An Account of an Embassy to the Court of the Teshoo Lama, in Tibet: Containing a Narrative of a Journey through Bootan, and Part of Tibet (Cambridge ... Collection - Travel and Exploration in Asia) - Softcover

Turner, Samuel

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1108061354 ISBN 13: 9781108061353

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2013

Synopsis

In 1783, at the opportunity presented by a new Panchen (or Teshoo) Lama, Bengal governor-general Warren Hastings sent a deputation to Tibet and Bhutan in the hope of promoting British-Indian trade across the Himalayas. Samuel Turner (1759-1802), an army officer in the East India Company, was appointed leader of the mission. His journal, offering first-hand descriptions of these countries, was originally published in 1800 and remained the only such English-language work for more than half a century. Assisted by the botanist and surgeon Robert Saunders and the surveyor and illustrator Samuel Davis, Turner interweaves geographical and scientific observations with descriptions of social and religious customs; the vivid account of his reception by the infant Panchen Lama is of particular note. The introduction sketches the history of Bengal-Bhutan relations and George Bogle's prior mission, while later sections deal with Tibet and the influence of China. This was and remains an invaluable account of eighteenth-century diplomacy.

About this title

Book Description:

In 1783, at the opportunity presented by a new Panchen Lama, Samuel Turner (1759-1802) led a deputation from Bengal to Tibet and Bhutan in the hope of promoting British-Indian trade. Originally published in 1800, his insightful first-hand description of these countries remained the only such English-language work for decades.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1108061354
• ISBN 13: 9781108061353
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 532
• Illustrator: Davis Samuel