History Can Not Be Escaped

          
      For at least 1500 years Tibet has have a complex relationship with China. Mr.Champson Liu, an editor at the People's Daily, quotes that "Tibet had been an independent nation, before it was annexed by China in 1951. The time Tibet was formally annexed into China was in 1727, when China's Yongzheng Emperor of the last Qing Dynasty established the post of Minister for Tibetan Affairs in Lhasa for formal rule. Other historians argue the formal annexation could be traced back to 1306, when Tibet was first ruled from Beijing. Actually, either way, the name "Dalai Lama" was originally given by the Emperor through a court decree.'' In 1911,Tibet declared independence when the Qing Dynasty was overthrown. The Communists came to power, Mao decided to reclaim Tibet and sent troops in, imperializing the peaceful country of Tibet. 

          It is believed that the first interactions between China and Tibet was when the Tibetan King Songtsan Gampo married princesses Whencheng of the Tang Empire. He also married the Napoleon princess; both of his wives were Buddhist and it is believed that they were responsible for the burst of Buddhism in Tibet. This events occurred during 670 A.D.  During the king's reign he took some lands like the Yarlung River Valley. Qinghai, Gansu, and Xinjiang were aso conquered by his descendants between 663 and 692 A.D. The control over the borders were unstable. Then the Chinese retook their lands and the Tibetan King formed allies with the Arabs and Turks ...enemies of China. During the eighth century imperial forces under General Gao Xianzhi conquered much of Central Asia. Then their luck turned into a nightmare when they were defeated by the Arabs and Turks in the Battle of Talas River in 751.  China's power decrease and Tibet regained power. Tibet and China signed a peace treaty   establishing the borders between the two states. Tibet lost power after splitting into several small, fractious kingdoms.

      The Tibetans became friends with the Mongol leader Genghis Khan, both conquering many lands during the 13th century. This resulted with the Tibetans paying a tribute to the Mongols after they conquered China but allowed a greater Autonomy than the others. Eventually, Tibet was considered the 13th province and they gained a high degree of influence over the Mongols at court. In order to stay "at peace" or 'in deal" the Tibetans taught spiritual practices to the Mongols and then these individuals would protect them or fight for them against their enemies. When the Mongols' empire fell in 1368 to the Han Chinese Ming, Tibet gained independence and refused to pay tribute to the New Emperor. In 1474, the superior of the Tibetan Buddhist monastery, Gendun Drup died. Tibetans believe that two years later the reincarnation of the abbot was present and the boy was raised to be the next spiritual leader. After their deaths they were assigned the names of the First and Second Lamas and the sects of the "Yellow Hats" or the Gelug became dominant over the region. 

       The Chinese Cultural revolution swept away the Qing Daynasty in 1911, and the Tibetans promptly expelled all Chinese from Lhasa. The Dalai Lama returned home to Tibet in 1912. During the Dragon's Attack druing1949-1959, China's People's Liberation Army invades Tibet and killed more than 10,000. The Dalai Lama tried to negotiate with China frequently but they never led to anything. When the 15-year-old Dalai Lama is forced into full leadership of Tibet, the  Tibetan Delegation was forced to sign the 17-Point Agreement, promising "Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet." During 1959, The Dalai Lama went to China to speak with  Mao Zedong. Mao told him, "Religion is poison. ... Tibet and Mongolia have both been poisoned by it." Also during this year, the Chinese retaliate against the Tibetan resistance, killing more than 87,000. On March 17, 1959, The Dalai Lama escapes His sacred homeland, seeking political asylum in India. The Chinese declare martial law as thousands of Tibetan refugees begin pouring into India.


       During Mao Zedong's "Great Leap Forward," Tibetans suffered through the Tibetan Cultural Revolution experiencing some of the worst human rights abuses. The slogan "Smash the Four Olds:" old ideas, old culture, old customs and old habits. Before the Chinese, there were 6,000 Tibetan monasteries in Tibet. After the Cultural Revolution, there were six. Today, hundreds of thousands of Monks, Nuns and civilians are imprisoned or killed for wearing traditional hairstyles and clothing, engaging in traditional song or dance, or voicing their religious beliefs. Rituals such as prostrations, mantras, prayer wheels, circumambulation, throwing tsampa and burning juniper or incense are strictly prohibited. Anything representing the cultural identity of the Tibetan people is eradicated.