This collection is available for use by qualified readers in the Rare Book and Special Collections Reading Room, C.V. Starr East Asian Library at Columbia University, with advance notification only. For further details, please consult the C.V. Starr East Asian Library staff at starr@library.columbia.edu or (212) 854-4318.
Collection of nearly 100 documents, mostly handwritten in Tibetan, produced or gathered by the Neighborhood Committee Number Three (Tib. Grong lhan ang gsum pa) in Lhasa, primarily from 1959-1972. About one-third of the materials are handwritten registries from 1959-1961, listing residents, personal property, and alleged crimes. A second set of materials include four notebooks and other statements documenting struggle sessions against Lhamon Yeshe Tsultrim (Tib. Lha-smon Ye-shes-tshul-khrims, 1913-77), a senior secretary for the Panchen Lama at Tashilhunpo Monastery. In sum, these papers constitute primary resources for the study of the Democratic Reforms campaign (Tib. Dmangs gtso bco ʼgyur ; Ch. Min zhu gai ge), as implemented in Tibet. The remaining materials date to the Cultural Revolution, particularly 1966-1972, and include the personal files of previous landowners, transcripts of self-criticisms, and several other autobiographical statements. The collection also includes a handful of published documents (handbills, study-books, and speeches).
English translations, by Matthew Akester and Tupten Khétsun, are filed with many of the documents.
Series I, The Uprising of 1959 and "Democratic Reforms," 1959-1963, 1959, 1959-1963
The date ranges for each series refer to the creation of the materials, not necessarily the subject.
Series II, Anti-Panchen Campaign (1964-1966) and Lha smon Ye shes tshul khrims files, 1965-1969
Organized into four series: Series I. The Uprising of 1959 and "Democratic Reform" 1959-1963; Series II. Anti-Panchen Campaign (1964-1966) and Lha smon Ye shes tshul khrims files, 1965-1969; Series III. Cultural Revolution (1966-1976); Series IV. Public documents, bulk 1960-1974.
This collection is available for use by qualified readers in the Rare Book and Special Collections Reading Room, C.V. Starr East Asian Library at Columbia University, with advance notification only. For further details, please consult the C.V. Starr East Asian Library staff at starr@library.columbia.edu or (212) 854-4318.
Columbia University is providing access to the materials in the Library's collections solely for noncommercial education and research purposes. The unauthorized use, including, but not limited to, publication of the materials without the prior written permission of Columbia University is strictly prohibited. All inquiries regarding permission to publish should be submitted in writing to the Director, C.V. Starr East Asian Library, Columbia University. In addition to permission from Columbia University, permission of the copyright owner (if not Columbia University) and/or any holder of other rights (such as publicity and/or privacy rights) may also be required for reproduction, publication, distributions, and other uses. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of any item and securing any necessary permissions rests with the persons desiring to publish the item. Columbia University makes no warranties as to the accuracies of the materials or their fitness for a particular purpose.
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Lhasa Neighborhood Committee Number Three records; series #, box # and folder #; C.V. Starr East Asian Library, Columbia University.
Six published monographs received with the records were separated from the collection and individually catalogued in the Columbia University Libraries' online catalog. They can be identified by searching "Lhasa Neighborhood Committee Number Three records," and requested for onsite consultation during scheduled hours in the Rare Book and Special Collections Reading Room, C.V. Starr East Asian Library. In the finding aid, these publications are also listed under Series IV: Subseries 3: Publications.
Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact starr@library.columbia.edu for more information.
Columbia University Libraries, C. V. Starr East Asian Library
Finding Aid created 2016-04 by Lauran R. Hartley and Tenzin Yewong Dongchung.
2016-05-06 File created.
2016-05-06 XML document instance created by Catherine C. Ricciardi
2019-05-20 EAD was imported spring 2019 as part of the ArchivesSpace Phase II migration.
The Lhasa Neighborhood Committee Number Three (Tib. Lha-sa grong lhan ang gsum pa) was one of twelve residential administrative units established in Lhasa in 1959 and charged with local governance and social control as part of the transition to direct Chinese Communist rule. Neighborhood committees (Ch. Ju min wei yuan hui) were formed across China and continue to operate today. Committee Number Three, seated in the northern sector of Lhasa, was responsible for Tibetans living in the traditional Tibetan courtyard residences of Jamyang Shar, Jamyang Kyil, Jamyang Tara, etc. Among its preliminary duties were the categorization of the population by class background, the determination of individuals suspected of involvement in the Lhasa Uprising, the confiscation of any firearms still in private hands, and the listing of property and assets, which were appropriated by the state in the course of the "Democratic Reforms" campaign conducted throughout central Tibet over the following years. Shortly after the escape of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama and the Chinese government takeover in March 1959, the Committee surveyed local residents to record the weapons, livestock, property, etc. held by each family. In 1964, the Committee was instrumental in implementing the Anti-Panchen Campaign, and from 1966-1976 the Committee held meetings and kept records and personal files for struggle sessions and other activities during the Cultural Revolution.
The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.
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