A History of Modern Tibet, 1913-1951: The Demise of the Lamaist State by Goldstein, Melvyn D. with Gelek Rimpoche - 1989

Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989. Hardcover. VG-/VG- (ex-library with labels and stamps on spine, block, inside front and rear covers and title page verso. Binding is tight and pages are clean.). Red cloth boards with gilt lettering; black and plum illustrated dj, mylar cover, xxv, 898 pp. with bw illustrations. Contents: I. Era of the 13th Dalai Lama and Reting, 1913-1941. Early years of the 13th Dalai Lama -- Tibet and the New Republic in China -- Dalai Lama, the Army, and the monastic segment -- Death of the 13th Dalai Lama -- Fall of Kumbela -- In search of a new Tibet: Lungshar's reform party -- Miission of general Huang Mu-sung -- British, the Chinese and the Panchen Lama -- Reting takes contronl, then resigns -- Conclusion to part one: the Reting years -- II. Era of Taktra and the 14th Dalai Lama, 1941-1951. Early years of the Taktra regency: 1941-1943 -- Change and confrontation in the twilight of World War II -- Seeds of Rebellion -- Reting conspiracy -- Victory congratulations mission, 1945-1946 -- Further attempts at International visibility -- Tibet after the fall of the Kuomintang -- People's Liberation Army invades -- Afterthe fall of Chamdo -- Tibet capitulates: the seventeen-point agreemnt 00 Dalai Lama returns to Lhasa -- Conclusion: the demise of the Lamaist state. "The 'Tibetan Question, ' the nature of Tibet's political status vis-a-vis China, has been the subject of often bitterly competing views while the facts of the issue have not been fully accessible to interested observers. While one faction has argued that Tibet was, in the main, historically independent until it was conquered by the Chinese Communists in 1951 and incorporated into the new Chinese state, the other faction views Tibet as a traditional part of China that split away at the instigation of the British after the fall of the Manchu Dynasty and was later dutifully reunited with "New China" in 1951. In contrast, this comprehensive study of modern Tibetan history presents a detailed, non-partisan account of the demise of the Lamaist state. Drawing on a wealth of British, American, and Indian diplomatic records; first- hand-historical accounts written by Tibetan participants; and extensive interviews with former Tibetan officials, monastic leaders, soldiers, and traders, Goldstein meticulously examines what happened and why. He balances the traditional focus on international relations with an innovative emphasis on the intricate web of internal affairs and events that produced the fall of Tibet. Scholars and students of Asian history will find this work an invaluable resource and interested readers will appreciate the clear explanation of highly polemicized, and often confusing, historical events."--Publisher's description.