Chapter Three Death of 10th Panchen and placing his body into holy stupa

    I. Title of "Panchen" began with the 4th Panchen

    As is explained in the previous chapter, Tsongkapa, originator of the Gelug Sect of Tibetan Buddhism, had eight disciples, among whom Khedrup Je and Kundun Drup became the first reincarnations of the Panchen and Dalai respectively.

    The title of "Dalai" first came from the third Dalai Lama Soinam Gyamco. The first two Dalais were admitted posthumously. In 1577, the 38th year of the reign of Emperor Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty, Mongolian noble Altan Khan invited Soinam Gyamco to preach sermons in Qinghai and conferred the respectful title of "the Overseer of the Buddhist Faith Vajra-dhara Dalai Lama" "to him.

    "Dalai" means the Sea in the Mongolian language. At that time, Soinam Gyamco, who was the abbot of the Drepung Monastery and then abbot of the Sera Monastery in Lhasa, enjoyed a high reputation in Tibetan Buddhism for his profound knowledge in Buddhism. It was from then that Mongolians converted to Tibetan Buddhism.

    After the death of the 3rd Dalai, the Mongolian Khan and local nobles in Tibet manipulated samdambi, maintaining that the great grandson of Altan Khan Yonten Gyamco was the 4th Dalai Lama. He was the only Mongolian Dalai among all Dalais.

    In the 10th year of the reign of Emperor Shunzhi of the Qing Dynasty (1653), the emperor crowned the 5th Dalai the title of "Dalai Lama, Overseer of the Buddhist Faith on Earth under the Great Benevolent Self-subsisting Buddha of the Western Paradise, "and the Qing Dynasty bestowed the 5th Dalai a golden certificate of appointment and seal. It was not until then that the Dalai gained power over politics and regions in Tibet.

    The title of "Panchen" began with the 4th Panchen. In the 14th year in the reign of Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty (1641), the 4th Panchen Lobsang Qoigyi and the 5th Dalai asked Mongolian Gushi Khan to send troops to Tibet to overthrow the local government of the Karmapa Kagyu Sect. Gushi Khan helped the Gelug sect gain the ruling power over Tibet.

    Gushi Khan gave the honored title of Panchen Boduoke to knowledgeable Lobsang Qoigyi. "Pan" means wisdom in Sanskrit and "chen" means grandeur in the Tibetan language. "Boduoke" is an honored title to heroes among Mongolians. In the 52nd year in the reign of Emperor Kangxi (1713), Emperor Kangxi conferred the title of "Panchen Erdeni" to the 5th Panchen.

    The 9th Panchen witnessed the greatest ups and downs in his life. In the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China, the Chinese nation was bullied by imperialist powers, with the society in turmoil on the whole. While British imperialists were constantly inciting Tibetans to split the region from the big Chinese family, the 9th Panchen had adhered to his anti-imperialist patriotic stand from the very beginning. At the instigation of British imperialists, Panchen and Dalai became estranged.

    In 1888, British troops invaded Tibet for the first time. It was an inevitable step for Britain's expansion to south Asia after it occupied India as its colony.

    After the defeat in Longtu, Sheng Tai, Grand Minister Resident of Tibet of Qing Dynasty, negotiated with British Viceroy in India Lansdowne in Calcutta following the order of the Qing Dynasty. The Qing Dynasty signed the first treaty with the British Government that humiliated the nation and forfeited its sovereignty. According to the so-called "Tibet-India Treaty," "Zhemengxiong" (Sikkim), which was an apanage of Tibet, was ceded to the British Government.

    In 1904, British and Indian troops invaded Tibet for the second time. The 13th Dalai and the 9th Panchen again joined hands in fighting against the invasion. However, the incompetent Qing Dynasty failed to offer strong support to Tibet. The British troops, equipped with machine guns and cannons, occupied Lhasa after conquering Jiangzi Castle. The 13th Dalai had to flee Lhasa to Outer Mongolia to take sanctuary.

    At the same time, You Tai, the corrupt Grand Minister Resident of Tibet, impeached the 13th Dalai to the Qing Dynasty. The Qing Dynasty approved You Tai's request and empowered the 9th Panchen to take care of Tibetan affairs temporarily.

