the nation of tibet - united nations 4 free...

The Nation of Tibet: Historical Perspective

Compiled By: United Nations for a Free Tibet

October 15, 2010

P.O. Box 10044, Oakland, CA 94610 | Tel: (202) 3221 7888 USA

E-mail: [email protected] | http://unitednations4freetibet.com

United Nations for a Free Tibet

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Preface We are always talking about a word named ‘Nation’, but what is a Nation? The Romans called ‘natio’, a race or a human group with a common ‘birth’. Today, the dictionary says that it is “a body of people who share a real or imagined common history, culture, language or ethnic origin, which typically inhabit a particular country or territory”. Each nation has its own history, and this is the case for Tibet. As we known, Tibet is a land situated between China and India, separated from the former by the mountain ranges to the east of the Tibetan Plateau and from the latter by the towering Himalayas. With its unique word, religion and culture, Tibetan history is particularly focused on the history of Buddhism in Tibet. For thousand years, Tibet has had a complex relationship with its large and powerful neighbor China. However, the history of Tibet and China reveals that the relationship has not always been as one-sided as it now appears. Indeed, the balance of power between them has shifted back and forth over the centuries. Based on the information collected from an Internet-Based research and Asian Study, and thanks to the precious recourses from Tibet Justice Center, Auroville Museum and Jamyang Norbu, we have made a research on Tibet's history. Starting from the 7th century, Tibet has existed as a unified empire and as a region of separate self-governing territories, vassal states, and Chinese provinces. In the interregnums, various sects of Tibetan Buddhism, secular nobles, and foreign rulers have vied for power in Tibet. Today, most of cultural Tibet is ruled as autonomous areas in the People's Republic of China. However, Tibet was an independent nation and maintained its own government, religion, language, laws and customs, during most of the last 4000 years Tibet had constant contacts and interactions with the neighboring nations, even under the illegal occupation by China. The Tibetans are still struggling for their own history, culture and freedom against the occupation of China. Periodic protest still sweeps through Tibet, especially around important dates March 10 to 19 as the anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan Uprising.


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Contents

1 PREHISTORY

1.1 MYTHOLOGICAL ORIGINS

1.2 ARCHEOLOGY OF TIBET

1.3 THE PUGYAL DYNASTY

1.4 THE NATIVE RELIGION

2 GREAT TIBET EMPIRE

2.1 MILITARY EMPIRE

2.2 TIBET DURING TANG DYNASTY

2.3 BUDDHISM IN TIBET

2.4 TIBETAN SCRIPT

2.5 TIBETAN MEDICINE

3 CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS RENAISSANCE DURING TIBET DIVIDED

4 THE RELATIONSHIP WITH MONGOL

5 THE RELATIONSHIP WITH MING DYNASTY

5.1 RISE OF THE PHAGMODRU

5.2 DEBATE ON THE INDEPENDENCE OF TIBET DURING MING

5.3 THE RISE OF THE YELLOW ORDER

6 THE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE QING DYNASTY

6.1 CHO-YON RELATIONSHIP AT EARLY QING

6.2 CONFLICTS WITH NEIGHBORS

6.3 TURNING POINT IN RELATIONS BETWEEN TIBET AND QING

7 ADMINISTRATION OF TIBET DURING 1912-1951

7.1 THE BORN OF TIBET NATIONAL FLAG

7.2 LIFE LED BY DALAI LAMA

7.3 PROGRESS MADE IN FOREIGN AFFAIRS

7.4 TREATIES SIGNED AS AN INDEPENDENT NATION

7.5 TIBETAN PASSPORTS

7.6 TIBETAN CURRENCY IN TIBET

7.7 POST AND TELEGRAPH SYSTEM IN TIBET

7.8 SINO-TIBETAN WAR

8 COMMUNIST CHINA INVASION

8.1 CHINA CARRY OUT MILITARY ACTION IN TIBET

8.2 SOCIALIST REFORMS AND REVOLT

8.3 THE UPRISING ERUPTS IN TIBET


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1 Prehistory

While archeologists attempt to make an explanation of the birth of Tibet based on the date discovered, Tibetans has their own words to say. Scientists have probably given us an image that humans inhabited the Tibetan Plateau at least twenty one thousand years ago. This population was largely replaced around 3,000 BP by Neolithic immigrants from northern China. However there is a "partial genetic continuity between the Paleolithic inhabitants and the contemporary Tibetan populations". Some archaeological data suggests humans may have passed through Tibet at the time India was first inhabited, half a million years ago. The earliest Tibetan historical texts recognize the Zhang Zhung culture as a people who migrated from the Amdo region into what is now the region of Guge in western Tibet. Zhang Zhung is considered to be the original home of the Bon religion (Discussed below). By the 1st century BCE, a neighboring kingdom arose in the Yarlung valley, and the Yarlung king, Drigum Tsenpo, attempted to remove the influence of the Zhang Zhung by expelling the Zhang's Bon priests from Yarlung. He was assassinated and Zhang Zhung continued its dominance of the region until it was annexed by Songtsen Gampo in the 7th century.

1.1 Mythological Origins

Tibetans have an ‘imagined common history’, and they descend from a male monkey, an incarnation of Avalokitesvara who married a mountain ogress. Their six offspring were the first Tibetans. The inhabitants of the Tibetan plateau are said to have the characteristics of both their ancestors. Except for the divine origin in the Tibetan legend, the modern Theory of Evolution is not too different.

Picture 1.1.1 The Divine monkey mated with the mountain ogress to produce the first Tibetans

As the super continent Gondwanaland broke up 100 million years ago, India separated from Africa. The Indian plate moved north and one day collided with the Asian plate. In the process the Tethys Sea was elevated to 5000 m. The Tibetan plateau was born.


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Picture 1.1.2 The Tethys Sea was lifted up to become the Roof of the World

A Tibetan legend speaks of a Tibet covered by a giant lake which dried up. The remaining lakes were prophesized to progressively shrink and give space to humans to live and practice their religion.

Picture 1.1.3 The most awesome mountains of the planet

1.2 Archeology of Tibet

Archeological study of the Tibetan plateau is a relatively new discipline. Though explorers such as Tucci, Hedin, Richardson or Roerich did the first archeological surveys at the beginning of the 20th century, their studies remained superficial.

Picture 1.2.1 Pre-Buddhist pillar, probably at a burial site (near Lake Dangra)


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Megalithic monuments dot the Tibetan Plateau and may have been used in ancestor worship. It is unknown whether these monuments were built by ancient Tibetans. Prehistoric Iron Age hill forts and burial complexes have recently been found on the Tibetan plateau but the remote high altitude location makes archaeological research difficult.

Picture 1.2.2 Map of archeological sites in Tibet

The scenario has changed during the past 2 or 3 decades with more scientific studies being conducted by Tibetan, Western and Chinese archeologists. Their research dwells not only upon Western Tibet, rich in ‘pre-Buddhist’ vestiges, but also on other parts of the plateau, like Amdo and Kham.

Picture 1.2.3 Stone corbelled residence of a Zhangzhung sage (on Lake Darok island)

The latest archeological discoveries open new perspectives on the history of the plateau, particularly regarding the Zhangzhung kingdom. Some archeologists believed that a climate change altered the balance of power a few millennia ago. Due to drought and the subsequent increased salinity in the areas around the large lakes of Northern Tibet, the political center may have progressively shifted to warmer and moister regions like Yarlung.

