On August 1-4, 2012 the 5th Beijing International Seminar on Tibetan Studies was held at the China Tibetology Research Center (TBRC), Beijing. TBRC organized the Seminar in cooperation with the Chinese Association of Protection and Development of Tibetan Culture, Beijing, and the Academy of Social Sciences of the Tibetan Autonomous Region, Lhasa. More than 260 academics from China (including TAR) and many other countries such as Russia, the USA, Germany, France, Japan, Italy, Hungary, etc., among them some preeminent scholars such as Prof Dr M. Goldstein, Prof Dr T. Grunfield, Prof Dr V. Uspensky, Prof Dr U. Roesler, Prof Dr G. Bethlenfalvy, etc. submitted their papers. Apart from plenary sessions there were nine panels - on History; Literature, Archeology and Arts; Study on Gedun Chophel; Religion; Sanskrit; Pramana; Contemporary Politics; Sustainable Development and Livelihood Security (Social and Economy); and Culture. All the speeches at the plenary sessions were supplied with interpretation into the other working languages - English, Chinese or Tibetan. The pamphlets with abstracts of all the papers and the official program in three languages were prepared for each participant. The full English version of the program is available as a *.PDF file. Four Russian participants submitted their papers at the Seminar, namely Prof Dr Vladimir L. Uspensky, St Petersburg State University (Panel on History, Important Facts About the Relations Between the Kangxi Emperor and the First rJe-btsun dam-pa Khutugtu (1635-1723) of Khalkha Mongolia), Prof Dr Anna D. Tsendina, the Russian State University for Humanities (Panel on Culture, Legends about Taranatha in Mongolia), Dr Alexander V. Zorin, the IOM RAS (Panel on Religion, The Hymn to Mahakala by Dpal rga lo from an Ancient Tibetan Scroll Kept at the IOM RAS), and Mariia A. Soloshcheva, St Petersburg State University (Panel on Religion, On the Position of the Nyingma School in Religious and Secular Life of Tibet from 1642 to 1735). The abstract of Dr Zorin's paper is available as a *.PDF file. A visit to the newly opened Museum of Tibet, near CTRC, whose exhibition copies that of the analogous museum in Lhasa was organized for all the participants of the seminar and a trip to the city of Chengde, Hebei Province, was organized for some of them who expressed their wish to join it. This city is famous for the summer residence of the Qing Dynasty Emperors where many important figures of Tibetan Buddhism stayed during the 18th to 19th century and where replicas of some famous Tibetan sacred edifices were erected. PHOTOS The inauguration of the Seminar - the Director of CTRC, Mr Lhagpa Phuntsok delivers his speech At a plenary session - Prof Dr M.Goldstein delivers his speech During the work of Panel on Religion - the discussion of one of the papers During the work of Panel on Religion - Dr A. Zorin, IOM RAS, submits his paper The Russian participants of the Seminar at the Jinshanling Great Wall - (left to right) Dr A. Zorin, M. Soloshcheva, Prof Dr V. Uspensky, Prof Dr A. Tsendina The replica of the Potala Palace in Chengde A Buddhist Service at one of the Tibetan-styled temples in Chengde Texts and photos by A. Zorin |