While Korea is the unresolved war, Tibet is the unresolved issue. Both events are more complex than the propaganda that the media often presents.
China maintains that Tibet has been part of its territory for centuries, but many Tibetans say the region was functionally independent for much of its history.
Since Tibetan separatists have claimed that China “never” ruled over Tibet prior to Mao’s reoccupation in 1950, every time the Dali Lama wins another award for humanitarianism or meets a world leader, it is a slap in the face for most Chinese — not just their government.
Have you ever been treated as if you were a liar when it wasn’t true?
The Chinese are proud of their history, and they don’t like foreigners believing lies about their country.
The facts presented in this video are supported by the October 1912 issue of National Geographic Magazine and Robert Hart’s 19th century journals.
Tibet was first occupied by China during the Yuan Dynasty (1277-1367), and it was a Mongol emperor or king that made a Dalai Lama the spiritual leader for Tibet in the 13th century.
Before that, the Tibetans were a warlike race and were a plague on a peaceful China. Warlike Tibetans, not exactly the image the Western media paints, raided China for centuries from their mountain fortresses.
When the Ming Dynasty drove the Mongols from China in 1368, the Ming emperor sent an army to Tibet.
For the next six hundred years, the Tibetans were never easy to rule.
Sir Robert Hart, considered the godfather of China’s modernization, said the same thing. He wrote in 1888, “China will regard England as an ally and helper in reducing trouble-some tributaries (meaning Tibet) to a proper sense of position!”
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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too.
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Note: This post first appeared on iLook China February 8, 2010 as post # 34. This revised version reappears as post # 1098.
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse 
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