Research On Kathok Rinzin Tsewang Norbu And His Regional History

A well-known Tibetan historian in the modern epoch,Kathog Rindzin Tshewang Norbu(1617–1755)was born in the mDo-khams area.He travelled core and marginal areas of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau throughout his life,and he conducted detailed research in particular on the western Tibetan marginal areas and the upper Ngaris Korsum area.And research experience.As a respected monk and a scholar of Tibetan Buddhism,he travelled famous mountains and rivers to spread Buddism teaching,and to mediate wars,and wrote his opinitons in his historical works.We find in the works his systematic considerations and sharp analyses on important historical sites in these areas,that give a huge impact on the later generations.Kathog Rindzin Tshewang Norbu's works are abundant;except for a large number of Buddhist works,there are also many historical works,including historical notes,letter correspondences,sacred relics and inscription copies.They are important first-hand materials for studyies on the regional history of Tibet.Among his studies on the regional history,"History of the Gungthang Dynasty" and "History of sMaryul Ladakh" are the representative works,which were completed by combining field investigation and records on historical documents,and are thus the immortal works in the history of two regional dynasties.In 1749,Kathog Rindzin Tshewang Norbu went to Nepal to repair the Bodha Great Stupa due to the command of the local government of Ganden Photrang,Tibet.On this way,he passed Gungthang of sMaryul,and collected information and then wrote the "History of the Gungthang Dynasty".In1753,an internal strife broke out in the Ladakh Kingdom.He received an order from the seventh Dalai Lama,Kalzang Gyantsho,to mediate the war in sMaryul Ladakh,and spent over a year;finally,the famous " Treaty of Valle" was signed.During this period,Kathog Rindzin Tshewang Norbu did not forget his original intentions,extensively collected materials,consulted local documents,visited historical cities,and wrote a historical masterpiece: "History of sMaryul Ladakh".The advent of the two works above laid a solid foundation for the historical,cultural,and religious studies of the Western marginal areas of Tibet,filling academic gaps in historical research in this area forhundreds of years with a profound impact.Prior to Kathog,there was little historical writing about this marginal area in Tibetan traditional historical works.Orthodox historians did not pay much attention to this area.Hence,many contents were blank and related records were fragmented.From this perspective,The related research of Kathog has just filled the academic gap in the history of the region,and is of great significance.This article makes a more in-depth study of Kathog Rindzin Tshewang Norbu and his two regional history works.It has four parts: the introduction part mainly describes the origin and significance of the topic selection,the research status and methods;Chapter one starts from the historical background and life stories of Kathog Rindzin Tshewang Norbu's life,the collection and dispersal of the anthology,and introduces and classifies each historical work of him;Chapter Two specifically analyses the historical background,the source of historical data,and the status in the Tibetan historical studies of his regional history work "History of the Gungthang Dynasty";Chapter Three summarises the content structure and versions of the historical work "History of sMaryul Ladakh",and compares it with the anonymous "History of Ladakh Kingdom" to further point out the relationship between the two;Chapter Four analyses the author's attitude towards history,and discusses his contribution to regional history and its position in the Tibetan historical studies through the study of regional history works.The principal place names and persons as well as Buddhist terminology appearing in the article are annotated comprehensively.