Tibet (1912–1951)

Former de facto state in East Asia

This article is about the de facto independent state that existed from 1912 to 1951. For the de jure administrative division of China during this period, see Tibet Area (administrative division). For the present-day autonomous region in China, see Tibet Autonomous Region. For the geographical region, see Tibet.

Tibet

བོད་
Bod

1912–1951

Flag

Coat of arms

Anthem: "Gyallu"

Territorial extent of Tibet in 1942

Status| De facto independent state
Capital

and largest city

| Lhasa
Official languages| Tibetan, Tibetic languages
Religion

| Tibetan Buddhism (official)
Demonym(s)| Tibetan
Government| Dual system of government;[1] elective absolute monarchy[2]
Dalai Lama|

• 1912–1933 (first)

| Thubten Gyatso

• 1937–1951 (last)

| Tenzin Gyatso
Regent|

• 1934–1941 (first)

| Thubten Jamphel Yeshe Gyaltsen

• 1941–1950 (last)

| Ngawang Sungrab Thutob
Kalön Tripa|

• 1912–1920 (first)

| Chankhyim Trekhang Thupten Shakya

• 1950–1951 (last)

| Lobsang Tashi
Legislature| None (rule by decree)
History|

• Declaration of Independence

| 4 April 1912

• Three Point Agreement[3]

| 12 August 1912

• 13th Dalai Lama returns

| January 1913

• Simla Convention signed with Britain[4]

| 3 July 1914

• Tibet Office established in Nanjing[5][relevant?]

| 1928

• Battle of Chamdo

| October 1950

• Seventeen Point Agreement

| 23 May 1951
Area

• Total

| 1,221,600 km2 (471,700 sq mi)
Population

• 1945

| 1,000,000[6]
Currency| Tibetan skar, Tibetan srang, Tibetan tangka

Preceded by | Succeeded by

|

|  | Tibet under Qing rule

|

| Tibet Area (administrative division) |

|

Central Tibetan Administration |
Today part of| China
∟ Tibet Autonomous Region

Tibet (Tibetan: བོད་, Wylie: Bod) was a de facto independent state in East Asia that lasted from the collapse of the Qing dynasty in 1912 until its annexation by the People's Republic of China in 1951.[7]

The Tibetan Ganden Phodrang regime was a protectorate under Qing rule[8] until 1910[9] when the Qing dynasty decided to assert greater control over the region.[10][11] In 1912 the provisional government of the Republic of China (ROC) succeeded the Qing and received an imperial edict inheriting the claims over all of its territories.[12][13][14] However, the newly formed ROC was unable to assert any real authority in Tibet. The 13th Dalai Lama declared that Tibet's relationship with China ended with the fall of the Qing dynasty and proclaimed independence, although this was not formally recognized by other countries.[15][16] Tibet and Outer Mongolia signed a disputed treaty proclaiming mutual recognition of their independence from China.[17]

After the 13th Dalai Lama's death in 1933, a condolence mission sent to Lhasa by the Kuomintang-ruled Nationalist government to start negotiations about Tibet's status was allowed to open an office and remain there, although no agreement was reached.[18]

In 1945-1949, the Nationalist government of the Republic of China lost the renewed Chinese Civil War against the Chinese Communist Party. In Tibet, the era of de facto independence ended after Tibet was annexed by the newly formed People's Republic of China in 1950-1951\.

## History

[edit]

### Fall of the Qing dynasty (1911)

[edit]

See also: Tibet under Qing rule and Xinhai Lhasa turmoil

Gold Seal presented by the Tibetan people to the 13th Dalai Lama in 1909. Its use symbolized China no longer had nominal rule over Tibet[19] A map of East Asia in 1914 published by Rand McNally, showing Tibet as an autonomous region of the Republic of China[a]

Tibet came under the rule of the Qing dynasty of China in 1720 after the Qing expelled the forces of the Dzungar Khanate. But by the end of the 19th century, Chinese authority in Tibet was no more than symbolic.[20] Following the Xinhai Revolution in 1911–1912, Tibetan militia launched a surprise attack on the Qing garrison stationed in Tibet after the Xinhai Lhasa turmoil. After the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1912, the Qing officials in Lhasa were then forced to sign the "Three Point Agreement" for the surrender and expulsion of Qing forces in central Tibet. In early 1912, the Government of the Republic of China replaced the Qing dynasty as the government of China and the new republic asserted its sovereignty over all the territories of the previous dynasty, which included 22 Chinese provinces, Tibet, and Outer Mongolia.[21] This claim was provided for in the Imperial Edict of the Abdication of the Qing Emperor signed by the Empress Dowager Longyu on behalf of the six-year-old Xuantong Emperor: "... the continued territorial integrity of the lands of the five races, Manchu, Han, Mongol, Hui, and Tibetan into one great Republic of China" (... 仍合滿、漢、蒙、回、藏五族完全領土，為一大中華民國).[12][13][14] The Provisional Constitution of the Republic of China adopted in 1912 specifically established frontier regions of the new republic, including Tibet, as integral parts of the state.[22]

Following the establishment of the new Republic, China's provisional President, Yuan Shikai, sent a telegram to the 13th Dalai Lama, restoring his earlier titles. The Dalai Lama spurned these titles, replying that he "intended to exercise both temporal and ecclesiastical rule in Tibet."[23] In 1913, the Dalai Lama, who had fled to India when the Qing sent a military expedition to establish direct Chinese rule over Tibet in 1910,[24] returned to Lhasa and issued a proclamation that stated that the relationship between the Chinese emperor and Tibet "had been that of patron and priest and had not been based on the subordination of one to the other." "We are a small, religious, and independent nation," the proclamation stated.[25][26]

In January 1913, Agvan Dorzhiev and three other Tibetan representatives[27] signed a treaty between Tibet and Mongolia in Urga, proclaiming mutual recognition and their independence from China. The British diplomat Charles Bell wrote that the 13th Dalai Lama told him that he had not authorized Agvan Dorzhiev to conclude any treaties on behalf of Tibet.[28][29] Because the text was not published, some initially doubted the existence of the treaty,[30] but the Mongolian text was published by the Mongolian Academy of Sciences in 1982.[27][31][need quotation to verify]

### Simla Convention (1914)

[edit]

Main article: Simla Accord (1914)

In 1913–1914, a conference was held in Simla between the British India, Tibet, and the Republic of China. The British suggested dividing Tibetan-inhabited areas into an Outer and an Inner Tibet (on the model of an earlier agreement between China and Russia over Mongolia). Outer Tibet, approximately the same area as the modern Tibet Autonomous Region, would be autonomous under Chinese suzerainty. In this area, China would refrain from "interference in the administration." In Inner Tibet, consisting of eastern Kham and Amdo, China would have rights of administration and Lhasa would retain control of religious institutions.[32]

When negotiations broke down over the specific boundary between Inner and Outer Tibet, the boundary of Tibet defined in the convention also included what came to be known as the McMahon Line, which delineated the Tibet-India border, in the Assam Himalayan region. The boundary included in India the Tawang tract, which had been under indirect administration of Tibet via the control of the Tawang monastery.[33][34][35]

The Simla Convention was initialled by all three delegations, but was immediately rejected by Beijing because of dissatisfaction with the boundary between Outer and Inner Tibet. McMahon and the Tibetans then signed the document as a bilateral accord with a note denying China any of the rights under the convention until it signed. The British Government initially rejected McMahon's bilateral accord as being incompatible with the 1907 Anglo-Russian Convention.[36][37]

The 1907 Anglo-Russian Treaty, which had earlier caused the British to question the validity of Simla, was renounced by the Russians in 1917 and by the Russians and British jointly in 1921.[38] Tibet, however, altered its position on the McMahon Line in the 1940s. In late 1947, the Tibetan government wrote a note presented to the newly independent Indian Ministry of External Affairs laying claims to Tibetan districts south of the McMahon Line.[39] According to Alastair Lamb, by refusing to sign the Simla documents, the Chinese Government had escaped giving any recognition to the McMahon Line.[40]

