Tag: yuan

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Khubilai Khan

Khubilai Khan (1215 – 1294)

Khubilai Khan established the Yuan Dynasty officially in 1271 and served as the Great Khan during the height of Mongol rule and power throughout China. Khan came to power after an intense civil war which pitted him against his relatives (descendents of Ghengis Khan), including his brother Mongke, who as emperor, had commanded his brother Qubilai to lead conquering expeditions in China’s Western frontiers.

Although it took Khan a few years to overthrow the southern Sung dynasty – a vast territorial expanse with more than 50 million people – when he formally declared the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, he moved the capital from Karakorum (in modern-day Mongolia) to Beijing. Khan, who wanted to be known as the Khan of Khans and ruler of both Mongolia and China, inherited a China ravaged by civil war and in financial ruins.

From there, he led a dynasty characterized by trade and expeditions. Even though the late years of his rule would be marked by a foreboding lack of control of both domestic and foreign properties, foreign nations sent embassies to Khan’s court and even the king of Ceylon sent him presents. Such was the court Marco Polo visited on his trip to Asia. But Khan’s social works projects placed a huge financial burden on his empire. In 1289, Khan finished a 135-mile extension of The Grand Canal, whose maintenance costs paled in comparison to the price of material and wages of nearly 3 million workers it took to build the waterway. Khan’s project now allowed grain and other products to come directly from the Yangtze River to Beijing.

In an attempt to take Mongol expansion to the seas for the first time, Khan launched two large-scale and failed attacks against Japan. The first in 1274 used mostly Korean ships and the second in 1281 dealt a devastating blow to the empire’s sea power when a typhoon destroyed almost the entirety of the fleet. Under Khan, the Mongol empire launched two attacks against Vietnam, but were again badly beaten both times. In 1280, Khan organized China’s first expedition to Tibet to scout out the origins of the Yellow River.

Toward the end of his reign, in 1281, his favorite wife, Chabi, died and five years later, his appointed successor and son followed his mother. Loneliness contributed to Khan’s indulgence in food and alcohol, which led to afflictions of obesity and gout. His tomb has yet to be discovered and no record of an elaborate burial exists.

Sources:
Lewis, Archibald Ross. “Nomads and Crusaders, A.D. 1000-1368.” Indiana University Press, c1988.
Elverskog, Johan. “Our Great Qing: The Monogls, Buddhism and the State in late Imperial China.”
Kapstein, Matthew T. “The Tibetans.”
Rossabi, Morris. “Khubilai Khan: His Life and Times.”

Entry by Megan H. Chan, 1/29/07

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Dynastic Preceptor

Dynastic Preceptor: Guoshi (国师)

This is a title that kings and emperors gave to great monks and lamas. The first guoshi in history was in China; in 550, the king of Beiqi (北齐) bestowed the title to a great teacher, Fachang (法常). Afterwards, when China-based dynasties such as the Yuan, Ming and Qing had relationships with Tibet, they bestowed the titles of “Fawang (法王)”， “Wang (王)”， “Daguoshi (大国师)”， “Guoshi (国师)”, and so on. The most influential and popular guoshi in Mongol Empire was ‘Phags pa bla ma.

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Imperial Preceptor

Imperial Preceptor: di shi 帝師, Tib. ti shri

A government post created during the reign of the Mi nyag/Xixia emperor Renzong (r. 1139-1193), probably in the 1170s. The first known Imperial Preceptor was Boluo xiansheng 波囉顯勝, who may have been a Tibetan. In terms of his rank, his other title was the equivalent to that of an imperial prince. This tendency to treat high-ranking monks as the equals of royalty continued into the Qing dynasty. By the late 12th century, Tibetans appear to have served in this post. The Central Tibetan Gtsang po pa Dkon mchog seng ge and his student ‘Gro mgon Ti shri ras pa were probably the last Imperial Preceptors. The responsibilities of this post included first, serving as the emperor’s chaplain, teacher and consecrator and, more generally, teaching, writing, translating and editing. For instance, the Imperial Preceptor oversaw the Mi nyag revisions of the Tangut and Chinese Buddhist canons.

