- Hardcover: 272 pages
- Publisher: Columbia University Press (17 July 2009)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0231147163
- ISBN-13: 978-0231147163
- Product Dimensions: 22.9 x 15.5 x 2.3 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,495,228 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
The Culture of the Book in Tibet
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Review
[A] brilliant study. -- Lauran R. Hartley The Journal of Asian Studies Vol 69, No 2 This elegant, readable work portrays the considerable traditional Tibetan enterprise of book production. -- Jonathan C. Gold Religious Studies Review Vol 36, No 4
Product Description
The history of the book in Tibet involves more than literary trends and trade routes. Functioning as material, intellectual, and symbolic object, the book has been an instrumental tool in the construction of Tibetan power and authority, and its history opens a crucial window onto the cultural, intellectual, and economic life of an immensely influential Buddhist society. Spanning the fourteenth to the eighteenth centuries, Kurtis R. Schaeffer envisions the scholars and hermits, madmen and ministers, kings and queens who produced Tibet's massive canons. He describes how Tibetan scholars edited and printed works of religion, literature, art, and science and what this indicates about the interrelation of material and cultural practices. The Tibetan book is at once the embodiment of the Buddha's voice, a principal means of education, a source of tradition and authority, an economic product, a finely crafted aesthetic object, a medium of Buddhist written culture, and a symbol of the religion itself. Books stood at the center of debates on the role of libraries in religious institutions, the relative merits of oral and written teachings, and the economy of religion in Tibet. A meticulous study that draws on more than 150 understudied Tibetan sources, The Culture of the Book in Tibet is the first volume to trace this singular history. Through a single object, Schaeffer accesses a greater understanding of the cultural and social history of the Tibetan plateau.
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4.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review)
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Did what it set out to do quite well, 1 Feb 2010
By Debbie - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Culture of the Book in Tibet (Hardcover)
"The Culture of the Book" took a detailed look at book-making and the place of books in society in Tibet--a culture in which religious books are literally worshiped--during the 14th-18th centuries. While the books used in the examples were mainly Buddhist texts, the author only touched on Buddhist teachings as they related to the making, ownership, and value of the book. He covered several specific case studies where letters or texts were available which spoke about the process of making books (getting a patron, gathering materials, editing, translating, writing or cutting blocks and block printing the book, etc.) during the different centuries and in different areas of Tibet.
He also covered the social issues surrounding books, like how books were passed on after a person died, how donations were gathered to fund the expensive book-making project, and so on. The appendices contained the full text of a letter quoted in part in the book, a section explaining the contents of the Buddhist Canons for those of us who didn't know, and a chart showing the cost of making the Canon in his Degé example.
The wording used was formal but not technical, so it was easy to understand. I found the book interesting, though I felt at times like I would have gotten even more out of it if I was somewhat familiar with Tibetan Buddhism and the history during the time period covered. But maybe not. Overall, I'd recommend this book to anyone with an interest in how Tibetan Buddhism influenced book making in Tibet during the 14th-18th centuries.
I received this book as a review copy from the publisher.
Reviewed by Debbie from Different Time, Different Place
(differenttimedifferentplace. blogspot. com)
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