    The British Government took the opportunity to send its representative of commerce in Jiangzi to Xigaze to hook in the 9th Panchen and invited him to meet with British royals in India.

    In October 1905, under the escort of British troops, the 9th Panchen met with the British royal and British viceroy in Calcutta. The British demanded the 9th Panchen to kneel down to greet the British Prince. The request was rejected by the 9th Panchen, who stated: "I only kneel down to the Emperor in Beijing and I have no reason to kneel down to anybody else." Then the exchange of greetings was changed into handshaking.

    Later, the British Government sent officials to Xigaze many times to lobby and woo the 9th Panchen to support Britain. However, the 9th Panchen still consulted the Grand Minister Resident of Tibet and the Qing government about all the matters concerning Tibet, which annoyed the British.

    As for the 13th Dalai, he went from Outer Mongolia to Wutai Mountains, where he lived for half a year. Not long after, Emperor Guangxu and Dowager Cixi met the 13th Dalai in Beijing and resumed the title of "Dalai."

    In the first year of the reign of Emperor Xuantong of the Qing Dynasty, the 13th Dalai returned to Tibet via Qinghai Province. However, after only one year in Tibet, Qing troops (also known as Sichuan troops) in Lhas made trouble on purpose in Tibet, while the Grand Minister Resident of Tibet sided with the Scihuan troops. Consequently, the 13th Dalai left the region again. The 13th Dalai intended to go to India before moving to Beijing via sea to make a lawsuit against the Grand Minister Resident of Tibet.

    The British viewed this as a good opportunity to hook in the 13th Dalai. Therefore, they sent a senior official to persuade the 13th Dalai to stay in Darjeeling in West Bengal State in eastern India.

    While the British were trying to drag the 13th Dalai to their side, the Grand Minister Resident of Tibet Lian Yu impeached him to the Qing Government again. The Qing Government abolished the title of Dalai for a second time and gave the power of governing Tibet to the 9th Panchen. By doing so, the Qing Government not only pushed the 13th Dalai Lama to the British side but also caused a feud between the two living Buddhas. It was not until the establishment of the Public of China and President Yuan Shikai announced that "with the establishment of the Republic of China, all ethnic groups have become one family" that the title of "Dalai" was resumed.

    After the 13th Dalai returned to Tibet, the local government of Tibet began to deprive the Panchen Lama of his powers gradually. It first set up an administrative office in rear Tibet, levying high taxes on areas governed by Panchen and then detained with no reason officials of Panchen's office who were on a mission to Lhasa. The 9th Panchen was so afraid to be persecuted that he fled to Qinghai via Xigaze on a night in Novermber, 1923 before going to Beijing.

    The 9th Panchen had been dedicated to the cause of the unification of the motherland for more then ten years. He hoped the Central Government would support him in returning to Tibet as early as possible in order to prevent the pro-British forces from splitting Tibet from China. In many of his speeches, he fully acknowledged the subordination of the local government of Tibet to the Central Government, calling for the unity of all ethnic groups in China. He also held grand summons praying for the victory in Chinese people's resistance against Japanese aggression and world peace. Moreover, he had never given up his wish to return to Tibet.

    However, at that time, the pro-Britain forces in Tibet were gradually taking control of the Tibetan local government and placing obstacles to the return of the patriotic Panchen. The 9th Panchen died in Qinghai on Dec. 1, 1937.In his will, he expressed his wish for the resumption of the powers of Panchen and restoration of friendly relations between Tibet and the rest of China.

    In 1951, the Central People's Government and the Local Government of Tibet signed the Agreement of the Central People's Government and the Local government of Tibet on Measures for Peaceful Liberation of Tibet, also known as the 17-Article Agreement. The fifth and sixth articles of the agreement state explicitly that "the established status and powers of the Panchen Erdeni shall be maintained and the established status and powers of the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Erdeni mean the status and powers of the 13th Dalai Lama and the 9th Panchen Erdeni when they were on friendly terms with each other."

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