15 replies to this topic

[General_Zhaoyun]

The internet has opened up new opportunities on research on Tibetan culture and custom (in particular Tibetan studies known as Tibetology).

Found a good China website on Tibetan customs and Culture, including the Tibetan people, language, culture, buddhism etc.

http://www.tibetanct.com/

It contains information in Tibetan, chinese and English language.

Note that if you wish to read the information in Tibetan language, you will have to use Internet Explorer (IE), which is currently the only browser that supports Tibetan script. Firefox and other browser currently still does not support encoding of Tibetan script.

If you have other recommended sites on Tibetan culture, please post it here.

[General_Zhaoyun]

Tibetanalogy is an important field of study in China. Here are some more china-based website on Tibetan culture.

http://www.tibetcul.com (chinese language)

http://www.tibetculture.net/ (chinese language)

http://www.tibettl.com/ (Tibetan language)

I'm hoping to learn more about Tibetan language and culture

[sunflower1]

Yes, internet certainly a bless for language learner. there are many languages interest peoples at this forum, www.phrasebase.com. you can check the Tibet language section and make some friend. but, responding your Manchu language post, i can't find Manchu language section over there.

[General_Zhaoyun]

Yes, internet certainly a bless for language learner. there are many languages interest peoples at this forum, www.phrasebase.com. you can check the Tibet language section and make some friend. but, responding your Manchu language post, i can't find Manchu language section over there.

The Manchu language is an almost dying language is China, despite efforts aimed at restoring it, given the fact that many Manchu had 'hanized' over the years. See http://www.chinahist...showtopic=24112. Only the Manchu scholars can read Manchu script.

Unlike the Manchu language, the Tibetan language is well-preserved in China (there are almost 5 million Tibetan speakers spreaded over western part of China) and the Tibetan language is taught in schools for the Tibetans.

[General_Zhaoyun]

I've been interested in understanding Tibetan history and culture due of my visit to Sichuan province in Feb 2008, where I was exposed to Tibetan culture and people. I have been researching much about Tibetan history, literature and culture on the net recently.

But guess what, when I type "History of Tibetan people" on google (english), there are so few information on the real history, but instead it churns out so many irrelevant English links on Tibetan problems (you know, the usual stuff such as Tibetan independence, Dalai Lama etc). This seems to give people in the west the only impression that Tibet is only about 'Tibetan liberation', 'indpendence', 'buddhism' etc. Clearly, there is a lack of understanding of the true Tibetan culture in the west. Even when you type "history of Tibet", it will give you so much information on Tibetan political problems and late history (always blaming China for the 'invasion'), but very little information about the Tubo Empire, an important part of Tibetan history. I'm sorry, but I feel there is clearly a lack of research on tibetan history and culture in the west, and there is a tendency to be biased and to politicise Tibet in the west. I don't know if Tibetan people outside China is truly interested in their history or culture. Even those English information on Tibetan history was provided by chinese tourism site.

Now, when you compared the research on Tibetan culture in chinese search engine (google chinese or baidu), it's completely different. You will find tonnes of chinese information on Tibetan culture, customs and even chinese sites providing information on Tibetan classical literature, philosophy (in chinese translation). I can also link it to Tibetan language websites constructed by Tibetans in China about Tibetan people, history and culture.

I'm sorry, but I feel that it's necessary to clarify that it is wrong in some western media when they said "China is destroying Tibetan culture". Perhaps, that was so during chinese cultural revolution when even the culture of han-chinese was destroyed. But today, China is taking every effort in preserving and promoting Tibetan culture, and even restoring the historical treasures such as Tibetan classical literature, philosophy, language, religion etc. The tonnes of chinese information on Tibetan culture and Tibetan sites just show that Tibetology (Tibetan studies) is much developed in China. Things have changed for the better.

My advice is that do examine certain reports in some media with a skeptical eye and with some wisdom. Certain reports maybe rather biased. But the good thing is that the internet offers us to share information across the net and for us to examine the truth of history.

Please feel free to comment on my view.

[JiG]

Well internet searches go by what is most popular and in the west the Tibetan current political issues are most popular. In China of course it will be Tibetan historical sites to show up when searching on Chinese Google because the current political Tibetan issues are not allowed to be shown. I don't know if their is a lack of research in the west because I know that many of Tibetologists are westerners. But if you mean in a general sense that most westerner don't know much or anything about Tibetan history then I agree.

The internet is not the best place to be looking for historical information anyways, if you go to the library, you can find quite a few Tibetan history books by westerners and non-westerners.

