The Treasury of Lives

Tobgyal Pangdatsang, born approximately in 1904, was the youngest son of Nyigyel Pangdatsang (nyi rgyal spang mda' tshang, d. 1921), a Khampa trader who built the Pangdatsang family into one of the great trading firms of early twentieth century Tibet, and his wife Nyi Karma (nyi kar ma), a member of the Drongmetsang (grong smad tshang) family of Markham (rmar khams). He had three brothers: Nyima (nyi ma, 1883-1940s), Rapga Tendzin Lhundrub (rab dga' bstan 'dzin lhun 'grub, 1902-1976), and Lobzang Yampel (blo bzang yar 'phel, c.1900-1972/3). Within the span of two generations, the Pangdatsang family accrued great wealth, power and influence for a time, rising to become one of the wealthiest families in all of Tibet such that there was a saying: "The earth is Pangda's, the sky is Pangda's" (sa spang mda' gnam spang mda').

The Pangdatsang family joined forces with the Jangling family (byang gling), a family of traders from Lhasa. Yampel and Tobgyal married two Jangling sisters, Sonam (bsod nams) and Tsedon (tse sgron); to tie the families together more closely, the husbands also married each other's wives and the two families lived together as one. From the union of the two sets of parents, only one child was born, a daughter named Pema Chokyi (pad ma chos kyi).

Tobgyal took the post of Gyakek Pon (rgya skeg dpon), the chieftain of the family lands in Kham. In 1934, following the death of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama, Tubten Gyatso (ta la'i bla ma 13 thub bstan rgya mtsho, 1876-1933), he led a rebellion in Markham that is sometimes known as Tobgyal's revolt. The death of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama in 1933 had led to a power struggle in Lhasa during which the Kashag and the Assembly arrested and exiled Kunpel (kun 'phel, 1905-1963), the Dalai Lama's favorite, who had had enormous influence and power. The Pangdatsang family had enjoyed a close relationship with both the Dalai Lama and Kunpel. His brother Rapga was with him in Markham at the time when they both heard the news from Lhasa; they also mistakenly heard that their brother Yampel was in trouble.

In addition to being head of the Pangdatsang territories in Markham, Tobgyal was also a captain (ru dpon) in the Tibetan army. To stage his revolt he gathered five hundred of his private troops and attacked the government's regimental headquarters in Markham. Tobgyal and Rapga managed to capture a one hundred-troop regiment, one hundred rifles and three mountain guns. Then under threat of attack by a large Tibetan government force, they fled to Batang ('ba' thang) where they set up a base, all the while maintaining the family home and powers in Markham. Some accounts state that Tobgyal's intention was to set up a separate Kham state, while others, including British colonial accounts, stress that the rebellion was part of their general dissatisfaction with the status quo in Lhasa as well as anger at Kunpel's arrest.

Tobgyal's older brother Yampel in Lhasa was held financially responsible for the damages caused by his brother and for the replacement of the guns and ammunition that Tobgyal had captured, but he escaped other consequences. Yampel, in fact, did send Tobgyal and Rapga money, arms and ammunition via Kham-based traders. In Batang, Tobgyal and his troops fought several times against Chinese forces, both Guomindang and Communist, as well as against Tibetan forces. Following the revolt, Tobgyal explored new political ideas and formed close bonds with leaders in Kham. Rapga fled to India in 1935, and Tobgyal later joined him there before returning to Tibet again in the early 1940s.

In the mid-1950s, Tobgyal was publicly working with the Chinese leaders in eastern Tibet, proclaiming the standard line that Tibet was an inalienable part of China. At the same time he was secretly meeting with resistance fighters in the area. Tobgyal was close with progressive men such as Baba Kesang Tsering ('ba' ba skal bzang tshe ring) who was connected to the Guomindang, Jagod Tobten  (bya rgod stobs ldan), the powerful lay head of Derge (sde dge), and other chieftains and religious leaders. He was a leader of a political group formed to work towards Kham unification by settling internal differences among the regional leaders.

During the Cultural Revolution, Tobgyal was arrested, tortured and struggled against. Yampel was spared under the orders of Zhou Enlai but was made to observe his brother being tortured. Both brothers died in Lhasa during the Cultural Revolution, around the year 1972-73, Tobgyal of a stroke and Yampel of a heart attack. Topgyal left behind a son named Jigme.