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