Historical Myth and the Truth： the Construction of Factand the Power of Imagination in Tibetan Historiography

DOI：10.3969/j.issn.1674-9391.2017.01.10 Abstract：In the 14th century， Taisitu Changchub Gyaltsen defeated other principalities and set up the Phag-grub regime. His wrote the Rlans po ti bse ru， which is one of the important Tibetan historiographies. It gives a rich description of the genealogy of the rlans clan and historical events in the 14th century. This paper analyzes the structure of the Rlans po ti bse ru ， and gives an introduction to the authority of its genesis， the construction of historical facts， and its imaginative representation.

In Tibetan ancient history， there was a long period of “small kingdoms”. In the historical records， there were “twelve small kingdoms” and “forty small kingdoms. It is said that the first Tibetan king， Nechi btsan-po， descended from the sky and ruled the Tubo six yak tribes. The local people called him the first king in Tibetan history. In addition， the tribe and its main aristocrats， the inner tribe and outer tribe all maintained a loose alliance. Some aristocrats were outstanding with regard to their special achievements， such as wisdom and courage. The btsan-po of Tubo kingdom developed from the “sky seven kings” to “earth six kings” and “water eight kings” in the early history. The sacredness and authority of the king was challenged by the aristocrats and the believers in Bon， as seen in the killing of Zhigong btsan-po by the LoangDartse. The descending aspect of the sacredness of the btsan-po was also exhibited in the funerary ceremonies. The sky seven kings disappeared into the sky and left no trace after their death. The earth six kings tombs were built between the stone mountains and the grasslands. The Water eight kings tombs were built in the middle of water， like snow in the lake. Songbstan Gampo btsan-pounified the Tubo area， and divided it into 5 Ru （administrative areas）， 18 local power areas and 61qianhu （a military official who manages around one thousand households in ancient China）. However， the affiliated nation kept on rebelling， and there were intense fights between the royal family and the nobles. During the period of the btsan-po Trisong Detsen， Buddhism developed， and the Samye monastery was constructed， the sangha was consolidated. The sacredness of the god king transformed into the status of Chos Rgyal. The authority of the king was guaranteed by sacrifice to Buddhism. However， there were still struggles between the king and his ministers. The authority of the Tubo kingdom was declining in its own way.

During the 13th century， the Kun family was appointed as the “lord of the 13 wanhu” （a military official who manages around ten thousand households） of Tibet under the support of the Yuan dynasty. The Kun tribe believed they originated from the sky god. Their forefather， YachuKun ba jie， was born as the result of the fight between the sky god and evil spirits. His son Gongbajie Gong da was the minister of the btsan-po Trisong Detsen. Because of the clans noble origin， there were many outstanding people in the lineage of this family.

Through a mythical explanation to the beginning of family history， and story narratives of family heroes， an authoritative narrative on the family history and heroic deeds has been formed in the Rlans po ti bse ru. It focuses on the noble origin of the family and emphasizes the great achievements of the tribe leaders. This book initiated the Tibetan tradition of writing about secular leaders. French Tibetologist Rolf Stein assumed that some figures and stories of Rlans po ti bse ru have been used in editing the epic of Gesar.

The first part of the book introduces “the outer material world” and “inner human realm”， as well as the sermon of the ancestor Rlang Jiangquzheke to the descendants and the distribution of his branches. Like the story of the origin of the Sakya family， the Rlans family history also focuses on its nobility and the relationship between its family lineage and the origin of the world. The Rlans po ti bse ru divides the origin of humans into two groups， the lords and the commons. The Rlans tribe originates from the Re. The sky god of Man dong da bstan married the sky goddess Men Zunmam， and gave birth of the Rlan panboche. The Rlan tribes patrilineal lineage derives from the ancient Tubo tribe of Zha， and its matrilineal lineage from Dong. The Rlan tribe had a close ties with the Ling area.

The second chapter of the Rlans po ti bse ru， the Rlang family biography， and the Taisitu Changchub Gyaltsens sermons， are written by Zhabajianbtsan. It introduces the relationship of Pamodrupa and other Kagyu pa as the Jinger position， Padru chieftain， the lords of Duojibei. In part of the sermon， Changchub Gyaltsen gives us a detailed description of the struggle between Padru and Yasang， how he went to study in Sakya and took the position of the chieftain of teh Pamodrupa. Because the alliance of Sakya， Yasang， Tseba and Tangboche， Changchub Gyaltsen and the Pamodrupa experienced hardship and lost the territory， Dpon chen Jewasangbu plotted to kill Changchub Gyaltsen， and take the Nedong forts. While being attacked and humiliated， Changchub Gyaltsen， through his wisdom， managed to escape to the Nedong forts. Later on， Changchub Gyaltsen attacked the enemy and crushed the military force of Sakya， Yasang and Tseba. In doing so， Changchub Gyaltsen saved Dpon chen Jiewasangpo， and he submitted to his ruling. Finally， Changchub Gyaltsen occupied Sakya Labrang， and took Dpon chens seal.

Unlike other kinds of work， the family biography contained detailed descriptions about its heroic figures. There are recordings on the characterss private life （diet， ailments， marriage， attachments， and so on）， life experiences， social background， power struggles， and final endings. The family biography also had restrictions on its writing， reading and storage. The Rlans po ti bse ru furthermore emphasized privacy， preciousness and religious blessings. Finally， the historical myth and historical fact in the Rlans po ti bse ru gives us some inspiration， for example： （1） The origin of the Rlang tribe was a re-arrangement of the tribes noble origin；（2） The mythic component is seen in the re-telling of early society， and it satisfied deeper religious demands， moral cravings， political struggles and social ethics； （3） The origin of the myths derive from the real world. It is a poetic method in which to display the authors religious philosophical concept.

Key Words：historical myth； facts construction； power of imagination

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