The Treasury of Lives

Yangchen Drolma (dbyangs can sgrol ma) was born in 1855. Her father, Ngodrub Puntsok (dngos grub phun tshogs, d. 1875), was the sixth chieftain of the Khangsar family (khang gsar tshang), which ruled the Kandze region of Kham. Kandze at the time was one of the largest polities in Kham, alongside Derge and the Chakla Kingdom in Dartsedo. Ngodrub Puntsok was married to Tashi Drolma (bkra shis sgrol ma), who may have been the daughter of Damtsik Dorje (dam tshig rdo rje, 1811–1853), the king of Derge.^[1] The marriage produced no children, and Yangchen Drolma's biological mother was Tashi Drolma's maid.

Ngodrub Puntsok's authority as chieftain was enhanced by the religious status of two of his brothers. His eldest brother was Rala Rinpoche (rwa la /ra la sprul sku) of Dzakhok (rdza khog), while the second brother had been a candidate for the reincarnation of the Eleventh Dalai Lama, Khedrub Gyatso (ta la'i bla ma 11 rgyal ba mkhas grub rgya mtsho, 1838–1855), and, on not being selected, was given the title of First Khangsar Kyabgon, Lobzang Tsultrim (khang gsar skyabs mgon 01 slob bzang tshul khrims, 1838/1848–1897) of Kandze Monastery (dkar mdzes dgon).^[2] Yangchen Drolma's son, Lobzang Gyatso (blo bzang rgya mtsho) appears to have been recognized as the reincarnation of his uncle, the First Khangsar Kyabgon.^[3]

Because Tashi Drolma had no children, when her father died Yangchen Drolma inherited the chieftaincy. As Yudru Tsomu explains, women in traditional Kham were able to inherit offices, titles, and property if they were their father's sole child.^[4] Nevertheless, the female heir was often expected to cede control of her inheritance to her husband, and so, like the children of all powerful Tibetans, her marriage was a matter of considerable importance. The family proposed that she marry Ngawang Jampel Rinchen (ngag dbang 'jam dpal rin chen, d. 1918), the younger son of the Derge king, Chime Takpai Dorje ('chi med rtag pa'i rdo rje, 1841/1851–1897). The Derge court declined the alliance, however, as Ngawang Jampel Rinchen was intended to ordain and head the royal monastery, Lhundrubteng (lhun grub steng), also known as Derge Gonchen (sde dge dgon chen). In his place they proposed Tsewang Puntsok (tshe dbang phun tshogs) of the aristocratic Atub (a thub) family, whom they offered to ennoble with the status of a prince.^[5]

The marriage was not a success, and after some years Yangchen Drolma lived away from the family estate in Kandze, residing at Dotok Monastery (mdo thog dgon) to the south of the city for three years. In the wake of the separation, subordinates in the Khangsar administration fell behind either Yangchen Drolma or her estranged husband, and the conflict erupted in violence, with Yangchen Drolma emerging victorious. She then returned to the Khangsar residence and took charge of administering the territory. This was at a time when the Tibetan government in Lhasa administered the neighboring Nyarong region, having conquered it in 1865 by defeating the Nyarong chieftain Gonpo Namgyel (mgon po rnam rgyal, 1799–1865). Around the year 1895 the Tibetan Nyarong governor (nyag rong spyi khyab) at the time, Demonpa Dudul Dorje (sde smon pa bdud 'dul rdo rje), mediated the formal separation between Yanchen Drolma and Tsewang Puntsok, stipulating that their son, Ngodrub Tenzin Jigme (dngos grub bstan 'dzin 'jigs med, 1887–1924) would inherit the chieftaincy.^[6]

Tsomo describes Yanchen Drolma as a capable administrator, instrumental in expanding the family's territory. She married her son to Tsewang Drolma (tshe dbang sgrol ma), the only child of the Mazur (ma zur) chieftain who ruled the Tawu region. When he was murdered in 1901, Yangchen Drolma asserted the right of Tsewang Drolma's husband to inherit the territory, which she then ruled on his behalf.

When the infamous Chinese general Zhao Erfeng (趙爾豊, 1945–1911) passed through Kandze in 1908, on his way to conquer Derge, Yangchen Drolma refused to allow his troops to enter Kandze. In April 1910 she left Kandze on the pretext of embarking on a pilgrimage to central Tibet, but was quickly captured by Zhao's troops and held at their garrison in Mazur. The following year Zhao, whose mission in Kham was the annexation to the Qing state of all traditional polities under the implementation of a policy of gaitu guiliu 改土歸流, or "transforming chieftainships into district administration," stripped the Khangsar family of all imperial seals and titled, including her son's title of Khangsar Kyabgon (khang gsar skyabs mgon), and demanded that the family henceforth pay taxes to the new Qing office in Kandze.^[7]

Yangchen Drolma did not concede defeat. She sought new alliances by marrying her recently widowed eldest son to Pelden Drolma (dpal ldan sgrol ma), the daughter of the Beri chieftain, and she moved her family to Beri. When the Qing empire collapsed in 1912 like most Khampa rulers who had been deposed by Zhao, Yangchen Drolma returned her family to the chieftaincy of Kandze, her son now old enough to assume the mantle of eighth chieftain. The family benefited from the continuing struggle between Lhasa and China, now ostensibly ruled by the Republican government, by accepting titles from the Republican commissioner of the Sichuan borderlands, Chen Xialing. After Ngodrub Tenzin Jigme passed away, the chieftaincy officially passed to his daughter, Dechen Wangmo (bde chen dbang mo, 1915–1952), who also assumed titles within the precarious Qing administration. Yangchen Drolma ruled on her behalf, initiating new revenue streams with a new ferry crossing on the Nyakchu River and a new taxation commissioner. According to Chinese reports the Khangsar family was, by the start of the 1930s, the wealthiest family in Kandze was completely in control of the territory, such that Chinese officials could accomplish nothing without the Khangsar family's permission.^[8]

Yangchen Drolma passed away in 1935.

 

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