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Tibet

Tibet is a region in Central Asia Central Asia

Central Asia is a vast landlocked [i] region of Asia [i]. ... 

 and the home of the Tibetan people Tibetan people

The Tibetan people are a people living in Tibet [i] and some surrounding areas. ... 

. With an average elevation Elevation

The elevation of a geographic [i] location [i] is its height above a fixed reference point, oft ... 

 of 4,900 m Metre

The metre, or meter , is a measure of length [i]. ... 

 , it is often called the "Roof of the World".

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Timeline

101   The Chinese China

China is a cultural region [i] and ancient civilization [i] in East Asia [i]. ... 

 (Tibetans Tibet

Tibet is a region in Central Asia [i] and the home of the Tibetan people [i]. ... 

) introduce their Buddhist Religion Buddhism

Buddhism is a dharmic [i], non-theistic [i] religion [i], a way of life, a p ... 

 into Indonesia Indonesia

Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a nation of islands [i] consist ... 

.

173   During the reign of Lha Thothori Nyantsen, Buddhism Buddhism

Buddhism is a dharmic [i], non-theistic [i] religion [i], a way of life, a p ... 

, coming from India India

India , officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia [i]. ... 

, is introduced to Tibet.

670   The Kingdom of Khotan is conquered by Tibet.

810   China China

China is a cultural region [i] and ancient civilization [i] in East Asia [i]. ... 

 demands return of territory by Tibet.

1578   Tibet - Sonam Gyrso receives from prince Atlan Khan the title of "Talaï" and becomes the third Dalai Lama Dalai Lama

In Tibetan Buddhism [i], the successive Dalai Lamas form a tulku [i] lineage of Gelugpa [i] leaders whi ... 

.

1582   Tibet, Foundation of Kumbum Kumbum

A Kumbum is a multi-storied aggregate of Buddhist [i] chapels in Tibet [i]. ... 

.

1904   Battle of Chumik Shenko - British under general Francis Younghusband defeat ill-equipped Tibetan troops.

1904   A British expedition under colonel Francis Younghusband takes Lhasa Lhasa

Lhasa, sometimes spelled Llasa, is the traditional capital of Tibet [i] and the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region [i] ... 

 in Tibet.

1914   French Buddhist Alexandra David-Neel is the first European woman to visit Tibet (in disguise).

1959   Tenzin Gyatso Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama

Tenzin Gyatso is the fourteenth and current Dalai Lama [i], and as such, is often referred to in Western... 

, the 14th Dalai Lama Dalai Lama

In Tibetan Buddhism [i], the successive Dalai Lamas form a tulku [i] lineage of Gelugpa [i] leaders whi ... 

, flees Tibet and travels to India India

India , officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia [i]. ... 

.

   More Events >>



Encyclopedia

 
 
        Claimed by Tibetan exile groups. 
       Tibetan areas designated by PRC People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China , is a country [i] in East Asia [i]. ... 

.
       Tibet Autonomous Region Tibet Autonomous Region

The Tibet Autonomous Region , is a province-level autonomous region [i] of t... 

 .
       Claimed by India India

India , officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia [i]. ... 

 as part of Aksai Chin Aksai Chin

Aksai Chin is a region located at the junction of the People's Republic of China [i], Pakistan [i], and ... 

.
       Claimed by the PRC as part of TAR Tibet Autonomous Region

The Tibet Autonomous Region , is a province-level autonomous region [i] of t... 

.
       Other historically culturally-Tibetan areas.
 

Tibet is a region in Central Asia Central Asia

Central Asia is a vast landlocked [i] region of Asia [i]. ... 

 and the home of the Tibetan people Tibetan people

The Tibetan people are a people living in Tibet [i] and some surrounding areas.... 

. With an average elevation Elevation

The elevation of a geographic [i] location [i] is its height above a fixed reference point, oft ... 

 of 4,900 m Metre

The metre, or meter , is a measure of length [i]. ... 

 , it is often called the "Roof of the World".

Definitions


When the Government of Tibet in Exile Central Tibetan Administration

The Central Tibetan Administration , officially the Central Tibetan Administration of His Holiness th... 

 and the Tibetan refugee community worldwide refer to Tibet, they mean a large area that formed the cultural entity of Tibet for many centuries, consisting of the traditional provinces of Amdo, Kham Kham

Kham province is one of several provinces comprising traditional Tibet [i]. ... 

 , and Ü-Tsang , but excluding areas outside the People's Republic of China People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China , is a country [i] in East Asia [i]. ... 

  like Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh

Arunachal Pradesh is a state [i] of India [i]. ... 

 , Sikkim Sikkim

Sikkim is a landlocked [i] India [i]n state [i] nestled in the Himalaya [i] ... 

, Bhutan Bhutan

[i] and [[Tibet]... 

, and Ladakh Ladakh

Ladakh is a region in the state [i] of Jammu and Kashmir [i] in Northern India [i] ... 

 that have also formed part of the Tibetan cultural sphere.

When the People's Republic of China refers to Tibet, it means the Tibet Autonomous Region Tibet Autonomous Region

The Tibet Autonomous Region , is a province-level autonomous region [i] of t... 

 : a province Province (China)

A province, in the context of China [i], is a translation of Sheng, which is an administrative ... 

-level entity which, according to the territorial claims of the PRC, includes Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh

Arunachal Pradesh is a state [i] of India [i]. ... 

