Contents
Tibet: A Rare Look
CBC foreign correspondent Patrick Brown was allowed a rare
look inside this country, which has been occupied and dominated
by the People's Republic of China. This special News in Review
report gives important background information on the history and
politics of this important part of Asia and emphasizes human
rights issues, the question of cultural genocide, and the impact of
China's involvement in Tibet in terms of global politics and global
security. The story is an important addition to News in Review's
library of material for Asia-Pacific studies.
Introduction
Living Symbols
The Land of Snows
The High Lamas and the "Great Game"
Tibet and China in the 20th Century
The Occupation of Tibet
Hollywood Goes Tibetan
Discussion, Research, and Essay, Questions
Comprehensive News in Review Study Modules
Using both the print and non-print material from various issues of News in Review, teachers and
students can create comprehensive, thematic modules that are excellent for research purposes,
independent assignments, and small group study. We recommend the stories indicated below for the
universal issues they represent and for the archival and historic material they contain.
Tibet: A Rare Look
"China Today: A Correspondent's View," September 1994
"The Struggle For Taiwan: A Chinese Show of Force," May 1996
"Deng Xiaoping: China at the Crossroads," April 1997
"Hong Kong: Back to China," September 1997
Other Related Videos Available from CBC Learning
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Tibet: A Rare Look
One Hundred Years of Mao
Half The Sky: Women in China
Introduction
Tibet: A Rare Look
On August 15, 1999, an expectant crowd of 25 000 people
assembled in New York's Central Park to hear a message of
spiritual inspiration from a Tibetan holy man who has become a
major international figure. Simply but elegantly clad in his
traditional wine-and-saffron Buddhist robes, the jovial,
bespectacled leader humbly told his admiring audience that "the
purpose of our life is happiness. I've nothing to offer you and
certainly not miracles. I am very skeptical with people who claim
such a power. But we can change our mental attitude, and that
can change our mental life."
The 65-year-old man who spoke these words is known as Tenzin
Gyatso, or His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. As the supreme
religious leader of as many as 10 million Tibetan Buddhists, he is
regarded as a living god by his followers both inside and outside
Tibet. His name is translated as "the Ocean of Wisdom," and he
personifies the spiritual quest of many discontented people in the
West who are searching for a sense of meaning and purpose in
their lives that transcends the pursuit of material wealth and
consumer goods. But the Dalai Lama is much more than a
religious leader or spiritual guide. He also symbolizes the
ongoing Tibetan struggle for freedom from China. In this political
role, he has aroused considerable controversy as he promotes
from exile his people's cause with indefatigable energy and an
unwavering commitment to non-violence.
While the cause of Tibet is championed by many influential
people in Western countries, the Chinese government regards
the Dalai Lama as a disruptive and destabilizing political
influence who is bent on the dismemberment of their state.
Despite the fact that his four-city visit to the United
Statesorganized by Hollywood actor Richard Gerehad no overt
political intentions, China nonetheless issued a strong protest to
the U.S. government for permitting it to occur. For whenever the
Nobel-prize-winning Dalai Lama makes a public appearance, the
issue of China's occupation of his homeland becomes a focal
point of international attention and widespread protest.
His visit to the United States during the summer of 1999 came at
an especially embarrassing time for China. Chinese authorities
were facing intense criticism for their crackdown on the growing
Falungung religious sect. In addition, they were still smarting
from international efforts to block their access to a much-needed
World Bank development loan because of their human rights
policies in Tibet and elsewhere, a loan that finally met with only
conditional approval. As a result, they were painfully aware of the
Dalai Lama's potential to create serious problems for them as
they strove to enhance diplomatic and economic relations with
Western countries.
To many who admire the Dalai Lama and support his people's
struggle for autonomy, the issue of China's occupation of Tibet is
a clear-cut case of right and wrong. A large and powerful country
has violently imposed a brutal, unpopular regime on a gentle and
defenceless people who only wish to be left alone to practise
their Buddhist religion and traditional culture in peace. But China
views the Tibetan situation from a completely opposite
perspective. It believes that its 1950 occupation of Tibet was a
justifiable act of national self-assertion and territorial unification.
Further, China's leaders argue that their rule in the decades
since then has actually benefitted the Tibetan people. They are
convinced that communism has led to the economic and social
transformation of that impoverished and backward country into a
more prosperous and developed part of their nation. For these
reasons, they adamantly reject any unwelcome foreign
interference in what they consider their own internal affairs.
Introduction
Living Symbols
The Land of Snows
The High Lamas and the "Great Game"
Tibet and China in the 20th Century
The Occupation of Tibet
Hollywood Goes Tibetan
Discussion, Research, and Essay, Questions
Living Symbols
Tibet: A Rare Look
Symbols represent things and abstract concepts, conveying
impressions. Colours, sounds, shapes, gestures, rituals, and
words are some of the things that can be symbols. People can
also be symbols, especially symbols of authority or of concepts
such as generosity and justice. Tibetan art and architecture are
full of evocative symbols, often highly complex. The traditional
residence of the Dalai Lama, for example, is built in the form of
lofty structures that suggest the surrounding peaks of the
Himalayas.
