Editing Tibet (section)

== History ==
{{Main|History of Tibet}}
{{Further|History of European exploration in Tibet|Foreign relations of Tibet}}
<!-- PLEASE CROSS CHECK CHANGES HERE WITH TEXT AT [[History of Tibet]] -->=== Early history ===
{{Main|Neolithic Tibet|Zhangzhung|Pre-Imperial Tibet}}
[[File:Madhya pradesh, epoca candella, tirthankara rishabhanatha, x-xi sec.JPG|thumb|upright|[[Rishabhanatha]], the first [[Tirthankara]] of [[Jainism]], is considered to have attained [[nirvana]] near [[Mount Kailash]] in Tibet in Jain tradition.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y4aVRLGhf-8C&q=Rishabhdev+Tibet&pg=RA1-PA273 |title=Faith & Philosophy of Jainism |isbn=978-81-7835-723-2 |last1=Jain |first1=Arun Kumar |year=2009 |publisher=Gyan Publishing House| access-date=October 18, 2020| archive-date=April 14, 2023| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230414142806/https://books.google.com/books?id=y4aVRLGhf-8C&q=Rishabhdev+Tibet&pg=RA1-PA273| url-status=live}}</ref>]]
[[File:Songstengampo.jpg|thumb|upright|King [[Songtsän Gampo|Songtsen Gampo]]]]Humans inhabited the Tibetan Plateau at least 21,000 years ago.<ref name="Zhao">{{cite journal |last1=Zhao |first1=M |last2=Kong |first2=QP |last3=Wang |first3=HW |last4=Peng |first4=MS |last5=Xie |first5=XD |last6=Wang |first6=WZ |last7=Jiayang |first7=Duan JG |last8=Cai |first8=MC |last9=Zhao |first9=SN | last10 = Cidanpingcuo | first10 = Tu YQ |last11=Wu |first11=SF |last12=Yao |first12=YG |last13=Bandelt |first13=HJ |last14=Zhang |first14=YP |year=2009 |title=Mitochondrial genome evidence reveals successful Late Paleolithic settlement on the Tibetan Plateau |journal=Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A |volume=106 |issue=50 |pages=21230–21235 |doi=10.1073/pnas.0907844106 |pmid=19955425 |pmc=2795552 |bibcode=2009PNAS..10621230Z | doi-access = free | issn = 0027-8424}}</ref> This population was largely replaced around 3,000 [[Before Present|BP]] by [[Neolithic]] immigrants from northern China, but there is a partial genetic continuity between the Paleolithic inhabitants and contemporary Tibetan populations.<ref name="Zhao" />

The earliest Tibetan historical texts identify the [[Zhang Zhung culture]] as a people who migrated from the Amdo region into what is now the region of [[Guge]] in western Tibet.<ref name="Norbu">Norbu 1989, pp. 127–128</ref> Zhang Zhung is considered to be the original home of the [[Bön]] religion.<ref name="Hoffman">Helmut Hoffman in McKay 2003 vol. 1, pp. 45–68</ref> By the 1st century BCE, a neighboring kingdom arose in the [[Yarlung Valley|Yarlung valley]], and the Yarlung king, [[Drigum Tsenpo]], attempted to remove the influence of the Zhang Zhung by expelling the Zhang's Bön priests from Yarlung.<ref name="Karmay">{{cite book |last1=Karmay |first1=Samten Gyaltsen |title=The Treasury of Good Sayings: A Tibetan History of Bon |date=2005 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publisher |isbn=978-81-208-2943-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vhetCgcQReIC&pg=PA66 |language=en |pages=66ff |access-date=December 3, 2022 |archive-date=December 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221203202548/https://books.google.com/books?id=vhetCgcQReIC&pg=PA66 |url-status=live}}</ref> He was assassinated and Zhang Zhung continued its dominance of the region until it was annexed by Songtsen Gampo in the 7th century. Prior to [[Songtsen Gampo]], the kings of Tibet were more mythological than factual, and there is insufficient evidence of their existence.<ref>[[Erik Haarh|Haarh, Erik]]: ''Extract from "The Yar Lun Dynasty"'', in: ''The History of Tibet'', ed. Alex McKay, Vol. 1, London 2003, p. 147; Richardson, Hugh: ''The Origin of the Tibetan Kingdom'', in: ''The History of Tibet'', ed. Alex McKay, Vol. 1, London 2003, p. 159 (and list of kings p. 166-167).</ref>

