Tag: Mongol

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Zhuo Zhou

Zhuo Zhou 涿州

Zhuo Zhou, located north of the Zhu River, was the site of a Mahakala temple built at the request of ‘Phags pa (1235–80) in 1276. ‘Phags pa assigned the famous Nepalese artist, Anige (阿尼哥) (1244–1318) to direct the construction of the temple, the structure of which was identical with the Qian Yuan (乾元) temple in Shangdu (上都), which Anige had built in 1274. The statue of Mahakala housed inside faced south. ‘Phags pa consecrated the temple himself and later appointed Dampa (1230–1303) as the temple’s abbot. This temple dedicated to Mahakala was built as part of a larger initiative to support the Yuan in their conquest of the Southern Song. Specifically, it was built to guarantee the success of chancellor Bayan Baharidai (1236–95) in his campaign against the remaining Southern Song forces in the Jiangnan area, which resulted in victory in the same year of the building of the temple.


Source:

Weirong, Shen. 2004. Magic Power, Sorcery and Evil Spirit: The Image of Tibetan Monks in Chinese Literature during the Yuan Dynasty. In Christoph Cüppers, Ed. The Relationship between Religion and State (chos srid zung ‘brel) in Traditional Tibet. Lumbini International Research Institute: Lumbini. pp. 202–04.

Entry by Eveline S. Yang, 4/24/07

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Juyong Guan

Juyong Guan 居庸关

The Juyong Gate was constructed between 1343–45 at the orders of the last Mongol emperor, Xundi (1333–67). According to its inscriptions, Dynastic Preceptor Nam mkha’ seng ge, a Tibetan lama of the Sa skya lineage, presided over the planning and construction of the gate and stupas, which were consecrated upon completion by Kun dga’ rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po (1333–58), one of the last Imperial Preceptors, also a Tibetan lama of the Sa skya lineage. Inscriptions also state that the emperor ordered its construction “in order to bring happiness to the people who pass under the stupas and receive thus the Buddha’s blessing.” See images here.

The Juyong Gate was built at a strategic pass just south of the Great Wall and northwest of Beijing. The arched gate was originally built as a base for three stupas (which disappeared and were replaced with wooden pavilions by 1448), and the architecture of the structure was in the Tibetan style. Stupa-arches were a completely Tibetan architectural form, introduced to China via the Mongols during the Yuan dynasty, and served the same function as they did in Tibet, standing at the entrance to important cities. The Juyong Gate may have been one of four planned gates intended to guard the four directions of the capital.

The arched passageway is carved with relief images that represent a highly developed state of lamaist art, which some link to the tradition established by Anige (1243–1306), the influential Nepalese artist invited to Khubilai’s court at the suggestion of ‘Phags pa in 1260. Prominent among the carved reliefs are images of the guardians of the four directions as well as mandalas of the five meditation buddhas, each of whom are associated with one of five directions (four directions and the center). The depiction of cosmological symbols based on four and five directions seem to be a reflection of the Mongol adoption of an originally Indian cosmology (four-directional) as well as a Chinese cosmology (five-directional). The idea that the Mongol rulers were guardian kings ruling over different directions (displaced onto actual geographies) was one of many religious conceptual models used to legitimate Mongol dominance.

The most significant aspect about the gate is its use of the above cosmological imagery together with inscriptions in five languages (Chinese, Mongol, Tangut, Tibetan, and Sanskrit) that posthumously articulate the divine nature of Khubilai Khan. Although the multilingual inscriptions differ subtly in content from each other, the Mongol inscription has been interpreted as elevating Khubilai Khan as a reincarnation of Manjushri, the resident bodhisattva of Mount Wutai in China. Such an identification of an emperor with Manjushri was unprecedented (and not mentioned in Chinese inscriptions due to incompatibility of the concept of reincarnation with Chinese Confucian sensibilities) and signaled a first step toward the role that Mongol emperors would later take as reincarnations of Manjushri/Manjusri. This use of the Tibetan concept of reincarnation together with the association of Manjushri with China (where the Mongol rulers resided) cleverly solidified Mongol legitimacy as religious authorities. Its significance as a religious-political model continued beyond the fall of the Yuan dynasty and was eventually passed onto the Qing.