 . Sikkim, Bhutan, and Ladakh may also be considered to be parts of cultural Greater Tibet in addition to Amdo, Kham, and Ü-Tsang. The TAR covers the Dalai Lama Dalai Lama

In Tibetan Buddhism [i], the successive Dalai Lamas form a tulku [i] lineage of Gelugpa [i] leaders whi... 

's former domain consisting of Ü-Tsang and western Kham, while Amdo and eastern Kham are now found within the provinces of Qinghai Qinghai

Qinghai is a province [i] of the People's Republic of China [i], named after the enor ... 

, Gansu Gansu

Gansu is a province [i] located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China [i] ... 

, Yunnan Yunnan

Yunnan is a province [i] of the People's Republic of China [i], located in ... 

, and Sichuan Sichuan

Sichuan is a province [i] in central-western China [i] with its capital at Chengdu [i] ... 

.

The difference in definition is a major sticking point in the dispute. The distribution of Amdo and eastern Kham into surrounding provinces was initiated by the Yongzheng Emperor Yongzheng Emperor

The Yongzheng Emperor was the fourth emperor [i] of the Manchu [i] Qing Dynasty [i], an... 

 during the eighteenth century and has been continuously maintained by successive Chinese governments. Tibetan exiles, in turn, consider the maintenance of this arrangement since the eighteenth century as part of a divide-and-rule policy.

A sovereign nation?



Tibet was once an independent empire. The government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of Tibet in Exile, however, disagree over when Tibet became a part of China, and whether this incorporation into China was legitimate.

Name


In Tibetan


Tibetans call their homeland Bod , pronounced in Lhasa dialect. It is first attested in the geography of Ptolemy Ptolemy

Claudius Ptolemaeus , known in English as Ptolemy, was a Greek-speaking geographer [i], astronomer [i]... 

 as ßata? . They refer to a fatherland  , rather than to a motherland as the Chinese are known to do.

In Chinese


The Chinese name for Tibet, ?? , is a phonetic transliteration derived from Tsang  The name originated during the Qing Dynasty Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty , occasionally known as the Manchu Dynasty, was a dynasty [i] fou ... 

 of China. It can be broken down into Xi ? , and Zang ? . The term can be interpreted as either "Western Treasure House", or "Storage place of/in the West".

The government of the People's Republic of China People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China , is a country [i] in East Asia [i]. ... 

 equates Tibet with the Tibet Autonomous Region Tibet Autonomous Region

The Tibet Autonomous Region , is a province-level autonomous region [i] of t... 

 . As such, the name "Xizang" is equated with the TAR. In order to refer non-TAR Tibetan areas, or to all of cultural Tibet, the term ?? Zàngqu is used. However, Chinese-language versions of pro-Tibetan independence websites, such as the , the , and use ?? , not ?? , to mean historic Tibet.

Some English-speakers reserve "Xizang", the Chinese word transliterated into English, for the TAR, to keep the concept distinct from that of historic Tibet. Some pro-independence advocates duplicate the situation into the Chinese language, and use ??? or ???, which are both phonetic transcriptions of the word "Tibet", to refer to historic Tibet, though this usage is rare.

The character ? has been used in transcriptions referring to Tsang as early as the Yuan Dynasty Yuan Dynasty

The Yuan Dynasty lasting officially from 1271 [i] to 1368 [i], followed the Song Dynasty [i] ... 

, if not earlier, though the modern term "Xizang" was devised in the 18th century 18th century

As a means of recording the passage of time [i], the 18th century refers to the century [i] that las ... 

. The Chinese character ? has also been generalized to refer to all of Tibet, including other concepts related to Tibet such as the Tibetan language  and the Tibetan people . The two characters of Xizàng can literally mean "western storehouse", which some Tibetans find offensive and indicative of what they see as Chinese colonial attitudes towards Tibet. However, the offending character, "zàng", can also mean "treasure" or "Buddhist scripture". In addition, Chinese transliterations of non-Chinese names do not necessarily take into account the literal meanings of words; usually a positive or neutral connotation combined with phonetic similarity is enough for the transliteration to come into use. See Transliteration into Chinese characters for other examples.

In English


The English word Tibet, like the word for Tibet in most European languages, is derived from the Arabic Arabic language

The Arabic language , or simply Arabic , is the largest member of the Semitic [i] branch of the Afro-Asiatic [i] ... 

 word Tubbat. Ultimately, the word derives via Persian Persian language

[i] , [[Afghanistan]... 

 from the Turkic word Töbän , meaning "the heights".. The same Turkic word is the origin of the Chinese term ?? .

Cities

Lhasa Lhasa

Lhasa, sometimes spelled Llasa, is the traditional capital of Tibet [i] and the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region [i] ... 

 is Tibet's traditional capital and the capital of Tibet Autonomous Region. Other cities in Historic Tibet include, in the TAR, Shigatse Shigatse

Shigatse is a county-level city [i] and the second largest city in Tibet [i] with a population of 80,000 ... 

 , Gyantse Gyantse

Gyantse is the third largest town in Tibet [i]. ... 

 , Chamdo Chamdo

Chamdo is a town in Kham [i] in the eastern Tibetan Autonomous Region [i], located about 480km from Lhasa [i]... 

 , Nagchu, Nyingchi Nyingchi Prefecture

Nyingchi Prefecture is a prefecture in southwestern Tibetan Autonomous Region [i] in western China [i] ... 

 , Nedong , Barkam , Sakya , Gartse , Pelbar , and Tingri ; in Sichuan Sichuan

Sichuan is a province [i] in central-western China [i] with its capital at Chengdu [i] ... 

