Chapter 23: The Secret History of Tubo

The answer to the first question is as follows: Songtsen Gampo once dispatched envoys eastward and southward, seeking marriage alliances with the Emperor of the Great Tang and the King of Nepal, respectively. His intention was to safeguard the peace of Tibet and secure his own position. Songtsen Gampo was born in 617 AD, in the palace of Jamba Menjulin at Qama Chikang, which is present-day Qama Township in Mozhugongka County, Lhasa City. His father, Langri Songtsen, was the 32nd King of the Tubo dynasty. (Zanpu: the title the people of Tubo used for their rulers, meaning "vigorous man" in Tibetan.)

According to the "New Tang Book – Tubo Chronicle": their custom was to call the strong "Zan" and the men "Pu," and thus their rulers were known as "Zanpu." Songtsen is his name, while Gampo is an honorific, meaning "profound and unfathomable." This name was transliterated in Tang dynasty Chinese records as Qizong Nongzan, Qizong Nongzan, Qisong Nongzan, Qisu Nongzan, Fuyeshi, Buful Nongzan, while Tibetan records call him Zanpu Chisongzan and Songdezang. "Zanpu" means king; "Chi" means throne.

In 629 AD, when Songtsen Gampo had just turned thirteen, Langri Songtsen was poisoned. At the same time, the king's ministers and his mother's clan rebelled; the western Yangtong tribe invaded, and the old Sumpa nobility north of the Yarlung Tsangpo River also attacked Tubo. Songtsen Gampo inherited his father's position, taking on the responsibility as Tubo's 33rd king. After three years of warfare, he quelled the rebellion and, in 632, moved the capital from Zetang to Lhasa.

Lhasa was the best site for establishing a capital in Tibet: it could be defended or used as a base for attack, with fertile land and abundant resources. As long as he could hold this place, the foundation of the Tubo dynasty would be unshakeable. In such circumstances, he could have simply ruled from a fortified position, closed off from the outside world. Why, then, did he send envoys on arduous journeys to seek marriage from powerful neighboring countries? After all, such alliances ultimately meant lowering his status and becoming a vassal to a greater power.

In the surviving fragments of Nalanda monastery, Master Chiyan found the true answer: all the upheavals Songtsen Gampo experienced in life were linked to the machinations of a demoness.

Originally, the people of Tubo practiced Bon, and previous kings ruled with Bon, holding divinations, prayers for fortune and disaster, healing, funerary rites, and rituals to command spirits. When Princess Wencheng and Princess Bhrikuti arrived in Tibet, they brought with them Buddhist statues, scriptures, and sacred objects from Tang and Nepal. Under the influence of these princesses, Songtsen Gampo also accepted Buddhism. Princess Bhrikuti and Princess Wencheng established the Jokhang and Ramoche temples, respectively, while Songtsen Gampo built twelve Buddhist temples. This transition from Bon to Buddhism marked a profound change in his thinking, for he realized that he could not vanquish the demoness relying solely on Tibetan strength—he had to seek help from outside.

The suppression of the demoness proved that Songtsen Gampo had made the right choice and ultimately succeeded.

The answer to the second question is as follows: Before Princess Wencheng left Chang'an for Tibet, the Tang dynasty was at its zenith, stable and prosperous, with every sign that the Li family would rule forever, establishing the strongest and most expansive empire in history. But all this was undone by the Wu clan. Wu Meiniang, a talented lady of Emperor Taizong's harem, rose from consort to empress, then to empress dowager, eventually dethroning the Li emperors and claiming the throne for herself. She established the Zhou dynasty, taking the title of Sage and Divine Emperor, and other honorifics such as Divine Mother, Sage and Divine Emperor, Golden Wheel Sage and Divine Emperor, Transcendent Golden Wheel Sage and Divine Emperor, Merciful Transcendent Golden Wheel Sage and Divine Emperor, Heavenly Book Golden Wheel Sage and Divine Emperor, Supreme Saint Emperor, and so on, becoming the only widely acknowledged female emperor in Chinese history.

Wu regarded herself as exalted, like the sun and the moon, suspended high in the sky. This extreme self-aggrandizement and personal ambition coincidentally or inevitably connected in time and space with the demoness suppressed by Princess Wencheng and others.

The answer to the third question is as follows: Master Chiyan consulted the surviving scriptures in the museum of Nalanda Monastery in Bihar, India, and discovered that the true "Tibet Demon Suppression Scroll" was a giant thangka, ten zhang long and three zhang wide. Besides depicting the demoness and Tibetan landscape, the scroll was embedded with 1,500 emeralds, aquamarines, diamonds, and luminous pearls on each side. Whenever it was unfolded, the radiance of the gems could overpower sunlight and illuminate the moon. Every line on the thangka was a spell, crafted by different exorcists, each written in blood mixed with pigments, granting the scroll its power to suppress demons and ward off evil.

At that time, Master Chiyan had met Master Sky Eagle once. After seeing the thangka fragments Sky Eagle displayed, Chiyan concluded they were remnants of the ancient "Tibet Demon Suppression Scroll."

Historical records state that the scroll was originally kept at Nalanda Monastery, founded in the 5th century AD as the highest Buddhist academy and academic center in ancient central India, near Rajgir, the ancient capital of Magadha, about ninety kilometers southeast of Patna in Bihar. Nalanda was vast; at its peak, it housed nine million volumes in its library and attracted scholars from around the world, with over ten thousand monks and scholars gathered there. The most famous Tang monk, Xuanzang, studied here for many years under Master Shilabhadra; Yijing studied under Master Baoshizi for ten years; other Tang monks who came here included Huiye, Lingyun, Xuanzhao, Daoxi, Daosheng, Dasheng Deng, Daolin, Zhihong, and Wuxing.

