Lhasa riot of 1750
Encyclopedia
The Lhasa riot of 1750 took place in Lhasa
, and lasted several days. The uprising began on November 11 of 1750 after the regent of Tibet, Gyurme Namgyal, was assassinated by the two Manchu amban
s.
During the uprising against the Chinese authority both ambans were murdered by the mob, and 51 Qing soldiers and 77 Chinese citizens were killed. A year later the leader of the rebellion, Lobsang Trashi, and fourteen other rebels where executed.
after 1745. The ambans had mediated some of this conflicts, but the relations between them remained tense. In 1746 the Dalai Lama secretly sent a mission to Beijing to complain to the Emperor
about Pholhanas treatment to him.
After Pholhanas death he was succeeded by his second son, Gyurme Namgyal, to the position of regent. The new regent also maintained bad relations with the Dalai Lama, he even rejected the Dalai Lama's offer to sing sutra
s in the funerary ceremony in honor of his father. Fucine mediated and the prince later agreed to the Dalai Lama's offer. Relations with the Qing also soured, because the Manchus suspected that the Tibetan prince was working to isolate the Dalai Lama from his followers while also preparing to military prevent a Qing intervention. Gyurme Namgyal even killed his brother, Gyumey Tseten, who was more pro-Qing.
The Manchus believed that the prince had sent an envoy to the Dzungars, who rivaled the Qing control of Tibet.
the last Khoshut
King of Tibet, to assassinate him.
When Gyurme Namgyal was killed, Lobsang Trashi, a chamberlain, was in a small separate room but heard what happened. After killing the regent, all the guards searched the place for the members of Gyurme Namgyal's entourage, but Lobsang Trashi managed to scape jumping through a window.
Immediately after the murder, the ambans sent a messenger to Minister Gashi Pandita, asking him to take over as head of the Tibetan government. The minister looked bewildered but asked first the Dalai Lama for advice. While the Tibetan government deliberated the streets of Lhasa broke into a storm of riots.
The Dalai Lama sent some of his secretaries at the crowd to urge them to calm themselves and avoid taking violent actions. The main official of the Gelug
order, Reting Rinpoche
Ngawang Chokden, personally tried in vain to hold back the crowd.
The crowd besieged and burned the residence of the ambans. Fucine, injured with multiple stab wounds, committed suicide. Labdon died while fighting with the rebels. The 49 Qing soldiers and two officers who defended the residence, were also killed. Next the crowd targeted the treasury of the Qing army where they captured 85,000 tael
s.
After that, the anger of the crowd was directed against the Chinese citizens living in Lhasa, and 77 of them lost their life to the angry mob. The remaining Chinese, approximately 200, fled to safety in the Potala Palace
, where they were offered refuge and assistance.
The Dalai Lama, who headed the Gelug order had continued to deal with the many Tibetan monasteries of his order in eastern Tibet and Mongolia
. His concern was in first place for its religious institutions, and the powerful Manchu Emperors were patrons of Tibetan Buddhism .
Two days after the death of Gyurme Namgyal and ambans, on November 13, the Dalai Lama appointed his minister Gashi Pandita as provisional regent. He was asked the government to lead the entry of final orders of the emperor. At the same time he issued a proclamation in which he forbade all Tibetans Trashi Lobsang and his supporters to support.
Lobsang Trashi fled with his followers Lhasa in order to got hold of the money Dzjoengarije to settle. On November 21, 1750 Gashi Pandita did the Dalai Lama Lobsang Trashi and that fourteen of his followers were taken down. Likewise, much of the looted money secured. On November 22 the situation had become so quiet that the Chinese refugees in their homes could return to Lhasa.
The news of the murder of the ambans outraged the Emperor, and he decided to take swift military actions. The initial orders to the commandants in Shanxi
and Sichuan
was to lead a column of 8,000 men and 5,000 men respectively, but after the Emperor got news from the Dalai Lama that the rebellion was quelled he reduced the expeditionary force to 800 soldiers under General Cereng.
Bande
entered the city on January 18 of 1751, he was the first representative of the Emperor to arrive to Lhasa after the riot and came with a personal escort from Kokonor
where he previously was the Imperial representative. Upon entering, he immediately demanded the surrender of the insurgents. Bande was greeted by Pandita and handed over the prisoners involved in the riot. After a brief interrogation by applying torture he sentenced Lobsang Trashi to be executed. The Dalai Lama request for a lenient sentence was in vain.
