Asian Treasures: Gems of the Written Word 9780642277220, 0642277222

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N AT I O N A L L I B R A R Y O F AU S T R A L I A COLLEC TION HIGHLIGHTS

AsIan Treasures Gems of the Writ ten Word

ANDREW GOSLING

Published by the National Library of Australia Canberra ACT 2600 © National Library of Australia 2011 Books published by the National Library of Australia further the Library’s objectives to interpret and highlight the Library’s collections and to support the creative work of the nation’s writers and researchers. Every reasonable endeavour has been made to contact the copyright holders. Where this has not been possible, the copyright holders are invited to contact the publisher. This book is copyright in all countries subscribing to the Berne Convention. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. Enquiries should be made to the publisher. National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Author:

Gosling, Andrew, 1948- .

Title:

Asian treasures : gems of the written word / Andrew Gosling.

ISBN:

9780642277220 (pbk.)

Subjects:

National Library of Australia--Literary collections.



Libraries--Special collections.



Oriental literature.



Chinese literature.



Japanese literature.

Other Authors/Contributors:

National Library of Australia.



Dewey Number:

025.17

Text: Andrew Gosling Commissioning Publisher: Susan Hall Publisher’s Editor: Michaela Forster Assistant Editors: Natalya Wells, Meredith McKendry Designer: Noel Wendtman Printed by: Imago

Cover images: Illustrated Odes to the Forty Scenes of the Garden of Perfect Brightness, 2005 Kōgei, 1931–1951 Hanae (Paper Flower Picture) from Great Collection of Handmade Japanese Paper, 1973–1974

Buddhism and the Book in Asia iii

Contents Introduction

1

1

Buddhism and the Book in Asia

5

2

Islamic and Hindu Art and Writing

35

3

Confucianism and the Book

43

4 Japanese Books and Printing

53

5

81

Language, Print and Culture in Qing Dynasty China

6 Indonesian Writing Traditions 7

Maps, Prints and Early Western Missionaries in China

93 105

Featured Works

114

References

118

iv Asian Treasures: GEMS OF THE WRITTEN WORD

Buddhism and the Book in Asia 1

Introduction

2 Asian Treasures: GEMS OF THE WRITTEN WORD

Introduction 3

T

he theme of this book is Asian writing, books and printing. It is illustrated with some of the National Library of Australia’s most precious gems from the Asian region. All the examples are old, rare, beautiful or historically significant. Most of the titles come from East and South-East Asia, however links to South Asia, the Middle East and Western countries are also covered. While representing only a fraction of the Library’s half-a-million Asian items, these works show the breadth and beauty of its resources on Asian writing cultures. The Library houses this country’s strongest library collections about Asia. The collections have been developed to meet the needs of scholars and the public. As well as printed books, periodicals and newspapers, there are maps, manuscripts, pictures and, more recently, electronic resources. The main focus of collecting has been modern Asia, but earlier history and traditional cultures have not been neglected, as is evident in this book. In 1962 the Library established a section to acquire printed works in Asian languages. Now known as Asian Collections, it has concentrated particularly on publications in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian and Thai. The Library has also collected many Western language items about Asia. Asian Treasures is divided into seven sections, each covering a major topic in the history of Asian writing. They show the close relationship between religious or philosophical ideas and the written or printed word. The topics are Buddhism and the book in Asia; Islamic and Hindu art and writing; Confucianism and the

book; Japanese books and printing; language, print and culture in Qing dynasty China; Indonesian writing traditions; and maps, prints and early Western missionaries in China. These subjects overlap. While there is no single Asian writing tradition, important connections exist across the region. For instance, paper, woodblock printing and movable type all originated in China and spread from there. The examples described in this book include palm-leaf texts from Sri Lanka and Bali, magic writings on bark from Sumatra, colourful Thai and Persian manuscripts, a letter from a Manchu prince, and a magnificent collection of handmade Japanese papers. The description for each item includes its significance; how, why and when it was produced; and often how it came to the Library. The oldest printed work in the Library is a Chinese volume dated 1162. There are Burmese Buddhist scriptures created from marble rubbings, and a huge world map in Chinese printed on silk. Two Japanese periodicals rank among the Library’s most beautiful titles. They are Kokka, Japan’s first art journal, and Kogei, on arts and crafts. The Library holds many other precious old and modern Asian pieces. A longer guide to these resources will be published on the Library’s website. I would like to thank the many people who have helped in the creation of this book, in particular Amelia McKenzie and her staff in Asian Collections at the Library, as well as Dr John Caiger and Dr Ian Proudfoot.

Andrew Gosling

Illustrated Odes to the Forty Scenes of the Garden of Perfect Brightness, 2005

4 Asian Treasures: GEMS OF THE WRITTEN WORD

Buddhism and the Book in Asia 5

1

Buddhism and the Book in Asia

6 Asian Treasures: GEMS OF THE WRITTEN WORD

Buddhism and the Book in Asia 7

B

uddhism, which forms a major cultural link among the peoples of Asia from India to the Pacific, is well represented in the Library’s Asian and English language collections. The historical Buddha (or Enlightened One) lived around 500 BC in northern India. He taught that to attain enlightenment all desire and attachment— the roots of illusion and suffering—must be extinguished. Only then will one be able to attain the freedom called Nirvana. He rejected the extremes of hedonism and self-mortification, and preached the middle way of no suffering and no pleasure. He also stressed the importance of compassion towards other humans and all sentient beings. Buddha’s teachings spread widely across Asia over a period of centuries, absorbing many other beliefs along the way. Buddhism divided into markedly different forms. Theravada, or the Doctrine of the Elders, remained closer to the early teachings, and is found today in Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. The Buddhism of China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam comes mainly from Mahayana, or the Great Vehicle. This developed a pantheon of godlike Buddhas, as well as Bodhisattvas— beings dedicated to helping others achieve salvation. Buddhism from India later reached Tibet, where it absorbed local religious practices, and in turn spread to Mongolia.

In India itself Buddhism declined and then virtually disappeared by the fifteenth century. The form of Buddhism that is perhaps best known in the West is Zen. This school arose in China then flourished, particularly in Japan. In Chinese it is known as Chan, and in Korean as Son. With an emphasis on meditation and intuitive insight, it teaches that Buddha nature exists within one’s own heart and mind. For hundreds of years Buddhist teachings were transmitted orally. Around 100 BC Buddhism began to develop a sacred literature, originally written in two related Indo–European languages, Pali and Sanskrit. The Pali scriptures were preserved in Sri Lanka, while those in Sanskrit have survived mainly in Chinese and Tibetan translations. The Buddhist scriptures are known collectively as the Tripitaka (meaning literally ‘three baskets’). They consist of the Vinayas or disciplines for monastic life, the Sutras or major teachings, and the Abhidharmas or scholars’ commentaries on the teachings. Buddhism has left a legacy even in parts of Asia where it has been supplanted by other faiths. For example the two giant Buddhas carved into a cliff at Bamiyan in Afghanistan survived for centuries until destroyed by the Taliban in 2001. The massive Buddhist structure of Borobudur in Central Java remains one of Indonesia’s greatest cultural icons.

Phra Mālai, 1800s

8 Asian Treasures: GEMS OF THE WRITTEN WORD

Palm-leaf Manuscript from Sri Lanka

Palm-leaf manuscript from Sri Lanka, early 1800s

THE Library houses a remarkable ola, or palmleaf, manuscript almost certainly produced by Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka during the nineteenth century. The earliest ola manuscripts were probably created in the first century BC, when the Buddhist scriptures were originally written down by Sri Lankan monks. They inscribed the texts in Pali, the Indian language used for religious purposes by Sri Lankan and SouthEast Asian Buddhists. The teachings had previously been transmitted orally for many generations. The tropical island of Sri Lanka, formerly known as Ceylon, lies off the south-eastern coast of India. According to tradition, Buddhism was brought there by a mission from the great Indian Emperor Asoka (c.269–232 BC), which converted the local king. Sri Lanka has played a major role in the history of Buddhism, which virtually disappeared from its birthplace of India, but flourished on the island. From there it spread to Burma, Thailand and other parts of South-East Asia. Sri Lanka’s

Sinhalese majority remains strongly Buddhist to this day. The Tamil minority, originally from southern India, is mainly Hindu. Ola manuscripts are made from the leaves of the talipot palm. This huge tree, which is found in Sri Lanka and southern India, can grow to 25 metres in height. It has broad and strong fan-shaped leaves, which were considered ideal for manuscripts. The leaves underwent several processes including boiling, drying, smoking and polishing. Leaf strips were then cut, punched with string holes and fitted between wooden covers. The writing system did not involve any ink. A steel-tipped stylus, called a panhinda, was used to scratch text into the surface of the leaf. The panhinda could be gold, silver or bronze, depending on the status of the owner. The talipot palm is now very rare in the wild, although grown in cultivation; the tradition of producing ola manuscripts is also in danger of dying out. In the tropical climate older works do not survive long. They need to be copied onto new manuscripts as they deteriorate. Palm-leaf manuscripts were not only used for recording the Buddhist scriptures. The example held by the Library deals with the casting of horoscopes and is written in Sinhalese. As in many other countries, astrology has long been popular in Sri Lanka. Manfred Claasz, who migrated from Sri Lanka to Australia in 1972, donated the manuscript together with a large collection of books, papers and maps about Sri Lanka.

Buddhism and the Book in Asia 9

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Buddhism and the Book in Asia 11

Illuminated Manuscript of a Monk’s Adventures THE tale of the monk Phra Malai is famous across Thailand and its South-East Asian neighbours. While not part of the official Buddhist scriptures, different versions of his story survive in manuscripts, printed books, murals and sculptures. He is even the subject of modern popular fiction and postcards. The Library holds an undated copy of his adventures as a colourfully illustrated manuscript on paper, possibly from the nineteenth century. According to legend Phra Malai lived in Sri Lanka long ago. He was a compassionate monk whose extraordinary powers allowed him to travel to heaven and hell. In hell he eased the suffering of sinners. On return to earth he persuaded their families to perform acts of merit to save their relatives from damnation. Travelling to heaven he encountered deities, former lowly mortals who had been rewarded for generous or other meritorious acts. He also met and conversed with the future Buddha, Maitreya, who gave him a message for mankind. After a period of Buddhist decline and the near destruction of the human race, a new and virtuous society would arise. At that time Maitreya would become the next Buddha. The oldest surviving dated version of the legend from Thailand is a palm-leaf manuscript from 1516. Thai manuscripts on paper, known as samut khoi, appeared by the seventeenth century. Paper made from the bark of the khoi tree, or Streblus aspera, which grows wild in northern Thailand, is strong and durable. It survives well in the tropical climate. To make paper the bark is dried, soaked in limewater, steamed, washed and then pounded into pulp. The pulp is turned into

sheets of paper in a wooden or bamboo mould with a cloth bottom. For religious manuscripts, such as the one housed at the Library, the papers are joined together and folded in an accordion format for ease of opening and reciting the text. The Library’s oldest printed book—a Chinese Buddhist volume from 1162 (page 14)—is folded in a similar way. Thai paper manuscripts generally include paintings and writing produced by Buddhist monks as an act of devotion and instruction to the general public. It is not surprising that the legend of Phra Malai has remained so popular in Thailand. It preaches Buddhism in an easily accessible way. The monk’s amazing cosmic travels make heaven and hell seem more real than in the drier religious texts. The basic message is that meritorious acts lead to spiritual rewards, while those who do evil on earth will suffer in hell.

Phra Mālai, 1800s

12 Asian Treasures: GEMS OF THE WRITTEN WORD

The Oldest Printed Book in the World

Diamond Sutra, 2001

THE oldest dated printed book to survive anywhere in the world is a copy of the Diamond Sutra in Chinese from 868. This was towards the end of China’s Tang dynasty (618–907). Fragments of East Asian woodblock printing exist from the previous century, but no complete books. The sutra consists of seven sheets of white paper printed from carved wooden blocks and rolled up to form a scroll more than five metres long. Its printing is of an advanced standard. The Diamond Sutra is a major Indian Buddhist text, which was translated from Sanskrit into Chinese in the fourth century. The sutra contains an explanation of its own name. In the text Buddha’s disciple Subhuti asks what to call it. The Buddha’s reply is ‘The Diamond of Transcendent Wisdom’ because its message will cut like a diamond through worldly illusion to show what is real. At the end of the scroll appear the words ‘On the fifteenth day of the fourth month of the ninth

year of Xiantong [868], Wang Jie reverently made this for blessings to his parents, for universal distribution’. This means that Wang financed the printing of the sutra as an act of merit so that his parents might escape the Buddhist cycle of rebirths. No doubt many copies would have been printed. The frontispiece depicts Buddha in discussion with his kneeling disciple Subhuti. They are attended by many divine beings, monks and officials in Chinese robes. This is the oldest surviving woodcut illustration in a printed book. It shows a high level of artistic and technical sophistication. Woodcut illustrations must have developed much earlier than this, although no older examples survive. The sutra was part of a secret library of thousands of books, manuscripts and paintings sealed for safekeeping inside a cave near Dunhuang in western China around the year 1000. The library cave was rediscovered in 1900 and its contents had been preserved by the dry desert air. The explorer Sir Aurel Stein visited the cave in 1907 and brought the Diamond Sutra and many other documents to England, where they are now held at the British Library. Other items from the library cave are now dispersed among collections in China, Russia, France and elsewhere. The Library houses a high-quality modern replica of the Diamond Sutra, the same size as the 868 original.

Buddhism and the Book in Asia 13

14 Asian Treasures: GEMS OF THE WRITTEN WORD

The Oldest Printed Book in the Library

Greater Sutra of the Perfection of Transcendent Wisdom, 1162

THE oldest printed book in the Library is Chinese and contains a date equivalent to the year 1162. It is an extremely rare, if not unique, volume from a major 600-tome woodblock printed set of the Buddhist scriptures. The Library holds volume 42. Another surviving volume of this 1162 edition is known to exist at the University of California, Los Angeles. Known as the Greater Sutra of the Perfection of Transcendent Wisdom, its original Indian text in Sanskrit was translated into Chinese by the famous Tang

dynasty pilgrim monk Xuanzang. Between 629 and 645 he journeyed through Central Asia to India, bringing back hundreds of Buddhist works, including this one. He devoted the rest of his life to translating them. His travels were transformed into fiction as Monkey, or Journey to the West, in which he became the monk Tripitaka, accompanied to India by his faithful companions Monkey, Pigsy and Sandy. The volume dates from the Song dynasty (960–1279), one of China’s greatest literary and artistic eras, and a golden age for publishing, especially of Buddhist texts. This particular version of the Buddhist canon was produced in Fuzhou,

Buddhism and the Book in Asia 15

a major publishing centre on the south-east coast of China. Unlike earlier Chinese printed books, such as the Diamond Sutra, which were rolled up as scrolls, this was the first edition to adopt the sutra binding, where the scroll was folded like a concertina for easy access to the text. This format was later employed widely for the Buddhist scriptures. Similar folding may also be seen in the Library’s illuminated Buddhist manuscript from Thailand about Phra Malai (page 11). The book is generally in fair condition for its great age, although it is incomplete, with parts of some pages missing. At some stage it has been repaired. While the Library had long known

that it was very old and rare, it was only quite recently that experts from China, Australia and Singapore confirmed that it dates back to the Song period. This means that it is centuries older than any other Asian or Western printed work in the Library’s collection. How this one volume survived human and natural disasters for 800 years remains a mystery. It was eventually found by the distinguished historian Chao-ying Fang (Fang Zhaoying), whose Chinese seal appears in red ink at the beginning and end of the text. The Library acquired this extraordinary treasure in 1962 together with the rest of Fang’s major collection of books about China.

