Sanggyai Yexe (; ) or Tian Bao (; February 9, 1917 – February 21, 2008) was a Chinese government official of Gyalrong descent. Tian was one of the first

ethnic An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

Tibetans The Tibetan people (; ) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Tibet. Their current population is estimated to be around 6.7 million. In addition to the majority living in Tibet Autonomous Region of China, significant numbers of Tibetans liv ...

to embrace the concept of

Communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a ...

and join

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...

's army. Mao's army, and the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, later entered Tibet in 1951.

Biography

Tian Bao was born as Sangye Yeshi in Kham, a traditionally eastern region of

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...

which is now part of the Chinese province of

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; 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 ...

. Tian first encountered Mao Zedong's army in 1935 as it pushed through

western China Western China (, or rarely ) is the west of China. In the definition of the Chinese government, Western China covers one municipality ( Chongqing), six provinces (Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Shaanxi, Gansu, and Qinghai), and three autonomous re ...

when he was eighteen years old. Mao was trying to escape

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 ...

government forces at the time. Tian joined Mao's army and became one of the few ethnic Tibetans who participated in the

Long March The Long March (, lit. ''Long Expedition'') was a military retreat undertaken by the Red Army of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the forerunner of the People's Liberation Army, to evade the pursuit of the National Army of the Chinese ...

, a retreat by

Chinese Communist The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...

forces into northern China in 1935. Tian later held senior positions in the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

and

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...

of Tibet and Sichuan following the Communist victory 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 ...

and the 1951 occupation of Tibet. Tian was appointed the deputy secretary of the Tibetan regional Communist Party after its establishment in 1965. This was considered to be a high-profile post for an ethnic Tibetan at the time. Tian Bao died on February 21, 2008, at the age of 92 in the city of

Chengdu Chengdu (, ; simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), alternatively romanized as Chengtu, is a sub-provincial city which serves as the capital of the Chinese pro ...

PR China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

. Officials said he died of an unspecified illness, but gave no further details. He was an alternate member of 8th Central Committee of CPC, and a full member of 9th to 11th Central Committees; A member of 12th and 13th

Central Advisory Commission The Central Advisory Commission () (CAC) was a body of the Chinese Communist Party that existed during the era of the paramount leadership of Deng Xiaoping. The body was supposed to provide "political assistance and consultation" to the Party' ...

; a deputy to 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 5th

National People's Congress The National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPC; ), or simply the National People's Congress, is constitutionally the supreme state authority and the national legislature of the People's Republic of China. With 2,9 ...

; a standing committee member of 1st CPPCC.Former Secretary of CPC Sichuan Committee, Tian Bao, Died, at Age of 92
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References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanggyai Yexe 1917 births 2008 deaths Chinese Communist Party politicians from Sichuan Delegates to the 1st National People's Congress Delegates to the 2nd National People's Congress Delegates to the 3rd National People's Congress Delegates to the 5th National People's Congress Members of the 9th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Members of the 10th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Members of the 11th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party People of the Chinese Civil War Tibetan politicians Politicians from Ngawa People's Republic of China politicians from Sichuan Political office-holders in Tibet