TIBET Flashcards
Assertion of China’s influence over Tibet
- won civil war against GMD, in 1949 Mao declared the PRC
- 1950 - sent PLA division into eastern tibet to assert hegemony
Assertion of Chinese influence - TACTICS
- PRC publicly stated they needed to ‘liberate’ Tibet from imperialism’
- PRC claimed historical links and that Tibet had always been considered part of China
- Troops stopped before entering the capital, Lhasa
- Seventeen Point Plan – already completed document that Tibetan negotiators were pressured into signing on 23 May 1951 on behalf of the Tibetan government.
China’s hegemony in the immediate region - overview + military
- early 50s - established its dominance in Tibet and Xinjiang through military interventions.
Tibet - PLA invaded in 1950, culminating in the 17-Point Agreement in 1951, which forced Tibet to accept Chinese sovereignty while allowing for some degree of local autonomy.
Xinjiang - the PLA similarly moved in to consolidate control over the region in 1949, incorporating it into the PRC.
- The use of military force to suppress resistance and secure territorial control was a primary method of asserting hegemony in these regions.
China’s hegemony in the immediate region - Administrative intergration and political reorganisation
following military:
- establishment of the Tibet Autonomous Region in 1965 and earlier political reforms - to integrate these regions more closely with the People’s Republic of China.
- Xinjiang, policies aimed at assimilating the region’s diverse ethnic groups under Han Chinese leadership were pursued, often through coercive means, including land redistribution and the establishment of state farms
China’s hegemony in the immediate region: suppression of dissent and military surveillance
- maintained control through extensive military presence and surveillance
- both Tibet and Xinjiang, local uprisings and resistance movements were swiftly suppressed by the PLA, with heavy use of military force to quash any dissent.
- pervasive security apparatus, including surveillance, intelligence gathering, and regular military patrols, to monitor and control the local population.
Impact of Mao’s economic and social reforms in Tibet
Disruption of the Traditional Economy and Social Structure - - - Tibet’s economy was primarily feudal and agrarian, dominated by a land-owning aristocracy and monastic institutions.
- Mao dismantled this by confiscating land and redistributing it = dissent
Collectivisation: = aimed to increase agricultural output by organizing labor and resources collectively HOWEVER, disrupted traditional Tibetan agricultural practices and led to widespread discontent. reduced productivity, food shortages.
Suppression of Religious Institutions and Practices - monastaries closed/destroyed. religion practice banned.
Mao’s reforms in the 50s
- land reform - 1950, redistribution of land to peasants. aimed to eliminate landlord class, abolish feudal land.
- collectivisation - mid 50s - moved to make communes, aimed to increase productivity
- industrialisation - 5yr plan, rapid industrialisation, make steel.
- social reform - marriage law of 1950 - gender equality
- political and cultural reform - anti-rightist campaign 1957 - target critics and intellectuals identified through the Hundred flowers campaign.
1959 Tibet uprising - CAUSES
CCP undermine Tibetan authority and impose Chinese authority
- political and regional divisions - policy of divide and rule.
- social and economic reforms to change Tibetan society against wishes of tibetans.
- Chinese govt set up alongside Tibetan govt.
PLA appropriated barely and other food = starvation and displacement
stripped tibetans of identity - sherpas = reclassified as Chinese minorities.
- TRIED TO DECREASE TIBETAN POLITICAL POWER - 1956 Prepatory committee established and given equal status to tibet govt.
- frequent attacks on religious people and monastaries.
= INCREASINGLY VIOLENT TIBETANS.
1959 Tibetan uprising - SIGNIFICANCE
- lama invited to chinese show - people dont want him to go = protest. dalai lama ESCAPES TO INDIA.
- March 28, 1959, Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai issued an Order of State Council “dissolving” the government of Tibet.
- The Dalai Lama and his ministers, reacted promptly by declaring that the new Chinese administration in Lhasa would never be recognised by the people of Tibet.
- India - Dalai Lama re-established the Tibetan administration. He set up the Tibetan-government-in-exile in Dharamsala.
- This enabled the PRC to completely occupy Tibet and start carrying out a series of repressive and violent campaigns. The Tibetan famine killed millions
Mao’s methods used during the Cultural Revolution
- Mobilisation of the Red Guards: Mao called upon Tibetan youth to form Red Guard groups, encouraging them to attack “bourgeois” elements, counter-revolutionaries, and perceived enemies. The Red Guards conducted violent attacks on intellectuals, party officials
- Public Struggle Sessions: aimed to humiliate, criticise, and punish perceived enemies of the revolution, such as intellectuals, party officials, and religious leaders. Victims were often forced to confess to fabricated crimes, endure physical abuse, and face public humiliation
- Cultural Destruction and Censorship: eliminate the “Four Olds” (old customs, culture, habits, and ideas). Red Guards destroyed historical monuments, books, art, and religious sites. Traditional customs and cultural practices were banned, and censorship imposed
- Promotion of The Little Red Book: it became a central tool for indoctrination and propaganda. It was distributed extensively among the Red Guards, soldiers, workers, and peasants, serving as both a symbol of loyalty to Mao and a guide to revolutionary ideology. Recitation and study of the book were mandatory, and it was often used during public meetings, struggle sessions
AIMS of cultutral revolution
- destroy the “Four Olds”: old customs, old culture, old habits, and old ideas
- bring China back on to the revolutionary path under the renewed leadership of Mao
- The ten-year-long Cultural Revolution is generally considered to have begun in China in 1966; however, in Tibet, the climate of CR existed since 1959, when the PRC completely occupied Tibet and started carrying out a series of repressive and violent campaigns.
IMPACT of CR
- Mao Zedong Thought (MZT) became the guide to all things in China, including Tibet.
- The authority of the Red Guards (Tibetan Youth) surpassed that of the army, local police authorities, and the law in general.
- Tibetan traditional arts and ideas were ignored and publicly attacked, with praise for Mao being practiced in their place.
- People were encouraged to criticise cultural institutions and to question their parents and teachers, which had been strictly forbidden in traditional Chinese culture.
- Anyone displaying an image of the Dalai Lama was persecuted.
SOCIAL IMPACTS OF CR
- Class warfare – social division:
young vs old - Lower classes vs upper classes
- Struggle sessions – public humiliation
- Focus on group rather than the individual
ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF CR
- Introduction of communes → most of the land became communal, farmers were paid a basic ration, grain and surplus were sold to the State at a fixed price
- Nomads trade in barter was forbidden
- Millions of priceless manuscripts were burnt
Food shortages: - were ordered to grow wheat and maize (different to usual)
- were obliged to sell much of their wheat to the State, leaving very little for their own consumption
- controls were placed on killing animals for meat
CULTURAL IMPACTS OF CR
- Attacks on monasteries and nunneries
- Many monks and nuns were killed
- Names of streets, roads, ships, villages and even personal names were written in Chinese.
-Tibetan language, dress, customs and habits were considered backward, filthy, useless and favouring old society
