Lhokha History
Lhokha lies in the drainage area of Yarlong River and it was once called Yarlong in history. According to some historic documents, archeological findings and legends, the Tibetan ancestors lived in this area four million years ago. A piece of land in Sare Village near Tsetang Town, is said to be the first farming field in Tibet.
When the Yarlong forefathers began to cultivate land, primitive tribes appeared. The first king in Tibetan history, Niexie, who was actually the chief of the Yarlong tribe, started his ruling over Yarlong valley in the beginning of second century B.C.. He founded the Fan Kingdom and established the hereditary system of the throne. The eighth king of the Fan Kingdom began to build great tomb for himself and the succeeding kings did the same thing.
During the reign of Budegong, the ninth king, people had been organized to excavate canal, channeling water to irrigate the flatland. A great deal of farmland was cultivated. During the reign of Yixiulie, the eleventh king, standard measurement units had been put into use, including the unit for measuring the farmland and counting livestocks. From the period of the ninth king to fifteenth king, six palaces had been built. During the reign of Latuotuorinianzan, the 28th king, Buddhism had spread to Yarlong valley. The kings enshrined the Buddhist scriptures and ritual implement brought along by some Indian monks, and put the scriptures in Yumbulagang Palace.
Around 6th century A.D., Yarlong valley became a society of slavery system, and people could smelt iron, copper and silver and used these metals to produce many weapons. The 31st king Langrilunzan turned Yarlong tribe into the most powerful one in Tibet by invading and taking over the neighboring tribes and expanding territory. The 32nd king Songtsen Gampo conquered Subi Tribe, Yangtong tribe and many others, united all the tribes in the plateau, and founded well-known Tubo Regime. He transferred his capital city from Qiongjie to Lhasa. Although the capital was transferred to the north, Lhokha, as the starting place of the Tubo Regime, still stood out in many aspects. Many persons of the royal lineage still lived in Lhokha and even the kings from time to time returned to live in Lhokha for a while.
In the best time of Tubo Regime, on both sides of the Yarlong River and Yarlung Tsangpo River, a lot of water irrigation works were built. Yak and horses were widely used as farm animals. All of these helped to improve agricultural conditions, and as a result there was dramatic increase in grain production. Since then, Lhokha has been the breadbasket of Tibet till now.
After the decline and collapse of the Tubo Regime, 400 years of division in the Tibet Plateau followed. Continued wars resulted in the destruction of agriculture and plunged the people into endless famine and misery.
In 1253, Mengge, the emperor of Yuan Dynasty, put an end to the state of division in Tibet and united Tibet by force. Tibet became the administrative region under the direct leadership of central government of Yuan Dynasty in China. Pazhu tribe, one of the most influential tribes in Tibet at that time, gradually gained control over Lhokha area. In 1322, Qiangqujianqun became the leader of Pazhu tribe. He brought the Yarlung valley back to life and prosperity by rehabilitating the irrigation works, cultivating lands, reconstructing roads, restoring houses and developing husbandry. Qiangqujiangqun conquered many neighboring powers and finally made it to the top as the leader of Tibet. He introduced the system of feudal serfdom and a new government system with Zong (equivalent to prefecture) as the basic administrative unit. He set up 13 Zongs in Naidong, Gonggar and etc.. He chose Naidong city as the capital and expanded the scale of the city. He started a period known as Naidong Dynasty in history. And it lasted 262 years in Tibet.
In the 1300 years from the 6th century A.D. to the year 1959, Lhokha had undergone changes from serfdom society to feudal society. People in Lhokha had created splendid culture through their labor, bravery and wisdom. They had made great contributions to the founding of Tubo Regime, to the development of Tibetan nationality, to the communication and unity with other nationalities in China.
In May 23 of 1951, the central government of People’s Republic of China signed an agreement for peaceful liberation of Tibet. Tibet was liberated. Lhokha Prefecture, together with other prefectures, has been progressing rapidly. In 1959, the feudal serfdom system in Tibet was abolished. The history of Tibet turned to a new page. Democratic reform was carried out everywhere. The labors began to become the masters of their own affairs. Great changes had taken place in the 6 years from 1959 to 1965. The Gross Production for Industry and Agriculture grew at the rate 9% yearly. Agriculture and animal husbandry had reaped great harvests. The total grain product in 1965 doubled that in 1959, amounting to118,000,000 Jin (one Jin equals to a half kilogram). The number of live stocks rose from1,280,000 in 1959 to 160,000,000, with an annual increase rate of 3.8%. Rapid growth had been achieved in finance, business, education, health and postal service. The 6-year democratic reform was the “golden year” for the liberated serfs. In September 1965, Tibet Autonomous Region was set up. Lhokha, just like other prefectures, had finished the process of socialistic transformation.