Princess Wencheng (? In 680), the wife of Tubo Zanpu Songzan Gambu and the daughter of Emperor Taizong's imperial clan.
At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, Songzan Gambu, the leader of Tushan nationality in the southwest border of China, unified many tribes in western Sichuan and Tibet, established a slavery regime and made Lhasa its capital. In 634, in order to establish a closer relationship with the increasingly powerful Tang Dynasty, Songzan Gambu sent envoys to the Tang Dynasty, and the Tang Dynasty sent people to pay a return visit and Songzan Gambu proposed marriage.
In 640, Lu Dongzan, a trusted minister of Songzan Gampo, went to Chang 'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty, with a valuable dowry. Emperor Taizong also realized that Tubo was an important force in the southwest frontier. Strengthening the ties between the Han and Tibetan nationalities plays an important role in the consolidation of the frontier, so she promised to marry Princess Wencheng, the daughter of the royal family, to Songzan Gambu.
It is very important for Princess Wencheng to get married in Tibet. Emperor Taizong attached great importance to it. He not only prepared a generous dowry for Princess Wencheng, but also prepared various poems, classics, production technology books, hundreds of medical books, astronomical calendars and other books and various crop seeds. In addition, he brought many craftsmen and a band with various skills. At that time, Buddhism prevailed in the Tang Dynasty, and Princess Wencheng also brought a Buddha statue.
In order to welcome Princess Wencheng, Songzan Gambu, the king of Tubo, specially ordered people to build a palace, Jokhang Temple, imitating the architecture of the Tang Dynasty. Up to now, there are statues of Songzan Gambo and Princess Wencheng in Potala Palace, as well as the site of their wedding bridal chamber. The Buddha statue brought by Princess Wencheng is enshrined there.
In the first month of 64 1 year, Emperor Taizong sent Li Daozong, the minister of rites, to escort Princess Wencheng into Tibet, and Songzan Gambu personally led the escort from Lhasa to Qinghai to meet the enemy.
Princess Wencheng's entry into Tibet brought the culture and advanced production technology of the Tang Dynasty to the Tibetan people. At that time, Tibetans had no writing, so they tied it with ropes or carved some symbols on wood to show it. At the suggestion of Princess Wencheng, Songzan Gambu sent people to study it specially and created 20 Tibetan letters and pinyin sentence-making grammar. Since then, Chinese books can be translated into Tibetan, and Tibetan culture has developed. Tibet did not have a complete and reliable calendar in the past, and March of wheat harvest was the beginning of the year. Princess Wencheng adopted the Han calendar after she entered Tibet, which promoted the development of agricultural production. The band brought by Princess Wencheng enriched Tibetan folk music. And those craftsmen also played a role at this time. They helped people in Xizang develop handicrafts and master all kinds of advanced production technologies. New farm tools and Han planting methods have also been adopted in agriculture. The seeds brought by Princess Wencheng also took root and sprouted on Tibetan land, and were handed down from generation to generation. It is said that Tibetan turnip (turnip) which is both cold-resistant and drought-resistant is one of them. Since then, economic and cultural exchanges between Han and Tibetan nationalities have become more and more frequent. Songzan Gambu sent aristocratic children to Chang 'an to study culture, and invited Han literati to the Western Regions to write official documents in Chinese for them. In the early years of Tang Gaozong, Princess Wencheng sent someone to ask the craftsmen of the Tang Dynasty to spread advanced technology again, which was satisfied. Therefore, the Han people's metallurgical technology, farm tools manufacturing, textile, architecture, pottery making, rice milling, wine making, paper making, ink making and other technologies were first introduced to Tibet. At the same time, Tibetan specialties such as rhinoceros horn, musk, horses and gold wares also flowed into the Tang Dynasty. There is a saying in Chen Tao's poem "Longxi Westbound" in the Tang Dynasty that "the monarch and his wife marry themselves, and the semi-Hu style looks like a Han family", which shows the influence of Princess Wencheng on the Chinese culture in Tuna.
After Tang Gaozong acceded to the throne, he named Songzan Gambu as "a captain attached to the horse" and "the king of Xihai County". Later, Tibetan kings in all previous dynasties considered themselves the nephew of the Tang Emperor and called him an uncle. No matter which generation of Tibetan kings died, they all reported their funeral to the Tang emperor as usual, and Xinli Tibetan king also served the Tang dynasty. When Emperor Tang ascended the throne, the Tibetan king also congratulated him.
In Tang Zhongzong, in order to consolidate the relationship with the Tang Dynasty, Kridê Zukzain's grandmother sent a minister to the Tang Dynasty to propose to his grandson. Tang Zhongzong betrothed Princess Jincheng to the Tubo King. He also brought tens of thousands of silks and satins, many books and a large number of craftsmen to further introduce production technology and cultural classics into Tibet. There are some old proverbs among Tibetan people, such as "goods from the Han Dynasty were shipped to Tibet, but we don't produce these things here?" No, just connect the hearts of the Han and Tibetan people. "
The economic and cultural exchanges between Tang and Tibetan people have become increasingly frequent, which has brought the relations between the two peoples closer. During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, Kridê Zukzain, the king of Tibet, said on the table, "My nephew was an uncle of my late emperor and also a princess of Jincheng, so he was contracted as a family, and everyone in the world was generally happy." It shows that at that time, Tibetan and Han people have merged into one family, and the two ethnic groups have formed a close fraternal relationship.
The story of Princess Wencheng's marriage to Songzan Gambo and her achievements in promoting Tibetan culture are still widely circulated among Han and Tibetan people in the form of drama, murals, folk songs and legends. Princess Wencheng is regarded as the incarnation of Tara in Lamaism (Tara is called Zhuo Ma in Tibetan, which is the incarnation of Guanyin in Tibetan Buddhism legend) and is greatly respected. The princess died in 680 and lived in Tubo for nearly 40 years, which played an important role in the unity of the Han and Tibetan nationalities and economic and cultural exchanges.