The Dragon in the Land of Snows A History of Modern Tibet Since 1947

by Shakya, Tsering

• ISBN13: 9780140196153
• ISBN10: 0140196153
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-10-01
• Publisher: Penguin Books

Summary

Based entirely on unpublished primary sources, Tsering Shakya's groundbreaking history of modern Tibet shatters the popular conception of the country as an isolated Shangri-la unaffected by broader international developments. Shakya gives a balanced, blow-by-blow account of Tibet's ongoing struggle to maintain its independence and safeguard its cultural identity while being sandwiched between the heavyweights of Asian geopolitics: Britain, India, China, and the United States. With thorough documentation, Shakya details the Chinese depredations of Tibet, and reveals the failures of the Tibetan leadership's divided strategies. Rising above the simplistic dualism so often found in accounts of Tibet's contested recent history, The Dragon in the Land of Snows lucidly depicts the tragedy that has befallen Tibet and identifies the conflicting forces that continue to shape the aspirations of the Tibetan people today.

Table of Contents

Illustrations	xv
Acknowledgments	xvii
Maps	xix
Abbreviations	xxv
Introduction	xxvii
The Lull Before the Storm	1	(32)
Tibet and its Neighbours	2	(3)
The Expulsion of the Guomindang and the Communist Victory in China	5	(7)
Tibet Prepares to Face the PRC	12	(4)
Tibet Seeks International Support	16	(10)
Tibet Negotiates with the Communists	26	(7)
China Invades	33	(19)
China Woos Tibet	34	(4)
The PLA Attacks	38	(7)
China Imposes Terms on Tibet	45	(7)
Tibet Appeals to the UN and the 17-Point Agreement	52	(40)
The UN Problem	52	(3)
UN Postpones Debate on Tibet	55	(6)
Tibet and China Negotiate	61	(10)
US Intervention in the Tibetan Issue	71	(18)
Tibetans Discuss the 17-Point Agreement	89	(3)
An Uneasy Co-existence	92	(39)
The Two Prime Ministers	96	(6)
Opposition of the People	102	(9)
Tashilhunpo Factions	111	(7)
The Indo-Chinese Trade Agreement	118	(4)
The Dalai Lama Meets Mao	122	(2)
Preparatory Committee for the TAR	124	(7)
The Rift	131	(32)
The Uprising in Kham and Amdo	136	(8)
Growing Opposition in Central Tibet	144	(4)
The Dalai Lama Visits India	148	(5)
Zhou Enlai Urges the Dalai Lama to Return to Tibet	153	(10)
The Revolt	163	(22)
The Founding of `Four Rivers, Six Ranges'	165	(5)
Clandestine Support from America	170	(10)
Appeasing the Chinese and Quelling the Khampa Revolt	180	(5)
The Fight of the Dalai Lama	185	(27)
The Spark of the Uprising	186	(6)
Siege of the Summer Palace	192	(4)
The Last Attempts to Win over the Dalai Lama	196	(4)
Escape of the Dalai Lama	200	(12)
The International Response and Tibet at the UN	212	(25)
Nehru and Tibet	213	(7)
Support for Tibet	220	(8)
UN Debates	228	(9)
Reform and Repression	237	(39)
Smash the Reactionaries!	239	(3)
The Panchen Rinpoche	242	(20)
The 70,000 Character Petition	262	(14)
War in the Himalayas	276	(11)
A Legacy of Empire	278	(4)
Tibetan Resistance	282	(3)
The Clash of India and China	285	(2)
Socialist Transformation of Tibet	287	(27)
The Purge of the Panchen Rinpoche	290	(12)
The Establishment of the Tibet Autonomous Region	302	(12)
The Cultural Revolution	314	(34)
Destruction of the `Four Olds'	315	(9)
Smash the Power-holders	324	(4)
Two Factions	328	(15)
The Nyemo Revolt	343	(5)
Revolution Postponed?	348	(46)
Reconstruction of the Political System	349	(5)
The Lin Biao Affair and a New Party Secretary	354	(4)
Sino-US Rapprochment	358	(6)
Anti-Confucius, Anti-Dalai and Anti-Panchen Campaigns	364	(3)
The Death of Mao	367	(4)
The First Phase of Liberalisation	371	(3)
Beijing-Dharamsala Dialogue	374	(6)
The First Tibet Work Forum	380	(14)
A Road to the New Tibet	394	(37)
The Second Tibet Work Forum	394	(4)
Beijing Hardens Its Policy towards the Dalai Lama	398	(2)
A New Party Secretary	400	(9)
Sino-Indian Difficulties	409	(3)
Internationalisation of the Tibet Issue	412	(4)
Tibet under Martial Law	416	(9)
The Collapse of the Beijing-Dalai Lama Dialogue	425	(6)
Postscript	431	(18)
Western Criticism	434	(1)
Regional Solidarity	435	(1)
Economy	436	(4)
The Panchen Rinpoche Controversy	440	(7)
Conclusion	447	(2)
Appendix 1 The 17-Point Agreement	449	(4)
Appendix 2 Tibetan Spelling	453	(8)
Notes	461	(66)
Bibliography	527	(20)
Index	547