Search Results (5)

After having been deceived by the Géluk government about the death of the Fifth Dalai Lama for almost 15 years, the Qing empire decided to strengthen its surveillance on Tibet by deploying espionage networks operated by spy lamas based in Xining and Dartsédo on Sino–Tibetan borderlands. Accordingly, the Qing successfully intervened in the reincarnation system of Tibetan Buddhism by taking advantage of the Sixth Dalai Lama’s issues. By establishing a new system of espionage operated by a eunuch lama serving in the imperial court, the Qing finally deposed the Sixth Dalai Lama and secretly murdered him in 1706. The Sixth Dalai Lama’s death embodied the monumental transition that significantly shaped the destiny of Tibet, China, and Inner Asia in the following three centuries. By investigating the Sixth Dalai Lama’s controversies, this article sheds light on how the Qing dynasty embarked on constructing its imperial enterprise in Inner Asia based on intelligence collection and information manipulation. By using multilingual sources in Tibetan, Mongolian, Manchu, and Chinese, the present study shows how the Qing empire overcame the challenges of information deficiency and lingual differences by developing intelligence networks and multilingual mechanisms to consolidate its governance in Inner Asia. Full article

This article delves into the exploration of a significant sign, the “viśvavajra”, found in the caisson ceilings of Buddhist esoteric art in Dunhuang’s Mogao Caves. These caissons, featuring the viśvavajra sign in the center, were prevalent from the mid-Tang period to the Western Xia dynasty (ninth to thirteenth centuries) and are recorded by The Overall Record of Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes under description as “Jiaochu Jingxin”. Similar caissons are also found in Western Buddhist Caves near Dunhuang, and Yulin Caves in Guazhou County, indicating a distinct regional character. Focusing on a well-preserved and intricately detailed example from Cave 361, this article aims to elucidate the specific tantric significance of the viśvavajra at the center of the caissons within the broader context of Buddhist art. Drawing from related tantras, the discussion explores how the sign and its surrounding compositions align with a particular homa (fire offering) maṇḍala, specifically the śāntika maṇḍala crucial to numerous Tantric Buddhist rituals. Furthermore, the article examines the evolution of caisson of this type of maṇḍala over time. By comparing the mid-Tang example from Cave 361 with the late Tang period’s Cave 14, a noticeable shift in format becomes apparent. The viśvavajra sign takes on new significance, embodying “the samaya of all Tathāgatas”. Ultimately, the article explores how the significance of the viśvavajra sign transforms into an allusion to Vairocana or Rocana under the Sino-Tibetan Esoteric Buddhist context in the Hexi Corridor during the early Northern Song and Western Xia dynasty. Full article

Wuqian (1922–2010) was one of the most important modern Buddhist masters in the modern history of Sino-Indian Buddhist relations. In his early years, he studied all the major schools of the Buddhist tradition, focusing on Yogācāra philosophy, probably due to Xuanzang’s influence and in alignment with contemporary Buddhist trends. Furthermore, he became one of the few masters from the Central Plains who received systematic training in Tibetan Buddhist tantric rituals. He went to India in the middle of the 20th century. He dedicated his life to the revival of Buddhist thought in India, especially promoting Chinese Buddhism in Calcutta by establishing Buddhist institutions, managing Buddhist sites, organizing Buddhist activities, and building the Xuanzang Temple. In his later years, he devoted himself to facilitating mutual Buddhist exchanges and monastic visits between Buddhist organizations in mainland China, Taiwan, and India. In 1998, he presented two Buddhist relics to the Daci’en Temple in Xi’an. At the beginning of the 21st century, he established the Institute of Buddhist Studies at Xuanzang Temple in Calcutta. He organized the translation of many important Buddhist treatises, again reflecting his intention of following the spirit of Xuanzang to contribute to Chinese Buddhism. His transnational journey manifested that there was an active Asian Buddhist network during the Cold War era, despite various difficulties. Full article

Although Tibetan rainmaking rituals speak of important aspects of both history and religion, scholars thus far have paid only biased attention to the rituals and performative aspects rather than the abundant textual materials available. To address that issue, this article analyzes a single textual manual on Tibetan rainmaking rituals to learn the significance of rainmaking in late Imperial Chinese history. The article begins with a historical overview of the importance of Tibetan rainmaking activities for the polities of China proper and clearly demonstrates the potential for studying these ritual activities using textual analysis. Then it focuses on one Tibetan rainmaking manual from the 18th century and its author, Sumpa Khenpo, to illustrate that potential. In addition to the author’s autobiographical accounts of the prominence of weather rituals in the Inner Asian territory of Qing China, a detailed outline of Sumpa Khenpo’s rainmaking manual indicates that the developmental aspects of popular weather rituals closely agreed with the successful dissemination of Tibetan Buddhism in regions where Tibetan Buddhist clerics were active. As an indicator of late Imperial Chinese history, this function of Tibetan rainmaking rituals is a good barometer of the successful operation of a cosmopolitan empire, a facilitator of which was Tibetan Buddhism, in the 18th century during the High Qing era. Full article

The Tibetan Plateau (TP) is one of the world’s most sensitive areas for climate change. Previous studies have revealed that air pollutants emitted from South and Southeast Asia can be transported to and have a negative impact on the TP. However, the majority of the investigators have focused on the pollutant transport processes from South Asian regions (i.e., India and Bangladesh) and parts of Southeast Asia, while the regions adjacent to the southeast fringe of the TP (i.e., Burma and the Sino-Burmese border) have been neglected. Here, fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) samples were collected during the period 11 March to 13 May 2018 at Gaomeigu, a high-altitude remote site in the southeastern margin of the TP. Characteristics, sources of PM_2.5, and the potential source regions for different chemical components were investigated. During the sampling time, PM_2.5 mass loadings ranged from 3.79 to 54.57 µg m⁻³, with an arithmetic mean concentration of 20.99 ± 9.80 µg m⁻³. In general, major peaks of organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) always coincided with high loadings of K⁺ and NO₃⁻, which implies that common combustion sources caused these species’ concentrations to covary, while the daily variations of crustal elements showed different trends with the other chemical compositions, suggesting different source regions for crustal materials. Five source factors were identified as possible aerosol sources for PM_2.5 by positive matrix factorization (PMF). They are the mining industry (5.3%), characterized by heavy metal elements; secondary formation (18.8%), described by the high concentrations of NH₄⁺ and SO₄²⁻; traffic-related emissions (26.7%), dominated by carbonaceous species (especially soot-EC) and some metal elements; fugitive dust (15.2%), represented by crustal elements (Ti, Fe, and Mn), Ca²⁺, and Mg²⁺; and biomass burning (34.0%), which is typified by high concentrations of K⁺, NO₃⁻, char-EC, primary OC, and secondary OC. The concentration-weighted trajectory (CWT) analysis results showed that the northeast part of Burma is the potential source region for high concentrations of EC and NO₃⁻ due to biomass burning emissions, while the tourism industry surrounding Gaomeigu gave strong grid cell values of SO₄²⁻ as well as moderate values of EC and NO₃⁻. Moreover, the mining industry in the southwest direction of Gaomeigu has important impacts on the zinc concentrations. Full article