The report analyzes data from Tibetan medical sources, allowing the author to assert that the prototype of the set of medical illustrations in Tibet was based on previously existing atlases, as well as disparate tables of anatomical content that do not have a single format. The rich visual material created served as a visual aid to individual chapters, sections, fragments, or medical texts in general. The author traces the diverse and long history of creating medical atlases in Tibet, originating from the original scattered anatomical tables that served as visual aids for novices who studied at the medical faculties of Buddhist monasteries.

Keywords: medical atlases, Tibetan medicine, Tibetan anatomical tables

The tradition of creating medical atlases in Tibet has a long history. Initially, there were separate anatomical tables that served as visual aids for novices who studied at the medical faculties (sman ba grwa tshang) of Buddhist monasteries. Most often, anatomical tables were anonymous and compiled by the largest authorities belonging to various medical schools, geographically tied to a specific region. They were built on a single principle, their structure included: the structure of the human skeleton, the layout of organs, blood vessels with their detailed topography and points of bloodletting, moxibustion and acupuncture. Important components of the anatomical tables were images of surgical instruments, diagrams of the "tree of medicine" and medicinal raw materials of plant, animal and mineral origin.

Later, the tradition of completing special medical atlases became widespread in Tibet, and individual tables of anatomical content were included in their corpus. Atlases underwent a particularly intensive expansion due to the inclusion of anatomical drawings. Data from Tibetan medical sources allow us to state with full confidence that the prototype of the set of medical illustrations was based on previously existing atlases, as well as disparate tables of anatomical content that do not have a single format. The rich visual material created served as a visual aid to individual chapters, sections, fragments, or medical texts in general.

In a treatise on the history of Tibetan medical culture, Khogbug, written by Desi Sangye Gyatso in 1703, it is reported that at the beginning of the eighth century, a medical scholar named biji, his real name Tsam pa shi la ha, compiled a medical training atlas. Biji was a court physician during the reign of Tibet-

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mes ag tshoms (reigned 704-755). The atlas included twenty-six chapters and had the title" Magic Mirror " (ro bkra 'phrul gyi me long len nyer drug pa) [Desi Sangye Gyatso, 1982, pp. 153-154, 155].

When the Chud-shih as a source of true medical knowledge was recognized as the main guide to the theory and practice of Tibetan medicine, atlases appeared, specialized visual aids for better understanding and assimilation of complex issues outlined in this guide. "Khogbug" refers to the educational atlas of the luminary of medical science Yutogba the Younger (1112-1203), to whom the Tibetan medical tradition attributes the authorship of the four-volume compendium "Zhud-shi" in the creative revision in which it has reached modern researchers. Yutogba Jr. was a master of drawing and created illustrations for the section of Tibetan orthopedics (rus pa 'thud lugs kyi ri mo' bri gnang mdzad pa) [Desi Sangye Gyatso, 1982, pp. 153-154]. Here he reproduced parts of the musculoskeletal system (arms, legs, spine) with amazing accuracy, and also compiled an atlas entitled "Anatomical Atlas of Internal Organs" (byang khog gi rtsa bkra) [Bolsokhoeva, 1999, p.162].

In the" Historical Survey of Tibetan Medical Culture", a contemporary medical scholar and astrologer, graduate of the Institute of Tibetan Medicine and Astrology, Acharya Pasang Yenten, reports on the" Atlas of Medicines "for the fourth volume of the Zhud-shi (phyi'i rgyud sman sbyor dpe'i ris), compiled by Paldan Tsozhed (dpal Idan 'tsho byed, XIII c). [Pasang, 1986, p. 39]. He came from a family of hereditary Tibetan doctors, brang ti, and inherited the art of healing through the seventh-generation transmission of medical knowledge from Teacher to student.

Annual expeditions gave Paldan Tsozhedu an opportunity to deeply study the Tibetan flora and learn its features and properties. He was well aware of the distribution area, appearance and medicinal properties of medicinal plants and their use. Paldan Tsojed was one of the first in the chain of creators of Tibetan pharmacognosy as an independent branch of Tibetan medical culture. In the history of Tibetan medicine, this renowned doctor is considered to be an unsurpassed master in the field of drawing medicinal plants and their applied parts from nature. His knowledge of the technology of preparation of multicomponent Tibetan medicines, which forms the basis of medicinal science, is perhaps the most developed branch of Tibetan practical medicine, was high. Paldan Tsogjed was reputed to be the greatest expert in the anatomical branches of Tibetan medicine and a skilled practitioner of traditional Tibetan medicine.

