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Summary
Summary
Tensions over the "Tibet Question"--the political status of Tibet--are escalating every day. The Dalai Lama has gained broad international sympathy in his appeals for autonomy from China, yet the Chinese government maintains a hard-line position against it. What is the history of the conflict? Can the two sides come to an acceptable compromise? In this thoughtful analysis, distinguished professor and longtime Tibet analyst Melvyn C. Goldstein presents a balanced and accessible view of the conflict and a proposal for the future.
Tibet's political fortunes have undergone numerous vicissitudes since the fifth Dalai Lama first ascended to political power in Tibet in 1642. In this century, a forty-year period of de facto independence following the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911 ended abruptly when the Chinese Communists forcibly incorporated Tibet into their new state and began the series of changes that destroyed much of Tibet's traditional social, cultural, and economic system. After the death of Mao in 1976, the rise to power of Deng Xiaoping quickly produced a change in attitude in Beijing and a major initiative to negotiate with the Dalai Lama to solve the conflict. This failed. With the death of Deng Xiaoping, the future of Tibet is more uncertain than ever, and Goldstein argues that the conflict could easily erupt into violence.
Drawing upon his deep knowledge of the Tibetan culture and people, Goldstein takes us through the history of Tibet, concentrating on the political and cultural negotiations over the status of Tibet from the turn of the century to the present. He describes the role of Tibet in Chinese politics, the feeble and conflicting responses of foreign governments, overtures and rebuffs on both sides, and the nationalistic emotions that are inextricably entwined in the political debate. Ultimately, he presents a plan for a reasoned compromise, identifying key aspects of the conflict and appealing to the United States to play an active diplomatic role. Clearly written and carefully argued, this book will become the definitive source for anyone seeking an understanding of the Tibet Question during this dangerous turning point in its turbulent history.
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Despite its poetically symbolic title, this slim, clearly written volume offers the general reader a concise and balanced overview of the complicated history of Tibetan and Chinese relations. The author, chair of the anthropology department at Case Western Reserve and director of the university's Center for Research on Tibet, has written over 80 articles and books on Tibet, and is eminently qualified for his task. Goldstein compares the issues surrounding the thorny question of Tibetan independence from China to sadly similar instances of conflicting nationalistic aspirations in the Middle East and Northern Ireland. Skillfully weaving together the story of Tibet's political, geographic and cultural history, the author spares neither the Chinese, whose political contact with Tibet dates back to the 7th century A.D., nor the current Dalai Lama, whose representatives seem more intent on turning him into a pop-culture icon than working toward a compromise solution. U.S. actions over the last decade have not helped resolve the Sino-Tibetan dispute either, Goldstein argues. Instead, we have unrealistically raised Tibetan expectations of U.S. involvement while refusing to exert any meaningful pressure on China that might undermine our strategic interests there. Goldstein ends his book with a carefully reasoned proposal for a peaceful compromise taking into consideration the interests of all parties. 25 b&w photos. (Nov.) FYI: For information on two illustrated books on Tibet see "Notes" below. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
Three books present three distinct perspectives on the dauntingly complex and unendingly tragic conflict between China and Tibet. Goldstein, a distinguished Tibetan scholar, has written a lucid and fast-paced overview of the political and religious issues at stake in the struggle between Tibet and China. He proceeds briskly from the bloodless 1207 Mongol conquest of Tibet and the recognition of the first of the incarnate lamas to little-known facts about an ill-advised sortie by the British in 1904. That act of aggression goaded China to assert its power over Tibet, which had been all but forgotten in the midst of political chaos, but it wasn't until the Communists were firmly in command that China pursued the occupation and "reformation" of Tibet with vigor and ruthlessness. As Goldstein chronicles the events of the last 50 years, he steps beyond the polite parameters of most discussions of the Tibet question and offers harsh criticism not only of the Chinese but also of the Dalai Lama, who he believes missed key diplomatic opportunities, and of the double-dealing West. Palden Gyatso's calmly told yet wrenching account of his life in Tibet--first as a Buddhist monk, then as a prisoner of the Chinese for more then 30 years--stands in shimmering contrast to Goldstein's impersonal history. Born in 1933, Palden Gyatso fondly remembers a happy village childhood and his few peaceful years at a monastery, an interlude that came to a violent end. After his arrest, Palden Gyatso refused to betray his teacher, thus beginning his long resistance to Chinese brutality. Repeatedly beaten, shackled, and tortured, Palden Gyatso endured decades of starvation and diabolical abuse in labor camps, as did thousands of others, but he remained brave and defiant into old age, managing to send information about China's crimes against humanity to the outside world. On his release in 1992, he escaped to India, where the Dalai Lama encouraged him to write this book to pay tribute to Tibetan martyrs and testify to the evil that permeates Communist China. Nomachi's stunning photographs of Tibet illustrate every aspect of Palden Gyatso's experiences and help explain his will to survive. Here are sacred mountains, rivers, and immense expanses of open land and sky unsullied by humanity. Attuned to Tibet's intrinsic spirituality, Nomachi also photographed the ancient temples, weathered stupas, and intricate mandalas that the Chinese somehow missed in their war against Buddhism. And then there are the people: villagers and nomads bundled up against the cold; young monks wrapped in jewel-hued Buddhist robes. Nomachi's radiant and graceful monograph is one of the best in a long line of photography books quietly demanding our attention and help in saving this majestic land and its people. --Donna Seaman
Choice Review
Riding to power on the back of Mongol saddles, the Manchus (Qing Dynasty, 1644-1911) recognized the Dalai Lama as spiritual leader while assuming the right to interfere in Tibetan affairs. From 1911 to 1950, "political" Tibet was independent although not recognized by world powers, while "ethnographic" Tibet--the bordering Tibetan-speaking areas--was not necessarily independent. Chinese communists invaded "political" Tibet in 1950. After a revolt beginning in "ethnographic" Tibet the Dalai Lama fled, establishing a government-in-exile including refugees from "ethnographic" and "political" Tibet. The Chinese communists then brutally reorganized Tibet, undermining Tibetan cultural integrity by allowing large-scale in-migration. Goldstein, a Tibetan-speaking anthropologist with ongoing field experience in communist-controlled Tibet, ends his realpolitik assessment of the Dalai Lama's choices by warning that in wooing the West the Dalai Lama may neutralize sympathetic elements in China's present power structure, and that the US is "a bad friend." The Dalai Lama's doctrine of nonviolence may not prevail, unleashing an "intifada." Despite his excellent review of Tibet's historical relations with Han and non-Han neighbors, Goldstein ignores the present Chinese situation, assuming the permanence of current communist rulers. He advises the Dalai Lama to capitulate. All levels. F. B. Bessac emeritus, University of Montana