16 Asian Treasures: GEMS OF THE WRITTEN WORD

Buddhism and the Book in Asia 17

Buddhist Printing as Protection against Mongol Invaders DURING the thirteenth century Korea was invaded several times by the Mongols, who were establishing one of the world’s greatest empires, stretching from East Asia to Europe. In times of war and crisis Buddhists have invoked spiritual aid, just as Christians have in the West. Koreans believed that the printing of a complete set of the Tripitaka would provide divine protection against attack. Buddhism had reached Korea from China by the fourth century. During the Koryo dynasty (918–1392), a close relationship had developed between Buddhism and the Korean state. In 1232 the invading Mongols had forced King Kojong and his court into exile on the island of Kanghwa, off the west coast of the peninsula. By royal command, carving of the scriptures began on the island in 1236 to ward off the Mongol threat. The compilers based their edition on the best available Korean, Manchurian and Chinese canons. It took the monks until 1251 to complete the mammoth task of carving the 81 258 blocks of magnolia wood required to print the text. The resulting Korean Tripitaka in Chinese script is now regarded as one of the most important and complete sets of Buddhist scriptures in the world. Unfortunately for the Koreans, their pious Buddhist printing did not save them from a century of subservience to the Mongols. They suffered greatly, especially when forced to join two abortive attempts by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan to invade Japan. Despite all this, the Tripitaka itself survived on the island of Kanghwa. It was later moved twice, and since 1398 has been housed securely in the mountains at the Haeinsa temple complex in south-east

Korea. A special library was constructed there with wooden slatted walls designed to protect the blocks against humidity and the extremes of summer heat and winter cold. Both the woodblocks and the temple are regarded as among the country’s most precious cultural assets. The Library holds one of only eight sets of the massive Korean Tripitaka produced in the 1960s by printing from the original thirteenth-century woodblocks. It is also bound in the same size as the original. The 1340 volumes are extremely large as every block measures 65 by 24 by 6 centimetres. Each block contains 23 lines, with 14 Chinese characters per line. The pages of the printed work are held together with waxed orange thread and enclosed between heavier waxed paper covers.

Korean Tripitaka, 1964–1968

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The World’s Oldest Book Printed with Movable Metal Type

Selected Sermons of Buddhist Sages and Zen Masters, 1987

THE oldest surviving book printed with movable metal type is a Korean work dated 1377. According to Chinese records a man named Bi Sheng invented earthenware movable type between 1041 and 1048. Koreans may have been printing with movable type as early as the thirteenth century. However the oldest example still in existence is Selected Sermons of Buddhist Sages and Zen Masters, printed in Korea with movable metal type. At the end of this book appears the statement that it was printed with type cast at Hungdoksa Temple in the seventh lunar month of 1377. This was 70 years before Gutenberg’s Bible appeared in Germany. Sokch’an and Taljam are mentioned as being in charge of the printing, while Myodok, a nun, was a financial contributor. Kyonghan (1298–1374), a revered Korean Buddhist monk and Zen master, compiled Selected Sermons. Only the second of its two volumes in the 1377 edition has survived, minus its first page. It consists of writings considered essential to understanding Zen Buddhism, known as Son in Korean. Its theme

is that by Zen meditation a person may grasp the truth that Buddha is not external, since one’s mind is Buddha. Korea’s turbulent history and loss of cultural treasures has meant that there are no examples of early printing with movable type to be found anywhere in the country. The single volume from 1377 survived in the private collection of Victor Collin de Plancy, the first French consul in Korea after diplomatic relations were established between the two countries in 1886. It was later acquired by the Bibliotheque Nationale in France, where it remains today. Although the book was listed in a French bibliography of Korean works as early as 1901, its display in Paris for an international exhibition in 1972 drew the attention of scholars around the world. Korean experts have commented that Selected Sermons was produced when movable type was still at an early stage of development. As a result, it is of poorer quality than woodblock printing of the same period. For example the characters are not always lined up straight, and some are laid diagonally or even upside down. This does not, however, detract from the book’s importance in the history of printing. The Library holds a high-quality modern facsimile produced by the Ministry of Culture and Information in Seoul. It was printed on traditional Korean paper, bound according to ancient methods and is in the same colour as the original. A detailed English explanation is included with the book.

Buddhism and the Book in Asia 19

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Buddhism and the Book in Asia 21

A Buddhist Sutra, or Is It? AMONG the books collected in Korea by the Australian missionary Jessie McLaren during the early twentieth century is an extremely rare and possibly unique copy of an intriguing work. Its title, Sutra on the Profound Kindness of Parents, suggests that it is a Buddhist text about honouring one’s parents. This is true, but not the complete story. Even though it purports to use Buddha’s own words, the book does not originate from India but appears to have been written in seventh-century Tang dynasty China. It is therefore called an apocryphal Buddhist sutra. Nevertheless it became one of the most famous religious texts in China, as well as other parts of East Asia, such as Korea. In fact the work is not purely Buddhist. It combines Confucian and Buddhist ideals of filial piety. The importance of honouring and respecting parents, especially fathers, lay at the core of Confucianism. In Chinese Buddhist texts such as this one, sons were urged to feel indebted to both their father and mother for the many kindnesses received in childhood and to repay such debts by being good Buddhists. The importance of the mother’s role was stressed much more than in Confucianism. This book has been described as an effective piece of propaganda for Buddhist family values. The work was highly popular in Korea throughout the Choson dynasty (1392–1910). While some of the editions published were solely in the classical Chinese used by the ruling elite, others such as this also contained text in Korean script to make them accessible to a wider public, who could not read Chinese. Lively woodblock

illustrations were also included to attract a wide audience. The book was translated and re-translated into Korean all over the country throughout several centuries, with variations in the text and illustrations. Dr Ross King, an expert on Korean language, has examined the Library’s copy, which was published in 1766. He has pointed out that while this title was published many times in Korea, it is the only known example from Hoeryong, in the far north-east of Korea, close to the Chinese border. This was a remote backwater, where little printing took place. The book contains distinct regional characteristics of the Korean spoken in the border region. Whoever carved the blocks seems to have been only semi-literate in Korean, and made odd errors in carving the script. Sutra on the Profound Kindness of Parents, 1766

22 Asian Treasures: GEMS OF THE WRITTEN WORD

Tibetan Tripitaka PROBABLY the most beautifully produced Buddhist work housed at the Library is the 1981 Nyingma edition of the Tibetan Buddhist Canon. It is also rare, as only 100 numbered sets were printed. A massive edition, it contains canonical texts as well as colour and blockprint reproductions of many Tibetan artworks, maps depicting the historical spread of Buddhism, and research aids presenting comparative information from Tibetan, Chinese, Mongolian and Western sources. Buddhism entered Tibet from India around the seventh century. About the same time the Tibetans decided on an alphabet, based on an Indian script. Over a period of centuries a vast collection of Buddhist scriptures was translated from Sanskrit into Tibetan. Papermaking and woodblock printing were adopted from the Chinese, and the Tibetan Tripitaka was first printed in Peking in 1411. The Nyingma edition of the Tibetan Buddhist Canon contains 120 volumes with flame-orange bindings. It was produced by

Tibetan Buddhist Canon, 1981

Tibetan Buddhist monks, who had moved to India and later California. In his preface, Abbot Tarthang Tulku explained that soon after arriving in India in 1959 he acquired a small printing press and began publishing important Tibetan texts. After reaching the United States in 1969, he continued with plans for a modern edition of the scriptures in a high-quality hard-bound format designed to last hundreds of years. The resulting Nyingma edition was published in 1981. It reproduces the eighteenth-century Derge canon, which is widely regarded as reliable and carefully edited. Most volumes belong to one of the two main divisions of the Tibetan Tripitaka, namely the Kanjur (or word of the Buddha), and the Tanjur (or later treatises and commentaries). Other canonical texts not in the Derge edition are included as appendices. Each printed page consists of four traditional leaves of blockprinted Tibetan script. The work includes images of many colourful thangkas, or Tibetan religious artworks. These were generally painted or embroidered onto fabric in a highly geometric style. They are an aid to meditation, teaching and devotion. Each thangka is filled with symbolic meanings based on the Buddhist scriptures. The Library also holds another major set of the Tibetan Tripitaka—a magnificent modern Japanese reprint of the rare eighteenth-century Peking blockprint edition. It was published by the Tibetan Tripitaka Research Institute. The editor, Dr D.T. Suzuki (1870–1966), was a renowned Japanese scholar and thinker best known as interpreter of Zen Buddhism to the West.

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24 Asian Treasures: GEMS OF THE WRITTEN WORD

Buddhism and the Book in Asia 25

Texts Carved on Marble in Mandalay THE Library’s copy of the Burmese Tripitaka is based on ink and stone rubbings, a long and painstaking task. The original engravings filled both sides of 729 massive marble tablets at Mandalay, Burma’s last royal capital. This Burmese marble version of the Buddhist canon has been called the world’s biggest book. It was created on the orders of King Mindon Min, who from 1857 created Mandalay as his capital, as well as a religious and cultural centre. Quarried from a hill north of the city, the white marble was carved at the king’s palace between 1860 and 1868. The text, copied from palmleaf manuscripts, was written onto the stone, examined for accuracy, chiselled by an expert mason, then checked again. Finally the lettering was covered in gold leaf. Each tablet was placed inside its own protective shrine at the Kuthodaw Pagoda near Mandalay Hill. In 1871 Mindon Min called together the Fifth Buddhist Council, at which the whole Burmese Tripitaka was recited. Monks reading in relays took six months to complete the recitation. Mindon Min was a devout patron of Buddhism. Although much of the country was already under British rule during his reign, he preserved the independence of landlocked Upper Burma, maintained peaceful relations with Britain, and sought to modernise his kingdom. Threatened by European colonial expansion, the king created marble scriptures. This was perhaps rather like the Koreans printing the Tripitaka for divine protection against Mongol attack six centuries earlier. After Mindon Min died in 1878 his son Thibaw became king, but only briefly. British forces overthrew and exiled him

when they seized Upper Burma in 1885. They incorporated the whole country into their Indian empire. The marble tablets survived the occupation and looting of Mandalay, although with some damage. They have been repaired and may still be seen there today. The Library’s set of the Burmese canon was received as a gift in 1987 as part of the Australian Buddhist Library, which contains more than 3000 volumes. Prior to 1987 the collection had been developed in Sydney’s Chinatown as a public reference resource about all forms of Buddhism. It had been funded by the Liao family and other benefactors. The Burmese Tripitaka consists of 64 volumes, containing the original Pali canon, commentary and Burmese translations. It was issued in Rangoon by the Buddha Sasana Council between 1956 and 1983.

Burmese Tripitaka, 1956–1983

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Buddhist Scriptures that Survived the Khmer Rouge

Khmer Tripitaka, 1931–1973

THE Khmer Rouge, which ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, is notorious for killing its own people, as well as destroying books and culture. It imposed a virtual ban on reading. Buddhism and other religions were outlawed. The Library is fortunate to have acquired a very rare set of the Khmer Tripitaka, which reached Europe before the Khmer Rouge period. The publication of the bilingual Khmer– Pali Tripitaka was closely linked to efforts by leading Khmer Buddhists and French scholars during Cambodia’s colonial period to create an authentic national Buddhism. The kingdom was a protectorate from 1863 to 1954, as part of French Indochina. Two prominent Khmer religious reformers—Chuon Nath and Huot That—aimed to restore Buddhism in their country. It was to be based on what they saw as the pure Pali canon, cleansed of Hindu, animist and other elements regarded as superstitious. They also sought to make Buddhist texts accessible to the people through translation into Khmer and publication using modern printing technology from the West. This was opposed

by traditionalists, for whom the palm-leaf manuscript was a sacred object, not to be replaced by print. French scholars also played an important role in the development of the Tripitaka. In 1929 George Coedes was appointed head of France’s leading academic body for South-East Asian studies, based in Indochina. In this position he strongly promoted Khmer Buddhist projects. That same year a Tripitaka Commission was set up to study, edit and print all 84 000 verses in a complete bilingual edition of the Pali canon. This was printed on paper as a multivolume book, with the Pali text and parallel Khmer translation both in Khmer script. Suzanne Karpeles, director of Cambodia’s Royal Library and founder of its Buddhist Institute, oversaw the publication—a task she undertook with great zeal. The first volume appeared in 1931. Subsequent parts were printed during the remainder of the colonial period and after independence in 1954. Most volumes in the Library’s set of the Khmer Tripitaka belonged to George Coedes’ personal collection, which he took from Indochina to France in 1946. Coedes is still revered as a giant of South-East Asian scholarship. After he died in 1969 the Library purchased his rich store of books and manuscripts about Asia, most notably the Tripitaka.

Buddhism and the Book in Asia 27

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Buddhism and the Book in Asia 29

Cremation Volume for a Revered Thai King ALTHOUGH Thailand has long been Buddhist, the first printed cremation volumes only appeared a little over a century ago. A form of publication unique to Thailand, they are distributed as gifts at Buddhist cremation ceremonies. They were probably an extension of the traditional practice of presenting gifts to mark important occasions such as birthdays and funerals. Originally they may also have been a Buddhist response to Western Christian missionaries who brought modern printing technology to Thailand during the nineteenth century to propagate their faith. Cremation volumes generally include a biography of the deceased person, eulogies and writings on other topics relevant to the deceased. Most early examples dealt with Buddhism, which has remained their major focus to the present day. Other topics are as varied as history, folklore, language, literature, travel, medicine and cooking. Their length and quality vary greatly, depending largely on status and wealth. Some are carefully edited, elaborately bound and contain many colour photographs. Others are short and plain. Cremation volumes are important sources for scholars and libraries as they often contain valuable historical or literary documents otherwise unavailable. Some include selected and edited works of the deceased person, or reproduce important manuscripts from other sources. The Library has been developing a strong collection of Thai cremation volumes for many years. This publication, Ton Banyat (Buddhist Parables of the Dharma), dating from 1910, is the oldest Thai cremation volume housed by the

Library. While later versions of the same work are held in Thai and Western libraries, the 1910 edition appears to be extremely rare, if not unique. It commemorates the cremation of King Rama V, or Chulalongkorn, revered ruler of Siam (Thailand) from 1868 to 1910. His father, King Mongkut, ensured that he had a broad education, including European tutors such as Anna Leonowens, whose story is well known in the West through the fictional account Anna and the King and films such as The King and I. Chulalongkorn is renowned for his efforts to reform and modernise the country, for example by abolishing slavery and promoting education. He also sought to preserve the nation from colonisation by the British and French. Despite his high status and achievements, the king’s cremation volume is very simple. Like many early examples it does not include biographical information. Instead it consists purely of a Thai version of the Mahavibhanga, a Theravada Buddhist text on rules for monks. Buddhist Parables of the Dharma, 1910

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Painted Buddhist Tales in Thailand

Mural Paintings in Thailand, 1975

THAILAND developed its own distinctive form of mural painting, the main purpose of which was religious rather than aesthetic, but which nevertheless achieved a high artistic level. Generally created on the walls of temples by monks or dedicated laymen, it aimed to teach Buddhism through pictures, especially to those unable to read the scriptures. The main topics were episodes from Buddha’s life, popular tales about Buddha and depictions of heaven and hell. There were also colourful scenes from folklore. The same style of painting is found in illustrated Thai manuscripts, such as Phra Mālai (page 11).

