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  • The Dragon in the Land of Snows: A History of Modern Tibet since 1947
  • A. Tom Grunfeld (bio)
Tsering Shakya . The Dragon in the Land of Snows: A History of Modern Tibet since 1947. New York: Columbia University Press, 1999. xxix, 608 pp. Hardcover $29.95, ISBN 0-231-11814-7.

Recent years have witnessed an outpouring of books about Tibet, albeit mostly on religious themes. Indeed, not long ago, the Dalai Lama himself had not one, but two books on the New York Times best-seller list at the same time. Secular themes are less popular, and the majority of these tend to be more polemical than serious—even works by scholars, since so many of them are politically engaged with the Dalai Lama and his cause.

This paucity of authoritative work has obfuscated the complexities of modern Tibetan history. The past half-century is extremely controversial, infused as it is with nationalism, religion, and Cold War politics. The emergence of a strong central government in Beijing in 1949 after a century of misrule led to a reassertion of power over a greater China that included Tibet. As a result of Chinese rule, Tibet's traditional way of life came to an abrupt end, to the benefit of some and to the tragedy of many more.

To add to a historian's difficulties there is the problem of sources, or, more precisely, the lack of them. None of the major parties—the Chinese government, the Tibetan exiles, Western governments, or organizations such as the Central Intelligence Agency—has permitted access to their archives. Recently some previously unavailable data has become accessible, although only a fraction of what historians yearn for. Given this situation, a reader picks up any new history of Tibet with some trepidation, fearing yet another polemic.

So it was with considerable surprise—and pleasure—to read The Dragon in the Land of Snows. This is an important, judicious, and earnest attempt to overcome the politicization of "Tibet" (the virtual, the imaginary, and the real Tibet) [End Page 486] and truly understand the history of this tumultuous time. The excellence of this history lies in its sources and how they are used—that is, Shakya's historical judgment.

Shakya's research is impressive and thorough. In addition to Western documents, he has utilized a multitude of previously unused Tibetan language sources: some published in Tibet itself by the Chinese government and some from the Dalai Lama's administration-in-exile in Dharamsala, India. Of particular note is an extraordinary oral record of interviews with Tibetan officials of the 1950s, housed in the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives in Dharamsala. These oral histories "were initially collected with a view towards publication . . . [although] the Dharamsala Government later felt that some of these accounts compromised the official versions of history and as a result they remain unpublished " (p. xxvii).

Being critical of Beijing's version of Tibetan history, as Shakya is, is pretty universal. But, it is Shakya acknowledgment that historians must be equally cautious with the "official" history of Tibet emanating from the seat of the Dalai Lama's administration that is so noteworthy. For example, in referring to what are considered by many to be the bibles of Tibetan history, the "two autobiographies of the Dalai Lama," Shakya warns that they "should not be taken to provide an accurate historical account; they are written for popular consumption and to entice public support for the Tibetan cause" (p. xxvii).

The Dragon in the Land of Snows is a political history in which the author deals with the complicated figure of the Dalai Lama (in his lay capacity) and his administration as political leaders. As a consequence, he is aware that they, like their counterparts everywhere, are inclined to "spin" their version of events to suit their political needs, and he treats them, and their unquestioning acolytes, accordingly.

Take just one example. Most authors portray Chinese-Tibetan relations of this period as one of fifty years of unrelenting hatred. While there have been times when this was true—and Shakya does not spare readers the details of the horrors that Tibetans have experienced—there were also times...

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