TIBET

TIBET, a country of Central Asia, and dependency of China since 1720. In 1950, the People's Republic of China incorporated Tibet into China giving the region an autonomy status. The 14th Dalai Lama government, then fled to Dharamsala in India.

The region was called by the natives themselves Bod or Bodyul, comprises a wide expanse of tableland, "three times the size of France, almost as cold as Siberia, most of it higher than Mount Blanc, and all of it, except a few valleys, destitute of population"; enclosed by the lofty ranges of the Himalaya and Kuen-lun Mountains, it has been left practically unexplored; possesses great mineral wealth, and a large foreign trade is carried on in woollen cloth (chief article of manufacture); polyandry and polygamy are prevailing customs among the people, who are a Mongolic race of fine physique, fond of music and dancing, jealous of intrusion and wrapt up in their own ways and customs.

The government before 1950 and after in exile is civil and religious, is in the hands of the clergy, the lower orders of which are numerous; a variation of Mongol Shamanism is the native religion, but Lamaism is the official religion of the country, and the supreme authority is vested in the Dalai Lama, the sovereign pontiff.

Dalai Lama resided at Lhassa, the capital, but presently resides at Dharmashala in India, and heads his government in exile.