Social groups

'A zha (2) 'Ba' (1) 'Bal (6) 'Ber (3) 'Bre (2) 'Bring yas (9) 'Bro (33) 'Brom (6) 'Bu na (1) 'Da'r (1) 'Dan ma (1) 'Dral (2) 'Go (1) 'Go 'bom (5) 'Gong bom (3) 'Greng ro (6) 'Jang (4) 'O ma lde (4) 'Ol (2) 'Ol god (1) 'Phan (2) An (10) Bal po (4) Bam (10) ban de (15) bKrags (2) blon (115) blon chen (37) bon po (1) Brag (2) Bran ka (3) btsan mo (6) btsun mo (17) Byin (1) Ce (1) Cog ro (34) Da rgyal (4) Dags (6) dBa's (25) dBrad (2) De'u (1) dGro (2) dGro snya (4) dre (1) Dru gu (4) gcen (3) gcung (4) Gle'u (1) gNang (3) gNo' (3) gNubs (12) gnyan (1) gNyi ba (5) gNyos (2) Gro (4) gshen (3) gTom (1) Gu rib (4) gZhams (3) je ba (2) Je'u (2) Jeng (2) Kam (3) Khang (5) Khe rgad (1) Khu (8) Khyung po (6) klu (1) Kvag (1) Lang gro (6) lCi sa (2) lCog la (1) lDe sman (4) lDe'u (2) lha (14) lHa lung (1) lHo (4) Lig (2) Mar (1) Mar kong (1) mChims (18) Meg le (4) mGar (13) mGos (2) mkhan po (13) mKhar pa (1) mNon (5) mNyan (3) Mon (1) Mong (3) mThon myi (2) Myang (17) Myva (4) Nem (1) Ngan lam (4) Ning (1) Pa gor (2) Pa tsab (5) pho nya (13) Pho yong (1) Phung (1) phyva (1) Reb kong (4) rGya gar (11) rGya nag (12) rgyal pran (23) rHya (2) Rlang (20) rMa (2) rMe'u (2) rNgegs (8) Rong spo (4) rTsig (1) Ru yong (2) Rye shin (1) Sag (1) sBrang (3) Seng go (6) She'u (2) Shud ke (1) Shud pu (4) sKa ba (2) sKya tsa (7) sKyi (3) sman (1) sNa nam (13) sNya shur (5) sPu rgyal btsan po (43) sPug (4) srin (14) Sro (1) stag (4) sTang (3) Sum pa (2) Tre (2) Tshar long (7) Tshes pong (14) Wang (1) Yo gang (5) Zha snga (3) zhang (38) zhu chen (6)

Thursday 22 August 2019

Tsva de pu

00730 
Other names / Alternative spellings 


Social groups (status, family, lineage...) 

rgya (= rgya nag, Chinese) 


Period of activity 

VIIIth century 



Biographical data 

Tsva de pu was a Chinese emissary at the Tibetan court in Horse year [730] (ms. PT 1288-ITJ 750 l. 256).


Titles

rgya'i pho nya (ms. PT 1288-ITJ 750 l. 256) 


Notes




Cang 'do shi

00295 
Other names / Alternative spellings 


Social groups (status, family, lineage...) 

rgya (= rgya nag, Chinese) 


Period of activity 

VIIIth century 



Biographical data 

Cang 'do shi was a Chinese emissary at the Tibetan court in Sheep year [731] (ms. PT 1288-ITJ 750 l. 259). 


Titles 

rgya'i pho nya (ms. PT 1288-ITJ 750 l. 259) 


Notes


Je'u jang shi

00302 
Other names / Alternative spellings 


Social groups (status, family, lineage...) 

rgya (= rgya nag, Chinese) 


Period of activity 

VIIIth century 



Biographical data 

Je'u jang shi was a Chinese emissary at the Tibetan court in Hog year [735] (ms. PT 1288-ITJ 0750 l. 272). 


Titles 

rgya'i po nya (ms. PT 1288-ITJ 0750 l. 272) 


Notes


Wong ker zhang she


00773 
Other names / Alternative spellings 

Wang zhang sho (ms. PT 1288-ITJ 750 l. 122) 

Wong ker zhang she (ms. PT 1287 l. 495-497) 

Weng ker zhang she (ms. PT 1287 l. 512, 521) 


Social groups (status, family, lineage...) 

rgya (for rgya nag, Chinese) 


Period of activity 

VIIIth century 


Hegemony of mGar 


Biographical data 

Wong ker zhang she / Wang Zhang sho was a Chinese general defeated in Sheep year [695-696] by mGar Khri 'bring btsan brod, in the land of 'A zha at a place [since] known as "sTag la rgya dur" ("Chinese Graves of the Tiger Pass" ms. PT 1288-ITJ 750 l. 121-122, PT 1287 l. 495-523).* 


