Sadism and Serfdom: the Story of Old Tibet
[url=http://bp1.blogger.com/_hntojuBOgo0/R_PjHgY6qUI/AAAAAAAACSI/0_Ex23FD7-c/s1600-h/OldTibet5.jpg][img]http://bp1.blogger.com/_hntojuBOgo0/R_PjHgY6qUI/AAAAAAAACSI/0_Ex23FD7-c/s320/OldTibet5.jpg[/img][/url][b]EDITOR'S NOTE: [/b]Set forth below is another installment in our series on Old Tibet, a land of horrific cruelty and exploitation prior to Chinese liberation. The Dalai Lama, who was Tibet's teenage absolute ruler when China took back control of his feudal domain, has never apologized for the nightmarish conditions that prevailed, including a complete absence of human rights for virtually all Tibetans.
Rich and beautiful Europe experienced a period known as the "Dark Ages" when barbaric methods of torture were used and the inhuman rule that sea-owners had the right to sleep with a female serf before she married her husband was enforced . However similar practices continued to exist in old Tibet for another 400 years.
[b]Despotic Lamas and Nobles[/b]
Before 1959, Tibet had long been a society of feudal serfdom under the despotic political- religious rule of lamas and nobles. The masses of serfs in Tibet did not even possess fundamental rights. Serf-owners principally local administrative officials nobles and upper- ranking lamas, accounted for less than 5 percent of Tibet's population but they owned all of Tibet's farmlands pastures, forests, mountains and rivers as well as most of the livestock. The serfs making up more than 90 percent of Tibet's population lived no better than the slaves in the plantations in the southern states of America. The serf-owners could sell or transfer their serfs, present them as gifts, or use them as mortgages payments for debts. They could even ex-change them,molest them or maltreat them. When two serfs got married, the husband and wife still belonged to different owners and their children were fated to be serfs from the moment they were born.
[b]The Weight of a Dead Body[/b]
The statutory code of old Tibet stipulated that people were unequal in status by dividing people into three classes and nine ranks. In a peculiar law concerning the value of human life it was written that the lives of people belonging to the highest rank of the upper class such as a prince or leading living Buddha, were calculated to be worth the weight of the dead body in gold whilst the dives of people belonging to the lowest rank of the lower class, such as women, butchers, hunters and craftsmen were worth a straw rope.
[url=http://bp1.blogger.com/_hntojuBOgo0/R_PjYgY6qVI/AAAAAAAACSQ/ANCCbiTnE8c/s1600-h/OldTibet2.jpg][img]http://bp1.blogger.com/_hntojuBOgo0/R_PjYgY6qVI/AAAAAAAACSQ/ANCCbiTnE8c/s320/OldTibet2.jpg[/img][/url]The judicial system of old Tibet gave monasteries and serf-owners the right to judge lawsuits. The judicial system itself was characterized by its bloodcurdling system of cruel tortures: punishments issued by the courts were extremely savage and cruel and included gouging out the eyes, cutting off the ears, hands or feet; pulling out tendons; throwing the criminal into water or shutting the criminal into a wooden case lined with nails facing inwards.
These bloody historical facto were displayed in an Exhibition of Tibetan Social and Historical Relics in the Beijing Cultural Palace of Nationalities. Imagine what people thought when they saw the amputated limbs, the flayed human skins and the ghastly torture implemented.
One letter kept in file which attracted much attention. It read:
''Rab Ge:''
A Buddhist ceremony will be held here. We need meat,hearts and blood from all kind of animals 4 human heads, intestines, pure blood, turbid blood, earth from ruins, the menstrual blood of a widow, the blood of a leper, water from beneath the surface of the earth, earth raised in a whirlwind, brambles growing towards the north, excrement of both dog and man and the boots of a butcher. All these should be sent to Tsechykhang on the 27th.
Tsechykhang , the 19th"
From this letter we can imagine how many serfs would have been killed for that single ceremony. In such barbaric and brutal times. Tibet's economic and social development was out of the question. The economy in Ti- bet had been at a standstill for a long time and was even declining as was the output of grain. Crude wooden ploughs were the basic tools for agricultural production: the primitive method of herding were causing the deterioration of both the pastoralland and the breeds of livestock disease was epidemic and harmful beasts were rampant. The seas were cruelly exploited. They were forced not only into hard labour but also to bear the heavy burdens of corvee and tax. Living in poverty and starvation, they were struggling for existence on the brink of death all year round. In the 1950s, there were more than 4,000 beggars in the city of Lhasa, out of a opulation of only 37,000. The rate was even higher in Shigatse, the second largest city in Tibet. Because Of the high frequency of uncontrolled epidemics, the average life-span of a Tibetan was only 35.5 years.
Why so long?
