602                  Namri Songtsen, lord of Yarlung, becomes the first king of Tibet.
 

Namri Songtsen (also known as Namri Lontsen), united the Tibetan central states at the start of the 7th century through his expansion of Yarlung’s territories. After a revolt in the nearby territory of Naspo against its ruler Zinpoje, its feudal clans and territories submitted to the authority of the ruler of Yarlung, Tagbu Nyazig, who hence acquired the name Namri meaning “Heavenly Mountain”. In return for their loyalty, Namri awarded the feudal nobles territories and subjects over to rule which had formerly belonged to Zinpoje. The nobles of the clans went on to subdue the territories of Tsang, Mon and Sumpa on behalf of Namri and Tarlung, making Namri the first King of Tibet.

620-49             Reign of King Songtsen Gampo; Tibet grows into an empire
 

Songsten Gampo was the son of Namri Songtsen and regarded as the founder of the Tibetan Empire. Songtsen Gampo moved the Capital to Lhasa and expanded its territories to the north where the nomadic tribes of the plateau provided mounted warriors which greatly increased Tibetan military strength. Tibetan campaigns in the east were carried out under the minister Gar Tongstan and Tibet made marriage alliances with Nepal and after some initial conflict, China.

670                  Prolonged warfare between Tibet and Tang China begins.
 

In 670, Tibet gained control over the four military garrisons of Anshi in the Tarim, north of Tibet. The T’ang dynasty, ruling China, sent an army to regain the Tarim but were heavily defeated. The T’ang were able to recapture Tarim in 692 due to internal conflicts in the Tibetan hierarchy. However. denied access to the Tarim, the Tibetans once again attempted to regain the region by attacking in the northeast Kokonor region, winning a decisive victory. In 704, the Tibetan emperor Dusong Mangje and new emperor’s acting regent, his mother, Trimalo attempted to arrange peace by proposing another marriage alliance- first with her son and then more successfully with her grandson. As part of the dowry, Tibet gained territory in the upper Yellow River valley known as the “Nine Bends West of the Yellow River”. However, the boundary of the area was disputed and the Tibetans and T’ang both placed armies and fortresses along the borders. The Tibetans proposed peace, arguing their armies were stationed purely for defensive reasons. However, any chance of peace was quashed in 712 when a coup in the T’ang court provided a new emperor: Hsuang-tsung. Hsuang-tsung was supported by the militaristic faction in the T’ang court and continued to campaign aggressively against Tibet in Central Asia and the Kokonor region.

763                 Tibet captures Changan, the Tang capital; tribute paid to Tibet.

                       Tibetan king invites Buddhist teachers from India and China.

In the middle of the 8th century, the T’ang empire was weakened by the An Lu-shan rebellion, allowing Tibet to slowly encroach upon their territories and briefly capture its capital city Changan. The occupation only lasted 15 days, during which the Tibetans set up a new dynasty under the brother of Jincheng, the Chinese princess who was sent to Tibet in 707 for a marriage alliance.
The Tibetan king Trisong Detsen established Buddhism as the national religion in 762. Previously Buddhism had existed mainly as a religion for the upper classes being brought to Tibet by the Chinese and Nepalese Princesses Wencheng and Brikuti in the seventh century, whilst Bon served as the religion for the majority. Trisong Detsen invited Buddhist teachers from India and China and the first Buddhist monastery of Tibet, the monastery of Samye, was founded in 767 by the Indian Buddhist saint Padmasambhava.

Photo: Jim McGill

792               Exponents of Indian and Chinese Buddhism debate at Samye monastery;
                     the Indian representative is declared to have won the contest.

The 'Great Debate' at the Samye Monastery was held between Indian and Chinese Buddhists Kamalashila and Hoshang respectively, and presided over by the King Trisong Detsen. The debate was to establish what form of Buddhism was studied in Tibet. Kamalashila, a disciple of Shantarakshita, was deemed to have won and subsequently Tibetan Buddhism was more heavily influenced from India than China.
 

821              China-Tibet Peace Treaty: "Tibetans shall be happy in Tibet and Chinese shall be happy in China".

The peace treaty between T’ang China and Tibet in 821 was an acknowledgement of stalemate between the two countries after 200 years of Sino-Tibetan conflict. The treaty confirmed Tibetan territorial gains along the border with China, including the Kansu corridor and southern and eastern Tarim. The treaty stated that the Chines recognized Tibetans as equals and Tibet as a separate state with its own inviolable territory. The treaty was engraved on a stone pillar in front of the Jokhang temple in Lhasa

842              King Langdarma assassinated; Tibet fragments into several states.

Langdarma (brother of the previous King Ralpacan) ascended the throne in 839. Whilst Ralpacan had lavishly patronized Buddhism, Langdarma heavily persecuted Buddhism in favor of Bon as well as the clans who supported it. Consequently, he was assassinated by a Buddhist monk in 842, after which the succession to the throne was disputed between his sons. Both brothers neglected state affairs in favor of religion and Tibet quickly disintegrated into the many states and tribes of which it had been composed and was not unified again for 400 years.

1073             Sakya monastery founded.

The Sakya monastery was founded in 1073 by Konchok Gyalpo and is the seat of the Sakyapa order of Tibetan Buddhism which was derived from Brogmi, who travelled to India in the 11th century in search of Buddhist doctrines.

