Why was the Door of the Sacred City Closed?

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Why was the Door of the Sacred City Closed?

by: Ma Lihua 2005-04-27 10:42:44

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First of all, I need to dwell for a while on the historical

background, in order to elaborate on a feature of Lhasa which makes

it so different from other cities in China. This feature enable many

Western explorers to write a large number of books, and more books

have been written by later generations about those books themselves.

 

Only a little over 20 years ago, in the 1970s, Tibet was still

regarded as a place of mystery. This was the result of poor

communications and few exchanges between Tibet and the outside

World. But since China adopted the policy of reform and opening to

the outsid world in the late 1970s, and particularly with the

development of tourism, this situation has changed drastically.

Tibet is no longer a "land of mystery." The reason Lhasa because so

famous throughout the world(primarily in the West) was, apart from

the initial enthusiasm for a region unknown, that the door to Lhasa

was closed. The more Tibet wanted

to get in. The more the risks and failures, the more the stimulation

and challenges. Such a mentality is ingrained in the composition of

Westerners, ancient and modern. The tightly shut door itself was a

focus of exceitement. What was hidden behind the door? This further

spread and exaggerated. No matter from which direction they came,

all the explorers who came by crossing the Himalayas in the south,

the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in the north, or rivers and mountains in

the east were without exception stopped by the closed door of the

sacred city. This made those explorers' curiosity all the more

intense, and made Tibet and Lhasa even more intriguing.

 

Lhasa was quite willing to open to the outside world in the early

days. Up until the 19th century, Lhasa welcomed foreigners,

including Muslim and Christian missionaries. The first Muslim known

to have reached Lhasa came from Kashmir, during the region of the

fifth Dalai Lama, some 400 years ago. He often prayed at the foot of

Mount Ganpe in the northwestern suburbs of the city. The fifth Dalai

Lama admired his devotion, and gave him a piece of land in the

western suburbs so that he could have a better place to practice his

religion, and he was exempted from all texes and corvee labor. Such

hospitality attracted more Muslims to Lhasa. Soon, a mosque and a

cemetery were constructed, which attractied even more Muslims frome

Kashmir, Ladakh, Nepal and Sikkim to do business in Lhasa. Many

Muslims, including some from the Central Plains, settled down there.

They were disciplined, kept a low profile and had good relations

with the local Tibetans. They never advocated their religion outside

in service work, and gradually they merged into the life of Lhasa.

Politically, Islam had little influence in Tibet. However, its

culture took root in Lhasa. Two mosques, one large and one small,

stand side by side today in Barkor Street.

 

Several groups of Christian missionaries reached Lhasa during the

Middle Ages. Some of them lived in Lhasa for scores of years. Like

the Muslims, they were welcomed at first. The seventh Dalai Lama and

two regents before and after him, respectively, became very

interested in Christianity. They were allowed to build churches and

proselytize. Pholhanas, who was in charge of the political affairs

of Tibet, ordered that Christian churches be protected and exempted

the priests from certain taxes and corvee labor. But as the

influence of Christianity spread, and the number of converts

increased, a clash with the established Buddhist faith became

inevitable. Finally, waves of persecution, involving the demolition

of churches and the expulsion of foreign missionaries, exterminated

Christianity in Tibet.

 

This left an indelible impression on the Tibetan people. Religious

differences have long been more important to them than racial once.

After that, Tibetans, the monks in particular, mistrusted

Westerners. Events in mordern and contemporary history have proved

that the Westerners truly had ulterior motives.

 

This episode also indecated that entry into Tibet was conditional.

The very first condition was that the principle of the religious

life of the Tibetan people must not be interfered with.

 

Tibet is said to have been turned into a forbidden zone after Qing

troops had defeated a Nepalese invasion in the late 18th century.

The victory strengthened the control of the Central Government in

the hinterland over Tibet. Because of the rise of the Western

powers, which threatened China's local interests the Qing court

decided to close Tibet to foreigners. This was in compliance with

the basic closed-door policy of the late Qing Dynasty. This decision

was naturally hailed by the Tibetan government. With natural

barriers and the determination to block the infiltration of

Westerners, Tibet seemed to feel secure in an absolutely isolated

environment.

 

However, the door of Tibet was forced open by a British army officer

named Francis Young husband, who led an armed expedition into Tibet

in 1904. A Western reporter exulted, "Today is probably the first

time in world history that Lhasa has been mentioned as the place of

release of a piece of news." It was a moment of indig-nation,

disgrace disappointment and despair for Lhasa, Tibet and China.

 

Before that, the Tibetan government and Buddhist monks had put upa

heroic fight against the invaders. However, there were people who

hampered their efforts. One of them was the Qing Court's High

Commissioner(Amban) You Tai, who disgracefully forced the Tibetan

government to sign an agreement with the aggressors…

 

Later on, the door of Tibet was closed to the Han Chinese for a

period of seven or eight years, during which time there were two

mass expulsions of the latter from Tibet. Much of this period is

covered in this book. This is called by some Westerners a period

of "de facto independence of Tibet." But what actually happened was

very complicated. In the historical circumstances of the time, no

one in the Central Government knew who was who in Tibetan Gaxag

government. Instigated by the imperialist powers headed by Britain,

a few people tried hard to seek independent status. But, no matter

whether from the point of view of historical relations, feelings

between nationalities, geopolitics or international standars, how

could Tibet be severed from China? The so-called

internationalization of the "Tibet issue" originated in that period.

Some people regarded the loss of the "kingdom of the monks" as a

loss akin to that of the Garden of Eden. This, unfortunately, has

inevitably given a strong political tinge to this book about Old

Lhasa.

http://en.tibet.cn/newfeature/oldlhasa/text/t20050427_26432.htm