Tibet Peaceful Liberation Monument, Potala Square

Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups such as Mongols, Monpa, Tamang, Qiang, Sherpa, Lhoba, and since the 20th century Han Chinese and Hui. Tibet is the highest region on Earth, with an average elevation of . Located in the Himalayas, the highest elevation in Tibet is Mount Everest, Earth's highest mountain, rising above sea level.

The Tibetan Empire emerged in the 7th century. At its height in the 9th century, the Tibetan Empire extended far beyond the Tibetan Plateau, from the Tarim Basin and Pamirs in the west, to Yunnan and Bengal in the southeast. It then divided into a variety of territories. The bulk of western and central Tibet (Ü-Tsang) was often at least nominally unified under a series of Tibetan governments in Lhasa, Shigatse, or nearby locations. The eastern regions of Kham and Amdo often maintained a more decentralized indigenous political structure, being divided among a number of small principalities and tribal groups, while also often falling under Chinese rule; most of this area was eventually annexed into the Chinese provinces of Sichuan and Qinghai. The current borders of Tibet were generally established in the 18th century.

Following the Xinhai Revolution against the Qing dynasty in 1912, Qing soldiers were disarmed and escorted out of Ü-Tsang, but it has been constitutionally claimed by the Republic of China as the Tibet Area. The 13th Dalai Lama declared the region's independence in 1913, although it was neither recognised by the Chinese Republican government nor any foreign power. Lhasa later took control of western Xikang as well. The region maintained its autonomy until 1951 when, following the Battle of Chamdo, it was occupied and annexed by the People's Republic of China (PRC). The entire plateau came under PRC administration. The Tibetan government was abolished after the failure of the 1959 Tibetan uprising. Today, China governs western and central Tibet as the Xizang Autonomous Region while the eastern areas are now mostly autonomous prefectures within Qinghai, Gansu, Yunnan and Sichuan provinces.

The Tibetan independence movement is principally led by the Tibetan diaspora. Human rights groups have accused the Chinese government of abuses of human rights in Tibet, including torture, arbitrary arrests, and religious repression, with the Chinese government tightly controlling information and denying external scrutiny. While there are conflicting reports on the scale of human rights violations, including allegations of cultural genocide and the Sinicization of Tibet, widespread suppression of Tibetan culture and dissent continues to be documented.

The dominant religion in Tibet is Tibetan Buddhism; other religions include Bön, an indigenous religion similar to Tibetan Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity. Tibetan Buddhism is a primary influence on the art, music, and festivals of the region. Tibetan architecture reflects Chinese and Indian influences. Staple foods in Tibet are roasted barley, yak meat, and butter tea. With the growth of tourism in recent years, the service sector has become the largest sector in Tibet, accounting for 50.1% of the local GDP in 2020.

Names and etymologies

The first known use of the noun Tibet is in 1827 which is after the publishment of the 29-Article Ordinance for the More Effective Governing of Tibet in 1793.

The Tibetan name for their land, ''Bod'' (), means 'Tibet' or 'Tibetan Plateau', although it originally meant the central region around Lhasa, now known in Tibetan as ''Ü'' (). The Standard Tibetan pronunciation of ''Bod'' () is transcribed as: ''Bhö'' in Tournadre Phonetic Transcription; ''Bö'' in the THL Simplified Phonetic Transcription; and ''Poi'' in Tibetan pinyin. Some scholars believe the first written reference to ''Bod'' ("Tibet") was the ancient Bautai people recorded in the Egyptian-Greek works ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'' (1st century CE) and ''Geographia'' (Ptolemy, 2nd century CE), itself from the Sanskrit form ''Bhauṭṭa'' of the Indian geographical tradition.

The best-known medieval Chinese name for Tibet is ''Tubo'' ( zh, s=, links=no; or zh, hp=Tǔbō, links=no, c=, s=, t=, labels=no, or , ). This name first appears in Chinese characters as in the 7th century (Li Tai) and as in the 10th century (''Old Book of Tang'', describing 608–609 emissaries from Tibetan King Namri Songtsen to Emperor Yang of Sui). In the Middle Chinese language spoken during that period, as reconstructed by William H. Baxter, was pronounced ''thu-phjon'', and was pronounced ''thu-pjon'' (with the ' representing a ''shang'' tone).

