Chapter 9 7. Meng Duan Guge Kingdom

The ruins of the Guge castle under the bright moonlight, guarding the legendary years in vain, independent from the world, mysterious and solemn... The moment we arrived at Taqing Village in Pulan County, the originally clear sky suddenly fell with heavy rain, which drenched us completely.The only hotel here—Gandise Hotel, was crowded with pilgrims from all over the world, all of them were full of sorrow, and an ominous atmosphere began to shroud each of us.We were in a Shandong noodle restaurant in Taqing, and we heard such heartbreaking news: a tour guide from an American tour group who arrived earlier told our guide Gesang that it had been raining heavily for three consecutive days, and National Highway 219 leads to A large landslide occurred on the county road in Zada.With the current human and material resources in Zada ​​County, this road will not be able to be completed before the end of October this year.Therefore, all tour groups going to the ruins of the Guge Kingdom will have to go home.The shock like a bolt from the blue prevented our group from recovering for a long time.In the past five days, I have gone through all kinds of hardships and went to the temple in my heart. Although it is close at hand, I can't reach it.I really can't accept this cruel reality, and I really feel like crying without tears.Silently went back to the hotel room, lying on the bed and meditating on everything about Guge that I had read from books. The splendid history of civilization of the Guge Kingdom flashed in my mind like a movie.I know it's going to be another dark night.During this trip to Tibet, the Guge Kingdom has become a pain that can never be erased in my heart; I am still willing to introduce the 700-year-old tragic history of the Guge civilization to everyone. A little remembrance!

Traveling through the tunnel of time, the history was fixed in 838 AD. The Tibetan Buddhist Zanpu Bajin Chire was killed by his elder brother Dama. A policy to safeguard the interests of the secular aristocracy.The monasteries were destroyed, Buddhist scriptures were burned, and monks were expelled. In just two years, Buddhism in Tibetan areas was almost extinct.Later generations cursed Dama as "Lang Dama", which means "Bull Demon Dama".One day just four years later, this Lang Dama was shot dead by a Buddhist named "Lalong Bejidorji" in front of the Monument of the Tang-Tibet Alliance in front of the Jokhang Temple.Lang Dama's death marked the end of the entire Tubo dynasty.For the ownership of the succession to the throne, the two princesses of Langdama had a fierce struggle, and since then Tibetan areas have fallen into turmoil and war for half a century.In the battle for the throne, the king and grandson Jidnimayan of the losing party fled to the Ngari Plateau in order to escape from being chased and killed. be king.The combination of the ancient Zhang Zhung civilization and the more modern Tubo civilization gave birth to the new Guge Kingdom on the mother body of the Zhang Zhung Kingdom, which opened the prelude to the splendid civilization history of Guge for 700 years.In his later years, Jidni Mayan divided the kingdom among his three sons, the eldest son Beijiyan Feng Mangyu (later the Kingdom of Ladakh), the second son Zhaxi Yanfeng Burang, the youngest son Dezu Yanfeng Xiangxiong, The measurements of Ali at that time were formed.In fact, Zanpu, the real founder of the Guge Kingdom, was Dezuyan.

Dezu Yan established the former capital of the Guge Kingdom in Zhaburang, which is 20 kilometers west of Zada ​​County today.Since the founding of the Guge Kingdom, Buddhism and Dharma have been regarded as the foundation of the country.This is because on the one hand, it is out of deep memory of the prosperity of Buddhism in the Tubo era; on the other hand, the monarchs and ministers of the ancient country have been keenly aware that Buddhism is the magic weapon for the prosperity of Guge.Prince Esong, the second son of Dezu Yan, was full of enthusiasm for Buddhism, and he became a monk named "Yishiwo"; he also sent 21 outstanding young people to India to learn Sutra and Tantric teachings, the most famous of which was Rinchen Sangpo , which greatly promoted the development of Guge Buddhism.In his later years, Yixiwo went to India to welcome the eminent monk Atisha. In order to raise more gold for the eminent monks, Yixiwo led his troops to attack the Islamic State of Galo, but was defeated and captured.King Galo personally persuaded him to give up Buddhism and convert to Islam, which would save him from death.But Yixiwo was firm, and did not change his will in the face of death, and Yixiwo, who finally sacrificed his life to seek the law, was killed by his neck.Master Atisha, who once served as the abbot of 18 monasteries in India, is highly skilled and nearly 60 years old, was moved by the sincerity of the Guge Kingdom and the spirit of dedication to Buddhism in Yixiwo. After a long journey of hard work, they arrived at the Guge Kingdom.Atisha took Tuolin Temple as his residence, preached scriptures and wrote books, and propagated Buddhism, which played a major role in establishing the Guge Kingdom as the center of Buddhism in western Tibet.Atisha's entry into Tibet has also become an important symbol of the "post-proliferation period" of Tibetan Buddhism.