In the Yuan dynasty, this post was continued, but with an added responsibility of overseeing the political situation in Central Tibet. ‘Phags pa was a State Preceptor (guoshi) from 1260-1270, and then became the first Mongol Imperial Preceptor in 1270. They continued to have important religious roles at the court. ‘Phags pa in particular wrote a large number of texts for the benefit and training of the imperial family, especially Qubilai Khan’s chosen heir Jingim (who died before he could take power). To provide the imperial family with ready service, their official residence (Me tog ra ba) was within the precincts of the imperial palace.

However, their role was broader than merely serving the imperial family. The Imperial Preceptors had more political responsibilities (for Tibet) than they had in the Mi nyag dynastic period. For instance, they would issue decrees, under the emperor’s authority to both protect and command monasteries in Tibet. Moreover, they directed all Buddhist establishments in the Yuan empire and were charged with promoting Buddhism in the empire. They oversaw routine Buddhist ceremonies and special rituals upon the enthronement and funerals of the emperors. They held rituals and dedicated stupas to the protection of the state and its subjects, in general terms or in specific instances, such as to prevent flooding. During the preceptorship (1327-1329) of Kun dga’ legs pa’i ‘byung nas rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po, officials concerned about the expenses of Buddhist ceremonies successfully petitioned the emperor to abolish the Du gongde shi (central office in charge of Buddhist affairs). The elimination of this office temporarily reduced the power of the imperial preceptor, though the office was restored sometime between 1333-1358 when Kun dga’ rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po was the Imperial Preceptor.

List of Imperial Preceptors in the Yuan Dynasty*
1270-1273 1) ‘Phags pa
1273-1279/1282 2) Rin chen rgyal mtshan (1235-1279/1282), ‘Phags pa’s younger step-brother, came to Beijing in 1269 with ‘Phags pa
1282-1286 3) Dharmapâla rakshîta (1268-1287), ‘Phags pa’s nephew
1286-1294 4) Ye shes rin chen (1248-1294), ‘Phags pa’s disciple
1294-1303 5) Grags pa ‘od zer (1246-1303), ‘Phags pa’s disciple
1304-1305 6) Rin chen rgyal mtshan (1258-1305), ‘Phags pa’s disciple
1305-1314 7) Sang rgyas dpal (1267-1314), Grags pa ‘od zer’s nephew
[c. 1312] Sga A gnyan Dam pa Kun dga’ dgrags (1230-1303), ‘Phags pa’s disciple, was posthumously declared Imperial Preceptor
1315-1327 8) Kun dga’ blo gros rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po (1299-1327), Sa skya ‘Khon family member
1322/1323-1325 9) Dbang phyugs rgyal mtshan (?-1325), concurrent and acting Imperial Preceptor, while Kun dga’ blo gros rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po was in Tibet
1327-1329 10) Kun dga’ legs pa’i ‘byung nas rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po (1308-1329), Sa skya family member
1329 11) Rin chen grags [bkra?] shis, also appointed as Tai situ (Great Minister of Education)
1333-1358 12) Kun dga’ rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po (1310-1358), stepbrother of Kun dga’ blo gros rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po, Sa skya ‘Khon family member
1361-1362 13) Bsod names blo gros rgyal mtshan (1332-1362), grand-nephew of ‘Phags pa
c. 1368 14) Rnam rgyal dpal bzang po, Imperial Preceptor at end of Yuan rule of China; sent emissary to Ming Court in 1372
*Of these, only three (#9, 11, 14) do not have clear connection to ‘Phags pa as either related family members or direct disciples.

Sources:
Ruth Dunnel. The Hsia Origins of the Yüan Institution of Imperial Preceptor. Asia Major. Third Series, Vol. 5, part 1, 1992, pp. 85-111.
Elliot Sperling, Rtsa-mi lo-tsa-ba Sangs-rgyas Grags-pa and the Tangut background to early Mongol-Tibetan relations,” PIATS6 Oslo, 801-824 & “‘Lama to the King of Hsia’” The Journal of the Tibet Society, vol. 7, 1987, pp. 31-50.
Herbert Franke.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. Focus on pp. 52-79.
Rinchen trashi. “Tibetan Buddhism and the Yuan Royal Court.” Tibet Studies. 1-26.
Wang Yao and Chen Qingying. Xizang lishi wenhua cidian/ Bod kyi lo rgyus rig gnas tsig mdzod. Xizang renmin chubanshe/Zhejiang renmin chubanshe, 1998, pp. 66-67. Listing of imperial preceptors.
Luciano Petech. 1980. Sang-ko, a Tibetan statesman in Yüan China. Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientarium Hungaricae 34:193-208.

