Tibet, also known as TAR, is a democratic region in China that is very poor, and is mainly inhabited by Buddhists. Throughout its long history, Tibet at times has governed itself as an independent state and at other times has had various levels of association with China. Whatever China ‘s involvement in Tibetan affairs, Tibet’s internal government was for centuries a theocracy, under the leadership of Buddhist lamas, or monks. In 1959 the Dalai Lama fled to India during a Tibetan revolt against Chinese control in the region. China then took complete control of Tibet, installing a sympathetic Tibetan ruler and, in 1965, replacing with a Communist administration (Encarta 1).
The TAR covers an area of about 472,000 square miles. It is bounded on the north by Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Qinghai Province; on the east by Sichuan and Yunnan provinces; on the south by Myanmar (formally known as Burma), India, Bhutan, and Nepal; and on the west by India. Lhasa is the region’s capital and largest city (Schaller With an average elevation of more than 12,000 feet, Tibet is the highest region on earth, and for this reason, it is sometimes called the Roof of the World. Most of the people in Tibet live at elevations ranging from 3,900 feet to 16,700 feet. Tibet is also one of the world’s most isolated regions, surrounded by the Himalayas on the south, the Karakorum Range on the west, and the Kunlun Mountains on the north (Encarta 1).
The southern part of Tibet is situated entirely within the Himalayas, and many of the world’s highest summits are located in the Himalayan chain, which extends along Tibet’s southern frontier. Among the peaks are Mount Everest(29,028 feet), the world’s largest mountain; Namcha Barwa(25,445 feet); and Gurla Mandhata(25,354 feet).
The Essay on Western World China Chinese Country
China is the perfect example of what happens when one leader is given to much power. The leaders of China were each very afraid of social reform, and the consequences that outside influence may have on their customs. As a means of initiating reform, they shut the entire Western world out almost completely. At the time it was a move that served China well but in the long run it was the downfall of ...
The Kailas Range, a chain of the Himalayas, lies parallel to and north of the main chain and has peaks of up to 22,000 feet. Between the Kailas Range and the main chain is a river valley that extends about 600 miles. The Brahmaputra River (known in Tibet as the Yarlung Zangbo) flows from west to east through most of this valley (Encarta 1).
The mountains in Tibet form Asia’s principal watershed, or dividing line, between westward-flowing and eastward-flowing streams, and Tibet is the source of the continent’s major rivers. The Brahmaputra is Tibet’s most important river. The Indus, Ganges, and Sutlej rivers have their headwaters in western Tibet. Many of Tibet’s rivers have potential for hydroelectric development (Encarta 1).
Vegetation on the Tibetan Plateau is extremely sparse, consisting mainly of grasses and shrubs. Scattered wooded areas occur in extreme west and east. Most vegetation, however, is concentrated in Brahmaputra, Indus, and Sutlej river valleys. These areas support most species of trees, including conifers, oaks, cypresses, poplars, and maples. Apple, peach, pear, and apricot trees are cultivated in the valleys (Encarta 1).
Tibet is home to a variety of wildlife. Musk deer, wild sheep, wild goats, wild donkeys, yaks, and Tibetan antelope are common in mountainous areas. Other large mammals include leopards, tigers, bears, wolves, foxes, and monkeys. Bird life includes geese, gulls, teal, and other species of waterfowl, and also pheasants and sand grouse Tibet has a dry, cold climate with an average annual temperature of 34 degrees Fahrenheit. It is very bitter in Tibet in the winter (Harrer 39).
Temperatures in the mountains and plateaus are especially cold, and strong winds are common year round. The river valleys experience a more moderate climate. Lhasa and central Tibet have an average temperature of 32 degrees Fahrenheit in December and an average of 60 degrees Fahrenheit in June. The daily temperature range is great. On a typical summer day, the temperature can rise from 37 degrees Fahrenheit before sunrise to 81 degrees Fahrenheit before midday. In general, temperatures in Tibet frequently drop suddenly after sunset. The average annual precipitation is 15 inches (Encarta 2).
The Essay on Famine In Tibet Tibetans To More And More Barren Lands
I. CONTEXT Tibet knew its first famine during 1960-62, as a result of the Chinese invasion of 1950. The food shortage occurred because Chinese colonizers settled massively, increasing the population, and because of the changes imposed on Tibetan traditional agriculture by Maos Great Leap Forward. Death Roll Accurate estimations and data about Tibetan victims of the Chinese genocide are hard to ...
The Tibet pamphlet states that Tibet is rich in mineral resources, although few have been exploited due to inaccessibility, a lack of industrial capacity, and Buddhist admonitions against disturbing the earth for fear of harming living creatures. Gold is found in many areas, and significant deposits of iron ore, coal, salt, and borax are also present. Other known resources include oil shale, manganese, lead, zinc, quartz, and Since 1959 the Chinese government has capitalized on some of Tibet’s resources by mining chromite, tinkalite, and boromagnesite; constructing hydroelectric and geothermal plants; and logging timber. In eastern Tibet, serious environmental concerns have been raised over the extent of pollution and deforestation resulting from these projects (Encarta The Population of TAR was 2,196,010 in 1990, yielding an average population density of 4.7 persons per square mile, the lowest of any region in China. The vast majority of Tibet’s people live in rural areas, and a large but diminishing part of the people is nomadic or seminomadic. Lhasa, the capital and largest city, is Tibet’s principal center of trade, tourism, commerce, education, and government, and the headquarters of the region’s major religious institutions (Encarta 2).
Most people in Tibet are ethnic Tibetans, and the largest minority is Han Chinese, China’s majority ethnic group. According to the 1990 census, 3.7 percent of Tibet’s population was Han Chinese; however, this and other population figures are believed to be in complete, as they do not include the much larger number of Han who have come to Tibet looking for work opportunities and have not officially registered as residents (Encarta 2).
The Essay on Dalai Lama Tibet China Chinese
China and Tibet The issue is about China and Tibet, Should or shouldn't Tibetan Exile Refugees change their peaceful approach toward China by appealing to sympathetic nations to militarily force China out of Tibet? During the 1600's Tibet was a very powerful country and the Dalai Lama was introduced as the leader or Tibet. China controlled Tibet in the Early 1700's. The British arrived in Tibet in ...
Most people in Tibet speak Tibetan, a language of the Tibeto-Burman subfamily of Sino-Tibetan languages. Various dialects of Tibetan are spoken in different regions. Putonghua (Mandarin) Chinese, China’s official language, is also used, particularly by Han Chinese, government agencies, and most commercial enterprises. People can request the use of Tibetan within the legal system (Encarta 2).
Tibetan Buddhism is the religion of the overwhelming majority of the population. Buddhism was introduced into Tibet from India, originally in the 7th century, and then, after a period of persecution, it was reintroduced in the 11th century (Encarta 2).
Historically, religion permeated every aspect of Tibetan life. The only educational system was religious, all cultural and intellectual activities were centered around religious beliefs, and the heads of government were Buddhist monks (Encarta 2).
Today Buddhism is practiced widely in Tibet. Many monasteries and other religious buildings have been rebuilt, and monks and nuns are once again openly practicing their Before the 1950s there was no formal educational system in Tibet and very few people were literate. Most Tibetan monks were taught to memorize religious scriptures rather than read them. The Chinese introduced secular, formal state schooling in 1952. By the mid-1990s there were more than 3000 schools in Tibet and the literacy rate was estimated at about 50 percent. Tibetan is the language of instruction in lower grades, shifting to Putonghua in later years. In the mid-1990s Tibet had four institutions of higher learning, all located in Lhasa: Tibet University, the Institute for Nationalities, the Agricultural and Animal Husbandry College, and the Tibetan Medical College (Encarta 3).
Since assuming control in the 1950s, the Chinese Communist administration has improved Tibet?s transportation infrastructure. Furthermore, Tibet?s economy has grown and diversified. As a result, Tibetans in urban areas now enjoy considerably more material benefits in the form of food, clothing, housing, technology, and entertainment. Far less improvement has occurred in rural areas (Encarta 3).
Tibet remains one of the poorest regions in China, particularly its rural areas. In the mid-1990s the average annual per capita income for city dwellers was about $120, while rural people earned about half that amount. Although the Chinese government contributes subsidies to help offset Tibet?s low standard of living, controversy has developed over who Subsistence agriculture dominates the Tibetan economy. Productive land, concentrated mostly in the river valleys, is limited in area. The principal subsistence crops are barley, wheat, buckwheat, rye, potatoes, and various vegetables and fruits. Cotton, soybeans, walnuts, tea, and hemp are grown as commercial crops. Livestock raising is the primary occupation of the Tibetan Plateau region. In addition to sheep, cattle, and goats, the herds include camels, yaks, horses, and other beasts of burden (Encarta 3).
The Essay on The Dalai Lama Tibet Tibetan China
The Dalai Lama is a revolutionary because of the peace and love he spreads along his journey towards a Tibet free from china's communist grasp. The Dalai Lama, often referred to as His Holiness, is the Head of state and spiritual leader of Tibet. The Dalai Lama fights a fierce battle with china, (Without weapons and without hate). He fights his battles with words giving speeches around the world ...
The region?s manufacturing sector has expanded since 1959 but remains limited to small-scale enterprises producing such goods as textiles and electrical equipment. The production of local handicrafts constitutes a major supply of income. Craft items include woolen carpets, fabrics, aprons, quilts, clothing, furniture, wooden bowls, gold and silver jewelry, and Tibetan hats (Encarta 3).
Tibet has no railroads, but does have highways and airports. The road system, which did not exist before 1950, has grown to about 14,000 miles. A trans-Tibetan highway now runs from west to east. Other highways connect the region with Xinjiang and Qinghai to the north, Sichuan to the east, and Nepal and India to the south. Tibet has two commercial airports; the more important one is located near Lhasa. Since the 1980s tourism has become an important source of revenue in Tibet. Most visitors stay in the Lhasa area, although Xigaz? and the base camp of Mount Everest are also popular sites Tibet is officially an autonomous region of China, which means that an ethnic Tibetan heads the regional government. In reality, however, major decisions are made by the central government in Beijing. Ethnic Tibetans comprise about 70 percent of government cadres (administrators) in Tibet. The most powerful officials in Tibet, including the head of the local Communist Party office, are typically Han Chinese (Encarta The Chinese ruled Tibet, but it decreased, and Britain tried to take over but failed. In the 18th century Tibet came under the control of China. However, in the course of the following century, Chinese authority diminished steadily.
The Research paper on Dalai Lama Tibet China Chinese 2
Grasping for the Shadow of Identity There once lived a peaceful, ancient culture, isolated from civilization, living in peace and harmony with its surroundings, grounded in deep faith springing from its religious leader, blooming like a rose in the majestic hills. In what seemed like only minutes, this nation I speak of suddenly became a communist, occupied country, with no identity of its own, ...
Meanwhile, British colonial officials in India, including administrator Warren Hastings, attempted to secure a foothold in the region. These efforts proved unsuccessful, mainly because of Tibetan resentment of an unsuccessful Nepalese invasion of Tibet in the 1790s, which the British had supported The Panchen Lama is reinstated, so China announces reforms, but they were violent, and the Panchen Lama refused to renounce Tibet’s independence. In 1978 the Panchen Lama, who had been jailed in 1964 for criticizing Chinese rule of Tibet, was reinstated to his official positions. He appealed repeatedly to the Dalai Lama to return to Tibet. In 1980 the Chinese admitted that Tibet had been misgoverned and announced reforms for the region. Tibetans found the reforms insufficient, and violent demonstrations protesting Chinese rule occurred in October 1987. In 1988 negotiations between the Chinese government and representatives of the Dalai Lama, which had taken place periodically over the previous decade, broke off. The Dalai Lama refused to publicly renounce Tibetan independence, and China refused to compromise on the issue of greater autonomy for Tibet (Encarta 4).
In 1993 more demonstrations by Tibetans took place, in addition to several acts of terrorism against the Chinese. In 1995 a new conflict emerged in Tibet over the selection of the next Panchen Lama. The search committee identified 28 possible candidates and conveyed that information to the Dalai Lama in India. The Dalai Lama selected one boy, a six-year-old named Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, as the 11th Panchen Lama. The Chinese government, angered at having the selection process usurped by the Dalai Lama, cited the historical role it had allegedly played in the selection process of previous Panchen and Dalai Lamas. They inaugurated their own candidate, a six-year-old named Gyaincain Norbu. They held Gedhun Choekyi Nyima and his family in detention and began a renewed campaign to discredit the Dalai Lama. Fresh rumblings erupted within the Tibetan independence movement. In May 1996 the Chinese began a crackdown on Tibetan monasteries that resulted in the injury and death of several monks. According to some experts, talks resumed secretly between the Dalai Lama and Chinese government officials in late 1996, only to break off several months later when China sentenced the leader of the Panchen Lama search team to a long prison term (Encarta 4).
The Essay on Tibet Dalai Lama
For over 2000 years Buddhists in Tibet have lived freely and independently, but in 1949-50 that all change when China invaded and took control. 1 All of their traditions and customs, government, environment and rights were taken away and destroyed by this tragic invasion. 2 The majority of Tibetans were either killed or exiled, but the ones exiled have been very strong throughout all of this and ...
Now Tibet is a democracy, instead of a Theocracy, or Communism, and the people still live in poverty. They get to elect the Dalai Lama. And the leader of the search party
Bibliography:
10 Bibliography page Encarta Encyclopedia, CD-ROM. New York: Microsoft Corporation, 1993. Harrer, Heinrich. Seven Years In Tibet. New York: Penguin Putnam Inc., 1953. Schaller, George B. “Tibet’s Remote Chang Tang.” National Geographics 15 August 1993: 62. Tibet. [United States]:n.p., n.d.
