<P align=center><EM><BR>Legendary Genghis Khan </EM></P>
<P><SPAN lang=EN-US>Xinhua, August 17, 2006<BR></SPAN><SPAN lang=EN-US><BR>Hohhot, China -- Chinese heritage survey workers have discovered a rare Thangka portrait of legendary Mongol leader Genghis Khan in a temple in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, said a local cultural heritage official on Thursday. </SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US>The painting was drawn by a late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) Mongolian artist, probably in the nineteenth century, said Wang Dafang, an official with the Cultural Heritage Bureau of Inner Mongolia.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US>The portrait is painted on a piece of cloth <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:chmetcnv w:st="on" UnitName="cm" SourceValue="28.5" HasSpace="True" Negative="False" NumberType="1" TCSC="0">28.5 cm</st1:chmetcnv> long and <st1:chmetcnv w:st="on" UnitName="cm" SourceValue="21" HasSpace="False" Negative="False" NumberType="1" TCSC="0">21cm</st1:chmetcnv> wide. </SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US>Thangka is a Tibetan art form that dates back 1,000 years and which mainly depicts images from Tibetan Buddhism, according to Wang. </SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US>It was discovered in <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Wudangzhao</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Temple</st1:PlaceType>, in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Baotou</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">City</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>, a Tibetan Buddhist temple that was restored in 1749. </SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US>The painting shows Genghis Khan in martial attire, riding a white horse and holding a banner in his right hand, with a bow and a quiver of arrows on his back, according to Wang. </SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US>"It is rare to have a Thangka painting of Genghis Khan, though there are different portraits of this emperor in history," said Wang. </SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US>The painting indicates that Tibetan Buddhists also regarded Genghis Khan as a hero, said Wang. </SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US>Genghis Khan, whose grandson Kublai Khan founded the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), unified Mongol tribes and conquered most of <st1:place w:st="on">Eurasia</st1:place>. He was later given the title "Genghis Khan", which means "universal ruler".</SPAN></P>
|
