Life and Times of George Tsarong of Tibet, 1920–1970

Paljor Tsarong received his PhD in anthropology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

One of the glaring gaps in our understanding of traditional Tibet in the twentieth century is what life was like for the ruling elite, especially the lay, aristocratic elite who formed roughly half of the government bureaucracy. Paljor Tsarong has written a fascinating and important book that helps to redress that gap by writing about his father, the well-known English-speaking aristocratic official known widely as George Tsarong. Paljor Tsarong is one of the most knowledgeable scholars, Tibetan or Western, of the traditional Tibetan political system and in this book he not only presents an insider’s view of the world of his father—who was one of the elite Tibetans most interested in creating a modernized Tibet—but also gives us an important exposition on the workings of the Tibetan government and about major events in modern history. Tibet was more than lamas, monks, monk-officials, and mass monasticism; there were also nationalistic and forward-thinking laymen like George Tsarong and his father, Tsarong Dzasa, who sought, albeit unsuccessfully, to modernize Tibet. Though they could not overcome the entrenched power of the religious/monastic segment, their efforts are an important part of any balanced history of modern Tibet, and this book opens a window to their Tibet.

• List of IllustrationsPrefaceAcknowledgmentA Note on RomanizationMaps1 The House of Tsarong2 A Sojourn in India3 The School Years in Lhasa4 Gyantse, the Estates and the Interregnum Period5 Darjeeling, Lhasa and Calcutta6 A Young State Bureaucrat7 The Great Song and the Ode to the Arrow8 State Rituals and Ceremonies9 The Tragic Regency Period10 A Senior State Bureaucrat11 Under China’s Occupation12 In China and India13 Early Years in Exile14 Economic Investments of the Tibetan State in ExileAppendix A: List of Correct Tibetan SpellingsGlossary of Key TermsReferencesIndexAbout the Author