CHINAEUROPE AFRICAASIA 中文双语Français
Culture\Heritage

Sutras saved by soldiers

By Wang Kaihao | China Daily | Updated: 2017-08-15 07:28

Sutras saved by soldiers

The inside of a tower in Guangsheng Temple. [Photo provided to China Daily]

It was a legendary military mission that saved priceless treasures from destruction and looting.

Chinese soldiers' bravery during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) preserved the 900-year-old Buddhist canon, the Zhaocheng Jin Tripitaka.

The largely intact texts-the most-extensive surviving printed works of the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234)-are one of the National Library of China's four main collections.

The Beijing library revealed the findings of a July investigation into the scriptures' hidden history last week.

An expert panel journeyed through six cities in northern Shanxi province to piece together the puzzle of the texts' legacy. They pored over local archives, visited relevant sites and conducted interviews.

The precious Buddhist canon was originally collected by the Guangsheng Temple in Zhaocheng county (today's Hongdong county) in Shanxi.

It remained there for centuries until it was rediscovered in 1933 by a high-ranking, visiting monk. It took its current name at that time.

Previous Page 1 2 3 4 5 Next Page

BACK TO THE TOP
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US