A Prism to View the Past and Present

Chakdu： A Saga of Tibet

Author： Alai

Paperback， 328 pages

Published by Long River Press

Historically， Chakdu was a tiny place in Kham， one of thethree traditional Tibetan-inhabited regions. Today， it is knownas Xinlong， a county in Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture，Sichuan Province， which holds a strategic position on the maintransportation route from Sichuan into Xizang （Tibet）. The Khampas，people of Kham， are known for their fighting fitness， and theChakdu people are the fittest of the fit. Locals would proudly say，“The Chakdu people are made of iron.”

The author Alai is a household name with numerous works offiction and nonfiction to his credit， and a winner of the Mao DunLiterature Prize， one of China’s top literary awards. Born in theTibetan area of Sichuan， Alai gained a reputation with his novelRed Poppies ， known for its lyrical， poetic language， and deepgrounding in Tibetan culture and society.

Chakdu： A Saga of Tibet ， written after years of research， offersa panoramic view of modern Xizang history. Clashes betweencultures and ethnic groups occasionally happen but the problemis that some people tend to regard any problem related to Xizangas a “failure” of Han-Tibetan relations.

This book seeks to address general misunderstandings andgive readers a true picture of the interactions between the Hanand Tibetan people through the 20th century into the 21st. Alaiskillfully reconstructs the wars， conflicts， and vicissitudes of thelocality over the past 200 years. The result is a fascinating microhistory"of the region： its sagas， legends， and everyday life.

The ten chapters trace the past of Chakdu， going beyondfolklores to cover real history. The events they chronicle haveall occurred and involved many historical personages， includingEmperor Daoguang of the Qing Dynasty （1644-1911） and hisminister Qishan.

Anyone moderately acquainted with Chinese history will recallQishan， the capitulationist imperial commissioner during the FirstOpium War （1840-1842）. Qishan was cashiered by Emperor Daoguangfor approaching the British and signing unequal treatieswith them in Guangzhou. However， he was reinstated as grandminister resident of Xizang and later appointed governor-generalof Sichuan.

Qishan’s trip from Xizang to his new post in Sichuan wasimpeded by a group of Tibetan “jiaba” （bandits） who held thethoroughfare linking Sichuan and Xizang in today’s Garze. Qishanadvocated action to suppress them and the Qing court collaboratedwith the Tibetan local administration to overthrow theseparatist regime， leaving a series of legendary stories in history

Today， it takes less than a day to drive from the KangdingAirport in Garze to Xinlong County. The once isolated towns andvillages are now connected by paved roads.

Tourism is being developed， the resources being the mountainsand gorges that the Qing troops found insurmountable inthe past. The once formidable stockades and fortifications arealso tourist attractions， with the passage of time having giventhem an archaic charm. The culture of the fierce Khampas is partof the explorations as well.

In today’s Xinlong， the farmers mostly wear modern clothing.If a man wearing traditional Tibetan clothes and sporting a plaitthreaded with red strips comes into view， your local guide willnudge you and say， “Look， here comes a real Khampa hunk！”

In writing this book， the author has relied on two kinds of materials：the history and archives of Qing， and the records madeby native intellectuals. The native historical sources are of greatvalue in that they stand independent of the official narrative. Asthe author points out， Chakdu is kept alive by and among thelocal people in the form of oral history or storytelling. Many vividdetails are preserved intact in the stories that have been passedfrom mouth to mouth.

Another characteristic of folk literature is the polyphonicnarrative where multiple viewpoints and discourses on the sameevent exist， and they have all been presented in the book. Besides，the author explored the relevant villages and battlefields toget a sense of the place in which each story is set. It turned outto be a very rewarding tour， as it helped the autho r to find moreconnections between the past and the present.

History is a prism through which we can contemplate thepresent. Chakdu is a small area but its past holds a per tinentlesson in contemporary times. After all， “all history is contemporaryhistory.”