, Dartsendo Kangding

Kangding or Dardo is the name of a county and a town in Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture [i] in ... 

 ; in Qinghai Qinghai

Qinghai is a province [i] of the People's Republic of China [i], named after the enor ... 

, Kyegundo  or Yushu , Machen , Lhatse , and Golmud Golmud

Golmud is a county-level city [i] of Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture [i] in Qinghai [i] ... 

 .

History


Early days

The Tibetan language is generally considered to be a Tibeto-Burman language and distantly related to Chinese Chinese language

Chinese is a language [i] that forms part of the Sino-Tibetan family [i] of lan ... 

.

In general, the history of Tibet begins with King Srong-tsan-gam-po Songtsen Gampo Songtsen Gampo

Songtsen Gampo was the thirty-third king of the Yarlung Dynasty [i] of Tibet [i]. ... 

 , although there were 27 kings before him. King Songtsen Gampo is generally considered to have introduced Buddhism to Tibet at this time. Christianity is known to have been present in Tibet prior to 782.

King Songtsen Gampo sought to marry Princess Wen-Cheng, a member of the extended royal family of the Chinese Tang Dynasty.

Conflict between Tibet and the Tang began as Tu-Yu Huen was against the marriage. Tibet sent an army to drive it from the valleys around the source of Huang He Yellow River

The Yellow River is the second longest river in China [i] and the fifth in the world. ... 

. After several indecisive battles, which helped Tibet gain recognition as a local power, the Tang government became receptive and marriage took place in 641.

The next Tang emperor sent General Hsueh Zen-Kuei with an army to recover Tu-Yu Huen for the southern part of Qinghai Qinghai

Qinghai is a province [i] of the People's Republic of China [i], named after the enor ... 

 . A Tibetan army defeated him on the high plateau of Qinghai. Subsequently, Tibet conquered all small tribes in Qinghai and southern Xinjiang Xinjiang

Xinjiang, full name Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region [i] ... 

.

During this period, Tibet had a population of 10 million with 3 million Tibetans and an army of comparable strength facing the two Tang armies of Southern Xinjiang and of the Silk Road Silk Road

The Silk Road or Silk Route was an interconnected series of routes through Southern Asia [i] tra ... 

 . Disputes involved trade controls. Tibet wanted the four Tang garrisons at the Southern Xinjiang . After the Tang's withdrawal of the Silk-road army and its garrison troops of Northern and Southern Xinjiang during the An Lu-san rebellion, Tubo military power conquered all of that territory up to the border of the Hue-He , capturing the Silk-road.

Tibet attacked Sichuan Sichuan

Sichuan is a province [i] in central-western China [i] with its capital at Chengdu [i] ... 

 and fought many inconclusive battles with the Tang. The Tibetan army ransacked Changan, now Xi'an, the capital of Tang Empire, and crowned an emperor who lasted for a few days .

Tibet had also conquered the ethnic tribes scattered in the present areas of Lijiang and Dali, Yunnan Yunnan

Yunnan is a province [i] of the People's Republic of China [i], located in ... 

, and had established a military administration in northwest Yunnan. Yunnan was a tributary of Tibet. Tibet also bordered with India, and Persia. This was the largest area which was ever controlled by Tibet.

The military route used by the Tibetans to reach Yunnan was closely related to the contemporary tea and horse route. “Tea and Horse Caravan Road” of Southwest China is less well known than the famous Silk Road Silk Road

The Silk Road or Silk Route was an interconnected series of routes through Southern Asia [i] tra ... 

.

According to the Tibetan book Historic Collection of the Han and Tibet “In the reign of the Tibetan King Chidusongzan [Khri ‘Dus sron] , the Tibetan aristocracy started to drink tea and use the tea-bowl, and tea was classified into different categories.”

After the downfall of the Tibetan Dynasty, the Tang recovered the Silk-road .
According to one study, more than 20,000 warhorses per year were exchanged for tea during the Northern Song dynasty.

The distinctive form of Tibetan society, in which land was divided into three different types of holding—estates of noble families, freeheld lands and estates held by monasteries of particular Tibetan Buddhist sects—arose after the weakening of the Tibetan kings in the 10th century 10th century

As a means of recording the passage of time [i], the 10th century was that century [i] which lasted from ... 

. This form of society was to continue into the 1950s 1950s

The 1950s was the decade spanning the years 1950 to 1959.... 

, at which time more than 700,000 of the country's population of 1.25 million were serfs Serfdom

Serfdom refers to the legal and economic status of some peasant [i]s under feudalism [i], specifically i ... 

.


Mongols & Manchus

In 1240, the Mongols marched into central Tibet and attacked several monastaries. Köden, younger brother of Mongol ruler Güyük Khan, participated in a ceremony recognizing the Sa-skya lama as temporal ruler of Tibet in 1247. The Mongol khans had ruled northern China since 1215. They declared themselves Chinese emperors in 1271 as the Yuan dynasty Yuan Dynasty

The Yuan Dynasty lasting officially from 1271 [i] to 1368 [i], followed the Song Dynasty [i] ... 

. Kublai Khan Kublai Khan

Kublai Khan, Khubilai Khan or "the last of the Great Khan [i]s", was a Mongol [i] military [i] leader [i] ... 

 was a patron of Tibetan Buddhism and appointed the Sa-skya Lama his "Imperial preceptor," or chief religious official. Tibetans viewed this relationship as an example of yon-mchod, or priest-patron relationship. In practice, the Sa-skya lama was subordinate to the Mongol khan. The collapse of the Yuan dynasty in 1368 led to the overthrow of the Sa-skya in Tibet. Tibet was then ruled by a succession of three secular dynasties. In the 16th century, Altan Khan of Tumet Mongolian tribe supported the Dalai Lama Dalai Lama

In Tibetan Buddhism [i], the successive Dalai Lamas form a tulku [i] lineage of Gelugpa [i] leaders whi... 

