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0081 Southern Tibet : vol.3
Southern Tibet : vol.3 / Page 81 (Color Image)

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doi: 10.20676/00000263
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CHAPTER VII.

DUTREUIL DE RHINS.

On his general map that is the result at which Dutreuil de Rhins has
arrived by studying both eastern and western sources, this author has preferred
not to enter any mountain ranges at all. He has only marked out on his map
some prominent peaks, as Nien-chen-tang-la, Targo-gangri and Kailas. But of the
few orographical features as shown on his map in the interior of Tibet he says that
they are rather hypothetical, »car la plupart n'ont pas été même entrevues par les
explorateurs modernes«.¹ He says that an altogether hypothetical orography may
perhaps be allowed only on an atlas map for giving an approximate idea of the
general structure of a country. And he asks: »Sur les cartes d'étude, ne devrait-
on pas supprimer tout dessin orographique jusqu'au moment où la cartographie
repose sur de véritables levés topographiques?» This sound and conscientious view
was expressed many years after the publication of the maps of Hodgson and Saunders,
who, disregarding the most elementary rules of accuracy, drew tremendous mountain
ranges in regions where no Europeans and no Pundits had ever been.²

Still, in his work de Rhins at some places comes into contact with the Trans-
himalaya. In the beginning of the Manchu dynasty the Chinese had only very