Forging the Golden Urn

A Qing law mandated that the reincarnations of prominent Tibetan Buddhist monks be identified by drawing lots from a golden urn. In Forging the Golden Urn, Max Oidtmann traces how a Chinese bureaucratic technology was exported to the Tibetan and Mongolian regions of the Qing empire and transformed into a ritual for authenticating reincarnations.

Max Oidtmann is assistant professor of Asian history at Georgetown University Qatar.

Johan Elverskog, Southern Methodist University:
Max Oidtmann explores the impact of the golden urn ritual that the Qianlong emperor introduced in the early 1790s in order to—as he claimed—make the recognition of reincarnated lamas legitimate. The impact of this ritual innovation and its introduction into Tibet had profound consequences, not least regarding how it was subsequently interpreted by the Chinese on one side and the Tibetans and their Western supporters on the other. Oidtmann’s work steps deftly into this binary historiographical struggle and brilliantly shows that everything was not only far more complicated than either side claims, but also far more interesting. In doing so, Forging the Golden Urn queries the actual nature of Qing rule in Tibet.

Leonard van der Kuijp, Harvard University:
Oidtmann’s book opens up new perspectives on the intricate relationship that existed toward the end of the eighteenth century between Lhasa and the Qing court. The presence of reincarnate lamas is a defining feature of Tibetan Buddhism; Oidtmann brilliantly details its political dimension and the way the Qianlong emperor and his court decided to introduce the golden urn as a means to control the process by which reincarnate lamas were selected. Forging the Golden Urn is a tour de force and should be required reading for anyone interested in the history of Tibet, Qing history, and the history of Inner Asia.

Peter Schwieger, University of Bonn:
Using new source material, Max Oidtmann’s Forging the Golden Urn opens a window to a better understanding of the dynamics that resulted in Tibet’s increasing incorporation into the Qing empire. Framing these imperial efforts as a legal enterprise first and foremost, Oidtmann provides a fresh approach to examine the Qing’s strategy for expanding and justifying its sovereignty. This excellent book—obviously a result of sound and careful research—is a major achievement.