He is the author of eighteen works on various issues of the Tibetan medical system. He created such authoritative treatises as a book on the history of medicine called "Clear Knowledge" (khog 'bugs shes bya rab gsal), "Clear Lamp of Anatomy" (byang khog gi thig 'grems gsal sgron). He created an author's commentary on the first volume of Zhud-shi called " The Clear Meaning of the Tantra of the Basics "(rtsa rgyud kyi 'grel lo rgyus don rab gsal), etc. [Pasang, 1986, p. 39-40]. Paldan Tsojed contributed to the development of original Tibetan medical commentary literature of various genres with his profound works; he is credited with writing treatises on Tibetan pharmacognosy and pharmacology, as well as with creating sets of medical illustrations in medieval Tibet. Paldan Tsojeda's monographic works make a significant contribution to the development of many sections of Tibetan medical culture. They provide an opportunity to appreciate the role of traditional Tibetan doctors from the Branti clan.

In the fourth volume of Vaidurya-onbo, author Desi Sangye Gyatso gives the names of medical atlases compiled by medical intellectuals of the northern (Zhang) medical school who belong to the Lhundin tradition (byang pa lhun ldings lugs). In particular, he calls the educational atlas of the luminary of medicine

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Lhundina Dudji Gyurme (lhun ldings bdud rtsi 'gyur med). He became famous as a fine connoisseur of Tibetan medicine, especially its anatomical sections, and an exquisite artist [Desi Sangye Gyatso, vol. 4, p. 224].

The Khogbug and the Historical Review of Tibetan Medical Culture report that Lhundin Dudji Gyurme was called lamen (bla sman), the personal doctor of the Zhongnangbin reborn Kun Nyingpo (kun dga 'snying po'i bla sman jo nang sprul ba'i sku) [Desi Sangye Gyatso, 1982, p. 382; Desi Sangye Gyatso, vol. 4, pp. 44, 104]. Probably, the authors of the treatises are referring to the largest representative of the Zhonanba school, an outstanding Tibetan historian, the author of the famous "History of Buddhism" Taranatha (1575-1634). Lhundin Dudji Gyurma is the author of the treatise " The source of all that is necessary for medical practice "(gso dpyad kyi lag len dgos 'dod kun' byung) [Pasang, 1986, p. 104].

In 1687-1688. Desi Sangye Gyatso invited the most competent specialists from all over Tibet to translate the text of the research commentary "Vaidurya-onbo" into the language of images. Taking advantage of the high status of the chief executive of Tibet, he issued a decree stating that the proto-original of anatomical tables should be based on the educational atlas to "Zhud-shi" compiled by Lhundin Dudji Gyurme [Desi Sangye Gyatso, vol.4, l. 2476]. It is quite obvious that the atlas illustrations reflected the appearance and development of the embryo, the drawings reproduced the skeleton, body parts, bones, muscle tissues, joints, topography of internal organs, as well as units of measurement of organs of the human body.

The atlas body contained drawings (bris cha = 'bris cha-letters, illustration, drawing) of the "tree of medicine", schematically illustrating the content of the fundamental medical treatise "Zhud-shi" and expressing the harmonious connection between the theory and practice of the Tibetan medical system. The" tree of Medicine "as one of the variants of the" world tree "(arbor mundi," cosmic tree") serves as a connecting component between the world of gods and people, past, present and future, and plays the role of the visual equivalent of the structure of Tibetan medicine.

Lhundin Dudji Gyurme is also credited with being a brilliant expert on the content, structure, and composition of the seminal medical treatise and participated in the preparation of the rtag brtan edition of the Zhud-shi. He did a titanic job of editing, unifying and codifying it [Pasang, 1986, p. 104]. This model edition was published in 1664, and later the Tagten version of "Zhud-shi" was repeatedly reprinted in many book prints, which is evidence of great authority and recognition. Later, it became widespread in the vast cultural space of the Mongolian world. It was from the Tagten version of "Zhud-shi" that translations into Old Mongolian were made, published in the printing houses of Buddhist monasteries in Mongolia and ethnic Buryatia. These translations served as structural elements of classical medical education in the Mongolian ethno-cultural region.

Lhundin Dudji Gyurme is depicted in the upper cartouche of the eighth table of the Lhasa Arch under N 89 in the pictorial row of followers of the northern medical school (byang lugs). It opens with a portrait of its historical founder, Byang pa chos rgyal rnam rgyal dag bsang (1395-1475), one of the first commentators on the seminal treatise on the theory and practice of Tibetan medical culture, "Zhud-shi" in the history of Tibetan medicine.

The visual material of Lhundin Dudji Gyurme's training atlas was supplemented with anatomical drawings by his talented son Lhundin Namgyal Dorje (lhun sdings rnam rgyal rdo rje). These additions are reduced to diagrams of the location of blood vessels with an indication of the exact topography of the blood vessels of the head, neck, limbs, tendons, bones, trunk, bloodletting points, moxibustion and acupuncture.

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The 79-color bris cha set of "Tibetan Medical Tanks" features two anatomical tables drawn by Lhundin Namgyal Dorje. The final version of the illustrations to the commentary "Vaidurya-onbo" is credited to the talented Tibetan scholar Geshe Chagpa Choyphel( chags pa chos ' phel), who was a follower and main disciple (slob ma'i gtso bo) of the Regent of Tibet (Desi Sangye Gyatso, 1982, p.386). It is safe to say that Lhundin Dudji Gyurme made a significant contribution not only to the study of anatomical sections in the tradition of the Zhang medical school, but also to the complete set of visual aids related to a number of sections of Tibetan medicine.

Lhundin Namgyal Dorje was distinguished by his great erudition, pedantry, amazing reading and deep knowledge of the theoretical and practical issues of Tibetan medicine, drawn both from written sources and from a rich oral tradition passed down from generation to generation. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of the science of healing, described in "Zhud-shi", "Vaidurya-onbo" and other medical treatises (Pasang, 1986, p. 104). It is no coincidence that it was under his guidance that Desi Sangye Gyatso learned various aspects of the Tibetan medical system, and from him he received a certain set of initiations necessary for practicing medicine. And in this context, we can speak of Lhundin Namgyal Dorje as the spiritual mentor of the chief executive of the Tibetan state.

In the monograph "Historical Review of Tibetan Medical Culture", Pasang Yenten writes that Lhundin Namgyal Dorje had an amazing gift for drawing. He drew skeletons, body parts, and internal organs with extraordinary ease, including hollow ones: the stomach, gall bladder, small and large intestines, bladder, and bsam se'u. In Tibetan medicine, this term refers to an internal organ that produces white germ fluid in men and red in women. Lhundin Namgyal Dorje also drew dense organs with great refinement: the heart, lungs, liver, spleen and kidneys, vascular lines and medicines of natural origin [Pasang, 1986, p. 104]. He used the visual material he created during his classes with the Tibetan Regent Desi Sangye Gyatso, explaining and commenting on the key points of the Tibetan medical system.

Figure 90 on the eighth table of the Lhasa Medical Illustration Kit depicts Lhundin Namgyal Dorje as a representative of the Northern (Zhang) medical school of medieval Tibet.

The laborious work of creating medical illustrations was carried out for almost 16 years under the ideological guidance of Desi Sangye Gyatso. He was the author of the concept of a multi-year large-scale project to create a complete set of color illustrations of medical content. The Vaidurya-onbo colophon states that the compilation of a visual guide to the treatise began in 1687 on the 26th day of the fourth month of the Tibetan lunar calendar, when the chief executive began writing his monumental commentary "Vaidurya-onbo".

Zhampa Prinley, in his monographic work Sungtsom, refers to Desi Sangye Gyatso's "Detailed List of the Tomb of the Fifth Dalai Lama" and reports a set of illustrations from fifty tables reflecting the content of Vaidurya-onbo. According to Jampa Prinlei, they were composed by Lhundin Namgyal Dorje, who at that time had no equal in all branches of medical science and in identifying plant raw materials. This extensive pictorial material included the "tree of medicine", the arrangement of organs on a modular grid, topographic lines on the body surface, vascular lines, and drawings of natural medicines used in the practice of Tibetan physicians as ingredients for composing multicomponent Tibetan medicines (Zhampa, 1996, p.424). It seems more than strange that the evidence of the existence of-

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research institutes for medical illustrations, consisting of 50 tables, are not found either in Tibetan literature or in special Tibetan literature. There is no doubt that these facts are very valuable for identifying the specific stages of the long process associated with the formation of medical illustrations in Tibet.

In 1688, the original version of the set of 60 large-format black-and-white tables appeared. Their contents with the names of the illustrated chapters of the treatise are given in the fourth volume of Vaidurya-onbo [Desi Sangye Gyatso, 1982, vol. 4, l. 2446]. The colophon says that when the treatise did not exist, there were illustrations of different formats. Currently, there are 60 tables of the same size, made by two Tibetan masters of great artistic talent. One of them is the graphic artist Norbu Gyatso from Lho brag nar bu rgya mtsho, and the other is the painter Lhas pa dge bsnyen (Desi Sangye Gyatso, 1982, vol. 4, p. 2476). Zhampa Tinley's work contains information that Norbu Gyatso from Lkhobrag drew the contours with ink (snag gzhon lho brag nor bu rgya mtsho), and Lhapa Genyen applied color (tshon byug lhas pa dge bsnyen) [Zhampa, 1996, p.424, 426].

