Tibetans

PRONUNCIATION: tuh-BET-uhns

ALTERNATE NAMES: Bod Qiang

LOCATION: China (Tibet Autonomous Region); India

POPULATION: 4.6 million

LANGUAGE: Tibetan; Chinese

RELIGION: Lamaism

1 • INTRODUCTION

Tibetan civilization began near the Yarlung Zanbo River in present-day Tibet. A Tibetan kingdom was created in the sixth century ad. In the seventh century, the ruler Songtsen Gampo made Lhasa the capital of Tibet. While he ruled, the Tibetan laws, calendar, alphabet, and system of weights and measures were created. Princess Wenchen, his Chinese bride, came to Tibet in 641. She had a great effect on Tibetan culture.

Warfare and political strife weakened the Tibetan dynasty and it collapsed in 877. Tibet was conquered by the Mongolians in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Later it came under Chinese control. The Qing Dynasty (1644–1911) recognized Tibet's spiritual leaders, the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama. A local government was set up in Tibet, with its own minister from the emperor. This system continued under the Republic of China until 1949, when the communist revolution created the People's Republic of China. The new government created the Tibetan Autonomous Region, covering all of Tibet. The political power of the lamas was taken away and given to Tibetan leaders nominated by the central government in Beijing.

2 • LOCATION

The Tibetans live on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. It extends to the Himalayas, the highest mountain range in the world. Most Tibetans are found in the Tibet Autonomous Region. However, many live in Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan, and Yunnan provinces. China's total Tibetan population was 4.6 million in 1990. There are about 100,000 Tibetans in India, and tens of thousands live in North America and Europe. Southwest Tibet has a damp, mild climate. Northwest Tibet is quite barren, but its river valleys provide land for nomads to raise their cattle.

3 • LANGUAGE

The Tibetan language belongs to the Sino-Tibetan family. It has three dialects. Tibetan is written from left to right. Tibetan writing was developed in the seventh century. In urban Tibet, many Tibetans also speak Chinese.

4 • FOLKLORE

According to a Tibetan myth, a divine monkey married a female monster in Yarlung Valley long ago. They gave birth to six children whose descendants spread over the earth but had a hard life. They lived off of wild fruits of the forest. Then the monkey gave them seven kinds of grain, and they learned how to farm and began to speak.

5 • RELIGION

Mahayana Buddhism combined with the native Tibetan religion (Bon) to create a new form of Buddhism, called Lamaism. Many different lamaist sects arose. The Gelupa, or Yellow Sect, which came to dominate Tibet, was founded by Tsong Khapa (1357–1419).

Reincarnation (the belief in rebirth) was an established Buddhist doctrine. When an important lama died, his successor (the divine child) was sought among male children who were born at about the time he died.

Bon, the native Tibetan religion, is still practiced in western Tibet and in parts of Qinghai and Sichuan. It calls for worship of gods, spirits, and nature. Its practices include ritual dance.

6 • MAJOR HOLIDAYS

The Tibetan New Year takes place the first week of January and lasts three to five days. Tibetans all dress in their finest clothes. Relatives and friends pay New Year calls and visit monasteries to pray for a good year. Tibetan operas are performed. People wear masks and pretend to be gods. They sing and dance to drive away the ghosts.

The Lantern Festival is held on January 15. Huge sculptures of birds, animals, and humans made from colored yak butter are paraded in the streets of Lhasa. Festive lanterns, also made of yak butter, are hung on fences. People dance under the lanterns all night.

April 15 marks both the Buddha's enlightenment and the Chinese Princess Wenchen's arrival in Tibet. The streets overflow with people on pilgrimages, and the monks pray. People walk around the Potala Palace, go boating on the lake, and then pitch tents to rest.

7 • RITES OF PASSAGE

Three or four days after a baby is born, a tiny piece of zamba (the Tibetans' main food) is stuck to the infant's forehead. This is a rite to make the baby pure. When the baby is one month old, the parents paint the tip of its nose with soot from the bottom of a pan to keep away ghosts. With their relatives, the child's parents go to the monastery and pray to the Buddha for protection.

