On October 18, 2023, the first International Academic Exchange Conference on the “Four Medical Classics” took place in Lhasa, marking the establishment of the Tibetan Medicine and Astronomy Digital Resource Center. This center has developed ten major databases, encompassing ancient Tibetan medical texts, research papers, and Tibetan medicinal materials.
Dr. Gongbao Dongzhu, deputy chief physician at the Tibetan Medical Institute’s Literature Research Institute and a core member of the center, shared that the digitalization of Tibetan medicine and astronomy has been underway since 2006. Over 30 researchers have devoted years to this initiative, collecting relevant ancient texts from various locations in Tibet, such as the Potala Palace and Norbulingka. They also traveled to Qinghai, Gansu, Yunnan, Sichuan, Inner Mongolia, and Liaoning, as well as internationally to Mongolia, the United States, and France, to systematically gather valuable Tibetan medicine and astronomy literature, which they have now digitized.
The newly established data center comprises a range of databases, including collections of Tibetan medical experts, literature on Tibetan medicine’s astronomical calculations, academic papers, formulas for Tibetan remedies, medicinal material sources, an image resource center for astronomical calculation experts, and databases for Tibetan medical institutions, astronomical calculations, a bilingual Tibetan calendar contrast, and a database for Tibetan Mantra imagery.
Dr. Gongbao further indicated that the center has amassed substantial data over the years, which includes more than 1,700 volumes of ancient Tibetan medical texts, 5.37 million entries in the Tibetan calendar, 87.76 million basic astronomical calculation data points, over 800 images of Mantra texts, and 9,708 formulas for Tibetan compound medicines.
Based on this data, two apps, “Silverba Calendar” and “Basic Tibetan Calendar Data,” were launched in June 2023, collectively garnering over 70,000 downloads, with approximately 45,000 of those from international markets across South Asia, North America, Europe, and East Asia.
This center features a bilingual digital information system in both Tibetan and Chinese, allowing for comprehensive resource retrieval, display, and output. It serves various fields, including literature research, clinical practice, scientific inquiry, industrial applications, and innovation development, thus providing extensive support for Tibetan medical services, education, research, and cultural endeavors.
