NW China prefecture collects over 3,000 ancient Tibetan medicine books

A prefecture in northwest China's Gansu Province has collected more than 3,000 Tibetan medicine books over the past three decades.

The health department of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture started to collect the books in the 1980s. Records from the Labrang Monastery, pastoral areas in the prefecture and from a scripture printing lamasery in Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in neighboring Sichuan Province have also been collected, said Yang Hongquan, president of the provincial Tibetan medicine research institute.

"Some of the books are over 1,000 years old, including basic theories on Tibetan medicine, methods to identify the herbs, prescriptions and Tibetan medicine masters' works," said Yang. Some of these books have been published, Yang said.

Tibetan medicine, known as Sowa Rigpa in the Tibetan language, is at least 2,300 years old. It has absorbed the influences of traditional Chinese, Indian and Arab medicine and is mainly in practice in Tibet and the Himalayan region.

Tibetan medicine has been practiced in Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture for more than 1,000 years. Gannan Tibetan medicine, an important part of China's Tibetan medicine, was included as part of the national intangible cultural heritage in 2007.