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Offline zorgon

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The Search for the Zhangzhung Empire
« on: August 19, 2011, 04:31:53 am »
The Search for the Zhangzhung Empire

Some time ago in the 'Stargates are Real" thread I found a picture of something that looked like the pedestal of a Dial Home terminals, just like one that was used in one episode...

Dial Home Device Schematic;



Ancient Megalithic Ruins in Tibet

A lot of Ancient stone edifices are more likely to be mere representations of things seen or talked about from stories that the people did not understand. A lot of this is seen in Egypt. As time progressed, the quality of the pyramids diminished. So did certain skills such as fine crafted stoneware. It was with this in mind that we sought evidence where tribes people may have tried to emulate things of the Gods...

There are dozens of sites spread over 400, 000 square kilometers, documenting the existence of the legendary Zhangzhung kingdom. The picture below is a "celestial observatory" at the Black Rock site. The stone structure in the middle has a very familiar look to it...


Celestial Observatory - Black Rock

Oddly enough, this was the first time I ever heard of the Zhangzhung kingdom. Very little is known about this ancient culture and it was only recently Archaeologists were even allowed to explore the region.  To start our search we will begin with the latest Wikipedia collection of material.

Now naturally this is not REALLY a DHD but it was the first reference I came across to the Zhangzhung culture

Ancient Megalithic Ruins in Tibet

A lot of Ancient stone edifices are more likely to be mere representations of things seen or talked about from stories that the people did not understand. A lot of this is seen in Egypyt. As time progressed, the quality of the pyramids diminished. So did certain skills such as fine crafted stoneware. It was with this in mind that we sought evidence where tribes people may have tried to emmulate things of the Gods...

There are dozens of sites spread over 400, 000 square kilometers, documenting the existence of the legendary Zhang zhung kingdom. The picture below is a "celestial observatory" at the Black Rock site. The stone structure in the middle has a very familiar look to it... but  coincidentally it was found in  a "celestial observatory" at the Black Rock site. 

The only other image I have from the Black Rock site so far is this one;


Caption: Also at Black Rock are the remains of what appear to be chortens (mchod rten),
and tenkhar (rten mkhar), shrines used in the worship of environment-based deities.

Since I created my webpage on this, I see there has been a little bit more added on Wikipedia..

Zhangzhung

Quote
Zhang Zhung, Shang Shung, or Tibetan Pinyin Xang Xung, was an ancient culture and kingdom of western and northwestern Tibet, which pre-dates the culture of Tibetan Buddhism in Tibet. Zhang Zhung culture is associated with the Bön religion, which in turn, has influenced the philosophies and practices of Tibetan Buddhism. The Zhang Zhung are mentioned frequently in ancient Tibetan texts as the original rulers of central and western Tibet. Only in the last two decades have archaeologists been given access to do archaeological work in the areas once ruled by the Zhang Zhung.

Recently, a tentative match has been proposed between the Zhang Zhung and an Iron Age culture now being uncovered on the Chang Tang plateau of northwestern Tibet

Extent of the Zhang Zhung kingdoms

According to Annals of Lake Manasarowar (Lake Manasarovar), at one point the Zhang Zhung civilization consisted of 18 kingdoms in the west and northwest portion of Tibet. The Zhang Zhung culture was centered around sacred Mount Kailash and extended west to Sarmatians and present-day Ladakh & Baltistan, southwest to Jalandhar, south to the Kingdom of Mustang in Nepal, east to include central Tibet, and north across the vast Chang Tang plateau and the Taklamakan Desert to Shanshan. Thus the Zhang Zhung culture controlled the major portion of the "roof of the world".

Tradition has it that Zhang Zhung consisted "of three different regions: sGob-ba, the outer; Phug-pa, the inner; and Bar-ba, the middle. The outer is what we might call Western Tibet, from Gilgit in the west to Dangs-ra khyung-rdzong in the east, next to lake gNam-mtsho, and from Khotan in the north to Chu-mig brgyad-cu rtsa-gnyis in the south. The inner region is said to be sTag-gzig (Tazig) [often identified with Bactria], and the middle rGya-mkhar bar-chod, a place not yet identified." While it is not certain whether Zhang Zhung was really so large, it is known that it was an independent kingdom and covered the whole of Western Tibet.

