Öser
Encyclopedia
Woeser (born 1966) is a Tibetan
poet and essayist in China.
and three quarters-Tibetan, was born in Lhasa
. Her grandfather was an officer in the Nationalist Army of the Kuomintang and her father was a high rank Army officer in the People's Liberation Army
. When she was a small child, her family relocated to the Kham
area of western Sichuan
province. In 1988, she graduated from Southwest University for Nationalities
in Chengdu
with a degree in Chinese literature
. She worked as a reporter in Kardzé and later in Lhasa and has lived in Beijing since 2003 as a result of political problems. Woeser is married to Wang Lixiong
, a renowned author who frequently writes about Tibet. According to Reporters sans frontières, "Woeser is one of the few Tibetan authors and poets to write in Chinese."
According to UNPO, shortly after the alleged ban Woeser was also fired from her job and lost her status with her work unit
. Radio Free Asia
reported that she continued to post a variety of poems and articles to her two blogs: Maroon Map (绛红色的地图, oser.tibetcul.net), which, according to the author, was visited primarily by Tibetans, and the Woeser blog (blog.daqi.com/weise), which was visited primarily by those of Han ethnicity
. According to RFA, on July 28, 2006, both blogs were closed by order of the government, apparently in response to postings in which she expressed birthday greetings to the Dalai Lama
and touched on other sensitive topics. Woeser stated that she would continue writing and speaking.
During the Tibetan unrest of 2008
, Woeser and her husband were put under house arrest after speaking to reporters. In December 2008 Woeser was one of the original 303 signatories to Charter 08
, now joined by thousands more. In July 2009 Woeser and her husband were one of more than 100 signatories to a petition asking Chinese authorities to released detained ethnic-Uyghur
professor of economics Ilham Tohti
.
Tibetan people
The Tibetan people are an ethnic group that is native to Tibet, which is mostly in the People's Republic of China. They number 5.4 million and are the 10th largest ethnic group in the country. Significant Tibetan minorities also live in India, Nepal, and Bhutan...
poet and essayist in China.
Biography
Woeser, a quarter-HanHan Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...
and three quarters-Tibetan, was born in Lhasa
Lhasa
Lhasa is the administrative capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China and the second most populous city on the Tibetan Plateau, after Xining. At an altitude of , Lhasa is one of the highest cities in the world...
. Her grandfather was an officer in the Nationalist Army of the Kuomintang and her father was a high rank Army officer in the People's Liberation Army
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, strategic missile and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 — celebrated annually as "PLA Day" — as the military arm of the Communist Party of China...
. When she was a small child, her family relocated to the Kham
Kham
Kham , is a historical region covering a land area largely divided between present-day Tibetan Autonomous Region and Sichuan province, with smaller portions located within Qinghai, Gansu and Yunnan provinces of China. During the Republic of China's rule over mainland China , most of the region was...
area of western Sichuan
Sichuan
' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...
province. In 1988, she graduated from Southwest University for Nationalities
Southwest University for Nationalities
Southwest University for Nationalities often called Minzu Daxue in English, is a university located in Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan province. Its student population is largely composed of ethnic minorities, but it has recently opened up to Han Chinese and foreigners as well...
in Chengdu
Chengdu
Chengdu , formerly transliterated Chengtu, is the capital of Sichuan province in Southwest China. It holds sub-provincial administrative status...
with a degree in Chinese literature
Chinese literature
Chinese literature extends thousands of years, from the earliest recorded dynastic court archives to the mature fictional novels that arose during the Ming Dynasty to entertain the masses of literate Chinese...
. She worked as a reporter in Kardzé and later in Lhasa and has lived in Beijing since 2003 as a result of political problems. Woeser is married to Wang Lixiong
Wang Lixiong
Wang Lixiong is a Chinese writer and scholar, best known for his political prophecy fiction, Yellow Peril , which was ranked 41st in The 100 Most Influential Chinese Novels in 20th Centuryby Asia Weekly and has gained widespread popularity in China as well as worldwide media attention despite...
, a renowned author who frequently writes about Tibet. According to Reporters sans frontières, "Woeser is one of the few Tibetan authors and poets to write in Chinese."
Career
Woeser is the author of a book, Notes on Tibet (西藏笔记; Xīzàng Bǐjì). The Tibet Information Network quotes unnamed sources that the book was banned by the government around September 2003.According to UNPO, shortly after the alleged ban Woeser was also fired from her job and lost her status with her work unit
Work unit
A work unit or danwei is the name given to a place of employment in the People's Republic of China. While the term danwei remains in use today it is more properly used to refer to a place of employment during the period when the Chinese economy was still more heavily socialist or when used in the...
. Radio Free Asia
Radio Free Asia
Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation that operates a radio station and Internet news service. RFA was founded by an act of the US Congress and is operated by the Broadcasting Board of Governors . The RFA is supported in part by grants from the federal government of the United States...
reported that she continued to post a variety of poems and articles to her two blogs: Maroon Map (绛红色的地图, oser.tibetcul.net), which, according to the author, was visited primarily by Tibetans, and the Woeser blog (blog.daqi.com/weise), which was visited primarily by those of Han ethnicity
Han Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...
. According to RFA, on July 28, 2006, both blogs were closed by order of the government, apparently in response to postings in which she expressed birthday greetings to the Dalai Lama
14th Dalai Lama
The 14th Dalai Lama is the 14th and current Dalai Lama. Dalai Lamas are the most influential figures in the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, although the 14th has consolidated control over the other lineages in recent years...
and touched on other sensitive topics. Woeser stated that she would continue writing and speaking.