While murals are widely regarded as the country’s greatest form of traditional pictorial art, Thailand is also famous for its gold lacquer painting. Most Thai murals were painted in tempera using a specific technique. For seven days the wall was washed morning and evening to remove all salt. A coating of white lime combined with burnt, ground and cooked tamarind seeds was then applied to the wall to carry the pigments. These were in powdered form and made of minerals or clay, such as malachite or cinnabar. Later, colours were also imported from China. Gum from the makhwit tree, or Feronia elephantum, acted as a

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binding agent. Paintbrushes were created from bark or roots. Finer work was completed with a brush made of hair from a cow’s inner ear. Unfortunately Thailand’s humid tropical climate and the fragile nature of the murals themselves have led to the loss of much, if not most, of this art. In recent years the nation has been endeavouring to preserve and restore such works. Klaus Wenk’s Mural Paintings in Thailand aimed to record for posterity paintings in direct danger of natural disintegration. He also based his selection on artistic merit. His monumental three-volume collection contains superb colour

photographs by Franz Horisberger of 200 murals from across Thailand. Most of the murals date from the period 1770 to 1830, before changes were brought about by the impact of European art in the middle of the nineteenth century. These included the introduction of chemical pigments and Western perspective. Wenk was a German academic expert on Thai literature and art. His book, originally published in German, is of exceptional standard. It is printed on specially manufactured high-quality wood-free paper, assuring colour fastness as well as resistance to ageing and humidity.

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Buddhist Map of the World

Map of all the Countries of Jambudvipa, 1710

AT first glance it is hard to see how this can possibly be a representation of the world. Where are all the continents and oceans? In fact this 1710 map from Japan is based largely on Buddhist cosmology. It was produced by Hotan, also known as Soshun, founder of the Kegonji Temple in Japan’s royal capital, Kyoto. In some ways it is similar to medieval European world maps, which combined geographical information with Bible stories, myths and legends. Buddhism came to Japan through China and Korea, bringing with it knowledge of India, Buddha’s birthplace. East Asian Buddhist maps relied on the Chinese monk Xuanzang’s recorded travels in India and Central Asia during the seventh century. As we have seen, Xuanzang also

translated the oldest printed book housed at the Library (page 14). A map of this kind from the fourteenth century survives in a temple near the ancient Japanese capital, Nara. It is dominated by the mythical Jambudvipa, or southern continent. According to Indian Buddhist cosmology this was the human world, with the mighty peaks of the Himalayas at its centre and to the south India itself. Through contact with the Portuguese, Japan already possessed world maps based on Western cartography well before Hotan. He makes some concession to this knowledge. Nevertheless his Map of all the Countries of Jambudvipa still concentrates on India, with other places arranged around the periphery. The shape of the Indian subcontinent, tapering from north to south, is rather more realistic than in earlier Buddhist maps. At the top right there is a thin land bridge from Asia to another continent, thought to be America. Below this lies Japan. Europe is shown as a group of islands at the top left. Hotan’s map proved popular. It was the prototype for similar Buddhist depictions produced in Japan well into the nineteenth century. One reason for its continuing popularity was the inclusion of many Asian placenames, especially Indian and Chinese, missing from maps based on European models. Many copies have survived, including one held by the Library. It was woodblock printed on a large single sheet of rice paper, 114 by 142 centimetres in size, folding down to 23 by 18 centimetres. The accompanying text in Chinese contains explanations and lists numerous sources such as Chinese histories and Buddhist sutras.

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2

Islamic and Hindu Art and Writing

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T

he Prophet Muhammad (c.570–c.632), founder of Islam, was born into a poor family in Mecca on the Arabian Peninsula. At the age of 40 he received his first revelation from God. Muslims believe that God’s word was revealed by the Angel Gabriel to the Prophet over a period of 20 years. The sacred words were later recorded in Arabic as the Qur’an, or Koran. When Muhammad preached to the people of Mecca they rejected his teachings, so he moved to the town of Medina in 622. The Muslim era is dated from that year. From then on, Islam began to flourish. Within a century of the Prophet’s death it had spread west as far as Spain and east to China. Today this world religion is particularly strong in the Middle East, Africa, and South, South-East and Central Asia. Arts that have flourished in Islamic countries include architecture, calligraphy, painting and ceramics. With some exceptions, notably Persian (Iranian) miniature painting, Muslim artists have avoided depictions of the human figure. Instead they have concentrated on patterns and Arabic calligraphy. In their copying of the Qur’an and other texts, Arabs and those who used Arabic as their religious language, such as Persians and Turks, have produced some of the world’s greatest calligraphy. The Persian manuscript Qur’an

housed at the Library combines calligraphy, illumination and portrait painting. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the Muslim Mughal Empire united much of the Indian subcontinent. The Mughals were strongly influenced by Persian culture, including its miniature painting. At the imperial Mughal court Indian artists worked under Persian mentors to create illustrations in books or separate works collected in albums. They painted portraits, court life, and hunting and battle scenes. In turn the Mughal style affected the court art of the Rajputs, who were the Hindu warrior rulers in north India. Hinduism, the predominant religious tradition of India, provided major themes for Rajput art. Among numerous Hindu texts, the two great epics—the Ramayana and Mahabharata—have inspired artists in India and beyond. Indonesian versions of the Ramayana are described on page 96. Gangoly’s Masterpieces of Rajput Painting contains many images of Krishna, a leading figure in the Mahabharata and other Hindu literature. Like Rama, hero of the Ramayana, Krishna was an avatar or incarnation of Vishnu, for many Hindus the supreme deity. The role of the avatar was to descend to earth and save the world from danger or destruction.

Masterpieces of Rajput Painting, 1927

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Illuminated Persian Manuscript of the Qur’an THE Library houses a beautifully illuminated Persian manuscript containing Islam’s holy book, the Qur’an. It consists of 114 suras, or chapters, arranged by size from the longest to the shortest. The Qur’an contains passages on the worship of one god, Allah; death and the afterlife; earlier messengers of God such as Moses and Jesus; and other regulations. Chief among the religious duties it lays down are prayer, alms-giving, fasting and pilgrimage. The manuscript was probably created during the mid to late Qajar dynasty, which ruled Persia from 1794 to 1925. During this period the arts flourished, including calligraphy, painting and lacquer work. This Qur’an’s style is thought to be influenced by fine examples of Ottoman Turkish calligraphy. As is generally the case with such works, the writer’s name is unknown. Bound in floral-patterned lacquer covers, the Qur’an has opening pages illuminated in blue and gold. The manuscript includes the complete Qur’an in Arabic. On the final page there is a prayer for piety, health and wellbeing. The most striking feature of the manuscript is its inclusion of a colour picture of Ali and his sons, Hasan and Husayn, who are revered by Shia Muslims as the first three Imams in the line of succession from the Prophet Muhammad. Ali was the Prophet’s cousin and husband of his daughter Fatima. Succession through the Prophet’s family lies at the heart of the Shia tradition. While they constitute a minority within Islam as a whole, Shia Muslims are predominant in Iran and Iraq. The figures shown at the back are Ali’s father Abu Talib, and Bilal the Ethiopian, one of the first Muslim converts

and a close companion of the Prophet. Paintings of this kind became popular during the Qajar period, but it is extremely unusual for a Qur’an to contain an image of Ali and his sons. It has been suggested that the picture might be a later addition to this Qur’an. This manuscript of the Qur’an was acquired by the Library in 1975 from Dr Carl Georg von Brandenstein (1909–2005). A German scholar of the ancient Hittites in Turkey, he was held by the British in the Middle East during World War II and interned in Australia, where he was to spend most of his later life. He became an expert on Aboriginal languages in Western Australia.

Qur’an, c.1850–1899

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Indian Miniature Painting

Masterpieces of Rajput Painting, 1927

SURVIVING paintings from ancient India consist almost entirely of murals in cave temples. The most famous are the Buddhist murals at the Ajanta caves, some dating back more than 2000 years. Much later, India developed miniature painting and book illustration. Early Hindu illustrations appeared in manuscripts made from leaves of the talipot palm, similar to the Sri Lankan example housed at the Library (page 8). Rajput art reached its pinnacle in the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It flourished in Rajasthan, the Himalayan kingdoms and central India. Sometimes it is also known as Rajasthani painting. Its main forms were murals on fort and palace walls, as well as miniature paintings in manuscripts or on single sheets. The miniatures have survived much better than the murals. Whether produced for Muslim or Hindu royal courts, miniature painting was never an art of the common people, but of the rulers and aristocracy. In fact some great Mughal court painters were Hindu by faith not Muslim, a reflection of the religious tolerance shown by early Mughal emperors. Rajput princes and

other Hindus held high positions under these sovereigns without having to convert to Islam. Rajput art created a world of heroic men and beautiful women surrounded by friendly animals in a natural paradise of trees and flowers. The Library holds a copy of the rare limited edition Masterpieces of Rajput Painting, compiled by Ordhendra Coomar Gangoly (1881–1974). It includes 52 illustrations from works held in Indian, European and North American museums and galleries. Gangoly was an eminent lawyer and scholar of the arts in India. He included explanations, Hindi poetry and English translations with each picture in the album. Many of the examples in his collection derive from religious texts such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata epics. A number of paintings show pastoral and amorous scenes, particularly of Krishna with his beloved companion Radha. The Krishna story in Hindu literature combines versions from different ages and parts of India depicting him in various roles. These include child-god, lover and heroic conqueror. According to these tales he was saved from death at the hands of an evil king when just a child and brought up by cowherds. In his youth Krishna had many romances with cow-girls, among whom his favourite was the beautiful Radha. Hindus view Krishna and Radha as a divine couple, representing true spiritual union. Krishna is often painted a distinctive blue or black.

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3

Confucianism and the Book

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T

he Chinese philosopher Confucius and his followers have influenced much of Eastern Asia, from China, Japan and Korea to Vietnam and Singapore. Confucius is a Latin name derived from the sage’s title, Master Kong. His traditional dates are 551–479 BC, around the same time as the historical Buddha. Confucianism is particularly concerned with family and other relationships, as well as political morality. The five human relationships are between sovereign and subject, parent and child, husband and wife, elder and younger sibling, friend and friend. Apart from the last, these all depend on obedience by the junior in return for benevolence from the senior. Good government requires a wise ruler whose moral superiority attracts his subjects’ loyalty. Ideally he should be assisted by a corps of ethical civil servants, steeped in Confucian learning. For much of Chinese history the bureaucracy was selected through a system of written examinations based on the Confucian classics. Books lie at the heart of Confucianism. Confucians have always revered the written or printed word. To them, one of the worst crimes in history took place in 212 BC. In that year the first emperor of the Qin dynasty, who united China, tried to destroy ideas of which he disapproved by a massive burning of books.

Long before they were printed the Confucian classics were preserved as engravings on stone. The earliest edition was carved during the Han dynasty between 175 and 180. A further six engraved versions were completed between then and the late eighteenth century. Printing was invented in China during the great age of Buddhism. It was some two to three centuries later that the Confucian classics were first printed. The earliest edition was completed in 953. This was at a time when Buddhism was losing ground to a Confucian revival, later known as Neo-Confucianism. While this resurgence comprised many strands, the school of the Song dynasty philosopher and historian Zhu Xi (1130–1200) became China’s orthodoxy. It dominated official thinking, writing and publishing for centuries in areas such as ethics and history. The three Confucian works described in this chapter all emphasise the moral lessons of history. The first book continues Zhu Xi’s summary of China’s past, the second contains a commentary on ancient annals supposedly by Confucius himself, while the biographies of virtuous men and women in the third were intended to spread Confucian values among the Korean public.

Tradition of Gongyang, c.1400–1600

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History as a Guide to Good Government

Continuation of the Abridged Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government, 1476

THE second oldest clearly dated Asian book housed at the Library was published in 1476. It is a rare and beautifully printed Ming dynasty Confucian history of China, donated by the eminent Sinologist, Otto van der Sprenkel in 1968. The book’s chief editor, Shang Lu (1414–1486), was in many ways the ideal Confucian scholar– official. He combined deep learning with the courage to offer fearless advice to his emperor. During the entire Ming dynasty (1368–1644), he was the only man to be ranked first in all three literary examinations for entry to the Chinese civil service. This remarkable feat ensured a brilliant start to his career, but did not save him

from the murderous politics of the time. In 1457 there was a palace coup and purge, in which Shang was sentenced to beheading. His life was spared, and later under a new emperor he became Senior Grand Secretary from 1475 to 1477. Despite his earlier brush with death he stood up to the emperor, insisting that a corrupt palace favourite be dismissed. Shang’s advice was accepted, but perhaps wisely he retired soon afterwards. Shang was ordered by the emperor to edit the Continuation of the Abridged Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government, now held by the Library. Confucians view history as a mirror or guide to good government in the present age. The original Comprehensive Mirror was completed in 1085 by the Song dynasty statesman Sima Guang. It was an enormous task, encompassing more than 1000 years of Chinese history up to 960. In the twelfth century, the famous NeoConfucian philosopher Zhu Xi produced a shorter version, the Abridged Comprehensive Mirror, which gave greater emphasis to moral examples in history. It was less objective than the original and clearly identified who acted well and who behaved badly in the past. In 1476 Shang Lu, directing a team of 14 colleagues, completed a continuation of Zhu Xi’s work. It covered the 400 years of the Song dynasty (960–1279) and the Yuan dynasty (1260–1368). The paper and woodblock printing of the Continuation are of outstanding quality. Even after more than 500 years the paper seems to have barely aged. This has caused some doubt about its actual date, but experts who examined the book recently confirmed that it is indeed the original 1476 version.

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Hidden Meaning in a Plague of Locusts THE Spring and Autumn Annals is an unlikely Confucian classic. A brief chronicle, it covers events at the court of Lu, a minor state in northern China, between the years 722 and 481 BC. This period in Chinese history is called Spring and Autumn after the text. Why did this dry historical record excite so much interest among scholars? Lu, in what is now Shandong province, was the home of the sage Confucius. The legend arose that Confucius himself had edited the Spring and Autumn Annals so that its terse statements contain his hidden meanings, which have to be interpreted to reveal the ethical lessons of history. Three major commentaries, which sought to unlock the true wisdom of the Annals, are themselves ranked as Confucian classics. The Library holds a rare edition of one of these commentaries, usually called the Tradition of Gongyang, which was supposedly written by a man called Gongyang Gao. It has been further annotated by He Xiu, a second-century scholar. He Xiu was a follower of the Gongyang school of commentators. An example shows how these interpreters elaborated on the original, in what to modern eyes is a most fanciful manner. The Annals for the year 594 BC state simply, ‘Winter. Locusts appeared’. The Gongyang commentary adds that this calamity was caused by the ruler making changes to the tried and true ways of the past. He Xiu then expands this to say that the then ruler, Duke Xuan, changed the traditional tax system, bringing on a plague of locusts. The Duke learnt from his error, reinstating the old system, so that there was a bumper harvest the following year.

