Soon after the Communists came to power in mainland China, they set about ending the supposed independence of Tibet. A task the nationalist and communist could agree on. Tibet being a closed off society back then, it is hard to discern their opinion. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.
Todays stamp is poorly printed and features a peasant plowing a field behind 2 yaks. One has to love it. It is also evocative of the Chinese view of the Tibetan conflict. An ancient elite maintains a system that benefits themselves but ignores the fellow scratching out a living behind those stinky yaks. All of my readers won’t agree with that but stamp issues can be well used to clearly make a case. The Chinese have done that here.
The stamp today is issue A22, a 1000 yuan,(pre-devaluation), stamp issued by the Peoples Republic of China on March 15th, 1952. The stamp is part of a 4 stamp issue celebrating the liberation of Tibet in 1950. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth $16 in it’s mint condition. PRC stamps have risen in value recently due to the rise in collecting in China. This is a trend I would like to see spread. At $16, this is the highest value stamp I have to date wrote about at The-Philatelist.com.
With the fall of the last Emperor in China in 1911, Tibet was effectively independent. The then Dalai Lama, the spiritual and political head of Tibet, declared the relationship with China was one of patron and priest and that Tibet was now independent. This independence was not recognized by China or any other country, but China was too distracted elsewhere to rope back in Tibet. The ancient feudal system and the 6000 plus monasteries continued.
After the Communist came to power in 1949, the Tibet situation was dealt with. An army massed on the border and the Tibetan government recognized Chinese sovereignty over Tibet. There was much modernization of education and transportation and the capital was electrified and provided with running water. There were also the beginning of land reform in the countryside.
The CIA and India supported rebels that were airdropped in to foment resistance. This was a wasted effort. The people dropped in were mainly aristocrats who were mostly never heard from again. In 1959, China became more serious about attacking the ancient institutions that they felt were holding the people back. This was in line with what was happening in the rest of China. Monasteries and feudal estates came under attack. The Dalai Lama fled to India and formed a government in exile. No government has recognized the exile government as legitimate but it has succeeded in making Tibet an anti China cause celebre’. Recently the Dalai Lama has said that he only seeks local autonomy but China already considers Tibet an autonomous region. There have been unproductive talks about the issue between the parties.
Well my drink his empty so I will pour another to toast the peasant behind the yak. His wish would be that the powers that be whoever they may be would spend more time looking out for him. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.
PS. Happy birthday to my daughter and stamp collector Elisabeth. Hope your reading.