Four Rugby Boys
Encyclopedia
Lungshar
Lungshar
Tsipön Lungshar born Dorje Tsegyal was a noted Tibetan politician who attempted unsuccessfully to become the paramount figure of the Tibetan government in the 1930s, following the death of the 13th Dalai Lama....
, a Tibetan high official, took four sons of Tibetan "respectable families" – W. N. Kyipup, K. K. Möndö, Gongkar and R. D. Ringang – to England, in 1913, so they could be educated at a public school
Rugby School
Rugby School is a co-educational day and boarding school located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain.-History:...
. After completing their studies at Rugby, each of the Rugby Four received professional training in a particular field and eventually returned to Tibet.
The experiment can hardly be described as a success as the boys proved incapable of, or were prevented from, making any significant contribution in later life to the development of Tibet.
The experiment
In August 1912, the Dalai LamaDalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...
asked that some "energetic and clever sons of respectable families" should be given "world-class educations" in England. In early 1913 the youths selected turned up at the British Trade Agency at Gyantse, chaperoned by a Tibetan official called Lungshar. These were W. N. Kyipup, aged 16, K. K. Möndö, a monk, aged 17, Gongkar, aged 16, and R. D. Ringang, 11 years old. The Indian government decided that Basil Gould
Basil Gould
Sir Basil John Gould, CMG, CIE was a British Political Officer in Sikkim, Bhutan and Tibet from 1935 to 1945.Gould was known by the nickname "B.J.", and went to school at Winchester College and Oxford University. He joined the Indian Civil Service in 1907.Gould was a British Trade Agent in...
, who was about to go on leave back to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, should guide the four young boys (known as the "Rugby Boys") on their journey to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and assist them during their first few weeks in England in April 1913.
The Tibetan Boys settled down at Farnham, where they began to learn English under the supervision of the Berlitz School of Languages. It was decided that Rugby would be the best place for their schooling.
W. N. Kyipup
Kyipup studied telegraphy, surveying and cartography. On returning to Tibet, he was assigned the task of developing a telegraph network but failed and was given other assignments.K. K. Möndö
Möndö studied mining engineering in GrimethorpeGrimethorpe
Grimethorpe is a large village which is part of the metropolitan borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. It has a population of 1,873....
and mineralogy in Camborne
Camborne School of Mines
The Camborne School of Mines , commonly abbreviated to CSM, was founded in 1888. It is now a specialist department of the University of Exeter. Its research and teaching is related to the understanding and management of the Earth's natural processes, resources and the environment...
. Back in Tibet, he went into mineral ore prospecting but was accused of disturbing spirits and spoiling crops and so had to give up prospecting.
Gongkar
Ghongkar went to the military academy at Woolwich and then on to a short period of officer training with the Indian Army as he was expected to later reorganise the Tibetan army. However, for political reasons, he was assigned to a frontier post in Kham. He died from pneumonia in 1917.R. D. Ringang
The youngest of the lot, Ringang, stayed in England for a longer period and studied electrical engineering at the Universities of London and Birmingham. After returning home, he assembled an electric power station from equipment brought over from England, and laid an electric line to the Dalai Lama’s summer palaceNorbulingka
Norbulingka is a palace and surrounding park in Lhasa, Tibet, built from 1755. It served as the traditional summer residence of the successive Dalai Lamas from the 1780s up until the 14th Dalai Lama's exile in 1959...
in Lhasa, a colossal undertaking. Of the Rugby Four, he was the only one to have achieved something. However, after his death, the plant stopped being maintained for lack of money and fell into disrepair.
The outcome
As Lhalu Tsewang DorjeLhalu Tsewang Dorje
Lhalu Tsewang Dorje , commonly known as Lhalu, Lhalu Se, or Lhalu Shape, is a Tibetan aristocrat and politician who has held a variety of positions in various Tibetan governments before and after 1951.-Early years:...
, Lungshar's son, remarked to British radio operator Robert W. Ford
Robert W. Ford
Robert Webster Ford was a radio operator and British diplomat who worked in Tibet in the 1950s. He was one of the few Westerners to be appointed by the Government of Tibet at the time of independent Tibet, before the Chinese invasion of 1950...
, "The experiment was not a great success" but, according to Ford, the fault did not lie entirely with the boys. Alastair Lamb claims that they were effectively sidetracked by the Tibetan establishment. The experiment was not to be repeated during the remaining period of British rule in the Indian subcontinent.
Tibetologist Alex McKay observes that the three surviving Rugby boys formed, together with their fellow countrymen that had been educated in British India or at Frank Ludlow's English school at Gyantse (1923–1926), "a growing circle of generally progessive thinkers, in whose company Europeans visitors felt comfortable" and who were recognised by the British cadre as "a major propaganda channel."
In 1946, when Austrian war prisoner Heinrich Harrer
Heinrich Harrer
Heinrich Harrer was an Austrian mountaineer, sportsman, geographer, and author.He is best known for his books Seven Years in Tibet and The White Spider .-Athletics:...
reached Lhasa, there was only one of the Rugby boys still alive, namely Kyipup, then a high official at the foreign ministry. Recalling their meeting, the author of Seven Years in Tibet calls him "the only survivor of a sensible experiment that the Tibetans never got around to repeating."