=== Tibetan Empire ===
{{main|Tibetan Empire}}
[[File:Tibetan empire greatest extent 780s-790s CE.png|thumb|upright=1.35|Map of the Tibetan Empire at its greatest extent between the 780s and the 790s CE]]
The history of a unified Tibet begins with the rule of [[Songtsen Gampo]] (604–650{{nbsp}}CE), who united parts of the [[Yarlung Tsangpo River (Tibet)|Yarlung River]] Valley and founded the Tibetan Empire. He also brought in many reforms, and Tibetan power spread rapidly, creating a large and powerful empire. It is traditionally considered that his first wife was the Princess of Nepal, [[Bhrikuti]], and that she played a great role in the establishment of Buddhism in Tibet. In 640, he married [[Princess Wencheng]], the niece of the Chinese emperor [[Emperor Taizong of Tang|Taizong of Tang China]].<ref>Forbes, Andrew; Henley, David (2011). 'The First Tibetan Empire' in: ''China's Ancient Tea Horse Road''. Chiang Mai: Cognoscenti Books. ASIN: B005DQV7Q2</ref>

Under the next few Tibetan kings, Buddhism became established as the state religion and Tibetan power increased even further over large areas of [[Central Asia]], while major inroads were made into Chinese territory, even reaching the [[Tang dynasty|Tang]]'s capital [[Chang'an]] (modern [[Xi'an]]) in late 763.<ref>Beckwith 1987, pg. 146</ref> However, the Tibetan occupation of Chang'an only lasted for fifteen days, after which they were defeated by Tang and its ally, the Turkic [[Uyghur Khaganate]].

[[File:Miran Fort BLP466 PHOTO1187 2 60.jpg|thumb|[[Miran fort]]]]

The [[Kingdom of Nanzhao]] (in [[Yunnan]] and neighbouring regions) remained under Tibetan control from 750 to 794, when they turned on their Tibetan overlords and helped the Chinese inflict a serious defeat on the Tibetans.<ref>Marks, Thomas A. (1978). "Nanchao and Tibet in South-western China and Central Asia." ''The Tibet Journal''. Vol. 3, No. 4. Winter 1978, pp. 13–16.</ref>

In 747, the hold of Tibet was loosened by the campaign of general [[Gao Xianzhi]], who tried to re-open the direct communications between Central Asia and [[Kashmir]]. By 750, the Tibetans had lost almost all of their central Asian possessions to the [[Tang dynasty|Chinese]]. However, after Gao Xianzhi's defeat by the [[Abbasid Caliphate|Arabs]] and [[Karluks|Qarluqs]] at the [[Battle of Talas]] (751) and the subsequent [[civil war]] known as the [[An Lushan Rebellion]] (755), Chinese influence decreased rapidly and Tibetan influence resumed.

At its height in the 780s to 790s, the Tibetan Empire reached its highest glory when it ruled and controlled a territory stretching from modern-day Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, China, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan.

In 821/822{{nbsp}}CE, Tibet and China signed a peace treaty. A bilingual account of this treaty, including details of the borders between the two countries, is inscribed on a [[Tang–Tibet Treaty Inscription|stone pillar]] which stands outside the [[Jokhang]] temple in Lhasa.<ref>''A Corpus of Early Tibetan Inscriptions''. H. E. Richardson. Royal Asiatic Society (1985), pp. 106–43. {{ISBN|0-947593-00-4}}.</ref> Tibet continued as a Central Asian empire until the mid-9th century, when a civil war over succession led to the collapse of imperial Tibet. The period that followed is known traditionally as the ''[[Era of Fragmentation]]'', when political control over Tibet became divided between regional warlords and tribes with no dominant centralized authority. An [[Tibetan Expedition of Islamic Bengal|Islamic invasion]] from Bengal took place in 1206.

