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Photo Exhibition China : Beijing to Lhasa, from Evariste Huc (1813-1860) until now
Section 8 - Autonomous Region of Tibet
Discover the evolution of these areas during history.
EXTRACT OF TEXT FROM THE DESCRIPTIVE PANEL :
With the passage of Evariste Huc
The first French discover Lhassa
January 29, 1846, Evariste Huc and Joseph Gabet discover the effervescence of the capital of Tibet. After a perilous crossing of the Tibetan plateau in winter, they are the first French to be ventured in the prohibited city. The popular districts, encumbered of an incredibly varied and noisy crowd, surprise the two missionaries. At the XIXth century, the population of Lhassa rises with 40 000 inhabitants. Little time after their arrival, they must justify of their presence in front of the Tibetan regent and Chinese ambassador.
The chöyön, birth of a theocracy
Before XIIIth century, Tibet is controlled by kings who become less and less influential, whereas the large Buddhist monasteries acquire a political power, economic and military increasingly important.
In XIIIth century, the superior of the monastery of Sakya sees himself allotting the authority on Tibet by the Chinese emperor of the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368).
Since 1269, a relation begins which will be maintained under several dynasties: the chöyön. It is the symbiotic relation between a religious personality and a laic guard which secure a reciprocal protection on a foot of equality. Each one exerts its precedence of the other in its own field, the lama in the spiritual world, the emperor in the temporal world...
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Thematic canvas :
Autonomous Region of Tibet
Discover the old and comptemporaine history of this China area.
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Flags with prayers capping a thermal spring at 4600 m
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The lungta ("horses of wind", in Tibetan) or prayers flags are printed of blessing texts. They were introduced in XIth century by Atisha, Indian buddhist master. These pieces of fabric are generally placed in top of the mountains pass, where the gusts of wind carry the prayers and scatter them in all the directions. One also finds them, on the roofs of the houses, of the temples, with the entry of the villages or the monasteries... |
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Potala palace seen from the old districts of Lhasa
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Potala, Budala gong (in Chinese), Tsé Phodrang (in Tibetan) is the most famous monument of Tibet and one of the largest monuments of Asia.
This palace-monastery bears the same name that the celestial residence of Avalokiteshvara, a mythical mountain located in the south of India. Its construction began in VIIth century under the reign of king Songtsen Gampo (617?-650), revealed as being itself an emanation of Avalokiteshvara...
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Beginning of the XXth century photographs (Missions Étrangères de Paris) :
" We emerged in a broad valley, we saw on our line Lha-ssa, this famous metropolis of the Buddhist world. This multitude of secular trees, which surround the city as a belt of foliage; these large white houses, finished out of platforms and surmounted turrets; these many temples with the gilded roofs, this Buddha-La, above which rises the palace of Talé lama... all gives to Lha-ssa a majestic and imposing aspect. The palace ofTalé lama deserves, in all connections, the celebrity which it enjoys in the whole world... We were at January 29, 1816; it had been eighteen months that we had left the valley of the Black-Waters"
Évariste HUC — Memories of a journey in Tartarie and Thibet.
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Tibetan around Barkhor in a street of Lhasa :
" There are several manners of making the pilgrimage around the lamaseries. It is which is not prosternent at all. They from go away, the back charged with enormous bundles of books, which were imposed to them by some great lama... Il is the different one which is satisfied to go for a walk, by unrolling between their fingers the grains of their long chain, or by printing a rotational movement to a small prayers winch, fixed in their right hand, and which turns unceasingly, with an incredible speed. One names this winch tchukor, it means turning prayer. "
Évariste HUC — Memories of a journey in Tartarie and Thibet.
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Representation of the 4 arms divinity Avalokiteshvara to Mang village close to Lhasa
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The images of the gods, painted or carved, are created at emotional and meditatives ends. They help the excessively pious person in his spiritual research.
Avalokiteshvara (in Sanskrit), called Cherensig (in Tibetan) "that which looks with the eyes of the compassion" is one of the most popular divinities of Tibetan buddhism with the Tara goddess. This bodhisattva of the compassion is the protective divinity of Tibet ...
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Dwelling door in the monastery of Drepung close to Lhasa
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Drepung ("rice heap", in Tibetan) or Zhebang si (in Chinese) is a gelug monastery, founded in 1416 by Jamyang Chojey, a disciple of Tsongkhapa.
It acts of the vastest of the three monastic university cities (with Ganden and Sera) of Tibet, which sheltered 8000 monks, before the Cultural revolution.
Today, this temple remains one of most active in the country and lodges 500 monks. In addition, the black painting which frames the door is supposed to move away the bad spirits...
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And 35 other photographs accompagnied by captions...
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