2. Genesis; the Tibetan Calendar

One of the most difficult challenges for anyone attempting to research Tibetan history is the lack of neat recording in chronological terms of its historical events. This is further complicated by the use of Rab byung^[1], a 60-years cycle, where each year is attributed to an element and an animal [Tib:khams dang lo rtags] of the year, and in some historical records just by an animal [Tib: lo rtags] only.

Based on this system, early Tibetan historians compiled their work based on two systems -those asserting Fire-Ox year as King Srongtsan's birth year and others favoring Earth-Ox year. Whilst they are divided on the birth year, they all agree that Srongtsan lived for 82 years^[2]. Some scholars argue that he lived for 94 years^[3]. Gos Lotsawa [Tib: 'Gos lo tsa ba], the author of Blue Annals, while stating that Srongtsan's birth was in Earth-Ox year [569 CE], later confused the year with 629 CE, another Earth-Ox year with a gap of six decades in between^{[4] [5]}. This also confused many historians on King Srongtsan's exact year of birth. While the Fire-Ox year is generally taken to be 617 CE, it could be 557 CE if King Srongtsan was to have lived for 94 years. It should be noted that the origin and the year of the first King of Tibet, Nyatri Tsanpo, has also been not satisfactorily established. We shall come to this later.

Let us now examine the theory that King Srongtsan lived for only 33 years. This theory came up as a popular contention more recently, with the discovery of ancient Tunhuang manuscripts^[6] and their conformity with the ancient Chinese Tang historiography^[7]. Gedhun Chophel (19031951) [Tib: dGe 'dun chos 'phel], a renowned modern Tibetan scholar, wrote in favor of this theory of King Srongtsan having lived for 34 years^[8]. Drigung Kyabgon [Tib: 'Bri gung skyabs mgon] has, in his work, Bod btsan po'i rgyal rabs, carried an extensive study in establishing a proper chronology of the early Tibetan kings based on Tunhuang manuscripts. He also claims the King Srongtsan lived for 33 years. Professor Jampa Samten of The Central University of Tibetan Studies says that this theory, although negating earlier scholars' theory of the King having lived for 82 years, is closer in proximity citing the same reason^[9]. Therefore, while the birth of King Srongtsan is still not clear, his death in 650 CE [Iron-Dog] is considered reasonably established by scholars. We shall accordingly subscribe to [650 CE] as the year of King Srongtsan's demise.