Sino-Tibetan relations during the Ming dynasty
Shih-Shan Henry Tsai writes that the Yongle Emperor sent his eunuch Yang Sanbao into Tibet in 1413 to gain the allegiance of various Tibetan princes, while the Yongle Emperor paid a small fortune in return gifts for tributes in order to maintain the loyalty of neighboring vassal states such as Nepal and Tibet. However, Van Praag states that Tibetan rulers upheld their own separate relations with the kingdoms of Nepal and Kashmir, and at times "engaged in armed confrontation with them."
Sino-Tibetan relations during the Ming dynasty
Some scholars note that Tibetan leaders during the Ming frequently engaged in civil war and conducted their own foreign diplomacy with neighboring states such as Nepal. Some scholars underscore the commercial aspect of the Ming-Tibetan relationship, noting the Ming dynasty's shortage of horses for warfare and thus the importance of the horse trade with Tibet. Others argue that the significant religious nature of the relationship of the Ming court with Tibetan lamas is underrepresented in modern scholarship. In hopes of reviving the unique relationship of the earlier Mongol leader Kublai Khan (r. 1260–1294) and his spiritual superior Drogön Chögyal Phagpa (1235–1280) of the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism, the Yongle Emperor (r. 1402–1424) made a concerted effort to build a secular and religious alliance with Deshin Shekpa (1384–1415), the Karmapa of the Karma Kagyu school. However, the Yongle Emperor's attempts were unsuccessful.
Sino-Tibetan relations during the Ming dynasty
As evident in his imperial edicts, the Hongwu Emperor was well aware of the Buddhist link between Tibet and China and wanted to foster it. Rolpe Dorje, 4th Karmapa Lama (1340–1383) rejected the Hongwu Emperor's invitation, although he did send some disciples as envoys to the court in Nanjing. The Hongwu Emperor also entrusted his guru Zongluo, one of many Buddhist monks at court, to head a religious mission into Tibet in 1378–1382 in order to obtain Buddhist texts.
Yangtze
The Tuotuo River (沱沱河, p Tuótuó Hé, lit. ``Tearful River ''is the official headstream of the Yangtze, and flows 358 km (222 mi) from the glaciers of the Gelaindong Massif in the Tanggula Mountains of southwestern Qinghai to the confluence with the Dangqu River to form the Tongtian River.) In Mongolian, this section of the river known as the Ulaan Mörön or the`` Red River''.
Sino-Tibetan relations during the Ming dynasty
Throughout the following month, the Yongle Emperor and his court showered the Karmapa with presents. At Linggu Temple in Nanjing, he presided over the religious ceremonies for the Yongle Emperor's deceased parents, while twenty-two days of his stay were marked by religious miracles that were recorded in five languages on a gigantic scroll that bore the Emperor's seal. During his stay in Nanjing, Deshin Shekpa was bestowed the title "Great Treasure Prince of Dharma" by the Yongle Emperor. Elliot Sperling asserts that the Yongle Emperor, in bestowing Deshin Shekpa with the title of "King" and praising his mystical abilities and miracles, was trying to build an alliance with the Karmapa as the Mongols had with the Sakya lamas, but Deshin Shekpa rejected the Yongle Emperor's offer. In fact, this was the same title that Kublai Khan had offered the Sakya Phagpa lama, but Deshin Shekpa persuaded the Yongle Emperor to grant the title to religious leaders of other Tibetan Buddhist sects.
Fengjie County
Fengjie County () is a county of Chongqing Municipality, China. It is on the Yangtze River; located within a couple hundreds kilometers upstream from the Three Gorges Dam, it is within the dam's affected area.
Nanjing
Nanjing is the transportation hub in eastern China and the downstream Yangtze River area. Different means of transportation constitute a three-dimensional transport system that includes land, water and air. As in most other Chinese cities, public transportation is the dominant mode of travel of the majority of the citizens. As of October 2014, Nanjing had five bridges and two tunnels over the Yangtze River, which are tying districts north of the river with the city centre on the south bank.
Fourth Nanjing Yangtze Bridge
The Fourth Nanjing Yangtze Bridge is a suspension bridge over the Yangtze River in Nanjing, China. The bridge is the sixth longest span in the world and the third largest in China.
Sino-Tibetan relations during the Ming dynasty
During his travels beginning in 1403, Deshin Shekpa was induced by further exhortations by the Ming court to visit Nanjing by April 10, 1407. Norbu writes that the Yongle Emperor, following the tradition of Mongol emperors and their reverence for the Sakya lamas, showed an enormous amount of deference towards Deshin Shekpa. The Yongle Emperor came out of the palace in Nanjing to greet the Karmapa and did not require him to kowtow like a tributary vassal. According to Karma Thinley, the emperor gave the Karmapa the place of honor at his left, and on a higher throne than his own. Rossabi and others describe a similar arrangement made by Kublai Khan and the Sakya Phagpa lama, writing that Kublai would "sit on a lower platform than the Tibetan cleric" when receiving religious instructions from him.
