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 

Reign of Khri 'Dus srong mang po rje 

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)