What do you think?
Rate this book
Forbidden Memory: Tibet during the Cultural Revolution
When Red Guards arrived in Tibet in 1966, intent on creating a classless society, they unleashed a decade of revolutionary violence, political rallies, and factional warfare marked by the ransacking of temples, the destruction of religious artifacts, the burning of books, and the public humiliation of Tibet’s remaining lamas and scholars. Within Tibet, discussion of those events has long been banned, and no visual records of this history were known to have survived.
In Forbidden Memory the leading Tibetan writer Tsering Woeser presents three hundred previously unseen photographs taken by her father, then an officer in the People’s Liberation Army, that show for the first time the frenzy and violence of the Cultural Revolution in Tibet. Found only after his death, Woeser’s annotations and reflections on the photographs, edited and introduced by the Tibet historian Robert Barnett, are based on scores of interviews she conducted privately in Tibet with survivors. Her book explores the motives and thinking of those who participated in the extraordinary rituals of public degradation and destruction that took place, carried out by Tibetans as much as Chinese on the former leaders of their culture.
Heartbreaking and revelatory, Forbidden Memory offers a personal, literary discussion of the nature of memory, violence, and responsibility, while giving insight into the condition of a people whose violently truncated history they are still unable to discuss today.
Access the glossary.
In Forbidden Memory the leading Tibetan writer Tsering Woeser presents three hundred previously unseen photographs taken by her father, then an officer in the People’s Liberation Army, that show for the first time the frenzy and violence of the Cultural Revolution in Tibet. Found only after his death, Woeser’s annotations and reflections on the photographs, edited and introduced by the Tibet historian Robert Barnett, are based on scores of interviews she conducted privately in Tibet with survivors. Her book explores the motives and thinking of those who participated in the extraordinary rituals of public degradation and destruction that took place, carried out by Tibetans as much as Chinese on the former leaders of their culture.
Heartbreaking and revelatory, Forbidden Memory offers a personal, literary discussion of the nature of memory, violence, and responsibility, while giving insight into the condition of a people whose violently truncated history they are still unable to discuss today.
Access the glossary.
576 pages, Hardcover
First published January 21, 2006
20 people are currently reading
442 people want to read
About the author
Tsering Woeser
18 books21 followersWoeser (also written Öser; full name: Tsering Woeser; Tibetan: ཚེ་རིང་འོད་ཟེར་, Wylie: tshe-ring 'od-zer, Lhasa dialect IPA: [t͡sʰérìŋ wö́sèː]; Chinese: 唯色; pinyin: Wéisè, Han name Chéng Wénsà 程文萨; born 1966) is a Tibetan activist, blogger, poet and essayist in China.
(from Wikipedia)
(from Wikipedia)
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
May 16, 2022
The Cultural Revolution is a taboo subject in China today, blame for its terrible excesses and horrible loss of life ascribed to the Gang of Four and pushed out of sight. Yet, its effects remain long lasting and have left deep scars across Chinese society. This is especially true for Tibet - already suffering after the 1950 invasion, the subsequent 1959 uprising and the flight of the Dalai Lama into a long exile. Now, in so many never-before-seen photographs, Tsering Woeser reveals what happened across Tibet during the Cultural Revolution.
These photographs, taken by her father, are some of the only evidence for the crimes of the Cultural Revolution in Tibet: the destruction and desecration of the Jokhang, the brutal struggles against anyone deemed counter-revolutionary, the factional fighting by Red Guards that cost countless lives, the collectivisation of Tibetan society. Alongside the explanatory commentary by Woeser, these pictures illuminate a terrible time in Tibetan and Chinese history, they are the only remaining tombstones to the victims.
Woeser’s commentary is detailed, based on interviews with many of those photographed and her own research. Some awareness and prior knowledge of Tibet and China’s recent history is required but there are detailed explanations and introductions to this time period prefacing the main body of work. The most arresting part of the book though, I believe, is the final chapter when Woeser returns to Lhasa with her father’s old camera. She tries to recapture the scenes he captured over forty years ago but many of them have been lost to the ages, swept away in a frenzy of development and construction, as if by building new high rises, highways, and shopping malls, the Chinese government can hope to erase the destruction inflicted on Tibet, seemingly unaware of its continued destruction of the past.
As a historical record, Forbidden Memory is vital for all who are concerned about China and Tibet. History in China is ephemeral, disappearing into the void of amnesia, helped along by a fearful government who would like to forget any of its excesses as it reimagines a harmonious past for all regions. These photos speak loudly, speak clearly, and speak painfully of a great injustice inflicted on Tibet and its people, the same injustice that was inflicted on China during the same time. It’s no wonder that the Tibetan translation of Cultural Revolution sounds so similar to the Chinese for killing and looting – every utterance of this word is a memorial to that disaster.
