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The rich historical documents of China are more than enough to show one
fact: the Tibetan nationality living on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau has
long become one of the members of the Chinese nation and Tibet has been
an inalienable part of China since ancient times. About this fact, all
the people with an objective and just stand in the international community
have already reached or been close to reach common consensus. However,
it is still necessary to deepen this common consensus. The reason lies
in the fact that the deposits of the history treasure house of China are
so rich and generous that people will simply never know clearly of its
each part without going on explorations on them in a thoroughgoing way.
After the Chinese revolution of 1911, the history of relationship between
the Tibet region and the central government of China is a key historical
link which is worth to be studied of the real situation about the Tibetan
contemporary and modern history by the world through examining this historical
link. This article is to help the readers understand briefly the history
of relationship between the Tibet region and the successive central governments
of China after the Revolution of 1911. The writer is convinced that the
readers would have their own independent and logical judgments after reading
the following historical facts to the reliability of the story of 'Tibet
separated itself from China and became an independent country after 1911."
As is known to all that as early as the seventh century in the Tang
Dynasty, the Tibetan and Han peoples established close ties in the political,
economic, cultural and other gelds through the royal inter-marriages,
meetings of sovereigns or their deputies in ancient China to form alliances,
thereby laying down the historical foundation for finally establishing
the unified country.
In the middle of the thirteenth century,Tibet was formally incorporated
into the Chinese territory of the Yuan Dynasty, Yuan Emperor Kublai entrusted
to the Sakya Sect the power of administering the Tibet region, setting
up the General Council (renamed Political Council in 1288) which was a
central government organ exercising administrative power over the country's
Buddhist affairs and the Tibetan affairs, The Yuan government instituted
the system of imperial preceptor, conferred titles on political and religious
leaders, delimited administrative divisions, appointed local officials,
took census, collated and stipulated revenue and taxes, dividing the Tibet
region into thirteen Wan Hu (ten thousand households). The heads of Wan
Hu were conferred upon and appointed directly by the Yuan Court. There
were three Chief Military Commands of the Pacification Commissioners'
Offices which took charge of garrison troops and the administrative affairs
of the various Wan Hu Offices in Tibet proper and other Tibetan areas.
In the later period of the fourteenth century, the central government
of the Ming Dynasty inherited and followed the systems of administering
Tibet by the Yuan Dynasty, pursued a policy of "managing Tibet according
to conventions and customs, granting more titles and setting up more organs."
Hence, the relations between Tibet and the central regime were further
consolidated and strengthened.
From the seventeenth century onwards, the Qing government further strengthened
its administration over Tibet. In 1721 the system of Kalon (Council Minister)
in charge of administrative affairs was set up. In 1727 the Office of
Amban (Resident Official) was instituted in Tibet. In 1792 the twenty-nine-article
Imperial Ordinance was issued. It stipulated in explicit terms for the
reincarnation of the Living Buddhas in Tibet as well as the administrative,
military and foreign affairs. The Imperial Ordinance marked that the administration
of the Tibet region by the Qing central government was upgraded to the
level of systematization and legalization.
In late Qing period, Britain twice launched armed invasions against
Tibet. The Chinese government was forced to sign unequal treaties relating
Tibet, After the Revolution of 1911 , the political situation of China
was turbulent. In order to realize its aim of splitting Tibet from China
and reducing it into a dependency of the British Indian government, Britain
adopted various acts of aggression against Tibet. Owing to the instigation
of Britain, the relations between the Tibet region and the central government
of China were for a time abnormal during the period of the Republic of
China. Although the British imperialists attempted to split China and
to grab Tibet, its schemes never succeeded. On the contrary, they were
opposed and boycotted by the broad masses of the Chinese people, including
the majority of the Tibetan upper strata figures. Tibet was not officially
recognized as "an independent country" by any country through
diplomatic channels in the world at that time, including even the schemers
themselves. The Tibet region also never detached itself from the sovereign
jurisdiction of the central government and became "independent".
I. The Consistent Stand Taken by the Successive
Chinese Central Governments towards the Sovereignty over Tibet after the
Revolution of 1911
II. The Attitude of the Tibet Region towards
the Central Government of China after the Revolution of 1911
III. The Proper Handling of the Demise of
the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Erdeni as well as Their Reincarnations
and Enthronement by the Central Government of China
IV. The Tibetan Local Authorities Attended
a Series of Political Conferences Convened by the Central Government of
China
V. The Establishment of the Bureau of Mongolian
and Tibetan Affairs (Renamed as the Yuan for Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs)
and the Commission for Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs by the Central Government
to Strengthen the Administration over the Tibet Region |