The Dalai Lama and the Emperor of China: A Political History of the Tibetan Institution of Reincarnation (2015) by Peter Schwieger is a study of the historical and political relationship between Tibet and the Qing dynasty under Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong.
Peter begins by describing how the political role of the trulku (reincarnated enlightened persons) developed uniquely in Tibet to such an extent that the Dalai Lamas, the Panchen Lamas, and the Karmapas wielded tremendous power over Tibetan society.
Peter then explains how the three Qing emperors used the reincarnation system and, starting from Qianlong, used the Golden Urn lottery to control Tibet.
He states that “right up to the end of the 19th century, essentially none of the Dalai Lamas exercised any political power of his own.” (P221).
Implicitly, he questions whether Tibet was an independent nation when the 14th Dalai Lama fled to India. Or is Tibet similar to India under the British Raj?
LWH, 22 August 2025, 11.30 p.m.