Gyantse
There entered the peaceful valley all the horrors of war – dead and maimed men in the streets and houses, burning villages, death and destruction of all kinds.
This is one of the most iconic images taken during the Mission to Tibet. It reminds us that the act of pointing a camera can be just as violent as the act of pointing a gun. This is easy to forget in the age of the ‘selfie’.
The photographs taken in Gyantse only offer a glimpse of the devastation caused by the British. They show monks in the monastery running for their lives, fearing that the camera pointed at them is a gun. They also show walls being built to stop British progress, and a Tibetan commander waving a white flag to declare a truce. In some cases, these were the first and last photographs taken of important landmarks before they were destroyed during the British attack.
This photograph of Gyantse dzong was taken in April 1904. It shows the dzong before it was blown up by the British on 5th July. Between May and July, Tibetan and British troops fought a bloody battle. As the British moved closer to capturing the dzong, they looted and destroyed Nenying Monastery, Tsechen Monastery and the Phala estate.
These photographs also help us locate the British camps in Gyantse: first in the grounds of the Changlo estate, then later at Karo La, and below the monastery at Drongtse. They also record the many sightseeing trips the British took before fighting began, including to the Palkor Chode.
Tibetan villagers and soldiers built walls across the valleys to block British progress in Tibet. This photograph likely shows a wall built at Nenying near Gyantse. Nenying Monastery and its surrounding village was looted and almost destroyed by the British on 26th June.
There entered the peaceful valley all the horrors of war – dead and maimed men in the streets and houses, burning villages, death and destruction of all kinds
The photographs taken in Gyantse only offer a glimpse of the devastation caused by the British. They show monks in the monastery running for their lives, fearing that the camera pointed at them is a gun. They also show walls being built to stop British progress, and a Tibetan commander waving a white flag to declare a truce. In some cases, these were the first and last photographs taken of important landmarks before they were destroyed during the British attack.
These photographs also help us locate the British camps in Gyantse: first in the grounds of the Changlo estate, then later at Karo La, and below the monastery at Drongtse. They also record the many sightseeing trips the British took before fighting began, including to the Palkor Chode.