LHUNDRUP TSOMO Gets a New House—One of a series of stories of Lhundrup Tsomo

In the middle of the 1980s the Chinese Government launched a campaign of poverty relief entitled the"Eight-Seven Plan to Attack Poverty".Later scholars from the China Tibetology Research Center followed the implementation of the plan by conducting comprehensive academic studies.Subsequently, scholars closely observed the family of Lhundrup Tsomo and her community,Chundul Village in Lhundrup County of Lhasa,for ten years.In this paper and others to come,a series of"Lhundrup Tsomo's stories:Studies in the ...     

A Change in Family Hierarchy for LHUNDRUP TSOMO—One of a series of stories of Lhundrup Tsomo（3）

Encountering a change in the family hierarchy in 2005 that was erstwhile headed by Lhundrop Tsomo she had no more right to speak with authority but rather must defer to her son-in-law,Dondrup. Despite Lhundrop Tsomo＇s poverty,caused by many reasons,neighbors argued the fundamental cause of such an inferior economic situation was mostly because of idleness and the lack of financial management skills of the whole family.For example,villagers claimed,     

Lhundrup Tsomo WISHES Tashi Dampa BE THE VILLAGE ADMINISTRATOR Once More

In the change of season from spring to summer in 2008, our research team revisited Lhundrup Tsomo＇s family. She was worried and askedus about the health situation of the village administrator＇s wife who was ill, and the village administrator had already taken her to see doctors. With her perseverance, we had to inform her that the wife of the village administrator Tashi Dampa was suffering from breast cancer and she was undergoing chemical therapy in the People＇s Hospital i,n Lhasa and surgery might soon take place. On hearing that, Lhundrup Tsomo immediately became sad and she told us stories about how sucha situation developed in Tashi Dampa＇s family during recent years. Since the village administrator devoted his time and efforts to take care of the village and his fellow villagers, he did less for his family but rather left it all to his wife, which led to her final tragedy.     

The New Holder of Family Authority over Lhundrup Tsomo Dreams about the Future

In the spring of 2008, we revisited Lhundrup Tsomo and her family. The door was closed and nobody was at home. This was quite unusual after our experience in previous visits. While we were puzzling,     

A Storm of Changes Sweep over Tibetan Farmers and Herdsmen Led by the Qinghai-Tibetan Railway

From the opening traffic of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway,a major restriction on transportation to and from Tibet was finally removed. Such a change has had a massive impact on the economy of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) as a whole and,in particular,on the rural Tibetans.In other words,the railway became a leading force in the re- structure and advancement of the Tibetan economy.