Customer Reviews

Return to Tibet: Tibet After the Chinese Occupation

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After reading Seven Years in Tibet, this book (which I managed to pick up in Pilgrims bookshop in Kathmandu, after visiting Tibet myself in 1998) came across more as a thesis, compared to the story like format of the former book. Return to Tibet concerns Heinrich Harrer's return to Lhasa in 1982 as part of one of the first tour groups to enter Tibet after China began to open up after Mao and the Cultural Revolution. He compare the Lhasa and Tibet he knew over thirty years before with that he saw on his return. He also manages to break away from the group he was with and meet some of the people he used to know - again, the differences in these people show a sharp contrast.

Whereas Seven Years in Tibet is an easy read, this is a lot heavier going. To be honest, I felt that Heinrich Harrer spent too much time lamenting the old days which made for not one the most memorable reads. That said, if only to show how much had changed, it is still interesting from a historical point of view and what caught my attention most was the changes between the Heinrich Harrer's visit in 1982 and my own trip their in 1998 (for example, on the good side monasteries being rebuilt, easier to get around Tibet, but not so good was the development of Lhasa into a modern city with less character, with a very large influx of non-Tibetans into Tibet in general).

It is amazing that Henrich Harrer has written separate accounts on Tibet, the roof of thw world, with incredible disparity in emotions. The successor of "Seven Years in Tibets", "Return to Tibet" records the author's revisit 30 years after his departure in 1950. "Return to Tibet" is often regarded as the continuation of "Seven Years in Tibet", except that readers shouldn't read it as a travelogue. Interwoven with the once-vivid and jocund recollection of the country, Harrer contrasted the dismal Tibet under the Chinese neocolonialism. One might find the later volume dry and even disappointing because "Return To Tibet" is not really a showcase of colorful Tibetan costumes, or the rancid butter tea, or the architecture of monasteries. Instead, it is more a political review of how China had annihilated the Tibetan cultures by forcing adoption of new beliefs and ideologies. The climax of the book falls into the author's report to the Dalai Lama, with whom Harrer had built a close friendship. It is through Dalai Lama, spiritual leader of Tibet, that the author realized that Tibetans' beliefs are unshakable. "Tibetans are people of love and patience. They never value war. Yet they value religion and belief more than anything. They would value religion more than not going to war."

I found Mr. Harrer's account of his return to Tibet after Chinese occupation an interesting account from a factual point of view, but it was rather dry from a reader point of view. If you are interested in Tibet, I would recommend it; if you are interested in a good story, I would not.

This book is mainly comprised of short vignettes about the Author's return to Tibet. He revisits people & places that he knew. If you haven't read Seven Years in Tibet. You won't like this book. If you have. You'll want to read it. To see how 30+yrs of Chinese occupation have brutalized the country. I never buy anything Chinese if I can help it. This book helps clarify why.

After three decades, Heinrich Harrer, the famed Austrian mountain-climber, was finally able to visit Tibet again. In this book, he documents how thoroughly a communist regime can ruin a nation and a people. This book is shorter and less-detailed than his outstanding "Seven Years in Tibet", but the main point of this account is the grievous destruction of Tibetan culture. Mr. Harrer travelled to Lhasa, where he located a number of his Tbetan friends and acquaintances from better times. Many had stories to tell of their survival under the occupation by China's communist government. Unfortunately, at least one of these acquaintances from the past, was a full-blown collaborator.
Mr. Harrer describes how Tibet's religion, culture, and language still survive, despite efforts by the Chinese to suppress and completely eliminate them. In fact, traditional Tibetan culture is alive and well, surviving on the periphery of their homeland. Many Tibetans live in exile in India, Nepal, and Bhutan, for example. Harrer describes how the Chinese government has revived monasteries in Lhasa for the purpose of drawing in tourists, a source of foriegn currency for the regime. The authenticity of the monks was questionable, according to Mr. Harrer.
Having been brutally invaded by the communists in 1950, Tibet is probably the first example of the dubious value of the so-called "United Nations". Despite attempts by the Tibetan government to plead for assistance, the U.N. did nothing...as usual. The end result was the ongoing barbaric oppression and gradual genocide of the Tibetan people at the hands of the world's last communist super-power. It is believed that the population of native Tibetans has declined by half since 1950, many having been worked to death in concentration camps, or outright slaughtered. Meanwhile, the Chinese have been colonizing Tibet in large numbers.

