Chapter IV (3)

The territory of Arabdan then fell to Kienlung, and he pursued his successes with such cruelty that the Northern Circuit was nearly depopulated, and the Songares and Eleuths became almost extinct as distinct tribes. The banished tribe of Tourgouths was then invited by the Emperor to return from Russian sway to their ancient possessions, which they accepted in 1772; the history of the Chinese embassy to them, and their disastrous journey back to Cobdo over the Kirghís steppe and through the midst of their enemies, is one of the most remarkable instances of nomadic wanderings and unexampled suffering in modern times.[131] Chinese troops, emigrants, exiles, and nomadic tribes and families, were sent and encouraged to come into the vacant territory, so that erelong it began to resume its former importance. In the period which has since elapsed, the Manchus have been enabled to prevent any combination among the clans, and maintain their own authority by a mixed system of coercion and coaxing which they well know how to practise. The agricultural and mineral resources of the country have been developed, many of the nomads induced to attend to agriculture by making their chieftains emulous of each other’s prosperity, and by exciting a spirit of traffic among all.

There have been some disturbances from time to time, but no master spirit has arisen who has been able to unite the tribes against the Chinese. In 1825, there was an attempt made from Kokand by Jehangír, grandson of the _kojeh_ or prince of Kashgar, to regain possession of Turkestan; the khan of Kokand assisted him with a small army, and such was their dislike of the Chinese, that as soon as Jehangír appeared, the Mohammedans arose and drove the Chinese troops away or put them to death, opening the gates to the invader. He took possession of Yarkand and Kashgar, and advanced to Aksu, where the winter put a stop to the campaign. In the next year, the khan of Kokand, seeing the disposition of the people, thought he would embark himself in the same cause, and made an incursion as far as Aksu and Khoten, reducing more than half the Southern Circuit to himself, but ostensibly in aid of Jehangír. The kojeh, beginning to fear his aid, withdrew; and the khan, having suffered some reverses from the Chinese troops, made his peace on very favorable terms, and returned to his own country. Jehangír went to Khoten from Yarkand, but his conduct there displeasing the people, the Chinese troops, about 60,000 in number, had no difficulty in dispersing his force, and resuming their sway. The adherents of the kojeh fled toward Badakshan, while he himself repaired to Isaac, the newly appointed kojeh of Kashgar, by whom he was delivered up to the Chinese with his family, and all of them most barbarously destroyed.

The kojeh was rewarded with the office of prince of Kashgar, but having been accused of treasonable designs he was ordered to come to Peking for trial; the charges were all disproved, and he returned to Kashgar after several years’ residence at the capital of the Empire. The country was gradually reduced by Changling, the general at Ílí, but Kashgar suffered so much by the war and removal of the chief authority to Yarkand, that it has not since regained its importance. During this war, the dislike of the Mohammedans to the Chinese sway was exhibited in the large forces Jehangír brought into the field; and if he had been a popular spirited leader, there is reason for supposing he might have finally wrested these cities from the Chinese. The joy of Taukwang at the successful termination of the expedition and capture of the rebel, was so extravagant as to appear childish; and when Jehangír was executed at Peking, he ordered the sons of two officers who had been reported killed, “to witness his execution, in order to give expansion to the indignation which had accumulated in their breasts; and let the rebel’s heart be torn out and given to them to sacrifice it at the tombs of their fathers, and thus console their faithful spirits.” Honors were heaped upon Changling at his return to Peking, and rewards and titles showered upon all the troops engaged in the war.

Since this insurrection, the frontiers of Kashgar and Kokand have been passed and repassed by the Pruth Kirghís; in 1830, they excited so much trouble because their trade was restricted, that a large force was called out to restrain them, and many lives were lost before the rising was subdued. The causes of the dispute were then examined, and the trade allowed to go on as before. The oppressions of the residents sometimes goad on the Mohammedans to rise against the Chinese, but the policy of the Emperor is conciliatory, and the complaints of the people are in general listened to. The visits of the begs and princes to Peking with tribute affords them an opportunity to state their grievances, while it also prevents them from caballing among themselves. In 1871 the Russians took possession of nearly the whole of Tien-Shan Peh Lu during an insurrection of the Dunganis against Chinese control. The Tarantchis having attacked a Russian outpost, and Yakub Beg being on suspiciously good terms with the rebels, it was determined to occupy Kuldja--which was effected after a campaign of less than a month, led by Gen. Kolpakofsky. The Chinese government was immediately informed that the place should be restored whenever a sufficient force could be brought there to hold it against attacks, and preserve order. After the final conquest of the Dungan tribes in 1879-80, this territory was returned by the Russians upon conclusion of their last treaty with China, exactly ten years from the date of possession. The old manner of government is now resumed and the country slowly recovering from the frightful devastation of the insurrection. The salaries of the governor-general and his councillors, and the residents, are small, and they are all obliged to resort to illegal means to reimburse their outlays. The highest officer receives about $5,200 annually, and his councillors about $2,000; the residents from $2,300 down to $500 and less. These sums do not, probably, constitute one-tenth of the receipts of their situations.[132]

~BOUNDARIES OF TIBET.~

The third great division of the colonial part of the Chinese empire, that of TIBET, is less known than Ílí, though its area is hardly less extensive. It constitutes the most southern of the three great table lands of Central Asia, and is surrounded with high mountains which separate it from all the contiguous regions. The word Tibet or Tubet is unknown among the inhabitants as the name of their country; it is a corruption by the Mongols of _Tu po_,[133] the country of the Tu, a race which overran it in the sixth century; Turner gives another name, _Pue-koa-chim_, signifying the ‘snowy country of the north,’ doubtless a local or ancient term. The general appellation by the people is _Pot_ or _Bod_, or _Bod yul_--“the land of Bod.”[134] It is roughly bounded northeast by Koko-nor; east by Sz’chuen and Yunnan; south by Assam, Butan, Nípal, and Gurhwal; west by Cashmere; and north by the unknown ranges of the Kwănlun Mountains. The southern frontier curves considerably in its course, but is not less than 1,500 miles from the western extremity of Nípal to the province of Yunnan; the northern border is about 1,300 miles; the western frontiers cannot be accurately defined, and depend more upon the possession of the passes through which trade is carried on than any political separation. Beltistan, Little Tibet, and Ladak, although included in its limits on Chinese maps, have too little subjection or connection with the court of Peking, to be reckoned among its dependencies.