Photo: Pedro Saraiva

1206             Chingis Kham elected first ruler of united Mongol clans.

Chingis Khan became the first ruler of the Mongol Empire in 1206. In 1227 he attacked the northern Chinese region of Tangut, where he died. In retaliation for his death, the Monguls almost completely destroyed the Tangut state with some of the Tangut fleeing to Tibet.

1234             Mongols led by Ogodai Khagan defeat Junchen and conquer north China.
 

Chingis’ son Ogodai Khagan succeeded him as Great Khan of all the Mongols or 'khaghan'. Ogodai Khagan defeated the ruling Junchen Chin dynasty, and by 1234 had conquered all of North China.

1247            Grand Lama of Sakya submits to Mongols;beginning of priest/patron relationship between lama and khan
 

Ogodai’s son Godan sent an expeditionary force to Tibet under Dorta in 1240. Dorta burned several monastaries north of Lhasa including Reting and Gyal Lhakhang. Impressed with the Brigung monastery, Dorta attempted to bring the Brigung Lama back to Godon’s camp. However, the Brigung Lama suggested that the Sakya Lama would be a better choice, being more learned. Dorta withdrew in 1241 due to the death of Ogodai, and all Mongol actions were suspended that year. But in 1244, Godon summoned Sakya Pandita the abbot of the Sakya monastery to his camp in Liangchou. Sakya Pandita arrived in Godon’s camp in 1245 but did not meet Godon until 1247, when he submitted to the Mongols on behalf of Tibetans, leaving his two young nephews Phagspa and Phagna Dorje as a sign of loyalty. Sakya Pandita wrote to the ecclesiastical and lay nobility of Tibet, directing them to personally offer submission to the Mongols as their power was overwhelming and submission was likely inevitable.

1261             Tibet reunited with the Grand Lama of Sakya as king.

In 1254, Phagspa became a Buddhist teacher of sorts to the Mongol Prince Khubila. The relationship between Phagspa and Khubilai of priest and patron became the basis for relations with other Tibetan lamas and their Mongol patrons and was known as the Cho-Yon relationship. In 1260, Khubilai, by this time leader of the Mongols, made Phagspa Kuo-shih head of Buddhism and of Buddhists in Khubilai’s realm. In 1264, Khubilai sent Phagspa and Phagna Dorje back to Tibet making Phagspa Tibetan intermediary with the Mongols and Phagma Dorje appointed ‘head of all Tibet’. The brothers were heirs to the religious mantle at Sakya.

Photo: Jim McGill

1279             Final defeat of Sung by Mongols; Mongol conquest of China complete.

Khubilai Khan began in Khagan in 1260, and by 1279 he had conquered all of Southern China, thus overthrowing the ruling Sung dynasty and completing the Mongol conquest of China.

1350             King Changchub Gyaltsen ousts Sakya and founds a new secular dynasty.

Sakya power in Tibet declined after the death of Kubilai. Without the support of the Mongols, the Sakyapa was fractured by succession disputes. With the decline of the Sakyapa power, Tibet was once more competed for by various sectarian and
regional clans. Divided, the Sakyapa were finally usurped by another sect the Phagmogrupa . The Phagmogrupa lama Changchub Gyaltsen reorganized the administration of Tibet, building a system of regional fortresses and reestablishing the law of the chogyal- the religious kings of Tibet of the Imperial period. The Sakyapa relationship with the Mongols was condemned.

1368            China regains its independence from the Mongols under Ming dynasty.

The Mongol Yuan dynasty fell in China in 1368 and was succeeded by the Ming dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the first native Chinese dynasty to rule China since the T’ang, and adopted them as their political model in both domestic and foreign affairs.

1409           Tibetan monk Tsongkhapa founds the Gelugpa sect.

Tsongkhapa founded the Gelugpa sect and built his first monastery, the Ganden monastery near Lhasa, in 1409. Tsongkhapa went on to found the Drepung monastery in 1416 and the Sera monastery in 1419, both in Lhasa, helping Gelugpa to become the dominant political power in Lhasa.

1578            Gelugpa leader receives the title of "Dalai Lama" from Altan Khan.

During the middle of the 16th century, the Mongols began encroaching on northern China once again. Tibet submitted to Mongol leader Altan Khan’s great nephew Secen Khungtaiji in order to prevent being conquered by force and under the provision that Secen Khungtaiji would convert to Buddhism. Several lamas were sent to Secen Khungtaiji’s camp as well as Altan Khan’s. In an effort to follow the example of Phagspa and Khubilai, Altan Khan invited Sonam Gyatso, the third incarnation of the Gelugpa abbot of Drepung. Sonam Gyatso and Altan Khan met at Khoto Khotan in 1578, where Sonam Gyatso identified himself and Altan as reincarnations of Phagspa and Khubilai, thus giving Altan a legitimate claim to Chingis Khan’s lineage. Altan gave Sonam Gyatso the name ‘dalai’; a Mongol translation of his own name, and was hence after known as the Dalai Lama. Afterwards, Altan proclaimed Buddhism as the religion of all his subjects and Mongol law was reformed to fit in with Tibetan Buddhist law.

