Labrang Monastery

出版者:Lexington Books

作者:Paul Kocot Nietupski

页数:306

出版时间:2010-12-9

价格:USD 100.00

装帧:Hardcover

isbn号码:9780739164433

具体描述

Review

One of the largest and most powerful institutions in Tibetan history, unique in its placement amid segmented territories ruled by several distinct inner Asian groups, Labrang Monastery has long been a site in need of critical study. Paul Kocot Nietupski's work brings us a thoroughly researched and sophisticated social and political history of Labrang Monastery. Drawing on a wide range of written and oral source material, Nietupski supplements a welcome survey of Amdo's religious and social structures with a careful study of the shifting social and political infrastructure underlying Labrang and its support communities. His examination of the spiritual and temporal authority of Labrang Monastery and the special forms of diplomacy needed for interaction with surrounding Manchu, Chinese, Mongol, and Muslim groups in this volatile region, makes a fundamental contribution to our knowledge of Asian history. (Frances Garrett )

Labrang Tashikyil is one of the major Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and no contemporary Western scholar has researched its place in the Tibetan cultural world more deeply or more extensively than Paul Nietupski. This study is rich in detail in so many different areas. Labrang's history, economic structure, scholarly traditions, political role in the Tibetan Northeast, and much more are intricately described by Prof. Nietupski. He brings to the reader much that is new in the way of both information and insights. This is a most welcome volume... (Elliot Sperling )

Nietupski has provided us a fascinating snapshot on how multi-dimensional Buddhist monasteries can be and often were. The placement of the monastery in the frontier between Tibet and China, with significant Mongol and Muslim populations in the mix, reveals in detail the institutional, political and religious dynamics of the area. Far from the image of Buddhist monasteries as contemplative enclaves removed from society, Labrang is shown to be the major social force in its area of Chinese Central Asia. An excellent example of the intersection of written sources in Tibetan and Chinese with the oral histories that Nietupski secured during his lengthy fieldwork in Labrang. (Ronald M. Davidson )

Labrang Tashikyil is one of the major Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and no contemporary Western scholar has researched its place in the Tibetan cultural world more deeply or more extensively than Paul Nietupski. This study is rich in detail in so many different areas. Labrang's history, economic structure, scholarly traditions, political role in the Tibetan Northeast, and much more are intricately described by Prof. Nietupski. He brings to the reader much that is new in the way of both information and insights. This is a most welcome volume. (Elliot Sperling )

Product Description

The Labrang Tibetan Buddhist Monastery in Amdo and its extended support community are one of the largest and most famous in Tibetan history. This crucially important and little-studied community is on the northeast corner of the Tibetan Plateau in modern Gansu Province, in close proximity to Chinese, Mongol, and Muslim communities. It is Tibetan but located in China; it was founded by Mongols, and associated with Muslims. Its wide-ranging Tibetan religious institutions are well established and serve as the foundations for the community's social and political infrastructures. The Labrang community's borderlands location, the prominence of its religious institutions, and the resilience and identity of its nomadic and semi-nomadic cultures were factors in the growth and survival of the monastery and its enormous estate.

This book tells the story of the status and function of the Tibetan Buddhist religion in its fully developed monastic and public dimensions. It is an interdisciplinary project that examines the history of social and political conflict and compromise between the different local ethnic groups. The book presents new perspectives on Qing Dynasty and Republican-era Chinese politics, with far-reaching implications for contemporary China. It brings a new understanding of Sino-Tibetan-Mongol-Muslim histories and societies. This volume will be of interest to undergraduate and graduate student majors in Tibetan and Buddhist studies, in Chinese and Mongol studies, and to scholars of Asian social and political studies.

作者简介

Paul Nietupski, Ph.D. is currently teaching in the Department of Religious Studies at John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio.

目录信息

Amdo An Overview p1
Tibetan Religions in Amdo p15
Labrangs Society p53
Growth and Development The Evolution of Labrang Monastery p113
TwentiethCentury Labrang p169
Visions and Realities at Labrang p203
Gönpo Döndrup p213
Appendix 2 Pronunciation and Word Lists p217
Bibliography p233
Index p263
About the Author p273
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用户评价

这本书最让我震撼的是它对于“信仰”这一抽象概念的具象化处理。作者没有采用枯燥的宗教理论阐述，而是通过讲述个体生命在特定环境下的挣扎、坚守与超越，来展现信仰的力量。我特别留意了其中关于几位不同阶层人物的侧面描写——那位年迈的阿喀玛，她一生的执念似乎都系于佛塔的修缮；还有那位年轻的喇嘛，他在现代思潮与古老教义之间的摇摆与最终的归属。这些人物的内心世界是如此的真实和复杂，他们面对的困境并非简单的善恶对立，而是关于存在意义、关于时间流逝的终极拷问。作者巧妙地避开了评判的姿态，只是冷静地记录，却让读者自己去体会，在面对宏大而似乎不可动摇的传统时，个体精神是如何被塑造和磨砺的。这种对人性的深刻洞察，使得整本书的格局瞬间拔高，不再仅仅是一部地方志或宗教史，而是一部关于人类精神韧性的史诗。