~NATURAL FEATURES OF TIBET.~

Tibet, in its largest limits, is a table land, the highest plains of which have a mean elevation of 11,510 feet, or about 1,300 feet lower than the plateau of Bolivia, near Lake Titicaca. The snow-line on the north side of the Himalaya is at an altitude of 16,630 feet; on the southern slope it is at 12,982 feet. Several striking analogies may be traced between this country and Peru: the tripartite divisions caused by lofty ranges; their common staples of wool, from alpacas and vicunas in one, and sheep and goats in the other; the abundance of precious metals, and many specific customs. The entire province of Tibet is divided by mountain chains into three distinct parts; its western portion consists of the basin of the Indus, until it breaks through into Cashmere at Makpon-i-Shagaron. It begins near Mount Kailasa, and stretches northwest between the Hindu Kush and Himalaya, comprising the whole of Beltistan and Ladak; the Kara-korum, Mus-tag, or Tsung ling range defines it on the northeast. The second part consists of an extensive desert land, commencing at Mount Kailasa, and having the Tsung ling on the west, the Kwănlun on the north (which separates it from Khoten, and the high watershed of the Yangtsz’, Salween, and other rivers), and Lake Tengkiri, on the east; the Himalaya constitutes its southern boundary. This high region, called Katshe or Kor-kache, has not been traversed by intelligent travellers and is one of the few yet unknown regions of the earth, and is nearly uninhabitable, owing to the extreme rigor of its climate.[135]

The eastern part, consisting of the basin of the Yaru-tsangbu, contains, in its plains, most of the towns in Tibet, until it reaches the Alpine region which lies between the River Yaru and the Yangtsz’, a space extending from long. 95° to 99° E. This district is described as a succession of ridges and gorges, over which the road takes the traveller on narrow and steep paths, crossing the valleys by ropes and bridges enveloped in the clouds. Mount Kailasa, a notable peak lying in the northeastern part of Nari, is not far from 26,000 feet high. The number of summits covered with perpetual snow exceeds that of any other part of the world of the same extent.

The road from Sz’chuen to H’lassa strikes the Yalung kiang, in the district of Ta tsien lu, and then goes southwesterly to Batang on the Yangtsz’ kiang; crossing the river it proceeds up the narrow valley a short distance, and then crosses the mountains northwest to the Lantsan kiang or River Meikon, by a series of pathways leading over the gorges, till it reaches Tsiamdo; from this point the road turns gradually southwest, following the valleys when practicable, till it ends at H’lassa.

The largest river in Tibet is the Erechumbu, or Yaru-tsangbu; _tsangbu_ means river, and is often alone used for this whole name. It rises in the Tamchuk range, at the Mariam-la pass in Nari, 60 miles east of Lake Manasarowa, the source of the Sutlej; it flows a little south of east for about seven hundred miles, through the whole of Southern Tibet, between the first and second ranges of the Himalayas, as far as long. 90° E. Its tributaries on the north are numerous, and among them the Nauk-tsangbu and Dzangtsu are the largest. The volume of water which flows through the mountains into Assam by this river, is equal to that by the Indus into Scinde. The disputed question, whether the Yaru-tsangbu joins the Brahmaputra or Irrawadi, has been settled by presumptive evidence in favor of the former, but a distance of about 400 miles is still unexplored;[136] the fall in this part is about 11,000 feet, to where the river Dihong has been traced in Assam. This makes the Brahmaputra the largest and longest river in Southern Asia; its passage into Assam is near 95° E. longitude.

The eastern part of Tibet, beyond this meridian, is traversed by numerous ranges of lofty mountains, having no separate names, the direction of which is from west to east, and from northwest to southeast. From these ranges, lateral branches run out in different directions, containing deep valleys between them. In proportion as the principal chains advance towards the southeast they converge towards one another, and thus the valleys between them gradually become narrower, until at last, on the frontiers of Yunnan and Burmah, they are mere mountain passes, whose entire breadth does not much exceed a hundred miles, having four streams flowing through them. In fact, Tibet incloses the fountain heads of all the large rivers of Southern and Eastern Asia. The names and courses of those in Eastern Tibet are known only imperfectly from Chinese maps, but others have described them after their entrance into the lowlands.

Tibet, especially the central part, is a country of lakes, in this respect resembling Cobdo. The largest, Tengkiri-nor, situated in the midst of stupendous mountains, about one hundred and ten miles northwest of H’lassa, is over a hundred miles long and about thirty wide. The region north of it contains many isolated lakes, most of them salt. Two of the largest, the Bouka and Kara, are represented as connected with the River Nu. Lake Khamba-la, Yamoruk or Yarbrokyu, sometimes called Palti, from a town on its northern shore, is a large lake south of H’lassa, remarkable for its ring shape, the centre being filled by a large island, around which its waters flow in a channel thirty miles or more in width. On the island is a nunnery, called the Palace of the Holy Sow, said to be the finest in the country. In Balti or Little Tibet are many sheets of water, the largest of which, the Yik and Paha, are connected by a river flowing through a marshy country. A long succession of lakes fill one of the basins in Katsche, suggesting the former existence of another Aral Sea. The sacred lakes of Manasarowa and Ravan-hrad (Mapam-dalai and Langga-nor, of the Chinese) form the headwaters of the Sutlej.

