Articles

Xylographic edition of books in the capital of Northern Mongolia Ikh-Khure in the seventeenth – early twentieth centuries

Vostok/Oriens '2018, №5

DOI: 10.31857/S086919080001856-8

 
The article deals with the history of a center for the xylographic edition of Tibetan and Mongolian books in the capital of Northern Mongolia, Ikh-Khure (Urga) in the seventeenth century, as well as features of its activity prior to the beginning of the twentieth century. The first printing house was opened at the time when Ikh-Khure was a nomadic monastery – the residence of the head of the Mongolian Church. By the beginning of the twentieth century, there were several large printing houses: the main printing house Ikhiin-Sumbum, printing houses at monasteries and monastic communities. Four catalogues of printed books in the Mongolian national archives, Mongolian national library, and the personal collection of the Mongolian scientist R. Otgonbaatar, show that the Ikhiin-Sumbum mainly produced works of Ganjur, books of main Lamaist teachers, prayer books for the monastic services, a popular prayers for personal use. The monastic printing houses published books on medicine, astrology, Buddhist philosophy. Monastic communities edited books dedicated to various Buddhist deities. In Ikh-Khure the Tibetan Ganjur was xylographed; the work on the second canonical collection of books Danjur did begin. Alphabets, dictionaries, stories and other books in Mongolian language were also published in the capital of Northern Mongolia. The Mongol-Tibetan bilinguals were printed. The close examination of xylographs reveals characteristics of publishing traditions in Ikh-Khure. Many of the texts of the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries had no title. There are bilinguals which have but colophons in Mongolian language, However, in most cases bilingual books have colophons in two languages. In some Tibetan books, publishers made explanations in Mongolian. In addition, a method of woodcutting, not found in other areas, was common in Ikh-Khure. Among the printed books of Ikh-Hure there were private publications. Some residents of Ikh-Khure cut book's boards themselves or ordered it to other masters.

Keywords: written tradition of the Mongols, xylography, Northern Mongolia

Pages: С. 125–136