Who was the magnificent Potala Palace built for?

Historical background

In 634 AD (the eighth year of Zhenguan), Songzan Gambu sent an envoy to Chang 'an, hoping to make friends with the Tang Dynasty, so as to strengthen contacts with the Central Plains and gain political, trade and other benefits. At this time, Emperor Taizong simply looked down on Tubo, a barbarian country, and flatly refused. Songzan Gambu flew into a rage and sent troops to beat Tuguhun, who was sheltered by Datang, who was unable to shelter his vassal. Four years later, Songzan Gambu invaded the Tang Dynasty, threatening to take the princess captive if she was not sent away in the Tang Dynasty.

At this time, Emperor Taizong didn't want to compromise. Instead of sending out the princess, he dispatched troops from all over the country urgently, and recruited the eastern Turkic and Tiele ministries to gather troops to rescue him. The result was a great defeat. Since then, Songzan Gambu has been harassing the border of the Tang Dynasty, and the Tang army has been defeated repeatedly.

In October of 64 AD, Songzan Gambu sent an envoy to Chang 'an to seek relatives. Although Emperor Taizong was very opposed to this marriage, the situation was pressing, and he finally had to give in and "marry" Princess Wencheng.

this is the so-called political affinity. For the sake of national stability, women are sacrificed and they travel all the way to foreign countries. However, on second thought, under such circumstances, is it "marrying"? It should be a humiliating peace!

The situation of entering Tibet

According to historical data, the Jokhang Temple was built in the same period, but it is larger than the Jokhang Temple in scale. There used to be a saying that Jokhang Temple came first and then Lhasa City. Jokhang Temple is considered as the center of the world in Tibetan Buddhism. At that time, the 12-year-old statue of Sakyamuni brought by Princess Wencheng was enshrined in Jokhang Temple, while the 8-year-old statue of Sakyamuni brought by Bhrikuti Devi was enshrined in Jokhang Temple. After Princess Jincheng entered Tibet and kissed her, the position of the statue of Sakyamuni enshrined in Jokhang Temple was changed.

marital status

Princess Wencheng has been in Tibet for many years. She has no children and no pets, and her status is mediocre. She usually serves Songzan Gambu as a maid. It is quite different from the image of the motherland, which is lofty, graceful and noble and respected by the Tubo people.

Princess Wencheng's life is quite unfortunate. She lived in a faraway country for 4 years, but remained a widow for 31 years. Most of her youth was buried in the snowy plateau. Even in the nine years before Songzan Gambu's death, her marriage was by no means happy. Songzan Gambu, who is old, has six women with birthright, and there are countless women without birthright. How much can she care about Princess Wencheng? Princess Wencheng has been married to Songzan Gambu for 9 years, but only 3 years have passed. Most of the time, she has been left out in the cold and forgotten. Obviously, she is not favored.

So the Potala Palace was really built for Princess Wencheng? Or was it built for Bhrikuti Devi, which also came from Nepal (Nepal) for the sake of family? We don't know all these things, and we can't be completely conclusive. Perhaps, there are other real reasons that we don't know, which are waiting for people to explore.