Zanabazar – Spiritual master, artist and diplomat who spearheaded the revival of Mongolian culture in the 17th century

Conference ofAnne Fort, chief curator of heritage, in charge of Southeast Asia and Central Asia at the Cernuschi Museum.

To extend the trip of the Friends of the Cernuschi Museum to Mongolia in June 2025, let us return, for the duration of a conference, to the figure of Zanabazar – known in particular for his work as a sculptor – by trying to understand his importance in the construction of the Mongolian nation and identity.

Let's go back four hundred years, to the year 1206, which saw Genghis Khan emerge as the first great unifier of the Mongol nation. Before him, the territory was divided into numerous clans and tribes. According to nomadic customs, the system of succession based on inheritance often led to violent rivalries among the nobility. Genghis Khan's empire lasted for about a century and a half before fragmenting once again. The Mongol princes who succeeded him would tirelessly strive to restore this lost grandeur.

The vast size of the empire allowed for the discovery and confrontation of very different political systems, technologies, and ways of thinking. More than ten languages ​​were spoken at the court of the Great Khan, and the diverse religions of his subjects were welcomed in Karakorum, his capital. Genghis Khan adhered to Tengrism, a belief system inherited from the Turkic empires of the 8th century.^th The 19th century saw the Blue Sky, the supreme divine principle, as confirming and justifying its absolute power. Mongolian pastoral society, however, believed in the spirits of nature and the deceased, whose voices were transmitted by the shaman, a recognized intercessor within each small community. This religious system, lacking hierarchy, posed a threat to any unifying force. Buddhism entered Mongolia during this period, but it would not become the official religion of the nobility until the reign of Genghis Khan's grandson, Kublai Khan (r. 1260-1294).

The first Yuan emperor, who ruled over Mongolia and China, revived a political system established in the 12th century by the Tangut rulers of the Xi Xia dynasty, combining secular power—that of the emperor—with religious power—that of a learned Buddhist monk. In 1253, Kublai Khan welcomed the Tibetan lama Phagpa, of the dominant Sakya sect, to his court. Phagpa converted in 1258 and invited all Mongolian nobles to do the same. The common people, however, retained their original shamanic beliefs.

Genghis Khan (1162-1206-1227).

Phagpa Lama (1235-1280). 19th century. Silk appliqué, gold thread, embroidery. Museum of Fine Arts - Zanabaar. Ulaanbaatar.

Example of an inscription in Mongolian, an aalphasyllabary created by Phagpa Lama. Rubbing of a stele.

The last Yuan emperor, Toghon Temür, was driven from Beijing in 1368 by the Ming, who advanced as far as Karakorum, which was razed in 1380. This ushered in a dark century for Mongolia, ruined by wars of succession among the descendants of Genghis Khan, by struggles between the Mongols and the Oirats (Western Mongols), and by Ming raids. The end of the 15th^th The 16th century was marked by the determination of Dayan Khan (1472-1524/43), the last direct descendant of Genghis Khan, and his queen Mandukhai Khatun (1449-1510) to unify the various tribes and restore peace. From their lineage descended 106 of the 135 Mongol princely houses, or khalkhs, two of whose khans are known to have been zealous followers of Buddhism: Altan Khan (1507-1582), leader of the Tümet, who converted to the Gelugpa faith in 1570, followed in 1580 by his distant nephew Abadai Khan (1554-1588), leader of the Tüsheet and great-grandfather of Zanabazar. The 16th century was thus marked by a degree of political stability, allowing for a return to relative prosperity. The splendor of Buddhist rituals attracted Mongol princes who encouraged Tibetan lamas to come and preach at their court, leading to the conversion of the entire population in the fifty years following 1578.

This date marks the meeting between Altan Khan and Sonam Gyato, the high lama of the Gelugpa sect. The Mongol prince bestowed upon the Tibetan monk the title of "universal spiritual leader," derived from Mongolian. Dalai and Tibetan lama.

