Talk:14th Dalai Lama/Archive 14

Dalai Lama was born in ROC, not independent Tibet
In the first line of the Early life and background section it is specifically clarified that he was born in ROC controlled China, not Tibet. I see a lot of references cited that he was supposedly born in Tibet, but they all seem to be taking this fact from his own biography, which would not be considered a reliable source if it conflicts with actual historical accounts, and none explain how the village of Takster was part of Tibet since it has never been under Tibetan control. Unless there is some source that can verify this claim the birth section should be changed to Takster, Qinghai, China (ROC). Since the Dalai Lama claims to have been born in "northeastern Tibet" while all other facts claim otherwise, clearly we should side with actual historic accounts. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Nathan868 (talk • contribs) 10:55, 23 November 2020 (UTC)


 * In his 2007 book Conversations with the Dalaï-Lama, Thomas Laird writes:


 * "In the 1930s, the Muslim warlord Ma Pu-fang seized the northeast corner of Amdo in the name of Chiang Kai-sheik's weak central government and incorporated it into the Chinese province of Qinghai. He ruled the area from the town called Xining (pronounced shi-ning), capital of Qinhai Province. Tibetans in Amdo ordinarily spoke Tibetan, so it was a surprise to hear the Dalai Lama say that in Taktser (nominally under Ma Pu-fang's control in 1935), although two of the seventeen households were Chinese, his family did not speak Tibetan as its first language. "At that time in my village, "he said, "we spoke a broken Chinese. As a child, I spoke Chinese first, but it was a broken Xining language which was (a dialect of the) Chinese language." "So your first language, " I responded, "was a broken Chinese regional dialect, which we might call Xining Chinese. It was not Tibetan. You learned Tibetan when you came to Lhasa." "Yes," he answered, "that is correct, but then, you see, my brother Lobsang Samtem entered Kumbum monastery before me and the Amdo dialect was spoken there. They spoke Amdo Tibetan in the monastery. In other villages, they spoke Amdo Tibetan. But in my village, I don't know why, my parents spoke broken Xining language." (p. 262).


 * Clearly, Taktser at the time was officially part of Qinghai.


 * If further proof is needed, it can be found in the 2015 book The Noodle Maker of Kalimpong: The Untold Story of My Struggle for Tibet by Gyalo Thondup (the Dalai Lama's older brother) and Anne F Thurston:


 * "A few days after the search party departed, some fifteen soldiers from the army of Qinghai's governor-general, Ma Bufang, suddenly arrived at our house. Ma Bufang was a Hui, a Muslim, from a powerful military family. In 1928, after Chiang Kai-shek became president of the Chinese Republic, Qinghai (Amdo) had been officially designated a province, and Ma had assumed the post of governor-general." (p. 25).


 * Need more to be said? --Elnon (talk) 18:04, 24 November 2020 (UTC)
 * Yes, what should be said is the same thing that's said every time this issue comes up again, and these sources are quoted again as proof, such as: here, here, and older discussions. When reliable sources are not all in agreement, it's not the role of Wikipedia to determine what is the "historical truth", but to follow the neutral point of view policy, in summary: "Articles must not take sides, but should explain the sides, fairly and without editorial bias. This applies to both what you say and how you say it." An unequivocal statement in Wikipedia's voice that he was born in China, or born in Tibet, as an undisputed fact, doesn't adhere to this policy. Given the numerous prominent reliable sources that say Tibet (e.g. Encyclopedia Britannica:, the Nobel Prize organization: , ABC News: , the Wall Street Journal: , etc.), we are required to give appropriate weight to that point of view, as well as to others that say China, or give some other more nuanced explanation. The article as it stands doesn't seem to accomplish this adequately, but simply changing "Tibet" to "China" doesn't produce an improvement. --IamNotU (talk) 00:34, 4 December 2020 (UTC)
 * I agree that it deserves a mention that the Dalai Lama himself claims he was born in Tibet, it's just factually incorrect to have it in the infobox. We wouldn't cite historical "facts" from otherwise reliable sources that turned out to be untrue, so why is it done here? I would propose replacing the note in the first sentence of the early life section that currently says he was born in Qinghai, to mention the Dalai Lama's own claims but clarifying that they are historically inconsistent, and replacing the birthplace in the infobox with the actual political situation at his birth as is consistent with all other biographies, instead of the historic cultural region that is currently used as his place of birth Nathan868 (talk) 09:38, 5 December 2020 (UTC)
 * It's not only he who "claims he was born in Tibet". Did you look at the sources I linked to? I'll add a couple more, but many others are easily found. We have:
 * Encyclopedia Britannica: "14th Dalai Lama, also called Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, Bstan-’dzin-rgya-mtsho, or Tenzin Gyatso, original name Lhamo Dhondup, (born July 6, 1935, Tibet)"
 * Nobel Foundation: "He was born in a small village called Taktser in northeastern Tibet."
 * ABC News: "The 14th Dalai Lama, born Lhamo Thondup in 1935 to a peasant family in Taktser, Tibet"
 * The Wall Street Journal: "On July 6, 1935, was born a boy to a family of peasants in the village of Taktser in the far northeast of Tibet"
 * Elizabeth Cody Kimmel, Boy on the Lion Throne: "Lhamo's mountain community of Taktser was a small and remote village in the Tibetan province of Amdo"
 * BBC News, Tibet profile - Timeline: "1935 - The man who will later become the 14th Dalai Lama is born to a peasant family in a small village in north-eastern Tibet."
 * Nathan868: "the Dalai Lama himself claims he was born in Tibet, it's just factually incorrect ... as is consistent with all other biographies"
 * Reviewing again Wikipedia's "neutral point of view" policy (one of the five pillars of Wikipedia) regarding due weight, it would indicate that the appropriate weight given to the final source in the list should be approximately zero. The viewpoint that with the exception of the Dalai Lama's personal web page, "all other biographies" state unequivocably that he was born in China, is clearly a fringe opinion. [edit: apparently this was not the intention of the statement]. The proposal to simply replace "Tibet" with "China" in the infobox does not have a convincing basis in Wikipedia policy.
 * There may be many reasons why the description of his birthplace is not universally consistent among prominent reliable sources. It is not up to Wikipedia editors to simply dismiss a widely-published viewpoint in preference to another that fits their own. I would support, as I previously suggested, adding an explanatory footnote to the infobox, perhaps linking to, to help document and explain the major points of view and clarify the differing accounts, but certainly not one that states that the Dalai Lama "claims" to have been born in Tibet but that he is incorrect. --IamNotU (talk) 15:16, 5 December 2020 (UTC)
 * Apologies, when I said all other biographies I meant biographies of other living persons. Amdo is a historic and cultural region, not a political division as typical Wikipedia birthplace convention would dictate. From Tom Grunfield's The Making of Modern Tibet, Amdo has not been under Tibetan rule since the 18th century. Albert Ettinger's Battleground Tibet also states the 14th Dalai Lama's birthplace as being in Qinghai province. Supposedly reliable sources are not infalliable, and it's certainly possible if not likely that each of the sources you stated took their information directly from his own biography, especially since none give further clarification on the topic, unlike the books and other sources which explain that it was under ROC-allied warlord control etc. It seems strange that between listing either Qinghai, ROC or Amdo, Tibet, the concensus seems to lie with the region which has not existed as a political entity for over 100 years? Can you explain why? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Nathan868 (talk • contribs) 15:51, 5 December 2020 (UTC)
 * Perhaps the viewpoint is that being "under ROC-allied warlord control" is insufficient to describe it as being China and no longer Tibet? I don't know. If you'd like to know why the BBC, ABC News, the Wall Street Journal, Encyclopedia Britannica, and many others give Tibet as his place of birth, you'd best ask them. The speculation that it's likely they just took it from his website without doing any fact-checking, and have carelessly left an error in place for many years, is not credible. Whatever their reasoning, the sources can't simply be dismissed. The "typical Wikipedia birthplace convention" – whatever that is – doesn't dictate what we do in this article, and the choice between either Qinghai, ROC or Amdo, Tibet in the infobox is a false dichotomy. I've already given my suggestion for improvement, which doesn't involve tossing WP:NPOV / WP:WEIGHT out the window. --IamNotU (talk) 19:24, 5 December 2020 (UTC)
 * I don't know about the reasoning behind otherwise reliable sources leaving a glaring error in their work, but it doesn't change the fact that the claim is inconsistent with what we know about the political control of Takster and the Amdo region as a whole - namely that it hasn't been under Tibetan rule since the 18th century. Of course it should be mentioned that he was born in the traditional Tibetan region of Amdo, this just isn't the political situation of his birth which seems to be the wikipedia standard as I'm not aware of any pages that deviate from this.Nathan868 (talk) 13:19, 7 December 2020 (UTC)
 * I completely agree with IamNotU, the vast majority of sources including incredibly well known and very reliable ones like BBC News, CBS, the Nobel Foundation and the Encyclopedia Britannica all metion Tibet as his place of birth. The idea that he was born in ROC is fringe to say the least. I opposse any change in the infobox or the rest of the article for that matters on that regard. I suspect the insistance in saying that the Dalai Lama was born in China is part of a conscious effort from the Chinese government to whether undermine the position of the Dalai Lama by claiming he's not an authentic Tibetan or for their bogus claim that they have always pick the Dalai Lamas and that they will be picking the next. But in any case as the Wikipedia policies establish fringe theories can be included as long as the due weight is given and they are not presented as fact value or give the same time and importance than convensional theories. Under that logic a note or a small subsection can be added saying that some Chinese government sources claim the Dalai Lama was born in ROC-controlled territory, but mentioning that this is not the mainstream accepted fact by most historians. --Dereck Camacho (talk) 11:23, 6 December 2020 (UTC)
 * When I mentioned a "fringe opinion", it wasn't regarding whether Taktser was or was not under the control of the Chiang Kai-shek government; it was about the statement that all biographies of the Dalai Lama, other than his own, say that he was born in China. But Nathan868 has clarified that wasn't the intended meaning, so I've struck that out. I don't actually agree with the wording of Dereck Camacho's proposed note. --IamNotU (talk) 22:12, 6 December 2020 (UTC)

