Ngagi Wangpo

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Ngagi Wangpo (Tibetan : ངག་གི་དབང་པོ,  Wylie : Ngag gi dbang po, 1439 – 8 July 1491), also known as Chen-nga Tsenyepa (Wylie : Spyan snga ts'e gnyis pa), was a King of central Tibet who reigned in 1481–1491. He belonged to the Phagmodrupa Dynasty, which was the leading regime of central Tibet from 1354 to 1435 and maintained a certain political role until the early 17th century.

Wylie transliteration

The Wylie transliteration system is a method for transliterating Tibetan script using only the letters available on a typical English language typewriter. It bears the name of Turrell V. Wylie, who described the scheme in an article, A Standard System of Tibetan Transcription, published in 1959. It has subsequently become a standard transliteration scheme in Tibetan studies, especially in the United States.

Ü-Tsang Union of Ü and Tsang kingdoms in central Tibet, do not include Amdo (Qinghai) and Kham (Xikang) nor Ngari (western region, former Guge kingdom)

Ü-Tsang or Tsang-Ü, is one of the four traditional provinces of Tibet, the other being Amdo in the North-East, the Kham in the East and the Ngari in the North-West. Geographically Ü-Tsang covered the south-central of the Tibetan cultural area, including the Brahmaputra River watershed. The western districts surrounding and extending past Mount Kailash are included in Ngari, and much of the vast Changtang plateau to the north. The Himalayas defined Ü-Tsang's southern border. The present Tibet Autonomous Region corresponds approximately to what was ancient Ü-Tsang and western Kham.

Contents

Appointment

Ngagi Wangpo was the only son of King Drakpa Jungne and a lady of the Kharpa family. Still a minor at his father's death in 1445, he was made abbot of Thel in 1454. Four years later his uncle, King Kunga Lekpa, himself acquired the abbot-ship of Thel, and Ngagi Wangpo had to stay in a succession of other places. The late 15th century was filled with internal disputes in Central Tibet, and the direct authority of the Phagmodru ruler was at best restricted to Ü (East Central Tibet). In Tsang (West Central Tibet) the Rinpungpa feudatories dominated. In 1481 Kunga Lekpa was deprived of the kingship by a council of ministers, after a series of invasions by Donyo Dorje of Rinpungpa. Instead his nephew Ngagi Wangpo was invited to take the position as king (gongma, "the high one"). At his enthronement he married Lady Dsongkhama. In 1488 she bore him a son called Ngawang Tashi Drakpa. [1]

Drakpa Jungne was a king of central Tibet who ruled in 1432–1445. He belonged to the Phagmodrupa Dynasty which was the leading regime in Tibet from 1354 to 1435, and exerted some influence until the early 17th century. His reign saw the collapse of the political power of the dynasty, and the beginning of two centuries of internal strife.

Kunga Lekpa was a King of central Tibet who ruled from 1448 to 1481. He belonged to the Phagmodrupa Dynasty, which was the leading political regime in central Tibet from 1354 to 1435, and retained a certain political status until the early 17th century. His time saw the further fragmentation of Tibetan politics.

Ü is a geographic division and a historical region in Tibet. Together with Tsang, it forms Central Tibet Ü-Tsang, which is one of the three Tibetan regions or cholka (cholka-sum). The other two cholka are Kham (Dotod) and Amdo (Domed). According to a Tibetan saying, "the best religion comes from Ü-Tsang, the best men from Kham, and the best horses from Amdo".

Continuing internal troubles

During his decade-long reign Ngagi Wangpo was honoured by the elites of Central Tibet as their overlord (chipon). Nevertheless, his time was marked by unsafe conditions and rivalry between various parts of the country. In 1485 the Rinpungpa lord Donyo Dorje led an attack on Gyangtse, which was under a Phagmodrupa minister. Three years later the Rinpungpa finally got the upper hand and appropriated Gyangtse. [2] When Ngagi Wangpo died on 8 July 1491 the dominance of the Rinpungpa seemed complete. Donyo Dorje's uncle Tsokye Dorje (d. 1510) took over as regent since the heir to the throne was merely a small boy. The Ming Dynasty of China by this time had only the faintest knowledge of internal Tibetan politics, since they noted the accession and subsequent death of Ngagi Wangpo in 1495; they knew the king by the name Ban Aji Jiangdong Daba. [3]

Tsokye Dorje was a regent of Tibet who ruled in 1491–1499. He belonged to the Rinpungpa family and headed the central government in Nêdong during the minority of the heir of the Phagmodrupa Dynasty.

China Country in East Asia

China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia and the world's most populous country, with a population of around 1.404 billion. Covering approximately 9,600,000 square kilometers (3,700,000 sq mi), it is the third- or fourth-largest country by total area. Governed by the Communist Party of China, the state exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four direct-controlled municipalities, and the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau.

See also

History of Tibet aspect of history

Tibetan history, as it has been recorded, is particularly focused on the history of Buddhism in Tibet. This is partly due to the pivotal role this religion has played in the development of Tibetan and Mongol cultures and partly because almost all native historians of the country were Buddhist monks.

Sino-Tibetan relations during the Ming dynasty analysis of relations between China and Tibet during the Ming Dynasty

The exact nature of relations between Tibet and the Ming dynasty of China (1368–1644) is unclear. Analysis of the relationship is further complicated by modern political conflicts and the application of Westphalian sovereignty to a time when the concept did not exist. Some Mainland Chinese scholars such as Wang Jiawei and Tibetan scholars such as Nyima Gyaincain, assert that the Ming dynasty had unquestioned sovereignty over Tibet, pointing to the Ming court's issuing of various titles to Tibetan leaders, Tibetans' full acceptance of these titles, and a renewal process for successors of these titles that involved traveling to the Ming capital. Scholars within China also argue that Tibet has been an integral part of China since the 13th century and that it was thus a part of the Ming Empire. But most scholars outside China, such as Turrell V. Wylie, Melvin C. Goldstein, and Helmut Hoffman, say that the relationship was one of suzerainty, that Ming titles were only nominal, that Tibet remained an independent region outside Ming control, and that it simply paid tribute until the Jiajing Emperor (1521–1566), who ceased relations with Tibet.

Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism

The Kagyu, Kagyü, or Kagyud school, which translates to "Oral Lineage" or "Whispered Transmission" school, is one of the main schools of Himalayan or Tibetan Buddhism. The Kagyu lineages trace themselves back to the 11th century Indian Mahasiddhas Naropa, Maitripa and the yogini Niguma, via their student Marpa Lotsawa (1012–1097), who brought their teachings to Tibet. Marpa's student Milarepa was also an influential poet and teacher.

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References

  1. ↑ Giuseppe Tucci, Den T'er Dmar Po Gsar Ma. Rome 1971, p. 225-6.
  2. ↑ Tsepon W.D. Shakabpa, Tibet. A Political History. Yale 1967, p. 88.
  3. ↑ Giuseppe Tucci, Tibetan Painted Scrolls. Rome 1949, Vol. II, p. 693.
Preceded by
Kunga Lekpa 		Ruler of Tibet
1481–1491		Succeeded by
Tsokye Dorje
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