By Jamyang Norbu
 Figure 1: Great Seal of the Dalai Lama presented to him by the Tibetan National Assembly in 1909. |
 Figure 2: Tibetan soldiers with national flags. |
FOREIGN MILITARY INVASION NOT "PEACEFUL LIBERATION"
On the dawn of 5th October 1950, the 52nd, 53rd & 54th divisions of the 18th Army [6] of the Red Army (probably over 40,000 troops) attacked all along the cease-fire line (mentsam-shagsa) on the Drichu (Yangtze) River guarded by 3,500 Tibetan regular soldiers and 2,000 Khampa militiamen. Earlier, in late 1949, Communist forces had entered areas of Eastern (Kham) and North-Eastern Tibet (Amdo) then under the military occupation of Nationalist (Guomindang) supported war-lord regimes. Recent research by a Chinese scholar reveals that Mao Zedong met Stalin on 22nd January 1950 and asked for the Soviet air force to transport supplies for the invasion of Tibet. Stalin replied: "It's good you are preparing to attack Tibet. The Tibetans need to be subdued." [7]
 Figure 3: First Inter-Asian Conference, Delhi, 1947. |
The biography of a Communist official
states "Many Tibetans were killed and wounded in the Chamdo campaign."
and "… the Tibetan soldiers fought bravely, but they were no match
for the superior numbers and better training" [10] of the Chinese
forces. According to the only Western military expert who wrote on the
Chinese invasion of Tibet "…the Reds suffered at least 10,000 casualties."
[11] One regiment of the Red army attacked from Xinjiang, but, in an
account by a Chinese soldier [12], the advance guard was held back,
to a near standstill, by the nomadic militia of Gertse in Ngari (Western
Tibet). This soldier also writes that the Red Army leadership could
find no Chinese maps of the region to plan their invasion, and eventually
had to use one published in British-India.
In 1956 the Great Khampa Uprising started
and spread throughout the country culminating in the March Uprising
of 1959. Guerilla operations only ceased in 1974. "A conservative
estimate would have to be no less than half-a-million" [13] Tibetans
killed in the fighting. Many more died in the subsequent political campaigns,
forced labor camps (laogai) and the great famine. The revolutionary
uprisings throughout Tibet from 1987 to 1990 and most recently in 2008
–followed by draconian Chinese reprisals – clearly demonstrate that
the struggle continues today.
NATIONAL FLAG
 Flags of the world, The National Geographic Magazine, 1934. |
According to an eminent vexillologist,
Professor Pierre Lux-Worm, the national flag of Tibet was based on an
older 7th century snow lion standard of the Tibetan Emperor, Songtsen
Gampo. [18] It should be borne in mind that over 90% of the flags of
the nations in the UNO were created after WWII, including the national
flag of China. The Tibetan flag made its official international appearance
in 1947, at the First Inter-Asian Conference, which Mahatma Gandhi addressed.
The Tibetan flag was displayed alongside other flags of Asian nations,
and a circular flag emblem placed before the Tibetan delegation on the
podium. [19]
NATIONAL ANTHEM
The old Tibetan national anthem or
national hymn, Gangri Rawae or "Snow Mountain Ramparts" [20] was
composed in 1745 by the (secular) Tibetan ruler Pholanas. [21] It was
recited at the end of official ceremonies and sung at the beginning
of opera performances in Lhasa. [22]
When the Tibetan government came into
exile in India, a more modern national anthem, Sishe Pende [23] ("Universal
Peace and Benefits") was adopted. The lyrics were composed by the
Dalai Lama's tutor, Trichang Rimpoche, who was considered a great
poet in the classical nyengak (Skt.kaviya) tradition.
MAPS OF TIBET
Most pre-1950 maps, globes and atlases,
including the earliest maps on record of Asia, depict Tibet as an independent
nation, separate from China. Tibet is variously referred to as Tobbat,
Thibbet or Barantola. A map of Asia drawn by the Dutch cartographer,
Pietar van der Aa around 1680 shows Tibet in two parts but distinct
from China; [25] as does a 1700 map drawn by the French cartographer
Guillaume de L'isle, where Tibet is referred to as the "Kingdom
of Grand Tibet." [26] A map of India, China and Tibet published in
the USA in 1877 represents Tibet as distinct from the two other nations.
