Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox Tibetan Buddhist monastery Potala Palace (Tibetan: པོ་ཏ་ལ་ཕོ་བྲང Chinese: 布达拉宫) is the name of a museum in Tibet Autonomous Region of China,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> previously a palace of the Tibetan sovereign, the Dalai Lama,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> in the dzong-style, in Lhasa, capital of Tibet. It was the winter palace of the Dalai Lamas from 1649. In 1959 the Tibetan government ceased inhabitation when the buildings were seized by the People's Republic of China.
The palace is named after Mount Potalaka, which within Buddhist thought is the mythical abode of the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara.<ref>Stein, R. A. Tibetan Civilization (1962). Translated into English with minor revisions by the author. 1st English edition by Faber & Faber, London (1972). Reprint: Stanford University Press (1972), p. 84</ref> The 5th Dalai Lama made decree for its construction in 1645<ref name="Laird, Thomas 2006 pp. 175">Laird, Thomas. (2006). The Story of Tibet: Conversations with the Dalai Lama, pp. 175. Grove Press, New York. Template:ISBN.</ref> with advice of Konchog Chophel<ref name="KarmayIIAS">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the Thirty-Fifth Ganden Tripa<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> of the monastical tradition of Tsongkhapa.<ref name="KarmayIIAS" /> The Potala is on ruins of the White or Red Palace,<ref name="TWDShakabpa">Template:Cite book</ref> built by decree of Songtsen Gampo in 637.<ref>Michael Dillon, China : a cultural and historical dictionary, Routledge, 1998, p. 184.</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Built at an altitude of 3,700 metres,Template:Efn on the side of Ri Marpo ('Red Mountain') in the centre of Lhasa Valley,<ref name="Stein206">Stein, R. A. Tibetan Civilization (1962). Translated into English with minor revisions by the author. 1st English edition by Faber & Faber, London (1972). Reprint: Stanford University Press (1972), p. 206</ref> the building measures 400m east–west and 350m north–south, with sloping stone walls averaging 3m thick, and 5m thick at the base, and with copper poured into the foundations to help proof it against earthquakes.<ref>Booz, Elisabeth B. (1986). Tibet, pp. 62–63. Passport Books, Hong Kong.</ref> The Potala is thirteen storeys of buildings which contain over 1,000 rooms, 10,000 shrines and about 200,000 statues. The building height is 119m on Marpo Ri, and more than 300m in total above the valley floor.<ref name="Buckley Strauss p131">Buckley, Michael and Strauss, Robert. Tibet: a travel survival kit, p. 131. Lonely Planet. South Yarra, Vic., Australia. Template:ISBN.</ref>
HistoryEdit
ContextEdit
The Dalai Lama inhabited an estate at Drepung Monastery known as Ganden Podrang.<ref>Tsepon Wangchuk Deden Shakabpa: p.327</ref> During 1621 Lhasa was made the jurisdiction of Ganden Podrang by Tsang.<ref>Tsepon Wangchuk Deden Shakabpa: p.334</ref> During the third month of 1642 Gushri Khan Dhamma King, Holder of the Faith, had taken from the <ref name=Shakabpa3467>Tsepon Wangchuk Deden Shakabpa: 346-7</ref> Sde-srid Tsang-pa regime of the Garma Gagyu Sect <ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>Template:Efn (Tsang) by military forces the places in Tibet, which was the Land of Wooden Doors, held by that governship; and then offered the thirteen parts of Tibet, which is the whole, to the Dalai Lama.<ref name=Shakabpa3467/> On the fifth day of the fourth month of the Water-Horse year in the 11th cycleTemplate:Efn the Dalai Lama was made sovereign of Tibet on the golden fearless snow lion throne.<ref>Tsepon Wangchuk Deden Shakabpa: 347</ref> Sometime during or soon after 1644, the Dalai Lama, the then regent of Ganden Podrang,Template:Efn and Gushri Khan all decided to build a palace.<ref>Tsepon Wangchuk Deden Shakabpa: 350</ref>
The Potala is built on the site of palace Songtsen Gampo on the Red Hill.<ref name="TWDShakabpa" /><ref name="Stein206" /> The Potala contains two chapels on its northwest corner that conserve parts of the earlier palace. One is the Phakpa Lhakhang, the other the Chogyel Drupuk, a recessed cavern identified as Songtsen Gampo's meditation cave.<ref>Gyurme Dorje, Tibet Handbook: With Bhutan, Footprint Travel Guides, 1999 pp. 101–3.</ref> Ngawang Lozang Gyatso,<ref>Tsepon Wangchuk Deden Shakabpa: p.331</ref> the Great Fifth Dalai Lama, started the construction of the modern Potala Palace in 1645,<ref name="Laird, Thomas 2006 pp. 175" />Template:Efn after one of his spiritual advisers, Konchog Chophel, pointed out that the site was ideal as a seat of government, situated as it is between Drepung and Sera monasteries and the old city of Lhasa.<ref name="Karman 2005 p1">Karmay, Samten C. (2005). "The Great Fifth", p. 1. Downloaded as a pdf file on 16 December 2007 from: Template:Webarchive</ref>
The external structure was built in 3 years, while the interior, together with its furnishings, took 45 years to complete.<ref>W. D. Shakabpa, One hundred thousand moons, translated with an introduction by Derek F. Maher BRILL, 2010, Vol.1, pp. 48–9.</ref>
InhabitationEdit