The capital city of Zhang Zhung was called Khyunglung (Khyunglung Ngülkhar or Khyung-lung dngul-mkhar), the "Silver Palace of Garuda", southwest of Mount Kailash (Mount Ti-se), which is identified with palaces found in the upper Sutlej Valley.

The Zhang Zhung built a towering fort, Chugtso Dropo, on the shores of sacred Lake Dangra, from which they exerted military power over the surrounding district in central Tibet.

The fact that some of the ancient texts describing the Zhang Zhung kingdom also claimed the Sutlej valley was Shambhala, the land of happiness (from which James Hilton possibly derived the name "Shangri La"), may have delayed their study by Western scholars


he Kushano-Hephthalite Kingdoms in 565 AD.

History of the Zhangzhung
Paleolithic findings


Pollen and tree ring analysis indicates the Chang Tang plateau was a much more livable environment until becoming drier and colder starting around 1500 BC. One theory is that the civilization established itself on the plateau when conditions were less harsh, then managed to persist against gradually worsening climatic conditions until finally expiring around 1000 CE (the area is now used only by wandering nomads). This timeframe also corresponds to the rise of the Tibetan kingdoms in the southern valleys which may also have contributed to the decline of the plateau culture.

Iron Age culture of the Chang Tang — the Zhang Zhung?

Recent archeological work on the Chang Tang plateau finds evidence of an Iron Age culture which some have tentatively identified as the Zhangzhung. This culture is notable for the following characteristics:

    * a system of hilltop stone forts or citadels, likely used as a defense against the steppe tribes of Central Asia, such as the Scythians
    * burial complexes which use vertical tombstones, occasionally in large arrays, and including up to 10,000 graves in one location
    * stone temples located in the mountains adjacent to the plains, characterized by windowless rooms, corbelled stone roofs, and round walls
    * evidence of a stratified social structure, as indicated by royal or princely tombs
    * petroglyphs which shows the culture was a warrior horse culture

These characteristics more closely match the Iron Age cultures of Europe and the Asian steppes than those of India or East Asia, suggesting a cultural influence which arrived from the west or north rather than the east or south.

The Conquest of Zhangzhung

There is some confusion as to whether Central Tibet conquered Zhangzhung during the reign of Songtsän Gampo (605 or 617? - 649) or in the reign of Trisong Detsen (Wylie: Khri-srong-lde-btsan), (r. 755 until 797 or 804 CE).[5] The records of the Tang Annals do, however, seem to clearly place these events in the reign of Songtsän Gampo for they say that in 634, Yangtong (Zhang Zhung) and various Qiang tribes "altogether submitted to him." Following this he united with the country of Yangtong to defeat the 'Azha or Tuyuhun, and then conquered two more tribes of Qiang before threatening Songzhou with an army of more than 200,000 men. He then sent an envoy with gifts of gold and silk to the Chinese emperor to ask for a Chinese princess in marriage and, when refused, attacked Songzhou. He apparently finally retreated and apologised and later the emperor granted his request.

Early Tibetan accounts say that the Tibetan king and the king of Zhangzhung had married each other's sisters in a political alliance. However, the Tibetan wife of the king of the Zhangzhung complained of poor treatment by the king's principal wife. War ensued, and through the treachery of the Tibetan princess, "King Ligmikya of Zhangzhung, while on his way to Sum-ba (Amdo province) was ambushed and killed by King Srongtsen Gampo's soldiers. As a consequence, the Zhangzhung kingdom was annexed to Bod [Central Tibet]. Thereafter the new kingdom born of the unification of Zhangzhung and Bod was known as Bod rGyal-khab." R. A. Stein places the conquest of Zhangzhung in 645.


Map of the Tibetan empire at it's Greatest extent between the 780s and the 790s CE

Revolt of Zhang Zhung in 677 CE

Zhang Zhung revolted soon after the death of King Mangsong Mangtsen or Trimang Löntsän (Khri-mang-slon-rtsan, r. 650-677), the son of Songtsän Gampo, but was brought back under Tibetan control by the "firm governance of the great leaders of the Mgar clan".

