Tibet Since 1950

Through a diverse selection of photographs, personal interviews, and historical information, Tibet Since 1950: Silence, Prison, or Exile, a collaboration between Aperture and Human Rights Watch, looks beyond the Shangri-la image of Tibet to the impact of political repression by the Chinese government on Tibetan lives.The Tibet Autonomous Region as well as the area known as "eastern Tibet," has been shaped by fifty years of direct Chinese government control. The impact of that control is evident in Tibetan culture, politics, economic activity, and religious practice. It is manifest in the extensive prison network used to detain those perceived as challenging Chinese rule and in the extreme measures used to keep protests in check. This publication contains rare photographs of Chinese government crackdowns on Tibetan demonstrations and riveting first-hand accounts from Tibetans living in exile. It examines the physical damange inflicted upon Tibetan religious institutions in the past and the more subtle destruction still going on today.Tibet Since 1950 offers a new perspective on the complicated subject of recent Tibetan history, avoiding the standard clichés of Tibet as a land defined by the search for spiritual enlightenment and as an exotic paradise. The real Tibet is far more complex. This book examines the bleak banality of repressive control that is as much a part of Tibet as is its scenic beauty.The richly varied photographs are accompanied by an introduction by Tibet expert Elliot Sperling; accounts by Mickey Spiegel of Human Rights Watch with Tibetans who were detained in prison and are now living in exile; a discussion of Tibetan prisons by Steven Marshall; and a consideration of Tibet, myth and reality, by Orville Schell.Photographers include: Jeffrey Aaronson, John Ackerly, Diane Barker, Kevin Bubriski, Kathryn Culley, Ian Cumming, Carl de Keyzer, Raphaele Demandre, Guy Dinmore, Stuart Franklin, Richard Gere, Alberto Giuliani, Catherine Henriette, Lynn Johnson, Russell Johnson, Steven Marshall, Marcos Prado, Matthieu Ricard, Galen Rowell, Michael Springer, and Franz Stich.