| Tibet (older spelling Thibet; Tibetan: ??; | | | | centre |
| Wylie: Bod; Lhasa dialect IPA: [p?o`?]; | | | | |
| Simplified and Traditional Chinese: ??, Hanyu | | | | Name |
| Pinyin: Xizang; also referred to as ?? | | | | |
| (Simplified Chinese), ?? (Traditional | | | | In Tibetan |
| Chinese), Zangqu (Hanyu Pinyin), see Name | | | | |
| section below) is a plateau region in Central | | | | Tibetans call their homeland Bod ( ??), |
| Asia and the indigeneous home to the Tibetan | | | | pronounced pö in Lhasa dialect. It is |
| people. With an average elevation of 4,900 m | | | | first attested in the geography of Ptolemy as |
| (16,000 ft), it is the highest region on | | | | ß???? (batai) (Beckwith, C. U. of Indiana |
| Earth and is commonly referred to as the | | | | Diss. 1977). Tibetans refer to Tibet as a |
| "Roof of the World". | | | | "fatherland" (Tibetan: ??????; Wylie: |
| | | | pha-yul), whereas "motherland" (Tibetan: |
| Existing as a seperate nation for centuries, | | | | ??????; Wylie: ma-yul) is a neologism |
| Tibet is today administered mostly under the | | | | introduced in the 1960s to refer to China. |
| People's Republic of China. Tibet is also | | | | |
| officially claimed by the Republic of China | | | | In Chinese |
| (Taiwan). However in the Tibetan sovereignty | | | | |
| debate, the Chinese government and the | | | | The modern Chinese name for Tibet, ?? |
| Government of Tibet in Exile have disagreed | | | | (Xizang), is a phonetic transliteration |
| over the legitimacy of Tibet becoming a part | | | | derived from the region called Tsang (western |
| of China since 1959, and whether this | | | | Ü-Tsang). The name originated during the |
| incorporation into the Chinese homelands was | | | | Qing Dynasty of China, ca. 1700. It can be |
| legitimate. | | | | broken down into "xi" ? (literally "west"), |
| | | | and "zang" ? (literally "Buddhist scripture" |
| The Tibetan Empire came into existence in the | | | | or "storage"). The term can be interpreted as |
| seventh century when Emperor Songtsän | | | | either "Buddhist scripture of the west" or |
| Gampo united many areas and tribes of the | | | | "western storage." The pre-1700s historic |
| region. Since the early 1600s a lineage of | | | | Chinese term for Tibet was ?? (Tufan, |
| allegedly reborn (tulku) magistrates, known | | | | Medieval Chinese pronuncation: /t'obw?n/), |
| as the Dalai Lamas have administrated Tibet, | | | | which comes from the Turkish word for |
| and the fourteen Dali Lama's are beleived to | | | | "heights" and is also the origin of the |
| be the incarnations of Avalokiteśvara | | | | English term "Tibet." |
| ("Chenrezig" [spyan ras gzigs] in Tibetan), | | | | |
| the bodhisattva of compassion. | | | | The government of the People's Republic of |
| | | | China equates Tibet with the Tibet Autonomous |
| Between the 17th century and 1959, the Dalai | | | | Region (TAR). As such, the name "Xizang" is |
| Lama was the head of the Tibetan government, | | | | equated with the TAR. In order to refer |
| administering religious and adminstrative | | | | non-TAR Tibetan areas, or to all of cultural |
| authourity over a large portion of the | | | | Tibet, the term ?? Zangqu (literally, "ethnic |
| country from the traditional capital Lhasa, | | | | Tibetan areas") is used. However, |
| regarded as Tibet's holiest city. | | | | Chinese-language versions of pro-Tibetan |
| | | | independence websites, such as the Free Tibet |
| When the Government of Tibet in Exile and the | | | | Campaign, the Voice of Tibet, and Tibet Net |
| Tibetan refugee community worldwide refer to | | | | use ?? ("Xizang"), not ?? ("Zangqu"), to mean |
