Memorial to Emperor Guangxu by the 13th Dalai LamaDuring last week's Europe-Asia Conference, we showed the participants ' Seven Years in Tibet' on the cinema night. As a great many of them were Chinese, some felt very much offended by the tune of the film that the 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso was depicted almost as a saint while the Chinese communists were depicted as brutal invaders. The film, though based on facts, has over dramatized the story and sanctified Dalai Lama. A much better alternative is 'Kundun', in which the early life of the 14th Dalai Lama has been illustrated more authentically. (Both films were made in 1997).
Mao Zedong was the last Chinese leader so far to meet the Dalai Lama in Beijing in 1954, after the latter signed the 'Seventeen Points Agreement' under pressure of the PLA. (However, later, as we all know, Dalai Lama was forced into exile in 1959).
Tenzin Gyatso's predecessor, the 13th Dalai Lama Thubten Gyatso in fact led an equally turbulent life of confronting invasions, consolidating with China and being forced into exile sometimes. Towards the end of Qing Dynasty, as China's political grip on Tibet weakened, Britain first sought to invade Tibet by military means in 1904. As a result, the Dalai Lama, then 29 years old, was obliged to flee to outer Mongolia. He returned to Tibet one year later at the urge of Qing government, who threatened to deprive him of his holy title if he stayed in exile. After failing to conquer Tibet by military means, the British began to bribe Dalai Lama and gradually inserted several anglophiles serving by his side.
It was in 1908 when Dalai Lama was called to Beijing to meet Guangxu Emperor and Empress Dowager Cixi. During the meeting, it is said that the Qing court insisted on the Dalai Lama's kneeling down before the Emperor, which in turn irritated him that he finally declined. Guangxu Emperor, on his part, kept on emphasizing on the subservient role played by the Tibetan Lama. He very much worried about the British colonial influence on Tibet, which might finally encourage this region to proclaim independence, just as what outer Mongolia did under the influence of Russia.
Guangxu Emperor and Empress Dowager Cixi both died during Thubten Gyatso's stay. Therefore the Dalai Lama performed budhhist rituals for both of them in their funerals. Afterwards, he soon returned to Tibet, but was forced into exile again in 1910, when the Qing army invaded Tibet in the name of 'eliminating colonial influence'. However, he would return to Tibet again after the downfall of Qing Dynasty. During Republic of China, Tibet gained de facto independence.
Like his contemporary Guangxu Emperor, while resisting colonial influence, the 13th Dalai Lama also sought to reform Tibet by eliminating void posts and implementing modern technologies and institutions. They were both granted great responsibilities as young children and both confronted insidious political rivals (it is said that the regent once sought to curse the Dalai Lama to death in his youth). However, while Guangxu Emperor considered Tibet as an inseparable part of the Chinese realm, the 13th Dalai Lama sought more independence for Tibet.
