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Tibet

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about ethno-cultural Tibet. For the administrative region of China, see Tibet Autonomous Region. For other uses, see Tibet (disambiguation).

This article contains Tibetan script. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Tibetan characters.

This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters.

Tibet (/tɨˈbɛt/ ( listen); Tibetan: བོད་, Wylie: Bod, pronounced [pʰø̀ʔ]; Chinese: 西藏; pinyin: Xīzàng) is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people. Tibet is the highest region on earth, with an average elevation of 4,900 metres (16,000 ft).

	Tibet Autonomous Region within the People’s Republic of China
	“Greater Tibet”; Tibet as claimed by Tibetan exile groups
	Tibetan areas as designated by the People’s Republic of China
	Chinese-controlled areas claimed by India as part of Aksai Chin
	Indian-controlled areas claimed by the People’s Republic of China as part of Tibet
	Other areas historically within Tibetan cultural sphere

Tibet emerged in the 7th century as a unified empire, but it soon divided into a variety of territories. The bulk of western and central Tibet were often at least nominally unified under a series of Tibetan governments in Lhasa, Shigatse, or nearby locations; these governments were at various times under Mongol and Chinese overlordship. The eastern regions of Kham and Amdo often maintained a more decentralized indigenous political structure, being divided among a number of small principalities and tribal groups, while also often falling more directly under Chinese rule; most of this area was eventually incorporated into the Chinese provinces of Sichuan and Qinghai. In 1951, following a military conflict, Tibet was incorporated into the People’s Republic of China and the previous Tibetan government was abolished in 1959.^[1] Today, the PRC governs western and central Tibet as the Tibet Autonomous Region while eastern areas are mostly within Sichuan and Qinghai provinces. There are tensions regarding Tibet’s political status^[2] and dissident groups are active in exile.^[3]
The economy of Tibet is dominated by subsistence agriculture, though tourism has become a growing industry in Tibet in recent decades. The dominant religion in Tibet is Tibetan Buddhism, in addition there is Bön which was the indigenous religion of Tibet before the arrival of Buddhism in the 7th century CE (Bön is now similar to Tibetan Buddhism ^[4]) though there are also Muslim and Christian minorities. Tibetan Buddhism is a primary influence on the art, music, and festivals of the region. Tibetan architecture reflects Chinese and Indian influences. Staple foods in Tibet are roasted barley, yak meat, and butter tea.

Contents [hide] 1 Names 2 Language 3 History 3.1 Tibetan Empire 3.2 Yuan Dynasty 3.3 Phagmodrupa Dynasty and the Dalai Lamas 3.4 Qing Dynasty 3.5 Post-Qing period 3.6 From 1950 to present 4 Geography 4.1 Cities, towns and villages 5 Economy 5.1 Development Zone 6 Demographics 7 Culture 7.1 Religion 7.1.1 Tibetan Buddhism 7.1.2 Islam 7.1.3 Christianity 7.2 Tibetan art 7.3 Architecture 7.4 Music 7.5 Festivals 7.6 Cuisine 8 See also 9 Notes 10 References 11 Further reading 12 External links

[edit] Names

Main article: Definitions of Tibet

The names and definitions of “Tibet” constitute linguistically and politically loaded language.
The Tibetan name for their land, Bod བོད་, means “Tibet” or “Tibetan Plateau“, although it originally meant the central region around Lhasa, now known in Tibetan as Ü. The Standard Tibetan pronunciation of Bod, [pʰøʔ˨˧˨], is transcribed Bhö in Tournadre Phonetic Transcription, Bö in the THDL system, and Poi in Tibetan Pinyin. Some scholars believe the first written reference to Bod “Tibet” was the ancient Bautai people recorded in the Egyptian Greek works Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (A.D. 1st cent.) and Geographia (Ptolemy, A.D. 2nd cent.),^[5] itself from the Sanskrit form Bhauṭṭa of the Indian geographical tradition.^[6]
The modern Mandarin exonym for “Tibet” is Xīzàng (西藏), which derives by metonymy from the Tsang region around Shigatse, plus a prefix meaning “western”. Tibetan people, language, and culture regardless of where they are from are referred to as Zàng (藏), although the geographical term Xīzàng is often limited to the Tibet Autonomous Region. The term Xīzàng was coined during the Qing Dynasty in the reign of the Jiaqing Emperor (1796–1820).
The best-known medieval Chinese name for Tibet is 吐蕃 (also 土蕃 or 土番); in modern Mandarin, this is pronounced Tǔfān or Tǔbō. Whether Tǔbō is a valid pronunciation is the subject of debate, enjoying strong support in Mainland China, but with some experts arguing that it is promoted purely for political reasons.^[7] . This name first appears in Chinese characters as 土番 in the 7th-century (Li Tai) and as 吐蕃 in the 10th-century (Book of Tang describing 608–609 emissaries from Tibetan King Namri Songtsen to Emperor Yang of Sui). In the Middle Chinese spoken during that period, as reconstructed by William H. Baxter, 土番 was pronounced thux-phjon and 吐蕃 was pronounced thux-pjon (with the x representing tone).^[8]
Other pre-modern Chinese names for Tibet include 烏斯國 (wūsīguó, cf. Tibetan dbus, Ü, [wyʔ˨˧˨]), 烏斯藏 (wūsīzàng, cf. Tibetan dbus-gtsang, Ü-Tsang), 圖伯特 (túbótè), and 唐古忒 (tánggǔtè, cf. Tangut).^[7] American Tibetologist Elliot Sperling has argued in favor of a recent tendency by some authors writing in Chinese to revive the term Túbótè (simplified Chinese: 图伯特; traditional Chinese: 圖伯特) for modern use in place of Xīzàng, on the grounds that Túbótè more clearly includes the entire Tibetan plateau rather than simply the Tibet Autonomous Region.^[7]
The English word Tibet or Thibet dates back to the 18th century.^[9] While historical linguists generally agree that “Tibet” names in European languages are loanwords from Arabic طيبة، توبات (Ṭībat or Tūbātt), itself deriving from Turkic Töbäd “The Heights” (plural of töbän).^[10]

[edit] Language

Main article: Standard Tibetan

Linguists generally classify the Tibetan language as a Tibeto-Burman language of the Sino-Tibetan language family although the boundaries between ‘Tibetan’ and certain other Himalayan languages can be unclear. According to Matthew Kapstein:

From the perspective of historical linguistics, Tibetan most closely resembles Burmese among the major languages of Asia. Grouping these two together with other apparently related languages spoken in the Himalayan lands, as well as in the highlands of Southeast Asia and the Sino-Tibetan frontier regions, linguists have generally concluded that there exists a Tibeto-Burman family of languages. More controversial is the theory that the Tibeto-Burman family is itself part of a larger language family, called Sino-Tibetan, and that through it Tibetan and Burmese are distant cousins of Chinese.^[11]

The language is spoken in numerous regional dialects which generally cannot be understood by the speakers of the different oral forms of Tibetan. It is employed throughout the Tibetan plateau and Bhutan and is also spoken in parts of Nepal and northern India, such as Sikkim. In general, the dialects of central Tibet (including Lhasa), Kham, Amdo and some smaller nearby areas are considered Tibetan dialects. Other forms, particularly Dzongkha, Sikkimese, Sherpa, and Ladakhi, are considered by their speakers, largely for political reasons, to be separate languages. However, if the latter group of Tibetan-type languages are included in the calculation then ‘greater Tibetan’ is spoken by approximately 6 million people across the Tibetan Plateau. Tibetan is also spoken by approximately 150,000 exile speakers who have fled from modern-day Tibet to India and other countries.
Although spoken Tibetan varies according to the region, the written language, based on Classical Tibetan, is consistent throughout. This is probably due to the long-standing influence of the Tibetan empire, whose rule embraced (and extended at times far beyond) the present Tibetan linguistic area, which runs from northern Pakistan in the west to Yunnan and Sichuan in the east, and from north of Qinghai Lake south as far as Bhutan. The Tibetan language has its own script which it shares with Ladakhi and Dzongkha, and which is derived from the ancient Indian Brāhmī script.^[12]

[edit] History

Main article: History of Tibet

Further information: History of European exploration in Tibet, Neolithic Tibet, and Foreign relations of Tibet

King Songtsän Gampo

Humans inhabited the Tibetan Plateau at least 21,000 years ago.^[13] This population was largely replaced around 3,000 BP by Neolithic immigrants from northern China. However there is a “partial genetic continuity between the Paleolithic inhabitants and the contemporary Tibetan populations”.^[13]
The earliest Tibetan historical texts identify the Zhang Zhung culture as a people who migrated from the Amdo region into what is now the region of Guge in western Tibet.^[14] Zhang Zhung is considered to be the original home of the Bön religion.^[15] By the 1st century BCE, a neighboring kingdom arose in the Yarlung valley, and the Yarlung king, Drigum Tsenpo, attempted to remove the influence of the Zhang Zhung by expelling the Zhang’s Bön priests from Yarlung.^[16] He was assassinated and Zhang Zhung continued its dominance of the region until it was annexed by Songtsen Gampo in the 7th century.
Prior to Songtsän Gampo, the kings of Tibet were more mythological than factual, and there is insufficient evidence of their existence.^[17]

The area colored in olive drab shows the Tibetan Empire as it was in 820

The Yuan Dynasty, c. 1294 and its client state Goryeo in modern Korea

Tibet in 1734. Royaume de Thibet (“Kingdom of Tibet”) in la Chine, la Tartarie Chinoise, et le Thibet (“China, Chinese Tartary, and Tibet”) on a 1734 map by Jean Baptiste Bourguignon d’Anville, based on earlier Jesuit maps.

Tibet in 1892 during the Qing Dynasty.

