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 Senggezangbo Town and 26 km west of the 11th-century monastery at Tholing, and not far west of Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar. The Tsaparang Dzong was located here. Nearby is the Bon monastery of Gurugem.[1]
Tsaparang
The ruins of Tsaparang
Location within Tibet Autonomous Region#Location within Ngari Prefecture
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. Up, a twisting stone staircase in a tunnel were the royal quarters, and at the very top, the summer palace.[2]
The English TV presenter and historian Michael Wood, in the "Shangri-La" episode of the BBC TV/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.
Painting showing the story of the Conversion of the Householder Yasa, who became a mendicant and was established as an Arhat, in the Red Temple in Tsparang, fifteenth century.
According to some accounts, Tsaparang was made the capital of the Kingdom of Guge by Namde Wosung, one of the sons of the Langdarma the anti-Buddhist king of Tibet 838-841 CE, after Langdarma was assassinated. The Tibetan Empire was then plunged into civil war and split into a number of independent kingdoms.[3] Other accounts say that two of Langdarma's grandsons fled to Western Tibet about 919 CE. The eldest one, Kyide Nyiamagon, established himself at Purang and conquered a large area including Ladakh 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.[3]
"In the 11th century, King Yeshe-Ö, working with the famous Sanskrit translator, Rinchen Zangpo ('The Great Translator"), and the Indian master Atiśa, 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."[1]
In the summer of 1624 two PortugueseJesuit missionaries, Fr. António de Andrade and Brother Manuel 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,[4] 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 following 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.[5]
In 1679–80 Tsaparang and the Guge kingdom were conquered by Central Tibet, based in Lhasa under the 5th Dalai Lama. In spite of massive damage done 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.[5]
^Allen, Charles. (1999) The Search for Shangri-La: A Journey into Tibetan History, pp. 265-6. Little, Brown and Company. Reprint: 2000 Abacus Books, London. ISBN0-349-11142-1.
^ abTibet, p. 200. (2005) Bradley Mayhew and Michael Kohn. 6th Edition. Lonely Planet. ISBN1-74059-523-8.
^Oliveira, Bruna. "A missão Tibetana na Correspondência Jesuíta (1624-1631)" (PDF).
^ abAllen, Charles. (1999) The Search for Shangri-La: A Journey into Tibetan History, pp. 243-245. Little, Brown and Company. Reprint: 2000 Abacus Books, London. ISBN0-349-11142-1.
General references:
Wessels, Cornelis. (1924). "Early Jesuit Travellers in Central Asia 1603–1721." Reprint: 1999. Low Price Books, Delhi.
Vitali, Roberto. (1999). Records of Tho.Ling. Dharamsala: High Asia.
Didier, Hugues. (2002). "Les Portugais au Tibet: Les premières relations jésuites." Paris: Chandeigne.
Allen, Charles. (1999) The Search for Shangri-La: A Journey into Tibetan History. Little, Brown and Company. Reprint: 2000 Abacus Books, London. ISBN0-349-11142-1.
Further readingedit
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.
Govinda, Anagarika (2005). "The Way of the White Clouds" Woodstock & New York: The Overlook Press.
Van Ham, Peter (2016). "Guge: Ages of Gold" Munich: Hirmer.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tsaparang.
Photos of Tsaparang and Guge
Photo essay: "the ART of Guge: a western Tibet kingdom."
Ben's Blog. More photos.