These photographs, taken by her father, are some of the only evidence for the crimes of the Cultural Revolution in Tibet: the destruction and desecration of the Jokhang, the brutal struggles against anyone deemed counter-revolutionary, the factional fighting by Red Guards that cost countless lives, the collectivisation of Tibetan society. Alongside the explanatory commentary by Woeser, these pictures illuminate a terrible time in Tibetan and Chinese history, they are the only remaining tombstones to the victims.
Woeser’s commentary is detailed, based on interviews with many of those photographed and her own research. Some awareness and prior knowledge of Tibet and China’s recent history is required but there are detailed explanations and introductions to this time period prefacing the main body of work. The most arresting part of the book though, I believe, is the final chapter when Woeser returns to Lhasa with her father’s old camera. She tries to recapture the scenes he captured over forty years ago but many of them have been lost to the ages, swept away in a frenzy of development and construction, as if by building new high rises, highways, and shopping malls, the Chinese government can hope to erase the destruction inflicted on Tibet, seemingly unaware of its continued destruction of the past.
As a historical record, Forbidden Memory is vital for all who are concerned about China and Tibet. History in China is ephemeral, disappearing into the void of amnesia, helped along by a fearful government who would like to forget any of its excesses as it reimagines a harmonious past for all regions. These photos speak loudly, speak clearly, and speak painfully of a great injustice inflicted on Tibet and its people, the same injustice that was inflicted on China during the same time. It’s no wonder that the Tibetan translation of Cultural Revolution sounds so similar to the Chinese for killing and looting – every utterance of this word is a memorial to that disaster.
July 25, 2020
This was a very dense book.
This book focuses on what happened in Tibet during the cultural revolution, an issue that is unrepresented in today's society.
Through both words and pictures Woeser conveys the horrors that took place in Tibet during Mao's China, and how semblances of the Cultural Revolution can still be there today.
I really enjoyed what this book taught me, but this should definitely not be the first book you read about the Cultural Revolution. I've personally read an overview of Mao's China and some of the things and people talked about in this book went far over my head. Another thing is that I felt this book tended to get slightly bogged down with details and names. Things that would be important to a Tibetan, but not as critical for an American like myself. Overall a good book, probably the best one covering this specific topic.
3.7/5
This book focuses on what happened in Tibet during the cultural revolution, an issue that is unrepresented in today's society.
Through both words and pictures Woeser conveys the horrors that took place in Tibet during Mao's China, and how semblances of the Cultural Revolution can still be there today.
I really enjoyed what this book taught me, but this should definitely not be the first book you read about the Cultural Revolution. I've personally read an overview of Mao's China and some of the things and people talked about in this book went far over my head. Another thing is that I felt this book tended to get slightly bogged down with details and names. Things that would be important to a Tibetan, but not as critical for an American like myself. Overall a good book, probably the best one covering this specific topic.
3.7/5
December 3, 2023
「文化革命」，就是「殺劫」，把大昭寺改成「西藏第二招待所」，算你狠！
Want to read
February 26, 2021As seen in the New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/20...
March 16, 2021
No matter where you are, what you see/read/hear is always not the truth. Old story: things are always, always biased.
May 19, 2022
this is the most complete public archive of the cultural revolution in tibet and it broke my heart. bhoepas, read slowly and with caution.
January 13, 2024
Review of “The Tibetan Version of ‘Forbidden Memory: Tibet During the Cultural Revolution’ Is Now Available for Download Free of Charge” - By Woeser
"Since 1999, based on the hundreds of photos that my Father took in Tibet during the Cultural Revolution, I have been carrying out long-term research, conducted interviews and written articles in and about Lhasa and other places; over a period of six years during which I have visited over 70 people, in 2006, the Taiwanese publisher “Locus” published my two books “Forbidden Memory” and “Tibet Remembered”. “Forbidden Memory” is a commentary on the photos that my Father took during the Cultural Revolution as well as my own research results. “Tibet Remembered” is an oral history of people affected by the Cultural Revolution in Tibet. The two books have been referred to as “the so far most complete and comprehensive photographic record of Tibet during the Cultural Revolution” and “research about the Cultural Revolution in Tibet is thus no longer a blank space”.
Subsequently, “Forbidden Memory” was translated into Japanese (in 2009), into Tibetan (in 2009) and “Tibet Remembered” was translated into French (in 2010).
The Tibetan version of “Forbidden Memory” is without a doubt the most important version. The Norwegian Tibet Committee, the Norwegian Authors Union and the Swiss Tibetan Friendship Association assisted with the Tibetan translation.
Just as the translator of “Forbidden Memory”, a senior broadcaster at the Tibetan service of Radio Free Asia, Dolkar, when she first saw the Chinese version of “Forbidden Memory”, said: “I realised that as a Tibetan I have to share this with all our fellow Tibetans because there are so many young Tibetans who have absolutely no idea what happened in Tibet during the Cultural Revolution, it is about passing this truth on to our new generation and also to the exiled community.”
