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Guge ( Tibetan : གུ་གེ་ , Wylie : gu ge ; Chinese : 古格 ) was an ancient dynastic kingdom in Western Tibet . The kingdom was centered in present-day Zanda County , Ngari Prefecture , Tibet Autonomous Region . At various points in history after the 10th century AD, the kingdom held sway over a vast area including south-eastern Zanskar , upper Kinnaur district , and Spiti Valley , either by conquest or as tributaries. The ruins of the former capital of the Guge kingdom are located at Tsaparang in the Sutlej valley, not far from Mount Kailash and 1,200 miles (1,900 km) west from Lhasa .

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26-789: Guge was founded in the 10th century. Its capitals were located at Tholing 31°28′55″N 79°48′01″E  /  31.48194°N 79.80028°E  / 31.48194; 79.80028 and Tsaparang . Kyide Nyimagon , a great-grandson of Langdarma , the last monarch of the Tibetan Empire , fled to Ngari (West Tibet) from the insecure conditions in Ü-Tsang in 910. He established a kingdom around 912, annexing Purang and Guge. He established his capital in Guge. Nyimagon later divided his lands into three parts. The king's eldest son Palgyigon became ruler of Maryul ( Ladakh ), his second son Trashigon ( bKra shis mgon ) received Guge-Purang, and

52-541: A Buddhist monk , took power as secular ruler. He was responsible for inviting Atiśa to Tibet in 1040 and thus ushering in the so-called Chidar (Phyi-dar) phase of Buddhism in Tibet. Byang chub 'Od 's son rTse lde was murdered by his nephew in 1088. This event marked the break-up of the Guge-Purang kingdom, since one of his brothers was established as separate king of Purang. The usurping nephew dBang lde continued

78-592: A Spanish translation in Segovia (Spain) in 1628 and a publication in Kraków (Poland) in the same year, and quickly translated into all the major European languages; they had a significant influence on European knowledge of and attitudes toward Tibet. Modern translations of Andrade's accounts into Italian and French are found in Toscano (1977) and Didier (2002). An English translation of Andrade's writings relating to Tibet

104-555: A church and made many converts, aided by support from the king and other members of the royal family. Andrade returned to Goa in 1629; the mission foundered soon afterward, with the invasion of Guge by Ladakh , the death of the pro-missionary king and the installation of a hostile Ladakhi-controlled government in Tsaparang. The missionaries were persecuted or expelled, the Tibetan Christians were sent to Ladakh, and by 1640

130-690: A new diffusion of Buddhist teachings in western Tibet. In 988 Yeshe-Ö took religious vows and left kingship to his younger brother Khor re . According to later historiography , the Turkic Karluks ( Gar log ) took the Yeshe-Ö prisoner in a war. The episode has a prominent place in Tibetan history writing. The Karluks offered to set him free if he renounced Buddhism, which he refused to do. They then demanded his weight in gold to release him. His junior kinsman Byang chub 'Od visited him in his prison with

156-570: A small retinue, but Yeshe-Ö admonished him not to use the gold at hand for ransom, but rather to invite the renowned Mahayana sage Atiśa (982–1054). Yeshe-Ö eventually died in prison from age and poor treatment. The story is historically debated since it contains chronological inconsistencies. In 1037, Khor re 's eldest grandson 'Od lde was killed in a conflict with the Kara-Khanid Khanate from Central Asia, who subsequently ravaged Ngari. His brother Byang chub 'Od (984–1078),

182-629: A wife from the Ladakhi royal family. Tsaparang and the Guge kingdom were later conquered in 1679–80 by the Lhasa-based Central Tibetan government under the leadership of the 5th Dalai Lama , driving out the Ladakhis. Western archeologists heard about Guge again in the 1930s through the work of Italian Giuseppe Tucci . Tucci's work was mainly about the frescoes of Guge. Lama Anagarika Govinda and Li Gotami Govinda visited