[edit] Tibetan Empire

Main article: Tibetan Empire

The history of a unified Tibet begins with the rule of Songtsän Gampo (604–650 CE) who united parts of the Yarlung River Valley and founded the Tibetan Empire. He also brought in many reforms and Tibetan power spread rapidly creating a large and powerful empire. It is traditionally considered that his first wife was the Princess of Nepal, Bhrikuti, and that she played a great role in establishment of Buddhism in Tibet. In 640 he married Princess Wencheng, the niece of the powerful Chinese emperor Taizong of Tang China.
Under the next few Tibetan kings, Buddhism became established as the state religion and Tibetan power increased even further over large areas of Central Asia, while major inroads were made into Chinese territory, even reaching the Tang‘s capital Chang’an (modern Xi’an) in late 763.^[18] However, the Tibetan occupation of Chang’an only lasted for fifteen days, after which they were defeated by Tang and its ally, the Turkic Uyghur Khaganate.
The Kingdom of Nanzhao (in Yunnan and neighbouring regions) remained under Tibetan control from 750 to 794, when they turned on their Tibetan overlords and helped the Chinese inflict a serious defeat on the Tibetans.^[19]
In 747, the hold of Tibet was loosened by the campaign of general Gao Xianzhi, who tried to re-open the direct communications between Central Asia and Kashmir. By 750 the Tibetans had lost almost all of their central Asian possessions to the Chinese. However, after Gao Xianzhi’s defeat by the Arabs and Qarluqs at the Battle of Talas (751) and the subsequent civil war (755), Chinese influence decreased rapidly and Tibetan influence resumed. In 821/822 CE Tibet and China signed a peace treaty. A bilingual account of this treaty, including details of the borders between the two countries, is inscribed on a stone pillar which stands outside the Jokhang temple in Lhasa.^[20] Tibet continued as a Central Asian empire until the mid-9th century.

[edit] Yuan Dynasty

Main article: Mongol invasions of Tibet

The Mongolian Yuan Dynasty, through the Bureau of Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs, or Xuanzheng Yuan (Chinese: 宣政院), ruled Tibet through a top-level administrative department. One of the department’s purposes was to select a dpon-chen, usually appointed by the lama and confirmed by the Mongol emperor in Beijing.^[21] The Sakya lama retained a degree of autonomy, acting as the political authority of the region, while the dpon-chen held administrative and military power. Mongol rule of Tibet remained separate from the main provinces of China, but the region existed under the administration of the Yuan Dynasty. If the Sakya lama ever came into conflict with the dpon-chen, the dpon-chen had the authority to send Chinese troops into the region.^[21]
Tibet retained nominal power over religious and regional political affairs, while the Mongols managed a structural and administrative^[22] rule over the region, reinforced by the rare military intervention. This existed as a “diarchic structure” under the Yuan emperor, with power primarily in favor of the Mongols.^[21] Mongolian prince Khuden gained temporal power in Tibet in the 1240s and sponsored Sakya Pandita, whose seat became the capital of Tibet.
Yuan control over the region ended with the Ming overthrow of the Yuan and Tai Situ Changchub Gyaltsen‘s revolt against the Mongols.^[23] Following the uprising, Tai Situ Changchub Gyaltsen founded the Phagmodrupa dynasty, and sought to reduce Yuan influences over Tibetan culture and politics.^[24]

[edit] Phagmodrupa Dynasty and the Dalai Lamas

Main article: Phagmodrupa Dynasty

Between 1346 and 1354, Tai Situ Changchub Gyaltsen toppled the Sakya and founded the Phagmodrupa dynasty. The following 80 years saw the founding of the Gelug school (also known as Yellow Hats) by the disciples of Je Tsongkhapa, and the founding of the important Ganden, Drepung, and Sera monasteries near Lhasa.
In 1578, Altan Khan of the Tümed Mongols gave Sonam Gyatso, a high lama of the Gelugpa school, the name Dalai Lama; Dalai being the Mongolian translation of the Tibetan name Gyatso, or “Ocean”.^[25]
The first Europeans to arrive in Tibet were the Portuguese missionaries António de Andrade and Manuel Marques in 1624. They were welcomed by the King and Queen of Guge, and were allowed to build a church and to introduce Christian belief. The king of Guge eagerly accepted Christianity as an offsetting religious influence to dilute the thriving Gelugpa and to counterbalance his potential rivals and consolidate his position. All missionaries were expelled in 1745.^{[26][27][28][29]}

[edit] Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty put Amdo under their control in 1724, and incorporated eastern Kham into neighbouring Chinese provinces in 1728.^[30] The Qing government sent a resident commissioner, called an Amban, to Lhasa. In 1750 the Ambans and majority of the Han Chinese and Manchus living in Lhasa were killed in a riot, and Qing troops arrived quickly and suppressed the rebels in the next year. Like the preceding Yuan dynasty, the Manchus of the Qing dynasty exerted military and administrative control of the region, while granting it a degree of political autonomy. The Qing commander publicly executed a number of supporters of the rebels, and, as in 1723 and 1728, made changes in the political structure and drew up a formal organization plan. The Qing now restored the Dalai Lama as ruler leading government called Kashag^[31] but elevated the role of Amban to include more direct involvement in Tibetan internal affairs. At the same time the Qing took steps to counterbalance the power of the aristocracy by adding officials recruited from the clergy to key posts.^[32]
For several decades, peace reigned in Tibet, but in 1792 the Qing emperor sent a large Chinese army into Tibet to push the invading Nepalese out. This prompted yet another Qing reorganization of the Tibetan government, this time through a written plan called the “Twenty-Nine Regulations for Better Government in Tibet”. Qing military garrisons staffed with Qing troops were now also established near the Nepalese border.^[33] Tibet was dominated by the Manchus in various stages in the 18th century, and the years immediately following the 1792 regulations were the peak of the Qing imperial commissioners’ authority; but there was no attempt to make Tibet a Chinese province.^[34]
In 1834 the Sikh Empire invaded and annexed Ladakh, a culturally Tibetan region that was an independent kingdom at the time. Seven years later a Sikh army led by General Zorawar Singh invaded western Tibet from Ladakh, starting the Sino-Sikh War. A Qing-Tibetan army repelled the invaders but was in turn defeated when it chased the Sikhs into Ladakh. The war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Chushul between the Chinese and Sikh empires.^[35]
As the Qing Dynasty weakened, its authority over Tibet also gradually weakened; by the mid 19th century, its influence was minuscule. Qing authority over Tibet had become more symbolic than real in the late 19th century,^{[36][37][38][39]} although in the 1860s the Tibetans still choose for reasons of their own to emphasize the empire’s symbolic authority and make it seem substantial.^[40]
This period also saw some contacts with Jesuits and Capuchins from Europe, and in 1774 a Scottish nobleman, George Bogle, came to Shigatse to investigate trade for the British East India Company.^[41] However, by the 19th century the situation of foreigners in Tibet grew more tenuous. The British Empire was encroaching from northern India into the Himalayas, the Emirate of Afghanistan and the Russian Empire were expanding into Central Asia and each power became suspicious of the others’ intentions in Tibet.
In 1904, a British expedition to Tibet, spurred in part by a fear that Russia was extending its power into Tibet, invaded Tibet, hoping that negotiations with the 13th Dalai Lama would be more effective than with Chinese representatives.^[42] When the mission reached Lhasa, Younghusband imposed a treaty which was subsequently repudiated, and was succeeded by a 1906 treaty^[43] signed between Britain and China.
In 1910, the Qing government sent a military expedition of its own under Zhao Erfeng to establish direct Chinese rule and deposed the Dalai Lama in an imperial edict, who fled to British India. Zhao Erfeng defeated the Tibetan military conclusively and expelled the Dalai Lama’s forces from the province. However, his actions were unpopular, and there was much animosity against him for his mistreatment of civilians and disregard for local culture.

[edit] Post-Qing period

After the Xinhai Revolution (1911–12) toppled the Qing Dynasty and the last Qing troops were escorted out of Tibet, the new Republic of China apologized for the actions of the Qing and offered to restore the Dalai Lama’s title.^[44] The Dalai Lama refused any Chinese title, and declared himself ruler of an independent Tibet^[45] in collusion with Mongolia. For the next 36 years, the 13th Dalai Lama and the regents who succeeded him governed Tibet. During this time, Tibet fought Chinese warlords for control of the ethnically Tibetan areas in Xikang and Qinghai (parts of Kham and Amdo) along the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.^[30] In 1914 the Tibetan government signed the Simla Accord with Britain, ceding the South Tibet region to British India. The Chinese government denounced the agreement as illegal.^[46][47]
When the regents in the 1930s and 40s displayed negligence in affairs, the Kuomintang Government of the Republic of China used this to their advantage to expand their reach into the territory.^[48]

[edit] From 1950 to present

Main article: History of Tibet (1950–present)

Emerging with control over most of mainland China after the Chinese Civil War, the People’s Republic of China incorporated Tibet in 1950 and negotiated the Seventeen Point Agreement with the newly enthroned 14th Dalai Lama‘s government, affirming the People’s Republic of China’s sovereignty but granting the area autonomy. Subsequently, on his journey into exile, the 14th Dalai Lama completely repudiated the agreement, which he has repeated on many occasions.^[49][50]
After the Dalai Lama government fled to Dharamsala, India during the 1959 Tibetan Rebellion, it established a rival government-in-exile. Afterwards, the Central People’s Government in Beijing renounced the agreement and began implementation of the halted social and political reforms.^[51] During the Great Leap Forward between 200,000 and 1,000,000 Tibetans died,^[52] and approximately 6,000 monasteries were destroyed around the Cultural Revolution.^[53] In 1962 China and India fought a brief war over the disputed South Tibet and Aksai Chin regions. Although China won the war, Chinese troops withdrew north of the McMahon Line, effectively ceding South Tibet back to India.^[47]
In 1980, General Secretary and reformist Hu Yaobang visited Tibet, and ushered in a period of social, political, and economic liberalization.^[54] At the end of the decade, however analogously to the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, monks in the Drepung and Sera monasteries started protesting for independence, and so the government halted reforms and started an anti-separatist campaign.^[54] Human rights organisations have been critical of the Beijing and Lhasa governments’ approach to human rights in the region when cracking down on separatist convulsions that have occurred around monasteries and cities, most recently in the 2008 Tibetan unrest.

