Zhangzhung or Shangshung was an ancient kingdom in western and northwestern Tibet, existing from about 500 BCE to 625 CE, pre-dating Tibetan Buddhism. The Zhangzhung culture is associated with the Bon religion, which has influenced the philosophies and practices of Tibetan Buddhism. Zhangzhung people are mentioned frequently in ancient Tibetan texts as the original rulers of today's western Tibet. Only in the last two decades have archaeologists been given access to do field work in the areas once ruled by the Zhangzhung.
Extent
Tradition has it that Zhangzhung consisted "of three different regions: sGob-ba, the outer; Phug-pa, the inner; and Bar-ba, the middle. The outer is what we might call Western Tibet, from
Gilgit in the west to Dangs-ra khyung-rdzong in the east, next to lake gNam-mtsho, and from
Khotan in the north to Chu-mig brgyad-cu rtsa-gnyis in the south.
Ladakh, including Lahaul and Spiti, was part of sGob-ba. The inner region is said to be sTag-gzig (Tazig) often, and the middle rGya-mkhar bar-chod, a place not yet identified." While it is not certain whether Zhangzhung was really so large, it was an independent kingdom and covered the whole of what is today's Western Tibet, Ladakh and Gilgit.
[Karmey, Samten G. (1979). A General Introduction to the History and Doctrines of Bon, p. 180. The Toyo Bunko, Tokyo.][Stein, R. A. (1972). Tibetan Civilization. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California. (cloth); .]
The capital city of Zhangzhung was called Khyunglung ( or ), the "Silver Palace of Garuda", southwest of Mount Kailash (Mount Ti-se), which is identified with palaces found in the upper Sutlej Valley.[Allen, Charles. (1999). The Search for Shangri-La: A Journey into Tibetan History. Abacus Edition, London. (2000), pp. 266–267; 273–274. .]
According to Rolf Alfred Stein, author of Tibetan Civilization, the area of Shang Shung was not historically a part of Tibet and was a distinctly foreign territory to the Tibetans:[ Tibetan Civilization by R.A. Stein, Faber and Faber]
History
Possible Iron Age culture
Archeological work on the
Chang Tang plateau in 2010 found possible evidence of an Iron Age culture in the area which some have tentatively identified as that of the Zhangzhung.
Conquest of Zhangzhung
There is some confusion as to whether Central Tibet conquered Zhangzhung during the reign of
Songtsen Gampo (605 or 617–649) or in the reign of
Trisong Detsen (), (r. 755 until 797 or 804).
[Karmey, Samten G. (1975). "'A General Introduction to the History and Doctrines of Bon", p. 180. Memoirs of Research Department of The Toyo Bunko, No, 33. Tokyo.] The records of the
Tang Annals do, however, seem to clearly place these events in the reign of Songtsen Gampo for they say that in 634, Yangtong (Zhangzhung) and various
Qiang people tribes, "altogether submitted to him". Following this he united with the country of Yangtong to defeat the 'Azha or
Tuyuhun Kingdom, and then conquered two more tribes of Qiang before threatening Songzhou with an army of more than 200,000 men. He then sent an envoy with gifts of gold and silk to the Chinese emperor to ask for a Chinese princess in marriage and, when refused, attacked Songzhou. He apparently finally retreated and apologised and later the emperor granted his request.
[Lee, Don Y. (1981). The History of Early Relations between China and Tibet: From Chiu t'ang-shu, a documentary survey, pp. 7–9. Eastern Press, Bloomington, IN.][Pelliot, Paul. (1961). Histoire ancienne du Tibet, pp. 3–4. Librairie d'Amérique et d'orient, Paris.]
Early Tibetan accounts say that the Tibetan king and the king of Zhangzhung had married each other's sisters in a political alliance. However, the Tibetan wife of the king of the Zhangzhung complained of poor treatment by the king's principal wife. War ensued, and through the treachery of the Tibetan princess, "King Ligmikya of Zhangzhung, while on his way to Sum-ba (Amdo province) was ambushed and killed by King Srongtsen Gampo's soldiers. As a consequence, Zhangzhung was annexed to Bod (Central Tibet). Thereafter the new kingdom born of the unification of Zhangzhung and Bod was known as Bod rGyal-khab."[Norbu, Namkhai. (1981). The Necklace of Gzi, A Cultural History of Tibet, p. 30. Information Office of His Holiness The Dalai Lama, Dharamsala, H.P., India.][Beckwith, Christopher I. (1987). The Tibetan Empire in Central Asia, p. 20. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ. Fourth printing with new afterword and 1st paperback version. .][Allen, Charles. The Search for Shangri-La: A Journey into Tibetan History, pp. 127–128. (1999). Reprint: (2000). Abacus, London. .] R. A. Stein places the conquest of Zhangzhung in 645.[Stein, R. A. (1972). Tibetan Civilization, p. 59. Stanford University Press, Stanford California. (cloth); .]
