Tsongkha | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 997–1104 | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
| Capital | Tsongkha (modernPing'an District), Qingtang (Xining) | ||||||||
| Common languages | Tibetan | ||||||||
| Religion | Buddhism | ||||||||
| Government | Theocracy | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Established | 997 | ||||||||
• Disestablished | 1104 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | China | ||||||||
Tsongkha (Tibetan:ཙོང་ཁ།,Wylie:tsong kha;Chinese:宗喀國), also known asQingtang (Chinese:青唐國) andGusiluo (Chinese:唃廝囉國), was aTibetan theocracy that ruled northeasternTibet from 997 to 1104.[1]
In 997 the elders ofAmdo found a descendant of theYarlung dynasty inGaochang by the name of Qinanling Wenqianbu. They took him toHezhou where they named himGusiluo/Juesiluo, otherwise known as Gyelsé, meaning "son of Buddha".[2]
In 1008Gusiluo was enthroned atKuozhou asTsenpo.[2]
In 1017 Tsongkha was defeated by theSong dynasty commanderCao Wei.[3]
In 1025 Gusiluo relocated toMiaochuan.[3]
In 1032 Gusiluo relocated toQingtang.[4] Around the same time his eldest son Xiazhan established himself in Hezhou and his second son Mozhanjiao in Tsongkha.[5]
In 1054 assisted the Song army in resolving a dispute among Tibetan tribes.[5]
In 1058 aKhitan princess married Gusiluo's son Dongzhan.[6] Dongzhan killed Xiazhan and Mozhanjiao.[5]
In 1065 Gusiluo died and was succeeded by his son Dongzhan. Mucheng, son of Xiazhan, declared independence in Hezhou. Mucheng sided with theTanguts and began interfering with trade caravans entering theSong dynasty.[7]
In 1070 the monks Jiewuchila and Kangzunxinluojie attempted to enthrone Mucheng's younger brother Donggu atWushengjun but failed.[7]
In 1072 the Song dynasty commander Wang Shao attacked Mucheng and gained control of Wushengjun (Xizhou) and Hezhou, though Mucheng escaped. The Song general Jing Sili was killed by the Tibetan warrior Guizhang. During the taking of Hezhou, 7,000 Tibetans were killed and 12,000 were taken prisoner. More than 20,000 tent dwellings were destroyed.[8]
In 1074 Dongzhan and Mucheng submitted to Song governance.[8]
After the failedSong invasion of Western Xia ended in 1085, the Song lost all influence in Tsongkha. Mucheng had been succeeded by Guizhang.[9]
In 1086, Dongzhan died and was succeeded by his adopted son, Aligu (Khotanese mother). Aligu hid the death of Dongzhan for a year and induced his father's Khitan wife to kill two other wives to eliminate potential rivals. Then he married his daughter to theTanguts. Aligu gained Song recognition, which infuriated Guizhang. Guizhang fortified himself atTaozhou and began raiding Song territory. In 1087, Song forces led by Chong Yi captured Guizhang and sent him toKaifeng. Two years later he was released and sent to live inQinzhou, where he died two years later.[10]
Aligu was an unpopular ruler. In 1092 he incarcerated the tribal leader Wenxixin and his son Xibawen as Song spies.[11]
Aligu died in 1096 and was succeeded by his son, Xiazheng.[11]
In 1099, Xiazheng was expelled by Xinmouqinzhan, who enthroned Longza as rightful heir to the Gusiluo line. The Song commander Wang Shan defeated Longza and occupied Tsongkha. At first the Song tried to directly administrate the area, but Tibetan resistance forced the reinstatement of Longza as hereditary administrator and Mucheng's son, Bangbiwudingwa as military commissioner with responsibility over the Tibetan tribes.[1][12]
Longza returned to power in 1101, but was immediately driven off by his brother, Xisheluosa.[13]
In 1103, the Song dispatched Wang Hou to conquer Tsongkha. Wang led 20,000 troops to capture the Tibetan border settlements, forcing Xisheluosa to retreat to Tsongkha (Zongge). Wang's forces were increased by another 10,000 reinforcements. They defeated a Tibetan army, taking 4,316 heads and over 3,000 prisoners. A princess of Tsongkha led her followers to surrender. Qingtang turned on Xisheluosa, who fled further west intoQinghai. TheSong armies occupied the region again and renamed Qingtang toXining.[14]
Xiazheng found refuge in Song territory and died in 1102.[15]
In 1108, Longza, renamed Zhao Huaide, was raised to the rank of prince and military governor. Rebellious elements in the newly conquered territory persisted. The tribal chieftains, Jiezhanpangjian and Zangzhengpuge, continued to raid Song territory. Song forces eventually forced Jiezhanpangjian to flee and without his help, Zangzhengpuge submitted to Song authority.[16]
By 1109 the Song dynasty had registered all the Tibetan towns ofKokonor under Chinese names.[14]
The area was later conquered by theJin dynasty (1115–1234), which ceded the area to theWestern Xia in 1136.[17]
