Tibet's Forgotten Heroes

Tibet's Forgotten Heroes PDF Author: Birgit van de Wijer
Publisher: Amberley Publishing Limited
ISBN: 1445612453
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 356

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Book Description
A highly emotive collection of first-hand accounts of the struggle to resist Chinese oppression in Tibet

Tibet's Forgotten Heroes

Tibet's Forgotten Heroes PDF Author: Birgit van de Wijer
Publisher: Amberley Publishing Limited
ISBN: 1445612453
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 356

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Book Description
A highly emotive collection of first-hand accounts of the struggle to resist Chinese oppression in Tibet

When the Iron Bird Flies

When the Iron Bird Flies PDF Author: Jianglin Li
Publisher: Stanford University Press
ISBN: 1503629791
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 421

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Book Description
An untold story that reshapes our understanding of Chinese and Tibetan history From 1956 to 1962, devastating military conflicts took place in China's southwestern and northwestern regions. Official record at the time scarcely made mention of the campaign, and in the years since only lukewarm acknowledgment of the violence has surfaced. When the Iron Bird Flies, by Jianglin Li, breaks this decades long silence to reveal for the first time a comprehensive and explosive picture of the six years that would prove definitive in modern Tibetan and Chinese history. The CCP referred to the campaign as "suppressing the Tibetan rebellion." It would lead to the 14th Dalai Lama's exile in India, as well as the Tibetan diaspora in 1959, though the battles lasted three additional years after these events. Featuring key figures in modern Chinese history, the battles waged in this period covered a vast geographical region. This book offers a portrait of chaos, deception, heroism, and massive loss. Beyond the significant death toll across the Tibetan regions, the war also destroyed most Tibetan monasteries in a concerted effort to eradicate local religion and scholarship. Despite being considered a military success, to this day, the operations in the agricultural regions remain unknown. As large numbers of Tibetans have self-immolated in recent years to protest Chinese occupation, Li shows that the largest number of cases occurred in the sites most heavily affected by this hidden war. She argues persuasively that the events described in this book will shed more light on our current moment, and will help us understand the unrelenting struggle of the Tibetan people for their freedom.

Medicine and Memory in Tibet

Medicine and Memory in Tibet PDF Author: Theresia Hofer
Publisher: University of Washington Press
ISBN: 029574300X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 307

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Book Description
Only fifty years ago, Tibetan medicine, now seen in China as a vibrant aspect of Tibetan culture, was considered a feudal vestige to be eliminated through government-led social transformation. Medicine and Memory in Tibet examines medical revivalism on the geographic and sociopolitical margins both of China and of Tibet�s medical establishment in Lhasa, exploring the work of medical practitioners, or amchi, and of Medical Houses in the west-central region of Tsang. Due to difficult research access and the power of state institutions in the writing of history, the perspectives of more marginal amchi have been absent from most accounts of Tibetan medicine. Theresia Hofer breaks new ground both theoretically and ethnographically, in ways that would be impossible in today�s more restrictive political climate that severely limits access for researchers. She illuminates how medical practitioners safeguarded their professional heritage through great adversity and personal hardship.

Flight of the Bön Monks

Flight of the Bön Monks PDF Author: Harvey Rice
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1644118599
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 344

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Book Description
An inside account of the Chinese invasion of Tibet told through the voices of three persecuted monks • Shares the true story of three monks’ heroic escape from occupied Tibet and the subsequent rebirth of the Bön religion in exile • Introduces Bön, Tibet’s oldest religion, and a traditional way of life extinguished by foreign occupation • Reveals details of the 1950 Chinese invasion of Tibet and the exodus of thousands of Tibetans to neighboring countries Providing an inside view into the Chinese occupation of Tibet and the tenets of Bön, one of the world’s oldest but least known religions, this book chronicles the true story of three Bön monks who heroically escaped occupied Tibet and went on to rebuild their culture through incredible resilience, determination, and passion. After taking his vows to become a Bön monk and completing a pilgrimage around 22,000-foot Mt. Kailash, the holiest mountain in Tibet, Tenzin Namdak envisions a life of quiet contemplation at Menri, Bön’s mother monastery. Instead, he finds himself fleeing for his life across the highest and most difficult terrain on the planet. After being joined by a CIA-backed warlord, Tenzin’s escape party is ambushed and he is severely wounded. Narrowly escaping execution by Chinese soldiers, the dying Tenzin is taken to a concentration camp, where he is afforded special consideration because of his status as a monk. He overcomes his nearly fatal wound and makes an arduous escape from Tibet over the daunting Himalayas. The other monks, life-long friends Samten Karmay and Sangye Tenzin, witness Tibet’s capital explode in a violent insurrection against Chinese rule. Escaping to Nepal, they worry about the survival of the Bön religion and begin collecting scattered works of Bön scripture. A chance meeting with British scholar David Snellgrove brings the three monks together again and dramatically changes their lives. Snellgrove invites Sangye, Samten, and Tenzin to spend three years in London on a Rockefeller Foundation grant. There, they hone their English and forge influential relationships, enabling Tenzin to answer the pleas for help from the Bön community by founding a settlement in exile in India. Sangye is chosen as the 33rd Menri Trizen, Bön’s highest office, and together the three monks help rebuild the nearly extinct Bön religion. Aside from the escape of the Dalai Lama, no other Tibetan escape has been so consequential for so many.

