贝叶经是人类文明的瑰宝，是以加工后的贝多罗树叶为材料书写或刻写的经文。贝叶经起源于古印度，后于历史时期传入中国，并在唐代达到鼎盛时期。我国先民对贝叶经的制作材料已有清晰的认识。经考证，传世古籍中的“多罗”树应为贝叶棕（Corypha umbraculifera），而“贝多”树应为糖棕（Borassus flabellifer）。我国古典诗词中多次出现的“贝多”，已成为佛教经典的代名词。我国西北地区多地曾出土古代贝叶经的实物证据。新疆库车出土的鲍威尔写本与斯必策手稿具有重要意义，其中后者是迄今为止发现的最早的贝叶经实物。另外，敦煌莫高窟内也曾出土贝叶经。贝叶经传入我国后，主要保存于藏地和云南西双版纳，并已得到了很好的整理。比较而言，我国内地保存的贝叶经相对较少。西双版纳与藏地贝叶经上的文字分别为刻写与书写而成，应该是与其保存条件相适应的。

The palm-leaf manuscript is a treasure of human civilization， which is the scripture written or engraved on the processed leaves of palm trees. Originating in ancient India， it was gradually introduced into China in the historical period， and reached a period of great prosperity in the Tang Dynasty. Chinese ancestors had a clear understanding of the materials used to make the palm-leaf manuscript. According to our study， the “Doro” （多罗） tree in ancient books should be talipot（Corypha umbraculifera）， while the “Beiduo” （贝多） tree should be palmyra（Borassus flabellifer）. The word “Beiduo”， which appeared many times in Chinese classical poetry， has become a synonym of Buddhist classics. Material evidence of ancient palm-leaf manuscript has been unearthed in many places in Xinjiang， among which Powell’s manuscript as well as Spitzer’s manuscript unearthed in Kuqa were of great significance， with the latter being considered to be the earliest physical evidence of palm-leaf manuscript all over the world. In addition， ancient palm-leaf manuscripts were also unearthed in the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang， which was also of great importance. To date， palm-leaf manuscripts are mainly preserved in Xizang， as well as Xishuangbanna in Yunnan Province， where they have been well organized and protected.​ The characters on the palm-leaf manuscripts were carved and written， respectively， which should be adapted to their preservation conditions.