Copper Statue of Sa-span Kun-dgav-rgyal-mtshan,Yuan Dynasty figural statue,preserved in the Sa-skya Monastery

Saspan Kun-dgav-rgyal-mtshan(1182-1251)was the fourth among the five forefathers of the Sa-skya-pa Sect as well as a politician and a distinguished scholar.He began to study doctrines of Sutra and Tantra since his childhood.He was knowledgeable in many disciplines,including the Five Kinds of Greater Knowledge,and became the first person in Tibet to gain the title of "Pandit"(great scholar).In 1274,he led his two nephews vPhags-pa and Phyag-na-rdo-rje to Liang Zhou(present Wuwui in Gansu Province)to meet the Mongol Crown Prince Godan.And then,he wrote a letter to Tibetan religious and secular leaders,expressing his submission to the Mongols.He made great contribution to the official incorporation of Tibet into the territory of China and the unification of the motherland.His works include On Tibetan Buddhist Theories,How to Become Wise Men,Sa-skya's Mottoes,On Three Vinayas and others.