On Tibetan Aristocratic Families (China Tibetology No.05) Social relationships mean different things to different people.

. Any observation of soc ial life has to include recognition of the existence of "the family." "Family" is not onl y a biological group created by a sexual union, but also a social organization establis hed through relative social networks. n any social system or in any nationality, the "family" serves as the foundation and mainstay of social life. !herefore, the "famil y" attracts attention from anthropologists, sociologists and historians at the outset of their investigations. As a region inhabited by !ibetans, "family" in !ibet not only r efers to one household inhabited and inherited by members of the same blood relation ship, but also shows peculiar !ibetan cultural elements, such as folk culture, moral pr inciples and religions. n a modern sense, there are no definite concepts of "family". "enerally speaking, "f amily" is a stable, comparatively static entity. t is also a basic social organizational unit where people, tied by blood relationship, live and consume under the same roof. "Family" is called "#i$tshang" or "%hyim$tshang" in !ibetan language. &iterally, "#i$ tshang" means a "hu$man nest", while "%hyim$tshang" refers to a "house$hold cav e". 'hile carrying on her investigations on marriage and family conditions in !ibet, #s. (.).Aziz, an American anthropologist, could not refrain from pointing out with some emotion that family titles given by !ibetans are expressed in perfect metaphors. !he se titles reveal identical living patterns and social units of rich significance. n additio n to these two concepts *#i$tshang and %hyim$tshang+, !ibetans usually use ")ang" *interior or inside+ or "!hem$pa" *threshold+ to name their families, which accurately describes their view of a family. ,owever, in !ibet, whenever people mention a cert ain household, they would use" g-ims$khang" *bedroom+, a term of respect, to show their esteem. )o matter what titles !ibetans use, "family" definitely contains differe nt connotations from those understood by society in the outside world. !hus it can b e seen that the concept of a family in !ibet represents an inherent relational cli.ue or a living unit. /ut during the period of the feudal serf system in !ibet, according t o different social positions, classes and stratums, "family" was given different meani ngs. n a feudal serf system society, to serfs "family" was mainly a production unit, but to influential serf$owners and aristocrats in the upper social strata, its meaning was related to property or privileges and it had different titles. 'hen people mentio ned a certain aristocratic family, they would use such terms as "g-ims$zhag" *mansi on+ or "#i$tshang$chen$po" *wealthy and influential family+. From this we can see t hat "family", in a sense, embodies people0s standard of values, ideas and views as w ell as behavior patterns in that society at that time. !hose who carry out research work on social patterns in the feudal serf system of !ibet necessarily have a better understanding of "family", a cell of society, especially for aristocratic families in tha t period. !his area is where the author will concentrate this discussion. 1. Scope of !ibetan Aristocratic Families As a special privileged stratum of feudal serf system society in !ibet, aristocrats w

ere habitually referred to as "s"er$pa", "#i$drag" or "s%u$drag". n !ibet, aristoc racy came into being under feudalism due to repeated land$distributions and .uantita tive differences in status. According to !ibetan myths and legends, the earliest aristocrats probably appeared i n the period of !ubo b!san$po g)yav$khri$btsan$po. !radition has it that he desc ended to 2arth from ,eaven, becoming the first b!san$po in the !ubo %ingdom. As a result, the difference between monarch and minister in !ubo emerged. g)yav$khri$ btsan$po0s descendants consisted of !ibetan sacred family members. 3bviously, they were of aristocratic descent. n the reign of Srong$btsan$sgam$po, there appeare d such privileged groups as "-hang$blon", ""ung$blon" and "s4ye$blon". n fact, the y were !ibetan aristocrats of the early period. ,owever, in a strict sense, aristocr atic stratum came into being in the period between the late 15th century and the mi d$16th century.1 Supported by the 7ing 8entral "overnment, the d"e$lugs$pa Sect established d"av$ldan$pho$brang, a stable political system combining religious and p olitical influence. !he local government of !ibet conferred official titles upon some ar istocrats who gradually formed a special class over 9:: years. 3ver a period of soc ial and historical changes, !ibetan aristocratic families went through many vicissitude s. Among more than ;:: titled aristocratic families, only 1<5 were left at the beginni ng of the (emocratic =eform>. =eform>. t is .uite hard to explain the drop in numb ers. According to the author0s survey of the documents concerned, aristocrats in th e local government of !ibet were usually made up of 15?1 !sedrung *monk officials+ and 15? Shod$drung *lay officials+. (efinitely, !ibetan aristocrats were composed of two parallel stratum@ lay officials and high$ranking monks. n this investigation, the au thor found that there were many families named "s"er$pa", for example, aristocrati c officials in the regions under 4anchen0s Aurisdiction in g!sang and =in$po$ches, chi eftains in 8hab$mdo and &ho$kha as well as heads of 1:: to 1::: households gover ned by 9< clans. Bndoubtedly, there were aristocrats in local areas that enAoyed man y privileges, but this privileged stratum was not strong enough to exclude other forc es. t was made up of a few "s"er$pas" who found themselves in the center of the (alai &ama cli.ue and remained influential. Aristocrats ranked below them were scatt ered like a whirlpool with local aristocrats9 in its center. As #r. #ay "oldstein *an A merican anthropologist+ states, the aristocrats could be divided into different strata s. n this study, the author detected different types of aristocracy, such as those att ached to the local government of !ibet, to 4anchen0s &ha$brang, to Sa$skya 4rinc e of (harma as well as some lesser local aristocrats. !hey all belonged to the same "aristocratic" stratum, but there was an obvious degree of dependence in their rela tionships.9 Aristocrats attached to the local government of !ibet, as the governmen t0s spokesmen, thereby established their authority. ,owever, very strict social proto cols existed concerning the aristocrats attached to local governments. !he differenc e of social status was incisively and vividly expressed not only in official circles, soc ial associations, order of seats, costumes and adornments, but also in the language o f their conversations, children0s education and moral principles. !ibetan aristocrats were divided into high and low ranks based on two factorsC 1+ p

