Population and Society in Contemporary Tibet, an updated version of eminent demographer and sociologist Ma Rong's 1996 Chinese book by the same title, is an extensive, informative social scientific analysis of key issues in demography and economy in Tibetan areas of China, particularly the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). Its use of quantitative data contributes substantially to the Tibetan studies literature by complementing the dominant qualitative case-study approach. Key data sources are government statistics (census data, statistical and population yearbooks) and two surveys: a 1988 survey of 1,312 households in Lhasa, Shigatse and Lhoka, the first of its kind in Tibet, and a 2005 survey of temporary migrants in Lhasa. Ma also reviews the relevant Chinese literature on Tibet, an invaluable contribution for English-language audiences. However, Ma occasionally repeats unsubstantiated claims from that literature, for instance that the Tibetan population was in decline before 1951 (p. 38). In Tibetan Transitions: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives on Fertility, Family Planning and Demographic Change (Brill, 2008) Geoff Childs has demonstrated that, assuming a population of two million Tibetans in 1750, the commonly cited demographic trends would have resulted in a 1950 population of only 80,000 or even 8,000: “were we to uncritically accept [this] narrative, the logical conclusion would be that Tibetans both past and present have an unerring penchant for doing things the wrong way with respect to reproduction. However, this narrative is not necessarily based on empirical evidence” (p. 211). Ma's book also refers less comprehensively to the relevant English-language literature, missing among others Hu Xiaojiang's research on Han migrants in Lhasa, Wang Shiyong's work on education policy and Tibetan market participation, and Geoff Childs's work on demography.
Discussing the Han and Tibetan population structures in Tibet from 1949 to present, Ma shows that the Han have not overwhelmed Tibetans in the TAR. The number of cadres sent there decreased after 1982, while the number of short-term circular or seasonal migrants increased, up to an estimated 200,000 in Lhasa in the summer of 2005 (p. 92). Though they do not have plans to stay in the long term, they are on average much better educated than local Tibetans, which matters significantly for employment competition (p. 83). Ma also emphasizes the dependent nature of the TAR economy: central government aid comprised 92.6 per cent of TAR government annual income in 2008 (p. 170). The TAR should be called a “dependent economy” rather than a case of “dependent development” insofar as there has been no accumulation of capital or industrialization (p. 176). The urban–rural income gap is significant, but the intra-urban income gap is even higher (p. 198), pointing to the problem of the urban poor. A section on marriage shows that Tibetan–Han intermarriage was more common in the 1960s–70s than now, and that general divorce rates have risen since the 1980s. A chapter on education shows that a TAR policy switch in 2002 changed the “mainly teaching in Tibetan model” to a “mainly teaching in Putonghua model” since then (p. 306).
The decision to frame the book around Hechter's 1972 internal colonialism vs. diffusion model is regrettable, because Ma's analysis is smarter than this framework, which has been amply criticized in the literature, allows. Ma demonstrates that it cannot account for development and ethnic relations in Tibet, yet wants to hold on to it at the same time. These two positions duel in the text. On the one hand, “the TAR should be classified as a diffusion model and not an internal colonialism model,” but at the same time, “the TAR cannot be called a successful example of the diffusion model” (p. 181). Rather than tossing out the binary in favour of insights from more recent theories of regional development, however, Ma suggests teleologically that the integration predicted by the diffusion model “is still in the process of being completed” (p. 182). Yet a few pages later he suggests in a completely different fashion that “the unique characteristics of Tibet make its developmental model different from other regions of China” (p. 187). It's difficult not to wonder what the author really thinks.
Despite these flaws, the book produces some fascinating insights. Ma shows for example that Lhasa has a unique residential registration system (p. 334), and that the TAR likely had a uniquely serious set of restrictions on the assignment of non-agricultural status to those living in towns (p. 193). He also finds, counter-intuitively, that more Han and Hui migrants in Lhasa find their jobs through friends and relatives, than Tibetan migrants who more often rely on themselves (p. 127). The seemingly insignificant issue of fuel expenses for urban vs. rural residents points to the much broader significance of guanxi and the gift economy in access to resources in the TAR (pp. 216–17). Ma also offers insightful policy suggestions, for example that the government should limit temporary migrants into the TAR and provide education and training programmes to Tibetan farmers (p. 94).
The book's readability is unfortunately diminished by a lack of editing. Readers will notice substantial repetition within, and especially between, chapters, detracting from the book's coherence. Much of the book focuses on the 1988 survey data, leaving readers wondering about the current situation. The text is also sprinkled with grammatical and spelling mistakes. Place names are rendered alternately in pinyin and a style that is neither Wylie transcription nor more standardized English spelling (such as “Nahchu” for “Nagchu”). Other errors (for instance, listing Aba and Ruoergai as part of Kham, p. 49) could have been easily avoided with more editorial attention. Fortunately, these problems do not take away from the real value of the book, which is found in the hundreds of tables that summarize demography, migration, education, income, consumption and marriage in Tibet since 1950. Tibetan studies specialists will undoubtedly find this volume an indispensable reference to have as a result.
