Foreword I II III
I. The Rapid Social Development in Tibet
Modernization has been the fundamental question in the social development
of Tibet in modern times. The feudal serfdom under theocracy, which had lasted
for several hundred years in Tibet, became an extremely decadent social system
that contradicted the progressive trend in the modern world, for it stifled the
development of the social productive forces of Tibet, seriously hindered social
progress, relegated Tibet to the state of extreme poverty, backwardness,
isolation and decline, to the point verging on total collapse.
-- Backward social system and harsh economic exploitation.
The society of old Tibet under feudal serfdom was even more dark and backward
than in Europe in the Middle Ages. The three major estate-holders -- officials,
nobles and upper-ranking monks in monasteries -- accounted for less than five
percent of Tibet's total population but owned all the farmland, pastures,
forests, mountains and rivers, and the majority of the livestock. The serfs and
slaves, accounting for more than 95 percent of the population, owned no land or
other means of production. They had no personal freedom, had to depend totally
on the manors of estate-holders for livelihood or act as their family slaves
from generation to generation. They were subjected to the three-fold
exploitation of corvee labor, taxes and high-interest loans and their lives were
no more than struggles for existence. According to incomplete statistics, there
were over 200 kinds of taxes levied by the Kasha (the former local government of
Tibet) alone. Slaves had to contribute more than 50 percent or even 70 to 80
percent of their labor free to the Kasha and estate-holders, and over 60 percent
of the farmers and herdsmen were burdened with similar high-interest loans.
--Rigid hierarchy and savage political oppression.
The "13-Article Code" and "16-Article Code" of old Tibet
divided the people into three classes and nine ranks, enshrining social and
political inequality between the different ranks in law. These codes explicitly
stated that the life of a person of the highest rank of the upper class was
literally worth his weight in gold, while that of a person of the lowest rank of
the lower class was worth only the price of a straw rope. Serfs could be sold,
transferred, given away, mortgaged or exchanged by their owners, who had the
power over their births, deaths and marriages. Male or female serfs belonging to
different owners had to pay a "redemption fee" if they wished to
marry, and their children were doomed to be serfs for life. Serf-owners could
punish their serfs at will. The punishments included flogging, cutting off their
hands or feet, gouging out their eyes, chopping off their ears or tongues,
pulling out their tendons, drowning them and throwing them down from cliffs.
-- Theocracy and the fetters of religion.
Religion and monasteries "commanded the highest respect" in old Tibet
with its theocratic socio-political structure. As the sole ideology and an
independent politico-economic entity, they enjoyed immense influence and
numerous political and economic privileges and had control over people's
spiritual life. The upper-class monks and priests were Tibet's principal
political rulers and also the biggest serf-owners. The Dalai Lama, as one of the
heads of the Gelug Sect of Tibetan Buddhism and concurrently the leader of the
local government of Tibet, had all the political and religious powers in his
hands. The former local government of Tibet practiced a dual clerical and
secular officials system, in which the monk officials were senior to the lay
officials. According to the 1959 statistics, of the 3.3 million kai (unit of
measurement for area used by the Tibetan people, 1 kai=1/15 hectare) of
cultivated land in Tibet, 1.2144 million kai were owned by monasteries and
upper-class monks, accounting for 36.8 percent of the total cultivated land,
while aristocrats and clerical and secular officials owned 24 percent and 38.9
percent, respectively.
The Drepung Monastery owned 185 manors, 20,000 serfs, 300 pastures and 16,000
herdsmen. According to a survey conducted in the 1950s, Tibet had more than
2,700 temples and monasteries and 120,000 monks, or 12 percent of the total
population in Tibet, and about one-fourth of the male population were monks. In
1952, Lhasa had an urban population of 37,000, of whom 16,000 were monks. The
widespread temples, numerous monks and frequent religious activities consumed a
huge amount of manpower and the greater part of material wealth in Tibet,
greatly hindering the development of the productive forces there. According to
the American Tibetologist Melvyn C. Goldstein, religion and the monasteries were
"extremely conservative" and "played a major role in thwarting
progress" in Tibet; "This commitment...to the universality of religion
as the core metaphor of Tibetan national identity will be seen...to be a major
factor underlying Tibet's inability to adapt to changing circumstances."
