Ralpacan
Encyclopedia
Ralpacan born c. 806, the Year of the Dog
was, according to traditional sources, the 41st King of Tibet, ruling from the death of his father, Sadnalegs
, in c. 815, until 838 CE. He is referred to as the 'Son of God' in the dBa' bzhed
.
He was the second of five brothers. The eldest, Lhasras gTsangma, took Buddhist vows. The third, Langdarma
, who was anti-Buddhist and ruled after the death of Ralpacan, is referred to in the sources as "unfit to reign". The younger two brothers both died young.
Ralpacan is considered very important to the history of Tibetan Buddhism
as one of the three Dharma Kings (chosgyal) — Songtsän Gampo, Trisong Detsen
, and himself — who brought Buddhism
to Tibet
. Trisong had five wives, all from Tibetan noble families.
reached its greatest extent under his rule, and included parts of China, India, Nepal, Khotan
, sBalti (Baltistan
), Bruzha (Gilgit
and Hunza
), Zhang Zhung, Hor
-yul, Sog-yul, Yugur (Uyghur
territory), and Kamilog (roughly = present-day Sichuan
), as well as almost all of modern Chinese Turkestan and Gansu
.
Ralpacan's power was aided by the able military leadership of Zhang 'Bro sTag. In 810 the Chinese Emperor wrote asking for the return of three prefectures. In 816 Zhang 'Bro sTag led a raid led to within two days journey from the Uyghur capital at Ordu Baliq. In 819 he attacked the Chinese town of Yanzhou
, in the southern Ordos
, close to the Great Wall, when he was referred to as "First Minister". During the negotiations for a peace treaty in 821 he led a violent attack against the Chinese, which may have contributed to Chinese willingness to make peace.
The reign of Ralpacan was characterized by conflicts with China and the Uyghur state to the North. Tibetans attacked Uyghur territory in 816 and were in turn attacked in 821. After troops were sent towards the Chinese border, Buddhists in both countries sought mediation and the Sino-Tibetan treaty completed in 821/822, which insured peace for more than two decades. Tibet also made peace with the Uyghurs and also, apparently, with Nanzhao in 822.
A bilingual account of the treaty with China, including details of the borders between the two countries is inscribed on a stone pillar, erected in 823, which stands outside the Jokhang
temple in Lhasa. There was also a pillar with the treaty inscribed on it erected in China and a third was apparently placed at Gugu Meru at the border (which is said by locals to have been stolen by a party of French Tibetologists).
and Khotan
. He also promoted the development of Tibetan literature and translations, which were greatly aided by the development of a detailed Sanskrit
-Tibetan lexicon called the Mahavyutpatti which included standard Tibetan equivalents for thousands of Sanskrit terms. He decreed that all translations must be done directly from Sanskrit.
Ralpacan was considered to be an emanation of Vajrapani
, and encouraged Indian and Tibetan scholars to translate the Tripitaka
, the Commentaries, and ancient Tantras
into the Tibetan language.
Ralpachan built a magnificent nine-storeyed temple of 'U-shang-rdo near the confluence of the Tsangpo
and Kyi rivers. The lower stories were of stone, the three middle ones of brick and the top three of wood. It was famous for its remarkable golden roof. On the top floors he stored Buddhist scriptures, chortens and images, while the middle floors were used by scholars and translators, and the bottom floors by the court and for state affairs. He also remodeled and restored older temples.
He introduced standard weights and measures based on the ones in China. He enforced the Indian canonical regulations for the clergy and organised many classes of priesthood, assigning a revenue from seven families for each Buddhist monk and proscribed strict penalties for anyone showing disrespect to them.
His royal summer camp near modern Lhasa was "a palatial military pavilion", "wonderfully decorated with golden figures of tigers, panthers, and dragons."
ministers who then placed his anti-Buddhist brother, Langdarma
, on the throne. Some accounts suggest that his death was an accident due to a slip on the steps of the temple of Maldro, while the Later Tang Annals state that he became sick and was unable to take control of affairs of state and then, later, died.
