Tibetan Sources Research Articles

«Сотворение тела» в тибетском трактате «Чжуд-ши»

Introduction. The fundamental Buddhist treatise rGyud-bZhi is compiled mainly from Indian and Chinese sources, as well as elements of the oral healing tradition. The extensive range of commentary texts rGyud-bZhi gave rise to is dominated by the treatise Vaidurya-Onbo containing a series of unique illustrations — the ‘Atlas of Tibetan Medicine’. Tibetan healers considered embryology a most important part of medical practice and described it as the ‘making of the body’. Goals. The study seeks to consider the phenomenon of the making of the body — covering the pre-conception period, process of conception, fetal development, birth, postnatal growth, and infancy — in the context of the Buddhist healing treatise rGyud-bZhi and related commentaries. The paper examines conditions and causes of conception, processes of embryonic development, sex determination, karma-based birth to a certain family. Materials and methods. The work analyzes the embryology on the basis of rGyud-bZhi and Vaidurya-Onbo with the illustrations referred to as ‘Atlas of Tibetan Medicine’. One of the most impressive illustrations of the Atlas is titled ‘The Making of the Body’, and explains how under the influence of the vijñāna (‘consciousness’), the five primary elements and attachment to samsara, conception occurs and the fetus gets formed. Results. The making of the body is determined by karma and begins long before the embryo’s conception, since Buddhist texts pay much attention to the moral behavior of would-be parents. In Tibetan society, the influence of traditions manifested itself already at the stage of embryonic development, and women would often turn to mystical rites and rituals in the hope of giving birth to a male child. It was believed that prayers and certain rituals could influence the formation of the unborn child’s sex. Childbirth is basically viewed as a positive event for woman, since it is biologically and culturally natural. According to Tibetan sources, human health is rooted in harmony with environments and moral principles. Parents understand that it is necessary to follow internal and external prescriptions for procreation, to increase physical and spiritual strength in order to successfully conceive, maintain pregnancy, give birth to a healthy child and provide him/her with proper care.

The Scripture on the Five Emperors in the Five Directions: Evidence of the Spread of Taoism Amongst the Naxi

As residents of the Sino-Tibetan borderlands, the Naxi people have their own native religion, which manifests a mixture of indigenous beliefs with Tibetan Bon and Buddhism. A pictographic Scripture on the Five Emperors in the Five Directions discovered in Lijiang reveals in detail for the first time the influence of Chinese Taoism on the Naxi manuscripts. By analyzing the manuscript and the related religious rituals, it is proved that the prototype of the main figure in the manuscript comes from the Taoist classic of TaiShang DongYuan Zhao ZhuTianLongWang WeiMiao ShangPin 太上洞淵召諸天龍王微妙上品and its narrative is derived mainly from “LingBao WuDi GuanJiang Hao靈寶五帝官將號,” of the TaiShang LingBao WuFuXu太上洞玄靈寶五符序. It is also the only Naxi manuscript published to date that shows Han Chinese dragon worship among the Naxi people, though the detailed narrations are not identical to those in Chinese or Tibetan sources.

839–841: Disastrous Years that Reshaped the Political Map of Central Asia

In the mid-ninth century, the Central Asian political map experienced tremendous changes. Both external military invasions and internal conflicts brought up challenges to the three great powers of the time, namely the Tang, Tibetan and Uighur empires. Concurrently, the entire region experienced the significant consequences of severe climate change and environmental distress. Near the mid-ninth century, a series of natural disasters hit the eastern part of the Asian continent, verified by both Chinese and Tibetan sources. Nevertheless, the years between 839 and 841 were the deadliest on record, a turning point for the political landscape of Central Asia. First, the Uighur empire collapsed due to attacks by Kyrgyz tribes, and the Uighurs scattered to the Hexi Corridor and Western Regions. Second, the Tibetan empire disintegrated and withdrew from the Hexi Corridor, eventually losing its control over Central Asia. Third, the Tang empire retook the Hexi Corridor and no longer faced the combined threats by the Uighur and Tibetan empires in Central Asia. These changes should be attributed to different responses and coping methods by the three principal powers in Central Asia in handling the natural disasters they faced, based on their different economic systems.

