Compassionate Occupation: Yongzheng’s Purposes for Relocating the Qing Garrison Away from Lhasa

Abstract At the Kangxi emperor’s command, Qing troops occupied Lhasa in 1720. The Yongzheng emperor withdrew them shortly after his accession. This apparent reversal of Kangxi’s policy toward Tibet has been characterized as rushed and ill-considered. Yet, in his edict sent to inform the Dalai lama of the garrison’s relocation, Yongzheng stressed that his decision was meant as a continuation of his father’s intentions toward Tibet. Focusing on the emperor’s consideration for popular support and different strategies of Qing control, this paper argues that Yongzheng’s decision was aimed at preserving a strategy originating in the 1690s, aimed at routing power away from the position of the Dalai lama, by the gradual inclusion of local elites of the Khoshud-Tibetan state into the Qing hierarchy, with the goal of extending Qing control over Tibet. The relocation of the garrison was a prerequisite to the continuation of Kangxi’s policy, rather than its abrogation.