After reading the explanations about the horrific cruelties of old Tibet, I wondered why it took 700 years until 1951 for China to liberate Tibetans from their feudal serfdom. And what are the virtues of Chinese forced labour camps in comparison to the depravities of old Tibet. [url]http://bbs.guilinlife.com/dv_rss.asp?boardid=44&id=311464[/url]Human skinned drums, human bone deocration articles owned previously by Dalai Lama
An old Tibet.
This historical behaviour and the artifacts described are not peculiar to Tibet. It would be almost impossible to find anywhere in the world devoid of similar events and artifacts. Given that the historical record of Tibet is now well enough established, it would be useful to consider what the good and bad of Tibet is today.Where are the Tibetian gone???
I just don't understand, why nobody take some video of the Tibetian,let the Tibetian themselves to tell the world, that they ARE Chinese just as any other Sichuanees, Shanghaiees......, and let them to tell the world of the Tibetian history, and let them to tell the media stop lieing.It'll be much more convincible!!!!!!!!
Somebody do it!!!!! To peterboyd,
You raised a very good question. I think this is indeed Chinese government and media's fault. We have done incredible work, but no one knows outside China. Outside China people can only get news from huge western media networks, which, alas, are all hostile toward China. And I am not exaggerating on saying "all" here.
But to answer your question really takes more than one or two sentences when it involves hundreds of years of history and facts.
I found this article talked about late history of China's central government's policy on Tibet, which were around 1675 onwards. This was sort of the latest chapter in history, but it also was around the time period where the old British colonizer controlled India and the region and wanted to expand further into China through its southwestern border, which was Tibet. This was where all this "Free Tibet" talk started, by the British.
The article is in Chinese, could anyone read this article translate it into English?
As far as why it took 700 years, my own interpretation is this: new China and its government were founded in 1949, and freed Tibetan people from its sufferings, built railroads, roads, schools, medical centers, etc... Before that, Tibet was considered a " border town" by the kings in different dynasties, because the capitals were routinely in the north. So no one wanted to spend resources into a place which was so far away from the capital, especially when Tibet never tried to be independent from the central government throughout history. Now isn't that ironic?
It was only after British colonizer's meddling and CIA's "great work" in Tibet, the so called "Tibetan Free"
and Dalai Lama started making itself legitimate to western people. I believe if you study western history, you don't find an independent country called Tibet, nor do you find an independent country called Taiwan, because they were all part of China, old China or new China.
If anyone has any different view points on my thoughts, you are more than welcome to speak out. Thanks for reading my post. [url]http://news.xinhuanet.com/newscenter/2008-04/16/content_7989492.htm[/url]
sorry, I forgot to post the article's link. here it is. I find that my posts in Youtube one day were all deleted. I believe Youtube does not want people to hear the truth about China. If someone says something sensible and to the point, his remarks will be deleted.
My suggestion to the computer wiz here: Can we start something like youtube so that sensible comments don't get deleted? So that people around the world have access to freedom of speech?
How ironic, the very country who chants "freedom of speech" delete voices which are not "in sync" with all the "hate China" frenzy? I find that my posts in Youtube one day were all deleted. I believe Youtube does not want people to hear the truth about China. If someone says something sensible and to the point, his remarks will be deleted.
My suggestion to the computer wiz here: Can we start something like youtube so that sensible comments don't get deleted? So that people around the world have access to freedom of speech?
How ironic, the very country who chants "freedom of speech" delete voices which are not "in sync" with all the "hate China" frenzy? To peterboyd,
What Chinese forced labor camps you are talking about? I am lost on that one. Kindly expand your comments.
The only thing I can think about is the 10 year Cultural Revolution in China, between 1960s to 1970s.
Now that was no doubt the darkest age in new China's history. It killed many many innocent, honest people. The evil prevailed you could say during those 10 years. It destroyed the whole generation, you could still feel the rippling effect even today, from people who are from that period. And it was the then Chinese government's fault. Now bear it mind that government obviously was not today's government.
Now if you want to compare the desperation the Cultural Revolution brought on Chinese people to that of Tibetan's sufferings, I would say both are horrific and have no place in civilization.
Why does Dalai Lama exile ?
[url=http://www.chineseye.com/answer/show_252.html]http://www.chineseye.com/answer/show_252.html[/url] He's warmly accepted by Chairman Mao, what cause him to betrey our country?Everyone Can Put Video on Chineseye.com to Show the Truth!
Everyone Can Put Video on Forum of [url=http://www.chineseye.com/]Chineseye[/url] to Show the Truth!Let the world know the truth China, truth Beijing, truth Tibet, and the Truth!! I would like to say that while the western media appears hostile towards China, the people, at least in Texas where I live, have no hostillity towards China and I frequently conversations about how rediculous some of the things the media tells us are.
Reply 6# liligupta's post
Haha...I believe if you study western history, you don't find an independent country called Tibet, nor do you find an independent country called Taiwan, because they were all part of China, old China or new China.
