China is a unified multinational country. Tibet has since the
Yuan Dynasty ( 1271-1368) been an inseparable part of China. Prior
to the common era, the ancestors of the Tibetan people had con-
tacts with the Han people living in the Central Plains of China.
During the long years leading up to the seventh century the many
tribes scattered on the Tibet Plateau gradually came together to
form the Tibetan ethnic group.
Early in the seventh century China moved into a new stage of
its history. The Tang Dynasty (618-91)7 ) was a powerful and po-
litically united regime that initially established order over the shift-
ing and chaotic situation that had prevailed for more than 300 years
in China. At the same time. the great Tibetan leader Songtsan
Gambo brought together more than 10 separate tribea, an event
commonly seen as marking the establishment of the Tubo
Kingdom, making his capital in present-day Lhasa. Songtsan
Gambo had good relations with the Tang court and benefitted from
the importation of Tang technologies ( advanced for the day). and
was influenced by Tang culture and politics. He twice sent minis-
ters to the Tang Dynasty court requesting a member of the impe-
rial family be given him in marriage and in 641 he married Prin-
cess Wencheng, a member of Emperor Taizong's family. Intro-
duced into Tibet during this time were Chinese technologies for
wine-making, grinding, and paper and ink making. Sons of the
Tibetan aristocracy were and ink making. Sons of the Tibetan ar-
istocracy were sent to the Tang capital Chang'an (present-day
Xl'an) to study. Literati from the Tang court went to the Tibetan
capital to handle communications with the emperor. During the
reign of Songtsan Gambo political, economic and cultural rela-
tions between Tang and Tubo were friendly. Laudatory titles given
King Songtsan Gambo by Emperor Gaozong include Comman-
dant-escort. Commandery Prince of the Western Sea and Com-
panion Prince.
This pattern of friendly relations established during the reign
of Songtsan Gambo was carried on during the next two hundred
years. In 7I0 the Tang Princess Jincheng was sent to Tibet to marry
the Tubo King Tride Tsugtsen. accompanied by several tens of
thousands of pieces of embroidered satin brocade, a variety of
technical writings and various other useful items. Princess Jincheng
later gave money to support Buddhist monks from Yutian ( now in
modern Xinjiang) and elsewhere on their trips to Tibet to build
monasteries and translate sutras. She also requested that Chinese
classical works such as The Book of Songs With Annotation by
Mao Heng, The Book Of Rites, Zuo Qiuming 's Chronicles, and Xiao
Tong's Literary Selections be sent to her from the Tang court.
In 821 King Chiri Pachen of Tibet three times sent envoys to
Chang'an to discuss forming an alliance with the Tang Empire.
Emperor Muzong ordered his prime minister to effect the alliance
in a grand ceremony held in the western suburbs of the capital.
The following year high-ranking representatives of the Tang court
including Liu Yuanding were dispatched to Tibet to participate in
a similar ceremony marking the alliance held in the eastern sub-
urbs of Lhasa. Representatives of the Tibetan king included his
chief ministers.
This all occurred during the first and second years 1822 and
823) of the Changqing reign of the Tang Dynasty. and accord-
ingly has been called the "Changqing Alliance" by historians. The
two parties agreed to "amity as though they were of one family"
and to "treat their sacrificial alters as though they were one." An
account of the alliance is recorded on three tablets, and the "Tang-
Tubo Alliance Tablet". one of the three, still stands before the
Jokhang Monastery in khasa.
Beginning around 842 tile Tubo Kingdom broke up. Rival
groups of ministers and mexnbers of the royal family engaged in
internecine struggle. Power was reduced to tile local level. This
state of affairs continued for more than 400 years.
Early in the 13th century, the leader of the Mongolian people
Genghis Khan established a Mongol Khanate north of China. In
1247 the Mongol Prince Godan invited Pandit Gonggar Gyaincain.
an eminent monk with the Sagya Sect. to a meeting in Liangzhou
(modern Wuwei in Gansu Province). He offered the submission
of Tibet to the Mongol Khanate and the acceptance of a defined
local administrative system and in return the Sagya were given
political power in Tibet. In 1271 the .Mongolian conquerors took
Yuan as the name of their dynasty. In 1279 following their defeat
of the Song they completed their unification of all of China. The
newly united Central Government continued control over Tibet.
including it as an administrative unit directly governed by the
Chinese Yuan Dynasty Central Government.
