Tibet under Qing rule

The Qing dynasty, led by the Manchus, ruled Tibet from 1720 to 1912. The Qing called Tibet a fanbu, fanbang or fanshu, which has usually been translated as "vassal", "vassal state", or "borderlands", along with many of its other Inner Asian territories. Like the earlier Mongol-led Yuan dynasty, the Qing dynasty exerted military and administrative control over Tibet while granting it a degree of political autonomy. The extent of its control over the region has been the subject of political debate.

By 1642, Güshi Khan of the Khoshut Khanate had reunified Tibet under the spiritual and temporal authority of the 5th Dalai Lama of the Gelug school, who established a civil administration known as Ganden Phodrang. In 1653, the Dalai Lama travelled on a state visit to the Qing court, and was received in Beijing and "recognized as the spiritual authority of the Qing Empire". The Dzungar Khanate invaded Tibet in 1717 and was subsequently expelled by the Qing in 1720. The Qing emperors then appointed imperial residents known as ambans to Tibet, most of them ethnic Manchus, that reported to the Lifan Yuan, a Qing government body that oversaw the empire's frontier. During the Qing era, Lhasa was politically semi-autonomous under the Dalai Lamas or regents. Qing authorities engaged in occasional military interventions in Tibet, intervened in Tibetan frontier defense, collected tribute, stationed troops, and influenced reincarnation selection through the Golden Urn. About half of the Tibetan lands were exempted from Lhasa's administrative rule and annexed into neighboring Chinese provinces, although most were only nominally subordinated to Beijing.

By the late 19th century, Chinese hegemony over Tibet only existed in theory, and Britain invaded Tibet in 1903–1904. Russia was also competing for influence in Tibet, and the two powers signed the 1907 Anglo-Russian Convention recognizing Qing suzerainty of Tibet, although Qing China had used the term "sovereignty" to describe its position and later sent an army to Tibet for establishing direct rule in 1910. The dynasty was overthrown by revolutionaries in 1911–1912. The 13th Dalai Lama returned to Lhasa in 1913 and ruled a de facto independent Tibet until his death in 1933.