It was believed that natural disasters, such as earthquakes, floods and locusts, reflected heavenly displeasure at human behaviour. The exact age of the Library’s copy is unclear. In the list of his book collection, its previous owner, Professor W. Perceval Yetts (1878–1957), wrote against this title the year 1005, during the early Song dynasty. If true, this would make it by far the oldest printed work in the Library. Academic experts who examined it recently believe that it was indeed printed with Song woodblocks, but that they had been re-carved during the Ming dynasty, some time between 1400 and 1600. They were not able to agree on a more precise date.

Tradition of Gongyang, c.1400–1600

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Illustrating Confucian Virtues

Illustrated Three Bonds of Conduct, 1729

ACCORDING to tradition, the great Korean sovereign King Sejong, who reigned from 1418 to 1450, was so shocked by the murder of a father by his son that he ordered a book be compiled to teach Confucian virtues to the common people. The result was Illustrated Three Bonds of Conduct. The three bonds are the most fundamental Confucian relationships, namely those between parent and child, ruler and subject, and husband and wife. The original version in Chinese was completed in 1434. It was later issued with parallel text added in the Korean alphabet (han’gul) to make it more widely accessible to those unable to read Chinese. This included women and the lower classes. It is one of the earliest works printed in the Korean alphabet, which was officially adopted by Sejong’s royal decree in 1446. The book includes inspiring tales from Chinese and Korean history accompanied by lively woodblock illustrations. The earliest bilingual edition contained 35 examples each of filial children, loyal subjects and faithful wives. The book proved very popular and was reissued many times. More biographies were added in later editions, and the number of Koreans included also increased. Here is a typical tale of filial behaviour from the book. Jiang Ge lived in China during a time of civil strife. He was too poor to afford a cart to

take his widowed mother to safety so he carried her on his back (opposite, lower left). Even the bandits he encountered spared his life when he pleaded that his mother would not survive without him (lower right). The Library’s copy of Illustrated Three Bonds of Conduct is part of the McLaren–Human Collection. While its date has been difficult to establish, it is thought to have been issued in 1729. In a fragile condition, with many pages missing, it remains nonetheless a fascinating insight into traditional Confucian Korea.

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4

Japanese Books and Printing

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M

anuscripts in Chinese entered Japan from Korea by the fourth century. Without its own form of writing Japan adopted the Chinese system. Later the Japanese developed phonetic scripts, hiragana and katakana, which have been used in combination with Chinese characters to the present day. The first known Japanese woodblock printing consisted of brief Buddhist charms, produced by imperial command between 764 and 770. These are among the oldest dateable printed documents in the world. During the following centuries manuscripts, such as the exquisite Tale of Genji Scroll, remained the main form of written communication. Nearly all early Japanese printing took place in monasteries. Most of the books produced were on Buddhist subjects. From the 1590s Japanese printing underwent major changes. When Japanese troops invaded Korea in 1592 and 1597, they brought back movable type, which the Koreans had employed for centuries (page 18). Although the Japanese soon reverted to traditional woodblock methods, the scope of printed books widened to include the classics of Japanese literature and many other topics. The oldest Japanese books held by the Library are illustrated editions of literary works such

as Collection of Tales from Uji (1659) and a miniature Tale of Genji (1716–1743). They date from the early to mid-Edo or Tokugawa period, which lasted from 1603 to 1868. Edo (now Tokyo) was the headquarters of the shogun, a member of the Tokugawa family, who ruled as effective head of state. This was a time when growing literacy and public demand for reading matter of all kinds led to a boom in printing. Commercial publishing houses flourished. All tastes were catered to, from high art to the sensational and openly salacious. The Japanese authorities sought to suppress printing of the latter. Late Edo period printing is remarkable for its illustrations, including the use of colour. For example the Library holds striking works by the artist Hokusai (1760–1849), such as Sketches by Hokusai and his polychrome woodblock print, Sunset across the Ryōgoku Bridge. The Tokugawa shogunate was overthrown in 1868. During the Meiji period (1868–1912) and beyond, as Japan rapidly modernised, efforts were made to preserve older artistic and book cultures, which were under threat from Western influence and mass production. Publications such as the Asian art journal Kokka, the arts and crafts magazine Kogei, and the Great Collection of Handmade Japanese Paper sought to keep such traditions alive.

Kōgei, 1931–1951

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Strange and Humorous Tales from Japan

Collection of Tales from Uji, 1659

COLLECTION of Tales from Uji, published in 1659, is one of the oldest Japanese books in the Library. It is an anonymous set of secular and Buddhist stories, probably compiled between 1180 and 1220. Uji was an important town near the old Japanese capital, Kyoto. The 197 items range from Buddhist miracles and the supernatural, to folk, humorous and grotesque tales. Its authors were possibly priests or courtiers. Although it is not arranged in any systematic way, there are links between some of the pieces. Evidently designed for a popular readership, this 1659 edition is in the Japanese hiragana script. In places where Chinese characters are used, their Japanese reading

is indicated to assist the less educated. The calligraphy and simple black-and-white drawings illustrating the text are strikingly attractive. An English translation of the book by D.E. Mills is also housed at the Library. Nearly half the accounts contain Buddhist elements. Examples of great piety, self-sacrifice and religious zeal are described. The virtuous are rewarded by Buddha, while sinners are punished, for instance by being forced to drink molten copper. Nevertheless few of the narratives are particularly moralistic. There are also tales of the strange and supernatural. These include the magical cure of an old man’s wart by demons, flying begging bowls, the coffin that refused to stay buried but returned to the house of its occupant, and a spell that made people unable to stop laughing. Many stories are about everyday life, exposing human foibles of powerful as well as ordinary people in a light or humorous way. Those made to look foolish include deceitful begging priests, notorious lovers, and even the Chinese philosopher Confucius. Several pieces are set in India, China and Korea. Collection of Tales from Uji is similar to another much larger collection, Tales of a Time that is Now Past. Around half of the 197 stories also appear in this longer compilation, sometimes with almost identical wording. With their rawness and earthy humour, these tales show a very different side of Japanese life to refined court literature such as the Tale of Genji.

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Japan’s Greatest Literary Masterpiece in Miniature THE Library houses a number of beautiful miniature Japanese books. The smallest, only seven centimetres high, is a rare abridged set of what has been called the world’s first great novel. This is the Tale of Genji, written 1000 years ago by a court lady known as Murasaki Shikibu. The miniature edition dates from the eighteenth century and consists of 28 tiny illustrated volumes. Murasaki was born around 973 into an aristocratic family. Whether she is the sole author of Genji is uncertain, although it is generally believed that she wrote most, if not all, of the book. Entries in her diary for the year 1008 mention a draft of the novel. No manuscript of Genji survives from Murasaki’s time. The oldest complete texts still in existence date from long after her death. The novel revolves around the life of its hero, Genji, and the women he loves. Although Genji is of royal blood and enjoys a brilliant career, there is much sadness in his private life. In the final chapters, which take place after his death, the mood is darker as his descendants lead less happy lives. Murasaki’s monumental work has been praised for its psychological realism and maturity. The characters are individuals, with good and bad qualities. Genji himself is not just a handsome and romantic hero, but shows human weaknesses. Most of the characters come from the elite and are acutely conscious of social rank. They love art, poetry, music, ceremony and costume, as well as the beauties of nature. They also share a Buddhist sense that worldly joys are fleeting.

The text is often ambiguous. As well as prose it includes nearly 800 short Japanese poems, which are highly allusive. One Japanese critic famously complained that reading the Tale of Genji in the original was like peering through thick fog. Nevertheless it became popular soon after it was written and has remained a classic ever since. The Tale of Genji has been published in modern Japanese and many other languages. The Library holds three quite different English translations by Arthur Waley (1933), Edward Seidensticker (1976), and most recently by Emeritus Professor of Japanese at the Australian National University, Royall Tyler (2001). It has also been transformed into picture scrolls (page 60), comics, modern fiction, films, theatre and opera.

Tale of Genji, 1716–1743

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The Tale of Genji in Pictures

Tale of Genji Scroll, 2003

THE Tale of Genji Scroll is the oldest extant picture scroll in Japan, where it has been designated a National Treasure. It dates from the twelfth century, towards the end of the Heian period (794–1185). In fact only four of its many scrolls and a few other scattered fragments remain from a much larger work, created a century or so after Murasaki Shikibu wrote the novel on which it is based. It is perhaps surprising that any of the fragile pieces have survived Japan’s turbulent history and harsh climate for nearly 900 years. On the whole the colours have lasted well, although faces that were painted white have turned purple. While it is unclear who produced the scroll, it was a collaborative effort, involving a team of expert artists, calligraphers and papermakers.

It focuses on a number of isolated scenes from the novel. Most are sombre and contemplative in mood. The paintings reflect aspects of Heian courtly society. They show the details of aristocratic costume and domestic architecture. Interior scenes are viewed diagonally from above, with the roof, ceiling and other impediments removed to provide a clear view. Human faces are all given highly conventional features with very little individuality, perhaps so as not to interfere with the viewer’s own image of each character in the novel. The Japanese script and occasional Chinese characters appear in a cursive, highly stylised form. It is the work of several calligraphers, and varies from a delicate to a more vigorous style. The aim seems to have been to create a beautiful design rather than intelligibility. Most modern Japanese find the writing extremely difficult to decipher. The paper is handmade and of the highest quality. Each sheet is unique, varying in colour from shades of red and brown to yellow, with gold and silver powder or leaf as decoration. Grasses, flowers and bamboo have been painted on as an undertone. The limited edition replica housed at the Library is a scrupulous facsimile of the original Tale of Genji Scroll. Mounted in a wooden box, it reproduces three manuscripts preserved at the Tokugawa Art Museum and one from the Goto Art Museum. It is accompanied by a transcription, explanatory text and a summary in English. The Library also holds another facsimile reproduction of the Tale of Genji Scroll with an English translation by Ivan Morris.

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A Riot of Scribblings THE Japanese term manga is known throughout the world in its modern sense of cartoons and comics. Originally it meant random or impromptu sketches. Comic art has a long tradition in Japan. During the Edo period comic pictures were an important part of popular culture, especially in woodblock print books. The most outstanding example is the 15-volume series Sketches by Hokusai, or Hokusai Manga in Japanese. It was published between 1814 and 1878, and appears to have been intended as a drawing manual. Hokusai is one of Japan’s most internationally famous and prolific artists. He started as a

woodblock engraver in his early teens. During a long and eventful life he excelled at painting, drawing, engraving and book illustration. He is best remembered for his published series of landscapes, including the next entry, Sunset across the Ryōgoku Bridge. Sketches by Hokusai contains almost 4000 drawings. A total of 673 woodblocks were required to print the 15 volumes in black, grey and pale flesh. Unlike modern manga there is no storyline. Sometimes many tiny images are crowded onto a single page, while other sketches fill a whole page or double-page spread. They capture many aspects of Japanese society.

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The artist depicted men and women of all ages and classes, from warriors and entertainers to traders, farmers and fishermen. Through facial expression and caricature he often showed humour. As well as landscapes, architecture, plants and animals, he drew from the imagined world of myths and monsters. The initial book, dated 1814, was so popular that a total of 10 tomes were produced in rapid succession by 1819. The Library’s set ends with volume 10. After a long break five more parts were published, the last three posthumously. The series was reissued many times during the nineteenth century.

The renowned French artist and novelist Edmond de Goncourt (1822–1896) described Sketches by Hokusai and its impact in Europe as ‘that profusion of images, that avalanche of drawings, that riot of scribblings, those fifteen notebooks in which the sketches are crushed onto the pages like a clutch of silkworm’s eggs onto sheets of paper, a work that has no equal by any painter in the West’. In 1957 the Library bought Sketches by Hokusai, together with many other valuable Japanese and Chinese books that had belonged to W. Perceval Yetts, former Professor of Chinese Art and Archaeology at London University.

Sketches by Hokusai, 1800s

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Mount Fuji Glimpsed at Dusk

Sunset across the Ryōgoku Bridge, c.1830

SUNSET across the Ryōgoku Bridge is regarded as one of the masterpieces from Hokusai’s most famous landscapes, Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji. This series of polychrome woodblock prints was published in the 1830s when the artist was in his seventies, but still at the height of his powers. The Ryōgoku Bridge across the Sumida River linked the eastern districts of Edo (Tokyo) with the rest of the city. In the background the curve of the bridge echoes the crowded ferry curving the opposite way. The artist has incorporated Western perspective into the scene. As with his Sketches Hokusai depicts all classes, from samurai, merchants and a monk to boatmen and a washerwoman. Most of those on the boat have their faces hidden or turned away. The focus of the picture is the dark blue cone of Mount Fuji in the distance, standing out against the sky at dusk. The colour blue

is prominent. In this series Hokusai made extensive use of Prussian blue, a new chemical pigment that had only just been introduced into Japan from Europe. It was more stable than vegetable-based blues, which turned brown over time. Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji proved highly successful locally and later in the West. It appealed to a growing Japanese interest in travel and pilgrimages. Fuji in particular was venerated for its beauty and as a sacred site. In those days, before industrialisation and air pollution, the volcano was clearly visible from Tokyo. Sunset across the Ryōgoku Bridge is one of several Chinese and Japanese works of art acquired as part of the Hardy Wilson Collection. William Hardy Wilson was an eminent Australian architect, artist and author who had a strong interest in East Asia.

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Mapping the Rise of Early Modern Tokyo IN 1590 Edo was just a fishing village when it was chosen as headquarters by the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate, who built a massive castle there. Under the system he set up the feudal lords, their families and retainers had to spend much of their time in the shogun’s new capital, or travelling to and from the city. Trade, transport, accommodation, entertainment and other services developed rapidly to supply their needs. By the early 1600s Edo contained halfa-million people. In the eighteenth century there were about a million inhabitants and it ranked as one of the world’s largest cities, with a prosperous merchant class and urban culture. This spectacular growth is reflected in the changing maps produced throughout the period. The oldest surviving printed plan of Edo dates from around 1632. During this early modern era, detailed and accurate charts were printed for more than 30 Japanese cities and towns, including pleasure and hot spring resorts. Provincial and town plans were produced by commercial publishers for the popular market and sold in large numbers. They were rather like modern tourist maps. Mapmakers regularly updated and reissued them to provide their readers with the latest information, especially for the great cities such as Edo, the royal capital Kyoto, the commercial centre of Osaka, and the international trading port of Nagasaki (page 68). The Library holds the colourful Large Map Depicting the Divisions of Edo, which was printed with woodblocks in 1864. Issued at the close of the Edo period, it depicts the city on the eve of the 1868 overthrow of the Tokugawa shogunate.

It lives up to its name of ‘large map’, at 188 by 207 centimetres, folded to 32 by 21 centimetres. Buildings such as temples, shrines and the residences of feudal lords, as well as rivers, woods, fields and other natural and built features, are depicted in blue, red, green and yellow. As usual during this period, the site of the shogun’s castle at the centre of the chart is left blank, partly for security reasons. The map includes a tide chart, a flower calendar, a chart of distances to major religious sites and a list of famous local temples. Many editions of Large Map Depicting the Divisions of Edo appeared during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, including surviving examples from 1861, 1862 and 1863 with similar dimensions to the Library’s 1864 plan.