Photo: Pedro Saraiva

1640            Gushri Khan, leader of Qoshot Mongols, invades and conquers Tibet.

The close relationship between the Gelugpa sect and the Mongols caused much opposition and conflict within Tibet. In 1618, the Tsang Karmapa attacked the Lhasa Gelugpa in retaliation for insults it had received from the Mongol entourage of the Fourth Dalai Lama. The Gelugpa sought military assistance from the Mongols and received it from Gushri Khan of the Khoshot, who attacked the Karmapa’s patron Chogtu Taiji of the Khalkha. Gushri Khan and his army then entered Central Tibet and subdued the Karmapa stronghold at Shigatse.

1642             Gushri Khan enthrones the 5th Dalai Lama as temporal ruler of Tibet.

In 1642, Gushri Khan gave the 5th Dalia Lama temporal power of Tibet, making him the first Dalai Lama to have both temporal and spiritual rule. In return, Gushri Khan was made King of Tibet. However, he soon returned with his armies to Kokomor. This brought an end to various secular and regonial conflicts and politically unfied Tibet.

1644              Manchu overthrow Ming, conquer China, and establish the Qing dynasty.

The Manchu people were descendants of the Junchen, who had ruled China under the Chin dynasty in the 12th and 13th centuries. The Manchu had cultural affinities with the Mongols and were thus able to form an alliance with the Eastern Mongols which was instrumental to the Manchu’s conquest of China. The Manchu proclaimed the Qing dynasty in 1636 and by 1644 had completely conquered China.

1653               "Great Fifth" Dalai Lama meets Qing Emperor Shunzhi near Beijing.

Mongol envoys are reported to have advised the Qing Emperor Ch’ung Te and later his son Shunzhi to invite the 5th Dalai Lama to the Manchu Court. An invite was issued in 1648 as an alliance was in the interests on both parties. The Manchus wanted Tibetan influence to improve their relations with the Mongols and the Tibetan Gelugpa wished to create a Cho-Yon relationship with the dominant power in China. The Dalai Lama started his journey in 1652 and requested the Emperor meet him nearer Tibet, outside China’s borders. There was much conflict within the Manchu Court as some saw this as a request that would cause the Emperor to be seen to submit to the Dalai Lama. Eventually The Emperor dispatched several Manchu princes to meet the 5th Dalai Lama at the border. The 5th Dalai Lama met the Emperor in Beijing on 15th January 1653. Whilst the Dalai Lama was granted the respect of not having to perform the kowtow, performed by most ‘barbarian envoys’, it was not the recognition of him as an independent head of state. The significance of the Emperor being able to summon the Dalai Lama to his court was seen as one of nominal submission.

Photo: Falsalama

1682               Fifth Dalai Lama dies; death is concealed for the next 14 years

The 5th Dalai Lama died in 1682, where upon his death was concealed by the regent Sangye Gyatso (Desi), who was rumoured to have been the son of the 5th Dalai Lama. The Desi continued to conduct affairs such as sending letters in the Dalai Lama's name to try and negotiate peace between the Dzungar and Khalkha Mongols. The Desi told the Qing government he was managing Tibetan affairs due to the Dalai Lama's old age. When the Dalai Lama's death was discovered, the Desi claimed he had been meditating for the past 14 years and when asked to produce him, the Desi showed Qing representatives the young sixth Dalai Lama, saying he had just awoken from his meditation. The Desi argued that he had been acting as regent for the young 6th Dalai Lama, not a usurper of the 5th. The 6th Dalai Lama was formally enthroned on 8th December 1697

1717               Dzungar Mongols invade Tibet and sack Lhasa; 5th Dalai Lama's tomb looted.

The Dzungar Mongals invaded Tibet in 1717 under the leadership of Tsewang Rapten, in search of spiritual legitimization. The Tibetan clergy and aristocracy were disillusioned with the Tibetan King Lhazang Khan, who unlike his predecessors had maintained an active interest in Tibetan politics. They were also unhappy with his choice for the sixth Dalai Lama (who was rumoured to be Lhazang’s son) after he had deposed the original 6th Dalai Lama in 1706. The lamas of Lhasa sent the Dzungar strong young monks to aid them in their planned expedition of Tibet. Tsewang Rapten sent an army of 6,000 men under the leadership of his cousin Tsering Dhondup to Tibet in 1717. Lhazang was unprepared, believing Tsewang Rapten to be an ally after a marriage alliance between their son and daughter respectively. Lharzang kept the Dzungar at bay for two months but without the loyalty of his Tibetan troops, who wrongly believed the Dzungar to have the rightful seventh Dalai Lama with them, Tsering Dhondup captured Lhasa on 30 November 1717, where Tibetans welcomed them. However, the Dzungars' planned mission to retrieve the rightful seventh Dalai Lama had failed, and when they arrived in Lhasa they looted the city including the tomb of the fifth Dalai Lama, abusing the citizens and destroying several Nyingmapa sect monasteries.