Titles 

rgya'i dmag pon (ms. PT 1288-ITJ 750 l. 122) 

rgya 'i blon po (ms. PT 1287 l. 495) 


Notes 

*In the Old Tibetan Chronicle, the battle is described as a great victory for the small number of Tibetan led by mGar Khri 'bring over a much larger Chinese army. The description starts with a "gift" of two loads of grains, millet (khre) and mustard (yungs), sent by the Chinese general Wong ker zhang she as a metaphor of the overwhelming number of his soldiers (ms. PT 1287 l. 495-502, see OTDO translitteration). Hereafter, an english translation from "A Cultural history of Tibet" (A Cultural history of Tibet / D. L. Snellgrove, H. Richardson. - 3rd ed.. - Bangkok: Orchid press, 2003 [1st ed. in 1968], p. 61 see also the slightly different french transl. in Bacot Thomas Toussaint 1946, p. 167-168, I am not sure which one I prefer, and will not dare translate it myself as some details are not entirely clear to me):

"The Tibetan prime minister Khri-'bring btsan-brod of mGar and the Chinese general Wong-ker-zhang-she exchanged words of disputation. General Wong-ker-zhang-she led the mighty Chinese army forward, and when his troops had reached their objective, he sent a message addressing Khri-'brin btsan-brod of mGar who was in the region of the Kokonor. Wong-ker-zhang-she: 'I have sent a load of millet and a load of mustard-seed, for I have [as many troops as these], while your numbers may be counted as tigers or yaks may be counted. Just measure your heads and make caps. Measure your feet and make boots. The Tibetan troops flow on to their maximum capacity, but my forces are so many. Once one has made room through the narrow neck, one can count on entering the great stomach. When our lightning strikes, not one will escape.' Khri-'bring of mGar replied: 'There is no disputing the matter of numbers. But many small birds are the food of a single hawk, and many small fish are the food of a single otter..."

Interestingly, a similar comparison is found in Al-Tabari's Xth century historical work. The Persian historian reports a tale in which the Achaemenid emperor Darius sends a number of "gifts" to the newly crowned Alexander, including a load of sesame as a symbol of the large numbers of his soldiers. Alexander answers by sending a sack of mustard seeds in order to demonstrate the value of strength over number (engl. transl. in The History of al-Tabari, vol. IV / al-Tabari ; transl. by Moshe Perlmann. - Albany: SUNY Press, 1987: p. 89-90, abridged by myself)

"Philip died, and his son Alexander succeeded him, but he did not send the tribute that his father used to send. This brought the wrath of Darius upon him [...] Darius sent to Alexander a polo mallet (sawlajân), a ball, and a load of sesame. In a written message he stated that Alexander was a boy, and that he should play with the polo mallet and ball, but not function or parade as a king [...] and {he stated} that the soldiers of Darius were as numerous as the grains of sesame {he}sent to Alexander. In reply, Alexander wrote to Darius that he understood the message. {He said} that he had looked at the polo mallet and the ball to him, and saw therein a good omen [...] He likened the earth to the ball, and declared that he would drag the realm of Darius to his own kingdom and country, {and this} into his domain. In the same light, he viewed the sesame sent to him, although abundant, it was neither bitter not pungent. Along with his letter, he sent Darius a sack of mustard, and told him that he was sending was small in size but that in pungency, bitterness and strength, it equalled the gift of sesame, and that his army fully answered this description..." 

The tale of the gifts from Darius to Alexander is actually much older than al-Tabari's work - it is already told in Pseudo-Callisthenes' Alexander Romance (II-III c. A.D.), and is likely to appear in earlier versions. However, I was unable to find other references to the "seeds metaphor" in the older sources at my disposal. Though, it seems to have been widespread and could possibly have oriental origins. For example, it is also found in at least one arabic version of the Alexander romance, the XVIIIth century Timbuktu ms. (in which Darius sends a sock full of sesame seeds, Alexander answers with mustard seeds, french transl. in Le Roman d'Alexandre à Tombouctou: Histoire du Bicornu / Georges Bohas, Abderrahim Saguer, Ahyaf Sinno. - Arles: Actes Sud, 2012: p. 53-55). 

Interestingly, the "seeds metaphor" found its way into to XIIth c. Roman d'Alexandre (in the Alexandre de Paris version, but not in Thomas of Kent). In this work of epic poetry, however, the grains are not sent by Darius along with the other gifts after Alexander's coronation, but as an act of intimidation, right before a major battle where a small number of Macedonians would defeat a much larger Persian army: the most famous battle of Gaugameles (see Le Roman d'Alexandre / Alexandre de Paris ; [transl. by] Laurence Harf-Lancner. - Paris: Librairie Générale Française, 1994, see Branche II §113-115, Darius sends a load of an unspecified grain through a messenger, Alexander replies with a glove full of pepper) 


Tuesday 20 August 2019

Rlang Yang zigs

00558 
Other names / Alternative spellings 


Social groups (status, family, lineage...) 

