The medical theories are compelling. For example, the fifth tangka painting of "The Four Medical Tantras" illustrates how a human embryo grows through the phases of fish, tortoise and pig before becoming a human. This concept coincides with the Western idea of evolution and has fascinated the medical world for centuries, especially considering that Tibet has the highest number of elderly people above the age of 100 in China.

However little is known about the details of this ancient craft and access to information has been always a challenge.

 "The Four Medical Tantras" (Sibu Yidian)

The 10-million word Tibetan-Chinese-English explanation of the 80 tangka paintings (called mantang in Tibetan) in the Tibetan medical classic "The Four Medical Tantras" (Sibu Yidian) by the Ethnic Publishing House will reach the country's major bookstores when all 3,000 copies are printed on October 20.

Trinley, one of the leading Tibetan doctors in the country, said that its publication means great importance to the promotion and popularization of traditional Tibetan medicine, not only inside China, but also throughout the world. The book weighs 8 jin and 8 liang (4.4 kilograms).

First compiled in the 8th century by Yuthok Nyima Yonten Gonpo, "The Four Medical Tantras" was improved and explained in the following centuries. In the 1690s, Desi Sangye Gyatso, a high-ranking official under the Fifth Dalai Lama, created 79 tangka paintings to summarize and explain the classic work. The 80th and last tangka is about famous Tibetan doctors. Together they offer a key and gateway into the immense treasure trove of Tibetan medicine, a creation of the Tibetan people based on the local geological conditions while absorbing medical sciences from neighbouring cultures.

The new book offers the most comprehensive explanation, illustrating the tangkas in more than 5,000 photos, which are all based on the copies treasured at the Medical King Hill Public Benefit Medical School founded in 1769. The ancient Tibetan texts were difficult to understand for modern doctors and the previous copies were too simple to cover the extensive content of this classic work.

According to Gonpo Dargye, editor of the book with the publishing house, each painting's brief introduction is given in Tibetan, Chinese and English. But the detailed explanations are only in Tibetan. Dargye hopes to include Chinese and English details in the coming two years.

Tibetan Medicine in Modern China

Lhapa Phuntsog, vice-president of the China Association for Preservation and Development of Tibetan Culture, said that the Chinese Government has always paid great attention to preserving and developing traditional Chinese culture, in which the Tibetan medicine is a "precious pearl".

Since China's opening and reform in the 1970s, the salvaging and promotion of Tibetan medicine has gained unprecedented attention. Many classic works about Tibetan medicine, such as "The Four Medical Tantras" and its various explanations, have been collected, studied and republished. In addition, many schools now train medical staff in Tibet.

The Tibetan Medical Institute of the autonomous region is the top higher education facility about Tibetan medicine in

China. Other universities throughout the country, such as the Central University of Nationalities in Beijing, also have departments or majors in Tibetan medicine. A total of 1,378 medical institutes on levels of the autonomous region, prefecture, county and township have been established.

Traditional Tibetan medicine is becoming ever more popular among the people. This is the best development period for Tibetan medicine throughout history.