Tibetan, Burmese and Chinese Inscriptions from Bodhgayā in the British Museum

Abstract

This article is concerned with four inscriptions found at Bodhgayā in the nineteenth century that are documented by records kept in the Department of Asia at the British Museum. Two Tibetan inscriptions, probably dating between the ninth and fourteenth centuries, are of special note because they provide the first archaeological evidence for Tibetans at the site. Chinese and Burmese records of the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth century are also noted, that of the Song emperor Renzong (1022–63) being illustrated for the first time.

Further thoughts on Asian Studies “inside-out”

“…Such was the case at Bodh Gaya, the pilgrimage site associated with the enlightenment of the Buddha, where a series of Tibetan, Burmese, and Chinese inscriptions attest to long-distance connections in the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth centuries. Although these document the presence of monks and merchant devotees, a Song dynasty record meant to adorn a shrine commissioned by the emperor Renzong (r. 1022–63) in memory of the deceased Taizong (r. 976–997) suggests an act of imperial self-fashioning on a global scale (Gongkasang and Willis 2013). Similarly, the scholarly reconstruction of a Chinese Buddhist temple at the Southeast Indian coast town of Nagapattinam and a Hindu temple built by South Indian merchant community in the port of Quanzhou in Fujian Province attest to a vibrant interconnectivity that was fueled primarily by trade rather than religious pilgrimage (Guy 1993/94; Lee 2009).…”

China in medieval Indian imagination: “China”-inspired images in medieval South Asia

“…The last dated Chinese inscription known to us is the one documented in the Mahant's compound at Bodhgaya by Cunningham. It is unclear whether the original stele still survives at the Mahant's compound or not, but the facsimile rubbing of the inscription from Cunningham's documentation is kept in the British Museum (Gongkatsang and Willis 2013). This stele is a straightforwardly imperial project in every aspect.…”

“…Although the Sino–Tibetan relationship during the Song dynasty is not well documented, we can see that Bodhgaya was one of the few places where the politics of the time were played out in the open, as Song sought alliances with Tibetans against Tanguts in 1032 CE 29 . An imperial edict from the Song imperial house would have helped to convey the message of alliance with Tibetans as it signaled their shared zealous attitudes toward the foremost Buddhist pilgrimage site of Bodhgaya where Tibetans also began to frequent and leave inscriptions (Gongkatsang and Willis 2013).…”

Sailing Ships, Naval Expeditions and ‘Project Mausam’

“…Pilgrimage continued as a prime motive for travellers from China, and in 1021 ce, the monk Yunshu worshipped at the site of Bodh Gaya. In addition to the accounts of Chinese monks, five stone tablets with tenth–eleventh-century Chinese inscriptions were found at Bodhgaya and two of the names that have been identified include those of Chi-I and Ho-yun, the former in the company of some other priests (Beal, 1881; Gongkatsang & Willis, 2013).…”