Forging the Golden Urn: The Qing Empire and the Politics of Reincarnation in Tibet

by Max Oidtmann

Book Overview

In 1995, the People's Republic of China resurrected a Qing-era law mandating that the reincarnations of prominent Tibetan Buddhist monks be identified by drawing lots from a golden urn. The Chinese Communist Party hoped to limit the ability of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government-in-exile to independently identify reincarnations. In so doing, they elevated a long-forgotten ceremony into a controversial symbol of Chinese sovereignty in Tibet...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0231184077
• ISBN13: 9780231184076
• Release Date: March 2023
• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 1.14 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 9.0"