Thubten Gyatsho

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Thubten Gyatsho
Tibetan name
Tibetan script :
ཐུབ་ བསྟན་ རྒྱ་མཚོ་
Wylie transliteration :
thub bstan rgya mtsho
Pronunciation in IPA :
[ tʰuptɛ̃ catsʰɔ ]
Official transcription of the PRCh :
Tubdain Gyaco
THDL transcription :
Thupten Gyatsho
Other spellings:
Thubten Gyatso
Chinese name
Traditional :
土 登嘉 措
Simplified :
土 登嘉 措
Pinyin :
Tǔdēng Jiācuò

Thubten Gyatsho ( May 27, 1876 - December 17, 1933 ) was the 13th Dalai Lama .

Origin and personality

Thubten Gyatsho (often also: Thubten Gyatso) was born into a farming family in Perchode, 160 km southeast of Lhasa. His parents were called Gunka Rinchen and Lobsang Dolma. On February 14, 1878, the child was brought to Lhasa and recognized as the 13th Dalai Lama by the 8th Panchen Lama Tenpai Wangchuk at the request of the imperial government. He enthroned the boy on August 1, 1879 in the Potala Palace. He was now called "Ngawang Lobsang Thupten Gyatso Jigdral Chokley Namgyal". According to contemporary sources, the 13th Dalai Lama was an imperious, “strong man with a martial face and similar appearance” (according to the French officer Henri d'Ollone, who met him in 1908). The French researcher David-Néel writes about him: “He is described as cruel and he really looks like it.” In addition, everything is “artificial about him” and he knows “neither warmth nor friendliness”.

Evaluation and effect

The 13th Dalai Lama was praised as a great reformer, modernizer and statesman by many, such as Charles Alfred Bell , his successor Tenzin Gyatso or Heinrich Harrer . His attempts at domestic political reform, which he undertook at the instigation of the British, largely failed. He also failed to achieve his goal of permanent territorial expansion of Tibet to the east, and his state was not recognized internationally either during his lifetime or afterwards.

His strong personality is often praised. On the other hand, western historians also admit that the “respect” he “initially instilled” in those around him had “gradually given way to fear and intrigue”, and even his friend Charles Bell thought he was “an absolute dictator " been. The French Tibet historian Deshayes draws the following balance sheet of his rule: Three “unused cars, an embryonic power grid and a mint” were “the last remnants” of the reform attempts in 1933. "Ancient Tibet held out."

Takeover and consolidation of power

Thubten Gyatso took over political power in Lhasa in 1895 when he came of age. He soon eliminated his most important competitor and his supporters: In the so-called affair of the “enchanted boots”, the previous regent Demo Rinpoche and his brother Norbu Tsering, then Prime Minister, were arrested, tortured and finally killed - because of an alleged attempted murder using black magic. Her close relatives as well as her servants and followers suffered a similar fate; 16 Bon priests were also executed. The Babu Sarat Chandra Das affair also took place in the first years of Thubten Gyatso's rule: a Bengal of this name had illegally entered Lhasa for a few days with the help of a high lama friend from Tashilhumpo. When this became known, the Tibetan dignitary who had allowed a stranger to enter was "dragged from his high office to that holy city, flogged every day in the public market and then shamefully murdered." In this case too, the relatives and subordinates were co-punished. Phala Dahpon, the governor of Gyantse, and his wife Lha-cham were expropriated and sentenced to life imprisonment, several of their servants were "barbarically mutilated, their hands and feet were cut off, their eyes gouged out, and left to slow excruciatingly Die death. "