Picture 1.2.4 Cutting tools (later Paleolithic), two pronged stone hoe found in Chamdo, and Stone chisel (mid Stone Age)


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1.3 The Pugyal Dynasty

The dates attributed to the first Tibetan king, Nyatri Tsenpo (Wylie: Gnya'-khri-btsan-po), vary. Some Tibetan texts give 126 BCE, others 414 BCE.

Picture 1.3.1 Yumbulagang Palace in Yarlung Valley

Legend says that the inhabitants of Yarlung Valley elevated Nyatri Tsanpo as the first king of Pugyal (or Yarlung) Dynasty. Nyatri, the story continues, descended as a god-like being from the sky using a ‘sky-rope.’ When he landed, he met some herdsmen grazing their yaks; they took him on their shoulders and made him king. The seven first kings are said to have used a rope to leave this world after their death. They have left no tombs.

Picture 1.3.2 Mounds of the tombs of the Kings in Chongye, Yarlung Valley

The first kings followed the Bon faith; Buddhism appeared only during the reign of Thori Nyatsen (5th century AD). Once again, it came from the sky. A casket containing the Mantra of Avalokiteshvara, Tibet’s Patron fell on Yumbulagang, the royal Palace. Though the king was unable to read the scripts, he kept the casket as a Holy Relic.

Picture 1.3.3 Nyatri Tsenpo, king of "Yarlung dynasty"


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1.4 The Native Religion

The Bon Religion is considered the native faith of Tibet which has survived till the present day. For some, Bon is only a body of folk beliefs such as divination, propitiations, offerings, curses; for others, Bon is seen as a more complex religious system with priests called Bonpo, who are believed to have supernatural powers. For still others, Bon is a belief system which matured in the 11th century; this "organized Bon" has characteristics closely resembling Tibetan Buddhism.

Picture 1.4.1 Tonpa Sherab Miwoche founder of the Bon Faith

Some scholars divide the history of Bon into three periods. First, the pre-Buddhist era where Bon was a folk religion; the second period was characterized by the emergence of an organized priesthood and a more sophisticated doctrine. It was during this period that the Bon establishment confronted, often violently, Buddhism. The third stage took place after Buddhism became the State religion. Adherents of Bon had to assimilate several Buddhist features to ensure their survival. In turn, Buddhism was deeply influenced by Bon.

Picture 1.4.2 Sherab Gyaltsen, the founder of the Menri monastery and Bonpo priest

Early Bon was closely linked with the Kingdom of Zhangzhung and later with the Yarlung Dynasty.

Picture 1.4.3 The legend of the first Tibetans according to the Bonpos is similar to the Buddhist one.


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2 Great Tibet Empire

From the 7th to the 11th century a series of emperors ruled Tibet. Throughout the centuries from the time of the emperor Songtsan Gampo the power of the empire gradually increased over a diverse terrain so that by the reign of the emperor Ralpacan, in the opening years of the ninth century, its influence extended as far south as Bengal and as far north as Mongolia.

2.1 Military Empire

Until Namri Songtsen (Namri Lontsan) gained control of all the area around what is now Lhasa, the Tibetan Empire had began to rise. In 608 and 609, the government of Namri Songtsen sent two embassies to China, marking the appearance of Tibet on the international scene.

Picture 2.1.1 The Tibetan Empire extended to the Chinese capital Chang'an (modern Xian) in the East, to Turfan in the North,

to the Pamirs and Samarkhand in the West and the Gangetic plain in the South.

Songtsen Gampo built the greatest Empire of his time in Asia. During his reign, the capital was moved from Yarlung to Lhasa. A fort was built where the Potala Palace stands today. The King was the first to understand the necessity of a balanced policy between Tibet’s neighbors: it is probably why he married several royal princesses.

Picture 2.1.2 King Songtsen Gampo, the 33rd King (605-649); King Trisong Detsen, the 37th King (755-797); King Ralpacan,

the 41st King (806-838)


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Under subsequent kings, especially Trisong Detsen, the Second Religious King, the Tibetan Empire continued to expand. In 783 AD, a treaty was concluded which established the borders between Tibet and China.

Picture 2.1.3 The 783 AD Treaty between Tibet and China on a pillar at the foot of the Potala

In 821 AD, during the reign of Ralpachen, the Third Religious King, a peace agreement was signed between Tibet and China. The terms of the Treaty were engraved on three stone pillars, also called Tang-Tubo Peace Pledge Monument: one demarcates the border between China and Tibet, the second is in the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa and the third in Chang'an in China.

Picture 2.1.4 Tang-Tubo Peace Pledge Monument was erected in front of Jo-khang Temple in 823 A.D

Picture 2.1.5 The 821 AD Treaty reads: “Tibet and China shall abide by the frontiers of which they are now in occupation. All

to the east is the country of Great China; and all to the west is, without question, the country of Great Tibet... Between the

two countries no smoke nor dust shall be seen. There shall be no sudden alarms and the very word 'enemy' shall not be

spoken. …This solemn agreement has established a great epoch when Tibetans shall be happy in the land of Tibet, and

Chinese in the land of China.”


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Picture 2.1.6 Map of Tibetan Empire in 820 in relation to other significant powers

The reign of Langdarma (838-842 AD), regal title Tri Uidumtsaen, was plagued by external troubles. The Uyghur state to the north collapsed under pressure from the Kyrgyz in 840, and many displaced people fled to Tibet. Langdarma himself was assassinated, apparently by a Buddhist hermit, in 842.

2.2 Tibet during Tang Dynasty

During Tang Dynasty (618–907), Tibetan and Chinese forces caused many conflicts, and they variously captured each others capitals over their interaction, and forced each other to pay tribute. Around 650 AD, the Chinese Tang Dynasty captured Lhasa. The Tibetans managed to capture chang'an in 763 during the midst of the Anshi Rebellion (755–763), which saw T'ang China devastated by a massive Turkic uprising.

Picture 2.2.1 China under the Tang Dynasty (teal) circa 700 AD

The Book of Tang, the first classic work about the Tang Dynasty finished in 945, records the first ever embassy from Tibet arrived in China from Songtsan Gampo in the 8th Zhenguan year or 634. Tang dynasty chronicles describe this as a tribute mission, but it brought an ultimatum demanding a marriage alliance,


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not subservient rituals. After this demand was refused, Tibet launched victorious military attacks against Tang affiliates in 637 and 638. However, according to the Tang Annals, Songtsan Gampo finally had been granted his request by Tang emperor.

Picture 2.2.2 Emperor Songtsän Gampo with Princesses Wen Cheng and Bhrikuti Devi

In 641 AD, Songtsan Gampo married Princess Wen Cheng（？－680）from the Tang Dynasty. As a result, advanced workmanships and Buddhist culture were introduced from the Centre Plains. In 710 AD, Tang Princess Jin Cheng（698－739）was married to Tubo bTsan-po Khri-lde-gtsug-btsan (698—755) and she brought with her many craftsmen and ancient books and records in Chinese. There were frequent exchanges between the Tang Dynasty and the Tubo Kingdom.

2.3 Buddhism in Tibet

After marrying a Nepalese and a Chinese Princess, King Songtsen Gampo converted to Buddhism. These two marriages played a crucial role in the spread of the new faith in Tibet.

Picture 2.3.1 Songtsen Gampo (centre) Princess Wencheng (right) and Bhrikuti Devi of Nepal (left),

And Statue of Buddha brought by Wen Cheng, in Jokhang temple in Lhasa


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More than hundred years later, King Trisong Detsen invited Shantarakshita, the Abbot of Nalanda to teach the Buddha Dharma and ordain the first monks. Shantarakshita immediately faced serious difficulties due to the strong opposition from the indigenous Bon. He convinced the king that the only way out was to invite the Tantric Master, Guru Padmasambhava; he alone could subdue the forces adverse to Buddhism.

