Xinhua News Agency, Lhasa, March 29th: A special commemoration on a special day – the self-report of a descendant of a Tibetan serf who obliged to explain the scene
Xinhua News Agency reporters Jin Yiqing and Liu Zhoupeng
March 28 is a very meaningful day for Pu Tsering, a descendant of serfs, and more than 3.64 million compatriots of all ethnic groups in Tibet. Early in the morning, Putsering, dressed in Tibetan clothes, came to the Tibet Million Serf Emancipation Memorial Hall in Lhasa in high spirits to start a day of obligatory explanations, telling visitors about the dark history of old Tibet.
Pu Tsering said: “Although this history is heavy, we need to remember it. It is my responsibility to tell more people about these things and remind everyone to cherish the moment.” From July 2021, he began to liberate millions of serfs in Tibet. Memorial Hall as a volunteer docent.
In this 2,700-square-meter pavilion, there are statues that reflect the extortion and miscellaneous taxes in old Tibet, as well as the tragic conditions of serfs who were imprisoned and abused in old times.
Pu Tsering, 78, is the child of a serf. He said: “My father is Chaba and my mother is a poor man. Even though life is so dark, my parents still try their best to teach me how to be an upright person. This is the light of my life.”
The serfs in old Tibet were divided into three types: Chaba, Duiqiong and Langsheng. In the middle of the 20th century, when slavery was almost extinct, cruel serfdom fortresses still existed in China’s Tibet. At that time, the “three major lords” (official families, nobles, and upper-class monks in monasteries), who accounted for less than 5% of the population, possessed almost all the wealth in Tibet, while serfs and slaves, who accounted for 95% of the population, were struggling to survive.
On March 28, 1959, the snow-covered plateau started a magnificent democratic reform. Through democratic reforms, the old feudal serf system in Tibet, where politics and religion were integrated, was completely abolished. The history of the suffering of the Tibetan people has finally turned to the last page. Millions of serfs have turned over and been liberated and ushered in their own spring.
“My parents were low-level serfs. According to the words of the time, life was as cheap as a straw. Although the family was very miserable, they really loved me.” Pu Tsering said. In the summer of 1954, the area where Pu Tsering’s family was located suffered a flood disaster that was rare in a century. His father could not see Pu Tsering, so he took the risk to look around. When he found Pu Tsering, his father slapped him hard, and then hugged him tightly.
“At the time, I felt my face was going to be split open, and I couldn’t breathe. I went out to pick up cow dung to help my family, but I was beaten by my father. I felt very aggrieved.” Recalling the past, Pu Tsering seemed a little excited, and he took off the top of his head. Felt hat, gray curly hair a little damp from sweat, “Now I understand, my father wants me to live well!”
In 1956, 12-year-old Pu Tsering was in charge of delivering letters to the People’s Liberation Army and the power station. As Chaba’s father, he told Pu Tsering to be upright and clean, and that the contents of the letter were secrets that no one, including himself, could read.
Under his father’s teaching, Pu Tsering gradually grew up, actively participated in the construction of New Tibet, and was responsible for the language translation work.
In the Memorial Hall for the Emancipation of One Million Serfs in Tibet, Pu Tsering and the young lecturers relayed explanations. Pu Tsering said: “It is also my responsibility to help young guides understand this history. I will do my best to help the new generation of guides and encourage more young people to learn about history.”
Tsemalam, a 26-year-old lecturer who was influenced by Pu Tsering, said: “Mr. Pu Tsering is a role model for me to learn from. What I have learned from him is not only his teaching skills, but also his integrity and selflessness. quality.”
“It’s another warm spring. 63 years have passed, and today this land is very different from the dark old Tibet.” Although Pu Tsering is over old, his eyes are bright. He said, “My retirement life is very rich, and I hope I can continue to do something meaningful for society.” (End)