The Thirteenth Dalai Lama

Thupten Gyatso (1876-1933) was the Thirteenth Dalai Lama, and the second to be given the added title of 'Great'. Born in 1876, it was under his leadership that the nation of Tibet made the transition into the 20th century during a time of great political upheaval. Political ties were strengthening between China and Britain, in which unauthorized permission was granted by China for Britain to make expeditions into Tibet. Tibetan authorities refused to allow entry to the British, however British troops invaded Tibet in 1904, ostensibly to prevent the spread of Russian influence in Asia. At this time, the Thirteenth Dalai Lama, Thupten Gyatso assumed power from the regent Choekyi Gyaltsen Kundeling at age 19.

Soon after the British invasion, Thupten Gyatso fled to Mongolia. While in exile, he received a message from the Emperor in Peking requesting him to visit. The Dalai Lama agreed, in hopes of convincing emperor to withdraw his troops. However, when the Dalai Lama returned to Tibet, he found Chinese troops acting on orders of the Chinese government to depose him.

Thupten Gyatso fled once again, this time to India, where he appealed to the British military forces to help Tibet defend itself against China. The British chose to remain neutral, and in 1911, the Imperial rule of China was toppled by a rebellion. This turn of events led to the downfall of Chinese military forces in Lhasa, who were driven out by the renewed Tibetan army in 1912. Soon thereafter, Thupten Gyatso the Thirteenth Dalai Lama declared Tibetan independence from China. In the remaining twenty years of his reign, Thupten Gyatso set about the task of shepherding Tibet into the modern age. He engaged in international relations, installed postal, telephone and telegraph systems, introduced paper currency, constructed a network of roads for automobiles, and provided electric power.

Despite his restoration of monastic discipline, he was met with controversy and criticism from conservative Buddhists. Near the end of his life, he spoke of a prophetic vision of Tibet once again losing its sovereignty to China. Thupten Gyatso died on December 17, 1933.