The latter theory finds support in a damaged manuscript from Dunhuang
containing a prayer for the good health of the king. The late Chinese work, the Tongjiangangmu by Zhu Xi (1130-1200), claims that Ralpacan had been sick for almost the whole of his reign and had, therefore, been unable to travel around his empire. He is said to have died at the end of the year 838.
Interestingly, this same work mentions under the very next year, 839, that a feverish epidemic had gone on for several years among the Uighurs killing "an infinite number of people."
A reference to this epidemic in 839 is also found in the Xin Tangshu 217B.1b. It is possible that it was this epidemic which brought about Ralpacan's death, though it could equally have been the result of his chronic illness.
Ralpacan, then, died late in 838 and was buried near the Yarlung
Valley; his tomb decorated with "a remarkable stone lion carved in a style said by some modern scholars to be Persian."
The treaty, with its remarkable imagery describing the relationship between the Tibetan King and Chinese Emperor as being one of "nephew and uncle" can be found at http://www.tpprc.org/documents/agreements/821-822.pdf"TREATYBETWEEN TIBET AND CHINA A.D. 821-822"
Year of the dog
Year of the dog may refer to:* Dog , an animal in Chinese astrology.* Year of the Dog , a film written and directed by Mike White.* Year of the Dog...Again, a music album by rapper DMX.* The Year of the Dog , a 1994 Russian film...
was, according to traditional sources, the 41st King of Tibet, ruling from the death of his father, Sadnalegs
Sadnalegs
Sadnalegs or Tridé Songtsen , was the youngest son of King Trisong Detsen of Tibet ....
, in c. 815, until 838 CE. He is referred to as the 'Son of God' in the dBa' bzhed
Testament of Ba
The Testament of Ba is an account written in Old Tibetan of the establishment of Buddhism in Tibet and the foundation of the Samye Monastery during the reign of King Trisong Detsen The Testament of Ba (Tibetan དབའ་བཞེད or སྦ་བཞེད; Wylie transliteration: dba' bzhed or sba bzhed) is an account...
.
He was the second of five brothers. The eldest, Lhasras gTsangma, took Buddhist vows. The third, Langdarma
Langdarma
Langdarma was the last emperor of the unified Tibetan empire, who most likely reigned from 838 to 841 CE. Early sources named him Tri Darma meaning "King Darma"; "Lang" is a nickname meaning "ox". He was also called tsenpo or lhase Au Dunten...
, who was anti-Buddhist and ruled after the death of Ralpacan, is referred to in the sources as "unfit to reign". The younger two brothers both died young.
Ralpacan is considered very important to the history of Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...
as one of the three Dharma Kings (chosgyal) — Songtsän Gampo, Trisong Detsen
Trisong Detsen
Trisong Detsän or Trisong Detsen ཁྲི་སྲོང་ལྡེ་བཙན , was the son of Me Agtsom and one of the emperors of Tibet and ruled...
, and himself — who brought Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
to 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...
. Trisong had five wives, all from Tibetan noble families.
Political activities
The Tibetan EmpireTibetan Empire
The historic name for the Tibetan Empire is different from Tibet's present name.Traditional Tibetan history preserves a lengthy list of rulers, whose exploits become subject to external verification in the Chinese histories by the seventh century. From the 7th to the 11th century a series of...
reached its greatest extent under his rule, and included parts of China, India, Nepal, Khotan
Khotan
Hotan , or Hetian , also spelled Khotan, is the seat of the Hotan Prefecture in Xinjiang, China. It was previously known in Chinese as 于窴/於窴 and to 19th-century European explorers as Ilchi....
, sBalti (Baltistan
Baltistan
Baltistan , also known as بلتیول བལིུལ་ in the Balti language, is a region in northern Pakistan which forms Gilgit-Baltistan, bordering the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China. In addition, a part of Baltistan also falls into Jammu and Kashmir of India. It is situated in the Karakoram mountains...
