Xinhai Lhasa turmoil

Resulted from Qing worries about its national interests after 1903 British expedition, the Qing Government sent a military force of 2,000 troops to Tibet, then its protectorate, to increase its authority there in 1910. This caused the 13th Dalai Lama to flee to British India and a rupture in Sino-Tibetan relations. During his absence, China implemented a variety of measures to increase its control over Tibet. Zhang Yintang, an official sent to negotiate with the British government in India, was appointed as the Imperial High Commissioner in Tibet. He introduced a variety of "new deal" reforms in the administration, vastly curtailed the British influence in Tibet, and managed to win over sections of Tibetan population. The Qing amban in Tibet, , had his own reforms to implement, which were said to be considerably less popular. The tensions between them caused Zhang to leave in June 1907. == Qing army mutiny ==

In late 1911, as the Qing dynasty fell apart elsewhere in China, tensions in Lhasa reached a breaking point. Rumors about Han-Tibetan ethnic conflict ran high, and unpaid salaries and power struggles among officers sparked a full-scale mutiny in September 1911. Rebel Qing troops seized weapons and attacked loyalist officers, briefly detaining Lianyu. After the establishment of the Republic of China in January 1912, the Qing troops who mutinied in Lhasa established a public council with the intention of seizing power from the former Qing government's Tibet office. Subsequently, a series of lawless and undisciplined acts occurred among its personnel, including the occupation of Sera Monastery to plunder more property, which aroused the indignation of the Tibetan people.{{Cite journal == Tibetan liberation struggle ==

When news of mutinous troops looting and disturbing the people reached the exiled Dalai Lama, he seized the opportunity to galvanize the Tibetan people. In early April 1912, from his sanctuary in India he issued the '''', urging all Tibetans to rise up against the Qing officers and soldiers' presence. In this proclamation, he framed the proposed uprising as a struggle for Tibetan liberation, noting that the Qing troops had terrorized civilians with plunder and violence, and called on Tibetans to disobey all orders issued by the newly established Chinese republican government. This proclamation had immediate effect: thousands of Tibetans from across the region took up arms. Under leaders appointed by the Dalai Lama (notably the commander Tsarong), Tibetan militias rapidly formed. By mid-April these militia forces, numbering in the tens of thousands, were marching against the Qing garrisons. In April 1912, Qing detachments at Gyantse and Shigatse were encircled by militia forces; the British trade agent David MacDonald negotiated their surrender or escape, and many Qing soldiers fled south into India. Meanwhile, the main Qing column under Colonel ZhongYing found itself besieged in Lhasa. Under Tsarong's direction, Tibetan forces tightened the blockade. == Peace negotiations ==

By the summer of 1912 both sides had endured months of siege and skirmish. On July 3, ZhongYing received a telegram from the Government of China under President YuanShikai, stating that "Commander Zhong can persuade the Dalai Lama to submit... You should try your best to appease them and not kill them indiscriminately, lest we perish together." Zhong and others then telegraphed the Dalai Lama on July 26, "strongly advocating peace to preserve the overall situation." Exhausted and short of supplies, the Tibetans and remaining Qing troops agreed to a ceasefire. In early August 1912 a British representative mediated an armistice. The agreement required the Qing forces to surrender their weapons and promised that Chinese soldiers would leave Lhasa in stages. After the successful negotiation, on September 3, Zhong learned that he had been appointed as the Chief of the Tibet Office, a position equivalent to that of the former Qing amban in Tibet, by the Government of China on May 9. He then remained in Lhasa as his new position. However, this first truce quickly fell apart. Tibetan leaders insisted that all Chinese officers, including Zhong, and military men depart the region, a demand which the Chinese could not accept. On September 16, the Government of China sent a telegram to Zhong and others, ordering them to "reaffirm their adherence to the agreement and safeguard Chinese territorial sovereignty. They must not hastily leave Tibet, lest they incur the blame of abandoning territory." Hostilities flared up again on 24 September 1912. By then, most of the Qing troops had already marched away due to the previous peace negotiation, leaving only about 200 soldiers to defend Lhasa. Surrounded and outnumbered, for nearly two months the garrison made a desperate stand against the Tibetan militia. By early November the remaining defenders were compelled to sue for peace once more. On 14 November 1912 a second armistice was concluded. The agreement allowed Chinese civilians (merchants and their families) to remain if they wished, but it unequivocally required the military and governing personnel to withdraw. Zhong accepted these conditions and led his remaining troops out of Lhasa on 12 December 1912. In the months that followed he briefly lingered near the Yunnan border, but under Dalai Lama pressure he departed Tibet in April 1913. Zhong's exit marked the end of any Chinese military and political presence in Lhasa and effectively in Tibet as a whole. == Aftermath ==

With the Tibetan victory, Tibet entered a new era of de facto independence. In January 1913, Agvan Dorzhiev and three other Tibetan representatives signed a treaty between Tibet and Mongolia in Urga, proclaiming mutual recognition and their independence from China. However, The British diplomat Charles Bell wrote that the 13th Dalai Lama told him that he had not authorized Agvan Dorzhiev to conclude any treaties on behalf of Tibet. The Dalai Lama also began implementing new policies, including the first issuance of paper money, the issuance of Snow Lion stamps, and the establishment of a modern postal system. The Tibetan government also began to solidify Tibet’s borders. In 1913–14 Tibetan envoys joined talks in Simla under British auspices to delimit the frontier with India, and in 1917 Tibet launched campaigns into Kham, known as the , to seize territories from the Sichuan clique. ==See also==