Years In Tibet Research Articles

Travelling and Transgressive Experiences: An Anthropological-cum-Ethnographical Study of Heinrich Harrer’s Seven Years in Tibet and Noo Saro Wiwa’s Looking for Transwonderland: Travels in Nigeria

The purpose of the present study is to analyze Heinrich Harrer’s Seven Years in Tibet (1953) and Noo-Saro-Wiwa’s Looking for Transwonderland: Travels in Nigeria (2012) using interpretive frameworks of anthropology and ethnography. Harrer’s work is a travel book based on the author’s personal experiences in Tibet and his encounter with contemporary Tibetan culture, and Noo-Saro-Wiwa’s work is an account of her journey to Nigeria which is her father’s country. Using anthropology as an interpretive framework, the study seeks to contextualize the aforementioned narratives as transgressive practices. The study also emphasizes how people and events shape the writer's imagination.

The predictive equations of resting metabolic rate for Tibetan adolescents aged 13-18 in Tibet, China.

The resting metabolic rate (RMR) predictive equations suitable for Tibetan adolescents in Tibet, China, were developed to provide a reference for their reasonable energy intake. We measured RMR by indirect calorimetry and body composition by bioelectrical impedance analysis in 325 Tibetan adolescents aged 13-18 years in Tibet, China. Stepwise regression analysis was used to develop the predictive equations. Pearson correlation analysis, paired sample t test, bias rate, concordance correlation coefficient (CCC) and Bland-Altman were used to verify the validity of the predictive equations. The R2 of Model 8 (0.642) was larger than Model 2 (boys, 0.642; girls, 0.533) and Model 7 (0.540), and Model 10 (0.534) was larger than Model 4 (boys, 0.531; girls, 0.443) and Model 9 (0.477).Compared with the existing predictive equations, the correlation (0.68-0.84) between the predicted values and the measured values, CCC (0.74-0.81) and consistency (Similar proportions within the upper and lower limits but lower differences) were higher and the bias rate (-1.0%to -2.5%) and root mean square error (207.4-263.7kcal/day) were lower in this study. By comprehensive comparison, Model 8 and Model 10 were more valid. The existing predictive equations cannot accurately predict the RMR of Tibetan adolescents in Tibet, China. In this study, the age segmentation predictive equations with age, sex, and fat free mass (FFM) as independent variables were more valid. The predictive equations were as follows: RMR (kcal/day)=50.1 × FFM (kg)-202.8 × Sex (F: 0; M: 1)-72.1 × Age + 930.3, 13-15 years; RMR (kcal/day)=58.4 × FFM (kg)-441.1 × Sex (F: 0; M: 1)-702.2, 16-18 years.

An Obituary for “Wisdom Literature”: The Birth, Death, and Intertextual Reintegration of a Biblical Corpus

An Obituary for “Wisdom Literature”: The Birth, Death, and Intertextual Reintegration of a Biblical Corpus

Yeshi Dhonden: personal physician to the 14th Dalai Lama

Credit: The Tibetan Herbal Clinic, India Yeshi Dhonden, the foremost Tibetan doctor in the world, has died from respiratory failure at his residence in Dharamsala, northern India, surrounded by his...

Three thousand years in Tibet.

Three thousand years in Tibet.

Prevalence of pulmonary tuberculosis in Tibet Autonomous Region, China, 2014.

