After the collapse of the Tibetan Empire in the mid-ninth century, the Era of Fragmentation emerged, characterized by the rise of local regimes established by the Tibetan royal family’s descendants. Notably, the Tsongkha Kingdom (or Tsongkha Tribal Confederation) was the first Tibetan regime established on the north-eastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, managing to unite various local tribes by the eleventh century. Maintaining essential political, military, and economic ties with its neighbours, this kingdom played a significant strategic role during a tumultuous period marked by volatile inter-polity relations among the Song Empire, the Tangut Empire of Xixia, and the Khitan Liao state.
The Tsongkha Kingdom controlled vital southern trading routes between Central Asia and the Song Empire and served as an important breeding ground for horses coveted by the Chinese military. However, it did not gain significant religious or political standing in Tibetan historical narratives, resulting in a lack of substantial Tibetan sources regarding its history. Consequently, modern scholars have primarily approached the study of the Tsongkha Kingdom through Chinese literati writings, particularly Song Dynasty texts.
Tsong kha rgyal rabs zhib ’jug is the first Tibetan-language monograph on the history of the Tsongkha Kingdom, which extended from present-day Lanzhou through Ziling (Xining) to Tongkor (Huangyuan), and from Serkhok (Datong) to Minju (Minzhou). Roughly corresponding to the He-Huang area in Chinese, it features three major rivers: the Tsongchu (Huangshui), the Yellow River (Huanghe), and the Luchu (Taohe). Drawing primarily on Chinese historical records, supplemented by sporadic Tibetan materials and extensive fieldwork findings, this book delves into the rise and fall of the Tsong kha Kingdom. It emphasizes the kingdom’s significant contributions to Tibetan history, trade, and cultural exchange along the Silk Road.
One of the book’s strengths lies in the author’s thorough examination of extant Chinese historical sources, which are plentiful due to the Tsongkha Kingdom’s strategic importance to the Song dynasty during its conflicts with the Tangut Empire of Xixia. Historical records document a range of interactions with Tsongkha, including diplomacy, trade, and military affairs. The author draws upon various Chinese texts, including chronicles, political documents (i.e. edicts and memorials), institutional histories, compendiums of the Song period, and dynastic histories like Old Book of Tang, New Book of Tang, Song History, History of Liao, and History of Jin.
In his analysis, the author focuses particularly on the biographies of four notable Tsongkha kings – Gyelse (Jiaosiluo), Dontsen (Dongzhan), Ngari Bukel (Aligu), and Zheltsen (Xiazheng) – also Zheltsen’s son Mutsen (Zhao Sizhong). He also references Gyelgyu (Jieshijiao), a descendant who led a major force supported by the Jin dynasty in the He-Huang River Basin after the Tsongkha Kingdom’s disintegration in the early twelfth century.
Additionally, the author employs numerous writings from Song literati and private accounts that document observations and insights into various societal aspects. In particular, when discussing Gyitangkhar, the Tsongkha Kingdom’s capital, the author relies heavily on Notes on Qingtang (Gyi thang) by Song literatus Li Yuan, who visited the capital in 1099. Li emphasized the Tsongkha king’s devotion to Buddhism, noting how it adversely affected the livelihoods of his people.
Significantly, the author has made substantial efforts to identify and reconstruct numerous names of individuals, places, and tribes in the Tibetan language. As noted in his postscript, many of these names were originally in Tibetan but were transliterated into Chinese based on pronunciation characteristics in historical records, leading to varied transliterations and characters across texts. His meticulous handling of names in Tibetan is reflected in detailed footnotes about personal names (p. 182, n. 2), place names (pp. 32–3, n. 3) and tribes’ names (i.e. p. 149, n. 3). This meticulous reconstruction enriches the historical understanding of the Tsongkha Kingdom and its legacy.
Based on extensive fieldwork, the author incorporates oral sources and interviews into his study. For instance, the wedding speech and a folk song circulating in Pari (Tianzhu) are used to explore the origin of the Lungdruk tribes (p. 9) and illustrate the strict laws of the Tsongkha Kingdom (p. 337). Elsewhere, relevant oral sources and an interview with a local historian are used to discuss the origins of the place name Zingling. (pp. 7 and 295–6).
As the book involves many place names and numerous discussions of wars, providing a general map of the kingdom and its neighbours and a more detailed map of the kingdom itself, would have helped readers better understand the strategic position of the Tsongkha Kingdom. Furthermore, due to the scarcity of Tibetan sources and the fragmented nature of Chinese historical sources focused on the Tsongkha Kingdom’s interactions with the Song, the author’s discussions of the kingdom’s internal affairs and its relations with Western Xia, Liao and Jin dynasties are comparatively sketchy. A newly discovered colophon to the translation of a text preserved in the Tibetan Buddhist canon mentions the Tibetan names of Tsongkha king Dongzhan and queen Sum bu (Xinmu). The translation was supported by the Tsongkha royal court in 1068 or 1080. This discovery suggests the potential for uncovering valuable local insights into this mysterious Tibetan kingdom. A more nuanced understanding of the Tsongkha Kingdom based on local perspectives requires the discovery of more Tibetan sources.
In conclusion, Tsong kha rgyal rabs zhib ’jug provides an in-depth exploration of the Tsongkha Kingdom’s significance within the larger context of Tibetan and Central Asian history. By leveraging a wealth of Chinese historical sources and emphasizing the interplay of trade, culture, and politics, it contributes valuable insights into a crucial period of Tibetan history that has often been overlooked in traditional narratives. The book’s precision in historical names and extensive sourcing solidify its importance for Tibetan historiography and provide a critical reference for future scholars.
