Serfdom in Tibet began at the end of the ninth century, took shape in the thirteenth century, and has continued for more than 700 years since then. During this period, the vast number of Tibetan people were exploited and oppressed by serf owners, who accounted for 90% of the total population of Tibet at that time, while serf owners were only 5%. These serf owners were on the top and lived a life of fine food and clothing by constantly squeezing and exploiting the serfs, while the serfs were on the verge of starvation and life and death all day long. In this photograph are several serfs in the Shigatse region who have been working all day, hungry and preparing to eat.
This photograph shows the serf owners riding the serfs as horses. This kind of scene can be seen often in many film and television dramas, and many people may think that it is "artistic processing" when they see it for the first time, but in fact, the plot is completely from real life. In old Tibet, the serf owners often rode the serfs as horses, and in their eyes the serfs were talking cattle.
In this photo is the "Langsheng" (house slave) Dawa of the DongGadung Larushika (manor), who was married at this time, but could not live with his wife, and still spent the night in this stable.
Serfs who lived in cattle pens. The village land documents issued in Tibet in the second half of the seventeenth century clearly stipulate the status of serfs: people (serfs), water, grass and forests are given to serf owners together with the land, and the serf owners can dispose of them at will. We can also see this in the fact that serfs and cattle and horses live together.
A serf living in a cave, a mother holding her child. It can be said that their living environment was inferior to that of the serf owners' livestock, who still had decent sheds, but they lived in damp earthen caves. The serf owners in the farming areas occupied almost all the land, and the serfs had to work free of charge in the territory of their masters all year round, and although they could also get a poor "share of the land", the variety of taxes would leave their income with little.
Serf children who are grabbing food with stray dogs. The children born to serfs would also be serfs, and when they grew up, they would be exploited by the serf masters like their parents. It was very difficult for serfs to turn over, because they were not like a few free peasants, who were dependent on their lords, who were brutally exploited and who had difficulty even making ends meet.
In addition to economic exploitation, cruel punishment was also a manifestation of the evils of serfdom. In Tibet under serfdom, local authorities at all levels had the right to handle cases individually, and tribal leaders, serf owners, and monasteries also had the privilege of handling cases and setting up prisons. Once the serfs rebelled or failed to pay their taxes on time, the serf owners could punish them at will, sometimes for the sole pleasure. The picture shows the serfs persecuted by the serf owners.
Serfs, once old, were abandoned by the serf owners, because they were old and frail and had no ability to work, and the serf owners could no longer extract more value from them. After being abandoned, the serfs, with no means of production, had to wander and beg. In this photo is the abandoned old serf.
This photograph is shocking to see, a thin serf with an iron chain working in the field, the iron rope is put around his neck, this so-called "Langsheng" (serf) in the eyes of the serf owner is just a talking "livestock". In 1959, before and after the democratic reform in Tibet, serfdom was abolished, and millions of serfs turned into masters of their own affairs and were no longer exploited and oppressed.