In 1260. when Kublai Khan (1215-1294) ascended the throne.
he conferred the title State Tutor on Gonggar Gyaincain's nephew
Pagba. Prince of the Dharma of the Sagya order. In 1264 Kublai
Khan established the Zongzhi (General), Council in charge of Bud-
dhist affairs with Pagba at its head, It wits renamed Xuanzheng
(Political) Council. Under it was tile Pacification Commission
Chief Military Command responsible for handling military and
goverment affairs over a large part of what is now Tibet. Below
this level were Wan Hu Fu ( 10.000 household office) and Qian Hu
Fu (1.000 household office) in charge of civil administration. In
1205 Kublai Khan honored Pagba with the titles of Great Treasure
Prince of Dharma and imperial Tutor. Following Pagba's recom-
mendations he appointed an official for the overall management
of Tibetan affairs and heads for 13 Wan Hu Fn. In 1268. 1287 and
1334 the Yuan Central Government sent officials to check on the
Tibetan population. Fifteen staging posts were set up linking com-
munications between Tibet and the Yuan capital Dadu (present-
day Beijing, In addition, the Ula conscript labor system was es-
tablished and promoted in Tibet.
Since Tibet formally came under the control of the Yuan court
in the mid-13th century, China has seen changes of dynasty and
many change-overs in the central authority, but Tibet has always
remained under the Chinese Central Government's jurisdiction.
During the mid-14th century the Sagya government gradually
declined. The Pagmo Gagyu Sect headed by Qamqoi Gyaincai;
came to power, following the system of temporal and religious
administration. Yuan rulers accepted the Fact and gave Qamqoi
Gyaincain the title Grand Minister of Education. With the over-
throw of the Yuan and the founding of the Ming Dynasty in 1368.
a policy whereby titles were widely conferred was put into effect.
The head of any religious sects who could claim local political
power was given an honorary, title such as Prince. Prince of Dharma
or Abhisecana State Tutor (Abhisecana being a Buddhist ceremony
wherein a student's initiation is acknowledged by his teacher sprin-
kling water on his head). Succession to the throne was subject to
approval by the Chinese emperor who would dispatch officials to
deliver certificate acknowledging the title. During this time, the
Gelug {Yellow) Sect, which recognized two great Living Buddhas,
the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama. was gaining in prominence.
The 3rd Dalai Lama Soinam Gvatso paid tributes to the Ming court
and in return was given the title of Dorje Chang Vajra Holder. The
Ming government followed Yuan Dynasty practices regards Tibet.
It established the U-Tsang and the Gargain garrison command
headquarters and the Olisi Military-Civil Governor's Office re-
spectively to manage the military and political affairs in the Cen-
tral and Western Tibet, Qamdo and Ngari, During this time, the
Tibetan government established the dzongpon system in parts of
Tibet. The administrative heads of each dzong (an administrative
unit about the size of a county) were recognized by the Ming court
as dznogpon (county magistrate).
In 1644, the Qing Dynasty overthrew the Ming. The new cen-
tral power increased control over Tibet. bringing increased sys-
temization and an expanded legal framework. Qing Emperor
Shunzhi on several occasions invited the 5th Dalai Lama to Beijing,
and in 1652 he did so. In 1653 the emperor gave the Dalai Lama a
gold-leaf certificate of appointment and gold seal of authority for-
mally recognizing his status as the Dalai Lama. In 1713 Emperor
Kangxi similarly honored the 5th Panchen Lama Lobsang Yeshe
formally recognizing him as Panchen Erdeni. Beginning around
this time the Dalai Lama based in Lhasa ruled over the greater
part of Tibet and the Panchen Lama based in Xigaze ruled over
the remainder. In 1727 the Qing court appointed a Resident Com-
missioner (Amban) as a Central Government representative in Ti-
bet to oversee Tibet's administrative affairs. Tibet's borders with
Sichuan. Yunnan and Qinghai were formally surveyed and fixed
at this time. In 1721 the Qing Central Government established the
Galoon !Ministers of Council) system in Tibet. In 1750 the Ti-
betan administrative system was reformulated and the
commandery prince system was eliminated. The Tibetan local
government (Gaxag) was founded with the Amban and the Dalai
Lama together handling Tibetan affairs. In 1793 the Qing govern-
ment issued the famous 29-Article Ordinance for the More Effi-
cient Governing of Tibet. dealing with the authority of the Amban.
the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. the Panchen Lama and other
important Living Buddhas. frontier defence, relations with the
outside world, finance and tax revenues, minting and administra-
tion of currency, and the support and administration of monasteries.
