![Tibetischer Kulturraum Karte](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/Tibetischer_Kulturraum_Karte.png)
Kham (; )
is one of the three traditional Tibetan regions, the others being
Amdo
Amdo ( ”am˥˥.to˥˥ ) is one of the three traditional Tibetan regions, the others being U-Tsang in the west and Kham in the east. Ngari (including former Guge kingdom) in the north-west was incorporated into Ãœ-Tsang. Amdo is also the bi ...
in the northeast, and
Ü-Tsang
Ü-Tsang is one of the three traditional provinces of Tibet, the others being Amdo in the north-east, and Kham in the east. Ngari (including former Guge kingdom) in the north-west was incorporated into Ü-Tsang. Geographically Ü-Tsang covere ...
in central Tibet. The original residents of Kham are called Khampas (), and were governed locally by chieftains and monasteries. Kham presently covers a land area distributed between five regions in China, most of it in
Tibet Autonomous Region
The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a Provinces of China, province-level Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China in Southwest China. I ...
and
Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=SìchuÄn; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
, with smaller portions located within
Qinghai
Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest po ...
,
Gansu
Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province.
The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...
and
Yunnan
Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...
provinces.
Densely forested with grass plains, its convergence of six valleys and four rivers supported independent Kham polities of Tibetan warrior kingdoms together with Tibetan Buddhist monastic centers.
[Jann Ronis]
"An Overview of Kham (Eastern Tibet) Historical Polities"
The University of Virginia The early trading route between Central Tibet and China traveled through Kham, and Kham is said to be the inspiration for
Shangri-La
Shangri-La is a fictional place in Asia's Kunlun Mountains (昆仑山), Uses the spelling 'Kuen-Lun'. described in the 1933 novel ''Lost Horizon'' by English author James Hilton. Hilton portrays Shangri-La as a mystical, harmonious valley, ge ...
in James Hilton's novel.
[
Settled as Tibet's eastern frontier in the 7th century, King ]Songtsen Gampo
Songtsen Gampo (; 569–649? 650), also Songzan Ganbu (), was the 33rd Tibetan king and founder of the Tibetan Empire, and is traditionally credited with the introduction of Buddhism to Tibet, influenced by his Nepali consort Bhrikuti, of Nepal ...
built temples along its eastern border. In 1939, an eastern area of Kham was officially established as Xikang Province
Xikang (also Sikang or Hsikang) was a nominal province
formed by the Republic of China in 1939 on the initiative of prominent Sichuan warlord Liu Wenhui and continued by the early People's Republic of China. Thei idea was to form a single unif ...
of China.[Yudru Tsomu]
"Taming the Khampas: The Republican Construction of Eastern Tibet"
Modern China Journal, Vol. 39, No. 3 (May 2013), pp. 319-344
Geography
Kham has a rugged terrain characterized by mountain ridges and gorges running from northwest to southeast, and collectively known as the Hengduan Mountains. Numerous rivers, including the Mekong
The Mekong or Mekong River is a trans-boundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's List of rivers by length, twelfth longest river and List of longest rivers of Asia, the third longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , ...
, Yangtze
The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...
, Yalong River
The Yalong River ( zh, é›…ç »æ±Ÿ, Pinyin, p ''YÇŽlóngjiÄng'', Wade–Giles, w ''Ya-lung Chiang'', Help:IPA/Mandarin, IPA ), or Nyag Chu (Standard Tibetan, Tibetan: , Tibetan pinyin, z ''Nyag Qu''), is a major tributary ...
, and the Salween River
, ''Mae Nam Salawin'' (
, name_etymology =
, image = Sweet_View_of_Salween_River_in_Tang_Yan_Township,_Shan_State,_Myanmar.jpg
, image_size =
, image_caption = Salween River in Shan State, Myanmar
, map ...
flow through Kham.
Under the modern administrative division of China, Kham includes a total of 50 contemporary counties
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
, which have been incorporated into the Chinese provinces of Sichuan (16 counties), Yunnan
Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...
