The Making of Modern Tibet

382 Pages·2015·36.962 MB·English

by  A. Tom Grunfeld

THE MAKING
OF MODERN
TIBET
Revised Edition
A. Tom Grunfeld
An East Gate Book
R
O Routledge
U
TLE
DG Taylor & Francis Group
E
LONDON AND NEW YORK
An East Gate Book
First published 1996 by M.E. Sharpe
Published 2015 by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon 0Xl4 4RN
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Routledge is an imprint oft he Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
Copyright © 1996 Taylor & Francis. All rights reserved.
Photographs by A. Tom Grunfe[(/ unless otherwise noted.
No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
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known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Grunfeld, A. Tom.
The making of modem Tibet I A. Tom Grunfeld. - Rev. ed.
p. cm.
"An East gate book."
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-56324-713-5 (hardcover: alk. paper). -
ISBN 1-56324-714-3 (pbk.: alk. paper)
I. Tibet (China)--History-1951- I. Title.
DS786.G76 1996
951 '.505-dc20 96-11504
CIP
ISBN 13: 9781563247149(pbk)
ISBN 13: 9781563247132(hbk)
THE MAKING
OF MODERN
T I B E T
This page intentionally left blank
To:
My Mother

My Father
In Memoriam, Shandor Amir
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Contents
Preface to Second Edition ix
Acknowledgments xi
Frequently Cited Periodicals xiii
Maps xv-xvi
Photographs follow page 130
Introduction 3
I. Tibet as It Used to Be 7
2. The Early History 34
3. Early Foreign Contacts 48
4. The Modem Era 70
5. Foreign Intrigues: I 82
6. The 1950s: The Honeymoon 107
7. The 1950s: Revolt 131
8. Foreign Intrigues: II 151
9. Tibet After 1959 166
10. The Tibetan Diaspora 190
11. The Current Situation 212

12. The Last Decade: 1985-1995 224
Appendix A: The Population of Tibet 249
Appendix B: Independence 254
Notes 265
Bibliography 309
Index 339
Preface to Second Edition
I completed the research and writing for this book sometime late in 1985, and it
was published early in 1987. Much has changed since then, and much, unfortu
nately, has not.
Tibet has changed considerably. All ethnic minorities now make up nearly 9
percent of China's population. Like the rest of China, Tibet has experienced a
return of a market economy, and, coupled with the continuing financial invest
ment by the government in Beijing, economic development is in evidence almost
everywhere. Along with a higher material standard of living, especially in the
cities, has come a huge influx of ethnic Chinese, particularly in Lhasa, resulting
in greater ethnic tensions. Greater openness has also meant the appearance of
tens of thousands of foreign visitors each year. Less restrictions have also al
lowed for more public demonstrations of Tibetan nationalism followed, inevita
bly, by harsh responses from the authorities. There is now a very different look
and feel to Tibet from a decade ago.
A small number of scholars are now permitted to conduct research in Tibet,
albeit with considerable constraints. Compared to a decade ago, there are sub
stantially more published sources in Tibetan, Chinese, and English, although
there are few actual government documents and these are limited to texts that
demonstrate some historic Sino-Tibetan relationship. 1
Also, in recent years the subject of Tibet has become a worldwide phenome
non, thanks to a concerted campaign on the part of the Dalai Lama's administra
tion to garner support for its cause. This campaign has resulted in an outpouring
of published materials in a host of languages and has awakened the international
media to the issue of Tibet and its relations with China. While this campaign has
generated considerable heat and an army of supporters for the Dalai Lama, it has
generated very little light on the subject of Tibet's history because its intent is to
ix