Sources：

Patricia Berger. Preserving the Nation: The Political Uses of Tantric Art in China. In Later Days of the Law: Images of Chinese Buddhism 850–1850. Lawrence: Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas. 1994. pp. 103–07.
Heather Karmay. Early Sino-Tibetan Art. Aris and Phillips. 1975. pp. 21–27.
Franke, From Tribal Chieftains to Universal Emperor and God p. 64–72

Entry by Eveline S. Yang, 2/06/07

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Da huguo renwang si

Da Huguo Renwang Si 大護國仁王寺

The Da huguo renwang si was built during the years 1270 to 1274 on the Gaoliang river outside of Beijing. The temple owed its founding to the Empress Zhaorui shun-sheng (Mongolian Cabi or Cabui), the principal wife of Qubilai and mother of his chosen heir, Jinggim. Because of the generous patronage of the imperial family, the temple was extremely wealthy. In the Beijing metropolitan area it owned 28,633 qing 51 mou of irrigated fields and 34,414 qing 23 mou of dry fields, as well as the rights for forests, fisheries, moorings, bamboo and firewood in twenty-nine places. In also owned land in fifteen places around Beijing where jade, silver, iron, copper, salt and coal were produced, in addition to 19,061 chestnut trees and a wine-shop. In the Xiangyang region the temple owned 13,651 qing of irrigated and 29,805 qing 68 mou of dry fields. In Jianghuai it owned at least 140 wine shops. The temple also owned many houses and halls, and had a total of 37,059 tenant families as well as 17,988 families providing corvée labor. This list of property is drawn from an inscription written by Cheng Jufu, available in the Cheng Xuelou ji (see Franke 1984 for full reference).

In the fourth month of the Yuanzhen reign year yi-wei (1295), the Tibetan cleric (and posthumously declared Imperial Preceptor) Sga A gnyan dam pa kun dga’ grags (Ch. Gongjia ge la si or Dan pa 膽巴) received an imperial summons to become abbot in the Da huguo renwang temple. The Treasury (tai fu) was ordered to prepare an elaborate welcome ceremony on par with those prepared for the emperor himself, and many officials escorted Danpa/Dam pa Kun dga’ grags/Dan pa to the temple. Later Dan pa was also buried there in the Qing-an stupa. His relics were taken to the stupa by the mayor of Da du [Beijing], along with a retinue of servants and musicians, by order of the emperor Chengzong.

In 1311, An pu, son of the disgraced Yang, became commissioner of the Huifu yuan (會福院), the name by which Da huguo renwang si was known by between the years of 1310 and 1316. At the same time he was ennobled as the Duke of Qin and he was also once again holding the post of commissioner of the Bureau of Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs (Xuanzheng yuan 宣政院). An pu had been dismissed from this post in 1291 because of widespread resentment against his father, who had destroyed the tombs of the Song emperors during a zealous campaign to convert sites in Jiangnan into Buddhist temples.


Sources:

Franke, Herbert. 1984. “Tan-pa, a Tibetan lama at the court of the Great Khans,” Orientalia Venetiana, Volume in onore di Leonello Lanciotti. Firenze: Leo s. Olschiki Editore. pp. 157-180.
Franke, Herbert. 1983. “Tibetans in Yuan China,” in China among equals: the Middle Kingdom and its neighbors, 10th-14th centuries. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Sperling, Elliot. 1991. “Some Remarks on Sga A-gnyan dam-pa and the Origins of the Hor-pa Lineage of the Dkar-mdzes Region,” in Ernst Steinkellner, ed., Tibetan History and Language: Studies Dedicated to Uray Gyeaza on his Seventieth Birthday, Vienna. pp. 455-465.

Entry by Stacey Van Vleet, 2/4/07

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Da sheng shou wan an si

Da sheng shou wan an si 大聲壽萬安寺

The Da sheng shou wan an temple (大聲壽萬安寺) was built sometime between 1279 and 1288 in the western part of Beijing by order of Qubilai, and originally housed the renowned Sandalwood Buddha. The sandalwood statue was said to have been the only lifelike portrait of the Buddha, carved during his lifetime in 990 B.C. by his disciple Maudgalyayana. Its presence in Beijing greatly added to the prestige of the Yuan Mongol empire.

The planning of the Da sheng shou wan an si is attributed in his biography to the Nepali architect and sculptor A ni ge (阿尼哥), who came to work at the Yuan court in 1261 and died in 1306. The temple was also known as Baita si (白塔, Temple of the White Stupa), because it was built around the Baita (White Stupa), the oldest and highest stupa or pagoda in Beijing. The 167 foot high stupa was completed in 1279 and long dominated the skyline of the western part of the city.

