Tsaparang
Encyclopedia
Tsaparang was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Guge
in the Garuda Valley, through which the upper Sutlej River flows, in Ngari Prefecture
(Western Tibet) near the border of Ladakh
. It is 278 km south-southwest of Ali
(Senge Tsangpo) and 26 km west of the 11th century monastery at Thöling, and not far west of Mount Kailash
and Lake Manasarovar
. The Tsaparang Dzong was located here. Nearby is the Bon Gurugem Monastery.
Tsaparang is a huge fortress perched on a pyramid-shaped rock rising about 500 to 600 feet (152 to 183 m) at the end of a long narrow spur. It contains numerous tunnels and caves that have been carved out of the rock. At its base was a village where the common people lived. Above them were two public temples - the Lhakhang Marpo (Red Chapel) and the Lhakhang Karpo (White Chapel), and quarters for the monks. Further up, ascending a twisting stone staircase in a tunnel, were the royal quarters, and at the very top, the summer palace.
TV Presenter and historian Michael Wood, in the "Shangri-La" episode of the PBS documentary series In Search of Myths and Heroes, suggested that Tsaparang was the historical origin of the legend of Shangri-La, and that its two great temples were once home to the kings of Guge
in modern Tibet.
and parts of Spiti
. After his death his kingdom was split up between his three sons into the kingdoms of Guge, Purang, and Maryul (= Ladakh).
Guge controlled an ancient trading route between India and Tibet. It emerged in the region previously known as Zhangzhung and became an important regional power by the 10th century CE.
In the summer of 1624 two Portuguese
Jesuit missionaries, Fr. António de Andrade
and Brother Manoel Marques,came to the region looking for Christian kingdoms that had long been rumored to lay beyond the Himalayas. After a harrowing journey (they were the first known Europeans to traverse the Himalayas) they arrived in Tsaparang, where they managed to gain permission from the king of Guge to freely preach their religion throughout the kingdom, and left after less than a month. After gaining formal permission and funds to start a mission in Tibet from the Jesuit superior at Goa, Andrade, Marques, and three other Jesuits journeyed to Tsaparang the next summer and built a church at the foot of the citadel and another one at Rudok 130 miles (209 km) away. António de Andrade left Tibet in 1628, and in 1630 the king of Ladakh, Senge Namgyal, invaded and overthrew the kingdom of Guge, taking the pro-Jesuit king (Tri Tashi Drakpa) and his family captive. Under Ladakhi rule the mission quickly fell into disarray; Andrade was assassinated in Goa in 1634. In 1640 Manuel Marques led an expedition back in an attempt to reestablish the mission but he was captured and the rest of his party fled. He wrote a pitiful letter to the Jesuit headquarters at Agra
in India begging to be rescued, but was never heard from again.
In 1679-80 Tsaparang and the Guge kingdom was conquered by by the Central Tibetan government in Lhasa under the leadership of the 5th Dalai Lama. In spite of massive damage then, and the destruction of most of the statues and murals in both chapels by the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution
, many magnificent frescoes have somehow survived.
Guge
Guge was an ancient kingdom in Western Tibet. The kingdom was centered in present-day Zanda County, within Ngari Prefecture of Tibet Autonomous Region, China. At various points in history after 10th century AD, the kingdom held sway over a vast area including south-eastern Zanskar, Upper Kinnaur,...
in the Garuda Valley, through which the upper Sutlej River flows, in Ngari Prefecture
Ngari Prefecture
Ngari Prefecture is a prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region. Its capital is Gar County. Its regional headquarters is in the town of Purang. The biggest town is Ali. It includes part of the Aksai Chin area, a disputed region claimed by India but over which China exercises administrative...
(Western Tibet) near the border of Ladakh
Ladakh
Ladakh is a region of Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state of the Republic of India. It lies between the Kunlun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south, inhabited by people of Indo-Aryan and Tibetan descent...
. It is 278 km south-southwest of Ali
Ali, Tibet
Sênggêzangbo Town , or Shiquanhe Town is a town in Tibet. It is the main town of Ngari Prefecture, and of the Gar County of that prefecture.Historically the town was also known as Ger...
(Senge Tsangpo) and 26 km west of the 11th century monastery at Thöling, and not far west of Mount Kailash
Mount Kailash
Mount Kailash is a peak in the Gangdisê Mountains, which are part of the Himalayas in Tibet...
and Lake Manasarovar
Lake Manasarovar
Lake Manasarovar, Mapam Yumco , or Manasa Sarovar/Lake Manas , is a fresh-water lake in Tibet Autonomous Region of China approximately from Lhasa. To the west of Lake Manasa Sarovar is Lake Rakshastal and towards the north is Mount Kailash...
. The Tsaparang Dzong was located here. Nearby is the Bon Gurugem Monastery.
Tsaparang is a huge fortress perched on a pyramid-shaped rock rising about 500 to 600 feet (152 to 183 m) at the end of a long narrow spur. It contains numerous tunnels and caves that have been carved out of the rock. At its base was a village where the common people lived. Above them were two public temples - the Lhakhang Marpo (Red Chapel) and the Lhakhang Karpo (White Chapel), and quarters for the monks. Further up, ascending a twisting stone staircase in a tunnel, were the royal quarters, and at the very top, the summer palace.
TV Presenter and historian Michael Wood, in the "Shangri-La" episode of the PBS documentary series In Search of Myths and Heroes, suggested that Tsaparang was the historical origin of the legend of Shangri-La, and that its two great temples were once home to the kings of Guge
Guge
Guge was an ancient kingdom in Western Tibet. The kingdom was centered in present-day Zanda County, within Ngari Prefecture of Tibet Autonomous Region, China. At various points in history after 10th century AD, the kingdom held sway over a vast area including south-eastern Zanskar, Upper Kinnaur,...
in modern Tibet.
