Tibet | Research & Encyclopedia Articles

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Tibet Summary

Tibet

(2002 est. pop. 2.7 million). Traditionally, Tibet comprises the central Asian landmass between the Himalayas in the south, the Kunlun range to the north and the Karakorams to the west, while in the east it is bounded by the region of the great rivers, the Chang (Yangtze), Mekong, and Salween. With most of its territory situated above 4,500 meters and its capital city, Lhasa, located at 3,607 meters, Tibet has been popularly termed "The Roof of the World."

While the extent to which Tibet was part of China in earlier periods is in dispute, Tibet has certainly been part of China since the Communist invasion in 1950, and exists today only in the much-reduced area of the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) of China. A Tibetan Government-in-exile headed by the Dalai Lama (the spiritual and temporal leader of the Tibetan peoples), has been established in India, and there are also Tibetan exile communities in Switzerland and the United States. The Tibetan government continues to campaign for Tibetan self-determination and the ongoing Sino-Tibetan dispute invests facts and figures in regard to Tibet with important political implications. Historically, however, there has been a distinction between "political" Tibet, the area ruled by the Lhasa government prior to 1950, and "ethnic" or "cultural" Tibet, that area inhabited by mainly Buddhist peoples of Tibetan origin.

Geography

"Political" Tibet had an estimated population of between 1.8 and 3 million peoples, of whom around halfwere semi-nomadic yak herders. (Today's TAR population includes a large number of Han Chinese immigrants, who may now constitute a majority of the population in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa.) The settled urban and agricultural populations were concentrated in the river valleys, particularly in the triangle formed by the major settlements of Lhasa, Shigatse (Xigaze) and Gyantse.

While situated at a latitude similar to Algeria, the altitude and location of the Tibetan plateau produces a cold and generally dry climate, although southeastern Tibet includes areas of tropical jungle. The western Tibetan area around the Gangdise (Kailas) mountain range and Lake Mapam Yumco (Manasarowar) is the source of four great rivers: the Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra, and the Sutlej, while Mount Everest, which is situated on the Nepal-Tibet border, is, at 8,848 meters the world's highest mountain.

Sedentary agriculture is limited by the climate. Barley is the major crop and in its roasted form as tsampa comprises, with yak meat and tea (imported from China), the staple diet of the majority of the population.

History

The origins of the Tibetan peoples appear to be linked to Central Asian nomadic tribes such as the Qiang and Yue Zhi (Tokharians). The first unified Tibetan state was a tribal confederacy formed in the seventh century under the rule of King Songtsen Gampo (or Srong-brtsan Sgam-po; c. 6o8–650 CE), who established his capital at Lhasa. The introduction of a Tibetan script and Buddhist teachings are among the innovations attributed to his reign. The dynasty he founded lasted until the assassination of King Langdharma, around the year 842.

Tibet was a formidable military power during this period, constantly engaged in warfare with neighboring powers and strong enough to sack the Chinese capital of Xi'an in 763. At its height the Tibetan empire reached as far west as Samarqand. Buddhism became increasingly important, particularly in the court, and the first Tibetan monastery was established at Samye around 779. But there was considerable opposition to the new faith among aristocratic factions associated with followers of the indigenous Tibetan belief system (later identified with the Bon faith but probably at that time an unsystematized tradition that included elements of divine kingship and sacrificial practice).

Buddhism became firmly established during the eleventh and twelfth centuries, when Indian Buddhist texts were systematically translated into the Tibetan language. Of the four major sects of Tibetan Buddhism that developed on the basis of these teachings, the Gelugpa sect eventually emerged as preeminent, and from the sixteenth century onwards, Tibet was ruled by a line of incarnate Gelugpa monks with the title of dalai lama. Religious factions in Tibet tended to seek Mongol or Chinese patronage, and China became increasingly involved in events in Tibet in the eighteenth century. Thus, from 1793 until 1911–1912, China was able to exert at least nominal suzerainty over Lhasa.

In 1903–1904, the British imperial Government of India dispatched a mission to Lhasa that forced the Tibetans to accept British representatives and effectively opened the country to Western ideas and influences. But despite some modernization in the next couple of decades, Tibet remained an essentially conservative religious society, strongly resistant to change. The thirteenth Dalai Lama (1876–1933), a strong nationalist leader, lead Tibet to independence after the Chinese revolution in 1911, and Tibet survived as a de facto independent state until the Communist Chinese invasion in 1950. Her independence, however, was not officially recognized by any major powers, with China continuing to claim Tibet as part of her territory.

Since 1950, the Tibetans have suffered a continuous assault on their cultural identity, with tens or even hundreds of thousands of Tibetans killed, imprisoned, and tortured as a result of Chinese colonialist policies.

Culture

Despite the continuing existence of the Bon faith and its many cultural manifestations, the outstanding feature of Tibetan culture is generally considered to be its unique form of Buddhism, a synthesis of the Mahayana and Tantric forms of the faith. Buddhist influence permeated virtually all aspects of traditional society. An estimated 20 percent of the male population were monks, and more than six thousand monasteries were distributed throughout the Tibetan cultural world. These were important political and economic centers as well as the guardians of Tibetan cultural and artistic expression. Outside of the monasteries, pilgrimage to sacred cities and mountains was a particularly significant religious expression for all classes of people.

A small aristocratic class enjoyed considerable privilege, although in comparison to their contemporaries in neighboring states, the Tibetan peasantry were tolerably well treated. Women too, enjoyed greater than average freedom, particularly in the social and economic spheres, although they were almost entirely excluded from religious power.

There were cultural influences from both China and India, but Tibetan culture was strikingly distinct from that of its neighbors. This was particularly marked in such areas as literary traditions (in particular the lengthy Gesar of Ling epic), language, and art and architecture, with buildings such as Lhasa's Potala Palace and Jokhang temple, as well as the regional monasteries, being of striking originality. Much of this culture has been destroyed in the TAR, but much has been remembered or preserved in exile.

Alex McKay