China
Tibet
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |
Tibet is a plateau region in Central Asia and the home to the indigenous Tibetan people. With an average elevation of 4,900 metres (16,000 ft), it is the highest region on Earth and is commonly referred to as the "Roof of the World."
Tibet was
once an independent kingdom but today is part of the People's
Republic of China (PRC) while a small part, according to the
government of the People's Republic of China, is controlled
by India. Currently, the PRC government and the Government of
Tibet in Exile still disagree over when Tibet became a part
of China, and whether the incorporation into China of Tibet
is legitimate according to international law (see Tibetan sovereignty
debate). Since what constitutes Tibet is a matter of much debate
(see map, right) neither its size nor population are simple
matters of fact, due to various entities claiming differing
parts of the area as a Tibetan region.
The present Chinese name for Tibet, (Xizàng),
is a phonetic transliteration derived from the region called
Tsang (western Ü-Tsang). The Chinese name originated during
the Qing Dynasty
of China, ca. 1700. It can be broken down into “xi”
(literally “west”), and “zàng”
? (from Ü-Tsang, but also literally “Buddhist scripture,”
or “storage” or possibly "treasure").
The pre-1700s historic Chinese term for Tibet was. In modern Standard Mandarin, the first character is pronounced "tu". The second character is normally pronounced "fan"; in the context of references to Tibet, some sources now say that it should be pronounced "bo", while some authorities state that it should be pronounced as "fan". A reconstructed Medieval Chinese pronunciation would be /t'obw n/, which comes from the Turkic word for “heights” which is also the origin of the English term “Tibet”.
"The Chinese, well informed on the Tibetans as they were from the seventh century onwards, rendered Bod as Fan (at that time pronounced something like B'i wan). Was this because the Tibetans sometimes said 'Bon' instead of 'Bod', or because 'fan' in Chinese was a common term for 'barbarians' We do not know. But before long, on the testimony of a Tibetan ambassador, the Chinese started using the form T'u-fan, by assimilation with the name of the T'u-fa, a Turco-Mongol race, who must originally have been called something like Tuppat.
Other
Great Travel Destinations |