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People's Liberation Army invasion of Tibet (1950–1951)
Encyclopedia
The Incorporation of Tibet into the People's Republic of China was the process by which the People's Republic of China
(PRC) gained control of the area comprising the present-day Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR). These same regions came under the control of China after attempts by the Government of Tibet to gain international recognition, efforts to modernize its military, negotiations between the Government of Tibet and the PRC, a military conflict in the Qamdo area of Western Kham in October 1950, and the eventual acceptance of the Seventeen Point Agreement by the Governments of Tibet and China in October 1951. The Government of Tibet and Tibetan social structure remained in place in the TAR under the authority of China until the 1959 Tibetan uprising
, when the Dalai Lama fled into exile and after which the Government of Tibet was dissolved.
into a semi-autonomous protectorate, in 1853 conquered Sikkim
, in 1885 colonized Burma and in 1865 invaded Bhutan
, occupying by force the whole southern flank of Tibet, which remained the only Himalayan kingdom free of British influence. During most of the nineteenth century, the British government dealt with Tibet through the Chinese government which had sovereignty over Tibet through a local governor or amban
. The British invasion of Tibet in 1903
caused the flight of the Dalai Lama
to Mongolia
and then to China
. After the invasion an unequal treaty was signed in 1904 between the remaining authorities in Tibet and Colonel Younghusband
as a "Convention between Great Britain and Tibet" thus converting Tibet into a British protectorate with some degree of independence. After the fall of the Qing Dynasty
in 1911 and a failed Chinese expedition in 1913 to reconquest Tibet, the regions of Ü-Tsang
and western Kham
, comprising the present-day TAR were then under the control of the Government of Tibet, supervised by the British.
In 1913, shortly after the British invasion of Tibet in 1904, the creation of the position of British Trade Agent at Gyangzê
and the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty
in 1911, most of the area comprising the present-day Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) (Ü-Tsang and western Kham ) became de-facto independent from the rest of present-day China, under a British protectorate with the rest of the present day TAR coming under Tibetan Government rule by 1917. Some border areas with high ethnic Tibetan populations (Amdo and Eastern Kham) remained under Kuomintang or local warlord control. The TAR region is also known as “Political Tibet”, while all areas with a high ethnic Tibetan population are collectively known as “Ethnic Tibet”. Political Tibet refers to the polity ruled continuously by the Chinese and Tibetan governments since earliest times down to 1951, whilst ethnic Tibet refers to regions north and east where Tibetans historically predominated but where, down to modern times, Tibetan jurisdiction was irregular and limited to just certain areas.
At the time Political Tibet obtained de-facto independence through the intervention of Great Britain, its socio-economic and political systems resembled Medieval Europe. Attempts by the 13th Dalai Lama between 1913 and 1933 to enlarge and modernize the Tibetan military had eventually failed, largely due to opposition from powerful aristocrats and monks. The Tibetan government had little contact with other governments of the world during its period of de-facto independence, with some exceptions, notably India, Great Britain, and the United States. This left Tibet diplomatically isolated and cut off to the point where it could not make its positions on the issues well known to the international community and it was restricted by treaties that gave the British Empire authority over taxes, foreign relations and fortifications.
, and a separate letter to Great Britain, declaring its intent to defend itself “by all possible means” against PRC troop incursions into Tibet.
In the preceding three decades, the conservative Tibetan government had consciously deemphasized its military and refrained from modernizing. Hasty attempts at modernizing and enlarging the military began in 1949, but proved mostly unsuccessful on both counts, It was too late to raise and train an effective army. India did provide some small arms aid and military training, however the PLA remained much larger, better trained, better led, better equipped, and more experienced than the Tibetan army.
In 1950, the 14th Dalai Lama
was 15 years old and had not attained his majority, so Regent Taktra was the acting head of the Tibetan Government. The period of the Dalai Lama’s minority is traditionally one of instability and division, and the division and instability were made more intense by the recent Reting conspiracy and a 1947 regency dispute.
, Hainan Island, and the Pescadores
into the PRC, peacefully if possible, and by force if necessary. Because Tibet was unlikely to voluntarily give up its de facto independence, Mao in December 1949 ordered that preparations be made to march into Political Tibet’s province centered at Qamdo
(Chamdo), in order to induce the Tibetan Government to negotiate. The PRC had over a million men under arms and had extensive combat experience from the recently concluded Chinese Civil War
.
indicated that the three points could not be accepted, since Tibet would fall under foreign domination.