The Dalai Lama has become an international celebrity and
symbol or, as one young American admirer called him, "a rock
star." But he is very much a living symbol. As well as holding
public appearances in New York and other U.S. cities, he has
conducted an online chat with thousands of young people over
the Internet, where he explained his views on Buddhism,
spirituality, the need to curb youth violence, and other topics.
Despite the non-political purpose of his tour, the Dalai Lama's
significance in Tibet's struggle for cultural and religious freedom
remains central to his work. His presence in countries around the
world has a highly symbolic meaning. The "Free Tibet"
movement, active in many countries, has attracted support from
high-profile personalities from the worlds of film and popular
music. But his journeys are also symbolic in that, as a
charismatic leader in exile, he symbolizes the dispossessed, and
there is doubt whether he himself will ever be permitted to return
to his people and to the homeland from which he was expelled
40 years ago.
Symbolic Viewing
While viewing this News in Review report, make a list of symbols
that you see as well as examples of symbolic language. Be
prepared to explain the impact of each symbol you have
identified.
Follow-up Activity
Access one of the Web sites listed below to learn more about
Tibet. Identify one or more symbols contained in the site and
report your findings to the class.
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CBC.ca features an in-depth report on Tibet: (www.cbc.ca/
news/background/dalailama/index.html)
This is the official Web site of the Canada Tibet Committee, an
organization dedicated to creating a structure within which
concerned Canadians can work together with their Tibetan
friends to develop increased awareness in Canada. (www.tibet.
ca/)
This is the official Web site of the Tibetan government in exile,
headed by the Dalai Lama and based in Dharmasala, India.
(www.tibet.com/)
This is the official Web site of the Chinese government, which
provides its perspective on the situation in Tibet. (www.china.
org.cn/e-white/tibet/index.htm)
The U.S. Public Broadcasting System's Web site for its
documentary Dreams of Tibet contains a great deal of useful
background information, including transcripts of interviews with
various experts. (www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/
tibet/)
Introduction
Living Symbols
The Land of Snows
The High Lamas and the "Great Game"
Tibet and China in the 20th Century
The Occupation of Tibet
Hollywood Goes Tibetan
Discussion, Research, and Essay, Questions
Indicates material appropriate or adaptable for younger viewers.
The Land of Snows
Tibet: A Rare Look
For all the recent media attention it has received, Tibet is a
country whose history is little known and poorly understood in
the West. Because of its cultural and geographical isolation,
during modern times it has come to symbolize an almost dreamlike realm, or a mythical Shangri-la. Novels and films have
portrayed it as a place where people once lived simple, happy
lives while practising their Buddhist religion under the guidance
of their beneficent lamas, innocent of and untouched by the
perceived negative and corrupting influences of Western
materialism.
This simplistic and historically uninformed view of Tibet remains
quite common among many in the movement to "free Tibet"
today. But any attempt to understand Tibet's present economic,
social, political, religious, and cultural realities must take into
account the long and fascinating history of this remote and
forbidding mountain nation, whose people know it as the "Land
of Snows" on "the Roof of the World."
A Warrior Kingdom Gives Peace a Chance
Bounded along its long southern and western borders by the
lofty peaks of the Himalaya mountain system, and stretching
over vast distances to the north and east into the flat plains and
plateaux of Asia, Tibet was once a huge country, approximately
the size of Western Europe. The area that currently comprises
the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) of China represents only a
fraction of this territory, the rest having been annexed into China
proper in 1965. Whereas only about three to four million ethnic
Tibetans inhabit the TARwhose capital is the holy city of Lhasa,
the centre of the Tibetan Buddhist faithtoday, between four and
six million people who are ethnically Tibetan live outside the
TAR, primarily in China proper.
Almost 2000 years ago, the rulers of Tibet controlled a huge
empire and possessed awesome military power. Respected and
feared by their Chinese, Persian, and Indian neighbours, they
aggressively extended their territory far beyond the present
borders of Tibet. The legendary 17th-century ruler Srongsten
Gampo exacted an annual tribute of 10 000 rolls of silk from the
Emperor of China in order to prevent further invasions of his
kingdom. The Tibetan ruler's soldiers were skilled horsemen and
archers, who could be unleashed on their unsuspecting
neighbours at a moment's notice, with devastating effects.
But during the reign of this warlord, something remarkable
occurred in his warrior kingdom. Two of the emperor's wives, of
Nepalese and Chinese extraction, introduced a new religion into
the Tibetan court. This was the teaching of Buddha, the
"Enlightened One" who had first preached his message of
universal peace and spiritual harmony in neighbouring Nepal
many centuries before. Buddhism found fertile soil in Tibet,
where it practically supplanted the indigenous Bon religion by the
eighth century. The most dramatic result of this spiritual
conversion was the decision of Tibet's once warlike rulers to
renounce conflict with their neighbours. A contemporary
chronicler informs us that the emperor and his army "laid their
weapons at the foot of the Lord Buddha's Lotus Throne and
forswore the arts of war." By the 10th century, Tibet had
withdrawn from the Indian and Chinese territories it once ruled,
but its legacy of military prowess remained a sufficient deterrent
so that no outside power dared to invade it for many years to
follow.
In 1207, however, Tibet fell under the control of the Mongol
armies of Genghis Khan. He had led his fearsome hordes from
Korea to the gates of Europe, and presided over an empire
whose extent rivalled those of Rome and Alexander the Great in
ancient times. To this day, Genghis Khan is portrayed in Western
history as a bloodthirsty and destructive warlord. But to Tibetans,
he is remembered as a fair-minded ruler who showed great
respect for their religion and culture.
As a gesture of his ambitions to universal rule, the great Khan
once invited representatives of the world's major
religionsChristianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism, to his court
in order to adjudicate their rival claims to spiritual truth. He
declared that he would decree the winning faith to be the state
religion of his realm. According to legend, the Tibetan Buddhist
monks won the contest by asking Genghis Khan to sit
comfortably while they offered him a glass of his favourite tea. As
if by magic, the glass rose by itself to the astonished Khan's
mouth! Suitably impressed, Genghis Khan issued an edict
confirming Buddhism's status as the faith his subjects were
recommended to embrace. In 1270, his grandson, Kublai Khan,
officially converted to Tibetan Buddhism.
By 1350, Tibet's native rulers had reasserted their supremacy
over their land. But Tibetan Buddhism remained deeply
entrenched in Mongolia, where it continues to thrive to this day.
While Tibetan monks administered to the spiritual needs of the
Mongols, the fearsome successors of Genghis Khan underwrote
Tibet's security from foreign invasion, while donating generously
to the upkeep of its numerous monasteries.
Discussion
1. Identify and explain the importance of the following: TAR,
Srongsten Gampo, Buddhism, Genghis Khan, Mongols.
2. Why was the introduction of Buddhism into Tibet such an
important event in the country's history?
3. In what ways does the history of Buddhism suggest
ecumenism, that is, a striving for religious unity that transcends
differences in doctrine?
4. In terms of mythology, what is particularly appealing about this
period of time in Tibet's history?
5. How does this historical period demonstrate the issue of
autonomy and self-determination? Why is this significant in terms
of this News in Review report?
6. When examining the history of Tibet, why is it important for us
to be aware of our Western cultural bias?
Introduction
Living Symbols
The Land of Snows
The High Lamas and the "Great Game"
Tibet and China in the 20th Century
The Occupation of Tibet
Hollywood Goes Tibetan
Discussion, Research, and Essay, Questions
Indicates material appropriate or adaptable for younger viewers.
The High Lamas and the "Great Game"
Tibet: A Rare Look
At the end of the 14th century, Tibet began to be ruled by a
succession of god-kings known as the Dalai Lamas. These
leaders were both spiritual authorities and heads of state. Unlike
other forms of monarchy, the Dalai Lama system does not
involve the hereditary transfer of the crown from one generation
to the next within a royal dynasty. Instead, following the Buddhist
belief in reincarnation, upon the death of a Dalai Lama, Tibetan
monks undertake an intensive search throughout the land to find
the child into whom his spirit is believed to have transmigrated. It
is believed that such a boy can be known by his ability to identify
the personal belongings of the previous Dalai Lama. The present
Dalai Lama was discovered in just this way, living humbly with
his parents and siblings in a small village in eastern Tibet in the
late 1930s.
The Tibetan monk who was later to be considered the first Dalai
Lama was Pema Dorje, whose name means "Lotus
Thunderbolt." Born into a poor peasant family in western Tibet in
1391, he was proclaimed high Lama in 1419 at Drepung,
believed to have been the largest monastery anywhere in the
world at that time. Under his rule, the system of Buddhist
Lamaism spread throughout Tibet, and many new monasteries
and nunneries were founded. Shortly after he died, a child was
found who appeared to have uncanny memories of a past life as
the Dalai Lama. By the time of Ngawang Lozang Gyatso, the fifth
Dalai Lama, who ruled during the 17th century, the system was
functioning effectively, and the immense, 1000-room Potala
Palace, which dominates the skyline of Lhasa to this day, was
constructed.
