The pillar was erected during the reign of King Trisong Detsen (755 until 797, or 804), the 38th king of the Yarlung dynasty. It was commissioned by the powerful minister Nganlam Takdra Lukhong.[citation needed]
The inscriptionedit
The creation of the Tibetan script occurred during the reign of Songsten Gampo, the 33rd king of the Yarlung dynasty, through the work of Thonmi Sambhota and others. Sambhota was sent to India early in Songsten Gampo's reign, and devised an alphabet suitable for the Tibetan language by adapting elements of Indian scripts and other scripts.[4]
The inscription starts off by announcing that Nganlam Takdra Lukhong had been appointed Great Inner Minister and Great Yo-gal 'chos-pa (a title difficult to translate). It goes on to say that Klu-khong brought to Trisong Detsen the facts of the murder of his father, Me Agtsom (704-754) by two of his Great Ministers, 'Bal Ldong-tsab and LangMyes-zigs, and that they intended to harm him also. They were then condemned and Klu-kong was appointed Inner Minister of the Royal Council.[5]
It then gives an account of his services to the king including campaigns against Tang China which culminated in the brief capture of the Chinese capital Chang'an (modern Xi'an) in 763 CE[6] during which the Tibetans temporarily installed as Emperor a relative of Princess Jincheng Gongzhu (Kim-sheng Kong co), the Chinese wife of Trisong Detsen's father, Me Agtsom.[7][8]
It is a testament to the generally tolerant attitude of Tibetan culture that this proud memorial by a subject was allowed to stand after the re-establishment of Buddhism under Trisong Detsen and has survived until modern times.[6]
Other information about the pillaredit
Traditionally among the celebrations for Tibetan New Year, or Losar, a team of sportsmen, usually from Shigatse, would perform daredevil feats such as sliding down a rope from the top of the highest roof of the Potala, to the Zhol Pillar at the foot of the hill. However, the 13th Dalai Lama banned this performance because it was dangerous and sometimes even fatal.[9]
As of 1993 the pillar was fenced off so it could not be approached closely (see accompanying photo).
Larsen and Sinding-Larsen (2001). The Lhasa Atlas: Traditional Tibetan Architecture and Landscape, Knud Larsen and Amund Sinding-Larsen. Shambhala Books, Boston. ISBN1-57062-867-X.
Richardson, Hugh E. (1984) Tibet & Its History. 1st edition 1962. Second Edition, Revised and Updated. Shambhala Publications. Boston ISBN0-87773-376-7.
Richardson, Hugh E. (1985). A Corpus of Early Tibetan Inscriptions. Royal Asiatic Society. ISBN0-947593-00-4.
Snellgrove, David & Hugh Richardson. (1995). A Cultural History of Tibet. 1st edition 1968. 1995 edition with new material. Shambhala. Boston & London. ISBN1-57062-102-0.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lhasa Zhol Pillar.
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
ཞོལ་རྡོ་རིངས་ཕྱི་མ།
"The Battle of the Barkhor"[permanent dead link]. Gordon Laird - "Barkhor Heritage 05".
