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Plate 14.4a–c Details from Miracles of the Mass of Universal Salvation Conducted by the Fifth Karmapa for the Yongle Emperor, artist
unknown, dated 1407. Handscroll, ink and colours on silk, height 66cm, width 4,968cm. The Tibet Museum, Lhasa

Miracles of the Fifth Karmapa heavenly flowers, sweet dew, arhats manifesting in the sky,
In addition to his patronage of Daoism, the Yongle emperor clouds in auspicious shapes and circling cranes. The final
also showed a strong affinity for Tibetan Buddhism, starting scene records light emanating from the southwest and from
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from when he was still a prince. Lu Rong’s 陸容 (1436–94) the Karmapa’s residence. Each scene is inscribed with
Shuyuan zaji 菽園雜記 (Random Jottings from the Bean Garden) writings in five languages: Chinese, Persian, Tày, Tibetan
records Zhu Di’s belief in Tibetan Buddhism as and Mongolian.
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demonstrated after one particularly bloody battle during the The Yongle emperor sought to build ties with Tibetan
civil war: Buddhist leaders, using religion to placate Mongolian and
After the Great Battle of Baigou River, the battlefield was Tibetan tribes, and to establish the prestige of the Ming
littered with the corpses of dead soldiers. Taizong (the Yongle government. In 1414, the emperor once again dispatched Hou
emperor) remembered them and ordered their skulls to be Xian to Lhasa to invite Tsongkhapa (1357–1419) to visit
collected and made into rosary beads. These were distributed China. Tsongkhapa sent in his place his student Śākya Yeshé
to eunuchs to pray for the reincarnation of the dead. Some (1354–1439), who arrived in Nanjing in the 12th month of that
skulls that were deep and big were used to hold pure water on year. During his stay, Śākya Yeshé performed religious
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the Buddhist altar. These were called Heavenly Numinous rituals for the Yongle emperor; in return the emperor lavished
Cups. All these were the teachings of hu monks.
treasures upon him, and bestowed on him the title ‘Great
太宗皇帝白溝河大戰，陣亡軍士積骸遍野。上念之，命收其頭 Preceptor of State’ (Da guoshi 大國師) during the fifth month
骨，規成數珠，分賜內官念佛，冀其輪迴。又有頭骨深大者，則 of 1415. In 1416, Śākya Yeshé returned to Tibet, bringing with
以盛淨水供佛，名天靈盌，皆胡僧之教也。 18
him the Yongle emperor’s Tibetan edition of the Buddhist
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In the second month of 1403, the Yongle emperor sent the canon, Kangyur, now housed in the Sera Monastery in Tibet.
eunuch Hou Xian 侯顯 (1365–1438) with a delegation to The Yongle emperor successfully used Buddhism to
Tibet to meet with the Fifth Karmapa, Deshin Shekpa strengthen and unify the Ming state, while maintaining
(1384–1415; also called Halima 哈立麻 in Chinese sources). Confucianism as the basis of his ruling philosophy.
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They convinced Deshin Shekpa to travel to Nanjing where
he would perform a Mass of Universal Salvation (Pudu da Auspicious beasts from abroad
zhai 普渡大齋) at Linggusi 靈谷寺 (Numinous Valley During the Yongle reign, many foreign envoys travelled to
Monastery) for the emperor’s deceased parents, the Hongwu the Ming imperial court to pay their respects, bringing with
洪武 emperor (r. 1368–98) and Empress Ma馬 (1332–82), them valuable goods and rare animals as tribute. The
during the fifth month of 1407. When the Yongle emperor’s arrival of foreign tribute could also be interpreted as an
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wife, Empress Xu 徐 (1362–1407), passed away in the seventh auspicious omen, which was recorded in paintings and
month, he asked Deshin Shekpa to perform a seven-day poems. For instance, Xia Yuanji’s 夏原吉 (1366–1430) Poem to
mass at Mount Wutai 五臺山. The emperor treated Deshin Saintly Virtue and Auspicious Responses (Shengde ruiying shi 聖德瑞
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Shekpa with the formality accorded to a prince and granted 應詩), written in 1419, records that:
him the title of the ‘Great Treasure Dharma King’ (Da bao Hormuz and other foreign states sent envoys with offerings of
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fawang 大寶法王). qilin, lions, heavenly horses, leopards, elephants, ostriches,
A long handscroll entitled Miracles of the Mass of Universal zebras, antelopes, oryxes and parrots with five-coloured
Salvation Conducted by the Fifth Karmapa for the Yongle Emperor, feathers. Also, Jiaozhi offered white crows, ‘mountain
now in the Tibet Museum, depicts miracles that took place phoenixes’, a three-tailed turtle and other creatures.
around the Lingu Monastery as a result of Deshin Shekpa’s 海外忽魯謨斯等國，遣使來進麒麟、獅子、天馬、文豹、紫象、駝
visit and the rituals he performed (Pl. 14.4a–c). The 雞、福祿、靈羊、長角馬哈獸、五色鸚鵡等，又交趾進白烏、山
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scenes depicted follow a chronological order spanning 19 鳳、三尾龜等物。 28
days in the second and third months of 1407. Many different
miraculous phenomena are depicted in the scroll, including With the support of the Yongle emperor, Zheng He 鄭和
five-coloured clouds, multi-coloured radiance, a rain of (1371–1433) led six maritime voyages to territories along the

Gifts of Good Fortune and Praise-Songs for Peace: Images of Auspicious Portents and Panegyrics from the Yongle Period | 125