Deep wooded valleys of the upper Dadu (Barkam, Jinchuan, Xiaojin, Danba) with fortified villages and towers.
Wikipedia: 'the dominant religion of Gyalrong was once Bon', replaced by Gelug in the early 15th century; the Ngawa page says Vairotsana visited Gyalrong in the 8th century. The eighteen Gyalrong chieftaincies of the Ming and Qing are later. The first Gelug monastery of the area, 1410, is not yet.
Who holds it
- Title
- Valley lords and headmen of the Gyalrong, with Bon and Nyingma lamas
- Since
- not known
- Born
- not known
- Family
- not known
- Confidence
- low
No lord named (see Gyalrong lords).
What it holds
- Fortified valley villages
- Terraces, orchards and high pastures
- Gold-washing and salt tracks (general pattern)
How it was acquired
By inheritance.
Allies and rivals
The Qiang on the east; the Ngawa herders on the north; the Minyak on the south; the Hor on the west.
How things stand that morning
Self-governing; no dated event.
Wealth
Barley, orchards, herds, gold and salt.
Military
Tower garrisons and village levies; no numbers.
Customs
Valley lordships bound by marriage and feud; Bon temples (undated).
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Wikipedia's undated Bon sentence and later eighteen-chieftaincy list.
On the map: No source gives a boundary for 1200; the drawing follows the modern counties and valleys and the neighbouring sheets' anchors.
Sources and studies
- Wikipedia, Gyalrong (read this session)
- Wikipedia, Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture (read this session)
- Wikipedia, Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (read this session)
- Author's recall of the secondary literature (Petech, Tucci, Stein, Davidson, Smith, Kapstein, Dunnell): not re-read this session, so marked 'recalled' in the text
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.