乾隆朝西藏年班制度的微观透视OACHSSCD

To strengthen institutional ties between the central government and Xizang local admin-istration,the Qing court promulgated a series of governance policies toward Xizang,among which the Nianban system occupied a position of particular importance as a key administra-tive mechanism through which the Lifan Yuan exercised oversight over the Xizang elite.By the Qianlong reign,the Nianban system had reached considerable maturity,with codified schedules of rotational attendance,regulated numbers of tributary envoys,and standardized protocols governing ceremonial treatment.Within the broader Nianban framework across fron-tier ethnic regions-wherein Mongol princes,Muslim nobles,and Tusi chieftains fulfilled obli-gations primarily through annual tribute(Niangong)-the Nianban led by the Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama incorporated a distinctive Tibetan Buddhist longevity ritual known as the Tenshug.The first new-year offering constituted the Niangong,followed the next day by the Tenshug ceremony.This institutional arrangement simultaneously embodied the Qing court's political authority over Xizang governance and incorporated the symbolic dimensions of reli-gious ritual,reflecting the mechanisms through which multi-ethnic interaction,exchange,and integration were sustained during the Qing Dynasty.