The Architecture of the Medical College on Chakpori, Lhasa

Fig. 24:
The ruin of the Medical College on Chakpori

Photo from north-east
Photograph by Heinrich Harrer
1982

A very important photo, which can reveal several secrets by a closer study. The texture of the walls, the character of the stones and type of building technique, can be made out. A peculiarity like the “miscolouring” of the wall around the small window in the north façade is seen. This could mean that this part of the wall is older than the rest and then possibly from the time of Thangtong Gyalpo. Other features will be visible on a better print of the photo. The corner of the access ramp in the lower left of the photo is one of the two remaining fractions of walls still standing. The wall in the lower right of the photo is the other fragment. A close look reveals a faint vertical line on that wall, which seems to be where the ramp meets the entrance-/kitchen building. The ramp has gone but the rest of the wall is still there (in 2015). One therefore has two corners of this building and can make an exact measurement on the spot.

From the book: Theresia Hofer, Bodies in Balance: The Art of Tibetan Medicine, ed. Theresia Hofer et al. (New York: Rubin Museum of Art, 2014), 260.