An Illustrated History of the Maṇḍala: From Its Genesis to the Kālacakratantra

An Illustrated History of the Maṇḍala: From Its Genesis to the Kālacakratantra

Chinese and Tibetan Sources on the Dhāraṇī in Roll Seven of the *Śūraṃgama-sūtra

ABSTRACT My research here concerns roll seven of the apocryphal Shoulengyan jing 首楞嚴經 [*Śūraṃgama-sūtra, Book of the Hero’s March] (T no. 945) because it contains the Lengyan zhou 楞嚴呪 [*Śūraṃgama spell], which is used in the Lengyan Assembly today in Chinese, South Korean and Japanese Buddhist monasteries on an annual basis. The presence of the *Śūraṃgama spell confirms for some scholars the authenticity of the Shoulengyan jing, as opposed to its status as an apocryphal composition in China. In this article I investigate both premodern Chinese and Tibetan sources regarding the dhāraṇī in roll seven of the Shoulengyan jing to bolster the argument that this scripture ought to be considered an apocryphon, and that the question of who composed the Shoulengyan jing remains problematic.

Kőrösi Csoma Sándor utazásai, tudományos életműve és hatása a földrajz nézőpontjából

Many disciplines consider the oeuvre of Alexander Csoma de Kőrös as belonging to their field of expertise. His scholarly achievements are indeed related to linguistics, oriental studies, Tibetology, Indology as well as the history of religion, and Buddhism. Csoma de Kőrös’s interest in the original homeland of Hungarians was aroused by the articles of Ézsaiás Budai, György Pray and the lectures of Professor Blumenbach from the University of Göttingen. He mastered the Tibetan language and, using Tibetan literature hitherto unknown to European scholars, as well as his personal travel experience, he wrote a dissertation entitled “Land Survey of Tibet in Accordance with Tibetan Sources.” The paper contains important data on the characteristics of the Tibetan provinces discussing their economy and environment, as well as their mineral resources, rivers, lakes, and glaciers. Alexander Csoma de Kőrös had a significant intellectual influence on Hungarian geographers. Lajos Lóczy, Ervin Baktay, Jenő Cholnoky, László Kádár and Dénes Balázs all greatly valued his work. The Hungarian Geographical Society immortalized its memory with a laudatory medal. His statue was erected in the garden of the Hungarian Geographical Museum in 1984.

К вопросу о происхождении ламы Цонкапы

In the Mongolian-speaking world, it is widely accepted that Lama Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelug school of Buddhism, known for his great contribution to the maintenance and promotion of Buddhist teachings, was an ethnic Mongolian. However, the question of whether there is any factual evidence to support the claim is still open. The present article aims to examine the issue of his Mongolian background and identify the grounds for this widespread opinion. This is of relevance because the issue has not been discussed in detail so far. Both textological and historical methods were used for analysis. The major source for the study was an obscure text written by a prominent Mongolian researcher Chahar-Geshe [Tibetan: cha har dge bshes blo bzang tshul khrims, 1740–1810] «The Life of Tsongkhapa: The Source of All Boons and Fortunes» [Tibetan: tsong kha pa chen po’i rnam thar go sla bar brjod pa bde legs kun gyi ‘byung gnas]; other Tibetan sources were also examined. The article focuses on the data found in the sources that associates with Lama Tsongkhapa’s father and family, place of his birth, etc. Results. The examination of Lama Tsongkhapa’s biography shed useful light on the historical and cultural processes in Inner Asia. The author’s main conclusion is that he may have been an ethnic Mongolian on his father’s side, and the fact may have been of relevance or the promotion of Gelug in Mongolia.

Body Exposure and Embalming in the Tibetan Empire and Beyond: A Study of the btol Rite

The paper puts forward a new interpretation of the problematic word btol that is sparsely attested in Old Tibetan sources. The philological analysis is supported by a lexicological survey of potential cognates; taken together these allow us to sketch the word family of btol, and thus to better understand the underlying semantics of the word. It is argued that the term denoted a rite within a funeral ceremony; to be specific, the rite of exposure of the deceased’s body before it was interred. In order to contextualise the rite and to assess its cultural significance, this paper also discusses certain funeral customs of later periods.

Arms and Armour in Ancient and Medieval Tibetan Literature A Lexicographical Approach

This article presents Tibetan terms and expressions for arms and armour originating in Tibetan sources as per research conducted for theWörterbuch der Tibetischen Schriftsprache, a dictionary database that includes sources ranging from the eight to the nineteenth centuries. This survey shows that Tibetan literature bears testimony to the existence of a broad variety of arms and armour in Tibet, which are mentioned in various contexts: Bon or Buddhist sources, historiographical or mythical accounts. By tracing these terms’ etymological origins and focusing on the actual use of weapons, we may gain a clearer understanding of the origin, use, and value of arms and armour in Tibetan culture.

