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

BRIAN HODGSON AND THE NYENCHHEN—THANGLA CHAIN.

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had no knowledge of the existence of such a country. On STRAHLENBERG's map it does not exist at all. The unreliable information about it as found in the Chinese texts has been promulgated by Klaproth, accepted by Ritter and Humboldt and, partly, kept its ground until a few years ago. The fact that Hodgson, who lived some 4o years in Nepal and Sikkim and often had intercourse with Tibetan Lamas, has not been able to find out the truth about the countries north of Transhimalaya, but has contented himself with accepting Ritter, — this fact proves how very unknown and how difficult of access this highland has always been.

When Hodgson makes the Nam-tso and Yamdok-tso signify Northern and Southern Tibet resp., he has been influenced by Humboldt, whom he quotes later on in another connection. Humboldt says: »Si l'on veut indiquer simplement les trois plateaux situés entre l'Altaï, le Thian-chan, le Kuen-lun et l'Himâlaya par la position de trois lacs alpins, on peut choisir à cet effet ceux de Balkachi, Lop et Tengri (Ter-kiri nor de d'Anville) ; ils correspondent aux plateaux de la Dzoungarie, du Tangout et du Tubet.» 1 At another place he determines the »Tengri noor» as north of »Nien tsin tangla», whereas south of it and west of the peak »Marla Chamboï» is the lake »Yamrouk youmdzo».2 Curious enough he lets Lop-nor indicate the plateau of Tangut; the Tengri-nor indicates — not the plateau between Kwen-lun and Nienchen-tang-la, but that between Kwen-lun and Himalaya. Hodgson has improved this example of geographical homologies by letting Tengri-nor signify northern Tibet. Here he gives us an idea of what he calls Northern Tibet. But he cannot help it, for the country was, as the whole Transhimalaya, unknown in his days. Practically nothing else was known than the name Nien-chen-tang-la, and that only from Chinese texts.

Of the mysterious name Langur, famous from the missionaries' time, Hodgson says: »the documents now submitted themselves suffice to prove the meaning of langûr, since they show it to be equivalent to the la of Tibetan and the shån of Chinese; consequently also to the Turkish tågh and the Mongolic ûlå. It may therefore be rendered 'mountain' as well as 'mountain pass', and this is the reason, perhaps, why the Nepalese often do not discriminate between the name of the pass and of the peak of Bhairava but blend them both under the name Bhairav langûr, which is equivalent to the Gnålhåm thångla of the Tibetans. Col. Waugh therefore may be assured that his Mount Everest is far from lacking native names, and, I will add that I should venture in any case of a signal natural object occurring in Nepal to furnish the Colonel with its true native name (nay, several, for the country is very polyglottic) upon his furnishing me with the distance and bearings of that object, although neither I nor any European had gone near it.» 3

I Fragmens Asiatiques, Paris 1831, p. 25. Compare also the German edition of l'Asie Cen traie. I, p. 135.

2 Fragmens Asiatiques, p. 79, 80.

3 Colonel Waugh wrote as follows about Hodgson's attempt to identify his Dévadhûnga with Mount Everest: »Mr Hodgson endeavoured, in the Journal of the Asiatic Society, to establish the identity