In 1900 a Chinese Taoist priest named Wang Yuanlu was engaged in the pious restoration of one of the cave temples of Mogao at Dunhuang, the famous oasis on the Silk Road in Gansu province. Breaking through a wall, he found a concealed chamber adjoining the site of his work. Cave 17, as the chamber is now known, proved to be a repository containing tens of thousands of texts together with hundreds of paintings, some as many as 1,500 years old, and all written at least nine centuries before; the chamber had been sealed early in the eleventh century for reasons that are still disputed by historians. During the first years of the twentieth century, as rumors of Wang’s find spread, foreign explorers—including the British archeologist Sir Marc Aurel Stein (1862–1943), the French sinologist Paul Pelliot (1878–1945), and the Japanese Pure Land Buddhist leader Count Otani Kozui (1876–1948), among others—arrived to bargain with him for his treasures. The greatest cache of early medieval Silk Road documents ever revealed was thereby dispersed, the most important parts of the collection reaching Paris and London, where they are preserved today.
The many languages in which the Dunhuang documents are written—including Sanskrit, Khotanese, Sogdian, Tocharian, Uighur Turkish, and even Hebrew—offer a unique panorama of the rich international culture of medieval Central Asia. Two languages, in terms of the quantity and importance of the documentation they afford, far outweigh the rest: Chinese and Tibetan. Their predominance reflects the fact that Dunhuang was long under Chinese rule and its inhabitants mostly culturally Chinese, and that Tibet exercised power in the region for much of a century (c. 780–850), leaving behind a Tibetan-speaking population that endured for decades. The Tibetan texts discovered at Dunhuang were thus produced both by the Tibetans who occupied the region and by non-Tibetans, including Chinese, who had adopted the use of the Tibetan language.
The more than 4,000 Tibetan works from Cave 17 include notes of a few lines as well as large tomes of hundreds of pages. Their subject matter embraces a remarkably broad range of topics: legal documents and contracts, histories and religious treatises, manuals of divination and of ritual, medical tracts, and translations or paraphrases of Chinese and Sanskrit literary works. Here and throughout the remainder of part 1, the Tibetan Dunhuang documents will figure prominently among our sources. The present chapter introduces some of the key legendary and historical records. MTK
With the examination of the Tibetan documents collected early in the twentieth century by Marc Aurel Stein and Paul Pelliot at the Thousand-Buddha Cave at Dunhuang, it was soon recognized that a remarkable window had opened upon the old Tibetan empire and its immediate aftermath, providing independent sources through which the later record could be confirmed, criticized, or overturned. Of inestimable value are a number of historical records, which, as the Hungarian scholar Géza Uray has argued, were almost certainly prepared by and for the Tibetan imperial administration itself. Among them, Pelliot tibétain 1286
1 was among the first noted as important for the study of the history and traditions of the early Tibetan monarchy. It begins with a list of the principalities into which Tibet was divided prior to the emergence of the dynasty of Yarlung and follows with a genealogical record of the dynasty itself, an invaluable source on Tibetan royal traditions. At the beginning of this passage is the earliest version known of the myth of the first Tibetan king, Nyatri Tsenpo. Though it presents some difficulties in the interpretation of specific details, the narrative is in general quite clear. Nyatri is represented as a son of a god who is one of seven divine brothers, significantly the “joint” situated between the three older and three younger gods. When Nyatri descends to earth at Lhari Gyangdo, the “divine mountain” Gyangdo, he is honored by the earth itself, Mount Meru, the trees and the waters all offering homage. Tibet, by reason of its men, horses, and the qualities of the land itself, is extolled as a worthy domain for its new lord. The honor he receives from men marks the beginning of aristocratic customs.
The legend of Nyatri Tsenpo was recalled in later times and repeated by leading Tibetan historians from the twelfth century onward. The original significance of the name Nyatri was forgotten, however, and an interpretation based on a near homonym meaning “palanquin” was substituted. Thus, in the later forms of the tale, Nyatri, when he appears, is no longer quite clear about his divine origins—he merely points to the sky—but he is nevertheless acclaimed by men and borne aloft in a palanquin, for which reason he receives the name and title by which he is subsequently known. MTK
He came from divine heaven. In the heights of heaven divine dwelt the paternal god Master Six, among whose sons, three elder brothers and three younger brothers, was a seventh, Seven the Joint of the Throne. The son of Seven the Joint of the Throne was Tri Nyatri Tsenpo. In the confines of the earth, lord of father land, he went to the confines of the paternal region. When he arrived at the divine mountain Gyangdo, even Mount Meru bowed in submission, the trees hastened forth, and the springs ran clear and cool. Even Gorpabong and others saluted with prostrations. He came to be the lord of Six Divisions of Tibet.
2Even when he first came to earth, he arrived of his own accord to become the lord of all under heaven, in the middle of the heavens, in the center of the earth, in the heart of the continent, in the enclosure of snow mountains, at the head of all rivers, [where] the mountains were high, the earth pure, the country fine, men born clever and brave, practicing fine customs, a place where swift horses flourished.
[Owing to] the qualities whereby he differed from other kings, they prostrated in salutation before him, swift of foot. Dignified men dressed respectfully, so that the aristocratic bearing of great persons thence emerged.
In the generations of trees, it is the birch that is tall. In the generations of rivers, the river Yar is most clear. And Shampo, the god of Yar, is the crowning god.
[Old Tibetan Genealogy, Pelliot tibétain 1286. Trans. MTK.]
The Tibetan historical documents from Dunhuang include a year-by-year record of key events in the history of the monarchy that has come to be known as the Old Tibetan Annals (see below). A sort of companion to its terse notations is provided by the Old Tibetan Chronicle, a narrative written in a mixture of prose and verse that elaborates upon key events, the greatness of the monarchs, and similar matters of importance. This is now generally recognized to be a literary work, not a strictly historical text, and though it is sometimes a valuable historical source, its greatest value perhaps lies in the insight it provides into the beliefs and orientations maintained by the Tibetan imperial offices.
The opening chapter of the Old Tibetan Chronicle gives the legendary tale of Drigum Tsenpo, the seventh king according to the royal genealogies and the first considered to have left behind a corpse after his death in the manner of ordinary mortals, his predecessors having dissolved into light and been transported directly to heaven. The episode is included here for the information it contains regarding early Tibetan beliefs about the dead, the importance of appropriate last rites, and omens and chthonic powers. Later versions of the story differ in many points of detail, but they faithfully reproduced many aspects of the narrative over the centuries. This preservation seems remarkable and suggests that, as in the case of the tale of Nyatri Tsenpo and several other selections presented here, some of the post–eleventh-century historians had access to documents very much like this early text. MTK
When Drigum Tsenpo was little, they asked, “What name should he be given?” When the nurse Dro Zhama Kyilingma was asked, the nurse said, “Has [the mountain] Red Rock in Kyi crumbled or not? Has the Dangma yak-cow pasture been scorched by fire or not? Has the sacred lake Lewel dried up or not?” When they said, “The mountain has not crumbled, the lake has not dried, nor has the pasture been scorched by flames,” the nurse Dro Zhama misunderstood what she heard, for she was old. Having heard it as, “The mountain has crumbled, the pasture has been scorched, and the lake too has dried,” she said, “Well, then, he’ll be killed by water, or he’ll be killed by the knife, so name him the Monarch Killed-by-the-knife.” So they named him Drigum Tsenpo, but that name was wrong, and this affected his soul.
He was a son of the Dé, in human form, but he possessed magical abilities and great splendor, so that he could ascend visibly into the sky and so forth.
3 Owing to this, his ferocity and arrogance were invincible. Instigating contestation with His Majesty [i.e., himself], he provoked enmity from the nine patriarchs among his paternal retainers and the three divisions of his maternal retainers, demanding whether, as servitors, they had the might to challenge him. One by one, they all declined the challenge. But when Lo-ngam the Horse-herd also declined the challenge, he would not permit it.
Lo-ngam then made this request: “If you won’t permit that, then please give me, from among your divine treasures, the self-propelling javelin, the sword that cuts by itself, the self-fitting coat of mail, the self-dispensing quiver and so forth; for you have these great magical treasures.” Then he gave to him all of the divine treasures.
Then Lo-ngam the Horse-herd went before the Nyangro Shampo fortress. The Tsenpo too went to Nyangro Shampo, whereupon they joined in battle in the Ashen Grove of Nyangro. Then the Horse-herd said, “I pray also that you sever the long leathern cord at your head, and that you make your nine-stepped ‘head-ladder’ turn downwards.”
4 In both cases, he did just so.
Then Lo-ngam roped together one hundred oxen [bearing] two hundred golden spearheads, and he loaded ashes upon their backs. The oxen struggled among themselves, scattering the ashes, and in that [cloud] Lo-ngam made his passage.
When [the divinity] Déla Gunggyel invited the Tsenpo Drigum to the heavens, Lo-ngam drew a hatchet from beneath his arm and sent Déla Gunggyel in flight to the glacial mountain Titsé [Kailash]. The Tsenpo Drigum died on the spot, and his corpse was put into a sealed copper casket that was placed in the current of the Tsang River. Entering the waters, it arrived in the belly of the
nāga Ödé Bedé the Long in Sertsang. His two sons, named Shakhyi and Nyakhyi, were forced to flee to the land of Kong.
5After that, Gya Morhül Zhikhuk and Nanam Tsenzhonggyel together smeared poison into the coats of both the great world-hounds Önzug Yardrak and Zulu Majang of Jang.
6 Having passed Yawo Rock in Trangpo, the male was examined for omens, and the omens were good. They gathered before the place Nyangro Shampo and moved on by stealth. Now, [as for] our Horse-herd: Lo-ngam, having taken possession of the dogs with poison in their coats, he rubbed the good dogs with his hand. And our Horse-herd, his hand rubbing the poison smeared into the dogs’ coats, was killed, so that revenge was gotten.
Following that, the divine son Rulakyé of the paternal family of the son of Trak battled with the paternal family of Gya. Gya annihilated the Trak clan and seized all of their possessions. One wife of Trak fled and escaped to the land of her forefathers. She went carrying a son in her womb.
From about the time the boy could stand, he asked his mother, “As every man has a master, who is my master? As every man has a father, who is my father? Do tell me!”
His mother said, “A small man musn’t have a big mouth! A pony musn’t get haughty! I don’t know!”
Ngarlekyé, the son of Pü, said, “If you don’t tell me, I’ll die.”
His mother then relented. “Your father was killed by Gya. Your lord is the Tsenpo, who was assassinated by Lo-ngam the Horse-herd. His corpse was placed in a sealed copper casket and sent into the currents of the Tsangpo. Following the waters, in Sertsang it entered the belly of the nāga Ödé the Long. His two sons, named Shakhyi and Nyakhyi, were forced to flee to the land of Kong.”
Then Ngarlekyé, the son of Pü, said, “I will ascertain the trail of the lost man. I will seek a channel for the lost waters.” And he went off.
At Drenar in the land of Kong he met Shakhyi and Nyakhyi. He also met the nāga Ödé Bedé the Long. When he asked, “What do you want as ransom for the corpse of the Tsenpo?” he was told, “I want nothing other than this. I want one whose human eye is like the eye of a bird, [the eyelids] closing from below.”
Then Ngarlekyé, the son of Pü, sought throughout the four quarters of the heavens, but he did not find one whose human eye, like a bird’s eye, closed from below. His food had run out and his boots were torn, so he return to his mother’s side and said, “I have ascertained the trail of the lost man, and have found the channel of the lost waters. I also met the sons, Shakhyi and Nyakhyi. When I met the nāga Ödé the Long, [the nāga] said, ‘As a ransom for the corpse I want one whose human eye, like a bird’s eye, closes from below.’ But I have not found such a one, and so must continue the search. Give me supplies!” And so he went.
When he arrived below Gangpartrün, he went beside a daughter of Cho the Man-Bird, who was making an irrigation channel. There was a boy in her cradle-basket whose eyes, like those of a bird, closed from below, so he asked the mother, “What do you want in exchange for him?” The mother said, “I want nothing else [but this:] whenever, for all time, the lord Tsenpo suffers death, let his crest be bound in a turban, his face smeared with vermilion. For nourishment, let there be food and drink. Will you do this or not?”
After she said this, he swore an oath that he would do so and then went off, taking the daughter of Cho the Man-Bird [with him]. She [together with her infant son] was left as ransom for the corpse in the belly of the
nāga Ödé the Long. The two Nya-lha
7 took possession of the Tsenpo’s corpse. They built a mausoleum on the lower slope of Gyangdo, the celestial hill. The younger brother, Nyakhyi, performed the last rites for his father. The elder brother, Shakhyi, went to avenge his father. Nyakhyi is indeed the White God of Kong. He went off with three thousand three hundred troops. He went to the Chingwa fortress.
[Old Tibetan Chronicle, Pelliot tibétain 1287. Trans. MTK.]
Tibet’s first known narrative history, the Old Tibetan Chronicle, encodes the principles of Tibetan kingship through an epic retelling of the deeds of its kings and ministers. The Old Tibetan Chronicle is not overtly didactic in the manner of early Chinese histories. Yet it has a clear interpretive framework: its unswerving agenda is to present the Tibetan emperor as the axis mundi—the link between heaven and earth and the ordering principle by which the ways of the gods are imposed upon men. The chapters of the Chronicle, beginning with the preceding selection on Drigum Tsenpo, one of the first mythical Tibetan kings, and ending in the late eighth century, set out the proper relationship between ruler and subject. In so doing, the document bears witness to the contractual rule on which the Tibetan kingship was based and constitutes a charter for early Tibetan political theory. As such, it is the single most important document relating to early Tibetan political identity, and contains concepts that can be traced throughout Tibetan history and the development of Tibetan politics to the period of the Dalai Lamas and beyond. In particular, the third chapter, concerning the rivalry between Songtsen Gampo’s grandfather Takbu Nyazik, who ruled in Yarlung in approximately the late sixth century, and two lords, each titled Zingpojé (literally, “warlord”), who held territories in the vicinity of the Lhasa valley, presents archetypes of just and unjust rulers and reveals the implicit contract between a king and his subjects. One warlord, Takkyawo, through his own misrule, falls to the other, Tripangsum. In turn, Tripangsum’s mistreatment of his subjects causes them to defect, which leads to his kingdom’s fall to Songtsen’s father, Namri Löntsen, and sets the stage for the consolidation of all of Central Tibet under the reign of the Yarlung kings. The descriptions of these “warlords” are almost the exact inverse of the glowing eulogies that describe just kings such as Songtsen Gampo, as can be seen in the eulogy to this king in the next section. BD
King Takbu Nyazik resided in the castle Chingwa Taktsé, Zingpojé Takkyawo stayed in Nyenkar Nyingpa, and Zingpojé Tripangsum stayed in Ngurwé Yuna.
Then, regarding Zingpojé Takkyawo, whatever he did was always backward and destructive: he took the good to be the evil and the evil to be the good. He did not listen to the counsel on stratagems or good governance from loyal, wise men, but listened deliberately to the easy flattery of sycophants. False allegations abounded from men such as these. Reviling wise men who behaved firmly and honestly, and heroic men who acted bravely, he diminished their insignia of rank. The inappropriate punishments were greatly oppressive. The number of undesirable occupations multiplied.
In this way, Zingpojé Takkyawo reversed [good] customs and altered the realm, and as a lord he ruled criminally. Through his oppressive, inappropriate punishments for legal remonstration and his harsh words, no one anywhere, though he saw [a crime] with his own eyes, would dare to make any case for legal remonstration.
The lord was wrathful above. The servants were fearful below. The lord was crazed above. The servants were scattered below. Not trusting each other’s hearts, they were divided in mind. Because Lord Zingpojé was wicked and weak, and was backward, destructive, and criminal in whatever he did, the country’s life force also degenerated. Everyone indeed resented the lord.
Thereafter, Zingpojé Takkyawo’s minister, Nyen Dzizung Nakpo, entreated his lord, “Because whatever your lordship does is backward and destructive, our realm is unsuitable as a realm, and our customs are unsuitable as customs. The peasants are impoverished. Our degenerate realm is further diminished. If it is finally lost, what is at fault?” So he said.
Then Zingpojé Takkyawo, finding this unacceptable, said, “Such talk is a crime,” and removed Dzizung from ministerial office.
Thereafter, Dzizung was dissatisfied, and looking to Zingpojé Tripangsum, Nakpo rebelled, and killed [Tak]kyawo. The little mule crossed over; it broke the leather saddle.
8Zingpojé Tripangsum annexed Yelrab dezhi and Lum yasum, the lands of Takkyawo. As Nyen Dzizung’s lot for his intrigue, [Zingpojé Tripangsum] apportioned the castle Ngurwa and arranged for [the inhabitants of] the lower tract of Lum yasum to be the bondservants of Nyen Dzizung. Also included in the entitlement of bondservants, Nyang Namtoré Trugu and Möntoré Tsengku, father and son, were allotted as Dzizung’s bondservants.
Thereafter, Dzizung’s wife, Lady Patsab, became arrogant toward Nyang, who worked as a bondservant. She became defiled, and displayed her vagina. Nyang Tsengku was upset, and remonstrated to Zingpojé Tripangsum, “I cannot bear to serve as Nyen’s bondservant!”
Zingpojé said, “There is none more dear to me than Nyen Dzizung. It is not the case that you, sir, are unsuitable as his bondservant. Beyond the lady becoming defiled and displaying her vagina, even had she stuck it in your face, due to the fact that she is a lady, it is no crime.” So he commanded, and did not grant the request. Tsengku was extremely disaffected and depressed by those words.
Later, Zingpojé’s governor, Wé Shötoré Trugu, had a minor quarrel with Shen Trizher Drönkong, and Shen killed Wé. Wé’s elder brother, Pangtoré Yitsab, asked Zingpojé, “What blood money will you grant for my younger brother whom Shen killed?”
Zingpojé said, “One does not demean Shen Trizher, who serves as minister of the interior and representative of the serfs. If a virtuous [upper-class] man has killed a nonvirtuous [lower-class] man, he has killed him, and that is that.” So he commanded. Yitsap was extremely disaffected and depressed by those words.
Then Nyang and Wé were both depressed, and walked along together. Yitsap in front, and Tsengku behind, they were each walking home. Tsengku, alone, behind [Yitsap], said to himself:
The river—on the other side,
The Yar River—on the other side
Resides the son—son of men,
The son—son of gods.
A true lord—[to him one] is pleased to be subjected;
A true saddle—[with it one] is pleased to be loaded.
From where he walked in front, Yitsap clearly heard these thoughts of [Tsengku’s] heart that came escaping from his mouth. Yitsap instantly accepted those words, and swore, “Tsengku, there is no truth apart from what you’ve said. As my own disaffection is nothing other than this, I shall never differ from you in mind!”
Then Nyang and Wé both rebelled against Zingpojé and became loyal to the Tsenpo, Pugyel,
9 and they swore ever greater oaths.
After that, Wé Yitsap brought his maternal uncle, Nön Zangtoré Sön, in on the plot. He swore an oath, but Zangtoré died, and [Yitsap then] brought in [Zangtoré’s] son, Pangsum Drönpo, who served in Zingpojé’s inner retinue. He then swore an oath. Nyang Möntoré brought Tsepong Nakseng in on the plot, and he swore an oath.
Then Nyang and Wé, with Nön making three, proclaimed [their intentions] to the ears of Takbu, the Pugyel, via a message from Tsepong Nakseng, and the Tsenpo said, “Even though one of my sisters is with Zingpojé, I shall do as you say.” So he decreed.
[Old Tibetan Chronicle, Pelliot tibétain 1287, chapter 3. Trans. BD.]
The Old Tibetan Chronicle occupies an important place in the development of Tibetan historical narrative. It draws on eulogies to the kings that derive from official inscriptions and edicts, narrative traditions both from neighboring China and from India, tropes from ritual narratives, and a poetic tradition of song and praise poetry. The songs of the Old Tibetan Chronicle are often cited as standing at the origin of Tibetan poetry. They share a similar form, with the overwhelming majority being composed in six-syllable verse. The songs also overlap so that lines and verses from one song are found repeated in another, which may indicate their oral origins. The following songs, taken from chapter 12 of the Chronicle, celebrate Tibet’s victory over Zhangzhung and its king Likmigya, and are exchanged between Tri Songtsen (i.e., Songtsen Gampo) and his minister, Gar Tongtsen. The subject, friendship and unity between king and minister, is also found in the songs exchanged between Tri Songtsen and Wé Yitsap—a figure we have met above—in the fifth chapter of the Chronicle, and indeed the present songs repeat verbatim some of the lines of these earlier songs. This offers an interesting window into the way the Old Tibetan Chronicle was composed, and of course also bears on its value as a source for Tibetan cultural history.
Following the song is a short eulogy to Tri Songtsen, typical of eulogies in inscriptions and elsewhere in the Chronicle in that it focuses on the king’s good deeds and divides them into internal (improving the welfare of his people through good law, customs, and religion) and external (expanding the borders and increasing wealth). Our selection closes with a paragraph drawn from chapter 8 of the Chronicle, describing Songtsen Gampo’s administrative innovations. BD
During the reign of this king, he led a military campaign against the king of Zhangzhung. He made war with him, and conquered Likmigya, the king of Zhangzhung. He subjugated all of Zhangzhung.
After that, the lordly subjects offered the emperor a banquet of drinking and merriment. The song that Emperor Tri Songtsen sang:
Oh! As for the lord’s, his name is this:
A Throne—Upright and Mighty!
As for the minister’s, his name is this:
A Mighty Thousand—Seizes Lands.
10As for the horse’s, its name is this:
Beads of Sweat—Exceedingly Pure-Looking.
As for Exceedingly Pure, we look at it again and again.
As for us, lord and minister,
The Yarmo—although it is a short river
It extends from Do to Tsang.
The Yarmo—although its breadth is small
It expands from south to north.
Unbeguiled, we conquer the four directions.
As for us, lord and minister,
The lord—he shall not abandon the subject.
The lord—if he were to abandon the subject,
It would be well that he keep to the heavens.
The subject—he shall not abandon the lord.
The subject—if he were to abandon the lord,
It would be well that he were plowing Ngepo!
11
He sang that song.
In his reply to this song, minister Tongtsen offered [the following]:
The lord—who gives the orders,
Always—an eternal realm.
The bird—who shelters in its wings,
The chicks—they are radiantly warm.
Lowo—Mang ku is extensive;
Though it rise up, Yar shall not be moved.
In Gé—the great golden one,
Always—it is the spoils of Chingwa.
The lord—he shall not abandon the subject.
The lord—if he were to abandon the subject,
A bird’s nest—fallen on the plain.
The subject—he shall not abandon the lord.
The subject—if he were to abandon the lord,
The little birds—frozen in the tree.
Then tomorrow—then the day after,
Forever and always,
[On] whatever peak—though they have made shouts,
[At] Chapu—they shall not make shouts.
[On] whatever field—though they have trod with their horses,
[On] Golden Gé—they do not tread.
Conferring and conferring—agreeing and agreeing,
The decrees—men will not disavow them.
Walking and splashing—tanning and tanning,
One’s boots—they shall not be soaked with water.
12
He sang that song.
Above, if the lord is profound, it is Tri Songtsen. Below, if the minister is wise, it is Tongtsen Yülzung. The lord, in the tradition of the Cha [gods of] the sky mountains,
13 and the minister, in the manner of earthly conventions—they were endowed with any and all conditions of great majesty. Externally, they expanded the realm in the four directions. Internally, welfare was abundant and undiminished. They created parity between the high and the low among the black-headed subjects. They reduced tax and fraud. They went leisurely. They moved [residences and council sites] in the autumn and spring. They acted in turns. They gave to the needy. They segregated the harmful. They appointed the powerful. They degraded the reckless. They quashed the fearful. They allied with the truthful. They praised the wise. They respected the heroic. With inspiration they appointed [people to various posts]. The customs being good and the realm elevated, men were generally happy.
[Old Tibetan Chronicle, Pelliot tibétain 1287, chapter 12. Trans. BD.]
Formerly Tibet had no writing, but during the lifetime of this emperor the Great Legislation that was the Sacred Authority of Tibet, as well as the rank-order of ministers, the powers of both great and small, the awards in recognition of excellence, the punishments for misdeeds, the regularization, among farmers and herdsmen, of herds, acreage, and roadways, the measures of volume and weight, etc.—all of the righteous governance of Tibet emerged during the time of the emperor Tri Songtsen. Because everyone recalled and experienced his beneficence, they called him by the name Songtsen the Wise (Songtsen Gampo).
[Old Tibetan Chronicle, Pelliot tibétain 1287, from chapter 8. Trans. MTK.]
The Old Tibetan Annals is Tibet’s oldest extant history. Principally a bureaucratic register of events, it is the single most reliable source for the history of the first half of the Tibetan empire. This record was maintained more or less contemporaneously with the events it describes, with entries added at the end of each year. In each yearly installment the Annals records information such as the summer and winter residences of the Tibetan emperor, or Tsenpo; the place where the summer and winter councils (dünsa) were convened; who convened them; and what, if any measures were taken (taxes, promotions, censuses, etc.). From 692 onward, the location of the council in Domé, in eastern Tibet, its convenors, and any measures taken there are often recorded as well. Visits from foreign dignitaries, military engagements, dynastic marriages, the birth of a future sovereign, the deaths of important figures, and the performance of funeral rites for the royal family are also recorded.
Though referred to here as a single text, the Old Tibetan Annals exists in two fragmentary versions. Version I covers the years from 650–651 to 747–748 and the editor, presumably redacting the Annals for the benefit of a civil board, seems to have focused mostly on what might be called civil matters, prompting the Hungarian scholar Géza Uray to dub it the “civil version.” Like many other Old Tibetan Dunhuang documents, it is written on the reverse side of a Chinese Buddhist sūtra, the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka, reflecting the scarcity and value of paper at the time. The other version of the Annals that has come to light, Version II, is not nearly as long as the civil version and only overlaps with it for five years, from its beginning in 743–744 through 747–748. The events narrated are mostly of a military nature, and, again following Uray, who assumes that the redactor highlighted the military features in the original text for the benefit of a military board, we refer to this document as the “military version.” The document postdates the Tibetan occupation of Dunhuang beginning in c. 786, but it is difficult to date with any precision. As with the civil version, however, the information was originally compiled almost at the same time as the events it describes, and what remains is only a copy. Like the civil version, the military version is written on the back of a Chinese document, the Yao Shijing.
The first selection below is from the civil version of the Annals and covers the period 698–713. This includes the last years of the Tsenpo Düsong and his troubled succession, during which time Tibetan affairs were dominated by the Dowager Empress Tri Malö, whose reign, coincidentally, followed closely on the rule of China by the Empress Wu (r. 684–705). Tri Malö’s rule draws to a close with the marriage of her young grandson, Gyel Tsukru, to the Chinese princess Jincheng, and, in the year of Tri Malö’s death, Tsukru’s elevation to the throne with the regnal title of Tri Detsuktsen. The second selection, from the military version, covers the momentous years 759–764 during the reign of Tri Songdetsen, and focuses on Tibet’s campaign against China, culminating in the occupation of the capital, Chang’an, an event described from the Chinese perspective in the preceding chapter. BD
[698–699] It fell on the year of the dog. In the summer the Tsenpo departed [to the] north for sport. In the winter Chief Minister Tridring led a military campaign to greater and lesser Tsongka and seized the great Chinese general Tukpushi. That winter they disgraced Gar. The Tsenpo departed to Par. So [one] year.
[699–700] It fell on the year of the pig. In the summer the Tsenpo departed from Par to Belpo Driutang and the Chinese emissary Jeuzhangsho paid homage. In the winter the Tsenpo resided in Marma in Döl, and rewarded the loyal with gifts and insignia of rank. Tönyabgo Khagan paid homage.
14 At Jatsel in Drek they calculated [i.e., confiscated] the wealth of the disgraced ones. So one year.
[700–701] It fell on the year of the rat. In the summer the Tsenpo departed from Mongkar on a political campaign to Shagu Nyingsum khöl. Tönyabgo Khagan was sent to Western Turkestan (Drugu yül). In the autumn the Tsenpo departed, and led a military campaign to Gachu. In the winter, the Tsenpo’s court resided in Maja tsel [Peacock Grove]. The mother, Tri Malö, resided in Önchangdo, and Ba Tashi paid homage. So one year.
[701–702] It fell on the year of the ox. In the summer the Tsenpo resided in Serzha and led campaigns to Zongchu [Songzhou] and Teuchu [Taozhou]. The mother, Tri Malö, resided in Mong in Tö. In the winter the Tsenpo resided in Tritsé. In the spring intercalary month they led campaigns to Zongchu and Teuchu. The mother, Tri Malö, resided in Ngenlam tsel Sarpa. Zhang Tsentoré Lhejin and Senggo Nangtoré Kyizung convened the council at Laggu chung. So one year.
[702–703] It fell on the year of the tiger. In the summer the Tsenpo resided in Pong Trimuteng. The mother, Tri Malö, resided in Jön in Yardrok [in southern Tibet]. In the winter the Tsenpo resided in Tritsé. Khu Mangpojé Lhazung and Minister Mangtsen Dongzhi convened the Domé winter council at Nam Dongtrom. They made the great administration of Sumru [i.e., the northeastern district called the “Horn of Sumpa”]. The mother resided in Önchangdo. The council was also convened at Önchangdo. They abolished the great wooden document(s) [in favor of paper]. So one year.
