Historical and religious inscriptions in mNga' ris (West Tibet, PR China) (2013-2018) (FWF, P25479-G19)

The present project builds directly on the FWF project “Tibetan Inscriptions” (S 9804-G08, S 9811-G21), which was conducted as part of the National Research Network “The Cultural History of the Western Himalaya from the 8th Century” (Jan. 2007 – July 2013). In the framework of this previous project two field trips to West Tibet (Ru thog, sGar, rTsa mda’, sPu rang, dGe rgyas, sGe rtse, mTsho chen) were conducted in co-operation with the Tibetan Academy of Social Sciences in Lhasa (Jan. – March 2009 and Sept. – Oct. 2010), which allowed for the first complete and detailed documentation of a considerable number of inscriptions. ’Khor chags, sKyid rang (both in sPu rang), mTho lding, rTsa pa rang and Dung dkar (all in rTsa mda’) turned out to be particularly important and high-yielding places.

Within the framework of the present project, historical and religious inscriptions found in various temples at these sites will be made available for the first time by means of diplomatic editions with critical apparatus and annotated translations. It is to be expected that this will not only contribute to our still rudimentary knowledge of the history of West Tibet from the 10th/11th century, but the work on the religious inscriptions will, in particular, also provide a basis for future art-historical studies on the murals with which most of these inscriptions are combined.

Research is funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF).