51 pages • 1-hour read
Seven Years In Tibet
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Chapters 10-13Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 10 Summary: “Life in Lhasa—I”
Harrer and Aufschnaiter settled into life in Lhasa and began to feel like true members of the community. Harrer was invited to a celebration for the Dalai Lama’s youngest brother’s birth, and Harrer and Aufschnaiter witnessed a grand procession of the entire town as the Dalai Lama went to his summer garden home in Norbulingka. The Dalai Lama spent all of his time in Potala Palace, and it was a welcome break for him to spend the summer outdoors. The procession included all the officials, the Dalai Lama’s belongings (including his birds), and music.
Harrer discusses the daily life and culture of people in Lhasa. He notes that they were deeply devoted to their religion and to what Harrer regards as superstitious beliefs surrounding medicine (they relied heavily on herbal remedies), weather, and childrearing. They believed, too, that all life was sacred, and worked hard to preserve the life of every creature, both large and small.
In the summer it got very dry, and the people of Lhasa would pour water in the streets, followed by a ritual performed by a rainmaker, to bring the rains in. Harrer was skeptical, but never challenged their beliefs out of respect.
Chapter 11 Summary: “Life in Lhasa—II”
Harrer heard of the State Oracle, who was consulted whenever the government had questions about which direction to take or how to address an issue. He went to witness the event, and described how the monk went into a trance. He was then fitted with an extraordinarily heavy headdress and would dance in it, mumbling answers to the questions he was asked. These answers were then transcribed by another monk. Oracles who gave “bad” advice would be removed from their post. There were also mediums in Lhasa, whom Harrer said were able to bend swords.
Autumn was a beautiful time in Lhasa, and Harrer even convinced some of his Tibetan friends to join him on leisurely hikes through the mountains. He created a local tennis club and provided tennis lessons, as well as academic tutoring to various children in the town. Lhasa also held kite-flying competitions in which the whole town would fly kites with strings coated in powdered glass, attempting to cut one another’s kites down. Harrer even came across Aufschnaiter’s old watch, which he reluctantly sold miles back on the journey. He bought it, had it restored, and gifted it back to his friend.
In December, Harrer organized a Christmas party, complete with a tree and Christmas songs. The moment brought him to tears and made him long for home. Before the second Tibetan New Year, Harrer and Aufschnaiter finally received letters from home after three years of no correspondence. The news was dismal and did not inspire them to want to return to Europe. Though life started to become less novel as time went on, Harrer continued to feel grateful for where he lived. During the years he spent in Lhasa, he only ever met a handful of foreign travelers, as gaining permission to enter was nearly impossible. Harrer hints toward the impending Chinese invasion of Tibet, which was just a few years away.
Chapter 12 Summary: “An Attempted Coup d’état”
The second Tibetan New Year came, and Harer recalls the amazing spectacle of soldiers carrying in the armor from a Muslim brigade that was taken by the mountain decades before. The parade symbolized Tibetan independence and their unwillingness to bend to outside influence.
It was at that same festival that Harrer and Aufschnaiter were invited to the Potala Palace to meet the Dalai Lama for the first time. Though they had seen him many times before, this was their first time going into the palace and being blessed by him directly.
Along with thousands of other people from Lhasa, Harrer and his friend walked the steps to the palace and through a courtyard, then up some ladders to another set of buildings. The Dalai Lama sat inside his home, blessing each person as they passed by placing a hand on their head. He smiled at Harrer and Aufschnaiter. They sat and drank tea in the palace, watching as the townspeople proceeded through. They were moved by the devotion they witnessed, and were given money from the Dalai Lama as a thanks for coming. Afterward, they explored the Potala Palace. Harrer remarks on how the tombs of past Lamas are kept there, and how lonely and grim it must have been for a child to live there.
In 1947, the former Regent Reting attempted to take over office after voluntarily resigning some time before. He had the support of monks from Sera, and a bomb was meant to be sent to the current regent’s office, but it exploded on the way. When Reting was arrested, the monks rebelled on his behalf. Reting was killed, and the circumstances surrounding his death were never made clear, so countless rumors circulated. His fortune was sold off following his death, and it amounted to several million rupees.
Chapter 13 Summary: “Commissions from the Government”
Harrer and Aufschnaiter were tasked with creating a plan of the city, and spent months surveying and gathering data. Following this, they were asked to figure out a way to provide the city with modern plumbing and electricity. While Aufschnaiter was already an employed government official, Harrer now became one too.
Soon after, a flood threatened the summer palace and Harrer was given a large supply of laborers to create dikes and prevent future flooding. It was during this time he noticed how long it took Tibetans to perform labor that Harrer believed would be done much faster by Europeans, and he blamed this difference on their limited diet. Harrer was also invited to spend time in the summer palace as a guest and was able to witness Tibetan plays and parodies. Harrer acquired a house of his own and decorated it, created a garden, and had servants who cleaned for him.