[703–704] The year of the hare. In the summer the Tsenpo resided in Öljak in Ling [far eastern Tibet]. The Chinese emissary Kamkeng paid homage. They convened the Domé winter council at Chibö in Yöl. The mother resided in Nangpo Durmik, and they killed Khu Jurlötsen. In the winter the Tsenpo departed to the country of Jang [Nanzhao], and sacked Jang. So one year.
[704–705] It fell on the year of the dragon. In the spring Gyel Tsukru was born at Khodrang tsel. In the summer the Tsenpo, the father, resided in Yoti Chuzang in Madrom. The mother, Tri Malö, resided in Odang in Yardrok. The council convened at Draggo. In the winter the Tsenpo departed on a political campaign to Mywa,
15 but departed to heaven [passed away]. The mother, Tri Malö, resided in Lhegang tsel. Zhang Trizang Taktsap convened the council at Jarling tsel. So one year.
[705–706] It fell on the year of the snake. The Tsenpo; the son, Gyel Tsukru; and the grandmother, Tri Malö, resided in Drön. Dek Renpa, Nön Nangdrak, Khegé Donang, and others revolted, and at Bönmo Nalatsé they killed Dek Renpa and the insurgents. At Pong Lagrang, they deposed from the throne the Tsenpo, the elder brother, Lha Belpo.
16 The corpse of the Tsenpo, the father, Tri Düsong, resided in the funerary chamber in Merké. In the winter, the Tsenpo, Gyel Tsukru, and the grandmother, Tri Malö, resided in Zhur. Khu Mangpojé Lhazung was proclaimed chief minister. After that, at Lingring tsel, they disgraced Khu Mangpojé Lhazung. Wé Trizik Zhangnyen was proclaimed chief minister. Serip revolted. So one year.
[706–707] It fell on the year of the horse. In the summer the Tsenpo and the grandmother resided in Drön. The corpse of the Tsenpo, the father, Tri Düsong, resided in Merké. Bön Dagyel Tsenzung and Chief Minister Trizik convened the council at Namar. They disgraced Lho Düsrek. Zhang Gyato convened the Domé winter council at Lema in Par. In the winter, they performed the funeral for the Tsenpo, the father, at Chingwa. The grandmother, Mangpang, died. The Domé council convened at Teukyü in Yöl. So one year.
[707–708] It fell on the year of the sheep. In the summer the Tsenpo resided in Belpo. The grandmother resided in Drön. Bön Dagyel and Chief Minister Trizik convened the summer council at Lhagap. They transferred the tally of the fiscal governor’s revenue office. The commissioner, Nup Khomaré, died. They appointed Do Penkong in his place. They calculated [confiscated] the wealth of the disgraced Khu and Lho. In the autumn they performed the funeral for grandmother Mangpang. In the winter the Tsenpo resided in Drakmar, but then moved the court. The grandmother and grandson resided in Lhegang tsel. Chief Minister Trizik convened the winter council at Önchangdo. They transformed the [heads of] five hundred [districts] into heads of little thousand-districts. The Domé council convened at Marong in Raktak. So one year.
[708–709] It fell on the year of the snake. In the summer the Tsenpo resided in Sharu Stronghold in Belpo. The grandmother’s court resided in Drön. Chief Minister Trizik convened the summer council at Tripa tang. They took account of the red tally of the royal guards. In the winter the Tsenpo’s court resided in Drakmar. The grandmother resided in Lhegang tsel. Chief Minister Trizik convened the council at Önchangdo. The Domé council convened at Nyampu in Raktak. They gathered many gold taxes from the subjects. In the spring they performed the funeral for Princess Gatün.
17 So one year.
[709–710] It fell on the year of the bird. The Tsenpo resided in Belpo. The grandmother resided in Drön. The summer council convened at Tripa Tsar. They made an administration of the pasturelands of the Left Horn.
18 In the winter the Tsenpo’s court resided in Drakmar. The grandmother resided in Lhegang tsel. The council convened at Önchangdo. They took account of the red fire-raising stations of Rulak. They captured the king of Serip. The Domé winter council convened at Tsenamyor. So one year.
[710–711] It fell on the year of the dog. The Tsenpo resided in Belpo. The grandmother resided in Drön. The council convened at Tripa tang. They made Princess Kongcho’s traveling arrangements.
19 Zhang Tsentoré Lhejin and others acted as groomsmen. Princess Kimshang Kongcho [Jincheng Gongzhu] departed to Shatsel in Rasa [i.e., Lhasa]. In the winter the Tsenpo, husband and wife, resided in Drakmar. The grandmother resided in Lhegang tsel. Zhang Gyato and Tagu Ritsap convened the Domé council at Tsenamyor. So one year.
[711–712] The year of the pig. In the summer the Tsenpo resided in Belpo. The grandmother resided in Drön. Bön Dagyel Tsenzung and Chief Minister Trizik convened the summer council at Zhongchak. They disgraced Chokro Khonggé. In the winter the Tsenpo’s court resided in Drakmar. The grandmother resided in Lhegang tsel. Bön Dagyel Tsenzung and Chief Minister Trizik convened [the council] at Kyinam. They collected many censuses. Chokro Trizik Nangkong convened the Domé council at Tsenamyor. So one year.
[712–713] The year of the rat. In the summer the Tsenpo resided in Belpo. The grandmother resided in Drön. Bön Dagyel and Chief Minister Trizik convened [the council] at Jemalung in Lhagap. In the winter [the Tsenpo] resided in Drakmar. The Tsenpo’s name was changed from Gyel Tsukru to Tri Detsuktsen.
20 The grandmother, Tri Malö, died. Bön Dagyel and Chief Minister Trizik convened the winter council at Kyidra tsel. They took account of the red tally of the three Horns. The grandmother arrived [at the end of the lying-in/ embalming state]. So one year.