<sec> <title>SETTING</title> Tibet Autonomous Region, China. </sec> <sec> <title>OBJECTIVES</title> To determine the prevalence of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) in Tibet. </sec> <sec> <title>DESIGN</title> We conducted a population-based, cross-sectional survey among residents aged ≥15 years in Tibet, China, in 2014. A door-to-door survey was conducted for each randomly selected cluster, followed by a screening interview and a chest X-ray (CXR). Those with symptoms of TB and/or abnormal CXR underwent sputum microscopy testing and culture. </sec> <sec> <title>RESULTS</title> Of 31 527 eligible residents, 30 113 (95.5%) participated, 215 of whom were active TB cases, including 49 (22.8%) known cases. Adjusted prevalence of smear-positive, bacteriologically positive and all pulmonary TB cases was respectively 8 (95%CI 62-97), 144 (95%CI 107-152) and 758 (95%CI 662-766) per 100 000 population. This represented a decline of 37% in the prevalence of active cases, and of 21.3% in smear-positive cases compared with a 1990 survey. About 51.3% of bacteriologically positive TB patients in Tibet showed no symptoms. </sec> <sec> <title>CONCLUSION</title> We observed a sharp decline in TB prevalence and a low rate of bacteriologically positive cases among all active patients. The low proportion of known cases in the survey reflected possible underdetection by the National TB Programme. </sec>.

Competition among the attentional networks due to resource reduction in Tibetan indigenous residents: evidence from event-related potentials

This study used the attention network test (ANT) to evaluate the alerting, orienting, and executive network efficiencies of attention related to indigenous residents who were born and raised until early adulthood in different high-altitude areas (2900-m, 3700-m, and 4200-m) at the same location (3700-m) where these residents had been living for approximately 2 years in Tibet. We further applied the event-related potential (ERP) method to identify the underlying neurophysiological basis. Based on the ANT, we found that, in the 4200-m residents, executive function was increased but the orienting function was decreased, and the executive and orienting network scores were oppositely correlated. The behavioral findings were supported by the ERP data, showing that the P3 amplitude changes indicated that the executive function was over-active under conflict conditions and that the N1 amplitude change indicated a decreased orienting function in the 4200-m residents. In addition, the changed P3 amplitudes were significantly correlated with intelligence performance across the residents only in the 4200-m group. The present study provided evidence for competition among the attentional networks due to high-altitude exposure in indigenous residents, and showed the existence of a threshold of the influence of high altitudes on attentional function in the brain.

Ippolito Desideri: An Experience of Theological and Psychological Transformation

During his years in Tibet (1717–1722), the Jesuit missionary Ippolito Desideri succeeded in extracting a very precise definition of the metaphysical absolute from the texts of the "Middle Way" Buddhist philosophers that he was able to study in the Gelugpa academies thanks to his rapid mastery of the Tibetan language. Nevertheless, it is just this kind of absolute that the "central philosophy of Tibet" (Mādhyamika-Prāsangika) firmly negates with its assertion of the absence of inherent metaphysical substrate (nihsvabhava) in both the relative (samvrttisatya) and absolute (paramārthasatya) dimensions of reality. Employing an original strategy based on his own intellectual and intuitive orientation, Desideri sought out a Tibetan linguistic structure that might be analogous to the Thomist-Suaresian-Aristotelian notion of God-as-Absolute in which he had been trained at the Roman College. In order to do this, he delved into an interpretation of śūnyatā (the Buddhist term for the metaphysical voidness of phenomena) aimed at asserting its convergence with the notion of the contingency and dependence of the created order recognized in Baroque Scholasticism. In so doing, Desideri began to articulate views already known to the Tibetan Gelugpa scholars in their long struggle against the ideas of Dolpopa Shes rab rGyal mtshan (1292–1361), founder of the Jonang school, which asserted the necessarily permanent existence of voidness as an absolute. This voidness-absolute, devoid of all that is contingent, is the metaphysical basis in the Jonang system for the attainment of enlightenment. Developing his own responses to the doctrine of voidness as articulated in the Tibetan translations of the works of Nāgārjuna, Desideri underwent a transformation with both theological and psychological features, not without manifesting elements of human frailty.

