Seminar: Fabienne JAGOU
19 MAY 23
IMH-EFEO Lecture Series
“French Historical Research and the Modern Era”
2022-2023 - People(s), State(s) and Citizens in Crisis
Speaker:
Prof. Fabienne JAGOU
Associate Professor, French School of Asian Studies (EFEO)
Title:
The 13th Dalai Lama (1876-1933) as a Tibetan GloriousSovereign in Inner Asia
Date:
Friday, May 26, 2023 at 3:00 pm
Venue:
Conference Room 2, Archive Building, Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica
Abstract:
The notion of the “union of the political and the religious” (in Tibetan, chos srid zung ’brel, lugs zung or conjugated order/lugs gnyis or dual order/tshul gnyis; in Chinese, zhengjiao he yi 政教合一) is generally used to highlight the dynamics of the relationship established between the Dalai Lamas in Lhasa and the Qing Manchu Emperors in Beijing (1644-1912). When the bodhisattva king entered into a relationship with a foreign ruler, the interaction was said to be personal and religious, not official and institutional. It was then called a “relationship between a spiritual master and a lay protector” (mchod yon): the spiritual master (mchod gnas) transmitted teachings to his lay protector (yon bdag), who, in exchange, ensured his protection as well as that of his school and monasteries.Studies have demonstrated how the Manchus and the Chinese sought to take advantage of the constitutive twin-ness of Tibetan hierarchs (spiritual and temporal) to assert their authority on Tibet. However, while the nationalist ambition of the 13th Dalai Lama (1876-1933) to assert his temporal power and the difficulties he encountered both domestic ally and internationally from 1913 to his death in 1933 are well attested, his efforts to manifest himself as the temporal ruler of Tibet prior to the expulsion of Chinese troops from Tibet(1912) are generally ignored.It is the study of this crucial period from 1904 to 1913 that is proposed here. The talk analyzes the sacralization of politics by the different actors and their understanding of the double corporeality of the Tibetan sovereign. It opens a discussion on the way the13th Dalai Lama redefined his institution as embodying a sacred supremacy. To illustrate this point, we will focus on the decisions and actions of the Dalai Lama and their consequences as revealed in various sources: from his exile in Inner Asia and China (1904-1909) to his refusal to sign an agreement with China (1910), his exile in British India (1910-1913) and his search for recognition of his sovereignty by the British, and to the Manchu reprisals, his resilience and that of the Tibetans, and his organization of the Tibetan resistance to the Chinese armed presence.
The talk will be chaired by Prof. XIE Xin-zhe, Assistant Research Fellow, Institute of ModernHistory, Academia Sinica
The talk will be given in English. Registration is not required
lecture
“French Historical Research and the Modern Era”
2022-2023 - People(s), State(s) and Citizens in Crisis
Speaker:
Prof. Fabienne JAGOU
Associate Professor, French School of Asian Studies (EFEO)
Title:
The 13th Dalai Lama (1876-1933) as a Tibetan GloriousSovereign in Inner Asia
Date:
Friday, May 26, 2023 at 3:00 pm
Venue:
Conference Room 2, Archive Building, Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica
Abstract:
The notion of the “union of the political and the religious” (in Tibetan, chos srid zung ’brel, lugs zung or conjugated order/lugs gnyis or dual order/tshul gnyis; in Chinese, zhengjiao he yi 政教合一) is generally used to highlight the dynamics of the relationship established between the Dalai Lamas in Lhasa and the Qing Manchu Emperors in Beijing (1644-1912). When the bodhisattva king entered into a relationship with a foreign ruler, the interaction was said to be personal and religious, not official and institutional. It was then called a “relationship between a spiritual master and a lay protector” (mchod yon): the spiritual master (mchod gnas) transmitted teachings to his lay protector (yon bdag), who, in exchange, ensured his protection as well as that of his school and monasteries.Studies have demonstrated how the Manchus and the Chinese sought to take advantage of the constitutive twin-ness of Tibetan hierarchs (spiritual and temporal) to assert their authority on Tibet. However, while the nationalist ambition of the 13th Dalai Lama (1876-1933) to assert his temporal power and the difficulties he encountered both domestic ally and internationally from 1913 to his death in 1933 are well attested, his efforts to manifest himself as the temporal ruler of Tibet prior to the expulsion of Chinese troops from Tibet(1912) are generally ignored.It is the study of this crucial period from 1904 to 1913 that is proposed here. The talk analyzes the sacralization of politics by the different actors and their understanding of the double corporeality of the Tibetan sovereign. It opens a discussion on the way the13th Dalai Lama redefined his institution as embodying a sacred supremacy. To illustrate this point, we will focus on the decisions and actions of the Dalai Lama and their consequences as revealed in various sources: from his exile in Inner Asia and China (1904-1909) to his refusal to sign an agreement with China (1910), his exile in British India (1910-1913) and his search for recognition of his sovereignty by the British, and to the Manchu reprisals, his resilience and that of the Tibetans, and his organization of the Tibetan resistance to the Chinese armed presence.
The talk will be chaired by Prof. XIE Xin-zhe, Assistant Research Fellow, Institute of ModernHistory, Academia Sinica
The talk will be given in English. Registration is not required
lecture