Chieftains, Lamas, and Warriors - (Studies in Modern Tibetan Culture) by Yudru Tsomu (Hardcover)

About the Book

This book challenges traditional views that see Kham as a transit point and instead repositions the region as pivotal to Sino-Tibetan relations. Informed by frontier studies and drawing from original sources to reassess its importance in early twentieth-century politics and narratives, it examines Kham's identity amidst assimilation pressures.

Book Synopsis

Chieftains, Lamas, and Warriors: A History of Kham 1904-1961 explores the region of Kham, situated between Central Tibet and China. By highlighting Kham's pivotal role in Sino-Tibetan relations and frontier dynamics, this book challenges the traditional focus of scholarly research that treat Kham as a mere transit point. Yudru Tsomu argues for the significance of frontier regions in shaping historical narratives and power structures. Tsomu explores how Kham forged its own identity amidst the assimilation pressures exerted by Central Tibet and China. Supported by a wealth of original sources in Chinese, Tibetan, and Western languages-including previously untapped personal and archival collections in China-this book offers a compelling reassessment of Kham's historical agency and significance.

Review Quotes

"A stunning achievement by one of our premier historians of modern Tibet today, this book gives a fascinating and deeply knowledgeable account of the Kham region of Eastern Tibet in the first half of the 20th century. Situated halfway between the central Tibetan government in Lhasa and the Qing dynasty in Beijing, this beautiful and fiercely independent part of the Tibetan plateau was home to a people with strong cultural and religious loyalties. Yudru Tsomu recounts their perilous navigation through the many upheavals of the period with vivid lucidity."

--Janet Gyatso, Harvard University

"Prof. Yudru Tsomu has done it again! In 2015, she published her detailed study of the rise and fall of the [in]famous nineteenth century Khampa warrior Gönpo Namgyel. And now, with this book, she has cast a much wider net and offers a meticulously researched work on the fraught history of Kham, that is, roughly West Sichuan Province, from the early 1900s to the 1950s. She has indeed done her reading and has virtually left no stone uncovered to get at the very heart of its history and its main actors. Her narrative is inter alia informed by an impressive array of Chinese and Tibetan local histories, biographical accounts, archival sources, etc. written in Tibetan and Chinese; never mind her exhaustive bibliography of works in other languages. Her excellent use of these materials shows how well she controls these varied sources. Anyone in the field knows how difficult it is to gain access to many of these publications, and the author is to be congratulated on having been able to consult such a vast amount of literature. Indeed, this is a first-rate study by one of the best in the business of Kham Studies, and I have no doubt that it will be an indispensable source for those who wish to follow in the author's footsteps."

--Leonard W.J. van der Kuijp, Harvard University

"Prof. Yudru Tsomu's Chieftains, Lamas, and Warriors: A History of Kham 1904-1961 stands as a monumental achievement, firmly establishing her as the foremost authority on Kham. This work has no equal in the current literature and will undoubtedly remain the benchmark against which all future studies will be measured. Prof. Tsomu has meticulously unearthed and analyzed a vast array of original Tibetan and Chinese sources that have long eluded other scholars. Her first book delved into the rise of the infamous Gönpo Namgyel and the complex political landscape of 18th-century Kham. In this new volume, she continues the narrative, tracing the evolution of Kham into the 20th century and documenting the final demise of its kingdoms. Prof. Tsomu's narrative deftly navigates the turbulent machinations of the Khampa kingdoms as they struggle to survive amid the rise of modern China and the faltering efforts of the Tibetan government in Lhasa to secure this critical region. The intricate history and dramatic story of the rise and fall of the Khampa kingdoms unfold with the intrigue and intensity of a historical epic, akin to Game of Thrones. This book is an essential and compelling read for anyone interested in the history of Tibet and China."

--Tsering Shakya, The University of British Columbia

About the Author

Yudru Tsomu is professor at the Center for Tibetan Studies, Sichuan University.