(PLA) crossed the Jinsha River
on 6 or 7 October. Two PLA units quickly surrounded the outnumbered Tibetan forces and captured the border town of Qamdo by 19 October, by which time 114 PLA soldiers and 180 Tibetan soldiers had been killed or wounded (5,000 Tibetan soldiers were "liquidated" according to Thomas Laird). Active hostilities were limited to a border area controlled by the Government of Tibet northeast of the Gyamo Ngul Chu River and east of the 96th meridian. After capturing Qamdo, the PLA broke off hostilities, sent a captured commander, Ngabo, to Lhasa
to reiterate terms of negotiation, and waited for Tibetan representatives to respond through delegates to Peking.
and a small amount of money, before allowing them to return to their homes. According to Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, the PLA did not attack civilians.
, a captured governor) to Lhasa to negotiate with the Dalai Lama on the PLA's behalf. Chinese broadcasts promised that if Tibet was "peacefully liberated", the Tibetan elites could keep their positions and power. At the same time, Jigme and other released captives testified to their good treatment by the PLA. The Government of Tibet then sent representatives to Peking to negotiate.
El Salvador
sponsored a complaint by the Tibetan government at the UN, but India
and the United Kingdom
prevented it from being debated.
Tibetan representatives in Peking and the PRC Government signed the Seventeen Point Agreement
on 23 May 1951, authorising the PLA presence and Central People's Government
rule in Political Tibet. The terms of the agreement had not been cleared with the Tibetan Government before signing and the Tibetan Government was divided about whether it was better to accept the document as written or to flee into exile. The Dalai Lama, who by this time had ascended to the throne, chose not to flee into exile, and formally accepted the 17 Point Agreement in October 1951. Shortly afterwards, the PLA peacefully entered Lhasa.
In 1956, Tibetan militias in the ethnically Tibetan region of eastern Kham on the border of the TAR, spurred by government experiments in land reform
, started fighting against the government. When the fighting spread to Lhasa
in 1959, the Dalai Lama fled Tibet. Both he and the PRC government in Tibet subsequently repudiated the 17 Point Agreement and the PRC government in Tibet dissolved the Tibetan Local Government.
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
(PRC) gained control of the area comprising the present-day Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR). These same regions came under the control of China after attempts by the Government of Tibet to gain international recognition, efforts to modernize its military, negotiations between the Government of Tibet and the PRC, a military conflict in the Qamdo area of Western Kham in October 1950, and the eventual acceptance of the Seventeen Point Agreement by the Governments of Tibet and China in October 1951. The Government of Tibet and Tibetan social structure remained in place in the TAR under the authority of China until the 1959 Tibetan uprising
1959 Tibetan uprising
The 1959 Tibetan uprising, or 1959 Tibetan Rebellion began on 10 March 1959, when a revolt erupted in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, which had been under the effective control of the Communist Party of China since the Seventeen Point Agreement in 1951...
, when the Dalai Lama fled into exile and after which the Government of Tibet was dissolved.
Background
In 1846 the British Empire converted NepalNepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
into a semi-autonomous protectorate, in 1853 conquered Sikkim
Sikkim
Sikkim is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayan mountains...
, in 1885 colonized Burma and in 1865 invaded Bhutan
Bhutan
Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
, occupying by force the whole southern flank of Tibet, which remained the only Himalayan kingdom free of British influence. During most of the nineteenth century, the British government dealt with Tibet through the Chinese government which had sovereignty over Tibet through a local governor or amban
Amban
Amban is a Manchu word meaning "high official," which corresponds to a number of different official titles in the Qing imperial government...