(three counties), and Qinghai
Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest po ...
(6 counties) as well as the eastern portion of the Tibet Autonomous Region (25 counties).
Ethnic groups
The people of Kham, the Khampas, are reputed warriors renowned for their marksmanship and horsemanship. References state many Khampas in the Hor States include mention of their Mongolian heritage.[Irina Garri]
"The rise of the Five Hor States of Northern Kham. Religion and politics in the Sino-Tibetan borderlands"
Études mongoles et sibériennes, centrasiatiques et tibétaines, No 51, 2020, posted online 09 December 2020
There are significant differences in traditions and beliefs—even physical appearance—between the peoples of Kham and Lhasa. Most of Kham's residents speak Khams Tibetan
Khams Tibetan () is the Tibetic languages, Tibetic language used by the majority of the people in Kham. Khams is one of the three branches of the traditional classification of Tibetic languages (the other two being Amdo Tibetan and Ü-Tsang). In ...
while at least one-third of the residents are speakers of Qiangic languages
Qiangic (''Ch'iang, Kyang, Tsiang'', Chinese: 羌語支, "''Qiang'' language group"; formerly known as Dzorgaic) is a group of related languages within the Sino-Tibetan language family. They are spoken mainly in Southwest China, including Sichuan ...
, a family of twelve distinct but interrelated languages that are not closely related to Khams Tibetan.
As a frontier region, Kham integrated and "Tibetanized" early Mongolian and Chinese populations.[ After Güshri Khan's invasion of Kham in 1639, Mongolian people and Amdo's tribal people resettled to the region.][
The Khampas are known for their great height. Khampa males are on average .
]
History
7th - 10th centuries
The Pugyal Dynasty (or Yarlung) of the Tibetan Empire
The Tibetan Empire (, ; ) was an empire centered on the Tibetan Plateau, formed as a result of imperial expansion under the Yarlung dynasty heralded by its 33rd king, Songtsen Gampo, in the 7th century. The empire further expanded under the 38 ...
sent troops east from Lhasa to the reaches of the Tibetan Plateau
The Tibetan Plateau (, also known as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau or the Qing–Zang Plateau () or as the Himalayan Plateau in India, is a vast elevated plateau located at the intersection of Central, South and East Asia covering most of the Ti ...
, where they interacted with local cultures and languages to establish eastern Tibet, or Do Kham ('Do', the convergence of rivers and valleys; 'Kham', frontier).[ Kham was traditionally referred to as ''Chushi Gangdruk'', i.e. 'The Four Rivers and Six Ranges' and 'The Four Great Valleys'.][ Responsible for introducing Buddhism to Tibet, King ]Songtsen Gampo
Songtsen Gampo (; 569–649? 650), also Songzan Ganbu (), was the 33rd Tibetan king and founder of the Tibetan Empire, and is traditionally credited with the introduction of Buddhism to Tibet, influenced by his Nepali consort Bhrikuti, of Nepal ...
(reign 629–649) built twelve 'border-taming' temples in Kham, and his 4th wife Wencheng Gongzhu is credited with commissioning Buddhist structures while traveling through Kham in 640–641, from her home in China to Central Tibet.[
During the Imperial era, both ]Nyingma
Nyingma (literally 'old school') is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. It is also often referred to as ''Ngangyur'' (, ), "order of the ancient translations". The Nyingma school is founded on the first lineages and transl ...
school and Bon
''Bon'', also spelled Bön () and also known as Yungdrung Bon (, "eternal Bon"), is a Tibetan religious tradition with many similarities to Tibetan Buddhism and also many unique features.Samuel 2012, pp. 220-221. Bon initially developed in t ...
monasteries were located, especially in Nyarong Valley, among pastoral and agricultural-based polities ruled by local chieftains, polities which included merchant as well as Mongol and Chinese populations.[ Notable Tibetan Buddhist art from this era, dating from 804 or 816, includes carved stone statues of Buddha ]Vairocana
Vairocana (also MahÄvairocana, sa, वैरोचन) is a cosmic buddha from Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. Vairocana is often interpreted, in texts like the ''Avatamsaka Sutra'', as the dharmakÄya of the historical Gautama Buddha. In East ...
