The Battle of the Salween River () was fought in September 1718 close to the

Nagqu Nagqu (also Naqu, Nakchu, or Nagchu; ; ) is a prefecture-level city in the north of the Chinese autonomous region of Tibet. On May 7, 2018, the former Nagqu Prefecture was officially declared the sixth prefecture-level city in Tibet after Lhasa, ...

(i.e.,

Salween River , ''Mae Nam Salawin'' ( , name_etymology = , image = Sweet_View_of_Salween_River_in_Tang_Yan_Township,_Shan_State,_Myanmar.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = Salween River in Shan State, Myanmar , map ...

) in

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

, between an expedition of the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

Lhasa Lhasa (; Lhasa dialect: ; bo, text=ལྷ་ས, translation=Place of Gods) is the urban center of the prefecture-level city, prefecture-level Lhasa (prefecture-level city), Lhasa City and the administrative capital of Tibet Autonomous Regio ...

and a

Dzungar Khanate The Dzungar Khanate, also written as the Zunghar Khanate, was an Inner Asian khanate of Oirat Mongol origin. At its greatest extent, it covered an area from southern Siberia in the north to present-day Kyrgyzstan in the south, and from t ...

force that blocked its path. After Tsering Dhondup conquered Tibet in 1717 on the orders of his cousin, the Dzungar

Khong Tayiji Khong Tayiji ( mn, , хун тайж; ), also spelled Qong Tayiji, was a title of the Mongols, derived from the Chinese term ''Huangtaizi'' (皇太子; "crown prince"). At first it also meant crown prince in the Mongolian language. It was original ...

Tsewang Rabtan Tsewang Rabtan (from ''Tsewang Rapten''; ; ; 1643–1727) was a Choros (Oirats) prince and the Khong Tayiji of the Dzungar Khanate from 1697 (following the death of his uncle and rival Galdan Boshugtu Khan) until his death in 1727. He was mar ...

, the

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...

Kangxi Emperor The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 1654– 20 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, born Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1661 to 1 ...

ordered his generals to muster an army and expel the Dzungars and their supporters from Tibet but the enormous distances and logistical difficulties prevented an immediate reaction. By 1718 the Qing were mustering an expedition in

Xining Xining (; ), alternatively known as Sining, is the capital of Qinghai province in western China and the largest city on the Tibetan Plateau. The city was a commercial hub along the Northern Silk Road's Hexi Corridor for over 2000 years, and wa ...

made up of Chinese and Muslim soldiers.Desideri 2010, p. 255 The Chinese took the shortest route to Lhasa which took them west of Xining and through a deserted area to Lhasa.Desideri 2010, p. 255 The long journey through a deserted country exhausted the expedition's supplies and sickened the soldiers so as to make Erentei halt the march in Dam near the

some from Xining,Perdue 2005, p. 235 a place not far from Lhasa. There they built a stone fort and foraged the countryside.Desideri 2010, p. 256 Alerted of the Chinese presence the Dzungars mustered their militias and marched to meet the Chinese. Both forces fought in the open field but the Dzungars killed Erentei during the battle and the Chinese were pushed back into their camp where the Oirats and Tibetans kept them under a tight siege.Perdue 2005, p. 235Desideri 2010, p. 256 As the siege wore on the Chinese were forced to eat the bodies of their own dead comrades after having exhausted their supplies and eaten their own horses.Desideri 2010, p. 256 The Chinese sought to negotiate a retreat with the Dzungars and obtained help from some of the Tibetan

lama Lama (; "chief") is a title for a teacher of the Dharma in Tibetan Buddhism. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term ''guru'', meaning "heavy one", endowed with qualities the student will eventually embody. The Tibetan word "lama" means "hi ...

s to mediate between them and the Dzungar commander Tsering Dhondub to allow them to leave the camp and return north to Qing territory.Desideri 2010, p. 256 The Dzungars agreed but when the Chinese got out of the camp they massacred them.Desideri 2010, p. 256 In 1720, a larger expedition force sent by Kangxi Emperor entered Lhasa, expelling the Dzungars from Tibet and establishing the Qing rule in Tibet.

References

Sources

* * {{Tibet topics 18th century in China

Salween , ''Mae Nam Salawin'' ( , name_etymology = , image = Sweet_View_of_Salween_River_in_Tang_Yan_Township,_Shan_State,_Myanmar.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = Salween River in Shan State, Myanmar , map ...

the Salween River the Salween River 1718 in China 1718 in Tibet

See also

References

Sources