The Zhangzhung language

A handful of Zhangzhung texts and 11th century bilingual Tibetan documents attest to a Zhangzhung language which was related to Kinnauri. The Bönpo claim that the Tibetan writing system is derived from the Zhangzhung alphabet, while modern scholars recognize the clear derivation of Tibetan script from a North Indian script, which accords with non-Bon Tibetan accounts. A modern Kinnauri language called by the same name (pronounced locally Jangshung) is spoken by 2,000 people in the Sutlej Valley of Himachal Pradesh who claim to be descendants of the Zhangzhung

Zhangzhung culture's influence in India

It is noteworthy that the Bönpo tradition claims that it was founded by a Buddha-like figure named Tonpa Shenrab Miwoche, to whom are ascribed teachings similar in scope to those ascribed to the historical Buddha. Bönpos claim that Tonpa Shenrab Miwoche lived some 18,000 years ago, and visited Tibet from the land of Tagzig Olmo Lung Ring, or Shambhala. Bönpos also suggest that during this time Lord Shenrab Miwoche's teaching permeated the entire subcontinent and was in part responsible for the development of the Vedic religion. An example of this link is said to be Mount Kailash, which is the center of Zhang Zhung culture, and also the most sacred mountain to Hindus. As a result, the Bönpos claim that the supposedly much later teaching at least indirectly owes its origin to Tonpa Shenrab Miwoche

SOURCE: Wikipedia Zhangzhung


Mount Kailash - in the Heart of the Bon Kingdoms

Other Sources


Zhangzhung Kingdoms - Pegasus Pages

Expedició al Tibet (Zhang zhung)
A la recerca de l'antic regne de Zhang-zhung

Oral Tradition from Zhang Zhung, An Introduction to the Bonpo Dzogchen Teachings of the Oral Tradition from Zhang Zhung

Berzin archive article on Bon and the Zhangzhung

Zhang Zhung Meri



Zhangzhung
The Search for the Zhangzhung Empire - Pegasus Pages

Bon and Tibetan Buddhism
Alexander Berzin
Amsterdam, Holland, December 23, 2001
Lightly edited course transcript
Preliminaries


Mount Everest is so tall that it interferes with the clouds that pass by.
Here a lenticular cloud forms above its peak. - Credit: Howstuffworks.com

Oral Tradition from Zhang Zhung
An Introduction to the Bonpo Dzogchen Teachings
of the Oral Tradition from Zhang Zhung








Offline zorgon

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Re: The Search for the Zhangzhung Empire
« Reply #1 on: August 19, 2011, 04:37:15 am »
Search for Zhang Zhung

Quote
Gelek, a Bön monk, accompanied by an American photographer undertakes a journey from Kathmandu to discover for himself the ancient kingdom of Zhang Zhung where the Bön religion flourished centuries ago.

In search of mythical palaces and holy sites, they journey to the shadows of Mount Kailash in far Western Tibet. Along the way they are joined by dhamis (oracles) and shaman priests, and together they make an odd group of contrasting characters.

As they travel through the starkly beautiful landscape of Nepal and Tibet their journey begins to shed light on Bön, a religion different and arguably older than Tibetan Buddhism, though it is largely unknown and neglected. Throughout the pilgrimage Gelek contemplates about what it means to be a Bön monk, struggles with his doubts and seeks to uncover the roots of his religion and identity.

It is a pilgrimage where both the spiritual and temporal realms are fluid realities and obstacles constantly need to be overcome. And while pursuing jeweled palaces and fantastic dreams, Gelek and Tom attempt to strip away their confusion in an attempt to find the essence of Zhang Zhung.

« Last Edit: January 14, 2019, 09:10:12 pm by zorgon »

Offline zorgon

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Re: The Search for the Zhangzhung Empire
« Reply #2 on: January 14, 2019, 09:29:39 pm »
Zhangzhung Civilization in Ngari
October,16 2018 BY Da Wa


From a tour agency... not much new but something at least...


Ruins of Zhangzhung Kingdom


Overview

Zhangzhung, Xang Xung in Tibetan Language, was an ancient cultural and political kingdom of western Tibet, predating the culture of Tibetan Buddhism by 400 years. According to the research,related with the Bon religion, Zhangzhung culture also has a profound influence on the concepts and actions of Tibetan Buddhism. In ancient Tibetan document, Zhangzhung is considered as the original rulers of western Tibet. Due to the awful climate and difficult transportation, the experts only have got chances to do research at the areas once dominated by Zhangzhung in the last two decades.

Dominion


Map of Zhangzhung Kingdom

It’s said that Zhangzhung civilization was made up of 18 kingdoms in the west and northwest portion of Tibet. Centering on Mt.Kailash, Zhangzhung culture extended to a wide geographical area and affected the major portion of Tibet. Zhangzhung consisted of three parts:zhang zhung sgo ba,the outer; zhang zhung phug pa,the inner and zhang zhung bar ba,the middle.