### After the death of the 13th Dalai Lama in 1933

[edit]

1936 Survey of India map of Tibet, showing Tibet as an independent country.

Since the expulsion of the Amban from Tibet in 1912, communication between Tibet and China had taken place only with the British as mediator.[26] Direct communications resumed after the 13th Dalai Lama's death in December 1933,[26] when China sent a "condolence mission" to Lhasa headed by General Huang Musong.[41]

Soon after the 13th Dalai Lama died, according to some accounts, the Kashag reaffirmed its 1914 position that Tibet remained nominally part of China, provided Tibet could manage its own political affairs.[42][43] In his essay Hidden Tibet: History of Independence and Occupation published by the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives at Dharamsala, S.L. Kuzmin cited several sources indicating that the Tibetan government had not declared Tibet a part of China, despite an intimation of Chinese sovereignty made by the Kuomintang government.[44] Since 1912, Tibet had been de facto independent of Chinese control, but on other occasions it had indicated willingness to accept nominal subordinate status as a part of China, provided that Tibetan internal systems were left untouched, and provided China relinquished control over a number of important ethnic Tibetan areas in Kham and Amdo.[45] In support of claims that China's rule over Tibet was not interrupted, China argues that official documents showed that the National Assembly of China and both chambers of parliament had Tibetan members, whose names had been preserved all along.[46]

China was then permitted to establish an office in Lhasa, staffed by the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission and headed by Wu Zhongxin, the commission's director of Tibetan Affairs,[47] which Chinese sources claim was an administrative body[46]—but the Tibetans claim that they rejected China's proposal that Tibet should be a part of China, and in turn demanded the return of territories east of the Drichu (Yangtze River).[47] In response to the establishment of a Chinese office in Lhasa, the British obtained similar permission and set up their own office there.[48]

The 1934 Khamba Rebellion led by Pandastang Togbye and Pandatsang Rapga broke out against the Tibetan Government during this time, with the Pandatsang family leading Khamba tribesmen against the Tibetan Army.

### 1930s to 1949

[edit]

The 14th Dalai Lama as a young boy.

In 1935, Lhamo Dhondup was born in Amdo in eastern Tibet and recognized by all concerned as the incarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama. Similar to his predecessor Thubten Gyatso who was approved by the Central Government of China in 1877 to be exempted from the lot-drawing process using Golden Urn to become the 13th Dalai Lama[49] On 26 January 1940, the Regent Reting Rinpoche requested the Central Government of China to exempt Lhamo Dhondup from the lot-drawing process using the Golden Urn to become the 14th Dalai Lama, and the Chinese government approved.[50] After a ransom of 400,000 silver dragons had been paid by Lhasa to the Hui Muslim warlord Ma Bufang, who ruled Qinghai (Chinghai) from Xining, Ma Bufang released him to travel to Lhasa in 1939. He was then enthroned by the Ganden Phodrang government at the Potala Palace on the Tibetan New Year.[51][52]

The approval certificate of the accession of the 14th Dalai Lama issued by the Government of the Republic of China on 1 January 1940

The Kuomintang Government 'ratified' the current 14th Dalai Lama, and that Kuomintang representative General Wu Zhongxin presided over the ceremony; both the ratification order of February 1940 and the documentary film of the ceremony still exist intact.[46] Wu Zhongxin (along with other foreign representatives) was present at the ceremony.[48] Reports from contemporary newspapers, sourced directly from Lhasa, also give witness to these ceremonies. For example, the Associated Press on Feb 22, 1940 writes:

> Lhasa, Tibet (Thursday) - (By Radio to Hong Kong) - [..] The Chinese government had worked for months to put the succession of Ling-ergh La-mu-tan-chu beyond the fortunes of the goldern urn from which the 14th Dalai Lama would normally be picked. Yet today, with true Oriental urbanity, the Regent of Tibet petitioned the Chungking government to authorized the abandonment of the traditional lot-drawing. This given, he wirelessed warm thanks to Chiang Kai-shek and other Chinese governmental leaders.[53]

Regarding the ceremony, according to Associated Press reports dated Feb 23, 1940:

> Direct word from Lhasa arrived only today, telling of the lengthy rites in which Chinese officials took part. Chinese learned with satisfaction that Gen. Wu Chung Hsin, chairman of the Mongolian and Tibetan affairs commission at Chungking and chief of the Chinese delegation at the enthronement, sat at the Dalai Lama's left -- thus being accorded an equal status with the new ruler. Lhasa enjoyed a complete holiday. The populace was treated to devil dances, horse shows, wrestling contests and a fireworks display.[54]

Likewise, according to United Press reports dated Feb 22, 1940:

> Lhasa, Tibet. Feb 22 - The fourteenth Dalai Lama, who will share spiritual and temporal leadership of Tibet, was enthroned in a pompous elaborate ceremony today. The enthronement took place in Lhasa's leading monastery, "Potala". The six-year-old boy chosen after long search for the exalted position, received felicitations from a Chinese delegation numbering 1,000 persons. A departure from ordinary procedure was marked by display of a huge portrait of Dr. Sun Yat-sen and a Kuomintang flag in the golden main hall of the monastery.[55]

Billings Gazette Sun reports dated Feb 18, 1940:

> Tibetan circles here revealed that the portrait of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, "father of the Chinese republic", will have the place of honor in the main ceremonial hall, surrounded by Buddhist pictures. [..] All these, Tibetan sources pointed out, mark "the cordial friendship and political ties between Tibet and the central government." [..] There are two other children who theoretically have an equal chance of being chosen. [..] However Tibetan and Chinese officials favor the Kokonor boy.[56]

Britain, who had an interest in Tibet at the time and wished to undermine Chinese sovereignty over it, had a representative, Sir Basil Gould, who claims to have been present at the ceremony, and opposes the above diverse international sources that China presided over it. He claims that:

> The report was issued in the Chinese Press that Mr Wu had escorted the Dalai Lama to his throne and announced his installation, that the Dalai Lama had returned thanks, and prostrated himself in token of his gratitude. Every one of these Chinese claims was false. Mr Wu was merely a passive spectator. He did no more than present a ceremonial scarf, as was done by the others, including the British Representative. But the Chinese have the ear of the world, and can later refer to their press records and present an account of historical events that is wholly untrue. Tibet has no newspapers, either in English or Tibetan, and has therefore no means of exposing these falsehoods.[57]

Tibetan author Nyima Gyaincain wrote that based on Tibetan tradition, there was no such thing as presiding over an event, and claims that the Han Chinese word "主持" (to preside or organize) was used in many places in communication documents. The meaning of the word was different than what we understand today. He added that Wu Zhongxin spent a lot of time and energy on the event, his effect of presiding over or organizing the event was very obvious.[58]

In 1942, the U.S. government told the government of Chiang Kai-shek that it had never disputed Chinese claims to Tibet.[59] In 1944, the USA War Department produced a series of seven documentary films on Why We Fight; in the sixth series, The Battle of China, Tibet is incorrectly called a province of China (as the Chinese officially referred to the administrative division of Tibet as Tibet Area, which was distinct from a province).[60] In 1944, during World War II, two Austrian mountaineers, Heinrich Harrer and Peter Aufschnaiter, came to Lhasa, where Harrer became a tutor and friend to the young Dalai Lama, giving him sound knowledge of Western culture and modern society, until Harrer chose to leave in 1949.

Tibet established a Foreign Office in 1942, and in 1946 it sent congratulatory missions to China and India (related to the end of World War II). The mission to China was given a letter addressed to Chinese President Chiang Kai-shek which states that, "We shall continue to maintain the independence of Tibet as a nation ruled by the successive Dalai Lamas through an authentic religious-political rule." The mission agreed to attend a Chinese constitutional assembly in Nanjing as observers.[61]

Under orders from the Kuomintang government of Chiang Kai-shek, Ma Bufang repaired the Yushu airport in 1942 to deter Tibetan independence.[citation needed] Chiang also ordered Ma Bufang to put his Muslim soldiers on alert for an invasion of Tibet in 1942.[62] Ma Bufang complied, and moved several thousand troops to the border with Tibet.[63] Chiang also threatened the Tibetans with bombing if they did not comply.