Girls' hair is combed into two braids when they are under twelve years of age. They wear three braids when they are thirteen or fourteen, and five braids at the age of fifteen or sixteen. When a girl reaches seventeen, her hair is combed into dozens of braids to show that she is an adult.

There are several types of Tibetan funerals, depending on the social status of the person who has died. In a "sky burial," friends burn piles of pine tree branches and scatter food over them. The smoke is supposed to draw vultures. The body is chopped up and the bones are pounded together with zamba. Vultures eat what remains of the body. The rest of the remains are burned and the ashes are scattered over the ground. "Water burial" is for widows, widowers, and poor people. "Fire burial" is for lamas, and "ground burial" is for people who died of infection or were executed as criminals.

8 • RELATIONSHIPS

Tibetans are polite. When they meet, they stretch out their arms with their palms turned up, and bow to each other. To show respect, one person nods his head and sticks his tongue out. The other nods and smiles. When two people meet for the first time, one gives the other a hada. This is a long, narrow strip of white or light blue silk that is a sign of respect. It is held in both palms while bowing.

Today, young boys and girls mingle freely but still have some traditional restrictions.

9 • LIVING CONDITIONS

Tibetans build their houses on high ground, facing south, and close to water. The walls are made from earth or piled up stones. Houses are two or three stories high. They have flat roofs, many windows, and courtyards. The living room and bedrooms are on the second floor, and the first floor is for storage or to house livestock. Herdsmen dwell in large tents made of canvas or woven yak wool.

10 • FAMILY LIFE

The Tibetan family centers around males. The man inherits property. A woman must obey her husband, even when he lives with her parents. Today, most Tibetans are monogamous (married to only one person). Nomads and peasants still have arranged marriages. Lamas and shamans (spiritual leaders) are usually consulted.

11 • CLOTHING

Men in urban areas wear a felt or fur-trimmed hat, a short vest with sleeves, trousers, and a robe. Those in rural areas wear a very long robe with long sleeves and a loose collar. The robe is tied around the waist with a long band. Herdsmen wear the fur of a sheep year-round, and a pair of long trousers. Tibetan men all wear boots. Women usually wear a sleeveless robe with a shirt under it and a beautiful apron around the waist. A long robe with sleeves is worn during the winter. Women living in rural areas wear a sheep fur over a long skirt.

12 • FOOD

In rural areas, Tibetans eat barley, wheat, corn, and peas. They stir and fry barley and peas and grind them into flour. Then they mix it with yak butter and tea. This is called zamba. They press it with their fingers in a wooden bowl and make it into a ball before eating it. They may also cook zamba into a porridge with meat, wild herbs, and water. Their favorite drinks are barley wine and tea with butter. The main foods of Tibetan herdsmen are beef, mutton, and milk products.

13 • EDUCATION

Education was once reserved for monks in monasteries. Since 1949, a complete educational system from primary school to university has been created in Tibet and Qinghai. It includes medical and technical schools. However, Tibet's small population is scattered over such a wide geographic area that it is difficult for many students to travel to a school. A growing number of young Tibetans go to the cities to study.

14 • CULTURAL HERITAGE

Tibetan dances differ strongly from those of China's other minorities. The dancers' long sleeves add to their charm. They sing on high pitches and mostly in minor keys. Tibetan opera is performed in the street without any stage. There is a band, and performers sing while they dance.

Tibetan literature includes novels, poems, stories, fables, and dramas. Many works have been translated and published in other countries. The Tibetan religion has effected every part of Tibet's culture.

15 • EMPLOYMENT

Tibetan herdsmen raise sheep, goats, yaks, horses, mules, and oxen bred from cattle and yaks.

16 • SPORTS

Yak racing is one of the favorite Tibetan sports. It is similar to horse racing. It takes a highly trained expert to ride a racing yak. Tibetans are also excellent mountain climbers.

17 • RECREATION

The Tibetans have their own theater company, opera, music and ballet performers, broadcasting stations, and film studio. Many Tibetan newspapers, magazines, and books are published each year.

18 • CRAFTS AND HOBBIES

Tibetan folk art includes figures of the Buddha found in monasteries and figures made of yak butter. Goldsmiths and silversmiths craft items for daily use. These include spoons, chopsticks, bowls, plates, and dishes. They also make bracelets, rings, and necklaces. Tangka is a painted Tibetan wall-hanging depicting Buddhist themes.

