Book Review – Fire Under Snow

by Palden Gyatso

Jun 2, 2009

Venerable Palden Gyatso, a Buddhist monk, spent thirty-three years imprisoned by Chinese forces in Tibet. "Fire Under Snow" is his brave account.

After his release in 1992 Palden Gyatso, at the age of 61 having spent most of his adult life in prison, fled to India in order to make internationally public the terrible suffering Tibetans have endured under Chinese occupation.

From Seven Years to Thirty-Three…

Palden Gyatso writes with extraordinary eloquence and humility as his tragic story unfurls. In 1960 the young Buddhist monk was arrested by the Chinese Military for his “participation in rebellion” and sentenced to seven years imprisonment. Little did he know then that he would be imprisoned for the next thirty-three years.

For a crime no larger than participating in a peaceful, non-violent revolt against Chinese Invasion in Lhasa, Palden Gyatso faced unbelievable cruelty and torture at the hands of the Chinese authorities. He suffered starvation, physical abuse and torture, and witnessed the death of many fellow inmates.

Whilst never indulging and glorifying in the terror, his clear, objective description of the prison guards nevertheless is horrifying: “The guards were armed for battle. They had a pistol and two knives sheathed in their belts and two kinds of electric batons: a short prod […] and a longer baton they could wield like a sword”.

But this book is by no means an anti-Chinese crusade, and far from being a critical diatribe, what emerges is a beautiful account of human strength and resilience in the face of torment. Appropriately titled Fire Under Snow, the book reveals more about the uncrushable human spirit than the cruelty and obscene injustices of an invading force.

He writes: “The human body can bear immeasurable pain and yet recover. Wounds can heal. But once your spirit is broken, everything falls apart. So we did not allow ourselves to feel dejected. We drew strength from our convictions and, above all, from our belief that we were fighting for justice and for the freedom of our country.”

Incredibly, the book is not without humour, and highlights the tremendous courage and strength the prisoners had, and the endearing sense of humour Tibetans seem to possess. Particularly touching is the episode where Palden Gyatso relates how they were forced to watch China play football in the Asian Games on Television. Despite the coercion, the prisoners proved their spirits could never be captured by cheering wildly every time one of China’s opponents scored a goal.

Not only is this an incredibly inspiring account of resistance and endurance, beautifully and sensitively written, but through his words, Palden Gyatso’s Fire Under Snow provides a testimony for suffering of the Tibetan nation as a whole.

The copyright of the article Book Review – Fire Under Snow in Political Biographies is owned by Saskia Fischer. Permission to republish Book Review – Fire Under Snow in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.