The disappearance of the ancient civilization has striking similarities with what happened to the Mayan civilization in Mexico and the ancient city of Pompeii in Italy. They all happened very suddenly.From the 13th to the first half of the 16th century, the Guge Kingdom entered a period of prosperity and prosperity.But then, the relationship between Guge and the neighboring kingdom of Ladakh, which believes in Islam, deteriorated, and conflicts continued, which greatly consumed the national power.At the beginning of the seventeenth century, the Portuguese Andrade entered Guge to spread Catholicism, which made the Guge people who believed in Buddhism understand the new religion, and caused great anxiety among the Buddhist monks, and also buried the Guge Kingdom. hidden dangers.During the period when Chi Tashi Zabad ruled Guge as king, Buddhist monks and Western missionaries fought fiercely for the king's faith; however, in the end the king was convinced that God would be on his side.In the spring of 1627 A.D., Chi Tashi Zabad once again launched a Buddhist extermination movement after Lang Dama.A large number of monks were forced to return to secular life and were driven to caves to live by begging. The king hoped to destroy their belief in Buddhism in this way.However, as the birthplace of Tibetan Buddhism's "post-proliferation period", Buddhism has a profound social foundation after all, and has deeply penetrated into Guge culture, politics, economy and other aspects.The monks who were hit did not give in, but colluded secretly, waiting for an opportunity to have a final showdown with the king. In 1630, after more than two years of preparation, the monks finally launched a riot, and got the support of the majority of Guge people, and finally surrounded the Guge palace; The siege of the Guge Palace began.Due to the long-term war needs, Zarburang, the old capital of Guge, has formed a complete defense system and strong logistical support, and the guards loyal to Guge have launched a protracted tug-of-war with the enemy with incomparable heroism. .It is precisely because of the tenacious and desperate resistance of the Guge guards that the Ladakh people have never been able to cross the threshold.Judging from the abandoned armor pieces and iron arrowheads found in the archaeological site of the Guge Kingdom, every inch of the land here has been fought to the death. The blood of the soldiers on both sides stained the long yellow sand here. The tragedy can be seen.

Just when the Ladakhs were unable to attack for a long time and were about to withdraw their troops, the monks in Guge resorted to a poisonous plan. The younger brother of Chi Tashi Zabad came forward to persuade him to surrender. Bow down.However, the Ladakhs treacherously imprisoned all members of the Guge royal family; after occupying Zhaburang, they carried out a crazy plunder and brutally killed the Guge soldiers.So far, there are still countless headless corpses in the cave of thousands of corpses in the ruins of the Guge Kingdom.So far, the 700-year glorious history of the Guge Kingdom has come to an end with a tragic ending.

In the nearly 300 years until 1957, when people rediscovered the ruins of the Guge Kingdom, the descendants of Guge seemed to have disappeared without a trace.A nation that was once so strong and once created such a glorious history will disappear without a trace after its subjugation.Has history undergone a sudden change here, or is it moving towards its inevitability?All this leaves infinite room for imagination to future generations. Lying quietly on the small bed in the Gangdisi Hotel at the foot of the mountain, staring at the darkness, a picture appeared in front of my eyes: the ruins of the Guge castle under the bright moonlight, empty guarding the legendary years, independent and mysterious And solemn...