A Brief History of Tibet

Abstract

Tibet is a large, sparsely populated area which accounts for near one-eighth (if only Tibet autonomous region is included) or more than one-fifth (if all Tibetan areas are included) of China’s total territory. With a history of about 2500 years, and located at the southwest edge of China, Tibet used to be an independent empire. Thanks to their similar cultural (racial and religious) connections, on one hand, and appeasement policies that the Chinese rulers had adopted toward all Tibetans, on the other hand, Tibet and the rest of China have been formed as a single country for a long period of time. However, throughout the PRC era, the Tibet question has never been resolved easily.

Annex

Chronology of key events related to Tibet:

416 BC:

Nyatri Tsenpo founds a dynasty in Yarlung valley, according to legend

602 AD:

Tibet is unified under King Namri Songtsen of the Yarlung dynasty

634:

King Songtsen Gampo and the Tang dynasty dispatches emissary to each other; The King asks to marry a Han princess, which is denied by Taizhong of the Tang

638:

Songtsen Gampo attacks Songzhou, a Tang state in the west

641:

Taizong of the Tang sends Princess Wencheng to marry Songtsen Gampo

663:

Tibet annexes the western part of Qinghai

670:

Tibet conquers Amdo, Tarim Basin; prolonged warfare with China begins

675:

Amdo returns to the Tang. Tibet sends its minister to the Tang for peace treaty, which is rejected by the Tang dynasty

680:

Tibetan army attacks Heyuan (today’s east part of Qinghai Province), but is defeated

696:

A war between Tibet and Tang, with the Tang army being defeated

703:

A Tibetan envoy offers 1000 horses and 2000 gold for a marriage with a Han princess

707:

Princess Jincheng of King You of the Tang marries a Tibetan king, Zamprogna

710:

Princess Jingcheng arrives in Tibet; Zamprogna constructs a new home for her

714:

10,000 Tibetan soldiers invade Tang, and are defeated; Tibetan king asks for an equal peace treaty with the Tang, which is rejected by Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang

716:

Tibet attacks Tang’s state of Song in the west

722:

Tibet invades minor Baltistan in the west, while the latter is a dependent state of the Tang

737:

Tang soldiers are sent from Liangzhou south into the more than 1000 km, to the west of Qinghai; and the war results in the loss of 2000 Tibetans

746:

General Wang Zhongsi beats Tibetan army in Qinghai

747:

General Ge Suhan defeats Tibetan army; in a single battle, a 5000-Tibetan cavalry is killed

750:

The Kingdom of Nanzhao (in Yunnan and neighboring regions) remains under Tibetan control in the following decades, when they turn on their Tibetan overlords and help the Chinese inflict a serious defeat on the Tibetans. The Tibetans lose 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 decreases rapidly and Tibetan influence resumes

753:

General Ge Suhan defeats a Tibetan army and occupies several Tibetan areas including Jiuqu (now the southeast of Qinghai Province)

756:

Tibetan army occupies the fortress near Lake Qinghai

757:

Tibetan army occupies Shanzhou prefecture (near present-day Ledu county of Qinghai)

760:

Tibetan army occupies Huozhou (in the west of present-day Longhua of Qinghai)

762:

Tibetan army occupies Lintao (central Gansu), and the Qin, Wei, and other states in Gansu Province

763:

Tibetan occupies Chang’an—capital of the Tang dynasty—for 15 days

779:

Samye, Tibet’s first monastery, is built by Trisong Detsen and Padmasambhava

792:

Exponents of Indian Buddhism prevail in debate with Chinese at Samye

821:

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

822:

Peace treaty with China delineates borders

842:

King Langdarma is murdered by a monk; Tibet splits into several states

1040:

Birth of Milarepa, second hierarch of Kagyupa order and a renowned poet

1073:

Founding of Sakya, the first monastery of the Sakyapa monastic order

1206:

An assembly names Genghis Khan first ruler of a unified Mongol nation

1227:

Mongols destroy Xixia, a Tibetan-speaking kingdom of northwest China

1244:

Mongols conquer Tibet. Tibet enjoys considerable autonomy under Yuan Dynasty

1247:

Sakya Pandita submits to Godan Khan; beginning of the first priest/patron relationship between a Tibetan lama and a Mongol khan

1261:

Tibet is reunited with Sakya Pandita, Grand Lama of Sakya, as king

1279:

Final defeat of Song by Mongols; Mongol conquest of China complete

1346:

Tai Situ Changchub Gyaltsen topples the Sakya and founds the Phagmodrupa dynasty. The following 80 years, see 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

1350:

Changchub Gyaltsen defeats Sakya and founds the secular Sitya dynasty

1368:

China regains its independence from the Mongols under Ming dynasty

1409:

Ganden, first Gelugpa monastery, built by monastic reformer Tsongkhapa

1435:

In prolonged warfare, Karmapa supporters gain control of Sitya court

1578:

Altan Khan of the Tümed Mongols gives 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”

1578:

Gelugpa leader gets the title of Dalai (“Ocean”) from Altan Khan

1598:

Mongol Altan Khan makes high lama Sonam Gyatso first Dalai Lama

1624:

Portuguese missionaries António de Andrade and Manuel Marques—first Europeans—arrive in Tibet. They are welcomed by the King and Queen of Guge, and are allowed to build a church and to introduce Christian belief. The king of Guge eagerly accepts Christianity as an offsetting religious influence to dilute the thriving Gelugpa and to counterbalance his potential rivals and consolidate his position

1635:

Sitya dynasty is overthrown by the ruler of Tibet’s Tsang Province

1640:

Gushri Khan, leader of Khoshut Mongols, invades and conquers Tibet

1642:

Gushri Khan enthrones the fifth Dalai Lama as temporal ruler of Tibet

1644:

Manchu conquers China and establishes the Qing dynasty

1653:

“Great Fifth” Dalai Lama meets Qing Emperor Shunzhi near Beijing

1682:

Fifth Dalai Lama dies; regent conceals death for the next 14 years

1716:

Italian Jesuit priest Ippolito Desideri studies and teaches in Lhasa

1717:

Dzungar (Oirot) Mongols conquer Tibet and sack Lhasa. Chinese Emperor Kangxi eventually ousts them in 1720, and re-establishes rule of Dalai Lama

1720:

Dzungars driven out; Qing forces install Kesang Gyatso as the seventh Dalai Lama

1721:

The position of Amban is created by a 13-point Qing decree on Tibet

1723:

The Qing commander publicly executed a number of supporters of the rebels, and, in the following years, made changes in the political structure and drew up a formal organization plan

1724:

Chinese Manchu (Qing) dynasty appoints resident commissioner to run Tibet, and annexes parts of Kham and Amdo Provinces

1728:

The Qing Dynasty incorporates eastern Kham into neighboring Chinese provinces

1745:

All Christian missionaries are expelled

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. Rebellion against Chinese commissioners quelled by Chinese army, which keeps 2,000-strong garrison in Lhasa. Dalai Lama government is appointed to run daily administration under supervision of commissioner

1774:

A Scottish nobleman, George Bogle, comes to Shigatse to investigate trade for the British East India Company

1788:

Nepalese invades Tibet

1792:

Qing troops enter Tibet to drive out Gorkha (Nepalese) invaders. 29-point Qing decree prescribes “golden urn” lottery for picking Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama, bans visits by non-Chinese, and increases Ambans’ powers

1793:

China decrees its commissioners in Lhasa to supervise selection of Dalai and other senior lamas

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

1854–1856:

Nepal defeats Tibet. A peace treaty requires that Tibet pay tribute

1865:

Britain starts discreetly mapping Tibet

1876:

Birth of the 13th Dalai Lama, Thupten Gyatso. Diplomatic conflict between Britain and Russia over privileges in Tibet. China agrees to provide passports for a British mission to Tibet

1885:

Tibet turns back British mission and rejects Chinese-granted passports

1893:

China and Britain agree to regulations on trade between India and Tibet

1894:

Tibetans build a wall north of Dromo to prevent trade with India. The 13th Dalai Lama takes control of the Tibetan government at age of 18

1904:

A British expedition to Tibet, spurred in part by a fear that Russia was extending its power into Tibet, invades Tibet, hoping that negotiations with the 13th Dalai Lama would be more effective than with Chinese representatives. Dalai Lama flees British military expedition under Colonel Francis Younghusband. Britain forces Tibet to sign trading agreement in order to forestall any Russian overtures

1906:

British-Chinese Convention of 1906 confirms 1904 agreement, and pledges Britain not to annex or interfere in Tibet in return for indemnity from Chinese government

1907:

Britain and Russia acknowledge Chinese suzerainty over Tibet

1908:

China restores Dalai Lama, who flees to India as China sends in army to control his government

1910:

The Qing government sends a military expedition of its own under Zhao Erfeng to establish direct Manchu-Chinese rule and deposes the Dalai Lama in an imperial edict, who flees to British India. The Qing troops occupy Tibet, and shoot at unarmed crowds on entering Lhasa. In April, Chinese garrison surrenders to Tibetan authorities after Chinese Republic declares. 13th Dalai Lama returns from India, Chinese troops leave

1912:

Last Qing emperor abdicates; Republic of China claims Mongolia and Tibet

1913:

13th Dalai Lama proclaims Tibet a “religious and independent nation.” Mongolia and Tibet recognize each other in a treaty signed in Urga. Tibet reasserts independence after decades of rebuffing attempts by Britain and China to establish control

1914:

