The Annals of Kokonor by Sum pa mkhan po Ye shes dpal ‘byor Revisited

Goals. The article provides a historiography of studies dealing with the famous Tibeto-Mongolian scholar Sum pa mkhan po Ye shes dpal ‘byor, introduces one of his important works — The Annals of Kokonor — and presents a translation of its first chapter. Materials. The paper investigates collected works (gsung ‘bum) of Sum pa mkhan po stored at the Center of Oriental Manuscripts and Xylographs affiliated to the Institute for Mongolian, Buddhist and Tibetan Studies (Siberian Branch of the RAS). Results. The Annals of Kokonor (Tib. Mtsho sngon gyi lo rgyus) is a text from Volume Two of Sum pa mkhan po’s gsung ‘bum, it comprises 19 large format folios. The treatise consists of four chapters, each representing a particular literary genre. Chapter One critically examines two old legends about the origin of Kokonor Lake. Chapter Two covers a religious and a secular history of Tibet and Kokonor from 1612 to 1786. Chapter Three contains a highly ornate description of the Kokonor Region, while Chapter Four narrates about the happiness and pleasure of Kokonor inhabitants who used to live according to the basic precepts of Buddhism. The closing part gives historical accounts of Dzungaria and China, as well as describes the geography of the region. Accordingly, the text can be viewed from different perspectives — those of history, religion, folklore, geography and poetry as well. There is one Russian translation by Ven. Bidiya Dandaron. However, that was not a scholarly edition and had just a small circulation, thus remaining unnoticed by most Tibetologists. The paper argues that the mentioned translation — although constituting an important contribution to the studies on Sum pa Mkhan po — is outdated by now, and a new critical edition and scholarly translation of Sum pa Mkhan po’s Annals of Kokonor is required.

1. Sum pa mkhan po Ye-shes dpal ʾbyor. Phags yul rgya nag chenpo bod dang sog yul du dam pa’i chos byung tshul dpag bsam ljon bzang zhes by aba bzhugs so: The Wish-Fulfilling Tree. A History of Buddhism in India, China, Tibet and Mongolia. Xylograph. At: Institute for Mongolian, Buddhist and Tibetan Studies (Siberian Branch of the RAS), Center of Oriental Manuscripts and Xylographs, Tibetan Collection. File no. ТТ-11991. 299 p. (In Tib.)

2. Sum pa mkhan po Ye-shes dpal ʾbyor. Mtsho sngon gyi lo rgyus sogs bkod pa’i tshangs glu gsar snyan zhes by aba bzhugs so: A New Melodious Song of Brahma Containing the Annals of Kokonor and Other Data. Xylograph. At: Institute for Mongolian, Buddhist and Tibetan Studies (Siberian Branch of the RAS), Center of Oriental Manuscripts and Xylographs, Tibetan Collection. File no. ТТ-11993.  19 p. (In Tib.)

3. Sum pa mkhan po Ye-shes dpal ʾbyor. Mtsho sngon gyi lo rgyus sogs bkod pa’i tshangs glu gsar snyan zhes by aba bzhugs so: A New Melodious Song of Brahma Containing the Annals of Kokonor and Other Data. Manuscript. At: Private collection of Hortsang Jigme. 34 p. (In Tib.)

4. Bira Sh. Tibetan-Language Historical Literature of Mongolia, 17th – 19th Centuries. Ts. Damsinsuren (ed.). Ulaanbaatar: State Publ. House, 1960. 271 p. (In Russ.)

5. Damdinsuren Ts. Historical Roots of the Geseriad. Moscow: USSR Academy of Sciences, 1957. 240 p. (In Russ.)

6. Dandaron B. D. Buryat Institute for Comprehensive Studies: Description of Tibetan Manuscripts and Xylographs. Vol. 2. Moscow: Nauka, 1965. 54 p. (In Russ.)

7. Dandaron B. D. Selected Articles. The Black Copybook. Biographical Materials. The Annals of Kokonor by Sum pa mkhan po. V. Montlevich (comp.). St. Petersburg: Evraziya, 2006. 688 p. (In Russ.)

8. Das S.C. The Life of Sum-pa Khan-po, also styled Yesés-Dpal-hbyor, the author of the Rehmic (Chronological Table). Journal of Asiatic Society of Bengal. 1889. No. II. Pp. 37–84. (In Eng.)

9. Fitz Herbert S. G. On the Tibetan Ge-sar epic in the late 18th century: Sum pa mkhan po’s letters to the 6th Paṇ-chen Lama. Études mongoles et sibériennes, centrasiatiques et tibétaines. 2015. No. 46. Pp. 2–17. (In Eng.)

10. Jo S. Topics on the History of Tibetan Astronomy with a Focus on Background Knowledge of Eclipse Calculations in the 18th Century. Doctoral dissertation, Harvard University, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. 2016. 447 p. (In Eng.)

11. Jong J. W. Sum pa mkhan po (1704–1788) and his works. Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies. 1967. No. 27 (3–4). Pp. 208–216. (In Eng.)

12. Kapstein M. Just where on Jambudvīpa are we? New geographical knowledge and old cosmological schemes in eighteenth-century Tibet. In: Sheldon Pollock (ed.) Forms of Knowledge in Early Modern Asia: Explorations in the Intellectual History of India and Tibet, 1500–1800. Durham NC: Duke University Press, 2011. Pp. 336–364. (In Eng.)