The capital city of Zhangzhung,Khyunglung in the modern-day Ngari Prefecture of Tibet

Khyunglung (the "Silver Palace of Garuda"), the capital city of Zhangzhung, is located at southwest of Mount Kailash and identified with palaces found in the upper Sutlej Valley. On the shore of Lake Dangra, a towering fort named Chugtso Dropo was established by Zhangzhung, from which they exerted military power over the surrounding district in central Tibet. Undergoing through thousands of years’ weathering, Zhangzhung has been badly destroyed. The upper part still keep the original color of Toling, while the lower part is silver. Maybe that’s the reason why it is called Silver Palace of Garuda. Even if the glory has gone, you would definitely be amazed by the magnificent ruins.

Writing & Religion

Being referred to many times in the documents, powerful Zhangzhung kingdom is the cradle for Bon religion and its unique writing.


Imperial Seal of Zhangzhung Kingdom


Wall painting in Zhangzhung Dynasty

Bon was the official religion of the Zhangzhung kingdom which have flourished till about 700AD. With introducing Buddhism into Tibet, Bon religion was regarded as a political threat by Songtsen Gampo, the first king of Tubo Kingdom, and then he launched wars to eliminate all the remnants of Bon. With the devastation of Zhangzhung kingdom, Bon religion declined.


Zhangzhung scripture

It is generally considered that Tibet had no written language until King Songtsen Gampo. But there are some stories showing that a millenium prior to Songtsen Gampo,Tonpa Shenrab had taught the calculation of astrology, medicine and other teachings in Tibet. It is also said that he invented the first writing, which did not exist before him.

Customs

Most of Tibetans living styles and customs can be traced back to Zhangzhung dynasty such as circuiting Mt.Kailash and Lake Manasarovar, hanging the colorful prayer flags, piling marnyi stone and so on.

Zhangzhung Cultural Festival


Tibetans were dancing to celebrate Zhangzhung Cultural Festival

In order to advocate its rich cultural heritage, Zhangzhung Cultural Festival has been established by the local government. Here you can take part in a series of local activities like the competition of tourism photography, culture &tourism forum, ect. The festival lasts about the whole month in August, from which you can experience Ngari unique customs and get a deeper understanding of Zhangzhung culture.

About the Author - Da Wa


Dawa,an excellent tour guide in our company, was born in 1976 in shigatse, where the home of Mt. Everest. Before being a guide, Dawa learnt Buddhism, Tibetan culture as well as English in a college for 10 years. After finished study, he became a tour guide in our company CITS, and had being a guide for more than 11years. His great knowledge about Tibet and its unique culture attracts tourists from all over the world. Would you like to come joining us with Dawa and take a unique experience in Tibet?



Offline zorgon

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Re: The Search for the Zhangzhung Empire
« Reply #3 on: January 14, 2019, 09:50:28 pm »
I find the following statue of immense interest...

1) it's made from a meteorite... nickel iron meteorites are very hard and dense, not easy to carve.

2) it is dated to the Bon empire

3) while it has the classic pose of a Buddha with left palm out and right hand holding the artifact, and it has the halo... it also is clearly a figure dressed in full battle armor typical of the period... so he looks more like a Tibetan Warlord than a religious figure

4) he has a single earring in his right ear

Quote
The Iron Man statue

The Iron Man statue is a 24 centimetres (9.4 in), 10 kilograms (22 lb) sculpture depicting what could be the Buddhist deity Vaiśravaṇa that may be made from a rare ataxite class nickel-rich iron meteorite. It is claimed to be Tibetan and to have been carved circa 1000 CE, from a meteorite that fell to Earth approximately 15,000 years ago, although no evidence for this claim has been provided. Albeit claims that the statue may have been acquired by the 1938–1939 German expedition to Tibet, evidence of the statue's provenance has not been presented to date. The statue was kept in a private collection in Germany until it is said to have been auctioned in 2007. The figure is adorned with a counterclockwise-rotation Buddhist swastika.

Analysis

The material has been dated to the time of the Chinga meteorite, which fell near eastern Siberia and Mongolia between 10,000 and 20,000 years ago. The researcher who had determined the statue's composition has said, "If we are right that it was made in the Bon culture in the eleventh century, it is absolutely priceless and absolutely unique worldwide."