Just before the Yuan Mongol court fled Beijing for the north, the Da sheng shou wan an si was struck by lightning. This was on June 20, 1368, and except for two halls, the temple burnt to the ground. The Sandalwood Buddha had been moved before this to a temple inside the imperial palace. The White Stupa still stands, although it has been renovated many times during the Yuan, Ming, Qing, and Republican periods. In 1457 a new temple was erected around the stupa and called the Miaoying si (妙應寺, Temple of Miraculous Evidence). Popularly, it was again known as the Baita si.


Sources:

Franke, Herbert. 1978. From tribal chieftain to universal emperor and god: the legitimation of the Yuan dynasty, Sitzungsberichte – Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Philosophisch-Historische Klasse. Munchen: Verlag der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften.
Franke, Herbert, 1994, “Consecration of the ‘White Stupa’ in 1279,” Asia Major VII (Third Series) (1): 155-184

Entry by Stacey Van Vleet, 2/4/07

Stupa comparison–middle stupa is Anige’s

Stupa 2006, note layers of “13 wheels” under canopy

museum reconstruction of Yuan period monastery
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Baita Shan Beihai Gongyuan

Baita Shan Beihai Gongyuan

According to the Yuan history, in the 12th month of 1290, Qubilai Khan’s imperial preceptor Pakpa/ ‘Phags pa undertook Buddhist rituals at Wansui shan [Baita shan], which was part of the imperial city at that time. Every year offerings were made to the Buddhist images at this place. In 1651, the Qing Shunzhi/Xunzi emperor restored this regular practice, and lamas again recited scriptures here, and the emperor worshipped at this place as well. Shunzhi period stele inscription recorded his exchange with the Western Lama, to whom he granted the name Naoben han (恼本汗).


Source:

Yanjing ba jing. DS 795.6 A2 Y36 2002.

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Yuan Buddhist Canon Printing

Yuan Buddhist Canon Printing

In the early fourteenth century the printing of two separate and massive Yuan editions of the Buddhist canon was finally completed in southeast China. The first was a Tangut edition, the Xixiazang (西夏藏) or Xixia Tripitaka, completed in 1302. The second was the “complete” Chinese edition known as the Jishazang (ji砂藏) or Qisha (or Jisha) Tripitaka. Carving the blocks for the Jishazang had extended over almost a century, between 1231 and 1322.

Both of these editions had been ordered by Khubilai Khan (r.1260-1294) but came to fruition only after his reign, under the supervision of the General Secretary of the Buddhist Clergy in Songjiang, named Guanzhuba (管主巴). Guanzhuba (interpreted as bka’ ‘gyur pa or bka’ rgyud pa in Tibetan) was either Tibetan or of Xixia descent with a Tibetan education. The Xixiazang was printed in 3620 chapters at the Dawanshou (大萬壽) Temple in Hangzhou. It was based on earlier texts in the Xixia script engraved and printed in Xixia before Chinggis Khan destroyed the dynasty in 1227. The Jishazang blocks were carved at the Yansheng Yuan (延聖院) monastery on Jisha Island near Suzhou and Hangzhou. Although work began in the fourth year of the Shaoding reign in the Song dynasty, it was not completed until the second year of the Zhizhi reign of the Yuan. The Yansheng Yuan caught fire in 1258, interrupting the work, which was not resumed until 1299. The blocks finished before the fire seem to have survived. Major work was accomplished between 1300 and 1301, and from 1306-1307 Guanzhuba reconstructed and printed “missing” esoteric sections of the canon for inclusion in this second edition. These sections may have been carved at the same workshop as the Xixiazang in Hangzhou. The text of a vow by Guanzhuba was found in the Mogao cave of Dunhang and dated to the twelfth month of the tenth year of Dade 1307 (another similar but shorter colophon exists in volume 562 of the Yingyin Song Jisha Zangjing 影印宋ji砂藏經). This vow states that Guanzhuba was responsible for carving and printing vast numbers of illustrated Buddhist texts. He further committed to distributing these texts to monasteries, including monasteries in the former Xi xia lands, with great fanfare including offerings, assemblies and teachings. In the Yingyin Song Jisha Zangjing, it also states that Guanzhuba himself donated two hundred silver ingots in the form of a money order, and later three hundred silver ingots for the engraving of the woodblocks.