The new palace got its name from a hill on Cape Comorin at the southern tip of India—a rocky point sacred to the bodhisattva of compassion, who is known as Avalokitesvara, or Chenrezi.<ref name="Stein 1972 p228">Stein, R. A. (1972). Tibetan Civilization, p. 228. Translated by J. E. Stapleton Driver. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California. Template:ISBN (cloth); Template:ISBN (paper).</ref>Template:Efn
The Dalai Lama and his government moved into the Potrang Karpo ('White Palace') in 1649.<ref name="Karman 2005 p1" /> The Potala was used as a winter palace by the Dalai Lama from that time. Construction lasted until 1694,<ref name="Stein 1962 p84">Stein, R. A. Tibetan Civilization (1962). Translated into English with minor revisions by the author. 1st English edition by Faber & Faber, London (1972). Reprint: Stanford University Press (1972), p. 84.</ref> some twelve years after his death.<ref name="Stein 1962 p84" /> The Potrang Marpo ('Red Palace') was added between 1690 and 1694.<ref name="Stein 1962 p84" /> Kalachakra Mandala was constructed during the 1690s.<ref name=MS>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The Yamantaka Mandala was made during 1751.<ref name=MS/>
ModernEdit
The lower white frontage on the south side of the palace was used to hoist two gigantic thangkas joined representing the figures of Tara and Sakyamuni during the Sertreng Festival on the 30th day of the second Tibetan month.<ref>Pitt Rivers Museum Sertreng web.prm.ox.ac.uk University of Oxford</ref><ref>Hugh E. Richardson; Pitt Rivers Museum. The Potala taken from the south web.prm.ox.ac.uk University of Oxford</ref>
Amongst at least one group of Tibetans c.1950 the "Potala" is known colloquially as "Peak Potala" (Tse Potala), or most commonly as "the Peak".<ref>Lowell Thomas, Jr. (1951). Out of this World: Across the Himalayas to Tibet. Reprint: 1952, p. 181. Macdonald & Co., London</ref>
- 亜細亜大観 03 124 "西藏教皇達賴喇嘛法王の宮殿 （西藏）".jpg
Potala Palace in the 1920s
- The Zhol PIllar in 1949.jpg
The Sertreng ceremony on 28 April 1949 with thangkas on the front of the palace
After Chinese governmentshipEdit
The palace was moderately damaged during the Tibetan uprising against the Chinese in 1959, when Chinese shells were launched into the palace's windows.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Efn It escaped damage during the Cultural Revolution in 1966 through the personal intervention of Zhou Enlai,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> who was then the Premier of the People's Republic of China. According to Tibetan historian Tsering Woeser, the palace, which harboured "over 100,000 volumes of scriptures and historical documents" and "many store rooms for housing precious objects, handicrafts, paintings, wall hangings, statues, and ancient armour", "was almost robbed empty".<ref>Oser, Decline of Potala, 2007</ref>
The Potala Palace was inscribed to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1994.
Rapid modernisation has been a concern for UNESCO, however, which expressed concern over the building of modern structures immediately around the palace which threaten the palace's unique atmosphere.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Chinese government responded by enacting a rule barring the building of any structure taller than 21 metres in the area. UNESCO was also concerned over the materials used during the restoration of the palace, which commenced in 2002 at a cost of RMB180 million (US$22.5 million), although the palace's director, Qiangba Gesang, has clarified that only traditional materials and craftsmanship were used. The palace has also received restoration works between 1989 and 1994, costing RMB55 million (US$6.875 million).
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The number of visitors to the palace was restricted to 1,600 a day, with opening hours reduced to six hours daily to avoid over-crowding from 1 May 2003. The palace was receiving an average of 1,500 a day prior to the introduction of the quota, sometimes peaking to over 5,000 in one day.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Visits to the structure's roof were banned after restoration efforts were completed in 2006 to avoid further structural damage.<ref>Potala Palace bans roof tour Template:Webarchive</ref> Visitorship quotas were raised to 2,300 daily to accommodate a 30% increase in visitorship since the opening of the Qingzang railway into Lhasa on 1 July 2006, but the quota is often reached by mid-morning.<ref>Tibet's Potala Palace to restrict visitors to 2,300 a day Template:Webarchive</ref> Opening hours were extended during the peak period in the months of July to September, where over 6,000 visitors would descend on the site.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
ArchitectureEdit
- 048 Potala (3).JPG
- Lhasa, Potala 1999 04.jpg
- Lhasa Potala.jpg
The Potala has inward-sloping walls with straight rows of many windows at the upper parts of the walls, and flat roofs at various levels. At the south base of the rock is a large space enclosed by walls and gates with great porticos on the inner side. A series of staircases with intervals leads to the summit of the rock. The whole width of this is occupied by the palace.Template:Citation needed
The central part of the group of buildings is a quadrangular terminating in gilt canopies similar to those on Jokhang Temple Monastery. The crimson coloured central member of Potala is called the "red palace" and contains the principal halls and chapels and shrines of past Dalai Lamas.