In that case no note is needed. The current status quo is the best option. --Dereck Camacho (talk) 02:00, 7 December 2020 (UTC)
 * In his own autobiography, Tibet, patrie perdue, raconté par Heinrich Harrer, published in French in 1963, the 14th Dalai Lama's other brother, Thubten Dechigme Norbu, provides quite clear indications about their native village of Taktser being at the time under the control of Chinese authorities:
 * pages 2-3: "Tengtser était un pauvre petit village sur la route des caravanes menant de Sining, siège de nos autorités chinoises, au Labrang de Traschi Khji, le second en grandeur des monastères de la province" ("Tengtser was a poor, small village on the caravan road linking Sining, the seat of our Chinese authorities, to the labrang of Traschi Khji, the province's second largest monastery") ;
 * page 57: "Nous payions nos impôts à Mapufang, le gouverneur de l'Etat chinois" (We would pay our taxes to Mapufang, the governor for the Chinese state") ;
 * page 141: "Tengtser étant sous la suzeraineté chinoise, les autorités commencèrent à s'intéresser sérieusement à Lhamo Döndrub. Et au début de l'hiver 1938-1939, le gouverneur Mapufang fit venir à Sining mes parents et leur dernier-né. Il leur conseilla de placer l'enfant au monastère de Kumbum, qui se trouvait également en territoire soumis à l'autorité chinoise" (As Tengtser was under Chinese suzerainty, the authorities started to take an earnest interest in Lhamo Döndrub so that at the beginning of the 1938-1939 winter, governor Mapufang had my parents travel to Sining with their last-born child. He advised them to place the child in the care of the Kumbum monastery, which was also in Chinese-controlled territory."
 * Could it be that the Dalai Lama's brother Norbu is not only promoting a fringe theory but also is part of the Chinese government's effort to undermine the position of the Dalai Lama? The mind boggles. --Elnon (talk) 14:41, 7 December 2020 (UTC)
 * First if is the brother himself is Primary sources. Second, been under control of the Chinese and be part of the ROC are two different things. Third I would like to see the source myself to read it. --Dereck Camacho (talk) 22:11, 7 December 2020 (UTC)
 * I agree with Dereck Camacho that being under the control of a warlord - and note that the Laird reference above says nominal control - who is allied with a government that claims it as their territory, is a different thing than it being internationally and uncontroversially acknowledged as part of China. Perhaps reliable sources consider it to have been a disputed or occupied territory (in which case we can explain the dispute). Again, there's no basis to believe that the usage of "Tibet" by numerous major news organizations and other encyclopedias is simply a "glaring error". --IamNotU (talk) 18:42, 8 December 2020 (UTC)
 * In any case checking the archive this matter has been brought on and on againt time after time already and has never reached enough consensus for the change. How many times we'll have to discuss it? --Dereck Camacho (talk) 20:32, 11 December 2020 (UTC)
 * There are reliable sources that support both viewpoints. The problem is that people have been changing it back and forth from one to the other for years, based on a certain selection of sources and who participates in the discussion. There have been times when it seems there was a consensus to use China. However, a consensus that fails to adhere to WP:NPOV/WP:WEIGHT isn't valid; that policy is non-negotiable on Wikipedia. That's why I've suggested the use of an explanatory note, outlining the fact that sources differ, rather than just trying to decide between one or the other option based on an agreement of editors, which is not actually allowed by Wikipedia policy. --IamNotU (talk) 20:48, 11 December 2020 (UTC)
 * Another quotation from Thomas Laird's book The Story of Tibet: Conversations With the Dalai Lama (2007):
 * "In the 1930s, the Muslim warlord Ma Pu-fang seized the northeast corner of Amdo in the name of Chiang Kai-shek's weak central government and incorporated it into the Chinese province of Qinghai He ruled the area from the town now called Xining (pronounced shi-ning), capital of Qinhai Province. Tibetans in Amdo ordinarily spoke Tibetan, so it was a surprise to hear the Dalai Lama say that in Taktser (nominally under Ma Pu-fang's control in 1935), although only two of the seventeen households were Chinese, his family did not speak Tibetan as its first language" (page 262).
 * Now from John Gittings's obituary of Thubten Jigme Norbu (theguardian.com, September 7, 2008): « Norbu […] had been recognised by the 13th Dalai Lama […] as the Taktser Rinpoche, one of the highest reincarnates in the region of Amdo (eastern Tibet), which was already under Chinese Nationalist rule. The subsequent discovery of his younger brother as the new incarnate Dalai Lama was not quite so amazing as the usual story makes out. The family was already known in religious circles: the previous Taktser Rinpoche was their father's maternal uncle and one of their own uncles was treasurer of the great monastery of Kumbum."
 * These quotations, along with those mentioned above, portray a different picture from the viewpoint that is found in the reverential hagiographical biographies of the 1980's and 1990's. Both the historically relevant facts and the official hagiographical version should be stated on a par in the main page. --Elnon (talk) 12:15, 12 December 2020 (UTC)
 * Even the sources that you present say nominally. --Dereck Camacho (talk) 15:56, 12 December 2020 (UTC)
 * Elnon, that's the fifth time you've posted that Laird quote on this talk page - I think we get it. It does say "nominal" control. The second quote specifically refers to it as being in "the region of Amdo (eastern Tibet)". It says it "was already under Chinese Nationalist rule", (nominally) but that is significantly different from stating that it was unambiguously part of the Republic of China and no longer Tibet. Yes, the discrepancy between some sources should be explained, fairly and without editorial bias, and in proportion to the prominence of each viewpoint in the published, reliable sources. I'm not sure exactly how that should be worded, but I don't agree with using Wikipedia's voice to describe one as a "hagiographic version" and the other as "historical facts", given the stature of the (very recent) sources I cited above (BBC, ABC, WSJ, Britannica, etc.), as well as the somewhat indefinite nature of the sources you've provided. --IamNotU (talk) 03:02, 14 December 2020 (UTC)
 * The sources and quotes listed above:
 * Encyclopedia Britannica: "born July 6, 1935, Tibet"
 * Nobel Foundation: " born in a small village called Taktser in northeastern Tibet."
 * ABC News: " born (…) in 1935 to a peasant family in Taktser, Tibet."
 * The Wall Street Journal: "born (…) to a family of peasants in the village of Taktser in the far northeast of Tibet
 * Elizabeth Cody Kimmel: "Lhamo's mountain community of Taktser was a small and remote village in the Tibetan province of Amdo."
 * BBC News : "born to a peasant family in a small village in north-eastern Tibet."
 * all say more or less the same thing as the 14th Dalai Lama’s official biography :
 * “His Holiness the Dalai Lama was born on 6 July 1935 to a Tibetan farming family in the small village of Taktser, located in the province of Amdo.”
 * So why would six different sources be needed when just one will do? --Elnon (talk) 19:14, 16 December 2020 (UTC)