-- Low level of development and a precarious life.
Cruel oppression and exploitation by the feudal serf-owners, and especially the
endless consumption of human and material resources by religion and monasteries
under the theocratic system and their spiritual enslavement of the people, had
gravely damped the laborers' enthusiasm for production, stifled the vitality of
the Tibetan society and reduced Tibet to a protracted state of
stagnancy. Even in the middle of the 20th century, Tibet was still extremely
isolated and backward, almost without a trace of modern industry, commerce,
science and technology, education, culture and health care; primitive farming
methods were still being used; and herdsmen had to travel from place to place
grazing their livestock. There were few strains and breeds of grains and
animals, and some of them had even degenerated. Farm tools were primitive, grain
yield was only 4 to 10 times the seeds sown, and the level of both the
productive forces and social development was very low. Deaths from hunger and
cold, poverty and diseases were commonplace among the serfs, and the streets in
Lhasa, Xigaze, Qamdo and Nagqu were crowded with beggars of both sexes, young
and old.
Imperialist invasion brought more disasters for the Tibetan people, and deepened
the social contradictions in Tibet, making it go from bad to worse. From the
middle of the 19th century, China became a semi-colonial and semi-feudal
country, and Tibet, just like most other parts of the country, was invaded by
the Western powers. In their invasions of Tibet British imperialists made no
scruple about burning, killing and looting, secured many privileges through a
number of unequal treaties, and carried out colonialist control and exploitation
by wantonly plundering Tibet's resources and dumping their goods on the Tibetan
people. At the same time, they fostered their trusted followers from among the
ruling class and groomed their agents, in an attempt to divide Tibet from China.
Weighed down by the internal and external double oppression and exploitation,
the masses of the serfs fared worse and worse, driving them constantly to
present petitions to the government, flee from the land, refuse to pay rent or
offer corvee service and even raise armed revolts. Danger lurked on every side
in Tibet and "the theocratic system is declining like a lamp consuming its
last drop of oil."2 Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme, once a Kaloon (council minister)
of the former local government of Tibet, pointed out in the 1940s several times
that if Tibet "goes on like this, the serfs will all die in the near
future, and the nobles will not be able to live either. The whole Tibet will be
destroyed. "3 So there was a historically imperative need for the progress
of Tibetan society and the happiness of the Tibetan people to expel the
imperialists and shake off the yoke of feudal serfdom.
The founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949 brought hope for the
deeply distressed Tibetan people. In conforming to the law of historical
development and the interests of the Tibetan people, the Central People's
Government worked actively to bring about Tibet's peaceful liberation. After
that, important policies and measures were adopted for Tibet's Democratic
Reform, regional autonomy, large-scale modernization and reform and opening-up.
All this has contributed to changing the lot of Tibet and propelling Tibetan
society forward in seven-league boots.
-- The peaceful liberation opened the way for Tibet to march toward
modernization.
