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Tibet: Now and Then

• Dates back to 127 B.C., but first incorporated as a “country” in the 7th century by King Songtsen Gampo and his successors
• Quickly became the mightiest of all Asian countries for the next 3 centuries
• “Tibetans shall be happy in Tibet and Chinese shall be happy in China” treaty of 821/823 demarcated the borders of the two countries
• 13th Century: Mongols invade most of Asia. Tibet escapes invasion when the Lama promised loyalty, religious blessings and teaching, receiving protection from the Mongol army.
• Mongols overrun China; Kublai Khan creates Yuan Dynasty (1279-136 cool , invites Sakya Lama to become Imperial preceptor and pontiff.
• No ties between Tibet and Chinese Ming Dynasty (1386-1644)
• 1642: Dalai Lama establishes a sovereign, peaceful Tibet. Establishes ties with Qing Dynasty of China. “Priest-Patron” (Choe-Yoen) relationship
• Tibet protected 4 times by Chinese forces between 1720 and 1792 from Mongol invasions. Established significant Chinese political influence in Tibet.
• Lhasa Convention in 1904 with British: China claims control over Tibet
• 1910: China invades Tibet
• 1911: Chinese revolution, Chinese troops in Tibet surrender to Tibetan army, and are sent back to China in a Sino-Tibetan peace agreement
• Dalai Lama reasserts control over Tibet, and establishes treaties and accords with neighboring China and Mongolia.

20th Century Tibet
 Tibet is a fully independent state, with little to no outside political influence from 1911 to 1950. Peaceful country under the Dalai Lama.
 Chinese wage a “border war” with Tibet, claiming to the world that Tibet is part of China’s 5 races, and asked Tibet repeatedly to join the Chinese Republic.
 1913: British delegation attempts to defuse relations between China and Tibet, and asks representatives to meet. Unsuccessful.
 Tibet remained neutral during WWII.
 1949: Chinese invade Tibet. People’s Liberation Army defeats the less advanced, extremely outmatched Tibetan Army.
 17 Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet of 1951. Illegally signed under international law.
 1959: Uprisings in Tibet cause a Chinese retaliation. 87,000 Tibetans die in Lhasa alone.
 Dalai Lama flees to Dharamsala, India. Creates a constitution for the government-in-exile in 1963.
Some important numbers pertaining to the Chinese occupation:
1.2 Million Tibetans have died at the hands of the Chinese. That’s 1/6 of the total population of Tibet. In comparison, Philadelphia has 1.5 million residents. There are 7.5 million Chinese in Tibet, and only 6 million Tibetans.
China divided Tibet into 5 provinces: Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan, Yunnan, and the Tibetan Autonomous Region. When China referrers to Tibet, they are only talking about the TAR. The original provinces of Tibet are Amdo, Kham and U-Tsang.

I feel I should point out Dzogchen, which is described in the Tibetan Book of Living and Dying (I know it may seem I harp on, but until I read other books on the subject, I can only consider this the best I have encountered)