PAKMO DRUPA , RINPUNGPA , and TSANGPA TRANSLATOR's INTRODUCTION This Chapter Covers the Period of Time Beginning in the Middle
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CHAPTER FIVE PAKMO DRUPA , RINPUNGPA , AND TSANGPA TRANSLATOR’S INTRODUCTION This chapter covers the period of time beginning in the middle of the 14th century and ending in the early 17th century. On a religious level, it recounts the origins and maturation of a number of religious orders in Tibet, notably including the Kagyü and the Geluk Schools of Tibetan Buddhism, headed by the Karmapa and the Dalai Lama, respectively. Shakabpa describes the relationship between prominent lamas, particularly the Karmapas, and the Ming emperors, and he maintains that these connections were of a purely religious nature. It was during this time that the religious landscape took on the form that is recognizable today. On the political front, Shakabpa endeavors to show that throughout the period of the Ming Dynasty, Tibet was a distinct nation that was thoroughly in control of its own political affairs. He argues against a view expressed in many pro-Chinese sourcesa that claim Tibet was integrated into China by that time. As he phrases it in the opening to the chapter:b It is said that the rights connected with Tibet ’s relationship to China ’s Ming Dynasty , which lasted from 1368 to 1644, derive from the time of the Mongolian Genghis Khan ’s reign. But examining in detail the political motivations of those who promote this account can be very instructive. The claim is that through the conquests of Genghis Khan and his heirs, a single unified empire emerged that was based in China, the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1386). When that dynastic lineage came to an end, Chi- nese sources say, the singular authority passed to the Ming Dynasty. a For example, an anonymous text from the “Series of Basic Information of Tibet of China” called Tibetan History [(Beijing: China Intercontinental Press, 2003), 44], rep- resents the Ming emperor as having had broad control over Tibet during this time: After the bulk of the lay and religious leaders of Tibet had submitted to the Ming court, Emperor Taizu decided to make some adjustments to the administrative sys- tem of the Tibetan areas, for he realized that “(sic.) it was a better way to adopt paci- fication policy to exercise rule over Tibetan areas instead of heavily garrisoning it . b See p. 249 above. Ü Tsang and border regions of southern Tibet 244 chapter five Map 1 Southern Tibet—Portions of Tibet’s border along its south are also in dispute between the People’s Republic of China and India. This map follows McMahon Line described in chapter 16..