Did you love SY in T? Reading "Return to Tibet" would seem a natural consequence. Half-way in between a book of memories and a collection of short essays this evidently much sponsored sequel has some merits even if it is definitely lacking the poetry and fascination of the first work.
In 1982, more than thirty years aver leaving Lhasa and a life devoted to many other initiatives (read "The White Spider"), Harrer returned to Tibet with one of the first Chinese regulated tourist tours. Having been well introduced in the Tibetan society he immediately and instinctively picks up the differences with the past and only these he describes in great detail. He tells us of the fate of his old friends and acquaintances, those who have succumbed to Chinese cultural revolution and those that have become collaborators, the destruction of religious sites and old habits but also their endurance under cover through delicate details and episodes. There is no timeline narration and the book is skippy going back and forth more than once. This book was written at the time of a fugacious "thaw" in Chinese oppression so it conveys some optimism that has successively been cancelled. I suggest if anyone is interested to watch "Windhorse" or "Tibet, the Cry of the Snow Lion" to have an update on the situation of Tibetan cultural genocide. The language as in SY in T is very simple with evident problems of translation, but the book flows along well. I think it is a good companion book to SY in T but it isn't worth an indipendent read.

The parallels between this book and China's takeover of Tibet are remarkable. Both China and Harrer seem to be exploiting Tibet for financial means. Harrer's first book on the subject, "Seven Years in Tibet", is a remarkable book that was made into a movie. Unlike the first book, this book seems to have little purpose.

It is truly a tragedy what happened to Tibet. The people of this peaceful country were taken over by a hostile aggressor without aid from the rest of the world. Admittedly, Harrer rehashes many of his tales from "Seven Years in Tibet" in this book. After thirty years, Harrer is finally allowed to return to Tibet, now under China's rule. Harrer finds much of the land he once knew in ruins. However, Harrer gives little description of the change. I realize he was not allowed to photograph or view certain areas. But with so little to write about, why write a book?

Most readers of this book are keenly aware of China's mistreatment of the people of Tibet. Harrer gives first hand accounts through interviews of the Tibetans that stayed in Tibet when China began its rule. Many of these Tibetans have been tortured into abiding by China's rule. What I found most shocking is the lack of awareness of the people of China that their country has possession of Tibet.

With such a beautiful cover, one expects many beautiful pictures on the inside. Unfortunately, most the pictures come from the 1950's. Did rules against pictures in certain areas really affect his production that much.

Another major omission I found in the book is motivation. Why did China engulf Tibet? Harrer briefly suggests that they felt the differing way of life lived by Tibetans was a threat to China. But why attack a peaceful people? Are the Chinese afraid of the Dalai Lama? Is the Tibetan brand of Buddhism that different from China's?

The downfall of this book comes in Harrer's living in the past. He can't seem to bring himself to describe what is left of the Tibet he once knew. Aside from speaking to a few Tibetans and describing some of the architecture, this book fails. It seems that Harrer is rehashing his last book mixed with images from his 1982 visit.

I loved Harrer's "Seven Years In Tibet". I was somewhat less impressed with "Return To Tibet". After living in Tibet and personally knowing the Dali Lama I expected this book to be a little more in depth on the personal struggles of the Tibetian people and less about the archeological sites that had been destroyed. Even with that criticism, the book is well written and unfortunately a tragic follow up to "Seven Years".

Anyone who has read Harrer's sensational account published in
"Seven Years in Tibet" of his escape from a prison camp in 1943 and 21 month walk across the High Himalaya, must certainly read
"Return to Tibet".
This book was written 30 years after his first stay in Tibet and deals with the tremendous changes, much of them sheer vandalism and wanton destruction,resulting from the Chinese occupation of the country in 1951.
Harrer is an excellent guide because of his intimate knowledge of the country and its people.
The book is easy to read and gives a vivid impression of Tibetans
both of those who remained in their country and those now in exile in India.
The author died earlier this year at the age of 93 years.