13. Kim H. An introduction to the new publication of Sum pa Ye shes dpal ‘byor’s Collected Works. Journal of Tibetology. 2017. No. 17. Pp. 275–319. (In Eng.)

14. Kim H. Renaissance Man From Amdo: The Life and Scholarship of the Eighteenth-Century Amdo Scholar Sum pa Mkhan po Ye shes dpal ’byor (1704–1788). PhD thesis. Harvard University, 2018. 312 p. (In Eng.)

15. Kim H. Sum-pa Ye-shes-dpal-‘byor and the Civil War of Eighteenth Century Tibet: a preliminary essay on Ye-shes-dpal-‘byor’s many roles in Tibetan civilization. In: Takeuchi Tsuguhito et al. (eds). Current Issues and Progress in Tibetan Studies: Proceedings of the Third International Seminar of Young Tibetologists. Kobe: Kobe City University of Foreign Studies, 2013. Pp.165–182. (In Eng.)

16. Kloetzli W. R. Buddhist Cosmology: Science and Theology in the Images of Motion and Light. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1989. 195 p. (In Eng.)

17. Louis de la Vallée Poussin. Abhidharmakośabhāṣyam of Vasubandhu. L. M. Pruden (transl.). Berkeley: Asian Humanities Press, 1988–1990. Vol. II. 765 p. (In Eng.)

18. Mkhas grub Nor bzang rgya mtsho. Ornament of Stainless Light: an Exposition of the Kālacakra Tantra. G. Kilty (transl.). Boston: Wisdom Publications. 2004. 133 p. (In Eng.)

19. Nagao Gajin. Mōko gakumondera. Kyōto: Zenkoku Shobō, 1947. Pp. 314–341. (In Jap.)

20. Pag Sam Jon Zang: History and Chronology of Tibet. R. Pubaev (transl., foreword, etc.). Novosibirsk: Nauka, 1991. 263 p. (In Russ.)

21. Pubaev R. E. Pag Sam Jon Zang — The 18th-Century Monument of Tibetan Historiography. Novosibirsk: Nauka, 1981. 307 p. (In Russ.)

22. Shakabpa Ts. Tibet: A Political History. New York: Potala Publications, 1984. 369 p. (In Eng.)

23. Sum pa mkhan po Ye shes dpal ’byor. A New Melodious Song of Brahma Containing the Annals of Kokonor and Other Data. Xining: Mtsho sngon mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1982. 56 p. (In Tib.)

24. Sum pa mkhan po Ye shes dpal ’byor. Pag Sam Jon Zang: History of Buddhism. Lanzhou: Kan su’u mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1992. 1021 p. (In Chin.)

25. Sum pa mkhan po Ye shes dpal ’byor. Qinghai lishi: The Annals of Kokonor. Xie Jian and Xie Wei (transl.). Qinghai minzu xueyuan xuebao. 1983. No 4. Pp. 34–45; 1984. No 1. Pp. 42–52. (In Chin.)

26. Sum pa mkhan po Ye shes dpal ’byor. Qinghaishi: The Annals of Kokonor. Huang Hao (transl.). Xibei minzu wencong. 1983. No. 3. Pp. 155–170; 1984. No 1. Pp. 244–267; 1984. No. 2. Pp. 258–277. (In Chin.)

27. Sum pa mkhan po Ye shes dpal ’byor. Selected Works. Xining: Qinghai minzu chubanshe, 2015. 20 vols. (In Tib.)

28. Sum pa mkhan po Ye shes dpal ʾbyor. The Annals of Kokonor. Ho-chin Yang (transl.). Bloomington: Indiana University, 1969. 125 p. (In Eng.)

29. Sum pa mkhan po Ye-shes dpal ʾbyor. Dpag-bsam-ljon-bzaṅ of Sum-pa-mkhan-po Ye-śes-dpal-hbyor. Lokesh Chandra (ed.). Part III: Containing a History of Buddhism in China and Mongolia, Preceded by the reḥu-mig or Chronological Tables. New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture, 1959. 179 p. (In Eng.)

30. Sum pa mkhan po Ye-shes dpal ʾbyor. Pag Sam Jon Zang. In 3 parts. Sarat Chandra Das (ed.). Calcutta: Presidency Jail Press, 1908. Part I: History of the Rise, Progress and Downfall of Buddhism in India. 146 p. Part II: History of Tibet from Early Times to 1745. 430 p. (In Eng.)

31. Sum pa mkhan po Ye-shes dpal ʾbyor. The Annals of Kokonor. In: Vaidūrya-ser-po: A History of the Dge-lugs-pa Monasteries of Tibet. Part 2. Lokesh Chandra (ed.). New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture, 1960. Pp. 425–458. (In Eng.)

32. Tucci G. Tibetan Painted Scrolls. Roma: Libreria dello Stato. 1943. Pp. 148–149; 651–657. (In Eng.)

33. Ui Hakuju (ed.). A Complete Catalogue of the Tibetan Buddhist Canons (Bka’ ’gyur and Bstan ’gyur). Sendai: Tōhoku University, 1934. 701 p. (In Eng.)

34. Vasilyev V. P. Library of Imperial Kazan University: some books dealing with the history of Buddhism revisited. Uchenye zapiski Akademii nauk. 1855. Vol. 3. Pp. 1–33. (In Russ.)

35. Vostrikov A. I. Tibetan Historical Literature. Moscow: Vostochnaya Literatura, 1962. 427 p. (In Russ.)