Illuminations Page

The Kangxi Kangyur also known as the Tibetan Dragon Canon (Longzangjing), comprises 108 volumes of richly illuminated manuscripts. It was made when the Grand Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang (1613–1688) asked the Emperor Kangxi (1654–1722), her grandson, to commission a transcription of the Kangxi Kangyur in gold ink. The project took two years to complete, and was finished in 1669.

Each volume has two covers. The front cover has two paintings with gold Tibetan Uchen script in between, which reads: "namo buddhaya namo dharmaya namo sanghaya/ dkon chog gsum la phyag 'tshal lo" (Homage to the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. [I] prostrate to the Three Jewels.) The back cover has five paintings side by side. Each of the 108 volumes is therefore decorated with seven paintings so there are a total of 756 paintings. Each of these paintings is surrounded by a three-dimensional body halo and lotus base made of gold inlaid with precious stones.

The series of front covers and the series of back covers can be considered two separate programs in terms of iconography, i.e Front #1 to Front #108 and Back #1 to Back #108. This separation is because the deities depicted in Front#1, for example, are not related to Back #1. Rather, deities in Front#1 are part of a series that continues with Front #2.

To complicate this, because the paintings are so numerous the "Front Cover" program and the "Back Cover" program consist of many sets of deities from different texts and traditions. There are also a few volumes where the Front and Back covers are both copied so multiple volumes depict the same deities.

Nick Dharmadi 8-2026

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