Xizang

Xizang (西藏) is the Chinese name for either historic Tibet or the Tibet Autonomous Region. The name originated during the Manchu Qing Dynasty of China. It can be broken down into Xi 西 (literally "West"), and Zang 藏 (literally "Tibetan"). The term can be interpreted as either "Western Tibet", or "Tibet of/in the West".

Related Topics:
Tibet - Tibet Autonomous Region - Manchu - Qing Dynasty

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"Xizang" is a phonetic transcription derived from Tsang, the western part of Ü-Tsang. The character ? (zàng) has been used in transcriptions referring to Tsang as early as the Ming Dynasty, if not earlier, though the modern term "Xizang" was devised in the 18th century. The Chinese character ? (Zàng) has also been generalized to refer to all of Tibet, including Tibetan things such as the Tibetan language (??, Zàngwén) and the Tibetan people (??, Zàngzú).

Related Topics:
Tsang - Ü-Tsang - Ming Dynasty - 18th century - Tibetan language

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The government of the People's Republic of China equates Tibet with Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). As such, Xizang is equated with the TAR. Non-TAR Tibetan areas are called 藏区 (literally, "ethnic Tibetan areas").

Related Topics:
People's Republic of China - Tibet Autonomous Region

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Many English-speakers also reserve "Xizang", the Chinese word transliterated into English, for the TAR, to keep the concept distinct from that of historic Tibet. Some pro-independence advocates duplicate the situation into the Chinese language, and use 土伯特 or 图伯特, which are both phonetic transcriptions of the word "Tibet", to refer to historic Tibet, though this usage is very rare.

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However, Chinese-language versions of pro-Tibetan independence websites, such as the Free Tibet Campaign, the Voice of Tibet, and Tibet Net use 西藏 ("Xizang") to mean historic Tibet.

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