Monastic and Lay Traditions in North-Eastern Tibet

Monastic and Lay Traditions in North-Eastern Tibet PDF Author:
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004256423
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 254

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Book Description
In recent years, the Sino-Tibetan frontier regions have attracted increasing scholarly interest. The region of Rebkong in Qinghai province is of particular significance because of its unique location on the Sino-Tibetan borderland, its multi-ethnic population and its complex religious history, which incorporates both large Geluk monasteries and significant Nyingma and Bonpo lay tantric communities. Covering the nineteenth century to the present, this volume brings together ten papers that explore the relationship between religion and culture in Rebkong. Using insights from anthropology, history and religious studies, the contributors offer new research and fresh interpretations of this important region on China’s periphery, discussing issues of ethnicity and identity, the role of public institutions, and the role of religion and rituals.

Resistance and Unity

Resistance and Unity PDF Author: Tashi Gelek, Dorjee Damdul, Tashi Dhondup, Carole McGranahan
Publisher: Notion Press
ISBN: 1645877981
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 489

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Book Description
This book is an important addition to the history of Tibetan opposition to the Chinese takeover of their country. Shangri Lhagyal was one of many Tibetans who refused to cooperate with the Chinese as they tried to substantiate and legitimate their claim to sovereignty over Tibet. He, like many others, was forced into open opposition as the only honorable option. Although he modestly resisted a leadership role in the Resistance, his competence and reputation for integrity led others to choose him as one of the most important Resistance leaders. Although he did not leave an extensive written record, several members of his family have admirably filled in the historical record of the events in which he played such an important role. As the editors of this account have emphasized, it is important for Tibetans as well as the outside world to know the true history of the Tibetan resistance to China’s forcible imposition of its rule over the formerly independent country. —Warren W. Smith, author of Tibetan Nation: A History of Tibetan Nationalism and Sino-Tibetan Relations This book is inspired by H.H. the Dalai Lama’s idea that each Tibetan refugee, especially the freedom fighters, should document their personal experiences to inspire and to keep coming generations of Tibetan well informed about the true history of Tibet. The book deals brilliantly with many minute and significant details of modern Tibetan history, lived by ordinary citizens, which would have otherwise gone unrecorded and unsung. It is, by all means, a must-read for the new generation of Tibetans as well as their non-Tibetan supporters. —Vijay Kranti, author of Dalai Lama: The Soldier of Peace Resistance and Unity is more than Makchi Shangri Lhagyal’s personal story. It is a condensed modern history of Tibet from a Tibetan perspective. Following Shangri Lhagyal’s life, readers go back to the crucial years of the 1950s-60s when Tibet—a country that was never before ruled by any foreign power—was made part of the People’s Republic of China. Tibetan freedom fighters fought heroically against social transformation programs forcefully imposed by the Chinese Communist Party. Many fought to the last drop of blood. For Chinese readers, this is a must-read book. —Jianglin Li, author of Tibet in Agony: Lhasa 1959

China’s India War

China’s India War PDF Author: Bertil Lintner
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199091633
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 414

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Book Description
The Sino-Indian War of 1962 delivered a crushing defeat to India: not only did the country suffer a loss of lives and a heavy blow to its pride, the world began to see India as the provocateur of the war, with China ‘merely defending’ its territory. This perception that China was largely the innocent victim of Nehru’s hostile policies was put forth by journalist Neville Maxwell in his book India’s China War, which found readers in many opinion makers, including Henry Kissinger and Richard Nixon. For far too long, Maxwell’s narrative, which sees India as the aggressor and China as the victim, has held court. Nearly 50 years after Maxwell’s book, Bertil Lintner’s China’s India War puts the ‘border dispute’ into its rightful perspective. Lintner argues that China began planning the war as early as 1959 and proposes that it was merely a small move in the larger strategic game that China was playing to become a world player—one that it continues to play even today.

