Tibet and the Qing empire
Qing armies intervene in Tibet in 1720 and imperial representatives, the ambans, are posted to Lhasa, but Qing influence rises and falls and is weak for much of the nineteenth century.
- Tibet: A History — Sam van Schaik, Yale University Press (2011)
- A History of Modern Tibet, 1913–1951: The Demise of the Lamaist State — Melvyn C. Goldstein, University of California Press (1989)
- The Tibetans — Matthew T. Kapstein, Blackwell (2006)
- The Tibet-China Conflict: History and Polemics — Elliot Sperling, East-West Center (2004)
In 1717 Dzungar Mongols invaded Lhasa. In 1720 a Qing army drove them out and installed the 7th Dalai Lama, and from 1728 imperial representatives, the ambans, were stationed in Lhasa with a small garrison. After further crises, including a war with the Gurkhas of Nepal in 1788–92, the Qianlong emperor issued regulations in 1793 that, among other things, introduced a Golden Urn for drawing lots to choose high reincarnations.
- Tibet: A History — Sam van Schaik, Yale University Press (2011)
- The Tibetans — Matthew T. Kapstein, Blackwell (2006)
In practice, the urn was used only some of the time, and the Tibetan government in Lhasa ran most of its own affairs. During the nineteenth century, as the Qing was weakened by rebellion and foreign wars, its influence in Tibet faded, and four successive Dalai Lamas died young, leaving regents in power. Qing power over eastern Tibet, Kham and Amdo, was more direct and grew late in the dynasty.
- Tibet: A History — Sam van Schaik, Yale University Press (2011)
- A History of Modern Tibet, 1913–1951: The Demise of the Lamaist State — Melvyn C. Goldstein, University of California Press (1989)
The Qing exercised full sovereignty: emperors confirmed Dalai and Panchen Lamas, ambans supervised the government, and the 1793 regulations, including the Golden Urn, defined Tibet's administration as part of China.
- Tibet Since 1951: Liberation, Development and Prosperity — State Council Information Office of the People's Republic of China (2021)
- The Tibet-China Conflict: History and Polemics — Elliot Sperling, East-West Center (2004)
The Manchu emperors were patrons of the Dalai Lamas, in the old priest–patron relationship, and Tibet ran its own affairs, army and foreign relations for most of the period. Ties to the Manchu dynasty did not make Tibet part of "China".
- Tibetan Nation: A History of Tibetan Nationalism and Sino-Tibetan Relations — Warren W. Smith Jr., Westview Press (1996)
- The Dragon in the Land of Snows: A History of Modern Tibet Since 1947 — Tsering Shakya, Columbia University Press (1999)
The Qing was a multi-ethnic empire ruled by Manchus, who related differently to Tibet, Mongolia and China proper. Qing authority in Lhasa was real at moments, such as 1720, 1728 and 1792, and largely nominal at others; by the late nineteenth century it was very weak.
- Tibet: A History — Sam van Schaik, Yale University Press (2011)
- A History of Modern Tibet, 1913–1951: The Demise of the Lamaist State — Melvyn C. Goldstein, University of California Press (1989)
- The Tibetans — Matthew T. Kapstein, Blackwell (2006)
Why it matters today
Beijing's claim that Tibet has long been part of China rests heavily on the Qing period, including the Golden Urn used to choose reincarnations, which it now insists must be used for the next Dalai Lama. Tibetans emphasise how limited and changeable Qing control really was.