1. Expenditure on troops stationed in Tibet

(1)Sounrce of military expenditure

The Qing court first stationed troops in Tibet in the Yongzheng period(1723-1735). The purpose was to guarantee the safety of the Resident Minister of Tibet. According to Yue Zhongqi's memorial to the court in the fifth year of the Yongzheng reign period(1727):"If no garrison troops were sent to Tibet, we had to maintain armed forces in Sichuan and Shaanxi provinces in constant readiness for an emergency. At the same time we have to send officials to Tibet to protect the Dalai Lama. The court is now discussing sending a military officer to follow the imperial envoy to Tibet. This is of course very justified but I am afraid that if a military officer is sent to Tibet without troops, he could probably do nothing if Sonam Dadrak and his like ganged up. My suggestion is to select an Assistant Regional Commander (can-you) and a contingent of three hundred mounted troops from Shaanxi Province and send them to Tibet with the Imperial Envoy."1 This proposal won Emperor Yongzheng's support. It was decided that all the expenditure for the troops stationed in Tibet would be met with a financial allocation from the central government. At that time annual expenditure for this was about thirty-to-forty thousand taels (a unit of weight for silver in old China,=31.25 grams) of silver. Excluding weapons, ammunition and a little money for rewards, the rest was for soldiers'pay, amounting to dozens of taels of silver per soldier. So the soldiers were rather well-off. The soldiers were given money before they left the Sichuan borderland for Tibet. After they arrived in Tibet, they could buy their own provisions. The officers and soldiers might go back home to the hinterland every three years in rotation.2 According to the memorial to court by Qing Bao, the Grand Minister Resident of Tibet, in the 11th year of Yongzheng reign period(1733): "Owing to the imperial grace, the monthly pay for the each of the 500 soldiers stationed in Tibet is 4.9 taels of silver. They buy local provisions and so there is no need to transport grains fore them. Their weapons, tents, ammunition and other supplies were left behind by the garrison relieved of active duty".3

With the enlargement of the troop contingent stationed in Tibet, troops began to be stationed in the Tsang region in the middle of the Qing period. According to records, there were altogether 682 armymen quartered in Tibet. Among them 87 people were ethnic Manchu and Han officers, the other 595 people were ethnic Manchu and Han soldiers. The annual soldiers' pay and provisions were about 100,000 taels of silver, and the soldiers got much more pay than before. However, the soldiers'pay was transported from Sichuan Province to Tibet every year which was very inconvenient. Therefore a part of the soldiers'pay was funded with confiscated property. For instance, in the 25th year of the daoguang reign period(1845), the Regent Tsemonling Galdan Shirthu Samti Pakshi was accused of bribery, embezzlement, and other crimes. Afterwards his property was confiscated, among which silver ingots and silverware amounted to 75,700 taels and gold ingots and gold ware amounted to 11,000 taels; they all went into soldiers'pay. Besides, the 287 dan (a unit of dry measure for grain;=1 hectoliter) of confiscated rice and highland barley and 6,949 dan of beans and wheat were used for army provisions and funds for troops.4

The emperor's helmet and armour were bestowed by Qing Emperor Qianlong to Gandan Monastery. They are now preserved in Gandan Monastery

(2) Quotas of army provisions and the unpaid ula corvee

The Qing court's policy was that the soldiers in Tibet were paid monthly with silver (used as currency) and the soldiers would purchase food for themselves. Therefore, the Qing court paid much attention to the management of army provisions and keeping grain prices stable.

In the 12th month of the 56th year of Qianlong reign period (1791), according to the "Regulation concerning the purchase, transportation and distribution of the army food for troops in Tibet" submitted to the court by Grand Minister A-gui, the Qing court approved and fixed the prices of highland barley and the fee for processing. Its aim was to keep the grain price stable and to safeguard the supply of army provisions. According to the Qing court's instruction, E-hui, the Grand Minister Resident of Tibet, consulted with the Dalai Lama and fixed the purchase price for army provisions. That is, the price of one dan of wheat was 1.1 taels of silver, and one dan of highland harley was 1.3 taels of silver. The price for processing a dan of wheat was 0.2 taels and for a dan of tsampa (roasting and grinding highland barley) was 0.3 taels.5 The food quota for every officer and soldier was one sheng (a unit of dry measure for grain;=1 liter) of tsampa per day.6

In order to ensure the supply of grain, the Qing court allotted different quotas of grain to officers of different ranks and soldiers in the 21st year of Jiaqing reign period(1816): two khal of rice and 25 Kilograms of wheat every month to the Regional Vice Commander (fu-jiang) and Assistant Regional Commander (can-jiang); to every Brigade Commander (you-ji)and Brigade Vice Commander (du-si), two khal of rice and 20 kilograms of wheat; to every Assistant Brigade Commander (shou-bei), Company Commander (qian-ba-zong) and Commandant of Fleet-as-clouds Cavalry (yun-qi-wei),1.5 khal of rice and 15 kg of wheat; to every Detached Squal Leader (wai-wei-qian-zong),1 khal of rice and 15 kg of wheat every month; and to each soldier one khal of rice and 10 kg of wheat per month. As to ethnic Manchu troops, the Company Commander (zuo-ling) got 2 khal of rice and 20 kg of wheat every month; each Commandant of Cavalry Brigade (xiao-qi-jiao) has 1.5 khal of rice and 15 kg of wheat per month; and every soldier one khal of rice and 10 kg of wheat every month. Thus, there were 87 ethnic Manchu and Han officers and 595 Manchu and Han soldiers. The total number of officers and soldiers was 682. A total of 716.5 khal of rice and 2,268 kg of wheat were allotted to them.

Tibet is vast in territory and sparsely populated. Natural conditions are very harsh. When officers and soldiers in Tibet went out on official business, came in or out of Tibet or were shifted elsewhere for garrison duty, nothing could be done without the help of ula corvee unpaid labor done by common Tibetans in communication and transportation. Therefore, the Qing court assigned the ula corvee quota to officers and soldiers so that they might get the help of the ula service and to exempt them from waste of money or increasing the burden on the common people. In the 7th year of Xianfeng's reign (1857) the Qing court revised the ula quotas of the officers and soldiers stationed in Tibet. It stipulated:

(1) When going to another place on official business, the original quotas for a Brigade Commander, a Secretary for Native Affairs (yi-qing zhang-jing) or a Paymaster (liang-wu) were seven ranging horses and eight pack yaks, now three more horses and four yaks and four laborers are added to them. The original quotas for a Brigade Vice Commander were five horses and six pack yaks, now two more horses, three pack yaks and four laborers are added to them. The original quotas for an Assistant Brigade Commander were five horse and six pack yaks, now two more horses, two pack yaks and two laborers are added to them. The original quotas for a Company Commander or a Manchu Archivist (mang-yin-fang) were three horses and four pack yaks, now one horse and two pack yaks are added to them. The original quota for a Squad Leader was two horses and three pack yaks, now one horse and one yak are added to them. The original quotal for a Detached Squad Leader was two horses and two pack yaks, now one more horse is added, no more pack yak is needed. For a soldier's ula corvee, the quota is one horse and one pack yak regardless of the distance.8

(2) When civilian officials or military officers come from the hinterland to Tibet, or return to the hinterland after their term of office expired, or they are bringing with them cash, ammunitions, or they are sending criminals under escort, they might have ula service accrding to their official ranks. "The Secretary for Native Affairs (yi-qing zhang-jing) might have fourteen horses, twenty-six pack yaks and four laborers. Each of the Brigade Commanders and Paymasters might be given fourteen horses, twenty-two pack yaks and four laborers. Thee Brigade Vice Commander might have nine horses, fourteen pack yaks and four laborers. The Assistant Brigade Commander might be given eight horses, ten pack yaks and three laborers. The Manchu Archivist and Company Commander each might be given five horses and six pack yaks. The quota of ula service for the Han-Chinese Archivist has not been clearly stipulated, but from now on they may have the same ula service as the Manchu Archivist. Squad Leaders might have four horses and five pack yaks. The Detached Squad Leader, three horses and four pack yaks. A soldier, one horse and one pack yak regardless of long or short distance."9

(3) "In case of emergency, civilian officials and military officers might increase their ula corvee quotas. The two Gurkha students who want to go to work in the capital Beijing would be given five horses and five pack yaks."10

(4)In case an officer or soldier died in the course of performing his duty or died of illness, the officer above the rank of Assistant Brigade Commander might have two pack horses for carrying the body and four laborers, and those who escorted the body might have five horses and ten pack yaks. Company Commander, Squad Leader, and Detached Squad Leader might have a pack horse to carry the body, and two laborers, those who escort the body might have two horses and two pack yaks. Other officers or soldiers might have one pack horse to carry the body.11

(3) Military spending

Except soldier's pay and provisions and the expenditure on the ula service mentioned above, the Qing court's military spending on the troops stationed in Tibet was mainly on the construction of military camps, payment for grain storage, rewards given on inspection tours and expenditure on relocation for garrison duty. Here we shall make an analysis of each of the items.