~CLIMATE, FOOD AND PRODUCTIONS.~

The climate of Tibet is characterized by its purity and excessive dryness. The valleys are hot, notwithstanding their proximity to snow-capped mountains; from May to October the sky is clear in the table-lands, and in the valleys the moisture and temperature are favorable to vegetation, the harvest being gathered before the gales and snows set in, after October. The effects of the air resemble or are worse than those of the kamsín in Egypt. The trees wither, and their leaves may be ground to powder between the fingers; planks and beams break, and the inhabitants cover the timbers and wood-work of their houses with coarse cotton, in order to preserve them against the destructive saccidity. The timber neither rots nor is worm-eaten. Mutton, exposed to the open air, becomes so dry that it may be powdered like bread; when once dried it is preserved during years. This flesh-bread is a common food in Tibet. The carcass of the animal, divested of its skin and viscera, is placed where the frosty air will have free access to it, until all the juices of the body dry up, and the whole becomes one stiffened mass. No salt is used, nor does it ever become tainted, and is eaten without any further dressing or cooking; the natives eat it at all periods after it is frozen, and prefer the fresh to that which has been kept some months. The food called _jamba_ is prepared by cooking brick tea during several hours, then adding butter and salt, and stirring the mixture until it becomes a thick broth. When eaten the stuff is served in wooden bowls, and a plentiful supply of roasted barley-meal poured in, the whole being kneaded by the hands and devoured in the shape of dough pellets.

The productions of Tibet consist of domestic animals, cattle, horses, pigs; some wild animals, such as the white-breasted argali, orongo-antelope, ata-dzeren, wolf, and steppe-fox; and few plants or forests, presenting a strong contrast with Nípal and Butan, where vegetable life flourishes more luxuriantly. Sheep and goats are reared in immense flocks, for beasts of burden over the passes, and for their flesh, hair, and coats. Chiefest among the animals of this mountain land is the yak.[137] The domesticated variety, or long-haired yak, is the inseparable companion and most trusty servant not only of the Tibetans, but of tribes in Cashmere, Ladak, Tangout, and Mongolia, even as far north as Urga. It is a cross-breed, or mule from the yak bull and native cow, which alone is hardy enough for these elevated regions.[138] These creatures are of the same size as our cattle, strong, sure-footed and possessed of extraordinary endurance; they retain, however, something of their wild nature, even after long domestication, and must be carefully treated, especially when being loaded and unloaded. They thrive best in hilly countries, well watered and covered with grass--the two last being indispensable. The hair is black or black and white, seldom entirely white. One sort is without horns, and when crossed with the cow bears sterile males, or females which are fertile for one generation. As to the wild yak of Tibet, a traveller says: “This handsome animal is of extraordinary size and beauty, measuring, when grown, eleven feet in length, exclusive of its bushy tail, which is three feet long; its height at the hump is six feet; girth around the body eleven feet, and its weight ten or eleven hundred weight. The head is adorned with ponderous horns, two feet nine inches long, and one foot four inches in circumference at the root. The body is covered with thick, black hair, which in the old males assumes a chestnut color on the back and upper parts of the sides, and a deep fringe of black hair hangs down from the flanks. The muzzle is partly gray, and the younger males have marks of the same color on the upper part of the body, whilst a narrow, silvery-gray stripe runs down the centre of the back. The hair of young yaks is much softer than that of older ones; they are also distinguishable by their smaller size, and by handsomer horns, with the points turned up. The females are much smaller than the males, and not nearly so striking in appearance; their horns are shorter and lighter, the hump smaller, and the tail and flanks not nearly as hairy.”[139] This animal is useful for its milk, flesh, and wool, as well as for agricultural purposes and travel.

~ANIMALS OF TIBET.~

There is comparatively little agriculture. The variety of wild animals, birds, and fishes, is very great; among them the musk deer, feline animals, eagles, and wild sheep, are objects of the chase. The brute creation are generally clothed with an abundance of fine hair or wool; even the horses have a shaggier coat than is granted to bears in more genial climes. The Tibetan mastiff is one of the largest and fiercest of its race, almost untamable, and unknown out of its native country. The musk deer is clothed with a thick covering of hair two or three inches long, standing erect over the whole body; the animal resembles a hog in size and form, having, however, slender legs. The Tibetan goat affords the shawl wool, so highly prized for the manufacture of garments.[140]

Fruits are common; small peaches, grapes, apples, and nuts, constitute the limited variety. Barley is raised more than any other grain, the principal part of agricultural labors being performed by the women. Pulse and wheat are cultivated, but no rice west of H’lassa. Rhubarb, asafœtida, ginger, madder, and safflower are collected or prepared, but most of the medicines come from China and Butan. Turnips, rape, garlic, onions, and melons are raised in small quantities. The mineral productions are exceedingly rich. Gold occurs in mines and placer diggings, and forms a constant article of export; lead, silver, copper, and cinnabar are also dug out of the ground, but iron has not been found to much extent. The great difficulty in the way of the inhabitants availing themselves of their metallic wealth, apart from their ignorance of the best modes of mining, is the want of fuel with which to smelt the ore. Tincal, or crude borax, is gathered on the borders of a small lake in the neighborhood of Tengkiri-nor, where also any quantity of rock salt can be obtained. Precious stones are met with, most of which find their way to China.