Asia in the 15th century.

His strategy for the political unification of the Mongol clans was based on the support of a religious leader who would himself hold preeminence over the various sects of Tibetan Buddhism. This strategy was adopted for their own benefit by other non-Khalkh Mongol groups from the western regions of present-day Mongolia, notably Güshi Khan (1582-1655), leader of the Koshot, who forcibly installed the Fifth Dalai Lama in power in a unified Tibet in 1642. Another branch of the Western Mongols, or Dzungars, the Oirat Choros, led by Galdan Khan (1644-1697), grandson of Güshi Khan, fought the Khalkhs with extreme violence throughout the 17th century, only to be ultimately exterminated by the Qing dynasty.

The terrible rivalries between western and eastern Mongols resulted in the prevalence of the Gelugpa over all other schools of Tibetan Buddhism and the submission of the Khalkhs to the Qing in 1691 in exchange for their military aid.

Situation in Mongolia in 1636.

It was in this political context that Zanabazar was born in 1635. A Khalkh prince, son of Gombodorj, head of the Tusheet clan in the lineage of Dayan Khan and thus of Genghis Khan, he displayed extraordinary spiritual predispositions from a very young age. His first words were a praise to Manjushri, which he repeated day after day in Tibetan, a language he learned on his own at the age of three. His childhood games consisted of drawing devotional images and building small stupas. In 1639, his father organized a ceremony during which Zanabazar took his vows and received his name, a Mongolian contraction of a Sanskrit term meaning "vajra of knowledge." All the Khalkh princes were present to acknowledge the child's sanctity. Gombodorj thus intended to unite the Khalkh clans around a Buddhist spiritual leader—a future leader, certainly, but one belonging to their lineage—in order to counterbalance the influence of Tibet, the Western Mongols, and the Manchus, who would soon establish their dominance over China in 1644. From the age of 14 to 17, Zanabazar studied in Tibet, where he met the Dalai Lama, the Great Fifth, who recognized him as the reincarnation of Taranatha (1575–1634), a great Tibetan scholar of the Jonang sect who had come to teach in Mongolia. After a second trip to Tibet between 1655 and 1656, Zanabazar enjoyed a long period of 34 years of creative activity in the heart of central Mongolia. In 1688, Galdan Khan's 30,000 Dzungar troops swept into Khalkh territory, massacring monks and razing monasteries. The ruins of Övgön Khiidiin Züün and Erdene Khamba, respectively restored in 1640 and founded in 1654 by Zanabazar, bear witness to this. He and his elder brother, Chakhundordj, Khan of the Tusheet, were forced to retreat eastward and appeal to the Qing for help, to whom they pledged allegiance in 1691 at the Dolon Nor kuriltai. The Kangxi Emperor, aware of Zanabazar's potential to unite the Khalkh nation due to his people's devotion, compelled him to reside in Inner Mongolia, closer to Manchu power, and regularly invited him to Beijing. It was only in 1700 that he was able to return to Mongolia, but until his death, he had to stay every year at the court of Kangxi where he died in 1722. His remains were sent to Ikh Khüree and his ashes joined the monastery of Amarbayasgalant in 1789.

Zanabazar (1635-1722). Self-portrait. 17th century. Pigments on cotton. Zanabazar Museum of Fine Arts. Ulaanbaatar.

Roy Chapman Andrews. Streets of Gandan Monastery at Ikh Khüree. Summer 1918. ©American Museum of Natural History Library.

The itinerant monastery-palace of Zanabazar, Ikh Khüree, or "Great Monastery," originated from donations of livestock and the stipends of families devoted to its service, beginning in 1639 when it was presented to the Khalkh princes. Offerings continued to grow, numerous demountable monasteries were built, and many young men came to become monks. Through the splendor of its temples, the scholarly Buddhist teachings imparted there, and its successive migrations across central Mongolia, Ikh Khüree played a fundamental role in the formation of the Mongolian nation. By 1855, its growth had become so significant that it was permanently established on the site of present-day Ulaanbaatar.