"Echoes of a Fallen Kingdom". Karen Swenson, New York Times. Published: March 19, 2000
November 15, 2023
tsaparang, capital, ancient, kingdom, guge, garuda, valley, through, which, upper, sutlej, river, flows, ngari, prefecture, western, tibet, near, border, ladakh, south, southwest, senggezangbo, town, west, 11th, century, monastery, tholing, west, mount, kailas. 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 Senggezangbo Town and 26 km west of the 11th century monastery at Tholing and not far west of Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar The Tsaparang Dzong was located here Nearby is the Bon monastery of Gurugem 1 TsaparangThe ruins of TsaparangLocation within Tibet Autonomous Region Location within Ngari PrefectureShow map of TibetTsaparang Ngari Show map of NgariLocationZanda Ngari Tibet Autonomous Region ChinaRegionTibetCoordinates31 27 59 N 79 40 14 E 31 46639 N 79 67056 E 31 46639 79 67056Altitude3 800 m 12 467 ft HistoryFounded9th or 10th century CEAbandoned1680 CETsaparang 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 Up a twisting stone staircase in a tunnel were the royal quarters and at the very top the summer palace 2 The English TV presenter and historian Michael Wood in the Shangri La episode of the BBC TV 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 Contents 1 History 2 See also 3 References 4 Further reading 5 External linksHistory edit nbsp Painting showing the story of the Conversion of the Householder Yasa who became a mendicant and was established as an Arhat in the Red Temple in Tsparang fifteenth century According to some accounts Tsaparang was made the capital of the Kingdom of Guge by Namde Wosung one of the sons of the Langdarma the anti Buddhist king of Tibet 838 841 CE after Langdarma was assassinated The Tibetan Empire was then plunged into civil war and split into a number of independent kingdoms 3 Other accounts say that two of Langdarma s grandsons fled to Western Tibet about 919 CE The eldest one Kyide Nyiamagon established himself at Purang and conquered a large area including Ladakh 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 3 In the 11th century King Yeshe O working with the famous Sanskrit translator Rinchen Zangpo The Great Translator and the Indian master Atisa 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 1 In the summer of 1624 two Portuguese Jesuit missionaries Fr Antonio de Andrade and Brother Manuel 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 4 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 following summer and built a church at the foot of the citadel and another one at Rudok 130 miles 209 km away Antonio 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 5 In 1679 80 Tsaparang and the Guge kingdom were conquered by Central Tibet based in Lhasa under the 5th Dalai Lama In spite of massive damage done 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 5 See also editCatholic Church in TibetReferences edit nbsp TsaparangSpecific references Allen Charles 1999 The Search for Shangri La A Journey into Tibetan History pp 265 6 Little Brown and Company Reprint 2000 Abacus Books London ISBN 0 349 11142 1 Allen Charles 1999 p 243 a b Tibet p 200 2005 Bradley Mayhew and Michael Kohn 6th Edition Lonely Planet ISBN 1 74059 523 8 Oliveira Bruna A missao Tibetana na Correspondencia Jesuita 1624 1631 PDF a b Allen Charles 1999 The Search for Shangri La A Journey into Tibetan History pp 243 245 Little Brown and Company Reprint 2000 Abacus Books London ISBN 0 349 11142 1 General references Wessels Cornelis 1924 Early Jesuit Travellers in Central Asia 1603 1721 Reprint 1999 Low Price Books Delhi Vitali Roberto 1999 Records of Tho Ling Dharamsala High Asia Didier Hugues 2002 Les Portugais au Tibet Les premieres relations jesuites Paris Chandeigne Allen Charles 1999 The Search for Shangri La A Journey into Tibetan History Little Brown and Company Reprint 2000 Abacus Books London ISBN 0 349 11142 1 Further reading editAschoff Jurgen C 1989 Tsaparang Konigsstadt in Westtibet Die vollstanigen Berichte des Jesuitenpaters Antonio de Andrade und eine Beschreibung vom heitigen Zustand der Kloster 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 Govinda Anagarika 2005 The Way of the White Clouds Woodstock amp New York The Overlook Press Van Ham Peter 2016 Guge Ages of Gold Munich Hirmer External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tsaparang Photos of Tsaparang and Guge Photo essay the ART of Guge a western Tibet kingdom Ben s Blog More photos Echoes of a Fallen Kingdom Karen Swenson New York Times Published March 19 2000 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tsaparang amp oldid 1177519530, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