Picture 2.3.2 Nalanda Abbo Shantarakshita

Shantarakshita predicted that a dispute would arise between the two schools of Buddhism, the Indian and the Chinese. The issue was sorted out through the famous Samye Debate. After 2 years of intense discussion, the Indian path prevailed and a proclamation was issued stating that the Indian path was thereafter the orthodox faith.

Picture 2.3.3 First Tibetan monastery built in Samye by Padmasambhava and Shantarakshita in 779 AD. A debate was held

between 792 and 794 to decide which school of Buddhism the Land of Snows would follow

Buddhist precepts were progressively incorporated into the laws of the Land of Snows. It was the first steps towards the transformation of the warlike Tibetans into people turned towards inner research.

2.4 Tibetan Script

The Tibetan script is an abugida of Indic origin used to write the Tibetan language as well as the Dzongkha language, Denzongkha, Ladakhi language and sometimes the Balti language.


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Picture 2.4.1 Tibetan script

One of the greatest merits of King Songsen Gampo was to have sent his Minister Thomi Sambhota with sixteen students to India to study Buddhism, Sanskrit and the Art of writing. On his return to Tibet, a Tibetan script, deriving from the Gupta alphabet was created. This script is still in use today. The translation of the first Buddhist scriptures could start.

Picture 2.4.2 Thomi Sambhota and the writing

Some Bon scholars believed that a Zhangzhung script predated the present Tibetan script. But no archeological evidence (on pillar, rock, etc) has been found so far.

Picture 2.4.3 Old manuscripts in library in Tibet


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2.5 Tibetan Medicine

The Tibetan system of Medicine, known as Sowa Rigpa or Art of Healing is a fascinating example of the influence of neighboring countries on the culture of Tibet. Based upon a synthesis of the Indian (Ayurveda), Persian (Unani), Greek, indigenous Tibetan, and Chinese medical systems, the Tibetan medical system embraces the traditional Buddhist belief that all illness ultimately results from the "three poisons" of the mind: ignorance, attachment and aversion.

Picture 2.5.1 The Buddha of Medicine (right), Tibetan medical texts (centre) and Tibetan surgical instruments (left)

During the reign of King Trisong Detsen, physicians and medical experts from India, China, Central Asia, Persia and even Greece gathered in Samye for a Medical Council to compare their respective knowledge. Thereafter, the great physician Yuthok Yonten Gonpo the Elder prepared the first compilation the Gyud Shi or the Four Tantras, based on the prevalent indigenous Tibetan knowledge. However several features from other systems, particularly from the Ayurveda were incorporated. An original and well adapted Tibetan Art of Healing was born.

Picture 2.5.2 Yuthok Yonten Gonpo the Younger Rituals, astrology and divination play an important role in the Art of Healing.

Yuthok Yonten Gonpo the Younger, who visited India 6 times during the 12th century, edited the work of Yuthok the Elder to its present form. The 156 chapters of the Gyud Shi are still the essence of Tibetan medical knowledge and continue to be studied, not only in Tibet, but also in the entire Himalayan belt and Mongolia.


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3 Cultural and Religious Renaissance during Tibet divided

In 838 AD, Lang Darma killed his brother King Ralpachen, Buddhism was eradicated from Tibet, which became the beginning that the State had lost its political homogeneity for more than one and a half centuries. And it had also become a long time civil war which led to the split-up of Tibet. According to Tibetan text, Central rule was largely nonexistent over the Tibetan region from 842 to 1247, yet Buddhism had survived surreptitiously in the region of Kham.

Picture 3.1 The ruins of Tsaparang monastery in Western Tibet

But an empire is truly great when the spirit which built it can survive destruction and reappear under a new and more complete form. At the end of the 10th century, the old king of Ngari, Lhalama Yeshe Od was instrumental in the revival of Buddhism in Tibet. Young Tibetans were sent to meet saints, yogis and scholars in the great Indian Viharas. They brought back original Buddhist scriptures which were translated into Tibetan. The most famous amongst them was Lotsawa Rinchen Zangpo.

Picture 3.2 The Great Translator Rinchen Zangpo (left) and the Bengali master Atisha Dipankara (right)

The spiritual renaissance originated from the Himalayan regions of Spiti, Kinnaur and Ladakh in India and Ngari and Guge in Tibet: these areas had been spared the Muslim invasions. Many renowned teachers participated in this movement; amongst others, the Indian monk Atisha Dipankara; the Tibetan layman Marpa and his disciple Milarepa. Their lives exemplify the continuous crisscrossing of men and ideas across the Himalayas and how the Buddha Dharma was preserved in its integrity.


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4 The Relationship with Mongol

In the 13th and 14th centuries, Tibet had to take another turn with the rise of the Mongol Empire. After the death of Genghis Khan in 1227, the Tibetans stopped sending tribute to the Mongol Empire. As a result, in 1240, the grandson of Genghis Khan and second son of Ogedei Khan, Prince Godan (or Koden), invaded Tibet.

Picture 4.1 Genghis Khan (right), Ögedei Khan (centre) and Kublai Khan (left)

Picture 4.2 Map of the Mongol Empire at the beginning of the 13th century

However, ‘Good luck’ came in 1244, Godan Khan invited a leading Tibetan Lama, Sakya Pandita Kunga Gyaltsen to the Mongolian Court to be the Imperial Preceptor. The relation between the Khans and the Lamas of Sakya continued to flourish under Kublai Khan who adopted Buddhism as the State religion after Dogon Choegyal Phagpa, Sakya Pandita’s nephew had become the Khan’s teacher. In gratitude, Kublai Khan offered him political authority over Tibet in 1254.

Picture 4.3 Sakya Pandita Kunga Gyeltsen (or Kunga Gylatshan Pal Zangpo) (1182–1251)


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During this time, the Priest-Patron relationship (or Choe-yon) developed thus: in exchange for their spiritual advice, the Lamas of Sakya were given temporal authority over Tibet, while getting protection against outside interference. This unique Central Asian institution would later become the corner stone of the relationship between the Dalai Lamas and the Qing Emperors. The Choe-yon relationship solved the problem faced by the Buddhist State, which could not have survived without the external patronage of a strong military power.

Picture 4.4 First encounter between Kublai Khan and Choegyal Phagpa at the Mongol Court

In 1253, Phagpa (1235-1280) succeeded Sakya Pandita at the Mongol court. Phagpa became a religious teacher to Goden Khan's famous successor, Kublai Khan. Kublai Khan named Phagpa the Imperial Preceptor of Tibet, offering him the rule of all Tibet.

Picture 4.5 Drogon Chogyal Phagpa , first vice-king of Tibet

On the other hand, because the Song Dynasty of China in South China had not yet been conquered by the Mongols, Tibetan historians argue that China and Tibet remained two separate units within the Mongol Empire. It may therefore be more accurate to describe this process as first North China, and then Tibet being incorporated into the Mongol Empire, which was later inherited by the Yuan Dynasty founded by Kublai Khan in 1271. Kublai Khan left both the Chinese and Tibetan legal and administrative systems intact. Though most government institutions established by Kublai Khan in his court resembled the ones in earlier Chinese dynasties, Tibet never adopted the imperial examinations or Neo-Confucian policies.


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5 The relationship with Ming Dynasty

There are different voices on the exact nature of Sino-Tibetan relations during the Ming Dynasty, though we have still found some reasons that Tibet is relative independent from the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644).