roperty, especially size of manors@ >+ power and influence obtained in terms of offici al titles.; n this sense, !ibetan aristocrats were different from those in 2urope. 'it hin these two divisions, !ibetan aristocrats were divided into three types *grand, me dium and small+. 'ith the confirmation and enthronement of (alai &amas0 reincarnated soul boys, there emerged "Dab$gzhis" *ancestor0s manor+ Family, the largest new ari stocracy. (uring the period of 9:: years, there were altogether E "Dab$gzhis" Fami liesC bSam$grub$pho$brang, the Seventh (alai &ama0s family@ g.Du$tong, the !enth (alai &ama0s family@ 4hun$khang, the 2leventh (alai &ama0s family@ &ha$klu, the 2ight h and the !welfth (alai &amas0 families@ g&ang$mdun, the !hirteenth (alai &ama0s an d the present Fourteenth (alai &ama0s families. Around these "Dab$gzhis" families w ere more than 9: aristocratic families, who owned a great .uantity of land and enAo yed supreme prestige and powers. Among them,? s(e$dpon or s(e$dpon$mi$drag f amilies are as followsC d"av$bzhi$ba *or r(o$ring+ Family@ !hon$pa *or /la$brang$ rnying$pa+ Family@ r(o$mkhar *or =ag$kha$shag+ Family@ 4ha$lha *4ha$Ao$lha$khan g+ Family as well as "&ha$rgya$ri" Family in &ho$kha. n addition to "s(e$dpon" Fam ily,9: aristocratic families belonged to #idrag Family, also called "g-ims$shag$che$k hag" in !ibet, such as "!sha$rong" Family, "bShad$sgra" Family, "-ur$khang" Family, ",or$khang" Family, ")ga$phod" Family and so on. All "#i$drag" families had a comm on feature that is, among their family members, some once acted as b%av$blons *min ister+ in the local government of !ibet. n order to differentiate "s4yir$btang" *ordi nary aristocratic families+, such families had different titles and their sons immediatel y became "Sras$rnam$pa" *young master+. n his book entitled !he (emise of the &a maist State, #r. #ay "oldstein writesC "about over 9: high$level aristocrats were n amed0s(e$dpon$mi$drag." !he author is not .uite clear whether the translation of t his sentence is a fault or #r. "oldstein had a misunderstanding. n terms of materials that the author has read and field investigations, there were only ? "s(e$dpon$mi$ drag" families in !ibet, but over 9: high$level aristocratic families called "#i$drag" existed. #r. "oldstein probably confused the concepts of "s(e$dpon$mi$drag" and "#i$drag" in the feudal serf system of !ibet. !hree aristocratic families mentioned above indeed belonged to aristocratic privileged stratums and the families mentioned by the author in this paper are limited to these three types. 3f course, without "or dinary" aristocratic families and monk aristocratic families, how could these three ty pes of families form an influential force, let alone the representatives of this systemF As we know, the policy of "conferring titles upon many leaders of various religious sects and having monks participate in the government of !ibet" was carried out in !i bet during the #ing (ynasty. !herefore, monks and aristocrats always exerted influe nce on the entire society of !ibet. !he author intends to make a clear account of the characteristics of so$called aris tocratic families. Sociologically, a family is an ancient form of a social community.? Bnlike modern simpl e families, the relationships displayed by !ibetan aristocratic families are by no mean s based on blood relations, but on each family member0s extensive social networks, i ncluding all family members living in the same manor,E such as his parents, children, e ven domestic servants and slaves. ,ere, the author will only give accounts of aristo cratic families. >. !ypes of !ibetan Aristocratic Families

n his work entitled Aristocracy and "overnment in !ibet, #r. &uciano 4etech points outC " t seems that the basic factor for the continuation of a family relies on land a nd manors, not on blood relationship." !hat is correct. Bnlike 2uropean aristocratic f amilies, !ibetan aristocratic families relied more on their land and manors than their b lood relationships. Gust because of this, three types of aristocratic families *grand, medium, small+ came into being, such as the above$mentioned "Dab$gzhis", "s(e$dpo n", "#i$drag" and smaller "ordinary" aristocratic families. *1+ "Dab$gzhis" Families "Dab$gzhis" Family originated from the Seventh (alai &ama0s family. !he 7ing 2mpero r conferred upon the Seventh (alai &ama0s father the title of ""ung" *(uke+. From t hen on, all his relatives were conferred with this title and bestowed with large numb ers of manors and serfs, which resulted in the formation of a special grand aristocr atic famly.5 !here were altogether E "Dab$gzhis" families in !ibet. "&ha$klu" Family was different from the other five, and its ancestral property was gathered by the 2ighth (alai &ama0s and the !welfth (alai &ama0s families. 8omposed of two (alai &a ma0s families, "&ha$klu" Family was very frail in its blood relationship. t is not only a type of "Dab$gzhis" Family, but also a representative of !ibetan aristocratic familie s. &ocated in the north of the 4otala 4alace, "&ha$klu" #anor was built under the sup ervision of the Sixth (alai &ama !shangs$dbyang$rgya$mtsho. According to the eld erly, it was a very beautiful place with mountains and rivers called "the garden wher e a dragon and god0s girls and boys are playing".6 /efore this place was granted as "Dab$gzhis", it was called "&ha$klu$dgav$tshal". !he local government of !ibet de signated this place as the 2ighth (alai &ama vGam$dpal$rgya$mtsho0s "Dab$gzhis" a fter his confirmation. n the meanwhile, the 7ing 8entral "overnment conferred upon his father the title of "Fuguo "ung" */ulwark (uke+, which was conferred upon his n ephew after his father0s death. After his nephew passed away, his mother gained co ntrol of the whole family. From then on, the paternal line broke off in this family.< n 16?5 v4hrin$las$rgya$mtsho was confirmed as the reincarnated soul boy of the 2le venth (alai &ama through !he method of drawing$lots from a gold urn. According to convention, the local government of !ibet should allocate land as "Dab$gzhis" to the new (alai &ama0s family. ,owever, the )inth, the !enth and the 2leventh (alai &amas successively emerged in such a very short time in !ibet. n order to bestow manors and serfs to the !enth and 2leventh (alai &amas, the local government of !ibet had exhausted all its money. Gust at that time, there were no male descendants in the & ha$klu Family, so the local government of !ibet once again defined "&ha$klu" as the !welfth (alai &ama0s "Dab$gzhis" and also conferred upon his father the title of "" ungAue" *(uke+, which was later succeeded to by the !welfth (alai &ama0s brother D e$shes$nor$bu$dbang$phyug and then by vGigs$med$rnam$rgyal after De$shes$n or$bu$dbang$phyug0s death. !he last male descendant in the !welfth (alai &ama0s family was vGigs$med$rnam$r gyal, who married 9 sisters from a rich and influential aristocratic family b-had$sgra.

