Christianity in Tibet - 1900s

1900s

Ü-Tsang དབུས་གཙང་

As the 20th century got underway, the Chinese rulers in faraway Beijing were talking about turning Tibet into a province of China, and in the following decades the number of Han people living in the border areas greatly increased. Although it was to be another 50 years before the Chinese achieved their goal, when Communist tanks rolled across central Tibet, this 1908 report foretold what a later generation would experience:

"The Chinese have great changes in view, and contemplate forming the whole of Tibet into a Chinese province.... No doubt the Dalai Lama will be shortly asked to return to his own country. All this portends a speedy and far-extending change over all Tibet."

Although they didn't attempt to reach Lhasa, in July 1906 a small group of three CIM missionaries set out from Kangding in Sichuan Province. They entered Ü-Tsang, or central Tibet, only to find sparsely populated grasslands with occasional tents of nomads dotting the landscape. The missionaries, however, were full of hope for future prospects, with Theo Sorenson of Norway reporting:

"Tibet cannot now be looked upon as entirely closed to missionary effort, as this journey is a practical proof of the possibilities which now lie before the Church. Barriers, hitherto considered insurmountable, have now been removed, and the glorious possibility of possessing the land for the Lord Jesus Christ need not alone be left to the prayer of faith."

The group continued across swollen streams and were drenched by driving rain and mid-summer snow for six days, until they reached a small settlement. Wanting to share the gospel with the local nomads, one of the missionaries and his Tibetan co-worker approached the tents, only to find that "the occupants were too frightened to either buy or accept our books.... It is impossible to approach these tents in any other way than on horseback, as the occupants would set the dogs on to you, suspecting you had come for some evil purpose."

Several days later they reached the village of Dawo, where they happily reported:

"Today Dawo has received the true Light, not preached but distributed, for scarcely a single house will be without a copy of the Gospel. May He from whom the true light shines, cause it to shine in many of these hearts and lives, and hasten the day when the truly awful power of the devil may be broken. Altogether 300 Gospels were distributed.... During the afternoon a great many monks came to see us, sometimes there being as many as a dozen in the room at one time. All accepted Gospels."

When they reached Qamdo (also called Chengguan) on July 25th, they were the first white men anyone had seen. The group was still 370 miles (600 km) east of Lhasa, but after distributing 300 more Tibetan gospel tracts they were content with their exploratory journey, and turned back toward Sichuan, arriving at Kangding 28 days after the start of their trip. They were welcomed back with open arms by the "little church of some 14 Christians, Chinese and Tibetans."

1. Cecil Polhill, "Some Notes on a Journey to the Tibetan Border," China's Millions (August 1908), p. 124.
2. A. H. Sanders, "Forward into Tibet," China's Millions (January 1907), p. 6
3. Horace S. Sanders, "Forward into Tibet," China's Millions (March 1907), p. 44.
4. Sanders, "Forward into Tibet," China's Millions (March 1907), p. 46.