5.1 Rise of the Phagmodru

Between 1346 and 1354, towards the end of the Yuan dynasty, the House of Pagmodru would topple the Sakya. Tibet would be ruled by a succession of Sakya lamas until 1358, when central Tibet came under control of the Kagyu sect.

Picture 5.1.1 Changchup Gyaltsen, founder of the Phagmodru dynasty

In 1358, Changchub Gyaltsen marched to Sakya and emerged as Tibet’s new ruler. The following 80 years or so were a period of relative stability. For many Tibetans, this was a golden age; for the first time since the Religious Kings, no foreign ‘protection’ was required. A code of law, similar to the one adopted by the early kings was enforced and the Mongol administrative system was replaced by a purely Tibetan one. In 1368 in China, the Yuan Dynasty collapsed and was replaced by Ming.

Picture 5.1.2 According to this map of the Ming Empire during the Yongle

Emperor's reign, published by Harvard University Press in 1905, the

boundaries shown do not include the Ming's vassal states, while Tibet is

noticeably absent from the Ming's sovereign territories or directly governed

areas in yellow.

The Phagmodru princes ruled Tibet for nearly a century, before being replaced by another dynasty, the Rinpung in 1481. From 1565, until the advent of the Fifth Dalai Lama in 1642, the princes of Tsang ruled Tibet.


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5.2 Debate on the Independence of Tibet during Ming

Some modern scholars in the People's Republic of China, such as Wang Jiawei & Nyima Gyaincain, assert that the Ming Dynasty had sovereignty over Tibet, pointing to the Ming court's issuing of various titles to Tibetan leaders, Tibetans' full acceptance of these titles, and a renewal process for successors of these titles that involved traveling to the Ming capital.

Picture 5.2.1 Left is Chinese Yongle Empero (1360 –1424); While in Nanking, the Karmapa performed some special rituals

for the Emperor Yongle (right)

However, most scholars outside the PRC, such as Turrell V. Wylie, Melvin C. Goldstein, and Helmut Hoffman, say that the relationship was one of suzerainty, that Ming titles were only nominal, that Tibet remained an independent region outside Ming control, and that it simply paid tribute until the reign of Jiajing (1521–1566), who ceased relations with Tibet.

Picture 5.2.2 Tibetan rulers sometimes used decrees issued by the Chinese Emperors, right is a letter sent to a Sakya hierarch

by the ‘Imperial Tutor’

In fact, Tibet had its own system of ruling and attempted to keep a relative stable relationship with his neighbor Ming. However, the Ming initiated sporadic armed intervention in Tibet during the 14th century, but did not garrison permanent troops there. On the other hand, the Tibetans also used armed resistance against Ming forays. The Wanli Emperor (1572–1620) made attempts to re-establish Sino-Tibetan relations after the Mongol-Tibetan alliance initiated in 1578. By the late 16th century, the Mongols were successful armed protectors of the Yellow Hat Dalai Lama, after increasing their presence in the Amdo region. This culminated in Gushi Khan's (1582–1655) during 1637–1642.


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5.3 The Rise of the Yellow Order

Prophesied by the historic Buddha approximately about 2,000 years before his birth, Tsongkhapa (1357-1419) was a child prodigy who went on to establish and inspire Tibet's most powerful monastic sect. Dissatisfied by the ill discipline - intellectual, religious and monastic - of contemporary orders, he reined his disciples and followers into a strict new order. The Gelug sect re-established the austerity of monastic life and emphasized the primacy of philosophical study within it.

Picture 5.3.1 Lama Tsongkhapa (1357-1419)

Ganden Monastery was founded near Lhasa in Tibet by Tsongkhapa in 1409 as the first and main Gelug monastery. While Tsongkhapa founded the monastery, his disciple Gedun Drupa, known retrospectively as the First Dalai Lama, built the Drepung and Tashilhunpo monasteries.

Picture 5.3.2 The Tashilhunpo monastery seat of the Panchen Lamas

Tsongkhapa, as the first abbot of Ganden Monastery, was the appointed head of the Gelug sect. To this day, the abbot or Tripa of Ganden Monastery, rather than the Dalai Lama, leads this predominant sect. An interesting feature of this succession is that unlike the succession of Dalai Lama, which operates according to the principle of reincarnation, the position of Ganden Tripa is elective. As a result, the Ganden Tripa has traditionally been a strong candidate for the position of Regent within the Tibetan government at such times when the Dalai Lama was in his minority, absent or, as on occasion, deceased.

Picture 5.3.3 Ganden Monastery


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Picture 5.3.4 Gedun Drupa (1391-1474) the 1st Dalai Lama (right)

Gedun Gyatso was proclaimed the reincarnation of Gedun Drupa. A renowned scholar, he traveled widely to extend the Gelugpa influence. In 1512, he became abbot of the Tashilhunpo and a few years later of Drepung. Like Gedun Drupa, he wielded no political power.

Picture 5.3.5 Sonam Gyatso (1543-1588), the 3rd Dalai Lama

Sonam Gyatso was the first to bear the title of Dalai Lama. Visiting the Lake Kokonor area, he met Altan Khan, the Mongol chieftain in 1578. The Khan bestowed on Sonam Gyatso the title ‘Ocean of Wisdom’ or ‘Dalai’. The Dalai Lama died later preaching in Mongolia.

Picture 5.3.6 Yonten Gyatso (1589-1617) the 4th Dalai Lama

The birth of Yonten Gyatso in Mongolia as the grandson of Altan Khan, helped to firm up the connection between Mongolia and Tibet. On his return to Tibet, he became a disciple of the Panchen Lama Lobsang Chokyi Gyaltsen who ordained him. However, till his death in 1617, the Drukpa School was still prominent in Tibet.


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6 The relationship with the Qing Dynasty

Based on several important factors, including the alliance between Mongol and Tibetan, the Qing Dynasty of China (1644–1912) had adopted their foreign policy to support for the Dalai Lama during the most time. However, conflicts are still big problems existed between the two nations.

6.1 Cho-yon Relationship at Early Qing

In 1642, the Great Fifth Dalai Lama, with the help of his Mongol patron Gushri Khan, became the supreme political and religious ruler of unified Tibet. Since then, Tibetans accepted him as their "Gongsa Chenpo" or "The Supreme Sovereign".

Picture 6.1.1 Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso, the Great Fifth Dalai Lama (1617–1682), was a

political and religious leader in seventeenth-century Tibet. Ngawang Lozang Gyatso was

the ordination name he had received from Panchen Lobsang Chokyi Gyaltsen who was

responsible for his ordination. He was the first Dalai Lama to wield effective political

power over central Tibet, and is frequently referred to as the "Great Fifth Dalai Lama".

The Fifth Dalai Lama not only maintained a close relationship with the Mongols but also developed close ties with the Manchu rulers. In 1639, before the Dalai Lama acquired supreme political power and also before the Manchu conquest of China and the establishment of the Qing Dynasty, Manchu Emperor Tai Tsung invited the Dalai Lama to his capital, Mukden (present-day Shenyang). Unable to accept the invitation personally, the Dalai Lama sent his envoy that was treated with great respect by the Emperor. Thus the Cho-yon relationship between the Dalai Lama and the Manchu rulers was established. As was true of the Tibetan relationship with the Mongol emperors, the links developed between Tibetans and the Manchu emperors did not involve China. As Owen Lattimore points out in reference to the Qing Dynasty, "What existed in fact was a Manchu Empire, of which China formed only one part."