The basic principles formulated in the 29-Article Ordinance re-
mained the standard for the administrative and legal systems in
Tibet for more than the next hundred years.
The Revolution of 1911 which toppled the Qing Dynasty led
to the founding of the Republic of China, a multi-ethnic, unified
country where peoples of the Han. Manchu, Mongolian, Hui, Ti-
betan and other ethnic groups lived harmoniously. The Central
Government continued jurisdiction over Tibet as it had in the three
previous dynasties. In 1912 the Bureau for the Mongolian and
Tibetan Affairs (in 1914 renamed the Council for the Mongolian
and Tibetan Affairs) was set up chiefly to manage Tibetan affairs
and a resident official dispatched to Tibet. The Nanjing National-
, Government came to power in 1927 and two years later it set
up the Commission for the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs to over-
see administration of the areas inhabited by Tibetans, Mongolians
and other ethnic minorities. In 1940 the Nationalist Government
set up the Lhasa Office of the Commission for the Mongolian and
Tibetan Affairs in Lhasa to function as the Central Government's
standing body in Tibet. The Tibetan government frequently sent
officials to participate in the Republic's National Congress. The
Republic suffered from incessant foreign aggression and frequent
internal disturbances. But despite the fragility of the Central Gov-
ernment the Dalai and Panchen lamas continued to accept its offi-
cial recognition of their positions, receiving legal status in their
political and religious roles in Tibet. The 14th Dalai Lama Dainzin
Gyamco came to power in Tibet with the approval of the president
of the Nationalist Government.
Old Tibet followed the feudal serfdom characterized by "tem-
poral and religious administration". Under the system, monks and
nobles sat over serfs and slaves, who are personally attached to
their masters. Its decadent, dark and creel nature hampered social
progress, and slowed down the development of productive forces.
Such a system even controlled the mind of the public in the region.
So far as the nature of the political power and the prevailing
political situation, the feudal serfdom was a combination of reli-
gious and political power. It exercised rule and oppression over
the broad masses of the Tibetans ideologically and politically. The
local government was composed of upper-class lamas and nobles:
they represented the interests of the serf owners. Serfs and slaves
were attached to the three estate holders--officialdom, nobility
and upper-class lamas with monasteries, and were thus deprived
of personal freedom. Manorial lords were empowered to beat,
punish, sell, present as gift, imprison or even kill serfs.
In accordance with the legal codes followed in old Tibet. people
were divided into three classes each composed of three sub-classes.
Those on the upper class enjoyed a life value measured with gold
while those on the lower class with a piece of straw rope. The
court and prison followed rules that allow them to punish those
who broke the legal codes in dozens of ways. such as gouging out
their eves. cut off their ears. or chop off their hands or feet. Under
the situation, the serfs and slaves enjoyed no freedom, democracy
and human rights at all.
In old Tibet. the three estate holders, who made up less than 5
percent of the Tibetan population, owned almost all land.
grasslands, mountains and forests, and the overwhelming major-
ity ,of animals in Tibet. Ownership by feudal manors dominated.
In the meantime, however, serfs and slaves, who accounted for
more than 95 percent of the Tibetan population enjoyed no means
of production at all. This forced them to be attached to the three
estate holders. In addition to high land rent, they had to pay doz-
ens of kinds of taxes, plus dozens of kinds of corvee labor free
from any charge. A child of a serf or slave was born serf or slave.
During his/her life. he/she might be sold or transferred repeatedly.
When two married, they had to seek approval from their respec-
tive masters. When a serf died, he/she would have to have his/her
name wiped out from the master .A serf owner enjoyed the power
to own a serf. and part or all of his/her belongings.
The Tibetan societv stood still for prolonged period of time
under the feudal serfdom. Alongside with economic and cultural
staganation, there was sharp decrease in population. Average life
expectancy was 35 years, and the illiterate accounted for more
than 95 percent of the total population. Before the Democratic
Reform that lasted from 1959 to 1960, there were only 37,000
people in Lhasa. However, beggars numbered 5,000 in the city.
Ovenvhelming majority of people in Tibet were in dire poverty.
To enslave the broad masses of the Tibetans. the three estate
holders deify their feudal prerogatives. Exploiting Tibetan
Buddhism. they controlled the mind of the people. Under the
situation, new ideology, new culture, science and technology be-
came heretical belief. This is the root cause why Tibet was back-
ward in education, science and culture.
In 1888 and 1904, the imperialist tried to infiltrate into Tibet
politically and plunder Tibet economically, They resorted to the
armed forces and left no stone unturned to cultivate pro-West
people, thus reducing Tibet into a semi-coloniaI society.
After the Revolution of 1911, the pro-imperialist forces col-
laborated with the imperialist forces in separatist activities, The
Tibetans suffered a lot from this. and social conflicts went from
bad to worse. Here lies another reason why the Tibetan society
developed at a snail's pace,
In 1949 the People's Republic of China was founded. Proceed-
ing in cognizance of Tibet's history and present reality, the Cen-
tral People's Government determined a policy of peaceful
liberation. On May 23, 1951, representatives from the Central
People's Government and the local government of Tibet agreed
on a series of issues regarding Tibet's peaceful liberation, signing
the Agreement of the Central People's Government and the Local
Government of Tibet on Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of
Tibet (known as the 17-Article Agreement). The 17-Article Agree-
ment contains two main points. First. the Central Government
demanded that the Tibetan local government actively assist the
People's Liberation Army as they entered and garrisoned Tibet to
strengthen national defence and resolutely drive imperialist forces
out of Tibet. All of Tibet's affairs involving the outside world were
to be handled by the Central Government and the Tibetan army
would step by step be absorbed into the People's Liberation Army.
Second. the Central People's Government would not alter Tibet's
current system or the Dalai Lama's inherent status and authority.
The Tibetan people's customs would be respected and their reli-
gious freedom protected. The reform of Tibetan society would be
decided after consultation with Tibetan leaders. Regional autonomy
for minority people would be instituted in the Tibet Autonomous
Region. The 14th Dalai Lama and the 10th Panchen Erdeni sepa-
rately telegraphed their acceptance of the 17-Article Agreement
to Mao Zedong, Chairman of the Central People's Government.
resolutely upholding the unity of the motherland's sovereignty.
Other Tibetans. monastic and secular, and local Tibetan leaders
expressed their firm support as well. This date marks a new page
in Tibetan history.
In 1954 the 14th Dalai Lama and the 10th Panchen Erdeni went
to Beijing to attend the first session of the First National People's
Congress ,of the People's Republic of China. During this
conference, the 14th Dalai Lama was elected as Vice-Chairman of
the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. and
the 10th Panchen Erdeni member of the NPC Standing Committee.
In 1956. the Preparatory Committee for the Founding of the
Tibet Autonomous Region was founded with the 14th Dalai Lama
as its chairman.
In March 1959. the majority of the Galoon officials in the Ti-
betan local government joined with the reactionary clique of the
upper social strata to launch an armed rebellion with the aim of
splitting the country, preserving the feudal serf system and oppos-
ing democratic reform. The Central People's Government ordered
the PLA in Tibet resolutely to quell the rebellion. On March 28 of
the same year. Zhou Enlai, Premier of the State Council of the
Central People's Government. released an order dissolving the
Tibetan local government, and declaring that the functions and
authority of the Tibetan local government would be vested in the
Preparatory Committee for the Founding of the Tibet Autonomous
Region. At this same time. the Central People's Government, re-
sponding to the will of the Tibetan people, implemented demo-
cratic reform and abolished the feudal serf system in Tibet. As a
result, the million serfs and slaves in Tibet stood up and came into
their own, instead of being treated as the private property of serf-
owners that could be traded, transferred or used to pay off a debt
in kind or by labor. After a few years of steady development, the
Tibet Autonomous Region was formally founded in September
1965.