History of Tibet and the Dalai Lama

[gorillafuck]

Hey folks, I have been having serious trouble finding information on Tibet before Chinese occupation. How it was run, what the conditions were like, what types of things the Dalai Lama did, etc. Pretty much the whole scoop on pre-occupied Tibet. I know some of you guys can help me out here, so help, please?

[x359594]

There's Tibetan Civilization by R.A. Stein, A Cultural History of Tibet by David Snellgrove and Hugh Richardson and The Religions of Tibet by Giuseppe Tucci. These are mainstream, non-partisan (neither for nor against the Dalai Lama and the Buddhist theocracy) and descriptive studies. There are many more specialized studies, but these books give a general and comprehensive account of pre-1949 Tibet.

[Patchd]

Unless it's already let you down, wiki is your friend: History of Tibet (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_tibet#1912-1949:_de_facto_independence). I'm afraid there's not much else I can do but the references at the bottom of the page should have some books which you can look up.

From what I hear though, Tibet was run on a mainly feudalistic basis, with not only the religious leaders in control (Lamas), but also with feudal nobles. Women didn't have much fun, in some cases, even their tools they used had to be different to men, so there's gender segregation in that sense, in addition, I doubt an authoritarian theocratic rule would have done much for those who didn't have a purely heterosexual inclination.

[x359594]

...From what I hear though, Tibet was run on a mainly feudalistic basis, with not only the religious leaders in control (Lamas), but also with feudal nobles...

The political economy of Tibet pre-1949 was feudalistic in some regions, nomadic hunter-gather in others, and mercantile in still other regions. The area around Lhasa was governed by the theocracy of the Dalai Lamas, but other areas were governed by powerful monasteries. The nomads were self-governing and occasionally paid tribute to Lhasa or the monastic domains that bordered their hunting grounds.

The condition and status of women was far from uniform throughout the country. Some sub-cultures there were matriarchal and polyandrous for example.

In short, it's best not to try to fit Tibet into preconceived categories of European development and governance and gender relations. The Wiki entry has the usal limits of a Wiki entry (i.e., superficial.) Best to examine the topic in depth if you're really interested.

Another book that's of interest is Secret Tibet by Fosco Maraini. This book is basically a travelogue written by an intelligent observer. Maraini visited the country in 1950 and reports on the early adaptations to Chinese rule.

[ComradeOm]

Hey folks, I have been having serious trouble finding information on Tibet before Chinese occupation. How it was run, what the conditions were like, what types of things the Dalai Lama did, etc. Pretty much the whole scoop on pre-occupied Tibet. I know some of you guys can help me out here, so help, please?Its a very divisive topic and AFAIK there's not yet been a definitive work on the subject. Given the continued political bickering I would not expect such an impartial work any time soon. For what its worth, here (http://www.michaelparenti.org/Tibet.html) is an online essay as to feudalism in Tibet but, as I said, there is still no academic consensus on this issue

[Lord Testicles]

Hey folks, I have been having serious trouble finding information on Tibet before Chinese occupation. How it was run, what the conditions were like, what types of things the Dalai Lama did, etc. Pretty much the whole scoop on pre-occupied Tibet. I know some of you guys can help me out here, so help, please?

You might find this interesting:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWGGjpJJCKE

[RedStarOverChina]

Your question is kinda broad. Which aspect of Tibetan history do u want to know?

Evolution of political structure? Religion? Class? Relations with China?

[RedStarOverChina]

How it was run, what the conditions were like, what types of things the Dalai Lama did, etc. Pretty much the whole scoop on pre-occupied Tibet. I know some of you guys can help me out here, so help, please?


Oh I see.

Tibet (TAR) is the size of France, but only had the population of around 1.2 million in 1959. In 1951, the population of Lhasa stands at a mere 30,000.

Tibet before 1959 was ruled by a Buddhist theocracy. The Dalai Lama was considered a "god-king", and was the most powerful person in Tibet. The Panchen Lama, traditionally a rival of the Dalai Lama, is second in command. The government is composed of a secular, slave-owning aristocracy and the administrative monks. Marriage is fobidden for these powerful monks, so rape, pedophilia and homosexuality were common to the point of being institutionalized.

Bureaucracy, the Monastry, and the Aristocracy are collectively referred to as the "Three Great Feudal Lords" (or something like that), and they own almost all of the land and 95% of the slaves and serfs.

The theocracy divides people into 3 castes, and each caste has 3 sub-castes. The life of a serf from the lowest of the castes, according to Tibetan law, is worth a rope made of grass. Slave-owners call their slaves and serfs "beasts of burden that speak", and so they must live with beasts of burden that do not speak.

The Dalai Lama first claimed to be drawn to communist egalitarian causes; but discouraged all reform movements, and persecuted reformers. He wrote a banner for Mao Zedong, basically telling him that the sun shines out of his rear end. Then he applied to join the Communist Party (and was turned down because the CCP didnt think he wasn't reformed yet). Of course, at the same time, he was supporting an anti-communist Buddhist insurgency.

The Dalai Lama's family lost approximately 4,000 serfs as result of the failed rebllion in 1959.