1. HISTORIC TIBET & ITS LAND SURFACE
Tibet – in its historic, ethnic, linguistic, cultural and geographic dimensions - covers 2.5 million sq km, the whole of the Tibetan plateau = 1/4th territory PRC = continental Europe
Historic Tibet (Tib. Lo rgyus dang ldan pai Bod yul)
Historic, ethnic, linguistic and cultural Tibet (7th-21st c.) covers the same consistent geographic zone, ie. the entire Tibetan plateau. The border regions and peripheral kingdoms of this high-altitude civilisation start at around 2 200 m. above sea-level. Villages are found right through to 5 100 m., with nomad camps up to approximately 5 500 m. Tibet forms a coherent, integrated zone of culture, established from the time of the unification of the early tribes and principalities in the first half of the 7th century.
The Three Provinces of Tibet, Utsang, Kham and Amdo (Tib. Chol kha gsum).
Historic Tibet is divided into three main provinces, Utsang (Central, South & West Tibet, dBus gtsang, mNga' ris, Lho kha); Kham (South-East Tibet, mDo stod); & Amdo (North-East Tibet, mDo smad). These cover the totality of the high plateau, their geographic frontiers reaching down to various neighbouring populations who live all round the perimeter of the plateau at lower altitudes. The journey from the main economic and cultural centres in Amdo, in north-eastern Tibet, to Lhasa in the south central region, is equal in distance by road from London to Athens. In the old days it took two to three months by yak caravan. In the same way, the journey from Lhasa to Mt Kailash in the far West, would take two months. Now, with the new roads built by the Chinese, such journeys take a few days, and with the new train, the journey from Xining on the north-eastern periphery of Amdo, to Lhasa, takes 24 hours.
Tibet Today under PRC Administration
The Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR, Tib. Bod rang skyong ljong, Chin. Xizang zizhiqu) is not Tibet. It is less than half the territory of historic Tibet, and it covers 1.2 million sq km, or 1/8th of the territory of the RPC. This is shown on contemporary adminstrative maps. To the east and north-east of the TAR, eleven Tibet Autonomous Prefectures (TAP) and twenty-eight Tibet Autonomous Districts (TAD), cover more than twice the territory of the TAR, corresponding to the entire zone of the high plateau. The plateau stretches 165O km along its longest North-South axis, from Hwari (Chin….), north of the Blue Lake, to the Bhutanese border, and 2200 km on its longest West-East axis (from the Aksai Chin to Chone) (see Map X).
The Five PRC Divisions of Tibetan Territory
Utsang, Kham and Amdo have been carved up, by the PRC, into five zones, including the TAR, & parts of four Chinese provinces whose borders have shifted considerably on published maps, over the last two centuries. Today, all Tibetan zones include both pastoral and agricultural lands, traditional villages and towns, new urban centres, nomad camps, as well as monastic complexes, temples, hermitages and cave dwellings.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->1) <!--[endif]-->Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR, Tib. Bod rang skyong ljongs, Chin. Xizang zizhiqu, surface 1 130 000 sq km)
The TAR, with the capital city of Lhasa, includes :
-Central Tibet (Tib. dBus gtsang, Chin. Weisezang)
-Southern Tibet (Tib. Lho kha, Chin. Shannan)
-Western Tibet (Tib. mNga' ris, Chin. Ari)
-part of Kham (Tib. Khams, Chin. Xikang)
2) Qinghai: the major part of this province, named after the great Blue Lake (Tib. mTsho sngon; Chin. Qinghai; Mong. Kokonor), incorporates most of Amdo, the north-eastern province of historic Tibet.
3) Sichuan: a large part of today's western Sichuan (Tib. rNga ba, dKar mdzes, Chin. Aba, Kandze) belongs historically, partly to Amdo and partly to Kham.
4) Gansu: the southern part of Gansu (Tib Gan lho, Chin. Gannan), belongs historically to Amdo.
5) Yunnan: the northern part of present day Yunnan (Tib. Mu li, bDe chen, Chin. ) belongs historically to Kham.
TAR, TAP & TAD
Since 1960s, the PRC has recognized the integrity of the entire zone of Tibetan culture, through the establishment of three different administrative units :
-TAR : Tibet Autonomous Region, Tib. Bod rang skyong ljong, Chin. Xizang zizhiqu (1 unit).
-TAP : Tibet Autonomous Prefectures, Tib: Bod rang skyong khul Chin. Zangzu zizhixian (11 units).
-TAD :, Tibet Autonomous Districts, Tib. Bod rang skyong ???, Chin. Zangzu zizhixian (28 units).
According to this new administrative organisation, the territory of north-eastern and eastern Tibet that are not included in the TAR today (ie. important parts of Amdo and Kham) are divided into eleven TAP and twenty-eight TAD (see Map X).