Bnfortunately, they were childless. ,owever, his second wife g.Dang$vdzoms$tshe$ ring had a son named 4hun$tshogs$rab$rgyas with her when she married. t is said that g.Dang$vdzoms$tshe$ring used to be a lay nun, who had an affair with the !hi rteenth (alai &ama0s brother vGigs$med$rnam$rgyal and got pregnant. vGigs$med$r nam$rgyal had a family, so, with her son, g.Dang$vdzoms$tshe$ring had to marry h er brother$in$law after she returned to a secular life. vGigs$med$rnam$rgyal was childless and married g.Dang$vdzoms$tshe$ring, so therefore he was 4hun$tshogs$ rab$rgyas0father. As an adopted son, 4hun$tshogs$rab$rgyas naturally became the legal successor of this family and his blood relationship was regarded as noble, for h e was the descendant of the !hirteenth (alai &ama0s family. )othing could stop him f rom becoming this family0s successor. )evertheless, after g.Dang$vdzoms$tshe$rin g0s husband and son passed away successively, this family once again fell into her ha nds. &ater on, she married to the second son of the grand "=am$pa" Family. /ut yo ung =am$pa master had an illegal love affair, so their marriage did not last long. As a result, this family was once again short of male descendants. About in 1<>E, !sh e$dbang$rdo$rAe *the !hirteenth (alai &ama0s favorite minister &ung$shar r(or$rA e$tshes$brgyad0s son+ suddenly became the only male in &ha$klu Family. 3pinions var y about the reason why an "ordinary" aristocratic descendant became a member of "Dab$gzhis" Family. ,aving not received a convincing explanation, the author has to admit the opinion given by an old man named &ha$klu !she$dbang$rdo$rAe that the !hirteenth (alai &ama appointed &ung$shar r(or$rAe$tshes$brgyad0s son as the &h a$klu Family0s successor1: to show his favour upon his minister. According to &halu !sewang (orAe *&ha$klu !she$dbang$rdo$rAe0s+ recollections, he became a member of &ha$klu Family at the age of 1>. At that time, #adame g.Dan g$vdzoms$tshe$ring was Aust over 9:. !she$dbang$rdo$rAe0s status was very vag ue when he became a family member. (ue to the great disparity in age, !she$dban g$rdo$rAe could not become g.Dang$vdzoms$tshe$ring0s #ag$pa *son$in$law or hu sband by adoption+, nor could they call each other "mother" and "son". So they adop ted very polite but not intimate titles "l8am$sku$zhabs" *#adame or #rs.+ and "Sra s$sku$zhabs" *young master+ to call each other. !he &ung$shar 2vent in 1<9; caus ed the change of !she$dbang$rdo$rAe0s status.As a result, =wa$sgreng =in$po$ch e declared that &ung$shar Family neither became an aristocrat family, nor did it ent er the bureaucrat stratum. n order to become an aristocrat, !she$dbang$rdo$rAe established a marriage relation with g.Dang$vdzoms$tshe$ring, which made him beco me &ha$klu Family0s successor in the true sense of the term. *See Figure 1, >,9+ From the documents concerned and according to field investigations, the author has found that neither blood nor marriage relations existed among the 2ighth (alai &am a0s family, the !welfth (alai &ama0s family and &ha$klu0s family. Figures 1,>,9 show that "Dab$gzhis" Family in the first and later periods has no blood relations with pre sent &ha$klu Family. #r. Da ,anzhang writes in his book /iographies of (alai &amasC "!he !welfth (alai &ama was grand aristocrat &ha$klu0s son." n his book Aristocra cy and "overnment in !ibet, #r. &uciano 4etech described the relations between the !welfth (alai &ama0s and the 2ighth (alai &ama0s families as "integrated as one by m arriage".!he author believes that both of the views mentioned above are incorrect. /efore the confirmation of the !welfth (alai &ama, his family was located in Hol$dk

