Customer Reviews

Tibetan Nation: A History Of Tibetan Nationalism And Sino-tibetan Relations

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Smith has provided a balanced, thorough, and judicious review of Sino-Tibetan relations from the earliest times to the Lhasa riots of the late 1980s and their aftermath. He has thoroughly mined the English language literature from Chinese, Tibetan exile, and Western scholarly sources, though he did no research in Chinese or Tibetan. Although obviously sympathetic to the Tibetan cause, he has carefully analyzed such dubious claims as their often-repeated figures of a total Tibetan population of 6 million and one million lost due to Chinese mis-rule and their assertion that Chinese documents acknowledge 87,000 deaths during the 1959-62 rebellion. He was similarly thorough and incisive in picking apart dubious or falacious Chinese claims and devastating in his depiction of Chinese conduct, especially in eastern Tibetan-inhabited areas in the 1950s and central Tibet after 1959. Along with Melvyn Goldstein's comprehensive history of Modern Tibet, Smith's book is must reading for those who want to understand this complex and controversial subject.

This history is written from the point of view of the evolution of Chinese political thought and its affect on Tibet, more than a straightforward history. The author deals more in broad Chinese influences than specific ones, although he does discuss specific events. About half the book covers the time period after 1951 to the late 80's and should have stuck with that. Smith uses mainly secondary sources, like Goldstein, for events before 1951 and primary sources for events after. Goldstein gives a much better history of Tibet up to the Chinese `liberation.' The book is in extension of Smith's thesis and reads a bit like it. He includes extended quotes. It's much harder to read, follow and maintain interest. Smith is obviously very pro-Tibetan, as am I, but this tends to make me a little skeptical in my reading of this book especially when he starts to argue over numbers. Overall, I thought this was a decent book especially for the more recent events in Tibet, but I tend to be a little skeptical of Smith's analysis.