's religious lineage to be the dominant religion among Mongols and Tibetans.

Beginning in the early 18th century, the Qing Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty , occasionally known as the Manchu Dynasty, was a dynasty [i] fou ... 

 government sent a resident commissioner to Lhasa. Tibetan factions rebelled in 1750 and killed the ambasa. Then, a Qing army entered and defeated the rebels and installed an administration headed by the Dalai Lama. The number of soldiers in Tibet was kept at about 2000. The defensive duties were partly helped out by a local force which was reorganized by the resident commissioner, and the Tibetan government continued to manage day-to-day affairs as before.

In 1841 Tibet was invaded by the army of General Zorawar Singh General Zorawar Singh

Zorawar Singh Kahluria was born in a village of Kahlur State in modern Himachal Pradesh [i].... 

 from the Indian Kingdom of Jammu & Kashmir. After his death in the Battle of To'Yo the Sino-Tibetan armies invaded Jammu but were defeated at the Battle of Chushul——a treaty signed at that place marked out the boundaries of India and Tibet.

British influence


Main article: British expedition to Tibet British expedition to Tibet

The British expedition to Tibet in 1903 and 1904 was actually an armed invasion of Tibet [i] by British [i] ... 



In 1904 a British British Empire

The British Empire was the most extensive empire [i] in world history and for a ... 

 diplomatic mission, accompanied by a large military escort, forced its way through to Lhasa. The head of the diplomatic mission was Colonel Francis Younghusband. The principal motivation for the British mission was a fear, which proved to be unfounded, that Russia Russia

Russia , also the Russian Federation , is a country [i] that stretches over a vast expanse of Eurasia [i] ... 

 was extending its footprint into Tibet and possibly even giving military aid to the Tibetan government. When the mission reached Lhasa, the Dalai Lama had already fled to Urga Urga

Sorry, no overview for this topic 

 in Mongolia Mongolia

Mongolia is a landlocked [i] country [i] located in East Asia [i]. ... 

, but a treaty was signed by lay and ecclesiastical officials of the Tibetan government, and by representatives of the three monasteries of Sera Sera Monastery

Sera Monastery is one of the 'great three' Gelukpa [i] university monasteries [i] of Tibet [i] ... 

, Drepung Drepung Monastery

Drepung Monastery is one of the "great three" Gelukpa [i] university monasteries [i] of Tibet [i]... 

, and Ganden Ganden Monastery

Ganden Monastery is one of the 'great three' Gelukpa [i] university monasteries [i] of Tibet [i] ... 

.. The treaty made provisions for the frontier between Sikkim and Tibet to be respected, for freer trade between British and Tibetan subjects, and for an indemnity to be paid from the Tibetan Government to the British Government for its expenses in dispatching armed troops to Lhasa. It also made provision for a British trade agent to reside at the trade mart at Gyantse. The provisions of this 1904 treaty were confirmed in a 1906 treaty signed between Britain and China, in which the British also agreed "not to annex Tibetan territory or to interfere in the administration of Tibet.". The position of British Trade Agent at Gyantse was occupied from 1904 up until 1944. It was not until 1937, with the creation of the position of "Head of British Mission Lhasa", that a British officer had a permanent posting in Lhasa itself.

A Nepalese agency had also been established in Lhasa after the invasion of Tibet by the Gurkha government of Nepal Nepal

Nepal, officially Kingdom of Nepal, is a landlocked [i] Himalayan [i] country [i] in South Asia [i] ... 

 in 1855.



In the Anglo-Chinese Convention of 1906 which confirmed the Anglo-Tibetan Treaty of 1904, Britain agreed "not to annex Tibetan territory or to interfere in the administration of Tibet" while China engaged "not to permit any other foreign State to interfere with the territory or internal administration of Tibet". In Bell's history of Tibet, he would write of this time that "the Tibetans were abandoned to Chinese aggression, an aggression for which the British Military Expedition to Lhasa and subsequent retreat [and consequent power vacuum within Tibet] were primarily responsible".

Relations with the Chinese Republic

In February of 1912 the Qing emperor abdicated and the new Republic of China Republic of China

The Republic of China is a country [i] in East Asia [i]. ... 

 was formed . In April of 1912 the Chinese garrison of troops in Lhasa surrendered to the Tibetan authorities. The new Chinese Republican government wished to make the commander of the Chinese troops in Lhasa their new Tibetan representative, but the Tibetans were in favour of having all of the Chinese troops return to China Proper China proper

China proper refers to the historical heartlands of China [i], in the context of paradigms that contrast ... 

. The Dalai Lama returned to Tibet from India in July 1912. By the end of 1912, the Chinese troops in Tibet had returned, via India, to China Proper In 1950, the People's Liberation Army People's Liberation Army

The Chinese People's Liberation Army , which includes an army [i], navy [i], air force [i], and strateg ... 

 entered the Tibetan area of Chamdo Chamdo

Chamdo is a town in Kham [i] in the eastern Tibetan Autonomous Region [i], located about 480km from Lhasa [i]... 