[27] An 1827 map of Asia drawn by Anthony Finley of Philadelphia, clearly
shows "Great Thibet" as distinct from the Chinese Empire. [28]
 Detail from 1827 map |
The largest stained glass globe in
the world (in Boston), based on the Rand McNally 1934 map of the world,
shows Tibet as a separate nation. [30]
 The "Mapparium" in Boston, MA. |
Early Chinese maps do not feature Tibet
as a part of China. In a landmark map of China [31] drawn in 1594 by
Wang Fen (or Wang Pan?), a senior Ming Legal Officer, there is a note
stating that the map included the whole of China's territory. But
no Tibetan areas, not even the eastern-most regions of Amdo or Kham,
appear on the map.
Following the publication of the atlas
commissioned by the Manchu Emperor Kangxi and created by French Jesuit
cartographers, some Chinese and European maps begin to depict Tibet
as a colony or protectorate of China. The Jesuits could not personally
survey Tibet (as they had surveyed China and Manchuria), since Tibet
was not part of the Chinese Empire. So they trained two Mongol monks
[32] in Beijing and sent them to make a secret survey of Tibet. Similar
clandestine surveys of Tibet were conducted by British mapmakers using
trained Himalayan natives and even a Mongol monk. An American sinologist,
writing on such issues, notes that, like European colonial powers, China
used cartography to further its "Colonial Enterprise" in Tibet and
Korea. [33]
 Kongpar tangka, Gaden tangka, Kalsang tangka and three Srang coin |
TIBETAN CURRENCY
Literary sources [34] refer to gold,
silver and copper ingot-coins, even cowrie shells, being used as currency
in ancient Tibet. From circa 1650 silver coins for Tibet (the Bhal-tang)
were struck in Nepal under a treaty agreement. [35] In 1792 following
the defeat of Nepal by a joint Tibetan-Manchu force, coins bearing both
Tibetan and Chinese inscriptions were circulated. But the Tibetan government
continued to issue its own coin with only Tibetan legends as the Kongpar
tangka (1791-93) and the Gaden tangka (1836-1911). A silver coin, the
Kalsang tangka, was struck in 1909 possibly to mark the 13th Dalai Lama's
return to Lhasa from Peking.
After the expulsion of the Chinese
army in 1912, Tibet minted gold, silver and copper coins (in the "srang"
currency unit) using Buddhist and Tibetan designs, bearing the name
of the Tibetan government. Paper currency was introduced into Tibet
in the early 20th century, and according to the numismatist Wolfgang
Bertsch, these bank notes were "small works of art." [36] A unique
aspect of Tibetan banknotes was that the serial numbers were handwritten
by a guild of specialist calligraphists, the "epa", to prevent forgery.
 More coins, and three banknotes. |
Even after the Communist invasion,
Tibetans successfully resisted Chinese efforts to take over its currency.
Official Chinese currency only came into use after the flight of the
Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government from Tibet in March 1959. [37]
In its entire history, official Chinese currency had never been used
in Tibet before 1959.
TIBETAN PASSPORTS
 Passport issued to first Everest Expedition, 1921 (Courtesy of Rinchen Dorjay). |
The Tibetan government gave its approval
for the first-ever Everest expedition in 1921. Charles Bell, the visiting
British diplomat in Lhasa wrote "I received from the Tibetan Government
a passport in official form, which granted permission for the climbing
of Mount Everest." [40] The subsequent Everest expeditions of 1924
and 1936 [41] also received passports from the Tibetan government. Passports
were sometimes issued for scientific undertakings: the Schaeffer anthropological
expedition of 1939, [42] Tucci's ethnological expedition of 1949 [43]
and the plant hunter Frank Kingdon Ward in 1924. [44]
Shakabpa Passport
President Roosevelt's two envoys to Tibet in 1942 were presented their passports at Yatung. [45] The Americans Lowell Thomas Jr. and Sr. visited Tibet in 1949, and were issued "Tibetan passports" at Dromo. "When the Dalai Lama's passport was spread out before us, I could not help thinking that many Western explorers who had failed to reach Lhasa would have highly prized a document like this." [46]
 Shakabpa passport |
TREATIES
 Treaty Pillar of 821-22 AD |
 Shol Doring in the Shold area of Lhasa, at the base of the Potala |
This treaty pillar is sometimes mistaken
for the more eye-catching Shol doring before the Potala Palace, on which
is inscribed the record of another great Tibetan victory, the capture
of the Tang Imperial capital of Changan in 763 AD.