Large Map Depicting the Divisions of Edo, 1864

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Japan’s Window to the World

Newly Engraved Map of Nagasaki, 1801

JAPAN closed its doors on the outside world from 1639 for more than 200 years in reaction to a perceived threat from the Christian West. However this seclusion was never absolute. Limited commercial and diplomatic contacts continued through the port of Nagasaki in the south-west of the country, where the Dutch and Chinese were allowed to trade. Other foreign vessels were strictly excluded. For example the sailors on Captain Cook’s third voyage around the Pacific were not allowed to land in Japan. This coloured Newly Engraved Map of Nagasaki in Japanese from 1801 includes foreign ships and trading posts. The Dutch were confined to the small fan-shaped artificial island of Deshima, meaning ‘Projecting Island’, shown left of centre. A red, white and blue Dutch flag may be seen on the island. The traders

lived above their warehouses. Contact with the Japanese was controlled through a bridge and guardhouse. Three-masted European ships lie in the harbour, one anchored with its sails furled and another to its left being towed by smaller Japanese craft. Chinese merchants operated from the other artificial island, shown on the map as a rectangle. A Chinese junk, with a distinctive high stern and sails coloured brown, sits to the left of Deshima. These foreign traders helped the Japanese and the outside world learn more about each other. A senior Dutch officer made an annual visit to Edo, the effective seat of government. Books brought in new ideas. In 1720 the ban on books about the West was lifted apart from titles on Christianity. The Dutch post became such a major source that the Japanese referred to Western knowledge, especially science and medicine, as ‘Dutch learning’ (Rangaku). Chinese merchants in Nagasaki provided many publications in Chinese, not only about China itself but also about the rest of the world. The map of Nagasaki is a woodblock print. Its title and a distance chart appear on the verso. In addition to the harbour, ships and artificial islands, it includes many other features such as streets, government offices, temples, bridges and rivers. The steep slopes surrounding the city are coloured green. Relief is shown pictorially, while north is indicated in the top right hand corner. Newly Engraved Map of Nagasaki is one of a small number of Japanese publications acquired by the Library in 1961 as part of the London Missionary Society’s Chinese language collection.

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The Beauty of Japanese Folk Arts THE monthly magazine Kōgei (Crafts) is considered one of the most beautifully designed publications in the history of Japanese printing. It was the journal of the Japanese Folk Arts Association. Although produced in a limited edition between 1931 and 1951—during the years of militarism, World War II and the Allied occupation—each of the 120 issues is a unique work of art. Each has a different cover made of hand-woven cloth or decorated with handdrawn lacquer painting. They are printed on special handmade Japanese paper. Along with articles by practitioners of the various crafts, they contain actual samples of papers and textiles. Japan’s folk arts and crafts include ceramics, wood and bamboo items, metal and leather objects, dyeing, weaving, paper, painting, sculpture and calligraphy. The magazine’s editor, Yanagi Soetsu (1889–1961), founded Japan’s folk arts, or mingei, movement in the 1920s. Born into a high-class family, he preached rather similar ideas to John Ruskin and William Morris, who started the Arts and Crafts movement in Britain nearly a century earlier. Like them Yanagi reacted against the ugliness and mass production of modern industrial society and advocated a return to craft guilds. True beauty came from items made by the human hand not by machines. Above all, Yanagi favoured common objects with a practical use, handmade by skilled but unknown craftsmen, in preference to the refined work of famous artists created for aesthetic appreciation. Kōgei was intended to spread these beliefs. Yanagi’s desire to preserve and encourage the rapidly disappearing arts of the common people extended to promotion of cultural diversity. He first became attracted to folk arts through the

ceramics of Korea. At a time when Korea was a Japanese colony, he opposed Japan’s efforts to assimilate Koreans into a single Japanese culture. He also championed the folk arts and cultures of ethnic and regional groups such as the Ainu people of northern Japan and the Okinawans. While in part inspired by Ruskin, Morris and other European thinkers, in turn the Japanese folk arts movement has influenced the West, especially in the field of ceramics. Yanagi and his friend, the British potter Bernard Leach, propagated their ideas widely through extensive travels and writing. The Library’s set of Kōgei, a recent acquisition, is in excellent condition, with many issues still housed inside their original decorated boxes.

Kōgei, 1931–1951

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Monumental Collection of Handmade Japanese Paper

WHILE paper was introduced into Japan through China and Korea, the Japanese later developed papermaking to an extremely high level. The oldest surviving paper made in Japan dates from 701. The Japanese have used paper for many purposes besides writing and printing. These include umbrellas and waterproof coverings, walls, sliding doors, lantern covers, religious objects and even clothing. Handmade Japanese paper is known as washi. Its production requires great skill and intensive labour. The main raw material is bark fibre from one of three shrubs that grow naturally in Japan, the most common being paper mulberry (kozo). The bark has to be cropped, stripped, bleached, boiled in lye to remove non-fibrous material, washed, graded and then pulped. Two different techniques are used to mould paper from the mix of pulp and water. Accumulation papermaking

(tamezuki), which was introduced from China, is basically the same method as found in the West. Discharge papermaking (nagashizuki), which is more commonly employed in Japan, is unique to that country. It involves the addition of a vegetable mucilage. Among other advantages this prevents the fibres from clumping or knotting, causing them to be evenly distributed so that the paper is high quality, strong, firm and glossy. It also lasts for many centuries. The Great Collection of Handmade Japanese Paper is a monumental work. Produced by Mainichi Newspapers in 1973–1974, it aimed to include samples of every variety of Japanese handmade paper then being produced, as well as many that were no longer available but for which the technique was still known. It has been called the most comprehensive collection of handmade paper ever created. Its purpose was to preserve

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a dying art, then being practised by only about 800 families, mostly in mountain villages. One hundred years earlier, 68 000 families had been involved in the craft. During the twentieth century it became increasingly difficult for traditional papermakers to compete against much cheaper industrially produced papers. Western-style paper is much more common than washi in Japan today.

The Library holds the rare overseas limited edition of the Great Collection of Handmade Japanese Paper. It contains 1000 mounted examples in five massive cases, described and annotated in Japanese and English. Many of these handmade papers are blockprinted or feature woodcut designs. Some are brightly coloured. Another case holds explanatory booklets in both languages.

Great Collection of Handmade Japanese Paper, 1973–1974 left: Hanae (Paper Flower Picture) right: Katazome-Hato No Iru Fukei (Landscape with Doves)

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Publishing to Win the Propaganda War

Russo–Japanese War Fully Illustrated, 1904–1905

AT the beginning of the twentieth century several Western nations and Japan were competing for influence in East Asia as China’s power waned. Japan saw Russia as the main threat to its interests in North-East China (Manchuria) and Korea. During a relatively short but bloody land and naval campaign between February 1904 and September 1905, Japanese forces proved victorious, although at great cost in terms of lives and economic hardship. The Russo–Japanese War has been called the first major international conflict of the century. As well as gaining territory, Japan now became one of the great powers. The war destabilised Russia, which was then shaken by the 1905 Revolution. A dozen years later, another revolution toppled the Tzarist regime. Before and during the Russo–Japanese War both sides attempted to win domestic and international support through public relations.

This included newspapers, periodicals, books, photographs, posters and other media. The Japanese were more successful at swaying Western public opinion. For some time, Japan had been monitoring the Western press and had appointed special envoys in Europe and the United States to counteract prejudices based on race, and to create a favourable impression of the country as modern and progressive. Elite public opinion in much of the English-speaking world was largely sympathetic towards Japan, with which Britain had concluded an alliance in 1902. Russo–Japanese War Fully Illustrated was published in 10 issues during 1904 and 1905 as part of this international propaganda. Although produced in Japan, the periodical was entirely in English, and aimed at Western public opinion. It contained more than just war news and justifications for the conflict. For example it included articles on the country’s history and traditions, the role of the emperor and other institutions of government, as well as the development of the armed forces. It was attractively presented with full-colour and monochrome plates and maps. At the height of Western imperialism Japan’s victory against Russia had a profound effect on nationalists living under colonial rule. In his memoirs the future Indian Prime Minister Jaharwal Nehru recalled his excitement at a rising Asian state defeating a major European power. The Indian Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore wrote a Japanese-style poem to celebrate the victory. In the Islamic world Japan was seen as a role model for those seeking independence as well as religious reform and revival.

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Outstanding Images of Asian Art IN October 1889 Japan’s first art journal appeared. With a few short breaks it has been published ever since. Called Kokka (Flower of the Nation), it is still renowned for its scholarship and outstanding illustrations. For a time in the early twentieth century an English-language edition was also printed. Its English title is Kokka: An Illustrated Monthly Journal of the Fine and Applied Arts of Japan and Other Eastern Countries. Most Japanese-language issues contain abstracts in English. The Library houses the periodical from 1889 to the present—almost 1400 issues in all. Kokka was created by a group of young intellectuals who sought to counter Meiji Japan’s obsession with European art and culture. Instead they wanted to promote East Asian art at home as well as in the West. These founders included an art patron, a newspaper editor and the distinguished scholar Okakura Kakuzo (1862–1913). Okakura devoted his life to Asian art. An arts administrator for the Japanese government, he helped establish and direct Japan’s first official art academy, now Tokyo University of the Arts. This was in 1889—the same year Kokka began. Fluent in English from an early age, he travelled to Europe and the United States to educate the West about Asian art through exhibitions, lectures and his writings. He also visited China and India, as important sources of Japanese culture. In Okakura’s own words, ‘Asia is one. The Himalayas divide, only to accentuate, two mighty civilisations, the Chinese … and the Indian’. While Kokka has changed over time, it is known for its high-quality articles mostly by Japanese scholars on Asian art, calligraphy,

sculpture, architecture and culture, with an emphasis on Buddhist art. While the main focus has been on traditional Japanese and Chinese art, Indian artists such as the Neo-Bengal school were featured in early issues of Kokka. The provenance of paintings held by private collectors and temples or lost in World War II may also be traced through the journal. The colour reproductions of East Asian artworks are widely considered the best ever produced. In particular most issues from the journal’s inception to the early post-war period contained one or more original fullcolour woodblock print, bound or tipped in. Other illustrations include numerous collotypes and line drawings. Kokka was a pioneer in the use of collotype printing in Japan.

Kokka, 1889–

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Japanese Fairytales on Crepe Paper

Kobunsha’s Japanese Fairy Tale Series, 1885–1887

HASEGAWA Takejiro (1853–1938) was an enterprising Tokyo book importer. From the 1880s he became a successful publisher by tapping into growing Western interest in Japanese culture. He is best known for his Japanese Fairy Tale Series, which appeared in English, French, German and several other languages. In his teens Hasegawa studied English with a Presbyterian missionary couple called Carrothers. Through them he met the Reverend David Thompson, who translated the first six fairy stories. Hasegawa later recruited as translators for the series three famous Western authors on Japan: James Curtis Hepburn, Basil Hall Chamberlain and Lafcadio Hearn. The most prolific translator, however, was Kate James, who signed herself Mrs T.H. James. Her husband Thomas taught naval engineering in Japan and was a colleague of Chamberlain. The renowned artist Kobayashi Eitaku (1843–1890), who was known for his caricatures and depictions of children, illustrated all the

early fairytales before ill health ended his career. His lively pictures undoubtedly contributed much to the popularity of the series. These multi-coloured illustrations were skilfully printed with woodblocks by Hasegawa’s fatherin-law Komiya Sojiro (1834–1892). The Library houses one of the most beautiful early editions of the Japanese Fairy Tale Series. Hasegawa relied on distributors around the world to sell his books. One of these, the publisher Griffith, Farran and Company of London and Sydney, already had a reputation for its children’s titles. During the 1880s the first 16 fairytales were issued by Hasegawa with the Griffith, Farran and Company imprint. Unlike other editions, they were bound in a Western style with sewn and glued spines. They were then generally consolidated under hard covers into four volumes each containing four tales. The Library holds all but two of the 16 stories but each is a separate book. Initially Hasegawa printed in black and white on plain washi, or handmade, Japanese paper. The Griffith, Farran and Company imprints were also produced on washi, but as crepe paper books, or chirimen-bon. The English text was printed with movable type, complemented by colourful woodblock prints. Between printing and binding, the paper was placed in a special mould, moistened and subjected to pressure. This created the distinctive crinkling, which appealed to Western readers and was harder for children to tear. Although not its inventor, Hasegawa is thought to be the first in Japan to print whole books on crepe paper.

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5

Language, Print and Culture in Qing Dynasty China

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Language, Print and Culture in Qing Dynasty China 83

T

he Manchus conquered China and ruled it as the Qing dynasty from 1644 to 1911. Their leader, Nurhaci (1569–1626), had succeeded in uniting Tungusic-speaking tribes north-east of the Great Wall under the name of Manchu and with a new script, an example of which is shown on page 84. On the frontiers of China he and his successors developed a strong state, combining a well-organised Manchu military and economic base with a Confucian bureaucratic system borrowed from the Chinese. As the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) weakened, the Manchus waited for the right moment to strike. Despite their far smaller population than China, they were able to seize and then govern the empire by winning the cooperation of prominent Chinese, as well as leaving existing structures largely intact. Although the empire was officially bilingual, the Manchus found it increasingly difficult to maintain the position of their language in competition with Chinese. The first century-and-a-half of Qing rule has been called the last great flowering of traditional Chinese culture. The country was stable and prosperous under capable rulers, who promoted scholarship and printing. In particular, Kangxi, who reigned from 1662 to 1722, completed the Manchu conquest of China while Qianlong,

who ruled from 1736 to 1795, extended the nation’s borders. The colour blockprinted Painting Manual of the Mustard Seed Garden dates from the Kangxi period, while Qianlong commissioned the Illustrated Odes to the Forty Scenes of the Garden of Perfect Brightness, which contains the emperor’s own Chinese poetry. The imperial palace sponsored the preparation and printing of major compilations. The central and local governments, and private and commercial interests, published a wide variety of books. It has been estimated that of the quarter of a million titles published in China during all dynasties, half were produced during the Qing. During the nineteenth century Qing power waned under pressure from internal revolts and foreign incursions. The anti-Manchu Taiping Rebellion, described in greater detail on page 90, ravaged southern and central China in the 1850s and 1860s. Millions died and many books and artifacts were lost. In 1860 European troops looted and burnt Qianlong’s beloved Garden of Perfect Brightness. The quality of traditional publishing declined during the late Qing, as Western printing technologies were gradually adopted. Revolution finally ended the dynasty in 1911.