In addition to the canon, a revised catalogue of the Tripitaka was also published during the twenty-second year of the Zhiyuan reign period, also by order of Khublai Khan. This catalogue, the Zhiyuanlu 至元录 [full name: Zhi Yuan Fa Bao Kan Tong Zhong Lu 至元法宝勘同总录 (A Revised General Catalogue of the Dharma-Treasure up to the Yuan)] is said to have been based on three years of work by several tens of Chinese, Tibetan and Uighur monks, using source material from 1440 books in 5580 volumes. They are also said to have drawn from both Chinese and Tibetan versions of the Tripitaka, as well as the Chinese catalogue Buddhist Sutras Catalogue made in the Kaiyuan Reign Period (Kaiyuan Shijiao Lu) and the Tibetan catalogue kept in the Sakya monastery. This comparative catalogue of Tibetan and Chinese Buddhist canons along with a reconstitution of Sanskrit titles was supported by Khubilai Khan (d. 1294) under the direction of ‘Phags pa and with the assistance of Chinese, Tibetan and Uighur Buddhists. It is preserved in the Chinese Buddhist canon, Taisho vol. 99, number 25, in ten juan.

The printing of the Xixia and Jisha Tripitaka show Tibetan Buddhist influence, with a high level of artistic maturity and technical skill, extending all the way to the seaboard of China during the Mongol Yuan dynasty. The texts also intimate the cooperation of Tibetan artists, Yuan Mongol patrons, and Chinese craftsmen during the long-running, expensive and ambitious project. The Xixia edition reveals the continuing importance of the Xixia people – as well as their models of legitimacy and governance – to the Yuan, and in addition, it can be noted that illustrations from the this canon were later replicated in another edition sponsored by the Yongle emperor of the Ming dynasty. Through the impeccable records kept and the obvious grandeur of the projects, it is clear that the printing of the Buddhist canon in Yuan dynasty China was aimed at making a contribution to the economy as well as building a sense of solidarity among subjects of the state and the legitimacy of the rulers.


Sources:

Patricia Berger. 1994. Preserving the Nation: The Political Uses of Tantric Art in China. In Latter Days of the Law: Images of Chinese Buddhism 85-1850. Lawrence: Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas. 89-125.
Heather Karmay (Stoddard). 1975. Early Sino-Tibetan Art. Aris and Phillips.
Rinchen Trashi. 1988. “Tibetan Buddhism and the Yuan Royal Court.” Tibet Studies 1-26.
Françoise Wang-Toutain, “Circulation du savior entre la Chine, la Mongolie, et le Tibet au XVIIe siècle. Le prince Mgon-po skyabs.” Études chinoises, vol XXIV, (2005), 57-111, which cites Huang Hao Zai Beijing de Zangzu wenwu (1993), p. 55.

Entry by Stacey Van Vleet, 1/30/07, with additions by Gray Tuttle 9/22/08

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Multilingual text canon Zhiyuanlu

Zhiyuanlu 至元录/Zhiyuan fabao kantong zonglu至元法宝勘同总录

Comparative catalogue of Tibetan and Chinese Buddhist canons and reconstitution of Sanskrit titles supported by Qubilai Khan (d. 1294) under the direction of ‘Phags pa and with the assistance of Chinese, Tibetan and Uighur Buddhists. Preserved in the Chinese Buddhist canon, Taisho vol. 99, number 25, in ten juan.


Source:

Françoise Wang-Toutain, “Circulation du savior entre la Chine, la Mongolie, et le Tibet au XVIIe siècle. Le prince Mgon-po skyabs.” Études chinoises, vol XXIV, (2005), 57-111, which cites Huang Hao Zai Beijing de Zangzu wenwu (1993), p. 55.

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Snar thang Canon

Snar thang Canon

During the Yuan dynasty, Buyantu Khan (r.1312-1320) sponsored ‘Jam dbyang “the Wise” to compile the Bstan ‘gyur at Snar thang. The Snar thang canon reputedly provided the model for all later editions of the canon.


Sources:

Badashkeyeva, T.T. 1989. “The History of Tibetan Medicine in Mongolia.” In Tibetan Medicine: The History, Methodology and Prospects for Use. Ulan-Ude: USSR Academy of Science, pp. 77-81.
Vogel, Claus. 1965. Vagbhata’s Astangahrdayasamhita. Wiesbaden: Deutsche Morgenlandische Gesellschaft.
Silk, Jonathan A. 1996. “Notes on the History of the Yongle Kanjur.” In Suhrllekhah: Festgabe für Helmut Eimer. Swisttal-Odendorf: Indica et Tiebetica Verlag.