Entertaining precisely the same feeling, I always entertained the hope that the Tibetan version of “Forbidden Memory” would be available as an electronic version, so that with the help of the internet it can spread more easily among Tibetans and especially among those living inside Tibet. And as fate willed, a faraway friend offered his helping hand, taking the initiative to produce the Tibetan electronic version of the book. The translator, Dolkar, and the designer of the Tibetan version, Thupten, once more put in their greatest efforts. Day and night, the three people made adjustments and improvements and finally succeeded in publishing the end product, the e-book, online. So allow me to use written words to offer my three friends a pure white khata to express my deepest gratitude.
The Tibetan version of “Forbidden Memory” is available for download, entirely free of charge and it can be freely disseminated. In the electronic version, the photos can be enlarged, showing many more details than in the paper version and of course, the e-book can be searched. But most importantly, it can be easily spread. If everyone who has finished reading it can send it to a few other people, then that would be the best repayment for us. That part of history belongs to all Tibetans, we dedicate this book to the Tibetan people and hope that our descendents will always remember this. ............." ref. http://highpeakspureearth.com/2013/th... - .
High Peaks Pure Earth has translated an announcement by Woeser about the electronic Tibetan version of her book “Forbidden Memory: Tibet During the Cultural Revolution”. The blogpost was published on Woeser’s blog on March 31, 2013.: http://woeser.middle-way.net/2013/03/...
"Since 1999, based on the hundreds of photos that my Father took in Tibet during the Cultural Revolution, I have been carrying out long-term research, conducted interviews and written articles in and about Lhasa and other places; over a period of six years during which I have visited over 70 people, in 2006, the Taiwanese publisher “Locus” published my two books “Forbidden Memory” and “Tibet Remembered”. “Forbidden Memory” is a commentary on the photos that my Father took during the Cultural Revolution as well as my own research results. “Tibet Remembered” is an oral history of people affected by the Cultural Revolution in Tibet. The two books have been referred to as “the so far most complete and comprehensive photographic record of Tibet during the Cultural Revolution” and “research about the Cultural Revolution in Tibet is thus no longer a blank space”.
Subsequently, “Forbidden Memory” was translated into Japanese (in 2009), into Tibetan (in 2009) and “Tibet Remembered” was translated into French (in 2010).
The Tibetan version of “Forbidden Memory” is without a doubt the most important version. The Norwegian Tibet Committee, the Norwegian Authors Union and the Swiss Tibetan Friendship Association assisted with the Tibetan translation.
Just as the translator of “Forbidden Memory”, a senior broadcaster at the Tibetan service of Radio Free Asia, Dolkar, when she first saw the Chinese version of “Forbidden Memory”, said: “I realised that as a Tibetan I have to share this with all our fellow Tibetans because there are so many young Tibetans who have absolutely no idea what happened in Tibet during the Cultural Revolution, it is about passing this truth on to our new generation and also to the exiled community.”
Entertaining precisely the same feeling, I always entertained the hope that the Tibetan version of “Forbidden Memory” would be available as an electronic version, so that with the help of the internet it can spread more easily among Tibetans and especially among those living inside Tibet. And as fate willed, a faraway friend offered his helping hand, taking the initiative to produce the Tibetan electronic version of the book. The translator, Dolkar, and the designer of the Tibetan version, Thupten, once more put in their greatest efforts. Day and night, the three people made adjustments and improvements and finally succeeded in publishing the end product, the e-book, online. So allow me to use written words to offer my three friends a pure white khata to express my deepest gratitude.
The Tibetan version of “Forbidden Memory” is available for download, entirely free of charge and it can be freely disseminated. In the electronic version, the photos can be enlarged, showing many more details than in the paper version and of course, the e-book can be searched. But most importantly, it can be easily spread. If everyone who has finished reading it can send it to a few other people, then that would be the best repayment for us. That part of history belongs to all Tibetans, we dedicate this book to the Tibetan people and hope that our descendents will always remember this. ............." ref. http://highpeakspureearth.com/2013/th... - .
High Peaks Pure Earth has translated an announcement by Woeser about the electronic Tibetan version of her book “Forbidden Memory: Tibet During the Cultural Revolution”. The blogpost was published on Woeser’s blog on March 31, 2013.: http://woeser.middle-way.net/2013/03/...
August 13, 2018
及其珍貴的西藏文革照片。
January 3, 2022
此书中可见很多关于文化大革命时期的西藏的照片，弥足珍贵，可以和《红色新闻兵》相提并论。只可惜没有武斗的照片。
April 29, 2022
当时的藏人该有多么害怕，愤怒和绝望？
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews