The 1934 Chinese Mission to Tibet: A Re-examination

Abstract

In the spring of 1934, a Chinese mission led by General Huang Musong, then Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Guomindang regime, was dispatched to Lhasa with the official purpose of offering condolences to the late 13th Dalai Lama who died in late 1933. Huang's visit to Tibet undoubtedly was the most politically symbolic event in Sino-Tibetan relations since the collapse of the Qing dynasty. He became the most high-profile of Chinese officials to have entered Lhasa since 1911, when the Chinese Republic was created. Before returning to Nanking, Huang left a representative office, along with a wireless set in Lhasa; these could be actions which the Chinese considered marked their authority in Tibet.