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> But I wouldn’t be surprised if, at some point in the future, the Han started a systematic Han-ization of Tibet. Well, practically speaking, it already starte

> But I wouldn’t be surprised if, at some point in the future, the Han started a systematic Han-ization of Tibet. Well, practically speaking, it already started a long time ago, although the colonization wasn't as intensive (after all, not many people would find the Himalayan conditions agreeable). Also, even Tibetans themselves speak less and less Tibetan, everything is in Chinese, your school, your job, everything except the language your grandfather spoke, so you basically become a Chinese.

archibaldJ 5y ago
I lived in Lhasa with my ex girlfriend for a while (2016~2017). In a strange occasion via a Tibetan friend of mine I met a British photographer in his 60s/70s who was one of the few foreigners granted permanent residency in Tibet. (He showed me his residency ID and it was a yellow-ish paper issued in the 1980s.) Anyway long story short, he jokingly told me that my friend (who's a doctor in a Tibetan hospital) is one of the few remaining good men in Lhasa as most local (middle-age) men just drink and play ཤོ (Sho, a Tibetan gambling dice game) everyday. This reminded me of the theory that the increase in opium addiction during Qing dynasty was partly due to how deteriorating and none-spiritually-inspiring the late Chinese imperial system was. People were not motiviated in the first place so a regular activity that relieves stress became more of a coping mechanism. Social-economically, Lhasa does become more and more like another modern Chinese city. Less and less spiritualism can be found in the local's acitivties. Everything is more and more money-oriented. (You can still see Tibetan pilgrimages near Potala Palace but these are not the local Lhasa population). As a programmer and someone who studies Buddhism, I'm actually surprised how few Tibetan programmers there are. I have always seen coding as a form of meditation. Since Tibet is under Chinese ruling now (whether we like it or not), I do hope there are more Chinese/Tibetan intuitives to introduce programming to meditation practitioners.
- ksec 5y ago
  >Anyway long story short, he jokingly told me that my friend (who's a doctor in a Tibetan hospital) is one of the few remaining good men in Lhasa as most local (middle-age) men just drink and play ཤོ (Sho, a Tibetan gambling dice game) everyday. This is spot on. Along with lots of other benefits and money directly or indirectly flowing into their hands. Keep them entertained, well fed.

archibaldJ 5y ago

I lived in Lhasa with my ex girlfriend for a while (2016~2017). In a strange occasion via a Tibetan friend of mine I met a British photographer in his 60s/70s who was one of the few foreigners granted permanent residency in Tibet. (He showed me his residency ID and it was a yellow-ish paper issued in the 1980s.) Anyway long story short, he jokingly told me that my friend (who's a doctor in a Tibetan hospital) is one of the few remaining good men in Lhasa as most local (middle-age) men just drink and play ཤོ (Sho, a Tibetan gambling dice game) everyday. This reminded me of the theory that the increase in opium addiction during Qing dynasty was partly due to how deteriorating and none-spiritually-inspiring the late Chinese imperial system was. People were not motiviated in the first place so a regular activity that relieves stress became more of a coping mechanism. Social-economically, Lhasa does become more and more like another modern Chinese city. Less and less spiritualism can be found in the local's acitivties. Everything is more and more money-oriented. (You can still see Tibetan pilgrimages near Potala Palace but these are not the local Lhasa population). As a programmer and someone who studies Buddhism, I'm actually surprised how few Tibetan programmers there are. I have always seen coding as a form of meditation. Since Tibet is under Chinese ruling now (whether we like it or not), I do hope there are more Chinese/Tibetan intuitives to introduce programming to meditation practitioners.

ksec 5y ago
>Anyway long story short, he jokingly told me that my friend (who's a doctor in a Tibetan hospital) is one of the few remaining good men in Lhasa as most local (middle-age) men just drink and play ཤོ (Sho, a Tibetan gambling dice game) everyday. This is spot on. Along with lots of other benefits and money directly or indirectly flowing into their hands. Keep them entertained, well fed.