Modernization poses new challenges for Tibetans

By Ben Blanchard

TONGREN, China (Reuters) - Steeped in centuries-old, devoutly Buddhist traditions, Tibetans today face harsh choices as they fight to hold on to their unique identity without getting left behind in China's headlong rush toward modernity.

The decisions range from painful ones about whether children should focus on their native Tibetan or the national language Mandarin at school, to rather more mundane ones such as what clothes to wear, music to listen to and books to read.

At stake is the creation of a modern Tibetan culture that is more than just an imitation of their Han Chinese neighbors, or reaction to China's religious and political pressure.

This year is the 50th anniversary of the flight into exile of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, after a failed uprising against Chinese rule. With the likelihood of his returning getting ever smaller, some Tibetans are trying to be practical.

"You have to learn Chinese as without it you can't achieve anything and you'll have no future," said Tendun, 23, a monk in a heavily Tibetan corner of the remote far western province of Qinghai, who spoke very passable, if heavily accented, Mandarin.

"You can't even go to the shops these days if you only speak Tibetan," added the young initiate, who says he taught himself in a monastery perched above a valley dotted with villages and bright white stupas, prayer flags fluttering in the light breeze.

Tibetan is the main language of instruction in schools in his hometown of Tongren, where most signs are bilingual in Chinese and the Sanskrit-based Tibetan script. Many Tibetans there speak only limited Mandarin or none at all.

Job and education prospects are limited for those without the national language. Tibetans that don't speak Mandarin are condemned to marginalization in a country where affirmative action is largely unheard of.

"When it comes to exams, the Tibetans and Chinese take them together, but the Tibetans always fail as their Chinese is not as good. So the Chinese get all the best jobs around here," said a Tibetan teacher from southern Qinghai, who asked not to be named, fearing punishment for speaking to a foreign reporter.

"Families face a difficult choice about whether to educate their children in Tibetan or get them speaking better Chinese. But our language is our mother. How can you abandon your mother?"

Han Chinese very rarely learn Tibetan.

ROASTED BARLEY OR FRIED RICE?

The challenges are broader than language.

"People send their children to boarding school, where they learn to like rice and stir-fried food," said Luorong Zhandui, an ethnic Tibetan from Sichuan province and a professor at the government-run China Tibetology Research Center.

"They come home, and they don't want tsampa, which makes parents worry they are losing their identity," he added, referring to a traditional Tibetan flour made of roasted barely.