Entry by Gray Tuttle 1/29/07

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Liangzhou

Liangzhou 涼州 (currently: Wuwei 武威, Gansu Province) Tib. Ling chu gser khab/ Byang ngos

This initially Chinese prefectural seat on the Silk Road corridor between the Tibetan and Mongol inhabited regions of Inner Asia was a critical zone of contact between different ethnic and political polities across the centuries. Tibetans first attacked Liangzhou as part of the Tibetan Empire’s expansion into Inner Asia in 701, and finally captured the city from the Tang Dynasty in 764, only to lose it to the Uyghurs in 808. However, with brief exceptions, from the early ninth to the early eleventh centuries Liangzhou remained in the hands of the Tibetans, one of the last remnant outposts of their once vast Inner Asian empire.

Liangzhou Tibetans maintained good relations with the Song Dynasty from 906 to 1015, often winning titles from the court. However, after a brief period of rule by Uyghur’s from 1015 to 1030, Liangzhou became an important regional city in the rising Mi nyag or Xia Empire. Given its culturally Tibetan history, this city remained an important site for Mi nyag Tibetan contact. In the late twelfth and early thirteenth century, it was home to two imperial preceptors (dishi 帝師)–the Tibetan Gtsang po pa Dkon mchog seng ge (?-1218/1219) and Ti shri ras pa Sangs rgyas ras chen (1164/1165-1236)–in the Karma and ‘Ba’ rom pa Kagyü traditions respectively. The long-term presence of Kagyü monasteries in this region thus must date to this period.

With the collapse of the Mi nyag/Xia Empire to Mongol onslaught in 1227, in 1239 Liangzhou became the headquarters of Köden, son of Ögödei Khan. It was from this seat of power that the first Mongol invasion of Tibet was launched in 1240, under the direction of a Tangut named Doorda Darqan. Köden summoned Sa skya Pandita Kun dga’ rgyal mtshan (1182-1251) to Liangzhou in 1244, and he arrived in 1246 with his two nephew’s ‘Phags pa (1235-1280) and Phyag na rdo rje. Although these Sa skya representatives stayed only a short while in Liangzhou, they had a lasting influence on the region. In return for healing Köden from an illness, Sa skya Pandita was given the local temple Sprul pa’i sde (Huanhua si 幻化寺, also known as the White Stupa Temple (Baitasi白塔寺), located in Dahe xiang 大河鄉. He died and was buried there in 1251. In all, the Sa skya controlled four monasteries spread around the city in the cardinal directions: this temple in the east, in the west Pad mo’i sde (Lianhua si蓮花寺), in the north Byang rgya mtsho sde (Haizang si海藏寺, this is the only one to survive to the present), in the south Dbang sde (Guanding si/ Jinta si 灌頂寺/金塔寺). Shortly after his uncle died, ‘Phags pa left in 1253 to serve at the court of Qubilai (not yet khan at this time). Around 1256, Karma Pakshi (1206-1283), the second Black Hat Karmapa, also passed through Liangzhou on his way from visiting Qubilai in the south heading north to the court of Möngke Khan in Mongolia. The Kagyü influence in this region, which was quite strong until the visit of the fifth Dalai Lama in 1652 (on his way to the Qing court in Beijing), no doubt benefited from this visit. Although Köden died by 1260 at the latest, his family remained in Liangzhou as the rulers of Hexi (河西) for the duration of Mongol rule.

    Sources:

Christopher Beckwith. 1987. The Tibetan Empire in Central Asia, Princeton: Princeton University Press
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. pp. 89-125
Ruth Dunnel. The Hsia Origins of the Yüan Institution of Imperial Preceptor. Asia Major. Third Series, Vol. 5, part 1, 1992, pp. 85-111
Heather Karmay, Early Sino-Tibetan Art. Aris and Phillips. 1975: 35-42
Luciano Petech. 1983. Tibetan Relations with Sung China and the Mongols. In China among equals: the Middle Kingdom and its neighbors, 10th-14th centuries. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 173-204
Wangqian Duanzhi and Jiang Zengli, Sapan yu Liangzhou si da fo si, xerox, pp. 9-13.

Entry by Gray Tuttle, 1/21/07