Zhang Zhung Foundations of Civilisations in Tibet
A Historical and Ethnoarchaeological Study of Monuments, Rock Arts, Texts and Oral Tradition of the Ancient Tibetan Upland
by John V Bellezza
Using archaeological, anthropological and philological methodologies, Zhang Zhung presents the formative elements in the development of civilization in Upper Tibet, the vast upland north and west of Lhasa. Part I of this major work provides a comprehensive examination of the monumental and aesthetic traces of the Metal Age and early historic period in Upper Tibet. Based on a field survey project of twelve years duration, the morphological, constructional, mythological and cross-cultural traits of the region’s visible archaeological wealth are described in detail, laying the groundwork for the meticulous textual analysis that follows. In Part II of the book, annotated translations of numerous excerpts from Bon and Buddhist texts present the traditional view of Tibet’s ancient past. These indigenous literary accounts of the early cultural, religious and political complex of the Plateau are in turn systematically compared to the archaeological record, revealing critical points of agreement. Zhang Zhung has pioneered the application of empirical evidence to gauge the historicity and significance of Tibetan Bon sources. Part III is devoted to the study of the archaic funerary heritage of Tibet, which proves to be highly useful with regard to analyzing the cultural evolution of the Plateau. New perspectives on the identity and contributions of the Tibetan ethnos are obtained by subjecting Dunhuang and Bon textual materials to rigorous archaeological and ethnographic interpretation. Considerable effort has been devoted to analyzing Tibetan funerary literature and to discerning its links to northern Inner Asian mythology and burial practices of the first millennium BCE and the first three-quarters of the first millennium CE. Critically edited transliterations of the Tibetan works, tables of all the surveyed archaeological sites, bibliographies and extensive indexes complement the main text.
- By (author) John V Bellezza
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Paths to Liberation in South Asian Buddhist Traditions. Papers from an International Symposium held at the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 17 - 18 December, 2015
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Death and Beyond in Ancient Tibet
Archaic Concepts and Practices in a Thousand-Year-Old Illuminated Funerary Manuscript and Old Tibetan Funerary Documents of Gathang Bumpa and Dunhuang
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Reverberations of Dharmakirti’s Philosophy
Proceedings of the Fifth International Dharmakirti Conference Heidelberg, August 26 to 30, 2014
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In Clear Words
The Prasannapada, Chapter One: Volume I: Introduction, Manuscript Description, Sanskrit Text Volume II: Prasannapada, Tibetan Text
Volume 86
Tantrikabhidhanakosa III
Dictionnaire des termes techniques de la litterature hindoue tantrique / A Dictionary of Technical Terms from Hindu Tantric Literature / Worterbuch zur Terminologie hinduistischer Tantren
Volume 76
Scriptural Authority, Reason and Action
Proceedings of a Panel at the 14th World Sanskrit Conference, Kyoto, September 1st-5th, 2009
Volume 79
History and Transmission of the Nyayamanjari
Critical Edition of the Section on the Sphota.
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From Birch Bark to Digital Data
Recent Advances in Buddhist Manuscript Research: Papers Presented at the Conference Indic Buddhist Manuscripts: The State of the Field. Stanford, June 15-19 2009
Volume 80
A Fine Blend of Mahamudra and Madhyamaka
Maitripa's Collection of Texts on Non-conceptual Realization (Amanasikara)
Volume 90
Buddhist Epistemology as Apologetics
Studies on the History, Self-understanding and Dogmatic Foundations of Late Indian Buddhist Philosophy
Volume 81
Anton Schiefner (1817-1879). Briefe und Schriftenverzeichnis
Briefe an Bernhard Jalg (1825-1886), Karl Ernst von Bar (1792-1876), Reinhold Kohler (1830-1892), Victor Hehn (1813-1890), August Friedrich Pott (1802-1887), Ernst Jung (1846-1920), L. Diefenbach (1806-1883), E. Forstermann (1822-1906) und K. Dziatzk
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Une critique bouddhique du Soi selon la Mimamsa
Presentation, edition critique et traduction de la Mimamsakaparikalpitatmapariksa de Santaraksita
Volume 84
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