Tibetan History in Translation

Students in the second-year Classical Tibetan class taught by Pema Bhum have shared their projects here so that the translation output of their class might benefit students more widely.

Kubilai Khan Offers the "Chol kha gsum"

Project Statement by Barton Qian, PhD Candidate (May 2019)

"In the spring of 2019, our Classical Tibetan II class met twice weekly under the guidance of Gen Pema Bhum. Class members consisted of Constantine Lignos, now a PhD student at Columbia University; Xinyi Zhang, masters student at Columbia University; and myself, Bart Qian, PhD student at Columbia University."

The translation can be viewed here.

Letter from Sakya Pandita to the Tibetans (Original Title: Dbus Gtsang Mnga' ris dang bcas pa'i dge ba'i bshes gnyen yon mchod rnams la springs pa)

Project Statement by Riga Shakya, PhD Candidate (December 2016)

"This semester, our Classical Tibetan class has met twice weekly under the guidance of Gen Pema Bhum. Class members have consisted of Dr. David Brophy; Lingzi Zhuang, PhD student at Cornell University; Yuchen Zhao, second-year MA student at Columbia University; and myself, Riga Shakya, PhD student at Columbia University. We began with readings from Yael Bentor’s A Classical Tibetan Reader, such as extracts from Dza Patrul Rinpoche’s "Words of My Perfect Teacher" (Kun bzang bla ma’i zha lung) and Nyang Ral Nyima Özer’s biography of Padmasambhava (Zangs gling ma). The latter half of the semester was spent reading classical Tibetan works selected by Pema Bhum, such as Desi Sangye Gyatso’s "The Story About the Change from Fifth to Sixth" (Lnga pa drug par 'phos pa'i gtam) and Sakya Pandita’s "Letter to the Tibetans" (Dbus Gtsang Mnga’ ris dang bcas pa’i dge ba’i bshes gnyen yon mchod rnams la springs pa)."

The translation can be viewed here.