Texts on the Wall: The Sanskrit Inscriptions of the Saṃyuktāgama in the Bezeklik Cave 16 in Xinjiang (at Harvard and via Zoom, Oct. 2, 2024)
Dear members of the IAAS community,
Please join us for October 2nd Inner Asian and Altaic Studies Lecture:
Texts on the Wall: The Sanskrit Inscriptions of the Saṃyuktāgama in the Bezeklik Cave 16 in Xinjiang
Dr. Xiaonan Li 李晓楠 (Peking University)
Abstract:
Located in the cliffs of the western bank of the Murtuk River in the Flaming Mountains, the Bezeklik Caves are located approximately thirty-seven kilometers east of Turpan City. They represent a quintessential example of Buddhist art in the Turpan region. Their initial construction began in the sixth century during the Qushi Gaochang (麴氏高昌) period, with the majority of extant murals dating back to the West Uighur Kingdom (Xizhou huihu西州回鹘) period. In recent years, in collaboration with the Turpan Academy, the Research Institute of Sanskrit Manuscripts and Buddhist Literature at Peking University has undertaken the task of deciphering the inscriptions in Cave 16 at Bezeklik. The inscriptions are written above and below each small dharma-preaching paintings that are found on the longitudinal barrel vault ceiling of the cave.
Excavated by expeditions from Germany, Russia, Japan, and the United Kingdom, some of the cave’s paintings or fragments thereof were detached and are now housed in museums and institutions all over the world. The primary objective of this ongoing study is to reconstruct the fragmentary paintings, and to attempt to re-assemble the fragments into a relatively cohesive whole.
Additionally, the study aims to elucidate the sources of the inscriptions and analyze the paintings themselves. A series of verses from the Saṃyuktāgama of the Sarvāstivāda school have now been identified, verses that illustrate sermon scenes of the Buddha that are mentioned in the Āgama.
About the Speaker:
Li Xiaonan 李晓楠 is a postdoctoral fellow at the School of Foreign Languages, Peking University, specializing in Sanskrit-Tibetan grammar, and languages of the Chinese Western Regions. In 2011, she embarked on her academic journey by enrolling in the Zero Beginner Class for Tibetan Language and Literature at the Institute of Tibetan Studies, Minzu University of China. In 2016, she pursued advanced studies in Indian Languages and Literature at Peking University. Benefiting from the China Scholarship Council’s Joint Ph.D. Program, she conducted doctoral research at Harvard University from 2022 to 2023. In 2023, she was awarded a Ph.D. in Indian Languages and Literature from Peking University. In 2024, she received the Khyentse Foundation Award for Outstanding PhD Dissertation in Buddhist Studies for Asia.
Wednesday, October 2, 2024
1:15 pm-2:30 pm ET
In person: Thomas Chan-Soo Kang Room, S050 CGIS-South
Virtual: Zoom registration
For information about the 2023-24 IAAS Lecture Series visit https://iaas.fas.harvard.edu/pages/iaas-lecture-series.
Inner Asian and Altaic Studies | Harvard University
1730 Cambridge Street, Suite 105, Cambridge, MA 02138
Please visit our website for more information: https://iaas.fas.harvard.edu/