[759–760] [It fell on the year of the pig.] In the summer the Tsenpo’s court resided in Kho in Tö. Minister Tridra and Minister Dozher convened the Domé summer council at Ulé. They bestowed many from Sumru with insignia of rank. Minister [Gö] Trizang [Yaplak] and Zhang Tongtsen both went to the land of Azha. In the winter the Tsenpo’s court resided in Nyenkar. Minister [Wé] Kyezang Taknang convened the winter council at Lo. Minister Tridra convened the Domé winter council at Marong in Raktak. Minister Trizang, Zhang Tongtsen, and Zhang Tsenwa, the three, sacked little Tsongka [to the east of Kokonor, in the present Gansu–Qinghai border region]. So one year.
[760–761] [It fell on the year of the rat.] In the summer the Tsenpo’s court was stationed at Nyangdrom. The Tsenpo’s son was born. Chief Minister [Wé] Nangzher [Datsen] convened the summer council at Netsolung. An emissary of the upper regions paid homage. Minister Tridra and Minister Dozher Tsangkhong convened the Domé summer council at Relungzang. So one year.
[761–762] [It fell on the year of the ox.] In the summer the Tsenpo’s court resided in Ding in Zupuk. The summer council convened at Dzentang in Meltro. They convened the Domé summer council at Zhotang in Nyé. In the winter the [Tsenpo’s] court resided in Changbu in Jar. They convened the winter council at Kyibur. They convened the Domé winter council at Tsenamyor. Minister [Wé] Kyezang and others sacked both Bago and Keushan in Khartsen [Liangzhou, in Gansu]. Zhang Tongtsen sacked both Zongchu and Zangkar. So one year.
[762–764] [It fell on the year of the tiger. It fell on the year of the hare.] In the summer the [Tsenpo’s] court resided in Sajar. The summer council convened at Buchung in Lak. The Chinese emissary Ang Doshi and others paid homage. The Domé summer council convened at Lharimo in Ulé. In the winter the [Tsenpo’s] court resided in Changbu in Jar. The winter council resided at Kyibur. Minister Tridra Taktsap convened the Domé winter council at Tsé. [Those ranking] from heads of the thousand-districts upward on the border were bestowed the Chinese silk tribute as rewards. The Lord of China having died at the end of winter, [another] Lord of China was newly installed.
21 As he found it unsuitable to offer [Tibet] silk tribute and entitlements, and so forth, political ties were destroyed, and Zhang [Chimgyel] Gyelzik [Shuteng], Zhang Tongtsen, and others crossed the iron bridge at Bumling. They waged a great campaign. They sacked many Chinese strongholds, such as Bushingkün [in Linzhou?], Zinchu [Qinzhou], and Gachu [Hezhou]. Zhang [Chimgyel] Gyelzik [Shuteng] returned to the land of Tibet. Zhang [Chimgyel] Gyelzik [Shuteng], Minister [Ngenlam] Takdra [Lukhong], Zhang Tongtsen, Tsenwa, and others led a military campaign to the capital and sacked the capital. The Lord of China fled, [another] Lord of China was newly appointed, and the military campaign returned. Zhang [Chimgyel] Gyelzik [Shuteng] went to Tibet for a great consultation. So one year.
[Brandon Dotson, The Old Tibetan Annals: An Annotated Translation of Tibet’s First History (Vienna: Austrian Academy of Sciences, 2009). Edited for the present publication.]
The following documents demonstrate the importance of the Tibetan language as an administrative lingua franca in regions occupied by the Tibetan empire, above all in the Gansu corridor, where Tibetan continued to be used for contracts and other official documents for as long as a century after the empire had fallen. Some of the documents that have survived concern the administration of tribute payments in kind from the various regions and peoples under the control of Tibetan military leaders at the far reaches of the empire, but others show that Tibetan was also used in contracts recording personal debts of various kinds, as well as purchases, hires, and loans. Where titles, such as “Maternal Uncle Minister Pelzang” in the first text below, clearly indicate high rank in the Tibetan imperial government, the documents can sometimes be dated with some precision within the period of the Tibetan occupation of the Gansu corridor (c. 780s–848). In most other cases, the documents likely date to the last decades of Tibetan rule, or perhaps even the post–Tibetan period, and refer to the local administration of the Dunhuang region. Many of the individuals mentioned in these texts have Chinese, not Tibetan, names, confirming the use of Tibetan as a bureaucratic lingua franca.
The selection of documents presented here includes contracts for the sale of a bondservant, a loan of personal property, the repayment of a grain consignment, and the hire of another to perform obligatory corvée service in connection with the delivery of tribute. The custom, among better-off people of commoner status, of paying others to discharge disagreeable official functions persisted in the Tibetan world until at least 1950, and was an important means whereby these individuals secured free time to pursue activities for personal profit.
Although signatures were sometimes used to ratify contracts, this was quite rare at the time. The more standard practice was to affix one’s personal seal to the document. For those who did not possess seals, “finger seals” or “hand seals” were substituted, as in the second document below. These were not, as one might suppose, prints of the finger or hand, but rather, either an outline of a finger, marking the joints, or a simple rectangle drawn according to a finger measure. These designs were inserted at the bottom of the contract, into which the name of the party concerned was written upside down in relation to the main text. In some cases, it appears that the name added to the hand seal was written in the contractee’s own hand and thus served also as a signature. GT/MTK
In the [sheep?] year, when the Maternal Uncle Minister,
22 Minister Pelzang, convoked [the assembly of Tselji]
trom (a military district government) at Nop chu-ngu, Nyö Osé [bought] a male bondservant from a man of the upper Tsang military [thousand-] district, who, having been a layman, was called Utang Sechung, but after renouncing the world was named Jangchup Trashi; [though the servant’s] Chinese lineage has not been investigated, in his signature his name reads Gya [Chinese] Putsap, aged about fifty.
Even during the period when previously there was a war, Osé (the buyer) was doing […] of the bandé (“Buddhist priest,” in this case, the seller) and his servant, and [since then the servant] has been staying and in service with Osé.
This year Osé bought [the servant] in perpetuity, and immediately gave the priest the price of three
sang of
mar in full.
