The Tufans are one branch of the Xi Qiang (West Qiang) tribes who have founded a kingdom in Xizang (Tibet) the recorded history of which began only around Tang time in early seventh century. Up until this time, they consisted of some one hundred and fifty separate tribes who constantly quarrelled among themselves and sought mediation periodically from succeeding courts of the Middle Kingdom (Zhongguo) since the Han dynasty (B.C. 206-220 A.D.)
Tufan zanpu (Tibetan king) Qizonglong Zan sent to the Tang court in 641, an emissary named Ludong Zan to ask for the hand of a Tang princess in marriage, a ritual gesture of a tributary vassal state. Two years earlier still, in 639, thirteenth year of the reign of Virtuous Vision of Genesis Emperor (Taizong), Tufan zanpu Qizonglong Zan had already sent sixteen thousand taels of gold (1 tael = 1.33 ounces) to the Genesis Emperor as a sign of the zanpu's honorable intentions. Subsequently, Ludong Zan arrived in 641 with an additional marriage gift of five thousand more taels of gold.
Princess Wencheng, a hastily adopted daughter of the Genesis Emperor, from among the daughters of one of his twenty-one brothers, was given in marriage in the same year to seventy-three-year-old Tufan zanpu Qizonglong Zan, after her aging suitor paid an additional final marriage gift of five times the weight of his young bride in gold. Princess Wencheng was at the time sixteen years old.
The ceremony in which the hand of Princess Wencheng was formally requested in marriage would be memorialized by famous Tang painter, Yan Liben, (c. 600-673), in a painting entitled peculiarly as: Sedan Chair Portrait (Bulian Tu), on view in modern time in Beijing Palace Art Museum. Not only does the name of the princess not appear in the title, she was not even portrayed in person in the painting. It is a reflection of how unimportant the bride is in the whole negotiated affair.
The painting shows Li Shimin, Genesis Emperor (Taizong), being carried on a sedan sofa by six court-ladies, while two other ladies carrying large overhead fans with long stems, and one carrying a red, round parasol of silk, ten-foot-high, shading the Genesis Emperor's head. The ladies are shown identically dressed, each with loose, flowing silk robe, v-neck collar with high waistband, long-sleeved, cream-color top, and floor-length skirt of red and light green broad stripes below the high waistband. A long, light-green silk scarf drapes over the shoulders and is tugged neatly under the high waistband. Princess Wencheng is nowhere in sight.
Facing the emperor's entourage is a bearded Tang protocol officer, standing at attention, in a calf-length red robe, with black belt, black hat, black pants and black boots of up-turned toes, hands holding a folded fan with both fists in front of the chest, in a traditional salute. The Tufan (Tibetan) envoy, Ludong Zan, is shown as smaller in stature, wearing a short beard, and a brocade robe with designs of small circular motifs on broad red front and yellow sides, and a thin black belt, looking submissive and eager. A stoic court attendant, dressed in white, stands humbly behind him. A colophon added to the painting by the celebrated eleventh-century Bei Song (Northern Song 960-1127) calligrapher, Zhang Youzhi, in small seal-style script, known as Zhuan script, records that the Genesis Emperor was so pleased with the diplomatic skill of Ludong Zan that he offered him one of the granddaughters of Princess Langya as bride, despite protests from Ludong Zan of having had a wife in Xizang (Tibet) since childhood.
Princess Wencheng, the personification of an ideal political marriage, whose image is absent in the famous painting by Yan Liben, would be credited by historians as being instrumental in introducing Tang culture into Xizang (Tibet), as well as Mahayana Buddhism (Dasheng, meaning major vehicle), the growth of which she would help to foster throughout her life in the exotic land. Indigenous mystic concepts would modify Mahayana Buddhism soon after its introduction to Xizang.
