Abstract
The sequence of the March, 1959, events in and around Lhasa and of several of the more spectacular accompanying developments, such as the flight of the Dalai Lama and his entourage to India, is by now sufficiently well known not to require further repetition. There may still be some controversy on matters of fact or interpretation of particular points in the history of the crisis, which could remain disputed forever, but the general picture of what happened is no longer in doubt, allowing one to draw the necessary conclusions therefrom with little danger of falling into serious error due to the lack of a piece of vital data. Instead of another chronological recitation of the various steps leading to the final outbreak and of a blow-by-blow account of the short-lived revolt itself, therefore, an attempt will here be made to analyze the main elements of the uprising from the standpoint of the forces involved, the chief issues at stake, and the long-range consequences for Tibet of the outcome of this showdown, so to speak, given its specific causes and the character of the actors in the drama.
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References
Text in Concerning the Question of Tibet (Peking, 1959), pp. 1–3; New York Times, March 29, 1959, P. 3.
CB, No. 555, April 13, 1959.
“Resolution of Tibetan Committee on Implementation of State Council Order,” ibid., p. 16.
F. Moraes, The Revolt in Tibet, p. 108.
Ibid., p. 75.
SCMP, No. 2012, May 10, 1959, p. 25; No. 2016, May 20, 1959, p. 25; No. 2017, May 21, 1959, p. 25; No. 2033, June 19, 1959, p. 36; No. 2075, August 13, 1959, p. 37. For data on earlier Chinese policies on the education of Tibetan youth in China proper, see I. Epstein, “Two Girls from Shigatse,” China Reconstructs, Vol. 5, No. 4, pp. 27-28 (April, 1956); Daily News Release, April 25, 1956, p. 270, and June 24, 1956, p. 270.
New York Times, April 15, 1959, p. 1; SCMP No. 2005, May 4, 1959, p. 1.
Asian Recorder, 1959, p. 2472; Facts on File, 1959, p. 154; SCMP, No. 2017, May 21 1959, p. 41.
See “Interim Report on 2nd Plenary Session of Preparatory Committee for Tibet Autonomous Region,” CB, No. 584, July 15, 1959, and “Final Report on 2nd Plenary Session of Preparatory Committee for Tibet Autonomous Region,” CB, No. 586, August 6, 1959. For Chang Kuo-hua’s speech, see CB, No. 584, July 15, 1959, pp. 11-15.
For the text of the addresses and of the final resolution of the session, see the materials cited in the preceding note. Also, New York Times, July 4, 1959, p. 1.
SCMP, No. 2120, October 21, 1959, p. 5.
SCMP, No. 2147, December 2, 1959, p. 18.
SCMP, No. 2120, October 21, 1959, p. 5; New York Times, October 15, 1959, p. 9, and November 14, 1959, p. 1.
SCMP, No. 2139, November 19, 1959, p. 30.
SCMP, No. 2209, March 4, 1960, p. 29; New York Times, December 15, 1959, p. 17, and February 29, 1960, p. 8.
Chang Ching-wu, “The Victory of Democratic Reform in Tibet,” Peking Review, No. 13, March 29, 1960, p. 17.
SCMP, No. 2026, June 3, 1959, p. 12; No. 2136, November 16, 1959, p. 26.
SCMP, No. 2069, August 5, 1959, p. 27.
Ch’en Hsi, “New Life of the Tibetan People,” Extracts of China Mainland Magazines, No. 169, May 25, 1959, p. 30; SCMP, No. 2020, May 26, 1959, p. 19; No. 2042, June 25, 1959, p. 23; No. 2074, August 12, 1959, p. 34; No. 2136, November 19, 1959, p. 26; No. 2186, February 1, 1960, p. 35. On December 26, 1959, the first agro-technical training class in Tibet attended by 80 newly liberated serfs opened in Lhasa, SCMP, No. 2168, January 4, 1960, p. 33.
SCMP, No. 2030, June 9, 1959, p. 30.
SCMP, No. 2090, September 4, 1959, p. 34; No. 2133, November 10, 1959, p. 38; No. 2139, November 19, 1959, p. 30; No. 2166, December 30, 1959, p. 30 (First Plenary Session of the First Tibet Committee of the CPPCC, December 20, 1959); No. 2186, February 1, 1960, p. 35.
