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

SOME CONTEMPORARIES OF MAJOR RENNELL.

As a rule it took some time before the discoveries and the new maps were generally accepted in Europe. Amongst geographers, and in geographical handbooks the important innovations of d'Anville and Rennell could, of course, not be ignored. Other writers still went their own ways. A few examples will show how far the great cartographers of the time had made an impression upon their contemporaries.

In his geography of 1794, BORHECK places the source of the Ganges on the west side of Mount »Kantaisse», after which the riverflows in three arms westwards, and finally south-eastwards to India. This is d'Anville's and Rennell's view. The »Tsanpu or Burremputer» has its sources on the S.E. side of Kantaisse. Here he does not follow d'Anville's map and is therefore wrong.

SONNERAT only regards the geography from a mythological point of view.

He quotes BAILLY in pointing to Mount Meru, the dwelling-place of the penitents, or generally Tibet, as the region from where the inhabitants of India originally came down to the plains.

An article: Mémoire sur le Thibet, et sur le Royaume des Eleuthes ... in

I ettres Édifiantes, contains an antiquated standpoint, without any new additions. 3 Tsang is said to be the ordinary Chinese name for Tibet. It is also called Sy-Tsang, Parountola, Barantola, Toufan, or Tangout. Then the old legend of Christians in Tibet is explained. Since the last years of Kang Hi's reign, Chinese Emperors have always had Ganges-water in their palace and on their journeys.

In his work on Nearcus' journey WILLIAM VINCENT has a few words about the sources of the Satlej and Indus. 4 He identifies the Setlej or Setledge of Rennell with the Saranga or Saranges of Arrian, the Hesudrus of Pliny, the Zadadrus, Zaradrus or Zardrus of Ptolemy, the Shatooder or Shetooder of the Sanscrit and of

Ain-i-Akbari, the Satludj, Setooge and Satluz of Tieffenthaler, and the Seteluj of Persian and Hindustani. The source of the river is situated far away to the N.E., in the mountains of Ghaloor. The sources of all the rivers, forming the Indus, are situated on the southern side of the long range called Hindoo Khoo, which separates Tartary from Hindustan. Only the Indus itself according to Rennell, pierces the range just as the Ganges and Burhampooter; but the real source of the Indus is unknown. The mountains which border Kashmir on the east seem to divide into two ranges, called Tchamou by Sherefeddin, and Jemmoo by modern geographers. Between these two ranges Timur marched on his retreat from Delhi, and Vincent thinks that the sources of the Satlej are most likely situated there.

The river Lanctchou on the Lamas' map, which was in reality the Satlej, had been identified by them with the main branch of the Ganges, and Rennell followed

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i Erdbeschreibung von Asien, Düsseldorf, 1794, Bd. III, p. 637.

2 Voyage aux Indes Orientales et à la Chine, 17 74-17 8 I. Par M. SONNERAT. Paris I 782, Tome I. p. 273.

3 XXXI Recueil. Paris, 1774, p. 212 et seq.

4 I have at my disposal the French edition of J. B. BILLECOCQ : Voyage de Néarque des bouches de l'Indus jusqu'à l'Euphrate, etc. Paris, An VIII, p. loi et seq.