国立情報学研究所 - ディジタル・シルクロード・プロジェクト
『東洋文庫所蔵』貴重書デジタルアーカイブ

200

MAPS OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.

narrative, and has, on his map, not a single detail for the road from the Yellow River to Lassa. The Italian version, which has several mistakes, but also several interesting details, was the result of an interview which Grueber gave two gentlemen in Florence in 1666, and which was published in later editions of Thevenot's work.' From there ASTLEY made the following extract regarding the road to Tibet, after they had crossed Desart Tartary : »Afterwards he came to the Banks of the Koko Nor, which signifies the Great Sea; being a great Lake, or Sea, like the Caspian, where the Yellow River has its Source. Leaving the Sea behind him, he entered into the Country of Toktokay, which is almost desart, and so barren, that it need fear no Invasion. One meets with nothing but some Tents of Tartars. It is watered by the Toktokay, a very fine River, whence it takes the Name. It is as large as the Danube, but so shallow, that it may be forded every-where. Thence having crossed the Country of Tangut, he came to Retink, a very populous Province, belonging to the Kingdom of Barantola; where at length he arrived, whose capital city is called Lassa.) 2 Thence it is easy to see from where Cantelli has got his material for the entirely new form he gives Koko-nor as well as for his Toktokay, Retink (now Reting-gompa), Barantola, and Lassa, so much the more as he quotes both the Jesuit Missionaries and Thevenot. But if Cantelli had read his Thevenot more attentively, he would have seen that Grueber and Dorville, travelling from Koko-nor to Retink, (the same way as 1 So years later Huc and Gabet), had to cross the country of Tangut. This has been placed by Cantelli in Ala-shan and Mongolia, while his Retink is on the S.W. shore of Koko-nor.

The very poor, but very important letters and interviews which, from Grueber himself, have come down to our time, have therefore fructified the map of Tibet in a very high degree, and the hitherto almost unknown country begins slowly to emerge from under the impenetrable mist which so long had covered its secrets.

WITSEN's map of northern and eastern Asia, made in Amsterdam 1687, is regarded as one of the most remarkable of its time.3 Pl. XXXIV shows a part of

it. F. G. KRAMP says in his notes to this map that for the regions east of the

Caspian Sea Witsen had translations made from the Arabian geographers while, for China, he used Martini as well as Chinese maps procured and translated for him by

Father COUPLET. He has obviously also used Russian material, as can be seen in several names, f. i. Tebetzami, Tiobetz Ansky (Tibetanskiy), and Tangoetska. The last is a town in Tanguth, the two first are the Tibetans, in both cases called I\Ion-

I In the copy of the Royal Library of Stockholm (Relations de divers voyages cvrievx, etc. Paris MDCLXVI), which is at my disposal, this narrative is, naturally enough, missing. In the copy

at the Library of Göttingen, which is also from 1666, it has been inserted, but has the year 1673. Tronnier, op. cit. p. 33o.

2 Astley's Collection, Vol. IV, London 1747, p. 652. The Italian original is found in Tronnier s article.

3 Nieuwe Lantkaarte Van het Noorder en Ooster deel van Asia en Europa ... door Nicolaes Witsen, anno 1687. In Remarkable maps, Part IV, Amsterdam 1897.