Lamaism, which would be derived from Mahayana Buddhism, and modified by erotic mysticism of Tantrism and indigenous Tibetan rites, would not formally establish itself until much later. The first Lama monastery in Xizang would be established near Lhasa only after 750 by Indian scholar-monk Padmasambhava, a full century after Princess Wencheng's marriage to Tufan zanpu (Tibetan king) Qizonglong Zan.
Princess Wencheng was a remarkable woman and a devout Buddhist. She would win the love and admiration of her Barbarian husband, zanpu Qizonglong Zan, fifty-seven years her senior, who would die at age eighty-two, after nine years of marriage to her. As a political bride of sixteen, she brought to Xizang many books on Tang culture, as well as an entourage of scholars and artisans. Under her influence, her Barbarian husband orders his subjects to adopt Tang rituals, customs and learning. Sons from Tufan noble households are now sent to Changan as students, and many live in Tang imperial palaces as guests of the Genesis Emperor (Taizong) and as pampered political hostages.
By 680, the disappointment felt by Tufans (Tibetians) from the refusal of the High Heritage Emperor (Gaozong), son of their great friend, the late Genesis Emperor (Taizong) of the Tang dynasty, to grant his daughter, 17-year-old Peace Princess (Taiping Gongzu), in marriage to 9-year-old Tufan zanpu (Tibetan king) Qinuxilong, on thinly-veiled ground that Peace Princess has been, since 8 years old, a nuguan (Daoist lay prioress), had developed into nationalistic dimensions with historic implications. It would contribute to cultural isolation of Xizang (Tibet) and her embrace of Lamaism. Lamaism, culturally-defensive, in time would evolve xenophobic and anti-Daoist sentiments, as well as attitudes of anti-Han, the indigenous majority nationality in China. Lamaism would develop as a modification of Mahayana (Dasheng, meaning greater vehicle) Buddhism (Fo Jia) by Tantric rituals of erotic mysticism and by ancient shamanism and sorcery of the Bon, a primitive, indigenous animistic religion of Xizang, which believes in the existence of spirits separate from the body. Tantrism, an arcane cult within Hinduism, centering around erotic, magical and mystical rites, has been influential in the development of orthodox Hinduism, of Mahayana Buddhism and later of Lamaism. Some 6 centuries after the Tang dynasty, Lamaism would enjoy imperial sponsorship in China under Kublai khan's Mongolian Yuan dynasty in 13th century, partly because of its anti-Daoist and anti-Han ethnic colorations. Buddhist reformer Tsong-kha-pa, who would die in 1419, would establish the Yellow Hat order which would gradually gain ascendancy over the original Red Hat order of Lamaism. The dying Ming court, ruled by a dynastic house of the majority Han ethnicity, in 1641, nearing the end of its 320-year reign, 3 years before its final overthrow by the conquering Manchurians who would establish the Qing dynasty (1661-1911), in a feeble attempt to preserve its titular sovereignty, would grant de facto temporal power over Xizang (Tibet) to the 5th Grand Lama of the Yellow Hat order, whose title would be the Dalai (ocean-wide) Lama, and would install him in Potala in Lhasa. The Dalai Lama would be revered by his followers as a divine reincarnation of the Boddhisattva Avallokiteshvara, mythical ancestor of the people of Xizang. A boddhisattva is worshiped as a deity in Mahayana Buddhism. It is the name given to an enlightened being who compassionately refrains from entering nirvana in order to save others. The most well-known boddhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism is the female Guanyin, Goddess of Mercy who is a seaparte entity from Boddhisattva Avallokiteshvara. In 1652, the Dalai Lama would be invited to Peking (moder-day Beijing), where he would be received with great pomp by Emperor Shizu during the reign of Shunzhi (1644-1661) of the Manchurian Qing dynasty. Lamaism again enjoys imperial patronage under Emperor Shizong during the reign of Yongzheng (1723-1735) of Qing dynasty and would remain active and influential in the Qing court until 1911, the founding of the Republic of China. Nine years after his accession, Emperor Shizong would convert his palace in Peking, Yonghe Gong, into a Lama temple which would still function in modern time as a high holy place of Lamaism. Yonghe Gong would be in modern time one of the main tourist attractions and a focus of pilgrimage for Lamaism in Beijing. By the personal intervention of Premier Zhou Enlai, it would receive protection from ideologically-inspired vandalism by radical Red Guards during the turbulent Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). While the Dalai Lama would become traditional leader of Xizang (Tibet), spiritual supremacy would reside with the chief abbot of the influential Dashi Lumpo monastery near Zhikatse, 200 kilometers southwest of Lhasa, who would be known as the Dashi or Panchen Lama, a reincarnation of Amitabha, the Buddha of Light. The succession to Grand Lama, either Dalai or Panchen, depends upon direct reincarnation. Upon the death of either, his spirit is said to pass into the body of some infant born shortly after, the identity of whom is determined by a series of exacting tests and divinations. Upon identification, the selected child is then brought to Lhasa and meticulously trained to assume his awesome spiritual role. The 13th Dalai Lama would flee to Peking from a British expedition force in August, 1904. On April 27, 1906, China, represented by the dying Qing court, as suzerain of Xizang, known in the West as Tibet, would agree to the terms imposed by Britain not to permit third countries to send representatives, receive transportation or mining concessions, or occupy, purchase or lease territories in Tibet without British permission. It would be a policy designed by Lord Curzon, 1st Marquess of Kedleston, the expansionist viceroy of British India, after having retired a year before from a policy dispute with Lord Kitchener, commander of the British army in India who would be supported by the home government. The policy would aim generally to protect British interests in Tibet and specifically to contain Zsarist Russian expansion into the region. All "unequal" treaties signed by the government of the Qing dynasty during the age of Western imperialism, including those concerning Xizang, would since be declared null and void by all subsequent governments of China, nationalist and communist alike. Four years after the British-Qing dynasty agreement, on February 25, 1910, during the chaos of the nationalist revolutionary uprisings that finally established the nationalist Republic of China, the 13th Dalai Lama would again flee, this time to British India. The 14th Dalai Lama, a 5-year-old boy, would be installed on February 22, 1940 and the 9th Panchen Lama, a 7-year-old, in 1944. The 14th Dalai Lama would sign a 17-point agreement with the government of the newly established People's Republic in Beijing on May 24, 1951 that would reconfirm Chinese sovereignty over Tibet with local autonomy. Government forces would clash with ethnic dissidents in 1959 during the celebration of the Tibetan New Year, after which the 14th Dalai Lama would go into political exile in India. The 9th Panchen Lama, after taking office under the new People's Republic on May 1, 1952 at age 15, would die in Beijing on January 28, 1989 and his followers would search for the reincarnation of his soul to find the 10th Panchen Lama. On December 8, 1995, a six-year-old boy was annoited as Tibetan Buddhism's new Panchen Lama.
The following was downloaded from the Chinese Embassy homepage.
The Nazi Author of "Seven Years in Tibet"
The Nazi (Nationalsozialist, National Socialist) background of Heinrich Harrer, the "hero" of the film "Seven Years in Tibet" which was produced in Hollywood, has been exposed at the same time the film is being screened in the United States and various other countries.
On January 21, Xinhua News Agency released an article by Ren Yanshi which notes that the movie based on Harrer's original book of the same title was produced to promote so-called "Tibet fever" by depicting the experiences of Harrer who once taught the Dalai Lama.
The article points out that the movie distorts historical facts and exaggerates the stature of both the Dalai Lama and Harrer. Various members of the Western media have lavished praise on Harrer with titles such as "hero", "the guardian of human rights" and the "best ambassador to Tibet".
Nonetheless, Harrer's true scandal has been exposed just as some members of the media are extolling him as a "superstar". Valid documents prove without a doubt that Harrer was a former Nazi who has successfully hidden his identity for more than half a century.
In May 1997, Austrian correspondent Gerald Lehner discovered an 80-page document in the U.S. National Archives which detailed Harrer's Nazi ties.
In addition, a reporter from the German weekly "Stern" discovered a file directly related to Harrer's Nazi background in in the Federal Archives in Berlin.
According to the file, Harrer served with the German Nazi Sturmabteilung (SA, storm troopers) as early as October 1933. The file also points out that the unit was illegal in Austria at that particular time.
Hitler annexed Austria on March 15, 1938, and shortly thereafter Harrer joined in German Nazi Schutzstaffel (defence echelon). He was assigned to Squadron 38 with a designation 73896, and was promoted to Oberscharfuehrer (squadron leader). On May 1 that same year, Harrer joined the Nazi's with membership number 6307081.
Harrer, a "favorite of the Nazi leaders", was received by Hitler, according to the article.
Harrer and several other Germans scaled the northern slopes of Mt. Eiger in Switzerland in July 1938 and a short time later posed for a group photograph with Adolf Hitler. Harrer continues to have the photo in his possession.
According to a report New York's Daily News on July 19, 1997, Hitler held Harrer in high regard for "conquering the Eiger". Hitler assigned Harrer to train crack Nazi troops (SS) who later became ruthless murderers resolutely carrying out the Fuhrer's final solution, or the extermination of Jews.
In December of 1938, Harrer married a so-called "pureblooded Aryan". Heinrich Himmler, head of the Gestapo and commander of the Nazi Schutzstaffel approved the marriage.
Harrer was captured by British army in India in September 1939, with his actions while in prison proving that he was a diehard Nazi.
On November 1, 1943, the foreign ministers of the allied nations -- the United States, the Soviet Union and Great Britain -- announced the "Moscow Declaration" which called for the reconstruction of Austria and cited the fact that the nation was a victim of Nazi aggression. The declaration called on Austrian people to liberate themselves and fight against Nazi Germany.
Shortly after release of the declaration, Austrians in regions controlled by Britain forces and other allied nations organized anti-Nazi resistance groups and broke their ties with Hitler and the Nazis.
In 1939, British forces accelerated efforts to screen war prisoners, with those refusing to accept the declaration remaining in custody.
Harrer was amongst the remaining prisoners following the screening program.
On April 29, 1944, six months after release of the declaration, Harrer succeeded in his fifth attempt to escape from prison. Harrer and Peter Aufschneiter, a Nazi and fellow prisoner, fled to Tibet, rather than Austria.
Various documents related to Harrer's imprisonment clearly show that at time he wanted to go and seek refuge in Japan, Nazi Germany's alliance in the Second World War.
Harrer arrived at Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, in 1946 and became the tutor for the Dalai Lama who was 11 years old at the time. Harrer fled Tibet in 1951. He concealed his Nazi history and returned to Austria before resettling in Leichtenstein where he wrote the book entitled "Seven Years in Tibet".
Harrer is a political con man living on fabricated mistruths. Many people suspected Harrer's Nazi connections long before his past life was fully exposed. Harrer flatly denied all accusations and successfully concealed his Nazi past for a half century.
Nonetheless, the discovery of the files provided indisputable proof of his Nazi ties. Harrer then resorted to habitual trickery and attempted to gloss over his crimes and continue to deceive the world.
Harrer spoke in vague terms and attempted to prolong the deceit when questioned about his Nazi files. According to Stern's article, Harrer vehemently denied having a Nazi past even after learning that his files had been discovered. He, in fact, denied having ever applied for membership in the Schutzstaffel (SS-defence echelon) or any other Nazi organization.
When shown his Racial and Residential Administration Investigation Form and handwritten resume, both of which demonstrated the fact that Harrer had served in the Sturmabteilung (SA - storm troopers) in Austria and the Schutzstaffel in Germany, Harrer was forced to acknowledge his inglorious Nazi past.
According to the Austrian Weekly Profil (43rd edition, 1997), Harrer offered the following response to a staff reporter's question concerning the files, "That was 60 years ago...it was nothing. You discovered it, so you answer the question." Harrer went so far as to proudly proclaim: "I have something to show off, too."
Secondly, Harrer claimed that he joined the Nazis as simply a passive act and that they, in fact, approached him.
On July 30, 1997, following the exposure of his background, Harrer contacted Simon Wiesenthal, the well-known researcher on Nazi atrocities, claiming that he had no close contact with the Nazis, but asserting that they had indeed approached him.
However, Harrer's former colleague and Austrian mountaineer Reinhold Messner refuted his assertions and said that "Harrer can in no way claim to be simply a follower, since no one was coerced into joining the the Nazis in 1933." The fact remains, however, that Harrer did join the Nazis.
Yet another case in point is that Nazism was illegal in Austria in 1933. Ample documents indicate that Harrer associated himself with the Nazis at that time in an attempt to achieve a meteoric rise.
Thirdly, Harrer attempted to disavow his crime of serving the Nazis by claiming that mountaineering was "nothing more than a hobby."
Harrer claimed that climbing the Eiger was a personal goal, and that he in no way intended to please the Nazis, nor obtain Hitler's favor. Nonetheless, Stern's report claimed that Harrer exhibited great excitement after scaling the Eiger and having the opportunity to meet Hitler.
The report quoted Harrer as saying: "It was an invaluable reward for us to meet and talk with the Fuhrer. We scaled the northern slope of Eiger, reached the summit and had the opportunity to meet the Fuhrer."
Messner noted that Nazism was popular with mountaineers in Germany and Austria in the 1930s, with the majority of Nazis in Austria at that time having mountaineering backgrounds. The German-Austrian Mountaineering Association which Harrer joined was an organization with close links to the Nazis.
According to an article in the Austrian weekly Wochen Presse, the major task of an expedition Nazi Germany sent to Tibet in 1939 was to investigate the possibility of establishing the region as a base for attacking the British troops stationed in India. The expedition's second major assignment was to verify Heinrich Himmler's Nazi racial theory that a group of pureblooded Aryans had settled in Tibet.
The article pointed to the fact that Harrer had direct contacts with the expedition. It noted that Harrer eventually managed to escape imprisonment and made his way to Tibet. His primary objective in going to Tibet was to recontact the expedition and continue his "special mission."
Fourthly, Harrer attempted to conceal his connections with the Nazis by disclaiming familiarity with members of the Nazi expedition.
Harrer attempted to demonstrate that he had nothing to do with the Nazis by steadfastly claiming he had absolutely no personal familiarity with any member of the German expedition. However, Bruno Beger, an expedition member, said he and Harrer were good friends, and that his friend was an acquaintance of Schaefer.
Profil, the Austrian weekly, carried a later report asserting that Harrer obtained photos from members of the expedition to Tibet for a private exhibition, and that he had in turn published an album of Tibetan scenery in his own name.
The Heinrich Harrer Museum in Harrer's hometown is known to house numerous exhibits of suspicious origin. Beger verifies that the exhibits were collected by the German expedition prior to 1939.
Hollywood has transformed Harrer, a man who rose from his position as an ordinary mountaineer to become a favorite of Nazi leaders, from nothing more than a notorious Nazi thug into a "hero". The key to the miraculous transformation to a large extent lies in his speciality at opportunism.
-- Harrer joined the Sturmabesteilung (SA -- storm troopers), when the Nazi movement was gaining momentum in Austria in the early 1930s. He betrayed his country and sought refuge with the German Schutzstaffel (SS) six months after the Nazi invasion of Austria.
His pursuit of power and fame was rewarded with an eventual personal meeting with Hitler, who promoted him to the rank of captain in the Schutzstaffel and ordered him to train an elite Nazi unit.
-- Harrer escaped from prison, fled to Tibet in 1944, and became a tutor for Dalai Lama in 1946. This particular period of experience in his life earned him the admiration of a select group of people in the west.
Harrer hurriedly fled Tibet in 1951 just after the arrival of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) in 1950 and returned to Austria in 1952. That same year, Harrer, who was fully cognizant of the fact that his history as a Nazi would be exposed if he remained in Austria for a prolonged period, resettled in Lietchtenstein, a principality bordering on Austria.
Thereafter, he set about fabricating the book entitled "Seven Years In Tibet" and represented himself as an "authoritative Tibetologist" and brave "hero" who dared engage in exploration.
"Seven Years In Tibet", which was published in 1952 and has since been translated into some 40-odd languages, has been widely distributed with sales exceeding five million copies.
Harrer's decision to resettle in the Lietchtenstein enabled him to hide his Nazi past, and "Seven Years In Tibet", a pure fabrication, provided the foundation for later "success".
Harrer's alliance with Dalai Lama was designed to build up himself. Despite the fact that Harrer tutored the 11-year-old Tibetan religious leader, the Dalai Lama flatly denies the existence of an "intimate friendship" with Harrer at first. The Dalai's assertions that he had little, if any, impression on Harrer have been source of utter disappointment to the latter.
Harrer launched a full-scale public relations campaign as a means of forging a relationship with Dalai Lama. He regularly touted his deep friendship with the Dalai and finally forced the latter to recognize the existence of such a "relationship".
Harrer and the Dalai formed the shaky alliance in which each pursued their own interests. Harrer strengthened his position by claiming an intimate friendship with "the leader of the Tibetan Buddhism", and the Dalai in turn looked to Austria as an ideal retreat.
Shortly after the disclosure of his Nazi background, Harrer and the Dalai Lama introduced emergency revisions to "Seven Years In Tibet".
Harrer's background was disclosed last May at a crucial stage in promoting sales of the movie. Brad Pitt, who plays the part of Harrer, announced that he would most likely have refused the part had he known of the protagonist's Nazi background.
Harrer's lawyer, a representative for the producer and the director reached a secret agreement in London to cope with the emergency situation. A minor revision in movie added various plots which portrayed Harrer as, though had a relationship with the Nazi, resented and disavowed the organization. The revisions drew a distinct line between Harrer and the Nazis.
The Dalai Lama faced a dilemma following public disclosure of the scandal. On the one hand, he addressed the situation by consulting with the movie producer and director, and on the other attempted to cover Harrer and divert public attention.
"Seven Years In Tibet" was screened last October following repeated schemes and intrigues undertaken by Harrer and the Dalai Lama. Harrer did not attend the Los Angeles premier due to the disclosure of his Nazi past, and the Dalai exhibited his lack of courage by failing to attend the Austrian premier.
Harrer, a faithful Nazi, found it quite easy to eulogize feudal serfdom and lavish praise on the Dalai Lama, the single largest owner of serfs in old Tibet. The perplexing aspect lies in the fact that Harrer managed to escape punishment despite his verified Nazi affiliation. Instead, he found favor in Hollywood which meticulously established and vigorously promoted his tainted image.
Related efforts on the part of Hollywood enabled Harrer to gain great fame, a level of acclaim which he far from deserved.
Despite the disclosure of Harrer's Nazi background, and much to the surprise of many people, Hollywood continues to feature Harrer at center stage, while at the same time lying to the public to camouflaging his heinous past.
Art, the moral nutrient of the mankind, should eulogize rightness and rationalism. However, "Seven Years in Tibet" lavishes praise on a notorious Nazi and induces people to admire an officer of the Schutzstaffel dedicated to the destruction of mankind.
Henry C.K. Liu
"D.L." wrote:
> C. Doug,
>
> What should the 13th re-incarnation of the Bodhisattva of Compassion
> say? He demands that his own people forgive the Chinese for killing their
> relatives and countrymen. That is his job, after all. Any Christian
> religious leader who ever read the New Testament would say the same thing.
> Are you trying to make a point?
>
> peace