Nanam Shang Gyaltsen Lhanang (, ? – 796), also known as Shang Gyaltsen, was a famous general of the

Tibetan Empire The Tibetan Empire (, ; ) was an empire centered on the Tibetan Plateau, formed as a result of imperial expansion under the Yarlung dynasty heralded by its 33rd king, Songtsen Gampo, in the 7th century. The empire further expanded under the 3 ...

. In Chinese records, his name was given as Shàng Jiézàn (). Shang Gyaltsen was born and raised in Nanam clan. The famous Dharma king,

Trisong Detsen Tri Songdetsen () was the son of Me Agtsom, the 38th emperor of Tibet. He ruled from AD 755 until 797 or 804. Tri Songdetsen was the second of the Three Dharma Kings of Tibet, playing a pivotal role in the introduction of Buddhism to Tibet and th ...

, was his nephew. After a long-term conflict against the

Tang China The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdom ...

, Trisong Detsen tended to sign a peace treaty with Chinese. But two high generals, Chimshang Gyalsig Shuteng and Nganlam Takdra Lukhong, strongly opposed to the proposal. Only Shang Gyaltsen supported the king. The king dismissed two generals from their posts, and appointed Shang Gyaltsen as '' Lönchen''. Shang Gyaltsen went to Tang China in 783, to meet with Chinese general Zhang Yi, and swore an oath of friendship between the two states. China fell into civil war in the next year. The Chinese capital

Chang'an Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin S ...

was occupied by

Zhu Ci Zhu Ci (; 742–784) was a Chinese military general, monarch, and rebel during the Tang dynasty. He initially served as military governor (''Jiedushi'') of Lulong Circuit (盧龍, headquartered in modern Beijing), but later became a general ...

, one of a Chinese rebellion army leaders. Shang Gyaltsen sent a mission to China, suggested that China could request Tibetan reinforcements for help. The Chinese emperor Dezong had to take his suggestion, and promised to cede Beiting and Anxi in return. Shang Gyaltsen sent 20 thousand men to help Tang China, but before they reached Chang'an, Zhu Ci was killed by his general and the rebellion was quickly put down. Then Shang Gyaltsen sent another mission to China, asked Dezong to fulfill the promise, but was refused because the two places were both strategic strongholds and the Tibetan troops had never actually helped them. Shang Gyaltsen was infuriated. He sent troops to invade China, sack Yanzhou (鹽州), Xiazhou (夏州), Yinzhou (銀州) and Linzhou (麟州), threatened to Chang'an. He sent an envoy to Chinese, said that he wanted return the occupied lands, and reiterated his territorial claim before. He requested Chinese emperor sent three representatives to negotiate a peace treaty, and the three representatives should be Hun Jian,

Ma Sui Ma Sui () (726 – September 4, 795), courtesy name Xunmei (), formally Prince Zhuangwu of Beiping (), was a Chinese military general, monarch, and politician during the Tang dynasty. He was known mostly for his battles against the rebel generals L ...

and Li Sheng, all of them were Chinese famous generals. His request was accepted; by summer 787, Ma Sui and Hun Jian, as Emperor Dezong's emissary, was set to meet with Shang at Pingliang River (平涼川, in modern Pingliang). Shang Gyaltsen laid a trap for Hun and launched a sudden attack, killing and capturing many of Hun's attendants, but Hun escaped. In order to further aggravate Emperor Dezong's attitude toward Ma, he intentionally released Ma's nephew Ma Yan (馬弇), along with the imperial

eunuch A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millenni ...

messenger Ju Wenzhen (俱文珍). Dezong was taken in; from then on, the three generals were not trusted. Shang Gyaltsen came into conflict with the queen, Tsepangsa Magyal Dongkar, and her clan. Tsepangsa was the most important supporter of Bön, so, the king drifted apart the queen's clan, prohibited them to take part in political affairs, and sent ''dbu ring'', who was Shang Gyaltsen's son, to guard the palace gate. Prince Murug, who was the queen's own son, killed ''dbu ring'', broke into the palace. Trisong Detsen was angered, exiled Murug to

Changtang The Changtang (alternatively spelled Changthang or Qangtang) is a part of the high altitude Tibetan Plateau in western and northern Tibet extending into the southern edges of Xinjiang as well as southeastern Ladakh, India, with vast highlands and g ...

. Shang Gyaltsen died in 796.

References

''Old Tibetan Chronicle'', P.T. 1287
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nanam Shang Gyaltsen Lhanang 8th-century Tibetan people 796 deaths People of the Tibetan Empire Tang–Tibet relations