On May 23, 1951 the "Agreement on Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of
Tibet" (hereinafter referred to as the "17-Article Agreement")
was signed by the Central People's Government and the local government of Tibet,
marking the realization of the peaceful liberation of Tibet and opening a new
page for the development of the region. The peaceful liberation of Tibet, which
was a part of China's national democratic revolution, enabled Tibet to shake off
the penetration of imperialist forces and the political and economic shackles
imposed by them, ended the discrimination and oppression against the Tibetan
ethnic group in old China, safeguarded the national sovereignty, unification and
territorial integrity of China, realized the unity of all ethnic groups in China
and the internal unity of Tibet, and created the essential prerequisites for
Tibet to join the other parts of the country in the drive for common progress
and development. After the peaceful liberation, the People's Liberation Army and
people from other parts of China working in Tibet persisted in carrying out the
17-Article Agreement and the policies of the Central Government, actively helped
the Tibetan people build the Xikang-Tibet and Qinghai-Tibet
highways, the Damxung Airport, water conservancy projects, modern factories,
banks, trading companies, post offices, farms and schools. They adopted a series
of measures to help the farmers and herdsmen expand production, started social
relief and disaster relief programs, and provided free medical service for the
prevention and treatment of epidemic and other diseases. All this has promoted
the economic, social and cultural development of Tibet, created a new social
atmosphere of modern civilization and progress, produced a far-reaching
influence among people of all walks of life in Tibet, ended the long-term
isolation and stagnation of the Tibetan society, paved the way for Tibet's march
toward a modern society, and opened up wide prospects for Tibet's further
development.
-- The Democratic Reform cleared the way for the modernization of Tibet.
In 1951, when Tibet was liberated peacefully, in consideration of the special
history and reality of Tibet the "17-Article Agreement" affirmed the
necessity of reforming the social system of Tibet and, at the same time, adopted
a prudent attitude toward the reform. It stipulated that "the local
government of Tibet shall carry out reform voluntarily, and, when the people
demand a reform, shall settle it through consultation with the Tibetan
leaders." However, some people in the Tibetan ruling group were totally
opposed to reform and raised a hue and cry about their determination never to
carry it out, in order to perpetuate the feudal serf system. Faced with the
Tibetan people's ever-stronger demand for a democratic reform, instead of
following the popular will they ganged up with overseas anti-China forces and
raised an armed rebellion on March 10, 1959, in an attempt to split Tibet from
the motherland and seek "independence" for Tibet. In order to
safeguard the unity of the nation and the basic interests of the Tibetan people,
the Central People's Government took decisive measures to suppress the rebellion
together with the Tibetan people, and carried out the Democratic Reform of the
Tibetan social system.
The Democratic Reform abolished the feudal serf-owners' right to own land and
the serfs and slaves' personal bondage to the feudal serf-owners, repealed the
old Tibetan laws and barbarous punishments, and annulled the theocratic system
and the feudal privileges of the clergy. The reform liberated Tibet's million
serfs and slaves politically, economically and spiritually, making them masters
of the land and other means of production, giving them personal and religious
freedom, and realizing their human rights. The reform greatly liberated the
social productive forces in Tibet, and opened up the road toward modernization.
According to statistics, the former serfs and slaves got over 2.8 million kai of
land in the Democratic Reform and, in 1960, when the Democratic Reform was
basically completed, the total grain yield for the whole of Tibet was 12.6
percent higher than in 1959 and 17.7 percent higher than in 1958, before the
Democratic Reform. Moreover, the total amount of livestock was 9.9 percent more
than in 1959.
-- The implementation of regional ethnic autonomy provided a firm
institutional guarantee for the modernization of Tibet.
After the Democratic Reform, the Tibetan people, like people of all other ethnic
groups throughout China, enjoyed all the political rights provided by the
Constitution and law. In 1961, a general election was held all over Tibet. For
the first time, the former serfs and slaves were able to enjoy democratic rights
as their own masters, and actively participated in the election of power organs
and governments at all levels in the region. Many emancipated serfs and slaves
took up leading posts at various levels in the region. In September 1965, the
First People's Congress of Tibet was successfully convened, at which the
founding of the Tibet Autonomous Region and the Regional People's Government was
officially proclaimed. The founding of the Tibet Autonomous Region and the
implementation of regional ethnic autonomy institutionally ensured the
realization of the policy of equality, unity, mutual help and common prosperity
among all ethnic groups in the region, and guaranteed the Tibetan people's right
to equal participation in the administration of state affairs as well as the
right to independent administration of local and ethnic affairs. In this way, an
institutional guarantee was provided for Tibet to develop along with the other
parts of China, with special support and assistance by the state and according
to its local characteristics.
