Study. Sixth Panchen Erdeni

The sixth Panchen Erdeni Lozang Palden Yeshe (1738-1780) was not only one of the spiritual leaders of the Gelug Sect of Tibetan Buddhism, but also an extremely important figure in the history of the political and religious situation in Tibet, who grew up in "Qianlong Era" and was active in the political stage.The sixth Panchen Erdeni was committed to realizing and maintaining peace and stability all his life. In the course of political affairs, he had been playing an important role in mediation and safeguarding peace, which ensured the continuity of the traditional values such as the system of the Grand Living Buddha of Panchen Erdeni serving as the "Third-party Peace Force". In the handling of religious affairs of Tibetan Buddhism, he had played a decisive role in the process of recognition of the eighth Dalai Lama. Then he made every effort to train and educate the eighth Dalai Lama, and maintained a good cooperative relation with him, so that made a significant contribution to maintain the stable development of the Tibetan local political and religious pattern. In the process of personal contacts with the foreigners, he adhered to the principle of fighting "on just grounds","to our advantage", and "with restraint", so that he not only acted as a successful mediator in the war between Britain and Bhutan, but also maintained a high degree of political rationality and showed excellent political wisdom and communication skills during the course of the association with the British East India Company. In a word, he took concrete actions to safeguard the reunification of China. On the relation with the Qing central government, he did a lot of work to maintain the position of authority of the Qing central government in Tibet. Finally, he was the only one of Panchen Erdeni who traveled to Beijing to have an audience with the emperor of the centre government of China, what he did confirmed that the system of the Grand Living Buddha of Panchen Erdeni had always been adhering to the maintenance of patriotic political character of the reunification of China and national unity.As one of the spiritual leaders of the Gelug Sect of Tibetan Buddhism, the sixth Panchen Erdeni not only had a distinct character, but also impressed others with very different impression and perception. On the way to Jehol, he showed "excessive" self-confidence on the treatment of smallpox. In the religious horizon of Emperor Qianlong who devoutly believed in Tibetan Buddhism, sixth Panchen Erdeni was a respected spiritual master. As a massager, George Bogle was dispatched by the British East India Company to Tashilhunpo Monastery in Xigaze, to his mind, the sixth Panchen Erdeni was a humorous and cheerful middle-aged man with wide interests. In the eyes of the Korean envoy Pak Jiwon, the sixth Panchen Erdeni was not a healthy and handsome man with imposing temperament but a "holy Buddhist monk" with supernatural power. Meanwhile, in Yao Nai's novel, the sixth Panchen Erdeni was just a lama who was accorded excessive reception; moreover, he failed in a debate with a zen master called Da tian about the Buddhist theory.So, carrying on systemic research on the sixth Panchen Erdeni can provide a strong theoretical support for analyses the essence of the problem such as the research on the relation between the central government and Tibetan authorities, the research on the History of the Gelug Sect of Tibetan Buddhism, the research on the history of British invasion of Tibet, etc. In addition, this research is helpful to promote public understanding of the history of the system of the Grand Living Buddha of Panchen Erdeni, and it is of important realistic significance to enhance Tibetan centripetal force as well as the sense of cohesion and belonging to the central government.Although this study has not been neglected by the domestic and foreign academic circles, up to now, there is no monograph specializing in the sixth Panchen Erdeni yet. In the meantime, these existing academic achievements are lack of integrity. On the one hand, those domestic researches are still in incidental and thematic stage, and the focuses of research are still concentrated in the important historical event of his travelling to Beijing to have an audience with the emperor. On the other hand, western scholars have a deeper understanding on the relationship between him and George Bogle, Meanwhile, the political role played by this religious leader in Tibet are greatly exaggerated, which is a little "wishful thinking". So, guided by dialectical materialism and historical doctrine of Marxism, I will carry out a holistic and systematic research on the sixth Panchen Erdeni. During this course, I will take the combination of the historical literature research and field trips as the main research method. Meanwhile, I am going to avoid one-sidedness and subjective discourse which are often attached to the red-letter type of positive description, so that I will strive to objectively demonstrate the real life of this religious leader.This dissertation is composed by the eight chapters. Now the subject are summarized as follows:Chapter one focuses on the birth of the sixth Panchen Erdeni and the process of recognition, enthronement; Chapter two on his interaction experience with the members of Pholhanas Family; Chapter three on his decisive role and important impact in the process of searching, recognition of the eighth Dalai Lama; Chapter four on the detailed analysis on his foreign exchanges; Chapter five on his image and position in the eyes of the Emperor Qianlong, which is based on the analysis on Tibetan Buddhism policies in Qianlong Era and Qianlong's personal beliefs of Tibetan Buddhism; Chapter six on the annual pilgrimages and the tribute system of Dalai Lama, Panchen Erdeni in Qianlong Era; Chapter seven on the background, process, value and significance of his audience with the emperor Qianlong; Chapter eight on the relations between him and smallpox, Deshou Temple, Zongjingdazhao Temple, and on the image of him in some literature such as Jehol Diary, Xiaoting Miscellany, Xibaoxuan Notes, etc.