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Tibet s located at
the southwest frontier of China with a vase land of more than 1.2 million
square kilometers. Tibet borders with India, Nepal Bhutan, Burma and
neighbors with Qinghai, Xinjiang, Sichuan, Yunnan. Tibety has a total
population of more than 2.56 million, among which Tibetan takes up
94.7%. Other main nationalities include Hon, Mena, Luoba, hui, Naxi, etc. |
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Tibet is often referred to in popular Western literature
as "The Roof of the World. "Tibet covers 1.2 million sq. kms
constituting one eighth of China's land mass, nearly as large as the total
territories of Germany and France. Tibet,
borders India, Burma, Bhutan, Sikkim, & Nepal. The plateau is surrounded
by the highest mountain ranges, the
Himalaya to the south, the Karakoram to the west and the Kunlun to the
north. Serial smaller mountains block it off in
the east with internal provinces of China. With an average height of 4,000
meters above sea level, Tibet owns a group
of giant mountains, Mt. Everest, and 4 mountains higher than 8,000 meters
and 38 higher than 7,000 meters, becomes
the dreamland mountaineers and adventures. |
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The Tibetan was the descendents of
a male Monkey and a female Rock-demon. This was probably invented by
outsiders when they witness the Tibetan
custom of covering or painting their faces to protect themselves from
harsh weather conditions. Later on, in the writing of the great 5th Dalai
Lama, the story
changed the Monkey to Avalokitesvara, a disciple of Buddha and known as
GuanYin by Han people (Jiaga in Tibetan) as a goddess, the Venus of Han.
Moreover, the Rock-demon became a goddess. In fact, the great 5th Dalai
Lama further claimed that the Tibetan King, Srong-tsan-gam-po, was a
reincarnation of Avalokitesvara, and his Han wife, princess Wen-Cheng, was
the reincarnation of the goddess Tara or Mother-savior. This becomes an
important story of Tibet.
Five hundred years before Buddha Sakyamuni came into the world i.e; circa
1063 B.C, a semi legemdery figure known as Lord Shenarb Miwo reformed the
primitive animism of the Shen race and founded the Tibetan Bon religion.
According to Bonpo sources there were 18 kings who ruled on Tibet before
king
Nyatri Tsenpo. In 1254, Kublai Khan granted supreme authority over Tibet
to Sakya Pandit's nephew, the leader of Sakya order. Tibet was thus
incorporated
as one 13 provinces of China. At the end Yuan Dyantsey, sakya order
declined and was replaced by Kagyu order, whose patron offered tribute to
the imperial
court and was conferred with tiles and authority to administrate. After
the Ming Dyantsey was established, tibetan high lames were summounted to
the
imperial court to receive tiles and appointments.
In 1751, Mongol Atlan Khan gave his submission to the Ming Dyantsey and
asked for the imperial permission to invite Sonam Gyatso, the third Dalai
Lama to
give him spritual guide. In 1578, Atlon Khan conferred Sonam Gyatso, the
title of Dalai Lama. In 1641, under the patronage of Qosot Gushri Khan,
Gandan
Podrang Dyantsey took teh regin and Gelugpa, the order of Dalai Lama and
Panchen Lama stepped into political arena.in 1652, the fifth Dalai Lama
was
summoned to Beijing and in 1653 he was reconferred with the title Dalai
Lama and made religios leader of Tibet Buddhism by emperor Shunzhi. in1682
the
fifth Dalai Lama passed away and depute arose in the identifications of
the sixth Dalai Lama.
In 1709, Emperor Kangxi sent his imperial envoy to assist the local
magistrate Lhabzang Khan, grandson of Gushri Khan. but in 1717 Dzungar
Mongols
attacked Tibet and killed Lhabzang Khan, sacked monasteries and deposed of
the sixth Dalai Lama. Lot drawing process was introduced to avoid dispute
in
the identification of high lamas and their installation should be approved
by the central government in 1793. A treaty was signed between Tibet and
great
Britain on September 7, 1904. During the British invasion Tibet conducted
her affairs as an independent country. when the British invaded Tibet, the
13th
dalai Lama went to Mongolia. And when the Dalai Lama finally returned to
Lhasa in 1909, he found that contrary to all promises he had received in
Peking,
Chao troops were at his heels. In India the Dalai Lama and his ministers
appealed to the British Govt. to help Tibet. Meanwhile the Manchu
occupation force
tried to subvert the Tibetan Government and to divide Tibet into Chinese
provinces - exactly what, not half a century later, the Communist Chinese
would do.
In 1951, Tibet was peacefully liberated under the 17-point Agreement on
Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet. Hundreds of thousands serfs
were
liberated from the yoke of serfdom.On May 23, 1951 a Tibetan delegation,
which had gone to Peking to hold talks on the invasion, was forced to sign
the
so-called "17-point Agreement on Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of
Tibet", with threats of more military action in Tibet and by forging the
official seals
of Tibet.The Chinese then used this document to carry out their plans to
turn Tibet into a colony of China disregarding the strong resistance by
the Tibetan
people. What is more, the Chinese violated every article of this unequal
'treaty' which they had imposed on the Tibetans. On March 10, 1959 the
nation wide
Tibetan resistance culminated in the Tibetan National uprising against the
Chinese in Lhasa. thousand of men, women & children's were massacred in the
streets and many more imprisoned and deported. monasteries and temples
were shelled.
On March 17, 1959 the Dalai Lama left Lhasa and escaped from the
pursuing
Chinese to seek political asylum in India. There are now more than one
hundred
thousand Tibetan refugees all over the world. It has been almost 40 years
since Chinese occupied Tibet and the destruction of a unique Culture is
still going
on Tibet, yet the world has not come in aid of Tibet, only lip service. |