Taiping Proclamation, 1853

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Letter from a Manchu Prince to a Chinese Rebel

Prince Shangshan’s Letter to Wu Sangui, 1800s

WHEN the Manchus conquered China they sought to promote their own language as well as adopting Chinese. Manchu is a Tungusic language spoken in North-East China. In the early seventeenth century the Manchus developed a writing system based on Mongolian script, which in turn is ultimately of Middle Eastern origin. The spoken and written forms of Manchu remained important at court during the early Qing period. For example the Jesuit Ferdinand Verbiest, whose world map appears later in this book (page 111), discussed Western science with the Kangxi emperor in Manchu. However despite official efforts to stop Manchus from losing their mother tongue, it gradually declined and virtually disappeared in the twentieth century. Today there are moves to revive the language, although very few native speakers remain. The Library holds rare books and manuscripts in Manchu originally collected by the eminent scholar of East Asian languages, Walter Simon. They include a handwritten copy of a seventeenth-century letter by a member of the Manchu royal family, Prince Shangshan (or Sangsan). It consists of 12 pages entirely in Manchu script. Prince Shangshan’s Letter to Wu Sangui relates to a period when the Manchus faced danger from former supporters among the Chinese elite. The recipient, Wu Sangui (1612–1678), played a major part in early Qing history. In 1644 the Ming dynasty capital, Beijing, fell to Chinese rebels. At the time Wu was a general guarding a key pass on the Great Wall for the Ming. He joined forces with the

Manchus, who were encamped just north of the Wall, to seize the capital. For the next 30 years he served the new Qing rulers, amassing wealth and power as a largely independent ruler in southwestern China. He even led an army into Burma to demand the Burmese hand over a Ming prince sheltering there. However when the Qing court finally decided to curb Wu’s influence, he and other Chinese lords in the south revolted late in 1673. Wu tried to start his own dynasty, with himself as emperor. Prince Shangshan, author of the letter to Wu, was appointed in 1674 as commander-in-chief of the Qing armies sent to quell the revolt. The prince was reprimanded several times for failing to take action against the enemy. He died in 1678, the same year Wu succumbed to disease. The rebellion was finally crushed in 1681.

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The Garden of Perfect Brightness WHEN the Manchus ruled China they retained their love of hunting and the outdoors. Their emperors built spacious palace gardens within and beyond the Great Wall. From the early 1700s the most important and magnificent of these was the Garden of Perfect Brightness, then just outside the capital, Beijing. It is also known as the Old Summer Palace. In 2009 the Library received a copy of Illustrated Odes to the Forty Scenes of the Garden of Perfect Brightness from the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Canberra. The Chinese Ambassador, His Excellency Mr Zhang Junsai, donated this beautiful modern colour facsimile, which is based on a famous work from 1745. The high-quality limited edition published in China in 2005 appears to have been specially produced for gift purposes. The volume consists of 42 leaves folded accordion style, and is housed in a camphorwood case. The original Illustrated Odes to the Forty Scenes was produced by order of the Qianlong emperor to celebrate his major development of the Garden of Perfect Brightness. This was the main imperial pleasure garden and seat of government for much of the Qing dynasty. It was during Qianlong’s long reign from 1736 to 1795 that this vast complex of palaces, gardens, lakes and other features attained its greatest glory. The illustrated work is one of several about imperial gardens and related themes that appeared during the Qing period. They contained poems by emperors, in this case by Qianlong himself. The verses are accompanied by paintings depicting his favourite scenes in the gardens.

They were commissioned by the emperor and created by the artists Shen Yuan (active 1744) and Tang Dai (1673–1752). The Garden of Perfect Brightness suffered a terrible fate. In 1860, after the Second Opium War, British and French troops sacked and partially burnt the palaces and gardens. This was in retaliation for the death of European envoys at the hands of Qing officials. The scroll paintings of the 40 scenes were removed and are now held at the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris. During the following decades the gardens fell into greater ruin. As the eminent Australian scholar of Chinese studies, Geremie Barme, has remarked, ‘today it is in the “Odes to the Forty Scenes …” written by Qianlong that the palace survives’.

Illustrated Odes to the Forty Scenes of the Garden of Perfect Brightness, 2005

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Painting Manual of the Mustard Seed Garden

Painting Manual of the Mustard Seed Garden, 1679 (top left and above) and Painting Manual of the Mustard Seed Garden, undated (top right and opposite)

CHINA’S most influential art handbook appeared in the early Qing period during the reign of the Kangxi emperor. It has remained a model for those learning Chinese brushwork for more than 300 years, with many editions published in China and Japan. Renowned artists in both countries began their careers by studying the handbook. The Painting Manual of the Mustard Seed Garden was first issued between 1679 and 1701. It was named after the house and bookstore in Nanjing belonging to its sponsor, the playwright Li Yu, whose son-in-law Shen Xinyou published the work. Li called his

property the Mustard Seed Garden because it was so tiny. Li is sometimes mistakenly described as the book’s author, however he only wrote a preface to the first part. The main compilers were three brothers surnamed Wang. Wang Gai was the general editor, while Wang Shi and Wang Nie were experts on bird and flower painting. The guide consisted of 13 books in three parts. The first part contained general principles followed by books on landscape painting including mountains and trees; the second covered plum blossom, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum; and the third

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depicted birds, insects and flowers. A fourth part on the human figure was prepared much later by others, but is generally considered to be of a lower standard. Each book contained instructions on brushstrokes and the use of colour, illustrated with many works by wellknown artists. Although famous as one of the finest early examples of blockprinting to contain colour, it is not the first such guide. It was preceded by the Calligraphy and Painting Manual of the Ten Bamboo Studio, published in 1633 at the end of the Ming dynasty. The Library acquired just two volumes illustrated in black and white from the 1679

to 1701 Painting Manual of the Mustard Seed Garden. It also holds part of the second edition, which was printed with newly cut woodblocks in 1782, during the reign of the Qianlong emperor. This version reproduced the original with little alteration. Several later Chinese and Japanese editions are also represented in the collection. These include the first lithographic version from 1887–1888; attractive coloured pictures of birds in a single undated Chinese volume; and delicate illustrations of blossoms in a 1920s Japanese imprint. In addition the Library houses Mai-mai Sze’s English translation of the complete manual.

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China’s Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace

Taiping Proclamation, 1853

AFTER reaching its peak in the eighteenth century, the Qing declined in the face of growing pressure from the West and internal revolt. The Taiping Rebellion (1850–1864) came close to toppling the dynasty, but its early success was followed by internal dissension. Qing rulers retained the loyalty of leading Chinese who preferred Manchu government along traditional lines to Chinese rebels with an ideology combining Christian and anti-Confucian elements. Finally Chinese forces helped by foreign mercenaries crushed the rebellion. An estimated 20 million people died from the fighting or starvation during this period. The Taiping (Great Peace) movement was founded by Hong Xiuquan, a visionary leader influenced by Protestant missionaries. He preached a mixture of Christian egalitarianism and traditional Chinese utopian ideas. Hong hated the Manchu rulers, calling them demons. He sought to establish an ideal realm known as the Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace, with himself as Heavenly King. The movement enjoyed support from some Westerners despite misgivings about its unorthodox beliefs, particularly Hong’s claim to be Christ’s younger brother. Hong and his followers captured the major city of Nanjing in March 1853, naming it their Heavenly Capital. The Taiping movement was active in printing and publishing to promote its religious, political and social programs, but many publications were destroyed during the fierce fighting. In 1961 the Library acquired the London Missionary Society’s Chinese collection, containing old and scarce works sent back to England by the

missionaries. As well as rare Taiping books and pamphlets, the collection contained original proclamations, or wall posters, dated May 1853, which have since been confirmed as unique documents of historical significance. These huge yellow posters with dragon motifs came from the top Taiping leaders

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Yang Xiuqing, a former charcoal-cutter who became commander-in-chief and East King, and Xiao Chaogui, the West King. In fact the West King had died in battle the previous year, but his name still appeared on official documents. Issued at the height of the movement the proclamations claimed success for the Taiping armies, and

urged the people to remain peaceful and carry on with their normal lives. Later Yang gained more and more power at the expense of the Heavenly King. In 1856 troops loyal to Hong murdered Yang and slaughtered thousands of his followers. The Heavenly King died in 1864, just before the final annihilation of his forces.

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6

Indonesian Writing Traditions

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I

ndonesia consists of a chain of islands stretching between the mainland of SouthEast Asia and Australia. It declared its independence in 1945, after a long period of colonial rule as the Dutch East Indies and occupation by Japan during World War II. Although the country is better known for its oral traditions such as shadow puppet theatre, writing in Indonesia dates back nearly two millennia, from inscriptions on stone and metal to manuscripts on palm-leaf, bamboo, bark and paper. During the past 40 years the Library, through its major book acquisition program based in Jakarta, has developed one of the strongest resources on contemporary Indonesia in the world. This consists mainly of publications in the national language (Indonesian), written in the Roman alphabet. In 1928 Indonesian nationalists had chosen Malay as the language of their future independent state, renaming it Bahasa Indonesia or Indonesian. Malay had long been used for trade and administrative purposes across the archipelago. Regional languages, including Javanese and Balinese, are also represented in the collection as are other scripts such as Arabic, which accompanied the conversion of much of Indonesia to Islam. The Library also houses significant items illustrating Indonesia’s early forms of writing.

The oldest surviving dateable piece in the country is a stone inscription from around the year 400 by a local king in West Kalimantan on the island of Borneo. It is in the Sanskrit language written in an Indian script. The first Indonesian kingdoms were strongly influenced by Indian culture and religions, namely Hinduism and Buddhism. Gradually Sanskrit was replaced by indigenous languages such as Old Malay and Old Javanese. A poem inscribed in Old Javanese survives from as early as 856. The many manuscripts from diverse regions and cultures indicate the variety of literary traditions found among the peoples of pre-modern Indonesia. Four examples from the Library are described on the following pages. They include animist bark books from the Bataks of North Sumatra, transcribed Sundanese manuscripts on Islamic and literary themes from West Java, the Hindu Ramayana epic on palm leaves in Old Javanese from Bali, and a range of published documents from Makasar on the island of Sulawesi (Celebes). The writing traditions of all four may be traced back to Indian origins. None of the Library’s Indonesian manuscripts is particularly ancient, as books made from fragile materials do not survive well in the tropics.

Batak bark books, undated

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Manuscript of the Ramayana from Bali

Old Javanese Ramayana, c.1800–1971

THE Ramayana is an ancient Indian narrative poem about the hero Rama and his deeds among gods and demons. Originally in Sanskrit, the text dates back 2000 years. The Old Javanese version of this epic was probably composed in the ninth century, although its author and exact date are unknown. It is Java’s oldest and longest literary work, and is revered as a masterpiece. For more than a millennium the Ramayana has inspired Indonesian sculpture, painting, literature, shadow plays and other arts. In 1971 the Library acquired a lontar, or palm-leaf, manuscript from Bali containing part of the Ramayana in Old Javanese. It probably dates from the nineteenth or early twentieth

century. These manuscripts rarely last more than 200 years and age quickly. They are subject to insect damage and the hot humid climate. Expert scribes with many years experience must copy and recopy them onto new palm leaves as they deteriorate. When Islam became the main religion of Java, much of Java's early literature was preserved in Bali, which has retained a form of Hinduism. The everyday language of Bali is Balinese, but for many centuries Old Javanese was its main written language. The lontar tradition still survives in Bali, although under threat from paper, print and other aspects of modernity. Lontar leaves come from the palmyra palm, which grows throughout Indonesia. The leaves are dried in the sun, soaked in water and dried again. For better-quality manuscripts, such as the Ramayana housed at the Library, the leaves undergo a long process including cutting, cleaning and pressing. Three holes are pierced through the leaves, which are attached by a cord though the central hole to wooden boards that act as book covers. The cord is tied to a small Chinese coin with a hole in the middle so that it cannot slip out. The text is inscribed with an iron stylus. To make the writing stand out clearly, the leaves are smeared with burnt candlenut and coconut oil. When the excess paste is wiped off the incised script remains black. In traditional Balinese culture, reading and writing are believed to be of divine origin. There are elaborate rituals associated with the written word. For example a damaged lontar must never be thrown away but should be cremated.

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Batak Bark Books

IN 2009 the distinguished Australian journalist, author and oral historian Ray Aitchison donated two Batak bark manuscripts to the Library, one of them a miniature book. He had collected them in the Lake Toba region of northern Sumatra in 1969–1970. Their age is uncertain, but they are in good condition. The Batak people had their own script, which is seen in tree-bark manuscripts containing texts on magic, divination and medicine. This script ran from left to right and from top to bottom. The books were created from strips of flattened bark from the alim tree folded like a concertina and bound between wooden covers. A twig pen was dipped in black ink consisting mainly of resin soot and tree sap. Such books often included intricate astrological or other illustrations in black ink coloured with red earth-based paint. Batak manuscripts are never dated, but the British Museum obtained one as early as 1764. It is about predicting the future from the way pieces of a cut lemon fall. The bark books were known as pustaha or pustaka (from the Sanskrit), indicating the Indian origins of Batak writing. Pustaha were created by the datu or guru, who were the Batak magicians and healers. The bark books consisted almost exclusively of rituals, oracles and medical recipes written in a special form of Batak employed by the guru.

Rather than containing the complete ritual, they are memory aids for the magician and his disciples to accompany oral instructions. They are thus impossible to understand fully without an intimate knowledge of these practices. This form of writing, closely linked to traditional beliefs, declined with the spread of Islam and Christianity into the Batak lands during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. At times missionaries destroyed what they regarded as idolatrous manuscripts. The Batak also wrote on bamboo as well as the shoulder and rib bones of water buffalo. Unlike the bark books these texts were not the sole preserve of magicians. They also covered a different range of topics, such as love laments, writing exercises and letters, including threatening letters. The Library also holds an unusual set of photocopied transliterations of Batak manuscripts. They came from the National Library of Indonesia. Mostly acquired in the late nineteenth century, the originals were transliterated in 1908 onto foolscap paper by a Batak teacher, Kabidoen Hasiboean. In recent times there has been a revival of interest in the teaching of Batak script.

Batak bark books, undated

100 Asian Treasures: GEMS OF THE WRITTEN WORD

Tales from the Sundanese

Sundanese manuscript collection, 1900s

THE Sundanese people of West Java possess their own language, Sundanese. The oldest dateable Sundanese manuscripts on palm-leaves come from the fifteenth century. Texts were also written on bamboo and paper. Much of Sunda’s long written tradition has appeared in other languages and scripts. This reflects historical influences, particularly from Javanese, Arabic, Malay and later the Roman alphabet used by the Dutch colonial rulers of Indonesia. From the mid-nineteenth century there was a revival of Sundanese as a written language, encouraged by Dutch officials and scholars who wanted to preserve oral tales. One expert on the language and culture of West Java, Rudolf Kern, commissioned a scribe to copy into Roman letters 130 Sundanese manuscripts in various scripts from a larger collection held by

the Batavian Society for Arts and Sciences. The originals are now housed at the National Library of Indonesia. In 1959 the Library acquired Kern’s collection. This included the transcribed Sundanese manuscripts. What is most striking is that so many of the texts are narratives, such as romantic stories and epic tales of Sundanese heroes. Others deal with Islamic teachings, Islamic religious law, moral instructions to women and lessons for children. A few cover the impact of Western science and Dutch administration. The Kern manuscripts are now regarded as major resources on traditional Sundanese literary culture, of value for research in comparative literature, Islamic studies, history and anthropology, especially as several of the originals have since been lost. The educated Sundanese official whom Kern employed spent two years from March 1924 to March 1926 transcribing the manuscripts in an elegant copperplate hand on lined double-leaved sheets bound into folio volumes. He included a small number of drawings, such as a figure on horseback in the wayang theatre play, Rajuna Bambang Lempita. Incidentally this is one of the titles for which the original manuscript in Indonesia is now missing. There are hardly any corrections in the volumes, apart from a few additions and notes. Only rarely does the writing look a little hurried and less neat. From the careful way he copied out thousands of pages the scribe’s task appears to have been a labour of love rather than a chore. Unfortunately we do not know his name, although his illegible signature does appear in the transcriptions.