Camp construction was one of the basic expenditures on the troops. In the eleventh year of Yongzheng reign period (1733), Grand Minister Resident of Tibet, Qing Bao, in his memorial to the court concerning the expenditure and budget on the construction of military camps in the suburbs of Lhasa said: "I have inspected Drashitang, a place situated between the Sera and the Jokhang. It is on a vast plain, near to sources of water, far away from farmland, five li (1 li=1 kilometer) from Jokhang. Its terrain is excellent. In line with the number of officers and soldiers, it is preferable to build the camp with a city wall in a circumference of 200 zhang and with a gate in the south, east and west respectively. The city wall has a base of one zhang wide, 1.3 zhang high. The battlements on the city wall are three chi in height. The wall and battlements will be built by laying stones. The upper floor of the wall is five chi wide. There will be three gates with staircases leading to it…Six granaries will be built… There will be three storehouses for gunpowder and shells … Altogether a total of 341 rooms will be built… There is no need to buy building materials. The fee for transporting timber from Kungpo for building houses is 960 taels (tael, a unit of weight for silver, =31.25 grams) of silver. Besides, according to Pholhanas'estimation, 8,820 taels of silver is needed for paying craftsmen."12

In order to ensure the food supply and that the troops might purchase low-price grain, Minister He Shen and others by order of the Emperor formulated "The 19 Article Program for Better Government of Tibet," in which it was decided to establish granaries in Tibet so as to store up grain for future use.13 It was recorded in their memorial to the court: "From now on it shall be done as General Ehui reported. The Kalons shall be asked to purchase three thousand dan of barley after autumn harvest every year on a fair price on the nearby market. And then they hand over the barley to the paymaster. The paymaster shall build granaries in the Drashi Town to store the barley. After two years of purchase, one thousand dan (a unit of dry measure for grain,=1 hectoliter. Tr.) of old barley shall be distributed among soldiers as their food, and the price for the barley will be deducted from the soldiers'pay on the basis of the original price. The granaries shall always have storage of six thousand dans. In case of emergency on the borderland, there will be enough provisions to deal with. As to the four granaries at Lhari, Chamdo, Batang, and Litang, a paymaster is in charge of each of them … The paymasters shall be ordered to purchase five or six hundred dans of grains every year on market price in accordance with the local conditions, no matter what kind of grain it is. After two thousand dan is in storage, the old grains also should be replaced with fresh ones, so that they would not go mouldy … As to the funds for purchasing grains and building granaries, it should be paid by the paymaster's office. The account shall be checked and no inflated figures might be given in his report.

Inspection tours, military drilling and annual bonuses were also a big item of military expenditure. In the 8th year of Yongzheng reign period (1730), Grand Minister Resident of Tibet Sengge and Pholhanas led the Manchu, Han and Tibetan officers and soldiers in an inspection tour to the borderland. They returned before heavy snow sealed the mountain passes. Their action was praised by Emperor Yongzheng. Emperor Yongzheng in his decree says: "They should be ordered to withdraw before the snowfall. Next year they may still station at Tengri Nor (now Lake namtso)… Order them to withdraw before snowfall and they shall continue their inspection tour on the borderland under the command of Sengge next year. The officers and soldiers of their Green Banner troops shall have ten thousand taels of silver for reward added to their regular reward quota. Pholhanas may act at his discretion to give rewards to the Tangut soldiers nest year". Grand Minister Resident of Tibet Song Yun said in his report to the imperial court concerning the rewards for the troops stationed in Tibet in the previous year:"Over the past few years, all the material rewards given to the inspection troops of the Green Banner and Tangut soldiers, gifts to the headmen of Ladakh, Ngari, Drukpa, and material gifts for Dam Mongols and the Horde Sogu amounted to 1,294 taels of silver. We have made yearly reports and submitted expense accounts to the Ministry. As to the surplus materials and eleven taels of silver left over in the 58th year of Yongzheng's reign, the total amounted to 1,294 taels. From the fourth month last year to the third month this year, as a rule, rewards were given to Ladakhis, Ngari, Drukpa Depa, the Dam officers and soldiers who took part in inspection, Horde Sogu, and Dam Mongols. After the two military drillings of last autumn and this spring, the outstanding officers and soldiers of the Green Banners stationed in U-Tsang, Garze, and Dingri, and the Tangut soldiers and Dam Mongols were given rewards. The total of rewards amounted to 1,282 taels of silver. Detailed accounts were made and were sent, as usual, to the Ministry of Revenue and to the Sichuan Governor for examination. We ask your permission to put the surplus materials, which amount to eleven taels of silver, in the item for this year's reward."

The movement of troops elsewhere for garrison duty was also another item of military expenditure. In the 54th year of the Qianlong's reign (1789) the Qing court decided to shift 150 troops of the Green Standards (lu-yin)from the U region to the Tsang region to strengthen the defense of the Tsang. It stipulated that the expenditure for the relocation should be paid by the Army Paymaster in Tibet. And he would also issue rations, horse fodder, etc, to the personnel of the army every month.14

(4)Embarrassed military expenditure and its impact

With the establishment of the Office of the Grand Minister Resident of Tibet and the expansion of the number of troops stationed in Tibet, since the middle of the Qing period, the expenses for garrison troops in Tibet had become an increasingly heavy burden and the military expenditure had been in dire straits by the late Qing period. There were three reasons for the straitened conditions:

First, Tibet is in the southwestern border area, high above the sea level and the roads are rough and difficult to traverse. It was difficult to transport materials there. The pay and grain for the garrison troops were funded by the Central Government, and they needed to transport from the hinterland, but the wastage in transit was great. In the long run, it was too great a loss to endure. In order to reduce the wastage of soldiers'pay in transit, the Qing court decided in the 54th year of the Qianlong reign period (1789) that all cash transport to Dajianlu (present-day Kang ding or Darrtse-mdo) should be in whole silver ingots instead of broken silver.15 This was only an expedient measure for reducing the wastage in transit.

Second, a more important reason is that Tibet is sparsely populated, its production is very limited and its socio-economy lagged far behind China's hinterland. Therefore local production could not bear the burden of a large-scale military campaign. Owing to the needs of stationing troops in Tibet, the Qing court allocated and transferred a large amount of silver to Tibet annually. But this resulted in the abnormal exchange rate between the silver and tamka (Tibetan silver dollar), and thus resulted in the infringement on the interests of the soldiers stationed there. This was especially prominent in the middle and the later period of the Qing Dynasty. Yu Gang, Resident Minister of Tibet, in his memorial to the Qing court of the 27th year of Guangxu's reign period (1901), said:"There are four paymaster-offices in Tibet: one at Lhari, one in the U region, one in the Tsang region, and one in Jingxi. The Central Government transmit 103,000 taels of silver from Sichuan to Tibet annually for the soldiers'pay and provision. As a rule, the money is transmitted to Dajianlu and the paymasters would entrust their Tibetan agents to change the silver into Tibetan dollars. The usually rate is one tael of silver for ten Tibetan dollars (tamka), which weighs one qian (a unit of weight,=5 grams) for one tamka. From last year the silver price dropped drastically in Tibet, one tael of silver can be exchanged for seven or eight Tibetan dollars (tamka) in the market. Tibetan merchants would like to buy tea with silver at Dajianlu (Dar-rtse-mdo) and would not exchange for the money order. So the paymasters find themselves short of cash. I have sent people together with the paymaster of the U region and Tibetan officials to try to persuade Tibetan merchants to do the exchange, but failed. By the end of last year, after the Kalons of Kashag had a consultation with the paymasters, they made a report to the Dalai Lama, asking that from the 27th year of Guangxu's reign period(1901) the Shangshang would be responsible for the exchange of 103,000 teals of silver for Tibetan coins.But the Han officials should transport the silver to Tibet, hand it to the Shangs-hang for casting coins. One tael of silver could only exchange for nine Tibetan coins. In one or two years when the market price restore as before, a meeting would resume to restore the old rule…Since the 57th year of Qianlong's reign when Fu Kang'an formulated the rules, the pay for soldiers was first delivered to the Tibetan Shangshang for casting coins. The work was under the supervision of Grand Minister of Tibet's representatives and the Kalons. Every tael of silver might exchange for nine Tibetan silver coins (tamka), each weighing one qian (ten qian makes a tael). The other one qian goes for the loss of material and for workers'salary. Afterwards, as the Tibetan merchants went to the paymaster to exchange Tibetan tamka for silver on their own initiative, and this produced substantial benefits to both parties. So the Shangshang stopped the casting of coins. Owing to the market price of silver became low suddenly, the Tibetan merchants would not exchange tamka for silver. It is hard to deliver soldiers'pay monthly. If transport silver to Tibet and then exchange if for silver coins, the loss would be even greater. We have no other way out. Now the Shangshang promised to cast coins for one or two years, it shows that it has taken the interests of the whole into account. Anyway, this is an expedient measure. But to the paymasters, it means one qian would be cut down from every tael; one thousand taels would be decreased from every ten thousand." In order to safeguard the interests of the officers and soldiers stationed in Tibet, Yu Gang asked the Emperor's permission to reimburse the deficit caused in the course of money exchange with the money in the items of military expenditures. He said,"If we give soldiers nine Tibetan coins (tamka) for one taels of silver, they would suffer much. They are already very poor, I feel sympathy for them. A soldier's monthly pay is four taels of silver, it is not enough for their daily food and use. It would be more difficult for them if another ten percent will be deducted from their income. After considering over and over again, I believe the only way out is to reimburse the deficit in an official item as an official expenditure. In one or two years after the silver price in Tibetan market restores to normal, exchange will be conducted as before. The soldiers'pay registered at the offices of four paymasters at Jingxi, U, Tsang, and Lhari amounts to 103,000 taels, the deficit is 10,300 taels. We beg Your Majesty's to reimbursed the deficit as an official expenditure, so that the paymasters won't lose and soldiers'provisions might be guaranteed.

