-13, 136-137.
- ^ Bacot, Thomas and Toussaint. (1940-1946), p. 9.
- ^ Choephel. (1978), pp. 44-46.
- ^ "Preface to the Asianart.com edition of this article." By Amy Heller, Jan 21, 2007.
References
- Bacot, Thomas and Toussaint (1940–1946). Documents de Touen-houang relatifs a l'histoire de Tibet. J. Bacot, F. W. Thomas, Ch. Touissant. Paris. Libraire orientaliste Paul Geunther.
- Beckwith, Christopher I. (1987), The Tibetan Empire in Central Asia, Princeton: ISBN 0-691-02469-3.
- Choephel, Gedun (1978). The White Annals. Library of Tibetan Works & Archives Dharamsala, H.P., India.
- Dotson, Brandon (2009). The Old Tibetan Annals: An Annotated Translation of Tibet's First History. VÖAW, Austria. ISBN 978-3-7001-6712-9(online edition).
- Stein, R. A. (1972) [1962], Tibetan Civilization (1st English ed.), Stanford: Stanford University Press, ISBN 0-8047-0806-1.