The Tibetan Autonomous Region is broadly what the West calls Tibet. Some 2 million Tibetans live in the borderlands of Sichuan, Gansu, Yunnan, and Qinghai. There are of course many conflicting and often highly charged perceptions of the pattern and future of Tibetan culture and identity in these areas. This study based on fieldwork 1998-2000 was researched under the auspices of the international Peace Research Institute, Oslo. It explored the areas of Tibetan cultural activities that involved Tibetan language, literature, visual arts, museums, performing arts, festivals and religion. Details are given of: the controversial recent history of monasteries and religions practices and the post-1978 rebuilding of monasteries and monastic life; the dilemmas of secularism, language, access and teacher training in education; and Chinese Communist Party policies in relation to cultural difference, tourism, economic development. With tabulated data, black-and-white photographs, Chinese/Tibetan glossary, bibliography and index.
On the Margins of Tibet: Cultural Survival on the Sino-Tibetan Frontier
ISBN
9780295984810Authors
Kolas, Ashild; Monika P ThowsenExtent
276Format
PaperbackYear
2005Publisher
University of Washington Press