72 
E. H. Walsh— Tibetan Language Sf Recent Dictionaries. [No. 2, 
Thonmi Sambhota, the minister of king Srongtsan Gampo, returned to 
Tibet after studying the Sanskrit language at Magadlia, and introduced 
the art of writing, in the early part of the seventh century. It must 
always be borne in mind that the original object of introducing the 
art of writing into Tibet was to propagate the Buddhist religion 
which had been officially adopted by that country, by the transla¬ 
tion into Tibetan of the Buddhist writings which existed in India in 
Sanskrit. 
Jaschke divides the period of literary activity into two parts, and we 
cannot do better than quote his reference to them in the Preface of his 
Dictionary. 
“ The first is the Period of Translations, which, however, might 
also be entitled the Classical Period, for the sanctity of the religious 
message conferred a corresponding reputation and tradition of excellence 
upon the form in which it was conveyed. This period begins in the 
first half of the seventh century when Thon-mi Sambhota, the minister 
of king Srongtsan Gampo, was sent to India to learn Sanskrit. His 
invention of the Tibetan alphabet gave a two-fold impulse : for several 
centuries the wisdom of India and the ingenuity of Tibet laboured in 
unison and with the greatest industry and enthusiasm at the work of 
translation. The tribute due to real genius must be awarded to these 
early pioneers of Tibetan Grammar. They had to grapple with the 
infinite wealth and refinement of Sanskrit, they had to save the in¬ 
dependence of their own tongue, while they strove to subject it to the 
rule of scientific principles; and it is most remarkable how they managed 
to produce translations at once literal and faithful to the spirit of the 
original. The first masters had made for their later disciples a com¬ 
paratively easy road, for the style and contexts of the writings with 
which the translators had to deal present very uniform features. When 
once typical patterns had been furnished it was possible for the literary 
manufacture to be extended by a sort of mechanical process.” “A 
considerable time elapsed before natives of Tibet began to indulge in 
compositions of their own. When they did so, the subject-matter chosen 
by them to operate upon, was either of a historical or of a legendary 
kind. In this second period the language shews much resemblance to 
the modern tongue, approaching most closely the present idiom of 
Central Tibet. We find a greater freedom in construction, a tendency 
to use abbreviated forms (thus the mere verbal root is often inflected in 
place of a complete infinitive) and a certain number of new grammatical 
combinations.” 
This second period commenced about the year 1025 A.D., and may 
be said to have continued down to the end of the seventeenth century. 
