Kunzang (1445 – c. 1479), in full Kuntu Zangpo (), was a prince of the

Rinpungpa Rinpungpa (; ) was a Tibetan dynastic regime that dominated much of Western Tibet and part of Ü-Tsang between 1435 and 1565. During one period around 1500 the Rinpungpa lords came close to assemble the Tibetan lands around the Yarlung Tsangpo R ...

Dynasty that wielded power in Tsang (West Central Tibet). He was the second son of

Norzang Norzang (1403–1466), in full Norbu Zangpo (), was the founder of the power of the Rinpungpa Dynasty in Central Tibet. Religious activities Norzang was the son of Namkha Gyalpo, the chief of the Rinpung fief in Tsang (West Central Tibet). His g ...

, the founder of the power of the family, and the Phagmodrupa princess Yeshe Tsogyal. At the time when his father died in 1466, Tsang was dominated by the arms of the Rinpungpa. Kunzang took over as the senior member of the line, his elder brother Upasika having died early. He received investiture as ''dsongpon'' (lord) of the Rinpung fief from the formal ruler of

Central Tibet Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

Kunga Lekpa Kunga Lekpa (, 1433–1483) was a King of central Tibet who ruled from 1448 to 1481. He belonged to the Phagmodrupa Dynasty, which was the leading political regime in central Tibet from 1354 to 1435, and retained a certain political status until the ...

of the

Phagmodrupa dynasty The Phagmodrupa dynasty or Pagmodru (, ; ) was a dynastic regime that held sway over Tibet or parts thereof from 1354 to the early 17th century. It was established by Tai Situ Changchub Gyaltsen of the Lang () family at the end of the Yuan dynast ...

. His younger brothers lorded over

Shigatse Shigatse, officially known as Xigazê (; Nepali: ''सिगात्से''), is a prefecture-level city of the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Its area of jurisdiction, with an area of , corresponds to the histor ...

, Kharthog and Nyangkhok. However, his accession marked a temporary downturn in the successes of the Rinpungpa armies. The Phagmodrupa monarch, who had his residence in Nêdong in Ü (East Central Tibet), generally held an averse attitude to the Rinpungpa. Like his father, Kunzang was a patron of the

Sakya The ''Sakya'' (, 'pale earth') school is one of four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the others being the Nyingma, Kagyu, and Gelug. It is one of the Red Hat Orders along with the Nyingma and Kagyu. Origins Virūpa, 16th century. It depic ...

sect of

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

and established a patron-preceptor relation with the hierarch Kunkhyen Sangye Pal. He upheld a similar relation with

Gorampa Gorampa Sonam Senge (, 1429–1489Dreyfus (2003) p.301) was an important philosopher in the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism. He was the author of a vast collection of commentaries on sutra and tantra whose work was influential throughout Tibetan ...

Sonam Senge, also of the Sakya sect. He is also connected with the construction of the monastery Thubten Namgyal in 1473. Kunzang had two sons called Dorje Tseten (b. 1462) and

Donyo Dorje Donyo Dorje () (1463 – 23 March 1512) was the third and most powerful prince of the Rinpungpa Dynasty that held power in much of Central Tibet from 1479 to 1512. Succession and religious patronate Donyo Dorje was the second son of the previous ...

(1463–1512), of whom the latter took over the leadership of the family at Kunzang's demise, some time prior to 1479.Tsepon W.D. Shakabpa (2009) ''One Hundred Thousand Moons'', Leiden, p. 277. .

References

{{Rinpungpa rulers Phagmodrupa dynasty 15th-century rulers in Asia 15th-century Tibetan people