从学术性的角度来看，这本书的资料搜集和交叉引用工作量无疑是巨大的，这从其文末那几页密密麻麻的注释和参考书目就能窥见一斑。作者显然花费了数十年心血，穿梭于不同的档案馆、口述历史记录之间，将那些零散的、或许已经濒临失传的片段小心翼翼地拼凑起来。我尤其欣赏它在处理历史变迁时的那种谨慎态度，面对史料的矛盾之处，作者并没有急于给出定论，而是坦诚地指出不同记载之间的差异，并提供可能的解释框架。这种严谨的治学精神，极大地增强了文本的可信度。对于任何希望从历史脉络上去理解这一独特文化生态的人来说，这本书无疑提供了一个坚实的基础。它就像是一台高精度显微镜，让那些原本模糊不清的细节变得清晰可见，并且标注了它们的来源和相互关系，对于专业研究者而言，其参考价值是毋庸置疑的。

这本书的叙事节奏掌握得极其老道，它不是那种一味追求情节跌宕起伏的小说，而更像是一部缓缓流淌的历史长河，带着一种近乎禅意的从容。作者在讲述过程中，似乎刻意放慢了语速，让每一个关键事件、每一个重要人物的出现，都有足够的时间在读者的脑海中沉淀、发酵。初读时，或许会觉得有些缓慢，但随着深入，你会发现这种慢节奏恰恰是深入理解复杂文化体系所必需的。比如对某一特定仪式的描述，作者可以浓墨重彩地铺陈细节，从僧侣的衣着颜色、诵经的声音高低，到香火的气味变化，无一不扣，让人仿佛身临其境，而不是走马观花地浏览。这种细致入微的描摹，体现了作者深厚的田野调查功底和对所叙述对象的无限敬意。它强迫你停下来，去感受那些被现代生活匆忙遗忘的、需要时间去品味的深度和厚度。读完一个章节，我常常需要合上书本，静坐片刻，才能将那些复杂的情绪和信息理清，这本身就是一种难得的阅读体验。

这本书的语言风格非常独特，它融合了一种近乎诗意的抒情和一种冷峻客观的记录，两种截然不同的语调在行文中自然地交织，产生了一种奇妙的张力。有时候，文字会突然变得非常感性，描绘起雪山的辽阔、法会的热烈时，如同高亢的颂歌，充满了画面感和情感冲击力；但下一秒，笔锋又会迅速收紧，转而用精确、冷静的术语来解析某种哲学概念或行政组织结构，如同冰冷的解剖刀。这种在“情”与“理”之间的游走，使得阅读体验充满了层次感。它既满足了普通读者对异域风情的好奇心和审美需求，同时也为那些寻求深入理解的读者提供了扎实的理论支撑。我感觉作者本人似乎也在这两种表达方式中不断切换和平衡，最终形成了一种既有温度又不失深度的独特叙事腔调，让人读起来既心潮澎湃，又受益匪浅，回味悠长。

这本书的装帧设计真是让人眼前一亮，封面那种深沉的藏蓝色调，配上烫金的藏文，透露出一种既古朴又庄重的神秘感。我一拿到手，就忍不住细细摩挲，纸张的质感也相当不错，不是那种廉价的光滑，而是带着微微的粗粝感，仿佛能从中触摸到远古的尘埃。内页的排版处理得极为考究，文字与留白之间的呼吸感拿捏得恰到好处，阅读起来丝毫没有压迫感。尤其值得称赞的是那些插图，虽然我手头这本没有大篇幅的彩绘，但那些细致的黑白线条画，无论是对建筑结构的描摹，还是对某种仪轨瞬间的捕捉，都展现了作者极高的观察力和绘画功力。每一幅图都不是简单的装饰，更像是为文字提供了一个视觉的锚点，让读者在文字的海洋中不至于迷失方向。整体来看，这本书在视觉呈现上，就已经成功地将人带入了一种沉静、肃穆的氛围中，为接下来的精神旅程打下了坚实的铺垫。我对这本书的期待值，很大程度上就是从这精美的外壳开始建立起来的，它不像是一本随便印制的读物，更像是一件精心雕琢的艺术品，值得珍藏。