Third, as the financial situation of the central government increasingly deteriorated during the later period of the Qing Dynasty, the problem of the government being in arrears with soldiers'pay became increasingly serious, especially in Tibet and Sichuan. In the first year of Tongzhi reign period(1862) Jing Wen, the newly-appointed Grand Minister Resident of Tibet, made a report to the Qing court about the serious situation of soldiers'pay arrears. He said:"Owing to the fact that Sichuan government could not transmit soldiers'pay to Tibet in time, the total of soldiers'pay arrears has come to 300,000 taels of silver. We know the Sichuan government has run into financial difficulties, but the Tibetan garrison soldiers'pay is also of very great importance."16

Amban's Yamen

In order to guarantee the soldiers'pay and provision, the Qing court had to find other channels and ways to raise money for the soldiers'pay and provision. The main way was to draw a part of money from customs revenue and to collect grain tax at the checkpoints throughout Tibet. As to the customhouse a part of revenue for soldiers'subsidy, Xi Liang in his memorial of the 30th year (1904) of Guangxu reign period made a detail report of the revenue and expenditure of the Jingxi Customs. He said: "Since the 19th year of the Guangxu reign period, the Jingxi Customhouse in Tibet had set up a payment item for the monthly pay of civil and military officials, and soldiers,etc. and for funds for borderland affairs, with a total of 30,000 taels of silver. The money was transmitted from Jingxi to Tachienlu Treasury of the Jingxi Customhouse, put under the charge of the co-director (Tong-zhi) of Jingxi Customhouse. He compiled registers and reported to the court. Afterwards, the Jingxi Customhouse was short of money, so the sum was paid out of the Chongqing taxes up to the 27th year of Guangxu's reign. According to Xu Handu, a Provisional Administrative Commissioner (Bu-zheng-shi), a new director came to take over the Jingxi Customhouse of Tibet; the total sum turned over was 67,545 taels, except 28,981 taels, the actual sum was 38,564 taels of silver. All these are not false but actual amount.

In order to solve the problem of staple food supply, the Office of the Minister Resident of Tibet began to collect grain tax at checkpoints throughout Tibet from the middle and later period of the Qing Dynasty, and it pressed for payment of debts in a severe manner. For example, in the 34th year (1908) of Guangxu reign period, Lian Yu, Minister Resident of Tibet, wrote a letter to the Tibetan Kashag government concerning the grain taxes in arrears by the Chuka Camp officer. He asked the Kashag to press the Chuka for the delayed taxes.

After the middle period of the Qing Dynasty, the national strength of the Qing Dynasty became increasingly weak, and the negative effects of the insufficient military expenditure manifested themselves more clearly with each passing day. They were as follows:

First, the insufficiency of military expenditure had a negative influence on the stability of Tibet and the areas inhabited by the Mongols and Tibetans. For example, in the 25th year of the Guangxu reign period, Jetsun Dampa, the ruling lama of the Outer Mongolia, in a memorial sent to the Qing court through the 13th Dalai Lama, inquired about the concrete situation of the Tibetan military spending, the expenditure of monastery restoration and other expenditures, expressing his doubts concerning the corruption of the relevant officials in the Office of the Grand Minister Resident of Tibet. Jetsun Dampa said in his memorial to the court: "I heard that the court has appropriate 400,000 taels of silver for Tibet when confronting with the British and French invaders. It was said that 4,000 taels went for repairing of the Jokhang Temple, 2,000 taels for repairing the city gate of Nartang, and 17,000 taels for repairing work during Amban Kui Huan's tenure of office. But the sum of money they received did not tally with the original figure." According to the investigation conducted by the court, "A total of 120,000 taels was appropriated at different times during the tenure of Sheng Tai and Kui Huan, two former Grand Ministers of Tibet, Kui Huan already submitted an expense account to the treasurer's office. The expense included 125,000 taels for Han and Tibetan civil officials and military officers and soldiers pay, and 58,000-odd taels for building Jingxi customhouse and the houses of relevant government offices. All this may be checked according to the accounting book made at the time. It is not true the court had appropriated 400,000 taels to Tibet; no other money was given to Tibet." Although it was proved that there was no graft and embezzlement of the money allotted to Tibet, yet this reflected the concern of the upper strata of the Mongol and Tibetan societies over the social stability owing to insufficient military appropriations.

Amban's Yamen in Picture of Lhasa (painted by Tibetan painters in the Qing Dynasty)

Second, insufficient military appropriations led to the reduction of mounted troops. Only Green Standards (lu-ying, military men outside the Banner system) remained. In reality, this greatly lowered the military strength of the troops stationed in Tibet. During the reign of Yongzheng, Nian Gengyao quelled the rebellion staged by Lobzang Tenzin in Qinghai. After that he advocated strongly that in order to use manpower and material resources sparingly, mounted troops should be dismissed and replaced with Green Standards. "The expenses on one cavalryman is equivalent to those on two soldiers, and the expenses on one horse is equivalent on those on one soldier."17 In reality, after the middle period of the Qing Dynasty, the ethnic Han soldiers stationed in Tibet were replaced by Green Standards or even by aboriginal soldiers from the Kham region. The main reason for this was insufficient funds.

Third, To save money by reducing the number of soldiers stationed in Tibet. The Qing court at its peak had 2,000 soldiers stationed in Tibet, with 1,000 soldiers deployed on the Chamdo line. During the reign of Yong Zheng, the garrison troops once reduced to 500, and they acted only as the guards of the Office of the Grand Minister Resident of Tibet.18 From then on the number of garrison troops sometimes increased sometimes decreased, but, in general, it declined.

Fourth, insufficient military expenditures resulted in the decrease of military inspections. In the first year (1862) of Tong Zhi period, Man Qing, Grand Minister Resident of Tibet, made a suggestion in his memorial to the Qing court to change the annual military inspection to once every three years so as to save military spending.19

Amban You Tai (the third from the left) and His Aides and Staff

(5)Summary

Through the study mentioned above we may see the economic strength of the Qing court conditioned the scale of its garrison troops in Tibet and it had the following characteristics: First, the Qing court had paid great attention to the strengthening of its garrison in Tibet with its economic strength as a powerful backing The Qing court wanted to exercise a smooth management of Tibet with the aim of maintaining stability in the vast areas inhabited by Mongols and Tibetans. Second, all expenditure on the troops stationed in Tibet was allotted by the financial department of the central government. Even the army provisions and forage provided by the Tibetan local authorities were later paid back by the Qing court in cash so as not to add economic burden on the local people. Third, after the middle and later periods of the Qing Dynasty, with the decline of national strength, the power of the garrison was weakened, there was a shortage of grain for provisions and soldiers'pay fell into arrears.

2. The management and subsidy of Tibetan troops

The counterpart of the central government's troops stationed in Tibet were Tibetan troops. The Tibetan troops were established during the reign of Emperor Qianlong. Before that, there was no standing army in Tibet. Prior to the ending of the second war with the Gurkhas, Fu Kang'an, complained of the shortcomings and lack of fighting power of the Tibetan local military forces, formulated the Imperial Ordinance for the more Effective Governing of Tibet in the 58th year (1793) of Qianlong's reign and officially established the Tibetan troops. Before the beginning of the Daoguang period (1821), the Tibetan troops were under the direct control of the Office of the Grand Minister Resident of Tibet in accordance with the principle of the "unification management of ethnic Tibetan and Han troops" of the Imperial Ordinance for the more Effective Governing of Tibet.

