History of European exploration in Tibet
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The location of Tibet, deep in the
History
12th–16th centuries
The earliest European reports of Tibet were from Benjamin of Tudela who left Zaragoza, Aragon in 1160 and travelled to Baghdad before returning to Navarre in 1173. Based on his discussions with learned men, Rabbi Benjamin describes Tibet as being the land of musk and as being four days journey from Samarkand.[1]
Less than 100 years later, an emissary was sent by
The first documented European claim to have visited Tibet came from
By 1459 the general location of Tibet was clearly known as Thebet appears on the Fra Mauro map in close proximity to its correct location.[5]
17th century
The first documented Europeans to arrive in Tibet were a pair of Portuguese
On the advice of Andrade, a mission was dispatched to southern Tibet from India in 1627. The Portuguese missionaries
Cabral and Cacella also provided the first information that reached western civilization about the mystical country of Shambhala (which they transcribed as "Xembala") in their reports to India.[8]
Both missions were evacuated in 1635 as the missions became embroiled in the rivalry between the
In 1661, two Jesuits,
18th century
The most important of these missionaries was Ippolito Desideri, an Italian Jesuit who left Rome in 1712 with the blessing of Pope Clement XI and arrived in Lhasa on 18 March 1716. Desideri's various journeys between 1716 and 1721, when he was withdrawn by Rome, encompassed a circuit of the Tibetan borders with Nepal, modern Kashmir and Pakistan.[11] The Capuchins became the sole Christian missionaries in Tibet for the next twenty-five years. The Capuchins met increased opposition from Tibetan lamas before finally being expelled from Tibet in 1745.
19th century
In 1865, in 1867 and in 1873-1875
In 1879–80, Russian explorer
In 1885–1887
In 1889, Gabriel Bonvalot with Prince Henri of Orléans and Father Constant de Deken crossed the mountain range of Tibet.
In 1893–94, Jules-Léon Dutreuil de Rhins with Fernand Grenard explored most inaccessible and least-known regions of northern and western Tibet. The Swedish explorer Sven Hedin conducted 1893–1897, 1905-1909 and 1927-35 three expeditions which mapped big parts of Tibet. Hedin had a doctorate in geography and was a skilled cartoonist and writer who together with other participants in these expeditions carefully documented what they saw in Tibet from many different aspects during these expeditions. Hedin and his followers made surprisingly accurate and detailed maps of large parts of Tibet compiled extensive documentation of their observations. Hedins books and lectures about his expeditions made him a world-famous person in the years before the First World War.
In 1898, a Canadian missionary medical doctor, Susie Rijnhart, and her husband and baby attempted to reach Lhasa from the north. The couple came to within one hundred miles of Lhasa before being turned back. The baby died and the husband disappeared, but Dr. Rijnhart survived and made her way alone out of Tibet.[12]
British experience in Tibet (particularly the instructions by
Russian explorers reached Lhasa several months later -
At that very time, Przewalski's student Pyotr Kozlov headed to Tibet and explored the Chinese-controlled part of Kham, but was stopped at the border of Tibetan-controlled territory in October 1900 and had to retreat.
20th century
In 1913 British explorers Frederick Bailey and Henry Morshead had carried out an unauthorised exploration of Tsangpo Gorge and later Tibet officially agreed to the 1921 British Mount Everest reconnaissance expedition and the 1935 reconnaissance expedition although they both carried out exploration well beyond the terms of their permits.