=== Yuan dynasty ===
{{main|Mongol conquest of Tibet|Tibet under Yuan rule}}
[[File:Yuen Dynasty 1294 - Goryeo as vassal.png|thumb|upright=1.35|The Mongol [[Yuan dynasty]], c. 1294]]
The Mongol [[Yuan dynasty]], through the [[Bureau of Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs]], or Xuanzheng Yuan, ruled Tibet through a top-level administrative department. One of the department's purposes was to select a ''[[dpon-chen]]'' ("great administrator"), usually appointed by the lama and confirmed by the Mongol emperor in Beijing.<ref name="China's Tibet Policy">Dawa Norbu. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=kD8gTL6IIDYC&dq=Xuanzheng+Yuan&pg=PA139 China's Tibet Policy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230414142810/https://books.google.com/books?id=kD8gTL6IIDYC&dq=Xuanzheng+Yuan&pg=PA139 |date=April 14, 2023 }}'', p. 139. Psychology Press.</ref> The [[Sakya (tribe)|Sakya]] lama retained a degree of autonomy, acting as the political authority of the region, while the ''dpon-chen'' held administrative and military power. Mongol rule of Tibet remained separate from the main provinces of China, but the region existed [[Tibet under Yuan rule|under the administration of the Yuan dynasty]]. If the Sakya lama ever came into conflict with the ''dpon-chen'', the ''dpon-chen'' had the authority to send Chinese troops into the region.<ref name="China's Tibet Policy"/>

Tibet retained nominal power over religious and regional political affairs, while the Mongols managed a structural and administrative<ref>Wylie. p.104: 'To counterbalance the political power of the lama, Khubilai appointed civil administrators at the Sa-skya to supervise the mongol regency.'</ref> rule over the region, reinforced by the rare military intervention. This existed as a "[[diarchy|diarchic]] structure" under the Yuan emperor, with power primarily in favor of the Mongols.<ref name="China's Tibet Policy"/> Mongolian prince [[Khuden]] gained temporal power in Tibet in the 1240s and sponsored [[Sakya Pandita]], whose seat became the capital of Tibet. [[Drogön Chögyal Phagpa]], Sakya Pandita's nephew became [[Imperial Preceptor]] of [[Kublai Khan]], founder of the Yuan dynasty.

Yuan control over the region ended with the Ming overthrow of the Yuan and [[Tai Situ Changchub Gyaltsen]]'s revolt against the Mongols.<ref name="Rossabi194">Rossabi 1983, p. 194</ref> Following the uprising, Tai Situ Changchub Gyaltsen founded the [[Phagmodrupa dynasty]], and sought to reduce Yuan influences over Tibetan culture and politics.<ref>Norbu, Dawa (2001) p. 57</ref>

=== Phagmodrupa, Rinpungpa and Tsangpa dynasties ===
{{main|Phagmodrupa dynasty|Rinpungpa|Tsangpa}}
{{further|Sino-Tibetan relations during the Ming dynasty}}
[[File:Gyantse Dzong4.jpg|thumb|[[Gyantse Fortress]]]]
Between 1346 and 1354, Tai Situ Changchub Gyaltsen toppled the Sakya and founded the Phagmodrupa dynasty. The following 80 years saw the founding of the [[Gelug]] school (also known as Yellow Hats) by the disciples of [[Je Tsongkhapa]], and the founding of the important [[Ganden Monastery|Ganden]], [[Drepung Monastery|Drepung]] and [[Sera Monastery|Sera]] monasteries near Lhasa. However, internal strife within the dynasty and the strong localism of the various fiefs and political-religious factions led to a long series of internal conflicts. The minister family [[Rinpungpa]], based in [[Ü-Tsang|Tsang]] (West Central Tibet), dominated politics after 1435. In 1565 they were overthrown by the [[Tsangpa]] dynasty of [[Shigatse]] which expanded its power in different directions of Tibet in the following decades and favoured the [[Karma Kagyu]] sect.

{{Multiple image
| align             = right
| direction         = vertical
| width             = 300
| image1            = Khoshut Khanate.png
| caption1          = The [[Khoshut Khanate]], 1642–1717
| image2            = Carte la plus generale et qui comprend la Chine, la Tartarie Chinoise, et le Thibet (1734).jpg
| caption2          = Tibet in 1734. ''Royaume de Thibet'' ("Kingdom of Tibet") in ''la Chine, la Tartarie Chinoise, et le Thibet'' ("China, Chinese [[Tartary]], and Tibet") on a 1734 map by [[Jean Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville]], based on earlier Jesuit maps.
| image3            = Qing china.jpg
| caption3          = Tibet in 1892 during the [[Qing dynasty]]
}}

=== Rise of Ganden Phodrang and Buddhist Gelug school ===
{{Main|Ganden Phodrang}}
In 1578, [[Altan Khan]] of the [[Tümed]] Mongols gave [[3rd Dalai Lama|Sonam Gyatso]], a high lama of the Gelugpa school, the name ''[[Dalai Lama]]'', ''Dalai'' being the Mongolian translation of the Tibetan name ''Gyatso'' "Ocean".<ref>Laird 2006, pp. 142–143.</ref>

