[
    {
        "id": 207806,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1976",
        "page_number": 194,
        "title": "RAS-1976",
        "content_text": "IN THE PATH OF THE ANCIENT MON --PAGAN, PEGU and NAKORN PATHOM\n\nMICHAEL SMITHIES\n\nThe fourth overseas tour of the Hong Kong Branch, Royal Asiatic Society and the third led by the author of this article, went to Burma from 26 December 1975 to 2 January 1976. Forty-two members and guests went on the tour, and most stayed on for a two-day extension in Bangkok.\n\nMount Popa, the extinct volcano which is the home of the 37 nat or spirits worshipped by the originally animistic Burmese, can be clearly seen on fine days as the plane comes to land at Nyaung-U. But the short drive from there to Pagan past an incredible number of vast ruined brown brick temples (whitewashed where they are still in use), soon gives an idea of the Kings' and peoples' devotion to Buddhism and the splendid ensemble Pagan must have been at the time of its greatness. This lasted from 1057, the date of the conquest of Thaton by the Burmese king Anawratha, to 1287 when the grandson of Kublai Khan, Prince Ye-su Timur, occupied the city and overthrew the dynasty. Some 5,000 temples still remain in part but virtually no lay buildings, with the exception of the traces of the city wall of Pagan and the Sarabha gate to the old city dating from the 9th century. Both are probably relics of the period of the Pyu, about whom little is known after 832 since they became totally absorbed by the incoming Burmese quite early.\n\nAnawratha brought from Thaton to Pagan thirty elephant loads of sacred texts, many monks, innumerable craftsmen as well as the conquered Mon royal family, and Mon culture was dominant in the early period of Pagan, to the extent that the Burmese adopted and still use the Mon script. Mon buildings were characterised by narrow blocked windows and a certain functional squatness. The materials used were brick, with a true arch, which was covered with stucco into which were sometimes inserted green glazed terracotta plaques. The inside of the buildings was nearly always covered in paintings applied to a dry surface and so not correctly frescoes. The buildings essentially form two different types. The first is the solid stupa, often raised on receding terraces, and the second a...",
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        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/hq382988q",
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    {
        "id": 207807,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1976",
        "page_number": 195,
        "title": "RAS-1976",
        "content_text": "180\n\nMICHAEL SMITHIES\n\ndevelopment from this, a temple built around a solid core. A narrow passage runs around the central core in which is set a niche containing the principal Buddha statue. The hollow temple, with immensely thick walls to support the weight of the vaulted roof, was in its early stages a core with the passage around and an antechamber or nave in front, usually on the eastern side. The stupa rising above the core could be of any shape, the Singhalese bell form or the stepped figured squares topped with a pinnacle, a form inspired by Pala architecture from India (particularly from one of the sacred Buddhist shrines at Bodh Gaya where the transformation of the Buddha took place). A development from this simple shrine is the Greek cross plan exemplified by the magnificent Ananda temple built by Kyanzittha, Anawrahta's son, in 1091. This still has the solid core but a double gallery around and antechambers on the axes of all four sides. A further development of this was where the whole temple was raised a level and the central core shifted slightly to contain and enfold the main Buddha facing east; the Thatbinnyu and Sulamani temples are good examples of this later style.\n\nOf the early buildings the Ananda is undoubtedly the most impressive, and the recent (mid-1975) earthquake, far from apparently damaging the building, has removed in parts the plaster and whitewash and shown the arching to be of bricks of alternating light and dark colours. The four main statues in the teaching posture have with overgilding lost their interest, but they impress by their size and the illumination from the hidden upper windows which show the Mon craftsmen as highly skilled technicians. The numerous glazed terracotta plaques ornamenting the base of the temple tell different Jataka tales (the lives of the hundreds of Buddhas before the Gautama Buddha and often taking the form of morality fables) and the small stone sculptures set in the internal walls tell the story of the life of the Gautama Buddha himself.\n\nThe terracotta plaques (the great invention of Pagan, as the distinguished archaeologist Bernard Groslier indicated in a lecture to the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society at Pagan) can be seen at their best at the very late (1284) Mingalazedi temple, a little damaged by the earthquake, and the two Petleiks of the 11th century, where the exceptional series is preserved almost in entirety.\n\nThe early temples near Myinkaba are remarkable for their excellent preservation and for the quality of their decoration. One\n\nPage 195\n\nPage 196",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1976.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/hq382988q",
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    },
    {
        "id": 207808,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1976",
        "page_number": 196,
        "title": "RAS-1976",
