Chushul Chakzam Explained
| Chushul Chakzam |
| T: | ཆུ་ཤུལ་ལྕགས་ཟམ |
| W: | chu shul lcags zam |
| Thdl: | chu shül chak zam |
| Chaksam Chuwori |
| T: | ལྕགས་ཟམ་ཆུ་བོ་རི |
| W: | lcags zam chu bo ri |
| Thdl: | chak zam chuwo ri |
The Chushul Chakzam, or simply Chakzam which literally means "iron bridge" in Standard Tibetan, was a suspension bridge that spanned the Yarlung Tsangpo river in modern-day Qüxü County near Lhasa, Tibet. It was built in 1430 by Thang Tong Gyalpo.[1] The southern bridgehead was built on the mountain Chowuri, which is sacred in Tibetan Buddhism. This mountain was a site where Guru Rinpoche and Trisong Detsen had meditated during the 8th Century.[2] When it was built, its main section was the longest unsupported span in the world, with a central span estimated at around 150yd.
In 1444, a monastery Chaksam Chuwori was founded on the southern bridgehead.[2] During its existence, the monastery served as the seat of Chakzampa school of Tibetan Buddhism.[2] Supported by the bridge toll, the monastery at one point hosted about 100 monks.[3] The monastery was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution.[4]
History
By the 1860s, the bridge was in a state of disrepair that a ferry was in operation slightly upstream offering safer passage.[5] By 1904, the river had overflown the north bank leaving the northern bridgehead on an island, thus rendering the bridge functionally ineffective.[6] The ferryman mostly came from a nearby village of Chun or Junba, which is the only fishing village in Tibet.[7] [8] [9] The ferry service continued as late as 1959.[7]
During the Qing expedition to Tibet of 1910, the 13th Dalai Lama decided to seek refuge in India. His general Tsarong fought a skirmish against the Chinese here, holding their advances allowing the Dalai Lama to safely arrive in India.[10]
The bridge was torn down by the Chinese government in the 1950s when they were building the concrete bridge in its place.[2] The new concrete bridge Qushui Yaluzangbujiang Bridge opened on August 1, 1966.[11]
See also
External links
Notes and References
- Dundul Namgyal Tsarong, Ani K. Trinlay Chödron, In the service of his country: the biography of Dasang Damdul Tsarong, commander general of Tibet, Snow Lion Publications, 2000,, p. 26
- Book: Gerner, Manfred. Gregor. Verhufen. Chakzampa Thangtong Gyalpo: Architect, Philosopher and Iron Chain Bridge Builder. 2007. Centre for Bhutan Studies. 978-99936-14-39-5. (p12) This monastery is located at the holy mountain of Chuwo Ri (Chu bo ri), above the southern bridgehead of his iron chain bridge across the Yarlung Tsangpo river. Chuwo Ri is one of eight original meditation caves of Guru Rinpoche and the eighth century king of the Dharma, Trisong Detsen. (p32) In Tibet, the large monastery of Chakzam Chuwo Ri (lCags zam Chu bo ri) that Thangtong Gyalpo founded in 1444, located at the southern bridgehead of his famous 'Chakzam' across the Yarlung Tsangpo river, above its confluence with the Kyichu river (sKyid chu) became his main seat. Later, the monastery of Chakzam Chuwo Ri became the main monastery of the Chakzampa school as well as the seat of the Chakzampa Tulkus. (p83) Chinese engineers tore down this bridge during the construction of the new concrete bridge in about 1950 (p85) 30 centimetres wide.
- Book: Dowman, Keith. The Power-places of Central Tibet: The Pilgrim's Guide. 2008. Vajra Publications. 978-9937-506-04-5. 137. The 100 monks of this gompa were supported by the bridge toll..
- Book: Lungta. 2001. Amnye Machen Institute. the monastery of Lcags zam Chu bo ri ... was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution..
- Book: Report on the Trans-Himalayan Explorations in Connection with the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India During 1865-67. 1867. 47. we were rowed down the stream to Chusul village, passing Chaksam Chori village, which is situated on the right bank of the river, at foot of hill, and alongside an old bridge (formed of iron chain and rope), which owing to its insecurity, is seldom or never used, the ferries being preferable..
- Lhasa and its mysteries : with a record of the expedition of 1903-1904 . Index:Lhasa and its mysteries.djvu . Waddell . Lawrence Austine . Laurence Waddell . 1906 . E.P. Dutton . New York . 312-313 . (p312) bridge spans picturesquely the main stream of the river about 200 yards below the ferry, under the monastery which bears its name, "The holy hill of the Iron Bridge" (Chak-sam ch'ö-ri). ... it is not used at present, owing apparently to the river having burst for nearly half its waters a fresh channel to the north, and so having left the northern end of the bridge stranded amid-stream ... It is about 150 yards in length and 15 feet above flood-level ... (p313) The bridge was still in use in 1878.
- "The Boatman is more Beautiful than a God" Poetising and Singing on the Rivers in Central and Southern Tibet. Diana Lange. The Illuminating Mirror. Tibetan Studies in Honour of per K. Soerensen on the Occasion of His 65th Birthday. Academia. 2015. 21 January 2020. Chaksam ferry station ... was served by villagers from the fishing village Chun ('Jun) during the entire year. Transport services along the route between Lhasa and Tsetang were also carried out by villagers. Chun is situated on the east bank of the southern part of the Kyichu, close to Chushur. It is the only village in Central Tibet where the inhabitants still live as fishermen..
- Web site: From legend to reality – a fishing village in Tibet. Elaine. Duan. china.org.cn. December 15, 2010. 21 January 2020. In fact, Junba is the only fishing village in Tibet..
- Web site: 西藏唯一的渔村, 因吃鱼而曾备受歧视, 连老婆都娶不到！. 日本旅宿小小咖. Sina. 2018-01-14. 21 January 2020. zh.
- Book: Paul G. Hackett. Theos Bernard, the White Lama: Tibet, Yoga, and American Religious Life. 1 May 2012. Columbia University Press. 978-0-231-53037-8. 457. Dasang Damdul and his men followed the escape route taken by the Great Thirteenth’s entourage--as did the Chinese force pursuing both of their parties--and at Chaksam Ferry four miles outside of Lhasa, decided to make a stand. ... Dasang Damdul would come to be known as the "Hero of Chaksam Ferry.".
- Web site: [西藏民主改革60周年专题展览 废奴丰碑]之八]. 常邦丽. tibetinfor.org. 2019-06-19. 22 January 2020. 1966年8月1日，曲水雅鲁藏布江大桥建成通车。.