It was during this period that the "Mandate of Heaven" had fallen
upon a new ruling dynasty in China. The Manchu, or Qing rulers
had originated in Manchuria, in northeastern China, and were
eager to impose their authority over the entire country. In 1682,
the fifth Dalai Lama died, but worried monks in Lhasa kept his
death a state secret for 15 years, for fear of a Chinese invasion,
while an impostor ruled in his place. In 1720, the Qings took
advantage of the weakness of the next Dalai Lama and imposed
a Chinese military presence in Tibet.
One year later, Emperor K'an Hsi proclaimed that Tibet had
always been a vassal state of China. In order to cement their
authority, Chinese agents in Lhasa curried favour with the
powerful Regents, the monks responsible for affairs of state
during the often lengthy periods of time between the death of a
Dalai Lama, his rebirth in the body of a young boy, and this
successor's enthronement and arrival at the age of maturity.
Over subsequent decades, the power of the Regents grew as a
number of boy Dalai Lamas died under mysterious
circumstances before they reached the age at which they could
assume responsibility for Tibet's political and religious affairs.
China's determination to secure its control over Tibet increased
by the late 19th century as this region, along with Afghanistan
and northern India, became the focal point for what was called
"The Great Game." Having consolidated its domination over
India, Britain was anxious to outflank imperial Russia's
expansion into central Asia. In 1904, 3000 British troops under
the command of Colonel Francis Younghusband marched into
Tibet. After quelling minor opposition from Tibetan forces, the
British imposed a treaty on Tibet requiring it to trade with British
India. Angered by this British incursion into what it considered its
territory, China dispatched an invasion force that seized Lhasa in
1910.
China's occupation of Tibet proved to be short-lived, however. A
year later, the Qing dynasty was overthrown, and the Republic of
China was proclaimed. This ushered in a lengthy period of
instability, as rival warlords battled for control over the new
government, and central authority in Beijing all but collapsed.
Taking advantage of their occupier's weakness, Tibetan forces
expelled the Chinese in 1913, and the 13th Dalai Lama, who had
previously fled both British and Chinese occupiers, proclaimed
Tibet an independent country.
Later that year, British, Chinese, and Tibetan negotiators met at
Simla, India, to resolve the issue of Tibetan independence.
Under the terms of the Simla Convention, Tibet was to be
partitioned into two zones. One, known as Inner Tibet and
including the eastern part of the country, was to revert to
Chinese control, while the second, called Outer Tibet, was to be
granted full independence. The Chinese, however, refused to
ratify this agreement, and within a few years Tibetan forces had
reasserted their control over the eastern parts of the country.
Discussion
1. How did Tibet's Buddhist religion influence the way the monks
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
went about finding a new Dalai Lama after the old one died?
How did both China and Britain try to increase their influence
and control over Tibet during this period of history?
How does this period in the history of Tibet suggest the
universal desire, belief, metaphor, or notion of rebirth and the
cycle of the life?
Suggest how a problematic balance of power existed during
this period that could be seen as setting a precedent for the
modern-day state of affairs in Tibet.
How did imperialism and the whole notion of empire influence
the turn of events in this small Asian country?
Why is the issue of partitioning so significant not only in terms
of Tibet's history but also in terms of world history in general?
Substantiate your answer with specific examples throughout
history. What, in your opinion, is the importance or results of
partitioning?
Introduction
Living Symbols
The Land of Snows
The High Lamas and the "Great Game"
Tibet and China in the 20th Century
The Occupation of Tibet
Hollywood Goes Tibetan
Discussion, Research, and Essay, Questions
Indicates material appropriate or adaptable for younger viewers.
Tibet and China in the 20th Century
Tibet: A Rare Look
Tibet entered the 20th century as a country whose society and
culture was more medieval than modern. It was a feudal,
theocratic state, ruled by a god-king, where, by 1900, 6000
monasteries, entirely supported by public funds, dominated its
economic, social, and cultural life. Approximately one-quarter of
the entire population belonged to religious orders, and threequarters of the state budget went to their upkeep. At the same
time, there were no schools in the country aside from those run
by the monasteries, where religion was the only topic of
instruction.
Over 60 per cent of the population was nomadic, eking out a
bare existence from the herds of yaks they raised on the bleak
and windswept plateaux. The peasants who worked the land
lived in poverty, and were required to pay taxes in produce to the
landowners, usually the abbots of local monasteries. The 13th
Dalai Lama, who had proclaimed Tibet's independence in 1913,
recognized that his country needed to develop and modernize if
it was going to play a part in world affairs. However, his attempts
to reform the landholding, legal, and educational systems met
with stiff resistance from the prevailing conservative elements in
Tibetan society and government.
In 1939, a six-year-old boy, Tenzin Gyatso, was brought in state
to Lhasa to be prepared for his enthronement as the 14th Dalai
Lama. This auspicious event was captured on camera by a
handful of British officials based in the city. The film footage
provides us with a rare and fascinating glimpse of a traditional
society that had remained practically untouched by the
influences that had transformed most of the world by this time.
