1959: Lhasa! - How the Dalai Lama Escaped (Second Edition)

1959: Lhasa! How the Dalai Lama Escaped is the first book to reconstruct the two historical truths between Han and Tibetan peoples.

On March 17, 1959, the Dalai Lama began his lifelong exile.
Why did he leave? How did he leave?
Why did the Dalai Lama flee in 1959, and not in 1951 or 1956?
Why did the people of Lhasa almost pour out their forces on March 10, 1959, to prevent the Dalai Lama from going to the military headquarters to watch the performance?
In 1954, when the Dalai Lama visited Beijing, the people of Lhasa did not take such drastic actions?
14 days of exile, a long and bumpy journey,
Was it the "give way" theory that Mao Zedong gave rise to, or the "hijack" theory that reactionaries orchestrated?

What caused the "Lhasa Incident" to evolve into the "Battle of Lhasa"? This remains a mystery in the history of China and Tibet.
In 1959, the first "Lhasa Incident" occurred.
In 1989, the second "Lhasa Incident" occurred.
In March 2008, the "Lhasa Incident" broke out again. This was the third riot in Lhasa in 50 years.
During the riots, a young man in Lhasa shouted: "We are the people you killed 49 years ago, and we are back!" How many Chinese people understand the pain hidden in these words?

Only by returning to the historical scene and listening to the true stories of those who experienced it and the exiles,
With justice, courage and love, let the world know all the truth and regain peace!

Author Li Jianglin has dedicated recent years to researching Tibetan issues, traveling annually from New York to India to visit Tibetan refugee settlements, listening to and recording the life stories of the first generation of exiled Tibetans. This research has shed new light on Tibetan history. To provide a true understanding of the realities of Tibet in the 1950s, she combines official Chinese Communist Party publications with firsthand accounts from both Han and Tibetan communities, seeking two truths about 1959:
1. What exactly happened during the Lhasa Incident and the Battle of Lhasa? Why did it happen?
2 Why did the Dalai Lama flee? How did he leave?

Why a historical mystery?
There are multiple versions of the Dalai Lama's escape in March 1959 circulating both inside and outside China. In China, there are two main versions: the "popular version" and the "official version." The "popular version" is the "let go" theory: Mao Zedong released the Dalai Lama to India. The "official version" is the "abduction theory," first stated in the "Xinhua News Agency Communiqué on the Tibetan Rebellion" published on March 28, 1959: "These reactionaries... brazenly abducted the Dalai Lama from Lhasa on March 17." Although the Dalai Lama immediately issued a statement publicly denying the incident, the official version has persisted. Both versions continue to circulate today.

As for the reason why the Dalai Lama fled, the book states that two shells fell on Norbulingka on March 17. After consulting the diviner Neqiong, he received the instruction, "Go! Go! Go tonight!" The diviner, in a trance, grabbed a pen and paper and clearly drew a route map.

But the words of the Naiqiong Divine Divination were only one of the factors the Dalai Lama considered; the two shells fired at Norbulingka were the main reason that prompted him to make his decision.

He believed that if the people no longer had a target to protect, they would quickly leave Norbulingka and disband on their own, hoping to avoid large-scale bloodshed in this way.

History does not lie, and history cannot be evaded. It is the best witness of time. We must re-examine the events of 1959 and clarify what exactly happened in Lhasa in March 1959. Otherwise, we will never understand the pain of the Tibetan people, nor will we ever comprehend why riots break out in Tibet every 20 years or so.

This book is accompanied by dozens of precious historical pictures and is the best historical knowledge education.

2016-09-15

聯經出版公司

424

9789570848090