19 • SOCIAL PROBLEMS

Lack of formal education is one of the major social problems facing Tibet today. It is hard to educate Tibet's small population because the Tibetans are scattered over huge stretches of land.

20 • BIBLIOGRAPHY

Kendra, Judith. Tibetans. Threatened Cultures. New York: Thomson Learning, 1994.

Snellgrove, David L., and Hugh Richardson. A Cultural History of Tibet. New York: F. A. Praeger, 1968.

Stein, R. A. Tibetan Civilization. Trans. by J. E. Stapleton Driver. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1972.

WEBSITES

Embassy of the People's Republic of China, Washington, D.C. [Online] Available http://www.china-embassy.org/, 1998.

World Travel Guide. China. [Online] Available http://www.wtgonline.com/country/cn/gen.html, 1998.

Tibet , Tibetan Bodyul, Mandarin Xizang, autonomous region (2010 pop. 3,002,166), c.471,700 sq mi (1,221,700 sq km), SW China. A Chinese autonomous region since 1951, Tibet is bordered on the south by Myanmar, India, Bhutan, and Nepal, on the west by India (including the disputed Kashmir), on the north by Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Qinghai prov., and on the east by Sichuan and Yunnan provs. The capital is Lhasa .

Land and People

Almost completely surrounded by mountain ranges (including the Himalayas in the south and the Kunlun in the north), Tibet is largely a plateau averaging c.16,000 ft (4,880 m) in height. Many of the mightiest rivers of E Asia, especially the Chang (Yangtze), the Mekong , and the Thanlwin , rise in Tibet; the most important is the navigable Yarlung Zangbo (the Brahmaputra ), which follows an easterly course through S Tibet. North of the Yarlung Zangbo are many salt lakes, the largest being Nam Co (Tengri Nor) in the east.

The indigenous inhabitants are of Mongolian stock and speak a Tibeto-Burman language. There are also substantial numbers of Han and other Chinese, especially in E Tibet and in urban areas; the number of non-Tibetans has increased significantly since 1990. Before the unsuccessful revolt of 1959 (see History ), many city dwellers were Tibetan Buddhist monks, who may have comprised as much as one sixth of the country's male population. The chief figures of Tibetan Buddhism , the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama (or Tashi Lama, for the lamastery at Tashi Lumpo), were at least the nominal heads of the Tibetan government. In general, the former administration was equally divided between lamas and the feudal aristocracy.

Economy

Tibet is a land of scant rainfall and a short growing season, and the only extensive agricultural region is the Yarlung Zangbo valley, where barley, wheat, potatoes, millet, and turnips are grown. In this valley as well are nearly all the large cities, including Lhasa, Xigazê (Shigatse), and Gyangzê (Gyangtse). Most other areas of Tibet are suited only for grazing; yaks, which can withstand the intense cold, are the principal domestic animals, and there are also large herds of goats and sheep. Much of the population is engaged in a pastoral life, but the advances made by irrigation and the growing of forage crops is decreasing the amount of nomadism, and Chinese attempts to spur economic development have also increased the urban population. In addition to vast salt reserves, Tibet has large deposits of gold, copper, and radioactive ores.

Traditionally, goods for trade, particularly foreign trade, were carried by pack trains (yaks, mules, and horses) across the windswept plateau and over difficult mountain passes. In exchange for hides, wool, and salt there were imports of tea and silk from China and of manufactured goods from India. Motor roads now connect Lhasa with Qamdo (Chamdo) in E Tibet and with Xigazê and Gyangzê in the Yarlung Zangbo area and link Gar (Gartok) in W Tibet to the northern regions. A major highway runs from Tibet to Chengdu, in Sichuan prov., providing a link to the great Chinese cities in the east; Tibet is also connected by highway with Xinjiang and Qinghai in W China. A rail link to Qinghai prov. was opened in 2006.

History

Early History

Evidence of human habitation dating between 12,000 and 11,000 years ago has been found in NW Tibet, and in S Tibet the Yarlung Zangbo valley was, over the centuries, the focus of ancient trade routes from India, China, and Central Asia. Tibet emerged from an obscure history to flourish in the 7th cent. AD as an independent kingdom with its capital at Lhasa. The Chinese first established relations with Tibet during the T'ang dynasty (618–906), and there were frequent wars of conquest. The Tibetan kingdom was associated with early Mahayana Buddhism, which the scholar and mystic Padmasambhava fashioned (8th cent.) into Tibetan Buddhism. Toward the end of the 12th cent. many Indian Buddhists, fleeing before the Muslim invasion, went to Tibet. In the 13th cent. Tibet fell under Mongol influence, which was to last until the 18th cent. In 1270, Kublai Khan , emperor of China, was converted to Buddhism by the abbot of the Sakya lamasery; the abbot returned to Tibet to found the Sakya dynasty (1270–1340) and to become the first lama to rule Tibet. In 1720, the Ch'ing dynasty replaced Mongol rule in Tibet. China thereafter claimed suzerainty, often merely nominal.

Foreign Contacts

During the 18th cent., British authorities in India attempted to establish relations with Lhasa, but the Gurkha invasion of 1788 and the subsequent Gurkha war (1792) with Tibet brought an abrupt end to the rapprochement. Jesuits and Capuchins had visited Tibet in the 17th and 18th cent., but throughout the 19th cent. Tibet maintained its traditional seclusion. Meanwhile, Ladakh , long part of Tibet, was lost to the rulers of Kashmir, and Sikkim was detached (1890) by Britain. In 1893, Britain succeeded in obtaining a trading post at Yadong, but continued Tibetan interference led to the military expedition (1904) of Sir Francis Younghusband to Lhasa, which enforced the granting of trade posts at Yadong, Gyangzê, and Gar.

Tibet and China

In 1906 and 1907, Britain recognized China's suzerainty over Tibet. However, the Tibetans were able, with the overthrow of the Ch'ing dynasty in China, to expel (1912) the Chinese in Tibet and reassert their independence. At a conference (1913–14) of British, Tibetans, and Chinese at Shimla, India, Tibet was tentatively confirmed under Chinese suzerainty and divided into an inner Tibet, to be incorporated into China, and an outer autonomous Tibet. The Shimla agreement was, however, never ratified by the Chinese, who continued to claim all of Tibet as a "special territory." After the death (1933) of the 13th Dalai Lama, Tibet gradually drifted back into the Chinese orbit. The 14th Dalai Lama, who was born in China, was installed in 1939–40 and assumed full powers (1950) after a ten-year regency.

The succession of the 10th Panchen Lama, with rival candidates supported by Tibet and China, was one of the excuses for the Chinese invasion (Oct., 1950) of Tibet. By a Tibetan-Chinese agreement (May, 1951), Tibet became a "national autonomous region" of China under the traditional rule of the Dalai Lama, but under the actual control of a Chinese Communist commission. The Communist government introduced far-reaching land reforms and sharply curtailed the power of the monastic orders. After 1956 scattered uprisings occurred throughout the country, but a full-scale revolt broke out in Mar., 1959, prompted in part by fears for the personal safety of the Dalai Lama. The Chinese suppressed the rebellion, but the Dalai Lama was able to escape to India, where he eventually established headquarters in exile.

The Panchen Lama, who had accepted Chinese sponsorship, acceded to the spiritual leadership of Tibet. The Chinese adopted brutal repressive measures, provoking charges from the Dalai Lama of genocide. Landholdings were seized, the lamaseries were virtually emptied, and thousands of monks were forced to find other work. The Panchen Lama was deposed in 1964 after making statements supporting the Dalai Lama; he was replaced by a secular Tibetan leader. In 1962, China launched attacks along the Indian-Tibetan border to consolidate territories it claimed had been wrongly given to India by the British McMahon Commission in 1914. Following a cease-fire, Chinese troops withdrew behind the disputed line in the east but continued to occupy part of Ladakh in Kashmir. Some border areas are still in dispute.

