Gruschke on Martsang Drak

Gruschke cites a legend from Rockhill 1 to explain Martsang Drak’s name (Shabkar translates it as "White Horse Temple"): it was named after a legendary white horse that killed itself out of sorrow after injuring its mother, thus the temple commemorates filial piety. When discussing the temple’s historic significance, he says that the monk Gongpa Rabsal (or Lacehn Gewa Rabsal, also known as Möpa) passed away here and that his followers named the place Rdo rje brag. They founded a temple there (that Gruschke refers to as Jingyang Ya Si) in the tenth century, which was destroyed in the nineteenth century by the Qing emperors (39 2). In terms of current population, Gruschke observed only two Monguor monks residing there recently. He also describes nearby architectural and artistic monuments, including a rock-cut sculpture of Maitreya chiselled into the cliffs nearby.

• 1. Rockhill, William Woodville. The Land of the Lamas: Notes of a Journey Through China, Mongolia and Tibet.. London, reprint in New Delhi, 1891.
• 2. Gruschke, A.. The Cultural Monuments of Tibet's Outer Provinces: Vol 1. The Qinghai Part of Amdo. White Lotus Press, 2001.