Chushul Chakzam

The Chushul Chakzam (Tibetan: ཆུ་ཤུལ་ལྕགས་ཟམ), or simply Chakzam which literally means "iron bridge" in Standard Tibetan, was a suspension bridge that spanned the Yarlung Tsangpo river in modern-day Qüxü County near Lhasa, Tibet. It was built in 1430 by Thang Tong Gyalpo.[3] The southern bridgehead was built on the mountain Chowuri, which is sacred in Tibetan Buddhism. This mountain was a site where Guru Rinpoche and Trisong Detsen had meditated during the 8th Century.[2] When it was built, its main section was the longest unsupported span in the world, with a central span estimated at around 150 yards (140 metres).[1]

Chushul Chakzam

ཆུ་ཤུལ་ལྕགས་ཟམ
Old Chain-Bridge at Chaksam.
Coordinates29°19′38.31″N 90°41′9.56″E
CrossesYarlung Tsangpo
LocaleQüxü County, Lhasa Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region
Characteristics
DesignSuspension bridge
MaterialIron suspension
Trough constructionPlank footway
Pier constructionStone piers
Total length150 yards (140 m)[1]
Width30 centimetres (12 in)[2]
Height15 feet (4.6 m)[1]
History
DesignerThang Tong Gyalpo
Opened1430 (1430)
Closed1950s (1950s)
Replaced byQushui Yaluzangbujiang Bridge
Location
Chushul Chakzam
Tibetan name
Tibetan ཆུ་ཤུལ་ལྕགས་ཟམ
Transcriptions
Wyliechu shul lcags zam
THLchu shül chak zam
Chaksam Chuwori
Tibetan name
Tibetan ལྕགས་ཟམ་ཆུ་བོ་རི
Transcriptions
Wylielcags zam chu bo ri
THLchak zam chuwo ri

In 1444, a monastery Chaksam Chuwori (Tibetan: ལྕགས་ཟམ་ཆུ་བོ་རི) was founded on the southern bridgehead.[1][2] During its existence, the monastery served as the seat of Chakzampa school of Tibetan Buddhism.[2] Supported by the bridge toll, the monastery at one point hosted about 100 monks.[4] The monastery was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution.[5]

History

By the 1860s, the bridge was in a state of disrepair that a ferry was in operation slightly upstream offering safer passage.[1] By 1904, the river had overflown the north bank leaving the northern bridgehead on an island, thus rendering the bridge functionally ineffective.[6] The ferryman mostly came from a nearby village of Chun or Junba, which is the only fishing village in Tibet.[7][8][9] The ferry service continued as late as 1959.[7]

During the Qing expedition to Tibet of 1910, the 13th Dalai Lama decided to seek refuge in India. His general Tsarong fought a skirmish against the Chinese here, holding their advances allowing the Dalai Lama to safely arrive in India.[10]

The bridge was torn down by the Chinese government in the 1950s when they were building the concrete bridge in its place.[2] The new concrete bridge Qushui Yaluzangbujiang Bridge opened on August 1, 1966.[11]

  • Chaksam ferry as depicted in this map from mid-1800s showing an iron chain bridge, a horse head ferry, and a yak-hide boat.
    Chaksam ferry as depicted in this map from mid-1800s showing an iron chain bridge, a horse head ferry, and a yak-hide boat.
  • Diagram by an Indian spy working for the Survey of India in 1878
    Diagram by an Indian spy working for the Survey of India in 1878
  • Chakzam Ferry as photoed by Ernst Schäfer in 1938
    Chakzam Ferry as photoed by Ernst Schäfer in 1938
  • Qushui Yaluzangbujiang Bridge, the concrete bridge built by PRC replacing the Chushul Chakzam.
    Qushui Yaluzangbujiang Bridge, the concrete bridge built by PRC replacing the Chushul Chakzam.
  • Ferry crossing in the 1930s
    Ferry crossing in the 1930s
  • Modern recreational ferry
    Modern recreational ferry