677 revolt
Zhangzhung revolted soon after the death of King Mangsong Mangtsen or Trimang Löntsän (, r. 650–677), the son of
Songtsen Gampo, but was brought back under Tibetan control by the "firm governance of the great leaders of the Mgar clan".
[Beckwith, Christopher I. The Tibetan Empire in Central Asia. A History of the Struggle for Great Power among Tibetans, Turks, Arabs, and Chinese during the Early Middle Ages, 1987, Princeton: Princeton University Press. , p. 43.]
Zhangzhung language
A handful of Zhangzhung texts and 11th century bilingual Tibetan documents attest to a Zhang-Zhung language which was related to Kinnauri. The
Bonpo claim that the Tibetan writing system is derived from the Zhangzhung alphabet, while modern scholars recognise the clear derivation of Tibetan script from a North Indian script, which accords with non-Bon Tibetan accounts.
A modern Kinnauri language called by the same name (pronounced locally Jangshung) is spoken by 2,000 people in the
Sutlej Valley of Himachal Pradesh who claim to be descendants of the Zhangzhung.
[ Ethnologue 14 report for language code:JNA]
Cultural legacy
Bonpo tradition claims that Bon was founded by a
Buddhahood named Tonpa Shenrab Miwoche,
to whom are ascribed teachings similar in scope to those ascribed to the historical
Gautama Buddha. Bonpos claim that Tonpa Shenrab Miwoche lived some 18,000 years ago, and visited Tibet from the land of Tagzig Olmo Lung Ring, or
Shambhala.
[
]
Bonpos also suggest that during this time Lord Shenrab Miwoche's teaching permeated the entire subcontinent and was in part responsible for the development of the Vedic religion. An example of this link is said to be
Mount Kailash, which is the center of Zhangzhung culture, and also the most sacred mountain to Hindus. As a result, the Bonpos claim that the supposedly much later Hindu teaching owes its origin – at least indirectly – to Tonpa Shenrab Miwoche.
See also
Citations
Sources
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Allen, Charles. (1999) The Search for Shangri-La: A Journey into Tibetan History. Little, Brown and Company. Reprint: 2000 Abacus Books, London. .
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Bellezza, John Vincent: Zhangzhung. Foundations of Civilization in Tibet. A Historical and Ethnoarchaeological Study of the Monuments, Rock Art, Texts, and Oral Tradition of the Ancient Tibetan Upland. Denkschriften der phil.-hist. Klasse 368. Beitraege zur Kultur- und Geistesgeschichte Asiens 61, Verlag der Oesterreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien 2008.
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Siegbert Hummel. (2000). On Zhang-zhung. Edited and translated by Guido Vogliotti. Library of Tibetan Works and Archives. Dharamsala, H.P., India. .
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Karmey, Samten G. (1975). A General Introduction to the History and Doctrines of Bon. Memoirs of the Research Department of the Toyo Bunko, No. 33, pp. 171–218. Tokyo.
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Stein, R. A. (1961). Les tribus anciennes des marches Sino-Tibétaines: légends, classifications et histoire. Presses Universitaires de France, Paris. (In French)
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Zeisler, Bettina. (2010). "Ëast of the Moon and West of the Sun? Approaches to a Land with Many Names, North of Ancient India and South of Khotan". In: The Tibet Journal, Special issue. Autumn 2009 vol XXXIV n. 3-Summer 2010 vol XXXV n. 2. "The Earth Ox Papers", edited by Roberto Vitali, pp. 371–463.
Further reading
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Bellezza, John Vincent. (2010). "gShen-rab Myi-bo, His life and times according to Tibet's earliest literary sources". Revue d'Études Tibétaines Number 19 October 2010, pp. 31–118.
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Blezer, Henk. (2010). "Greatly Perfected, in Space and Time: Historicities of the Bon Aural Transmission from Zhangzhung". In: The Tibet Journal, Special issue. Autumn 2009 vol XXXIV n. 3-Summer 2010 vol XXXV n. 2. "The Earth Ox Papers", edited by Roberto Vitali, pp. 71–160.
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Zeisler, Bettina (2010). "East of the Moon and West of the Sun? Approaches to a Land with Many Names, North of Northern India and South of Khotan". In: The Earth Ox Papers. Special Issue. The Tibet Journal, Autumn 2009 vol XXXIV n 3-Summer 2010 vol. SSSV n. 2. Edited by Roberto Vitali. Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, Dharamsala, H.P., India. pp. 371–463.
External links