Analysis of the Ratnakuta in the Mongolian Manuscript Kanjur

The Maharatnakuta is a collection of Buddhist texts, the bulk of which belong to the early Mahayana tradition. Its extant versions are included in the Chinese Tripitaka as well as the Tibetan and Mongolian Kanjurs. The collection has been studied to a certain extent with the use of the Chinese and Tibetan sources but almost nothing is known of its Mongolian-language versions. The article aims to provide a preliminary study of the Ratnakuta in the Mongolian manuscript Kanjur compiled in 1628–1629. It examines the structural traits of the collection, the data of the colophons and some textual elements preserved from the Tibetan original/s. The analysis reveals that, possibly, the major part of the Ratnakuta or the whole collection was translated into Mongolian en bloc in 1628–1629. The collection lacks eight sutras and places the final forty-ninth work between texts thirty-five and thirty-six. A number of textual elements preserved from the Tibetan source/s point to the proximity and possible relation of the Mongolian Ratnakuta to the Them spangs ma and Western Tibetan Kanjurs.

The Offering of Mount Meru: Contexts of Buddhist Cosmology in the History of Science in Tibet

Convergences and conflicts in the dialogue between Buddhism and modern science occasionally find precedent in historical sources and encounters, some of which have set the stage for scenarios that are commonplace in the current dialogue. This paper brings recent scholarship and Tibetan sources on astronomy and geography in Tibet into conversation with the ongoing Buddhism and science dialogue. In response to a lack of context in the dialogue, the paper gives attention to how two contexts in particular, namely, the contemplative and historical, inform currents in the Buddhism and science dialogue about cosmology. The paper challenges claims made that Tibetans did not encounter European science until the twentieth century and that Tibetans were unaware of scientific cosmological ideas, and therefore have not updated the Buddhist Mount Meru cosmology. To address tensions inherent in the binary discourse on science vs religion, this paper asks, does the Mount Meru cosmology represent a domain wherein Buddhism or science hold more appropriate tools for meaningful discourse and resolution about its existence?

Humanizing Horses: Transitions in Perception and Perspective

In Tibetan history and culture, horses were among the most important animals, if not the most important of all. Horses were the mounts that provided transport, particularly for the nobility and kings, allowing them to travel more quickly and comfortably. Horses were also used for hunting, postal services, and to build a cavalry for warfare. In addition, they played a role in various entertainments, including horse racing, games, and parades. The unusually large number of manuscripts on horses attests to the value of horses in the Tibetan imaginaire compared to other animals that lived in the company of the people on the High Plateau, in Tibet itself, and in Tibetan cultural areas. This article begins with an outline of the uses and benefits of horses in Tibetan culture. It touches upon the animal’s role as the mount of Tibetan kings and debates regarding horses’ mental faculties. Then it presents a survey of the content of various manuscripts on equine studies based on sources from three stages: (1) the earliest Tibetan sources from Dunhuang; (2) translations from Indian texts; and (3) extensive compendia that merges all of the knowledge on horses available at the time of their composition. It analyzes the style and content of books that indicate the approach of the authors to the topic of “horse” and points to their view of horses in relation to Tibetan culture and Buddhism. Moreover, the books’ content mirrors the various functions and applications of horses in Tibet and India. It reveals the purpose of these books in general and illustrates the relation between textuality and orality. The study demonstrates the link between hippology and hippiatry, and the development of equine studies in Tibet. It shows the influence of humans on horse medicine and, moreover, contributes to an improved understanding of the development of Tibetan medical sciences in general.

Buddhism and Medicine: An Anthology of Premodern Sources ed. by C. Pierce Salguero