Picture 6.1.2 The Dalai Lama, Gushri Khan and Sangye Gyatso

Having conquered China and annexed it to the Manchu empire, named Qing Dynasty later, emperor Shunzi invited the Fifth Dalai Lama in 1653 for a state visit to the Imperial capital. In an unprecedented sign of


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respect, the Emperor made a four-day journey outside his capital (Beijing) to receive the Tibetan sovereign and foremost spiritual leader of Central Asian Buddhists.

Picture 6.1.3 Audience between the Dalai Lama and Emperor Shunzhi.

The Fifth Dalai Lama, a great scholar versed in Sanskrit, established the Ganden Phodrang, a form of governance characterized by a ‘harmonious blend between the secular and the spiritual’. For the first time since the Religious Kings, Tibet had a centralized form of government. He died in 1682 before the construction of the Potala Palace was completed. His Regent Sangye Gyatso, kept his death secret until its completion.

Picture 6.1.4 Desi Sangye Gyatso also founded the Chakpori School of Medicine and written Medical text

Throughout most of time during the Qing Dynasty, relations between Tibet and the Qing emperors remained formally based on the cho-yon relationship. The Manchu Emperor readily responded to the appeals for help to drive out invading Dzungar Mongols and escort the newly discovered Seventh Dalai Lama to the Tibetan capital in 1721.

Picture 6.1.5 The Kangxi Emperor (1654–1722), an expedition sent by Qing Emperor Kangxi expelled the Dzungars from

Tibet in 1720 and the troops were hailed as liberators. They brought Kelzang Gyatso with them from Kumbum to Lhasa and

he was installed as the seventh Dalai Lama in 1721.


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6.2 Conflicts with Neighbors

After the rebellion of a Khoshuud Mongol prince near Koko Nur, the Qing made the region of Amdo and Kham into the province of Qinghai in 1724, and incorporated eastern Kham into neighbouring Chinese provinces in 1728. The Qing government sent a resident commissioner (amban) to Lhasa. A stone monument regarding the boundary between Tibet and China, agreed upon by Lhasa and Beijing in 1726, was placed atop a mountain near Bathang, and survived at least into the 19th century. This boundary, which was used until 1910, ran between the headwaters of the Mekong and Yangtse rivers. Territory east of the boundary was governed by Tibetan chiefs who were answerable to China.

Picture 6.2.1 18th century decorative map of the continent of Asia

During the reign of the 8th Dalai Lama, Nepal attacked Tibet in 1788 for a trivial matter: a wrong currency exchange rate. Southern Tibet was invaded. In 1792, another war erupted and this time the Gurkhas reached Shigatse. The Manchus, called to the rescue, sent a strong army to repulse the invaders. A treaty was signed between the Manchus, the Gurkhas and the Tibetans in which the Chinese succeeded in showing Nepal and Tibet as their protectorates.

Picture 6.2.2 The treaty was kept in this building in front of the Potala

Emperor Qianlong (1711–1799) had made a so-called 29-article edict, or regulations, of 1793 concerning Tibet, and to the appointment of Ambans (ambassadors). It presents the "regulations" as if they were an imperial order proving extensive Qing authority in Tibet. In reality, the 29 points were suggestions made by the Emperor for certain reforms of the Government of Tibet following its war with Nepal. The Ambans were not viceroys or administrators, but were essentially ambassadors appointed to look after Qing interests, and to protect the Eighth Dalai Lama on behalf of the Emperor.


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Picture 6.2.3 The Chinese 29-Point Regulation

Rather than accepting or rejecting the Qing Emperor's points, Tibetans adopted some of the 29 points which were perceived to be beneficial to them, and disregarded those they thought to be unsuitable. As Panchen Choekyi Nyima, the predecessor of the Late Panchen Lama, said: "Where Chinese policy was in accordance with their own views, the Tibetans were ready to accept the Amban's advice; but ... if this advice ran counter in any respect to their national prejudices, the Chinese Emperor himself would be powerless to influence them.

Picture 6.2.4 Illustration of the Chinese ‘recognition’ of the 9th Dalai Lama

Among the important points of this "29-point edict" was the Emperor's proposal for the selection of great incarnate lamas, including the Dalai Lamas and Panchen Lamas, by drawing lots from a golden urn. This important task, however, was the responsibility of the Tibetan Government and high lamas, who continued to select them according to religious traditions. Thus, already on the first occasion when the golden urn should have been employed, namely for the selection of the Ninth Dalai Lama in 1808, Tibetans disregarded it. On the other hand, problem is the twenty crucial years between the death of a Dalai Lama and his successor assuming power of the Tibetan system of governance. It was murmured that the Chinese exploited this weakness as many Dalai Lamas died in their adolescence. The 19th century saw five Dalai Lamas.

Picture 6.2.5 Watercolor of the Gurkha advancein 1855 in Kyerong (Tibet)

In 1856, another war with Nepal broke out. The Gurkhas occupied again a few districts of Southern Tibet. Tibetan monks volunteered to go on the battlefield, but before they could reach the Tibetan border, the


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Nepalese had called for negotiations.

Picture 6.2.6 Nepal-Tibet Treaty, 1856

Furthermore, Nepal was a tributary state to China from 1788 to 1908. In the Treaty signed in 1856, Tibet and Nepal agreed to "regard the Chinese Emperor as heretofore with respect." All parties promised to provide “the assistance that may be in their power, if the troops of any other 'raja' invade the `other` country”. Michael van Walt van Praag, legal advisor to the 14th Dalai Lama, claims that 1856 treaty provided for a Nepalese mission, namely Vakil, in Lhasa which later allowed Nepal to claim a diplomatic relationship with Tibet in its application for United Nations membership in 1949. During 19th centuries, the Manchus did succeed in establishing some degree of influence in Tibet during those crisis periods. However, their influence declined rapidly afterwards, rendering them unable to play necessary role when Tibet fought wars against invaders from Jammu (1841- 1842), Nepal (1855-1856), and British India (1903-04).

6.3 Turning Point in Relations between Tibet and Qing

The unprecedented invasion of Tibet by Qing troops in 1908 was a turning point in relations between Tibet and the Qing Emperor. Previous imperial military expeditions had come to assist the Dalai Lama or the Tibetan Government and at their invitation. Qing Chinese power had made reinforce by its defeat in the Opium Wars with Britain (1839-1842 and 1856-1860), as well as the Taiping Rebellion (1850-1864) and the Boxer Rebellion (1899-1901). But this time, the Qing Emperor attempted to establish his authority in Tibet by force, largely in order to remove increasing British influence in Tibet.

Picture 6.3.1 The 13th Dalai Lama in Beijing visiting the Emperor Gwangxu and Empress Dowager, 1908

In 1904, the 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso left the country at the urging of his Russian disciple, Agvan


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Dorzhiev. He went first to Mongolia, and then made his way to Beijing. But the Chinese declared that the Dalai Lama had been deposed as soon as he left Tibet, and claimed full sovereignty over not only Tibet but also Nepal and Bhutan. The Dalai Lama went to Beijing to discuss the situation with the Emperor Guangxu, but he flatly refused to kowtow to the Emperor. Thubten Gyatso stayed in Beijing till 1908. The Qing government in Beijing then appointed Zhao Erfeng, the Governor of Xining, "Army Commander of Tibet" to reintegrate Tibet into China. He was sent in 1908 on a punitive expedition. His troops destroyed a number of monasteries in Kham and Amdo, and a process of signification of the region was begun.

