Gyalrong people

Last updated
Gyalrong
Total population
120,000
Regions with significant populations
Sichuan, China
Languages
Mandarin, Gyalrong (traditional)
Religion
Tibetan Buddhism
Related ethnic groups
Tibetan, Qiang, Tangut

The Gyalrong (Tibetan : རྒྱལ་རོང), also called the rGyalrong or Jiarong (Chinese :嘉绒人), are speakers of the Qiangic Gyalrong language who live in the southern part of Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan, China. They are also found in Danba County of Garze Prefecture. The word Gyalrong is an exo-ethnonym and loanword from the Tibetan word rGyal-mo tsha-wa rong. [1]

Contents

The Gyalrong refer to themselves as Keru. [2] During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Gyalrong were ruled by local chieftains ( Tusi ). In 1746, Slob Dpon, the chieftain of Greater Jinchuan, was trying to unite tribes in Sichuan, forcing the Qing dynasty to launch campaigns to suppress them. After 1950, the People's Republic of China classified them as a sub-group of the Tibetan people.

The dominant religion of Gyalrong was once Bon, but in the early 15th Century CE the region received missionaries from central Tibet teaching the doctrine of the Gelug order of Tibetan Buddhism. Despite strenuous opposition from Bon priests, the Gelugpa succeeded in building many large monasteries in Gyalrong such as Dhe-Tsang Monastery. [3]

Notable Gyalrong

Gyalrong kingdoms

Before the Chinese Land Reform Movement there were 18 Gyalrong kingdoms/chiefdoms (嘉绒十八土司) in this area:

See also

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Chiefdom of Chuchen, also known as Rabden or the Chiefdom of Greater Jinchuan, was an autonomous Gyalrong Tusi chiefdom that ruled Greater Jinchuan during the Qing dynasty. The rulers of Chuchen used the royal title Namkha Gyalpo, literally "king of Namkha".

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Trokyap or Chuosi was a Gyalrong Tibetan kingdom located in today's southern Zamthang County and north of Jinchuan County of Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture in western Sichuan Province of China. It was one of the 18 Gyalrong kingdoms. In 1700, it submitted to the Qing rule and its leader received the title "Pacification Commissioner". It regained autonomy after the Xinhai Revolution in 1912. In the late 1930s, the nationalist Kuomintang government placed it under Xikang jurisdiction. The kingdom was abolished by the Chinese Government in 1952.

References

  1. Prins, Marielle. 2011. A web of relations: A grammar of rGyalrong Ji omùzú, p. 18.
  2. "in search of a language unrecognised". 8 November 2015.
  3. "Built Heritage on the Eastern Tibetan plateau: Dhe-Tsang Monastery". 8 July 2024.