208-406: Is a town and the seat of Zanda County , Ngari Prefecture , in the west of Tibet Autonomous Region , People's Republic of China. The town was the former capital of Guge Kingdom in western Tibet . Now it is an isolated military town. It has a well laid out new street, a post office, and telecommunication facilities. The Tholing Monastery , established in 997 AD, is in the suburbs of the town, in

234-400: Is now a dry and desolate land. Perhaps as evidence of the kingdom's openness, de Andrade's party was allowed to construct a chapel in Tsaparang and instruct the people about Catholic Christianity . A letter by De Andrade relates that some military commanders revolted and called the Ladakhis to overthrow the ruler. There had been friction between Guge and Ladakh for many years, and the invitation

260-538: The Cultural Revolution . The town of Tholing has jurisdiction over the following communities: Ant%C3%B3nio de Andrade António de Andrade ( Tibetan : ཨང་ཋོ་ནཱི་་དྷུ་་ཨང་དྷུ་ཝ་དྷུ། ; 1580   – March 19, 1634), also known as António d'Andrade or Andrada , was a Jesuit priest and explorer from Portugal . He entered the Society of Jesus in 1596. From 1600 until his death in 1634, he

286-627: The Grand canyon of the Langchen Tsangpo. Historically, it was an important monastery; the second dissemination of Buddhism in Tibet emanated from it. Zanda is a Chinese name given to the ancient town known as Tholing, which was once the capital of the Ngari district in western Tibet. The town, the monastery, and Tsaparang , a rocky range with forts, played an important role the history of Tibetan Buddhism in west Tibet. Tholing and Tsaparang were

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312-612: The capital cities of the Parang-Guge Kingdom during the 10-11th centuries when Tibetan Buddhism civilization developed. Tholing was on an important trade route between India and Tibet. The Guge Kingdom fell into ruins by the end of 17th century, after the Ladakh army seized this kingdom in 1630 Recent maps only use the Zanda name, and not Tholing. Zanda sits at an elevation of 3,660 metres (12,010 ft). There are caves in

338-664: The college, possibly supported by powerful enemies among the Goa authorities and merchants. The matter was hushed up and nobody was ever prosecuted for the crime. Later Jesuit accounts portrayed Andrade as a martyr of the faith who was killed because of his zeal as an official of the Inquisition. Andrade's two extensive accounts of Tibet, written in 1624 and 1626, were published in the Portuguese original in Lisbon in 1626 followed by

364-735: The court of the Mughal emperor Jahangir , and was head of the Jesuit mission in Agra . In 1624, he left Agra for Delhi , where he and the Jesuit brother Manuel Marques joined a group of Hindu pilgrims bound for the temple of Badrinath located in the Northern part of the present-day Indian state of Uttarakhand . Overcoming incredible hardships in the journey, they crossed the Mana Pass to Tibet ,

390-461: The elevation range of 5,200–5,500 metres (17,100–18,000 ft) along steep slopes and in the descent it passes through the canyon, crosses the Sutlej River at a bridge, and passes through a dry river bed before reaching Zanda. Tholing's monastery ruins are within the town limits, while Tsparang's ruins, Gurugem monastery , are 20 kilometres (12 mi) away. Visits to Tholing monastery and

416-597: The first Europeans known to have done so. Kindly received in Tibet by the sovereign of the Western Tibetan kingdom of Guge , in the capital city of Tsaparang , Andrade left after less than a month to obtain formal permission for the mission from the Father-Provincial in Goa, and to get funds and other missionaries to accompany him back to Tsaparang. Andrade returned to Tibet in 1625 and was joined by other Jesuit missionaries. They succeeded in building

442-513: The hills, and a few ruins of chortens located closer to the Sutlej River ; the ruins are mostly destroyed but the murals are in very good condition. There are a few poplar trees in the town. A large army establishment is at the southern end of town whereas the Tibetan village is at the northern end of the town. There are a few guest houses between these two locations. The road to Zanda passes through very high snow-covered mountain ranges (in