.[
After the contraction of the Tibetan Empire from the mid-9th to the mid-10th centuries, the peoples of Kham aggressively maintained their independence from invaders while Tibet itself separated into independent kingdoms.
]
13th to 17th centuries
Kham was not controlled by a single king and remained a patchwork of kingdoms, tribes, and chiefdoms whose bases of authority were constantly shifting. A dual system of secular and Buddhist polities continued.[ In 1270, the ]Sakya
The ''Sakya'' (, 'pale earth') school is one of four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the others being the Nyingma, Kagyu, and Gelug. It is one of the Red Hat Orders along with the Nyingma and Kagyu.
Origins
Virūpa, 16th century. It depic ...
school's lama Tonstul, a student of Sakya Pandita
Sakya Pandita Kunga Gyeltsen (Tibetan: ས་སà¾à¾±â€‹à¼‹à½”ཎ་ཌི་à½à¼‹à½€à½´à½“་དགའ་རྒྱལ་མཚན, ) (1182 – 28 November 1251) was a Tibetan spiritual leader and Buddhist scholar and the fourth of the Five S ...
, established a monastery in Kham while both Kagyu
The ''Kagyu'' school, also transliterated as ''Kagyü'', or ''Kagyud'' (), which translates to "Oral Lineage" or "Whispered Transmission" school, is one of the main schools (''chos lugs'') of Tibetan (or Himalayan) Buddhism. The Kagyu lineag ...
and Sakya monasteries were located in the northern plains, including Gonjo and Lingtsang,[ which accompanied the earlier Nyingma and Bon monasteries of Kham.
In 1639, Güshri Khan, a supporter of the Dalai Lama, invaded with Mongolian troops and defeated the powerful King of Beri in Kham.][ In 1655, Ngawang Phuntsok, a student of the Dalai Lama, founded Gonsar Monastery, the first of the 13 ]Gelug
file:DalaiLama0054 tiny.jpg, 240px, 14th Dalai Lama, The 14th Dalai Lama (center), the most influential figure of the contemporary Gelug tradition, at the 2003 Kalachakra ceremony, Bodh Gaya, Bodhgaya (India).
The Gelug (, also Geluk; "virtuous ...
monasteries in the Hor States
The Hor States (; ), also known as the Horpa States (), were a group of five principalities located in the Tibetan region of Kham that existed from the 14th century to the mid-1900s.
Today, the historical territory of the Hor States comprises Ga ...
, with the support of the kingdom of Degé.[ By 1677, many Gelug monasteries had been built when the ]5th Dalai Lama
Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso (; ; 1617–1682) was the 5th Dalai Lama and the first Dalai Lama to wield effective temporal and spiritual power over all Tibet. He is often referred to simply as the Great Fifth, being a key religious and temporal leader ...
finalized Kham's Sino-Tibetan border location between China and a Tibet then reunified in the Khoshut Khanate
The Khoshut Khanate was a Mongol Oirat khanate based on the Tibetan Plateau from 1642 to 1717. Based in modern Qinghai, it was founded by Güshi Khan in 1642 after defeating the opponents of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism in Tibet. The ...
, resulting in Kham being ascribed to Tibet's authority.[
The major independent polities included the Chakla, Degé, the Lingtsang, Nangchen and the Lhatok. Other important polities included ]Chamdo
Chamdo, officially Qamdo () and also known in Chinese as Changdu, is a prefecture-level city in the eastern part of the Tibet Autonomous Region, China. Its seat is the town of Chengguan in Karuo District. Chamdo is Tibet's third largest city ...
, Batang, Mili, and the Hor States.
