 |
 |
 |
|
One of the most important works by the famous explorer providing an account of his expedition through Tibet from 1906-1908. On his third expedition, 1905-08, Hedin investigated the Central Persian desert basins, the western highlands of Tibet, and the Transhimalaya, which for some time afterward was called the Hedin Range. He visited the 9th Panchen Lama in the cloister city of Tashilhunpo in Shigatse, and was the first European to reach the Kailash region, the sacred Lake Manasarovar and the sacred Mount Kailash, the midpoint of the earth according to Buddhist and Hindu mythology. His most important accomplishment was the sources of the Indus and Brahmaputra Rivers. "Traversing the Chang-tang in Tibet through Srinagar and Leh he reached to Shigatse. Thence he went back to Lake Mana sarowar along the Tsangpo and descended the Indus, and then towards Leh and returned to Simla by the Sutlej route" (Kakushi) Hedin was responsible for putting Tibet on the map, literally. His surveys and mapping expeditions helped to discover for the world the physical geography of the region.
Trans Himalaya Discoveries And Adventures In Tibet, 3 Volumes, Sven Hedin Foreword By K. Vatsyayana, Gyan Publishing House, Hardcover, 2002, 448pp (vol 1)- 442pp (vol 2)- 450pp (vol 3), $125.00
Sven Hedin was a person who evoked and still evokes many different memories and feelings, who has been subjected to many admiring as well as highly critical comments. The contents of these comments all depend on which periods of his life and which of his activities they refer to, during which times and contexts and by whom they have been passed, and even in which country they have been voiced.
Early in Sven Hedin's professional life, let us say until the immediate aftermath of his third expedition, i.e. 1908-1910, the dominant, though not only, image of him was that of a national hero combing the two qualities of being an explorer-adventurer and a scientist, a common combination in those days. His achievements and adventures in the field were well known trough his travelogues, spread in books for youth and popular journals for the general public, and public presentations drew huge crowds. His scholarly reputation was not undisputed but well known to people sharing his interests. It rested on his scientific reports, maps, papers for geographical journals, and appearances in front of learned societies.
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|