Tibetan, Central November 16

learned the literary variety of 5 Central .”

•Lhari History: Written records of •Xigaze Medog • Gyangtze• Tibetan history have survived •Gamba from the seventh century AD, INDIA but it is known that nomadic Scale 0 KM 160 tribes roamed Tibet as early Population in : as the second century BC. 569,300 (1987) The cradle of Tibetan 741,000 (2000) civilization is the Yarlung 912,900 (2010) Location: Tibet Valley area, about 80 Religion: kilometers (49 mi.) Christians: 50 southeast of . There, according to tradition, the Overview of the union of a monkey and a Central Tibetans she-devil created the Tibetan Countries: China, India, Bhutan, Nepal, Taiwan, Switzerland, USA, race. Around AD 600 the Norway, France, Australia, warrior-king of Yarlung, Namri United Kingdom Gampo, unified the clans of Pronunciation: “Zung” Tibet. He acquired a princess Other Names: Zang, Wei, Weizang, Bhotia, Phoke, Dbus, Dbustsang, from Nepal and another one Lhasa, , U from China to be his wives. Population Source: Under the persuasion of 569,300 (1987 LAC); Out of a total Tibetan population these two women, he of 4,593,330 (1990 census) Paul Hattaway combined the ancient 120,000 in India (1995); Location: Approximately 740,000 speakers Tibetan religion of with Buddhist 50,000 in Bhutan (1987 D. Bradley); of live in the city of Lhasa teachings. 2,000 in Nepal (1973)1 and surrounding counties in the Tibet Location: Autonomous Region.2 Tourists to Lhasa Customs: For centuries the Chinese have often find the city falls short of the claimed Tibet as an “unalienable part of Status: Officially included under Tibetan mystique they desire, although it has China,” despite Tibetans being culturally, Language: Sino-Tibetan, certainly improved since Thomas Manning’s historically, linguistically, and religiously Tibeto-Burman, Bodic, Bodish, description in the early 1800s: “There is distinct from Chinese. In the 1950s the Tibetan, Central Tibetan Dialects (5): Lhasa, Chushur, nothing striking, nothing pleasing in its Chinese took full control of Tibet. Phanpo, Testhang, Lunrtse appearance. The habitations are begrimed Religion: Tibetan Buddhism, Bon with smut and dirt. The avenues are full of Religion: The Tibetan Buddhist religion is Christians: 50 dogs, some growling and gnawing bits of the life-blood of the Tibetan people. It was Scripture: Bible 1948; New hide which lie about in profusion, and emit placed over the powerful Tibetan religion of Testament 1885; Portions 1862 Jesus film: Available a charnel-house smell; others limping and Bon, which is a mixture of magic, Gospel Recordings: looking livid; others ulcerated; others divination, demon worship, and sacrifices. Lhasa #00690 starving and dying, and pecked at by the The patron saint of Tibet is Chenrezig, Tibetan, Colloquial #04380 ravens; some dead and preyed upon. In whose image has up to 11 heads and from Christian Broadcasting: Available (FEBC) short, everything seems mean and 2 to 1,000 arms. 3 ROPAL code: TIC02 gloomy.” Christianity: Tibet has long been one of the Identity: Although the Tibetans strongly greatest challenges for Christianity. In 1892 Status of Evangelization maintain they are one people and are Hudson Taylor said, “To make converts in 93% opposed to any attempts to classify them Tibet is similar to going into a cave and as separate groups, the Tibetan nationality trying to rob a lioness of her cubs.”6 clearly divides into numerous linguistic Timothy, the Nestorian patriarch in Baghdad components.4 (778–820), referred to Christians in Tibet 6% 1% and indicated he was willing to assign a Language: Central Tibetan — which missionary to them.7 Today there are just A B C contains five dialects — “is more commonly one or two small Tibetan fellowships in 8 A = Have never heard the gospel known as central Bus (transliterated from Lhasa. Would-be missionaries face B = Were evangelized but did not become Christians U, the spoken version of the same word).… opposition from Buddhist monks, the C = Are adherents to any form of Educated people from other areas of Tibet Chinese authorities, and pro-Tibet Christianity traditionally retained their local variety and foreigners living in Tibet.

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