The colours: red, white, yellow, are caused by the application of limestone.<ref name="TWDShakabpa" />
White PotalaEdit
- Lhasa-Potala-66-Ostseite-2014-gje.jpg
- Palacio de Potala - 04.JPG
- Lhasa, Potala 1999 05.jpg
Red PotalaEdit
- Lhasa, Potala 1999 11.jpg
- Potala V.jpg
- Potala Red Palace walls.jpg
InteriorEdit
- Deatail of decoration in Potala.jpg
Detail of decoration
- Copy of 331016571Potala original.tif
A copy of 13th-14th century Buddha statue
- IMG 1206 Lhasa Potala.jpg
The former quarters of the Dalai Lama. The figure in the throne represents Tenzin Gyatso, the incumbent Dalai Lama. The throne bears the Chinese character Template:Linktext, meaning "long life".
GroundsEdit
- Potala-from-behind 07-2005.jpg
View from behind, seen from Ching Drol Chi Ling
- The quiet and peaceful park, pond, and chapel behind the Potala.jpg
The park, pond, and chapel behind the Potala
See alsoEdit
- Dhvaja
- Kundun, a 1997 film about the Dalai Lama, chiefly set inside the palace
- Leh Palace
- Lhasa Mass Art Museum
- Lhasa Zhol Pillar
- List of tallest structures built before the 20th century
- Mount Putuo
- Norbulingka, the Dalai Lama's former summer palace
- Patala, Patala/Potala
- Seven Years in Tibet
NotesEdit
ReferencesEdit
SourcesEdit
- Beckwith, Christopher I. (1987). The Tibetan Empire in Central Asia. Princeton University Press. Princeton, New Jersey. Template:ISBN.
- Bishop, Peter. "Reading the Potala". In: Sacred Spaces and Powerful Places in Tibetan Culture: A Collection of Essays. (1999) Edited by Toni Huber, pp. 367–388. The Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, Dharamsala, H.P., India. Template:ISBN.
- Das, Sarat Chandra. Lhasa and Central Tibet. (1902). Edited by W. W. Rockhill. Reprint: Mehra Offset Press, Delhi (1988), pp. 145–146; 166–169; 262–263 and illustration opposite p. 154.
- Larsen and Sinding-Larsen (2001). The Lhasa Atlas: Traditional Tibetan Architecture and Landscape, Knud Larsen and Amund Sinding-Larsen. Shambhala Books, Boston. Template:ISBN.
- Richardson, Hugh E. (1984) Tibet & Its History. 1st edition 1962. Second Edition, Revised and Updated. Shambhala Publications. Boston Template:ISBN.
- Richardson, Hugh E. (1985). A Corpus of Early Tibetan Inscriptions. Royal Asiatic Society. Template:ISBN.
- Snellgrove, David & Hugh Richardson. (1995). A Cultural History of Tibet. 1st edition 1968. 1995 edition with new material. Shambhala. Boston & London. Template:ISBN.
- von Schroeder, Ulrich. (1981). Indo-Tibetan Bronzes. (608 pages, 1244 illustrations). Hong Kong: Visual Dharma Publications Ltd. Template:ISBN
- von Schroeder, Ulrich. (2001). Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet. Vol. One: India & Nepal; Vol. Two: Tibet & China. (Volume One: 655 pages with 766 illustrations; Volume Two: 675 pages with 987 illustrations). Hong Kong: Visual Dharma Publications, Ltd. Template:ISBN
- von Schroeder, Ulrich. 2008. 108 Buddhist Statues in Tibet. (212 p., 112 colour illustrations) (DVD with 527 digital photographs). Chicago: Serindia Publications. Template:ISBN
- Yule, Henry; Waddell, Lawrence. {{#if: |
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External linksEdit
- Template:Official website
- Potala Palace at UNESCO.org
- Potala Palace with related biographies, art, and timelines (The Treasury of Lives)
- Potala (Tibetan and Himalayan Digital Library)
- Research work on possible relation with Potala, Malaya Mountains and South India
- Research work on Buddhism in India
- Google Maps location of Potala Palace
- Three-dimensional rendering of Potala Palace Template:In lang
- Template:Osmway
- The Potala palace (archived)
- Potala Palace Tour in Tibet is one of the most prominent attractions to be visited not only by the tourists from all around the world but even to the native Tibetans and the Potala Place had been list in UNESCO's World Heritage in 1994.
- Template:Cite journal
Template:Buddhism topics Template:Dalai Lamas Template:TibetanBuddhism Template:Lhasa Template:Dzongs of Tibet Template:World Heritage Sites in China Template:Authority control