Norbu Cering, male, was born in 1945 in Tibet. He is a son of Padha Zhaxi Wangqug, fonnerlord of the Padha Manor A farmer of Ban gior Lhunbo vmage, Gyangze, he is now a member of the Standing Committee of the People's Political Consultative Conference of Gyangze County.

　　My farther, Zhaxi Wangqug, was the lord of the Pariha Manor. My mother is Lhazoin. Historically, five of the Pariha family members served as high-ranking officials in the local government of Tibet.

　　Our former manor, located in Gyangar village, Gyangze, was destroyed by the British invaders in 1904. From then on, our family began to decline. Father was tonsured to the Lingpo Monastery and resumed secular life in 1937 when he was in his 20s. In 10 years, he rebuilt the Pariha Manor and family business flourished. In 1951, when the 14th Dalai Lama visited Gyangze, father was appointed a fourth-ranking secular official.

　　My mother, Lhazoin, came from Shannan. When Lhasa reeled under war, my grandmother took my mother, then 17, to Gyangze. They brought themselves with a dozen boxes of family belongings.

　　Mother learned to make wine from grandmother. She and a manager of the Parlha Manor had given birth to a son by the name of Zhaxi Qunpei (who now lives in Renqingling village, Jangra Township). When father took over the manor, the manager was sent to work in a sub-manor in Shannan. Mother turned to live with father. They had three children. Mother no longer made wine. She became the true manager of the manor.

　　In the noble family, mother held a comparatively low social status. When I was seven, father married a woman with the Zhosa family in Gyangze, and mother was made to marry Dainda, a manorial manager. As a result, Dainda became our step-father. Father had a house built for mother and our step-father. Though we were no longer children of a noble family, we had chances to be with father. And father treated us to good food, plus snacks which included biscuits from India and pancakes from Lhasa and candies.

　　We had lunch and supper with father. Very often, we were given three or four dishes, including lettuces, turnips, carrots, potatoes and rape flowers. We also had fruit to eat, including apples, persimmons, pears, peaches and oranges, most ofwhich came from India. During festivals and New Year's Day celebration, we were given really good food to taste, such as sea cucumbers and shrimps as well as wine imported from India.
Father loved to have games with students of the Parlha School, which father founded. Its students included children of fralpa serfs and nangzen slaves.

　　My sister, Cebai, was sent to study in the Central Institute for Nationalities in Beijing in 1954. Upon graduation, she was assigned to work in Xietongmen County. She has retired and now lives in Xigaze.
　　My elder brother, Gewa, once lived with Tubdain Weidain, one of our uncles who served in the Tibetan government. After the Democratic Reform, she returned home working as a farmer. He went to visit father in 1985, and now lives in the United States.

　　I have always been doing farm work. Years ago, I was elected a member of the People's Political Consultative Conference of Gyangze County, and was elected a member of its Standing Committee.

　　Mother and step-father had given birth to four children, including Gyamco and Renbai, who, unfortunately, have died.

Father went from Gyangze to Lhasa in 1958. In March 1959,he joined Uncle Tubdain Weidain and Uncle Dorje Wangqug to flee to India together with the 14th Dalai Lama. Later, father moved to Switzerland. He planned to return for visit, but died of illness in 1982. Uncle Tubdain Weidain died in 1986. Uncle Doije Wangqug is still in Switzerland. He writes to us sometimes. Mother lived with us and died in 1991.

　　I married Zholha in 1979. Later, my younger brother, O'zhol, fell in love with my wife and they married, too. So, three of us form a family, and we get along very well. Three of us have three sons, who are expected to go to universities in the future.

　　We are on good terms with former nangzen slaves and former tralpa serfs. They assisted me in building our house. Before the Democratic Reform, we lived in a three-room house, plus two warehouses, which father built for us. After the Democratic Reform, we were allowed to live in two rooms. Later, we built a four-room house. In 1986, like others in the village, we built a two-story building with 10 rooms. We lead a happy life. Others in the village also lead a good life, a life which is better in some aspects than the life led by father in the past.

(Recorded by Xu Ping)