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the principal
political power controlling religious and administrative
authority over Tibet from the traditional capital Lhasa,
which was regarded as the most sacred city of Tibet.
Administratively the region is divided into one
municipality and six prefectures. The municipality is Lhasa,
while the six prefectures are Shigatse, Ngari, Lhaoka, Chamdo,
Nakchu and Nyingtri (Kongpo). The People's Government of the
Tibet Autonomous Region exercises the highest administrative
authority in Tibet.
The History of Tibet can be divided into
four periods:
The Tsanpo's Period
This period starts from the reign of Nyatri Tsanpo, the first
of the Tsanpos, in 127 B.C and ends in 842 A.D. at the death
of Lang Dharma, the last of the Tsanpos. A Buddhist monk owing
to Lang Dharma’s brutal persecution of Buddhism assassinated
Lang Dharma. During Tsanpo period, some 42 Tsanpos ruled over
Tibet and reach to its peak during the empire of Songtsan
Gampo's rule. Songtsan Gampo was an outstanding ruler who
unified Tibet and changed his capital to Lhasa. He also sent
his minister Sambhota to India to study Sanskrit and
promulgate a script for the Tibetan on his arrival to Tibet.
Songtsan Gampo married Princess Wencheng of the tang Court of
China and Pricess Bhrikuti Debi of Nepal and constructed the
famous Potala Palace and Jokhang temple.
The Period of Decentralization
This period started in 842 A.D. the year of Lang Dharma's
assassination, and came to an end in about 1260 A.D. It ended
when Pagpa, the Abbot of Sakya monastery, became a vassal of
Kublai Khan, the first Emperor of the Yuan Dynasty. No
elaborated details are available in the history about this
period except that Tibet became decentralized into a number of
petty principalities during this period.
The Period of Sakya, Pagdu, and Karmapa's Rule
This period commenced with Sakya's rule over Tibet, followed
first by Pagdu's rule in Lhaoka and then by Karmara's rule in
the Tsang region (Shigatse). The sakya period is important for
the reason that Tibet officially became an inseparable part of
China for was the time during this phase. This period lasted
from 1260 A.D to 1642 A.D during which political powers
centered in the three regions of Sakya, Pagdu, and tsang
successively ruled over Tibet.
The Period of the Gandan Podrang's Administration
This was the period when the Dalai Lama ruled Tibet. It began
in 1642 A.D. when the 5th Dalai Lama overtook the ruling power
from the Tsang ruler. It basically ended in 1951 when Tibet
was liberated and came to a complete end in 1959 when
rebellion led by the Dalai Lama was appeased and the People's
Government of the Tibet, Autonomous Region was set up. |
