cases, symbolically associated with the 108 afflictions
About the Kangyur
A sacred text
written in gold
The Kangxi Kangyur is a monumental Tibetan manuscript collection commissioned during the Kangxi reign and produced between 1667 and 1669.
01 - Overview
A treasury of the Buddhist teaching
Kangyur means "the translated words of the Buddha." It is the Tibetan collection of sutra and vinaya teachings attributed to Shakyamuni Buddha. This manuscript contains 1,057 scriptures ordered across 108 cases.
Now preserved by the National Palace Museum, the Kangxi manuscript is the earliest surviving government-sponsored Tibetan Kangyur and one of the most elaborate works of book production associated with the Qing court.
02 - Origins
An imperial act of devotion
After a Kangyur in 108 cases was found in the imperial repositories, Grand Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang directed that it be recopied in gold. More than 170 monks began the work in 1667.
The project joined religious devotion with a wider Qing cultural strategy. Museum research places it within the court's relationships with Manchu, Mongolian, and Tibetan communities, as well as its wish for stability and flourishing imperial virtue.
The manuscript was completed in the third lunar month of 1669. Later that year, the Kangxi Emperor composed a preface in Manchu and Tibetan, placed at the beginning of the first case.
03 - The manuscript
One complete artistic ensemble
Paper, gold, painting, embroidery, woodwork, and ritual textiles were brought together through the labor of monks, court workshops, and imperial silk manufactories.
scriptures in the Tibetan Kangyur
indigo sutra folios, written on both sides
year the gold transcription was completed
Gold script
Regular Tibetan script was written in gold ink across the front and back of every leaf.
Indigo folios
Each 87.5 by 33 cm folio carries eight lines of Uchen script on both sides, framed with gold foliage.
Protective boards
Painted inner boards and carved red outer boards protect each case above and below.
Textiles and cords
Four layers of wrapping cloth, protective curtains, and a five-colored strap enclose each carefully ordered case.
04 - Significance
Devotion, art,
and scholarship
Within the Qing court, the manuscript was not simply a text but a sacred ritual object: wrapped, protected, consecrated, and venerated. For historians, its contents, materials, and archival record illuminate the movement of Buddhist texts and artistic practices across cultures.
Its binding alone comprises ten protective components. In 2011, museum researchers discovered a hidden seven-dragon brocade layer inside one yellow satin wrapper - material evidence of the exceptional resources devoted to the project.
Explore the Collection05 - Research
Continue with the
museum record
The historical interpretation on this site has been reviewed against current English-language research from the National Palace Museum.