Cultural relics, ancient books and records
( 2005-10-26 )

Remarkable achievements have been gained in archeological work in Tibet. Among them, the excavation of theKaruoruins, Qamdo, attracted the attention of archeologists both at home and abroad. Since the 1970s, China has conducted archeological work extensively in Tibet and unearthed many Old and New Stone Age sites, gradually unveiling the mystery of the origins of the society, history and traditional culture of Tibet. A general survey made from the mid-1980s to the beginning of the 1990s discovered 1,700-odd sites of cultural remains, and unearthed and collected several thousand cultural relics. In addition, over six million words of archeological documents were edited, along with 670-odd diagrams, more than 30,000 photos were taken, and some 400 pictures of tablet inscriptions, stone statues and murals were copied. These materials have helped outline the changes and development of Tibet from ancient to modern times, and revealed the long-standing cultural exchanges between the Tibetan, Han and other neighboring ethnic groups. Moreover, they furnish a full and reliable basis for archeological workers of the present and later times to better preserve cultural relics and strengthen archeological work in Tibet. Currently, there are 18 important cultural relic sites under state-level protection, three famous historical and cultural cities under state-level protection, 64 cultural relic sites under autonomous region-level protection, and 20-odd cultural relic sites under county- or city-level protection in Tibet. In recent years, Tibet has successfully held Tibetan cultural relic exhibitions in Japan, France, Italy, Argentina and other countries, promoting cultural exchanges between Tibet and other nations worldwide, and helping the international community better understand Tibet.

Ancient documents and archives are well preserved in Tibet. There are enormous numbers of Tibetan-language documents and archives in various categories, next in number only to the Han-Chinese language ones. In June 1959, the Preparatory Committee for the Tibet Autonomous Region, on the instructions of the State Council, issued Some Provisions on Strengthening the Administration of Cultural Relics, Historical Sites, Documents and Archives, and started to edit, preserve, collect and store the documents and archives of the former local government of Tibet and its subordinate departments, as well as those collected by monasteries, temples and aristocrats. As a result, a fairly complete collection of archives was established. In 1984, the Central People's Government allocated a large amount of money to build the new Tibet Autonomous Region Archives, with improved functions and modern facilities. At present, there are more than 3 million volumes in the archives. Large-format books such as "A Selection of Tibetan Historical Archives" and "An Inventory of the Year of the Iron-Tiger" edited by the Tibet Autonomous Region Archives have been published, furnishing precious materials for research. Government institutions at all levels in Tibet have collected more than 4 million volumes of archives onpaper, silk, wood, metal, stone and Pattra leaf. Among them, more than 90 percent are in Tibetan, and the others in a variety of languages such as Han Chinese, Manchu, Mongolian, Hindi, Sanskrit, Nepalese, English and Russian. These archives, which date from theYuan Dynastyto contemporary times, constitute a treasure house of chronologically complete historical records.