Tibetans in China: From Conflict to Protest

Ben Hillman*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

    Abstract

    Although conflicts between various Tibetan and Chinese empires and kingdoms date back centuries (in 763 a Tibetan army captured the Tang capital of Changan), the modern conflict i.e., between the now-exiled Tibetan Government and the PRC began in the waning years of the Qing Empire (16441911) when the global order was on the brink of a major transformation. In the early twentieth century, Tibet was a self-governing protectorate of the Qing Empire, receiving military support from Beijing when needed in exchange for religious advice and legitimation from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the head of the Tibetan Government in Lhasa and an important leader of the Tibetan Buddhist faith (Oidtman 2018). Tibet also usefully served the Qing as a highland buffer between China and the British Empire in South Asia. Although there were occasional conflicts, the relationship between Lhasa and Beijing a relationship described by the 13th Dalai Lama as that of patron and priest (Shakabpa 1984) was mutually convenient and relatively stable during the nineteenth century
    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationRoutledge Handbook of Race and Ethnicity in Asia
    EditorsMichael Weiner
    Place of PublicationLondon
    PublisherRoutledge, Taylor & Francis Group
    Chapter15
    Pages219-230
    Number of pages12
    ISBN (Electronic)9781351246699
    ISBN (Print)9780815371489
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2021

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