Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1933
The 13th Dalai Lama dies, and secular authority is passed to Reting Rinpoche, who rules as regent
until 1947. He is an eminent Gelugpa Lama, but young and inexperienced in state affairs.
1935
Birth of the present 14th Dalai Lama in Taktser village, Amdo, just outside Xīníng in present
Qīnghǎi; his younger and older brothers are also trulkus(reincarnated lamas).
1950
China attacks Chamdo; the Tibetan army is greatly outnumbered and defeat is swift. The Tibetan
government in Lhasa reacts by enthroning the 15-year-old 14th Dalai Lama. There is jubilation in
the streets.
1950
El Salvador sponsors a UN motion to condemn Chinese aggression in Tibet. Britain and India, tra-
ditional friends of Tibet, convince the UN not to debate the issue.
1951
The 17-Point Agreement is signed by the Governor of Kham, acknowledging Tibet's autonomy as
a part of the People's Republic of China. Chairman Mao's first remark is 'Welcome Back to the
Motherland'.
1954
In 1954 the Dalai Lama spends almost a year in Běijīng, where, amid cordial discussions with Mao
Zedong, he is told that 'religion is poison'.
1955
Xikang province is absorbed into Sìchuān province, eating up a large chunk of the traditional
Tibetan province of Kham.
