The original manuscript of pattra-leaf scriptures dated to the 11th century preserved in Tibet Museum in Lhasa. [Photo/Xinhua]

Tibet has carried out a thorough survey on the status quo of pattra-leaf scriptures, the values and protection of which aroused another round of attention.

Originally from ancient India, pattra-leaf scriptures are sutras written on the leaves of pattra palm. And with a history of over 2,000 years, the sutras are valuable to the research of Buddhism.

Before the recent establishment of the regional social science academy's Pattra-Leaf Sutra Preservation Institute, a general survey was carried out on all the existing pattra-leaf scriptures in Tibet.

Led by Tsewang Gyurme, director of the work team of pattra-leaf scripture protection and researcher at the institute, the survey was conducted for two years to cover altogether 65 related departments and temples in Tibet's seven prefectures, according to records and documents written in Tibetan, Mandarin Chinese and English.

The work involved over 600 person-time field studies traveling more than 17,000 kilometers.

After the survey, a documenting and filing work was undertaken. In order to keep the original scripts intact, researchers have put together several catalogues and archives by photocopying over 6,000 manuscripts. The copies were recorded especially in an encyclopedia-like "pattra-leaf scriptures copy collection of the Tibet Autonomous Region".

In this way, experts can consult the archives without putting the original scripts at risk.

Since 2006, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the China Tibetology Research Center and the government of the Tibet Autonomous Region have joined hands to protect pattra-leaf scriptures.

"The central government of China has always attached great importance to the preservation and research of the traditional cultures of ethnic minorities," said Padma Namgyel, dean of TAR's Academy of Social Sciences and vice-chairman of the regional people's political consultative conference.

"Especially since the 21st century, China's top leaders have paid close attention to the protection of Tibet's pattra-leaf scriptures."

Paul, head of the academy's scientific research office, suggested that China's communist party's and government's attention to the protection of pattra-leaf scriptures should be a harsh strike to the slander of "cultural genocide in Tibet", which is one of the attacking comments on China by the Dalai clique.