The [[5th Dalai Lama]] (1617–1682) is known for unifying the Tibetan heartland under the control of the [[Gelug]] school of [[Tibetan Buddhism]], after defeating the rival [[Kagyu]] and [[Jonang]] sects and the secular ruler, the [[Tsangpa]] prince, in a prolonged civil war. His efforts were successful in part because of aid from [[Güshi Khan]], the [[Oirats|Oirat]] leader of the [[Khoshut Khanate]]. With Güshi Khan as a largely uninvolved overlord, the 5th Dalai Lama and his intimates established a civil administration which is referred to by historians as the ''Lhasa state''. This Tibetan regime or government is also referred to as the [[Ganden Phodrang]].

=== Qing dynasty ===
{{main|Chinese expedition to Tibet (1720)|Tibet under Qing rule}}
[[File:布达拉宫.jpg|thumb|[[Potala Palace]]]]
[[Qing dynasty]] rule in Tibet began with their [[Chinese expedition to Tibet (1720)|1720 expedition to the country]] when they expelled the invading [[Dzungar Khanate|Dzungars]]. [[Amdo]] came under Qing control in 1724, and eastern [[Kham]] was incorporated into neighbouring Chinese provinces in 1728.<ref name="Wang 162-6">Wang Jiawei, "[[The Historical Status of China's Tibet]]", 2000, pp. 162–6.</ref> Meanwhile, the Qing government sent resident commissioners called ''[[Amban]]s'' to Lhasa. In 1750, the Ambans and the majority of the [[Han Chinese]] and [[Manchus]] living in Lhasa were killed in [[Lhasa riot of 1750|a riot]], and Qing troops arrived quickly and suppressed the rebels in the next year. Like the preceding Yuan dynasty, the Manchus of the Qing dynasty exerted military and administrative control of the region, while granting it a degree of political autonomy. The Qing commander publicly executed a number of supporters of the rebels and, as in 1723 and 1728, made changes in the political structure and drew up a formal organization plan. The Qing now restored the Dalai Lama as ruler, leading the governing council called ''[[Kashag]]'',<ref>Kychanov, E.I. and Melnichenko, B.I. Istoriya Tibeta s drevneishikh vremen do nashikh dnei [History of Tibet since Ancient Times to Present]. Moscow: Russian Acad. Sci. Publ., p.89-92</ref> but elevated the role of ''Ambans'' to include more direct involvement in Tibetan internal affairs. At the same time, the Qing took steps to counterbalance the power of the aristocracy by adding officials recruited from the clergy to key posts.<ref>Goldstein 1997, pg. 18</ref>

For several decades, peace reigned in Tibet, but in 1792, the Qing [[Qianlong Emperor]] sent [[Sino-Nepalese War|a large Chinese army into Tibet]] to push the invading [[Nepal]]ese out. This prompted yet another Qing reorganization of the Tibetan government, this time through a written plan called the "Twenty-Nine Regulations for Better Government in Tibet". Qing military garrisons staffed with Qing troops were now also established near the Nepalese border.<ref>Goldstein 1997, pg. 19</ref> Tibet was dominated by the Manchus in various stages in the 18th century, and the years immediately following the 1792 regulations were the peak of the Qing imperial commissioners' authority; but there was no attempt to make Tibet a Chinese province.<ref>Goldstein 1997, pg. 20</ref>

In 1834, the [[Sikh Empire]] invaded and annexed [[Ladakh]], a culturally Tibetan region that was an independent kingdom at the time. Seven years later, a Sikh army led by [[General Zorawar Singh]] invaded western Tibet from Ladakh, starting the [[Sino-Sikh War]]. A Qing-Tibetan army repelled the invaders but was in turn defeated when it chased the Sikhs into Ladakh. The war ended with the signing of the [[Treaty of Chushul]] between the Chinese and Sikh empires.<ref>The Sino-Indian Border Disputes, by Alfred P. Rubin, The International and Comparative Law Quarterly, Vol. 9, No. 1. (Jan. 1960), pp. 96–125.</ref>

[[File:Putuo Zongcheng Temple.jpg|thumb|left|[[Putuo Zongcheng Temple]], a Buddhist temple complex in [[Chengde]], Hebei, built between 1767 and 1771. The temple was modeled after the [[Potala Palace]].]]