Well, then you need to study history harder lil girl. Have you heard of Formosa? Another thing, all cultures, empires, like to claim the land based on history. The problem is that history is not static, just because for a period of 300 yrs Tibet was soverign of China does not make it chinese. Japan ruled parts of China for some time. Would you accept a Japanese claim from that time period? A nation has to have historic, culural and political unity to claim itself a single country. Tibet is not culturally similar and politically it wants independence. Historically it was on and off from China. To saki,
Thank you for replying to my post.
well if history does not count for anything, then why do you still suggest me to study harder? Let's completely forget about history then!
Since when a different culture, different language stops people from getting united into one country? There are 56 ethnic groups in China, God knows how many local dialects that all sounds foreign to me. Now in your theory, forget about China's 5000 years of history, which by the way, is one of the oldest relics cherished by mankind, there should be no China. They should be all independent countries then, per your reasoning!
If history of a country counts for nothing, then I really have no arguing with you on this subject. Maybe all the historians should go look for another profession, because based on your theory, history is worthless, they are wasting their time.
I believe history tells a lot about human societies/ cultures' evolution. In top or any universities or colleges, there are history majors, anthropology majors, even politics are basically all about historical events and future strategies, economics, etc.. you name it.
It is simply not ture for you to put up a statement saying "Tibet is on and off from China". Please state the facts to support your statement. Well here I go again, digging into history, there is on this very website a list of milestones chronicalling Tibet's history and its relationship to the Chinese central governments. Yes, history shows Tibet has always been part of China. History speaks for itself.
Thank you again for reading my post. To maxrizk,
Yes, I agree with you. I live here in the US, have met quite a few great American co-workers, who are just down-to-earth, real people. We all worry and feel happy pretty much about the same things in life. With all these lies and hate spread by the western media and politicians, it is really human and natural for us Chinese to feel hurt and angry, if not generalizing by saying these "Americans" or that "French". They all say it is easy to hate a country, it is not so easy to hate a person, well, once you know him/her. When I think of how evil the whole western world has been to China, I also think of the good Americans I met. And it just makes me wonder: Why such a contrast? People can be real people with all the decencies and good old values, but the ones with power and in charge can live without?
To Lili
I am not saying history does not count for anything. I am saying, history changes and taking a part of history out of context is foolish. I also said something about formosa that you ignored. we all know the reason.However, most foolish thing to do would be to use this site as a reference to Tibetian history - almost just as foolish would be to think Xinhua is an unbiased view of tibet.
Please see wiki on tibet and you will know what was its history.
A country can have many cultures of course. However, if an ethnic community wants independence - historically - and repeatedly, it should be seriously considered. To saki,
My ignorance. I actually don't know about forsum. You should not make assumptions. That is where misunderstandings happen.
Yes, if a culture or society wants its independence, it deserves respect and justice. I agree with you on that. Anyone with justice would agree on it.
In Tibet's case, who wants independence? The people of Tibet? Well, that is what Dalai Lama's slogan says isn't it? It is Dalai Lama and his group. And who exactly are the group members? They are the wolves under the sheep skin if you ask me. I think from reading all the histories and facts posted here, we all know that by now who they are. So I am not going to repeat here. And who first started all these independence talk? That is also well documented in history. The British colonizer.
So, if an old western colonizer back in 17th century wanted to control China through its borders, put in conspiracies to have couple of so called spiritual leaders claim independent and support these conspiracies by what else other than promising money and wealth(to whom? The people of Tibet? No, that would be too naive to think that isn't it? Look what happened to India.), do China have to live with that and agree to it? Or shall China stand up to protect its people and their rights? Plus who says wiki is an authority in history or anything for that matter? it is all posted by individuals, and it is part of western media. well, I do not trust what western media say about my country. Lili,
Again, you accept you do not know what you talked about. Taiwan was historically called Formosa and there is tons of history about its independent history.
Know you calling Dalai Lama Wolve is same as CNN calling leaders of China goons. So you are upset about the same thing that you just practiced in your post - calling someone name.
Here is the tragedy that all (but you) can see from these posts. These posts are a manifestations of years of Chinese media repression of their OWN people. You blame western media (and I agree they are to be blamed for lot of reasons) but you do not understand the brainwashing your government (peoples - government - hahaha when was the last time you voted) does thru Xinhua. Not knowing formosa is alsmost like an American not knowing Hawaii.
Do you know how many chinese have Government of China pushed in Tibet after 1951. How come Tibetians are minorities in Tibet?
It is reasonable not to believe what western media says about country- i do not believe them many times. However, what is your alternative? Your country does not have internet freedom, media freedom and school books are written by communists who dont want you to vote. Can you explain that. Who cares about western media - your own people cannot tell you the truth if they wanted to. Can you type Tiannanmen square in Baidu? Think about it.