Muslim, Trader, Nomad, Spy: China's Cold War and the People of the Tibetan Borderlands

The Dalai Lama's flight from Lhasa in 1959 created a crisis for the People's Republic of China, leading to the imposition of a heavier imperial structure and long-lasting shifts in Chinese foreign policy. Sulmaan Wasif Khan's book tells the story of the PRC's response to the crisis and the extraordinary characters involved.

Format: Hardback
Length: 216 pages
Publication date: 29 September 2023
Publisher: Manohar Publishers and Distributors

The Dalai Lama's departure from Lhasa in 1959 created a crisis for the People's Republic of China on its Tibetan frontier. Sulmaan Wasif Khan's book tells the story of the PRC's response to this crisis, featuring a diverse cast of characters, including Chinese diplomats appalled by sky burials, Guomindang spies working with Tibetans in Nepal, traders carrying salt across the Himalayas, and Tibetan Muslims rioting in Lhasa. Khan argues that the PRC faced a "fourth world problem" in Tibet, as it dealt with peoples whose ways were defined by statelessness. As Beijing sought to tighten control over the borderlands, Mao's China transitioned from a lighter hand to a heavier imperial structure, leading to long-lasting shifts in Chinese foreign policy.

Weight: 400g
Dimension: 148 x 224 x 20 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9788119139170