therefore, inferior to his “ father ” as touching his
potential manhood. Thus, though the entire political
power has been absorbed by the Dalai or Grand Lama
of Lhasa, the Tashi Lama— as the Grand Lama of
Tashi-lhunpo is commonly called— remains in theory
his senior and superior in spiritual matters. A government,
similar in most respects to that which is now
established, was afterwards inaugurated, the forcible
introduction by the Chinese Emperor of two Ambans
or Viceroys with a strong guard being the result of
the Dzungarian raid and the occupation of Lhasa in
I7I7- Chinese suzerainty may be said to date from 1720.
In 1662, in the middle of Na-wang Lob-sang’s revolution,
the first European, Father Johann Grueber, also
a Jesuit, reached Lhasa in company with Father Dor-
ville. He left few records of his travels, but Astley’s
“ Collection of Voyages ” contains an abstract of his
account of this journey. Lhasa— or as he calls it, Baran-
tola— is described as the capital of the country and the
residence of the Buddhist Pope, whose castle “ Butala ”
reminded Grueber much of the architecture of his own
fatherland. He | asserts that the religion was essentially
identical with Christianity, though, as he says,
no Christian was ever in the country before. Among
other remarks which are true of Tibetans to-day, he
mentions the feminine habits of wearing the hair plaited
tightly into a number of small cords, of bearing the
“ patug r or turquoise-studded head-dress, and of
smearing the face with kutch.* In 1708 the Capuchin
* Grueber drew a picture of the Potala palace in his day, which is of considerable
interest. In its earlier state it must have resembled Gyangtse jong in the disposition,
character and stability of its buildings, and it is also clear that the gigantic buttress-
building which sweeps sheer up the side of the rock from the plain to the Dalai Lama’s
own palace covers two deep ravines which are probably converted into secret treasure
chambers at this moment. See Appendix C.
iN.aia.ur.
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iah'tt an-
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(Deset'tum. mrSir pa**»
H - A lia s I C S'—v Vwl
'■.V t'D 0 y ts iv a l
'arazan
Zfrpj.' hkl
m m
"Car cliam
Via in
AV.ES.
"Pitan
'ttyaunf
¡Càorj
rff'cu ImSvi
■Ty Ño kin
av tf
ftrsi
yt Jt!
I have inserted this 1680 map merely to show the complete ignorance of Tibetan geography that
existed before the survey initiated by the Jesuits in the early years of the 18th century. It is
possible that “ Chiammay Lacus',” may represent the Yaimdok tso. Nothing else corresponds in
any way to any known feature of Tibet.