        "content_text": "The Ancient Mon-Pagan, Peru & NAKORN PATHOM 181\n\nof the earliest is also one of the most unusual; the Nanpaya has beneath the spire four square pillars of stone each of which on two sides has a figure of Brahma holding lotus flowers in both hands. This is reputed to have been the residence of the captive Mon king Manuha, but this seems unlikely; it could have been his particular temple. The figure of Brahma in what was almost certainly a Buddhist temple is not impossible to explain away; the Brahma carvings face towards the central square pedestal which, originally, would have had a statue of the Buddha, possibly one looking in four directions; Brahma, a representative of Hinduism would be looking towards, and lower than, the Buddha. The temple is exceptionally faced with stone throughout, and the quality of the window pediments very fine.\n\nThe Abeyadana temple, not far away, is attributed to King Kyanzittha but an inscription determines his chief queen as the founder. It has a prominent harmika or bulge on the spire above the central core and a large seated brick Buddha in a recess in the core to the north (the whole temple is oriented to the north). The temple's great importance is in the quality of the paintings it still possesses, with Hindu gods and deities of Mahayanist Buddhism round the core and some excellent Jataka scenes with Mon inscriptions in the walls of the front projecting nave.\n\nAlmost opposite this temple is the Nagayon. It has good proportion and a very dark corridor pierced with five windows running round the central core. The quality of the paintings illustrating Jataka tales with Mon and Pali inscriptions is good.\n\nThe two Seinnyet temples are a little further south; the Ama is a square temple with four main porches, and the Nyima a solid stupa on three terraces. Lastly in this group is the Lawkanada stupa, built in 1059 by Anawratha beside the Irrawaddi, over which a magnificent view is obtained at sunset.\n\nOf the temples in the central area, nothing remains of the bulbous Bupaya stupa which fell into the river in pieces in the earthquake. The Gawdawpalin of the later period suffered severely and its tall finial is no more. In style, however, it resembles the Thatbinnyu which was built in the middle of the twelfth century. Only the eastern porch projects from the main plan, and the first floor where the main Buddha is located is reached by two narrow passage stairways built into the walls. The effect is of considerably greater height than the earlier buildings. As it is still in use it is",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1976.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/hq382988q",
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    },
    {
        "id": 207809,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1976",
        "page_number": 197,
        "title": "RAS-1976",
        "content_text": "182\n\nMICHAEL SMITHIES\n\nwhitewashed, and any paintings there might have been are obliterated. The views from the upper floor, particularly over the river and the plain at sunset, are of remarkable beauty and peace. The Manabodhi is a late temple modelled on the Pala decorated spire. The Shwesandaw pagoda outside the old city walls is a solid stupa raised on five terraces and was the first built after the conquest of Thaton and nearby is the Shinbinthalyaung or sleeping Buddha of the 11th century; like most such images, being horizontal rather than vertical, it fails to impress and is too narrowly confined within its building.\n\nIn the village of Nyang-U is to be found the much-revered Shwezigon pagoda, which is believed to contain a bone and a tooth of the Buddha. It was started by Anawratha and completed by Kyanzittha. The gilded cone of the stupa cannot be seen at present as it is sheathed in a decorative and complex framework of bamboo scaffolding in order that repairs to earthquake damage can be carried out. The only noticeable damage was to the hti or gilded and jewelled ornamental umbrella at the top, which as Groslier pointed out were 18th and 19th century additions to temples of no archeological and little artistic consequence. However, the Shwezi-gon hti is currently displayed in a building on the ground floor and one can see the precious stones close to. Of more consequence is the magnificent Kubyaukki near Wetkyiin village. This is fairly late, dating from the early 13th century and relatively small, with a stupa in the Bodh Gaya form. Its importance lies in the very good state of preservation of the wall paintings, neatly lined up in rows and illustrating the Jataka tales with a Burmese inscription beneath each scene. The colours are still in very good condition. Unfortunately most of the paintings on the lower half of the nave were removed to Germany by Thomann at the end of the nineteenth century, but what remains in place is extremely fine.\n\nHtilomino, built in 1211, is a double-storeyed building like the Thatbinnyu. There is some excellent stucco decoration still on the building, particularly on the frieze below the cornice, the ornamental corner pilasters and the pediments of the arches. There are four Buddhas on the ground floor as well as the floor above. Like all the other temples, this was once painted, but little remains except some decoration on the vaulting. Sulamani and Dhammayangyi are located near to each other and are superficially similar, the former dating from 1183 and the latter from the middle of the 12th",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1976.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/hq382988q",