18th century
In 1717, the Mongol Dzungar Khanate
The Dzungar Khanate, also written as the Zunghar Khanate, was an Inner Asian khanate of Oirat Mongol origin. At its greatest extent, it covered an area from southern Siberia in the north to present-day Kyrgyzstan in the south, and from t ...
invaded Tibet and other Asian regions. The Qing Chinese army likewise invaded and defeated the Dzungars. This led to the redrawing of the Sino-Tibetan boundary of 1677, which had followed the edge of the Tibetan Plateau. The frontier line changed in either 1725 or 1726 to follow the Dri River (Jinsha River, Upper Yangtze
The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...
), while the Kham region on the eastern bank became Qing domain.[ There, hereditary chieftains were bestowed honorific titles of ''tusi'', and obligated to fight alongside the Qing army in other Kham battles between chieftains.][
Earlier in 1724, an area of ]Qinghai
Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest po ...
(Kokonor) was established within Do Kham. The eastern Kham Qing domain was later incorporated into neighboring Chinese provinces.
19th century
In 1837, a minor chieftain Gompo Namgyal, of Nyarong Nyarong (; ) is a Tibetan historical river valley region located in Eastern Kham. It is generally equated with modern Xinlong County, which is called Nyarong in Tibetan, though the traditional region also includes parts of Litang County and Baiyà ...
in eastern Kham, began expanding his control regionally and launched offensives against the Hor States
The Hor States (; ), also known as the Horpa States (), were a group of five principalities located in the Tibetan region of Kham that existed from the 14th century to the mid-1900s.
Today, the historical territory of the Hor States comprises Ga ...
, Litang, Degé, the Chakla and Batang, becoming the paramount power in the region.[ China sent troops in against Namgyal which were defeated in 1849,][ and additional troops were not dispatched. Chinese military posts were present along the trading route, but "did not have any authority over the native chiefs".][ By 1862, Namgyal blocked trade routes from China to Central Tibet, and sent troops into China.][
Local chieftains had appealed to both the Lhasa and the Qing Manchu governments for help against Namgyal. The Tibetan authorities sent an army in 1863, and defeated Namgyal then killed him at his Nyarong fort by 1865. Central Tibet reasserted its authority over the northern parts of Kham and established the Office of the Tibetan High Commissioner to govern.][ Tibet also reclaimed Nyarong, Degé and the Hor States north of Nyarong. China recalled their forces.][ It appears to have been accepted by the Manchu ]Tongzhi Emperor
The Tongzhi Emperor (27 April 1856 – 12 January 1875), born Zaichun of the Aisin Gioro clan, was the ninth List of emperors of the Qing dynasty, Emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the eighth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign, from 1 ...
.
Then in 1896, the Qing Governor of Sichuan attempted to gain control of Nyarong valley during a military attack. After his defeat, the Qing agreed to the withdrawal of Chinese forces and the "territory was returned to the direct rule of Lhasa".[
]
Early 20th century
From 1904 to 1911, China decided to reassert its control over the previously re-ceded section of Kham, and to push further into the region[ soon after the invasion of Tibet by the British army under ]Francis Younghusband
Lieutenant Colonel Sir Francis Edward Younghusband, (31 May 1863 – 31 July 1942) was a British Army officer, explorer, and spiritual writer. He is remembered for his travels in the Far East and Central Asia; especially the 1904 British ...
in 1904.[Tsering Shakya]
"The Thirteenth Dalai Lama, Tubten Gyatso"
Treasury of Lives, accessed May 11, 2021 The British invasion alarmed the Qing rulers in China, and they sent Fengquan (鳳全) to Kham to initiate land reforms and reduce the numbers of monks.[ An anti-foreigner and anti-Qing uprising in Batang led to Fengquan's death, while Chinese fields were burned.][
The Qing then undertook punitive campaigns in Kham][ under Manchu army commander ]Zhao Erfeng
Zhao Erfeng (1845–1911), courtesy name Jihe, was a late Qing Dynasty official and Han Chinese bannerman, who belonged to the Plain Blue Banner. He was an assistant amban in Tibet at Chamdo in Kham (eastern Tibet). He was appointed in March ...