av of &ho$kha and after his confirmation, the 2ighth (alai &ama0s family moved into &hasa from !hob$rgyal of g!sang. #r. Da ,anzhang agreed to all these views. 3bvio usly, the problem is how grand "Dab$gzhis" Family, once living in &hasa, suddenly had its descendant in Hol$dkav of &ho$kha in 16?6. #r. &uciano 4etech0s view was base d on a theoretical hypothesis that aristocrats maintained and strengthened their fami ly influence by way of marriages, but this hypothesis looks somehow farfetched. n hi s recollections, &ha$klu !she$dbang$rdo$rAe mentionsC " n fact, the paternal line in the 2ighth (alai &ama0s &ha$klu Family broke off and only a few people were left in the maternal side. !herefore, the local government of !ibet decided not to bestow p roperty upon the !welfth (alai &amas0 parents and brothers, ordering them to incor porate into &ha$klu Family."11 !hus it can be seen that neither blood nor marriage r elations existed among &ha$klu families in the later stage. !hey were integrated as one by order of the local government of !ibet, who intended to avoid reestablishing a new "Dab$gzhis." From the above analysis, we can see that !ibetan aristocratic families stressed thei r blood relationship, but they did not strictly adhere to blood ties within families so as to inherit family property. !hey laid stress on whether there were males of burea ucratic origin within the family, who would exert direct influence on its rise and decli ne. n order to maintain the continuation of a family, such methods as divorce, remar riage, sons$in$law by adoption and son adoption were permitted in aristocratic famil ies. !hese social practices were accepted in order to maintain aristocratic interests. Gust as 8hie )akane a Gapanese anthropologist, statesC "in case of no childIthe fam ilies chose the methods of son adoption or son$in law by adoption for the continuati on of their familiesIafter the death of a husband, came in a new husband who would become the late husband0s successor."1> *>+ "s(e$dpon" Family &et us analyze "s(e$dpon" Family, another type of aristocratic family. !here were altogether ? "s(e$dpon" families, among which, s(e$dpon 4ha$lha Family with a high er blood lineage had great influence in the history of !ibet. 4ha$lha is an abbreviation for 4ha$Ao$lha$khang. !he 3utline of !ibetan Autonomou s =egion states that grand aristocrat 4ha$lha was a /hutan royal family descendant who moved into !ibet in the 7ing (ynasty. According to the author0s surveys, this f amily0s ancestor was a monk from "4ha$Ao$lha$khang" #onastery in /hutan. n the mid$15th century this family went and sought refuge with the local government of !i bet.19 According to the accounts in Aristocracy and "overnment in !ibet by #r. &uc iano 4etech, "only one girl was left in this family, who married to a member from s) u$ma$ba Family. !herefore, their children continued to use the title of 4ha$lha". Ac cording to the author0s surveys, the reason why this family could be ranked as an e minent aristocratic family lay in the fact that ? b%av$blons in the modern history of !ibet came from this family. Aristocracy and "overnment in !ibet by #r.&uciano 4et ech also prove this. Det, the author has not found sufficient materials to make clear its continuous process during the history of 9:: years. n the early 1<th century, 4h a$lha 4hun$tshogs$rnam$rgyal from this family married grand aristocrat bShad$sgr

a0s daughter, who gave birth to 9 sons and 9 daughters. !he eldest son !hub$bsta n$dbang$ldan acted as the !hirteenth (alai &ama0s m"ron$gnyer$chen$mo *monk of ficial+. !he second son 4ha$lha d/ang$phyug and the third son 4ha$lha r(o$rAe$db ang$phyug respectively acted as "=im$bzhi" *lay official of the fourth rank+ and "4h ogs$dpon" *lay official of the sixth rank+ in the local government of !ibet. /eing a m onk official, !hub$bstan$dbang$ldan remained unmarried in his whole life and gained control of the whole family after his father passed away. ,is two younger brothers shared a wife, bSod$nams$dpal$mo, a daughter of an aristocratic family %un$bzan g$rtse. !hey had 6 sons and > daughters. &ater on, 4hun$tshogs$rnam$rgyal0s elde st daughter g.Dang$can$sgrol$dkar married into an aristocratic family =in$sgang. ,i s second daughter !she$dbyangs married the eldest son from the grand aristocratic tamily (on$khang in g!sang, while his third daughter )gag$dbang$dpal$mo became t he wife of two sons from grand aristocratic family s%yid$sbug. *See Figure ;+ Figure ; shows that polyandry existed in the 4halha Family and s%yi$sbug Family had marriage links with it. !his marriage pattern not only generally existed in !ibetan aris tocratic families, but also served as a common pattern within !ibetan families of var ious levels. !here are many reasons for this. For example, by way of this type of m arriage, a %hral$pa0s family could prevent its land and labor force from being disper sed and an aristocratic family could keep the inheritance and continuation of its politi cal powers and economical benefits. 'hile studying the 4ha$lha Family, the author fo und that 4ha$lha r(o$rAe$dbang$phyug was reluctant to share a wife with his elde r brother. ,owever, both sides conceded for the benefit of the whole family and fin ally they married one woman. n repayment, his family allowed 4ha$lha r(o$rAe$dban g$phyug to act as "g-his$bzhugs" *manor0s manager+ in 4ha$lha #anor, a "4ha$g-h is" *father0s manor+, >:: kilometers away from his family. /eing a manor0s manager, he was free to do anything. 3n the premise of not affecting his family0s interests, h e found a mistress, a daughter of a 8hang$ma *a female brewer+ and had children. ! his de facto extramarital family relationship was really a threat to 4ha$lha Family. # embers from 4ha$lha Family refused to accept it. !he reason is not simply due to s ocial conventions, but also preventing the family0s influence and property from being dispersed. n other words, if 4ha$lha Family accepted this extramarital family, it wo uld result in the division of the family property, and the family members would live ap art. n that case, a 4ha$lha branch family was derived from 4ha$lha Family. #any c ases like this emerged in !ibetan aristocratic families, for example@ -ur$zur Family f rom -ur$khang Family@ s%yid$zur Family from s%yid$sbug Family@ l8ang$zur Family fr om l8ang$lo$can Family, etc. n !ibet, branch families deriving from ancient families are called "-ur$pa" *living apart+. As far as aristocrats were concerned, the appea rance of "-ur$pa" families would weaken the economic strength of the whole family, which would have a direct influence on its social position. !herefore, to maintain the cohesion of a family, aristocrats must take measures to restrain and control person al "powers" and "obligations". n the meanwhile, they must learn many techni.ues to s killfully balance personal affairs, family0s interests and values held by the whole of so ciety. n !ibet, each aristocrat had a worthy "ancestor". !his early period was very vague, so the "family lineage" handed down by their" ancestors" became an integrated com munity of shared property. n order to advance the family, each family member was