Reviewed by: Buddhism and Medicine: An Anthology of Premodern Sources ed. by C. Pierce Salguero Natasha Heller C. Pierce Salguero, ed. Buddhism and Medicine: An Anthology of Premodern Sources. New York: Columbia University Press, 2017. xxxvi, 689 pp. US$150 (hb). ISBN 9780231179942 Unquestionably Buddhism and Medicine: An Anthology of Premodern Sources is a work of major importance for the English-language study of Buddhism. With translations from Pāli, Sanskrit, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Tibetan sources (with a smaller number from Mongolian, Thai, and Vietnamese texts) in a variety of genres, this anthology provides a panoramic view of the interaction between Buddhism, healing, and medicine. Scholars of Buddhism will want to read (and purchase for their libraries, both personal and institutional) this volume to better acquaint themselves with these traditions, and to use in teaching, although the price may preclude assigning the entire book to undergraduates. But what might scholars of Chinese religions gain from Buddhism and Medicine? Quite a lot, as it turns out: 27 out of 62 chapters are on Chinese sources, divided between translated sources and those termed “domestic.” This means that roughly forty percent of the book concerns China, and given that the total page count is over 600 pages, the China portion is hefty enough to be a book on its own. My review here will focus on the chapters dealing with Chinese language sources. Even offering a one-sentence summary of each chapter would be tedious reading—there are simply too many—so I have chosen to comment more thematically. My failure to mention any one chapter should not be taken as a judgment on that chapter; I found all of them to be highly readable and erudite, and all of them offered fresh insights into Chinese Buddhism. Reading Buddhism and Medicine for the Chinese sources means jumping across the thematic divisions of the anthology. These are: Doctrinal Considerations, Healing and Monastic Discipline, Buddhist Healers, Healing Rites, Meditation as Cure and Illness, Hybridity in Buddhist Healing, and Buddhism and the Medical Traditions. Readers can refer to the appendix, “Geographical Table of Contents,” for lists of texts by language, although this is usually apparent from the chapter titles and translators. Not surprisingly, most of the “China (Translation)” chapters are in the earlier part of the book, and most of the “China (Domestic)” chapters fall in the later sections. Translation itself is foregrounded in several chapters: Anālayo, in chapter 2, places together discourses translated from Pāli, Tibetan, and Chinese on the “healing potential of mental qualities that in the Buddhist traditions are known as the awakening factors” (p. 12). Marcus Bingenheimer, in chapter 17, offers translations of two sūtras on healing that were produced in China six hundred years apart; the first is part of collection translated around 400 c.e. and the second was translated by Dānapāla (Ch. Shihu 施護, fl. 980–1017). Looking at them together “shows how certain categories and details changed in the interim” (p. 164). The passages from these two sutras align the Four Noble Truths with the four skills of the physician, and make plain the comparison of the Buddha to a perfectly adept physician. In chapter 4, Salguero gives us side-by-side translations of a key passage on medicine from the Sūtra of Golden Light as translated by Dharmakṣema (385–433) and Yijing 義淨 (635–713).1 This allows us to see how Yijing’s training in medicine at Nālānda influences his translation, which is “much more detailed in its summary of Indian medical thought and contains a broader selection of medical ideas” (p. 31). We encounter Yijing again in chapter 16, in which [End Page 112] Christoph Kleine translates sections from his Record of the Inner Law Sent Home from the Southern Seas concerning health-related practices in Indian monasteries. The monastery is naturally an important site for Buddhist medical practice. Chapter 13 provides rules concerning medicine from the vinaya of the Mahīśāsaka School, preserved in Chinese and translated by Salguero; in chapter 14, J.E.E. Pettit translates sections from the Emended Commentary on Monastic Practices from the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya by Daoxuan 道宣 (596–667) concerning...

History and Myth: Mahāmudrā Lineage Accounts in the 12th-Century Xixia Buddhist Literature

Mahāmudrā—an Indo-Tibetan phenomenon of Buddhist spirituality—constitutes in its systematic presentation a path that maps out the mystical quest for direct experience of ultimate reality. Despite the post-15th century bKa’-brgyud attempts at a codified Mahāmudrā genealogy, the early Tibetan sources speak little with regards to how the different Indian Mahāmudrā threads made their way over the Himalayas. To fill this gap, the article investigates, via philological and historical approaches, the lineage accounts in the 12th-century Xixia Mahāmudrā materials against the Indo-Tibetan Buddhist landscape. Three transmission lines are detected. Among them, two lines are attested by later Tibetan historiographical accounts about Mahāmudrā, and thus belong to an Indo-Tibetan continuum of the constructed Buddhist yogic past based upon historical realities—at least as understood by Tibetans of the time. The third one is more of a collage patching together different claims to spiritual legacy and religious authority—be they historically based or introspectively projected. Not only does the Mahāmudrā topography, jointly fueled by these three transmissions, reveal the Xixia recognition and imagination of the Indo-Tibetan Buddhist legacies, it also captures the complexities of the multi-faceted picture of Mahāmudrā on its way over the Himalayas during the 11th/12th century.