[edit] Geography

Main article: Geography of Tibet

Tibet is located on the Tibetan Plateau, the world’s highest region.

Himalayas, on the southern rim of the Tibetan plateau

All of modern China, including Tibet, is considered a part of East Asia.^{[55][56][57][58][59][60][61]} Historically, some European sources also considered parts of Tibet to lie in Central Asia. Tibet is west of the Central China plain, and within mainland China, Tibet is regarded as part of 西部 (Xībù), a term usually translated by Chinese media as “the Western section”, meaning “Western China”.

Yarlung Tsangpo River

Tibet is often called the “roof of the world.”

Tibet has some of the world’s tallest mountains, with several of them making the top ten list. Mount Everest, at 8,848 metres (29,029 ft), is the highest mountain on earth, located on the border with Nepal. Several major rivers have their source in the Tibetan Plateau (mostly in present-day Qinghai Province). These include Yangtze, Yellow River, Indus River, Mekong, Ganges, Salween and the Yarlung Tsangpo River (Brahmaputra River).^[62] The Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon, along the Yarlung Tsangpo River, is among the deepest and longest canyons in the world.
Tibet has been called the “Water Tower” of Asia, and China is investing heavily in water projects in Tibet.^[63][64]
The Indus and Brahmaputra rivers originate from a lake (Tib: Tso Mapham) in Western Tibet, near Mount Kailash. The mountain is a holy pilgrimage site for both Hindus and Tibetans. The Hindus consider the mountain to be the abode of Lord Shiva. The Tibetan name for Mt. Kailash is Khang Rinpoche. Tibet has numerous high-altitude lakes referred to in Tibetan as tso or co. These include Qinghai Lake, Lake Manasarovar, Namtso, Pangong Tso, Yamdrok Lake, Siling Co, Lhamo La-tso, Lumajangdong Co, Lake Puma Yumco, Lake Paiku, Lake Rakshastal, Dagze Co and Dong Co. The Qinghai Lake (Koko Nor) is the largest lake in the People’s Republic of China.
The atmosphere is severely dry nine months of the year, and average annual snowfall is only 18 inches, due to the rain shadow effect. Western passes receive small amounts of fresh snow each year but remain traversable all year round. Low temperatures are prevalent throughout these western regions, where bleak desolation is unrelieved by any vegetation bigger than a low bush, and where wind sweeps unchecked across vast expanses of arid plain. The Indian monsoon exerts some influence on eastern Tibet. Northern Tibet is subject to high temperatures in the summer and intense cold in the winter.
Cultural Tibet consists of several regions. These include Amdo (A mdo) in the northeast, which is administratively part of the provinces of Qinghai, Gansu and Sichuan. Kham (Khams) in the southeast encompasses parts of western Sichuan, northern Yunnan, southern Qinghai and the eastern part of the Tibet Autonomous Region. Ü-Tsang (dBus gTsang) (Ü in the center, Tsang in the center-west, and Ngari (mNga’ ris) in the far west) covered the central and western portion of Tibet Autonomous Region.^[65]
Tibetan cultural influences extend to the neighboring states of Bhutan, Nepal, regions of India such as Sikkim, Ladakh, Lahaul, and Spiti, in addition to designated Tibetan autonomous areas in adjacent Chinese provinces.

[edit] Cities, towns and villages

Further information: List of towns and villages in the Tibet Autonomous Region

Looking across the square at Jokhang temple, Lhasa

There are over 800 settlements in Tibet. Lhasa is Tibet’s traditional capital and the capital of Tibet Autonomous Region. It contains two world heritage sites – the Potala Palace and Norbulingka, which were the residences of the Dalai Lama. Lhasa contains a number of significant temples and monasteries, including Jokhang and Ramoche Temple.
Shigatse is the second largest city in the Tibet AR, west of Lhasa. Gyantse and Qamdo are also amongst the largest.
Other cities and towns in cultural Tibet include Shiquanhe (Ali), Nagchu, Bamda, Rutog, Nyingchi, Nedong, Coqên, Barkam, Sakya, Gartse, Pelbar, Lhatse, and Tingri; in Sichuan, Kangding (Dartsedo); in Qinghai, Jyekundo (Yushu), Machen, and Golmud; in India, Tawang, Leh, and Gangtok.

[edit] Economy

Main article: Economy of Tibet

Farmers’ market in Lhasa

The Tibetan yak is an integral part of Tibetan life

The Tibetan economy is dominated by subsistence agriculture. Due to limited arable land, the primary occupation of the Tibetan Plateau is raising livestock, such as sheep, cattle, goats, camels, yaks, dzo, and horses. The main crops grown are barley, wheat, buckwheat, rye, potatoes, and assorted fruits and vegetables. Tibet is ranked the lowest among China’s 31 provinces^[66] on the Human Development Index according to UN Development Programme data.^[67] In recent years, due to increased interest in Tibetan Buddhism, tourism has become an increasingly important sector, and is actively promoted by the authorities.^[68] Tourism brings in the most income from the sale of handicrafts. These include Tibetan hats, jewelry (silver and gold), wooden items, clothing, quilts, fabrics, Tibetan rugs and carpets. The Central People’s Government exempts Tibet from all taxation and provides 90% of Tibet’s government expenditures.^{[69][70][71][72]}
The Qingzang railway linking the Tibet Autonomous Region to Qinghai Province was opened in 2006, but not without controversy.^[73][74][75]
In January 2007, the Chinese government issued a report outlining the discovery of a large mineral deposit under the Tibetan Plateau.^[76] The deposit has an estimated value of $128 billion and may double Chinese reserves of zinc, copper, and lead. The Chinese government sees this as a way to alleviate the nation’s dependence on foreign mineral imports for its growing economy. However, critics worry that mining these vast resources will harm Tibet’s fragile ecosystem and undermine Tibetan culture.^[76]
On January 15, 2009, China announced the construction of Tibet’s first expressway, a 37.9-kilometre stretch of controlled-access highway in southwestern Lhasa. The project will cost 1.55 billion yuan (US$227 million).^[77]
From January 18–20, 2010 a national conference on Tibet and areas inhabited by Tibetans in Sichuan, Yunnan, Gansu and Qinghai was held in China and a substantial plan to improve development of the areas was announced. The conference was attended by General secretary Hu Jintao, Wu Bangguo, Wen Jiabao, Jia Qinglin, Li Changchun, Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, He Guoqiang and Zhou Yongkang, all members of CPC Politburo Standing Committee signaling the commitment of senior Chinese leaders to development of Tibet and ethnic Tibetan areas. The plan calls for improvement of rural Tibetan income to national standards by 2020 and free education for all rural Tibetan children. China has invested 310 billion yuan (about 45.6 billion U.S. dollars) in Tibet since 2001. “Tibet’s GDP was expected to reach 43.7 billion yuan in 2009, up 170 percent from that in 2000 and posting an annual growth of 12.3 percent over the past nine years.”^[78]

[edit] Development Zone

The State Council approved Tibet Lhasa Economic and Technological Development Zone as a state-level development zone in 2001. It is located in the western suburbs of Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region. It is 50 km away from the Gonggar Airport, and 2 km away from Lhasa Railway Station and 2 km away from 318 national highway.
The zone has a planned area of 5.46 square kilometers and is divided into two zones. Zone A developed a land area of 2.51 square kilometers for construction purposes. It is a flat zone, and has the natural conditions for good drainage.^[79]

[edit] Demographics

See also: History of Tibet (1950–present)

An elderly Tibetan woman in Lhasa

Historically, the population of Tibet consisted of primarily ethnic Tibetans and some other ethnic groups. According to tradition the original ancestors of the Tibetan people, as represented by the six red bands in the Tibetan flag, are: the Se, Mu, Dong, Tong, Dru and Ra. Other traditional ethnic groups with significant population or with the majority of the ethnic group reside in Tibet (excluding disputed area with India) include Bai people, Blang, Bonan, Dongxiang, Han, Hui people, Lhoba, Lisu people, Miao, Mongols, Monguor (Tu people), Menba (Monpa), Mosuo, Nakhi, Qiang, Nu people, Pumi, Salar, and Yi people.
The proportion of the non-Tibetan population in Tibet is disputed. On the one hand, the Central Tibetan Administration of the Dalai Lama, accuses China of actively swamping Tibet with migrants in order to alter Tibet’s demographic makeup.^[80] On the other hand, according to the 2010 Chinese census ethnic Tibetans comprise 90% of a total population of 3 million in the Tibet Autonomous Region.^[81] Exact population numbers probably depend on how temporary migrants are counted.

[edit] Culture

Main article: Tibetan culture

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. It needs additional citations for verification. Tagged since April 2011. It is incomplete and may require expansion or cleanup. Tagged since April 2011.

