(TibetanReview.net, Feb28’25) – After defending its action in the face of Tibetan and Tibet-group protests and others’ criticisms, the state-funded British Museum had removed the term “Xizang” from its labelling of Tibetan artifacts in its Silk Roads exhibition which opened in London in late Sep 2024 and ran till Feb 23, 2025.
The labels were reviewed in January and updated from “Tibet or Xizang Autonomous Region, China” to “Tibet Autonomous Region, China,” the Tibetan service of rfa.org Feb 27 quoted a museum spokesperson as saying in an email Feb 25.
The British Museum will consult with experts on Tibetan history and culture in any future Tibet-related exhibitions, the museum’s spokesperson has said.
Earlier, Tibetan groups — led by advocacy group Global Alliance for Tibet and Persecuted Minorities and the Tibetan Community in Britain — wrote to the museum, first on Nov 25 and later on Dec 18, expressing grave concerns about use of the Sinicized term for Tibet.
The museum at that time defended its action, saying it “reflects the contemporary region,” according to a statement by the two groups.
Tibetans rejected this explanation, saying it ignored the political implications of promoting terminology perpetuated by the Chinese Communist Party that legitimizes the Chinese state narrative.
China decided in 2023 to stop using the term “Tibet” and to replace it with “Xizang” in all its official documents and reports in order to convey the point that the territory belonged to it since ancient times. And it has been seen to be pressuring others do the same, including governments and museums.
It is not clear when the museum made the change, but Tibetan activists who visited it in February have confirmed that the wording had indeed been changed.
Last year, the French museum Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac also reverted to the label ‘Tibet’ without the use of ‘Xizang’ on Tibetan artifacts in October following weeks of protests and petitions from Tibetans, as well as well-publicized criticisms by numerous experts.