At the same time, tensions began to rise with China, as it was becoming likely that China would become a communist country. The Chinese minister and his staff were asked to leave Lhasa, and it was seen as an attack by China. Tibet then went on an international campaign to prove to the world that they were “civilized” and did not need to be “saved” or taken over.
Harrer was invited to go to Drebung for the festivities to celebrate the Dalai Lama’s entrance into maturity. This was done through a series of religious discussions with various Lamas. Drebung was devoted almost entirely to the religion and around 10,000 monks lived there. The children of the town studied to become monks themselves, though many never reached the level required.
Harrer was impressed by the Dalai Lama during the debates, and then witnessed his trek to the summit of Mount Gyambe Utse over Drebung. Finally, the Dalai Lama went to the town of Sera, where he engaged in more religious debate.
Back in Lhasa, Harrer and some others founded a skating club, and Harrer was asked to help fix up some of the houses in nearby villages.
Chapters 10-13 Analysis
Harrer’s account is told through a Eurocentric lens, and though he often invokes The Value of Cultural Encounter and Adaptation, he never truly shakes his skepticism toward their way of life. He observes that religion is the “heart of the fabric of the State” (168) and that the Tibetans’ lives are regulated by divine will, with Lamas serving as the interpreters of this will. Harrer encounters several Tibetan beliefs that he labels “superstitions,” such as using Lama belongings for healing and fortune-telling, and feels compelled to rationalize them, though he never does so out loud
One must not offend against people’s beliefs. The Tibetans were happy in their own convictions and had never tried to convert Aufschnaiter or me. We contented ourselves with studying their customs, visiting their temples as spectators and making presents of white silk scarves as etiquette prescribed (179).
Despite presenting himself as tolerant and respectful in his dealings with the Tibetans, Harrer continues to compare the Tibetans unfavorably to Europeans. He criticizes the Tibetans’ strength and productivity, stating that the Tibetans appeared “weaker” and “slower,” attributing what he regarded as their frailer physicality to their poor diet. At one point he refers to the unhoused population as inexcusably “lazy,” reflecting his deeply classist assumptions and arrogance toward those who did not occupy the same privileged class status that he did. He thus frequently depicts Tibetan practices as quaint and illogical, while speaking of the Tibetans themselves in patronizing and even racist ways.
The depiction of the Dalai Lama’s restricted existence also reflects Harrer’s biases and limitations as an observer of Tibetan culture. The Potala Palace, with its atmosphere of solemn reference and the tombs of prior Lamas, leads him to contemplate how difficult it must be for a young child, like the Dalai Lama, to grow up there. This does not seem to be something almost anyone else considers, and it once again reflects Harrer’s tendency to project his own feelings and cultural assumptions onto the Tibetans instead of trying to ascertain what they think and why. For example, since the Tibetans believe in the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation after death, it is not clear that the young Dalai Lama would find the presence of the tombs disturbing in the same way Harrer does, as death and tombs would not automatically have the same connotations for him that they do for Harrer.
As Harrer’s time in Tibet continues, he begins to regard himself as an insider, reflecting Personal Transformation Through Adversity. He remarks, “One thing had certainly changed in our situation. We were no longer outsiders. We belonged” (173), reflecting his growing connection to Tibet. This shift is also evident in his influence on the Tibetans, as he manages to persuade a few of them to join him and his friend on mountain excursions, something Tibetans typically do not do for leisure. Harrer also starts multiple sports clubs and becomes a government official. In a rare moment of negativity toward the Buddhist religion in Tibet, Harrer criticizes the ways in which Tibetans hand off forbidden tasks, such as killing animals for food, to “second-class” citizens, reflecting an underlying hierarchy and hypocrisy within the system.
Harrer’s personal transformation is defined by a newfound appreciation for Tibetan ways of life, particularly their reverence for all forms of life. Though he does not convert to Tibetan Buddhism, he finds himself profoundly moved by the simplicity and peace of the Tibetan lifestyle. He notes, “The time we had spent in this peaceful corner of the world had had a formative effect on our characters” (193), indicating how much the experience has altered his worldview.
Harrer also invokes Nature as Barrier and Sanctuary, both in his descriptions of the natural surroundings and the peaceful, unhurried pace of life. He reflects, “Here it is the yak’s pace which dictates the tempo of life, and so it has been for thousands of years” (193). The setting of Tibet during this period is marked by a sense of isolation and introspection. At the same time, however, Tibet’s isolationist policies and reluctance to engage with global politics left it unprepared for the impending Chinese invasion. Harrer’s narrative is suddenly influenced by this change, as the Chinese government transitions toward communism, signaling the end of an independent Tibet and the shattering of Harrer’s sanctuary.
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