Emblem of Tibet shown at the 1947 Asian Relations Conference, Delhi

In 1947, Tibet sent a delegation to the Asian Relations Conference in New Delhi, India, where it represented itself as an independent nation, and India recognised it as an independent nation from 1947 to 1954.[64] This may have been the first appearance of the Tibetan national flag at a public gathering.[65]

André Migot, a French doctor who travelled for many months in Tibet in 1947, described the complex border arrangements between Tibet and China, and how they had developed:[66]

> To offset the damage done to their interests by the [1906] treaty between England and Tibet, the Chinese set about extending westwards the sphere of their direct control and began to colonize the country round Batang. The Tibetans reacted vigorously. The Chinese governor was killed on his way to Chamdo and his army put to flight after an action near Batang; several missionaries were also murdered, and Chinese fortunes were at a low ebb when a special commissioner called Chao Yu-fong appeared on the scene.

> Acting with a savagery which earned him the sobriquet of "The Butcher of Monks," he swept down on Batang, sacked the lamasery, pushed on to Chamdo, and in a series of victorious campaigns which brought his army to the gates of Lhasa, re-established order and reasserted Chinese domination over Tibet. In 1909, he recommended that Sikang should be constituted a separate province comprising thirty-six subprefectures, with Batang as the capital. This project was not carried out until later, and then in modified form, for the Chinese Revolution of 1911 brought Chao's career to an end and he was shortly afterwards assassinated by his compatriots.

> The troubled early years of the Chinese Republic saw the rebellion of most of the tributary chieftains, a number of pitched battles between Chinese and Tibetans, and many strange happenings in which tragedy, comedy, and (of course) religion all had a part to play. In 1914, Great Britain, China, and Tibet met at the conference table to try to restore peace, but this conclave broke up after failing to reach agreement on the fundamental question of the Sino-Tibetan frontier. This, since about 1918, has been recognized for practical purposes as following the course of the Upper Yangtze. In these years, the Chinese had too many other preoccupations to bother about reconquering Tibet. However, things gradually quieted down, and in 1927 the province of Sikang was brought into being, but it consisted of only twenty-seven subprefectures instead of the thirty-six visualized by the man who conceived the idea. China had lost, in the course of a decade, all the territory which the Butcher had overrun.

> Since then, Sikang has been relatively peaceful, but this short synopsis of the province's history makes it easy to understand how precarious this state of affairs is bound to be. Chinese control was little more than nominal; I was often to have first-hand experience of its ineffectiveness. To govern a territory of this kind, it is not enough to station, in isolated villages separated from each other by many days' journey, a few unimpressive officials and a handful of ragged soldiers. The Tibetans completely disregarded the Chinese administration and obeyed only their own chiefs. One very simple fact illustrates the true status of Sikang's Chinese rulers: nobody in the province would accept Chinese currency, and the officials, unable to buy anything with their money, were forced to subsist by a process of barter.

> Once you are outside the North Gate [of Dardo or Kangting], you say good-bye to Chinese civilization and its amenities and you begin to lead a different kind of life altogether. Although on paper the wide territories to the north of the city form part of the Chinese provinces of Sikang and Tsinghai, the real frontier between China and Tibet runs through Kangting, or perhaps just outside it. The empirical line which Chinese cartographers, more concerned with prestige than with accuracy, draw on their maps bears no relation to accuracy.

— André Migot, Tibetan Marches[67]

Tibetan passport for Shakabpa, with visas from various countries.

In 1947–49, Lhasa sent a trade mission led by Finance Minister Tsepon W. D. Shakabpa to India, China, Hong Kong, the US, and the UK. The visited countries were careful not to express support for the claim that Tibet was independent of China and did not discuss political questions with the mission.[68] These Trade Mission officials entered China via Hong Kong with their newly issued Tibetan passports that they applied at the Chinese Consulate in India and stayed in China for three months. Other countries did, however, allow the mission to travel using passports issued by the Tibetan government. The U.S. unofficially received the Trade Mission. The mission met with British Prime Minister Clement Attlee in London in 1948.[69]

### Annexation by the People's Republic of China

[edit]

Main article: Annexation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China

In the year 1949, seeing that the Communists were gaining control of China, the Kashag government expelled all Chinese officials from Tibet despite protests from both the Kuomintang and the Communists.[70] On 1 October 1949, the 10th Panchen Lama wrote a telegraph to Beijing, expressing his congratulations for the liberation of northwest China and the establishment of the People's Republic of China, and his excitement to see the inevitable liberation of Tibet.[71] The Chinese Communist government, led by Chairman Mao Zedong, which came to power in October, lost little time in asserting a new Chinese presence in Tibet. In June 1950, the British government stated in the House of Commons that His Majesty's Government "have always been prepared to recognise Chinese suzerainty over Tibet, but only on the understanding that Tibet is regarded as autonomous".[72] In October 1950, the People's Liberation Army entered the Tibetan area of Chamdo, defeating sporadic resistance from the Tibetan Army. In 1951, representatives of the Tibetan authorities, headed by Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme, with the Dalai Lama's authorization,[73] participated in negotiations in Beijing with the Chinese government. It resulted in the Seventeen Point Agreement which affirmed China's sovereignty over Tibet. The agreement was ratified in Lhasa a few months later.[74] China described the entire process as the "peaceful liberation of Tibet".[75]

## Politics

[edit]

### Government

[edit]

Further information: Ganden Phodrang

Organizational chart of Ganden Phodrang |

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### Administrative divisions

[edit]

Tibet was divided into eight chikyaps [zh] (Wylie: spyi khyab), which were subdivided into dzongs (Wylie: rdzong) and shikas [zh] (Wylie: gzhis ka):

* Lhasa Chikyap also known as Xoi Chikyap or Xoi Lhakhang, administered 29 dzongs. seat: Lhasa.
* Changgyu Chikyap [zh], seat: Nagqu.
* Lhoka Chikyap [zh], seat: Tsetang.
* Dakong Chikyap [zh], seat: rtse-la.
* Ngari Chikyap [zh] also known as Ngari Garpön, seat: Gar.
* Chomo Chikyap [zh], seat: Chomo.
* Shigatse Chikyap [zh], seat: Shigatse.
* Domed Chikyap [zh], also known as Kham Chikyap, seat: Chamdo.

### Military

[edit]

Main article: Tibetan Army

The Tibetan Army on parade in 1938

After the 13th Dalai Lama had assumed full control over Tibet in the 1910s, he began to build up the Tibetan Army with support from the United Kingdom, which provided advisors and weapons. This army was supposed to be large and modern enough to not just defend Tibet, but to also conquer surrounding regions like Kham which were inhabited by Tibetan peoples. The Tibetan Army was constantly expanded during the 13th Dalai Lama's reign,[76] and had about 10,000 soldiers by 1936. These were adequately armed and trained infantrymen for the time, though the army almost completely lacked machine guns, artillery, planes, and tanks.[77] In addition to the regular army, Tibet also made use of great numbers of poorly armed village militias.[78] Considering that it was usually outgunned by their opponents, the Tibetan Army performed relatively well against various Chinese warlords in the 1920s and 1930s.[79] Overall, the Tibetan soldiers proved to be "fearless and tough fighters" during the Warlord Era.[80]

Despite this, the Tibetan Army was wholly inadequate to resist the People's Liberation Army (PLA) during the Chinese invasion of 1950. It consequently disintegrated and surrendered without much resistance.[81]

### Postal service

[edit]

Main article: Postage stamps and postal history of Tibet

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (February 2023)

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* Snow lion stamp issued in 1912

* Snow lion stamp issued in 1912

* Snow lion stamp issued in 1912

* Snow lion stamp issued in 1912

* Snow lion stamp issued in 1912

* Snow lion stamp issued in 1912

* Snow lion stamp issued in 1920

* Snow lion stamps issued in 1933

Tibet created its own postal service in 1912. It printed its first postage stamps in Lhasa and issued them in 1912. It issued telegraph stamps in 1950.