Cause-specific mortality for 240 causes in China during 1990–2013: a systematic subnational analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013

China has experienced a remarkable epidemiological and demographic transition during the past three decades. Far less is known about this transition at the subnational level. Timely and accurate assessment of the provincial burden of disease is needed for evidence-based priority setting at the local level in China. Following the methods of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013 (GBD 2013), we have systematically analysed all available demographic and epidemiological data sources for China at the provincial level. We developed methods to aggregate county-level surveillance data to inform provincial-level analysis, and we used local data to develop specific garbage code redistribution procedures for China. We assessed levels of and trends in all-cause mortality, causes of death, and years of life lost (YLL) in all 33 province-level administrative units in mainland China, all of which we refer to as provinces, for the years between 1990 and 2013. All provinces in mainland China have made substantial strides to improve life expectancy at birth between 1990 and 2013. Increases ranged from 4.0 years in Hebei province to 14.2 years in Tibet. Improvements in female life expectancy exceeded those in male life expectancy in all provinces except Shanghai, Macao, and Hong Kong. We saw significant heterogeneity among provinces in life expectancy at birth and probability of death at ages 0-14, 15-49, and 50-74 years. Such heterogeneity is also present in cause of death structures between sexes and provinces. From 1990 to 2013, leading causes of YLLs changed substantially. In 1990, 16 of 33 provinces had lower respiratory infections or preterm birth complications as the leading causes of YLLs. 15 provinces had cerebrovascular disease and two (Hong Kong and Macao) had ischaemic heart disease. By 2013, 27 provinces had cerebrovascular disease as the leading cause, five had ischaemic heart disease, and one had lung cancer (Hong Kong). Road injuries have become a top ten cause of death in all provinces in mainland China. The most common non-communicable diseases, including ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and cancers (liver, stomach, and lung), contributed much more to YLLs in 2013 compared with 1990. Rapid transitions are occurring across China, but the leading health problems and the challenges imposed on the health system by epidemiological and demographic change differ between groups of Chinese provinces. Localised health policies need to be implemented to tackle the diverse challenges faced by local health-care systems. China National Science & Technology Pillar Program 2013 (2013BAI04B02) and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Study on Tibetan Film: focusing on 'Seven years in Tibet'

Study on Tibetan Film: focusing on 'Seven years in Tibet'

Tibet in Debate: Narrative Construction and Misrepresentations in Seven Years in Tibet and Red River Valley

Cet article propose une analyse comparative de la construction des discours sur le Tibet et les Tibétains en « Occident » et en Chine. Il suggère que les films de propagande chinois comme les films hollywoodiens pro-tibétains mettent en place des perceptions orientalistes et essentialistes d’un Tibet imaginé et idéalisé, omettant ainsi la situation sociale, politique, économique ou même écologique telle qu’elle est vécue par les Tibétains en Chine. Les représentations cinématographiques participant grandement à la formation des imaginaires modernes, cette analyse illustre ainsi le fait que la question du Tibet n’est pas un vrai débat mais bien plus un champ de bataille politique qui mène à une impasse internationale et locale.

Temporal-spatial climate change in the last 35 years in Tibet and its geo-environmental consequences

The climate change in Tibet has induced complex water resource and geo-environmental changes. Tibet is located in a unique geographical zone with the characteristics of middle-low latitude, high altitude and very low average air temperature, and the climate there has been changed both in time and in space under the effect of global warming. Except for two regions without data, the changes of both air temperature and rainfall in the last 35 years in Tibet exhibit evident zonational patterns. In general, air temperature increases higher from east to west, whereas rainfall changes from decrease to increase from south to north. Except for some areas in southern Tibet, the general increase of rainfall accelerated the rate of water cycle, and caused an increase in the gross amount of water resources in Tibet. Moreover, under the impact of climate change, the frequency of occurrence of landslide and debris flow has slightly increased in the high mountain–canyon regions of eastern Tibet. Also, the debris flow due to ice lake outburst has evidently increased in the plateau mountain–lake basin regions of southern Tibet. By contrast, desertification in the western plateau–lake basin regions of northern Tibet has been intensified.