[edit] Religion

[edit] Tibetan Buddhism

Main article: Tibetan Buddhism

Buddhist monks in Drepung Monastery

Religion is extremely important to the Tibetans and has a strong influence over all aspects of their lives. Bön is the ancient religion of Tibet, but has been almost eclipsed by Tibetan Buddhism, a distinctive form of Mahayana and Vajrayana, which was introduced into Tibet from the Sanskrit Buddhist tradition of northern India.^[82] Tibetan Buddhism is practiced not only in Tibet but also in Mongolia, parts of northern India, the Buryat Republic, the Tuva Republic, and in the Republic of Kalmykia and some other parts of China. During China’s Cultural Revolution, nearly all Tibet’s monasteries were ransacked and destroyed by the Red Guards.^[83][84][85] A few monasteries have begun to rebuild since the 1980s (with limited support from the Chinese government) and greater religious freedom has been granted – although it is still limited. Monks returned to monasteries across Tibet and monastic education resumed even though the number of monks imposed is strictly limited.^[83][86][87]
Tibetan Buddhism has four main traditions (the suffix pa is comparable to “er” in English):

• Gelug(pa), Way of Virtue, also known casually as Yellow Hat, whose spiritual head is the Ganden Tripa and whose temporal head is the Dalai Lama. Successive Dalai Lamas ruled Tibet from the mid-17th to mid-20th centuries. This order was founded in the 14th to 15th centuries by Je Tsongkhapa, based on the foundations of the Kadampa tradition. Tsongkhapa was renowned for both his scholasticism and his virtue. The Dalai Lama belongs to the Gelugpa school, and is regarded as the embodiment of the Bodhisattva of Compassion.^[88]

• Kagyu(pa), Oral Lineage. This contains one major subsect and one minor subsect. The first, the Dagpo Kagyu, encompasses those Kagyu schools that trace back to Gampopa. In turn, the Dagpo Kagyu consists of four major sub-sects: the Karma Kagyu, headed by a Karmapa, the Tsalpa Kagyu, the Barom Kagyu, and Pagtru Kagyu. The once-obscure Shangpa Kagyu, which was famously represented by the 20th century teacher Kalu Rinpoche, traces its history back to the Indian master Niguma, sister of Kagyu lineage holder Naropa. This is an oral tradition which is very much concerned with the experiential dimension of meditation. Its most famous exponent was Milarepa, an 11th century mystic.

• Nyingma(pa), The Ancient Ones. This is the oldest, the original order founded by Padmasambhava.

• Sakya(pa), Grey Earth, headed by the Sakya Trizin, founded by Khon Konchog Gyalpo, a disciple of the great translator Drokmi Lotsawa. Sakya Pandita 1182–1251CE was the great grandson of Khon Konchog Gyalpo. This school emphasizes scholarship.

[edit] Islam

Main article: Islam in Tibet

Tibetan mosque in Lhasa

Muslims have been living in Tibet since as early as the 8th or 9th century. In Tibetan cities, there are small communities of Muslims, known as Kachee (Kache), who trace their origin to immigrants from three main regions: Kashmir (Kachee Yul in ancient Tibetan), Ladakh and the Central Asian Turkic countries. Islamic influence in Tibet also came from Persia. After 1959 a group of Tibetan Muslims made a case for Indian nationality based on their historic roots to Kashmir and the Indian government declared all Tibetan Muslims Indian citizens later on that year.^[89] Other Muslim ethnic groups who have long inhabited Tibet include Hui, Salar, Dongxiang and Bonan. There is also a well established Chinese Muslim community (gya kachee), which traces its ancestry back to the Hui ethnic group of China.

[edit] Christianity

The first Christians documented to have reached Tibet were the Nestorians, of whom various remains and inscriptions have been found in Tibet. They were also present at the imperial camp of Möngke Khan at Shira Ordo, where they debated in 1256 with Karma Pakshi (1204/6-83), head of the Karma Kagyu order.^[90][91] Desideri, who reached Lhasa in 1716, encountered Armenian and Russian merchants.^[92]
Roman Catholic Jesuits and Capuchins arrived from Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. Portuguese missionaries Jesuit Father Antonio de Andrade and Brother Manuel Marques first reached the kingdom of Gelu^{[disambiguation needed ]} in western Tibet in 1624 and was welcomed by the royal family who allowed them to build a church later on.^[93][94] By 1627, there were about a hundred local converts in the Guge kingdom.^[95] Later on, Christianity was introduced to Rudok, Ladakh and Tsang and was welcomed by the ruler of the Tsang kingdom, where Andrade and his fellows established a Jesuit outpost at Shigatse in 1626.^[96]
In 1661 another Jesuit, Johann Grueber, crossed Tibet from Sining to Lhasa (where he spent a month), before heading on to Nepal.^[97] He was followed by others who actually built a church in Lhasa. These included the Jesuit Father Ippolito Desideri, 1716–1721, who gained a deep knowledge of Tibetan culture, language and Buddhism, and various Capuchins in 1707–1711, 1716–1733 and 1741–1745,^[98] Christianity was used by some Tibetan monarchs and their courts and the Karmapa sect lamas to counterbalance the influence of the Gelugpa sect in the 17th century until in 1745 when all the missionaries were expelled at the lama’s insistence.^{[27][99][100][101][102][103]}
In 1877, the Protestant James Cameron from the China Inland Mission walked from Chongqing to Batang in Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan province, and “brought the Gospel to the Tibetan people.” Beginning in the 20th century, in Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan, a large number of Lisu people and some Yi and Nu people converted to Christianity. Famous earlier missionaries include James O. Fraser, Alfred James Broomhall and Isobel Kuhn of the China Inland Mission, among others who were active in this area.^[104][105]

[edit] Tibetan art

Main article: Tibetan art

A thangka painting in Sikkim

Tibetan representations of art are intrinsically bound with Tibetan Buddhism and commonly depict deities or variations of Buddha in various forms from bronze Buddhist statues and shrines, to highly colorful thangka paintings and mandalas.

[edit] Architecture

Main article: Tibetan culture#Architecture

Tibetan architecture contains Chinese and Indian influences, and reflects a deeply Buddhist approach. The Buddhist wheel, along with two dragons, can be seen on nearly every Gompa in Tibet. The design of the Tibetan Chörtens can vary, from roundish walls in Kham to squarish, four-sided walls in Ladakh.
The most distinctive feature of Tibetan architecture is that many of the houses and monasteries are built on elevated, sunny sites facing the south, and are often made out of a mixture of rocks, wood, cement and earth. Little fuel is available for heat or lighting, so flat roofs are built to conserve heat, and multiple windows are constructed to let in sunlight. Walls are usually sloped inwards at 10 degrees as a precaution against the frequent earthquakes in this mountainous area.

The Potala Palace

Standing at 117 meters in height and 360 meters in width, the Potala Palace is the most important example of Tibetan architecture. Formerly the residence of the Dalai Lama, it contains over one thousand rooms within thirteen stories, and houses portraits of the past Dalai Lamas and statues of the Buddha. It is divided between the outer White Palace, which serves as the administrative quarters, and the inner Red Quarters, which houses the assembly hall of the Lamas, chapels, 10,000 shrines, and a vast library of Buddhist scriptures. The Potala Palace is a World Heritage Site, as is Norbulingka, the former summer residence of the Dalai Lama.

[edit] Music

Main article: Music of Tibet

The music of Tibet reflects the cultural heritage of the trans-Himalayan region, centered in Tibet but also known wherever ethnic Tibetan groups are found in India, Bhutan, Nepal and further abroad. First and foremost Tibetan music is religious music, reflecting the profound influence of Tibetan Buddhism on the culture.
Tibetan music often involves chanting in Tibetan or Sanskrit, as an integral part of the religion. These chants are complex, often recitations of sacred texts or in celebration of various festivals. Yang^{[disambiguation needed ]} chanting, performed without metrical timing, is accompanied by resonant drums and low, sustained syllables. Other styles include those unique to the various schools of Tibetan Buddhism, such as the classical music of the popular Gelugpa school, and the romantic music of the Nyingmapa, Sakyapa and Kagyupa schools.^[106]
Nangma dance music is especially popular in the karaoke bars of the urban center of Tibet, Lhasa. Another form of popular music is the classical gar style, which is performed at rituals and ceremonies. Lu are a type of songs that feature glottal vibrations and high pitches. There are also epic bards who sing of Gesar, who is a hero to ethnic Tibetans.

[edit] Festivals

Main article: Tibetan festivals

The Monlam Prayer Festival

Tibetan sand mandala

Tibet has various festivals which are commonly performed to worship the Buddha^{[citation needed]} throughout the year. Losar is the Tibetan New Year Festival. Preparations for the festive event are manifested by special offerings to family shrine deities, painted doors with religious symbols, and other painstaking jobs done to prepare for the event. Tibetans eat Guthuk (barley crumb food with filling) on New Year’s Eve with their families. The Monlam Prayer Festival follows it in the first month of the Tibetan calendar, falling between the fourth and the eleventh days of the first Tibetan month. It involves dancing and participating in sports events, as well as sharing picnics. The event was established in 1049 by Tsong Khapa, the founder of the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama’s order.

[edit] Cuisine

Main article: Tibetan cuisine

The most important crop in Tibet is barley, and dough made from barley flour—called tsampa—is the staple food of Tibet. This is either rolled into noodles or made into steamed dumplings called momos. Meat dishes are likely to be yak, goat, or mutton, often dried, or cooked into a spicy stew with potatoes. Mustard seed is cultivated in Tibet, and therefore features heavily in its cuisine. Yak yogurt, butter and cheese are frequently eaten, and well-prepared yogurt is considered something of a prestige item. Butter tea is very popular to drink.