### Foreign relations

[edit]

See also: Nepalese Chamber of Commerce, Lhasa

Residence of the British Mission in Lhasa

The division of China into military cliques kept China divided, and the 13th Dalai Lama ruled. But his reign was marked with border conflicts with Han Chinese and Muslim warlords, which the Tibetans lost most of the time. At that time, the government of Tibet controlled all of Ü-Tsang (Dbus-gtsang) and western Kham (Khams), roughly coincident with the borders of the Tibet Autonomous Region today. Eastern Kham, separated by the Yangtze River, was under the control of Chinese warlord Liu Wenhui. The situation in Amdo (Qinghai) was more complicated, with the Xining area controlled after 1928 by the Hui warlord Ma Bufang of the family of Muslim warlords known as the Ma clique, who constantly strove to exert control over the rest of Amdo (Qinghai). Southern Kham, along with other parts of Yunnan, belonged to the Yunnan clique from 1915 till 1927, then to Governor and warlord Long (Lung) Yun until near the end of the Chinese Civil War, when Du Yuming removed him under the order of Chiang Kai-shek. Within territory under Chinese control, war was being waged against Tibetan rebels in Qinghai during the Kuomintang Pacification of Qinghai.[citation needed]

In 1918, Lhasa regained control of Chamdo and western Kham. A truce set the border at the Yangtze River. At this time, the government of Tibet controlled all of Ü-Tsang and Kham west of the Yangtze River, roughly the same borders as the Tibet Autonomous Region has today. Eastern Kham was governed by local Tibetan princes of varying allegiances. Qinghai was controlled by ethnic Hui and pro-Kuomintang warlord Ma Bufang. In 1932, Tibet invaded Qinghai, attempting to capture southern parts of Qinghai province, following contention in Yushu, Qinghai, over a monastery in 1932. Ma Bufang's Qinghai army defeated the Tibetan armies.[citation needed]

During the 1920s and 1930s, China was divided by civil war and occupied with the anti-Japanese war, but never renounced its claim to sovereignty over Tibet, and made occasional attempts to assert it.

In 1932, the Muslim Qinghai and Han-Chinese Sichuan armies of the National Revolutionary Army led by Ma Bufang and Liu Wenhui defeated the Tibetan Army in the Sino-Tibetan War when the 13th Dalai Lama tried to seize territory in Qinghai and Xikang. They warned the Tibetans not to dare cross the Jinsha river again.[82] A truce was signed, ending the fighting.[83][84] The Dalai Lama had cabled the British in India for help when his armies were defeated, and started demoting his Generals who had surrendered.[85]

Territorial extent of Tibet and approximate line of communist advance in February 1950

In 1936, after Sheng Shicai expelled 30,000 Kazakhs from Xinjiang to Qinghai, Hui led by General Ma Bufang massacred their fellow Muslim Kazakhs, until there were 135 of them left.[86][87][88] From Northern Xinjiang, over 7,000 Kazakhs fled to the Tibetan-Qinghai plateau region via Gansu and were wreaking massive havoc so Ma Bufang solved the problem by relegating the Kazakhs into designated pastureland in Qinghai, but Hui, Tibetans, and Kazakhs in the region continued to clash against each other.[89] Tibetans attacked and fought against the Kazakhs as they entered Tibet via Gansu and Qinghai.[citation needed] In northern Tibet, Kazakhs clashed with Tibetan soldiers and then the Kazakhs were sent to Ladakh.[90] Tibetan troops robbed and killed Kazakhs 400 miles east of Lhasa at Chamdo when the Kazakhs were entering Tibet.[91][92]

In 1934, 1935, 1936–1938 from Qumil Eliqsan led the Kerey Kazakhs to migrate to Gansu and the amount was estimated at 18,000, and they entered Gansu and Qinghai.[93]

In 1951, the Uyghur Yulbars Khan was attacked by Tibetan troops as he fled Xinjiang to reach Calcutta.[citation needed]

The anti-communist American CIA agent Douglas Mackiernan was killed by Tibetan troops on 29 April 1950.[94]

## Economy

[edit]

### Currency

[edit]

Main article: Tibetan tangka

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (February 2023)

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Tibetan 100 tam Srang (back) Tibetan 1 Srang silver coin, issued 1919

The Tibetan government issued banknotes and coins.

## Society and culture

[edit]

See also: Social class in Tibet

Part of a series on the

History of Tibet

* Neolithic Tibet
* Zhangzhung
* Yarlung dynasty
* Tibetan Empire
* Era of Fragmentation
* Yuan rule
* Phagmodrupa dynasty
* Rinpungpa dynasty
* Tsangpa dynasty
* Khoshut Khanate
* Ganden Phodrang
* Ming–Tibet relations
* Qing rule
* 13th and 14th Dalai Lama
* PRC rule

See also

* Timeline
* Historical money
* List of rulers
* European exploration

Asia portal • China portal

* v
* t
* e

Traditional Tibetan society consisted of a feudal class structure, which was one of the reasons the Chinese Communist Party claims that it had to "liberate" Tibet and reform its government.[95]

Professor of Buddhist and Tibetan studies, Donald S. Lopez, stated that at the time:

> Traditional Tibet, like any complex society, had great inequalities, with power monopolized by an elite composed of a small aristocracy, the hierarchs of various sects . . and the great Geluk monasteries.[96]

These institutional groups retained great power until 1959.[97]

The 13th Dalai Lama had reformed the pre-existing serf system in the first decade of the 20th century, and by 1950, slavery itself had probably ceased to exist in central Tibet, though perhaps persisted in certain border areas.[98] Slavery did exist, for example, in places like the Chumbi Valley, and beggars (ragyabas) were endemic. The pre-Chinese social system, however, was rather complex.

Estates (shiga), roughly similar to the English manorial system, were granted by the state and were hereditary, though revocable. As agricultural properties, they consisted of two kinds: land held by the nobility or monastic institutions (demesne land), and village land (tenement or villein land) held by the central government, though governed by district administrators. Demesne land consisted, on average, of one-half to three-quarters of an estate. Villein land belonged to the estates, but tenants normally exercised hereditary usufruct rights in exchange for fulfilling their corvée obligations. Tibetans outside the nobility and the monastic system were classified as serfs, but two types existed and functionally were comparable to tenant farmers. Agricultural serfs, or "small smoke" (düchung), were bound to work on estates as a corvée obligation (ula) but they had title to their own plots, owned private goods, were free to move about outside the periods required for their tribute labor, and were free of tax obligations. They could accrue wealth and on occasion became lenders to the estates themselves, and could sue the estate owners: village serfs (tralpa) were bound to their villages but only for tax and corvée purposes, such as road transport duties (ula), and were only obliged to pay taxes. Half of the village serfs were man-lease serfs (mi-bog), meaning that they had purchased their freedom. Estate owners exercised broad rights over attached serfs, and flight or a monastic life was the only venue of relief. Yet no mechanism existed to restore escaped serfs to their estates, and no means to enforce bondage existed, though the estate lord held the right to pursue and forcibly return them to the land.[citation needed]

Any serf who had absented himself from his estate for three years was automatically granted either commoner (chi mi) status or reclassified as a serf of the central government. Estate lords could transfer their subjects to other lords or rich peasants for labor, though this practice was uncommon in Tibet. Though rigid structurally, the system exhibited considerable flexibility at ground level, with peasants free of constraints from the lord of the manor once they had fulfilled their corvée obligations. Historically, discontent or abuse of the system, according to Warren W. Smith, appears to have been rare.[99][100] Tibet was far from a meritocracy, but the Dalai Lamas were recruited from the sons of peasant families, and the sons of nomads could rise to master the monastic system and become scholars and abbots.[101]

## See also

[edit]

* China portal
* Asia portal

* Arunachal Pradesh
* South Tibet
* Captive Nations
* Flag of Tibet
* Four Rugby Boys
* Ganden Phodrang
* Historical money of Tibet
* History of Tibet (1950–present)
* Kashag
* Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission
* Tibet Area (administrative division)
* Tibet under Qing rule

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ As late as 1889, map from Rand McNally shows Tibet as outside China. See File:1889 China Map by Rand McNally and Company.jpg.