British influence

During the reign of the 13th Dalai Lama, attempts by Russia and above all the British Empire to gain a foothold in Tibet were made. In 1904 a British expeditionary force under the command of Francis Younghusband reached the capital Lhasa after having destroyed the Tibetan troops, which were far inferior in terms of weapons technology, in several battles. Tibetan representatives - the Dalai Lama had fled to Outer Mongolia and then to Beijing, leaving his official seals behind , and was therefore declared deposed by Beijing - had to sign an agreement ("Lhasa Convention") that confirmed British rule over Sikkim and Tibet himself committed to trade relations with the British. From now on it should only be allowed to enter into relations with foreign powers with British consent. It also had to pay reparations, which China eventually paid. Only then did the British troops leave the area of Yadong which they had occupied as bargaining chip . In order to appease China, Great Britain declared that it did not fall under the concept of "foreign power" and recognized the "sovereignty" (" suzerainty ") of China over Tibet by treaty. Nevertheless, from then on the country belonged to the "sphere of influence of Great Britain", which is evident in the cession of areas in the eastern Himalayan region (not recognized by China) (see NEFA ) and in so-called British trade agencies in Gyantse, Yadong, Gartok and Lhasa put it. The British commercial agents there resembled the British residents in India: They were “under the direct authority of the political officer in Sikkim” and were supposed to “persuade the local authorities to pursue a policy that served British interests”.

Exile in British India

The British influence in Tibet increased again after it was decisively promoted by Thubten Gyatso himself. After his return from Beijing in 1909, he came into conflict with the Chinese Amban . During his five-year absence, reforms had begun in Tibet: the government there should be secularized and modernized. A Chinese school opened its doors in Lhasa in 1907, and a military academy in 1908. There were plans to train soldiers for a larger army, and to build roads and telegraph lines. China sent troops to march from Sichuan into Tibet and were to be posted there at the borders to prevent the British from making further advances. In February 1910, over two thousand Chinese soldiers reached Lhasa and were “even welcomed by some Tibetans.” In this situation, the Dalai Lama decided to put everything on the British map. On February 12, 1910, he fled to British India, accompanied by some loyal followers. China therefore removed him again from his offices. In Indian exile he made friends with the high colonial official Sir Charles Bell, who introduced him to the British viceroy. He came to appreciate "the efficiency of British colonial administration" and became an admirer of the British military. Meanwhile, the Panchen Lama, who maintained a “pro-Chinese attitude”, stayed in Tibet and took over the ritual and representative tasks of the refugee in Lhasa at the invitation of Amban.

Return to power

In 1911, the Qing Dynasty was overthrown in China and the Chinese Republic was proclaimed. In March 1912, the Chinese soldiers mutinied in Lhasa and stormed the residence of the imperial high commissioner. Thubten Gyatsho seized the opportunity. From Sikkim he instructed his supporters in Lhasa to organize an uprising. In particular, the Sera monk soldiers fought against the Chinese garrison, while the Drepung and Tengyeling monks as well as those of Tashilhumpo supported the Chinese presence. In April, the Chinese soldiers were forced to surrender and eventually withdraw across the Indian border. Jordan, the British ambassador in Beijing, had ensured that the new leadership of China did not send reinforcements by threatening not to recognize the Chinese republic. In the course of the armed conflict, the Tengyeling monastery was razed to the ground by the followers of Thubten Gyatsho; his lamas were severely punished. Four Lhasa government ministers loyal to China were killed, including Tsarong Shape, who was killed with his son. A favorite of the 13th Dalai Lama was allowed to appropriate the names, property and "the entire dead and living inventory" of the killed, including "his wives and daughters." In early 1913, Thubten Gyatso returned to Lhasa and immediately made it clear that he had recovered those Power with no one was willing to share. Three weeks after his arrival, he had a declaration circulated which is often viewed as a "Tibetan declaration of independence", but which above all claims to his own undivided rule. It begins with the words: "I, the Dalai Lama, the most omniscient owner of Buddhist teachings, whose title was bestowed on the command of our Lord Buddha from the glorious land of India, speaks to you as follows". Then it goes on, while Thubten Gyatsho claims the succession of the kings of the early days and justifies his personal rule religiously: “Our Lord Buddha from the glorious land of India prophesied that the reincarnations of Avalokiteshvaras would take the form of successive rulers, from the early religious kings to today, we will take care of the welfare of Tibet. "

