The thesis explores the uses of the skull-cup and the thighbone trumpet in Tibet, their employment from the pre-Buddhist religion to Tibetan Buddhism. It also compares their symbolism as deity's...Show moreThe thesis explores the uses of the skull-cup and the thighbone trumpet in Tibet, their employment from the pre-Buddhist religion to Tibetan Buddhism. It also compares their symbolism as deity's attributes in the Buddhist and pre-Buddhist religious art of Tibet.Show less
As Chinese domestic tourism to Tibet continues to grow, understanding the mechanisms and ‘effects’ of such ethnic tourism becomes increasingly important. The historical story of the marriage...Show moreAs Chinese domestic tourism to Tibet continues to grow, understanding the mechanisms and ‘effects’ of such ethnic tourism becomes increasingly important. The historical story of the marriage between the Chinese princess Wencheng and the Tibetan king Songtsen Gampo is commonly known in China and employed by the Chinese government to legitimize their modern rule over Tibet. This study uses Critical Discourse Analysis to research a theater play of this story, and the presence of this story in Tibet’s many tourist sites. The results of the analysis reveal a process that shows how state-directed stories could become commonly regarded as ‘true’, with tourism as the primary vehicle to advance such a process. I argue that such a process can be found in other cases as well, and is not unique to the story of princess Wencheng.Show less
The 'White Temple' at Tsaparang, in Western Tibet preserves some of the most important pre-sixteenth century works of art of Tibet. The temple is dated on literary grounds to around 1540, but its...Show moreThe 'White Temple' at Tsaparang, in Western Tibet preserves some of the most important pre-sixteenth century works of art of Tibet. The temple is dated on literary grounds to around 1540, but its works of art seem to indicate - on iconographic and stylistic grounds - that it was built before 1440. The temple used to be one of the main shrines in a monastery still counting circa sixty monks towards the end of the 17th century, but abandoned some time later when Western Tibet depopulated. Tsaparang was rediscovered and first described by the Italian Tibetologist Giuseppe Tucci in the 1930’s. My thesis shows that Tucci mixed the temples up. Facts derived from authoritative Tibetan literary sources have therefor been attributed to the wrong monuments. Contemporary authors focusing on the region have not noticed this, resulting in a growing amount of literature based on an unclarified chronology of the temples at Tsaparang.Show less
The Olympics are the ultimate sports mega-events as they attract massive worldwide attention. Consequently, the Olympics offer a platform for host nations to gain political legitimatisation and for...Show moreThe Olympics are the ultimate sports mega-events as they attract massive worldwide attention. Consequently, the Olympics offer a platform for host nations to gain political legitimatisation and for minorities to empower their claim of independence. This thesis aims to answer: To what extend did Catalan and Tibetan activists deploy the window of opportunity created by the Torch Relays preceding the Olympic Games to empower their nonviolent resistance campaigns? In this thesis two case studies are discussed: the nonviolent resistance campaign of Catalans during the 1992 Barcelona Olympics on the one hand and the actions of pro-Tibet activists surrounding the Beijing Olympics of 2008 on the other. In both cases, the Torch Relays will be taken as focal point, because it turned out that the "game" between activists and authorities was played during the Torch Relay preceding the opening of the real Games. By focussing on the perspective and agency of the activists, this research takes a bottom-up approach. In short, this thesis argues that the Olympics Torch Relay can function as this temporarily window of political opportunity, which activists can deploy to empower their nonviolent resistance campaigns.Show less
Why are there so many and such varied discourses about Tibet? Why do the statements about Tibet made by American, Chinese, and foreign organizations often appear to be quite different from and...Show moreWhy are there so many and such varied discourses about Tibet? Why do the statements about Tibet made by American, Chinese, and foreign organizations often appear to be quite different from and sometimes in contradiction to each other? This research focuses on how Tibet has been framed by different parties in their discourse. It examines how these parties discuss and portray Old Tibet (prior to the Chinese invasion) and Contemporary Tibet. With regard to Old Tibet I consider how Orientalist ideas have influenced and shaped the discourse on Tibet; with regard to Contemporary Tibet, two processes which influence the discourse on Tibet are discussed, namely, the commodification and the politicization of Tibet.Show less
This dissertation aims to investigate how the Tibetan education system is depicted in Chinese blogs and online official news media in the year of 2014, specifically the bilingual education system...Show moreThis dissertation aims to investigate how the Tibetan education system is depicted in Chinese blogs and online official news media in the year of 2014, specifically the bilingual education system of Tibetan students. It will also investigate and compare the discourses that online newspapers and blogs construct on bilingual education in the Tibetan case. To answer these questions, the thesis uses a method of discourse analysis to examine how Tibetans and the Tibetan education system are depicted in Chinese official online newspapers and blogs. Show less
In recent years, there has been a resurgence of attention towards the Tibetan oral epic Gesar in the People’s Republic of China (P.R.C.). On the surface, it appears that Gesar re-enters the sight...Show moreIn recent years, there has been a resurgence of attention towards the Tibetan oral epic Gesar in the People’s Republic of China (P.R.C.). On the surface, it appears that Gesar re-enters the sight of the general public in China after the Chinese application to UNESCO was successful in 2009, by which the Gesar epic tradition is accepted and inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Immediately following the recognition from UNESCO, the Chinese publication of, on, and about Gesar exponentially thrived. All these celebrations of Gesar sounded so merry and joyous that it almost seemed a natural gesture by UNESCO, without taking into account the role of the Chinese State Apparatuses. Therefore, it is necessary to contextualize this event within the long and winding six decades of history of Gesar study in China, which has always been impossible to separate from political intentions. Constituted and powered by a gigantic and complex socio-cultural and political mechanism, which has been in motion behind the scenes long before 2009, many of these seemingly natural and spontaneous progressions of the modern image or representation of Gesar as a collective whole have always been carefully crafted. The main goal of the thesis is to identify the national ideology governing Gesar, and to show how the three main active sectors, which consist of the government, academia, and the publishing world, interact, function as, and formulate themselves into what Althusser describes as Ideological State Apparatuses, in order to reterritorialize Tibet and Tibetan culture through representing Gesar. Lastly, the final chapter is dedicated to efforts made, no matter how feeble, scattered, or spontaneous, struggling to deterritorialize the Chinese representation supported and endorsed by the hegemonic Ideological State Apparatuses.Show less
This thesis argues that there is a hegemonic and inflexible discourse on Tibetan identity, though there are examples of dissent. This identity discourse constructs a narrative on ‘Tibet’ which...Show moreThis thesis argues that there is a hegemonic and inflexible discourse on Tibetan identity, though there are examples of dissent. This identity discourse constructs a narrative on ‘Tibet’ which Tibetans claim. In turn, by claiming ‘Tibet’, Tibetans are claiming their own identity. ‘Tibet’ is represented by the government in exile. This constitutive relationship between ‘Tibet’ and ‘Tibetanness’ results in a narrativising of history and an Othering of Shugden practitioners and Chinese, in order to define a coherent national identity.Show less
