In February 1913, shortly after the fall of the Qing dynasty, the 13th Dalai Lama, Tibet's political and spiritual leader, declared independence from China and began modernizing the Tibetan army. According to Tsarong Dasang Dadul, the commander-in-chief of the modern Tibetan army, in 1916, a new national flag was adopted by the Dalai Lama and all army regiments were ordered to carry the flag in its present form. Gyalten Namgyal, tailor to both the 13th and 14th Dalai Lamas wrote, "When I was fourteen, the Dalai Lama decided he wanted a Tibetan national flag made, and designed it himself. When a prototype was approved and the first flag commissioned, I was the one to execute the work."