Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

ariel · 25th October 2021, 02:21 PM

Excellent!
Dating Tibetan swords is a bitch: they stayed the same for centuries.And those from the temples never “aged”.

Currently, Tibet is kind of Shangri La, lost oasis of pacifism and contemplative wisdom.
But for centuries it was aggressive and militaristic society. This image was changed by the current Dalai Lama, who wished to mobilize Western opinion against Chinese occupation. It was a brilliant public relations campaign.

An interesting, although somewhat cynical view of that was presented by Lydia Aran “ Inventing Tibet”. Google it, it is a pretty short article.

25th October 2021, 02:21 PM	#7
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	Excellent! Dating Tibetan swords is a bitch: they stayed the same for centuries.And those from the temples never “aged”. Currently, Tibet is kind of Shangri La, lost oasis of pacifism and contemplative wisdom. But for centuries it was aggressive and militaristic society. This image was changed by the current Dalai Lama, who wished to mobilize Western opinion against Chinese occupation. It was a brilliant public relations campaign. An interesting, although somewhat cynical view of that was presented by Lydia Aran “ Inventing Tibet”. Google it, it is a pretty short article.