Indonesian Writing Traditions 101

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Indonesian Writing Traditions 103

Old Indonesian Contract for a Voyage to Australia MAKASAR lies on the south-western arm of Sulawesi (Celebes), a large island between Borneo and New Guinea. The people of South Sulawesi have long been famous as mariners and boat builders. They continue to play a major part in trade between the islands of Indonesia to the present day. Fleets from Makasar sailed to Australia from around the year 1700. They came to the coasts of Arnhem Land and nearby areas, which they called ‘Marege’, to collect trepang, or sea cucumber. This marine animal was processed and sold as a delicacy for Chinese cooking. The Library holds a major published set of original documents, Makasar Chrestomathy, which contains a contract in Makasar script for just such a voyage to northern Australia. A chrestomathy is a collection of writings. Dating from before 1860, it lists the names of the 34 crew and how much money each was advanced before leaving eastern Indonesia. The ship’s master received 50 reals, roughly the cost of a dug-out canoe. Most of the men on board came from Makasar, but a Papuan from the island of New Guinea is mentioned as receiving only eight reals. The contract also sets out how the profit from the voyage was to be divided among the Chinese financier, the captain and other crew. Makasar Chrestomathy is widely seen as the standard version of important texts in the Makasar language and script. It was compiled by the pioneer of South Sulawesi studies, Benjamin Frederik Matthes, a tireless scholar who collected and published local manuscripts in Makasar and Bugis, the two major languages of the region. He spent much of the period between 1848 and 1880 in Sulawesi, where he represented the

Netherlands Bible Society. The chrestomathy contains a wide variety of historical and literary manuscripts. It was acquired in 1959 as part of Rudolf Kern’s collection. Early manuscripts from South Sulawesi were written on the leaves of the lontar palm and later on paper. The manuscripts covered a range of topics, from court diaries, Islamic texts, maritime charts and medical remedies to epic myths. Most famous is La Galigo in Bugis, one of the longest poetical works in the world.

Makasar Chrestomathy, 1883

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Indonesian Writing Traditions 105

7

Maps, Prints and Early Western Missionaries in China

106 Asian Treasures: GEMS OF THE WRITTEN WORD

Maps, Prints and Early Western Missionaries in China 107

T

he Society of Jesus, a religious order commonly known as the Jesuits, was founded in 1534 by St Ignatius of Loyola. It played a major role in the Catholic revival responding to the growth of Protestantism. The Society has always stressed learning and Jesuit writers have been prominent in many scholarly disciplines. Missions were established in Asia, Africa, the Americas and Australia. For two centuries Jesuit missionaries in China acted as interpreters of the West to China, and China to the West. In cooperation with Chinese scholars they wrote or translated into Chinese hundreds of works on European mathematics, science, history and geography. For example the founder of their China mission, Matteo Ricci (1552–1610), produced a map of the world in Chinese in 1584. With the high official and convert Xu Guangqi (1562–1633), he also translated Euclid’s geometry into Chinese. Ricci’s world map inspired his successor Ferdinand Verbiest to create the scroll maps held by the Library. The Jesuits wrote voluminously about China. The atlas by Martino Martini (1614–1661) is a good example of their meticulous scholarship based on Chinese sources. They influenced Europe’s view not only of China but of its

own institutions and beliefs. In order to win acceptance by the Chinese emperor and court, whom they sought to convert, the Jesuits took a positive attitude towards Confucianism, seeing it as compatible with Christianity. They wore Confucian robes and studied the Confucian classics. Their generally rosy picture of China as a well-ordered state run on Confucian principles under a benign emperor appealed to those in Europe questioning established religion and government. The Jesuit position in China was always precarious. It depended on the goodwill of the Chinese emperor and the Catholic hierarchy in Europe. Men such as Verbiest were able to reach high positions at the Chinese court because they were technical experts with valuable skills, for example in medicine, mapmaking and weaponry. In the end the Jesuits lost their influence. They were defeated by opposition within the church to their accommodation with Confucian ancestor rites, as well as Chinese hostility towards Christianity. Western fascination with China survived the temporary dissolution of the Jesuit order in 1773. The Library holds an album of engravings on Chinese themes produced in pre-Revolutionary France. It is based on the work of Jesuit and Chinese artists at the Qing court.

New Atlas of China, 1655

108 Asian Treasures: GEMS OF THE WRITTEN WORD

Combining Chinese and Western Cartography

New Atlas of China, 1655

THE New Atlas of China has been called the first European atlas of that country, but in fact draws on earlier Chinese geographical works. The maps are by the Jesuit cartographer, astronomer, mathematician and historian Martino Martini (1614–1661), who was born in what is now the Italian Tyrol. He reached China right at the end of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), and experienced the Manchu conquest and early years of the Qing dynasty (1644–1911). Martini travelled across China, making his own scientific observations and collecting Chinese texts. He appears to have made particular use of detailed mapping by the Ming scholar Luo Hongxian (1504–1564), who revised and enlarged the work of Zhu Siben (1273–c.1355), a cartographer from the period when the Mongols ruled China. Martini’s atlas remained the standard European authority on Chinese geography for nearly a century. The Library’s copy, which is in excellent condition, was purchased

at auction in London in 2006. It is the sixth volume in Theatrum orbis terrarum produced in 1655 by Blaeu, the famous Amsterdam publishing family. The explanatory text is in German and the maps in Latin with romanised Chinese placenames. As was common at the time the atlas was issued in Latin, German, Dutch and French editions. The atlas contains a general map of China, 15 maps of individual Chinese provinces and a general map of Japan. Korea is shown correctly as a peninsula not an island, although its shape is far from accurate. A lengthy list of placenames includes their longitude and latitude in degrees and minutes. The extensive text discusses many aspects of Chinese life and traditions. This is a stunningly beautiful publication. It is bound in vellum and the hand-colouring of the plates still looks fresh and bright. The highly illustrated title page includes a globe showing East Asia, with a reasonably accurate outline of Australia. The Theatrum orbis terrarum and Blaeu’s even more luxurious Grand Atlas, into which Martini’s work was also incorporated, were employed by the Dutch as trade and diplomatic gifts, for example to the ruler of Makasar in eastern Indonesia. The Library also holds rare early editions of Martini’s history of China, the first of its kind by a European, and his detailed account of the Manchu conquest of China, based partly on his personal experiences.

Maps, Prints and Early Western Missionaries in China 109

110 Asian Treasures: GEMS OF THE WRITTEN WORD

Maps, Prints and Early Western Missionaries in China 111

A World Map from the Emperor of China’s Adviser IN 1949 the Australian architect William Hardy Wilson presented the Library with twin scroll maps representing the eastern and western hemispheres, which he had bought in China in 1921. Each was about 1.6 metres in diameter and produced by woodblock printing on silk. Although cracked and dirty, with silk panels peeling from their paper backing, the gift was clearly significant. It was sent to Japan where Shinkichi Endo, a renowned restorer of national treasures spent several years carefully lifting thousands of tiny fragments of silk from the original paper backing and remounting them on new stiffened silk panels. His efforts are thought to have extended the map’s life by about four centuries. Meanwhile local and international experts confirmed that it was a rare 1674 world map created in China by Ferdinand Verbiest (1623–1688). This brilliant Flemish (Belgian) Jesuit astronomer, mathematician and inventor spent 30 years in China. He rose to become a high official and close adviser to the Kangxi emperor, who ruled from 1661 to 1722. Verbiest’s work combined Western and Chinese notions of cartography. It improved on similar world maps by his Jesuit predecessors in China, particularly Matteo Ricci. The shape of the continents was based on European mapping of the time, notably the Dutch cartographers Blaeu and Ortelius. Thus Australia was shown with the islands of New Guinea and Tasmania attached to it. Verbiest clearly aimed to impress a local audience, possibly the emperor himself or his court. In line with Chinese thinking, China was placed at the centre of the map, symbolising its position as the political and cultural heart of the world, surrounded by tributary states.

As with the Buddhist world chart from Japan (page 32), geographical information in Chinese was contained within text panels. Foreign placenames were all in Chinese, combining translated and phonetic elements. For instance New Guinea was identified by the Chinese for ‘New’ followed by Chinese characters representing the sounds for ‘Guinea’. Handcoloured pictures depicted many animals and birds considered exotic in China. Some of these illustrations were fanciful, such as the blue giraffe in Antarctica and a bird of paradise placed in the middle of Australia.

World map, c.1674

112 Asian Treasures: GEMS OF THE WRITTEN WORD

Engraving the Emperor of China’s Conquests IN its Fang Collection the Library houses an album that is the result of remarkable artistic collaboration between China and Europe during the eighteenth century. At that time Europe was fascinated by China, and writers and publishers fed this interest. On the eve of the French Revolution the printmaker Isidore Helman (1743–1809) produced sets of engravings on Chinese themes, including military victories of the Qianlong emperor, consisting largely of detailed and often gory battle scenes. Lacking a title page, it has only recently been identified correctly as Helman’s Conquests by the Emperor of China.

By 1700 the Manchu Qing dynasty was in control of most of China, but faced periodic unrest in the far north and north-west. During several extremely bloody campaigns in the 1750s Qianlong’s troops suppressed Western Mongol and Muslim forces, placing Xinjiang (Eastern Turkestan) firmly under his rule. Xinjiang remains part of China to the present day. Qianlong was keen to publicise his victories. On his orders sketches had been prepared during the campaign, from which the court artists created 16 massive silk paintings. The emperor, who had admired European copper engravings, ordered Jesuit court painters, most

Maps, Prints and Early Western Missionaries in China 113

notably Giuseppe Castiglione (1688–1766), to prepare drawings based on the paintings. These designs were shipped to Paris, where JeanPhilippe Le Bas and others prepared engravings with copper plates and specially made paper. While the Chinese had long used copper to print books and paper money, copper engravings were only introduced into China by European artists early in the eighteenth century. The prints of Qianlong’s conquests took several years to complete, as the highest standards were demanded. They were then returned to China, although a few sets remained in Europe. These are now extremely rare.

Helman, who was a pupil of Le Bas, reproduced these prints in a smaller format for an eager French public. Although the alternative title for Helman’s album is Suite of 16 Prints Representing the Conquests by the Emperor of China: With Explanations, there are actually 24 leaves of prints. He added several peaceful views of imperial ceremonies, such as the emperor ritually ploughing and visiting the tombs of his ancestors. Unfortunately Helman arranged the 24 images incorrectly, so most of his explanations appear under the wrong print. Nevertheless the Library is fortunate to hold a rare complete set of this album.

Conquests by the Emperor of China, 1783–1788

114 Asian Treasures: GEMS OF THE WRITTEN WORD

Featured Works page 2 See caption for pages 86–87

page 6 See caption for pages 10–11

Pages 8–9 Palm-leaf manuscript from Sri Lanka, early 1800s 31 x 6 x 5 cm Old Singhala Claasz Collection, Manuscripts Collection, MS 7617

Pages 10–11, 6 Phra Mālai: Samut Khoi, 1800s

พระมาล ยั : สมุดข่อย

Pages 16–17

Pages 20–21

wall chart; colour illustrations; 50 x 40 cm Thai Asian Collections, THRB 2

Haeinsa-P’an Koryŏ Taejanggyŏng (Korean Tripitaka)

海印寺版高麗大藏經

Pulsol Taebo Pumo Unjunggyong Onhae (Sutra on the Profound Kindness of Parents)

Hapch’ŏn: Haeinsa, 1964–1968 1340 vols; height 41 cm reprinted by Pan Korea Book Co. from original woodblocks carved between 1236 and 1251 Chinese Asian Collections, OK 1803 0049

Hamgyong-Pukto Hoeryong: Obongsan, Man’gyongam, 1766 30 leaves; illustrations; height 34 cm Chinese and Korean McLaren–Human Collection, Asian Collections, OKM no.9

Pages 18–19

Pages 22–23

Chikchi Ha (Selected Sermons of Buddhist Sages and Zen Masters) by Kyŏnghan

Tibetan Buddhist Canon, Nyingma edition Oakland, California: Dharma Press, 1981 117 numbered vols in 120; coloured illustrations, coloured maps; 28 x 38 cm Tibetan Asian Collections, OC 1803 8448 Courtesy Dharma Publishing

Pages 12–13 Tang Xiantong Nian Ke Ben Jin Gang Bo Re Bo Luo Mi Jing (Diamond Sutra)

唐咸通年刻本’金剛般若波羅蜜經 Beijing: Zhongguo Shu Dian, 2001 scroll; illustrations; 31 x 486 cm reproduction of scroll printed in 868 Chinese Asian Collections, OCRB 1818 3738 f

Pages 14–15 Da Ban Ruo Bo Luo Mi Duo Jing (Greater Sutra of the Perfection of Transcendent Wisdom) translated by Xuanzang, 1162

大般若波羅蜜多經 / 玄奘奉詔譯 vol. 42 of 600 vols; height 30 cm Chinese Asian Collections, OCRB 1818 4343

直指. 下/ 編者景閑

Seoul: Taehan Min’guk Munhwa Kongbobu Munhwajae Kwalliguk, 1987 2 vols; height 26 cm reproduction of 1377 printing Chinese Asian Collections, OK 1880.3 2400

彿說大報父母恩重經諺解

Pages 24–25 Chatta Sangiti Tipitaka (Burmese Tripitaka) Rangoon: Buddha Sasana Council, Burmese Ministry of Religious Affairs, 1956–1983 64 vols; height 25–29 cm Pali and Burmese Australian Buddhist Library Collection, Asian Collections, MBQ1177 B88 C4

Featured Works 115

Pages 26–27

Pages 38–39

Pages 50–51

Khmer Tripitaka Phnom Penh: Cambodian Royal National Library, 1931–1973 79 vols; height 26 cm Pali and Khmer Coedes Collection, Asian Collections, KHMER 333– KHMER 411

Qur’an Persia, c.1850–1899 handwritten and bound in lacquer covers; colour illustrations; height 16 cm Arabic Manuscripts Collection, MS 4949

Samgang Haengsilto (Illustrated Three Bonds of Conduct), 1729

Pages 28–29 Ton Banyat (Buddhist Parables of the Dharma)

ต้นบ ญ ั ญ ตั ิ Phranakhōn: Rōngphim Sōphon Phiphatthanākōn, 1910 464 pp.; height 22 cm commemorates the cremation of King Rama V (1853–1910) Thai Asian Collections, THRB 4

Pages 30–31 Wenk, Klaus (1927–2006) Mural Paintings in Thailand Zurich: I. v. Oppersdorff, 1975 2 numbered vols in 3; map; colour illustrations; height 35–56 cm translation of Wandmalereien in Thailand English Rare Books Collection, RBef 751.7309593 W476

Pages 32–33 Nansen Bushū Bankoku Shōka No Zu (Map of all the Countries of Jambudvipa)

南瞻部洲萬国掌菓之図

Kyoto: Bundaiken Uhei, Hōei 7, 1710 map; rice paper; 114 x 142 cm, folded to 23 x 18 cm Japanese and Chinese Maps Collection, MAP RM 3882

page 36 See caption for pages 40–41

Pages 40–41, 36 Masterpieces of Rajput Painting: Selected, Annotated and Described in Relation to Original Hindi Texts from Religious Literature by Ordhendra Coomar Gangoly (1881–1974) Calcutta: Rupam, 1927 116 pp.; colour illustrations; height 45 cm English and Hindi Rare Books Collection, RBf MISC 42

page 44 See caption for pages 48–49

Pages 46–47 Xu Zi Zhi Tong Jian Gang Mu (Continuation of the Abridged Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government) by Shang Lu et al. 續 資 治 通 鑑 綱 目 / 商 輅 et al. Chenghua 12, 1476 32 vols; height 36 cm Chinese Asian Collections, OCRB 2512 2333 f

Pages 48–49, 44 Gongyang Zhu Shu (Tradition of Gongyang) by Xiu He (129–182)

公羊註疏 / 何休

China, c.1400–1600 5 vols; height 27 cm Chinese Asian Collections, OCRB 742 2289 1400

三綱行實圖

118 pp.; illustrations; height 39 cm Chinese and Korean McLaren–Human Collection, Asian Collections, OKM no.12

page 54 See caption for pages 70–71

Pages 56–57 Uji Shūi Monogatari (Collection of Tales from Uji)

宇治拾遺物語

Kyōto: Hayashi Izumien, Manji 2, 1659 16 vols; in case; illustrations; height 23 cm Japanese Asian Collections, OJRB 54

116 Asian Treasures: GEMS OF THE WRITTEN WORD

Pages 58–59

Pages 66–67

Pages 74–75

Genji Monogatari (Tale of Genji) by Murasaki Shikibu (b. 978?)

