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History of Tibet Guide

Tibet travel information about history of Tibet with origin of Tibetans and brief introduction of the area’s development over the past 4,000 years.

Since the early seventh century, China had entered a new historical stage. 300 years of chaos came to an end and the powerful Tang Dynasty finally established in Central China. At the same time, the first unified Tibetan dynasty also appeared in Tibet history, namely, Tubo Kingdom.

Songtsen Gampo and Princess WenchengSongtsen Gampo and Princess Wencheng

Tubo Kingdom and then Tang Dynasty were in a good relationship, especially after Songtsen Gampo, the great Tibetan King, married Princess Wencheng. And in 710, another Tang Princess Jincheng was sent to Tibet to marry Tubo king Tridé Tsuktsen. Hence, Tibetans got closer contact with Han People in politics, economy, culture via royal marriage and alliance. Monument of the Tang-Tubo Alliance, also known as Changqing Alliance Tablet, is a good case in point. It still stands in front of Jokhang Temple, symbolizing the peaceful agreement between two dynasties.

By the middle of the ninth century, slave uprisings continuously took place in Tubo Kingdom. In the year of 877, Tubo Kingdom was completely overthrown. Since then, the whole Tibetan areas had been trapped in the phrase of splitting , separating, and scuffling up to 400 years. And just 30 years after the collapse of the Tubo Kingdom, Tang Dynasty also disintegrated and entered into the period of Five Dynasty and Ten Kingdoms. However, it didn’t affect the connection between Tibetan and Han people that deeply. In 960, Song Dynasty set up. Bilateral exchanges in economy and culture went further.

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Tibet History
Deciding what is ancient history and what is mysterious legend is not always an easy task. Tibet is no exception. Legend tells us that history of this high land starts with a monkey and a Raksasi, a female ogre, when the monke...

Tibet Tupo Regime
Tibet’s first palace Yumbulagang is located in the Yarlung River Valley near Tsetang Town. It was built by the first Tibet King Nyentri Tsenpo. Tibet has a recorded history of about 1300 years. What happened before that ...

Sakya Rule
After the fall the Tupo Regime, Tibet had seen 400 years of division, local powers and wars. In the beginning of 13th century, Genghis Khan unified China and his grandson, Godan Khan unified Tibet by making use of the local re...

Pazhu Regime
In 1322, a very eminent person in Tibetan history, Qiangqujianzan assumed office as the 10th head of the Wanhu (ten-thousand households). In 1348, Qiangqujianzan defeated Caiba. And in 1354 he occupied Sakya Monastery and repl...

Gedanpozhang Regime
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Collapse of Serfdom
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Establishment of Tibet Autonomous Region
In 1949, People’s Republic of China was founded. The government stuck to the policy of peaceful liberation of Tibet. As a result, Tibet was liberated peacefully in 1951. The policy of regional national autonomy was exerc...

Songtsen Gampo
Songtsän Gampo (Wylie: Srong-btsan sGam-po, 605 or 617? - 649) was the founder of the Tibetan Empire (Tibetan: Bod; Chinese: 吐蕃, Tubo/Tufan), by tradition held to be the thirty-third ruler in his dynasty. In the Chinese r...

Note on geographical terms
Tibet was traditionally comprised of three main areas: Amdo (north-eastern Tibet), Kham (eastern Tibet) and U-Tsang (central and western Tibet). The Tibet Autonomous Region (Chinese: Xizang Zizhiqu) was set up by the C...

Lhasa History and Story
On one bright summer day, Songtsan Gampo, leader of the Tubo tribe, who had risen to power in the Yarlung River Valley, was struck by the advantageous position of an area flanked by two steep mountains, while bathing in the Lh...