Mythological Beginnings

神 话 开 始

 Little is known of the beginnings of the Tibetan people. They originated from the nomadic, warlike tribes known as the Qiang. Chinese records of these tribes, which harried the borders of the great Chinese Empire, date back as far as the 2^nd century BC. However, the people of Tibet were not to emerge as a politically united force to be reckoned with until the 7^th century AD.

 藏族起源所知甚少。他们来自尚武的游牧民族──羌。中国关于这些不断骚扰大汉帝国边境的民族的记录可追溯到公元前二世纪。但是，直到七世纪藏族才被视为一个政治上统一的力量。

 Like all peoples, the Tibetans have a rich corpus of myths concerning the origin of the world and themselves. In the beginning, according to a Tibetan creation myth, the void was filled with a wind that gathered in force until storm clouds brewed and unleashed a torrential rain, forming in time the primeval ocean. After the cessation of the rains, the wind continued to blow over the ocean, churning it like milk, until lands, like butter, came into existence.

 像所有的民族一样，藏族对于世界及自身的起源有着丰富的神话。根据藏族起源神话，开始，太空充满着风，风不断积聚，直到酝酿成暴风云，然后化为滂沱大雨，形成太古时代海洋。雨中止后，风继续吹，搅动海洋像牛奶一样翻腾，直到出现黄油一样的陆地。

 According to myth, the Tibetan people owe their existence to the union of an ogress and a monkey on Gangpo Ri mountain at Tsetang (anticipating Darwin by over a millennium!). Another legend tells of how the first Tibetan king descended from heaven on a sky-cord. These early myths are no doubt Bon in origin, but have been appropriated by Buddhism, so that the monkey is seen as a manifestation of Avalokiteshvara(Tibetan: Chenresig), the Bodhisattva of Compassion. The two had six children, who are seen as the ancestors of the six main tribes of Tibet.

 根据传说，藏族将他们的存在归功于位于泽当的Gangpo Ri山上一个恶魔与一只猴子的结合（比达尔文早一千多年！）。另一个传说说的是第一个藏王如何乘天绳自天而降。这些早期的神话无疑是苯教的起源，但被佛教挪用，所以猴子是Avalokiteshvara的化身(藏语：Chenresig)，怜悯之Bodhisattva。他们俩有六个孩子，也就是藏族六个主要部落的祖先。

Yalung Valley Dynasty(?-842)

雅隆谷王朝（？-842）

 As early myths of the origin of the Tibetan people suggest, the Yarlung valley was the cradle of the civilisation of the central Tibet. The early Yarlung kings, though glorified in legend, were probably no more than chieftains whose domains extended not much further than the Yarlung

valley area itself. A reconstruction of Tibet*s first fortress,Yumbulagang, can still be seen in the Yarlung valley, and it is here that the 28th king of Tibet is said to have received Tibet*s first Buddhist scriptures in the mid-3rd century. According to legend, they fell on the roof of Yumbulagang.

 正如早期藏族起源传说所显示的，雅隆谷是中部藏族文明的摇篮。那些在传说里被美化的早期雅隆王可能只是领域超过不了雅隆谷地区多少的首领。雅隆谷至今可见重建的西藏最早的堡垒──雍布拉康，据说三世纪中期，二十八世藏王就在这儿收到了西藏最早的佛经，传说它们落到了雍布拉康的屋顶上。

 Credible historical records regarding the Yarlung Valley Dynasty do not emerge until the fledgling kingdom entered the international arena from the 6th century. By this time the Yarlung kings had made significant headway, through conquest and alliances, in unifying much of central Tibet. Namri Songtsen (circa 570-619), the 32nd Tibetan kings, continued this trend and extended Tibetan influence into inner Asia, defeating Qiang tribes on China*s borders. But the true flowering of Tibet as an important regional power came about with the accession to rule of Namri Songtsen*s son, Songtsen Gampo (circa 618-49).

