Related Research Articles
Tibet is a region in the central part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about 2,500,000 km2 (970,000 sq mi). It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as the Monpa, Tamang, Qiang, Sherpa and Lhoba peoples and, since the 20th century, considerable numbers of Han Chinese and Hui settlers. Since the 1951 annexation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China, the entire plateau has been under the administration of the People's Republic of China. Tibet is divided administratively into the Tibet Autonomous Region, and parts of the Qinghai and Sichuan provinces. Tibet is also constitutionally claimed by the Republic of China as the Tibet Area since 1912.
While the Tibetan plateau has been inhabited since pre-historic times, most of Tibet's history went unrecorded until the introduction of Tibetan Buddhism around the 6th century. Tibetan texts refer to the kingdom of Zhangzhung as the precursor of later Tibetan kingdoms and the originators of the Bon religion. While mythical accounts of early rulers of the Yarlung Dynasty exist, historical accounts begin with the introduction of Buddhism from India in the 6th century and the appearance of envoys from the unified Tibetan Empire in the 7th century. Following the dissolution of the empire and a period of fragmentation in the 9th-10th centuries, a Buddhist revival in the 10th–12th centuries saw the development of three of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism.
The Tibetan calendar, or Tibetan lunar calendar, is a lunisolar calendar, that is, the Tibetan year is composed of either 12 or 13 lunar months, each beginning and ending with a new moon. A thirteenth month is added every two or three years, so that an average Tibetan year is equal to the solar year.
Tri Songdetsen was the son of Me Agtsom, the 38th emperor of Tibet. He ruled from AD 755 until 797 or 804. Tri Songdetsen was the second of the Three Dharma Kings of Tibet, playing a pivotal role in the introduction of Buddhism to Tibet and the establishment of the Nyingma or "Ancient" school of Tibetan Buddhism.
Mutik Tsenpo or Murug Tsenpo is sometimes considered to have been one of the emperors of Tibet. This is, however, very questionable. Moreover, the whole period between the reigns of Trisong Detsen and Sadnalegs is very unclear, with several conflicting reports.
Muné Tsenpo was the 39th Emperor of Tibet. This period of Tibetan history, towards the end, and after the reign of Trisong Detsen is very murky and the sources give conflicting stories and dates.
Tibetology refers to the study of things related to Tibet, including its history, religion, language, culture, politics and the collection of Tibetan articles of historical, cultural and religious significance. The last may mean a collection of Tibetan statues, shrines, Buddhist icons and holy scripts, Thangka embroideries, paintings and tapestries, jewellery, masks and other objects of fine Tibetan art and craftsmanship.
Jacques Bacot was an explorer and pioneering French Tibetologist. He travelled extensively in India, western China, and the Tibetan border regions. He worked at the École pratique des hautes études. Bacot was the first western scholar to study the Tibetan grammatical tradition, and along with F. W. Thomas (1867–1956) belonged to the first generation of scholars to study the Old Tibetan Dunhuang manuscripts. Bacot made frequent use of Tibetan informants. He acquired aid from Gendün Chöphel in studying Dunhuang manuscripts.
Frederick William Thomas, usually cited as F. W. Thomas, was an English Indologist and Tibetologist.
Tridé Songtsen, better known by his nickname Sénalek Jingyön or Sadnalegs for short, was the youngest son of King Trisong Detsen of Tibet.
Mangsong Mangtsen, Trimang Löntsen or Khri-mang-slon-rtsan succeeded to the Tibetan throne either after the death of his father Gungsong Gungtsen, or of his grandfather the 33rd Tibetan king Songtsen Gampo. He became the 34th king of Tibet's Yarlung Dynasty, and the second king during the Tibetan Empire era.
Tridu Songtsen, Tridu Songtsen or Dusong Mangban, was an emperor of the Tibetan Empire from 676 to 704.
Tridé Tsuktsen, nicknamed Mé Aktsom, was the emperor of the Tibetan Empire and the son of Tridu Songtsen and his queen, Tsenma Toktokteng, Princess of Chim. He is usually known by his nickname Mé Aktsom "Bearded Grandfather", which was given to him later in life because he was so hirsute.
Nyatri Tsenpo was a king of Tibet. He was a legendary progenitor of the Yarlung dynasty. His reign is said to have begun in 127 BC and in traditional Tibetan history, he was the first ruler of the kingdom. The Dunhuang chronicles report that he is said to have descended from heaven onto the sacred mountain Yarlha Shampo. Due to certain physical peculiarities – his hands were webbed, and his eyelids closed from the bottom and not the top – he was hailed as a god by locals, and they took him as their king.
The Tibetan Empire was an empire centered on the Tibetan Plateau, formed as a result of imperial expansion under the Yarlung dynasty heralded by its 33rd king, Songtsen Gampo, in the 7th century. The empire further expanded under the 38th king, Trisong Detsen, and expanded to its greatest extent under the 41st king, Rapalchen, whose 821–823 treaty was concluded between the Tibetan Empire and the Tang dynasty. This treaty, carved into the Jokhang Pillar, delineated Tibet as being in possession of an area larger than the Tibetan Plateau, stretching east to Chang'an, west beyond modern Afghanistan, and south into modern India and the Bay of Bengal.
The Sumpa were a tribe living in northeastern Tibet from ancient times. Chinese historical sources refer to them as "Qiang", a term for people living in what is now southwest China, and their actual ethnic identity is not known. Their territory was absorbed by the Tibetan Empire in the late 7th century, after which point they gradually lost their independent identity.
The Tibetan Annals, or Old Tibetan Annals (OTA), are composed of two manuscripts written in Old Tibetan language found in the early 20th century in the "hidden library", the Mogao Grottoes near Dunhuang in northwestern Gansu province, Western China, which is believed to have been sealed in the 11th century CE. They form Tibet's earliest extant history.
The Old Tibetan Chronicle is a collection of narrative accounts and songs relating to Tibet's Yarlung dynasty and the Tibetan Empire. The three manuscripts that comprise the only extant copies of the Chronicle are among the Dunhuang Manuscripts found in the early 20th century in the so-called "hidden library" at the Mogao Grottoes near Dunhuang, which is believed to have been sealed in the 11th century CE. The Chronicle, together with the Old Tibetan Annals comprise Tibet's earliest extant history.
The Yarlung dynasty, or Pre-Imperial Tibet, was a proto-historical dynasty in Tibet before the rise of the historical Tibetan Empire in the 7th century.
Empress Khri ma lod was an empress consort and twice regent of Tibet. She was empress consort by marriage to emperor Mangsong Mangtsen. She was the ruler of the Tibetan empire twice: in 675-689 during the minority of her son emperor Tridu Songtsen, and in 704-712 during the minority of her grandson emperor Gyältsugru. Her title as regent was tsenmo.
References
- Bacot, Thomas and Toussaint. (1940-1946). Documents de Touen-houang relatifs a l'histoire de Tibet. J. Bacot, F. W. Thomas, Ch. Touissant. Paris. Libraire orientaliste Paul Geunther.
 | This article relating to a myth or legend from Asia is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |