Succession Crisis and Institutional Reinvention: Jigme Wangpo and the Transformation of Labrang Monastery

This paper argues that succession crises within Tibetan Buddhist reincarnation lineages could become catalysts for institutional transformation rather than moments of decline. Focusing on Labrang Monastery in Amdo, a frontier region linking Tibetan, Mongolian, Chinese, and Muslim communities, it examines the crisis that followed the death of the First Jamyang Shepa. Disputes over the recognition of his reincarnation, combined with institutional constraints and tensions with regional political authorities, threatened the stability of one of the most influential Gelug monasteries in Inner Asia. Drawing on Tibetan, Chinese, and Mongolian primary sources—including biographies, correspondence, and newly available archival materials—the study analyzes how the Second Jamyang Shepa consolidated legitimacy, reconciled rival factions, and reorganized Labrang’s religious and administrative structures while cultivating new patronage networks with regional leaders, the Ganden Phodrang government, and the Qing court. The paper highlights the interdependence between religious leadership, monastic institutions, and political authority in Inner Asian history.