What is a Chöyön Trunk?

Chöyön trunks were used in monasteries and lamaseries to store valuable gifts of silk and other ritual items, and the trunks' widths were calculated to hold unused rolls of silk.  This usage began because of a special relationship, known as chöyön, that was established in 1244 between the Mongol ruler, Godan Khan, and his spiritual advisor, the Tibetan lama Sakya Pandita.  This relationship was characterized by the lama's commitment to the spiritual well-being of his patron and his subjects, and Godan Khan's protection of the lama.  Chinese silk brocades were presented as patronage gifts, which could be made into hangings, banners, drapes, borders for tangkas and mandalas, and special costumes for cham dancers.  Unused rolls were stored until needed. The trunks were kept in storerooms in the monastery, at the monastic hostels (kangtsen), or at the labrang, the lamas' households.  The highly decorative, iconic designs on these trunks are unique to the Wutun Monastery. Chöyön trunks used at other monasteries were not as elaborately decorated, and some were trapezoidal in shape; however, they were decorated with Buddhist icons and Auspicious symbols. Generally speaking, such abundant use of Buddhist icons on furniture was limited to monastic/temple use and to items in the private prayer rooms of the most affluent patrons.  With the abolishment of the Imperial throne and its patronage, these trunks are the last of a 700-year-old tradition. They were made to replace the ones stolen during the 1950 annexation; however, due to the economic privations of the Occupation they were never used for their intended purpose.