The Dragon in the Land of Snows

A History of Modern Tibet Since 1947

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Based entirely on unpublished primary sources, Tsering Shakya's groundbreaking history of modern Tibet shatters the popular conception of the country as an isolated Shangri-la unaffected by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.
Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Maps
Abbreviations
Introduction

1. The Lull Before the Storm
Tibet and Its Neighbours
The Expulsion of the Guomindang and the Communist Victory in China
Tibet Prepares to Face the PRC
Tibet Seeks International Support
Tibet Negotiates with the Communists

2. China Invades
China Woos Tibet
The PLA Attacks
China Imposes Terms on Tibet

3. Tibet Appeals to the UN and the 17-Point Agreement
The UN Problem
UN Postpones Debate on Tibet
Tibet and China Negotiate
US Intervention in the Tibetan Issue
Tibetans Discuss the 17-Point Agreement

4. An Uneasy Co-existence
The Two Prime Ministers
Opposition of the People
Tasilhunpo Factions
The Indo-Chinese Trade Agreement
The Dalai Lama Meets Mao
Prepatory Committee for the TAR

5. The Rift
The Uprising in Kham and Amdo
Growing Opposition in Central Tibet
The Dalai Lama Visits India
Zhou Enlai Urges the Dalai Lama to Return to Tibet

6. The Revolt
The Founding of 'Four Rivers, Six Ranges'
Clandestine Support from America
Appeasing the Chinese and Quelling the Khampa Revolt

7. The Flight of the Dalai Lama
The Spark of the Uprising
Siege of the Summer Palace
The Last Attempts to Win Over the Dalai Lama
Escape of the Dalai Lama

8. The International Response and Tibet at the UN
Nehru and Tibet
Support for Tibet
UN Debates

9. Reform and Repression
Smash the Reactionaries!
The Panchen Rinpoche
The 70,000 Character Petition

10. War in the Himalayas
A Legacy of Empire
Tibetan Resistance
The Clash of India and China

11. Socialist Transformation of Tibet
The Purge of the Panchen Rinpoche
The Establishment of the Tibet Autonomous Region

12. The Cultural Revolution
Destruction of the 'Four Olds'
Smash the Power-holders
Two Factions
The Nyemo Revolt

13. Revolution Postponed?
Reconstruction of the Political System
The Lin Biao Affair and a New Party Secretary
Sino-US Rapprochement
Anti-Confucius, Anti-Dalai and Anti-Panchen Campaigns
The Death of Mao
The First Phase of Liberalisation
Beijing-Dharamsala Dialogue
The First Tibet Work Forum

14. A Road to the New Tibet
The Second Tibet Work Forum
Beijing Hardens Its Policy towards the Dalai Lama
A New Party Secretary
Sino-Indian Difficulties
Internationalisation of the Tibet Issue
Tibet under Martial Law
The Collapse of the Beijing-Dalai Lama Dialogue

15. Postscript
Western Criticism
Regional Solidarity
Economy
The Panchen Rinpoche Controversy
Conclusion

Appendix 1: The 17-Point Agreement
Appendix 2: Tibetan Spelling
Notes
Bibliography
Index

About

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
Acknowledgments
Maps
Abbreviations
Introduction

1. The Lull Before the Storm
Tibet and Its Neighbours
The Expulsion of the Guomindang and the Communist Victory in China
Tibet Prepares to Face the PRC
Tibet Seeks International Support
Tibet Negotiates with the Communists

2. China Invades
China Woos Tibet
The PLA Attacks
China Imposes Terms on Tibet

3. Tibet Appeals to the UN and the 17-Point Agreement
The UN Problem
UN Postpones Debate on Tibet
Tibet and China Negotiate
US Intervention in the Tibetan Issue
Tibetans Discuss the 17-Point Agreement

4. An Uneasy Co-existence
The Two Prime Ministers
Opposition of the People
Tasilhunpo Factions
The Indo-Chinese Trade Agreement
The Dalai Lama Meets Mao
Prepatory Committee for the TAR

5. The Rift
The Uprising in Kham and Amdo
Growing Opposition in Central Tibet
The Dalai Lama Visits India
Zhou Enlai Urges the Dalai Lama to Return to Tibet

6. The Revolt
The Founding of 'Four Rivers, Six Ranges'
Clandestine Support from America
Appeasing the Chinese and Quelling the Khampa Revolt

7. The Flight of the Dalai Lama
The Spark of the Uprising
Siege of the Summer Palace
The Last Attempts to Win Over the Dalai Lama
Escape of the Dalai Lama

8. The International Response and Tibet at the UN
Nehru and Tibet
Support for Tibet
UN Debates

9. Reform and Repression
Smash the Reactionaries!
The Panchen Rinpoche
The 70,000 Character Petition

10. War in the Himalayas
A Legacy of Empire
Tibetan Resistance
The Clash of India and China

11. Socialist Transformation of Tibet
The Purge of the Panchen Rinpoche
The Establishment of the Tibet Autonomous Region

12. The Cultural Revolution
Destruction of the 'Four Olds'
Smash the Power-holders
Two Factions
The Nyemo Revolt

13. Revolution Postponed?
Reconstruction of the Political System
The Lin Biao Affair and a New Party Secretary
Sino-US Rapprochement
Anti-Confucius, Anti-Dalai and Anti-Panchen Campaigns
The Death of Mao
The First Phase of Liberalisation
Beijing-Dharamsala Dialogue
The First Tibet Work Forum

14. A Road to the New Tibet
The Second Tibet Work Forum
Beijing Hardens Its Policy towards the Dalai Lama
A New Party Secretary
Sino-Indian Difficulties
Internationalisation of the Tibet Issue
Tibet under Martial Law
The Collapse of the Beijing-Dalai Lama Dialogue

15. Postscript
Western Criticism
Regional Solidarity
Economy
The Panchen Rinpoche Controversy
Conclusion

Appendix 1: The 17-Point Agreement
Appendix 2: Tibetan Spelling
Notes
Bibliography
Index

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