Mangyül Gungthang

Mangyül Gungthang (Wylie: mang yul gung thang), simplified Chinese: 芒域贡堂; traditional Chinese: 芒域貢堂; pinyin: mángyù gòngtáng) alternatively known as Ngari Me (Lower Ngari) is the name of a Tibetan kingdom established under Sa-skya overlordship in Southwest Tibet around 1265. Historically it lies in an area that was an important transit point between the north and south Himalayas,^[1] and it was through this route that Padmasambhava and Śāntarakṣita arrived in Tibet.^[2] It was founded by a descendent of the Tibetan royal house, Bumdegon (1253–1280)^[3] It was one of the thirteen myriarchies (khri skor bcu gsum) ruled by a Sakya lama viceroy, appointed by the Yuan Dynasty Mongol court.^[4]

Chokyi Dronma, the eldest daughter of Thri Lhawang Gyaltsen (1404–1464) and the first Dorje Pakmo – the third-highest ranking person in the Lamaist hierarchy – hailed from the district.

The kings of Gungthang were subject to a variety of central Asian overlords down to 1620, when their kingdom was destroyed by the King of Tsang.

The capital of the kingdom was the fortified citadel of Dzongkar (White Fortress). After the discovery of gold in Western Tibet, it became an important link in the network of trans-Himalayan trade.^[5]

References

1. ^ Ronald M. Davidson, Tibetan renaissance: Tantric Buddhism in the rebirth of Tibetan culture, Columbia University Press, 2005 p.132.
2. ^ Hildegard Diemberger, When a woman becomes a religious dynasty: the Samding Dorje Phagmo of Tibet, Columbia University Press, 2007 p.35.
3. ^ Hildegard Diemberger,When a woman becomes a religious dynasty, p.34.
4. ^ Dawa Norbu, China’s Imperial Policy, Routledge, 2001 p.139.
5. ^ Hildegard Diemberger, When a woman becomes a religious dynasty, pp34,38.