Map of Ikh Khuree. Early 20th century. Chojin Lama Temple. Ulaan Baatar.

Tsogchen, assembly hall. Gandan Monastery, Ulaan Baatar.

During Zanabazar's reign, three types of architecture can be distinguished: the mobile monastery-palace (Ikh Khüree), the built or fixed temple, and the hermitage. The mobile monastery-palace was designed on the model of a nomadic encampment consisting of a circle of yurts (round tents or gives (in Mongolian) with the tents of the prince and his family at the center. At Ikh Khüree, each temple is surrounded by wooden palisades. Around the periphery, the yurts of the families attached to the monasteries form a vast circle. Later, when the palace-monastery became more established, a row of masonry stupas and a circle of prayer wheels surrounded the central area of ​​the temples. Zanabazar is credited with inventing the assembly hall from the quadrangular tent. Felt walls are stretched over an imposing wooden frame, while an opening is made at the base of the pyramidion that crowns the structure. From the 17th^th In the 19th century, the felt assembly hall gave rise to a wooden version, recognizable by its sloping roof and small, square-plan upper floor. Both Mongolian structures remained in use, complemented by temples of Chinese or Tibetan inspiration.

In 1653, Zanabazar founded the Tövkhön Hermitage on a rocky hillock rising from a dense forest. It is believed that he developed the Soyombo script there in 1686, a scholarly writing system used to transcribe Mongolian, Sanskrit, and Tibetan. This distinctive punctuation mark, also called Soyombo, symbolizes the spiritual values ​​of the country and has adorned the Mongolian flag since 1911, in homage to Zanabazar.

Soyombo. Ornament of the railings of the Mongolian Parliament. Ulaanbaatar.

Zanabazar (1635-1722). White Tara. Circa 1680. Gilded copper alloy and painted highlights. Zanabazar Museum of Fine Arts, Ulaanbaatar.

Zanabazar (1635-1722). Tārā Bhṛkuṭī, Tārā with the wrathful face, one of the twenty-one aspects of Tārā. Circa 1685. Gilt copper alloy and painted highlights. Bogd Khan Palace Museum, Ulaanbaatar.

Zanabazar (1635-1722) Ratnasambhava. Second half of the 17th century – early 18th century. Gilded copper alloy with painted highlights. Museum of Fine Arts – Zanabazar. Ulaanbaatar.

While no painted or embroidered tapestries from Zanabazar's time survive, the master remains renowned for his work as a sculptor. During his training in Tibet, he was introduced to lost-wax bronze casting and gilding by artisans working in the Nepalese tradition. Throughout his life, he produced images of unparalleled quality, with invisible seams and meticulous finishes. He played with matte and glossy surfaces, with flesh covered in paint rich in gold, while the garments and mercury-gilded bases had a smooth, lustrous appearance. Highlights of red, black, or blue paint accentuated hair, eyebrows, eyes, lips, and nails. The bodies of the deities adhere to a slender, naturalistic canon specific to Zanabazar and his workshop. The faces are noble and gentle, the flesh delicate beneath precious jewelry with an elegant drape. The treatment of the bases in the Five Jina series, particularly graphic, almost has an Art Deco feel…

Although Zanabazar's unifying political project was thwarted by the Dzungars' attacks and later by the rise of Sino-Manchu power, and although his desire to break free from Tibetan rule was ultimately stifled by his integration into the Gelugpa pantheon, with the imperious blessing of the Qing dynasty, the Mongolian spiritual leader remains a foundational figure in the history of the construction of the modern Mongolian nation, perhaps on par with Genghis Khan. The Ulaanbaatar Museum of Fine Arts bears his name, in homage to his unparalleled artistic legacy.

Tesnim Ettaghi and Alix Frey