, crushing nominal resistance from the ill-equipped Tibetan army. In 1951, the Seventeen Point Agreement was reached, under PLA's military pressure, by representatives of the Dalai Lama and Beijing affirming Chinese sovereignty over Tibet with a joint administration under representatives of the central government and the Tibetan government. Most of the population of Tibet at that time were peasants, often bound to land owned by monasteries Monastery

Monastery, a term derived from the Greek [i] word ??ast????? monasterion, denotes the ... 

 and aristocrats. Any attempt at land redistribution or the redistribution of wealth would have proved unpopular with the established landowners. This agreement was initially put into effect in Tibet proper. However, Eastern Kham Kham

Kham province is one of several provinces comprising traditional Tibet [i]. ... 

 and Amdo were outside the administration of the government of Tibet, and were thus treated like any other Chinese province with land redistribution implemented in full. As a result, a rebellion broke out in Amdo and eastern Kham Kham

Kham province is one of several provinces comprising traditional Tibet [i]. ... 

 in June of 1956. The insurrection, supported by the American CIA Central Intelligence Agency

The Central Intelligence Agency is an intelligence agency [i] of the United States Government [i]. ... 

, eventually spread to Lhasa. It was crushed by 1959. Tibetan exiles claim that during this campaign, tens of thousands of Tibetans were killed. The 14th Dalai Lama and other government principals fled to exile in India, but isolated resistance continued in Tibet until 1969 when CIA Central Intelligence Agency

The Central Intelligence Agency is an intelligence agency [i] of the United States Government [i]. ... 

 support was withdrawn.

Although the Panchen Lama Panchen Lama

The Panchen Lama is the second highest ranking lama [i] after the Dalai Lama [i] in the Gelugpa [i] sect... 

 remained a virtual prisoner, the Chinese set him as a figurehead in Lhasa, claiming that he headed the legitimate Government of Tibet in the absence of the Dalai Lama, the traditional head of the Tibetan government. In 1965, the area that had been under the control of the Dalai Lama's government from the 1910s 1910s

... 

 to 1959 was set up as an Autonomous Region. The monastic estates were broken up and secular education introduced. During the Cultural Revolution Cultural Revolution

The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution in the People's Republic of China [i] was a struggle for powe ... 

, the Red Guards inflicted a campaign of organized vandalism against cultural sites in the entire PRC, including Tibet's Buddhist heritage. Many young Tibetans joined in the campaign of destruction, voluntarily due to the ideological fervour that was sweeping the entire PRC and involuntarily due to the fear of being denounced as "enemies of the people". Of the several thousand monasteries in Tibet, over 6000 were destroyed, only a handful remained without major damage, and thousands of Buddhist monks and nuns were killed or imprisoned.

Since 1979, there have been major economic changes Chinese economic reform

Chinese Economic Reform refers to the program of economic [i] changes called "Socialism with Chinese characteristics [i] ... 

, like the rest of the PRC, but the political system remains undemocratic and repressive. Some PRC policies in Tibet have been described as moderate, while others are judged to be more oppressive. Most religious freedoms have been officially restored, provided the lamas do not challenge PRC rule. Foreigners can visit most parts of Tibet, and it is claimed that the less savoury aspects of PRC rule are kept hidden from visitors.

In 1989, the Panchen Lama died, and the Dalai Lama and the PRC recognised different reincarnations. While officially an atheist state, the People's Republic of China has affirmed its right to confirming high-level reincarnations, a tulku Tulku

A tulku is a Tibetan Buddhist [i] lama [i] or other religious figure who has consciousl ... 

 in the Tibetan tradition of Vajrayana Buddhism Vajrayana

Also known as Tantric Buddhism, Mantrayana, Tantrayana, Esoteric Buddhism, Diamond ... 

, citing a precedent set by the Qianlong Emperor Qianlong Emperor

The Qianlong Emperor was the fifth emperor of the Manchu [i] Qing Dynasty [i], and the fourth Qing emperor [i] ... 

 of the Qing Dynasty . The Dalai Lama named Gedhun Choekyi Nyima Gedhun Choekyi Nyima

Gedhun Choekyi Nyima is, according to the Government of Tibet in Exile [i], the eleventh reincarnation [i] ... 

 as the 11th Panchen Lama but without confirmation by the vase lot, while the PRC named another child, Gyancain Norbu by the vase lot. Gyancain Norbu was raised in Beijing and has appeared occasionally on state media. Gedhun Choekyi Nyima and his family have gone missing, into imprisonment according to Tibetan exiles, and under a hidden identity for protection and privacy according to the PRC.

The PRC continues to portray its rule over Tibet as an unalloyed improvement, and foreign governments continue to make occasional protests about aspects of PRC rule in Tibet. All governments, however, recognise PRC sovereignty over Tibet, and none has recognised the Dalai Lama's government in exile Central Tibetan Administration

The Central Tibetan Administration , officially the Central Tibetan Administration of His Holiness th... 

 in India.

Evaluation of PRC rule


Evaluation by the Tibetan exile community

Tibetan exiles generally say that the number that have died in the Great Leap Forward Great Leap Forward

The Great Leap Forward of the People's Republic of China [i] was an economic and social plan to use Chin ... 

