the southwest 227The Southwest
Tibet
In the earlier days, the Chinese distinguished between two kinds of
Tibetans, the Ti and the Ch’iang. The former, among whom the
White Horse Ti were best known, lived during Han times in the
valleys of the western part of the Ch’in Range and were culturally
more advanced than the Ch’iang in what now is Tibet. Some of the
Ti subsequently infiltrated northwestern China. During the Period of
Division, they founded two northern dynasties, the Former Ch’in (351-
394) and the Later Liang (386-404). A Ch’iang, formerly in Chinese
service, founded the Later Ch’in Dynasty (384-417).
By T’ang times, the Ti had disappeared, and the Ch’iang were by
that dynasty, the Five Dynasties, and the Sung usually referred to as
T’u-fan. These T’u-fan or Tibetans were in the 630’s for the first time
in their history united into a kingdom by Gnam-ri-srong-btsan and
his son Srong-btsan-sgam-po. It lasted for a little over two centuries
and then disintegrated (map. 6 ).
On Dec.11, 634, envoys from Srong-btsan-sgam-po were received at
the T’ang court. This was his first mission to China after the unifica-
tion of Tibet, although Emperor T’ai-tsung had sent letters to Tibet
from 627. T’ai-tsung dispatched an Usher on a return mission (Chiu
T’ang shu 3:3b; 196A:2a; Ts’e-fu yüan-kuei p.5024; Tzu-chih t’ung-chien
pp.6107-6108, 6791).
In the 12th month (Jan./Feb., 636) of the Chinese year 635, Tibetan
envoys returned with the Usher to the T’ang court. They presented gold
and other valuables with a letter from their king, seeking a marriage
with a Chinese princess. T’ai-tsung rejected this. Srong-btsan-sgam-po
repeated his demand at the risk of war and then attacked the upper
reaches of the Min River in Ssu-ch’uan. Marching down along the
river, he approached the great city of Ch’eng-tu, but he was defeated
on Nov.3, 638, and withdrew. This experience changed T’ai-tsung’s
mind (Chiu T’ang shu 196A:2a-2b; Ts’e-fu yüan-kuei p.5024; Tzu-chih
t’ung-chien p.6139, 6140).
When on Dec.11, 640, Srong-btsan-sgam-po’s envoys presented
vessels of real gold with a combined weight of 1000 catties and again
requested a marriage, T’ai-tsung agreed and enfeoffed a lady of the