Picture 6.3.2 Thubten Gyatso (1876–1933), the 13th Dalai Lama

The Dalai Lama fled to neighboring India, and the occupation of Tibet was short-lived. When the Qing Emperor tried to "depose" the Dalai Lama in 1910, the Dalai Lama declared the termination of the cho- yon relationship. The protector had attacked his Lama and thereby violated the very foundation of their relationship. Resistance to the invasion succeeded when the Qing Empire collapsed mainly by the Chinese Revolution in 1911, and Tibetans forced the occupying army to surrender. In the summer of, Nepalese mediation between Tibet and China resulted in the conclusion of the "Three Point Agreement" providing for formal surrender and expulsion of all remaining Imperial troops.

Picture 6.3.3 Expulsion of Chinese troops from Tibet following the 13th Dalai Lama's return from exile in India, 1912

The Dalai Lama returned home to Tibet in 1912. China's new revolutionary government issued a formal apology to the Dalai Lama for the Qing Dynasty's insults, and offered to reinstate him. The Dalai Lama refused, stating that he had no interest in the Chinese offer. He then issued a proclamation that was distributed across Tibet, rejecting Chinese control and issued a proclamation reaffirming the independence of Tibet on 14 February 1913. The Dalai Lama took control of Tibet's internal and external governance in 1913, negotiating directly with foreign powers, and reforming Tibet's judicial, penal, and educational systems.


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7 Administration of Tibet during 1912-1951

Thubten Gyatso, the Thirteenth Dalai Lama returned to Tibet from India in July 1912 (after the fall of the Qing dynasty), and expelled the amban and all Chinese troops. In 1913, the Dalai Lama issued a proclamation that stated that the relationship between the Chinese emperor and Tibet "had been that of patron and priest and had not been based on the subordination of one to the other." "We are a small, religious, and independent nation," the proclamation continued. For the next thirty-six years, Tibet enjoyed de facto independence while China endured its Warlord era, civil war, and World War II. Tibet continued in 1913-1949 to have certain contacts with the rest of the world.

Picture 7.1 A proclamation of the Dalai Lama, in 1913.

During these years, the Dalai Lama was in many ways a remarkable leader. He sent young Tibetans to England to be educated; he wanted Tibet to join the League of Nations; he started building a modern army; he reformed the monastic discipline. Unfortunately, he had to deal with conservative forces obstructing his reforms and wanting to keep Tibet isolated.

7.1 The Born of Tibet National Flag

Picture 7.1.1 Flag of Tibet that was introduced by the 13th Dalai Lama in 1912 and outlawed by the People's Republic of

China in 1959

The modern Tibetan national flag was adopted in 1916. Its first appearance before the world was in National Geographic Magazine’s “Flags of the World” issue of 1934 and other publications, and was


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reproduced in the early thirties in cigarette card collections in Europe. The flag was probably too new and unknown to appear in the very first flag issue (1917) of the National Geographic, but Tibet did receive mention in an article on medieval flags in that same issue. According to an eminent vexillologist, Professor Lux-Worm, the national flag of Tibet was based on an older 7th century snow lion standard of the Tibetan Emperor, Songtsen Gampo. It should be borne in mind that over 90% of the flags of the nations in the UNO were created after WWII, including the present national flag of China.

Picture 7.1.2 “Flags of the World”. The National Geographic Magazine: September, 1934

The Tibetan flag made its official international appearance in 1947, at the First Inter-Asian Conference, which Mahatma Gandhi addressed. The Tibetan flag was displayed alongside other flags of Asian nations, and a circular flag emblem placed before the Tibetan delegation on the podium.

Picture 7.1.3 First Inter-Asian Conference, Delhi, 1947.

7.2 Life Led by Dalai Lama

In 1918, Lhasa regained control of Chamdo and western Kham. A truce set the border at the Yangtze River. At this time, the government of Tibet led by Dalai Lama controlled all of U-Tsang and Kham west of the


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Yangtze River, roughly the same borders as the Tibet Autonomous Region has today. Eastern Kham was governed by local Tibetan princes of varying allegiances. In Amdo (Qinghai), ethnic Hui and pro-Kuomintang warlord Ma Bufang controlled the Xining area. The rest of the provinces were under local control.

Picture 7.2.1 Tibetan government ministers at the Cabinet Office, Lhasa, circa 1920. (Left); Picture 7.2.2 Judges of the Shol

Court in Lhasa (with two clerks on the left), circa 1921(right)

At the end of the 1940’s, Tibet slowly came out of its slumber. Goodwill and Trade delegations were sent to India and a few Western countries to assert Tibetan independence. A small army was recruited and armed by India. Indian troops were still based in Gyantse and other Indian trade marts. The British maintained their Mission in Lhasa. The Roof of the World witnessed its last happy days.

7.3 Progress Made in Foreign Affairs

Picture 7.3.1 Foreign Bureau personnel

A Bureau of Foreign Affairs was established after the 13th Dalai Lama returned to Lhasa from Peking, and the Tibetan people, in symbolic rejection of Qing rule, presented him with a new national seal. The Foreign Bureau appears to have been reconstituted in 1941. It conducted diplomatic relations with Britain, USA, Nepal, independent India and China. Nepal set up its legation in Lhasa in 1856, China in 1934 and Britain in 1936. Foreign ministry officials represented Tibet as an independent nation in the Inter-Asian Relations Conference convened in India


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March 23, 1947 to assess the status of Asia in the period following WWII. Tibet was also represented at the Afro-Asian Conference in 1948. Many participating nations were yet to be decolonized making Tibet one of the few established independent nations in that early pan-Asian gathering.

Picture 7.3.2 Mongolian Minister in Lhasa, circa 1920 Picture 7.3.3 The British Mission in Lhasa, 1936

Picture 7.3.4 A letter from the Foreign Bureau dated 2nd Nov 1949, to “Mr. Mautsetung”, describes Tibet as a religious

nation, independent from “earliest times”, and requests the Communist leader to “issue strict orders” to his officers not to

cross into Tibetan territory. Regarding Tibetan territory earlier annexed by China the letter states that “…the Tibetan

government would like to open negotiations after the settlement of the Chinese Civil War.”

In 1947, when India became independent, it took over the British diplomatic Mission in Lhasa, and inherited the treaty relations of Britain with Tibet. Its recognition of Tibet was clear from the official communication the Indian Government sent to the Tibetan Foreign Office [Notes, Memoranda and Letters

Exchanged and Agreements Signed by the Governments of India and China, Vol 2, 1959, p.39]: The Government of India would be glad to have an assurance that it is the intention of the Tibetan Government to continue relations on the existing basis until new arrangements are reached on matters that either party may wish to take up. This is the procedure adopted by all other countries with which India has inherited treaty relations from His Majesty's Government.


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7.4 Treaties Signed as an Independent Nation

Picture 7.4.1 Treaty of Friendship and Alliance between the Government of Mongolia and Tibet, 1913

Treaty signed with Mongolia In January 1913, Tibet and Mongolia signed a treaty in Urga, the preamble of which reads: “Whereas Mongolia and Tibet having freed themselves from the Manchu dynasty and separated themselves from China, have become independent states, and whereas the two States have always professed one and the same religion, and to the end that their ancient mutual friendships may be strengthened…” Declarations of friendship, mutual aid, Buddhist fraternity, and mutual trade etc., follow in the various articles. The Tibetan word “rangzen” is used throughout to mean “independence”. And in an article, named ‘Independent Tibet – The Facts’ (Compiled by Jamyang Norbu for the Rangzen Alliance), we even find some evidence that Tibet was a fully functioning and independent state before the Chinese invasion in 1951. Treaty signed with Britain Tibet signed a number of treaties and conventions with Britain culminating in the Simla Treaty of 1914 by which British India and Tibet reached an agreement on their common frontier. India’s present-day claim to the demarcation of its northern border (the McMahon Line) is based on this treaty which was signed by independent Tibet – not China.