But Tibet's self-imposed isolation from international upheavals
would not last. Shortly after the end of the Second World War, its
government sought closer relations with the victorious Allied
powers, Britain and the United States, to guarantee its
independence against what its leaders correctly perceived to be
a growing threat from China.
By 1949, the Chinese Communists, led by Mao Zedong, had
finally triumphed after a long and bitter civil war against their
Guomindang (Nationalist) enemies. On October 10, 1949, Mao
proclaimed the People's Republic of China in Beijing and
announced his intention to reunite every part of the Chinese
motherland under his regime. This included Tibet. On October 7,
1950, 84 000 soldiers of the Chinese People's Liberation Army
crossed the Yangtze River into eastern Tibet.
There they met with unexpectedly stiff resistance from warlike
tribal Khampa horsemen. However, by May 1951, Tibetan
opposition had been quelled, and the Chinese proclaimed it to be
a "national autonomous region," to be granted considerable
cultural and political self-government, while clearly remaining
part of their national territory. The Dalai Lama and his advisors
reluctantly signed this "Seventeen-Point Agreement," realizing
that any further resistance to Chinese military force was futile.
Despite Chinese assurances that Tibet's traditional culture and
religion would be respected, the communist authorities almost
immediately began an anti-religious campaign designed to
destroy the power of the monasteries. Mao had informed the
Dalai Lama during their talks in Beijing that he regarded religion
as "national poison," and that any attempt to modernize Tibet
would require its influence over the people to be drastically
reduced.
Religious persecution soon led many Tibetans to join an
underground resistance movement known as the Chushi
Gangdrug ("Four Rivers, Six Ranges") that became active in the
eastern part of the country. This anti-communist organization
would eventually receive crucial military support from the U.S.'s
Central Intelligence Agency, which viewed Tibet as another
battlefront in the Cold War against the Soviet Union and China.
In March 1959, Tibetan opposition to Chinese rule reached a
climax. Chinese forces started to clamp down on nomadic and
bellicose Khampa Tibetans living outside the TAR, mostly in
Sichuan and Gansu. These Tibetans then, with the help of the
CIA, moved into Tibetincluding Lhasawhere, together with other
armed opponents to the Chinese occupation, they started
attacking Chinese soldiers. The Dalai Lama, who was against
armed insurrection and who had been trying to accommodate
the Chinese since 1950, was seen as a target for retribution by
his supporters and was therefore quickly taken to India before he
could attend a command Chinese theatre performance at which
it was feared he would be arrested.
But resistance inside the country continued to rage into the early
1960s, spurred by the CIA-backed Khampa cavalry of eastern
Tibet. U.S. support for the rebels dried up following the visit of
President Richard Nixon to Beijing in 1972 and the subsequent U.
S.-China rapprochement. During its military operations in Tibet,
the Chinese government exiled or arrested 20 000 monks.
Thousands were killed.
Discussion
1. What changes do you think the Dalai Lama could have
introduced into Tibet's society to make it more modern while at
the same time preserving its traditional values and beliefs?
2. How did Tibet become drawn into the Cold War struggle
between the United States, the Soviet Union, and communist
China after the end of the Second World War?
3. For many nations, the early 20th century has been a defining
moment in their histories. To what extent is this true in Tibet's
case?
4. What general historical movements or themesrevolution, for
exampleare present during this historical period in Tibet? Explain
how each connects Tibet to the outside world despite its
intention to remain isolated.
5. To what extent do you believe that the history of Tibet and
China in the 20th century demonstrates a historical inevitability?
Could events during this period have been predicted?
6. How does this time period in Tibet demonstrate the
importance of understanding the global impact of historical
processes?
Introduction
Living Symbols
The Land of Snows
The High Lamas and the "Great Game"
Tibet and China in the 20th Century
The Occupation of Tibet
Hollywood Goes Tibetan
Discussion, Research, and Essay, Questions
Indicates material appropriate or adaptable for younger viewers.
The Occupation of Tibet
Tibet: A Rare Look
After their forced reunification with China in 1950, Tibetans found
themselves caught up in the profound upheavals that were to
occur during the following decades. While the Dalai Lama and
his followers established a government in exile based just over
the Himalayas in Dharmasala, northern India, Tibet's new
Chinese rulers introduced sweeping measures of social and
economic reform designed to drag what they regarded as a
backward country into the modern world.
The so-called Great Leap Forward of 1959-61, which sought to
rapidly industrialize China, instead practically destroyed the
country's agricultural system, leading to countless deaths from
famine. Later in the 1960s, Mao proclaimed the Great Proletarian
Cultural Revolution, and unleashed his young, fanatical Red
Guards against what he called the "Four Olds" (ideas, habits,
customs, and culture), the hated symbols of "bourgeois
counterrevolution" in China.
