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Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

258   THE MAPS OF STRAHLENBERG AND RENAT.

the map himself.   _,This statement cannot be taken literally. The Mongolian

ruler 2 can at the most have ordered the map to be made. By whom ? It seems very unlikely that any Mongolians, East or West, would have been able to draw a map, the whole appearance of which is perfectly European. The Chinese have always been very clever surveyors, but the map (Pl. L) has not at all the ordinary Chinese habitus, it has not even been influenced in the least by Chinese methods. And as

I said before the Mongol original is exactly the same as Pl. L, except the names which are in 'Mongol writing, and a few details added on Renat's copy. The Chinese always use to show the mountains in horizontal perspective, not in vertical projection. On Delisle's, Strahlenberg's and d'Anville's maps the mountains are still shown in horizontal projection; but on Renat's they are drawn as seen from a bird's eye view, which gives the map a much more modern stamp than heaps of European maps of a much later date.

All we can do is to confess our ignorance about the real origin of this most valuable map, which had been buried and forgotten 150 years when Strindberg discovered it.3 Anyhow the Russian Geographical Society may feel satisfied that Renat

Z Några små annotationer giorde wid en kort conference emellan Lieut: Renat, som ifrån Calmukiet återkomit, och Bisk: Högw. H:r Dr. Eric Benzelius 1738. In the Engeströmska Sarni. B II, 2, 25, Royal Library, Stockholm, where Dr. E. W. Dahlgren has kindly directed my attention to this document.

2 Regarding the title Kontaiji or Khuntaiji Pallas has the following passage: Die mächtigsten unter den kalmückischen und mongolischen Fürsten haben sich sonst theils von ihrem geistlichen Oberhaupt dem Dalai-Lama, theils von ihren mächtigen Nachbarn dem Russischen und Chinesischen Beherrscher den Chanen-Titul beylegen lassen, und den Titel Chuntaidshi (Schwanenfürst) welcher vielen Soongarischen, Choschotischen und Mongolischen Fürsten eigen gewesen ist, unter diesen Horden, da sie noch frey und von keiner auswärtigen weltlichen Macht abhängig waren, allein vom Dalai-Lama ertheilt, und gab den Rang über die gemeinen Fürsten und die Rechtmässigkeit der Macht, welche sich solche über die minder mächtige anmasten. Op. cit. p. 275. According to a letter which Father Gaubil sent from Peking to A. M. Delisle in 1755 or 1756, the power of the Kungtaiji seems not to have lasted long. He says : »I1 y a quelques années que les Russes allèrent sur la rivière Ili, avec la permission des princes Kalmuks, qui y étaient alors ; ils y ont observé sans doute dans le pays entre l'Irtyche et Ili; ici, nous n'avons eu aucune connaissance de ces observations ... La puissance des Kalmuks Koungtaichi, dont le principal campement était sur la rivière Ili, est comme détruite. Les princes éleuths de ce pays se sont fait la guerre, les princes mahométans de Yarkend, de Kachgar et d'Aksou se sont rendus indépendants chez eux. Le prince de Tourphan s'est donné à l'empereur avec quelque autre. Plusieurs ont péri; d'autres se sont soumis à la Chine, d'autres se sont retirés chez les Russes. L'empereur de la Chine s'est rendu maître du pays des Kalmuks Tchongkar; il a un corps d'armée sur les rivières d'Ili et de Borotala.» Lettres du P. Gaubil, adressées à plusieurs savants de Paris. Nouveau Journal Asiatique, Tome X. Paris 1832, p. 411, 412.

3 In the last moment before the printing of this volume I get from the Library of the University of Uppsala the copy of a letter, dated Stockholm April 25, 1743, written and signed by Johan Gustafw Renat, and adressed to the Librarian Andr. Norrelius. Having spoken of the Songars or Dsungarians, Renat continues: »Amongst these Songars I have been living, and have got the greatest map (of the four which he had, April 13, presented to the Library of Uppsala) from the Chinese, when they invaded the territory of the Kalmuks at Barcöll (Barkul) or Turphan, a town which also, on some maps, is situated on their frontier. Half of this (map) I have copied carefully with Latin letters, and intended to translate the other half as well: but the fine writing and my weak eyes have prevented me from it. However, I believe that it has been copied in Russia, for, 5 years ago, I delivered it to Professor de Liell (J. N. Delisle) of the Academy in St. Petersburg, who returned it to me, promising that I should get a printed one later on, but so far I have not received it. It has

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