|
The Tibetan ethnic minority
 The Tibetans with a population of 4,593,100 mostly live
in the Tibet Autonomous Region. There are also Tibetan communities in
Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces.
The Tibetan language belongs to the Tibetan sub-branch of the
Tibetan-Myanmese language branch of the Chinese-Tibetan language
family. According to geographical divisions, it has three major local
dialects: Weizang, Kang and Amdo. The Tibetan script, an alphabetic
system of writing, was created in the early 7th entury. With four
vowels and 30 consonants, it is used in all areas inhabited by
Tibetans.
The areas where Tibetans live in compact community are mostly
highlands and mountainous country studded with snow-capped peaks, one
rising higher than the other. The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau rising about
4,000 meters above sea level is run through from west to east by the
Qilian, Kunlun, Tanggula, Gangdise and Himalaya mountain ranges. The
Hengduan Mountains, descending from north to south, runs across the
western part of Sichuan and Yunnan provinces.
Mt. Qomolangma on the Sino-Nepalese border is 8,848 meters above sea
level, the highest in the world. The Tibetan areas are crisscrossed by
rivers and dotted with lakes.
Animal husbandry is the main occupation in Tibet where there are vast
expanses of grasslands and rich sources of water. The Tibetan sheep,
goat, yak and pien cattle are native to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The
yak is a big and long-haired animal, capable of with-standing harsh
weather and carrying heavy loads. Known as the "Boat on the Plateau,"
the yak is a major means of transport as well as a source of meat. The
pien cattle, a crossbreed of bull and yak, is the best draught animal
and milk producer. In farming, the fast ripening and cold- and
 drought-resistant qingke, a kind of highland barley, is the main crop.
Other crops include wheat, pea, buckwheat and broad bean. In the
warmer places in the river valleys, there are rape, potato, turnip,
apple and walnut. People also grow rice and cotton in river valleys in
southern Tibet where the weather is very warm.
The dense forests in the Tibetan areas provide shelter for many
precious animals such as sunbird, vulture, giant panda, golden-haired
monkey, black leaf monkey, bear and ermine. The forests also produce
precious medicines such as bear's gallbladder, musk, pilose antler,
caterpillar fungus, snow lotus and glossy ganoderma.
These areas are also richly endowed with hydro-power and mineral
resources. There are enormous amounts of hydropower and terrestrial
heat for generating electricity, and huge reserves of natural gas,
copper, iron, coal, mica and sulfur. The landlocked lakes abound in
borax, salt, mirabilite and natural soda. ilfields have been found in
recent years in the Qaidam basin in Qinghai and the northern Tibet
Plateau.
History The Tibetans first
settled along the middle reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River in Tibet.
Evidence of the new and old stone age culture was found in
archaeological excavations at Nyalam, Nagqu, Nyingchi and Qamdo.
According to ancient historical documents, members of the earliest
clans formed tribes known as "Bos" in the Shannan area. In the 6th
century, the chief of the Yarlung tribe in the area became leader of
the local tribal alliance and declared himself the "Zambo" (king).
This marked the beginning of Tibetan slavery society and its direct
contacts with the Han people and other ethnic groups and tribes in
northwest China.
At the beginning of the 7th century, King Songzan Gambo began to rule
the whole of Tibet and made "Losha" (today's Lhasa) the capital. He
designated official posts, defined military and administrative areas,
created the Tibetan script, formulated laws and unified weights and
measures, thus establishing the slavery kingdom known as "Bo," which
was called "Tubo" in Chinese historical documents.
After the Tubo regime was established, the Tibetans increased their
political, economic and cultural exchanges with the Han and other
ethnic groups in China. The Kingdom of Tibet began to have frequent
contacts with the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and the Tibetan and Han
peoples got on well with each other. In 641, King Songzan Gambo
married Princess Wen Cheng of the Tang Dynasty. In 710, King Chide
Zuzain married another Tang princess, Jin Cheng. The two princesses
brought with them the culture and advanced production techniques of
Central China to Tibet. From that time on, emissaries traveled
frequently between the Tang Dynasty and Tibet. The Tibetans sent
students to Changan, capital of the Tang Dynasty, and invited Tang
scholars and craftsmen to Tibet. These exchanges helped promote
relations between the Tibetans and other ethnic groupss in China and
stimulated social development in Tibet.
 From the 10th to 12th century, Tibet fell apart into several
independent regimes and began to move towards serfdom. It was at this
time that Buddhism was adapted to local circumstances by assimilating
certain aspects of the indigenous religion, won increasing numbers of
followers and gradually turned into Lamaism. Consisting of many
different sects and spread across the land, Lamaism penetrated into
all spheres of Tibetan life. The upper strata of the clergy often
collaborated with the rich and powerful, giving rise to a feudal
hierarchy combining religious and political power and controlled by
the rising local forces.
The Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) founded by the Mongols in the 13th
century brought the divided Tibet under the unified rule of the
central government. It set up an institution called Xuanzhengyuan (or
political council) and put it in charge of the nation's Buddhist
affairs and Tibet's military, governmental and religious affairs.
Phagsba, a Tibetan lama, was given the title of imperial tutor and
appointed head of the council. The Yuan court also set up three
government offices to govern the Tibetan areas in northwest and
southwest China and Tibet itself. The central government set up 13
Wanhu offices (each governing 10,000 households) in Inner and Outer
Tibet east of Ngari. It also sent officials to administer civil and
military affairs, conduct census, set up courier stations and collect
taxes and levies. Certificates for the ownership of manors were issued
to the serf owners and documents given to local officials to define
their authority. This marked the beginning of the central authorities'
overall control of Tibet by appointing officials and instituting the
administrative system there.
The ensuing Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) carried over the Tusi (headmen)
system in the Tibetan areas in northwest and southwest China. In Tibet
proper, three sect leaders and five secular princes were named. These
measures ensured peace and stability in the Tibetan areas during the
Yuan and Ming dynasties, and the feudal economy there developed and
culture and art flourished. Tibet's contacts with other parts of the
country became more frequent and extensive.
The Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the last monarchy in China, set up a
government department called Lifanyuan to administer affairs in Tibet
and Mongolia. In Tibet, the Qing emperor conferred the titles of the
"Dalai Lama" (1653) and "Bainqen Erdini" (1713) on two living Buddhas
of the Gelugba sect of Lamaism. The Qing court began to appoint a high
resident commissioner to help with local administration in 1728, and
set up the Kasha as the local government in 1751. In 1793, the Qing
army drove the Gurkhas invaders out of Tibet and formulated
regulations concerning its administration.
The regulations specified the civil and military official appointment
systems and institutions governing justice, border defense, finance,
census, corvee service and foreign affairs, establishing the high
commissioners' terms of reference in supervising Tibetan affairs.
In other areas inhabited by Tibetans in northwest and southwest China,
the Qing court continued the Tusi (headmen) system established by the
Yuan and Ming dynasties, and put them under the administration of the
Xining Commissioner's office (established in 1725) and the Sichuan
governor (later the Sichuan-Yunnan border affairs minister).
After the Republic of China was founded in 1911, the central
government set up a special department to administer Mongolian and
Tibetan affairs. In 1929, the Kuomintang government set up a
commission for Mongolian and Tibetan affairs in Nanjing and
established Qinghai Province. In 1939, Xikang Province was set up. The
Tibetan areas in northwest and southwest China, except Tibet, were
placed under the administration of Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan, Xikang and
Yunnan provinces respectively. |
|
|