23Concerning this [Gya] Putsap, who is [from now on] to be under Osé’s ownership in perpetuity, if a lawsuit be filed claiming the invalidity [of the transaction], and if [as a result] Putsap should escape [from Osé], according to our agreement that whatever lawsuit be filed, the priest (the seller) is to deal with it, the priest must supply immediately a servant of equal quality with the present one to whoever holds this deed—thus it is decided.
In case the priest is not present, [his] guarantor (blank space left to fill in a name) is to deal with the matter stated in the above pledge; as witness to the thus decided [bond], the witness seals of Minister Takdra, Tsejé Minister Tak Taktsen, Minister Pelzang, Todokjé—Minister Gezher Lhadruktsen, District Commissioner Takzang Lhapé Dongtreng Dogong, and so on, and the private seals of [the seller] and the guarantor are hereby affixed.
[On the reverse side:] A contract concerning Putsap.
[Traces of probably six round vermilion seals are visible, but they are too faint to identify.]
In the spring of the bird year, Song Samnyang [Ch. Song Sanniang], wife of Lingho [Ch. Lenghe] Lingluk in the military [thousand-district], having made contact with Beu Zhan, female bondservant of Lingho Shiptik, borrowed from Shipbir [= Shiptik] the [following] goods: [namely] four cups, three deptsé [plates?], and an old string [made of] twisted cotton threads; as for the time of repayment, it is decided that the payment should be made no later than the fifth of the last spring month of the dog year to the household of Lingho Shipbir.
It is decided that in case [the borrower] should fail to repay at that time, the amount [of payment] shall be doubled, and barley, copper utensils, cups, whatever [property there is] at the borrower’s household may be forfeited, against which [the borrower] should not start a lawsuit.
Again, it is decided that three and a half chak [weights] of cotton and four bré [measures] of Chinese barley must [be paid] no later than the tenth day of the middle spring month of the dog year in order to redeem a door bolt and a key, which have been deposited as the security; in case [they] should not be redeemed at that time, the door bolt and [key?] are to be forfeited too.
As witness to the thus decided [bond], the witness seals of Cang [Ch. Zhang] Gugu, La [Ch. Luo] Leglö, Kheu [Ch. Gao] Zanggong, and so on, and the hand-letter measures of Song Samnyang and her husband, Lingluk, and the finger measure of Samnyang are hereby affixed.
(Upside down:)
The hand-letter measure of Lingho Lingluk.
The hand-letter measure of [Khe]u Zanggong (a witness).
The finger measure of Song Samnyang.
Cang Küntsé [Ch. Zhang Junzi] in the unit of Cang Kadzö [Ch. Zhang Jiazang?] in the Gösar [thousand-] district borrowed one and a half khé [loads] and four bré [measures] of wheat from the grain levied last year (lit. previously) by Lo [Ch. Luo] Jitsen, the former grain official.
It was decided by the tsejé [town prefect] that [the wheat] should be repaid in the autumn of the boar year; the register was accordingly altered.
Afterward, the levy officials Dar Gyelma, Tre Melep, and so on collected [the loaned wheat] back, saying, “There came a dispatch stating that the general is granting (i.e., donating) wheat to
Khenpo [abbot or preceptor] Tupten in the middle spring month of the boar year.”
[Accordingly, Zhang Junzi] repaid one and a half khé and four bré of wheat on the eleventh of the middle spring month of this year to Lo Jitsen, the grain official of the previous year. And the seal of receipt of Jitsen is affixed.
As witnesses, the witness seals of Bam [Ch. Fan] Taklep, Dzeu [Ch. Cao] Goktseng, Chang [Ch. Zhang] Lulek, and so on are hereby affixed.
(Five private seals. Among them two possibly belong to Lo Jitsen, though the inscriptions are not very legible. The inscriptions on the other seals are illegible.)
(Upside down:) The dispatch having been carried out, the loan contract has been crossed out by lines (i.e., cleared).
On the seventeenth of the middle autumn month of the […] year, it was decided that though [the duty of acting as] a messenger to transport the annual tribute [of this] autumn season fell to Li [Ch. Li] Yulek, since Li Yulek is not at his home place, [he] hires Bu Engtsé [Ch. Wu Yingzi] of the Tongsar [thousand-] district [to carry out the duty for him]; the hiring fee being white (i.e., barley), black (i.e., millet) and cotton cloth worth fourteen khé [loads] of grain [in total].
Among the five khé of barley and one khé of millet which were immediately paid, [the employee] requested that the barley, after [being received?], be exchanged for one bolt of cloth. It is decided that the remaining wage—namely, the four and a half khé of barley and three and a half khé of millet left—is to be paid after Engtsé, the debtor, has finished the work.
It is decided that in case Engtsé fails to fulfill the duty [of transportation], does not agree to it, is not at his home place (i.e., absconds), or is in [financially] bad condition [and unable to repay], his guarantors, Bu Lyangdzé [Ch. Wu Liangzi?] and Yiu [Ch. Yao] Tagu, two elder brothers of Engtsé, are to take full responsibility.
It is decided that the remaining wage is to be paid when Engtsé, having completed the duty, visits Zhisum with Yiu Tagu (one of the guarantors).
After [the two parties] have thus reached an agreement, if there be one [party] who breaches it, he must pay the penalty of seven khé of barley immediately to the party not breaching it.
As witness to the thus decided [bond], the witness seals of Wang [Ch. Wang] Tagu, Lu [Ch. Lu] Dzesheng, Lengho Peutsön [Ch. Lenghe Baozun?], Yun Antsé [Ch. Yin Anzi], Chang Itsé [Ch. Zhang Yizi?], Jeu [Ch. Zhao] Tenkong, and so on, and the private seals of Engtsé and the guarantors are hereby affixed.
(Ten round vermilion seals are affixed: two are the private seals of the employee and two are those of the guarantors. The remaining six belong to the other guarantors and five witnesses.)
[Tsuguhito Takeuchi, Old Tibetan Contracts from Central Asia (Tokyo: Daizo Shuppan, 1995), texts 6, 16, 33, and 36. Edited for the present publication.]