 * More quotations to ponder:
 * - Gyalo Thondup and Anne F. Thurston, The Noodle Maker of Kalimpong, Rider, 2015, pp. 5, 6 and 11:
 * (p. 5) "Sometime in the 1860s, my paternal grandmother's older brother, my great uncle, was recognized as the reincarnation of the Taktser lama, one of the thirty or so reincarnated lamas who were part of Kumbum's tradition. During the turmoil of the Manchu decline, however, my great uncle left Kumbum for Mongolia [...] [He] spent several decades in Mongolia during the last decades of the nineteenth century and developed quite a devoted following there. His disciples showered him with money and presents of land, horses, and camels, making him a wealthy man. When he finally returned to Kumbum, at the beginning of the twentieth century, he was said to have owned ten thousand camels." (p. 6)
 * "[...] After my great uncle's return to Kumbun from Mongolia's Ulan Bator, my grandparents became special beneficiaries of my grandmother's brother's new wealth. Taktser Rimpoche bought back all of the forty-five acres of family land that had been lost with the earlier rebellion. My grandparents were able to build a new Chinese-style home that was large and spacious, with three courtyards surrounded by one-story buildings. "
 * (p. 11) "The generosity showered upon my grandparents by Taktser Rinpoche after his return transformed their lives. Their decades of poverty came to an end. My parents inherited the house and the land. It was there that my siblings and I were born. It was Taktser Rinpoche who made our new lives possible.''
 * - Elliot Sperling, "A Note on the Chi-kyā Tribe and the Two Qi Clans in Amdo", in Les habitants du Toit du monde : études recueillies en hommage à Alexander W. Macdonald, Samten Karmay et Philippe Sagant, Eds. (Nanterre: Société d'ethnologie), 1997, p. 111-124 : 'The Chi-kyā tribe of the area around the famous monastery of sKu-'bum is the larger entity to which the family of the fourteenth Dalai Lama belongs. Family tradition holds it to be one of the constituent units within the greater groups known as the "Six Tribes of sKu-'bum" (Tib. sKu-'bum tsho-drug) (...) The Chi-kya nang-so, described in our Chinese sources as Tu, was lord over the Tibetan Chi-kya sde-ba associated with sKu-‘bum. But the ethnic melange that this represents does not end at this point, for in recent times many of the Tibetan groups in this area, including the Chi-kya Stag-mthser sde-ba, had already adopted the Xining dialect of Chinese as their primary language- such is also the case mong many of the Tibetan clans that one finds between Xining and the pass at Ri-bo nya-zla, some seventy-five km to the west. All of these groups consider themselves (and are considered by those around them) Tibetan, not on the basis of language, but on the basis of a variety of other factors, including an avowed lineage of descent from Tibetan predecessors and participation in the Tibetan culture and civilization of the region, as manifested by long historical association such as those of the Chi-kya sde-ba with SKu-‘bum."
 * - Nathan Hill, Review of Sam Van Schaik's Tibet: A History, xxiii, 324 pp., Yale University Press, London and new York, 2011, in Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 75 (1), p. 190-192: "the remark that "Yonten Gyatso ... remains the only non-Tibetan to have held the role of Dalai Lama" (p. 177) "presents a Monpa (sixth Dalai Lama), and a Monguor (fourteenth Dalai Lama) as Tibetan although neither spoke Tibetan natively". See http://www.soas.ac.uk/staff/staff46254.php.
 * - Alexandra David-Néel, Le vieux Tibet face à la Chine nouvelle (1953), pages 961-1110 of Grand Tibet et Vaste Chine. Récits et Aventures, Plon, 1999, p. 979: "Le jeune Dalaï-lama (un garçon de dix-huit ans, peut-être à moitié chinois, a également émigré. Il est natif d'Amdo, un territoire administré par la Chine. La population y est constituée par un mélange très complexe de races : mongoles, chinoises, tibétaines et restes d'anciennes tribus des Sétsuanpas auxquelles appartenait le célèbre Tsong Khapa, fondateur de la secte de Gélugspas - aujourd'hui le clergé officiel. La langue courante de la région est le chinois."
 * As writer Patrick French in his Tibet, Tibet. A Personal History of a Lost Land (2003) remarks, the Dalai Lama's background is more complex than expected: "It was only some yeards later, when I read the memoirs of a member of the Dalai Lama's family, that I saw the background was more complex." --Elnon (talk) 20:01, 16 December 2020 (UTC)

