At the time of Hiouen-thsang, in the seventh century, palm leaves seem to have been the chief material for writing. He mentions a forest of palm-trees (_Borassus flabelliformis_) near Konka_n_apura (the Western coast of the Dekhan),(116) which was much prized on account of its supplying material for writing (vol. i. p. 202, and vol. iii. p. 148). At a later time, too, in 965, we read of Buddhist priests returning to China with Sanskrit copies of Buddhist books written on palm leaves (peito).(117) If we could believe Hiouen-thsang, the palm leaf would have been used even so early as the first Buddhist Council,(118) for he says that Kâsyapa then wrote the Pi_t_akas on palm leaves (tâla), and spread them over the whole of India. In the Pâli _G_âtakas, pa_nn_a is used in the sense of letter, but originally par_n_a meant a wing, then a leaf of a tree, then a leaf for writing. Pa_tt_a, also, which is used in the sense of a sheet, was originally pattra, a wing, a leaf of a tree. Suva_nn_a-pa_tt_a, a golden leaf to write on, still shows that the original writing material had been the leaves of trees, most likely of palm-trees.(119) Potthaka, _i. e._ pustaka, book, likewise occurs in the Pâli _G_âtakas.(120) Such MSS., written on palm leaves, if preserved carefully and almost worshipped, as they seem to have been in China, might well have survived to the present day, and they would certainly prove of immense value to the students of Buddhism, if they could still be recovered, whether in the original or even in later copies. It is true, no doubt, that, like all other religions, Buddhism too had its periods of trial and persecution in China. We know that during such periods—as, for instance, in 845, under the Emperor Wu-tsung—monasteries were destroyed, images broken, and books burnt. But these persecutions seem never to have lasted long, and when they were over, monasteries, temples, and pagodas soon sprang up again, images were restored, and books collected in greater abundance than ever. Dr. Edkins tells us that “in an account of the Ko-t’sing monastery in the History of T’ian-t’ai-shan it is said that a single work was saved from a fire there several centuries ago, which was written on the Pei-to (Pe-ta) or palm leaf of India.” He also states that great pagodas were built on purpose as safe repositories of Sanskrit MSS., one being erected by the Emperor for the preservation of the newly arrived Sanskrit books at the request of Hiouen-thsang, lest they should be injured for want of care. It was 180 feet high, had five stories with grains of She-li (relics) in the centre of each, and contained monuments inscribed with the prefaces written by the Emperor or Prince Royal to Hiouen-thsang’s translations. _Search for Sanskrit MSS. in Japan._