Luciano Petech
described the end of the insurgents as follows:
Lhasa
Lhasa is the administrative capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China and the second most populous city on the Tibetan Plateau, after Xining. At an altitude of , Lhasa is one of the highest cities in the world...
, and lasted several days. The uprising began on November 11 of 1750 after the regent of Tibet, Gyurme Namgyal, was assassinated by the two Manchu amban
Amban
Amban is a Manchu word meaning "high official," which corresponds to a number of different official titles in the Qing imperial government...
s.
During the uprising against the Chinese authority both ambans were murdered by the mob, and 51 Qing soldiers and 77 Chinese citizens were killed. A year later the leader of the rebellion, Lobsang Trashi, and fourteen other rebels where executed.
Origins of the riot
Pholhanas, the regent of Tibet, passed away in February 1747, during his time in office the country had enjoyed a relatively tranquil period, still he had had discords with the Dalai Lama and news of them had reached BeijingBeijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
after 1745. The ambans had mediated some of this conflicts, but the relations between them remained tense. In 1746 the Dalai Lama secretly sent a mission to Beijing to complain to the Emperor
Qianlong Emperor
The Qianlong Emperor was the sixth emperor of the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty, and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. The fourth son of the Yongzheng Emperor, he reigned officially from 11 October 1735 to 8 February 1796...
about Pholhanas treatment to him.
After Pholhanas death he was succeeded by his second son, Gyurme Namgyal, to the position of regent. The new regent also maintained bad relations with the Dalai Lama, he even rejected the Dalai Lama's offer to sing sutra
Sutra
Sūtra is an aphorism or a collection of such aphorisms in the form of a manual. Literally it means a thread or line that holds things together and is derived from the verbal root siv-, meaning to sew , as does the medical term...
s in the funerary ceremony in honor of his father. Fucine mediated and the prince later agreed to the Dalai Lama's offer. Relations with the Qing also soured, because the Manchus suspected that the Tibetan prince was working to isolate the Dalai Lama from his followers while also preparing to military prevent a Qing intervention. Gyurme Namgyal even killed his brother, Gyumey Tseten, who was more pro-Qing.
The Manchus believed that the prince had sent an envoy to the Dzungars, who rivaled the Qing control of Tibet.
Assasination of Gyurme Namgyal
The ambans Fucine and Labdon decided to act before the prince had a chance to rebel, the emperor's withdrawal of the garrison of Lhasa had deprived them of a physical means with which enforce their authority so they decided on a bold plan. In November 11 of 1750 the prince was back in Lhasa, and the ambans summoned him to a conference in their office, the house that had been the residence of Lha-bzang KhanLha-bzang Khan
Lha-bzang Khan was chief of the Khoshut tribe of the Oirat Mongols and the son of Dalai Khan and grandson of Güshi Khan and the last Khoshut-Oirat King of Tibet. He became Khan by poisoning his brother Vangjal . Since Güshi's time, the Khoshuts had lost real power in Lhasa to the Regent there...
the last Khoshut
Upper Mongols
The Upper Mongols , also known as the Köke Nuur Mongols or Qinghai Mongols are the Mongol people of Oirat and Khalkha origin who settled around the Qinghai Lake...
King of Tibet, to assassinate him.
When Gyurme Namgyal was killed, Lobsang Trashi, a chamberlain, was in a small separate room but heard what happened. After killing the regent, all the guards searched the place for the members of Gyurme Namgyal's entourage, but Lobsang Trashi managed to scape jumping through a window.
Immediately after the murder, the ambans sent a messenger to Minister Gashi Pandita, asking him to take over as head of the Tibetan government. The minister looked bewildered but asked first the Dalai Lama for advice. While the Tibetan government deliberated the streets of Lhasa broke into a storm of riots.
