Tibetan Civilization: Special Topics

CLIO Search

One of the most effective searches for resources on Tibetan environmental issues can be done in CLIO, Columbia's online catalog, by using the NEW CLIO Search interface.  This will search both books and journal articles, including hundreds of studies on geological and climate-related research on the Tibetan Plateau. 

See here for a sample of search results. Be sure to click on "View and filter all ### results" at the top of each box, for the full results list.

New and Noteworthy:

Online Resources

Tibetan Plateau Ecoregion

Studies Published by the Central Tibetan Administration (Dharamsala, India)

• ASSESSMENT REPORT OF THE RECENT LANDSLIDE EVENT IN THE GYAMA VALLEY:(2013)
• Tibet: The Third Pole and the Himalayas (2013)
• Scarring the land, scrapping the wounds (2103)
• The (degrading) Third Pole (2013)
• Water Security and Environmental Management on the Tibetan Plateau (2012)
• Tibet: The Third Pole, Importance of Environmental Stewardship (2012)
• Denial of Tibetan People’s Rights on their Native Land (2012)
• A Culture Endangered: Depopulating the Grasslands of the Tibetan Plateau (2012)
• Tibet: The (Degrading) Third Pole (2012)
• The Impacts on the Pastoral Nomads of the Melting Tibetan Plateau (2012)
• Green Tibet: Annual Newsletter (2012)
• The State of Environment on the Tibetan Plateau and Its Consequences for India (2011)
• Consequences of China’s Policies on Tibetan Pastoral Nomads (2011)
• Climate Change in Tibet and Asia (2011)
• Tibet’s Rivers: Perspectives and Challenges for Asia (2011)
• EDD Response to China’s White Paper of 11 July 2011
• Green Tibet: Annual Newsletter (2011)
• Environmental Issues and Concerns on the Tibetan Plateau (2010)
• Environmental Concerns and Implementation of Sustainable Development Policies on the Tibetan Plateau (2010)
• Climate Change Report on Tibet (2009)
• A First-Hand Account of Nomadic Life in Tibet (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)
• China’s Train, Tibet’s Tragedy (2009)
• Tibet in Copenhagen (COP15 Briefing Papers 2009)
• Environment and Development in Tibet: A crucial Issue (2008)
• Geneva Policy Briefing on Tibet: Environmental and Development Issue (2008)
• Environment and Development in Tibet: A Crucial Issue (2008)
• Tibet: A Human Development and Environment Report (2007)
• His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama on Environment (2007)
• Endangered Mammals of Tibet (2005)
• Guidelines for International Development Projects and Sustainable Development in Tibet (English)
• Guidelines for International Development Projects and Sustainable Development in Tibet (Tibetan)
• China’s Railway Project: Where will it take Tibet? (2001)
• Demilitarisation of the Tibetan Plateau (2000)
• Tibet 2000: Environment and Development Issues (2000)
• Denial of Tibetan people’s rights on their Native Land
• The Impacts on the Pastoral Nomads of the Melting Tibetan Plateau
• Tibet: The Third Pole, Importance of Environmental Stewardship
• Water Security and Environmental Management on the Tibetan Plateau
• Tibet 2003: State of the Environment (2004)

DOCUMENTARIES

• Nowhere To Call Home (2014)
• Daughters of Dolma (2013)
• Gesar Bard's Tale (2013)
• Valley of the Heroes (2013)
• Summer Pasture (2012)
• Brilliant Moon: Glimpses of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche (2011)
• Nangchen Shorts (2011)  (on order)
• Blessings: The Tsoknyi Nangchen Nuns of Tibet (2010)
• Leaving Fear Behind (2008)
• Kokonor (2008)
• Daughters of Wisdom (2007)
• Lhacham (2007)
• Kekexili (2006)
• Angry Monk: Reflections on Tibet (2005)
• Tantric Yogi (2005)
• Saltmen of Tibet (2002)
• Islam in Tibet (1997)

FEATURE FILMS

• Tharlo (2015)
• Old Dog (2011)
• The Search (2009)
• Prince of the Himalayas (2006)
• Dreaming Lhasa (2005)
• Red River Valley (2003)
• Song of Tibet (2000)
• Himalaya (1999)
• Kundun (1998)
• Seven Years in Tibet (1997)
• Serf (1963)
• Horse Thief (1987)

DOCU-DRAMA FILMS

• Paths of the Soul: A Journey into Humanity and Faith (2016)

For an extensive guide on Tibetan historical research, click the link for History in the Columbia Online Research Guide for Modern Tibetan Studies.
 

CLASSICAL TIBETAN LITERATURE

Tibetan Literature: Studies in Genre, edited by José Ignacio Cabezón and Roger R. Jackson

THL Tibetan Literary Encyclopedia

Bhum, Pema. Six Stars with a Crooked Neck: Memoirs of the Cultural Revolution. Translated by Lauran Hartley. Dharamsala: Tibet Times, 2001.

Dondrup Gyal (Don grub rgyal). “‘Waterfall of Youth’.” [Poem] Translated by Tsering Shakya. Manoa 12, no. 2 (2000): 9–13.

———. Thöndrupgyäl. L’artiste tibétain : petit roman. Translated by Francoise Robin. Paris: Bleu de Chines, 2007.  CLIO Record  

———. Thöndrupgyäl. La fleur vaincue par le gel : roman. Translated by Francoise Robin. Paris: Bleu de Chine, 2006. CLIO Record 

Dorje Rinchen (Rdo-rje-rin-chen). “Roadside Journal.” Translated by Lauran Hartley. Exchanges (Journal of the Translation Laboratory at Iowa University), n.d.

Gendun Chopel (Dge ’dun chos ’phel). In the Forest of Faded Wisdom: 104 Poems by Gendun Chopel. Edited and translated by Donald S. Lopez. Chicago: Chicago University Press, 2009. CLIO Record 

Jangbu (Ljang bu). Nine-Eyed Agate: Poems and Stories. Translated by Heather Stoddard. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2010.

Ju Kalzang ('Ju Skal-bzang). “Tibet, Mother, Mani.” [Poem] Translated by Lauran Hartley. Lungta 12, no. 1999 Summer: 37.

Phuntsog Tashi (Phun tshogs bkra shis). “Guests of the Or Tog Bar.” Translated by Patricia Shiaffini-Vedani. World Literature Today 2004, no. Jan-April (2004): 57–61.

Sangye Gyatso. “’Khor Ba’i Snying Bo =  The Essence of Samsara.” [Poem] Translated by Francoise Robin. Latse Library Newsletter 1 (2003): 16–25.

Tailing, W. (Bkras-gling) Secret Tale of Tesur House. Beijing: China Tibetology Publishing House, 1998.

Tsering Dondrup (Tshe ring don grub). “A Show to Please the Masses.” Translated by Lauran Hartley. Persimmon: Asian Literature, Arts and Culture, 2, no. 2 (Fall 2000): 61–77.

Yangtsokyi (G.yang-’tsho-skyid) “Journal of the Grassland.” Translated by Lauran Hartley. Beacons 4, (ATA Journal of Literary Translation) 4 (1998): 99–111.

Works Translated from Chinese

Alai. Red Poppies. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002.

———. Tibetan Soul: Stories. Translated by Karen Gernant and Zeping Chen. Portland, ME: MerwinAsia, 2012.

Batt, Herbert J. Tales of Tibet: Sky Burials, Prayer Wheels, and Wind Horses. New York: Rowman and Littlefield, 2001.

Tashi Dawa. Soul in Bondage: Stories from Tibet. Beijing: Panda Books, 1992.

Original English Language Works by Tibetan Authors

Sonam, Bhuchung. Yak Horns : Note on Contemporary Tibetan Writing, Music, Film & Politics. Dharamsala: Tibet Writes, 2012. CLIO Record  

Norbu, Jamyang. Sherlock Holmes: Missing Years. New York: Bloomsbury, 1999. CLIO Record

Thubten Samphel. Falling through the Roof. New Delhi: Rupa & Co., 2008. CLIO Record

Dhompa, Tsering Wangmo. In the Absent Everyday. Berkeley, Calif. : Apogee Press, 2005. CLIO Record

———. My Rice Tastes Like the Lake. Berkeley, Calif. : Apogee Press, 2011. CLIO Record

———. Rules of the House. Berkeley, Calif. : Apogee Press, 2002. CLIO Record

Woeser. Tibet’s True Heart: Selected Poems. Translated by A.E. Clark. Dobbs Ferry, NY: Ragged Banner Press, 2008. CLIO Record

• Plateau Culture Heritage Protection Group: Collections from the Tibetan Plateau (formerly "The Plateau Music Project")

This grass-roots preservation project offers hundreds of recordings of folk songs and folk tales, recorded since 2005 by local volunteers from the English Training Program at Qinghai Normal University (Qinghai Province). Beginning in late 2007, the project expanded to record endangered songs of other ethnic minority groups such as the Naxi and Pumi ethnicities in China’s Yunnan Province.

• DIGITAL HIMALAYA: "Songs from Chab mdo"

Description per Digital Himalaya (U of Cambridge): "These songs were recorded in Skar ma Village, Chab mdo City, in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. Skar ma Village is an agro-pastoralist community about 1,080 kilometers from Lhasa; all residents are Tibetan. The songs in this collection were recorded in 2007 by Bsod nams dung mtsho, and all were sung by Bsod nams 'byor ldan, a male who, at the time of recording, was in his sixties. Except the first track, all are dancing songs."

• Oxford Music Online

Includes biographies for several leading Tibetan singers, as well as other resources.  For example, a truncated keyword search for "Tibet*" retrieves more than 100 search results.  Access restricted to subscribers. At Columbia, use a campus computer or log-in remotely via proxy.

• Ethnomusicology: Global Field Recordings

This database, which requires log-in with a Columbia UNI, contains audio recordings, videos, field notebooks and journals that document musical traditions and how music interacts with different societies and cultures all over the globe. The resource provides a wealth of materials for the interdisciplinary study of ethnomusicology; whether the focus is on music, anthropology, dance, religion or spirituality.  Recordings of Tibetan music are primarily in two collections: Fredric Lieberman Collection (Sikkim, 1970); and the Peter Crossley-Holland Collection (Sikkim and Ladakh,1961).