For Tibet, the years of the Cultural Revolution were a time of
national tragedy. During this period, it is estimated that the Red
Guards destroyed over 90 per cent of the monasteries and other
religious institutions that remained operating in the country. The
loss of irreplaceable buildings, artistic objects, and ancient
Buddhist texts was enormous, but even more terrible was the
brutal treatment to which many monks, nuns, and other religious
figures were subjected. This was considered by some political
observers as a form of cultural genocide whose purpose was
nothing less than the total eradication of Tibet's religious and
cultural heritage.
In 1976, Mao died, and after a short period of confusion, a more
pragmatic leadership took direction of the ruling Communist
Party. By the late 1970s, China's new leaders, including Deng
Xiao-ping, a wily survivor of the Cultural Revolution, were willing
to undertake a cautious re-evaluation of their policies toward
Tibet. Talks were held with the Dalai Lama, exploring the
conditions under which he might be permitted to return to his
homeland. In 1980, Hu Yaobang, the reform-minded Communist
Party General Secretary, visited Tibet and admitted to past
Chinese mistakes in the region. There was some loosening of
restrictions to religious freedom, and a major effort was begun to
develop Tibet's economy and provide it with a decent
infrastructure of roads, hospitals, schools, and social institutions.
But Beijing's kinder "carrot" approach to Tibet proved to be as
ineffective as the brutal "stick" it had previously applied to its
inhabitants. In 1987 and again in 1989, massive proindependence demonstrations broke out in Lhasa, and were
forcibly subdued by Chinese police and army units. This time,
the beatings of monks and other protesters were captured on
videotape and smuggled out of Tibet for the rest of the world to
view in horror and outrage. For his part, the Dalai Lama put two
offers on the table for China's consideration, known as the "FivePoint Peace Plan" (1987), and the "Strasbourg Proposal" (1988).
These proposals basically withdrew his previous demand for
outright independence for Tibet. Instead, they suggested that
China assume full control over the area's defence and foreign
policies, while Tibetans would be allowed complete internal
autonomy and religious freedom.
At first, it appeared that Beijing might seriously consider the
Dalai Lama's offer, but between 1989 and 1991, three things
happened that were to change the minds of China's leaders. In
June 1989, a huge pro-democracy student demonstration that
had been permitted to gather in Beijing's Tiananmen Square was
forcibly crushed by People's Liberation Army units, resulting in
hundreds of deaths. As a result, reformers within the party
hierarchy, like Hu Yaobang, who had sympathized with the
students, were removed from power and replaced by a hard-line
group headed by Premier Li Peng. Later that year, the Dalai
Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, immensely
enhancing his international credibility and causing China a major
diplomatic humiliation. The same year saw the Soviet-dominated
communist regimes in Eastern Europe collapse one by one, and
in 1991 the Soviet Union itself disintegrated into 15 successor
states after the fall of communism there.
China's communist rulers were determined that they would not
share the same fate as their Soviet and Eastern European
counterparts. At the same time as they were revising Marxist
orthodoxies by introducing major economic reforms designed to
dismantle state control of industry and permit the growth of
capitalism, they insisted that two other cardinal principles of
Mao's revolution were to be maintained. These were the
absolute political supremacy of the Communist Party, and the
territorial integrity of the entire Chinese motherland. For Tibet,
this meant that while the pace of social and economic reform
would be stepped up considerably, the party would not permit
any further political liberalization to occur, and would simply not
tolerate any expression of Tibetan nationalism.
As people in other countries became more aware of China's
actions in Tibet, an international movement supporting the
country's independence took shape. Protests and "Free Tibet"
concerts were held, and two influential Hollywood films on the
Dalai Lama and his role in recent Tibetan history were released
to wide acclaim. Although the leaders of Canada, the United
States, and other Western nations were quick to condemn China
for its repression in Tibet, they did not allow their criticisms to
threaten their growing and important trade relations with this
huge potential Asian market for their goods and investments.
Meanwhile, the people of Tibet face an uncertain future as the
20th century draws to a close. There is no question that the
economic and social reforms China has introduced were long
overdue and have resulted in some benefits for them. However,
economic development has also led to a massive influx of Han
Chinese settlers, drawn to the region by the prospect of greater
economic opportunity. In Lhasa and other cities, ethnic Chinese
residents now form the majority of the population. This means
that Tibetans are now threatened with becoming a minority
inside their own country. China has also used Tibet as a
dumping-ground for nuclear waste, and its rapid construction of
factories, dams, and other facilities, and widespread logging
operations have endangered its fragile natural environment.
It is now a criminal offence to display a photo of the Dalai Lama
in public, and monks are required to attend daily "patriotic
education" sessions. The United Nations and Human Rights
Watch, among other organizations, have released scathing
reports on China's human-rights abuses in Tibet, including
allegations of widespread torture and terrible prison conditions.
