Chinese expedition to Tibet (1910)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1910 Chinese expedition to Tibet or the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1910[1] was a military campaign of the Qing dynasty to reassert control [2] in Tibet in early 1910. The Qing army reoccupied Lhasa on February 12 and the Imperial Chinese authority[3] officially deposed the 13th Dalai Lama on the 25th.[2]
Chinese expedition to Tibet (1910) | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Qing dynasty |
Tibet Thirty-nine Hor tribes [zh] Kingdom of Powo | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Zhao Erfeng Zhong Ying [zh] |
13th Dalai Lama Kelsang Gyaltsen Tsarong Dazang Dramdul |
Qing rule of Tibet was established in the early 18th century and took its final shape in 1751.[4][5][6][3] After the British expedition to Tibet in 1904 and the Sino-British Convention in 1906 which confirmed London's recognition of Chinese sovereignty over Tibet,[7] the Qing Government sent the 1910 expedition to Tibet for establishing direct rule and reoccupied Lhasa.[8] As Professor Dawa Norbu stated, the British expedition and Treaty of Lhasa led to the Qing government to ensure that they held firm control over Tibet. Afterwards, the Dalai Lama then fled to India.[9][page needed] Professor Melvyn Goldstein, an American Tibetologist from the CWRU Center for Research on Tibet, indicated more specifically:
The [British] invasion of Tibet and the Lhasa Convention of 1904 dramatically altered Chinese policy toward Tibet. Until then, the Qing dynasty had shown no interest in directly administering or sinicizing Tibet. The British thrusts now suggested to Beijing that unless it took prompt action, its position as overlord in Tibet might be lost, and with Tibet under the British sphere of influence the English would be looking down from the Tibetan plateau on Sichuan, one of China's most important provinces. The Qing dynasty, although enfeebled and on the brink of collapse, responded with surprising vigor. Beijing got the British troops to leave Tibetan soil quickly by paying the indemnity to Britain itself and began to take a more active role in day-to-day Tibetan affairs. Britain's casual invasion of Tibet, therefore, stimulated China to protect its national interests by beginning a program of closer cultural, economic, and political integration of Tibet with the rest of China.[10]
After the outbreak of the Xinhai Revolution and the Xinhai Lhasa turmoil in 1911–1912, the Qing dynasty collapsed and was succeeded by the Republic of China. The 13th Dalai Lama returned to Lhasa and proclaimed an independent Tibet. All remaining Qing forces were expelled from Tibet.