468-863: The kingdom of Guge, including Tholing and Tsaparang, in 1947–1949. Their tours of central and western Tibet are recorded in black-and-white photos. Samding Dorje Phagmo A list of rulers of Guge and the related Ya rtse kingdom has been established by the Tibetologists Luciano Petech and Roberto Vitali A. Royal ancestors of the Yarlung dynasty B. Kings of Guge and Purang. C. Kings of Ya rtse. D. Kings of Guge. Specific references: General references: Tholing Tholing ( Tibetan : མཐོ་ལྡིང་ , Wylie : mtho lding , literally "high place"; Chinese : 托林 ; pinyin : Tuōlín ), also called Zanda ( Tibetan : རྩ་མདའ , Wylie : rtsa mda , THL : tsa da ),

494-665: The late 14th century. From 1499 the Guge king had to acknowledge the Rinpungpa rulers of Tsang. The 15th and 16th centuries were marked by a considerable Buddhist building activity by the kings, who frequently showed their devotion to the Gelug leaders later known as the Dalai Lamas . The first Westerners to reach Guge were António de Andrade , a Jesuit missionary, and his companion brother Manuel Marques , in 1624. De Andrade reported seeing irrigation canals and rich crops in what

520-664: The mission, which had begun with so much promise, was over. Andrade became the Father-Superior of the Jesuit province of Goa in 1630, leaving this post in 1633 and resuming the rectorship of the College of St. Paul . He was also active during this period as a deputy of the Goa Inquisition. He was poisoned on March 4, 1634, and lingered on in agony until dying on March 19. The Inquisition inquiry into his death revealed that he had been murdered by disgruntled Jesuits at

546-518: The related Ya rtse (Khasa) kingdom . After his death in 1277 Guge was dominated by the Sakya monastic regime. After 1363, with the decline of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty and their Sakya protégés, Guge was again strengthened and took over Purang in 1378. Purang was henceforth contested between Guge and Mustang , but was finally integrated into the former. Guge also briefly ruled over Ladakh in

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572-533: The royal dynasty in Guge. A new Kara-Khanid invasion of Guge took place before 1137 and cost the life of the ruler, bKra shis rtse . Later in the same century the kingdom was temporarily divided. In 1240 the Mongol khagan, at least nominally, gave authority over the Ngari area to the Drigung Monastery in Ü-Tsang. Grags pa lde was an important ruler who united the Guge area around 1265 and subjugated

598-644: The ruins of Tsaparang are only authorized by permit; it is issued by the Cultural Relics Bureau located at Lhasa . A 2011 report, on the "Art and History of the Cultural History of Western Tibet, 8th to 15th century, and Cultural Preservation", states that the Inner Asian Art Style has been identified in the paintings discovered from the cave temples in Zanda of Ngari. Much of the art and architecture were destroyed during

624-467: The third son Detsukgon received Zanskar . Trashigon was succeeded by his son Srong nge or Yeshe-Ö ( Ye shes 'Od ) (947–1024 or (959–1036), who was a renowned Buddhist figure. In his time a Tibetan lotsawa from Guge called Rinchen Zangpo (958–1055), after having studied in India, returned to his homeland as a monk to promote Buddhism. Together with the zeal of Yeshe-Ö, this marked the beginning of

650-634: Was engaged in missionary activity in India . Andrade was the first known European to have crossed the Himalayas and reached Tibet , establishing the first Catholic mission on Tibetan soil. António de Andrade was born in Oleiros , Portugal . In 1600, he went to Goa , the capital of Portuguese India , where he pursued his higher studies and was ordained a priest. He was one of the Jesuits attached to

676-567: Was heeded in 1630. The Ladakhi forces laid siege to the almost impenetrable Tsaparang. The King's brother, who was chief lama and thus a staunch Buddhist, advised the pro-Christian ruler to surrender against keeping the state as tributary ruler. This treacherous advice was eventually accepted. Tibetan sources suggest that the Guge population was maintained in their old status. The last king, Tashi Drakpa De, ( Khri bKra shis Grags pa lde ) and his brother and other kin, were deported to Ladakh, where they lived comfortably until their death. The prince married

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