A Study On Gao Changzhu And Tibetan Affairs

Tibet has always been the focus of the central governments throughout Chinese history because of its special geographical location and religious status.There was no exception in the period of the Republic of China.Both the Beijing government which was busy with the struggle for power,and the national government which was in unceasing conflicts with the Communist Party,had never given up the ownership of Tibet,and tried to strengthen the ties with Tibet by sending envoys there,so as to eliminate the gap and restore the friendly relations between the two sides.Especially in the first half of the 1930s,the relationship between Nanjing National Government and Tibetan local government was improved significantly,making the recovery of the friendly relations between the two parties more possible.However,the demise of the 13th Dalai Lama triggered the turbulence in Tibet,which was beyond the reach of the Ninth Panchen Lama who was far away in the mainland.Additionally,the British Colonial Government's interference and provocation,and the outbreak of the full-scale anti-Japanese war worsened the situation,making the relationship tense again.Finally,under the continuous efforts of the National Government,Wu Zhongxin went to Tibet in person without taking a single weapon during the 14th Dalai Lama's enthronement,and set up the Tibet Office of the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission,thus re-establishing the bridge of communication between the central government and Tibet.The relationship between the two sides began to improve.Based on reports,archives and other historical materials,this paper looked into the processes of recovery and improvement of the relationship between the National Government and Tibetan local government in the 1930s and analyzed the principles and measures to be followed in the management of the frontier regions,from the perspective of Gao Changzhu who participated in those processes,and through the elaboration of his two journeys to Tibet.This article will analyze and elaborate mainly from the following parts:The first part will demonstrate a systematic introduction to the life and important experience of Gao Changzhu,which can help to understand why Gao was successfully included in the envoys to the homage on the demise of the 13th Dalai and accomplished his first journey.The second part will analyze and explain the reasons,processes,and results of the first journey,as well as its influence on the second journey.The third part will focus on the reasons,processes and results of Gao's second journey to Tibet,and especially analyze the reasons why he was hindered from taking over Jiang Zhiyu's role.The fourth part will mainly introduce the book of Gao Changzhu,Proceedings of Issues on Frontier Regions,especially the long-term principles and measures in the book,and the evaluation of the book by people of the time.As a member of the military and political personnel of the Republic of China,Gao Changzhu spared no pains to visit the frontier regions such as the northwest and Tibet.Although he had a personal ideal,this made him associated with the Tibetan affairs of the 1930s.Because of his experience in Tibet,some of the policies and measures Gao proposed,as well as the Proceedings of Issues on Frontier Regions,were of great significance for understanding the central and Tibetan local relations during the Republican period.