Tian Bao
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Tian Bao (? - February 21, 2008) was a Chinese government official. Tian was one of the first ethnic Tibetans to embrace the concept of Communism and join Mao Zedong's army.[1] Mao's army, and the People's Republic of China, later invaded and occupied Tibet in 1951.[1]
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[edit] Early life
Tian Bao was born as Sangye Yeshi in Kham, a traditional eastern region of Tibet which is now part of the Chinese province of Sichuan.[1]
[edit] Communism
Tian first encountered Mao Zedong's army in 1935 as it pushed through western China when he was eighteen years old.[1] Mao was trying to escape Kuomintang government forces at the time.[1] Tian joined Mao's army and became one of the few ethnic Tibetans who participated in the Long March, a retreat by Chinese Communist forces into northern China in 1935.[1]
Tian later held senior positions in the government and Chinese Communist Party of Tibet and Sichuan following the Communist victory in the Chinese Civil War and the 1951 Invasion of Tibet.[1] Tian was appointed the deputy secretary of the Tibetan regional Communist Party after its establishment in 1965. [1] This was considered to be a high profile post for an ethnic Tibetan at the time.[1]
[edit] Death
Tian Bao died on February 21, 2008, at the age of 92 in the city of Chengdu, PR China.[1] Officials said he died of an unspecified illness, but gave no further details.[1]
