The Palm-leaf Manuscripts, among the world's oldest Buddhist texts, contain valuable records of culture, philosophy, history, and science from South and Central Asia, and a restoration team is racing against time to preserve these ancient treasures.
Uniquely inscribed on leaves rather than paper or parchment, the palm-leaf manuscripts were primarily written in Sanskrit.
Centuries ago, monks, translators, and pilgrims carried these manuscripts from India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka to Xizang in southwest China.
Xizang Autonomous Region is now home to numerous precious palm-leaf manuscripts. Over 29,000 leaves are stored inside the Potala Palace alone, making it the most concentrated collection of its kind in China. But time has taken its toll on these manuscripts.
"The greatest challenge lies in the existing damage to the palm-leaf manuscripts, including fiber fraying and lifting, breakage, and traces of improper past repairs. We are particularly worried that these conditions may further worse,” said Leng Benkai, assistant curator at the Cultural Relics Conservation Section of Potala Palace Administration.
Palm-leaf manuscripts were once beyond repair until the formation of a restoration team several years ago. They came in with the help of intangible cultural heritage inheritors.
To date, the team have completed cataloging and condition surveys for 465 volumes, a total of 29,400 leaves of palm-leaf manuscript relics.
They have also organized and typeset illustrations from 37 volumes and carried out digital scanning of 244 volumes.
"We conduct high-resolution scans to fully document both the overall condition of the palm-leaf manuscripts and the inscriptions on them," said Leng.
The restoration team's mission isn't just to repair these works, but to pass them on. Alongside the conservation work, local talent is being trained to do the same.
"Through the implementation of our project, we hope to enhance the Potala Palace's capacity for ancient cultural relic preservation, from restoration techniques to digital archiving," Leng added.
Restoration team races against time to preserve ancient palm-leaf manuscripts in Xizang