In 1965 the Tibetan Autonomous Region was formally established. The Cultural Revolution, with its antireligious orientation, was disastrous for highly religious Tibet. Religious practices were banned and over 4,000 monasteries were destroyed. Though the ban was lifted in 1976 and some Buddhist temples have again been in operation since the early 1980s, Tibetans continue to complain of widespread discrimination by the Chinese. Several protests in Tibet in the late 1980s and early 1990s were violently suppressed by the Communist government and martial law was imposed in 1989. Demonstrations against Chinese rule have nevertheless continued. Moreover, in recent years other countries have increasingly raised the issue of human-rights violations in Tibet, and have pressured the Chinese government to moderate their stance in that region. Religious tensions were again underscored in 1995 when China rejected the boy who was confirmed by the Dalai Lama as the new Panchen Lama and forced the selection of a different boy and in 2000 when the 14-year-old Karmapa lama fled Tibet for India. New protests and riots erupted in Tibet and among Tibetans in neighboring provinces in 2008.

Bibliography

See N. Barber, From the Land of Lost Content: The Dalai Lama's Fight for Tibet (1970); J. MacGregor, Tibet: A Chronicle of Exploration (1970); R. A. Stein, Tibetan Civilization (tr., rev. ed. 1972); D. Snellgrove and H. Richardson, A Cultural History of Tibet (1980); T. W. Shakabpa, Tibet: A Political History (1984); M. C. Van Praag, The Status of Tibet: History, Rights, and Prospects in International Law (1986); M. C. Goldstein, A History of Modern Tibet, 1913–51 (1989); T. Shakya, The Dragon in the Land of Snows (1999).

Tibet. Although Tibet is geographically closer to India, Buddhism reached that country many centuries after its arrival in east Asia. This is due to a combination of geographical and economic reasons. Tibet is the highest country in the world located on a vast plateau occupying over 1.5 million square miles surrounded by high mountains. For a country the size of western Europe, it has a tiny population, estimated at some 6 million in the present century. Isolated between the economically and culturally advanced civilizations of India and China, Tibet had few readily accessible natural resources and only a subsistence economy, so there were few trade missions or caravans for monks to attach themselves to. It was thus not until the 7th century ce that Buddhism made an appearance. Traditional chronicles speak of three ‘diffusions’ of Buddhism, the first of which begins with Songtsen Gampo (Tib., Srong bstan sgam po, ca. 618–50), the first of the three ‘religious kings’. This king had a Nepalese and a Chinese wife, both of whom brought Buddhist artefacts with them to Tibet. The second ‘religious king’ was Trisong Detsen (Tib., Khri srong lde brtsan), who invited the scholar-monk Śāntarakṣita from India to promulgate Buddhist teachings. The latter made little progress, and withdrew in favour of Padmasambhava, a tantric guru and popular Tibetan folk hero. It is said that through his magical powers Padmasambhava was able to overcome the demons who were obstructing Buddhism's progress in Tibet. These ‘demons’ can, perhaps, be identified with practitioners of the indigenous Bön religion, a form of central Asian shamanism which imprinted something of its distinctive character, including an interest in rites, rituals, and magical practices surrounding death, on Buddhism. With the ‘demons’ subdued and the way clear, Śāntarakṣita returned to Tibet, and with Padmasambhava co-founded the first monastery at Samyé (bsam yas) c.767 ce. Another important missionary to arrive in this period was Kamalaśīla, who played a decisive role in ensuring that Tibetan Buddhism developed along Indian rather than Chinese lines. The third ‘religious king’, Relpa Chen (Tib., Ral pa can, r. 815–36), continued the construction of temples and monasteries and as a result of royal patronage the ranks of the Saṃgha began to swell. This led to a backlash against Buddhism and Relpa Chen was assassinated in 836 and succeeded by Lang Darma (Tib., glang dar ma), a king less favourably disposed to Buddhism, who was himself subsequently assassinated by a Buddhist monk. The arrival of Atiśa (982–1054) from India in 1042 marks the start of the second diffusion. Atiśa laid emphasis on the conventional monastic curriculum, but his disciples also included more colourful individuals who became known as Mahāsiddhas or ‘great adepts’. Chief among these tantric gurus are Marpa (1012–97), Milarepa (Tib., Mi la ras pa, 1040–1123), and Gampopa (Tib., sgam po pa, 1079–1153). Gampopa established this lineage as a monastic order known as the Kagyüpa (Tib., bka' brygud pa). Two further orders were established during the high medieval period, the Sakyapa (Tib., Sa skya pa) and the Gelukpa (Tib., dge lugs pa). The latter, a reform movement founded by Tsongkhapa (Tib., Tsong kha pa, 1357–1419), went on to become the most influential in both the spiritual and temporal spheres, effectively ruling Tibet from the 17th century through the office of the Dalai Lama. Together with the Nyingma pa (Tib., rnying ma pa), who trace their origins to Padmasambhava, these constitute the four main orders of Tibetan Buddhism.

