Two leading thinkers argue against the Chinese occupation and the theocracy of Tibet.
This landmark dialogue between a dissenting Chinese intellectual and Tibet's outstanding national historian breaks taboos on both sides of the conflict over Tibet.
In the first of the four exchanges that comprise this book, Wang Lixiong considers some of the bitter paradoxes of Tibet's history under Communist rule, and their roots in the confrontation of an alien bureaucracy and fear-stricken religion. In reply, Tsering Shakya sets out his own view of Tibetan society and religion, and the PRC's record in his country. Conceding the strength of some of Shakya's arguments, Wang's response focuses on the case of Woeser, a now-exiled Tibetan author. Wang critically examines China's cultural imperialism, arguing that China has categorically suppressed Tibetan self-assertion, and aims to control expression of all kinds: any breakout invites punishment. The exchange concludes with Shakya's examination of the difficulties faced today by Tibetan writers and thinkers, whose nationalist aspirations lead them to reject a traditional Tibetan religious world view, but oppose the state's right to define "Tibetanness."
Together, these pieces constitute a groundbreaking examination of the Chinese occupation of Tibet, and of Chinese cultural imperalism.

Wang Lixiong's books include Sky Burial: The Fate of Tibet, and the political fantasy Yellow Peril, currently banned in China.

Tsering Shakya was born in Tibet and is a research fellow in Tibetan Studies at SOAS, London. He is author of The Dragon in the Land of Snows: A History of Modern Tibet Since 1947, and Fire Under the Snow: The Testimony of a Tibetan Prisoner.

	Contents: The Struggle for Tibet
	Map	vii
	Introduction Robert Barnett	1
	Initial Exchange	35
1.	Reflections on Tibet Wang Lixiong	37
2.	Blood in the Snows Tsering Shakya	83
	Analyses	113
3.	Two Imperialisms in Tibet Wang Lixiong	115
4.	The End of Tibetan Buddhism Wang Lixiong	147
	March Incident	191
5.	Tibetan Questions Tsering Shakya	193
6.	Independence after the March Incident Wang Lixiong	223
7.	Echoes of the Past: China's Response to Tibetan Unrest Tsering Shakya	253
	Appendix: Twelve Suggestions for Dealing with the Tibetan Situation by some Chinese Intellectuals	271
	Acknowledgments	277