Tibet in the Ancient World

Related civilizations: Burma, China, India, Nepal, Kashmir.

Date: 200 b.c.e.-700 c.e.

Locale: Central Asia

Tibet in the Ancient World

Archaeological finds of prehistoric tools, villages, and megaliths in Tibet date back to the Old Stone Age. The artifacts support the view that Tibet has been a mingling area of diverse races and cultures by conquest and alliance for centuries. Although the Tibetans are an amalgam of many different peoples, the initial dominant groups were the sheep- and cattle-herding, nomadic, non-Chinese Chang tribes of eastern Central Asia centuries before the Christian era. They migrated from northeastern Tibet to the center, than west and south through the Himalayas into what is now northern and central Nepal. However, the nomads mixed far less than the later settled elements. In fact, nomadic culture was flourishing in this region by 3000 b.c.e.

What united these diverse groups as Tibetan was their language. The Tibetan and Burmese languages are related, although mutually unintelligible in their current forms. The Tibetan language has many regional and subregional dialects, but they are mutually understood, the dialect at Lhasa being the lingua franca. Except in a few localities, it was an oral language and did not take a written form until the advent of Buddhism in the sixth century c.e.

Long before the advent of Buddhism, nomadic groups from the northeast were clashing with and displacing some settled agriculturalists of southern and central Tibet. In the central region, people coalesced into tribes and petty kingdoms, some of which formed their own aristocracy (some aristocracies surviving to the late 1950s). This process of ongoing conflict between nomads and settled agriculturalists continued until the early seventh century b.c.e., after which infiltration from the north took the form of marriage alliances. In the valleys, rival chiefs had fortified strongholds, and chiefs had noble vassals who were served by bondsmen and subjects. Without strong leadership to counter hostile neighbors, the dominant level of existence was poverty. Around 500 b.c.e., small kingdoms had developed, but they remained hostile, relegating Tibetans largely to the mercy of their hostile neighbors. The result was that local chiefs combined to support an overlord chief who ruled in the Yarlung Valley. The confederacy under the Yarlung Valley rulers became the impetus for Tibetan power to go on the offensive.

The first person to become king of Tibet was gNiya’-khri (247 b.c.e., also known as Nyatri Tsenpo or Gnya’-khri brtsan-po), who subjugated the existing twelve warring kingdoms under him. His rule and those of the five generations that followed are known as the Six Thrones. Legend has it that battles during these times involved magic. Also according to legend, the lineage of the kings remained separate from that of the tribes, and kings took wives from the gods and nature spirits. Again according to mythology, there were no tombs because when the king’s first son was old enough to ride a horse, the father would hand over the kingdom and disappear into the sky, leaving no corpse; thus, ancient Tibetan history or legend speaks of these kings as having the sky as their tomb. Estimates vary, but there were probably forty-two generations, spanning about 1,050 years, between the first Tibetan king and the last. Buddhism began making inroads in the third century c.e., when Buddhist scriptures were introduced, although they were not actively promulgated until the eighth century.

Although the Tibetans were strongly influenced by other cultures, one of their enduring qualities is that they noticeably modified outside traits to give them a Tibetan character. This is evident in the Tibetan version of Buddhism. Bon was the religion of Tibet just before Buddhism made its inroads, starting in the third century c.e. It was a form of shamanism, its worldview including a belief in gods, demons, and ancestral spirits who were responsive to priests or shamans. As Buddhism ascended, the two religions adopted characteristics from each other and resembled each other on many points. Although Chinese Buddhism was introduced in ancient times, the mainstream Tibetan Buddhist teachings stemmed from India, largely because of the influence of the Indian guru Padmasambhava.

Creditable Tibetan history begins late in the sixth century c.e., when three discontented vassals of a prince conspired to support a neighboring lord, Gnam-ri srong-brtsan (c. 570-c. 619 c.e.). Their new master was transformed from a prince of a small valley to a ruler of a vigorous military empire. It was his son, Srong-brtsan-sgam-po (c. 608-650 c.e.; also known as Songtsen Gampo), who forcibly brought Tibet to the Tang Dynasty of China. To pacify him, he was granted a princess as his bride. In addition, he married three women among important families and borderland people to form strong alliances with powerful clans. Srong-brtsan-sgam-po became known as the “religious king” and strongly influenced Tibet by supporting his wives in encouraging the spread of Buddhism. In fact, the spread of Buddhism was largely attributable to the skills of Wencheng, a Chinese princess married to Srong-brtsan-sgam-po. He had previously married Bhrileushi (or Bhrikuti) Devi, a Nepali princess and a Buddhist. From then on, the ruling families of Tibet adhered to a Tibetan form of Buddhism.

Srong-brtsan-sgam-po introduced writing, for which a script from India was borrowed. The script was used to translate Buddhist texts, many of which were already in Tibet. The introduction of writing also enabled genealogies, legends, stories, and history to be recorded. Laws and subsequently a constitution were codified and implemented. Srong-brtsan-sgam-po also extended Tibet’s boundaries over Nepal, western Tibet, Tuyuhun, and other tribes on China’s border, as well as invading India.

Peace was maintained between China and Tibet for twenty years after Srong-brtsan-sgam-po’s death. Around 670 c.e., peace with China was broken, and Tibet, in conjunction with some western Turks, challenged China’s control of the East-West trade routes through Central Asia.

Bibliography

Coleman, Graham. A Handbook of Tibetan Culture. Boston: Shambhala, 1994.

Richardson, H. E. A Short History of Tibet. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1962.

Snellgrove, David, and Hugh Richardson. A Cultural History of Tibet. New York: Praeger, 1968.

Stein, R. A. Tibetan Civilization. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1972.

Thlku, Tarthang. Ancient Tibet. Berkeley, Calif.: Dharma, 1986.