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Draft:Tshurpu Scroll

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  • Comment: youtube is not a reliable source. The section "Motivation for Scroll" is comprised of a single sentence quote and is not explained and its relevance is not demonstrated. I've grouped some sections together under background and description, but the purpose of "Karmapa relationship" and "Yongle's Rise to Power" are not clear. Second image requires a better caption, review WP:Captions. microbiologyMarcus (petri dish·growths) 21:35, 7 February 2024 (UTC)

Portion of the reproduced scroll depicting the Fifth Karmapa's visit

The Tsurphu Scroll or the Miracles of the Mass of Universal Salvation hand scroll depicts the miracles that the Fifth Karmapa, Deshin Shepka, performed during his visit to Nanjing around 1407. The scroll was constructed with oil paint on silk. It is nearly 50 meters long and depicts the story throughout 49 illustrated scenes.[1]It is currently preserved at Tibet Museum in Lhasa.[2]

Background

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Relationship to the Karmapa

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The Fifth Karmapa, Deshin Shepka, was called upon in 1407 by Emperor Yongle to visit Nanjing, a capital of the Ming Dynasty. Deshin Shepka was asked to provide religious instruction to servants and family of the Yongle Emperor. According to art historian Patricia Berger, Deshin Shepka performed countless miracles in the year that he stayed in Nanjing.[3] The Tshurpu Scroll was commissioned by the Yongle Emperor as documentation of the Karmapa's influence during his stay.[4]

According to art historian Aurelia Campbell, Deshin Shepka and Yongle's relationship was intended to be mutually beneficial. Yongle would gain religious confirmation from the Karmapa while the Karmapa would be granted a platform to acquire followers and promote his own Buddhist practices. [5]

Yongle's Rise to Power

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Emperor Hongwu was the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty. He centered his imperial government in the capital city of Nanjing. Hongwu raised his family in Nanjing. When he passed away, the throne was passed down to his grandson, as his oldest son had also died. Hongwu’s fourth son Zhu Di usurped the throne from the rightful heir and was subsequently crowned as the Yongle Emperor in 1402.[2]

Potential Motivation for Scroll

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Art historian Aurelia Campbell, says that “the emperor constantly looked for signs that Heaven approved of his reign. If a sign appeared, he would immediately order that it be documented in visual form.” [5]

Description

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Inscriptions

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The inscriptions of the in Chinese, Persian, Uyghur, Tibetan and Mongolian.[1]

The Yongle Emperor drafted the architectural and religious imagery as well as the multilingual inscriptions of the scroll to highlight specific themes that validated his claim to the throne.[6]

On the first day of the ceremony, there were five-coloured auspicious clouds, which floated up quickly and coalesced to form a Ruyi. Then a śarīra glowing at the top of the pagoda. And two golden rays also appear.

Symbols

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The five colors of the rainbow–white, yellow, red, green and blue–correspond to the five elements and the Five Buddhas of Tibetan Buddhism.[7]

In her chapter of the book Cultural Intersections in Later Chinese Buddhism, Patricia Berger explains how “atmospheric displays of light and color” and “wuse haoguang (multicolored rays of light)” are some of the most frequently reported manifestations of any Karmapas’ powers. Berger's translation of the inscription for the fifth day notes that “a relic was seen glowing at the top of the pagoda like a newly risen bright moon or flowing, glistening water.” [6] She then outline her belief that the light emitted from the mandala hall on the fifth day Karmapa's ceremony in Nanjing is representative of the Fifth Karmapa's power.[6]

References

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  1. ^ a b Luo, Aili; Liu, Yingsheng. "A Tentative Study on the Persian Description of the Illustrated Scroll ——《Buddhist Ritual Assembly Performed by Karma-pa to Glorify the First Ming Emperor Taizu》". Northwestern Journal of Ethnology.
  2. ^ a b Debreczeny, Karl (2016). "Chapter 17 – The Early Ming Imperial Atelier on the Tibetan Frontier". In Clunas, Craig; Harrison-Hall, Jessica; Yu-ping, Luk (eds.). Ming China: Courts and Contacts 1400-1450. The British Museum. pp. 47–48, 152–155.
  3. ^ Berger, Patricia (2001). "Miracles in Nanjing: An Imperial Records of the Fifth Karmapa's Visit to the Chinese Capital". In Weidner, Marsha (ed.). Cultural Intersections in Later Chinese Buddhism. University of Hawai'i Press.
  4. ^ Linrothe, Rob (2018), Heirman, Ann; Meinert, Carmen; Anderl, Christoph (eds.), "Noise along the Network: A Set of Chinese Ming Embroidered Thangkas in the Indian Himalayas", Buddhist Encounters and Identities Across East Asia, Brill, pp. 52–80, ISBN 978-90-04-36600-8, JSTOR 10.1163/j.ctv2gjwnnh.9, retrieved 2023-12-19
  5. ^ a b Campbell, Aurelia. What the Emperor Built: Architecture and Empire in the Early Ming. United States, University of Washington Press, 2020.
  6. ^ a b c Cultural Intersections in Later Chinese Buddhism. University of Hawai'i Press. 2001. ISBN 978-0-8248-2308-5. JSTOR j.ctt6wqjjf.
  7. ^ Namgyal, Tseten (2016). "Significance of 'Eight Traditional Tibetan Buddhist Auspicious Symbols /Emblems' (bkra shis rtags brgyad) in day to day Rite and Rituals". The Tibet Journal. 41 (2): 29–51. ISSN 0970-5368.