Tang–Tibet relations

During this period Chinese and Tibetan forces had many battles since both parties were military powers,[1] but there were also years of peace and friendly relations.

The Old Book of Tang recorded the first ever embassy from Tibet arrived in China from the Tibetan emperor Songtsen Gampo in the 8th Zhenguan year or 634 CE.

[2] Tang chronicles describe this as a tribute mission, but it brought an ultimatum demanding an alliance through marriage, not subservient rituals.

Although some materials show that Tibet had long been established as a political entity, no concrete historical evidence was recorded before the end of the 6th century.

According to the classic of The New Book of the Tang Dynasty, Songtsen Gambo welcomed his bride in Baihai and Princess Wen-cheng lived in Tibet for nearly 40 years until she died in 680 AD.

[9] The posthumous son of Manglunmangzan, Dusongmangbojie, became king of Tibet after his father's death in 676 A.D but the political power was still in the hand of Lun Qinling.

Zan Po, brother of Lun, and his son Mang Buzhi, surrendered to Tang after their defeat and were respectively given the titles ‘Assisting general and Highness of GuiDe’ and ‘Marquis of Anguo’.

However, shortly after he eliminated the threat of Geer family, Dusongmangbojie died in a war to vanquish a region called Nanzhao, and his one-year-old son, Me agtsom, succeeded to the throne of Tibet under the help and supervision of his grandmother, Chi Ma-tou.

The emperor himself led a group of Tang officials and saw Princess Jincheng off with a solemn farewell ceremony in Shiping town.

In 731 A.D, Me agtsom and Princess Jin-cheng dispatched an envoy to Tang to ask for ancient Chinese classics of Mao's Explanation on the Book of Songs, Books of Rites, and Spring and Autumn Annals, as well as seeking an open market and boundary division, with a statement from Me agtsom saying that Tang and Tibet were of the same family, as he was the distant nephew of the former emperor and was now the husband of Princess Jincheng, and therefore the people of both countries should enjoy a peaceful and joyful life.

Tang and Tibet then established a monument in Chiling (now ‘sun and moon mountain’ in Qinghai province) as the boundary between the two countries.

[11] Historical materials show that Tang and Tibet officially met eight times from 705 A.D to 822 A.D, and the tablet of the eighth meeting still stands before the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa.

[14] In 841, Thrisong Deutsen was assassinated by an official who opposed Buddhism and his brother, Lang Darma, who belonged to the anti-Buddhism group, succeeded as king of Tibet.

In 877 A.D the insurrectionist army excavated and damaged the imperial mausoleum, killed the royal family and the aristocrats, and brought an end to the unification of Tibet that had lasted for 200 years.

[18] In 669 AD, the Tibetans invaded and conquered Tuyuhun kingdom of Qinghai, which was a tributary state and important ally to the Tang dynasty.

To help Tuyuhun restore the regime, Emperor Gaozong of Tang launched the Battle of Dafei River against Tibet.

[22] The records of the Tang Annals do, however, seem to clearly place these events in the reign of Songtsen Gampo for they say that in 634, Yangtong (Zhang Zhung) and various Qiang tribes "altogether submitted to him."

Following this he united with the country of Yangtong to defeat the 'Azha or Tuyuhun, and then conquered two more tribes of Qiang before threatening Songzhou with an army of (according to the Chinese) more than 200,000 men (100,000 according to Tibetan sources).