In the 19th century, the "Tashi" or Panchen Lama had temporal power over Tashilhunpo Monastery and three small districts, though not over the town of Shigatse itself, which was administered by two Dzongpön (Prefects) appointed from Lhasa.Chapman, Spencer F. (1940). Lhasa: The Holy City, p. 141. Readers Union Ltd., London. Before military conflict between the PRC's People's Liberation Army and the then Tibetan Govt., the Tibetan territory was divided into 53 prefecture districts called Dzongs.Le Tibet, Marc Moniez, Christian Deweirdt, Monique Masse, Éditions de l'Adret, Paris, 1999,