Photo by Hugh Richardson 1949-50
December 07, 2023
lhasa, zhol, pillar, zhol, outer, pillar, doring, chima, stone, pillar, which, stands, outside, historical, residential, administrative, zhol, village, below, potala, palace, lhasa, tibet, erected, commemorate, border, treaty, between, yarlung, dynasty, tibeta. The Zhol outer pillar or Doring Chima is a stone pillar which stands outside the historical residential and administrative Zhol village below the Potala Palace in Lhasa Tibet 1 It was erected to commemorate a 783 border treaty between the Yarlung dynasty s Tibetan Empire and the Tang dynasty s Chinese Empire 2 The pillar is inscribed with an old example of Tibetan writing 3 The Potala adorned with two Buddhist silk banners Koku gos sku for the Sertreng ceremony with the Zhol outer pillar in the foreground in 1949 Contents 1 Erection 2 The inscription 3 Other information about the pillar 4 Gallery 5 Footnotes 6 References 7 External linksErection editThe pillar was erected during the reign of King Trisong Detsen 755 until 797 or 804 the 38th king of the Yarlung dynasty It was commissioned by the powerful minister Nganlam Takdra Lukhong citation needed The inscription editThe creation of the Tibetan script occurred during the reign of Songsten Gampo the 33rd king of the Yarlung dynasty through the work of Thonmi Sambhota and others Sambhota was sent to India early in Songsten Gampo s reign and devised an alphabet suitable for the Tibetan language by adapting elements of Indian scripts and other scripts 4 The inscription starts off by announcing that Nganlam Takdra Lukhong had been appointed Great Inner Minister and Great Yo gal chos pa a title difficult to translate It goes on to say that Klu khong brought to Trisong Detsen the facts of the murder of his father Me Agtsom 704 754 by two of his Great Ministers Bal Ldong tsab and LangMyes zigs and that they intended to harm him also They were then condemned and Klu kong was appointed Inner Minister of the Royal Council 5 It then gives an account of his services to the king including campaigns against Tang China which culminated in the brief capture of the Chinese capital Chang an modern Xi an in 763 CE 6 during which the Tibetans temporarily installed as Emperor a relative of Princess Jincheng Gongzhu Kim sheng Kong co the Chinese wife of Trisong Detsen s father Me Agtsom 7 8 It is a testament to the generally tolerant attitude of Tibetan culture that this proud memorial by a subject was allowed to stand after the re establishment of Buddhism under Trisong Detsen and has survived until modern times 6 Other information about the pillar editTraditionally among the celebrations for Tibetan New Year or Losar a team of sportsmen usually from Shigatse would perform daredevil feats such as sliding down a rope from the top of the highest roof of the Potala to the Zhol Pillar at the foot of the hill However the 13th Dalai Lama banned this performance because it was dangerous and sometimes even fatal 9 As of 1993 the pillar was fenced off so it could not be approached closely see accompanying photo Gallery edit nbsp 1936 1937 nbsp 1938 nbsp 1938 nbsp 1993 nbsp 2004Footnotes edit Richardson 1985 p 2 Larsen and Sinding Larsen 2001 p 78 Coulmas Florian 1999 Tibetan writing Blackwell Reference Online Retrieved 2009 10 20 Ancient Tibet 1986 pp 189 192 Richardson 1985 pp 7 9 a b Snellgrove and Richardson 1995 p 91 Richardson 1984 p 30 Beckwith 1987 p 148 Rigzin Tsepak 17 February 2008 The Tradition of Losar Tibet Talk Tibet Talk Retrieved 2010 02 04 References editAncient Tibet Research Materials from the Yeshe De Project 1986 Dharma Publishing Berkeley California ISBN 0 89800 146 3 Beckwith Christopher I 1987 The Tibetan Empire in Central Asia Princeton University Press Princeton New Jersey ISBN 0 691 02469 3 Larsen and Sinding Larsen 2001 The Lhasa Atlas Traditional Tibetan Architecture and Landscape Knud Larsen and Amund Sinding Larsen Shambhala Books Boston ISBN 1 57062 867 X Richardson Hugh E 1984 Tibet amp Its History 1st edition 1962 Second Edition Revised and Updated Shambhala Publications Boston ISBN 0 87773 376 7 Richardson Hugh E 1985 A Corpus of Early Tibetan Inscriptions Royal Asiatic Society ISBN 0 947593 00 4 Snellgrove David amp Hugh Richardson 1995 A Cultural History of Tibet 1st edition 1968 1995 edition with new material Shambhala Boston amp London ISBN 1 57062 102 0 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lhasa Zhol Pillar nbsp Wikisource has original text related to this article ཞ ལ ར ར ངས ཕ མ The Battle of the Barkhor permanent dead link Gordon Laird Barkhor Heritage 05 Photo by Hugh Richardson 1949 50 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Lhasa Zhol Pillar amp oldid 1166708126, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