(1)The size, allowance of the Tibetan troops and the source of military expenditures.

Da-qing hui-dian (A collection of legal codes of the Great Qing) has a detailed description of the size of the Tibetan troops: "There are 3,000 ethnic Tibetan soldiers. One thousand will be stationed in the U region, one thousand in the Tsang region, 500 at Dingri and 500 at Gyangtse. Fifty percent of them will use air guns, 30 percent use bows and arrows, and the remaining 20 percent use swords. Soldiers shall have their hair shaved…Every 25 soldiers shall be under a dingpon (platoon leader), every five dingpons shall be under one gyapon, every two gyapons shall be under one rupon, and every two rupons under one dapon."20 According to the rules stipulated by the Qing court, 1,000 troops should be stationed in the U and Tsang regions respectively and 500 troops at Dingri and Gyangtse respectively; all the soldiers were to be recruited locally. Altogether there were six dapons; two in U and two in Tsang, and one each at Dingri and Gyangtse. Each dapon was in charge of 500 men, he was responsible for training the soldiers according to the training code of the Chinese military forces called lu-ying (the Green Standards) of the Qing Dynasty. The troops in the U region were under the control of you-ji (Brigade Commander) of the Qing garrison. The Tibetan troops in the Tsang region and a Dingri and Gyangtse were under the control of du-si (Brigade Vice Commander). Every year the Grand Minister Resident of Tibet would make an inspection of them. Under the six dapons were installed 12 rupons, 24 gyapons,120 dingpons. Under a dapon were 500 soldiers, under a rupon were 250 soldiers, under a gyapon were 125 soldiers, and under a dingpon were 25 soldiers.

According to the Imperial Ordinance for the more Effective Governing of Tibet, the Qing court stipulated each of the six dapons would be given an estate by the Dalai Lama, as was a custom of the Kashag government, so the Qing court need not give them salary. Each of the 12 rupons received 36 taels of silver every year; each of the 24 gyapons received 20 taels of silver every year; and each of the 120 dingpons received 14.8 taels of silver every year. Therefore, a total of 2,688 taels of silver was needed for their salary and this amount of money was given by the shangshang (also called Ladrang Chagzod, the Kashag organ in charge of the accounts of the Monlam activities). Twice a year (in spring and autumn) the shangshang transmit the money to Minister Resident of Tibet for the troops21.

The Tibetan soldiers were recruited locally. The soldiers would be exempted from corvee and taxes after recruitment. "Imperial codes of the Court for Ethnic Minority Affairs" stipulates that every soldier should be paid 2.5 dan of qingke (highland barley) a year,22 so the total annual supply of qingke came to 7,500 dan a year. When the soldiers were on duty, each one of them should be given one jin of tsamba (roasted barley flour).23 The cost of this amount of qingke would be more than ten thousand taels of silver in the market.

The Dam Mongol soldiers in North Tibet received the same allowance as that of Tibetan soldiers. Although they also were of the Tibetan local armed forces, yet they were under the direct control of the Office of the Minister Resident of Tibet, and they received an extra food subsidy of 0.9 taels of silver.

The finance for Tibetan troops had three sources:

(1) Payment by the shangshang of the U and Tsang regions. Most of the revenue of the shangshang was used on religious activities and for the expenditures of the Dalai and Panchen lamas. So, the Qing court deemed it proper for the shangshang to provide "a small amount of money" for the Tibetan troops. Thus, the annual stipends of Tibetan officers such as rupon, gyapon and dingpon were provided by the shangshang. The total of this item went to 2,688 taels.

(2) From confiscated estates and materials. In the 57th year of Qianlong reign period, by order of the Emperor Qianlong, Fu Kang'an fixed the quota for Tibetan soldiers at 3,000. "A total of 7,500 dan of qingke is needed for their provisions. The cost of this amount of qingke would be more than ten thousand taels of silver in the market. The sum should be paid by the Shangshang of U-Tsang, but after investigation, we find the Shangshang is incapable of providing the sum, because no surplus money is left after annual expenditure. It is proper to assign the money from the confiscated property of Sharmapa, Tenzin Paljor and other traitors." In the 58th year (1793) of the Qianlong reign period, the Qing court instructed He Lin, the Minister Resident of Tibet: "The confiscated property of Sharmapa is worth of 64,000 taels, and the rents from his estates are about 7,100 taels. All this money is given to the Dalai Lama; the money is enough to pay the annual stipend of the rupons, gyapons and the local soldiers. There is no need for the shangshang to raise the money."

(3) From central fiscal subsidy. In the 58th year of (1793) the Qianlong reign period, Emperor Qianlong instructed the cabinet that an annual subsidy of 1,000 taels of silver be delivered for the Tibetan troops. In the 20th year (1815) of Jiaqing reign period, the Qing court reaffirmed the existing decree that after the death of the ninth Dalai Lama, the 1,000 taels of annual subsidy for Tibetan troops should be delivered as usual. Emperor Jiaqing said in his decree to the cabinet: "The sum bestowed on the Dalai Lama was intended for the newly established Tangut troops. Now the Dalai Lama has passed away, and Demo Hutuktu is working on the Dalai's behalf. He would run into difficulties if the court stopped giving the money. Therefore, the sum of 1,000 taels of silver shall be delivered annually as usual."24

(2)Military expenditure

The purpose of setting up the Tibetan troops was to strengthen the military defense of Tibet and, therefore, the main duty of the Tibetan troops was to garrison and to practice regular drilling. The expenditure on the troops were mainly on the supply of weapons and ammunition and for troop movements.

As to the military equipment of the Tibetan troops, the Imperial Ordinance for the more Effective Governing of Tibet stipulated: "Fifty percent of them would use air guns, 30 percent use bows and arrows, and the rest 20 percent use swords." There were three sources of these weapons: (1)Purchase from local people and from some monasteries. (2) Purchase weapons, including bows, arrows and ammunition with the confiscated money. For instance, the Qing court said: "The butter collected from the confiscated pasture-land of Sharmapa is worth 550 taels, which could be allotted to the Tibetan troops. They could by guns, bows, arrows, and gunpowder with the money."25 (3) Allocate the surplus weapons of Manchu and Han soldiers to the Tibetan soldiers. Fu Kang'an said in his memorial to the throne: "The bows and arrows transported from the hinterland are for the use of military camps, but a surplus remains. We may allocate a part of them to Tibetan soldiers for drilling…The Tsang has never had any cannons. I intend to allocate two of the 13 cannons, which I made before the war against Gurkhas, to the Tibetan soldiers in Tsang for their drilling and give the rest to the Potala for preservation."26 Before putting down the rebellion of the Gurkhas, owing to the backward conditions in Tibet, all the necessary lead shot and gunpowder were transported from the hinterland. In view of this, Fu Kang'an suggested to manufacture gunpowder at Kongpo, where sulfur deposit was abundant while lead shot and fuse were still provided by Sichuan. Fu Kang'an said in his memorial: "The troops stationed in Tibet need about 2,000 jin of gunpowder annually for drilling. As a rule, the gunpowder was manufactured in the hinterland and then transported to Tibet. The transportation expenses were very high. Now I discover the place named Kongpo is rich in sulfur. The gunpowder now preserved at the Potala was manufactured at Kongpo. So I sent people there to manufacture gunpowder.…We found the cost of making 100 Jin of gunpowder is 23 taels. Although the raw material and equipment are more expensive than those purchased in the hinterland, yet the transportation fee from the hinterland to Tibet is 30 times dearer than that in Tibet. In view of this, it is easy to find out that to manufacture gunpowder in Tibet is much cheper than to transport it from the hinterland…As to the lead, it is rare in Tibet. As a rule, lead shot and fuse are transported to Tibet from Sichuan."27

All the relevant expenditure on the movement of Tibetan troops was borne by the Kashag, the Tibetan local government. In the 54th year of Qianlong's reign (1789), the Qing court decided: "As to the issue of sending Tibetan troops to Lhatse, Sagya and Shekar of the Tsang region and of building castles at Dzongkhar, Kyirong and Nyelam for the purpose of defense…It is decided to send 30 soldiers stationed at Lhatse to Shekar and another 30 soldiers to Sagya. Their monthly food and provisions shall be provided by the kalons. The kalons shall be warned not to pocket a portion of the soldiers'pay."28

As to the Tibetan troops'expenses when they were transferred from one place to another place on emergency, the food and provisions would be provided by the officers and soldiers themselves. The horses they needed would be collected from aristocrats'manors, monasteries and merchants, and the Tibetan local government would pay compensation at the market price.