expected to view the family as "an integrated one" and he or she should consciously or unconsciously stress the cohesive term "we". Gust because of this, it was difficul t for him or her to be free of spiritual restraints from "family authorities". !hey lea rned their duties and obligations to their families from childhood. 'hen they grew up and got married, they were naturally clear about their duties and obligations, realizin g what was expected of them by society and their families as well. (ue to these ing rained ideas and attitudes, personal behavior was greatly restricted. ,aving this fact in mind, 4ha$lha r(o$rAe$dbang$phyug neither did anything to fight for his personal desires, nor did he try to escape from this restriction. 4ha$lha Family, in turn, did n ot look into his private affairs, and reached a secret agreement with him. !hus it ca n be seen that marriage ties caused different aristocratic family members to live un der the same roof of a household and become closely associated. !hrough the above analysis of two aristocratic families, we are sure that land was very closely related to the survival of these families. t is meaningless to discuss the continuation of an aristocratic family without taking the extent of its land into acco unt. *9+ #i$drag Family &et us analyze another typeC a grand aristocratic family #i$drag in !ibet. Bnlike the other two types mentioned above, this family once acted as b%av$blons as a matter of course and also it was a mark associated with the #i$drag Family. Gust because of this, this type of family were associated with social power. n the 1<;:s, more th an 9: families belonged to #i$drag Family, some of which, such as bShad$sgra Famil y, !sha$rong Family and others, held financial and political powers at that time in !i bet. )aturally, there existed other #i$drag families, such as %a$shod$pa Family, %h ri$smon Family and others, who once possessed absolute authority in the local gover nment of !ibet, and like bShad$sgra Family, !sha$rong Family, etc, who also belonge d to the same type of #i$drag Family. ,owever, they were incomparable with bSha d$sgra Family, !sha$rong Family and others in actual wealth. Such cases appeared n ot only in #i$drag families, but also extensively in ordinary aristocratic families. !he author would like to take %hri$smon Family as an example. &ike all aristocratic families in !ibet, the %hri$smon Family has a history worth traci ng. According to theelderly %hri$smon bSod$nams$dpal$vbyor0s recollections, the or igin of theis family was related to 4admasambhava. n the early period, %hri$smon w as located in Hol of &ho$kha, where there is a mountain named "b%ra$shis$khri$kha ng" with a "b-hugs$khri" *throne of (harma+ on the mountaintop. According to the lo cals, 4admasambhava used it while preaching /uddhist doctrines. bSod$nams$dpal$vb yor believed that even if this family was not directly related to 4admasambhava hims elf, it was more or less closely connected with him. n Aristocracy and "overnment l ast male descendant in the %hri$smon Family and, as a son$in$law, )or$bu$dbang$ rgyal was an eminent aristocratic official but he was not born into an aristocratic f amily. According to aristocratic endogamy and views on blood relationship, this family should be ruled out of aristocratic families. ,owever, in a sense, !ibetan in !ibet, # r. &uciano 4etech makes an introduction to %hri$smon Family and points out that this

family lies in Hol of &ho$kka. Bnfortunately, he fails to give a special introduction to its history. According to the author0s research, this family was one of the largest a ristocratic families in old !ibet, but not very rich. !hree members in this family acte d as b%av$blons, among whom, %hri$smon )or$bu$dbang$rgyal "kept this position f or such a long time that no one could compare with him in history fo !ibet in this ce ntury". n this point, #r.&uciano 4etech0s introduction happened to coincide with bSo d$nams$dpal$vbyor0s recollections. !here are many opinions about %hri$smon )or$b u$dbang$rgyal, but here we are not concerned about what kind of figure he was. ! he only thing we want to mention is that he was not a genuine descendant of the %h ri$smon Family. ,e used to be the son of a r!sis$pa *bill collector+ in a grand aristo cratic family -hwa$sgab$pa, and then he became a son$in$law by adoption in the % hri$smon Family. &ater on, he became an aristocratic official and finally acted as a b%av$blon in the capacity of %hri$smon0s successor. *See Figure ?+ Figure ? shows that d%on$mchog$bstan$pa was the aristocrats did not strictly adh ere to aristocratic endogamy and blood relationship. /ecause of this, aristocratic fa milies of this kind were very common, such as@ !sha$rong Family, %a$shod$pa Famil y, Sum$mdo Family and others. As mentioned above, !ibetan aristocrats continued th eir family lineages by way of divorce, remarriage, sons$in$law adoption and son ado ption. !he continuation of a family was directly related to the existence of male suc cessors. 'ith a male successor, this family0s economic position, the social position, would be increased with his promotion to official positions. n the time of d%on$mcho g$bstan$pa, %hri$smon Family was already a grand aristocratic family with > manor s, which created a chance for )or$bu$dbang$rgyal *not born from an aristocrat fa mily+ to become a son$in$law of a grand aristocratic family *)or$bu$dbang$rgyal was born from r!sis$pa0s family *a high$ranking domestic slave+ of a grand aristocr atic family -hwa$sgab$pa. )or$bu$dbang$rgyal Family, not lower than %hri$smon F amily in economical position, was an actual agent of this aristocratic family. !hey we re only different in political position. 2conomic factors resulted in a marriage tie bet ween these two different strata. Soon after he became a son$in$law by adoption, )or$bu$dbang$rgyal became an aristocratic official in the capacity of %hri$smon0s successor. 'ith great effort, he became an eminent b%av$blon. ,is promotion in pow er and position brought glory to the fa$mily$what0s more, it increased his manor an d land holdings. !his extension of land increased and strengthened %hri$smon family0s social position. ,owever, his second marriage caused the family to fall into an econo mically awkward situation. &ater, %hrismon )or$bu$dbang$rgyal married b(e$dge ma ster0s wife and lived apart from %hri$smon Family, setting up the %hri$smon$zur$pa Family. After this division, %hri$smon Family was on the decline. )or$bu$dbang$rgya l0s ex$wife gave birth to E sons and > daughters. /ecause of the decline of this fa mily, ; boys became monks and the other > boys shared one wife. !hus it can be se en that the size of land directly affected !ibetan aristocratic family0s social position and fate. /y analyzing these three aristocratic families, we can clearly see that the relationship between aristocratic status and land was inseparable. *;+ Functions of Aristocratic Families "enerally speaking, a !ibetan aristocratic family included not only family members, bu

