The Political Status of Tibet and China

In contemporary society, before major decisions are made, we are often urged to look back at the pertinent historical information and see if we can use this information to help us make clearer decisions and definitions especially in national and international policies. The real problem with this is that those making decisions often have a personal investment in the decision and are able to skew history and data towards the solution that they prefer. In these cases, it is necessary to look at both sides of the information before reaching a decision, and this is what I have tried to do concerning China’s policies and political viewpoint of Tibet. Through using objective and pro-Chinese documents, as well as outside knowledge of pro-Tibet viewpoints, I have attempted to prove whether or not I feel the Chinese are justified in claiming authority over Tibet, and conversely, whether Tibet is justified in claiming autonomy from China. My conclusion is that neither is justified. Through studying the political histories of the relationship of China and Tibet since the Tang Dynasty, constructed as alternating periods of each state’s dominance over each other in different ways, I believe that neither China nor Tibet is justified in their political opinions over the other and instead they historically have been partners unable to clearly be separate from each other.

In order to properly come to a conclusion on what the actual historical status of Tibet and China is, one must begin with the first real documented political relationship existing between the two states. This period begins with the Tang Dynasty ruling in China (approximately 618 to 908 AD) and a series of powerful tribal chiefs in Tibet, referred to as the “‘Tubo’ in Chinese historical documents” (Yin 201). During this period, the Tubo were a highly powerful group, and for almost three centuries, constant battles erupted between Tibet and China, not clearly defined with borders yet. The Tibetans were still a highly nomadic society and sparsely spread along the high Tibetan plains. As the tribal chiefs began to gain more power, larger groups of people would congregate, and battles broke out when the nomadic Tibetans would either travel into Chinese territory or when the Chinese would infringe upon the Tibetan nomads’ lands. Due to the unclearly defined borders between China and Tibet, many “minor frontier states” existed as a buffer zone between Tibet and China (Norbu 34).