. The British invasion of Tibet in 1903
British expedition to Tibet
The British expedition to Tibet during 1903 and 1904 was an invasion of Tibet by British Indian forces, whose mission was to establish diplomatic relations and trade between the British Raj and Tibet...
caused the flight of the Dalai Lama
Dalai 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"...
to Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
and then to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. After the invasion an unequal treaty was signed in 1904 between the remaining authorities in Tibet and Colonel Younghusband
Francis Younghusband
Lieutenant Colonel Sir Francis Edward Younghusband, KCSI, KCIE was a British Army officer, explorer, and spiritual writer...
as a "Convention between Great Britain and Tibet" thus converting Tibet into a British protectorate with some degree of independence. After the fall of the Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
in 1911 and a failed Chinese expedition in 1913 to reconquest Tibet, the regions of Ü-Tsang
Ü-Tsang
Ü-Tsang , or Tsang-Ü, is one of the three traditional provinces of Tibet, the other two being Amdo and Kham. Geographically Ü-Tsang covered the central and western portions of the Tibetan cultural area, including the Tsang-po watershed, the western districts surrounding and extending past Mount...
and western Kham
Kham
Kham , is a historical region covering a land area largely divided between present-day Tibetan Autonomous Region and Sichuan province, with smaller portions located within Qinghai, Gansu and Yunnan provinces of China. During the Republic of China's rule over mainland China , most of the region was...
, comprising the present-day TAR were then under the control of the Government of Tibet, supervised by the British.
In 1913, shortly after the British invasion of Tibet in 1904, the creation of the position of British Trade Agent at Gyangzê
Gyantse
Gyantse is a town located in Gyangzê County, Shigatse Prefecture. It was historically considered the third largest and most prominent town in the Tibet region , but there are now at least ten larger Tibetan cities.-Location:The town is strategically located in the Nyang River Valley on the ancient...
and the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
in 1911, most of the area comprising the present-day Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) (Ü-Tsang and western Kham ) became de-facto independent from the rest of present-day China, under a British protectorate with the rest of the present day TAR coming under Tibetan Government rule by 1917. Some border areas with high ethnic Tibetan populations (Amdo and Eastern Kham) remained under Kuomintang or local warlord control. The TAR region is also known as “Political Tibet”, while all areas with a high ethnic Tibetan population are collectively known as “Ethnic Tibet”. Political Tibet refers to the polity ruled continuously by the Chinese and Tibetan governments since earliest times down to 1951, whilst ethnic Tibet refers to regions north and east where Tibetans historically predominated but where, down to modern times, Tibetan jurisdiction was irregular and limited to just certain areas.
At the time Political Tibet obtained de-facto independence through the intervention of Great Britain, its socio-economic and political systems resembled Medieval Europe. Attempts by the 13th Dalai Lama between 1913 and 1933 to enlarge and modernize the Tibetan military had eventually failed, largely due to opposition from powerful aristocrats and monks. The Tibetan government had little contact with other governments of the world during its period of de-facto independence, with some exceptions, notably India, Great Britain, and the United States. This left Tibet diplomatically isolated and cut off to the point where it could not make its positions on the issues well known to the international community and it was restricted by treaties that gave the British Empire authority over taxes, foreign relations and fortifications.
The Government of Tibet’s attempts to remain independent
In July 1949, in order to prevent Chinese agitation in Political Tibet, the Government of Tibet expelled the (Nationalist) Chinese delegation. In November 1949, it sent a letter to the US State Department and a copy to Mao ZedongMao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
, and a separate letter to Great Britain, declaring its intent to defend itself “by all possible means” against PRC troop incursions into Tibet.
In the preceding three decades, the conservative Tibetan government had consciously deemphasized its military and refrained from modernizing. Hasty attempts at modernizing and enlarging the military began in 1949, but proved mostly unsuccessful on both counts, It was too late to raise and train an effective army. India did provide some small arms aid and military training, however the PLA remained much larger, better trained, better led, better equipped, and more experienced than the Tibetan army.
In 1950, the 14th Dalai Lama
14th Dalai Lama
The 14th Dalai Lama is the 14th and current Dalai Lama. Dalai Lamas are the most influential figures in the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, although the 14th has consolidated control over the other lineages in recent years...
was 15 years old and had not attained his majority, so Regent Taktra was the acting head of the Tibetan Government. The period of the Dalai Lama’s minority is traditionally one of instability and division, and the division and instability were made more intense by the recent Reting conspiracy and a 1947 regency dispute.
