Libraly Journal

Libraly Journal ›› 2022, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (11): 132-140.

Previous Articles    

A Textual Research on the Bower Manuscript

Fan Zhenyu, Duan Yishan, Wang Xingyi_  (The Institute of Science, Technology and Humanities, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine)   

  • Online:2022-11-15 Published:2022-11-25
  • About author:Fan Zhenyu, Duan Yishan, Wang Xingyi_ (The Institute of Science, Technology and Humanities, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine)

Abstract:

The Bower Manuscript unearthed in Kuqa, Xinjiang started the modernization ofArchaeology in Central Asia. Its form is “Pothi, a specimen in the development of book binding form inChina. Its style has certain reference value for identifying contemporary Sanskrit texts. Bower Manuscriptis the oldest extant Indian Sanskrit medical book. It is of great significance to study the inheritance ofschools of Indian medical history and the development of Buddhist medical history. The oldest dicedivinationrecorded in the Bower Manuscript provides references for the historical interaction betweendice divination in India and Xinjiang and Tibet, China. It provides the earliest Sanskrit text of the Mahāmayūrī-vidyā-rājan, which provides empirical materials for studying the origin of this classic. It is alsoof great significance for studying the development process of early Esotericism of Buddhism and theinfluence of early esotericism on Chinese civilization.

Key words: Bower Manuscript, Ayurveda, Dice-divination, Mahā-mayūrī-vidyā-rājan, Buddhism