, of violence, or other unnatural causes since 1950 is approximately 1.2 million, which the Chinese Communist Party denies. According to Patrick French, the estimate is not reliable because the Tibetans were not able to process the data well enough to produce a credible total. There were, however, many casualties, perhaps as many as 400,000. This figure is extrapolated from a calculation Warren W. Smith made from census reports of Tibet which show 200,000 "missing" from Tibet. Even The Black Book of Communism The Black Book of Communism

The Black Book of Communism: Crimes, Terror, Repression is a book authored by several European acade... 

expresses doubt at the 1.2 million figure, but does note that according to Chinese census the total population of ethnic Tibetans in the PRC was 2.8 million in 1953, but only 2.5 million in 1964. It puts forward a figure of 800,000 deaths and alleges that as many as 10% of Tibetans were interned, with few survivors. Chinese demographers have estimated that 90,000 of the 300,000 "missing" Tibetans fled the region.

The government of Tibet in Exile also says that, fundamentally, the issue is that of the right to self-determination of the Tibetan people. While refusing to agree to China's demands that he renounce the idea that Tibet was once an independent country, the Dalai Lama has stated his willingness to negotiate with China for "genuine autonomy" . The Dalai Lama sees the millions of Han immigrants, attracted to the TAR by economic incentives and preferential socioeconomic policies, as presenting an urgent threat to the Tibetan nation by diluting the Tibetans both culturally and through intermarriage. Exile groups say that despite recent attempts to restore the appearance of original Tibetan culture to attract tourism, the traditional Tibetan way of life is now irrevocably changed. It is also reported that when Hu Yaobang, the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, visited Lhasa in 1980 he was unhappy when he found out the region was behind neighbouring provinces. Policies were changed, and since then the central government's policy in Tibet has granted most religious freedoms. But monks and nuns are still sometimes imprisoned, and many Tibetans continue to flee Tibet yearly. At the same time, many Tibetans view projects that the PRC claims to benefit Tibet, such as the China Western Development economic plan or the Qinghai-Tibet Railway Qingzang railway

The Qingzang railway, QinghaiXizang railway, or QinghaiTibet railway, is a railway [i] which ... 

, as politically-motivated actions to consolidate central control over Tibet by facilitating militarization and Han migration while benefiting few Tibetans; they also view the money funneled into cultural restoration projects as being aimed at attracting foreign tourists. They note that Tibet is still behind the rest of the PRC: for example, the first big hospital in Tibet was not built until 1985; that several of Lhasa's main roads weren't paved until 1987; and that the first students at Tibet University didn't graduate until 1988. They also say that there is still preferential treatment awarded to Han in the labor market as opposed to Tibetans.
Evaluation by the People's Republic of China
The government of the PRC People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China , is a country [i] in East Asia [i]. ... 

 says that the population of Tibet in 1737 was about 8 million, and that due to the backward rule of the local theocracy, there was rapid decrease in the next two hundred years and the population in 1959 was only about 1.19 million. Today, the population of Greater Tibet is 7.3 million, of which, according to the 2000 census, 5 million are ethnic Tibetans. The government of the PRC views this population growth as the result of the abolishment of the theocracy and introduction of a modern, higher standard of living. Based on the census numbers, the PRC also rejects claims that the Tibetans are being swamped by Han Chinese; instead the PRC says that the border for Greater Tibet drawn by the government of Tibet in Exile is so large that it incorporates regions such as Xining Xining

Xining is the capital [i] of Qinghai [i] Province, People's Republic of China [i].... 

 that are not traditionally Tibetan in the first place, hence exaggerating the number of non-Tibetans.

The government of the PRC also rejects claims that the lives of Tibetans have deteriorated, pointing to rights enjoyed by the Tibetan language in education and in courts and says that the lives of Tibetans have been improved immensely compared to the Dalai Lama's rule before 1950. Benefits that are commonly quoted include: the GDP Gross domestic product

A region's gross domestic product, or GDP, is one of the several measures [i] ... 

 of Tibet Autonomous Region today is 30 times that before 1950; TAR has 22,500 km of highways, as opposed to 0 in 1950; all secular education in TAR was created after the revolution; TAR now has 25 scientific research institutes as opposed to 0 in 1950; infant mortality Infant mortality

Infant mortality is the death of infant [i]s in the first year of life. ... 

 has dropped from 43% in 1950 to 0.661% in 2000; life expectancy Life expectancy

Life expectancy is heavily dependent on the criteria used to select the group.... 

 has risen from 35.5 years in 1950 to 67 in 2000; the collection and publishing of the traditional Epic of King Gesar, which is the longest epic poem in the world and had only been handed down orally before; allocation of 300 million Renminbi Renminbi

The renminbi or the yuan is the official currency [i] in the mainland [i] of the... 

 since the 1980s to the maintenance and protection of Tibetan monasteries . The Cultural Revolution Cultural Revolution

The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution in the People's Republic of China [i] was a struggle for powe ... 

 and the cultural damage it wrought upon the entire PRC is generally condemned as a nationwide catastrophe, whose main instigators have been brought to justice and whose reoccurrence is unthinkable in an increasingly modernized China. The China Western Development plan is viewed by the PRC as a massive, benevolent, and patriotic undertaking by the eastern coast to help the western parts of China, including Tibet, catch up in prosperity and living standards.

Geography




Tibet is located on the Tibetan Plateau Tibetan Plateau

The Tibetan Plateau or Chang Tang, also known as the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, is a vast, ele... 

, the world's highest region. Most of the Himalaya Himalayas

The Himalayas are a mountain range [i] in Asia [i], separating the Indian subcontinent [i] from the Tibetan Plateau [i] ... 

 mountain range lies within Tibet. Its most famous peak, Mount Everest Mount Everest

Mount Everest is the highest point [i] on Earth [i], as measured by the height of i ... 