Attempted statehood and modernization

At the suggestion of Sir Charles Bell, who himself stayed in Lhasa for about a year in 1921, Thubten Gyatsho endeavored to endow Tibet with attributes of its own statehood and, in some areas, to introduce modernization based on the British model. In 1924, a British school inspector named Ludlow was allowed to build a school attended by a few dozen aristocratic offspring. But it had to close after just four years. A mint minted Tibetan coins from imported British copper, and even banknotes were individually and hand-printed. The latter, however, were only “a curiosity”, and at the end of the 1930s Ernst Schäfer no longer even noticed the existence of a Tibetan currency of his own, as “the almighty Indian rupee” had “conquered the field”, which he regarded as an unmistakable sign for “the Influence of Britain on Tibet ”. “Postage stamps that are absolutely invalid” were also printed and “stamped with an invalid stamp”. Tibet was not a member of the Universal Postal Union. The main focus of the 13th Dalai Lama was to build a modern army, which he paid a lot, which led to a drastic increase in taxes and duties. Their officers were trained in British India and their weapons and uniforms were bought there. The Tibetan military band wore pith helmets and played tunes such as “God Save the King” or “It's a Long Way to Tipperary” on bagpipes. This army and a newly created police force under the command of the Sikkimesen Laden-la, who had previously proven himself in the suppression of the "Gandhi movement" in Darjeeling, were to serve Thubten Gyatso as a power base against the remaining political opponents, for example against the abbots of the mighty Drepung Monastery. In 1921 he had three abbots of this largest of all Tibetan monasteries accused, whipped and banished, initially unspecified crimes. He used his army against the then revolting monks. After a prolonged siege by 3,000 soldiers from all over Tibet, sixty lamas were arrested by Drepung, whipped and led through Lhasa in kangs and iron ankle shackles. On December 26, 1923, Chökyi Nyima, the 9th Panchen Lama, was also forced to flee from his monastery in Tashilhumpo via Mongolia to China because he feared for his life. Another purpose of the modern army was the desired expansion of the territory controlled by Lhasa to the east. There were always battles with Chinese troops and a changing border line. The Khampas living there fought partly on the side of the Tibetan troops and partly on the other side. The Dalai Lama’s army was also supported by the British, even during World War I, when China was actually an ally of Great Britain. In 1924, however, the military suddenly developed into a threat to Thubten Gyatso himself. After Commander-in-Chief Tsarong ordered the mutilation of two soldiers, the officers expressed their solidarity with their superior, who was now threatened with punishment. They were considering a coup to overthrow the Dalai Lama. Although the confrontation went smoothly, Thubten Gyatso was now anxious to weaken the military. He had one high officer after the other demoted or even killed for mostly flimsy reasons. Surkhang was deposed because of an extramarital relationship, commanders Dingja, Sambo and Tsögaw because of their European haircut; Pedma Chandra, who fled after his release, was killed and his head on public display in Lhasa. Tsarong was spared, but lost his power and was also dismissed as Shape in 1930. At the same time, Thubten Gyatso sought the favor of the most conservative monastic circles again. For example, the wearing of western clothing and even glasses was banned.

Sudden death and conflict over succession

The 13th Dalai Lama died on the evening of December 17, 1933, at the age of 58, five days after contracting a condition that was initially thought to be banal. He had not chosen a successor. His death came as a surprise, so that it was suspected that it was poison in the game. The search for someone to blame became the prelude to a bitter struggle for successors.

