China Tibetology Research Center

China Tibetology Research Center

The China Tibetology Research Center (Chinese: 中国藏学研究中心; Tibetan: ཀྲུང་གོའི་བོད་རིག་པ་ཞིབ་འཇུག་ལྟེ་གནས།; Wylie: Krung go'i bod rig pa zhib 'jug lte gnas) is a state academic research organization in Beijing, China devoted to the study of Tibet (Tibetology). It studies all aspects of Tibet including subjects related to everyday life in Tibetan areas (economy, ecology etc.).[1][2][3] It has been criticized as an instrument of Chinese government propaganda.[4]

Founding

The China Tibetology Research Center was founded in Beijing on May 20, 1986.[1][5] It focuses on the study of Tibetan culture, the history, current situation and future of the Tibet Autonomous Region and the Tibetan areas of Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces, and is "dedicated to the protection and development of Tibetan culture, contacting scholars in domestic Tibetan institutions, promoting academic exchanges and cooperation, and prospering the cause of Tibetan studies."[6]

CTRC is administered by a Director General's Council composed of the Director General and the Deputy Director General. The Academic Council is an academic advisory and deliberation body.[7] The operational departments carry out academic research and other work mainly through undertaking projects. The Center hosts the National Beijing Seminar on Tibetology, the Everest Forum on Tibetology, as well as the selection of the Everest Prize for China's Tibetology, the Coordination Meeting for Tibetan Studies, and other activities. The Center also edits and publishes the China Tibetology Yearbook and the China Tibetology (Chinese: 《中国藏学》) magazine, and runs the China Tibetology website.[8][9]

Subdivisions

Five research institutes comprise the scholarly core of the Chinese Tibetology Research Center. They are:

  • Institute for Social and Economic Studies
  • Institute for History Studies
  • Institute for Religious Studies
  • Institute for Contemporary Tibetan Studies
  • Institute for Tibetan Medicine Studies.

Additionally, the Center also manages the China Tibetology Publishing House, the Kanjur and Tanjur Collation Bureau, the Beijing Tibetan Medical Center, the China Tibetology press and the Center's Library.

Activities

International collaboration and academic exchange are key activities of the Chinese Tibetology Research Center. The Center has successfully held three international seminars for Tibetan studies. In 2001, about 220 scholars from 14 countries attended the Beijing International Seminar for Tibetan Studies. Since the year 2000, the Center has hosted about 230 scholars, diplomats and journalists from 40 countries.[10] The 7th Beijing International Symposium on Tibetan Studies, co-organized by the China Association for the Protection and Development of Tibetan Culture, the China Tibetology Research Center, and the Tibet Autonomous Region Academy of Social Sciences, opened on August 14, 2023, in Beijing. The event, themed "Prosperous Development of Tibetan Studies and an Open Tibet," brought together 320 scholars from China and abroad.[11]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Du, Yongbin (October 2011). "Tibetology in contemporary China: current situation and characteristics". Asian Ethnicity. 12 (3): 249–264. doi:10.1080/14631369.2011.605541. ISSN 1463-1369.
  2. ^ China. 国家民委 (2006). 中国民族 (in Chinese). 民族团结杂芝社. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
  3. ^ 四川藏学硏究 (in Chinese). 中国藏学出版社. 1993. ISBN 978-7-80057-096-4. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
  4. ^ Socktsang, Lobe; Tashishar, Lhundup (August 16, 2023). "Beijing's Tibetan studies seminar serves as 'propaganda tool,' critics say". Radio Free Asia. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  5. ^ 中国藏学研究中心 (1996). 中国藏学 (in Chinese). 中国藏学出版社. p. 4. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
  6. ^ "中国藏学研究中心概况". 中国藏学网.
  7. ^ 中国西藏的历史地位 (in Chinese). 五洲傳播出版社. 1997. p. 257. ISBN 978-7-80113-303-8. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
  8. ^ 中国藏学史: 1949年前. 20世纪人文学术史硏究丛书 (in Chinese). 民族出版社. 2003. p. 28. ISBN 978-7-105-03521-2. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
  9. ^ 西藏的语言与社会. 21世纪中国民族问题丛书 (in Chinese). Social Sciences Literature Press. 2018. p. 41. ISBN 978-7-5097-9403-6. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
  10. ^ 中国西藏 (in Chinese). 五洲传播出版社. 2004. p. 137. ISBN 978-7-5085-0607-4. Retrieved 2024-08-25.
  11. ^ "第七届北京国际藏学研讨会在京开幕". 中国政协网 (in Chinese). 2023-08-15. Retrieved 2024-08-25.