India and Tibet / A history of the relations which have subsisted between the two countries from the time of Warren Hastings to 1910; with a particular account of the mission to Lhasa of 1904

by Sir Francis Edward Younghusband

Chao now bombarded the monastery, but the walls were 20 feet high and 4 feet thick, and at the four corners stood high square towers pierced with loopholes for rifle-fire, and against this the bombardment was ineffective. The country people harassed the besiegers from the surrounding hills, and the Chinese were unable to make an entrance till June 19, and then only by a ruse. The garrison, by deaths, sickness, and desertion, had been reduced to 1,000 men. The Abbot himself had, in despair, committed suicide. But Chao got some friendly Tibetans to say they had come as a relief, and induce the garrison to open the gates. The ruse was successful. The Lamas streamed out of the back gate, but only to find themselves surrounded by Chinese, who slaughtered them almost to a man.

For excessive severity in connection with this siege and in other places, and for extensive looting of the lamasery, Chao was impeached by a censor. He nevertheless succeeded in establishing Chinese authority, and, before the year was closed, in converting Batang into a Chinese province, laying down for its governance regulations[^[54]] which are particularly worthy of note.

The head T’u Ssu (chief) and the assistant T’u Ssu having been beheaded, the office of T’u Ssu was abolished for ever. Both the Chinese and the tribesmen of Batang were henceforth to be subjects of the Emperor of China, and subject to the jurisdiction of Chinese officials; and the district of Batang, together with the Chinese and tribesmen resident therein, were to be under the administration of Chinese officials. The people were forbidden to style themselves subjects of the Lamas or of the T’u Ssu. And being subjects of the Emperor, every man was to shave his head and wear the queue. Headmen of villages were to be elected for triennial periods by the villagers themselves, and were to be removable by the villagers if they acted unjustly. Under each district official (presumably a Chinaman) were to be three Chinese and three Tibetans, to be jointly responsible for the collection of the land tax and the hearing of suits, and all six of them were to know both the Chinese and Tibetan languages. The land tax (payable in cash), according to the fertility of the land, was to be 40, 30, or 20 per cent. of the total yield, which is considerably higher than the land tax in British India. Officials in future were to pay for their transport—a very wise and necessary provision. Highway robbery was to be punishable with death, whether anyone was killed or not. The gross ignorance of the tribesmen having led to the murder of Feng and the French priests, a Government school would be established which all boys from the ages of five or six would have to attend. The barbarous methods of burial practised by the tribesmen were to be abolished. Habits of cleanliness were inculcated. Adult men and women were urged to wear trousers in the interests of morality, and children were to be compelled to wear them. Each family was to take a surname. Slavery was to be abolished. The people were warned against smoking opium. The streets were to be properly scavenged, urinals erected, and cemeteries were to be made in low-lying places, and not on high ground.

Thus in every detail did Chao determine to make Batang a component part of China. But the most significant portion of the regulation is that relating to the Lamas.

The Ting Ling Monastery had been razed to the ground. Orthodox temples would be constructed by officials, but no other places of worship would be allowed, and no Lamas would be permitted to reside even in these. Those Lamas who took no part in the late disturbances might continue to reside in the country villages, and such of them as wished would be permitted to quit their habit. What those Lamas who did take part in the disturbances might do is not mentioned. The number of Lamas in each temple was not to exceed 300, and a register was to be kept of the names and ages of the Lamas of each temple.

Temple lands were to pay land taxes like other land, though previously this had not been done. On the other hand, the custom of making annual donations in kind to the Lamas was to be abolished. So that the Lamas, while they had to pay more, were to receive less. The Lamas were not to interfere in the administration of the districts by the Chinese local authorities. And as a final thrust at the priestly power, it was pointed out to the people of Batang how ineffectual the prayers recited by the Lamas really were, for they had not been able to save the Dalai Lama, himself a living Buddha, from being defeated by foreign troops and forced to fly for his life.

No one, after reading this, will wonder that the Dalai Lama again fled from Lhasa when he heard that this very same Chao, who had since absorbed still other parts of Eastern Tibet, was advancing on Lhasa with a Chinese army.

The introduction of as large a Chinese element as possible into the district was, Chao Erh-Feng informed our Consul-General at Chengtu a year later, what he was anxious to bring about. He desired, by the above outlined means, and by the inviting of Chinamen of the farming class to settle in Batang, to check the Lamas.

Batang being reduced, Chao turned his attention to Derge, the largest State in Eastern Tibet, and also the most favourable to the Chinese. For four years there had been strife, of the type to which we are so accustomed on the Indian frontier, between two brothers. The unsuccessful appealed to Chao. Chao seized the chance; supported him with 500 Chinese and 500 Tibetan soldiers; drove the other brother out; established his protégé on the throne, and constructed a road from Derge to Batang. Eventually he reports to the Emperor that the Chief is a man of no ability, and had made repeated requests to him to be allowed to hand over the whole of his territory to China. He had also handed over his seal of office, saying that the strife between him and his brother had caused indescribable suffering to the people. Chao pointed out to the Emperor that the situation of Derge was important strategically, and that with it under proper control the Chinese would be able to strengthen Central Tibet, and at the same time screen the frontier of Szechuan. If the Chinese Government insisted on the Chief carrying on the succession, there would be no end to the sufferings of the inhabitants, and other States would get drawn into the disturbances. He therefore recommended that China should take measures to guard against such eventualities.

It is not difficult to read between the lines of this report. The Reform Council, in a memorial on this proposal that “the native State of Derge should be allowed to adopt our civilization and come under our direct rule,” said that it was laid down in the Imperial institutes that native Chiefs who did not govern properly, must be denounced and punished either by the substitution of other Chiefs or by their territory reverting to China. The present conditions on the frontier were not the same as before, and the Chinese must take proper measures to keep their boundaries secure, and to put an end to tribal feuds. Derge was of great strategical importance to Szechuan and Tibet. The people were extremely anxious to come under Chinese jurisdiction. Chao’s proposals should therefore be acceded to, and “the entire State of Derge be brought under Chinese rule.” The Chief was to be allowed the hereditary title of captain, and to wear a button of the second class and the peacock feather, and allowed about £500 a year from the revenue of his own State. Whatever he had got out of Chao by his appeal, certainly Chao had taken a good deal out of him.