Jayasena’s Proof of the Authenticity of the Mahāyāna Scriptures

We can find some of the works of Indian Buddhist philosophers that prove the authenticity of the Mahāyāna sutras within Sanskrit, Tibetan, and Chinese textual sources. *Jayasena’s critique of *Asvabhāva’s proof was first introduced in the commentaries of Kuiji. Numerous references to *Jayasena in Chinese Yogācāra scriptures indicate that he was regarded as a Yogācāra master. His revised proof was further revised by Xuanzang. According to Xuanzang’s biographies, *Jayasena was an Indian lay Buddhist scholar who had many non-Buddhist disciples. It is, therefore, possible that he discussed the authenticity of the Mahāyāna sutras with his disciples. Following Kuiji’s introduction of *Jayasena’s proof in East Asia, this proof and Xuanzang’s critique have been widely discussed. Wonhyo, one of the most famous Silla Buddhist scholars, critiqued Xuanzang’s revision and published his revised formula. Zenju, a representative Yogācāra master of the Nara period, pointed out some logical problems to be seen in Wonhyo’s revision, but did not provide any alternative. Proof of the authenticity of the Mahāyāna sutras was originally developed as a result of interactions between Mahāyāna and non-Mahāyāna Buddhists. However, the purpose of the proof seems to have shifted from being based on arguments with actual opponents to internal discussions among Mahāyāna Buddhists, especially within East Asia.

Some Remarks on Sthiramati and his Putative Authorship of the Madhy?ntavibh?ga??k?, the *S?tr?la?k?rav?ttibh??ya and the Tri??ik?vijñaptibh??ya

The present paper focuses on the commentaries attributed to the Indian Yog?c?ra scholar Sthiramati (sixth century). So far Sthiramati’s work has received far less attention from modern scholars than the texts of other Yog?c?ra authors like Asa?ga or Vasubandhu, possibly because of the erroneous view that as a commentator he has not been an original author in his own right. However, commentators like Sthiramati have shaped the doctrinal development of Yog?c?ra thought by introducing new concepts and reorganizing previous teachings to a similar extent as ‘independent’ authors. In total seventeen works are ascribed to the author Sthiramati in Indian, Tibetan, Chinese and modern Western sources. The main concern of this study is to show some aspects of the relations between three of these works, namely the Madhy?ntavibh?ga??k?, the *S?tr?la?k?rav?ttibh??ya and the Tri??ik?vijñaptibh??ya, and to question the common authorship of these texts.

Comparison of two Tibetan compendiums on Buddhist cosmology dating from the 13th and 19th centuries

This paper examines two Tibetan sources to show how Tibetan masters could introduce people of totally different cultural background into Buddhist doctrines. The Explanation of the Knowable (Tib. Shes-bya rab-tu gsal-ba) was written by ’Phags-pa lama, while the Answers to the Questions of Sken-dha from Europe (Tib. Rgya-gar rum-yul-pa Sken-dhas dris-lan) is the compendium of Kun-dga’ Chos-legs. Both analyse the same subject: cosmology as part of the basic doctrines, and both have the same aim: initiating foreigners into Buddhist precepts. Thus we can observe the similarity of the two works and the teaching methods used by the masters who followed different traditions at different times.

Sources of black carbon to the Himalayan-Tibetan Plateau glaciers.

Combustion-derived black carbon (BC) aerosols accelerate glacier melting in the Himalayas and in Tibet (the Third Pole (TP)), thereby limiting the sustainable freshwater supplies for billions of people. However, the sources of BC reaching the TP remain uncertain, hindering both process understanding and efficient mitigation. Here we present the source-diagnostic Δ14C/δ13C compositions of BC isolated from aerosol and snowpit samples in the TP. For the Himalayas, we found equal contributions from fossil fuel (46±11%) and biomass (54±11%) combustion, consistent with BC source fingerprints from the Indo-Gangetic Plain, whereas BC in the remote northern TP predominantly derives from fossil fuel combustion (66±16%), consistent with Chinese sources. The fossil fuel contributions to BC in the snowpits of the inner TP are lower (30±10%), implying contributions from internal Tibetan sources (for example, yak dung combustion). Constraints on BC sources facilitate improved modelling of climatic patterns, hydrological effects and provide guidance for effective mitigation actions.