, is on Nepal Nepal

Nepal, officially Kingdom of Nepal, is a landlocked [i] Himalayan [i] country [i] in South Asia [i] ... 

's border with Tibet.

The atmosphere is severely dry nine months of the year. Western passes receive small amounts of fresh snow each year but remain traversable year round. Low temperatures are prevalent throughout these western regions, where bleak desolation is unrelieved by any vegetation beyond the size of low bushes, and where wind sweeps unchecked across vast expanses of arid plain. The Indian monsoon Monsoon

A monsoon is a wind pattern that reverses direction with the seasons.... 

 exerts some influence on eastern Tibet. Northern Tibet is subject to high temperatures in summer and intense cold in winter.

Historic Tibet consists of several regions:
  • Amdo in the northeast, incorporated by China into the provinces of Qinghai Qinghai

    Qinghai is a province [i] of the People's Republic of China [i], named after the enor ... 

    , Gansu Gansu

    Gansu is a province [i] located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China [i] ... 

     and Sichuan Sichuan

    Sichuan is a province [i] in central-western China [i] with its capital at Chengdu [i] ... 

    .
  • Kham in the east, divided between Sichuan, northern Yunnan Yunnan

    Yunnan is a province [i] of the People's Republic of China [i], located in ... 

     and Qinghai.
    • Western Kham, part of the Tibetan Autonomous Region
  • U , in the center, and Tsang in the center-west, part of the Tibetan Autonomous Region
  • Ngari in the far west, part of the Tibetan Autonomous Region


Tibetan cultural influences extend to the neighboring states of Bhutan Bhutan

[i] and [[Tibet]... 

, Nepal Nepal

Nepal, officially Kingdom of Nepal, is a landlocked [i] Himalayan [i] country [i] in South Asia [i] ... 

, adjacent regions of India such as Sikkim Sikkim

Sikkim is a landlocked [i] India [i]n state [i] nestled in the Himalaya [i] ... 

 and Ladakh Ladakh

Ladakh is a region in the state [i] of Jammu and Kashmir [i] in Northern India [i] ... 

, and adjacent provinces of China where Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism is the body of religious Buddhist [i] doctrine and institutions characteristic ... 

 is the predominant religion.

On the border with India, the region popularly known among Chinese as South Tibet South Tibet

South Tibet is a political term encompassing a mountainous area of the Himalaya [i]s, claimed by the People's Republic of China [i] ... 

 is claimed by China and administered by India India

India , officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia [i]. ... 

 as the state of Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh

Arunachal Pradesh is a state [i] of India [i]. ... 

.

Several major rivers have their source in the Tibetan Plateau , including:
  • Yangtze Yangtze River

    The Yangtze River or Chang Jiang is the longest river [i] in Asia [i] and the third longest in the ... 

  • Yellow River Yellow River

    The Yellow River is the second longest river in China [i] and the fifth in the world. ... 

  • Indus River Indus River

    The Indus is the longest and most important river [i] in Pakistan [i]. ... 

  • Mekong Mekong

    The Mekong is one of the world's major river [i]s. ... 

  • Brahmaputra Brahmaputra River

    The Brahmaputra is one of the major river [i]s of Asia [i].

... 


  • Ganges Ganges River

    The Ganges River is a river [i] of northern India [i] and Bangladesh [i]. ... 



Economy




The Tibetan economy is dominated by subsistence agriculture. Due to limited arable land Arable land

In geography [i], arable land is a form of agricultural [i] land use [i], meaning land [i] ... 

, livestock Livestock

Livestock [i] is the term used to refer to a domesticated [i] animal [i] intentionally reared in an agricult ... 

 raising is the primary occupation. In recent years, due to the increased interest in Tibetan Buddhism tourism Tourism

Tourism is the act of travel [i] for predominantly recreation [i]al or leisure [i] purposes, and also re ... 

 has become an increasingly important sector, and is actively promoted by the authorities.

The Qinghai-Tibet Railway Qingzang railway

The Qingzang railway, QinghaiXizang railway, or QinghaiTibet railway, is a railway [i] which ... 

 which links the region to Qinghai Qinghai

Qinghai is a province [i] of the People's Republic of China [i], named after the enor ... 

 in China proper China proper

China proper refers to the historical heartlands of China [i], in the context of paradigms that contrast ... 

 was opened in 2006.China says the line will promote the development of impoverished Tibet.But opponents argue the railway will harm Tibet. For instance, some Tibetans contend that it would only draw more Han Chinese residents, the country's dominant ethnic group, who have been migrating steadily to Tibet over the last decade, bringing with them their popular culture. These Tibetans believe that the large influx of Han Chinese will ultimately extinguish the local culture.
Other opponents argue that the railway will damage Tibet's fragile ecology and that most of its economic benefits will go to migrant Han Chinese . As activists call for a boycott of the railway, the Dalai Lama has urged Tibetans to "wait and see" what benefits the new line might bring to them. According to Government-in-exile's spokemen, the Dalai Lama welcomes the building of the railway, "conditioned on the fact that the railroad will bring benefit to the majority of Tibetans."

Demographics



Historically, the population of Tibet consisted of primarily ethnic Tibetans Tibetan people

The Tibetan people are a people living in Tibet [i] and some surrounding areas.... 

. Other ethnic groups in Tibet include Menba , Lhoba, Mongols Mongols

Mongols are an ethnic group [i] that originated in what is now Mongolia [i], Russia [i], and China [i] ... 

 and Hui Hui people

The Hui people are a Chinese [i] ethnic group [i], typically distinguished by their practice of th ... 