The present divisions of Tibet, by the Chinese, are _Tsien Tsang_, or Anterior Tibet, and _Hau Tsang_, or Ulterior Tibet. Anterior Tibet is also called U (Wei) and U-tsang, and includes the central part of Bod-yur where H’lassa is; east of this lies Kham (Kăng) or Khamyul, and northeast toward Koko-nor is Khamsok, _i.e._, Kham on the River Sok. Near the bend of the Brahmaputra is the district of Kongbo, where rice can be raised; going westward are Takpo, doUs and gTsang on the borders of Nari, ending in a line nearly continuous with the eastern border of Nípal. The Chinese books mention eight cantons in Anterior Tibet, five of them lying east of H’lassa, added to which are thirty-nine feudal townships in Khamsok called _tu-sz’_, all of them chiefly nominal or at present antiquated. Csoma de Körös speaks of several small principalities in Kham, and describes the inhabitants as differing from the rest of the Tibetans in appearance and language; they assimilate probably with the tribes on the Burman and Chinese frontiers. Nari (A-li in Chinese) is divided into Mangyul, Khorsum, and Maryul. The first of these districts lies nearly conterminous with Nípal, and its area is probably about the same, but its cold, dry, and elevated regions, support only a few shepherds; Khorsum and Maryul lie north and northwest in a still more inhospitable clime; the latter adjoins Ladak and Balti and is the reservoir of hundreds of lakes situated from 12,000 to 15,000 feet above the sea. A ridge separates the valley of the Indus from the Sutlej, crossed at the Bogola Pass, 19,220 feet high, and then over the Gugtila Pass, 19,500 feet into Gartok. The people throughout this elevated region are forced to live in tents, wood being almost unknown for building.

~H’LASSA THE CAPITAL.~

H’lassa, the _gyalsa_ or capital of Tibet, is situated on the Kichu River, about twelve leagues from its junction with the Yaru, in lat. 29° 39′ N., and long. 91° 05′ E.; the name signifies _God’s ground_, and it is the largest town in this part of Asia. It is famous for the convents near it, composing the ecclesiastical establishments of the Dalai (or ‘Ocean’)-lama, whose residence is in the monastery of Pobrang-marbu (_i.e._, ‘Red town’) on Mount Putala. The principal building of this establishment is three hundred and sixty-seven feet high, and it contains, as the Chinese expression is, “a myriad of rooms.” This city is the head-quarters of Buddhism, and the hierarchy of lamas, who, by means of the Dalai-lama, and his subordinate the Kutuktu, exercise priestly control over wellnigh all Mongolia as well as Tibet. The city lies in a fertile plain nearly 12,000 feet high, about twelve miles wide, and one hundred and twenty-five from north to south, producing harvests of barley and millet, with abundant pasturage and some fruit trees. Mountains and hills encircle it; of these the westernmost is Putala, the river running so near its base that a wall has been built to preserve the buildings from the rise of the waters. The Chinese garrison is quartered about two miles north of this mount, and two large temples, called _H’lassa tso-kang_ and _Ramotsie tso-kang_, resplendent with gold and precious stones, stand very near it. The four monasteries, Séra, Brebung, Samyé, and Galdan, constitute as many separate establishments.[141] During the sway of the Songares in Ílí, their prince Arabdan made a descent upon H’lassa, and the Lama was killed. Kanghí placed a new one upon the see, in 1720, appointing six leading officers of the old Lama to assist him in the government. Three of these joined in an insurrection, and in the conflicts which succeeded, H’lassa suffered considerably. The population of the town is conjectured to be 24,000; that of the province is reckoned by Csoma at about 650,000.

The town was visited in the year 1811 by Mr. Manning, whose description of its dirty and miserable streets swarming with dogs and beggars, and the meanness of its buildings, corresponds with what Huc and Gabet found in 1846. Mr. Manning remained there nearly five months, and had several interviews with the Dalai-lama; he was much impeded in his observations by a Cantonese _munshí_ or teacher, and exposed to danger of illness from insufficient shelter and clothing. His reception by the chief of the Buddhist faith on the 17th of December, was equally remarkable with that by the Teshu-lama of Bogle in 1774, and of Turner in 1783. Mr. Manning was alone and unprotected and had very few presents, but his offering was accepted; it consisted of a piece of fine broadcloth, two brass candlesticks, twenty new dollars, and two vials of lavender water. He rode to the foot of the mountain Putala, and dismounted on the first platform to ascend by a long stairway of four hundred steps, part of them cut in the rock, and the rest ladder steps from story to story in the palace, till he reached a large platform roof off which was the reception hall. Upon entering this he found that the _Tí-mu-fu_ or _Gesub Rimboché_, the highest civil functionary in Tibet, was also present, which caused him some confusion: “I did not know how much ceremony to go through with one before I began with the other. I made the due obeisance, touching the ground three times with my head to the Grand Lama, and once to the _Tí-mu-fu_. I presented my gifts, delivering the coins with a handsome silk scarf with my own hands to them both. While I was _kotowing_, the awkward servants let one of the bottles of lavender water fall and break. Having delivered the scarf to the Grand Lama, I took off my hat, and humbly gave him my clean shaven head to lay his hands upon.... The Lama’s beautiful and interesting face and manner engrossed all my attention. He was about seven years old; had the simple manners of a well educated princely child. His face was, I thought, poetically and affectingly beautiful. He was of a cheerful disposition, his beautiful mouth perpetually unbending into a graceful smile, which illuminated his whole countenance. No doubt my grim beard and spectacles excited his risibility. We had not been seated long before he put questions which we rose to receive and answer. He inquired whether I had met with difficulties on the road; to which I replied that I had had troubles, but now that I had the happiness of being in his presence they were amply compensated. I could see that this answer pleased both him and his people, for they found that I was not a mere rustic, but had some tincture of civility in me.”[142]

~SHIGATSÉ AND TESHU-LUMBO.~

The capital of Tsang or Ulterior Tibet is Shigatsé, situated 126 miles west of H’lassa, and under its control. The monastery where the Teshu-lama and his court resides is a few miles distant, and constitutes a town of about 4,000 priests, named Teshu-Lumbo. He is styled Panchen Rimboché, and is the incarnation of Amitabha Buddha. His palace is built of dark brick and has a roof of gilded copper; the houses rise one above another and the gilt ornaments on the temples combine to give a princely appearance to the town. The fortress of Shigatsé stands so as to command both places. The plain between this town and H’lassa is a fertile tract, and judging from the number of towns in the valleys of the basin of the Yaru, its productive powers are comparatively great. Ulterior Tibet is divided into six other cantons, besides the territory under the jurisdiction of the chief town, most of their fortified capitals lying westward of Shigatsé.

