Gyalrong people explained

Group:Gyalrong
Population:120,000
Popplace:Sichuan, China
Languages:Mandarin, Gyalrong (traditional)
Religions:Tibetan Buddhism
Related:Tibetan, Qiang, Tangut

The Gyalrong, also called the rGyalrong or Jiarong (Chinese: s=嘉绒人), are speakers of the Qiangic Gyalrong language who live in the southern part of Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan, China. They are also found in Danba County of Garze Prefecture. The word Gyalrong is an exo-ethnonym and loanword from the Tibetan word rGyal-mo tsha-wa rong.[1]

The Gyalrong refer to themselves as Keru.[2] During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Gyalrong were ruled by local chieftains (Tusi). In 1746, Slob Dpon, the chieftain of Greater Jinchuan, was trying to unite tribes in Sichuan, forcing the Qing dynasty to launch campaigns to suppress them. After 1950, the People's Republic of China classified them as a sub-group of the Tibetan people.

The dominant religion of Gyalrong was once Bon, but in the early 15th Century CE the region received missionaries from central Tibet teaching the doctrine of the Gelug order of Tibetan Buddhism. Despite strenuous opposition from Bon priests, the Gelugpa succeeded in building many large monasteries in Gyalrong such as Dhe-Tsang Monastery.[3]

Notable Gyalrong

Gyalrong kingdoms

Before the Chinese Land Reform Movement there were 18 Gyalrong kingdoms/chiefdoms (嘉绒十八土司) in this area:

See also

Notes and References

  1. Prins, Marielle. 2011. A web of relations: A grammar of rGyalrong Ji omùzú, p. 18.
  2. Web site: in search of a language unrecognised . 8 November 2015 .
  3. Web site: Built Heritage on the Eastern Tibetan plateau: Dhe-Tsang Monastery. 8 July 2024.

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