Tsokye Dorje

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Tsokye Dorje (Tibetan : གཙོ་སྐྱེས་རྡོ་རྗེ,  Wylie : mTs'o skyes rdo rje, 1450–1510) 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.

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.

Rinpungpa Tibetan regime that dominated much of Western Tibet and part of Ü-Tsang between 1435 and 1565

Rinpungpa was a Tibetan regime that dominated much of Western Tibet and part of Ü-Tsang between 1435 and 1565. During one period around 1500 the Rinpungpa lords came close to assemble the Tibetan lands around the Yarlung Tsangpo River under one authority, but their powers receded after 1512.

Contents

Rinpungpa ascendency

Tsokye Dorje was the fourth son of Norzang, who founded the fortunes of the Rinpungpa in 1435. [1] From this time the family dominated political life in the Tsang region (West Central Tibet) at the expense of the Phagmodrupa kings who resided in Nêdong in Ü (East Central Tibet). When Norzang died in 1466, his second son Kunzang took over the leadership of the family, while Tsokye Dorje received the fief Khartog in the Yarlung Valley area. [2] The direct influence of the Phagmodrupa was on the wane, and in 1481 one of their line was deposed by his ministers after a Rinpungpa attack. The next ruler Ngagi Wangpo had a short and turbulent reign, and when he died in 1491 his son Ngawang Tashi Drakpa was only a boy of three. It was then decided to appoint Tsokye Dorje of the Rinpungpa as regent during his minority. [3] At this time the chief of the Rinpungpa faction was Tsokye Dorje's nephew Donyo Dorje (1463–1512).

Norzang (1403–1466), in full Norbu Zangpo, was the founder of the power of the Rinpungpa Dynasty in Central Tibet.

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.

Nêdong or Nêtong is a village in Nêdong County, in the Shannan Prefecture, in the independent country Tibet.

Internal feuding

In spite of the position of Rinpungpa kinsmen in both Tsang and Ü, the political turmoil in Central Tibet continued. In 1492 Donyo Dorje invaded Ü and captured three districts. In 1498 he captured Lhasa where his forces maintained Rinpungpa power until 1517. The Rinpungpa were intimately allied to the Karmapa sect. The Gelugpa monks of Drepung and Sera were therefore impeded from celebrating the annual Monlam festival during the occupation of Lhasa. [4] Finally, in 1499, several officers under Donyo Dorje convened in Nêdong and decided to enthrone the Phagmodrupa heir Ngawang Tashi Drakpa. Tsokye Dorje appears to have handed over power without making trouble, and eventually died in 1510. He may have had an appeasing influence on political affairs, since his demise immediately triggered a violent conflict between Donyo Dorje and Ngawang Tashi Drakpa. [5] A son of Tsokye Dorje, Ngawang Namgyal, later became the leader of the Rinpungpa faction.

Lhasa District in Tibet, China

Lhasa or Chengguan is a district and administrative capital of Lhasa City in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. The inner urban area of Lhasa City is equivalent to the administrative borders of Chengguan District, which is part of the wider prefectural Lhasa City.

Karmapa title

The Karmapa is the head of the Karma Kagyu, the largest sub-school of the Kagyu, itself one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism.

Sera Monastery Buddhist monastery in Tibet

Sera Monastery is one of the "great three" Gelug university monasteries of Tibet, located 1.25 miles (2.01 km) north of Lhasa and about 5 km (3.1 mi) north of the Jokhang. The other two are Ganden Monastery and Drepung Monastery. The origin of its name is attributed to a fact that during construction, the hill behind the monastery was covered with blooming wild roses.

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.

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References

  1. ↑ Thus he was not the brother of Norzang as sometimes alleged; see Giuseppe Tucci, Tibetan Painted Scrolls. Rome 1949, Vol. II, p. 642.
  2. ↑ Giuseppe Tucci, Deb T'er Dmar Po Gsar Ma. Rome 1971, p. 223; Giuseppe Tucci, 1949, Vol. II, p. 642.
  3. ↑ Tsepon W.D. Shakabpa, Tibet. A Political History. Yale 1967, p. 87-8.
  4. ↑ Tsepon W.D. Shakabpa, 1967, p. 88.
  5. ↑ Giuseppe Tucci, 1971, p. 229.
Preceded by
Ngagi Wangpo 		Ruler of Tibet
1491–1499 		Succeeded by
Ngawang Tashi Drakpa
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