(3)The reward granted to Tibetan troops

The material subsidy given by the Qing court to Tibetan troops was mainly the rewards bestowed on them when they had achieved merit. The Qing court was not responsible for the Tibetan troops'daily expenses. But its rewards were bountiful. This showed the flexibility of the Qing policy toward the Tibetan troops, which might easily stimulate the troops'enthusiasm for better work. The Qing court's rewards for the Tibetan troops included the reward after putting down a rebellion according to the officers and soldiers contribution, rewards during Minister Resident of Tibet's inspection tours, rewards dispensed during military drillings, and rewards for extending regards to officers and soldiers, etc.

The sum of money for rewarding the Tibetan troops after putting down a rebellion, as a rule, was quite big. For instance, in the sixth year of Yongzheng's reign (1728) Yue Zhongqi in his memorial asked the Qing court to reward Pholhanas generously for his merit in quelling the rebellion staged by Ngarbopa. The Qing court accepted this suggestion and bestowed 30,000 taels of silver on Pholhanas.29 In the 6th year of Yongzheng's reign (1728), Zhou Ying submitted a memorial to the throne, in which he made a report that Ngabopa had been put to death and Pholhanas had been generously rewarded with 30,000 taels of silver. Zhou Ying said :" After receiving a reward of 30,000 taels, Pholhanas distributed them among his followers, and they were filled with exultation and vowed to forge ahead courageously.

To reward the troops with food and drink during the Minister Resident of Tibet's inspection tour was also an important element of Qing court's policy. For instance, in the 56th year of Qianlong reign period (1791), Bao Tai, the Grand Minister Resident of Tibet, submitted an expense account of the rewards bestowed on Tibetan troops in the previous year. He said in his report: "According to the old rule, the annual reward for the headmen of Ladakh and Drukpa and the Dam Mongols is 300 taels worth of articales for daily use. Afterwards, in order to reward the Tangut troops stationed on borderland, 500 taels of silver was added to the sum to a total of 800 taels. All the articles for reward were bought by Sichuan Governor and transported to Tibet." In the 8the year of Yongzheng's reign (1730), the Qing emperor ordered that Senge and Pholhanas with their patrolling troops be withdrawn before snowfall and the officers and soldiers be rewarded with money.

To reward troops during their military drillings was a practice stipulated in the Imperial Ordinance for the more Effective Governing of Tibet. The sum of money for this annual reward was 1,200 taels of silver. In the 60th year of Qianlong reign period(1795) Song Yun, Grand Minister Resident of Tibet, reported to Emperor Qianlong the reward bestowal of the previous year. He said: "The annual bestowal of articles for daily use to the soldiers of the Green Banner and Tangut soldier who participated in military drilling and to the headmen of Ladakh, Ngari, and Drukpa, and Horde Sogu Tibetans is worth 1,282 taeels of silver. This year, as usual, rewards have been given to them. The article for daily use given to them is worth 1,282 taels of silver. We have submitted an expense account to Ministry of Revenue and the Sichuan Governor respectively."

At first, the reward and extending regards to officers and soldiers was adopted for the Tibetan officers and soldiers stationed at Dam, who were under the direct control of the Office of the Minister Resident of Tibet. The funds were allotted by the Sichuan Provincial treasure for purchasing gifts and silver plates. And then envoys were sent to Tibet with gifts to extend regards to the troops. In the 54th year of Qianlong (1789) when the Imperial Ordinance for the more Effective Governing of Tibet was under discussion, the scope of bestowing rewards was expanded to the whole of Tibetan troops. According to Grand Secretary He Sheng's memorial in the same year, all the Tibetan officials and soldiers would be given rewards once a year, which ran to a total of about 900 taels of silver. With this fund, brocade, cloth, tobacco, tea, silver plates would be bought in Sichuan and transported to Tibet so that they might be given to Tibetan officers and soldiers as rewards.

(4) Restrictions put on the development of Tibetan troops by the decrease of Qing court's financial resources.

After the middle period of the Qing Dynasty, with the increase of indemnity to foreign powers and the decrease of financial revenue, the rewards and subsidies given by the Qing court to Tibetan troops also decreased gradually. The decline of the Qing court's financial resources also restricted the development of the Tibetan troops. The restrictions reflected on the Qing court's endeavour to maintain the original scope of the Tibetan troops and at the same time tried to broaden sources of income and reduce expenditure by every possible means.

In the ninth year of Daoguang's reign (1829), Hui Xian, the Assistant Minister Resident of Tibet, reported to the Qing court and said that there was some surplus in the provisions for the Tibetan troops. He suggested that 10,000 taels of silver might be drawn out and be lent to merchants on twenty percent interest every year. According to Hui Xian, to lend 10,000 taels of silver to Tibetan merchants might yield 2,000 taels of interest a year. The sum of money might meet the needs for troops'provisions when they were on an errand.30 This suggestion was approved by Emperor Daoguang and was put into effect.31

In the 7th year of Xianfeng's reign (1857), because some ministers in the court suggested that the Tibetan troops be expanded, Manqing, Grand Minister Resident of Tibet, made a counterproposal in his memorial to the court by submitting the local Tibetan secular and clerical leaders'opinion against the expansion of troop numbers. Manqing said in his memorial: "All Tibetan secular and clerical leaders and representatives made a report to me, requesting that you not expand Tibetans troops because of the limitation of financial resources and in order to reduce expenditure. They said that after the invasion of the Gurkhas, the reserve of materials of Shangshang and of the Panchen Erdeni is used up, that all monasteries in Tibet and old and well-known families had become poor, and that all kinds of natural disasters have appeared one after another. So, to ask Shangshang to collect provisions and manufacture weapons, or to collect money from aristocratic families is tantamount to adding sufferings to the people."32 In the end, the plan of expanding Tibetan troops was rescinded owing to the limitation of financial resources.

(5) Summary

From the above-mentioned analysis we may know that the Qing court's management of Tibetan troops and financial subsidies for them contain the following characteristics: (1) The members of Tibetan troops were selected and recruited from neighboring localities. Officers had fixed salary; soldiers were provided with provisions and they were exempted from ula corvee (to do unpaid service). All the expenses were born by the Tibetan local government. (2)The main tasks of the Tibetan troops were to garrison and to do drilling, and, therefore, the daily military expenditure was not big. (3)As to the Qing court's financial subsidy to the Tibetan troops, rewards were more than the daily expenses. It shows the flexibility of Qing court's policy toward Tibetan troops, and at the same time it did not have the heavy burden of daily expenses. This policy also might easily mobilize enthusiasm of the soldiers. This indirect management method was quite effective. (4)During the middle and the later period of the Qing Dynasty, the Qing court's financial resources dropped remarkably, which limited the development of the Tibetan troops.

3. Expenditures on some important military actions.

As to military logistics, it was a rule that army provisions should have been prepared before the troops began to move. Whenever a large-scale action took place, military expenditure increased drastically. According to the Qing court's usual practice, whenever a military campaign took place outside of the Central Plains (comprising the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River), besides Manchu and Mongol Green Standards (lu-yin), the local ethnic militiamen would certainly take concerted action. Whenever the Qing court took a military action in Tibet, it surely would muster the Mongol tribal troops or Tibetan militiamen from Sichuan and Qinghai for the action. Under such cirumstances, the horses, weapons and provisions for the Manchu and Mongol Green Standards, who were under the direct control of the Qing court, were provided by the imperial court. As to those local ethnic militiamen who offered coordination of military operations, their horses, weapons and daily spending would be provided by the militiamen themselves. At wartime they should be ready to accept any assignment, and after the war they would be awarded according to their merits. They might attain promotion and gain large monetary awards in compensation for their financial loss, which they suffered in a supporting role in the coordination of military operations.

There were five important large-scale military actions staged by the Qing government from the end of the reign of Emperor Kangxi to the end of the reign of Emperor Qianlong. They were: (1)Driving the Dzungar troops out of Tibet in the 56th-59th year of Kangxi's reign (1717-1720); (2) Quelling the rebellion staged by Lozang Tenzin in Qinghai in the first-second year of Yongzheng's reign (1723-1724), with a part of the military action in Tibet; (3) Subduing the rebellion of Ngabopa in the fifth-sixth year of Yongzheng's reign (1727-1728); (4) Quelling the rebellion staged by Gyrumed Namgyal in the 14th-15th year of Qianlong's reign(1749-1750); and (5) Registing the Gurkha invasion of Tibet in the 56th-57th year of Qianlong's reign (1791-1792). Most of these five military campaigns involved several thousand troops, but some of them involved up to 20,000 soldiers. Alarge amount of money was spent on every campaign. Some needed about one million taels of silver, others up to six or seven million taels of silver. The militry campaigns lasted for about a century, making a great impact on the stability of Tibetan society and political structure.

(1) Driving the Dzungar Mongol troops out of Tibet.

In the 56th year of the reign of Emperor Kangxi, the Dzungar Mongols made an incursion into Tibet. Their aim was to replace the Qoshot tribe and rule over Tibet, with the Dalai Lama in hand and ruling over all the Mongol tribes. The Dzungar Mongols occupied Tibet for three years and brought disasters to Lhasa. The Qing imperial court paid great attention to this incident; Emperor Kangxi decided to dispatch troops immediately to drive out the Dzungar troops. In the autumn of the 57th year of the reign of Emperor Kangxi(1718), the Qing court sent troops into Tibet to fight the Mongol invaders. The imperial court ordered General Erentei and Seleng to lead an army of Manchu and Han soldiers into Tibet, but they were all annihilated when they marched to the Nagchukha (Heihe River). The situation became very serious and this made the Qing court more determined to dispatch troops to Tibet for a second time. The Qing court government made ample preparations of the second military campaign. In the 59th year of Emperor Kangxi's reign, the Emperor appointed his fourteenth son Yunti the commander-in-chief to lead a great army to Tibet to put down the rebellion. The Qing troops, with the support of the Tibetan people and the cooperation of Khangchennas, Pholhanas and Ngabopa, officials of the Lhazang Khan administration, very soon were able to drive out the Mongol invaders, who were led by Tsewang Rabten, and reduced the number of Dzungar troops from 6,000 to 500.

The victory of the Qing court in its second military campaign was inseparable from the cooperation of the local ethnic armed forces from Sichuan and Qinghai.33

At the present no detailed record has been found concerning the expenditure on these two campaigns against the Dzungar Mongols who invaded Tibet. But according to our analysis, the total expenditure must have been enormous; it might sum up to one or more million taels of silver. Qing emperor Yongzheng made an account of this matter in his edict to the seventh Dalai Lama in the fourth year of Yongzheng reign period (1726): "It was impudent insubordination that Dzungar Mongols invaded Tibet. Emperor Kangxi did not hesitate to spend several million taels of silver on military campaigns against Dzungar invasion, so that you could be escorted back to Tibet and be enthroned as Dalai Lama, and Tibet could restore its peaceful life for lamas and common people."

(2) Crushing the rebellion staged by Lobzang Tenzin

In the 16th year of Kangxi's reign (1721) the Qing court abolished the post of Depa, which had been appointed by the chief administrator of Tibet, and replaced him with the institution of Kalons.34 The Kalon institution in Tibet broke the vain hopes of Gushri Khan's descendants to take control of Tibet. Gushri Khan's grandson, Lobzang Tenzin, the Qinghai Mongol leader of the Qoshot tribe, started a rebellion in 1723 in an attempt to secure the kind of ruling power over Tibet that his grandfather, Gushri Khan, had enjoyed. The Qing court immediately made a response to the incident. It dispatched a large contingent under the command of General Nian Gengyao to Qinghai to fight the rebels, and at the same time ordered General Zhou Ying, the Chamdo Governor to lead an army to North Tibet in anticipation of Lobzang Tenzin's flight into that region. Troops under the command of General Fu Ning'an were also sent to Turfan and Anxi, lest the rebels flee to Dzungar. Under the suppressing of the Qing troops, the rebellion staged by Lobzang Tenzin was put down in the spring of the second year of Yongzheng's reign (1724).

After the rebellion was crushed, Zhou Ying came back from North Tibet to Chamdo with his troops. In his memorial to the imperial court he reported his return journey and the relevant expenditure. He said: "Now the Qinghai rebellion has been put down and all the rebels surrendered unconditionally. I ordered Gao Linduan, a Brigade Commander under my command, to lead his 400 soldiers to go back to Chamdo from Tibet, and they started on the 15th day of the 6th month. The Dalai Lama contributed 800 taels and I added another 800 taels, with a total 1,600 taels for the soldiers to hire ula service and pack animals. Besides, Sonam Dargye, the Dalai lama's father, also contributed 200 taels, Beiji Khangchennas contributed 200 sheep, Ngabopa and Lumpanas each contributed 160 dan of grain.35

(3) Suppressing the rebellion headed by Ngabopa

In the sixth month of the fifth year of Yongzheng's reign (1727), a power struggle broke out among the kalons which resulted in a war between the U region (Anterior Tibet) and the Tsang region (Ulterior Tibet). Kalon Ngabopa, the representative of the U region, launched a surprise attack and killed the chief Kalon Khangchennas, the representative of the Tsang region. Consequently, the victim's trusted associate, Pholhanas, launched a punitive expedition from Shigatze, and requested the imperial court to dispatch troops to Tibet to crush the rebellion. Emperor Yongzheng thought as the state treasury was abundant the central government should seize the opportunity to sent troops to Tibet to improve the administration of Tibet. He wrote his comment on Eltai's memorial report: "Tibet again provided a good opportunity…Thanks to Heaven's favour we began to have a stable life. In the first year of my reign period the Ministry of Revenue had only 17 million taels of silver. After five years now we have 50 million taels of silver in the winter of this year. We owe this to the favour bestowed by Heaven and Emperor Kangxi. Now I decide to use millions of teals of silver to solve the problem in Tibet. You must encourage your troops to advance in a high spirit to Tibet and get victory." Thus the emperor decided to send troops to Tibet.

The Qing court made adequate preparation for sending troops to Tibet. Emperor Yongzheng sent Zhou Ying, who was familiar with the Tibetan situation, to Sichuan to make ready for the troops marching to Tibet. Zhou had everything prepared beforehand: food, provisions, horses, and other military supplies, etc. He said in a memorial to Emperor Yongzheng: "When I arrived in Sichuan, Governor Xian De and General Huang Tinggui had everything prepared before hand: food, provisions, horses, and other military supplies according to Your Majesty's order. Governor Xian De sent civil officials to Litang, Batang, Chamdo and other places to collect military provisions, and ordered military stations to escort soldiers to Tibet. General Huang Tinggui dealt with dispatching troops from battalions, and had pack horses as well as pots, tents, flags and so on prepared before hand for me to inspect…There are some problems about the pack animals. Originally it was decided that to every two soldiers were given three horses. From Chengdu to Tibet the road was very difficult, so I am afraid three horses could not carry two soldiers to Tibet from Chengdu. In my opinion, to each soldier will be given one pack horse. The three horses and such provisions as saddles and dry grass, which were originally decided to provide for each two soldiers, will be converted to silver and the converted silver be given to each two soldiers for them to buy or hire horses they need on the way. As to the supply of two months'food for each soldier, it might be better to provide him with one month's food. In addition, he has the silver converted from one month's food, so that soldiers could buy food along the way, because when I marched forward from Hor I found there were sufficient cattle and sheep as well as coked barley everywhere. In this way there will be less things to be carried and transportation will be easier and cheaper". Before departure Zhou Ying even prepared such gifts as silver tablets which were to be given to local ethnic chieftains: "Before we departed on the 6th day of the 4th month, Governor Xian De had big and small silver tablets, equivalent to 1200 taels of silver prepared; and Guan Chengze, the Provincial Administration Commissioner donated one hundred and twenty rolls of Sichuan silk and brocade, equivalent to 100 and more teals of silver. The silver tablets and silk were prepared for me to give as gifts to headmen in Tibet."

In the early fifth month of the sixth year in the Yongzheng's reign (1728), the Qing court moved 15,400 troops from Shaanxi, Sichuan and Yunnan to Tibet by both northern and southern routes, i.e. by way of Sichuan and Qinghai.36 But in reality, according to the memorial of Zhou Ying, who led the army into Tibet from Sichuan, among the 15,000 troops, only 1,530 Sichuan soldiers and 5,005 Shaanxi soldiers, (with a total of 6,535) entered Lhasa. The 4,000 troops that went to Tibet from Yunnan were stationed at Lholung Dzong and Riwoche. The troops stationed in Tibet, as mentioned above, totalled about 10,000. The rest were stationed at various military posts along the northern and southern routes leading to Tibet. The personnel allocation at the front and the rear was about 2:1.

On the way to Tibet Zhou Ying, the militry commander of Qing troops of the southern route, with 3000 men entered Tibet from Sichuan. When he reached Chamdo, he disposed his military force in such a way as he reported in his memorial. "1,000 men followed me to Tibet; 500 men were responsible for escorting provisions; 500 men for establishing stations along the way; and 1,000 men were stationed at Chamdo under an officer as reinforcements." As to the 500 men for escorting provisions, they were responsible for escorting 200,000 taels of silver to Tibet. The silver was prepared for Zhou Ying to give rewards to those who had made meritorious service. Zhou Ying said in his memorial: "When Jalangga, imperial prosecutor and commander of Qing troops on northern route, reached Tibet, we would declare Your Majesty's kindness and give rewards to them in accordance with their meritorious services. So I had the 200,000 taels of silver Your Majesty bestowed escorted to Tibet for this purpose."

