Contributions to the cultural history of early Tibet / / edited by Matthew T. Kapstein, Brandon Dotson.

• Superior document: Brill's Tibetan studies library, v. 14
• TeilnehmendeR: Kapstein, Matthew.; Dotson, Brandon, 1978-
• Year of Publication: 2007
• Language: English
• Series: Brill's Tibetan studies library ; v. 14.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (324 p.)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.

The study of the rise and institutions of the Tibetan empire of the seventh to ninth centuries, and of the continuing development of Tibetan civilization during the obscure period that followed, have aroused growing interest among scholars of Inner Asia in recent decades. The six contributions presented here represent refinements in substance and method characterizing current work in this area. A chapter by Brandon Dotson provides a new perspective on law and divination under the empire, while the post-imperial international relations of the Tsong kha kingdom are analyzed by Bianca Horlemann. In “The History of the Cycle of Birth and Death”, Yoshiro Imaeda’s investigation of a Dunhuang narrative appears in a revised edition, in English for the first time. The problem of oral transmission in relation to the Tibetan Dunhuang texts is then taken up in the contribution of Sam van Schaik. In the final section, Matthew Kapstein and Carmen Meinert consider aspects of Chinese Buddhism in their relation to religious developments in Tibet.

Table of Contents

Preliminary material / M.T. Kapstein and B. Dotson -- Divination and law in the Tibetan Empire: The role of dice in the legislation of loans, interest, marital law and troop conscription / Brandon Dotson -- The relations of the eleventh-century Tsong Kha tribal confederation to its neighbour states on the silk road / Bianca Horlemann -- The history of the cycle of birth and death: A tibetan narrative from Dunhuang / Yoshiro Imaeda -- Oral teachings and written texts: Transmission and transformation in Dunhuang / Sam Van Schaik -- The tibetan Yulanpen Jing / Matthew T. Kapstein -- The conjunction of chinese Chan and tibetan Rdzogs Chen thought: Reflections on the tibetan Dunhuang manuscripts Iol Tib J 689-1 and Pt 699 / Carmen Meinert -- List of contributors / M.T. Kapstein and B. Dotson -- Illustrations / M.T. Kapstein and B. Dotson.