Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c6.s2.t4.40

v1.c6.s2.t4.40

This batch of manuscripts was derived from an ancient site near Kuqa, Xinjiang in 1889 and was obtained by Hamilton Bower, Lieutenant of British Forces, the next year. Without a title, the original manuscript was generally called *The Bower Manuscript* by the Academia for convenience. The original volume was later collected by the Bodleian Library of Oxford University. A F Rudolf Hoernle (1841-1918) spent more than 20 years in working on a research on it and published three books in which board charts, translation, transliteration, preface and annotations are included. Lore Sander thought that *The Bower Manuscript* which was written in the *pattra*-leaf brich bark was a product of Kashmir. The language used was Sanskrit, mixed with some folk adage. In addition, it was copied in the Gupta period in which the typeface style of Mathura and Rajasthan-Malawi are included. It is supposed to have been written in the later period of Gupta Dynasty (about 320-550) in India, namely in the beginning or middle period of the 6^th^ century. However, there is another possibility that it was brought to Xinjiang by the Buddhists who transmitted the Indian culture.