Workshop of Buddhism in Inner Asia and the Early Modern World

Workshop of Buddhism in Inner Asia and the Early Modern World

May 12th, 2021
1 pm – 2:30 pm (EDT)

Speaker: Lan Wu, Assistant Professor of History, Mount Holyoke College
Title: The Zunghars’ Pilgrimages to Tibet and Buddhist Inner Asia
Abstract: In 1741, the Oirat Zunghars requested a visit to Lhasa to pay their respect to the fifth Panchen Lama, Lobsang Yeshe (1663-1737). It was the first of three such demands sent to the Qing imperial court, all of which triggered complicated logistical planning for the Qing administration. The trips are often considered within the framework of Qing China’s border trade or tribute missions during a short truce in the long Zunghars-Qing war. In this talk, I offer a reappraisal of the Zunghars’ journeys, and show that they were Buddhist pilgrimages within an expanding Buddhist Inner Asia. The analytical shift emphasizes the versatility of pilgrimages and the movement of things, and addresses the mutual dependency of a growing Buddhist network and shifting geopolitical reality in Inner Asia.

Speaker: Sangseraima Ujeed, Assistant Professor of Tibetan Buddhism, University of Michigan
Title: Tibetan/Himalayan Buddhists in the Early Modern Period: A Case of Tibeto-Mongolian Symbiosis
Abstract: Soon after the consolidation of sectarian Tibetan/Himalayan Buddhism, the major Tibetan Buddhist traditions formed codependent relationships with the various Mongolian factions led by the descendants of Chingghis Khan (1162-1227). The religio-political networks which grew out of these relationships brought about the coevolution of religion, culture, and identity amongst the people of the Himalayas and Inner Asia. The result was a geographically and culturally expansive transnational Tibetan Buddhist “symbiotic ecosystem”. This talk will explore aspects of the Tibeto-Mongolian symbiosis which was fundamental in the development of the tradition such as the multi-linear networks of reincarnation, knowledge transmission, monasteries, and immigration during the pre-modern period by presenting a comparative analysis of existing and new materials.

Moderator: Matthew King, Associate Professor in Transnational Buddhism, University of California, Riverside

Register for the Zoom link: https://columbiauniversity.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0kc-Gopj8pH9P1Yetv9Xt53xgqLSZM9KVJ
This event is a part of the lecture series “China, Inner Asia, and the World: Mongol and Qing Empires in Comparative Perspectives” sponsored by the Weatherhead East Asian Institute at Columbia University.

Event Contact Information: Ling-Wei Kung lk2627@columbia.edu