| Tibet, they mean a large area that formed the | | | | historic Tibet. |
| cultural entity of Tibet for many centuries, | | | | |
| consisting of the traditional provinces of | | | | Some English-speakers reserve "Xizang", the |
| Amdo, Kham (Khams), and Ü-Tsang | | | | Chinese word transliterated into English, for |
| (Dbus-gtsang), but excluding areas outside | | | | the TAR, to keep the concept distinct from |
| the People's Republic of China's | | | | that of historic Tibet. Some pro-independence |
| administration like the disputed territory | | | | advocates duplicate the situation into the |
| Arunachal Pradesh (or South Tibet), Sikkim, | | | | Chinese language, and use ?? (Tufan) or ??? |
| Bhutan, and Ladakh that have also formed part | | | | (Tubote), which are both phonetic |
| of the Tibetan cultural sphere. | | | | transcriptions of the word "Tibet", to refer |
| | | | to historic Tibet, this is still used for |
| When the People's Republic of China (PRC) | | | | research area and is known and accepted by |
| refers to Tibet, it means the Tibet | | | | most of the Chinese. |
| Autonomous Region (TAR): a province-level | | | | |
| entity which, according to the territorial | | | | Tibetan monks from Ganden Monastery |
| claims of the PRC, includes Arunachal Pradesh | | | | |
| or South Tibet (presently under the | | | | Tibetan monks from Ganden Monastery |
| administration of India). India considers | | | | |
| Arunachal Pradesh as its integral part. | | | | The character ? (zang) has been used in |
| Sikkim, Bhutan, and Ladakh may also be | | | | transcriptions referring to Tsang as early as |
| considered to be parts of cultural Greater | | | | the Yuan Dynasty, if not earlier, though the |
| Tibet in addition to Amdo, Kham, and | | | | modern term "Xizang" was devised in the 18th |
| Ü-Tsang. The TAR covers the Dalai Lama's | | | | century. The Chinese character ? (Zang) has |
| former domain consisting of Ü-Tsang and | | | | also been generalized to refer to all of |
| western Kham, while Amdo and eastern Kham are | | | | Tibet, including other concepts related to |
| now found within the provinces of Qinghai, | | | | Tibet such as the Tibetan language (??, |
| Gansu, Yunnan, and Sichuan. | | | | Zangwén) and the Tibetan people (??, |
| | | | Zangzú). The two characters of Xizang can |
| The difference in definition is a major | | | | literally mean "western treasure". (The |
| source of dispute. The distribution of Amdo | | | | second character can also mean "storage", |
| and eastern Kham into surrounding provinces | | | | though it is pronounced differently (cáng) |
| was initiated by the Yongzheng Emperor during | | | | when used for that meaning.) |
| the eighteenth century and has been | | | | |
| continuously maintained by successive Chinese | | | | In English |
| governments. Tibetan exiles, in turn, | | | | |
| consider the maintenance of this arrangement | | | | The English word Tibet, like the word for |
| since the eighteenth century as part of a | | | | Tibet in most European languages, is derived |
| divide-and-rule policy. | | | | from the Arabic word Tubbat.[1] This word is |
| | | | derived via Persian from the Turkic word |
| Tibet has scenic mountainous terrain. | | | | Töbäd (plural of Töbän), meaning |
| | | | "the heights". The word for Tibet in Medieval |
| Tibet has scenic mountainous terrain. | | | | Chinese, ?? (Pinyin Tufan, often given as |
| | | | Tubo), is derived from the same Turkic word. |
| The Potala Palace in Lhasa is Tibet's holiest | | | | Tufan was pronounced /t'o-bw?n/ in Medieval |
| centre | | | | times. PRC scholars favor the theory that |
| | | | "Tibet" is derived from Tufan. |
| The Potala Palace in Lhasa is Tibet's holiest | | | | |