Library of Congress: Selections from the Naxi Manuscript Collection Now Online

[Laura Gottesman]

Selections from the Naxi Manuscript Collection, a presentation of unique items from the Library of Congress's Asian Division, is now available on the Library's Global Gateway Web site at:  http://international.loc.gov/intldl/naxihtml/naxihome.html

Selections from the Naxi Manuscript Collection features ceremonial writings of the Naxi people of China's Yunnan Province. The Library of Congress's Naxi collection is the largest outside of China, and is considered one of the finest in the world. The Naxi use a unique pictographic writing system that is similar to the ancient Egyptian and Mayan writing systems. It is the only living pictographic language in the world today. This online presentation features 185 manuscripts, a 39½ -foot funerary scroll and an annotated catalog of the entire collection. 

The Naxi are one of fifty-six ethnic national minorities in China. Located in the remote mountain valleys of the Yunnan province in southwest China near the Tibetan and Burmese borders, the Naxi Kingdom flourished from the eighth century until 1724, when it came under direct Chinese rule. Today the Naxi population is estimated at 295,000.

The manuscripts included in this online presentation are a small sample of the 3342 total items housed in the Library of Congress's Asian Division. This is the first time that a large collection of Naxi manuscripts has been cataloged, selectively digitized, and published on the Web. The Web site also includes a special presentation of essays detailing the acquisition and development of this manuscript collection. Selections from the Naxi Manuscript Collection  should help to increase the understanding of this unique piece of human heritage. 

The Library of Congress's Global Gateway Web site of international collections and links to international Web sites is available at http://international.loc.gov/. Selections from the Naxi Manuscript Collection may be found under the heading "Individual Digital Collections." Please direct any questions regarding this collection to the Global Gateway inquiry form at: http://www.loc.gov/help/contact-international.html.