[edit] See also

Geography portal Asia portal Himalayas portal China portal Tibet portal

• Outline of Tibet
• Index of Tibet-related articles

[edit] Notes

1. ^ “Q&A: China and Tibet”. BBC News. 2008-06-19.
2. ^ Lee, Peter (2011-05-07). “Tibet’s only hope lies within”. The Asia Times. Retrieved 2011-05-10. “Robin [alias of a young Tibetan in Qinghai] described the region as a cauldron of tension. Tibetans still were infuriated by numerous arrests in the wake of the 2008 protests. But local Tibetans had not organized themselves. ‘They are very angry at the Chinese government and the Chinese people,’ Robin said. ‘But they have no idea what to do. There is no leader. When a leader appears and somebody helps out they will all join.’ We … heard tale after tale of civil disobedience in outlying hamlets. In one village, Tibetans burned their Chinese flags and hoisted the banned Tibetan Snow Lion flag instead. Authorities … detained nine villagers … One nomad … said ‘After I die … my sons and grandsons will remember. They will hate the government.’”
3. ^ “Regions and territories: Tibet”. BBC News. 2010-12-11.
4. ^ http://www.religionfacts.com/a-z-religion-index/bon.htm
5. ^ Beckwith (1987), pg. 7
6. ^ Étienne de la Vaissière, “The Triple System of Orography in Ptolemy’s Xinjiang”, Exegisti Monumenta: Festschrif in Honour of Nicholas Sims-Williams, eds. Werner Sundermann, Almut Hintze & François de Blois (Wiesbaden, Germany: Harrassowitz, 2009), 532.
7. ^ ^{a b c} Sperling, Elliot; 謝, 惟敏. “Tubote, Tibet, and the Power of Naming”. Retrieved 2011-04-16.
8. ^ Baxter, William H. (2001-03-30). “An Etymological Dictionary of Common Chinese Characters”. Retrieved 2011-04-16.
9. ^ The word “Tibet” was used in the context of the first British mission to this country under George Bogle in 1774. See Clements R. Markham (ede.): Narratives of the Mission of George Bogle to Tibet and the Journey of Thomas Manning to Lhasa, reprinted by Manjushri Publishing House, New Delhi, 1971 (first published in 1876)
10. ^ Behr, Wolfgang, (1994). “Stephan V. Beyer The Classical Tibetan Language (book review)”, Oriens 34, pp. 558–559
11. ^ Kapstein 2006, pg. 19
12. ^ Kapstein 2006, pg. 22
13. ^ ^{a b} Zhao M, Kong QP, Wang HW, Peng MS, Xie XD, Wang WZ, Jiayang, Duan JG, Cai MC, Zhao SN, Cidanpingcuo, Tu YQ, Wu SF, Yao YG, Bandelt HJ, Zhang YP. (2009). Mitochondrial genome evidence reveals successful Late Paleolithic settlement on the Tibetan Plateau. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 106: 21230–21235. doi:10.1073/pnas.0907844106 PMID 19955425
14. ^ Norbu 1989, pp. 127–128
15. ^ Helmut Hoffman in McKay 2003 vol. 1, pp. 45–68
16. ^ Karmey 2001, p. 66ff
17. ^ Haarh, Erik: Extract from “The Yar Lun Dynasty”, in: The History of Tibet, ed. Alex McKay, Vol. 1, London 2003, p. 147; Richardson, Hugh: The Origin of the Tibetan Kingdom, in: The History of Tibet, ed. Alex McKay, Vol. 1, London 2003, p. 159 (and list of kings p. 166-167).
18. ^ Beckwith 1987, pg. 146
19. ^ Marks, Thomas A. (1978). “Nanchao and Tibet in South-western China and Central Asia.” The Tibet Journal. Vol. 3, No. 4. Winter 1978, pp. 13–16.
20. ^ ‘A Corpus of Early Tibetan Inscriptions. H. E. Richardson. Royal Asiatic Society (1985), pp. 106–43. ISBN 0947593004.
21. ^ ^{a b c} Dawa Norbu. China’s Tibet Policy, pp. 139. Psychology Press.
22. ^ Wylie. p.104: ‘To counterbalance the political power of the lama, Khubilai appointed civil administrators at the Sa-skya to supervise the mongol regency.’
23. ^ Rossabi 1983, p. 194
24. ^ Norbu, Dawa (2001) p. 57
25. ^ Laird 2006, pp. 142–143
26. ^ Lettera del P. Antonio de Andrade. Giov de Oliveira. Alano Dos Anjos al Provinciale di Goa, 29 Agosto, 1627; Maclagan, The Jesuits and The Great Mogul, pp. 347–348.
27. ^ ^{a b} “When Christianity and Lamaism Met: The Changing Fortunes of Early Western Missionaries in Tibet by Lin Hsiao-ting of Stanford University”. Pacificrim.usfca.edu. Retrieved 2010-03-26.
28. ^ “BBC News Country Profiles Timeline: Tibet”. 2009-11-05. Retrieved 2009-03-05.
29. ^ Stein 1972, pg. 83
30. ^ ^{a b} Wang Jiawei, “The Historical Status of China’s Tibet”, 2000, pp. 162–6.
31. ^ Kychanov, E.I. and Melnichenko, B.I. Istoriya Tibeta s drevneishikh vremen do nashikh dnei [History of Tibet sine Ancient Times to Present]. Moscow: Russian Acad. Sci. Publ., p.89-92
32. ^ Goldstein 1997, pg. 18
33. ^ Goldstein 1997, pg. 19
34. ^ Goldstein 1997, pg. 20
35. ^ The Sino-Indian Border Disputes, by Alfred P. Rubin, The International and Comparative Law Quarterly, Vol. 9, No. 1. (Jan., 1960), pp. 96-125.
36. ^ Goldstein 1989, p44
37. ^ Goldstein 1997, pg. 22
38. ^ Brunnert, H. S. and Hagelstrom, V.V. _Present Day Political Organization of China_, Shanghai, 1912. p. 467.
39. ^ http://stason.org/TULARC/travel/tibet/B6-What-was-Tibet-s-status-during-China-s-Qing-dynasty-164.html
40. ^ The Cambridge History of China, vol10, pg407
41. ^ Teltscher 2006, pg. 57
42. ^ Smith 1996, pp. 154–6
43. ^ Convention Between Great Britain and China
44. ^ Mayhew, Bradley and Michael Kohn. (2005). Tibet, p. 32. Lonely Planet Publications. ISBN 1-74059-523-8.
45. ^ Shakya 1999, pg. 5
46. ^ Neville Maxwell (February 12, 2011). “The Pre-history of the Sino-Indian Border Dispute: A Note”. Mainstream Weekly.
47. ^ ^{a b} Calvin, James Barnard (April 1984). “The China-India Border War”. Marine Corps Command and Staff College.
48. ^ Isabel Hilton (2001). The Search for the Panchen Lama. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 112. ISBN 0393321673. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
49. ^ “The 17-Point Agreement” The full story as revealed by the Tibetans and Chinese who were involved The Official Website of the Central Tibetan Administration.
50. ^ Dalai Lama, Freedom in Exile Harper San Francisco, 1991
51. ^ Rossabi, Morris (2005). “An Overview of Sino-Tibetan Relations”. Governing China’s Multiethnic Frontiers. University of Washington Press. p. 197.
52. ^ “World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples – China : Tibetans”. UNHCR. July 2008. Retrieved 2011-04-27.
53. ^ Boyle, Kevin; Sheen, Juliet (2003). Freedom of religion and belief: a world report. Routledge. ISSN 0415159776.
54. ^ ^{a b} Bank, David; Leyden, Peter (January 1990). As Tibet Goes…. 15. Mother Jones. ISSN 0362-8841.
55. ^ “plateaus”.
56. ^ “East Asia Region”.
57. ^ “UNESCO Collection of History of Civilizations of Central Asia Volume IV”. Retrieved 2009-02-19.
58. ^ Shakabpa, Tsepon; Victor C. Falkenheim and Turrell V. Wylie. “Tibet”. Britannica Online Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
59. ^ Illustrated Atlas of the World (1986) Rand McNally & Company. ISBN 0528831909 pp. 164–5
60. ^ Atlas of World History (1998) HarperCollins. ISBN 0-7230-1025-0 pg. 39
61. ^ Hopkirk 1983, pg. 1
62. ^ “Circle of Blue, 8 May 2008 China, Tibet, and the strategic power of water”. Circleofblue.org. 2008-05-08. Retrieved 2010-03-26.
63. ^ “The Water Tower Function of the Tibetan Autonomous Region.”
64. ^ “China to spend record amount on Tibetan water projects.”
65. ^ Petech, L., China and Tibet in the Early XVIIIth Century: History of the Establishment of Chinese Protectorate in Tibet, p51 & p98
66. ^ Globalization To Tibet^{[dead link]}
67. ^ “Tibet Environmental Watch – Development”. Tew.org. Retrieved 2010-03-26.
68. ^ “China TIBET Tourism Bureau”. Retrieved 2009-03-07.
69. ^ Grunfeld 1996, pg. 224
70. ^ Xu Mingxu, “Intrugues and Devoutness“, Brampton, p134, ISBN 1-896745-95-4
71. ^ The 14th Dalai Lama affirmed that Tibetans within the TAR have never paid taxes to the Central People’s Government, see Donnet, Pierre-Antoine, “Tibet mort ou vif“, 1994, p104 [Taiwan edition], ISBN 957-13-1040-9
72. ^ “Tibet’s economy depends on Beijing”. NPR News. 2002-08-26. Retrieved 2006-02-24.
73. ^ “China opens world’s highest railway”. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2005-07-01. Retrieved 2006-07-01.
74. ^ “China completes railway to Tibet”. BBC News. 2005-10-15. Retrieved 2006-07-04.
75. ^ “Dalai Lama Urges ‘Wait And See’ On Tibet Railway”. Deutsche Presse Agentur. 2006-06-30. Retrieved 2006-07-04.
76. ^ ^{a b} “Valuable mineral deposits found along Tibet railroad route”. Reuters. 2007-01-25. Retrieved 2007-11-05.
77. ^ Peng, James (2009-01-16). “China Says ‘Sabotage’ by Dalai Lama Supporters Set Back Tibet”. Retrieved 2009-02-07.
78. ^ “China to achieve leapfrog development, lasting stability in Tibet” news.xinhuanet.com/english
79. ^ “Lhasa Economic & Technology Development Zone”. RightSite.asia. Retrieved 2010-12-31.
80. ^ “Population Transfer Programmes”. Central Tibetan Administration. 2003. Archived from the original on 2010-07-29. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
81. ^ “Tibet’s population tops 3 million; 90% are Tibetans”. Xinhua News Agency. 2011-05-04. Retrieved 2011-12-04.
82. ^ Conze, Edward (1993). A Short History of Buddhism. Oneworld. ISBN 1851680667.
83. ^ ^{a b} Tibetan monks: A controlled life. BBC News. March 20, 2008.
84. ^ Tibet During the Cultural Revolution Pictures from a Tibetan People’s Liberation Army’s officer
85. ^ The last of the Tibetans Los Angeles Times. March 26, 2008.
86. ^ TIBET’S BUDDHIST MONKS ENDURE TO REBUILD A PART OF THE PAST New York Times Published: June 14, 1987.
87. ^ Laird 2006, pp. 351, 352
88. ^ Avalokitesvara, Chenrezig
89. ^ Masood Butt, ‘Muslims of Tibet’, The Office of Tibet, January/February 1994
90. ^ Kapstein 2006, pp. 31, 71, 113
91. ^ Stein 1972, pp. 36, 77–78
92. ^ Françoise Pommaret, Françoise Pommaret-Imaeda (2003). “Lhasa in the seventeenth century: the capital of the Dalai Lamas“. BRILL. p.159. ISBN 9004128662
93. ^ Graham Sanderg, The Exploration of Tibet: History and Particulars (Delhi: Cosmo Publications, 1973), pp. 23–26; Thomas Holdich, Tibet, The Mysterious (London: Alston Rivers, 1906), p. 70.
94. ^ Sir Edward Maclagan, The Jesuits and The Great Mogul (London: Burns, Oates & Washbourne Ltd., 1932), pp. 344–345.
95. ^ Lettera del P. Alano Dos Anjos al Provinciale di Goa, 10 Novembre 1627, quoted from Wu Kunming, Zaoqi Chuanjiaoshi jin Zang Huodongshi (Beijing: Zhongguo Zangxue chubanshe, 1992), p. 163.
96. ^ Extensively using Italian and Portuguese archival materials, Wu’s work gives a detailed account of Cacella’s activities in Tsang. See Zaoqi Chuanjiaoshi jin Zang Huodongshi, esp. chapter 5.
97. ^ Narratives of the Mission of George Bogle to Tibet, and of the Journey of Thomas Manning to Lhasa, pp. 295–302. Clements R. Markham. (1876). Reprint Cosmo Publications, New Delhi. 1989.
98. ^ Stein 1972, p. 85
99. ^ “BBC News Country Profiles Timeline: Tibet”. 2009-11-05. Retrieved 2009-03-11.
100. ^ Lettera del P. Antonio de Andrade. Giovanni de Oliveira. Alano Dos Anjos al Provinciale di Goa, 29 Agosto, 1627, quoted from Wu, Zaoqi Chuanjiaoshi jin Zang Huodongshi, p. 196; Maclagan, The Jesuits and The Great Mogul, pp. 347–348.
101. ^ Cornelius Wessels, Early Jesuit Travellers in Central Asia, 1603–1721 (The Hague: Nijhoff, 1924), pp. 80–85.
102. ^ Maclagan, The Jesuits and The Great Mogul, pp. 349–352; Filippo de Filippi ed., An Account of Tibet, pp. 13–17.
103. ^ Relação da Missão do Reino de Uçangue Cabeça dos do Potente, Escrita pello P. João Cabral da Comp. de Jesu. fol. 1, quoted from Wu, Zaoqi Chuanjiaoshi jin Zang Huodongshi, pp. 294–297; Wang Yonghong, “Luelun Tianzhujiao zai Xizang di Zaoqi Huodong”, Xizang Yanjiu, 1989, No. 3, pp. 62–63.
104. ^ “Yunnan Province of China Government Web”. Retrieved 2008-02-15.
105. ^ Kapstein 2006, pp. 31, 206
106. ^ Crossley-Holland, Peter. (1976). “The Ritual Music of Tibet.” The Tibet Journal. Vol. 1, Nos. 3 & 4, Autumn 1976, pp. 47–53.