. According to tradition the original ancestors of the Tibetan people, as represented by the six red bands in the Tibetan flag, are: the Se, Mu, Dong, Tong, Dru and Ra.

The issue of the proportion of the Han Chinese Han Chinese

The Han is an ethnic group [i] originating from China [i]. ... 

 population in Tibet is a politically sensitive one. The Tibetan Government-in-Exile says that the People's Republic of China has actively swamped Tibet with Han Chinese migrants in order to alter Tibet's demographic makeup, while the People's Republic of China has denied this.

View of the Tibetan exile community


Between the 1960s 1960s

The 1960s decade [i] refers to the years from 1960 [i] to 1969 [i], inclusive. ... 

 and 1980s 1980s

The 1980s [i] officially refers to the years from 1980 [i] to 1989 [i]. ... 

, many prisoners were sent to laogai camps in Amdo , where they were then employed locally after release. Since the 1980s, increasing economic liberalization and internal mobility has also resulted in the influx of many Han Chinese Han Chinese

The Han is an ethnic group [i] originating from China [i]. ... 

 into Tibet for work or settlement, though the actual number of this floating population remains disputed. The Government of Tibet in Exile Central Tibetan Administration

The Central Tibetan Administration , officially the Central Tibetan Administration of His Holiness th... 

 gives the number of non-Tibetans in Tibet as 7.5 million , and considers this the result of an active policy of demographically swamping the Tibetan people and further diminishing any chances of Tibetan political independence, and as such, to be in violation of the Geneva Convention Geneva Conventions

The Geneva Conventions consist of four treaties [i] formulated in Geneva [i], Switzerland [i], that set ... 

 of 1946 that prohibits settlement by occupying powers. The Government of Tibet in Exile questions all statistics given by the PRC government, since they do not include members of the People's Liberation Army People's Liberation Army

The Chinese People's Liberation Army , which includes an army [i], navy [i], air force [i], and strateg ... 

 garrisoned in Tibet, or the large floating population of unregistered migrants. The Qinghai-Tibet Railway Qingzang railway

The Qingzang railway, QinghaiXizang railway, or QinghaiTibet railway, is a railway [i] which ... 

  is also a major concern, as it is believed to further facilitate the influx of migrants.

View of the People's Republic of China


The PRC government does not view itself as an occupying power and has vehemently denied allegations of demographic swamping. The PRC also does not recognize Greater Tibet as claimed by the government of Tibet in Exile, saying that the idea was engineered by foreign imperialists as a plot to divide China amongst themselves, and that those areas outside the TAR were not controlled by the Tibetan government before 1959 in the first place, having been administered instead by other surrounding provinces for centuries. The PRC gives the number of Tibetans in Tibet Autonomous Region Tibet Autonomous Region

The Tibet Autonomous Region , is a province-level autonomous region [i] of t... 

 as 2.4 million, as opposed to 190,000 non-Tibetans, and the number of Tibetans in all Tibetan autonomous entities combined as 5.0 million, as opposed to 2.3 million non-Tibetans. In the TAR itself, much of the Han population is to be found in Lhasa Lhasa

Lhasa, sometimes spelled Llasa, is the traditional capital of Tibet [i] and the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region [i] ... 

. Population control policies like the one-child policy One-child policy


The Planned Birth policy is the birth control [i] policy of the government of the People's Republic of China [i] ... 

 only apply to Han Chinese Han Chinese

The Han is an ethnic group [i] originating from China [i]. ... 

, not to minorities such as Tibetans. Jampa Phuntsok, chairman of the TAR, has also said that the central government has no policy of migration into Tibet due to its harsh high-altitude conditions, that the 6% Han in the TAR is a very fluid group mainly doing business or working, and that there is no immigration problem.

Major ethnic groups in Greater Tibet by region, 2000 census
Total Tibetans Tibetan people

The Tibetan people are a people living in Tibet [i] and some surrounding areas.... 

Han Chinese Han Chinese

The Han is an ethnic group [i] originating from China [i]. ... 

others
Tibet Autonomous Region Tibet Autonomous Region

The Tibet Autonomous Region , is a province-level autonomous region [i] of t... 

:
2616329242716892.8%1585706.1%305911.2%
- Lhasa Lhasa

Lhasa, sometimes spelled Llasa, is the traditional capital of Tibet [i] and the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region [i] ... 

 PLC
47449938712481.6%8058417.0%67911.4%
- Chamdo Prefecture Qamdo Prefecture

Qamdo Prefecture is a subnational entity in the eastern part of the Tibetan Autonomous Region [i], conta ... 

58615256383196.2%196733.4%26480.5%
- Lhokha Prefecture31810630570996.1%109683.4%14290.4%
- Shigatse Prefecture Xigazê Prefecture

... 

63496261827097.4%125002.0%41920.7%
- Nagchu Prefecture Nagqu Prefecture

Nagqu Prefecture is the largest prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region [i]. ... 

36671035767397.5%75102.0%15270.4%
- Ngari Prefecture Ngari Prefecture

Ngari Prefecture is a prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region [i]. ... 

772537311194.6%35434.6%5990.8%
- Nyingtri Prefecture Nyingchi Prefecture

Nyingchi Prefecture is a prefecture in southwestern Tibetan Autonomous Region [i] in western China [i] ... 

15864712145076.6%2379215.0%134058.4%
Qinghai Qinghai

Qinghai is a province [i] of the People's Republic of China [i], named after the enor ... 

 Province:
4822963108659222.5%260605054.0%113032123.4%
-