, also the Governor of Xining
Xining (; ), alternatively known as Sining, is the capital of Qinghai province in western China and the largest city on the Tibetan Plateau.
The city was a commercial hub along the Northern Silk Road's Hexi Corridor for over 2000 years, and wa ...
, where he earned the nickname of "the Butcher of Kham".[ In 1905 or 1908 Zhao began executing monks][ and destroying many monasteries in Kham and ]Amdo
Amdo ( ”am˥˥.to˥˥ ) is one of the three traditional Tibetan regions, the others being U-Tsang in the west and Kham in the east. Ngari (including former Guge kingdom) in the north-west was incorporated into Ãœ-Tsang. Amdo is also the bi ...
, implementing an early "sinicization" of the region:
After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, Zhao was stripped of his post and executed by the revolutionary commander Yin Changheng
Yin Changheng (; July 11, 1884 – May 26, 1953) was a military leader in the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China. He was a member of the Tongmenghui, and on the outbreak of the Xinhai Revolution he became one of the leaders of the revolutiona ...
.
A year before the collapse of the Qing, the Beijing-appointed ''amban'' Zhong Ying invaded Lhasa with the Chinese army in February 1910[ in order to gain control of Tibet and establish direct Chinese rule.]
The 13th Dalai Lama escaped to British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
, and returned before China surrendered via a letter from the ''amban'' to the Dalai Lama in the summer of 1912. On 13 February 1913, the Dalai Lama declared Tibet an independent nation, and announced the end of the historic "priest-patron" relationship between Tibet and China.[ The ''amban'' and Chinese army were expelled, while other Chinese populations were given three years to depart.
By late 1913, Kham and Amdo remained largely occupied by China. Tibet proposed re-establishing the border between Tibet and China at the Dri River during the Simla Conference with Britain and China, while Britain countered with another proposal which was initialed but not ratified.
In 1917, the Tibetan army defeated China in battles at ]Chamdo
Chamdo, officially Qamdo () and also known in Chinese as Changdu, is a prefecture-level city in the eastern part of the Tibet Autonomous Region, China. Its seat is the town of Chengguan in Karuo District. Chamdo is Tibet's third largest city ...
, west of the Dri River, which were halted after Britain refused to sell Tibet additional armements.[
]
Tibetan independence and Republic of China
The official position of the British Government was it would not intervene between China and Tibet and would only recognize the ''de facto'' government of China within Tibet at this time. In his history of Tibet, Bell wrote that "the Tibetans were abandoned to Chinese aggression, an aggression for which the British Military Expedition to Lhasa and subsequent retreat nd consequent power vacuum within Tibetwere primarily responsible".
In 1932, an agreement signed between Chinese warlord Liu Wenhui
Liu Wenhui (; 1895 – 24 June 1976) was a Chinese general and warlord of Sichuan province (Sichuan clique). At the beginning of his career, he was aligned with the Kuomintang (KMT), commanding the Sichuan-Xikang Defence Force from 1927 to 1929. ...
and Tibetan forces formalized the partition of Kham into two regions: Eastern Kham, which was administered by Chinese forces, and Western Kham, which was administered by Tibet. Eastern Kham subsequently became the actual area of control of China's Xikang
Xikang (also Sikang or Hsikang) was a nominal province
formed by the Republic of China in 1939 on the initiative of prominent Sichuan warlord Liu Wenhui and continued by the early People's Republic of China. Thei idea was to form a single unifi ...
province. The border between eastern and western Kham is the Upper Yangtze - ''Dri Chu'' in Tibetan and ''Jinsha Jiang'' respectively, in Chinese.
Tenpay Gyaltsan, a Khampa who was 5 years old, was selected as the fifth Jamyang Hutuktu in 1921.
