- Lhasa's Turbulent Past
What is it that has enticed us to look back at the past of the city of Lhasa? What can we learn from those old sepia photographs? Lhasa, representing an ancient civilization, is, to me, a long reel of negatives of various pictures. Looking at them, I seem to see flashes of a fine day with an azure sky, a stormy day with scurrying clouds, intrigue and rivalry between aristocrats, and the glitter of sabers.... I seem to feel the strong atmosphere of sanctity of this holy city of Buddhism and gaze at the receding backs of throngs of pilgrims. l even seem to hear vendors hawking their wares in Barkor Street.... Old Lhasa was a Lhasa of monks, a Lhasa of nobles, a Lhasa of merchants, beggars, pilgrims and adventurers.

Originally the caPita1 of the Tubo Kingdom, Lhasa dates back at least l300 to 1400 years. The history of human settlement in the Lhasa area, according to archeological findings so far, is as long as 3,000 or 4,000 years, with the oldest evidence of habitation being the Neolithic Chugong Ruins on the northern bank of the Lhasa River. To wards the end of the Neolithic period, metal wares began to appear. In A. D. 633, Songtsan Gampo united all the tribes on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and established the Tubo Kingdom as a slave society. The chiefs of the various tribes met and chose Rasa (present-day Lhasa) to be the capital. It seems to have been a well-wooded and well-watered place at that time. The land was fertile, and there was plenty of game to be hunted. The heyday of the Tubo Kingdom was during the reign of Trisong Detsen (742--797), the fifth king.

The original name of Lhasa was Wotang. The word Rasa, which often appears in historical records, literally means "goat" and "earth." It probably refers to the legend that goats carried earth to build the Jokhang Monastery. The name Lhasa (literally "sacred land") came into being later, when Buddhism became the dominant religion in Tibet.

The establishment of Lhasa as the capital by Songtsan Gampo symbolized the end of strife between the different Tibetan tribes. People started to live a peaceful, settled life, and rules for society were drawn up. The social progress made during this period can be detected at various archeological sites: the cliff carvings at Chakpori (Medicine King) Hill, the Tralhalupuk Grottoes, the ruins of Pabongka, where the Tibetan script was created by Thonmi Sambhota, and others. Such data attest to the great material and social progress made in that period, and show that early Tibetan history paralleled what was happening in the Central Plains at roughly the same time. previous to the establishment of the Tubo Kingdom, there had been a period of strife among the Tibetans similar to that of the Central Plains before Emperor Qin Shihuang (first emperor of the Qin Dynasty) unified China and ended the Chaos of the Spring and Autumn (770-476 BC)and the Warring States (4767211 BC) periods. This was well summed up by an elderly official of the Tibet Archives whom I met during my trip there: "When the Interior Land is prosperous and powerful, Tibet is peaceful. When the Interior Land is in chaos, Tibet is in upheaval."

The Tubo Kingdom lasted for 300 to 400 years. when it collapsed, Tibet was ruled by contending chieftains from 969 to 246. During the Song Dynasty (960-1279), which was a weak power, all that remained of connections between Tibet and the Central Plains seems to have been limited to trade in tea and horses. During the Sagya Period, in 13th century, when Tibet's political center moved westward, Tibet was officially incorporated into the territory of China's Yuan Dynasty. Some 130,000 clans in Tibet were given noble titles. Lhasa became one of the manorial estates bestowed on a man named Tshe-sbang, who was head of 10,000 households. The manorial system was abolished during the Ming Dynasty (1358-1644), but an administrative office was set up in Lhasa, and a policy of "giving more honorific noble titles and pooling more efforts for building the town" was adopted. The Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) court fostered and supported the Gelug Sect of Tibetan Buddhism, which was centered and rose in Lhasa more than 600 years ago, and encouraged the formation of a theocratic socio-politicla structure. The grand monasteries of Drepung ('Bras-spungs), Gandan (Dga'-ldan) and Sera were built in Lhasa in this period. With the backing of the Qing court, Lozang Gyatso (1617-1682), the fifth Dalai Lama, was the first autocrat under this new system, which lasted up until the mid-20th Living Buddha Demo, born in 1901. In addition to using this data, I amade many visits 1901. In addition to using this data, I made many visit to Lhasa, and did a lot of other preparations, including reading once again The Demise of the Lamaist State by Melvyn C. Goldstein, a huge work consisting of more than 700,000 characters in the Chinese version. I limited my coverage of the subject to the first half of the 20th century. During the preparation work, sometimes I could not help laughing at myself, a resident of Lhasa for more than 20 years, for my ignorance of the city. Perhaps I had too often turned my eyes far beyond the city to the countryside or pastureland, and Lhasa itself had become blurred.

