The struggle for modern Tibet: the autobiography of Tashi Tsering

This captivating autobiography by a Tibetan educator and former political prisoner is full of twists and turns.

Born in 1929 in a Tibetan village, Tsering developed a strong dislike of his country's theocratic ruling elite.

As a 13-year-old member of the Dalai Lama's personal dance troupe, he was frequently whipped or beaten by teachers for minor infractions.

A heterosexual, he escaped by becoming a drombo, or homosexual passive partner and sex-toy, for a well-connected monk.

After studying at the University of Washington, he returned to Chinese-occupied Tibet in 1964, convinced that Tibet could become a modernized society based on socialist, egalitarian principles only through cooperation with the Chinese.

Denounced as a 'counterrevolutionary' during Mao's Cultural Revolution, he was arrested in 1967 and spent six years in prison or doing forced labor in China.

Officially exonerated in 1978, Tsering became a professor of English at Tibet University in Lhasa.

He now raises funds to build schools in Tibet's villages, emphasizing Tibetan language and culture.