Tibetan cultural relics in Forbidden City prove Tibet part of China

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Source: CCTV.com | 04-17-2008 12:00

The Forbidden City was the imperial palace during the Ming and Qing dynasties and has always enjoyed close links with Tibet.

This is a Buddha statue made in the 13th or 14th century in the Yuan Dynasty.

Tens of thousands of pieces of Tibetan cultural relics are preserved in the Forbidden City, proving that Tibet has always been an inalienable part of Chinese territory.

The Forbidden City is now the Palace Museum, China's largest museum. And Tibetan cultural relics are among its most valuable items a large number of which are golden or copper Buddha statues.

The most meaningful part of the statue is this yellow silk label.If you open the folded label, you can see the statue was given by the then Dalai Lama to Emperor Qianlong in the 55th year of his reign as a form of tribute.

Wang Jiapeng, research fellow of Palace Museum, said, "This is a Buddha statue made in the 13th or 14th century in the Yuan Dynasty. The craftsmanship is so delicate. It's made of copper and precious stones are embedded on it. The most meaningful part of the statue is this yellow silk label. The name of the Buddha is written in both Manchurian and Chinese on it. And if you open the folded label, you can see the statue was given by the then Dalai Lama to Emperor Qianlong in the 55th year of his reign as a form of tribute."