In 634 AD, a group of people dressed in strange costumes and carrying gold and silver treasures crossed from the Tibetan Plateau to Chang'an. They were the messengers of Songtsen Gampo of Tibetan Tsangpo with a request for marriage.
However, Tang Taizong rejected their request. This may be because the Tibetans had never communicated with China before this, and Tang Taizong knew very little about them. Professor Lin Guanqun used a metaphor to describe the first interaction between Tang and Tibet: Tibet was like an uninvited guest at the banquet of Li Tang, and there were already many guests at the banquet, such as Turkic, Hui, Khotan, Gaochang, Khitan, Xi, Goguryeo, Silla, Baekje, Tuyuhun, etc., but Tubo had not yet been seated.
As the host, how should Datang treat this uninvited "guest"?
* The oldest palace in Yongbrakang, steeped in history. During the Zhenguan period, Songtsen Gampo, with his bravery and excellent leadership, unified the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, established the Tubo Dynasty, moved the capital to Lhasa, and built a majestic palace.
However, with his open ethnic policy and strong military strength, Tang Taizong took a different approach to the surrounding tribes. For the hostile tribes, the Tang Dynasty adopted a policy of attack, while for the friendly tribes, the Tang Dynasty adopted methods such as restraint and pacification.
Once, the Western Turks asked for peace, but were rejected by Tang Taizong because he believed that the Western Turks were in civil strife. It was not until the twelfth year of Zhenguan that Songtsen Gampo proposed again, and the Tang Dynasty agreed to an armistice.
During the period of Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, Songtsen Gampo sent the "Great Comment" Lu Dongzan as the "engagement envoy" to bring heavy gifts to Chang'an to propose to Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. In order to show his sincerity, Lu Dongzan volunteered to stay in Chang'an as a hostage.
Tang Taizong praised Lu Dongzan so much that he even wanted to marry his granddaughter Duan to him. However, Lu Dongzan declined Tang Taizong's kindness, he already had a wife, and the master of the family had not yet married a princess.
At this time, Tang Taizong set up four difficult problems, and those who successfully solved them would be able to marry the princess. The envoys of all the tribes in the frontier were stumped one after another, and only Lu Dongzan successfully solved the problem by using the methods of ants threading, distinguishing mothers, children and horses, distinguishing the head and tail of wood, and finding out the real princess, which finally led to the harmony between Tang and Fan.
Although this story may be legendary, it shows the twists and turns of the Tibetan marriage proposal process and the wisdom of Lu Dongzan.
When Tang Taizong Li Shimin decided to marry Princess Wencheng to Tubo in the fourteenth year of Zhenguan, this daughter of the Li Tang clan was just an innocent girl. She once cried: "There is no Dharma in Tibet, the land is barren, the roads are far away, it is difficult to see my parents and brothers, and my children do not want to go." ”
However, for the sake of the peace of the country, Princess Wencheng let go of her attachment to her hometown and set off from Anyuanmen, which went west out of Chang'an, and embarked on the long Tangbo Ancient Road. Along the way, Princess Wencheng left behind many moving legends, and her story has been passed down to this day.
Legend has it that Tang Taizong gave Princess Wencheng a ** cast sun and moon treasure mirror, and since then the Chiling in the east of Qinghai Lake has been renamed Sun Moon Mountain. She once shed tears of homesickness on the shore of Qinghai Lake, which turned into an inverted river.
In order to welcome her, the people of Tibet composed a folk song for her, "Alas Ma Lin'er", which has been passed down to this day, to encourage her to move forward bravely. The lyrics of one of the passages are along the lines of: "...Don't be afraid of the wide steppe, where a hundred good horses welcome you.
Don't be afraid of the snowy mountains, there are a hundred well-tame yaks to welcome you. Don't be afraid to wade into a deep river, a hundred horse-headed boats will welcome you. After Princess Wencheng and her entourage passed through the continuous grasslands of the Hehuang region, they could see from a distance that Songtsen Gampo was waiting for the bride on the shore of the Baihai Sea (present-day Ngoling Lake).
