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One thangka depicts the Third Dalai Lama, Sonam Gyatso (1543- During the Yongzheng period, the emperor accepted the Dalai Lama’s
1588). Although counted as the ‘Third’, he was in fact the first to be petition to the Court ordering that monasteries previously damaged be
bestowed with the title Dalai Lama by the Mongol leader Altan Khan rebuilt with Imperial funds, thus extending the Imperial patronage. The
(1507-1582) in 1578. Sonam Gyatso’s links with Mongolia were close Dalai Lama then spent several years in exile, following political struggles
and he was invited by the Khan to introduce the Gelugpa or ‘Yellow and the increasing Manchu attempts to formalise their rule in Tibet;
Hat Sect’ there. Depicted above the Third Dalai Lama is Dromton but returned in 1735 to Lhasa accompanied, under the order of the
Gyelwe Jungne (1005-1064), a disciple of Atisa (980-1054) and the Yongzheng emperor, with a royal entourage of five hundred religious,
initiator of the Kadam school of Tibetan Buddhism, which the Gelug civil and military representatives, including Changkya Rolpai Dorje.
are considered to revive. The space surrounding the Lama is filled with
stories from his life. Following the ascension of the Qianlong emperor to the throne,
Changkya Rolpai Dorje recommended the political assertion of the
For a similar thangka of the Third Dalai Lama, see Cultural Relics of Seventh Dalai Lama in Tibet, which proved to be an unforeseen
Tibetan Buddhism Collected in the Qing Palace, Beijing, 1998, pp.42- political success due to his personal reputation for learning and spiritual
43. integrity as well as his status.
The other thangka depicts the Seventh Dalai Lama, Kelzang Gyatso In the field of politics, the Seventh Dalai Lama established a number of
(1708-1757). The lama holds a lotus stem supporting the Book of institutions, such as the Kashnak, a leadership cabinet that remained
Wisdom and the Sword that vanquishes ignorance: both symbols at the apex of the secular administration in Tibet until 1959. He also
of the bodhisattva of Wisdom, Manjushri. On the left and right of founded a school specialising in calligraphy, literary arts and astrology,
the throne are monarchs and Mongol princes making submission the primary subjects required for Tibetan government service, and
to the spiritual leader of Tibet who had the patronage of the Kangxi, an archival office that regulated all aspects of Tibetan secular and
Yongzheng and Qianlong emperors. monastic culture.
When Kelzang Gyatso reached the age of eight, the Kangxi emperor See a thangka depicting the Seventh Dalai Lama, 18th century, from
sent representatives of the Court so that a combined Chinese-Tibetan- the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated by D.P.Jackson, The Place of
Mongol cavalry could escort the lama to Kumbum. It was in Kumbum Provenance: Regional Styles in Tibetan Painting New York, 2012, p.43,
that Kelzang Gyatso was enthroned and an Imperial proclamation was fig.3.16.
publicly read, affirming that ‘this emanation is the veritable rebirth of
the former Dalai Lama.’
21 (detail right)
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