The Kham Pandatsang family led the 1934 Khamba rebellion against the Tibetan government in Lhasa. The Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
reached out to the Khampas, whose relationship with the Dalai Lama's government in Lhasa were deteriorating badly. The Khampa revolutionary leader Pandatsang Rapga
Pandatsang Rapga (; 1902–1974) was a Khamba revolutionary during the first half of the 20th century in Tibet. He was pro-Kuomintang and pro-Republic of China, anti-feudal, anti-communist. He believed in overthrowing the Dalai Lama's feudal regim ...
founded the Tibet Improvement Party
The Tibet Improvement Party (; ) was a nationalist, revolutionary, anti- feudal and pro- Republic of China political party in Tibet. It was affiliated with the Kuomintang and was supported by mostly Khampas, with the Pandatsang family playing ...
to overthrow the Tibetan government and establish a Tibetan Republic as part of China. In addition to using the Khampa's against the Tibetan Government in Lhasa, the Chinese Kuomintang also used them against the Communists during the Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...
.
The Kuomintang formulated a plan where three Khampa divisions would be assisted by the Panchen Lama
The Panchen Lama () is a tulku of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. Panchen Lama is one of the most important figures in the Gelug tradition, with its spiritual authority second only to Dalai Lama. Along with the council of high lamas, he ...
to oppose the Communists.
Kuomintang intelligence reported that some Tibetan tusi chiefs and the Khampa Su Yonghe controlled 80,000 troops in Sichuan, Qinghai, and Tibet. They hoped to use them against the Communist army.
The Chinese Kuomintang (Nationalists) also enlisted Khampas to join their military.
The Chinese Kuomintang also sought the Khampas help in defending Sichuan from Japan during World War 2, since the temporary capital was located there. A Khampa member of the Mongolian Tibetan Academy was Han Jiaxiang.
300 "Khampa bandits" were enlisted into the Kuomintang Consolatory Commission military in Sichuan, where they were part of the effort of the central government of China to penetrated and destabilize the local Han warlords such as Liu Wenhui. The Chinese government sought to exercise full control over frontier areas against the warlords. The Consoltary Commission forces were used to battle the Communist Red Army but were defeated when their religious leader was captured by Communist forces.
The Republic of China government also used Khampa traders to operate secret transports between different places.
Kesang Tsering was sent by the Chinese to Batang to take control of Xikang
Xikang (also Sikang or Hsikang) was a nominal province
formed by the Republic of China in 1939 on the initiative of prominent Sichuan warlord Liu Wenhui and continued by the early People's Republic of China. Thei idea was to form a single unifi ...
, where he formed a local government. He was spread there for the purpose of propagating the Three People's Principle to the Khampa.[: "...area and spreading Sun Yat-sen's Three People's Principle among the Tibetan and Khampa minorities, Kesang Tsering set up a field headquarters in Batang (Pa'an). There he appointed his own Xikang provincial government staff and issued an..."]
People's Republic of China
In 1950, following the defeat of the Kuomintang rulers of China by communist forces in the Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...
, the People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...
invaded western Kham. Western Kham was then set up as a separate Qamdo
Chamdo, officially Qamdo () and also known in Chinese as Changdu, is a prefecture-level city in the eastern part of the Tibet Autonomous Region, China. Its seat is the town of Chengguan, Chamdo, Chengguan in Karuo District. Chamdo is Tibet's t ...
Territory, then merged into Tibet Autonomous Region in 1965. Meanwhile, Xikang
Xikang (also Sikang or Hsikang) was a nominal province
formed by the Republic of China in 1939 on the initiative of prominent Sichuan warlord Liu Wenhui and continued by the early People's Republic of China. Thei idea was to form a single unifi ...
, comprising eastern Kham, was merged into Sichuan in 1955. The border between Sichuan and Tibet Autonomous Region has remained at the Yangtze River.
