The Struggle for Modern Tibet: The Autobiography of Tashi Tsering: The Autobiography of Tashi Tsering - Softcover

Goldstein, Melvyn C.; Siebenschuh, William R; Tsering, Tashi

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0765605090 ISBN 13: 9780765605092

Publisher: Routledge, 1997

Synopsis

This captivating autobiography by a Tibetan educator and former political prisoner is full of twists and turns. Born in 1929 in a Tibetan village, Tsering developed a strong dislike of his country's theocratic ruling elite. As a 13-year-old member of the Dalai Lama's personal dance troupe, he was frequently whipped or beaten by teachers for minor infractions. A heterosexual, he escaped by becoming a drombo, or homosexual passive partner and sex-toy, for a well-connected monk. After studying at the University of Washington, he returned to Chinese-occupied Tibet in 1964, convinced that Tibet could become a modernized society based on socialist, egalitarian principles only through cooperation with the Chinese. Denounced as a 'counterrevolutionary' during Mao's Cultural Revolution, he was arrested in 1967 and spent six years in prison or doing forced labor in China. Officially exonerated in 1978, Tsering became a professor of English at Tibet University in Lhasa. He now raises funds to build schools in Tibet's villages, emphasizing Tibetan language and culture.

About this title

Review:

"A fascinating account not only of his life's journey, but of 20th-century Tibet's troubled evolution".-- The Wall Street Journal

Synopsis:

An autobiography of Tashi Tsering, the Tibetan nationalist with a burning desire to reform and modernize the "old society". It covers his search for education in Tibet and his life in China, especially during the Cultural Revolution, when he was charged as an American spy and imprisoned.

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0765605090
• ISBN 13: 9780765605092
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 230