The Ninth Panchen Lama (1883-1937): A Life at the Crossroads of Sino-Tibetan Relations

This book is confused, confusing and full of highly convenient omissions. Jagou has no understanding of the British in India or Tibet believing that the British arrived in India at 'the end of the 18th Century', (they were granted a charter in 1599!) He calls the Britons in Lhasa 'British envoys' and the Chinese 'Lhasa China Office in 1940' (both had had Missions in Lhasa since 1936). Why this distinction is made seems to point to his having his eye on future visits to China/Tibet, just as his derogatory remarks about 'the incipient nationalism that was being introduced by the 13th Dalai Lama'. Jagou is quite willing to point out that the numbering is Chinese, the Tibetans regarded him as the 6th, but nonetheless continues to use the Chinese numbering. It really is quite a shame as so much research has gone into this book but if you want a hagiography with leaning towards China then this is the book for you.