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<\/div><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>\nThis Tibetan Dragon Canon was commissioned and produced over a period of two years as a religious vow by Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, the grandmother of the Kangxi Emperor. At the time, Tibetan Buddhism was widely practiced in Mongolia, Tibet, and other regions. The Qing imperial family demonstrated its support for Buddhism in many ways, including building temples, making offerings to eminent monks, and sponsoring the printing and production of Buddhist scriptures. She gathered 171 Tibetan lamas who were highly proficient in the Tibetan language to hand-copy the scriptures in gold ink onto deep blue scripture leaves The protective boards above and below each volume were then exquisitely painted by court artisans with portraits of Buddhist patriarchs, Buddhas and bodhisattvas, or deities from Esoteric Buddhism.<\/p>\n
<\/div><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>\nWhen I was in Tibet, my eyes were constantly drawn to the countless Buddhas and deities depicted in murals and sculptures, as well as to the deeply devout Buddhist pilgrims. Yet I rarely had the opportunity to see handwritten copies of the Kangyur or Tengyur up close. I\u2019m grateful that such precious cultural treasures have been preserved in Taiwan. They have added another extraordinary piece to my personal journey of discovering Tibetan Buddhist culture.<\/p>\n
The Tibetan Dragon Canon is displayed in S303, a permanent exhibition on the third floor of the National Palace Museum Southern Branch. Currently, Volume 74 is on display. The exhibition also features a rich collection of Buddhist art. Organized around five themes\u2014\u201cThe Joy of Birth,\u201d \u201cThe Buddha\u2019s Wisdom,\u201d \u201cThe Compassion of the Bodhisattvas,\u201d \u201cThe Transmission of the Buddhist Canon,\u201d and \u201cThe Mysteries of Esoteric Buddhism\u201d\u2014the exhibition uses a chronological framework to place Buddhist sculptures from different periods and regions side by side.<\/p>\n