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Lot Essay
The Eternal Tathāgata: Dunhuang Manuscript Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra No. 22 of the Six Dynasties
Translated into Chinese by the Indian Buddhist monk Dharmaksema (385-433⁄439?), Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra No. 22 ranks first amongst the five great Mahāyāna Buddhist scriptures. A handscroll whose beginning was damaged, Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra No. 22 comprises 19 hair-lined scrolls of 465 columns, each with 17 characters. With reference to the inscription at the end of the handscroll, this manuscript was commissioned by Wan Chang, a disciple of Bodhisattva Precepts.
According to Mr Fang Guangchang, a well-known scholar of Dunhuang manuscripts, the paper, content and calligraphic style of Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra No. 22 correspond with the characteristics of manuscripts of the late Six Dynasties period and hence, it can be dated the 6th Century (See his Certificate of Authentication). There are six seals on the handscroll, probably modern collector’s seals.
There exists two Chinese versions of Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra: the Northern edition (like this lot) and the Southern edition. Amongst the extant Dunhuang manuscripts in private collections and public institutions, the Northern edition consists of more than two thousands fascicle numbers, of which thirty-eight of them (including this lot) relates to No.22. It should be noted that the current lot is the second longest manuscript of No.22, and its chapter divisions and calligraphic style exemplifies the cultural fusion of the South and North. These together with the textual and character structural differences in compared with other versions make the current lot an invaluable source of research on Dunhuang manuscripts.
Translated into Chinese by the Indian Buddhist monk Dharmaksema (385-433⁄439?), Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra No. 22 ranks first amongst the five great Mahāyāna Buddhist scriptures. A handscroll whose beginning was damaged, Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra No. 22 comprises 19 hair-lined scrolls of 465 columns, each with 17 characters. With reference to the inscription at the end of the handscroll, this manuscript was commissioned by Wan Chang, a disciple of Bodhisattva Precepts.
According to Mr Fang Guangchang, a well-known scholar of Dunhuang manuscripts, the paper, content and calligraphic style of Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra No. 22 correspond with the characteristics of manuscripts of the late Six Dynasties period and hence, it can be dated the 6th Century (See his Certificate of Authentication). There are six seals on the handscroll, probably modern collector’s seals.
There exists two Chinese versions of Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra: the Northern edition (like this lot) and the Southern edition. Amongst the extant Dunhuang manuscripts in private collections and public institutions, the Northern edition consists of more than two thousands fascicle numbers, of which thirty-eight of them (including this lot) relates to No.22. It should be noted that the current lot is the second longest manuscript of No.22, and its chapter divisions and calligraphic style exemplifies the cultural fusion of the South and North. These together with the textual and character structural differences in compared with other versions make the current lot an invaluable source of research on Dunhuang manuscripts.