Ancient documents from the Shilla Kingdom detailing a Buddhist monk’s travel to India will be put on exhibition in Korea later this year. Called “Wang Ocheonchukuk Jeon” (The Hye Cho’s Diary: Memoir of the Pilgrimage to the Five Regions of India), the manuscript is owned by the National Library of France.
It was discovered in 1908 by French sinologist Paul Pelliot in a cave in Dunhuang, China. French National Library President Bruno Racine said in an interview with the Chosun Ilbo on Tuesday the library decided to display the manuscript in the special exhibition “Silk Road and Dunhuang” (Dec. 17, 2010 to March, 2011) at the National Museum of Korea. Until now, only researchers were allowed to view the manuscript.
Racine, who is in Seoul for an international seminar marking the first anniversary of the digital library at the National Museum of Korea, discussed the exhibition of the manuscript with Korean officials. The museum will prepare a loan agreement with the French National Library.
The Silk Road exhibition will also feature around 200 artifacts related to the ancient trade route owned by a dozen Chinese museums.
The work was written in 727 A.D. by Buddhist monk Hyecho after traveling extensively through India, Central Asia and western China and is among the world’s greatest travelogues.
Source: english.chosun.com
