[
    {
        "id": 207812,
        "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": 200,
        "title": "RAS-1976",
        "content_text": "The Ancient Mon-Pagan, Peru & Nakorn Pathom\n\n185\n\nfrom 1823 to 1837, Amarapura once more from 1837 to 1857, and Mandalay from 1857 to 1885. Of Ava, which had also been the capital under another dynasty from 1636-1752, little remains; it is more famous now for the mile-long Ava bridge across the Irrawaddi, though U Bien's wooden bridge across the often dry Taungthaman lake, made from the timbers of the Ava palace, is more charming and evocative. This leads to the Kyauktawgyi pagoda of 1847, the principal interest of which is in the wall paintings similar to those in Siam of the same period. The Patotawgyi pagoda is not without interest, although it is essentially a stupa of later foundation (1820). The sacred hill of Sagaing, across the river, boasts no temples of great beauty, though the ensemble of the view from the top over the many spires and pagodas is delightful. The Kaunghmudaw pagoda, to the north of the town, is however unusual. It was built in 1636 in the shape of a gigantic almost spheroid dome, said to resemble a queen's breast. The shape is in fact Singalese, though one of the traditional attributes of Indic feminine beauty is perfectly rounded breasts. The stupa is also said to contain a tooth of the Buddha, and attracts many pilgrims to perform the pradakshina, the walking round the monument three times in a clockwise direction to obtain merit. The passage of the devotees at night was illuminated by a large number of upright pillars into which were inserted coconut oil lamps.\n\nMinggun, an afternoon's boat trip upriver from Mandalay, is well worth the journey. Clearly, Bodawpaya intended to make it his capital and he had a temporary residence there until he died in 1819. The base of the great unfinished pagoda is a witness to his folie de grandeur; the massive brick structure is on a 450-foot square and rises to 162 feet. It was abandoned even before it was severely damaged in an earthquake in 1838. Seen in the setting sun, the building impresses by its golden glow against the dark green foliage around. It has nearby a massive bell, said to be the largest ringing bell in the world, 12 feet high. To the north is the Hsinbyune pagoda built in 1816. It represents the Hindu-Buddhist cosmography; Mount Meru is symbolised by the central core containing a vaulted chamber for the Buddha, rising above the seven seas, represented by seven circular terraces with wave-like lines on their retaining walls. One has a fine view of the ensemble of Mingin from the Irrawaddi which for its size is a surprisingly empty river.",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1976.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/hq382988q",
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    },
    {
        "id": 214249,
        "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-1998",
        "page_number": 107,
        "title": "RAS-1998",
        "content_text": "70\n\nthe primary one in China being as the Lord of the Underworld known as Yen-lo Wang. In later Brahmanist mythology he is one of the eight Lokapalas, the guardian of the south and judge of the dead. He was the son of the sun, with a twin sister Yamuna - regarded by some Hindus as the first human pair. An image of Yama is present in both the Pi-yun Ssu and the Ta Pei Ssu.\n\nIn northern China images of Yen-lo Wang have been noted in several old temples where he is portrayed as a benign elderly human, dressed in court robes and cap of dynastic China. In the Kuan Yin Hall of the Ta Pei Ssu in Peking his image depicts him thus, with his hands held palms together before his chest. He has no unique characteristics and is known simply as Yen Mo Lo. He is referred to by the temple staff as Yama and appears to have no other title and is looked upon by the monks as the Lord of the Underworld. In the Pi-yun Ssu he is a general wearing armour under his colourful robes and has an axe clutched in his right hand. His left hand is held across his body pointing with two of his fingers. He has dark skin, round eyes, a short black beard and moustache and a scarf swirling behind his head hanging down in front of his body.\n\nThere is also Yen-mo Hu-fa, a Lama Buddhist [Tantric] deity, whose image stands in the Lama Temple in Peking. It is typical Tibeto-Mongol iconography, swathed in silken robes obscuring the body leaving only the fierce head and the raised right arm visible. The head, which looks somewhat like a blue pig with gold eyebrows and red mouth, has a row of skulls across the top of the head mounted on a coronet, with a fiery nimbus behind that. He is holding in the air in his right hand a short rod [a heavenly cane] with a miniature white skull mounted on the top. Without the silken robe the deity is revealed standing on a blue horse or mule which, in turn, is prostrate on a naked human. The deity has another small blue-skinned demonic figure standing before him, facing him and holding its hands up towards the deity in supplication.\n\n14] Sagara known in Chinese as P'o-chie Lung-wang and P'o-chie-lo\n\nSagara is the Naga King of the Ocean Palace north of Mount Meru,",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1998.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794",
        "rank": 0
    },
    {
        "id": 214255,
        "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-1998",
        "page_number": 113,
        "title": "RAS-1998",
        "content_text": "76\n\nfact that he is listed in Soothill as one of the Twenty Deva. His image is to be seen in both the Ta Pei Ssu and the Pi-yun Ssu. In both temples he is depicted as a ferocious guardian general with a wide gaping mouth, large round eyes and a highly decorated Buddhist crown. He holds the standard weapon, the vajra, the diamond sword, resting in his left hand and against his left shoulder, and has the swirling scarf behind his head. He is stripped to the waist, has bare legs beneath a highly colourful decorated skirt, and sandals. A mural in the Sakyamuni Pagoda in Ying county in Shansi province depicts Guhyapati in much the same form.\n\nThe Chin-kang as a group are minor deities, guardians belonging to the class of Lokapalas borrowed by Buddhism from Brahmanism. The standard four Chin-kang, the Diamond Kings, are each the ruler of the four continents surrounding Mount Sumeru and though Guhyapati Raja is a Chin-kang he is not one of the usual four. The standard four are the Ssu Ta T'ien-wang [see 23-26 below].\n\n23-26] Ssu Ta T'ien-wang XX The Four Great Celestial Kings\n\nThe Four Deva Kings, known also as the Four Diamond Kings, Ssu Ta Chin-kang X, are the four guardians whose images stand, usually portrayed much larger than life-size, just inside temple entrance doorways, in pairs, two to either side.\n\nWerner points out that these are not gods but guardians, Buddhist protectors who should be thought of as minor divinities. Chinese Buddhists adopted four Hindu Brahmin deities from Indian Buddhism, the Lokapala, the guardians of the four sides of the fabulous Mount Meru [the Guardians of the Four Corners of the World] who, in turn, were later adopted by the Taoists from the Chinese Buddhists. The Four were probably first introduced into China during the T'ang dynasty [6th and 7th centuries AD] and still today are regarded as the grim-faced temple guardian generals, enormous statues in T’ang armour, tamed demons who were redeemed and who now symbolise the seasons and control the elements of fire, water, earth and air. Although the majority of images of the Four stand up to and even over fifteen feet high they can also be as tiny as eighteen inches high. They used to be deities in their own right and offered worship, reverence and offerings. Nowadays however although most devotees solemnly place one smoulder-",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1998.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794",
        "rank": 0
    }
]