RESEARCH EXPLAINED
Research by Ling-Wei Kung
The question behind the research
Information failures can change institutions. This study asks how Qing officials responded when crucial news from Tibet proved unreliable or incomplete. It reconstructs the people and multilingual mechanisms used to gather intelligence, while inviting close scrutiny of the evidence behind its historical interpretations.
What to look for in the article
Using Tibetan, Mongolian, Manchu, and Chinese sources, this article investigates how controversies surrounding the Fifth and Sixth Dalai Lamas transformed Qing intelligence practices concerning Tibet. It examines information concealed from the court, the growth of networks based in Xining and Dartsédo, and the roles of lama intermediaries and multilingual communication. The article argues that these developments enabled stronger Qing intervention in Tibetan affairs. It also advances a specific interpretation of the Sixth Dalai Lama’s fate in 1706; that interpretation should be read as the article’s historical argument, supported and assessed through its evidence.
Read the research
This introduction is based on the article below; consult the full text for its evidence and qualifications.
Kung, Ling-Wei. “The Issues of the Sixth Dalai Lama and the Transformation of Qing Information System on Tibet.” Religions 16, no. 1, article 31 (2025): 1–25.
Article summary, contributions and citation