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How Did Tibet Change After 56 Years of Chinese Influence?
The mysterious Tibet is experiencing a cultural shock between the Lamaist Buddhism, with its spiritual leader Dalai Lama, who fled in 1959, and the Chinese modernization, the emergent power which is changing Tibet as it had not made it since the People's Army put an end to the theocracy in 1951. The Chinese army crossed Yangtze river, advanced over the settlement of Chamdo and cut the return of the Tibetan forces. A Tibetan delegation, headed by Ngapoi, went to Beijing to negotiate an accord that would recognize both the liberation of Tibet and the right of the Tibetans to autogobernate. The compromise was signed in March, 23, 1951.
Buddhism penetrated Tibet during the 7th century coming from China and India, and was then when the king Songtsan Gambo unified the country, expanding its territory to the border of the Chinese empire led by the Tang dynasty. The relations between Tibet and China started to deteriorate immediately. A revolt broke in the eastern Tibet in 1956.
But 4 decades later, the Chinese government has changed the iron hand, at least in public, with the silk gloves of the economical modernization. The buildings that have replaced the traditional Tibetan constructions have made the city look Chinese. Now Tibet scrapes the sky, and not only through its altitude. The Hans dominate the new Tibetan economy, which traditionally was based on agriculture. Still, the Tibetan edifices of the ancient quarter of Lhasa are now protected.
Today, many Tibetan peasants have their own businesses, based on credits achieved from Bank of China, like small transport companies, or campings sheltering pilgrims that go to monasteries. Many sons of peasants now receive education and the monastery life is out of their option. These younger Tibetans can speak Chinese, while in most cases their parents do not. A lot of Tibetans work in tourism or traveling agencies.
Drepung ("rice mountain") monastery, built by the king Songtsan, is now inhabited by 500 permanent monks and 800 of part time. Between 1959 and 1980, the monastery was closed, as the monks were seen as Dalai Lama followers, and this way one generation was lost. The monks work the land, breed yaks and gain also from entrance fees and shops. The sutras, the colorful fabric fetches with which Tibetans adorn their houses and temples, have special meanings: red is fire, white the clouds, green the water, blue the sky, and yellow the land. The joint represents the desire that earth and sky to be one.
The Tibetan culture is inseparable from religion. At the University of Tibet, the largest number of students are found at the Faculty of Tibetan Studies. But in Tibet, there are many schools and sects. The Bon sect inherits the first Tibetan religion, a combination of beliefs in gods, demons, and spirits. Now, the economic change is reducing the influence of religion amongst young in the rural areas. Now, young can enter the monastery only after 18 years old.
By October 2007, the Chinese government is going to finish a "highway" on Mount Everest to ease the access of the Olympic torch on this course. The action is regarded by many as a method of reinforcing Chinese control. Another project is the Shangri-La, the utopia of a paradise described by James Hilton in his 1933 novel "Lost horizon", a thematic park between Sichuan, Yunnan and Tibet. The result of the contact between materialism and spiritual is shocking. The Tibetan women sell their trinkets at the doors of the Chinese karaokes. The main broadway in Lhasa has a supplement of light coming from neon announcements with nothing celestial on it and statues and monuments of Chinese influence, like the winged horse of Zetang. At the foot of Potala is located the Dju Pin Dao discotheque, a posh location in Lhasa. Pool has turned in one of the preferred ways of spending time for the young. The shepherds have changed their traditional saddles with powerful motors. The Samding Khansar edifice, facing Pentoc hotel in Lhasa was put down, through the desperation of the Tibetan Heritage Fund, expelled in 2000, and in its place a hotel and a restaurant were built. Barber's shops and bars, on the western models, are just covers for brothels for the numerous Chinese troops stationing in the province. Most of the prostitutes are Han, but the number of Tibetans is increasing.
Even the Dalai Lama gave up speaking about independence, and now, he only mentions large autonomy.
Date: 2015-12-18; view: 877
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