On the first day of the eighth month in the sixth year of Yongzheng's reign (1728) the Qing troops from the southern and northern routes arrived at Lhasa simultaneously. By the end of the ninth month Ngabopa and his partners were put to death after interrogation. The rebellion was stamped out.

(4)Suppressing the rebellion raised by Gyurmed Namgyal

In the Fire-Hare year of the Tibetan calendar (1747), Pholhanas died and his second son Gyurmed Namgyal inherited his title. In the 14th year of Qianlong's reign (1749), Gyurmed Namgyal murdered his brother in Ngari, drove out his brother's son, Gyurmed Wangdrala, and took over Ngari. He was attempting to stage a rebellion. The situation became very serious and so the Amban, or Minister Resident of Tibet, Fu Qing, took pre-emptive actions after consulting secretly with Labdon, the assistant Amban. They sent for Gyurmed Namgyal, and when he arrived at an upper room of the Ambans'office, they hit him on the head with bludgeons, killing him instantly. And when Fu Qing and Labdon were killed later by Namgyal's men, chaos reigned in Tibet for a short period of time. On the second day after the rebellion broke out, the seventh Dalai Lama mustered armed forces and had the rebellion speedily put down. Celeng, the Governor of Sichuan, said in his memorial to the imperial court: "Now Gyurmen Namgyal was put to death and his henchmen were put into prison. But Dronyer Losang Drashi is still at large. He was so reckless as to lead several thousand people to besiege Tromzekhang, where the Imperial Minister's residence is located, burned down the building and killed Ministers Fu Qing and Labdon, and a military officer Huang Yuanlong, etc. The rebels robbed 80,000 taels of silver from Tromzekhang and absconded with the public funds…"37

That the Amban was killed, his office was burned down and the money for officials and soldiers salary was looted shocked the imperial court. So it decided again to dispatch troops to Tibet and Yue Zhongqi with 300 soldiers was immediately sent to Dajianlu (Dar-rtse-mdo) of Sichuan to make preparations for the military expedition.38

The troops went to Tibet by way of Sichuan and Qinghai. They were under the command of General Bandi and Celeng, governor of Sichuan Province, respectively. By the end of the same year, the troops of two routes arrived at Lhasa, executed the criminals and again put down a rebellion and stabilized the situation in Tibet.

(5) Resisting the Gurkha invasion of Tibet

In the 56th year of Qianlong's reign (1791) the Gurkhas launched a large-scale invasion of Tibet. The origin of the incident was that in the fifth month of the 53rd year of Emperor Qianlong's reign (1788) Tibet increased the duties levied on Gurkha goods in the border region. The duty increase led to an armed invasion of Tibet by the Gurkha chief. The invaders occupied Kyirong, Nyalam and Dzongga. The Qing emperor, upon a request by Amban Qinglin for 1,000 troops to be sent to Tibet from Sichuan to reinforce the troops in U-Tsang, dispatched Bazhong, Deputy Chairman of the Board for National Minority Affairs, to Tibet to investigate. At the same time, a military expedition to Tibet, the fourth one by the Qing government, was decided upon; 3,000 Manchu and Han troops and local militia were to enter Tibet at Dajianlu. By the end of the same year the Qing troops arrived at Lhasa and met with a warm welcome by the Tibetan clerical and secular people. The Dalai lama ordered preparation of rations and fodder for the troops to tide them over winter. Qing emperor Qianlong instructed: "According to Qing Lin (Grand Minister Resident of Tibet), 4,600 dan of grain ration were prepared in Tibet. Now Dalai Lama reported that in addition he had 1,100 cattle and 10,000 sheep prepared specially for Qing troops and would not take money for them from the Qing court. (Note. The provisions will be enough for 3,000 troops in four months.)…The provisions of grain and animals should be paid. They would be bought and given afterwards to Shangshang (also called Ladrang Chagzod, the Kashag organ in charge of the accounts of the Monlam activities) for expenditure on lamas." The Gurkhas were afraid that the Qing army would soon come to Tibet, so that pleaded for peace.

When the Qing army reached Lhasa in the winter, the Gurkhas pleaded for peace. Bazhong, representative of the imperial court, and Kalon Tenzin Paljor, representing the Kashag, negotiated the terms with the Gurkhas on the border. It was agreed that the Gurkhas would leave the territories they had occupied, and that they were to be guaranteed with a payment of 9,600 taels of silver each year for three years as compensation. Thus, the Gurkhas returned the three places they occupied. The Dalai Lama and the Kashag did not give their consent to the compensation, but Bazhong "decided so in an irresponsible manner our of his eagerness for rewards."

Later, when the Gukhas asked Tibet to honour the compensation agreement, the Dalai Lama and the Kashag refused. In the seventh month of 56th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign (1791), the Gurkhas invaded Tibet for a second time. They plundered the Drashilhunpo of all its treasures and food supplies, the Gurkhas pulled back to Nyalam and Kyirong on the Tibetan-Nepalese border.

Upon reports of the invasion, Emperor Qianlong dispatched a crack army into Tibet by way of Xining under the command of Generals Fu Kang'an and Hai Lancha. Another force from Sichuan was sent to the frontlines. This was the fifth military campaign the Qing government conducted in Tibet, involving a total of more than 17,000 troops. Under the command of Fu Kang'an, the Qing troops moved quickly to the frontier. By the fourth month of the 57th year of Qianlong's reign (1792), they had already moved to the borderline and expelled all the Gurkha invaders out of Tibet. In the fifth month of the same year, they stormed into the territory of Gurkhas. In the seventh month the Qing troops approached Yangby (the present-day Katmandu) and forced Gurkhas into surrender. By order of the emperor, Fu Kang'an accepted Gurkha's surrender. In the ninth month, the Qing troops pulled out of Gurkha, the war against Gurkha invasion ended with complete victory.

The Gurkha invasion broke out unexpectedly and so the Qing troops were forced to march into Tibet in the tenth lunar month of winter. Their provisions and fodder and other military supplied were prepared in great haste, so a great deal of provisions and fodder were collected in Tibet. This became the key work of the Office of the Minister Resident of Tibet in this period.

The Tibetan people, clerical and secular, all cordially welcomed the coming of the Qing troops. So they offered active help to collecting of provisions and fodder for the troops. The eighth Dalai Lama also spared no effort to collect provisions and fodder for the Qing troops.

As to the supply of weapons, the Qing troops relied mainly on the supply from the hinterland. Among the troops coming into Tibet were 1,000 ethnic Solum and Daur troops. They were good at shooting, so the Qing court had 40,000 arrows prepared in Sichuan for them. Fu Kang'an said in his memorial:"As to the arrows prepared in Sichuan, according to Hui Ling 30,000 arrows. The 40,000 arrows are all ready. They are prepared for the Solum and Daur men (Note: numbering 1,000) who are good at shooting. I ordered Jing An to transport the arrows to the military camp."

To express thanks to the Qing court for sending troops to drive the Gurkha invaders and to give help to the victorious army, the Seventh Dalai Lama dispatched his representative to take 30,000 taels of silver to Qinghai to buy horses for the Qing troops. Thus, Fu Kang'an made a proposal to the emperor: "The Dalai Lama always tries to express gratitude to Your Majesty's kindness in protecting the Yellow Sect of Buddhism. Owing to that Solum and Daur men need horses, we consulted with the Dalai Lama and Kyirong Hutuktu on the horse purchase in Tibet. The Dalai Lama himself had horses purchased in Tsang. He was afraid that the horses would not be enough, so he sent men with 30,000 taels of silver of Shangshang to Mongol tribes in Qinghai to purchase more horses for the troops. As he did the purchase with donation from local government rather than from Tibetans, it was improper for us to stop him in doing so. If Your Majesty bestowed treasure on him and pay back the horses, he will be grateful to Your Majesty's kindness and more earnestly support Your Majesty."

It was late autumn season when the Qing army stormed into Gurkha and was approaching its capital Yanbu. The Qing army was resisted stubbornly by the Gurkhas. In addition the Qing troops were unaccustomed to the climate of the new place. So many officers and soldiers died. Fu Kang'an thought the army had to be withdrawn without delay before heavy snow set in. Besides, considering that the front line was too long for transportation of provisions and only a small part of the provisions reached the front, Fu Kang'an secretly made a memorial to the emperor, in which he asked the emperor's approval of accepting the Gurkha's appeal for peace and withdrawing the troops unhurriedly. He said: "This time I led troops to attack Gurkha bandits…We started on the 6th day of the 5th month up to present, altogether 70-odd days. The provisions we needed should be 630,000-odd jin. But the provisions transported from Kyirong to the front was thirty percent of the number or 120,600-odd jin of tsamba, which consisted of 64,800-odd jin officially supplied and 55,800-odd jin which I collected. As to the 800-odd cattle and 12,700-odd sheep that should be transported to the camp, only 200 cattle and 1,600 sheep survived and reached. Most fell down from the cliffs. In recent two months our troops did not have enough food to eat. I have to purchase grains from local Tibetans. As to soldiers'pay, except the silver Your majesty bestowed on me and the 13,000-odd taels of silver I borrowed in Tsang for the pay, only 20,000 taels of silver provided by Sichuan reached us and the sum of money was all used for the pay. The state is very difficult. I am very much anxious about it." The emperor agreed to his proposal. The Qing court accepted Gurkha's appeal for peace, and the victorious troops were withdrew.