), Bruzha (Gilgit
Gilgit
Gilgit is a city in northern PakistanGilgit may refer to other terms related with the area of the city:* Gilgit River* Gilgit Valley* Gilgit District* Gilgit Agency * Gilgit Airport...
and Hunza
Hunza (princely state)
Hunza was a princely state in the northernmost part of the Northern Areas of Pakistan until 1974. The state was also known as Kanjut. The state bordered the Gilgit Agency to the south, the former princely state of Nagar to the east, China, to the north and Afghanistan to the northwest. The state...
), Zhang Zhung, Hor
Hor
Hor was an Egyptian king of the 13th Dynasty. He appears in the Turin King List as Au-ib-Rê. He most likely reigned only for a short time, not long enough to prepare a pyramid, which was in this dynasty still the common burial place for kings.-Burial:...
-yul, Sog-yul, Yugur (Uyghur
Uyghur people
The Uyghur are a Turkic ethnic group living in Eastern and Central Asia. Today, Uyghurs live primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China...
territory), and Kamilog (roughly = present-day Sichuan
Sichuan
' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...
), as well as almost all of modern Chinese Turkestan and Gansu
Gansu
' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...
.
Ralpacan's power was aided by the able military leadership of Zhang 'Bro sTag. In 810 the Chinese Emperor wrote asking for the return of three prefectures. In 816 Zhang 'Bro sTag led a raid led to within two days journey from the Uyghur capital at Ordu Baliq. In 819 he attacked the Chinese town of Yanzhou
Yanzhou
Yanzhou is a county-level city of Jining, in the southwest of Shandong province, People's Republic of China.-Administration:The County-level city of Yanzhou administers 10 township-level divisions.-Transportation:*Beijing-Shanghai Railway...
, in the southern Ordos
Ordos
-Places:*Ordos Loop of the Yellow River, a region of China*Ordos Desert, in Inner Mongolia*Ordos City, city and district in Inner Mongolia*Ordos International Circuit, a race track in Ordos City.-People:...
, close to the Great Wall, when he was referred to as "First Minister". During the negotiations for a peace treaty in 821 he led a violent attack against the Chinese, which may have contributed to Chinese willingness to make peace.
The reign of Ralpacan was characterized by conflicts with China and the Uyghur state to the North. Tibetans attacked Uyghur territory in 816 and were in turn attacked in 821. After troops were sent towards the Chinese border, Buddhists in both countries sought mediation and the Sino-Tibetan treaty completed in 821/822, which insured peace for more than two decades. Tibet also made peace with the Uyghurs and also, apparently, with Nanzhao in 822.
A bilingual account of the treaty with China, including details of the borders between the two countries is inscribed on a stone pillar, erected in 823, which stands outside the Jokhang
Jokhang
The Jokhang, , also called the Qokang Monastery, Jokang, Jokhang Temple, Jokhang Monastery or Zuglagkang , is located on Barkhor Square in Lhasa. For most Tibetans it is the most sacred and important temple in Tibet. It is in some regards pan-sectarian, but is presently controlled by the Gelug school...
temple in Lhasa. There was also a pillar with the treaty inscribed on it erected in China and a third was apparently placed at Gugu Meru at the border (which is said by locals to have been stolen by a party of French Tibetologists).
Culture and Buddhism
He was a generous supporter of Buddhism and invited many craftsmen, scholars and translators to Tibet from China, Nepal, KashmirKashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
and Khotan
Khotan
Hotan , or Hetian , also spelled Khotan, is the seat of the Hotan Prefecture in Xinjiang, China. It was previously known in Chinese as 于窴/於窴 and to 19th-century European explorers as Ilchi....
. He also promoted the development of Tibetan literature and translations, which were greatly aided by the development of a detailed Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
-Tibetan lexicon called the Mahavyutpatti which included standard Tibetan equivalents for thousands of Sanskrit terms. He decreed that all translations must be done directly from Sanskrit.
Ralpacan was considered to be an emanation of Vajrapani
Vajrapani
' is one of the earliest bodhisattvas of Mahayana Buddhism. He is the protector and guide of the Buddha, and rose to symbolize the Buddha's power. Vajrapani was used extensively in Buddhist iconography as one of the three protective deities surrounding the Buddha...