The People’s Republic of China’s preparations
Both the PRC and their predecessors the Kuomintang had always maintained that Tibet was a part of China. The PRC also had an ideological motivation to liberate the Tibetans from a theocratic feudal system, although the PRC planned to allow Political Tibet to reform at its own pace and in its own way. In September 1949, shortly before the proclamation of the People’s Republic of China, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) made it a top priority to incorporate Tibet, TaiwanTaiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, Hainan Island, and the Pescadores
Pescadores
The Penghu Islands, also known as Pescadores are an archipelago off the western coast of Taiwan in the Taiwan Strait consisting of 90 small islands and islets covering an area of 141 square kilometers....
into the PRC, peacefully if possible, and by force if necessary. Because Tibet was unlikely to voluntarily give up its de facto independence, Mao in December 1949 ordered that preparations be made to march into Political Tibet’s province centered at Qamdo
Qamdo
Qamdo , Chamdo , 昌都 can refer to:* Chamdo, a town in Tibet* Qamdo Region, a former administrative region in western Kham, Tibet - see Qamdo Prefecture...
(Chamdo), in order to induce the Tibetan Government to negotiate. The PRC had over a million men under arms and had extensive combat experience from the recently concluded Chinese Civil War
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...
.
Negotiations between the Government of Tibet and the PRC prior to hostilities
On March 7, a Tibetan Government delegation arrived in Kalimpong to open a dialogue with the newly declared PRC and to secure assurances that the PRC would respect Tibetan “territorial integrity”, among other things. The onset of talks was delayed by debate between the Tibetan delegation, India, Britain, and the PRC about the location of the talks. Tibet favored Singapore or Hong Kong (not Peking), Britain favoured India (not Hong Kong or Singapore), India and the PRC favored Peking, but India and Britain preferred no talks at all. The Tibetan delegation did eventually meet with the PRC’s ambassador General Yuan Zhongxian in Delhi on September 16, 1950. Yuan communicated a 3 point proposal that Tibet be regarded as part of China, that China be responsible for Tibet’s defence, and that China be responsible for Tibet’s trade and foreign relations. Acceptance would lead to peaceful liberation, or otherwise war. The Tibetans undertook to maintain the relationship between China and Tibet as one of preceptor and patron, and their head delegate Tsepon W. D. Shakabpa, on September 19th, recommended cooperation, with some stipulations about implementation. Chinese troops need not be stationed in Tibet, it was argued, since it was under no threat, and if attacked by India or Nepal could appeal to China for military assistance. While Lhasa deliberated, on October 7, Chinese troops advanced into eastern Tibet, crossing the de facto border at 5 places. The purpose was not to invade Tibet 'per se' but to capture the Tibetan army in Chamdo, demoralise the Lhasa government, and thus exert powerful pressure to send negotiators to Peking to sign terms for a peaceful liberation of Tibet. On October 21, Lhasa instructed its delegation to leave immediately for Peking for consultations with the Communist government, and to accept the first provision, if the status of the Dalai Lama could be guaranteed, while rejecting the other two conditions. It later rescinded even acceptance of the first demand, after a divination before the Six-Armed Mahākāla deitiesMahakala
Mahākāla is a Dharmapala in Vajrayana Buddhism, and a deity in Chinese and Japanese Buddhism, particularly in the Vajrayana school. He is known as Daheitian in Chinese and Daikokuten in Japanese...
indicated that the three points could not be accepted, since Tibet would fall under foreign domination.
Invasion of Tibet
After months of failed negotiations, attempts by Tibet to secure foreign support and assistance, and PRC and Tibetan troop buildups, the People's Liberation ArmyPeople's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, strategic missile and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 — celebrated annually as "PLA Day" — as the military arm of the Communist Party of China...
(PLA) crossed the Jinsha River
Jinsha River
Jinsha River is the westernmost of the major headwater streams of the Yangtze River, southwestern China.Its headwaters rise in the Wulan and Kekexili ranges in western Qinghai province, to the south of the Kunlun Mountains, and on the northern slope of the Tanggula Mountains on the border of the...
on 6 or 7 October. Two PLA units quickly surrounded the outnumbered Tibetan forces and captured the border town of Qamdo by 19 October, by which time 114 PLA soldiers and 180 Tibetan soldiers had been killed or wounded (5,000 Tibetan soldiers were "liquidated" according to Thomas Laird). Active hostilities were limited to a border area controlled by the Government of Tibet northeast of the Gyamo Ngul Chu River and east of the 96th meridian. After capturing Qamdo, the PLA broke off hostilities, sent a captured commander, Ngabo, to Lhasa
Lhasa
Lhasa is the administrative capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China and the second most populous city on the Tibetan Plateau, after Xining. At an altitude of , Lhasa is one of the highest cities in the world...
to reiterate terms of negotiation, and waited for Tibetan representatives to respond through delegates to Peking.