How about simply list "Taktser" ?

 * If readers are intersted in where Taktser is, they would click the wikilink or proceed to the relevant section of this article. Specifying whatever regime after the Taktser is always controversial and side-taking. -- love.wh  03:54, 11 May 2021 (UTC)

Contributions by Toto11zi
This article, especially the lead, is currently in an unreadable state. User:Toto11zi has spent months adding small edits over time, adding poorly sourced information and disregarding editing guidelines. I attempted to revert these edits and leave a warning message on their page, but my edit was immediately reverted (and, ironically, labelled as vandalism), so it's clear that any further attempts on my part to fix this article will only result in an edit war. I'm not a frequent editor of Wikipedia, so I call on someone else who's more experienced with this page and matters like this to make the necessary repairs. Vavent (talk) 06:11, 24 September 2021 (UTC)
 * Instead of reverting all the changes including edits from other editors, can you be more specific on which statements require sources? and which specific editing guidelines you're talking about? Changes were made because of missing, or poor sources in the old version, and there's explanation for each change Toto11zi (talk) 13:57, 24 September 2021 (UTC)

Almost everything Toto11zi added was supported with sources which were in Chinese and most of them ended in 404 errors, and could not be visited even through archiving websites. Some sources were available but some were in Chinese, a language I do not speak, and others do not support what Toto11zi had written (very few, about one or two, did support the writings). There were also some grammatical errors made in sentences which needed to be rectified. Some sources were from Wikipedia itself, which had to be removed since Wikipedia cannot be used as a source for itself. These are the reasons why Toto11zi's edits were reverted by me (and possibly even Vavent). FloorMadeOuttaFloor (Leave me a message•Changes I have made) 14:46, 24 September 2021 (UTC)
 * Can you be more specific on sources, statements which need fix? For the sources in Chinese language, there's translation as well, one example, source for "22 February 1940 at 5:30AM". Which sentences have grammatical errors? Anyone can go ahead and fix. Can you be more specific about sources from Wikipedia itself? Toto11zi (talk) 14:54, 24 September 2021 (UTC)

Most of your sources end in 404 errors, meaning the articles are no longer available on their respective websites. Put in reliable sources which are available and don't end in 404 errors. FloorMadeOuttaFloor (Leave me a message•Changes I have made) 14:57, 24 September 2021 (UTC)
 * I'm not sure which source you're talking about, can you put the links here? We can update links, or remove specific statement, but reverting all changes including changes of other editors is not a good reaction. Also which sources were from Wikipedia itsef? can you put links here? Toto11zi (talk) 15:05, 24 September 2021 (UTC)

I will revert FloorMadeOuttaFloor's change, since there's no response from Vavent and FloorMadeOuttaFloor regarding specific statements which require source, invalid links, grammatical errors, or source from Wikipedia itself. If you see issues with particular statements on the article, please list here. Toto11zi (talk) 18:49, 24 September 2021 (UTC)


