Page 64 - Sothebys Sutra Auction Hong Kong

CHRONOLOGICAL According to Bu xu gaoseng zhuan [Supplement to further
biographies of eminent monks] compiled in the late Ming
HISTORY OF A dynasty by the Chinese monk Tairu Minghe, Huijin (1355-
NATIONAL TREASURE 1436), the 21st Patriarch of the Huayan School, was invited to
the capital to expound the Surangama Sutra with more than
THE FOUR MAJOR ten thousand listeners. It is also recorded that the Xuande
Emperor asked Huijin to take responsibility for copying four
MAHAYANA SUTRAS IN sets of Buddhist Sutras in golden script: the Prajnaparamita
Sutra, the Ratnakuta Sutra, the Avatamsaka Sutra and the
GOLDEN SCRIPT Parinirvana Sutra.

Prajnaparamita Sutra Ratnakuta Sutra

Originally 600 albums in 120 boxes 120 single-fascicle albums, with 10 albums to a case, total 12 cases
原600冊，存於120函 中 全經120 ，一 一冊，每十冊一函，共分存於十二函 中

The Prajnaparamita Sutra left the Palace at the latest, 1793, when the 1793 – catalogued among the nine goat-brain Sutras in Midian zhulin
supplementary religious art inventory Midian zhulin xubian [Forest of xubian [Forest of pearls in the secret palace, second series], a catalogue
pearls in the secret palace, second series] was compiled by imperial of the Qianlong Emperor’s religious art collection
order of the Qianlong Emperor, recording nine goat-brain Sutras. The
Sutra is therefore neither listed in the inventory nor does it bear any 1933 – the Palace Museum collection is moved from Beijing to Shanghai
seals of the Qianlong Emperor. 1948-1949 – essential works from the collections of the Palace Museum
1917 – ‰rst mentioned as being in Kyoto, Japan and the Preparatory O¬ce of the Central Museum are selected to be
moved to Taiwan, where they now remain in the National Palace Museum
6th November 1944 – recorded as being kept at Mitsubishi Warehouse,
Tokyo 2015 – published in Imprints of Buddhas: the Buddhist Art in the National
Palace Museum Collection, Taipei, 2015, cat. no. 68, for the opening of
12th September 1955 – document from the American Embassy in the Southern Branch of the National Palace Museum
Tokyo indicates that the Sutra, attributed to the Yongle period here,
leaves Japan for the USA 2016 – exhibited and published in Yuan cang Zang chuan fojiao wenwu/
Om-mani-padme-hum: Tibetan Buddhist Art in the National Palace
1962 – Carbon-14 test con‰rms dating of the Sutra (Dr Willard F. Libby, Museum, Taipei, 2015, cat. no. III-8
Califonia)
1996 – Rafter Radiocarbon test recon‰rms dating (New Zealand) 1793年 – 《 珠 編》中列為九部 佛經之一
2014-2015 – exhibited and published in the British Museum, Ming: Fifty 1933年 – 故宮收藏自北京 上海
Years That Changed China, London, 2014, p. 218, ‰g. 188 1948-1949年 – 故宮與中 博物院 備處部分文物 台 ，現藏台
2017 – Liu Guowei, Curator of Department of Rare Books and 北國立故宮博物院
Documents, National Palace Museum, Taipei, ‰nds the text to link this 2015年 – 見於台北國立故宮博物院 部分院開 展《佛 形影：院藏
Sutra with the Xuande Emperor’s order and con‰rms the current Sutra 亞洲佛 藝術之美》，台北，2015年，編號68
to be part of the missing Prajnaparamita Sutra
2016年 – 展於台北國立故宮博物院，收錄在《 ：院藏藏
最晚於1793年前，此《大般若經》已 宮 ，因此未收入 時所編《 傳佛 文物》，台北，2015年，編號III-8
珠 編》列為清宮藏 經之一（該書載錄共九部）。此經且缺
印，因此必在目錄編 前即已出宮。
1917年 – 首次記載藏於日本京都
1944年11月6日 – 記載收藏於東京三
1955年9月12日 – 東京美國大使館文件記載從日本運 美國，指為永樂
年間之物
1962年 – 經 十四測試 定此經年代（Willard . Libby 博士，加州）
1996年 – 放 性 檢測再度確認年代（紐 ）
2014-2015年 – 此經在大英博物館《明：皇朝 世五十年》展覽，倫
敦，2014年，頁218，圖188
2017年 – 台北故宮博物院圖書文 處 究員 國威查得文 資料，推
證此經乃遺失已久、由宣德皇 寫之《大般若經》其中十 。