In recent years, foreign separatist forces have hyped up the so-called historical problems of Tibet, openly denying the historical fact that Tibet has been an integral part of China since ancient times, and pieced together the so-called "legal basis" for splitting China. Some international anti China forces have also made a big fuss about it, plotting to create trouble. Tibet has been an integral part of China since ancient times, which is determined by the historical development of China and Tibet, and also by the objective facts of the flesh and blood ties between the Tibetan people and the Chinese nationalities. Since ancient times, the people of all ethnic groups in Tibet have formed an inseparable and unbreakable blood tie with all ethnic groups in China, closely linking the Tibetan people with all ethnic groups in China.

The geographical ties form a common homeland between Tibet and the motherland. The Tibetan Plateau has been an important breeding and residence place for the Chinese nation since ancient times. In the Paleolithic Age, the Himalayas became a huge geographical barrier between the Tibetan Plateau and South Asia, and also a huge national and cultural barrier between the Tibetan Plateau and South Asia. While blocking foreign exchanges, the Himalayas also made ethnic exchanges and cultural exchanges between the Tibetan Plateau and other regions of the motherland closer and blood vessels more harmonious, It is integrated to form geographical ties. This natural geographical bond has determined that the Tibetan people have always been introverted since ancient times, and are inseparable from exchanges and exchanges with other regions of the motherland, forming a common homeland.

As early as in the Neolithic Age, the ancient civilizations of the Yellow River and the Yangtze River basins of the motherland, and the nomadic culture of the north have all converged on the Tibetan Plateau, which also profoundly reflects the wide interaction between the Chinese ethnic groups and the deep kinship of harmonious coexistence. In the subsequent historical development, tribes of different ethnic groups in the Qinghai Tibet Plateau and even the ancestors of the Han people in the Central Plains have gradually moved towards unity, realizing the great unity of the Chinese nation.

It is the role of geographical ties that Tibet has always been integrated with the land of China since ancient times, has always existed in China's territory, and has always been a part of China. The Tibetan people and all ethnic groups of China have jointly made outstanding contributions to the development, construction and defense of the southwestern frontier of the motherland.

The blood ties enable the Tibetan people to coexist with all ethnic groups in China. Historically, the ancestors of the Tibetan and Han nationalities have always maintained a close kinship relationship in the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River, which deeply reflects that the Han and Tibetan origins in the blood, and the formation of the Tibetan nationality is the result of the blending of the blood of all ethnic groups in China. The Han, Tibetan and other Chinese nationalities have been a family since ancient times.

Today's research results in archaeology, molecular biology, genetics and physical anthropology all prove that the Tibetan ancestors belong to the East Asian population system, and have a very close genetic distance with the Han population, indicating that the two have a common origin. In recent years, Chinese scientists have come to the conclusion of their research on the origin of the Chinese Tibetan language group that about 6000 years ago, one of the original Chinese Tibetan language groups in the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River migrated westward and southward through the Tibetan Yi Corridor into the Himalayan region, resulting in the differentiation of the Chinese language group and the Tibetan Burmese language group among the ancestors of the modern Chinese Tibetan language group.

Studies on the population system and language family have all proved that today's Chinese nations, such as Han and Tibetan, are of the same origin. The blood ties connect the Tibetan people with the blood of all ethnic groups in China, which determines that the Tibetan people have been an integral part of the Chinese nation since ancient times.

Political ties have enabled the Tibetan people and all ethnic groups of China to become a political unity. It is a historical fact that Tibet's sovereignty belongs to China. No matter what dynasty or national regime it was under, Tibet has always had political ties with other Chinese regimes since ancient times, and is always an integral part of China.

Historically, the political pattern of great unity and the political situation of stability and unity have always been the common pursuit of the Chinese nation. Various local governments in different historical periods in Tibet have communicated with other local governments in the motherland in the form of alliances, alliances, alliances, and grants. They have formed a united and friendly relationship in politics, established close ties in economy and culture, and laid a solid political foundation for the eventual establishment of a unified state power.

On May 23, 1951, the Agreement between the Central People's Government and the Local Government of Tibet on the Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet was signed. Since then, the Tibetan people have been free from imperialist aggression and fetters forever, and have embarked on a bright road of unity, progress and development in the family of unity, equality, friendship and cooperation among all ethnic groups of the People's Republic of China.

Economic ties have made the Tibetan people and all ethnic groups of China interdependent and inseparable. Historically, the majority of people on the Tibetan Plateau were engaged in animal husbandry, which formed a different economic type from the agriculture in the Central Plains. The two regions had continuous economic and trade exchanges, and they were economically interdependent, complementary, and interdependent. The ancient Tangfan Road, the Silk Road, the ancient Tea Horse Road, the ancient Beijing Tibet Road, and so on, closely link the Tibetan people and all ethnic groups in China.

Before the establishment of the Tubo Dynasty, the economic exchanges between the Tibetan Plateau and the Central Plains were very close. After Princess Wencheng entered Tibet, a prosperous traffic road "Tang Tibetan Ancient Road" was formed between the Tang Dynasty and Tibet, strengthening the close relationship between the Central Plains and the Tibetan Plateau. Historically, between the Central Plains and the border minority areas, there was a very close form of barter economic exchanges, that is, the tea horse trade. Its connotation was relatively rich, including political tribute relationship, economic complementarity relationship, and cultural blending relationship. From an economic point of view, the Central Plains area is used as a horse urgently needed for farming and warfare, and as a basic commodity in nomadic areas, tea. Through the ancient tea horse road and other ways, an important supply and demand link is formed between the Central Plains area and the border, the central government and Tibet. The two are closely linked to form an interdependent relationship.

Cultural ties enable the integration of Tibetan culture and Chinese culture. Tibetan culture and Chinese culture share the same origin and develop as a whole. The common spiritual and cultural ties of great unity enable the culture of Tibet to coexist with that of other regions of the motherland, which is closely linked and never interrupted.

In response to the special natural geographical environment, religious and ethnic characteristics of Tibet, the central governments of all dynasties adopted corresponding policies, such as the measures of "building more seals and governing according to customs" in the Ming Dynasty, and the establishment of the system of ministers stationed in Tibet and the system of drawing lots from golden jars in the Qing Dynasty. In general, these policies not only effectively played a political role, but also greatly promoted cultural integration and enhanced cultural identity, It deeply reflects the integration of Tibetan culture and Chinese culture.

To sum up, geographical ties, blood ties, political ties, economic ties and cultural ties are closely linked and work together throughout China's historical development, which has determined the blood and flesh ties between Tibet and the motherland since ancient times. Tibet and the motherland have been integrated since ancient times. The Tibetans and the Chinese people have something in common. The Tibetans are an integral part of the Chinese nation. This conclusion has sufficient theoretical basis as well as legal basis, which is an objective fact that cannot be denied.

(The author is the deputy director general and researcher of the Chinese Tibetan Studies Center)

People's Daily (May 14, 2024, edition 11)

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