In 1995, Chinese authorities kidnapped a five-year-old boy who
had been recognized by the Dalai Lama as the incarnation of the
Panchen Lama, the second-most-important figure in Tibet's
Buddhist hierarchy, and installed their own nominee in his place.
They continue to reject the Dalai Lama's overtures for talks,
insisting on his prior recognition of their claim that Tibet has
always been part of Chinese territory before any meaningful
negotiations can begin. Today, despite the growing pressure
from the international "Free Tibet" movement, China's rulers
appear to be intransigent. For their part, many young Tibetans
who have grown up in exile are becoming increasingly impatient
with the Dalai Lama's policy of non-violence and his moderate
stance on the question of national independence.
In the opinion of the highly respected Tibetan historian Tsering
Shakya, any hope for a positive change in Tibet's status depends
on a shift in policy on the part of China's leaders. The country's
current communist rulers continue to subscribe to the traditional
Chinese nationalist view that Tibet is and always has been an
integral part of their country. On this, even dissidents calling for
democratic political reform in China are in agreement with the
Beijing leadership. In addition, the Marxist view of history leads
Chinese President Jiang Zemin and other Chinese officials to the
conclusion that Tibetan nationalism, with its base in the Buddhist
religion, is an archaic and backward-looking phenomenon that
will disappear as economic growth and social change make
progress in that country. Until and unless a new generation of
Chinese leaders seriously revises both of these positions, exiled
Tibetans like Shakya remain pessimistic about their people's
future.
Discussion
1. Why have people in other countries become so concerned
with the situation in Tibet in recent years?
2. What have been the most important consequences of the
Chinese occupation for the Tibetan people? Which of them do
you think have been positive? Which have been negative?
3. Occupation usually evokes images of soldiers and tanks
rolling into a nation. In what other ways was Tibet "occupied"
during this time? Why is foreign occupation not simply a question
of the presence of troops? What does a nation lose when it is
occupied by a foreign power? What is the impact on the people?
Current estimates of Chinese troops in Tibet is 150 000.
Introduction
Living Symbols
The Land of Snows
The High Lamas and the "Great Game"
Tibet and China in the 20th Century
The Occupation of Tibet
Hollywood Goes Tibetan
Discussion, Research, and Essay, Questions
Indicates material appropriate or adaptable for younger viewers.
Hollywood Goes Tibetan
Tibet: A Rare Look
Richard Gere, Steven Seagal, Brad Pitt, and Harrison Ford are
famous Hollywood actors. Martin Scorsese is a highly regarded
film director. Adam Yauch, of the group the Beastie Boys is one
of today's best-known pop music performers. But these
entertainers and artists, along with many others, have something
else in common. They have all taken up the cause of Tibetan
independence from Chinese rule with a passion, and have
thrown their considerable talents, influence, and money behind
the growing international movement to "Free Tibet."
A Focus For Reading
How important do you think the involvement of stars from movies
and pop music has been in the growth of the movement to "Free
Tibet"? Why do you think the Buddhist religion and the
Hollywood version of Tibetan society and history have struck
such a powerful chord with so many people in the West in recent
years? As you read the following material, keep these questions
in mind in order to discuss the importance of Tibet today to the
outside world.
Richard Gere organized and financed the Dalai Lama's four-city
U.S. tour during the summer of 1999. Adam Yauch and his group
have been influential in promoting a series of "Free Tibet"
concerts in Europe and North America, headlined by major rock
stars, attended by tens of thousands of fans, and viewed by
millions on MTV. All of this has led Columbia University
professor Robert A.F. Thurman, an authority on Tibetan culture
(and, coincidentally, the father of Hollywood actor Uma
Thurman), to conclude that the Tibetans, and their spiritual
leader, the Dalai Lama, have become "the baby seals of the
human-rights movement."
Why has the Tibetan cause struck such a chord among
influential figures in Western culture and the arts? Orville Schell,
an American writer and expert on China and Tibet, regards
movies such as Scorsese's Kundun and Jean-Jacques Annaud's
Seven Years in Tibet as classic examples of how a "myth of
Tibet" has been created by the Hollywood dream machine. In
Schell's view, people in the West long to believe that there is a
place in the world where the values of consumerism and
materialism do not pervade every aspect of life, and where a
sense of spirituality prevails. This portrayal of Tibet is not a
recent phenomenon, and can actually be traced back to the
1930s film version of James Hilton's best-selling novel Lost
Horizon, a book that did much to create the myth of Tibet as
Shangri-la, or paradise on earth. The region northwest of
Kunming in the Yunnan province of China may also have been
the setting for the book. More recently, the upsurge in interest in
Buddhism among New Age Europeans and North Americans has
also led to an increased interest in Tibet's traditional society and
culture, which of course were based on that religion.
