Southern Tibet : vol.3 / 33 ページ（カラー画像）

0033	Southern Tibet : vol.3
南チベット : vol.3

Sera is at the southern foot of a mountain range. But the next passage is more
important:¹

»Nell'altra montagna, sulla sommità di essa, che è a est del convento di Serà, vi è un
convento di religiose. Tra la montagna, alle cui radici sta situato il convento di Serà, e l'altra
montagna, sopra cui è il detto convento di monache, vi è uno stretto cammino, che va verso
nord, e mena nel deserto dell'est, che guida alla Cina. Tale imboccatura è molto facile a
difendersi contre qualunque esercito di nemici, che da quella banda vengano contro Lhasà; e
con poco presidio, che quivi pongasi può essere inespugnabile.»

This narrow road which goes to the north and through the eastern desert to
China, crosses the mountains north of Sera, a part of Transhimalaya. And finally
he says:

»Uscendo dalla pianura di Lhasà per la banda di nord, per l'imboccatura che ho detto,
che sta vicina al convento di Serà, s'entra nel gran deserto dell'est, che si stende per lo spazio
di tre mesi di cammino, al termine, de'quali riesce a Sining, primo luogo della Cina, e posto
in fine delle di lei famose muraglie. Il P. Atanasio Kircher tratta bastantemente di questo
cammino, e suo viaggio, nella 'Cina illustrata' al cap. 3.°, § II; perciò altro non aggiungo.»

Here too he speaks of the great desert of northern Tibet, without mentioning
the innumerable mountain ranges with which it is filled. And he shows the same re-
verence to Kircher as Grueber did. Grueber's respect may have been understood.
But when Desideri began his journey in Tibet Kircher had been dead 35 years and
his memory would not have suffered if Desideri had added some new particulars to
the meagre description of the road to Sining as given in China Illustrata.

If everything is taken into consideration we must arrive at the conclusion that
Desideri's narrative hardly contains anything which proves the existence of a mighty
mountain system north of the Tsangpo. Did we not know the geography of these
parts comparatively as well as we do now, Desideri's description would hardly help us
to suspect the existence of such a system as the Transhimalaya. One would rather
imagine a plateau-land, partly inhabited by Turkish tribes, partly a complete desert.
On its southern edge one would imagine, in the west, a very high but somewhat
lonely mountain, unless one suspected that the Father noticed it and paid it special
attention only on account of its religious importance. In the east one would under-
stand that Lhasa was bordered by high ranges in the north. But for the distance
between Kailas and Lhasa one would not get any idea of the mountains.

And still Desideri's Tibetan geography remains for ever a classic work. It
is the first reliable description of Tibet ever given by a European. In topographical
detail the Lama surveyors who worked at the same time gave much more. But
compare Desideri's general morphology, extension and climate of Tibet with the
theories of some modern geographers of Rawlinson's time, and you will not hesitate
a second as to whom the first prize is due.

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

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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

引用情報

OCR読み取り結果

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