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

264 THE JESUIT CARTOGRAPHERS. IN CHINA, AND D'ANVILLE's MAP OF THE LAKES ETC.

greater and richer in important geographical matters than had been believed before. Therefore the Emperor decided to have a reliable map made. He ordered two Lamas who had learnt geometry and arithmetic in a mathematical academy which was under the protection of his third son, to make the map of the whole country from Si-ning to Lhasa and thence to the source of the Ganges and also ordered them to bring him some water from that river. The work was carried out punctually. Not until the year 1717, however, was the new map delivered to the Emperor, who sent it to the missionary geographers. They found it by far superior to, and more reliable than the map of 1711.'

By means of using and checking all reliable itineraries from China to Tibet the missionaries did their best to construct a map of the whole of Tibet, »the exactitude of which was worthy of the attention of the public», as nowhere else were any details regarding towns, mountains, and rivers to be found. The map of Tibet was added to the great map of the whole of China which in 1718 was presented to the Emperor.

This map of China was engraved in Peking and the Jesuit Fathers sent a copy to Paris, which was presented to the King and kept in his private library at Versailles. Du Halde had a copy of it made in Paris and sent to d'Anville, asking him to reduce it and prepare it for publication. The Paris copy was, however, a very incomplete extract of the original maps, and the geographical names had been translated in Peking by somebody who did not know Chinese Sufficiently.2

KLAPROTH tells us, that it is wrong to believe that the Jesuit map of Tibet had no other foundation than the work of the two Lamas sent by Kang Hi to that country. The material they brought to Peking was controlled and improved by other persons whom Kang Hi had sent for the purpose of studying Tibet, as well as by the itineraries of the Manchurian armies which, during his reign, pacified Tibet.3

From du Halde we learn that the Lama surveyors of Kang Hi had some political difficulties to overcome during the latter part of their work . He says that the grandson of COUCHI HAN, TALAI HAN, was attacked by the great TSEVANG RABTAN. Talai han had some 20,000 men, and Tsevang Rabtan's general only 5,000 or 6,000. But Talai han was defeated and killed and the country of

I The following passage is important, and does not throw an altogether favourable light over the way in which the material was used: »Elle ne leur parut pas néanmoins tout-a-fait exempte de défauts: mais par respect pour l'école d'où ces Lamas étoient sortis, ils se contenterent pour lors de corriger les plus sensibles, & qui auroient choqué les yeux de l'Empereur. Ils laisserent même Lasa au dessus du 30e degré de latitude, où ks Lamas l'avoient mis, ayant plus d'égard à la mesure actuelle dont ces Lamas s'étoient servis, qu'à l'observation astronomique.» Ibid. p. 46o.

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»11 ne faut donc pas attribuer à d'Anville les erreurs que présentent les cartes d'après ces calques, et insérées dans la description de la Chine, du P. du Halde. Quand aux feuilles particulières du Tubet que renferme cet ouvrage, d'Anville les a fait copier assez exactement d'après les calques dont on vient de parler; mais il s'est permis, dans la carte générale dans laquelle il les a réunis, plusieurs changemens qui n'ont pas tous été heureux ...» Mémoires relatifs à l'Asie. Par M. J. KLAPROTH. Paris 1828. Tome III, p. 372.

3 KLAPROTH, IOC. cit. p. 389.