Southern Tibet : vol.3 / 158 ページ（カラー画像）

0158	Southern Tibet : vol.3
南チベット : vol.3

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 40 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 un-
known 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'Himàlaya 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 »Yarla Chamboi» 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 Nien-
chen-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
langúr, since they show it to be equivalent to the lá of Tibetan and the shán of
Chinese; consequently also to the Turkish tâgh and the Mongolic úlá. It may there-
fore be rendered 'mountain' as well as 'mountain pass', and this is the reason, per-
haps, 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 langúr,
which is equivalent to the Gnálhám thánglá of the Tibetans. Col. Waugh there-
fore 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

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