Conférence ANR/DFG : « Journey of Discovery. An Atlas of the Himalayas by a 19th-Century Tibetan Lama. »

Dans le cadre du projet ANR/DFG
« Le Statut social dans le Monde tibétain (TibStat) »

Diana Lange, Humboldt University Berlin
présentera une communication intitulée :

« Journey of Discovery. An Atlas of the Himalayas by a 19th-Century
Tibetan Lama»

Mercredi 14 février 2018, 15h, salle du rez-de-chaussée, Maison de l’Asie (22, avenue du Président Wilson – 75016)

Résumé de la communication :

In 1857 a Tibetan lama travelled from Lhasa to the Western Himalayas, where he was engaged
by Major William Edmund Hay (1805-1879), former assistant commissioner of the Kulu
district in the Western Himalayas, to “draw and describe” Tibet. The lama not only produced
the most comprehensive set of visual depictions of mid-19th Tibet but also the largest
panoramic map of Tibet of its time – during a period when it was inaccessible to Western
visitors. Although experienced in surveying mountainous regions entering Tibet was not an
easy undertaking for the British. Hence, the acquisition of knowledge on that region often
depended on indigenous people. Hay was definitely aware of the ongoing exploration of the
Himalayas at that time and he took the opportunity to engage the lama who just came from
Lhasa to draw a map of the “main artery of Tibet” for him. In her presentation Diana Lange
will discuss the question why Hay’s collection ended up as “Wise Collection” in the British
Library and why this huge collection of knowledge on Tibet was hidden and unrecognized until
the mid-20th century.

Affiche de l’événement : Lange 14 févier 2018

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