Conflicting Memories

Conflicting Memories PDF Author:
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004433244
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 711

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Book Description
Conflicting Memories is a study of how the Tibetan encounter with the Chinese state during the Maoist era has been recalled and reimagined by Chinese and Tibetan authors and artists since the late 1970s. Written by a team of historians, anthropologists, and scholars of religion, literature and culture, it examines official histories, biographies, memoirs, and films as well as oral testimonies, fiction, and writings by Buddhist adepts. The book includes translated extracts from key interviews, speeches, literature, and filmscripts. Conflicting Memories explores what these revised versions of the past chose as their focus, which types of people produced them, and what aims they pursued in the production of new, post-Mao descriptions of Tibet under Chinese socialism. Contributors include: Robert Barnett, Benno Weiner, Françoise Robin, Bianca Horlemann, Alice Travers, Alex Raymond, Chung Tsering, Dáša Pejchar Mortensen, Charlene Makley, Xénia de Heering, Nicole Willock, M. Maria Turek, Geoffrey Barstow, Gedun Rabsal, Heather Stoddard, Organ Nyima. "Conflicting Memories is a truly marvellous book. It has assembled critical readings of Tibetan memories of their fateful encounters with the Chinese Communists who came uninvited as their ‘liberators’ and ‘friends’. Supplemented with excerpts from key Tibetan writings or oral reminiscences, the volume brings forth hitherto unheard of Tibetan voices. Yet, these were not hidden voices, but often commissioned by Chinese authorities or in dialogue with them, each trying to juggle the promissory pronouncements and an unsavoury reality. Taken together, the contrapuntal reading of these memories masterfully showcases Tibetan people’s resourcefulness in dealing with a regime that often redefines its relations with Tibet while always aiming for total ownership." - URADYN E. BULAG, author of Collaborative Nationalism: The Politics of Friendship on China's Mongolian Frontier "Conflicting Memories offers an invaluable collection aiding us to think through the complex and much contested ramifications of Tibet's incorporation into Maoist China. The mix of analytical articles by some of the best scholars now working in the area and original documents translated from the writings of astute Tibetan observers is particularly welcome. The volume will be required reading for all serious students of contemporary Tibet." - MATTHEW KAPSTEIN, author of The Tibetans "This remarkable book offers unequalled access to the Tibetan experience of Communist nation-building. By examining how the Maoist encounter has been remembered and misremembered across many media—under the influence of ever-changing political conditions—the authors communicate both the trauma of those years and the persisting difficulty of coming to terms with it, for Chinese as well as Tibetans. The chapters, enhanced by numerous first-hand accounts and illustrations, represent the best scholarship of this field. Strongly recommended for readers interested in the history of the People’s Republic and its ethnic minorities." - DONALD S. SUTTON, co-author of Contesting the Yellow Dragon: Ethnicity, Religion and the State in the Sino-Tibetan Borderland (with XIAOFEI KANG) "This groundbreaking work sheds unprecedented light on the various processes of historical rewriting about Tibet since the death of Mao. The multivocal composition of the book offers rich and diverse accounts of a set of key events and epochal moments that attest to the numerous obstacles in retelling the Maoist past and the experience of sufferi...

Historical Dictionary of Chinese Intelligence

Historical Dictionary of Chinese Intelligence PDF Author: I. C. Smith
Publisher: Scarecrow Press
ISBN: 0810873702
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 393

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Book Description
Although China’s intelligence activities may not have been well documented, they can be traced back to the ancient writings of Sun Tzu, and espionage has been a characteristic of Chinese domestic politics and international relations ever since. The People’s Republic of China has long engaged in espionage, but relatively little is known about Chinese techniques, methodology, personnel, and organizations in comparison with what the West has learned about other more conventional intelligence agencies that conduct operations across the world. Whereas most intelligence services have suffered damaging defections, the number of Ministry of State Security professionals who have switched sides is relatively small, further limiting outside knowledge. The Historical Dictionary of Chinese Intelligence covers the history of Chinese Intelligence from 400 B.C. to modern times. This is done through a chronology, an introductory essay, an extensive bibliography, and an index. The dictionary section has over 400 cross-referenced entries on the agencies and agents, the operations and equipment, the tradecraft and jargon, and many of the countries involved. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Chinese Intelligence.

Voices from Larung Gar

Voices from Larung Gar PDF Author: Holly Gayley
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
ISBN: 1611808944
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
A collection of new voices from Tibet--at celebrated Larung Gar--with innovative reflections on how Buddhism can meet the challenges of our times. Voices from Larung Gar is the first collection of talks and writings by the leading voices of Larung Gar, the largest Buddhist institution on the Tibetan plateau. The book offers a compelling vision for Buddhism in the twenty-first century by some of the most erudite, creative, and influential Tibetan Buddhist luminaries today. In everyday language, these leaders delve into an array of contemporary issues, including science, ethics, gender equity, and animal welfare. This collection features contributions from a range of prominent figures who are forging dynamic, modern paths forward for an ancient tradition. Included are the internationally renowned Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok, founder of Larung Gar, his distinguished successors Khenpos Sodargye and Tsultrim Lodro, and erudite nuns holding the scholarly title Khenmo, who are becoming known for their impressive publishing projects. Larung Gar is thus one of Tibetan Buddhism's most vital communities, actively balancing cultural preservation and innovation.