Every year on March 10, Tibetans across the world commemorate Tibetan Uprising Day, remembering the mass resistance against Chinese rule in 1959. This day also brings a flood of Chinese propaganda, repeating the claim that Tibet before 1950 was a “feudal hellhole” and that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) “liberated” Tibetans from slavery. But if this narrative were true, why did tens of thousands of Tibetans flee their supposed liberators, choosing exile over Chinese rule? Why do Tibetans continue to resist Chinese policies even today? The answer is clear: China’s invasion was not an act of humanitarian rescue, but a political and military conquest aimed at securing Tibet as a strategic and resource-rich colony. The narrative of “serf liberation” is a post-facto justification for this occupation, built upon distortions, exaggerations, and outright falsehoods.
The Reality of Tibetan Society Before 1950
The claim that Tibet was a land of absolute misery under “serfdom” and “slavery” is deeply misleading. Tibet before the Chinese invasion was a society governed by a mixture of religious and aristocratic institutions, with a social system comparable to many pre-modern states, including China itself. While Tibet had a hierarchical structure, it did not practice slavery in the way China describes. In a system of slavery, individuals are legally considered property, bought, sold, and treated as chattel. No such institution existed in Tibet. Instead, Tibet’s economy was based on a form of land tenure where peasants worked for landowners, paid tribute in goods or labor, and had obligations to monasteries or aristocratic estates. This system, while feudal in nature, was not unique to Tibet; it was comparable to the medieval structures that existed in Europe, Japan, and China itself before modernization.
The Tibetan social order was also more flexible than Chinese propaganda suggests. Peasants could negotiate their dues, appeal to monastic leaders for justice, and even become landowners themselves. Moreover, monastic institutions often provided social security, acting as centers of education, welfare, and refuge. This reality was recognized by British diplomats and explorers who visited Tibet in the 19th and early 20th centuries, none of whom described the system as one of slavery. Scholars like Elliot Sperling and Hugh Richardson have repeatedly debunked the characterization of Tibet as a slave society, pointing out that the “serfdom” narrative was crafted to justify China’s actions rather than to accurately describe Tibetan history.
The 13th Dalai Lama’s Reforms and Tibet’s Evolution
Far from being a stagnant society trapped in medieval practices, Tibet was undergoing changes even before China’s invasion. The 13th Dalai Lama (1876-1933) initiated several modernizing reforms, including the abolition of capital punishment and efforts to limit the excessive power of aristocrats. He introduced policies to modernize the Tibetan army and engaged with foreign nations to establish Tibet’s international presence. These reforms, while slow, indicate that Tibet was not frozen in time but rather evolving at its own pace.
The Chinese Communist Party, however, was not interested in assisting Tibet’s natural progression. Instead, it sought to impose rapid and often violent transformations that aligned with its ideological goals. By branding Tibet as “backward” and “in need of liberation,” the CCP justified its occupation, much like European colonial powers had done in Africa and Asia. This narrative ignores the fact that China itself was feudal before 1949 and underwent a brutal process of forced collectivization that led to mass famine and suffering.
If Tibet Was Liberated, Why Did So Many Flee?
If China truly “liberated” Tibetans, one must ask why so many chose to flee into exile rather than embrace their so-called freedom. In 1959, following the suppression of the Lhasa Uprising, the Dalai Lama and tens of thousands of Tibetans escaped to India, fearing persecution. This was not the action of a people freed from oppression, but of a nation resisting foreign domination.
The reality is that China’s presence in Tibet was never welcomed. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) entered Tibet in 1950, not as liberators, but as invaders. In the years that followed, thousands of Tibetans were killed in clashes with the PLA. Monasteries, which had been the heart of Tibetan culture and education, were bombed and destroyed. In 1956, Lithang Monastery in Kham was bombed using Soviet-supplied Tu-4 heavy bombers, killing thousands of monks and civilians. The destruction of over 6,000 monasteries during the Cultural Revolution further demonstrated that China’s goal was not reform but eradication of Tibetan identity.
Between 1950 and 1970, estimates suggest that between 300,000 and 1.2 million Tibetans died as a result of Chinese policies. These deaths were not the result of feudal oppression but of Communist “liberation.”
The Contradictions in China’s Narrative
The CCP’s claim of “serf liberation” also contradicts its own historical position. If Tibet was “always part of China,” as Beijing insists, then why did the CCP wait until 1950 to “liberate” it? If China had ruled Tibet for centuries, then why did it allow “serfdom” to exist for so long? The truth is that Tibet was independent in practice and that China’s invasion was a geopolitical maneuver, not a humanitarian mission.
Furthermore, if Tibetans were truly liberated, why does China today impose severe restrictions on Tibetan religious practices, language, and culture? Why are Tibetans imprisoned for possessing images of the Dalai Lama? Why do Tibetans continue to self-immolate in protest against Chinese rule? The answer is that Tibetans were never liberated; they were subjugated. The CCP’s use of the “serfdom” narrative is an attempt to mask the reality of its colonial ambitions.
The Need to Challenge Chinese Propaganda
The “serf liberation” myth is not just an academic debate; it has real-world implications. By perpetuating this false narrative, China seeks to silence Tibetan resistance and justify its continued occupation. It also attempts to delegitimize Tibetan calls for self-determination by portraying exile Tibetans as former aristocrats longing for lost privilege. In reality, the Tibetan exile community is made up of people from all backgrounds, united not by nostalgia for feudalism but by the desire for freedom and the right to preserve their culture and religion.
On Tibetan Uprising Day, it is crucial to reject the lies and distortions spread by the Chinese government. Tibet was not a slave society, nor was it saved by the CCP. It was a unique civilization, evolving in its own way, until it was violently annexed by a foreign power. The struggle for Tibetan freedom continues, not because Tibetans want to return to a feudal past, but because they seek a future free from Chinese oppression.