Nanjing
Nanjing, with a total land area of 6,598 square kilometres (2,548 sq mi), is situated in the heartland of drainage area of lower reaches of Yangtze River, and in Yangtze River Delta, one of the largest economic zones of China. The Yangtze River flows past the west side and then north side of Nanjing City, while the Ningzheng Ridge surrounds the north, east and south side of the city. The city is 300 kilometres (190 mi) west-northwest of Shanghai, 1,200 kilometres (750 mi) south-southeast of Beijing, and 1,400 kilometres (870 mi) east-northeast of Chongqing. The downstream Yangtze River flows from Jiujiang, Jiangxi, through Anhui and Jiangsu to East Sea, north to drainage basin of downstream Yangtze is Huai River basin and south to it is Zhe River basin, and they are connected by the Grand Canal east to Nanjing. The area around Nanjing is called Hsiajiang (下江, Downstream River) region, with Jianghuai (江淮) stressing northern part and Jiangzhe (江浙) stressing southern part. The region is also known as Dongnan (東南, South East, the Southeast) and Jiangnan (江南, River South, south of Yangtze).
Dafosi Bridge
The Dafosi Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge spanning over the Yangtze River in Chongqing, China. The bridge carries 6 lanes of traffic on the G65 Baotou–Maoming Expressway between the Nan'an District east of the Yangtze River and the Jiangbei District to the west.
Sino-Tibetan relations during the Ming dynasty
Even though the Gelug exchanged gifts with and sent missions to the Ming court up until the 1430s, the Gelug was not mentioned in the Mingshi or the Mingshi Lu. On this, historian Li Tieh-tseng says of Tsongkhapa's refusal of Ming invitations to visit the Yongle Emperor's court:
Sino-Tibetan relations during the Ming dynasty
In order to seek out the Karmapa, the Yongle Emperor dispatched his eunuch Hou Xian and the Buddhist monk Zhi Guang (d. 1435) to Tibet. Traveling to Lhasa either through Qinghai or via the Silk Road to Khotan, Hou Xian and Zhi Guang did not return to Nanjing until 1407.
Dashengguan Yangtze River Bridge
The Dashengguan Yangtze River Bridge () crosses the Yangtze River in Nanjing, Jiangsu. Construction of the bridge started in 2006 and it was completed in 2010. The bridge has two main spans of it is one of the largest arch bridges in the world. It carries six tracks: two for the Beijing–Shanghai High-Speed Railway (opened on 30 June 2011), two for the Shanghai–Wuhan–Chengdu high-speed railway (opened on 22 January 2011) and two for line S3 of the Nanjing Metro (opened on 6 December 2017).
Sino-Tibetan relations during the Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty granted titles to lamas of schools such as the Karmapa Kargyu, but the latter had previously declined Mongol invitations to receive titles. When the Ming Yongle Emperor invited Je Tsongkhapa (1357–1419), founder of the Gelug school, to come to the Ming court and pay tribute, the latter declined. Wang and Nyima write that this was due to old age and physical weakness, and also because of efforts being made to build three major monasteries. Chen Qingying states that Tsongkhapa wrote a letter to decline the Emperor's invitation, and in this reply, Tsongkhapa wrote:
Wuhan Junshan Yangtze River Bridge
The Wuhan Junshan Yangtze River Bridge is a large cable-stayed bridge over the Yangtze River. The bridge carries 6 lanes of traffic between the Caidian District and the Jiangxia District of Wuhan, Hubei. A concurrency of expressways go over the bridge: The G4 Beijing–Hong Kong–Macau Expressway, the G50 Shanghai–Chongqing Expressway, and the G4201 Wuhan Ring Expressway. The bridge, which was opened in 2001, is one of the largest cable-stayed bridges in the world.
Wushan Yangtze River Bridge
The Wushan Yangtze River Bridge is an arch bridge, which carries S301 Provincial Road across the Yangtze River near Wushan, Chongqing, China. Completed in 2005, the high arch spans ranking it in the top ten longest arch bridges in the world. The bridge is also among the highest in the world however, the reservoir created by the construction of the Three Gorges Dam has increased the height of the water below the bridge, and the full clearance is no longer visible.
Sino-Tibetan relations during the Ming dynasty
In his usurpation of the throne from the Jianwen Emperor (r. 1398–1402), the Yongle Emperor was aided by the Buddhist monk Yao Guangxiao, and like his father, the Hongwu Emperor, the Yongle Emperor was "well-disposed towards Buddhism", claims Rossabi. On March 10, 1403, the Yongle Emperor invited Deshin Shekpa, 5th Karmapa Lama (1384–1415), to his court, even though the fourth Karmapa had rejected the invitation of the Hongwu Emperor. A Tibetan translation in the 16th century preserves the letter of the Yongle Emperor, which the Association for Asian Studies notes is polite and complimentary towards the Karmapa. The letter of invitation reads,
Sino-Tibetan relations during the Ming dynasty
The Information Office of the State Council of the PRC preserves an edict of the Zhengtong Emperor (r. 1435–1449) addressed to the Karmapa in 1445, written after the latter's agent had brought holy relics to the Ming court. Zhengtong had the following message delivered to the Great Treasure Prince of Dharma, the Karmapa:
Yiling Yangtze River Bridge
The Yiling Yangtze River Bridge () is a cable-stayed bridge over the Yangtze River in the city-center of Yichang, Hubei. It has 3 towers and two main spans, with a total of 4 spans including the side spans. It is a road bridge which carries four lanes of roadway and has a toll booth at one end. The bridge has a singular cable tension system, which carries the deck from the center. The Bridge crosses the Yangtze River, near Dagongqiao in Yichang. The main spans are 346 meters each. At the end of the bridge, to the south there is a cloverleaf interchange after the toll booth which is and exchange for the road.
Where does the Yangtze River flow in the city where the Yongle emperor greeted the person to whom the edict was addressed?
Who was the edict addressed to?
the Karmapa
Where did the Yongle Emperor greet the #1 ?
Nanjing
Where does the Yangtze River flow in #2 ?
past the west side and then north side