The 29-Article Ordinance for the More Effective Governing of Tibet (Chinese: 欽定藏內善後章程二十九條[1]), also called twenty-nine-article Imperial Ordinance,[2][3] was an imperial decree concerning the governance of Tibet that was supposedly issued by the Qianlong Emperor of China's Qing dynasty in 1793.[4][5] Article 1 stated that the purpose of the Golden Urn was to ensure the prosperity of Gelug, and to eliminate cheating and corruption in the selection process.[6] Article 12 stated that relatives of the Dalai Lama or Panchen Lama must not hold government positions, or participate in political affairs.[7]
There were three versions in the Tibetan language, and the original was not found. The corresponding text in Chinese was not listed as 29 articles, but parts and parcels of it were seen in various memorials to the throne and decrees.[8][9]
In 1792, the Qianlong Emperor published The Discourse of Lama that described the history of lamas and the reincarnation system. In it he described how the Golden Urn system was invented and said it would be a more fair mechanism of selecting the Dalai Lama than choosing reincarnated lamas based on private designation, or based on one person's decision. It is also used to eliminate greedy families with multiple reincarnated rinpoches and lamas.[10][11]
^"张云：钦定藏内善后章程二十九条的形成与版本问题" [The compilation and versions of 29-Article Ordinance for the More Effective Governing of Tibet]. iqh.net.cn (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2021-02-23. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
^"藏文《水牛年文书》和《新订章程二十九条》探析" [A Study of Tibetan Documents of the Water-Ox year and 29-Article Ordinance for the More Effective Governing of Tibet]. 西藏研究 (in Chinese) (3). 1993 – via tibet.cn.
