El profesor Tuttle investiga las formas en que los budistas tibetanos dieron forma a la creación de la China moderna, explorando el fracaso del nacionalismo y las ideologías basadas en la raza para mantener los territorios tibetanos como parte integral del estado-nación chino. Su trabajo ilumina el papel crucial del budismo panasiático en los esfuerzos chinos por retener vastas regiones tibetanas. Investigaciones adicionales profundizan en el crecimiento institucional del budismo tibetano desde el siglo XVII hasta el XX, examinando cómo el desarrollo económico en las zonas fronterizas chino-tibetanas impulsó la expansión y renovación de estas instituciones hasta el período contemporáneo. Su docencia se centra en la historia moderna del Tíbet y la compleja relación entre el budismo chino y el tibetano.
Reveals the role Buddhism and Buddhist leaders played in the development of the modern Chinese state and in fostering relations between Tibet and China from the Republican period (1912-1949) to the early years of Communist rule. This book offers insights on the impact of modern ideas of nationalism, race, and religion in East Asia.
The most comprehensive collection of Tibetan works in a Western language, this volume illuminates the complex historical, intellectual, and social development of Tibetan civilization from its earliest beginnings to the modern period. Including more than 180 representative writings, Sources of Tibetan Tradition spans Tibet's vast geography and long history, presenting for the first time a diversity of works by religious and political leaders; scholastic philosophers and contemplative hermits; monks and nuns; poets and artists; and aristocrats and commoners. The selected readings reflect the profound role of Buddhist sources in shaping Tibetan culture while illustrating other major areas of knowledge. Thematically varied, they address history and historiography; political and social theory; law; medicine; divination; rhetoric; aesthetic theory; narrative; travel and geography; folksong; and philosophical and religious learning, all in relation to the unique trajectories of Tibetan civil and scholarly discourse. The editors begin each chapter with a survey of broader social and cultural contexts and introduce each translated text with a concise explanation. Concluding with writings that extend into the early twentieth century, this volume offers an expansive encounter with Tibet's exceptional intellectual heritage.