U-Tsang
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
Ü-Tsang (Wylie transliteration: Dbu-gtsang, (Tibetan: དབུ་གཙང་ Simplified Chinese: 卫藏, Pinyin: Wèizàng or Tsang-Ü) is one of the traditional provinces of Tibet (the others being Amdo, Kham, Nag-chu, and Nga-ris). Geographically Ü-Tsang covers the central and western portions of the Tibetan cultural area, including the Tsang-po (Gtsang-po) watershed, the western districts surrounding and extending past Mount Kailash, and much of the vast Chang Tang (Byang-thang) plateau to the north. The Himalayan range defined Ü-Tsang's southern border. The present Tibet Autonomous Region corresponds approximately to the borders of historic Ü-Tsang plus western Kham.
Ü-Tsang was formed by the merging of two earlier power centers: Ü (Dbus) in central Tibet, controlled by Gelukpa (Dge-lugs-pa) sect of Tibetan Buddhism under the early Dalai Lamas, and Tsang (Gtsang) which extended from Gyantse (Rgyang-rtse) to points west, controlled by the rival Sakyapa (Sa-skya-pa) sect. Military victories by the powerful Fifth Dalai Lama consolidated power over the combined region in the 17th century.
Ü-Tsang is the cultural heartland of the Tibetan people. Successive Dalai Lamas have ruled Tibet from the Potala and Nor-bu-gling-ka palaces in Lhasa. Jokhang Temple, perhaps the most holy temple in Tibetan Buddhism, is also located there. The Tibetan language dialect spoken in Lhasa is used as a lingua franca in Ü-Tsnag and the Tibetan Exile Koine is also based largely on it.
| Traditional provinces and regions of Tibet |
| U-Tsang (Ü | Tsang | Ngari) | Kham | Amdo |