- Why was the Door of the Sacred City Closed?
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 conditionarl. 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.

- The Living Buddha Demo Incident
In l888, Tibetan troops and militia fought fiercely against British invaders, but were defeated at the battle of Mount Lungdo in l888. As a result, first Sikkim and then Bhutan were lost to the imperialists. The Qing Dynasty was weak, and the fate of the country was at stake. Just at this juncture, in Lhasa a serious incident known as the "Demo Incident" took place. Whatever the truth of the matter, the young l3th Dalai Lama made this incident an excuse to start an internal crackdown. A century later, the people of Tibet are still divided about what happened, and there are some who say that the misfortunes that befell Tibet afterwards were retribution for the death of the ninth Demo.

During the 200 years from the sixth Dalai Lama to the l2th Dalai Lama, all the Dalai Lamas except for the seventh and eighth, who lived into their early forties, all died either in childhood or not long afterwards. It is likely that they were victims of power struggles involving regents.

For nine years until the 13th Dalai Lana was of age to assume the throne, the ninth Living buddha Demo Hutuktu succeeded Living Buddha Gundeling as regent. During his years in power, the ninth Demo accumulated wealth exceeding even that of the Gaxag, the Tibetan.

When the Dalai Lama cane of age and assumed the throne, Demo Hutuktu's political rivals saw their chance to topple him. They accused his nephew Norbu Tsering of a plot to murder the Dalai Lama. The crime Norbu Tsering was accused of was said to have been concocted in typical Tibetan fashion-by resorting to primitive witchcraft: The name and date of birth of the Dalai Lama had been written on a piece of paper over which an evil incantation had been pronounced. The piece of paper had then been sewn into the sole of one of a pair of boots presented as a gift to the Dalai Lama. As a result of this charge, all the property of the Demo Hutokty, including monasteries and over 50 manorial estates, was confiscated. His title of Living Buddha Demo Hutuktu was abolished. He himself, his nephew and others of his clan all died in prison. The wife of Norbu Tsering was pilloried in Barkor Street for seven days before being went in exile. This latter incident was witnessed by a Japanese monk named Ekai Kawaguchi, who also reported seeing some 20 other people in shackles and hearing o the executions of 16 others and much more people exiled, all apparently involved in the plot.

However, the title of Living Buddha Demo was resurrected later. In fact, one of the 10th Living Buddha Demo's nephews worked with me as a photographer for more than 20 years, and he assured me that the whole incident was a scheme to wrest the wealth of the ninth Living Buddha Demo.

The 13th Dalai Lama bestowed the title on Dainzin Gyatso, one of his cousins. Dainzin Gyatso later became Tibet's first native photographer.

It was at the decree of Qing Dynasty Emperor Qianlong in 1746 that the seventh Living Buddha Demo began to exercise power on behalf of the Dalai Lama in the capacity of regent. From that time on, the Living Buddha Demo remained close to the Qing Court. But after the Qing Dynasty came to an end in 1911, the 13th Dalai Lama once more abolished the title of Living Buddha Demo, and Dainzin Gyatso lost everything overnight. Penniless, he continued his religious studies, and acquired the Lha-rams-pa (the highest degree among doctors of divinity) at the Drepung Monastery.

A turning point in his life came when he met a photographer from Nepal. This man had fallen severely ill, and had been carried to the rock on the northern outskirs of Lhasa on which corpses were dismembered and left for the vultures to eat. He miraculously revived, but, as Tibetan custom decreed that a person who came back from the dead was not allowed to enter his home again, he became a vagabond. He was taken in by Dainzin Gyatso, to whom he taught the art of photography. This was in the 1920s, when a typical camera was as long as half a meter and very heavy. Its body was made of wooden planks, while the lens consisted of three thick pieces of glass. The lens and the body were connected by a leather tube. Attached to the body was a film compartment which could hold a 15cm x 15cm sensitive sheet. The sheet had to be changed for each shot. There were only two speeds: B and 1/15 of a second.

There was not much business for photographers in Tibet in those days, as the local people were very superstitious and thought that a photograph of a person captured his or her soul. It was not until the 1930s that Dainzin Gyatso had the opportunity to photograph the people of Tibet as well as the scenery and examples of everyday life. With a Carbine camera, the most advanced camera at that time, he visited towns and villages all over Tibet. The small copper-and-wood camera was very handy, and its speed reached 1/250 of a second.

Dainzin Gyatso took pictures of people of all social strata, and caught life from various angles and at different periods. Eventually, he had four cupboards full of negatives. Unfortunately, they were set on fire during the "cultural revolution" (1966-1976). Luckily, his son Bangphyug Dorje rescued more than 400 negatives from a pile of ashes and rubbish. Bangphyug Dorje himself became a photographer.