t also domestic servants and slaves$even its subordinates. All of these members con stituted a peculiar family$type aristocratic group. !hus it can be seen that"family" n ot only served as a life style, but also a social group composed of operating units. !herefore, !ibetan aristocratic families stressed internally persistent units and regar ded the use of "we" as a tie to strengthen emotional connections among family memb ers. #eanwhile, family "du$ties" and"obligations" were borrowed to connect family m embers. As a result they would ac.uire a natural feeling of "integration" in order to strengthen the group. !ibetan aristocrats usually laid stress on specially designated r elations on moral principles$not established on some abstract idea but on a concrete, established organizational pattern. !o an aristocratic family0s subordinates, loyalty t o their masters was vital and to children it was praiseworthy to be obedient to thei r parents. Following the family group0s habitual behavior and stressing its consistency was the method by which an aristocratic family could keep its cohesion and its family members could observe moral principles. n !ibet, each aristocratic family0s structure was fixed in a hierarchy. Harious set r ules defined each family member0s social relations. Around each of them was a compa ratively distinct world. 2ach family member occupied a comparative center in such a vertical estate structure. t is well known that in history !ibet was a feudal, rigidly stratified society. An aristocrat was able to adapt himself to such a hierarchical so ciety for within his family, he was reared to adapt himself to established ideas and p ractices. n other words, an aristocrat0s early experiences and development were co mpletely controlled by his family and he was given so$called "reasonable" behavior m odes which would help him more easily cope with estate relations in society. From thi s point of view, an aristocratic family0s maAor function was to maintain its aristocra tic status. 'ithin a !ibetan aristocratic family, the oldr generation should give children much fre edom and tolerance. n any time and in any place, a baby could be given suck and all his behaviors deserved appreciation and tolerance from his elders. !hese elders bega n to teach him eti.uette until he reached his infancy. After that, the elders increase d their restrictions to him. Bp to his early youth, he would receive a very strict fam ily education. ,eads of the family would teach him to know his rights and obligations, gradually making him understand secular and religious social obligations. n this process, he would know what behaviours were accepted or disapproved of by society. A co mmon saying goes like thisC " !he pony is father of a good horse, a child0s behavior i s like a mirror reflecting his future as a capable person." !herefore, each aristocrat ic family attached great importance to social education in childhood. As a child or a young boy, his spare time, behaviors, senses and emotions were expected to corres pond to his family0s re.uirements. 'hen people mentioned an aristocratic member, the y seldom focused on an individual. nstead, they regarded him as a representative ari stocratic family member. n their minds, an individual was only an element of this famil y, and his words and deeds as well as virtues all came from the family. For example, before he became &ha$klu Family0s successor, !she$dbang$rdo$rAe was Aust a small aristocratic family descendant and, in a strict sense, his mother did not come from a n aristocratic family. nfluenced by his original family0s social and economical position, !she$dbang$rdo$rAe studied in an old private school in &hasa before he reached the age of 1>. ,is socialization process was completed through his study under the guida nce of his teachers. ,is family only expected him to be an aristocratic official. At th

e age of 1>, !she$dbang$rdo$rAe0s status suddenly changed so he had to reassess his future. n order to make him &ha$klu Family0s .ualified successor, this family, firs t of all, ceased his education in the old private school. !hen they invited teachers to give lectures to him. n the meanwhile people around him, especially masters and serv ants in &ha$klu Family, all tried to educate him to be a real successor of this family. n this process, !she$dbang$rdo$rAe0s personal freedom was restricted. ,e had to practice many rites every day, and the family arranged all his activities. 'hat is mor e, his amusements had to accord with his family0s status1;. ,e was not a direct des cendant, but if his words and deeds were in accord with his family0s status, his right to succession would not be affected. So within an aristocratic family, no obvious dif ference existed between sons and adopted sons, but his words and deeds should be in accordance with his family0s interests. Another example is his elder brother 4ha$lha m"on$gnyer$chen$po, who took charg e of 4ha$lha Family0s domestic affairs. ,e was only an elder brother of his younger brothers and sisters but, like his father, he had a special authority and his brothers and sisters considered his position very natural. n other words, if they refused to a ccept or violated and neglected this formal order, the entire family would fall into di sorder and the family members would feel very embarrassed in society. !herefore, w hen r(o$rAe$dbang$phyug was unwilling to share a wife with his elder brother, in or der to prevent him from taking reckless action in response, the family gave him relev ant free doms as a repayment for his sacrifice to the family. n such a situation, a concession was made between him and his family. 4ha$lha Family neither agreed to hi s private wishes, nor did it criticize him. ,e was allowed to keep his private wishes on the premise of not affecting his family0s interests. So r(o$rAe$dbang$phyug agr eed to share a wife with his elder brother for the family0s interests. !he secret agr eement and concession among 4ha$lha family members reflected all specially designat ed human relations in a !ibetan aristocratic family. Such human relationships naturally formed a hierachy, which forced each member to be$have properly and pay a high p rice to maintain his family0s integrity. So an aristocrat fostered in such a family envi ronment knew that he belonged to the family. (ue to this belief the family0s authorit y was greatly enhanced in his mind and gradually exerted a subtle influence on him.1? 3f course, not all !ibetan aristocratic families adhered to old habits. !aking %hri$sm on Family as an example, )or$bu$dbang$rgyal became a legal successor in the capa city of son$in$law of the %hri$smon Family. !hrough this, he became an aristocratic official. After that, relying on his intelligence and good fortunes, he became an emine nt b%av$blon, which not only made him win personal social and political position, but also consolidated and enhanced his family0s social and political position. From a son$i n$law, he became a "father" with absolute authority. ,owever, his second marriage destroyed the entire cohesion of the %hri$smon Family. As a "father" he did not mee t any obstructions when he chose his second wife but, indeed, he fought for this in i solation. !he problem was his choice of sacrificing his family interests to his own. He ry soon he had to pay for his "selfish" action. ,is second marriage forced him to giv e up the title of "%hri$smon$pa" *%hri$smon Family member+. !o an aristocratic fam ily, marriage was by no means a simple matter of a sexual union. t exerted a direct influence on a family0s cohesion and integration. )or$bu$dbang$rgyal0s second marria

