U Pho Thi Library
History
The library was the brainchild of Burmese literature professor Kyaw Tun, and was funded and established by merchant U Pho Thi in 1923, along with the Suvaṇṇabhūmi Pariyatti Sāsanahita Trust.
In February 2013, the Pali Text Society, Sendai University, and the University of Toronto, along with local partners, began an ongoing initiative to digitise and catalogue Myanmar's palm-leaf manuscripts, including collections from this library, and Bagaya Monastery in Inwa. The digitised manuscripts are now available at the open-access Myanmar Manuscript Digital Library.
In 2019, the Pali Text Society published the Catalogue of Manuscripts in the U Pho Thi Library.
Collection
The manuscripts date from the mid-16th century to the 1920s. Extremely rare manuscripts held by the library include Saddanītiṭīkā by Paññāsāmi, an advisor to King Mindon Min, Mukhamattasāra, Commentary on the Nāmacāradīpaka, by Chapaṭa Saddhammajotipāla from the Inwa era.
References
- ^ Ruiz-Falqués, Aleix (2022-05-06). "Pruitt, William / Ousaka, Yumi / Kasamatsu, Sunao: The Catalogue of Manuscripts in the U Pho Thi Library, Thaton, Myanmar. Bristol: The Pali Text Society 2019. XVI, 412 S. 8°. Hardbd. ISBN 978-0-86013-081-9". Orientalistische Literaturzeitung. 117 (1): 70–72. doi:10.1515/olzg-2022-0026. ISSN 2196-6877.
- ^ "Archives". Myanmar Manuscript Digital Library. Retrieved 2023-03-25.
- ^ Scott, Tony (2020-04-06). "New Open Access Database of Myanmar Manuscripts and Textual Artefacts at U of T". Asian Institute | Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
- ^ "The Project to Digitize". Myanmar Manuscript Digital Library. Retrieved 2023-03-25.
- ^ "U of T's Myanmar Digital Library of rare manuscripts and artefacts opens access to scholars worldwide". Faculty of Arts & Science. 2020-04-27. Retrieved 2023-03-25.