The Tibetan History Reader

✍ Scribed by Gray Tuttle, Kurtis R. Schaeffer

• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Year: 2013
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 749
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Covering the social, cultural, and political development of Tibet from the seventh century to the modern period, this resource reproduces essential, hard-to-find essays from the past fifty years of Tibetan studies, along with several new contributions. Beginning with Tibet's emergence as a regional power and concluding with its profound contemporary transformations, the collection is both a general and specific history, connecting the actions of individuals, communities, and institutions to broader historical trends shaping Asia and the world. With contributions from American, French, German, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, and Tibetan scholars, the anthology reflects the international character of Tibetan studies and its multiple, interdisciplinary perspectives. By far the most concise scholarly anthology on Tibetan civilization in any Western language, this reader draws a clear portrait of Tibet's history, its relation to its neighbors, and its role in world affairs.

✦ Table of Contents

Contents......Page 8
Preface and Acknowledgments......Page 14
Dates in Tibetan History and Key Events in Neighboring Lands......Page 16
PART I From Prehistory to History......Page 30
1. The Prehistory of the Tibetan Plateau to the Seventh Century A.D.......Page 32
2. Some Reflections on the Periodization of Tibetan History......Page 78
3. History as Myth......Page 93
PART II Imperial Tibet (Seventh to Tenth Centuries)......Page 116
4. Remarks on the Mani Kabum and the Cult of Avlokitesvara in Tibet......Page 118
5. On the TIbetan Historiography and Doxography of the "Great Debate of Samye"......Page 137
IMPERIAL POLITICS......Page 150
6. The Linguistic and HIstorical Setting of The Old Tibetan Inscriptions......Page 152
7. The Tibetans in the Ordos and North China......Page 162
PART III Tibetan Revivals (Tenth to Twelfth Centuries)......Page 172
8. The Tibetan Tribes of Hexi and Buddhism During the Northern Song Period......Page 174
9. The Rulers of Western TIbet......Page 195
10. The Bon Religion of TIbet......Page 212
11. The Evolution of Monastic Power......Page 225
PART IV Lamas and Patrons (Thirteenth to Fourteenth Centuries)......Page 238
12. The Perceptor-Donor Relation in Thirteenth-Century Tibetan Society and Polity......Page 240
13. The Mongol Census in Tibet......Page 262
14. Sakya Pandita's Letter to the TIbetans......Page 270
PART V Centers of Power and Religious Learning (Fourteenth to Eighteenth Centuries)......Page 276
15. The Rise of the Pakmodru Dynasty......Page 278
16. Monastic Patronage in Fifteenth-Century Tibet......Page 295
17. Central Tibetan Conflict in the Sixteenth Century......Page 307
18. The He Clan of Hezhou: A Tibetan Family in Service to the Yuan and Ming Dynasties......Page 330
19. Bon in Central and East TIbet......Page 343
PART VI Modern TIbet (Seventeenth to Twentieth Centuries)......Page 362
20. The Dalai Lamas and the Origins of Reincarnate Lamas......Page 364
21. The FIfth Dalai Lama......Page 377
22. Experience, Empiricism, and the Fortunes of Authority: Tibetan Medicine and Buddhism on the Eve of Modernity......Page 392
TIBET AND THE MANCHUS......Page 416
23. The Administration of Tibet During the First Half-Century of Chinese Protectorate......Page 418
24. Lobjang Danjin's Rebellion of 1723......Page 440
25. Aristocracy and Government in Tibet 1728-1959......Page 466
ECONOMY AND TRADE......Page 484
26. Gold, Wool, and Musk: Trade in Lhasa in the Seventeenth Century......Page 486
27. The Circulation of Estates in Tibet: Reincarnation, Land, and Politics......Page 506
28. The Geo-History of Long-Distance Trade in Tibet 1850-1950......Page 520
INSTITUTIONAL GROWTH BEYOND CENTRAL TIBET......Page 552
29. The Kingdom of Derge......Page 554
30. Labrang: A Tibetan Buddhist Monastery at the Crossroads of Four CIvilizations......Page 578
TIBET IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT......Page 588
31. Uniting Religion and Politics in A Bid for Autonomy: Lamas in Exile in China and America......Page 590
32. Progressives and Exiles......Page 612
33. The Genesis of the Sino-Tibetan Agreement of 1951......Page 638
Full References to Original Articles......Page 662
Bibliography......Page 666
Index......Page 718