Before 1950 Tibetan society was a feudal theocracy, similar to that of medieval Europe. Tibet's secular and ecclesiastical ruler was the Dalai Lama, whom Tibetans believe is God's manifestation on earth. Under the Dalai Lama were aristocratic lords. They were descended from the ancient kings of Tibet, as well as families descended from past Dalai Lamas, families that had been rewarded for meritorious service, and families that had inherited their nobility. Land, not titles, was the main source of power and wealth. Serfs, slaves, and outcasts made up the rest of the population.
Formal relations between Tibet and China date to the seventh century c. E., when King Songsten Gampo unified Tibet. His dynasty lasted approximately two centuries. During this imperial period, China and Tibet were separate nations. They negotiated treaties with each other that fixed their borders and regulated relations between them. Buddhism was introduced to Tibet during its imperial era, and the first Buddhist monastery was built in the late eighth century.
In 1207 Tibet became part of the Mongol Empire of Genghis Khan. Forty years later it entered a "priest-patron" relationship with the Mongols. Tibet's lamas provided the Mongols with religious instruction, performed sacred rites, and conferred special titles. In return, the Mongols' ruling khan protected and advanced the interests of the lamas. Thus, the lamas, in effect, became the agents through which the Mongols ruled Tibet.
Some Chinese intellectuals have argued that Tibet became a part of China when the Mongol leader Kublai Khan conquered China and founded the Yuan Dynasty in 1279. Tibetan nationalists deny this. They contend that because Tibet and China were separately incorporated into the Mongol Empire, Tibet was never officially a part of China. Under the Ming Dynasty, which lasted from 1368 to 1644, that succeeded that of the Yuan, Tibetans ruled their nation as if it was independent.
The modern conflict between Tibet and China is rooted in religious and political disputes of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. During that period Tibet was governed as a protectorate of Manchu-ruled China. Despite its protectorate status, Tibet continued to use its own language, officials, laws, and army, and did not pay taxes to China. Chinese control over Tibet loosened during the nineteenth century, when China's government was caught up in external and internal struggles.
Meanwhile, in 1637 the fifth Dalai Lama invited the Mongols into Tibet to help seize power in the kingdom. Tibet became subordinate to Chinese rule during the Manchu or Qing Dynasty in the early eighteenth century. The Manchu Dynasty ruled Tibet until it was overthrown in 1911. By the early twentieth century, Tibetans offered only symbolic allegiance to the Chinese emperor. In fact, Tibetans decided their own internal affairs.
On August 3, 1904, British troops became the first Western troops ever to conquer Tibet. By 1906, Britain and Russia agreed not to negotiate with Tibet, except through China. In effect, the international powers affirmed Tibet's political subordination to China. Britain's invasion of Tibet and the accords recognizing Tibet's subordinate role to China changed China's attitude toward Tibet. Previously, the Manchu Dynasty had shown little interest in directly administering Tibet.
The British invasion, however, spurred China to protect its national interests by strengthening its cultural, economic, and political ties to Tibet. Tibet was a part of China. The Chinese tried to control Tibet through the Dalai Lama rather than replacing him. In 1910, the Chinese army occupied Tibet, forcing the thirteenth Dalai Lama into exile in India. In 1911, the Manchu Dynasty was overthrown. Shortly after, the Dalai Lama proclaimed his intention to control Tibet. The proclamation was a declaration of independence. Tibetans expelled the remaining Manchu military and civilian personnel in 1911.
For more than 40 years, until 1951, Tibet was an independent nation for all practical purposes. On April 12, 1912, the Chinese republican government declared that Tibet, Mongolia, and Xin-jaing were on an equal footing with the other provinces of China. In 1913, the thirteenth Dalai Lama succeeded in expelling all Chinese officials and troops from Tibet. At a conference (called the Simla Convention) in 1914, Tibet was guaranteed control over its own internal affairs, while China was permitted to maintain a small military contingent in Lhasa, the capital. Tibet remained autonomous from China, but acknowledged the political control of China.
Tibet's status spared Tibet war with China and gave Britain a protective buffer between China and India. Tibetans failed to win their objective of political independence. The possibility of future hostilities with China prompted a group of young Tibetan officials to urge modernization. Tibet needed to be economically and militarily strong to remain independent. Religious leaders who saw modernization as a threat to Buddhism and their own authority successfully resisted this effort in the mid-1920's.
Tibet's status did not even change with the establishment of the People's Republic of China by the Chinese communists in 1949. Britain, India, and later the United States dealt with Tibet as if it were an independent state but continued to acknowledge that Tibet was a part of China. Tibet was treated in this manner, as China was an important ally of the U. S. and Britain. Chinese sensibilities were paramount. International realities had changed. Britain no longer needed a buffer zone in Central Asia as it had granted India independence in 1949. However, the Tibetan government wanted to retain its de facto independence and not become an autonomous nationality region in the People's Republic
World History
