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『東洋文庫所蔵』貴重書デジタルアーカイブ

NICOLAUS VISSCHER.   197

Visscher does not believe in Kircher's identification of Grueber's Langur with Belor Mons, and prefers to leave the mountains between Lassa and Necbal nameless, and to remove Belor Mons far to the north. What is curious is that Kircher himself does not seem to believe in it. In the text he concludes that Marco Polo calls that country Belor, »in which, a short time ago, Thebeth was discovered».I Further he says that Marco Polo's description of Belor does not in the least prevent its identification with Langur. But on his map he follows the map of Visscher and places Belor mons far to the north of Lassa, while even the name Langur mons is entered on the map on the range between Lassa and Necbal.

To the N.W. of Belor Mons Visscher has a Consagni Mons Lapideus. In Trigault's edition of Goës the ordinary jade is said to be won in a mountain at 20 days' journey from Khotan and called Cansangui-cascio, which means »stony mountain; it is probable that it is the same which in some geographical descriptions of this kingdom is called with that name). Brucker supposes that this passage comes from Father Ricci, who herewith makes allusion to Ptolemy's Turris lapidea mons.2 But this is wrong, as Brucker shows, for Goës' Cansangui-cascio is simply the Turki Kan-sang-i-kach, or mine of jade.3 Visscher, and with him Kircher, have thus transplanted this relict from Ptolemy to the mountainous regions north of Lhasa.

It is under all circumstances clear that Visscher's map must be posterior to Grueber's journey.

The western continuation of Grueber's Langur is called Montes Tibetici and Serenager Montes, from Srinagar in Garhwal. North of the former is Tibet Major, north of the latter Tibet Minor, which to its north has Kaskar Regnum with Iourkend and Kachger placed on one of the Gangetic feeders, a great mistake, that had not been committed by Sanson ten years before. Kashmir is called Iachmire which may be a misprint; Chiaracar, Parvan, and Angher are from Goës.

Sylvain Lévy has discovered Grueber's route on Visscher's map and from it concluded that the earliest date it can have been printed is 1663. Just along the northern edge of the map I find a route, which François Bernier describes from native information which he obtained during his visit in Kashmir 1664. On Visscher's map this route starts from Kashmir and runs eastwards, indicated by the following stations: Kachaure, Gourtehe, Eskerdow, Cheker, Kachger, and Iourkend. In Bernier's

I China Illustrata, Amsterdam 167o, p. 66. The first edition Rome 1667. »A short time ago» refers to Andrade.

2 Trigault's work, which appeared in 1615 and 1616 has the title: Nicolaus Trigautius S. J., Belga (de Douai), De Christiana expeditione apud Sinas suscepta ab Societate Jesu, ex P. Matthei Ricci ej. oc. Commentariis. Goës' annotations were put into order by Father Ricci. The obligation in which Trigault generally stood to Ricci he explains thus in the introduction to his Regni Chinensis descriptio, Ex Varijs Authoribus, Lvgd. Batay. 1639, p. 2: Quamobrem, ut Societatis nostre ingressum in occlusos tot seculis vastissimi hujus regni fines, & rei Christiana primitias apud illustrem hanc gentem, ab hoc oblivionis interitu vindicarem, aggressus sum ea, que à P. Matthao Riccio suis commentariis ad posteritatis memoriam quotidianis, post obitum relicta sunt, historica narratione complecti.

3 Benoit de Goës, p. 31.