1720                 Qing forces drive out Dzungars and install Kesang Gyatso as 7th Dalai Lama

Lhazang Khan called for help against the Dzungar from the Qing Emperor K’ang Hsi, who dispatched armies from Sining and Szechuan. However, with Lhazang dead after the conquest of Lhasa, the Qing’s aim became to conquer Tibet from the Dzungar instead. The Qing army from in Szechuan captured Lhasa in September 1720, driving the Dzungar back north. In October, the Qing army of Sining came to Tibet, bringing the seventh Dalai Lama who had been kept safe from Lhazang at the Kumbum monastery

1721                  Qing emperor declares Tibet a tributary state; first Ambans sent to Lhasa

When The Qing first captured Tibet n 1720, they set up a provisional government made up of two Khalkha princes, two Khoshot princes and two Tibetans under a Qing commander. This provisional government lasted until the spring of 1720, when a council known as Kashag comprised of three Tibetan Ministers under Kanchenas was created and under which the new government was established. One of the Khalkha princes was put in charge of military affairs whilst the other Khalkha prince was made the first Amban, the official Qing representative in Tibet. The majority of the Qing army marched back to China, leaving a garrison of 3,000 men whose commander supervised the government in Lhasa and 65 Qing postal stations in the southern route between Tibet and China.

Photo: Vincent Van Den Berg

1724                 A Qing territorial government is created for Kokonor (Amdo)

Although the Kokonor Mongols had assisted the Qing in driving out the Dzungar from Tibet and installing the seventh Dalai Lama, they were resentful that after Lhazung’s death, the Qing had replaced them as lords of Tibet. Lobsang Danjin, the grandson of Gushri Khan, wished to resetablish the Kokonor Mongals right as Kings of Tibet. In 1723, Lobsang Danjin led an estimated force of 200,000 Mongols and Kokonor Tibetans in a rebellion against the Qing and their control in Kokonor. The Qing quickly suppressed the rebellion by 1724, leaving the Kokonor region devastated. The Qing responded to the rebellion by exercising more direct control in Kokonor, confiscating lands and properties of monasteries and collecting taxes once paid to the monasteries and Mongol overlords. Furthermore, the Qing split up the region into territories for separate Mongol and Tibetan tribes, forbidding infringement on the others' territory.

1792                 Qing troops enter Tibet to drive out Gorkha (Nepalese) invaders.

                         A ban on visitation by non-Chinese foreigners is imposed.

Newari silversmiths in Kathmandu minted Tibetan silver coins, However, after the capture of the city by Gorkhas, the Gorkhas arranged to only mint pure silver coins, asking that previous impure coins be devalued. The Tibetans did not see this as fair to those who already held impure coins, and refusesd. Relations between the two were made worse when in 1775, the Tibetans intervened against a Gorkha attack on Sikkim. The Gorkhas attacked in 1788 and again in 1791. By spring, a Qing army made up mostly of Tibetans arrived at Shigatse, drove the Gorkhas out and continued to march on into Nepal towards Kathmandu. The Qing saw the threat of foreign powers against Tibet such as the Gorkhas as well as the British in India (to whom the Gorkhas had appealed for help) as a reason to strengthen their control on Tibetan domestic affairs as well as foreign. The Ch’ien lung Emperor increased Qing military presence in Tibet, and gave the ambans higher authority than the Kashag and Dalai Lama, giving them control of military and foreign affairs. The Qing also began supervising the minting of Tibetan currency and restricted trade and travel in and out of Tibet, banning visitation from non-Chinese foreingners to Tibet.

1854-56            Nepal defeats Tibet; peace treaty requires Tibet to pay tribute

By the mid 19th century Qing presence in Tibet had severely declined most likely due to China trouble with the Opium Wars. The Lhasa amban had left all financial and military powers to the Tibetan government and the garrison at Lhasa had long since deteriorated due to lack of rotation and supervision of troops. In 1855 the Jang Bahadur Rana led the Gorkhas in attacking Tibet partly as the result of a trade dispute but also in revenge for their 1792 defeat as the Qing were unlikely to (and didn’t) respond due to the Taipeng rebellion occurring in China at that time. As a result of their defeat, the Tibetans were made to pay tribute to Nepal and grant judicial extraterritoriality to Nepalese subjects in Tibet.

1904                 British troops under Colonel Younghusband enter Tibet & occupy Lhasa.

By the 19th century the Russian empire was rapidly expanding to Siberia and the Pacific to the and as far south as Persia and Afghanistan with influence in Mongolia and Sinkiang making them a viable threat to Tibet. The British feared that Tibet could be used as an invasion route to India and were worried that the Russians would take the place Mongols had once had as rulers of Tibet. Indeed the Russian Empire already included the Buryat Mongols who were religious subjects of the Dalai Lama and subsequently the British felt they needed to increase their influence in Tibet. Lord Curzon, viceroy of India, suspicious of Tibetan and Russian negotiations entered Tibet in April 1903 with a British party of 200 men under Colonel Younghusband under the guise of discussing trading negotiations with the Chinese. However these fell through when the Tibetans refused to authorize the negotiations unless the British withdrew the expedition to the frontiers and the amban was unable to attend the meeting. Unwilling to withdraw and damage British prestige Curzon and his men spent the winter in Tibet and in March 1904 Younghusband returned with reinforcements of 3000 soldiers from India. Tibetans meanwhile had blocked the route to Gyantse at Guru, when Younghusband and his men attempted to pass at Guru a battle broke out resulting in 600 to 700 Tibetan deaths and approximately only a dozen British and Indian deaths. The British stayed at Gyantse for three months but the Tibetans refused to negotiate until the British withdrew to the border. Refusing to withdraw Younghusband and his men to Lhasa in July arriving in August to find that the Dalai Lama had fled and secured Tibet for the British.

Photo: Pedro Saraiva

1910-12            A Qing army led by General Zhao Erfeng invades and occupies Tibet.