I'm sorry, but I feel that it's necessary to clarify that it is wrong in some western media when they said "China is destroying Tibetan culture". Perhaps, that was so during chinese cultural revolution when even the culture of han-chinese was destroyed. But today, China is taking every effort in preserving and promoting Tibetan culture, and even restoring the historical treasures such as Tibetan classical literature, philosophy, language, religion etc. The tonnes of chinese information on Tibetan culture and Tibetan sites just show that Tibetology (Tibetan studies) is much developed in China. Things have changed for the better.

I think they view it from other PRC actions like Chinese migrants who are being moved into Tibet which they perceive as a form of destroying Tibetan culture. I talked a bit about this in your other post. Also although the Chinese government is taking effort in restoring Tibetan historical treasures and information a lot of this is still politically influenced. A lot of the discovered history will only be portrayed to further the PRC account of historical Tibet-China relation. For example there is two pillars in Lhasa that have a bilateral inscribed agreement between Tibet and China during the time of the Tibetan Empire where both parties agreed to a non-aggression pact type agreement. However this pillar is completely walled up and hidden out of view by the PRC.

Edited by JiG, 17 March 2008 - 03:55 PM.

[JiG]

http://www.case.edu/...tibet/index.htm - The Center for Research on Tibet

http://earlytibet.com/ -Study of the early history of Tibet, from the Tibetan Empire (7th to 9th centuries) to the dark age of the 10th century.

http://kekexili.typepad.com/ - Not an academic site but, gives you a good feel of Tibet.

[Mei Houwang]

I have to say, the current status of Tibet really denies much information on Tibetan history. Most people would assume that Tibet was always a peaceful Buddhist nation(even when Buddhist it was far from peaceful), and much history on the Tibetan military/political history is hard to find. Everything about Tibet ties into politics. The few that has to do with history is in some attempt to promote Tibetan independence, most of the time rife with inaccuracies to boot. People are just simply more interested in politics instead of history, which causes really badly drawn out opinions.

Edited by Anthrophobia, 17 March 2008 - 05:15 PM.

[JiG]

I have to say, the current status of Tibet really denies much information on Tibetan history. Most people would assume that Tibet was always a peaceful Buddhist nation(even when Buddhist it was far from peaceful), and much history on the Tibetan military/political history is hard to find. Everything about Tibet ties into politics. The few that has to do with history is in some attempt to promote Tibetan independence, most of the time rife with inaccuracies to boot. People are just simply more interested in politics instead of history, which causes really badly drawn out opinions.

Yea its tough to find truth when the truth influences current politically heated issues

[Yang Zongbao]

Hey,

May I recommend The Tibetan Empire in Central Asia by Christopher L. Beckwith? It provides a good account of history of the Tibetan Empire during Tang times, far from the things that you mention.

It was hard to find for me, but it's out there.

[sunflower1]

since Tibet now a popular destination for tourism, more Tibet travel and photographic books written also. for history try Tibetan Civilization by R. Stein, Singapore Woodland's library have that.

[JiG]

Here's a few:

Choephel, Gendun. The White Annals. Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works & Archives, 1978.

Kapstein, Matthew T. The Tibetans, Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 2006.

Shakya, Tsering. The Dragon in the Land of Snows, New York: Penguin Compass, 1999. - This one is on modern Tibetan history

Snellgrove, David and Hugh Richardson, A Cultural History of Tibet (Boulder: Prajana Press, 1980)

Stein, R. A. Tibetan Civilization. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1972.

"The Story of Tibet" Thomas Laird

[General_Zhaoyun]

Just found the highest institute in China for Tibetology research

The China Tibetology Research Center
http://www.tibetology.ac.cn/ (info available in chinese, tibetan and english)

Tibetan History (in chinese language)
http://www.tibetinfo.../lishi/menu.htm

[JiG]

Just found the highest institute in China for Tibetology research

The China Tibetology Research Center
http://www.tibetology.ac.cn/ (info available in chinese, tibetan and english)

Tibetan History (in chinese language)
http://www.tibetinfo.../lishi/menu.htm

I actually got to meet and go to a dinner with An Caidan, Profesor and Curator of China Tibetology website along with a number of other Tibetan Tibetologists from Tibet.

[JamyangNorbu]

Kapstein, Matthew T. The Tibetans, Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 2006.

This book is an absolute gem. Kapstein is a very careful, and very critical scholar. You won't see him towing the party line for either the TGE, Free Tibet Movement, the PRC government or Chinese nationalists.

Portions used to be available on books.google.com, but seem to be gone. A small sampling is up at amazon



JN