literature

  • Bell, Sir Charles: The Great Thirteenth. The unknown life of the XIII. Dalai Lama of Tibet . Bastei Lübbe 2005, ISBN 3-404-61578-6 .
  • Brauen, Martin (Ed.): The Dalai Lamas . Ethnological Museum of the University of Zurich 2005, ISBN 3-89790-219-2 .
  • Tendzin Chödrag: The Palace of the Rainbow. The Dalai Lama's personal physician remembers . Insel Verlag, 1999, ISBN 3-458-16972-5 .
  • Alexandra David-Néel: À l'ouest barbare de la vaste Chine. In the anthology Grand Tibet et vaste Chine. Récits et aventures . Librairie Plon, 1994, ISBN 978-2-259-00097-0 .
  • Alexandra David-Néel: My way through heaven and hells. The adventure of my life . Fischer Verlag, 8th edition. 2012, ISBN 978-3-596-16458-5 .
  • Alexandra David-Néel: Wanderer with the Wind. Travel diaries in letters 1911–1917 . Heinrich Albert Verlag, Wiesbaden undated , ISBN 3-522-69002-8 .
  • Denys, Jeanne: A. David-Néel au Tibet . La Pensée Universelle, Paris 1972.
  • Ettinger, Albert: Battle for Tibet. History, background and perspectives of an international conflict . Frankfurt am Main 2015, ISBN 978-3-88975-235-2 .
  • Melvyn C. Goldstein: A History of Modern Tibet, volume 1: 1913–1951. The Demise of the Lamaist State . University of California Press, 1989, ISBN 978-0-520-07590-0 .
  • Golzio, Karl-Heinz / Bandini, Pietro: The fourteen rebirths of the Dalai Lama. The rulers of Tibet - how they come back, how they are found, what they have left behind . OW Barth, Bern / Munich / Vienna 1997, ISBN 3-502-61002-9 .
  • Gruschke, Andreas: Dalai Lama . Hugendubel, Kreuzlingen, Munich 2003, ISBN 3-7205-2461-2 .
  • Heinrich Harrer: Seven years in Tibet. My life at the court of the Dalai Lama . Ullstein Taschenbuch, 2009, ISBN 978-3-548-35753-9 .
  • Ekai Kawaguchi: Three Years in Tibet. With the original Japanese Illustrations . Theosophical Publishing Company, 1909 (available as a PDF file on the Internet)
  • McGovern, William M .: As a coolie to Lhasa. A secret trip to Tibet . Translated from English by Martin Proskauer. Berlin undated
  • McKay, Alex: "Truth," Perception, and Politics. The British construction of an image of Tibet . In: Myth of Tibet. Perceptions, projections, fantasies. Cologne 1997, ISBN 3-7701-4044-3 .
  • Schäfer, Ernst: The festival of the white veil. Encounters with people, monks and magicians in Tibet . Durach 1988, ISBN 3-89385-034-1 .
  • Schulemann, Günther: The history of the Dalai Lamas . Leipzig 1958, DNB 454503199
  • Tsybikov, Gonbojab Tsebekovitch: Un pèlerin bouddhiste dans les sanctuaires du Tibet. D'après les journeaux de voyage tenus entre 1899 et 1902 . Traduction du russe et édition critique de Bernard circles. Paris 1992, ISBN 2-907629-13-1 .
  • Waddell, L. Austine: Lhasa and Its Mysteries. With a Record of the Expedition from 1903 to 1904 . London 1906, (Reprint) ISBN 978-0-7661-8826-6 .

