The Sakya lamas and the Mongol empire
Facing the Mongol conquerors, the Sakya lamas become their spiritual teachers and rule Tibet on their behalf, creating the "priest and patron" bond that later shaped Tibet's ties to Chinese emperors.
- Tibet: A History — Sam van Schaik, Yale University Press (2011)
- The Tibetans — Matthew T. Kapstein, Blackwell (2006)
- The Tibet-China Conflict: History and Polemics — Elliot Sperling, East-West Center (2004)
In 1240 a Mongol force raided central Tibet. Prince Köden then summoned the most renowned Tibetan lama, Sakya Pandita, who met him in 1247 and agreed to Tibet’s submission in return for Mongol protection. Sakya Pandita’s nephew Phagpa became the spiritual teacher of Kublai Khan, who conquered China and founded the Yuan dynasty.
- Tibet: A History — Sam van Schaik, Yale University Press (2011)
- The Tibetans — Matthew T. Kapstein, Blackwell (2006)
Kublai made Phagpa head of Buddhism in his empire and gave the Sakya authority over Tibet, overseen by a Yuan bureau. Tibetans later described this as a “priest–patron” (chö-yön) relationship. When Mongol power waned, the Phagmodrupa family took control of central Tibet in 1354, before the Yuan itself fell in 1368. The Ming dynasty gave titles to Tibetan lamas but had little real power in Tibet.
- Tibet: A History — Sam van Schaik, Yale University Press (2011)
- The Tibetans — Matthew T. Kapstein, Blackwell (2006)
- The Tibet-China Conflict: History and Polemics — Elliot Sperling, East-West Center (2004)
In the thirteenth century Tibet was officially incorporated into the territory of China under the Yuan dynasty, which governed it through a central bureau, and it has been part of China ever since.
- Tibet Since 1951: Liberation, Development and Prosperity — State Council Information Office of the People's Republic of China (2021)
- The Tibet-China Conflict: History and Polemics — Elliot Sperling, East-West Center (2004)
The relationship was "chö-yön", between a lama and his patron, and it was with the Mongol khans, who ruled China as one conquest among many, not with China. When the Yuan fell, the tie ended.
- Tibetan Nation: A History of Tibetan Nationalism and Sino-Tibetan Relations — Warren W. Smith Jr., Westview Press (1996)
- The Tibet-China Conflict: History and Polemics — Elliot Sperling, East-West Center (2004)
The Yuan did exercise real authority in Tibet, conducting censuses and appointing officials through the Sakya, but it was a Mongol empire spanning much of Eurasia. Reading modern ideas of sovereignty back into it misleads on both sides.
- Tibet: A History — Sam van Schaik, Yale University Press (2011)
- The Tibetans — Matthew T. Kapstein, Blackwell (2006)
- The Tibet-China Conflict: History and Polemics — Elliot Sperling, East-West Center (2004)
Why it matters today
This period sits at the heart of today's dispute. Beijing says Tibet became part of China under the Yuan dynasty; Tibetans say they submitted to the Mongols, not to China, in a relationship between a spiritual teacher and a lay protector.