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A Chronology of Tibetan History
602 Namri Songtsen, lord of Yarlung, becomes the first king of Tibet.
620-49 Reign of King Songsten Gampo; Tibet grows into an empire.
670 Prolonged warfare between Tibet and Tang China begins.
763 Tibet captures Changan, the Tang capital; tribute paid to Tibet. Tibetan king invites Buddhist teachers from India and China.
792 Exponents of Indian and Chinese Buddhism debate at Samye monastery.
821 China-Tibet Peace Treaty: "Tibetans shall be happy in Tibet and Chinese shall be happy in China".
842 King Langdarma assassinated; Tibet splits into several states.
1073 Sakya monastery founded; start of Red Hat sect of Tibetan Buddhism.
1206 Chingis Khan elected first ruler of united Mongol clans.
1234 Mongols led by Ogodai Khagan defeat Junchen and conquer north China.
1247 Grand Lama of Sakya submits to Mongols; beginning of priest/patron relationship between lama and khan.
1261 Tibet reunited with the Grand Lama of Sakya as king.
1279 Final defeat of Sung by Mongols; Mongol conquest of China complete.
1350 King Changchub Gyaltsen ousts Sakya and founds a new secular dynasty.
1368 China regains its independence from the Mongols under Ming dynasty.
1409 Tibetan monk Tsongkhapa founds the Gelugpa (or Yellow Hat) sect.
1578 Gelugpa leader receives the title of "Dalai Lama" from Altan Khan.
1640 Gushri Khan, leader of Qoshot Mongols, invades and conquers Tibet.
1642 Gushri Khan enthrones the 5th Dalai Lama as temporal ruler of Tibet.
1644 Manchu overthrow Ming, conquer China, and establish the Qing dynasty.
1653 "Great Fifth" Dalai Lama meets Qing Emperor Shunzhi near Beijing.
1682 Fifth Dalai Lama dies; death is concealed for the next 14 years.
1717 Dzungar Mongols invade Tibet and sack Lhasa; 5th DL's tomb looted.
1720 Qing forces drive out Dzungars and install Kesang Gyatso as 7th DL.
1721 Qing emperor declares Tibet a tributary state; first Ambans sent.
1724 A Qing territorial government is created for Kokonor (Amdo).
1792 Qing troops enter Tibet to drive out Gorkha (Nepalese) invaders. A ban on visitation by non-Chinese foreigners is imposed.
1854-56 Nepal defeats Tibet; peace treaty requires Tibet to pay tribute.
1904 British troops under Colonel Younghusband enter Tibet & occupy Lhasa.
1910-12 A Qing army led by General Zhao Erfeng invades and occupies Tibet.
1911 The Urga Living Buddha proclaims the independence of Mongolia.
1912 Last Qing emperor abdicates; Republic of China claims Mongolia, Tibet.
1913 Dalai Lama proclaims Tibet independent; paper money and coins issued.
Mongolia and Tibet conclude a treaty of mutual recognition.
1914 Britain and Tibet agree to McMahon Line in a treaty signed in Simla.
1915 Three way treaty between Russia, China, and Mongolia signed at Khiakta.
1918 Tibetan army, led by British-trained officers, defeats Chinese army.
Tibet and China sign a peace treaty; China refuses to ratify treaty.
1919-21 Mongolia occupied by a pro-Japanese faction of the Chinese army.
1921 Ungern Sternberg's White Russians oust Chinese and conquer Mongolia.
Soviet army and pro-Soviet Mongols drive Whitesout of Mongolia.
1921 Soviets recognise Mongolia with Living Buddha restored as monarch.
1924 Mongolian People's Republic proclaimed; Urga is renamed Ulan Bator.
1928 Chiang Kaishek defeats the northern warlords and reunites China.
1931 Tibet gains territory in fighting with China; truce is signed.
1933 13th Dalai Lama dies; Reting Rimpoche selected as Tibetan regent.
1937 Britain publishes Simla Convention and begins enforcing McMahon Line.
1940 14th Dalai Lama is enthroned; Chinese delegation attends ceremony.
1941 Unable to keep vow of celibacy, Reting is replaced as regent by Taktra; the two secretly agree to rotate office between them.
1943 Britain affirms that Tibet is "already self-governing and determined to retain [its] independence".
1946 The Republic of China recognises the Mongolian People's Republic.
1947 British mission in Lhasa transferred to a newly independent India. Reting is arrested for plotting to assassinate Regent Taktra. Former Regent Reting dies in prison, apparently poisoned.
1947-49 Tibetan Trade Mission travels to India, Britain, U.S., and China; the mission is received by the British Prime Minister Attlee.
1949 People's Republic of China is proclaimed by Chinese Communist Party. New Chinese government affirms recognition of Mongolia.
1950 Red China invades Tibet; Tibetan army destroyed in battle at Chamdo.
1951 17 Point Agreement between China and Tibet; Chinese occupy Lhasa.
1955 Kham is detached from Tibet and administered directly by the CCP
1956 Tibetans in Kham and Qinghai (Amdo) begin revolt against CCP rule.
1957 The United States begins to arm the Tibetan resistance via CIA.
1959 Anti-Chinese revolt spreads to Lhasa; 14th Dalai Lama flees to India.
1960 A report by the International Commission of Jurists concludes that,"acts of genocide [have] been committed in Tibet in an attempt to destroy the Tibetans as a religious group."
1962 China-India War: China advances beyond McMahon Line, then withdraws.
1963 The Tibetan Government-in-Exile writes a democratic constitution for a future liberated Tibet.
1965 China sets up Tibet Autonomous Region in U'Tsang and western Kham.
1966-69 Cultural Revolution: Red Guards rampage destroys most Tibetan temples.
1969 Fighting among Red Guard factions; PLA intervenes to restore order.
1971 The United States cuts off military aid to the Tibetan resistance.
1974 Nepal forces the Tibetan resistance to leave its base in Mustang.
1979 China allows delegation from Government-in-exileto visit Tibet.
1980 CCP General Secretary Hu Yaobang visits Tibet and promises to "restore the Tibetan economy to its pre-1959 level."
1982 Solzhenitsyn calls the CCP regime in Tibet "more brutal and inhuman than any other communist regime in the world."
1987 Police fire on a massive pro-independence demonstration in Lhasa.
1988 Qiao Shi, China's security chief, visits Tibet and vows to "adopt a policy of merciless repression".
Speaking in Strasbourg, the Dalai Lama makes a "five point" peace plan for a Tibet within China.
1989 Dalai Lama receives Nobel Peace Prize; martial law imposed in Tibet.
1992 China declares Tibet "open" to foreign investment.
Chen Kuiyuan is named CCP leader for Tibet and calls for a purge of those party members who "act as internal agents of the Dalai Lama clique".
1993 Residents of Lhasa protest against price increases and the charging of fees for formally free medical services.
1994 Potala Palace, DL's traditional residence, is restored and reopened.
1995 China denounces the six-year old boy recognised by the Dalai Lama as the 11th Panchen Lama, and imposes its own candidate.
1996 China bans the displaying of photographs of the Dalai Lama.
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"Some have learnt many Tricks of sly Evasion, Instead of Truth they use Equivocation, And eke it out with mental Reservation, Which is to good Men an Abomination."
I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to.
HAKUNA MATATA
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