Combined view of various tree ring parameters from different forest habitats in Tibet for the reconstruction of seasonal aspects of Asian Monsoon variability

Tibetan forests cover a wide range of ecological habitats. Three different types of tree limit can be derived from statistical climate-growth relationships: An alpine timberline, where growth is limited by temperature conditions, a semiarid tree limit, where available moisture is the minimum factor for tree growth, and dry, southfacing exposures near the upper treeline, where growth can be limited as well by temperature as by moisture conditions. Trees at each of these sites, which belong to the genera Pinus, Picea, Abies and Juniperus are sensitive to specific seasonal climatic elements e.g., summer precipitation, summer or winter temperature. The potential for the selective reconstruction of different seasonal aspects of climate is enhanced by considering different tree ring parameters like total ring width (TRW), maximum latewood density (MLD), wood anatomy and the content of δ13C in wood cellulose. The combination of these seasonal climate-related parameters provides a more comprehensive view of climate variability over the year, allowing the reconstruction of synoptic weather conditions. These are much better indicators for wind system dynamics and monsoon variability than one single meteorological factor alone. Since juniper can reach living ages of more than 1300 years in Tibet, dendroclimatological studies offer the possibility to reconstruct monsoon variability on the Tibetan Plateau and adjacent regions during the last millennium.

&lt;sc&gt;Seven Years in Tibet&lt;/sc&gt;. Produced and directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud; screenplay by Becky Johnston, based on the book by Heinrich Harrer. 1997; color; 139 minutes. Distributor: Sony Pictures Entertainment/TriStar and &lt;sc&gt;Kundun&lt;/sc&gt;. Produced by Barbara De Fina; directed by Martin Scorsese; screenplay by Melissa Mathison, based on the life story of the Dalai Lama. 1997; color; 128 minutes. Distributor: Buena Vista

&lt;sc&gt;Seven Years in Tibet&lt;/sc&gt;. Produced and directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud; screenplay by Becky Johnston, based on the book by Heinrich Harrer. 1997; color; 139 minutes. Distributor: Sony Pictures Entertainment/TriStar and &lt;sc&gt;Kundun&lt;/sc&gt;. Produced by Barbara De Fina; directed by Martin Scorsese; screenplay by Melissa Mathison, based on the life story of the Dalai Lama. 1997; color; 128 minutes. Distributor: Buena Vista

Kundun

Kundun

Correction: My Seven Years in Tibet

Correction: My Seven Years in Tibet

My Seven Years in Tibet

My Seven Years in Tibet

Seven Years in Tibet

Seven Years in Tibet

Twenty Years in Tibet.

Twenty Years in Tibet.