Behaviour of the PLA
Tibetan prisoners of war were generally well treated. After confiscating their weapons, the PLA soldiers gave the prisoners lectures on socialismSocialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
and a small amount of money, before allowing them to return to their homes. According to Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, the PLA did not attack civilians.
Further negotiations and incorporation
The PLA sent released prisoners (among them Ngapoi Ngawang JigmeNgapoi Ngawang Jigme
Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme was a Tibetan senior official who assumed various military and political responsibilities both before and after 1951. He is often known simply as Ngabo in English sources.-Early life:...
, a captured governor) to Lhasa to negotiate with the Dalai Lama on the PLA's behalf. Chinese broadcasts promised that if Tibet was "peacefully liberated", the Tibetan elites could keep their positions and power. At the same time, Jigme and other released captives testified to their good treatment by the PLA. The Government of Tibet then sent representatives to Peking to negotiate.
El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
sponsored a complaint by the Tibetan government at the UN, but India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and 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...
prevented it from being debated.
Tibetan representatives in Peking and the PRC Government signed the Seventeen Point Agreement
Seventeen Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet
The Agreement of the Central People's Government and the Local Government of Tibet on Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet, or the Seventeen Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet for short, is the document by which the delegates of the 14th Dalai Lama allegedly reached an...
on 23 May 1951, authorising the PLA presence and Central People's Government
Central People's Government
The Central People's Government is the central government of the People's Republic of China in Beijing. According to the 1982 Constitution, "Central People's Government" is synonymous with the State Council.-History:...
rule in Political Tibet. The terms of the agreement had not been cleared with the Tibetan Government before signing and the Tibetan Government was divided about whether it was better to accept the document as written or to flee into exile. The Dalai Lama, who by this time had ascended to the throne, chose not to flee into exile, and formally accepted the 17 Point Agreement in October 1951. Shortly afterwards, the PLA peacefully entered Lhasa.
Aftermath
For several years the Tibetan Government remained in place in the areas of Tibet where it had ruled prior to the outbreak of hostilities, except for the area surrounding Qamdo that was occupied by the PLA in 1950, which was placed under the authority of the Qamdo Liberation Committee and outside the Tibetan Government’s control. During this time, areas under the Tibetan Government maintained a large degree of autonomy from the Central Government and were generally allowed to maintain their traditional social structure.In 1956, Tibetan militias in the ethnically Tibetan region of eastern Kham on the border of the TAR, spurred by government experiments in land reform
Land reform
[Image:Jakarta farmers protest23.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Farmers protesting for Land Reform in Indonesia]Land reform involves the changing of laws, regulations or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution,...
, started fighting against the government. When the fighting spread to Lhasa
1959 Tibetan uprising
The 1959 Tibetan uprising, or 1959 Tibetan Rebellion began on 10 March 1959, when a revolt erupted in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, which had been under the effective control of the Communist Party of China since the Seventeen Point Agreement in 1951...
in 1959, the Dalai Lama fled Tibet. Both he and the PRC government in Tibet subsequently repudiated the 17 Point Agreement and the PRC government in Tibet dissolved the Tibetan Local Government.
See also
- History of TibetHistory of TibetTibetan history, as it has been recorded, is particularly focused on the history of Buddhism in Tibet. This is partly due to the pivotal role this religion has played in the development of Tibetan, Mongol, and Manchu cultures, and partly because almost all native historians of the country were...
- History of Tibet (1950-present)
- Tibetan sovereignty debateTibetan sovereignty debateThe Tibetan sovereignty debate refers to two political debates. The first is whether the various territories within the People's Republic of China that are claimed as political Tibet should separate and become a new sovereign state...
- Monument to the Peaceful Liberation of TibetMonument to the Peaceful Liberation of TibetThe monument to the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet stands in the southern part of the Potala square in Lhasa, just outside the protective zone and buffer zone of the world heritage site...
- Sino–Tibetan War (1930-1932)