## References

[edit]

### Citations

[edit]

1. ^ Shakabpa (2010), pp. 763, 1021.
2. ^ Nakamura, Haije (1964). "Absolute Adherence to the Lamaist Social Order". Ways of Thinking of Eastern Peoples: India, China, Tibet, Japan. University of Hawaii Press. p. 327.
3. ^ "AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CHINESE AND TIBETANS". Archived from the original on 23 June 2017.
4. ^ Fisher, Rose & Huttenback 1963, pp. 77–78: "By refusing to sign it, however, the Chinese lost an opportunity to become the acknowledged suzerain of Tibet. The Tibetans were therefore free to make their own agreement with the British.".
5. ^ "Gongjor Zhongnyi and the Tibet Office in Nanjing". Archived from the original on 8 March 2016.
6. ^ Goldstein (1989), p. 611.
7. ^ Lin (2011), p. 26; Anand (2013), p. 112
8. ^
* Perkins, Dorothy (2013). Encyclopedia of China: History and Culture. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-93562-7.
* Fravel, M. Taylor (2008). Strong Borders, Secure Nation: Cooperation and Conflict in China's Territorial Disputes. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-1-4008-2887-6.
* Jīnrì yóuzhèng, Issues 469-480 今日郵政, Issues 469-480 [Post Today, Issues 469-480] (in Chinese). 今日郵政月刊社 [Today Post Monthly]. 1997.
* Ling, Chunsheng (1953). Bian jiang wen hua lun ji (in Chinese). Zhonghua wen hua chu ban shi ye wei yuan hui, Min guo 42.
9. ^ "Tibetan Sovereignty Has a Long, Disputed History". NPR. 11 April 2008.
10. ^ Ram Rahul, Central Asia: an outline history Archived 13 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine, New Delhi, Concept Publishing Company, 1997, p. 42 : "From then [1720] until the fall of the Manchu dynasty in 1912, the Manchu Ch'ing government stationed an Amban, a Manchu mandarin, and a military escort in Tibet."
11. ^ Barry Sautman, Tibet's Putative Statehood and International Law, in Chinese Journal of International Law, Vol. 9, Issue 1, 2010, p. 127-142: "Through its Lifan Yuan (Office of Border Affairs ...), the Chinese government handled Tibet's foreign and many of its domestic affairs. During the Qing, Tibet hosted imperial troops and border patrols, and the imperial court appointed Tibetan officials. The Lifan Yuan  ... ratified the Dalai and Panchen Lamas, created joint rule by aristocrats and high lamas and elevated the Dalai Lama above the nobles. From 1728, the ... amban handled Tibet's foreign and military affairs. From 1793, the amban had the right to identify the Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama. ... Monastic finances were under imperial control. ... Central-western Tibet was thus an administered territory of China under the Qing. In 1724, eastern Tibet was incorporated into existing Chinese provinces."
12. ^ a b Esherick, Joseph; Kayali, Hasan; Van Young, Eric (2006). Empire to Nation: Historical Perspectives on the Making of the Modern World. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 245\. ISBN 9780742578159.
13. ^ a b Zhai, Zhiyong (2017). Xiànfǎ héyǐ zhōngguó 憲法何以中國 [Why is the constitution of China]. City University of Hong Kong Press. p. 190\. ISBN 9789629373214.
14. ^ a b Gao, Quanxi (2016). Zhèngzhì xiànfǎ yǔ wèilái xiàn zhì 政治憲法與未來憲制 [Political Constitution and Future Constitution]. City University of Hong Kong Press. p. 273\. ISBN 9789629372910.
15. ^ Goldstein, Melvyn C.; Beall, Cynthia M. (1990), Nomads of Western Tibet, University of California Press, p. 50, ISBN 9780520072114
16. ^ Zhu 2020.
17. ^ Zhu (2020), p. 305: "Taking advantage of the chaos in China, Mongolia and Tibet both declared their independence towards the end of 1911, expelled the Chinese ambans (residents) and garrisons, and established independent governments. Both Mongolia and Tibet justified their independence on the grounds that the territories' attachment to China was a personal one between the Manchu emperors and the territory, and that the territories were not part of China proper."
18. ^ Goldstein (1997), "Tibetan Attempts to Modernize", p. 37: "Chinese fortunes in Tibet improved slightly after the death of the thirteenth Dalai Lama when Tibet allowed a "condolence mission" sent by Guomindang government of Chiang Kaishek to visit Lhasa, and then permitted it to open an office to facilitate negotiations aimed at resolving the Tibet Question. These talks proved futile, but Tibet allowed the office to remain.
19. ^ Shakabpa 2010, p. 707.
20. ^ Lin (2011), p. 7–8: "From [1792] on, the Qing dynasty became increasingly preoccupied with problems in the interior, and court officials in Peking found it less and less easy to intervene in Tibetan affairs.... by the second half of the nineteenth century, the Qing ambans, who represented the Qing emperor and Qing authority, could do little more than exercise ritualistic and symbolic influence."
21. ^ Tanner, Harold (2009). China: A History. Hackett. p. 419\. ISBN 978-0872209152.
22. ^ Zhao, Suisheng (2004). A Nation-state by Construction: Dynamics of Modern Chinese Nationalism. Stanford University Press. p. 68\. ISBN 9780804750011.
23. ^ Goldstein (1997), p. 31.
24. ^ Goldstein (1997), p. 28
25. ^ "Tibet Justice Center – Legal Materials on Tibet – Tibet – Proclamation Issued by His Holiness the Dalai Lama XIII (1913) [106]". Archived from the original on 4 February 2019.
26. ^ a b c Shakya (1999), p. 5.
27. ^ a b Udo B. Barkmann, Geschichte der Mongolei, Bonn 1999, p380ff
28. ^ Grunfeld 1996, p. 65.
29. ^ Bell (1924), pp. 150–151
30. ^ Quoted by Sir Charles Bell, "Tibet and Her Neighbours", Pacific Affairs(Dec 1937), pp. 435–6, a high Tibetan official pointed our years later that there was "no need for a treaty; we would always help each other if we could."
31. ^ "Dogovor 1913 g. mezhdu Mongoliyey i Tibetom: novyye dannyye" Договор 1913 г. между Монголией и Тибетом: новые данные [1913 Treaty between Mongolia and Tibet: New Data]. Archived from the original on 11 September 2020.
32. ^ "Tibet Justice Center – Legal Materials on Tibet – Treaties and Conventions Relating to Tibet – Convention Between Great Britain, China, and Tibet, Simla (1914) [400]". Archived from the original on 9 September 2020.
33. ^ Article 2 of the Simla Convention Archived 15 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine
34. ^ Appendix of the Simla Convention Archived 15 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine
35. ^ Goldstein (1989), p. 75.
36. ^ Goldstein (1989), p. 80.
37. ^ "Tibet Justice Center – Legal Materials on Tibet – Treaties and Conventions Relating to Tibet – Convention Between Great Britain and Russia (1907)[391]". Archived from the original on 5 February 2019.
38. ^ Free Tibet Campaign, "Tibet Facts No.17: British Relations with Tibet" Archived 11 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
39. ^ Lamb (1966b), p. 580.
40. ^ Lamb (1966b), p. 529.
41. ^ "Republic of China (1912–1949)". China's Tibet: Facts & Figures 2002. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
42. ^ Chambers's Encyclopaedia, Volume XIII, Pergamaon Press, 1967, p. 638
43. ^ Reports by F.W. Williamson, British political officer in Sikkim, India Office Record, L/PS/12/4175, dated 20 January 1935
44. ^ Kuzmin 2011, pp. 95–100, 108.
45. ^ Goldstein (1989), p. 241.
46. ^ a b c Tibet during the Republic of China (1912–1949) Archived 22 November 2009 at the Wayback Machine
47. ^ a b Shakya (1999), p. 6.
48. ^ a b Shakya (1999), pp. 6–7.
49. ^ 光绪三年（一八七七年），由八世班禅丹白旺秀和摄政王公德林呼图克图、三大寺和扎什伦布寺的全体僧俗官员，联名要求驻藏大臣转奏朝廷，以只选定了一名灵童，且经各方公认，请免予金瓶制签。当年三月，光绪帝谕旨:"贡噶仁钦之子罗布藏塔布开甲木措，即作为达赖喇嘛之呼毕勒罕，毋庸制签，钦此。" [In the third year of Guangxu (1877), the eighth Panchen Lama Danbai Wangxiu and the regent Delin Hutuktu, all monks and lay officials from the Three Great Temples and Tashilhunpo Monastery jointly asked the Minister in Tibet to transfer to the court. Since only one soul boy has been selected, and it has been recognized by all parties, please be exempt from signing the golden bottle. In March of that year, Emperor Guangxu issued a decree: "Lob Zangtab, son of Gongga Rinqin, opened Jiamucuo, that is, as the call of the Dalai Lama, Bielehan, there is no need to make a lottery."]
