Guillaume Jacques: Esquisse de phonologie et de morphologie historique du tangoute. (The Languages of Asia Series.) xii, 373 pp. €125. Leiden: Global Oriental, 2014. ISBN 978 90 04 26484 7
Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, Sep 28, 2015
obvious break or differentiation between these sections and the core part of the book devoted to ... more obvious break or differentiation between these sections and the core part of the book devoted to political history, nor are they effectively brought together, showing how the mythical, genealogical, religious, artistic, and political discourses interact and overlap. The difference in genre and context of production of the textual sources employed throughout the book is not highlighted, and – with the exception of the Rlangs po ti bse ru treated in chapter 1 – the corpus produced by the family (the bKa’ chems with its addenda and the chronicle Mig ’byed ’od stong) is not treated as bearing distinct qualitative features. Chapters 2 to 7 are divided by century rather than reflecting a periodization based on an overarching historical narrative recognizing major shifts in the family’s fortune, as offered in the brief introduction. In order not to break the chronological flow of the narrative, complex issues or points of contention are treated in long footnotes that may discourage the negligent reader, who would miss a remarkable display of erudition and informed analyses of fascinating topics. A notable example is n. 54, pp. 223–5 on the controversial circumstances that led to the foundation of the monastery of bKra shis lhun po, which would be the dGe lugs pa outpost in gTsang throughout the Phag mo gru rule. In this and many other instances, the voice of the historian is itself relegated to the footnotes, discussing contrasting accounts, evaluating the import of specific events, or pointing to historical relationships and developments. This rich, engaging, and thoroughly researched book demands from the reader the effort of following its author through the thousands of folios and hundreds of images that constitute its backbone: this process is rewarding in itself, offering many hidden stories, secondary pathways to explore, and precious references to anyone interested in the political, religious, and art history of Tibet. With so much of the material and literary legacy of the Rlangs Phag mo gru pa lost and scattered, these volumes offer a compelling insight into their monastic enclave and ruling policies. As the major study of fifteenth–seventeenth-century Tibetan history that has appeared so far, Medieval Rule in Tibet takes its rightful place in the series of the Austrian Academy of Sciences beside a number of publications that have quickly become reference works.
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