In 1193 AD, the Turk Bakhtiyar Khalji invaded Nalanda Monastery, devastating the monastery and library. Many Nalanda monks fled to Tibet for refuge, and Nalanda ultimately became ruins, vanishing into the river of history—a colossal loss for global Buddhist culture.

In 1861, British archaeologist Alexander Cunningham discovered Buddhist ruins in Bihar, and after cross-referencing with the "Great Tang Records on the Western Regions," confirmed it was Nalanda Monastery. From then on, the ruins could be excavated. The fragment of the "Tibet Demon Suppression Scroll" held by Master Sky Eagle was brought to Nepal by the monks who fled Nalanda. For ease of transport, the monks had cut the giant thangka into pieces, hiding them in their travel chests as they left by remote mountain paths, narrowly escaping the Turks’ slaughter. Unfortunately, according to Master Chiyan's deduction, a small portion of the fragments was lost during the escape, and after centuries of transmission, the pieces in Master Sky Eagle's possession amounted to no more than seventy percent of the original, with all the gems gone. Under these circumstances, restoring the thangka became a futile endeavor. Moreover, the wise men of the five countries’ twelve monasteries and the main Tibetan temples were powerless; who else in the world could piece it together again?

The answer to the fourth question is self-evident: after the demon suppression in Lhasa, Tibet became stable, its people lived in peace, but Princess Wencheng’s homeland of Chang’an witnessed the shocking event of a female emperor ascending the throne. In the later Tang period, the Wu clan seized power, and Empress Wu Zetian took the throne, usurping the Li family’s empire. This was the grave consequence of failure to eradicate the demon: yin and yang reversed, the yang descended and the yin ascended, leading to immense social turmoil and plunging the people into misery. Thus, the demoness’ influence extended far beyond Tibet or its neighboring countries—it could reach across the world, affecting the fate of any nation or region in ways beyond estimation.

I have found the answer, just as Songtsen Gampo did long ago, yet finding the answer does not mean I can solve the problem. Master Chiyan raised his hand, smiling bitterly as he revealed his loose, aged skin to Guan Wen: “You see, I am so old now that I rely on others to serve me food every day. What else can I do?”

Guan Wen had just focused all his attention, committing every word Master Chiyan had spoken to memory. After doing so, he felt utterly exhausted, as if he had run a long marathon.

“Master, what must we do to avert this crisis?” he asked.

Master Chiyan stroked the mani stone at his side, lowered his eyelids, and sighed deeply. “Can you answer a question for me? The answer to that question is the answer you seek.”

Guan Wen nodded. “Please ask.”

“If a fierce tiger breaks into your yard and kills your cattle and sheep, what would you do?” Master Chiyan asked.

“Drive it out, strike it out,” Guan Wen replied without hesitation.

“And after that?” Master Chiyan pressed.

“Afterwards?” Guan Wen repeated, puzzled. “Of course, I would repair the cattle and sheep pens and continue living as before.” Suddenly, he realized something and clapped his hands. “Master, do you mean the tiger will return to harm my livestock again? I must eradicate the threat completely, is that it?”

Master Chiyan finally smiled approvingly. “Very good. You are indeed far-sighted. When you drive the tiger away, it will return to the forest to recover, or roam to another village to slaughter sheep and people, growing stronger each time. Eventually, it will return. You may fend it off once, twice, but you cannot resist it forever. Eradicating evil is the fundamental solution.”

Guan Wen suddenly grasped the deeper meaning of the master's metaphor, inhaling sharply in excitement and astonishment. “Master, do you mean that Princess Wencheng, Songtsen Gampo, Princess Bhrikuti’s demon suppression battle… made a grave mistake? Instead of merely suppressing the demon, they should have aimed to eradicate it?”

Master Chiyan first nodded, then shook his head.

Guan Wen thought deeply, and mused aloud: “With their power at the time, even suppressing the demon stretched their limits—they simply couldn’t eradicate it. Even now, no one can guarantee success in eradicating it. So, everyone in the exorcists' circle has always waited passively, never taking the initiative. For centuries, the demoness has never ceased her cultivation, and breaking through the net of three thousand exorcists’ soul barriers is only a matter of time…”

With each sentence, Master Chiyan nodded, confirming Guan Wen's reasoning.

“Once the demoness breaks free, the skies of Tibet will be shrouded in darkness.”

The woman entered again, quietly standing by the door.

“Do you have something to say? Speak,” Master Chiyan said.

“I remembered something. I’m not sure if I should mention it,” she replied.

“Wind Crane, I’ve always told you—whatever you recall, say it. Don’t worry about etiquette,” Master Chiyan answered.

The woman straightened her back and raised her head, like a singer preparing to warm up her voice.

“Before the war began, the most powerful leaders gathered in a dim courtyard for a meeting. Everyone knew the long-haired, horseback warriors would sweep across Tibet like a storm, yet it was unavoidable, for only war could end the chaos. That meeting lasted three days and nights; the sun rose and set thrice, and the moon appeared and vanished thrice. I remember, on the night the decision was made, the moon was especially round and bright, as if hanging from the treetop in the courtyard nearby. I remember the decision: to hide all the temple's treasures in the treasure cave, sealing the entrance with giant stones. Before this, one person had to enter the cave ahead of time, using their own body to seal the crystal well. Only thus could the temple’s flame be preserved. Before the harsh war, the leaders cared not for themselves, but for the temple’s future, for the outcome of the seal…” the woman said.