Rlang 


Period of activity 

IXth century 


Reign of 'U 'i dum brtan


Biographical data 

Rlang Yang zigs, was a copyist (ms. PT 1312

Rlang Yang zigs was possibly a contemporary of the nang po blon sTong zigs and of a Rlang myes (ms. PT 1312). 


Titles 


Notes 

Rlang Yang zigs See Lalou 1939-1961 doc. n° 1312 

Rlang Yang zigs mentioned in Dotson 2013-2014 [2015] p. 23


Reb kong Se sma

00824 
Other names / Alternative spellings


Social groups (status, family, lineage...) 

Reb kong 


Period of activity 

VIIIth century? 

IXth century? 


Reign of Mu ne brtsan



Reign of 'U 'i dum brtan


Biographical data 

Reb kong Se sma was a reviser (ms. PT 1600) and a contemporary of : 

- Reb kong gTsug la tor, copyist (ms. PT 1600, also known as a reviser and a contemporary of the - IXth century? - reviser dPal gyi ngang tshul, in ms. PT 1556, PT 1573

- g.Yu ... btsan, copyist  (ms. PT 1600

- dBa's Gling ...?  (ms. PT 1600


Titles 


Notes

See Lalou 1939-1961 doc. n° 1600


Tuesday 13 August 2019

blon Mang zigs

00456 
Other names / Alternative spellings 


Social groups (status, family, lineage...) 

dGro snya? (uncertain, kept for indexation purposes)* 

dBa's? (uncertain, kept for indexation purpose)** 

Cog ro? (uncertain, kept for indexation purpose)***


Period of activity 

VIIIth century? 

IXth century? 


Biographical data 

In an Ox year, blon bTsan sum bzher, blon Mang zigs, blon dPal bzang and others gathered an assembly at Dru gu (ms. Or 1500/467 l. r1 see also Takeuchi 1997-1998 doc. 583). 

Blon Mang zigs was a contemporary of Rlang 'Brug legs (ms. Or 1500/467 l. r3, also Takeuchi 1997-1998 doc. 583) 

In the summer of a Snake year, blon Mang zig and others gathered an assembly... (Or 15000/426 l. r. 1, transl. in Takeuchi 1995 text 42, see also Takeuchi 1997-1998 doc. 542). 

In the winter of a Horse year, blon Man zigs gathered an assembly... (ms. Or 15000/439 l. r1 see also Takeuchi 1997-1998 doc 555). 

In [a monkey?] year, blon Mang zigs... (ms. Or 15000/304 l. r1, see also Takeuchi 1997-1998 doc. 405) 


Titles 

blon (ms. Or 1500/467 l. r1,Or 15000/426 l. r. 1, ms. Or 15000/439 l. r1, ms. Or. 15000/304,. Or. 15000497 l. r7-8) 


Notes 

Also mention of blon Mang zigs in ms. Or. 15000497 l. r7-8 (see Takeuchi 1997-1998 doc. 614) 

See also "Mang zigs" in Or.15000/462 l. r4 (Takeuchi 1997-1998 doc 578) 

Not to be confused with Khang Mang zigs (ms. ITJ 1274 l. 6


**See also rBa rMang gzigs, father of rBa Rad na, one of the bod kyi btsun pa la snga ba (Ne'u pandita 2005 ed., p.21) ? However, the name changes in other texts, see dBa' rMa gzigs, father of dBa Rad na (Dba' bzhed 2010 ed., p. 34 "... dang dba' rma gzigs kyi bu (mkhan po bo dhi sa tva las) rab tu byung ba'i ming ni rad nar btags so" transl. in Wangdu, Diemberger, Sørensen 2000 p. 72), sBa rMa gzigs, father of Ra.tna ("...sba rma gzigs [khri bzher yang zer] kyi bu ra.tnar / sba khri bzher gyi bu sang shi ta yang zer ba de..." in sBa bzhed 2010 ed., p. 127 ), or even rBa lHa lod ("...de nas lug lo'i dpyid zla ra'i yar ngo la dba' rad na (rba lha lod kyi bu dpa'i khri bzangs rab tu phyung ngo) /" rBa bzhed 2010 ed. p. 289-290). The later seems a bit unlikely since dBa' Mang rje lha lod was blon che under Khri gTsug lde btsan (r. 815-838), while his son would have been a monk under Khri Srong lde brtsan (r. 756-797).