Among others who have studied Tibetan history and the current
situation there, Schell has grave doubts about the accuracy of
this Hollywood version of Tibet. However, the skepticism of
scholars has done little to dampen the enthusiasm of those like
Richard Gere, who claim that Tibet before the Chinese invasion
really was a Shangri-la, where even the poorest peasants lived
happily, secure in their firm Buddhist beliefs that their next lives
would be better for them. And Steven Seagal, who has played
starring roles in many extremely violent Hollywood action films,
has taken vows as a Buddhist priest, established a monastery in
his Hollywood mansion, and has been officially recognized as
the reincarnation of a long-dead Tibetan holy man by none other
than the Dalai Lama himself. This seems to be a strange choice
from a religious leader who has dedicated himself to nonviolence.
Many exiled Tibetans are delighted at the degree of international
attention and support their people's cause has received. They
also rejoice at the huge public-relations fiascos that China has
suffered as a result of the protests it has made to film companies
like Walt Disney Studios over their release of films such as
Kundun. But others wonder if the reality of Tibet's society and
history has not been obscured and even distorted by the
Hollywood version of their country's past. Kesang Tseten, a
Tibetan exile writer, for example, worries that "the true Tibet has
been imbued by Western imaginations of the subject. Does this
mean we're going to be bound by how others see us?"
Introduction
Living Symbols
The Land of Snows
The High Lamas and the "Great Game"
Tibet and China in the 20th Century
The Occupation of Tibet
Hollywood Goes Tibetan
Discussion, Research, and Essay, Questions
Indicates material appropriate or adaptable for younger viewers.
Discussion, Research, and Essay, Questions
Tibet: A Rare Look
1. Using an almanac, encyclopedia, or other, electronic
resources, make a chart or storyboard on Tibet, including a map
showing its location, borders, major geographical features, cities,
and other important information. Your storyboard could also
include data on Tibet's economic, social, religious, and cultural
life. (A good source of information on this topic is the December
1995 issue of the New Internationalist magazine.)
2. Find out more about the life, teachings, and influence of
Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha (563-483 BCE), the founder of
the Buddhist religion.
3. In your class, organize and role-play a diplomatic meeting
dealing with the issue of China's occupation of Tibet, with
students assuming the positions of spokespersons from China,
the Tibetan government in exile, the United States, India, Russia,
Canada, and other interested parties.
4. View one of the following recent films on recent Tibetan
history and the Dalai Lama, and give an oral presentation in
which you discuss the extent to which you think it is a valid
portrayal of the events it depicts: Seven Years in Tibet, SONY
Tristar Films, 1997, Jean-Jacques Annaud, director; Kundun,
Disney Studios, 1997, Martin Scorsese, director; or Windhorse,
Paul Wagner Productions, 1999, Paul Wagner, director.
5. Read James S. Hilton's novel Lost Horizon, and/or view the
Columbia Classics video version of director Frank Capra's film.
Discuss how this book and film helped create the myth of Tibet
as a Shangri-la that persists to the present day. What need or
purpose do myths like Shangri-la serve? Why do we romanticize
certain countries and cultures?
6. Read one of the following books dealing with Tibet's history,
culture, religion, and current political situation and prepare a
book report: Tibetan Nation: A History of Tibetan Nationalism
and Sino-Tibetan Relations, by Warren W. Smith; The Snow Lion
and the Dragon: China, Tibet, and the Dalai Lama, by Melvyn C.
Goldstein; The Making of Modern Tibet, by A. Tom Grunfeld;
Orphans of the Cold War: America and the Tibetan Struggle for
Survival, by John K. Knaus; Determination: Tibetan Women and
the Struggle for an Independent Tibet, by Carole Devine; Circling
the Sacred Mountain: A Spiritual Adventure Through the
Himalayas, by Robert A. F. Thurman; The Myth of Shangri-la:
Tibet, Travel Writing, and the Western Creation of Sacred
Landscape, by Peter Bishop; The Dragon in the Land of Snows:
A History of Modern Tibet Since 1947, by Tsering Shakya;
Seven Years in Tibet, by Heinrich Harrer; Demystifying Tibet:
The Secrets of the Land of Snows, by Lee Feigin; Freedom in
Exile and My Land and My People, by Dalai Lama; Tibet: Abode
of the Gods, Pearl of the Motherland, by Barbara Erickson; The
Last Barbarians, by Michel Peissel.
7. Despite modern technology and a vast body of educational
resources available to us, there are areas of the world that
remain quite unknown and misunderstood to North Americans.
What have you learned from this rare look at Tibet?
Introduction
Living Symbols
The Land of Snows
The High Lamas and the "Great Game"
Tibet and China in the 20th Century
The Occupation of Tibet
Hollywood Goes Tibetan
Discussion, Research, and Essay, Questions
Indicates material appropriate or adaptable for younger viewers.