 直到六世纪雅隆谷王朝进入世界舞台时才有这个原始王国的可信的历史记载。这时，雅隆王们已经在困境中取得了重大的进展：通过占领和联盟，统一了中部西藏的大部分。

 朗日论赞(约570-619)，三十二世藏王，继续这种趋势，并将西藏的影响深入到亚洲腹地，打败了中国边境的羌族。但是西藏作为一个重要地区势力的成熟是在朗日论赞之子松赞干布（约618-649）继承统治之后。

 Under Songtsen Gampo, central Tibet entered a new era. Tibetan expansion continued unabated. The armies of Tibet ranged as far afield as northern India and emerged as a threat to the Tang Dynasty in China. Both Nepal and China reacted to the Tibetan incursions by reluctantly agreeing to alliances through marriage. Princess Wencheng, Songtsen Gampo*s Chinese bride, and Princess Bhrikuti, his Nepalese bride, became important historical figures for the Tibetans, as it was through their influence that Buddhism first gained royal patronage and a foothold on the Tibetan plateau. The king went as far as passing a law making it illegal not be e a Buddhist.

 松赞干布统治下，中部西藏进入一个新时期。西藏扩张威力不减。西藏的军队绵延到了印度北部，并威胁到中国唐朝。面对西藏的入侵，中国和尼泊尔被迫同意和亲。中国的文成公主和尼泊尔的尺尊公主成为松赞干布的新娘，她们成为西藏史上的重要人物，正是在她们的影响下佛教第一次得到王室资助并在西藏高原上立足。国王甚至立法规定不信佛教即非法。

 King Songtsen Gampo*s reign saw the establishment of the Jokhang and Ramoche temples and the construction of a fort on the site of what much later was to become the Potala palace in Lhasa. Contact with the Chinese led to the introduction of the sciences of astronomy and medicine, and a Tibetan script was developed from Indian sources. It was used in the first translations of Buddhist scriptures, in drafting a code of law and in writing the first histories of Tibet.

 松赞干布统治时代修建了大昭寺和小昭寺，还在很久以后成为拉萨布达拉宫的地方修筑了一座堡垒。天文学和医学从中国引进，藏文字从印度发展而来。佛经最初用藏文译成，法典的起草和西藏早期史的书写也用的是藏文。

 For two centuries, after the reign of Songtsen Gampo, Tibet continued to grow in power and influence. By the time of King Trisong Desten(755-97), Tibetan influence extended across Turkestan, northern Pakistan, Nepal and India. In China, Tibetan armies conquered Gansu and Sichuan and controlled the great Buddhist cave complex of Dunhuang. In 783 Tibetan armies overran Chang*an (present day Xi*an), the Chinese capital, forcing the Chinese to conclude a treaty that recognised new borders incorporating most of the Tibetan conquests.

 松赞干布统治两个世纪以后，西藏的势力、影响继续增大。到赤松德赞时代（755-97），西藏的影响延伸到土耳其斯坦、巴基斯坦北部、尼泊尔和印度。在中国，西藏军队征服了甘肃和四川，控制了伟大的敦煌佛窟群。783年，西藏军队占领了唐都长安（今西安），强迫中国签订一份承认其侵占的大部分土地的条约。

 A further Sino-Tibetan treaty was signed during the reign of King Tritsug Detsen Ralpachen (817-36).It was immortalised in stone on three steles: one in Lhasa, outside the Jokhang; one in the Chinese capital of Chang*an; and one on the border of Tibet and China. Only the Lhasa stele still stands (see the *Barkhor Area* section of the Lhasa chapter).Signatories of the treaty swore that **the whole region to the east *being the country of Great China and the whole region to the west being assuredly that of the country of Great Tibet, from either side of that frontier there shall be no warfare, no hostile invasions, and no seizure of territory**.The treaty went on to herald a new era in which *Tibetans shall be happy in Tibet and Chinese shall be happy in China*.

 赤祖德赞Ralpachen（817-36）统治时期更进一步签订了唐蕃盟约。盟约铭刻在三块石碑上：拉萨大昭寺外一块，唐都长安一块，唐蕃边境一块。只有拉萨会盟碑仍然屹立（见拉萨章“八廓区”节）。盟约国发誓“……以东全部地区……为大唐之土，以西全部地区确定为大蕃之土，边境任何一方不得有战争、入侵、土地掠夺……”盟约继续预示着一个“蕃人乐蕃，唐人乐唐”的新时期。