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The history of Tibet has long intrigued the world, as well as the dilemma of its future will it ever return to independence or will it always remain part of China? Is a Tibet outside of Tibet a viable expression of self-determination? How will the succession of the aging and revered Dalai Lama affect Tibet and the world? This book makes the case for a fully Tibetan independent state for much of its 2,500-year existence; a great empire from the seventh to ninth centuries; in 1249, then a territory of the Mongol Empire that annexed China itself in 1279. Tibet reclaimed its independence from China in 1368. The Manchus later exerted their direct influence in Tibetan affairs but by 1840 Tibet began to resume its independent course until communist China invaded in 1950. Since that time, Tibetan nationalism has been maintained primarily by over 100,000 refugees living abroad.
About the author
Paul Christiaan Klieger (d. 2019) was an anthropologist specialising in Tibet and Native Hawaiian culture. He is the author of several books on the history of Tibet and the Hawaiian kingdom, including The State of Tibet: A History of a Central Asian Polity (2016) and Kamehameha III (2015).
Summary
The long history of Tibet, an independent state for much of its 2,500 years.
Report
At a time when China is a rising geopolitical power and the international attention on Tibet experiences a decline, Klieger provides a crucial analysis of different and often contesting narratives on the past, present and possible futures of China-Tibet relations.', Dibyesh Anand, Professor of International Relations, University of Westminster
