Tai Situ Changchub Gyaltsen
Encyclopedia
Tai Situ Changchub Gyaltsen (1302–1364 or 1371) was a key figure in Tibetan History
History of Tibet
Tibetan history, as it has been recorded, is particularly focused on the history of Buddhism in Tibet. This is partly due to the pivotal role this religion has played in the development of Tibetan, Mongol, and Manchu cultures, and partly because almost all native historians of the country were...

. He was founder of the Phagmodrupa dynasty
Phagmodrupa dynasty
The Phagmodrupa dynasty or Pagmodru of Tibet was established by Tai Situ Changchub Gyaltsen at the end of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty. Tai Situ came from the monastic fief Phagmodru , which was originally founded as a hermitage in 1158 by the famous Kagyu scholar Phagmo Drupa Dorje Gyalpo...

 and ruler of Tibet from 1354 to 1364 or 1371.

Changchub Gyaltsen was the Phagmodru Tripon or Nedong Ghongma who in 1354 overthrew the Mongol appointed Sakya
Sakya
The Sakya school is one of four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the others being the Nyingma, Kagyu, and Gelug...

 rulers and became ruler of all of Central Tibet - before the Ming Dynasty was established in China in 1368. He and his successors independently ruled Tibet for over eighty years until they were replaced by the Rinpungpa
Rinpungpa
Rinpungpa was a Tibetan regime that dominated much of Western Tibet and some of Central Tibet between 1440 and 1565...

.

As ruler Changchub Gyaltsen was keen to revive the glories of the Tibetan Empire
Tibetan Empire
The historic name for the Tibetan Empire is different from Tibet's present name.Traditional Tibetan history preserves a lengthy list of rulers, whose exploits become subject to external verification in the Chinese histories by the seventh century. From the 7th to the 11th century a series of...

 of Songtsen Gampo and assert Tibetan independence from the Mongol Yuan Dynasty
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...

 and from Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...

 China. He took the Tibetan title “Desi” (sde-srid), re-organized the thirteen myriarchies of the previous Yuan-Sakya rulers into numerous districts (rdzong), abolished Mongol law in favour of the old Tibetan legal code, and Mongol court dress in favour of traditional Tibetan dress. But he avoided resisting the Yuan court until its fall in 1368, and was recognized by the latter during this period.

Tai Situ Changchub Gyaltsen died in 1364 and was succeeded by his nephew Jamyang Shakya Gyaltsen
Jamyang Shakya Gyaltsen
Jamyang Shakya Gyaltsen was a ruler of Central Tibet in 1364–1373. He was a member of the Phagmodrupa dynasty which was the major Tibetan power from 1354 to 1435...

  (1340—1373), also a monk. The subsequent rule of the Phagmodrupa lineage lasted until 1435. From 1435 to 1481 the power of the Phagmodrupa declined as they were eclipsed by the Rinpungpa
Rinpungpa
Rinpungpa was a Tibetan regime that dominated much of Western Tibet and some of Central Tibet between 1440 and 1565...

, who patronized the rival Karma Kagyu
Karma Kagyu
Karma Kagyu , or Kamtsang Kagyu, is probably the largest and certainly the most widely practiced lineage within the Kagyu school, one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The lineage has long-standing monasteries in Tibet, China, Russia, Mongolia, India, Nepal, and Bhutan, and current...

 school. They were followed by the three Tsangpa
Tsangpa
Tsangpa was a dynasty that dominated large parts of Tibet from 1565 to 1642. It was the last Tibetan royal dynasty to rule in own name. The regime was founded by Karma Tseten, a retainer of the prince of the Rinpungpa Dynasty and governor of Shigatse in Tsang since 1548.-Superseding the...

 kings who ruled from 1566—-1641 until Lobsang Gyatso the 5th Dalai Lama (1617—1682), with the support of Gushri Khan (1582—1655), a Mongol ruler of Kokonor, took control of Tibet.

Sources

  • Dreyfus, Georges (2003) "Cherished memories, cherished communities: proto-nationalism in Tibet", in The History of Tibet: Volume 2, The Medieval Period: c. AD 850–1895, the Development of Buddhist Paramountcy (New York: Routledge, 2003)
  • Norbu, Dawa (2001) China's Tibet Policy. RoutledgeCurzon 2001.
  • Shakapa, Tsepon W.D.
    Tsepon W.D. Shakabpa
    Tsepon Wangchuk Deden Shakabpa was a Tibetan nobleman, scholar and former minister. Tsepon was his title as Finance Minister- Biography :...

     (1981) “The rise of Changchub Gyaltsen and the Phagmo Drupa Period″ in Bulletin of Tibetology, 1981 Gangtok: Namgyal Institute of Tibetology http://www.thdl.org/texts/reprints/bot/bot_1981_01_02.pdf
  • Shakapa, Tsepon W.D.
    Tsepon W.D. Shakabpa
    Tsepon Wangchuk Deden Shakabpa was a Tibetan nobleman, scholar and former minister. Tsepon was his title as Finance Minister- Biography :...

     (1967) Tibet: A Political History, Yale University Press, New Haven and London.

External links

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