The History of Tibet: The Truth Uncovered

From a Western perspective, Tibet is a land of mystery. It captures the imagination of a faraway and exotic place, a land filled with peaceful Buddhist monks and sparkling palaces. Today, Tibet is an autonomous region of China, whose history is also subject to much intrigue and controversy.

The reality, however, is very far from the truth. Breaking from common beliefs, Tibet is a complex place that begs deeper examination. Without a doubt, the history of this land is of great importance when understanding Tibet’s place in the world today.

And contrary to popular belief, Tibet’s history is extremely bloody and brutal.

As a cold, mountainous, and inhospitable world, it is surprising that the Tibetan Plateau has been inhabited since the Late Paleolithic Era (40,000 to 10,000 years ago). Due to the harsh environment and the high altitude, archeological research is difficult.

According to ancient Tibetan belief, the Tibetan people are the product of a union between a female demon and a monkey. The Chinese (at least from the perspective of the Tang Dynasty) hold the view that the Tibetans originate from the Qiang tribes that inhabited the steppe of northwest China, a place already known as being ethnically diverse. The intermingling of nomadic peoples at this time was prevalent, and it is plausible the Tibetans are a mix of various ethnic groups close to Tibet.

Within Tibet, intermingling as a result of conquest and alliances continued to diversify the population. A cultural split, however, was the work of geography as well as genetics. Those who lived in the valleys are thought to have derived from the Huang He (Yellow River) basin, while those who lived in the mountains are thought to have derived from the nomads to the north.

Very little is known about the ancient kingdoms; what is known is subject to debate and based on oral histories. According to local belief, the Zhang Zhung people were the first to establish a powerful kingdom in the west of Tibet. This kingdom lasted from around the 6th century BCE to 625 CE. The kingdom they created is considered the birthplace of the Bön religion, the indigenous religion that bears many similarities to Tibetan Buddhism.

Before the rise of the Tibetan Empire, much of Tibet was ruled by a dynasty of kings known as the Yarlung Dynasty. They ruled from 95 BCE (according to legend) to the 7th century CE.

The city of Yarlung, 55 miles southeast of Lhasa, was the first seat of the kings of Tibet. From an almost mythical beginning, very little is known of this time. Nyatri Tsenpo is considered the first king, and the time of his rule is subject to debate. He is thought to have reigned at some point between the 5th and 2nd centuries BCE.

His existence and those of his successors, however, are clouded by myth. Nyatri Tsenpo was thought to be descended from a monopedal creature called the Theurang. The first kings were also believed to have been connected to heaven by a rope, and when they died, they simply ascended rather than leave a body behind.

For most of this time, Tibet was split into lesser kingdoms and polities that were united under the reigns of King Tagri Nyensig and King Namri Songtsen (570-620 CE). The latter would found the capital in the Kyichu Valley in which the city of Lhasa would slowly develop.

From around 618 CE to 650 CE, Tibet was under the powerful reign of Songtsen Gampo, the 33rd king of the Yarlung Dynasty. His reign was characterized by many important events in Tibetan history. Buddhism was officially introduced, as well as a written script for the Tibetan language. The Tibetan Empire also expanded, unifying kingdoms within Tibet and conquering adjacent lands.

Over the next century, the Tibetan Empire would reach its height. The territory it encompassed was diverse, but transport was a major issue due to the difficult terrain. Centralized authority was challenging to maintain, and the Empire began to fracture as competing religious and political power blocs became emboldened.

According to contemporary Chinese accounts, the collapse of the Tibetan Empire was aided significantly by the animosity and conflict between Tibetan generals who commanded armies on the empire’s frontier. By the end of the ninth century, Tibet was a fractured place, hosting a myriad of small polities that jostled for power in the vacuum left by the collapse of centralized power. In modern academia, the collapse of the Tibetan Empire has also been attributed to climatic shifts, resulting in a shift to a colder, drier climate, which greatly affected agricultural production and trade.

During this era, Buddhism slowly became the dominant religion, and many sects were formed, some competing for control.

In the first half of the 13th century, Tibet came into contact with the mighty Mongol Empire. This contact was not friendly. In 1240, the Mongols marched on Tibet with an army of 30,000 soldiers, attacking several monasteries. The invasion was relatively quick, and it is estimated that only a few hundred people died.

What happened next is unclear. Mongol rule over Tibet did not start directly after this invasion, so the purpose of the invasion is subject to debate. In the late 1240s, however, Mongol rule over Tibet was established when the Tibetan rulers submitted to Mongol control. Soon after, Tibet was divided into feudal estates and ruled over by Mongol nobles. It was later incorporated into the Yuan Dynasty as part of China, ruled by the Mongols.

During this time, Buddhism had grown to become a powerful force, and it became part of Mongol society, too. Kublai Khan was one of its first converts in the Mongol Empire.

Despite the change in overlords, sectarian rivalries continued to plague the land and led to political intrigues that shifted power back and forth between lamas of different Buddhist factions.

There are four major Buddhist schools in Tibet, and the Sakya school’s dominance characterized the time of Mongol control. The other three schools are Nyingma, Kagyu, and Gelug. Rule by the Yuan Dynasty and the Sakya lamas came to an end by 1358 after warlord Tai Situ Changchub Gyaltsen toppled the existing power structures. He established the Phagmodrupa Dynasty, supporting the Kagyu sect, and took the reins of power. What followed was eight decades of relative stability.

The change was also precipitated by the Red Turban Rebellion in China during the 1350s and 1360s. Zhu Yuanzhang led a revolt against Yuan control and overthrew the Mongol overlords, establishing the Ming Dynasty in China. Thus began a period whereby Tibet became the subject of Ming attention, as favorable relations were sought between the two states.

However, the relationship between Tibet and the Ming Dynasty is not completely understood. It seems Tibet was technically part of Ming China. Scholars such as Turrell V. Wylie, Melvyn C. Goldstein, and Helmut Hoffman assert that the relationship was one of suzerainty. Tibet was obligated to pay tribute but exercised complete internal autonomy.

In 1391, Gedun Truppa was born. He became a principal disciple of the Great Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelug Buddhist sect. Tsongkhapa entrusted Gedun Truppa with spreading the Gelug teachings throughout Tibet. As a powerful member of the Gelug sect, he oversaw the expansion of the belief system, and upon his death in 1475, he was named the First Dalai Lama.

In the early 15th century, the Gelug sect became increasingly powerful, and three great university monasteries were founded to spread Gelug teachings. Meanwhile, in 1435 (according to the traditional date), the Rinpunga Dynasty was established when its founder, Norzang, took advantage of a feud within the Phagmodrupa Dynasty to establish power, which was fully consolidated by 1564. The Phagmodrupa Dynasty survived into the 17th century, but their power was nominal as they became eclipsed by more powerful political factions. Meanwhile, the Rinpunga dynasty was short-lived.

In 1565, the ruling Rinpungpa Dynasty was overthrown, and the Tsangpa Dynasty came to power. The Tsangpa represented the last royal dynasty in Tibet to rule in their name.

In 1642, the power structure of Tibet was drastically changed. Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso, the Fifth Dalai Lama, established the Ganden Phodrang government, in which supreme power was conferred to the position of Dalai Lama. He was able to do this with the help of Güshi Khan of the Khoshut Khanate, which would rule over Tibet until 1717.

The Fifth Dalai Lama implemented many building projects, including the famous Potala Palace, the seat of authority in Tibet. The palace would take 43 years to complete. He was also a great scholar and wrote many books during his lifetime.

Meanwhile, the Qing/Manchu Dynasty in 1644 superseded the Ming Dynasty in China after a bloody power struggle in which Beijing was seized and a new dynasty was set in place. In 1697, the Sixth Dalai Lama, Tsangyang Gyatso, was enthroned. Just 14 years old at the time, his rule was aided by a regent, and in 1706, conflict broke out between the regent and the Khoshut Khanate, and Lha-bzang Khan seized Lhasa, killed the regent and deposed the Dalai Lama.

In 1717, the Dzungar Khanate invaded and defeated the Khoshut Khanate in Tibet. For three years, the Dzungars ruled brutally until 1720, when they were defeated and ousted by the Qing Dynasty, which then took control of Tibet.

The Rule of the Qing Dynasty

In 1720, the Qing were seen as liberators in Tibet. This was not just because the Dzungars were driven off but also because the Qing brought with them Bskal-bzang-rgya-mtsho, the Seventh Dalai Lama. Throughout the rest of the 18th century, Tibet was a suzerain state but held much independence. The Qing Dynasty left Tibet to its own governance but aided in keeping order.

Imperial Qing troops put an end to a civil war in Tibet in 1728, restored order in 1750 after a senior political leader was assassinated, and stopped a Gurkha invasion in 1792. The reach of effective Qing control, however, could not aid Tibet much during the 19th century, and Tibet had to deal with conflicts on its own. In 1792, the Qing administration did, however, forbid foreigners from entering Tibet. This resulted in Christian missionaries not being able to proselytize and were forced to leave.

From May 1841 to August 1842, the Sikh Empire attempted to extend trade routes into the recently conquered territory of Ladakh (currently recognized as part of India). It pushed into Tibet, where it was defeated at Taklakot. The Tibetans followed up on their victory by marching into Ladakh but were, in turn, defeated at Chushul. The Dogra-Tibetan War ended with a treaty that preserved the status quo ante bellum.

In 1855, war would again come to Tibet as an invasion from Nepal. With the defeat of Nepal in 1792 by the Qing, Nepal was made into a tributary state. Decades later, and with the Qing government crippled by problems in the east, the Nepalese saw their opportunity to free themselves from the humiliation and take territory from Tibet.

After military action, Nepal won concessions from Tibet in 1856, but they were a far cry from their original demands, and hope for territorial gains had to be abandoned. A year later, war would resume when Tibet refused to pay the annual subsidy that was agreed upon. The Qing court followed these events by attempting to gain more control over Tibet. One way the Qing did this was to introduce Qing coinage in Tibet and make Nepalese coinage illegal.

As the century wore on, Tibet also had to deal with British and Russian designs. Both empires were maneuvering to best each other in what was known as the “Great Game.” The British saw Tibet as a way to gain access to Chinese trade and control Russian ambitions regarding India. This would result in the British invading Afghanistan.

In 1904, the British launched an invasion of Tibet and claimed that China had suzerainty, not sovereignty, over the territory. China rejected this claim, and a treaty was signed in 1906 maintaining Chinese rights over Tibet without them being classified as either suzerainty or sovereignty. In early 1912, however, the Qing Dynasty fell, and the Chinese Republic was proclaimed.

When the Chinese Republic was declared in 1912, Tibet was given equal status along with the other provinces of China. Despite this, Tibetan unrest occurred, and Chinese troops were attacked. When the Chinese tried to respond by sending military force, the move was blocked by British intervention.

The British and Chinese then held talks over the future of Tibet. The Shimla Conference, which took place from 1913 to 1914, sought to establish the status and territory of China and Tibet. The conference concluded with Inner Tibet (in the east) being handed to China, while Outer Tibet was to retain autonomy as an independent state. China refused to ratify the agreement, and over the subsequent years, several minor conflicts erupted between China and Tibet.

During this time, Tibet also became an object of fascination for Europeans, who saw it as a mystical place full of exotic secrets. Capturing the imaginations of the Europeans, expeditions were sent into the heart of Tibet from Britain and Nazi Germany.

The People’s Republic of China

The change from a republic to a communist state in 1949 did not improve Tibetan fortunes. The very next year, Chinese troops entered and took control of Outer Tibet. Over the following years, Chinese immigration into Tibet created waves of anti-Chinese sentiment that boiled over into low-level conflict.

In 1959, this tension escalated into a popular uprising in Lhasa, and the Dalai Lama fled the country while the Chinese restored order. The Chinese purged Tibet of its leaders and removed the Tibetan government. Throughout the 1960s, the Tibetan people resisted Chinese control, and from 1963 to 1971, no foreigner was allowed into Tibet by order of the Chinese government.

By the 1970s, the uprisings had died down, and China was able to exercise full control over Tibet. After Mao Zedong died in 1976, the Chinese government started making great strides in repairing its relationship with Tibet. Industrial and transport projects began in earnest, while mosques were even built in Muslim areas.

China has attempted to preserve Tibet’s cultural heritage and has encouraged tourism in recent decades. While the Dalai Lama still lives in exile and wishes for Tibetan independence, his relationship with the Chinese leadership has improved, and talks have generally been good-natured and positive.

Chinese rule over Tibet has been received with mixed reactions around the world. While some view Tibet as having the right to self-governance, many see Chinese influence as positive in that it ended a feudal system in which slavery was rife and people existed in hellish poverty. Chinese rule brought with it a vast improvement in the quality of life and uplifted the poverty-stricken lower classes of Tibet.

Tibet exists in a difficult geographical position in Asia. Its location has made it a crossroads between empires and has been the focus of much imperial attention from within and outside its borders.

Its history has been bloody, and the nature of its existence has been subject to great debate for centuries. It is plain to see that the last pages of the history of Tibet have yet to be written.