SCMP, No. 2236, April 12, 1960, p. 58; No. 2250, May 4, 1960, p. 17.
SCMP, No. 2255, May 11, 1960, p. 14.
SCMP, No. 2410, January 5, 1961, p. 29; and No. 2489, May 4, 1961, p. 21.
SCMP, No. 2495, May 12, 1961, p. 26.
SCMP, No. 2489, May 4, 1961, p. 21.
SCMP, No. 2549, August 1, 1961, p. 17; and No. 2565, August 24, 1961, p. 21.
SCMP, No. 2811, September 4, 1962, p. 24; Los Angeles Times, January 27, 1963, p. 1.
For partisan descriptions of these proceedings, see Anna Louise Strong, Tibetan Interviews (Peking, 1959); idem, When Serfs Stood Up in Tibet (Peking, 1960); M. Domogatskikh, Utro Tibeta (Moscow, 1962).
Chang Ching-wu, op. cit., p. 18.
Jen-min jih-pao, April 2, 1960; SCMP, No. 2240, April 19, 1960, p. 49. See, too, SCMP, No. 2233, April 7, 1960, p. 33.
SCMP, No. 2481, April 24, 1961, p. 22; and No. 2489, May 4, 1961, p. 20.
Selections from China Mainland Magazines, No. 242, January 3, 1961, pp. 11-17 reproducing Chang Kuo-hua, “Tibet Reaps a Bumper Harvest After Democratic Reform,” Hongqi, No. 23, December 1, 1960; Jen-min jih-pao, March 21, 1961; SCMP, No. 2467, March 30, 1961, p. 21. See, too, SCMP, No. 2385, November 28, 1960, p. 29, for further data on buying-out procedures, and No. 2464, March 27, 1961, p. 21.
SCMP, No. 2374, November 8, 1960, pp. 19-20; No. 2377, November 15, 1960, p. 32; No. 2471, April 7, 1961, p. 18; No. 2613, November 6, 1961, p. 26; No. 2625, November 24, 1961, p. 30; No. 2635, December 8, 1961, p. 29.
Jen-min jih-pao, August 8, 1960; Selections from China Mainland Magazines, No. 242, January 3, 1961, p. 11-17.
SCMP, No. 2489, May 4, 1961, p. 21; No. 2617, November 13, 1961, p. 22.
SCMP, No. 2398, December 15, 1960, p. 23; No. 2416, January 13, 1961, p. 26; No. 2424, January 25, 1961, p. 30; No. 2487, May 2, 1961, p. 21.
SCMP, No. 2223, March 24, 1960, p. 33; No. 2227, March 30, 1960, p. 32; No. 2259, May 17, 1960, p. 30.
E.g., SCMP, No. 2341, September 20, 1960, p. 17; No. 2358, October 14, 1960, p. 19; No. 2398, December 15, 1960, p. 23.
SCMP, No. 2223, March 24, 1960, p. 33; and No. 2227, March 30, 1960, p. 32. See, too, SCMP, No. 2244, April 26, 1960, p. 31.
SCMP, No. 2290, July 6, 1960, p. 29; No. 2293, July 11, 1960, p. 24; No. 2362, October 21, 1960, p. 20; No. 2364, October 25, 1960, p. 22; No. 2377, November 15, 1960, p. 33.
SCMP, No. 2416, January 13, 1961, p. 26; No. 2424, January 25, 1961, p. 30; No. 2487, May 2, 1961, p. 21; No. 2431, February 3, 1961, p. 27; No. 2487, May 2, 1961, p. 23; No. 2558, August 15, 1961, p. 32; No. 2608, October 30, 1961, pp. 23-24; No. 2610, November 1, 1961, p. 27; No. 2620, November 16, 1961, p. 27.
SCMP, No. 2651, January 4, 1962, p. 32; No. 2662, January 19, 1962, p. 24. A report in October, 1962, claimed that by then there were 22,000 mutual-aid teams in the region which included 166,000 peasant households, SCMP, No. 2830, October 2, 1962, p. 22.
SCMP, No. 2242, April 22, 1960, p. 20; No. 2259, May 17, 1960, p. 30; No. 2315, August 11, 1960, p. 29; No. 2406, December 29, 1960, p. 22.
SCMP, No. 2294, July 12, 1960, p. 27; No. 2342, September 21, 1960, p. 15; No. 2395, December 12, 1960, p. 28.
