Zones, Landmarks and Spatialized
Conflict in a NE Tibetan Town
Date and Time: 7 Oct 2016 (Friday), 1:00 – 2:30 pm
Venue: Room 11, Humanities Building, New Asia College, CUHK
Speaker: Mark Stevenson (The Chinese University of Hong Kong)
On 7 Oct 2016, our
department invited Dr. Mark Stevenson to give a talk on “Zones, Landmarks and
Spatialized Conflict in a NE Tibetan Town”. His talk examined inter-ethnic
relations through the lens of the making of public space in Rebkong. Given the
fact that Xining, the capital of Qinghai province locates in the northern
direction of this village, the government thus seems to identify the north part
of the village as newer and more secular space, whereas the south of it as
older and more religious (as the monastery is located in the south).
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Many pictures showed
during the talk spoke for themselves regarding the topic. One picture, with a
statue of Tibetan Buddha standing in the local public square and with a few
Tibetans kowtowed to the Buda, showed how recent a product the public space is
for the locals. The speaker mentioned that there was no public square in Xining
as well until around 2000. This might indicate some less-recognized inner
struggle. The fact that this statue was sponsored by the government of Tianjin
added even more complexity to the story. As many young Tibetans get their
education in big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, Tianjin is the one which
embraced the largest number of Tibetan students from this town, which justifies its
sponsorship. Another picture shows a group of young local Tibetan students
protesting for their right of being educated in Tibetan language right by the
said square. A third picture shows how the village, due to its famous Thangka
artifact, is going to be designed by the government as a “development garden
for art and artists” (青海熱貢藝術工業園區)
which will probably attract more investment and opportunity for the locals, and
at the same time, shape the cultural landscape of the valley in a profound way.
The speaker mentioned
about the connection between public space and the Tibetan protest happened in
2008 as well as the public suicides of the same group happened around 2009 and
2010. Due to the public nature of the square, these suicides may be considered
public events involving witnesses. The creation of new public space (such as
the one with statue) means it can be used by protesters, for whom the public witness
is desired. For example, the picture of protest in the square was immediately
uploaded to internet during the very time and got circulated very soon.
Moreover, the speaker also said that a contest for power/authority has existed
between the secular and the administrative force, which can be seen from the
choosing of local religious head. As “no religion in Tibet does not have a
government behind it”, it is for sure that neither side can be cut clear from
the other; the “connection”, as opposed to the “division” of the two, thus
deserves equal attention of the investigator.
Zoe Duan
MPhil Student,
Department of Anthropology and
Gender Studies Programme,
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