See also

References
  1. Report on the Trans-Himalayan Explorations in Connection with the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India During 1865-67. 1867. p. 47. we were rowed down the stream to Chusul village, passing Chaksam Chori village, which is situated on the right bank of the river, at foot of hill, and alongside an old bridge (formed of iron chain and rope), which owing to its insecurity, is seldom or never used, the ferries being preferable.
  2. Gerner, Manfred (2007). Chakzampa Thangtong Gyalpo: Architect, Philosopher and Iron Chain Bridge Builder (PDF). Translated by Verhufen, Gregor. Centre for Bhutan Studies. ISBN 99936-14-39-4. (p12) This monastery is located at the holy mountain of Chuwo Ri (Chu bo ri), above the southern bridgehead of his iron chain bridge across the Yarlung Tsangpo river. Chuwo Ri is one of eight original meditation caves of Guru Rinpoche and the eighth century king of the Dharma, Trisong Detsen. (p32) In Tibet, the large monastery of Chakzam Chuwo Ri (lCags zam Chu bo ri) that Thangtong Gyalpo founded in 1444, located at the southern bridgehead of his famous 'Chakzam' across the Yarlung Tsangpo river, above its confluence with the Kyichu river (sKyid chu) became his main seat. Later, the monastery of Chakzam Chuwo Ri became the main monastery of the Chakzampa school as well as the seat of the Chakzampa Tulkus. (p83) Chinese engineers tore down this bridge during the construction of the new concrete bridge in about 1950 (p85) 30 centimetres wide
  3. Dundul Namgyal Tsarong, Ani K. Trinlay Chödron, In the service of his country: the biography of Dasang Damdul Tsarong, commander general of Tibet, Snow Lion Publications, 2000, ISBN 1-55939-151-0, p. 26
  4. Dowman, Keith (2008). The Power-places of Central Tibet: The Pilgrim's Guide (PDF). Vajra Publications. p. 137. ISBN 978-9937-506-04-5. The 100 monks of this gompa were supported by the bridge toll.
  5. Lungta. Amnye Machen Institute. 2001. the monastery of Lcags zam Chu bo ri ... was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution.
  6. Waddell, Lawrence Austine (1906). Lhasa and its mysteries : with a record of the expedition of 1903-1904 . New York: E.P. Dutton. pp. 312–313 – via Wikisource. (p312) bridge spans picturesquely the main stream of the river about 200 yards below the ferry, under the monastery which bears its name, "The holy hill of the Iron Bridge" (Chak-sam ch'ö-ri). ... it is not used at present, owing apparently to the river having burst for nearly half its waters a fresh channel to the north, and so having left the northern end of the bridge stranded amid-stream ... It is about 150 yards in length and 15 feet above flood-level ... (p313) The bridge was still in use in 1878
  7. Diana Lange (2015). ""The Boatman is more Beautiful than a God" Poetising and Singing on the Rivers in Central and Southern Tibet". Retrieved 21 January 2020 – via Academia. Chaksam ferry station ... was served by villagers from the fishing village Chun ('Jun) during the entire year. Transport services along the route between Lhasa and Tsetang were also carried out by villagers. Chun is situated on the east bank of the southern part of the Kyichu, close to Chushur. It is the only village in Central Tibet where the inhabitants still live as fishermen.
  8. Duan, Elaine (December 15, 2010). "From legend to reality – a fishing village in Tibet". china.org.cn. Retrieved 21 January 2020. In fact, Junba is the only fishing village in Tibet.
  9. 日本旅宿小小咖 (2018-01-14). "西藏唯一的渔村, 因吃鱼而曾备受歧视, 连老婆都娶不到！" (in Chinese). Sina. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  10. Paul G. Hackett (1 May 2012). Theos Bernard, the White Lama: Tibet, Yoga, and American Religious Life. Columbia University Press. p. 457. ISBN 978-0-231-53037-8. Dasang Damdul and his men followed the escape route taken by the Great Thirteenth's entourage--as did the Chinese force pursuing both of their parties--and at Chaksam Ferry four miles outside of Lhasa, decided to make a stand. ... Dasang Damdul would come to be known as the "Hero of Chaksam Ferry."
  11. 常邦丽, ed. (2019-06-19). "[西藏民主改革60周年专题展览 废奴丰碑]之八". tibetinfor.org. Retrieved 22 January 2020. 1966年8月1日，曲水雅鲁藏布江大桥建成通车。


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