The Uprising
Immediately after his escape from the residence of the ambans, Lobsang Trashi spread the news about the murder of the regent. In a short time, a crowd of over a thousand armed men of the city, gathered very excited outside the residence of the ambans. Gashi Pandita had no opportunity to intervene, because they were no regular Tibetan troops in Lhasa.The Dalai Lama sent some of his secretaries at the crowd to urge them to calm themselves and avoid taking violent actions. The main official of the Gelug
Gelug
The Gelug or Gelug-pa , also known as the Yellow Hat sect, is a school of Buddhism founded by Je Tsongkhapa , a philosopher and Tibetan religious leader...
order, Reting Rinpoche
Reting Rinpoche
Reting Rinpoche is the title held by abbots of Reting Monastery, a Buddhist monastery in central Tibet. The identity of the present Reting Rinpoche is contested.-History of the lineage:...
Ngawang Chokden, personally tried in vain to hold back the crowd.
The crowd besieged and burned the residence of the ambans. Fucine, injured with multiple stab wounds, committed suicide. Labdon died while fighting with the rebels. The 49 Qing soldiers and two officers who defended the residence, were also killed. Next the crowd targeted the treasury of the Qing army where they captured 85,000 tael
Tael
Tael can refer to any one of several weight measures of the Far East. Most commonly, it refers to the Chinese tael, a part of the Chinese system of weights and currency....
s.
After that, the anger of the crowd was directed against the Chinese citizens living in Lhasa, and 77 of them lost their life to the angry mob. The remaining Chinese, approximately 200, fled to safety in the Potala Palace
Potala Palace
The Potala Palace is located in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China. It was named after Mount Potala, the abode of Chenresig or Avalokitesvara...
, where they were offered refuge and assistance.
End of the rebellion
The riot ended as suddenly as it broke out. The rebels found no support from the Tibetan nobility and members of the government. Both groups were opposed to the policies of Gyurme Namgyal, and believed that challenging the Manchu superpower could only end in a military catastrophe.The Dalai Lama, who headed the Gelug order had continued to deal with the many Tibetan monasteries of his order in eastern Tibet and Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
. His concern was in first place for its religious institutions, and the powerful Manchu Emperors were patrons of Tibetan Buddhism .
Two days after the death of Gyurme Namgyal and ambans, on November 13, the Dalai Lama appointed his minister Gashi Pandita as provisional regent. He was asked the government to lead the entry of final orders of the emperor. At the same time he issued a proclamation in which he forbade all Tibetans Trashi Lobsang and his supporters to support.
Lobsang Trashi fled with his followers Lhasa in order to got hold of the money Dzjoengarije to settle. On November 21, 1750 Gashi Pandita did the Dalai Lama Lobsang Trashi and that fourteen of his followers were taken down. Likewise, much of the looted money secured. On November 22 the situation had become so quiet that the Chinese refugees in their homes could return to Lhasa.
The Qianlong Expedition to Lhasa
In the beginning of 1750 the provincial officials in Sichuan had been in on alert and were considering a preemptive invasion before the prince made his move.The news of the murder of the ambans outraged the Emperor, and he decided to take swift military actions. The initial orders to the commandants in Shanxi
Shanxi
' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
and Sichuan
Sichuan
' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...
was to lead a column of 8,000 men and 5,000 men respectively, but after the Emperor got news from the Dalai Lama that the rebellion was quelled he reduced the expeditionary force to 800 soldiers under General Cereng.
Bande
Bande
Bande is a municipality in Ourense in the Galicia region of north-west Spain....
entered the city on January 18 of 1751, he was the first representative of the Emperor to arrive to Lhasa after the riot and came with a personal escort from Kokonor
Qinghai
Qinghai ; Oirat Mongolian: ; ; Salar:) is a province of the People's Republic of China, named after Qinghai Lake...
where he previously was the Imperial representative. Upon entering, he immediately demanded the surrender of the insurgents. Bande was greeted by Pandita and handed over the prisoners involved in the riot. After a brief interrogation by applying torture he sentenced Lobsang Trashi to be executed. The Dalai Lama request for a lenient sentence was in vain.
Luciano Petech
Luciano Petech
Luciano Petech was an Italian scholar of Himalayan history and the early relations between Tibet, Nepal and Italy. He was Chair of History of Eastern Asia at the University of Rome from 1955 to 1984. He is the most renowned of the students of Giuseppe Tucci.Luciano Petech was born in 1914 and...
described the end of the insurgents as follows: