the potala palace is situated in tibet and used to be the official residence of dalai lama till 1959.
the potala palace is situated in tibet and used to be the official residence of dalai lama till 1959.
situated in tibet this used to be the official residence of dalai lama till 1959?
the potala palace
the fifth dalai lama's death in 1682 was kept secret for fifteen years by his regent desi sangye gyatso. he pretended the dalai lama was in retreat and ruled on his behalf, secretly selecting the 6th dalai lama and presenting him as someone else. tibetan historian nyima gyaincain points out that desi sangye gyatso wanted to consolidate his personal status and power by not reporting the death of the fifth dalai lama to the emperor of china, and also collude with the rebellion group of the qing dynasty, mongol dzungar tribe in order to counter influence from another mongol khoshut tribe in tibet. being afraid of prosecution by the kangxi emperor of china, desi sangye gyatso explained with fear and trepidation the reason behind his action to the emperor. in 1705, desi sangye gyatso was killed by lha-bzang khan of the mongol khoshut tribe because of his actions including his illegal action of selecting the 6th dalai lama. since the kangxi emperor was not happy about desi sangye gyatso's action of not reporting, the emperor gave lha-bzang khan additional title and golden seal. the kangxi emperor also ordered lha-bzang khan to arrest the 6th dalai lama and send him to beijing, the 6th dalai lama died when he was en route to beijing. journalist thomas laird argues that it was apparently done so that construction of the potala palace could be finished, and it was to prevent tibet's neighbors, the mongols and the qing, from taking advantage of an interregnum in the succession of the dalai lamas.
dalai lama
according to historian tsering shakya, the chinese government was pressuring the dalai lama to attend the national people's congress in april 1959, in order to repair china's image in relation to ethnic minorities after the khampa rebellion. on 7 february 1959, a significant day on the tibetan calendar, the dalai lama attended a religious dance, after which the acting representative in tibet, tan guansan, offered the dalai lama a chance to see a performance from a dance troupe native to lhasa at the norbulingka to celebrate the dalai lama's completion of his lharampa geshe degree. according to ngapoi ngawang jigme, the dalai lama proactively asked to attend the performance. according to the dalai lama's memoirs, the invitation came from chinese general chiang chin-wu, who proposed that the performance be held at the chinese military headquarters; the dalai lama states that he agreed. the planned performance date of 10 march was only finalized 5 days beforehand, on 5 march. neither the kashag nor the dalai lama's bodyguards were informed of the dalai lama's plans until chinese officials briefed them on 9 march, one day before the performance was scheduled, and insisted that they would handle the dalai lama's security. the dalai lama's memoirs state that on 9 march the chinese told his chief bodyguard that they wanted the dalai lama's excursion to watch the production conducted "in absolute secrecy" and without any armed tibetan bodyguards, which "all seemed strange requests and there was much discussion" amongst the dalai lama's advisors. some members of the kashag were alarmed and concerned that the dalai lama might be abducted, recalling a prophecy that told that the dalai lama should not exit his palace.
1959 tibetan uprising