ge forced %hri$smon Family to accept the division, which would cause land redistribu tion. n turn, land redistribution not only weakened the entire family0s social and politi cal positions but also made him lose the safety and positions as well as wealth that he had gained from his family.1E So an aristocrat had to take such complex and heav y family responsibilities seriously. 8onsidering his family0s interests, he must follow his family0s conventions *in political and economical affairs+ and fit himself into his family and its re.uired behavior perfectly. For a young man, the family offered him a fair, safe, historical position. ,e was asked to consciously accept the restrictions of the family in such a historical tradition when he became mature... and he was proud to do so. A !ibetan aristocratic family0s maAor function was to maintain an aristocratic st atus and gain political benefits through economic means. n fact, various aspects are inseparable from a family0s functions, from production to consumption, from economy to politics, from culture to religion, from education to entertainments as well as fro m human reproduction to lineage. !herefore, a !ibetan aristocratic family was multi$ functional. *?+ Features of Aristocratic Families 1+ "aining Spiritual Strength from a "lorious Fa mily ,istory and ,ighly 4rivieged /lood =elationship n old !ibet, any type of aristocratic family would take great pains to trace back th eir ancient ancestors, adorning them with "aristocratic .ualities." For example, a gra nd aristocratic family !hon$pa traced its family back to !hon$mi$sam$bho$ta, one of seven wise men and creator of !ibetan script in the 5th century. ,owever, in mo dern times, this family does not exert any influence on social and political life. Gust a s mentioned in Aristocracy and "overnment in !ibet by #r.&uciano 4etech, this famil y "gradually retreated from active participation in political activities... th old family a seemed to have crumbled. "2ven so, relying on a glorious history and highly privileged blood relationship, these family members were able to keep in touch with other arist ocratic families who, in turn, all attached importance to !hon$pa family0s glorious his tory and highly privileged blood relationships. n that case, !hon$pa family members were able to have marriage relations with those aristocratic families with real power. 3n one hand, this kind of marriage relationship could maintain !hon$pa Family0s arist ocratic status. 3n the other hand, it could keep up the appearances of those aristo cratic families by having real status and make them even stronger. So such aristocra tic families as the &ha$klu Family, !sha$rong Family and bShad$sgra Family, all had a marriage relationship with the !hon$pa Family. Another example is the !sha$rong Family@ it is said that this family originated from g.Du$thog Don$tan$sgon$po, a dis tinguished !ibetan doctor in the 6th century. n the early >:th cetury, !sha$rong d/ ang$phyug$rgyal$po appeared in history of !ibet as a b%av$blon celebrated for a while in the modern history of !ibet, also an influential figure in the local government of !ibet. Also in the >:th century, !sha$rong -la$bzang$dgra$vdul was an eminent figure in the !sha$rong Family. /orn from a humble family, relying on his personal co urage, wisdom and fortunes, he became the !hirteenth (alai &ama0s trusted subordin ate in 1<1>. !hrough marriage with the former !sha$rong family, his personal status was improved and he became a legal !sha$rong$pa and looked very noble. &ater, he became an aristocratic official in the capacity of !sha$rong$pa as well as the most rich, eminent and influential figure15 in modern !ibet. !sha$rong -la$bzang$dgra$vd ul was celebrated for a while, but when people mentioned !sha$rong Family or his gr eat deeds, they would focus on the original history of this family instead of his pers

onal history. 'ithout favorable circumstances, -la$bzang$dgra$vdul could not have become an aristocrat, let alone the marriage with the !sah$rong Family. !herefore, the prestige that he had gained through his efforts and wisdom only further enhance d the !sha$rong Family0s original position. n other words, -la$bzang$dgra$vdul0s ap pearance was not vital for the !sha$rong Family. 3n the contrary, without the !sh a$rong Family, -la$bzang$dgra$vdul0s efforts and wisdom would have proved futile. For a long time people have adhered to a regulated regime, believing that these arist ocratic families undoubtedly had ancient paternal lineages and highly privileged blood r elationship. 'hen people mention a certain aristocratic family or its members, they w ould naturally stress its history and call its members by their aristocratic family0s tit les. 2specially, when they talk about a family member0s moral .uality, they would nat urally connect him with his family background, thinking that his personal .ualities were affected directly by his background. !herefore, when people meet with some extremi sts, they would first try to find out whether their extremist actions contravened th eir family backgrounds. f not, they would easily accept it, considering that their per sonal extremist actions resulted from their family backgrounds. n other words, when a grand aristocratic family member took some extremist actions, people would be at a loss as to what to do.So "good family background" *s%ye$sa$yag+, "bad family ba ckground" *s%ye$sa$btsog+, "family in a high position" *s%ye$sa$mtho+ or "family in a low position" *s%ye$sa$dmav+ became a standard by which to Audge personal mora ls. From this point of view, !ibetan aristocrats spared no efforts to maintain the his tory of families and to greatly cherish it, trying hard to relate their family0s history to aristocratic families with high repute *including blood relationship and marriage rela tions+. For example, bde$legs$rab$brtan, an eminent aristocratic family in an area u nder 4anchen0s Aurisdiction in g!sang, established marriage relations with grand aristo cratic families, such as !sha$rong and s(ing$bya, so as to promote his family0s soci al position. t also pursued a history worthy of esteem. !he family0s ancestor was a monk, who killed g&ang$dar$ma. ,owever, this family0s lineage seemed less important for bde$legs$rab$brtan Family members. )o complete lineage exists among !ibetan aristocratic families, but consciously or un consciously, they would regard the most prestigious and influential historical figures a s their ancestors. 'hile tracing their paternal lineages, they have also attached impo rtance to maternal ones. !hey did not conceal their admiration of influential families and often declared that they had relatives in a certain influential ones. !herefore, !i betan aristocratic families were very proud of their ancient ancestors and their soci al positions. >+ Stressing Family #embers &iving !ogether, Strengthening Family0s 4ositions n order to avoid the division of ancestral property and to strengthe their positions, !ibetan aristocrats stressed that family members should live together. All aristocrati c families followed this pattern. n !ibet, an aristocratic family usually adopted the p rinciple that property should be divided e.ually among brothers. !here were no laws on this, but it was a tradition. !he division of a family would influence its position, e ven its existence. !he custom of family members living together perfectly resolved t