50. ^ Goldstein 1991, p. 328.
51. ^ Bell (1946), pp. 398–399.
52. ^ Richardson (1984), p. 152.
53. ^ Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, New York); available from Newspaper.com archives.
54. ^ The Oshkosh Northwestern (Oshkosh, Wisconsin); The Times (Streator, Illinois); The Windsor Star (Windsor, Ontario, Canada); available from Newspapers.com archives: https://www.newspapers.com/search/?query=Direct word Lhasa arrived only today&t=12402
55. ^ The Honolulu Advertiser (Honolulu, Hawaii); available from Newspapers.com archives: https://www.newspapers.com/search/?query=The fourteenth Dalai Lama who will share&t=5998
56. ^ The Billings Gazette Sun; available from Newspapers.com archives
57. ^ Bell (1946), p. 400.
58. ^ 王家伟; 尼玛坚赞 (1997). 中国西藏的历史地位 [Wang Jiawei; Nima Gyaltsen (1997). The historical position of Tibet in China. China Communication Publishing House]. 五洲传播出版社. pp. 133–. ISBN 978-7-80113-303-8.
59. ^ Testimony by Kent M. Wiedemann, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs before Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Senate Foreign Relations Committee (online version Archived 13 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine), 1995
60. ^ Frank Capra, Why We Fight: The Battle of China, Eric Spiegelman, retrieved 7 July 2020
61. ^ Smith, Daniel, "Self-Determination in Tibet: The Politics of Remedies" Archived 28 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine.
62. ^ Lin, Hsiao-ting (2006). "War or Stratagem? Reassessing China's Military Advance towards Tibet, 1942–1943". The China Quarterly. 186: 446–462\. doi:10.1017/S0305741006000233. S2CID 154376402. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
63. ^ Barrett, David P.; Shyu, Lawrence N. (2001). China in the anti-Japanese War, 1937–1945: politics, culture and society. Peter Lang. p. 98\. ISBN 0-8204-4556-8.
64. ^ "India Should Revisit its Tibet Policy". Institute for Defense Studies and Analysis. Archived from the original on 21 April 2008.
65. ^ "CTA's Response to Chinese Government Allegations: Part Four". Website of Central Tibetan Administration. Archived from the original on 16 November 2008.
66. ^ Migot, André (1955). Tibetan Marches, pp. 91–92. E. P. Dutton & Company, Inc., New York.
67. ^ Tibetan Marches Archived 16 May 2021 at the Wayback Machine. André Migot. Translated from the French by Peter Fleming, p. 101. (1955). E. P. Dutton & Co. Inc. New York.
68. ^ Goldstein (1989), pp. 578, 592, 604.
69. ^ Farrington, Anthony. "Britain, China, and Tibet, 1904–1950". International Institute for Asian Studies. Archived from the original on 29 November 2018.
70. ^ Shakya (1999), pp. 7–8.
71. ^ Goldstein, Melvyn C. (July 2014). 西藏现代史 暴风雨之前的平静, 1951–1955. 第二卷 [Modern History of Tibet, Vol. 2: The Calm Before the Storm, 1951–1955]. 香港大學出版社 [Hong Kong University Publisher]. ISBN 9789888139699. ""北京中央人民政府毛主席、中国人民解放军朱德司令钧鉴：钧座以大智大勇之略，成救国救民之业，义师所至，全国欢腾，班禅世受国恩，备荷优崇。二十余年来，为了西藏领土主权之完整，呼吁奔走，未尝稍懈。第以未获结果，良用疚心。刻下羁留青海，待命返藏。兹幸在钧座领导之下，西北已获解放，中央人民政府成立，凡有血气，同声鼓舞。今后人民之康乐可期，国家之复兴有望。西藏解放，指日可待。班禅谨代表全藏人民，向钧座致崇高无上之敬意，并矢拥护爱戴之忱。"—十世班禅致中华人民共和国中央人民政府电报 [To Chairman Mao of the Central People's Government of Beijing and Commander-in-chief Zhu De of the Chinese People's Liberation Army: The scorpion is based on the wisdom of the great wisdom and the courage to save the country and the people. The whole country is full of joy, and the Panchen Lama is blessed by the country. For more than 20 years, I have been dealing with integrity of Tibet territorial sovereignty, without rest. Since result has not been obtained, I felt guilty. I will stay in Qinghai and wait for possible return. Fortunately, under your leadership, the northwest has been liberated, and the Central People's Government has been established, we're all excited. In the future, the people's well-being can be expected, and the country's revival is expected. The liberation of Tibet is just around the corner. On behalf of the entire Tibetan people, please accept my supreme respect and support. " 
- The 10th Panchen Lama to the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China]"
72. ^ "Oral Answers to Questions: Tibet (Autonomy)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). U. K. House of Commons. 21 June 1950. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020 - via Hansard.
73. ^ Goldstein (2007), p. 96.
74. ^ Goldstein (1989), pp. 812–813.
75. ^ "Peaceful Liberation of Tibet". china.org.cn. Archived from the original on 16 June 2017.
76. ^ Jowett (2017), pp. 235, 236.
77. ^ Jowett (2017), p. 246.
78. ^ Jowett (2017), pp. 240, 246.
79. ^ Jowett (2017), pp. 235–246.
80. ^ Jowett (2017), p. 245.
81. ^ van Schaik (2013), pp. 209–212.
82. ^ Liu, Xiaoyuan (2004). Frontier passages: ethnopolitics and the rise of Chinese communism, 1921–1945. Stanford University Press. p. 89\. ISBN 0-8047-4960-4.
83. ^ Oriental Society of Australia (2000). The Journal of the Oriental Society of Australia, Volumes 31–34. Oriental Society of Australia. pp. 35, 37.
84. ^ Michael Gervers, Wayne Schlepp, Joint Centre for Asia Pacific Studies (1998). Historical themes and current change in Central and Inner Asia: papers presented at the Central and Inner Asian Seminar, University of Toronto, April 25–26, 1997, Volume 1997. Joint Centre for Asia Pacific Studies. pp. 73, 74, 76. ISBN 1-895296-34-X.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
85. ^ K. Dhondup (1986). The water-bird and other years: a history of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama and after. Rangwang Publishers. p. 60.
86. ^ American Academy of Political and Social Science (1951). The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Volume 277. American Academy of Political and Social Science. p. 152.
87. ^ American Academy of Political and Social Science (1951). Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Volumes 276–278. American Academy of Political and Social Science. p. 152.
88. ^ American Academy of Political and Social Science (1951). The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Volume 277. American Academy of Political and Social Science. p. 152\. "A group of Kazakhs, originally numbering over 20000 people when expelled from Sinkiang by Sheng Shih-ts'ai in 1936, was reduced, after repeated massacres by their Chinese coreligionists under Ma Pu-fang, to a scattered 135 people."
89. ^ Lin (2011), pp. 112–.
90. ^ Lin (2011), p. 231–.
91. ^ Blackwood's Magazine. William Blackwood. 1948. p. 407.
92. ^ Devlet, Nadir (2004). Studies in the Politics, History and Culture of Turkic Peoples. Istanbul: Yeditepe University - via academia.edu.
93. ^ Benson, Linda (1988). The Kazaks of China: Essays on an Ethnic Minority. Ubsaliensis S. Academiae. p. 195\. ISBN 978-91-554-2255-4.
94. ^ CJ Clancy (7 February 2022). "Douglas Mackiernan: The first CIA officer killed on duty". Irish Central.
95. ^ Powers & Holzinger 2004, pp. 19–20.
96. ^ Donald S. Lopez Jr., Prisoners of Shangri-La: University of Chicago Press, (1998) 1999pp.6–10, p9.
97. ^ Pradyumna P. Karan, The Changing Face of Tibet: The Impact of Chinese Communist Ideology on the Landscape, University Press of Kentucky, 1976, p.64.
98. ^ Warren W. Smith, Jr.China's Tibet?: Autonomy Or Assimilation, Rowman & Littlefield, 2009 p.14
99. ^ Warren W. Smith, Jr. China's Tibet?: Autonomy Or Assimilation, pp.14–15.
100. ^ Goldstein (2007), pp. 9–13.
101. ^ Donald S Lopez Jr., Prisoners of Shangri-La, p. 9.