As the Qing dynasty weakened, its authority over Tibet also gradually declined, and by the mid-19th century, its influence was minuscule. Qing authority over Tibet had become more symbolic than real by the late 19th century,<ref>Goldstein 1989, pg. 44</ref><ref>Goldstein 1997, pg. 22</ref><ref>Brunnert, H. S. and Hagelstrom, V. V. _Present Day Political Organization of China_, Shanghai, 1912. p. 467.</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Stas Bekman: stas (at) stason.org |url=http://stason.org/TULARC/travel/tibet/B6-What-was-Tibet-s-status-during-China-s-Qing-dynasty-164.html |title=What was Tibet's status during China's Qing dynasty (1644–1912)? |publisher=Stason.org |access-date=August 26, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080407223734/http://stason.org/TULARC/travel/tibet/B6-What-was-Tibet-s-status-during-China-s-Qing-dynasty-164.html |archive-date=April 7, 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref> although in the 1860s, the Tibetans still chose for reasons of their own to emphasize the empire's symbolic authority and make it seem substantial.<ref>The Cambridge History of China, vol. 10, p. 407.</ref>

In 1774, a [[Scottish people|Scottish]] [[Peerage of Scotland|nobleman]], [[George Bogle (diplomat)|George Bogle]], travelled to [[Shigatse]] to investigate prospects of trade for the [[East India Company]]. His efforts, while largely unsuccessful, established permanent contact between Tibet and the [[Western world]].<ref>Teltscher 2006, pg. 57</ref> However, in the 19th century, tensions between foreign powers and Tibet increased. The [[British Empire]] was expanding its [[British Raj|territories in India]] into the [[Himalayas]], while the [[Emirate of Afghanistan]] and the [[Russian Empire]] were both doing likewise in [[Central Asia]].{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}

In 1904, a [[British expedition to Tibet]], spurred in part by a fear that [[Russian Empire|Russia]] was extending its power into Tibet as part of [[the Great Game]], was launched. Although the expedition initially set out with the stated purpose of resolving border disputes between Tibet and [[Sikkim]], it quickly turned into a military invasion. The British expeditionary force, consisting of [[British Indian Army|mostly Indian troops]], quickly invaded and captured Lhasa, with the [[13th Dalai Lama|Dalai Lama]] fleeing to the countryside.<ref name="smith154-6">Smith 1996, pp. 154–6</ref> Afterwards, the leader of the expedition, [[Francis Younghusband|Sir Francis Younghusband]], negotiated the [[Treaty of Lhasa|Convention Between Great Britain and Tibet]] with the Tibetans, which guaranteed the British great economic influence but ensured the region [[Tibet under Qing rule|remained under Chinese control]]. The Qing imperial resident, known as the [[Amban]], publicly repudiated the treaty, while the British government, eager for friendly relations with China, negotiated a new treaty two years later known as the [[Convention Between Great Britain and China Respecting Tibet]]. The British agreed not to annex or interfere in Tibet in return for an indemnity from the Chinese government, while China agreed not to permit any other foreign state to interfere with the territory or internal administration of Tibet.<ref name="smith154-6"/>

In 1910, the Qing government sent [[Chinese expedition to Tibet (1910)|a military expedition of its own]] under [[Zhao Erfeng]] to establish direct Manchu-Chinese rule and, in an imperial edict, deposed the Dalai Lama, who fled to British India. Zhao Erfeng defeated the Tibetan military conclusively and expelled the Dalai Lama's forces from the province. His actions were unpopular, and there was much animosity against him for his mistreatment of civilians and disregard for local culture.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}

=== Post-Qing period ===
{{Main|Tibet (1912–1951)}}

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 135-KB-17-040, Tibetexpedition, Geer mit Argali.jpg|thumb|Edmund Geer during the [[1938–1939 German expedition to Tibet]]]]
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 135-S-12-50-09, Tibetexpedition, Ragyapas, Geier.jpg|thumb|[[Rogyapas]], an [[Social classes of Tibet|outcast group]], early 20th century. Their hereditary occupation included disposal of corpses and leather work.]]
After the [[Xinhai Revolution]] (1911–1912) toppled the Qing dynasty and the last Qing troops were escorted out of Tibet, the new [[Republic of China (1912–49)|Republic of China]] apologized for the actions of the Qing and offered to restore the Dalai Lama's title.<ref>Mayhew, Bradley and Michael Kohn. (2005). ''Tibet'', p. 32. Lonely Planet Publications. {{ISBN|1-74059-523-8}}.</ref> The Dalai Lama refused any Chinese title and declared himself ruler of an [[Tibet (1912–51)|independent Tibet]].<ref name="shakya5">Shakya 1999, pg. 5</ref> In 1913, Tibet and [[Bogd Khanate of Mongolia|Outer Mongolia]] concluded [[Treaty of friendship and alliance between the Government of Mongolia and Tibet|a treaty of mutual recognition]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://ww38.ltwa.net/library/index.php?option=com_multicategories&view=article&id=170&catid=30:news&Itemid=12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121030061528/http://www.ltwa.net/library/index.php?option=com_multicategories&view=article&id=170&catid=30%3Anews&Itemid=12 |url-status=dead |title=ltwa.net|archive-date=October 30, 2012 |website=ww38.ltwa.net}}</ref> The ROC continued to view the former Qing territory as its own, including Tibet.<ref name=":Laikwan2">{{Cite book |last=Laikwan |first=Pang |title=One and All: The Logic of Chinese Sovereignty |date=2024 |publisher=[[Stanford University Press]] |isbn=9781503638815 |location=Stanford, CA |doi=10.1515/9781503638822}}</ref>{{Rp|page=69}} For the next 36 years, the 13th Dalai Lama and the [[politics in Tibet|regents who succeeded him]] governed Tibet. During this time, Tibet fought Chinese warlords for control of the ethnically Tibetan areas in [[Xikang]] and [[Qinghai]] (parts of Kham and Amdo) along the upper reaches of the [[Yangtze River]].<ref name="Wang 150">Wang Jiawei, "The Historical Status of China's Tibet", 2000, p. 150.</ref> In 1914, the Tibetan government signed the [[Simla Convention]] with Britain, which recognized Chinese suzerainty over Tibet in return for a border settlement. China refused to sign the convention.<ref>{{citation |last1=Fisher |first1=Margaret W. |last2=Rose |first2=Leo E. |last3=Huttenback |first3=Robert A. |title=Himalayan Battleground: Sino-Indian Rivalry in Ladakh |date=1963 |publisher=Praeger |url=https://archive.org/details/himalayanbattleg0000unse/mode/2up |via=archive.org |pages=77–78 |quote=By refusing to sign it, however, the Chinese lost an opportunity to become the acknowledged suzerain of Tibet. The Tibetans were therefore free to make their own agreement with the British.}}</ref> Tibet continued to lack clear boundaries or international recognition of its status.<ref name=":Laikwan2" />{{Rp|page=69}}