The Tibetan government signs the Simla Accord with Britain, ceding the South Tibet region to British India. The Chinese government denounces the agreement as illegal

1917:

Tibet defeats Chinese forces in Kham, and recovers Chamdo (lost in 1910)

1921:

Britain recognizes Tibet’s “autonomy under Chinese suzerainty”

1923:

Panchen Lama flees to China

1924:

At a KMT congress, Sun Yat-sen calls for “self-determination of all national minorities in China” within a “united Chinese republic”

1925:

Pressure from monks causes the Dalai Lama to dismiss his British-trained officers

1928:

Chiang Kai-shek defeats northern warlords and reunites China under KMT

1930:

China captures Derge in Kham in first Sino-Tibetan clash since 1918

1933:

Truce ends the China–Tibet fighting; the 13th Dalai Lama dies at age 58

1934:

Reting Rimpoche names regent; China permits to open Lhasa mission

1935:

The man who will later become the 14th Dalai Lama is born to a peasant family in a small Tibetan village in Qinghai on north-east of Tibet. Two years later, Buddhist officials declare him to be the reincarnation of the 13 previous Dalai Lamas

1940:

The five-year-old Tenzin Gyatso is enthroned as the 14th Dalai Lama

1941:

Unable to keep celibacy vow, Reting is replaced as regent by Taktra

1942:

U.S. Army officer goes to Lhasa to present a letter for the Dalai Lama

1944:

U.S. Military aircraft crash lands near Samye; crew escorts to India

1945:

Newly opened English-language school in Tibet is closed after monks protest

1947:

Indian independence and end of the British Tibet Policy. Tibetan Trade Mission begins travels to India, China, U.S., and Britain

1949:

People’s Republic of China (PRC) is proclaimed by Chinese Communist Party. The PRC announces its intention to “liberate” Tibet

1950:

China enforces a long-held claim to Tibet. The Dalai Lama, now at the age of 15, officially becomes head of Tibet. PLA enters Tibet; Tibetan army is destroyed in battle at Chamdo

1951:

Chinese occupy Lhasa. Tibetan leaders sign a treaty dictated by China. The treaty, known as the “Seventeen Point Agreement,” professes to guarantee Tibetan autonomy and to respect the Buddhist religion, but also allows the establishment of Chinese civil and military headquarters at Lhasa

1954:

The Dalai Lama visits Beijing for talks with the Chinese government

1955:

Tibetans in Kham and Amdo (Qinghai) begin revolt against Chinese rule

1956:

The Dalai Lama visits India for 2,500th anniversary of the Buddha’s birth. The United States begins to arm the Tibetan resistance via CIA

1959:

Full-scale uprising breaks out in Lhasa in March. Thousands are said to have died during the suppression of the revolt. The Dalai Lama and most of his ministers flee to northern India, to be followed by some 80,000 other Tibetans. The Preparatory Committee for the Tibet autonomous region passes the “Resolution Concerning the Democratic Reforms”

1960:

The first famine begins in Tibet

1961:

By the end of this year, the armed rebellion in Tibet, which lasts for nearly three years, is completely suppressed. The joint boundary agreement between Tibet and Nepal was signed on October 5. Under this agreement, some border areas have been adjusted according to their traditional uses, possessions, and principle of convenience

1962:

A short China–India war; China advances beyond McMahon Line, and then withdraws

1963:

Foreign visitors are banned from Tibet

1964:

The Panchen Lama is arrested after calling for Tibetan independence

1965:

Chinese government establishes Tibetan autonomous region (TAR) in U-Tsang and western Kham

1966:

The Cultural Revolution reaches Tibet and results in the destruction of a large number of monasteries and cultural artifacts in Tibet. The United States America recognizes China’s sovereignty over Tibet

1969:

Tibet is put under PLA military rule in order to suppress Red Guards

1971:

Foreign visitors are again allowed to enter the country. The United States cuts off military aid to the Tibetan resistance

1972:

Arunachal Pradesh (the disputed area in southern Tibet) acquires an independent political status on January 20, entitled Union Territory, an administrative division of India ruled directly by the national government

1974:

Nepal forces the Tibetan resistance to abandon its base in Mustang Sikkim votes overwhelmingly to join India; Ladakh opened to tourists

1976:

The first permanent ethnic Chinese settlers arrive in Tibet

1977:

Resistance burns 100 PLA vehicles in last major military operation

1979:

Tibet is opened to non-Chinese tourism for the first time since 1963. China allows, for the first time, delegations of the Dalai Lama to visit Tibet

1980:

Chinese leader Hu Yaobang visits Lhasa; he promises to relax controls and restore the Tibetan economy. Under household responsibility system, collectivized land is distributed to individuals in Tibet. China introduces “Open Door” reforms and boosts investment while resisting any move toward greater autonomy for Tibet