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* Foreign aid received
* Foreign aid program
* Historical GDP
* Housing
* Income inequality in China
* Industry
* Chemical
* Gold mining
* Semiconductors
* Steel
* Textiles
* Labor relations
* Poverty
* Real estate
* Standard of living
* Taxation
* Tourism
* Trade
* Underoccupied developments
* Unemployment

Infrastructure|

* Architecture
* Housing
* Telecommunications
* Internet
* Water supply and sanitation

Transport|

* Automotive industry
* Civil aviation
* Rail
* Shipping industry
* Space program

Society|

* Abortion
* Censorship
* Chinese Dream
* Chinese language
* Standard Chinese
* Written Chinese
* Crime
* Corruption
* Prostitution
* Sex trafficking
* Education
* Literacy
* Freedom of the press
* Harmonious Society
* Health
* Food safety
* incidents
* HIV/AIDS
* Intellectualism
* Internment camps
* Martyrdom
* Surveillance
* Propaganda
* Protest
* ”Mass incidents”
* Public holidays
* Rural society
* Science and technology
* history
* Sexuality
* Social issues
* Patriarchy
* Racism
* Regional discrimination
* Suicide
* Social relations
* Structure
* Tang ping
* Time
* Urban society
* Welfare

Culture|

* Archaeology
* Archives
* Art
* Calligraphy
* Cinema
* Cuisine
* Dance
* Libraries
* Literature
* Poetry
* Martial arts
* Mass media
* Music
* Names
* Philosophy
* Smoking
* Sport
* Tea culture
* Variety art
* Major Historical and Cultural Sites
* World Heritage Sites

| Fours of China|

* Four Treasures of the Study
* Four Great Inventions
* Four Gentlemen
* Flowers of the Four Seasons
* Four Beauties
* Four Classic Novels
* Four arts
* Four Symbols
* Four Holy Beasts
* Four Pillars of Destiny
* Four Paragons of the Early Tang
* Four Masters of the Ming dynasty
* Four Masters of the Yuan dynasty
* Four Wangs
* Gang of Four
* Four Olds
* Four Pests campaign

|

Demographics|

* Emigration
* Ethnic groups
* Eunuchs
* Internal migration
* Languages
* Life expectancy
* Statistics
* Population history
* "Post-80s"
* "Post-90s"
* Urbanization
* Women

Religion|

* Buddhism
* Chinese Buddhism
* Tibetan Buddhism
* Confucianism
* Folk religion
* Christianity
* Catholic Church in China
* Protestantism
* Freedom of religion
* History of religion
* Irreligion
* Islam
* Taoism

Symbols|

* Anthem
* Emblem
* Flag

* Outline
* Index

* Category
* Portal

* v
* t
* e

Monarchies

* Monarch
* Imperial, royal and noble ranks
* List of current sovereign monarchs
* List of current non-sovereign monarchs
* List of monarchy referendums

Type|

* Absolute
* Constitutional
* Diarchy
* Elective
* Federal
* Hereditary
* Non-sovereign
* Personal union
* Regency

Topics|

* Abdication
* Abolition of monarchy
* Aristocracy
* Criticism of monarchy
* Decolonization
* Democratization
* Dynasty
* Government
* Head of state
* Legitimacy (political)
* Oligarchy
* Order of succession
* Republicanism
* Self-proclaimed monarchy
* Sovereignty

Titles|

* Chhatrapati
* Emperor
* Khan
* King
* Queen regnant
* Pharaoh
* Prince regnant
* Raja
* Shah
* Sultan
* Tsar

Current|

| Africa|

* Eswatini
* Lesotho
* Morocco
* list

|

Asia|

* Bahrain
* Bhutan
* Brunei
* Cambodia
* Japan
* Jordan
* Kuwait
* Malaysia
* Oman
* Qatar
* Saudi Arabia
* Thailand
* United Arab Emirates
* list

Europe|

* Andorra
* Belgium
* Denmark
* Liechtenstein
* Luxembourg
* Monaco
* Netherlands
* Norway
* Spain
* Sweden
* Vatican City (Holy See)

Oceania|

* Tonga

Commonwealth realms|

* Antigua and Barbuda
* Australia
* Bahamas
* Belize
* Canada
* Grenada
* Jamaica
* New Zealand
* Cook Islands
* Niue
* Papua New Guinea
* Saint Kitts and Nevis
* Saint Lucia
* Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
* Solomon Islands
* Tuvalu
* United Kingdom

Former|

| Africa|

* Adamawa
* Ankole
* Aussa
* Bagirmi
* Barotseland
* Bornu
* Burundi
* Central Africa
* Dahomey
* Egypt
* Ethiopia
* Ghana
* Gomma
* Gumma
* Islands of Refreshment
* Kaffa
* Kongo
* Libya
* Luba
* Madagascar
* Mali
* Maore
* Maravi
* Mwali
* Ndzuwani
* Ngazidja
* Rwanda
* Shilluk
* Tunisia
* Wituland
* Wassoulou
* Yeke
* Zanzibar
* Zimbabwe
* and other

|

Americas|

* Araucanía
* Aztec
* Brazil
* Haiti
* Inca
* Mexico
* Miskito
* Suriname
* Talamanca
* Trinidad
* Thirteen Colonies

Asia|

* Afghanistan
* Asir
* Bengal
* Bukhara
* Burma
* Cebu
* Chehab
* China
* Dapitan
* Hejaz
* Indonesia
* Iran (Qajar)
* Iraq
* Jabal Shammar
* Kathiri
* Khiva
* Korea
* Kumul
* Kurdistan
* Laos
* Maguindanao
* Mahra
* Maldives
* Manchukuo
* Mongolia
* Najran
* Nepal
* Qu'aiti
* Ryukyu
* Sarawak
* Shan
* Sikkim
* Sri Lanka
* Sip Song Chau Tai
* Sulu
* Syria
* Tibet
* Taiwan
* Upper Asir
* Upper Yafa
* Vietnam
* Yemen
* Emirates of South Arabia
* South Arabia

