Tibetan culture
The British Museum collection includes objects from the area
known today as the Tibet Autonomous Region, People’s Republic of
China. The vast majority of these objects date from before the
mid-twentieth century. Many are ritual objects related to the
teachings of Buddhist schools and their complex pantheons. There
are also everyday artefacts that illustrate popular beliefs
and practices.
To see over 6,000 photographs of Tibet from 1920 to
1950 from the collections of the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford,
and the British Museum visit the Tibet Album.
Historical note
With the consolidation of the Tibetan empire
in the seventh century AD under the Yarlung kings there was
increasing contact between Tibet, India and China, establishing a
lasting pattern of cultural contact and exchange. Under Srong
brTsan sGam Po (around 618-41) scholars were sent to India to
develop a system of writing for the Tibetan language and, as part
of treaty negotiations with the Chinese, the emperor married a Tang
dynasty (618-907) princess.
A century later Khri Srong lDe brTsan (around
756-97 and 798-800) briefly occupied Dunhuang, the famous oasis and
Buddhist site on the Silk Road in China (Gansu Province).
Under his patronage, a system for the ordination of monks was
established, guaranteeing the long-term presence of Buddhism in
Tibet.
The Yarlung empire disintegrated in the
mid-ninth century. Buddhism, dependant on royal support, suffered
set-backs, but from the late-tenth century efforts were made to
re-establish links with Indian centres of knowledge. The arrival of
the Indian-born master Atisha in 1042 is generally regarded as the
culmination of the ‘second propagation’ of Buddhism in Tibet.
Later Tibet is dominated by the history of
different Buddhist schools. This was a natural outcome of the
existence of independent ordination lineages which had their own
texts, rituals and spiritual successions.
The Sakya Pa school of Buddhism enjoyed
supremacy in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries and Tibetans
introduced Buddhism into Mongolia in the thirteenth century. In
1578, Altan Khan invited the head of the dGe Lugs Pa school to
Mongolia to preach Buddhism and conferred the title ‘Dalai Lama’ on
him. Subsequent Dalai Lamas were spiritual teachers of the Manchu
rulers in China, and the Kangxi Emperor (reigned 1662-1722) invited
the Fifth Dalai Lama to China. With Qing Dynasty support he
consolidated control over Tibet creating a theocratic society that
lasted until changes in the mid-twentieth century.
Image caption: Mani stone
From Ladakh (now part of India and Pakistan). 19th-20th century
AD