EVENTS

ICS SPECIAL LECTURE

Demographic Changes on the Sino-Tibetan Frontier in the 15th Century and their Implications

Abstract:

The 15th century was a time of great change in Tibet’s relationship with China. The diminishment of Tibet’s relations with India, due to the deterioration of the situation of Buddhism (and the subsequent massive decline in pilgrimage and thus trade) gave the SinoTibetan frontier (especially in Khams) a new level of economic importance, the results of which echoed into the 20th century. It is this period that really saw the shift in Tibet’s demographics which made Eastern Tibet the most populous part of the Plateau and Sichuan the most populous province of China. The fact that the majority (a slim majority today, but a majority nonetheless) resides outside the territory that constitutes the present-day Tibet Autonomous Region has its roots in the changes that culminated in the 15th century. This paper will examine the economic, demographic and historical aspects of the issue, particularly in the histories of Tibet and China.

About the Speaker:

Prof. Elliot Sperling is former chair of the Department of Central Eurasian Studies, Indiana University. He has been a faculty member in that department’s Tibetan Studies Program since 1987. In addition to his scholarly writing on Tibetan history and Tibet’s historical and contemporary relationship with China he has provided op-ed and analytical pieces on the Tibet situation to a number of publications, including The New York Times, and The Far Eastern Economic Review.