1922 Kingdon Ward - WESTERN YUNNAN - LARGE COLOR MAP - Muli Dasi Monastery - 09
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From British Burma to Little-Known Yunnan
Muli Dasi Monastery in Szechwan
Astonishing Quantities of Opium
Kingdon Ward
1921
Title: Through Western Yunnan. [With Color Map] Author: F. Kingdom Ward
Publisher: London: Edward Stanford, Royal Geographical Society, 1922.
Item is in Original Condition, with Blue Wrappers - As Issued, Complete with All the Ads! Notes & Condition:
Renowned plant collector and explorer Francis Kingdon Ward describes a journey made in 1921 from Lashio in British Burma (Myanmar), to Kunlong, through a Yunnan valley he describes as, "thinly populated... poor... well cultivated, and [with] astonishing quantities of opium hidden away in the remoter nooks." Moving onward to ascend the Mekong Divide, he passed guarded villages and fascinating cities, crossed mountain ranges and valleys, and through regions well known for its brigands, along the way remarking on the people, commerce, geography and of course the flora. In the environs of Yungpeh, he describes well-wooded ranges sparsely populated but for a few tribes such as the Lao-p'ang which the Chinese accused of being prolific robbers. Finally reaching his destination in Sichuan - the early seventeenth century Muli Dasi monastery, home to the great lama - which still today serves as home for the Living Buddha of Muli, who holds the highest status in Tibetan religious culture. Ward would make this his residence for the following five months. Perched above the Litang river, it was the largest of three Buddhist monasteries in the area. He remarks on the Moso [Mosuo], a minority people among the region's seventeen ethnic groups, and on the breathtaking scenery of virgin forests and hundreds of soaring 900 peaks. 8vo. 21 pages, plus a fold-out color map measuring approximately 30 x 22cm, and photographic plates for illustration. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition. Excerpts from the text:
"A journey from Lashio, the terminus of the Northern Shan States railway in British Burma, to Muli over the Szechwan border took me through some of the less-known parts of Yunna, and it is of the unfamiliar route that I write..."
"Climbing the range in front of us we reached a pass of 11, 260 feet above sea-level, and from the summit obtained a fine view of Chinese Tibet... below was the Yungning lake, a vivid sapphire... a small rock crowned by a white monastery, the peaceful home of the high lama..."
"... we resumed our journey to Muli... to a village called Lichiangtze... june 7 we reached the monastery of Muli, above the Litang river, or Li Chu, as it is called here, and I was given quarters in the house of the cobbler."
"Amongst the three or four Europeans who have passed through Muli on their travels are Mr. [Edvard] Amundsen the missionary, General H. R. Davies, and Mr. R. F. Johnston; but I venture to think that not one of them received the welcome accorded to me in 1921 at the hands of the grand lama... I had reached my destination...."
End Excerpt.
Francis "Frank" Kingdon-Ward (1885-1958) was a highly respected English botanist, explorer, plant collector and author. In 1913 he explored and collected in Yunnan and Tibet, and in the following year he made the first of his many visits to north Burma. He made some 22 expeditions over a period of nearly fifty years, exploring Tibet, North Western China, Burma (Myanmar) and Assam (now part of North Eastern India). In Burma he also conducted forestry research with native botanist Chit Ko Ko. Travelling in the mountains and valleys of Burma and adjacent areas, he traversed the unexplored country on the Burma-Tibet frontier in 1922, 1926 and again in 1930-31. He became one of the most important plant hunters in Asia and Southeast Asia in the mid-20th century, making a substantial contribution to botanical science.
Muli lies on the border of Yunnan and Sichuan provinces, just north of the famous lake of Lugu. Until 1953 it was a Gelugpa Buddhist kingdom. The monastery at old Muli [Mili], is situated 120 km north of the county seat, in what is now the Muli Tibetan Autonomous County. It once housed more than 700 monks. It was originally built in the early Qing dynasty, took 12 years to build and was completed in the 17th year of the reign of the Shunzhi Emperor, around 1600. Present day Muli little has changed very little since Ward's visit - aside from the practice of robbery and pillage, that is. It has officially been open to tourism only for a few years, at the turn of our century.
Ward's journey was contemporay to that of Austrian-American explorer and botanist Joseph Francis Charles Rock (1884-1962) who also studied the flora, peoples and languages of southwest China, mainly in Yunnan, from 1922-1949.
From British Burma to Little-Known Yunnan
Muli Dasi Monastery in Szechwan
Astonishing Quantities of Opium
Kingdon Ward
1921
Title: Through Western Yunnan. [With Color Map] Author: F. Kingdom Ward
Publisher: London: Edward Stanford, Royal Geographical Society, 1922.
Item is in Original Condition, with Blue Wrappers - As Issued, Complete with All the Ads! Notes & Condition:
Renowned plant collector and explorer Francis Kingdon Ward describes a journey made in 1921 from Lashio in British Burma (Myanmar), to Kunlong, through a Yunnan valley he describes as, "thinly populated... poor... well cultivated, and [with] astonishing quantities of opium hidden away in the remoter nooks." Moving onward to ascend the Mekong Divide, he passed guarded villages and fascinating cities, crossed mountain ranges and valleys, and through regions well known for its brigands, along the way remarking on the people, commerce, geography and of course the flora. In the environs of Yungpeh, he describes well-wooded ranges sparsely populated but for a few tribes such as the Lao-p'ang which the Chinese accused of being prolific robbers. Finally reaching his destination in Sichuan - the early seventeenth century Muli Dasi monastery, home to the great lama - which still today serves as home for the Living Buddha of Muli, who holds the highest status in Tibetan religious culture. Ward would make this his residence for the following five months. Perched above the Litang river, it was the largest of three Buddhist monasteries in the area. He remarks on the Moso [Mosuo], a minority people among the region's seventeen ethnic groups, and on the breathtaking scenery of virgin forests and hundreds of soaring 900 peaks. 8vo. 21 pages, plus a fold-out color map measuring approximately 30 x 22cm, and photographic plates for illustration. Original condition with blue wrappers, titles to front, and containing all the ads. This is a complete issue, seldom found in such good and original condition. Excerpts from the text:
"A journey from Lashio, the terminus of the Northern Shan States railway in British Burma, to Muli over the Szechwan border took me through some of the less-known parts of Yunna, and it is of the unfamiliar route that I write..."
"Climbing the range in front of us we reached a pass of 11, 260 feet above sea-level, and from the summit obtained a fine view of Chinese Tibet... below was the Yungning lake, a vivid sapphire... a small rock crowned by a white monastery, the peaceful home of the high lama..."
"... we resumed our journey to Muli... to a village called Lichiangtze... june 7 we reached the monastery of Muli, above the Litang river, or Li Chu, as it is called here, and I was given quarters in the house of the cobbler."
"Amongst the three or four Europeans who have passed through Muli on their travels are Mr. [Edvard] Amundsen the missionary, General H. R. Davies, and Mr. R. F. Johnston; but I venture to think that not one of them received the welcome accorded to me in 1921 at the hands of the grand lama... I had reached my destination...."
End Excerpt.
Francis "Frank" Kingdon-Ward (1885-1958) was a highly respected English botanist, explorer, plant collector and author. In 1913 he explored and collected in Yunnan and Tibet, and in the following year he made the first of his many visits to north Burma. He made some 22 expeditions over a period of nearly fifty years, exploring Tibet, North Western China, Burma (Myanmar) and Assam (now part of North Eastern India). In Burma he also conducted forestry research with native botanist Chit Ko Ko. Travelling in the mountains and valleys of Burma and adjacent areas, he traversed the unexplored country on the Burma-Tibet frontier in 1922, 1926 and again in 1930-31. He became one of the most important plant hunters in Asia and Southeast Asia in the mid-20th century, making a substantial contribution to botanical science.
Muli lies on the border of Yunnan and Sichuan provinces, just north of the famous lake of Lugu. Until 1953 it was a Gelugpa Buddhist kingdom. The monastery at old Muli [Mili], is situated 120 km north of the county seat, in what is now the Muli Tibetan Autonomous County. It once housed more than 700 monks. It was originally built in the early Qing dynasty, took 12 years to build and was completed in the 17th year of the reign of the Shunzhi Emperor, around 1600. Present day Muli little has changed very little since Ward's visit - aside from the practice of robbery and pillage, that is. It has officially been open to tourism only for a few years, at the turn of our century.
Ward's journey was contemporay to that of Austrian-American explorer and botanist Joseph Francis Charles Rock (1884-1962) who also studied the flora, peoples and languages of southwest China, mainly in Yunnan, from 1922-1949.