The degree of skill the Tibetans have attained in manufactures, mechanical arts, and general civilization, is less than that of the Chinese, but superior to the Mongols. They appear to be a mild and humane people, possessing a religious sense and enjoying an easy life compared with their southern neighbors. They are well-bred and affable, fond of gossiping and festivities, which soften the heart and cheer the temper. Women are treated with care and are not often compelled to work out of doors. No two people or countries widely separated present a stronger contrast than do the stout, tall, muscular, and florid Butías, upon their fertile fields and wooded hills, with the squat, puny, sluggish, and swarthy Tibetans in their rugged, barren mountains. They distinguish five sorts of people among themselves, the last of whom are the Butías; the others are the inhabitants of Kham, or Anterior Tibet, those in Tsang, the nomads of Kor-kache, and the people of Little Tibet. All of them speak Tibetan with some variations. The Tibetans are clad with woollens and furs to such a degree that they appear to emulate the animals they derive them from in their weight and warmth; and with this clothing is found no small quantity of dirt. The dress of the sexes varies slightly in its shape; yellow and red are the predominant colors. Large bulgar boots of hide are worn by all persons; the remainder of the dress consists of woollen robes and furs like those of the Chinese. The women wear many jewels, and adorn their hair as do the Mongols with pearls, coral, and turquoises. Girls braid their hair in three tresses, married women in two. The head is protected by high velvet caps; the men wear broad-brimmed coverings of various materials.

The two religious sects are distinguished by yellow and red caps; the latter are comparatively few, allow marriage to the lamas, but do not differ materially in their ritual or tenets. There is no country where so large a proportion of the people are devoted to religious service as in Tibet, nor one where the secular part of the inhabitants pays such implicit deference to the clergy. The food of the Tibetans is taken at all hours, mutton, barley, and tea constituting the staple articles. On all visits tea is presented, and the cup replenished as often as it is drained. Spirits and beer, both made from barley, are common beverages. On every visit of ceremony, and whenever a letter is sent from one person to another, it is necessary to connect a silk scarf with it, the size and texture being proportioned to the rank and condition of the parties. The sentence _Om mani padmí hum_ is woven upon each end.

~OM MANI PADMÍ HÛM.~

The following note by Col. Yule, condensed from Koeppen’s _Lamaische Hierarchie und Kirche_, contains the most satisfactory explanation of this puzzling mystic formula: “Om mani padmí hûm!--the primeval six syllables, as the lamas say, among all prayers on earth form that which is most abundantly recited, written, printed, and even spun by machines for the good of the faithful. These syllables form the only prayer known to the ordinary Tibetans and Mongols; they are the first words that the child learns to stammer, and the last gasping utterance of the dying. The wanderer murmurs them on his way, the herdsman beside his cattle, the matron at her household tasks, the monk in all the stages of contemplation (_i.e._, of _far niente_); they form at once a cry of battle and a shout of victory! They are to be read wherever the Lama church hath spread, upon banners, upon rocks, upon trees, upon walls, upon monuments of stone, upon household utensils, upon strips of paper, upon human skulls and skeletons! They form, according to the idea of the believers, the utmost conception of all religion, of all wisdom, of all revelation, the path of rescue and the gate of salvation!... Properly and literally these four words, a single utterance of which is sufficient of itself to purchase an inestimable salvation, signify nothing more than: “O the Jewel in the Lotus! Amen!” In this interpretation, most probably, the _Jewel_ stands for the Bodhisatva Avalokiteçvara, so often born from the bud of a lotus flower. According to this the whole formula is simply a salutation to the mighty saint who has taken under his especial charge the conversion of the North, and with him who first employed it the mystic formula meant no more than _Ave Avalokiteçvara!_ But this simple explanation of course does not satisfy the Lama schoolmen, who revel in glorifications and multitudinous glossifications of this formula. The six syllables are the heart of hearts, the root of all knowledge, the ladder to re-birth in higher forms of being, the conquerors of the five evils, the flame that burns up sin, the hammer that breaks up torment, and so on. _Om_ saves the gods, _ma_ the Asuras, _ni_ the men, _pad_ the animals, _mí_ the spectre world of _pretâs_, _hûm_ the inhabitants of hell! _Om_ is ‘the blessing of self-renunciation, _ma_ of mercy, _ni_ of chastity, etc.’ ‘Truly monstrous,’ says Koeppen, ‘is the number of _padmís_ which in the great festivals hum and buzz through the air like flies.’ In some places each worshipper reports to the highest Lama how many _om manis_ he has uttered, and the total number emitted by the congregation is counted by the billion.”

Grueber and Dorville describe _Manipe_ as an idol, before which _stulta gens insolitis gesticulationibus sacra sua facit, identiden verba haec repetens_:--‘O Manipe, mi hum, O Manipe, mi hum; _id est_ Manipe, salva nos!’ Rémusat (_Mélanges Posthumes_, Paris, 1843, p. 99) translates this phrase by: “Adoration, O thou precious stone who art in the lotus!” and observes that it illustrates the fundamental dogma of Buddhism, viz.: the production of the material universe by an absolute being; all things which exist are shut up in the breast of the divine substance; the ‘precious stone’ signifying that _the world is in God_. Mr. Jameson says that the sentence _Om mani padmí hung_ is formed of the initial letters of various deities, all of whom are supposed to be implored in the prayer.[143]

In reverential salutations, the cap is removed by the inferior, and the arms hang by the side. The bodies of the dead are placed in an open inclosure, in the same manner as practised by the Parsees, where birds and beasts of prey devour them, or they are dismembered in an exposed place. Lamas are burned, and their ashes collected into urns. As soon as the breath has departed, the body is seated in the same attitude as Buddha is represented, with the legs bent before, and the soles of the feet turned upwards. The right hand rests upon the thigh, the left turns up near the body, the thumb touching the shoulder. In this attitude of contemplation, the corpse is burned.