 * Please don't. Editors are allowed more than three hours to respond. Others have taken issue with your edits so they must be discussed here. Consensus is how Wikipedia works. Notfrompedro (talk) 18:54, 24 September 2021 (UTC)
 * I will wait for them to respond. Toto11zi (talk) 19:32, 24 September 2021 (UTC)
 * The fact that you need me to outline your grammatical errors is proof in itself that you aren't ready to make such huge changes to an important article like this one. I first looked into your edits when I searched up this page and noticed what a mess the lead was- The first sentence, "The 14th Dalai Lama, succeeded by Lhamo Dhondup on 22 February 1940 at 5:30AM when Lhamo Dhondup was 4 years old." is not a grammatically complete or correct sentence in any way, nor does it conform to the standards outlined at MOS:LEAD. These types of errors are present throughout your version of the article and I won't be taking the time to list every single one here. I take it you are probably not a native English speaker, which is fine, but it is then my duty as a native speaker to correct things that don't make sense, as this is the English Wikipedia. If your edits were more limited and didn't amount to a near-total rewrite of the page, I would have just corrected them manually, but that was impossible in this case. Furthermore, I noticed that you added excessive translations of certain terms, writing their name in Chinese characters next to the English terms in the article. Here is one example: "In October 1938, the Method of Using Golden Urn for the 14th Dalai Lama (Chinese: 十四世达赖喇嘛转世掣签征认办法) was drafted by Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission." Again, this is the English Wikipedia, and that type of translation in the body of the article is excessive. See MOS:CHINESE for more on this topic and many related to it. I'm also not sure why you only included the Chinese translations of these things when the Dalai Lama is himself Tibetan. This, and other changes like changing his position from "Head of state of the Central Tibetan Administration" to "Head of the Tibetan Administration for Tibetans-in-exile", unlinked, leads me to suspect that you may be editing for a political purpose, but that is beyond the scope of the issues I want to discuss. Finally, many of your sources were suspect or poorly formatted. The fifth source on your version of the article, for example, was simply "意译为“文殊尊者语自在睿智良慧持法海总摄三界无敌军具足吉祥贤德尊”. First of all, it shouldn't be entirely in Chinese characters, as that's impossible for most of the editors here to understand. Secondly, running it through Google translate, it seems to me that it isn't a source at all, but merely a note directly written by you. (The translation I got is "The free translation is 'Venerable Manjusri, who speaks freely, wisely, and wisely, holds the Master of Fahai, and the Three Realms Invincible Army is full of auspicious, virtuous, virtuous and respected'" for any English speakers participating in this discussion.) This is just one example of a poorly formatted source, or even non-source, on your part. See WP:CS for guidelines on what a proper source is and how it should look. With all of this taken together, I couldn't sit idly by and let the article remain in its current state, so I reverted it back to the August 2 version, before you made your largest string of edits. I have since noticed, though, that even this may not be enough, as you made several edits before that date that I didn't notice at first. At risk of undoing months of work on this article, though, I think the current version is at least acceptable as compared to what you had written. Vavent (talk) 21:00, 24 September 2021 (UTC)
 * 1) The statement "The 14th Dalai Lama, succeeded by Lhamo Dhondup on 22 February 1940 at 5:30AM when Lhamo Dhondup was 4 years old." can be easily fixed by replacing "," with "was".
 * 2) 十四世达赖喇嘛转世掣签征认办法 is name of the official document published by the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission. You can google 十四世达赖喇嘛转世掣签征认办法 for sources.
 * 3) "Head of state of the Central Tibetan Administration" was changed based on information from the 1991 Charter of the Tibetans in exile, name should be Tibetan Administration. You can also google for the 1991 Charter.
 * 4) The meaning of the spiritual name can only be found in Tibetan/Chinese sources, "文殊尊者语自在睿智良慧持法海总摄三界无敌军具足吉祥贤德尊” is the meaning of the name, google will reveal the sources. Literal meaning is included.
 * I would suggest for those small issues, you are always welcome to fix, but reverting all the various changes is not good reaction. Toto11zi (talk) 22:24, 24 September 2021 (UTC)
 * I think you're misunderstanding the scope of what I'm saying. I only provided a few specific examples because you seemed to want them, but these issues were present repeatedly throughout the entire article. I couldn't fix certain things, like the lead, because it was simply impossible to understand what it was trying to say. Even if that sentence was grammatically correct, it wouldn't fix the bigger issue that it doesn't fit the normal format of a Wikipedia lead, which should be in the format that it currently is- "The 14th Dalai Lama, known as Gyalwa Rinpoche to the Tibetan people, is the current Dalai Lama, the highest spiritual leader of Tibet, and a retired political leader of Tibet." This clearly says who he is and what he does. Saying "The 14th Dalai Lama was succeeded by Lhamo Dhondup on 22 February 1940 at 5:30AM when Lhamo Dhondup was 4 years old." does not come close to meeting the accepted format for the first sentence in a Wikipedia article. Again, read MOS:Lead. It's not my job to explain these things to you, since they are basic fundamentals of Wikipedia article editing that you should know before you even begin to write on this website, yet I am trying to do so because at this point I'm still trying to assume you're editing in good faith. At this point, I might as well link the whole WP:MOS, since you seem to understand very little of how articles should be written on this website. As for you saying that I should fix these "small issues"- first, they aren't small issues, they're fundamental issues that doom the whole article. Secondly, it isn't my job to rewrite the article for you when your sources are generally so sketchy that I can't really verify the truth of any of the information you've posted. Note that I'm not saying all of it is wrong, it's just that you've ignored so many guidelines that it doesn't matter whether it's true or not. It needs to be removed regardless, and rather than trying to go through the hours of effort it would require to sift through all of it and determine what should stay or go, I elected to revert it all. This is a perfectly valid decision when looking at the scope of your changes. Now, I would recommend that you actually click on the links I'm giving you, including MOS:Lead, MOS:CHINESE, and WP:CS, read them thoroughly, and truly reevaluate what you're doing as an editor. Otherwise, I'm going to stop assuming that you're actually here to edit in good faith (WP:NOTHERE), and I will not respond further to this conversation (unless anyone else wants to chime in and challenge my assertions). Vavent (talk) 00:46, 25 September 2021 (UTC)
 * Other than this "The 14th Dalai Lama was succeeded by Lhamo Dhondup on 22 February 1940 at 5:30AM when Lhamo Dhondup was 4 years old." and the other 3 changes I clarified, do you have objections for other changes? Again, be specific, also for whatever text, reliable source is needed, obviously, there's no source for this statement "known as Gyalwa Rinpoche to the Tibetan people". Toto11zi (talk) 10:25, 25 September 2021 (UTC)
 * If you don't have objection, the old lead paragraph can be kept, but will be improved again since there's no source . The literal meaning of the spiritual name "意译为“文殊尊者语自在睿智良慧持法海总摄三界无敌军具足吉祥贤德尊” is from Tibetology scholar 周伟洲 English translation can be "Manjushri ever existing with great wisdom, holding the ocean of dharma, holding the three realms with no enemies, auspicious and virtuous", if you think this translation is not right, or it can be improved, feel free to fix. If you have questions, we can discuss. Toto11zi (talk) 19:17, 25 September 2021 (UTC)


 * I'm a little concerned by Toto11zi's edits. While I don't want to tar all Chinese sources with the same brush, the reality is that it is not easy to publish material in China that runs contrary to the official position of the government. My suggestion is that Toto11zi incrementally suggest additions, get consensus on the use of each source (or not), and then add the material. Note also that this is the case in the article Kashag that is heavily edited by the same editor. --RegentsPark (comment) 21:17, 25 September 2021 (UTC)
 * All the changes are open and logged with explanation and reliable source. Toto11zi (talk) 22:42, 25 September 2021 (UTC)
 * Clearly other editors disagree that your references are reliable. You can't just keep ignoring the criticisms other editors express and declare your own edits unproblematic. Notfrompedro (talk) 22:45, 25 September 2021 (UTC)


 * Specific issues have been addressed, what are the new issues? Do you want to publish all changes in talk page first?Toto11zi (talk) 22:52, 25 September 2021 (UTC)
 * No they haven't. You were told by two other editors that your edits used poor grammar and had unreliable references. You just basically said I don't hear that and declared your own edits unproblematic. You were directed to numerous guidelines and I don't see any sign that you actually read them. Notfrompedro (talk) 22:57, 25 September 2021 (UTC)
 * Are you referring to (1) above? That can be fixed. or 2), 3), or 4)? There's already explanation for 4). Toto11zi (talk) 23:04, 25 September 2021 (UTC)
 * Probably you misunderstood what I said above. "old lead paragraph" meant the "current" (at this moment) paragraph without reliable source. Toto11zi (talk) 23:17, 25 September 2021 (UTC)
 * Notfrompedro can you answer questions? Toto11zi (talk) 22:02, 27 September 2021 (UTC)

First line "The 14th Dalai Lama[note 1] (spiritual name Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, known as Tenzin Gyatso; born Lhamo Dhondup),[note 2] known as Gyalwa Rinpoche to the Tibetan people, is the current Dalai Lama, the highest spiritual leader of Tibet, and a retired political leader of Tibet.[3] " can be kept even it doesn't have proper source. Any other issues? Again, you cannot just revert that many changes. If you're not happy about one statement, you can change, improve, or revert, reverting all the various individual changes of various editors is not a good reaction. Toto11zi (talk) 22:02, 27 September 2021 (UTC)
 * If consensus is to revert, that many changes absolutely can be reverted. The sourcing problems and grammar issues are just too much. I suggest you work on it in your sandbox, maybe get a volunteer to assist with corrections there. - MrOllie (talk) 22:05, 27 September 2021 (UTC)
 * Vavent, FloorMadeOuttaFloor, and Notfrompedro never contributed anything to the 14th Dalai Lama topic before Vavent's first massive revert at "05:38, 24 September 2021‎", and now they don't come again, or make consensus. You're saying any change will need sandbox and get approval? Approval from whom? Toto11zi (talk) 22:16, 27 September 2021 (UTC)
 * From the people on this talk page.Re 'they don't come again' - no one is required to renew their objections daily. And it is up to you to improve your suggested edits and gain consensus for them. - MrOllie (talk) 22:20, 27 September 2021 (UTC)
 * I'm good citizen of Wikipedia, I will follow what RegentsPark said, and put those old changes here Toto11zi (talk) 23:19, 27 September 2021 (UTC)

3 reincarnated Rinpoches in the same faimily
I will change the following:


 * He was one of seven siblings to survive childhood. The eldest was his sister Tsering Dolma, eighteen years his senior. His eldest brother, Thupten Jigme Norbu, had been recognised at the age of eight as the reincarnation of the high Lama Taktser Rinpoche. His sister, Jetsun Pema, spent most of her adult life on the Tibetan Children's Villages project. The Dalai Lama has said that his first language was "a broken Xining language which was (a dialect of) the Chinese language", a form of Central Plains Mandarin, and his family speak neither Amdo Tibetan nor Lhasa Tibetan.

to


 * He was one of seven siblings to survive childhood, one of the three reincarnated Rinpoches in the same family. The eldest was his sister Tsering Dolma, eighteen years his senior. His eldest brother, Thupten Jigme Norbu, had been recognised at the age of three by the 13th Dalai Lama as the reincarnation of the high Lama, the 6th Taktser Rinpoche.[31] His fifth brother, Tendzin Choegyal (Chinese:达拉·洛桑三旦), had been recognised as the 16th Ngari Rinpoche. His sister, Jetsun Pema, spent most of her adult life on the Tibetan Children's Villages project. The Dalai Lama has said that his first language was "a broken Xining language which was (a dialect of) the Chinese language", a form of Central Plains Mandarin, and his family speak neither Amdo Tibetan nor Lhasa Tibetan.

Toto11zi (talk) 23:27, 27 September 2021 (UTC)


 * I think this is fine, with one minor change. Again, the Chinese translation ("Tendzin Choegyal (Chinese:达拉·洛桑三旦)") shouldn't be in the body text. So, my change would make it:
 * "He was one of seven siblings to survive childhood, one of three reincarnated Rinpoches in the same family. The eldest was his sister Tsering Dolma, eighteen years his senior. His eldest brother, Thupten Jigme Norbu, had been recognised at the age of three by the 13th Dalai Lama as the reincarnation of the high Lama, the 6th Taktser Rinpoche.[31] His fifth brother, Tendzin Choegyal, had been recognised as the 16th Ngari Rinpoche. His sister, Jetsun Pema, spent most of her adult life on the Tibetan Children's Villages project. The Dalai Lama has said that his first language was "a broken Xining language which was (a dialect of) the Chinese language", a form of Central Plains Mandarin, and his family speak neither Amdo Tibetan nor Lhasa Tibetan." However, I would like to see your source for this change. Vavent (talk) 03:12, 1 October 2021 (UTC)

In October 1938, the Method of Using Golden Urn for the 14th Dalai Lama (Chinese: 十四世达赖喇嘛转世掣签征认办法) was drafted by Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission.
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=14th_Dalai_Lama&oldid=1046124052

In October 1938, the Method of Using Golden Urn for the 14th Dalai Lama (Chinese: 十四世达赖喇嘛转世掣签征认办法) was drafted by Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission. [59] Toto11zi (talk) 17:50, 14 October 2021 (UTC)

On 12 December 1938, regent Reting Rinpoche informed Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission that 3 candidates were found and ceremony of Golden Urn would be held.
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=14th_Dalai_Lama&oldid=1046124052

On 12 December 1938, regent Reting Rinpoche informed Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission that 3 candidates were found and ceremony of Golden Urn would be held.

Quote:

1938年12月12日热振摄政致蒙藏委员会电报称“达赖大师转世之化身三灵儿，已蒙转电青海省政府督促纪仓佛速将西宁所选灵儿送来拉萨，良深感慰. 所有中央派员参加办法一则，业经与司伦、噶厦商议，三灵儿迎到后，举行掣签典礼之际，为昭大信，悦遐迩计，中央当派员参加. ”

Machine translation of the telegraph from Reting:

For the 3 candidates of reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, request has been sent to the Qinghai Provincial Government to urge to send candidate of Xining to Lhasa, which is deeply gratified. All members of the Central Committee, along with Kashag, when 3 candidates arrived, lottery ceremony would be held, the Central (Government) should dispatch officials to participate.

Toto11zi (talk) 17:56, 14 October 2021 (UTC)

On 22 September 1938, representatives of Tibet Office in Beijing informed Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission that 3 candidates were found and ceremony of Golden Urn would be held in Tibet.
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=14th_Dalai_Lama&oldid=1046124052

On 22 September 1938, representatives of Tibet Office in Beijing informed Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission that 3 candidates were found and ceremony of Golden Urn would be held in Tibet.

Source:

1938年9月22日，西藏驻京办事处代表阿旺桑丹、格登恪典、图丹桑结等电告蒙藏委员会报告寻获灵儿，并将其送西藏掣签认定，电称：“达赖佛转世事，经民众代表寻访结果，西藏内部寻得灵异幼童2名，西宁塔尔寺方面寻得灵异幼童1名. 依照西藏宗教仪式，所寻选之幼童应聚集西藏，降驾掣签，认定真正达赖之转世，既多灵异后，复经庄严之金本巴瓶内典礼拈之. 现典礼期将近，关于西宁塔尔寺地方所寻选者，请中央政府俯允该主持人员，迅将寻选幼童送至西藏，参加典礼并恳发给执照，以利行程. ”

Machine translation of telegraph:

[As for the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, as a result of a search by representatives of the people, two supernatural children were found in Tibet, and one supernatural child was found in Xining. According to Tibetan religious ceremonies, the selected young children should gather in Tibet, Golden Urn ceremony should be held, and determine that the true reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. The ceremony is approaching. Regarding the candidates for the Taer Monastery in Xining, the central government is requested to host, and promptly send the selected children to Tibet, participate in the ceremony and issue approval to facilitate the itinerary. "]

Google search and book search for "经民众代表寻访结果" for all sources.

Toto11zi (talk) 17:29, 14 October 2021 (UTC)
 * You need to provide sources. No one here is going to google search for you. And, definitely not google search something that they cannot read. Please try and find English language sources. --RegentsPark (comment) 19:57, 14 October 2021 (UTC)
 * The source here is a quote, the telegraph itself. This is history of China, I couldn't find any English language source regarding this specific telegraph. This telegraph has been recorded in various web sites, and books, all in Chinese language. Translation is for the telegraph only. Toto11zi (talk) 21:12, 14 October 2021 (UTC)
 * page 378 of book "佛境: 影响西藏佛敎的奇僧" Author: 周炜 published in 2003
 * page 460 of "清代以来中央政府对西藏的治理与活佛转世制度史料汇集", Authors: 赵学毅, ‎常为民, ‎欧声明 published in 1996
 * From ifeng.com: https://news.ifeng.com/history/1/renwu/200804/0411_2665_486506.shtml

Events after the demise of the 13th Dalai Lama and before search of the 14th.
The following statements or events are background information of the 14th:


 * https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=14th_Dalai_Lama&oldid=1046124052
 * After the demise of the 13th Dalai Lama, Reting Rinpoche and Langdun (nephew of the 13th Dalai Lama) became regent and vice regent of Tibet, this was approved by the Central Government, and in 1935, title “Zen Master of the Nation and Propagator of the Doctrine (Chinese:辅国普化禅师)” was conferred to Reting Rinpoche.[35] In 1935, the Ordinance of Lama Temple Management (Chinese: 管理喇嘛寺廟條例)[36][37] was published by the Central Government. In 1936, the Method of Reincarnation of Lamas (Chinese: 喇嘛轉世辦法)[38][39] was published by the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission of the Central Government. Article 3 states that death of lamas including the Dalai Lama, the Panchen Lama should be reported to Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission, soul boys should be found, reported to and checked by Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission, lot-drawing ceremony with Golden Urn system should be held. Article 6 states that local governments should invite official from the Central Government to take care of the sitting-in-the-bed ceremony. Article 7 states that soul boys should not be searched from the current lama families. Article 7 echos what the Qianlong Emperor described in The Discourse of Lama to eliminate greedy family with multiple reincarnated rinpoches, lamas.[40] Based on custom and regulation, regent was actively involved in the search for the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama.

Toto11zi (talk) 00:52, 14 October 2021 (UTC)
 * The sources don't appear to be WP:RS. Living Buddha is not and the other sources appear to be ROC sources which, on the subject of the political status of Tibet prior to the Chinese takeover, are not reliable. --RegentsPark (comment) 19:56, 14 October 2021 (UTC)
 * You're saying 辅国普化禅师,管理喇嘛寺廟條例,喇嘛轉世辦法 were not reliable? What are you trying to say? Those were old regulations, and Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission followed those regulations, and Reting also followed Toto11zi (talk) 21:20, 14 October 2021 (UTC)
 * 管理喇嘛寺廟條例https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E7%AE%A1%E7%90%86%E5%96%87%E5%98%9B%E5%AF%BA%E5%BB%9F%E6%A2%9D%E4%BE%8B
 * https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E5%96%87%E5%98%9B%E8%BD%89%E4%B8%96%E8%BE%A6%E6%B3%95

Head of state of the Kashag of Tibet
In the abolished constitution of Tibet, there was no Central Tibetan Administration. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=14th_Dalai_Lama&type=revision&diff=1044948271&oldid=1044944004

Explanation of the change:

Head of state was first specified in the 1963 Constitution of Tibet which was promulgated by the Dalai Lama. In 1991, Charter for the Tibetans-in-Exile was published to replace Constitution of Tibet, the Dalai Lama became head of the Tibetan Administration for Tibetans-in-Exile.

Toto11zi (talk) 20:55, 13 October 2021 (UTC)
 * This needs a source. --RegentsPark (comment) 19:53, 14 October 2021 (UTC)
 * Source for the explanation? or source for the change? Source for the change is Constitution of Tibet.Toto11zi (talk) 21:28, 14 October 2021 (UTC)

On 23 November 1939, haircut ceremony was performed
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=14th_Dalai_Lama&oldid=1046124052

On 23 November 1939, haircut ceremony, naming ceremony of monastic name of Tenzin Gyatso were performed without Wu's presence.

Quote of the source: 在藏历十月十三日(公历11月23日)又按例为拉木顿珠剃发、赠号、受戒 Author: Tibetology Scholor: 周伟洲 (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%91%A8%E4%BC%9F%E6%B4%B2) Machine Translation: On October 13th of the Tibetan calendar (November 23rd of the Gregorian calendar), according to the convention, Lhamo Thondup was shaved, was named, and received ordination. ) Toto11zi (talk) 21:37, 14 October 2021 (UTC)

Langdun was forced to resign
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=14th_Dalai_Lama&oldid=1046148477

Vice Regent Langdun actively supported son of his relative to be the 14th Dalai Lama. From the perspective of the regent Reting Rinpoche, the selection of the Qinghai soul boy was mainly due to his merits. Therefore, he hoped that the Qinghai soul boy could be selected as the reincarnation of the 14th Dalai Lama. In April 1939, Vice Regent Langdun was forced to resign.

https://max.book118.com/html/2015/1105/28570011.shtm

Quote:

国内藏学研究学者周伟洲先生:从摄政热振活佛方面来看，青海灵童的选定主要是他的功绩，因此他希望青海灵童选为转世的十四世达赖喇嘛. 而作为助理摄政的郎堆对此表示异议，积极支持另一名灵童，即他的亲戚尧西颇本之子. 这自然使原来事事要与郎堆商议的热振与郎堆的矛盾激化. 因此，在1939年4月，热振活佛提出要辞去摄政职务，而民众大会(春都)为挽留热振，决定让郎堆辞去助理摄政之职，从此热振就独揽西藏地方大权.

