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Forging the Golden Urn
The Qing Empire and the Politics of Reincarnation in Tibet
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Forging the Golden Urn
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
A Qing law mandated that the reincarnations of prominent Tibetan Buddhist monks be identified by drawing lots from a golden urn. In Forging the Golden Urn, Max Oidtmann traces how a Chinese bureaucratic technology was exported to the Tibetan and Mongolian regions of the Qing empire and transformed into a ritual for authenticating reincarnations.
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Description
In 1995, the People's Republic of China resurrected a Qing-era law mandating that the reincarnations of prominent Tibetan Buddhist monks be identified by drawing lots from a golden urn. The Chinese Communist Party hoped to limit the ability of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government-in-exile to independently identify reincarnations. In so doing, they elevated a long-forgotten ceremony into a controversial symbol of Chinese sovereignty in Tibet.
In Forging the Golden Urn, Max Oidtmann ventures into the polyglot world of the Qing empire in search of the origins of the golden urn tradition. He seeks to understand the relationship between the Qing state and its most powerful partner in Inner Asiaβthe Geluk school of Tibetan Buddhism. Why did the Qianlong emperor invent the golden urn lottery in 1792? What ability did the Qing state have to alter Tibetan religious and political traditions? What did this law mean to Qing rulers, their advisors, and Tibetan Buddhists?
Working with both the Manchu-language archives of the empire's colonial bureaucracy and the chronicles of Tibetan elites, Oidtmann traces how a Chinese bureaucratic technologyβa lottery for assigning administrative postsβwas exported to the Tibetan and Mongolian regions of the Qing empire and transformed into a ritual for identifying and authenticating reincarnations. Forging the Golden Urn sheds new light on how the empire's frontier officers grappled with matters of sovereignty, faith, and law and reveals the role that Tibetan elites played in the production of new religious traditions in the context of Qing rule.
Series: Studies of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University
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Forging the Golden Urn
In 1995, the People's Republic of China resurrected a Qing-era law mandating that the reincarnations of prominent Tibetan Buddhist monks be identified by drawing lots from a golden urn. The Chinese Communist Party hoped to limit the ability of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government-in-exile to independently identify reincarnations. In so doing, they elevated a long-forgotten ceremony into a...Paperback$5299Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
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Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
Forging the Golden Urn by Max Oidtmann is praised as a meticulously researched and finely crafted study that explores the complex dynamics of Qing-Tibet relations. It offers a nuanced examination of the Golden Urn ritual introduced by the Qianlong emperor, shedding new light on Sino-Tibetan relations and the nature of Qing rule in Tibet. Reviewers commend the book's ability to elegantly bridge Manchu and Tibetan perspectives, while avoiding historical anachronisms, making it an essential read for understanding the political intricacies of the Qing era.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780231184076
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 14 March 2023
Country: United States
Imprint: Columbia University Press
Illustration: 16 images
Audience: Professional and scholarly
DIMENSIONS
Width: 152.0mm
Height: 229.0mm
Weight: 250g
Pages: 352
About the Author
Max Oidtmann is professor of Chinese history at the Institute for Sinology at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.
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