"How I Met His Holiness the Dalai Lama Without a Passport" By Woeser

High Peaks Pure Earth has translated a blogpost by Woeser that was originally written for broadcast on Radio Free Asia on January 5, 2011 and posted on her blog on January 10, 2011.

"Sorry": A Tibetan Blogger Remembers Norzin Wangmo

High Peaks Pure Earth has resurrected a blogpost titled "Sorry" by a Tibetan blogger, originally posted in December 2008 on TibetCul, that pays tribute to Norzin Wangmo (Nor ‘dzin dbang mo), a Tibetan woman in her thirties who was sentenced to 5 years in prison in 2008 for sending emails and making phone calls abroad.

The Most-Read Postings on High Peaks Pure Earth in 2010

"Bidding farewell to 2010"
Image taken from Tibetan poet Gade Tsering's blog

"Those Eternally Lit Butter Lamps…" By Woeser

High Peaks Pure Earth has translated a blogpost by Woeser that was originally written for broadcast on Radio Free Asia on December 19, 2010 and posted on her blog on December 29, 2010.

In the blogpost, Woeser reflects on the past year and focuses on the earthquake in Tibet of April 2010 and on Dolkar, wife of imprisoned Tibetan environmentalist Karma Samdrup.

The painting titled “Mother Earth” was painted in memory of the Yushu earthquake by the Beijing artist Liu Yi (200 cm x 450 cm, 2010). The picture shows how monks rescue victims of the disaster; it also shows how Tibetan believers show deepest respect and concern for His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The image of His Holiness appeared in late spring/early summer of 2010 in a painting by a Chinese artist.   

Tibetans Write A Letter to the State To Air Grievances

High Peaks Pure Earth has translated an anonymous letter that appeared on a Tibetan blog on October 19, 2010, this was the time when Tibetan language protests were taking place in Amdo.

The letter was posted onto this blog on TibetCul but had already been removed just two days later. The blogpost does not provide any details or commentary on the 10 points contained in the letter. The blogger has just made a note that he copied the posting from somewhere else on the internet.

Tibet on the Google Books N-Gram Viewer

High Peaks Pure Earth has been looking at the newly released Google Books N-Gram Viewer from Google Labs. After reading two blogposts about the Viewer, one related to academic research and one related to food, we thought we'd also give it a try!

Can Lhasa's Image Be Formed by “Dressing Up”? By Woeser

High Peaks Pure Earth has translated a blogpost by Woeser that was originally written for broadcast on Radio Free Asia on December 1, 2010 and posted on her blog on December 14, 2010.

Although written after her return to Beijing, this blogpost is a continuation of her reflections on Lhasa after her trip there. Read Woeser's previous blogpost "Returning to Lhasa to Witness the Current Situation" here.

"May the Deities Protect the Snowland" By Woeser

High Peaks Pure Earth has translated a blogpost by Woeser that was originally written for broadcast on Radio Free Asia on December 8, 2010 and posted on her blog earlier today on December 10, 2010.

Although the starting point of the blogpost is the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Liu Xiaobo, Woeser takes the opportunity to write about Tibetans who share a similar fate. Woeser particularly draws parallels with imprisoned Tibetan writer Dolma Kyab. There is an in-depth introduction to Dolma Kyab's case as well as an extract from "The Restless Himalayas" in English translation in "Like Gold That Fears No Fire", a publication by the International Campaign for Tibet and available for download. Dolma Kyab has also been made an honorary member of PEN.