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Gifts at Wutai Shan: Rockhill and the Thirteenth Dalai Lama

Gifts at Wutai Shan: Rockhill and the Thirteenth Dalai Lama
Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies
Format: Journal Article
Publication Date: 2011-01
Publisher: Tibetan and Himalayan Library
Sources ID: 128193
Visibility: Public (group default)
Abstract: (Show)

Creator's Description: This article discusses the 1908 meeting at Wutai shan between the Thirteenth Dalai Lama and William Woodville Rockhill as reflected in three special items in the Library of Congress. The Library's earliest Tibetan books came from Rockhill between 1899-1901 and included xylographs and manuscripts acquired in Tibet and Mongolia between 1888-1892. Additional volumes were given to the Library by Mrs. Rockhill in 1942. Included in that donation were two gifts which Rockhill had received from the Thirteenth Dalai Lama at Wutai shan: a xylograph of the Sūtra of the Perfection of Wisdom in 8,000 Verses and a tangka (thang ka) of Jé Tsongkhapa (rje tsong kha pa). This historic meeting is described in a letter written by Rockhill to President Theodore Roosevelt, also kept at the Library. These three items are examined in the context of the historical and cultural setting from which they originated. (2011-12-31)