Chieftains, Lamas, and Warriors

Yudru Tsomu is professor at the Center for Tibetan Studies, Sichuan University.

"Prof. Yudru Tsomu has done it again! In 2015, she published her detailed study of the rise and fall of the [in]famous nineteenth century Khampa warrior Gönpo Namgyel. And now, with this book, she has cast a much wider net and offers a meticulously researched work on the fraught history of Kham, that is, roughly West Sichuan Province, from the early 1900s to the 1950s. She has indeed done her reading and has virtually left no stone uncovered to get at the very heart of its history and its main actors. Her narrative is inter alia informed by an impressive array of Chinese and Tibetan local histories, biographical accounts, archival sources, etc. written in Tibetan and Chinese; never mind her exhaustive bibliography of works in other languages. Her excellent use of these materials shows how well she controls these varied sources. Anyone in the field knows how difficult it is to gain access to many of these publications, and the author is to be congratulated on having been able to consult such a vast amount of literature. Indeed, this is a first-rate study by one of the best in the business of Kham Studies, and I have no doubt that it will be an indispensable source for those who wish to follow in the author’s footsteps."

• Chapters 1. Qing “New Policy” Reforms and Local RebellionsChapter 2. Political Turmoil and the First Boundary Dispute Between Sichuan (Kham) and Central Tibet (1911–13)Chapter 3. The Second Boundary Dispute and the Eastward Advance of Tibetan Troops (1914–1918)Chapter 4. Internal ConflictsChapter 5. Kham: The Struggle for HegemonyChapter 6. Lamas, Warlords, and NationalistsChapter 7. Kham Under Warlord Rule (1935–1949) and the Establishment of Xikang ProvinceChapter 8. The Communist AscendancyChapter 9. Red Star over Kham: Democratic Reforms (1956-1960)Chapter 10. Red Star over Kham: Occurrence and Suppression of Revolts