Jalsan (November 16, 1947 – April 28, 2013) was a politician, scholar, and Buddhist leader (''

tulku A ''tulku'' (, also ''tülku'', ''trulku'') is an individual recognized as the reincarnation of a previous spiritual master (lama), and expected to be reincarnated, in turn, after death. The tulku is a distinctive and significant aspect of Tibet ...

'') in the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. He was of Mongol ethnicity.

Early life and education

Jalsan was born in Tianzhu Tibetan Autonomous County,

Gansu Gansu is a provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeastern part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibetan Plateau, Ti ...

, on the 13th day of the 12th month in the

lunar calendar A lunar calendar is a calendar based on the monthly cycles of the Moon's phases ( synodic months, lunations), in contrast to solar calendars, whose annual cycles are based on the solar year, and lunisolar calendars, whose lunar months are br ...

. He went to

Alxa League Alxa League or Alashan League ( zh, c=阿拉善盟, p=Ālāshàn Méng; , Mongolian Cyrillic: Алшаа аймаг) is one of 12 prefecture level divisions and 3 extant leagues of Inner Mongolia. The league borders Mongolia to the north, B ...

Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of China. Its border includes two-thirds of the length of China's China–Mongolia border, border with the country of Mongolia. ...

in 1958 to attend primary school.. After his middle school graduation, he participated in the

Down to the Countryside Movement The Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside Movement, often known simply as the Down to the Countryside Movement, was a policy instituted in the China, People's Republic of China between the mid-1950s and 1978. As a result of what he p ...

. In 1978, he entered the M.A. programme in

Mongolian language Mongolian is the Prestige (sociolinguistics), principal language of the Mongolic languages, Mongolic language family that originated in the Mongolian Plateau. It is spoken by ethnic Mongols and other closely related Mongolic peoples who are nati ...

at the

Inner Mongolia University Inner Mongolia University (IMU) is a provincial public university in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China. It is affiliated with the People's Government of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and co-funded with the Ministry of Education of China. The ...

. After his graduation, he went to Japan in 1985 to study for a further two years as an

international student International students or exchange students, also known as foreign students, are students who undertake all or part of their secondary or tertiary education in a country other than their own. In 2022, there were over 6.9 million international ...

at the

Tokyo University of Foreign Studies , often referred to as TUFS, is a specialist National university, national research university in Fuchū, Tokyo, Fuchū, Tokyo, Japan. TUFS is primarily devoted to foreign language, international relations, international affairs and area studies. ...

before returning to Gansu to study Tibetan at the Northwest University for Nationalities in 1988.

Politics

Jalsan served as a member of the

Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s United front (China), united front system. Its members adv ...

and the

Standing Committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

of the

National People's Congress The National People's Congress (NPC) is the highest organ of state power of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The NPC is the only branch of government in China, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs from the Sta ...

of the

Religious positions

Jalsan was a ''

'' of the Southern Temple of the

Helan Mountains The Helan Mountains, frequently called Alashan Mountains in older sources, are an isolated desert mountain range forming the border of Inner Mongolia's Alxa League and Ningxia. They run north-south parallel to the north-flowing Yellow River in ...

, the largest Buddhist temple in Inner Mongolia. He was also involved with a number of organisations relating to

Buddhism in China Buddhism in China refers to Buddhism that has been developed and practiced in China, based on the geographical location and administrative region instead of a particular Buddhist branch. Buddhism is the largest officially recognized religion i ...

: he is a board member of the

Buddhist Association of China The Buddhist Association of China (BCA, zh, 中国佛教协会) is the official government supervisory organ of Buddhism in the People's Republic of China. The association has been overseen by the United Front Work Department (UFWD) of the Centra ...

, president of the Buddhist Association of Inner Mongolia, and principal of the Buddhist School of Inner Mongolia.

Academic work

In the academic world, Jalsan was both a regular professor at the

and a visiting professor at the Northwest University for Nationalities.

Selected publications

* *; a ''

Festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

'' in honour of Professor Chinggeltei

References

External links

*
Jalsan's obituary
{{authority control 1947 births 2013 deaths Chinese Buddhists 20th-century Chinese people 20th-century Buddhists People from Wuwei Tulkus People's Republic of China politicians from Gansu Educators from Gansu Academic staff of Inner Mongolia University Chinese people of Mongolian descent Linguists from China Writers from Gansu