Rinpungpa

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For Rinpung in other contexts, see Rinpung Dzong and Rinbung County.

Rinpungpa (Rin spungs pa, Chinese: 仁蚌巴) was a Tibetan regime that dominated much of Western Tibet and some of Central Tibet between 1440 and 1565. During one period around 1500 the Rinpungpa lords came close to assemble the Tibetan lands around the Yarlung Tsangpo River under one authority, but their powers receded after 1512.

Rise to power

Originally lords of the fief Rinpung in Tsang (West-Central Tibet), the family took advantage of a family feud within the Phagmodrupa dynasty in 1434-35 and seized the important place Shigatse. The members of the family were patrons of the Karmapa school of Buddhism, which was opposed by the Gelugpa. While still acknowledging the Phagmodrupa, they subsequently built up a strong position, bearing the title desi (regent). The Phagmodrupa kings Drakpa Jungne (r. 1435-45) and Kunga Lekpa (r. 1448-81) were both born from Rinpungpa princesses. Kunga Lekpa in turn married a Rinpungpa daughter, but the marriage was conflict-ridden and her kinsman Donyo Dorje eventually invaded the central domain of the king, who was forced to abdicate in 1481.

Height of political authority

Ten years later Donyo Dorje's uncle Tsokye Dorje took power as regent in the Phagmodrupa seat Nêdong (1491-1499) during the minority of the heir Ngawang Tashi Drakpa. The years around 1500 saw the high tide of Rinpungpa power, and the authority of Donyo Dorje was almost absolute, being supported by the Karmapa and Shamarpa hierarchs. There was also a political expansion to the west. In 1499 the important kingdom of Guge in Ngari (West Tibet) had to acknowledge the Rinpungpa.[1]

Setbacks in the east

Due to pressure from the Karmapa and their Rinpungpa patrons, the Gelugpa school were forbidden to participate in the new year celebration and the great Monlam ceremony in Lhasa between 1498 and 1517.[2] After the deaths of the powerful princes Tsokye Dorje (1510) and Donyo Dorje (1512), however, the power of the Rinpungpa declined. In the early sixteenth century Ngawang Tashi Drakpa of the Phagmodrupa managed to regain a degree of influence. He was friendly disposed to the Gelugpa leader Gedun Gyatso (posthumously counted as the second Dalai Lama), and the Karmapa faction was expelled from Lhasa. The direct power of Rinpungpa in Ü was henceforth limited.

External threats and fall from power

The following decades were marked by a confusing succession of clashes and temporary reconciliations between the factions of Central Tibet. In 1532 the Rinpungpa domains were briefly threatened by an invasion by the Muslim general Mirza Muhammad Haidar Dughlat, operating on the orders of the ruler of Kashgar.[3] The waning of Rinpungpa power was marked by an abortive invasion of the Gungthang kingdom in West Tibet in 1555, which was badly defeated.[4] In 1557 one of the retainers of the Rinpungpa, Karma Tseten, who was governor of Shigatse since 1548, rebelled against his lord. In 1565, finally, the learned and cultivated Rinpungpa ruler Ngawang Jigme Drakpa was defeated by Karma Tseten, who founded the new Tsangpa Dynasty.

List of rulers

See also

References

  1. ↑ R. Vitali (1996), The kingdoms of Gu.ge Pu.hrang. Dharamsala: Tho.ling gtsug.lag, p. 536.
  2. ↑ H. Hoffman, Tibet. A Handbook. Bloomington 1986, p. 56.
  3. ↑ L. Deshayes (1997), Histoire du Tibet. Fayard, p. 137.
  4. ↑ K.H. Everding (2000), Das Königreich Mangyul Gungthang, Vol. I. Bonn: GmbH, p. 577.

Sources

  • H. Richardson (1962), Tibet and its History, London: Oxford University Press.
  • T.W. Shakabpa (1967), Tibet: A Political History, New Haven & London: Yale University Press.
  • Giuseppe Tucci (1949), Tibetan Painted Scrolls, Roma: La Libreria dello Stato. ISBN 978-1-878529-39-8
  • bSod nams grags pa ; edited by Giuseppe Tucci (1971), Deb t'er dmar po gsar ma, Roma: IsMEO.
  • 4 - The Pagmodru, Rinpung, and Tsangpa Hegemonies, A Survey of Tibetan History, The Berzin Archives, The Buddhist Archives of Dr. Alexander Berzin
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.