The struggle for modern Tibet : the autobiography of Tashi Tsering
This captivating autobiography by a Tibetan educator and former political prisoner is full of twists and turns. Born in 1929 in a Tibetan village Tsering developed a strong dislike of his country s theocratic ruling elite. As a 13-year-old member of the Dalai Lama s personal dance troupe he was frequently whipped or beaten by teachers for minor infractions. A heterosexual he escaped by becoming a drombo or homosexual passive partner and sex-toy for a well-connected monk.
After studying at the University of Washington he returned to Chinese-occupied Tibet in 1964 convinced that Tibet could become a modernized society based on socialist egalitarian principles only through cooperation with the Chinese. Denounced as a counterrevolutionary during Mao s Cultural Revolution he was arrested in 1967 and spent six years in prison or doing forced labor in China. Officially exonerated in 1978 Tsering became a professor of English at Tibet University in Lhasa. He now raises funds to build schools in Tibet s villages emphasizing Tibetan language and culture.
Written with Goldstein head of Case Western Reserve s athrороlоgу dераrtment and Sibenschuh a Case English professor this unusual autobiography valiantly suggests a middle way between authoritarian Chinese rule and a return to Tibet s old order.
ISBN-10 : 9380359322
ISBN-13 : 978-9380359328