[edit] References

• Beckwith, Christopher I. The Tibetan Empire in Central Asia: A History of the Struggle for Great Power among Tibetans, Turks, Arabs, and Chinese during the Early Middle Ages’ (1987) Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-02469-3
• Goldstein, Melvyn C. A History of Modern Tibet, 1913–1951: The Demise of the Lamaist State (1989) University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-06140-8
• Goldstein, Melvyn C. The Snow Lion and the Dragon: China, Tibet, and the Dalai Lama (1997) University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-21951-1
• Grunfeld, Tom (1996). The Making of Modern Tibet. ISBN 1-56324-713-5.
• Hopkirk, Peter. Trespassers on the Roof of the World: The Secret Exploration of Tibet (1983) J. P. Tarcher. ISBN 0-87477-257-5
• Kapstein, Matthew T. The Tibetans (2006) Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 978-0-631-22574-4
• Laird, Thomas. The Story of Tibet: Conversations with the Dalai Lama (2006) Grove Press. ISBN 0-8021-1827-5
• Mullin, Glenn H.The Fourteen Dalai Lamas: A Sacred Legacy of Reincarnations (2001) Clear Light Publishers. ISBN 1-57416-092-3
• Powers, John. History as Propaganda: Tibetan Exiles versus the People’s Republic of China (2004) Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-517426-7
• Richardson, Hugh E. Tibet and its History Second Edition, Revised and Updated (1984) Shambhala. ISBN 0-87773-376-7
• Shakya, Tsering. The Dragon In The Land Of Snows (1999) Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-11814-7
• Stein, R. Tibetan Civilization (1972) Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-0901-7
• Teltscher, Kate. The High Road to China: George Bogle, the Panchen Lama and the First British Expedition to Tibet (2006) Bloomsbury UK. ISBN 0-7475-8484-2

[edit] Further reading

• Allen, Charles (2004). Duel in the Snows: The True Story of the Younghusband Mission to Lhasa. London: John Murray. ISBN 0-7195-5427-6.
• Bell, Charles (1924). Tibet: Past & Present. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
• Dowman, Keith (1988). The Power-Places of Central Tibet: The Pilgrim’s Guide. Routledge & Kegan Paul. London, ISBN 0-7102-1370-0. New York, ISBN 0-14-019118-6.
• Feigon, Lee. (1998). Demystifying Tibet: unlocking the secrets of the land of the snows. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee. ISBN 1-56663-196-3. 1996 hardback, ISBN 1-56663-089-4
• Gyatso, Palden (1997). The Autobiography of a Tibetan Monk. Grove Press. NY, NY. ISBN 0-8021-3574-9
• Human Rights in China: China, Minority Exclusion, Marginalization and Rising Tensions, London, Minority Rights Group International, 2007
• Le Sueur, Alec (2001). The Hotel on the Roof of the World – Five Years in Tibet. Chichester: Summersdale. ISBN 978-1840241990. Oakland: RDR Books. ISBN 978-1571431011
• McKay, Alex (1997). Tibet and the British Raj: The Frontier Cadre 1904–1947. London: Curzon. ISBN 0-7007-0627-5.
• Norbu, Thubten Jigme; Turnbull, Colin (1968). Tibet: Its History, Religion and People. Reprint: Penguin Books (1987).
• Pachen, Ani; Donnely, Adelaide (2000). Sorrow Mountain: The Journey of a Tibetan Warrior Nun. Kodansha America, Inc. ISBN 1-56836-294-3.
• Petech, Luciano (1997). China and Tibet in the Early XVIIIth Century: History of the Establishment of Chinese Protectorate in Tibet. T’oung Pao Monographies, Brill Academic Publishers, ISBN 90-04-03442-0.
• Rabgey, Tashi; Sharlho, Tseten Wangchuk (2004) (PDF). Sino-Tibetan Dialogue in the Post-Mao Era: Lessons and Prospects. Washington: East-West Center. ISBN 1932728228.
• Samuel, Geoffrey (1993). Civilized Shamans: Buddhism in Tibetan Societies. Smithsonian ISBN 1-56098-231-4.
• Schell, Orville (2000). Virtual Tibet: Searching for Shangri-La from the Himalayas to Hollywood. Henry Holt. ISBN 0-8050-4381-0.
• Smith, Warren W. (1996). History of Tibet: Nationalism and Self-determination. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. ISBN 0813331552.
• Smith, Warren W. (2004) (PDF). China’s Policy on Tibetan Autonomy – EWC Working Papers No. 2. Washington: East-West Center.
• Smith, Warren W. (2008). China’s Tibet?: Autonomy or Assimilation. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 9780742539891.
• Sperling, Elliot (2004) (PDF). The Tibet-China Conflict: History and Polemics. Washington: East-West Center. ISBN 1932728139. ISSN 15471330. – (online version)
• Thurman, Robert (2002). Robert Thurman on Tibet. DVD. ASIN B00005Y722.
• Van Walt van Praag, Michael C. (1987). The Status of Tibet: History, Rights, and Prospects in International Law. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press.
• Wilby, Sorrel (1988). Journey Across Tibet: A Young Woman’s 1,900-mile (3,060 km) Trek Across the Rooftop of the World. Contemporary Books. ISBN 0-8092-4608-2.
• Wilson, Brandon (2004). Yak Butter Blues: A Tibetan Trek of Faith. Pilgrim’s Tales. ISBN 0-9770536-6-0, ISBN 0-9770536-7-9. (second edition 2005)
• Wang Jiawei (2000). The Historical Status of China’s Tibet. ISBN-7-80113-304-8.
• Tibet wasn’t always ours, says Chinese scholar by Venkatesan Vembu, Daily News & Analysis, February 22, 2007
• Wylie, Turrell V. “The First Mongol Conquest of Tibet Reinterpreted”, Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies (Volume 37, Number 1, June 1977)

[edit] External links

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• Tibetan Resources on the Web from Columbia University Libraries
• British photographs of Tibet 1920–1950
• Pictures of Tibet
• Haiwei Trails – Timeline of Tibet
• The Language of Tibet
• Tibet Photo Gallery – A complete Travel Photos
• White Paper on Tibetan Culture released by the Information Office of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China June 22
• Historical maps and images of Tibet presented by University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries Digital Collections
• Tibet travel guide from Wikitravel

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Yangzom Brauen

From the Author  | From Wikipedia Yangzom was born and raised in Bern, the capital of Switzerland. Her Swiss anthropologist father and Tibetan artist mother ignited her passion for the arts but also contributed to her appreciation and understanding of her Tibetan roots, not just from a cultural but a very deep personal perspective. Completing her studies in Europe’s prestigious University of Theater and Music in Bern, she started working in independent theater projects in Switzerland and Germany. Shortly thereafter, she was cast and guest-starred in a well-known Swiss sitcom ‘Manne Zimmer’ for National Swiss Television Network. Yangzom’s career would take off establishing her as a well-known actress starring in many Swiss and German TV Shows as well as in movies such as ‘Cargo’, the first Swiss sci-fi movie and ‘Länger Leben’, a Swiss Comedy. She received her Hollywood breakthrough when she won the role of “Inari” in the… Read more This biography was provided by the author or their representative.

