Origin of Name and Early History 

Tibet, in Chinese called Xizang (西藏) or Tibetan “Bod Ljong”, is commonly known as Tibetan Autonomous Region in southwest China (Tibetan as “bod rang skyong ljong”). Very few scholars, not to mention the general public, know the origin of the place’s name. It has still been difficult nowadays to prove the sayings that people held. This is because the tremendous changes in naming the Tibetan people and areas or parts of the Roof of the World in its long history, also, different names of places and people intersected and influenced to one another. 

Simply speaking, Chinese word Xizang, has begun being used since the Qing Dynasty (1644 – 1911); Tu Fan (吐蕃, also “Tubo”) in Tang and Song Dynasties. In the Yuan Dynasty, the region had been administrated by “Xuan Zheng Yuan”, which was to regulate Buddhism in China. The Ming Dynasty called Tibet “Wu Si Zang” 

Back in seventh century AD, Tu Fan Empire flourished and governed most part of the Tibetan Plateau and unified the tribes. Therefore, Tu Fan had been used to define the land that occupied by the ethnic group and sometimes described the tribes living there. 

Scholars hold different views to the meaning and origin of “Tu Fan” without any substantial conclusion. Some thought that it was from Tibetan language and other held that it was from Turki of far northwest. However, a “dictionary” found in Dunhuang, northwest China, indicated Tu Fan was corresponding to “Bod”, which was the name used by Tu Fan Empire, to call itself. Actually, as a name for places and people, Bod appeared before the Tu Fan Dynasty. It was likely the calling of masters of Bon Religion and later also to the religion itself. Ancient Tibetan historical books documented that before the Tu Fan Dynasty, 12 tribal groups had ruled Tibet area. “Bod Khams” was used twice to describe Tu Fan’s territories in the books. Tibetan used Bod when they were communicating with the Tang Dynasty. As the unification of tribes succeeded, Tibetan used Bod to define the nationalities in the plateau in later ages. 

The empire was called itself Tu Fan when engaging diplomatic missions outside its soil, but there were lots of word to call the different areas in the territories. However, to discuss which names and where were they used are beyond the scope for a concise travel guide. 

During the Mongolian rule, Tibet area was unified and Mongols set up local administration that was in favor of the regime in thirteenth century. Still administrated by China, the Ming Dynasty called Tibet “West of Sea” (西海, Xi Hai), because it is located west to the Qinghai Lake. 

In late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, Mongolians and Tibetan Buddhists jointly and autonomously ruled the Roof of the World, the Manchu had to use the Mongolians as a communication bridge to contact with the Tibetans. Mongolian called Tibet “Tu Bo Te” and Ando in the northeast as “Tang Gu Te”. “Tu Bo Te” came from “Tu Fan”. In late seventeenth century, the Qing Dynasty kept in touch closely to Tibet, and used “Wu Si Zang” and later Xizang to call Tibet. 

The Qing Dynasty directly ruled Tibet region in early eighteenth century after cracking down the rebellion of Mongolians in Qinghai Province. Between 1726 and 1728, the border of Qinghai and Tibet was set at Tanggula Mountain, Sichuan-Tibet border was in Ningjingshan Mountain and Diqing (Shangri-la area) had been in Yunnan Province. Although the territory boundaries of Xizang had been changed a little bit, the rough outline of the map has still been the same as in early eighteenth century. 

The English name “Tibet” probably came from “Tu Bo Te” of Tibetan language, which was introduced to the Western countries during the Yuan Dynasty by Arab people. 

Serf Society 

The inhumane serf system in Tibetan soil began in tenth century and became a social norm in thirteenth century. It was a kind of feudal land ownership system and farmer-slaves were belonged to their masters as personal properties. 

Serf society in ancient Tibet meant low agricultural productivity with bad farming tools. In such a harsh environment, agricultural production was far below the average farmland should have been and many cattle had died during their strongest ages. People had to do coarse craftworks to make a better living. Artisans in urban areas were pity properties belonging to their brutal masters. There was no such thing called commerce in old Tibet, but only exchanging agricultural products among people. 

Serf masters just took up about five percent of old Tibet’s population, including men in local governments, noble castes and master monks in monasteries as well as their representatives. They occupied all area of Tibetan lands, mountains, forests and most of the cattle, agricultural tools, houses and much other stuff. Serfs covered 90 percent of the whole population. As the property of serf masters, they were divided into rich, middle-class and poor serfs. There were also low slaves, who had been so poor or entirely bankrupted. They worked exclusively in their bosses’ families without any freedom. 

Foreign Invasion 

In late 1903, Britain sent 3,000 troops and a “delegation” to Tibet, asking for negotiation with China Tibet government, but Tibetan leader Dalai Lama XIII sent forces to prevent the British army to get in. However, the British forces were not willing to “negotiate” with Tibetan but opened fire to kill them. In Peter Fleming’s book, Bayonets to Lhasa, wrote that during the “talk”, the British forces massacred 600 to 700 Tibetan soldiers among 1,500. 

In following March, they began to attack the strategically important Gyangze County. It took seven months that the British forces to capture the county because the heroic resistance by Tibetans. In August, the British army came to Lhasa and Dalai Lama XIII had to flee. In the Potala Palace on September 7, the forces forced the local government to sign the unfair “Treaty of Lhasa”, according which Tibet should compensate money to Britain, remove strongholds, open cities to foreign trade and the British army could stay in Tibet. Although the weak Qing government did not protect Tibet from foreign invaders, they did not sign the wicked treaty anyway. The British forces killed about 5,000 Tibetans and looted much Tibetan heritage, they returned to India in late September. In the meantime, Russian influence had been in Tibet, too. 

Road to Liberation 

After Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Democratic Revolution in 1911 and founded the Republic of China, the government set up “Mongolia and Tibet Bureau” that was in charge of Tibetan affairs and appointed Chinese officials to the region. The Nationalist Government in Nanjing established in 1927 and two years later, they set up ethnic minority administrative organization especially for Tibetan and Mongolian. However, the political situation in the region at that time had been quite chaotic. 

The People’s Liberation Army had liberated China in 1949. In the following year, Chinese government was asking the Tibetan authority to go to Beijing and to have talks about peaceful liberation of the region. However, the authority did not cooperate, and they gathered military forces in Qamdo area, preparing to resist the Chinese government. Chinese forces defeated the rebellious army and liberated Qamdo. On May 23, 1951, Chinese central government and representatives of Tibetan authority reached and signed an agreement of seventeen important clauses, to which about the reform and autonomous issues. On October 26, the People’s Liberation Army garrisoned in Lhasa and Tibet became an autonomous region in China. The feudal and brutal serf system had been eliminated in 1959.