hese two problems. !he pattern of living together stressed by aristocratic families h ad both a tidy and a complex structure. 'ithin such a big households there lived man y blood relatives such as grandparents, parents, husbands, wives and children as well as uncles, brothers and sisters. Few sisters$in$law were incleded. !he head of a fa mily was the ruler. Seniority rather than gender was the main consideration when cho osing the head of a family. !he head of a family established his or her authority on s uch moral principles as "respecting the elder" and "the youth should have loyalty and filial piety". !he 4halha Family mentioned above maintained and developed itself on th ese moral principles. 2ach family member in this family put the benefits and destinatio n of the whole family ahead of his private interests and fate. ,is sacrifice to the w hole family constituted a powerful family force sustained by living together. Such social and moral principles as "Aointly sharing property and coexisting" as well a s customs and habits adhered to by aristocratic families promoted the formation of a grand aristocratic family system. Bnder the influence of this social view, grand feu dal families seemed to be a typical pattern of !ibetan aristocratic families and alway s went along with the whole feudal system. As a big family with members living toget her was regarded as a whole, family members could discipline each other, which helpe d the whole family to keep its cohesion. ,owever, the family0s basis was unstable fo r this kind of family relationship neglected private emotions and individuality. n fact, eventually there remained very few families with several generations under one roof or with members living together. Gust because of this, newly established aristocratic families often appeared in !ibetan society, such as the -ur$pa Family. 9+ Special Family0s !itles ).(.Aziz, an American anthropologist, stresses in her book !ibetan Frontier Families, the family title system serves as "a key to know the social structure".16 !ibetan ari stocratic families especially stressed title protocols. Aristocrats used them not only in families, but also in social associations. !hey were a principle of social protocola a s well a mark of an aristocratic family. n families, aristocrats first appeared as a bi rth unit. (ue to special aristocratic cultural views, the lineal ties were very fragile. !herefore, aristocratic families could rely on sons, adopted sons and sons$in$law by adoption to continue the history of their families. For example, in the &ha$klu Family, &ung$shar0s son !she$dbang$rdo$rAe married g.Dang$vdzoms$tshe$ring, a widow f rom the &ha$klu Family. As a result, he officially became a legal successor of the &h a$klu Family. !aking the !sha$rong Family as another exampleC -la$bzang$dgra$vdu l0s marriage with a widow and a daughter from !sha$rong Family enabled him to enAo y the title of "!sha$rong -la$bzang$dgra$vdul".Such examples were not very rare in aristocratic families, especially in grand aristocratic families. !he titles in an aristo cratic family were decided in terms of the family0s seniority, and they also showed e ach member0s position. "enerally, !ibetan aristocrats adhered to the titles mentioned above, and the titles represented different families and positions in social life. !he titles used in social ass ociations are vital for us to have a better understanding of the social conditions of each family. n short, as a result of dependence on a rigid estate$based feudal society, !ibetan

aristocratic families were controlled by land. !he size of land influenced an aristocra tic family0s influence and survival. n order to maintain a family0s interests, the family elder had to establish a source of authority around which family cohesion was mainta ined. !he family gave rights to which would be used in a trade and for valid agreeme nts. !he author believes that it is a matter for regret that scholars neglect aristocr atic families in their studies of this feudal society0s serf system. )otesC 1 &iu -hong, 3n the Formation of &ord 2state System in the 7ing (ynasty, 8hina !ib etology, 1<<:, Hol.; > !he 3utline of !ibet Autonomous =egion, !ibet 4eople0s 4ublishing ,ouse,1<6; 9, 1> 8hie )akane, !ibetan Aristocrats *translated by -hou 'ei+, !ranslated 8ollecti on of !ibetan =esearch, Hol.<, !ibet 4eople0s 4ublishing ,ouse ; !he Social Formation of !ibet Feudal Serfdom, 8hina !ibetology 4ublishing ,ouse,1 <<E ?,6,<,1:,11 &ha$klu !she$dbang$rdo$rAe, &ha$klu Family and #y 4ersonal 2xperien ce, 8ollection of !ibetan 8ultural and ,istorical #aterials *!ibean edition+, Hol.1E E ,istory of 2uropean Families, ,uaxia press, 1<65,1: 5,15 &uciano 4etech, Aristocracy and "overnment in !ibet, *translated by Shen 'eir ong and Song &imin+, 8hina !ibetology 4ublishing ,ouse,1<<:,1> 19 8ollected !reatises on !ibetan Feudal Serfdom, 8hina !ibetology, 1<<1,6 1; An interview with &ha$klu !she$dbang$rdo$rAe 1? An interview with 4ha$lha !she$dbyangs 1E An interview with %hri$smon bSod$nams$dpal$vbyor 16 !he author0s survey materials From 8hina !ibetology *8hinese 2dition+ )o.1,1<<5,!ranslated by Jiang ,ongAia FromC 8hina !ibetology #agazine /yC !sering Dangtsom