Priceless Tibetan Buddha Statue
Looted by Nazis Carved from Meteorite


iron Man Buddhist Statue

Relic taken by SS in 1930s analysed by researchers following reappearance at auction in 2007
Mark Taylor



The Buddhist statue that a Nazi expedition brought back from Tibet. Photograph: Elmar Buchner/AP

FULL SIZE PHOTO

Quote
A priceless Buddha statue looted by Nazis in Tibet in the 1930s was carved from a meteorite which crashed to the Earth 15,000 years ago, according to new research.

The relic bears a Buddhist swastika on its belly – an ancient symbol of luck that was later co-opted by the Nazis in Germany.

Analysis has shown the statue is made from an incredibly rare form of nickel-rich iron present in falling stars.

The 1,000-year-old carving, which is 24cm high and weighs 10kg, depicts the god Vaisravana, the Buddhist King of the North, and is known as the Iron Man statue.

It was stolen before the second world war during a pillage of Tibet by Hitler's SS, who were searching for the origins of the Aryan race.

It eventually made its way to a private collection and was hidden away until it was auctioned in 2007.

The new owner approached Dr Elmar Buchner of University of Stuttgart to unlock the secrets of the unusual carving's past.

Buchner's team of researchers from Germany and Austria dated it to a specific event in astronomy history when the Chinga meteorite fell in the border region of eastern Siberia and Mongolia between 10,000 and 20,000 years ago.

Tests proved the icon was made of a rare ataxite class, the rarest meteorite type found on Earth.

Gold prospectors discovered debris from the Chinga crash in 1913, but the fragment from which the statue was carved was collected centuries before.

Meteorites have long been heralded as acts of God across many cultures, and early knives and jewellery were often carved from the remnants of space rocks. But tracing their exact origins has proved difficult for scientists.

"We were quite astonished by the results," Buchner told the online journal Meteoritics and Planetary Science.

"If we are right that it was made in the Bon culture in the 11th century, it is absolutely priceless and absolutely unique worldwide," Buchner said.

"It is extremely impressive, it was formerly almost completely gilded – there is a great mystery represented by it."

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/sep/28/nazi-buddha-statue-carved-from-meteorite

original German Article
http://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/mensch/tausend-jahre-alte-buddha-statue-ist-aus-meteorit-geschnitzt-a-858258.html

National Geographic
https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/09/120927-nazi-buddhist-meteorite-science-iron-man-meteoritics-statue/

PAPERS:
1) The Strange Case of the “Buddha from Space” - Isrun Engelhardt
« Last Edit: January 14, 2019, 09:55:53 pm by zorgon »

Offline zorgon

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Re: The Search for the Zhangzhung Empire
« Reply #4 on: January 15, 2019, 12:56:06 am »
When i first looked into finding the Lost ZhangZhung Empire there was very little imformation available om the net

Even in that video above (I had to find a replacement copy) the Buddhist film maker who had permission to explore the region was denied when they finally got close to the area.

But today I found an old school archaeologist who has been living in Tibet for the past 25 years and he has many photos of the old ruins. But even he says they have been uprooting the old sites since 2002.

Quote
More amazing fields of ancient standing stones in uppermost Tibet.

These types of funerary ritual sites delineate a cultural region that corresponds to what is called Zhang Zhung in Tibetan literary sources. Please use your imagination. It is not unusual for 90% of the standing stones to have been uprooted or to have entirely disappeared.

I am just going through his material and will add it as I find it...



Dzong Piphi. This unusual five-sided building sits on a summit with unobstructed views. It is one of two ancient facilities at this site. © John Vincent Bellezza


Wangchuk Gonpo Khar. This very large citadel complex contains more than 60 ruined buildings. The structure shown here has an all-stone corbelled ground floor and the remains of mud bricks walls belonging to the upper story. A local folktale tells how the Buddhists with the aid of Guru Rinpoche cunningly defeated its non-Buddhist defenders. © John Vincent Bellezza


Jomo Rirang Khar. This large defensive installation is situated at more than 5000 m in elevation, far higher than any major dwelling built in the region in the last 1100 years. Jomo Rirang appears to be a form of Drablhai Gyalmo, the chief goddess of Zhang Zhung. © John Vincent Bellezza


Gyamuk Khar. This hulk once guarded a valley in far western Tibet where barley is still cultivated. © John Vincent Bellezza


Shiri Mon Khar. This fortress towering high above the badlands of far western Tibet is named for the Monpa, a prehistoric tribe said to have dominated the region in pre-Buddhist times. Zhang Zhung and Bon in the collective memory of western Tibet have almost entirely disappeared, to be replaced by a number of legendary peoples. © John Vincent Bellezza


Penba, the greatest singer of Ruthok (Northwest Tibet) of the last generation. His repertoire of native songs was incredibly rich, a vast treasury of local lore and history.

