The Liberation of Tibet

The Liberation of Tibet and the end of an Era for China

Tibet was a free nation, able to do whatever it wanted, able to practice any religion it saw fit. Tibet was a nation called the “roof of the world” [1], home to many mountains including the tallest mountain in the world, Mt. Everest.  Tibet was independent, oblivious to the little contact they had outside Tibet. In 1949 this would all change. Tibet would no longer be independent from everyone else in the world. On October first 1949 Mao Tse-Tung, the leader of the Chinese Communist Party, proclaimed the Peoples Republic of China [1]. His plan to liberate Tibet and Taiwan were ambitious but he had the necessary resources to back them up. His plan was for better china in ten years, a better place for the Chinese people. He did not care about the Tibetan people; they were just statistics on a piece of paper. In 1952 China took the Peoples liberation army through the marshes and swamps of china. Finally arriving in Tibet, Mao Proclaimed Tibet liberated from imperialists. One imperialist still remained in Tibet however, That imperialist was Mao Himself.

I find hope in the darkest of days, and focus in the brightest. I do not judge the universe.

-          Dalai Lama[3]

Mao was the creator of many views and ideas, unlike many other people before him his views were shared with all people and many agreed with him. Enough of these views were so different they were all combined into a subtype, Maoism.  His ideas were extremely different from others proposed for that time and were probably too advanced for the time period in which he led China. His rule had become a long one beginning in July of 1921 with the founding of the Communist Party of China.

Mao was a distinguished person in many ways and his difference preventing him from becoming just another person. During the beginning of his life Mao became a notable and influential person swaying many to his visions of Maoism. Mao was also very influenced by a man named Karl Marx. Marx was a communist advocate who worked with the working class to establish improvements to communism. Marx had many ideas but few of them were useful without further adaptation.

From 1911 to 1950 Tibet had successfully been able to avoid contact from other nations acting like an independent country [1]. During his life, the 13th Dalai Lama had worked to emphasize the nation’s independence by increasing its defenses. All of the nations that Tibet maintained a relationship with recognized its independence and Britain went as far as to organize the Simla Convention in 1914 for negotiations between China and Tibet concerning the future of the country [1]. The Chinese did not accept the terms proposed during this conference. This further alienated the two countries and their relationship became much worse [1].