New books

Abstract EUROPE. Early Burgh Organisation in Scotland : As Illustrated in the History of Glasgow and of Some Neighbouring Burghs. Vol. II. Rutherglen, Lanark, Prestwick, Newton‐upon‐Ayr, Ayr. By David Murray. Glasgow: Jackson, Wylie and Co., 1932. Price 25s. Days and Ways of a Scottish Angler. By Henry Lamond. London : Philip Allan and Co. Ltd., 1932. Price 12s. 6d. The Survey Gazetteer of the British Isles. Eighth Edition. Edinburgh : John Bartholomew and Son Ltd., 1932. Price 35s. Isle, Ben and Loch : From the Clyde to Skye. By S. Heckstall Smith. London : Edward Arnold and Co., 1932. Price 10s. 6d. Orkney : The Magnetic North. By J. Gunn. London : Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd., 1932. Price 3s. 6d. The Map of England. By Colonel Sir Charles Close. London: Peter Davies Ltd., 1932. Price 6s. net. Venice : Its Story, Architecture, and Art. By Arnold Lunn. The Italian Lakes and Lakeland Cities. By Arnold Lunn. London : George G. Harrap and Co. Ltd., 1932. Price 5s. each. The Geography of the Mediterranean Region : Its Relation to Ancient History. By Ellen Churchill Semple, M.A., LL.D., Late Professor of Anthropo‐geography at Clark University, Worcester, Mass. London : Constable and Co. Ltd., 1932. Price 21s. net. Alps and Men. By G. R. de Beer. London : Edward Arnold and Co., 1932. Price 16s. Denmark and the Danes. By Ethel Carlton Williams. London : Methuen and Co. Ltd., 1932. Price 7s. 6d. “ Scottish Mountaineering Club's Guide Books “ :—(1) The Northern Highlands, by W. N. Ling. (2) The Western Highlands, by James A. Parker. Edinburgh : Scottish Mountaineering Club, 1932. Price 4s. and 6s. A Wayfarer on the Rivieras. By E. A. Robson. London : Methuen and Co. Ltd., 1932. Price 7s. 6d. The Geology of the Cheviot Hills. By R. G. Carruthers, G. A. Burnett, and W. Anderson. London : H.M. Stationery Office, 1932. Price 4s. Three Lands on Three Wheels. By Jan and Cora Gordon. London : George G. Harrap and Co. Ltd., 1932. Price 12s. 6d. Greek Cities. By Peter Anthony Hutton. London : J. M. Dent and Sons Ltd, 1932. Price 10s. 6d. The Pyrenees, French and Spanish. By E. Allison Peers. The “Kit Bag” Travel Books. London: George G. Harrap and Co. Ltd., 1932. Price 7s. 6d. ASIA. Land and Labour in China. By E. H, Tawney. London; G. Allen and Unwin Ltd., 1932. Price 7s. 6d. Frontiers. By Sir George Dunbar, Bt. London : Ivor Nicholson and Watson Ltd., 1932. Price 16s. net. Burma and Beyond. By Sir J. George Scott. London : Grayson and Grayson, 1932. Price 18s. Land of the Gold Mohur. By Lady Lowther. London : Philip Allan and Co. Ltd., 1932. Price 12s. 6d. By Desert Ways to Indian Snows. By Alexander Jacob Reynolds. London : Unicorn Press, 1932. Price 15s. Twenty Years in Tibet. By David Macdonald. London : Seeley, Service and Co. Ltd., 1932. Price 18s. Through the Kara Sea. By Leonard Matters. London : Skeffington, 1932. Price 18s. AFRICA. The Stone Age Cultures of Kenya Colony. By L. S. B. Leakey. Cambridge : At the University Press, 1931. Price 25s. AMERICA. Up the Amazon and over the Andes. By Violet O. Cressy‐Marks, F.R.A.S., F.R.G.S., F.Z.S. London: Hodder and Stoughton Ltd., 1932. Price 12s.6d. Fall of the Inca Empire. By Philip Ainsworth Mearns. New York and London : Charles Scribner's Sons, 1932. Price 21s. OCEANIA. Fiji and the Fijians. By G. C. Henderson. Sydney : Angus and Robertson, 1931. Price 25s. The Journal of Thomas Williams. By G. C. Henderson. Two Vols. Sydney : Angus and Robertson, 1931. Price 42s. POLAR. The Call of the North. By H. H. Houben. Translated by H. J. Stenning. London : Elkin Mathews and Marrot, 1932. Price 15s. Northern Lights: The Official Account of the British Arctic Air Route Expedition, 1930–31. By F. S. Chapman. London: Chatto and Windus, 1932. Price 18s. net. The Conquest of the South Pole. By J. G. Hayes. London : Thornton Butterworth Ltd., 1932. Price 18s. net. GENERAL. Early Astronomy and Cosmogony. By C. P. S. Menon. London : George Allen and Unwin Ltd., 1932. Price 10s. net. Red Sea Nights. By W. J. Makin. London : Jarrolds, 1932. Price 12s. 6d. The Great Age of Discovery. Edited by A. P. Newton, M.A., D.Litt. London : The University of London Press Ltd., 1932. Price 15s. net. Nansen. By E. E. Reynolds. London : Geoffrey Bles, 1932. Price 10s. 6d. net.