SCMP, No. 2375, November 9, 1960, p. 27.
SCMP, No. 2223, March 24, 1960, p. 33; No. 2269, June 1, 1960, p. 37.
SCMP, No. 2269, June 1, 1960, p. 36; No. 2294, July 12, 1960, p. 27; No. 2327, August 29, 1960, pp. 30-31; No. 2338, September 15, 1960, p. 21; No. 2576, September 12, 1961, p. 25.
SCMP, No. 2223, March 24, 1960, p. 33; No. 2244, April 26, 1960, p. 32; Selections from China Mainland Magazines, 1962, No. 302, p. 11, reproducing Yen Yu, “The Youth of Tibet,” Evergreen, No. 8, December, 1961; SCMP, No. 2273, June 8, 1960, p. 23; No. 2311, August 5, 1960, p. 30; No. 2355, October 11, 1960, p. 18; No. 2364, October 25, 1960, p. 22; No. 2367, October 28, 1960, p. 16; No. 2384, November 25, 1960, p. 21; No. 2411, January 7, 1961, p. 23; No. 2492, May 9, 1961. For the situation right after the revolt, see SCMP, No. 2020, May 26, 1959, p. 25, and No. 2069, August 5, 1959, p. 27. See, too, Los Angeles Times, January 27, 1963, p. 1.
SCMP, No. 2242, April 22, 1960, p. 20. For instance as early as April, 1960, the Panchen Lama had announced that “prices for nearly 3,000 kinds of commodities were reduced and hundreds of additional stores set up in Tibet last year,” SCMP, No. 2250, May 4, 1960, p. 17. Likewise, SCMP, No. 2621, November 17, 1961, p. 28, claimed that new price cuts had been instituted for the 111 kinds of industrial goods in Tibet region coupled with higher purchasing prices for over 160 local items, this being the third price cut for Tibet consumers since 1959. The first cut averaged 3.5% on over 200 kinds of commodities in November, 1959; in January, 1960, another cut averaging 12% was effected for almost 3,000 kinds of goods; the last price cuts ranged from over 9% for farm tools and other implements to over 31% for industrial raw materials to manufacture such implements.
New York Times, August 7, 1959, p. 1; August 12, 1959, p. 1; May 30, 1962, p. 1; India News (London), September 1, 1962, p. 4; Ta-kung pao, January 6, 1962; SCMP, No. 2741, May 18, 1962, p. 22.
SCMP, No. 2415, January 12, 1961, p. 17; Chao Chia-lieh, “Showing the New Face of Tibet,” China Reconstructs, Vol. 10, No. 2, p. 12 (February, 1961); SCMP, No. 2623, November 21, 1961, p. 29; No. 2740, May 17, 1962, p. 17; New York Times, June 4, 1960, p. 2.
SCMP, No. 2242, April 22, 1960, p. 19; No. 2259, May 17, 1960, pp. 30-31; No. 2273, June 8, 1960, p. 22; No. 2318, August 16, 1960, p. 30; No. 2343, September 22, 1960, p. 22; No. 2344, September 23, 1960, p. 15; No. 2358, October 14, 1960, p. 17; No. 2364, October 25, 1960, p. 23; No. 2412, January 9, 1961, p. 18; No. 2430, February 2, 1961, p. 28; No. 2550, August 2, 1961, p. 23; No. 2570, September 1, 1961, p. 16; No. 2590, October 3, 1961, p. 20; No. 2625, November 24, 1961, p. 30; No. 2650, January 3, 1962, p. 27; No. 2723, April 24, 1962, p. 26; No. 2794, August 8, 1962, p. 25; Chao Chia-lieh, op. cit., p. 13; Yen Wu, op. cit., p. 11.
SCMP, No. 2243, April 25, 1960, p. 34; No. 2348, September 29, 1960, p. 17; No. 2372, November 4, 1960, p. 16; No. 2415, January 12, 1961, p. 18; No. 2430, February 2, 1961, p. 28; No. 2611, Nobember 2,1961, p. 20; No. 2625, November 24,1961, p. 30; Chao Chia-lieh, op. cit., p. 13.
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© 1964 Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague, Netherlands
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Ginsburgs, G., Mathos, M. (1964). The Revolt and its Aftermath. In: Communist China and Tibet. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-8908-8_5
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