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    },
    {
        "id": 207810,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1976",
        "page_number": 198,
        "title": "RAS-1976",
        "content_text": "The Ancient Mon--Pagan, Peru & NAKORN PATHOM\n\n183\n\ncentury. The main vestibule of Sulamani faces east and the upper storey is reached by two stairways built into the walls; it is almost the same height as the ground floor. Sulamani used to have good paintings but these have been lost and newer ones dating from the 19th century cover the old ones. The Dhammayangyi is a single-storey building rising in stepped levels and closely resembles the Ananda in structure. The quality of the brickwork is excellent.\n\nLastly, of the many temples to be visited in Pagan, there are two not strictly speaking temples. The Pitakat Taik was built as a library by Anawratha in 1058 to house the Buddhist scriptures he took from the sack of Thaton. It is a modest square building with small Mon windows, but the roof, rather elaborate, already bears the traces of baroque flamboyance of later Burmese styles; it was repaired in 1783 by King Bodawpaya and is currently being repaired again. The Upalithein is a long, low ordination hall of the 13th century with a battlemented roof. Inside are paintings of the 17th or 18th century which are bright and arresting, though without the interest and minute detail of the early paintings to be seen elsewhere in Pagan. Only the two temples near Minnanthu are omitted from this list of the major temples in Pagan; these are Nandamannya, which is a small vaulted chamber with one entrance and paintings of a Mahayanist Tantric nature from the middle of the 13th century, and the triple form of the Payathonzu temple, late 13th century, with paintings of a similar character in the corridors and vaults linking the three main cores. The two are difficult to reach without sturdy transport.\n\nIf this catalogue of temples gives the impression that there is nothing else to see in Pagan, it would be false. There is a cottage lacquer industry, another weaving traditional shoulder bags, and making cheroots; one can take boat trips on the Irrawaddy at sunset and make journeys by pony and trap and see the colourful display of fruit and vegetables in the village's markets. But the setting of these scenes of daily life is subservient to the temples, and the arid landscape, for Pagan is the centre of the dry zone of Burma, in which they are placed, is balanced in some measure by the majesty of the river flowing through. One is left with the impression of scrub, sandy tracks, and marvellous brown brick temples arising on all sides as far as the eye can see.\n\nIn Mandalay, to the north, where the evening cool in winter is even more striking than in Pagan, the two most impressive temples",
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    },
    {
        "id": 207813,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1976",
        "page_number": 201,
        "title": "RAS-1976",
        "content_text": "186\n\nMICHAEL SMITHIES\n\nWith Pegu one is back to the culture of the early inhabitants of Burma, the Mons. Their original centre was around Thaton, further east than Pegu and this was certainly in existence by the 5th century AD. It was a Mon monk who had converted the Burmese King Anawrahta in the middle of the 11th century to Buddhism, and the king had requested certain relics and texts from king Manuha, who had refused. The result of the refusal was the destruction of the Mon kingdom but its cultural preeminence was recognised in the religion, architecture and art of early Pagan. After the fall of Pagan the Mons reestablished their kingdom, first at Mataram, and then, from 1369 at Pegu (Hanthawaddy or Hamsavati). They were temporarily ruled by the Burmese from 1539-1550 and again from 1551-1740; but Mon independence was due to be short-lived and the last king Binnya Dala was killed in 1747 by Alaungpaya and the Mons, like the Chams in Vietnam, then became a people without a country, though they still exist in large numbers in lower Burma near Moulmein and also in scattered villages in central Thailand.\n\nPegu is a day trip out of Rangoon, but as much as the present capital now reflects the condition of contemporary Burma, so Pegu is lost in its past. Its most famous sight is the Shwemawdaw pagoda, centred round a stupa with a broad stepped octagonal base and which is still taller than the Shwedagon in Rangoon. It is in many ways the palladium of Mon culture. Its foundation date is not known, but it was already raised in height by the Mon king Thamala in 825. In the twentieth century it suffered three severe earthquakes, and the present spire effectively dates from 1954 when restoration was completed. A number of ancient Buddha images was found when much of the stupa collapsed in the 1930 earthquake. Not very far from the Shwemawdaw is the spot where the two Hamsa birds alighted, one on the other's back, on a shallow spot in what was then the sea. The Hamsa is the symbol of the Mons and is also of course the mount of Brahma. This site is the Hinthagone, which now boasts a rather horrible modern shrine with vulgar paintings of hamsas but with a good view towards the Shwemawdaw. Hardly less vulgar is the reclining Buddha, the Shwethalyaung, reputed to be largest such image and certainly one of the ugliest. It was originally built in 994 but fell into disrepair and was restored in the 15th century. It was neglected again and became overgrown, to be rediscovered by a railway engineer at the",
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