I recently learned that this branch of the Yuan government existed and was almost an independent nation or a vassal state.
I was first surprised by how modern it's name sounds, if someone can comment on that that would be great, but what confuses me more is: why?
Why Tibet from all regions got this special treatments?, it wasn't particularly rich, strategic, or strong, was it?
In fact, Tibet was quite important and its relationship with Mongolia has a rich history with Buddhism heavily playing into the development of both nations.
However as the stage set here is the Yuan Dynasty, Buddhism and its effects on Mongolia and its peoples had not yet become such a universal and impactful factor. Tibet at this point was still a wild and unknown frontier realm for the Mongols and Chinese. It is true that they long had connections with each other, with interactions in the Gansu corridor, and the mingling of the Tibetan Empire and Tang Dynasty, however as a whole, Tibet was still under-explored. Now that it was to be incorporated into the Mongol Empire, the great Khans and Khagans saw fit to properly control this new region.
To the Mongols, politically Tibet posed a hindrance, its rugged terrain and sparce population was ripe for banditry, which could interfere with the silk roads especially with its proximity to the Gansu corridor. What Tibet could offer, however, was religious legitimacy, dignity, and grandiosity. By securing the Buddhist monks, the Mongols could in theory secure the region. In exchange for the generous protection of the clergy, the Mongols were willing to learn spiritually from the Tibetan mode of Buddhism. The Mongol elite had interest in spiritual and moral guidance, furthermore, Tibetan Buddhism offered certain magical, ritualistic, and tantric qualities that were especially captivating for the ruling class. This was compatible with the Mongol form of shamanist and ritualistic belief systems. Furthermore, there was the benefit of adopting Buddhism as the state religion for the Yuan Dynasty, with an upstanding populace and a nobility reaping the benefits of esoteric rituals. For the Tibetans, it was naturally within their interest to receive the favorable support and inclination of the powerful Mongol Empire.
This was precisely what went done under Godan Khan, China's administrator prior to Kublai's rise to power. Godan militarily convinced Sakya Pandita to served the Mongol Court as spiritual advisor, there, he supposedly cured Godan of his leprosy and enchanted the nobles with his teachings. Although both Godan and Sakya Pandita soon died in 1251, they established the important ties of connecting Tibet with Mongolia.
Sakya Pandita's appointed successor, Chogyal Phagpa, would go on to develop the 'Phags-pa script, a universal script that incorporated all the major languages of he conquered peoples in the Mongol Empire. Worth mentioning, it transmitted the phonetics of Middle Mongolian and Chinese, which proves quite valuable for linguistic research today. Phagpa is further significant as the major figure for bringing Tibetan Buddhism thoroughly into China and Mongolia, and starting the tradition of legitimizing the Mongol Emperors. The concept of a "universal emperor" or "cakravartin" has especially important ramifications in Buddhist belief, it is the secular counterpart to a Buddha, and upholds and represents righteousness and moral law. As a supranational figure, this concept was especially enticing for the Mongol Emperors. Kublai was thus consecrated in 1253. What is also important is the role Phagpa played politically, not just spiritually. As John D. Langlois Jr. puts it, he developed the concept of Lamaist Caesaropapism, with the two concepts of religion and state being mutually dependant on each other for secular and spiritual salvation and welfare. Right accordance of religion guarantees peace, which is achieved through political means. As such, the Lama and the Emperor are equal in standing, for their responsibility in ensuring the maintenance of the state. Phagpa represented the Buddha, Kublai the Cakravartin. This set the precedence for each succeeding Imperial Preceptor to be Tibetan lamas.
Thus was established the Bureau of Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs (宣政院). There was no precursory office in the Chinese bureaucracy, which proved the significant power Phagpa had penetrated the Mongol court with. It was first founded in 1264 under the name Bureau of General Regulation (總制院), it was renamed in 1288, where Bureau of Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs alludes to the Xuanzheng Hall (宣政殿), an audience chamber used to receive Tibetan envoys during the Tang Dynasty. 宣政院 more precisely translates to Bureau for the Proclamation of (Imperial) Government.
This bureau was in charge of, as the name suggests, Buddhist monks and the governance of Tibet. As a central bureau it enjoyed considerable power, it carried out its affairs independent of the Central Secretariat, Censorate, and Military Bureau. Naturally, its director was required to be a Buddhist monk. At times, branches were formed for military or emergency reasons, addressing rebellions and brigading. In effect, this bureau was composed of native Tibetans to administer Tibet, something quite notable in Mongol rule. Absent were the Chinese, which proved Tibet as a separate and semi-independent region from the rest of Kublai's empire.
It was not just the Bureau of Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs which proved Tibet's unique and powerful place in the Mongol Empire. Similar offices existed such as the Buddhist Affairs Commission (功德使司) (which I'll translate as Meritorious Service Department), which reported Buddhist and Tibetan, well, affairs, and supervised Buddhist rituals. It merged with the (self-translated) "Prolong Auspiciousness Department" (延慶司) in 1311 to form the "Tu kung-te shih-ssu" (curse you Wade–Giles! I can't find the actual name). Actually, I suppose at this point it's easier to provide the original source text from now on:
The Yen-ch'ing ssu (Office of Entertainment and Celebrations), which had been established in 1284, managed Buddhist activities and rituals including those held in various princely households. The Buddhist Affairs Commission was abolished in 1329 and its affairs were taken over by the Bureau of Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs. For a short while in the early years of emperor Shun-ti's reign there came into being some sixteen regional Directorates-General for Religious Affairs (Kuang-chiao tsung-kuan fu 廣敎總管府) the officials of which were all nominated by the Bureau of Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs. This was in 1331, but in 1334 the Directorates-General were abolished and reorganized as branches of the bureau. The duties of these shortlived directorates were the management of Buddhist monks and nuns, and its director (tsung-kuan) had to be a monk. We can therefore see that under the Mongol Yiian dynasty a powerful and influential Buddhist administration existed under different names, and that invariably Tibetan monks occupied the most prominent positions; this can be deduced from the names recorded in the sources."
Quite complex indeed. It can be concluded many of the English translations are for the office function, not it's original Chinese name. Regardless, all this indicates a high status Tibetan monks enjoyed, much to the disdain of equivalent Chinese office holders within the bureaucracy. Naturally, this led to certain monks abusing the system, such as misusing the postal system or over-pardoning criminals in court. This of course also lead to tensions between Tibetan and Chinese Buddhists and monks, with arguments in scripture and ritual.
Final of note is how Tibet and Mongolia intermingled culturally in this time. Not only did Tibet share their forms of education, philosophy, medicine, astrology, and more to the already diverse Mongo empire, it also loaned words for names, days of the week, numerals, the traditional calendar, etc. The Mongols in turn penetrated the Tibetan language with words particularily for military science, noble titles, and ranks.
In conclusion, the Mongol Empire's spread into Tibet differed from its other conquests. Tibet was a volatile and unknown region which needed complete subjugation, however, contrary to what the Mongols may have initially expected, its spiritual leaders won them over with esoteric and ritualistic Buddhism, especially from the Sakya branch. The legitimization and spiritual benefits granted Tibet special privileges and powers, which further allowed them to form a "priest-patron" ideology and system within the Mongol political structure, granting Tibet a high degree of autonomy and self rule, and creating the strong early ties of Tibetan-Mongol interaction.
I'm quite excited to see questions like these! It touches upon my area of focus currently, with everything I love studying, Buddhism, Tibet, Mongolia, China, etc. This is worth staying up late for and composing a question at 3 in the morning!
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