Western Idealization of Tibet

By DU YONGBIN

The Yila Prairie in Shangri-La

SHANGRI-LA, mythical kingdom synonymous with Utopia, was the brainchild of American novelist James Hilton in his 1933 bestseller Lost Horizon. Hilton's inspiration came not from any personal travel experience in Tibet, but from articles by American botanist Joseph Rock, who lived in the Khams region (the area flanking the present-day border between Tibet and Sichuan Province) from 1922 to 1949.

In the Tibetan language Shangri-La means the place surrounding the source of happiness. It comes from the Buddhist sutra: to the south of the Himalayas lies a mysterious city, Shambhala, where the Buddhist Time-wheel Kalacakra Tantra is preserved. It is an idyllic place full of colorful palaces inhabited by healthy people, their souls protected by immortal monks.

In 1937, Frank Capra directed the film Lost Horizon, based on Hilton's novel, for Columbia Pictures. Its theme song, Shangri-La, became popular worldwide, and this mystical name has since been used in the same context as that of the Garden of Eden and Utopia. In the film Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, which chronicles the Doolittle raid of Tokyo during World War II, on being asked where the planes take off from, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt answers, "Shangri-La." Camp David's original name was Shangri-La, and since Robert Kuok Hock-Nien bought the rights to use it for his Shangri-La hotel chain, the name has been generally associated with resorts and hotels.  

Tibetan man.

Tibet's remote geographical location and its distinct culture have caused misconceptions among Westerners that have read Lost Horizon of Tibetan culture and Tibetan Buddhism. The region has consequently remained swathed in mystery right through to the 21st century.

A Fairyland?

For centuries, Tibet has been considered a paradise by Western explorers and travelers. George Orwell said that there is no better place for travelers than central Asia and Tibet. Magnificent topography -- the Himalayas, Mount Qomolangma (Everest), the Gangdise Mountains and the Yarlung Zangbo River, add to the region's allure, which is further enhanced by the region's distinct culture.

Bonism and Tibetan Buddhism were for centuries the region's guiding cultural influences. The pantheism and voodoo of Bon, and Tibetan Buddhism, encompassing Tantrism and the concept of the reincarnated soul of the living Buddha, religious rituals of dance, circumambulation, and full prostration, made them distinct from all other religions.

Tibetan Opera masks.

Since the latter half of the 20th century, the West has entered ever further into a highly developed "post modern" stage of material civilization. Western civilization does not, however, resolve dark and complex social problems, nor satisfy human spiritual and religious needs. Many have turned to Eastern belief systems, and Tibetan Buddhism has been a great source of solace. The onset of the trend of globalization made people of the West more interested still in Tibetan culture, particularly in view of the activities of Tibetan separatists and anti-Chinese Western forces during the latter half of the 20th century. These resulted in the internationalization of the Tibetan Problem -- that comprising aspects of sovereignty, nationality, religion, and human rights. It consequently became one of the 3T Problems (Taiwan, Trade, Tibet), and an international focus, as well as the central issue in China's battle with anti-China forces. Complicated by internal and external factors, it become difficult to comprehend the essence of Tibetan culture.

Shangri-La on Earth

Tibetan civilization has developed mainly along two lines: one religious and one secular. For a long time Tibet remained a mainly homogeneous and isolated society little affected by any alien culture. Its traditional culture of religious vis-a-vis secular culture, and aristocratic vis-a-vis folk culture consequently remained intact. Since Tibetan Buddhism dominated society and human mentality, and religious "elite culture" was the mainstream, secular culture played only a supplementary role in traditional Tibetan society. It nonetheless had great vitality and influence among the common people.

Statue of the Amitabha Buddha in the Potala Palace.

Traditional secular culture in Tibet has its aristocratic and folk aspects. The Tibetan nobility reflects a combination of Tibetan, Indian and Western cultural facets, but because it makes up only a small percentage of the Tibetan population, its cultural influence is very limited. Folk culture covers an elite of practitioners of Tibetan medicine, astronomical calculation, and arts, as well as a mass culture. This includes ballads and epics such as King Gesar, folk songs and dances such as the xuanzi and guozhuang, and folk traditions of festivals, weddings, funerals, and various Tibetan social taboos and conventions. These secular aspects of Tibetan culture have interwoven with mythological elements to give rise to the myth of Tibet.

Tibet's isolation ended with the 20th century British colonialist invasion, bringing with it a modern cultural intrusion. The indigenous religion suffered a severe blow; consequently the secular culture developed further. Tibet's peaceful liberation and democratic reforms resulted in the dissolution of the former ruling theocracy, and secular culture became the mainstream. Contemporary festivals, like Xigaze's Mt. Qomolangma, Qamdo's Khamspa, and Shannan's Yarlung cultural festivals, now complement the more traditional ones.

In the 1990s, Tibet fever raged in China and abroad. It featured the expansion of Tibetan Buddhism and an increased interest in the Tantric aspect of Tibetan Buddhism. Tibet and the Tibetan ethnic group are now the theme of numerous literary and art works, and of film and television documentaries. There are many erudite scholars of Tibetology, and the increased publication of works of Tibetology over the past two decades has greatly improved general understanding of Tibetan culture.

Remarkable economic and social development has brought great change to Tibet. It has convenient communications, stock market outlets, and Internet cafes in major towns and cities. Personal computers and mobile phones are also commonplace. Modern communications have narrowed the gap between Tibet and the outside world, and the increasing number of visitors to Tibet will enable a true picture of it to emerge. 

DU YONGBIN is researcher with the China Tibetology Research Center.