Sven Hedin's Discovery of Transhimalaya: Issues and Methods in Geography and Cartography at the Turn of the 20th Century
Type
fundamental research project
Start Date
October 1, 2002
End Date
March 31, 2004
Status
completed
Keywords
Human geography
history of geography
history of cartography
history of science
Tibet
colonial geography
Sven Hedin
British Survey of India
carto-controversy
Description
This project weaves together three topics: the cartography of Asia, the iconography that supports assumptions on the power of science, and the activities of Sven Hedin, the most prolific geographer of the 20th century. My primary goal is to survey the space that existed between a geographer's ego and the reality of a continent. Actors in this space are Tibet, Sven Hedin, scholarly societies, and the general public. My other objective is to situate Transhimalaya, an imaginary mountain range reported to be more impressive than Himalaya, and explore the profound connections between the mapping of Asia and modernity as scientists forged them during the Belle Époque. My assessment of the surveying of Tibet will contribute to the study of the epistemology of the mapping sciences.
Leader contributor(s)
Forêt, Philippe
Partner(s)
Institute of Cartography, ETH Zurich
Funder
Topic(s)
Human geography
history of geography
history of cartography
history of science
Tibet
colonial geography
Sven Hedin
British Survey of India
carto-controversy
Method(s)
Archival research
analysis of visual records
Notes
SNF 1215-068210
Range
Institute/School
Range (De)
Institut/School
Principal
Philippe Forêt
Eprints ID
215249
Funding code
68210
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Item type:Publication, Climate change in the Gobi desert : the embarrassing discovery of the Sino-Swedish expedition to Northwestern China (1927-1935)(2005-08-30)Once upon a time, national glory and cartography were synonymous. Mapmakers then recorded the truth and celebrated progress and precision. Historians enthusiastically endorsed their king's political claims, while geographers produced knowledge that transcended cultural contingencies. Explanations took the forms of red and blue lines, dots and arrows, and universal symbols. There was no place for doubt, jargon, or an incoherent vision of the history of cartography, and certainly no need for theories on the political roles of mapping. This paper is about a topographical map and the theme its authors depicted but chose to not comment upon: "societal adaptability to changes in natural resources." Although they were not intended to, an empirical reading of this map made by the Sino-Swedish Expedition would reveal how cartography addressed several prob-lems of the 20th century, from science policy and geographic governance to the constraints of historicity.Type:presentation - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, A story of European hammers and Central Asian boulders : How a Swiss Museum Exhibits "High Asia"The aim of the exhibition is to present the history, techniques, methodology, and results of the surveying of "High Asia." European scholars and travelers explored the ill-defined areas of the Himalayan kingdoms, Tibet, Xinjiang and Western China beginning in the Victorian era and continuing until World War II. National prestige was one of several goals in the scientific conquest of the heart of Asia. The systematic collecting of rock samples and fossils in the Pamirs, Himalayas and Taklamakan helped to change dramatically the understanding of our planet's geology and paleontology, and the discovery of the Silk Road civilizations has made us all aware of the significance of transcontinental exchange in Eurasia. This challenging topic is approached through an emphasis on the human aspects of scholarship instead of a more abstract institutional history. In order to avoid personality cults and nationalistic glorification of science, the scientific results have been placed within the context of contemporary scholarship over a wide range of disciplines from archaeology to geology, as represented in the work of scholars from the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Sweden, Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia. The exhibition combines biographical descriptions with personal descriptions of fieldwork. Victor Jacquemont, the Schlagintweit brothers, Aurel Stein and Francis Younghusband may not need introductions. While the controversial Swedish geographer Sven Hedin is well known from his autobiography, the exhibit displays his meticulous maps and gorgeous drawings. The exhibit also includes less familiar figures such as the Swiss geologist Rudolf Wyss, the French diplomat Fernand Grenard, and the Italian medical doctor Filippo de Filippi.Type:newspaper articleJournal:Central Eurasian Studies Review : CESRVolume:2Issue:2 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
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Item type:Publication, The mapping of the Silk Road by European-Chinese expeditions(2004-05-13)I have been especially interested in scientific reports and travel accounts on "western China" (Gansu, Xinjiang, both Mongolias, and Tibet) because they provide fascinating examples of practices, which must be investigated within an interdisciplinary and transnational perspective. I will emphasize in this paper the pivotal role played by maps, photographs, paintings and sketches during the expeditions conducted in 1912 and 1949, and more especially by the Sino-Swedish expeditions of 1927-1935. My goal is to understand how the iconography they provided on the Silk Road has articulated the discourse held in the earth sciences between the two world wars. The interaction between the Silk Road and early 20th century technology and methodology yielded in the USA well-known theories about race, the environment, and the "pulse of Asia." But what do we know today on the European and Chinese geographers, geologists, meteorologists, archaeologists and paleontologists who worked together? What did they think about the political dimensions of their work? How were they able to bring together scholarship and visual representation? Did they believe in global warming or in the decline of the West? An examination of the maps and images they produced would help with the reconstruction of the intellectual history of the hard sciences at work on the Silk Road.Type:presentation - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
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Item type:Publication, How did the Silk Road alter the course of the history of climate change?(2004-05-27)I have been especially interested in scientific reports and travel accounts on "western China," which consists of Gansu, Xinjiang, both Mongolias, and Tibet and lies halfway between the Pacific seaboard and the Mediterranean coasts. This type of literature provides fascinating examples of fieldwork practices that must be investigated within an interdisciplinary and transnational perspective. My goal is to understand how the iconography they provided on the environment of the Silk Road cultures has articulated the scholarly discourse between the two world wars. The interaction between the Silk Road and early 20th century technology and methodology yielded popular (but bogus) theories about race, the environment, the "pulse of Asia," and the spatial distribution of advanced civilizations. What do we remember today on the European and Chinese geographers, geologists, meteorologists, archaeologists and paleontologists who worked together? What did they think about the political dimensions of their work? How were they able to bring together scholarship and visual representation? Did they believe in global warming or in the decline of the West? An examination of the maps and images they produced would help with the reconstruction of the intellectual history of the Silk Road.Type:presentation - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, The discovery of climate change : The mapping of the Edsin-Gol River (Inner Mongolia) and the political significance of the work done by the Sino-Swedish Expedition (1927-1935)(2005-07-17)Led by the famous explorer Sven Hedin, the "Scientific Expedition to the Northwestern Provinces of China" (1927-1935) was a major undertaking that resulted in many publications in archaeology, geography, geology, paleontology, and climatology. The participants in the expedition collected data on the dessication of Chinese Central Asia, yet decided to not contribute to the debate on climate change in historical times. I will argue that their maps, sketches and pictures of the Edsin-gol river and delta can help us deconstruct the discussion on climate change in the 1930s. The maps based on the surveys conducted by Nils Hörner, Parker Chen, and Folke Bergman display information on the northernmost settlements of the Han dynasty in Central Asia. A network of watchtowers and forts protected an entire region that 2000 years ago supported a permanent population. In 1930, observers noticed that the sand and gravel of the Gobi desert had recovered the area for centuries. The scientists surveyed the previous shores of the terminal lakes, measured the volumes of the Edsin-gol river branches, etc., but they did not reach any definitive conclusion. The junior members of the Sino-Swedish Expedition were apparently unwilling to provide materials to racist geographers like Huntington at Yale and political ideologues in Berlin and Nanjing. The amazing discrepancy between physical evidence and visual interpretation, and between the reality of the Gobi desert and the expedition's topographical maps, travel accounts, and scientific reports, would illustrate the significance of the political context in the history of climate studies.Type:presentation