Page 24 - A MONUMENTAL GILT-BRONZE BUTTER LAMPS IN TIBETAN BUDDHIST RITUALS

A MONUMENTAL GILT-BRONZE RITUAL BUTTER LAMP:

A RARE VESTIGE OF IMPERIAL MING CHINA

Asaph Hyman

The monumental gilt-bronze butter lamp is an exceptionally great ceremony and gifts, and sent Imperial delegations to
rare, important and unique Imperial devotional relic of the Ming Tibet, as early as 1403. In doing so he was recalling Kublai
dynasty, dating to circa first half of the 15th century, during the Khan’s famous patron-priest relationship with his Tibetan
reigns of the Yongle to the Jingtai Emperors (1403 - 1457). Imperial Preceptor ʼPhags-pa (1235-1280), casting himself
in the role of the Mongol Khan’s spiritual heir and inheritor of
A ritual object of such colossal proportions and immense Mongol political hegemony. Artisans from Tibet are believed
weight would have been very costly to produce. Bearing a Ming to have remained in Beijing after the fall of the Yuan dynasty
dynasty Imperial reign mark, it could have only been made and continued to serve in the Ming Imperial Workshops,
by Imperial order and probably by the Imperial Workshops. with frequent exchanges of sculptures and gifts between the
The butter lamp would have been bestowed upon an Imperial Ming Court and Tibetan hierarchs and monasteries. Such
temple or as Imperial patronage of a favoured Buddhist exchanges were mutually beneficial. Often, they included so-
monastery or a diplomatic gift to a Tibetan hierarch, similar to called tribute by the Tibetan monks of horses, essential for
other gifts presented by the Yongle and Xuande Emperors. the early Ming military which was devoid of such resources
from Mongolia, in exchange for other goods and political and
Compare with a closely related large gilt-bronze altar vase, hu, military support for monasteries, which also extended the
cast Xuande six-character reign mark reading from left to right Ming influence across the region. Furthermore, the receipt of
Da Ming Xuande nian shi and of the period, and on the other favourable omens and portents from Tibetan lamas and their
side with a cast Tibetan inscription, measuring 79.2cm high, blessings, served to strengthen the legitimacy of the Ming
from Qutan Monastery, now in the collection of the Qinghai rule and its Mandate from Heaven. This was particularly the
Museum, Xining, illustrated in the Palace Museum, Beijing case for the Yongle Emperor, who usurped the throne, and his
exhibition catalogue Splendors from the Yongle (1403-1424) successors, who benefited from reinforcing their ancestor’s
and Xuande (1426-1435) Reigns of China’s Ming Dynasty: legacy and legitimacy.
Selected Artifacts, Beijing, 2010, p.298, no.150 (see p.25).
The qinghai fangzhi ziliao lei bian (Qinghai Gazetteers of This relationship manifested in patronising Tibetan religious
categorised information) records that the construction of the leaders and Buddhist monasteries, as far as the periphery
Longguo Hall of the Qutan Monastery began in the 2nd year of of the Empire, as is well demonstrated in the Guatama
Xuande (1427), with a large quantity of ritual vessels gifted [by Monastery (known as the Qutan Monastery, Gro tshang
the Imperial Court], including vases, incense burners, incense rdo rje ‘chang), Ledu County, Qinghai Province. In 1393
holders, all of the finest quality of the Xuande reign. It is likely Sanggyé Trashi (d.1414), travelled to Nanjing to request the
that the aforementioned vase belongs to this important group. Hongwu Emperor to extend Imperial protection and favour
to the temple. The monk succeeded in his mission and
The butter lamp, also called ‘The Dharma Light’, symbolises the temple received support by Imperial edict. Subsequent
awakening and offering one’s spirit and aspirations. It is an Emperors, notably Yongle, as well as the Hongxi and Xuande
essential element in the offering practices of Tibetan Buddhism Emperors, continued to patronise the monastery. The height
and represents the offering of light to enlightened beings. The of the Imperial support for the monastery occurred during
lamp would have been prominently displayed beside a temple the Yongle reign, transforming the small-scale group of
altar and kept burning as a perpetual flame, fed by offerings buildings to an official Ming architectural style resulting in a
of yak butter or oil from the faithful and carefully tended to by magnificent monastery of palatial splendour comparable to
the monks. The light emanating from the lamp would have the grandest monasteries in the Ming capital. The Court sent
illuminated the dimly lit temple, and a colossal lamp such as craftsmen and a great number of precious objects produced
the present one would have contained enough butter to burn in the Imperial Workshops including, as mentioned above,
for many days, emphasising the potency of the blessings ritual vessels which closely relate to the present butter lamp;
bestowed by the Emperor and upon the Emperor. for a detailed discussion regarding the Gautama Monastery
and its patronage by early Ming Emperors see A.Campbell,
Early Ming China and Tibetan Buddhism Architecture and Empire in the Reign of Yongle, 1402-1424 (in
Emperors during the early Ming dynasty lavishly patronised progress), chapter 4.
Buddhism. The Hongwu Emperor was a monk between the
ages of about seventeen and twenty-four, and the Yongle and Strong influence was exerted by the monk Daoyan (Yao
Xuande Emperors continued to promote Tibetan Buddhism, Guangxiao) (1335-1418), who met Prince Yan, the future
also as means of extending their power and sphere of Yongle Emperor, at the funeral of his mother the Empress in
influence. The Yongle Emperor welcomed Tibetan guests with Nanjing, and then travelled with him to his fiefdom in Beijing.

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