In history, Songtsen Gampo paid a visit to Li Daozong, the king of Jiangxia, as a son-in-law, and then walked to Princess Wencheng, who was dressed gorgeously. The beauty of the dress and etiquette of the princess of the Tang Dynasty amazed Songtsen Gampo, and even "looked down with shame".
After that, Songtsen Gampo welcomed Princess Wencheng to Luo Qi and held a grand wedding. finally married Bai Fumei and walked to the pinnacle of life. After the marriage, Songtsen Gampo issued an order, saying: "My father and ancestors did not intermarry in the country, and now I have the princess of the Tang Dynasty, which is a lot of luck."
Build a city for the princess, that she may boast to her offspring. "The palace built by Songtsen Gampo for Princess Wencheng is part of the predecessor of the Potala Palace. According to the record of "** Wangchen Ji", during the time of Songtsan Gampo, "all the palaces and forts are strictly decorated with bells and Buddha dust, pearl treasures, and tassels, which are extremely gorgeous, comparable to the emperor's palace."
Between the king and the princess's palace, there are silver bridges and copper bridges as links. On the top of the palaces, sharp swords and spears were erected, about a thousand, with wind flags tied on them, fluttering with the wind." Later, the palace suffered lightning strikes, fires, and wars, and only one Guanyin Hall remained, and the rest of the buildings were rebuilt on the ruined ruins.
Songtsen Gampo, an outstanding leader of the Tibetan nation, under the influence of Princess Wencheng, began to attach importance to the advanced culture of the Han nationality, not only accepted the title of the Tang Dynasty, but also imitated the Tang Dynasty system in governing the country, set up the "big theory" and "small theory" as the prime minister, and formulated legal, economic and cultural reforms.
Militarily, he sent troops to assist the Tang Dynasty in many battles, showing deep loyalty to the Tang Dynasty. As the son-in-law of the Tang Dynasty, Songtsen Gampo always maintained a high level of respect and admiration for the Tang Dynasty, and during his reign, the friendly relations between the Han and Tibetan countries were further deepened.
Princess Jincheng: Harmony with Tibet, promote cultural exchanges. Source: Photo Network 07 In the Tang Dynasty, Princess Jincheng was the first princess to be close to Tibet. 30 years after her death, when Tang Zhongzong was in power, he married the daughter of Li Shouli, the king of Yong, to the 36th Zampu ruler of Tubo with Zhudan (Chide Zuzan).
Princess Jincheng's name is Li Nunu, and some historical books believe that she was the biological mother of the 37th Zanpu Trisong Detsen of Tibet. "Old Tang Book" said: "If I decline, he will prosper, if I prosper, he will decline, if he is prosperous, he will invade my suburbs, and if he declines, he will obey my teaching." ”
Before the marriage of Princess Jincheng, the government of Tubo was once in the hands of Lu Dongzan's son Non Qinling, and Tang and Tibet went to war again to fight for Anxi and other places. After the death of the minister, Tubo Zanpu returned to power, and after several defeats to the Tang Dynasty, just like Songtsen Gampo of that year, he sent an envoy to the Tang Dynasty to sue for peace, sacrifice horses, and ask for marriage.
In the first year of Jingyun (710), Princess Jincheng bid farewell to Chang'an, followed the footsteps of Princess Wencheng that year, embarked on the road of harmony, and then lived in Tubo for more than 30 years, continuing to promote the exchange and integration of Tang Dynasty and Tubo culture.
Under her influence, the Tang and Tibetan borders settled for a while. In a letter to the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, Tubo Zan Puqi took Zhudan and wrote: "My nephew was the uncle of the first emperor, and he was the princess of Jincheng, so he became the same family.
The people of the world are all happy. After Princess Jincheng entered Tibet, she funded monks to enter Tibet, built temples and translated scriptures, further developed Tibetan Buddhism, and asked the imperial court for Chinese classics such as "Book of Rites", "Zuo Chuan" and "Selected Writings", which were translated into Tibetan.
The ancient Tibetan translations of Dunhuang such as "The Book of Rites" and "Warring States Policy" that have been handed down so far are powerful witnesses of this period of history. In the twenty-seventh year of Kaiyuan (739), the news of the death of Princess Jincheng reached Chang'an, and Tang Xuanzong mourned for it and dropped out of the dynasty for three days.