page_title: Tsarong
hierarchical_section_title: Tsarong
caption_attribution_description: For documentary purposes the German Federal Archive often retained the original image captions, which may be erroneous, biased, obsolete or politically extreme. Lhasa, Tsarong
context_page_description: Tsarong Dazang Dramdul commonly known simply as Tsarong or by his title Tsarong Dzasa, was a Commander General of Tibet, a Tibetan diplomat, economist, civil engineer and close aide of the 13th Dalai Lama. He was an important figure in the early twentieth century conflict with the Chinese and was active in protecting Tibet militarily as the Commander in Chief of Tibet. Eager to accelerate economic progression and pursue the modernisation of Tibet, Tsarong believed that the old order in Tibet had to be broken by hierarchical reforms to prepare the way for a more modern society which would be compatible with the outside world. In his efforts to build up Tibet's defense systems and relations with European powers as well as to facilitate trade and strengthen the Tibetan currency, he made a series of diplomatic visits to British India.
context_section_description: Tsarong Dazang Dramdul (Tibetan: ཚ་རོང་ཟླ་བཟང་དགྲ་འདུལ་, Wylie: tsha-rong zla-bzang dgra-'dul; Chinese: 擦绒·达桑占堆; pinyin: Cāróng Dásāng Zhānduī; born Namgang; 1888–1959) commonly known simply as Tsarong or by his title Tsarong Dzasa, was a Commander General of Tibet, a Tibetan diplomat, economist, civil engineer and close aide of the 13th Dalai Lama. He was an important figure in the early twentieth century conflict with the Chinese and was active in protecting Tibet militarily as the Commander in Chief of Tibet. Eager to accelerate economic progression and pursue the modernisation of Tibet, Tsarong believed that the old order in Tibet had to be broken by hierarchical reforms to prepare the way for a more modern society which would be compatible with the outside world. In his efforts to build up Tibet's defense systems and relations with European powers as well as to facilitate trade and strengthen the Tibetan currency, he made a series of diplomatic visits to British India. His diplomatic skills came to see him regarded by the British as being, "the most powerful friend of His Majesty's Government in Tibet" Eventually captured by the People's Liberation Army in March 1959, dying later in a prison shortly before his public "struggle session" and execution in Lhasa, today Tsarong Dzasa is considered one of the most important figures in 20th-century Tibet.
caption: Tsarong Dzasa, 1938
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