Texts and Illustrations from China's Ethnic Minorities
Narrative Verses of Sariputta from the Abhidhamma-pitaka
Palm-leaf manuscript. Transcribed in Qing Dynasty and inscribed in the 19th century. Collected from the Dai tribe in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province. Transliterated in Pali and Dai Lü. Chinese pothi binding.
The palm-leaf manuscript was one of the Dhatukatha inscribed in Dai Lü on the leaves of Corypha, ca. 19th century. Before inscribing sutra on the paper, the Dai people used to engrave the scripts on the leaves of Corypha and it was known as the "palm-leaf manuscripts". The binding of the palm-leaf manuscripts is known as "Chinese pothi binding", which descended from the binding style of the ancient Indian Buddhism classics and had influenced greatly on the development of the ancient binding styles in China.
