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

292   FATHER TIEFFENTHALER, FATTIER GAUBIL AND ANQUETIL DU PERRON.

Reproducing the important map communicated by father Gaubil (Pl. LIII), Anquetil du Perron gives it the title: Fausse Source du Gange. And still this map contains the prototype of the reality. There is, however, the same great mistake as in the Lamas' map of d'Anville and on Rennell's map: the Ganges instead of the Satlej. Or rather: two big rivers, parallel with each other, flowing towards the west. The northern one is the Indus, the southern one the Satlej. But the further fate of these two rivers was enveloped in darkness, for the authors of the map, who believed them to be the feeders of the Ganges, had them to join west of Ladak and then let the joint river turn east again and appear as the Ganges. The northern branch has its source on the north-western side of Mont Cantès (Kailas, Kentaisse, Kang Tise). So this must be the north-eastern branch of the Indus. Further west we find two well-known names on this river : Tschasirking and Latac, or Tashigang and Ladak, although the first mentioned place is on the right instead of the left bank of the river.

The southern river is regarded as the real source of the Ganges and at its head our special interest is concentrated. The eastern lake is called Lac Lapama and it is situated south of Mont Cantès and is surrounded by mountains to the east and south as well. Three small and short rivers enter the lake from the east. The northern of these is obviously meant to be the joint Pa-chung and Pa-chen or one or the other of them; the middle one is the Samo-tsangpo of Tokchen; and the southern one is Tage-tsangpo. On Gaubil's map all three are called Sources du Gange, so as to indicate that the river has really three heads.

The water of these three rivers is streaming from Lac Lapama as a short and strong river to Lac Lanka, situated direct west of Lapama. And from Lanka (Langak-tso) the river continues to the west, passing Kouké (Guge), Tseprong (Tsaparang), and Tschoumourti (Chumurti), all places or districts well known to be situated on the Satlej.

If we regard only the upper course of this river to a point a little west of Tschoumourti, we must confess that, if only the name »Gange» were changed into Satlej, the upper part of the hydrographical system would be represented in a perfectly correct way. The explorers from China who drew this map had a clearer view of physical geography than many geographers of our own day. The only point, except the name, in which the native explorers have been uncertain, is: which of the three feeders to the 1\lanasarovar should be regarded as the real source, and therefore they have called all three the sources of the Ganges. To settle this question one has only to measure the volume and carefully study the other chàracteristics of the three feeders, as I did in 1907.

The channel of communication between the lakes, which was rediscovered by the Stracheys in 1846 and 1848, is marked on Gaubil's map as clearly as ever

can be desired.   So 200 years ago there was not a shadow of doubt as to its

I BONIN says, 1. c. p. 348: 'Ce que ce croquis offre de plus remarquable, c'est que, pour la premiere fois, il indique très nettement la communication entre le Mansarovar et le Rakas-tal, qui