Tears of the Lotus: Accounts of Tibetan Resistance to the Chinese Invasion, 1950-1962 (Library Binding)

by Roger E. McCarthy (Author), Robert E. McCarthy (Author) "The foregoing describes the world of Aten (Rapten Dorje) as he knew it before the Chinese invaded, then as it was under the Chinese, and..." (more)
Key Phrases: diligent ones, peaceful liberation, nese soldiers, Dalai Lama, Panchen Lama, Chairman Mao (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"a powerful story" -- Catholic Library World

"an engrossing history" -- Periscope

Product Description
In 1949 Mao Tse-tung first sent his People's Liberation Army into the eastern Tibetan province of Amdo; he followed with an invasion of the province of Kham in 1950. Ill-prepared, disorganized and badly outnumbered, the small Tibetan armed forces were no match for the invaders. At first the Chinese persuaded many Tibetans that their intent was merely to help them share in the future greatness and wealth that Mao had promised all. In a short time the Tibetans realized, however, that the true purpose of the invasion was otherwise. This work includes accounts of the role of Tibetans who collaborated with the Chinese invaders, the resistance movement, the Dalai Lama's lack of support for the movement, and how even so the resistance made it possible for the Dalai Lama to escape from Lhasa in 1959.

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Product Details

• Library Binding: 290 pages
• Publisher: McFarland & Company (July 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786403314
• ISBN-13: 978-0786403318
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,196,132 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tears Of The Lotus, June 13, 2000

By	robyn Mcclintock (Paradise, California) - See all my reviews

I came across the Roger McCarthy book while doing graduate research at a tibetan refugee camp. I found the story was an amazingly well written documentation of the CIA involvement with the last tibetan operatives. At the time of the reading it was on the cutting edge of CIA information that was newly released to the public. The story is a tragic one, another chapter in US history where we have exploited, manipulated a vulnerable people for US self interests....only to abandon them when it ceases to serve militarily/economically. McCarthy does very well at describing what went on in the CIA training camps in Colorado and in the last Tibetan border hold out in Mustang. My opinion of the books content/context shifted as I had the opportunity to live in one of the Tibetan Refugee Settlements in Pokhara Nepal,(where a number of these ex-operatives still reside). After interviewing them I discovered that McCarthys view was very much from his own perspective, not that of the tibetans,(several of whom I spoke to who had been interviewed by McCarthy). Also the tibetan soldiers did not receive credit, or compensation for their contributions to the book, or for the losses of their families by our government. A disappointment for sure! But, given the importance of the material alone and it's contribution to deepen ones understanding of the tibetan refugees, the war, and the survival of the last vestiges of a free tibet.....this is a MUST read.