Norbu Gyatso of Lhobrag illustrated the astrological work of Desi Sangye Gyatso, known in the specialized Tibetan literature as vaidurya dkar po. The author worked on the creation of his monographic research for two years, from 1683 to 1685. The illustrations, which are numerous tables, diagrams and drawings, are designed to calculate the movement of the Sun, Moon and various planets. There is no doubt that Norbu Gyatso of Lhobrag worked closely for a long time with the Chief Executive of Tibet, who treated him with reverence. He was probably not only a talented artist and graphic artist, but also a great scholar in medicine, astronomy, and astrology. Without a thorough knowledge of these subjects, proper reading and understanding of the complex contents of medical, astronomical and astrological treatises, he would not have been able to create masterpieces of artistic Tibetan art. These include the Atlas of Tibetan Medicine, which features a "dense translation" of the Vaidurya-onbo commentary into the language of images, and illustrations for the Vaidurya-karpo, a major work on astronomy and astrology.

After the completion of the first version of medical tanks from 60 tables, work on the formation of a complete set of codes continued. During the enthronement of the young Dalai Lama Tsanyang Gyatso (tshang dbyangs rgya mtsho, 1683-1706), held in 1697 (year of the Fiery Bull), the regent of Tibet presented him with a set of illustrations for the "Four Medical Tantras" ("Zhud-shi"), consisting of 62 tables (gso rig rgyud bji'i thang tshad drug cu re gnyis phyag tu phul ba) [Zhampa, 1996, p. 424]. The gift of Desi Sangye Gyatso can be regarded as a symbol of deep respect, reverence and devotion to the head of the Tibetan feudal-theocratic state.

Surprisingly, during the long period from 1688 to 1697, the compilers added only two tables to the original set. In the future, significant additions were made, illustrations related to the diagnosis of urine were drawn, as well as images of moxibustion points created on the basis of the treatise "Medical Art", [called] "King of the Moon" (sman dpyad zla ba'i rgyal po). Later and most important additions were made to original medicinal plants that were collected in various high-altitude, ecologically clean regions of Tibet and painted by professional artists from nature.

Data from Tibetan medical sources allow us to say that to compile a complete set of medical sheets from 79 color tables, rich visual material created over several centuries in the tradition of various medical schools was widely used. It reflected the level of development of medical knowledge in medieval Tibet and certain stages in illustrating a special (medical) text.

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Wang Lei, author of the introductory research article for the album "Tibetan Medical Tanks", notes that the northern (Zhang) medical school was distinguished by the art of portraying medical figures, while the southern (Sur) school became famous for its elegant images of herbal, animal and mineral medicines, which form the basis of medicinal studies of Tibetan medicine [Sorig, 1988, p. 6]. Despite the difference in styles and certain specializations, both schools made a significant contribution to the development of principles and methods for illustrating scientific medical texts [Sorig, 1988, p. 6].

The above material makes it possible to conclude that the formation of medical atlases in medieval Tibet lasted for almost ten centuries. Through the efforts of Tibetan physicians and highly professional artists, visual material was created, which was the prototype for creating a set of color medical illustrations that represent a consistent and detailed interpretation of all four volumes of the treatise "Vaidurya-onbo". After their final completion, the illustrations were used as visual aids for all sections of Tibetan medicine. This set was the final one in the chain of creating illustrations of medical content. The original Atlas of Tibetan Medicine served as an important source for subsequent copies. One of the beautifully executed copies, distinguished by its amazing beauty and elegant colors, is kept in the collections of the M. N. Khangalov Museum of History in Ulan-Ude, the second-in the Institute of Tibetan Medicine and Astrology in Lhasa.

list of literature

Bolsokhoeva N. D. Tibetan medical tanks from the collection of the Institute of Tibetan Medicine and Astrology in Lhasa (Problems of completing the arch and its structure) / / Culture of Central Asia: Written sources. Issue 3. Ulan-Ude, 1999.

Desi Sangye Gyatso. Vaidurya-onbo. Vol. 4. Agin edition, Russian paper of the Sumkin factory, the end of the XIX century. (English).

Desi Sangye Gyatso. Khogbug. Gansu, 1982 (in Russian).

Pasang Enten. Historical Review of Tibetan Medical Science [in Russian]. Leh, 1986 (in Russian).

Сориг (gSo rig) rGyud bzhi 'i sMan thang. Tibetan Medical Thangka of the Four Medical Tantras / Translator and compiler of the original edition Byams pa 'phrin las and Wan Lei. English translator and annotator Cai Jing Feng; Published by Tibet People's Publishing House, Lhasa. 1988.

Champa Prinley. Sungtsom (Collection of articles on Tibetan medicine and astrology). Lhasa. 1996.

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