Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Introduction
- 1 The Impact of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama’s Sojourn in Mongolia Arousing the National Consciousness of Tibetan Buddhists from 1904 to 1908
- 2 The Modern and Traditional Diplomacy of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama During His Sojourn in Khalkha and Qinghai (1904–1907)
- 3 Friendship and Antagonism: Tibetans and Money in Early Twentieth-Century Mongolia
- 4 The Tibet-Mongolia Political Interface in the First Half of the Twentieth Century: Data from Russian Archives
- 5 A Study of three Tibetan letters attributed to Dorzhiev held by the St. Petersburg Branch of the Archive of the Russian: Academy of Sciences
- 6 Russian Archival Documents on the Revitalization of Buddhism Among the Kalmyks in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries
- 7 Buddhist Devotion to the Russian Tsar: The Bicultural Environment of the Don Kalmyk Sangha and Russian Orthodox Church in the 1830s
- 8 Russian Tsar as Cakravartin: A Buryat Lama’s View of the Coronation of Nicholas II
- 9 The Struggle between Tradition and Modernity in the Early Twentieth Century of the Tibetan Buddhist World: A case study of the Seventh lCang-skya’s activities from 1912–1957
- Index
- Miscellaneous Endmatter
3 - Friendship and Antagonism: Tibetans and Money in Early Twentieth-Century Mongolia
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 April 2022
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Introduction
- 1 The Impact of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama’s Sojourn in Mongolia Arousing the National Consciousness of Tibetan Buddhists from 1904 to 1908
- 2 The Modern and Traditional Diplomacy of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama During His Sojourn in Khalkha and Qinghai (1904–1907)
- 3 Friendship and Antagonism: Tibetans and Money in Early Twentieth-Century Mongolia
- 4 The Tibet-Mongolia Political Interface in the First Half of the Twentieth Century: Data from Russian Archives
- 5 A Study of three Tibetan letters attributed to Dorzhiev held by the St. Petersburg Branch of the Archive of the Russian: Academy of Sciences
- 6 Russian Archival Documents on the Revitalization of Buddhism Among the Kalmyks in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries
- 7 Buddhist Devotion to the Russian Tsar: The Bicultural Environment of the Don Kalmyk Sangha and Russian Orthodox Church in the 1830s
- 8 Russian Tsar as Cakravartin: A Buryat Lama’s View of the Coronation of Nicholas II
- 9 The Struggle between Tradition and Modernity in the Early Twentieth Century of the Tibetan Buddhist World: A case study of the Seventh lCang-skya’s activities from 1912–1957
- Index
- Miscellaneous Endmatter
Summary
Abstract
This paper is particularly concerned with the economic aspects of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama's Mongolian exile. His presence there eclipsed the authority of Mongolia's highest incarnation, the Jebtsundamba Khutughtu, and offerings formerly given to the Mongolian leader were gifted to the Tibetan leader. Tibetans accompanying their leader also became an important economic presence in Mongolia, and in the final part of the paper the author discusses the implications of this Tibetan presence after 1913, when Mongolia and Tibet afforded each other mutual diplomatic recognition amidst claims to independence. The revitalization of the interchange between Tibet and Mongolia resulted not only in friendship, but also in antagonism.
Keywords: Thirteenth Dalai Lama, Eighth Jebtsundamba Khutughtu, Khanddorj, sang, 1913 Mongol-Tibetan treaty
Introduction
One of the shared themes of the modern histories of Mongolia and Tibet is their continuous attempts to achieve independence from the Qing Dynasty and later the Republic of China. Many studies have examined the international relations context in which Mongolia and Tibet found themselves in the early twentieth century—analysis that is needed to understand the road that has brought Mongolia and Tibet to the present day. However, these studies tend to place disproportionate weight on nationalist or Great Power perspectives, which means they assume the importance of the modern nation-state. Reflection on the benefits and shortcomings of these studies has recently led to new research examining the nature of the relationship between the Mongols and Tibet in the early twentieth century.
The most significant event in Mongol‒Tibetan relations during this period was the Thirteenth Dalai Lama's sojourn in Mongolia from 1904 to 1906 because of the British invasion of Tibet led by Colonel F. Younghusband. The movement of the Dalai Lama—the highest authority in Tibetan Buddhism— through Mongolia and his arrival in Urga (today's Ulaanbaatar) led to renewed interactions within Tibetan Buddhist societies in Mongolia, Tibet and Russia.
The Dalai Lama was enthusiastically welcomed in Mongolia, with many Mongolian Buddhists traveling to Urga and making offerings to him. The Dalai Lama's sang, which managed his property, was established in Urga and stimulated the economic activities of the Tibetans there. It is said that the Dalai Lama's sang enjoyed special privileges in Mongolia under the protection of the Eighth Jebtsundamba Khutughtu, the most worshiped incarnation in Mongolia.
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- The Early 20th Century Resurgence of the Tibetan Buddhist WorldStudies in Central Asian Buddhism, pp. 85 - 102Publisher: Amsterdam University PressPrint publication year: 2022