Ancient Currents, New Traditions: Papers Presented at the Fourth International Seminar of Young Tibetologists (original) (raw)
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If you want to learn more about the pre-Buddhist heritage of Tibet and the Western Himalayas, one name stands out: John Vincent Bellezza. Unlike any other, we encounter a uniqueness in Bellezza's works, a breadth of detail, insight, and personal struggle that has been unsurpassed in archaeology and Tibetan Studies these days. Bellezza's numerous publications that include such groundbreaking works as Divine Dyads (1997), Calling Down the Gods (2005), the significant contributions of Zhang Zhung: Foundations of Civilization in Tibet (2008), Death and Beyond in Ancient Tibet, and the critical two volume set, Antiquities of Zhang Zhung (2010), have provided robust studies on Tibet's pre-Buddhist heritage in an unconventional style that at once incorporates his skills as an archaeologist with one of cultural historian, anthropologist, travel journalist, explorer, and storyteller. When I read this new work, my assumptions about Tibet as a land whose colorful history and civilization was most impacted by Buddhism shortly after the seventh century were shaken again. My attention was drawn to periods long before the Buddhist presence revealed through forgotten lands, writings, and ritual customs that point to a Tibetan civilization far more ancient, complex, and historically important on a global scale than I could have imagined. Presenting such complexity does come with a price because Bellezza's integrative, ambitious approach has its complications. Yet his unwillingness to restrict himself to the strictures and disciplinary boundaries of academia order to find answers on the ground, and to assert challenging connections may reveal some treasures of the past. From the very beginning in The Dawn of Tibet, Bellezza is particularly interested in the civilization known to Tibetan tradition as Zhang Zhung, which was based in western Tibet, also known as Upper Tibet. However, his search and discoveries go further back to a time that pre-dates and yet, impacts this mysterious civilization. This synthesis in ten chapters of his previous studies also provides a progression of his theories and an increasingly systematic documentation of findings following and surpassing other archaeologists and anthropologists before him. It also highlights the impact of Western and Chinese scholars and expeditions. The book begins with a brief synopsis of his personal history of exploration in Tibet and his documentation of around 700 sites. His documentation of monuments, rock art, and ruins are linked with old literary tales and contemporary ritual customs that form the basis for the history and culture of pre-Zhang Zhung and the Zhang Zhung civilization.
2007
Recent archaeological discoveries and scientific research especially focussed on western Tibet and the western Himalayas have resulted in a remarkable redefinition of the historical and cultural processes of the entire Indo-Tibetan civilisation. The present volume reflects these sometimes startling new insights for the first time, covering the wide time range from the Zhang zhung period up to the 20th century, spanning secular, religious and economic history, as well as art and archaeology.
A History of Tibetan Studies (15)
This history of Tibetan Studies derived from the text I wrote for the lectures I gave twice during my time of teaching in Hamburg, the second time in 2001. I decided to make the text available to interested colleagues as a “draft” on Academia.edu. D. Jackson, So it needs a lot to be brought up to date. The contents include: A. Main Sources for a History of Tibetan Studies B. A Historical Sketch Part 1: Early Missionary Activities (1624 to mid-19th Century) Part 2: Pioneers of Tibetology: Csoma de Körös and His 19th-Century Successors (from the 1830s until about 1904) Part 3 (3) Early Tibetology in Countries Outside the UK: 1. Early Tibetology in Russia 1. B. Early French Tibetology 1.C. Early German Tibetology 1. D. Early Tibetology of British India—the Pundit-Explorers 1. E. Early Japanese Tibetology 1. F. Early American Tibetology Part 4: The Period of More Direct British (and Government of India) Involvement (1904‒1959): Beginning with the Younghusband Expedition (1904) 1. Central Asian Discoveries: the Dunhuang Documents 2. Tibetology in India 3. Later Tibetology in the Soviet Union and Russia 4. Tibetology in Italy 5. Tibetology in France 6. Tibetology in Great Britain 7. Tibetology in Germany 8. Tibetology in Austria 9. Tibetology in Holland 10. Tibetology in Poland 11. Tibetology in Czechoslovakia 12. Tibetology in Hungary 13. Tibetology in Scandinavia 14. Tibetology in North America 15. Tibetology in Japan 16. Tibetology in China 17. Tibetology in Modern Tibet
AHP 45: McGill, Chelsea. 2017. Review: The Dawn of Tibet. Asian Highlands Perspectives 45:105-110.
Since 1983, John Vincent Bellezza has made numerous treks into Upper Tibet, the cold, northern Plateau region in the Himalayas. In his excursions, he has discovered the remains of a thriving civilization in what is now considered one of the most difficult climates on earth. The Dawn of Tibet draws upon textual sources, ethnographic study with the people who live in Upper Tibet today, and his discoveries of archaeological sites to draw a multifaceted picture of what Zhang Zhung, as this civilization is referred to, might have looked like. His analysis is divided into ten chapters, each dealing with a separate kind of material. After a short introduction to Upper Tibet, accompanied by some very vague, generalized maps - the only ones included in this book - his first chapter describes earlier scholarly work done in this area and the fieldwork the author has undertaken since the 1980s. According to Bellezza, it was normal for explorers to wander around Tibet without permission thirty years ago. This is how he made some of his early discoveries. More recently, he has undertaken several planned research missions with Tibetan colleagues to explore the more desolate regions of the Upper Plateau.