Over 500 Bon religious scriptures found in China's Longnan

Over 500 handwritten Bon religious scriptures in the old Tibetan language were recently discovered by a research group cataloging ancient Tibetan books in a Tibetan-inhabited area in Longnan, Gansu province, according to Gansu Daily.

After a few books of the Bon religion had been found in Dunhuang in the early 20th century, this is the first time that so many well-protected Bon religious scriptures with such a long history were discovered in Gansu. This is an extremely rare and significant discovery.

The scriptures were written in abbreviated old Tibetan language. The characters are as clear as they were written yesterday, the illustrations are still colorful and the pages are elegant with classic simplicity.

Based on the writing style, choices of words, paper materials and other aspects, these books are believed to have been written between the ninth and 11th century. Containing prayers that monks said when performing religious ceremonies and accounts of the life and customs of ancient Tibetans, these scriptures are rare and precious materials for studying the medieval Tibetan language, religious beliefs, medicine, astronomy and calligraphy.