Demystifying Tibet: Unlocking the Secrets of the Land of the Snows

by Lee Feigon

This authoritative view of the history and culture of Tibet comes at a time when this ancient land is in danger of losing its identity and culture under Chinese rule. In a compact narrative account, Lee Feigon describes Tibet's long and independent history, which belies Chinese claims to hegemony over the Tibetan people. Beginning in the seventh century with the origins of the Tibetan state, Tibetans have borrowed cultural and political forms from their neighbors, including China and India, but have always developed them in their own distinct manner. Tibet has in fact at times ruled vast portions of China, India, Nepal, Central Asia, and even the Middle East. As Tibetans assimilated Buddhist ideals, they gradually cultivated the powerful and magical religious aura that has given birth to legends of Shangri-la. Tracing this history through Mongol and Manchu rule in China, the advent of nineteenth-century Western imperialism, and the radical and sometimes racist policies of Communist China, which have aimed to transform Tibet, Feigon shows how Tibet's grand history has produced its present-day culture, and how the future of that culture now lies largely in China's hands.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

241 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1995

About the author

Lee Feigon is an American historian who specialized in the study of 20th-century Chinese history.

In 2002 he published Mao: A Reinterpretation, a work of historical revisionism that sought to highlight what Feigon saw as the positive aspects of Mao Zedong's political leadership. He subsequently used that book as a basis for his 2006 documentary The Passion of the Mao.

He has written for such U.S. publications as The Wall Street Journal, Barron's, The Nation, The Chicago Tribune, The Atlantic, and The Boston Globe.

Reviews

[George Murray · Rating 2 out of 5]

Doesn’t ‘demystify’ Tibet so much as do the exact opposite, the Tibet shown here is basically the snowy realm of yaks and magic that Feigon claims to denounce. The first half of this book is kneecapped by his insistence on tying historical events to modern politics, the second half glosses over the crimes of the Tibetan aristocracy and the complicated motivations of the Dalai Lama, Mao Zedong, and their rivals and allies to present a flattened, black and white image of what happened in the 1950s. The final 30 pages or so are surprisingly informative and nuanced, but Feigon’s moral flailing about Tibet losing its cultural uniqueness feels at best patronizing and at worst a little fascist- There are certainly big and perhaps irresolvable problems facing Tibet today but so too for every non European country subjected to European ideas of nationhood. Feigon’s conclusion is almost laughable considering the 30 pages leading up to it.

[Neil Troost · Rating 5 out of 5]

honestly the best objective review i’ve seen. he isn’t pro chinese by any means but doesn’t sugar coat real tibetan history or culture. it leaves me still demanding a free tibet but for the reasons any people should be free…but no more than that. tibetan society was deeply flawed and injustice is injustice no matter how trendy. but the beauty of the land should not be destroyed by china.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book by Lee Feigon was a not-too-detailed look at the highlights of Tibetan history in terms of its relations with the outside world and the misperceptions that have arisen. It is a useful introduction to the background of the current unrest in the region. The author focuses on two sources of misunderstanding: the Western view of Tibet as a mystical utopia, protected from the corruption of the modern world by its remoteness. The second view is that collectively held by the Chinese, who tend to see Tibet as barbaric and in need of Chinese cultural tutelage.

For most Westerners, the current Dalai Lama - moderate, spiritual, compassionate, a lover of peace - is the face of Tibet. Feigon shows that Tibet was never simply a land of peaceful herders and monks. In its early history, it was an extensive, aggressive empire ruled by warrior-kings, stretching from Central Asia to the Bay of Bengal. Even after monarchy was replaced by theocratic rule, Feigon reveals that previous Dalai Lamas were often machiavellian figures whose palaces housed both meditation halls and torture chambers.

Tibet's relations with China have, if anything, been a bigger source of problems and mutual misperception. The current Chinese view of Tibet is that it is a backward land, inferior to China in every way. The Chinese rationalize their invasion and occupation of Tibet as a "liberation". It is true that the Chinese ended the Tibetan system of serfdom and have introduced amenities like electricity and improved medical care to Tibetan cities. The Dalai Lama himself says that China has introduced needed reforms. However, this has come at the price of coloniztion by Han Chinese, repression of Tibetan culture, destruction of religious foundations (particularly during the Cultural Revolution), and environmental depredation. The Chinese have clear-cut the ancient forests of eastern Tibet and used parts of the region as a dumping ground for nuclear waste.

The Chinese justify their treatment of Tibet through a very sinocentric take on history. The Chinese view is that Tibet has always been in the Chinese orbit, offering tribute to successive Chinese dynasties and seeking to emulate Chinese culture. Feigon points out that Chinese historians have traditionally referred to trade as "tribute" and argues that Tibet has always been culturally separate from China. Indeed, the native Tibetans and the Chinese who live there remain separate, unassimilated populations. Many Chinese officials assigned to Tibet see their stay there as a form of exile.

Far from being an historic satellite of China, Tibet was China's rival, sometimes trading, sometimes raiding and occupying wide swathes of the Middle Kingdom. Tibetan rulers often befriended powers at odds with China. During the 19th and 20th centuries, Tibet entered into an alliance with Tsarist Russia against China. For the British in India, an autonomous Tibet was a buffer state against both China and Russia. During the Cold War, the agents trained Tibetan agents torun missions against Communist China. Even today, the People's Republic fears that India or the United States will attempt to use Tibet as leverage against Chinese interests.

In his final chapter, Feigon discusses Tibetan uprisings against Chinese rule which took place in the 1980s and 1990s. This past unrest shows a pattern that is depressingly similar to the most recent uprisings: Chinese policy in Tibet sparks unrest, anti-Chinese violence ensues, people outside China voice concern, the Dalai Lama calls for peaceful dialogue, Chinese security forces shoot protestors, rewind and repeat.

[Marsha Altman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember liking this book but I don't actually remember a lot about it, except that it was a pretty good quick history of Tibet and its culture. It had a lot of information I already knew, but it was clear and concise, offering both the Tibetan and Chinese narratives of various flash points in their shared history as two Asian nations.