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jamiejah
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Joined: Mar 21, 2004
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 Posted:
June 05, 2005 - 09:36 PM |
 
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| Post subject: t¡bet |
Visit t¡bet, but Go with Low Expectations
By MARIA CHENG
Charles Illustration for TIME by Clara Loon.
Liberation is overrated. Just ask the t¡betans. Ever since the Chinese communists "peacefully liberated" the land of the snows in 1950, finding the real "Shangri-La" has become nearly as difficult as identifying the next living Buddha. From its vantage point atop the highest plateau in the world, the Buddhist kingdom of t¡bet has long captured the imagination of outsiders. For many who actually reach the mountain-wrapped valley, however, the most overwhelming sensation is not so much fascination as disappointment.
To the traveler, it may seem that when the da1a¡ 1ama fled t¡bet in 1959, packed in his bags was the spirit of the nation. Lhasa is still home to monuments like the pοta⌊a Palace (the traditional residence of His Holiness) and the Jokhang (the most revered religious structure in all of t¡bet), but it is also increasingly overrun by the unappealing hallmarks of modern Chinese architecture. Witness the Tiananmen-style public square that sits in front of the pοta⌊a (complete with security video cameras) or the gaudy Golden Yaks monument that marks Lhasa's main crossroads.
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Visit t¡bet, But Go With Low Expectations
Ever since the Chinese communists 'peacefully liberated' the land of the snows, finding the real 'Shangri-La' has become nearly as difficult as identifying the next living Buddha
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Before the Chinese "modernized" the city, Lhasa's population was approximately 30,000. Now it is estimated at 150,000, with Chinese residents apparently outnumbering the locals by a wide margin. The city is clearly divided along ethnic lines, with the traditional t¡betan enclave comprising a mere 4% of Lhasa's land area.
t¡bet's commercial appeal, however, is not lost on the Chinese, many of whom hawk t¡betan souvenir trinkets—mostly imported from Nepal—to starry-eyed travelers. Even more enterprising is the army of official Chinese tourist guides that has cropped up to shepherd visitors around Lhasa and beyond. Listening to guides indoctrinated with the Communist Party's interpretation of t¡betan history is an experience as inadvertently entertaining as it is surreal. Pointing to luggage left behind by the 14th da1a¡ 1ama at the pοta⌊a when he escaped to India, one Chinese guide offered, with a straight face, "He had to leave in a hurry." Indeed. Still, the most disturbing aspect of any visit to Lhasa is not just the overwhelming Chinese presence, but the t¡betan absence. At the pοta⌊a, every effort has been made to eliminate all references to the current incarnation of the da1a¡ 1ama, giving the palace the awkward feel of a deserted museum.
"There's not very much t¡bet left in the actual t¡bet," says Palden Talung, a 34-year-old t¡betan-born American. The merchant, who travels at least four times a year to his homeland, says the Chinese are effectively eroding t¡bet's identity. "People who go to Lhasa expecting to see authentic t¡betan culture should brace themselves," he says. "It's basically just another Chinese city with a few t¡betans thrown in for color." A few leftover revolutionary slogans make it an even odder experience. At Lhasa's Drepung monastery, home to the famed three-story statue of Maitreya, the future Buddha, visitors can glimpse another photo-worthy spot: a wall covered with graffiti from the Cultural Revolution. There is something incongruous about the sight of monks shuffling past the smiling face of Chairman Mao.
Even outside Lhasa, it's difficult to find much that is genuinely t¡betan. In Gyantse and Shigatse—the most heavily trafficked spots beyond the capital—the karaoke bars and dumpling houses may be scarce, but China's presence is still unmistakable. This becomes especially apparent with a visit to the Tashilhunpo monastery, the traditional seat of power of the Panchen 1ama, t¡betan Buddhism's second most powerful figure after the da1a¡ 1ama. Though the monastery is one of the few in t¡bet that survived the Cultural Revolution mostly unscathed, the central government has left its mark. In the compound's central courtyard hangs calligraphy by President Jiang Zemin himself, exhorting t¡betans to strive for the good of the nation. Most of them do—it's just that they're striving beyond t¡bet's borders—exiled in India's Dharamsala.
Write to TIME at mail@web.timeasia.com
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frenchlover1999
Shanghai Royalty
Joined: Sep 18, 2004
Posts: 8734
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| Posted:
June 05, 2005 - 10:00 PM |
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| Quote: |
At the pοta⌊a, every effort has been made to eliminate all references to the current incarnation of the da1a¡ 1ama, giving the palace the awkward feel of a deserted museum.
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In addition to the obvious propaganda, this Maria Cheng also implies that the da1a¡ 1ama is indeed a Living God (a claim more grotesque than anything the bad Chinese Commies would ever dare to say) and shows nostalgia for the lost paradise, when the corridors of the pοta⌊a palace were alive with the cries of His Holiness' children slaves. By the way last time I was in New York I did not see any tippee. |
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That was no shark. That was my personal submarine. But enough of this polite conversation. What is the purpose of your visit? |
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