Batang is a basin on the Drichu at about 2,600 to 2,700 m (Wikipedia gives both figures), some 1,300 m lower than Litang, so milder than the plateau round it, with room for barley, wheat and orchards (general pattern).
It lies on the Sichuan-Tibet tea road between Litang and Markam (Wikipedia, Tea Horse Road, names the road and Markam but not Batang). No Song post stood here. On 1 January 1200 Batang is a farming valley under hereditary chiefs with fortified houses and a few small temples, none dated; the great Gelug house of Batang and the Chinese garrisons of the Qing are many centuries off.
Who he is
- Title
- Valley chiefs and headmen of the Batang basin
- Since
- not known
- Born
- not known
- Family
- not known
- Confidence
- low
No chief is named. Wikipedia's Batang page names none before the Mushi chief (1568-1639), who is much later; it says Qiang lived there in ancient times, a kingdom called Bainang ('White Wolf') existed under the Han, and that the valley was 'an integral part of Tibet during the Tang', all without dates or sources.
What it holds
- Irrigated barley and wheat fields, orchards and villages in the basin
- Summer pasture on the ridges
- Tolls on the tea road (general pattern)
How it was acquired
By inheritance and custom.
Allies and rivals
Litang to the north-east; Markam to the south-west; the Drichu valleys of Dege to the north.
How things stand that morning
Self-governing. No dated event.
Wealth
Grain and fruit from the basin, tolls on the tea road, herds on the ridges. No figures.
Military
Retinues and village levies; no numbers.
Places of note
- Batang: Valley centre; not a town in 1200.
Where the sources disagree
- The gazetteer's 'Batang' resolves to Chongqing; every Batang point carries coordinates (30.02 N, 99.25 E).
Evidence: Geography and three undated sentences in Wikipedia.
On the map: Ground is drawn in the province record Khams (Dege, Litang, Batang).
Primary sources for Tibet (centre)
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- History of Buddhism in India and Tibet, Buton Rinchen Drub (Bu ston Rin chen grub) (1322). Optional background. Read online
- The Blue Annals, Go Lotsawa Zhonnu Pal ('Gos lo tsa ba gZhon nu dpal) (1476 to 1478). The fullest Tibetan account of who mattered around 1200, written three centuries later from earlier biographies and lineage records, many now lost. Read online
- The collected works of Lama Zhang, and the early Kagyu lives, Lama Zhang (Zhang Yudrakpa Tsondru Drakpa) and his disciples; the biographers of Drigung, Taklung and Phagmodru (the 1160s to the early 13th century). The nearest contemporary witnesses to the lords of central Tibet in 1200. Read online
- The Sakya genealogy, and the works of the Sakya hierarch of 1200, Jetsun Drakpa Gyaltsen (Grags pa rgyal mtshan) and Sakya Pandita; the genealogy by Ngawang Kunga Sonam (the hierarchs' writings about 1170 to 1250; the genealogy 1629). Sakya in 1200 was ruled by Jetsun Drakpa Gyaltsen, the third of the five founders, with his nephew Kunga Gyaltsen (later Sakya Pandita, born 1182) under his teaching. Read online
- History of the Song, the chapters on Xia and on foreign states, Toqto'a (脫脫) and the Yuan history office (1343 to 1345). The Song court's accounts of its neighbours, each arranged as an annal of embassies and wars. Read online
- Indo-Tibetica (the temples and inscriptions of western Tibet), with the Royal Genealogy of Ngari, Giuseppe Tucci (editor and translator); the genealogy by Ngawang Drakpa (Ngag dbang grags pa) (the inscriptions and temple records of the 11th to 15th centuries; Indo-Tibetica published 1932 to 1941; the genealogy about 1497). Guge, Purang and Ladakh in 1200 are among the least documented kingdoms in the atlas. Read online
Sources and studies
- Wikipedia, Batang County (read this session)
- Wikipedia, Tea Horse Road (read this session)
- Wikipedia, Kham (read this session)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.