Tsangyang Stupa and Sangzhou Monastery

　　Tsangyang Stupa and Sangzhou Monastery are located on the southern bank of the Tongtian River in Zhongda Township, Chengduo County, Yushu Prefecture, Qinghai. The original site was an ancient Bon monastery known as “Ren Zhen Ao Sai Temple.” The oldest surviving ancient structure is the “Tsangyang Stupa • Shengde Mountain.”

　　In the fourth year of the Xuande era of Emperor Xuanzong of Ming (1430 AD), the three Bon temples around Tsangyang—Ren Zhen Ao Sai Temple, Ba Qin Banjue Temple, and Ba Gedezong Temple—were merged into one, and Sangzhou Monastery was established at the foot of Tsangyang Stupa. It originally included dozens of buildings such as halls, shrines, stupas, and monk quarters. Today, surviving ancient structures include large and small scripture halls, a 0 hall, and monk quarters. The walls are painted with vertical black-and-white striped patterns, which are clearly symbolic of Sakya sect monasteries.

　　Tsangyang Stupa and Sangzhou Monastery hold significant value as ancient architectural relics and also preserve and house a collection of extremely precious religious and historical artifacts. These include bronze bells, silver bowls, drums, and horns passed down from Bon temples dating back to before the Song Dynasty; clay sculptures of the “Goddess of Auspiciousness” and ritual instruments gifted by Phags-pa, who was appointed Imperial Preceptor by the Yuan emperor, during his visit to the monastery; tens of millions of small clay Buddha statues offered by monks and devotees over the centuries; the monastic robes, boots, - (possibly weapons or personal items), scriptures, and thangkas of Master Mengdejiania, the founder of Tsangyang Stupa and Sangzhou Monastery; monastery chronicles from the Song to Qing dynasties, eulogies by eminent monks, and official documents; thousands of religious ritual implements, offering utensils, and Buddha statues from various periods, along with a vast number of stone carvings of Buddhas, 0s, figures, and mani stones; over 50 square meters of Song Dynasty murals on the corridor walls of the stupa, which remain vivid and striking. Among the relics are also miniature stupas, exquisitely crafted and lifelike, some even engraved with eight tiny stupas on their surfaces. These contain medicinal substances that can be consumed or used for protection. It is said that clay mini stupas can stand upright on a single blade of grass without falling. Many experts have verified that such small yet highly refined stupa models are rare in the world.

　　Tsangyang Stupa was designed and supervised by Master Mengdejiania (also known as Nidejiana), one of the key figures in the early period of the later dissemination of Tibetan Buddhism and a renowned authority on Buddhist iconography and stupa construction standards. He oversaw its construction in the seventh year of the Tian Sheng era of the Northern Song Dynasty (1030 AD). As such, the stupa can be considered a physical exemplar of a standard Tibetan Buddhist stupa. It is recognized by eminent masters and lineage holders of various Tibetan Buddhist schools—including the Nyingma (Red Hat), Sakya (Flower Hat), Kagyu (White Hat), and Gelug (Yellow Hat)—as the essence of Tibetan Buddhist stupas. Along with Nepal’s Boudhanath Stupa and Tibet’s Palcho Monastery Stupa, it is hailed as one of the world’s three most famous Tibetan Buddhist stupas.

　　The thangka art and Buddhist sculpture art left behind by Mengdejiania have spread widely across the Yushu region. Therefore, Tsangyang Stupa holds not only religious significance but also profound artistic importance. In the past fifty years alone, the Tsangyang area has produced hundreds of folk artists, including the most renowned Lareo- among others in the Tibetan region, who take pride in and make a living by spreading Tsangyang art. The thangka art and Buddhist sculpture art of Tsangyang rival the Rebgong art in terms of scale, lines, specifications, three-dimensionality, and coloration.

　　In June 2001, Tsangyang Stupa and Sangzhou Monastery were designated as part of the fifth group of Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level by the State Council.