Lha-bzang Khan
Encyclopedia
Oirats
Oirats are the westernmost group of the Mongols who unified several tribes origin whose ancestral home is in the Altai region of western Mongolia. Although the Oirats originated in the eastern parts of Central Asia, the most prominent group today is located in the Republic of Kalmykia, a federal...
and the son of Dalai Khan (1668-1701) and grandson of Güshi Khan
Güshi Khan
Güshi Khan , a Khoshut prince and leader of the Khoshut Khanate, who had supplanted the Tumed descendants of Altan Khan. His military assistance to the Gelug school enabled the 5th Dalai Lama to establish political control over Tibet...
and the last Khoshut
Khoshuud
The Khoshut are one of the four major tribes of the Oirat people. Originally, Khoshuuds were one of the Khorchin tribes in southeastern Mongolia, but in mid 15th century they migrated to western Mongolia to become an ally of oirats to counter central Mongolian military power...
-Oirat
Oirats
Oirats are the westernmost group of the Mongols who unified several tribes origin whose ancestral home is in the Altai region of western Mongolia. Although the Oirats originated in the eastern parts of Central Asia, the most prominent group today is located in the Republic of Kalmykia, a federal...
King
King
- Centers of population :* King, Ontario, CanadaIn USA:* King, Indiana* King, North Carolina* King, Lincoln County, Wisconsin* King, Waupaca County, Wisconsin* King County, Washington- Moving-image works :Television:...
of Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
. He became Khan by poisoning his brother Vangjal (who ruled 1701-1703). Since Güshi's time, the Khoshuts had lost real power in Lhasa to the Regent there. Lha-bzang set about to change this.
He attacked Lhasa with the approval of his ally, China's Kangxi Emperor
Kangxi Emperor
The Kangxi Emperor ; Manchu: elhe taifin hūwangdi ; Mongolian: Энх-Амгалан хаан, 4 May 1654 –20 December 1722) was the fourth emperor of the Qing Dynasty, the first to be born on Chinese soil south of the Pass and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, from 1661 to 1722.Kangxi's...
, in 1705 to depose the 6th Dalai Lama. Accounts differ as to whether he was sincerely offended by the 6th's scandalous behavior, or he merely used it as an excuse. In any case, Lha-bzang had been excluded from Lhasa court affairs by the regent Sanggye Gyatso, who had allied himself with the Zunghar Khanate
Zunghar Khanate
The Zunghar Khanate was a nomadic power on the Eurasian steppe. It covered the area called Dzungaria and stretched from the west end of the Great Wall of China to present-day eastern Kazakhstan, and from present-day northern Kyrgyzstan to southern Siberia .In 1678 Galdan received from the Dalai...
, and even attempted to poison Lha-bzang and his chief minister. The regent lost 400 men in a decisive battle. Lha-bzang killed the regent and forcibly sent the Dalai Lama to China. The Dalai Lama died on the way, possibly killed on Lha-bzang's orders. He then had a new Dalai Lama (a 7th, according to Stein, or as a new/real 6th, according to Smith and Mullin) enthroned without consulting with the religious authorities. Tibetans as well as Lha-bzang's Khoshut rivals rejected this Dalai Lama. Kangxi recognized Lhazang's choice, but hedged his bets (considering the opposition from other Khoshuts and the Tibetans), protected Kelzang Gyatso
Kelzang Gyatso, 7th Dalai Lama
Kelzang Gyatso , also spelled Kalzang Gyatso, Kelsang Gyatso and Kezang Gyatso, was the 7th Dalai Lama of Tibet.-Early life:...
in Kumbum
Kumbum
A Kumbum is a multi-storied aggregate of Buddhist chapels in Tibet. It forms part of Palcho Monastery.The first Kumbum was founded in the fire-sheep year 1427 by a Gyantse prince. It has nine lhakangs or levels, is 35 metres high surmounted by a golden dome, and contains 77 chapels which line...
.
The Tibetans turned to Tsewang Rabtan
Tsewang Rabtan
Tsewang Rabtan was a Choros-Oirat prince and the Khong Tayiji of the Zunghar Khanate from 1697 until his death in 1727. He was married to Lha-bzang Khan's sister.Tsewang Rabtan married his daughter to Lha-bzang Khan's son in 1714...
of the Zunghars for relief. An army of 6000 Zunghars under Tsering Dhondup defeated and killed Lha-bzang in Lhasa in 1717. A smaller Zunghar force of 300 attempted to retrieve Kelzang Gyatso from Kumbum, but was defeated by Kangxi's troops. The Zunghars, initially welcomed by the Tibetans amidst expectations that they would free them of Lha-bzang and enable the installation of Kelzang Gyatso, lost Tibetan goodwill quickly by looting Lhasa and persecuting the Nyingma
Nyingma
The Nyingma tradition is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism . "Nyingma" literally means "ancient," and is often referred to as Nga'gyur or the "old school" because it is founded on the first translations of Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into Tibetan, in the eighth century...
.
Mullin portrays Lha-bzang Khan as a pious man who cultivated Tibetan religious authorities in every way possible, who was nevertheless rejected by the Tibetans because he was the first foreigner in almost 500 years to rule Lhasa.