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	Across Many Mountains: A Tibetan Family’s Epic Journey from Oppression to Freedom Hardcover: $15.87 Kindle Edition: $12.99 September 27, 2011    (21) Expand See Book Details
	Freedom in My Heart March 1, 2011    (2) Expand See Book Details
	Eisenvogel Kindle Edition: $7.39 November 1, 2010 Expand See Book Details
	“j’ai franchi tant de montagnes ; trois femmes tibétaines sur le chemin de la liberté” September 26, 2011 Expand See Book Details

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Yangzom was born and raised in Bern, the capital of Switzerland. Her Swiss anthropologist father and Tibetan artist mother ignited her passion for the arts but also contributed to her appreciation and understanding of her Tibetan roots, not just from a cultural but a very deep personal perspective.
Completing her studies in Europe’s prestigious University of Theater and Music in Bern, she started working in independent theater projects in Switzerland and Germany. Shortly thereafter, she was cast and guest-starred in a well-known Swiss sitcom ‘Manne Zimmer’ for National Swiss Television Network. Yangzom’s career would take off establishing her as a well-known actress starring in many Swiss and German TV Shows as well as in movies such as ‘Cargo’, the first Swiss sci-fi movie and ‘Länger Leben’, a Swiss Comedy. She received her Hollywood breakthrough when she won the role of “Inari” in the Sci Fi film, Aeon Flux, starring Charlize Theron. She then decided to move to Los Angeles to pursue her acting career in the States.
Yangzom’s acting vocation aside; she has always been extremely active and vocal in the Tibetan Freedom movement. At one time, she was president of the Tibetan Youth Association where she organized public demonstrations and cultural events. After being arrested in Moscow for protesting the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, she became famous in Europe not only as an actress but also as a fearless non-violent freedom fighter for Tibet. The press have called her ‘The Dalai Lama’s Angel’, ‘Mother Courage’, ‘Rebel Queen’, ‘A strong woman with lots of history’ and so on. She continues with her acting career but has been fierce in her support of the Tibetan cause.
In 2008 she wrote her first book, which became an instant bestseller in Germany and Switzerland 2009-10. ‘Across Many Mountains’ is a memoir about three generations of Tibetan women: Yangzom’s grandmother, her mother and her own story. The book has sold over 100,000 copies in Germany and Switzerland, and was on Europe’s Spiegel Bestseller list for over 40 weeks as well as The Focus Bestseller list. ‘Across Many Mountains’ got published in March 2011 in England and Australia with Random House UK. The North American publishers of the book are St.Martin’s Press in New York and in France, Press de la cite. Her book has also been published in Holland, Italy and Finland and will be released throughout Europe as 2011 progresses.
Today, Yangzom lives in Los Angeles as an actress, writer and producer. She enjoys cooking for friends in her spare time, as well as immersing herself in nature.
She just finished shooting a German-Swiss Co-production film in Ladakh, North India called ‘Escape from Tibet’ and was recently appointed ‘Ambassador’ by the Italian car company Fiat, to launch their new natural gas automobile model, the Fiat 500 Turbo.

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Yangzom Brauen
Actor, Activist, Author, Model
Yangzom was born and raised in Bern, the capital of Switzerland. Her Swiss anthropologist father and Tibetan artist mother ignited her passion for the arts but also contributed to her appreciation and understanding of her Tibetan roots, not just from a cultural but a very deep personal perspective.
Completing her studies in Europe’s prestigious University of Theater and Music in Bern, she started working in independent theater projects in Switzerland and Germany. Shortly thereafter, she was cast and guest-starred in a well-known Swiss sitcom ‘Manne Zimmer’ for National Swiss Television Network. Yangzom’s career would take off establishing her as a well-known actress starring in many Swiss and German TV Shows as well as in movies such as ‘Cargo’, the first Swiss sci-fi movie and ‘Länger Leben’, a Swiss Comedy. She received her Hollywood breakthrough when she won the role of “Inari” in the Sci Fi film, Aeon Flux, starring Charlize Theron. She then decided to move to Los Angeles to pursue her acting career in the States.
Yangzom’s acting vocation aside; she has always been extremely active and vocal in the Tibetan Freedom movement. At one time, she was president of the Tibetan Youth Association where she organized public demonstrations and cultural events. After being arrested in Moscow for protesting the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, she became famous in Europe not only as an actress but also as a fearless non-violent freedom fighter for Tibet. The press have called her ‘The Dalai Lama’s Angel’, ‘Mother Courage’, ‘Rebel Queen’, ‘A strong woman with lots of history’ and so on. She continues with her acting career but has been fierce in her support of the Tibetan cause.
In 2008 she wrote her first book, which became an instant bestseller in Germany and Switzerland 2009-10. ‘Across Many Mountains’ is a memoir about three generations of Tibetan women: Yangzom’s grandmother, her mother and her own story. The book has sold over 100,000 copies in Germany and Switzerland, and was on Europe’s Spiegel Bestseller list for over 40 weeks as well as The Focus Bestseller list. ‘Across Many Mountains’ got published in March 2011 in England and Australia with Random House UK. The North American publishers of the book are St.Martin’s Press in New York and in France, Press de la cite. Her book has also been published in Holland, Italy and Finland and will be released throughout Europe as 2011 progresses.
Today, Yangzom lives in Los Angeles as an actress, writer and producer. She enjoys cooking for friends in her spare time, as well as immersing herself in nature.
She just finished shooting a German-Swiss Co-production film in Ladakh, North India called ‘Escape from Tibet’ and was recently appointed ‘Ambassador’ by the Italian car company Fiat, to launch their new natural gas automobile model, the Fiat 500 Turbo.

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SEE RANK Yangzom Brauen Actress | Director | Producer View Resume | Official Photos » Yangzom was born and raised in Bern, the capital of Switzerland. Completing her studies in Europe’s prestigious University of Theater and Music in Bern, she started working in independent theater projects in Switzerland and Germany. Shortly thereafter, she was cast and guest-starred in a well-known Swiss sitcom ‘Manne Zimmer’ for National Swiss Television Network… See full bio » Born: 1981 in Switzerland

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Known For

Hallo Hollywood (2009)

Æon Flux (2005)

Pandorum (2009)

Cargo (2009)

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2011 Wilde Salome

2011 Escape from Tibet
Dolma

2010 Länger leben
Jasmin

2010 Movin’ In
Allie

2009 Hallo Hollywood (TV series)
as Yangzom Brauen / As yangzom brauen

– Episode #1.21 (2009) … as Yangzom Brauen

– Episode #1.20 (2009) … as Yangzom Brauen

– Episode #1.19 (2009) … as Yangzom Brauen

– Episode #1.18 (2009) … as Yangzom Brauen

– Episode #1.17 (2009) … as Yangzom Brauen

See all 21 episodes »

2009 Pandorum
2nd Lieutenant (Team 4)

2009 Cargo
Miyuki Yoshida

2009 The Mandala Maker (short)
Miranda

2006 Meine bezaubernde Nanny (TV movie)
Jane Fu

2006 Asudem
Woman

2006 A2Z
Beautiful girl

2005 Æon Flux
Inari

2005 The Big One (short)
Anna

2004 Oeschenen (TV movie)
Anna Graber

2004 Heimkehr
Yanki

2003 3 Lieder (short)

2002 Joy Ride
Barmaid Lola

2002 Paul und Lila (short)
Ines

2002/II Auszeit (short)
Lara

2001 Schluss mit lustig! (TV movie)
Maja

2000-2001 ManneZimmer (TV series)
Sylvie Blum

– En Artikel mit Biss (2001) … Sylvie Blum

– Luuter Helde (2001) … Sylvie Blum

– Konkurränz beläbt s’Gschäft (2000) … Sylvie Blum

2001 A Surplus of Love (short)
Lucy

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Played Banco in Eugene Ionesco’s “Macbett” at the Sophiensaele in Berlin (Germany) See more »

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Yangzom Brauen

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Yangzom Brauen
Born	18 April 1981 Berne, Switzerland

Yangzom Brauen (born 18 April 1981) is a Swiss actress, activist and writer.
Brauen, the daughter of Swiss ethnologist Martin Brauen and Tibetan artist Sonam Dolma,^[1] started her acting career with small roles in Swiss television series. She had her Hollywood debut in the film Aeon Flux in the role of Inari. Since then, she has played in various American independent productions including a minor role in Al Pacino‘s Salomaybe, an adaptation of Oscar Wilde‘s Salome and the leading part in the German film Asudem (2006) by Daryush Shokof.
In addition to her acting work, Brauen has drawn media attention with her public advocacy on behalf of the Tibetan people. In 1999, she co-organised demonstrations against Chinese leader Jiang Zemin‘s visit to Switzerland,^[2] and in 2001 a photograph of her being arrested in Moscow during a protest against the award of the 2008 Summer Olympics to Beijing was used in news reports worldwide.^[1][3]
Eisenvogel (“Iron Bird”), Brauen’s account of her grandmother Kunsang’s and her mother Sonam’s flight from Tibet, and her own youth in exile, was published in 2009 and became a bestseller in Germany. It was later published in English as Across Many Mountains.^[4]

[edit] Works

[edit] Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
2005	The Big One	Anna
2005	Æon Flux	Inari
2008	Movin’ In	Allie
2009	Salomaybe
2009	Cargo	Miyuki Yoshida
2009	Pandorum	Elysium Second Lieutenant

[edit] Books

• Brauen, Yangzom (2009). Eisenvogel: drei Frauen aus Tibet; die Geschichte meiner Familie. München: Heyne. ISBN 978-3453164048.
  Published in English as: Across many mountains: three daughters of Tibet. London: Harvill Secker. 2011. ISBN 978-1846553448.