Another characteristic feature of this expedition was that among the troops coming into Tibet were 300 ethnic Tibetan soldiers from Ngaba and Garze of Sichuan. Having returned to Lhasa after gaining a full victory over the Gurkha, they were received by the Dalai Lama and Panchen Erdeni, which was a great honor to those Tibetan soldiers who were pious Buddhists.39

The war to resist Gurkha aggression was the biggest in scale among the military expeditions the Qing court ever launched in Tibet, and it got the best result. It directly brought forth the formation of a twenty nine-article "Imperial Ordinance for the More Effective Governing of Tibet," which laid a foundation for the Tibetan social-political structure and the stability of Tibetan society. As to expenditure of the two expeditions against the Gurkhas, there are no clear records in historical materials. But we may know from a decree by Emperor Qianlong that the expenditure for the Qing troops under Fu Kang'an's command was well over six million taels of silver.40

(6) Summary

The Qing court's military campaigns that were carried out in Tibet had the following characteristics:(1) When its financial resources permitted, the Qing court was determined to send expeditions to Tibet to further improve its administrative control there. For instance, Emperor Yongzheng more than once said he would spare no expense to solve the issue of Tibet and that he would spare neither labor nor money if he could get something done once and for all.41 (2) Whenever a military expedition was sent to Tibet, most of the soldiers were from the Tibetan tribal militiamen and Mongolian tribal militiamen of Qinghai. They were always sent as a vanguard because they were familiar with the situation on the Tibetan plateau. (3) There broke out five military campaigns during the Qing Dynasty, every time several thousand and up to 20 thousand troops were sent. Military expenditure for every campaign was enormous, from one million taels to six million or possibly over ten million taels of silver, which were a heavy financial burden on the central government of the Qing Dynasty.

Notes:

1 "Yue Zhongqi's memorial made on the 22nd day of the second lunar month of the 5th year of Yongzheng reign (1727) concerning the protection of the Dalai Lama in case of the Dzungar's invasion of Tibet." Cited from A Collection of Archives Concerning the Relations of the Tibetan Local Government and the Central Government Since the Yuan Dynasty. China Tibetology Publishing House, Beijing, 1994. The memorials used in this article are all cited from this book.

2 Ibid.

3 Memorial made by Qing Bao concerning the setting up of the Drashitang military camp, written on the 19th day of the 7th month in the 11th year of Yongzheng reign (1733). Collected in the First History Archives.

4 "Qi Shan's memorial concerning the confiscation of the property of Ngawang Jampel Tsultrim, " the 7th day of the 2nd lunar month in the 25th year of Daoguang reign (1845). Also see" Documentary Records of Xuan Zong."

5 A-gui's memorial concerning the purchase, transportation and of army provisions in Tibet, made on the 25th day of the 12th lunar month in the 56th Qianlong reign period (1791). Collected in the First History Archives.

6 Ibid.

7 Khal. A Tibetan unit of measure equal to about 14 kilograms.

8 Mang Qing's official letter to the Kashag concerning the implementation of the newly formulated stipulations on the ula corvee for the officers and soldiers stationed in Tibet. The 18th day of the 12th lunar month in the 7th year of Xianfeng reign period (1857). Collected in the Tibet Archives.

9 Ibid.

10 Ibid.

11 Ibid.

12 "Memorial made by Qing Bao concerning the setting up of the Drashitang military camp." The 19th day of the 7th lunar month in the 11th year of Yongzheng reign period (1733). Collected in the First History Archives.

13 He Shen's Memorial concerning the 19-Article Program for Better Government of Tibet. The 27th day of the 6th lunar month in the 54th year of Qianlong reign. Collected in the First History Archives.

14 Ibid.

15 Ibid.

16 Jing Wen's memorial to the imperial court for an early delivery of soldiers'pay in Tibet of the 20th month of the first year(1862) of Tongzhi reign period. Collected in the First History Archives.

17 Nian Gengyao's memorial on the 13 measures after the quelling down of the rebellion of Lozang Tenzin. The 11th day of the 5th month of the 2nd year (1724) of the Yong Zheng reign period. Collected in the First History Archives.

18 Documentary Records of Shi Zong, the 129th juan, the first day of the third month in the 11th year (1733) of Yongzheng reign. The emperor ordered the Council of State to withdraw all officers and soldiers stationed in Tibet except 500, and to put Qing Bao in charge of Tibetan affairs.

19 Man Qing's memorial on the revision of the established regulations, the fourth day of the 12th month in the first year (1862) of Tong Zhi period. Collected in the First History Archives.

20 The materials of the Li-fan yuan (Court of Ethnic Minority Affairs) in the Da-qing hui-dian (A collection of legal codes of the Great Qing) of the Quangxu's reign.

21 The Imperial Ordinance of 29 Articles for the more Effective Governing of Tibet (Tibetan edition), the 58th year (1793) of Qianlong reign period, collected in the Tibetan Archives.

22 dan, a unit of dry measure for grain, one dan=one hectoliter.

23 jin, a unit of weight,=1/2 kilogram.

24 Emperor Jiaqing's decree that after the death of the ninth Dalai Lama, the annual subsidy of 1,000 taels for Tibetan troops should be delivered as usual. The 29th day of the eighth month in the 20th year of Jiaqing reign period (1815). Collected in the First History Archives.

25 The Imperial Ordinance of 29 Articles for the more Effective Governing of Tibet (Tibetan edition), the 58th year (1793) of Qianlong period, collected in the Tibetan Archives.

26 Fu Kang'an's memorial to the throne on the 11th day of the 12th month in the 57th year (1792) of the Qinglong reign period.

27 Ibid.

28 He Shen's Memorial on the Reconsideration of the Imperial Ordinance for the more Effective Governing of Tibet, the 27th day of the sixth month of the 54th year of Qianlong's reign (1789), Collected in the First history Archives.

29 A Collection of Emperor's Written Instruction in Chinese, Vol.12, Edited by the First History Archives. The eighth day of the seventh month in the sixth year of Yongzheng (1728). A report by Yue Zhongqi on Pholhanas leading troops to Central Tibet and capturing Ngabopa, Lumpanas, and Jaranas.

30 Hui Xian's memorial on drawing 10,000 taels of silver from the remaining sum of Tibetan troops provisions and lending them to merchants for yielding interest, the 17th day of the sixth month in the 9th year of Daoguang reign (1829). Collected in the First History Archives.

31 Documentary Records of Emperor Xuan Zong, the 23rd day of the 7th month in the 9th year of Daoguang reign (1829).

32 The memorial of Manqing on calling off the reform of Tibetan troops. The 24th day of the tenth month in the Xianfeng's reign (1857). Collected in the First History Archives.

33 Grand General Yunti's memorial, the 12th day of the 5th month in the 58th year of Emperor Kangxi's reign (1719). On that he had already notified the Eight Leagues of Qinghai to be ready to accept any assignment for the military campaign.

34 Kalon, minister of the former local government of Tibet (Kashag), was third-rank official of the Qing court.

35 Zhou Ying's memorial concerning the defense of Tibet. On the 29th day of the sixth month in the second year of Yongzheng's reign(1724). Collected in the First History Archives.

36 Documentary Records of Shi Zong, the 63rd juan, the entry of Kui-chou of the 11th month in the fifth year of Yongzheng's reign (1727).

37 Celengr's memorial concerning the murder of Fu Qing and others and the preparation of military expedition from Sichuan to Tibet. The sixth day of the 11th month in the 15th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign (1750). Collected in the First history Archives.

38 Ibid.

39 Ehui's memorial concerning the ethnic Tibetan soldiers native of Derge and other places, who, having arrived in Tibet, were given rewards by the Dalai and Panchen lamas. The tenth day of the fourth month in the 57th year of Qianlong's reign (1792). Collect in the First History Archives.

40 A decree to the cabinet that the expense accounts for the war against the Gurkhas might be reimbursed. The eighth day of the sixth lunar month in the 58th year of Qianlong's reign. Collected in the First History Archives.

41 Emperor's comments written in red with a brush on the memorial submitted by Yue Zhongqi concerning the protection of the Dalai Lama during the Dzungar Mongols'invasion of Tibet. Submitted on the 22nd day of the second lunar month in the fifth year of Yongzheng's reign. Collected in the First History Archives.