After many centuries of relative isolation, the 20th century was turbulent. The country was invaded by China in 1959, leading the Dalai Lama to flee into exile in Dharamsala in India. The Communist Chinese authorities have suppressed Buddhism and persecuted monks and nuns in an effort to purge the country of ‘superstition’ and what it regards as a medieval feudal social system. According to Tibetan authorities, 1.2 million people were killed during the Chinese invasion and its aftermath, and some 150,000 have since sought refugee status in India and the West to escape the ongoing repression. Large tracts of Tibetan territory have been annexed, and the reduced political entity that remains, called by the Chinese the ‘Tibetan Autonomous Region’, has a population of only 2 million. Although the excesses of the Cultural Revolution have now subsided, Buddhism is still strictly controlled. Most of the 6,000 monasteries that existed in Tibet were destroyed. The few that have been restored are today inhabited by only a handful of monks instead of the thousands they were home to formerly.

Tibet (Xizang) Autonomous region in sw China. The capital and largest city is Lhasa. Tibet is the highest region on earth, with an average altitude of 4875m (16,000ft). An historically inaccessible area, mountains surround Tibet on three sides. The Tibetan Himalayas include the world's highest mountain, Everest. Nam Co is the world's largest natural salt lake. Many of Asia's greatest rivers (including the Yangtze, Mekong, Huang He, Indus, and Ganges) have their source in Tibet, although its major river is the Brahmaputra. The area has scant rainfall, and the Brahmaputra valley is the only agricultural area and the location of the major cities. Many of the people remain nomadic pastoralists. Tibet is rich in mineral resources, such as gold, copper, and uranium. The Chinese government built internal highways and links to the Chinese provinces. The principal religion is Tibetan Buddhism. Until 1959, a large percentage of the urban male population were Buddhist monks (lamas). Tibet flourished as an independent kingdom in the 7th century, and in the 8th century Padmasambhava developed the principles of Mahayana Buddhism and founded Lamaism. The spiritual leaders of Lamaism (the Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama) also acted as the country's temporal rulers. In 1206, Genghis Khan conquered the region, and it remained under nominal Mongol rule until 1720, when the Chinese Qing dynasty claimed sovereignty. At the close of the 19th century, the Tibetan areas of Ladakh and Sikkim became part of British India, and in 1906 Britain recognized Chinese sovereignty over Tibet. In 1912, the fall of the Qing dynasty prompted the Tibetans to reassert their independence. China, however, maintained its right to govern, and in 1950 the new communist regime invaded. In 1951, Tibet was declared an autonomous region of China, nominally governed by the Dalai Lama. The Chinese government began a series of repressive measures, principally targeting the Buddhist monasteries. In March 1959, a full-scale revolt was suppressed by the Chinese Army. On December 25, 1959, the Dalai Lama fled to n India, and established a government-in-exile at Dharamsala. In 1965, China formally annexed Tibet as an autonomous region. The Cultural Revolution banned religious practice and destroyed 4000 monasteries. Many thousands of Tibetans fled into exile to escape the brutality of the communist regime. Despite the restoration of some of the desecrated monasteries and the reinstatement of Tibetan as an official language, human rights violations continued. Pro-independence rallies between 1987–89 were violently suppressed by the Chinese army. Area: 1,222,070sq km (471,841sq mi). Pop. (2000) 2,620,000.

Tibet (Chinese: Xizang Zizhiqu; Tibetan: Bod, Gangjong), China Wusizang An autonomous region whose Chinese name literally means ‘Storage Place in the West’ from zàng ‘storage place’ and xī ‘west’. The zàng might be an abbreviation for băozàng ‘hidden treasure’ or ‘valuable (mineral) deposits’. It is not the same as the zàng in the former Tibetan name Wusizang from wūsī ‘centre’ and zàng ‘holy and pure’. During the Qing dynasty (1644–1911) the territory became known to the Chinese as Xizang, the zàng coming to refer to Tibet or the Tibetans. Zizhiqu means ‘autonomous region’ from zì ‘self’, zhì ‘govern’, and qū ‘region’, ‘district’, or ‘area’. Bod may come from Bon, the religion practised by the Tibetans before the arrival of Buddhism. Gangjong, sometimes used by the Tibetans, means ‘Land of Snow’. The name Tibet may be derived from Thubet, a 5th‐century Mongolian prince or taken from the Arab name Tubbat. The Chinese cite a treaty between the Tibetan leaders and the Tang dynasty in the 9th century as the beginning of China's union with Tibet (which they knew as Tufan) and claim that Tibet has been a part of China since the 13th century. A considerable Chinese presence, if not control, was evident between 1705 and 1911 until the fall of the Qing dynasty. To ensure that Russia would not occupy Tibet and threaten their Indian Empire, the British also established a presence in the country in 1904. Tibet was independent between 1911 and 1950 when the Chinese invaded; by 1959 they had gained full control. The present autonomous region is smaller than historic Tibet, the Tibetan provinces of Amdo and Kham having been incorporated into ‘China Proper’.

Tibet (Xizang) A mountainous country which in the fifteenth century came under the influence of the Buddhist Lama sect. From the sixteenth century, the Lamaist monks under their leader, the Dalai Lama, obtained the secular rule over the country, whereafter a unique monastic theocracy developed. Thanks to its spiritual power, it ruled for centuries, often without an army. By the the early twentieth century, however, Lamaist rule had become comparatively inefficient, so that Tibet became subject to foreign influence, as Britain (1906) and Russia (1907) recognized it as a Chinese sphere of influence. With the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911, it was completely independent again until 1950, when troops of the Communist People's Republic of China marched in. It was annexed in 1951, though formally it remained autonomous. In 1959, the fourteenth Dalai Lama gave up his futile attempts at cooperation and, together with 100,000 followers, left for exile in India. From then on, China sought to integrate the country through a settlement programme for Chinese people, the outlawing the Tibetian language and culture, and widespread arrests and human rights violations against Tibetan or Lamaist leaders. Aggression peaked in the early years of the Cultural Revolution in the late 1960s, when foreign vistors were banned from entering Tibet, and in the late 1980s, around the Tianmen Square demonstrations. By 2002, China's economic investment had brought significant prosperity to Lhasa, whose Chinese immigrants now made up the majority of the population. Chinese commitment to the development of the capital was confirmed by plans to develop a ‘Special Economic Zone’. At the same time, however, modernization threatened the destruction of indigenous Tibetian culture.

Tibet (Chinese Xizang) A mountainous region of Asia to the north of the Himalayas. Ruled by Buddhist lamas since the 7th century, Tibet was conquered by the Mongols in the 13th century and the Manchus in the 18th century. China extended its authority over Tibet in 1951 but only gained full control after crushing a revolt in 1959, during which the country's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, made his escape into India. Many of Tibet's monasteries and shrines were destroyed in an unsuccessful attempt to change national culture and consciousness. Almost completely surrounded by mountain ranges, Tibet is the source of some of Asia's largest rivers including the Yangtze, Salween, and Mekong.

Tibet, a country which was, de facto, independent and neutral under its Dalai Lama. But it was constantly under pressure from China, which claimed suzerainty over it, and from the UK, to allow transit of war supplies for China. After a Chinese show of force, which the Tibetans defied, and which the Allies told China to desist from, permission for non-military supplies to pass through was granted in 1943. For other supply routes to China see Burma Road, French Indo-China, Hump, and Ledo Road.

Ti·bet·an / təˈbetn/ • n. 1. a native of Tibet or a person of Tibetan descent. 2. the Tibeto-Burman language of Tibet, also spoken in neighboring areas of China, India, and Nepal. • adj. of or relating to Tibet, its people, or its language.

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