~TIBETAN TYPES AND CUSTOMS.~

In Tibet, as in Butan, the custom of polyandry prevails. The choice of a wife lies with the eldest son, who having made known his intentions to his parents sends a matchmaker to propose the matter to the parents of the girl. The consent of the parents being obtained, the matchmaker places an ornament of a jewel set in gold, called _sedzia_ upon the head of the damsel, and gives her presents of jewels, dresses, cattle, etc., according to the means of the young man. The guests invited on the day of the marriage bring presents of such things as they choose, which augments the dowry. A tent is set up before the bride’s house, in which are placed three or four square cushions, and the ground around sprinkled with wheat; the bride is seated on the highest cushion, her parents and friends standing near her according to their rank, and the assembled party there partake of a feast. The bride is then conducted to the house of her lover by the friends present, her person being sprinkled with wheat or barley as she goes along, and there placed by his side, and both of them served with tea and spirits. Soon after, the groom seats himself apart, and every one present gives a scarf, those of superior rank binding them around their necks, equals and inferiors laying them by their sides. The next day, a procession is formed of the relatives of the newly married pair, which visits all the friends, and the marriage is completed. The girl thus becomes the wife of all the brothers, and manages the domestic concerns of their household. The number of her husbands is sometimes indicated by as many points in her cap. This custom is strengthened by the desire, on the part of the family, to keep the property intact among its members; but it does not prevent one of the husbands leaving the roof and marrying another woman, nor is the usage universal. Rémusat speaks of a novel in Tibetan, in which the author admirably portrays the love of his heroine, Triharticha, for her four lovers, and brings their marriage in at the end in the happiest manner.

The dwellings of the poor are built of unhewn stones, rudely piled upon each other without cement, two stories high, and resembling brick-kilns in shape and size; the windows are small, in order not to weaken the structure; the roof is flat, defended by a brushwood parapet, and protected from the molestation of evil spirits by flags, strips of paper tied to strings, or branches of trees. Timber is costly and little used; the floors are of marble or tiles, and the furniture consists of little else than mats and cushions. The temples and convents are more imposing and commodious structures; some of those at H’lassa are among the noblest specimens of architecture in Central Asia.

The mausoleum of the Teshu-lama at Teshu Lumbu resembles a plain square watch-tower surmounted by a double Chinese canopy roof, the eaves of which are hung with bells, on which the breeze plays a ceaseless dirge. The body of the lama reposes in a coffin of gold, and his effigy, also of gold, is placed within the concavity of a large shell upon the top of the pyramidal structure which contains it. The sides of the pyramid are silver plates, and on the steps are deposited the jewels and other costly articles which once appertained to him. An altar in front receives the oblations and incense daily presented before the tomb, and near by is a second statue of the deceased as large as life in the attitude of reading. Scrolls and pennons of silk hang from the ceiling, and the walls are adorned with paintings of priests engaged in prayer. The whole structure is substantially built, and its rich ornaments are placed there not less for security than to do honor to the revered person deposited beneath. The windows are closed with mohair curtains, and a skylight in the upper story serves for lighting the room, and for passing out upon the roof. The roof or parapet is ornamented with cylinders of copper or other materials, which imparts a brilliant appearance to the edifices.

~COMMERCE AND LANGUAGE OF TIBET.~

The manufactures of Tibet consist of woollens, cloth, blankets, yarn, goat-hair shawls, musk, paper, metals, and jewelry. Their lapidaries cut every kind of ornament in superior style, and gold and silverware forms a considerable article of trade to China. These and other crafts must necessarily languish, however, from the immense proportion of men who are withdrawn from labor into monasteries, compelling the residue to devote most of their strength to tillage. The most important exports to China consist of gold dust, precious stones, bezoars, asafœtida, musk, woollens, and skins; for which the people receive silks, teas, chinaware, tobacco, musical instruments, and metals. The trade is carried on through Síning fu in Kansuh, and Batang in Sz’chuen. Tincal, rock-salt, and shawl wool, are additional articles sent to Ladak, Butan, and India.

Music is studied by the priesthood for their ceremonies, and with much better effect than among the Chinese priests. Their amusements consist in archery, dancing, and observance of many festivals connected with the worship of the dead or of the living. Dram-drinking is common, but the people cannot be called a drunken race, nor does the habit of opium eating or smoking, so fatally general in Assam, prevail, inasmuch as the poppy cannot well be cultivated among the mountains.

Education is confined to the priesthood, but the women, who conduct much of the traffic, also learn arithmetic and writing. The language is alphabetical, and reads from left to right; there are two forms of the character, the _uchen_ used for books, and the _umin_ employed in writing, which do not differ more than the Roman and the running-hand in English. The form of the characters shows their Sanscrit origin, but there are many consonants in the language not found in that tongue, and silent letters are not unfrequent in the written words. There are thirty consonants in the alphabet, distributed into eight classes, with four additional vowel signs; each of them ends in a short _a_, as _ka_, _nga_, _cha_, which can be lengthened by a diacritical mark placed underneath. The syllables are separated from each other by a point; the accented consonant is that which follows the vowel, and the others, whether before or after it, are pronounced as rapidly as possible, and not unfrequently omitted altogether in speaking. The variations in this respect constitute the chief features of the patois found in different parts where Tibetan is spoken. A dictionary and grammar[144] of this language were printed in 1834 in Calcutta by Csoma de Körös, a Hungarian who resided among the priests near Ladak. The literature is almost wholly theological, as far as it has been examined, and such works as are not of this character, have probably been introduced from China. Their divisions of time, numeration, chronology, and weights, have also been adopted from that country with a few alterations. An Englishman, Mr. Brian Hodgson, who lived in Nípal from 1820 to 1843, has added more than any one else to our knowledge of the literature of this country. This gentleman procured complete copies of the original documents of the Buddhist canon preserved in Sanscrit in Nípalese monasteries, as well as (by a present from the Dalai-lama) the whole of the existing literary remains of the once flourishing Christian mission at H’lassa. His more important essays on these lands have now been brought together in a single volume.[145]

