Professor Tuttle onderzoekt de manieren waarop Tibetaanse boeddhisten de vorming van het moderne China hebben gevormd, en verkent het falen van nationalisme en op ras gebaseerde ideologieën om Tibetaanse gebieden als integraal onderdeel van de Chinese natiestaat te behouden. Zijn werk belicht de cruciale rol van het pan-Aziatische boeddhisme in de Chinese pogingen om uitgestrekte Tibetaanse regio's te behouden. Verder onderzoek duikt in de institutionele groei van het Tibetaans boeddhisme van de 17e tot de 20e eeuw, waarbij wordt onderzocht hoe economische ontwikkeling in de Chinees-Tibetaanse grensgebieden de expansie en vernieuwing van deze instellingen tot in de hedendaagse periode heeft gevoed. Zijn onderwijs richt zich op de moderne geschiedenis van Tibet en de complexe relatie tussen het Chinese en het Tibetaanse boeddhisme.
Reveals the role Buddhism and Buddhist leaders played in the development of the modern Chinese state and in fostering relations between Tibet and China from the Republican period (1912-1949) to the early years of Communist rule. This book offers insights on the impact of modern ideas of nationalism, race, and religion in East Asia.
The most comprehensive collection of Tibetan works in a Western language, this volume illuminates the complex historical, intellectual, and social development of Tibetan civilization from its earliest beginnings to the modern period. Including more than 180 representative writings, Sources of Tibetan Tradition spans Tibet's vast geography and long history, presenting for the first time a diversity of works by religious and political leaders; scholastic philosophers and contemplative hermits; monks and nuns; poets and artists; and aristocrats and commoners. The selected readings reflect the profound role of Buddhist sources in shaping Tibetan culture while illustrating other major areas of knowledge. Thematically varied, they address history and historiography; political and social theory; law; medicine; divination; rhetoric; aesthetic theory; narrative; travel and geography; folksong; and philosophical and religious learning, all in relation to the unique trajectories of Tibetan civil and scholarly discourse. The editors begin each chapter with a survey of broader social and cultural contexts and introduce each translated text with a concise explanation. Concluding with writings that extend into the early twentieth century, this volume offers an expansive encounter with Tibet's exceptional intellectual heritage.