Europe|

* Albania
* Aragon
* Asturias
* Austria
* Austria-Hungary
* Bavaria
* Bosnia
* Brittany
* Bulgaria
* Catalonia
* Cilicia
* Corsica
* Crimea
* Cyprus
* Finland
* France
* Galicia
* Georgia
* Germany
* Granada
* Greece
* Hanover
* Hungary
* Iceland
* Imereti
* Ireland
* Italy
* Kartli-Kakheti
* Lithuania
* Majorca
* Man
* Moldavia
* Montenegro
* Navarre
* Neuchâtel
* Ottoman Empire
* Papal States
* Piedmont-Sardinia
* Poland–Lithuania
* Portugal
* Prussia
* Romania
* Russia
* Samos
* Savoy
* Saxony
* Scotland
* Serbia
* Tavolara
* Tuscany
* Two Sicilies
* United Baltic Duchy
* Valencia
* Württemberg
* Yugoslavia

Oceania|

* Abemama
* Bora Bora
* Easter Island
* Fiji
* Hawaii
* Huahine
* Mangareva
* Niuē-Fekai
* Nuku Hiva
* Raiatea
* Rapa Iti
* Rarotonga
* Rimatara
* Rurutu
* Tahiti
* Tahuata

Commonwealth realms|

* Barbados
* Ceylon (Sri Lanka)
* Fiji
* The Gambia
* Ghana
* Guyana
* India (British Raj, princely states)
* Irish Free State / Ireland
* Kenya
* Malawi
* Malta
* Mauritius
* Nigeria
* Pakistan
* Rhodesia
* Sierra Leone
* South Africa
* Tanganyika
* Trinidad and Tobago
* Uganda

* v
* t
* e

Tibet articles

History|

| Overviews|

* Timeline
* List of rulers
* European exploration
* Historical money

|

Chronology|

* Prehistory (Neolithic)
* Zhangzhung
* Yarlung dynasty
* Empire (7th–9th century)
* Timeline
* List of emperors
* Lönchen
* Relations with Tang (618–907)
* Era of Fragmentation (9th–13th century)
* Guge kingdom
* Tsongkha
* Relations with Song (960–1279)
* Yuan dynasty rule (1270–1350)
* Bureau of Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs
* Phagmodrupa dynasty
* Relations with Ming (1368–1644)
* Rinpungpa dynasty
* Tsangpa dynasty
* Ganden Phodrang
* Kashag
* Khoshut Khanate
* Qing dynasty rule (1720–1912)
* Lifan Yuan
* List of Qing ambans
* Post-Qing to 1950
* Tibetan Army
* People's Republic of China (PRC) rule
* PRC annexation
* political leaders

Wars and
conflicts|

* Tibetan attack on Songzhou
* Battle of Dafei River
* Battle of Shenchuan
* Mongol invasions of Tibet
* Tibet–Ladakh–Mughal war
* Battle of Dartsedo
* Battle of the Salween River
* Chinese expedition to Tibet (1720)
* Jinchuan campaigns
* Lhasa riot of 1750
* Sino-Nepalese War
* Dogra–Tibetan War
* Nepal–Tibet War (1855–1856)
* Sikkim expedition
* British expedition to Tibet
* Batang uprising
* Chinese expedition to Tibet (1910)
* Xinhai Lhasa turmoil
* Sino-Tibetan War
* Qinghai–Tibet War
* 1938–1939 German expedition to Tibet
* 1939 Japanese expedition to Tibet
* Battle of Chamdo
* Protests and uprisings since 1950
* 1959 Tibetan uprising
* 1987–1989 Tibetan unrest
* 2008 Tibetan unrest
* Self-immolation protests by Tibetans in China
* Special Frontier Force

Documents|

* Treaty of Tingmosgang (1684)
* 13-Article Ordinance for the More Effective Governing of Tibet (1751)
* 29-Article Ordinance for the More Effective Governing of Tibet (1793)
* Treaty of Chushul (1842)
* Treaty of Thapathali (1856)
* Convention of Calcutta (1890)
* Treaty of Lhasa (1904)
* Convention Between Great Britain and China Respecting Tibet (1906)
* Anglo-Russian Convention (1907)
* Treaty of friendship and alliance with Mongolia (1913)
* Simla Accord (1914)
* Seventeen Point Agreement (1951)
* Sino-Indian Trade Agreement over Tibetan Border (1954)
* 70,000 Character Petition (1962)
* Memorandum on Genuine Autonomy (2008)

Geography|

* Flora
* Fauna
* Environment
*   * Mountains
* Kailash
* Lhotse / Changtse
* Namcha Barwa
* Tanggula
* Rivers
* Yarlung Tsangpo
* Grand Canyon
* Rongbuk Glacier
* Tibetan Plateau
* Changtang
* Nature Reserve
* Valleys

Traditional regions|

* Amdo
* Kham
* Ü-Tsang
* Ngari

Politics|

* Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR)
* Tibet Autonomous Regional Committee of the Chinese Communist Party
* People's Government of the Tibet Autonomous Region
* Etymology of Tibet
* Foreign relations
* Patron and priest relationship
* Golden Urn
* Tibet Area
* Serfdom controversy
* Serfs' Emancipation Day
* Sovereignty debate
* CIA Tibetan program
* India–Tibet relations

Government|

* Central Tibetan Administration
* Regional Government
* TAR People's Government
* TAR People's Congress

Economy|

* Postage and postal history
* Qinghai-Tibet Highway
* Qinghai–Tibet railway

Society|

* Education
* Languages
* Religion
* Bon
* Tibetan Buddhism
* Sakya
* Imperial Preceptor
* Dpon-chen
* Nyingma
* Kagyu
* Jonang
* Gelug
* Ganden Tripa
* Dalai Lama
* list
* Lhamo La-tso
* Panchen Lama
* list
* Catholicism
* Islam
* Sinicization
* Social classes
* Tibetan people
* Changpa
* Yolmo
* Diaspora
* Names

Culture|

* Art
* rugs
* thangka
* tsakli
* sand mandala
* wall paintings
* wall murals
* Calendar
* Cuisine
* Dzong architecture
* Emblem
* Festivals
* Flag
* Historical and cultural sites
* Khata (ceremonial scarf)
* Literature
* Annals
* Chronicle
* writers
* Music
* Tibetology
* Traditional medicine

* Outline
* Index

* Category

* v
* t
* e

History of World War II by region and country

Africa|

* Belgian Congo
* British Somaliland
* Egypt
* Ethiopia
* French Somaliland
* French West Africa
* The Gambia
* Gold Coast
* Kenya
* Liberia
* Madagascar
* North Africa
* Tunisia
* Morocco
* Nyasaland
* Sierra Leone
* South Africa
* Southern Rhodesia

North America|

* Canada
* Cuba
* El Salvador
* Greenland
* Mexico
* Newfoundland
* United States
* Arizona
* California
* Nevada
* New Mexico
* Puerto Rico
* Native Americans

South America|

* Argentina
* Brazil
* Colombia
* Latin America
* Suriname
* Uruguay
* Venezuela

Asia|

* Burma
* Ceylon
* China
* Manchuria
* Dutch East Indies
* New Guinea
* West Sumatra
* Hong Kong
* India
* Indochina
* Cambodia
* Iran
* Iraq
* Japan
* Malaya
* Mongolia
* Nepal
* Philippines
* Sarawak, Brunei, Labuan, and British North Borneo
* Singapore
* Thailand
* Tibet
* Turkey
* Tuva

Europe|

* Albania
* Austria
* Belgium
* Bulgaria
* Czechoslovakia
* Denmark
* Estonia
* Finland
* France
* Military history
* Basque Country
* Germany
* Greece
* Hungary (Carpathian Ruthenia)
* Iceland
* Ireland
* Italy
* Latvia
* Liechtenstein
* Lithuania
* Luxembourg
* Netherlands
* Norway
* Poland
* Portugal
* Romania
* Slovakia
* Soviet Union
* Azerbaijan
* Byelorussia
* Ukraine
* Spain
* Basque Country
* Catalonia
* Galicia
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* United Kingdom
* British Empire
* Wales
* Channel Islands
* Gibraltar
* Vatican City
* Yugoslavia (Slovenia)

Oceania and
Antarctica|

* Antarctica
* Australia
* Gilbert Islands
* Nauru
* New Guinea
* New Zealand
* Solomon Islands
* Pacific Islands

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