. tibetan buddhism in mongol-yuan china (–) 543
Mahākāla was thus called the Grand Protective Deity of the Coun-
try, and Mahākāla temples and statues were scattered throughout the
country.^11
The legendary Nepalese artist Anige (1245–1306) came to Dadu
, the Great Capital of the Mongols in 1267, together with ’Phags
pa. He was appointed Supervisor-in-Chief of All Classes of Artisans
(Zhuse renjiang zongguan ) by Kubiai Khan and served
the Great Khan and his successor for forty-five years as an architect,
statue maker, and producer of “silken paintings.” He was the chief
architect of the famed White Stūpa consecrated in 1279 in Beijing,
and the similarly constructed stūpa in its original form from 1301 at
Wutai Shan.^12
According to Chinese sources, Tibetan monks formed an endless
stream on their way to China proper. They were clearly not all of the
Sa skya pa tradition; Tibetan monks of other sects were present at the
Mongol court. Monks of the bKa’ brgyud pa tradition were especially
favored by the Mongol Khans. For instance, U rgyan pa Rin chen dpal
(1230–1309), a great Tibetan yogi, thaumaturge, scholar, alchemist,
and traveler from the Mar pa bKa’ brgyud pa tradition, a contempo-
rary of ’Phags pa, was active at the court of Kubiai Khan.^13
By the late Mongol Yuan dynasty, the Sa skya pa domination was
disintegrating. Lamas of the Karma bKa’ brgyud pa tradition became
the locus of religious power and authority, as these had developed
between the Sa skya pa and the Mongols. Both the third patriarch,
Rang byung rod rje (1284–1339), and the fourth patriarch, Rol pa’i rdo
rje (1340–1383), of the Karma bKa’ brgyud pa were invited to Dadu
and spent considerable time in China proper. Rang byung rdo rje’s
works on yogic practice and the Avalokiteśvara cult were translated
into both Chinese and Uighur during the Yuan period. Rol pa’i rdo
rje’s relationship with the last Yuan emperor Toγon Temür (1336–
1405) was comparable to that between ’Phags pa and Kubiai Khan.
The preeminence of the Karma bKa’ brgyud pa at the court of Toγon
Temür was a leading factor in the Karma pa coming quickly to the
attention of the Ming, the Chinese successors to the Mongol rulers of
the Yuan.^14
(^11) Shen 2004; see also Franke 1984.
(^12) Jing 1994; Franke 1994.
(^13) van der Kuijp 2004.
(^14) Sperling 2004b.