Web links

Commons : Thubten Gyatsho  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Quoting from Jeanne Denys: A. David-Néel au Tibet (Une supercherie dévoilée), Paris 1972, p. 37.
  2. ↑ Alexandra David-Néel : Wanderer with the wind. , P. 126 and 128-
  3. ↑ Laurent Deshayes: Histoire du Tibet. In: Fayard , Paris 1997, ISBN 2-213-59502-X , p. 294.
  4. ↑ a b Laurent Deshayes: Histoire du Tibet. In: Fayard , Paris 1997, ISBN 2-213-59502-X , p. 296.
  5. ↑ Ekai Kawaguchi: Three Years in Tibet, p. 380; Tsybikov: Un pèlerin bouddhiste dans les sanctuaires du Tibet, pp. 186–187.
  6. ↑ Austine Waddell: Lhasa and Its Mysteries, pp 7-9.
  7. ^ Karénina Kollmar-Paulenz : Small history of Tibet . Verlag CH Beck, 2006, ISBN 978-3-406-54100-1 , p. 139.
  8. ^ Melvyn C. Goldstein : A History of Modern Tibet, volume 1: 1913–1951. The Demise of the Lamaist State . University of California Press, 1989, ISBN 978-0-520-07590-0 , p. 47 and ann.
  9. ↑ Alex McKay: "Truth," Perception, and Politics. The British construction of an image of Tibet. In: Mythos Tibet, pp. 68–69.
  10. ^ Melvyn C. Goldstein : A History of Modern Tibet, volume 1: 1913–1951. The Demise of the Lamaist State . University of California Press, 1989, ISBN 978-0-520-07590-0 , p. 47.
  11. ↑ Sam van Schaik: Tibet. A history. In: Yale University Press , 2013, ISBN 978-0-300-19410-4 , p. 185.
  12. ^ Karénina Kollmar-Paulenz : Small history of Tibet . Verlag CH Beck, 2006, ISBN 978-3-406-54100-1 , p. 143.
  13. ^ Karénina Kollmar-Paulenz : Small history of Tibet . Verlag CH Beck, 2006, ISBN 978-3-406-54100-1 , p. 148.
  14. ↑ a b Sam van Schaik: Tibet. A history. In: Yale University Press , 2013, ISBN 978-0-300-19410-4 , p. 190.
  15. ↑ Laurent Deshayes: Histoire du Tibet. In: Fayard , Paris 1997, ISBN 2-213-59502-X , p. 265.
  16. ↑ Schäfer, Ernst: The festival of the white veil. Encounters with people, monks and magicians in Tibet . Durach 1988, ISBN 3-89385-034-1 , p. 42.
  17. ↑ en.wikisource.org
  18. ↑ a b c Sam van Schaik: Tibet. A history. In: Yale University Press , 2013, ISBN 978-0-300-19410-4 , p. 197.
  19. ^ Karénina Kollmar-Paulenz : Small history of Tibet . Verlag CH Beck, 2006, ISBN 978-3-406-54100-1 , pp. 145-146.
  20. ^ Tendzin Chödrag : The Palace of the Rainbow, note p. 79.
  21. ↑ Alexandra David-Néel : My way through heaven and hell- , p. 281.
  22. ↑ a b Schäfer, Ernst: The festival of the white veil. Encounters with people, monks and magicians in Tibet . Durach 1988, ISBN 3-89385-034-1 , p. 103.
  23. ^ Heinrich Harrer : Seven Years in Tibet. My life at the court of the Dalai Lama . Ullstein Taschenbuch, 2009, ISBN 978-3-548-35753-9 , p. 181 and p. 183.
  24. ↑ Alexandra David-Néel : My way through heaven and hells. , P. 270: "Most of the people who previously rebelled against the limp, distant Chinese government now regret it when taxes, compulsory payments and the outrageous system of looting by the local troops go far beyond the claims of the former masters."
  25. ^ Grunfeld, A. Tom: The Making of Modern Tibet . ME Sharpe, 1996, ISBN 978-1-56324-714-9 , p. 80; Harrer, pp. 239-241.
  26. ^ William M. McGovern: As a coolie to Lhasa, p. 19.
  27. ^ Melvyn C. Goldstein : The Demise of the Lamaist State, pp. 107-109.
  28. ^ Melvyn C. Goldstein : A History of Modern Tibet, volume 1: 1913–1951. The Demise of the Lamaist State . University of California Press, 1989, ISBN 978-0-520-07590-0 , pp. 110 ff.
  29. ↑ Alexandra David-Néel : My way through heaven and hells. , Pp. 258-261.
  30. ↑ Sam van Schaik: Tibet. A history. In: Yale University Press , 2013, ISBN 978-0-300-19410-4 , p. 196.
  31. ^ Grunfeld, A. Tom: The Making of Modern Tibet . ME Sharpe, 1996, ISBN 978-1-56324-714-9 , p. 72.
  32. ↑ Alexandra David-Néel : A l'ouest barbare de la vaste Chine. In: Grand Tibet et vaste Chine, p. 777.
  33. ^ Melvyn C. Goldstein : A History of Modern Tibet, volume 1: 1913–1951. The Demise of the Lamaist State . University of California Press, 1989, ISBN 978-0-520-07590-0 , approximately pp. 133-134.
  34. ^ Heinrich Harrer : Seven Years in Tibet. My life at the court of the Dalai Lama . Ullstein Taschenbuch, 2009, ISBN 978-3-548-35753-9 , p. 186.
Thubten Gyatsho (alternative names of the lemma)
Tupten Gyatso, Thubten Gyatso, Tubdain Gyaco, chin .: 土 登嘉 措, Tǔdēng Jiācuò
personal data
SURNAME Thubten Gyatsho
ALTERNATIVE NAMES thub bstan rgya mtsho; Tupten Gyatso; Thubten Gyatso; Tubdain Gyaco
BRIEF DESCRIPTION 13th Dalai Lama
DATE OF BIRTH May 27, 1876
DATE OF DEATH December 17, 1933