This book by Gray Tuttle (hardcover 2005), a professor of Tibetan studies at Columbia University, argues that the West has wrongly portrayed the relations between Tibet and China as marked by mutual suspicion and acrimony.
He asserts that the version of Tibetan history most Westerners are familiar with is overly simplistic. (P 221).
On the contrary, reading both Chinese and Tibetan language sources, Tuttle says that in the early 20th century, some Tibetans were not happy with the affairs in Tibet and sought Chinese aid in changing them. Others felt union with China presented the best option for Tibet.
In this book, Tuttle narrates how Tibetan and Chinese Buddhists, from the decline of the Manchu dynasty through the Republican period (1912-1949) to the early years of the Communist rule, built a relationship of mutual respect and interests to make a modern China.
LWH, 5 August 2025