Ancient Mongolian documents being digitized as means of preserving the past

{mosimage}Modern technology is coming to the rescue of thousands of pages of historic Mongolian documents. Mongolia’s National Archives and the Gandan Tegchenling Monastery are being assisted by UNESCO in digitizing their collections to guarantee their being preserved as well as distributed to wider audiences.

Modern technology is coming to the rescue of thousands of pages of historic Mongolian documents.

Mongolia’s National Archives and the Gandan Tegchenling Monastery are being assisted by UNESCO in digitizing their collections to guarantee their being preserved as well as distributed to wider audiences.

The center of Mongolian Buddhists, the Gandan Tegchenling, contains a unique collection of scriptures by Mongolian and Tibetan scholars such as Je Zong Kha Pa and his two disciples, Khaidup Je and Gyaltsapa Je, the Dalai Lamas, the Panchen Lamas and Mongolian philosophers Agvanbaldan, Agvantuvden, Damtsagdorj and Zava Damdin, as well as others. The scriptures cover a wide range of disciplines such as philosophy, medicine, astrology, traditions of sutra and tantra, linguistics, history, and poetry. 

As many of these scriptures are the last known copies, the monks sought to save their priceless collection. As the young generation of lamas speaks good English and uses the internet, they agreed to creating an of e-library of digitized documents. UNESCO began holding training workshops on the preservation of documents in Ulaan-Baator in May 2006. 

UNESCO also assisted Mongolia’s National Archives in digitizing the technical plans of the palace museums of Erdenezuu, Megjid Janraisag, Amarbayasgalant and Bogda Khaan and their engineering and geological references. The biggest record, 231 x 87.07 cm, is now available in its original size. Valued by the historians and archaeologists, those collections total 1,545 documents which are now accessible through computers.

The UB Post