In 1938-1939 from May 1938 to August 1939, a
In 2009, 5.6 million tourists visited Tibet Autonomous Region and spent ¥5.6 billion. Both were 150% increases from 2008.[13]
See also
References
- ^ Komroff, Manuel (editor)(1928). Contemporaries of Marco Polo Boni & Liveright, New York
- ^ MacGregor, John. (1970). Tibet: A Chronicle of Exploration, pp. 16. Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, SBN 7100-6615-5
- ^ Rockhill, William Woodville. (1900). Journey of William of Rubruck to The Eastern Parts of the World: 1253–1255, pp. 151–52. Bedford Press, London, SBN 7100-6615-5
- ^ Yule, Sir Henry (1916). Cathy and the Way Thither, Vol. 1, pp. 178–181. Hakluyt Society, London
- ^ See Fra Mauro map
- ^ MacGregor, John. (1970). Tibet: A Chronicle of Exploration, pp. 34–39. Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, SBN 7100-6615-5
- ^ MacGregor, John. (1970). Tibet: A Chronicle of Exploration, pp. 44–45. Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, SBN 7100-6615-5
- ISBN 0-87477-518-3.
- ^ MacGregor, John. (1970). Tibet: A Chronicle of Exploration, pp. 47. Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, SBN 7100-6615-5
- ^ Anderson, Gerald H (Editor). Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions, pg 266. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, MI, 1998
- ^ De Filippi, Flippo (Editor). An Account of Tibet, The Travels of Ippolito Desideri, pp. 50–74. Routledge & Sons, Ltd, London, 1931
- ^ Rijnhart, Susie Carson. With the Tibetans in Tent & Temple. Edinburgh: Oliphant, Anderson &Ferrier, 1901
- ^ "Tibet's tourism experiences recovery in golden April". China Travel Depot. 12 April 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
Bibliography
- Bernbaum, Edwin: The Way to Shambhala, Reprint: (1989). Jeremy P. Tarcher, Inc., Los Angeles. ISBN 0-87477-518-3
- Das, Sarat Chandra. Journey to Lhasa and Central Tibet, Edited by: Rockhill, William Woodville, (2001), PalJor Publications, New Delhi, ISBN 81-86230-17-3
- De Filippi, Flippo (Editor). An Account of Tibet, The Travels of Ippolito Desideri, Routledge & Sons, Ltd, London, 1931
- Foster, Barbara & Michael. Forbidden Journey: The Life of Alexandra David-Neel, (1987) Harper & Row, New York, ISBN 0-06-250345-6
- Garzilli, Enrica, L'esploratore del Duce: Le avventure di Giuseppe Tucci e la politica italiana in Oriente da Mussolini a Andreotti. Con il carteggio di Giulio Andreotti, 2 vols., Milano: Asiatica Association, 2014 (3rd. ed.); vol. 1 ISBN 978-8890022661.
- Garzilli, Enrica, Mussolini's Explorer: The Adventures of Giuseppe Tucci and Italian Policy in the Orient from Mussolini to Andreotti. With the Correspondence of Giulio Andreotti (volume 1), Milan: Asiatica Association, 2016; ISBN 978-8890022692.
- Harrer, Heinrich Seven Years in Tibet,(1953) EP Dutton & Co, New York
- Komroff, Manuel (editor)(1928). Contemporaries of Marco Polo Boni & Liveright, New York
- Lach, Donald F & Van Kley, Edwin J Asia in the Making of Europe (Vol III), University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1993
- MacGregor, John.Tibet: A Chronicle of Exploration, (1970) Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, ISBN 0-7100-6615-5
- Passport Books: Tibet (1986) Shangri-La Press
- Rockhill, William Woodville Journey of William of Rubruck to The Eastern Parts of the World: 1253–1255,(1900) Bedford Press, London, SBN 7100-6615-5
- Teltscher, Kate.The High Road to China: George Bogle, the Panchen Lama and the First British Expedition to Tibet, Bloomsbury, London, (2006) ISBN 978-0-374-21700-6
- Turner, Samuel An Account of an Embassy to the Court of the Teshoo Lama in Tibet: Containing a Narrative of a Journey Through Bootan, and Part of Tibet, W. Bulmer and Co, London, (1800)
- Waller, Derek. The Pundits: British Exploration of Tibet and Central Asia, University Press of Kentucky, Louisville, (2004) ISBN 978-0-8131-9100-3
- Yule, Sir Henry Cathy and the Way Thither, Vol. 1, (1916) Hakluyt Society, London