On February 12th 1910 Chinese troops entered Lhasa causing the Dalai Lama and Tibetan government officials to flee. The Chinese sent soldiers both north and south to retrieve him not wanting him to ask for help from the Russians or the British. This caused problems for the Chinese as they not able to use the Dalai lama as a legitimating authority but also the Dalai Lama fleeing before the Chinese as he had done before the British in 1904 signified that the Tibetan government saw China as a foreign invading power like Britain, weakening China’s claim on Tibet.

1912                Last Qing emperor abdicates; Republic of China claims Mongolia, Tibet.

On 12th February 1912 the Qing Emperor abdicated after the Xinhai Revolution and on the 15th of February Yuan Shih-k’ai was elected president of the new Republic of China. Conflict between Tibetans and Chinese troops stationed in Lhasa quickly broke out after the Chinese soldiers had mutinied and began looting. In April the Chinese troops surrendered and were removed from Tibet by the end of the year and in July the Dalai Lama returned to Tibet. Yuan Shih-k’ai issued a presidential mandate on October 28th 1912 restoring the rank and title of the Dalai Lama whilst making it clear that Tibet was under Chinese authority.

1913                Dalai Lama proclaims Tibet independent; paper money and coins issued.
                        Mongolia and Tibet conclude a treaty of mutual recognition.
 

Mongolia had claimed independance in 1911 and in January 1913 in Urgathe Mongolian government and a representative of the Dalai Lama signed a treaty mutually recognizing each others independance. Howver the validity of this treaty was questioned by both the Russian and British governments as the Dalai Lama's representative was his close associate Dorjiev who as a Russian citzen was argued not to have the authority to negotiate treaties on Tibet's behalf. With both Britain China making claims on Tibet a tripartite conference was held in October 1913 at Simila in India on Tibet’s status involving Tibet, China and Britain. It was here that Tibet claimed independence under the leadership of the Dalai Lama.

1914                Britain and Tibet agree to McMahon Line in a treaty signed in Simla, (the border claimed by India today).
 

The three countries were allowed until January 1914 to sort out their border claims. When the conference at Simila reconvened China claimed all of Tibet as its territory, claiming it to have been under Chinese sovereignty since 1720. Meanwhile the Tibetans claimed the territory on the basis of the 822 treaty, marked at the time by the stone pillars at border points. The Indian foreign secretary Sir Henry McMahon proposed a boundary separating Inner and outer Tibet following the Qing division made in 1725 along the Yangtze and Mekong river with Inner Tibet under more direct Chinese rule. Both Chinese and Tibetan sides protested this solution, with China arguing for more direct control in Outer Tibet and Tibetans arguing that Chinese authority over Tibetans in Inner Tibet would create more civil unrest. The British then produced a draft treaty stating that the administration of Tibet should remain in the hands of the Tibetan government at Lhasa, no fewer than 300 Chinese soldiers with an amban should be allowed in Outer Tibet but that Tibet would be a Chinese territory. The Tibetans agreed to the treaty in April 1914 but the Chinese did not and the conference in all did not make an agreement on Tibet’s status. The only significant decision made at the conference was the status on the Indian-Tibetan border from Bhutan to Burma which was known as the McMahon line. India still regards this as the official border today, but China does not as it does not recognize Tibet’s treaty with Britain.

Photo: Jim McGill

1918                Tibetan army, led by British-trained officers, defeats Chinese army.
                        Tibet and China sign a peace treaty; China refuses to ratify treaty.
 

The truce between China and Tibet broke in 1917 when the Chinese commander of the Chamdo garrison, General P’eng Jih-sheng who seemingly under his own violation began to march upon Lhasa. However the Tibetans were much better militarily prepared than P’eng Jih-sheng had anticipated, having received arms and ammunition from the British and forced the Chinese back to the Chamdo garrison. By the end of April 1918 the Tibetans had surrounded the garrison at Chamdo and forced them to surrender. The surrendering at Chamdo sparked a catalyst and the Tibetan army, assisted by local recruits went on to retake the Tibetan states Gonjo and Derge. When the Tibetan army reached Kham the British consular agent, Eric Teichman, stationed at Tachienlu stepped in to negotiate a truce. The peace treaty created a boundary between China and Tibet that west of the Yangtze as well as Gonjo and Derge should be Tibetan territory. However. the Chinese commander present was unable to contact the government in Peking and therefore the treaty was only provisional until ratified by the Chinese government, which was refused.

1933                13th Dalai Lama dies; Reting Rimpoche selected as Tibetan regent.

After the 13th Dalai lama died on 17th December 1933, lay officials of the Tsongdu suggested a council of Regents both lay and monastic be selected rather than just monastic. Previous regents had sometimes been excessive and corrupt and some were suspected of being involved with the premature death of their Dalai Lamas. However this was rejected by the abbots of major monasteries who insisted in having a lama as regent. Subsequently the abbot of Reting monastery known as Reting Rimpoche was chosen to act as regent, at only 24 years old the Kashag and Tsongdu were able to take advantage of his youth and the Dalai Lama’s death in order to increase their role in the running of Tibet.

1937              Britain publishes Simla Convention and begins enforcing McMahon Line.

In 1937 the Survey of India, an engineering department in the British Government of India, published a map showing the McMahon line as an official border. Britian began to enforce the line by increasing its presence south of the border and demanding that the monastery of Tawang should not pay taxes to Lhasa.