Picture 7.4.2 Plenipotentiaries of India, Tibet and China in Simla, 1913


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In 1913, the British government convened a tripartite Conference in Simla between plenipotentiaries of Great Britain, China, and Tibet. The Convention provided for an ‘Outer Tibet’ which would be fully autonomous. However, after initializing the Convention, Ivan Chen, the Chinese plenipotentiary withdrew in July 1914. Great Britain and Tibet attached a note to the Convention denying China any privileges under the Accord. The Convention was later sealed as a bilateral agreement.

Picture 7.4.3 Border as agreed by British India and Tibet in March 1914. The red line is known as McMahon Line.

In March 1914, the British and the Tibetans defined their common border in India’s North-East. The McMahon Line was born. During the following years, British officials had regular contacts with the Tibetan Kashag. Trade marts were opened in Tibet and telegraphic lines were maintained by British India’s Government.

Picture 7.4.4 Map showing the disagreements between India and China

7.5 Tibetan Passports

The Tibetan government issued its own passports to travelers entering its borders or (the few) Tibetans who traveled abroad. Before WWII, the term “passport” covered visas and travel documents in general. The earliest record of a Tibetan passport issued to a foreign traveler is in 1688 to an Armenian merchant, Hovannes (Johannes).


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Picture 7.5.1 Passport issued to first Everest Expedition, 1921 (courtesy of Rinchen Dorjay).

The Tibetan government gave its approval for the first-ever Everest expedition in 1921. Charles Bell, the visiting British diplomat in Lhasa wrote “I received from the Tibetan Government a passport in official form, which granted permission for the climbing of Mount Everest.” The subsequent Everest expeditions of 1924 and 1936 also received passports from the Tibetan government. Passports were sometimes issued for scientific undertakings: the Schaeffer anthropological expedition of 1939, Tucci’s ethnological expedition of 1949 and the plant hunter Frank Kingdon Ward in 1924.

Picture 7.5.2 Shakabpa passport. Tibetan government-issued passport of

Tsepon Wangchuk Deden Shakabpa, Tibet's finance minister in the 1940s.

The passport bears visas from India, the United Kingdom, the United

States, Italy, Switzerland, and France.

President Roosevelt’s two envoys to Tibet in 1942 were presented their passports at Yatung. The Americans Lowell Thomas Jr. and Sr. visited Tibet in 1949, and were issued “Tibetan passports” at Dromo. “When the Dalai Lama’s passport was spread out before us, I could not help thinking that many Western explorers who had failed to reach Lhasa would have highly prized a document like this.” Since 1912 passports were also issued to Tibetans leaving for foreign countries. The first modern Tibetan passport with personal information, photograph and space for visas and endorsements was issued in 1948 to members of the Tibetan trade mission. It was modeled on the international one-page fold-out model of 1915. Britain, the USA and seven other countries issued visas and transit visas for this document.


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7.6 Tibetan Currency in Tibet

Literary sources refer to gold, silver and copper ingot-coins, even cowrie shells, being used as currency in ancient Tibet. From circa 1650 silver coins for Tibet (the Bhal-tang) were struck in Nepal under a treaty agreement. In 1792 following the defeat of Nepal by a joint Tibetan-Manchu force, coins bearing both Tibetan and Chinese inscriptions were circulated. But the Tibetan government continued to issue its own coin with only Tibetan legends as the Kongpar tangka (1791-1793) and the Gaden tangka (1836-1911). A silver coin, the Kalsang tangka, was struck in 1909 possibly to mark the 13th Dalai Lama’s return to Lhasa from Peking.

Picture 7.6.1 Kongpar tangka, Gaden tangka, Kalsang tangka and three Srang coin.

After the expulsion of the Chinese army in 1912, Tibet minted gold, silver and copper coins (in the “srang” currency unit) using Buddhist and Tibetan designs and bearing the name of the Tibetan government. Paper currency was introduced into Tibet in the early 20th century, and according to the numismatist Wolfgang Bertsch, these bank notes were “small works of art.” A unique aspect of Tibetan banknotes was that the serial numbers were handwritten by a guild of specialist calligraphists, the “epa”, to prevent forgery.

Picture 7.6.2 Tibetan paper currency, in use until 1959

Even after the Communist invasion, Tibetans successfully resisted Chinese efforts to take over its currency. Official Chinese currency only came into use after the flight of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government from Tibet in March 1959. In its entire history, official Chinese currency had never been used in Tibet before 1959.


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7.7 Post and Telegraph System in Tibet

The modern Tibetan postal service was built on courier systems used during the early Tibetan Empire and later Mongol Imperial rule. A “pony express” (atrung) service was used for official missives, while general mail was carried by a system of postal-runners (bhangchen or dakpa). A Central Post and Telegraph Office (dak-tar laykhung) was created in 1920 in Lhasa which took over the old postal stations (tasam) throughout Tibet. Postage stamps of various denominations were indigenously designed and hand-printed, and are now collector’s items. Though not a signatory to the International Postal Treaty, a system was created so that letters from Tibet could be delivered to foreign addresses and letters from abroad be delivered inside Tibet.

Picture 7.7.1 Tibetan postage stamps and envelope with New Jersey address.

Spencer Chapman, visiting Lhasa in 1936, declared that, “the postal and telegraph system is most efficient.” The same system continued for some years after 1950. The Czech filmmaker Vladimir Cis (working for the Chinese Communist government) had a letter from his family in Prague delivered to him in the wilderness of Tibet by a postal-runner in 1954. A telegraph line from India to Lhasa was completed in 1923, along with a basic telephone service. Both were open for public use. The event was commemorated in a publication of the Royal Geographical Society, London. The Tibetan capital was electrified in 1927. The work of installing both the hydroelectric plant and the distribution system was undertaken near “single-handedly” by a young Tibetan engineer, Ringang. All these projects were initiated and paid for by the Tibetan government. Radio Lhasa was launched in 1948 and broadcasted news in Tibetan, English and Chinese.

7.8 Sino-Tibetan War

Skirmishes had occurred between Tibetan and Chinese troops in Xikang since 1930. During this period, Liu Wenhui's army fought against Tibetan forces. Kuomintang Muslim official Tang Kesan was sent to negotiate for an end to the fighting. Ma Xiao was a Muslim brigade commander in Liu Wenhui's army. The Muslim General Ma Fuxiang, as head of the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission, sent a telegraph to Muslim Kuomintang official Tang Kesan ordering him to breach the agreement with Tibet, because he


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was concerned that political rivals in Nanjing were using the incident.

Picture 7.8.1 Tibetan troops flying Tibetan national flag

The Sino-Tibetan War occurred in 1930–1932 when the Tibetan army under the 13th Dalai Lama to regain Xikang and Yushu in Qinghai in a dispute over monasteries. The Ma clique warlord Ma Bufang secretly sent a telegram to the Sichuan warlord Liu Wenhui, and the leader of the Republic of China, Chiang Kai-shek, suggesting a joint attack on the Tibetan forces. When the ceasefire negotiated failed, both expanded the war in 1932. By August, the Tibetans asked the British government of India for interference. Then British pressure led to both to declare a ceasefire. Separate truces were signed by Ma and Liu with the Tibetans in 1933, ending the fighting.

