This paper addresses the process of searching for the Eighth Dalai Lama, Jampel Gyatsho, which to... more This paper addresses the process of searching for the Eighth Dalai Lama, Jampel Gyatsho, which took place between 1757 and 1762. The purpose of the present research is to describe in detail the consecutive events which took place in these years on the basis of the evidence found in historical sources written in Tibetan, Manchu and Chinese. Using sources in these three languages was instrumental in reconstructing the events and understanding their implicit logic. The search process was not free of problems and tensions and required joint efforts of Tibetan ruling elite and Imperial envoys specially dispatched by the Qianlong Emperor. The search of the Dalai Lama resulted in success, and the child was enthroned in the Potala Palace in 1762. This was for the first time in Tibetan history that the transition from one incarnation of Dalai Lama to another was comparatively smooth and peaceful.
В статье представлен обзор традиционного музыкального инструментария тибетцев. Классификация осно... more В статье представлен обзор традиционного музыкального инструментария тибетцев. Классификация основана на сочетании традиционной тибетской типологии с описанием по системе Хорнбостеля — Закса. Характеристика каждого инструмента содержит информацию о его морфологических особенностях, способе изготовления, сфере применения, приемах игры, символическом значении (если таковое имеется). Материалами для работы послужили тибетские письменные источники разного времени: музыкально-теоретические сочинения, тексты тантрического характера, словари, исторические и энциклопедические труды, а также исследования зарубежных музыковедов.
The paper provides a general overview of the main features and characteristics of Tibetan theoret... more The paper provides a general overview of the main features and characteristics of Tibetan theoretical works on music written in the 11th-19th centuries. It is generally recognized that a written document of any kind is in many respects a product of the culture and epoch of its creation. To understand a document more correctly a researcher should fi rst learn the respective cultural background. Given below is a concise account of the cultural circumstances in which Tibetan traditional works on music theory appeared as well as some preliminary remarks on the contents and peculiarities of the Tibetan theoretical writings on music already known to contemporary researchers. In fact, works on music theory written by learned Tibetan lamas were not in the focus of traditional Buddhist education. Those were often included in voluminous encyclopedias – without being properly studied. Despite this obvious neglect of musical aspects by the Tibetan Buddhist community, the texts represented in the paper contain a lot of valuable information about Tibetan music theory and practice, Tibetan philosophy of music and music education. On studying these traditional Tibetan works on music theory, researchers would be able to draw a realistic historical timeline telling about the development of Tibetan music culture and, eventually, to introduce this local historical narration into the framework of the global history of music. It should be noticed that at present the articles by Russian researchers that deal with Tibetan music are quite few. A hope is expressed that the paper will help attract the attention of scholars engaged in different fi elds of research to the problem of investigating Tibetan music theory and traditional theoretical works.
Among different extant written sources of Tibetan music, namely, theoretical works, motations and... more Among different extant written sources of Tibetan music, namely, theoretical works, motations and manuals, the "Treatise on Music" written in the thirteenth century by prominent Tibetan scholar Sa skya Pandita Kun dga' rGyal mtshan (1182-1251) is the earliest and most informative one. As this work includes three chapters almost entirely dedicated to the theory of vocal music production and composition techniques (with a small part relating to musical instruments), the treatise seems to be very important for getting deeper knowledge of the medieval Tibetan vocal tradition. The translation and multidisciplinary analysis of this source, aided by consulting other written sources of Tibetan music and main research conducted in that scientific sphere, displayed various features of Tibetan vocal system as it was perceived by Sa skya Pandita, e.g. close relations between articulated phonemes and melodic movement, lack of scale or mode system, rhythmic structure utterly dependent upon the poetical meter, and many others. Taking into account highly developed vocal (and musical) systems of the neighboring countries in the period under consideration, the tradition of singing described in detail in the "Treatise on Music" seems to have been a unique product of the Tibetan world. Archaic as it was, this tradition would have had little opportunity to become known to the scholars of the modern times if it were not a Tibetan Buddhist scholar trained in the lines of Indian scholastic tradition who described it in his treatise. As there is still not so many scientific works dedicated to the history of Tibetan music, these findings can contribute to the construction of a consistent narration about the development of musical art in Tibet. Used in worldwide context, they may help to define some general trends in the history of music of various ethno-cultural societies.
This paper addresses the process of searching for the Eighth Dalai Lama, Jampel Gyatsho, which to... more This paper addresses the process of searching for the Eighth Dalai Lama, Jampel Gyatsho, which took place between 1757 and 1762. The purpose of the present research is to describe in detail the consecutive events which took place in these years on the basis of the evidence found in historical sources written in Tibetan, Manchu and Chinese. Using sources in these three languages was instrumental in reconstructing the events and understanding their implicit logic. The search process was not free of problems and tensions and required joint efforts of Tibetan ruling elite and Imperial envoys specially dispatched by the Qianlong Emperor. The search of the Dalai Lama resulted in success, and the child was enthroned in the Potala Palace in 1762. This was for the first time in Tibetan history that the transition from one incarnation of Dalai Lama to another was comparatively smooth and peaceful.
В статье представлен обзор традиционного музыкального инструментария тибетцев. Классификация осно... more В статье представлен обзор традиционного музыкального инструментария тибетцев. Классификация основана на сочетании традиционной тибетской типологии с описанием по системе Хорнбостеля — Закса. Характеристика каждого инструмента содержит информацию о его морфологических особенностях, способе изготовления, сфере применения, приемах игры, символическом значении (если таковое имеется). Материалами для работы послужили тибетские письменные источники разного времени: музыкально-теоретические сочинения, тексты тантрического характера, словари, исторические и энциклопедические труды, а также исследования зарубежных музыковедов.