Other pre-modern Chinese names for Tibet include:
* ''Wusiguo'' ( zh, s=烏斯國, hp=Wūsīguó, links=no; cf. Tibetan: ''dbus'', Ü, );
* ''Wusizang'' ( zh, s=烏斯藏, hp=wūsīzàng, links=no, cf. Tibetan: ''dbus-gtsang'', Ü-Tsang);
* ''Tubote'' ( zh, s=圖伯特, hp=Túbótè, links=no); and
* ''Tanggute'' ( zh, s=唐古忒, hp=Tánggǔtè, links=no, cf. Tangut).

American Tibetologist Elliot Sperling has argued in favor of a recent tendency by some authors writing in Chinese to revive the term ''Tubote'' ( zh, s=图伯特, t=圖伯特, hp=Túbótè, links=no) for modern use in place of ''Xizang'', on the grounds that ''Tubote'' more clearly includes the entire Tibetan plateau rather than simply the Tibet Autonomous Region.

Historical linguists generally agree that "Tibet" names in European languages are loanwords from Arabic or (), itself deriving from Turkic ' (plural of ), literally 'The Heights'.

The first known use of the term Xizang is in 1663. In the Qing Veritable Records, there is a record of "the death of the Panchen Lama Hutuktu of Xizang, and officials were sent to pay tribute to him" on the 8th month of the 2nd year of the reign of Emperor Kangxi (September 2, 1663). This may be the earliest use of the word Xizang as a place name.

In 1720, Emperor Kangxi wrote an edict for the Imperial Stele Inscriptions of the Pacification of Tibet in the Manchu, Han, Mongolian, and Tibetan languages. At that point, ''Xizang'' officially appeared, replacing the term ''Tubo'' used since the Tang and Song dynasties, and the terms ''Kokham'' (朵甘), ''Ü-Tsang'' (乌思藏), and ''Ali Sankor'' (阿里三廓, "Nari Sugulusun" in the Yuan and Ming dynasties) in China. The Tibetan term for Xizang is ''Bod'', the Manchu term for Xizang is ''Wargi Dzang'', and the Mongol term for Xizang is ''Töbed''.

Language

Linguists generally classify the Tibetan language as a Tibeto-Burman language of the Sino-Tibetan language family, although the boundaries between 'Tibetan' and certain other Himalayan languages can be unclear. According to Matthew Kapstein:

From the perspective of historical linguistics, Tibetan most closely resembles Burmese among the major languages of Asia. Grouping these two together with other apparently related languages spoken in the Himalayan lands, as well as in the highlands of Southeast Asia and the Sino-Tibetan frontier regions, linguists have generally concluded that there exists a Tibeto-Burman family of languages. More controversial is the theory that the Tibeto-Burman family is itself part of a larger language family, called Sino-Tibetan, and that through it Tibetan and Burmese are distant cousins of Chinese.

The language has numerous regional dialects which are generally not mutually intelligible. It is employed throughout the Tibetan plateau and Bhutan and is also spoken in parts of Nepal and northern India, such as Sikkim. In general, the dialects of central Tibet (including Lhasa), Kham, Amdo and some smaller nearby areas are considered Tibetan dialects. Other forms, particularly Dzongkha, Sikkimese, Sherpa, and Ladakhi, are considered by their speakers, largely for political reasons, to be separate languages. However, if the latter group of Tibetan-type languages are included in the calculation, then 'greater Tibetan' is spoken by approximately 6 million people across the Tibetan Plateau. Tibetan is also spoken by approximately 150,000 exile speakers who have fled from modern-day Tibet to India and other countries.

Although spoken Tibetan varies according to the region, the written language, based on Classical Tibetan, is consistent throughout. This is probably due to the long-standing influence of the Tibetan empire, whose rule embraced (and extended at times far beyond) the present Tibetan linguistic area, which runs from Gilgit Baltistan in the west to Yunnan and Sichuan in the east, and from north of Qinghai Lake south as far as Bhutan. The Tibetan language has its own script which it shares with Ladakhi and Dzongkha, and which is derived from the ancient Indian Brāhmī script.