~HISTORY OF TIBET.~

The history of Tibet has been made partially known to Europe through the Mongol author, Sanang Setsen,[146] but if free access could be had to their annals, it is probable that a methodical history could be extracted, reaching back at least three centuries before Christ. Tibet was ruled by its own princes till the rise of Genghis; the first monarch, who united the various tribes under his sway B.C. 313, was Seger-Sandilutu-Kagan-Tül-Esen,[147] and from the fact that Buddhism was introduced during his reign, it might be inferred that he came from the south. H’lassa was founded by Srongzan-Gambo, or Srongbdzan sgambouo,[148] about A.D. 630, after which time Tibetan history becomes more authentic, inasmuch as this king introduced the alphabet. The Tang dynasty carried their arms into Tibet from Khoten, but the people threw off their yoke during the decline of that family. Mohammedanism also disturbed the supremacy of the Buddhist faith, and severe persecutions followed about the beginning of the tenth century by an Islam prince Darma, but it was repelled at his death, and has never since made the least impression upon the people. Genghis reduced Tangout, one of the principalities, northeast of Koko-nor, and soon after brought the whole country under his sway; this Kublai still further settled as a dependency of his empire. The people recovered their independence on the expulsion of the Mongols, and under the Ming dynasty formed several small kingdoms, among which were Ladak and Rodok, both of them still existing.

From a short résumé of letters written from Tibet in 1626, by Romish missionaries living there, it appears that the kingdom of Sopo was the most powerful in the north, and Cogué, U-tsang, and Maryul were three southern principalities. The king of Cogué allowed these missionaries to reside in his territories, and took pleasure in hearing them converse and dispute with the lamas. The Dalai-lama at this time was the king’s brother, and possessed subordinate influence in the state, but the priests were numerous and influential. The conquest of Mongolia and Tangout opened the way for Kanghí to enter Tibet, but the intercourse between the Emperor and Dalai-lama was chiefly connected with religion and carrying tribute. An index of the freedom of communication between Tibet and the west is found in the passports issued to the traders visiting H’lassa in 1688. The lamas held the supreme power until towards the end of his reign, when Chinese influence became paramount. The country had already been conquered by the Songar chieftain, so that on his defeat it could offer little resistance. Kanghí appointed six of the highest princes or _gialbo_ over the provinces; but soon after his death, in 1727, three of them conspired against Yungching, and were not subdued without considerable resistance. The Emperor then appointed the loyal prince or _gialbo_ as governor-general, and he remained in his vice-regal office till his death, about 1750. Kienlung, finding that his son was endeavoring to make himself fully independent, executed him as a rebel, suppressed the office, and appointed two Chinese generals to be associated with the Dalai-lama and his coadjutor, in the administration of the country. The troops were increased and forts erected in all parts of the country to awe the people and facilitate trade.

~GOVERNMENT OF TIBET.~

The present government of Tibet is superintended by two _ta chin_, or ‘great ministers,’ residing at H’lassa, who act conjointly, while they serve as checks upon each other; they do not hold their office for a long time. They have absolute control over all the troops in the country, and the military are generally confined to the garrisons, and do not cultivate the soil. The collection of revenue, transmission of tribute to Peking, and direction of the persons who carry it, and those who conduct the trade at Batang and Síning fu, are all under their control. The Dalai-lama, and the Teshu-lama are the high religious officers of the country, each of them independent in his own province, but the former holding the highest place in the hierarchy. The Chinese residents confer with each concerning the direction of his own province. All their appointments to office or nobility must be sanctioned by the residents before they are valid, but merely religious officers are not under this surveillance. In the villages, the authority is administered by secular deputy lamas called _deba_, and by commandants called _karpon_, who are sent from the capital. Each _deba_ is assisted by a native _vazir_ of the place, who, with the chief lama, form the local government, amenable to the supreme magistracy. The western province of Nari is peopled by nomads, who wander over the regions north of Ravan-hrad, and are under the authority of _karpons_ sent from H’lassa, without the assistance of lamas. The two high-priests themselves are likewise assisted by councillors. One of these, called Soopoon Choomboo, who held the office of _sadeek_ or adviser when Turner visited Teshu-Lumbo, was a Manchu by birth, but had long lived in Tibet.

The nomadic clans of Dam Mongols and other tribes occupying the thirty-nine feudal townships or _tu-sz’_ in Anterior Tibet, are governed by the residents without the intervention of the lamas. The disturbances in Ulterior Tibet in 1792, resulting from the irruption of the Nípalese and sack of Teshu-Lumbo, were speedily quelled by the energy of Kienlung’s government, and the invaders forced to sue for mercy. The southern frontier was, in consequence of this inroad, strongly fortified by a chain of posts, and the communication with the states between Tibet and India strictly forbidden and watched. It gave the Chinese an opportunity to strengthen their rule and extend their influence north to Khoten and into Ladak. The natural mildness of character of the Tibetans, and similarity of religion renders them much easier under the Chinese yoke, than the Mohammedans.[149]

FOOTNOTES:

[95] Klaproth (_Mémoires Relatifs à l’Asie_, Tome I., Paris, 1824) has translated from the Manchu a narrative of a visit made in 1677 by one of the grandees of Kanghí’s court to a summit in this range. _Chinese Repository_, Vol. XX., p. 296.

