Guge | |||||||||
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 Ruins of the Guge capital atTsaparang | |||||||||
Location of Guge and neighbouring polities in the early 1000s.[1] | |||||||||
| Capital | Tsaparang | ||||||||
| Religion | Tantric Hinduism,Tibetan Buddhism,Shamanism,Bon | ||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||
| Kyide Nyimagon(first) | |||||||||
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| Today part of | China;India;Nepal | ||||||||
Guge (Tibetan:གུ་གེ་,Wylie:gu ge) was an ancient dynastic kingdom in WesternTibet. The kingdom was centered in present-dayZanda County,Ngari Prefecture,Tibet Autonomous Region. At various points in history after the 10th century AD, the kingdom held sway over a vast area including south-easternZanskar,Kinnaur district, andSpiti Valley, either by conquest or as tributaries. The ruins of the former capital of the Guge kingdom are located atTsaparang in theSutlej valley, not far fromMount Kailash and 1,200 miles (1,900 km) west fromLhasa.
Guge was founded in the 10th century. Its capitals were located atTholing31°28′55″N79°48′01″E / 31.48194°N 79.80028°E /31.48194; 79.80028 andTsaparang.[2]Kyide Nyimagon, a great-grandson ofLangdarma, the last monarch of theTibetan Empire, fled toNgari (West Tibet) from the insecure conditions inÜ-Tsang in 910. He established a kingdom around 912, annexingPurang and Guge. He established his capital in Guge.
Nyimagon later divided his lands into three parts. The king's eldest sonPalgyigon became ruler ofMaryul (Ladakh), his second sonTrashigon (bKra shis mgon) received Guge-Purang, and the third sonDetsukgon receivedZanskar.
Trashigon was succeeded by his sonSrong nge orYeshe-Ö (Ye shes 'Od) (947–1024 or (959–1036), who was a renownedBuddhist figure. In his time a Tibetanlotsawa from Guge calledRinchen Zangpo (958–1055), after having studied in India, returned to his homeland as a monk to promote Buddhism. Together with the zeal of Yeshe-Ö, this marked the beginning of a new diffusion of Buddhist teachings in western Tibet. In 988 Yeshe-Ö took religious vows and left kingship to his younger brotherKhor re.
According to laterhistoriography, the TurkicKarluks (Gar log) took the Yeshe-Ö prisoner in a war.[3] The episode has a prominent place in Tibetan history writing. The Karluks offered to set him free if he renounced Buddhism, which he refused to do. They then demanded his weight in gold to release him. His junior kinsmanByang chub 'Od visited him in his prison with a small retinue, butYeshe-Ö admonished him not to use the gold at hand for ransom, but rather to invite the renownedMahayana sageAtiśa (982–1054).Yeshe-Ö eventually died in prison from age and poor treatment.[4] The story is historically debated since it contains chronological inconsistencies.[citation needed]
In 1037,Khor re's eldest grandson'Od lde was killed in a conflict with theKara-Khanid Khanate from Central Asia, who subsequently ravaged Ngari. His brotherByang chub 'Od (984–1078), aBuddhist monk, took power as secular ruler. He was responsible for invitingAtiśa to Tibet in 1040 and thus ushering in the so-calledChidar (Phyi-dar) phase of Buddhism in Tibet.Byang chub 'Od's sonrTse lde was murdered by his nephew in 1088. This event marked the break-up of the Guge-Purang kingdom, since one of his brothers was established as separate king of Purang. The usurping nephewdBang lde continued the royal dynasty in Guge.[6]
A new Kara-Khanid invasion of Guge took place before 1137 and cost the life of the ruler,bKra shis rtse. Later in the same century the kingdom was temporarily divided. In 1240 theMongol khagan, at least nominally, gave authority over the Ngari area to theDrigung Monastery in Ü-Tsang.
Grags pa lde was an important ruler who united the Guge area around 1265 and subjugated the relatedYa rtse (Khasa) kingdom. After his death in 1277 Guge was dominated by theSakya monastic regime. After 1363, with the decline of the Mongol-ledYuan dynasty and their Sakya protégés, Guge was again strengthened and took over Purang in 1378. Purang was henceforth contested between Guge andMustang, but was finally integrated into the former. Guge also briefly ruled over Ladakh in the late 14th century. From 1499 the Guge king had to acknowledge theRinpungpa rulers of Tsang. The 15th and 16th centuries were marked by a considerable Buddhist building activity by the kings, who frequently showed their devotion to theGelug leaders later known as theDalai Lamas.[7]
The first Westerners to reach Guge wereAntónio de Andrade, aJesuit missionary, and his companion brotherManuel Marques, in 1624. De Andrade reported seeing irrigation canals and rich crops in what is now a dry and desolate land. Perhaps as evidence of the kingdom's openness, de Andrade's party was allowed to construct a chapel in Tsaparang and instruct the people aboutCatholic Christianity.[8] A letter by De Andrade relates that some military commanders revolted and called the Ladakhis to overthrow the ruler. There had been friction between Guge and Ladakh for many years, and the invitation was heeded in 1630. The Ladakhi forces laid siege to the almost impenetrable Tsaparang. The King's brother, who was chief lama and thus a staunch Buddhist, advised the pro-Christian ruler to surrender against keeping the state as tributary ruler. This treacherous advice was eventually accepted. Tibetan sources suggest that the Guge population was maintained in their old status. The last king, Tashi Drakpa De, (Khri bKra shis Grags pa lde) and his brother and other kin, were deported to Ladakh, where they lived comfortably until their death. The prince married a wife from the Ladakhi royal family.[9][10]
Tsaparang and the Guge kingdom were later conquered in 1679–80 by the Lhasa-based Central Tibetan government under the leadership of the5th Dalai Lama, driving out the Ladakhis.
Western archeologists heard about Guge again in the 1930s through the work of ItalianGiuseppe Tucci. Tucci's work was mainly about thefrescoes of Guge. LamaAnagarika Govinda andLi Gotami Govinda visited the kingdom of Guge, including Tholing and Tsaparang, in 1947–1949. Their tours of central and western Tibet are recorded in black-and-white photos.[11]
| Part ofa series on |
| Tibetan Buddhism |
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Institutional roles |
History and overview |
A list of rulers of Guge and the relatedYa rtse kingdom has been established by the TibetologistsLuciano Petech and Roberto Vitali[12]
A. Royal ancestors of theYarlung dynasty
B. Kings of Guge and Purang.
C. Kings of Ya rtse.
D. Kings of Guge.
Specific references:
General references:
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