The Treasury of Lives

Jigme Tsewang Dudul was born in 1916, the fire-dragon year of the fifteenth sexegenary cycle. His father was Dorje Sengge (rdo rje seng ge, 1877–1926), the forty-sixth king of Derge. His mother was Namgyel Peldzom (rnam rgyal dpal 'dzom), whose sister, Karma Chokyi (karma chos skyid), Dorje Sengge may also have married.^[1] He was one of six children, two of whom died in infancy. His three sisters, Kelzang Chodron (skal bzang chos sgron), Tsering Yudron (tshe ring g.yu sgron), and Dechen Peldron (bde chen dpal sgron) were married into prominent families outside the kingdom.^[2]

According to Derge historian Lodro Puntsok (P7308 blo gros phun tshogs) the Fifth Dzogchen Rinpoche, Tubten Chokyi Dorje (rdzogs chen rin po che 05 thub bstan chos kyi rdo rje, 1872–1935) designated him as a reincarnation of the great Nyingma scholar Ju Mipam Namgyel Gyatso ('ju mi pham rgya mtsho, 1846–1912), one of four children to be so identified.^[3] He was never formally enthroned at a monastery as an incarnation, but he did hold the ceremonial office of abbot of the royal monastery, Lhundrubteng (lhun grub steng), as was traditional for male children of the royal family.

There is some historical irony in Tsewang Dudul being regarded as an incarnation of Mipam Gyatso. One of Mipam Gyatso's best known works, Ornament for Rulers: A Treatise on Ethics for Kings (rgyal po lugs kyi bstan bcos sa gzhi skyong ba'i rgyan), was dedicated to Tsewang Dudul's uncle, Jampel Rinchen. Scholars Lauran Hartley, who studied the text in the context of Derge's history, and José Cabezón, who published the text as The Just King, both suggest that the work was commissioned as part of the conflict between Jampel Rinchen's mother and father, perhaps as a means to bolster Jampel Rinchen's future claim to the throne.^[4] The identification of Tsewang Dudul as Mipam's reincarnation might be seen as an attempt, by the rival faction that was loyal to Dorje Sengge, to undermine whatever benefit that dedication provided Jampel Rinchen and his supporters.

Tsewang Dudul's father and uncle had contested the throne of Derge since the death of their parents around the year 1898. Although Dorje Sengge, the eldest brother, had been declared king by the Tibetan government, then controlling Derge, Tsewang Dudul's uncle, Ngawang Jampel Rinchen (ngag dbang 'jam dpal rin chen), opposed Dorje Sengge, such that the throne changed hands several times in the first decade of the twentieth century. Both were driven out of Derge in 1908 by the Republican general Zhao Erfeng (趙爾豊, 1945–1911); Jampel Rinchen went to Lhasa, while Dorje Sengge was sent to Batang, returning in 1918 when the Tibetan army retook Derge.

Tsewang Dudul was thus likely born in Batang, but was brought to Derge when he was a few years old. Where he spent the first decade of his life, however, is not certain. In 1919 the Tibetan government sent Dorje Sengge to Lhasa, where he passed away. He was given the rank of taiji (tha'i ji) by the Tibetan government, and possibly formally enthroned, but in his infancy the Eleventh Tai Situ, Pema Wangchuk Gyelpo (ta'i si tu 11 padma dbang mchog rgyal po, 1886–1952), was chosen by the Tibetan governor of the the kingdom (sde dge spyi khyab), Dapon Tethong Gyurme Gyatso (mda' dpon bkras mthong 'gyur med rgya mtsho), to serve as regent. Scholars note, however, that the governor himself held actual power.^[5] Dapon Tethong served as the governor of Derge from 1913 to 1928, after which he was made cabinet minister (bka' blon) in Lhasa and Tibetan governor of all of Kham in 1932.[6]

The prince received religious instruction from prominent local lamas, including the Eleventh Situ, Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro ('jam dbyangs mkhyen brtse chos kyi blo gros, 1893–1959) of Dzongsar Monastery (rdzong sar dgon), Khenpo Zhenga (mkhan po gzhan dga', 1871–1927) of Dzogchen Monastery (rdzogs chen dgon), and Khenpo Jamyang Gyeltsen (mkhan po 'jam dbyangs rgyal mtshan, 1870-1940).^[7]

In 1926 the prince was enthroned as abbot of Lhundrubteng, and that same year was authorized by the Thirteenth Dalai Lama Tubten Gyatso (ta la'i bla ma 13 thub bstan rgya mtsho, 1876–1933), to serve as head of state.^[8] Important decisions were likely still in the hands of the governor, representing Lhasa's interest. For example, in 1930 Jago Tobden (bya rgod stobs ldan, 1898–1960), a local minister whose parents had sided with Tsewang Dorje's uncle against his father, was appointed chief steward (gnyer chen). Jago Tobden had been raised in Lhasa, and his mother, Jago Tsewang Dolma (tshe dbang sgrol ma), had established the family in the ranks of the Tibetan aristocracy; his appointment was in as much service to Lhasa as it was to Derge. Nevertheless, Jago appeared to have initially been loyal to Tsewang Dudul, suppressing rebellions in Horpo and Pelyul.^[9]

In 1933 fighting between Tibet and China over control of Kham was temporarily suspended with the signing of the Kamtok Agreement (skam thog gros mthun), which reaffirmed the Drichu as the border between the two nations.^[10] Liu Wenhui (劉文輝 1895–1976), the victorious Nationalist general who was now dominant in Derge, gave the seventeen-year-old king multiple titles. These included "Battalion Commander of the Indigenous Troops" and "Supervising Official in Charge of the Militia Affairs of the Five Counties." (The "five counties" were the Chinese divisions of Derge's traditional territory, established in 1908 under Zhao Erfeng.).^[11] Tsewang Dudul was apparently willing to offer military help to the Nationalists during the Chinese Civil War. He sent Jago Tobden and the treasurer Wokma Sonam Tsering ('og ma phyag mdzod bsod nams tshe ring) with a battalion of troops, many of whom were monks from Lhundrubteng, to Kandze in 1936 to block the Communists. The Qinghai warlord Ma Bufang (馬步芳 1903–1975), who had driven the Tibetans out of the Jyekundo region several years before, sent forces to Derge to prepare an assault on the Red Army, causing the king to flee to Jomda on the west side of the Drichu.

Following Wokma and Jago's defeat, Jago was convinced by the Communists to cease his resistance, and wrote to the king requesting an end to anti-Communist activities. Jago orchestrated the signing of a non-aggression agreement between Derge and the Red Army representative Li Xiannian (李先念 1909–1992), who went on to become the president of China. After the Communists left the region Liu Wenhui reasserted his authority, and Tsewang Dudul had to convince Jago to apologize for his support of the Communists. Jago went on to rise in Liu's administration of Kham, holding far more power than the king.^[12]

In 1938 Tsewang Dudul married a princess of Nangchen, known as either Jamyang Pelmo (byams dbyangs dpal mo, 1913–1988) or Tseyang Pelmo (tshe dbyangs dpal mo). The marriage was arranged by Jago Tobden, among others.^[13] Their son, Orgyen Rigdzin Jigme Garwang Dorje (o rgyan rig 'dzin 'jigs med gar dbang rdo rje, 1940–1992), known as Orgyen Kyab (o rgyan skyabs), was born two years later.

Tsewang Dudul passed away in 1942, at the age of only twenty-six. Jago Tobden attempted to arrange for Jamyang Pelmo to marry Tsewang Dudul's cousin, a Lhasa-born aristocrat named Kelzang Wangdul (bskal bzang dbang 'dul, 1912–1984), but this was opposed by Liu Wenhui and the Derge chieftains, who advocated for the reappointment of the Eleventh Situ as regent. As a compromise, Jamyang Pelmo herself took the throne and ruled until the dissolution of the kingdom in 1951 when the Derge County People's Government was established by the Chinese Communists.^[14]

In 1959 a child was recognized as Tsewang Dudul's reincarnation by a lama named Tengye Rinpoche (bstan rgyas rin po che), and given the title of the Third Mipam Rinpoche. This man is the father of one of the current claimants to the title of Seventeenth Karmapa, Taye Dorje (karma pa 17 mtha' yas rdo rje, b. 1983).

 

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