TIBETAN RELATIONSHIP “CHO-YON” IN QIN SOURCES MID. XVII - END XVIII CENTURIES

Abstract

In the relations between Tibet and the Qing Empire an important place belongs to the traditional spiritual-patronal principle of Choi-yon, according to which the supreme lama of Tibet was considered as the religious counselor and mentor of the Emperor. The Emperor in his turn patronized the teachings of the Gelug school and played the role of a charity. Neither Tibetan leader nor Qings was in priority. After the Dalai Lama Vs visit to the court of the Emperor Shunzhi in 1652, on the basis of Choi-yon there was established a religious-political alliance, which existed until the fall of the Qing Empire in 1911. Nevertheless, in the period from the middle of the 17th century to the end of the 18th century we can trace the changes of interpretation of Choi-yon, and, first of all, for the status of the Dalai Lama. The Qianlong Emperor in his treatise Lamasho (1792) proclaimed domination of the Emperors authority before the spiritual guidance of the Lama.

Keywords

• “choi-yon” principle
• tibet
• qing empire
• tibet-qing relations
• dalai lama