1982:

Writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn calls CCP regime in Tibet “more brutal and inhuman than any other communist regime in the world”

1985:

Bomb defuses in Lhasa during the 20th anniversary celebration of Tibet autonomous region

1986:

The state of Arunachal Pradesh bill was passed by the Indian Parliament and, with effect from February 20, 1987, Arunachal Pradesh became the 24th state of Indian Union

1987:

Police fire on a massive pro-independence demonstration in Lhasa. The Dalai Lama calls for the establishment of Tibet as a zone of peace and continues to seek dialog with China, with the aim of achieving genuine self-rule for Tibet within China

1988:

China imposes martial law after riots break out. Qiao Shi, politburo member and internal security chief, visits Tibet and vows to “adopt a policy of merciless repression.” Speaking in Strasbourg, France, the Dalai Lama elaborates on his 1987 “five point” proposal for Tibetan self-government within China

1989:

The bloodiest riots occur in Lhasa. Martial law is imposed in Lhasa. The Dalai Lama is awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace

1990:

China lifts martial law in Lhasa 13 months after imposing it. The Voice of America initiates a Tibetan-language broadcast service

1991:

1,000 Tibetan refugees, chosen by lottery, are admitted to the U.S.

1992:

Chen Kuiyuan is named CCP leader for Tibet, who calls for a purge of those who “act as internal agents of the Dalai Lama clique.” Over 30,000 visitors arrive in Tibet’s “Golden Year of Tibetan Tourism”

1993:

Residents of Lhasa protest for independence, against inflation and the charging of fees for formally free medical services. Talks between China and the Dalai Lama break down

1994:

Potala Palace, former residence of the Dalai Lama, is restored at a cost of US$9 million

1995:

Dalai Lama recognizes six-year-old Gedhun Choekyi Nyima as 11th Panchen Lama. China denounces the Dalai Lama’s choice of Panchen Lama as a “fraud” and selects rival candidate Gyaincain Norbu by golden urn process. Tibet’s worst snowstorm in a century leaves more than 50 dead

1996:

An earthquake in Lijang rates 7.0 on the Richter scale and kills 200. The U.S.-funded Radio Free Asia begins broadcasting on shortwave. Bomb explodes near government offices in Lhasa on Christmas day; a 1 million yuan (US$120,000) reward is offered to solve crime. The Dalai Lama takes steps to limit Shugden worship in Tibetan exile community

1997:

Three monks close to the Dalai Lama are murdered; Shugden supporters suspected. The Dalai Lama visits Taiwan and meets with ROC President Lee Teng-hui

2002:

Contacts between the Dalai Lama and Beijing are resumed

2006:

In July, a new railway linking Lhasa and the city of Golmud is completed

2007:

The number of tourists traveling to Tibet hits a record high in December, up 64 % year-on-year at just over four million

2008:

Anti-China protests escalate into the worst violence in March, five months before Beijing hosts the Olympic Games. In November, the British government recognizes China’s direct rule over Tibet for the first time. China suspends high-level ties with France after President Nicolas Sarkozy meets the Dalai Lama

2009:

In January, Chinese authorities detain 81 people and question nearly 6,000 alleged criminals. In March, China marks flight of Dalai Lama with new “Serfs’ Liberation Day” public holiday. Government reopens Tibet to tourists after a two-month closure ahead of the anniversary. In October, China confirms that at least two Tibetans have been executed for their involvement in anti-China riots in Lhasa in March 2008

2010:

Envoys of Dalai Lama visit Beijing in April to resume talks with Chinese officials after a break of more than one year

2011:

In March, a Tibetan Buddhist monk burns himself to death in a Tibetan-populated part of Sichuan Province in China. In April, Dalai Lama announces his retirement from politics. Exiled Tibetans elect Lobsang Sangay to lead the government-in-exile

2012:

Two men set themselves on fire in Lhasa in May, one of whom dies. They are the first self-immolations reported in the Tibetan capital. In August, two Tibetan teenagers are reported to have burned themselves to death in Sichuan Province. In October, several Tibetan men burn themselves to death in north-western Chinese province of Gansu. In November, UN human rights chief Navi Pillay calls on China to address abuses that have prompted the rise in self-immolations

2013:

The London-based Free Tibet group says further self-immolations bring to over 100 in February. In June, China denies allegations by rights activists that it has resettled two million Tibetans in “socialist villages”

2014:

On March 13, the “sword 2014” anti-terrorist drill is held in Nagqu area. On August 9, a tour bus colludes with a truck within the territory of Nimu county (on the No. 318 State Road), in which 44 people are killed and 11 are injured. On August 16, the Lhasa-Rikaze Railway is completed. On August 25, the Chinese central government celebrates the 20th anniversary of the “National Aid-Tibet Programs” in Beijing