Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Tibetan accounts have it that returning Mongol troops related the spiritual eminence of
the Tibetan lamas to Godan Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan and ruler of the Kokonor re-
gion (which means 'Blue Sea' in Mongolian) in modern-day Qīnghǎi. In response, Godan
summoned Sakya Pandita, the head of Sakya Monastery, to his court. The outcome of this
meeting was the beginning of a blurry priest-patron (
cho-yon
) relationship that has come to
dog the definitions of Tibetan independence and its relationship to China. Tibetan
Buddhism became the state religion of the Mongol empire in east Asia, and the head
Sakya lama became its spiritual leader, a position that also entailed temporal authority over
Tibet. The Sakyapa ascendancy lasted less than 100 years but its ties to the Mongol Yuan
dynasty was to have profound effects on Tibet's future.
WRITTEN IN STONE
A Sino-Tibetan treaty was signed in 822 during the reign of King Tritsug Detsen
Ralpachen (r 817-36), heralding an era in which 'Tibetans shall be happy in Tibet and
Chinese shall be happy in China'. It was immortalised in stone on three steles: one in
Lhasa, outside the Jokhang; one in the Chinese capital of Chang'an; and one on the bor-
der of Tibet and China. Only the Lhasa stele still stands, in
Barkhor Square
.
Signatories to the treaty swore that '…the whole region to the east…being the country
of Great China and the whole region to the west being assuredly that of the country of
Great Tibet, from either side of that frontier there shall be no warfare, no hostile inva-
sions, and no seizure of territory…'.
Tibetan Independence (Part I)
Certain Chinese claims on Tibet have looked to the Mongol Yuan dynasty overlordship of
the high plateau, and the priest-patron relationship existing at the time, as setting a preced-
ent for Chinese sovereignty over Tibet. The Yuan dynasty may have claimed sovereignty
over Tibet, yet this 'Chinese' dynasty was itself governed by the invading Mongols and
their ruler Kublai Khan. Pro-independence supporters state that this is like India claiming
sovereignty over Myanmar (Burma) because both were ruled by the British.
In reality, Tibetan submission was offered to the Mongols before they conquered China
and it ended when the Mongols fell from power in that country. When the Mongol empire
disintegrated, both China and Tibet regained their independence. Due to the initial weak-