Machine translation:

Domestic Tibetology research scholar Mr. Zhou Weizhou wrote: From the perspective of Reting Rinpoche, the Qinghai soul boy was selected mainly because of his merits. Therefore, he hopes that the Qinghai soul boy will be selected as the reincarnation of the 14th Dalai Lama. As the Vice Regent, Langdun expressed dissent and actively supported another soul boy, the son of his relative Yaoxipoben. This naturally aggravated the contradiction between Langdun and Reting Rinpoche who had to discuss everything with Langdun. Therefore, in April 1939, Regent Rinpoche proposed to resign from the post of regent, and the People's Assembly (Chundu) decided to let Langdun resign from the post of Vice Regent in order to retain Regent Rinpoche. Since then, Regent Rinpoche has taken over the power of Tibet. Toto11zi (talk) 17:36, 14 October 2021 (UTC)
 * Doesn't look WP:RS. Could you please use shorter section headings?--RegentsPark (comment) 20:02, 14 October 2021 (UTC)
 * Can you explain why? Provide your source of information please. Toto11zi (talk) 17:48, 16 October 2021 (UTC)
 * Google books:中国边疆史地研究, Issues 1-4, page 82
 * Google: http://media.tibet.cn/culture/history/1320039900161.shtml
 * Google: https://www.1xuezhe.exuezhe.com/Qk/art/333184?dbcode=1&flag=2


 * First Author of Article: Zhou Weizhou (周伟洲)
 * Information of Author: Zhou Weizhou, born in 1940, is a professor and doctoral supervisor at the Northwest Ethnic Studies Center of Shaanxi Normal University. Address: No. 1, Shida Road, Nanjiao, Xi'an, 710062.
 * Publication: 《中国边疆史地研究》2007,page 77-89

Lot-drawing process ceremony was ordered to be held between that child and Lhamo Dhondup
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=14th_Dalai_Lama&oldid=1046124052

Since Golden Urn was not used for the selection of the 14th Dalai Lama, there was rumor that a child of relative of the 13th Dalai Lama was the real 14th Dalai Lama. Lot-drawing process ceremony was ordered to be held between that child and Lhamo Dhondup. Toto11zi (talk) 18:19, 16 October 2021 (UTC)

In 2021, it was revealed that the Dalai Lama’s inner circle was listed in the Pegasus project data.
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=14th_Dalai_Lama&oldid=1046124052

In 2021, it was revealed that the Dalai Lama’s inner circle was listed in the Pegasus project data.[138]

Toto11zi (talk) 18:24, 16 October 2021 (UTC)

Page essentially says he has magic powers
"When the team visited, posing as pilgrims, its leader, a Sera Lama, pretended to be the servant and sat separately in the kitchen. He held an old mala that had belonged to the 13th Dalai Lama, and the boy Lhamo Dhondup, aged two, approached and asked for it. The monk said "if you know who I am, you can have it." The child said "Sera Lama, Sera Lama" and spoke with him in a Lhasa accent, in a dialect the boy's mother could not understand."

Not tempered by "it is reported" or anything, just straight up saying the religion is true. Rollinginhisgrave (talk) 11:54, 25 October 2021 (UTC)
 * I tweaked it. Not sure how to phrase this, lore doesn't seem quite right. --RegentsPark (comment) 12:14, 25 October 2021 (UTC)

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment
This article is or was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Jwang2037, Eboskovski, Lin1248, ShengO.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 12:56, 16 January 2022 (UTC)

Family links in Tibetan culture?
Are the families of incumbent dalai lama and previous dalai lamas regarded as being related in tibetan culture? 2A00:23C5:C13C:9F00:B81A:77E6:39A6:5EBF (talk) 17:36, 24 March 2022 (UTC)

Years between 1950-1959
The article doesn't contain any information on this most tumultuous time, is this on purpose? There is only a sentence that he assumed power at 1950 and then next bit jumps to 1956... It is very confusing. Is there a separate article about the Chinese-Tibetan conflicts that can at least be added as a link? 88.231.56.105 (talk) 13:58, 29 May 2022 (UTC)

References to him
In the cartoon series Avatar: The Last Airbender and its sequel, Legend of Korra; there are 2 characters named after him https://avatar.fandom.com/wiki/Tenzin https://avatar.fandom.com/wiki/Gyatso which has been confirmed. I am throwing in the idea to put it somewhere but I don't know if you consider that an honour, or "in media" or even if its worth mentioning Voball the wiki man (talk) 21:10, 18 May 2023 (UTC)

Born place
It says: Taktser, Amdo, Tibet. The main problem is: in Wikipedia we say either the region/state which controlled the town/city/settlement at the moment, or the present day state/country which does it now. In this case, Tibet didn't control the region in 1935, and neither does it today. Someone could say "but it was inside the historical region of Tibet called Amdo", which is true, but it isn't sufficient. The correct form should be "Taktser, Qinghai, China", or "Taktser, Amdo Region, Qinghai, China", or even also without mentioning China itself. Because les't be real, the main reason for someone to have put Amdo, Tibet is to hid that the Dalai Lama was born outside Tibet or tibetan-controlled territories.

Other examples: Murat Karayılan, one of the leaders of the PKK, has in its page "Birecik, Şanlıurfa, Turkey", not saying West Kurdistan. Abdul Haq, from the Turkestan Islamic Party, has "Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang, China".

And so, as the page said "Do not change without consensus", I'm asking so we can come to one. Wario2 (talk) 13:28, 29 August 2022 (UTC)

"in Wikipedia we say either the region/state which controlled the town/city/settlement at the moment" ... Can you cite the rule that requires this? Currently the article cites 2 official sources listing Tibet as the country of his birthplace. Can you provide sources which state he was born in China, or that Amdo was part of China at the time? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:643:897F:8C40:1169:C757:A266:89D8 (talk) 11:58, 22 October 2022 (UTC)


 * The border between Tibet and China was ill defined at the time of his birth. I don't dispute it's outside the current autonomous province of Tibet, but at the time things were less clear. PhilKnight (talk) 16:07, 7 August 2023 (UTC)