Offline zorgon

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Re: The Search for the Zhangzhung Empire
« Reply #5 on: January 15, 2019, 01:08:34 am »
Friday, June 21, 2013
Kingdom of Guge & The Garuda Valley of Zhang Zhung


"Guge was an ancient kingdom in Western Tibet. The kingdom was centered in present-day Zanda County, within Ngari Prefecture of Tibet. At various points in history after 10th century AD, the kingdom held sway over a vast area including south-eastern Zanskar, Upper Kinnaur, and Spiti valley either by conquest or as tributaries. The ruins of the former capital of Guge kingdom are located at Tsaparang in the Sutlej valley, not far from Mount Kailash and 1,200 miles (1,900 km) westwards from Lhasa....."



History

Guge was founded in the 10th century. Its capitals were located at Tholing Coordinates: 31°28′55″N 79°48′01″E and Tsaparang. Nyi ma mgon, a great-grandson of Langdarma, the last monarch of the Tibetan Empire, left insecure conditions in Ü-Tsang in 910. He established a kingdom in Ngari (West Tibet) in or after 912 and annexed Puhrang and Guge. He established his capital in Guge.

Nyi ma mgon later divided his lands into three parts. The king's eldest son dPal gyi mgon became ruler of Mar-yul (Ladakh), his second son bKra shis mgon received Guge-Puhrang, and the third son lDe gtsug mgon received Zanskar. bKra shis mgon was succeeded by his son Srong nge or Ye shes 'Od (947–1024 or (959–1036), who was a renowned Buddhist figure. In his time a Tibetan lotsawa from Guge called Rinchen Zangpo (958–1055), after having studied in India, returned to his homeland as a monk to promote Buddhism. Together with the zeal of Ye shes 'Od, this marked the beginning of a new diffusion of Buddhist teachings in western Tibet. In 988 Ye shes 'Od took religious vows and left kingship to his younger brother Khor re.

According to later historiography the Turkic Karluks took the Guge king Ye shes 'Od prisoner during a war. The episode has a prominent place in Tibetan history writing. The Karluks offered to set him free if he renounced Buddhism which he refused to do. They then demanded his weight in gold to release him. His junior kinsman Byang chub 'Od visited him in his prison with a small retinue, but Ye shes 'Od admonished him not to use the gold at hand for ransom, but rather to invite the renowned Mahayana sage Atiśa (982-1054). Ye shes 'Od eventually died in prison from age and poor treatment. The story is historically debated since it contains chronological inconsistencies.

In 1037, Khor re's eldest grandson 'Od lde was killed in a conflict with the Kara-Khanid Khanate from Central Asia, who subsequently ravaged Ngari. His brother Byang chub 'Od (984–1078), a Buddhist monk, took power as secular ruler. He was responsible for inviting Atiśa to Tibet in 1040 and thus ushering in the so-called Chidar (Phyi-dar) phase of Buddhism in Tibet. Byang chub 'Od's son rTse lde was murdered by his nephew in 1088. This event marked the break-up of the Guge-Purang kingdom, since one of his brothers was established as separate king of Purang. The usurping nephew dBang lde continued the royal dynasty in Guge.

A new Kara-Khanid invasion of Guge took place before 1137 and cost the life of the ruler, bKra shis rtse. Later in the same century the kingdom was temporarily divided. In 1240 the Mongol khagan, at least nominally, gave authority over the Ngari area to the Drigung Monastery in Ü-Tsang.

