Tibet

  • The Banquet of Ten Thousand Elders: A Dynasty at its Zenith and Twilight

    This article reviews Qianlong’s late reign. He boasted of “Ten Great Campaigns,” rejected Britain’s Macartney mission, and abdicated to Jiaqing but kept real power. He held the grand Banquet of Ten Thousand Elders to show prosperity. The feast marked the Qing’s peak, yet hidden decline and official corruption loomed beneath.

  • The Golden Urn and the High Plateau: Qing Rule in Tibet

    This article explains how the Qing Dynasty governed Tibet. It covers the Gelug Sect’s rise, Mongol interference, and Qing military interventions. After stopping the Gurkha invasion, Qianlong introduced the Golden Urn system to regulate reincarnations of the Dalai and Panchen Lamas, formalizing Qing sovereignty and stabilizing the plateau.

  • The Melody of Dadu: Culture and Transition in the Yuan Dynasty [Song & Yuan]

    This article explores the cultural and social changes under the Yuan Dynasty. Kublai Khan unified China and built Dadu as a global capital. The Grand Canal and advanced astronomy flourished, while Yuan drama emerged as a major art form. Despite ethnic hierarchy, the era saw rich cultural fusion before succession crises weakened the empire.

  • Xuanzang’s Journey West [Sui & Tang]

    This article tells Xuanzang’s epic journey to India for Buddhist scriptures. Defying a travel ban, he crossed deserts, reached Nalanda, and won fame at King Harsha’s assembly. Returning with sacred texts, he translated sutras and wrote Great Tang Records on the Western Regions. It also covers Princess Wencheng’s marriage to Tibet’s Songtsen Gampo, boosting Tang‑Tibet…

  • The Missing Trial at Benbo Kingdom in Journey to the West

    In Journey to the West, after passing through the Kingdom of Sacrifice, located to the west, the next destination should have been the Kingdom of Benbo (also called Bonpo or Pen-Puo).

  • The Kingdom of Women in History and Journey to the West

    In the novel Journey to the West, the ‌Women’s Kingdom‌ is one of the nations that the monk Tang Sanzang and his disciples pass through during their quest for Buddhist scriptures.