Introduction

In 1904, the Thirteenth Dalai Lama (thub bstan rgya mtsho, 1876–1933) left Lhasa for Khalkha because of the invasion of the British Indian forces, known as the “Younghusband Expedition” or “Mission.” This began his multi-stop foreign travel around continental Asia, via Qinghai, Shanxi, Beijing, and Darjeeling. He only returned home to Lhasa at the end of 1912, after the confusion of the Xinhai Revolution had settled down. Immediately after his return, he faced the need to adapt Tibet to the system of modern international relations, at least at some level. The conclusion of the Tibet-Mongolia Treaty of 1913 and the proceedings of the Simla Conference represent his struggle for the establishment of Tibet and/or his attempt to secure the Dalai Lama's government as a “modern” state.

In 1909, the Thirteenth Dalai Lama changed his title. He declared that his status should be based only on Buddhism itself, not on the authority of the emperor of the Qing dynasty—thus bringing an end to the “chaplain-donor relationship” between the Dalai Lama and the Qing emperor, which had been maintained since its beginning, the reign of Emperor Shunzhi (1644–1661). It appears that his experience of traveling abroad for almost nine years had given the Thirteenth Dalai Lama the opportunity to cultivate his knowledge of the “modern” and reformed his views of the world.