During the Tibetan unrest of 2008
2008 Tibetan unrest
The 2008 Tibetan unrest, also known from its Chinese name as the 3•14 Riots, was a series of riots, protests, and demonstrations that started in Tibetan regional capital of Lhasa and spread to other Tibetan areas and a number of monasteries including outside the Tibet Autonomous Region...
, Woeser and her husband were put under house arrest after speaking to reporters. In December 2008 Woeser was one of the original 303 signatories to Charter 08
Charter 08
Charter 08 is a manifesto initially signed by over 350 Chinese intellectuals and human rights activists. It was published on 10 December 2008, the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopting name and style from the anti-Soviet Charter 77 issued by dissidents in...
, now joined by thousands more. In July 2009 Woeser and her husband were one of more than 100 signatories to a petition asking Chinese authorities to released detained ethnic-Uyghur
Uyghur people
The Uyghur are a Turkic ethnic group living in Eastern and Central Asia. Today, Uyghurs live primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China...
professor of economics Ilham Tohti
Ilham Tohti
Ilham Tohti is an ethnic Uyghur and mainland Chinese economist. Just days after the July 2009 Ürümqi riots, he was detained in Beijing by PRC authorities because of his criticism of that government's policies toward Uyghurs in Xinjiang...
.
Awards
- In 2007, Tsering Woeser was granted with the Norwegian Authors Union awards Freedom of Expression Prize.
- In 2007, she was also granted with the freedom of speech medal by the Association of Tibetan JournalistsAssociation of Tibetan JournalistsThe Association of Tibetan Journalists is an Tibetan organization in exile, that was settled in 1997 in Dharamsala in India.Its founding members were:*Pema Dhondrup, former producer and editor of the news magazine Sargyur...
. - In 2010, International Women's Media FoundationInternational Women's Media FoundationThe International Women’s Media Foundation , located in Washington, DC, is a network of thousands of left-wing women journalists working internationally to elevate the status of women in the media. The IWMF has created groundbreaking programs to help women in the media develop practical solutions...
granted her with the Courage in Journalism Awards. - In 2011, Prince Claus AwardsPrince Claus AwardsThe Prince Claus Fund was inaugurated in 1996, named in honor of Prince Claus of The Netherlands. It receives an annual subsidy from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs....
, theme Breaking taboos
Works
- 2010 "Mémoire interdite. Témoignages sur la Révolution culturelle au Tibet", éd. Bleu de Chine, trad. Li Zhang & Bernard Bourrit.
- Tibet's True Heart: Selected Poems, trans. A. E. Clark (Dobbs Ferry, Ragged Banner Press 2008) ISBN 9780981698908.
- Shājié. Sishi nian de jiyi jinqu 《杀劫》(Forbidden memory. Tibet during the Cultural Revolution) (Taiwan, Dàkuài wénhuà 大块文化 2006), ISBN 9867291840.
- Xīzàng Bǐjì 《西藏笔记》 (Guangzhou, Huāchéng chūbǎnshè 花城出版社 2003), ISBN 7536038313. Also published in Taiwan as Míng wéi Xīzàng de shī 《名为西藏的诗》 (Taiwan, Dàkuài wénhuà 大块文化 2006), ISBN 9867291905.
- Bākuò Jiē de cāngsāng 八廓街的沧桑, in: Jīn Zhìguó 金志国 (ed.): Xīzàng dāngdài lǚxíngjì 西藏当代旅行记 (Lhasa, Xīzàng rénmín chūbǎnshè 西藏人民出版社 2004), ISBN 7-223-01587-X.
- Jiànghóngsè de Nímǎ Cìrén 绛红色的尼玛次仁, in: Mǎ Míngbó 马明博, Xiāo Yáo 肖瑶 (eds.): Wénhuà míngjiā huà fóyuán 文化名家话佛缘 (Beijing, Zhōngguó dàng'àn chūbǎnshè 中国档案出版社 2004), ISBN 7801664159.* Jiànghóngsè de dìtú 《绛红色的地图》 (Taiwan, Shíyīng chūbǎnshè 时英出版社 2003), ISBN 9867762045; (Beijing, Zhōngguó lǚyóu chūbǎnshè 中国旅游出版社 2004), ISBN 7503222476.
- Xīzàng zài shàng 《西藏在上》(Xining, Qīnghǎi rénmín chūbǎnshè 青海人民出版社 1999).
External links
- “They Have Guns, and I, a Pen”: Highly Valuable New Source on the Tibetan Rebellion
- Woeser's blog
- High Peaks Pure Earth Review of "Tibet's True Heart - Selected Poems by Woeser"
- English translations of writings by Woeser
- Introduction to Woeser, See "Secret Tibet" on this web page, from the website Tibet Writes
- An Analysis of the Woeser Incident by Wang LixiongWang LixiongWang Lixiong is a Chinese writer and scholar, best known for his political prophecy fiction, Yellow Peril , which was ranked 41st in The 100 Most Influential Chinese Novels in 20th Centuryby Asia Weekly and has gained widespread popularity in China as well as worldwide media attention despite...
- Article from Woeser about the film Dreaming LhasaDreaming LhasaDreaming Lhasa is the 2005 Tibetan language debut feature film of veteran documentary filmmakers, Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam, who have been making films about various aspects of Tibet under the banner of White Crane Films since 1990...
- Lone Tibetan Voice, Intent on Speaking Out