The paper provides a general overview of the main features and characteristics of Tibetan theoret... more The paper provides a general overview of the main features and characteristics of Tibetan theoretical works on music written in the 11th-19th centuries. It is generally recognized that a written document of any kind is in many respects a product of the culture and epoch of its creation. To understand a document more correctly a researcher should fi rst learn the respective cultural background. Given below is a concise account of the cultural circumstances in which Tibetan traditional works on music theory appeared as well as some preliminary remarks on the contents and peculiarities of the Tibetan theoretical writings on music already known to contemporary researchers. In fact, works on music theory written by learned Tibetan lamas were not in the focus of traditional Buddhist education. Those were often included in voluminous encyclopedias – without being properly studied. Despite this obvious neglect of musical aspects by the Tibetan Buddhist community, the texts represented in the paper contain a lot of valuable information about Tibetan music theory and practice, Tibetan philosophy of music and music education. On studying these traditional Tibetan works on music theory, researchers would be able to draw a realistic historical timeline telling about the development of Tibetan music culture and, eventually, to introduce this local historical narration into the framework of the global history of music. It should be noticed that at present the articles by Russian researchers that deal with Tibetan music are quite few. A hope is expressed that the paper will help attract the attention of scholars engaged in different fi elds of research to the problem of investigating Tibetan music theory and traditional theoretical works.
Among different extant written sources of Tibetan music, namely, theoretical works, motations and... more Among different extant written sources of Tibetan music, namely, theoretical works, motations and manuals, the "Treatise on Music" written in the thirteenth century by prominent Tibetan scholar Sa skya Pandita Kun dga' rGyal mtshan (1182-1251) is the earliest and most informative one. As this work includes three chapters almost entirely dedicated to the theory of vocal music production and composition techniques (with a small part relating to musical instruments), the treatise seems to be very important for getting deeper knowledge of the medieval Tibetan vocal tradition. The translation and multidisciplinary analysis of this source, aided by consulting other written sources of Tibetan music and main research conducted in that scientific sphere, displayed various features of Tibetan vocal system as it was perceived by Sa skya Pandita, e.g. close relations between articulated phonemes and melodic movement, lack of scale or mode system, rhythmic structure utterly dependent upon the poetical meter, and many others. Taking into account highly developed vocal (and musical) systems of the neighboring countries in the period under consideration, the tradition of singing described in detail in the "Treatise on Music" seems to have been a unique product of the Tibetan world. Archaic as it was, this tradition would have had little opportunity to become known to the scholars of the modern times if it were not a Tibetan Buddhist scholar trained in the lines of Indian scholastic tradition who described it in his treatise. As there is still not so many scientific works dedicated to the history of Tibetan music, these findings can contribute to the construction of a consistent narration about the development of musical art in Tibet. Used in worldwide context, they may help to define some general trends in the history of music of various ethno-cultural societies.
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dedicated to the theory of vocal music production and composition techniques (with a small part relating to musical instruments), the treatise seems to be very important for getting deeper knowledge of the medieval Tibetan vocal tradition. The translation and multidisciplinary analysis of this source, aided by consulting other written sources of
Tibetan music and main research conducted in that scientific sphere, displayed various features of Tibetan vocal system as it was perceived by Sa skya Pandita, e.g. close relations between articulated phonemes and melodic movement, lack of scale or mode system, rhythmic structure utterly dependent upon the poetical meter, and many others.
Taking into account highly developed vocal (and musical) systems of the neighboring countries in the period under consideration, the tradition of singing described in detail in the "Treatise on Music" seems to have been a unique product of the Tibetan world. Archaic as it was, this tradition would have had little opportunity to become known to the scholars of the modern times if it were not a Tibetan Buddhist scholar trained in the
lines of Indian scholastic tradition who described it in his treatise. As there is still not so many scientific works dedicated to the history of Tibetan music, these findings can contribute to the construction of a consistent narration about the development of musical art in Tibet. Used in worldwide context, they may help to define some general trends in
the history of music of various ethno-cultural societies.
dedicated to the theory of vocal music production and composition techniques (with a small part relating to musical instruments), the treatise seems to be very important for getting deeper knowledge of the medieval Tibetan vocal tradition. The translation and multidisciplinary analysis of this source, aided by consulting other written sources of
Tibetan music and main research conducted in that scientific sphere, displayed various features of Tibetan vocal system as it was perceived by Sa skya Pandita, e.g. close relations between articulated phonemes and melodic movement, lack of scale or mode system, rhythmic structure utterly dependent upon the poetical meter, and many others.
Taking into account highly developed vocal (and musical) systems of the neighboring countries in the period under consideration, the tradition of singing described in detail in the "Treatise on Music" seems to have been a unique product of the Tibetan world. Archaic as it was, this tradition would have had little opportunity to become known to the scholars of the modern times if it were not a Tibetan Buddhist scholar trained in the
lines of Indian scholastic tradition who described it in his treatise. As there is still not so many scientific works dedicated to the history of Tibetan music, these findings can contribute to the construction of a consistent narration about the development of musical art in Tibet. Used in worldwide context, they may help to define some general trends in
the history of music of various ethno-cultural societies.