Picture 7.8.2 The Tibetan army, circa 1936

In 1936, Tibet invites British mission to modernize Tibetan army and assist in negotiations with China for the return of Panchen Lama. Richardson and other British officials visit Lhasa for five months to bolster pro-India faction in Tibet.


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8 Communist China Invasion

Newly established communist China sent troops to invade Tibet during 1950s. After the military action, an agreement called `Seventeen Point Agreement` was imposed on the Tibetan government in May of 1951, acknowledging sovereignty over Tibet but recognizing the Tibetan government’s autonomy with respect to Tibet’s internal affairs. As the Chinese consolidated their control, they repeatedly violated the treaty and sought to rapidly Socialist reforms in Tibet, leading to the National Uprising in 1959 and the flight into India of the Dalai Lama.

8.1 China Carry out Military Action in Tibet

The Invasion of Tibet was a military action in 1950 that happened in the context of negotiations between the government of the new People's Republic of China and the government of Tibet. After months of failed negotiations for China’s sovereignty claim over Tibet, the Kashag refused and expelled all Chinese connected with the Chinese government, over the protests of both the Kuomintang and the Communists in 1949. Later, in the month of October 1950, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) crossed the Jinsha River, defeating the Tibetan army and capturing the border town of Qamdo.

Picture 8.1.1 Expulsion of the Chinese Mission in Lhasa, July 1949.

Earlier, in late 1949, Communist forces had entered areas of Eastern (Kham) and North-Eastern Tibet (Amdo) then under the military occupation of Nationalist (Guomindang) supported war-lord regimes. Recent research by a Chinese scholar reveals that Mao Zedong met Soviet Stalin on 22nd January 1950 and asked for the Soviet air force to transport supplies for the invasion of Tibet. Stalin replied: “It’s good you are preparing to attack Tibet. The Tibetans need to be subdued.”

Picture 8.1.2 Tibetan soldiers with national flags


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On the dawn of 5th October, the 52nd, 53rd & 54th divisions of the 18th Army of the Red Army (probably over 40,000 troops) attacked all along the cease-fire line (mentsam-shagsa) on the Drichu River guarded by 3,500 regular soldiers and 2,000 Khampa militiamen. However, the PLA did not go on to invade the whole of Tibet. Rather, they sent a captured commander, Ngabo, to Lhasa to reiterate terms of negotiation, and waited for Tibetan representatives to respond through delegates to Beijing.

Picture 8.1.3 Seventeen Point Agreement of the Central People's Government and the Local Government of Tibet on

Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet

In 1951, Tibetan representatives participated in negotiations in Beijing with the Chinese government. This resulted in a Seventeen Point Agreement a few months later, authorizing the PLA presence and Central People's Government rule. The Tibetan government was divided about the agreement, though crucially, the Dalai Lama was a supporter.

8.2 Socialist Reforms and Revolt

After the sign of seventeen point agreement, Socialist reforms such as redistribution of land were delayed in Tibet proper. However, Eastern Kham and Amdo (western Sichuan and Qinghai provinces in the Chinese administrative hierarchy) were outside the administration of the Tibetan government in Lhasa, and were thus treated more like other Chinese provinces, with land redistribution implemented in full – a peculiar idea given that the Khampas and nomads of Amdo traditionally owned their own land. In 1956 the Great Khampa Uprising started and spread throughout the country culminating in the March Uprising of 1959.

Picture 8.2.1 CIA in Tibet, Tibetan Resistance fighters pose with weapons following CIA arms drop. More details in the book

of “The CIA's Secret War in Tibet” by Kenneth Conboy and James Morrison


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In 1956-57, armed Tibetan bands ambushed convoys of the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army. The uprising received extensive assistance from the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), including military training, support camps in Nepal, and numerous airlifts. Meanwhile in the United States, the American Society for a Free Asia, a CIA-financed front, energetically publicized the cause of Tibetan resistance, with the Dalai Lama’s eldest brother, Thubtan Norbu, playing an active role in that organization. The Dalai Lama's second-eldest brother, Gyalo Thondup, established an intelligence operation with the CIA as early as 1951. He later upgraded it into a CIA-trained guerrilla unit whose recruits parachuted back into Tibet.

Picture 8.2.2 Beginning in the late 1950s, Lhamo Tsering was a key resistance figure. He began as Gyalo Thondup’s personal

assistant. (Gyalo is the older brother of the Dalai Lama, who was one of the CIA’s initial contacts.)

In 1959, China's military crackdown on rebels in Kham and Amdo led to the "Lhasa Uprising." Full-scale resistance spread throughout Tibet. Fearing capture of the Dalai Lama, poorly armed Tibetans surrounded his residence, and the Dalai Lama fled to India.

Picture 8.2.3 Tibetans are captured in Lhasa as the Dalai Lama is forced into exile

8.3 The Uprising Erupts in Tibet

By 1958, almost 80,000 people had joined the Tibetan resistance fighters. Alarmed, the Dalai Lama's government sent a delegation to Inner Tibet to try and negotiate an end to the fighting. However, the royal people of Tibet and the tactic of guerrillas convinced the delegates of the righteousness of the fight, and Lhasa's representatives soon joined in the resistance. And the PLA command threatened to bomb the city if order was not maintained.


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However, the March 1959 uprising in Lhasa was triggered by fears of a plot to kidnap the Dalai Lama. The people of Lhasa were quite concerned about the safety of the Dalai Lama. The people's suspicions therefore were raised immediately when the Chinese Army in Lhasa invited His Holiness to watch a drama at the military barracks on March 10, 1959. On the appointed day, March 10, some 300,000 protesting Tibetans poured into the streets and surround Norbulingkha, the Dalai Lama's Summer Palace, to protect him from the planned Chinese abduction.

Picture 8.3.1 The Dalai Lama In 1959

PLA moved artillery into range of the Norbulingka, the Dalai Lama agreed to evacuate the building. Tibetan troops prepared a secure escape route out of the capital on March 15. When two artillery shells struck the palace two days later, the young Dalai Lama and his ministers began the arduous 14-day trek over the Himalayas for India.

Picture 8.3.2 March 10, 1959, Tibetans gathered in front of the Potala Palace in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, during an

uprising against Chinese rule which ultimately failed

On March 19, 1959, fighting broke out in Lhasa. The Tibetan army fought bravely, but they were vastly outnumbered by the PLA.

Picture 8.3.3 Destruction of Lassa


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Much of Lhasa lay in ruins on March 20. The firefight lasted just two days. On March 21, the Summer Palace, Norbulingka, sustained estimated 800 artillery shell strikes that killed an unknown number of people inside; the major monasteries were bombed, looted and burned. All remaining members of the Dalai Lama's bodyguard corps were publicly executed. In all, some 87,000 Tibetans were killed, while another 80,000 arrived in neighboring countries as refugees. However, till 1974, the Guerilla operations of Tibetans ceased. “A conservative estimate would have to be no less than half-a-million” Tibetans killed in the fighting. Many more died in the subsequent political campaigns, forced labor camps (lao gai) and the great famine. The Tibetan uprisings throughout the land of Tibet from 1987 to 1993 and most recently in 2008, followed by Chinese hard strike and bloody suppression, clearly demonstrate that the struggle continues today. On April 18, 2008, The Dalai Lama said that since the beginning of the demonstrations in Tibet at least 400 people had been killed. And according to an August 1, 2010 conclusion made by us, there is more than 822 Tibetans jailed in prison for activities that included peaceful protest or leaking information to the outside world. The number is increasing now.

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