Return to Tibet: Tibet After the Chinese Occupation

by Heinrich Harrer

Book Overview

The author recounts his return to Tibet after being forced to flee by the invading Chinese army and discusses the Buddhist's struggle for survival.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0874779251
• ISBN13: 9780874779257
• Release Date: May 1998
• Publisher: Putnam Publishing Group
• Length: 207 Pages
• Weight: 0.62 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.3"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Not everything is "Temdre-me!",,

Today a little dusty, yet worth reading, cause much has not changed in Tibet the last 30 years. The problems are the same and Harrer knows to tell us a lot about it. What he has to say, is still right. Harrer offers in his book a ragbag of stories which he compiled on the occasion of his return trip to Tibet in 1982, whereby "Tibet" is for him India, Germany, Suisse, because it is everywhere where Tibetans are. Harrer has balanced, reasonable views, because he does have an eye for what was already at sixes and seven in old Tibet. He does not elevate the Tibetan in a personal pantheon. For him rather it is not desirable just to live for the sake of religion and antiquated governance. "Even for the Dalai Lama and the progressive nobility it was clear that unconditionally reforms had to be created for example to correct the unjust distribution of the cultivable land which belonged to a third to the monasteries, the nobility or government officers. From many talks I know, that the Dalai Lama realized totally the backwardness of his country..." With the Chinese came profound changes, but more outside. The Chinese at first just exploited the country and suppressed the population. They were not able to harm the religion. Atheism achieved this nowhere so far. But the Chinese learnt more. And therefore they do not come out all badly, neither by Harrer nor by the Dalai Lama, who often enough emphasized a certain relationship between Buddhism and Marxism. Today a Dalai Lama would approve the king of Zanskar, who said: "Even my subjects should have a hospital, a post-office, and this is made possible by tourists, and therefore I need the street." The more Chinese come into the country the more streets and schools will be there. And as well the more the Tibetans lose their identity, if they are not careful. Harrer advocates for an at least partly liberation of the Tibetans. He also says: "I am not interested to dig around in old history books to prove when Tibet was independent and when not. An impartial answer will always be difficult, since the judgement depends on the author - is he an Englishman, an Indian, a Tibetan or a Chinese. Each one has his own version. Important are today the questions what Tibet can do and what the Dalai Lama can do..." ... to get to better life-conditions and preserve at the same time the spiritual culture! Harrer himself has the example of Bhutan in his mind which has received the autonomy. He praises India as a good example how to deal with minorities in a resepctable way. That Harrer always returns in his book to his 7 years in Tibet enables the comparison with the today of his return. Harrer knows more than many of the modern-era-would-be-Tibet-adventurers. He is more sober than Bruno Baumann, the great" Tibet expert. The 7 years in Tibet did not make Harrer an esoteric. He kept his look for realities. He did not become a Buddhist, but he sympathises rightly with the peace loving Tibetans. Nevertheless he differen

An account of Tibet's destruction and exploitation

After three decades, Heinrich Harrer, the famed Austrian mountain-climber, was finally able to visit Tibet again. In this book, he documents how thoroughly a communist regime can ruin a nation and a people. This book is shorter and less-detailed than his outstanding "Seven Years in Tibet", but the main point of this account is the grievous destruction of Tibetan culture. Mr. Harrer travelled to Lhasa, where he located a number of his Tbetan friends and acquaintances from better times. Many had stories to tell of their survival under the occupation by China's communist government. Unfortunately, at least one of these acquaintances from the past, was a full-blown collaborator. Mr. Harrer describes how Tibet's religion, culture, and language still survive, despite efforts by the Chinese to suppress and completely eliminate them. In fact, traditional Tibetan culture is alive and well, surviving on the periphery of their homeland. Many Tibetans live in exile in India, Nepal, and Bhutan, for example. Harrer describes how the Chinese government has revived monasteries in Lhasa for the purpose of drawing in tourists, a source of foriegn currency for the regime. The authenticity of the monks was questionable, according to Mr. Harrer. Having been brutally invaded by the communists in 1950, Tibet is probably the first example of the dubious value of the so-called "United Nations". Despite attempts by the Tibetan government to plead for assistance, the U.N. did nothing...as usual. The end result was the ongoing barbaric oppression and gradual genocide of the Tibetan people at the hands of the world's last communist super-power. It is believed that the population of native Tibetans has declined by half since 1950, many having been worked to death in concentration camps, or outright slaughtered. Meanwhile, the Chinese have been colonizing Tibet in large numbers.

Harrer Sees Tibet Again

Anyone who has read Harrer's sensational account published in "Seven Years in Tibet" of his escape from a prison camp in 1943 and 21 month walk across the High Himalaya, must certainly read "Return to Tibet". This book was written 30 years after his first stay in Tibet and deals with the tremendous changes, much of them sheer vandalism and wanton destruction,resulting from the Chinese occupation of the country in 1951. Harrer is an excellent guide because of his intimate knowledge of the country and its people. The book is easy to read and gives a vivid impression of Tibetans both of those who remained in their country and those now in exile in India. The author died earlier this year at the age of 93 years.

A first hand account of Tibet after years of Chinese rule.

I loved Harrer's "Seven Years In Tibet". I was somewhat less impressed with "Return To Tibet". After living in Tibet and personally knowing the Dali Lama I expected this book to be a little more in depth on the personal struggles of the Tibetian people and less about the archeological sites that had been destroyed. Even with that criticism, the book is well written and unfortunately a tragic follow up to "Seven Years".