History
According to some accounts, Tsaparang was made the capital of a Kingdom of Guge by Namde Wosung, one of the sons of the Langdharma the anti-Buddhist king of Tibet 838-841 CE, after Langdharma was assassinated. The Tibetan Empire was then plunged into civil war and split into a number of independent kingdoms. Other accounts say that two of Langdharma's grandsons fled to Western Tibet about 919 CE. The eldest one, Nyima Gon, established himself at Purang and conquered a large area including LadakhLadakh
Ladakh is a region of Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state of the Republic of India. It lies between the Kunlun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south, inhabited by people of Indo-Aryan and Tibetan descent...
and parts of Spiti
Spiti
-Geographical locations:*Lahaul and Spiti, a district in the state of Himachal Pradesh in India.*Spiti Valley, former heartland of the former Spiti district now combined.*Spiti River, in the Spiti Valley, Himachal Pradesh.*Spitia River-Language:...
. After his death his kingdom was split up between his three sons into the kingdoms of Guge, Purang, and Maryul (= Ladakh).
Guge controlled an ancient trading route between India and Tibet. It emerged in the region previously known as Zhangzhung and became an important regional power by the 10th century CE.
- "In the 11th century, King Yeshe O, working with the famous Sanskrit translator, Rinchen ZangpoRinchen ZangpoRinchen Zangpo , also known as Lha Lama Yeshe O'd or Mahaguru, was a principal lotsawa or translator of Sanskrit Buddhist texts into Tibetan during the second diffusion of Buddhism in Tibet . He was a student of the famous Indian master, Atisha. His associates included Legpai Sherab...
('The Great Translator"), and the Indian master AtishaAtishaAtiśa Dipankara Shrijnana was a Buddhist teacher from the Pala Empire who, along with Konchog Gyalpo and Marpa, was one of the major figures in the establishment of the Sarma lineages in Tibet after the repression of Buddhism by King Langdarma .- Birth :Atisha is most commonly said to have been...
, reintroduced Buddhism to western Tibet. Soon Tsaparang, and Tholing, also made of mud brick, were built, along with other temples and monasteries. The influence of the Guge Kingdom, particularly the monastic center of Tholing, was felt from Kashmir to Assam."http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9406E0DB133BF93AA25750C0A9669C8B63&sec=travel&spon=&pagewanted=2
In the summer of 1624 two Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
Jesuit missionaries, Fr. António de Andrade
António de Andrade
Father António de Andrade was a Jesuit priest and explorer from Portugal. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1596. From 1600 until his death in 1634 he was engaged in missionary activity in India...
and Brother Manoel Marques,came to the region looking for Christian kingdoms that had long been rumored to lay beyond the Himalayas. After a harrowing journey (they were the first known Europeans to traverse the Himalayas) they arrived in Tsaparang, where they managed to gain permission from the king of Guge to freely preach their religion throughout the kingdom, and left after less than a month. After gaining formal permission and funds to start a mission in Tibet from the Jesuit superior at Goa, Andrade, Marques, and three other Jesuits journeyed to Tsaparang the next summer and built a church at the foot of the citadel and another one at Rudok 130 miles (209 km) away. António de Andrade left Tibet in 1628, and in 1630 the king of Ladakh, Senge Namgyal, invaded and overthrew the kingdom of Guge, taking the pro-Jesuit king (Tri Tashi Drakpa) and his family captive. Under Ladakhi rule the mission quickly fell into disarray; Andrade was assassinated in Goa in 1634. In 1640 Manuel Marques led an expedition back in an attempt to reestablish the mission but he was captured and the rest of his party fled. He wrote a pitiful letter to the Jesuit headquarters at Agra
Agra
Agra a.k.a. Akbarabad is a city on the banks of the river Yamuna in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, west of state capital, Lucknow and south from national capital New Delhi. With a population of 1,686,976 , it is one of the most populous cities in Uttar Pradesh and the 19th most...
in India begging to be rescued, but was never heard from again.
In 1679-80 Tsaparang and the Guge kingdom was conquered by by the Central Tibetan government in Lhasa under the leadership of the 5th Dalai Lama. In spite of massive damage then, and the destruction of most of the statues and murals in both chapels by the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
, many magnificent frescoes have somehow survived.
Further reading
- Aschoff, Jürgen C. (1989). "Tsaparang-Königsstadt in Westtibet: Die vollstänigen Berichte des Jesuitenpaters António de Andrade und eine Beschreibung vom heitigen Zustand der Klöster." Munich: MC Verlag.
- Desideri, Ippolito (2010). "Mission to Tibet: The Extraordinary Eighteenth-Century Account of Father Ippolito Desideri, S.J." Translated by Michael J. Sweet, edited by Leonard Zwilling. Boston: Wisdom Publications.
External links
- http://www.pbase.com/asianodyssey/image/83821930 Photos of Tsaparang and Guge
- http://www.greenkiwi.co.nz/footprints/frames/gu_art.htm Photo essay: "the ART of Guge: a western Tibet kingdom."
- http://ben-m-wood.blogspot.com/2007/07/tsaparang.html Ben's Blog. More photos.
- http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=travel&res=9406E0DB133BF93AA25750C0A9669C8B63 "Echoes of a Fallen Kingdom" By KAREN SWENSON, New York Times. Published: March 19, 2000