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b} Weigelt, Nadia (27 March 2008). “Auf dem Weg nach Hollywood: Tibet-Aktivistin Yangzom Brauen” (in German). n-tv. Retrieved 2008-12-11.
2. ^ Nussbaumer, Hannes (11 April 2008). “In Bern geboren, in Hollywood zu Hause, für Tibet im Einsatz” (in German). Tages-Anzeiger. Retrieved 2008-12-11.
3. ^ Wilton, Jennifer (30 March 2008). “Ihr Kampf für ein freies Tibet” (in German). Die Welt. Retrieved 2008-12-11.
4. ^ di Giovanni, Janine (7 March 2011). “Across Many Mountains: escape from Tibet”. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 13 November 2011.

[edit] External links

• Yangzom Brauen at the Internet Movie Database
• personal website

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Born in 1980 to a Swiss father and Tibetan mother, Yangzom Brauen is an actress, model, and political activist. She lives in both Los Angeles and Berlin and has appeared in a number of German and American films. She is also very active in the Free Tibet movement, making regular radio broadcasts about Tibet and organizing public demonstrations against the Chinese occupation of Tibet. “

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Average rating: 3.85 · 139 ratings · 66 reviews · 3 distinct works

	Across Many Mountains: A Tibetan Family’s Epic Journey from Oppression to Freedom 3.85 avg rating — 139 ratings — published 2009 — 10 editions	My rating:
	Across Many Mountains: A Tibetan Family’s Epic Journey from Oppression to Freedom 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2012	My rating:

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Yangzom Brauen gave to: Othello by William Shakespeare	My rating:
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Ladies & Lite…: Memoir Recommendations….	61	34	Aug 15, 2011 04:43am
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The Feminist Read…: Book Giveaways	18	28	Feb 07, 2012 09:34pm
The Seasonal Read…: Winter Challenge 2011: Completed Tasks -DO NOT DELETE ANY POSTS IN THIS TOPIC	2401	424	16 minutes ago

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Across Many Mountains by Yangzom Brauen

Posted on October 11, 2011 by Alyce

Across Many Mountains
by Yangzom Brauen
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Publication Date: September 27, 2011
ISBN: 9780312600136
320 Pages
Nonfiction: Memoir/Biography
Publisher’s Description:
Kunsang thought she would never leave Tibet. One of the country’s youngest Buddhist nuns, she grew up in a remote mountain village where, as a teenager, she entered the local nunnery. Though simple, Kunsang’s life gave her all she needed: a oneness with nature and a sense of the spiritual in all things. She married a monk, had two children, and lived in peace and prayer. But not for long. There was a saying in Tibet: “When the iron bird flies and horses run on wheels, the Tibetan people will be scattered like ants across the face of the earth.” The Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1950 changed everything. When soldiers arrived at her mountain monastery, destroying everything in their path, Kunsang and her family fled across the Himalayas only to spend years in Indian refugee camps. She lost both her husband and her youngest child on that journey, but the future held an extraordinary turn of events that would forever change her life–the arrival in the refugee camps of a cultured young Swiss man long fascinated with Tibet. Martin Brauen will fall instantly in love with Kunsang’s young daughter, Sonam, eventually winning her heart and hand, and taking mother and daughter with him to Switzerland, where Yangzom will be born.
My Opinion:
What I liked about Across Many Mountains was that it offered an inside look at what life was like for Tibetans during the time of the Chinese invasion, as well as for those refugees who managed to escape.
The story follows the stories of three generations of women, starting with the author’s grandmother, who was a Buddhist nun. The story continues by detailing her mother’s difficult teen years as a Tibetan in India, and then later covers the author’s own challenges as someone who is half Tibetan and half Swiss.
The author shares what life was like prior to Chinese occupation; showing the daily lives of her grandparents as religious leaders. In fact, I learned a lot about Buddhism that I didn’t know from the first hundred pages of the story. There is much detail about the rituals and spirituality of her grandparents since it was the central focus of their lives. Their peaceful existence changed drastically when the Chinese forces arrived, and they felt it was necessary to flee for the safety of the family.
I had thought that the story was going to be mainly about the family’s escape across the mountains – like many of the survival stories I have read in the past, and found that it was less of a wilderness survival story and more of a generational tale of cultural heritage. It was still a very interesting read, just different from what I had anticipated.
It describes the trials her grandmother and mother faced as they fled to India, and their hardships as refugees in a strange land. I was surprised to learn that some of the refugee work camps were close to being slave labor camps – since the employers weren’t always honest about paying them. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that people will take advantage of others, but part of me is always surprised at how awful people can be to each other.
All was not grim in this story though. The author’s mother did find romance and the family’s story is ultimately one of success and achievement.
The most vivid sections to me were those that were about the author herself; written in first person. Seeing Tibet through her eyes gave me a much clearer picture of what life is like there than earlier parts of the story did. I think a lot of that is due to the earlier parts being stories that are from a long time ago; retold by the author for her mother and grandmother.
Reading Across Many Mountains is a good way to get a feel for what Tibetan culture was like before and after the Chinese took over. I recommend this book to those who are interested in learning more about Tibet and its people.
Rating: 3.5/5
I received a free copy of this book for review.

This entry was posted in 3.5 Stars, Advance Review Copy, Biography, Book Reviews, Memoirs, Nonfiction and tagged Across Many Mountains, Book Review, Tibet, Yangzom Brauen. Bookmark the permalink.

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Excerpt: ‘Across Many Mountains’ by Yangzom Brauen:

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Across Many Mountains by Yangzom Brauen (St. Martin’s Press, 2011).

EXCERPT

Prologue
It is late autumn and the wind whistles across the dry, rocky fields and meadows. As I step out of the house a fierce gust pushes me aside, so strong that I have to tilt my body into its force. Mola stands with her legs planted wide, buttressing herself against the gale.  Mola means grandmother in Tibetan. My grandmother is a ninety-one-year-old Buddhist nun. In the tradition of all Buddhist nuns, her now snow-white hair is cropped close to her scalp, and she wears only red, orange, and yellow. Her floor-length Tibetan chupa billows out like a sail, and it takes all her concentration to keep her balance. My grandmother wants to perform kora.  For Tibetans, kora means walking around a sacred place absorbed in prayer, a kind of pilgrimage that can encompass hundreds of miles or only a few yards.
My parents, my brother, Mola, and I have all met here for a short family holiday. Life has scattered us: Bern, Zurich, Los Angeles, New York, and Berlin. If Tibet had remained Tibet, we would all be together in Pang, a remote mountain village in the southeast of Tibet, where Mola, along with my grandfather, a Buddhist monk, lived in a monastery. But my grandparents fled the country in the winter of 1959 when Chinese soldiers were destroying monastery after monastery, looting their treasures, leaving only rubble. Fifty years on, the country still suffers under the Chinese occupation. Every member of my family feels the pain of this.
Later in the day, when the wind has calmed and the bright red sun is sinking, Mola sits in front of her farmhouse altar and begins to sing. My brother and I often listened to her songs as children  but we haven’t heard her sing them for a long time now. In a voice that sounds a little shaky but is still clear and mild she sings to us of a long-gone, faraway world. Singing with a voice that tells us of Tibet, Mola sings as she sang as a young girl—and as a nun—when  she lived the life of a hermit in a hut high in the Tibetan mountains.
Back then, she would meditate at the first light of day. Now, toward the end of her long life, she meditates with the last rays of sunlight. She is free from pain, free from melancholy and sorrow. She is entirely here, in the present, entirely with us. She knows she will be leaving us one day soon, but the thought does not scare her. She is calm and composed; she does not cling to earthly existence. My mother—my amala—worships in a different way. As Mola sits by her altar, her butter lamps lit, my mother climbs to the small whitewashed Greek Orthodox chapel at the top of the hill above our house. She loves to go there at the end of the day, to light a candle, leave an offering, and pray. Often she is the only one there, but sometimes she is joined by a few villagers who pray to their Greek Orthodox god as she prays in Tibetan to her deities. Mola would never think of praying in another religion’s chapel. She must bring her own altar with her, no matter where she is. Meanwhile, I read books while lazing in the garden hammock, listening to the chickens and crickets and to the sound of Mola’s prayers emanating from the house. How different we three generations are . . .
When my mother has made her way back from the chapel on the hill, and Mola has finished her prayers, the three of us stand outside together to watch the sun set behind the mountains. This landscape of stone and sky looks almost like Tibet. That is why my family loves this place. Mola, Amala, and I fall silent as the last glow of the sun fades in the sky. I am moved almost to tears. I feel as if we are nearing the end of a long journey, a journey I want to share with you.
From Across Many Mountains by Yangzom Brauen. Copyright © 2011 by the author and reprinted by permission of St. Martin’s Press, LLC.

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