When in the 1930s and 1940s the regents displayed negligence in affairs, the Kuomintang Government of the Republic of China took advantage of this to expand its reach into the territory.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WIJFuD-cH_IC&q=dalai+lama+kuomintang+brief+civil+war |title=The Search for the Panchen Lama |author=Isabel Hilton |year=2001 |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company |page=112 |isbn=978-0-393-32167-8  |access-date=June 28, 2010  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610000748/https://books.google.com/books?id=WIJFuD-cH_IC&dq=ma+bufang+taiwan&q=dalai+lama+kuomintang+brief+civil+war#v=snippet&q=dalai%20lama%20kuomintang%20brief%20civil%20war&f=false  |archive-date=June 10, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> On December 20, 1941, Kuomintang leader [[Chiang Kai-shek|Chiang Kai-Shek]] noted in his diary that Tibet would be among the territories which he would demand as restitution for China following the conclusion of World War II.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mitter |first=Rana |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1141442704 |title=China's good war : how World War II is shaping a new nationalism |date=2020 |publisher=The Belknap Press of [[Harvard University Press]] |isbn=978-0-674-98426-4 |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |pages=45 |oclc=1141442704 |access-date=October 15, 2022 |archive-date=April 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230402121743/https://www.worldcat.org/title/1141442704 |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== From 1950 to present ===
{{Main|History of Tibet (1950–present)}}
[[File:Thank you India. 50 Years in Exile. Manali. 2010.jpg|thumb|A poster saying "Thank you India. 50 years in Exile." [[Manali, Himachal Pradesh|Manali]], 2010.]]
Emerging with control over most of [[mainland China]] after the [[Chinese Civil War]], the [[People's Republic of China]] [[Incorporation of Tibet into the People's Republic of China|annexed Tibet]] in 1950 and negotiated the [[Seventeen Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet|Seventeen Point Agreement]] with the newly enthroned [[14th Dalai Lama]]'s government, affirming the People's Republic of China's sovereignty but granting the area autonomy. Subsequently, on his journey into exile, the 14th Dalai Lama completely repudiated the agreement, which he has repeated on many occasions.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110928101214/http://www.tibet.net/en/index.php?id=183&rmenuid=11 "The 17-Point Agreement" The full story as revealed by the Tibetans and Chinese who were involved] Archived on September 28, 2011.</ref><ref>[[Tenzin Gyatso|Dalai Lama]], ''[[Freedom in Exile]]'' Harper San Francisco, 1991</ref> According to the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]], the Chinese used the Dalai Lama to gain control of the military's training and actions.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP82-00457R009600210006-1.pdf |title=1.Chinese Communist Troops in Tibet, 2. Chinese Communist Program for Tibet |access-date=February 10, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170123133521/https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP82-00457R009600210006-1.pdf |archive-date=January 23, 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The Dalai Lama had a strong following as many people from Tibet looked at him not just as their political leader, but as their spiritual leader.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP82R00025R000100060024-3.pdf |title=Notes for DCI briefing of Senate Foreign Relations Committee on 28 April 1959 |access-date=February 10, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170123081300/https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP82R00025R000100060024-3.pdf |archive-date=January 23, 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref> After the Dalai Lama's government fled to [[Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh|Dharamsala]], India, during the [[1959 Tibetan Rebellion]], it established a [[Central Tibetan Administration|rival government-in-exile]]. Afterwards, the [[Central People's Government]] in Beijing renounced the agreement and began implementation of the halted social and political reforms.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Governing China's Multiethnic Frontiers |page=197 |first=Morris |last=Rossabi |chapter=An Overview of Sino-Tibetan Relations |publisher=[[University of Washington Press]] |year=2005}}</ref> During the [[Great Leap Forward]], over 200,000 Tibetans may have died<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.refworld.org/docid/49749d3dc.html |title=World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples – China : Tibetans |publisher=Minority Rights Group International |date=July 2008 |access-date=April 23, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141101012043/http://www.refworld.org/docid/49749d3dc.html |archive-date=November 1, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> and approximately 6,000 monasteries were destroyed during the [[Cultural Revolution]]—destroying the vast majority of historic Tibetan architecture.<ref name="Kevin">{{Cite book |title=Freedom of religion and belief: a world report |first1=Kevin |last1=Boyle |first2=Juliet |last2=Sheen |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-415-15977-7}}</ref>

In 1980, General Secretary and reformist [[Hu Yaobang]] visited Tibet and ushered in a period of social, political, and [[economic liberalization]].<ref name="Bank"/> At the end of the decade, however, before the [[Tiananmen Square protests of 1989]], monks in the [[Drepung Monastery|Drepung]] and [[Sera Monastery|Sera]] monasteries started protesting for independence. The government halted reforms and started an anti-[[separatist]] campaign.<ref name="Bank">{{cite magazine |title=As Tibet Goes... |first1=David |last1=Bank |first2=Peter |last2=Leyden |magazine=[[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]] |date=January 1990 |volume=15 |issue=1 |issn=0362-8841}}</ref> Human rights organisations have been critical of the Beijing and Lhasa governments' approach to [[Human rights in Tibet|human rights in the region]] when cracking down on separatist convulsions that have occurred around monasteries and cities, most recently in the [[2008 Tibetan unrest]].

The central region of Tibet is now an [[Autonomous administrative divisions of China|autonomous region]] within China, the [[Tibet Autonomous Region]]. The Tibet Autonomous Region is a province-level entity of the People's Republic of China. It is governed by a People's Government, led by a chairman. In practice, however, the chairman is subordinate to the branch secretary of the [[Chinese Communist Party]] (CCP). In 2010, it was reported that, as a matter of convention, the chairman had almost always been an ethnic Tibetan, while the party secretary had always been ethnically non-Tibetan.<ref>{{Cite news |date=January 15, 2010 |title=Leadership shake-up in China's Tibet: state media |publisher=[[France 24]] |agency=[[Agence France-Presse]] |location=France |url=http://www.france24.com/en/20100115-leadership-shake-chinas-tibet-state-media |url-status=dead |access-date=July 29, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100118095132/http://www.france24.com/en/20100115-leadership-shake-chinas-tibet-state-media |archive-date=January 18, 2010}}</ref>