Overlapping Empires: Religion, Politics, and Ethnicity in Nineteenth-Century Qinghai

Overlapping Empires:Religion, Politics, and Ethnicity in Nineteenth-Century Qinghai* Max Oidtmann In the early 1820s, two men possessed of substantial administrative experience produced treatises on the governance of Kökenuur (Ma. Kūke noor, Ch. Qinghai), a strategic yet troubled region at the crossroads of China, Tibet, and Mongolia.1 The first author was the Geluk hierarch and reborn lama Belmang Pandita Könchok Gyeltsen (Dbal mang 02 Dkon mchog rgyal mtshan, 1764–1863), who served as the twenty–fourth abbot of Labrang monastery from 1804–09. Between 1819 and 1821, Belmang Pandita completed The Ladder for Guiding the Youth, Lessons Summarizing the History of India, Tibet, Eastern and Western Mongolia (hereinafter “History”), a kind of “mirror for princes” addressed simultaneously to the lay Mongol nobility of Kökenuur and the rulers of monastic domains.2 The second author was the Qing official Nayanceng [End Page 41] (1764–1833). A perfect contemporary of Belmang Pandita and the scion of a Manchu lineage with a long history of service in the empire’s borderlands—his grandfather Agūi (1717–97) had overseen the conquest of Xinjiang—Nayanceng assumed high office in Gansu province on four different occasions: three times as the governor-general of Shaanxi and Gansu (1804, 1810–13, and 1822–25) and once as the Xining amban (the emperor’s superintendent of Mongol and Tibetan affairs in Xining, also known as the “Qinghai amban”; 1807–08). In 1825, following his third tenure as governor-general, Nayanceng approved the publication and distribution of his collected memorials concerning the affairs of Kökenuur under the title Memorials Concerning the Pacification of the Fan (Pingfan zouyi, hereinafter “Memorials”).3 While there is no evidence that Nayanceng and Belmang Pandita ever met in person, they must have known of each other. Among other things, Belmang’s tenure as the abbot of the largest monastery in the Gansu-Kökenuur region overlapped with Nayanceng’s second tour of duty in the region, as the Xining amban from 1807–08. It is a matter of course that they would have communicated during this period.4 Despite their dissimilar backgrounds, Nayanceng and Belmang shared a common concern: the increasingly violent repercussions of the collapse of the governing authority of the Mongol princely domains of Kökenuur (also known as the Deedü or “Upper” Mongols). The survival of the Mongol aristocracy of Kökenuur had not always been a major concern of either [End Page 42] Geluk hierarchs or Qing authorities. On the contrary, up until the early 1800s, they had tried to curb Mongol power. Ever since the Khoshud branch of the Oirat Mongols, under the leadership of Güüshi Khan and with the assistance of their Junghar confederates, had conquered Kökenuur, Kham, and central Tibet in the 1640s, the Geluk and Qing administrators alike had attempted to manage or otherwise suppress the princely domains of Güüshi’s descendants. By the early 1800s, however, the wealth and military prowess of the Khoshud was discussed only in the past tense. Mongol aristocrats complained that ceaseless raiding by outsiders—“tribal Fandze” (aiman i fandze) or “raw Fan” (eshun fandze) in Manchu sources,5 “wild Fan” (yefan) or “raw Fan” (shengfan) in Chinese sources, or “nomads” (’brog pa), in Tibetan sources—had made life unbearable in their domains. Lacking the wealth and military forces to patrol their pastures, their subjects were deserting—even joining the raiders in some cases—and the princes were contemplating fleeing en masse from Kökenuur to take refuge within the borders of Gansu province. In several banners, the population had declined by over a half from 1810 to 1823, and Qing preflectures as far away as Liangzhou and Ganzhou (present-day Wuwei and Zhangye, respectively) along the Hexi Corridor were inundated with destitute refugees.6 Both the Qing and the Geluk found much to worry about in the unsettled political landscape of Kökenuur. However, Belmang and Nayanceng presented very different diagnoses of the crisis and offered profoundly different prescriptions for the future health of the region. Reading their texts together reveals how a segment of the Qing official class and some Tibetan Buddhist elites arrived at a major reconsideration of...

The Mongol conquest of Tibet

AbstractThe Mongol conquest of Tibet has been poorly understood. ‘Traditional’ Mongol and Tibetan accounts, in comparatively late sources, tell of a submission to Chinggis Khan by Tibetan chieftains. This version of history was rejected some time ago, and replaced with an account that begins with a Mongol invasion of Tibet in 1240. Problems with clarifying this issue include the often poor quality of Tibetan sources, the confusion of Tibet and Tangut (Xi Xia) in Persian sources, and misunderstanding by modern scholars of Chinese terms relating to Tibet. In fact, Chinese sources make clear that there was considerable contact between the Mongols and Tibet before 1240. Chinggis Khan may never have invaded Tibet, but undoubtedly had the intention of doing so. The picture that emerges is of a gradual conquest, with early incursions across the borders of Tibet followed by more penetrating invasions in the 1240s and 1250s.