Notable people
*Khandro Lhamo
Khandro Lhamo (1914 - 30 March 2003) was a doctor of Tibetan medicine, who was also a practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism who helped to build and maintain Shechen Monastery in Nepal.
Biography
Lhamo was born in Kham in eastern Tibet to a modest f ...
*Guru Tashi
Guru Tashi () was a 13th-century prince from the Minyak House of the Kham region of Eastern Tibet. According to legend, he had a divine revelation one night instructing him to travel south to seek his fortunes.
He travelled south to the present ...
*Gombo Namgye Gonpo Namgyal (17991865) (, sometimes, Gönpo Namgyel ; ), also known as Bulungwa (literally ' Blind Man'), was a Tibetan rebel leader from the Nyarong who unified the region, then all of Kham in a series of campaigns from the 1840s to the 1860s, ...
* Tsewang Lhamo
* Khenpo Yeshe Phuntsok
See also
* Kingdom of Derge
The Kingdom of Derge was an important Monarchy, kingdom in Kham from the 15th to the 19th century. It was a center of industry, religion and politics, with the seat of its kingdom in the town of Dêgê County, Degé. The kings of Derge followed a ...
References
Sources
*
*
*
Further reading
* Andreas Gruschke:
The Cultural Monuments of Tibet’s Outer Provinces: Kham
', 3 vols. (2 published so far), White Lotus Press, Bangkok 2004.
*Andrew Forbes and David Henley
China's Ancient Tea Horse Road
(Cognoscenti Books, 2011),
* Augusta Molnar,
The Kham Magar Women of Thabang
' (Kathmandu, Nepal: Centre for Economic Development and Administration, Tribhuvan University, 1981).
* Birgit van de Wijer,
Tibet's Forgotten Heroes: The Story of Tibet's Armed Resistance Against China
', 1st ed. (Amberley Publishing Limited, 2010),
* David Gellne,
Resistance and The State: Nepalese Experiences
(''New York: Berghah Books, 2007),
* David Molk,
Lion of Siddhas: The Life and Teachings of Padampa Sangye
' (Shambhala, 2008),
* Douglas Wissing,
Pioneer in Tibet: The Life and Perils of Dr. Albert Shelton
' (St. Martin's Press, 2015),
* Edward A. Parmee, D.T. Campbell and R.A. LeVine,
Kham and Amdo of Tibet
' (Human Relations Area Files, 1972).
* George Bogle and Thomas Manning,
Narratives of The Mission of George Bogle To Tibet: and of The Journey of Thomas Manning To Lhasa
' (Cambridge University Press, 2010),
* Kurtis R Schaeffer,
Sources of Tibetan Tradition
' (New York: Columbia University Press, 2013),
* Michael Buckley,
Tibet
' (The Bradt Travel Guide, 2012),
* Pamela Logan:
Tibetan Rescue. The Extraordinary Quest to Save the Sacred Art Treasures of Tibet
(''Tuttle Publishing
Tuttle Publishing, originally the Charles E. Tuttle Company, is a book publishing company that includes Tuttle, Periplus Editions, and Journey Editions. 2002),
* Thomas Laird
''The Story of Tibet: Conversation With the Dalai Lama''
Grove Press, New York,
* Tsepon Wangchuk Dedon Shakabpa,
One Hundred Thousand Moons: An Advanced Political History of Tibet
' (Brill, 2009),
* Tsering Shakya,
The Dragon in the Land of Snows. A History of Modern Tibet Since 1947
' (London: Columbia University Press, 1999),
* Xiuyu Wang,
China's Last Imperial Frontier: Late Qing Expansion in Sichuan's Tibetan Borderlands
', (Lexington Books, 2011),
* Yudru Tsomu,
The Rise of Gönpo Namgyel in Kham: The Blind Warrior of Nyarong
'' (Lexington Books, 2014),
External links
Khampa Network
magazine article about traveling overland across Kham
{{Authority control
Administrative divisions of Tibet
Geography of Sichuan
Tibet
Dêqên Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture