CHINA，S TIBET CULTURE & RELIGION PRINCESSES AND THEIR DOWRIES 〇.. .a
W ith his conquered territories
firmly under his control,
Songtn Gampo decided
that a more central location was needed
for his capital; his old Yarlung home
was rem ote, and M aizhokunggar
was too small. He cho the Red Hill
如何学习心理学beside Kyichu (Lhasa River), and so
the royal city of Rasa (later called
Lhasa) was built.
He also began to become aware of
the importance of solidifying relations
with the Tang Dynasty, and in 635
the first Tubo envoy was dispatched
to the Tang capital of C hang'an. When he returned, accompanied by a reciprocal envoy nt by Emperor Taizong, he described in detail the wonders of that prosperous capital, known as a "land of propriety and righteousness, hometown of poetry and scholarship." The young monarch was enthralled with the tales, and an idea began to form in his mind of a marriage alliance with the Tang imperial hou.
One morning, Songtn Gampo g a th e re d his c o u rtie rs. He did not speak his mind directly, but mentioned a dream he had had the • Mural depicting Princess Wencheng going to Tibet.
previous night: "\dreamed of marrying a princess of Nepal in the west and a princess of Tang in the east.,; When the proposal was put to him, the king of Nepal agreed immediately (Nepal at that time was a vassal state of Tubo), and nt Princess Tritsun, escorted by a procession which included ele
phants and carrying various Nepale treasures.
However, it was much more difficult to arrange a marriage to Princess Wencheng. Her father, Emperor Taizong rebuffed the initial proposal. Stung by this slight, Songtn Gampo determined to impress the Tang ruler with a ries of conquests.
First he wrested control of Tuyuhun from Tang. Then he forced the Western Qiang tribes to repudiate their allegiance to Tang. As a further sign of his power, he besieged the city of Songzhou (today’s Songpan in Aba Prefecture, Sichuan Province) with an army of 200,000. His cond proposal of marriage was also
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CULTURE & RELIGION兰花好养吗
turned down by Emperor Taizong. As
more Qiang tribes repudiated their
allegiance to Tang, Songtn Gampo
lifted the siege as a concession to the
emperor, and nt his nior official
Lon Tongtn to the Tang court with
a huge quantity of gold as the bride-
price.
This time, in 641, the proposal
was accepted. The story of Princess
W encheng’s trip to Tibet has been
recorded and retold countless times
as a symbol of Tang-Tubo friendship.
It was also immortalized in a work
by the leading Tang Dynasty painter
Yan Liben. In Tibet itlf, the story
has been popular for over 1,000
years, written in annals, painted as
murals, performed as Tibetan operas
and sung as ballads. The dowry and artisans the princess took along were tokens of exchanges in m
aterial culture. A gold statue of the Buddha the princess took with her is still kept in the main shrine of Jokhang Temple.
The m a rria g e tr u ly in v o lv e d cultural exchanges on a large scale. The princess’s attendants introduced to Tubo not only Buddhist scriptures but calendar calculation, medical practices, and the arts and literature of the Tang. Also accompanying the princess were artisans of building, metallurgy, carving, brewing and other skills. Huge amounts of silks and brocades were also taken to Tibet. Especially uful was the introduction of turnip eds. Turnips can be stored throughout the long winters on the Tibetan plateau, and have become an integral part of the Tibetan diet since the days of Princess Wencheng. It is • Mural depicting king and ministers of Tubo greeting the statue of Shakyamuni
brought by Princess Wencheng.
• The gold statue of the Buddha in the Jokhang Temple, brought by Princess Wencheng.
Photo by Zheng Shuo
said that Songtn Gampo was the first Tubo ruler to wear silk instead of fur.
There were also failures in the efforts at cultural exchange. There are mulberry groves at Lhoka and Nyingchi, 3,000 meters above a level, and so, aiming to help the Tibetans create their own silk industry, Princess Wencheng took silkworm eggs and sk川ed silk workers with her. However, it ems that the
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CHINA'S TIBET CULTURE & RELIGION
•The live-action drama of Princess Wencheng preformed in Lhasa.
silkworms did not survive the journey.
Princess W encheng only spent a few years with Songtn Gampo, and then lived alone for three decades, leaving behind a number of legends in Tibet, but no authentic record. She did not em to leave behind any word except for the fanfare at her marriage, not even a single memorial to the throne. According to Chine records, the monk Xuanzhao pasd through Lhasa on his w ay to India and back during the reign of Emperor Taizon g and had tw o au d ien ces with Princess W encheng, receiving financial help from her. Wang Xuance, the Tang envoy to India, also visited her in Lhasa, but there is no record of their discussions.
P rin c e s s Jin c h e n g, h o w e v e r, w ho w en t to Tibet as the consort of S o n g tn G am po's grandson
白玫瑰代表什么
Mangsong Mangtn, ems to have
香肠蒸饭taken an active part in the state
affairs of Tubo. Emperor Zhongzong
c o n s e n te
d to th
e m a rria g e, as
described in New History of the Tang
D y n a s t y,to put a stop to Tubo
incursions into Tang territory. As part
of her dowry, Princess Jincheng took
with her the fertile area of Jiuqu, the
west of the Yellow River.
In the space of 40 years, the Tang
乳胶床垫品牌
court was asked for the hands of
princess for three Tubo monarchs.
A fte r M an g so ng M an g tn died
in 676, at the age of 30, Dusong
M a n g p o je, th e n o n ly a b a b y,
succeeded to the throne. An envoy
from Tubo traveled to the Tang
capital of Chang'an to try to arrange
a marriage with a Tang princess, but
the court delayed the matter year
after year, and Dusong Mangpoje was
killed at the age of 27, having ized
Songzhou and Taozhou on the border
of Gansu and Sichuan provinces, and,
in 703, conquering Nanzhao. His son
and successor Tride Tsugtn, who
was born in the year his father died,
did eventually marry a Tang princess.
Around 730 Princess Jin ch en g
asked, via a Tubo envoy, the Tang
court to nd her copies of the classics
一什么汗水Mao Edition of the Book of Songs, The
Book of Rites, Zuo’s Chronology and
Selections o f Refined Literature.But
Yu Xiulie, a court official, wrote a
memorial advising the emperor to
turn down the request, arguing that
the books would acquaint Tubo with
Tang m ilitary strategy. However,
an o th e r o fficial, Pei G uan g tin g,
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CULTURE & RELIGION2021.1 VOL 32
thought that the books would help civilize Tubo, becau
they emphasized loyalty, faithfulness, protocol and
righteousness. In the end, the emperor adopted the
latter’s idea, but such arguments lasted through the Ming
Dynasty (1368-1644).
There has been much confusion among Tibetologists
about the dynastic affairs. It is even claimed that Princess
Jincheng was betrothed to Prince Jangcha Lhapon, the
son of Tride Tsugtn. But the prince died falling from
horback (Some say he was murdered). So she had
to marry his aged father. However, Tubo and Chine
historical documents found at Dunhuang show that when
Princess Jincheng entered Tibet Tride Tsugtn was only
six years old.
Then there is the tale of "Meeting the uncle at the table."
When Princess Jincheng gave birth to Trisong Detn, the
榜书书法作品欣赏
baby was ized by Queen Snanam and claimed as her
own. Tride Tsugtn gave a banquet, at which he gave the
infant Trisong Detna gold cup filled with wine and told
him to offer it to his maternal uncle, so that his biological
mother might be identified. Sure enough, Trisong Detn
went to a Han Chine guest, and called himlf "nephew.〃
In fact, Trisong Detn was born three years after Princess
Jincheng’s death.
During its 280 years of power, the Tang Dynasty formed 35 marriage alliances—with tribes and kingdoms in Qinghai, Tibet, Yunnan, Guizhou, Mongolia and the Tarim Basin. This strategy was common in ancient times both in China and other countries. There was a tradition of marriage alliance within Tubo too: From the era of Pugyal, the royal clan intermarried with the Snanams, Tshepongs, Qongs and Dro. The post of prime minister was usually held by a brother-in-law. Meanwhile, the king had foreign concubines, for example, princess from Nanzhao and Tuyuhun. Tubo princess also married foreign kings. Examples are Takub Nyesik's sister marrying Zingporje khripangsum, ruler of the area west of the Lhasa River, and Songtn Gampo’s sister marrying Likmishar, King of Zhangzhung.
At least three memorials nt by Princess Jincheng to the Tang emperor are extant: Memorial of Gra
titude for Granting Brocade and Utensils, Memorial Begging the Emperor •The colorful statue of Princess Wencheng.
吃什么补铁效果最好孕妇to Grant the Tsampo Peace and Memorial Asking to Establish a Prefecture. She always talked about ^conciliation between unde and nephew" and "all people under heaven sharing peace and happiness." But of the 30 years that the princess lived in Tibet, only the first few years witnesd no warfare on the Tang-Tubo border. After that, wars continued every year. She did not live to e the coming of peace.
They traveled far, saying goodbye to the flowery capital city and extravagant court life, toward the plateau of wind and sand. When they arrived at Tubo, the accompanying dowry also brought best wishes, ct
Uhis article is excerpted from the book of Tibetan H istory Illustrated 77irow^215 C/ossfoi/ Stones (English version), authored by Ma Lihua and published by Foreign Languages Press.]
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