The origin and era of Harvard's collection of “double red” circle Naxi Dongba manuscripts

Abstract

Among the 598 volumes of Naxi Dongba manuscripts held by the Harvard-Yenching Library, some bear a singular adornment: two prominent crimson circles. These “double red” manuscripts boast a unique artistic flair. Due to excellent preservation and delicate illustration, they are of high value for academic research. Through systematic fieldwork and careful analysis of the postscript, we have rigorously confirmed that the source of these “double red” Dongba manuscripts is Xiachangshui (下长水) Village, Huangshan (黄山) Town, Yulong (玉龙) County, Lijiang City, Yunnan Province. The scribe has been verified as the Qing dynasty's priest Mu Zhi (木知) (1814–1874 to 1892). The lineage of transmission for this set of manuscripts is also very clear, passing from Mu Zhi to his grandson Mu Fuguang (木福光), and then through the US scholar Joseph Rock, before finally being collected by the Harvard-Yenching Library.

Keywords

Dongba manuscripts Harvard-Yenching Library postscript

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