For decades, Chinese officials and state media typically referred to “Tibet" in English-language communications, applying a name widely used across the West. Historians say the present-day Chinese name for Tibet, “Xizang," dates back to China’s last imperial dynasty, the Qing. “Indeed, one might say that use of that name subliminally reinforces it: The first syllable means ‘West;’ i.e., it situates Tibet according to the way it’s perceived from China." China’s current government doesn’t have an officially authorized Chinese term for “the traditional and historic realm of Tibet," wrote Sperling, who died in 2017. It also used “Tibetan" as a demonym and adjective in references to local residents and culture.

Source: Wall Street Journal January 06, 2024 07:02 UTC