-- The policy of reform and opening-up gave a powerful impetus to the
modernization of Tibet.
The 1980s witnessed a great upsurge of the reform, opening-up and modernization
drive in Tibet, as in the other parts of China. To promote the development of
Tibet, the Central Government formulated a series of special favorable policies,
such as "long-term right to use and independently operate land by
individual households" and "long-term policy of individual households'
ownership, raising and management of livestock." These policies promoted
the reform of the economic system and opening-up in Tibet. Since 1984, 43
projects have been launched in Tibet with state investment and aid from nine
provinces and municipalities. The implementation of the policy of reform and
opening-up and the state aid have strengthened and invigorated Tibetan industry,
agriculture, animal husbandry and the tertiary industry with trade, catering and
tourism as its mainstays, raised the overall level of industries and the level
of commercialization of economic activities in Tibet, and helped Tibet take
another step forward in its economic and social development.
-- The modernization drive in Tibet has entered the new stage of rapid
development with the strategic decision of the Central Government to accord
special attention to Tibet and get all the other parts of China to aid Tibet.
In 1994, the Central Government held the Third Forum on Work in Tibet, and set
the guiding principles for work in the region in the new era as follows:
Focusing efforts on economic construction, firmly grasping the two major tasks
of developing the economy and stabilizing the situation, securing the high-speed
development of the economy, overall social progress and lasting political
stability in Tibet, and ensuring continuous improvement of the Tibetan people's
living standards. At the forum, the Central Government also adopted the
important decision to devote special attention to Tibet and get all the other
parts of China to aid Tibet, and formulated a sequence of special favorable
policies and measures for speeding up the development of Tibet. The forum formed
a mechanism for all-round aid to the modernization of Tibet, by which the state
would directly invest in construction projects in the region, the Central
Government provide financial subsidies, and the other parts of the country
provide counterpart aid. Since 1994, the Central Government has directly
invested a total of 4.86 billion yuan in 62 projects; 15 provinces and
municipalities and the various ministries and commissions under the State
Council have also given aid gratis for the construction of 716 projects,
contributing a total of 3.16 billion yuan; and over 1,900 cadres have been sent
from all over the country to assist in Tibet's construction. As a result, the
production and living conditions in Tibet have been greatly improved and its
social and economic developments revved up. In the meantime, Tibet has promoted
all-round reform in its economic and technological systems, adjusted its
economic structure and mechanism of enterprise operation and management, set up
a complete social security system, enlarged its scope of opening-up, and
actively encouraged and attracted funds from both home and abroad for its
economic construction. In this way, the economy with diverse forms of ownership
has developed rapidly, and Tibet's inner vitality for growth has been
strengthened. In June 2001, the Central Government held the Fourth Forum on Work
in Tibet, at which it drew up an ambitious blueprint for Tibet's overall
modernization in the new century, and decided to adopt more effective policies
and measures to further strengthen the support for the modernization of Tibet.
With attention from the Central Government, aid from the other parts of the
country and the efforts of people of all ethnic groups in Tibet, the development
of the region's economy has been speeded up, the people's living standards have
been greatly improved, and the modernization drive is vibrant with life as never
before. According to statistics, from 1994 to 2000, the gross domestic product
(GDP) in Tibet increased by 130 percent, or a yearly increase of 12.4 percent,
changing the situation in which Tibet had lagged behind the other parts of China
in the GDP growth rate for a long time in the past. Urban residents' disposable
income per capita and the farmers and herdsmen's income per capita increased by
62.9 percent and 93.6 percent, respectively; and the impoverished population
decreased from 480,000 in the early 1990s to just over 70,000.
To sum up, the development history of Tibet in the past five decades since its
peaceful liberation has been one of proceeding from darkness to brightness, from
backwardness to progress, from poverty to prosperity and from isolation to
openness, and of the region marching toward modernization as a part of the big
family of China.
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