Diary of a Journey through Mongolia and Tibet in 1891 and 1892  (Paperback, William Woodville Rockhill)

About The Book: This book contain discusses the history of European travelers in Tibet, starting with Friar Odoric in 1325, who left very little information about the country. Three centuries later, in 1624, the Jesuit Antonio Andrada visited Tibet, followed by Fathers Grueber and Dorville in 1661, who stayed in Lh'asa for two months and wrote about the country's customs and religion. In 1716, Jesuit Fathers Desideri and Freyre visited Lh'asa, while the Capuchin Francisco della Penna established a mission there in 1719. In 1774, George Bogle was sent by Warren Hastings to Shigatse to try and open commercial relations with Tibet. Captain Samuel Turner also visited Shigatse in 1783 and published an account of his journey. Thomas Manning traveled to Tibet in 1811 via Pari djong and Gyantse djong, while the Lazarist fathers Hue and Gabet traversed the Ordos, Alashan, the Kokonor and the Tsaidam in 1844, and reached Lh'asa in 1846. About The Author: William Woodville Rockhill (1854 – 1914) was a United States diplomat, best known as the author of the U.S. Open Door Policy for China, the first American to learn to speak Tibetan, and one of the West's leading experts on the modern political history of China. In 1876, Rockhill returned to the United States,. By 1880, he had completed a French language translation of the Tibetan version of the Udanavarga, which was published in 1881. He sent an account of his travels to the Smithsonian Institution for publication (as The Land of the Lamas (1891)), and in 1893, he was awarded the Gold Patron's Medal of the Royal Geographical Society. Rockhill wrote a glossary of Salar in his 1894 book Diary of a Journey through Mongolia and Tibet in 1891 and 1892. During the administration of President of the United States Grover Cleveland, Rockhill served as Third Assistant Secretary of State from April 17, 1894.