Although Swedish explorer Sven Hedin ventured into Ngari from Xinjiang in 1902, the region remains mysterious and unknown to the outside world. This prompted the State Cultural Relics Bureau and the Cultural Relics to send a team into Ngari along the Lhasa-Ngari-Yecheng (Xinjiang) route. The purpose was to explore the Zhangzhung Civilization that existed prior to the Guge Kingdom. According to legend, Zada in the Xianquanhe River Valley is the central part of the Zhangzhung Kingdom, which was so formidable that the kingdom was divided into Internal, Central and External Zhangzhung and Internal Zhangzhung alone covered present-day Ngari and Ladakh. This writer was one of the team members.

There are two routes, northern and southern, that one can take to Ngari from Lhasa. We chose the southern course that passed along the vast valley of the Yarlung Zangbo River before entering Burang and Zada.

Our team was well prepared six Toyota motor vehicles and one Dongfeng truck. We wore identical uniforms in a majestic way. Whenever we reached the mouth of a mountain pass, we threw Lungda (pieces of paper printed with sutra lines) into the air while lifting off our hats and shouting “soi--soi'' to seek assistance from the gods.

Ruins of Shangboling Monastery

Burang, located in southwest Ngari, borders India and Nepal. Historical records in Tibetan say it was under the jurisdiction of the Zhangzhung Kingdom in the early days of the 1st century AD. At the end of the 9th century, Gyide Nyimagun, a member of the Tubo royal family, fled to Ngari where he was well received by the prince of Burang.

He married the daughter of the prince. In his later years, Gyide Nyimagun divided his land into three pieces to give one piece each to his three sons. His eldest son was put in charge of Burang, the second son assumed charge of Guge, and the youngest son took charge of Mayu.

Archaeologists have determined the location of the Guge Kingdom palaces, but they failed to find the Burang palaces.

To the north of the Burang county boundary is Gongburi Monastery, on the northern bank of the Kongquehe River. It is actually a cave monastery, with various “monastery hall caves'' linked by simple bridges. In 1985, we visited Burang but not the monastery ruins. Hence, this was one of our targets this time.

We climbed up the mountain from the southern slope (front). Halfway up the mountain, the stones used to pave the path fell as soon as our feet touched them, threatening those coming behind. What's more, the oxygen content of the air was only 50 percent of that at sea level. Lips turned purple and faces paled, and we gasped for air with our mouths open wide. We spent three hours in climbing up to the monastery, which only involved an elevation change of 300 meters.

The ruins of the monastery cover an area of some 20,000 square meters. They are actually a combination of ruins of different temples, with the western part belonging to the Sagya Sect, the middle part being the Shangbling Monastery of the Gelug Sect, and the eastern part built by the Burang county government. Each part is a defensive castle, and we calculated that here was the site of the palaces of the Burang State, although we still lack concrete evidence to bolster our calculation.

Zada Clay Forests

The ruins of the Guge Kingdom, located in Zaburang, impressed us as being a sort of open cut museum. Left open to the ravishing attacks of nature, the ruins contain all of the mysteries that remain unsolved even today.

Xianquanhe River Valley, where Zada is situated, was the central part of the territories of the Zhangzhung Kingdom. Castles built on the basis of clay forests were turned into the site of the Guge Kingdom.

Clay forests constitute a land formation. Legend has it that this part of the world used to be a vast ocean. When the waters receded, the ocean bottom was exposed, and the pounding of heavy rains eventually created the Clay Forests.

If the period of the Zhangzhung Kingdom was a period in which Nagri Culture was cultivated, the succeeding kingdom of Guge ushered in the most brilliant age in the history of Ngari. In the Clay Forests, there are numerous “grottoes'' that contain frescoes of Buddha.

Archaeologists say that, with the fall of the Tubo Kingdom, Gyide Nyimagun did his best to promote Buddhism when he married the daughter of the prince of Burang and later ruled in his place. This ushered in a 700-year period of the Guge Kingdom.

Keri, the grandson of Gyide Nyimagun, was the staunchest promoter of Buddhism. He gave his princeship to his brother, and was tonsured to a monastery, becoming known in Tibetan history as Lama Yexei Wo.

Acting in accordance with his orders, his disciples had Toding Monastery built, and invited Atisa, a famous Indian monk, to lecture in Guge. A story behind this segment of history goes

“In order to raise funds to be used to invite Atisa to lecture in Guge, Lama Yexei Wo himself led troops to fight those opposed to Buddhism. Unfortunately, he was captured alive. When the prince of Guge Kingdom was told lthe news, he managed to raise funds to redeem Lama Yexei Wo. However, the latter told visiting nephew Jamqoi Wo I am old and it is not worth redeeming me at such a high price. Better use this gold to invite Atisa.''

Acting in accordance with this instruction, Jamqoi Wo sent people to take the gold and invite Atisa to visit Tibet. The Indian master, who served as abbot of 18 Indian monasteries, decided to go to Guge.

There was another reason for Atisa, then about 60 years old, to accept the invitation Buddhism was then being subjected to an exclusionary policy in India.

That was a period when Islam was being actively promoted in Arabia and eventually came to be worshipped in half of the world. The position of Buddhism in Asia was undermined, and India and Nepal, where Buddhism originated, were no exception.

In the 9th century, Indian Buddhism suffered from suppression. And in the 10th century, the Vikramasilavihara Monastery was destroyed under Islamic invasion, and Indian Buddhism was declared dead.

It was against this background that Atisa went to lecture on Buddhism in Guge, and the lecture took place in Toding Monastery in 1043. In 1076, with support from the Guge king, Toding Monastery held a Grand Summons Ceremony attended by eminent monks from U-Tsang and Xikang. With its fame spreading far and wide, Toding Monastery became the religious and cultural center of Gege.

Thanks to its location in the high mountains, the Guge Kingdom was invulnerable and was able to remain intact. In the early 17th century, while monasteries mushroomed in the Guge Kingdom, the nobility managed to strengthen their hand and challenged the royal family for real power. In the meantime, Christian missionaries attempted to usurp Buddhism. Problems mounted in the kingdom. In 1630, monks in the upper class in Guge revolted and, joining forces with Ladakh troops, besieged the castle of the Guge Kingdom. No one in the kingdom escaped.

Mysteries to Be Unveiled

Ruins of the Guge Kingdom are still there. But archaeologists raise the following question Loulan State in Xinjiang died out with the drying up of drinking water sources. In the case of the Guge Kingdom, Xianquanhe River that served the kingdom stil flows today. What is the real reason that led to the destruction of the Guge Kingdom with a population of 100,000

Surrounding the castle of the Guge Kingdom are what we today call satellite towns, such as Daba, Boling, Shangze, Donggar, Piyang and Doshang, lying some 20 km southwest of the Guge castle.

We drove to Doshang along a road in the mountain to the east of the Guge castle. We sped past the Clay Forest, raising a cloud of dust behind.

The ruins of Doshang Town stand atop a clay hill with a height of 100 meters. Covering 12,000 square meters, the ruins are divided into western, southern and mountaintop districts, with a total of 73 rooms, 16 pillboxes, 15 towers, 176 dwelling caves, and two defensive walls. On the defensive walls are “windows'' from which troops shot arrows and hurled stones against any would-be attackers.

As a matter of fact, there are a dozen sites of ruins in the area drained by Xianquanhe River. There, we found frescoes dated back to the 11th-12th century. Gazing at these frescoes, I seemed to see the residents of the Guge Kingdom who existed more than 370 years ago....