Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Snow Lion and the Dragon
by Melvyn C Goldstein is worth wading through if you
want an unsentimental analysis of the historically complex issue of China's claims to
Tibet, and the Dalai Lama's options in dealing with the current Chinese leadership.
SHANGRI-LA
The slippery notion of Shangri-la has been captivating foreigners for over 80 years now,
but mention the phrase to a Tibetan and you'll likely get little more than a blank stare. The
origins of Shangri-la lie in James Hilton's novel Lost Horizon,a post-WWI fable of a lost
Himalayan utopia, where people live in harmony and never age. Hilton's inspiration may
well have been National Geographic articles on the remote kingdom of Muli in Kham, and
may have even adapted the idea from Tibetan tradition.
Tibetan texts talk of Shambhala, a hidden land to the north whose king will eventually
intervene to stop the world from destroying itself. The notion of Shangri-la also bears
strong similarities to the Tibetan tradition of beyul,hidden lands visible only to the pure of
heart that act as refuges in times of great crisis. Tibetan Buddhism also refers directly to
various heavenly lands, from the western paradise of Ganden to Guru Rinpoche's para-
dise of Zangtok Pelri.
Whatever the origins, Shangri-la is firmly lodged in the Western psyche. The name has
been adopted as a hotel chain and even as a US presidential retreat. In 2001 the Chinese
county of Zhōngdiàn upped the ante by renaming itself 'Shanggelila' in a blatant ploy to
boost local tourism. Shangri-la is probably best filed under 'M' for the mythologising of
Tibet, on the shelf in between levitating monks and yetis.
Kings, Warriors & the Tibetan Empire
As early myths of the origin of the Tibetan people suggest, the Yarlung Valley was the
cradle of central Tibetan civilisation. The early Yarlung kings, although glorified in le-
gend, were probably no more than chieftains whose domains extended not much further
than the Yarlung Valley itself. A reconstruction of Tibet's first fortress, Yumbulagang, can
still be seen in the Yarlung Valley, and it is here that the 28th king of Tibet is said to have
received Tibet's first Buddhist scriptures in the 5th century AD, when they fell from heav-
en onto the roof of Yumbulagang.
