Editing Tibet (section)

==== Christianity ====
{{See also|Catholic Church in Tibet}}
The first Christians documented to have reached Tibet were the [[Nestorian Christians|Nestorians]], of whom various remains and inscriptions have been found in Tibet. They were also present at the imperial camp of [[Möngke Khan]] at Shira Ordo, where they debated in 1256 with [[Karma Pakshi]] (1204/6-83), head of the [[Karma Kagyu]] order.<ref>Kapstein 2006, pp. 31, 71, 113.</ref><ref>Stein 1972, pp. 36, 77–78.</ref> Desideri, who reached Lhasa in 1716, encountered Armenian and Russian merchants.<ref>Françoise Pommaret, Françoise Pommaret-Imaeda (2003). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=WhzF0N_X5KwC&pg=PA159 Lhasa in the Seventeenth Century: The Capital of the Dalai Lamas] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170328235314/https://books.google.com/books?id=WhzF0N_X5KwC&pg=PA159&dq&hl=en |date=March 28, 2017 }}''. BRILL. p.&nbsp;159. {{ISBN|90-04-12866-2}}</ref>

Roman Catholic [[Jesuits]] and [[Order of Friars Minor Capuchin|Capuchins]] arrived from Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. Portuguese missionaries Jesuit Father [[António de Andrade]] and Brother Manuel Marques first reached the kingdom of [[Gelu, Nepal|Gelu]] in western Tibet in 1624 and was welcomed by the royal family who allowed them to build a church later on.<ref>Graham Sanderg, The Exploration of Tibet: History and Particulars (Delhi: Cosmo Publications, 1973), pp. 23–26; Thomas Holdich, Tibet, The Mysterious (London: [[Alston Rivers]], 1906), p. 70.</ref><ref>Sir Edward Maclagan, The Jesuits and The Great Mogul (London: Burns, Oates & Washbourne Ltd., 1932), pp. 344–345.</ref> By 1627, there were about a hundred local converts in the Guge kingdom.<ref>Lettera del P. Alano Dos Anjos al Provinciale di Goa, 10 Novembre 1627, quoted from Wu Kunming, Zaoqi Chuanjiaoshi jin Zang Huodongshi (Beijing: Zhongguo Zangxue chubanshe, 1992), p. 163.</ref> Later on, Christianity was introduced to [[Rudok]], [[Ladakh]] and Tsang and was welcomed by the ruler of the [[Ü-Tsang|Tsang kingdom]], where Andrade and his fellows established a Jesuit outpost at Shigatse in 1626.<ref>Extensively using Italian and Portuguese archival materials, Wu's work gives a detailed account of Cacella's activities in Tsang. See Zaoqi Chuanjiaoshi jin Zang Huodongshi, esp. chapter 5.</ref>

In 1661 another Jesuit, [[Johann Grueber]], crossed Tibet from [[Sining]] to Lhasa (where he spent a month), before heading on to Nepal.<ref>''Narratives of the Mission of George Bogle to Tibet, and of the Journey of Thomas Manning to Lhasa'', pp. 295–302. Clements R. Markham. (1876). Reprint Cosmo Publications, New Delhi. 1989.</ref> He was followed by others who actually built a church in Lhasa. These included the Jesuit Father [[Ippolito Desideri]], 1716–1721, who gained a deep knowledge of Tibetan culture, language and Buddhism, and various Capuchins in 1707–1711, 1716–1733 and 1741–1745,<ref name="Stein 1972, p. 85">Stein 1972, p. 85.</ref> Christianity was used by some Tibetan monarchs and their courts and the [[Karmapa]] sect lamas to counterbalance the influence of the [[Gelugpa]] sect in the 17th century until in 1745 when all the missionaries were expelled at the lama's insistence.<ref name="pacificrim.usfca.edu">{{cite web |url=http://www.pacificrim.usfca.edu/research/pacrimreport/pacrimreport36.html |title=When Christianity and Lamaism Met: The Changing Fortunes of Early Western Missionaries in Tibet |author=Hsiao-ting Lin|author1-link=Lin Hsiao-ting |publisher=Pacificrim.usfca.edu |access-date=March 26, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100626095547/http://www.pacificrim.usfca.edu/research/pacrimreport/pacrimreport36.html |archive-date=June 26, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/country_profiles/6299565.stm |title=BBC News Country Profiles Timeline: Tibet|access-date=March 11, 2009 |date=November 5, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090311184520/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/country_profiles/6299565.stm|archive-date=March 11, 2009|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Lettera del P. Antonio de Andrade. Giovanni de Oliveira. Alano Dos Anjos al Provinciale di Goa, 29 Agosto, 1627, quoted from Wu, Zaoqi Chuanjiaoshi jin Zang Huodongshi, p. 196; Maclagan, The Jesuits and The Great Mogul, pp. 347–348.</ref><ref>Cornelius Wessels, Early Jesuit Travellers in Central Asia, 1603–1721 (The Hague: Nijhoff, 1924), pp. 80–85.</ref><ref>Maclagan, The Jesuits and The Great Mogul, pp. 349–352; [[Filippo De Filippi (explorer)|Filippo De Filippi]] ed., An Account of Tibet, pp. 13–17.</ref><ref>Relação da Missão do Reino de Uçangue Cabeça dos do Potente, Escrita pello P. João Cabral da Comp. de Jesu. fol. 1, quoted from Wu, Zaoqi Chuanjiaoshi jin Zang Huodongshi, pp. 294–297; Wang Yonghong, "Luelun Tianzhujiao zai Xizang di Zaoqi Huodong", Xizang Yanjiu, 1989, No. 3, pp. 62–63.</ref>

In 1877, the [[Protestantism|Protestant]] [[James Cameron (China Inland Mission)|James Cameron]] from the [[China Inland Mission]] walked from [[Chongqing]] to [[Batang County|Batang]] in [[Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture]], Sichuan province, and "brought the Gospel to the Tibetan people." Beginning in the 20th century, in [[Dêqên Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture]] in Yunnan, a large number of Lisu people and some Yi and Nu people converted to Christianity. Famous earlier missionaries include [[James O. Fraser]], [[Alfred James Broomhall]] and [[Isobel Kuhn]] of the China Inland Mission, among others who were active in this area.<ref>{{cite web |title=Yunnan Province of China Government Web |url=http://www.eng.yn.gov.cn/yunnanEnglish/145529160029175808/20050623/378813.html | access-date=February 15, 2008 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090312021316/http://www.eng.yn.gov.cn/yunnanEnglish/145529160029175808/20050623/378813.html | archive-date=March 12, 2009 |df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref>Kapstein 2006, pp. 31, 206</ref>

[[Proselytising]] has been illegal in China since 1949. But {{As of|2013|lc=y}}, many Christian missionaries were reported to be active in Tibet with the tacit approval of Chinese authorities, who view the missionaries as a counterforce to Tibetan Buddhism or as a boon to the local economy.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/feb/21/going-undercover-christian-evangelists-tibet |title=Going undercover, the evangelists taking Jesus to Tibet |newspaper=The Guardian |date=February 21, 2013 | access-date=February 21, 2013 |author=Kaiman, Jonathan | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130826064439/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/feb/21/going-undercover-christian-evangelists-tibet | archive-date=August 26, 2013 | url-status=live |df=mdy-all}}</ref>