, and encouraged Indian and Tibetan scholars to translate the Tripitaka
Tripiṭaka
' is a traditional term used by various Buddhist sects to describe their various canons of scriptures. As the name suggests, a traditionally contains three "baskets" of teachings: a , a and an .-The three categories:Tripitaka is the three main categories of texts that make up the...
, the Commentaries, and ancient Tantras
Tantras
Tantras refers to numerous and varied scriptures pertaining to any of several esoteric traditions rooted in Hindu and Buddhist philosophy. Although Buddhist and Hindu Tantra have many similarities from the outside, they do have some clear distinctions. The rest of this article deals with Hindu...
into the Tibetan language.
Ralpachan built a magnificent nine-storeyed temple of 'U-shang-rdo near the confluence of the Tsangpo
Yarlung Zangbo River
Yarlung River is a watercourse that originates upstream from the South Tibet Valley and Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon, in Tibet. It then passes through the state of Arunachal Pradesh, India, where it is known as the Dihang....
and Kyi rivers. The lower stories were of stone, the three middle ones of brick and the top three of wood. It was famous for its remarkable golden roof. On the top floors he stored Buddhist scriptures, chortens and images, while the middle floors were used by scholars and translators, and the bottom floors by the court and for state affairs. He also remodeled and restored older temples.
He introduced standard weights and measures based on the ones in China. He enforced the Indian canonical regulations for the clergy and organised many classes of priesthood, assigning a revenue from seven families for each Buddhist monk and proscribed strict penalties for anyone showing disrespect to them.
His royal summer camp near modern Lhasa was "a palatial military pavilion", "wonderfully decorated with golden figures of tigers, panthers, and dragons."
Death and succession
Ralpacan was, according to the most common Tibetan tradition, murdered by two pro-BonBon
BON, Bon, or bon may refer to:Places:* Cap Bon, a peninsula in Tunisia* Flamingo International Airport, Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles...
ministers who then placed his anti-Buddhist brother, Langdarma
Langdarma
Langdarma was the last emperor of the unified Tibetan empire, who most likely reigned from 838 to 841 CE. Early sources named him Tri Darma meaning "King Darma"; "Lang" is a nickname meaning "ox". He was also called tsenpo or lhase Au Dunten...
, on the throne. Some accounts suggest that his death was an accident due to a slip on the steps of the temple of Maldro, while the Later Tang Annals state that he became sick and was unable to take control of affairs of state and then, later, died.
The latter theory finds support in a damaged manuscript from Dunhuang
Dunhuang
Dunhuang is a city in northwestern Gansu province, Western China. It was a major stop on the ancient Silk Road. It was also known at times as Shāzhōu , or 'City of Sands', a name still used today...
containing a prayer for the good health of the king. The late Chinese work, the Tongjiangangmu by Zhu Xi (1130-1200), claims that Ralpacan had been sick for almost the whole of his reign and had, therefore, been unable to travel around his empire. He is said to have died at the end of the year 838.
Interestingly, this same work mentions under the very next year, 839, that a feverish epidemic had gone on for several years among the Uighurs killing "an infinite number of people."
A reference to this epidemic in 839 is also found in the Xin Tangshu 217B.1b. It is possible that it was this epidemic which brought about Ralpacan's death, though it could equally have been the result of his chronic illness.
Ralpacan, then, died late in 838 and was buried near the Yarlung
Yarlung
Yarlung can refer to:*Yarlung Kingdom, see also: Tibetan empire*Yarlung Dynasty, see also: List of emperors of Tibet*Yarlung Valley, formed by the Yarlung River and refers especially to the district where it joins with the Chongye River, and broadens out into a large plain about 2 km wide, before...
Valley; his tomb decorated with "a remarkable stone lion carved in a style said by some modern scholars to be Persian."
External links
The treaty, with its remarkable imagery describing the relationship between the Tibetan King and Chinese Emperor as being one of "nephew and uncle" can be found at http://www.tpprc.org/documents/agreements/821-822.pdf"TREATYBETWEEN TIBET AND CHINA A.D. 821-822"