Tibet will never be Xizang

Language is never neutral. It carries memory, identity, and the power to shape how a people are seen in the world. For Tibetans, the word Tibet—or Bod in our own tongue—is not merely a geographic marker. It is the vessel of our civilization, our faith, our struggle, and our dignity. That is why Tibetans will never use, nor relate to, the word Xizang, the term imposed by the Chinese state to Sinicize our homeland and erase our identity.

Bod has been the self-designation of Tibetans for centuries, appearing in our chronicles, poetry, and prayers. The word Tibet, adopted in global discourse, has become synonymous with a culture of resilience, compassion, and spiritual depth. Xizang, by contrast, is a bureaucratic invention. It translates roughly to “Western Treasure House,” a term coined by the Qing dynasty and later institutionalized by the People’s Republic of China. It is not a Tibetan word, nor does it reflect Tibetan history.

Renaming is a classic tool of colonization. By calling Tibet Xizang, Beijing seeks to fold Tibet into the cartography of “China proper,” stripping away its distinctiveness. The word functions as propaganda: it signals to Chinese citizens and the international community that Tibet is not a nation but a provincial appendage. For Tibetans, accepting Xizang would mean conceding to a narrative of subjugation. It would mean surrendering the right to define ourselves.

Tibetans in exile and inside Tibet continue to use Bod and Tibet because these words carry the weight of belonging. Language is an act of resistance. To say Tibet is to affirm that our culture, our religion, and our history are not reducible to a Chinese administrative category. Just as Indigenous peoples worldwide reject colonial names imposed on their lands, Tibetans reject Xizang because it is alien to our spirit.

Words shape perception. When international media, governments, or institutions adopt Xizang, they unwittingly legitimize Beijing’s narrative of assimilation. To insist on Tibet is not a matter of semantics—it is a matter of justice. It is to recognize the Tibetan people’s right to self-definition. The refusal to use Xizang is a refusal to let our identity be overwritten by the machinery of occupation.

Tibetans will never call their homeland Xizang because it is not our word, not our history, and not our truth. To us, Tibet is more than a name—it is the embodiment of a civilization that has endured exile, repression, and erasure, yet continues to speak in its own voice. That voice will never be silenced by a word designed to erase it.

Nephew of the Dalai Lama, Khedroob Thondup is a geopolitical analyst.