[96] _Voyage Down the Amur_, by Perry McD. Collins, in 1857. New York, 1860, chaps. xxxii.-lx., passim. Ravenstein’s _Amur_. _Chinese Repository_, Vol. XIX., p. 289. Rev. A. Williamson, _Journeys in North China_, Vol. II., chaps. x.-xiii.

[97] _The Chinese and their Rebellions._ London, 1856.

[98] Also called _Yenden_; Klaproth, _Mémoires_, Tome I., p. 446. Rémusat informs us that this name formerly included all of Kirin, or that which was placed under it.

[99] _Voyages Along the Coast of China._ New York, 1833.

[100] _Annales de la Foi_, Tome XVIII., 1846, p. 302.

[101] _Annales de la Foi_, Tome XVI., p. 359.

[102] The inhabitants of ancient Gedrosia, now Beloochistan, are said to have clothed themselves in fish-skins. Heeren, _Historical Researches among Asiatic Nations_, Vol. I., p. 175.

[103] Rev. Alex. Williamson, _Travels in Northern China_. London, 1870. Vol. II., Chaps. I. to XIV.; _Chinese Repository_, Vols. IV., p. 57; XV., p. 454; _Chinese Recorder_, Vol. VII., 1876, “The Rise and Progress of the Manjows,” by J. Ross, pp. 155, 235, and 315.

[104] Compare Niebuhr’s _History of Rome_, Vol. II, Sect. “Of the Colonies,” where can be observed the essential differences between Roman settlements abroad and those of the Chinese; and still greater differences will be found in contrasting these with the offsets of Grecian States.

[105] Abulgasi-Bayadur-chan (_Histoire Genéalogique des Tatars, traduite du Manuscript Tartare_; Leyde: 1726), gives another derivation for these two names. “Alänzä-chan eut deux fils jumeaux l’un appelle Tatar and l’autre Mogull ou pour bien dire Mung’l, entre les quels il partagea ses Estates lorsqu’il se vit sur la fin de sa vie.” It is the first prince, he adds, from whom came the name _Tartar_--not from a river called Tata, as some have stated--while of the second: “Le terme Mung’l a esté changé par une corruption generale en Mogull; _Mung veut dire triste ou un homme triste_, et parceque ce prince estoit naturellement d’une humeur fort triste, il porta ce nom dans la verité”--(pp. 27-29). But Visdelon (D’Herbelot, ed. 1778, Tome IV., p. 327) shows more acquaintance with their history in producing proofs that the name _Tatar_ was applied in the eighth century by the Chinese to certain tribes living north of the Ín shan, Ala shan, and River Liau. In the dissensions following upon the ruin of the Tang dynasty, some of them migrated eastwards beyond the Songari, and there in time rallied to subdue the northern provinces, under the name of _Nu-chih_. These are the ancestors of the Manchus. Another fraction went north to the marshy banks of Lakes Hurun and Puyur, where they received the name of _Moungul Tahtsz’_, _i.e._, Marsh Tatars. This tribe and name it was that the warlike Genghis afterwards made conspicuous. The sound _Mogul_ used in India is a dialectal variation.

[106] _Abulgasi_ (p. 83) furnishes a notice of these _aimaks_ and their origin.

[107] _Mémoires_, Tome I., p. 2.

[108] Prejevalsky, _Mongolia_, Vol. I.; Pumpelly, _Across America_, pp. 382-385; Michie, _Across Siberia_.

[109] Cottrell’s _Recollections of Siberia_, Chap. IX., p. 314; Timkowski’s _Travels_, Vol. I., pp. 4-91, 1821; Pumpelly, _Across America and Asia_, p. 387, 1871; Klaproth, _Mémoires_, Tome I., p. 63; Ritter, _Die Erdkunde von Asien_, Bd. II., pp. 198-226.

[110] Compare Richthofen, _China_, Band I., 2er Theil.; Yule, _Cathay and the Way Thither_, passim.

[111] The wild ass is called by Prejevalsky the most remarkable animal of these steppes. Compare Yule’s _Marco Polo_, Vol. I., p. 220 (2d edition).

[112] For a notice of the _Ouigours_, who formerly ruled Tangout, consult Klaproth, _Mémoires_, Tome II., p. 301, ff. See also Rémusat, _Nouveaux Mélanges Asiatiques_, Tome II., p. 61, for a notice of the _Ta-ta-tung’o_, who applied their letters to write Mongolian.

[113] _Chinese Repository_, Vol. IX., p. 113; Vol. I., p. 118. _Penny Cyclopædia_, Arts. BAYAN KARA, TANGUT. Kreitner, _Im fernen Osten_, p. 702. Huc, _Travels_, passim.

[114] Lieut. Kreitner, _Im fernen Osten_.

[115] In Rémusat’s _Histoire de la Ville de Khotan_ (p. 76) there is an account of a journey made in the 10th century between Kanchan and Khoten.

[116] Rémusat calls it _Pentalope_. _Nouveaux Mélanges_, Tome I., p. 5.

[117] The recent treaty between Russia and China (ratified in 1881), marks the boundaries between Ílí and Russian territory in the following sections:

Art. VII. A tract of country in the west of Ílí is ceded to Russia, where those who go over to Russia and are thereby dispossessed of their land in Ílí may settle. The boundary line of Chinese Ílí and Russian territory will stretch from the Pieh-chên-tao [Bedschin-tau] Mountains along the course of the Ho-êrh-kwo-ssü [Yehorsos] River, to its junction with the Ílí River, thence across the Ílí River, and south to the east of the village of Kwo-li-cha-tê [Kaldschat] on the Wu-tsung-tau range, and from this point south along the old boundary line fixed by the agreement of Ta-Chêng [Tashkend] in the year 1864.