Abstract
Public space is important for building community, developing citizenship and, according to scholars, for developing democracy. History demonstrates that public space is also the forum for challenging authority. The most dramatic example of physical public space is the public square. The largest public square in the world is China’s Tien An Mien Square in Beijing. The Chinese have replicated Tien An Mien in other cities, including Kashgar in Xinjiang region and Lhasa, the capital of the Tibetan Autonomous Region. Tien An Mien-like squares are found in smaller Tibetan towns. In order to construct the squares, which are not traditional Tibetan public spaces, the authorities have had to demolish homes and businesses. Traditional Tibetan public spaces are the plazas in front of monasteries and prayer halls. These Chinese public squares appear as counter-weights or barriers to Tibetan space (generally sacred space). Based on original field work in Tibet, this paper explores the nature, location, structure and use of the public square, as public space, in Tibet. Tibet is a fascinating locale to study public space as a political phenomenon. This study considers public squares in the four largest towns, along with numerous villages in the center of the province. Unlike public squares plazas in the West, which tend to be the result of historic and organic growth of an urban area, Chinese squares are intentionally located, sometimes at great cost of redevelopment. Thus, motives and strategies can be imputed to the location, nature and design of the squares.
Presenters
John WilliamsProfessor, Retired President, Political Science, Mass Communications, Asian Studies, Principia College, Illinois, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
2023 Special Focus—Religion in the Public Sphere: From the Ancient Years to the Post-Modern Era
KEYWORDS
TIBET, CHINA, PUBLIC SQUARE, GEOGRAPHY, RELIGIOUS SPACE, TIBETAN BUDDHISM