Starting in 2001, the local deaf sign languages of Tibet were standardized, and Tibetan Sign Language is now being promoted across the country.

The first Tibetan-English dictionary and grammar book was written by Alexander Csoma de Kőrös in 1834.

History

Early history

Humans inhabited the Tibetan Plateau at least 21,000 years ago. This population was largely replaced around 3,000 BP by Neolithic immigrants from northern China, but there is a partial genetic continuity between the Paleolithic inhabitants and contemporary Tibetan populations.

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.Norbu 1989, pp. 127–128 Zhang Zhung is considered to be the original home of the Bön religion.Helmut Hoffman in McKay 2003 vol. 1, pp. 45–68 By the 1st century BCE, a neighboring kingdom arose in the 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. 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.

Tibetan Empire

The history of a unified Tibet begins with the rule of Songtsen Gampo (604–650CE), who united parts of the 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 Taizong of Tang China.

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's capital Chang'an (modern Xi'an) in late 763. 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.

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.

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 Chinese. However, after Gao Xianzhi's defeat by the Arabs and 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 821/822CE, 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 stone pillar which stands outside the Jokhang temple in Lhasa. 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 Islamic invasion from Bengal took place in 1206.

Yuan dynasty

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.Dawa Norbu.
China's Tibet Policy
'', p. 139. Psychology Press. The 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 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.

Tibet retained nominal power over religious and regional political affairs, while the Mongols managed a structural and administrative rule over the region, reinforced by the rare military intervention. This existed as a "diarchic structure" under the Yuan emperor, with power primarily in favor of the Mongols. 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.Rossabi 1983, p. 194 Following the uprising, Tai Situ Changchub Gyaltsen founded the Phagmodrupa dynasty, and sought to reduce Yuan influences over Tibetan culture and politics.

Phagmodrupa, Rinpungpa and Tsangpa dynasties

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, Drepung and 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 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.

Rise of Ganden Phodrang and Buddhist Gelug school

In 1578, Altan Khan of the Tümed Mongols gave Sonam Gyatso, a high lama of the Gelugpa school, the name ''Dalai Lama'', ''Dalai'' being the Mongolian translation of the Tibetan name ''Gyatso'' "Ocean".

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 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

Qing dynasty rule in Tibet began with their 1720 expedition to the country when they expelled the invading Dzungars. Amdo came under Qing control in 1724, and eastern Kham was incorporated into neighbouring Chinese provinces in 1728.Wang Jiawei, " The Historical Status of China's Tibet", 2000, pp. 162–6. Meanwhile, the Qing government sent resident commissioners called ''Ambans'' to Lhasa. In 1750, the Ambans and the majority of the Han Chinese and Manchus living in Lhasa were killed in 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'', 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.

For several decades, peace reigned in Tibet, but in 1792, the Qing Qianlong Emperor sent a large Chinese army into Tibet to push the invading Nepalese 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. 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.

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.

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, 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.

In 1774, a Scottish nobleman, 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. However, in the 19th century, tensions between foreign powers and Tibet increased. The British Empire was expanding its territories in India into the Himalayas, while the Emirate of Afghanistan and the Russian Empire were both doing likewise in Central Asia.

In 1904, a British expedition to Tibet, spurred in part by a fear that 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 mostly Indian troops, quickly invaded and captured Lhasa, with the Dalai Lama fleeing to the countryside.Smith 1996, pp. 154–6 Afterwards, the leader of the expedition, Sir Francis Younghusband, negotiated the Convention Between Great Britain and Tibet with the Tibetans, which guaranteed the British great economic influence but ensured the region 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.

In 1910, the Qing government sent 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.

Post-Qing period

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 apologized for the actions of the Qing and offered to restore the Dalai Lama's title. The Dalai Lama refused any Chinese title and declared himself ruler of an independent Tibet.Shakya 1999, pg. 5 In 1913, Tibet and Outer Mongolia concluded a treaty of mutual recognition. The ROC continued to view the former Qing territory as its own, including Tibet. For the next 36 years, the 13th Dalai Lama and the 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.Wang Jiawei, "The Historical Status of China's Tibet", 2000, p. 150. In 1914, the Tibetan government signed the Simla Convention

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