1940             14th Dalai Lama is enthroned; Chinese delegation attends ceremony

The 14th Dalai Lama was found in a Taske village in Amdo. Amdo was under the control of the governor of Sining Ma Pu-fanga. Therefore the Tibetan government was forced to pay a ransom of 400, 000 silver dollars and after two years negotiation in order bring him to Lhasa in 1939. Wu Chung-hsin. the chairman of the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commision attended the enthronement of the 14th Dalai Lama representing in accordance with Sino-Tibetan traditional protocol but was asked to travel via India. When he arrived in Lhasa Wu demanded to meet the young Dalai Lama in order to confirm whether he was the true reincarnation of the Dalai Lama which he was granted. Wu then requested that Reting Rimpoche ask the Chinese Government to confirm the new Dalai Lama. Reting complied and Wu proposed to the Chinese Government that the boy be confirmed as the 14th Dalai Lama.

1943               Britain affirms that Tibet is "already self-governing and determined to retain [its] independence".

By 1943 Britian was soon to leave India and was suspicious that China would not guarentee Tibetan autonomy. As Britain's recognition of China's suzenrainty over Tibet had no pratical or legal definition, the Britsh considered withdrawing it but decided against it in fear that it would provoke China to be more active within Tibet. The British did continue to sale arms to Tibet and recognised it's autonomy.

Photo: Jim McGill

 

1947-49         Tibetan Trade Mission travels to India, Britain, U.S., and China;
                       the mission is received by the British Prime Minister Attlee.
 

A possible Communist victory in the Chinese civil war was perceived as a significant threat towards Tibet. Tibetans feared the Communists more than the nationalists as the communists were atheists and had an unsympathetic approach towards religion. . In an effort to achieve international support and recognition the Tibetan Finance Ministry sent trade missions to India, Britain, U.S. and China with the aim of purchasing gold to support the Tibetan currency and improving trade relations. At first the mission traveled to India where the Indian government refused to release US dollars as the Tibetan government had yet to recognize the transition of the British to Indian Government in India. When the mission arrived in Washington they immediately encountered protests from the Chinese Embassy arguing that the Tibetans did not have the authority to negotiate with the US as an independent country. When the mission reached Britain it was received by the Prime Minister Clement Attlee and its Tibetan passports were accepted however neither the US or Britain consented to recognize Tibet as an independent country.

1949             People's Republic of China is proclaimed by Chinese Communist Party.

The Chinese Communist People’s Liberation Army (PLA) took Peking in July 1949 marking the end of the Chinese civil war between the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). In October 1949 CCP leader Mao Zedong proclaimed the establishment of the People’s Republic of China and renamed the capital from Peking to Beijing whilst the Chinese Nationalists under Chiang Kai-shek fled to Taiwan.

1950            Radio Beijing announce: "The task of the People's Liberation Army for 1950 is to liberate Tibet."

40,000 Chinese troops invade Tibet in October, unprovoked and with no accepted legal basis for claims of sovereignty.

Fifteen-year-old Tenzin Gyatso given full powers to rule as the 14th Dalai Lama - the Tibetans' spiritual and temporal leader.

In November 1949 Radio Beijing announced that the Panchen Lama (who was 12 years old) had appealed to Mao Zedong to liberate Tibet. It further went on to broadcast on 1st of January 1950 that China announced its aim to liberate Tibet and Taiwan. The Tibetan’s response was that they did not want to be ‘liberated’ the government in Lhasa appealed to both Britain and India for assistance. The Government of India at that time could not afford to fight the Chinese in Tibet and Britain also struggling economically was skeptical that China could take Tibet by military forces and therefore advised Tibet not to provoke the Chinese by making any bold declarations of independence.

The Chinese Government told the Dalai Lama that the PLA would soon set out to liberate Tibet and invited a Tibetan delegation to Beijing to negotiate. The Tibetans suggested a more neutral meeting place such as Hong Kong in the hope they would receive British support however the Tibetan delegation never reached Hong Kong as Indian and British officials would not recognise their Tibetan passports. On 7th October the PLA crossed the Yangtze River and on mass invaded central Tibet in the aim of liberating Tibet from foreign imperialism despite that fact that at the time there were only seven Europeans in Tibet. The Government of India protested the unprovoked attack on October 26th and argued that China had gone back on its word to resolve the issue peacefully to which the Chinese responded that this was a domestic issue and China was merely trying to reinforce its borders.
Tibetan officials transferred all temporal power to the young Dalai Lama on 17th November after consulting with the state oracles; this was earlier than usual as the Dalai Lama received it when he was 15 rather than 18 years old.

Photo: Vincent Van Den Berg

1951            China undertakes 17-Point Agreement to refrain from interfering with Tibet's government and society following  negotiation by the Dalai Lama.

This treaty was signed by the Tibetans on 23 May 1951. The Chinese promised not to "alter the existing political system in Tibet" and that "in matters relating to various reforms in Tibet there would be no compulsion on the part of the central authorities".

