Description
Book SynopsisThe study of taxation is fundamental for understanding the construction of Tibetan polities, the nature of their power – often with a marked religious component – and their relationships with their subjects, as well as the consequences of taxation for social stratification. This volume takes the analysis of taxation in Tibetan societies (both under the Ganden Phodrang and beyond it) in new directions, using hitherto unexploited Tibetan-language sources. It pursues the dual objective of advancing our understanding of the organisation of taxation from an institutional perspective and of highlighting the ways in which taxpayers themselves experienced and represented these fiscal systems. Contributors are Saadet Arslan, John Bray, Kalsang Norbu Gurung, Isabelle Henrion-Dourcy, Berthe Jansen, Diana Lange, Nancy E. Levine, Charles Ramble, Isabelle Riaboff, Peter Schwieger, Alice Travers, and Maria M. Turek.
Table of ContentsContents Note on the Transliteration and Transcription of Tibetan Names and Terms List of Figures and Maps List of Tables Introduction 1 The Tax System in Central and Far East Tibet Towards the End of the Ganden Phodrang Reign: An Outline of Its Structure and Terminology Peter Schwieger 2 A Perspective on the Ganden Phodrang’s Administration of Taxation in the 19th and 20th Centuries Based on Archival Sources Kalsang Norbu Gurung 3 “When You Count, Everything Is There, and When Everything Is There, Everything Vanishes” A Criticism of Tax Collecting in Ngamring District (Rdzong) during the First Half of the 20th Century Alice Travers 4 Traditional Taxation Systems in Western Tibet: A Comparative Perspective Nancy E. Levine 5 Lam Yig—An Official Document Granting Travel Privileges in Tibet Saadet Arslan 6 “My Karma Selected Me to Become A Ferryman”: The Role of Waterways and Watercraft in the Corvée Tax System in Pre-1959 Tibet Diana Lange 7 Performing Tibetan Opera As Khral in the First Half of the 20th Century: In Principle a “Tax”, in Experience a Pervasive Obligation Isabelle Henrion-Dourcy 8 A Preliminary Investigation Into Monk-Tax: The Concept of Grwa Khral/Btsun Khral/Ban Khral and Its Meanings Berthe Jansen 9 Monastic Obligations, Hat Change and Lhasa Encroachment Taxation Rights Among Politico-Religious Shifts in the Kingdom of Nangchen M. Maria Turek 10 “By Ancient Custom and Engagements”: Trade, Taxes and Diplomacy in Ladakh and Western Tibet between the 17th and 20th Centuries John Bray 11 Taxes and Corvées in the Manorial and Monastic Estates of Zangskar (Western Himalayas) Isabelle Riaboff 12 The Fiscal Status of Buddh1ist and Bönpo Institutions in Mustang (Nepal): A Historical Overview Charles Ramble Index