Grags pa lde was an important ruler who united the Guge area around 1265 and subjugated the related Ya rtse (Khasa) kingdom. After his death in 1277 Guge was dominated by the Sakya monastic regime. After 1363, with the decline of the Mongol Yuan dynasty and their Sakya protégés, Guge was again strengthened and took over Purang in 1378. Purang was henceforth contested between Guge and Mustang, but was finally integrated in the former. Guge also briefly ruled over Ladakh in the late 14th century. From 1499 the Guge king had to acknowledge the Rinpungpa rulers of Tsang. The 15th and 16th centuries were marked by a considerable Buddhist building activity by the kings, who frequently showed their devotion to the Gelug leaders later known as the Dalai Lamas.


Tsaparang (Ngari / Western Tibet) The ruins of the ancient capital of Guge Kingdom

The first Westerners to reach Guge were a Jesuit missionary, António de Andrade, and his companion, brother Manuel Marques, in 1624. De Andrade reported seeing irrigation canals and rich crops in what is now a dry and desolate land. Perhaps as evidence of the kingdom's openness, de Andrade's party was allowed to construct a chapel in Tsaparang and instruct the people about Christianity. A letter by De Andrade relates that some military commanders revolted and called the Ladakhis to overthrow the ruler. There had been friction between Guge and Ladakh for many years, and the invitation was heeded in 1630. The Ladakhi forces laid siege to the almost impenetrable Tsaparang. The King's brother, who was chief lama and thus a staunch Buddhist, advised the pro-Christian ruler to surrender against keeping the state as tributary ruler. This treacherous advice was eventually accepted. Tibetan sources suggest that the Guge population was maintained in their old status. A legend has it that the Ladakhi army slaughtered most of the people of Guge, about 200 of whom managed to survive and fled to Qulong. The last king Khri bKra shis Grags pa lde was brought to Ladakh as prisoner with his kin, and died there. The King's brother-lama was killed by the Ladakhis. Later on the last male descendant of the dynasty moved to Lhasa where he died in 1743.

Tsaparang and the Guge kingdom were later conquered in 1679–80 by the Lhasa-based Central Tibetan government under the leadership of the 5th Dalai Lama, driving out the Ladakhis.

Western archeologists heard about Guge again in the 1930s through the work of Italian Giuseppe Tucci. Tucci's work was mainly about the frescoes of Guge. Lama Anagarika Govinda and Li Gotami Govinda visited the kingdom of Guge, including Tholing, and Tsaparang, in 1947-1949. Their tours of Central and Western Tibet are recorded in stunning black & white photos.



Ruins of Tsaparang



A brass alloy statue of the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, Guge, c. 1050 CE
Tibetan Bodhisattva of Compassion (Avalokiteshvara), statue made of brass alloy with copper and tin inlay, colored wax, traces of gilding, and applied pigment. Made in West Tibet, Ngari, from the Guge Kingdom, dated between 1000 and 1050 AD. This sculpture was made shortly after the Buddhist leader Yeshe Ö (947-1024 AD) had invited scholars and artists from Central Asian Kashmir to revitalize Buddhism in the Guge Kingdom of Western Tibet. From the Freer and Sackler Galleries of Washington D.C.

Offline zorgon

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Re: The Search for the Zhangzhung Empire
« Reply #6 on: January 15, 2019, 01:25:23 am »

A partial view of the huge cave complex at Phiwang, in Guge. With around 3000 caves hewn from the earthen conglomerate formation, this is the single largest troglodytic settlement recorded in Tibet. I have discovered much structural evidence at cave complexes in Guge indicating that many were first established in pre-Buddhist times. © John Vincent Bellezza



A unique pre-Buddhist temple-tomb situated in a vast plain. The bricks used to raise this structure are made of a specially hardened white clay, the only example of this building material recorded to date. In 2002 it was being demolished for building materials. I spoke with county officials who assured me they would try to protect it, but I do not know if my efforts were successful. The archaeological heritage of Tibet continues to disappear at an alarming rate. The razing of ancient structures and pilfering of tombs occurs there on an industrial scale. © John Vincent Bellezza


A necropolis consisting of gigantic temple-tomb now reduced to a heap of rubble and many rows of menhirs. These standing stones are inclined at various angles; at least the ones that have not already collapsed. Situated on the shoulder of a high ridge I documented this necropolis in 1999. These kinds of funerary monuments are unique to Upper Tibet, a dramatic sign of the region’s high level of architectural and ritual development long before the introduction of Buddhism in early Medieval times. © John Vincent Bellezza


Our Tibetan truckdriver standing next to the last surviving menhir at a site destroyed during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Photo taken in 2000. © John Vincent Bellezza

 


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