Background

On 6 October 1950, 40,000 Chinese soldiers invaded Tibet, the small Tibetan army surrendered to the People's Liberation Army. The Tibetans' appeal to the UN was blocked by India and Britain. In the face of the advancing Chinese army and being abandoned by the international community, the Tibetans had no course open to them but to negotiate with the Chinese People's Government. The Seventeen-Point Agreement, which was a result of these negotiations, was abrogated by the Tibetans after the 1959 uprising in Lhasa which followed allegations that the Chinese had breached the agreement in large areas of Kham, renamed by the Chinese as Sichuan and thus exempted from the treaty.

The Agreement

Agreement on Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet. Signed and sealed in Beijing on 23 May 1951. The preamble to the agreement stressed that Tibet had a "long history within the boundaries of China," outlined the aggressive imperialist forces in Tibet that needed to be "successfully eliminated" and claimed that both parties (Tibetans and Chinese People's Government - CPG) had, as a result of talks, agreed to "establish the agreement and ensure that it be carried into effect."

1. The Tibetan people shall unite and drive out imperialist aggressive forces from Tibet; the Tibetan people shall return to the big family of the Motherland ­ the People's Republic of China (PRC).

2. The local government of Tibet shall actively assist the PLA to enter Tibet and consolidate the national defences.

3. In accordance with the policy towards nationalities laid down in the Common Programme of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Committee, the Tibetan people have the right of exercising national regional autonomy under the unified leadership of the CPG.

4. The central authorities will not alter the existing political system in Tibet. The central authorities also will not alter the established status, functions and powers of the Dalai Lama. Officials of various ranks shall hold office as usual.

5. The established status, functions and powers of the Panchen Ngoerhtehni shall be maintained.

6. By the established status, functions and powers of the Dalai Lama and of the Panchen Ngoerhtehni are meant the status, functions and powers of the thirteenth Dalai Lama and the ninth Panchen Ngoerhtehni when they had friendly and amicable relations with each other.

7. The policy of freedom of religious belief laid down in the common programme of the CPPCC shall be carried out. The religious beliefs, customs and habits of the Tibetan people shall be respected and lama monasteries shall be protected. The central authorities will not effect a change in the income of the monasteries.

8. Tibetan troops shall be reorganised step by step into the PLA and become a part of the defence force of the PRC.

9. The spoken and written language and school education of the Tibetan nationality shall be developed step by step in accordance with the actual conditions in Tibet.

10. Tibetan agriculture, livestock raising, industry and commerce shall be developed step by step and the people's livelihood shall be improved step by step in accordance with the actual conditions in Tibet.

11. In matters relating to various reforms in Tibet, there will be no compulsion on the part of the central authorities. The local government of Tibet shall carry out reforms of its own accord, and, when the people raise demands for reform, they shall be settled by means of consultation with the leading personnel of Tibet.

12. In so far as former pro-imperialists and pro-Kuomintang [Guomindang] officials resolutely sever relations with imperialism and the Kuomintang [Guomindang] and do not engage in sabotage or resistance, they may continue to hold office irrespective of their past.

13. The PLA entering Tibet shall abide by all the above-mentioned policies and shall also be fair in all buying and selling and shall not arbitrarily take a needle or thread from the people.

14. The CPG shall have centralised handling of all external affairs of the area of Tibet; and there will be peaceful co-existence with neighbouring countries and establishment and development of fair commercial and trading relations with them on the basis of equality, mutual benefit and mutual respect for territory and sovereignty.

15. In order to ensure the implementation of this agreement, the CPG shall set up a Military and Administrative Committee and a Military Area HQ in Tibet and - apart from the personnel sent there by the CPG - shall absorb as many local Tibetan personnel as possible to take part in the work. Local Tibetan personnel taking part in the Military and Administrative Committee may include patriotic elements from the local government of Tibet, various districts and various principal monasteries; the name list shall be set forth after consultation between the representatives designated by the CPG and various quarters concerned and shall be submitted to the CPG for appointment.

16. Funds needed by the military and Administrative Committee, the Military Area HQ and the PLA entering Tibet shall be provided by the CPG. The local government of Tibet should assist the PLA in the purchase and transport of food, fodder and other daily necessities.

17. This agreement shall come into force immediately after signature and seals are affixed to it.

Signed and sealed by the delegates of the CPG with full powers by Chief Delegate Li Weihan (Chairman of the Commission of Nationalities Affairs) and three delegates. Delegates with full powers of the local government of Tibet by Chief Delegate Kaloon Ngabou Ngawang Jigme (Ngabo Shape) and four delegates.

1953               Mao Zedong promises the Dalai Lama that the Chinese will leave Tibet once 'liberation' is complete.

 The Chinese told the Dalai Lama that they would leave Tibet once 'liberation' was complete this meant protect Tibet against imperial domination and developing its resources.

Photo: Miguel Angel Horcajada

 

1959               National Uprising - explosion of Tibetan resistance resulting in severe crackdown by the Chinese and widespread brutality.

An estimated 430,000 Tibetans are killed (Chinese estimate: 87,000 killed).

One hundred thousand Tibetans flee with Dalai Lama into exile in India.

By the late 1950s it was clear to Tibetans that China had no intention of honouring a pledge made in 1951 to respect Tibetan autonomy. Tibetan resentment of China’s occupation simmered and it was clear that a revolt against Chinese rule was brewing.

On 10 March 1959, fearful that the Chinese intended to kidnap the Dalai Lama and take him to Beijing, 300,000 Tibetans surrounded the Norbulinka palace. Over the next days the Uprising grew. On 12 March 5,000 Tibetan women marched through the streets of Lhasa holding aloft banners demanding Tibetan independence. Tension escalated further as Tibetans erected barricades in Lhasa’s streets whilst Chinese forces mounted machine-guns on Lhasa rooftops. It is estimated that between 30,000 and 50,000 well-armed Chinese troops were in Lhasa while heavy Chinese artillery had been placed strategically outside the city.

Scenes from the 1959 uprising at the Potala Palace, Lhasa, and Norbulinka

On 19 March the Chinese started to shell Norbulingka, prompting the full force of the Uprising. On 21 March 800 shells rained down on the palace, slaughtering thousands of Tibetan men, women and children. Even the main monasteries - Drepung, Ganden and Sera - were shelled, destroying precious scriptures and other monastic treasures. Over a few days more than 86,000 Tibetans in central Tibet were killed by Chinese armed forces.
The Dalai Lama had fled Lhasa on 17 March disguised as a soldier. Writing decades later in his autobiography 'My Land and My People', he wrote: “The first thought in the mind of every official within the Palace….was that my life must be saved and I must leave the Palace and the city at once……Everything was uncertain, except the compelling anxiety of all my people to get me away before the orgy of Chinese destruction and massacre began”. After two weeks of perilous flight the Dalai Lama crossed the Indian border on 31 March. The Indian Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, announced on 3 April that the Government of India had granted the Dalai Lama asylum.

1960 - 1962     340,000 Tibetan peasants and nomads die in Tibet's first recorded famines following the destabilisation of the                                   economy after an influx of Chinese settlers and forced agricultural modernisation.

 

1965                Chinese formally inaugurate one of Tibet's three provinces as the 'Tibet Autonomous Region' (TAR).
                        (See map below.)

1966                Thousands of Buddhist monasteries destroyed

 

 

Late 1970s      The Dalai Lama starts to make political speeches abroad and international support for Tibet starts to grow.

 

1979                Following death of Mao and Deng Xiaoping’s coming to power, Tibetan exiles send three delegations to investigate                           the situation in Tibet.

                        First personal contacts between Tibetans in Tibet and those in exile for 20 years.

 

1980                Period of liberalisation in Tibet inaugurated by Hu Yao Bang.

 

1987                Tibetans begin a new era of protest. Police fire on a massive pro-independence demonstration in Lhasa.

 

1988                The Dalai Lama puts forward the 'Strasbourg proposal' in which he calls for genuine autonomy for Tibet rather than                         independence.

                        Qiao Shi, China's security chief, visits Tibet and vows to "adopt a policy of merciless repression".

 

1989                Chinese pro-democracy students stage a large scale protest in and around Tiananmen Square, which is met with a violent response by the Chinese authorities, leaving many dead. The event is seen around the world and becomes one of the darkest days in Chinese history.

                        Protests in Lhasa show that Tibetans are still willing to risk their lives and liberty to stand up against Chinese rule. The Chinese authorities respond with brutal force, and footage is recorded of troops beating monks.

                        The Dalai Lama receives the Nobel Peace Prize.

 

1992                China declares Tibet "open" to foreign investment.

                        Chen Kuiyuan is named CCP leader for Tibet and calls for a purge of those party members who "act as internal                               agents of the Dalai Lama clique".

 

1995                Six year-old Gendun Choekyi Nyima, recognised by the Dalai Lama as the 11th Panchen Lama, and his family                                 disappear.

                        China selects and enthrones another child.

                        Gendun's location and safety remain unknown.

 

1996                China launches a patriotic re-education campaign, removing photos of the Dalai Lama from monasteries.

 

1999                The 40th anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising marked by protest in Lhasa.

 

2000                The 17th Karmapa flees Tibet.

 

2002                Formal contacts are re-established between the Tibetan government in exile and China.

 

2005                Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's offered to hold talks with the 14th Dalai Lama on the Tibet issue, provided he drops                           the demand for independence.

 

2006                Gormo-Lhasa Railway opened.

 

2007                State Religious Affairs Bureau Order No. 5 makes it illegal for lamas to reincarnate without
Chinese government approval.

                       Dalai Lama awarded US Congressional Gold Medal.

2008               The biggest protests in Tibet since 1959 errupt, with over 100 separate incidents across the entire Tibetan plateau. The Chinese authorities react with brutal force against unarmed protesters, causing international outrage.

                       China's Olympic torch is met by worldwide protests over Tibet, and Tibet supporters highlight the hypocricy of China hosting the Olympics while killing innocent Tibetans.

                       During the Beijing Olympic Games, protesters highlight the Tibet issue as China continues to prevent access to Tibet.

2009               Fearing a  repeat of the 2008 Tibetan uprising, Tibet is put under a state of de facto martial law, but this does not prevent over a thousand Tibetans protesting. The protests mark 50 years of peaceful resistance to Chinese rule.

                       The 20th Anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massace is observed throughout the world, but Chinese citizens are prevented from marking the event in Beijing itself following a large scale security operation. Information about the events of 1989 is still barred from public view in China.

                        Unrest errupts in the Uighur region of Xinjiang, or East Turkestan, which is met with crackdowns by the Chinese authorities. Around 200 die in clashes between Uighurs and Han Chinese, with the majority of those dead said to be Han Chinese.