Bunken Edo Ōezu (Large Map Depicting the Divisions of Edo)

Japan, 1716–1743 28 vols; illustrations; height 7 cm Japanese Asian Collections, OJRB s3

Tōkyō: Bunkyū 4, 1864 map; coloured; 188 x 207 cm, folded to 32 x 21 cm Japanese Asian Collections, OJRB MAP 62

Russo–Japanese War Fully Illustrated Tōkyō: Kinkodo-Shoseki-Kabushiki-Kaisha, 1904–1905 10 issues; illustrations (some coloured); height 25 cm English Rare Books Collection, RB MOD 2637

Pages 60–61

Pages 68–69

Genji Monogatari Emaki (Tale of Genji Scroll) by Murasaki Shikibu (b. 978?)

Shinsen Nagasaki No Zu (Newly Engraved Map of Nagasaki)

Japan: Maruzen Kabushiki Kaisha, Heisei 15, 2003 4 scrolls; colour illustrations; height 23 cm Japanese Asian Collections, OJRB Scroll 8

Baikōdō: Kyōwa 1, 1801 1 map; coloured; 36 x 46 cm Japanese Asian Collections, MAP LMS 677

Pages 62–63

Pages 70–71, 54

Denshin Kaishu Hokusai Manga (Sketches by Hokusai) by Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849)

Kōgei (Crafts)

源氏物語 / 紫式部

源氏物語繪卷 / 紫式部

傳神開手・北齋漫畵 / 葛飾北齋

Edo: Hanabusaya Heikichi, 1800s vols 1–5, 7, 9–10; colour illustrations; height 23 cm Japanese Asian Collections, OJRB 71

Pages 64–65 Katsushika, Hokusai (1760–1849)

葛飾北齋

Onmayagashi yori Ryōgokubashi yūhimi (Sunset across the Ryōgoku Bridge from the Bank of the Sumida River at Onmayagashi) c.1830

分間江戶大絵図

新鐫長崎之図

工藝

Tōkyō: Nihon Mingei Kyokai, 1931–1951 120 issues; illustrations (some coloured); height 22 cm Japanese, some articles in English Asian Collections, OJRB 75

Pages 72-73 Tesukiwashi Taikan (Great Collection of Handmade Japanese Paper)

手漉和紙大鑑

御厩川岸より両国橋夕陽見

Tōkyō: Mainichi Newspapers, 1973–1974 5 cases of samples; colour illustrations; height 55 cm Japanese and English Asian Collections, OJ 6293 1312 ef

1 print; ink, coloured on paper; 23 x 35 cm Hardy Wilson Collection, Pictures Collection, PIC/11872/27 LOC 10571–10580

Hanae (Paper Flower Picture) Reproduced courtesy of Kazuko Endo Katazome-Hato No Iru Fukei (Landscape with Doves) Reproduced courtesy of Etsuko Kojima

Pages 76–77 Kokka (Flower of the Nation)

國華

Tōkyō: Kokkasha, Meiji 22, 1889– illustrations (some coloured); height 39 cm Japanese with some English Asian Collections, OJs 6001 6645 f

Pages 78–79 Kobunsha’s Japanese Fairy Tale Series London: Griffith, Farran and Co.; Tokyo: Kobunsha, 1885–1887 nos 1–9, 11, 13–16; coloured illustrations; height 15 cm English Rare Books Collection, RB 398.21 JAP

page 82 See caption for pages 90–91

Pages 84–85 Sangsan Beile U San Gui De Unggihe Bithe (Prince Shangshan’s Letter to Wu Sangui) China, 1800s height 28 cm manuscript copy of letter from 1678 Manchu Asian Collections, SIMON 1041

Featured Works 117

Pages 86–87, 2

page 94

Pages 110–111

Yuan Ming Yuan Si Shi Jing Tu Yong (Illustrated Odes to the Forty Scenes of the Garden of Perfect Brightness)

See caption for pages 98–99

圆明园四十景图咏

Old Javanese Ramayana, c.1800–1971 Collection of Balinese and East Javanese Lontars 1 lontar (33 leaves); wood and palm leaves; 51 x 4 x 4 cm Old Javanese Manuscripts Collection, MS 6240/3

Verbiest, Ferdinand (1623–1688) World map Beijing, c.1674 colour; 2 hemispheres; 141 and 143 cm in diameter on 2 scrolls; each 176 x 263 cm Chinese Hardy Wilson Collection, Maps Collection, RM 3499/1–2

Pages 98–99, 94

Page 112–113

China, 2005 1 vol. (folded accordion style); colour illustrations; 50 x 38 cm Chinese Asian Collections, OCRB 6565 6666

Page 88 Jie Zi Yuan Hua Zhuan (Painting Manual of the Mustard Seed Garden) by Wang Gai (active 1677–1705), 1679 printing

芥子園畫傳

Jiangnan Sheng: San Duo Zhai Wang Shi Shu Lin, Kangxi 18 2 vols; illustrations; height 27 cm Chinese Asian Collections, OCRB 6130 1041 1679A

Pages 88–89 Chu Yin Jie Zi Yuan Hua Bu (Painting Manual of the Mustard Seed Garden) by Wang Gai (active 1677–1705), undated printing

初印芥子園畫譜

1 vol.; colour illustrations; height 29 cm Chinese Asian Collections, OC 6130 1041S

Pages 90–91, 82 Zhen Tian Ming Tai Ping Tian Guo ... (Taiping Proclamation) by Yang Xiuqing (d. 1856) and Xiao Chaogui (d. 1852)

真天命太平天國…楊秀清, 蕭朝貴佈告 Nanjing: Tai Ping Tian Guo Gui Hao 3 Nian 5 Yue 28 Ri, 1853 1 sheet; 96 x 204 cm Chinese London Missionary Society Collection, Asian Collections, LMS 629

Pages 96–97

Batak bark books, undated 8 x 6 x 1 cm Batak Manuscripts Collection, MS 3048

Pages 100–101 Sundanese manuscripts from the Kern Collection, 1900s Sundanese Manuscripts Collection, MS 1673

Pages 102–103 Makassaarsche chrestomathie: oorspronkelijke Makassaarsche geschriften, in proza en poëzy (Makasar Chrestomathy: Original Makasar Writings in Prose and Poetry) by B.F. Matthes (1818–1908) 2e uitg. ‘s Gravenhage: M. Nijhoff, 1883 699 pp.; height 24 cm Makasar and Dutch Rare Books Collection, RB MOD 2636

page 106 See caption for pages 108–109

Pages 108–109, 106 Martini Martino (1614–1661) Novus atlas Sinensis … (New Atlas of China …) Amsterdam: Joh. Blaeu, 1655 1 atlas; 17 coloured folded maps; height 48 cm German and Latin Maps Collection, MAP Ra 300

Helman, Isidore Stanislas (1743–1809) Conquêtes de l’empereur de la Chine (Conquests by the Emperor of China) Paris: L’auteur etc., 1783–1788 24 prints French Rare Books Collection, RBq 951.03 HEL

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References Barme, Geremie, The Garden of Perfect Brightness: A Life in Ruins. Canberra: The Australian National University, 1996. Basham, A.L., The Wonder that was India. London: Sidgwick and Jackson, 1954. Beach, Milo Cleveland, ‘Mughal and Rajput Painting’ in Gordon Johnson (ed.), New Cambridge History of India. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1987, vol.3, part 1. Bouquillard, Jocelyn, Hokusai: First Manga Master. New York: Abrams, c.2007. Bouquillard, Jocelyn, Hokusai’s Mount Fuji: The Complete Views in Color. New York: Abrams, c.2007. Brereton, Bonnie Pacala, Thai Tellings of Phra Malai: Texts and Rituals Concerning a Popular Buddhist Saint. Tempe, Arizona: Arizona State University Program for South-East Asian Studies, c.1995. Burmester, C.A. and S.W. Wang, ‘Materials for Asian Studies in the National Library of Australia’, Australian Library Journal, November 1970, pp. 387–394. Ching Sun and Wan Wong (comps), Catalogue of the London Missionary Society Collection Held by the National Library of Australia. Canberra: National Library of Australia, 2001. Cochrane, Peter (ed.), Remarkable Occurrences: The National Library of Australia’s First 100 Years. Canberra: National Library of Australia, 2001.

Cummings, W., ‘Reading the Histories of a Maros Chronicle’, Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, vol.156, no.1, 2000, pp. 1–31. Edwards, Penny, Cambodge: The Cultivation of a Nation, 1860–1945. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, c.2007. Faulk, Tina, ‘A Treasure Concealed in the Palm’, National Library of Australia News, vol.6, no.7, April 1996, pp. 6–9, www.nla.gov.au/pub/nlanews/1996/ apr96/story-2.pdf. Faulk, Tina, ‘The Ancient Verbiest Map’, National Library of Australia News, vol.1, no.12, September 1991, pp. 7–10, www.nla.gov.au/pub/nlanews/1991/ sep91/sep91news.html. Faulk, Tina and Andrew Gosling, ‘Collecting Karma’, National Library of Australia News, vol.9, no.7, April 1999, pp. 3–7, www.nla.gov.au/pub/ nlanews/1999/apr99/story-1.pdf. Gallop, Annabel Teh, Golden Letters: Writing Traditions of Indonesia [Surat emas: budaya tulis di Indonesia]. London: British Library, 1991. Gosling, Andrew, Jessie’s Korea: Guide to the McLaren–Human Collection in the National Library of Australia. Canberra: National Library of Australia, 2007. Gosling, Andrew, ‘Otto van der Sprenkel: Chinese Historian, Book Lover and Library Benefactor’, National Library of Australia News, vol.15, no.2, November 2004, pp. 7–10, www.nla.gov.au/pub/ nlanews/2004/nov04/article2.html.

Gosling, Andrew, ‘Religion and Rebellion in China: The London Missionary Society Collection’, National Library of Australia News, vol.8, no.10, April 1998, pp. 3–6, www.nla.gov.au/pub/ nlanews/1998/jul98/story-1.pdf. Harley, J.B and David Woodward (eds), The History of Cartography. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987. Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan. Tokyo and New York: Kodansha, 1983.

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Kumar, Ann and John H. McGlynn, Illuminations: The Writing Traditions of Indonesia: Featuring Manuscripts from the National Library of Indonesia. New York: Weatherhill, 1996. Lach, Donald F., Asia in the Making of Europe. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1965–1993, vols 1–3. Ludu, Daw Ahmar, The World’s Biggest Book. Mandalay, Burma: Ludu U Hla, 1974. Lust, John, Western Books on China Published up to 1850. London: Bamboo, 1987. Macknight, Campbell, ‘To Rescue a Beached Whale: The Translation of Matthes’ Bugis Dictionary’ in Jan van der Putten and Mary Kilcline Cody (eds), Lost Times and Untold Tales from the Malay World. Singapore: NUS Press, c.2009, pp. 304–318. Macknight, Campbell, The Voyage to Marege’: Macassan Trepangers in Northern Australia. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1976. Mills, D.E., A Collection of Tales from Uji: A Study and Translation of Uji shui monogatari. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1970. Morris, Ivan (trans.), Tale of Genji Scroll. Tokyo: Kodansha, [1971]. Mukherjee, Wendy, ‘Sundanese Manuscript Materials in the National Library of Australia’, Konferensi Internasional Budaya Sunda (KIBS) Jilid 1 Prosiding. Yayasan Kebudayaan Rancage: Bandung?, 2006, pp. 185–195.

Murasaki Shikibu, The Tale of Genji, translated by Royall Tyler. New York and London: Viking, 2001. Muroga, Nobuo and Kazukata Unno, ‘The Buddhist World Map in Japan and Its Contact with European Maps’, Imago Mundi, vol.16, 1962, pp. 49–69. Needham, Joseph, ‘Paper and Printing by Tsien Tsuen-hsuin’ in Science and Civilisation in China. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985, vol.5, part 1. Olson, Grant A., ‘Thai Cremation Volumes: A Brief History of a Unique Genre of Literature’, Asian Folklore Studies, vol.51, 1992, pp. 279–294, www.forlangs. net/images/pdfs/cremation_vols.pdf.

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120 Asian Treasures: GEMS OF THE WRITTEN WORD

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Woods, Martin, ‘First European Atlas of China,’ National Library of Australia Gateways, no.85, February 2007, www. nla.gov.au/pub/gateways/issues/85/ story07.html. Yonemoto, Marcia, Mapping Early Modern Japan: Space, Place and Culture in the Tokugawa Period, 1603–1868. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2003.

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National Library of Australia COLLECTION HIGHLIGHTS

ANDREW GOSLING spent 30 years on the staff of the National Library of Australia. After serving as the Library’s Indonesian Acquisitions Librarian based in Jakarta, he was Chief Librarian, Asian Collections, from 1985 to 2003. He has also written Jessie’s Korea: Guide to the McLaren-Human Collection in the National Library of Australia (2007).

AsIan Treasures

Asian Treasures provides a fascinating glimpse into the remarkable items that the National Library of Australia has acquired from the Asian region. Showcasing Asian writing, printing and books of beauty and historical significance, Asian Treasures captures the flavour of Asian print and design. From Persian manuscripts and handmade Japanese papers, to Chinese maps printed on silk and thirteenth-century woodblock prints, this publication explores a multitude of individual, yet connected, writing traditions. How did a twelfth-century Buddhist sutra inspire the fictional Monkey TV series, loved by generations of modern children? Who really invented movable type? What were the origins of the manga Japanese comic book tradition? All these questions and more are answered by this careful selection of beautiful and scholarly treasures from the Library collections. The narrative of this collection of treasures highlights the interrelationship of religion, war and trade with the development and transmission of different scripts and alphabets, technologies, writing forms and geographical knowledge, all accompanied by beautiful colour illustrations.

AsIan Treasures Gems of the Written Word

ANDREW GOSLING