Entry by Stacey Van Vleet, 4/23/07

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Shes bya rab gsal

Shes bya rab gsal

Shes bya rab gsal, which is also known as Zhang suo zhi lun彰所知論 in Chinese, was the Abhidharma work made by ‘Phags-pa Blo-gros rgyal-mtshan (1235-1280) for teaching the Mongolian crown prince Jinggim (1243-1286,Chi. Zhen jin 真金). In order to legitimize the regime of Mongolians, Shes bya rab gsal traced the origin of Mongolians to Tibet, which had inherited Buddhist teaching from India. It is believed that Shes bya rab gsal was originally composed in Tibetan in 1278, and then translated into Mongolian and Chinese. Although past scholars have been familiar with the Chinese version of Zhang suo zhi lun collected in Chinese Tripitaka (Taisho Tripitaka Vol. T32, No. 1645), the Tibetan (in Sa skya bka’ ‘bum Vol. 13, pp. 13) and Mongolian versions were lately studied in 1980s and 2006 respectively (Hoog, 1983; Uspensky, 2006).

It seems that Shes bya rab gsal was not widely circulated during 13-14th century; nevertheless, it left significant legacies to later Mongolian historiographies that played big roles in making of the cosmology of early-modern Mongolians. For instance, the Buddhist cosmology in Shes bya rab gsal that suggested Mongol, Tibet and India shared a common origin was later adopted by Erderni-yin Tobči (Chi. Meng gu yuan liu蒙古源流) by Sagang Sečen in 1662. Moreover, Shes bya rab gsal did not only influence the historical writings, but also provide a theoretical antecedent for Manchu emperors that also linked their empire to the universal Buddhist origin that shared by Mongol, Tibet and India.


References

Chen, yin-ke 陳寅恪. Zhang suo zhi lun yu meng gu yuan liu (Shes bya rab gsal and Erdeni-yin Tobči). Bulletin of the Institute of History and Philology Academia Sinica. 2:3, 1931, pp. 302-309.
Shen, weirong 沈衛榮. A Re-examination of the Shes bya rab gsal and the Erdeniyin Tobči. Bulletin of the Institute of History and Philology Academia Sinica. 77:4, 2006, pp. 697-727.
Uspensky, Vladimir. “Explanation of the Knowable” by ‘Phags-pa bla-ma Blo-gros rgyal-mtshan (1235-1280). Tokyo: Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa, 2006.
Hoog, Constance. Prince Jin-Gim’s Texkbook of Tibetan Buddhism. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1983

Entry by Ling-wei Kung 10/18/14

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Sangge

Sangge/Sangko (? – 1291)

This Tibetan (Kamalok) statesman rose to power quickly from his first meeting with Pakpa to his official appointment in Qubilai Khan’s court. He was also rumored to be of Ughyur descent and little recorded history exists considering his early years. As the head of the Sino-Mongol financial empire, Sangge’s control went unchecked by the emperor and was characterized in memory by corruption, oppression and tyranny.

Fluent in Mongolian, Chinese, Uyghur, Tibetan and other languages, Sangge ascended to power mainly through his interpreting skills, which gained him favor with ‘Phags pa. During his appointment in the Zongzhi yuan (created in 1264), Sangge enjoyed the favor and protection of the lama who in turn introduced him to Qubilai Khan. 1272 is the first year on record where Sangge is mentioned as an imperial official.

Sangge’s power climaxed in 1287, when he was appointed as chancellor of the right of the Supreme Secretariat. At the same time, he served as the head of Zongzhi yuan and another governmental body in charge of Buddhist pious works. Sangge continued his power by influencing the appointments underneath him, giving him full control of his bureaucracy.

Sangge strengthened the Mongolian military grasp over Tibet, strategically distributing troops at the center and border of the territory. This marked the first permanent occupation of Tibet by Chinese imperial troops. Soon after, Sangge focused his efforts on reorganizing the Tibetan postal service – a move that failed due to the immense pressure it exerted on residents who lived in postal districts and quickly fled. At his golden years in power, Sangge also continued to reform the country’s currency system.

In his incredibly powerful position, Sangge only needed to answer to the emperor himself, an unchecked power system that eventually led to his downfall. When the emperor was finally made aware of Sangge’s disrespectful etiquette and corruption (for example, he unsealed a box of fruit sent from the emperor as tribute), he ordered Sangge executed. After a long delay and governmental seizure of his family’s assets, Sangge was executed on Aug. 17, 1291.


Source:

Luciano Petech, Sang-ko, a Tibetan statesman in Yüan China. Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientarium Hungaricae 34:193-208. 1980

Entry by Megan H. Chan, 2/12/07