IIIF Color HighRes
National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
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| IIIF Color HighRes |
| Southern Tibet : vol.7 |
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Citation Information
CHAPTER XVI.
THE DECADE 1818-1828.
In this chapter I have brought together some extracts of the writings of learned geographers, who, with only one exception, have not been in Asia themselves. The quotations given here are few, but quite sufficient to afford a clear idea of the state of knowledge regarding the regions around the Kara-korum Mountains as it was during the decade from 1818 to 1828. To the same period belong several of the geographical works of the great German scholars, KLAPROTH, RITTER, and HUMBOLDT, which are to be discussed in subsequent chapters.
When WILLIAM MARSDEN published his edition of MARCO POLO in 181o, he had great difficulties to get the narrative of the Venetian to agree with the geographical maps existing at the time. The mountains of Belur, Bolor, he finds on STRAHLEN-BERG'S map, from which he thinks they have been borrowed by D'ANVILLE, but in some respects the narrative is easier to fit in with the help of the new maps of the time, amongst which was MACARTNEY'S (Pl. XXI). Marsden says: »This alpine region named by eastern geographers Belûr or Belôr, is laid down in Strahlenberg's map, from whence, apparently, it has been transferred to those of d'Anville; but its position relatively to Pamir and Badakhshan will be found still more conformable to our author's account, in the recent constructions of Macdonald Kinneir and Macartney.» I
The map accompanying Marsden's work has been constructed by Messrs. Walker & Sons under the direction of Major RENNELL. It is sufficient to mention that on this map the Mil' Mts. are placed east and E. S. E. of Pamir, and the Belor Mts. south of Pamir and S. W. of the Mûz Mts. North of Himalaya is Latak and Tibet, the latter rather narrow, whilst Kobi is exaggerated in breadth and goes down to 32° North. lat., a feature which we remember from several other maps of this period, and earlier.
Four years later, or 1822, Count G. B. BALDELLI published a map of MARCO POLO'S journey which is indeed rather surprising (Pl. XXIV).2 I reproduce it only as
I William Marsden: The Travels of Marco Polo etc. London MDCCCXVIII, P. 144•
Carta itineraria de' viaggi de' Poli per servire all' Illustrazione del Milione Commentato e Pubblicato dal Conte G. B. Baldelli, Firenze 1822.
17. VII.
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