Mongolian Tibet Treaty of 1913
As an independent nation, Tibet entered
into treaties with neighboring states: Bushair 1681, Ladakh 1683 and
1842, Nepal 1856, among others.
 Mongolia-Tibet Treaty, 1913. |
Tibet signed a number of treaties and
conventions with Britain culminating in the Simla Treaty of 1914 by
which British India and Tibet reached an agreement on their common frontier.
[51] India's present-day claims to the demarcation of its northern
border (the McMahon Line) is based on this treaty which was signed by
independent Tibet – not China.
 Official document delineating the common frontier, from the Simla Convention, 1914. The map reads, "Map showing India-Tibet frontier as mutually agreed upon by the British and Tibetan Plenipotentiaries." The document is dated 24th March 1914 and shows the official seal of each plenipotentiary. |
In January 1913, Tibet and Mongolia
signed a treaty in Urga, the preamble of which reads: "Whereas Mongolia
and Tibet having freed themselves from the Manchu dynasty and separated
themselves from China, have become independent states, and whereas the
two States have always professed one and the same religion, and to the
end that their ancient mutual friendships may be strengthened…"
[52] Declarations of friendship, mutual aid, Buddhist fraternity, and
mutual trade etc., follow in the various articles. The Tibetan word
"rangzen" is used throughout to mean "independence".
FOREIGN RELATIONS: Foreign Bureau personnel
 Foreign Bureau personnel |
A letter from the Foreign Bureau dated 2nd Nov 1949, to "Mr. Mautsetung", describes Tibet as a religious nation, independent from "earliest times", and requests the Communist leader to "issue strict orders" to his officers not to cross into Tibetan territory. Regarding Tibetan territory earlier annexed by China the letter states that "…the Tibetan government would like to open negotiations after the settlement of the Chinese Civil War." [57]
 Foreign Bureau letter to Mao Tsetung |
NEUTRALITY IN WORLD WAR II
Tibet was a declared neutral country
(bharnas gyalkhap) during WWII. The Tibetan government successfully
resisted pressure from Britain, a threat of invasion from China, and
even the personal request of President Roosevelt [58] to allow construction
of a military road through Tibetan territory, or allow the passage of
military supplies. In a humanitarian gesture, passage of non-military
goods was later permitted. Tibet granted political asylum to two Austrian
climbers [59] who escaped from a British POW camp in India. It also
provided hospitality and transport to American flyers whose plane crashed
in Tibet in 1944. [60]
POST & TELEGRAPH SYSTEM
The modern Tibetan postal service was
built on courier systems used during the early Tibetan Empire and later
Mongol Imperial rule. A "pony express" (atrung) service was used
for official missives, while general mail was carried by a system of
postal-runners (bhangchen or dakpa). A Central Post and Telegraph Office
(dak-tar laykhung) was created in 1920 in Lhasa [61] which took over
the old postal stations (tasam) throughout Tibet. Postage stamps of
various denominations were indigenously designed and hand-printed, and
are now collector's items. Though not a signatory to the International
Postal Treaty, a system was created so that letters from Tibet could
be delivered to foreign addresses, [62] and letters from abroad be delivered
inside Tibet.
Spencer Chapman, visiting Lhasa in
1936, declared that, "the postal and telegraph system is most efficient."
[63] The same system continued for some years after 1950. The Czech
filmmaker Vladimir Cis (working for the Chinese Communist government)
had a letter from his family in Prague delivered to him in the wilderness
of Tibet by a postal-runner in 1954. [64]
 Tibetan postmarks and stamps. |
A telegraph line from India to Lhasa
was completed in 1923, along with a basic telephone service. Both were
open for public use. The event was commemorated in a publication of
the Royal Geographical Society, London. [65]
The Tibetan capital was electrified
in 1927. The work of installing both the hydroelectric plant and the
distribution system was undertaken near "single-handedly" [66] by
a young Tibetan engineer, Ringang. All these projects were initiated
and paid for by the Tibetan government.
Radio Lhasa was launched in 1948 and
broadcasted news in Tibetan, English and Chinese. [67]
WITNESSES TO INDEPENDENT TIBET
The fact that Tibet was a peaceful,
independent country is attested to by the writings of many impartial
western observers who not only visited pre-invasion Tibet, but even
lived there for considerable periods of time – as the titles of some
of their memoirs seem to proudly proclaim: Twenty Years in Tibet by David
McDonald [68], Seven Years in Tibet by Heinrich Harrer [69], and even Eight
Years in Tibet, the biography of Peter Aufschnieter. [70]
The premier scholar on Tibet, Hugh
Richardson, lived for nine years in Tibet, and his many writings [71]
reveal a country that was functioning, orderly, peaceful and with a
long history of political independence and cultural achievement. He
later wrote, "The British government, the only government among Western
countries to have had treaty relations with Tibet, sold the Tibetans
down the river…" Richardson also acknowledged that he was "profoundly
ashamed" [72] at the British government's refusal to recognize Tibet's
historically independent status."
Another great scholar and diplomat,
Charles Bell, regarded as the "architect of Britain's Tibet policy,"
was convinced that Britain and America's refusal to recognize Tibetan
independence (but which they sometimes tacitly acknowledged when it
was to their advantage) was largely dictated by their desire "to increase
their commercial profits in China." [73]
It is almost certain that none of the
official propagandists who demonize Tibet in Chinese publications had
witnessed life in old Tibet. In fact, none of Beijing's Tibet propagandists
in the West (Michael Parenti, Tom Grunfeld, Barry Sautman, Melvin Goldstein et
al) [74] had visited Tibet before 1980. The first two misrepresent old
Tibet by selectively quoting English journalists and officials (L. A.
Waddell, Percival Landon, Edmund Candler, Captain W.F.T. O'Connor)
who accompanied the British invasion force of 1904, and who sought to
justify that violent imperialist venture into Tibet by demonizing Tibetan
society and government.
The only high-ranking Chinese official
with scholarly credentials who spent any length of time in old Tibet
was Dr. Shen Tsung-lien, representative of the Republic of China in
Lhasa (1944-1949). In his book Tibet and the Tibetans, Dr. Shen writes
of a nation clearly distinct from China, and one that "…had enjoyed
full independence since 1911." He writes truthfully of a hierarchical,
conservative society "fossilized many centuries back" but whose
people were orderly, peaceable and hospitable – but also "notorious
litigants," adding that "few peoples in the world are such eloquent
pleaders." Shen also mentions "Appeals may be addressed to any office
to which the disputants belong, or even to the Dalai Lama or his regent."
[75]
REFERENCE NOTES
1. In 1642, the Fifth Dalai Lama issued
the Rilung Tsatsik (ri klung rtsa tshig) generally translated as the Mountain
Valley Edict. Another source describes it as a Decree for the Protection
of Animals and the Environment. Since then, this edict was re-issued
annually till 1958. Following the New Year Festivities, copies of the
edict were distributed nationwide, and were displayed and read out to
the assembled public by district officials. In order that its message
suitably awe and instruct the document itself was physically impressive:
about 3 feet wide and 6 or 7 feet in length, richly decorated with auspicious
symbols and artwork around the border, and with the seal of the Dalai
Lama at the bottom. French, Rebecca Redwood. The Golden Yoke,
p 208, 209 & 213.
2. According to the scholar, Tashi
Tsering (director of the Amnye Machen Institute) there are references
to "Mountain Valley" edicts being issued during the Rimpung dynasty
and the Tsangpa kings.
3. Bell, Charles. Tibet Past and
Present. London: Oxford University Press, 1924. See index: "Capital
punishment abolished in Tibet, 142, 143, 236." Byron, Robert. First
Russia then Tibet. London: Macmillan & Co., 1933. pg 204: "Capital
punishment was now abolished." McGovern, William. To Lhasa in Disguise. New
York: Century Co., 1924. pg 388-389. Kingdon-Ward, Frank. In the Land
of The Blue Poppies. New York: Modern Library, 2003. pg 22. Winnington,
Alan. Tibet: The Record of a Journey. London: Lawrence & Wishart
Ltd., 1957. pg 99. Brauen, Martin. Peter Aufschnaiter's Eight Years
in Tibet. Bangkok: Orchid Press, 2002. Pg 77: "There was no death
penalty…"
4. The few books available on Muslims
in Tibet clearly reveal the tolerance of Tibetan government, church
and society for this minority group: Henry, Gray. Islam in Tibet.
Louisville, Kentucky: Fons Vitae, 1997. Nadwi, Dr. Abu Bakr Amir-uddin. Tibet
and Tibetan Muslims, Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works & Archives,
2004.
5. The plant hunter Kingdon-Ward writing
of Khampas mentions that "the men are great travellers and leave their
wives behind for months at a time, and these good folk solace themselves
as best they can with other travellers." Kingdon Ward sees this contributing
to the Tibetan custom of polyandry. He sees supporting evidence for
his conjecture in the Lutzu who though in contact with Tibetans "…as
far as I am aware, are monogamous, which adds weight of negative evidence
in favour of the above theory, since the tribes are notorious stay-at-homes."
Kingdon-Ward, Frank. (ed. Tom Christopher) In the Land of The Blue
Poppies. New York: Modern Library, 2003. P175
6. Goldstein, Melvyn. A Tibetan Revolutionary:
The Political Life and Times of Bapa Phuntso Wangye. University of
California Press, 2004, pg 137.
7. Chang, Jung & Jon Halliday. Mao:
The Unknown Story. London: Jonathan Cape, 2005.
8. Ford, Robert. Captured in Tibet.
London: George G. Harrap & Co., Ltd, 1957. pg 158.
9. Bull, Geoffrey T. When Iron
Gates Yield. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1955. pg 130.
10. Goldstein, Melvyn. A Tibetan
Revolutionary: The Political Life and Times of Bapa Phuntso Wangye. University
of California Press, 2004, pg 139.
11. O'Ballance, Edgar. The Red
Army Of China. London: Faber & Faber, 1962. pg 189-190.
12. Kong Fei-tsi (?), tse srog gi bhul
skyes (Gift of Life) translated by Wanglag, Tibetan Peoples Publishing
House, Lhasa, 2001.
13. Norbu, Jamyang. "The Forgotten
Anniversary – Remembering the Great Khampa Uprising of1956″. Thursday,
December 07, 2006, Phayul.com.
14. Tsarong, Dundul Namgyal. In the
Service of His Country: The Biography of Dasang Damdul Tsarong Commander
General of Tibet. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications, 2000. pg 51.
15. Grosvenor, Gilbert and William
J. Showalter, "Flags of the World". The National Geographic Magazine: September,
1934 - Vol. LXVI - No. 3. Washington, D.C." National Geographic Society,
1934.
16. Tibet Nationalflagge, Bulgaria
Zigarettenfabrik, Dresden,1933. (From a series non-European countries,
pictures 201-400) From the collection of Prof. Dr. Jan Andersson of
Germany, and reproduced with his kind permission.
17. Grosvenor, Gilbert H. "The Heroic
Flags of the Middle Ages." The National Geographic Magazine: October,
1917 - Vol. Xxxii - No. 4. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society,
1917.
18. Lux-Wurm, Pierre C. "The Story
of the Flag of Tibet." Flag Bulletin: Vol. XII - No. 1. Spring
1973.
19. On 23 March 1947 the Inter-Asian
Relations Conference was convened in India to assess the status of Asia
in the period following WWII. At this gathering, Tibet was represented
as an independent nation, as evidenced by the country's delineation
on a conference map and the first appearance of the Tibetans' national
flag. The Chinese (Guomindang) were furious and protested formally to
the organizers of the conference. The Tibetan flag was hoisted and also
a flag emblem was displayed before the delegates on the dias. Mahatma
Gandhi addressed this conference. The representatives of the Tibetan
foreign bureau, Theiji Sampo Tenzin Thondup, Khenchung Lobsang Wangyal
and Kyibug Wangdue Norbu (translator) also took part in the Afro-Asian
Conference held in Delhi in 1948. Interestingly many of the participating
states were yet to be decolonized making Tibet one of the few established
independent nations at this pan-Asian gathering.
20. OLD TIBETAN NATIONAL HYMN
Ghang ri rawe kor we shingkham di
Phen thang dewa ma loe jungwae ne
Chenrezig wa Kalsang Gyatso yin
Shelpal se thae bhardu
Ten gyur chik
Circled by ramparts of snow-mountains – this sacred realm,
This wellspring of all benefits and happiness.
Kalsang Gyatso, bodhisattva of compassion
May he reign till the end of all existence
(Translated by Jamyang Norbu)
21. The eminent Tibetan scholar, Tashi
Tsering citing the historical work Bka' blon rtogs brjod, says that
this verse was composed by the Tibetan ruler, Phola lha nas, (in 1745/46)
in praise of the 7th Dalai Lama. "Reflections on Thang stong rgyal
po as the founder of the a lce lha mo tradition of Tibetan performing
arts," The Singing Mask: Echoes of Tibetan Opera, Lungta, Winter 2001
No 15, eds. Isabelle Henrion-Dourcy and Tashi Tsering) Woodblock reproduction
of Pholanas courtesy of Tashi Tsering.
22. Audio clip of namthar (opera aria)
of National Hymn sung by Techung accompanied by Nima Gyalpo, courtesy
of Chaksampa Opera Company, San Francisco.
23. Lyrics composed in 1959 by Kyapje
Trichang Rinpoche, tutor of His Holiness the Dalai Lama at Mussoorie,
U.P. The Collected Works of the Glorious Master of the Dharma, Yongzin
Trichang Vajradhara (yongjog tempae ngadak kyapche yongzin trichang
dorjee chang chempoe sungbum), published by Mongolian Lama Guru Deva,
New Delhi, Vol Gha, pg 299.
24. (Image) A map of Asia drawn by
the Dutch cartographer, Pietar van der Aa around 1680 shows Tibet in
two parts but distinct from China.
25. (Image) A map of Asia drawn by
the French cartographer, Guillaume de L'isle, around 1700, where Tibet
is referred to as the "Kingdom of Grand Tibet."
26. (Image) "Map of Hindoostan, Farther India, China and Tibet". Constructed & engraved by W.Williams, Phila. Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1877 by S Augustus Mitchell in the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.
27. (Image) An 1827 map of Asia drawn
by Anthony Finley of Philadelphia, clearly showing "Great Tibet"
as distinct from the Chinese Empire.
28. Ravenstein, Ernest George. (1834-1913) Martin
Behaim: His Life and his Globe, (With a facsimile of the globe printed
in colours, eleven maps and seventeen illustrations), G. Philip &
Son, Ltd., London. 1908. This globe was kindly brought to the compiler's
attention by Robert Palais of San Francisco, who provided in (JN's
blog) various sources where information on the Behaim globe could be
obtained, including: University of Utah, Wikipedia, Henry Davis Consulting
(image) and Henry Davis Consulting (description)
29. The Mapparium, is a thirty-foot
stained-glass globe room in the lobby of the Christian Science Publishing
Society in Boston, which gives one a unique "inside view" of the
world. The political boundries are frozen circa 1935. It was based on
Rand McNally's 1934 map of the world. At this size, the scale amounts
to approximately 22 miles to the inch. In the photograph Tibet (pink)
can be seen directly at the back above British India (red) and to the
side of China (yellow). Check these websites for history and directions: www.roadsideamerica.com,
and www.designorati.com.
30. Norbu, Dawa. China's Tibet
Policy. Richmond Curzon, 2001 Information Office. Mongols and Tibet.
(Image)
31. According to the Tibetan researcher
Lugar Jam (conversation on July 2009) the names of the two Mongol monks
sent by Jesuit cartographers to Tibet were Tsultrim Sangpo (churbizanbo)
and Lhamo Tempa (lanbenzhanba).
32. Hostetler, Laura. Qing Colonial
Enterprise: Ethnography and Cartography in Early Modern China. Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 2001.
33. For instance we have, from the
biography of Milarepa, the story of Milarepa's mother sewing seven
pieces of gold in a traveller's cloak, to secretly send to her son.
34. Bertsch, Wolfgang. The Currency
of Tibet. Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works & Archives, 2002.
35. Bertsch, Wolfgang. A Study of
Tibetan Paper Money: With a Critical Bibliography, Dharamsala: Library
of Tibetan Works & Archives, 1997.
36. Rhodes, N.G. "The First Coins
Struck in Tibet". Tibet Journal. Winter 1990: (LTWA), Dharamsala.
37. Richardson, Hugh. "Reflections
on a Tibetan Passport". High Peaks Pure Earth: Collected Writings
on Tibetan History & Culture. London: Serindia Publications,
1998. pg 482.
38. Das, Sarat Chandra, An Introduction
to the Grammer of the Tibetan Language, Motilal Banarasidas, Delhi
1972. Appendix 1, pg 4-5. (Reproduction of the Lhasa and Shigatse passports
issued to Purangir Gossain.)
39. Bell, Charles. Portrait of a
Dalai Lama: The Life and Times of the Great Thirteenth. Boston:
Wisdom Publications, 1987. pg 278. (Facsimile of 1st Everest passport;
courtesy of Rinchen Dorjay who photographed it at the museum of the
Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, Darjeeling.)
40. Gould, B.J. The Jewel in the
Lotus: Recollections of an Indian Political. London: Chatto &
Windus, 1957. pg 210-211. (Facsimile of Passport. Photograph of Rai
Bahadur Norbu Thondup holding the passport.)
41. Englehardt, Isrun. Tibet in 1938-39:
Photographs from the Ernst Schafer Expedition to Tibet. Chicago:
Serindia, 2007. pg 121. (Facsimile of Passport.)
42. Tucci, Guiseppe. To Lhasa and
Beyond. New Delhi: Oxford and IBH, 1983. pg 14-15. (Facsimile of
passport.)
43. Cox, Kennith. Frank Kingdon Ward's,
Riddle of the Tsangpo Gorges. United Kingdom: Antique Collector's
Club, 2001. pg 75.
44. Tolstoy, Lt.Col. Ilia. "Across
Tibet From India To China". The National Geographic Magazine.
Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, August 1946. "This
letter was a piece of red cotton cloth about 16 inches wide and two
feet long, to be carried in the bosom or on a staff by an outrider who
would precede the party by one or two days. It stated that two American
officers were en route to visit the Dalai Lama…"
45. Thomas, Lowell Jr. Out of This
World: Across the Himalayas to Forbidden Tibet. New York: The Greystone
Press, 1950. pg 79-80. (Facsimile of passport and photograph of Lowell
Thomas receiving his passport at Yatung.)
46. Bell, Charles. Portrait of a
Dalai Lama: The Life and Times of the Great Thirteenth. Boston:
Wisdom Publications, 1987. p 420. (Bell mentions that a passport was
issued to Diwan Bahadur Phala who visited England in 1925.)
47. Facsimile of Shakabpa passport,
courtesy of Friends of Tibet, India.
48. Richardson, Hugh. High Peaks Pure
Earth: Collected Writings on Tibetan History and Culture. London: Serindia
Publications, 1998. Plate 10. (Photograph of Treaty Pillar of AD 821-822
within protective enclosure.)
49. Richardson, H.E. Tibet and Its
History. London: Oxford University Press, 1962. 244-245
50. The Sino-Indian Boundary Question (Enlarged
Edition). Peking: Foreign Language Press, 1962. Photostat of eastern
sector of original map of the McMahon line with signatures and seals
of Tibetan and British plenipotentiaries, Delhi 24 March 1914. Original
scale 1:5000,000.
51. Facsimile of the Tibet-Mongolia
Treaty of 1913. Translation in Richardson, H.E. Tibet and Its History.
London: Oxford University Press, 1962. 265-267.
52. Shakabpa, Tsepon W.D. Tibet:
A Political History. Yale University Press, 1967. 227.
53. Shakabpa, Tsepon W.D. Tibet:
A Political History. Yale University Press, 1967. Frontispiece.
54. Neushar, Thupten Tharpa. bhod shung
tse yiktsang dang chegyal las khung. (The "Peak" Secretariate and
the Foreign Bureau of the Tibetan Government). Oral History Series No:
5, Library of Tibetan Works & Archives, Dharamshala, 1998. Neushar
states that the Foreign Bureau was set up during the Taktra Regency
in the iron serpent year (1941). The office was located south-west of
the Tsuglagkhang, and headed by Dsazak Surkhang (zurpa) Wangchen Tseten,
and Ta Lama Kunchok Jungnas. Shakabpa in his History claims that the
Foreign Bureau was created around 1913.
55. On 23 March 1947 the Inter-Asian
Relations Conference was convened in India to assess the status of Asia
in the period following WWII. At this gathering, Tibet was represented
as an independent nation, as evidenced by the country's delineation
on a conference map and the first appearance of the Tibetans' national
flag. The Chinese (Guomindang) were furious and protested formally to
the organizers of the conference. The Tibetan flag was hoisted and also
a flag emblem displayed before the delegates on the dias. Mahatma Gandhi
addressed this conference. The representatives of the Tibetan foreign
bureau, Theiji Sampo Tenzin Thondup, Khenchung Lobsang Wangyal and Kyibug
Wangdue Norbu (translator) also took part in the Afro-Asian Conference
held in Delhi in 1948. Interestingly, many of the participants were
yet to be decolonized making Tibet one of the few established independent
nations at this early pan-Asian gathering. (Photograph of conference)
56. Facsimile. Letter courtesy of the
Amnye Machen Institute, Dharamshala.
57. Tolstoy, Lt. Col. Ilia. "Across
Tibet From India To China". The National Geographic Magazine.
Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, August 1946.
58. Harrer, Heinrich. Seven Years
in Tibet. London: Rupert Hart Davis,1953. Brauen, Martin. Peter
Aufschnaiter's Eight Years in Tibet. Bangkok: Orchid Press, 2002.
59. Starks, Richard & Murcutt,
Miriam. Lost in Tibet: The Untold Story of Give American Airmen, a
Doomed Plane and the Will to Survive. The L:yons Press, Connecticut,
2004.
60. Waterfall, Arnold C. The Postal
History of Tibet. London: Robson Lowe Ltd., 1965.
61. Photographs of letter to Mr. A.C.
Rosslier of Newark, NJ, and various Tibetan stamps.
62. Chapman, F. Spencer. Lhasa the
Holy City. London: Chatto and Windus, 1940. pg 87.
63. Cis, Peter. Tibet, Through the
Red Box. New York: Francis Foster Books, 1998.
64. King, W.H. "The Telegraph to
Lhasa", The Geographical Journal, Vol. 63 (Jun., 1924). Pp 527-531.
Published by: Blackwell Publishing on behalf of the Royal Geographical
Society (with the Institute of British Geographers). Group photograph
of officials, engineers, crew and local laborers involved with the telegraph
line. Sitting from left to right: Mr. Sonam Tsering of Kalimpong (sent
on deputation by Indian Postal Dept.), first telegraph master of Lhasa.
Mr. Ringang, Mr. W.H. King (chief engineer), Mr.W.P.Rosemeyer (assistant
engineer), and Mr Kyibuk, official interpreter. The officials Kesura
and Jorgay were also employed as supervisors, but are not in the photograph.
65. Tsarong, Dundul Namgyal. In the
Service of His Country: The Biography of Dasang Damdul Tsarong Commander
General of Tibet. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications, 2000. pg 62.
66. In 1948, Radio Lhasa started the
first of its daily broadcasts to the outside world. At five p.m., the
station would go on air. The news was read in Tibetan, and then in English
by Reginald Fox or by Kyibuk, one of the surviving Rugby students and
an official at the Tibetan Foreign Bureau. Finally, the news was read
in Chinese by Phuntsok Tashi Takla, the Dalai Lama's brother-in-law.
Official announcements were also read over the radio, as this one prepared
by Aufschnaiter: "We have the honour to announce that Radio Lhasa
will broadcast an announcement of the enthronement of His Holiness the
Dalai Lama, the ruler of Tibet, together with a proclamation of the
Tibetan government to the Tibetan people and the world, on Friday 17
November 1950, at 5.45 p.m. Indian Standard Time." (Brauen, Martin. Peter
Aufschnaiter's Eight Years in Tibet. Bangkok: Orchid Press,
2002.)
67. David, MacDonald. Twenty Years
in Tibet. New Delhi: Vintage Books, 1991. (first published 1932).
68. Harrer, Heinrich. Seven Years
in Tibet. London: Rupert Hart Davis, 1953.
69. Brauen, Martin. Peter Aufschnaiter's
Eight Years in Tibet. Bangkok: Orchid Press, 2002.
70. Richardson, H.E. Tibet and Its History. London: Oxford University Press, 1962.
Richardson, H.E. and David Snellgrove. A Cultural History of Tibet. London: George Wiedenfeld & Nicholson,1968.
Richardson, H.E. High Peaks Pure
Earth: Collected Writings on Tibetan History & Culture. London:
Serindia Publications, 1998.
71. Wikipedia
72. Bell, Charles. Portrait of a
Dalai Lama: The Life and Times of the Great Thirteenth. Boston:
Wisdom Publications, 1987. 396.
73. Norbu, Jamyang. "Running-Dog
Propagandists" Phayul.com, [Monday, July 14, 2008 09:37]
74. Shen, Tsung-lien and Shen-chi Liu. Tibet and the Tibetans. California: Stanford University Press, 1953.112.