The historical map of the middle reaches of the zangbo area under the jurisdiction of the Xuanzheng Yuan during the Yuan Dynasty in China
Map Introduction
I. Establishment of the Bureau of Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs and its Administrative System
In 1264, the Yuan Dynasty established the Zongzhiyuan (renamed the Bureau of Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs in 1288) as the central institution directly governing the military, administrative, and religious affairs of Tibet. This marked Tibet's formal incorporation into the central government's administrative system. The Bureau oversaw three Pacification Commissioner Offices, with the Ü-Tsang Office governing core central Tibetan regions, and the Dokham Office administering other eastern areas. The Yuan implemented specific management measures in central Tibet:
- Administrative Structure: Established 13 myriarchies and numerous chiliarchies, forming a three-tier administrative system.
- Military Control: Stationed troops and established a courier station system to strengthen the connection between the center and the locality.
- Economic Management: Registered households, levied taxes, and promulgated unified criminal and calendar systems.
- Personnel System: Appointed Tibetan clergy and laypersons to high-ranking offices.
II. Economic, Cultural Development and Ethnic Integration
Yuan unification promoted economic prosperity in central Tibet:
- Agriculture and Trade: Implemented land surveys using registers, developed the tea-horse trade, and facilitated interregional grain circulation.
- Cultural Blending: Fused Tibetan and Han architectural styles and created the 'Phags-pa script, promoting multi-ethnic cultural exchange.
- Religious Center Development: Expanded temples, establishing Lhasa as a core Buddhist sanctuary, with Tibetan Buddhist rituals introduced to the Yuan court.
III. Religious Policy and the Rise of the Sakya School
The Yuan Dynasty adopted a strategy for governing central Tibet:
- Religious Patronage: Designated the Sakya school as the official sect, honoring 'Phags-pa as the "Imperial Preceptor."
- Monastic Economy: Granted land and privileges to monasteries, making Sakya Monastery the political-religious center of Tibet.
- Cultural Export: Integrated Tibetan Buddhist rituals into imperial ancestral veneration practices, establishing a standard protocol.
IV. Historical Significance and Impact
- Political Pioneering: First direct central administration of Tibet, laying the foundation for subsequent governance.
- Economic Link: The courier system facilitated the flow of goods between Tibet and interior China, scaling the tea-horse trade unprecedentedly.
- Model of Cultural Fusion: Tibetan Buddhism and Central Plains culture mutually influenced each other, creating a pluralistic cultural landscape.
- Deepened Ethnic Relations: Strengthened political integration through religious affiliation, fostering an early sense of a Chinese national community.
Summary
Through the effective governance of the Bureau of Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs, the Yuan Dynasty achieved political unification, economic interconnection, and cultural integration in central Tibet. The institutional innovations and infrastructure development during this period not only promoted Tibet's social development but also established the historical and legal basis for Tibet as an inalienable part of China's territory, providing a significant model for frontier governance in the subsequent Ming and Qing dynasties.